What is GOING ON inside Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon?

Good morning.Hi, Jess.How are you?

I'm great.How are you?

I'm hanging in there.And welcome to everybody.This is our we're coming to you live today.We're streaming on Substack and on YouTube.So welcome and thank you for joining us live.It is oh eight hundred and four minutes here.

Pacific Standard Time.I'm in Los Angeles.I believe Jess is in New York.Is that right, Jess?

I am, yes.And in Midtown at the office, which I'm usually not on a Monday morning.So it's all very professional here.

Nice.Yeah.So make sure to hit subscribe and help out our show.Anyways, let's let's bust right into it.The U .S.

strikes against Iran are on hold, at least for now.And as some advisers raise concerns about the ongoing conflict, Trump is putting off a decision on any major escalation.Among the reported concerns are diminished stockpile of defense munitions in the Middle East.U .S.Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz had this to say regarding the stockpile.

The Secretary, Secretary Hegseth, inherited a depleted situation from not only Ukraine but also the ongoing fight with the Houthis under the Biden administration and a depleted military under the Biden administration.

Do you acknowledge they're depleted though at this moment?

I want to be crystal clear.The U .S.military, and I've verified this every which way, has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be.And I have to tell you, the people that are leaking this nonsense deserve to be in jail.

What if he has to jail his colleagues?

I mean, I mean, this is just such classic.It's Biden's fault.No matter what it is, it's Biden's fault.They'll be blaming Biden, you know, for 30 years.It just it's just so nobody wants in the Trump administration, actually.wants to take responsibility for anything and then pivot to anyone saying anything negative about decisions we've made without thinking things through should be in jail.

And this is what people don't, I think, realize is that wars aren't won by courage or even strategy.They're won by supply chain.The greatest conflict, the thing that has really shaped the post We call it the post -World War II order.It wasn't our, you know, our incredible military.It wasn't our, it wasn't our leadership.It was, simply put, it was our manufacturing might.

And just as they say, time waits for no man, kind of delays or lags don't hurry up for any person.And this is yet again, appears to be a lack of confidence around figuring out our stockpiles, what was required to put in place the requisite munitions.But this is, again, just a massive amount of incompetence.Over the last decade, we have been optimizing our supply chain for counterterrorism, not sustained conventional warfare.And Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed that NATO countries burned through years worth of missiles, missile production in months.And also, it kind of highlights our vulnerability as a nation, and that is China has been building more commercial ship tonnage each year than the U .

S.has built in decades.And a reminder that manufacturing capacity is national security.Essentially, the supply chain, and I'll turn it over to you in a second, our supply chain has been optimized for shareholders.What I mean by that, not security.As we saw in COVID, every CFO and COO took all of the slack out of the supply chain, meaning just in time

manufacturing was there is no part sitting in a warehouse.It's meant to be real -time such that every part in a warehouse is costing money because of the cost of goods or cost of holding.So in retail, we used to talk about how many turns a year you get.So everything has been optimized.Build it right away, use it right away.Don't store it because that costs money.

Don't build up supplies.Ideally, you don't even want.warehouses, probably the fastest growing retail in the world is a company called Shein that doesn't even have warehouses.It manufactures it and then immediately sends it to the consumer.That doesn't work for defense munitions because when you don't stockpile anything, when you have additional constraints or demands, there's no slack in the supply chain.We found this out the hard way during COVID that we just didn't have any slack.

We didn't have any supplies.Any thoughts?

A lot of thoughts.The dichotomy between how much the Trump administration has planned for what they're going to do on the domestic front versus what they're going to do on the foreign policy front is really startling.Like that they could put together a Project 2025 and have 900 pages right on all the ways that they're going to destroy American government and by extension, American society as we recognize it.But we're in thinking ahead that Iran was going to close the Strait of Hormuz and that we were going to run out of weapons is really striking.And I mean, obviously it's embarrassing for Pete Hegseth.But what's interesting about this latest round of reporting on the concerns over the stockpile is that now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Cain, is also voicing these concerns.

So there was a meeting on Friday where both J .D.Vance, who has talked about this before, remember there was a big leak to The Atlantic like two months in, thatlooked very clearly to be J .D.D.Vance's paw prints.

So now it's J .D.Vance with Dan Cain telling President Trump on Friday, we don't have enough stuff to continue to do this.And then lo and behold, we just had our third night of not firing on Iran.Iran is not slowing down.Iran is carrying on with their business as planned.

But we're not doing anything.Nobody believed Donald Trump before except for, you know, very excited market watchers, right, who could just make a quick buck over the fact that he was manipulating the markets.But if the general public was yawning at Trump every time he said, you know, they're begging like dogs for a deal or it's going to be bridge and power plant day, you know, tomorrow is the end of your civilization.There is literally no reason to believe anything.coming out of our government when it comes to this war.It's being reported this morning that allegedly talks may restart.

