As the War Nears Its Legal Limit, Trump Pushes Presidential Power Further

Summary

Podcast Summary: "As the War Nears Its Legal Limit, Trump Pushes Presidential Power Further"

Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Vox Media Podcast Network | April 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov dive into escalating U.S.–Iran tensions as the Trump administration’s military engagement approaches the 60-day War Powers Resolution threshold. They debate the legal, political, and economic dimensions of the ongoing conflict, US domestic policy shifts, recent fractures in OPEC, Federal Reserve drama, the growing problem of gerrymandering, and symbolic politics (including Trump’s face on U.S. passports). Throughout, Galloway and Tarlov bring a centrist perspective—sharply critical of government overreach, institutional undermining, and political theater from both sides.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escalating Iran Conflict at the Legal Limit

• The Situation: Iran’s Supreme Leader issues provocative statements (“the only place for Americans in the Gulf was at the bottom of its waters”) amid Trump’s call for a broader deal and social media bluster (“no more Mr. Nice Guy”) [01:57–03:13].
• War Powers Uncertainty: The U.S. military action nears the 60-day legal limit without Congressional approval.
• Pentagon Testimony: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces sharp Congressional criticism over the operation’s goals and efficacy:
  • Hegseth had to admit the lack of an imminent threat and that Iran’s nuclear ambition persists despite strikes.
  • Disasters, including loss of six soldiers in Kuwait due to insufficient protections, further damage the administration’s case [03:13–06:09].
• Market Reaction: Wall Street doubts a diplomatic resolution, with investors pessimistically predicting continued Gulf instability (“Not a chance Hormuz opens”) [01:57–03:13].

Notable Quote:

• “He fully got his butt handed to him in those hearings, particularly by Congressman Adam Smith, especially on the timeline…”
  — Jessica Tarlov [03:13]

• “Every day the war goes on, it cedes advantage to the IRGC because they win by surviving… this is a definition of a quagmire. [Trump] has almost no good options here.”
  — Scott Galloway [09:16]

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2. War, Oil, and the Political/Economic Quagmire

• Iran’s Tactics: The Iranians are smuggling oil by disguising tankers as Iraqi ships, extending their sales timeline to four to six weeks and undermining the impact of the U.S.-led blockade [03:13–06:09].
• Republican Frustration: GOP lawmakers worry about the war’s duration and the election-year economic effects (e.g., high gas prices), potentially fracturing support [03:13–06:09].
• Big Tech Profiteering: Galloway links skyrocketing tech earnings (Meta up 33% YoY) to the public’s doom-scrolling war updates, highlighting economic discontent and “winner-take-all” frustration [06:09–09:50].

Notable Quote:

• “This was supposed to be a strike operation… but now you’re going to drag on past 60 days… They’re all looking at the midterms saying we don’t want to go into a midterm election with gas at $4.23…”
  — Jessica Tarlov [05:30]

• “Our economy is now a giant bet on AI… these companies have benefited from the fact that everyone’s face is now glued to their phone to see who we’re bombing.”
  — Scott Galloway [06:37]

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3. Blockade Efficacy and Munitions Shortages

• Smokescreen Arguments: The administration’s case for “operational excellence” and a ‘genius blockade’ is crumbling as crude oil continues flowing out of Iran [09:50–11:52].
• Reality vs. Rhetoric: Official spending numbers are far lower than true costs; estimates exceed $80B due to equipment losses not publicly acknowledged [09:50–11:52].
• GOP Dissent: Senator J.D. Vance is leaking concerns about U.S. munitions depletion, raising alarms about military preparedness for future conflicts (e.g., Taiwan).

Notable Quote:

• “If it is true...crude oil is getting out, there is nothing that is working at this point. Then the blockade is smoke and mirrors at this point.”
  — Jessica Tarlov [10:04]

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4. OPEC Fractures: UAE Exits the Cartel

• Geopolitical Shock: The UAE’s decision to leave OPEC (widely unreported according to Galloway) signals a major breakdown of the cartel, motivated by financial need and the region’s existential threats [11:52–13:26].
• Implications: Undermines Saudi dominance, atomizes Gulf unity, and—ironically—empowers Iran in its aim to destabilize rivals.

