The Gender Gap, Media Blitzes and Misinformation

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Gender Gap, Media Blitzes and Misinformation"

Episode Details:

• Podcast Title: Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
• Host/Author: Vox Media Podcast Network
• Episode Title: The Gender Gap, Media Blitzes and Misinformation
• Release Date: October 15, 2024

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Introduction and Current Polling Landscape

As the podcast episode kicks off, Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov delve into the current state of the upcoming election, highlighting recent polling data that indicates shifting momentum. Scott opens the discussion by referencing a New York Times poll showing Trump gaining points in Arizona, while Jessica adds nuance to these findings.

Scott Galloway [01:02]: "...there's a flurry of new polling. A new New York Times poll from over the weekend shows Harrop four in Pennsylvania and Trump up six points in Arizona."

Jessica Tarlov [01:25]: "I think it's a little more complicated than that... if you think about what we went through in order to get a result in 2020, I have no idea when this election is actually going to get called."

They emphasize the unpredictability of the race, comparing current dynamics to the 2020 election and expressing concerns over delayed vote counts and potential unrest.

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Democratic Campaign Strategies and Challenges

Jessica outlines the Democratic Party’s intensified campaign efforts aimed at securing the key "blue wall" states. She praises Vice President Harris's extensive campaigning, including surrogates like Bill Clinton engaging in rural areas.

Jessica Tarlov [03:43]: "The Democratic plan is to flood the zone with events. So Kamala's campaigning schedule this week is massive... I loved seeing Bill Clinton out on the road in rural Georgia."

Despite these efforts, Jessica notes that the fundamental issues within the Democratic base, particularly among black male voters, require more targeted initiatives.

Jessica Tarlov [05:38]: "They just put out their agenda for black men... including providing a million loans that are fully forgivable to black entrepreneurs... creating opportunities for black Americans to succeed in this new industry."

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Identity Politics vs. Universal Appeals

A significant portion of the conversation centers on the Democrats' approach to addressing specific communities versus maintaining universal appeal. Scott critiques the Democratic strategy for potentially alienating other voter segments by focusing heavily on identity-specific policies.

Scott Galloway [05:41]: "When you listed these programs that are supposed to target or appeal to black people, I felt like it was identity politics in the worst possible way."

Jessica counters by emphasizing the necessity of these targeted efforts to resonate with communities that feel underserved.

Jessica Tarlov [06:05]: "Don't you think though, that what she had been trying... was an agenda that should have appealed, but it wasn't resonating. It seems like the black community is telling her we need something specific..."

Scott expresses concern that this focus might inadvertently turn away other vital voter groups, particularly white men and rural voters.

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Vice President Harris's Media Blitz

The hosts analyze Vice President Harris's extensive media appearances, assessing their effectiveness. Jessica feels that while Harris showcases her competency, she often appears too cautious and guarded, lacking relatability.

Jessica Tarlov [17:18]: "I was really jazzed about the shows that she was going on, and I thought that it would be an amazing opportunity for her to showcase not only her Wonkiness... but she was too cautious and guarded."

Scott relates this to personal experiences, highlighting the importance of policies like in-home care for aging parents.

Scott Galloway [19:38]: "The in-home care hits because I'm going through that with my father right now... that would be good for cost, good for the economy, good for families."

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Trump's Campaign Tactics and Momentum

Scott shifts focus to Donald Trump's campaign strategies, noting his alignment with influential figures like Elon Musk and the Nelk Boys to attract young male voters.

Scott Galloway [25:01]: "Politico recently reported on Trump's push to win over the bro vote with the Nelk boys... They're targeting young male voters through ads on dating apps, music festivals, and even college football games."

Jessica agrees that Trump's tactics effectively engage a demographic that feels marginalized, fostering a sense of community among "misfit" voters.

Jessica Tarlov [25:05]: "We're the campaign of the island of the misfit toys... if you feel misunderstood, if you feel like you're not accepted... maybe you're neurodivergent, maybe you aren't."

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Misinformation and Its Impact on Public Trust

A critical segment of the episode discusses the spread of misinformation, particularly how Trump's false claims about FEMA's response to hurricanes undermine public trust in government institutions.

Jessica Tarlov [38:35]: "These FEMA workers actually had to leave their job, their rescue jobs, because these lunatics with weapons showed up to be hunting FEMA."

Scott underscores the broader implications of such disinformation, leading to societal distrust and hindering effective disaster response.

Scott Galloway [39:59]: "Americans no longer trust their institutions. And our institutions are us. So it's a larger issue."

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Response to Hurricane Recovery Misinformation

The hosts examine Trump's false narrative blaming FEMA's disaster aid on undocumented immigrants, which not only fuels division but also hampers relief efforts.

Jessica Tarlov [38:05]: "Trump spread misinformation about FEMA's response... claiming that the federal government isn't assisting affected by Hurricane Helene because Biden and Harris have allocated all the funds to undocumented immigrants."

They discuss the tangible consequences of such rhetoric, including the rise of armed militias disrupting FEMA operations.

Jessica Tarlov [38:35]: "People who need aid aren't thinking that it's not coming... in Rutherford, North Carolina, FEMA had to pull out because armed militias were showing up to get FEMA."

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Conclusion and Looking Forward

As the episode wraps up, Scott and Jessica reflect on the current state of the race and anticipate upcoming events. They express concern over the lack of bipartisan media events and the potential for further shifts in voter sentiment.

Scott Galloway [46:15]: "Well, the biggest media event of the political season is coming up. Do you know what that is?"

Jessica Tarlov [47:20]: "I can't believe it."

They hint at the live launch event of the podcast and underscore the ongoing battle for voter trust and engagement.

Scott Galloway [47:19]: "This is very, very exciting."

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Notable Quotes

• Scott Galloway [01:02]: "...there's a flurry of new polling. A new New York Times poll from over the weekend shows Harrop four in Pennsylvania and Trump up six points in Arizona."

