Chris Cuomo CHALLENGES the AOC Deepfake Narrative

Summary

The Chris Cuomo Project

Episode: Chris Cuomo CHALLENGES the AOC Deepfake Narrative
Date: August 28, 2025
Host: Chris Cuomo
Co-Host/Producer: Gregory Otto

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Overview

In this episode of The Chris Cuomo Project, Chris Cuomo responds to listener voicemails and YouTube comments on a range of hot-button topics—from conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump to the state of veterans’ services, U.S. sanctions on Russia, personal faith, and the real story behind the viral AOC deepfake incident. Chris addresses the polarization in today’s media and politics, discusses transparency in government (especially concerning UFOs), and defends his approach to engaging with ideological opponents. Throughout, he maintains his characteristic blend of candor, skepticism, and humor, making a case for civil discourse and critical thinking.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Listeners’ Calls: Epstein, Trump, and Conspiracy Narratives

[02:04]

• Caller (Brian from Iwatuki): Suggests Trump was complicit with Epstein and is covering up damaging connections.
• Chris Cuomo: Pushes back on the idea, arguing that Trump surrounded himself with Epstein conspiracists—it wouldn't fit if he had something to hide.

  “The conspiracies about Russia and where he got his money … I actually think that has more to it, although I'm not a... I'm not a big buyer. That notion, anyway, of Russia has something on Trump.”

• Explains the overblown mythology of the “Epstein list,” noting that much of the speculation is fueled by social psychological dynamics, not solid evidence.

  “The idea that they were clients or participants, I'm not seeing it. … Sometimes smoke is just a function of not the fire of legitimacy, but the literal combustion of just all the drama…” [03:30]

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2. The VA and Veteran Concerns

[05:13]

• Caller (Wayne): Expresses fear that the VA is being "dismantled."
• Chris Cuomo: Thanks the caller for his service, acknowledges justified concern about VA’s efficiency and care, disputes claims of outright “dismantling,” but agrees the system needs serious reform.

  “It’s not like this administration has a hard on for hurting veterans. … What they're doing for veterans may be exaggerated … We definitely have to do better.”

• Argues that the national discourse is too focused on blame instead of solutions.

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3. Sanctions, Putin, and U.S. Foreign Policy

[07:39]

• Caller (Bob from Clark): Wishes Trump had pushed harder on sanctions against Putin.
• Chris Cuomo: Explains the complexity of foreign policy and economic pressure on Russia—sanctions and tariffs have had an effect but haven’t been enough.

  “It is hard to get a guy to make peace when he benefits from war. And they are doing certain things that take away that benefit. But Trump, you know, doesn't have the ability to get Putin out of office unless he kills him.” [09:51]

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4. Faith, Community, and Tolerance

[10:29]

• Religious Caller: Urges Chris/family to turn to Christ, suggests faith could heal divides.
• Chris Cuomo: Firm on respecting personal faith but warns against imposing it on others.

  “Live your faith. Do not demand it of others. … You telling me how to live means nothing. You showing me how you live means something.” [12:16]

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5. The AOC Deepfake Narrative: Cuomo’s Candid Admission

[13:05]

• Voicemail: Jokes about Chris's involvement in the AOC deepfake story.
• Chris Cuomo: Admits he shared a misleading headline about AOC and Sydney Sweeney without verifying it; didn’t actually watch the viral video (which was a deepfake).

  “I treat Twitter the way everybody else does... I'm making excuses for having fallen for such an obvious... It's not even the right criticism that I fell for a deep fake. I didn't watch the video. I saw the headline on the post...” [13:39] “I apologize to AOC in the moment and I deleted the post… But she never answered my questions. … You haven't called on Hamas to surrender. Why? That's what ends the conflict.” [15:12]

• Calls out those reveling in his mistake, turning the tables:

  “You can laugh all you want. You're the fucking joke. Next.” [15:23]

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6. Lighthearted and Offbeat Moments

[15:29]

• Caller (Mrs. Elliot, age 97): Wishes Chris a happy birthday, jokes about old underwear.
• Chris & Gregory Otto: Banter about the potential age and “wisdom” of old underwear, segueing into a (mock-disgusted) riff on bizarre fetishes and cultural differences.

  “Look, I love underwear. I love an old... An old guy. I love somebody who's been through it. I respect it and I appreciate it and it's nice of you to wish me well for my birthday.” [16:39]

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7. Responding to YouTube Comments: Civil Discourse, Media Critique, “Woke” Disputes

[20:23]

• Comments on episodes featuring Matt Taibbi, Tucker Carlson, Benny Johnson.
• Chris Cuomo: Defends the importance of dialogue with ideological rivals, rejects absolutist thinking and calls for more light (understanding), not heat (anger).

