Trump Targets the Left After Kirk Murder

Summary

Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov

Episode: Trump Targets the Left After Kirk Murder
Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Vox Media Podcast Network

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Overview

This episode delves into the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the subsequent political and cultural fallout. Scott and Jessica provide a centrist analysis on the resurgence of cancel culture—now weaponized by the right—Trump’s crime crackdowns in major American cities, and Democratic leadership’s hesitations in the face of shifting political currents. The conversation is punctuated by frustration with political extremism, concern over civil liberties, and candid critiques of institutional dysfunction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Right's Embrace of Cancel Culture (02:39–06:05)

• Topic: MAGA’s use of cancel culture and hypocrisy in condemning the left while engaging in similar tactics.
• Jessica Tarlov: Asserts the right has always participated in cancel culture via boycotts and amplifying grievances, despite portraying themselves as victims of suppression.

  “For people who are being silenced, they sure have a lot of control of the government and our media organizations.” (02:44)

• Media Amplification: MAGA influencers targeting anyone critical of Kirk after his death, calling them "poisoners of America's youth."
• Free Speech Concerns: AG Pam Bondi’s call to prosecute “hate speech” goes against First Amendment tradition and even Kirk’s own positions.
• Emotional Impact: Jessica voices fear for the precedent being set and the apathy around civil liberties:

  "Last week we were all shocked and sad about what happened… But this week I'm terrified.” (05:20)

2. Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Campus Culture (06:05–15:15)

• Scott Galloway: Argues for broad free speech protections, even when rhetoric edges toward the hateful or incendiary.

  “Pretty much anyone should be able to say pretty much anything about pretty much anybody.” (06:14)

• Campus Issues: Acknowledge a lack of resilience in students and increasing mental health concerns, but reject equating “words with violence.”

  "Universities are meant to be safe places physically and dangerous places intellectually.” (08:34)

• “Conflict Entrepreneurship:” Both sides use outrage for political gain, but current conservative efforts weaponize Kirk’s death for institutional crackdowns without evidence.

  “Pushback. And what you have here is… powerful people, elected representatives on the right… trying to drum up this false narrative…” (12:51)

• Profile of Shooters: Most political violence isn’t ideologically motivated but comes from “young men, extremely online, lacking guardrails.”

3. Flaws and Failures in Law Enforcement and Media (15:15–22:35)

• Jessica Tarlov: Critiques the quick assignment of political motives to the shooter and FBI Director Kash Patel’s mishandling of communications and investigation:

  “Cash Patel… has been such an enormous flop... the FBI does not communicate on fucking Twitter.” (19:27–20:32)

• Online Radicalization: The real crisis is digital-nativist, nihilistic young men—not coordinated leftist conspiracies.
• Morality Tests and Over-Reach: Recent firings, visa denials, and job loss threats for “wrong” posts point to dangerous government overreach.

4. Trump’s National Guard Deployments and the Politics of Crime (24:41–30:25)

• Scott Galloway: Summarizes Trump’s justification for military deployments, citing lower crime rates in D.C., but scrutinizes these figures and strategic motives.
• Jessica Tarlov: Raises alarm about normalizing the militarization of U.S. cities and overriding local governance.

  “There’s no respect for free and fair elections... we're going to have a national emergency in D.C. if Bowser says she wants the troops out, and then you’re going to have it creeping all over the country.” (26:12)

• Scott Galloway: Argues Democratic leaders’ focus on virtue signaling opens the door for authoritarian tactics, reframing crime policy as justifiable cover for election interference.

  "This is normalizing the militarization of our cities such that when elections come… [Trump] can justify … sending in the National Guard to change elections, decrease turnout." (29:03)

5. Democratic Messaging and Policy Gaps (30:25–31:55)

• Jessica Tarlov: Calls out Democrats’ lack of proactive policy and messaging, especially on crime and affordability, which weakens them against attack narratives.

  “Trend lines going in the right direction. But again, that's not a great bumper sticker.” (31:33)

6. Governor Hochul’s Endorsement of Mamdani & Democratic Fractures (33:53–42:49)

• Scott Galloway: Introduces the late endorsement of Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani by Governor Hochul.
• Jessica Tarlov: Explains Hochul’s delay as pragmatic—balancing powerful donors’ discomfort and respect for the primary’s winner. Notes Mamdani’s attempts to moderate views, particularly after being pressed by Al Sharpton on issues of antisemitism.

  “Mamdani was not my choice, but you have to respect the democratic process even when it doesn’t go your way.” (36:51)

• Scott Galloway: Expresses skepticism about Mamdani’s operational abilities and policy positions but sees little genuine choice among the major candidates.

