Trump drops major military announcement

Summary

No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen

Episode: Trump drops major military announcement

Date: March 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on major U.S. military developments, specifically President Donald Trump’s escalation of war in Iran, and its domestic and political fallout. Host Brian Tyler Cohen dives into the consequences of the conflict, the cost for Americans, and the gap between Trump’s campaign promises and his administration’s actions. The episode features two interviews: Jon Lovett (from Crooked Media, at the No Kings protest) and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who discusses polling and how the Trump-era GOP policies have shifted the political landscape in Ohio.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Major Military Escalation in Iran

• Pentagon Prepares for Protracted Conflict:
  Reporting reveals the U.S. military is preparing for ground operations in Iran, marking a significant escalation. Thousands of U.S. troops are headed to the Middle East for “what could become a dangerous new phase” if Trump chooses to keep ramping up the war.

  • “The Pentagon is now preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran as that war ramps up… as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should President Donald Trump choose to escalate.” (00:23)

• Broken Promises and Self-Interest:
  Brian argues Trump has reneged on key promises—including ending foreign entanglements—while prioritizing his own wealth and interests.

  • “His entire presidency is a graveyard of broken promises.” (02:30)
  • “He doesn’t give a shit about people and he never did.” (03:57)

• Cascading Domestic Effects:
  The war is leading to higher oil and gas prices, involvement of other nations, loss of U.S. military lives (over a dozen dead), and billions spent daily with no clear objective—all of which contradicts Trump’s anti-war, pro-working class rhetoric.

2. Republican Complicity and Public Backlash

• GOP Enabling Trump:
  Cohen notes that GOP leaders refuse to check Trump, “prostrating themselves” to avoid attacks, making them co-owners of the consequences: “They all own high gas prices and a new Middle Eastern war… They put on a master class in what an incompetent, weak, corrupt majority looks like, and it’s being rejected by Americans.” (05:00)

• Midterm Stakes:
  Predictions are that Americans will hold both Trump and Republicans accountable in upcoming elections as the public grows disillusioned.

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Interview: Jon Lovett at the No Kings Protest

Starts at [06:29]

Highlights

• The Meaning of the Protest:

  • Lovett describes the protest as a real demonstration of American values, in contrast to the right’s performative populism.
  • “We hear a lot of talk about how the right wing has become this nationalist blood and soil party. But here’s the problem: there’s no blood and there’s no soil. It’s a bunch of people in their houses consuming right wing news propaganda…” (07:31)
  • “Whatever happened in the election, Americans did not vote for a war in Iran, for ICE at the fucking airports, for grifting corruption...” (08:18)

• Building a Pro-Democracy Coalition:

  • Lovett emphasizes the necessity of a broad coalition—anti-Trump Republicans to the far left—to defend democracy.
  • “In order to defeat a rising authoritarian movement, you need as big a pro-democracy movement as possible… all these people here, I assume, have a huge range of views… but we are part of one movement.” (10:23)

• Permissive Structure for Change:

  • Protests provide a “permission structure” for people whose identities are tied to Republicanism or apathy to shift allegiances.
  • “It’s not just hardcore partisans out here. …It is a grassroots movement of people who want something different.” (11:38)

• Reflection on Political Anxiety and Hope:

  • Lovett likens his anxiety in crowds to “running into the nuclear-soaked cauldron” from “K-19: The Widowmaker” (14:19). He encourages pushing aside egos after primaries to achieve unified action against authoritarianism.

Notable Quotes

• Jon Lovett:
  • “They don’t have this. We have this because this is the actual real country. This is the majority of the country.” (08:07)
  • “Our job is to tell a story about why the corrupt and viciousness and cruelty of this administration is having a genuine negative impact on people’s lives...” (12:25)
  • “Some of these Democrats need to drop out of the fucking governor’s race… Everybody’s gotta put their egos aside.” (13:45)

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Interview: Senator Sherrod Brown

Begins at [16:16]

Key Topics

• Democratic Polling Surge in Ohio

  • Brown leads polls against Republican John Husted.
  • Attributes gains to widespread anger over economic issues and war: “I think it’s the anger people have towards the government now. I think it’s the war where people, it’s costing a dollar more for a gallon of gas... They see John Huston, a lot of anger aimed at him, who has voted to take people’s health insurance away…” (17:06)

• Impact of War on Ohioans

  • War in Iran is directly raising costs for farmers and truckers; diesel up $1–$1.50/gal.
  • “They’ve seen their markets disappear. They’ve seen cost of feed go up, especially fertilizer... because of the Iran war... Their markets are gone.” (19:27)