  “Being wrong about things doesn’t make you a bad person. … We are making a mistake of this absolutist notion that we have with me or against me.” [24:23]

• Pushes for fairness, transparency, and nuance in assessing both party politics and media narratives; owns up to being a registered Democrat mainly for family voting.

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8. “Woke,” Revisionist History, and Political Branding

[27:17]

• Delves into the origins and co-opting of “woke”; criticizes both left and right for misappropriations but admits some progressive goals are valid.
• Stand against whitewashing of slavery and Holocaust denial, demands nuanced historical reckoning.

  “White people have co-opted the entire narrative the entire time. That is not a good practice… It was either fucking terrible or it wasn’t.” [28:18]

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9. UFOs, Government Transparency, and Betting on Disclosure

[29:53]

• Comments on the UFO/alien coverup debate brought up in a previous episode.
• Emphasizes the need for transparency—not faith or paranoia—regarding government disclosures.

  “I believe that government is no longer trusted and they need to regain trust. And transparency is a great way to do that.” [30:44]

• Discusses a prediction market bet on whether U.S. officials will “definitively” confirm alien life or tech this year; doubts it, but debates definitions with co-host Gregory Otto.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On skepticism and outrage culture:
  “Sometimes smoke is just a function of not the fire of legitimacy, but the literal combustion of just all the drama that's being made about something.” [03:30]

• On constructive faith:
  “Live your faith. You be all J.C. all the time. No half measures. … You telling me how to live means nothing. You showing me how you live means something.” [12:16]

• On being tricked by a deepfake:
  “I didn’t watch the video. … Is that a mistake? Of course it’s a mistake. Is it wrong that I did that? Of course it’s wrong.” [13:39]

• On polarization and civil debate:
  “We are making a mistake of this absolutist notion that we have with me or against me. … That’s what the two sides want, is constant friction where everything is weaponized and everything is with or against or good or bad. It works for them, not for us.” [24:30]

• On historical revisionism:
  “The idea that we want to just point blame in just one simple direction all the time or in the alternative, if it gets any more complicated than that… It’s the same shit guys do about the Holocaust. Well, I don’t know. About 6 million. Look, it was either fucking terrible or it wasn’t. It was wrong or it wasn’t.” [28:18]

• On government UFO revelations:
  “For me, the story begins and ends with one word. Transparency. Transparency.” [30:21]
  “A quick fuck you to those who have the arrogance to believe that only planet Earth achieved carbon based existence.” [30:44]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Dissecting Epstein/Trump Conspiracy: [02:04]–[04:24]
• VA and Veterans Issues: [05:13]–[07:21]
• Russia Sanctions & Trump: [07:22]–[10:29]
• Faith and Community: [10:29]–[12:44]
• AOC Deepfake Confession & Media Culture: [13:05]–[15:23]
• Humorous Listener Call: Underwear: [15:29]–[17:36]
• Civil Discourse & Media Critique via YouTube Comments: [20:23]–[24:23]
• Political Labels & Revisionist History: [25:44]–[29:28]
• UFOs & Government Transparency: [29:53]–[34:51]
• Betting on Alien Disclosure (Kalshee Segment): [33:29]–[35:44]

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Tone & Style

Chris Cuomo’s tone blends earnestness, frustration, humor, and the occasional expletive, staying true to his independent, no-nonsense persona. He challenges listeners, rebukes superficial narratives, and acknowledges personal mistakes candidly—never shying from controversy but always circling back to critical thinking and civil engagement.

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Summary by: The Chris Cuomo Project Podcast Summarizer
Intended for: Listeners who want in-depth coverage and context of each topic, from politics and social policy to culture and media. “Let’s get after it.”

Transcript

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[Chris Cuomo]

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[Chris Cuomo]

You know who matters most? You. And you will not believe what you guys are interested in and where it takes us. I'm Chris Cuomo and this is the Chris Cuomo Project. So let's get after it. You got stuff you want to say. I'm here for it. Assisted by the one and only, the redoubtable Gregory Otto.

[Gregory Otto]

You know, we're living in a day and age where people can call into the show and leave you a voicemail. And they have been leaving lots of voicemails over this past month.

[Chris Cuomo]

You love them very much.

[Gregory Otto]

Isn't it nice to get the vox pop. The people's voice. That's what they call. It's like an industry term that what.

[Chris Cuomo]

Twitter is for now. Don't we not need it anymore?

