Raging Moderates: The Affordability Crisis Trump Can’t Spin

Summary

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The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Raging Moderates: The Affordability Crisis Trump Can’t Spin

Date: December 10, 2025
Hosts: Scott Galloway & Jessica Tarlov
Producer: David
Episode Type: Raging Moderates

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Episode Overview

In this episode of "Raging Moderates," Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov dive deep into the ongoing affordability crisis facing America and dissect how former President Trump is trying—and failing—to spin the narrative. They discuss the real impacts on Americans from rising costs of living, the lack of effective political solutions from both parties, and the political fallout—especially as it relates to the upcoming Texas Senate race and the treatment of women within the GOP. As always, they combine sharp business and political analysis with candid, occasionally irreverent banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Affordability “Blitz” vs. Reality

[04:12 – 08:15]

• Scott lays out the current economic paradox: Trump touts falling gas prices and the supposed benefits of tariffs while critical economic indicators (consumer sentiment, layoffs, looming price hikes) tell a different story.

• White House actions: Opening a price-fixing investigation into imported food and launching a $12B bailout for tariff-impacted farmers.

• Senate Republicans: Division over how to handle ACA subsidies and healthcare aid. No clear solution ahead of an important vote; Democrats firmly push for a clean extension.

• Jessica’s view: Republicans are spinning reality, echoing prior Democratic defenses—“Promises made, promises beyond broken.” Highlights working-class struggles: rising costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare, and declining housing satisfaction.

• Quote

  “Promises made, promises beyond broken. ... Watching Republicans very much do the same things that Democrats did when they were defending an economy that average Americans were screaming from the rooftops is not working for is the height of stupidity.”
  —Jessica Tarlov [05:41]

• Real-world stats:

  • 70% spend more on groceries than last year
  • Huge drop in housing satisfaction
  • US manufacturing contracted for nine months
  • China’s trade surplus at record highs
  • Farmers reject bailouts, want trade (not aid)

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2. Can the American Economy Survive Bad Policy?

[08:15 – 12:55]

• Scott’s take: The U.S. economy is incredibly resilient despite “bass ackward” policies. Economic growth is dangerously concentrated among a few tech giants; worries about China “AI dumping.”
• Prescriptions for Affordability:
  • Dramatically increase housing supply (8–10M new homes in 10 years), overhaul zoning, end tariffs on construction (embrace manufactured homes), more government-backed loans for under-40s.
  • “It’s time to nationalize medicine.” Lower Medicare eligibility, slash healthcare costs by at least 25%.
  • Education reform—tie tuition to income, penalize universities hoarding large endowments and not growing class sizes.
  • Strict antitrust enforcement—break up big agriculture, poultry, streaming services.
• Memorable rant:

  “If you want to get serious about affordability, ... you have to go after the biggest increase in CPI, which is housing. ... It’s time to nationalize medicine... The rivers need to reverse for a little bit. So if we’re really going to have an adult conversation around affordability, let’s have an adult conversation. The problem is it’s boring shit that will take years, if not decades.”
  —Scott Galloway [10:10]

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3. Broken Data, Broken System

[12:55 – 16:26]

• Jessica: Notes the lack of key government reports (jobs, GDP, inflation) and growing reliance on sketchy data—calls it a dangerous trend paralleling China and Russia.

• Scott:

  “When you don’t have data, as we don’t, we’re trying to land a $25 trillion economy on a hard surface without instruments. ... We don’t know what’s going on. And we’ve become China. ... This is incredibly damaging. We’re flying blind.”
  —Scott Galloway [14:34]

• Impact: Policy uncertainty increases, planning becomes guesswork, voters can’t hold leadership accountable without data.

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4. ACA Subsidies – Will Premium Hikes Hit?

[16:26 – 20:56]

• Several bills are on the table to extend ACA subsidies. Republicans remain deeply divided:
  • Some support a two-year, means-tested extension with income caps.
  • Democrats offer a 3-year clean extension.
  • Jessica predicts: Too little, too late; the most likely outcome is subsidy expiration and painful premium hikes for millions.
• Political angle: If subsidies end, could be a political gift to Democrats heading into 2026.
• Heartfelt banter: Both share personal encounters with Senator John Thune—praised for his “very handsome” looks and rare Republican politeness.

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5. Women in the GOP: Nancy Mace’s Op-Ed and Congress in Gridlock

[23:54 – 28:05]

• Nancy Mace’s NYT op-ed: Accuses GOP leadership of sidelining women and the rank and file, warns that failure to deliver on key issues will cost the party its majority.

• Jessica: Notes the intentional placement in the NYT, the lack of legislative results (only 5% of bills get a floor vote), and the contrast between current GOP and Nancy Pelosi’s leadership.

