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

Summary

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

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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.

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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).

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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|

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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.

---

Transcript

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[Andy Levy]

Hi, I'm Andy Levy, former Fox News and CNN HLN guy and current cable news conscientious objector. I'm a former libertarian who now sits pretty comfortably on the left.

[Danielle Moody]

Hi, I'm Danielle Moody, former educator and recovering lobbyist. But today I'm an unapologetic woke commentator on America's threats to and I'm producer.

[Jesse Cannon]

Jesse Cannon and I'm here to make sure things don't go too far off the rails.

[Andy Levy]

We're here to have fun, smart conversations with some of the most knowledgeable and entertaining people in politics, media and beyond.

[Danielle Moody]

Our goal is to try and make sense of our current crazy world, our new abnormal, and hopefully even make you laugh through the tears.

[Jesse Cannon]

Hello, and welcome to another Sunday edition of the New Abnormal. We thank you so much for being here today. We have an extra special guest with Don Moynihan, who's the Harris Chair of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. And they'll break down how the Trump administration's crackdown on DEI is systematically erasing women, people of color, and LGBTQ plus figures from American history. But first, let's have some fun. Are you guys ready to listen to some clips?

[Danielle Moody]

No, but play it anyway.

[Jesse Cannon]

Jesus, Jesse.

[Don Moynihan]

Yep, Clips.

[Andy Levy]

Bring it on. You can't hurt me anymore. That's what I decided.

[Danielle Moody]

Oh, shit. Oh, shit.

[Andy Levy]

That's right. I said it.

[Jesse Cannon]

Oh, that's a hell of a thing to say to your abuser. Just for the record, like, thrill.

[Andy Levy]

It's a bit of a challenge. It's a bit of a challenge, I guess. Yeah.

[Jesse Cannon]

Well, I got bad news for you. I got a very good firsthand to play. I'm going to be honest.

[Danielle Moody]

Oh, God.

[Jesse Cannon]

It's going to get real, real fucking fast. Here we have Valentina Gomez, who previously ran for Secretary of State of Missouri, is now running to take on Texas's representative, Dan Crenshaw. She's got a campaign message, and honestly, I can't wait to hear what you two think of it.

[Valentina Gomez]

Texas, it's time you find out what district I chose to represent you in Congress. I've taken down pedophiles, criminals, corrupt politicians, and now I'm coming for the Joe Biden of the Republican Party. And when you vote me into Congress, I will become the greatest stock trader of all time. And the best thing about it is that I will be sharing every single, single one of my trades on X just so you can get rich with me. And also to piss off every member of Congress that makes money from privilege information they ban Tik tok. Let's see how fast they ban congressional stock trading or put term limits. Texas 31st congressional district. Buckle up, because this time I'm coming with a warchief of cash and crypto.

[Danielle Moody]

I just. I want to ask a very obvious question. Is that an accent I hear that she has that sounds like English is not her first language?

[Jesse Cannon]

Daniela, you'll be shocked to hear that she came here at 15 years old to America.

[Danielle Moody]

Oh. But I'm certain because she's a Republican and was legally and, you know, and her parents did it the right way. Honestly, she sounded like Melania but the idea that you would go ahead and post your stock, I mean, the post, the stock trades, dare Congress to ban it, that's pretty ballsy. You know, that's. I will. I'll. You know, I'll give her that. That. That was the one thing that she said in that entire statement that wasn't a lie. They do profit off of their insider knowledge and their heavy stock holdings, so. Wow.

[Andy Levy]

But yeah, there are two really funny things about this to me. The first is, Jesse, I believe you noted in, in the intro that the last we heard of her, she was run Secretary of State of Missouri.

[Jesse Cannon]

Now she's carpet bagging Texas's Dan Crenshaw. Yes.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah. But I love the way she chooses to phrase that as she says that this is the district she chose to run in.

[Danielle Moody]

Don't you usually run where you're supposed to be from?

[Andy Levy]

Yeah, I mean, it's just an interesting way of trying to make the carpetbagger thing work in your favor. But the really, really funny thing about this is Dan Crenshaw getting challenged from.

