Pod Save America, Ep. 1122: "Fascist Mile High Club" (Feb 16, 2026)

Hosts: Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, Tommy Vietor
Location: Sydney, Australia (Live Show)

Episode Overview

The hosts bring their sharp, irreverent political analysis Down Under in a live episode from their “Hopefully Just Visiting” tour in Sydney. They break down the latest political absurdities in the US—from Trump’s efforts to further restrict voting and Kristi Noem’s DHS drama to the bizarre “war on donuts” and the latest Obama interview. The show ends with a raucous “Playing the Field” debate on 2028 Democratic hopefuls, mixing laughs and substance in equal measure.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. American Political Mayhem Recap

• Opening banter: The hosts highlight the chaos back home: Trump’s attempted arrest of Congress members, DOJ’s Epstein antics, HHS’s "war on donuts," and the shut-down DHS still running “deportation flights to Pound Town.”
• Lovett (03:01): “The Health and Human Services secretary declared war on donuts. And even though the Department of Homeland Security is shut down, the secretary's deportation plane is reportedly still taking trips to Pound Town.”

2. Trump, the SAVE Act, and GOP Voting Restrictions

[05:00–14:00]

• Discussion about Trump’s push for the restrictive SAVE Act, requiring passports or birth certificates to vote, and Republican threats to kill the filibuster to push it through.
• Tommy Vietor (07:26): “There is not an epidemic of non-citizens voting. In America we can barely get our citizens to vote.”
• Dan Pfeiffer (09:31): Explains practical issues: many Americans don’t have passports, particularly low-income, non-college educated, and recently married women. The law would disenfranchise millions, potentially hurting GOP voters as well.
• Jon Favreau (11:58): “Half the country doesn’t have passports. And you think the State Department, after they've cut as much of the State Department as they have, is going to start processing passports this quickly?”
• Hosts agree the move is about intimidating and deterring Democratic voters (“They want to take away your power so that...the Epstein class gets to call the shots,” - Dan Pfeiffer 10:15).
• Takeaway: The push is framed as Trump cannonballing into the voting pool, forcing destructive overreactions that may backfire.

3. Kristi Noem & Lewandowski: DHS Soap Opera

[13:15–21:28]

• The Wall Street Journal exposes Kristi Noem’s affair with Corey Lewandowski and her misuse of DHS resources—including a "private fuck cabin" on the department's deportation plane.
• Tommy Vietor (14:37): “Kristi Noem…bragged about murdering her dog...She also greenlit an anti-drug PSA: 'Meth. We're on it.' That’s the intellectual firepower here.”
• Lovett (16:01): “Fucking idiot,” in response to Lewandowski’s gun antics.
• Hosts mock both their incompetence and authoritarian impulses, but argue that real policy danger comes from Stephen Miller’s control, while Noem is “the one that was driving...sensationalist coverage” (Lovett 20:25).
• Emphasis on lack of vetting for critical posts and how cronyism/ego trumps core competency (“His [Trump’s] number one priority is immigration... He picks someone who has no experience,” - Dan 19:21).

4. Australian–American Political Scandals Game: “Ar Gnar What a Shit Shower”

[24:45–43:41]

• Lovett leads an engaging, light-hearted quiz comparing scandals from both countries—including Jimmy Carter and the “killer rabbit”, Prime Minister Harold Holt and submarine conspiracies, Bush Sr. vomiting, Bob Hawke’s beer record, and Larry Craig’s bathroom escapade.
• The segment is punctuated by audience laughter and boasts (“You people named a swimming pool after a prime minister who drowned?” - Jon Lovett, 28:31), charting the wild side of politics on both continents.

5. War on Donuts: Processed Foods, Wellness, and MAGA Health

[45:37–56:28]

• HHS’s “war on donuts” is cynically dissected. The hosts mock a ham-fisted PSA starring Mike Tyson and point out hypocrisy as “wellness” messaging migrates from left to Trumpworld.
• Tommy Vietor (47:49): “He [Tyson] looks so genuinely pissed. Like that slap does not seem like a stage slap.”
• On Trump’s diet: “He eats like there’s no tomorrow… McDonalds, candy and Diet Coke…pumping himself full of poison all day long.” (RFK Jr., 50:51)
• Dan Pfeiffer (52:04): Laments how the “Make America Healthy Again” movement—raw milk, anti-vaccine, chemical-free—has gone from being a progressive cause to a rightwing talking point.
• Jon Lovett (53:39): Notes regulatory failure and compares it to 1990s diet fads: “Now, like, there is real reason for people to be like, wait a second, why didn't we address some of these things? Why didn't we pull some of these chemicals out?” but “it’s not an occasional donut, it’s measles.”

