The Truth with Lisa Boothe: The Warning From Venezuela: Socialism’s Collapse, America’s Rising Left & the Fight for Freedom

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Truth with Lisa Boothe –

"The Warning From Venezuela: Socialism’s Collapse, America’s Rising Left & the Fight for Freedom"

Date: July 21, 2026
Host: Lisa Boothe
Guest: Daniel DiMartino (Manhattan Institute fellow, Venezuelan immigrant)

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Episode Overview

Lisa Boothe hosts Daniel DiMartino, a Venezuelan-born fellow at the Manhattan Institute, to discuss the devastating collapse of Venezuela under socialism, the recent deadly earthquakes that exposed deep government corruption, and rising socialist currents within the American political left. The episode uses Venezuela’s crisis as a warning against socialism, explores the roots and consequences of far-left ideology in America, and debates what political, cultural, and educational actions are necessary to defend freedom.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Venezuela’s Earthquake Tragedy and Socialist Failures

Timestamps: 07:54–12:22

• Human impact:
  • Over 3,300 confirmed dead, 1,600+ injured, thousands missing after two major earthquakes.
  • The disaster is exacerbated by years of socialist rule, corruption, and incompetence.
• Government failure:
  • Public housing, built cheaply for political gain, collapsed catastrophically:
    Daniel DiMartino: “The government hired these Turkish, Iranian and other contractors where they just stole money to build quickly cheap homes... they ended up falling apart.” (08:50)
  • The government hindered rescue efforts; Venezuelans had to dig with their bare hands.
    Daniel DiMartino: "The military, instead of helping, what they did was steal the appliances of people, their washers, their dryers, their, their TVs." (09:30)
• Comparison with functional democracies:
  • Chile’s similar earthquakes result in far fewer deaths due to better institutions and infrastructure.
• Real costs:
  • The actual death toll is likely much higher, possibly between 10,000–60,000.
  • GDP impact estimated at over 10% lost domestically as a direct result.
  • Foreign aid, including from the US and many nations, was critical—often in spite of blockades from the Venezuelan regime.

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2. The Warning for America: Socialism on the Rise

Timestamps: 12:22–18:09

• Growing socialist sentiment:
  • Increasing numbers of American Democrats now favor socialism over capitalism (Gallup data cited).
  • High-profile self-proclaimed socialists (e.g., Zoran Mamdani of NY) winning primaries and heading to Congress.
• DiMartino’s warning:
  • Many who support socialism are not poor, but often young, affluent, and “resentful at the rich.”
  • The rhetoric mirrors Venezuela pre–Chavez: “It always starts off the promises like that... He said he wasn’t seeking a Cuban style communist system... The same promises we're hearing now from these leftist politicians.” – Lisa Boothe (14:39)
• Danger of “government greed” replacing “corporate greed”:
  • Socialism leads not to widespread equality, but to a new corrupt ruling class.
• On American versions of socialism:
  • Promises to fund massive government programs by taxing billionaires are mathematically false: Daniel DiMartino: “The total amount of income that billionaires make a year is not enough to even pay for Medicare for all...” (15:51)
  • European welfare states rely on high taxes for the middle class and do not resemble DSA proposals.

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3. Roots of American Socialism: Education, Culture, and Foreign Influence

Timestamps: 18:09–22:33

• Education and parenting:
  • DiMartino blames both Marxist-leaning academic environments and a failure of parenting, especially among affluent families. Daniel DiMartino: "How do the children of hedge fund managers end up being socialists? ... The hedge fund managers failed at parenting..." (18:43)
  • Elite private schools and university education programs act as “Marxist indoctrination camps.”
• Role of social media:
  • Platforms like TikTok, whose algorithms are influenced by hostile foreign regimes, promote Marxism to American youth.
• Foreign influence:
  • Some (not most) immigrants bring anti-Western attitudes, but the majority of this is “homegrown.”
  • Authoritarian regimes still attempt to train and agitate American activists for subversive aims (e.g., Cuban Institute for Peace, political training in Cuba).

