INTERVIEW: Cenk Uygur Talks ‘Rebellion PAC’ Populist Takeover Of The Dems., Trump Tariffs, 2028 Primary + More

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club Featuring Cenk Uygur

Episode: INTERVIEW: Cenk Uygur Talks ‘Rebellion PAC’ Populist Takeover Of The Dems., Trump Tariffs, 2028 Primary + More
Release Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious
Guest: Cenk Uygur, Founder and CEO of Rebellion PAC

---

1. Introduction: Setting the Stage

In this compelling episode of The Breakfast Club, host Charlamagne Tha God welcomes Cenk Uygur, the influential founder and CEO of Rebellion PAC. The discussion centers around the ambitious goals of Rebellion PAC to spearhead a populist resurgence within the Democratic Party, confront the economic policies of Donald Trump, and strategize for the pivotal 2028 primary elections.

---

2. Rebellion PAC and Its Vision for the Democratic Party

Cenk Uygur delves into the mission of Rebellion PAC, emphasizing the necessity to realign the Democratic Party with the needs of the "average guy." He critiques the current state of the party, highlighting its entanglement with the donor class and its departure from foundational programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

[03:07] Cenk Uygur: "So what we're saying is, how about we actually deliver for the average guy? Higher wages, okay. Lower drug prices, paid family leave... let's bring the Democratic Party back to what it was."

Uygur advocates for policies that directly benefit everyday Americans, such as higher wages, reduced drug prices, paid family leave, and removing money from politics. He underscores the importance of these initiatives in restoring the party's credibility and effectiveness.

---

3. Embracing Economic Populism

Lauren LaRosa introduces the concept of economic populism, prompting Uygur to elaborate on its practicality and implementation challenges within the existing political framework.

[04:15] Lauren LaRosa: "What you're talking about is economic populism. But how realistic is that...?"

Uygur responds by acknowledging the systemic hurdles but remains optimistic about achieving these goals through strategic political maneuvering and grassroots support.

[04:35] Cenk Uygur: "That's exactly the question everybody should ask... we're saying let's bring the Democratic Party back to serving the average guy."

---

4. Challenges in Implementing Democratic Policies

Uygur addresses the recurring issues within the Democratic Party, particularly the failure to pass significant legislation despite widespread public support. He criticizes the removal of pivotal policies, such as the $15 minimum wage from the COVID relief bill, attributing these setbacks to corporate influence and a lack of genuine commitment to progressive ideals.

[04:43] Cenk Uygur: "Because the donor class... Democrats never meant it. They never took $15 minimum wage seriously."

He emphasizes the need for accountability and transparency, suggesting that Rebellion PAC's approach—eschewing corporate PAC money—can pave the way for more effective policy implementation.

---

5. Critique of the Democratic Establishment and Proposals for Change

The conversation intensifies as Charlamagne questions the feasibility of the proposed changes, expressing skepticism about the Democratic Party's willingness to overhaul its existing structures.

[07:17] Charlamagne Tha God: "I think everything that you're saying is great... but it seems like we're in normal times, but things are already changing."

Uygur counters by asserting that Rebellion PAC has a concrete plan to reclaim Congressional seats and enforce policy changes, even if it means challenging incumbent Democrats who are perceived as too aligned with corporate interests.

[07:48] Cenk Uygur: "We demand accountability... if they throw any of these bills under the bus, then we're going to kick them out of the group."

---

6. Discussion on Potential Candidates and Leadership

The hosts and Uygur discuss potential candidates who embody the principles of Rebellion PAC. Uygur praises figures like Ro Khanna and Nina Turner for their commitment to progressive policies and their willingness to confront established political norms.

[30:11] Charlamagne Tha God: "Why do you like Ro Khanna so much? Bro's cool. I like Ro. But why do you like him so much?"

[30:19] Cenk Uygur: "He leads by leading... He gets it. He's talking about economic populism, bringing people jobs, bring people higher wages, health care, the stuff that people care about."

They also explore the idea of unconventional candidates, mentioning Jon Stewart as a potential presidential contender, though acknowledging his hesitancy to enter politics formally.

---

7. Addressing Media Influence and Donor Control

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the pervasive influence of corporate donors and mainstream media in shaping political agendas. Uygur criticizes established Democrats for their reluctance to challenge corporate interests, contrasting this with Trump’s overt corporate ties.

[14:57] Charlamagne Tha God: "Hakeem Jeffries, you can't say that. Like, cut it out... It's like, really?"

[15:10] Cenk Uygur: "If we don't get the money out of the system completely, then we're at a big disadvantage."

Uygur advocates for a movement free from corporate financial influence, emphasizing grassroots funding and volunteer support as the foundation for Rebellion PAC's strategy.

---

8. Future Steps and Call to Action

As the interview concludes, Uygur outlines the tactical steps necessary to achieve Rebellion PAC's objectives. He urges listeners to support through donations, volunteering, and spreading the message, highlighting the importance of collective action in combating institutional corruption.

[45:29] Charlamagne Tha God: "Make some noise."

[45:30] Cenk Uygur: "Volunteer for rebellionpack.com... Get in the game, because the minute you sit down and lose hope is the minute they win."

He reinforces the urgency of mobilizing support to prevent further erosion of democratic principles and to ensure the party's resurgence in alignment with populist values.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Rebellion PAC's Mission: Restore the Democratic Party's focus on serving the average American by implementing populist policies and reducing corporate influence.

• Economic Populism: Emphasis on higher wages, affordable healthcare, paid family leave, and removing money from politics as realistic and achievable goals.

• Accountability: Demand for transparency and responsibility from elected officials, with a readiness to challenge and oust those aligned with corporate donors.

• Candidate Selection: Support for progressive leaders like Ro Khanna and Nina Turner, with openness to unconventional figures who can drive meaningful change.

• Grassroots Movement: Call for grassroots support, including donations and volunteerism, to strengthen Rebellion PAC's efforts against entrenched political interests.

• Urgency of Action: Highlighting the critical need for immediate collective action to reclaim democratic institutions and prevent further policy stagnation.

---

This episode serves as a rallying cry for progressive activists and politically engaged listeners, outlining a clear vision for transforming the Democratic Party through organized efforts, strategic candidate support, and unwavering commitment to populist principles.

Transcript

[Nissan Advertiser]

Meetings, deadlines, emails, millions of notifications. Don't you wish you could escape the chaos? Fortunately, that's where the all new Nissan Murano comes in. With available features like the relaxing massaging seats to ease stress and the beautiful skyline views that bring in natural light. It's like cruising in your own personal Oasis. And if you need to set a vibe, 64 colors of personalized lighting and a Bose premium sound system have you covered. Hands down, the all new Nissan Murano is your stress free getaway. Because sometimes the greatest rush isn't rushing at all. Drive the all new Nissan Murano today.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Panoramic moonroof, ambient light, bows and massaging leather.