• Scott, on Marjorie Taylor Greene:

  “I felt like I was watching an arsonist lecture us on fire safety. I just think it’s so ridiculous that she has the gumption to pretend to be a moderate. ... Good riddance.”
  —Scott Galloway [26:31]

• Both hosts reflect on the real "do-nothing" status of this Congress and the risk of political exodus ahead of midterms.

• Prediction Markets: Scott highlights Kalshee’s odds—65% chance Speaker Johnson is out before midterms.

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6. Texas Senate Race: Crockett vs. Talarico

[30:51 – 40:22]

• Democratic primary heats up:
  • James Talarico (centrist, faith-forward) vs. Jasmine Crockett (progressive firebrand).
  • Colin Allred exits, clearing the path for a Talarico/Crockett matchup.
  • Early polling favors Crockett, but Talarico may be more electable statewide.
• Jessica: Worries a high-profile progressive candidacy (Crockett) could nationalize the race, make it harder to win in purple/red Texas, and give ammunition to right-wing media.
• Scott: Admires both—puts his money behind both candidates.

  “I just think she’s courageous, compelling, unafraid, smart. I just think she’s outstanding. ... I want to bring more attention to young rising stars in the Democratic Party. I absolutely love both of them.”
  —Scott Galloway [34:10]

• On the GOP side: John Cornyn faces tough primary challenges, including from AG Ken Paxton.
• David (producer): Sides with Talarico on substance, notes Crockett’s launch video was not affordability focused.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott’s prescription for housing:

  “Get rid of NIMBY laws and replace them with YIMBY laws. Manufactured homes take the tariffs off. China get some incredible innovation around new construction that lowers the cost by 50 or 60%.”
  [09:30]

• On nationalizing medicine:

  “It’s time to nationalize medicine. ... That massively increases affordability.”
  —Scott Galloway [11:20]

• Jessica’s Republican leadership frustration:

  “Too little, too late, right? There’s no surprises in this. It’s just that she’s saying it out loud and in the pages of the New York Times, which is a very intentional place to put this op ed.”
  [24:32]

• On Texas Democrats’ prospects:

  “Texas is not a blue place. It’s like, on an amazing day, it’s purplish, right? And it’s usually red and on the right.”
  —Jessica Tarlov [36:56]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [04:12] — Main Topic Introduction: Affordability Crisis & Trump’s Spin
• [05:41] — Jessica critiques GOP spin on affordability and tariffs
• [10:10] — Scott’s housing, healthcare, and education affordability proposals
• [14:34] — Broken data and economic policy “flying blind”
• [16:26] — ACA subsidies extension debate and premium hike risk
• [23:54] — Nancy Mace’s NYT op-ed and women in the GOP
• [26:31] — Marjorie Taylor Greene on 60 Minutes commentary
• [27:54] — GOP midterm predictions; Speaker Johnson’s job security
• [30:51] — Texas Senate primary: Talarico vs. Crockett
• [34:10] — Scott: “I absolutely love both of them.”
• [36:56] — Jessica cautions about nationalizing Texas races
• [39:33] — On Democrat primary: “We wanna win the big one.”

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Tone & Style

• Candid, witty, irreverent: Scott and Jessica banter with humor and frankness, often veering into bold rants and sharp political analysis.
• Centrist, pragmatic: Both scrutinize the failings and hypocrisy of both parties, pushing for actual, workable policy instead of slogans.
• Data-driven, occasionally exasperated: The hosts rely on hard numbers and are open about their frustration with the slow pace of meaningful reform.

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Conclusion

This episode puts the spotlight on America’s affordability crisis, the political finger-pointing and policy shortcomings surrounding it, and why neither party is offering real solutions. In classic "Raging Moderates" style, Scott and Jessica move seamlessly from policy analysis to political gossip (with self-deprecating asides), ultimately illustrating just how complex—and dire—the economic and political landscape has become. Their closing discussion on the Texas Senate race underscores both the opportunity and risks for Democrats as 2026 approaches.

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Transcript

[Scott Galloway]

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[Scott Galloway]

Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Scott Galloway.

[Jessica Tarlov]

And I'm Jessica Tarlov.

[Scott Galloway]

Jess. Jess, Jess, Jess, Jess, Jess.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, Scott.

[Scott Galloway]

I just made a bunch of, like, incredibly racist and homophobic jokes off my.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I was here.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

It wasn't that bad. I don't want people to like how bad. Try to find it.

[Scott Galloway]

What is it, David? We have to bring the producer. How bad, David? Exhibit 24 in the. In the lawsuit.

[David (Producer)]

I think that's gonna hurt your chances if you're gonna run for president.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I think you're right. I think you're right.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Sorry to the tribe.

