The Hard Truths: A Conversation with David Rothkopf

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Hard Truths - A Conversation with David Rothkopf

Podcast: The PoliticsGirl Podcast
Host: Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl), Meidas Media Network
Guest: David Rothkopf
Date: February 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

This charged and candid episode confronts the present and looming threats to American democracy in 2026. Host Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl) sits down with international affairs expert and journalist David Rothkopf to discuss the dire state of U.S. institutions, the failures of political leadership across party lines, and the essential priorities for Americans committed to saving democracy. The conversation is frank, humorous at points, deeply concerned, and ultimately rallying—a call for engagement and bold action.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. The Existential Threat to American Democracy

00:00–04:00

• Rothkopf asserts that current U.S. government policies are catastrophically harmful—“not 15 degrees off from where we should be, 180 degrees off.”
• He likens the Trump administration’s actions to what a hostile foreign power might attempt to weaken the U.S., from undermining competitiveness to destroying alliances and institutions.
• Rothkopf: “If we had come up with a plan to stop the US from being a superpower, the plan would be the Trump administration.” (00:00)

2. Acknowledging but Not Succumbing to Despair

03:01–04:00

• The “hard truths” post by Rothkopf inspires this episode. McGowan notes its importance: not nihilistic, but a call to face reality without looking away.

3. America's Government as its Own Worst Enemy

04:08–08:22

• Rothkopf argues the U.S. government has crossed from adversary to “enemy within,” attacking institutions, democracy, and freedoms.
• Examples include ICE raids, healthcare and VA service breakdowns, illegal tariffs, alliance breakdown with NATO, global propping up of authoritarian interests.
• Discussion of how U.S. policies and leadership have reversed roles in the global order—America is now perceived as the authoritarian actor.
• Quote: “We are the baddies, without a doubt.” – PoliticsGirl (08:22)

4. The Ridiculousness and Danger of Current Leadership

09:48–12:00

• Dissection of the “frat boy” culture at the highest levels: Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, RFK Jr., and Kid Rock are lampooned as emblematic of a debased, unserious, and corrupt ruling class.
• “They hate being laughed at. Laughing at them is actually a superpower we can all share.” – Rothkopf (12:33)

5. Systematic Dismantling of Institutions & Policy Catastrophe

12:58–16:47

• Education, diplomacy, trade, environmental protections, and arms control are all under attack.
• Supreme Court’s loss of independence is highlighted as symptomatic of collapsing norms.
• “If Supreme Court decisions stop mattering to this president, imagine where that takes us.” – Rothkopf (13:45)
• The administration’s policies are described as not just alternative, but “the worst possible policies” at every turn.

6. Brain Drain & Loss of American Advantage

16:52–19:11

• Stories of scientists and researchers leaving the U.S. for other countries (e.g., Finland), loss of international students, and China overtaking U.S. advancements are cited as evidence of long-term damage.
• “China has already leapt ahead of us on AI, on quantum computing.” – Rothkopf (17:30)

7. Setting Priorities: Stopping MAGA, Structural Reforms

19:11–24:11

• McGowan stresses uniting around one goal: defeat Trumpism and MAGA in 2026/2028, because all other plans are moot otherwise.
• Rothkopf adds the need for “structural change” immediately upon regaining power: expanding the Supreme Court, accountability, and reforming institutions.

8. Democratic Failures and the Need for New Leadership

24:15–29:22

• Rothkopf criticizes Biden and Garland for not taking the threat of the “enemy within” seriously enough post-2021.
• The need to move beyond current Democratic leadership—“No more John Fetterman’s. No more Joe Manchin’s…Chuck Schumer’s not up to the moment, folks.” (26:20)
• Emphasizes primaries and the importance of electing transformational, not just technocratic, leaders.

9. The Urgency of Accountability

29:22–32:36

• McGowan and Rothkopf argue for Nuremberg-scale consequences for corruption and anti-democratic activities, including judicial actors, high-profile Trump co-conspirators, and even business elites.
• “We need a Project 2029 of some of the best legal minds…on accountability. We need to know on day one, Stephen Miller’s getting a knock on his door…” – Rothkopf (29:22)
• “When they go low, we go high…please just wash that bullshit out of your mind.” (30:54)

10. Corruption, Billionaires, and “The Epstein Class”

32:56–36:31

• Broader critique of billionaire impunity, rampant corruption (Palantir, Melania Trump’s 'movie,' money siphoned from aid, etc.), and bipartisan complicity.
• Rothkopf: “There is a billionaire class in the US that doesn’t think the rules apply to them.” (32:56)

11. The Coming Youth-Led Transformation

44:36–49:37

• The electorate is shifting: in 2028, Millennials and Gen Z will be the majority of voters.
• “They don’t remember the Cold War. They don’t remember 9/11…They don’t believe the US system is working for them.” – Rothkopf (46:31)
• Discusses Zoran Mamdani’s victory in NY, declining “reflexive support” for traditional foreign policies, and shifts within the Jewish vote especially on Israel/Gaza.
• Both agree: Winning will come from mobilizing new and nonvoters, not converting hard MAGA base.

12. The 2026 State of the Union and What to Expect

49:37–52:36

• Trump is expected to lie about the economy, flex on foreign policy, and ignore the realities highlighted on the podcast.
• Suspense over his ability to stay alert and whether Congressional Republicans will show support given dire polling.

13. The Path Forward – Hope, Humor & Relentless Action

52:40–54:10

• McGowan: “Let’s not forget to laugh at their ridiculousness. They absolutely hate it.”
• The episode concludes with a rallying cry for new leaders, new ideas, and a refusal to do things the old way.
• “These people will only win if we give up.” – PoliticsGirl (54:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You actually have the worst possible policies for the United States of America. Not 15 degrees off from where we should be, 180 degrees off.”
  — David Rothkopf (00:00)

• “Laughing at them is actually a superpower we can all share.”
  — David Rothkopf (12:36)

• “If Supreme Court decisions stop mattering to this president, imagine where that takes us.”
  — David Rothkopf (13:45)

• “If we had come up with a plan to stop the US from being a superpower, the plan would be the Trump administration.”
  — David Rothkopf (16:25)

• “The majority of voters will be born since 1990...They don’t believe the US system is working for them. That’s the majority of voters.”
  — David Rothkopf (46:31)

• “We need a Project 2029 of some of the best legal minds who are also kind of pissed off on accountability. We need to know. On day one, Stephen Miller's getting a knock on his door...”
  — David Rothkopf (29:22)

• “When they go low, we go high...please just wash that bullshit out of your mind.”
  — David Rothkopf (30:54)

