A (4:52)

Now you've been on the book tour for several days now and a lot of folks on the right were actually mocking you for coming out and talking about your dyslexia. What do you say to someone who not only mocked you, but also maybe a little kid who saw those comments and kind of felt scared to come out on their own and talk about it?

B (5:12)

I appreciate that question because it's why people don't talk about this and it's why we're so prone to bullshit, excuse my language, politicians. Because we just become. We sanitize ourselves, we act whole than thou. We're not being honest because everyone expects perfection. My book's about perseverance, not about perfect. Jesus. Last thing it's about is perfection. I mean, it's heavily self critical. And so I've been saying I have 960sats for years. And in fact, by the way, ironically, the right criticized me for saying it in Atlanta. I said it when I had Charlie Kirk on my podcast. And I'm saying it to, to make a point that there's many paths in life. And it's not like I was never going to be a Rhodes scholar. I was never going to be as smart as my sister or my wife who went to Stanford and then Stanford Business School. But it doesn't mean I'm stupid. I just want folks to know that, look, I wrote a book about my learning disability and I want to talk about it publicly and to the extent people want to criticize it or mock it, you know, bring it on, man. Because for me, this, you know, I'm at a. I'm just in a different place now in my life where I'm like, you know, I don't have, I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody anymore. And I think there's a lot of people out there that, you know, just need to know they're seen, they matter. And you don't turn your back because some kid goes to community college. You don't turn your back because some kid you know is struggling academically and bouncing around schools or can't read particularly well or can't write, certainly can't spel. Those aren't people you throw away. And that's really what I'm trying to champion in this book.

A (6:58)

Now you were on that book tour this week and one of your stops was in New York Tuesday night, right before the President's State of the Union address. I gotta ask you, did you watch his speech? And do you agree when the President says That the State of the Union is strong.

B (7:13)

He promised to make us wealthier and healthier, and we're poorer and sicker. So complete BS Trump is. I say it all the time. He's weakness. Masquerading is strength. Destruction is not strength. And all he's done is destroyed trust, institutions, the East Wing, our alliances, our confidence in one another, the partisanship that was on full display in that speech. He didn't pivot at all. I mean, tonally, just doesn't give a damn. He doubled down on stupid. He's dividing this country. He's trying to wreck our democracy, trying to light it on fire. After January 6, he tried to steal the election. A few weeks later, I was down in Fulton county for one of my book tour signings, talking to them directly about the original 11, 12,000 votes he tried to dial up. And now he's trying to dial in his own influence in the next election by taking over the elections process in Fulton County. He is not screwing up. He's trying to destroy this republic. And so I've said this for months now. It's not about the rule of law. It's about the role of Don. And I hope it's dawn on everyone. This is Code Red in our democracy. And all of us need to do more and be more vigilant. We've got to be tougher, we've got to be more aggressive, and we've got to deal with the bullshit coming on the other side. The propaganda networks, the surround sound, the 24 7, the slip boning, the likes of which we've never seen, aided and embedded by the algorithms, aided embedded by billionaires that are consolidating the media, aided and abetted by people that are bending down on their knees to suck up to this administration, be it the universities, the law firms, the CEOs, foreign leaders, this great grift. We got to call it all out. And you saw it all on full display, that State of the Union. So, no, the state of this Union is not healthy and it's not strong. But we are resilient. And I think that's the most important message. And we're going to win in November, and we're gonna take back this country in 2028. And I believe that in my soul, and I have all the confidence in the world, we can do that as long as we do not give in to the cynicism, fear and anxiety.

A (9:22)

Now, you mentioned billionaires taking over media. Warner Brothers and Paramount. Big deal that was just executed matter of hours ago. $110 billion deal. Your attorney General, Rob Bond has already come out and said it's not necessarily a done deal. We're gonna take a look at it, we're gonna investigate it. Do you believe the agreement is a done deal?

B (9:41)

No. And look, to Rob's credit, he sent out a letter a few weeks ago when Netflix was still in the mix, making this point to both suitors as well. We believe in a fair, independent process of evaluating the merits and demerits of this merger and what it means for workers. What does it mean for iatse? What does it mean for the Teamsters? What does it mean for the hard working creators in Hollywood? What does it mean for the folks, the editors and the staff at these news organizations? What does it mean for one of the world's oldest and most independent news sources, cnn? Not just for domestic purposes, international purposes. What does it mean the future of film Hollywood? What does it mean to the great state of California? And so our state of mind, broadly is fixed on that. And that's the Attorney General's job. And of course, what does it mean in the United States of America? What does it mean when you have a handful of people that disproportionately have a, an influence on what we see and when we see it, including on TikTok. And I don't say this is a cheap shot against everybody that's working over there and those are promoting the merger, but this is a sign of things to come. And it's what's happened in the Trump administration where he threatens Susan Rice. Netflix says they're not going to get the deal unless they fire a board member. That's not free enterprise. That's crony capitalism. That's state capitalism. And I think crony capitalism, state capitalism needs to be scrutinized by the feds first. But states also, to your question, have a role to play.