  "I'm frustrated that only these three people could make each other viable.” (42:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Weaponized Cancel Culture:
  • Jessica Tarlov: “The right has always been pretty into cancel culture. They just packaged it up as a problem of the left.” (02:39)
• On Free Speech:
  • Scott Galloway: “If you want to honor [Kirk’s] memory, it’s a lesson in free speech.” (06:30)
• On University Discourse:
  • Scott Galloway: "If words offend you, then you need to call your parents, have them come get you…” (08:34)
• On FBI Mishandling:
  • Scott Galloway: “The FBI, much less the director of the FBI, does not communicate on fucking Twitter.” (20:09)
• On National Guard Deployments:
  • Jessica Tarlov: “It’s all this predicate for militarizing the country… there’s no respect for free and fair elections.” (26:12)
  • Scott Galloway: “This is normalizing the militarization of our cities…” (29:03)
• On Democratic Dysfunction:
  • Jessica Tarlov: “Lowest inflation rate in the G7 doesn't win you a general election. And our trend line is going in the right direction on crime is also a very tough sell.” (31:39)
• On Hochul & Mamdani:
  • Jessica Tarlov: “You have to respect the democratic process even when it doesn’t go your way.” (36:51)
• On the Menu of Candidates:
  • Scott Galloway: “I’m frustrated that only these three people could make each other viable.” (42:25)

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Key Timestamps

• 02:39 – The right’s adoption and rebranding of cancel culture
• 05:20 – Jessica’s fear for the future and concerns about hate speech prosecution
• 06:05–08:34 – The fine line between hate speech and free speech, especially on campuses
• 15:15–19:27 – Breakdown of investigative failures and political opportunism in the Kirk case
• 24:41–27:41 – National Guard deployments: crime-fighting or political theater?
• 29:03–30:25 – Militarization of politics as electoral tactic
• 33:53–42:49 – The Mamdani endorsement, progressive anxiety, and party fractures

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Tone & Final Thoughts

Scott and Jessica’s discussion is urgent, candid, and at times exasperated, reflecting the frustration of moderates caught between political extremes. Their analysis is rich in institutional critique, concern for civil liberties, and the need for pragmatic, effective politics.

The episode offers a nuanced centrist perspective for listeners seeking informed commentary beyond tribalist soundbites.

Transcript

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[Scott Galloway]

Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Scott Galloway.

[Jessica Tarlov]

And I'm Jessica Tarlov.

[Scott Galloway]

Before we start the episode, we're excited about our new Raging Moderates YouTube channel. We're going to be giving you more of what you want, up to the minute videos and conversations in addition to the Wednesday Friday podcast. So if you're watching this, you're in the right place. You just need to subscribe below and make sure you click the bell icon to get notifications of new videos. If you're hearing this, we'll have the YouTube link in the show notes. And we're also going to be doing more quick hits. Also, we have to get above a certain level of subscribers to start attracting advertisers. Jess has two young kids, so if you want to see these kids go to college, please hit that subscribe button now.

[Jessica Tarlov]

All right, those five 29s.

[Scott Galloway]

There you go.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Not as full as they should be.

[Scott Galloway]

Not as full as they should be. Okay, in today's episode of Raging Moderates, we're discussing the return of Cancel Culture, which I thought MAGA hated, but they seem to be fine with it here. Trump's crime Crackdown tour is heading to Memphis and why Governor Kathy Hochul took so long to endorse mom Donnie. All right, let's get into it. We're learning more today about Tyler Robinson, the 22 year old suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. According to the Washington Post, Robinson appears to have confessed in a small Discord chat group before turning himself in. Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. vann stepped in to host the Charlie Kirk show and used the platform to argue that Kirk's death is the fault of what he called a growing and powerful minority on the far left. The vice president says there can be no unity with people who, in his words, celebrate Kirk's murder or even heckle his kids at Disneyland. All of this comes as the Trump administration promises a crackdown on liberal groups they allege are funding political violence, though so far they've offered no evidence such a network exists. MAGA influencers, including Elon Musk are going after people who joked about or even just criticized Kirk in the wake of his death, calling them poisoners of America's youth. Are we watching the right, Jess, reinvent cancel culture under a different name?

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean, truthfully, the right has always been pretty into cancel culture. They just packaged it up as a problem of the left. And this has been going on for a long time, like, you know, boycotting brands, complaining that they're not getting proper amplification. I'm sure you saw those, remember when they were complaining and then it's like the top 10 sites on Facebook, it was like, 8 of 10 are right leaning the top podcasts. For people who are being silenced, they sure have a lot of control of the government and our media organizations. And on top of it, seemingly neutral organizations are now paying the administration gross sums of money and basically turning over editorial control. So I don't know, it rings a little hollow to me. I'm not surprised by it. And I don't really have time to be watching like press conferences in full or JD Vance hosting the Charlie Kirk show in full. But I do think it's really important that people actually start watching the entirety, if they can, of these things, because the true breadth and depth of the plan to take over the country and to be in every single facet of American life only is really exposed if you spend the hours that it takes to take it all in and you just, you notice more things. You notice the body language and what Stephen Miller is saying in the corner. You notice little things that J.D. vance is slipping in. You know, a note of what Tucker Carlson says. Again, it becomes a full time job to do that. And I mean, I work in media, so I should be doing it. But that has been one of the big lessons for me of the last week. You certainly can't depend just on clip culture or what you see, you know, flying by on your social media in order to be able to get the full story. And that's how a lot of these people that they're going after have, quote, unquote, gotten themselves in trouble because they've, you know, posted something that Charlie Kirk said. But according to the administration, it's out of context, or that's not really what he said, or that's not really what he meant. And I think you really can't understand the Plan. And the plan being Project 2025, unless you are taking this all in. So last week we were all shocked and sad about what happened. Devastated. I still can't really believe it, except that everything in the ensuing days has been about it. So I know that it really happened. But this week I'm terrified. I'm sad and terrified about what is to come next. And I'm not sure if you saw it, but yesterday or last night. So Monday night, Pam Bondi went on this whole thing about how they're gonna go after people for hate speech. Clear lack of understanding of the First Amendment, a violation also of what Charlie Kirk believed in. He had even posted about this before saying, there's no such thing as hate speech. There's gross speech and evil speech, but it's all protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free. So AG Bondi realized she got over her skis, tried to walk it back this morning, saying, I'm only talking about, you know, yelling fire in a crowded theater. Right. If there are threats or they're gonna lead to. But you see them testing, right, like every little way that they can to see if they're going to get pushed back. Because Pam Bondi knows what's in the First Amendment and what's protected and what's not. And, yeah, I'm terrified. How are you?

