Hey friends Americans living abroad can legally vote in the U.S. election register or get tailored support at votefromabroad.org Look state deadlines are super close so don't waste another second go to votefromabroad.org now and click request my ballot Ask to receive it by email all you got to do is fill it out and send it back in Don't miss this chance to shape the future don't delay vote from abroad.org I was interested in that word annihilated so I spoke to somebody in the White House who said well You know his favorite word is obliterated but he specifically asked for a new word they offered him up annihilated Which he which he liked because it was somewhat like obliterated but also that but it wasn't so he got a new word It was like presenting Trump with a new word he's not going to win to annihilate Iran in the same way he didn't obliterate Iran It's just Trumpian inflation Trumpian drama the Trumpian word he finds a word that he likes and we will now hear annihilated on a rather regular basis of course Michael Joanna it's full it's hunger week UN general assembly week and you are wearing the most splendid shade of green I think I have ever seen I it's good that you're not in the studio or I would simply rip that cardigan from you I don't know what to say about this this we've never this is the most intimate we've ever gotten We're going to start fighting over clothes I want to remind people please subscribe to the Daily Beast Wherever you get your podcast you just have to smash the subscription button apple Spotify YouTube and of course we will be live very exciting on October the 20th The terror Graham ballroom downtown LA and to get your tickets it's beast dot pub slash ITH live that's beast dot pub slash ITH live or you can go to ticket master And I am told somewhat excitingly that it gets a selling fast so I think it was your threat to to be unplugged Michael your threat to just be unedited It's all of the things that you won't let me say here that are edited out all of the spats that we have that are sanitized Well you'll hear them all you will hear them all and big congrats in our due because you've hit a million followers on Instagram Which actually ties in quite nicely with the fact that the judge after midnight last night so let's give it to judges who are working overtime declared Trump's ban on CNN MS now and Politico on unconstitutional and immediately I think reinstated their press passes They do but I think them them my million followers and I get these million followers because you know I made these these short videos in my It's too slow talking Presbyterian minister kind of voice about about Trump and I and also in the background of my house in amigants it which I think people find a kind of particularly peaceful background to the to the Trumpian horrors and that's all due to my wife who films and design who is designed the house and films me and puts me in corners of the house I'm actually really rather her puppet but the important thing is nobody's puppet I think people have tried to make you a puppet and they know that that's a complete hiding to nothing Well I think she succeeds but she has special talents in that department but I think that the interesting thing is you know against the background of of this fight over cable news stations cable news stations are like the past You know I mean I think we have a bigger audience here on inside Trump's head than most cable stations at this point certainly you know a million followers on Instagram people are while while Trump and the networks fight this old battle people have gone some other place far far from the traditional television play news news outlets. Well I think also that creators and I think you are at 73 Michael wolf junior still junior at 73 you become a YouTube creator to right this is not something that you ever expected in your media journey but but the mechanics of reaching an audience have completely changed I was at a YouTube party last night there was Don lemon who has a much bigger audience now than he ever had on CNN. Yeah I know it calls me constantly come on come on come on my show I mean I get the guy works all of the time so he does work the time to be a bigger audience but he works much harder than he did at CNN which is partly because he is really a hard worker but also because there's the insatiable demands of this new medium you can just do you just fill it it has endless endless parameters and the more you do the bigger your audiences the more money you make. Well the other thing that I like about these that I love about this this podcast in particular is just that you have a direct relationship with the people who are watching it so we love getting comments I answer as many comments as I can I had a whole back and forth with a comment called Hillary this week about my comments earlier on Mitt Romney and it's much you get into a back and forth with people who hear what people are saying it's a much more interesting way of connecting with your audience it's what I dreamt of in magazines. I think it's and also you can say anything you want except for what you edit out from what I say but beyond that you literally can say anything you want which you cannot on on the cable networks and actually just to remind to go back to where this began I got into social media because after my book all or nothing about the 2024 campaign was was was published it was published early in the