• “There is a billionaire class in the US that doesn’t think the rules apply to them.”
  — David Rothkopf (32:56)

• "These people will only win if we give up."
  — PoliticsGirl/Leigh McGowan (54:10)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 — Rothkopf’s diagnosis: policies as existential threat
• 04:08 — The U.S. government as “enemy within”
• 09:48 — Culture of corruption and ridicule at the top
• 12:58 — Systemic attack on institutions and future risks
• 17:02 — Brain drain and consequences for science & research
• 19:11 — Uniting around defeating MAGA as first priority
• 24:15 — Failure of past Democratic strategy; need for new leadership
• 29:22 — Call for transformative accountability, not just reform
• 32:56 — Billionaires, corruption, and impunity
• 44:36 — The rise of Millennial and Gen Z political power
• 49:37 — Preview of Trump’s State of the Union strategy
• 52:40 — The emotional toll and rally to keep fighting

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Tone & Language

• Candid, at times profane (“fuck,” “bullshit”) but unflinchingly direct.
• Humorous analogies and lampooning highlight both the absurdity and danger of the present moment.
• Urgent and motivational, stressing personal and collective agency.

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Conclusion

This episode stands as a passionate, deeply informed, and brutally honest assessment of the threats facing American democracy in 2026. It blends alarm with humor, insists on the need for unity and immediate, bold action, and underlines the generational change on the horizon. The hosts and guest urge listeners to not only vote and engage but to demand structural changes and accountability: The fight is not just to restore, but to re-invent American democracy.

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Essential Call to Action:
“Take this administration seriously, but don’t forget to laugh at their ridiculousness. They absolutely hate it. And we need nice things.” – PoliticsGirl (56:47)

Transcript

[David Rothkopf]

You actually have the worst possible policies for the United States of America. Not 15 degrees off from where we should be, 180 degrees off. Bad for us, making our economy weaker, making our health care worse, making our defense weaker, making our enemies stronger, making diseases more likely to take a high toll. Destroying, destroying the environment, getting rid of the epa, getting rid of the goals that we've got to protect the environment everywhere, it's comprehensive. If a foreign enemy invaded the United States and said, we're going to destroy its institutions, we're going to destroy its competitiveness, we're down $11 billion in tourism, nobody's coming to study in our schools anymore because we've scared the best brains who used to come here way. If we had come up with a plan to stop the US from being a superpower, the plan would be the Trump administration.

[Lee McGowan]

Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl Podcast. I'm your host, Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. So when things are this crazy, when the news is a never ending onslaught of shocking and unprecedented chaos, when everything you know about how things work seems to be up for debate, it's difficult to know what to do honestly. It's hard to even function properly with everything that's going on right now. So today I thought we would take a step back to get the thoughts of a man who is used to asking the big questions and considering the big picture. My friend, David Rothkop. For those who don't know David, he is the CEO of the Rothkop Group, a best selling author, a journalist and host of the Deep State Radio podcast. He is also someone who truly understands government, having served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce and International Trade Policy in the Clinton administration, as well as working as a professor in International affairs at Columbia University, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins. He is a contributing columnist to the Daily Beast, a member of the board of Contributors to USA Today, and has authored hundreds of articles for multiple publications. So without further ado, please welcome bestselling author, international expert and brilliant thinker, not afraid to ask the hard questions. David Rothkop.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Welcome back, my friend.

[David Rothkopf]

It's good to be back. It's good to see you.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Welcome to 2026, the horror show that is 2026.

[David Rothkopf]

As bad as it may be for us, it is worse for Donald Trump. Every day this year has been a disaster for him and it's only going to get worse.

[Lee McGowan]

Okay, let's just stop the episode right

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

here because that is. That's great. That's all I wanted to hear. Nice to see you. Goodbye yeah.

[David Rothkopf]

So long, World's shortest podcast.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Everyone goes off feeling good for the day.

[Lee McGowan]

That would be great.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah. No, I mean, listen, you know, I

[Lee McGowan]

love talking to you, but I wanted to talk to you after I read

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

your Valentine's Day post about the hard truths, because I've heard so many people say, listen, we're in the last days of democracy. We're at the beginning of the end.

[Lee McGowan]

Like, everything I knew is false.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And you did this hard truce post,

[Lee McGowan]

and it was so good to me

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

because not only did it acknowledge this kind of existential moment that we find

[Lee McGowan]

ourselves in, but it wasn't nihilistic, which a lot of people feel the need

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

to be right now that, you know, it addressed a number of the issues that I think have to be understood and.

[Lee McGowan]

And dealt with immediately.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

But it was about, like, we don't

[Lee McGowan]

have the luxury of looking away from

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

what's happening right now.

[Lee McGowan]

We have to kind of force ourselves

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

to look at it and deal with

[Lee McGowan]

it, because there are still so many of us here fighting for this idea of a land of freedom and opportunity that functions with democracy and a rule of law.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And I thought that was so important right now because I think so many people are just like, oh, my God, kill me. But the first hard truth you put out there was that our government, the American government, is now the greatest enemy

[Lee McGowan]

to the American people, and it's not even close to. So will you talk me through that?

[David Rothkopf]