[Scott Galloway]

I think you're right.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Everyone will be devastated.

[Scott Galloway]

There you go. I'm off. Even on the Cialis ticket. A Cialis.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I Don't know. The Cialis ticket is a totally different world that I am thankfully not yet familiar with. Give this 10 years.

[Scott Galloway]

I guess your husband's coming, your husband's familiar with it before you know you're familiar with it.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, is that going to be like the discovery? Because the girls go through all of our drawers and they'll just be like, what's this?

[Scott Galloway]

Let me just give you a little 411 that we start taking it. It's not a group decision that we start.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Do you just let us know once you think you're having a heart attack and you're like, by the way, I've been taking tons of dick drugs?

[Scott Galloway]

We let you know in other ways that are more implicit. But, yeah, no, trust me on this. It's usually not a group family. It's not like a family meeting. Dad, dad. Sex with dad is like a taffy pull right now. So we had a family meeting and what do you think of dad taken?

Why does that make me happy?

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, family meeting around, talking about affordability. But I will say I remember my parents telling me this is not about their sex life, but they were driving, you know, they were Oregon to California a lot. And they were driving and listening to a local Oregon radio host who was talking, taking callers, and a guy called in and he said, like, our sex life is terrible. He was like in his late 60s, I think, at this point. He said, I just, I roll it in and my parents laugh. Roll it in. Well, you said it's like a taffy pole. Isn't that like eventually what you have to do?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, those things are.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Older penises.

[Scott Galloway]

It's coming for all of us.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Okay, David's back.

[Scott Galloway]

Let's get into it.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Affordability.

[Scott Galloway]

Today, we're discussing Trump's continued spin on the affordability crisis, how women are treated in the gop. And we'll check in on the Texas Senate race. All right, let's get into it. President Trump is launching a nationwide affordability blitz with a major speech in Pennsylvania touting falling gas prices and arguing his tariffs will ultimately help the middle class. But he's doing this as key indicators move the other way. Consumer sentiment is down sharply. Retailers warn prices will rise in January once inventories run out, and layoffs have already topped 1.1 million this year, with small businesses hit hardest. Despite calling affordability concerns a hoax, the White House is scrambling to show action, opening a price fixing probe into imported food and rolling out a 12 billion doll bailout for farmers hurt by Trump's own tariffs. All of this lands. Just as the Fed weighs another rate cut, health care adds even more pressure. Senate Republicans remain split on how to counter Democrats through your extension of ACA subsidies, floating options from HSA based aid to a trim two year extension, but none are expected to reach the floor before Thursday's vote. Democrats say their clean extension is the only way to prevent premium hikes. Trump promised lower prices, but tariffs, Medicaid cuts and rising health care costs have left him playing defense and scrambling to sell. An economy many Americans safe still feels really unaffordable. Jess, is affordability a hoax? How does the White House square that circle with a decline in sentiment, rising layoffs and looming price hikes?

[Jessica Tarlov]

Promises made, promises beyond broken. I am always shocked by the level of spin that people like Kevin Hassett have to bring out. They, I mean, to their credit, they still do these interviews and show up on like CNBC and really get pushed. But it's getting embarrassing at this point. And I think I've mentioned to you this before, but watching Republicans very much do the same things that Democrats did when they were defending an economy that average Americans were screaming from the rooftops is not working for is the height of stupidity. And there is no, you know, like when you're teaching your kids math and the teachers are always saying like, show your work, show your work. I feel like nobody is showing their work. They're just telling us, well, the tariffs are going to be a huge boon to the American economy. When, how? Why? If so, why are you rolling back all of them and then saying that that's the relief, like this $12 billion bailout for the farmers that's coming from the quote unquote tariff pot, which the amount that's in that changes on a daily basis by like trillions of dollars. But everybody knows what that is. And the farmers themselves being interviewed on every channel saying, we don't want a bailout, we want work. Right. We want to have markets for our products, which the administration is sapping. You know, I'm curious as to whether you're seeing bright spots that I'm missing. And I'm conscious of the fact that it's very hard for me to remove my partisan ha. And I'm always looking for things that I can use on the 5 which are usually negative about Donald Trump. But I'm looking at this like 70% of Americans say they're spending more money on groceries compared to last year, 60% more on utilities, 40% more on healthcare, housing, gasoline, cost of living. Issue number one is housing satisfaction with housing dropped from 69% to 36% over the course of the year. US manufacturing contracted for nine straight months. China now trillion dollar trade surplus. And Trump gives the green light to sell the Nvidia chips to them, which will put them at huge computing advantage. And of course the government is getting a kickback from that. Like the farmers. I want trade, not aid. What am I missing? Besides a stock market that's obviously been propped up by is it magnificent 7 or 10? I feel like you go between. Between the two. But is there something that I am not getting about what's going on here in the economy?