[Scott Galloway]

So I'm good. I'm a little distracted. I'm going to a speaking gig and then I'm getting on a plane for New York. But look, so if someone were to say, you know, campuses are struggling with this. When does free speech become hate speech? And most people err on the side, at least traditionally America. And I believe that in a democracy, a key component of a democracy is that pretty much anyone should be able to say pretty much anything about pretty much anybody. So if somebody says that President Biden is dementia riddled, should be imprisoned and possibly executed, is that hate speech? Does that foment violence against a political figure? Maybe, but I still think that person should be allowed to say it. And that is what Charlie Kirk said about President Biden. So Charlie Kirk, if you want to honor his memory, it's a lesson in free speech. So this just doesn't make any sense. Now, this is a complicated issue. And just to nod a little bit to some concerns on the right, a couple things. One, to date, very few people have been canceled for being too woke. There were people driven out of companies. There were people whose series were canceled or fired because they said things that, quite frankly, the progressive community found hateful and they were canceled. There were very few people who lost their jobs for being too woke. Now it's a difference between being too woke and promoting violence. The other thing, and there's a couple other things that I just think you have to acknowledge as someone who likes to think they're data driven. If you look at what happened during Black Lives Matter, and there was a study done on who was really emotionally triggered by Black Lives Matter, and what was interesting is when they, they distilled it down to demographic groups, what group was most emotionally rattled by the Black Lives Matter movement?

[Jessica Tarlov]

White women.

[Scott Galloway]

Educated white women.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

They were like not, I'm not saying not even virtue signaling or going to protest because it was cold.

[Jessica Tarlov]

They were genuinely depressed.

[Scott Galloway]