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah, but this feels less anonymous because you can hear somebody's voice and I see their name, you know, really?

[Chris Cuomo]

So what do you got? Let's hear it.

[Gregory Otto]

All right, here's the first.

[Chris Cuomo]

I'm sure it's all very nice.

[Brian from Iwatuki]

Hey, Chris. Brian from Iwatuki. Just listen to your show. Great show. Something I haven't heard you say and I haven't heard a lot of people say about Epstein. It's not about the book. I believe you. You're right. There's not this magical list that's going to show all these names. But the one thing nobody's saying is that Trump was complicit. Too many fires and smoke out there. That shows the connection between them, to them being friends, everything that Trump was complicit. You can't prove it, but I think what's in those files would show that just how much Trump was around him and other people that would show that he was complicit, that he knew about it, didn't say anything, and why, and it's going to make him look bad. So just my thoughts would love to hear your comments. Thanks.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay.

[Chris Cuomo]

1. Thank you. 2. I don't see it the same way. I don't believe that Trump is covering up for Epstein because of him being complicit. Why? Well, he surrounded himself with people who are conspiracists about Epstein, and he would have been crazy to do that if he was worried about this. I think the conspiracies about Russia and where he got his money after all the bankruptcies and Deutsche bank and what Putin knows, I actually think that has more to it, although I'm not a. I'm not a big buyer. That notion, anyway, of Russia has something on Trump. As someone who's learning about being a firefighter, you know what smoke means. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Where there is smoke, there is a byproduct of combustion. Okay, fire, maybe, maybe not. But it's where you've had the kinetic thermal energy make a difference on the potential chemical energy in a substance. Why am I torturing this metaphor? Because I think it's an apt one. Smoke is sometimes just a function of what you're making heat out of.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay.

[Chris Cuomo]

And the smoke is that you are picking on the smallest things about Epstein and the mythology of a list and the, you know, the. The kind of the psychological play of going. The rich and entitled who get away with bad things, and what's worse than messing with children, and this is proof of it, and they're covering it up, and we're going to blow it up and destroy the system and expose all the people. That's all very appetizing. It's also very exaggerated in this instance, about what Epstein was about. It seems like it was about a scumbag with a bunch of friends who may have known that he was a scumbag and may not. But the idea that they were clients or participants, I'm not seeing it. And again, sometimes smoke is just a function of not the fire of legitimacy, but the literal combustion of just all the drama that's being made about something.

[Wayne / Bob from Clark / Mrs. Elliot (various callers)]

Mr. Cuomo, I am a veteran that lives in New Jersey. They just retired from Brooklyn. Veterans Administration at Fort Hamilton. What is being done or pushback about this administration dismantling the union in the federal government of the Veterans Administration, you're taking away services and protection from veterans that has given their life working in these buildings. My name is Wayne. I would like to speak to you about this issue about the veterans affair that is being dismantled by this administration, that people like myself that have put their life on the line for this country.

[Chris Cuomo]

Thank you for your service. Thank you for being concerned. Thank you for coming to me, you are right and you are worthy and I appreciate you. Now, is the VA being dismantled? No. Is it being messed with? Arguably, the VA has gotten a lot of a negative attention in recent years, mostly deserved. And we don't. It's a great way of looking at how we do what we say matters, which is taking care of you guys who have taken care of us. And the VA is better than or it's not as bad or does more for more people than a lot of other health systems. But clearly it's not what we need it to be in all instances. But I don't think it's fair about the, you know, their questions, concerns about the future, about the direction of the VA and facility closures and private sector involvement. But it's not being dismantled. And it's not like this administration has a hard on for hurting veterans. I don't think that's true. Now, what they're doing for veterans may be exaggerated, but I think it was a few years ago you had a bipartisan group of senators who kind of got together and started messing with the people who oversee the VA because it's seen as being inefficient and we definitely have to do better. And people talk about how much you guys mean more than they act on it. And you're right to be pissed off and you're right to be scared. What's the solution? I don't think the solution is to say this administration hates the veterans because of what they're doing. It's how does it get done better? Where are the deficiencies in the service, in the services, and what can be done about it? We don't have that conversation. We just have boogeyman conversations about who's to blame and that's why nothing gets better.

[Wayne / Bob from Clark / Mrs. Elliot (various callers)]

Oh, Chris.

[Chris Cuomo]

Bob from Clark.

[Wayne / Bob from Clark / Mrs. Elliot (various callers)]

I wish Trump would have put the big sanctions on Putin and said they'll be removed when there's a peace deal. This way there's no pressure on Putin right now. He can continue doing what he's doing.

