The Daily Beast Podcast

Episode: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Reporter Beau Suggests Bonkers Kyle Rittenhouse Plan to Protect Tesla

Date: March 23, 2025

Host: Joanna Coles, The Daily Beast
Main Guests: Andy Levy, Danielle Moody, Jesse Cannon, Don Moynihan

Overview

This episode of The Daily Beast Podcast dives into a whirlwind of current political controversies and absurdities, focusing on hot-button topics in US politics, media, and culture. The hosts dissect recent right-wing campaign antics, Democratic leadership evolution, and—at the core—feature a compelling interview with Don Moynihan about the Trump administration's push to erase women and minorities from federal history, particularly from the military and government websites. The episode is energetic, biting, and at times irreverent, with the panel sparing no one from their sharp critique.

1. Insane GOP Campaign Antics ([03:35])

Key Segment: Valentina Gomez’s Congressional Bid

• Valentina Gomez (audio clip): Announces campaign against Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX), boasting about her history "taking down pedophiles, criminals, corrupt politicians," and promises to disclose all her stock trades to “piss off every member of Congress that makes money from privileged information.”

  • “Texas, it’s time you find out what district I chose to represent you in Congress...I will become the greatest stock trader of all time...And also to piss off every member of Congress that makes money from privileged information...” [03:51]

• Panel Reactions:

  • Danielle Moody on Gomez’s brashness:
    “...the idea that you would go ahead and...dare Congress to ban it, that's pretty ballsy.” [04:48]
  • Andy Levy on hypocrisy and carpetbagging:
    “I love the way she chooses to phrase that as she says that this is the district she chose to run in.” [05:43]
  • On Crenshaw: Once a MAGA darling and SNL controversy figure, now attacked from his right.
    “There was a whole thing where Saturday Night Live had to apologize...he has recently...fallen out of favor with MAGA, and I find that absolutely hilarious.” [06:09]
  • Levy concludes: “Valentina Gomez is basically just a wannabe and she will end up being a never was.” [06:55]

• Cultural Commentary:
  The weird spectacle of far-right and opportunistic candidates gaming populist outrage while ironically exposing real issues (like Congressional stock trading).

2. The "Real" Democratic Leadership & Their Flaws ([07:28])

Governor Tim Walz’s Town Hall Approach

• Audio Clip: Governor Tim Walz

  • Champions grassroots democracy:
    “The people are [the leaders].” [07:36]
  • Jabs at GOP sycophancy:
    “They sure know...who their leader is because chaplift from butt kissing one person.” [07:54]

• Hosts’ Reflections:

  • Danielle Moody: Praises Walz’s authenticity and critiques the Democratic consultant-industrial complex.
    • “He is endearing himself more and more to the public...That’s leadership and I appreciate him so much.” [08:20]
  • Andy Levy: Blasts Dems for “neutering” candidates’ personalities.
    • “This is the Tim Walz that exists in a world without Democratic consultants telling him what to do all the time.” [09:09]

3. Chris Murphy, Jon Stewart, and Democratic Economic Critique ([10:45])

Segment: Jon Stewart interviews Senator Chris Murphy

• Murphy: Slams the Democratic Party’s coziness with corporate lobbyists and tepid reforms.
  • “A Democratic Party that...is altogether too comfortable being a part of the corruption.” [11:21]
• Jon Stewart: Traces the Party’s 21st-century decline back to “bailing out the banks” in the 2008 crisis.
  • “The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party that breaks up the banks, not the party that bails out the banks.” [11:26]
• General Consensus: The panel agrees this marks a delayed embrace of Bernie Sanders’ platform.
  • “This is what Bernie was saying in 2008.” — Jesse Cannon [14:42]
  • Danielle Moody:
    “Did it really take us to have a demagogue and a dictator in order for Democrats, some Democrats, to finally wake up out of their fucking stupor?” [13:03]

4. The Marjorie Taylor Greene Boyfriend/Tesla Security Fiasco ([15:04])

Headline Clip: Brian Glenn’s “Kyle Rittenhouse Style” Proposal

• Brian Glenn:
  “Maybe it’s time to go full-on Cal Rittenhouse style security and start having armed security guards in front of a dealership.” [15:19]

• Immediate Reactions:

  • Andy Levy: “The same people who think that the January 6 traitors were taking a little vacation basically want to call all the people protesting Tesla terrorists. So, as we say in the business, fuck those guys.” [15:41]
  • Danielle Moody:
    “Elon Musk got $400 billion? Go hire your own fucking private security then...I don’t want my tax dollars...going to this.” [15:57]
  • Jesse Cannon: Observes the need for “a little bit of accountability and some checks and balances” instead of escalating conflict. [16:44]

5. FEATURE INTERVIEW: Don Moynihan on Systematic Erasure in Federal History ([18:44]–[35:32])

Topic: Trump Administration’s Anti-DEI Crusade

Key Points:

• Deliberate Erasure:

  • “It’s this sort of deliberate erasure of specific figures from American history. And the only category or group that is spared...seems to be white men like me.” — Don Moynihan [19:30]

• Scope:

  • Over 26,000 images flagged for DoD removal; up to 100,000 could disappear. Notable removals: Medal of Honor recipient Charles Calvin Rogers, Medgar Evers, Jackie Robinson, Navajo Code Talkers.
    • “Colin Powell, a story was disappeared about him...stories about women or persons of color...removed.” [20:03]

• Motivation & Method:

  • Tied to Trump’s anti-DEI executive order; employees face firing for resistance. “The president wants any trace of what he thinks of as DEI removed from the federal government.” [20:03]
  • Moynihan on symbolism: “When you’re scrubbing pictures of women and people of color, the idea is to reinstate the white male as a kind of default, universal subject.” [23:07]

• Consequences:

  • Creates a chilling atmosphere among federal staff: Overcompliance is safer than being perceived as ‘woke.’
    • “The larger backdrop is that the Trump administration is telling federal employees, any acts of resistance, and we will fire you. ...that is also unprecedented, the degree of precariousness for federal employees.” [31:54]

• Restoration Only After Outcry:

  • Some stories (e.g., Jackie Robinson) restored only after media backlash; most erasures stand unless they go viral. [29:32]

• Broader Impact:

  • “Merit is defined by whiteness, that that is the visual image of how we think about merit...” [33:41]
  • “Anyone who doesn’t look like them or believe...cannot have gotten their own merit.” [34:57]

• Memorable Quote:

  • Andy Levy: “Someone like Pete Hegseth is not fit to shine Charles Calvin Rogers’ boots. And yet here we are.” [34:57]

6. Notable Quotes & Moments

• Andy Levy on Republican hypocrisy:
  “The same people who think that the January 6 traitors were taking a little vacation basically want to call all the people protesting Tesla terrorists.” [15:41]

• Danielle Moody on Democratic awakening:
  “Bravo, Chris Murphy, for like saying what the majority has been saying for the longest time...Democrats offering the people these little baby subsidies that are supposed to make us feel better. And Republicans just ripping them away altogether.” [13:03]

• Don Moynihan on historical erasure:
  “...if you’re not Jackie Robinson or if you’re not a figure whose story goes viral on the media, you are going to stay erased.” [29:50]

• Jesse Cannon on “manifestations”:
  “I just hope this doesn’t work out like when I wanted an atheist president and got Donald Trump.” [07:07]

7. Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:35 | Clip/Reactions: Valentina Gomez congressional candidacy | | 07:36 | Governor Tim Walz: Leadership Town Halls (audio + analysis) | | 10:45 | Debate over Dem leaders: Chris Murphy & Jon Stewart | | 15:04 | Brian Glenn (MTG’s boyfriend): “Kyle Rittenhouse Style” plan| | 18:44 | Don Moynihan Interview: Erasing women/minorities from history|

8. Overall Tone & Takeaway

True to The Daily Beast’s irreverent, sharp, and progressive tone, this episode provides both political analysis and biting humor. The hosts and guests unflinchingly critique both major US parties—calling out performative right-wing stunts and Democratic failures alike—and provide a sobering warning against a growing, state-sanctioned historical erasure of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ Americans. The moments of laughter are never far from outrage, making for a cathartic but urgent call to pay attention.

Recommended For: Anyone troubled by current US political absurdity and threats to a pluralistic civic narrative; listeners who appreciate candid, witty, and intellectually rigorous commentary.