Why Trump Thinks Jan 6ers Deserve Taxpayer Dollars

Summary

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The Daily Beast Podcast

Episode: Why Trump Thinks Jan 6ers Deserve Taxpayer Dollars
Date: March 30, 2025
Host: Andy Beckerman (& team), with Danielle Moody, Chris T. Cannon
Guest: Kat Abughazale (congressional candidate, former Media Matters editor)

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Beast Podcast centers on the shifting political climate as it relates to Donald Trump’s ongoing support for January 6 rioters, the idea of “reparations” for those convicted, and broader questions of accountability, double standards, and political rhetoric in the US. The hosts dissect recent right-wing commentary, draw historical parallels, and later interview Kat Abughazale—a progressive candidate running for Congress—on why she’s entering the fray and her vision for bolder Democratic politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump and “Reparations” for January 6 Rioters

Segment begins: [02:43]

• Clip Review: The hosts listen to and comment on a Trump interview in which he discusses potential compensation for January 6 defendants, framing them as “patriots” treated unfairly.

  • Trump statement: “They were patriots as far as I was concerned... they were treated very unfairly... a group of people went down there peacefully and patriotically...”

• Host reaction:

  • Danielle Moody ([04:28]):

    “Donald Trump is following a long line of American presidents that love to provide reparations to white domestic terrorists... Instead of providing reparations to the enslaved, America decided to provide reparations to the slave owners... That’s the fucking mindset. It’s not new.”

  • Andy Beckerman ([05:04]):

    “His day is filled with, how can I get money to the people who supported me? How can I get money to myself and my family? And this is just more of that.”

• Analysis:

  • The hosts mock the continued attempts to recast the events of January 6 as “peaceful” and point out the disturbing historical throughline of US government support for white supremacists.
  • There is exasperation at lingering right-wing delusions about the events, the scale of the crowd, and efforts to rebrand the riot.

---

2. Mismanagement and Deflection in the Trump Era

Signal Group Chat Clip: [06:26]

• Fox News Clip Reaction: The group listens to Jesse Watters joke about a Signal group chat mishap, and launch into a broader discussion about right-wing hypocrisy related to classified information mishandling.
  • Danielle Moody ([07:34]):

    “It’s also not like they kept classified documents inside of their toilet or all over one of their gaudy golf resorts...”

  • Andy Beckerman ([08:07]):

    “...I’ll pretty much go on anything except Jesse Watters. And she got this stunned look on her face. She was like, why not Jesse Watters? And I realized I had to be a little politic. So I said, I just don’t think we vibe.”

---

3. Aging Politicians & Judicial Accountability

Chuck Grassley Clip: [09:01]

• Impeachment Talk: The team plays a clip of 91-year-old Senator Chuck Grassley discussing impeachment of judges. Grassley mixes up his talking points, and the hosts highlight generational issues in politics.
  • Danielle Moody ([09:55]):

    “You can’t just impeach people because you don’t like them. Isn’t that what you all always do?”

  • Andy Beckerman ([10:02]):

    “That first sentence made sense and was correct. After that, I think by the end I vaguely understood what he was trying to say.”

---

4. Trump’s “Fertilization President” Comment

Segment begins: [10:55]

• Trump clip: The hosts lampoon Trump’s embrace of the “Fertilization President” label and the surrounding rhetoric.
  • Trump ([10:56]):

    “I’ve been called much worse. I like it, right? I like it.”

  • Danielle Moody ([12:02]):

    “They’re disgusting. What killed me about that fucking video clip is the people laughing. They’re just a bunch of mindless fucking seals... A bunch of goodies in the bag. What is it, a fucking Halloween?”

---

5. Interview with Kat Abughazale

Begins: [14:28]

Introducing Kat

• Former Media Matters video editor, now running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th district.
• Explains her media background, shift in political ideology, and pet cat named Heater.
  • Kat Abughazale ([14:51]):

    “I’ve spent my adult career reporting on fascists on the Internet, in Congress, in other bad places. I really like my cat, with a C... and I’m running for Congress.”