second administration a point a point of maximum fear of Donald Trump and what was he going to do maximum threats against the media from Donald Trump and my entire slate of promotional my promotional schedule and this is how you sell books was canceled on the networks and on the cable news shows and it was like I mean I was like okay you know what what can you do and it was my wife at that point who said you just have to you just talk I'll film and and you'll go to an audience a different way which is exactly what happened every day your personal information is exposed somewhere online your email address your financial details even your health information it's not about being careful anymore it's about a hundreds of data brokers who collect and sell your data without your consent but they can't harm you if they can't find you and that's where incogni comes in incogni automatically sends removal requests and follows up across more than 420 harmful sites helping get your personal information removed from places you may not even know exists incogni can find where your information appears online and recurring removals help keep it from coming back you can also track your progress get monthly risk assessments and reach 24/7 live chat support to get an exclusive 60% off an annual incogni plan go to incogni.com/beast or click the link in the episode description that's incogni.com/beast and then you see the first lady which is also what happened and I cannot wait to get into her what what is it called in period it's her new network for women so we're going to be talking about today totally staggering of course amazing I mean well hold on hold on because because we're also going to talk about Xi Jinping at the White House and the state dinner which will be going on as we're releasing this we're recording this on Thursday morning but it goes out Thursday evening so as you're listening to it or watching it dear listener dear viewer the White House will be tucking into whatever they're tucking into the turbot I expect in some kind of white sauce here arrived at Air Force base Andrews yesterday and there was an absolutely amazing moment that I happen to be watching where the American band is playing the star Spangled Banner Trump strangely because it was warm in DC is wearing black gloves which I'm assuming because nobody else was wearing gloves was either to cover up his bruises which I'm assuming have gotten worse
obviously we we've chronicled his bruises. But there's a fly past which comes just at the the moment in the star-spangled banner where they're getting up to the rockets red glare and Trump literally winces and almost crouches and Xi Jinping does nothing is just completely stoic and Trump goes points to his ears. It's almost as if he sticks his fingers in his ears like a little child. And I thought, oh, he may be very sensitive to noises in ways that we haven't thought. You know, sometimes you go to sports games with friends and they have to wear those plugs in their ears because they don't like the noise they find it overstimulating. And I wondered if that's what had happened to Trump yesterday. Anyway, it was an amazing moment. So we've got Xi Jinping. We've got Melania's new initiative, which we'll be talking about, which is all about female friendship, odd because she's literally never been, I don't think ever photographed with a female friend. And of course her female friend Amanda and Garo, well, she's been deported. Anyway, we'll come back to Melania. We've got the ballroom. We've got the ballroom where it turns out Trump has decided that he is the code, very good piece in the Washington Post about the drama behind the ballroom. And of course, there'll be an attempt tonight. We can be talking about Zelensky. We can talk about the midterms. And of course, RFK Jr., who's managed to get himself, despite guidelines, $4 million for a couple of books. Can't wait to read those. And we've got, I think, the most moving testimony. I think I've seen at almost any public hearing from the mother of Renee Nicole Good, her brother Brent and a friend of Alex Pretti, Nicole and Alex being two of the people who were shot in Minneapolis. And it is, it is remarkable testimony of ordinary Americans dragged into a fight they never expected to be involved in. And if you are a Democrat out there and you are looking for ideas for your ad content in the midterms, you could look no further than what I think is the most moving public testimony I've seen for years. I was in floods watching Nicole's mother Renee Nicole Good's mother yesterday. Donna, Donna, you did, you did your daughter proud. You did your daughter proud. Anyway, Michael, where should we begin? Xi Jinping and Trump rolling out the red carpet? Well, let's do you and week. I'm not sure that people actually understand what this is. And in, it is a particular week that happens in New York, gridlock. It's a horrible moment if you live in the city. Oh, it's terrible. The traffic is awful. You cannot go anywhere. But there is a thing in the, the, I mean, the, that was a weird thing about the, the Iranian president. We are at war with Iran. We would do anything probably to kill the Iranian president. But he was in New York speaking at the, at the UN. I mean, this was after Trump, then, I mean, it was our Trump threatens to annihilate Iran. And then the Iran president speaks. So, so this is this strange moment in which happens because, because