[Scott Galloway]

I don't think so, other than people would argue that the economy churns on despite how just bass ackward our economic policies have been at a macro level.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Why?

[Scott Galloway]

Because the American economy is just incredible. People get up every day and innovate and do incredible things. And the S and p is up 12% because of the AI boom, 13 or 14% which I think is going to unwind. And it's become dangerously concentrated around 10 companies. And I think China is going to engage in AI dumping to take the entire economy down. But moving back to affordability. Look, you always have to ask yourself with this stuff. The tendency for experts in the media is to catastrophize because you sound smarter and I'm falling to the same thing. And you always need to ask yourself what could go right. Having said that, I don't think you're missing much here. I'm shocked the economy isn't worse given how just stupid these policies have been and the fact that every nation in the world is trying to reroute their supply chain around ours, raising our costs. A sclerotic economic policy that no one knows how to even respond. Ridiculous tariffs that then bail out farmers. Well, maybe we just shouldn't have the tariffs to begin with. Trade wars that alienate our partners and massively decrease prosperity because we gain more shareholder value from shipping or exporting Nvidia chips and importing low margin products that accretes to us, benefit us. So it doesn't make any sense. The thing that's so surprising is how the American economy just grinds on. That so many people get up every morning and innovate and apply new technologies and new ways of doing business and work hard and the economy just continues to grind on. But if he was serious about affordability, there's just absolutely no case for tariffs making shit more affordable. It can protect nascent industries. You can protect employment in certain industries. I would say only over the Short run, eventually everyone has to hold their feet to the flames of global innovation. And when we have free trade, it naturally accretes to us because Americans are just very good at what we do. And you should let low margin businesses go away in exchange for services and innovation businesses. But if they were really serious about affordability, and this is what I can't stand about the Democratic Party is we'll spend a lot of time talking about how fucked up the economy is and then offer no solutions around affordability. If you want to get Serious about affordability, one, you have to go after the biggest increase in CPI which is housing. 8 to 10 million houses in 10 years. Tax credits that unleash private development. Get rid of NIMBY laws and replace them with YIMBY laws. Manufactured homes take the tariffs off. China get some incredible innovation around new construction that lowers the cost by 50 or 60%. Government backed loans for people under the age of 40 and give people psychological and material well being vis a vis much greater supply and housing which will bring down costs. Rent freezes and price controls don't work. Sorry, mom. Donnie, that's just fucking stupid. It decreases supply and increases housing costs too. It's time to nationalize medicine. That's the other CPI that's accelerated twice the cost of the other G6. Lower outcomes, worse outcomes. Lower Medicare eligibility by two to three years every year for 10 years. Takedown cost 25% even though they could come down 50%. That massively increases affordability. And then the third thing that has accelerated faster than inflation has been education. And you should tie tuition to income. Specifically a kid coming from an upper income home pays full freight. A kid coming from a lower income home pays massively less in tuition. And if you have an endowment over a billion dollars, you're not growing your freshman class size faster than population growth. You've decided you are no longer a public servant but a fucking Chanel bag. And you should lose your tax free status. And we could dramatically lower education costs. And then finally, we need massive, massive antitrust. Big Chicken, Big Ag, big streaming. Now Netflix should not be allowed to buy HBO. The streamers have increased their prices 13% over the last 12 months as that industry is consolidating. It's pretty simple. If you have more competition, you have a reverse of the rivers of the last 40 years which have leaked power, leverage and economic value from consumers and workers and labor to shareholders. The rivers need to reverse for a little bit. So if we're really going to have an adult conversation around affordability, let's have an adult conversation. The problem is it's boring shit that will take years, if not decades. And the Democrats don't seem to have the firepower or the intellectual honesty to talk about this shit. And Republicans want to propose programs that are totally inflationary. Anyways, that's my TED Talk.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, I'm glad that I came to your TED Talk. No, it's a point of frustration because. And we were just talking about this with Senator Gallego's interview is up on our YouTube channel, which you should go and check it out and subscribe obviously. But that we're just band aiding everything all the time versus really latching on to a pro growth innovative agenda where we say we're not just going to clean up the mess because cleaning up the mess is actually still messy. Like the, the baseline level like with Obamacare, which I think is the most obvious answer to all of this. Like Obamacare needs help. You need an extension of the ACA subsidies so people's premiums don't go up 400% or whatever starting January 1st. But like the program itself is a problem. I wanted to ask you though about, you know, I'm sure you saw that we got no jobs report, no GDP report and now no inflation report. So we're never going to see a number out of this government again. The ADP numbers came out negative. 32,000 jobs lost. Small businesses shed 120,000 jobs. Joe Kernan was going crazy about that on CNBC. But what is the impact of not having the official numbers on the economy and also investment from abroad or how the global economy works? Because I understand like from a political level, like you know what that means. And it clearly shows that they're hiding something and it's something to harp on. But what are the real world implications of not having good data around what's going on in our economy?