• Republican Voters Rethinking Affiliation

  • Brown describes meeting with lifelong Republicans reconsidering their loyalties due to policy impacts and shifting values.
  • “She got a group of about 15 people... whose families had been exactly what you said, who had been Republicans... who believed in a responsible foreign policy, who believed that we should side with Ukraine and not engage in attacks on other countries, whether it’s fishing boats in the Caribbean or Iran... And they’re ready to move.” (18:47)

• Criticism of Opponent’s Disdain for Working Class

  • John Husted’s remark that “people living in poverty are just not yet... experienced at navigating the real world” (21:16) is cited as evidence of Republican contempt for working-class voters.
  • Brown: “He clearly has a disdain, maybe contempt for people that are making or struggling... people understand that the system’s rigged against them, that it’s more rigged today than it was.” (21:58)

• Costs of War vs. Domestic Needs

  • Brown criticizes government for funding foreign wars over key domestic programs like health clinics, VA, and child tax credits.
  • “The cost of the war… Ohio taxpayers are paying about $60 million a day for this war... We’re underfunding education, we’re underfunding highways...” (25:16)

• Vision for Democratic Leadership

  • If Democrats retake the Senate, priorities include passing the child tax credit, restoring clean energy projects, and building guardrails to prevent power grabs.
  • “The first thing we do is come back is build guardrails so they can’t do that kind of power grab. The second thing we do is hold people accountable for things they’ve done. But... we need to do affirmative things…” (30:08)

Notable Quotes

• Sherrod Brown:
  • “People understand that the system’s rigged against them, that it’s more rigged today than it was… workers are actually more productive than ever been. Yet more money’s going out the door than coming in.” (22:15)
  • “Why are we in this war? What’s the point? Why did we go to war? How are we going to get out?” (25:59)
  • “I don’t see politics as left or right. I see it as, whose side are you on?” (22:48)

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Memorable Moments

• Lovett standing by the Trump Baby balloon, critiquing the right’s hollow populism and the left’s real, on-the-ground organizing. (06:40–09:03)
• Lovett comically likens his anxiety at large protests to the movie “K-19: The Widowmaker.” (14:19)
• Brown’s highlighting of the true cost of the war for Ohio taxpayers—$60 million per day—and the impact on everyday services. (25:16)
• Honest appraisal of the need for “egos aside” unity after contentious Democratic primaries. (13:45)
• Brown’s assertion that, despite the GOP’s pro-worker campaign talk, their governance has tilted toward enriching the wealthiest, against ordinary families. (32:24)

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Important Timestamps

• Military escalation in Iran: 00:23–05:30
• Jon Lovett interview: 06:29–15:01
  • Protest meaning: 07:02–08:30
  • Coalition-building: 09:44–10:54
  • Hope/strategy for midterms: 12:08–13:24
• Sherrod Brown interview: 16:16–35:46
  • Economic impact of war: 17:06–18:47
  • Voter attitudes: 18:47–21:00
  • Husted’s remarks on poverty: 21:14–22:48
  • Real cost of war: 23:40–26:44
  • Vision for Democratic majority: 29:58–32:24

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Tone & Language

• The tone throughout is urgent, candid, often impassioned and unapologetically progressive.
• Language is direct, occasionally profane (e.g., “without the fucking populace”), emphasizing frustration with political hypocrisy and systemic failures.
• Guests and host alike are focused on both criticism of the status quo and mobilizing hope and action for change.

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Conclusion

The episode provides both a scathing critique of Trump-era Republican governance—highlighting the ruinous consequences of foreign military adventurism and economic mismanagement—and a call to collective action for pro-democracy forces. Through interviews with Jon Lovett and Sherrod Brown, listeners gain deep insight into ground-level activism, shifting political identities, and the concrete stakes of the 2026 election up and down the ballot.

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For listener resources and to get involved:

• Jon Lovett: Crooked Media podcasts and No Kings rally updates
• Sherrod Brown: sherrodbrown.com

For more episodes, visit briantylercohen.com or your preferred podcasting platform.

