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The Jim Acosta Show
Miles Taylor and Maria McFarland Sanchez Marino on DEFIANCE. Plus VA House Speaker Don Scott on Dem Plans to Redraw Congressional Map to Counter Trump
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A
Foreign.
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Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Jim Acosta show. And it's another day that ends in y and Donald Trump's assault on American democracy. Trump has now posted he wants to see Joe Biden jailed. That's despite the fact that the current president, Donald Trump, is now running what is undoubtedly the most corrupt White House in U. S. History. He is also floating the batshit crack crazy idea of resuming nuclear testing, something that has not been done since the early 90s. Let's discuss with Miles Taylor, former Trump administration official from the first term Trump has gone after. Miles, and Miles is starting a new group. It's called Defiance, and it hopes to build a grassroots organization to oppose Trump's targeting of his political enemies. And Miles, great to see. Also joining miles is Maria McFarland Sanchez Moreno. And you're also working with this group, Defiance and Miles. I'm, I'm excited about this and that you've, you've lined up Robert De Niro, the Hollywood legend, to support your group. Tell us about the group and then we'll play that video in just a few moments. But tell us, what was the genesis of this?
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A
Yeah, you know, Jim, it really came down to this question that you and I and Maria have all been getting constantly since the start of the second Trump administration. People keep asking us, what can I do? And, you know, I, I dealt with this in the immediate wake of the president's investigative order against me. A lot of people wanted to be helpful to our family, to our legal cause. We were very grateful for that. But the bigger concern that I had was where would people go to answer that question? As the revenge campaign expanded, there's a zillion great groups. The problem is not that there are no groups out there to go address all facets of this. There's just not an easy place for Americans to go to figure out answers to that question. What can I do? There's too many answers. And I kind of hoped someone else would do this. But then, Jim, a few weeks ago, I grew frustrated being in another one of these conversations about what can I do and where do I go? And I thought, let's just create a landing page for this. Let's create a club for courageous Americans who want answers to that question. And let's just constantly give them answers to that question, actions they can take and an opportunity if they want to go, fund the best causes. And so that's what defiance.org is. It's a club for courageous Americans you can join from a dollar to $1,000. It's whatever you want. And we get together and we collectively choose what organizations out there we are going to support to go push back against Trump's revenge agenda. Think of this as a mutual aid pact of Americans coming together to defend each other against these incursions by the Trump administration. And one of those groups, an extraordinary group that we are endorsing out of the gate is Represent Us. And I'll let Maria talk about the organization. But at the outset, we wanted to give folks a few different organizations, a sample of groups that we will stand behind in this fight in which they can get involved in to help push back against this unprecedented revenge agenda.
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B
Yeah. Maria, let's talk about, I mean, why are you involved in this? Why did you get excited to join Miles in this cause? I mean, I guess it is about getting people off the couch, getting people off of the sidelines. Don't be complacent anymore. Don't give up. I mean, there's. We're starting to see people wake up a little bit, get out of the fetal position, as I've described it, and decide that, you know, they're going to get energized and mobilized and start fighting back.
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C
Yeah. Well, look, I grew up under a corrupt autocrat in Peru. I've worked in international human rights for a couple of decades, and I've seen this happen in country after country. And Miles is a dissident. You know, he's a person who has been targeted by the person who is trying to concentrate all power. And to me, when I first met him, it was such an important thing to do everything I could to try to support him. But also, it was very inspiring to see his courage. And I'm so grateful that he's included represent us in this initial lineup ofgroups for defiance.org Our organization has been working for years to, to make the US Government more accountable to the people. Right. To cut through the money and politics problems, the gerrymandering, and try to fix some of the dysfunction in our system. Well, it's now all going so much, you know, to such a disastrous place this year. And so we are focusing our energy on mobilizing Americans in a very targeted way to put pressure on Congress. Right. Because Congress is the institution that actually has the authority to check the executive branch that has the obligation to uphold the Constitution and, you know, to exert oversight. And they're the ones who can actually fix the system, too. And people have real power as constituents to put pressure on members of Congress. We don't often exercise it. It feels hopeless. You Know, it seems like they're just a rubber stamp. Sure, I hear you. And if we are really targeted, if we can speak to people across partisan differences about the things that unite us about, you know, American democratic ideals like the rule of law and checks and balances, then that is something that can give us a starting place to bring things back to or not back. Take them forward to a better place.
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B
Yeah, no, I, and I think Congress needs to feel the heat. I mean, you know, people might say, oh, they're, they're just so polarized, at extremes and so on. There's, there are still some purple district members of the House and so on that you can apply pressure on. There's no question about it. And Miles, I mean, we, we need to talk about the fact that you've lined up Bobby De Niro. I don't know well enough. Calm Bobby. But I'm saying it anyway and I'm just, you know, did he say forget about it when he, when you asked him sign on to this. But he's been, he's been quite the democracy warrior as of late. He has been for some time, but he's really become more vocal lately, which I think is terrific. Let's play the video that he cut for you guys and then we'll talk about on the other side because it's.
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D
Really good by what's going on in our country. I can't tell you how inspiring it was to see millions of people take to the streets. But we have to do much, much, much violent soldier of freedom at the FIAs. You can join a community of courageous people and find out about other peaceful ways to fight back powerful moral force. Together, we will defy leaders who govern by stupidity, corruption and vengeance. Defy attacks on our fellow Americans because of what they believe or where they came from. Take the next step by going to defiance.org to rescue our country and defy being ruled by a mad king. The time for standing by is over. The time for defiance is now.
