← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Interview Only: Chris Cuomo is fact checking Elon Musk's DOGE updates.
00:27:46
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- [00:00]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:31]
Stephen A. Smith
What's up, everyone? Julie Swerbinks here, along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [00:36]
Chris Cuomo
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
- [00:38]
Stephen A. Smith
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [00:42]
Chris Cuomo
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
- [00:47]
Stephen A. Smith
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [00:51]
Chris Cuomo
Julia's pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [00:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSP on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, my buddy Chris Cuomo has been on News Nation all week long discussing Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, a subject that is spurring a lot of debate nationwide. He started by breaking down some falsehoods regarding claims about USAID. Take a listen to this, please.
- [01:21]
Chris Cuomo
Did USAID send 2 million to Guatemala for sex change surgeries? No. First, they only got 350 grand and the money went for a lot more than surgery. We help poor countries. Is that now bad? And if you say, yeah, America first, why do you think we do it if we stop? Do you really believe that what goes bad there doesn't affect us? Here? Here's a hint. Most migrants are leaving, what? Distressed places? Less distressed there, less need to come here. Okay, so you look at the next1.55 million to strengthen Libya's whatever financial. Did we do that? Yeah, but why didn't Mass tell you the project started during the Trump administration. Why would he leave that out? He wants you to get angry about something but not blame the guy who did it. Same thing with complaining about money for tourism in Egypt. Trump did it. So if it's so stupid, isn't Trump the stupid one? Or does he really believe you are? Because he doesn't think you're going to check.
- [02:28]
Stephen A. Smith
How about that? How about that? The latest flashpoint in the slashing of government entities surrounds Social Security. Who's getting paid and whether or not some recipients may be long gone from this earth. Cuomo had something to say about that as well. Take a listen.
- [02:43]
Chris Cuomo
And now he's claiming massive fraud at Social Security Administration. Now, this program matters, but not to him, because he's already botching it in favor of heat over light. He shared this screenshot. All the MAGA and the Pod bros with their ski caps and their big cans on their head went crazy. Look at this. Millions of people above the age of 100 are receiving Social Security. This is the biggest fraud ever. This was to back up the claim in the Oval Office that many people receiving Social Security are falsely aged 150 years old. What a scam. So stupid. How did we miss it? Because it's B.S. we did some basic research, and once again, the situation with Social Security is not what Mr. Musk said suggests. Social Security uses this antiquated computer language called cobol, C O B O l. Now, on that system, if a birth date is missing, it automatically codes for May 20, 1875.
- [03:52]
Stephen A. Smith
Why?
- [03:53]
Chris Cuomo
There's a whole story that goes with it, but that's the answer. 1875 is 150 years ago. I thought he had these genius coders. They didn't know that, or is he just guessing that you wouldn't know that and you wouldn't find out?
- [04:08]
Stephen A. Smith
Again, it's the latter. It's the latter. It's an accusation on my part because I'm not inside the head of Elon Musk, but certainly that clear. That clearly appears to be the case. The reality is, is that when you look at the Department of Government Agency, I don't have a problem with it in theory. I have a problem with who's been put in place to oversee it. First of all, Elon Musk isn't a government employee. He's basically a consultant to the President. He isn't somebody that needed to be confirmed by the Senate or anything like that. He's not receiving a check. So essentially, he gets to operate with relative impunity. Now, of course, the President, Donald Trump, has said on the record, I will be watching him. I will be supervising him. Trust me, Trust me, trust me. And the cult like following that he has. Clearly, people are gonna do that because their mentality is, is that he's the President of the United states. He's the 47th president of the United States of America. He won a fair and square election rather convincingly, regardless of what the Democrats want to say about him. It was only 49.8% to 48.3%, damnity, won convincingly and he has a mandate, even though they want to try to say he doesn't have a mandate. When you win all the swing states, when you improve the demographic graphics, like the blacks, the Latinos, the young voters, when you've upgraded in 50 counties, for crying out loud, no, you've won convincingly. That's what it is. And because he has that trust, he's able to get away with saying that for now. But when you see the kind of latitude that Elon Musk has at his disposal, when you see the access to private information that ultimately he is going to get, at least purportedly. So it does make you a bit nervous. It really, really does. Not to mention the fact that some of the stuff that he has said is not