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00:05Vielen Dank.
00:34Well, look, I mean, I thought that Tom Steyer, his experience showed. He's run for president. They tried to jump
00:43on him a couple times. He's a conviction politician. And if you like, you know, strong left-wing politics, he
00:49was your guy. The problem we have in California is we produce more billionaires in any nation or state and
00:54we resent the hell out of them. And so I'm not sure how many people are going to stick with
00:58him because he's a billionaire.
00:59I thought Matt Mahan showed a breath of fresh air. He's a young guy. He's new to politics. He was
01:05pragmatic. And I think Becerra didn't do himself much good. I think he looked pretty squirrely on the Medicare for
01:14all issue. He was a little bit squirrely on some other stuff. He's been the rising star because of Swalwell
01:20getting out. I don't think he helped himself tonight.
01:23You know, there were a couple of dynamics. I mean, there's the Trump of it all, which we'll definitely get
01:27to. But for the Democrats, the five of them on the stage, I do think that in a state like
01:33California, you've got a lot of progressives. They're very liberal.
01:35But there's definitely a sense that they know people want some change. They know that Californians think things are not
01:43going so swimmingly in the state. Something's got to get.
01:46Yeah, absolutely. Prices are high there. You know, they talked to they each had to say something about the previous
01:51governor.
01:52You also have a situation where I think a lot of Democrats don't feel like this is the ideal ticket,
01:58that you don't have people on the stage that people are in love with.
02:02Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race because he had sexual assault allegations against him.
02:08There are some major changes that need to happen within the Democratic Party.
02:12It's a moment of reckoning for the Democratic Party in California.
02:15But I do think that overall issues like the cost of living, affordability, health care, all of these things are
02:21still things that people care about in California.
02:23And there needs to be major change. And it's not just policies because of the president and the war.
02:29It is policies because the governor and the governor will be on likely be on the presidential ballot in 2028.
02:35And so this is also referendum on him.
02:38I think you're right, Zodji, about that's a California.
02:41Good Democrats do have to stare it in the face of what has been happening inside the California Democratic Party
02:46that's led to the affordability challenges.
02:48Democrats all across the country this year have decided to try to make the election about affordability.
02:52But the most Democratic state in the country is the most unaffordable state.
02:56That's why 1.23 million people have moved out of the state and moved into places like Nashville and Texas.
03:01And so, you know, I only heard Matt Mahan tonight talk about affordability in a real pragmatic way of what
03:06he could do about it.
03:07He talked about eliminating the CEQA process, which is an environmental review process that makes infrastructure construction impossible.
03:14He talked a little bit about the tax problem, about how California is one of the highest tax states.
03:19I was I thought Katie Porter might have had a lane to do that tonight, but I didn't see it
03:24from her.
03:24Well, let me play what she said about the billionaire tax.
03:26It's been so controversial in California. Listen.
03:32This tax isn't going to fundamentally change California's economy in the way that young people and the working people of
03:40California need.
03:41It's a one time tax, but we don't have one time revenue needs.
03:46It taxes billionaires as if half billionaires don't have two nickels to rub together and couldn't chip in a little
03:53bit more.
03:54So, yes, to a progressive tax code.
03:57Yes, to the wealthy paying more.
03:59But this tax is about cheap political points.
04:03It is not about really fundamentally changing California's economy for the better.
04:08That's going to take real political courage.
04:10Billionaires like me should pay more taxes and the big corporations should pay more taxes.
04:14Excuse me. You literally said if this proposition is on the ballot in November, I'll vote for it.
04:19But going forward, we do need to go further.
04:22This is a one time tax and it also doesn't spread the money across the government the way everything else
04:29goes.
04:32You know, that was one of those times they're kind of trying to jump on on Tom Steyer, but he
04:36actually did pretty well for himself.
04:38Well, if you support the billionaire tax, which which actually maybe many Californians do.
04:44I think Katie Porter is betting that some Californians, you know, they want a progressive tax system, but they think
04:49that this is like a two by four hitting their, you know, sort of taxpaying population.
04:56I live in Miami and I can tell you almost every week right now there is some California billionaire who
05:02comes out as having broken a real estate record for buying a house in Miami that cost 200 million dollars
05:09because they are all fleeing the state before a certain deadline, a year deadline and establishing homesteads in Florida.
05:15So that's not helping the California economy.
05:18There are so many industries that have left California.
05:21The movie industry, which is so symbolic of California, most of the productions are right now happening overseas or in
05:29other states like New Mexico.
05:30It's happening in Canada.
05:31It's cheaper to fly people and film a movie in Scotland than it is to do so in California.