Motivation for Running

• Frustration with Democrats’ lack of boldness and outdated playbook.
  • Kat ([16:47]):

    “I just think there’s a better way we can do politics and campaign... Watching the Democrats just have absolutely no spine in the first two weeks of the Trump administration, I just couldn’t sit around anymore. I feel like we wait for these mythical figures... but that’s what happens in movies. In real life... we are all we’ve got.”

Policy Vision & Critiques

• Calls for tangible support, updated strategies, and government that matches lived realities (esp. for millennials/Gen Z).
• Criticizes culture of entitlement in established Democratic circles.
  • Kat ([18:25]):

    “The playbook a lot of Democrats are working from isn’t even from 2015. It’s from 2005. And, honey, we are in 2025. You gotta update your browser.”

Primarying a Progressive?

• Clarifies she isn’t opposing Jan Schakowsky directly; rather, seeking competition and broader representation.
  • Kat ([20:08]):

    “...this is not a referendum on her. Jan Schakowsky has been one of the most progressive members of Congress... The idea that I shouldn’t run just because Schakowsky is in office is ludicrous.”

Residency Attacks & Identity Politics

• Addresses criticism about not currently living in-district: fully transparent about plans to move, gerrymandering issues, and the district’s progressive values.
• Discusses being attacked online regarding her identity, her background, and even being accused of wild conspiracy theories.
  • Kat ([24:00]):

    “I am a maga GOP, Hamas Republican. Someone accused me of being Ghislaine Maxwell’s daughter... My favorite is that I am a GOP OP...”

  • Satirically responds to absurd transphobic/anti-LGBTQ slurs and meme attacks about being a guest on “trans podcasts that make Pokémon fucklists.”

Changing Political Mind & Authenticity

• Defends evolving politically, suggests skepticism of all candidates is healthy.
  • Kat ([27:20]):

    “People should be skeptical. I have stressed... your leaders need to earn your vote. And I’ve gotten some very aggressive, occasionally violent responses to that, implying I love Donald Trump because I think Democrats need to feel less entitled to our votes—but I truly believe that.”

Fundraising & Campaign Style

• Already raised $300k ([28:39]).
• Emphasizes running as her full, authentic self—including campaign hair changes.
  • Kat ([29:27]):

    “Oh my God, no. I love having fun with my hair... Space buns are going to be on the campaign trail.”

• No interest in conventional image management or focus-grouping.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Danielle Moody [04:28]:

  “Donald Trump is following a long line of American presidents that love to provide reparations to white domestic terrorists.”

• Andy Beckerman [05:04]:

  “His day is filled with, how can I get money to the people who supported me?... It’s just so depressing that he keeps getting away with it.”

• Danielle Moody [09:55]:

  “You can’t just impeach people because you don’t like them. Isn’t that what you all always do?”

• Kat Abughazale [18:25]:

  “The playbook a lot of Democrats are working from isn’t even from 2015. It’s from 2005. And, honey, we are in 2025. You gotta update your browser.”

• Kat [24:00]:

  “I am a maga GOP, Hamas Republican. Was something from last night. I didn’t know that existed, but I am one of those.”

• Kat [27:20]:

  “Were you smart when you were 16?... Your leaders need to earn your vote.”

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Trump “reparations” for Jan 6ers: [02:43 – 06:07]
• Fox News hypocrisy, classified info: [06:26 – 08:40]
• Chuck Grassley, impeachment talk: [09:01 – 10:14]
• Trump as “Fertilization President”: [10:55 – 12:34]
• Kat Abughazale interview begins: [14:28]
  • Her background: [14:51 – 16:24]
  • Why run for Congress?: [16:27 – 17:54]
  • Democratic strategy critique: [18:25]
  • Residency/identity challenges: [21:45 – 25:13]
  • On changing her mind politically: [27:20]
  • Fundraising and campaign style: [28:39 – 30:46]

---

Episode Tone and Style

The conversation is brisk, sardonic, and laced with irreverent humor. Hosts pull zero punches—whether mocking Republican leadership, critiquing Democratic failings, or poking fun at right-wing media’s fixation on culture war talking points. Guest Kat Abughazale reflects this style: candid, self-effacing, and quick to satirize both her detractors and the system at large, advocating for “authenticity” and unapologetic engagement.

