The Many vs. The Money w. April Ryan & Peggy Flanagan

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For a limited time, our listeners are getting a free full-size mascara on their first purchase when they use code HYS at checkout. Just head to jonesroadbeauty.com and use code HYS at checkout. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. Hello and welcome to hysteria. I'm Erin Ryan and today I am so excited to be joined by reporter and White House correspondent April Ryan. Welcome to hysteria, April. Thank you for having me, Erin. I'm so excited. It's Ryan Squared. Yeah, it's two Ryan's. You're the first other Ryan we've had on the pod. And OG listeners to crooked media properties might remember that it was a long standing inside joke that Paul Ryan was my dad. He's not my dad. But April, could we maybe start a new joke that you and I are cousins? I think so. I'm related to a lot of people, and it's so funny. I asked Paul Ryan, so do you think we're related? He looked at me. He said, "Yeah, we laughed about it." And my father told me, he said, "They're not many black lines, but I'm sure, and my daughter's doing ancestry.com. There are a lot of Ryan's, and we are connecting to Ryan's and Texas all over the place." Great. You just might be my husband. I'll see you at my family reunion in a couple years. All right. All right. All right. I'll bring the, I do a great chicken salad. Oh, heck yeah. Do it. Today, we are getting into some primary election results. The latest in Republican Max Miller's snowballing awfulness. His ongoing obsession with Dr. Fauci, plus, friend of the show, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, stops by to discuss her run for the U.S. Senate and her favorite foods at the Minnesota State Fair. Then we wrap with Sandy Petty. You're listening to "Historia," the podcast that does not even want to fathom how awful DC and August smells when there are so many men walking around to only eat kimchi and steak. April. Oh, April, did you catch the news story this week that RFK Jr. is leading a veritable brigade of men in a diet that consists of meats and fermented cabbage? So let me say this and I'm not going to give any credit to RFK Jr. who wrangles snakes at Dr. Oz's house, but what I will say, he does, that's his, that's his hobby, a part-time job, I guess. But at the end of the day, fermented foods are supposed to be good for you. And I guess if you're on that, if you have that sugar issue or some other health issues, you know, protein and meats, meats and other proteins and vegetables are good for you. But I have a hard time believing Robert Kennedy Jr. I do. I don't know, is it the way he speaks, is it the fight that he had with Dana Bash the other day? I don't know, is it the wrangling of the snakes? I don't know, is it the fact that he doesn't want fluoride in our waters, the fact that he doesn't like vaccines? I don't know, I just, I don't know, I just take, I will take the, I will take the science of credible researchers and doctors over the face of our health, the health and human services secretary. But at the end of the day, he is right about fermented foods, sour crowd is not just for Thanksgiving. No, it's not just for Thanksgiving, yeah. Absolutely. You know what, we're not going to give, we're not going to give the right fermented foods. You can take my kimchi from my cold dead hands. They do not get to have this, they do not get to claim sour crowd. Like I, I just, it was, but I do think I am the Charlton Heston of cabbage essentially. Yeah. But, you know, I think, I think this is a really important moment to be like, you know, first of all, I bet just, I'm just imagining like a sweaty elevator with a bunch of guys that are only eating like meat and sour crowd and just like all, but also like I'm, you cannot stop me from eating kimchi. You can even RFK Jr. cannot stop me from loving some fermented foods. He just can't. I'm just, I'm going to, I'm going to just have to accept that that's the one thing we do. I like fermented foods. Yeah. I do, we do, my kids, thank God, my kids love sour crowd, fermented foods are supposed to be healthy in the story. And I don't, I don't take my advice from a man who drinks blue stuff on a daily basis. You know, I don't know. They're fussing about Dr. Fauci, you know, who's been in the field for, what is it? 50 some odd years in that space and then the head of the infectious diseases for 30 some years. I don't know. I just, I have a problem taking advice from people who are knee jerk and learning on the job and go by what they feel versus the data. Yeah, indeed. Well, let's pivot from that silly and somewhat like I'm hungry and I'm also grossed out like I don't know what this, what this combination of feelings is right now. But let's pivot from that into something that's purely interesting, exciting. We had a democratic primaries last night in a few states. And Republican primaries too, but we don't, I'm not really focused on those right now. One of the most interesting results was one of the most watched races and one of the most expensive Democratic primary races in history. And that was the race to take over retiring Michigan Senator Gary Peters seat when he retires against the Trump endorsed Republican nominee Mike Rogers. The Democrats now have a nominee this morning, the AP declared that Abdul al-Sahead had defeated Haley Stevens in that hotly contested race. I mean, I don't live in Michigan. I'm not from Michigan. I feel like all of my algorithm was giving me Michigan Democratic primary content. April, were you seeing Michigan stuff everywhere too? Yes. And I'm going to tell you this is such a big issue because look at what happened in New York. Everyone lost their mind when my dummy became mayor. He is progressive and that's supposedly a bad word for some. And then because we are moving away from the moderate to the far left now. And then you know, a lot of people have said over the years and polls that they want middle of the road. And the extremism of Donald Trump is something that they don't want. But now the Democratic party, it seems to be picking it up being progressive on the far left. Now we saw it in New York, not just with Mondami, but some other elected officials. And you know Barack Obama is trying to mentor Mondani. He can't mentor all of the New York delegation that's progressive. Then you have Colorado, right? You have a Democrat that is progressive and now look at what's happening in Detroit. Well, in Michigan and some of those races, it was crazy because the numbers were plus 25 and 26 versus plus five or plus six or something like that. This is a reckoning. And this is serious with all jokes aside. This is a reckoning for the Democratic party. People see that the system is broken. They see that what was 10 years ago will no longer be they have to create something new. The Democratic party has to create this larger umbrella now. Because think about what happened. Remember that convention, the Democratic convention with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, there was some hard, hard feelings when Bernie Sanders is right. And this, that was not so long ago. So that was what 2016 or so. And that was not so long ago. And we have to now say, is this umbrella large enough to have all people under the tent? And you have to deal with all people. I mean, you know, this you call for universal healthcare. That's real. Look at what's happening with insurance right now. People cannot pay for insurance. And who was that man in New York that ran for mayor? He had the white gloves and always wore a black shirt. He said the rent is too damn high. He is absolutely right. Look at the price of houses. They're ski areas. It's untenable and affordable housing. Donald Trump doesn't even care about that. They've lost grant, grant monies for affordable housing because of doge cuts. Remember doge? Um, so I know that was so long ago. It wasn't long ago, but it feels like it was 50,000 years ago. I feel like I've aged 80 years since doge. Oh, if you age 80 years, oh my gosh, I feel like I've aged. I feel, I don't know. It's time has stood still in some moments and then time is almost like, wait a minute, that did happen. So it's coming to you like a fire hose. You can't take it in. It's too much. And that's why I believe we saw what we saw in Michigan. And the the potential nominee, according to AP, the official announcer of who's who in these elections, he's going to have to go to the Jewish community. He's going to have to go to the black community. He's going to have to be a candidate for all because there's a concern that he may not win in the general election. That right now is something that Democrats don't need. They need candidates that can win in the general. Totally. I, you know, it's funny. Like full disclosure, Abdul Al-Sahead used to have a podcast on the crooked media network. And so I've like co-hosted podcasts with him before. So it's kind of a, I feel like I'm about to black out sometimes. I'm like, oh, yeah, it's that guy I know who's like the Democratic nominee. I don't we don't normally allow men on this show, but we might make an exception. A