• Jessica Tarlov [03:43]: "The Democratic plan is to flood the zone with events. So Kamala's campaigning schedule this week is massive..."

• Scott Galloway [05:41]: "When you listed these programs that are supposed to target or appeal to black people, I felt like it was identity politics in the worst possible way."

• Jessica Tarlov [06:05]: "Don't you think though, that what she had been trying... was an agenda that should have appealed, but it wasn't resonating."

• Jessica Tarlov [17:18]: "I was really jazzed about the shows that she was going on, and I thought that it would be an amazing opportunity for her to showcase not only her Wonkiness... but she was too cautious and guarded."

• Scott Galloway [25:01]: "Politico recently reported on Trump's push to win over the bro vote with the Nelk boys..."

• Jessica Tarlov [38:05]: "Trump spread misinformation about FEMA's response... claiming that the federal government isn't assisting affected by Hurricane Helene because Biden and Harris have allocated all the funds to undocumented immigrants."

• Jessica Tarlov [38:35]: "People who need aid aren't thinking that it's not coming... in Rutherford, North Carolina, FEMA had to pull out because armed militias were showing up to get FEMA."

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Final Thoughts: This episode of Raging Moderates offers a deep dive into the complexities of the current electoral race, exploring how campaign strategies, media appearances, and misinformation are shaping voter perceptions. Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov provide insightful analysis, balancing critiques of both Democratic and Republican tactics while highlighting the challenges faced by Vice President Harris and the Trump campaign's innovative outreach efforts. The discussion underscores the critical importance of trust in institutions and the profound impact of targeted messaging in the final weeks leading up to Election Day.

Transcript

[Scott Galloway]

Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Scott Galloway.

[Jessica Charlove]

And I'm Jessica Charlove.

[Scott Galloway]

Jessica, I am in New York. I'm in your city.

[Jessica Charlove]

I can see that, but I got no heads up. You don't want to hear no heads up irl.

[Scott Galloway]

You know, you're married.

[Jessica Charlove]

I get it.

[Scott Galloway]

You're married with little kids. You have absolutely no interest in hanging out with families. None whatsoever.

[Jessica Charlove]

Oh, thank you. I thought you were gonna say you must be really busy, but really you wanted to say, I don't want to see your little people. Yeah, I didn't tell you I was in New York.

[Scott Galloway]

Friends. Friends with kids. I pretend to be interested. Not really. Not really. Oh, not really. Yeah. Well, Jess, we're just three weeks out from Election Day and there's been a flurry of new polling. A new New York Times poll from over the weekend shows Harrop four in Pennsylvania and Trump up six points in Arizona. Last week we got a Quinnipack poll that has Trump up three in Michigan, up two in Wisconsin, and in Pennsylvania, Harris is up three. Did you watch Meet the Press or are you allowed to watch Meet the Press being on Fox?

[Jessica Charlove]

You're allowed. No, my TV doesn't go to any other stations but Fox.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, the Stasi might turn you in, but I saw that it was 40. It used to be 49 or like 53, 45. And all of a sudden it's tightened and the momentum that Harris had has flipped and now there's momentum towards Trump. Would you agree with that? And what is your insight?

[Jessica Charlove]

I think it's a little more complicated than that. But that was definitely the headline from the polls that came out yesterday. A lot of, you know, tweets with r +. Right. The shift was going in one direction and, you know, it's always choose your own adventure. Like, I could rattle off six or seven findings that would help Harris's case in all of this. But it feels as if we've been talking about this as a tied race for the last month, let's say, and now we're really in it. And David Plouffe went on Pod Save America and was talking about the campaign strategy and where we are, and he said, do not pay attention to anything that doesn't have them within one point of each other. And Trump hitting 48. Trump is going to hit 48. The question is, what can we do? And I thought that that was a really good bat signal to throw up to all of the anxiety prone Democrats, which is basically all of us that were hyperventilating. I actually woke up to a text from a good friend of mine who works in polling that said, now is the time to start hyperventilating. And he had been talking me off the cliff the night before. But then these new surveys came in. I should note that the CBS poll, which is also a very high quality poll, was good for her and had her back actually to Biden's levels with black and Latino voters. And I know we're going to talk about that because that's a real kind of crux of her being able to win. But I just look at like at this point in 2020, Biden was up 9 or 10, and if she's up, the average is still like 2 to 3 points. That doesn't feel as good and as safe as it was. And if you think about what we went through in order to get a result in 2020, I have no idea when this election is actually going to get called. And that again, for another bad signal or a Spidey sense or whatever kind of fear I could have of what Trump will do in that interim while they are counting votes is extremely scary to me.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, there's been some reports, including one in CNN basically saying that Democrats in the campaign are a bit freaked out that this momentum hit a wall a couple weeks ago. Have you talked to anyone in the Democratic apparatus about what kind of their plan is, or for that matter, in the Republican apparatus going into the final stretches here?

[Jessica Charlove]

Yeah, so the Democratic plan is to flood the zone with events. So Kamala's campaigning schedule this week is massive. She's hitting all of the blue wall states. She's doing a lot of rural campaigning. They're bringing in every surrogate that could make a difference. I loved seeing Bill Clinton out on the road in rural Georgia. He was not fully recreating his bus tour from 1992, but Bubba's still got it. And there was this great anecdote, and I like to think of it, that there was some sort of Avengers Assemble meeting and they asked Bill Clinton, well, what do you want to do? And he said, don't send me anywhere really populated. Send me out with the people. Send me to rural Georgia. And there's really cute footage of him at a local fast food place. And when they realized in there, who was standing in front of them, how excited they were, though one woman actually thought it was Joe Biden at first, which is just an interesting old man comp. So they're going everywhere, I hope, doing much more press. And I know that we're going to Talk about that effect of this as well. But the, the big target has been how do we address this problem with black male voters in particular. And they just put out their agenda for black men, including providing a million loans that are fully forgivable to black entrepreneurs. Championing education, training and mentorship programs. Getting into crypto, other digital assets. There's a national health equity fund focused on diseases like sickle cell, diabetes and mental health. Legalizing recreational marijuana, creating opportunities for black Americans to succeed in this new industry. And I think that that is, it was coming, but a direct response to a kind of controversy after Obama spoke on Thursday night and many felt like he was lecturing black men or forcing them into.

