TikTok's Future, Big Tech at Trump's Inauguration, and Biden's Final Warning

Summary

Podcast Summary: Pivot – "TikTok's Future, Big Tech at Trump's Inauguration, and Biden's Final Warning"

Release Date: January 17, 2025
Host: Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway
Produced by: New York Magazine and Vox Media Podcast Network

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1. Introduction and Personal Banter

The episode kicks off with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway engaging in their signature banter, discussing personal plans for the inauguration weekend. They humorously tease each other about relationships and social engagements, setting a casual and engaging tone for the episode.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway [01:18]: “I'm pretty fucking far from all right. And I just. The Democrats, in an attempt to be somewhat civil... I'm done. I'm not gonna be elegant or graceful about this.”
• Kara Swisher [02:00]: “Yeah, let's refuse. I'm with you, Scott Galloway.”

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2. TikTok’s Future and Supreme Court Decision

Kara and Scott delve into the pressing issue of TikTok's potential ban in the United States. As the Supreme Court is slated to decide on the matter by January 19th, they discuss recent developments, including reports of Chinese officials considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk—a claim TikTok denies.

Key Points:

• Executive Order Considerations: President Trump is contemplating an executive order to save TikTok, though its efficacy is questioned as it lacks the force of law.
• Legislative Efforts: Democratic senators such as Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, Cory Booker, and Representative Ro Khanna are pushing legislation to extend the TikTok ban deadline.
• Supreme Court Delay: The delay in the Supreme Court's decision raises concerns about geopolitical implications and U.S.-China relations.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway [23:01]: “China and the US are the two biggest economies. I wouldn't call us enemies, but we're adversaries.”
• Kara Swisher [24:55]: “President Biden is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the US if the ban goes into effect.”

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3. Biden’s Farewell Speech on Tech Oligarchy

President Joe Biden delivered a farewell speech warning against the rise of a tech oligarchy in America, drawing parallels to Eisenhower's warnings about the military-industrial complex. Kara and Scott analyze the speech, emphasizing its significance in highlighting the concentration of power among tech giants.

Key Points:

• Oligarchy Concerns: Biden warns that the oligarchy of extreme wealth and power among tech titans threatens democracy and fair opportunities.
• Historical Context: The comparison to Eisenhower's military-industrial complex underscores the long-term dangers of unchecked corporate power.
• Public Apathy: Despite the importance of the speech, Kara and Scott lament that public and political attention remains focused elsewhere, diminishing the impact of Biden’s warnings.

Notable Quotes:

• Biden [12:14]: “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence.”
• Scott Galloway [13:21]: “Biden's speech is a warning about the aggregation of power around an industry, and no one gives a shit.”

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4. Confirmation Hearings for Trump’s Cabinet Nominees

The episode shifts focus to the contentious confirmation hearings for President Trump's cabinet nominees, particularly highlighting Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. Kara and Scott critique the Senate Democrats' approach, arguing that they failed to adequately challenge Hegseth's qualifications by focusing instead on personal shortcomings.

Key Points:

• Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth: Facing allegations of sexual misconduct and questions about his suitability for the role, Hegseth's hearings became heated.
• Senate Democrats' Strategy: Kara and Scott criticize the Democrats for not effectively questioning Hegseth's competence and instead concentrating on his personal issues.
• Competency vs. Character: The duo debates whether character flaws should overshadow professional qualifications in such high-stakes positions.

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher [37:20]: “She was pretty slippery, I thought. And when asked by Senator Blumenthal about whether she'd enforce the TikTok ban, Bondi avoided another direct answer.”
• Scott Galloway [38:51]: “They should have asked him the hard questions about his capabilities as Secretary of Defense instead of focusing on his personal life.”

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5. Listener Question: Where Are the Banks in Disaster Relief?

A listener named Nancy from Santa Rosa raises concerns about the role of banks during wildfires, questioning their responsibility in disaster relief when properties owned by banks are destroyed.

Discussion Highlights:

• Bank Responsibilities: Scott and Kara discuss how banks handle mortgage defaults post-disaster, typically taking ownership of the property or restructuring loans.
• Economic Implications: They debate the ethics and practicality of taxpayer-funded disaster relief versus personal responsibility for living in high-risk areas.
• Climate Change and Risk Management: The conversation touches on the broader implications of climate change on housing and insurance.

Notable Quotes:

• Nancy [Listeners' Question]: “Having lived through several wildfires and been evacuated, I have to say it's breaking my heart to see what's going on in Los Angeles. But my question for you too is where are the banks?”
• Scott Galloway [50:48]: “Why should taxpayers, federal taxpayers at the gas pump paying whatever it is, tax on their current income as a waiter or as a chiropractor, why should they be subsidizing my right to live on the water in Florida?”

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6. Predictions and Other Stories

Kara and Scott wrap up with predictions and brief discussions on various topics, including Scott's humorous take on buying a football team in Bogota and reflections on the intersection of personal life with global events. They also touch upon the impact of tariffs and immigration policies on inflation and economic stability.

Key Points:

• Inflation and Tariffs: Scott predicts that Trump's policies on tariffs and immigration will exacerbate inflation, impacting the housing market and consumer prices.
• Tech and Geopolitics: The influence of tech CEOs and their relationship with geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China are examined.
• Personal Anecdotes: Both hosts share light-hearted stories and personal updates, maintaining the show's relatable and engaging atmosphere.

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Galloway [56:02]: “My prediction is that the rebuild effort, as we begin to cost it out, is gonna shine a light on the inflationary pressures of kind of Trump's signature policies.”
• Kara Swisher [58:49]: “I went out of my way to put in steel girders and did everything possible to make my house earthquake and fire-resistant. I have enormous insurance on that because of earthquake insurance.”

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7. Conclusion

Kara and Scott conclude the episode with acknowledgments of their production team and a teaser for next week's topics, which will include further discussions on the inauguration, Big Tech, and more.

Notable Quotes:

• Kara Swisher [64:18]: “Thanks for listening to Pivot from New York magazine and Vox Media. You can subscribe to the [e-mail] pod.”
• Scott Galloway [64:18]: “Make sure you subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts.”

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Takeaways:

• TikTok Ban: The Supreme Court's decision on TikTok will have significant geopolitical implications, especially in U.S.-China relations.
• Tech Oligarchy: Biden's warnings about the concentration of power among tech giants echo historical concerns about military-industrial complexes.
• Cabinet Confirmations: Senate Democrats' handling of Defense Secretary nominee hearings may have long-term effects on political dynamics.
• Disaster Relief and Banking: The role of banks in disaster-prone areas raises questions about economic responsibility and taxpayer support.
• Economic Predictions: Scott Galloway foresees inflation spikes due to Trump's policies, impacting various sectors including housing and consumer goods.

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Final Note: For more insights and in-depth analysis on tech, business, and politics, subscribe to Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Join Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway every Tuesday and Friday for unfiltered discussions and bold predictions.

Transcript

[Scott Galloway]

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[Kara Swisher]

Get the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com Vox netsuite.com Vox I wait for the day where you're going to say something to me that I'm going to have to break up with you. I really don't want that to happen. Hi, everyone, this is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media podcast network. I'm Kara Swisher, and it's inauguration weekend. I'm so excited I'm leaving town.

[Scott Galloway]

The inauguration, ton of pornography, a lot of drinking, Pey, Xanax, 80s music, aerial firefighters just hang with me. Someone asked me, they're like, they're worried about me because I got so triggered at the election. They said, are you all right about the inauguration? I'm like, well, am I all right? I feel like Vin Rhames after he was ass raped in Pulp Fiction. I'm pretty fucking far from all right. And I just. The Democrats, in an attempt to be somewhat civil and, you know, like, they're back at their Princeton review. I'm done. I'm not gonna be elegant or graceful about this.