[Scott Galloway]

When you're trying to land a 747, you're trying to land a, you know, a several hundred ton piece of equipment on a hard surface while flying at 170 miles an hour. And when you don't have data, as we don't, we're trying to land a $25 trillion economy on a hard surface without instruments. We don't know what's going on. And we've become China. Except China's smarter than us. They actually have the data internally. They just don't want to release it publicly because they're worried it'll make the CCP look bad. This is what Russia does. Russia totally bastardizes and perverts its data and they can't plan their economy as well. So an absence of data is just again, this very dangerous sort of let's not trust the experts movement. Let's go to our Ouija boards and our horoscopes and our instincts and what makes us feel good and what gets the most likes on Instagram as opposed to actual fucking truth as evidenced by data. So this is incredibly damaging. We're flying blind. We don't know what the actual numbers are. The difference between America and China, though, is that there will be a bunch of private sector companies that use different means of taking the temperature of the economy to come out with their own data streams. If I was starting business right now, I would probably get into the business of economic forecasting and fill this vacuum that used to be filled by these incredible economists at the Fed. But this is just stupid. This is just like Trotsky being erased from photos because we don't like what he represented. This makes it much more difficult to plan for the Fed to decide, for companies to decide what to do, what the right interest rate policy is, what the right economic policy is for voters to hold elected officials accountable. So this is just, oh, I don't like that. I have high blood pressure and I don't want anyone to not think that I'm healthy. So I'm gonna stop taking my blood pressure and just see what happens. This leads to an economy that's much more prone to stroke.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah, well, that's kind of what happened with COVID Right? Everyone just stopped testing and it was like, oh, there's no more Covid. But you had it. It wasn't actually a common cold. I want to. Before we move on to the next section, I want to get your take on the healthcare vote. There's going to be a vote on the ACA extensions. John Thune promised it. The Democrats are putting up a clean three year extension bill that is going to fail. There are some outspoken Republicans like Josh Hawley saying, you know, Republicans had better offer something. You have a couple proposals. Bernie Moreno and Susan Collins have a bill that has an income cap at 200k but also includes a two year extension of the Obamacare subsidies. Democrat Dick Durbin has said that he's interested in it, that he might want to change one or two provisions, but he's encouraged. Mike Krepo and Bill Cassidy have a bill. Senator Roger Marshall, also a Republican, has a bill. Those two don't seem to have the Obamacare subsidy extension. We have heard nothing from the House at This point of what they would offer. What do you think happens? It feels like we're just moving towards the Obamacare subsidies going away and people are going to be hit by those premium hikes.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm going to ask you for real insight into an on the ground domain expertise here, because I don't have it, but I do have a Senator Thune story. I was in Nantucket and I met Senator Thune. I think that's the whitest thing I've ever said. I was in Nantucket and I met Senator Thune. He was walking out with his wife and I recognized him and I said, senator Thin, thank you for your service. And he and his wife came over and introduced themselves to my family. He's very handsome.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, my God. Right? It's overwhelming.

[Scott Galloway]

Very handsome.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah.

[Scott Galloway]

Very tall, very handsome. His wife is very attractive. They look like they should be in the White House. So I like them just for. Just for those broad shoulders.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Aesthetically pleasing.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Politically displeasing.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah. Very, very handsome. I don't.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I have a similar story.

[Scott Galloway]

I'm a little bit encouraged that he's keeping to his word and bringing the vote up. But anyways, that's. That's the extent of my knowledge.

[Jessica Tarlov]

So that he can vote against it. But yes, I, I don't think that he's a liar like a Mike Johnson. I don't think that. And usually I think.

