Epstein Distractions, Columbia’s Big Check, and Tesla Underwhelms

Summary

Pivot Podcast Summary: Epstein Distractions, Columbia’s Big Check, and Tesla Underwhelms

Episode Title: Epstein Distractions, Columbia’s Big Check, and Tesla Underwhelms
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Host: Kara Swisher
Co-Host: Scott Galloway
Description: Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway delve into the latest tech, business, and political stories, offering unfiltered insights, bold predictions, and engaging banter.

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1. Opening Banter and Advertisements (00:00 - 08:04)

The episode kicks off with Kara and Scott exchanging light-hearted banter interspersed with various advertisements. They discuss Mint Mobile's promotional offers, Blinds.com's services, and other sponsor messages, setting a casual tone before delving into the main topics.

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2. Trump's Epstein-Related Distractions (08:04 - 20:35)

Discussion on Donald Trump's Involvement with Jeffrey Epstein:

Kara and Scott delve into the murky association between former President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. They discuss recent revelations that Trump's name appears multiple times in Epstein's files, as reported by AG Pam Bondi. However, Bondi has stated that there is "not warranted further investigation or prosecution" (08:46).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “Yeah, nothing to see here. Go home.” (08:46)
• Kara Swisher: “Nothing to see here. Let’s close down the store.” (08:47)

Trump’s Distraction Tactics:

The hosts analyze Trump's myriad attempts to distract the public from the Epstein scandal. Scott enumerates various distractions Trump has employed, such as taking credit for Stephen Colbert's cancellation, threatening to block the Washington Commanders' stadium deal, and accusing Barack Obama of rigging the 2016 election (08:58 - 10:34).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “I think someone has communicated to Ghislaine Maxwell in prison that if she exonerates the President, she'll get a pardon by the end of his term.” (09:30)
• Kara Swisher: “If you want to go through those distractions first...” (08:35)

Impact on Public Perception:

Kara suggests that Trump's focus on accusing Obama serves as an effective distraction, satisfying his base's cravings for conspiracy theories about a "deep state" (10:34 - 14:33). Scott concurs, highlighting the persistent nature of these distractions and their limited effectiveness in swaying public opinion.

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “They like to let Trump off the hook, that's for sure.” (14:33)
• Scott Galloway: “The fix is already in.” (19:34)

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3. Columbia University’s $200 Million Fine (20:35 - 58:53)

Overview of the Fine:

Kara addresses Columbia University’s agreement to pay a $200 million fine in resolution of the Trump administration’s investigation into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws, particularly surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs (56:06).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “Columbia should be embarrassed by yourselves by what you've done here.” (55:24)
• Scott Galloway: “The government should be funding these educational institutions more than they don't.” (57:25)

Discussion on Government Overreach:

Scott criticizes the Trump administration for targeting individual universities like Columbia instead of implementing systemic reforms. He argues that using federal power to pressure specific institutions undermines the principles of decentralized educational governance.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “This is not how you run a government. It’s not how, it’s socialism.” (52:38)
• Kara Swisher: “The government should not be telling universities what to say, how to operate.” (57:41)

Implications for Higher Education:

The hosts debate the implications of such fines, discussing how they reflect broader governmental attempts to influence university policies. They emphasize the importance of maintaining academic freedom and caution against punitive measures that target institutions rather than addressing systemic issues.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “If you are not growing your freshman class faster than population growth... you should lose your tax-free status.” (56:06)
• Kara Swisher: “These years ago, it was race-based; now it's about economic background.” (55:17)

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4. Tesla’s Disappointing Earnings (58:53 - 34:11)

Tesla’s Financial Decline:

The conversation shifts to Tesla's latest financial reports, highlighting a 16% year-over-year decline in automotive revenue and a 23% drop in adjusted net income, totaling $1.4 billion (27:01). Scott points out the irony of Tesla's struggles compared to Microsoft's stable earnings.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “No automobile company in the world trades at a PE of 180 and has a trillion-dollar market cap.” (27:01)
• Kara Swisher: “I think Elon is about to puke on the earnings call.” (27:24)

Sales Figures:

Sales of Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 have fallen by 12%, and Cybertruck sales have plummeted by 52%, indicating significant challenges in maintaining market momentum (27:02).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “Sales of Model y and Model 3 fell 12%. In Cybertruck, truck sales fell 52%.” (28:00)

Market Valuation Concerns:

Scott expresses concern over Tesla's high valuation amidst declining revenues, suggesting that unless Tesla can reignite growth, its stock may face a substantial crash (27:24 - 29:12).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “At some point, he either has to massively reignite growth or the stock is going to crash.” (29:12)
• Kara Swisher: “It's hard because it's an automotive company.” (27:30)

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5. Elon Musk’s XAI and AI Developments (34:11 - 40:50)

XAI’s Financial Moves:

Elon Musk's AI venture, XAI, is attempting to raise up to $12 billion in debt to secure a massive supply of Nvidia chips for training and powering their AI model, Grog (35:14). Scott criticizes the staggering financial losses XAI is incurring, noting a $13 billion loss and minimal revenues (36:05).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “Elon’s XAI is working to raise up to $12 billion in debt...” (35:14)
• Scott Galloway: “They’re losing $13 billion. It’s like crazy how much money this thing is losing.” (36:05)

SpaceX and Political Ambitions:

The discussion touches on Musk's involvement with SpaceX and hints at potential political ambitions, suggesting that Musk's diversifying interests may be an attempt to maintain Tesla’s limelight amidst financial downturns (36:36).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “SpaceX paperwork sent to investors discussing a tender offer included an interesting risk factor that Elon Musk may return to politics.” (35:36)
• Scott Galloway: “He is the most dangerous person in the world was Peter Thiel.” (36:36)

AI Perception and Valuation:

Scott argues that public perception of AI leadership is critical for Musk to sustain Tesla's trillion-dollar valuation. He suggests that Musk's expenditures on AI developments are attempts to artificially inflate Tesla's market value despite declining automotive revenues (39:22 - 40:50).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “He is doing anything he can to try and figure out a way to establish the perception of AI leadership and wrap it around all of this shit.” (37:00)
• Kara Swisher: “This is a lot... $13 billion he's raising.” (36:36)

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6. AI Action Plan and Copyright Issues (40:50 - 56:47)

Trump’s AI Executive Orders:

Trump announced an AI action plan, signing three executive orders aimed at fast-tracking data center permits, promoting American technology abroad, and banning ideologically based AI systems from federal contracts (40:52).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “President Trump says he's removing the red tape around AI.” (40:50)
• Scott Galloway: “This is nothing but a kind of a long-term transfer of wealth from Los Angeles and New York to Silicon Valley.” (44:28)

Copyright Law Concerns:

Kara critiques Trump’s stance on copyright law, arguing that his executive orders undermine robust copyright protections essential for original creators. Scott concurs, highlighting the negative impact on journalism and intellectual property (43:21 - 47:16).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “You can't put up with this because it's not doable.” (43:21)
• Scott Galloway: “You could have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else... you have to pay.” (43:23)

Implications for Media and AI:

The hosts discuss how relaxed copyright laws could benefit Silicon Valley companies at the expense of traditional media and journalism, further weakening investigative reporting (44:28 - 47:16).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “It is a real argument... Just keep in mind, don't let your kids go into original IP or art...” (44:28)
• Kara Swisher: “The problem is I don't think he's necessarily going to.” (57:41)

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7. Predictions and Final Thoughts (56:47 - 74:16)

Future of Epstein Investigations:

Kara and Scott express skepticism about the Justice Department's intentions, predicting that Ghislaine Maxwell will eventually be pardoned as Trump's term concludes, minimizing the scandal's impact (64:30 - 67:21).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “She's gonna be pardoned 30 to 60 days before the end of his term.” (64:33)
• Kara Swisher: “She's a liar and a sex trafficker.” (63:11)

Donald Trump’s Potential Political Moves:

The hosts speculate on Trump's political maneuvers, including his meeting with Jeff Bezos and potential presidential aspirations. They humorously suggest that Trump might involve himself in personal scandals, further distracting the public (61:06 - 61:29).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “President Trump met with Jeff Bezos at the White House last week in a meeting that lasted over an hour.” (61:06)
• Scott Galloway: “I'm going to run the show. So as we do here, we will.” (71:23)

Broader Reflections on Leadership and Media:

Scott reflects on the lack of competent leadership and criticizes the media's focus on sensationalism over substantive policy discussions. He praises leaders like Sundar Pichai for their competence and low-profile approach, contrasting them with more flamboyant figures like Elon Musk (34:11 - 36:08).

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway: “Competence and the amount of press you get are inversely correlated.” (34:11)
• Kara Swisher: “Sundar is quietly... and he's well spoken.” (34:23)

Call to Action:

Kara urges listeners to focus on the victims of Epstein's crimes rather than the political distractions, emphasizing the importance of addressing the trauma endured by the survivors (63:50 - 65:04).

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “Remember the girls of all of it.” (63:50)
• Scott Galloway: “The Department of Justice... trying to get people to flip and exonerate people more senior than them.” (65:04)

Closing Remarks:

The episode concludes with light-hearted interactions, humorous predictions, and a reinforcement of the main themes discussed. Kara and Scott reiterate the need to prioritize substantive issues over political distractions.