They were genuinely rattled by it and more rattled than their black sisters and brothers. So there is something to the notion that this young progressive community seems to be more easily triggered or more sensitive. The other thing I think we have to acknowledge is that moving to solutions on campus, the faculty has, we have done a terrible job of arresting this bullshit notion that, all right, the oppressed over here and the oppressors over here. And because a lot of very smart people show up to college and are naturally frustrated and feel aggrieved and angry about the injustices against special interest groups in this country, of which there's been a plethora, they go on the hunt for what I'd call fake racists. And when they find someone, a hapless English teacher that says something stupid, a student who expresses their free speech. Right. Every year we have freshman orientation and increasingly it's about mental health. And we tell these kids, look, a lot of you because you've led pretty charmed lives, to be honest, and have parents who've cleared out every obstacle, that if you get your heart broken or you get your first D, a lot of you, quite frankly, aren't as resilient as past generations. And you need to realize that you're going to be fine. And you need to tell your roommate, you need to tell a mental health counselor, you need to contact an administrator if you're ever having thoughts about violence or self harm. And you're going to find out that you're going to be fine. And we can help you. We spend more time doing that. And it's important because for a while at the university we had to put up screens in the library because a bunch of kids were going through the eighth floor and jumping off the fucking eighth floor. So I also think what we need to start doing at universities, and some universities are Doing this is something along the lines of the following. If 1 in 3 of you, it used to be 1 in 5, and 1 in 3 of you now believe that words can equate to violence that justifies a violent response, you are wrong. And universities are meant to be safe places physically and dangerous places intellectually. And I love what the Michigan State Chancellor did on the first day of freshman orientation. On Move in day, he or she put up a huge banner and it said something along the lines of if words offend you, then you need to call your parents, have them come get you, because you are not ready for college. The whole point is that we can bring in people like Charlie Kirk and you are forced to think critically, get back in his face with words. If you want, agree, expand your thinking. Bring exceptionally woke people on campus, have them be challenged by critical thinkers from the right, and your brain gets taxed, it gets challenged, it gets damaged, and then it grows back stronger and we send you into the world as a critical thinker that is more measured, more empathetic to both sides of the argument, such that we can craft better solutions. There is a problem on campus. Having said that, very few college people go out and kill people. The moment you enroll in college, you are less likely to take up a gun in violence because of the opportunities there at the critical thinking, they are more easily triggered by words and we need to stop that. Having said that, the conflict entrepreneurship. While you could argue there's a lot of it online from very progressive young people, it has absolutely been embraced by people much more powerful, specifically powerful people, elected representatives on the right. The majority of the elected representatives, if not all the elected representatives on the left, have been nothing but empathetic and said some version of the following. They condemn the violence, sympathy to him and his family. People on the right are trying to take advantage of this and say that this is some sort of radical left conspiracy that warrants some sort of violent legal weaponization of our institutions. Pushback. And what you have here is, especially on the right, they're trying to drum up this false narrative about it being the radical left. People on the left are also trying to find evidence and cherry pick, I think more defensively that this person might have been from the right. But here's the bottom line. If you look at the history of these shooters, Jessica Tarlov and Scott Galloway are more politically engaged than these shooters. These shooters are all two things. They're all young men universally and they're all people who were extremely online and subject to a, had a lack of Guardrails in the form of human connection and were easily picked up on conspiracy theories. But the majority of this political violence cannot be connected to any political party. And we don't want to admit that maybe the guy in Minnesota, he was more the murderer there, was more politically active. But the majority of these people, you cannot really easily assign sort of a political affiliation. And rather than doing their job and moving to solutions, as I think Governor Cox was trying to do before, he obviously got a call from the President who said, sign up for the fucking assignment and start blaming the left. He is going after the right targets. Specifically, the 40% of our S and P is fueled by companies that traffic enrage, that is their job. Enragement equals engagement. And also the really hard work of providing more relationships and opportunity and guardrails for young people. And also, we're all exhausted by the argument. But that doesn't make. We should continue to make it. When you have a young man that is disenfranchised, goes extremely online, buys into conspiracy theories, he has a really easy time finding a gun to carry out his insane inclinations. And I apologize for the word salad, but just one last piece of evidence here that really pissed me off. I was complimentary of the governor, Governor Cox, when he said he was clearly subject to some leftist tendencies or ideology. And they said, what evidence of that? And he cited that it was clear he had a roommate and he was having a relationship with someone undergoing transition. Okay? Transition, better known as gender affirmation. I'm on testosterone therapy and Luigi Mangione, which is gender affirmation. And Luigi Mangione followed me on Twitter. That's a true story. Does that mean he was a radical leftist? This kid was on Twitter, right? Musk is saying that the Democratic Party is the party of murder. Does that mean it's a leftist? It's a MAGA conspiracy. And for God's sakes, just stop it. If he was dating or if he was in a relationship with some white cheerleader from ASU who was totally maga, that makes it no more a MAGA conspiracy than him being in a relationship with someone who was transitioning. Let's focus on the problem instead of trying to cherry pick the font or misinterpret the font on a fucking bullet such that you can blame this other side, which will result in absolutely no progress. I'm exhausted. Just pull me out of this. Pull me out of this.

[Jessica Tarlov]

So I think the problem is that we are waiting for the evidence of these leftist beliefs which everyone from Governor Cox to FBI Director Cash Patel to President Trump is saying Vice President J.D. vance, and if it is just that his boyfriend was transitioning, I don't think that that's going to be good enough. I also don't understand the strategy of leaking out information that seems like it could endanger the investigation in general. I know that they're also concerned about being able to bring federal charges versus just the state charge, the murder charge there. Cash Patel, and he's testifying in front of the Judiciary Committee, has been such an enormous flop. And that's not surprising since he was woefully underqualified for the job. But he's been trying to play cleanup, doing these interviews, asked point blank, do you regret tweeting out that you had the guy when you didn't have him? And he tweeted it from Rao's. He was out at dinner here in New York City versus on a plane going to Utah. And he said, I don't regret it. You know, I perhaps could have worded it differently or something like that. So, you know, I'm not surprised to see the reporting, even from Fox, that the quote, unquote, knives are out and that he doesn't have the confidence of the White House, the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, which seems like you probably should have, and they have a guy, the old Missouri ag, kind of waiting in the wings potentially to take over for him. I've gotten into it a little bit with my colleagues about this saying, you know, it seems like the core claim, and Trump has talked about this as well, is the online radicalization which you talk to, I mean, these Internet nihilist kids who don't have anything that they're essentially living for. You know, all of the memes that they're sharing are representative of this despondence, right? That young people feel the Pepe memes, that's what it's all about, right? Like a lonely guy walking through life who has nobody and nothing. And I hear absolutely no conversation around that theme and how important it is. And I think there's also a major media problem here and that the media is not necessarily qualified to be covering the story or giving you the types of insights that you need. The best information that I've gotten is from listening to people on Tick Tock, frankly, going through what Held, you know, goes on in Hell Divers two going through, you know, ciao Bella. Talking about the Pepe means talking about the internal fighting between the Nick Fuentes and the Charlie Kirk Wings of Everything and the way that the administration is Talking about it is so reductionist that I feel like we're going to totally. What does it miss? The forest through the trees. And, you know, if there is a clear political motive, we should know it. And to go back to the where we started on this, I think that if you are celebrating Charlie Kirk's death, I wouldn't want you working at my company. If you're a private company, you have the right to do that. To just say you don't meet the moral character or moral fiber that I want in someone who works here. But the backlash against people who are just saying things like I condemn the violence. Political violence is never the answer. But, you know, Charlie Kirk would have stood up there and debated you about X, Y and Z. Things that he said I think is really healthy and portend something really dark and dangerous for the country. If we're starting to police that at the level that you know, that they are because they started it with the visas, right. That, you know, you could lose your green card. You don't get to come here if you're posting things on social media that we don't like, that we've heard in interview processes to be part of the government, including at the FBI, they asked like, who did you vote for? When did you come around to maga? And there are even FBI agents that are suing Cash Patel for wrongful termination. We're, you know, I don't want to say it's a Hoover like situation, but you can certainly see the glimmers of something really bad and dangerous happening here. And if we don't speak out, if you don't take to the streets in a nonviolent way, the message will not get across. They are living in an ivory tower here and they're getting away with basically everything that they want to.

