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The Parnas Perspective
Breaking: Trump Panics as Republicans Turn on him and Democrats Block all ICE Funding
00:18:16
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- [00:00]
Commercial Narrator
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Podcast Host
Major developments on Capitol Hill right now. Senate Democrats say they are shutting down the government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, ahead of a critical funding deadline on Saturday. They will not fund ice. They will not fund cbp. They will not vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown is all but certain to occur as the United States Senate is planning on leaving town. At the same time, Donald Trump is facing heat from his own party over Pam Bondi's performance yesterday. And Mark Kelly scored a big win in front of a George W. Bush appointee in a district court today against Secretary of Defense Pete Hexseth. It's an important update. Like comment, share and subscribe. The more you like, the more people see it. And subscribe to my substack. Click the link below to support my work today. Lisa Desjardins has confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security is all but certain to shut down. The United States Senate is getting ready to leave town. According to a Republican Senator Susan Collins, there will be an attempt to keep the government funded through a UC or a continuing resolution of sorts. It will not pass because this afternoon Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will not give Republicans the votes. And here's the thing in the past we've talked about, well, Democrats cave at the last minute. This is not one of those scenarios. And because you have every Democrat from John Fetterman to Elizabeth Warren to Chuck Schumer all on the same page, not a single dollar more to ice, not a single dollar more to cbp. And what you're looking at is a prolonged partial government shutdown. As it currently stands, it looks as though Donald Trump on February 24th will be the first president in American history to give his State of the Union address during a government shutdown. And it comes as Donald Trump praised Pam Bondi for her performance yesterday on Capitol Hill, saying, quote, bondi, under intense fire from the Trump deranged radical left lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday's hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein, where one thing that has been proven Conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charge charges, though he hasn't. And while even those in his own party say, with all due respect, Mr. President, Pam Bondi is ineffective, she needs to go. Still standing with you, President Trump. I have no love for the Democrats, but I also have no love for the people on the right trying to sabotage you. And one of those people, his name may be Secretary Pete Hegseth. But before we get there, someone should tell Attorney General Bondi that the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen below 50,000 points. If you don't get it, Pam Bondi decided to interrupt the hearing yesterday and talk about how the dow is above 50,000. Well, today it is below 50,000. Coming as Secretary Hexseth lost significantly in front of George W. Bush appointee Judge Richard Leon, who ruled that Senator Mark Kelly cannot have his pay docked, cannot be disciplined by the secretary of defense, by the Pentagon, quote. Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired service members, much less a retired service member serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military. This court will not be the first to do so. This court has all it needs to conclude that Hegseth and the Pentagon have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. A significant victory for Senator Mark Kelly, a loss for the Pentagon. This afternoon I spoke with two Ms. Now hosts, Eugene Daniels, former president of the White House Correspondence association, and Simone Sanders Townsend, who have launched a new podcast called Clock it that I want you to know about. But there we also spoke about the media environment and how the media's job is to tell the truth. And the truth right now is Trump administration is lying to you. Make sure to like, comment, share and subscribe. Here is my interview with Eugene and Simone. Let me know what you think. Super excited today to be joined by Simone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels from msnow Now I just want to get right into it. Eugene, I got to ask. You served as the president of the White House Correspondents Association. You've been covering the craziness of Trump won Biden, Trump too. How has covering a president changed in the second administration?
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Eugene Daniels
Yeah, I think you know and I no longer am president. So folks know very I don't speak on behalf of the organization anymore. I think the thing that has changed is we have had to realize. Right. And this is true for other administrations, but journalists have had to really realize and reckon with the idea that the administration is lying to you. Right. And I think, you know, when Simone and I used to tussle when I was covered Vice President Harris and Biden, you know, she wasn't lying to me. Right. That's why we can do a podcast together because I trust her as a human and she would try to spin me.
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Podcast Host
Right.
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Eugene Daniels
And try to push us off the story. That's part of their job. But the lies are something that are not just not different from the first time around because they lied then too. But it's so blatant in your face. I think in the first time around they had some kind of, I guess some folks would call them normie Republicans who believed that there would be a party after Trump that wasn't a Trump party. That was a go back to the years of Reagan and George W. Bush and H.W. bush. And now I think the folks that are in there are just there to make sure he gets what he wants. Right. And so that's. That has created a completely different dynamic when it comes to covering him. And at the end of the day, it's made it really hard for reporters who are used to the governments and this is going to sound crazy, I think there's a lot of viewers, but governments at least, at the very least telling you the truth in some way, shape or form. Right. And I think that is very different that we're seeing right now. Now, government officials have lied before. Right.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
To be clear. Yeah.