Beto O'Rourke. We had a, we had a very prominent abortion doctor. And he could be number three. I think that that something interesting about the Michigan race was that it was very punishing. There was a lot of outside money coming in supporting the more moderate candidates. Even those Stevens and Abdul Al-Sahead have a lot of the same positions. And they, when they diverge on things, they diverge pretty sharply. But like most of the things they agree with, they're both Democrats, right? And I think that Al-Sahead won. He, he was able to prevail despite all of this money, but he was outspent by like an order of magnitude. And so I think that even though, you know, the Trump machine and Mike Rogers are about to turn all their attention on trying to paint him as a radical, he's had experience. He's had experience being painted as a radical. People that were trying to support Stevens were trying to paint him as a radical. Now I'm going to say to Stevens credit, she issued a very humble and concilatory statement like you won. I'm proud to support him. Like it was a very classy statement after the AP called the race, she called to concede. And so, you know, I think what's the saying that the primaries are when you fall in love and the the generals when you fall in line. And so I think that the, I think the Democratic voters in Michigan, I mean, November is not a long way away, but it's also forever away. Oh, no, it's not. Yeah, but it's also a lot can happen. It's like weeks and days away, okay? We're in the last swing of summer. And then you start school. And then after school, you have, what is it? Halloween and then you have the elections. So we're going to see who's going to be the scary face or the one that we can embrace. So an election day is on my daughter's birthday. So I'm going to take her to the polls and see what she has to say. Oh my gosh. She's now 18. She'll be 19. She's got a vote. Yes. Okay. That's great. You know what? I am a four year old. Yeah. Oh, I have a daughter who was born like shortly November 6th. So sometimes her birthday is on election day and sometimes it's election day. Sometimes it's not. And I'm like, it's such a bummer. Like also our producer of the show Caroline has a birthday that sometimes falls on election day. And it seems just like a huge. What's Caroline's birthday? Is it the third Caroline? Yeah, it's November 3rd. Good. So you're on my daughter's birthday in that election day. But listen, my mother, I thought my mother was going to step out of heaven and say, I'm going to give you all a gift at Howard University because she would have loved to have seen the first black woman be president. And it was her birthday November 5th. I will never forget that day being at Howard thinking, I said, okay, my mother being a feminist and a tree hugger and all of that stuff who's in heaven. She's going to say, I'm going to push for this. Well, I don't know. Maybe she just said, I don't know. She says, well, I'm a little tired. I don't know what it was her birthday on November 5th. And I said, this will be an interesting birthday gift for my mother. So I've got two people who fall on on election day in my family. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it can be a little tricky because now there are people who think that I'll do all sciad will be easier to defeat in the general. But I actually think that given what you mentioned April about a sort of anti system of ethos and voters right now, it's like, you know, the same anti-establishment impulse that drove people into the arms of Donald Trump. I haven't seen that change. Like people are still anti-establishment now. Even though the establishment is now Donald Trump, it's also failing people, as you mentioned, with affordability and housing, food, all everything. It's so to be interesting. But remember this, remember this politics is personal. How personal does it get when it hits your pocket when you are trying to pay for those club memberships to get cheaper gas? When you are going, look, I mean, really going through coupons now. So you can afford the price of eggs. Remember eggs doing the presidential campaign. I mean, it's affordability. Donald Trump, it's, this is not myth. This is not conjecture. He said, I don't care. He said it when they asked him when, when Rachel Scott asked him, when Rachel Scott asked him about being at the reflecting pool and all this money for the reflecting pool. And yet, you've got the gas issue. He basically told her, I did this to clean up the trash. Maybe you like trash. And then he called her a B. Do you not remember that? The man does not care. People are hurting. It is Marie Antoinette, let them eat cake. And then we also know what happened to Marie Antoinette. But I'm not even, and that's no parallel to what's happening here. But the only parallel is, is the fact that he is lavishing and making gold statues, golden sets. They were perfectly fine. Every time I rolled across the bridge, it was fine. They were majestic. Now they're bright gold. And you'll have sun glare all in your face. And as you're driving, and I mean, you know, it's ridiculous. They are beautiful statues without the gold. What is the price tag that the American taxpayer has to pay? Also, and Jeanine Perro was right. The construction people messed up that reflecting pool, that historic reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Who cared that it wasn't? What is it? American flag blue. Who cared? It was fine. Yeah. And now they're spending extra money that they're not telling you how much it's going to cost to repair. And it's all coming out of our tax dollars when we don't have money to pay for the increased cost of health insurance insurance has risen. They were supposed, when they came back to Congress, how can you, Jeff, please tell me, when they were coming back in Congress in January, they were supposed to deal with this. But then they had to deal with the war. They had to deal with so many other things. So that promise to fix it, fix insurance is still on the table. Hasn't been done. People are hurting. And at the White House, the president says, I don't care. Yeah, not only does he not care. Sometimes it seems like he deliberately selects people to work for him who are exactly as shitty as he is in the same way that he's shitty. Let's talk a little bit about Max Miller. Max Miller. I like that you can say that. I can't say that. I know. I know. I know. I'm full of fecal material. Yes. Yeah. He's full of fecal material. Fecal material. Okay. So representative Max Miller is, he's the representative for Ohio's seventh congressional district. A few weeks ago, his ex-wife Emily Moreno accused him of abusing her and their toddler daughter. The allegations are really awful, holding a gun to her head, throwing hot water at her body, fracturing the daughter's collarbone. Miller's up for re-election. I know. It's disgusting. And Miller said that it was, it was actually a seat belt. And it's like literally kids seat belts are designed to not break their collarbone. So what the fuck are you talking about? But Miller's up for re-election in a tight race against Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter. And on Sunday, the congressman live streamed for about 20 minutes, made it clear he did not plan to resign and denied the accusations. And during the stream, which was truly, I really want to know April, who told him to do that? What did he think he was projecting? Because what? Even his father-in-law, even his father-in-law, whose, you know, his father-in-law is saying, "Uh-uh, no. I'm going to tell you this. This is Ohio, and Ohio, good people, Ohioans, hard workers, they are what we look to for elections. This is not what we're looking to, right? This is a problem. And at the end of the day, at the end of the day, what I would say about this is that this is an episode of Bart Simpson, where somebody comes back and is, "Okay, this is awful." And he needs to get better publicity. This is happening in the state of Ohio, a state that is filled with good people, hardworking people. You know, it's that state, the bellwether state that we kind of look to for answers. What are people thinking in Ohio? This is an albatross, not only around Miller's neck, but is also around the state. I'm sure they are. asking for answers. His own father in law who's in politics is saying, uh-uh, this doesn't fly. He's not supporting him. This is not a Bart Simpson sketch. Okay. You know, I know a lot of Ohioans, my husband is a formal Ohioan. He loves the Simpsons, but this is not one of those sketches where the person, oh, something happens and they come back, fine, this is a, this is severe abuse allegations. Yes, you know, divorce can be messy or estrangement can be messy. But when you have a politician who is not doing the right thing, talking about what happened. He's talking about a car seat. Okay, you have a car seat and then put your child has a broken collarbone. That your child has a broken collarbone. This is not about politics. This is about humanity. This is about how you carry your business in your own home. If you are messing in your own home, what are