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher: “She’s a horrible, shameful person to do this.” (66:47)
• Scott Galloway: “The time for honoring yourself is at an end.” (66:49)

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Conclusion

In this episode of Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway navigate through complex and controversial topics, including Donald Trump's strategic distractions related to the Epstein scandal, Columbia University's hefty fine for anti-discrimination violations, and Tesla's troubling financial performance. They also scrutinize Elon Musk's ambitious but financially draining AI ventures and critique the broader implications of Trump's AI policies on copyright law and media integrity.

Throughout the discussion, the hosts maintain a balance of critical analysis and sharp wit, underpinned by a deep understanding of the interplay between technology, politics, and business. Their conversation underscores the persistent challenges in addressing high-profile scandals, the unintended consequences of political interference in education and intellectual property, and the precarious state of some leading tech companies.

Key Takeaways:

• Political Distractions: Trump's continuous efforts to divert attention from the Epstein scandal through various public distractions remain ineffective in altering public perception.
• Educational Overreach: Government intervention in university policies, exemplified by Columbia's fine, raises concerns about academic freedom and systemic rather than targeted reforms.
• Tech Industry Struggles: Tesla's declining revenues juxtaposed with its lofty market valuation highlight the volatility and unsustainability within the automotive tech sector.
• AI and Intellectual Property: Trump's AI executive orders potentially undermine robust copyright protections, benefiting Silicon Valley at the cost of traditional media and creative industries.
• Future Predictions: The hosts anticipate further attempts by Trump to minimize the Epstein scandal and suggest that eventual pardons will erode accountability, emphasizing the need to focus on the victims' experiences.

Listeners are encouraged to engage with the content critically, recognizing the broader implications of these discussions on society, governance, and the future of technology.

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For more in-depth analysis and upcoming episodes, subscribe to Pivot on your favorite podcast platform and stay informed with the sharp insights from Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.

Transcript

[Kara Swisher]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it.

[Scott Galloway]

Turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Kara Swisher]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra. See [e-mail], it's not just about window treatments. It's about you. Your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our 100% satisfaction guarantee, everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows. [e-mail], the only thing we treat better than Windows is you. Visit blinds.com now for up to 40% off site wide plus a professional measure at no cost. Rules and restrictions apply. What makes for the perfect summer read? Maybe it's a romance or that non fiction book you've been meaning to get around to. Or maybe it's something else. The summer vibe is like easy, breezy lesbian vampires. That's the vibe?

[Scott Galloway]

No, no, like summer.

[Kara Swisher]

What we read and why we read during the summer. That's this week on Explain It To Me. New episodes every Sunday, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Scott Galloway]

My thoughts are that you've never heard a heterosexual woman use the term bearing wall. I was with a group of women last night that used terms like fractal, laser, brow lift, kegels. But no, I've never heard a straight woman use the term bearing wall.

[Kara Swisher]

Hi everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast network. I'm Kara Swisher and.

[Scott Galloway]

And I'm Scott Galloway.

[Kara Swisher]

Scott, I'm in San Francisco. My beloved San Francisco today.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, really? Why are you there?

[Kara Swisher]

More filming. I ate cell created salmon yesterday.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, really?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

Cool. Yeah. Well, good for you. And what does that supposedly do for you?

[Kara Swisher]

Well, it's just the idea that we have to have healthier foods and they're trying to do all kinds of really interesting lab experiments on how to create food. How do we feed the world health in a healthy way to make them live longer?

[Scott Galloway]

We give poor people more money.

[Kara Swisher]

That's correct. That's the other way to do. But there's not enough.

[Scott Galloway]

There's my virtue signaling kicking in.

[Kara Swisher]

Anyway, it's got. Where are you right now?

[Scott Galloway]

I'm in Chicago. I'm at the Soho House, Chicago.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh wow. You're like one fantastic hotel after the next.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, the Soho House is always just a decent plan B. I, my son is coming, my 14 year old. You know, once a year I try and take a trip with them just solo and I tell them they can go wherever I want. And he picked Chong Choy, I guess some city in China that's supposed to be something out of a video game. And I said, okay, can't do that. And then he said, Chicago. He's never been to Chicago. So we have a great 14 year old day to tomorrow. Tonight we're going to Gibson's, which is supposed to be the best steakhouse in the world. Tomorrow we're going to for breakfast to have the, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the deepest dish pizza in the world for breakfast. And then we're going of course to the McDonald's Museum, or as I like to call it, the Museum of Colorectal Cancer.

[Kara Swisher]

It's actually cool. It's actually cool.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm sure. And then we do what every 14 year old must do in every city. We're going to the tallest building to look at the rest of the city according to the observation deck.

[Kara Swisher]

May I make some suggestions? One thing I would suggest. I know this sounds crazy, but he would love it. There's an architectural tour on the river.

[Scott Galloway]

I did it a month ago with my older son. It's great. We're going to do bikes instead along the river.

[Kara Swisher]

That's great. And of course get yourself a wiener.

[Scott Galloway]

I've got one. Her name's Kara.

[Kara Swisher]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you meant a Chicago dog. Yeah, you can go to. There's lots of places, obviously. The famous one is Wiener Circle, which we almost went to, but there's a bunch of them. Right. Probably where you're staying, right there.

[Scott Galloway]

I didn't realize you knew so much about Chicago.

[Kara Swisher]

I love Chicago. I love Chicago. It's one of my favorite places. And Louis had a summer program there, cooking, there's a cooking school there. And so I went and got. I've spent a lot of time in Chicago, I have a lot of friends.

[Scott Galloway]

And, oh, I'm being interviewed by David Pogue today somewhere talking about how do we reinvigorate the tech scene in Chicago, which I've given a lot of thought To. Because I take my speaking engagements very seriously.

[Kara Swisher]

Are you hanging out with the Obamas?

[Scott Galloway]

The Obamas live here.

[Kara Swisher]

No, I don't think they do. They're from there. Sometimes they do. I think they're there sometimes. He's in the middle of stuff. We'll talk about that in a minute. Anyway, that's great. Where are you going next? Where's your next situation?

[Scott Galloway]

I go to Manhattan on Saturday. And then.

[Kara Swisher]

And then you see me.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh. Oh, yeah. And I'm excited about it. What are we putting in? Aren't we like, injecting the cells of some small Indian boy from a remote village, thinking it'll make us younger again?

[Kara Swisher]

Yes. That's weird.

[Scott Galloway]

No, I'm thick black hair and start doing better on the sat. There's. That is so racist in so many ways.

[Kara Swisher]

It's terrible.

[Scott Galloway]

But it's awful. Just awful. I spoke at the Aspen Institute yesterday. Speaking of, like, I could not be any wider.

[Kara Swisher]

Right now.

[Scott Galloway]

I am translucent.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, are you? What do you mean?

[Scott Galloway]

No? I have never seen an auditorium full of more 60 year old men and 58 year old women trying to keep them on the porch by doing Pilates 11 times a day. God, it's literally.

[Kara Swisher]

It's like festival. Is it the festival? Is it the five festival?

[Scott Galloway]

Aspen might as well be like sponsored by aloe and Lululemon. And it's like, do any of these women wear anything but athleisure?

[Kara Swisher]

Oh my God. You totally nailed it.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. It's really so true.

[Kara Swisher]

Is that the festival? Did you go to the festival? We were supposed to do it together and I declined.

[Scott Galloway]

I want to go every year. It's like, there's a few things I want to do every year and they always come on weird times. I never end up doing them. The Aspen Festival for some reason, comes at a weird time. It's the end of the kids school year. Every year I plan to go to Burning Man. My criteria are very simple. I wanna camp with a chef and tons of Russian hookers. And those exist. But it comes at a weird time. Cause that's the beginning of the kids school year. And the other one is every year I plan to go to the Milken Institute. And it comes at a weird time.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, and then you don't. And Aspen Festival too. They wanted us to do live pivot there and someday we'll do it. Well, you always say, no, I'm not going. Why would I go there?

[Scott Galloway]

You know, why would I do that? I'm gonna be dead soon. Why would I do that?

[Kara Swisher]

We get Asked, just. No. We get asked a whole lot by people to come to do a live pivot in different places. Scott. I always am like, oh, sure. Because I love spending time with Scott. And Scott. So he's like, why should I do that? Are they going to bring me something? A large pile of money or whatever? It happens to be whatever you want, you know?

[Scott Galloway]

Okay, hold on. It's not because you want to spend time with me. It's because you have no sense of the finite nature of life and health and you're like a carry on bag. It's easy for you to travel. When I travel, it means lower back pain and I bang my head on an overhead. I can't sleep. I end up taking Xanax and up till four in the morning thinking about the series of bad decisions that led me to a place where nobody loves me. That's how I start thinking, you need.

[Kara Swisher]

To put some aloe on in Lululemon. That's what needs to happen.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, that's. I need Athleisure.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. Those people have a good life, I guess, if that's the life you want to have anyway.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, my God.

[Kara Swisher]

I know, but I don't. I totally don't envy them, though, I have to say. I don't.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, really?

[Kara Swisher]

I wouldn't.

[Scott Galloway]

I think they've got it figured out. Kara.

[Kara Swisher]

I don't want to be a person. I don't. Anyway.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, really?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. No, it just seems empty and a lot. Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

But as far as empty, meaningless experiences go, it's pretty good.

[Kara Swisher]

That's true. That's true.