I don't know if I'm gonna regret this. Cause Mitch McConnell, it's a difficult way to gauge the quality of the character. Cause he has let us down so many times. But I expect more from senators than I do of congresspeople. And more often than not, I get that. But I also have a Senator Thune story. I was at the rnc. It was my first day back from maternity leave, summer 2024. And he came right up to me. He was like, waiting to do a Fox hit. And, you know, we had a big. I think we did a remote segment for Prof. G. For the Prof. G. Pod before waging moderates was a thing from there. So you saw, like, you know, we had desk space and everybody who's in the Fox orbit is walking around. It's hair and makeup, it's on air, contributors, producers, tech directors, et cetera. He came right up to me and he said, you know, I wanted to say hello. You do such a great job. And I thought that that was so nice. And not everybody behaves that way. There are Republicans who avoid me like the plague when they see me in a social situation. And soon beelined and was delightful and also very, very handsome. I think that the premium hikes are gonna go through. I think that it's just, it's like too little too late to be bringing up your bill. That's gonna require some degree of negotiation, at least at the proverbial 11th hour. And that's really fr to me. I'm glad that Dick Durbin is saying that he has, you know, interest in working, negotiating about one of these bills. But ultimately, Republicans have been trying to get to their goal of repealing and replacing Obamacare. As long as Obamacare has existed and still have never brought anything decent that speaks to the way that Americans want their healthcare delivered since they've been playing this game and it's gonna really suck. Putting my partisan political hat on could be a net advantage for Democrats because we'll get to own this issue that Republicans literally don't care about your healthcare. They're taking Medicaid away from millions of people with the big, beautiful bill. Your premium spiked because of Republicans and we were the ones that were, you know, trying to get the subsidies extended. But like always, I wish Washington just functioned better, but I'm gonna have to get over that.

[Scott Galloway]

Okay, let's take a quick break. Stay with us.

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[David (Producer)]

Sometimes the difference between success and failure comes down to one chance encounter or following a counterintuitive instinct or ignoring conventional wisdom to make a bold decision. Like when the founders at Palo Alto Networks wanted to redefine cybersecurity for the modern age.

[Scott Galloway]

Everybody thought we were crazy. Nobody would use the cloud for cybersecurity.

[David (Producer)]

Or when mobile gaming giant supercell could only rewrite the rules of the industry after failure in the company's formative stages.

[Scott Galloway]

Many of the best things we've learned.

[David (Producer)]

Have actually come through failures. These are all examples of Crucible Moments turning points in a company's journey that made them what they are today. Hosted by Sequoia Capital's Roelof Bother, Crucible Moments is back for a new season with stories from Zipline, Stripe, Palo Alto Networks, supercell, and more. Subscribe to season three of Crucible Moments. New episodes are out now and you can catch up on seasons one and two at cruciblemoments.com on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to Crucible Moments today.

[Jessica Tarlov]

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[Scott Galloway]

Welcome back. South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace is taking direct aim at her own party's leadership, accusing Speaker Mike Johnson and top GOP brass of signlining rank and file members, especially women. In a sharply worded New York Times op Ed May says Republicans are petrified of losing power, too timid to deliver for their base, and far less effective than Democrats under Nancy Pelosi. She warns that unless the GOP starts governing boldly on the border affordability, health care and public safety, they'll lose their majority, and deservedly so. Jess it's just so fucking ridiculous. If anything, they've been too bold. They've been reckless. Jess, what does this situation say about women in the gop?

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean, too little, too late, right? There's no surprises in this. It's just that she's saying it out loud and in the pages of the New York Times, which is a very intentional place to put this op ed. It's not in the Journal, right? It's in like the Gray lady, right? Which we wake up, you know, and immediately go over to check what's going on, pop on the daily, whatever it is. So obviously she meant to do it in this way. But you know, she's bucking leadership because she got pushed too far. That Epstein and Marjorie Taylor Greene is in this bucket as well. But also, you know, she's running for governor in South Carolina. And you know, I think that she needs to show some sort of maverickism to her and that also she is interested in the business of governing. Because the crux of her piece and the argument that she's making is that it's this full bodied criticism of the way that Congress functions, that it's all about power and closed door jockeying if you're not in a position of power. So if you're just a rank and file congressperson, you know, you're a complete afterthought, if a thought at all. And she's been getting a front row seat to that. She doesn't really matter to leadership to Mike Johnson. There was a, a stat in there that only 5% of the bills introduced this year have seen a floor vote. They took months off. Right. Mike Johnson ran away from being at work because he didn't want to deal with the Epstein files and the discharge petition. And you know, they don't, they don't accomplish anything. It's going to be the biggest do nothing Congress in American history. I like that she shouted out Nancy Pelosi though, and how effective she is because I feel like around Pelosi's retirement that some Republicans obviously, you know, spoke to how good she was at doing the job, but not nearly enough because you do know that they all respect what an amazing power broker she was and continues to be, even not in leadership. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, did you watch her own 60 minutes or see clips of it?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I did. I felt like I was watching an arsonist lecture us on fire safety. I just think it's so ridiculous that she has the gumption to pretend to be a moderate. She's not doing it for any other reason than to try and stage a political comeback. I just can't wait for her to exit stage right, stage left, stage, get the fuck off the stage. Good riddance.