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This summary covers the main content and dynamics of the episode, focusing on the Trump “reparations” topic, the interplay of media and politics, and the fresh, insurgent outlook of Kat Abughazale’s campaign.

Transcript

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[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 democracy.

[Chris T. Cannon]

And I'm producer J. I'm Chris T. Cannon and I'm here to make sure things don't go too far off the rails.

[Andy Beckerman]

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.

[Andy Beckerman]

Welcome back to another bonus episode of the New Abnormal. And we thank you so much for being here today. We have an extra special guest. Kat Abagazale is a former Media Matters video editor and a current congressional candidate in Illinois's 9th district. And she's here to tell us all about why she decided to rant, what she plans to do with her candidacy, and how she hopes to impact the Democratic Party in the future. But first, let's have some fun.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Are you guys ready to listen to some clips?

[Andy Beckerman]

Clips. Clips. Danielle, say it with me. Clips.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Danielle, did we lose you?

[Danielle Moody]

No, I'm here.

[Andy Beckerman]

No, she just refuses. She has had it with you in your clips, Jesse.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Well, I understand why, especially with this batch. You know, guys, the left, they're pesky. Reparations, you know, it's so problematic, it's so bad that they, they discuss things like this. Very, very terrible. Donald Trump has some thoughts on who deserves reparations. It's the January 6th rioters.

[Chuck Grassley]

No, but I took care of them. I said I was going to, and I did. Is there any talk because they lost opportunity, they lost income, any kind of compensation fund? Well, there's talk about that. We have a lot of people talk about. A lot of the people that are in government now talk about it because they, a lot of the people in government really like that group of people. They were patriots as far as I was concerned. I talked about, I talk about them a lot. They were treated very unfairly. You know, the thing they show is they show a group of a thousand, whatever it may have been, 1500 people down. What they don't show. You never see the crowd that day. It was the biggest crowd I've ever spoken before. It went all the way to the Washington Monument. It was so wide, you couldn't, you virtually couldn't see anything else. But people, they never show that. Whether it was a million people or less than a million, I don't know what it was. But, you know, I see Bernie Sanders has a few people out there and they say, oh, the crowd is so big. They don't talk about the crowds, but a group of people went down there peacefully and patriotically. Remember that?

[Danielle Moody]

No, I'm pretty sure we did talk about the crowds. We talked about it with the January 6th hearings. We talked about it when Jack Smith was providing evidence to Eileen Cannon. We've talked about it.

[Kat Abughazale]

The.

[Danielle Moody]

And I think that the whole world has talked about these people. What you have to realize is that Donald Trump is following a long line of American presidents that love to provide reparations to white domestic terrorists. It's the same way that instead of providing reparations to the enslaved, America decided to provide reparations to the slave owners. That would lose wages because of emancipation. Like, that's the fucking mindset. It's not new.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah. I don't even know how to describe. Like, there are so many ways to describe this, but they're all bad. I am just at the point where I don't even think he's. He's not the president. I think he's only the president in name. I don't think he does anything except go talk to people like Greg Kelly and go to the Daytona 500 and go to the Super Bowl. I mean, he had absolutely nothing to do with the war plans. In reading those, it wasn't even clear that he was informed about what was going on. And I think this is just like he has his little. His little pet things now, and they all revolve around him. And his day is filled with, how can I get money to the people who supported me? How can I get money to myself and my family? And this is just more of that. And it's just the idea that he can sit there and say that everything on January 6 was peaceful when we literally have. We've all seen the video. We have seen it. We know it wasn't peaceful. It's just. It's just so depressing that he keeps getting away with it.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Yeah. It's funny because, like, they love sharing that meme of Joe Biden being the auto pen president and that he was just citing things. But it's like, you know what Donald Trump did that with?

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Pardoning the January 6th people. And that seems to be his vibe these days. And it seems like real, real deflection.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yep.