[Kara Swisher]

We're not being civil.

[Scott Galloway]

I refuse to normal.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, let's refuse. I'm with you, Scott Galloway. I say, someone's like, we have to now get along. I'm like, do we?

[Scott Galloway]

Do we?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, yeah. Just like they did.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes. I agree with you, Scott. I'm on board. Someone told me, you know, you have to get along. I'm like, do I? I don't do that in my regular life. I feel like I'm gonna just stick to My consistent state of being irritated.

[Scott Galloway]

No, I'm gonna be more partisan, more pornographic. So for those of you who don't know, and this is a part of the program where we pat ourselves on the back, Kara and I's relationship ordeal ends with VOX soon, and we're hoping to renew. We love vox, but we're out there talking to people, and literally every media company in the world wants Kara Swisher and is willing to put up with Scott Galloway as sort of the tariff, if you will, for getting Kara Swish on board.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, I like that.

[Scott Galloway]

And as a means of weeding out, I'm gonna just become so fucking pornographic and vulgar, and we're gonna see who really wants to.

[Kara Swisher]

That's true.

[Scott Galloway]

Who really, really want.

[Kara Swisher]

I do not mind the pornography. You know where I'm going, by the way? Away for the weekend. Miami. Your favorite.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, I can tell you where to go. Stay at the Faina. Go have dinner at Sparrow Italia.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay.

[Scott Galloway]

You're staying at the Lowe's.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, just don't even. I'm not gonna explain.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[Kara Swisher]

I have children with me. I have children. Vina is not a children hotel.

[Scott Galloway]

Lowe's is a guy looking to meet a pro at the bar. Who's on. Who's with the National Cotton Growers Association.

[Kara Swisher]

That's what I'm aiming for.

[Scott Galloway]

That literally. If you wanted to find the one hotel that feels like you're the Days Inn in Detroit or a corporate hotel you found in South Dakota, if you're looking for kids. All right, I'm serious about this. I need to do an intervention stay at the addition that's a little bit more family friendly.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, I like the addition. Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

You know, they have that beanbag throwing thing, and there's enough kids there that the adults can't get too angry. The fighting is a little too adult.

[Kara Swisher]

They're too adult. I agree to the addition. Okay. All right. I will do that. In any case, I'm excited to go there because the weather's gonna be beautiful. And down here in Washington, it's gonn. In the teens or.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, there's a polar vortex called polar vortex.

[Kara Swisher]

And it's called Donald Trump. Yeah. So they're going to show up here. There's all these parts, you know, they're having a party. Uber and X are having a party along with some other people. But that. And I wrote Dara Khosrow Shahi. Like, are you. Are you in a competition to be the least deplorable? He laughed. He's like, you should come. I'M like, I would rather poke my out with a dry stick.

[Scott Galloway]

I got invited to a party, an AI party at the inauguration where they said that Musk and Sachs will be there. And I thought some intern fucked up the guest list. How did I get on this thing?

[Kara Swisher]

I know. How did you. They kind of like you. They're going to try to draw you away from me. That's what they try to do.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, they. You know what they see? They see. They see I'm like. I'm like a Jehovah. You know, the knock on the door and I'm a Jehovah's Witness. And they like, see, like, he seemed like a really unhappy and vulnerable. I think we should stop by tomorrow. I think all these guys think there's a chance. They think that I haven't taken the red pill yet, but they think it's in my medicine cabinet.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

You're a little worried I'm gonna lose.

[Kara Swisher]

It to the day where you're gonna say something to me that I'm gonna have to break up with you. I really don't want that to happen. But then you come back and you say thing. I'm gonna be pornographic. I'm not gonna be. I'm gonna be partisan. And then I love you again. Anyway, so anyway, we're both not gonna be here for the inauguration, but good. You know, it's my fav. A lot of the ex presidents are coming, but Michelle Obama is like, peace the fuck out. She's not coming and she's not explaining why. That's my two fixes.

[Scott Galloway]

Good for her.

[Kara Swisher]

I love that she's not explaining why. She's like, I'm not coming. That's all.

[Scott Galloway]

Cause it sounds like the shittiest party that you don't want to have, that you don't want to go to. Yeah, I don't know.

[Kara Swisher]

None of the presidents are going to the lunch. Clinton, Obama and Bush are not going to the afterward lunch that they're supposed to go to. They all pieced out of that. They're going to the show, but then they're not. They're not going to launch.

[Scott Galloway]

I think there is a. I'm going to try and bring this back to a life lesson. One of my mentors, this guy named Barry Rosenstein from Janet Partners, said one of the really nice things about having economic security. He said, life is three buckets. There's things you want to do, right? You want to hang out with your kids, you want to go to see Cole Palmer play for Chelsea, whatever. It Is there's things you want to do, there's things you have to do. Right. If Bancof, the CEO of Vox, is in town and says, I really want to meet with you guys, we kind of have to do that, right? I mean, that's more.

[Kara Swisher]

Want and have to. Yes, sure.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, you know what I'm saying.

[Kara Swisher]

He's not like that though. But okay. Yeah, go ahead.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, but if. Okay what? I don't know. I don't know if, if there's just things your, your mother in law is not doing well and you need to go visit her, you have to do that. Right. Anyways. And then there's things you should do. And building your career is about things you should do. You should go to this event because who knows, you might get a client. You should go to the bat mitzvah of your coworker's daughter, whatever it might be. He said the thing about economic security is you can eliminate should. He said, now I just do things I have to do or I want to do. And it was really kind of an unlock for me. And the thing that's so disappointing about these guys and what is obviously a kleptocracy where one of. I just don't think any of these people want to go. None of them have to. They're all worth a hundred billion dollars.

[Kara Swisher]

I'm going to update you on that, but go ahead, keep going.

[Scott Galloway]

They've forgotten. What is the point of supposedly being economically secure in a democratic society that supposedly has some rule of where the DOJ won't be weaponized against you or the ftc? And that is none of these people want to be there. I just don't. I don't think any of them want to sit out in 15 degree heat and watch cold. Yeah. And watch basically all of them, you know, slowly bend the knee right to the new auditor.

[Kara Swisher]

And he's also sitting them next to each other. Remember when I wrote that piece calling them sheeple in 2016 where they all.

[Scott Galloway]

I don't. That must be the one article I haven't read that you wrote in.

[Kara Swisher]

Anyway, I wrote a piece that was rather. Because I broke it in his all going to Trump Tower and they did this sheeple dance and they're doing it even worse this time. So Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. And let me say they don't like each other. They'll pretend to, but I don't care what they tell you. They do not or have to sit next to each other on display. I don't know if. Which is what Trump is doing. He's putting them like they're China dolls on his shelf. Tim Cook is going. TikTok CEO Xiao Chu is going. Sundar Pichai is going. Interestingly, Satya Nadella is not going, though he did meet with them. And then Elon had to do a Dr. He is not going, which to me is interesting. I think Sam Altman is going. Mark Zuckerberg is co hosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors on Monday evening, including Miriam Adelson. So they're, like, being moved around like dolls or something like that. It's really. I find it. I don't know why you would be that rich and be pushed around like that. I just. I'm rich enough not to. I mean, I have enough money where I'm like you. Right?