[Scott Galloway]

It's better than a lot of empty, meaningless experiences. You know, it's like sex with strange women. It's like a series of empty, meaningless experiences that are pretty good. As far as empty meaning, meaningless experiences go. I'm Chicago. I need to find a men's room and get in trouble and start a scandal here. I have a wide stance. I have a wide stance. But you know what? I'm not even gonna get head from some stranger at o'.

[Kara Swisher]

Hare.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm do it at Midway. I'm gonna do it at Midway just to bring the whole brand down.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay.

[Scott Galloway]

Bancoff will say, okay, if you'd had. If you'd performed illicit acts at o', hare, I would have gotten it. But Midway. That's a bridge too far. That's a bridge too far.

[Kara Swisher]

We've got a lot to get to today, including Trump's AI action plan and Tesla and Alphabet's earnings. But first, Elon Musk was right. Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. Not a really big surprise. But Trump was reportedly informed by AG Pam Bondi back in May that his name appears multiple times in the files. Probably quite a lot. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bondi says not warranted further investigation or prosecution. Another obscene news. The federal judge in Florida denied a DOJ request to release the grand jury transcripts. Of course, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena the DOJ for Epstein files hours before the House adjourned for early early for its summer recess. Mike Johnson did this on purpose so they didn't have to keep voting on the Epstein situation.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, nothing to see here. Go home.

[Kara Swisher]

Nothing to see here. Let's close down the store. The committee has subpoenaed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Of course, it's another very performative thing with the number two person at the Justice Department is taking his time to go talk to her, probably today. We're gonna get to Trump's latest distraction maneuvers in a minute, which Scott talked about. And boy, did he land a big one. Another bearing wall of the MAGA movement around President Obama. But let's first talk about where things stand with Trump and Epstein. Is there anything that he can do to stop the drip, drip at this point? Is it an opportunity for Democrats and we'll go through. If you wanna go through those distractions first. Distractions is one way, but what else? And then we. To the distractions.

[Scott Galloway]

I think it's already underway. I think somebody has communicated to Jalaine Maxwell in prison that if she exonerates the President, she'll get a pardon by the end of his term. I think it's already underway.

[Kara Swisher]

It makes it worse though, right? Correct. Doesn't that make it even more.

[Scott Galloway]

I don't. I don't know. I think his base. I think if she quote, unquote. I mean, think about how ridiculous this is. All of a sudden they've decided they might want to speak to Jalaine Maxwell. I mean, think about it. That just dawned on the Attorney General's office that maybe they should go speak to her. So it's been, in my opinion, just logic has said, okay, if you provide us with information or credible information or just basically say he was there, but make it believable like he was there, but he never engaged in anything like that. Before the end of the term, wink, wink, you're going to be back in Long island or wherever she's from. And will it get worse? I don't know. His base seems to want. I can't. I don't feel as if I really understand his base at all. And I've been more wrong on this than right and you've been more right on this than wrong. So I'll throw it back to you. What do you think is going on here?

[Kara Swisher]

I think he's not going away. I think he's sort of. I think the Obama thing, which we'll talk about in a second, is the smart one. Because if there's two things this group is enamored with, which is that there was a Russian hoax to stop, you know, the election was stolen, but I'm not sure which one is a bigger bearing wall for this group, the Epstein stu, and they're intertwined in the idea of a deep state. So it's hard to know if this one will work and especially when it's being led by such an idiot like Chelsea Gabbard. Let's talk about these distractions. You said last week we should track his attempts to distract the public in a media from Epstein. Let's go into what he's been up to, most of which is pointless and doesn't work. Taking credit for Stephen Colbert's cancellation and sending a warning to the View. I think that's a nothing Burger threatening to block a deal for the Washington Commander's new stadium if the team doesn't go back to the old name. I'm not even sure he can do that. Another nothing burger releasing over 230,000 pages of files related to MLK's assassination. Again, I think that came and went. Visiting the Federal Reserve. Another came and went. They're also proposing to rename the Kennedy Center's Opera House after Melania Trump. I don't even understand that. But the one that seems to be the big one is Trump accusing former President Barack Obama of committing treason, claiming he rigged the 2016 election, which is also, as I said, a bearing wall of the MAGA movements conspiracy theories. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week that it's time to go after people calling out Obama, Biden, Comey and others. He cited declassified materials recently released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, which seemed to fall apart on initial scrutiny. Gabbard says the documents detail a years long coup by Obama's intelligence officials against Trump. Obama is finally pushing back. I actually talked to people with him and I was like, are you finally going to say something because I told you he was coming here. His spokesman described Trump's comments as bizarre allegations and called this a ridiculous and weak attempt at distraction. I think it's not a weak attempt. I think it's actually a strong attempt at distraction and probably the only one that has any legs. Your thoughts, Scott, you are 100% right about all these distractions.

[Scott Galloway]

Of course, my thoughts are that you've never heard a heterosexual woman use the term bearing wall. I was with a group of women last night. They used terms like fractal laser, brow lift, kegels. But no, I've never heard a straight woman use the term bearing wall. Could you be a bigger lesbian? I'm in San Francisco and every metaphor is as a construction term, bearing wall.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, you got my point, didn't you? Did I make my point?

[Scott Galloway]

No. It makes sense. It's why you are the pillar. Lean into it. Lean into you. Like you. Foundation.

[Kara Swisher]

Foundation.

[Scott Galloway]

I think Obama. I would have thought Obama was nearly bulletproof. Again, these distractions are becoming so. They're so ridiculous. And yet every day I turn on CNBC or CNN or Fox and they're just going for it. They're like, wherever he takes us, we'll take the bait. I would have thought that Obama, at this point, these types of allegations would only, I don't know, hurt, undermine his credibility. I think on this stuff you just get it more than I do. You think this is going to work or you think that it's going to be in the short term effect?

[Kara Swisher]

I don't know. I do think it's the right one if you're looking for a distraction. That's all I'm saying. It's the right distraction. Because I don't think anyone cares about JFK anymore. I think some people do. I don't think anyone cares about M Lk. I don't think anyone cares about Melania Trump or the Commanders. He's not gonna follow through. And I don't think his fights with Rosie o' Donnell or the View or whatever matter. I don't think this animates these people. What does animate these people is the rigging of the 2016 election thing. This does satisfy them. It scratches their itch. And I don't know if it scratches their itch more than Epstein. That's the thing that I don't. I'm not sure which one animates them more. They like to let Trump off the hook, that's for sure.

[Scott Galloway]

So, yeah, I mean, I'm waiting for what? The next distraction. At some point he's gonna release a sex tape of him and Charlie Kirk.

[Kara Swisher]

It's just, ew.

[Scott Galloway]

Say my name, Chuck, say my name is now in my head teeing off hole number four. Five heads bearing wall. I don't got a lot going on today. I don't have a lot of insight. So I'm going very dirty. I don't know. Look, this is. No, okay. These guys are coming from the same cloth. My Tesla earnings are fucked. So I'm going to launch a diner. I mean, the art of distraction here, as Don Draper once told a client, if you don't like what's being said, change the conversation. And this is the mother of all that every day. And I've said this before, I think there are three or four. They have great communications people in a room with AI saying, with this massive prompt around something that doesn't. The maximum amount of distraction to the minimum amount of damage to Trump and maximum amount of damage to his enemies. So the Obama thing, AI came back and said, accused Obama of being involved in the Russia hoax. This is all brought to you by AI and every day it's the same thing. Look over here, the term I use is we're at the Nuremberg trials and someone on trial whips out the kazoo hoping that everyone forgets why exactly we're there and what they did and it's not working. I feel as if these things are creating a lot of noise, but maybe they are a bit of a distraction. But it feels like everyone is, you know, the general public, including Republicans, it's like a dog on a soup bone. They're just not letting it go on.

[Kara Swisher]

The Epstein because it is also part and parcel of the same conspiracy theories. I just interviewed Donee from CNN and Julie K. Brown, who actually broke the original Epstein. She's the Miami Report reporter, Miami reporter who did that. And one of the things, she's the.

[Scott Galloway]

Hero in all of this.

[Kara Swisher]

She is, she is. And she's been banging away at this for years. And one of the things she did say, though, is that things, I mean, donate from CNN is amazing. He covers conspiracy theories. He's like, he couldn't tell which one will work. But these two are intertwined. This idea of a deep state, right, that's at the heart of both of these conspiracy theories, essentially, is that there's a deep state, there's a cabal, there's a group, there's always a cabal. In the Epstein case, which I hadn't thought it had vague anti Semitic attacks because Epstein was Jewish. And there's all kinds of that idea, Israel is in there, and different things like that. I think Trump has to be very careful about what he does around Ghislaine Maxwell. Right. Because if he lets her off or if there's any hint that he's letting her off, he looks like he's been taken in. The other thing he's got to watch out for is that he's relying on Tulsi Gabbard, who's such a sloppy, terrible national intelligence. The stuff she's putting out is so easily, provably wrong that it creates strength. I do think it's. The press should take whatever they're saying seriously and look into it no matter what. Right. Okay, let's show us the stuff. We're gonna do the reporting and then likely overturn it. Right. But I don't think it does any. Even if it's coming from a clown like Tulsi Gabbard, it's not something the press shouldn't say. Okay, you're saying this. Let's go through just like they did with the drawing, et cetera. It's like, okay, you say you don't draw, you draw. Right. That kind of stuff. Just do reporting on all this stuff. I do think Epstein has longer legs than anything. Even this stolen election stuff. I think they are just. It has so many elements of what works in a conspiracy theory. I don't know about Obama. You're right. I thought he was untouchable. I thought he should have said something way before this and weakened Trump long ago, as you know. But he's gonna now be on his back foot on this Stu. Because how do you push, you know, when did you stop beating your wife, sir? Kind of thing.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Force them to deny it. But just. The only thing, the only wrinkle I would add or nuance is that I think the fix is already in. I think someone has already communicated to Ghislaine Maxwell that if she says she's going to have to give testimony and it's going to be on the record, and if by chance that the truth comes out that the President was a friend but was not involved in any of this, that who knows what might happen by the end of your term. Wink, wink. And at the end of his term, at Trump's term, when he pardons Jillian Maxwell, which is what I think is going to happen after she gives. After she lies and says he was not involved in anything, he's an obese octogenarian who has no love in his life, that generally speaking means you're going to die soon. I think biology is going to take care of Donald Trump. I said the most dangerous person in the world was Peter Thiel. But anyways, I don't think he cares. I think the fix is already in. And what are they going to do to the guy when he's 83 and they're like, oh my God, he's pardoned Ghislaine Maxwell and this is outrageous. What the fuck is he going to care? Why would he care?