[Brian from Iwatuki]

Thanks.

[Chris Cuomo]

So could Trump be playing hardball more with Putin? Yes. Why isn't he? I don't know. Now that is an excuse for many to say, oh, come on, you know why Putin's got something on him. I don't know that. And I think running with a false narrative that just sounds good or makes half sense is not the right way to do it. We have America. Trump specifically and his administration have put a lot of pressure on Putin economically to the extent that he feels any of it. Right. Cuz he doesn't give a shit about his people. But if you look at just their oil exports, Right, it's a huge deal. I forget who it was. Maybe it was McCain, but somebody called Russia, like a gas station with nukes.

[Gregory Otto]

That was McCain.

[Chris Cuomo]

Yeah, or something.

[Gregory Otto]

Gas station masquerading as a country.

[Chris Cuomo]

Yeah, something like that. But because of the tariffs, because of the sanctions, crude oil exports, for instance, to India, which was huge for them. Right. India, China, and also Europe. But have plunged threefold in recent weeks because of the restrictions on the tariffs. And that matters. The crude has fallen literally almost 300%. They were at over a million barrels a day, and now they're at around 400,000. So why? Well, because the EU banned the purchase of fuels refined from Russian crude and introduced restrictions on their energy conglomerate. And India's conglomerate, Naira, I think it's called N A Y A R A, is part owned by Russia's state oil giant, Rosneft. That's it. Rosneft. And so they're putting pressure on it. And the pressure that he put on Indian goods that use Russian oil made a difference. So they are doing things that may be making a difference. Is it enough? Clearly not, but I can't just blame the administration for that. It is not America's place to have the secret sauce of how to end every foreign conflict. Yes, Trump promised he could end it in a day. All right? So, you know, he's getting beat up for his own mouth. Okay, fine. But it doesn't change the solution proposition. It is hard to get a guy to make peace when he benefits from war. And they are doing certain things that take away that benefit. But Trump, you know, doesn't have the ability to get Putin out of office unless he kills him. And I don't think that's what you want, is it?

[Religious Caller]

Hey, Chris, look, I don't mean to sound offensive, but this is just what I feel. And this is. I wrote it down so I could say it properly. Okay. And I'm just going to read it. You can't be a little bit Jesus. Either you are or you're not. And if you say Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, there's no in between. There's not Jesus with a twist. And we're talking about some beautiful people in your family. And I think that if the word was applied in their lives, I'm telling you, mountains would move mountains. Because we're talking about some beautiful people. And this is just an opinion. We need to bring community together. And I think that lunch Is so wonderful and such a beautiful thing. And have your brother maybe think about. Jersey's a great place. Have lunch with Jack. Talk about community. Talk about the police department. Talk about bringing everybody together. Because that's what we need to do. We need to bring people together because that's what Christ did. And tell your family members to look up John 8:31. I'm telling you, mountains will move. They'll move. You may think I'm nuts. Guess what? I could give two shits less because I stand up for Christ. God bless you.

[Chris Cuomo]

Thank you for your concern. Okay, so a few things to unpack here. I don't really know who you're talking about. The beautiful women. I mean, we do have some beautiful women in the family. But here's my first caution. Live your faith. Do not demand it of others.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

Live your faith. You be all J.C. all the time. No half measures. No, with a twist. You do that. You do you. And let us see it. And that's the best that you can do. You telling me how to live means nothing. You showing me how you live means something. So focus on that. You want to bring people together, don't make them have to be followers of Christ. That is the opposite of building community.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

It's certainly not what Jesus did, right?

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

So.

[Chris Cuomo]

With that caveat, I do believe that we need to build community again because the money, the advantage is in division and breaking us apart. And it's worked very, very well for the two sides and not well for every one of us in between them.

[Brian from Iwatuki]

Nice job on the AOC thing.

[Chris Cuomo]

That is very good.

[Gregory Otto]

That's like a 15 second sustained laugh.