Transcript

[A]

With VRBoCare, help is always ready before, during, and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind. The Pentagon is now preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran as that war ramps up. And I've got two interviews. Ponzi of America's John Lovett joins me at the no Kings protest. And Sherrod Brown discusses polling ahead of his Republican opponent for the U.S. senate in Ohio State. I'm Brian Teller Cohen, and you're listening to no Lie, some stunning new reporting from the Washington Post. The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, a US Official said, as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle east for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should President Donald Trump choose to escalate. So, on the off chance that you thought maybe Trump would be smart enough to realize the error of his ways by engaging in exactly the kind of war that he swore he'd avoid when polling showed that this war was the least popular at its outset in US History, he can pretty much kiss that goodbye as he now digs 10 toes in and actually ramps up the war or incursion or excursion or military operation or whatever other synonym he landed on this week to avoid actually going to Congress, as is legally required. But here's the reality of engaging in a protracted war. You're not going to be able to unwind it. So when Trump inevitably gets bored and wants his unpopular war to go away, it's not gonna be that easy. Because every day he continues with this means the cost of oil rises, means the cost of gas rises, means other countries get sucked into this conflict and it continues to spiral out of control. And that's already happening. Which should already be enough of a blinking red light for Trump to recognize the error of his ways. And yet he's choosing to do the polar opposite. He is making the conscious decision to plunge this country into a protracted war, which would be bad enough unto itself, but even worse, considering it is leaving Americans with higher gas prices resulted in more than a dozen dead US Military members, and it's costing billions of dollars per day, money that could be going to anything else. All of which Trump railed against on the campaign. He literally has become a caricature of exactly the kind of politician that he once condemned in hundreds of his rallies. Which really is the whole game at the end of the day. Like, this is what Trump does. He is an entertainer. He says words that people want to hear, but they bear no resemblance to what he actually intends to do. Like, I'm sorry, but how many times does he have to go back on his word before people realize that his pandering was nothing more than window dressing again? In his first term, he promised an infrastructure law that never materialized, a healthcare plan that was cheaper and more comprehensive and never materialized, a middle class tax cut that never materialized, a jobs boom that never materialized, manufacturing renaissance that never materialized, and then in this term, did the same thing. Promised reduced costs and cheaper groceries, lower rent, cheaper housing, free ivf, getting inflation under control, justice for Epstein's victims, accountability for his criminal associates. But he's not delivering on any of those things. The only thing he's actually done in both terms is give himself a tax cut, give his friends a tax cut. He's built himself a ballroom. He's doubled his own net worth. He set his own family up with military defense contracts. Like, I don't know how to make this any clearer. He doesn't give a shit about people and he never did. He says things that people want to hear, but he doesn't deliver. His entire presidency is a graveyard of broken promises. He didn't end the Russia, Ukraine war, didn't lower prices on day one, didn't bring down inflation, didn't release the Epstein files, didn't usher in a manufacturing renaissance. And he won't, because those are just things he said to get your votes. But now that he's got them, he doesn't need you anymore. Now it's about him. It's about his legacy, about giving himself a tax cut, giving himself all the headlines. Trump is broadcasting every which way that his priority is not regular Americans, it is himself. He will not lift a finger to help you. He'll make all the excuses in the world, but when it comes to continuing the same failed policies that he once railed against, there's a blank check. And I always make a point that it's not just Trump, right? Every other Republican could serve as a check on him, should serve as a check on him, but instead they've chosen to prostrate themselves for him in their desperation to avoid a mean tweet. And look what it's gotten them now. They all own this. They all own high gas prices and a new Middle Eastern war and surging gas costs and higher rent, expensive groceries suppressed, Epstein files, ice murdering Americans, rising inflation, non existent job growth. They own it. They put on a master class in what an incompetent, weak, corrupt majority looks like, and it's being rejected by Americans. And the response by Trump and the GOP clearly is to double down. And maybe they feel unaccountable to public pressure. Maybe they feel like they can suppress enough votes that what Americans want won't actually matter. But they're in for a rude awakening if they think they're not going to be held accountable just a few short months from now. Next up are my interviews with Jon Lovett at the no Kings protest, followed by Sherrod Brown running for the U.S. senate in Ohio. No Lie is brought to you by Zebiotics. So I have to tell you about a game changing product that I use the night before going out with drinks. It's called Pre Alcohol zbiot Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. So here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for rough days after drinking. Pre alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make Pre alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Every time I have Pre alcohol before drinks, I notice a discernible difference the next day. Even after a night out, I can confidently plan on being on camera without worry. And I won't lie, I was on the fence about Pre alcohol initially, but I gave it a shot and believe me, it is the real deal. So look, March is a marathon of social events. From the slopes to the bracket watch parties to Guinnesses on St Patrick's Day. Pre Alcohol is the tool that you need to fully enjoy the end of winter. Go to ZBiotics.com BTC to learn more and get 15% off your first order. When you use BTC at checkout, you can Zebiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to ZBiotics.com BTC and use the code BTC at checkout for 15% off. I'm here with local area man. Your name?