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4. American Politics: The Threat, the Response, and What’s at Stake

Timestamps: 27:52–34:21

• Incursion of radical ideas:
  • Political leaders (e.g., Karen Bass, Bernie Sanders) have affiliations or sympathies with historic Marxist or pro-communist movements.
  • Radicals aim not for “Norway-style” welfare but Americanized authoritarian socialism. Daniel DiMartino: “I wish these people actually wanted to be like Norway... It is not nationalizing the means of production.” (28:45)
• Bipartisan drift:
  • Some on the right also move toward “big government” policies, challenging pro-market orthodoxy.
• Government inaction:
  • Politicians are “overreacting in their speech and underreacting in their actions.”
    • Only Florida has mandated teaching about socialism’s dangers; few policy interventions exist nationally.
  • Deregulation (e.g., Texas housing market) cited as effective counter-policy.
• Mechanisms of collapse:
  • America’s constitutional resilience (e.g., Second Amendment) offers safeguards, but is vulnerable to court-packing and electoral rule-changing.
  • The collapse in Venezuela happened rapidly (dictatorship solidified within 10 years following constitutional changes). Daniel DiMartino: “If, say, a radical Marxist gets to the presidency here... they can pack the Supreme Court and reinterpret the Constitution to say whatever they want.” (31:23)

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5. What Can Be Done?

Timestamps: 32:49–34:21

• Defending against socialism:
  • Educate within families; share real-world examples from socialist failures.
  • Expose and document what American socialist politicians actually say about events like Venezuelan elections.
  • Grassroots effort to reveal ideological “tankies” for what they are and dissuade naïve support for their policies.

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6. Hope for Venezuela and Final Thoughts

Timestamps: 34:27–35:18

• Gratitude for US and global aid:
  • Daniel DiMartino highlights the humanitarian assistance provided to Venezuela.
• Vision for the future:
  • Aspires for Venezuela’s story to transition from “warning” to “hope,” like Poland after communism—a prosperous friend and ally.

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Notable Quotes

• On Venezuela’s government and earthquake disaster:

  • “The government, instead of helping, only hindered recovery efforts... The military, instead of helping, what they did was steal the appliances of people, their washers, their dryers, their, their TVs.”
    — Daniel DiMartino (08:30, 09:30)

• On socialism in America:

  • “It always starts off the promises like that. Hugo Chavez promised to end corruption, like he promised to reduce poverty... He made a lot of the same promises that we’re hearing now from these leftist politicians.”
    — Lisa Boothe (14:39)

• On taxing the rich and social welfare:

  • “The total amount of income that billionaires make a year is not enough to even pay for Medicare for all... The math doesn’t work.”
    — Daniel DiMartino (15:51)

• On Marxist indoctrination in education:

  • “If you go to Columbia Teachers College, Columbia University, it’s like a Marxist indoctrination camp, worse than the regular university.”
    — Daniel DiMartino (19:01)

• On court-packing and systemic vulnerabilities:

  • “If... a radical Marxist gets to the presidency... they can pack the Supreme Court and reinterpret the Constitution to say whatever they want... Who are you going to appeal to if the Supreme Court is stacked against you?”
    — Daniel DiMartino (31:23)

• On practical action against socialism:

  • “Politicians are overreacting in their speech and underreacting in their actions... Republican politicians love to fill their mouth saying that they oppose socialism and that they do nothing about it.”
    — Daniel DiMartino (29:58)

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Segment Timestamps

| Time | Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 07:54 | Venezuela’s earthquake disaster, mismanagement, and corruption | | 12:22 | Rise of socialism/communism on the American left | | 15:51 | Fiscal realities of taxing the rich | | 18:09 | Causes of socialism’s appeal: education, social media | | 21:13 | Foreign vs. homegrown radicalism | | 27:52 | American politicians with Marxist ties; threat assessment | | 31:23 | Constitutional weaknesses: how collapse can happen quickly | | 32:44 | What to do: education, family action, exposing the far left | | 34:27 | Hope for Venezuela; gratitude for US aid |

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Tone and Language

The episode retains a sense of urgency and warning. Daniel DiMartino speaks candidly, often referencing personal experience and specific examples. Lisa Boothe maintains a skeptical, combative stance toward the American left, frequently pressing for practical remedies and analogies. The discussion is alarmist but rooted in real events, using Venezuela as a cautionary tale.