[Chris Cuomo]

It's a very good fake laugh. Okay, I give it to you. You win. Here's the instructive point.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

I treat Twitter the way everybody else does. Okay, I'm just scrolling through, doing the minimum. Okay, it's not my show on News Nation, it's not the podcast, and it's not something that's a function of research. I'm making excuses for having fallen for such an obvious. It's not even the right criticism that I fell for a deep fake. I didn't watch the video. I saw the headline on the post that AOC says Sydney Sweeney is racist or whatever. And it sounded so much like something that she would say that I assumed it was true. Now, is that a mistake? Of course it's a mistake. Is it wrong that I did that? Of course it's wrong. I do find it. I guarantee you this nut that just left me this message. I guarantee You, I look at his social media, I'd find him advancing all kinds of stuff that's not true. Why? Because that's how political propagandists and. And people who cater to the fringe and the gotcha contest tend to be. Now, does that mean I'm supposed to be better? Yeah, it does. But you gotta judge it by outlet. You know, when I'm talking about sports, I'm not the same person that I am when I'm talking about policing in Washington D.C. so look, I apologize to AOC in the moment and I deleted the post, by the way. Even though the part that you're forgetting, Mr. Yappy, happy, laughy, is she never answered my questions. Okay, you didn't say that about Sydney Sweeney.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

You also haven't called on Hamas to surrender. Why? That's what ends the conflict. You don't give a shit about that. You're not laughing about that. Right? Because you don't care about the right things. So you can laugh all you want. You're the fucking joke. Next.

[Wayne / Bob from Clark / Mrs. Elliot (various callers)]

Hi. Chris Cuomo. Mrs. Elliot. Raised in New Orleans. I'm 97 years old and I want to wish you a happy birthday. And I would want you to know that I have underwear that's older than you.

[Chris Cuomo]

All right, first of all, that's impressive. You should not have 55 year old underwear. Maybe if it's a special kind of silk, worn very rarely and treated very delicately. But if we're talking about tighty whities, you, you got to do better.

[Gregory Otto]

97 years old. The underwear could also be, you know, in the 90s, not just a 55 year old pair of underwear. It could be 97.

[Chris Cuomo]

He said I have underwear that's older than you.

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Cuomo]

That means that he would have to have underwear from before the 70s.

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah, I'm saying it could. No, through the 90s. As in it is 90 years old, not from the 1990s.

[Chris Cuomo]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It could be.

[Gregory Otto]

I'm saying it could be very aged underwear.

[Chris Cuomo]

Probably. Yeah. I mean, it may be a onesie.

[Gregory Otto]

Think of what that underwear has seen the Internet. Felt and felt. Yeah.

[Chris Cuomo]

And witnessed.

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah, Both earthquakes and earthquakes.

[Chris Cuomo]

Look, I love underwear. I love an old. An old guy. I love somebody who's been through it. I respect it and I appreciate it and it's nice of you to wish me well for my birthday. It is. The only extremeness, the only extreme ism we should be dealing with in our society is extreme kindness. And we are really far from that. We're a bunch of nasty bastards. But not you. And I appreciate it. And I wish I had your address. I would send you some underwear.

[Gregory Otto]

Yikes. Oh, new underwear. Used. There's those vending machines in Japan where you can get like used on panties, you know?

[Chris Cuomo]

Used panties. Yeah, but they clean them, don't they?

[Gregory Otto]

No, I think it's for like perverts.

[Chris Cuomo]

Oh, really?

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah, man.

[Chris Cuomo]

Disgusting.

[Gregory Otto]

Well, them. To each his own. No, I've never been to Japan, so.

[Chris Cuomo]

The only thing not to each his own. If you want someone's dirty underwear, you're fucked up.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

That's not a thing. That's not like, oh, I like having my toes sucked or some shit. That's a fetish. I don't think smelling dirty underwear that belongs to someone you don't know, that's not a good thing. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but there's a lot people like to get peed on. Scat is a thing. I don't think it's a good thing.

[Gregory Otto]

Bur Sara sells girls use school uniforms, panties, other fetish items.

[Chris Cuomo]

Listen, I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I'm saying it's a bad thing. People eat, pee. People, right?

[Gregory Otto]

Cool.

[Chris Cuomo]

People. People. People have a perverse sexual interest in infants. I mean, there's all kinds of disgusting. It doesn't mean that it should be mainstreamed.

[Gregory Otto]

I think you can make an argument for eating noble to be mainstream.

[Chris Cuomo]

No, no, you can't.

[Gregory Otto]

I'm like an ebony.

[Chris Cuomo]

Just soylent green. It's made of people. Yeah, yeah.

[Gregory Otto]

Like too many people, you know?

[Chris Cuomo]

I don't know. Lancaster.

[Gregory Otto]

Okay.

[Chris Cuomo]

Is that who that was?

[Gregory Otto]

No, his. Charlton Heston.

[Chris Cuomo]

Charlton Heston?

[Gregory Otto]

Yeah. Great content.

[Chris Cuomo]

They're not the same guy. Support comes from surfshark.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

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[Gregory Otto]

Let's move on to some YouTube comments.

[Chris Cuomo]

You never saw the movie.