[Cenk Uygur]

Appointed seats are optional features.

[Roku Advertiser]

What are you looking for in a new smart TV? 4K picture quality, high quality and immersive sound? A sleek design? All of those are givens, but only the new Roku Pro series has all of those and the Roku Streaming experience, an award winning OS. Get fast easy access to all your apps like iHeart where you can stream all your favorite music, radio and podcasts all day and regular all inclusive trips to Roku City. The new Roku Pro Series, a smart TV built by the the Streaming Pros.

[Carlos Miller]

Taking control of your career is empowering. Just don't tell my boss I said that. Just kidding.

[Cenk Uygur]

I am the boss.

[Carlos Miller]

This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. And building a career isn't just about a job. It's about creating a path that impacts our community and future generations. Whether you're starting out or even making big moves, State Farm is here to support you with resources to help protect what you're working hard to achieve. They've got your back every step of the way. Because like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Find out more@state farm.com I'm Michael Kasson.

[Michael Kasson]

Founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on Good Company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Angeli Su, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming.

[Angeli Su]

What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There's so many stories out there and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content. The term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen.

[Michael Kasson]

Listen to Good company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Cenk Uygur]

Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yep, it's the world's most dangerous morning show the Breakfast Club, Charlamagne, the God, dj Envy and Jess. Hilarious. Had to step out, but Lauren LaRosa is here and I got my guy. The CEO and founder of the Young Turks Network. Sink, is it? It's Uyghur, right?

[Cenk Uygur]

Jank. Uygur.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Jank. Uyghur.

[Cenk Uygur]

I know, I know. It's a giant pain in the ass. This seems pronounced like a J.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What?

[Cenk Uygur]

And Uyghur? How you even gonna say that's? Not even the Turkish way of saying it, but we're just trying to get along, man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's my guy, though. Y'all know I can't pronounce nothing but. How are you, sir?

[Cenk Uygur]

I'm good, I'm good, brother. How you doing?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I am blessed, black and highly favored man. You got this initiative that you have that you're launching that you're trying to recruit Democrats who lean into left wing populism.

[Cenk Uygur]

You got that right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What does that look like?

[Cenk Uygur]

So that looks like some of what Trump promised. Hey, I'm gonna deliver for the average guy, and I hate the establishment, etc. But of course, he was full of crap and he didn't mean it. And so we said on the young tourists, this brother's all he's gonna do is do tax cuts for the rich, right? So that's what he did and that's what he wants. Five and a half trillion dollars in tax cuts for corporations, etc. So what we're saying is, how about we actually deliver for the average guy? Higher wages, okay. Lower drug prices, paid family leave so you can get a little bit of time off when you have a kid, money out of politics, end the wars, and lower housing prices. So but in order to do that, you got to take on big drug companies, you got to take on private equity that's buying our residential homes and driving up the prices. And so the reason that the Democrats haven't done it in the past is because they're too wedded to the donor class. And so we're saying let's bring the Democratic Party back to what it was. So what it was was serving the average guy. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all these, by the way, super popular programs. So let's go back to passing bills, delivering for people, and let's get the Democratic Party back in. Kick Trump's ass.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, I was going to say.

[Lauren LaRosa]

What you're talking about is economic populism.

[Cenk Uygur]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Lauren LaRosa]

But how realistic is, is that? Because people always say this stuff and then even when they get in a position It's. There's so much you got to fight through, so many different tiers of, like the House and, you know, the people that don't agree. So how realistic is it and what does that time I look like? Because when you're saying it, I don't. I'm not gonna say it in my time here. It's gonna be generation. Generations.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. Lauren, I love that question, okay? Because you're right. That's exactly the question everybody should ask, okay? Because Democrats get in and then they never do it, right? And so I get super frustrated. First thing they took out of the bill, the COVID relief bill under Biden was $15 minimum wage. Now, if you do $15 minimum wage, you not only raise people's wages to the tune of about $92 billion. Right? That goes from the richest people in the country, the people who need it the most, who are working. Right. But you also raise the wages above that. And then whenever you go to do that, they go, oh, no, you can't do that because that'll drive up inflation. No, inflation is already here. I need my wages to go up to keep up with it. Right? So why don't we ever pass any of those things? Because the donor class, so, so look, I, you know, if you're a Democrat, I hate to break it to you, right? So if you're a Republican, I got terrible news for you, okay? But if you're a Democrat, I got bad news, which is that Biden and all those guys, they never meant it. They never. That's why they took $15 minimum wage right out of the bill. So why are we different? A, no corporate donors. No candidate is allowed to take corporate PAC money if they're with Rebellion pac. And so so far we got Ro Khanna, the first guy who, who said no corporate PAC money at all. And he's awesome. And he's the one that worked with Bernie to get $15 minimum wage at Amazon. And when they first started that, they're like, oh, you're not going to be able to pressure Amazon. You don't have any power. What are you guys going to do? You progressives, you know, you're always rabble rousing. And guess What? They got $15 minimum wage at Amazon, right? So Rose been delivering throughout. Now we got Richard Ojeda running in North Carolina 9. That brother almost beat somebody in West Virginia when he was down 50. When that's a R plus 54. So what? But when we get in, Lauren, if we don't deliver like here, I'll Put the first one up on the board. Paid family leave. So that's 12 weeks off for moms after they have a baby.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I have had to use that. Yeah, well, I have a baby, but my mom was sick, so I had to use paid family leave.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. And. But you know that 85% of Americans don't have paid family leave.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I don't know what it did without it.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah, I mean, that's crazy not to have. You got to go back to work the next day or you got to burn all your vacation time, all your sick time. It's so unfair. So that polls at 84%. What that means is the Democrats and Republicans are full of crap. If you can't pass Something that said 84%, you're not trying. Okay, so what we're going to do if we win is we're going to try, and we're going to try like hell, and we're going to take out whoever is in our path, whether they're Republicans or Democrats. So if they want to come cry about it, no problem. We're populous. We're ready to kick their ass. So it's not like, oh, yeah, like the old days. I'll go. We'll be so kind to our colleagues. Our colleagues are so precious. No, your colleagues aren't that precious. They're the ones who killed all these bills. So I demand accountability for our candidates. I'll do the accountability. If they throw any of these bills under the bus, then we're going to kick them out of the group. But they're not going to, because they're great guys. And we got another guy coming on May 1, too.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think everything that you're saying is great. I just. I feel like it's four years too late. And what I mean by that is we're talking as if we're in normal times, as if the midterms are just gonna come and we're just gonna go vote and put the people in, or 2028 is just gonna come and we're just gonna go vote. They're already telling us what they're planning to do. They want Trump to run for a third term. I just don't think. I don't think these normal ways of doing things are gonna be able to combat what is currently in the White House. And I don't think we understand that yet, because it's just talk. When they actually do the things that they say that they're doing, that's when everybody's gonna realize, like, oh, wait, so we don't have Free and fair elections, no more.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. So, Sean, a couple of layers to that, right? So first off, we're the only ones, as far as I can see, that's actually got a plan, right? So, like, and I encourage everybody else, like, if you don't like our plan, great. If you're a Democrat, come up with a different plan, right? And then plant your flag like we're doing and say, hey, you know, I'm for this or I'm for that. We're saying we're for economic policies and we're going to win back Congress. So step one in, in beating Trump and also taking over the Democratic Party, you got to win these elections if.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They'Re free and fair, right?