Yeah. I mean, sure. Although I think you know it in your bones. I wrote a piece in 2015 when I was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine, which said, donald Trump is the biggest threat to the United States in the world. So that was 11 years ago. So first things first. We knew this was coming. And, you know, he was a big threat to the United States for a lot of reasons. He. He was incompetent to the office. No person has ever been president, has held zero prior public kind of jobs. He was loyal to our enemies. He was corrupt. Well, now what we've seen is we've seen him be president for four years. We've now got him back again. And this time around, they have been so aggressive in their attacks on our institutions and their attacks on our allies around the world and their attacks on our fundamental freedoms that, you know, it's starting to be more obvious to everybody. Right, I see there is some hope in that. But right now, the average person, whoever is listening to your podcast, whoever is watching this streaming, is out there, and they can say, well, gee, I have a neighbor who goes to the VA and they can't get service anymore. Or they can say, gee, I have a neighbor or a friend who got dragged away by ice, or who is locked in their house because they're afraid of getting dragged away by ice. Or they were watching on television as somebody's mom or an ICU nurse got shot. They're feeling the fact that, you know, the President has imposed illegal tariffs worth, like, $140 billion, and we're paying the price. And he doesn't acknowledge that he has blown up the Atlantic alliance and he has threatened to invade our enemies, and he has propped up Russia. And, I mean, Steve Witkoff, the boob, who he has doing international negotiations while his son is out trying to do deals on the side of the negotiations last week said, well, you know, Putin has always been straight with me. And you're like, well, look, I mean, seriously, folks, I mean, you know, if your chief negotiator is that gullible or feels so compelled to lie on behalf of Putin, you know, you got a problem. So internationally, we've blown up the international trading system. We've blown up NATO. We've stopped being a force for democracy. We don't promote democracy anymore. Marco Rubio goes to the Munich Security Conference and says, europe is in trouble. We know what the solution is. You have to protect your civilization. What does that code for white Christian civilization? He is, you know, with Stephen Miller as the quarterback, advancing a white, white supremacist agenda at home and abroad for the United States. So you take all that together and you go, holy shit, this is terrible. We are, as the meme goes, the Betty's. I got a bunch of flack on social media yesterday for noting as everybody was going, well, this is the first win for the US Olympic hockey team since 1980, and it's a gold medal for the US Olympic hockey team. And it's just like that moment, and I was like, yeah, except at that time, the Soviets were the authoritarian state that was threatening all of our allies, run by a corrupt oligarchy, and we were the champions of democracy, and we were winning for our side. And now Canada was the state standing up for democracy, and we were the authoritarian oligarchy. So, you know, things have changed. And if our eyes aren't open to that, we can't fix it now, as you indicated, and we can talk about it if you want. I think we can fix it. But it has to start with the fact that we are in the darkest days the Republic has ever seen with regard to the survival of our institutions, civil War was bad. There were dark nights during the Cold War, but at no point during either of those periods did we think democracy was going to go away for everybody in America or that our institutions would be taken over and that we would have a leader who thinks he's a king.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Exactly. I mean, the thing is that I watched that hockey game and I was born in Canada, so obviously my preference is the Canadian team wins. But it wasn't just that, you know, it wasn't the miracle on Ice where America was the good guy and they were fighting back against the baddies. We are the baddies, without a doubt. But I then I think it was brought home. I don't know if you saw the footage of Cash Patel partying with the U.S. olympic hockey team. And he's raging like he won a gold medal. And like, I just, I'm trying to picture Jim Comey there jumping up and down and screaming and shooting beer all over everybody, and then all these young boys screaming with him. And then they call the President, and they call the president on speakerphone in this room full of drunk young men and. And he's like, fudge. Yeah, we got this. Fuck. It's like a just F bomb after F bomb after S bomb. And the President's like, yeah, you guys are going to all have to come to the White House and see me. I guess we have to also invite the Olympic women's team as well. And everyone's like, ha, ha ha. And I thought, oh, my God, this is like country run by the worst frat boys that ever existed in the world. And that's what it is. It's like misogynistic. It's patriot. Like that women's game was right. And the fact that our President demeaned the women's team. Our head of the FBI was there wasted, partying with a gold medal around his neck like he had done absolutely anything. The fact that they called the president,

[Lee McGowan]

everything about it was gross.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

It was everything that people who look at America and think should, should feel.

[David Rothkopf]

I think we have to accept that Cash Patel is a ding dong, right? I mean, he is just the human embodiment of loserdom in the worst possible ways. And the picture of him wearing the hockey jersey, downing a beer, behaving like he had won something while he was there on the taxpayer's dollar. And frankly, he's legally liable personally to go off and do these kind of trips if it's vacay for him. Trump's response was even worse. Trump takes credit for everything. The Mexican government attack killed a cartel leader yesterday. And Trump immediately was like, well, see, this is part of our. The pressure. He takes credit for everything this morning. And I say this with real sensitivity to you as a Canadian. He posted an AI Video of himself in a hockey uniform skating down the ice and then punching a Canadian player. I mean, that's where our president is. To lighten this up a little bit, because we need to sort of help ourselves get through this. I do think it's important that we realize how ridiculous these people are. They're terribly dangerous. But Kash Patel's as big a jerk who has ever been in the government. But then there's Pete Hegseth. But then you stop thinking about Pete Hegseth. And then there's Kristi Noem, who needs her blankie on the airplane, and she gets her boyfriend who works for her to go and fire a Coast Guard captain. And then. And I really would like to hear your reaction to this. We get RFK Jr. In the sauna with Kid Rock. With Kid Rock with their shirts off,

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

working out together, drinking milk in the hot tub. Like, what planet are we on?

[David Rothkopf]

Which is, you know, blazing new trails in geriatric, homoerotic filmmaking. You know, this is where we are as a country. Right. And then Melania and her movie, and, I mean, it's like. It's the worst. And it makes Idiocracy look like a documentary. And somehow we have to manage our way through all this.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah. And somehow we're still in year two. Yeah. No, I mean, you said they have debased our government with corruption and incompetence, and they have crossed the line from being political adversaries to being enemies within our borders. It is vital that they are defeated as soon as possible.

[David Rothkopf]

And.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And I feel the same way, because as ridiculous as it is, and I do think you're right, we should call it ridiculous, because it is ridiculous.

[David Rothkopf]

And also because they hate being laughed at.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Oh, no.

[David Rothkopf]

They think laughing. Laughing at them is actually a superpower we can all share.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Like you said, they're ridiculous, but they are also incredibly dangerous. That we have to recognize this moment we're in because there is no good or acceptable plan B to these people. Like, we can't allow this to continue. Tell me what you mean by that. Because if we allow this to continue, America doesn't come back from this.

[David Rothkopf]

No. Well, because what they're doing is dismantling our institutions one by one. I could start almost anywhere. Because they're trying to get rid of the Department of Education and Stephen Miller. Is saying they now want to teach in the schools, courses that are only patriotic and make people feel good about Americans and don't have communist propaganda in them, as if we did. And I've talked about getting rid of NATO and, you know, blowing up the international trading system. You think anybody's ever going to trust

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

the U.S. we let the nuclear arms deal lapse.