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B
Let's get fired up. Yeah, Miles, it's, it's a great video. I mean, that's a really, really inspiring video. And I like the emphasis on non violent peaceful protesting because I think that's a huge part of this.
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A
It really is. And look, I've got to give a lot of kudos to, to Robert De Niro. I mean, he has been very outspoken, as you noted, Jim, despite the fact that there has been sort of withering pressure on cultural influencers to not say anything in this volatile political climate. And I'll tell You where that was most obvious the first couple of months of this year. I mean, we could all hear the deafening silence from influencers and celebrities and CEOs, people who were really terrified to come out there and speak. And he was one of those folks that said, no, screw this. This guy wants to be a strong man. He wants to be a dictator in this country. We've gotta speak out. And partly because of him, you've got now hundreds of celebrities who've banded together in this committee to protect the First Amendment, a lot of them standing up now, and you sense that the tide is turning. So he's really helped set the message, and I'm grateful in general for his support because he. He also has really been emphasizing all the ways people can engage peacefully, lawfully, and defiantly. And part of that, as you know, Jim, is protests. We saw the largest single day peaceful protests in the United States because of the extraordinary effort of a group called Indivisible, these no Kings rallies. And@diance.org in addition to highlighting those types of groups, we will also give people options if they don't want to be going to protest or if they want to do more than just protest, if they want to explore the array of options out there to protect whistleblowers, to get involved in lawsuits against the Trump administration, to find other ways to defy this administration's efforts to persecute our fellow citizens.
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B
Yeah. And Maria Miles makes a great point. Some of this involves tying up these tyrannical hands in court.
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C
Yeah, no, that's true. And there has been amazing work happening on the litigation front. The lower courts have fortunately responded well. The big challenge is, of course, the Supreme Court, where we're seeing a real reluctance, I think, to. To stand up to the administration. And, of course, they were the ones who gave him immunity right off the bat. So that's a challenge. And, you know, when you see autocrats in other countries, they try to take over the courts, and. And we will see that happening. We saw him name Emil Beauvais, who has zero commitment to the rule of law, the Third Circuit. So the courts are a very important place, and we need to support the judges who are trying to do the right thing despite death threats. And we need to not give up on other branches of government, like Congress, where people do have direct influence.
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B
Yeah. And Miles, I mean, the thing that has been sending a chill up my spine over the last 24 hours, and I think you're the perfect person to talk about this because you worked in the first Trump administration and is A couple of. Couple of things. One is the Guardian first reported that the Pentagon has come up with this idea for these quick reaction forces trained in riot control, or so they say that they want to have on standby in the event that American military forces are needed to quell civil disturbances. I mean, that is a very chilling thing. And it sort of dovetails with something that, that Trump was talking about during this trip to Asia. He was saying, well, I can send the military into, into any city, any branch of the military doesn't have to be the National Guard. He was saying the army, the Navy, some of the Navy. I don't know how the Navy with the Navy invades. I don't know how that would work. But this is what goes on in his head. Let's play a little bit of that and we'll talk about it.
- [11:21]
E
Sure. I would, I would do that if I did. Was necessary. You know, I had. It was necessary to do that, but it hasn't been necessary. We're doing a great job without that. It was necessary. As you know, I'm allowed to do that.
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A
Do you mean other branches of the.
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C
Military you ascended or if.
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E
Who do you call you?
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B
The New York Times?
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E
That's right. Very well, if you write it correctly, I'll give you the answer. But, you know, I want to enact a certain act. I'm allowed to do it routinely and other. About 50% of presidents have used that, as you know, and I'd be allowed to do whatever I want. But we haven't chosen to do that because we're very well, we're doing very well without it. But I'd be allowed to do that, you understand? And the courts wouldn't get involved. Nobody would get involved. And I could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, brains, I could say send anybody I wanted, but I haven't done that because we're doing so well without it. Washington D.C. continues to be amazing.
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B
I mean, you know, I. What's next? The Space Force? I mean, you know. Miles, your thoughts?
- [12:26]
A
Yeah, look, the operative words there, I think, Jim, are I would be allowed to do whatever I want. Folks are finally really seeing what Donald Trump's perspective is on the Insurrection Act. There's a reason this was the very first thing that I publicly disclosed when I came forward against the President was his infatuation with specifically the Insurrection Act. And at the time, when I came forward, I said he used to call it in private his magical authorities or his magical powers. Your President of the United States believes he has magical powers. And it's something called the Insurrection Act. And he believes if he uses it, as he just said, that it allows him to do whatever he wants. I don't want any defender of Donald Trump to come out there and say, no, no, he didn't mean whatever he wants. He just means he could quell a civil disturbance. That. No, he thinks it allows him to do whatever he wants. That's in his mind. It's been in his mind for years. And now he's in a position, frankly, a very, very powerful position compared to where he was in the first term, to go make that happen with very limited resistance from the institutions of government. So, I mean, that's how we have to think about it, Jim. And you pair it with the news that you mentioned before about these quick reaction forces. Come on, how stupid are people? You may love Donald Trump, but. But don't you dare tell me for a second that this is meant to quell civil disturbances as if we've had a huge spike in lawless unrest. I just mentioned that we had 7 million people on the streets for the most peaceful single day protest, largest single day protest in American history. They weren't burning down buildings. Donald Trump is doing this to exert power and control. And it takes time to put these things in motion. And as I've said for a long time, year one is implementation year it's getting the pieces in place. Year two is execution year you are going to see these things done in 2026. You're going to see these things done in the lead up to the midterm elections, unfortunately, as they try to suppress the vote.