Notable Quote:

• “That is a real fracture in the Gulf states because their economic agreement around OPEC—OPEC is arguably…the most powerful cartel in history… them leaving because of this conflict is…probably another win for the IRGC.”
  — Scott Galloway [12:40]

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5. Federal Reserve Independence Under Threat

• Powell’s Stand: Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in likely his last meeting, decries Trump administration legal attacks undermining Fed independence. The episode plays Powell’s unusually forceful closing remarks [16:39–17:51].
• Political Tensions: The administration’s lawsuit against Powell, nomination of Kevin Warsh, and Senate machinations underscore partisan attempts to control monetary policy.
• Dissent at the Fed: An 8:4 vote to hold interest rates, with dissenters opposing the signaling of future rate cuts. Warsh, newly confirmed, is criticized for refusing to acknowledge Biden’s election, further politicizing the Fed [19:22–22:29].

Notable Quotes:

• “These legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113 year history… that piece of institutional architecture separates successful countries from unsuccessful countries.”
  — Jerome Powell (audio clip) [17:06]

• “Powell threads the needle between being forceful yet dignified…he does give everyone hope.”
  — Scott Galloway [20:23]

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6. Gerrymandering Escalates—Supreme Court and State Battles

• SCOTUS Ruling: Recent Supreme Court decision weakens the Voting Rights Act, likely opening the door for further gerrymandering in Southern states [23:59–25:59].
• Zero-Sum Redistricting: Both parties are poised to escalate tactics (“going nuclear”), leading to mutually assured district manipulation—Tarlov cites Democratic efforts in New York and California [25:59–28:19].
• Public Disgust: Both co-hosts emphasize public hatred of gerrymandering; Galloway suggests AI as a non-partisan solution.
• Systemic Corruption: The issue is linked rhetorically to corruption and the dangerous influence of billionaire mega-donors post-Citizens United, disconnecting governance from ordinary Americans.

Notable Quote:

• “There are…a select few people that are making decisions as to whether your vote really counts and what kind of representation you should have…maybe this gets to so bad and Democrats go so nuclear on this that Republicans will support the nationwide ban.”
  — Jessica Tarlov [27:16]

• “It’s the boring stuff that moves the needle. And I think we’re going to end up with extremists on both sides and a dysfunctional system until we do both de-gerrymander and also get rid of Citizens United.”
  — Scott Galloway [28:23]

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7. Maine’s Senate Race: Old Guard vs. Progressives

• Janet Mills Drops Out: Major development as the moderate governor bows out, leaving the path open for progressive Democrat Graham Platner to face Susan Collins [30:26–33:06].
• Fundraising Divide: Mills struggled to raise funds, in contrast to dynamic new candidates.
• Collins Critiqued: Both Galloway and Tarlov express open disdain for Collins’ “performative concern” routine.

Notable Quotes:

• “There’s few senators I would enjoy seeing get kicked out of office more than Senator Collins. I think she’s such an unproductive narcissist.”
  — Scott Galloway [32:26]

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8. Passport Theater: Trump’s Face on National IDs

• Latest Symbolic Move: Trump orders his face printed on a limited run of new US passports, triggering derision and satire [33:28–35:38].
• AOC’s Take: “It’s giving Monopoly money…jealous of Mount Rushmore.”
  — AOC as discussed by Jessica Tarlov [33:46]
• Historical Parallels: Galloway likens it to authoritarian vanity in Gulf and developing nations.

Notable Quotes:

• “He now thinks he’s above even just like great American presidents like George Washington and Lincoln had nothing on him. He’s like most powerful people that ever lived, like Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar guy.”
  — Jessica Tarlov [34:27]

• "I'm the bleach to this stain…and I promise to remove his image from everything, remove his name from everything."
  — Scott Galloway [34:59]

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Memorable Moments

• Hegseth’s Congressional Humiliation: “He fully got his butt handed to him in those hearings…” — Tarlov [03:13]
• Fed Chair’s Resistance: “Powell threads the needle between being forceful yet dignified…” — Galloway [20:23]
• Passport Parody: “It’s giving Monopoly money.” — AOC via Tarlov [33:46]
• OPEC Fracture: “That is a real fracture in the Gulf states because their economic agreement… is arguably…the most powerful cartel in history.” — Galloway [12:40]
• ‘Glass Jaw’ America: “If America develops a reputation for a glass jaw, that is…shit gets real…we lose some troops…and they leave…We look like a glass jaw nation.” — Galloway [08:45]

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Timeline of Key Segments

• Iran conflict, military limits, Congressional drama: [01:57–06:09]
• Big Tech profits in a wartime economy: [06:09–09:50]
• Blockade failures, munitions shortage, GOP infighting: [09:50–11:52]
• UAE quits OPEC, cartel breakdown: [11:52–13:26]
• Federal Reserve independence, Powell under fire: [16:39–22:29]
• Gerrymandering, Supreme Court, systemic corruption: [23:59–28:19]
• Maine Senate race shakeup: [30:26–33:06]
• Trump’s passport stunt and cultural symbolism: [33:28–35:38]