[Jesse Cannon]

The right, calling him the Joe Biden of the Republican Party.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah. I mean, there was a little period where Dan Crenshaw was like, you know, one of the faces of the Republican Party. And if people don't remember, there was a whole thing where Saturday Night Live had to apologize. Well, didn't have to. Chose to apologize to him for a joke they made about the fact that he wears an eye patch and only has one eye. And, you know, he was putting out videos of him with full military themes to it about what a tough guy he was. And he has recently. And not just from Gomez. He's sort of fallen out of favor with Maga, and I find that absolutely hilarious. So, I mean, look, Valentina Gomez is a joke and she's sort of fun to talk about, but I don't put her in the Marjorie Taylor Greene camp because MTG actually got herself elected and now is one of the faces of the Republican Party. I do think Valentina Gomez is basically just a wannabe and she will end up being a never was.

[Jesse Cannon]

I kind of put this in the thing of if this is what it takes for the stock trade ban to happen, it's not with me. But I just hope this doesn't work out like when I wanted an atheist president and got Donald Trump.

[Danielle Moody]

Be specific in your manifestations.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah, those monkey paws love to clench, man.

[Jesse Cannon]

All right, I gotta cleanse the vibe a little. So Governor Walz has been doing town halls and he has some thoughts on the Leadership of the two parties and all.

[Tim Walz]

Look, I got asked that question. I got asked the question, who's in charge? Who's the leader of the Democratic Party, Governor? And I said, the people are. And for three days on Fox News, they're like making fun, you know, the bungholes that are in the morning, like talking. Oh, Walls doesn't even know who the leader of the party is. Well, you know why? They sure know where it is. They know who their leader is because chaplift from butt kissing one person. So demand it. There's, there is, there is not to be a charismatic leader ride in and do this. It is going to be people coming out on a beautiful Friday afternoon demanding change and holding people accountable.

[Danielle Moody]

I adore him.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah.

[Danielle Moody]

I really do. He is endearing himself more and more to the public and I really wish that he hadn't been sanitized.

[Andy Levy]

Yep.

[Danielle Moody]

On the campaign trail. And just exactly what he was chosen for, his outspoken, real down to earth sensibilities and thoughts. I wish that he had just been allowed to be who the he was because that's who he is and that's who he's showing himself as right now. He doesn't need to be on the trail. You know, I know that he's gonna, he's gonna run for some type of electoral, whether it's the Senate or what have you, but like, he doesn't need to be doing what he's doing right now. And he is. And that to me, like, is just. That's leadership. And I, you know, I appreciate him so much.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah, I'm a big fan as well. And I love that you said the thing you said about him being basically hamstrung during the presidential election. And it's just not that we needed it. It's just more evidence that pretty much every Democratic consultant needs to be banished. I think what we're seeing here is the Tim Walls that exists in a world without Democratic consultants telling him what to do all the time. And I think that was the Tim Walls we saw at the very beginning of the Harris Walls campaign before he was effectively neutered by his own party. You're right in the sense he doesn't have to be out there doing this. He sort of announced these town halls as a way of. It was a nice little shot at Republicans who are becoming increasingly leery of doing town halls. And he came out and said, hey, if they're not going to go speak to their voters, I'll go out and speak to their voters. Yes. It was a great move politically in a cynical sense. But it also is a great move in a let me show people who I really am way. And I love that he's out there doing this and I love that he is not pulling his punches as he wasn't again at the beginning of the Harris Walls campaign when he was talking up how weird people like J.D. vance and them were. And then, you know, I keep contrasting that to the Tim Walls who had the debate with JD Vance and how disappointing that was. And in my mind was one of the serious missteps of the Harris Walls campaign to treat JD Vance respectfully in that debate and humanize him. So I'm glad to see Walls getting free of those shackles and I hope there's more to come.

[Jesse Cannon]

Speaking of the leadership of the Democratic Party, many people are calling Senator Chris Murphy the emerging leader. And I thought this interview with Jon Stewart that he did this week was very interesting to hear.

[Tim Walz]

You guys thoughts on Democratic Party that is way too comfortable with corporate lobbyists. A Democratic Party that God bless that we can negotiate the price of 10 drugs and that that's a huge victory. Like if that doesn't send the message that this party is utterly out of touch with. It's not a party that understands, it seems, the power and leverage that government can have to fight corruption. It seems altogether too comfortable being a part of the corruption.