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B
You think he might try to put boots on the ground in American cities near polling places. I mean, that's the scenario that everybody worries about.
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A
He will. And once upon a time, that would have sounded like conspiratorial thinking. Now it's a rational person's forecast about what will happen. You know, a guy named Mark Harvey, who was the head on the National Security Council of Civil Response and these sorts of activities, nonpartisan guy who worked in the first Trump administration. This was one of his big fears after that administration. When I spoke to him in preparation for my book Blowback to talk about a second Trump term, this is what Mark said he worried about. He worried about the administration going and deploying US Forces into US Cities to, to the polls to intimidate voters. Now, that plan that they were able to keep held off in the first Trump administration appears to be in the early stages of going into motion.
- [15:23]
B
Yeah. And Maria, I want to ask you about some of this in a second. But Miles, a follow up question to all of this is, you know, he's now talking about resuming nuclear testing in this country. I mean, if you think of all of the presidents of the United States that we've had here in America, the last person, the last president I would ever want resuming nuclear testing is Donald Trump. And he was floating it out during this Asia trip. Now people are saying, oh, it's, you know, he was maybe trying to flex his muscles because he was meeting with Xi and all this. I don't care. He's talking about, he is the most incompetent, corrupt person that we could possibly have in the Oval Office talking about resuming nuclear testing, which hasn't happened since 1992. So let's play a little bit of that sound, react to that and I'll get Maria's thoughts too.
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C
Resuming nuclear testing, what prompted you to do that right before the meeting?
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E
It had to do with others. They seem to all be nuclear testing. We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don't do testing. You know, we've halted it years, many years ago. But with others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also.
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F
Any details around the testing, sir, like.
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E
Where, when it'll be announced, you know, we have test sites.
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B
It'll be, we have test sites. Miles, do we have test sites? Does he even know what he's saying?
- [16:42]
A
This was my first thought when I saw the story, Jim, is here's a man who we are already worried enough has his finger on the red button and now he's telling us he wants to practice pressing it. He wants practice runs at pressing the nuclear button. Put aside the environmental concerns about resuming live testing. It is unnecessary. I've worked with these agencies in the past. I've worked with the caretakers of our nuclear stockpile. They've used technology to be able to digitally test the reliance of the nuclear triad. But let me go a step further. The real worry for me here is escalation. And a couple of years ago, I got the Department of Homeland Security to authorize me to finally go out publicly and talk about one of the things I was most worried about in the first Trump administration, and it was that we engaged in nuclear exercises because we were worried Donald Trump might accidentally get us into a nuclear war with North Korea. It was the first time, to my knowledge, since 9 11, that the United States Department of Homeland Security has engaged in preparatory exercises out of fear that the president might get us into a nuclear War. This happened when Donald Trump was issuing unplanned tweets about North Korea. He was trying to intimidate Kim Jong Un, and even his secretary of defense was worried this was spiraling out of control. And so on the receiving end, on the homeland, we started to make preparations in case this spiraled into an attack on this country. My worry about him playing toy soldier with nuclear weapons is that it gets us into the type of security spiral that results in nuclear conflict. And I will tell you, I do not think the world is prepared for what would happen if we ended up in those circumstances.
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B
Yeah, I mean, he's the last person on the face of the earth that we want with his finger on the button. I mean, I can't think. It's just. Maybe Kim Jong Un would be more dangerous, granted. But it's a close. It's a close call. And, Maria, I mean, I think part of the reason why we hear about the quick reaction force and I can send the military anywhere and the nuclear testing is, is that Donald Trump is wildly unpopular. There are polls that are coming in. There's some new polls that came out today, polls showing that people blame him for the shutdown. They blame the Republicans for the shutdown. We can show that. A poll graphic that just came out in the Washington Post. New Washington Post ABC poll. Who do you think is mainly responsible for the shutdown? Trump and Republicans in Congress, 45%. Democrats in Congress, 33%. People are smart enough to figure out that the Republicans control the White House and the Congress, even though they're ridiculous people trying to say it's the opposite. There's another poll, just incidentally, that shows, like, a vast majority of Americans think that he is an idiot for smashing the east wing of the White House. 56% oppose, I don't know. The 28% are the people, I guess, who watch Fox and watch Jesse Waters and so on. But, I mean, this is. I guess this is part of the problem, right, Maria? That he's so unpopular that it makes him more dangerous.
- [19:48]
C
It makes him more dangerous. It also makes him more repressive. Right. The, The. If he had popular support, he might not need to invoke the insurrection. He might not be worried about protests, but it's because he's not popular and because he keeps going beyond what many people, even who supported him would want. Right? People support due process. People don't like cruelty. He keeps going beyond that. And I think he will keep losing, folks. And that means he has to crack down harder. He has to use fear and intimidation and fuel despair. And that is the main obstacle we need to counter, actually. It's how so many people feel that they can't do anything or that nothing matters and it's all hopeless. It's not hopeless. There's tons of hope. People need to take action. And lots of countries have gotten through this. The US has gotten through really difficult things before. But people have to exercise that civic muscle, right, of going out and, you know, speaking up, calling their legislator, taking any number of actions that, you know, we've all been talking about here.
