"Not the warmest welcome for their party leader"

0:007 million Californians depend on community health clinics for their care, but Proposition 44 cuts billions from clinics. Under 44, hundreds of clinics will close and health services will be eliminated. That's why Prop 44 is opposed by nurses, doctors, and patients. Vote no on the clinic shutdown proposition. No, on 44. Add paid for by no on Prop 44. Stop the attack on patients and community health clinics, sponsored by California Primary Care Association Advocates. Add Committee's top funders ultimate health services in California Primary Care Association Advocates. What if your drive was fueled with more? Like more protection for more time on the road? Shelby Power Nitro Plus provides more protection for longer lasting engines. So it helps keep your engine running like new for whatever drive is ahead. Shelby Power Nitro Plus. Engine performance that lasts. Compared to minimum detergent gasoline, with continuous use of Shelby Power Nitro Plus and gasoline direct injection engines, actual effects and benefits may vary. See shell.us-protectionformore information. There are arguably some similarities between the O6 cycle and the 2026 cycle.

1:09Think about the condition of the country back in O6, an unpopular war. 6 in 10 Americans opposed the Iraq war at that point. Gas prices had doubled. This is sound familiar. And we'd landed up losing six seats. Hi, everybody. It's five o'clock in New York. A valid point and question from a Republican senator there. Will we see a repeat of 2006, 32 days from today? Donald Trump has now embarked on a blitz of campaign stops ahead of the November 3rd midterms. Ostensibly in hope of shoring up support for members of his party, even though he doesn't really have that effect. But for many Republicans, entirely contested races, they are not embracing their party's leader. They don't want him. They're instead choosing to distance themselves from him and his unpopular policies and dismal poll numbers. Trump's approval is now at career lows. The latest poll from the AP finds him at 31%.

2:10Meaning that Republicans need to go beyond Trump supporters to win their races. But as retiring senator Tom Tillis points out, regarding his state of North Carolina, quote, 40% of our electorate is unaffiliated. You can't win with just a pure mega base. In fact, the race for Tillis' seat is looking so bad for Republicans that the New York Times today reports this, quote, the top super PAC for Senate Republicans is canceling. All the remaining ads it had booked in North Carolina as of Friday, shifting away tens of millions of dollars in a move that signals that Republicans no longer see a path to winning the state this fall. At the same time, the super PAC called the Senate Leadership Fund is making its first investment of the cycle in Kansas, a sign of rising concern among Republicans in red states with a new ad attacking the Democratic nominee there. It is like what we're seeing when it comes to Trump's campaign tour, putting a focus not on any swing states or battleground states, but on typically reliable Ruby red states. Trump yesterday went to Texas and Oklahoma.

3:12A Monday he's going to Nebraska. Tonight he's stopping in, we need a new word for Ruby, but Ruby read Alabama. A state he won in 2024 by 30 points. A remarkable place for the GOP to be just one month out from Election Day. Force to put time and energy and focus and money into races that in any other moment, in any other midterm cycle, we wouldn't even be covering. The GOP is on the defensive, having handed its entire set of morals and principles and policies and ethics and standards over to Donald Trump, who aside from not making good on any of his promises to improve the economy or never start a forever war or say turn over the Epstein files, has also proven to be indifferent to people's tales of suffering and struggle. Here are some Trump voters in Alaska and other red state Republicans are scared they might lose. If you could talk directly to President Trump about these prices right now,

4:13what would you tell him? I would tell him what he initially told the voters is BS, that these prices weren't supposed to be so high and look what's happened. I have a lot of people that I've seen there, the HTTP Trump voters, they're not, they're not anymore. Some of my family are turning it back. Playing simple, dad, you look in your wallet and watch a good empty every time you do this and fill up your car, you know. Got to do what you got to do, but I wouldn't go for him again the way it helped. It's where we start today with some of our favorite experts and friends. Media Matters for America, President Angelo Carassone is back, also joining us for Redepiti White House Press Secretary during Donald Trump's first term. Now the spokesperson for the Home of the Brave Campaign, Sarah Matthews is here and with me at the table host of Politics Nation Founder of the National Action Network, the Reverend El Sharpton's here. Rob, I don't think he cares. He's got his immunity from the Supreme Court. He likes thinking I alone can win elections, none of these Republicans can. And I think the joke is on the Republicans for sacrificing everything and anything in service