6. Barack Obama: On Aliens and Democratic Renewal

[56:28–66:12]

• The hosts dissect Obama’s viral interview answer on aliens and joke about the government’s “deep state” secrecy.
  • Tommy Vietor (58:16): “I do not think that Barack Obama was just sort of, like, casually confirming the existence of aliens...in the speed round of the interview.”
  • Jon Lovett (59:56): “It wasn't until he put out the clarifying statement that I was convinced in my bones that there are aliens and Barack Obama knows about them 100%.”
• Obama’s more important remarks: urges Democrats to seek younger, more culturally and digitally astute candidates, be plugged into the zeitgeist, and not get caught up in purity politics.
  • Obama (61:00): “At some point, you age out. You're not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through. Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times…”
  • Also advocates a “robust” primary to clarify party direction and rebuild coalition.

7. Rebuilding for 2028: Democratic Party’s Future

[66:12–73:59]

• The hosts reflect on Obama’s call for renewal and take stock of the party’s crisis—a “sclerotic” and disconnected leadership, a too-old establishment, and an urgent need for an “out of the box” debate about message, direction, and candidates.
  • Dan Pfeiffer (71:13): “The Democratic Party is in a state of crisis…We need to have a big, giant, messy debate about who we are, what we stand for, and who should be in charge of this party.”
  • Lovett and others warn, however, that “a messy debate is no guarantee that people show up to the table with what we need.” (72:26)

8. "Playing the Field": 2028 Democratic Hopefuls Debate

[76:43–99:40]

• In a satirical segment, each host is randomly assigned a rumored 2028 Democratic hopeful:
  • Jon Favreau: JB Pritzker
  • Jon Lovett: Pete Buttigieg
  • Tommy Vietor: Rahm Emanuel
  • Dan Pfeiffer: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)
• Each makes their best (and worst) case for their candidate, with the others lobbing sharp, sometimes brutal, critiques.
• Memorable moments:
  • On Buttigieg (Lovett, 91:13): “Nowhere to go but up…You ever have a jar of pickles...but you're loosening it, you know? And one day, boom. Black votes.”
  • On Rahm (Tommy, 92:08): “First of all, people don’t like crime, thus that bill…Also chief of staff, member of Congress, ambassador to Japan. He's ready for the job.”
  • On AOC (Dan, 82:29): “They’re going to say she can't win. Do you know who else they said that about? Barack Obama…We need a candidate who can actually communicate in this environment—there is no better communicator than AOC.”
• Audience votes with biggest cheers for AOC; good-natured jabs and razor wit abound.

Notable Quotes

• Jon Lovett (03:01): “Alarming and stupid has sort of been our decade.”
• Dan Pfeiffer (09:31): “This would be the greatest step backwards in recent memory for voting in America.”
• Tommy Vietor (47:02): “Mike Tyson is the scariest motherfucker to walk this planet.”
• RFK Jr. (55:04): “I'm not scared of a germ. You know, I used to snort cocaine off a toilet seats.”
• Barack Obama (61:00): “At some point, you age out. You're not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”
• Dan Pfeiffer (71:13): “We have to have a big, giant, messy debate about who we are...if we don't, we may win in 2028, but...we didn't solve any of our problems, and we were right back where we were before.”

Important Timestamps

• [03:01] – Opening banter on absurd US news
• [05:00–14:00] – SAVE Act, GOP voting restrictions, filibuster
• [13:15–21:28] – DHS Kristi Noem/Cory Lewandowski scandal
• [24:45–43:41] – “Ar Gnar What a Shit Shower” audience game
• [45:37–56:28] – MAGA “War on Donuts”, Trump’s eating habits, wellness movement
• [56:28–66:12] – Obama on aliens and party renewal
• [66:12–73:59] – Future of the Democratic Party, calls for messy debate
• [76:43–99:40] – 2028 Democratic nomination “Playing the Field” debate

Tone & Style

• Witty, fast-paced, and irreverent, blending serious analysis with biting humor.
• Equal parts wonkiness (“the Brennan Center found…”) and roast (“Corey Lewandowski...wants to be a sheriff for Halloween, apparently,” - Tommy).
• Polished, but very conversational and “no-bullshit” as promised.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode captures Pod Save America's trademark blend of policy savvy, hard-hitting critique, and improv-comedy chaos—peppered with audience interaction and plenty of American-Aussie cross-cultural ribbing. The hosts provide a clear, insightful take on current challenges for US democracy, satirize the self-inflicted wounds of the MAGA movement, and openly question the direction of the Democratic Party headed toward 2028—urging both humility and ambition as the only path forward.