[Scott Galloway]

That's entirely right. And from a shareholder's perspective, these guys can't break out of the cycle of shareholder value. And to a certain extent, the reason they're CEOs is they're supposed to be fiduciaries for shareholder value. And the greatest, I gotta admit it, the greatest return on investment for a $3 trillion company right now, or OpenAI, is to give the inaugural committee a million dollars and say he's handsome and show up at his event and be polite. You're showing up at your boss's daughter's wedding and putting money in an envelope. I like the way you describe it, like a mob wedding. And I hate to say it, from a shareholder standpoint, it's the smart thing to do. And this is the problem with a kleptocracy or an autocracy, and that is the incentives through the campaign where if I shitpost Democrats and Vice President Harris, I know that if she wins, she's not gonna come after me. I don't know that with this guy. So it creates incentive, opinion rhetoric, false compliments that are, you know, essentially kind of feel very much kind of Russia. Like, oh, I love Mr. Putin. He's so handsome, and he's so great.

[Kara Swisher]

I have talked to several of them, off the record, who are going, and they really don't want to go. Let me just say. I mean, I suspect Zuckerberg, Musk and Bezos do okay. Those are going to be the three that are going to sit together, like in the thing. And I suspect Tim will kind of be along the edges, putting his eyes down quite a bit. Same thing with Sundar and Sam, that would be my guess. And the rest of them. And it's interesting. Not. I haven't heard a ton of like Bob Iger. Bob Iger is busy dealing with the fires and cause. He's got a lot of employees who are homeless right now because they have most of their operations in that area. But I haven't heard a lot of high profile other CEOs. I don't know if Jamie Dimon's going or.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, Cara, they're the only CEOs. The only people who matter are going. I mean, these people control the media, right? They have companies. Oh, you know what's interesting, I didn't know is Jensen Huang going from Nvidia?

[Kara Swisher]

I don't know. I'll find out. I'll find out.

[Scott Galloway]

I would be really interested to know if he's gone.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. Knowing him, I don't think he'd care compared.

[Scott Galloway]

I mean, he's probably worried he's going to be deported because he wasn't born here, right?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, I think he was born in Taiwan.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm not sure he went to. I believe he went to Oregon State and then to Stanford.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, let me. Let's see. Sundar was born in India.

[Scott Galloway]

Sit him next to Bannon.

[Kara Swisher]

Next to Bannon. Bannon. Is he going to be there? Because he's been going. I mean, what I would do if I were Trump.

[Scott Galloway]

Musk and Bannon.

[Kara Swisher]

Musk and Bannon. I'd make them sit next to each other.

[Scott Galloway]

Celebrity, definitely.

[Kara Swisher]

And I'd make them kiss. You know, like you're on.

[Scott Galloway]

Like the Prince of Dorne in the mountain.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes, Right. You must kiss now. You must. You must dance together. One, one jig. I would. See, that's what I. Nobody knows how to be rich and evil.

[Scott Galloway]

Speaking of being rich and evil. Waiting for the inauguration right now.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

It feels like James Bond and Goldfinger waiting for the laser to cut your dick off. You know, coming up, the thing. By the way, that was a joke from. I think that was Jimmy Kimmel. Was that Jimmy Kimmel? No, Stephen Colbert. I need to credit the comedians I steal from.

[Kara Swisher]

Anyway, interesting. Meanwhile, at the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. New President Joe Biden delivered a stark warning in his farewell speech on Wednesday about the dangers of tech titans with unchecked power. Shall we listen?

[Scott Galloway]

Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in.

[Kara Swisher]

America of extreme wealth, power and influence.

[Scott Galloway]

That literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom. And a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. We see the consequences all across America.

[Kara Swisher]

And we've seen it before. So Biden mentioned the tech industrial complex. You're welcome, Biden. I say that all the time. Taking a page from Dwight Eisenhower's military industrial complex, he also said, quote, the truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. They of course made fun of him that he's whining. I kind of liked it. I like that Joe's going down fighting. I like the whole thing. What did you think?

[Scott Galloway]

American makers of plowshares could, with time and is required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. The conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. This was Eisenhower warning about the military industrial complex. And it was a very prescient.

[Kara Swisher]

Keep that in mind.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, this is a guy who was not afraid of war, was a big supporter of the military, and he saw the emergence or the conflation of private interests and national interests to create a permanent military industrial complex. And there's no doubt about it, Biden's speechwriters looked at this speech and I loved this speech. I think this is. And unfortunately no one gives a shit because Musk is going to show up at a fire station and dominate the media or they're going to talk about Vivek Ramaswamy taking the JD vents Senate seat. I mean, they. I got to give it to him. Between X and social media, they have basically just squeezed out. I mean, is Biden still president? You wouldn't know. This was an important speech in some ways. I think it's his most prescient speech. It's a warning and about the aggregation of the concentration of power around an industry. And no one gives a shit.

[Kara Swisher]

No, they do give a shit. Here's why I was thinking about the Jack Smith thing getting released, the files and some of this other stuff, and everyone's like, well, it's over. I'm like, you know what? Historically it's not. We have to think long term. Eventually this will have importance. I don't know what happened when Eisenhower gave this speech. We weren't there and obviously we don't know. But I feel like it's important for history to have this on the record. It's important for this report not to be suppressed. It's important for Biden to say those things. And I do. You have to sort of get a bigger, more historical thing and how it's gonna go down.

[Scott Galloway]

What do you think Biden's legacy will be in 10, 20, 50 years?

[Kara Swisher]

Well, I think it'll be tarnished by the fact that he, he ran again when he said he wasn't going to. I think that's hard in 10 years. I think, you know, he's leaving behind a really strong economy. He's done a lot of great things. I think probably good, I think eventually good. Except depends on what? Right. If Trump creates a dystopian future, it'll be bad. If he doesn't, maybe better, I guess. I think in the long run better if we move along from Trumpism. Just depends. I don't know. But getting it down for history is critically important. Even if it doesn't matter. That's my feeling. I mean, remember that at long last. Have you no shame? At the time, I think that was smothered out. And now it is. When it was during the Army McCarthy hearings to Joe McCarthy. That wasn't when he went down, by the way. It was much later. And so I just feel like, to say it is important. Often people say that. Sometimes when I say things like why are you doing it? And I said I'm not doing it for today. It must be said. I think, and I think Biden deserves much credit. Speaking of things that I talk too much about, over 400 employees at the Washington Post sent a letter to Jeff Bezos. This is interesting. 400 employees. The letter expresses concern about the future of the paper, including quote, recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of the institution. Makes a point to note that the concerns are unrelated to Bezos decision to endorsements of presidential candidates. I'm just pointing it out. You don't have to say anything. I think 400 employees doing that is interesting. I didn't make them.

[Scott Galloway]

So maybe they could. If they really get serious, maybe they could do a lunch walkout. Look, folks, as somebody.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay, all right, all right.

[Scott Galloway]

I haven't run big companies. I've run medium sized companies. I don't send me letters. Just quit. Just, just, just go to work for the New York Times, okay? All the, all the peacocking and posturing and complaining and whining. You know what I said to my ex wife? Yeah, I understand. Let's get divorced. I mean, that was harsh. Lovely woman. Lovely woman.

[Kara Swisher]

All right.

[Scott Galloway]

Anyways, I'm kind of, I'm kind of done with employees bitching and moaning and it's a free labor market. You're very. The people. The reporters of the Post are some of the most talented journalists in the world. Okay? Jeff Bezos isn't gonna, you wanna talk about things he should do and he Won't you really think this is gonna move the needle?

[Kara Swisher]

I get it. I get it. I'm gonna interject here because when I worked there, bitching and moaning during a very early Me too thing made a difference initially. They ignored the reporters and they pushed it and pushed it internally. And it worked. It does. It can work at certain times.

[Scott Galloway]

I think that's the mother of all false analogies.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, why it can work because sexual.

[Scott Galloway]

Harassment and suppressing the rights of women. And that's just a whole new.

[Kara Swisher]

I'll try to think of it.