[Scott Galloway]

I liked Obama's speech, although just to rewind.

[Jessica Charlove]

I did too.

[Scott Galloway]

But just as somebody thinks about just to rewind 15 seconds though, when you say when you listed these programs that are supposed to target or appeal to black people, I felt like it was identity politics in the worst possible way. And that is, oh, black men care about crypto and marijuana. It's just like not an aspirational view of black men. And I wonder if the Democrats have fallen into the same trap a lot of times.

[Jessica Charlove]

Don't you think though, that what she had been trying, which was to just talk about an opportunity economy for all Americans and talk about homeownership, talk about starting a small business, talking about expanding healthcare, you know, cutting your taxes, raising taxes on those who can afford it, that that was an agenda that should have appealed, but it wasn't resonating. So I, I agree with you fundamentally, but it seems like the black community is telling her we need something specific because this other stuff that you're saying, we're not hearing you.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. So look, at the end of the day, this is about winning. And my sense is they've probably gone. These are, I think they're smart people actually pretty high up in both campaigns. Susie Wiles, Yeah, My sense is she's been described as brilliant and very on message and sometimes the gap or whenever the campaign kind of comes off the rails, it's blamed on his lack of discipline, not hers. And the Democratic Party, I would argue that I just think a huge mistake from the party is rather than, I think they're smart to talk about the economy, opportunities for young people, opportunities for first time homebuyers when they fall into identity politics. I worry that when people hear this podcast and say that the Democrats are trying to roll out giveaways, basically a non recourse loan, but you have to be black. I worry Jess, it's going to turn off just as many struggling young white men as turn on as many people in the black community. One of the things that has really hurt the Democratic Party is just the level of identity politics. And again, I just go back to this notion where when you say on the dnc. Org website that you're advantaging 76% of the population, you're not. You're just discriminating against 24%. But if the polling shows they needed to do something to motivate this community that wasn't, you know, as enraptured with Vice President Harris as they were with Obama, I get it. But I hear that and it just reeks of the same identity politics that I think we've come to expect from the Democratic Party that quite frankly turns off a lot of rural voters and turns off a lot of white people.

[Jessica Charlove]

So first part of my question, how would you market these proposals? So these aren't going to go away. Let's say that it's just not called an agenda for black America or whatever it is. How would you make this seem more universal but signal to people who do want to know that these programs are available to them?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, my go to, as I say, programs that recognize that the group that has fallen further, faster than any other group in America is young men. And families all across America are feeling this. Parents have two daughters, one son, one daughter at Penn, one daughter in PR in Chicago. And their 26 year old son is living in the basement vaping and playing video games. And that's not even a joke. It's. That is a fairly consistent profile across a lot of homes. Now a lot of, a lot of young men are killing it, but most aren't. More single women own homes than single men. Great. Don't do anything to get in the way of women ascending three to two college enrollment. And a lot of the jobs that were available or on ramps for these young men are no longer available. So what I would do is a series of programs. And by the way, all of these problems affecting young men acutely affect young men of color. Anything I'm talking about, whether it's suicide, addiction, homelessness, lack of economic opportunity, lack of mating opportunities. Do you realize that marriage has become a luxury item? So all of the problems I'm speaking to, I believe if there were programs would especially appeal to communities of color. So what I would talk about is funding for vocational programs, national service. I can't stand student loan debt forgiveness. I think that turns off the 2/3 of Americans that didn't have the chance to go to college. Redshirting young men a year, holding all boys back a year because they just mature later than girls. Programs that put schools on the hook for student loan debt so they stop putting people indenturing them with debt. Child tax credit, home loan programs similar. And Vice President Harris, I like her plan for more pyramids. I just wouldn't make it about a loan that's a non recourse loan for black entrepreneurs. Well, what if I'm, I mean, how do you even qualify? Like, you know, the bottom line is I would target poor people, not people based on the color of their skin. Your thoughts?

[Jessica Charlove]

Yeah. Well, I've been thinking a lot about the great realignment that may be happening in this election and how it's not really about race, but it's about class. 100% Democrat.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, sorry.

[Jessica Charlove]

Great. Is the podcast over?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, full of. And your kid's going to get into any little pre K she wants. Go ahead.

[Jessica Charlove]