But again, who is going to take that seriously?And two knock -on effects that I think are really important and I wanted to get your take on.So one, how do we actually find an off -ramp here?Or do we just continue to tread water in perpetuity and that becomes one of these forever wars where thankfully we don't lose, you know, tens of thousands of American lives.It's just the 18 and that's the full 18, not.You know, you saw how they scrubbed four service members who had died off the list because of some semantics issue and over, I think, 600 wounded.

Or like, how do they find a way out?And then what is China thinking vis -a -vis Taiwan?And what is Russia thinking vis -a -vis Ukraine, since it's very clear that we can't help ourselves, let alone our friends, at this moment with a munitions pile looking like this?

Well, it even goes deeper than that.This is highlightingpower of taking over a strait.And you're going to see, you know, you could see several rogue nations or even what we consider developed nations deciding that they're going to exercise their geography and their power and freedom of navigation, global trade.It's the equivalent of an enormous, an enormous tariff.And Related news, there was a controversy surrounding Pete, Secretary Hegseth.

We know that he's dismissed and sidelined many, many long -serving military officers, you know, mostly because, or particularly women and people of color.But now new reporting suggests that his pick to lead the Navy, Admiral Darryl Cottle, was previously the subject of an inspector general investigation and was represented by an attorney who is currently a special advisor to Hegseth.This has This has long term, I would argue, pretty big implications.And it's, if you will, it's indicative of one of the insidious things about the Trump administration and that it's the issue isn't an ideology, it's talent.Every organization eventually becomes the people it promotes.And essentially, if loyalty consistently bests competence, eventually competence leaves.

And one of the great things about the U .S.military It used to be the military and sports were the only true meritocracies.And the military, the cultural norm of meritocracy literally saves lives.And every head of an organization or CEO learns the same lesson.And that is when you hire loyalists over talent, eventually your competitors inherit your talent.

This to me is one of those things that's just insidious and that just bubbles up in the form of incompetence.When you look at how many qualified talented people have been passed over and how many incompetent people have essentially are polluting our government right now.America, again, on both sides of the aisle, have taken for granted how many competent people chose to serve and are now either being pushed out or just thrown up their arms and are leaving.Thoughts?

Yeah, I mean, this guy apparently wasn't even in consideration for the role.And he has been sniffing around Pete Hegseth since it became public that he was going to be confirmed or was going to sit for his confirmation hearing to become defense secretary, offering his assistance, which was apparently rejected.But he was not deterred, this admiral.So there's a breach of protocol every single time that he did that.The thing that really sticks out above all else, is that he has this unresolved inspector general's investigation into apparently comments that he made about the Navy's policy on sexual assault to sailors, where he was, according to reports, victim -blaming, which seems like a really bad thing to be doing, especially when you're in a position of power there and, you know, telling those in your ranks what they can do.To your point about the incompetence only growing and how incestuous it becomes.

Who did he go to when he needed legal advice?Tim Parlatori, who now is a Pentagon advisor.He is a Navy reservist.He also represented both Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump.So we're really talking about the same I don't want to make it too small.It's not the same 10 people that are running every facet of our government.

But basically, there's, you know, only one or two places that you go when you need legal help at this point.And they have found the guys and I would throw Todd Blanche in that bucket as well.You know, everyone who knew him from a past life and used to speak highly of him now says, like, he's just the president's guy.And you would certainly think so.of parlatory, who's now a Pentagon advisor, but was, you know, personal lawyering for them.So I think it sets a really bad precedent.

It is birthing, you know, really interesting candidates that are running for office all over the country, folks that Pete Hegseth has pushed out because they were too brown or too black.had too much estrogen and that's for the low T people and for the actual ladies, I guess.So I love that kind of fight in people who signed up to serve our country for the entirety of their career and their careers were unceremoniously cut short because of someone who's obsessed with, you know, bench pressing and testosterone injections, I guess.Or skin color and testicles.skin color, any way you want to cut it.Yes, it's all the wrong things.

But this guy, another one who doesn't seem up to the job.And we still also don't have answers on how General Holsey headed up the Southern Command when we started blowing up Venezuelan and Ecuadorian boats with fishermen in them, like why he suddenly resigned out of nowhere and had only had the job for a little while.I don't know when people like that are going to start telling their stories, but I hope that it's soon.And I hope that we can cut it up and put it in campaign ads because people need to understand what incredible incompetence and abuse of power is going on in these ranks.