5:14of his corruption in a second term. When they saw him as an Eagle Maniac that was an understatement, he's a narcissist and he will find in my judgment joy in being able to say to them, if I was on the ticket you to one, looking to you guys, you were nothing without me, I had to resurrect you twice. And I think that he looks at the fact he gives himself immunity, even if he goes through impeachment, he feels that they can't do anything to really put him away. He has to be concerned about the state charges in New York, but he thinks he can get by that. And he walks away saying I was the one that brought everybody back and they couldn't hold it. They're clumsy, they don't know what they're doing, they're not Trump. That's how he thinks. And I don't understand how people feel that they were playing a football game when he was playing boxing. It's him, one in the ring, not them. And I think that at the end of the day, it's going to be something that they take a blood bath

6:18and he will be privately saying these guys are nothing without me, nothing. Yeah, I mean, sir, you can probably show more light on this, but my sense is that he's never viewed himself as a leader of anything, either, you know, a, a, his own family and their efforts to get rich, but I don't think he's ever seen himself as the leader of one of the countries to political parties. No, Trump has never given a damn about the Republican party. He only cares about himself and amassing as much power as he possibly can. And if he were smart, he would know that then he would want to help Republicans and elect them. But he keeps going out on the campaign trail and saying things like vote as if I'm on the ballot. And that is probably a message that is endorsed by the Democratic Party because people feel been boozled by Trump. There are three time Trump voters that I've talked to who are saying enough is enough. He has broken nearly every campaign promise. And I can no longer support this guy. And so he is not making it easy for Republicans by saying things like that because anytime voters

7:20are reminded of him, they think of the failed economy that we have. They think of his failed war of choice with the Ron and this failed presidency. But Trump really doesn't care about the Republican Party, but he should because it's going to come back and bite him later on when Democrats, I believe, most likely take the House and the Senate this November. And then he's in for a world of hurt for the next two years, probably facing lots of investigations and accountability for his corruption and his failures of this second term. Angela, I want to show you where he stands right now with the American people. Among independence, 76% of independence disapproval of him. His approval rating on the cost of living is 17%. That is a fraction of his own supporters. The disapproval on the economy is 73%. And the blame that they give to Trump is 65% of Americans blame Trump directly. He's also got some troubling data in

8:25today. CNBC reported that the labor market fault toward in September is jobs increased by just 29,000 unemployment rose 4.2%. This is obviously baked in now. There's nothing he can do to change how people perceive what is very real, which is the economic hardships right now under his presidency. Yeah, that's true. And so we can ask ourselves then, so what? Or what next? And you sort of got there at the beginning because it's so baked in. It's not like he's going to try to fix that. He's not going to be more responsive to where the population is, where his supporters are, where the base is. It's going to move in the other direction. He's going to be worse, which is what they've been telegraphing. No, not just this recent reporting about waiting into banning abortion pills until after the election. His most die hard members of the right-wing media have been saying for a month now and promising all kinds of escalations in Iran, indictments to come, all these promises about more indictments, that all these big bad things are going to happen right after the election. And

9:29even if he only does a fraction of them, he is going to intensify the things that make him feel good, which is spite and revenge. And at this, they're the cost of all the other things that we desperately need. And as much as we want to make this about Trump, and I'm glad to play that beginning, the clip from the Senate at the beginning, but the reality is they've paid the way for him. They could stop him from doing these policies. They're not just bad for the country, but are bad politics for them, but they don't. And every time they get a chance to vote on it, they still vote for Trump. So it's weird. His own people, I think, I even thought this too, that if his own supporters at some point defected from Trump as all those numbers show, that the rest of the Republican Party, the actual people with power to stop him, would start to change as well. But they're not. They're willing to go down, not with the ship, because he's not going down. They're willing to sacrifice for no apparent reason whatsoever, except to avoid the iron, to hopefully get some favor from him in the future. It's unclear to me, but that's the part that I find so flabbergasting and concerning about where we're going. We're like out of analogies, Rob, but one

10:31that I always think of is like the Wizard of Oz, like the curtain comes down and he's sort of like weak and flabby and not all that. I mean, the curtain's been down on this entire second presidency. He's asleep every time the cameras are rolling on him in his own press events. They're not catching him and gudge him. Moments, the press pool is brought in for his events and he's sleeping. He said unexplained medical issues. He said unexplained bruising. His appearance and his cadence and his speaking is a fraction of what it was when he sort of burst onto the scene in 2016. His whole political brand is so flaccid. What explains the political loyalty? I can only explain it by saying that I think that some of these people were so intimidated that they are still feeling that he has his punch that he doesn't have. You have to remember, he talked about Marco Rubio's family. He said things about people that you take them outside

