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The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Trump HUMILIATED by stunning admission as pool case collapses
00:42:47
Despite Donald Trump's endless talking about the vandalism he said was done to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Poll, U.S. attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was forced to drop the Justice Department's case against former Olympian David Hearn and admit that the problem with the pool's liner was the fault of the contactor Donald Trump selected.
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- [00:00]
Rob Lowe
Hey, everybody, it's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard. I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday, so subscribe, please, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:35]
Commercial Announcer
Watch Disclosure Day at home now with exclusive bonus features. If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? Well, now the truth belongs to 7 billion people in an original event film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp, starring Emily Blunt, Josh o', Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo. Find Disclosure Day on major digital platforms now with no subscription required, also in theaters.
- [01:06]
Michael
I get to start the show tonight with a sentence I never thought I would really get to utter. The Trump administration just admitted that the president wasn't telling the truth.
- [01:19]
Congressman Seth Moulton
Hmm.
- [01:20]
Michael
Earlier tonight, Trump's Justice Department dropped their criminal case against David Hearn, the former Olympian who they charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool here in Washington, D.C. now, folks, you may remember how Trump made a big deal of claiming that the reflecting pool had been damaged by mysterious vandals who he said cut a 350 foot gash in the pool's new liner. U.S. attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro made an absolute spectacle of bringing criminal charges against a man who she said did nothing other than touch the pool, who he said did nothing other than touch the pool's lining that had already been torn.
- [02:04]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
There was an effort, a violent effort, to rip up the sealant from the
- [02:10]
Congressman Seth Moulton
bottom of the pool.
- [02:11]
Michael
He damaged the pool before he touched it.
- [02:14]
Commercial Announcer
He damaged this pool.
- [02:18]
Michael
Well, he apparently did not damage the pool because nobody did. No one. The reason that the reflecting pool's new liner started coming apart at the seams is exactly what we all suspected. Donald Trump's hand picked contractors did a really, really bad, lousy job. In their filing dropping the case, the Justice Department admitted that documents provided by the Interior Department indicate, quote, the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of flawed installation by the contractor. It is a stunning admission of defeat from Donald Trump because, remember, Trump spent months micromanaging this project, folks. He bragged about how his pool guy had come up with the idea for the pool's new liner, how he had personally chosen the color. And he went around the normal process for government projects and contracts and handed out a no bid contract to a company that apparently just screwed the whole thing up. Look, we all know Donald Trump doesn't have a whole lot of interest in the minutiae, the details, the importance of public policy. But when it comes to the stuff he really cares about, well, like his pet projects, his businesses, the stuff that he gets money from that puts more money in his pocket, Trump becomes the ultimate micromanager. Now, let me tell you just a little story. Come in a little close. A long time ago, I was in a meeting with Donald Trump and at one point, Ivanka Trump walked in with options for different paint colors for the bathroom walls of of one of his hotels. Guess what happened? Trump stopped the meeting for a full 15 minutes as he looked through the different colors before settling on the one he liked. And folks, you better believe that was the color they used for those bathrooms. Now, I was thinking about that meeting today when I read this story from the Wall Street Journal about the fundraising operations Trump is micromanaging from inside the White House. They report that, quote, almost every night in the White House, President Trump calls his fundraiser, Meredith o' Rourke for an update. Trump asks o' Rourke which companies and donors have cut checks and which haven't and for how much. He often asks her to make much larger financial requests than she was planning. For some donors, the ask is $5 million, for others it is $50 million. And the president gives her names to call, often including people who have recently met with him, according to people with knowledge of the calls. Now, even a president who's up for reelection should not be that intimately involved in his own fundraising operation. As a candidate, I can tell you I wasn't. And we were raising some good money. And Donald Trump is not up for reelection as well. He's in his second term as president. He has no more campaigns to run. But the man is still taking time out of his day, a lot of time to make sure that some of America's richest people and corporations are giving him money that he can play with. According to the Wall street journal, SoftBank donated $50 million towards Trump's presidential library. Apple cut a check for around $25 million towards his White