Making Sense - Sam Harris - November 11, 2024


#391 โ€” The Reckoning


Episode Stats

Length

40 minutes

Words per Minute

148.06631

Word Count

5,942

Sentence Count

309

Misogynist Sentences

10

Hate Speech Sentences

17


Summary

Trump has been re-elected President of the United States, and he seems to have both houses of Congress in his grasp. Why did he do so? And why did the Democrats lose? Sam Harris explains why they failed to pivot to the political center in a way that most Americans found credible, and why identity politics is dead. He also explains why the Democratic Party failed to recognize that their platform is rotten, and what they need to do about it. And he argues that identity politics are a thing of the past, and that we need to get back to the center of the political conversation. Make sense of it all, and remember that the only thing that matters more than identity politics, is what we call "political equality" and that it's not about gender identity, it's about political equality, which is a problem that all of us should be fighting for. If you're a political activist, and you want to fight for equality, you need to realize that you're not the problem, which sounds like you're the problem. And if you don't have a political equality for everyone, you're in a world where you're fighting for everyone else's problems, you have to be a problem, not everyone's. What's the problem? You're not fighting for all of your own political equality? What does that mean, you want everyone to have it? ? You don't want to be in the political equality that everyone else does not have it, right? And you don t want everyone else to be all of that? That sounds like a problem? You want everyone's problems to be better than you? Let's talk about it, not all of our political equality so you're all the time, but you have all of the time and all the problems we should be in a bed that we're all in the same bed, so you can have a chance to be at the same place we're not all the same things we're supposed to be We don't need to be so good at it, and we don't even have to have a fight for it? We're all got it, so we can all be in this? We're not even have a say in the table, we can have it or we don t have a place to vote for it, but we can be in it, we have to make it? Let's make it so we're in it together?