true, as Chris Cuomo pointed out. Social Security, not true. Guatemala, surgeries in Guatemala, not true. Tunisia, not true. What else is not true? I don't know how much money was legitimately wasted. I want to know the answer to that question. Not only do I want to know how much money has been wasted, I want to know who wasted it, who appropriated those funds to certain places? Was it legit? Was it excessive? What money is missing? How much is missing? Where did it go? I want to know all of that. That's just me. That's how I feel about it. And all I'm going to tell you is, is that again, I'm going to remind you, I'm a registered independent. I'm going to remind you. You seen Josh Shapiro on the show. Governor of Philadelphia, of Pennsylvania. You've seen West Moore on this show. Governor of Maryland. You've seen Eric Adams on this show, Mayor of New York. I, you. But you've also seen Byron Donald on the show. You've seen Sean Hannity on this show. Megan Kelly is invited on this show. Marco Rubio is invited on this show. I'm gonna give you the names of the people I personally want. Megan Kelly, Marco Rubio, Pete Hagseth, J.D. vance, Vice President. J.D. vance, Senator Ted Cruz. Cause I've always wanted to talk to him. Senator Lindsey Graham as well. I like Lindsey Graham sometimes. And of course, the President himself, Donald Trump. I'm not really that interested in talking to Elon Musk. Let him do what he does. I'm talking about the elected officials, the people that the American people chose, or elected officials. Confirmed. Talk about those dudes. That's what I want to see. That's what I want to talk to. I don't want anybody to think for one second that you're watching this show and all you want to see is liberals, Democrats, et cetera. Bill O'Reilly's been on this show. He's coming back on. I want Andrew Cuomo on this show, too. In light of the charges being dropped by the doj, forcing the Southern District of New York to drop those charges against Eric Adams, I want him back on. Nobody's running, nobody's hiding, but nobody's going to be unfair either. But this stuff, the Department of Government Efficiency, that's not very efficient. When you look at what Chris Cuomo pointed out, it's not very efficient at all. And since this man is so brilliant and being utilized by our president because of his brilliance, I don't expect mistakes. Which means if they are one, are you as efficient as the president claimed? And if you're not, if that's not it, will you purposefully, purposefully or purposely disingenuous? Just a legitimate question. Joining me now to discuss all of this and to try to provide some clarity is none other than the man, the myth, the legend himself, my brother, the one and only Chris Cuomo. What's going on? Big time.
- [09:12]
Chris Cuomo
How are you? STEPHEN A. It's one of one.
- [09:17]
Stephen A. Smith
It's good to see you, man. It's good to see you. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate and I played the sound of you footage of you talking on your show, Cuomo on News Nation every weeknight at 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time. I played the clip of you talking about Doge and talking about Social Security, talking about supposed gender surgeries in Guatemala and all of this other stuff. As you sit back and reflect to zero in on Doge itself, why did you feel the need to do so? And what have you gathered from your research about the Department of Government Efficiency?
- [09:53]
Chris Cuomo
So let's start with what should be obvious. Everybody should be in favor of finding waste, fraud and abuse. And the idea that I'm inclined or anyone should be inclined to be against the effort reeks of partisan politics. So, of course, this is great. And nobody has ever failed to find waste, fraud and abuse. Different name different ways. Every administration, Reagan, Clinton, Obama, everybody has let's find waste, fraud and abuse. And they have found it every time. Government is huge. Mistakes are going to be made, intentional errors are going to be made. Doge does not bother me as an effort. Doesn't bother me that they're using an outsider. Bothers me a little bit that they keep being wrong about things and it starts to smell like they are intentionally trying to get people to think that everything government does sucks and that is irresponsible and it feels like more heat than light. And if the reason we're bringing on in Elon instead of having Congress do it is because he's better at it, why does he keep getting it wrong? And now they say they're going to give out a $5,000 dividend by giving us 20% of $2 trillion or whatever the number is. They don't know what the number is. I thought this was about getting the deficit down. Now they're saying they're going to give us checks. It reeks of over promising and setting up an under delivery. So that's my angle on it. Efficiencies are good. Finding waste, fraud, abuse, great. The fact that Trump is doing it, so what? It's not bad just because he's doing it or Elon Musk is doing it. But how they do it matters. And all this hype. STEPHEN A. It bothers me.
- [11:48]
Stephen A. Smith
What do you think the intent is? Assuming that they're getting these things wrong and they're doing it purposefully, they're being disingenuous about it. What could possibly be the benefit from doing that is that painting the government as corrupt because it will facilitate Trump's agenda down the line leading into the midterms. What could it be?