[B]

My name is John.

[A]

John, what do you do for a living?

[B]

I'm a podcast host.

[A]

Podcast host. Well, good luck on your podcast.

[B]

Thanks a lot buddy.

[A]

Yeah, we're here with the giant Trump baby.

[B]

I've never been this close to the I've never been this close to the Trump baby before. The Trump baby is always out here on no Kings. I've never gotten up this close to it before.

[A]

We are, we are almost inside the Trump baby, which I know has been a.

[B]

It's a lot. It's a dream of mine.

[A]

A dream of yours?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

So love it. Here we are. No Kings Day protest. This is expected to be the biggest protest in American history. Why is it important for you to have been out here?

[B]

So obviously get this guy. Yes. So here's what I was thinking about.

[A]

You got it. Just.

[B]

Oh, that's.

[A]

Yeah, there you go.

[B]

Love it out here. So here's what I was thinking about when I was walking up to this. Because by the way, this looks bigger than the one last time. I think this is a huge protest and I was thinking about what MAGA is versus what this is. And you know, we hear a lot of talk about how the right wing has become this nationalist blood and soil party. But here's the problem. There's no blood and there's no soil. It's a bunch of people in their houses consuming right wing news propaganda built on social media that has agitated them and radicalized them and made them part of this big un American, frankly anti democratic movement that we have to stop, we have to fight and has way too much power in this country. But then I look out here and I think I see a lot of people, real people with actual blood on the actual soil coming together to try to try to stand up for what we think America really is, what it's meant to, to be. They don't have this, they don't have the guys. That's what's so embarrassing about the Ted Cruz's and Rubio's and Vance's and Mike Johnson's and John Thunes of the world. We're capitulating to a populist right wing movement without the fucking populace. They don't have this. We have this because this is the actual real country. This is the majority of the country. Whatever happened in the election, Americans did not vote for a war in Iran, for ice at the fucking airports, for grifting corruption, for a White House in which somebody makes billions five seconds before the President makes an announcement about life and death in the Middle East. It is absurd. This is yet another reminder of what the country actually stands for, what Americans actually stands for and why we have to not allow the cynicism and the defeatism that we all feel sometimes to stop us from doing what we have to do in the midterms and After. That's what I think.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

That's what I think, Brian.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

YouTube's best boy.

[A]

You're going to. Your podcast is going to go somewhere. I can, I can just feel it.

[B]

You got it. Listen, trying to get this podcast out of the ground.

[A]

Trying to get it off the ground. Love it. How does this make you think about popular movements? Because, you know, in the lead up to 2016 and even 2020, we heard so much about these, these boat parades. I mean there was a lot of like, like on the street action happening, which has, has vanished from the right and is now present in what are, you know, consecutively becoming the most attended protests in history. Whether it's no kings 1, 2 or 3. And so how does that, how does that inform, like how you're thinking about this moment?

[B]

So the two biggest challenges when facing a revanchist authoritarian right wing movement. One is that you are relying on institutions that they are trying to destroy. You're trying to prove that the institutions can work even as those institutions are being undermined from within. Now I actually think that's an area where we really kind of blew it. Merrick Garland blew it.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But the other big challenge is remembering that in order to defeat a rising authoritarian movement, you need as big a pro democracy movement as possible. And that has to run all the way from anti Trump Republicans to the furthest left that you are willing to go, which is as far left as you can go. And that's frustrating to people. At times that makes people mad because there are real moral differences inside of this coalition. But all these people here, I assume, have a huge range of views. I assume that there are people here that have diametrically opposed views on really important serious issues from Israel to health care and everything in between. But we are part of one movement. And as long as we can show up and remind ourselves of that, we're doing the work we need to do to defeat Trump and whatever the Republican Party it looks like that he leaves behind.

[A]

Love it. What kind of a permission structure do you think events like this give people who, for whom, you know, being a Democrat was always a non starter or for whom being a Republican was always a part of their identity. How does this, this kind of stuff change things?

[B]

I think there are the hardcore MAGA Republicans and there are hyper engaged Democrats, but everybody in between. Politics isn't as much a part of their identity. Yeah, and politics has been kind of an ugly slog on television for a really long time. And it didn't seem like the government worked. It didn't seem like voting maybe mattered as much as we claimed it did. People didn't take Democrats seriously enough about the threat we said Trump posed. But this is just a reminder that, like, it's not just hardcore partisans out here. It's not just Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Keem Jeffries and the kind of faces people don't trust on television. It is a, like, grassroots movement of people who want something different. And the job of. It's not our job. The Democratic Party isn't an end, it's a means to an end. And this is also part of how we kind of figure out how to change things.