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Welcome to the Making Sense Podcast.
00:00:23.920 This is Sam Harris.
00:00:26.140 So the reckoning has arrived.
00:00:28.880 Donald Trump has been re-elected President of the United States, and it seems like he's
00:00:33.600 going to have both houses of Congress.
00:00:35.960 Of course, we know he already has the Supreme Court.
00:00:39.060 And the question is, what to make of all this?
00:00:42.020 Why did he win and why did the Democrats lose?
00:00:45.540 Well, first, we should acknowledge that this is the greatest comeback in American political
00:00:49.540 history.
00:00:50.700 It's as if Nixon got re-elected to a second term after Watergate.
00:00:54.240 Trump is better than that, or worse, depending on what you think about Trump.
00:00:59.760 Luckily, I hedged my bet here, and I never said anything too critical about the man.
00:01:04.060 I've always been very respectful of him and Elon and the other innovators they have around
00:01:08.960 them.
00:01:09.920 I mean, let's be honest.
00:01:10.620 These guys just want to make America great again.
00:01:13.020 Can't you just give them a chance?
00:01:15.620 All kidding aside, I will let you know when I receive my first audit from the IRS.
00:01:20.180 But what I think is needed now is an honest assessment of why Trump won, because it says
00:01:26.520 a lot about our country that he did.
00:01:29.000 It says a lot about how divided we are.
00:01:31.580 It says a lot about the state of the media and the effects of social media.
00:01:35.540 But above all, it says something that the Democratic Party and our elite institutions need to hear.
00:01:41.340 Now, obviously, Trump's win and Harris's loss were determined by many factors.
00:01:46.980 And I think everyone's in danger of believing that their pet issue explains everything that
00:01:52.220 happened on Tuesday.
00:01:54.080 Now, you could certainly make the case that it was immigration and the southern border,
00:01:58.160 or it was inflation and the cost of groceries.
00:02:01.860 You could even say it was the way Trump responded to that first assassination attempt,
00:02:06.400 which, among other things, prompted Elon Musk to endorse him within minutes.
00:02:10.440 Or it was Harris's weakness as a candidate and the way the Democratic Party coronated her,
00:02:15.060 rather than allow some competitive process to happen.
00:02:18.600 Or you could say that the blame lies with Biden himself and his disastrous decision to run for
00:02:24.200 a second term.
00:02:25.420 That was pure hubris.
00:02:27.660 And, of course, this blame extends to all the people who covered for him and lied to themselves
00:02:31.980 or to the public about his competence for over a year.
00:02:36.240 Some of this culpability fell on Harris herself.
00:02:39.540 What did she know about Biden and when did she know it?
00:02:42.100 She never had a good answer for that question.
00:02:45.920 Or, to come to one of my hobby horses, it was her failure to have anything like a sister-soldier
00:02:50.600 moment where she could put some distance between her current self and the Kamala Harris of 2019,
00:02:56.140 who seemed to be in lockstep with the far left of the Democratic Party.
00:03:00.140 The truth, of course, is that all of these things contributed.
00:03:04.280 And if one or two of them had changed, we would have had a different result.
00:03:08.140 But the Harris campaign and the Democratic Party, in the last hundred days before the election,
00:03:15.380 weren't in control of most of these variables.
00:03:19.100 They could have messaged differently about all of them.
00:03:22.420 And I think it would have been possible to talk about inflation and immigration better than they did.
00:03:26.600 But their real failure, in my view, was to not pivot to the political center
00:03:31.300 in a way that most people found credible.
00:03:33.680 So, to return to my hobby horse, I think there are some lessons that the Democrats really must absorb
00:03:39.840 from what is undeniably a total political defeat.