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Summary

This episode gives listeners a direct warning about the dangers of socialism and left-wing radicalism, using Venezuela as a stark example. Through the lived experience of Daniel DiMartino, the audience is shown how promises of equality and help for the poor devolved into corruption, devastation, and authoritarianism. They discuss not only the rise of socialist ideas among young Americans and their causes (with a focus on education and social media), but also the political vulnerabilities that could allow such policies to take root rapidly in the US. Solutions focus on education, vigilance, policy advocacy, and revealing the true character and intentions of America’s new socialists. DiMartino closes with hope that, with help and a commitment to freedom, Venezuela might one day return to prosperity and serve as an example of rebirth, not just collapse.

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Transcript

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[Lisa Booth]

Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get to the heart of the issues that matter to you today. We're talking about the rise of socialism, the rise of communism happening on the left. And we're gonna discuss it with someone who has seen this cancer take over their country firsthand. His name's Daniel DiMartino. He is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He's also a Venezuelan. He was born in Venezuela, came to the United States in 2016, and has been warning people about the dangers of socialism, how it can lead to corruption, how it destroys countries. We're going to talk about that. We're also going to talk about those devastating two earthquakes that hit Venezuela. We know that thousands have been Confirmed dead, over 1600 injured. Many still. They're still looking for them. But part of the challenge is so many people died because of corruption of the government. So we're going to get to that angle as well about why that created more deaths. Also looking at the rise of socialism here in the United States and what could become of America if these people on the left continued to take over. So stay tuned for this conversation and this warning from Daniel DiMartino.

[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

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[Lisa Booth]

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[Lisa Booth]

Well, Daniel, it's great to have you back on the show. I know your home country of Venezuela was recently struck by two rare and violent earthquakes back to back, caused a significant amount of damage in the country. They're estimating at least more than 3300 people that have been confirmed dead, over 1600 injured. And that's just what we know about. I know you have people in your life who have been impacted by this. What are you hearing from the ground in Venezuela about what's really going on and what the death toll and damage could ultimately be?

[Daniel DiMartino]

Well, thank you for having me, Lisa. What I'm hearing from Venezuelans in the ground there is that people are just devastated, not just because the earthquake was disastrous, but because it comes on top of so many years of destruction, right. Almost three decades of this regime and so many people lost their homes, so many people lost their life. And so it felt for the people there like it was the last straw. You know, the last thing that you needed in the worst moment and the thing that really made it so outrageous for the population was that the government, instead of helping, only hindered recovery efforts. In addition to the fact that a lot of people died because they live in terribly constructed homes. Because of the government. Right, Because a lot of that was government public housing. That all fell apart during the earthquake because the government hired these Turkish, Iranian and other contractors where they just stole money to build quickly cheap homes and give them away for free, and they ended up falling apart. So people were already mad because of that. But then when the recovery time came and the rescue effort came, the government didn't send any rescuers. Venezuelans had to go through the rubble with their own hands. And the military, instead of helping, what they did was steal the appliances of people, their washers, their dryers, their, their TVs. And so the Venezuelan population has never felt more outraged than they do today, I think, you know, and so that's

[Lisa Booth]

a key component of all of this. Because if Venezuela had a, you know, non socialist, non incompetent, not corrupt government, you know, how many lives do you think could have been saved? And, you know, the response time would have looked different. So I, I guess, kind of connect those dots.

[Daniel DiMartino]

Yes, well, absolutely. So think about this in Chile, when they have equivalent earthquakes and Venezuela could look today like Chile does today, had it never elected Hugo Chavez, it could easily be richer than Chile. In fact, you know, this kind of earthquake causes maybe a few hundred death and In Venezuela it's causing thousands of deaths. Right. You mentioned the figure. The truth is it's much larger. They just haven't identified the bodies. Right. You know, by the beginning there were some 60,000 people reported to have vanished that their family members couldn't find. The US government estimate from the geological survey was that this earthquake would kill between 10 and 100,000 people. So the figure, the final figure is I think it's gonna end up being between 10 and 60 given the, you know, the number of people who are reported as disappeared is probably the high end. So that is the cost of socialism in this earthquake was tens of thousands of lives and many more lives affected that didn't die. Right. Like the people who lost their houses, the economic activity. I think some international groups estimated in the several billion dollars that the GDP impact on Venezuela is going to be over 10% negative this year because of the earthquake. All of this was preventable. But what's outrageous is that the government didn't help, is that the government hindered, that they confiscated aid, that Venezuelans depended on foreign aid. And it was great. I mean thank God for the foreign aid. Thanks to the US government, thanks to the, you know, Chilean government, Mexican, Israeli, Syrian even. So many governments from around the world that sent rescue teams, some of which by the way were also hindered by the Venezuelan regime. But, but these foreign rescue teams really saved hundreds of lives.