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B
Yeah. And, Miles, tell us how Defiance works. How can people help? What can people do? How can they get involved, guide us through that?
- [21:22]
A
We wanted to make this as easy as possible. I mean, easier than buying a book on Amazon is you can just go to defiance.org, sign the declaration of Defiance, which is a mutual aid pact among Americans, to say, look, an attack on one of us, an unlawful attack from this administration is an attack on all of us, and we'll come to the defense of our fellow Americans if the Constitution and our constitutional rights are violated. That's important. That's already happening in the nonprofit sector and other sectors. That needs to be happening among Americans. And then two people can become a member. And by becoming a member, they can donate a buck, they can donate a thousand bucks a month. But we pool our funds together, all of us, and decide what causes we are going to go support together. And Defiance will surface a whole array of extraordinary groups around this country and give members the option. Here's what we're going to go fund and then gives people the option to get involved personally if they want to do more than send their buck or two bucks to this organization. Here's how you can get involved on the ground. So, look, we're a startup. We just got going. We're putting this out into the world, and already we've been blown away by the response. Tens of thousands of Americans in less than 24 hours have signed up to be a part of this effort. So we're very excited. But look, I'll say this, Jim. The word is very important to me. I know the word resistance is important, but to me, resistance has always felt like a thing you're doing in response to being assaulted. It's just trying to hold your ground. Defiance, to me, is going to take the high ground. It's an affirmative action. And as one of my mentors said to me, you always take the high ground because up there, you've got the best field of fire.
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B
I love it. Yeah, no, And Maria, talk about that, because I think, I think that is exactly right. And it strikes the right note in this moment. And people want to, I mean, they want to resist, but they want to be defiant. They, you know, there's a righteousness in this.
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C
There is a righteousness. I mean, this is what we've, what our country was.
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B
It's what it's about. Yeah.
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C
Founded on right at our best. And, and it's being attacked. But Americans know better than this. Most Americans still believe in those core values. So let's go show that. And, and I think people want to. So I'm so happy that we have options that we can offer people to do that. And the more they do, the easier it'll be for others. Even the people who are afraid, even the people who are sticking their heads in the sand.
- [23:51]
B
Yeah. And people need to understand, Miles, that, you know, you were sort of one of the first targets from Trump in this second administration. You and Chris Krebs. And then he went after James Comey and then he went after Letitia James, and now he's talking about Joe Biden. There's talk that Adam Schiff could be next. There's talk that John Brennan could be next. I mean, they have a list. And, and he, and he is, he's, he's running this.
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A
Well, you know, look, real talk, Jim, for your listeners. This is not what I wanted to be doing right now.
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B
I know.
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A
You know, you and I, you and I sat down together not long ago, I think it was New Year's Eve, having a conversation. And I was telling you about how great life finally was. I know I stepped away from anything related to politics and public policy and Trump. I was working on my great love, emerging technology again. I was so far away from all this stuff. Never wanted to touch this again. But it was a wake up call to be targeted by the guy in April. And I'd like to say I didn't need that wake up call, but I did need that wake up call. It was a reminder that all the things we've spoken for years about that were going to happen had happened. They had come to fruition. And I feel like if there's any good that can come from the hell they've put my family through, it's to try to make it a lot harder for them to do that to other people. And I'm full in it now. This is every single hour of every single day for me is define this guy. And I don't care if that increases the risks of retaliation. To me, I know it increases the risks of retaliation to me, but I don't care. And I want other people to know that because that sense of defiance, if we all have it, makes it really hard to come after any of us.
- [25:43]
B
Yeah, I mean, it's about standing up for the country we love. And I do remember that conversation, Miles, vividly, like it was yesterday and it was before I had moved into my new world. And, you know, things happen, circumstances change and you have to be able to roll with it. And I think a lot of people during the period between he got reelected and coming back into office, there were a lot of folks making lots of different plans. And then he came in and he did exactly what. Basically what he told everybody he was going to do. I mean, what he ran on. Revenge and retribution. It's happening now and it's a time for people to stand up and be counted. There's just. I don't see how you can sit on the sidelines. I don't see how you can just say, ah, I can wait three and a half years and this will be over. I mean, good luck with that. I don't. I don't think that's the case.
- [26:32]
A
Well, I'll also say, Jim, there is a privilege in it too. I mean, you know, we could all navel gaze and have self pity and I know no one on this conversation does, but we could lament our circumstances or we could feel honored that we have the opportunity, like generations before us, to keep the Republic. We have a very, very distinctive honor for our children, for their grandchildren to go and tell them one day down the road, you know what, we almost lost the thing, but we found out who we were again. We looked at the lessons of our forebears, we protected it, we preserved it, and we passed it on to you. That's the greatest honor an American could have is knowing that they had a choice to keep this republic or lose it, and that they made the choice to keep it. So let's lean into that, folks. Feel honored to be in this moment and rise up to that with pride.
- [27:25]
B
Yeah. And Maria, I mean, you were saying, you know, because of your upbringing, that this is personal for you too.
- [27:32]
C
Yeah, absolutely. Well, look, my dad was American. He was in the Air Force in the Korean War. He was a US Foreign service officer and he represented the country abroad during the Cold War. And he was talking about freedom, Right. He was talking about democracy as the things that the US Stood for. I also have a Peruvian mother and I lived under a corrupt autocrat in Peru for many years. And I saw how ugly that can get. So for me, the contrast between what the US stood for and what it looked like when I came here in the 90s and what other countries had, like Peru was, you know, it was just immense. And for the US now to go down that same path as, as Peru has, as, you know, so many others. The Philippines, Russia, Turkey.