[Kara Swisher]

Yep, that's an excellent point.

[Scott Galloway]

The fix is already in.

[Kara Swisher]

He's gotten away with it.

[Scott Galloway]

Why have they all of a sudden figured out it'd be a good idea to talk to Ghislaine Maxwell?

[Kara Swisher]

Well, one is cause she committed perjury, I believe. And she also has not really. I mean, one of the things that Julie was pointing out and I think quite correctly is Ghislaine Maxwell is as culpable as Epstein in this. She was an equal predator to him though. You know, he had the dramatic death, but she was part and parcel to the. This pair that, you know, the Bonnie and Clyde pedophiles essentially. And she was just as culpable. And so I think letting her off is a little stronger than that because she's not like some bystander. She has not cooperated, she has not said things. She's been found to lie. I think letting her off will stick to Trump in a way that maybe is not. I don't think he cares. I think you're right.

[Scott Galloway]

If you're 83 and about to die and all you got is maybe seven more rounds of golf, what the fuck do you care what sticks to what doesn't? All he cares about is getting off this topic right now. That's it.

[Kara Swisher]

What would be a strong distraction? Any ideas?

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, gosh, I have no idea. I mean, I did not see. We can't change the name to the Washington commanders coming. I didn't see. I mean the most ridiculous trade deal, by the way, the trade deal with Japan is we, we've absolutely ceded advantage to Japanese automakers on the announcement of this new quote unquote big framework. Japanese automakers soared 12 to 18%. They're desperate to just do anything. I think it'll mostly his biggest weapon right now because it gets a lot of attention is something around Powell, something around tariffs. But you're right, if he comes up with three or four new accusations each day on the Obama.

[Kara Swisher]

Because Clinton can't really beat that horse anymore, right?

[Scott Galloway]

The Clinton missed email Hillary emails. I don't.

[Kara Swisher]

I think even their target, I think Obama's a much better target for him in that regard. We'll see if it works though, because Obama's got his own skills. Let's just say anyway. Okay, Scott, let's go on a quick break. When we come back, Elon's warning after Tesla's disappointing earnings support for pivot comes from DeleteMe. Right now, the headlines are chock full of data breaches and regulatory rollbacks that are making us all vulnerable. But you can do something about it with the help of DeleteMe, DeleteMe can make it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online. At a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. They send you regular personalized privacy reports showing what info they found, where they found it, and what it removed. I have used Delete Me and I have to say it's really shocking how much information of mine is out there. I am a very careful person around privacy and putting up information. I often put up incorrect information. But it's a really difficult thing to find out how much is out there and how it is coordinated together in a way that could be very problematic for you. I have not had my information stolen, but others have, including my mom, and it was really hard to pull it back. But you really need to take control of your data and keep your private life private. By signing up for Delete Me Me now at a special discount for our listeners, Pivot can get you 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com pivot and use the promo code Pivot at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com pivot and enter the code PIVOT at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com pivot CodePivot.

[Scott Galloway]

Fox Creative this.

[Kara Swisher]

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Burden was being lifted. It's an exhilarating feeling knowing they really care. Or like Tricia, who was struggling to manage over 50 medications for her family of eight. CVS Caremark helped to make those medications affordable and accessible. With a big family like mine and with all the conditions, it's been extremely affordable for us. I can't say enough good things about CVS Caremark. CVS Caremark makes getting people the medication they need part of every story because every member deserves their healthier ever after. I would never want to switch anywhere else. Interested in more affordable care for your members? Go to CMK Co Stories to learn how we help you provide the support and access your members need. Support for Pivot comes from LinkedIn. From talking about sports, discussing the latest movies, everyone is looking for a real connection to the people around them. But it's not just person to person, it's the same connection that's needed in business. And it can be the hardest part about being marketing finding the right people, making the right connections. But instead of spending hours and hours scavenging social media feeds, you can just tap LinkedIn ads to reach the right professionals. According to LinkedIn, they have grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals, making it stand apart from other ad buys. You can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills and company revenue, giving you all the professionals you need to reach in one place. So you can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience and start targeting the right professionals only on LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn will even give you $100 credit on your next campaign, so you can try it for yourself. Just go to LinkedIn.com pivotpod that's LinkedIn.com pivotpod Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn AD Scott, we're back with more news. Time for a quick roundup of earnings. First up, Tesla is on Musk said Tesla could quote probably have a few rough quarters, unquote. You think? Elon after the company's latest earnings, the Musk Company reported a 16% year over year decline in automotive revenue, which is hard because it's an automotive company. Adjusted net income fell 23% to 1.4 billion. It makes Twitter look like a great business. Sales of Model y and Model 3 fell 12%. In Cybertruck, truck sales fell 52%. I mean, that's gone right through the ground. I'll just mention the others. Alphabet's Overall revenue grew 14% year over year, but the company increased its capital expenditures forecast by $10 billion, citing demand for its cloud products. Revenue for Alphabet's cloud computing business increased 32%. That was impressive. Finally, I had a many year ago discussion with Sundar Pichai about why they're not in the cloud computing business as much as they were a long time ago. And they seem to be right there. They're all pushed by obviously AI and stuff. For gm, the auto company said its profits fell by more than a third in the second quarter due to tariffs costing the company over a billion. And as Scott pointed out, that it's going to get hit further with this Japanese deal. Scott, any thoughts on any of these?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, you covered the, I mean, Tesla's earnings again, no automobile company in the world trades at a PE of 180 and has a trillion dollar market cap. And at the same time their revenues are declining faster than any automobile company in the world. And Musk knows those two do not stay in unison for very long. At some point he either has to massively reignite growth or the stock is going to crash and it feels like.

[Kara Swisher]

The market of some sort or say.

[Scott Galloway]

Xai or announcing a diner or we're not a car company, we're doing robots. The fact that he opened this diner just days before these earnings came out is again, no accident. I'm not exaggerating. 48 hours ago, when it came out, I said to Ed Elson on property markets, I said, said that means he's about to puke on the earnings call and he's trying to get everyone to look away. Their revenues are down 12%. The bright spot was their services or their supercharging station. But this thing's trading at a trillion dollar valuation and it's declining faster than Renault. I mean, there's no car company in the world that's posting these numbers this bad. On a more meta level, I think what's happened here, I think 2025 will be the year that late night TV turned out the lights. And also I think this is the year where we kind of officially seed anything resembling leadership the automotive industry. I think the automotive industry now in the US is on a kind of the Green Mile death march. And what do you have? You have our national champion, Tesla, which was worth more than the rest of the automobile industry combined, starting to throw up. And they released the worst product car product of the year, the cybertruck. They're grasping at straws right now saying we're AI, we're this. So that is a huge blow to the American automobile industry because Tesla was the, the national champion. And then the traditional player, General Motors, just announced that their earnings were taken down by a billion dollars because of tariffs. And then you have Japanese car companies, I Love that. Trump announces it's a big victory that they won't charge any tariffs on our cars going into Japan. Okay, let's just talk about what a give that is. We buy about $54 billion of the Japanese cars in the U.S. do you know how many? Do you know the dollar volume of cars the Japanese buy from US$26,2 billion, right?

[Kara Swisher]

What is it?

[Scott Galloway]

A few Japanese billionaires buy Escalades? That's it. We don't sell. The Japanese want nothing to do with our cars. This trade agreement is going to keep flat or lower the tariffs coming to the US So what do you have? You have more pressure from amazing manufacturers, specifically Japanese manufacturers. You have our national champion going into the shitter. And you have our old guard General Motors announcing that these tariffs are really hurting them. And then if you want validation of just how bad this deal is for America, the ultimate neutral arbiter that absorbs millions of points of lights and is not politicized, it's totally focused on fear and greed, is the markets. And what happened in the market when these tariffs, this Japanese big, beautiful deal was announced yesterday? Toyota was up 16 or 17%.

[Kara Swisher]

Right, right. As usual. And he's made it worse. He's made it worse. If he's talking about protecting manufacturing here, he's decided not to protect them. Actually making it worse for them. What about Alpha Bank?