[David Rothkopf]

Like we had one remaining strategic nuclear arms deal, and we let it lapse. And so. And they were planning for that. On March 1, they start building new nuclear weapons. They're expanding the number of nuclear warheads that are fireable from our submarines. They are triggering a global nuclear arms race. And, you know, we can look at all of these things as a snapshot. This happened today, and that's wrong. We have to look into the future and say, will anybody trust us again? Will we ever have an alliance again? Is the world getting more dangerous? And take the tariff battle, right? Supreme Court comes in, reigns in Trump. The next moment, Trump is attacking them in the worst ad hominem attack I've ever heard a president go after anybody in any co equal branch of government. And that is destroying a norm. And I think we need to know that. But then Trump says, well, we're going to still do the tariffs. We're going to do it this way. He chooses a path. Section 122. I used to be acting under secretary of commerce for international trade, so I'm a trade geek, right? But he chooses a path that the government lawyers, when they were trying this case originally said would not work, would be an inappropriate choice for this. He chooses that. He puts out a tweet this morning saying, if you listen to the Supreme Court decision is a foreign government and you think it changes anything, we will punish you. That is a brewing constitutional crisis. And if Supreme Court decisions stop mattering to this president, imagine where that takes us. And of course, the Supreme Court's responsible for some of the other pernicious developments in our life, like the president's sense that he has impunity on all things. You know, we can just go down the list. RFK Jr. Is waging a war on science. The generation of people who are going, well, this is a political issue, and vaccines are really political. And I shouldn't give my kids vaccines because that's, you know, well, everywhere you look, you don't just have policies that are different from the policies the Democrats would take. You actually have the worst possible policies for the United States of America. Not 15 degrees off from where we should be 180 degrees off, bad for us, making our economy weaker, making our healthcare worse, making our defense weaker, making our enemies stronger, making diseases more likely to take a high toll. Destroying, destroying the environment, getting rid of the epa, getting rid of the goals that we've got to protect the environment everywhere, it's comprehensive. If a foreign enemy invaded the United States and said, we're going to destroy its institutions, we're going to destroy its competitiveness, we're down $11 billion in tourism, nobody's coming to study in our schools anymore because we've scared the, the best brains who used to come here way. If we had come up with a plan to stop the US from being a superpower, the plan would be the Trump administration.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, we wouldn't need any foreign investment. Heather Cox Richardson said, to paraphrase her,

[Lee McGowan]

it's a trip to watch a world

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

superpower commit suicide like this. It is the craziest thing. I mean, I ran into a woman in the San Francisco airport who knew the work that I did.

[Lee McGowan]

So we were having a conversation and

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

she's like, we have to move to Finland. And I said, why are you moving to Finland? And she said, my husband is a science researcher and he was about to cure liver cancer and they cut all of his funding. So the Finnish government came in and said, please come and cure liver cancer from here. So they're going over for seven years so that they can cure liver cancer because we cut the funding. And I thought, what in the hell are we doing that? This is where we're at.

[David Rothkopf]

The Japanese government has a program like that. Other European, European governments have programs like that. The Chinese government has programs like that. And, and again, if you don't think this has long term consequences, China has already leapt ahead of us on AI, on quantum computing. They are ahead of us in a lot of areas technologically.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Green energy.

[David Rothkopf]

Green energy. Well then, and you know, they, they've, they've been gaining ground on green energy for the past 15 years. The reality is we had some advantages. Better research universities, we attracted people that would come here, they would stay here no more. And if you imagine for a moment that you are a student and you're saying, where should I go study? Where do I want to make my career? Five years ago, three years ago, two years ago, you would have said, I'm going to the US best schools. I'm going to go to Stanford or Caltech or Harvard or MIT or the best school I can go to and I'm going to go and build my career here. Now you would say, I'm not going to the United States. They may not let me in. If I have the wrong social media posts, they're going to throw me in jail and they're not going to fund my research and then say a Democrat gets elected in 2028, a woke smart, capable Democrat and reverses all these policies. You're going to college for a four year term and then you're going to go to graduate school. Do you trust the US Isn't going to go back to maga? Of course you don't. It is pernicious because it destroys our future as well as this current moment.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Correct. Which is I think why you said in that article that it's essential that we set our priorities clearly right now, that we don't let any single issue stop us in uniting in the singular goal to defeat Trump and the Maga movement in 26 and 28. The that everything else is impossible if we don't make that our first priority. And I think like that doesn't mean we can't work on other things. You know, we can't have long term planning. We need long term planning. But what we need to do immediately is get back in power. Because if we don't get back in power and we don't have a plan, as soon as we are back in power, we diddle around for a year trying to figure out what we're trying to do. The damage that Trump and his enablers and his coconspirators have done to our country, to our institutions, to the world order are so astronomical as you're saying, that we can't waste a single moment turning it around.

[Lee McGowan]

With everything that's going on in the news, I really don't feel like cooking. Or as my husband says, with everything not going on in the news, I don't feel like cooking. The bottom line is I don't feel like cooking. Which is why I'm excited to tell

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

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[Lee McGowan]

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[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

make your meals 10 times easier.

[Lee McGowan]

Tovala is a smart meal delivery service, fresh meals and a smart oven that does the cooking for you. Tovala makes it so easy. You just scan the meal's QR code, pop it in the oven and it cooks everything perfectly. It will steam or bake or broil automatically. No guesswork needed, no cleanup necessary. Tovala's meals are chef crafted and taste like homemade. They are made with real fresh ingredients or you can even use their oven to scan store bought groceries like Eggo Waffles or Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls or Amy's Frozen Meals. It knows how to cook those too. We're talking meals like Petit Filet Mignon with buttered green beans, toasted almonds and truffle Hollandaise or Chicken Parmesan with cheesy stuffed shells and marinara. The whole thing just goes in and it cooks itself. It's a little like being a Jetson, like cooking in the future, except it's now. I can't even imagine what I would have done with this when I was single and living by myself. I literally might send the entire unit with my son to university. I have girl dinner all the time. It's toast or standing in the freezer eating ice cream. This is so much better. As an adult, I can't imagine saving 45 minutes to two hours a night not cooking. That sounds incredible. Tovala allows you to eat better without putting in a ton of effort. There are high protein options, calorie smart options, gluten free options, comfort food, whatever you're into. Do you ever wish that dinner would just magically cook itself? Well, with Tovala, that's a real possibility. For a limited time because you are a Politics Girl listener, you can get a Tovala Smart oven for just $49 plus free shipping. When you order meals six or more times, just go to tovala.com politicsgirl and use my code politicsgirl. That's a $49 Tovala smart oven. When you head to tovala.com politicsglobal girl and use the promo code politics girl one last time. That's T-O-V-A-L-A.com and make sure you use my promo code Politics Girl. Remember, with Tovala, dinner is taken care of. Okay? So I found you have to be really careful trying to fix the lines around your mouth because most people who try to handle the problem with fillers end up looking worse. Which is so disappointing because, you know, they only wanted to look better. Which is why I was so psyched when I found the OS1 lip mask. I am genuinely impressed with this product and I'm not alone. 78% saw improved fullness in their lips after four weeks, 81% of people saw decreased fine lines around their mouth and 94% agree their lips stayed hydrated for longer after 12 weeks. For me, I really noticed the difference with those fine lines around my lips as I've gotten older. It's one of the things I am most self conscious about. I hate it And I think it makes me look a thousand years old and like I smoked for my entire life, which I did not. Now, os1 is known for their cult favorites like os1 body, os1 face, os1 eye. But I can honestly tell you I am obsessed with OS1 lip. Just so you know, every formula of OS1 is certified safe for sensitive skin dermatologist tested free from over 1500 irritating ingredients and awarded the National Eczema's association seal of acceptance. So you know you're going to get powerful results without irritation or harsh side effects. Born from over 10 years of longevity research, OneSkin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the cells that cause those visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now. And as you age and for a limited time, Oneskin is making it even easier to stay consistent with 15% off when you use the code politicsgirl at oneskin co slash politics girl. That's 15% off with the Code Politics Girl. And after you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support the show and tell them we sent you. I literally just ordered two more lip masks, one for me and one as a gift. But honestly, I might keep them both. That's One Skin Co slash Politics Girl.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