[Jon Stewart]

So listen, it all started during the Wall street crisis of 2008. The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party that breaks up the banks, not the party that bails out the banks. Right? And it was that day the Democratic.

[Tim Walz]

Party started to lose credibility for that, isn't it? Maybe it's Jimmy Carter opening up trade, it's Clinton deregulating the financial institutions. This is a long history of. Even when you think about Medicare or the aca, oftentimes those are just subsidies. Corporations love the aca. They're making a shit ton of money, billions of dollars.

[Jon Stewart]

So this party has become addicted recently to sort of writing people checks in order to compensate for the way in which the economy is rigged. I'm not saying that the child tax.

[Don Moynihan]

Credit is getting somewhere. Baby.

[Andy Levy]

Come on.

[Tim Walz]

Now you talking. Murphy, let's go.

[Jon Stewart]

So I'm not saying, right. I'm not saying that the child tax credit isn't a good thing or a little bit more money for your Obamacare subsidy isn't a good thing. But that doesn't make people feel good that you're having to give them a little bit of money to compensate for the fact that work doesn't pay in this country.

[Andy Levy]

There you go.

[Jon Stewart]

Drug company CEOs are making out like bandits buying their seventh house, right?

[Andy Levy]

Hallelujah.

[Tim Walz]

Hallelujah.

[Jon Stewart]

Really serious. If you're really serious about communicating a message that resonates with people, you wouldn't be talking about just negotiating in a different way for 10 drugs. You would be talking about putting a cap on the amount of money that any drug company can sell drugs to any American.

[Tim Walz]

Is that so hard?

[Danielle Moody]

Yep. I mean, thank you for coming to the party. Thank you for waking the fuck up. 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 and realize that being in bed with major corporations, whether they be pharmaceutical tech or others like, is a good thing for us? That it's not like, you know, bravo, Chris Murphy. For, for like saying what the majority has been saying for the longest time. People have said it's like Democrats and Republican, two different wings of the same bird. And that bird being corporations and mega donors and essentially Democrats offering to the people these little baby subsidies that are supposed to make us feel better. And Republicans just ripping them away altogether. Like both of their practices maintain the status quo to maintain their power. And that's the fucking problem. So, you know, if this is his wake up call, hallelujah moment and not just another like, ploy, than bravo.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah. Sometimes I'm a little leery of Chris Murphy because I feel like on social issues he's a little too, I don't want to say eager, but a little too willing to throw groups under the bus and to give credence to right wing views that I don't think should be given credence. That said, I think he's very good on economic stuff and that's what he was talking about here. And I think that is when he is at his best. I do kind of love that this sort of wing of the party is now all come around to Bernie Sanders. Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Cannon]

This is what Bernie was saying in 2008.

[Andy Levy]

Exactly. I mean, Bernie Sanders has been out there saying for years, or like you said, Jesse, like decades, that the economy is rigged. And he was derided by a lot of the Democratic Party for that for a very long time. It warms my heart to see people like Chris Murphy and others coming around to realizing that it's not only okay to say that, it's necessary to say.

[Jesse Cannon]

That it's about time is what those of us who supporting Bernie for a long time have been saying. Okay, I Have one last clip for you guys. Here we have Marjorie Taylor Greene's boyfriend, Brian Glenn on air with an interesting idea around how to protect Tesla dealerships.

[Tim Walz]

People are terrorizing not only dealerships and taking down an American company, but also drivers as well. And it may be it's time to go full on Cal Rittenhouse style security and start having armed security guards in front of a dealership. If I was in charge of a dealership, that's exactly what I would do, because they are absolutely destroying a brand.

[Andy Levy]

Oh, my God. The same people who think that the January 6 traders 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.