[Scott Galloway]

It staggering. And I'm talking my own book here. Every year I make a big tech stock pick and it's based on valuation and okay, the existential threat, you know, quote unquote search is being undermined by AI search revenue. Search revenue grew 12%. There's search, there's company. This quote unquote technology that's supposedly being disrupted by AI, it grew double digits. YouTube up 13%. Cloud up 32%. They have five different businesses that could be independent companies. And they have search, an unbelievable display ad network, YouTube subscriptions, and seven products that have over 2 billion users. Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Chrome, play store and YouTube. And now their new growth vehicle is Waymo, which is by far the most dominant autonomous player with more than 100 million total miles logged on on public roads. In addition, this company trade at, I think the average S and P company trades at a PE multiple of 26. So Google, which is growing faster than the S and P, much faster and has this incredible, incredible leadership, is cheaper than the average S and P company. And pick your average S and P company. I always say it's Dow Chemical or P and G. Great companies call them the average would you rather have autonomous and YouTube than, you know, hide? I mean this company relative. The existential threat or the overhang of the existential threat of AI has been vastly exaggerated at Alphabet. And then if you look at the IP they have and the investments they're making and they announced massive capex here that you know, they're just going to, they're going to, they're like we're going to get there just on money. They've announced that they're increasing their capex up to 85 billion from 75, Microsoft is at 80, Meta's between 64 and 72 and Amazon is up to 100 billion. But if you want to talk about capex going into AI, you know, a lot of Amazon capex goes into boring shit like, like, you know, like distribution centers and planes and things. So what do you have? You have unbelievable businesses that continue to grow. You have the, probably some of the deepest IP around AI. You have a cloud business growing 33% a year and a company that's trading at a lower multiple than the S and P. So anyway, I'm very bullish.

[Kara Swisher]

I would agree. One of the things everyone's focuses so much on, Mark Zuckerberg overpaying for talent. I would look at Google. I think he's going to maybe blow the money in that regard in terms of catching up. He thinks he can do it by this brute force research essentially.

[Scott Galloway]

Are you talking about Sundar?

[Kara Swisher]

Sundar is quietly. He has a lot of businesses to pull levers on, as you note. And I think they have a better story than the sort of flashy jazz hands version that Meta is doing, which is stealing talent all over the place like Cinder is.

[Scott Galloway]

I've been thinking a lot about. They asked me at this thing last night who should run for president or who would you like to see as president. And I said I think competence. We're entering an age where competence and the amount of press you get are inversely correlated. And that is, I think one of the most accretive actions for the quality of life of Americans would be a president like Michael Bennett who lacks the charisma to be in your face and in the news cycle every day. I think I spend easily an hour a day thinking about or having Trump rent free in my brain. And I hate to admit it, but just a competent, you know, good governance is really fucking boring and doesn't get headlines and really competent leaders don't feel a need to be attention merchants and want you to have time to focus on your kids and Your relationships and making money. And Sundar Pichai is that kind of CEO. He's not out there like Musk or even. Yeah, they're just like, I'm just gonna do the boring shit that moves the needle. I don't need press. I don't need to be in your face every day. I don't to virtue signal and talk about not working with this company. These guys aren't jonesing for the camera every fucking day or in your face every day.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, Yeah. I was like, shut the fuck up. And you see a Sundar not doing that. You see a satya not doing that. I mean, they give interviews, but it's very typical, right? It's the typical rather than the sort of jazz hands, performative stuff.

[Scott Galloway]

Do you remember during COVID when we did those series of specials, special webinars or podcasts, and Sundar came on. Yeah. I think his kid was coming in the room. He kept looking over and like, waving people off his kid or his comms person saying, get off of the bering wall, bitch. She's gonna make us look bad.

[Kara Swisher]

You're gonna use. Let me just tell you prediction. Your next appearance in Aspen with the ladies of Aloe, you'll use the word bearing wall. I swear to God. You know, you are. You've said it so much. You're like, oh, that was good.

[Scott Galloway]

They love. They're up and they're like, why won't the Democrats listen to you? And I'm like, well, hello, what's here surname? I think we have the same dermatologist. Let's go to San Ambrose. Would you like. Would you like to take a hike with me tomorrow?

[Kara Swisher]

No. No one wants to take a hike with you. And you don't hike. I can't imagine you hiking, but okay.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm young and good looking for Aspen. Most of the guys there are literally like, too much time in the sun. You are made a lot of money, but you didn't spend enough on sunblock.

[Kara Swisher]

Those guys anyway. Speaking of which, Elon's XAI is working to raise up to $12 billion in debt for a massive supply of Nvidia chips to help train and power Grog. Valor Equity Partners, whose founder has close ties to has been working with lenders Secure capital to lease the chips for the company. This is a big fucking play. First of all, Musk doesn't partner with anybody like OpenAI and the others anthropic. Secondly, they're losing $13 billion. It's like crazy how much money this thing is losing. And almost no Revenues and they're raising the money. And by the way, speaking of which, is money making thing over at SpaceX, paperwork sent to investors discussing a tender offer included an interesting risk factor that El. Elon Musk may return to politics. This feels like.

[Scott Galloway]

I love that. I hope so. He's running on the Hot Topic ticket.

[Kara Swisher]

I know, but one of the things is this is a lot. The $13 billion he's raising. 12. I mean it's always good to bet on Elon, but I was like, this guy's a high wire act of all high wire acts here around everything he's doing. And then over at SpaceX, which we would assume would be his seed corn, his bearing wall, so to speak, he's really kicking it in the foundations in a lot of ways with this political stuff.

[Scott Galloway]

I don't, I don't think he has any choice. If you look at it, the guy's a brilliant guy. And the reason he's the wealthiest. There's a myth, and I hate it when usually venture capitalists or entrepreneurs say this. They get on stage and someone references their wealth or money or the stock price and they say, you know, I never really thought about money. I just wanted to build something great. These guys would fuck their sister for a nickel. These guys are obsessed, obsessed with money. And let me be clear, if you want to have a lot of money, you need to be thinking about it all the time. Roger Federer thinks about tennis a lot. You have to be. And I think young people, I love it when they talk about stocks. I try to be very open and transparent about my investments and how much money I've made or lost. You need to be financially literate. And this guy understands the relationship between the means of production, revenues, profits. And also in an era of perception where essentially the multiple you get on whatever revenues you have is purely a function of the perception of you as an innovator. And this is where he has, between SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter, he has about $1.4 trillion in value. The lion's share of that is $1 trillion in value from Tesla. And he looks at it and goes, goes. This is a $50 billion company pretending to be a trillion dollar market cap company. The only thing he can do to possibly keep that trillion dollar balloon from bursting is two words. First is a second is I. So he is doing anything he can to try and figure out a way to establish the perception of AI leadership and wrap it around all of this shit. So he is not afraid to spend. He has the only way say this his Empire stays worth $1.4 trillion and he maintains his status as the wealthiest man in the world is to figure out a way for Tesla to get some perception or to get wrapped in an AI glove so he doesn't care what it costs. And 13 billion. Tesla was down what, 7%? Tesla lost 70 billion yesterday after their earnings. So 13 billion. He can't spend money fast enough. If someone comes in and says, you know, I think this will give us a slight little bit of little AI juju, but it's going to cost a billion dollars and I have no idea if it's going to work. Green light it. Green light it. He has to get the AI veneer over this $1.35 trillion enterprise that is worth SpaceX, I believe is worth 350 billion. Tesla 50. Twitter 10. I mean, he, all he's thinking about is how do I keep Tesla in the limelight? And the only thing he can do again is the AI Botox, brow lift, fractal laser here.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, I know. The thing is, with SpaceX, I think Trump can still do damage to it. Even though they said we can't live without it. I think they're trying to figure out a way to live without it. Right now they're on that path. And so that's even. And especially if he returns into US policy politics. And it will be loudly, by the way, so we'll take focus off of it and that'll be a problem. And by the way, Peter Thiel is back spending money on politics, which you said he was getting out of quietly. Right. Speaking of quiet confidence, that's what he's doing where nothing is at risk. But I don't think Musk can resist himself. I think he's just the most high wire act I've ever seen. And in some ways, I don't want to use the term admirable, but it's like cheat. When I saw that number, I was like, Jesus, this guy. Guy's good luck. I don't know if it's the galaxy, what number? The number he's the $13 billion in losses. Like, wow, he just isn't. He's playing all, you know, the sort of, this game that he's playing is really high level in a way that's I would never do. It's terrifying. But this is him, this is the way he is and he's going to go down in flames, or probably he'll go down in flames. But ultimately it's really quite astonishing to watch it. And I think you're right. The valuations are way off of what they actually will be, and at some point they'll come down to ear. All right, Scott, let's go on a quick break. We come back, Trump says he's removing the red tape around AI.

[Scott Galloway]

Fox Creative.