[A]

Love it. What gives you. What should people be looking out for in these last six months in the lead up to midterms right now? What do we have to take the most seriously, and what gives you the most hope?

[B]

Donald Trump is at his lowest ebb. He's genuinely on his heels. There is a ridiculous, poorly planned conflict that is $7 gas on my way here, costing lives, destruction, unleashing chaos. Our job is to tell a story about. Our job is to tell a story about why the corrupt and viciousness and cruelty of this administration is having a genuine negative impact on people's lives, and that there are people who actually have the capacity to stop it and ultimately build something better. And that's our job, to not be distracted by infighting without being afraid of hard questions and hard debates. It's about getting everybody here to understand those stakes and days like this are a part of that, but so is

[C]

every day in between.

[B]

And you're gonna have some big primaries, and those will be contentious, and that's how it should be. But then we gotta get to the other side of those primaries that whoever wins, put differences aside, put egos aside, and do what we need to do to win. And that includes, by the way, here in California, some of these Democrats need to drop out of the fucking governor's race. Everybody's gotta put their egos aside, their personal. Their personal differences aside, and do what it takes.

[A]

Love it. Are we gonna win the House and the Senate?

[B]

We don't do predictions. We don't do predictions.

[A]

But if we did.

[B]

If we did, I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. We can. We can do it. Make it happen. I know I'm not in charge of this. I'm not from the future.

[A]

Last question. Love it. How does it feel to be surrounded by this many people with the crippling anxiety that you carry with you on a daily basis.

[B]

I feel like I can basically go in and out of the crowd. Like in the movie K19 the Widowmaker, they had to run into the nuclear soaked cauldron to protect the ship, but only for a few seconds. But they had to. That was their duty. And so for me being in a crowd, I gotta like psych myself up.

[A]

That is your nuclear. That is your nuclear cauldron.

[B]

Everybody remembers, of course, K19 the Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford, who himself on an episode of David Letterman said it was the stupidest name of a movie he's ever been in. And that's also what this is about.

[A]

I think I, I think that's perfect. I'm with you like 50. I. I agree 100%.

[B]

Project Hail Mary now in theaters. Love it.

[A]

Thanks, man. No lie is brought to you by Rocket Money. So what is the most ridiculous hidden fee or subscription that you discovered you were still paying for? For me, I've got music service subscriptions that I haven't logged into since like 2022 that I've been paying for every single month. I know that people watching have got gym memberships and streaming services, you name it, that you're charged for every month and you're not even using. Well, Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bill so that you can grow your savings. Rocket Money allows you to track subscriptions and cancel them within the app with just a few taps, saving you time and helping you avoid charges. You can even categorize automatic transactions across your accounts and customize categories with tags to help shed light on your spending patterns, set budgets and goals, get personalized insights and regular reports on your spending habits. You can even receive real time alerts for large transactions, upcoming bills, refunds, and low balances. Let Rocket Money help you reach your finance goals faster. [e-mail] Brian that's RocketMoney.com Brian RocketMoney.com B R I A I'm joined now by candidate for the U.S. senate in Ohio, Sherrod Brown. Thanks so much for joining me.

[C]

Good to be with you again, but thanks for the way you reach out to people and have such an impact on American democracy.

[A]

Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. I wanna talk about some big news out of Ohio, which is not a state that Democrats normally look at or normally feel like they have an opportunity to really compete in. There have been two recent polls. The Ohio Environmental Council posted a poll that showed you leading Senator Husted 51 to 40. That was on the heels of another Republican aligned firm now on message, Public Strategies, putting you at 47 to Houston's 45. And so what do you attribute the fact that in a state like Ohio, which has been increasingly out of reach for Democrats over the last decade, plus that the polling is showing you ahead in large part?

[C]

Well, I think it's the anger people have towards the government now. I think it's the war where people, it's costing a dollar more for a gallon of gas. It's costing farmers and truckers close to a dollar and a half extra for diesel. They see John Huston, a lot of anger aimed at him, who has voted to take people's health insurance away, almost half a million Ohioans, and raising the price for another several hundred thousand Ohioans in their premium increases, all for a billionaire tax. So people want a very different direction. When I lost in 24, I lost by three points. Trump won the state by 12. It's a very different environment now. And when I announced, When I announced 31 back in August, 31,000 Ohioans went online and contributed in 24 hours. And I've never seen that kind of enthusiasm and that kind of just desire to change things, you know.