- [28:32]
B
My dad's home country of Cuba, you know.
- [28:34]
C
Right, yeah, Cuba, Venezuela. Right. Trump wants to remove Maduro. Well, I mean, he could start by just not copying him.
- [28:43]
B
Right? That's a good point, Jim.
- [28:46]
A
These public servants who've gone into these places, they're very good people, I think, about a department like where you and I got to know each other when I was at Department of homeland security. It's 250,000 men and women who joined up, many of them to stop another 9, 11. They didn't join up to be Nazis. They didn't join up to look like a modern day Gestapo. That's not why these people are there. They want to serve this country and they want to protect us from threats. And unfortunately, their jobs have been hijacked by one man inside who wants to direct them to do things, to be his pocket police. That's really, really scary stuff. And I do also hope we see in the coming weeks and months and years, people inside of that operation stand up and speak up. As we've long seen in autocracies throughout history, it's often those insiders who speak out who can have a remarkable impact. And we are committed@diance.org and this broader ecosystem to protecting those people who make those disclosures.
- [29:46]
B
Well, I'm right there with you, Miles, and Maria and I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And to me, Miles, what you said earlier about responding to what life throws at you, it really defines who you are. And I, I think you guys have a lot to be proud of here. For folks who are just tuning in, you gotta check out Miles's new organization, defiance.org it is, you know, it's coming right out of what is needed in this moment, and that is pushing back against tyranny in the United States. We can't have a situation where a dictator just gets to run roughshod over his political enemies, and that's what he's trying to do right now. And Miles and, and Maria, thank you so much for doing this. And special thanks to Bobby Dairo too, if I can throw that out there. You know, Miles, if you can work in a, a good word for me, you know, see If. See if we can get them on, that'd be great. You know, we'll talk about defiance again. We'll do it again and again and again. But really appreciate. Appreciate your time and appreciate what you guys are doing. Congratulations. Thank you.
- [30:53]
A
Thanks, my friend.
- [30:55]
E
All right.
- [30:55]
B
All right. Good to see both of you. Thanks so much. And, you know, I mean, defiance is. Is a great word for this moment. We have to be defiant. We can't just. Just absorb it and take it and take it on the chin. That's just not who we are as Americans. That's not where we've come from as a people. And, you know, some folks who are not taking it on the chin these days are the Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And I'm pleased to bring in the speaker of the House of Delegates for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Don Scott. And I know to call it a commonwealth because I'm a Virginian myself, grew up in Fairfax county, may not be from, you know, from the other parts of Virginia that I know. Some folks in those parts of Virginia say that's the real Virginia, not you guys in Northern Virginia. But, hey, you know that this is where I grew up with, and I'm proud of being a Virginian. And Mr. Speaker, it's great to have you on. Thanks. Thanks so much for joining the program.
- [31:52]
F
Thank you for having me, Jim. This is going to be fun. I just heard your last guest. So talking about Defiance.
- [31:56]
B
Yeah.
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F
We're not. We're not playing around in Virginia.
- [31:59]
B
I know you're not. I know. And I want to jump right into this because it took, I think, a lot of people by surprise that there was this effort that just sort of came out of nowhere. And maybe it didn't come out of nowhere. From your standpoint, you've probably been working on it for some time, that in Virginia, the Democrats and the General assembly are working on a plan to redraw the congressional maps in the Commonwealth to sort of fight fire with fire with the Republicans. Can you talk about that a little bit? I saw that there's. There's been some progress, and a judge has even said to the Republicans who were trying to sue to stop you, that's not going to work. And this process is moving forward. It sounds like.
- [32:33]
F
Yeah, the process is moving forward. The Republicans tried to throw a Hail Mary in here at the last minute to try to slow us down. You know, what has prompted this is, you know, President Trump, he's the one that caused all of this. He got Texas and other Republican states to change the rules in the middle of the 10 year disenual that we normally do at after a census, he did that. And because of that, you know, we can't, you know, the rules of engagement have changed.
- [32:59]
A
Yeah.
- [32:59]
F
If we can, we cannot put our heads in the sand and pretend that if we, you know, ignore him, he'll go away. No, he will just continue to take. And just nine days ago, well, less than that, North Carolina changed their maps. And so neighbor right there, they're disenfranchising Virginians in Texas and North Carolina because that impacts all of us in the entire country if we don't act. So we had to give Virginia voters an opportunity to weigh in. And that's what all this is. It'll ultimately be the decision of the voters. That's our process. And we just began the process to get a referendum to the voters. And similar to what they've done in California, we have a trigger. Only if the other states do it, then we get to respond. And that's what we're doing here. We have a responsibility to do this because he won't stop unless he has stopped. And hopefully they will stop if they see what Virginia is doing, they'll slow down and say, do we want to continue to go down this road? Because if not, other states are going to continue to do it.
- [33:56]
B
Interesting. And Mr. Speaker, how many seats potentially could Democrats pick up in Congress if what you do is ultimately successful?
- [34:04]
F
Well, we have 11 seats now at six, five Democrat. I don't see why, you know, we couldn't draw nine.
- [34:12]
B
Interesting.