05:37So they are having very big issues.
05:40I think out of all of those people on the stage, somebody needed to stand out.
05:44That did not happen.
05:46I cannot believe I sat through two hours of them bickering instead of drinking margaritas at La Palapa tonight on
05:52Cinco de Mayo.
05:53How many drinks?
05:54I do think, you know, sorry, we couldn't provide the margaritas.
05:58These things are not mutually exclusive.
06:01We definitely should have had some margaritas.
06:05Listen, Tom Steyer is a progressive and even though he's taken all the money from the coal companies, as Katie
06:11Porter keeps saying, he's, you know, now an environmentalist.
06:14And all of that.
06:15So I guess you like him.
06:17I have a hard time thinking that a state that is 40% Latino, that is pissed off of billionaires,
06:24that thinks they're not paying their fair share, is going to vote for Tom Steyer.
06:29It's obvious to me that Javier Becerra has inherited the Swalwell vote, that he's on the ascent, and that's why
06:35he was being hit on like a piñata to go back to my Cinco de Mayo theme tonight by everybody.
06:42Let's talk about the two Republicans who are on the stage.
06:46Steve Hilton, a recent California transplant from the U.K., and Chad Bianco, who's a sheriff.
06:56Let me just show you the polls because I think that to understand where we are here, Steve Hilton is
07:00sort of nominally at the top of this pack, to put it mildly.
07:06But this is all within the margin of error.
07:08We don't really know where this is going right now.
07:12But Hilton has the Trump endorsement.
07:15Yeah.
07:15He was asked about whether or not he would support mass deportations.
07:22Didn't want to say.
07:22So how do you leverage a Trump endorsement to a victory in a state like California, where Trump is so
07:29unpopular?
07:30Yeah, it's a difficult puzzle to solve.
07:33Although I have to say for Hilton, I didn't know much about him before I started following this campaign.
07:39I interviewed him yesterday on my radio show.
07:41He's quite articulate about asking the right questions, which is this.
07:44If the state has failed, if the education system has failed, if it's an affordability crisis, if we're only one
07:51of five states where people are actually leaving instead of going into, if you have all these problems, is it
07:58a good idea to have one party rule for so long?
08:01And Hilton, I think, has articulated that.
08:03I asked him yesterday, you know, is it possible for a Republican to get elected governor of California?
08:07You know, he has a way to lay out the math that shows, yes, you could attract independents and even
08:12some disaffected Democrats who are sort of fed up with the fact that they live in a state that's beautiful
08:17and has all these things going for it but has been so mismanaged that people hate living here so much
08:23that they're fleeing to Miami and other places.
08:25And, you know, watching this debate tonight, watching Democrats argue with each other about how to raise more taxes, how
08:30to further ruin health care, how to let in more illegal immigrants,
08:33it makes you believe that someone like Steve Hilton, if you just articulate the right question, sometimes that can get
08:39you pretty far in a campaign.
08:40The only way a Republican wins in California is if it's somehow out of this crazy jungle primary, two Republicans
08:47make it.
08:48But if there is one Democrat against Steve Hilton, whether it's Tom Steyer, whether it's Javier Becerra, that Democrat is
08:54going to win.
08:55And my response to that is you're probably right.
08:57But my question is, is that a good thing?
09:00Is it a good thing for California to continue to just vote for the same party that has created all
09:05these problems that everyone seems to agree to exist?
09:07Look, you're at a boiling point right now in California where if an outsider with the right message came along,
09:17Arnold Schwarzenegger did that, you could get there.
09:20Unfortunately, it is a non-starter to have somebody who will not acknowledge that Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden
09:26in 2020.
09:26He just basically took himself out of the running.
09:29If he would just moderate on anything at all, he would have the opportunity or anybody would have the opportunity
09:35to point out a lot of stuff is not working.
09:37But that's not going to happen.
09:39You are correct.
09:42Snoopy, a Twinkie running against a Republican in California will win in California if the Republican is saying that Donald
09:50Trump is not going to happen.
09:54She's one of the worst political athletes we've seen in a large state.
09:57Give the woman some credit.
09:58She spent the whole night trying to be nice.
10:01Trying, the operative word.
10:03She's one of the least likable, most uninteresting politicians we see rise to the top in a large state.
10:09You know, all the New England states eventually elect a Republican governor.
10:12Massachusetts did it for like 20 years in a row.
10:14The voters know that the legislature has got things under control from their ideological perspective, and they send some adult
10:19supervision.
10:20You see it sometimes in the South.
10:21Steve Beshear in Scotts home states, a Democrat governor in a Republican state.