you going to do for us? Absolutely. We've had enough of this. I wouldn't let this man water my plants. You know what I mean? Like why is he allowed to be a member of, I wouldn't let him feed a cat. I would be like, uh-oh, this guy's dangerous. I would, like, he would be disqualified from pretty much any other job. And, you know, to paraphrase what Senator Moreno said, and I'm no fan of Senator Moreno, but he has, you know, he spoke up and said that there needs to be a basic minimum standard for people that are going to represent people in Congress. And Miller doesn't meet that standard. Do you know why? Do you know why? And this is just my thought covering Washington for so long. Do you know why I believe he is pushing forward with this? Because you see Donald Trump say, oh, I'm going to deal with the Epstein survivors and the Epstein files during this campaign. And now as president, you've got Todd Blanch redacting, redacting, putting the lame Maxwell in this cushy space. I'm naming a call it correctional facility. It's like a summer camp. She's, she's living her best life in supposedly in a correctional facility. And then, you know, the survivors are vilified. And now they want to push it up. And that's one of the reasons why he feels he can get away with this. Because all of the politicians are not even getting their hands slapped for doing the most in the most egregious situations. So he feels, hey, I'm just like this too. And that is not what America needs right now. We are so lost. We're trying to rebuild fix. The founding fathers never imagined hysteria. They never imagined the internet. They never imagined Saturday night life. They never imagined, and they were why I'm covering the White House being the longest serving Black White House correspondent or African-American White House correspondent in the nation's history. They never imagined Barack Obama. And I'm damn sure, no, that they didn't expect a Donald John Trump, who says, I don't care. And that's, this is not, this is not the America that we have looked to for years. Yeah. Let's see what Ohio does. I mean, here's the thing. Donald Trump is, you know, Teflon Don, right? Nothing sticks to him. But I don't know that. Yes, it does. Well, I don't know that the same principle applies. Like he's, Donald Trump is getting away with a lot of things and eventually, hopefully, the consequences of his actions will catch up with him. But for other candidates, for other politicians who are accolades of Donald Trump, they're not quite as slippery. Like they, they, things stick to people. They don't get to live the way Donald Trump lives because consequences do apply to them, even though they might be delayed. And I just have to say that Miller has, this isn't like an outlier. This isn't just a bitter divorce and these, these accusations are coming out of nowhere. Miller has been credibly accused of being a violent shithead many times in the past profile from Politico in 2021, interviewed more than 60 people that spotlighted Miller's violent history. I'm going to read a quick excerpt from that now. This is from the political. Yeah, the political, the political piece from 2021, ranging from people who grew up with Miller in the affluent Cleveland, inner suburb of Shaker Heights to those who worked with and for him the White House and on Trump's campaigns, some of whom were granted anonymity because they fear retaliation from Miller, Trump or both. These people told me Miller can be a cocky bully with a quick trigger temper. He has a record of Donald Trump. Yeah, he has a record of speeding underage drinking and disorderly conduct documented charges from multiple jurisdictions that include a previously unreported charge in 2011 for driving under the influence that he subsequently pleaded down to a more minor offense. And barely more than a year ago, according to three people familiar with the incident, Miller's romantic relationship with former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham ended when he pushed her against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her. Now, here's more. He had an anger problem said a person who knew him well in Shaker Heights. He could be very scary. Said a second, I can like see the red face said a third and talking to people who knew worked and spent time around Miller a decade or more in Washington, I heard echoes mean said one person abrasive said a second volatile said a third. Now Ohio already elected this guy. Do you think that this is a bridge too far for voters in Ohio? Do you think Miller's seat flips? So let me say this. Yeah, this is a bridge too far. Ohio is not necessarily in the Donald Trump camp and this this guy is almost a mirror. Stephanie Grisham, we need to hear from her because she's she's been talking a lot. She's talked about what's happening with Donald Trump. She's talked about Melania. She's talked about like now we need to hear from her. You know, a lot of this is interesting that you hear from people, but I want to hear from Stephanie Grisham and I also his wife. You cannot negate that. That is something. A lot of people can say things to smear your name and in that Trump camp, they say a lot of things if they don't like you, they'll smear you, right? But I want to hear from Stephanie Grisham and I want to hear from his wife more so because these are people who've had more of an intimate relationship. I believe what they're saying, but I know the Donald Trump camp. I don't I hate to say it. I don't trust them that much, but those are the two people I want to hear from and at the end of the day, I believe the ex-wife, the child has a broken caliber. He admitted that it was from a car seat, but a car seat doesn't damage a child. The car seat has so many safety mechanisms to protect the child. How did the he must not know about a car seat? He must not have put anything. That's a good point. That's a good point because if you've ever used a car seat, you're like, no, that couldn't that couldn't possibly happen. I have fought with many a car seat back in the day and that, you know, I have put them in trying to get I've gone to the fire department because I didn't know how to put them in because in our community, the fire department puts them in and all of those safety latches, there's nothing in there to hurt the child. It's so reinforced to cushion and protect the child. What did he do with that car seat? Did he take the car seat and enter with it? I mean, there's so many safety precautions, especially now, I was 18. The last time I dealt with the car seat was 18 years ago and now the car seat is so different and better prepared for anything, any accident. And yet, she's got a broken collarbone from a car seat. You need to do some explaining up in here for me. Yeah, I don't understand that. He also released a bunch of audio that really didn't make him look good. He also tried to, he thought it was a gotcha that he was like, yeah, she took our daughter to the ER in defiance of a court order. It's like, you're mad that your wife took your two-year-old with a broken collarbone to the ER and there will be no judge that would say it was slap her hand for doing that. The child is hurting. It's always about the child, their safety and the reunification of the family. But I don't know how they're going to reunify this. But at the end of the day, he needs to get some good, he needs Olivia Pope. Penny's somebody because he's not doing too well with his PR in this because he looks like he's making himself look worse. He looks like an actor from a lifetime movie, like a lifetime movie about a privileged boy who cannot control himself, who is abuse and abusive monster, despite advancing to the top of society. He literally, but he's not handsome enough. They would pick a handsome actor in a lifetime movie. But Lauren, I am so glad that you watch lifetime in Saturdays and Sundays like I do. Oh my gosh. After you clean the house and there's nothing else to do before dinner, it's like I just binge watch. You are absolutely right. It's a bad lifetime movie. Yeah, absolutely. But I like lifetime so. No, I mean, the goodness of them is that they're so bad. Like, that's why we like them. House Speaker Mike Johnson has finally weighed in and in his typical kind of melee mouth, wet noodle, Howard Lee's style. Here's what he said on Wednesday morning. I will tell Max what I tell everyone. These are serious allegations. I'm the father of two daughters who work on Capitol Hill. I mean, the allegations are serious. I think Max is taking them seriously. I think our colleagues are. But again, we have to allow this process to play out. It's just begun. He also said, there's all sorts of domestic events going on with 435 members of Congress all the time. It's not my business to get engaged with it. I hate this as a father of daughters thing. Does it bother you the way it bothers me, April? It bothers me in the fact that he's very dismissive of it. But in the meantime, you have a child hurting and you have an ex-wife complaining. trying to save the party. Look at this. There is, this is so political. This pain is political. Okay. Look at what they're doing with Donald