the arrangement with the UN is that during this week, everybody has essentially free passage to New York City. So even if you've been sanctions, even if you cannot come, even if we don't let you in, if you have diplomatic status, anybody can come to New York. So, and, and apparently cannot be killed. That must be part of it. So we did, we did not kill the, the, the president of Iran, of Iran. But, and, and so, but it's not only world leaders. It's literally every sleazeball in the world, who is looking for an advantage, power to somehow triangulate whatever politics in whatever country might be helpful to them. So, you know, I, there was, there are several years running. I would, I would go to get an invitation to Jeffrey Epstein's house during UN week. And that was me and hundreds of diplomats would go through Jeffrey Epstein's house. And, because, because it was a big house, but also because that functioned as a, as a kind of, you know, as a kind of sleazeball center, I suppose, the, the place where you could, where you could meet other people who, I listen, I don't, I don't, I don't know what they were there for. But they was, I, I think, well, I mean, sure, some of them were probably campaigning to get their president or prime minister, the Nobel Peace Prize, right? I mean, you talked about running into the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize. That's exactly the kind of thing that goes on sort of quiet lobbying, soft power. What, what, what was the food and drink like? Because that's the other thing that people go for sustenance, right? Yeah, not, not nothing that I can distinctly remember. Jeffrey Epstein was not, was not particularly interested in food. In good food. Yes. And, and he was, and, and it was always like that, like at Moralago, it was hard to get a drink there. Well, and I'm, I'm sure also, you know, you save very sleazy people come in. Obviously, the world leaders, I mean, actually, I remember a friend calling me and saying, you're not going to believe this. I'm in Dwayne Reed, which is one of New York's endless pharmacies and Robert McGarby is, is, is buying cotton wool pads, which, I mean, a very strange, a very strange juxtaposition of, you know, horrible African dictator buying cotton wool pads from Dwayne Reed. So I got, during the first Trump administration, sort of at the height of, of Russia gate and, and the investigation of Donald Trump for his ties to Putin and to, and to Russia, during UN week, I got a call. Someone I knew called me and said that, that a particular Russian oligarch by the name, actually, of Oleg Darapaska would like to meet me. And I was like, what's that about? And, and I said, this was like, well, late in the after dinner, and I said, said, and they said, can you come now? I guess oligarchs like that. And, and I said, I, I can't, I'm actually in the middle of making dinner for my family. And then this person said, said, what are you having? And I said, and I said, I remember I said, salmon. And they said, oh, olig like salmon, he'll come to you. So, wow, literally like an hour later. And olig Darapaska is not allowed to be in this country. So, I mean, he's a guy, a long back, terrible background. Um, my perfect, I, I won't send to, Ted said to someone, well, wasn't he accused of like murdering people? And then they said, said, oh, that was, that was during just during the aluminum wars. Um, aluminum wars being the way Brits say out aluminum. I was just going to say, don't you mean aluminum wars? Yeah. And, um, but anyway, he comes, he arrives at my house, followed by two cars of FBI agents. So wherever he goes, he, he's allowed to be here because it's UN week, but the FBI is following him. And then he came into my house, ate my salmon, my, um, um, my children rocked to my children on his, his, my young children then on his knee. Um, and, and then told me nothing. I thought, what was this about? And I still to this day do not know. Well, if the salmon loving baby rocking on his murderous knees, Oleg happens to be listening or watching, Oleg get back in touch. Uh, or is Oleg still with us or has he been like so many other oligarchs, defenestration? No, no, still a very close Putin crony. Uh, well, you better be careful, Michael. Um, so, um, then, then I, then I have a, so I had a conversation yesterday with some White House people because I was interested in this in Trump's annihilation. I mean, annihilation is a pretty big word here where going, I had, and he basically said, I have to decide whether I am going to annihilate Iran. Um, and at the UN, which was specifically created to avoid future wars after the Second World War, I mean, it's a weird place to say that. Right. Now, but then I got some, because I was interested in that word annihilated. And, and so I spoke to somebody in the, in the White House, um, who said, well, you know, his favorite word is obliterated. But he needed a new, he specifically asked for a new word. So they, they went around and they, and they had to, they offered him up annihilated, which he, which he liked because it was somewhat like obliterated, but also that. but it wasn't. So he got a new word. It was like presenting Trump with a new word. - This is like one of those school things where you go in and there's a new word written on the board and you will learn it and use it throughout the week. - Totally. So which goes to the fact that it really hasn't, of course, no