House ballroom project, while Mic gave around 10 million and Amazon chipped in around 5, $5 million, according to people familiar with the contributions. That's almost $100 million just right there. Meta Platforms recently gave $10 million to a Trump aligned political committee. People familiar said on top of A multi million dollar donation to the ballroom, and a prior $22 million payment to the planned presidential library. As the Journal notes, no sitting American president has ever raised these amounts for his pet projects. And what are those companies getting in return for all that money that Trump is meticulously keeping track of? Well, I think this anecdote tells you everything you need to know on that front. In May, Trump held a meeting with tobacco executives at his Florida golf club. Okay. His fundraiser, Meredith o', Rourke, who is not a government employee, sat in on the meeting. Trump took in millions of dollars in contributions from those companies for his political committees. Shortly after. After that meeting, Trump's FDA lifted restrictions on flavored vaping products. Just what those companies had been asking for. Now, I know what you're thinking. I know where you're going with this. That sounds like a textbook case of corruption. Big Tobacco gives the president money, and then his administration lifts restrictions on the products they sell, the ones that get kids hooked on nicotine. Surely there has never been a more blatant example of apparent corruption. Right. Well, hold onto your hats just a little bit longer. This is what Donald Trump calls the Freedom 250 ring. It's about the size of a watch, and it's from the Antwerp World diamond center in Belgium. It was presented in a big ceremony in Brussels as a gift to President Trump in June. Now, I mean, folks, listen, they put on a big show to really hype this thing up. And, folks, it's pretty clear that a lot of thought and effort and attention and care went into making this ring. It has a handcrafted presidential seal and other intricate details in 18 karat gold, baby. And it is encrusted with a whole lot of gemstones. I mean, this massive ring. You ready? Has 321 diamonds in it, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds, and 6 rubies. Little short on the rubies, I think. And while it was designed for America's anniversary, you know that little birthday party that we had for ourselves, it's inscribed with the numbers 45 and 47, representing Donald Trump's two terms. It also has a giant T made out of diamonds on the side of it. Not only that on this board, but the engraving on the interior of the ring reportedly says that it was, quote, crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump, end quote. So this diamond group clearly gave Trump a pretty serious gift. Personal gift to Donald Trump. And wouldn't you know it, Just a few weeks later, Europe's diamond industry got some special treatment from President Trump as the new York Times reports natural diamonds like the ones used in that ring have been exempted from Trump's latest round of tariffs. Oh, really? The move follows months of sustained advocacy by that diamond group in Antwerp which dominates the global industry. So now that ring starting to make a little bit more sense. Now, look, we don't know for sure that that lavish gift was the reason Trump just happened to make a carve out for the diamond industry and all those tariffs he was imposing. But we do know that the best way to get Trump's attention is with something that is gold and shiny and has his name on it. And I'm guessing that those European diamond merchants understood what I learned about Donald Trump so many years ago. When it comes to his ego, no detail is too small. Joining me now is Texas Congressman Greg Kaczar. He's a member of the House Oversight Committee, and he's been one of the most outspoken members of Congress on all of these issues. The corruption, Congressman, welcome. Is absolutely mind bogglingly astounding. It seems to be getting more and more cartoonish at the same time, but it is serious. So you can go where you want to go, Congressman. You can go with the ring, you can go with the special treatment, the meetings, the donations, the contributor. Where do you want to go? Because it's all.
- [11:10]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
I mean, people in this country know politics is corrupt, but when you hear this, it sounds like the White House is beyond comically and disgustingly corrupt. It's hard to know what to make of it. But what we need to talk a lot more about is that you are paying for this corruption, Michael. Every single person in this country is paying for the corruption. It's not just fun and games here. So as you pointed out, a European diamond company gives Donald Trump a ring with 321 diamonds on it. I don't know how you fit 321 diamonds and six rubies on a damn ring, but they did. They gave it to him. They get tariff relief while the rest of America is still paying extra for your groceries. So you're paying for the corruption. Lockheed Martin gives Donald Trump millions of dollars for his White House helipad, and next thing you know, they get a huge contract for the Iran war. Those are your taxpayer dollars. You're paying for it. OpenAI gives a bunch of money to Donald Trump. Lo and behold, they get no regulations on their AI while they threaten to take away millions of Americans jobs. You're paying for it. So this corruption, it's comical, it's sad, it is disturbing, it should be criminal. But at the end of the day, it's taking your taxpayer money, it's jacking up your prices, it's threatening your job.