A (11:14)

Now, we talk a lot about the influence of big money and big donors and politics, but it's also not, it's not just media, it's politics. We have apec, big oil, other large organizations. They've become a flashpoint in American politics. Do you believe our political system has a problem right now where money influences politics and politicians?

B (11:32)

Well, if you want to understand something, just follow the name money. I mean, that's an old saw. It's true. Just follow the money. If something makes no sense, nothing makes sense. Follow the money. Not complicated. I mean, why was Trump spending so much time overseas? Follow the money. Why do you care so much about tariffs? Well, he cared about his Golf course and the fact that he declined. He reduced the tariffs 26% after Vietnam approved his one and a half billion dollar development. All of a sudden they got a deal on the tariffs. He cared about the UAE trade deals because he had an opportunity to trade the $2 billion that they provided to World Financial Liberty for the Wyckoff and Trump family. And then they got high valued computer chips in return. All this stuff's connected. I've been a clean money guy back to my days when I first got elected in the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and we kicked off in the Presidio, the clean money campaign in California. I was there with a guy named Mark Leno back in the day. And I've supported that effort forever. Just like JFK supported public financing 100 years ago. I was reelected as mayor when we had public financing for mayor's races. Not 100%, but partially. And so I've seen the benefits and I've seen the challenges on both sides. I've been the beneficiary of a lot of independent expenditures. I'm fully transparent at that. And I've also been attacked by recall, with tens of millions of dollars of independent expenditures trying to weaponize and take me out, which the rnc, Trump and Newt Gingrich and all these guys tried to do a few years ago. So we got to clean this up. I mean, we're talking billions of dollars, these races and all the dark money, all I'm still trying to figure out on my recall, we still have lawsuits. I don't know where they are. They've been thrown out. I got to actually check back in because there's so many layers deep of how these guys hide behind all of these paywalls and play an outsized role in our democracy. And so, yeah, no, forgive me, you triggered me a little bit on this. Very strong opinions. But again, these are opinions have been expressed for half a century and it's just hard as hell to figure out how to break this monopoly in terms of all these special interests that cross. It's not just Citizens United, big corporations, there's big progressive organizations that I love as well that also play heavily in political campaigns. And so to fix this, we're all gonna have to contribute to the solution.

A (14:08)

Now, Governor, before I let you go, I gotta ask you. We talk a lot about the White House. We talk about your relationship, or lack thereof, with the president. And this is something that I've been wondering for a long time. How do you, as governor of California, work with the White House while also Having a White House that seemingly wants to attack you on a daily basis.

B (14:29)

I may be the last guy to be able to answer that question. But I also may be the first guy you should ask because I have this really interesting relationship that I painted a picture. I have a full chapter in this book, if for nothing else. If you don't care about dyslexia of my childhood, you don't care about my grandfather's prisoner of war and the fact he committed suicide, my mom's assisted suicide, my anxieties, insecurities, setbacks, triumphs, you don't care about any of that. You may love the chapter on Donald Trump. The first time I met him where I was in Marine One and Air Force One, went down to Southern California, not just Northern California, spent the day with them and then worked with him for a few years during COVID at the same time I was down there on the tarmac in Los Angeles. I was not invited to that originally. Kind of sort of shape shifted my invitation at the end there and then went to the Oval Office. I was the first governor, Democratic governor last year to Visit the president. 90 minutes in the Oval Office. And so I'm constantly trying to answer that question myself and figure that out with an open hand, not a closed fist. Always work as Mamdani is, you know, he was there at the White House again to benefit my constituency. 40 million Americans, size of 21 state populations combined. California. We play an outsized role in relationship to this country. And so I feel it's important we have a relationship with the President. At the same time, we will stand our ground. We did it with Prop 50 and we'll punch back. We'll punch a bully in the face. And if other people are a little timid, then I'll push them aside. I'm happy to have arrows on my back. I'm happy to take this guy on and call him out. That's what the knee pads are about. That's, you know, that was not just a metaphor, by the way. I have a Patriot site where I'm selling knee pads and the money goes to our campaign for democracy and it goes to the fight in red. Date red states where we're helping support parties in red states that are often overlooked by the Democratic Party. And so, you know, I'm just iterating, man. I'm just trying to figure it out in real time. But the origin story of all that is in the book and it's a hell of a story that's worth reading about, if nothing else to learn. About what was talked about when Donald Trump brought me into his bedroom on Air Force One.

A (16:41)

I don't know how many people want to go into Trump's bedroom on Air Force One. Thank you, Governor, for taking a few minutes this afternoon. Appreciate it.

B (16:48)

It's great to be with you. Thank you.

A (16:50)

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