[Lisa Booth]

So then you look here in the United States and I mean we can call them communists, we can call them, they call themselves socialists, but we're seeing a rise of them on the left. You know, self proclaimed people like Zoran Mamdani in New York or you know, they're, they're cropping up here on the left, they've won primaries, they're going to be headed to Washington D.C. most likely and these deep blue districts, you even look at polling in Gallup and a majority of Democrats now have a more favorable viewpoint of socialism than they do capitalism. Independence just barely hanging on with the more positive viewpoint of capitalism than socialism. So why then looking to places like Venezuela, would we want to follow that?

[Daniel DiMartino]

Well, I think that the, the people who have a ferrule view of socialism do not think about Venezuela.

[Tony Ayo]

Right.

[Daniel DiMartino]

Nobody will look at Venezuela and say, yes, I want to live like that. That would mean you're psychologically in deep trouble. Right. So what people think is I just want more government and I'm resentful at the rich. I think the rich are causing the problems and we need to take from the rich to give to Me and some of the people who are voting for this, by the way, are not poor, right? I mean, actually, most of the people who are voting for this and who have a favorable view of this, of these ideology, socialism, are actually middle class or upper middle class. They're young people, overwhelmingly, that's for sure. It's a, the, the real polarization is in the age and, and these are young people who come from good families. Lisa, I've met people who, parents in their 50s who are very high income, some of them are millionaires in annual income, and their children who are in their early 20s are supporters of Sora Mamdani are people who think that the rich have rigged the system when the truth is that they are the rich, right? They're the ones who haven't built anything but are inheriting from their parents. And yet these are the people who are supporting ideas that not only harm their family, but harm everybody else, as if they were virtuous ideas when they're not. They're actually very harmful ideas.

[Lisa Booth]

But see, the thing is, I mean, it always starts off the promises like that. Like Hugo Chavez promised to end corruption, like he promised to reduce poverty. He said he wasn't seeking a Cuban style communist system, that it was going to be in between capitalism and communism. He made a lot of the same promises that we're hearing now from these leftist politicians. And if you heard Zoran Mamdani in his speech, he was talking about how we should be worried about wealth being, you know, in the hands of a few. But isn't that ultimately what happens with communism and socialism is it just turns away from what they want to call corporate greed and it's government greed. And then it ultimately leads to corruption and competency and a broken system of government, because the people who are in power in that scenario are idiots and they don't know how to run things. And they're not builders or not innovators, right? So it's like, so like you're, you're really just shifting from what they want to call corporate greed and taking money away from innovators and builders and people like Elon Musk and then putting at the hands of people like Zoran Mamdani who tried to be a rapper and failed. You know, so it's like, right, who,

[Daniel DiMartino]

who is a trust fund baby from his millionaire mother, but who's not built

[Lisa Booth]

anything for a living?

[Daniel DiMartino]

Of course not. The only thing built is stealing money from the taxpayer. Look, the. Let's take this as a real argument. There are people who say they want to tax the rich to pay for a host of new things. Right. They ignore the truth that we already spent trillions of dollars on government programs that don't actually make any effect on poverty, and instead they want to spend a trillion dollars more a year. Well, let's begin with the fact that our national budget is already in a deficit. So we already need to raise taxes or cut spending or both in order to go back to the baseline without adding new programs. Now, imagine we do that because we magically cut some spending, raise some taxes, and then we say we're gonna pay for Medicare for all. We're gonna pay for, you know, say, subsidies for housing for more people. Where is the money going to come from? It's. Is it all going to come from billionaires? It can't. Like, that total amount of income that billionaires make a year is not enough to even pay for Medicare for all. And so the threshold keeps going down. Oh, well, it's not billionaires anymore. It's going to be people who make over a million dollars. Okay. And then it's going to be people who make over $500,000 and then $100,000. The tax rate. And I actually compare these, and I have the charts. The marginal tax rate that a person in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway pays over $100,000 is most of the time over 60%. So these are people who pay over 60% of their income at $100,000 a year, not at $1 million, not at $10 million, at $100,000. And everybody. So forget about income taxes. Everybody pays over 20% in sales tax. That is how those countries actually fund larger governments, and they do so with low, you know, smaller defense budgets. Norway does so with being an oil state that gets a lot of oil revenue that we don't have for a large population. And so that is how those countries do it. That is not what is being proposed here. Here they're proposing all these fantasies and saying that the math works to the. Just the billionaires pay for it. That's. It's not true. The math doesn't work.