- [12:42]
Michael
Well, Congressman, you went where I've been going in a number of the members, your colleagues that I've met over the last few months and talked to. I've emphasized the point that you've made. And I think it's an important connection when you're talking to real folks out there who are trying to figure out how to pay the bills because gas is too high and the price of groceries is too damn high. And, you know, the ability as we get ready for the fall and school, let alone trying to get that last little bit of summer vacation, all of those stresses and strains on the personal economy really boils down to we are here experiencing this because this president took us into a war we didn't need to go into. Right. And imposed taxes, tariffs on the American people that they did not need. And so making that linkage the way you have between the corruption and the economic pain they feel is very, very important. And I think it's something to note even further as we look at the fact that the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the president is calling this fundraiser every night, Right. And he's asking which companies and which donors have cut checks which haven't. He's micromanaging this process. So anyone is giving you the line, the BS that Donald Trump didn't know this or wasn't aware of, that is full of it. I've seen it firsthand. The man is in the weeds on stuff that he cares about, doesn't care about whether or not your kids have a SNAP program. He doesn't care about if your kids have health care. Remember, he complained about why we have to, why we have to pay for stuff like that. So how do you continue to make this case? So Americans understand going into November and they're looking there at ballots with names and choices of which direction they can take the country, that moving off of MAGA and this crazy and this economic hurt is probably the wisest and smartest and the best thing they can do for themselves.
- [14:39]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
Well, at least Donald Trump says it out loud. You know, we need to play that clip over and over and over again. And what she says, that we don't have the money for child care and health care because he's got to pay for his wars. And he might as well be wearing that diamond that he was given or 321 diamond ring that he was given while he's cashing in. You're getting screwed. Here in Texas, You've got nearly 4 million people whose health care premiums have shot out the roof because they got rid of the Obamacare money to give their friends tax breaks. There are people who are just struggling to pay the bills and fill up the gas tank and pay for groceries. So, look, Donald Trump is cashing in while you're getting screwed. I think that is so important for people to know that politics, yeah, it's rough business. We know it's been too corrupt for too long. But this is next level. It's starting to affect your pocketbook. And the other thing I'll add here, too, Michael, is Donald Trump, of course, is a part of this problem. Another big part of the problem are the big corporations who are happy to try to pay him off.
- [15:48]
Michael
Yes.
- [15:48]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
And when Democrats get elected, I think we need to send a clear message that accountability is coming. If you're a corporation who thought you could steal taxpayer dollars by giving a bribe, we're going to call you in to testify under oath and have to answer questions. If you're one of these Donald Trump staffers who's calling up big corporations trying to get some money for the president in order in exchange for favors, you know what? We're going to call you in if Democrats win a majority. Look, these companies that think they can get an illegal monopoly to jack up prices because they can give the president of the United States a little present, well, they've got another thing coming on the Oversight committee that I sit on. I'm going to say we should bring those folks in for questioning and accountability if we want this to stop. I think for too long, Democrats have sometimes talked a big game in the streets, but been a little cozy with the folks in the C suite. I think these folks in the C suite that are participating in this corruption with Donald Trump need to get held accountable. I think that's what the voters want to see from Democrats if we win a majority.
- [16:50]
Michael
Well, I really appreciate it because you went exactly where I wanted to go with that, because that's the other piece of this that I know a lot of these folks hope just kind of slips by. No one pays attention to now.
- [17:02]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
Baby, shoot a tango, Mike, you know. You know. Right, right.