[Jessica Tarlov]

So you liked it? I think that this. I don't. The numbers are always inflated when people get into these fantasy lands, being like 20 Republicans are going to retire, you know, before the midterms. And I don't think it would get as high as that. But it does feel like there is a vibe shift going on where Donald Trump is already a lame duck. I mean, he still feels like he's wreaking incredible amounts of havoc, but still a lame duck. And if they're not bringing any legislation to the floor, if they essentially won't let people even work with Democrats, that it makes sense that Republicans are saying like, what's the point in even sitting here, I should get a head start on my big consulting career or my K Street career, or spend some time with my grandkids rather than sit around and you know, I don't think Hakeem Jeffries is going to become speaker of the House before the midterms, but it does feel like the right is in a bit of disarray.

[Scott Galloway]

There you go. All right. And also, just the one thing, I'm obsessed with these prediction markets. Kalshee says that there's a 65% chance that Johnson is out as speaker of the House before the midterms.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, really?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Soul Advertiser]

That high?

[Scott Galloway]

Well, and these things are fascinating because they do leverage the wisdom of crowds and they have a tendency to be right or go where the odds are. But yeah, 2/3 chance that, according to Kalshee, that Johnson is out as speaker of the House before the midterms. Okay, let's take a quick break. Stay with us.

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[Scott Galloway]

Zoe, the mall's about to close. It's impossible to do anything in 15 minutes.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Oh, it's possible, Harvey.

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[Scott Galloway]

Come on, you spent an hour buying jelly beans.

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[Scott Galloway]

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[David (Producer)]

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[Scott Galloway]

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[David (Producer)]

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[Scott Galloway]

All right, welcome back. Before we go, the political spotlight in Texas has swung hard towards 2026, where an unexpected Democratic showdown is reshaping the state's marquee Senate race. Friend of the podcast James Talarico, the former school teacher turned to Austin state legislature no. For his cross party appeal, is now facing off against Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, whose national profile and progressive firepower have vaulted her to the front of the field. The matchup emerged after a chaotic filing day that saw Colin Allred last cycle Senate nominee, abruptly exit the race and jump into a newly drawn House district, clearing the lane and effectively setting up the Talarigo Crockett duel. Early polling gives Crockett a plurality among likely Democratic voters, but some analysts argue Talarico may be the stronger general election contender in a state where Democrats haven't won statewide since 1994. Jess, your thoughts on this race and Crockett entering the race?

[Jessica Tarlov]

I wasn't thrilled about it really. You know, it's different. A Senate race is always going to be nationalized versus a congressional race. But we just saw in that special election in Tennessee's 7th district that the Democrat who got within single digits in a Trump +22 district, it was still a massive over performance. But once that race became became nationalized, I think the Democrat did worse. And Jasmine Crockett, who we would love to have on the podcast, I should know that we have, we've tried, we will continue to try, has an enormous national profile and she's one of those people because she's so outspoken and she's so in the crosshairs with Trump and the administration and you know, right wing cable news pundits, et cetera, that I think there is a way to make the party seem more like a left wing caricature than kind of like moderate get shit done caucus. And that causes more of an uphill battle. It takes more money to fight those races and it makes my life harder on the five, which is a problem now I'm not saying this about necessarily her politics. I know people who know her very well. Apparently, she's quite a moderate person. But, you know, watching her launch video, which was just her standing there for about 30 seconds listening to Donald Trump talk shit about her, and then she turns to face this camera, and, you know, she's a beautiful woman. It's a stark image. And then she has this great grin at the end before it announces, you know, Crockett for Senate. I found myself thinking, like, where is Texas mentioned in this? What about Texas issues? What about your story? You know, your civil rights attorney? Like, tell us who you are and why you're fighting for this community. Like, this is the affordability election. Like, let's talk about what's happened to everyday Texans, right? Like, let's talk about what's going on the border, whatever it is. And that, to me, just sent up this flare that we are about to have, like, an ugly, Donald Trump centric race. And it feels like the opportunity is to put your head down and fight for the people that have been let down by that guy and are open to the idea of somebody else swooping in to help make their lives better. So what are your thoughts?

[Scott Galloway]

I've often said that the war between Iraq and Iran or the war between Musk and Trump, that I hope the bullets win, and this is the exact opposite of that. I love both these people. I think Talarico's ability to incorporate faith into public policy is just really elegant and powerful. And I say that as an atheist. Representative Crockett is a hero of mine. I think she's fantastic. I just think she's courageous, compelling, unafraid, smart. I just think she's outstanding. And I gave Talarico some money. I'm gonna give Crockett some money. By the way, one of the things I love about this podcast is it makes. It's a chance for me to both virtue signal and be very affectionate.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, you don't have other platforms to do that either?

[Scott Galloway]

Just this one. Trust me, the virtue signaling knows no win. Jess. But anyone from the Crockett campaign, I've already given money to Talarico. Anyone from the Crockett campaign, reach out to me. I'm gonna give you some money. And I just love both these candidates. And it's sort of. I guess it makes no sense. I'm giving money to both. It's like that Larry David show where he finds.