[Chris T. Cannon]

So, as we know, part of our job is to explain the world to people, and we all take this very seriously. We also have other people in our field who do this, too, like Fox News's Jesse Watters. And he's here to explain Signal. Ghazi.

[Jesse Watters]

Try to start a group text. You're adding people, and you accidentally add the wrong person. All of a sudden, your Aunt Mary knows all your raunchy plans for the bachelor party. Well, that kind of happened today with the Trump administration. Mike Walsh was putting together a group chat on Signal, an encrypted app with the Secretary of Defense, the vp, and a bunch of other national security officials to collaborate on whether to strike Iranian proxies in Yemen who keep firing missiles and shutting down shipping. Well, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added a reporter to the group text. And not a good reporter. Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic, one of the biggest hoax artists around. Well, he heard some things. He probably shouldn't have, but could have been a wee bit of a security breach. But it's not like they homebrewed a server and then bleached it or kept classified documents in their garages next to their Corvette. I'm sure it won't happen again.

[Danielle Moody]

I'm sorry. No, it's also not like they kept classified documents inside of their toilet.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah.

[Danielle Moody]

Or all over one of their gaudy golf resorts. Or used it as a. Look at me. Look how cool I am. Let me show you what I have here. Or, like, you know, off. I hate this guy. I don't know, Andy, how you worked with. With him. I couldn't have, because I would have gone to jail.

[Andy Beckerman]

I worked in the same building as him. I never worked with him, thank God. In fact, just off topic, very quick story. When Red Eye ended and they didn't have a clue what to do with me because I just didn't fit there. And I met with one of the execs, and they were like, well, what shows would you like to go on? What would you like to be guest on? And I said, look, I'll pretty much go on anything except Jesse Waters. And she got this stunned look on her face. She was like, why not Jesse Waters? And I realized I had to be a little politic. So I said, I just don't think we vibe. Well.

[Danielle Moody]

That is the understatement of the world.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah. Yeah. But, no, I am thankful that I never had to sit on a show with him because I don't know how I would have handled it. I really don't.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Understandably. So. Not doing the best work. Speaking of not doing the best work, here we have Chuck Grassley, who, in this video, looks 90 years old. Oh, wait, he's 91 years old.

[Andy Beckerman]

Sorry.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Here he is talking about Trump and Mike Johnson's moves to impeach judges.

[Kat Abughazale]

How do you feel about calls for impeaching these lower court judges?

[Chuck Grassley]

Say that again, please.

[Kat Abughazale]

How do you feel about the calls for impeachment of some of these lower court judges?

[Chuck Grassley]

You can't impeach a judge just because you disagree with their opinion. But we want to cover up sort of or overcome some of that problem by having these cases that hang around for a long time and they may have a national injunction after the money's already been spent or some appeal goes on and the person has been wronged. That's why we want to have legislation that would appeal these decisions very quickly.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Nice Freudian slip in there.

[Chuck Grassley]

Yeah.

[Danielle Moody]

You can't just impeach people because you don't like them. Isn't that what you all always do?

[Andy Beckerman]

Look, I'll give him credit. That first sentence, A made sense and B was correct. After that, I think by the end I vaguely understood what he was trying to say.

[Chris T. Cannon]

The sun was going down fast.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah, I think that's a good way to put it. Yeah, there was a time lapse thing going on in the background.

[Danielle Moody]

Poor thing. 91, eh. 91 years young.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Seems like he's really well fit to still be legislating and helping make decisions for this country. Really. I'm sure no one else in Iowa could do it except him.

[Andy Beckerman]

I'm sure he has very, very well thought out opinions on the Internet.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Yao. We do often talk about that. President Trump had mandates coming in. Lower egg prices, curb inflation.

[Danielle Moody]

Oh, I forgot about all of those things.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Well, there's another mandate. Yes. We need a fertilization president.

[Danielle Moody]

Oh, fuck.

[Chuck Grassley]

Been great on it. And we're going to have tremendous, tremendous goodies in the bag for women too. The women. Between the fertilization and all of the other things that we're talking about, it's going to be. It's going to be great. We're joined today. Fertilization. I'm still very proud of it. I don't care. I'll be known as the fertilization president. And that's okay. That's not bad. That's not bad. I've. I've been called. I've been called much worse actually. I like it. Right? I like it.