- [17:05]
Michael
These folks are so we need to know what it was for. We need to know what it was for. We hear a lot about Democrats wanting to subpoena folks in the Trump as you just on the Trump side of things. But could we see subpoenas, investigations for some of these donors and some of these corporations that really, I mean, as you just noted up, the impact to the point where, I mean, it's one thing to sort of say, when we get the power, that's what the whole game is. But how do you get across to them right now that the next phone call for a $50 million check or the next encounter with the president in which you're smooshing and boozing and then getting a nice little side piece on a contract, that you better think twice about that. Because, I don't know, I think a lot of people in the president today said that he expects that they'll hold the Senate and he'll push his nominees through. His nominee through for attorney Attorney general. Doesn't look like that on the ground. Texas is a hot, a hot political spot right now. A number of other states are. So the message you just sent is a powerful one. Do you think it'll land?
- [18:16]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
I think it's landing right now. If you look in Texas at polling that just came out, you have us flipping the state of Texas blue for the first time since I was basically an infant. And that's because people are getting screwed at the gas pump, people are getting screwed at the grocery store. And then in places like Houston, Texas, you have an innocent person getting killed in the street. And so it's time for a change. If we had the election today, you'd have James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, the most corrupt politician in Texas history, and that's really saying something. And then you have a dead heat between Gina Hinojosa and Greg Abbott, who everybody said was unbeatable, but his numbers are in the toilet in his hometown of Houston because of what he's been doing over there. And so the message is landing. But I think Democrats need to become very clearly the anti corruption party for the message to land. We can't still go and then ask for help and support from these same big corporations that were paying off Donald Trump. We have to be clear that we will hold them accountable. Because this isn't just a Democrat and Republican issue. This is hurting the core of American democracy and it's also hurting how our economy is supposed to work. Our economy is supposed to be based on competition and who provides the best product at the best price, not based on who can pay off the boss.
- [19:44]
Michael
Oh, I like that. I like that. I love your energy, Congressman. Congressman Greg Cassar, thank you so much.
- [19:49]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
Thank you, folks.
- [19:51]
Michael
Absolutely. If you thought you were already concerned about Donald Trump's plans to mess with the midterms, just wait till we tell you what they're doing with the IP addresses of people who've registered to vote online. Mark Elias is standing by with that, and we'll get right into it.
- [20:12]
Rob Lowe
Hey everybody, it's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe, and basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday, so subscribe please and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:47]
Commercial Announcer
Watch Disclosure Day at Home now with exclusive bonus features. If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? Well, now the truth belongs to 7 billion people in an original event film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp, starring Emily Blunt, Josh o', Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo. Find Disclosure Day on major digital platforms now with no subscription required, also in theaters. An undisturbed sleep is a beautiful thing. That's why a Beautyrest mattress is designed to give you unparalleled motion separation isolating
- [21:27]
Michael
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- [21:30]
Commercial Announcer
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- [21:45]
Michael
For 100 years, Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that his top priority heading into the midterms is to attack and discredit our elections altogether. One part of that plan is to put henchmen like Bill Pulte and Todd Blanche in positions of power, both of whom were at the table today at Trump's Cabinet meeting. He wants those guys around so they can do the things like investigate so called election fraud and threaten state election officials and file lawsuits to obtain voter data. So far, a lot of those efforts have failed. Just tonight, the Trump administration lost yet another lawsuit in their effort to get their hands on state voter rolls, which means they are now 0 for 19. But here's the thing, when one door closes, they just look for a different door. Today, Axios reported that Trump's FBI recently obtained the IP address of someone who registered to vote online in South Carolina, offering a glimpse of how federal authorities are stepping up their probe of voter rolls. Axios reports that it's unclear how often the FBI plans to take the extraordinary step of seeking IP addresses, but that this push in South Carolina has broad implications nationwide because a total of 43 states allow some form of online voter registration. So what does this all mean, folks? And how concerned should we all be? Well, thankfully, my next guest is the brother to bring it to the table. Joining me now is Mark Elias, election law attorney and founder of Democracy Docket. Mark, welcome man. You and I have been knocking our heads up and down on this whole effort by the administration which has been a part of the play since the Inauguration Project 2025 to begin to implement across the country a nationwide effort to federalize our elections, whether it's for state office or national office like the presidency. I want to start with this Axios reporting on the FBI obtaining the IP address of someone who's registered to vote in South Carolina. What does this move say to you? Help people understand the consequences of it and what we need to do to guard against it, if anything.