00:03:44.680 They simply have to recognize that several planks of their platform are thoroughly rotten.
00:03:51.960 Identity politics is over.
00:03:55.440 No one wants it.
00:03:57.080 Latinos and blacks don't even want it.
00:03:59.540 As witnessed by the fact that they moved to Trump in record numbers,
00:04:04.180 Trump got a majority of Latino men nationwide.
00:04:08.200 And in some counties, he got a majority of Latino men and women.
00:04:12.040 Even after everything he has said about immigrants from Latin America over the years.
00:04:16.740 How they're, quote,
00:04:17.440 poisoning the blood of our people,
00:04:19.620 which is right out of Mein Kampf.
00:04:21.880 A comedian calls Puerto Rico a pile of garbage at a Trump rally.
00:04:25.560 And the entire Democratic machine and all of liberal media sees upon it
00:04:31.380 like a nuclear bomb has just vaporized an American city and no one cared.
00:04:37.700 Identity politics is dead.
00:04:41.080 And we have to bury it.
00:04:43.540 There's one species of identity politics that had an enormous effect on this election.
00:04:48.660 And most Democrats don't seem to realize it.
00:04:50.920 Around half a percent of American adults identify as transgender or non-binary.
00:04:57.080 That's one in 200 people.
00:04:59.840 And yet the activism around this identity has deranged our politics for as long as Trump has been in politics.
00:05:07.960 One lesson I would be quick to draw from this election
00:05:11.200 is that Americans aren't really into seeing biological men punch women in the face at the Olympics.
00:05:17.760 And if that sounds like transphobia to you,
00:05:22.920 you're the problem.
00:05:25.360 Political equality, which we should want for everyone,
00:05:29.420 does not mean that trans women are women.
00:05:34.060 Trans women are people
00:05:35.200 and should have all the political freedom of people.
00:05:38.900 But to say that they are women
00:05:40.640 and that making any distinction between them and biological women
00:05:44.540 for any purpose
00:05:46.360 is a thought crime
00:05:47.920 and an act of bigotry,
00:05:49.920 that is the precept of a new religion.
00:05:53.200 And it's a religion that most Americans
00:05:55.300 want nothing to do with.
00:05:58.020 I want to be very clear about this.
00:06:00.840 I have no doubt
00:06:01.860 that there are real cases
00:06:03.680 of gender dysphoria.
00:06:04.900 And for those people,
00:06:07.840 we should want to give them
00:06:09.460 all the help they need
00:06:10.980 to feel comfortable in their own bodies
00:06:13.780 and in society.
00:06:15.780 How we think about this,
00:06:17.300 how we understand it scientifically,
00:06:19.760 all of that
00:06:20.680 is still in flux.
00:06:22.860 But there are four-year-olds
00:06:24.400 who, apropos of
00:06:26.420 nothing,
00:06:27.900 will claim to be in the wrong body.
00:06:30.000 You know, they're born a boy,
00:06:31.180 but they insist that they're really girls.
00:06:34.240 And they never waver
00:06:35.280 from this.
00:06:37.320 And it's pretty obvious
00:06:38.420 in those cases
00:06:39.340 that something is going on
00:06:41.740 neurologically,
00:06:43.460 hormonally,
00:06:44.420 at the core of their being
00:06:46.440 that is not a matter of them
00:06:48.080 having been influenced
00:06:49.240 by the culture.
00:06:51.260 But conversely,
00:06:52.600 there now seem to be
00:06:53.440 countless examples
00:06:54.460 where the possibility
00:06:56.160 of social contagion
00:06:57.440 is obvious.
00:06:59.240 Where due to the success
00:07:00.480 of trans activists
00:07:02.000 in changing institutions,
00:07:05.200 these kids are effectively
00:07:06.400 in a cult,
00:07:08.020 being brainwashed
00:07:09.040 by a new orthodoxy.
00:07:11.280 These are radically
00:07:12.620 different cases,
00:07:13.880 and we should not be bullied
00:07:15.680 into considering them
00:07:17.440 to be the same.
00:07:19.520 I've spoken to many Democrats
00:07:21.120 in recent years
00:07:22.260 and over the course
00:07:23.420 of this election,