We can't waste a single moment turning it around.

[David Rothkopf]

I think that's absolutely right. But you know, it has some implications that some Democrats, some people who are in the opposition, have trouble dealing with. Yes, I do. And I think we need to understand what those implications are. One is, this job was our job when Joe Biden was president too. And he didn't realize it and Merrick Garland didn't realize it. They said things will take care of themselves. They won't take care of themselves. We now know that. And I'm sorry, there are a lot of people out there, probably followers of yours, are like, oh, don't say anything bad about, Look, Joe Biden's a good guy, just trying to do some good stuff. But he dropped the ball on the single most important issue that there was, which was not letting this enemy from within take over. And we knew they were the enemy within. On January 6, 2021, 15 days before Joe Biden becomes the President of the United States, they ran a Coup against the U.S. okay, so we knew it. And for four years, we didn't treat it that way, whether it was from electoral strategy or legal strategy or whatever. So that's number one. The second thing is that tells you that there are some people on the Democratic team who don't understand that we need to win. And now there are people who say, well, look, if we've got to win, we can't fight among ourselves. And my response to that is that's not true. We can have primaries. We can choose the right people. It's time to say that the old leadership is not up to this. Chuck Schumer is not up to the moment, folks. Does that mean if primaries don't go the way that you want them to go and there's a Democratic candidate who is too centrist for your taste or too weak on Trump for your taste, that you shouldn't vote for him? No, of course not. You should vote for him. But no more John Fetterman's, folks. You know, no more John Fetterman's, and

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

I think Joe Manchin's or Joe Manchin,

[David Rothkopf]

but we can come up with a long list of these people who we can do without. So winning is our first goal, but winning the right way so we can make the changes, because the day after you win, we need structural change. And that was another point that I tried to make in this piece. You know, there's a million things you want to do well, aid was great, and 14 million people are going to die because we got rid of aid. Do I think those funds should be restored? I do.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

What. What Dave is talking about, in case you don't know, is usaid, which DOGE came in and basically closed, and then they got rid of it. And we know that at least 600,000 people have died because we stopped using

[Lee McGowan]

our soft power to send food to

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

places in the world so that when food arrived, it would say USAID on it, and you would say, I like the Americans. They feed us, they help us. We just cut the entire program.

[David Rothkopf]

And of the 600,000 who died last year because we closed this program, 400,000 were children. Okay? And the Lancet, the respected journal, has projected that through 2030, 14 million people will die. We need to fix those programs, but

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

maybe don't rebuild it the way it was.

[David Rothkopf]

Oh, no, you can't rebuild it. Just get the money back, give it to the State Department, have them administer it. It's always been the better way to do it. But there are other priorities that we need to address. We need to expand the Supreme Court of the United States. We need to change the rules. We need to work to have D.C. and Puerto Rico if they want to gain statehood. Maybe California should be two states. But the point is, all these pieces fit together, and you can't. Do you know, Joe Biden, Sorry, Lovely, Joe. Great guy. Joe was lovely. But Joe Biden held a commission to look at restructuring the Supreme Court. He had brilliant people on it. They said, here are the ways we can do it. And he said, yeah, okay, I don't really want to do that. And it's a problem. And by the way, for those of you who think it's a crazy idea, there used to be a direct correlation between the number of judicial suits circuits that there were and the number of justices. There are 13 judicial circuits in the U.S. there should be 13 justices. Okay, that's just the way it ought to work. But if we don't recognize that these structural changes are important, we're not going to get to where we're going to go. And here's another one that, you know, the last administration, Democratic administration, had completely wrong, holding Republicans to account. If Donald Trump, the people around Donald Trump do not be held, brought to court for violating the law, you'd know that they will do it again. And look at January 6th, we have it. It's not abstract. They tried to run a coup. They got away with it. They got reelected. They pardoned everybody.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

They.

[David Rothkopf]

They put them in the government, and then they starting to recast the whole thing and rewrite history as though those were the heroic people who are attacking police on Capitol Hill and threatening the Congress as it has never been done in our history. I live in D.C. the big growth industry in D.C. is Project 2029. Every group in D.C. has a Project 29. There's a Project 202029 for energy. There's a Project 2029 for national security. I'm involved in that. There's a project 2029 for, I don't know, transportation, tourism policy. Well, we got to change with the new government. Okay, that's fine. Most of them are between us, being done so that the people in the committees can get a job in the next government. Right. It has nothing to do with this. What we really need is a project 2029 on massive structural reform in the United States. And we need a Project 2029 of some of the best legal minds who are also kind of pissed off on accountability. We need to know. On day one, Stephen Miller's getting a knock on his door, and they're going to come and the warrant's going to be specific, and the case is going to be specific. And, you know, you say, well, you know, when they go low, we go high. That. Okay, please just wash that bullshit out of your mind. Okay? You know, today. Today, as we're recording this this may be released a day or two later. But today, the hackiest of all judicial hacks in the United States, Judge Eileen Cannon, ruled that the US Government can never release the case against Donald Trump for stealing national secrets because it would be damaging to Trump and his co defendants. And what may be an unappealable ruling. So, look, that's how they play this game, okay? They're playing for keeps. That should give you a clear sense of what the risk is, but it also should send a message to us. Not that we violate the law like that, but we protect the law with the ferocity that they attack the law.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, exactly. I think we're all done. Most of us out here are done, which is why we're so exhausted with Democratic leadership that we see in Washington. Because we're all like, are we just going to let this go by?