meaning. He's not going to win to annihilate Iran in the same way he didn't obliterate Iran. It's just a, it's just a Trumpian, it's just Trumpian inflation, Trumpian drama, the Trumpian word. He finds a word that he likes and we will now hear annihilated on a rather regular basis, of course. - Okay, so we should listen out for that. And of course the Republicans, according to the Democrats are going to get annihilated in the midterm. So we can see if he, you know, predicts his own annihilation or his part, his part is annihilation. - Yeah, no, then again, and then fascinating, of course, to hear the Iranian president give basically a direct robot to this and they have obviously rebutted Donald Trump in so many aspects of his warring initiative against Iran. - What did you think of president Masood Pizikir? - I don't know what you mean by this. Did I, was I- - Well, I thought it was interesting the way they kept flashing to him during Trump's speech and he sat there looking absolutely immobile. - I mean, I think the Iranian leadership, these are terrible people. So, and they have been among the most destructive, the most insidious rulers of the past. This generation, so do I wish them well? - No, but, and in some way I assume that Donald Trump began from that position. These are terrible guys, let's get rid of them. It just turns out to be very, very difficult. And what Donald Trump has done is basically installed, killed the first set of these guys and installed guys that are as bad or worse. - And who now have a purpose to gather around, which is the war. So, any other winners from the UN, do you think? What about Melania? Because Melania, where her husband, scolded Caitlin Collins and CNN for bothering to cover him at the UN, not realizing that actually they were there because the UN had given them access. Melania welcomed them, welcomed CNN specifically to follow her as she made a speech about the UN. And then she appeared at the New York Stock Exchange launching in period, her female network, a female network. - And even before she did that, she gave another interview, which I thought was a kind of, a pretty much of a lukewarm appraisal of her husband. Was this where she told him what she thought of his speeches? She's always honest, and he doesn't always want to hear it. - Exactly, and you know, he's done the best he can. The best he can. - Right, in the most, she said he's complicated times in Glow, and he does the best he can. - So this is a whole separate set. - So hold on, I think he's being best, Michael, I think my husband, he'd be best, he'd be best. - I mean, I think that she's decided, okay, I can make hay out of, I can be in an international representative. I am international. I got an accent. So I'm gonna make the most of this, and remember why she's doing this, they're constantly filming her. So. - So this is obviously part of her show that we're going to see at some point. Honestly, Michael, we missed a trick there. You should have been in the audience, 'cause you could have raised a question, when she got any questions, you could have raised your hand, and she'd be like, oh my God, it's Michael Wolpe. You need to turn up at one of her speeches with a question. I would pay to see that. - Yes. I mean, you're not too many speeches. I mean, let's, you know, set the-- - Honestly, we should have both been at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. I didn't know it was happening. If I'd known, I would have gone. I'm obviously not on her female empowerment list. Had I been, I would obviously have gone and taken you with me. - Yeah, you know, it's funny. I mean, there was in that interview that Fox Business interview that she did with a lineup of these Fox morons. I mean, I can't, they even look like, oh my God, how-- - What about the woman that said, first lady? We are beaming that you are here this morning. She was so bad. - Madam First Lady, thank you so much for being here. - We're beaming and in your presence, we just cannot thank you enough for joining us. - Oh my God, I mean, I don't think they knew what to say. It's like, I mean, they obviously, this was set up. Obviously, they were assigned to do this. Obviously, they were stock, I mean, this is their job. And they had to, they had to make the Fox most of this, but they seemed-- - Well, I seem bewildered at the idea that Melania Trump, who's barely being visible and who the Daily Beast has audited. And we know that she's been made a third fewer appearances than certainly the Michelle Obama. And she's the least visible first lady of the entire century. I think that's staggered that she's launching a female. - Well, actually, they said, well, you do so much. We can't believe how hard you work. And it would be like-- - I know, well, she-- - Oh my God! - I mean, even she referenced that when she turned up to collect her $2 million for fostering the future with the car race. And she goes, I heard, you missed me. I, she knows she's been missing in action as first lady. But one can only think about her friend Stephanie Winston Wolkov, who Melania dragged down in Trump one to run the inauguration process, the sort of celebrations for the inauguration. And Stephanie had run the Met Ball for vogue for 10 years. So she's a very good organizer of events. And very rapidly, Stephanie was completely trashed. And I'm not sure she's entirely recovered. She has a very good book called Melania and Me, which chronicles