[Andy Beckerman]

I mean it's not the worst name in the world for a sexual assaulter, I guess. Yeah. I don't know if y' all saw on Thursday, I think it was the White House Twitter account. Put out A picture of J.D. vance at a gun range.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Oh yeah, that was, that was some good stuff.

[Andy Beckerman]

Referred to bullets as freedom seeds.

[Chris T. Cannon]

Yeah.

[Andy Beckerman]

I don't know, it just made me think of the fertilization president.

[Danielle Moody]

They're disgusting. That's all I can say. Like, what killed me about that fucking video clip is the people laughing.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah.

[Danielle Moody]

And thinking that like this is funny. They're just a bunch of mindless fucking seals. Just like sitting, clapping and laughing like, oh, isn't this great? A bunch of goodies in the bag. What is it, a fucking Halloween? Like trick or treat. Whatever. I, you know, Jesse, success. Because my blood pressure is up.

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[Andy Beckerman]

Kat Abughazale is a former Media Matters video editor who has now thrown her hat in the ring to represent Illinois's 9th district in the halls of Congress. She joins me now. Kat, thanks so much for being here.

[Kat Abughazale]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Andy Beckerman]

So start by telling the listeners about yourself. Who is Kat Abu Ghazali and is she she related at all to Kat Abu?

[Kat Abughazale]

I've never seen the two of them in the same room together. Yeah, yeah, I'm Kat. I have spent my adult career reporting on fascists on the Internet, in Congress, in other bad places. I really like my cat with a C. Her name is Heater. She is orange. I play video games, I knit. Once again, I love my cat and I'm running for Congress.

[Andy Beckerman]

And what's your background? Tell people who you are. Tell people where you come from.

[Kat Abughazale]

So I started my career at Media Matters. I actually grew up conservative, but after moving to Tucson and being Exposed to poverty for the first time, I was like, maybe this isn't right. So I started my career after college at Media Matters, which is a progressive watchdog organization that targets misinformation, specifically right wing misinformation, or especially, I should say, considering there's a lot of it. I watched Fox News every night with my team from 4pm to 11pm My specialty was Tucker Carlson. And then because of a dayside report about how there were companies whose ads were put next to, you know, pro Holocaust content, Twitter lost some advertisers. Elon Musk sued my company, and I got laid off because the costs were too much. Me and 11 other people in the past year since I got laid off, I have worked with Mother Jones, Zateo News, and Musk even deposed me here in Chicago. He paid his lawyers to do a video deposition here in Chicago, which is very expensive. And once again, I can't stress this enough. I love my cat.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah, I might want to talk about that more later.

[Kat Abughazale]

Amazing.

[Andy Beckerman]

But, but before I do, what made you decide? Because you had a. Or you have a pretty nice following on TikTok, et cetera. So what made you decide? Hey, I like making my videos, skewering the right. And I've got a, you know, I've got a good size audience for them, but I want to take it up a notch and run for Congress.

[Kat Abughazale]

You know, when you're watching people and you're like, I can do that better. Kind of like that, except not in a presumptuous way, because this is going to be really, really difficult and require a lot of people and money and time and effort and heart and all those things. I just think there's a better way we can do politics and a better way we can campaign. And watching the Democrats just have absolutely no spine in like, the first two weeks of the Trump administration, I just couldn't sit around anymore. I feel like we wait for these mythical figures that are supposed to arise when things get really bad, but that's what happens in movies. And real life is not a movie. It is a series of weird, uncomfortable things that happen over time. We're all we've got. We have to be the ones to step up. And so I wanted to try to do something, and so I'm trying to use my platform and my ideas to do something better, help others who also want to run for office, who might not be feeling represented or want to see a change in culture, culture in the Democratic Party in our country. And also, you know, with our campaign, we want to use the money and our, I guess, clout to help people in the district.