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Eugene Daniels
To be very clear. It's not the first time that it's happened, but it is, it feels like the first time where that is the first thing they do. Right. It starts with a lie. Right. You wouldn't win. They made the Obamas guerrillas. The first thing they did was lie about it, period. Right. And three times. Right. Multiple lies. Choose a lie also is. And I think the thing that a lot of us are having to reckon with is like we have to accept that they're lying. We have to call it a lie. Because the American people are expecting something different from journalists. And so we have to maneuver around that.
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Podcast Host
Now, Simone, I got to ask you, you worked for Senator Sanders, Vice President Harris. You were on the campaign side of things. Now you're on the media side of things. Are you worried about the direction of media and where it's heading today?
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Simone Sanders Townsend
Look, I think I am worried that maybe some people within the large ecosystem that is the media apparatus don't understand the assignment, for lack of a better term. That does worry me. I'm worried that we dance around terms like racially charged and a loose relationship with the truth. Racially charged is racist. A loose relationship with the truth is a lie. And I think we just have to be about the business of saying what it is that we mean. That's what I think Eugene and I try to endeavor to do in our shows on the weeknight and the weekend. And it's also, frankly, what we're doing with our podcast, Clock It. And I really think it is actually the most important thing people can do is just be plain. Be plain, be direct, and be very specific. Because to Eugene's point, we are dealing with not just a White House, but a government and a government that just lies. And when I worked at the White House, the career officials, they will regularly remind us that they are the career officials, the people who are there across various administrations, that they are not here to serve at the whim of one president. That you think you know everything, but you don't know anything. Because I've been here 20 years, and you know what? Some days it was annoying, but overall, I always really appreciated it because these are folks that. That were here before I came and will be there when I'm gone. And that is what the continuity of government is about. The difference now is the whole of government. You talk about a whole of government approach. It's a whole of government approach to lie right now. And you cannot give, unfortunately, the government the benefit of the doubt. And so with the Epstein files situation happening right now, I'm actually quite frustrated that the lawmakers keep saying things like, or we want to give the Department of Justice an opportunity. Well, how many opportunities does the Department of Justice need to comply with the law? Where's the line? And I think sometimes I'm just so. Oh, like, if I had edges, they'd be gone. So much is happening. And the media, the people who are behind the microphones, behind the cameras, in front of the cameras, the editors, the writers, the really great journalists and reporters, they have to understand the assignment. And I think a lot of people do, but there's still a lot of people that do not.
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Podcast Host
Well, you mentioned something that I want to talk about, and that's your new podcast, Clock It. Eugene, what do you say to someone who's like, well, another podcast. Why am I listening to another podcast in this.
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Eugene Daniels
In this space?
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Podcast Host
What should they expect and why should they listen?
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Eugene Daniels
Yeah, because, you know, one of the things that is the basis and the foundation of this podcast is actually that Simone and I talk every single day. Right. And so the. The idea of the podcast came. We were having a conversation when she was hosting the weekend, and I was a guest after the show for like an hour, hour and a half about culture and politics and how we think about it similarly with her senior producer, Brittany Ruff. And we were joking that we need a podcast, but again, there's so many podcasts, so how many podcasts can humans have? And as we kept talking about it, it started to, like, kind of take shape. And what we realized is that there aren't really any podcasts that talk about politics and culture as intertwined. Right. I think a lot of time people feel like they have to separate them, that you can only talk about culture, you can only talk about politics, that the. That the audience that wants to hear one doesn't want to hear about the other. But what we believe and that what we're endeavoring to do with this podcast is to make people realize who maybe they don't, that these things are intertwined, as Simone likes to say, like, the culture is not the sideshow. It is often the playbook. Right. And especially with this president he has been chasing, you know, being popular and fun and all of that for a really long time. And so for us, if you understand that Donald Trump is changing the name of the Kennedy center, is hosting the Kennedy center honors, is going, having the UFC folks fight on the lawn of the White House for 250th anniversary of the country going to all of these sporting events, it's not because he likes sports so much, guys. It is because he wants to be seen as part of the zeitgeist. And if you are part of the zeitgeist, it is easier to do things politically and policy wise. And so when people understand that, you can kind of clock what they're doing.