11:36and want to fist fight even if you're not a fighter and they cow-towel to him. So I think it becomes something that everyone becomes afraid of the bully, not understanding the bully really never got into a real fight. I tell people all the time that they say, well, I don't know if we can be Joe Biden beat Trump. And so why are you afraid of somebody you already beat if you're on a Democratic side and why are you afraid of a bully that's coming apart at the scenes? If you read this last time magazine interview he just did, you've got to wonder if he's losing it. I mean, it doesn't even make sense what he's saying. Yet you're going to co-sign that, well, you need to go down with him then. If you're that weak that you can't even stand up for somebody saying sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office because there's real signs of instability here because it doesn't make sense what he's saying or what he's doing. We're in a war. He can't get out

12:36of there's no strategy. He's saying one thing one day, something else the next day and you want to be attached to that then you need to go down with him. Yeah, I mean, I think I said this before Sarah, but I think in 50 years or 100 years when they try to figure out what happened during these years, no one will understand why no one did anything and the people who were in control of Congress were all Republicans. I mean, I think there will be this lingering notion that Republicans used to care about the rule of law Republicans used to care about national security Republicans used to care about the military. Why do you think they've done nothing as Trump has destroyed all those institutions? Yeah, it's sad because I don't recognize the party that I feel like once belonged to and Donald Trump has remade the Republican party in his image and all of these Republican politicians have just bent the knee and they followed him and right now you would think that with people being so disheartened with him and with even people who voted for him numerous times

13:41souring on him that some of these Republican politicians would find their spines and actually stand up to him. But we really don't ever see that happen that is unless they get primaryed out or they choose to retire and usually it's because they're being forced out. And so that's the only time we really ever see these Republicans find their voice and act courageously. And so it is very disheartening because it doesn't really make sense politically when you think that as of now, they actually probably have the ability to criticize him more. And we've seen some tepid criticisms of him from folks within the party who are now trying to distance themselves from him just a couple of weeks out from an election. But they've had the last several years to criticize him on things that I would think they could rightfully criticize him on if they were truly conservatives. Like his Asinine tariffs that have driven the cost of everything up. Like him launching this war of choice with Iran when he campaigned on being the peace president and not getting us into another

14:44forever war. Or like him saying that he was going to release the obscene files and have transparency and accountability for the obscene survivors. And all of that we've seen many, many, many of these Republicans stay silent on. And it just blows my mind and makes no sense because they're there to be to work on behalf of their constituents. But it seems like all of them time and time again just choose their loyalty to Trump over their loyalty to the American people. I mean, I saw today, Angelo, that there are defamation lawsuits now against some right-wing podcasters who carried the water and the lies about the iced deportation policies. All these Republicans are going to lose their jobs, lose their seats. I think I've seen some reporting that one of the incentives to stay quiet and lose their seat is that they want to be able to lobby the White House. But then you look at it in New Jucks to Post Trump's obsession with Mayor Momdani. I mean, he loves winners. He has no ideological affinity for any of these Republicans. And in about

15:5029 days he'll view them all as losers. What was it all for? Spite. I mean, it depends. There's an answer to that question that's beyond Trump, right? In some ways, Trump was a vessel for something much bigger and deeper and more insidious and more lasting. And we talked a lot about Project 2025. And part of the reason why he is able to, you know, him saying all those wild things doesn't actually change policy or actually follow through it until somebody goes and does it. And one thing that this administration has staffed with, unlike the first term, is an entire universe of people. Well, they, one of the qualifications was literally not tearing about the public backlash to drive an agenda. So what's it for? For Trump, it's about spite and revenge. And we are going to see that revenge front and center every day between now and the end of his term. It is going to continue. He will continue more attacks on the press, more aspects of revenge. And that's going to lead sometimes to moments like we saw this week where the tech leaders all declined themselves by showing up there and pretending that this guy is a leader on tech

16:51because they're afraid and they're afraid of retaliation or backlash for him. It's about that. And but for others, it's about something much more insidious and damaging and dangerous. And then, as you note, for the universe of people around him, the ones that actually help build an organized power, the apparatus, the machine, it used to be the right wing media and now it's something much bigger and deeper than that with all these different constituent parts. They're all in it for something self-interested, a little bit of access, a lot of attention, some attention economy, that means money and that means influence. They're going to pay the piper of that because Unlinked Donald Trump, who has immunity from the Supreme Court, they don't have that. They don't have that luxury of benefit and that, to me, is the real lesson in all of this. And that's one of the things that Congress can do and future administrations can illustrate is that there will be accountability here. We should not have a period of no accountability. People did bad things and they should be held accountable accordingly. And that, to me, is the only real bright spot in all of this. It's to keep our senses in this senseless moment, but it's the thing that we're going to need to recalibrate and reset when this is all over.