[Andy Beckerman]

Tangibly so on your campaign website, CatForIllinois.com and listeners, please don't go to CatForCongress.com by mistake like I did, because that is the home of awful Florida Congresswoman Kat Kamek. Or Kamak. But [e-mail] I want to talk about a couple of things. You say. You say Democratic leaders are abandoning us, and then you ask, what if we didn't suck? Why do we suck? I'm agreeing with you. I'm just. I'm saying, why? Why, Kat? Why do we suck? And how can you make them or us suck less?

[Kat Abughazale]

There's that saying that Democrats love to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. I felt that a lot last year when we thought we were getting a change candidate with Kamala Harris. And then she said multiple times, she was like, nope, I'm the exact same as Biden. I'm just a woman. That's kind of an example of that suckiness. But I think a lot of it is just this unwillingness to think bigger. Everything is always compromised, or it's always rooted in an idea that doesn't exist anymore. Like the playbook a lot of Democrats are working from isn't even from 2015. It's from 2005. And, honey, we are in 2025. You gotta update your browser. Jesus. I think if we didn't strive for the bare minimum and if we didn't set up these barriers ahead of time, oh, that could never happen because that's not how, you know, politics works. Or that could never happen because it'd be too difficult. You need to work with both sides of the aisle. What if we all thought bigger and said, what if we tried it? That's kind of what this entire campaign is about. What if we tried to do something different? I don't like when someone says, oh, we can't do that because this is how it's always been done. That's not true. Things change. We don't live in a monarchy anymore. Or wait, we might now. We didn't for a while there.

[Andy Beckerman]

Right?

[Kat Abughazale]

You know, it's things change, systems of government change. Otherwise, you know, we'd all. We wouldn't have a system of writing.

[Andy Beckerman]

So. The Illinois 9th is currently represented by Jan Schakowski, one of the more progressive Dems in Congress. She's the chief deputy Whip. She co chairs the Congressional Caucus for women's issues. Back in the day, she was one of the Few people of either party who opposed the Iraq war. Why primary her?

[Kat Abughazale]

I mean, I'm not primary anyone. She hasn't announced. I'm the only candidate in this race right now.

[Andy Beckerman]

Okay, fair.

[Kat Abughazale]

This is not a referendum on her. Jan Schakowski has been one of the most progressive members of Congress, like you said, you know, she stood against the Iraq war. She has done a lot of really great service. And if she wants to run again, you know, she should. That is her choice. This district, though, hasn't had a competitive primary since 1998, about five months before I was born. I think that the pearl clutching over even entering a primary race that I've seen just in the past few days shows us an issue that's at the core of the Democratic Party, which is when someone gets in power, especially if they are a part of the establishment, even if their views like Jan Schakowski's are more progressive than a lot of the other establishment Dems, a lot of people in power think that they are entitled to that power. Not necessarily saying that about Jan Schakowski, sure. But the idea that I shouldn't run just because Szakowski is in office is ludicrous. You know, this is not. I can't. Once again, I want to say this is not a monarchy. But where are we today? It's like, you know, also the issue of saying, well, there are people waiting in the wings. There are people waiting in line. Okay, they should also run. I don't know why we're waiting around. If any of us think we can do better or we can do something different, we should try. Instead of waiting for a congressperson to maybe step down, maybe not. Maybe run, maybe not. Maybe anoint a successor, maybe not. Why not?

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah, absolutely. And I want to ask you, because I've seen chatter on Blue sky, and I'm sure you have, too. There are people saying, oh, Kat doesn't even live in the district. Why is she running in that district? What's the deal there?

[Kat Abughazale]

So I moved to Chicago on very short notice last year, and we kind of just picked the first decent furnished apartment we could. I am a bus stop away from this district. I am there all the time. We are planning to move to the Andersonville, Edgewater, Rogers park area sometime this year, before I even decided to run for Congress. So, like, that was already in the works. Chicago is also extremely gerrymandered. Like, pull up a map of Chicago congressional districts right now. It is insane. But, you know, this district also, I think it has a lot of the values that this type of campaign could really work. And it's historically extremely progressive. It has a lot of very politically involved people. You know, Northwestern and Loyola are here. I think that what we want to do will be well received, especially in a district that, you know, there's a huge amount of people here that are foreign born. I think it's like 20%, 25% they are welcome in this district. And I think I'm also welcome as someone coming from D.C. or Texas.