[Lisa Booth]

So I guess, then what do you think's driving it? Is it indoctrination in schools? I mean, we're also seeing, you know, people coming here, like, from some third world countries, bringing some of the animosity towards the west with them. But from your estimation, what do you think's driving this movement toward communism and socialism in the country?

[Daniel DiMartino]

I think it's. I think it's homegrown. I don't think it's coming from other countries. I think that's a distraction, actually. I mean, obviously Mamdani came from another country, but Mamdani came to New York City when he was seven years old. He was raised by a communist. That's why he's a communist. His father was one. You know, Dariel, Lisa, the woman who won the primary in Harlem for Congress, who is very much an anti American socialist, somebody who really hates this country, who I think, you know, it's just very misguided ideas. She was born here, she's not an immigrant. You know, so what, what kind of conditions create that? I think, obviously your education system is a problem. I think parents have failed in many cases. You know, how, how does the, how do the children of hedge fund managers end up being socialists? Lisa? Because the hedge fund managers failed at parenting, in my opinion. They send them to prestigious private schools that are all staffed by Marxist educators, taught in our American teacher colleges, which all teach the teachers how to indoctrinate. If you go to Columbia Teachers College, Columbia University, it's like a Marxist indoctrination camp, worse than the regular university. And then those are the people who teach at the prestigious private schools. So we are creating, we're educating an army of highly educated Marxists in top private schools K through 12 in this country, and then in colleges, too. And we have the augmenting factor of social media, because in social media, we don't only just have the freedom of expression. We have, I think on TikTok, at least, an algorithm that is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. And what is the interest of the Chinese Communist Party? Well, to fry the brain of the American youth and to promote Marxism. Right. They take down the content they don't like and they promote the content that they do like. And that has a huge effect on how people think. We have that on so many ways like this that really concern me.

[Lisa Booth]

I mean, I do think some of it's coming from abroad as well, in terms of, you know, people coming here from like Hassan Piker, right, He's Turkish. Coming here from countries whose viewpoints are. There's a lot of animosity towards America and the west, and then they bring that with them, or they've taught that, been taught that by their parents. But, but I agree that the primary.

[Daniel DiMartino]

So, yes, yes. So I, I also, I agree that there are people who come from other countries. By the way, Hasan Piker was born in the U.S. i'll say parents are Turkish. But yes, obviously there are people, you know, but like, that creates a much more Expansive group of people. Right. If you count the children of immigrants, that's already like, you know, 30% of the population. I think that.

[Lisa Booth]

And of course, certainly you can look at someone like Elon Musk who is a, an immigrant who came here who's, you know, brought significant wealth to the United States, created jobs and I do

[Daniel DiMartino]

think the average immigrant is a Marxist.

[Lisa Booth]

Yeah, so. But, yeah, exactly.

[Daniel DiMartino]

But I do agree that there are people who come to America who shouldn't, who are a Marxist. You know, think of Mahmoud Khalil. What was the purpose of them coming to America? It was to agitate. It was to promote Marxism. They didn't come because they wanted a better life. They came because they wanted to destroy America. And that might sound very harsh, but it is true for a small number of people. And that small number of people are having an outsized impact on the public discourse and society. It's also true that there are foreign authoritarian regimes that are training American leaders. Karen Bass was trained in Cuba when she was a kid. Most of the DSA members look to Cuba and actually travel there to get training on how to promote their ideas here and win office. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently arrested and is deporting and banned the Cuban Institute for Peace, which was a front group for the Cuban government to promote their ideas and train American activists here in the United States. Those things are happening.

[Lisa Booth]

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[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

This is Becca and Tanya from Scrubbing in with Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad

[Lisa Booth]

Becca, can I ask you a question? How do I convince myself I need something before I buy it?