[Scott Galloway]

So you just a few things you said that I want to comment on. 1. Kash Patel. It is hard to imagine, other than the cdc, other than, I don't know, the White House, other than the, I mean, so many institutions have been unnecessarily damaged. The Defense Department, when you put someone incompetent in charge, it just damages. I know people who work for the Bureau, for FBI. These are some of the most talented, hardworking, humble people. The FBI, much less the director of the FBI, does not communicate on fucking Twitter. This is how the FBI communicates. They communicate with indictments, arrests and prosecutions. That is how they communicate. And for the director of the FBI to go on social media and get it wrong about a suspect and then have to Pull it back. And then go on national TV and say the following. Charlie, you can rest now, my friend. We have the watch. I will see you in Valhalla.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

Jesus fucking Christ, boss. Do you realize how wrong that is on so many levels? If this guy was your friend, then you should have immediately recused yourself from the investigation. And I will see you in Valhalla. This isn't about your personal motivations. It's about operational excellence. And the FBI look like asses here. And the unfortunate thing is there is a very small number of asses at the FBI, but unfortunately, they have titles like Director. This has taken a brand that has served America really well, probably one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the world, and they are trashing it with a guy who has no ability to understand the heritage and what it means to be in the Bureau.

[Jessica Tarlov]

You can see how upset and how angry people, not only who knew Charlie are, but I think in general, like, the right writ large. And they. I mean, someone was murdered, right? Like assassinated right in front of everyone. But when the list of grievances come out and you hear essentially, like, decades of anger over being marginalized and silenced and pushed to the sides of society, that this. They feel like this is their moment to essentially just say, fuck you, I don't care. I'm plowing ahead with this plan. And that is exactly what Donald Trump is doing. And we are going to move on and talk about him sending the National Guard into Memphis, which is exactly the same thing as well. They're just saying, fuck you. I'm moving ahead with the plan as I want it. Let's take a quick break.

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[Peter Kafka]

I'm Peter Kafka, the host of Channels, and on my podcast we've been talking about the future of AI and media for what seems like forever.

[Scott Galloway]

But what if I told you that.

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Future is already here? So at what point, if any, does a human get involved before it gets sent to my inbox?

[Scott Galloway]

Not at all.

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[Scott Galloway]

Welcome back. Jaz Trump said that the Memphis National Guard deployment would be a replica of what's going on in Washington right now. In the first two weeks after the military was deployed, arrests were up roughly 10% in D.C. when these arrests led to prosecution, they were primarily weapon and drug offenses. The Trump administration claims that violent crime has declined by more than 45% in property crimes by 12% since the deployment began. The FBI has already established an operation in Memphis, and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers are trained and assigned to fighting crime in the city. Last year, Memphis recorded roughly 2,500 violent crimes per 100,000 citizens, one of the highest rates in the country. This rate, however, marked an 11% decrease from 2022 to 2023. Jess, any thoughts here about them deploying the National Guard to Memphis?

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean, the march continues, right, in taking over American cities and states. And this was kind of the the gambit that we threw out there. I even said on the five, you know, well, is Mike Johnson welcoming the National Guard into Louisiana? And Senator Kennedy from Louisiana as well happened to be watching our Stafford it and start tweeting at me and saying, well of course and you know, you're dumb as usual, but we would welcome it. And that I think is going to be the play for a little while. You know, get red states to invite you in. But the governor and the senators, where the mayors who tend to be Democrats, like the case in Memphis. Mayor Paul Young has spoken out about this, said not happy about the Guard being sent in, and said that his goal then, if they are indeed coming, was to have the opportunity to drive some of the decisions around how they engage in their communities. And that I think we'll probably see that all over the country, the red state entree and then the blue cities having to deal with it. But it's all this predicate for militarizing the country. And Trump was talking to a reporter, was asked about sending the National Guard to Chicago, which is, you know, one of his main targets, and he'd love to go after Pritzker, obviously. And they asked, how will you send the National Guard into Chicago without the cooperation of the governor and the mayor? And he said, if they cooperate, that's great. If not, that's not going to matter. We hope we have the governor's help and if we don't, we're going to do it without him. So there's no respect for free and fair elections. And the people have who have been put into these positions. It doesn't matter what the courts rule like they did in Los Angeles about the National Guard. And I should say that they ruled that the National Guard could be there, but couldn't actually execute any of the duties that Trump had wanted them to do. But you know, we're going to have a national emergency in D.C. if Bowser says she wants the troops out, and then you're going to have it creeping all over the country and it's going to be very, very hard to stop. They are much better in court than they were before, have better quality lawyers. I mean, have a Supreme Court that's completely on their side, very few rebukes, maybe for a second on the Alien Enemies act, but then basically, it's been smooth sailing.