17:54Yeah, Angela, I mean, that's what's interesting to me about Tucker Carlson and Megan Kelly, putting some distance. I mean, the most commercial voices in the mega media sphere are no longer carrying the politically toxic water. No, they're not. There's this amazing moment from Megan Kelly this week. I'm sure the guest on who was running through sort of like the geopolitics and news of the day and he goes through Trump's itinerary for his campaign events and he says, wait a minute, why are you talking about Alabama? Why are you talking about Mississippi? She was shocked. So I can't believe it. Why are you mentioning this? I mean, and she was surprised that that was a part of the itinerary and had in the moment recognized just how bad it actually is. They're smart enough to see where the tea leaves are going. Tucker in particular, he's way out front. And that's a new scary threat on the horizon because he's showing where new power can be built and organized. But in the moment, there are one of the few people with any sense or a rather self-interest, self-preservation. At least they're willing to say this is dead weight and worse, it's going to drag me down with it. So I'm going to cut myself free. There are way too many

18:56people that aren't doing that. Well, I mean, I think to one of your points there, it is in a lot of ways a more sinister orbit. They're just orbiting around something darker. But they realize that the financial benefits to Trump are abating. And what's amazing to me is that they're realizing it before the tech bros are. I mean, you know, same universal consumer, saying universe of economic concerns. But I guess we'll have plenty of years to dissect the enablers. No one's going anywhere because when we come back, we'll we'll we'll key off on something Angela just raised. We'll show you the kind of greeting Trump is getting in the Republican stronghold of Alabama. He's on his way there right now. And voters there too are souring on everything he's done. Also, ahead for us, stop me if you've heard this one before. Donald Trump is once again under scrutiny for yet another effort to grift and steal from his supporters. We've got new details on the latest scheme that has Trump selling off access so that he can put more money in his pocket. Deadline White

19:58House continues after a quick break. Don't go anywhere. Seven million Californians depend on community health clinics for their care. But Proposition 44 cuts billions from clinics under 44. Hundreds of clinics will close and health services will be eliminated. That's why Prop 44 is opposed by nurses, doctors and patients. Vote no on the clinic shutdown proposition. No, on 44. Add paid for by no on Prop 44. Stop the attack on patients and community health clinics, sponsored by California Primary Care Association Advocates. Add committees top funders ultimate health services in California Primary Care Association Advocates. ETLA Law Group California's injury law firm has taken on many types of cases from slips and falls, accidents, dog bites, and other negligence injury cases. We don't back down. We take the fight to court if needed. Have an accident or injury? Contact us now. Text injury help to 40222. That's injury help to 40222 go to call downtown.com now. ETLA Reaching usage me apply. Add is marked by for read. Yagukdo S.W.R.D. Down Count LA Law Group SP number 282476-540 South Santa Fe Los Angeles. Prior results do not

21:00guarantee a similar outcome. You just got back to your Toyota truck and you can't feel your fingers. You've been out here for 13 days. Now 16, 15, you've lost track. You're eating something you wouldn't dare look in the eyes while taking directions from a phone that ran out of signal miles ago. Every bone and muscle in your body has filed a formal complaint and the only gas you've got left is in the tank of your truck. But you know what? You're the happiest you've been in years. Toyota trucks outlast outlive. As we've been talking about Trump is holding a rally tonight in Alabama. Why Alabama? Why would he even go there? He won it in 2024 less than two years ago by 30 points. But speaking of Alabama, even in Alabama, Trump is facing voters who are out today big time to protest him. Take a listen. The founding fathers, the Constitution, it's the our first amendment right to freedom of speech. There's nothing more important than that. And so I just want to represent, you know, I just want to

22:06be here and say what I think they would have said, which is no, it's not cool. Peralty and in decency and immorality at every level. Come on, government. And the people that he's appointed are even worse than he is. So that's frightening. Well, because somebody's got to speak up against what's going on. And you know, we have a president run rampant. We have people who are following him blindly without thinking about how he is destroying our democracy. Every time I despair for the future of our democracy, I listen to voters and it doesn't matter where they live in this country. They see it and they get it. No, that is absolutely correct. My mother came from Alabama and went back and she's buried there. And so I know people there that totally disagree with my politics. But they're decent people.