I mean, let's hope. But you know, we, the Democrats are running the risk of becoming just the middle class and up party, especially with all of these new moderate Republicans and right leaning independents that are coming into the fold as a result of the Trump era. And I think that you're seeing the impact of that most explicitly on black voters who have been the most loyal voting bloc. And there was a great line in on SNL this weekend from Weekend Update and they said if the Democrats always need 90% of the black vote to win the presidential election, they might have a flawed business model. Right. That this is. No one should ever have any expectations that you're going to get 90% of anything when you go to the ballot box. And I don't want to be the party of just me. Like I love me. I think I'm great. You know, I'm thankful that I got all of the education that I did and that I can live this tremendous life that my parents set me up for. And you know that I'm in the top or I found a guy in the top three quarters and was able to get married and have two beautiful children and all that jazz. But I want to be in the same party with the least fortunate amongst us. And that's something that I feel is so core to the Democratic ethos. And if we are at risk of losing that, I want to do everything possible to make sure that voters understand that we have a plan for them. And that's why I think that this agenda that is explicitly calling out that it is an agenda for black people matters because Magic Johnson last week, he was introducing Kamala in Flint in Michigan and he's the co chair of Athletes for Harris. And he was talking about how much misinformation there is about Kamala circulating going back to when she was a prosecutor, that she just locked up every young black guy that was out there. Charlamagne, the God is having a radio town hall with her. He's someone who was a supporter of hers for the 2020 primary, but has also talked about how de facto was spreading misinformation about her because he didn't know enough. And he was also railing against her for not getting things accomplished as a vice president, when in reality, what can you cite that a vice president did besides Joe Biden and gay marriage, which I think put him in the upper decks. Right. In terms of history of what you think of as a good vice president. And so when you're up against that level of a disinformation machine, even coming from people that support the Democratic Party, I think you do have to make these specific appeals and not making them in a pandering way, saying like, this is who I am. This is what the opportunity economy means. These are the policies that I supported as vice president. But going forward, I want you to know that I see you and I hear you because these focus groups that have been going on all over the country, black men are saying over and over again, there is no deliverable for me.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, look, what you say is compelling. The thing I don't think Democrats want to admit is that her media tour started off very strong and they said, get out there. And I think she has performed poorly over the last week, I think, and we'll come back and talk about this. But I think her appearance on the View, some questions she should have been ready for, she wasn't. And the reality is as a candidate, I think she's just not that great on her feet. And I think it's harder the last week. Anyways, we got some interesting data here. Campaigns and super PACs are spending the most. In Pennsylvania, Republicans spent 170 million, Democrats spent 180. Basically, they're sort of neck and neck. Except in Michigan, the Republicans are 88, Michigan's at 120. And then everywhere else, the Democrats are kind of 10 to 20% up, except for Nevada where it's 22 versus 53, reflecting that the Democrats have just outraised Republicans. Any thoughts or any insights when you see the spending by state?

[Jessica Charlove]

I mean, Pennsylvania is the key to it. I mean, Trump has no path without it. We have a very, very difficult path, and it's a dead heat right now. Makes total sense. I'm just happy to know that we have these kinds of dollars to be able to, to spend. And last week we said there was an ad that we were talking about that maybe it worked, maybe it didn't, but at least you have the money to try it, right? You can put actually take all these ads that are in the can and not even run them. If you decide that it's not something that fits with the message. But the most important thing that these dollars are going to be spent on is the get out the vote operation. And that's where I still am wondering what's going on on the Trump side of things, because there were all these articles like the LA Times had a big piece about canvassing in Arizona and people saying we haven't had a door knocker for the Trump campaign happening in Georgia, happening in Pennsylvania. And it just makes you wonder. I get it. Charlie Kirk's in charge. Maybe he has some master plan that I don't understand, but this is not conventional campaigning. Maybe it works out, but Susie Wiles runs traditional campaigns usually. And I can't understand this get out the vote componen.

[Scott Galloway]

All right, we're going to take a quick break. Stick with us to talk about Vice President Harris media blitz. We'll be right back. So Harris is continuing her media blitz this week, hitting the Breakfast Club with Charlamagne. They got following appearances on call her daddy, 60 minutes to view Howard Stern. So Charlamagne is coming on our show, correct, Jessica?

[Jessica Charlove]

That's the rumor. Yeah. In a couple weeks, right before the election.

[Scott Galloway]

That's super exciting. Vice President Harris was on Howard Stern, Stephen Colbert. Let's listen to a clip of her on the Colbert Show.

[C]

You know, when you've lost, you lost millions of jobs, you lost manufacturing, you lost automotive plants, you lost the election. What does that make you? A loser. This is what one of somebody at my rally said. I thought it was funny.

[Scott Galloway]

It's accurate. It's accurate.

[C]

This is what happens when I drink beer.

[Scott Galloway]

What'd you think of her appearance?

[Jessica Charlove]

Well, I was disappointed by the week. And I know that we were gonna come down from the high of the dnc, and then we did, and then we had the debate. And that created another high. And there had to be some comedown from that. But I was really jazzed about the shows that she was going on, and I thought that it would be an amazing opportunity for her to showcase not only her Wonkiness, because I think people do want to see competency and that she understands, you know, the nuts and bolts of everything. But for her to come off as someone that was more relatable and I felt that she was too cautious and guarded. And that might just be her personality, you know, I don't know her. Um, it could be how she is. Um, but if she's the fun aunt, you know, that's what Maya Rudolph says about her. She portrays her at snl. I don't think that that came across as clearly. And there were just a few things that I think if you're in her position, you have to have nailed perfectly. And that question of what are you going to do differently from Joe Biden? Has to be sewn up perfectly. And it was botched at first on the View. Then they went to commercial. Obviously someone told her, you're going to have to do better. So then she said, I'm going to have a Republican in my cabinet. That's all well and good. You know, the next question is, is that Republican Liz Cheney? That's not really going to appeal to people in the same way. As someone who feels that Trump is right about one or two things. It was a real shame that the best answer, which came as a separate question because they knew she was rolling out this policy, didn't come right away because the big announcement for the day was that under a Harris walls administration, Medicare would cover in home care for aging parents, which I think is just unbelievable. Like I what we would have done to be able to have that when my dad was sick and we were able to afford at home care for him. We're very lucky, but a majority of Americans can't do that. And that should have been the first answer. Like, I'm so proud of the fact that Joe and I were able to expand Medicare, negotiating drug prices, capping price of insulin, et cetera. But you know what I'm going to do when I'm president? Bam.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Yeah, the in home care hits because I'm going through that with my father right now. And there's this program in California that is really powerful and that is if your nurses, I think they will help you set up a residence. So we've taken them out of assisted living. I mean, realistically, my father's near the end and he goes into a residence and it's a five or six bedroom residence in a nice area. It's not fat, but it's very comfortable. It's very nice. And this husband and wife nursing team manage the Residence. And I believe, I'm not sure, but I think either Medicare or Medicaid helps with the payment. But the idea of figuring out a way to let people be at home and cover some of the costs, it just seems to me that that would, you know, that's good for the, good for cost, good for the economy, good for families, good for the planet. I think that's a really powerful program. I don't even know the details of the program. I can afford it. It's not going to really impact me. But that hits hard. You just see what the sandwich generation is going through. I mean, especially you with little kids. All of my friends are struggling up and down. Just all of a sudden I have friends whose recently close friends whose kids are having issues. And then they're also dealing with parents who quite frankly, we've increased lifespan but not health span at the same rate. So we're all taking care of aging parents who are living 10 and 20 years post decent health. And I think that they'd be smart to really dial that up.