It's also just such a just a blatant oversight of actually how wars are fought and won in this age.He thinks he's fighting Rambo three.It's much less about brawn than it is about brains.Give me someone who graduated from Carnegie Mellon and she has at her disposal a drone with Hellfire missiles versus Dwayne The Rock.I know who I'm betting on.I'm betting on the woman who understands how to use an AI interface to control a drone.

It's just, warfare is just much different now.And he thinks, again, he's, you know, wants to hire Carl Weathers and, you know, Mr. T in a uniform.It's just so, it's so dumb.Speaking of dumb.

Speaking of dumb.

Let's check in on the Democratic Party.

Aw.

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We're now less than 100 days from the midterm election and Democrats have some strong recent polling numbers to celebrate over.I like what you said.last week at the most recent polls you wanted to inject straight into your veins.

If I were an intravenous drug user, that's what I would do with it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.By the way, hands down.

I mean, there is something wrong with that.

Hands down.

No?

Hands down, the best social media is Hunter Biden.

Oh, speaking of intravenous drug users, that guy gets it.

He's really good.

I have complicated feelings about him, but he like going straight to Nick Fuentes and it's just like, what the fuck is wrong with you?

Like, how did you not see this?Well, we know there's a lot wrong with Hunter, all right?

And Nick Fuentes.

Yeah.Anyways, wrong and wrong are on a lot of levels, but his content on social media, it speaks to such authenticity and quite frankly, concern.And the way I would describe him is he's just naked, but in a good way.And he's, I think he's really, he's kind of got, he literally defines someone who's like zero fucks given.Anyways, Jess, In Maine, where a vital Senate seat is up for grabs, Troy Jackson has become the official nominee for the party.Jackson is leading the Cal State market to win the Maine Senate seat at 62 percent, almost two in three chance that he's likely, Cal State thinks he's going to win.

Can we breathe a sigh of relief here or that we officially have a replacement for Graham Plattner?This feels more like relief than strategy.

Relief is something.

Right.

And I mean, the op -o -files thus far are that he has anger issues and a history of conflicts of women with women, which I think came down to this hurling a bottle at a female colleague, which he took responsibility for.He says, of course, I shouldn't have done that.But he doesn't have a Nazi tattoo and he didn't rape anyone.So I think we're in better position.Does he give a speech like Graham did?with that voice?

And does it feel like, you know, you're taken away to this magical, you know, place where we're all going to have Medicare for all.And, you know, the billionaires are going to pay their fair share.Not in the same way, but he is talking about the same stuff.And I think that that's important.I actually didn't know this, that he used to be a Republican.So he's a fifth generation logger and a former Republican, which I think is interesting in someone and like very Maine, you know.

So I am.From looking at what the right is talking about, like Benny Johnson posting, he's unelected just like Kamala.I don't think anyone really gives a fuck.Like the 600 delegates he won.majority of them.Would they have rather known about all this stuff about Graham Plattner before they went to the polls?

Sure.But they actually did know a lot of bad stuff about Graham Plattner and still went to the polls and picked him.So, you know, it's just the hand we were dealt.We have the bottle and he's accused of mortgage fraud.They have been trying that with a lot of people.It is not going particularly well for them.

with Bill Pulte, you know, sitting around going through everyone's housing records, like big bomb with Tish James on that front.So, so far, it seems like they have nothing.They have time.They didn't think that they were going to be running against Troy Jackson, but it is a very blue environment.You know, this is a state that continually votes for Democrats, for a governor, puts them in the presidency, but also votes for Susan Collins.I told you last week that I was pretty shocked with how physically weak she seemed during the appropriations hearing where Hegsethin, Dan Kane, and Brooke Rollins were testifying.

Her age is showing.Biology is undefeated, is that how you put it?And he is very much alive and seems to be saying the right stuff.So I feel good about 62 percent.And other racesthe Senate level are looking good across the country.

But if you're going to pick up four seats, Maine has to be in it.Like, you're delusional if you think like, no, no, we'll just get Iowa.

I mean, first off, it does indicate a larger problem in the Democratic Party, and that is We we need to start grooming our bench more than three months before.And I remember Rick Wilson from the Lincoln Project saying that Democrats are discreet in Florida because they didn't have a machine to surface candidates.The Republican machine, at least in Florida, is like a, you know, a Premier League football team that starts kids at the age of 14 thinking, you know, in seven or eight years they might be ready to play for Arsenal or Liverpool.And the Democrats kind of wake up and, you know, find someone or social media, someone gets traction and they haven't done kind of the vetting, if you will.So, you know, hopefully this wasn't there was an element of competition here, not coronation.But this feels like it's ours.