[Cenk Uygur]

So now, Charlamagne, to the point you're making. So at some point. So why were you and I opposed to Trump? We were opposed to him because we were worried that he was going to do authoritarian crap like this. Why did you and I worry about Joe Biden? Not because we hate Joe Biden, but because we were worried he was going to lose to Trump.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right. That's right.

[Cenk Uygur]

And unfortunately, we were right about all that. Right? So, okay, now what's the next step? So I've gone on every kind of show, so I'm here on Breakfast Club, but I've gone on, you know, Patrick, but David and Tim Pool and David Pakman and Brian Tyler Cohen. So every left, right, everything in between, right? Breaking points, etc. Right? So what I see from the right in that is some of them are hardcore MAGA guys, and if Trump says, end the Constitution, they'll light it on fire, right? But half of them are just bros. And they're like, wait, why are we burning the Constitution? I thought we were in favor of the Constitution. So you're beginning to see that. When I first said that, people are like, oh, get out of here. There's no way every Trump voters are racist, fascist, etc. But wait, and then all of a sudden, Trump burns up the stock market, and Dave Portnoy, who supported Trump, is out there going, what the hell? I just lost $20 million, okay? I don't like this. I don't like this. And I don't blame him. You know, I don't. I don't have the 20 million to lose, but I know I'd be mad. Okay, so that's financial. You go to Rogan and Rogan's like, wait, wait, wait, wait. What are we getting ready to due process for? Why are we locking people up without even bringing them To a court. What part of that is America? And it is in America, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You got Candace Owens talking about them taking away freedom of speech.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah, yeah. So, and, and look, you're seeing on behalf of Israel, they're snatching up people off the streets. And so that's, I mean, it doesn't get any more cancel culture than I'm going to arrest you with mass men, I'm going to deport you. I mean, that's canceling your life. Right. And so they cancel their diplomas, et cetera. So I see all that, but my point to you, Charlemagne, is that you'd be surprised at how many other people see that. So, so he came in at around 50%, which is as high as he's ever been. Boom. Last poll out, he's down to 40. Opposes, 59%. He's already in a 19 point hole and he's going south. So if he goes to cancel elections, for example, it's. I wouldn't put anything past him. Right. But at that point, it's not just going to be us on the left and it's not just going to be minorities. It's going to be people like Rogan and others who go, no, no, no, no. We signed up for lower prices, we signed up for closing the border. We signed up for some of the things you and I might agree with or disagree with, but we didn't sign up for this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But then what happens when he starts locking up media?

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. So look, here's your bellwether, okay? He locks me up, we're in a lot of trouble, okay? But here I am on the front lines. I oppose him 100%. I'm doing a democratic movement to make sure he loses in Congress. I, I'm Muslim, I'm a huge critic of Israel, and I'm a naturalized citizen, okay? So if anyone's on the front line, I'm at the very, very front of that line and I'm saying, come get me. Okay? So I'm okay with.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Don't say that. Don't give him a reason.

[Cenk Uygur]

No, my point is, though, guys, if we all panic, we're not going to get anything done.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I agree with that.

[Cenk Uygur]

Okay? So let's all stay calm. Let's come up, let's do a plan. Here I am with a plan to actually take power away from him in 2026. If you got a better plan, I'm all ears. Right? But what I can't have is no plan.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I'm with you. I don't want to be pessimistic. I just wonder if. If we're all too late.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's literally what I want.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. So, well, again, to the audience, if, you know, in a couple of months, I'm gone and Charlemagne's gone. Yeah. Well, you better act. You better do something. Right? Because then we're at the precipice of almost too late.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Cenk Uygur]

And that's when we're going to see who. What everybody's all about. Who is Joe Rogan, right? Who are all these bros, Right? Did they actually mean it when they said freedom? Because they talk about freedom 24 7. Right. When they were in the minority, they were like, freedom, freedom, freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of this, freedom of that. They get in the control. They're like, no, arrest everybody who cares about due process, etc. So, okay, hardcore mag is going to believe that. But all other Trump voters, who are you? Do you believe in America or don't you believe in America? Because if you get rid of due process, that's Western civilization. That is a cornerstone. That means you hate Western civilization. You want to go backwards to kings and dictators, etc. So if that's who you are, just raise your hand. Raise your hand. But if you're a Trump voter, like, dude, I just want to lower prices, right? I just, I thought crime is a little out of control. I didn't ask for this crap. And by the way, that's what 59% of the country is saying now. We didn't ask for this crap. So let's go, let's go. Let's get animated. Go to rebellionpack.com, get in the game. We're asking for candidates. You want to run against these guys? Let's go. Right? You, volunteers, donations, whatever you need, but let's go. So go help Richard Ojeda in North Carolina. He's in an R + 10. Look, let me give you a scenario. So Ro Khanna is an incumbent. He's already great. He was co chair of Bernie's campaign. We all know and love Roe, right? So. And then by the way, our populous plank signed by, of course, Nina Turner.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Love Nina.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yep. Kara Eastman, Marie Newman. And by the way, Dan Osborne, who's an independent who ran Nebraska, signed the populist plank, those six things that I talked to you about, because everybody loves it, right? So now we're saying, now look at Ojeda. Ojeda is in an R + 10 district, and that is super hard to win. That is a Republican. It's not even a purple district, it's a red district. It's got Fort bragging it. But he's a retired army major. He served in Fort Bragg for 16 years, and he's an absolute ass kicker. He almost won in West Virginia once in an R +54. He almost overcame 54 points. Why? Because his ads were like, after drug companies. Okay? F all these corporations who are screwing you and taking money out of your pocket. And people are like, yeah, I like that. Right. So we can win those independents back. They just wanted populism. They didn't know that Trump was full of crap. I mean, for us, we think, how could they not know? How could they not know? But remember how sick they are of the system.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Cenk Uygur]

Right. And the system's super corrupt. So Trump was lucky and smart. He was the first guy to raise his hand and go, this is all corrupt. I, you know, you hate this. I hate this. Now he's even more corrupt. But people didn't know that. They thought they were signing up for anti corruption. So my point, Charlamagne, is why don't we actually give him anti corruption, get money out of politics. These donors run the whole place and we know it. So if you're a Democrat, don't tell me the donors don't run the place. Come on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think it's ridiculous. Even when they try to say things, you know, all these conversations about Ola, Oligarchy, oligarchy, oligarchy. Now Bernie and aoc, they can go out there and say, fight the oligarchy.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hakeem Jeffries, you can't say that. Okay? Like, cut it out. We know that you've taken so much money from corporate donors, so it's just weird to see them, you know, push back against oligarchy now and say, look at the billionaires controlling Trump. It's like, really?