[Gregory Otto]

I've seen key scenes from the movie. Have you seen Zardoz?

[Chris Cuomo]

He hasn't seen it.

[Gregory Otto]

Have you seen Zardoz? Yes, Zardas is pretty good.

[Chris Cuomo]

Yeah, it's all right.

[Gregory Otto]

Sean Connery's got like most of the movie. It's just like him in his underwear and like a bandolier. Zardas means wizard of Oz. I've seen it. These people haven't seen it. YouTube Comments Matt Taibbi's episode Eric Pullian, 1816 writes, Matt is nothing but a propagandist who wants people not to believe what they see with their own eyes or hear with their own ears.

[Chris Cuomo]

Disagree Is Matt pushing a little hard on how media companies can't be trusted? Yeah, I think he's I think he's pushing out a little hard. A lot hard, actually. But I kind of get it. And even if I don't agree with it, I get why he's doing it. But I don't think that makes his reporting less credible. Is it a little slippery slope? A little, but only a little. And I think a lot of what he's putting out there are legitimate questions, the degree to which they matter or how they inform the situation. There's something subjective about that. And you can have your opinion about his suggestion and you may think it's too much, but I do not think he's a propagandist.

[Gregory Otto]

Kathy, Kathy Graphics 4486 just commented on your relatively recent Tucker Carlson interview. She writes, there's one thing I totally respect here. It's the fact that those two people with a lot of different ideas are able to exchange respectfully. So refreshing.

[Chris Cuomo]

Well, a lot of people disagree with you. I just happen to not be one of them. How can you talk with him, he's an anti Semite. He now hates Trump or he loves Trump, or he hates this. Look, I don't know what's in his heart and often what's in his head. I don't believe unless I'm dealing with somebody that I honestly do believe is a bigot. I don't think that disagreeing about things means that you have to be a jerk to who they are. I don't think it serves your arguments well. I don't think it serves your humanity well. And by the way, it's not something that I do well enough, often enough, but the complete rejection of it is really more of proof of how troubled we are than people seeing the right way to be. And look, I don't think the remedy is what Piers Morgan is doing either, where you put these boxes up and everybody yells at each other every night. It's a throwback to what cable used to be, which is just heat, not light. I really want more light, not heat.

[Gregory Otto]

Actually, to that point. Your recent interview with Benny Johnson actually got a lot of similar comments. Lots of people commenting on this episode. Pastor David Collins wrote, this was a great discussion. I believe firmly that we should be willing and able to have civil conversations like this. I loved how you slowed the conversation down to show Benny how many things you agree on. One of the biggest problems we face in modern politics is the push to extremism. Many Americans live in the middle and have lots in common. Great stuff. I'll be transparent that I almost didn't watch this one because I saw Benny on, but I'm glad I did. Thanks so much for doing what you do.

[Chris Cuomo]

So, look, thank you for taking the time to process it. A lot of people are criticizing me for having Benny on because he's a MAGA guy.

[Gregory Otto]

Look.

[Chris Cuomo]

Or more importantly, look, I understand that. I don't agree, but I understand it. What I don't understand is how you think it makes me MAGA to have. You know, they hate me. You know that, right? These pod bros, they talk about me all the time. It's always disparaging. And I have to tell you something. They are not like that when I meet them. And I think that's important. You know, we overlook that sometimes. You'll hear somebody say, yeah, when I met him, he wasn't like that. Be like, yeah, well, okay, that's because in person. That's because in person what? In person, people are nice. Where do you think they fake it? I think they fake it when you're not around because there's ownership and accountability when you're in person. Why? Because I'm going to put this part of my skull through your nose. No, no. But I do think there's a chance of it, and I think that matters, especially between men. And I think a lot of these people are performers. And I'll tell you what, okay? And I hope that you guys take this and you use it. I have been wrong about things, much more so in my personal life than in my professional life. But being wrong about things doesn't make you a bad person. And even if you do bad things, you could argue, well, that makes you a bad person. Well, it depends. Do you only do bad things? Everybody is a mixture. And we are making a mistake of this absolutist notion that we have with me or against me. And I'm telling you, we're getting more and more extreme with it, because that's what they want. That's what the two sides want, is constant friction where everything is weaponized and everything is with or against or good or bad. It works for them, not for us.

[Gregory Otto]

From your episode where you gave Mr. Trump a grade on his first six months in office, hella kuab8166 writes, Cuomo seems to be bending over backwards to appear fair and balanced.