23:11And they're people that really believe in solid things. And when they see the indecency and the corruption and the blatant great gatsby lifestyle while they can hardly pay for gas, these people, he has underestimated really are decent people. They may have made political choices that I would disagree with. But they're not into all of this kind of lifestyle and cutting deals and the chicaneery that they're seeing and worth that you can't explain the name calling or if anybody opposes you. I think he is misread his audience because they really believed when he said that I'll be a peace president. They really, in many cases, believed when he said that I'm going to bring the economy down and other promises. Any play to the culture was some of them are very divisive, they're homophobic, they're sexist, some racist. But they are aside all of the downside. They were not

24:14as indecent and as immoral as he's projected. And a lot of them don't want to be identified with that even in a red state. It's so interesting. And I think Sarah, because I've opposed Trump for 10 years, I sometimes overlook how dramatic a shift this is in less than two years. These are people that two years ago, I'm not sure all those people that were interviewed, but these are states that two years ago by margins of 30, 20, 15, 19 points back Donald Trump are now looking at Democrats to bring about divided government. I want to show though your new ad, the Home of the Bre bad, which brings into focus some of the reasons why. Donald Trump, I used to support him, but going into a war, I don't support him now. Trucking is in everything you do. Everything that you see touch feel came in on a truck. And these surprises change tremendously. In January, he was costing about $700 to fill it up.

25:19I filled it up a couple days ago and it was over $1300. Every time somebody go to war, the price get out of our end. We don't want to be there going into a war, focusing on foreign countries that we have nothing to do with that don't help anybody. We don't have time to suffer. We have bills to pay families to feed people to take care of. With the way these prices are going, it's going to put us out of business for sure. Sarah, talk about the ad. Yeah, everything we consume travels via truck. And so these folks are on the front lines of the price increases that everyone across this country is experiencing. So that's why we at home with the brave wanted to go on scene and talk with these folks and talk to them about how Trump's war of choice with Iran is impacting them in their livelihoods. And as we know, as a result of Trump's war with Iran, the price of diesel has absolutely skyrocketed over $6. Sometimes $6.50 across this country. And so it's crushing

26:23them. And it's why we're seeing price increases for everything because it does percolate across every industry than as a result. And so Trump said that he was going to be the peace president and wouldn't get us into another forever war. And look what he did. He broke that promise. Trump said that he was going to be the guy who would make the price increases stop and that he would bring prices down on day one. That absolutely hasn't happened. And if anything, his policies have just exacerbated the affordability crisis that we were already facing in this country. And so that's what voters need to be reminded of is that it is his policies. They're a director's all of these price increases that you're experiencing. And we know that no one is being hit harder than these truck drivers. You know, Angela, I think there's something there's the sort of reality of this and it's a really important and good thing to highlight. But there's a subtext, right? The vibes of this are that we cover his assault and abuse of his perceived political enemies

27:29incessantly because it's important and some precedent that he's directing national security agencies, the FBI and the DOJ against his enemies. But the more abusive relationship is with his base, right? The people he humiliates are the people that believe him. The people he subverts and makes fools of are the Republicans who backed him. And that is really, really worthy of being lifted up and scolded on behalf of maybe voters and enablers who we don't have a lot of patience for because they believed him one, two, three times. But that is the real abusive relationship in the center of our politics. It's true. He said his aunt just limited to his sort of abstract supporters too. I mean, you know, he constantly humiliates Kempaks and they were just campaigning again yesterday and he rifted on him on his looks on his dress. Like he's just ripping the guy apart. And then if you think about the supporters, you know, I've always, you talk about you look at the voters and it makes you feel better. I kind of feel that way about callers to talk radio. So it gives a sense of the zeitgeist, but it also sounds to me like, oh, they're real too.

28:29And you know, Sean Handi was doing was interviewing Jayne events this week and complained about his callers. Said, you know, they were meant that there's so many of them are calling these days and all they're doing is complaining about how mad they are at the administration. And the throughline in what he was saying was that they were essentially all mad because the administration is constantly harming them, be it economically or in other ways and not listening to them. You know, if you, you know, it wouldn't use a hard to do it if you don't work in the media space, but look at local news in Texas. Listen to the ranchers that love the guy that talk about their support for him. And then immediately shift to how sad and upset they are that he's not listening to the damage that they're doing to their futures. How the generations that they've worked on is all going to be up in the air gone evaporate because of the policies that he's putting in place and worse because he's ignoring them. And in many ways, not just ignoring them, he's telling them that it's going to be better that it's better than it's ever been when their lived experience says otherwise. And so it's like it's constant insult to injury and a really abusive cycle. What shouldn't be surprising? But that is,