[Danielle Moody]

I'm like, you know, an American company, is it run by a South African apartheid lover? Like, give me a fucking break. You know, elon Musk got $400 billion? Go hire your own fucking private security then and house them at all your Tesla dealerships. Because, you know, the thing that I don't want to see is the fucking tax dollars of states going to have police like they did in Chicago stand in front of these Tesla dealerships like they don't have anything else important to fudgeing do, right? Like, he's worth $400 billion. Go protect your own shit. If it's. You know what I'm saying? Like, if it's, if it's. If it's so important to you, if this is, oh, they're coming after me. Go protect your own shit. Like, I don't want my tax dollars, I don't want any of it going to this. And this guy, this, like, whatever, mtg's boyfriend. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up.

[Jesse Cannon]

All it would take is there just being a little bit of accountability and some checks and balances on this, and then maybe there would be a little less unrest. But it seems that no one ever wants to address the problem.

[Andy Levy]

Yep.

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[Don Moynihan]

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[Andy Levy]

Hey.

[Don Moynihan]

Russell just launched a fitness app and.

[Andy Levy]

He needed to get the word out.

[Don Moynihan]

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[Andy Levy]

So I turned to acast. I used their Smart Recommendations feature to easily find shows that talk about health and fitness. Booking sponsorships through their platform was a breeze. And just like that, my app was in their ears during their morning run.

[Don Moynihan]

Sounds like a smart move, Russell. How's business looking now?

[Andy Levy]

Sweat is pouring and so are the installs.

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[Andy Levy]

On Tuesday, I talked about the Department of Defense's removal of the webpage celebrating Army Major General Charles Calvin Rogers, who is black, from part of a series honoring Medal of Honor winners. Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg in the Trump administration's attempt to erase people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and others from American history. And here to tell us more is Don Moynihan, the Harris Chair of Public Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and the publisher of the newsletter, can we still govern? Donmynihan.substack.com Don, thank you so much for joining us.

[Don Moynihan]

Thanks for having me.

[Andy Levy]

So you wrote a piece about this called Whitewashing American History, and this is very literally what they're doing, isn't it? The message seems to be if you're not a straight white man, nothing you do matters.

[Don Moynihan]

Yeah, it's this sort of deliberate erasure of specific figures from American history. And the only category or group that is spared from this erasure seems to be white men like me.

[Andy Levy]

So talk about some of what's been removed in addition to General Rogers Medal of Honor page, because it's truly unreal. You note in your piece an AP report that in the Pentagon alone, about 26,000 images have been flagged for removal and could lead to up to 100,000 images being cut out on military websites. Who are we talking about here?

[Don Moynihan]

We're talking about all sorts of people. And, you know, it's important to, you know, think about the origins of this. This is tied to President Trump's anti DEI executive order, where the president wants any trace of what he thinks of as DEI removed from the federal government. That is sort of a very broad category of stuff. It includes, you know, people who worked in DEI programs, and sometimes they maybe part of their job was related to DEI and part of it was not. In cases of the Department of Education, employees who went to DEI training were put on administrative leave and potentially fired. So it includes people, but it also includes images and histories. And here we get into this sort of project of erasure from websites where some of the people that we celebrate in American history are black or they're Asian or they're gay order, trans order, women. And systematically those groups of people have been removed. So again, it seems to be pretty much everyone except for straight white males. And so there's a couple of examples here. You mentioned General Rogers, also Medgar Evers, the civil rights icon. Jackie Robinson story about him was removed from the Department of Defense website. These sort of iconic black figures, like the regiments that was depicted in the film Glory, had a story removed. Colin Powell, a story was disappeared about him. It's not just black figures. There's also these famous Asian American regiments that fought during World War II, even when some of their family members were being detained and their stories were pulled down, the Navajo code talkers. So Native Americans, their stories were removed. Stories about women or persons of color that were presented as part of the Arlington Cemetery online guide. So the website information, if you're visiting the cemetery or want to learn more about who's buried there, you have these compendiums of information that talk about notable groups or notable figures. Those pieces of the website have been removed. So it's pretty all encompassing across the military.

[Andy Levy]

And then as you note, it's not just historical figures and facts that are being removed. Both General C.Q. brown, the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Lee Lisa Franchetti, the first female Chief of Naval Operations, were dumped by Trump with really no real reason given. And as you write, and I thought this was just such a great way of putting it, by eliminating anyone who's not a white guy, Trump is creating a visual backdrop to his project of erasure. Explain what you mean by that.