[Lee McGowan]

Are we just going to let people get shot in the street? Are we just going to lose our

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

health care and get measles again and destroy all of our world orders? I think one of the biggest priorities after winning, obviously, and delivering actual results for the American people so we shore

[Lee McGowan]

up our pro democracy faction of the

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

government, is accountability for what's happening now. I mean, we need a plan in place to address the abuses and the corruption and the crimes that have happened under the Trump leadership to hold the

[Lee McGowan]

President accountable, to hold his co conspirators,

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

his collaborators, people like Eileen Cannon accountable,

[Lee McGowan]

to hold Cash Patel accountable, to hold Kristi Noem accountable.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Because it got this far, because of

[Lee McGowan]

all of those people. I keep thinking about the quote that came out of Washington last week that

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

was like, look, if we held everyone

[Lee McGowan]

in the Epstein files accountable, there would be like three Republicans in federal power.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And I was like, yeah, okay, that would be fine. Because what are we doing?

[David Rothkopf]

It's exactly right. And when you talk about holding people accountable and when you talk about problems that we have in the United States, recognize that those problems extend beyond the Trump administration to the power structure of the United States and to the political or legal impunity that the members of what Jon Ossoff correctly referred to as the Epstein class in the United States feel that they've got. And this is a message to all those Democrats, including your soon to be former governor, which is, you know, kissing up to the billionaires is not the answer. Part of the problem is that there is a billionaire class in the US that doesn't think the rules apply to them. And now we see, of course, we have 13 billionaires in the administration. The President has become A billionaire several times over again. Being president, he's got stolen $5 billion. Witkoff and his kids are stealing money. Lutnick and his kids are stealing money. There's this unbridled corruption. But you think Palantir cutting deals behind the scenes, Peter Thiel becomes a supporter of Trump and they go and they cut all these deals which are invisible to the world because they're on black budgets, is not corruption. Or Jeff Bezos paying $40 million to Melania Trump for a movie nobody wants is not a bribe. That's a bribe, okay? And we have to stand up to those people, too. Does that mean, oh, we're going to scare the billionaires out of the Democratic Party? Come on. That's ridiculous. That's like saying, mom, Donnie's going to win and the rich people are going to leave New York. Guess what? It didn't happen, okay? Because the rich people realize that if they have to pay a 1 or 2% tax for being rich, they're still rich. You know, if you got billions of dollars, a 1 or 2% tax, it's. It's still nothing.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

They get some change to you. Yeah. Oh, it's ridiculous.

[David Rothkopf]

They know it's not fair. And by the way, there are a bunch of other billionaires who are out there who are doing the right thing, you know, who are trying to make the world a better place. You know, Tom Steyer is politically active in California. I'm just saying people should vote for him or not. There's a guy named Nick Hanauer who's running this big effort across the country to get the minimum wage up, to make sure that there's housing for everybody, to make sure that people have health care and they have a job. You know, so there are a lot of, you know, people who are actually trying to do the right thing out there, but kissing the ass of a bunch of oligarchs who are playing into Trump's hands and who have bought our government and are perfectly willing to Elon Musk us today death.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

You know, I think they're very happy if we all die, honestly. Like, I think we're in the way that they're.

[David Rothkopf]

We're in the way that Elon Musk is personally responsible for pulling the plug on usaid. Let's, you know, stipulate Marco Rubio went along with it, which he shouldn't have done. You know, he's not the grown up in the room, but Elon Musk pulled the plug on it, and now we know that 14 million people are going to die. Die, their lives are going to end because Elon Musk didn't understand what the fuck he was doing or he didn't care or both.

[Lee McGowan]

Okay, so you know how everyone is using red light therapy now that it's supposed to make you look younger by making your skin look brighter and smoother? Well, Irestore, which we have had their hair system for a while, has come out with an Illumina face mask bundle. We've had the Irestore Elite, which is the most advanced laser hair growth system that uses 300 lasers and 200 LEDs with to help regrow thicker, healthier hair for months. You can wear it while you're working, while you're reading, or as Shaun and I do, unwinding at night. This is not something that I personally need, but Shaun is using it now. Irestore has the Illumina face mask. This is a lightweight cordless mask that has two times more LEDs than other top masks. And it targets fine lines and breakouts and dullness with triple wavelength light therapy. You just have to use it 10 minutes a few times a week. I am totally starting this this week. I don't have the time or the money to go for facials and I can't do things like an upper bluff or a mini facelift even if I wanted to because I can't do elective surgery because of my illness. So I need these skin care treatments to work. And Irestore is so confident in their technology that they offer a 12 month money back guarantee. So if you don't see healthier looking skin or fuller looking hair, if you use their hair treatment, you'll get a full refund. The Irestore Illumina mask is a dermatologist recommended LED mask that uses three wavelengths to target your skin concerns. Red and infrared to support anti aging, stimulating collagen, improving hyperpigmentation, boosting blood flow and blue light to help reduce blemishes, clear acne, prevent breakouts and shrink pores. And it's one of the first masks on the market that allows you to use all three of those modes simultaneously. And right now, Irestore is kicking off their spring savings with some big discounts. You can get the Elite plus and the Illumina face mask bundle at an exclusive deal when you use the code politics [e-mail] that's politicsgirlirestore.com Please support the show and tell them we sent you. Give your hair and your skin the upgrade they deserve so you can feel confident and refreshed. Irestore.com code politics girl now I'm one of those people that needs to sleep in complete darkness and for a long time my blinds allowed way too much light in at the crack of dawn. We also have a neighbor who has a motion sensored floodlight that goes off and on all night and that would wake me up. So if you're like me you might need new blinds. But maybe you don't even know how to buy blinds. Maybe the thought of measuring and choosing blinds is overwhelming to you. Which is why I am happy to tell you there is a better way to buy blinds, shades, shutters and drapery and it's called three Day Blinds. 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This is an upgrade to your home, not just a replacement of something old. 45 years in the business have allowed three day blinds to help more than 2 million people get the window treatments that they want. So you know this is a brand you can trust right now. Get quality window treatments that fit your budget with three day blinds. Head to 3dayblinds.com politicsgirl for their buy one, get one 50% off deal on custom blinds, shades, shutters and drapery for a free no charge, no obligation consultation. Just head to three day blinds.com politics girl one last time that's buy one get one 50% off when you head to the number 3d a y blinds.com politics girl the politics girl podcast has a new sponsor, first day, a daily multivitamin for kids, teens and adults. Research shows that most parents don't know that 50% of kids suffer from what's called hidden hunger. Hidden hunger comes from picky eating, processed snacks, even a lack of nutrient rich soil that your fruits and veggies grow in. 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[David Rothkopf]

Their lives are going to end because Elon Musk didn't understand what the fuck he was doing or he didn't care what or both.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And I think you pointed out beautifully that the next transition in Washington will not be a normal transition. That it's going to be a huge effort to destroy records and cover their tracks. That people are doing that now. And the message we need to send both to our country and the world is that accountability is not some afterthought. We're not going to have some Ford pardoning Nixon good faith move or let's move on or for the good of the country, let's come together. We have to have massive consequences. We have to have our own version of Nuremberg trials.