This feels like it's ours to lose.And as I said before, I think the controversy surrounding Mitch McConnell and people leaving feet first in Congress, you know, this weekend at Bernie's attitude to leadership, I think it's really going to haunt Senator Collins, because she's clearly hiding.They're clearly managing her.She comes across as very feeble.And, you know, it's a blue state.I think you're right.

I feel that this is if we lose this one, we have no one to blame but ourself.Speaking of which, fundraising has become sort of front and center, if you will, the Democratic Party, if you will.has real issues or the DNC, I should say, has issues.And that is it's it's essentially it's not broke.It's a debt.

Yeah.OK, I thought you were going to say, like, it's not as bad, but it is the worst version.Yeah.

Yeah.But there is some nuance.There is some nuance here, and that is Democrats are actuallyraising a lot of money, just not the Democratic National Committee.And I think it speaks to a larger issue, and that is people aren't giving money to institutions, they're giving money to individuals.And that's happening everywhere, right?

So instead of the cable company holding all the power, people are now going direct to creators.I mean, the reason why we can make a good living doing this is we no longer have to go kiss the ass of some executive at MSNOW to get distribution, that people are going straight to the creators and people are no longer going to newspapers.They're going straight to Substack and people are no longer going to political parties.They're going straight to the candidates.It's not that the DNC isn't broke because Democrats stopped caring.It's broke because the institution itself is becoming less relevant.

So just some data, DNC 16 .3 million in cash, but it has 18 .5 million in debt.So it's technically underwater.And but Ossoff alone has raised 77 million and eight of the top 10 Senate fundraisers are Democrats.So this is it's not the story here isn't a lack of enthusiasm for for Democrats.It's essentially what I see is something across the entire ecosystem, and that is people are bypassing the institution and the institutions are ceding credibility.to the individual.

The expose on Ken Martin, who's leading the DNC, I can't imagine he is hanging on that much longer in this job at that point.You know, putting the building up itself, the DNC headquarters for collateral, is a big problem that you're at that point.And he's kind of turning into one of those insular, like what you frankly thought was going on with Biden towards the end, where he only talks to like five people, right, and tries to essentially avoid press wherever he can, etc.A lot of folks feeling like,Minnesota, and I don't want to reduce his credentials.There was a reason that he was picked, a lot of very close relationships that he built over, you know, decades working in this world.

But it seems totally untenable at this point.And you're so right about the individual candidates, Blockbuster fundraising, also Hakeem Jeffries and the DCCC, $137 million in just Q2.That's a lot of money for house races, where the average one costs like half a million dollars.Now, huge ones will cost into the 20 -something millions, like even that primary that had Thomas Massey in it, for instance.And Jamal Bowman's last race, I think, was in the 20s.But in general, our candidates are going to be fine funding -wise.

And so this really sticks out as a sore thumb.And I think that it is a problem.We should become more decentralized.I think that that's important.And I'm curious to get your take on the vote for how the primary schedule is going to go, because the fact that they picked South Carolina, which is essentially saying, you know, Jim Clyburn gets to decide who the nominee is going to be.There are blue states that are grumbling that they are going to do their own calendar, like New Hampshire is not interested in relinquishing being first in the country for a primary.

And As far as I can see from doing research around this, they can't stop New Hampshire from going first.And there are a lot of hurt feelings and a good amount of anger around how it gets decided which group decides who the nominee is, especially when South Carolina isn't even a swing state.So New Hampshire, a small amount of a lot of anger.but it is a swing state.Nevada, which was in a discussion, you know, Georgia, we're all paying a huge amount of attention to it.Some of that because of John Ossoff's just killer campaigning and how he's really setting the tone for how we should be talking about our politics right now.

Georgia, swing state, Michigan swing state, Pennsylvania swing state, and that it's going back to South Carolina, which we have no hope and a prayer of ever winning just because that's tradition and where there's such a big base of black voters who maintain their position as the backbone of the party.But I think folks are just going to say, I'm not playing by these rules, especially when someone is in charge who we don't respect and has crashed the economics of the DNC.You know, we used to outrace Republicans on the institutional and personal level by a lot.And it's embarrassing now.The RNC has been doing super well.I think they have like one hundred and fifty million on hand.

Yeah.Yeah.Look again, this is you're exactly right.This guy's on the green mile.And I'm shocked it hasn't happened already.The primary.

So what Jess is referring to is a panel voted Friday to recommend South Carolina hold the first twenty twenty eight Democratic presidential primary in January of that year.And if you go back to 2020, Mayor Pete had the most momentum coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire and essentially hit a wall in South Carolina where he garnered only three percent of the black vote.And that and then it was kind of all over or, you know, before just as it was getting started on Super Tuesday, once Biden got South Carolina, it was just sort of all over.So the notion is, should a small number of states, you know, some of which are less important than others, I mean, there's there's been, I think, a really tangible argument that when you have thetwo oldest and two whitest states going first, it creates disproportionate advantage to incumbent or the demographic that had traditionally been more important in America.And that when you have, I like what you said, that a budget is a, you know, is a reflection of our values.