- [12:10]
Chris Cuomo
Yeah, I think that's it. Musk hates government. He has said it many, many times, many different ways. He has obvious personal incentive to pretend that there's a better way than our government. And, you know, you got to read the disconnect between the Musk and the Oval Office, who Stephen, I was very impressed by. We talked about it a little bit in private, that I thought he was really good. I thought it was bad for him because I thought he outshined the president and you know what happens when you do that. But the difference between him there and on Twitter, I mean, he's just like, you know, just in the amplification of absurdity business on Twitter. And I don't believe he can be this wrong this often. So I think it's intentional. And the response is always, give them time. Give them time. It's not about time. Telling the truth isn't about time. Showing receipts of what you say you found isn't about time. You can do it in real time. I'm not coming after them about the price economy. I know two and three people think he should spend more time on it. I know that people are worried that prices are going the wrong way. I know that he promised something that he didn't deliver, which was quick change. I'm not chasing him on that because I knew he was FOS when he said it during the campaign, because I knew it would take time. And we'll see what his policies do. He hasn't even had a budget in yet, so I'm being reasonable about it. But what they can do right now, they should do right now. And that's showing receipts. Let me see where these dividend checks are going to come from. I don't buy it.
- [13:48]
Stephen A. Smith
How concerned are you by the Democrats reaction on Capitol Hill? We saw the protest. We saw people being a bit vociferous, to say the least, and saying some things that I didn't think was the most advisable thing to say. I think they came across as people that were still campaigning as opposed to recognizing this is the new power in office. Y'all lost. There's a different mandate, and you got to accept that and. And might be. And might be inclined to act a little bit differently, but that's not what transpired. How do you feel about what you've seen from the Schumers of the world and others on Capitol Hill?
- [14:22]
Chris Cuomo
I can't put it any better than that. They're still in campaign mode. Sounds right. It seems like anything that Trump or Musk does, they have to condemn, and they have to condemn it on the basis of the people. Personally, Trump is a Nazi. Musk has apartheid roots. And to me, it just proves they haven't learned their lesson yet that they should be in a better idea business. And they do seem like they're defending the status quo. They're just defending the establishment. And I don't think that's where you want to be right now. You want to be in the business of better. And they seem like they're still in the business of painting the other side as worse. And a little bit that sounds like semantics or a rhetorical device, but I don't think it is. I think it reads to people as, listen, I don't like the guy either, or maybe I do, but either way it doesn't matter. I just want stuff to get better for me and my family. I. Are you about that, or are you just about comparative advantage over the other side? And they have to find a better answer to that question. And, you know, there's a lot of this going on over there. There's a lot of hand wringing going on on the left. And to me, that's almost like masturbatory. You know, it's not really about Getting them to a better place when they are at their best. Democrats, they are speaking to the masses with dynamic messengers who are taking on the hard work of showing that things can be more light than dark. The Republicans, starting with the, you know, in our lifetime, the contract with America 1993 for Newt Gingrich, him saying that Republicans need to learn how to get mean, and they took toughness as an advantage and it has worked well for them. The Democrats are not going to win a bully contest. They're not going to win a tough guy contest, and they shouldn't want to. They should be in the business of better. You want to find efficiencies, awesome. If I were they, I'd say, can't wait for the dividend check. Where are you getting it from? Because we have some ideas. You say you're going to find $2 trillion. I think you got to get rid of the DOJ, the Department of Education, and a huge chunk out of Medicare, Medicaid, and a 25% decrease in Social Security contributions back to the people who paid in to reach that number. That's your plan. That's what they should be doing, but that's not what they're doing. So you're right to call it out.
- [16:48]
Stephen A. Smith
Is it possible, based off of what you just explained, that that's why the false information is being put out there by Musk to some degree and obviously Donald Trump, who says that he's watching him personally, Because I'm thinking if this is the kind of thing that can spark outrage from the Democrats, right, Then you get the Democrats to act that way and then you're able to see, look at them, same old, same old. They just don't get it. And they're probably acting this way because we're noticing the kind of corruption that was taking place on this side while they were running this country. Is it possible that that's the incentive behind all of this?
- [17:27]
Chris Cuomo
I don't think it's possible. I think it's probable. The last part, I mean, look, doesn't it sound like that to you? Doesn't it sound how like everything they find is kind of on the Democrats? I mean, you know, one of the interesting points of analysis that we've done, and I'm telling you, look, I have a team and on my, my own enterprising, I can dig very deep into things with sources and research. I have not had to do that here to find that some of the things that they're calling out as waste or crazy or whatever adjective you want to put on it started under Trump, and they're just ignoring it. Shows you what this is really about, is that it's about blaming Democrats for the status quo. And I think the Democrats are playing right into it.
- [18:09]
Stephen A. Smith
And.
- [18:09]
Chris Cuomo
Could you.
- [18:11]
Stephen A. Smith
Go ahead, Go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
- [18:14]
Chris Cuomo
I just feel like AOC is the crystallization of this for me. And again, I'm not anti aoc. I respect her pursuit of passion. I respect that she's built this big platform for herself. I think she's got a lot more reach than resonance. Meaning. I don't know that what she says matters as much as the number of her following, but I think she's kind of the poster boy right now for handling this the wrong way.