10:25Eventually it will happen in California because the legislature will manage the state to the point where the voters have
10:30no other choice.
10:31I don't know if it's this year or not.
10:33I have to say, I mean, I don't know that no Republican could win, but I'm not sure a Trump
10:39endorsement helps.
10:40And I'm also not sure that somebody who I may or may not have been an oath keeper.
10:45An oath keeper.
10:46An oath keeper.
10:46And admitted to it.
10:48At one point he said he was proud of it, but then said he was no longer affiliated with them.
10:53That combination doesn't seem to bode well for California.
10:56Well, and also, it's not only that, but to your point about the 2020 election, the Republican Party cannot get
11:02away from, they're scared of Donald Trump.
11:05They're scared even in a state like California.
11:07They are terrified of potentially being on his bad side, potentially going out there and saying that he did not
11:14win the 2020 election, you know, disavowing themselves from the Oath Keepers, things like this.
11:19And so, and this isn't, and it's not going to work in California, but it's also not going to work
11:23in 2026.
11:25And if Republicans can't finally disassociate themselves and distance themselves from Donald Trump, they're not going to be able to
11:32win the presidency.
11:33Two Democrat things that I saw that actually was impressed by.
11:36I agree with you on Mahan.
11:38Yeah.
11:38He looked like a pragmatic guy.
11:40I mean, I didn't see, like, anybody head and shoulders above just as a tactical matter, but Mahan, you get
11:46the feeling that just sort of the average, common sense, independent might look at that guy and say, he seems
11:51like the one who's not squabbling about things that don't matter.
11:54He's a Silicon Valley guy.
11:55What I'm surprised at, though, that, you know, with, what, less than a month to the primary with the absentee
12:01ballots, the mail-in ballots already out, the Democratic heavyweights, and by that I mean somebody like a Gavin Newsom,
12:10like a Kamala Harris, who's a Californian, like a Barack Obama, haven't called some of these Democrats that are in
12:16the low single digits and said, you know, get your, you know, ass out of this race, you're causing us
12:23some harm.
12:23Well, I mean, well, I mean, let me put up again the, this is the latest CBS YouGov poll that
12:28meets CNN's polling standards.
12:31I mean, maybe this actually explains why those calls haven't happened, because Matt Mahan, you know, you're kind of impressed
12:39by him over on this side of the table.
12:40He's a 4% in this poll.
12:42Sure, yeah.
12:42So if you, if you call everybody below 5%, maybe you're, maybe you're, you're jettisoning some people who could have
12:50last minute momentum, who might be better, some of these folks like Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and President Obama might
12:56think, might be formidable candidates in the states.
13:00I mean, maybe they just think it's too soon, but it mostly might be too late.
13:02I'm going to tell you, the California Democrat, they can call whoever they want to call.
13:06People, they're not going to listen.
13:08The California Democrats are going to do what they want to do.
13:10Nobody can get anybody to do anything.
13:12We were lucky to be able to manage the Kamala Gavin dance for all those years.
13:17They never wound up fighting.
13:18Well, you might still have to.
13:20I don't know.
13:22So listen, but I just want to say, I just do want to say it about Matt.
13:26He's brand new to politics.
13:28He's done a great job in his city.
13:29He's got a big future ahead of him, but tonight he sounded more like he was running for mayor than
13:34governor.
13:34And I think he's got, if he's got, if he took that same pragmatism and had a little vision behind
13:38it, I think it gets somewhere.
13:39So let me play, this is Steve Hilton talking about why Democrats are blaming Trump for things that they're actually
13:46responsible for.
13:47Here's what he said.
13:49The Democrats who are here, who've been responsible for 16 years of one-party rule for everything that we see
13:55in California, won't take responsibility.
13:58And all they can talk about is Trump.
14:00It's not Donald Trump who's given us gas prices $2 higher than the rest of the country.
14:05It's Democrat policies, which Antonia and all the Democrats here support.
14:09It's not Donald Trump that's given us the highest housing costs in the country.
14:13It's Democrat policies that all these Democrats support.
14:16Donald Trump is the president in all the other states of America where the cost of living is way lower
14:23than in California.
14:24Obviously, it is way past time for changing California.
14:28And endlessly going on about Donald Trump doesn't serve the needs of the struggling families and small businesses.
14:35That's his best moment.
14:37He has a point.
14:38It's a great, again, he's asking the right question.
14:41If you're unhappy, no matter what your party is, why would you leave the same people in charge who've run
14:46it into the ground?
14:47He raised, I think, an interesting point on gas prices.