[A]

While you've been traveling the state and talking to voters, what have you heard from Republican voters out there? And I ask this because it's normally really difficult to extract people from their political affiliation as their affiliation becomes more and more intertwined with their own identity. Like, people will come up and say, you know, my grandparents voted Republican and my parents voted Republican and I'm a Republican. It's part of who I am. Just like, you know, your job or whatever would be, you know, your job, your religion, whatever it is, would be part of your identity. And so have you heard from some of these folks who have, for whom their Republicanism is a part of their identity, who can't do it anymore?

[C]

Yeah, I had a meeting the other day. A lawyer in Cleveland, youngish woman, I guess I shouldn't say it that way. A woman that practices law and practiced for probably 10 years, 15 years in Ohio, it's always a Republican. She worked in Republican campaigns. And she came up to me and said, I want to put a group of people together. So she got a group of about 15 people, ages 22 to 60 maybe, whose families had been exactly what you said, who had been Republicans, who believed in fiscal conservatism and believed government should stay out of your lives, who believed in a responsible foreign policy, who believed that we should side with Ukraine and not engage in attacks on other countries, whether it's fishing boats in the Caribbean or Iran. And they're ready to move their generational Republicans. But I've also noticed this when you start asking that question, I've done a lot of things. I grew up working on a family farm. I'm not a farmer, but I was a farm worker. I milk cows. I've done all that. And I've seen, I've spent a lot of time in rural communities in this campaign, and there's a lot of unhappiness. But they don't really talk about Trump. They talk about tariffs as if that wasn't Trump that did those. And my focus in this race is not Trump, it's John Husted. And they know Houston was supporting that. And they're kind of not ready to move. But they're close to, they're close to moving because they've seen their markets disappear. They've seen cost of feed go up, especially a fertilizer go up, especially because of the. What's happening in the Iran war. They know diesel prices and they rely on diesel, not gasoline, for their tractors and their, their combines and all. And they're not that many family farmers. But if you go and you talk to a family farmer in Pickaway county or Van Wert county, you know that how they're doing affects the whole rural economy. So, so people are very tuned into those issues. We're going to do significantly better there than Kamala did two years ago or than I did two years ago, because people are ready to vote for their family, farm and agricultural interests.

[A]

Well, you know, speaking of that kind of open disdain for working class folks, especially those in your state, John Husted had a comment that has gained a lot of controversy for him. I'm gonna play that right now.

[C]

And people living in poverty are just not yet.

[A]

They're not very experienced at navigating the real world. Right.

[C]

I remember talking to one young lady

[A]

who said, well, I don't really know

[C]

how money works at a grocery store

[A]

because she grew up and has lived

[B]

all of her adult life using Snap

[A]

cards to buy groceries.

[C]

And so you literally have to teach

[A]

people how to budget the buzzword today. Let's face it, it's affordability.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So that was John Husted claiming that people who are living in poverty, experienced at navigating the real world, again, just kind of dripping with disdain for working class Americans, working class Ohioans. Can I have your reaction to that quote?

[C]

Yeah. I mean, he also said that Americans don't have the same work ethic that they used to. He clearly has a disdain, maybe contempt for people that are making or struggling. I mean, it really is a question of so many people are struggling. And it's not just poor people, it's working class people. It's people that. That are making 15, $18 an hour and can't. Can't live at all comfortably, can barely get through the next week. He also said they don't know how to budget. I would say they know how to budget a whole lot better than John Husted or than other members of the Senate who don't have to think about this a lot. So fundamentally, people understand that the system's rigged against them, that it's more rigged today than it was where corporations are making more money, corporate CEOs, executives are taking big stock, stock buybacks, where these workers are actually more productive than ever been. Yet more money's going out the door than coming in. And that's the struggle. That's the rig system. And then on top of that, John Newstead's taking people's health care away and so he can give more tax cuts to the rich and people. I don't see politics as left or right. I see it as, whose side are you on? And it's clear John Husted's on the side of the billionaires. He's on the side of First Energy, the electric company that's overcharging. And he was part of the corruption where the speaker of the House went to prison for taking a $61 million bribe. And now the executives are on trial and John Husted was called to testify. All of those things are his life, not the struggles of so many middle class and working class and poor people in this country.

[A]

Which might explain why even as we're spending, what, a billion dollars a day in Iran, I think the first six days of the war in cost $11 billion, even double what I had just said before. He's claiming that it's going much better than expected. So he is, you know, cheerleading on this effort that sends money overseas instead of keeping it right here at home. Should the US Be engaging in a foreign war in the Middle east right now? And can I have your reaction to the fact that John Husted seems to be cheering it on?

