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- [00:01]
Senator Alyssa Slotkin
Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump?
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Narrator/Advertiser
I know.
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Host/Interviewer
Have you heard about Phil Weisner in Colorado, though?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
No. Is he different?
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Narrator/Advertiser
Yeah.
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Host/Interviewer
A.G. weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs and he even won against Ticketmaster.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
So he actually gets results.
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Host/Interviewer
Exactly as Governor Phil will fight for Colorado.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado
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Host/Interviewer
Registered agent Nana Nasgese When I found out I was gonna be a par, I immediately felt a lot of anxiety and worry. So I went on to BetterHelp to try to look for a therapist to help me with that. My relationship with my family and with
- [00:42]
Senator Alyssa Slotkin
my boyfriend and with myself were suffering.
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Host/Interviewer
I really needed help.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
I was ruminating a lot. Really getting those thoughts out to a therapist and getting feedback was just life changing.
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Narrator/Advertiser
Discover what BetterHelp online therapy can do for you. Visit betterhelp.com today.
- [01:02]
Host/Interviewer
Good evening, everyone. Happy Thursday night. A busy news day today. A lot of just kind of hodgepodge. Lots of news that's nothing super big, but a lot of smaller stories that really make it a busy day. The biggest story, though, is to this moment, we have never seen so many Republicans break from Trump. Now we're seeing several break on the deal in Iran. And I spoke with Senator Alyssa Slotkin from Michigan tonight who says that the number of Republicans breaking may be even greater. We had the opening of the Obama Center. President Obama spoke, Former first Lady Michelle Obama spoke. Donald Trump was upset that his poll numbers were below President Obama's. And the algae issue at the reflecting pool, well, it's actually getting even worse. And I was there. I dipped my finger in and I saw the algae move around. It is gross. The ducks won't even swim at it. If you can make sure to, like, comment, share and specifically subscribe to my substack link below. It helps support my work, keeps me caffeinated. And if you're already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription. We're growing our community, strengthening independent journalism, and ensuring that we can bring you the stories that matter most. I want to start, though, on the Iran issue because Trump's proposed Iran agreement is facing unusually strong resistance from Senate Republicans, including Iran hawks and longtime Trump allies. We have people like Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ted Cruz, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, Joni Ernst. They've all come out and said, I don't know that we like all of these provisions. Wicker warned the deal could undermine the gains of Operation Epic Fury and said that the benefits offered to Iran would make the 2015 Obama nuclear deal look like pittance by comparison. Cruz argued that billions of dollars to Iran would ultimately endanger Americans. Even Majority Leader John Thune offered only cautious support, saying he is still digesting the agreement and wanted stronger guarantees tied to Iran's compliance. Now, what's interesting is what we're seeing tonight is that Senate, the Senate is really breaking for the from the president. The House is still relatively in line, but the Senate is not. And well, it comes, as even Wikipedia says, the result of the war in Iran is an Iranian victory. Because ultimately everything we've seen based on the deal thus far is that Trump kind of capitulated to Iran. President Obama called out Trump subtly today. Take a listen.
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Narrator/Advertiser
I get it. I am not immune to anger or doubt. But I do know this. When we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters, that citizenship matters, that our collective voices matter, that how we treat each other no longer matters, then we give away our power to decide our own futures. We open the door to the most ruthless or the most careless or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others and see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils and punish enemies and keep those who are different in their place. I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end. I don't believe it. Because for us to give up, for us to give in now, after all this country has been through to cynicism and division, would be a betrayal of our founding ideals, a betrayal of our faith. And I remain convinced that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel the same way, that as unsettled as we are, people aren't looking for perpetual anger and division. They are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect that deep in our gut we want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away.
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Host/Interviewer
Pretty powerful stuff from President Obama. I was supposed to be there today, but I couldn't get a babysitter for my daughter. So instead we watched it from home and I had my daughter kind of look at the Obama speak. I also spoke with Senator Lysis Slotkin tonight about new legislation to keep the military away from polling sites, and also about how she says the break we're seeing from Republicans could just be the beginning. Make sure to subscribe to my substack tonight if you can. Would really mean the world to me to show your support and to grow independent journalism. My interview with Senator Slotkin. Great to be here today with Senator Alyssa Slotkin again. Now, Senator, you introduced legislation today that a lot of Americans may not know about, the Protect Our Polls act to ensure that our elections are secure, but at the same time that we don't have military troops at our elections. Can you talk a little bit more about what folks need to know about this legislation?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
Yeah, I mean, first of all, I mean, the President has been very clear. He said it in the State of the Union, if his party doesn't win in November, then the election was rigged. Right. And he's been doing a ton of stuff to muddy the waters, confuse people, and frankly, try to change how we vote in this country. So what the bill does is, is basically say the President of the United States cannot send uniform military to our polls to collect our ballots or our voting machines. And if he wants to send them to protect voting, he has to come to Congress first and get approval. Never in our history 250 years have we ever sent uniform military to our polls. Not during World War II, not right after 9, 11 when we were attacked. So if you claim that there's such a big security threat that you need to send the uniform military, you need congressional approval before you do that. And, and then the other piece that I just think is important to note is that it is currently illegal for the uniform military to seize ballots or voting machines. And it's like, so important in our country's history that we don't do that with our military, that it's one of the only times when uniformed officers and, and enlisted can be held personally liable and go to jail for up to five years if they are caught collecting ballots or voting machines. That I've, I've been pretty clear about the importance of knowing lawful from unlawful orders. We just wanted to reiterate that we're not going to do anything that puts our uniformed military in a position where they could be held criminally liable for violating the law.