[Jessica Charlove]

Yeah, there's no, I think, more common wish from a dying person to be able to pass away at home, like dying in a hospital. And the people who were the nurses and the physician's assistants in particular are deserve sainthood. You know, my dad passed away in bed at home with all of us in bed with him. You just, there's no amount of money that you wouldn't spend to be able to do that. And I'm glad that the government is going to recognize that if Kamala becomes the next president.

[Scott Galloway]

But when she, quite frankly, so let's just acknowledge she's going to need to do better. And when she's on the View and they say, is there anything that you disagreed with or you would have done differently? And she says nothing comes to mind. I mean, that's got to be. Well, let me tell you about what I would continue to do. I would continue to support our allies in Ukraine and Israel. I would continue to ensure we're going to bring inflation down to the lowest in the G7. What I might do differently, one, I would immediately partner with people across the aisle, including Senator Langley, who had an immigration bill that was bipartisan, that should have been passed had Trump not started saying he doesn't want to. He wants to run on the problem, not fix it. We are immediately going to fix and address our immigration border. We are going to have to start having a difficult but adult conversation around the deficit and, you know, just say, does is it going to mean more Taxes on corporations and the super wealthy, or are we going to have to cut spending? The answer is yes. She just should have been locked and loaded.

[Jessica Charlove]

So, like, she was at the debate, because we've seen her capable of, frankly, a canned answer, well delivered, 100%.

[Scott Galloway]

And. And instead she said, well, nothing comes to mind. It's like, okay, so your campaign slogan is, I'm Biden, but 20 years younger.

[Jessica Charlove]

Because she was about to leave, like, hot Biden. Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

So that was disappointing. And I don't think Democrats want to acknowledge she had a really bad week, because at the end of the day, fairly or unfairly, she comes off as just not very good on her feet and is prone to sort of these milquetoast answers that just feel somewhat awkward and not, you know, I don't know what the opposite of inspiring is. And he's had a great week. I feel as if you just got a not even a week weeks. I think the last two weeks have definitely gone to Trump. I think he has cauterized her momentum and reversed it. And, you know, we'll see what happens over the next week. The one thing she does seem to have is when I see these clips, and granted, you and I, you know, we're. We're Democrats and we love kind of the greatest hits and the hall of Famers coming out, right? So when you see Clinton, when you see Obama, I loved what he said to young men. He said, let me get this. You think being a young man is about, you know, not living up to your commitments? He's like, what's with that? And I like that it was in a small room, you know, I think he's fantastic. But the, the media, I do think, has a bias against Trump, and they've, like, really mocked Musk at that rally. I thought that was great for Trump. I'm not a fan of Elon Musk, but a ton of young people and innovators and people in tech, you know, this is their Jesus Christ, that guy. And when he's kind of all in on Trump and creating a spectacle and jumping it down, up and down on the stage, you know, I know my co host at Pivot is going to make fun of him because she doesn't like him, but it's great for Trump. It's great that who's the wealthiest man in the world, who a lot of young men look up to, is so excited about Trump that he's on stage jumping for him. You know, I just. I can't help. I think it's really good for the Trump campaign. And I don't know if they have been more disciplined. If this momentum continues in this direction, he's going to be up by two or three in a week. Your thoughts?

[Jessica Charlove]

I don't think the electorate is built for him to go up two or three.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Jessica Charlove]

Just de facto. But I take your point. And the thing that Musk signals that is important to the Trump campaign is we are the movement or the campaign of, like, the island of the misfit toys. If you feel misunderstood, if you feel like you're not accepted, if you're a little different, maybe you're neurodivergent, maybe you aren't. But if you are struggling to get a job, if no girls like you, we're a place that you can go. And not only that, then I'm going to spend this whole week firing rockets. Right. Like, doing some of the coolest stuff and rolling out all of these new, amazing innovations. And we don't have that vibe. Like, part of being cool now, I think, is being different. Right. There's no mainstream to it. It's like, the weirder you are, the better. And I don't feel like we're running a diverse enough campaign that way. And Trump has managed to grab onto that. And you see it in these interviews. Like, he goes on Andrew Schultz's podcast. I thought it was a great forum for Trump. He was making fun of him to his face. Like, Trump at one point says, I'm a mostly truthful person. And all of them burst out laughing in his face. But it doesn't matter because Trump isn't bothered by it. He's not thrown. He just keeps going. And actually, one of the most important questions of the campaign, which Trump dodge, but came from Andrew Schultz, where he said, I get it about immigration, we need the wall, et cetera, but what about the good people who have been here for decades? Like, and he said, I was raised by babysitters that are not here legally. He grew up here in New York City like I did. And Trump, you know, just used it to go off on migrants. But those kinds of interactions, those kinds of questions being posed to him, even if he doesn't give a good answer, is humanizing him in a way that is turning people on. And what I do think the kind of secret factor of the last week has been is actually J.D. vance. And I'm curious if you agree that he was. He won the debate in just. You're watching it and you're like, this guy has got it. But it's like the debate has had a long tail. And that the impact of JD Vance has been felt more strongly, I think, in the last five to seven days with the kind of interviews that he's giving. I mean, you should listen to him if you haven't on the Daily. He does a fantastic job. And I mean, he's bobbing and weaving. He won't say if Trump lost the election, but he's taking an issue like immigration. And he did this with Martha Raditz as well and got Martha rattled.