14:50And we've seen news reports about why gas prices are higher in California.
14:53One Democrat actually wound up acknowledging it.
14:56It was Villa Rosa who said, yes, we do have...
14:58Not Villa Rosa, Villa Raygoza.
15:01In Kentucky, we have...
15:03I believe Mahan also came out against the gas tax in the state, which, you know, Tom Steyer vociferously supported
15:14and backed up.
15:16So, I mean, there are some divisions that are showing up.
15:18Yeah, I think it's noteworthy when people all in the same party, if somebody veers, when somebody zigs and everybody
15:24else is zagging, I think it's noteworthy.
15:26And to say, and to just basically tell the truth, we have fees and taxes that make California gas prices
15:32$2 more.
15:33That is a moment of honesty to say, I get it, and maybe we need to think about this.
15:37But, by the way, Vassera did have that moment of truth.
15:39Vassera said, yeah, we have this gas tax because it's what allows us to fill the potholes and keep the
15:47roads going.
15:47So, yeah, we are $2 higher than the rest of the country because of that tax.
15:52But we're also $2 higher, $1.50 higher because of the Iran war.
15:57Both things are true.
15:59And, frankly, all 50 states are pissed about the fact that our...
16:03I know, but the governor of California doesn't decide when we're going to finish taking nuclear weapons away from Iran.
16:07They could decide whether to lower taxes and fees on Californians.
16:11And I think mixing or mistaking what the governor of California can do versus what the president can do was
16:17a big point of contention in this debate.
16:19But, of course, it's irrelevant when you're arguing about federal issues that would have no impact on...
16:23But, look, this is going to come down to, at least on our side, it's Vassera and Tom Steyer.
16:29And I think Tom Steyer, he's a conviction politician.
16:32He has a coherent view.
16:34People may not like it.
16:34They think it's too progressive.
16:35But he says what he wants to do.
16:38He says how he's going to pay it.
16:39And he's spending a lot of money in our state.
16:42You cannot knock on $30 million.
16:44It's a huge state.
16:45So if you can pay for the kind of media that Tom has paid for, you...
16:51Tom Steyer has now spent half a billion dollars trying to get elected to something, right?
16:58He spent $350 million trying to get elected to president.
17:01And that was a big fail.
17:03And he's spending $150 million trying to get elected governor of California.
17:09So that's interesting you say that.
17:10I think the other thing with the Democratic base right now is they want a fighter.
17:14And we saw something very different in Illinois than we did in Minnesota.
17:18We saw Governor Pritzker really fight the administration and really try to stand up to Donald Trump.
17:24In Minnesota, you saw Governor Walz, who I know you talk about all of the time, did not do that.
17:29And I actually think that it did not serve Minnesota well.
17:33And look at what happened there.
17:36California will be the target of this administration on immigration enforcement,
17:40on all sorts of issues because it is a...
17:42Only because it is a Democratic state.
17:44Because it is a blue state.
17:45That's the reality that we live in.
17:47Whoever...
17:47It has been, and it will be even more.
17:49Whoever is going to be governor will have to stand up to Donald Trump.
17:53Can I tell you, after working in Joe Biden's administration,
17:57I do not trust...
17:58Have you ever set up to do that?
18:00Can I just say...
18:01Whoa, whoa.
18:02I don't.
18:02I do trust that he would be able to do that.
18:04Because, and that is the feeling...
18:06You don't trust that he'll be able to stand up to Trump?
18:08I don't think that he will be able to stand up to Trump and lead.
18:10And the reason why...
18:11Wow.
18:12...anybody on that stage who is...
18:15You just say you love him.
18:15Here, I'll say it in.
18:16Before she answers that, can I ask you why?
18:19Because when I saw him in the administration,
18:22and I think a lot of people did, and it's...
18:24People understand this.
18:25It's he was not effective in governing.
18:27And I think that a lot of people in the Biden administration
18:30are talking about this because they realize that he was not an effective HHS secretary.
18:35And if you ask any cabinet secretary, they would tell you the same thing.
18:38And so I think that there is a...
18:41I think people recognize this, and I think this is why Tom Steyer has gone to the top.
18:46Do Biden and Harris think that?
18:48I think there have been...
18:49I have not spoken with them about it.
18:51I'll tell you that this is not the first time that I've heard that, right?
18:55Yeah.
18:55So what Sochi's talking about is a real thing.
18:57Yeah.
18:57And you kind of got a little bit of a sense of it on the stage tonight
19:02where the attacks against Becerra were not about what he was
19:07or wasn't going to do in California.
19:09It was about his record in the Biden administration.
19:12It was about...