Our budget seems to really love old white people.And it's part of the reason that two of the states that go first are the oldest and widest states in the nation.Having said that, I think this is less of a story than it would have been even four or eight years ago, because essentially social media, and this is a good thing, has nationalized campaigns, and candidates now raise money nationally, and voters know everyone years before voting begins.And I think Iowa and New Hampshire mattered much more when people were getting all of their information from the evening news and the evening news sent all of its people to Iowa.Right.It just had a disproportionate impact on people's views of who had momentum and who was winning.

And now social media dominates, not television.So, in other words, what matters less is I forget the hot guy's name, David, the host of ABC News.I haven't watched national news in 20 years.

David Muir.

Yeah, David Muir reporting from an Iowa state fair matters less than some podcaster or what's happening on Tick.

I'll still watch it, though.

You'll still watch it for David.You'll still watch it for David.I get it.

That's epic hair.

I get it.No, it makes sense.They're all really good looking.That seems like a prerequisite.It's like anyone, anyone who did really well, anyone who was editor of their high school newspaper, and really hot, goes to Northwestern and then tries to find a find a seat on an evening newscast and then realize they're going into a dying industry and they end up at Brunswick Communications helping place thefriends on Fox and Friends.

Anyways, sorry, a little cynical.

It's a nice story.

There you go.But the bottom line is TikTok and podcasts matter more than ABC News reporting live from New Hampshire.So I don't think this has nearly the relevance, the primary order has nearly the relevance that it used to.Your thoughts?

I think that it's just another prong in the this institution isn't doing the things that we want it to do, which is to A, be a fundraising vehicle, which matters a lot.I know people can do it on their own, but still when you get that check from the DNC or the DCCC or the DSCC, it helps you out.And it just shows like a level of being out of step, I guess, with where the electorate is and how we're thinking about these issues.And Donna Brazile gave a really rousing speech in defense of South Carolina, going first, talking about the importance for the civil rights movement.But I don't know how you make that argument.And then you say like Nevada, which has a huge amount of Latino voters, a lot of brown voters who Decide elections, uh, especially with it being swing state.

It's a hard argument to make right and I think that people are generally looking for An update in their politics and they don't want to be able to Say I could have heard that speech in 2016 2020 or 2024 or 2028, right?Like this is the time where everybody from the far left to the center of the party Needs a refresh.We all need a john ossoff glow up And I think the DNC needs one massively.I want to talk about the Clarity Act, but before we go, and I'm sure that you didn't see it, so I will just tell you about my trauma from yesterday, because one of the DSA co -chairs, this woman, Megan Romer, was on Fox News.Sunday with Shannon Bream.

Oh, God, I saw clips of it.

True or false on these?Abolish the Senate.True.Okay.Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them.Abolish ICE.

Absolutely.Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U .S.illegally.As a long -term plan, yep.Defund the Pentagon.

Absolutely.So, you know, why I cried yesterday.Not only because I'm going to be talking about it today on The Five, and it is a complete hellscape, but there is a big tent.We're a big tent now.I was all for it.You know, like 2025 November, we got Abigail Spanberger, Mikey Sherrill, and Zoran Mondani, right?

And people understood that different states or different cities want different kinds of things, and that we could all agree on the importance of the affordability message.and you have different ways of delivering it, but we can all get on board with that.And that still largely should be what the message is for 2028.But the DSA platform calls for eliminating the Senate, replacing the presidency and Supreme Court, public ownership of major corporations, abolishing the police and prisons, defunding the Pentagon, prosecuting U .S.and Israeli leaders over Gaza, I understand a lot of people go for that, civilian control of policing, amnesty for all immigrants, and reparations and tribal sovereignty.

What are we supposed to do with that as a national party?And now all of our time is going to be spent saying, no, no, no, no, we don't actually think that, right?Like this isn't what Democrats are going for.And it disadvantages people like Abdul El -Sayed, who isn't even officially a member of the DSA, but he has a huge primary coming up in Michigan.He's not calling for abolishing prisons.And now you're gonna spend all your time talking about this loony platform.

Yeah, look, we never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.And it feels like things were just going so well.And instead we decided, let's snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.And I literally think every Fox viewer and Republican consultant saw that interview and started touching themselves and thought, Jesus Christ, this is such a gift.

That's an image.

Well, the purple glasses she's wearing, she literally is out of central casting for what every moderate is fearful from, from what happens.

Or even every lefty.I think that a lot of DSA folks were upset about that.