[Kara Swisher]

This is advertiser content from Adobe. As the chief marketing officer for a tech company, I lead a team that makes fresh content on a daily basis. But this month has been particularly nuts because we're planning a conference. There are dozens of people working together on all the documents, slides, posters, flyers, and merchandise. Fortunately, our event marketer is the best in the business, and she said two words, Adobe Express. Adobe Express has been a lifesaver. Brand kits have kept everything consistent. Templates mean whatever content we need to create look slick and professional from the start. An easy syncing of assets means that anytime a change comes in, like a last minute swap out of our new app logo, I know that every team member will instantly have access to the latest version. That way, I know when the curtain goes up, isn't that new logo gorgeous? Everything will go off without a hitch. Adobe Express, the quick and easy app to create on brand content. Learn [e-mail] Express Business Tipping Culture is out of control. Yesterday, I tipped someone just for handing me a napkin. So when hotels.com gives me up to 20% off for being a member, I finally get tipped. And you know what? It feels good. Hotels.com members save up to 20% off at hundreds of thousands of hotels. Scott. We're back with more news. Trump says he's removing the red tape around AI. The President spoke about his AI action plan, signed three executive orders at a summit hosted by the All In Podcast in Washington this week. I wonder why they didn't invite us. The orders aim to fast track permitting for data centers, which. Okay. Promote American technology abroad. Okay. And ban ideologically based AI systems from federal contracting. That's just stupid. But a little, little meat for his base. One other thing Trump thinks is holding AI back copyright law incredibly. Let's. So he's kicked one industry in the, in the nuts. So let's listen to a clip. You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else that you've read.

[Scott Galloway]

Or studied, studied, you're supposed to pay.

[Kara Swisher]

For, gee, I read a book, I'm supposed to pay somebody. And you know, we, we appreciate that, but you just can't do it because it's not doable. Okay. This is amazing. I thought that was amazing. I thought the, the whole thing was Kind of ridiculous hand wavy stuff. And it was sort of basic basics of like, yes, we could have less circulation. But it essentially was Silicon Valley getting back its money for spending on Trump. That's what it looked like. And then he also went off script a number. He talked about trans athletes, he talked about tariffs, he talked about everything. But it look like Silicon Valley was getting its bit. David Sacks was sort of the leader of that. He's on the all in podcast. But that to me, it was sort of a nothing burger. I think a lot of people didn't pay attention to it. It was very showy. But essentially his minions in tech getting the payback for what they've gotten. I don't think there was anything here except for the copyright law, which showed an astonishing lack of, of knowledge about the real problem here. So he's sort of giving the green light for tech to do what it did before. What are your thoughts?

[Scott Galloway]

I see this as nothing but a kind of a long term transfer of wealth from Los Angeles and New York to Silicon Valley. And that is if late night TV could go back in time, they would have partnered with every other high end TV show and said, we can't have YouTube crop. We've all got to bind together and license it for more money. Because Basically, basically with YouTube I can go see the best two minutes of Colbert and I don't have to endure 22 minutes of advertising through the hour. So they're basically. And they let them do it. And the time to stop it would have been 10 or 15 years ago. And effectively what they're saying here is they're going back in time and saying, okay, they're opting for Facebook's right or Google's right to crawl ip, slice it, dice it, and to a certain extent probably make more shareholder value than the traditional media companies have been able to do. The problem is that journalism is weakening. An industry that employs more people is weakening. So it's disruption, but it's also all right. What is the incentive to do good work and create original IP into investigative journalism if the asset light companies that don't have to hire people or hire gaffers or sound people can just come in and crawl our data. And they claim that you couldn't do this? Well, actually the music industry has figured out a way to do it. Every radio station in America can crawl any song and then play it, but they pay a small fee, like probably a quarter of a cent. And every year they send a check to a royalty or an artist group that then says, okay, Madonna, here's your check for $685,000 from the radio stations in the Southeast. So they could have figured out, in my opinion, this is him. Now, this is payback for Silicon Valley, who said, we want to continue to crawl and molest other people's data that they've spent money on, that they've risked, they're live sometimes going into hotspots to cover reporting, or, I mean, it's just a transfer of wealth to Silicon Valley by saying, okay, AI needs to run, you know, needs to run flat out with no friction, not have to pay anybody else. Crawl, books, crawl, music, and we get to do it. And the argument you would make is that part of America's leadership from a market capitalization standpoint, innovation standpoint, is that we err on the side of a lack of regulation. So that is a real argument. Also, you could argue, okay, so we're stealing a dollar from the garage of Warner Brothers, but we can take that dollar we're stealing and turn it into seven, whereas they turn it into 50 cents. So there is sort of an economic argument or an innovator's argument that this is good for AI. Let our thoroughbreds run. But we've been to this movie before, folks. Just keep in mind, don't let your kids go into original IP or art or the creative, because now AI can just crawl it and doesn't have to pay it back.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, well, the problem is I don't, I don't think he's necessarily going to. He's just saying this. Whether it's everything he says, like, I'm going to dig the commanders out. He's not. He's not. And for example, on Monday, Josh Hawley from Missouri and Senator Blumenthal, Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, Democrat, Republican, Democrat, unveiled legislation that would require AI companies to, to, to get consent of individuals for using their content and data and developing assets. This is not going a. Copyright law is quite robust. Robust in that regard. And so just because Trump says it's not so, first of all, he's as dumb as a box of hammers. But they also did, by the way, they didn't mention deep fakes in this thing, which is supposed to be their big thing. They didn't mention so many things were out of this thing. It was just a show. It was such a nothing burger of an everything. And one of the things that, especially around. And I have to say, Governor Newsom, who has on point social media these days, wrote President Trump's executive order on AI threatens to defund States like California with strong laws against AI generated child porn. Some might say that's an interesting priority, particularly in light of his close ties with Jeffrey Epstein. I thought that was quite good, his picture of him with Jeffrey Epstein. So I don't know if this is going to be such an easy thing. I know that the tech companies would like to get out of this, but I don't think they are. I don't think in this case copyright is quite strong. I think there's a lot of supporters of that, even if not just, you know, know media. I think it's movies. There's lots and lots and lots of people that still have some juice and we'll see if they can do that. They also are showing some signs of weakness. SoftBank and OpenAI's $500 million Stargate project, intended to boost USAI, is facing setbacks over disagreements about key terms of the deal, including where to build data centers. The company's pledge to immediately invest $100 billion in the project in January. But the only plan right now is to build a small data center by the end of the year. It's pretty pathetic actually when it probably costs tens of millions of dollars, maybe 50. Like just cause like a lot of things doesn't mean it's happening. And this AI thing was incredibly weak sauce. I thought I was sort of like, well I wasn't invited but I'm kind of glad I wasn't. And it just looked like a payoff to me. The one that I thought was more disturbing was Columbia University agreeing to pay $200 million fine to resolve the Trump administration's investigation into alleged violations of federal anti discrimination laws and all kinds of stuff around dei. It essentially gave Trump an ability to the government and ability to meddle in emissions. And so I just love your thought on that because I know you talk about the overuse of DEI programs, et cetera. This seems like a first. The founding fathers did not were not worried about woke. They were worried about this. This is what they actually it's annoying, but it's different than what is happening here, which is clear violation of the government meddling in private enterprise. But go ahead.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, we've never had a president that's more socialist. He demands a golden share to control a steel company, he's doing one off deals with companies and now he's decided if you want to appoint Supreme Court justices that overturn a race based affirmative action which has happened, I get it, you may agree or not agree with that decision, but it's meant to be A thoughtful, slow, grinding process that affects every university. But when you show up and start threatening using the full weight of the DoJ and government to go after individual universities and then just make these vague statements, you want to have input into less politically correct admissions. That's just not how you run a government. It's not how, it's socialism. And then it's kind of thought control at the places that are supposed to have the most freedom of thought. That is why they are so successful is that we provide this ridiculous thing called tenure which is very expensive and occasionally someone says something so stupid they'd be fired anywhere else. And we can't fire them because the whole idea is we built universities outside of the city center so people could say crazy shit like well maybe the world isn't flat and not risk being burnt at the stake. And so when government starts coming in and telling the admissions department, I do think that if you are going to provide millions of dollars in assistance and federally backed student loans, you do have some input, but that input should be systemic across all universities. I do believe that if you are not growing your freshman class faster than population growth and you have an endowment over a million dollars, you should lose your tax free status because you're no longer a public servant, you're a hedge fund offering courses. And then I like the carrot idea, offer instead of student debt relief, offer a capital investment. If they 1 keep their tuition flat for 10 years and 2 increase their enrollments by 3%. What do you end up with? College in the 80s where the admissions rates are double what they are now and on an inflation adjusted basis tuition comes down by a third and then force them to have non four year degrees in things like nursing and specialty construction. So I am very much up for the federal government providing both sticks and carrots to reformat higher education such that it returns to its original mission of increasing the likelihood that middle class unremarkable kids have a shot. I'm all about reform and quite frankly I'm all about showing up and saying, oh, we're not asking. But the way you do that is by passing laws and then everyone is subject to these laws. Not going after Columbia because they pissed you off.

[Kara Swisher]

Let me tell you with the Epstein things. They're not interested in the victims. They're not.

[Scott Galloway]

That's not why they're there.

[Kara Swisher]

That's not why they're there. And you know why Trump is not at these universities? To make them better. If they made a mistake around not protecting Jewish students, fine them for that. Like and Tell them they have to fix something. That's a very easy fix. Right? But this is something very different. The government should not be telling universities who to what to say, just period, period, period, period. And again this, I think you're exactly right. It should be based on finances versus race maybe. And that will fix the problem anyway. Probably, but it should certainly. This is such an overreach, it's crazy. And the Columbia. I went to Columbia by the way, for graduate school and they will never see another. I don't give them money anyway so they'll never ever see money from me. They're an embarrassment to their long and stor. It's an embarrassment for Columbia and I hope Harvard and others, as much pressure as they're under, don't fall prey to this kind of nonsense because it doesn't make these universities better to let more white people in. It just doesn't. It doesn't solve the problem that we have here. But they don't care. They don't care about the victims in Epstein. They don't care about AI and having a really robust AI system. They just want to get what's good for them.