[Andy Beckerman]

Okay, what are the biggest issues for you? Like if you're elected, what. What congressional committees would you want to be on?

[Kat Abughazale]

Yeah, so I think the biggest thing right now is just kind of trying to keep our government from going full tilt into an authoritarian nightmare. That's the main thing. And trying to stop that in any way you can past that. My vision is really about basic existence. I think that we are at. It's insane how expensive it is just to live unless you're really rich. And I feel like a lot of politicians right now don't understand that. And it's not their fault. They aren't in the same position as a lot of millennials and Gen Z people are. You know, I don't have health insurance. These people haven't had to deal with like out of pocket costs in years. People who are dealing with student loans. A lot of people in Congress have never had student loans. I think that there just needs to be like a radical change in who is in Congress because we need people that represent us and understand the issues. Besides that, you can check out the issues page on my website. I care about a lot of stuff, but I don't want to keep up all your time.

[Andy Beckerman]

Okay, you're already making some waves on the right. You've been attacked by the Chicago Republican Party. You've been attacked by Fox's chief idiot, Jesse Waters. What are they saying about you?

[Kat Abughazale]

Oh, I've heard so many things about me. I've learned a lot about myself. I am a maga gop, Hamas Republican. Was something from last night. I didn't know that existed, but I am one of those. Someone accused me of being Ghislaine Maxwell's daughter and I. I'm pretending I'm not by dyeing my hair blonde, which implies that anyone who's dyed their hair blonde could be Ghislaine Maxwell's daughter.

[Andy Beckerman]

Sure.

[Kat Abughazale]

My favorite is that I am a GOP OP that has, since my childhood been taking every step of my career to get into this point so I can run for Congress and then win the Democratic primary. Win the general and then flip the seat red. But as far as the right. A lot of it's just like dumb culture war. They say, you know, they pull up pictures of my Instagram that's completely public that I didn't delete on purpose. And they're like, see this? And it's like, no, I'm trying to show you we're normal people. Everyone is normal here. I feel like we hold public office on a pedestal when it should really be, like, the most relatable, accessible position. You can get a lot of complaints about me being Palestinian, which, you know, I expected. Of course, being a woman, that's a negative. I really should have reconsidered being a woman, but unfortunately I didn't.

[Andy Beckerman]

So are you now or have you ever been a member of Hamas, Cat?

[Kat Abughazale]

No, I know I haven't. I know. It's a shocker. Yeah, it's a shocker.

[Andy Beckerman]

I do have to say my crack production staff has unearthed evidence that you are going on trans podcasts that make Pokemon fuckless. Do you deny this as well?

[Kat Abughazale]

No, I am going on trans podcasts that make Pokemon fuckless.

[Andy Beckerman]

Can you explain what that means to our listeners?

[Kat Abughazale]

Yeah. So I went on my friend's podcast, Juniper, her podcast, Western Kabuki. Juniper is a trans woman. And. And she has a discord for her podcast where some of the people, and they were making jokes about, like, which Pokemon were the sexiest. And this is another MAGA criticism, I guess, is they took those screenshots from the discord and then just kept replying to people being like, this woman is going on trans podcasts with Pokemon fucklists. And I'm going to explain to every senior in Evanston, and they're not going to vote for her. To which I say, please take a video. I would love to watch you explain. She's going on trans podcasts that make Pokemon fuck lists to your grandmother. I would love to watch that, actually. Can you invite me?

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah. That was actually one of the funnier things that was going around Blue sky the other day. There is something that I wanna ask you about because it's also a thing I've seen from, like, I guess you would call them moderate Democrats. Khive, whatever on Blue sky, which is this grave concern that you were brought up in a conservative household and were a Republican earlier in your life. And I want to get to something you said on Blue sky, and you said, you should be skeptical of someone running for office. I'm asking for power, and that deserves scrutiny, especially if you're unfamiliar with me, first of all, I thought that was a really good thing to say. But also, why is it that people are unable to understand that, yeah, I was raised a certain way by my parents, maybe, and I bought into it. And then, as you said, I saw a little more of the world and I decided. Decided, oh, I don't actually believe those same things.