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

• Frank, exasperated but clear-eyed moderatism: Both hosts rage against political extremes and performative tactics, sharing pragmatic institutional insights, humor, and sharp cultural references.
• Unifying themes: Institutional decay, the toxicity of “winner-take-all” politics, the need for structural reforms (e.g., ending gerrymandering, restoring campaign finance controls), and the dangers of personality over policy.
• Engagement for change: Listeners are urged to support non-partisan reforms—and reminded not to give in to political fatigue.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary captures the interplay of domestic and global crises, the erosion of institutional guardrails, and the ever-present tension between cynicism and the urgent need for pragmatic hope.

Transcript

[Jessica Charlev]

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[Scott Galloway]

Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Scott Galloway.

[Jessica Charlev]

And I'm Jessica Charlev.

[Scott Galloway]

If you aren't already, please make sure to subscribe to our YouTube page to stay up to date on all news politics. All right, let's get into it. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Moshtaba Khomeini, said today that the country will protect its nuclear and missile capabilities and that the only place for Americans in the Gulf was at the bottom of its waters. The communication comes as President Trump continues to push for a broader deal to end the conflic conflict. And after he posted on Truth social, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Meanwhile, the war, for which Trump sought no congressional approval, hit its 60 day mark on May 1 under the War Powers Resolution. That's when the president is supposed to scale back military operations unless Congress signs off. And hanging over all of this is growing skepticism, especially on Wall street, about where this is all headed. Investors even have a new nickname alongside Taco. Now It's Nacho. Not a chance. Hormuz opens. It's a sign the market isn't buying that a deal with Iran is coming anytime soon. Defense Secretary Beat Hexseth testified before Congress yesterday, fielding questions about the Pentagon budget as well as Iran, saying, if we need to go at it again to ensure that success, we are prepared to. In regards to more military action, is the rhetoric ramping up or is it the same kind of posturing we've been seeing?

[Jessica Charlev]