[Scott Galloway]

That's a warning. Cartoon. Cartoons.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. One time the Post cut cartoons. They took out cartoons and it so angered the readers that they put pictures around the Post. That worked. They put it back. I'm just saying it's okay to speak up.

[Scott Galloway]

No, you didn't. We didn't talk. Let's bring this back to me. You want to buy newspapers? Did you see what I bought?

[Kara Swisher]

What? What did you buy?

[Scott Galloway]

I bought a football team in Columbia.

[Kara Swisher]

What? Are you part of that group?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Kara Swisher]

Explain for the people. Are you Ryan Reynolds adjacent?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Not even. Not even. I'm like at the very bottom of the article and I say also joining the investor group is podcaster and author. Yeah, I. My midlife meet crisis. Kara, I am part of a group.

[Kara Swisher]

Explain the team. I don't have any interest, but go ahead.

[Scott Galloway]

It's the second largest team in Bogota. Laquidad and second largest. It's the second largest team in Bogota. Bogota. I gotta say that correctly. This really. Bogota, this really smart kid who scans the world for teams and investments approached me and said, we're putting together an investor group. And I really like this kid named Rob McElhaney. He's Ryan's partner in Wrexham and he does this fantastic show called It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And the two of them, a friend of mine from Apollo, Eva Longoria, we've anyways, we bought this team.

[Kara Swisher]

Do they know who you are? Do you get to hang with them? Do we get any perks for this situation?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, it's costing me a lot of money. I hope so.

[Kara Swisher]

No, but do they know who you are? Are you just the people you just spoke of, Ryan?

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, the investor group. No, Rob does. I think Rob got me into the deal. And also the guys who do the deal. The honest answer is I don't know how I got into this.

[Kara Swisher]

Why did you get in the deal, may I ask, of all the people?

[Scott Galloway]

Because I fear death and refuse to acknowledge.

[Kara Swisher]

How did they get to you?

[Scott Galloway]

It's like, they get to me.

[Kara Swisher]

You scan the world and you go, ah, Prof. Galloway.

[Scott Galloway]

It's a cara switch. Well, no, no. I don't know. I don't know if you listen to this or other podcasts. I'm super into. You talk about it.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, you do.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm super into football.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

And I wanted to buy the Glasgow Rangers, but I. I couldn't figure that out. And so this. I'm excited to spend more time in Colorado.

[Kara Swisher]

So are we going there? Are we flying?

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, we're going there a lot. Are you kidding?

[Kara Swisher]

Are you gonna scram? Can I come with you?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Or at least your boys can come with me anyway.

[Kara Swisher]

So good.

[Scott Galloway]

Okay.

[Kara Swisher]

All right. Well, that's kind of glamorous.

[Scott Galloway]

Team owner, from now on, I want you to call me team owner.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm gonna go fourth, fifth wife. Start making ridiculously, like, stupid, bigoted, racist statements and have the league freak out.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, all right.

[Scott Galloway]

I can't wait.

[Kara Swisher]

I love that you're like the other guy, the other guy in the investment group. I like that at the bottom of the press release. I like that at the top.

[Scott Galloway]

It's hilarious. If you do read the articles, I'm literally. The last sentence I said also joining the investor group.

[Kara Swisher]

You're, like crawling. You're at the bottom rung, hanging on. Ryan Reynolds ass is way up there, along with.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm Sophia Coppola at the Academy Awards. I'm like, I'm here.

[Kara Swisher]

She made some movies. She's made some very excellent movies. Anyway, congratulations, Scott. I think that's great. I think that's great. I'm not gonna be buying a team in any case. Anyway, we've got a lot to get to today, including last minute plans to save TikTok. Big deal. And the heated confirmation hearings for Trunk's cabinet nominees. Okay, so then, let's get to our first big story. As we tape Thursday morning, we're still waiting for the Supreme Court to decide on the TikTok ban. TikTok Supreme Court. I mean, it's January 19th is when it runs out, which is Sunday. But a lot of TikTok news is happening since our last episode. First up, as usual, I was right. Chinese officials have reportedly internally discussed an option of selling TikTok to Elon Musk, though TikTok has called the reports pure fiction. As if they'd know. Of course, they would like Elon to have it. He's adjacent. He's got a lot of business interests there. TikTok. TikTok also has a lot of advocates in Its corner. President elect Donald Trump is considering executive order to save TikTok once he's in office. Although someone likened it to a press release with better stationary because it doesn't have the force of law. Cuz five years from now, if Trump's not there, a Democratic president or someone else could hold Apple and Google liable, just so you know. So I think they're gonna follow the law, not Donald Trump.

[Scott Galloway]

I think you're right.

[Kara Swisher]

I think you gotta enforce it. Senators Ed Markey, Ron Wyden and Cory Booker, along with Representative Ro Khanna, our friend Ro Khanna have announced legislation to ext the TikTok ban deadline. It already has a 90 day thing that the President can put in place if there's, if there's efforts underway, but there are not efforts underway, so. And President Biden's administration is considering who would push this thing, is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the US if the ban goes into effect. TikTok has said it might close down Sunday. There's a number of things that could happen, but I suspect if the Supreme Court says it's legal, Apple will, Apple and Google will shut it down or they'll shut themselves down. Talk a little about the backtracking and what. I don't know what this, the delay is interesting to me. Maybe there's a little bit of. Or maybe they all want to write their own this because this is such a big, and it is a big and important decision. Tell me what you think here. Because the delay is interesting and I only think they all want to write. That would be my guess. And they need some time to do that.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I think it has geopolitical overlay and that is China and the US are the two biggest economies. I wouldn't call us enemies, but we're adversaries. And I think it's just dumb from a game theory standpoint. I mean, essentially what's happening here is the Biden administration kind of got tough, proposed this legislation. It passed. It's law. It is law of the land.

[Kara Swisher]

Law of the land. Law of the land.

[Scott Galloway]

And all this bullshit with Democratic senators trying to scramble to write new laws to extend the ban, hoping that China will back down. Well, guess what? We're blinking. They're not. And so to not actually ban this thing, regardless of the fallout, I believe weakens our ability and gives Xi the ability to think. You know what? When shit gets real, we don't blink. They do. We're blinking right now. And I think that has geopolitical ramifications across Any negotiation, whether it's China or trade. And that is they've said, they've essentially said, we're calling your bluff. And we've said, oh, okay, maybe we can figure out a way to extend the deadline. So maybe you'll blink. They're not going to. Or it doesn't appear they're going to. The other observation I would make is that, and I really hope this doesn't happen around Elon is whenever Elon says something incredibly stupid or cruel or just downright bigoted, people do the kind of Trump thing. Oh, you know, he doesn't mean it. It's late at night, he says these things. You're right. It's just he has kind of a. One of the things we love about him is he has no filter. He has a lack of control. Well, guess what? Where he has a filter, like, you know, a woman on Tinder who's attractive who's like, you know, swipe right on one out of 7,000 men. Notice how he never says anything negative about China.

[Kara Swisher]

Of course not.