her, really, her being chewed up and spat out by the Trump White House and her name dragged through the mud in public. So that was Melania's last known friend, I think. And it's impossible to think of her with female friends. You never see photos of her hanging out with women. We don't know who she hangs out with. - Well, and what is this thing called again, which we will, by the way, you don't have to learn this because we will-- - In Curia. - 'Cause we'll never hear from it again. - Again, I mean, this is as much a sham as her marriage is. - Well, it's supposed to be, it's called Imperia and they announced it as the Davos of women, I think, but it's not a DEI thing, definitely not DEI. - Oh, no, they went out of their way. This is not DEI. And by what are they talking about? This is, everybody was like, we don't know. Well, it was literally everybody there saying, please God, take me, why am I here? - Well, I would like to know more about Mark Berman, and her advisor, because I sense his fingers on this. Also, what's happening with her outfits, 'cause she was dressed as Ruth Bader Ginsburg earlier this week with a kind of white tie, or not a white tie, but a sort of white legal type fold that made it look like she could be on the Supreme Court, and then-- - Yeah, take me when you say that, you'll always indicate that you're trying to make her, you think she's suddenly looking Jewish, which I think is curious. No, no, I'm not sure if you're out of your mind. I think she's trying to make herself look serious, but today I thought she looked like a real estate breaker who was going to hand over the keys to your new apartment. Here you are, happy, well done. Good transaction, here are keys to a new apartment in Trump Tower. She would be actually a good salesperson for Trump Tower apartments. Now, do you think this is to Trump's advantage, electoral advantage, as we approach the midterms or detriment? - I think it reminds people that Melania like RFK Jr. is making her own money while in office, technically, I suppose she's in office, and they're monetizing the position as fast as they can. I mean, RFK Jr., you know, $4 million, you know, this is what did for Andrew Cuomo that he took $5 million to write a book on American leadership during COVID. People don't like the opportunism of this. - That's what I would say. So, I mean, and I would think, I mean, there is no control. The White House has no control over her and the Republican Party. She really operates just entirely independent of the White House, of its concerns and of its political considerations. So, but I think in the White House, they're my sense is they are,
Um, um, um, shaking their heads, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what is she doing? Right. What is she doing? Well, it's strange that she's setting up a female network, certainly, uh, but she, you know, use the opportunity to talk about fostering fuel chart is global. That's what she said. She said fostering fuel chart is global, but we don't know whose future she's fostering or, or what global actually means in this context, anyway, watch this space, uh, for, for more developments of millennia frantically, uh, frantically network is really it's not even frantic. She'll do this. She got, she got her clip. She'll go away. We'll never hear from this again. She doesn't care. So this is all content you think for her Amazon series. Yeah. I mean, she's not going to set up a Davos for women, um, I mean, I mean, everything she said was she was like, I mean, everything she said was, was as though AI generated. What was she talking about? She's talking, and the answer is she's talking about nothing. She's talking about nothing. She's talking about nothing, although she has made some money in the White House, so perhaps she can advise people on how to go from being a model, uh, to being first lady and monetizing it and monetizing it, uh, and you know, Sean Doffey, also getting some content, perhaps unwitting content, um, when air traffic control closed down and a fiber ended up being cut and no one could fly in or out of airports on the east coast on the very day they were announcing their special AI developments to make air traffic even easier. Very unfortunate. Sean Doffey, who spent, you know, weeks driving across the country in his RV with his wife when he should have been attending to the nation's transportation issues. Well, let's go to the, let's continue on the grift here and on the RFK grift, because I think that that's, that's, uh, this is an interesting development. So he's taken four million dollars as an advance, um, to write, um, some more books. Now the interesting thing, I know some of the background here, he's taken this from a man by the name of Tony Lions, um, who's the founder of sky horse press, right? Sky horse is an independent press. It specializes in, um, publishing books by canceled people, essentially. Um, didn't they also publish Melania? I think yes, they did. They did. So other, but other books that other publishers don't want to publish for various reasons. Um, but by people who are have, have enough of their own promotional networks, their celebrities. They're just disrepeatable celebrities. Um, this is who they publish and they, they do this with a, with a particular business model. The business model is we don't pay advances. I mean, they are very clear about this and Tony Lions will tell almost anyone that's it. That's