Trump. Holding their nose, turning their eye, closing, closing one eye, turning their head, doing all that kind of stuff. Those massinations to keep Donald Trump in office as his poll numbers are underwater. This is the same exact thing. Let me tell you. Right now, there are no checks and balances for Republicans. They're not having oversight hearings on these Republicans. He needs, well, the ethics committee there, there is ethics investigation, but at the end of the day, they're trying to protect their numbers. They're trying to stay in office. So they are trying, Mike Johnson is trying to preserve his party and preserve what Donald Trump wants over humanity and the safety of people. This man is off at the very least. That's my opinion. It is really, doesn't it, it reflects such a hollowness that I think normal people find very scary that you care so much about your political party, that you're willing to overlook the health of a baby. And women as Mike, as Mike Johnson's talking about women, his children, this man is going to be sitting up here looking over bills that deal with women. I wouldn't trust that. He feels, it feels like he doesn't have an ounce of decency in his body. It feels like, and I can be wrong, he doesn't like women. I mean, just what I'm seeing with Stephanie Grisham is his strange wife and his baby girl. That alone, I mean, imagine all the other things, and I'm not going to listen to what Trump folks say. Imagine if his constituents, I want to hear what the constituents say, have they gone to his office and tried to talk to him because and see what he says. I want to hear from Stephanie Grisham, the strange wife, and the people of Ohio that he represents because this is ridiculous. But if I was a woman going to him appealing for certain things, I would be very afraid. He does not sound like a nice man at all. I wouldn't want to work for him at all. All right, we're going to take a quick break when we come back. Another Republican. Another Republican that a woman should not really want to work for will be right back. Hysteria is brought to you by Ritual. 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Terms and conditions may apply. You're listening to hysteria, the podcast that knows that if your old man boss is buying you presents, that's a bad sign. All right, let's talk about Chuck Edwards. Chuck Edwards, it was announced on Wednesday morning will not be seeking reelection after all. This after a lot of creepy allegations came out this week about him. At this point, it's starting to feel like being a creep is a prerequisite for men in elected positions, especially GOP positions. No, Republican men who follow Trump. Yes, absolutely. Republican men, it's the same MO. I mean, it's the same MO, but Trump doesn't get in trouble, but everybody else. Well, North Carolina representative Chuck Edwards, violated House rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces according to findings from the House Ethics Committee. And the House Ethics Committee called for him to be censured. Now, according to the committee's report, he gave numerous gifts to two young female staffers, including, you ready for this? Over $1,000 worth of jewelry, designer purses. That's cheap. That's cheap. Go ahead. Oh my God. Guns. He gave them guns, matching pink and blue guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cell phone, a kitchen aid mixer. Okay, a kitchen aid mixer. That's like, now I do like a kitchen aid mixer. Okay, I got I've got two. I've got two. That's a good. I'm not saying that he should, that's like, that's okay gift, but he also gave designer purses, which kind? That's what I want to know. Well, vacations are a robotic vacuum tickets to performances and one-on-one dinners. He complimented their physical appearances. He wrote romantic notes and he even skipped votes in the House so he could help decorate one of their Christmas trees. Now, he's been married since 1980. Chuck Edwards has been married since 1980. He's a man in his he's a man in his 60s, but he brought one of his staffers instead of his wife to the 2024 White House Christmas party. Just to note, these staffers were young, young. They were like prefrontal lobe being fully developed under 25. Oh my God, you're going to the frontal lobe. So listen, so listen, it's an easy it's an easy way to get away with saying, Oh, this is my staffer. My staffer is staffing me at the party. So he could get away with that. But if he's like, out romantically looking romantic with them, that's a problem where people will start looking. So going to the White House Christmas party with her, that people could say, Oh, he's with his staffer. He didn't bring his wife, but his staffer is staffing him. We're working for him. But let me say this, they don't make a lot of money, okay, being in public service. The laptop flowers. Okay, you can buy flowers at a decent price. What kind of designer persists? Shoes, guns aren't cheap. A laptop's definitely not cheap. What kind of cell phones go for a thousand dollars a pop? The kitchen eight makes it. What kind of vacations was it on the taxpayer dollar? Okay. Yeah, was it a fact pending mission? Yeah, right. It's just like the White House thing, then they could kind of get away with that. What kind of tickets to performances? Who was it? Taylor Swift? Was she a Swiftie? Was I don't, you know, was it Beyonce? Was it Cardi? I know it wasn't Cardi B. Not from people from North Carolina. He would just yuck everybody's yum at a Cardi beat concert. They'd be like, what is this? He's obviously a cop. What's he doing here? He's an undercover something doing something. Yeah. Let me say this. This is isn't new. This isn't new. We've heard these kind of things before. And like I said, they can get away with it because if we're in a one-on-one dinner, oh, we're working. If I take her to the White House Christmas party, she's working for me. She's staffing me. They get away with that. The vacations, not so much. But you know, at the end of the day, it's creepy man, it's creepy man and power and dangling these little things in front of a young girl who's impressionable, who works for him. It's an abuse of power at the end of the day. And you were saying the frontal lobe, the frontal lobe is not fully developed. Oh, he's dangling persons. He really likes me. And then he's probably saying, oh, I'm going to leave my wife, which is not going to happen. But you have been busted. You have been busted. And I mean, if I were a mother of these young girls, I would tell them, leave these old nasty men alone because they want to take your youth at the end of the day. But he's being busted and now her name is going to be smeared through the mud. But at the end of the day, this is not what it's about. This is not, I'm tired of this happening in Washington. And I'm glad the House Ethics Committee is dealing with him because at the end of the day, this has got to stop. We've heard about this over and over and over again. And this is not new, but this is the newest case that is in our face. Yeah, I wanted to ask you, you've been in Washington for so long, I'm sure you've seen it all. And like you, I'm not that old. Well, but you are the longest serving black White House correspondent. So that is, that's, that's a feather in your cap. But do you have nine years? Yes. Oh my gosh. And is this something you see a lot on the hill? Like, like old men kind of prowling around their young staffers, trying to step on that line. And the staffers, they prowl around anybody who pays attention to him. I started my second term, I started, started washing the second term Bill Clinton. So you know what that brought. It brought the race initiative and also Monica Lewinsky. So it's just a, it's just a problem throughout Washington. It is. And, but it was happening even before then. Those little sweets that they used to have, you know, the leaders used to have sweets in, in, in Congress. And they've kind of shut that down now. But at the end of the day, these kids have got to understand when you go there, you're going to work for the people, the people, we the people. And you got to understand these are men, they're human beings as well. But you can't take their advances as, oh, I'm going to be his wife and everything. I don't know what they promise. I don't know. Well, we know they're giving them gifts to keep coming back. We know that that's the law. But at the end of the day, if I were a mother of any of these children who going to intern or work there, I would have a long conversation. Because power, power corrupts, power, if power goes unchecked, a lot of this kind of stuff can happen. And it does happen. You hear stories over and over again. And it's a sad situation. It's a sad situation, how these things happen. And they're just brushed aside or talked about. There is a real problem needs to be dealt with in Washington with this. And again, the law of power, Senator, a congressman or president, it's something. Yeah, it really feels like a kind of rotten system. I know I've said rotten twice, but it just feels like it's just so gross. At least Edwards has the decency to kind of, you know, realize