- [24:24]
Mark Elias
Yeah. So look, I think you hit the nail on the head in your introduction. Like this is not going to begin and end with the administration going after the IP address of one person. Right. This is just a, the latest in a series of tactics. I think you said when one door closes, they try to find another one. This is just the next door they're trying to find. If if 2020 was the election that was dominated by Donald Trump trying to undermine vote by mail and 2022 was the election that was dominated by Republican voter suppression laws that had been enacted in 2021 and 2022 and if the 2024 election was dominated by Donald Trump preparing to mess with certification and empower election. The 2026 election is all about data. Right. You mentioned that they are now 0 and 19 in efforts to try to get access to the most sensitive voter data that states have. Proud that my law firm remains UND tonight added Illinois to that that list. But we've also had them Donald Trump issue executive orders to try to get the postal service to leverage the delivery of vote by mail ballots in order to get data that is running into its obstacles in the court. The Supreme Court is now have an emergency petition on its desk from the Department of Justice there. So this IP address is just the latest effort to try to leverage big data and probably AI to target voters who Donald Trump wants to harass or doesn't want to be able to vote.
- [25:53]
Michael
So Mark, I want to drill a little bit more on that because I really think it's important for people to kind of understand what something like this means because I think, I think I know you're absolutely correct. There's more of this is going to be coming. This is part of this is not so much an escalation, but a continuation of the effort to subvert our elections. But this IP address thing is interesting because they're investigating by getting the exact location of someone who's registered to vote in South Carolina. But you can travel outside of South Carolina state lines if you're registered to vote there. So it doesn't necessarily mean that when I do that, I'm going to be in South Carolina. So what's going on here? What do you think why they're requesting this?
- [26:42]
Mark Elias
Okay, so look, Donald Trump is not going to try to win the 2026 elections by being popular. He is wildly unpopular. They're not going to. His party's not going to run on their legislative achievements because they don't have it. So what they want to do is to collect a lot of data about individual Americans, US Citizens, people eligible to vote. They want to know, you know, where you registered, whether you moved where, where you physically were with this IP address when you registered. They want to know all this stuff because here's the thing, if they create a nationwide database on every US Citizen registered to vote, they can then decide to use that to disenfranchise voters. So, for example, you know, you mentioned that, you know, someone can register to vote in South Carolina while being, for example, in North Carolina. Right. There's nothing illegal about that. There's nothing untoward about that. They can register to vote online when they're in one jurisdiction rather than another. They can register to vote when they're at work in a different precinct or a different county than the one that they register in. They can use a VPN and look like they may be out of the country or certainly another part of the world. But here's the thing is when the Trump administration has this data, what it will say is we have in my hand, you know, a list of X number of people who were fraudulently registered because they were out of state or out of county or out of country. And that will become the permission structure for the election deniers and for the challenges that will be launched and for the seizure of ballots or for the deployment of troops at the polls or the refusal to certify. And that is what all of these big collection of data have in common.
- [28:26]
Michael
I got it. Makes sense, as always, from Mark Elias, folks. Thank you so much, man, really appreciate you.
- [28:33]
Mark Elias
Thanks, Michael.
- [28:35]
Michael
Coming up, investigators think Iran was behind a cyber attack in Minnesota. Donald Trump, however, thinks Governor Tim Walz was behind it. So we're going to take a trip down to crazy town and figure it out. We'll be back.
- [28:51]
Rob Lowe
Hey, everybody, it's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday. So subscribe, please and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:25]
Michael
And now, the next chapter of the SERTA Counting sheep. Hey, uncle number one, why aren't we counting anymore? Let me tell you a story.
- [29:33]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
Long ago, Serta invented the perfect Sleeper mattress.
- [29:36]
Michael
Oh no.
- [29:37]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
Oh yes.
- [29:38]
Michael
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- [29:40]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
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- [29:42]
Michael
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- [29:48]
Congressman Seth Moulton
Night out, dark night.