- [18:40]
Stephen A. Smith
And why. What specifically has she done when you mentioned her handling it the wrong way?
- [18:45]
Chris Cuomo
She seems to be an apologist for the status quo, and everything with her is personal. Musk is dumb. Trump's an asshole. You know, whatever it is, it's like all like you're talking about somebody at a fraternity party, you know, as opposed to being a leader and having a better way and showing that you have better ideas. Proving that Elon and Musk are imperfect is going to be easy. The problem is nobody thinks you're perfect either. And in fact, as you said, and I got to tell you, I said it at the time, I've said it repeatedly on tv, off tv, man. Did you nail it on Bill Maher's show by saying that not only did they get beaten by a guy who's one of the most unpopular politicians in modern history, but the Democrats have to wake up to the proposition that more people thought that Donald Trump reflected normalcy more than the Democrats do.
- [19:42]
Stephen A. Smith
That's right.
- [19:42]
Chris Cuomo
I mean, you know, when you said that every once in a while, when it comes to, like, the pursuit of thought and reason and understanding, somebody just puts it right and it just hits you. Like when you get just enough salsa on a chip. Know what I'm talking about? When you get just enough queso on the chip, where you're like, that's why I'm here. That was that line. That's exactly what happened. More people thought that Donald Trump reflected normal more than the Democrat offerings. And that would be very embarrassing.
- [20:20]
Stephen A. Smith
Now when. When you talk about what Trump did, what programs he started that fell under usaid. Can you be specific about programs are.
- [20:28]
Chris Cuomo
Based on a couple of the. Like the tour in Egypt thing that they came out with. We gave all this money to Tor Egypt. You know, it was started under him. There was a couple of those other programs. Now, here's what Trump has that nobody else gets the benefit of. If this was on Stephen A. Smith, and I said, hey, Stephen A. You did that, too. You'd have a problem, not Trump. Right? Whether it's the vaccine or the boosters or anything, Trump gets a pass. Why does Trump get a pass when nobody else gets a pass? Because he is seen differently by his base. Most bases see their people as their agents. He is their spirit animal. He is their ambition to disrupt and destroy what they believe is against them so they will not go bad on him, because that would be them going bad on that ambition. And that's not gonna happen. So being in the Trump sucks business is a bad business.
- [21:28]
Stephen A. Smith
You're in great shape. You got your big chest out your arms and everything that. The top. The word on the top says angry. That's on your shirt. Why? Why are you wearing that shirt?
- [21:39]
Chris Cuomo
Because I love the podcast that PJ Rykoff does, and it used to be called the Angry American. Now it's called the Independent Americans. But I believe in anger. Anger as passion of pursuit, not anger as animus. You know, you wouldn't have me on. You know, Stephen, you're a tough guy, you're a strong guy, but you're a sweet guy. You don't like bullies. You don't want to hear bullies, and neither do I. But anger's a good thing. If you're angry about something good, work harder at it. If you're angry about something great, change it. If you're angry about something, use that passion, use that energy, use that provocation to get yourself to a better place. There's nothing more satisfying than saying, oh, you don't think I can? You don't think I can do this? Now, you pissed me off and I'm coming for you. I'll prove it to you. Great. It's all how you direct it. I have no problem with people being outraged. There are a lot of things that are outrageous. There are a lot of things that are enraging. I'm enraged. I'm enraged at myself. I'm angry at me for not being able to make things more clear, make them more obvious, be more productive about how I help people be critical thinkers and make their own choices instead of getting pushed into silos. So I'm cool with anger. It's just how you direct it.
- [22:58]
Stephen A. Smith
With that being said, I mean, as we go on from here, I'm just thinking along the lines of, where is the Democratic Party going to go? Should you shut up? And let Trump do his thing, expose himself probably before the midterms, which would position you to make some noises and kind of recover some seats in the House. Or do you raise holy hell, albeit in a different way than you've been doing if you're the Democratic Party, where do they go from here? In light of what we're seeing from Trump and Musk specifically, they have to.