[Scott Galloway]

To me. This follows the pattern of our politics so far, at least under the Trump administration. The first is Democratic governors and mayors have done just a shitty job of focusing on the issues that actually affect Americans. They've been much more focused on virtue signaling in changing the name or calling the homeless the unhoused than actually figuring out how people who pay 13% tax rates don't have homeless people on their corner, vastly reducing their quality of life. And that's not to say we shouldn't have empathy for them. I'm not suggesting, like another Fox host, that perhaps they're presented with lethal injections if they don't cooperate, that we start executing the homeless. That was a real winning comment. And by the way, it's the radical left to the vile ones, folks.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Anyways, Brian did apologize, but. Yes, obviously. Yeah, but how do you. Jarring. How do you. I don't know. I don't know.

[Scott Galloway]

How does that synapse even fire? And they, they want to be. They want to say, if you compare us to Nazis, you're fomenting violence. Okay, here's an idea. We'll stop comparing you to Nazis when you stop acting like fucking Nazis. Do you really? The German public actually checked back. Hitler wanted to euthanize or whatever the term is, murder the handicapped and the physically disabled. And the German public actually checked back on that. They said, no, you can murder and gas Jews, but it's a line, a bridge too far when you start talking about the disabled. And this guy's first synapse fires just thoughtfully. Well, yes, we need to think things of reasons or punishment. And maybe it's lethal injection. Like, how does that even enter your. Enter your mind. Anyways, this, what's going on here. I got off on a tangent there. You have Democratic governors who are much more concerned with virtue signaling than actually implementing, making difficult decisions that impact the economic and emotional wellbeing of Americans. And democratically run cities have been a shit show in much of America, which creates an opening for an overreaction and a false flag. And the false flag is, this has nothing to do with crime. This is normalizing the militarization of our cities such that when elections come and if they're not going the way that Trump wants, he can justify and create cloud cover and normalize sending in the National Guard to change elections, decrease turnout. This has nothing to do with crime. This is the Democrats fucking up on basic governance issues and creating an opening for an overreaction and a false flag.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah. I've been on several calls with electeds and people who work on the Hill lately, you know, talking about the plans for the, you know, briefings. Right. And I said, what is the proactive set of plans? Right. Like, what are we going to tell the public that we stand for? Understand we're for you keeping your healthcare. But, like, what is our healthcare plan? Because the premium still costs too much. And this crime and policing issue is going to be the proxy for immigration in the 2024 election. That doesn't mean. I don't think Democrats are still going to win the midterms. I feel good about that. But if you ignore the fact that majorities of people in cities say that crime and even violent crime is a very serious problem to them and still don't feel great about public transport, you had the Ukrainian refugee on the North Carolina train who got stabbed in the neck by a crazy person who had been arrested 14 times and let out again. You know, people are going to say, well, I might not like this version, but I don't know if your alternative is good enough because we've been trying you for a really long time and it hasn't been going our way. So trend lines going in the right direction. But again, that's not a great bumper sticker like, you know, lowest inflation rate in the G7 doesn't win you a general election. And our trend line is going in the right direction on crime is also a very tough sell.

[Scott Galloway]

Agreed. Let's take one more quick break. We'll be right back.

[Preet Bharara]

Is gun reform a matter of law or culture?

[Scott Galloway]

There are more people who are gun enthusiasts today who believe guns are a good thing for them and the safety of their homes, regardless of whether the public health data supports that or not.

[Preet Bharara]

I'm Preet Bharara, and this week the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, John Feinblatt and Second Amendment scholar Adam Winkler, joined me on my podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet. We discuss the state of gun violence in this country, the biggest mistakes Democrats have made in seeking reform, and why the best prospect for meaningful change may take place outside the courts. The episode is out now. Search and follow Stay Tuned with Preet wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Hello, Daisy speaking.

[Phoebe Judge]

Hello, Daisy. This is Phoebe Judge from the irs.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, bless, that does sound serious. I wouldn't want to end up in.

[Phoebe Judge]

Any sort of trouble this September on Criminal. We've been thinking a lot about scams. Over the next couple of weeks, we're releasing episodes about a surprising way to stop scammers. The people you didn't know were on the other end of the line. And we have a special bonus episode on Criminal plus with tips to protect yourself. Listen to Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. And sign up for [e-mail] plus what.