- [34:13]
F
The way to say the state is set up, that could happen. And that's why, you know, Republicans really need to think about whether they want to continue to go down this path. But what Democrats and states that lean blue cannot do is stand by why Trump makes a joke about democracy. And that's what he's doing now.
- [34:32]
B
Yeah. And what do you say to the folks? I mean, because this is up to the voters in California right now and I think Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against this and there are some folks who say, you know, we shouldn't. It shouldn't, you shouldn't. Two wrongs don't make a right that just because Trump and the Republicans are doing it doesn't mean we should do it because it is sort of anti Democratic to go in there and redistrict and tinker around with the congressional maps purely for political reasons. I think I know what your answer is and you kind of just said it. But what's your response when you hear that? Criticism.
- [35:03]
F
I mean, I think we have a right to defend ourselves. Republicans talk about defense a lot. This is one of those things that we have a right to defend ourselves. And I think this is the only way that we can defend ourselves against a blatant power grab by the president who is directing legislative leaders going into Indiana now and telling them they have to redraw maps.
- [35:20]
B
That's right.
- [35:22]
F
North Carolina, Texas, I mean, on and on. So we can continue to try to pretend he'll go away, but he won't. He'll continue to do it. Just like he did when he called down a Georgia and said, I need you to find 16,000 votes or whatever. This guy is not shy about taking power and using it, as we've seen. And so if we want, you know, I remember when Obama wore a tan suit and everybody lost their minds, this guy literally knocked down the damn White House. He knocked down half the White House. And Republicans like, oh, we good with that. And so he continues to do these power grabs. And we just can't continue to normalize this stuff. We have to push back. It's the American way to push back against tyranny. You know, in Virginia, we have a saying, six separate tyrannos. That's always the kings. We don't like kings in Virginia. So I think we're going to go back to our roots and we're going to push back against this wannabe mad king.
- [36:13]
B
Interesting. Well, and you're absolutely right about that. And it's one of the reasons why I'm proud to be a Virginian. And, and I always love that slogan for the Commonwealth. And let me ask you this, Mr. Speaker. There's a little election coming up next week. From what I understand. Abigail Spanberg, according to the latest poll that I think just came out from Roanoke College, shows that she's widened her lead over winsome Earl Sears. And I don't know if it has anything to do with those. Those ads that where they show winsome Earl Sears saying, I am speaking. I am speaking. They're not.
- [36:45]
F
They're not speaking.
- [36:47]
B
I am speaking.
- [36:48]
F
Looking all crazy. I'm like, oh, God, lady, what is going on? Is your medication need to be retuned?
- [36:55]
B
I have seen those ads and they're quite effective, but they need a tune.
- [36:59]
F
Up on the medication. It's something off, right? Something's happening. I don't know, but I'd never seen anything so unhinged in my life from a politician. This is not about just polish. This is about just being unprepared and unhinged and not big enough to handle this job.
- [37:15]
B
And I remember from growing up in Virginia that, I mean, you know, you talk about state Republican parties. The Republicans in Virginia are among the most extreme Republicans in the country. And people think that. People might not think that that's the case because they're close to Washington, D.C. and stuff, but in part because they are near the nation's capital. You have a lot of very conservative activists who reside in Virginia and mess with the politics of the state of Virginia. And Winsome Earl Sears, to me, strikes me as just a very. I mean, I. I was a little shocked that they put her up for this and didn't talk Jason Miares into doing it. He's running for attorney general again. Maybe he thought he can't win, so that's why he's running for attorney general again. But when Somerset Sears to me is kind of like all the way to the far right, it's shocking to me that they put her up.
- [38:05]
F
She is running with a lieutenant governor candidate for the Republicans who is gay. And she literally said that she can fire people for being gay. She just said this a couple of weeks ago in public. Stuff that you think, okay, you'll be embarrassed to say that quietly with your friends, but she said it publicly that she can discriminate against people for being gay and fire them. Like, I thought we had settled that, like, 20 years ago, but obviously, you know, this whole Constitution thing, she doesn't believe in it very much. And so, you know. But at the end of the day, Abigail Spamberger will win because she's focused on everyday issues. She's not focused on the culture wars that MAGA wants to have every single election, every single election. They want to talk about the Pee and Poop Caucus. They're the Pee and Poop Caucus. Where do kids go to the bathroom? And what. What are they doing in the bathrooms?
- [38:50]
B
And it's driving a lot of bathroom stuff in Virginia.
- [38:53]
E
Now.
- [38:53]
B
I see these ads and I'm like, I went. I went to high school in Annandale, Virginia. And I mean, I, like, we just didn't. Who talks about go where you go to the bathroom? It's just weird. It's really weird.
- [39:04]
F
We're obsessed with it. They're not talking about where kids are learning. We got an economy that's flailing because of President Trump and his tariffs and taxes. We got a government shutdown. They're not talking about that. It's like they speak about. They don't even say Trump's name on the Floor. He's like Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. Like him, who must not be named. They won't even say his name. Like he's been.
- [39:25]
A
He's.
- [39:25]
F
They're so terrified and intimidated by him. They won't hold him accountable for anything. Democrats have called out our leaders from time to time. They won't call him out for anything. Knock down the White House, nothing. Extrajudicial killings in the middle of the ocean, nothing. Tariffs, Nothing. Pay himself $230 million. Mike Johnson, I don't know. I know nothing. I.
- [39:48]
A
He.