which way the wind is blowing step aside. Max Miller has gone. Yeah, Max Miller is still defiantly insisting that he's going to run for election. Ohio versus North Carolina. Yeah. Now, look, oh, North Carolina is purple now. What is Ohio? I don't know. What shade the red or blue? I don't know. I would say it's like a little blue in the red. I don't know. Yeah. It's a little bit of blue in the red because remember a few years back, they passed in like an abortion amendment in shining the right to abortion in their state constitution and it passed handily. So we know that there's the ability for voters who have progressive ideas to mobilize and actually show up to the polls. And I can only imagine that if Max Miller, and again, today our Wednesday is the last day for him to drop out of the race in time for Ohio to find a replacement for him for the GOP and Ohio. So, you know, will he stand? Will he, will he leave? I feel like there's probably some furious phone calls happening in both directions aimed at him. But let me say this, it has to be pressure from the people. It has to be pressure from the people because look what's happening in Kentucky, the pressure on Mitch McConnell, you know, the people have to scream. I mean, even in Kentucky, you've got these crazy videos, these social media videos of Mitch McConnell doing the thriller dance, you know? I mean, everybody's trying to figure out. And I've been told that if Mitch McConnell doesn't come back in September, they're going to shut it down in the Senate. And I'm like, what? So the people have to speak. That's when the ball starts moving. The democratic governor in Kentucky is hearing from the people. There's so much speculation. Mitch McConnell is saying anything. There should be an active senator somewhere in Kentucky, in the poorest of the poor areas and in all the areas that Mitch McConnell covers. And then look at this, it takes the people. I am a firm believer. And we talked about this early. You said Donald Trump doesn't care. Yes, he does. When the people speak out, remember that first No Kings Day march and all those people came out the first one of this term. He did that fly over King Trump and the jet and then put all the fecal matter on the drop, the fecal matter. He was watching. He was paying attention to the people. But it has to be persistent and consistent for people to say, get the F out of here. Just like you said the whole word. But you know, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, Miller should not be there. He has there is there is a question of what he did to his daughter. Just on that alone, there should be a press conference and information for the people of Ohio. All of these allegations come. It's going to take the people to really push on this. And people have got to stop just going on on tick-tock and Twitter. It takes you to pick up your phone and call and demonstrate. It takes that for people to say, wait a minute, this is moving. Because if you all you're doing is going on social media and just saying one thing or two, that's like, oh, that's just for now. But you got to get out that they listen when you come together, you're persistent and consistent. It changes things. It does. Well, you don't believe me here. You that yeah. We'll see what happens with we'll see what happens with Miller. I, you know, just gauging his entire attitude in his whole vibe. I don't think that he's somebody who drops out. And I think that he is so ego-driven that it really doesn't matter what other people want. It just matters what he wants. And I guess we're going to find out how voters in Ohio react to that. He's a narcissist. Absolutely. Now, both Chuck Edwards and Max Miller are part of the crooked dozen, a list vote, say, of America crafted out of the most beatable Republicans in the house. If you want to get involved in the fight to take them down, head to votesafeamerica.com. hysteria is brought to you by into cloud. There's always another headline, another update, another reason to refresh the feed. And at some point your brain deserves a little space. There's a difference between staying informed and letting the entire feed follow you for the rest of your day. Don't I know it? At some point, a proven way to decompress starts to matter. That's where into cloud comes in. 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THC sodas for creating space from the feed extra strength, sleep gummies for protecting your sleep from the scroll and flower for slowing down. down after information heavy days. The world can keep talking. You do not have to listen every single second. If you're 21 or older, go to indecloud.co. That's dot-co.not.com and use code hysteria for 30% off your first subscription order. That's indecloud.co. hysteria for 30% off, delivered routinely and discreetly to your door, plus free gifts and free shipping on qualifying orders. And don't forget to fill out the quick survey when you order to support this show. Enjoy responsibly and a huge thanks to Indecloud for helping everybody stay informed without letting the feed take over the rest of the day. hysteria is brought to you by Wild Alaskan Company. Like most people, I know what it takes to eat healthy. But the problem that I have is that when I am home and I open up my fridge or my freezer, I'm like, okay. 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Today we're joined by one of the candidates I am most excited about. Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who is currently running to represent the land of 10,000 lakes in the Senate Peggy. Welcome back to hysteria. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here. Yes, happy to have you. So we're less than a week away from the primary in Minnesota. How's everything going? It's going great, no problems. No, I'm so, I'm incredibly excited about what we have built over the last year and some change. We've got folks who are out there knocking doors. We've knocked over 100,000 doors by the end of July. I think July 31st and we are on track to knock another 100,000 doors by primary election day, August 11th. We've had Bernie Sanders come to town, Elizabeth Lauren, and Tina Smith, who currently holds a seat, has been on our team for a very long time. So we've got a lot of momentum and I'm excited for election day. All right, well, so for noun Minnesotans or for people who haven't been following the race, can you fill us in on who your primary opponent is and kind of how the race is going? Sure, so I just say, you know, my primary opponent is Congresswoman Angie Craig. She has made the choice to take corporate PAC money in this election, I have not. And I think the other biggest difference between the two of us is that she voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act and was the only Minnesota Democrat to do so. The Laken Riley Act for folks who are not familiar, was the first vote out of the second Trump administration that essentially was Trump's immigration bill. It stripped immigrants of due process allowed for indefinite detention. And then I think essentially, right, has given the green light to the Trump administration for what we saw here in Minnesota and across the country. Congresswoman Craig later went on to think ice as they were separating families in Los Angeles. And I think you can stand with the immigrant community and stand with your values all the time, not just when it's politically expedient. So this campaign ultimately is about the many versus the money. And I'm betting on the many, I'm betting on us. Lieutenant Governor, all over the country, primaries have gotten kind of messy. Like we're speaking on the day of the Michigan primary that has kind of famously captured a lot of national headlines. But what's it been like for you navigating all the noise of being in a primary that's gotten a little bit messy? What's worked for you for actually reaching voters with your message? Well, I think, you know, I kind of think messy is good because, you know, we are really making choices right now about the kind of democratic party that we want to build, that we want to take into the future. And I think the overall message that we're hearing from all across the country is that people are ready for big bold change and they are sick of folks nibbling around the edges. And that's, you know, what I've heard loud and clear from Minnesota, right? They don't want to govern by sternly worded letter anymore. They want us to actually fight for stuff. So, you know, the way that we've gotten our message out there is to literally be everywhere. I've been to 112 communities have done over 270 events. Oliver Minnesota from, you know, the East Grand Forks VFW to the basement of the Hibbing Library next to the Bob Dylan exhibit to people's living rooms and garages. Like, this is how we're supposed to campaign. And I think, you know, the way you campaign on the ground meeting people where they're at should also be, you know, demonstrative of how you're going to govern. Actually talking to people and making sure that you're bringing their voices into the capital. So, that's what we've done and it seems to be working for us. And I just, I