Well, it just it totally diminishes.This isn't and people I hate.We need new words.This isn't this isn't.Anyways, the growth.So so this is a tough one because a lot of the Energy and dynamism and creativity is coming from the far left.

You can't ignore Mamdani's power and energy.And, you know, these candidates are bringing, if you will, the Riz.My kids have told me never to use that word, that I look ridiculous using that word.At the same time, you know, you then have Mamdani, the same people, he kind of represents the good and the bad here.Amazing politician, ton of energy.I think on a lot of levels, he's doing a decent job.

And I think it's important that people rally around a new elected official and people in New York seem to like him.At the same time, when there's a horrible act of violence by a white dude, it's about white Christian nationalism and bigotry or Islamophobia.And then when someone stabs, A Jewish person on the Upper East Side, he immediately goes to talking about mental illness.And of all the people convicted in the international criminal courts, he's decided to go after the Jew.and say he'll arrest the Jew if he shows up in New York.So there's just so many talking points they're gonna extract from the left.

And this was the motherlode of talking points.That speech she gave, I mean, literally the producer's like, don't cut the break, keep her going.Just ask her another question and let her run.This is amazing.Those clips are going to be used over and over.Some of that 115 million dollars that the Republican National Committee, you're going to see this individual, I forget her name and representative or Democratic elect who will be a representative, Chevalier.

They are about to become stars.And this is this will really freak out.This is right up there with defund the police.But let's look at just some of the numbers.The DSA went from 6 ,000 members in 2016 to 100 ,000 today.This isn't a fringe movement.

This is a machine.And the body count so far is real.They toppled Espaillat, five -term congressperson, DeGette.Can these people just get easier names running?

DeGette.

The trap in the polling, 54 % positive on capitalism.This is the lowest since Gallup started tracking in 2010.But socialism favorability hasn't budged in 15 years.39 % favorable, 57 unfavorable.Voters want the diagnosis, but they don't want the label.And so you have battlegrounds and centrists held seats.

Michigan's 12 and a DSA challenge to a sitting centrist, Moskowitz in Florida.that the House majority in math, it's, you know, it's showing up like a bit of almost like, unfortunately, and this bothers me, it seems like the purity test for the DSA is eliminate an institution, say something batshit crazy.and also show you're a bit of an anti -Semite if you don't mind.And the Discipline Tell, Mamdani personally talked NYC DSA out of primarying Jeffries.Barely proof that the smart wing or the smart young wing knows the difference between energizing the base and torching leadership.So he seems to be kind of the least crazy of all of them.

The bottom line, it's not a socialism problem.It's a targeting problem.And you can't you can't yet tell a primary that wins one from one that that loses the majority.And what I would what I would argue is that the Democrats, you're not going to build a coalition by winning 80 percent of Martha's Vineyard.And I mean, we have a lot of issues there.But this this one, I saw that interview and I thought, oh, no, I just thought things were just going too well for us.

Your thoughts, Jess?

I mean, I raised it because I knew that this was about to be a long -term problem for us and a short -term problem for me. I can't even imagine.

They're just going to play those clips over and over and stare at you.That's going to be wild.

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Like the crypto thing, let's just briefly touch on the crypto thing.This is just more continued corruption and Trump trying to neuter any supervision or oversight.If Obama had started a defense company and then his defense company made more money than Northrop Grumman or Boeing, that is what's going on here.The Trump Crime Family Inc. made more money from crypto last year than any other organization in crypto.And this act, it does bring some clarity to some issues, but basically what they refer to as transparency is neutering the SEC and having certain components of crypto sit outside any regulatory agency.This is, again, This is another one of the many things that just like would not pass the smell test across any leader previously and hopefully no leader moving forward.

Any thoughts before we talk about the White House Correspondents' Dinner?

Just an important stat that Donald Trump has earned more money in his first and second year of his second term than in the previous 60 years of his life, according to Bloomberg.So, you know, no Democrat should sign on to the Clarity Act in this form because of the carve -outs for the Trump family and then it would turn into, by extension, obviously people in his close orbit.But there is momentum.Everyone from David Solomon to folks in the crypto industry have been working on this, saying, like, we need to get something done.You would know better than me what exactly that should look like.But it feels like the time is now to do this before we have another set of big elections, because you're going to see another thing like the, you know, World Liberty financial token, right, that Donald Trump launched a couple days before the election.

Every member of his family with their own coins, et cetera, they were the only ones that made money.Regular, you know, regular Joes and Janes ended up losing big.So something has to be done.And it's good that it's a centerpiece of most of these Democrats campaigns talking about the corruption, going for the regulation, everything from the stock ban on the trades and crypto regulation.It's got to happen.