[C]

Venezuelan gangs, the Republican mayor of the city said flatly the city and state have not been taken over or invaded or occupied by migrant gangs. So do you support Donald Trump making those claims that the Republican mayor says were grossly exaggerated and have hurt the city's identity and sense of safety? I understand what you're saying that some people left behind, but he's making these statements that the mayor is flat out disputing.

[D]

Well, Martha, you just said the mayor said they were exaggerated, grossly exaggerated. There's got to be some. That means there's got to be some element of truth here. And of course, President Trump was actually in Aurora, Colorado, talking to people on the ground. And what we're hearing, of course, Martha, is that people are terrified by what has happened with some of these Venezuelan gangs.

[Jessica Charlove]

You proliferated this lie about the cats and the dogs. And he says, you know what, there are problems in these communities, right? There are migrants that are using resources. There are Haitians that are living four families to one house. People are getting pushed out of their homes. With Martha Raddatz, he did it about the Venezuelan gangs that they said are taking over Aurora, Colorado. And they have the Republican mayor saying that's absolutely not the case. And Martha Raddatz says, well, there are a handful of them. And he said, a handful is too many, Martha. And he said, do you hear yourself? And that was the sound bite that went everywhere from the Sunday shows. J.D. vance saying, do you hear yourself? And as a liberal, I can't tell you how many times my conservative co hosts, who I respect their opinion a lot, will say to me, do you hear yourself? And I think that that has been a big part of the swing.

[Scott Galloway]

It's super interesting because I've always thought if you want to, one of the things we do or traditionally have done when I was running L2, which was essentially a, we call it business intelligence, but it was a consulting firm that just sat on a shit ton of data such that we didn't have to hire attractive people with northern European accents. We just called Ourselves, data people. And I feel like an X ray into someone's iq. I can be fooled in an interview. I think interviews are almost worthless. If someone can write well, they're intelligent. Not only they're intelligent, but they're probably well educated. It's like that quadrant of well educated, well trained and real iq. Because I know people who went to Ivy League schools. When I started my first consulting firm, Profit, When I was 26, my job was writing earnings calls and writing speeches for CEOs because these guys had gone to Harvard and they couldn't write their way out of a fucking paper bag. It is hard to fake the written word. And when I read Hillbilly Elegy, I'm like, this guy is brilliant. The narrative arc, the way he brings situations to life, his puncturing analogies, the way he structured his senses. I've just always thought before, even before he was in Senator, this guy is brilliant. And I do think he's brilliant. And I don't think what people give him credit for is, look at the hand he's been dealt. Everyone is going to ask him, did Trump lose the election? And I mean, how do you in any way come out okay, from basically denying democracy and saying democracy isn't important. And yet he manages again to Bob and we. Even that New York Times reporter, I thought, did a great job of just being very unemotional and saying, senator Vance, I'm going to ask you again, I thought she did a great job, but he probably won the pod. What's interesting, I think, about this media tour, the two most consequential media appearances for Harris and Trump have been podcasts with, I don't want to call them comedians. The most consequential media appearance for Harris was Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy. And I believe the most consequential media appearance of the last few weeks was Andrew Schultz's podcast. I thought he did a better job interviewing him than anyone has, 100%. And by the way, he accused me of spreading misinformation around Joe Rogan. So we hate him. We hate him, Andrew.

[Jessica Charlove]

We do.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, we hate him.

[Jessica Charlove]

Oh, I didn't know.

[Scott Galloway]

But this was a rare moment of.

[Jessica Charlove]

Rare w talent for the man we hated for him.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. By the way, Joe Rogan was having people on his podcast that said MRNA vaccines altered your DNA, which is. That's what you call misinformation. But anyways, not that I'm bitter. Not that I'm bitter.

[Jessica Charlove]

No, I don't get that from you.

[Scott Galloway]

Okay, so. But he was fantastic.

[Jessica Charlove]

And, but that also the fact that Vance can do the dirty work or the heavy lifting allows Trump to be able to coast through these more fun forums and for the campaign to look like they're doing the hard stuff. But it's not Trump himself. He's not in 60 Minutes himself. Right. He is doing this or he's talking to a friendly TV host. Whereas it feels like everything is on Kamala, even though Walls went on Fox News Sunday again and he did a really good job. But it feels like she's on an island alone and that the Trump side is running as a team. Which is interesting because Trump was supposed to be the larger than life person, but he needs J.D. vance.

[Scott Galloway]

Speaking of the podcast with Andrew Schultz, let's listen to a clip.

[E]

Comrade Kamala. It's a little hard to say she's comrade because she's obviously a communist. Yeah, she's horrible. So I call her comrade.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, yeah.

[E]

And it's not bad, but when you put the names together. Yeah, it's a little. You gotta be able to pume. You gotta be able to put it out there.

[Scott Galloway]

Pume. There you go.

[Jessica Charlove]

Gotta be able to pume.

[Scott Galloway]

But his, his fan base loves it. And he does come across as is very authentic. And not starched, not rehearsed, but.

[Jessica Charlove]

And not scary. I think not scary matters because these rallies, that's where all the bad stuff usually comes out. Where you hear him say, you know, their migrants are like vermin, like using 1930s type language. He did it this weekend with Maria Bartiromo. He said, the enemy within is the real problem. And then he goes on these podcasts which gets such bigger play. And he seems like the fun grandpa. Like, has he lost a step? Sure, his nicknames were way better in 2016, but people are listening to that soundbite or seeing him being self effacing or there was a great joke about repealing Roe v. Wade. Andrew says to him, are, you know, Barron's a stud. Are you nervous now that Roe v. Wade's been repealed and Trump couldn't land the plane on it? But it was an interaction that makes him feel so much more human than the rally boss.