[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

Oh, so we're doing that today?

[Lisa Booth]

Well, I'll be shopping online and suddenly I'm like, well technically this counts as self care.

[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

You're definitely not alone there.

[Lisa Booth]

That's why Klarna stands out. It's about smarter tools that help you feel more confident with your money.

[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

Klarna brings payments, cash back and money management together in one place with flexible ways to pay. It helps you make smarter money moves without the stress.

[Daniel DiMartino]

That's the goal, right?

[Lisa Booth]

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[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

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[Tony Ayo]

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[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

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[Lisa Booth]

To your point about Karen Bass, now currently being the mayor and previously a member of Congress. After training and being part of a a pro Castro, pro communist front group which the entire purpose of it was to essentially train Americans as, you know, spies or to be pro revolutionary and then get them into government and to have them be in prominence here in the United States. Or you look at the fact that Obama palled around with the Weather Underground founders and I think they held his first event when he was announcing to run for state senate in Illinois. That was a Marxist violent revolutionary group bombed government buildings in the 1970s. Or you look at Tim Waltz visited China like 30 times. Like Bernie Sanders spent his honeymoon in Soviet Union. So it's like, you know, this stuff's been going on.

[Daniel DiMartino]

Like I wish, I wish, Lisa, that these People actually wanted to be like Norway. You know, there are some nice things about Norway, you know, that, that, that we could learn from. I can assure you that it is not nationalizing the means of production. Right. And I'll say we also have a rising current of anti free market people on the right who actually do believe in larger government, who, who do not believe in free markets. And if we don't present a principled defense of free enterprise, then why wouldn't you vote for the socialist? On the one hand, you would have a big government person that is pro life, and on the other one, you have a big government person who is pro choice, I guess.

[Lisa Booth]

You know, I have heard people try to make the case of, you know, it's only happening. And some of these, you know, deeper blue areas, it's the, the threat. You know, President Trump even called out the rise of communists in his speech, Mount Rushmore. And people are saying, oh, it's not that big of a deal. People are overreacting. Do you, do you think people are overreacting to the threat of, you know, communism and socialism in the country? I mean, I feel like it can take over pretty quickly, and it's one of those things that you've got to stop as soon as you can. But how do you view it?

[Daniel DiMartino]

I think that politicians are overreacting in their speech and underreacting in their actions. I think President Trump is being very strong in how he speaks about communism and socialism, and I really appreciate that. But what have we done to stop it? Nothing. Nobody has done absolutely nothing. What law has been passed? What are the states doing? The only state that has done something has been the state of Florida educating kids in K through 12 about the threat of socialism in schools. No other state does it. Republican politicians love to fill their mouth saying that they oppose socialism and that they do nothing about it. So we should be teaching in schools about this. That's a good step. The other things we should be doing is actually supporting free enterprise, is actually putting out ideas. And I think in this, Texas has done something good, which is they actually have deregulated the housing market so that it's cheaper to buy a house. And yeah, I think on the education front, they have done very little.

[Lisa Booth]

Well, and that's concerning what Zoran Mamdani is trying to do in New York with the rent freezes, because inevitably it'll lead to shortages and decayed housing. And then the government's going to step in is the concern. You know, how quickly did things fall apart in Venezuela? How quickly can A country go from, you know, wealthy and successful to fallen and corrupt.

[Daniel DiMartino]

So it depends obviously on the initial state and structure. America has other things to its advantage. For Venezuela, I would say, was relatively quick. You know, within, within 10 years, I think the dictatorship was fully solidified and they had already changed the Constitution and packed the court, all that. That is my fear here. I think that obviously the Second Amendment is a great protection here that we didn't have in Venezuela. But that's already for when the rubber hits the road, right? Not for the beginning. And my concern is one vulnerability of the American constitutional system is the Supreme Court. If, say, a radical Marxist gets to the presidency here and they have a democratic majority in Congress that is willing to go with them, they can pack the Supreme Court and reinterpret the Constitution to say whatever they want. LISA and then what does the Second Amendment mean? What does the First Amendment mean? What does, for example, no seizing of private property without compensation even mean in the Constitution? Right. What is compensation? Maybe the government can actually take your company for a nominal compensation of a few dollars. Right? And then who are you going to appeal to if the Supreme Court is stacked against you? That is my concern of how a socialist dictatorship could start in America after a democratic election.