[Marques Brownlee (MKBHD)]

Is up, people of the Internet? My name is Marques Brownlee, AKA mkbhd, and some of the biggest smartphones of the year are about to launch, including the brand new iPhone 17 is around the corner with a model you've never seen before. So on the Waveform podcast, myself and co hosts Andrew Manganelli and David Amell gather the biggest tech news of each week and then discuss at length everything we're excited about and sometimes things we're not so excited about. So this time of year we like to call smartphone season. So if you're interested in hearing all the latest releases from Apple and Samsung and Google and others, be sure to check out the Waveform podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. See you there.

[Scott Galloway]

Welcome back. Before we go, after months of hesitation, Governor Hochul is throwing her support behind Zoran Mamdani, the 30 year old Democratic Socialist who stunned Andrew Cuomo in the primary. She calls him a leader focused on making New York affordable, even as President Trump hinted at punishing New York with withholding federal funds for endorsing him. Jess, why do you think it took her so long and why are other Democratic leaders still holding off?

[Jessica Tarlov]

You know, her argument was, I, you know, I'm not a New Yorker, you know, a New York City New Yorker. And this is up to the people. And the truth is that there are a lot of very powerful and rich New Yorkers who give money to Hochul and frankly fund the state that are not on board with Mamdani and are not going to get on board with Mamdani. There's been, you know, some recent polling that showed that if it did get down to a two man race, that Mamdani still has an edge, but it's kind of more in the four or five points and certainly not in this massive 25 point range. And so I think that Hochul was kind of, you know, hanging back and seeing how this developed and also waiting to see how he was going to become a general election candidate. And he has moderated on a few things. He was on with Al Sharpton and all the credit in the world to Al Sharpton for really pushing him about the safety and feelings of the Jewish community and got him to give the most full throated walk back, I guess, of, you know, the people that he had kept company with and saying, you know, or being okay with phrases like from the river to the sea or globalize the intifada. He says, I understand now what it means and how threatening it is and I will not engage in any sort of discourse that allows that or where. That said, he also has said that he is going to apologize for calling the NYPD racist back in 2020. But Hochul's point that I think is the most important is that she said that she doesn't want a mayor in New York City who's beholden to the Trump administration. And it's very clear that Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams both would, you know, Adams if he's waiting for his ambassadorship in Saudi Arabia, I don't know. But, you know, Cuomo's people who are advising him have met with the Trump administration about this. You know, everyone is trying to jockey around a way to subvert the will of the people. And, you know, Mamdani was not my choice, but you have to respect the democratic process even when it doesn't go your way. And I think that the blowback of not supporting him or not respecting the will of the people is going to be much more severe than anything he's going to accomplish or not accomplish in the next four years. And it sends a very bad message after 2024, when so many people were saying, hey, hey, hey, you know, Biden isn't up to this. This isn't right. We should have had a primary. And then you go and tell them, oh, you guys really like this guy, and you overwhelmingly turned out for him. And all of these groups that I didn't expect to support him actually did. Well, you know what? Like F off, I'm going with the guy that Donald Trump is more comfortable with.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. I mean, to a certain extent. So I communicate a lot with. With. I don't know what the term is, Jewish groups or Jewish special interest groups. And they're really upset about this. And my view has been, this is not where you. This is not the hill to die on. This is about the city is about. It's an operational job, it's an executive job. He's not going to be setting public policy on Israel. So I'm like, this is not where you spend your capital. And it strikes me of what people said about 2016, that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were the only two people that could make each other viable. Secretary Clinton, for whatever reason, was very unpopular among the rank and file. She triggered a lot of people. I don't see why she's a hero of mine. But the political reality is a lot of people were just never Hillary's. I won't even go into President Trump. How did we end up in what is the most important city in the world with three people that all? I mean, he's a young man, outstanding campaign, very similar to Trump. Focused on affordability, weaponized new platforms. And also, I do give him some credit. He's doing what any candidate does in the general election. He is, quote, unquote, modulating towards the center. And I think a guy at that age has a lot of license to prove himself and show himself a more empathetic character to other people. I would have not voted. I'm not a New York president. I would have not voted for a minute. Some of the shit he has Said is just disqualifying in my view. Also distinctive as what I feel are just, quite frankly, anti Semitic comments. His socialist tendencies are really, in my opinion, incredibly off putting. On an operational level, he wants to increase the amount of housing that falls under basically rent control, which has been proven not to work. There's supposedly 8,000 units in the New York metro that are held empty by the landlord because they don't want to let them. They don't want to let someone in. They can't get out because of the rent control rule. Rent control does not work. Rent control is literally the last form of housing discrimination under the auspices of thinking it's going to increase affordability. No, it doesn't. It decreases stock. The idea of government sponsored food lines effectively is what these government run grocery stores. If there's one business we want to leave to the private sector, it's grocery stores. They operate on razor thin margins. They're run by local entrepreneurs or companies with big scale. That is the last. But you want the people from the DMV picking out your produce and figuring out a way to get you the right tomatoes at the right time and then operate on 4% margin. It's just a stupid idea. So I do not think he is a, I, I do not think he, his policies make any sense. He's a fantastic candidate and unfortunately, these are the only people that could have made each other viable. You have essentially the mayor. I don't, I thought the whole thing with Turkey and under the influence of a foreign government, quite frankly, I didn't think that was as big a deal as it was made out to be. I think that every day there's a pay for play in D.C. and what he did, in my view, was wrong. I don't think it was nearly the level of criminality we're seeing across the current administration in D.C. every day. Having said that, when he then sold his soul to Trump and basically said, wink, wink, I'll let you come in with ICE in exchange for you agreeing to either pardon me, not prosecute me or potentially give me a job. That's just bullshit. We don't need the, we don't need the mayor of New York cutting backroom deals to avoid the Southern District prosecuting them. That is disqualifying. I think Cuomo is actually a decent politician. I probably would have voted for him. I was supporting a guy named Whitney Tilson who never got any traction, but Governor Cuomo resigned under a cloud of controversy and these are our choices. So we're in a difficult spot I also don't understand why Governor Hochul couldn't have just said, I don't like any of the candidates. I'm not endorsing any of them. I'm gonna let the people decide. It's not. I go back.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, she tried that for a while and then she couldn't do an interview without someone asking her about it. And I think that she wants to put pressure on Jeffries and Schumer to, to endorse him. Say something. Well, Jeffries even, you know, he's a New York City voter on top of it.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, okay. So someone like Leader Jeffries, who's gonna vote. I think he, the leader.