[C]

Yeah. Thanks, Brian, for that question. Absolutely. I mean, the White House, the government has not explained why we're there. He has not explained any plan to get out and hasn't really given answers for what's happened to the price of gas, what's happened to the price of diesel, which affects rural America especially. Has it done to talk about the cost? That number you give just keeps going up. It's not just. I was with a bunch of veterans in Jackson county last this, this past week and many of them were Vietnam vets. There's a, there's a VA hospital which was going to close and we kept, we meaning all the veterans and working together with my office, kept it open. They understand it's not just the cost of this war and they're overwhelmingly against it. It's the cost for a generation or two of health care for these men and women. There were at least three people in this crowd that have had health, that have had illnesses, coming out of exposure to age in orange, even though the government fought them one at a time. This time when we wrote the PACT act, veterans are going to get their care immediately. But it's money that we should spend. But you start a war like this and it's money that again, we're going to spend it, we should spend it, but what's the point of this war? And I would add to the cost today, the number you gave is sort of the updated number every, you know, every, every day or two or three. Brian in Ohio alone, the cost of the war. Ohio taxpayers are paying about $60 million a day for this war. We're underfunding education, we're underfunding highways, we're underfunding the epa, we're underfunding things that matter in health clinics, all that. We're underfunding things that matter every day in people's lives. And people increasingly are saying, including veterans, maybe especially veterans, why are we in this war? What's the point? Why did we go to war? How are we going to get out? What's the plan here? And dammit, explain to the American people and explain to the soldiers you're sending and the Marines you're sending to the Middle east why we're there. 13 people as of this interview, this taping of have been killed. Thirteen Americans, three of them are from Ohio. Ohio has always paid a larger price than our population would suggest in foreign wars. And it's just immoral to be doing this when we should be focusing on people's everyday lives in our state.

[A]

You know, I think that you touched on a really important point, which was what we could get instead of paying for this. And so I just wanna pose that question to you. And I know that you alluded to this a little bit in your previous answer, but what could Ohio get? What could the United States get with the billions upon billions of dollars that are right now being spent dropping bombs overseas, which, by the way, would be bad enough unto itself. More egregious given the fact that that is expressly what Trump campaigned against. That is expressly what Republicans campaigned against. This entire party embraced no more forever wars in the Middle east, and yet all of them are, are approving it and enabling it by virtue of their actions.

[C]

That's what they campaigned against. No more forever wars. What they campaign for is lower prices on everything from eggs to gas to health care to going to the grocery store and shopping for everything. So it's kind of both things there. But the money I think about what's happened this year, the money we're spending, the billions of dollars a day now, it's close, I believe, to $2 billion a day that we're spending. At the same time, they refused. John Houston nine times voted against putting a lid on premiums for health care. 120,000 people In Ohio alone, 120,000 have dropped their health insurance because of the doubling and tripling of those premiums. They could have funded that. They could have funded the child tax credit, which is a bill I worked on for years. The child tax credit dropped the child poverty rate by 40%. Middle class kids, working class kids, poor kids. It made a huge difference in their lives. We're not doing that, that we're not funding health clinics. We're underfunding the va. People that go to the VA now, it's not just they've laid off doctors and physical therapists and nurses. They've also laid off administrative costs. There aren't people answering the phone as quickly. All the things that you're a frustrated veteran, you can't get the appointment you need because you can't get through on the VA line. Things like that, not to mention what's happening right now with TSA agents, they're not paying, so. So we're spending so much money on tax cuts for the rich and on a war that is so unnecessary. You put those two together and government can make such a positive difference, it would have immense public support across party lines, could make such a positive difference in people's lives.

[A]

You know, I think all of this kind of pointing out where John Husted stands, who he stands with, the ways that he's emboldened some of the least popular parts of this MAGA GOP agenda, that's one thing. But I think it's also important to have, have an affirmative vision for what Democratic leadership could look like if and when Democrats are able to take control. And so what does that look like for you if you're in the US Senate again and Democrats have a majority? And it's obviously gonna be a little different from 20, you know, from 2026 to 2028, while Donald Trump is still president. But what does Democratic control look like if we get to that point? And what could it mean for people in your state if you've got the majority?