29:32you know, in some ways, you can burn in turn. That's a good marketing strategy, I guess. But in politics, it has these kinds of long tail consequences. And you're right. I don't think he gets highlighted enough, frankly. Well, someone guilty of not highlighting enough. It's because it's complicated, right? Because there have been people saying for 10 years that he's a liar and a scammer and his views are, you know, all transactions. He doesn't believe anything. But I think it has led some to have less sympathy, maybe, for the kinds of ranchers or truckers or small business owners or any part of the coalition that delivered him the presidency, you know, again, less than 24 months ago. And these defecations are newer. That's a fair point. You shouldn't lose sight of the fact. There were some regrets, but now they're really starting to turn into defecations. That is a relatively new thing. And I think the open question is what, what happens to them, right? Do they sit it out in four weeks? Do they, do they become open to Democrats like Tallariko or to some of

30:33the Democrats are we're not even talking about because the states are literally becoming battlegrounds as we're sitting here. But I think it is, it is important to lift them up and talk about how dramatic a ship that is in such a short period of time. Thank you all for doing that with me. Sarah Matthews, thank you for being here to talk about the ad and all these headlines, Angela and Rev Stick Around when we come back. It's a surprise. There's another glaring example of Donald Trump making bulls of his supporters and grifting and acting out his corruption in full view of the American people in the world to see. We'll talk about that next. Seven million Californians depend on community health clinics for their care, but Proposition 44 cuts billions from clinics. Under 44, hundreds of clinics will close and health services will be eliminated. That's why Prop 44 is opposed by nurses, doctors and patients. Vote no on the clinic shutdown proposition. No, on 44. Add paid for by no on Prop 44. Stop the attack on patients and community health clinics sponsored by California Primary Care Association

31:34Advocates. Add committee's top funders, ultimate health services and California Primary Care Association Advocates. Do you have a work injury? DTLA Log Group, California's injury law firm, we can get you compensation for your injuries. Pay zero upfront, text injury help to 40222 or visit us online at call downtown.com. Message and data rates and usage may apply. This has brought you by free. Google S. Quarer from dot on LA log group has been referred to 8247657FA, Los Angeles California dogar and teeth or predictions are made with the outcome or value of your case. This ad doesn't constitute an attorney-client relationship. Making a false or fraudulent workers compensation claim is a felony subject to up to five years in prison or fine of up to $50,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater or by both imprisonment and fine. You just got back to your Toyota truck and you can't feel your fingers. You've been out here for 13 days. Now, 16, 15, you've lost track. You're eating something you wouldn't dare look in the eyes while taking directions from a phone that ran out of signal miles ago. Every bone and muscle in your body has filed a formal complaint and the only gas you've got left is in the tank of your truck. But you know what? You're the happiest you've been in years.

32:35Toyota trucks outlast outlive. What you're looking at is an invitation to attend what is described as the most exclusive dinner in the world. The attendees will get to enjoy quote and evening with three legends and Donald Trump. Plus a not a legend, I guess. Plus a private meat and greek with a legend to be announced. That is one get to attend this dinner with three legends, Donald Trump and another legend. I don't know if that's five people. Well, by buying up the Trump meme coin, of course, Washington Sun is reporting that the same meme coin that has been the most lucrative of the multiple crypto products tied to the president. The president has earned $635 million from this venture since it started in 2025. As part of the $1.4 billion he has amassed since he's been president a second time. The Sun reports the winners will be chosen based on a

33:35formula that seems designed in part to increase sales of Trump the meme coin in the next two months. The Sun also reports that the White House referred them to the Trump org for comment and the Trump org then didn't comment. I want to bring in Norm Eisen. He's the co-founder of Democracy Defenders Action and publisher of the Contrarian. He also served in the Obama administration as special counsel and special assistant to the president for ethics and government reform. Angela and the rever still here. First of all, I'll just put a pin in my own obsession with the three legends, Trump and then another legend that's a mystery legend. What are we to make of this brazen flagrant cynical grift out and full view, Norm? Donald Trump made over $600 million of his $1.4 billion in crypto profits off of the meme coin