[Kat Abughazale]

Yeah, I don't know why so many people are upset with. With this idea of, like, changing your mind. And, you know, some people are given the proof and they're like, okay, well, begrudgingly admit this is where she's at. And then someone was like, look, even if she was, you know, 15 or 16 in that picture, I don't want that person in public office. I don't want anyone that was an idiot when they were 16. 16. I'm like, were you smart when you were 16? But, like, once again, people should be skeptical. I have stressed over and over the last, you know, four years as a, you know, online figure, I want to throw up, saying that your leaders need to earn your vote. And I've gotten some very aggressive, occasionally violent responses to that, implying that I love Donald Trump because I think that Democrats need to feel less entitled to our votes. But I truly believe that. And part of this is, you know, I've talked a lot of shit and I'm trying to stand by what I've said, and that means, you know, I have to earn your vote, too.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah, for sure. It boggles my mind. But look, I say this as a former Libertarian, so I guess I sort of empathize with you here because I know there are people who don't, quote, unquote, trust me or whatever, because I used to believe different things. So, anyway, I think the whole thing is silly. How much money have you raised already?

[Kat Abughazale]

I think we're at 300k now.

[Andy Beckerman]

Damn, that was fast.

[Kat Abughazale]

I know, right? But, you know, the primary's a year away, and that's on purpose. We want, as long as we can, to, like, show what we can do with this campaign and work with people that want to run as well. 300,000 is amazing. I am absolutely blown away. But we still got a while to go.

[Andy Beckerman]

Yeah, for sure. Are you getting merch made up that says I'm a cat person? And if not, why not?

[Kat Abughazale]

I like that. Do I. Do I need to give you a cut of it?

[Andy Beckerman]

No, no, just speak kindly of me. That's really all I ever ask.

[Kat Abughazale]

I only do.

[Andy Beckerman]

I was looking through your videos on TikTok, and I noticed that your hair changes. A lot. Is that something that you're going to do for the campaign or are you going to settle on a campaign hairstyle?

[Kat Abughazale]

Oh, my God, no. I love having fun with my hair.

[Andy Beckerman]

Okay.

[Kat Abughazale]

I mean, for our first event, which was also kind of my birthday party, it was just like friends and family. I had, you know, space buns up. And space buns are going to be on the campaign trail.

[Andy Beckerman]

Really?

[Kat Abughazale]

Absolutely.

[Andy Beckerman]

So, like, full on Princess Leia.

[Kat Abughazale]

I mean, Princess Leia is like closer to the ears. These are more up on top.

[Andy Beckerman]

Oh, oh. So yours are higher up.

[Kat Abughazale]

We're keeping the high pony. We're doing, you know, straight, curly, wavy pigtails, braids, the whole nine yards.

[Andy Beckerman]

And look, I know it was a silly and dumb question, but it does sort of get at something that before we wrap up, I wanted to get into. And that is that it seems like what you're pretty much doing is saying, hey, I am going to be myself in this campaign. You're not going to have the James Carville types and the Neera Tanden types in your ear telling you what you need to say, or focus groups telling you, oh, that doesn't play well. I need to change what I'm doing.

[Kat Abughazale]

Yeah, maybe we can do better with this. Word is so overused now, but a bit more authenticity. And so really, all of this is just me, like, trying, trying something new. And that something new is all the stuff I do usually like. I have no interest in changing who I am and what I care about. For an image of a voter that I'm not even sure exists or is.

[Andy Beckerman]

Made up as Chuck Schumer's mythical couple is. Kat. Thanks so much for being here, listeners. If you want to learn more, go to katforillinois.com where you can see her various positions on issues and donate if you feel like you should. Best of luck to you in this campaign.

[Kat Abughazale]

Thanks, Andy.

[Danielle Moody]

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

[Andy Beckerman]

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.

[Kat Abughazale]

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[Kat Abughazale]

Enough.

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