think the future of the Democratic Party runs right through Minnesota. Do we want, you know, corporate packs in these big money groups and AI tech billionaires to put their thumb on the scale in our politics? So, do we want, like, people-powered campaigns where we can demonstrate that organizing works and being accountable only to Minnesotans in this race, I think, is the way to go. Now, as you mentioned, Minnesota and Minnesota have been hit particularly hard by ICE and their raids and the violence against the people of Minnesota. How did that reveal what is important to Minnesotans? And what are your plans to fight for that in the Senate? So, I would say a couple of things. You know, I think the news cycle has moved on and we are still here. The impact of over 3,000 federal agents in our streets, both just the essentially terror that they inflicted on us. I'm a mom and a child advocate, so I think a lot about how our kiddos have been impacted and that there are now children who have an adverse childhood experience score or an ACE score simply because ICE was here and then, of course, Renee Good and Alex Pretty, two Minnesotans who were killed. That is something that I think will never heal. And so this is, I think, ever present on the minds of Minnesotans and especially a folks who've been involved and engaged in this campaign. And for me, it's incredibly important that what the federal government and I would say specifically the Trump administration and those who empowered him have laid at our doorstep. We need to make sure that they restore and repair and heal what they have broken. The fact that these folks have over $240 billion, I can think of a lot of ways to spend that money on health care and child care and infrastructure and that then, you know, raising wages for folks. Those feel like the things that we need to fight for. But I absolutely believe that we can have an immigration system that is grounded in, you know, safety and dignity. Secure borders and a pathway to citizenship for folks who've been here. And, you know, I'm Catholic. I'm Native American and Catholic and that's complicated and here in some time we'll unpack all that, you know. But, you know, I paid attention in CCD, right? And I know that our job is to welcome the stranger. And when I am at Mass every Sunday, our community there has been through so much. And it is worth fighting for. And again, I just think about for my opponent, who was like, we never knew that Donald Trump was gonna use this law this way. I'm just like, you were not paying attention because there were immigrant rights groups, the ACLU, labor organizations, and these just like flashing red lights that, you know, we're like, do not vote for this bill. This is what's coming. And since then, she has said that she regrets her vote and that's good. I'm glad. But I also know like the first community meeting that I went to after the election with regards to how we were gonna respond to Trump's promise, right, of Mass deportations now was on November 16th of 2024. We are not the same and that is part of the choice here. And, you know, I've used the words that I want to avenge Minnesota. And, you know, part of that is again, this healing that needs to happen, but also to ensure that this can never ever happen again. And the Trump administration is also called to account for what they did to us. But I also hope that people know that the way that Minnesotans responded, we care a lot about our neighbors and we care a lot about fairness. And so I think that's what you saw on the streets of Minnesota, of people showing up for each other. But I also hope that it demonstrated to people that we are not powerless in the face of Donald Trump. We are in fact quite powerful. And that is, I think what makes them nervous, frankly. And now we are organized and we're going to keep pushing back and fighting for each other. Well, you mentioned kids and being worried about kids. Our hysteria group chat popped off when we saw that Ms. Rachel endorsed you. Ms. Rachel, for everyone who doesn't have kids, is basically the closest thing that most people with children under five have to a god. That we all, she, we all owe her child support. She makes these videos that are great for kids and beautiful little songs. And she has like a line at Target. She's a, she is a giant star. And she's also a very outspoken advocate for the safety of children. She included you in her list of candidates who care about all kids. So first of all, I want to know how this went down on your end. Did you get a heads up before Ms. Rachel made that post? And like, how did you react when you saw it? - So I did not get a heads up. That Ms. Rachel was going to endorse her campaign. And I kind of freaked out. And I'll tell you, I got a lot of text messages from folks across Minnesota and across the country who were like, OMG, yes, OMG Ms. Rachel. But I'll see, I will say a couple of things about that. One, you know, I am, you know, the former Head of Children's Defense Fund. I majored in child development. Like this is, this is my jam, right? Like doing as much as we can for our kiddos and their families. And I think of Ms. Rachel really as the Mr. Rogers of our time. You know, Fred Rogers was so grounded in, you know, what is developmentally appropriate for children that he didn't ever make fun of kids. Like he met them where they were at and respected them. And consistently, you know, was a voice of fairness and justice. That's what Ms. Rachel is doing right now. And that's hard to do, I think, in this era, right, of influencers or, you know, taking risks. But I think that's also what's required of us in this moment. So, you know, she has been crystal clear that the genocide in Gaza and in particular, the impact that it has had on children is just a line for her. And I think that moral clarity is really, you know, powerful. I am not Apex candidate in this election. That is Apex candidate is Angie Craig. But, you know, for me, the same values around making sure that kids get breakfast and lunch at no cost at school is, you know, those are the same values behind why I think it's important to make sure that we just don't write blank checks to Benjamin Netanyahu. And so to have Ms. Rachel on Team Peggy is pretty, pretty powerful, pretty powerful for me. So, yeah, I kind of geeked out and I think if I ever have the opportunity to meet Ms. Rachel, it'll be hard. I think I'll have no chill. And you know, we'll just still have to watch that happen. But, you know, she's a powerful advocate and activist in overalls and a pink headband. And I am here for it. Heroes don't wear capes, right? So, I could see that as a Halloween costume for you. - 100%. And in fact, I literally have everything to do it. So, you just, you inspired me. I'll have to, the high pony might be a little hard with the bobby haircut, but I'm not. - You could probably, you could probably find a prosthetic ponytail or something. - 100%. You mentioned like free school lunch, free breakfast for kids, making sure they're not going hungry. You also mentioned freeing children from the oppression of ice terror. What are some other ways that caring about kids manifests in your policy perspectives? - Sure, I mean, I think it is foundational to everything that I do. And like my occupation or like my job might change, but my vocation is the same. You know, when I was a children's defense fund, I shared the campaign to raise the minimum wage interstate and index its new inflation. That was all motivated, you know, by supporting kids. Paid family and medical leave, which I started organizing on when my daughter was still portable, she will absolutely be taller than me by the end of the summer. That also, right, was motivated, you know, by supporting children and what's appropriate in child development, making, you know, those investments and our little ones and their families, where oftentimes, you know, you have a baby or you adopt a new child and they're like, good luck, right? Like, we're going to give you this human and you have to figure it out, right? And I remember, you know, my kid was dad when we took a Shavan home from the hospital. It was like, great, you're a child development major. Like, you know, this is going to be fantastic. I was like, listen, I know when she's supposed to have object permanence. Like, I have never raised a baby before. - Right, right, why are they so floppy? They're so floppy. - Oh, floppy. - So, little different, but here's what I would say to you. Like, you know, there are only four moms, with children under the age of 18, serving in the United States on it. And like, boy, can't you tell, right? So, you know, for me, I want to continue the fight that Elizabeth Warren and Senator Tina Smith have led on with universal childcare, both to make sure, right, that it's affordable and accessible for families, and also that we make sure that we are paying these people, you know, folks who care for our children, a livable wage and that this is a career and something they can do for a long time. That work is incredibly valuable. A national paid family and medical leave program as well. And then Medicare for