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah, you, Hakeem.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Really, really.

[Lauren LaRosa]

But don't you need, don't you, don't you have to lean into, like, the donors at some point? Like, you need money in big corporations to move at some point, though, right? So how does that work with what your plan is? Because they not going to want to lean in and help you if you're opposing everything that they're trying to control you to do. So where does the money, where does the power come from?

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. So another great question. So last time I co founded Justice Democrats, and so that's AOC, etc. And so we got the same questions, especially back then, because we hadn't pulled off the miraculous AOC victory yet. Right? So people are like, aoc, she's a bartender. Ilhan Omar. She had to leave.

[Lauren LaRosa]

She's the girl.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. And so we said, watch, okay? And especially my co founders, they were so gung ho on aoc, they went all in on her and they said, you watch what we're gonna do. And we did it and we won that election and it made a big difference. Right? So this time around. So are the corporations gonna oppose us? Hell yeah. Do we want them to oppose us? Yes. I don't want their help. I don't need their help. Their help is toxic. Cuz their help comes with a price tag. Charlamagne's 100% right. You know what Hakeem Jeffries was just doing? We just reported on the Young Turks. He just collected $1.2 million, went over to the bankers. Like, one of them had to pay a $6 million fine for ripping people off. Another one had to pay like some gigantic, like 60 or $600 million fine because he ripped people off. And he's like, no, no, it's all good. I got money from corporations. No, it's not all good. I don't want that money. That money's toxic. So. But at the end of the day, Lauren, if we don't get the money out of the system completely, then we're at a big disadvantage. So our job is to get inside the gates, opened the doors for real populists, real people, Americans to come into Congress. But most importantly, captured the Democratic Party at the top, which I'll get to in a second, and then just take the donor money out, because you can't do it unless you're at the top. But if you're at the top, you give me a populist president and I promise you we're going to take that money out. So how? Right? Because. Because Democrats were used to in our lifetime, they get in and they go, oh, there's nothing I could do. Yeah, but hold on, dude, you just got there. You got there. What do you mean? You, you didn't even try yet. You're in day two, you're telling me you don't. There's nothing you could do? Like Joe Biden on day two is like, oh, 15 minute wait, there's nothing I could do. I'm gonna take it out. Wow. What do you mean there's nothing you can do?

[Lauren LaRosa]

You didn't even try.

[Cenk Uygur]

You didn't even, you didn't even get a vote on it. You know why? Because the corporations don't want higher wages. They want lower wages. Right? Why don't we have Paid family leave. Because corporations like, oh, that's going to cost me a couple of nickels. Right. And I don't, I don't care about moms. I want them back on the assembly line. Right? So all these guys on the Democratic side, this is, oh, I'm going to work with corporations. And eventually, 20 years from now, 200 years from now, they're going to be patriotic and they're going to be on our side. No, they're not. You just got to get their money out because they, we live under corporate rule. Like, they're squeezing us and squeezing us. They, like I keep telling people, look, man, don't fight left or right. Fight up, right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Cenk Uygur]

Like, if you're looking to follow the money. Yeah. And why do they do these wedge issues where they drive us apart, Right? Like go. They go find the super obscure trans sports professional, this, that, the other thing. Because they're trying to find a way to divide us. Because if we're fighting left and right, we're never going to be able to get united enough to fight the folks who actually have power up top. So. And you can do a constitutional amendment. So this is an important, super important part of the plan. Because if you win in these red and purple districts in 2026, then we get the credibility to say, hey, listen, the establishment told you that they know what they're doing and that they were definitely going to win. And then you got Hillary Clinton and then you got Kamala Harris. Sorry, but you didn't know. You said you knew, but you didn't know. We said, we do know. We think we can get miraculous victories like aoc. And we did know we were right. Right. And now I'm telling you again, we're going to get miraculous victories in purple and red districts. And when we do that, don't tell me we don't know. We know. Right? So then you take that credibility and you go, now you want to run the same old corporate stooge on the Democratic side, or do you want to run a strong, progressive populist who's going to say, let's go get this thing done. Let's bring this back to the party of fdr. Let's pass important bills that change people's lives. Because, guys, if we haven't passed the bills, Lauren, to your original point, then we didn't do anything. Like, if I get Ojeda in and the next guy coming in May and row, we get them all in and they don't pass any bills, then we didn't get anything done. That's just ego gratification.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What do you think about what David Hodge is doing?

[Cenk Uygur]

I like it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I love it.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yep.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Cenk Uygur]

So they're all crying, and I saw a headline just this morning right before I came in about, oh, they, you know, they're going to give him an ultimatum at the dnc. Of course they are. Because they're a corruption protection racket. Right. So they're like, oh, yeah, how you can't primary incumbents. Why? Why can't I?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Why can't you?

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. And then the mainstream media, they do this every time. They're like, oh, you know, you're just going against Democrats. Yeah. With other Democrats. With cleaner Democrats and Democrats more likely to win. More likely to beat Republicans and Democrats willing to fight. Exactly. So in the DNC goes, how dare you fight David Hogg. You. You better not fight. You better know your role. So I love that he doesn't know his role now. I don't know who his candidates are, but God bless him, I don't really care. Like, and by the way, as I keep saying, if you say, hey, Cenk, I don't like your economic populism, I just want to focus on culture wars or this or that, the other thing. And. Or I think corporations aren't that, but great, brother, plant your flag, run your candidates. We'll see you all in the primaries, right? And so in the beginning, like, for a lot of our candidates, there isn't going to be any primary because they're so tough races that the Democrats are like, oh, there's a candidate. There's a good candidate, thank God. Right? But for in 2028, we'll see you all in the primary. If you think your guy's better, put up your Gavin Newsom with his slick hair, put up your Pete Buttigieg making excuses for all the donors, and we'll bring our strong populace and let. Game on. Let's do this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I do like Pete. I like Pete. And the reason I like Pete, because I remember having a conversation with Pete here on Breakfast Club. This was a while ago. Like, this was years ago, actually. And I was like, we were talking about having this conversation about taking corporate money. And I'm like, can you trust a politician who takes corporate money? And he goes, well, when you take corporate money, he said, you can take corporate money, but you just can't tell these corporations. Can't tell you what to do. And I'm like, I don't think that's possible. You know what I mean? Like, I don't think it's possible to take the corporate money and not be beholden to the corporate donors. Now, if you are a politician that can do that, great for you. I just don't know if it can happen.