[Scott Galloway]

He's got real self control and maturity when it comes to China. Never said anything. Oh, and by the way, Brazil, who said, go fuck yourself. All of a sudden he's really polite and doesn't say and he's restrained around Brazil. So this is the problem with again with a democracy and free speech that's not enforced for everybody and people aren't protected universally. Is the incentives become shitposts to people who don't have the balls or are still holding on to the fidelity of free speech and democracy because there's no downside.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens. I do think the Suprem Court will probably weigh in on national security issues. It seems like all the other courts have done so it is the law. A Trump executive order will do nothing, just so you're aware. It's just empty things. And he can say, I'm not enforcing it. Pam Bondi in her hearing, which we'll talk about in a minute, didn't confirm or deny whether she'd do it. Doesn't matter what they think if you're Tim. What matters is what Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai thinks gonna happen to him in five years if they don't follow because they can be liable for $60 billion in fines. Right. If they don't follow it, even if Trump later and stuff like that, they are liable. They have to follow the law, which is right now, that now Congress can change it. They can shift things, they can make new legislation they can override the ban completely. But then you're right, we look like fucking wimps. We look like wimps to China. And once again. And of course Trump wants to do the deal. I'm gonna do the deal. I can see apparently spending an enormous amount of its time cuz it's so visually interesting to him. It's like I'm gon show the art. I keep saying art of the deal. Like stop it. Like there's no deal here. You were the one, let me just say, you know the OG person who started this, Donald Trump with his executive order against TikTok. I, I agreed with him at the time by the way. And so he started this mess and now he's gonna come. It's like the arsonist is gonna come put out the fire. He started this thing, now he's trying to stop it. Everyone wants credit for the deal. There's all these very self interested people around the basket like Jeff Yass, Elon Musk, Larry, whatever cockamamie idea they have, whatever billionaire can take over and so I think they're gonna. There's nothing they can do. There's nothing they can do unless they overturn the actual law, which they can do. That's what they absolutely can do. Interestingly, while TikTok users who are worried about the app will be banned are flocked to other Chinese social media app, they didn't rush off to Meta or Anything else called RedNote which is apparent I haven't gotten. It's apparently very fun. The app has grabbed the number one spot on Apple's most popular free apps Char with a reported over 700,000 new users joining in two days. They can do this all day and night. You remember that from the Avengers. I can do this all day and night. The Chinese can do this all day and night with us. And now people are flocking to all these Chinese apps. Well, we gonna ban all those, right? I mean it just got. We should have had a larger bill because. And we should have had a larger bill. That's what happened here. We had a shitty bill that was all ridiculously political and performative and now we've got this and have you tried red and note Scott? Have you? What do you think about.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh Kara, I can barely. Like I had to have my assistant download Blue Sky. I am so sick. Building an audience and then finding out that the people that own this one are bad and trying to get on another one. I'm just kind of, I mean there's tug, tug boat, there's just so many I'm just. At some point I'm just going to go back to post its and maybe put it in the elevator and maybe. Maybe my neighbors will find it funny. I'm just going to start posting memes. I lived in Washington. I lived in faculty housing until 2017. And there was a woman there who's, you know, has. NYU is a gentle place and we don't kick people out of faculty housing. So it's literally a senior's home. I was hands down the youngest person by about 70 years. And there was a woman there whose husband who was like some big wheel in, you know, the Greek classics in the 60s, has been living there. And she'd be outside and I liked her because she'd play with her dog into this tennis ball and she used to. She put up a little cork bulletin board and she put up like, funny comics. That's where I'm headed. I think that's the last safe platform for me.

[Kara Swisher]

I'm gonna get you a cork bullet in your mouth.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm find the cork board and I'm gonna post my shit there. Of aerial firefighter. Anybody on Monday, Anybody on Monday that needs a break from this, I'm not gonna advocate joining me in my Pyrronian Xanax methodology, the panics method. I am going to be nonstop posting 80s music and footage of aerial firefighters. That is it. That is it. I am.

[Kara Swisher]

Nothing that's in pornography now.

[Scott Galloway]

Nothing about this. No pornography I'm going to do on my own. I don't even take a retail story.

[Kara Swisher]

I wrote you about how popular they've become, how it's been like online pornography, watching these things.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, really?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. I sent you.

[Scott Galloway]

I don't read most of this. You should send shit out all day. I don't read most of it.

[Kara Swisher]

I do. You should read it. I'd send it directly to you. It's all about the area. And also there's many women in that group.

[Scott Galloway]

Just the funniest thing you send. You did send me something where I laughed out loud. Lied was loud. Was a picture of Pete Hagseth.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

And it said DUI hire. I thought that was really funny.

[Kara Swisher]

That was an AI thing. Yeah. Yeah, we'll get to that then. All right. We'll see where. What's going to happen in the ban Supreme Court. Get going. TikTok. TikTok. When we come back, we'll talk about the contentious confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet, including DUI hire Pete Hegseth and take a listener mail question about recovery responsibility with the La Fire.

[Scott Galloway]

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[Kara Swisher]

Scott. We're back with our second big story. A number of President elect Trump's cabinet nominees are on Capitol Hill this week for their confirmation hearings. It's, you know, the perform. Speaking, performative Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio got a welcome reception from senators on both sides of the. Marco Rubio.

[Scott Galloway]

Senator Rubio has never seen more qualified.

[Kara Swisher]

He's never seen low bar.

[Scott Galloway]

He's like the statesman of the 20th century right now.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, little Marco. Little Marco is low bar Marco, and may I call you Marco? While Attorney General general nominee Pam Bonney faced pointing questions about election denial and prosecuting Trump's enemies. She was pretty slippery, I thought. And when asked by Senator Blumenthal about whether she would enforce the TikTok ban, Bondi avoided another direct answer. What a good lawyer she is. Let's listen.

[Scott Galloway]

Will you commit to enforce that law on your first day when you are.

[Kara Swisher]

If you are confirmed, Senator, as I discussed with you during our meeting, that is pending litigation within the Department of Justice.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, it's pending litigation, but will you enforce that law?

[Kara Swisher]

I can't discuss pending litigation, but I will talk to all the career officials again, prosecutors who are handling the case. Absolutely, Senator. What? Give her the job? I don't know what else to say.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I mean, I find all. It's pending litigation. I just. Are you going to pick your kids up from School after school today. That's speculative, Senator.

[Kara Swisher]

I don't.

[Scott Galloway]

That's a hypothetical.

[Kara Swisher]

I don't. Yeah, yeah. She's not going to enforce it, but it doesn't matter. They'll enforce it themselves. What did you think of her at that hearing? Just curious.

[Scott Galloway]

Pam.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, Pam. Let's call it Pam Marco. Pam. Let's diminutize all of them.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, look, okay, one, as a citizen and when these people evaluate people for what are incredibly important jobs, I would find it refreshing if some of them actually answered questions, even if it upset people. But in terms of her skill set, I thought she demonstrated real skill. She demonstrated outstanding political skills. She came across as indignant and refused to answer any questions. And that's the environment we're in. So she was. I thought she was quite skilled, which makes her, quite frankly, probably even more scary, I think. Hegseth.

[Kara Swisher]

Oh, we're getting to that. Let me read. Yeah. So the real fireworks happened at the hearing for defense secretary nominee, the very unqualified Fox News host. He's qualified to be a Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation is looking likely at this point. Hegseth had heated exchanges with Democrats over allegations of sexual misconduct, his comments about women in combat, and whether he's qualified for the job. And when asked by Senator Elissa Slotkin about whether he would carry out an illegal order from the president, Hegseth danced around and badly. Let's listen. Do you believe there is such a thing as an illegal order that Joe Biden or any other President Donald Trump could give? Is there anything that a commander in chief could ask you to do with the uniform military that would be in violation of the US Constitution?

[Scott Galloway]

Senator, anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.

[Kara Swisher]

Right. Okay. So. And are you. So are you saying that you would stand in the breach and push back if you were given an illegal order?

[Scott Galloway]

I start by saying I reject the premise that President Trump.

[Kara Swisher]

I understand giving any illegal orders at all. All right. Well, again, you know, and they also came out swinging during the hearings, focusing a lot on Hegsett's personal shortcomings. I did not feel this was an effective strategy. Me and the Cuban didn't think it. They should. Like, nobody cares that he's a drunk and a cheater and possibly a sexual predator? I mean, allegedly. I think he seems pretty yucky to me. Creepy, at the very least. Creepy and drinks too much. We know. I don't think anybody cares. Obviously, Donald Trump doesn't care. The senators, these Republican Senators don't care. What they needed to do was show what an incompetent person is. And Senator Duckworth tried to by trying to get him to name what are.