34:36while investors lost over $3 billion, almost $4 billion. Who are these legends, Nicole? Maybe it's Bernie made off, Bernie made off George Santos and Mr. Ponzi who invented the Ponzi scheme. I mean it's legendary grifters. Maybe he'll bring in the heads of corrupt regimes from China to Kazakhstan, where this kind of profit taking as a part of public office is normal. But I'll tell you, in America, the ultimate legend is public service. You're not supposed to be going in there to make billions for yourself. You're supposed to do it for the American people and they get this. Over 80% of Americans say the corruption is making life more expensive for them. Norm, 89% of Americans believe the federal government is corrupt. You now have

35:38basically everyone in the country except maybe the 11% is the tech bros who are at the White House for lunch this week. How do you come back from that? Well, there's no coming back. I mean, Republicans are abandoning strongholds like Georgia, North Carolina, center races. They're giving that up. We're preparing for a blue tsunami. Could flip both houses of Congress impacts around the country. People are so disgusted by this. It really is like nothing. We have ever seen in our country. It puts the international corruptors to shame. I mean, just a total disregard. And the American people are suffering while this goes on. They're seeing their costs go up, the cost of being alive. Yes, diesel. We were talking about everything moves by Trump. The diesel is over $6. The farmers

36:43are upset. I'm at democracy defenders. We're litigating a case where Donald Trump impounded almost a billion dollars last week, Nicole. We're litigating the case and we got an order stopping him over the housing money. I mean, who would take housing assistance away in the middle of an economic crisis like this? It's a reverse robin hood. Marie Antoinette would be ashamed to be seen with Donald Trump. It's just the worst thing we've seen on the corruption front in American history. What's amazing, Angela, is that like whoever the legends are, there are not any Republicans on the ballot. Like they won't be seen with him. And I don't know that anyone would call them legends. Certainly, don't Trump wouldn't call them legends. But the political toxicity is as far beyond debate as the brazenness of the corruption. And I keep coming back to the story of the Supreme Court, how in Republican politics, it's a voting issue and democratic

37:45politics. It doesn't come up as often for voters. But the reason Trump acts like this, I believe, is because they gave him immunity. Yeah. And a lot of people made a calculation that it was worth supporting Trump because they were going to get Supreme Court seats, right? That because they look at this as a long game. There's a lot of people that are in it for their bigotry and the revanchism and the revenge. And then there's a universe of people that are like, no, actually, I really am willing to make this trade off because it's more important to have that long-term systemic benefit. And yeah, Trump's going to do a bunch of damage, but I get this one thing. I get this lasting piece of it. And that is, you know, that does have consequences, not just day-to-day, but it is created. It is given him basically a Trump card. He doesn't have to worry about anything as far as he's concerned. I think the opinion is a little more nuanced now, but he doesn't have to. He really doesn't. He thinks he's above the law now. And so he can recently do these things. And he has propelled what would he reference last cycle, which is, or last segment, which is, he gets to, he's doing it to his own supporters. You know, these are not abstract people,

38:47at least the meme, you know, the people that are trying to get at the table, they're going to be the big guns. But the, you know, the two out of every three people that lost money that padded Trump's pockets, they were the front row joes. You know, with the people that go to his rally multiple times and sit there, that he has been ignoring that now don't want to go, but now he's pickpocketing. He's fleecing. He's doing a pump-and-dump scheme on them. What the president see as the, to get, you know, the coin to go up a little bit, he's going to sell a bunch of, you know, coins from big investors because they want access. And then you know, he's going to promise these legends and everyone's going to be super bummed out when they find out that it's like kid rock or something, you know? No. So bad. I don't, I don't even know if Trump would call him a legend. Norm, you had a big win in court. I want to bring the Revin on the grifting and the scamming. I have to sneak in a quick break first. We'll all be right back on the other side. Rev, I did some reporting or covered some of the reporting about how the crypto universe of the people in the industry and around it are totally disillusioned with Donald Trump. And it's, it's the same conversation we had at the beginning. Sometimes I'm, I'm slow to recognize the

39:51import politically because most of my brain says, well, what did you think he was going to do? He literally lies to everybody. But it is significant that even these parts of the coalition that proved significant enough to put him over the edge have realized in less than two years that it's all a scam. It's all a scam. And he has been scamming people all of his career. I mean, look at all of the bankruptcies and the Trump University. You know, when people look at Trump, they look as a New Yorker that fought with him for 40 years. You need to go to Times Square. There's a game they play called three card Monti where they play with, you know, guess which card the, the $20 build and they beat you every time. That's who he is. He's playing a card game. This time is crypto. And what he will learn is that people that are really sent in with some firm beliefs that he doesn't have who sooner or later get, get wisely. I think it was a, a good Republican A-Bring and