Yeah, look, we don't we don't need less regulation.We need better regulation.And again, the illusion of complexity gets in the way here.Whether you think there should be an asset class or not, it is and it deserves regulation and an operating system.And a lot of people A lot of people in the crypto space want to know what the rules they should play by.They want regulation.

They're up to it.This isn't regulation as much as it is a kind of a manifesto for a protection racket.It's pretty simple what you need to do.You need to regulate conflicts, right?You need a mandatory disclosure, blind trust, independent enforcement, similar insider trading laws as securities and stable stable coin reserve.transparency and then anti money laundering.

It's there is some real issues here that the majority, for example, it's all kind of interconnected.The revenue funding Iran's ability to rebuild their missile batteries and munitions.from oil they are transporting out and exchanging, and now yuan, and also in cryptocurrency.I've never understood why the government, I mean, a real issue here is that it is a transfer of power out of America.While we have some innovators and it's created some shareholder value here, I'm torn because the reason, the strongest carrier strike force we have is an invisible one, and it's the US dollar.And everyone has had to trade in U .

S.dollars, which creates an ability to track flows of power for us and the ability to implement sanctions that have teeth.But when there's a trusted means of exchange outside of the dollar and cryptocurrency, a lot of it is used for money laundering, for evading U .S.sanctions, and quite frankly, all sorts of narco -terrorism and a lot of exploitation, a lot of bad things here.So I'm torn on this on this asset class as a whole, but what's clear is that the president has basically monetized the White House and the vehicle for that has been has been has been crypto.

This is just I don't think it's going to pass.What is the likelihood?Give me the politics on the ground of the act.

It's not going to pass like this.I think that there will just be a call you know, from the Republican side to beef up the protections, they'll probably just keep kicking the can down the road versus fighting with Trump about it.He's also just in Save America mode, like he was complaining about John Thune again and saying, blow up the filibuster just this morning.So I think it's kind of a sideshow at this point, but an important one.

So on to our last story here, the redo of the White House Correspondents Center was held on Friday, a smaller event than the original one in April that was abruptlycut short after gunshots were fired at the Washington Hilton.At the podium, the president took time to go after CNN's Caitlin Collins.Let's listen.

young, attractive woman.She never smiles.I said, Caitlin, do you have a smile?Smile.You have a nice position.You're at CNN Fake News.

You should be a happy person.So smile, Caitlin.Just smile.

I'll let you go first.I'll let you go first.

He's just so disgusting.And it's beneath the office.It's always been beneath the office since he came in in 2016.But I really do think If there would have been a way for the White House Correspondents Association to, at least for the redo, say, like, don't worry about it.You don't need to come.That would have been better.

He doesn't respect the press.He has attacked the First Amendment since he came down that golden escalator and then as a businessman was doing it too.But the assault is so full scale.And watching him demean her, I mean, he's clearly obsessed with her.So, you know, that, I guess, could have its benefits if it's like, you know, greater access to him or whatever.They'll seemingly get on the phone with everyone.

But he looks pathetic.He looks, again, like, you know, he's into younger women who don't want to give him the time of day, at least in that way, which I think is a good thing.And he is also doing the opposite of what he thinks he's doing.He's martyring Caitlyn and drawing attention to all of the incredible work that he's doing.And the award that she won and rightly deserved, all her colleagues going to the mats for her, of course, posting pictures with her, speaking out in support.And he embarrasses me, he embarrasses our country.

But I found it to be really embarrassing and difficult, especially as someone, I'm older than Caitlyn, but in a similar bucket as her.It's just gross.

Well, he's also Demond.I'll go macro and then I'll come back to Caitlin.The bottom line is this sort of signals through a very unfortunate, weird way.And this thing should be canceled.And this is similar to a blockbuster held an award show.This thing's just become totally irrelevant.

Washington still thinks it's the center of American media and America has moved on.And this thing is just totally irrelevant.And it's just sort of just it's it's The only reason this is relevant at all is because it was just so fucking embarrassing and sad.It mattered when journalists were the gatekeepers.They're not.Politicians reach people directly now through social media platforms.

And some of those social media platforms will run clips of something like this.But you're right.This marks Caitlyn as an iconic journalist for the age.And there's just no getting around it.Some of the comments he's made about you, some of the comments he's made about Harry, he's just a fucking weirdo pervert.It's like your doddering old grandfather who won't stop talking about his grandson's girlfriend because he's obsessed with her because she's young and she's attractive.

It's just the whole thing just makes you want to shower.It's like so fucking creepy.It's so obvious that you have these weird fucked up notions around young women and have absolutely no self -awareness whatsoever.But you watch this thing and literally you could tell the airthe room was rancid and like, oh my God, we are all part of, I mean, in a weird way, I think everyone felt a lot of shame, like this is what this is now.And I don't care how thoughtful or interesting or balanced the next president is, this whole event is over, in my opinion.