00:07:24.300 and a shocking percentage
00:07:25.920 of them
00:07:26.340 imagine that all the controversy
00:07:28.360 about trans rights
00:07:29.560 and gender identity
00:07:31.060 in kids
00:07:31.680 is just right-wing bigotry,
00:07:34.440 and a non-issue
00:07:35.280 politically.
00:07:36.540 Whereas,
00:07:37.200 it is obvious
00:07:38.120 that for millions
00:07:39.340 of Americans,
00:07:40.680 it might as well
00:07:41.540 have been the only issue
00:07:42.760 in this election.
00:07:44.280 Not because they are
00:07:45.780 transphobic assholes,
00:07:47.540 but because they simply
00:07:48.740 do not accept
00:07:49.740 the new metaphysics
00:07:50.980 and even new biology
00:07:52.740 mandated by trans activists
00:07:55.000 and the institutions
00:07:56.180 that they have successfully
00:07:57.360 bullied and captured.
00:07:59.360 And it's important to say
00:08:00.540 that not all trans people
00:08:01.900 agree with what
00:08:02.720 these activists
00:08:03.300 say and do.
00:08:05.120 Having the thought police
00:08:06.540 suddenly proscribe
00:08:07.920 the use of the term
00:08:08.820 woman,
00:08:09.740 and demanding that we
00:08:10.600 speak instead of
00:08:11.540 birthing person
00:08:12.620 or menstruators
00:08:13.780 or people with ovaries
00:08:15.580 or some other
00:08:16.720 Orwellian construction
00:08:17.920 designed to test
00:08:18.860 everyone's patience
00:08:19.760 and sanity,
00:08:21.320 the sight of people
00:08:22.020 being deplatformed
00:08:23.160 on social media
00:08:24.200 or fired from universities
00:08:26.080 for merely stating
00:08:27.480 that there are
00:08:28.000 two biological sexes,
00:08:30.020 I actually know
00:08:30.760 a professor
00:08:31.300 who lost her job
00:08:32.960 at Harvard over this.
00:08:35.140 Witnessing an epidemic
00:08:36.220 of gender confusion
00:08:37.600 spread through our schools,
00:08:39.640 when people
00:08:40.140 with their own eyes
00:08:41.300 could see that
00:08:42.220 this was a social contagion,
00:08:44.000 being encouraged
00:08:44.820 by the schools themselves,
00:08:47.040 the ultimate fruition
00:08:47.960 of which in many cases
00:08:49.040 is irreversible
00:08:50.080 medical procedures,
00:08:51.060 we've got an epidemic
00:08:52.820 of teenage girls
00:08:54.140 wanting double mastectomies,
00:08:56.460 and some are actually
00:08:57.480 getting them
00:08:58.180 based on ideas
00:08:59.640 being spread on TikTok,
00:09:01.820 and any parent
00:09:02.500 who resists this trend
00:09:04.040 gets demonized
00:09:05.420 and under certain conditions
00:09:06.800 could lose custody
00:09:07.800 of their kids?
00:09:09.520 Well, congratulations,
00:09:11.460 Democrats.
00:09:12.360 You have found
00:09:13.300 the most annoying thing
00:09:14.720 in the fucking galaxy
00:09:16.020 and hung it around
00:09:17.360 your necks.
00:09:18.660 I know people
00:09:19.760 who haven't been touched
00:09:20.740 by this issue personally,
00:09:22.460 for whom it was
00:09:23.100 the only issue
00:09:24.160 that decided their vote.
00:09:26.200 In fact,
00:09:26.600 it is the issue
00:09:27.420 that fully radicalized Elon,
00:09:29.820 and he's spoken
00:09:30.520 about this at length.
00:09:31.960 Do you think Elon
00:09:32.780 continuously messaging
00:09:34.160 to 200 million people
00:09:35.520 on X
00:09:36.040 and going to Trump's rallies
00:09:37.960 and donating
00:09:39.200 over $100 million
00:09:40.140 to the campaign
00:09:41.320 and supporting him
00:09:42.940 on podcasts
00:09:43.740 and doing everything else
00:09:45.280 in his power
00:09:45.860 to get Trump elected
00:09:46.860 might have accounted
00:09:48.300 for a few votes?
00:09:50.100 Honestly,
00:09:50.760 I think a doctoral
00:09:51.700 dissertation,
00:09:52.860 and perhaps several,
00:09:54.400 could be written
00:09:55.000 on how trans-activism
00:09:56.920 completely destroyed
00:09:58.920 democratic politics
00:10:00.240 without most Democrats
00:10:02.360 knowing.
00:10:02.940 Of course,
00:10:05.460 people will be
00:10:06.140 doing an autopsy
00:10:07.660 on this election