[Chris Cuomo]

First of all, you should be bending over backwards to appear fair and balanced. That's what being fair and balanced is, is making an effort to be balanced and fair. Now, I'll tell you what's interesting. Benny Johnson said that I gave Trump an A for his administration. No, he didn't. But he saw. Okay, see, this is the problem. Somebody took one grade that we gave him. I don't know what we gave him an A minus for. There was, like, eight different categories.

[Gregory Otto]

The thumbnail was an F. Right?

[Chris Cuomo]

But whatever it was, they used it for their own purpose, which is Cuomo's a MAGA guy. So now I can't tell you how many guests have said, oh, is Cuomo turned towards Trump. Well, first of all, I don't have a side, except your side. I'm not a MAGA guy. I can't believe I have to say that. I'm not a socialist. I'm not a Democrat. I can't believe I have to say these things, okay? I register as a Democrat for one fucking reason. It's to vote for people in my family.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

All right?

[Chris Cuomo]

Now, do I think Democrats are better than Republican? Depends on who and win. Okay, Do I think socialists are better than capitalists? No. And if the socialists wind up being what the left is about and capitalism winds up being about the right. They're going to win a lot of elections in this country.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

The Democratic party of my father is not the Democratic party of today. They are not fighting for working men and women where they find them in this country and in the situations they're in. They are trying to shoehorn their interests into their own agenda of very elite, very privileged, very woke politics. Now I have heard you about using the word woke. I do understand the origination of the word. I don't have to be a black person to be able to google where did woke come from and understand its role within the suffrage and the black equity movement.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay.

[Chris Cuomo]

And I do think it was appropriated by white people and a lot of them on the right and made into a thing. I think that's true. I also think there was opportunity given to those critics and opponents to do so. But I should be careful about how I use it. You're right. Does it apply in the way I just used it? Yeah. But a lot of things that people call woke I think are actually very important pursuits for our society. And I do not like what's happening with our revisionist history about slavery. As if it somehow wasn't as bad as we thought it was. White people have co opted the entire narrative the entire time. That is not a good practice for history to have only the people who perpetrated a problem. And yes, of course there were non white actors within slavery. Yes, there were players in African tribal life that were people who sold their own and all that. Yes, yes, yes. So what? So what? The idea that we want to just point blame in just one simple direction all the time or in the alternative, if it gets any more complicated than that, which of course it is, cuz everything is that. Therefore it means that we've been wrong about it all the time. It's the same shit guys do about the Holocaust. Well, I don't know. About 6 million. Look, it was either fucking terrible or it wasn't. It was wrong or it wasn't. Okay, 6 million, 2 million. Wrong.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

Slaves whipped 10 times, whipped five times wrong.

[Gregory Otto]

Okay, for this last one, this is a. This is a very different subject. This is about your interview with George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell and UFO cover ups and such. Kerplunk9434 writes, yeah, it's either ETs or demonic entities controlling this narrative. And Dustin Butler Dash KH2XL says UFO, those are fallen angels. Jesus is real. Turn to him before too late.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay.

[Chris Cuomo]

Again, live it, don't tell me to live it. Show me. Don't tell me. Okay, you do yourself nor anyone else any good by telling them to turn toward Jesus. You show that you have turned toward Jesus with your words and your actions. That is all.

[Interjection/Confirmation (possibly producer or moderator)]

Okay?

[Chris Cuomo]

Now, UFOs, I don't know what they are because they won't tell us what they know. And for me, the story begins and ends with one word. Transparency. Transparency.

[Gregory Otto]

And this is something you've talked about for a very long time with your interest in the UFO issue. It's not about little green men, as you've said, it's about transparency with the government.

[Chris Cuomo]

And I am constantly all over the Internet as being someone who believes in UFOs. What's happened to Cuomo? Well, first of all, a quick fuck you to those who have the arrogance to believe that only planet Earth achieved carbon based existence. Nobody else, nothing else, anywhere. Even though every time Neil Degrasse Tyson tells us that they understand the size of the universe a little differently, it's because it's bigger. So I don't have that degree of arrogance. And by the way, it's not like we're killing it in terms of the perfection of life so much that it is unfathomable that it may exist anywhere else in any other way. I don't have that arrogance. That said, I also have absolutely no proof of that. And I don't believe that they have little green men in a basement. I don't believe any of that. I believe that government is no longer trusted and they need to regain trust. And transparency is a great way to do that. And I don't accept that your ability to criticize me changes that analysis. See, what happens is because your people are in power in a given moment, when someone calls on them to be more or better, you attack them and say, cuomo, you suck. You're not transparent. You didn't really have Covid. You weren't really in the basement. You weren't really this, you weren't really that. It's all bullshit. But it doesn't matter because it doesn't change what I'm saying. Back to my AOC example. I should have watched the video. I would have seen it as an obvious deep fake. It's not like I didn't get that it's a deep fake. That fucker in the New York Times op ed uses me as proof that we don't know what's real anymore. What are you talking about? I didn't even watch it. It was just the thumbnail because it sounded like something she would say. But that's what people do. People weaponize everything. Today the New York Times is absolutely on the list of entities with an agenda. And they better change that outfit real fast or it's going to wind up dying real soon. Now, that said, AOC didn't want to tell me. She wanted to jump on me for a layup. Right. Which made all of you happy. Cuomo got it right. AOC is right. Is she right to not call on Hamas to surrender? What about that? She doesn't even have to answer it. Because I was wrong about a deep fake. She doesn't even have to answer it. What are you laughing about?