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Podcast Host
Did you hear that Pam Bondi, or rather that the stock market hit 50,000?
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Eugene Daniels
Yeah, I did.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
When she said that, maybe I rewound because I was watching on. I was watching on YouTube, actually on YouTube channel, and I just, I was like, oh, I. I missed a part where they asked the Attorney General about.
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Eugene Daniels
That, where she was the treasury secretary.
- [12:27]
Podcast Host
Correct, Correct.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
Perhaps I was. I was misinformed, but I was not. Pam Bondi was deflecting. And I mean, the sideshow that we saw yesterday from the Attorney General, it shouldn't be shocking, but we can never allow it to be acceptable. And at the end of the day, I've been saying for a long time, if somebody I know was accused of being a pedophile and arrested and they said, simone, you have been in pictures with and friends with and partying with this pedophile. I will be grabbing everything I can to demonstrate that. Like, let me tell you everything I know I ain't know, I ain't see anything, but they nasty and I do not support this. So the fact that the people within the government, and frankly folks that knew Jeffrey Epstein, that associated with he and Ghislay Maxwell are not doing that to me, that tells me everything we need to know. And it goes back to why the government cannot have the presumption, the deference that other governments, previous administrations, Democrats and Republicans have been allowed. This is, that's crazy. It's just crazy.
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Podcast Host
No, I mean, I agree. And Simone, I got to ask you, because you all talk about culture and the intersection of culture and politics. To me right now, I feel like we're in a moment where what's happening in Washington is really breaking through in culture in a way that we haven't seen before. Whether it's ice, whether it's Epstein. I mean, so many of these stories, the shooting of Renee Good, the shooting of Alex Preddy, most Americans saw it on their own on social media, right. They're not relying on things coming out of the White House or even mainstream media, so to speak. So do you really feel like this moment is different?
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Simone Sanders Townsend
I think that this moment is one of the many inflection points when we look back on in history, when they look back 20 and not even 20, maybe 10 years from now, this will be an inflection point. I think we're at a crossroads and an informed citizenry is crucial. But I think what I love about what Eugene and I are doing is, you know, we're not leaving our, you know, he's still going to co host the Weekend, I'm still going to co host the Weeknight, but we're also meeting people where they are and talking about the news in a way in which most people we know are frankly talking about the news. So we're not going to beat you over the head with the facts, but we're bringing you into our group chat and experiencing this right along with you. Because this moment is an inflection point and we believe that people have to understand what is going on so they can make informed decisions. I'll say in our first episode that's out right now, one of the folks that we talk to, we have a great conversation with Myles Frost who is the youngest Tony Award winner ever. He played Michael Jackson on Broadway. And Tony Goldwyn, who everybody knows fit from Scandal, Law and Order, one battle after another. But Tony Goldwyn and Savion Glover are actually currently co directing a play that is here in Washington D.C. at Arena Stage. And Myles Frost is the star. And the conversation we had was really about how this moment requires is like made for artists and artists, artists and art. And this is where art flourishes. And the reason the government and Donald Trump is so intent on trying to arrest the culture, if you will, and smother the art is because they know how powerful it is. Tony Goldwyn had this really powerful piece where he talked about the power community and that's what we need right now. And I think people are looking for community. It's, it's every day. It's crazy. And I think folks want to be in a space where they're like, am I crazy? Are you seeing what I'm saying? Yes, I clocked it. You clocked it too. Now what are we going to do about it?
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Podcast Host
Yeah, that's very true. Now, before I let you go, Eugene, where can people find clock it? Where should people watch? Listen, I mean, every opportunity to plug it everywhere.
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Eugene Daniels
It's 20, 26, y'. All, it's everywhere. Apple, podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts currently. And the thing about if you watch our shows and watch us on tv, Simone and I are maybe expressive. So we, when we wanted to do this in this new iteration of Ms. Now podcasting, it was, it was clear that it had to be also a video podcast. And so it is. You know, we are taking over the studio in which we both do our shows, changing it up and making it a podcast studio as well. So on YouTube right now on the Ms. Now YouTube, which is very popular. So thank you all for.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
You can find it on YouTube. Watch us.
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Podcast Host
Amazing. Eugene, Simone, thank you so much.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
Thank you.
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Eugene Daniels
Thank you.
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Podcast Host
Hey folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow subscribe. See you soon for more.
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Simone Sanders Townsend
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Eugene Daniels
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