[Lisa Booth]

And I think that's a very real concern considering that the Democrats have talked about packing the court.

[Daniel DiMartino]

And then, by the way, they can abolish the filibuster, legalize battle harvesting nationwide. And that's not necessarily that they're going to, you know, misreport the election results, but they're going to stack all the rules in their favor. And that's how it started in Venezuela, too. They didn't rig the elections at the start. They were popular, right? They were giving away things for free. But once people started complaining about it, for example, you could design welfare programs through the states such that, you know, then the governments in each state can force the public workers to vote for you and things like that. You know, if you really want to, you can do it in America, too. The question, I think, for the average person is what do they do about it? I think for the average person is they need to ensure that socialism is not supported within their families, and they need to really share things about what happens in other countries to their family members. They need to share what the actual political leaders in America have said about those things. What has Mamdani said about Venezuela's elections, for example? He actually thought it was a great example for the world in 2013 when they were rigged. What has Bernie Sanders said about this. What has Dariel Issa said even about Russia? Right. She said that the Russians were right to invade Ukraine. I mean, these are what we call on the Internet tankies. These are people who are full on Stalinists who are on the side of Russia, of China against America. And we need to reveal their character for who they are. We need to expose them so that people don't fall for their lies.

[Lisa Booth]

No, I agree. Very well said. Daniel, before we go, is there anything else you'd like to leave us with?

[Daniel DiMartino]

Well, just on the Venezuela topic, I would say that I'm very grateful for what the United States has done for Venezuela, especially with the humanitarian aid in the last few weeks, that it's something that I think people will always be thankful for and that I hope that that can lead soon to a transition towards freedom out of this evil regime that led to so many deaths, so that Venezuela can once again become a story of hope and freedom. Right? So that we can stop talking about Venezuela as a warning about socialism. It will always be right, like Poland and the Soviet Union. But instead we start talking about Venezuela like we talk about Poland today, an American ally that's very strong that has become so much wealthier after years of freedom, that has created so much prosperity for the Polish and for the Americans alike. That's what I want for Venezuela, too.

[Lisa Booth]

I hope that, too. Daniel DeMartino, appreciate you for joining the show. Thank you so much.

[Daniel DiMartino]

Thanks, Lisa.

[Lisa Booth]

That was Daniel DiMartino. He is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Appreciate him for joining the show. Appreciate you guys at home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday. If you can listen throughout the week. I want to thank Jon Cassio, my producer, for putting the show together. Until next time,

[Tony Ayo]

this is Tony Ayo from the Real report with Tony A.O. and Uncle Murder. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rent, streaming, even extra Sosa at your favorite burrito spot? But with Boost Mobile, you don't have to play the Willis Go up soon game. Boost Mobile offers an unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. It's the same price you'll pay for Life. Switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that'll never go up. Only at boost mobile, after 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active. On the Boost Unlimited plan.

[Becca Tilly and Tanya Rad]

You know what quality feels like. You can see it in the way a fabric moves, recognize it in a flawless fit and appreciate it in the details that make our styles unique. That kind of quality doesn't happen by accident. It happens with imagination, creativity and intention. At Coldwater Creek, it's the design standard we've honored for over 40 years. Our rich mountain heritage has shaped how we think about clothing from the very beginning, with a commitment to quality that never quits exceptional fabrics. Consider design nine silhouettes we've made our own the signature touches that set each piece apart and styles that are distinctively Coldwater Creek For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit coldwatercreek.com shop new arrivals and save 15% on purchases $75 or more with code iHeart. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's come this this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further. Capella University what can't you do? Visit capella.edu to learn more. This is Tamara Judge from Two T's in a Pod with Teddy Mellicamp and Tamara Judge. Forget everything you know about hair color. The mess, the smell, the damage. Madison Reed is female, founded Female Led and has completely transformed the hair color experience. Their award winning formulas are crafted in Italy with ingredients that care for for your hair, delivering rich multi dimensional results and you choose how you color. Get salon gorgeous results at home or let a pro do it for you at a Madison Reed hair color bar. The future of hair color is here at Madison Reed. Try it today and get 20% off your first order or service. Go to madison-reid.com teapod that's T E A P O D and use code TPOD20 T E A P O D20.