I mean, kind of both. I feel like Pete Hegseth just has one gear and he's always in it. And it's fifth is that. I guess I can go to sixth, right? I haven't driven a stick shift car in a while, but yeah, it was just more of the same. I think he fully got his butt handed to him in those hearings, particularly by Congressman Adam Smith, especially on the timeline, like getting him to admit that there was no imminent threat and actually tracking us from what happened with Operation Midnight Hammer and the quote, unquote, obliteration of their nuclear capacities. He had to move to a place where he said, oh, well, they still had nuclear ambitions. Duh. The Iranians are always going to have nuclear ambitions. The question is, can they actually get a nuclear weapon and can they use it against us? So I thought that was a pretty embarrassing few hours for him in general. Shout out. Also, Seth Moulton was great and Pat Ryan too, especially talking about how we didn't protect our own military over there. You know, we lost six soldiers in Kuwait at that base where they had no protections from drone strikes. So they were essentially in like a makeshift office that was put up and there were walls but no roof on it, which, as you know, especially as you're doing an air campaign, that stuff can come in from, from up top. So I thought it was a bad day for Pete Hexeth. But the story that I cannot believe and is so important to the future of this war, and this is Strait of Hormuz, is that apparently the Iranians are getting vessels through disguising them as Iraqi ships. So there is oil getting out of there and they've now just updated. The thought was that they had something like 10 to 20 days left before they were going to have to start pumping and dumping essentially their oil that they had that's been moved up to four to six weeks, which is a completely different timeline, especially against the backdrop of this 60 day marker. And I've seen quotes and, you know, reporters catching various GOP senators and hallways about, you know, well, where do we stand, where do we stand? And they're getting frustrated at this point. I mean, this was supposed to be a strike operation similar to what we've seen before and people would be enthusiastic about that. But now you're going to drag on past 60 days. They're all looking at the midterms saying we don't want to go into a midterm election with gas at $4 and 23 cents and everybody saying that their economic situation is bad, except if you own Google, essentially. And it feels like we're really at a continued stalemate and that the government is totally back footed at this point and possibly going to run up against a wall of their own supporters in the GOP caucuses. What do you think?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I think that's a decent summary. I've been spending all this time looking at Big Tech's earnings yesterday, and I thought essentially Big Tech, I mean, the earnings were just staggering. Meta increased its revenues 33% year on year for a company that size. And the others were up between kind of 18 and 28%. And I was thinking that essentially what you have is our economy is now a giant bet on AI. And all of these companies benefit from attention. And I think what, in a strange way what's happened is these companies have benefited from the fact that everyone's face is now glued to their phone to see who we're bombing. What's happened, what he said. I mean, I got to think that the amount of attention and Meta showed this, Meta's actual time or viewership went up, time went up, CPMs went up. And I wonder if that's going to even anger the voting public more that there's a small group of companies that are doing so incredibly well no one else can raise money, their electric prices are going up. I have a friend in Florida, he's a hardcore Trumper. And the last time I had dinner with him, and this is anecdotal, but, you know, sometimes anecdotal can be, you can draw some conclusions from it. He said, oh yeah, I'm out on Trump. And I said, well, what was it? And his red line was Iran. He said, I don't, I think these wars are stupid. So. And it also is getting very confusing. So people aren't even, I think, able to track the specific nuance of what's going on. All they see is we're still there. And the basic premise that the Trump administration is up against right now is I believe that every day the war goes on, it cedes advantage to the IRGC because They win by surviving, and it's clear we're not going to be able to accomplish regime change. From the sky. It doesn't look as if the president has support to deploy ground troops. That would be very risky. So I think their attitude is as long as. And it looks like what you were saying, I didn't realize that about the Iraqi vessels is they can offload that oil and maintain some sort of economic viability, that every day this goes on, they win. And in a weird sense, every day this goes on, you know, Democrats win. I mean, this is just that hearing yesterday where I agree Representatives Moulton and Ryan did a great job. Just makes the administration look terrible. They're unable to answer these questions. They have constantly zigzagged. They've constantly upended their own assertions, and, you know, they've consistently backtracked on stuff, contradicted everything they've previously said. They seem to have painted themselves into a corner where Trump has, and that is if he leaves. Right now, it looks like America is. When Muhammad Ali first started as a boxer, no one denied his strength, his speed, his footwork. But he broke his jaw in one of his first fights. And people said, oh, it's over. He has a glass jaw. If America develops a reputation for a glass jaw, that is, okay. Shit gets real. We lose some troops, we start firing on their neighbors, and they leave. And they leave with the Strait of Hormuz now determined by the irgc, we look like a glass jaw nation, in my view. There's a lot of people in America like, I don't care. We never wanted this thing. Get the fuck out. I get it. I understand the argument. But the reality is that makes us look really bad. And our Gulf neighbors say our Gulf allies go, okay, let me get this. You broke it. Now we have to fix it. At the same time, if he continues to engage in the war, it feels as if it just cedes more advantage to Iran. I really do think this is a definition of a quagmire. He has almost no good options here.

[Jessica Charlev]

Yeah, just quickly. I agree with a lot of that and actually I agree with all of it and wanted to add to it that the argument for quote, unquote, operational excellence that people had been making and also how genius the blockade was, even though were just blockading their blockade and there was free flow beforehand. So, you know, I don't know how well that works as an argument. It certainly never resonated with me. But if it is true, and it's being widely reported, even Fox is reporting that Crude oil is getting out. There is nothing that is working at this point. Then the blockade is smoke and mirrors at this point. And I'm not sure what they're going to be able to walk away with and say, oh, this was worth our time, American lives and the money. You know, Pete Hegseth testified that we've only spent 25 billion. Estimates are, in reality over $80 billion have been spent because he wasn't even discussing the amount that we put into repairing American military equipment that the Iranians have blown up. They have done enormous damage. And it's interesting, the last thing I want to say about this, it looks like J.D. vance or J.D. vance's team recognizes how bad this is. And they've started leaking and they leaked to the Atlantic that J.D. vance is concerned about our munitions supply, which is something that I was not hounded off the set of the Five because I still sat there for the rest of the show. But they were jumping all over me when I said that we don't have enough weapons anymore, that if China invaded Taiwan tomorrow, we couldn't defend them. And everyone was like, what are you trying to. How if there's anything we've had, you know, we have enough missiles. Well, I don't know. J.D. vance doesn't think that we have enough munitions to be able to finish this job, let alone to do all of the other work that's important for keeping authoritarians in check. So, you know, 2028 on his mind, I guess. But you know, if J.D. vance is back channeling to the Atlantic, you know, something is wrong.