- [29:50]
Michael
We'll never get counted again. Uh, nope. Serta, we make the world's best mattress.
- [29:56]
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- [30:03]
Michael
So do we.
- [30:04]
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- [30:19]
Michael
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- [30:20]
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- [30:24]
Michael
Let us surprise you. In the first week of Trump's war with Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hexseth responded to concerns about the war expanding. Listen to what he said.
- [30:40]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
That does allow me to kind of address this idea that the war might be expanding or there's chaos and nothing could be further from the truth. This idea that it's expanding or going. No, it's actually, it's actually simplifying in a number of ways.
- [30:56]
Michael
We are now on day 153 of this simplification and it is expanding quite a bit. Yesterday, Egypt was hit directly for the first time in the war. The day before that, on Wednesday, the US And Saudi Arabia joined forces to attack Iranian linked militias in Iraq. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Iran is set to give shoulder launched missile systems in the coming weeks from China. This past weekend, Ukraine struck an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea. Last week, Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to close yet another vital strait in the region so that even less oil would be able to reach the rest of the world. Now, I don't know about y', all, but I would say that the war seems to be expanding quite a bit. And then yesterday, we learned about what may be the first instance of Iran reaching the United States. For years now, experts have warned that while Iran's missiles can't reach us, their hackers can. Well, just yesterday, the New York Times reported that state and federal investigators believe Iran struck Minnesota water systems with a cyber attack. But today, Trump went out of his way to shift the blame. Today, I just want to mention that we heard in Minnesota there was a cyber attack. And they blame it on Iran?
- [32:30]
Congressman Greg Kaczar
I don't think so.
- [32:31]
Michael
I think I blame it on Minnesota. I would blame it on Minnesota. And the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota, they like to say, oh, is Iran. Iran should be so lucky. Can you rule out that Iran is
- [32:42]
Commercial Announcer
behind that cyber attack?
- [32:46]
Michael
No, I think Minnesota is behind it.
- [32:48]
Mark Elias
You know who's behind it?
- [32:50]
Michael
Minnesota, because they're grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it. I don't think there was an Iranian cyber attack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together. Well, I should mention that Trump's FBI announced that hackers actually targeted water systems in seven states across the country, not just Minnesota. And as for Trump blaming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Well said. Quote, trump knows exactly who is responsible for this attack and knows that other states were hit, too. This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there's no plan to win a war with Iran. Joining me now is Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a retired U.S. marine and a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He's also a candidate and in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate in Massachusetts. Welcome, sir. It's good to see you. Do you agree that an Iranian cyber attack on us, you know, on our infrastructure, in what, seven of our states, is an escalation of the war?
- [33:56]
Congressman Seth Moulton
It is an escalation of the war. I mean, that's pretty obvious, as you've laid out. And just think for a minute. I mean, imagine if President Roosevelt had blamed Pearl harbor on Hawaii. That's what Trump is doing. And it begs the question, why would a president who's so against Iran that he started a war with Iran that we didn't need, why would he now turn around and protect Iran? It's gotta be that he's scared of these guys, that they're winning a war against him, and he's so Scared. He's so desperate to get to the negotiating table to end this war that he would actually blame America for an Iranian cyber attack. If that's not treasonous behavior from a president, I don't know what is.
- [34:45]
Michael
Yeah, to be honest, in listening to the president in that moment in the clip especially that we played, just to sort of pull that out like that. Yeah, well, I think Minnesota is okay. Why would they do that? And did they do it to the six other states that were also hit? I mean, there's never anything logical that comes after the words. So you're just kind of stuck. You have been warning that the US Needs to focus more on cybersecurity. You've been doing that for years now. How predictable is it that Iran has this capability and that this is something that does escalate us and takes us to another level?