- [39:48]
F
Like Colonel Schultz. I know nothing.
- [39:50]
B
Right, right. From Hogan's Heroes. Yep, I remember that.
- [39:53]
F
Knows nothing. Whatever happens.
- [39:55]
B
You watch the same reruns growing up, I think.
- [39:57]
F
Yeah, yeah, I'm still watching, buddy. I'm still watching. But at the end of the day.
- [40:00]
B
Also, Doge, I mean, to me, I, you know.
- [40:06]
F
Yeah, the cruelty, the SNAP cuts they could give the food. They could pay people SNAP benefits. Right now they have the money to have Emerg emergency fund for a shutdown, and they purposely and. And very cynically are not going to use those resources to pay the SNAP benefits.
- [40:21]
B
Well, and, And I, I hate to, you know, we're having such a nice conversation. Everything. I have to ask you a hard question. Jay Jones, running for the Attorney general. What's your thought on that? It sounds. It looks as though from the polling, he's not going to be able to pull this out. The text.
- [40:39]
F
He's gonna win. I'm. Now, Jay's gonna pull this out. It's gonna be slim, but he's gonna pull it out. I think.
- [40:45]
B
Folks, what do you say to Democrats, though, who are like, gosh, I don't know if I can vote for this guy after what he said.
- [40:51]
F
If you like, if you like Abigail Spanberger, you have to support Jay Jones. And the reason is because Jason Mares has proven time and time again he will do the bidding of Trump. He will sue Abigail Spamberger every single day of her gubernatorial term. He will make her life miserable the entire term. He's yet to stand up to Donald Trump one time. He won't even join the other ags across the country suing the federal government to release the SNAP benefits so they can pay their hunger, get the resources to folks who depend on the.
- [41:21]
A
For food.
- [41:22]
F
Jason Mears won't do anything. We know this. And so if you want Abigail Spamberger to have a successful gubernatorial term for her four years, you got to get Jay Jones in there and keep it moving. Jay, I've known Him. His dad was a circuit court judge and a friend and a mentor. We went to church together. He set two pews in front of me. Gerald. Gerald Jones. Judge Jones. I know how Jay was raised. He made a mistake, a huge mistake. He apologized. He's apologized. He said he was sick to his stomach when he heard.
- [41:51]
B
Does he feel bad about this? I mean, does it say he.
- [41:54]
F
He feels. He feels sick of stomach. He feels kind of dumb, too, because, you know, this was done three years ago. He had, you know, he clearly didn't realize that when he sent it to the Republican three years ago that she. He was so disqualified three years ago that she would wait three years to release it. He didn't know who he was dealing with. And so at the end of the day, it was like, you know, it's like you have a fire raging in your house and you wait three years to dial 91 1. And that's kind of what he did. But I think he. He understands he made an error, but that does not disqualify him from being able to serve the Commonwealth of Virginia and be a good partner for Abigail.
- [42:32]
B
Well, Mr. Speaker, I had to. I had to ask you that. Couldn't be doing my job if I didn't. But really appreciate your time and, And. And love the energy that you bring to the conversation. And the quotes from. From. From our favorite reruns from Growing up, Hogan's Heroes.
- [42:45]
E
That.
- [42:46]
B
That's a good one.
- [42:47]
F
I know. We too, old, man. I'm old, bro.
- [42:51]
B
No, we're just not. We're just getting wiser, I think, is what it is.
- [42:55]
F
Okay, I'll take that.
- [42:56]
B
Mr. Speaker, thanks for your time. Appreciate it. Best of luck next week, and we'll talk on the other side. Thanks so much.
- [43:02]
F
Yeah, you can talk to me after I win these four or five seats I'm about to pick up. We have 5,149. I'll grow my majority. That's a promise.
- [43:08]
B
Interesting. Yeah. And the Republicans thought they had you over a barrel at one point and that they were going to take the House of Delegates and they weren't able to do it. And it's. It's kind of amazing just in a Southern state like Virginia. I know it's the new south, and it's very progressive in many ways that. I mean, the Democrats are about to have the House, the. The Senate, and the governor's mansion. It seems to me it coming up very soon.
- [43:32]
F
The trifecta, baby.
- [43:33]
E
Yeah.
- [43:34]
F
And we really can get some things done because, you know, you know, I'M an Aggie. I'm Texas Aggie. Got to my ring. Right. Die hard college football fan, number three in the nation.
- [43:42]
E
Yeah.
- [43:43]
F
But I'm also Ag major. And so I feel comfortable going to those rural communities just like Abigail does. She was on the ad committee in Congress. So we're able to communicate across the board. I don't use that, I won't use that term that we're so progressive. I think we're right there in the middle. I think Virginia got about right and I think we're going to continue to do well.
- [44:00]
B
Perfect. All right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Appreciate the time. Thanks so much.
- [44:04]
A
All right, Bye.
- [44:04]
E
Bye.