[Scott Galloway]

The nations in Asiana.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, right, exactly. They should have been a rat, a tat with. What about this in Ukraine? What about here? What about Houthis? Houthis. What about Syria? What would be your next move in Syria? What would be like blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah to show he is just, just as dumb as a box of hammers. And that would have been a much more effective thing to do. Centering in on his. With his. Honestly, I don't care that his wife was there. I mean he's obviously a pig but. And he may have changed. I have no idea. I don't get the impression. I've heard there's been reports he continues to drink heavily. I don't think that matters at this point. Even though I agree it's pretty heinous. But I thought they bollocks this badly. What do you think?

[Scott Galloway]

I think you're exactly right. You kind of stole my fund. First off, Senator Jill Brown's questioning of him totally triggered me and I was trying to figure it out and I'm like this is summarized her tone and his face summarized the last year of my first marriage. It just. That was a joke. I thought that'd be funnier.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay. But I feel bad.

[Scott Galloway]

You're exactly right. The questions folks. Trump has demonstrated that we have moved and that is. And Democrats kind of started this off. A lot of former presidents have not acquitted themselves well but basically President Trump has demonstrated that at least 49% of the populace and probably like 70 like regarding drinking personal behavior, what I'll call more generally we refer to as character. You know, honey badger, just don't care. And you come across as indignant. You come across as a cultural pris. It doesn't work. What they should have been asking is what do you think is the likelihood or the capabilities of an amphibious assault on China and what are we doing to prevent that? What new technologies or combat techniques have you learned from the wars in Gaza and in Ukraine? And I think it would have demonstrated. I would, I believe that quite frankly he just doesn't have a command the. He doesn't have the domain expertise to make really good decisions around this stuff. I believe I don't. You know he knows a lot about combat. But these. The Defense Secretary is supposed to be able to make very high level decisions strategically that position us to be the greatest. Continue to be the greatest fighting force in history and then coordinate resources across all sorts of agencies and. And five different branches of the armed services. And no, they didn't go there. Instead, the Democrats, they went a little.

[Kara Swisher]

Bit around his bad management of his tiny little things, which I think they should have, too. But even that isn't adjacent to current things.

[Scott Galloway]

Senator Duckworth was the only one that kind of did her, in my opinion, that kind of did her job. And that is.

[Kara Swisher]

She's in the. She's been in the Army.

[Scott Galloway]

Obviously, he can be a low character person and still, I hate to say this, be probably a competent Secretary of Defense. What you can't be is a high character person who doesn't know what the fuck you're doing and how to organize 3 million men and women in uniform with multiple alliances, multiple technology. I mean, you have to understand somewhat the incredibly complex supply chain of trying to figure out a way to arm and supply nuclear submarines roaming the earth that aren't even coming above water for 18 months at a time. This shit is complicated.

[Kara Swisher]

As incompetent, showing, like, I was always like, show, don't tell. They kept saying he was incompetent. Show him as incompetent, show that he can't answer a question. The funniest one, though, was you show this, like, what are the countries in this group and what are the countries in this? And then you ask him, okay, what are the three brands of vodka? You could make a joke. You could bring that drunkenness in. Cause he knows the three. That was George Conway.

[Scott Galloway]

That's pretty disrespectful, but.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay, I know it is, but I'm just saying, well, if they're gonna do the performative thing, you might as well do that.

[Scott Galloway]

General Jim Beam and Sergeant Jeff Daniels, right?

[Kara Swisher]

This is the joke, George Conway thing. First, ask him the hard question and then ask him one that he knows the answer to. But it's really. It was just. Let me just say it was interesting when I said this and Mark did the same thing. I got like, oh, people do care. I'm like, I care, you care. Nobody else cares. Or they don't care enough to knock him off for this. And by the way, if you don't think we've had really creepy drunk the Secretary of Defense in our history. I don't know what you're smoking. Because we have. We've had a lot of creepy people in high positions of power in this country for years and years and years. I'm sure we've had rapists. I'm sure We've had drunks. I'm sure we've had all kinds of malfeasance. But what matters is competency in this moment, because publicly it doesn't. They didn't put a glove on this guy, I thought.

[Scott Galloway]

But just to be clear, he's never been convicted of anything, right? Exactly. He's clear.

[Kara Swisher]

He paid off.

[Scott Galloway]

That's fine. Yeah. Which in some cases, people do. Pragmatically, I feel like I have to be Mika with me on Morning Joe right now, but I'm all about. I don't think Nixon was a good man, but I actually think he was pretty fucking brilliant geopolitically, that I want somebody. I'd like Dave Clark, the former head of operations from Amazon, to be Secretary of Defense. Because the bottom line is when you run defense, you are essentially the world's most important operations person. And there was no questions around the dumb importance of stuff like supply chain weapons developments, new tactics in war, like tunnels and drones are the new weapons. In every war, whether it's tanks or jet engines or radar, there's new technologies that change the landscape. And if you're not on top of those technologies, you stand to lose to a smaller army, as evidenced by what's going on in Russia and Ukraine. And there was no thoughtful discussion around whether this guy has any command of that whatsoever. Instead, they wanted to know if he was drunk at some. At some gathering. I mean, come on. Anyway, I thought the Democrats came across as like, okay, maybe you just bang your intern quietly or your PhD student, but just ask the fucking questions about being Secretary of Defense.

[Kara Swisher]

Exactly. I think. I don't know if it would have worked necessarily, but it would have put it on the record, right? It would have put it. And someone was arguing with me, and I said, do you know that Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin was deadly? Because she was polite. She's like, what do you read? What about this? She wasn't rude. She just showed that Sarah Palin was unqualified and ignorant, and she didn't do it rudely. She didn't. She didn't. You know what?

[Scott Galloway]

You couldn't name one newspaper.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. Remember that? That was just.

[Scott Galloway]

What'd you read?

[Kara Swisher]

Why read them all?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, which one?

[Kara Swisher]

Which one? Well, name just one. Go watch that interview. And that's how they should. They should have had Katie Couric in there teaching them how to ask questions. And she did it very gracefully. But at the end of the interview, she was. Sarah Palin was finished as far as I was concerned. And we Understood, everyone. The penny went click. The other thing that I thought. I will say one thing. Joanie Ernst. I get that they're putting pressure on you and they're gonna primary you if you didn't do this, but your values were around women in the military and sexual assault. She is a sexual assault victim. You gotta stand up for what you are, and you didn't. And you've taken a dive, and I understand why you did, but, boy, I'm sorry. You should have stood up for women and you didn't. And women like yourself.

[Scott Galloway]

I've been thinking about Senator Ernst and I thought, God, it's given her background. And I thought, is it unfair to hold someone to a different standard because they were a victim of something?

[Kara Swisher]

Not just that. She was in the military too.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, the one I love, though, my favorite is Senator Susan Collins is gonna take the weekend because she's concerned you wanna talk about a new position in the narcissist crypt.

[Kara Swisher]

Right?

[Scott Galloway]

There's a place for Senator Collins because Senator Collins. I will maybe Kalshee. Oh, my God, I'm gonna bet on this. If anyone can find a betting site around how Senator Collins is gonna vote. She's like, look at me. I'm concerned. I'm a mocker moderate. I'm thoughtful. I need to take the weekend to review his testimony. I have never been this confident ever since Floyd Mayweather fought Conor McGregor that, oh, yeah, Senator Collins is really struggling with this decision. She's like, look at me. I'm a thoughtful moderate. Nobody owns me that vote. No one. Pete Hegseth and President Trump are not worried about Senator Collins falling in line with the Republican Party. But she's like, please look at me. Look at me. I'm gonna think about it.