[Cenk Uygur]

I haven't seen it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Cenk Uygur]

So look, here's the deal with Buttigieg. So Buttigieg is really smart and he makes a good case for Democrats. So when he goes on Fox News and he makes Democratic case. God bless you, brother. No problem. Everybody's. I'm happy to have everybody on our team. Right. But he takes a lot of corporate money. And so I'm worried about it. I'm super worried about it. And I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna cross my fingers and hope for the best. Like, we've done that too many times. But I'm not trying to rule anybody out. Right. Like, I'm just saying, hey, listen, you run your race, we'll run our race, and let's all get on the same team. Let's beat Trump in 2026. And this is the most important thing. Pick the strongest candidate in 28. Because the Democratic Party always tells you to pick the weakest candidate, the most corporate candidate, the most establishment candidate. Stop listening to them. They don't know what they're talking about. They're the same guys who told you Joe Biden was young and dynamic. They're lying to you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Sorry, we've had this conversation. There's only one person I think could come in because I don't think that the. The Democrats need to be rehabilitated. I think it needs to be destroyed and rebuilt, period.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Who could come in and do that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Jon Stewart. Yeah, he's the only one that makes it. Now, if I had to pick an elected official, it's gonna have to be a governor. Right. Because you can just look at the work they did in their state. For me, that would be Governor Josh Shapiro. Other than that, Jon Stewart.

[Cenk Uygur]

So I back Josh Spiro for vp. I love Tim Walls, though. That was a great pick. So. So no harm done in my opinion on that. But. But Shapiro is a great governor and could he win an election? Yeah, he could win an election. So. And he's even done some little bit of anti corruption work in Pennsylvania. I'll take it. I'll take it. That's a good start. Right, so I'm again, not hating on anyone. God bless. Okay, so. And Shapiro is, I think, among the best of them. So. But look on our side, we got Ro Khanna, we got Nina Turner, we got aoc, we got a lot of strong people. Now, outside of politics, we got Jon Stewart, right? You know, Stephen A. Smith keeps running his mouth about wanting to run. All right, God bless, whatever. But yeah, he's too conservative for my taste, blah, blah, blah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But I just don't think he would. I don't think he'd be really taken serious in a general election. I actually think that it's conservatives that are pushing that messaging more than anybody because they want Democrats to run somebody like Stephen A. Smith because they know they'd win in a landslide. And I'm interested. Steven's my guy. But that's just how I feel about.

[Cenk Uygur]

I agree completely like that. How we feel about Stephen as a person and as a sports anchor is different than as a candidate. Right? But the reason I brought him up is because it's not wrong to look at entertainment. I mean, look, Ronald Reagan was an actor. Donald Trump was a reality show host. He's not even a businessman. He went bankrupt six times. He was known as the king of debt. So. And here he is again, piling up debt on top of our heads, right? So Jon Stewart, Charlemagne. How's that for a ticket?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No. Hell no. But Jon Stewart, definitely, because.

[Cenk Uygur]

Hey, what up, y'all?

[DJ Envy]

It's DJ Envy. The first few months of 2025 have been quite a year. Work deadlines, group chats you can't escape, and your weird cousin's latest overshare. It's a lot. But here's some good news. You don't have to bring that stress into your car. The all new Nissan Murano is your piece on wheels, thanks to its available features. Imagine sliding into the relaxing, massaging seats that feel like they were made to melt your tensions. Take in the skyline views that let sunlight pour in and watch as your day brightens. I have a special playlist that always gets me right. And with the Bose premium sound system, you too can vibe like you're at your own private concert. Plus, with your 64 color personalized lighting option, you can set the mood any way you want. Be it romantic, chill, or in a straight up do not disturb mode. Let the Nissan Murano be your oasis in a chaotic world. Because sometimes the greatest rush isn't rushing at all. Drive the all new Nissan Murano today.

[Cenk Uygur]

Panoramic moonroof, ambient lighting, bows and massaging leather. Appointed seats are optional features.

[Roku Advertiser]

What are you looking for in a new smart TV 4K picture quality, high quality and immersive sound. A sleek design? All of those are givens, but only the new Roku Pro series has all of those and the Roku Streaming experience, an award winning OS. Get fast easy access to all your apps like iHeart, where you can stream all your favorite music, radio and podcasts all day. And regular, all inclusive trips to Roku City. The new Roku Pro series. A smart TV built by the streaming pros.

[Carlos Miller]

Hey fam. This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. If you're like me, you're always thinking about how to level up your career. Maybe you're fresh out of college, just starting in your field, or even looking to switch things up and find your true calling. Whatever stage you're in, remember that this is your time to grow, to learn, and to build something that lasts. State Farm understands that early career development is key to long term success. They've been a steady presence in our community and they know having the right support early can make all the difference. State Farm is there to help you make smart moves and to help you get the coverage you need. We all know that the journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint. It's all about staying focused, staying grounded, and making sure you're protected every step of the way. Let's build our careers with confidence, knowing that State Farm is there to support us, just like they've always been. Because like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Find out more@state farm.com Yo, K pop fans.

[Bom Han]

It's your boy, Bom Han, and I'm bringing you something epic. Introducing the K Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K Pop. We're talking music reviews, exclusive interviews, and deep dives into the industry like never before. From producers and choreographers to idols and trainees, we're bringing you the real stories behind the music that you love. And yeah, we're keeping it 100, discussing everything from comebacks and concepts to the mental health side of the business. Because K Pop isn't just a genre, it's a whole world. And we're exploring every corner of it. And here's the best part. Fans get to call in, drop opinions, and even join us live at events. You never know where we might pop up next. So listen to the K factor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This isn't just a podcast. It's a movement.

[Cenk Uygur]

Are you ready?

[Bom Han]

Let's go.