[Scott Galloway]

That's wild. And then the thing that. I'm curious to get your thoughts here. The thing I thought the most underreported story of the was the UAE deciding to exit the OPEC cartel. That is really, that is a breakdown in the cartel. That's the cartel coming apart. And I think what they've decided is at these elevated prices, we don't want a Saudi dominated cartel telling us not to sell everything we can. And in addition, because the UAE has been the recipient of the most inbound projectiles of any nation in the Gulf, including Israel from Iran, they're like, we need the money. They're now going to the US and saying we might need a financial bailout if this shit keeps going. And they're like, no, we're out. We're not going to have what has been the kingdom's dominance of this setting production levels and what you can sell, like, sorry, we need the money and we're out. That is a really big deal. I like the fact I hate cartels. I hate monopolies that should, over the medium and long term bring down prices. But that is a real fracture in the Gulf states because their economic agreement around opec. OPEC is arguably speaking, the most powerful cartel in history. Maybe with exception, if you could argue that maybe certain trade agreements or nafta. But I don't think anything comes close geopolitically to opec. And them leaving because of this conflict is, I mean, quite frankly, again, as I see it, it's probably another win for the IRGC who is trying to atomize the rest of the Gulf, destabilize it because of America's actions. Any thought on the UAE leaving opec?

[Jessica Charlev]

Well, I was surprised to see it. I mean, this isn't my predominant wheelhouse necessarily, but it seemed to be shocking everybody that was reporting on it and people who spend lots of time focused on this. And I immediately went to what you just mentioned about the UAE sniffing around for a bailout which would totally defeat the purpose of having done all of this. And I was thinking about it in terms of the legacy of Trump in the Middle East. Right. I mean, he always goes back to, and rightly so. You know how meaningful the Abraham Accords were. There's hopes for a second round of Abraham Accords. And I mean, I doubt that Saudi is going to want to play nice with anybody, frankly in the region after this or trust us as a partner in the same way since recall, we're causing an enormous financial hit to them. So if there were back channels to the administration about how happy they were that we were going after Iran, I don't know if those calls are are being made with the same level of fervor as they were before. And it's a major, I don't say destabilizing necessarily, but a major change, at least for the region. Okay, let's take a quick break. Stay with us.

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[Scott Galloway]

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[Scott Galloway]

So, moving on and what was likely Jerome Powell's final meeting as chair of the Federal Reserve, the governing body announced it would keep its key interest rates steady in the 3.5% to 3.75% range. The decision was a dramatic 8:4 split among members. That usually doesn't happen. That was unusual. Powell used his closing remarks to warn that legal actions by the administration risk undermining the Fed's political independence. Let's listen. You know, my concern is really about the series of legal attacks on the Fed which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors. And I want to note here, this has nothing whatever to do with verbal criticism by elected officials. I've never suggested that such verbal criticism is a problem, and neither has anyone else here. But these legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113 year history. And there are ongoing threats of additional such actions. That piece of institutional architecture separates successful countries from unsuccessful countries. It is extremely important not for the people who work at the Fed at any given time, but for the people that we serve, that the Fed remain able to conduct monetary policy in a way that doesn't get pulled into politics.

[Jessica Charlev]

I mean, is Jerome Powell the leader of the resistance? I. He's just always so classy and stand up and I love. I thought Scott Bessant was on with Larry Kudlow and talking about how Jerome Powell has smashed our norms. Like, buddy, do you know who you work for? The guy who brought a lawsuit against Jerome Powell. And what's really interesting. So they dropped the suit against Powell so that Kevin Warsh could get through because Thom Tillis was holding it up.

[Scott Galloway]

Right.

[Jessica Charlev]

And Trump made an offhanded comment. He's like, no, we didn't drop the lawsuit. So I have no idea what happens now. Right. Like, maybe he's so pissed that Powell's gonna hang around that he's going to start this up again. But it sends a very good message that even when it feels bleak and powerless against the behemoth of the federal government, which has been weaponized in totality against average Americans, against institutions, against good policy, that there are ways to stand up. And I just think Jerome Pow is remarkably brave that he would do that in the press conference and just call the balls and strikes of it, say, of course, you can verbally criticize me and the Fed. We have a First Amendment right to do that. But you can't bring frivolous lawsuits and think that I'm just gonna retire to wherever it is that he enjoys spending his summers and get out of your way. This institution matters, and I'm gonna protect it for as long as. As I'm able to.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. I think what the media got wrong here is they reported that there was an eight to four, that four people dissented from the decision to keep rates steady. And it's misleading because my understanding is three of the four dissenters didn't agree with the notion that they would signal that they were looking to cut rates at some point later in the year. So this was actually.