[David Rothkopf]

You know, even I would, I would go a step further in support of what you're saying and say let's look at the Trump second term for what it is, which was an effort to avoid accountability. That is why Eileen Cannon is doing what she's doing. That is why they are pursuing all of these policies, whitewashing, destroying records. If you don't think that the Department of Justice has destroyed Epstein files that are embarrassing to the President of the United States, you're kidding yourself. Because we are in the midst of the biggest obstruction of justice project certainly in American history, possibly in the history of the world.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

And I think it's important that you're saying it might sound annoying to Democrats to say that, you know, President Biden and his team failed by not realizing their primary job was to keep Trump from returning to office. But we need Democrats now that realize the nature of this moment, what our priorities have to be, who we need to call out, who we need to get in there to win. And it doesn't hurt the Democratic Party to call out the leaders, call out the leaders that are unable to meet the moment for being too soft or too stuck in their ways or incapable of challenging what's right in front of them. Because of course, yes, we need candidates that will win, but we also need candidates that once they win, will do whatever it takes to fix what's broken.

[David Rothkopf]

I get, I got on television said, oh, Hillary Clinton's definitely going to win. And I got in television and said, Kamala Harris is definitely going to win. And I was wrong twice, which my, by the way, my wife brought up to me this morning, which I thought was unnecessary. But, but, but, but, you know, we don't know what's going to. I read countless number of articles saying Zoran Mamdani is going to lose, but he's what the voters of New York wanted. And they said, well, he's calls himself a socialist. Well, there's mayor of Seattle calls herself socialist now. You know, there's something else happening here which I think we got to open our eyes to, right? And that is that in 2028, the majority of people eligible to vote for the first time in history will be millennial and Gen Z. The majority of voters will be born. Since 1990, the majority of voters, they don't remember the Cold War. They don't remember 9 11. They were little kids. They don't remember 9 11. For most of their adult lives, the most prominent figure in the US has been Donald Trump. Inequality has been spiraling out of control. Covid came from out of the blue and said they are not safe, they are not protected. They don't believe they can afford a home. They don't believe The US System is working for them. That's the majority of voters. And I think we need to open up our eyes. Those are the people who are going to decide.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

My son turned 18 last week, and the very first thing he wanted to do was register to vote. Like, this is the new generation. And they want. There's a reason New York went from Eric Adams to Zoran Mondami. And it wasn't because of the Democratic Party. It was in some spite of the Democratic Party. Whether the party was ready or not, the people were voting for something different, and they chose a different path. And the powers that be would be smart to get on board and start acknowledging that that's absolutely right.

[David Rothkopf]

And. And the billionaires and the Wall street guys and so forth, they said, oh, my God, you can't elect a guy like Mamdani because, you know, we'll all leave town and we don't like it and so forth. And they didn't realize that when they said that, it created his majority, you know, it was.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

People were like, bye. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[David Rothkopf]

This may be controversial for a lot of people to hear. I'm a Jewish guy from New Jersey. His father was a Holocaust survivor. I have two Jewish daughters who both live in Brooklyn, were married to Jewish guys. There were a bunch of people who said, well, Mamdani is being tough on Israel, and Mamdani wants justice for the Palestinians. And they were like, you know, we can't have somebody like that running the city with the largest Jewish population in the United States and by some measures, the largest single Jewish community in the world. And you want to know something? He got elected because those were his views, not in spite of it. Because if you're a millennial or you're a zoomer, the only leader of Israel that you know is Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. The government has been terrible. You don't understand why there is reflexive support for this country, and this is Jewish people in New York City. So a lot is changing. And I mean, I just saw a story the other day that said the Democratic analysis of why Kamala Harris lost, by the way, more narrowly than we consider acknowledge, but why she lost. One of the things said was that she did not distance herself from Biden's Gaza policy, and that that lost tens, hundreds of thousands of votes. And so for a bunch of people who are like, well, okay, well, we're going to do this the way we've done it. No, we're not. We're not on accountability, we're not going to do it the way we've done it on pandering with sort of neoliberal policies to Wall Street. We're not going to do it the way we done it by making corporate priorities our top priorities rather than and people priorities. We're not gonna do it on Israel, we're not gonna do it, et cetera, et cetera. All this has gotta change because the electorate has changed. And so if you wanna win, the way you win is not by going on the Joe Rogan show and attracting MAGA evangelicals who don't care that Donald Trump is corrupt. They're not coming over. The way you win is by getting your son to register to vote and show up. And you get young voters to show up because they don't want this anymore and they are naturally going to drive this forward.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, I always remind people that more people didn't vote then voted for either

[Lee McGowan]

candidate in the last presidential election, that

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

I don't think we should spend our time trying to turn Trump voters who are still on board with him at this point. We should be dealing with people that didn't vote and people who are new voters and show them a different kind of America that's worth voting for, not just more of the same.

[Lee McGowan]

Now, before you go, you know the

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

State of the Union is today when this drops and the president is supposed to outline how the country is doing to Congress and what they expect to focus on next. And I know there's a number of Democrats who are choosing not to go. What do you think we should expect

[Lee McGowan]

Trump to say when the State of

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

the Union is clearly worse than ever, and what do you think he's going

[Lee McGowan]

to tell the people and what we

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

should be looking for in this speech that happens today?

[David Rothkopf]

Well, I know and you know, and everybody listening knows because it's just going to lie. It's going to be lie. Lia Palooza Best economy ever. Everything is. Everyone's happy. Exactly. And, and I'm the best president ever and I should win the Nobel Prize. And I've.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Did you see that Olympic male, 26

[David Rothkopf]

hockey game, 26 wars. And you know, I, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I'm going to show people and I'm tough. And so I'm going to attack Greenland or I'm going to attack. He probably won't say that, although he did with this ridiculous like, he's going to send a hospital ship to Greenland where everybody has free health care.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, we don't care. But we're going to send A ship

[Lee McGowan]

to give them free health care when

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

they already have it.