all. You know, I'm a kid who grew up on Medicaid. I am alive today because of it. And I watch families across Minnesota make impossible choices with like $16,000 deductibles and who they're going to cover in their family, maybe just the kids or maybe their plan is, you know, to just say a prayer that nobody gets sick for a year. Those are the things that are motivating, you know, me, those stories, you know, my lived experience, but also just we're not talking about children and families enough in our politics. And especially, you know, we are not talking about those first years when you, you know, bring home a child when, you know, you're sort of on your own until they start kindergarten. We can do so much better. And I think we just need to change the butts and the seats. And, you know, and there's a lot of opportunity for us in this cycle to send more people who understand what it's like to stretch 20 bucks through the end of the month. And like, you know, taking care of a sick kiddo and the worry that the parents experience, I want, you know, more voices like mine and others serving in Washington, 'cause frankly, I think we get better results. - Let's zoom out a little bit. Your campaign and how much, I would say, momentum it's gotten, because I hear about it a lot out here on the West Coast, and I swear, I don't have a Google alert for you, Peggy. But, you know, it's gotten national attention. You've become a candidate that has gotten national attention and there is a slate of progressive. candidates who are running in Democratic primaries across the country, who have gotten a lot of national attention. What do you think this means for the future of the Democratic Party? Well, I think what it means is that people are ready for change. And I think that there are folks who have gotten involved in these races all across the country who have maybe never gotten involved in politics before. That is a good thing. That should be something that we are excited about and building. And when I think about the opportunities for us in 2027, once many of us get to the United States Senate and to Congress, it's to then be good organizers and power map the heck out of Congress and decide what we are going to move on and what we're going to do together. Because I think people are going to be paying really close attention. And this will set us up for, you know, what are the fights that we're having in 2028 as we are picking a presidential candidate. I just think people want to believe again. And when we show up, when we build relationships with people, when we stop nibbling around the edges, when we're fighting for the things that people actually want us to fight for, instead of, you know, being beholden to corporate packs or, you know, these billionaire donors and are beholden to actual people, that's when the real work gets done and can happen. So I am eager to continue, continue that work, get through this primary, get through the general, and then, you know, the big fight begins, right, when we are in Washington, DC. But again, I like our chances because having a strong inside outside game and what I mean by that is that you are accountable to people, to communities, to organizations on the outside and then you bring them in with you. That's what we've been able to do here in Minnesota for the progressive winds that we've had on paid family leave, you know, nation-leading child tax credit and giving, you know, lunches and breakfast to kids at school. All of those things came from good organizing work and having relationships with real people and that reciprocity. And I think that that's something, frankly, that's missing in Washington, DC. We can do better. And that's what all of this is about. Again, the many versus the money, I think that is a theme throughout so many of these races across the country. And it turns out people are interested in the politics of the many and getting big money out of our politics. So, and gets the root of all of our problems and I make eager to, you know, get to work on that in Washington, DC. All right, Peggy, one fun question before we wrap. Okay, Minnesota State Fair starts in what, two and a half weeks? Two and a half weeks. Minnesota State Fair, best state fair in the country. 100 percent. Hands down, take that Texas. Hands down the best state fair in the country. But one of the things that they are famous for is just like incredible, weird, amazing fair food. Is there anything that you are just itching to try this year? So, there is a long list and categories of the food that I am excited to try. And do you have like a spreadsheet? Yes, so, so, Erin, the Minnesota State Fair is my favorite thing in the whole world. It is, I literally have my State Fair ribbon skirt that I wear on the first day of the fair. I have t-shirts for each day based on what I will be doing. And I will just show you and I know for our friends where this is, you know, an audio, you know, medium only. But I am going to just hold these up. I've got my pranopub earrings and a series of earrings that I have for the State Fair. So, this is no joke and I'm so glad that you said that the Minnesota State Fair is the best state fair in the country. Because some people waver a little bit. There is one and only, the one and only Minnesota State Fair is the best state fair in the country. And now that I am 46, all of the groups that are coming to the grandstand are age-appropriate for me. My time has come. Last year was Indigo Girls this year. It's like TLC and Envog, Jordan Knight from the New Kids on the Block. Which you know, absolutely. New Kids forever. Yeah, absolutely. You know, so like it is, it's going down the Minnesota State Fair. But yes, I will absolutely blog everything that I, you know, eat every day. It is, you know, like we got the classics. I'm a pranopub kind of gal, you know, sweet Martha's cookies. Of course. You know, and but always. jalapeno cheese and a stick. Pickle pizza has become one of my new faves. Cheese curds from the mouth trap. It's not the mouth trap. It's the mouth trap. So I will, I will be there. And if you see me at the Minnesota State Fair, just to all of your, your listeners, please say hi. Like it is my favorite thing. And I will embrace you with a big hug. And of course, I will probably have food in one of my hands. Oh my gosh. I'm like, it's, it's breakfast time. I'm really hungry. And I'm like, I'm like, could, should I eat a corn dog? Should I have a corn dog today? I think that's maybe a sign that I need to get some food in my body. If I'm like craving the corn dog at nine in the morning, although I feel like at the State Fair, it's airport rules. Time doesn't matter. You can eat whatever you want. You can drink whatever you want at whatever time. You want a coffee at 10 pm. That's fine. You want a beer at 10 am. That's fine too. Like what, whatever you're doing, you want to eat a corn dog for all three meals. You totally can. A prompt. That's exactly right. That's like, and, and that is the, that is why, right? The Minnesota State Fair is so wonderful. There are no rules except, you know, it's Minnesota. So you absolutely have to say, you know, excuse me, or, you know, oh, yeah, 100. That's exactly, exactly right. But it's, it's the best in Minnesota. It's all the things. It's a giant slide. It's, you know, it's corn. It's agriculture. It's shamwows. It's literally everything you can possibly ever imagine. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, thank you so much for joining us today and have fun at the State Fair. And we will be watching the primary results in Minnesota next week. Thanks so much, Sharon. Historia is brought to you by Remy. 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That's 55% off at shoprem.com/histeria with code hysteria. Thank you Remy for sponsoring this episode. And welcome back. You are listening to hysteria. The podcast that thinks Mario Lopez is nasty. Did you see the video April? No! What happened? Don't go. I used to like Mario Lopez. What did he do? Don't Google it. He posted the weirdest video I've ever seen. It was an AI video of his niece with hot dogs. And like a lot of mustard squirting on her. It was video. I don't want to hear it. No, no, no, I'm good. I'm good. Okay, okay. It was terrible. It was, it was like his niece. His niece. And it was an AI generated video that was like that's nasty. Really, really grow. Yeah, don't Google it. It's so, it's so gross. He took it down, but like why? What would possess you to do that? Why would you even consider posting something like that? I don't know. That is nasty. >> I don't know, I used to think he was so sweet and so innocent, hot dogs must have known. >> All right, before we get to Sandy Petty, some announcements for the class. If you haven't gotten tickets for Crooked Con yet, there are some exciting new faces joining us. Crooked, we believe the answer to right wing authoritarianism is a big, welcoming, fun pro-democracy movement. So, we've invited some of the biggest, funniest voices online to all day Crooked Con. At Crooked Con, you'll have the chance to meet creators and new media personalities who make sense of the news