- [44:05]
B
All right. That's the speaker of the House of Delegates. And I, you know, as a Virginian, I do enjoy talking to somebody like the speaker because, I mean, what happens in these, in these state houses really matters. It's where, I mean, a lot of policy gets, gets made and passed that affects people very deeply. And I think there's some really serious issues on the line. You have to assume that if winsome Earl Sears becomes the governor of Virginia, which I don't think that's going to happen, but if she becomes the governor of Virginia, that reproductive rights are going to be on the line in the Commonwealth of Virginia once again. I mean, you're going to have some very, very far right MAGA conservative type policies coming down from Winsome, who is, as I was saying, probably the most radical Republican I've seen run for governor of Virginia in my lifetime. I've never seen somebody more radical than Winsome Earl Sears running for that office. And, and I think that's just stating, stating things as they are. I think that a lot of people in Virginia would agree with that. I do want to, before we wrap things up, I do want to mention one headline that is coming out of. And you know, there are lots of headlines. There are things that we could be bringing up on a, on a daily basis that I, you know, as I've said before on this show many times, there are there, I wish I could cover the whole waterfront. I wish I could cover every issue. But one of the things that I want to talk about at the end of this show, and we, we got into this a little bit earlier on in the program, is what we're seeing from ice, what we're seeing from the Department of Homeland Security, the way that the federal government, the Trump administration is just brutalizing a whole race of people in this country the way it is brutalizing, demonizing, abusing, violating Hispanic and Latino people. In this country. There's another ice video that I want to show you. I know we've been talking about this quite a lot. Let's show this latest ice video that has come in. I don't want to step off of this issue. I step back from this issue. It's just that vitally important. Let's show this, this latest one. You see it, you see ICE officers firing at a car. She's saying that she's got kids in the car. And we're just, you know, I know it's disturbing to watch these videos, but I have to say to me it's important to show what is taking place and it's what's taking place across the country right now. Christine Ohm, the Homeland Security Secretary, apparently was making some comments today that she didn't, she didn't have the numbers as to how many, you know, innocent people are being swept up, how many US Citizens are being swept up, how many non violent people are being swept up. You know, as I've said many times, one of the big lies of the 2024 campaign was when they said we're going to go after the criminals and the, and the gang bangers. They're going after people like that lady in her car, driving her kids in her minivan and they're firing at the vehicle like absolute thugs, like absolute crazy, lunatic thugs. And as Miles Taylor was describing them earlier, like the Gestapo in this country. And it is, it is a secret police force that has been set up by Donald Trump to harass and abuse Latino people in this country. We just have to say it. And, you know, if people want to know what does racism look like in America? I would say videos like that is what racism looks like in America. I will say that this headline that I'm about to read to you is also what racism looks like in this country. This is from the Associated Press. The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees it admits into the country to 7,500 people. And this is from the Associated Press. What you're going to hear come out of my mouth next. And they will be mostly white South Africans. They will be mostly white South Africans. A dramatic drop after the US previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world. The administration published the news Thursday in a notice on the Federal Register. No reason was given for the numbers, which are a dramatic decrease from last year's ceiling set under the Biden administration of 125,000 people. So we're going from admitting 125,000 refugees into this country to 7,500. And the administration, the United States government is out in the open saying that they will be mostly white South Africans. Can somebody tell me what the. Is going on? The. The Trump administration is just saying it out loud, that it is a racist administration. We can't let in refugees from other parts of the world because of the color of their skin, because of the language that they speak, because of the religion that they observe. Is that what America has become? That is what America has become, ladies and gentlemen. And it is punctuated on a daily basis by these bananas, batshit crazy ice videos that are flooding our social media feeds on a regular basis. And I don't know what I mean to me, and this goes back to my upbringing, this goes back to who I'm about. My dad came to this country from Cuba in 1962, three weeks before the Cuban Missile crisis on my mom's side of the family. Immigrants there as well, coming from Ireland and other parts of Europe. They came right there, right past the Statue of Liberty, into Ellis Island. My dad came to Miami and then moved up to Northern Virginia. And that's how I came to be. That's how I came to be. And that, to me, is the American dream. It is the, it is the idea, it is the notion that people can't. Can come from any part of the world. Ronald Reagan said this. Ronald Reagan said this. Just paraphrasing him, but that you can come from any country. You can be a Russian and come to America. You can be a Chinese immigrant and come to America. You can come from Latin America and become an American, and you will be an American if you come here, play by the rules, become a citizen and contribute to this society. You can be an American, too. And Donald Trump is throwing away all of that with this racist policy. We're going to tell people, we're telling the. We're advertising to the world that the only people who need apply for refugee status as asylum seekers are white South Africaners. Give me a break. I mean, aren't some of these people the folks who were, who, who were growing up in the era of apartheid and I mean, what, what, what in God's name is going on? Are those Donald Trump's kind of people, apartheid people? Is that the message that he's sending? Donald Trump, who wants to resume nuclear testing in this country? Donald Trump, who says he can send any branch of the military into any part of the country. Donald Trump, who wants a quick reaction force on the streets of this country to quell civil disturbances. What are we becoming? Who are we becoming? With a state police force roaming the streets looking for anybody with brown skin to throw them in the back of a van with no marking on it by masked thugs? What are we becoming? And it has me thinking about the word defiance, ladies and gentlemen. Has me thinking about the word defiance. And that is what we're going to need for these next three years. We're going to need defiance. And we're going to need it from you, the American people. We're going to need it from all of you. Can't be compliant. You have to be defiant, considering what we're up against. Don't forget Miles and Maria's group, Defiance. You can learn about that@diance.org, my thanks to Miles and Maria. My thanks to the speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott. That was a lively conversation. He was far more entertaining than I thought he was going to be. And certainly not a boring politician. He was a lot of fun. My thanks to all of you for watching. Really appreciate it. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a good evening. I'll see you next time.
- [53:34]
E
Sam Sa.