our model. Pay advances if you expect in advance, don't come to us and we're going to give you a royalty that is only half of what, of what traditional publishers pay. So that's the business model turns out to be quite a successful business model. And now Tony Lions, this, this guy, and I have no idea what his, what his politics are. I mean, in the, I've had a few conversations with him. He seems a relatively, um, um, you know, a New York guy. So he published this book that RFK wrote about Fauci, the real Anthony Fauci. I think, I think the book might have been called on. I think that was, that has been the best seller, best selling book at Sky Horse. And it kind of put them on, move them from, from the margins of publishing, but they still are on, they are on the margin of, margins of publishing. They don't distribute their own books, for instance. Um, but this sounds like the, but this sounds like our FK junior is getting an advance from ads. Yes. No, it does. That's why I'm saying is this, is the, is the peculiar thing about this. And this is a very large advance, a $4 million advance for a very small publishing company. Very small is unusual to say the least unusual for this company, unusual for any, uh, publisher, the size of Sky Horse. Um, and then this Tony Lions has been, he, I think he was the chairman of the, of the RFK campaign for president. This is, and he will, if RFK runs again, which I would, um, I would bet, um, um, my $4 million on it, um, is, is, um, this Tony Lions will be the essential figure. So this is all a, part of a, a political operation. And it's to get the Mahar crowd excited, I suppose. Perhaps Tony Lions made money from Melania's book. I know that Melania was asking, uh, more traditional publishers for $10 million, uh, because I remember discussing it with a friend who was debating whether or not to, to take a meeting with her team, uh, but my understanding is that no one would do that. And so that's why she went to Sky Horse. Yeah. And again, where, where does this money come from, uh, this is, this is not transparent. Let me put it that way. Well, perhaps he can write about the rise of measles in his book. That would be interesting. Just reminding me that he can't sure he will. This is going, this is going to be one of the central things of this. And we've, we've talked about this, this, this before that one would think that this would finish him off measles. Suddenly, there's a measles epidemic, but it doesn't. And we've, we've segmented part of the country and part of the electorate, which is rabid on the subject of not getting vaccinated, uh, is willing to tolerate the outbreak of these diseases. And RFK has directly aligned himself with, uh, with this issue and this part of, and this, and these people. You know, we often talk about the incompetence that Trump has in his cabinet. I don't want us ever to forget Kristi Nome and her incompetence running ice and the appalling shootings in Minneapolis, which we were reminded of yesterday by the extraordinarily dignified testimony that relatives of, uh, Alex Bretti, the ICU nurse who was shot dead and the description of him being shot by his friend, uh, is, is truly, it was remarkable. And Renee Nicole Good's mother talking about losing her daughter and her brother Brent, Renee Nicole's brother, uh, barely able to speak and get through his speech because he said he was so used to Renee editing, uh, him and what you saw were normal families, normal groups of people whose lives have been completely upended by ice. And I want to play some clips with his back facing them. I watched Alex be taken to the ground with a swarm of masked agents on top of him. In that moment, I believe Alex made a choice to be righteous, kind and brave, to stand up for his neighbors being assaulted in the street. And then they shot him again and again and again. Alex was flat on the ground, his limbs spread out. There was no movement that agents fled quickly. I watched Alex die. It all happens so fast. I'm a registered Republican. I voted for President Trump under the impression that these agents were here to protect the citizens of the United States, innocents like our family and the others here against terrorists, certainly not to accuse those of us here of being terrorists and take precious lives. This is madness. So that was Stella Carlson talking about her friend Alex Pretty and Donna Granger, Renee Nicole's mom. And you just think of Christie Nome spending that quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer's money on herself riding around in front of Mount Rushmore, which was obviously her attempt to get more famous and her riding around in the Department of Homeland Security luxury plane with Corey Lowendowski, this appalling incompetence at ICE. And it just makes me so angry, so angry at her utter incompetence. Well, it's not, I mean, it's not just incompetence. I mean, it's, it's, um, was cruelty. It's absurdity. It's absurdity. It's absurdity. These are bad people. They're not going to be able to get their own money.