[Cenk Uygur]

Let's go.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I thought actually knows what he's talking about. And Jon Stewart has actually gotten legislation passed. We've seen Jon Stewart on the hill fighting for these firefighters here in New York City. Like, and he has a Plan. Like, I love the weekly show. That's one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. When I listen to my news. I'm on Young Turks. I'm listening to the weekly show every week. Right. And he. The conversations he's having with Democrats, Libertarians, conservatives are the best conversations to me right now.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. Let me make another case for John. Look, so first off, I. I've never seen him be wrong, and that's a hell of a thing. He's been around for a long, long time. Right. Yeah. I haven't seen him be wrong, factually. I haven't seen him be wrong on policy in terms of fighting for the average guy. And that is a super hard.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Even just opinion.

[Cenk Uygur]

Even just opinion. Like, I don't know that I've ever seen a single thing that Stuart said where I was like, oh, whoa, he lost me there. Right. So incredible record on the issues and actually caring. And then you're right. All these politicians always say, oh, there's nothing we could do. Oh, no, we're so powerless. John got a bill passed from outside of Congress. He got more done outside of Congress than people inside Congress. There's 535 people in there, and they couldn't do what Jon Stewart did from the outside. That's right. So he has a record of proven. Actually getting bills passed, affecting people's lives. He's right on the policies. We know he's honest. Right. So he can message. Yeah. If they're picking reality show hosts and they're. I mean, look, they'll pick Kim Kardashian next. So I'll take Jon Stewart. Right. So let's go. And. But the problem with John is that I don't, like. I don't know if he wants to do it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He doesn't want to. But, you know, it's interesting when you. I watch the Daily show and I'm like, I love the Daily Show. You know, I make regular appearances on there. But I'm like, you can look at John and tell he should be doing something bigger and it has nothing to do with entertainment. I really think he should be running for some. Some type of office. And it should be President of United States.

[Cenk Uygur]

No. Yeah. He shouldn't mess around with Congress or city council. No. He's got to run for president. Yeah. So look, last thing on John is that I kind of feel like Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator, where, you know, where Maximus says, me, no, it can't be me. And that's what John is saying, basically, me. It can't Be me. And Marcus Aurelius says to him, brother, that's why it's gotta be you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes all the sense in the world. All the sense in the world. Why do you like Ro Khanna so much? Bro's cool. I like Ro. But why do you like him so much?

[Cenk Uygur]

So a couple of reasons why he's always leading, right? So while other congressmen are trying to figure out, oh, my God, what's the angle? Where should I go? Rose, like, all right, now, let's go, let's go, let's go. Get this done. Okay. Let's rebuild manufacturing. Let's pass these bills. Here it is. Right? So that's number one. You lead by leading. And I haven't seen anyone lead like Ro Khanna, so that's awesome. Okay. Number two is. He gets it. He's talking about economic populism, bringing people jobs, bring people. Bringing higher wages, health care, the stuff that people care about. Right. Number three, when push comes to shove, you know, Young Turk, super hard to interview a lot of times. Right. So we, you know, we. We were super tough on Tulsi Gabbard when we sniffed out that she wasn't really progressive and she was actually a Republican. I did two incredibly tough interviews with her on and on and on. And everybody's seen our tough interview. Ro Khanna comes on, we disagree on something in the middle of the Biden administration, and me and Anna are yelling at him, and he's like, I hear you guys, but here's why I thought of what I did. And then he comes back the next day. Other politicians never come back. Do you see what I'm saying?

[Lauren LaRosa]

Yeah.

[Cenk Uygur]

Like, when you have a disagreement, the guy has strength that he could say, this is what I think, and I don't mind that you think that, and we should exchange these ideas. And I'm going to come back tomorrow, and I'm going to come back the next day and I'm going to push for what I think is right. I mean, how many politicians you see like that?

[Lauren LaRosa]

No, that's true, but so if. If all goes well and everybody that you want and gets in, you are able to start moving and doing all these things. There's going to be times where you're going to have to disappoint people because everything can happen the way they need to. How do they handle that? Because I think that's another thing that happens with Democrats. They make it seem like they're never going to disappoint, and then they do, and then they don't know how to come back from it. You said that right now, Trump is his message and everything was good, but he is doing horrible when it comes to the terror tariffs. He's blowing it is what you said. Yeah, he is sticking to his ground on, like, this is what we need to do. We might lose some people in the midst of it, but it'll make for better. According to him later. Y'all might have to do that too. Then what happens? Because people will say, you guys are blowing it at that point.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah. So first off, Trump isn't really sticking to what he said. He said global tariffs for everyone were at ridiculous, comical levels. And we're like, what the. I don't mind tariffs. Like, you could protect certain industries with tariffs. Right. And rebuild manufacturing. So it's not crazy to do some tariffs. Right. But when he announced, oh, I'm going to do like these unbelievable, never heard of before tariffs all across the world, we're all like, what are you doing? That's crazy. Right? So then he took that back and then he had the 145 tariffs on China and we're like, you know what iPhones are going to cost if you do that? Then he took that back. Right? So now he's down to still stupid tariffs on China because they're so gigantic that they're not productive. Right. So, etc. So now you now flip it back on us. Right? So what happens, number one, if we do something wrong? Just like Rokhanna, he's like, hey, listen, we, we do, we fight for what's right. If it turns out we weren't right, then you bring it back. Right? So there's no shame in saying, hey, we tried our best. We tried this and you guys said you didn't love it. So then we're going to next. So why do we pick like those six bills, right? Anti war money out of politics, et cetera? Because those are super popular. They're all above two thirds. So if our guys get into Congress in 2026, what we're going to say is not just Republicans, but Democrats too. Why are you all preventing a bill that's at 84%? Why are you all such radicals that you're in the 16%? So because mainstream media will say, oh, paid family leave. That is a radical progressive idea. Oh, no, nobody can pass that. The filibuster, the parliamentarian. Right? Yeah. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. 16% is radical. 84% is not radical. This whole country wants it. 74% of Republicans want it over, 90% of Democrats want it over, 80% of independents want it. Now, if we can't pass something, we're at an impasse. Why? Because the corporate donors are going to come in, they're going to buy the mansions and the cinemas. Even if they're out, there's going to be new mansions and cinemas, et cetera. What are we going to do? We're going to start calling people out. So that's what you've never seen in.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Politics, especially on the Democratic side. No, Trump did it.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah, that's right.

[Lauren LaRosa]

And that's kind of what I mean by not like he's doing what he said he was going to do because he does what he wants. I just mean that like when. So if he says he wants something and it doesn't go his way, he calls people out. He does. He sends a flare, scare, attack. He don't care who he lose in the midst of it. That's what I meant by that. Oh, and Democrats don't do that at all. Like, they play this like pr. You can't scare, you can't ruffle a feather. God is good, everything is love. That's how we handle issues.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I tried to get the VP to call out Cinema, I tried to get her to call out Mansion, I tried to get all the Democrats to do it. They just would not do it for whatever reason.