with humor and hot takes. They'll be bopping around the Washington Convention Center, hosting happy hours, Q&As, and workshops for attendees. They're also going to be making content because what happens at Crooked Con ends up online for every political emergency. Check out what creators are joining us so far at CrookedCon.com and grab your tickets today. See you in DC. Now let's get to Sandy Petty. I'm going to go first because you're the guest, so you get to close the show out April. This is my Sandy Petty, Katie Miller trying to cover her tracks about her friendship with Dr. Anthony Fauci is deliciously funny to me and it's like helping giving, it's helped giving me sanity, but it's also like very petty of me because I just, I, I know you can't say these words because you're a professional, but I, I hate Katie Miller. I hate that fucking bitch, I suck, she sucks so much I have never met somebody. She is about as appealing as a sandpaper tampon last week, last week, Senator Rand Paul published over a thousand pages of Dr. Anthony Fauci's diary from during the COVID-19 pandemic and something that caught a lot of people's attention is how Fauci writes about enemy of the pod, Katie Miller, who has publicly called for him to be jailed, apparently Katie Miller when she was pregnant and scared during, during COVID-19's first surge in 2020 relied on Dr. Fauci for help and advice and counsel. And yeah, on May 9th, 2020, he wrote, "I'm calling Katie frequently to check on her a couple of times per day. She's very anxious about getting very ill since she's 10 weeks pregnant. Tonight she had an anxiety reaction, I calmed her over the phone." And other places in the diary he's complimentary of Miller and Paincer as an ally. Now Miller, of course, trying to backpedal faster than a center-fielder who got caught on a fly ball, Miller told the publication, "He was not my doctor. He was not my friend. He was a work colleague who called me for work purposes and in the course of a phone call, you would discuss other things." She also said that she was only motivated to be friendly so that he wouldn't leak information about her family, Katie, that's a fucking lie. You got caught. Right. You got caught, Katie. He was your friend. He was not a work colleague to her. He was dealing with COVID. She didn't, if she felt that she should not have taken his advice, she took his advice. She was scared, just like Trump was scared when he got COVID. So let's be clear. And let me say this, they are obsessed with Dr. Fauci. And someone said Aaron, someone said to me, he said, "Someone who is actually who's been in politics and in the highest spaces," they said, "You never write anything down because it will come back to haunt you." But I said, "Dr. Fauci is not a lawmaker. He is a physician." Think about this Aaron. When physicians finish their day, they write their notes. When they meet with a client, they write their notes. She is a physician that writes notes to keep a chart of what have you. And at the end of the day, Mrs. Miller was fortunate to have Dr. Fauci on her side. Because if she didn't, unfortunately, you know, something else could have happened. She, look at where she is now. She's fine. But for them, they are obsessed, Donald Trump hates him. Fauci, remember when Donald Trump talked about putting a light and bleach in your body? I do remember that. Yeah. Yeah, for COVID and Fauci put his hand on this head. But if we didn't have people like Dr. Fauci, I don't care about not to wear a mask or wear the mask and all that stuff because I wasn't paying attention to them. I said, "Uh-uh." I went out and got, let me tell you some people, like, "How did you get the mask?" Because they told us, "We didn't need a mask." I said, "They told you that, but I was advocate for myself." I went out and bought a bunch of masks. They said, "That's why we don't have masks." My one or two boxes of masks were not going to kill the population. I got masks when they said, "You don't need to wear a mask at first." I got some of those wipes, those medical-grade wipes in my house. Before they even said it, they were saying, "Oh, it's not a problem." I'm like, "Yeah, right." I was wiping down my boxes. Dr. Fauci didn't tell me that, but that was just me. But all of these people who don't want to believe in the science, the science is clear. There are issues out here that are still going, look, they are focused in on Dr. Fauci six years ago when we've got measles outbreaks. And what's the cyclospore? People are going to the bathroom like you've never seen before, but they're not dealing with it. So I'm picking up doctor. Like you've never seen before. They're going to the bathroom. But at the end of the day, they are trying to relitigate something six years ago. Donald Trump was slow on the draw, calling it a democratic hope, when China, all the news was happening in China on it. We still don't know how it came to be, whether it was leaked from a health facility or research facility, or it was something organic. We still don't know for sure. But at the end of the day, what we need to be doing is working on protecting the American people instead of trying to relitigate, put a man in jail who's tried to work his life for people. Yeah, sometimes we get science wrong. But let me tell you, Donald Trump in the flashlight, the bleach, and waiting all of that time to deal with COVID-19. It wasn't all Dr. Fauci. Look, the fish roched from the head. The head did not deal with it when it was supposed to. Yeah, it does feel like they're still trying to relitigate 2020. And I think they blame Dr. Fauci and they think that he somehow caused COVID to be one of the deciding factors in the race. And it's, you know, whatever, but I just, I gotta say, I love to see it. I love to see Katie Miller trying to scurry out from under this like a little cockroach. All right. April. She's all up in it. She's all up in it. Yeah, she's there. All right. Do you have a sanity corner this week, or are you feeling petty? I'm petty. I'm petty this week. I'm petty. I'm more vacation. I'm petty. I'm petty. I'm petty. Yeah. I can let it all go. What's making you feel petty this week? Like what's something that's happened that you're like, okay, this is not a big deal, but it is a big deal. I think, well, a couple things I went to a comedy show last night and I'm petty about this. And typically I go out, my husband and I went out and I was minding my business and the people were like, I think they had a little too much to drink behind me. And my husband and I walked hand in hand down the street and we sat down waiting for some food to come. This was late at night. And the people came about 10 people, surrounded me. I know you, you are so familiar. And all of them started leaning and I'm like, did they have too much to drink? And then I was like, oh, so where are you from? I used to, I said, oh, this ain't Texas, you know, you want to be on set. So then the system was like, well, what's your name? And then one of the guys with them was like, oh, you know, it was a good comedy show. I said, yes, it was because he realized how intense it got, like, what's the problem? And then the woman came up to me and said, it's okay. It's all right. You don't have to tell us the same. Now I was like, what's wrong? Because if I see her again, I'm going to say, sister, you okay now? It was just, why? Why are you worried about me, I mean, it was 10 people, I felt, I felt overwhelmed. I felt, why would 10 people be in my face? Yeah. I mean, they're all looking around. It was weird, but that was, that might not be enough, but it was just, that was me being petty. Like, I'm like, hey, how you doing? But 10 people, I'm like, are you going to jump me? Are you going to love me? I mean, I'm like, what's up? It's okay. I'm like, yeah, give April her space, people, even if you recognize her from the White House press briefing room. Please. No, but 10 people who rocking down the street drunk. I don't know. You know, it's like, that was a funny show. And I'm like, uh-oh. Yeah. Well, that, that sounds unsettling. I'm glad they were just drunk and weird and nothing more. They're insidious. April Ryan, thank you so much. And walk down the street and came back around the corner. I was like, uh-oh. Anyway. Thanks. All right. April Ryan, thank you so much for joining me this week. It was a delight to have you. The Beyonce impression was worth every single minute. Like, even if that was all you had shown up to do, I would have been like, this is great. This is a great show. All right. Peggy Flanagan. Thank you for stopping by Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and candidate for U.S. Senate. And listeners, if you want to get in touch, [email protected] is the email address. There will be more hysteria for you next week. hysteria is a crooked media production. Our show is produced by Caroline Reston, Claire Fogarty, Kendra James, Adrian Hill, and me, Erin Ryan. Our team includes Matt DeGroat, Rachel Gaiaski, Dylan Villanueva, Claudia Shang, Mia Kelman, Jay Banks, Charlotte Landis, and Jordan Cantor. Our staff is proudly unionized with the writer's guild of America East.