[Jessica Charlev]

Oh, so it's even worse.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. This was actually the governor saying, no, we, you know, and then immediately Kalsha responded and said, the likelihood of a rate increase has gone up. Because essentially what the governors are saying is there's no evidence that we should cut rates. Also, I think wars has lost a lot of credibility. One, when he said in his confirmation hearing, he refused to acknowledge that Biden had been elected, only that he had been sworn in, and that he might, in fact, be politicized and be looking to cut rates. But it looks as if the governors are saying no, the information here does not lend itself to a rate cut, especially with oil and inflation where it is. This is. And Powell, you're right. Powell threads the needle between being forceful yet dignified, and he does give everyone hope. And I thought what you said was really eloquent.

[Jessica Charlev]

Do you like Kevin Warsh?

[Scott Galloway]

I think it's a substantive guy. I got to be honest. I was just incredibly disappointed that the key component of the Fed Is, okay, obviously you want them to get it right, but more than anything, you want them to get it right or wrong in isolation of political influence. And when he refused to say that Biden had been elected and would just say, well, he was duly sworn in, it's like, okay. And not only that, I think at that moment he would have been approved anyways. He might have off his boss, the guy who appointed him, but it's a 12 year appointment and I think at this point he's in. No Republican was gonna say, I'm not voting for him. Because he acknowledged that Trump was actually fairly elected.

[Jessica Charlev]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

The key component of the Fed chairman, a close second to iq, is a fidelity to independence. And right there he said, no, I've been weaponized. Now, fortunately, there is a wisdom of the crowds on the governors. I've known people who've been fed governors and they're very smart and they're typically pretty large ego individuals who are not going to be intimidated by anybody. So I think it's actually a really outstanding body that does a lot of great work. Unfortunately, they're not getting as much good data as they used to. When you do away with the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, they're armed with less information to make good decisions. But my estimation of him has gone down dramatically. I was relieved that he was gonna appointed someone serious. He is a serious person who's well qualified. But when he got up there and said, yeah, I'm Trump's bitch too, I mean, it was just sort of really disappointing. And the political calculus was off. He could have, I think, if he'd said, yes, he was elected. I don't think Trump was gonna weigh in and pull his nominee. I just don't get it. I was very disappointed at that.

[Jessica Charlev]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

Your thoughts?

[Jessica Charlev]

There was this hot mic moment of Chuck Grassley. So you can hear Grassley, his mic's still on and he's 92. This happens and he says to a staffer, what would the big deal be if he said that Biden won 2020?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. What's the downside? I am amazed and really appalled.

[Jessica Charlev]

That and Blumenthal kind of pauses a little to like let people hear this, because that's what a normal human being thinks. Like, we're so far past this. Trump came back and had an incredible victory. It was still like the third smallest in modern history or whatever, but it was a big deal that he won again. And he swung all these voters and like, who cares at this point? It's. And you know, a Democrat is going to Ask you, every single hearing, someone's going to say, who won the 2020 election? Was it a free and fair election? It's just.

[Scott Galloway]

Anyway, agreed. So moving on, the Florida House of Representatives have approved a new map of the state that could turn four congressional seats over to Republicans this year. The approval came just after the Supreme Court announced a decision to limit a key provision of the Voting Rights act impacting a redrawn map of Louisiana that had served as the impetus for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to seek out a new map for his own state. Just what does this mean for the larger battle that seems to have broken out around gerrymandering every state for additional seats?

[Jessica Charlev]

Yeah, that's really the main story, especially when it comes to the Supreme Court ruling yesterday on the Voting Rights act, when it wasn't a, you know, fully striking down Section two, but chipping away at it. The net impact for the midterms is going to be pretty minimal. It could, it could honestly even be like zero or one seats. I think the maximum that anyone who knows what they're talking about has said is four seats if Southern states get really aggressive about it. Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, is trying to suspend the election, I think it was. But ballots have already gone out, and they're running up against schedules, which are happening very quickly. And if ballots are already out, you know, folks who live abroad, people who serve in our military, then you can't be changing the rules. And redistricting. This is really more of an issue for 2028 and beyond, and it's going to push liberal and conservative states to essentially go nuclear. And a Democratic representative, Terry Sewell, said, you know, okay, so California, 52 seats, Illinois, 17 seats. Kathy Hochul has already posted that, you know, she's heard the call, and that if you have to redistrict New York so that it's all blue, even though we have, you know, Republican seats here, then that's what you've got to do, because that's the level of warfare that we're engaged in at this point. And, you know, this is something that is deeply unpopular with Americans. Gerrymandering. They, they don't like it. That's why you had independent commissions, bipartisan commissions all over the country that are supposed to draw these maps. And no one likes to see. You know, the shapes of some of these districts are just ridiculous. Right. But I think it's going to get very ugly and very political. But relieved that it is not as much of a problem for 2026 as some people were saying yesterday when the ruling came down,

[Scott Galloway]

yeah, this feels like a job for AI here. Here are the. Here's the number of people. Here's the lay of the map. We want something that represents, best represents people. And please draw our districts for us. It has gotten out of control. And it's worth mentioning that Democrats have proposed to de gerrymander and Republicans have blocked it every time.