[Gregory Otto]

This was supposed to be a transition to a light bit for the sponsor.

[Chris Cuomo]

Everything is related.

[Gregory Otto]

I'm sure it is. Keep going. Keep going.

[Chris Cuomo]

So what is the tran. What are we segueing?

[Gregory Otto]

The alien conversation?

[Chris Cuomo]

Yeah.

[Gregory Otto]

Was for Kalshee. Because at Kalshee, I sent you the thing earlier.

[Chris Cuomo]

What does Kalshee tell us? So here's why I like working with them. I like how they phrase propositions, because it gives me a different feel for what the pivot is, you know, what the fulcrum is. What is the balancing of these interests here? And when people are acting with their money, I think you can take them a little bit more seriously, you know? So where are they on the UFO thing?

[Gregory Otto]

Well, their question is, will the US Say that aliens exist this year?

[Chris Cuomo]

No.

[Gregory Otto]

The rule summary is if the president, any member of the cabinet, any member of the Joint Chiefs of staff, or any U.S. federal agency definitively states that extraterrestrial life or technology exists before January 1, 2026, then the market resolves to yes.

[Chris Cuomo]

Okay, so here is the really interesting aspect of that. I said no very quickly. Why? Because of life. But what other word did they throw in there? Technology. Will you hear someone in our government now who? It has to be ahead of an.

[Gregory Otto]

Agency, joint chief, cabinet president, any U.S. federal agency.

[Chris Cuomo]

I think I would bet yes on this. Because someone's going to say there is technology that we cannot source and we do not have. And someone's going to ask the question, are you saying it could come from somewhere else? I'm saying I don't know where it's from, but we don't have it and we haven't seen it before.

[Gregory Otto]

This has definitively states that.

[Chris Cuomo]

Extraterrestrial life, technology, that's the genius of it. They're not going to be able to say where it comes from. They're going to say, we don't have it. And we haven't seen it before.

[Gregory Otto]

Must be Mars.

[Chris Cuomo]

Well, I don't know what. I mean, it means, probably means in all likelihood, it's, it's a private or governmental outside concern that developed it and is testing it around us, so. But I don't know if that would qualify. But what are the numbers? 4%.

[Gregory Otto]

4% chance that it hit. Well, I think it's back in January.

[Chris Cuomo]

I think the definitive is because you're, you're creating a premise. I would love to know how they formulate these questions. By the way, there's a real genius to it that it's definitive, that it's extraterrestrial. I don't know how they can say that. So you probably wind up, you know, that's why it's a 4%.

[Gregory Otto]

Well, there's a great thumbnail they have of Mr. Trump shaking hands with one of the aliens here. You see that? One of them, One of the contingent.

[Chris Cuomo]

Wow, they're big.

[Gregory Otto]

It must be a trade deal.

[Chris Cuomo]

No hair, though, huh?

[Gregory Otto]

Not on any of them. I think Trump's got a rug. No, he doesn't have a rug. It's like a weave or something.

[Chris Cuomo]

I don't think it's a rug.

[Gregory Otto]

I think it's, it's like surgically, you know, attached, like a Barbie doll.

[Chris Cuomo]

Well, listen, I care. Look, I wouldn't do the Chris Cuomo project, I wouldn't do any of this if it wasn't about feeding your own critical thinking process. And I really, really, really appreciate you taking the time to care, daring to care in an environment, in a society that really punishes you for it. Thank you for doing it. Thank you for doing it with me. Thank you for subscribing and following and checking us out on the sub stack on TikTok on all the social media platforms. We're doing a lot more TikTok now, and I will see you on News Nation every weekday night at 8 and 11p Eastern. My brothers and sisters, the problems are real. There are solutions that we can find together. So let's get after it.