- [35:31]
Congressman Seth Moulton
I mean, it's incredibly predictable. We've been predicting this for years and we've been saying that the government needs to be prepared for this. Obviously, Trump is not. He started a war that he didn't need to start. And he's so clueless. I mean, look, we're dealing with an 80 year old senile man who's completely out of control, completely out of control of this war, completely out of control of himself. And it's not apparent that he even really understands what's going on. It's not apparent that he even understands what Iran can do. And the fact that they can reach us with cyber attacks, as you astutely pointed out earlier, they can't actually reach us with their ballistic missiles. That was one of the false things Trump said to justify starting this incredibly dumb war. They can reach us through the Internet. There are things they can do to hurt us. So the fact that Trump would, would, would start a war that's completely backfired without providing the protections against the things that Iran can actually do to hurt us. I mean, the other thing, by the way, that Iran can do to hurt us is try to assassinate officials. And what has Trump done? Repeatedly removed protection from officials or former officials that we know are being targeted by Iran. I mean, this guy's playing for the enemy. He is playing for Iran, and he's giving Iran a win every step of the way.
- [36:54]
Michael
And so that makes it even more important that we learned yesterday, you and about a dozen of your colleagues, other Democratic lawmakers, have announced that you're opening an investigation into our military's internal review of Iranian drone strikes that killed six US Service members earlier this year. Can you help us understand what you're investigating there and what you're seeking to find?
- [37:22]
Congressman Seth Moulton
Well, in many ways, it's the same theme. The president started this war on his own timeline. It was a war that he was not forced to do. He decided to start this war with Netanyahu. And that meant that he could choose the time and place that it went, when it went down. But he clearly was not prepared because we're getting increased reports from the troops themselves that they knew they were under threat and they did not adequately prepare for those attacks. And as a result, a lot of troops, a number of troops were killed, a lot, lot more were wounded. And now there are reports coming out that they weren't even getting adequate medical care. So, of course, sitting on the House Armed Services Committee, sitting on the Senate Armed Services Committee, as Elizabeth Warren does in the Senate, we're going to investigate this. But here's the key point is that regardless of what the investigation reveals, and I think it will reveal gross negligence on, on the part of the administration, but regardless of what it reveals, the simple fact that the troops are reporting this means that the troops do not trust their commander in chief. The troops do not trust their command. And having led troops in combat myself, there were two things that they always wanted to know. One was, why are we risking our lives for this? Well, nobody in America can answer that question, let alone the administration. And the second was, if we get hurt, will you take care of us? Will you get us out of here? Well, they clearly don't trust Trump to do so.
- [38:58]
Michael
Those words, folks. Congressman, thank you so much. Really appreciate you, man.
- [39:02]
Congressman Seth Moulton
Good to see you.
- [39:03]
Michael
Coming up, a new poll out of Texas should have Republicans absolutely freaking out. Gina Inosa is the Democratic nominee for governor. And we're going to talk all about it when we come back. Looking forward to this. When Donald Trump announced that the Republican Party will host its first ever midterm national convention in Texas this September, eyebrows more than went up. Why were they holding this event and why Texas are Republicans worried about losing there? Well, based on a new poll Fox News release yesterday, maybe they should worry. In the Senate race, Democrat James Talarico is ahead of Republican Ken Paxton by three points. That lead is within the margin of error. But Ken Paxton is a complete mess of a candidate, so it's not that shocking. Take a look at another statewide race, the race for governor. That same poll shows State Representative Gina Hinojosa only one point behind Greg Abbott, again within the margin of error. Abbott is a three term incumbent in a state that Trump won by nearly 14 points in 2024. He entered this race with more than $100 million cash on hand. So, yeah, GOP leaders are calling the upcoming Dallas convention a Trump a palooza, the super bowl of politics.
- [40:43]
Congressman Seth Moulton
Ooh.
- [40:45]
Michael
But it's feeling a lot like a three ring circus where Trump and his mega donors would gather and then slip and fall on elephant poop. Now that's a palooza. Joining me now is Gina Hinojosa. She's a Democrat representing Texas 49th House District and is running to unseat Governor Greg Abbott. You ready for the circus to come to town? I mean, can you believe it? We've seen candidates try to unseat Abbott unsuccessfully in the past. You're now up. How do you feel? How does it look? How do you do?