19:12In character.
19:13His character.
19:14It was about his leadership.
19:16And I do think that's going to be a problem.
19:18I'm not sure the Joe Biden adjacent brand is a good brand right now anywhere in this country.
19:25And I also think that the HHS situation, when you dig deeper into what he did in that role,
19:30that could be a problem for him.
19:32I trust Vann's analysis.
19:33It's your state.
19:34You follow California Democratic politics far closer than I do,
19:37that the race is between those two for the last slot.
19:41But if you look at Tom Steyer tonight, he was making no play for people to his right at all.
19:46The gas tax is a regressive tax.
19:48It hits working class people hard.
19:49And Tom Steyer's answer is buy an electric vehicle.
19:51Well, if you're in construction, you can't do that.
19:54If you have a boat, you can't do that.
19:56Like, there are just certain people who cannot...
19:58The answer is not buying Tesla.
19:59And so I wonder if it is possible for him to consolidate Katie Porter's vote at all.
20:05Is that who he's going for?
20:07It could be.
20:08And listen, there is a hunger in California politics from the Latin community,
20:14from the Hispanic community.
20:15That's another part of the dynamic here.
20:17But, you know, the SEIU, dual-endorsed.
20:22You'd expect the SEIU to come out for Becerra.
20:24They dual-endorsed Tom Steyer.
20:26When was that endorsement?
20:27When?
20:28It was like today or yesterday.
20:30Okay, so it was after Suawa.
20:31Yes.
20:32Yeah.
20:32So that's what I'm saying.
20:34There is a hunger to do something there.
20:36I think the Latin community would really like to see somebody get across the finish line.
20:39But even SEIU, dual-endorsed.
20:42You know what, I didn't see anybody on that stage that I would say is a fighter in the
20:46way that we see J.B. Pritzker being, you know, not taking any shit from Trump and not
20:50letting himself be bullied.
20:51I don't see it happening.
20:53Or at least Katie Porter's attempt to present that way was not that convincing.
20:56No, Katie Porter, obviously, is trying to be on her best behavior and win the Miss Congeniality
21:01award in this.
21:03I have known.
21:03She's got a long way to go.
21:05She did say F. Trump in her fundraising email.
21:09I've known Javier Becerra for well over 30 years.
21:12He has been in Congress, attorney general, HHS secretary.
21:17I'll say this.
21:19Is he the most energetic person out there?
21:21No.
21:22But I didn't see anybody on that stage that was.
21:24There has not been a whiff of scandal when it comes to his personal character.
21:30There's been no sexual scandals with Javier, which is a great thing these days.
21:34But it's such a low body.
21:35But it is.
21:37Not one of the walls.
21:37No, I know.
21:38It's been sad.
21:39He got pummeled about the chief of staff issue.
21:43Yeah, I mean, that's a scandal.
21:44Okay, but no, no, no.
21:45But, Abby, that's a federal case where there's been investigations, accountability, and indictments.
21:50You think for one minute that if Javier had any vulnerability, the Trump DOJ would not
21:56have indicted him?
21:57I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not suggesting he personally did any wrongdoing, but I'm saying
22:04that there is a controversy around him, which people have gotten indicted of.
22:09And you know what?
22:11He should have taken offense at that, and he should have shown anger.
22:14Because if somebody was accusing me of stuff, I'd be pretty damn angry.
22:18But, you know, so I think that that was a missed opportunity for Javier, because he
22:23should have taken offense at the fact that they were trying to tie him to that case instead
22:28of being kind of as trying to be factual and fight it off in that kind of nice Javier way.
22:35But that's what you're going to get.
22:36One person we haven't talked about is Villaraigosa, and I think Villaraigosa actually did a good job
22:40tonight.
22:41He's at 4%.
22:42I'm just saying.
22:43I mentioned him.
22:44I said he did good on the gas.
22:45Thanks.
22:46And then Anna corrected him on the pronunciation.
22:48I'm just kidding.
22:50The Twinkie you quoted earlier on has a higher chance.
22:54All I'm saying is, I thought he did a good job.
22:56I thought he was great.
22:57All I will say is, I see the lines being drawn right here at this table.
23:01We'll see how this goes.
23:02Next for us, breaking news tonight in America's war against Iran.
23:06The Secretary of State says epic fury is over, but Iran and the U.S. are still exchanging
23:11fire.
23:12We'll discuss, plus, a surprise twist for Donald Trump's ballroom.
23:16Republicans now want taxpayers to fund a billion-dollar bill for it.
23:22We'll be right back.
23:26What's going on in the war against Iran?