[C]

I thank you. I very much appreciate that question. It's displacing people like John Newstead, who was a special interest guy in Columbus and state government and goes to Washington's a special interest guy there. We know who they are. And we have to do a couple things. First, we need a government, we need a House and Senate that's going to build guardrails so these things can't happen again. I was talking to a flight attendant on a plane recently who's based in Columbus, and she said, what, what's going on? Why is all this happening? I said, well, all three branches of government failed. The, the Senate failed, the Senate House failed to do their job, the Judiciary failed to do its job, and the White House has gone beyond anything we've ever seen to do to do its job. So the first thing we do is come back is build guardrails so they can't do that kind of power grab. The second thing we do is hold people accountable for things they've done. But I don't want to spend the next two years making it look like we're just getting even in tit for tat. We need to do affirmative things and things I've thought of, partly because I work for 10 years to get the child tax credit is one of the first things we should do, is pass the child tax credit. 2 million. The families of 2 million children stayed at 12 million in my state, families of 2 million children. So a huge swath of the state benefited immensely from the child tax credit. And it gave poor kids, families of poor kids, it raised them above the poverty line, kind of middle class kids, working class kids that gave their parents, maybe they have a little money to pay school fees so their daughter can play basketball or their son can be in theater or just take their kids to all the things that, that people in this country ought to be able to have if they're working hard and playing by the rules. So that's why we need to do a few things really affirmative, quickly. We passed the House, we passed the Senate. Trump may sign some of them, but if he doesn't, we know whose side people are on. And again, it's not left to write a two sidey on. And we need to show in an affirmative way how we're going to fight for people. It means, you know, un. Canceling the clean energy projects he canceled means a lot of things like that, but we've gotta do something very tangible that people can feel and people can see and something like the child tax credit. There are probably a dozen others that we should move quickly on.

[A]

I think we're at a moment right now where the top 1% controls about $53 trillion in this country, while the bottom 50% control $5 trillion. So a massive wealth disparity in this country happening right now and frankly, it's egged on by the policy that of this Republican Party and this administration, which again, they ran on this idea that they were gonna be champions for the little guy. And all that we've seen thus far is a tax cut that disproportionately benefited the ultra wealthy in this country. So I'm glad to have heard you focus, you know, on the right things and frankly, the things that Republicans pretended to care about when they were running in 2024.

[C]

So with that said, people then cite left like, like you, Brian knew they weren't, but that's what they said. I mean, look at. I wasn't going to get in this race. I thought I was done. I don't want five years from now to look back and say, I wouldn't beat Houston. I didn't try. But on that first day, these billionaires stepped down from their limousines and they walked through the hallowed halls of Congress. I still believe that is that. And they walked in like they owned the place. And it's pretty clear by day two or three or week two or three, that they did own the place and still do. And it sort of begs the question, how much do you need? But the richest people, most powerful people in the country, maybe in the world, they never have enough. They are in power. They never have enough money. And it's up to Congress not, not to help with that. It's up to Congress to change direction. And this, this Senate, in this House with people like John Newstedt, just feed into those special interests by giving them more and more and more and more.

[A]

Well, look, your election is crucial in terms of making that happen. So for folks who are looking to help your campaign, where can they go?

[C]

They can come to sherrodbrown.com we want volunteers, we want dollars, We Want any help you can give? One of the things that's exciting this year is, as I said before, the day I announced, 31,000 people went online and contributed average something like $40 each. But those 31,000, most of them, because we have their names, we're going to be in touch with them. Most of them want to do something else. Maybe they want to stand at the polls to make sure the elections are fair. Maybe they want to hold little parties in their neighborhood and get people registered to vote or to get make sure that it's people that go to no Kings rallies, who often are a little bit older, make sure their children and grandchildren vote. Older people vote in large numbers, young people in lower numbers. And there's a real generational sort of synergism there that we can play. And I'm so optimistic because I've never seen this kind of energy, this kind of. In Texas, for instance, more Democrats vote in the primary than Republicans. I know you've talked about that. Think what that means in a state like that. In Ohio, we're seeing the same energy.

[A]

Yeah, we can absolutely see, you know, the course of history changed here. And frankly, Ohio is ground zero of exactly that. So for folks who are watching and listening right now, if you have the ability to contribute, to volunteer again, I'm gonna put the link to Sherrod Brown's webpage right here on the screen and also in the post description. If you're listening on the podcast, I'll put it in the show notes. Please do whatever you can because if we're able to flip this seat, that means that we will control the US Senate as well. So with that said, Sherrod Brown, thank you so much for taking the time. Best of luck on the campaign trail, Brian.

[C]

Thanks for making a difference for a whole country like you do. Thanks so much.

[A]

Thanks again to Jon Lovett and Sherrod Brown. That's it for this episode. Talk to you on Wednesday. You've been listening to no Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesley and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera. If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five star rating and a review. And as always, you can find me ryanteller Cohen on all of my other channels. Or you can go to briantylercohen.com to learn more.