[Don Moynihan]

So when I was writing this piece, I reached out to a co author of mine, Victor Ray, and he specializes in the study of what he's labeled racialized organizations. And that's sort of a very academic way of thinking about the way in which our assumptions about race are embedded into everyday practice. In any sort of organization. And this is in particular reflected in representations of organizational culture. And so when I teach my students about organizational culture, we talk about things like, what are the visual artifacts that the organization presents of itself? Who are they celebrating? What are the stories that they believe are important to remember? And so when Victor spoke with me, he talked about, 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. Right. And so that, you know, that becomes the defining norm when we think about DoD, what is the image that pops up in our mind? They want it to be someone who sort of looks and talks, like Pete Heg said, you know, is sort of a white male. But that's not actually the history of the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense is not the only agency here, but I think it matters a lot because it's, first of all, a huge organization, and it's been a very big organization for about as long as America's had a substantive government. And it's an organization that is incredibly skilled in telling its story through the stories of individuals. Like, they understand the power of narrative, and in doing so, they choose individuals that they want to celebrate by making those choices. They're picking the types of Americans and the types of stories that they think are important in our history. And up until relatively recently, they have been doing that in a fairly inclusive way, but not necessarily deliberately inclusive, but in ways that reflect the actual history of the American military.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah. And that really is. Well, I don't want to say it's the whole ball game, because I do think it's important, and I know you feel this way as well, to spotlight achievements of people of color, of women, of the LGBTQ community because they were underrepresented and underreported for so long. But we really are at a stage where they're actively, as you say, whitewashing our history by removing the contributions that these people have made to America. And it goes way beyond the Pentagon, as you were saying, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, all these places are doing. Doing similar things, right?

[Don Moynihan]

Yeah. And some of this is sort of petty retribution. And so, for example, there was a mural of Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health that was stripped down. Like, it was the only part of the mural that was removed. And we saw portraits of Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also removed from the Pentagon. And that has one particular flavor, which is sort of of a Stalinist rewriting of history, where The President's political enemies are now just erased from, from pictures or visual representations. And I think that's bad. Like, that is bad in its own way. And so when I use the term Stalinist, that should communicate that. I think, you know, that fits with a particularly bad version of how leaders approach their history. But the DEI stuff is more insidious, I think, because it, it really does get at who belongs and who doesn' belong in our vision of America. And in particular, you know, I think the military or NASA are like two of the most popular federal government institutions. So you mentioned, like NASA removed discussion about women in leadership positions. It removed the story about an intern who was an immigrant who had come from another country. And you know, this, the story was great. It was great for NASA. This was the story of someone who had struggled with homelessness, had survived cancer, and now was interning at NASA and she was a woman of color. Like, those are the types of stories that are so inspiring that we make movies about them. Right. You know, like that was the sort of narrative of the movie Hidden Figures or if you watch the TV show for all Mankind. The idea of this organization being broad enough and inclusive enough and to move beyond just our image, our historical image of astronauts as these white male crew cut guys. And so it does feel like this really disturbing project where it's not just dei, but it's our history that's being removed. One more example here that really struck me. I'm an immigrant. I moved to the United States 20 something years ago. And I remember the first time I read about the Navajo code talkers and thinking, that is so cool. That is something where you had these Native Americans who historically have not been treated incredibly well by the federal government, go serve their country during World War II and bring skills that only they had to the table that conferred a really distinct military advantage to America on the battlefield. So because they were using their tribal languages, they had a code that Germany or Japan could not break. It's important for two reasons. One is you cannot tell the story of those individuals without talking about their identity. It doesn't make sense to say, well, these were just a bunch of Native Americans who happen to serve. And also it defeats the narrative that Pete Hexit has been promoting at dod, which is that diversity is not our strength. In this very tangible way, their identity and their skills that they brought to the table as Native American Americans were a military strength that had very obvious tactical advantages for the troops that they were helping to keep alive.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah, for sure. It's a Direct repudiation of everything that P texit stands for. I want to ask you, some of these erased images and stories are actually being restored after public uproar. Jackie Robinson's DoD page, for example, what are their sort of reasons or explanation for this?