23:28Well, there are more questions than answers tonight.
23:30After the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said this about the state of the conflict.
23:36The operation is over.
23:38Epic fury is, the president notified Congress, we're done with that stage of it.
23:42Okay, we're now on to this project of freedom.
23:46So the old operation is apparently over as the U.S. moves on to a new initiative that's
23:51aimed at guiding commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
23:54But just hours after Rubio made that announcement, President Trump put the new
23:59operation on hold, saying, Project Freedom will be paused for a short time, but the U.S.
24:05blockade will remain in force.
24:07Now, things don't sound over, either.
24:10Iran and the U.S. have been trading fire and did so soon after Project Freedom went into
24:15effect on Monday.
24:16Later, Iran launched missiles and drone attacks against the United Arab Emirates.
24:21But tonight, Trump and his administration insist that the ceasefire is, in fact, holding.
24:28Is the ceasefire over?
24:31No, the ceasefire is not over.
24:34Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project.
24:37What do they need to do to violate the ceasefire?
24:41Well, you'll find out, because I'll let you know.
24:44They know what to do, and they know what to do.
24:46And they know what not to do, more importantly.
24:52So a lot of people are scratching their heads tonight because, first of all, very unceremoniously,
24:59the war is over.
25:00The war is over.
25:02They launch what could be an important thing, which is to try to, an operation to try to
25:08get the Strait of Hormuz opened.
25:09Then Iran starts firing at their regional neighbors, and then suddenly that operation is also over
25:16after Trump says he got a request from Pakistan and other countries that he wouldn't name,
25:22asking him to stop the operation.
25:26So it kind of seems like Iran successfully pressured Trump to back down.
25:31Yep.
25:33Well, I mean, the other alternative view is there's all kinds of conversations going on
25:38with Pakistan and maybe even with China.
25:40The Chinese foreign minister is holding talks in Beijing on Wednesday with Iran's foreign
25:44minister.
25:45I've been wondering when the Chinese are going to show up to Iran and say, okay, all right,
25:49we have to settle this now because we need our oil.
25:51So, you know, my thinking is there could be back-channel diplomatic negotiations going on
25:56here that are just a little opaque to us.
25:58What Iran has left are these little speedboats that they run out there.
26:02I think the president is actually showing some restraint here.
26:05And, you know, I guess the competing issue is, is it restraint or is it weakness?
26:09Some people have argued it's weakness.
26:10I think it's restraint as he tries to get the diplomatic piece.
26:13Well, we don't realize what's happening here, right?
26:15I mean, it started as Operation Epic Fury, but it's now gone on for so long that it would
26:21require congressional authorization.
26:23So he is changing the name of it, announcing that one thing is over and renaming it something
26:28else.
26:28What is it now?
26:29Operation Freedom so that he doesn't, so that he's got some sort of loophole so he doesn't
26:34have to go get authorization from Congress.
26:37And if this goes on for another two months, it's going to be named another operation.
26:40This thing is going to have more reinventions than share.
26:45Look, I think this is not good.
26:48And the reason I think it's not good is that Marco Rubio did an excellent job, not a good
26:54job, an excellent job, making the case for the United States escorting traffic through
27:02that part of the world.
27:03And he said this is a defensive action.
27:05It was really well done.
27:07And then hours later, the president says, never mind, and gives no actual verifiable
27:14reason for doing so.
27:15And it looks like, the body language looks like the Iranians got pissed, attacked UAE,
27:21and we backed off.
27:22That's what it looks like.
27:23I don't think that's good.
27:25I don't think it makes a lot of sense going forward.
27:27And the reality is, if we cannot, if, in fact, we cannot escort our allies and trade through
27:36the strait, that means Iran is stronger than we think, stronger than we want them to be.
27:42And it's not just these little boats.
27:43They're also firing other stuff.
27:44I don't think that what happened today is good.
27:47Let me play before you jump in, because I want you to hear Dan Cain, the chairman of
27:51the Joint Chiefs, talking about what Iran has been doing in the Strait of Hormuz.
27:57Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and
28:03seized two container ships.
28:04And they've attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times, all below the threshold of restarting
28:11major combat operations at this point.
28:15You know, hearing that, first of all, he, Lieutenant Cain, he's doing, General Cain is doing his
28:21job.
28:22He doesn't determine what the threshold is for restarting military operations the president
28:28gets to.
28:28So what would it take for Iran to provoke the United States enough?
28:34How many attacks would it take for Trump to actually enforce all the different lines that
28:40he's drawn in this conflict?
28:42Well, today, he also asked the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution to try
28:47to mediate this and push Iran to stop what they're doing in the Strait, which I think Democrats
28:52in the United States should rally around.