story which arguably has gotten Trump elected. And then he played this to the point of obvious incompetence, obvious cruelty, and even absurdity. He didn't have to do this. What is the point of this? Except Trump's dominance. I am, I can do anything I want to do. That's the message. And the message in this kind of extraordinary testimony is that that affects real people and hurts real people. And I think that people going into this, into this, into the midterms, especially even people who might have in the past supported Trump on this very issue are like, okay, too much, way too much. We get it. This is, this is our bad people. We don't want to live in a country where masked people drag people out of their homes and shoot bystanders. I mean, the description, Stella Carlson's description of them shooting him again and again and again. I mean, just the unnecessary cruelty and violence and the sadism involved is just shocking. Anyway, I thought, Mrs. Granger, you did your daughter proud. There's another moving on to the more Trump incompetence. There's a particular incompetent who's, who's running for the Senate in North Carolina. And I, you know, and I think even the Republicans have sort of are on the verge of throwing up their hands and giving up on on this one. But I used to see this guy during the campaign. I mean, his name is Michael Watley. Michael Watley became, I mean, he was just a, a Republican non-lantity, a doofus, a guy who would do what he was told. That was his, his reason for being because they wanted to get that Trump hated the head of the RNC at that time. The Republican National Committee was a Rona McDaniel, Rona Romney McDaniel who briefly, briefly went to NBC and was hounded out by the journalist. Exactly. But, but she was, a Trump had conceived a, a, a, a, a, a kind of blood score against her, not least of all because she's related to the Romney family. And so they got rid of her and then they needed somebody to put into this spot who would do what they wanted to do. And that person, that person was Michael Watley. And, and in fact, so he was, what was his, his title was the director chairman. I don't know, but they, though, the chairman then became, became Trump's daughter-in-law, the, the wife of Eric Trump. Lara Trump, Lara Trump, who tried to get, who tried to get that Senate seat at one point when it became open. She hoped that she would get it. Then she wanted to Florida Senate street and she was given a Fox show instead. Right. So there, and then there, there was a whole, a whole, I mean, the Trump people would tell these hilarious stories of Michael Watley at the offices of the Republican National Committee being, and he was given an office and told just to sit behind the desk. Don't do anything. Don't move. Don't move. And he, which he would do for hours on end because he was given no responsibilities, no duties, no, um, openly had no abilities had just literally the body behind the desk. Anyway, he is running for Senate in North Carolina and apparently will lose. And even Nancy Mace is saying that she thinks he's going to lose, right? So, uh, suddenly all these, these seats that felt as if they were firmly read are, are moving purple, we think. Yeah. No, I think, I think we're, we're in this new, this new thing. I mean, I mean, I mean, we know that there were these, these key states suddenly in play were, um, you know, Texas, Ohio, um, Michigan, um, you know, those, those are, those were kind of interesting moments in which the Democrats might do, uh, the unexpected. But now that, that field is expanding out, uh, to can, to Kansas, to Florida. I mean, these are, this is, this is an extraordinary expansion of the Senate map. Having said that in Alaska, the Democratic candidate, Mary Peltola, there's a new story out and it turns out personally, she's a horror show, a terrible boss. Completely, um, she runs a chaotic office and runs a, um, and, and is a, a real, a real shit to the people who work for her. Well, women are always accused of that. Remember when Amy Klobuchar was accused of eating a salad with a comb, which actually I've done on occasion. You feel this is a, um, uh, agenda thing? Yes. I don't know if it's a gender thing, but women are always accused of running a chaotic, uh, office and, and people don't like working for them. Uh, whereas with men, you get less of that sort of personal antagonism and this is sexual and then you will get people coming out as they did with Eric Swolewell and, uh, you know, various other people saying their harassers. Well, let's keep our eye on this because I think this is, uh, here, here was a seat that they were pretty confident about and, um, I think after this kind of story, they're probably not no longer that confident. Okay, so as we, um, as we drop this episode of the podcast, there will be much gayity on the White House lawn, uh, under the tents for the state dinner for Xi Jinping, which brings us to the ballroom and, uh, and Trump saying, I am the code. Do you want to explain? So the, so this came out there, the, the, the, uh, this is kind of testimony evidence leaks from the first architect who was then fired, um, or removes or quit or ran. And so the issue was, of course, of course, As it always is with all buildings about confirming to the laws, the code, the building code. And Trump then uttered the memorable line. And perhaps you don't have to know anything more about Trump than this. I am the code. Let's go this. I am the code. I am the code. I am the code. Yes. I am the code. I am the code. I mean, this is the safety and fire code we're talking about. And it was pointed out to him that the designs of the ballroom meant that were there to be a fire in the kitchen, which is not entirely implausible, that there would be almost no way out for people in the ballroom. And it