[Scott Galloway]

Their instincts in some ways are correct. It's again, the execution is wrong.

[Kara Swisher]

60 years ago about the government's business.

[Scott Galloway]

60 years ago, 12 black people at Harvard, Princeton and Yale combined, that was a problem. Race based affirmative action. Now 60% of Harvard's freshman class identifies as non white. But the problem is 70% of those non whites come from upper income households. Most Republicans and all Democrats agree that there are some people who face such incredible headwinds through no fault of their own that if the government gives them a hand, hand up. Okay, we're down with that. The question is, and all the argument is over is who qualifies for the hand up? And Tyler Perry and Trevor Noah's kids should not get a hand up. There has been quite frankly, and this triggers people too much advantage shoved into the kids of non white parents. Those are the ones getting the most advantage right now. And a lot of good kids have been pushed out by foreign students and by quite frankly wealthy non whites. And they've said okay fine, we need to reconfigure affirmative action as the university California did and they made it an adversity index. But this says to the white community who's poor and from single parents, you got the same shot, we're going to lift you up. And at the same time says okay, okay, you know Tyler Perry's kids, sorry, you have the same advantages as a rich White kid.

[Kara Swisher]

Except Scott, they never address the white kid. Rich kids, right. They never like go, oh wait a minute, like it's always like, okay, what are you talking about?

[Scott Galloway]

Doing away with legacies?

[Kara Swisher]

Yes, that's what I mean, do away with legacies. But again, this is not the government's job. I'm sorry. It's just they should not tell a university what to say, how to operate. The one thing is if they didn't protect students, Jewish students, whoever, the students that were attacked on campus, that's something the government might want to get involved in, but otherwise help poor kids get into colleges and help figure out a way to get colleges to open up more. As you said, instead of being a private hedge fund that happens to give classes, figure out a way to get more people educated, especially at the lower levels of the economic rung. That is a brilliant idea.

[Scott Galloway]

And there are models out there, you know, uw, Madison, University of North Carolina, which prioritizes in state applicants. These California, the University of California. They are doing their level best to let in as many kids as possible such that they can go deeper and deeper into the barrel. Because here's the bottom line. No individual or institution can be the arbiter of predicting Greatness When a K 17 or 18, you just don't know. The key is, and by the way, the kids getting in right now, if you come from a 1% income earning household, you're 77 times more likely to gain admissions to an elite university. And here's the truth of it. The top 1%, they need college the least. They already show up well educated, they already have contacts, they've already gone to camps, they've already gotten really good socialization. Dad is already super well connected. It's the bottom, not 90 that need college the most. And anyway, the one place we do disagree here is I do believe if you're going to back, you're going to federally back student loans, you're going to offer Pell grants, you're going to offer tax free status.

[Kara Swisher]

They've cut Pell grants, Scott, they don't care. I'm just saying.

[Scott Galloway]

No, I agree. What I'm saying though is that the federal government should have and nothing's for free input into the policies, but it should be. And the word we always use is systemic. It should apply to everybody, not one offs based on where Barron did or did not get into college.

[Kara Swisher]

Right, I agree with you. That's not the argument I'm making is the government should not tell colleges what to teach. Colleges can decide and then the market will decide of what they do. It's just they need to keep their dirty little hands out of that.

[Scott Galloway]

It gets complicated fast, Kara, because universities have taken in $14 billion from other governments. Four of the 14 billion has come from a nation with 300,000 people. Qatar, and what do you know, we have all of these Middle east studies departments who quite frankly aren't teaching that Israel has a right to exist. So it does get pretty gray pretty fast. I think it's a complicated issue, but universities have become.

[Kara Swisher]

The government should not be deciding this. I'm sorry, it's first amendment. Look, I'm not loving guitar doing. I didn't take money.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, they shouldn't be allowed to give money is how I would maybe so.

[Kara Swisher]

That'S a great solution. Great. That's great. That's a good idea. But here's the deal. Our government should be funding these educational institutions more than they don't. Instead, they give out handouts to the, to the very wealthy AI people and you know, just take from any of those. Anyway, it's a long getting thing. I just feel like Columbia, you should be embarrassed by yourselves by what you've done here. You've created a really bad precedent and I hope the others don't follow. All right, we have to take a quick break and we'll be back. For predictions this week on net worth and chill, I'm joined by Dan Rossi, the hot dog king of New York.

[Scott Galloway]

City and the owner of the most.

[Kara Swisher]

Iconic, iconic hot dog cart of all time.

[Scott Galloway]

From starting with a single cart and a dream to building up a multi million dollar empire that dominated street corners.

[Kara Swisher]

Across Manhattan, Dan's story takes an unexpected turn when it all came crashing down. Dan opens up about the highs of feeding thousands of hungry New Yorkers daily. The challenges of scaling a street food business, the mistakes that cost him everything, and what he's learned about resistance, resilience, failure, and starting over.

[Scott Galloway]

What happened was they took all the disabled vets that were selling merchandise, you know, to see the guys with the hats and stuff, and they kicked them out of midtown Manhattan.

[Kara Swisher]

Why?

[Scott Galloway]

You want me to name politics?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, his name, Donald Trump.

[Scott Galloway]

He kicked every vet out of midtown.

[Kara Swisher]

Manhattan by buying off all the politicians in Albany. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube.com YourRichBFF hey, this is.

[Scott Galloway]

Peter Kafka, the host of Channels, a show about media and tech and what happens when they collide. And this may be hard to remember, but not very long ago, magazines were a really big deal. And the most important magazines were owned by Conde Nast, the glitzy publishing empire that's the focus of a new book by New York Times reporter Michael Grinbaum. The way Conde Nast elevated its editors, the way they paid for their mortgages so they could live in beautiful homes.

[Kara Swisher]

There was a logic to it, which.

[Scott Galloway]

Was that Conde Nast itself became seen as this kind of enchanted land. You can hear the rest of our chat on channels wherever you listen to your favorite media podcast. What's up, y'?

[Kara Swisher]

All?

[Scott Galloway]

It's Kenny Beachum. The 2024, 2025 NBA season is over, but all that means for us is that the 2025, 2026 season is already beginning. On Small Ball, we'll be talking about breaking news, major training trades, and all the exciting developments the offseason has in store. Which teams are tearing it down, who is retooling to make a championship push, and what teams are leaving me dumbfounded by their lack of direction. Don't miss Small Ball with Kenny Beacham. New episodes drop every Friday. Available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay, Scott, let's hear a prediction. I just want to. There's one that I could throw out at you. President Trump met with Jeff Bezos at the White House last week in a meeting that lasted over an hour. Hour. What do you predict they were talking about?

[Scott Galloway]

I. I predict Trump wants in on the bachelor party. I don't.

[Kara Swisher]

Didn't that already happen?

[Scott Galloway]

Did it? I didn't hear about that.

[Kara Swisher]

I would have been so Marriage bachelor party. Lauren's not putting up with that.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, yeah. It's called a midlife crisis. It's called a second marriage and daddy getting together with his friends every six weeks. Anyways, my prediction. I already made my prediction. The fix is in. Someone has communicated to Jelaine Maxwell that if she were to provide state's evidence or testimony that in any way reflects well on the president, that the president has a habit of pardoning people towards the end of his administration and there's nothing like jail to convince you to lie and do whatever you need to do to get out of jail. I think the fix is in. What we're going to have is something resembling it'll be a kangaroo court where they took testimony, pretend to take it seriously, pretend they're pursuing the truth. And all evidence from Ghislaine Maxwell will show that the president was while was a friend and showed errors in judgment, was not involved in any illicit or illegal activity. And then on the eve before Trump takes off and J.D. vance is elected president or in my opinion, if I were to bet on anyone right now, and I might do this on Polymarket is someone you mentioned earlier, people vastly underestimate. Governor Newsom. He is the only one pushing back right now. I believe if I had to bet on anyone, he would be the President. But anyways, who. Whoever. 30 days before the next president is inaugurated, she will be pardoned.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay, well, we'll see. Just so you know, two things. Jillian Maxwell is a liar. She faced two perjury charges stemming from these accusations. She lied under oath around Epstein. They dropped those things because she also had sex trafficking conviction she received in December of 2021. So let me just say she's a sex traffic. So think about that, people. That he's gonna let off a sex. A convicted sex trafficker who is probably just as equally culpable in what happened.

[Scott Galloway]

We need a special counsel with Matt Gaetz. I mean, are we in a simulation here? Literally, are we in a simulation?

[Kara Swisher]

I just am like, Ghislaine Maxwell is a terrible person and should die in prison. And again, the focus is off the people it should be on, which is these young women who are terrified now because the President is trying to cut. Cover this up. And that's what the President's doing. He's trying to cover up a sex trafficking scandal where his name is involved. And so everybody, all this stuff, whether you're going to get Trump or not get Trump, just remember all these possibly hundreds of women they think were sexually abused here. And that is lost in this entire thing.

[Scott Galloway]

Even worse, hundreds of girls.

[Kara Swisher]

Girls, exactly.

[Scott Galloway]

People have correctly corrected me and said, these are not underage women. They're girls.