[Jessica Tarlov]

You're encouraging both your Democratic children.

[Scott Galloway]

Derek. Young people, I want to bring more attention to young rising stars in the Democratic Party. I absolutely love both of them. I would personally, you might argue that Talaria would do better in general. I think she's just a force, and I would love to see. I would just love to see her as a senator from Texas. I think that would send such a wonderful signal. Also, I think Texas is conservative, is as conservative as people think. But having said that, I only go to south by southwest.

[Jessica Tarlov]

That's the bigger question here. Like, we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to turn Texas blue and failed miserably. And I don't know if Colin all who's now gonna run for a congressional seat, and that's gonna be an ugly primary because he's, you know, Texas's map, the newly redrawn, the cheater map, was upheld by the Supreme Court. So everything has gotten scrambled. So Jasmine Crockett, who's usually in a very blue, safe Dallas seat, I think she won by a 69.8% margin or something like that, you know, was gonna have her seat messed with. Colin Allred is now jumping into the 33rd. Someone named Julie Johnson is in there. I mean, pretty fierce statement. When Allred announced this, she said women should never be treated as placeholders for men who fail to advance. You know, it is going to be ugly in Texas as people are jockeying to find a seat for themselves. And, you know, I think that Crockett is going to show off, like, fight and grit. That I think is really important for the party. I just want to be very careful about the territory that you're running in. You know, Texas is not a blue place. It's like, on an amazing day, it's purplish, right? And it's usually red and on the right.

[Scott Galloway]

Fair comment.

[Jessica Tarlov]

On the right. They're having a bruising primary, too. So John Cornyn, who's like, the normie senator, is being challenged by the AG Ken Paxton, who, you know, he was impeached. The Senate didn't, you know, voted to acquit him. Bribery, an affair like his wife putting that all out there, that he's a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. And then Wes Hunt is also in that primary and looking at the reactions from the Republican side about how excited they were that Crockett was getting in. Always sends up a bit of a flare. Now they were gonna say that no matter what. And who knows what it looks like in 26, maybe, you know, the bold, loud, progressive is the way forward. But I'm a little scared.

[Scott Galloway]

I feel like we need a tiebreaker here, where I think you're slightly more towards Tyler Rico as the pollster in you comes out and the pragmatist, which is usually my role. And I'm a little bit. I'm a little bit more like.

[Jessica Tarlov]

You fall in love.

[Scott Galloway]

The world is what we make of it. And we need courageous young. More courageous young women in the Senate. Let's bring in our producer, David. David, you're the tiebreaker. What do you think?

[David (Producer)]

I love Crockett. I think she's one of the best voices the Democratic Party has. But that announcement video was not affordability focused, which is the whole game.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah, but it's gonna be good. I mean, competition is good. Talarico said that, you know, like that he welcomes her into the race. We'll treat her with the utmost respect. The primary, I think, is March 3rd. So we're. This isn't going to go on forever by any means, but you always have to keep in mind. And yes, pragmatist pollster, all of it. The primary electorate is different than the general electorate. And I hope that AOC was asked about Crockett getting in. And she said something like, we've got to run the right people in the right races. Which a. You go, girl. AOC that you're looking towards higher office. Right. And the way to talk about these things. But it is the most important lesson that we're even learning in 2025. Mom Donnie for New York City. Abigail Spanberger for Virginia. Mikey Sherrill for New Jersey. Like all of the Virginia House of Delegates folks that Don Scott, the Speaker, got in order. It's all the right person for the right race. We wanna win the big one. You don't wanna just win a primary like you wanna win a general.

[Scott Galloway]

Well, I would offer that if and when you and I disagree, that the good money is to defer to you. Cause you. You kind of do this for a living, right? Polling.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean. Kind of.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, I just. I hate that. I just. It would be like watching your parents fight to see these two in a primer against each other. I think they're both so good. But.

[Jessica Tarlov]

But it'll be interesting to see them up against each other. I mean, you might feel differently. Someone might steal your heart in a bigger way. But either way, I feel like all of the things that we talk about and all the people that we have on gives us a very positive outlook for the future of the party. You know, where it felt super bleak, like we got nobody. Like we got a lot of people.

[Scott Galloway]

These two are outstanding. Outstanding. I just.

[Jessica Tarlov]

You hear that?

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Jasmine. Outstanding. Come on the show.

[Scott Galloway]

Yeah, come on the show. But first have someone from your campaign call me because for money. Yeah, take my money, please. All right, before we go, if you're watching us on YouTube, make sure you hit subscribe. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to raging moderates. Have a good week, Jesse.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah, you too. See you later.

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