40:52said you can fool some of the people some of the time. You can fool all the people some of the time. But you have to all the people all the time. You can't fool all the people all the time. And I think that his time has really come where a lot of the base, I'm talking about his own base. These are pieces of his coalition. Wait a minute, I'm not playing that game because I cannot afford gas. I can't afford diesel. My health care is being pushed back. I'm dealing with a snap benefit. It's going, these are his people. And so you can't blame the other. It is not diversity that took diversity didn't heighten your gas prices. Diversity did not heighten your diesel prices. So he can't scapegoat this like he usually does. And that is with the chickens that come in home to lose. Yeah, but how do you cover it? Because these are people that were comfortable with all of his racism. Comfortable with all of his false attacks on diversity. I think that it is difficult to cover because they have been racist in some cases and and

41:54xenophobic in other cases. But I think that they must realize now that their racism and their insecurity about the other has come back to haunt them. Yeah. And that you just decided this hour with the unemployment number went up to where we're now 4.2. And we've got 3.6% white unemployment. It's 7.0% black unemployment. So how did we take your jobs when we're almost double unemployment? After a while people start looking at it and said, wait a minute, they don't have my job. They're more employed than we are. And unemployment is going up right before the midterm elections. Right. I'm normally had a big win in court that I want to give you a chance to talk about the what you were seeking that the case be dismissed and could never be brought again against Davey her and talk about it. Well, the case of three-time Olympian,

42:57many-time world champion Davey her and is a part of the corruption story Nicole that I've been so honored to join you to talk about week after week here as the American people really have woken up. And this one grabbed their attention. Davey is a wonderful man. He was on a bike ride over there near the reflecting pool and he touched the water. Nicole, he brought honor to his country by touching water in a kayak at a canoe for decades. And they made it into a federal crime. No, he did nothing. Donald Trump was scapegoating Davey her for what we force we file more than 7 motions. We force the government to admit this was a botched rushed installation and nothing having to do with Davey her. This week the judge said dismissed with prejudice was a big fight. He never has to face this again. The court has said it can't be brought again. Big win for Mr.

44:03her and if it could happen to him, it could happen to any American. So it's a win for all of us. Well congratulations to you and to him or the legal victory. Norma is in an Angela Carousel. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for being here. We'll see you on politics nation this weekend and happy early birthday. Thank you. My love to say that. I just did politics nation Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. of course. Quick break for us. We'll be right back. Someone who has become familiar to and beloved by viewers of this program and a rather obvious best person is Judge Esther Salas. She's of course a federal judge who son Daniel. She calls him Danny was murdered in her home in 2020. Since then, Judge Esther Salas has used her voice bravely to speak out about the threats to judges and she joins me on the newest episode of the best people podcast. It's out next week. Take a listen to what she told me about one of her approaches to the world now. Do you want to be someone that transmits your pain that transmits negativity or

45:09do you want to transform it? And I know you're a transformer. And I think a lot of us out there want to transform what's the difference? Explain that. Somebody who transmits their pain is somebody who I'm pissed off and I'm not being impeccable with my words right now, but I'm pissed off and you're going to feel it and you're going to make him mad. You're going to feel it. And I'm going to let you know I'm mad and I'm going to tell you that the sucks. And I'm going to walk in from traffic and I'm going to tell you for 20 minutes how the traffic stinks and this person doesn't know how to drive right? That's a transmitter. A transformer, someone who takes it, processes it and then says, wait a minute, how can I make this better? How can I how can I take this feeling that I have and make sure that I don't pass it on? And is that the opportunity we have right now as a country to transform absolutely? She's remarkable. The entire conversation is actually available for

46:09premium subscribers tonight. If you want to do that or become one, you scan the QR code on your screen to sign up right now. The episode will be available for everybody starting Monday. When we come back, Ari Melber has news. Something special to tell us about. We'll do that on the other side of a very short break. Thank you so much for letting us into your homes for another week of shows. We are so grateful. Seven million Californians depend on community health clinics for their care. But Proposition 44 cuts billions from clinics. Under 44, hundreds of clinics will close and health services will be eliminated. That's why Prop 44 is opposed by nurses, doctors and patients. Vote no on the clinic shutdown proposition. No, on 44. Add paid for by no on Prop 44. Stop the attack on patients and community health clinics sponsored by California Primary Care Association Advocates. Add committee's top funders ultimate health services and California Primary Care Association Advocates.