[Kara Swisher]

I'm not sure the one I like is Murkowski. I think Murkowski has got a set, but not the rest of them because.

[Scott Galloway]

In a good way, because she won.

[Kara Swisher]

They went after her and she won.

[Scott Galloway]

So she's like one of the keys to having moderates who actually vote. They're conscious and aren't our live in fear is that I think it's Final five voting in Alaska where moderates actually get elected.

[Kara Swisher]

Right.

[Scott Galloway]

Anyways, I'm all Andrew Yang.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, they do have the prospect this time it's slightly different, but I don't really care. I'd still be. Fuck you. Is deploying Musk's money. He keeps threatening. Trump keeps threatening the deploying of Musk's money. Just so you know, I'm going to.

[Scott Galloway]

A new Members club tonight. Shaymar, go. And I'm not sure I'm going to drink here. I'm not. I'm not sure I'm gonna get fucked up and become more charming and like myself and like the world more. I need to think about it, Kara. I need to think about the ills of alcohol.

[Kara Swisher]

Remember, you are a team owner now. Behaves like one that is behaving like one.

[Scott Galloway]

Are you kidding?

[Kara Swisher]

That's fair. That's fair.

[Scott Galloway]

I just need to show up with young, young hot woman.

[Kara Swisher]

You're Ryan Reynolds adjacent now. Finally. Can you get him to come on the show?

[Scott Galloway]

Ryan Reynolds?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, get him to come on the, the show.

[Scott Galloway]

Now that you're friends or whatever, I just want a discount on Mint Mobile.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes, Mint Mobile. Okay, Scott. They're one of our sponsors. Many years ago or maybe recently. Okay, Scott, let's pivot to a listener question. This question comes from Nancy in Santa Rosa. Let's listen. Hey, Scott and Kara. This is Nancy in Santa Rosa, California. My question is economic and tied to the fires in Southern California. Having lived through several wildfires and been evacuated, I have to say it's breaking my heart to see what's going on in Los Angeles. But my question for you too is where are the banks? It seems to me we're talking about government assistance, we're talking about rebuilding assistance, we're talking about what the insurance companies are going to be able to do. But it seems to me that most of those homes and most of those businesses were in buildings that were basically owned by the banks and the occupants were paying it off. So where are the banks? That's my question. Where are the banks? Once again, in another disaster, where are the banks? Thanks, you guys. You've made me so much smarter than I deserve to be. Well, thank you, Nancy from Santa Rosa. I'll very briefly say where they will be here because they will suffer losses or they will collect all this property because a lot of people probably aren't going to keep. You have to keep paying your mortgage even if your house doesn't exist, from what I understand, because you have the commitment to the banks. Many people will default or work out other terms with these banks or the banks will get the properties or the land, I guess, and be able to develop it or sell it or whatever. I mean, I think that's what's going to happen here. And I think probably some of them will suffer. Some of the banks will, and some will. You know, the more disturbing conversation going on is all these idiot Republicans saying that they're not going to pay. They're going to add conditions onto payments around disaster relief. It's just a ridiculous way. Our country has always went to the aid in disaster relief. And so that to me is heinous. But in this case, I think the banks will either own the properties or give building loans to build these things back at probably pretty good rates. I know Newsom's working towards keeping insurance companies off the backs of people and getting probably government will probably play a big role here.

[Scott Galloway]

Scott, I actually, I think they're going to be fine because I think it's federal legislation. I know that in Florida to get a mortgage you have to show proof of insurance. So I would imagine the majority of those homes that burned down are going to get an insurance check such that they can continue to pay their mortgage. The banks cover their ass as they're supposed to. And if you're in a high fire area or a dangerous area or I think even if you just get any mortgage you have as a condition of getting a mortgage, you have to show homeowners insurance. So I don't think they have much exposure. The more interesting conversation, in my view, and I'm a bit of a Darwinian here, we have a tendency to always want to socialize the losses. And the reality is when you build a tinderbox or decide to buy a tinderbox in a beautiful spectacular desert with high pressure and low pressure systems, I'll go to me, I live on the water in Florida. There's real climate change risk or weather risk. And my view is I should either pay for the insurance at a market rate or move or the value of my house should go down. Instead, we go to this understandable sympathy for these people. People and taxpayers, including people who could never afford to live in the Palisades, end up bailing folks out. I just hate to say it. I think if you're going to live in a dangerous area because of the upside to you personally from a consumption standpoint, I don't think taxpayers should be bailing these people out. And until people feel the full weight of whether it's climate change or the cost of living in high risk areas, areas, we're not going to do anything about it.

[Kara Swisher]

Fair point. It's a fair point. I think there's initial disaster relief you can bring 100% and, you know, cover costs that people pay back and things like that. But I tend to agree with you. I think you, you know, I know I live in an earthquake zone in San Francisco, so I went out of my way to Put in steel girders and put them down into the bedrock. I did so much stuff around fire in terms of, of not having as much wood. I thought about passive. It's called passive architecture, which is thicker walls, more concrete, et cetera. I didn't do all of it. Cause it was an old house. I wasn't able. It was an old wooden house. But I definitely did everything possible. It cost me a lot of money to do so. I have enormous insurance on that because of earthquake insurance. And it's all at the cost to me. Now I would expect some federal help around food or temporary things or relief, but I wouldn't demand it after a certain amount of time. Safety would be one of them. Like keep my house safe, keep like looters and things like that.

[Scott Galloway]

Why should taxpayers, federal taxpayers at the gas pump paying whatever it is, tax on their current income as a waiter or as a chiropractor. Why should they be subsidizing my right to live on the, on the water in Florida?

[Kara Swisher]

Well, that's a bigger question. Why should people pay for, for schools? Because if I don't have kids, why should I pay for cornstarch?

[Scott Galloway]

Because there's a social good to having an educated populace. Is there a social good to making sure Scott can stare at the ocean waiting for the ass cancer? It's not your right to live in a spectacular desert that collides with the sea with these beautiful mountains that create these funnels of hot air. If you wanna live there, in my opinion, you should bear the costs, including the risks.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, well, Nancy, the banks will be fine. If there's a mortgage of any kind, the banks will own the property. That tends to be the situation. Or they'll figure something out. They always sort of work it all out and will overcharge people as healthcare companies have gotten so good at doing. Anyway, if you've got a question of your own that you'd like to answer, send it our way. Go to nymag.com pivot, submit a question for the show or call 85551 pivot. All right, Scott, one more quick break and we'll be back for your prediction. Two influencers, both alike in dignity, and some other stuff on the Internet where we lay our scene. Let's talk about all of my favorite basics from Amazon that you need in your winter wardrobe. Some people think this is weird, but.

[Scott Galloway]

I get all my clothes on Amazon.

[Kara Swisher]

This is what I would buy if.

[Scott Galloway]

I didn't already own them.

[Kara Swisher]

I just got in a bunch of super cute packages from Amazon. So let's open them up. Their aesthetic is beige, it's serene, it's a little basic on purpose. And now one is suing the other for stealing her vibes. There's a lot of things going on in the actual suit. But what it boils down to really is one of the women, Sydney Gifford, says that the other woman, Alyssa Shiel, just won't stop copying her. Coming up on Today.

[Scott Galloway]

Explain.

[Kara Swisher]

Okay, Scott, let's hear a prediction and make it good.

[Scott Galloway]

I think that inflation and the 10 year bond are going to be the adults in the room in the next few months.