[Jessica Charlev]

Nationwide ban.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. So it feels like this would be kind of if there is a change in leadership and Congress in the White House. It feels like this could be a pretty good thing to not run on, but immediately to say we need to de gerrymander. Bipartisan commission. Here it comes, folks. And of course Congress and Senate will hate it, but it feels like that would have a lot of public support and be very. Be very hard to defend not supporting it.

[Jessica Charlev]

It goes in the bucket. I don't know if you saw Jon Ossoff release this. Incredible. It's not an ad because it's over four minutes. This video yesterday about who's really taking advantage of Americans and keeping you down. And it's targeted at the pharmaceutical companies. Incredibly well done. And it's talking about the part that he played in getting reform so that we could negotiate drug prices through Medicare Part D and cap costs at $2,000 per senior. And so that's great for Jon Ossoff, who's running. You know, he's in a tough race as a swing state Democratic senator. But this is an issue that goes up there with corruption. We have an oligarch class here, and there are no guardrails to stop them from just continuing to fill their coffers. And I think that the argument about gerrymandering falls into that category too, that there are, you know, a select few people that are making decisions as to whether your vote really counts and what kind of representation you should have. And maybe this gets to so bad and Democrats go so nuclear on this that Republicans will support the nationwide ban. But, you know, AOC said we've got to be as maniacal as possible until we get our ban. And I think you're right. It should be adopted into people's platforms as they look towards 2028. For sure that they're going to fix this. No one likes it.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, we have a tendency to focus on the outputs instead of the atmospherics or the structural changes we need to make. And it's the boring stuff that moves the needle. And I think we're going to end up with extremists on both sides and a dysfunctional system until we do both de gerrymander and also get rid of Citizens United. I increasingly believe that the 900 billionaires that are responsible for 20% of all PAC giving, it's actually probably 300 of them. I bet two thirds aren't interested in getting money. What people don't realize though is I think it's over 50, 60% of total influence. Because if you're a union PAC, you just give money to the union guy. Whereas if you're a billionaire, you can be very targeted and surgical about the money you give. And these people have totally disassociated from common Americans. They don't use the airports, the police, the school system, the healthcare system. So the people swaying our elections no longer have a vested interest in the well being of Americans. And that's why I think you see the monetization of healthcare, of technology, of education, because the people who have a disproportionate amount of influence don't really have an invested interest in America. I was studying with my son last night about the rail system in Chongqing, China, and it's such a marvel of creativity, infrastructure, long term thinking. And I'm like, we don't think that way anymore. Because at the end of the day, an investment in infrastructure is an investment in the middle class and it costs money and it requires long term thinking. And nobody gets really rich off of it. What it does is it shaves 3, 5, 10 minutes off of everyone's day and gives it back to middle class people to spend time with their families or make a little bit more money or be a little bit healthier, a little less stressed. And the reality is the people that get to decide make these decisions aren't really interested in that because they've got their own way to get to work, to and from work. But anyways, let's move on. Speaking of elections, Maine Governor Janet Mills announced today that she'll drop out of the Senate election in Maine. I'm just curious to hear your thoughts here. Leaving the midterm race, a face off between incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and Marine Corps veteran and Democrat Graham Platner. Jess, your thoughts?

[Jessica Charlev]