00:10:08.600 for quite some time,
00:10:09.920 but there is some
00:10:11.640 polling already
00:10:13.540 that suggests
00:10:14.860 that cultural issues
00:10:16.500 in general,
00:10:17.600 and this issue
00:10:18.360 in particular,
00:10:19.720 were the greatest drivers
00:10:20.840 of swing voters
00:10:22.140 turning to Trump.
00:10:23.620 For the purpose
00:10:24.280 of this poll,
00:10:24.920 a swing voter
00:10:25.480 is defined
00:10:26.120 as those who are
00:10:27.360 undecided
00:10:28.020 in the presidential race
00:10:29.340 or who have changed
00:10:30.760 their voting preference
00:10:31.720 since 2020,
00:10:33.420 voting Democrat
00:10:34.060 in one election
00:10:34.720 and Republican
00:10:35.280 in the other,
00:10:36.280 or they were independents
00:10:37.440 who had either indicated
00:10:38.820 that they split their votes
00:10:39.940 between Democrats
00:10:40.580 and Republicans
00:10:41.260 or who hold
00:10:43.020 either a favorable
00:10:44.120 or unfavorable view
00:10:45.280 of both Trump
00:10:46.380 and Harris.
00:10:47.420 So these were the people
00:10:48.480 whose votes were in play,
00:10:50.460 and according to this poll
00:10:51.920 over at
00:10:52.540 blueprint2024.com
00:10:54.940 titled
00:10:55.940 Why America Chose Trump,
00:10:57.640 Inflation,
00:10:58.260 Immigration,
00:10:58.660 and the Democratic Brand,
00:11:00.760 when you segment
00:11:01.440 the respondents
00:11:02.120 in this way,
00:11:03.860 for these swing voters,
00:11:05.440 the strongest predictor
00:11:06.620 of a vote for Trump
00:11:07.700 was their response
00:11:09.400 to the following statement.
00:11:12.440 Kamala Harris
00:11:13.140 is focused more
00:11:14.120 on cultural issues
00:11:15.260 like transgender issues
00:11:17.000 rather than helping
00:11:18.280 the middle class.
00:11:20.020 So transgender issues
00:11:21.040 are flagged
00:11:21.960 as the example
00:11:23.420 of progressive politics
00:11:26.040 in the Democratic Party.
00:11:27.460 Now you might want to say
00:11:28.860 that neither Harris
00:11:29.800 nor Biden
00:11:30.560 campaigned
00:11:31.920 as a vocal
00:11:33.080 trans activist,
00:11:34.480 and that's true,
00:11:36.780 but honestly,
00:11:38.660 if you wanted to account
00:11:39.640 for Harris' loss
00:11:41.280 and Trump's win
00:11:42.940 in the briefest
00:11:44.420 possible space
00:11:45.500 and also indicate
00:11:47.160 the hold
00:11:48.400 that the far left
00:11:49.820 has had
00:11:50.880 over Democratic politics
00:11:52.960 and the Biden administration,
00:11:54.960 I think it would be hard
00:11:56.500 to do better
00:11:57.220 than to juxtapose
00:11:59.000 the following two facts.
00:12:02.060 On his first day
00:12:03.180 in office,
00:12:04.240 President Biden
00:12:05.140 signed an executive order
00:12:07.140 ensuring that trans girls
00:12:09.440 could have access
00:12:10.980 to girls' restrooms,
00:12:13.060 locker rooms,
00:12:14.060 and girls' sports.
00:12:15.220 It took him
00:12:16.860 two and a half years
00:12:18.280 to sign an executive order
00:12:20.180 addressing the chaos
00:12:21.840 at the southern border.
00:12:23.780 Why did he wait so long?
00:12:25.700 Because the far left
00:12:27.280 has always said
00:12:28.720 that a concern
00:12:29.840 about the southern border
00:12:31.020 is racist.
00:12:33.420 What more needs to be said
00:12:35.200 about the degree
00:12:36.240 to which the Democratic Party
00:12:37.880 and the Biden administration
00:12:39.680 lost touch
00:12:41.300 with the will
00:12:42.240 of the American people?
00:12:43.480 As for the topic
00:12:46.200 of trans rights
00:12:47.560 and gender dysphoria,
00:12:49.980 what Harris needed to do
00:12:51.340 at a minimum
00:12:52.440 is express her understanding
00:12:54.440 that this issue
00:12:55.760 is complex,
00:12:57.520 that there's a legitimate concern
00:12:59.240 about social contagion,
00:13:01.120 that in certain cases
00:13:02.300 there's a conflict
00:13:03.660 between giving
00:13:04.620 trans women and girls
00:13:06.600 everything they want
00:13:07.940 and protecting the rights