[Kara Swisher]

They're girls. And that is what we should be focusing on. And we never have. And these, these, they're women now. They're older. They, they're not here. They. They have been traumatized. And, and Trump is further traumatizing them with this circus. And that's what we need to focus in on. That's my. And we won't. My prediction is we won't because we don't value the lives of young women as we much as we do as rich old syphilitic. These are syphilitic men. Anyway, your prediction that she's gonna be. That this is gonna happen, the fix is in.

[Scott Galloway]

She's gonna be pardoned 30 to 60 days before the end of his term.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, everybody, she's a liar and a sex trafficker. So take that for the thing anyway. Okay. All right. But it won't come till the end. You're saying it won't come to the.

[Scott Galloway]

End of the well, I think that he'll create some distance to try and lower the volume of the outrage. The fix was in and this woman basically came out and locked and took the heat down. Yeah, what the fuck do you care, Pardoner? The fix is in. The fix is in.

[Kara Swisher]

All I just say is, remember the girls of all of it. Release the McDowells is fine, but remember the girls.

[Scott Galloway]

A real attorney General has a group of people who are doing nothing but trying to convince people to narc and impugn more powerful people. They work their way up the chain. This is the first Department of Justice that an Attorney General who is trying to figure out a way to get people to flip and exonerate people more senior than them. This is, this is exactly what they are not supposed to do. They're supposed to be truth to power. The law affects everyone. Means that quite frankly, you work your way up the food chain. Oh, you're a small time dealer. This is how we're going to give you one year in prison and not 10. You're going to help us find the kingpin here and put him in prison. They realize that the key to law enforcement is that the more senior, more powerful, more mendacious you get in criminal activity, the more important it is that that person get put away. You want to punish, you want progressive. Just as we're supposed to have a progressive tax structure, which is part of our culture, we're supposed to have a progressive criminal, criminal prosecution structure that says the more senior and powerful, the more damage you're doing, the more we try to find the truth on you. And this is entirely the opposite. Let's give her a pardon if she lowers the heat on the most powerful person in the world. I, I think this one is so obvious.

[Kara Swisher]

It's like, I know that, but again, I want to stress to Pam Bondi, these are hundreds of girls and you really horrible, shameful person to do this. And this is the woman who sexually abused them. Absolutely 100% has been convicted of that. You're a, you know, I'm going to do a lesbian thing and quote Gladiator because it's my favorite movie. The time for honoring yourself is at an end. I'm just disgusting.

[Scott Galloway]

The time for honoring yourself is at an end.

[Kara Swisher]

You know, remember when he's the guy, he's getting all the attention and the emperor's all pissed and then the emperor tries to, you know, tell him about his wife and child being killed in a terrible way, including rape in this thing. And he turns around, instead of hitting him, he goes, the time for honoring yourself is at an end. This will soon be at an end. Such a great line. That's what I feel about these people.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I don't, I don't, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Attorney General Bondi's ethics and morals around the president are sometimes a little bit patchy.

[Kara Swisher]

Patchy, patchy.

[Scott Galloway]

You're a time for honoring yourself.

[Kara Swisher]

She's a heinous term again is what she is. And I'll blame the men just as much, but when a woman does this, even worse. These are girls, Pam. Girls. Okay. Anyway, we want to hear from you. Send us your questions about business, tech or whatever's on your mind. Go to nymag.com pivot question for the show or call 85551 pivot elsewhere in the Kara and Scott universe this week on Profke conversations that we talked about earlier this week, Scott spoke with Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the 49th governor of Michigan. Let's listen to a clip of Big Gretch with Scott. Well, I'm gonna say something that's gonna be really depressing and that is we're five months in to a 48 month term as a governor. I have a role, you know, I have an important role. How do we band together and show Americans what Democratic leaders do? It's by delivering in our states. It's by fighting the federal government when they're impacting our states. But we are not the counterpoint to the executive branch and the federal government. That's Congress, that's their whole job is to be that counterpoint. So you like that interview, Scott?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Every time I, I, every time I get to know some of these individuals on both sides of the aisle, I'm really impressed and heartened. And I think, governor, I think I said this in last show. Governor, I do this. No mercy. No every presidential candidate is calling one or both of us and we will interview between now and then. I think any viable candidate, at least on the Democratic side and I do this no mercy, no malice. Review of the interview and to the upside, she reeks of integrity and character. She's just one of those people that within a minute you think this is a competent, decent woman. And also Michigan has a lot to be proud of. It's not an easy environment to have a manufacturing based economy. She's managed to maintain economic growth even if it's not stellar. The quality of life of Michigan, meaning affordability relative to salaries is some of the best in the nation. She has a lot to run on. My downside was she's infected with the same rhetorical flourish and avoidance of hard. The Democrat that's going to race to the head of the polls is going to be someone who comes out with crazy bold solutions and says we're going to lower Medicare eligibility by two years every year and socialize medicine. We are going to have an alternative minimum tax of 40%. We're going to do away with the exemption on real estate on trusts. There is such an opportunity now for someone to come out with big fucking bold fucking. We're moving Social Security back to 72 and we're means testing it. Sorry, folks, it's time to be the grownup in the room. An alternative minimum tax on corporations who are paying their lowest taxes since 1939 of 30%.

[Kara Swisher]

Galloway for president.

[Scott Galloway]

There's such a huge opportunity and she wants to talk about. In very big, bold, flowery speech Americans. And I'm like, okay, folks, Obama, you're not gonna out. Obama. Obama. We need someone who has real policies. And also, and this is not the way the world should. Should be, it's the way the world is. Democrats are going to elect and nominate a straight white male over six feet. We are highly looksist. They are not going to for the third time nominate a woman. No way. They're not going to nominate a gay man because they're worried about blacks in South Carolina. They're not going to, they're not going to nominate anyone under 511 because they realize America is so goddamn looksist and sexist still. So I don't. I think no.

[Kara Swisher]

Scott Galloway for president. I'm just saying, just pointing it out. You fit all that criteria.

[Scott Galloway]

The problem is I wouldn't enjoy it and I wouldn't be very good at it. Your and my job, Kara, is to bring attention and oxygen to fantastic Democrats and help them get elected. Anyways, she, I think, is on everyone's short list for vp because she is, she's, she would be. She's just a great foot soldier. And she also, she has, she's hugely popular and swing state.

[Kara Swisher]

She is, she's very, she's still very popular despite everything. Let me just say I think you're right about all those things, unfortunately. But the, but whatever you think Van Damme, and there's lots of attacks on him recently. I think the reason he broke through was big ideas. Whether you think they're right or not, they were big, interesting ideas. He's saying something but they were kind of interesting. They were. Some of them were good, some of them were bad. And he's good at social media, and he's handsome, and he's well spoken, like, to me, like, get away from whether you. Same thing with Abby Spamberger, by the way. Great speaker, great looking great, great communicator. Saying things of real meaning, like, what are you going to do for the people of Virginia? Or what are you going to do for the people of Blank? And what are you going to do for the people of the United States? You're 100% right, Scott. You should run for office. I can be your vice president. I'll be fine. Dude, I'd really run the show. So as we do here, we will.

[Scott Galloway]

Build a giant bearing wall.

[Kara Swisher]

We will build. I like that. We'll build a bearing wall for America.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, my God. You could not be more lesbian. Bering wall.

[Kara Swisher]

I'm gonna go build one right now here in San Francisco. I'm gonna build one right here in San Francisco. And then I'm gonna have a kombucha. I hate kombucha.

[Scott Galloway]

Do you want to hear the most offensive thing I said at the Aspen? Ideas?

[Kara Swisher]

I'm sure I'll get a text.

[Scott Galloway]

There was some. I was joking about masturbation. And I said, I've found the ultimate birth control. And that is I get lotion. I have this lotion that I put on myself, and if I put it on for more than two minutes, I don't need to have sex. And there was this awkward silence. And then a bunch of women in aloe who liked me laughed and go. And then looked around to say, can I laugh? And it would be like, I'm laughing. You just can't tell. I've had so much poison injected into my face.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, my. Scott. Scott. Oh, my God.

[Scott Galloway]

There you go.

[Kara Swisher]

You know what you need to do? This is the thing you need to do. Let me just give another recommendation. Go watch Hunting Wives. It's a lesbian hunting wives. Hunting Wives with Mal and Ackerman and others. Mal and Ackerman, Brittany Snow. It's based on a book set in Texas. It's about a bunch of sort of rich East Texas ladies. And you think it's gonna be all about shopping and drinking, but it turns out to be a lesb drama and like, and a murder mystery. And it is so good because Malin Ackerman and Bradney Stowe are really hot and they have sex all day. But everyone's made. All the women are making out in it.

[Scott Galloway]

I'LL see it twice.

[Kara Swisher]

Exactly. You need to watch. You're gonna thank me next week. Okay, that's the show. Thanks for listening to Pivot and be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We'll be back next week. Scott, read us out.

[Scott Galloway]

There you go. Today's show was produced by Larryn Amen, Zoe Marcus, Taylor Griffin, and Kevin Oliver. Ernie Intertodd engineered this episode. Thanks also to Drew Burrows, Mia Silvera, and Dan Shalon. Nishak Khurua is Vox Media's executive producer of podcast. Make sure to follow Pivot on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for listening to Pivot from New York Magazine and Vox Media. You can subscribe to the [e-mail] pod we'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business.

[Kara Swisher]

Bearing Wall Lara, do not take that step out. You hear me?