[Kara Swisher]

Explain.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, if you think about 13,000 homes, homes have been destroyed and the idea that, I mean, Trump's two big policies are, I mean, a few things, the implicit kind of expectation that he'll either keep taxes low or lower them, Two, that he'll be very, he'll take a tougher stand on illegal immigrants and three, that he's going to impose tariffs. This is the perfect storm for inflation. And where you're going to see examples of it that hit the news are when people start to rebuild in the Palisade and the hiring pool is vastly diminished and the cost of a washing machine or a garage door is up 40 or 60%. And that month you see a bump up in CPI and the tenure goes fucking crazy. It's like his entire. The person I am most excited about in the Trump cabinet who is the most qualified is the 10 year bond because if it starts to spike and goes and says the expectation of inflation is coming back because of this guy's inflationary policies around tariffs deporting immigrants. And I want to be clear, if you've committed a crime and you're an illegal immigrant, that's your second crime. I am down with those people being deported. But the reality is if you go to a construction site, it is an undocumented workers lollapalooza.

[Kara Swisher]

It is indeed.

[Scott Galloway]

And by the way, some of these people, people speaking for a friend, are remarkably fucking talented, right? And hardworking.

[Kara Swisher]

California, by the way, and will get.

[Scott Galloway]

On a roof, work 12 hours such that they can make, you know, 300, 400 bucks that day and then send 200 home, you know, to wherever it is, to El Sal or wherever they're from. But the fact that all of a sudden these people are going to be scared to show up to a work site or that they might be worried about or they just might not come here, it's been this on a positive note. This workforce has been one of the most flexible economic economically advantageous workforces in history. And then you're going to start this bullshit around taxing all these products. And by the way, these folks the next day will implement reciprocal tariffs. You want to talk about the choke point in AI, I used to think, oh, it's nuclear stocks are going to go up. Nuclear stocks. My analyst, Ms. Savario reminded me that nuclear can't really be online. They can't handle a third of the incremental demand by like 2050 because there's latency in building a nuclear power plant. She said it's going to be all about liquid natural gas. We get a lot of LNG from Canada. What happens when Canada gets sick of being pissed off?

[Kara Swisher]

Food prices.

[Scott Galloway]

You're going to see. Do you know how many products chicken. There are cars that are eventually sold or quote unquote manufactured in the US that go back and forth to Mexico? Different components in different parts, like a half a dozen or a dozen times. So they immediately reciprocate with like minded tariffs. And what's going to bring it to light is some of the costs around trying to rebuild. And then the adult in the room on the cabinet is going to be the 10 year. And if inflation starts to spike, all of his grandiose plans around tariffs, it's going to come undone. So anyways, my prediction is that the rebuild effort, as we begin to cost it out, are gonna shine a light on the inflationary pressures of kind of Trump's signature policies. God, that was boring, man.

[Kara Swisher]

No, it wasn't. It's interesting.

[Scott Galloway]

Jesus, I'm bored.

[Kara Swisher]

No, it is interesting. You know, man and I are renovating our house in D.C. and we were thrilled. It's almost done. Like I remember, we were like, we missed like all the cost of wood, all the cost of labor, all the costs of all the things that were from all, you know, we bought locally, we did a lot of local stuff, windows fixed and stuff like that. But I went to this guy who was doing our window restoration. We restored old windows and it was, I don't know who the workers were, but they were these wonderful skilled workers all over the place. And they were all from other countries. Every single person in there, he was training them and they were wonderful craftspeople, but I don't know where they were from. I don't know anything about it. But at the same time I was thinking, oh my God, if this was the Trump administration, this would cost us double, double to do the renovation. Or it would be the inflation pressures or the ability to even have workers would have Been like spiked. And I agree with Scott, it's gonna be. People are gonna start to feel it really hard. Food prices, furniture, couches, everything. Everything you own is subject to this problem. We are so intertwined. One of the great stories actually I would push people to look at was Atlantic did one on how many plastics there are in. And so one of the reasons these things burned so quickly was because so much of our goods, from couches to everything with so much plastic in our houses, it goes up and it's quite toxic.

[Scott Galloway]

I heard we have plastic in our testicles. Did you read that article?

[Kara Swisher]

Not my testicles. Mine are clean. My testicles are clean.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, based on that down vest you're wearing, I'm now convinced you have testicles. Where did you get that thing? Stop it.

[Kara Swisher]

David Zaslav gave it to me.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, of course he did.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, he wears it.

[Scott Galloway]

Of course he did.

[Kara Swisher]

He wears it. I said, where can I get one of your lesbian.

[Scott Galloway]

He wears a lot of ears.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, the guy got it. I had interview Mark Thompson at one of their events and this was part of the schwag.

[Scott Galloway]

That fits. It's very Kara Swisher.

[Kara Swisher]

It is, it is. I love it. It's one of my favorite things. It's high quality. It's very soft because it's from David Zaslav. Before we go, a quick look at what's going on elsewhere in the Karen Scott universe. This week on Prof. G Markets, Scott spoke with our favorite Canadian who now will be under tariffs. Andrew Ross Sorkin, editor at large of DealBook at the new York Times and co editor anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box Disclosure. He's not actually Canadian. We just call him that. Let's listen to a clip of you and Andy Ross.

[Scott Galloway]

If China is prepared to sell to Elon Musk and only to Elon Musk, what does that say about the leverage and influence that China must think that they have over Elon Musk by dint of his factories and Tesla business is in the nation state that is China. And then it probably raises a whole secondary order of questions, which is if China feels this way, how should we as Americans feel that people are calling him the co president of the United.

[Kara Swisher]

States, to say nothing of Russia. Andy Ross and his influence, his various influences. How did that go with you and him?

[Scott Galloway]

I love Ryan De Roster. I think the most trusted journalist in the world right now is Anderson Cooper. And I think second is probably. I think the most trusted business journalist in the world is Andrew and my co host ed Elson. This 25 year old kid who's been working with us, who is to me what I am to you. And that is. I discovered his ass. And he said to him, he stopped the podcast, no joke. And he said, you're my professional role model. To which I responded, well, I hope he pays your bonus, bitch.

[Kara Swisher]

But anyways, that was like, not good. Ed. Don't you understand the fine art of kissing up? He has better hair. Let's be clear.

[Scott Galloway]

He's arguably the most likable man in media. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about Andrew R. Sorgan.

[Kara Swisher]

I think he's underpaid, actually. I've told him that because he wants to work at the same time. I know, but he could make Bankier. He could make Bankier because he could go off on his own, he and I.

[Scott Galloway]

He does. He does. He does Squawk box.

[Kara Swisher]

He likes to stay. He can't give speeches. He can't do other things. He can't do this, he can't do that.

[Scott Galloway]

Maybe you should buy the New York Times. Oh, God.

[Kara Swisher]

Listen up. Next week we'll be in your feeds a day late because of the holidays. See you on Wednesday to talk about the inauguration. We're gonna tape on Tuesday after Zolvere. I have plenty to talk about. All the pictures of the three amigos or the three idiotis who will be sitting at the parade. And listen, it is no degrees and the richest people in the world have to sit there on really uncomfortable chairs until Donald Trump gets up. What a great world this is, Scott. Read us out.

[Scott Galloway]

Today's show was produced by Lara Naiman, Zoe Marcus and Taylor Griffin. Ernie and Todd engineering this episode. Thanks also to Drew Burroughs, Ms. Silvero and Dan Shulan. Nishat Kuroh is Vox Media's executive producer of audio. Make sure you subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 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. The Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles Lakers, Manchester United, Man City City Cricket in India. Nothing, nothing compared to the second best team in Bogota, La, Ecuador.