[Cenk Uygur]

So I know the reason. And Lauren, that's such, again, a great question, right? Because if we don't call people out, you're not, you can't get it done. So it's like Trump is terrible on policy, but on strategy, I get it. Right? So like the Democrats say, oh, you can't just intimidate people into voting your way. What do you mean? I just saw Trump do it. I just saw Trump do it like 12 times. That's right. I've seen Trump do it now time and time again. What do you mean you can't do it? No, it's not that you can't do it, it's that you don't want to do it. Right. And so, and, and Lauren, they take that like God is good, all that attitude as a cover story. Oh, we're so nice. We're so nice that we can't call out our colleagues. That would be mean. But in reality, they're both taking the same donor money and every. There's a saying called revolving door of bad guys. Right? So, so what if now that Mansion and Cinema are gone, you'll see that there if the Democrats regain The Senate, there'll be two new bad guys, right? Or eight new bad guys. Oh, now it's Chris Coons and. And Carper from Delaware. Yeah, well, not the best Democrat. But anyway, they'll be the new bad guys, right? But in reality, there's 48 Democrats behind them. And then so what we're going to do, which is different, especially you get Ojeda in there, you won't be able to stop Ojeda. Okay? Like that guy. I mean, you're gonna love Ojeda if you're. You. You two. You and Charlotte Charlemagne. You and Ojeda would get along so great. Anyways, what we're going to say is. No, sorry. Paid family leave. You took this much money from that industry. You took this much money from that industry, and that's why you're voting no. So let's say that we're back into when it was Cinema and Mansion, and they're blocking all these things. Ojeda and all the new guys would have come in and go, cinema's wrong. Mansion's wrong. You know, after they killed Paid family leave and those two voted no. I'm sorry. On minimum wage. They voted no. Right Afterwards, they went to the National Restaurant association and started collecting checks from them, because the National Restaurant association was the number one lobby against a higher minimum wage. They're so corrupt, and we're rubbing it in people's face, and mainstream media covers for them 24 7. Did you tell everybody how corrupt Mansion of Cinema are? Did you tell them that? They literally went to go pick up bribes, like, legalized bribes, the day after the vote. I think one of them was on the day of the vote. So they come in their fancy outfit and they shimmer, and then they're bones. Yeah. And with their pins. And they vote no. They go collect their bribes. Right. Mainstream media never calls them out, and Democrats never called them out. We're calling them out. We're calling them out. You hear me saying it about Cinema Mansion. You hear me and Charlemagne talking about it? Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer talking about billionaire buddies. He's like, doing talking points like, oh, Republicans and their billionaire buddies. Hey, brother, come on. Come on, man. How many billionaire buddies do you have? Exactly right. So if you don't call him out, you're never gonna get anything done. That's the one thing Trump is right about. So let's get our guy in. But that, unlike Trump, isn't just for himself, but for once, for once, actually looks out for all of us. So that's why honesty is more important than anything else. That's why I talk about Jon Stewart. That's why I talk about Ro Khanna. Because I think. And I talk about Nina Turner and those folks because they're honest. Here's the three things that they share. Honesty, smart, and strong.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely.

[Cenk Uygur]

Those are the three things you need. Without all three, it's not the right guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

To your point about, you know, Trump, like, and Trump came in as an outsider. I'm gonna come in and I'm gonna drain the swamp. Is the Democratic brand so toxic that regardless of how good the candidates are, the brand of Democrat will hurt them?

[Cenk Uygur]

No, not at all. So, like, is it toxic for the moment being in places like, you know, Kansas, Nebraska, etc. Well, even there, yes and no. Like Kara Eastman, who's the executive director of Rebellion PAC that's running this, you know, Rebellion Now, Kara nearly won in the middle of Nebraska by. And so she lost my opponent. I have to. Don Bacon. Why? Because the corrupt Democrat that she beat in a primary ran an ad against her saying, hey, if you're a Democrat, vote against her. So, like, she had it. My point is. And then James Thompson, Brant Welder, almost won in the middle of Kansas, and then Tracy, then the person who was against Welder wound up winning that seat. So we can win anywhere. And remember, Kentucky, West Virginia used to be deeply Democratic states. Why? Because they were populist. Kentucky and West Virginia are not conservative. They're populist. There's a difference. Right? Like, if we run a. If we. If Rebellion's successful enough that we help in picking the Democratic candidate and we're involved in that 2028 race, I would argue our headquarters should be in Kentucky. Okay. Because to say to people, we are not doing this just for blue states. We are not doing this for the elites. We're doing this, and we're bringing the Democratic Party back to its populist roots, where they dominated in Kentucky and West Virginia, so that we do it everywhere, we win everywhere. And so then you rescue the brand. It's because it's not like the brand wasn't great under fdr. I mean, the brother won four terms, right? And the country loved him. They still love him. The brand was strong under jfk. So the brand can be rescued, and there is no option anyway. What are you going to do? Go Republican? You can't go Republican. Right. So you got a.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Create a third party. A viable. I think a viable third party.

[Lauren LaRosa]

That's what you guys have anyway.

[Cenk Uygur]

No, no, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So the reason they'll never let a third party win.

[Cenk Uygur]

Yeah, well, it's not just that. Look, the third party, unfortunately, the way that the system is structured, it's not like I didn't look into it. We looked into it a lot. Right? So you need to be almost a billionaire to run as a third party candidate because just getting on the ballot costs so much money.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Asking about the donors and the money, I'm like, it sounds like y'all are another third party trying to come together. Y'all need the money, because if not, y'all don't have the platform and, like, the glitz and the glamour that you need to become those two main candidates.

[Cenk Uygur]

But so here's the thing, Lauren. So, okay, they say third party, that's so difficult, etc. Taking over the Democratic Party. It's really difficult. But wait, is it because Trump took over the Republican Party with no problems, Right? So what did he do? He came in and he ran to the Republican.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right.

[Cenk Uygur]

So he ran as a Republican. First of all, actually, did you guys know he originally ran in 2000 as an independent?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely.

[Cenk Uygur]

And got smoked because independent third party is near impossible. Right. But he's like, oh, wait, I got a better idea. Why don't I just go inside the Republican tent and just take it? Right? And I remember I called that he was going to win in, like, no October or November of 2015, before they even started voting in the primaries in 2016. You know why? I saw the debate where he said, I gave money to everybody else on this stage. They took it, and they did whatever I told him. I'm like, that's it. He's going to win. Okay, so you get somebody like that, but actually means well and actually represents the average American, and people can sense it. Right? Put him on a Democratic stage. Why don't we just take the Democratic Party? So, like, people are always talking about, hey, maybe we should rebuild a new car and, you know, Hyundai or whatever. There's a Bentley right over there. Why don't we go take that one? And besides which, the guy driving the Bentley is asleep at the wheel. Like, oh, it's gonna be really hard to take it from Chuck Schumer. Is it?