28:53They've always wanted the United Nations to intervene.
28:55So they should now applaud the president and say this is a great idea and see if they
28:58can, through their channels, put pressure on the Europeans to join that.
29:02There's 23,000 people, civilians mostly, from 87 different countries stuck in the Strait
29:07right now on ships.
29:08And I think it's pretty prudent for the president to not just say, let's let both sides blow
29:13everything up.
29:14Let's do everything we can, work through the Pakistanis.
29:17He said this is only paused for a couple of days.
29:19We'll see what happens in a couple of days.
29:21Work through the United Nations, see if the Chinese can get anywhere.
29:24This is an intractable problem.
29:25And I don't think we should sit here and pretend that, oh, this is as simple as turn the switch
29:29on or turn it off.
29:29Nobody's pretending that except, nobody's pretending that but the president.
29:32I mean, that's the truth to say.
29:34You know, everybody has said from the beginning, exactly what you said, this is an intractable
29:38problem.
29:38The president was the one who said, I'm going to give them 10 days.
29:42And if they don't come to a deal, we're going to wipe them off the face of the earth, essentially.
29:47So this is a problem.
29:49If there's an expectation problem, it's one of Trump's making.
29:51He has tried to declare victory so many times.
29:54And we are still in this war.
29:56Gas prices are still up.
29:57You know, there is no ceasefire.
29:59It is a mess.
30:01And I think what Democrats want is we want this war to end.
30:04So do the vast majority of Americans.
30:06I think, ultimately, what happens here is that we don't, I mean, this war could go up until
30:14the midterm elections at this point.
30:15And I think that, and if it does, and gas prices rise even higher, that is worse for Republicans.
30:21What I find interesting...
30:22Hot gas prices are bad.
30:23We can agree on that.
30:24Yeah, but they're going to get worse if he continues this war and does not have a path to get
30:29out
30:30of it whatsoever.
30:31And, I mean, I think it is a big problem for Republicans.
30:33So high gas prices are bad, Brad says.
30:35Here's what the president says about that.
30:41I also thought oil would go up to 200, 250, maybe 300.
30:45And I know it would be short-term.
30:47But I thought it would go...
30:50I look today, it's like at 102.
30:53And that's a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people that are
31:01really mentally deranged.
31:05Now, mind you, the price of gas today is $4.50, thereabouts.
31:11Yeah.
31:11Look, I mean, the kind of classic kind of negotiation, you kind of anchors high and then says,
31:16compared to, like, the high anchor I just made up out of thin air, now it looks a little bit
31:20low.
31:21But, you know, this is not working.
31:23It's very helpful to Democrats when he does stuff like that.
31:25It's a small price to pay.
31:26But, you know, you're not paying it, Mr. President.
31:28Ordinary Americans are paying it.
31:30Also, I love it when American presidents go to the United Nations.
31:34I also love it when they go to U.S. Congress.
31:37And that's what the missing piece here is that we've not had a chance to, as George W. Bush did,
31:43George H.W. Bush did, the American Congress has not had a chance to weigh in on this stuff yet.
31:47So I don't think this is going well for the president.
31:49Well, but the problem is that he has pummeled international alliances.
31:52He has attacked our, normally, our friends who would go in with us.
31:58He did nothing to prepare the international community or the American public to the actions
32:03that he was going to take.
32:04And so now going to the U.N., you know, that's something that should have been done way in
32:10the beginning and after setting the stage for it.
32:13And on this thing about it's just a little bit of pain, he keeps doing this, right?
32:17It's like back when he said, oh, you don't have, don't buy your daughter $30, buy her
32:21two dolls.
32:23Don't buy seven pencils, buy one pencil or whatever.
32:25It's just, and I think there's something that just sticks in the craw of people when they see
32:30a billionaire who walks around with pictures of his ballroom and his arch trying to tell
32:36people, it's okay, you can endure short-term pain.
32:39There are people in this country who cannot endure short-term pain because they live paycheck
32:45to paycheck.
32:46And I can't emphasize enough that there is no end in sight, okay?
32:50There really is not.
32:51Can I ask you a question on that point?
32:53Because you said Democrats want to end the war.
32:56And my question is, how do they want to end the war?
32:59And I think it's a fair, well, and this is the point I want to make.
33:03Whether you think we should have done it or not, now the United States is in, the military
33:07is committed, the president has an objective, which is make sure these people don't get
33:11a nuclear weapon.
33:12My view, and I think the Republican view, is the only way out of the war is complete
33:17and total victory.