[Scott Galloway]

I just don't think there's any getting around it. The momentum is swung, in my view. Politico recently reported on Trump's push to win over the bro vote with the Nelk boys, the host of the Full Send podcast and the ones funding a voter registration drive called Send the Vote. They're targeting young male voters through ads. The Htua podcast Girl podcast, dating apps Music festivals and even college football games. It's just. So we're going to pat ourselves on the back. We said this a couple months ago on CNN and other places that we thought this election was going to be a referendum on women's rights. But my sense is those folks are kind of already decided. If you're pro life, you're going Trump. If you are very passionate about bodily autonomy, I think Harris has you sewn up. But it's clear both campaigns are now going after, quote, unquote, the BRO vote. And the thing that Harris is trying to do, I think, is just make sure that not so much that they vote for Trump, but they just. That they don't vote, which is kind of a vote for Trump. They're trying to use some surrogates to motivate them. Trump's also officially turned down the invitations for more debates. That's a bummer. I'm shocked that Harris agreed to a debate, actually, you know, it would be a great idea. Well, easy for me to say. The five should moderate. I wonder if. I guess Trump's just not interested. I guess. Has Fox tried to get them to do it?

[Jessica Charlove]

Yeah, with Bret baer and Martha MacCallum. There are election anchors and Trump won't do it. He won't play ball. I think he. Well, he probably thinks he could do a really good job. But Susie Wiles or smarter people are telling him, you know, we're going in a good direction right now. Don't give her another chance to recapture the momentum. We don't need it. I don't know if that's correct or not, but safer anyways.

[Scott Galloway]

Bob Woodward's new book, War, comes out this week. It's filled with fresh details about Trump's relationship with Putin, including secret COVID 19 testing supplies TRUMP sent to Russia, by the way. I don't see a problem with that. I don't.

[Jessica Charlove]

You don't?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, he didn't send that many.

[Jessica Charlove]

Then were the problems Scott Galloway.

[Scott Galloway]

But did he send that many? I mean, wasn't it like trying to just get along the world later? It wasn't just one.

[Jessica Charlove]

And the problem is that doctors working in ERs and first responders.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm about to be shamed.

[Jessica Charlove]

And he's sending it.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm about to be shamed.

[Jessica Charlove]

I'm sorry, Caroline, do not cut this out.

[Scott Galloway]

No, we'll give this to you.

[Jessica Charlove]

Americans could not get tests, and he sent it to our biggest adversary.

[Scott Galloway]

But how many? I'm asking to learn, not to make a point. How many did he actually Sent.

[Jessica Charlove]

I don't know. I mean, it was, it was not just one.

[Scott Galloway]

Right. But was it like a box saying, here, for you and your friends, let's get along and not go to war.

[Jessica Charlove]

Can you imagine if Biden had done something like this? Or if Kamala, you know, had a, even a separate text message change with these people? And remember Jared KUSHNER and the WhatsApp chats with the Saudis and making $2 billion? These things would never fly in a Democratic administration.

[Scott Galloway]

100%. You're absolutely right.

[Jessica Charlove]

Oh, thank you.

[Scott Galloway]

You're right. Listen to yourself.

[Jessica Charlove]

But I would like to know how many tests there were now that you raise it. Yeah, because I've been pretty pissed off about it without knowing exactly how many.

[Scott Galloway]

Okay. We'll be right back after a break to discuss Trump's lies about hurricane recovery efforts. Stay with us. So, Jess, last week, as thousands were grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, Trump spread misinformation about FEMA's response. He claimed that the federal government isn't assisting affected by Hurricane Helene because Biden and Harris have allocated all the funds to undocumented immigrants. Let's listen to a clip.

[E]

People are dying in North Carolina. They're dying all over those five, six states. They're dying. And they're getting no help from our federal government because they have no money, because their money's been spent on people that should not be in our country.

[Scott Galloway]

Huh. The White House worked to debunk these claims, but we know how quickly disinformation could spread in today's environment. What do you think are the impacts of Trump amplifying this misinformation, Jess, do you think it, do you think it hurts or helps him?

[Jessica Charlove]

Well, I guess it helps him. They've poll tested this and his supporters believe it. You know, if you're not breaking through to people who are actually supporting him, then it doesn't make any difference. The other layer of it is the real effects of this, which is that people who need aid aren't thinking that it's not coming. They're thinking that they're not entitled to it. They're thinking they're only getting $750, which is the initial amount that FEMA gives you for your basic necessities or essentials. And then you can apply for a lot more money. And it also leads to stuff. I don't know if you saw this story. So Rutherford, North Carolina, one of the hardest hit areas. FEMA's down there working and they had to be pulled out because armed militias were showing up to, quote, get fema. So that is the result of all of this, that level of disinformation. So these female workers actually had to leave their job, their rescue jobs, because these lunatics with weapons showed up to be hunting fema. And I don't want to be a broken record, but I do a little bit about this point, that all of it just indicates that the number one priority is to get the American public to distrust the government. And as an extension, I think then to be able to say, I won the election. How can you trust them about anything? They're not coming to save you when a hurricane happens and they're not counting the votes properly.