It's just the juice isn't worth the squeeze here.These people aren't that interesting or important.And then sitting around handing out awards to each other and thinking that somehow this matters, you know, it's like, God, get over it.It's I don't know.I just find the whole thing.This was I felt like the nail in the coffin for this dinner.

I think it should probably go away or they should just not invite the president.They don't need to have an award ceremony where he just shitposts them.

Yeah, and it was nicer when he didn't come, which is what he used to do.But I will say, you know, one moment besides what happened to Caitlyn that stuck out to me is watching Donald Trump smile and kind of, you know, shrugging as Wolf Blitzer gave The Wall Street Journal their award for the remember the note, the the birthday book and Donald Trump's note to Epstein and the Trump and his legal team, which I think is really just the DOJ at this point.But I, you know, sued for $20 billion.It got tossed out.The Wall Street Journal was like, nope.Like, we go to the mats on this.

Rigorous legal processes went through.We would never have published something that we didn't have the goods on.And the fact that Trump is smiling.He's clearly embarrassed, right, that this is happening and that he has to sit there for this kind of ritual humiliation.But I did feel like that was a moment that those reporters deserved andKaitlyn deserved her award as well.

But to have that called out in such a public forum and for that clip to live forevermore, right, of Donald Trump having to sit there and people to say to his face, you tried to threaten us.sued us for $20 billion because you didn't want people to know how close you were to Jeffrey Epstein, how much time you spent with Jeffrey Epstein, how cool you thought Jeffrey Epstein was, that you were willing to do a letter in the shape of a woman, of a naked woman, made that evening, I think, worth having.But going forward, I think no precedents.

But the whole thing, I mean, I get it.Yeah, I love the idea.I it tickles my sensors to have to see him sit there and do it.But it makes America look so bad.This whole I really do think this thing's the sun has passed midday on this thing and they either need to dramatically reshape it.But I find in general, journalists think they're just much more interesting than they are.

And if they want to have a dinner fine.But this this dinner that was canceled.I mean, what is more American than a dinner?

Well, because there was an assassination attempt.

So my point is, how could we look any fucking worse?I mean, Putin doesn't have...Anyways, this kind of marks some of the worst things about America right now.We have a gunman, and mentally, what appears to, I think, be a mentally ill individual with access to weapons.And then the next one, is an old man, a tone deaf man making misogynistic comments about a journalist.Welcome to America.

So the idea that these correspondents do incredible work and should have an opportunity to get together and celebrate each other, have at it.But this format needs to change because this has been nothing but a ridiculous embarrassment for America.AndAnd I just, that moment when he was saying these weird things about Caitlyn, by the way, I think I'm gonna post, I have a picture with Caitlyn at the Vanity Fair Awards where she's smiling and I'm gonna post.

She smiles for everyone else but him.

Yeah, she's an outstanding journalist and also she smiles a lot.I look a little bit like a, a guy, a molly, I'm going to post it here for our live sub stack.I look a little bit like a Chechen molly dealer, though.I'm a little bit embarrassed.

That was your fancy outfit.

That's my fancy.Yeah, but I don't agree.I don't agree.And she looks great.

It's all about supporting Caitlin.

There you go.But just to wrap up here, there's a through line for all of this and everything we talked about.And that is American America's institutions are weaker.That's the bad news.The good news is individuals are stronger.So Pentagon procurement is struggling, political parties weakening, but candidates are getting stronger, right?

And while legacy media is shrinking, podcasts are growing, TikTok is growing, regulators, regulatory bodies losing legitimacy, but politicians themselves are becoming brands.And crypto is trying to bypass traditional institutions.So we're watching the same thing happen across politics, media, finance, and even the military, and that is institutions built for the 20th century are colliding with 21st century networks.And the winners here aren't necessarily the biggest institutions or the gatekeepers.They're the faster, more trusted, and more direct -to -consumer brands, including individuals and small -dollar fundraisers that are bypassing institutions and not asking for permission.Any closing thoughts here?

No, it was fun doing this live with you.

There you go.And I'm going to, I can, I, I like you too much to tune in to see how four people on the five are just going to have a field day with you as they play clips over and over and you try and apologize and say that's not.

Well, I'm not going to apologize.

I'm going to go on offense about other things.

I'll be like, yeah, no one thinks that.Moving on.

Just play the clip.

John Ossoff is great.

Just play the clip of Trump talking about Caitlyn Collins over and over.I think that's I think that's I think that's what we should do.All right.All right.Let's leave it there, Jess.Thanks, everyone, for tuning in today.

See you later.