- [23:30]
Chris Cuomo
Be in the business of better. They're going to have opportunities in the budgeting process to show that one, Trump is being pushed to do things that he said he wouldn't do. Okay? You know, there is. There's a common phenomenon in politics where people sometimes, most times, they're motivated to their own self interest. Okay. Sometimes they're motivated to something that's against their self interest. And that is happening in the MAGA movement. If this guy gets convinced, and I don't like to give him the excuse, but this is just how I see the dynamic. If the Republicans get him to take a bite out of Social Security, a bite out of Medicaid, I'm not talking about waste, fraud and abuse. I'm talking about bone, not fat, okay? I'm talking about muscle and bone. I think that there is an opportunity in that to get back to the masses. Because Medicaid, you can feel any way you want about it. Ever since they put it into practice in 1965, is an extension of the Social Security Administration. The need has only grown. 5 out of 8 people in nursing homes, 1 in 10 people, or what they call food, insecure. We used to call it poor, hungry, one in six kids on Medicaid. And it used to. It was supposed to be like 70, 30 state money, federal money. Now it's 50, 50, and sometimes 65, 35 federal money. The states can't carry the load. And the Republican states, some of them tried to seem austere and refuse expansion during the ACA to kind of smite Obama. To spite him. Not smite him. God does that. And they have referendum in some of those states because people need it. So there are going to be opportunities in the budgeting process for Democrats to be in the business of better that you don't have to cut Medicaid. You don't have to cut for the poor when you can go after the rich without. Without creating pain the same way they're going to be opportunities. But if they're obsessed with playing Gotcha and saying that everything he does is terrible, they're going to stay right where they are and we're going to have another Aberration, which is a midterm cycle where the incumbent doesn't lose seats first time out. If they keep it this way, Stephen A. That's what's going to happen to them. Again, nothing changes if nothing changes.
- [25:53]
Stephen A. Smith
Before I let you go, I'm not going to say much without your okay, but we've got an announcement to make tonight on, on, on, on, on Cuomo. What do you want to tell our audience before your your show tonight at 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time on News Nation about the surprise.
- [26:10]
Chris Cuomo
Stephen A. Doesn't like this. Although my voice has gotten drowned out in the chorus of just praise. This guy gets on a regular basis. I know he's paying for these pieces. I know he's paying for these pieces. Okay, but you know, everybody wants Stephen A. To be president. I would never wish that on a friend. But I will say this, I will say this about what we're going to announce tonight. Nobody's ever done anything like it because nobody has ever had the ambition of being on an even playing field with people who have different ideas. But it's absolutely what this country needs and will benefit from for this slice of the country that is open. Critical thinkers who want ideas weighed and don't want to be siloed. They want to be exposed to really strong representations of different versions of what's happening and why. I believe that Stephen A. Smith is going to be, in short order, the hub of conversation in this country. Everybody wants to talk to him. Agree, disagree, like, dislike. They all want to talk to him. That's his magic. God gives everybody something and it's going to happen. And to be part of that growth of Stephen A. Into something that I believe we really need in our culture more than I've ever even benefited from him in sport. And I have. I love him. He's made sports so much more enriching for me. Nothing like what I think he's going to do with public affairs. So what we're announcing tonight is a one of one thing that is a collaborative idea of partners. And I think it is going to. Not only is it unique, right? Which is always nice. It's nice to be part of something that hasn't been done, But I think it suits a need, Stephen, that I think you feel uniquely. I got to figure out how I'm going to provide value, but I know how you're going to provide value just by how you dress.
- [28:03]
Stephen A. Smith
Please, please, please. I get back, I have value because I listen to you. You make me look smart because all I do is copy what you're saying. That's how I do it. That's how I do it. I steal the knowledge from you, my brother. That's what I do.
- [28:15]
Chris Cuomo
I know you're paying for those pieces. I know.
- [28:17]
Stephen A. Smith
There you go. And I'll see you tonight, man.
- [28:20]
Chris Cuomo
When I hit you, Stephen A. When I find out who's placed in these pieces, I'm gonna come at you like ugly on an ape. There you go.
- [28:27]
Stephen A. Smith
Stop it. Stop it. Chris Cuomo, man. Love you, man. Appreciate you, man. I'll see you tonight.
- [28:32]
Chris Cuomo
I love you. Thank you for being my friend.
- [28:33]
Stephen A. Smith
All right, my man, the one and only Chris Cuomo right here on the Stephen A. Smith show tonight, 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time. News Nation. The announcement is coming. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.
- [28:52]
Chris Cuomo
Check engine light on.
- [28:53]
Stephen A. Smith
Take the guesswork out of your Check.
- [28:55]
Chris Cuomo
Engine light with O'Reilly Variscan. It's free and provides a report with solutions based on over 650 million vehicle scans verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can.
- [29:08]
Stephen A. Smith
Recommend a shop for you.
- [29:10]
Chris Cuomo
Ask for O'Reilly Varescan today.
- [29:12]
Stephen A. Smith
Oh, oh, oh. O'Reilly Auto Parts.
- [29:19]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.