[Don Moynihan]

So I think this is helpful to understand as a project where they're going after history with this very broad brush and erasing lots of stuff. And then when they get some public pushback, they'll say, oh, that, you know, that was a mistake. But I think it's only when they get the public pushback, 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. And it's also the case that you can read about Jackie Robinson in other websites, like, he's a famous figure. But for some of these individuals, like the dod, like their particular biography, that's probably the primary place that you're going to find out about their life. You know, the explanation that the DoD has given is that, you know, where there are times where we've overstepped a mark, we will correct for that. But that assumes that there is some perfect measure of an appropriate level of DEI erasure, which feels sort of chilling to me, where the reality is, like, when it just becomes too much of a bad news story for them, then they'll begrudgingly put that story back on, or they'll edit it somewhat. The point is not like that they're willing to restore some items. The point is, like, who are they going after in the first place, and why are they erasing them in the first place?

[Andy Levy]

Yeah, and they're certainly not backing down from saying that that is their goal, to erase what they call DEI and what a lot of other people simply say are racial biases slash racism. Some of what's being done seems to be inconsistent. Like, so they're removing some examples of, say, black achievement, but leaving others. I think in your piece, you mentioned something about this sort of rush to comply is causing a lot of inconsistency.

[Don Moynihan]

Let's look at what the larger backdrop is here.

[Andy Levy]

Sure.

[Don Moynihan]

The larger backdrop is that the Trump administration is telling federal employees, any acts of resistance, and we will fire you. You, we will forget about your civil service protections, we will put you on administrative leave, and then we'll find a way to get rid of you. That is also unprecedented, the degree of precariousness for federal employees. Really, you have to go back for 140 years to see that in American history. And so it's not surprising then when bureaucrats are given these sort of very broad directives that they're complying as quickly as they can because they know that if someone from the right sends Pete Hexit a webpage of something that, you know would be defined in his view as woke cultural Marxism, they might lose their jobs. And, you know, I use the term woke cultural Marxism, I didn't come up with it. That was something that a DoD spokesperson used when he was describing these pages that they were removing. And so there is this broader atmosphere of fear again within the DoD. You've already seen the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff removed for no good reason. And I think that's going to encourage over compliance because people know that they might get a little bit of pushback publicly, but they won't be fired for over complying, whereas they might be fired for under complying.

[Andy Levy]

Yeah. The bottom line of all of this is, and tell me if you disagree. I don't think you will. The message that the Trump administration is basically sending, trying to send, is that if you're not a white man, your story, your contributions, your life doesn't really matter.

[Don Moynihan]

Yeah. I think even more specifically the idea that merit is defined by whiteness, that that is the visual image of how we think about merit, that any non white male in a position of power is only there because of some inappropriate DEI program that has elevated them beyond their station. And I think that is a toxic idea that is consistent with many parts of the Trump administration. Like that is part of the, I think broader governing ethos of the administration is that they can look at someone like Pete Hegset and say this guy is perfectly qualified to lead the largest organization in America despite no managerial experience and lots of red flags. They can look at removal of on paper, very well qualified chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be replaced by someone who's a three star general with less qualifications and think that is a reflection of merit because they are convinced that, that anyone who doesn't look like them or believe in the things that they believe in cannot have gotten their own merit.

[Andy Levy]

I said the other day when I was talking about Charles Calvin Rogers, who won the Medal of Honor, that the particularly galling thing about this is that someone like Pete Hegseth is not fit to shine Charles Calvin Rogers boots. And yet here we are. It's so troubling and galling, but I think we're just going to see more of it as we go forward. Don, I'm out of time, but I really appreciate you coming on and talking to us about this and I encourage everyone to go to donmynihan.substack.com to read more about this and a whole bunch of other interesting topics. Don, thanks again.

[Don Moynihan]

Thanks for having me.

[Danielle Moody]

Hope you enjoyed checking out this episode of the new Abnormal. We're back every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

[Andy Levy]

If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend and keep the conversation going. This podcast is a Daily Beast production with production by Jesse Cannon and Seamus Calder. Sam.

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[Don Moynihan]

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[Don Moynihan]

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[Andy Levy]

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[Andy Levy]

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