33:18The politics for President Trump to just end this without achieving the objective are
33:22far worse than staying in it long enough to win.
33:25But what do you think?
33:25I'm curious.
33:26But, Scott, he has.
33:27They announced today that Operation Epic Fury is over.
33:31The military campaign is over.
33:34That's what they said.
33:34Well, as Anna said, this is a paperwork issue.
33:38And Iranians are likely to hit a tripwire and give us grounds to do it.
33:43Is it a paperwork issue, really?
33:45With the Congress, it is.
33:46I mean, look, Marco Rubio, as well, made it very clear that the whole ballgame right
33:52now is the negotiating table.
33:54Sure.
33:54That's where they're at.
33:55Well, and the ballgame.
33:56And they know that.
33:57And the ballgame is the negotiating table because the blockade, it's in place, but it's not
34:03necessarily, it has not moved the needle yet.
34:05So the military operation is already done with what does complete and total victory look
34:12like when really, at the end of the day, they're back to where Obama was during the...
34:18Not at all, because Iran is...
34:19I'm talking about in the sense that what they are doing is sitting down with the Iranians
34:24and saying, let's make a deal.
34:26Let's come up with a timetable.
34:28Let's come up with a plan to remove the material.
34:31They're doing the same process that the previous administration did before.
34:36Well, but...
34:37Iran's going to rebuild.
34:38But with a country...
34:39But we'll have to go back.
34:40With a country whose military is totally destroyed.
34:42But what does complete and total victory look like at this point?
34:45To me, to me, complete and total victory is to definitively tell the American people
34:49the objective was they will not build or possess nuclear weapons.
34:54That is the victory.
34:55Now, we've met a lot of military objectives.
34:57We've destroyed thousands of targets.
34:59These people are set back decades in a number of ways.
35:03But complete and total victory is there will be no nuclear weapons in Iran, period, end
35:08of story.
35:08So, in other words, we are not anywhere near that.
35:12We're not anywhere near them not having a nuclear weapon.
35:16The nuclear material is still very much in Iran.
35:19They have not abandoned their terrorist funding and proxy groups and ideology.
35:26We haven't completely eliminated their missile program.
35:29And they have the strait.
35:30And they have the strait.
35:32We have it.
35:33We're the one enforcing the blockade.
35:34Hold on a second.
35:34We don't have it.
35:36They have power over it.
35:36We only have it if we can allow transit through the strait.
35:41We have a blockade, but we don't have control of the strait.
35:44So, what exactly is the victory?
35:47Well, wait a minute.
35:47You said a minute ago that they still have their missile-making capacity.
35:50They have 10 to 15 percent of their missile-making capacity.
35:53Yeah.
35:53Okay.
35:54So, we're saying the same thing.
35:55We're much better off.
35:56No, we're much better off.
35:57We're much better off than that.
35:58All I'm saying is that we're saying the same thing.
35:59Their navy is gone.
36:01Sure it is.
36:02Their missile capacity has been diminished, but they still have it.
36:05Do they not?
36:05I would add to Scott's thing that they don't have a nuclear program anymore, and they don't
36:10have the ability to project mayhem abroad in their region and terrorize their neighbors.
36:14And so, that means we have to be incapacitated so they cannot support Hamas, they cannot support
36:20Hezbollah, they cannot support the Houthis.
36:21This is not something that you might get done in a week or two, but we are much further
36:25along than we were when the president started.
36:27Look, this is, Western powers have trouble with these sorts of adversaries.
36:33This is an ideological adversary fighting an asymmetric war.
36:38All they need is drones to shut down that strait.
36:42And so, that gives them a lot of leverage.
36:44And when Western powers go up against highly, Vietnam, highly ideological opponent, willing
36:50to be bombed for 100 years, will be communists no matter what you say.
36:54These people willing to be bombed for 100 years are going to be Islamo-fascists no matter
36:57what you say.
36:58This is tough for Western powers.
37:00And so, I just think that we've gotten ourselves into this thing.
37:03I'm with Scott.
37:04I don't, you know, think, you know, cutting and running right now is a great idea.
37:07But I think everybody needs to be a lot more honest about the fact that we can bomb these
37:11folks and blow up a whole bunch of stuff as long as they have, as long as they're still
37:15in power and have one drone, they can control that straight, and that's a problem for the
37:18United States.
37:19All right, let's leave it there, guys.
37:20Remember when the president's new ballroom wasn't going to cost taxpayers a dime?
37:24Well, Senate Republicans are now pushing to include a billion dollars for work related
37:29to the president's pet project.
37:31We'll discuss that next.
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