could spread very, very quickly. And given how many people he wants to squeeze in there initially, it was going to be 650. Now I think it's gone up to 900 that there wouldn't be adequate ability for people to get the hell out. And I suddenly thought, oh, this is going to be, this could be like the Titanic that on the first outing of the ballroom, something goes horribly wrong because Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge the fire regulations. I am the code. I am the code. I am the code. Yeah. I mean, it's just, it's insane. Who would want to have dinner in that place knowing that Trump has probably used, you know, probably defied the code. And also this would normally be organized by the GSA or by the National Parks Department. But instead, it's all being overseen by an office in the White House. I think it's called the executive office, which is a tiny office. Obviously, not set up with people who have the professional expertise to do this properly. And this is just going to the broader Trump themes that you cannot tell him what to do. Even if there are rules, even if there are laws, even if there are procedures designed to protect people's safety, you cannot tell him what to do. You cannot tell him he cannot invade Iran because if he does, he will never get out again. You cannot tell him that if he levies tariffs in a totally inconsistent manner, it will rise price, raise prices for Americans. Even if these things are obvious and evident and irrefutable, you cannot tell him because you cannot tell him anything. A, because he doesn't listen, B, because he cannot accept the fact that he --
is less than that his authority is less than absolute. Can I just read the statement that James McCrary made when he announced that he was no longer with the project? President Trump entrusted me with the earliest stages of the new ballroom design. I am truly grateful for the honor and for the rich experience of working for him alongside, all the highly talented and committed patriots at the executive mansion having completed the earliest designs. I stepped aside and a new firm was engaged. So Shalom Baranus has picked up the task of the ballroom and if you would like to express your concern about the ballroom design, you may also be anxious that building is not up to code. Let alone the fact that it dwarfs the existing people's house. Here is his email to drop him a line. It's
[email protected], which is s-b-a-r-a-n-e-s.com info at s-b-a-r-a-n-e-s.com. If you have concerns about the fire code for all those people that will be enjoying the hospitality of the White House and if you are concerned about, well, anything to do with the ballroom. If you are concerned about a man who would declare himself to be the code, I am the code. It really is like something from George Lucas who opened his new museum this weekend, which I'm very much looking forward to going to. What else, Michael? What else haven't we discussed? - Jesus. - We've been through it today. We have two Limericks. Our first one is from, well, actually they're both from Chris Hughes written to us from Calgary, Alberta. The Cabinet meeting is done. - Wasn't he one of the founders of Facebook? - No, I think it's a different Chris Hughes. - I mean, it may be not. - Well, it's possible that Chris Hughes has fled to Calgary, Alberta, but I actually know Chris Hughes, so I think he would have put in a little note saying, "Hey, Joanna, enjoying the podcast here are two Limericks." Okay, the first one. Limerick number one from Chris Hughes of Calgary, Alberta. The Cabinet meeting is done and the lackeys are under the gun. It must be so hard to count out to lad, or maybe they like it. What fun? And the second one, H. Mann, Gestapo, Trump, ICE. Hyperbole, let's roll the dice. The loser somehow will be all of us. How did he pull this shit off? Damn it, twice. - Jesus. - Tricky rhythm in the last one to read, but rather good, I thought I liked that kind of scanning. Unusual. Unusual Limerick. Yes, I am the code. Damn it, twice. Twice, Michael, not once, but twice. It sounds like you've got some construction work going on there. Are you extending your house? Are you adding a ballroom, Michael, in the Hamptons? As there been noise, I haven't heard it. Oh, you're so focused. There's some kind of construction noise going on, I think. Oh, it's gone quite. I know, I know. I was sounded like someone was making an addition to your home. It is, there is some minor work going on as they're always there. Oh, you are adding a ballroom. You are adding a ballroom out there in Amagansett. When you have an 1829 house, it requires constant proping up. Constant proping up, Michael. Well, for those of us not in an 1829 house, thank you for joining us. Thank you for joining us and indeed to those who also have a house built in 1829. We will be back on Saturday, God willing, and the sleaze balls of the UN, relieving us of their traffic. We'll be back on Saturday at our usual time, 2pm on YouTube, with more of what's going on in Trump, Landia. And we'll look forward to seeing you in LA. Yes, October the 20th at the Terragram ballroom. And Michael, do you want to thank our team? Ryan, John, Heather, Neil, and the elusive Rachel. Thank you so much as always. So the good news is we have so many BB beast tier members now. There are too many names to read out. And we really appreciate your support.
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