[Jessica Tarlov]

He has district voted for Mamdani.

[Scott Galloway]

I think he's gotta, he's gotta say something. I'm not sure the governor needs to, but this unfortunately will be used as another cudgel. Trump and the Democrats are going to use these ideas to say this is ground central. Ground zero for Democratic politics arguably is New York. And you have a socialist who has made uncomfortable anti Semitic remarks in the past or has shown too much empathy for, I would say anti Semitic rhetoric and is essentially proposing economic policies that might be well intentioned, as most socialist policies are. But that is not what New York is about. New York is full body contact capitalism. And I think we should be proud of that. We spend a shit ton of money, we make a shit ton of money and we're about. And so is America, folks. We are about a certain degree of winners and losers. What's so frustrating is the greatest city in the world. And it is the greatest city in the world. These are the three candidates we come up with. Anyway. I'm frustrated that only these three people could make each other viable.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah. And I'll just say that one of our faves, Tom Suozzi, who is a Long island rep, so he wouldn't be voting, but he said I'm not endorsing him. While I share his concern about the issue of affordability, I fundamentally disagree with his proposed solutions. Now, easy to say, you're out on Long island also need to protect a swing seat.

[Scott Galloway]

That sounds right to me. Yeah, I think that's that I'm honored.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I think that's how a lot of people feel about it. But you're, you know, this is the decision that lays before you. And I think that Governor Hochul smartly decided that she would rather be on the side of the people versus on the side of the Trump administration. That's an easy choice at this point.

[Scott Galloway]

That's a fair point. Okay, Jess, thanks. How are you doing? How are. I'm trying. How are you? I'm trying to encourage men, and there's no reason I shouldn't do it with my female friends. I'm trying to encourage them to say, how are you doing? And then you respond, how are you doing, Jess?

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, I guess we're doing reverse banter. But my older child, almost four in December, or she will be four in December, pulled. Took the baby out of the crib herself this morning. We're watching it on our cameras. So we're at the jailbreak phase of life. So we're gonna have two running around. Did the boys ever do that? Like one Alec takeout?

[Scott Galloway]

I don't remember. I didn't like to touch or hang out with my children much below before.

[Jessica Tarlov]

The age of five. I'm fine, and both my children are alive.

[Scott Galloway]

Even though I'll ask one of our nannies, before I had her deported, when I found out it was. It was not in vogue for me to run for office with an illegal. Like, remember. Remember Meg Whitman, who, when she decided to run for governor, had her. Had her domestic helper or whatever the politically correct name is, unhoused.

[Jessica Tarlov]

What's crazy is that with everything that's going on, I still think somehow that would become a problem for people. And you're like, oh, you. The Trump family just made $5 billion or whatever. It's like, oh, but you know, you've got an illegal, like, taking care of your kids.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Anyways, what I was trying to get to there is that I. Oh, is you, right?

[Jessica Tarlov]

You don't want to speak to you guys?

[Scott Galloway]

No, no, I'm saying that I'm trying to do a better job of saying when I think a hack men should say to each other, how are you? And you get the response, fine. And then you say, no, really, how are you? And I like the fact that you brought up something nice and something that you're happy about. So we should just leave it there. That's it for this episode. Thank you for listening to Raging moderates. I felt like we raged. I feel like I raged a lot. What the fuck is wrong with you?

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean, bad shit's going on.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. I don't know. I like to think of myself as calm, cool, and collected. This is a production of Prof. G Media. Our producer is David Toledo. Our associate producer is Eric Genicus. Our technical director is Drew Burroughs. Our engineer is William Flynn, and our executive producer is Kathryn Dillon. Make sure to follow us wherever you get your podcast so you don't miss an episode, Jess. Have a great rest of the week. I'm coming to New York.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I'm getting out of here.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm coming to New York.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I'm here a hundred.

[Scott Galloway]

A hundred percent. I want to hang, which means probably not.