[Lauren LaRosa]

Is it you telling Charlamagne to run?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No. Jon Stewart. I love this idea. I love what you're doing. I love what David Hodge is doing. I think it's fantastic. You know? Yeah, I just tell them how to support.

[Cenk Uygur]

All right, so first of all, rebellionpack.com since we're not taking corporate money, we need a lot of Grassroots donors. Last time for Just Democrats, Young Turks audience raised two and a half million dollars.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Cenk Uygur]

This time let's double it, right? Let's get these guys some real juice. And we're going to get them on all the shows and all the podcasts, get their voice out there. They're not afraid. They're not afraid. They love their message. They want to tell their message. Okay, so rebellionpact.com but also volunteer, right? And also, if you can, if you want to. And we've already. I announced it yesterday already. A bunch of people going through the candidate process. So that's how we found aoc, by the way, when we did Just Democrats, her brother nominated her. Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it was like an application.

[Cenk Uygur]

It was like an application. We have an application on rebellionpack.com.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You got to tell me what you saw. What did you see on that application?

[Cenk Uygur]

So I was a co founder. I mainly did the media part. I named the group, et cetera. But Shoykat, who's now running against Nancy Pelosi and Corbin Trent and Zach Exley, those guys were the co founders who were handling that stuff. And what they saw was, here's someone who cares about the community, who's busting her ass trying to make a difference and doing it and getting things done when she's just a bartender, right? So she meaning, like, she's working her ass off at a regular job and she's having trouble paying the bills, yet she's out there helping the community and she's getting it done. And the community's telling us back. Same thing with Jamal Bowman, this amazing teacher in New York. You guys got to meet this guy, okay? Cori Bush, this amazing nurse, and she's on the front line all the time in Ferguson, in St. Louis, et cetera. So that's how we find folks. Look, we can't run everybody, you know, you got to be judicious and you got to find the best people. So I don't want to give people false hope. You got to come correct and you got to be great. Right? But if you're doing that and you're an honest person, rebellionpact.com we're going to at least consider you, whereas the Democratic Party wouldn't. Right. So, okay, then the other way is just keep up with Young Turks. Like, we're on YouTube, 6:00 every night, 6, 8:00, me and Anna, right? And so we're going to give news about all the updates and stuff, and then we're going to. I'm sure how amazing People join our advisory board to help us win. Like, maybe Charlemagne.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I would do that. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Cenk Uygur]

Okay. Yeah, let's. Let's talk about it. I would love that. Right. And we got some other folks that are, you know, interested in joining the advisory board that I think would be amazing. Let's get a wide variety, right? Everywhere, everyone, Charlemagne, from you to, like, I want Harvard Law Professor Larry Less again. He's a godfather of money in politics. Get money out of politics. And so let's get smart, passionate people to actually overcome the system that we have here. And so, look, if you give up, they win. If you stay on your couch, they win. Right? But if you get up and try, look, protests. I love it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They.

[Cenk Uygur]

It needs a step two. And this is step two, right? Step two is we actually go win and take back Congress. Step three is we go take over the Democratic Party and win the country over and actually pass the bills, Right? But step one's great. Get in the game somehow, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Make some noise.

[Cenk Uygur]

Make some noise. Volunteer for rebellion pack. Go to protests. Or you guess you heard somebody's got a better idea, do that idea, right? But get in the game, because the minute you sit down and lose hope is the minute they win, because their number one enemy is hope. If we all have hope in our hearts, then we're all going to keep rising up and rising up and rising up, and they're not going to be able to stop us. But the minute we lose hope is the minute that they've won. So that's why a lot of the doom and gloom these days is super understandable, because Trump is really running roughshod over the Constitution. On the other hand, I don't want people to get depressed. Like, depression doesn't help us at all, Right? I want you to get activated. And by the way, the other thing is emotional release. Like, you can. You could hate Trump and as you can tell from me, like, not a fan of Trump, Right? But we're not about hating Trump. We're about beating Trump. Right? Because what I'm worried about is you hate him, hate him, hate him, and you get so angry and depressed and you stay home and you lose hope and you lose faith, right? Don't do that, because that helps Trump. Your depression helps Trump. He wants you depressed. Don't let him do it. Get up and fight back. And you can yell, like, at his voters, but that's not gonna help. Remember, we want the independents back on our side.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Cenk Uygur]

Remember that. He's at 59% disapproval. That means we're winning, he's losing. That means those independents are movable. Just because they voted for Trump doesn't mean they're going to stay with Trump. Let's go win those guys back. And the way that you win them back is by offering a positive solution, like we're doing. We're going to actually improve your lives. We're actually going to make things better for you. We're actually going to be honest. We're actually going to deliver for you. That's how you get people back up in the streets with hope, fighting back in a productive way. Get the independence back and let's win these elections and let's pass these bills.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Tell them where to find you, man.

[Cenk Uygur]

So Young Turks on YouTube 6 to 8 o'clock. You could of course find it on TYT.com as well and rebellionpact.com to help this movement, Rebellion Pack and your Instagrams.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And all of that.

[Cenk Uygur]

So at Jank Uygur and at the Young Turks and you'll be able to find us on all the platforms.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

My man Cenk, thank you for joining us, brother.

[Cenk Uygur]

Thank you Charlamagne. Appreciate it. Thank you, Lauren. Great questions. Really appreciated it.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Thanks for coming.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Breakfast Club Wake that ass up early in the morning.

[Cenk Uygur]

The Breakfast Club.

[Roku Advertiser]

Hello, I heart listener. We have a confession to make. Both iHeart and this commercial you're listening to right now would probably sound a heck of a lot better on the new Roku Pro series tv. It's got side firing speakers that fill your room with sound, Dolby Atmos audio that puts you right in the middle of the entertainment and the ability to to pair seamlessly with your home theater sound systems that already have surround sound and booming bass. If all that sounds too good to be true, it'll sound even better on the new Roku Pro series. Your hearing isn't better, your TV is.

[Michael Kasson]

I'm Michael Kasson, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on Good Company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Angeli Su, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming.

[Angeli Su]

What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There's so much stories out there and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content. The term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen.

[Michael Kasson]

Listen to Good company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Cenk Uygur]

My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention this is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious. He was out of his mind and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees.

[Roku Advertiser]

Listen to Divine intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Cenk Uygur]

You feelin this too is a horror anthology podcast. It brings different creators to tell 10 vile. No no no no no no no. Grotesque. Oh my God. Horrific stories on what scares them the most. You feeling this too? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.