[Scott Galloway]

Look, this is very disappointing and it's hard to have two. I don't think there is a both side of them here. Our institutions are meant to be the connective tissue here. When people are cowering in the rafters. January 6th, our elected representatives, Republican and Democrat, that was us cowering in the rafters. When people are. The reason we pay taxes is to fund a FEMA such that when people are in the wrong place at the right time and devastated by a natural disaster that we come together. This used to be one place where, you know, Jerry Brown and Governor Newsom, or Governor Brown and Lieutenant Governor Newsom walked around with President Trump and, you know, the super fires in California to our devastated areas. This used to be a place where we'd come together. And my understanding is, you know, Governor DeSantis or, you know, they're not even returning their calls that they want it. They want it to be perceived as a total disaster. And the problem is that a lot of people believe this and aren't calling FEMA and aren't accessing the resources that they're entitled to. And that would help. This is there's just not getting around it. It's incredibly disappointing. And it speaks to a larger issue, that Americans no longer trust their institutions. And our institutions are us. So it's a larger issue. I don't know how to solve it. I think that probably the one thing we would need to do to try and address it is to get young people into mandatory national service such that they could see that, you know, where there's still work to done. But this is the least bad country or the best country in the history of the planet. But there's just, generally speaking, a total mistrust of institutions. I put out a thread. I saw the nicest video of this young man, this doctor, walking into a room with a preemie that wasn't moving and wasn't breathing. And he just very adroitly and crisply.

[Jessica Charlove]

Got this, oh, I saw that, Got.

[Scott Galloway]

This mini ventilator, started tickling the kid or bothering it to try and inspire. And then you hear literally the most beautiful sound in the world. You hear this kid start to wail or this baby. And I put out, you know, we need experts. And I was just shocked how many comments were. And I don't know if this is bots, I don't know who it is. Saying experts are late stage capitalism and saying, okay, we can't even have experts now. We can't even like salute people who are just really fucking good at what they do that make all of our lives better and even save lives. And there's just such a weird distrust. And I don't know, I don't know where it stems from. I don't even know how much of it is real. And that's what the Soviet propaganda machine used to say. It's not about misinformation, it's about flooding the zone and overloading so nobody knows what to think such that we're all just totally overwhelmed. But this is especially disappointing. It also distracts from any intelligent conversation around the fact that these hurricanes are going into areas that are not weather ready. Because, I mean, you're in Florida, when you're building a house, you get double pane hurricane impact windows. You think about buying a generator in case your power goes out. In Asheville, North Carolina, they didn't think they'd ever need to be worried about. I read on here where I read that there's like a non zero probability that London might experience its first hurricane. But instead we're having these conversations around misinformation instead of saying, okay, what does this mean about climate change or weather preparation in terms of a disaster, or what FEMA funding should in fact be. Instead it's just this total misdirect around all of this bullshit. But this stuff is incredibly disappointing. I think the hurricane has actually helped Trump because I think the feeling of chaos just lends itself well to the challenger, that the more chaos and disruption you feel, you're going to blame the current administration fairly or unfairly. And while I think the response from FEMA has been people doing their level best, I think this sense of chaos actually helps Trump, your thoughts?

[Jessica Charlove]

Yeah, I think so too. And I just wanted to note Desantis actually worked very well with President Biden. His politics playing was he wouldn't take Kamala's call and basically Said, like, I never hear from her during other storms. Like, this is about the campaign. I can't have that. But I agree. Chaos benefits the chaos agent in all of this. And it does seem like FEMA and the administration was better prepared for Florida than they were for North Carolina, even though the disaster declarations were signed early. But North Carolina had to depend on private actors more than they should have in the first couple days in terms of the recovery. Should note that there are a lot of Republican officials on record saying, do not believe all of these lies. Not necessarily calling Trump out specifically, but saying, like, these are the facts. Make sure you know what resources are available to you, where you can go, et cetera. In an election where you have. What is she like, half an incumbent? If it's like a centaur of incumbency, it's going to fall on her. Right. Anything that goes wrong with a response like this, even though the vice president, again, can't do anything, she's not even in the chain of command for something like this. She's going to end up with the responsibility. And the fact that he took this and made it an immigration issue, which he thinks is, you know, his gold standard issue at this point. And I would say you probably should be hewing more towards the economy than immigration, because economy is always going to be number one. But by telling this lie about the pots of money being co mingled when we know that migrant money comes from shelter services and this is the disaster relief fund, people get the wrong idea and they don't even know. Donald Trump is the only one actually that took disaster relief money out of the pot in 2019 and moved it over to address something else having to do with migrants. And he's the one that had to be shown. Did you see this story that they had to show him voter data from Orange county when the wildfires were happening so that he knew that he would be helping out some Republicans because otherwise he wanted to withhold.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, he wasn't going to do it. Yeah, yeah, he's the worst. There you go. So, President Trump, as we wrap up here, Jess, is there anything or is there any, like, next big thing you're looking for in the next week? Any pivotal moments where we'll have our.

[Jessica Charlove]

Eyes on, you know, just how Kamala does this week, how she's gonna be going back to rally form? And I do feel bad for her that there was this, oh, my God, you gotta do more interviews. And she does a bunch of interviews and they're like, why aren't you doing a rallies. So she's doing all these rallies this week, but I'll be paying really close attention to Charlamagne's town hall and how she does there. You know, where she's going, how she's being received, and also the message that all of these surrogates are delivering. But I don't think that there's, like, one crescendo moment I'm focused on. What about you?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, I think you missed what will obviously be the biggest media event of the political season is coming up. Do you know what that is?

[Jessica Charlove]

Well, next Monday. Yeah, that's right.

[Scott Galloway]

Raging Moderates live in New York, our live launch event.

[Jessica Charlove]

I'm gonna bring my baby. I'm just.

[Scott Galloway]

Sorry. No, no, no. Kids. Not allowed. ID checked. A door. Live podcast. That's right. Monday, we're. Jess, you hear we're sold out. We have.

[Jessica Charlove]

I did hear that.

[Scott Galloway]

We have dozens and dozens of fans, Jess, already.

[Jessica Charlove]

I can't believe it.

[Scott Galloway]

This is very, very exciting. All right, that's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to Raging Moderates. Our producers are Caroline Chagrin and David Toledo. Our technical director is Drew Burrows. You can find Raging Moderates on the prop G pod every Tuesday and on YouTube every Wednesday. Jess, have a great rest of the week.

[Jessica Charlove]

You too. See you around.