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Host/Interviewer
Now, what are the odds something like this passes the Senate before the election? Because you're going to need Republican support. I mean, it's going to be an uphill battle. So what are the, what are the odds here?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
Yeah, so I tried with three different amendments last week to get something passed in the debate over the Pentagon budget. And I asked my Republican colleagues, I'm like, look, this, let's just make this clear, right? None of us want our military at our polls.
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Host/Interviewer
Right.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
We don't want that. And three different times, it was a, it was a partisan vote. And mostly my Republican colleagues said, like, I don't want to send a negative message to the president. I don't want to insult the president. I'm like, you know, don't worry about the president. Worry about your democracy and protecting the country. So we would love some of our Republican colleagues, particularly those who have lost their elections and they're on their way out anyways, to join us and help preserve also the reputation of the military. But if it, if it doesn't pass, I think at least I want people to be aware that the president, President has not ruled this out. His Cabinet members have not ruled this out. And we need to really inoculate ourselves for if the president claims there's some big security threat in the 11th hour, he's got to send troops to my state, other states, federal law enforcement to my state, other state. I want people to know that this is part of an authoritarian playbook and to identify it when they hear about it.
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Host/Interviewer
Now, you mentioned Republican senators who are outgoing. One of them, Senator Bill Cassidy, came out yesterday and said that Ronald Reagan was turning over in his grave concerning the memorandum of understanding with Iran. Today, Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, came out and blasted the deal as well. What is the prevailing takeaway from your Republican colleagues right now in the Senate over this deal with Iran?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
I mean, this has been more criticism, and again, it's still on the light side, but criticism of President Trump by Republican colleagues that I've seen in my year and a half in the Senate. And that's because all of these senators were on record pounding the hell out of the Obama administration for negotiating a better deal than what Trump just got. And the kicker of a potential $300 billion kind of tip to the Iranians for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was never in the Obama deal, I think is. Was just, like, beyond the pale for a bunch of them. And there's reams of videotape of these guys being critical of Obama doing this deal. So I think the. There's, like, you can smell it around here that they know this deal wasn't a strong one. Even the president was like, I'm going to have J.D. vance go and sign the, you know, negotiate with them and sign the documents in case this thing goes sideways. But it's been interesting to watch my colleagues turn on the president.
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Host/Interviewer
Do you anticipate having the Senate or any congressional review of this deal with Iran? Because to me, this is something that would require congressional approval.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
So it's interesting there's debate going on. You know, there's this mou. They say they're going to negotiate a longer term document. Does one or both come here for approval? We're still trying to parse exactly what this will mean. I certainly think the President got us into a war. Four months, you know, the, the American citizens have paid $60 billion out of their own pockets for this war. Come and air this agreement, talk about it, open it up, show the American public what we got for this war.
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Host/Interviewer
Do you anticipate there being any blowback against folks like Vice President Vance or Hecseth or Rubio? Some of the, maybe not the President himself, but some of those in his administration who may kind of be, I don't know, thrown to, thrown to the wolves in a way.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
I mean, I think the President said the quiet part out loud, right? He's like, I'm going to send JD in case this people don't like this deal. You know, I think this President has become a foreign policy president. He's taken military action in, I think, nine different places in the world. And so I can just say back home, I think there's a lot of Michiganders feel like, hey, I elected him to be bold on domestic issues, on my economic issues, my pocketbook. I didn't elect him to get us into more wars, spend a lot of money abroad. So I think there's strong feeling, at least in my state, which is a swing state from both the left and the right, that this war just the juice was not worth the squeeze and people died.
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Host/Interviewer
Have you heard at all, maybe from your Republican colleagues behind the scenes, that maybe we should push harder in the future for Congressional approval when we go into war overseas after what we've seen with Iran?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
I don't think that, I don't think that they're, I mean, there yet. No. And, you know, I think the, the fact that a bunch of them have come out against the Iran ceasefire deal is a start of a more, you know, a little bit more honesty. But we're a long way off from them actually curbing the presidency. Saying something is one thing. Actions are different than words. And I haven't seen much action.
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Host/Interviewer
Now, looking ahead to November midterms, Michigan has a major Senate race. You guys have a bunch of major House races. What is kind of the playing field on the ground right now in Michigan as it comes to the midterm elections? How are people feeling? What issues are really at top of mind for folks?
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
Well, I think part of the reason I did the no troops at The Polls act was because Michigan has been so repeatedly targeted. Know the president has sued us for our voting rolls. He keeps talking about Detroit. It is. There's a real possibility that the president continues to focus on us because we could flip a bunch of congressional seats. We have an important Senate seat. Everything you said. But I think, look, the. The mood on the ground, I think, is still about the economy, still about pocketbooks, still trying to understand what people, you know, are going to get in terms of relief on housing or health care. The midterms are a referendum on the party in power. And so I think there's a lot of energy on the ground to vote against the Republicans, against the president's party. But, you know, winning a midterm is not the same thing as winning a presidential election. So no one should overthink the results. If we do do well in Michigan. Some of the other issues that have emerged for sure, are AI data centers. That's definitely been a big galvanizing issue. Lots of interest, kind of on all sides of this. And then, I think, you know, part and parcel of that is the future of work with AI. Just what does that mean? We're a state that. That has a lot of skilled trades. You know, we manufacture, we make things. So we maybe are not like the Californias with the software engineers losing a ton of jobs, but, you know, we know what it's like to lose jobs to globalization. And so there's a lot of questions about, like, what is the future going to mean for our kids? A lot of discussion of social media and what the right approach is to young people, children using cell phones and social media, and how do we manage that. So, you know, I think a lot of questions about the economy and a lot of questions about the future of work.
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Host/Interviewer
Senner, thanks so much for taking the time.
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Senator Alyssa Slotkin
You bet. Thank you.
- [15:56]
Host/Interviewer
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.