- [41:21]
Commercial Announcer
Feels great. Listen, people want change in Texas, so, yes, they are scared and they should be. What we are hearing all across this state is people are tired of paying more, getting less under Greg Abbott. I call it the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax. And so that's what you're seeing in this polling. It is what we're hearing across this state. It is a one point race, and every American should care because it is the one point race that will decide Congress and the White House for a generation. And let me explain. So, Michael, did you know Republicans in Texas said they're coming back next year to redraw maps after the gutting of the Voting Rights act by the U.S. supreme Court just a few months ago? When that happens, we lose five Democrats in Congress. The Brennan center predicts two years later that we will gain another four to five seats in Congress because we're growing faster than all of the other states. So the census will show we should get four to five new seats if Republicans still control Texas by the end of the decade. That's just a few years away. There can be no Democratic control of Congress. Texas becomes too big. The math no longer works. And because congressional seats equate to electoral votes, there can be no Democratic control of the White House. The fate of the union depends on Texas. And that's what this election is about.
- [43:01]
Michael
Well, you know, you touch on a number of things that just right now my head is like, yeah, she gets it. She understands the dynamic of Texas and the politics and how it affects the politics of the country. I've been warning Republicans for the last few years that Texas is a bigger problem for them than they want to acknowledge and will admit. And it's being shown right now in races like yours and in races like Talarico. And it's been a slow boil, a slow buildup, if you will. But here's my thing. You understand what I'm saying here? 2028, my prediction is Texas is a battleground state because if you look at the margins by which Republicans have won that state in the last successive presidential elections, it has not plateaued, it has not increased, it has decreased. It has gone from 20 plus 27, 28 point win to 14 points by Donald Trump just in 2024. The ground is shifting and that 10 point that he got that helped him win was because of Latino voters. Why do you think he was so successful? And what do you see and hear now on the ground in your race, in Talarico's race and other races across the state where the Hispanic vote is going to play such an important part of this transition that Texas is making?
- [44:30]
Commercial Announcer
Yes. Well, the Latino vote has swung back in a big way. We flipped a state Senate seat in Tarrant County. That candidate, the Democrat, got 79% of the Latino vote. Astounding number. Because Latinos are mad. They're experiencing this high cost economy just like the rest of us. And these attacks on our families, on our communities. We just had somebody killed in Houston on the streets on their way to work. That is making Latinos and all Texans mad and fearful for our safety. So we want change. But I would argue, Michael, that it's actually this year, 2026, the midterm election with Trump in the White House, that is our best chance to flip. Because last time we had these circumstances, a midterm election with Trump in the White House was 2018. Democrats swept in Texas too. We picked up 12 seats in the Texas House. We swept all of Houston, Harris County. And because the timing was right, the timing is right this time too. It is the perfect storm of opportunity. That's why you're seeing the polling. You are seeing Republicans know it.
- [45:41]
Michael
Right.
- [45:41]
Commercial Announcer
The question is, will Democrats figure it out in time, national Democrats to understand every American should care about this race for governor. And that's why I'm asking everybody to please join this fight@ginafortexas.com and do what you can, but do everything you can because this might be our last best chance.
- [46:02]
Michael
All right, Gina Hinojosa, she is a candidate for governor of the great state of Texas. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Folks, we'll be right back. If you're looking for someone to toast as you head into the weekend, might I suggest 82 year old Minnesota resident Anita LeBrun? Just because we are older and live
- [46:24]
Commercial Announcer
in an assisted living doesn't mean that we should have fewer freedoms than anyone else.
- [46:31]
Michael
Earlier this year, Anita testified at the state Capitol to try to change a Minnesota law that said assisted living facilities couldn't serve alcohol at events. Anita took her cause to the state Senate and then the state House to work on a bill called the Grandparents Happy Hour Bill. It passed and Governor Tim Walz traveled to Anita's assisted living home to sign it. And tomorrow, folks, that new law goes into effect. So if you are looking to raise a glass to anyone this weekend, maybe raise it to Anita. That does it for me.
- [47:05]
Rob Lowe
Hey, everybody, it's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday, so subscribe, please, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.