It's a really big deal. This was, you know, one of the ground zeros for the kind of battle between the old guard and the new progressive left. Janet Mills didn't want to run. Chuck Schumer recruited her and Kirsten Gillibrand, a lot of pressure for her to do this. She's 78 years old. I think she's already pledged to serve one term. But basically, no one else wanted to do it from the kind of more moderate or center left wing of the party. And it will be a big test for Graham Platner's kind of politics. Obviously, he's had a lot of, you know, scandals with the Nazi tattoo and past comments, you know, but he has clearly done a good enough job, you know, vis a vis the people of Maine or the Democratic primary voters to explain himself and his evolution. And I was glad to see that Schumer and Gillibrand released a statement saying that they're going to be backing the nominee because we need to defeat Susan Collins here. But Janet Mills cited, and, you know, she's been losing in the polls by like, 30 points for quite a while, but said, I can't raise money. And I spoke to a D.C. fundraiser who told me the same thing about it, that they could not get people to come to a Janet Mills fundraiser. And candidates that are pulling in tons of money, like, they're pulling in Q3 money in Q1, like James Talarico, John Ossoff, Sherrod Brown, Mary Patola in Alaska, in Iowa, Rob sand, for instance, who's running for governor. You watch his ads. You don't even know if he's a Democrat or a Republican. He's a complete marvel. And Janet Mills couldn't get people to give her five bucks, let alone big donors that, you know, you could bundle their money. So big test for the big tent, I guess, going forward. But I'm excited to see how it plays out. And I think it's good that she dropped out, frankly, versus going into an ugly primary. People going out and voting, her getting trounced gives us time to coalesce around the nominee.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. There's few senators I would enjoy seeing get kicked out of office more than Senator Collins. I think she's such an unproductive narcissist. I'm so sick of her supposedly really struggling with whether or not she should approve.

[Jessica Charlev]

Very concerned, right? Always concerned.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Really? Yeah. He said these incredibly sexist. Oh, he's against abortion. I'm just so concerned. I will do whatever the fuck Trump asked me to do. She just loves the attention of pretending to be concerned and thinking through. In Senator Collins, we know exactly how you're gonna vote. So stop.

[Jessica Charlev]

It's just performative.

[Scott Galloway]

It's so performative.

[Jessica Charlev]

Yeah. I mean, it is an advantage in the Trump era that, you know, she can call him up like they were going to send ice to Maine, and she called and said, could you not do that? And then they Didn't. So that, that is a bonus for Mainers. But in reality, they're economically suffering. They want something new. And Graham Platner, if anything is something

[Scott Galloway]

new, is something new. Let's end on a lighter note. President Trump is now putting his face on US passports. Let's watch what AOC had to say about it. What do you make of Donald Trump putting his face on all these, on the new U.S. passports? It's like it's giving Monopoly money.

[Jessica Charlev]

It's like, you know, I think he's jealous that, you know, Mount Rushmore got a page.

[Scott Galloway]

You've got four presidents in there. And he's probably saying, why don't I get a passport page? And I think, I think it's also

[Jessica Charlev]

like all these lower level people competing

[Scott Galloway]

for his love and attention as well.

[Jessica Charlev]

I was in a complete state of panic because my older daughter needs to renew her passport. And I was like, there is no effing way that we're going to have a Donald Trump passport. But it's only for people who go in person in D.C. and for a select amount of time. So if you're listening to this and you're worried about it, you don't have to have a Donald Trump passport. But apparently he now thinks he's above even just like great American presidents like George Washington and Lincoln had nothing on him. He's like most powerful people that ever lived, like Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar guy. I mean, I don't know if he's just messing with people and having these kind of diluted thoughts or it's really what he thinks. But I would err towards this guy who hasn't gotten, you know, much pushback. Let's say there's no reason to think that he doesn't think that he's a little bit Alexander the Great.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. It reminds me in some Gulf states and some developing nations where you see the leader who was not freely a democratically elected has their picture everywhere. And I think a decent talking point for a Democrat running would be, I'm the bleach to this stain. And I promise within 90 days of being elected to the White House, I'm going to sign an executive order to remove his image from everything, remove his name from everything. And also I promise to never use his name. I will reference the previous administration, but I'm going to give you visual presence or visual relief and more time back with your family. He's the stain. I'm the bleach.

[Jessica Charlev]

I'm in.

[Scott Galloway]

Let's leave it there. Thanks, Jess.

[Jessica Charlev]

Before we go. Another reminder that we're on Substack. Subscribers are getting all those ad free episodes. We're hanging out there. Lots of substack lives happening. We have a newsletter, it's called the Monday Rage. Make sure you subscribe. Find us at ragingmoderates. Prof. Gmedia.com that's all for this episode. Thanks so much for joining us today.

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[Jessica Charlev]

support for the show comes from Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising. You've probably seen the headlines and yeah, there's a lot happening at WBD right now.

[Scott Galloway]

But here's the thing.

[Jessica Charlev]

Change is happening everywhere. Media planning has never been this complicated. More platforms, more data, more pressure to drive results. That's what WBD delivers. The world's most iconic stories, the audiences who love them and the intelligence to turn that attention into action so your brand shows up in the right place at the right time with real impact. Visit adsales.wbd.com to learn more.