[David Rothkopf]

It's like, yeah, we're going to say, and we're going to let RFK Jr be in charge of your health care for a while. That was ridiculous. But, you know, he'll threaten war with Iran. He'll threaten, you know, he'll flex his muscles. I went into Venezuela and I did all these great things, by the way. Nobody has even asked since Venezuela, like, well, what's going on there? We, like, grab this guy. His regime is still in place. They say he's the legitimate leader. The only thing that's happened is Trump is siphoning off some oil, which is going into some shady bank account in Qatar that, last I heard, was not even in the name of the US Government, but it was under the control of Donald Trump.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Much like the Board of Peace bank account will be.

[David Rothkopf]

Exactly. It is a skip. But he'll lie and he'll say, board of Peace, give me the Nobel Prize. Blah, blah, blah. There are a couple things to watch that may be interesting for those of you who choose to watch. One is he's going to come in. He walks by the Supreme Court. However many members of the Supreme Court show up, is he going to shake their hand? Is he going to have small talk with them? He probably will with Alito and Thomas and Kavanaugh. But what about the others who went the other way on this thing? It'll be a little vignette. A nice little vignette. The other thing that I'm kind of interested in is I haven't seen Donald Trump stay awake for more than 20 minutes in any public event recently.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

I didn't even think of that.

[David Rothkopf]

How's he gonna do this? And how many times is he gonna go off script? It'll also be a little interesting to see whether the Republicans are so gung ho in support of this guy, since they're all or all the members of Congress and third of the members of the Senate are up for reelection later this year. And every single opinion poll says they're going to lose. They're going to lose by a lot, or they're going to lose by a lot, and then they're going to be run out of the country. You know, I mean, it's bad.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Well, that goes to. Back to our accountability, like, let it happen.

[David Rothkopf]

I can't wait. We live in a weird moment where a large percentage of your loyal following wakes up, opens their phone and said, did he die overnight? Are we done with this? I mean, it's such A weird moment in our country's history that a huge number of people are like, this has got to end. When can this possibly end? There will be a party when he leaves, by whatever means. And there are pictures of people tearing the name Trump off the Kennedy center, tearing the name Trump off of the various monuments to himself, getting rid of the gold leaf objet d' art from the Oval Office, getting rid of every trace of him, you know, scrubbing the place down. There will be parties, I'm telling you, there will be dancing in the street in the United States. But our job of work is to get there. It's not going to happen automatically. And they're going to fight like hell, you know, stop the SAVE Act. They're going to fight like hell to rig the election. And if they succeed, we won't get another chance. If they are able to get away with it and we don't have an election, free and fair election, where they can steal enough votes, then you're going to be calling up your new friend in Finland and saying, do you have. Do you have room upstairs?

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah. Well, listen, at the end of the day, we're going to need new bold leaders that inspire the new young voters who are ready to try new things and be controversial and, you know, not do it the way it was always done, because we're never going back to how it was. We are never going back to the way we thought it was, because this is what got us here in the first place. So I just want to thank you so much for joining us today. David, I always love talking with you. Clearly, we are living through an incredible historical moment, but these people will only win if we give up. Because I think all the time about Minnesota and how they thought that that would go and how it is so not gone in their direction. And they show us every day what it looks like to see the writing on the wall and then refuse to read it. And I think we need that energy everywhere. So, please, before you go, tell people how they can follow your work moving forward and keep up with what you're doing, because I keep up with what you're doing, and it helps me.

[David Rothkopf]

Well, first of all, thank you very much. Secondly, here, here on Minnesota, the resistance in Minnesota is the path forward. Saying no to Trump is the path forward. It was the path that the Europeans chose with regard to trade and with Greenland. It's the path they chose in Minneapolis. It's the path that they chose at Davos. That's the path forward. You can follow me in a variety of different places. I have a company that does a lot of podcast streaming called the DSR Network. You can go on YouTube and subscribe to the DSR Network. Please do that. At the very least, if you want to listen and you like what we're doing, you can go to the dsrnetwork.com and support the podcast by becoming a member. That's a great thing. And I do lots of the podcasts myself, but I'm also columnist for the Daily Beast and I do a podcast with them every week or so. So you can find me at the Daily Beast, where you can find me on Blue sky, where you find all the other annoying liberals. So annoying. Blue Sky. Oh my God. But, but, but what social media platform isn't annoying? I mean it. I'm looking, I'm, I'm still, I'm still the market for that.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

I love threads. I love threads, but I think it's there for like Gen X women. I swear to God, the entire thing is just like my people.

[David Rothkopf]

Well, it is spot, by the way, you know, condolences on the fact that Gen X never got its shot.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, we really did.

[David Rothkopf]

It passed over. Totally passed over. It was the boomers and now it's the millennials and Gen Z and you're there like, what about.

[Lee McGowan]

We're still here.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

Like,

[David Rothkopf]

anyway, it's really great to talk to you always.

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

It's so great to talk to you too. Thanks so much and keep up all your great work.

[David Rothkopf]

Same to you.

[Lee McGowan]

So that was David Rothkop reminding us

[Politics Girl (Podcast Host)]

that we knew this was coming.

[Lee McGowan]

That as soon as we allowed a man who instigated a coup back into the office, dark days were ahead. And we need to do everything we can to not only prioritize getting these people out of power to be winning every single election, but to hold these people accountable so we are never in this position again. The rules need to change, the institutions need to change, the power structure needs to change. And that starts today with us. And it finishes with a whole new group of voters who have no loyalty to how it was, but know it can be better. I want to thank David for joining us and you for caring enough about democracy to be here. Now. Take this administration seriously, but don't forget to laugh at their ridiculousness. They absolutely hate it. And we need nice things until next week. PG out. Before you go, I don't know if you've noticed, but left wing and progressive creators like myself who share the truth and facts are being drowned out by right wing propaganda and lies. The mainstream media is barely hanging on and is becoming harder and harder to find anything that isn't billionaire backed at this point. So if you respect what I am trying to do here, if you learn something from my podcasts or rants. If you would like to get this podcast ad free delivered directly to your inbox along with my kitchen rants and TV appearances, please consider becoming a member of Politics Girl Premium by going to politicsgirl.com and signing up. If you are already a premium member of this podcast, thank you for your support and your efforts to help me do what I'm doing. And if you're not a member, please consider becoming a patron of my work. If you want real knowledge in a world of lies, it is essential to support those of us out here still trying to bring it to you. There is a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but [e-mail] and as always, please like and share this podcast so we can grow our audience. Because the more people who have access to this kind of information, the better. As always, thank you for your time and support. The Politics Girl Podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.