00:13:10.100 of biological
00:13:11.420 women and girls.
00:13:13.480 And the jury
00:13:14.120 is still out
00:13:14.920 on many questions here.
00:13:17.340 And policy in Europe
00:13:18.600 has changed radically
00:13:20.380 in recent years
00:13:21.800 for understandable reasons.
00:13:24.260 Right?
00:13:24.560 This topic
00:13:25.860 is a total mess
00:13:27.960 ethically
00:13:28.940 and politically.
00:13:30.400 And the orthodoxy
00:13:31.880 among Democrats
00:13:32.760 and in the elite institutions
00:13:34.480 that they have influenced
00:13:36.100 is that the trans activist line
00:13:39.160 is the only ethical line
00:13:41.640 to take.
00:13:43.480 But the truth is
00:13:44.620 every shibboleth
00:13:46.000 that came out of the far left
00:13:47.460 in recent years
00:13:48.220 contains within it
00:13:49.740 the same recipe
00:13:50.720 for the destruction
00:13:52.080 of democratic politics.
00:13:53.920 Each is like
00:13:54.840 an evil hologram.
00:13:57.160 Take the term
00:13:57.920 Latinx.
00:13:59.460 Who was that for?
00:14:00.960 Only 3% of Latinos
00:14:02.540 are in favor
00:14:03.560 of this silly rebranding
00:14:05.100 of their ethnicity.
00:14:05.840 Again,
00:14:07.380 Trump did better
00:14:08.320 among Latinos
00:14:09.120 than any Republican
00:14:10.820 in memory.
00:14:12.320 Do you think it was
00:14:12.780 because there wasn't
00:14:13.400 enough identity politics
00:14:14.760 rammed down their throats
00:14:15.900 from the left?
00:14:16.880 Do you think they just need
00:14:17.620 to see some more
00:14:18.200 white people admonished
00:14:19.400 for the sin
00:14:20.020 of cultural appropriation?
00:14:21.160 You think another lecture
00:14:22.660 about sensitive
00:14:23.540 Halloween costumes
00:14:24.540 might do the trick?
00:14:26.220 Much of democratic politics
00:14:28.020 has become a bad
00:14:29.620 SNL sketch.
00:14:31.460 Democrats simply
00:14:32.380 have to understand
00:14:33.640 that this is one
00:14:34.880 of the reasons
00:14:35.360 that we're getting
00:14:35.960 four more years
00:14:36.700 of Donald Trump.
00:14:38.280 Four more years
00:14:39.260 of this man
00:14:40.220 holding more power
00:14:41.160 and responsibility
00:14:41.840 than any person
00:14:42.740 on earth.
00:14:44.000 If it sounds like
00:14:44.600 I'm blaming
00:14:45.080 far-left activists
00:14:46.460 for this
00:14:47.000 along with everyone
00:14:48.120 who bent the knee
00:14:48.980 to them
00:14:49.320 I am.
00:14:51.380 Sure,
00:14:52.160 inflation didn't help,
00:14:53.720 but the Harris campaign
00:14:54.800 and the Democratic Party
00:14:56.140 couldn't change
00:14:57.460 the price of groceries.
00:14:59.620 They could control
00:15:00.560 whether the Vice President
00:15:01.520 gave a rational accounting
00:15:02.900 of why she no longer
00:15:04.180 supports taxpayer-funded
00:15:05.640 gender reassignment surgeries
00:15:07.100 for undocumented immigrants
00:15:08.660 in detention.
00:15:10.840 You know how many ads
00:15:12.000 the Trump campaign
00:15:12.980 ran on that issue?
00:15:14.500 In some markets,
00:15:15.440 it was a third
00:15:16.480 of their ad spend.
00:15:17.480 She's for they-them,
00:15:20.280 he's for you.
00:15:22.160 Someone find me
00:15:23.060 the video
00:15:23.640 where Harris
00:15:24.560 made any sense
00:15:25.660 at all
00:15:26.140 on this topic.
00:15:27.740 And the same
00:15:28.400 can be said
00:15:28.840 for all the other
00:15:29.460 cultural issues
00:15:30.300 that have been poisoned
00:15:31.340 by the far-left.
00:15:33.440 Literally everyone
00:15:34.600 I know
00:15:35.220 who voted for Trump,
00:15:37.000 and this includes
00:15:37.800 some extraordinarily
00:15:38.700 influential people
00:15:39.800 like Elon,
00:15:41.680 literally everyone
00:15:42.800 was focused
00:15:43.980 on cultural issues.
00:15:44.960 It wasn't inflation
00:15:46.660 for them.
00:15:48.180 It was trans-activism
00:15:49.660 and the insanity
00:15:50.940 at the southern border
00:15:51.880 and DEI policies
00:15:53.940 and homelessness
00:15:55.360 and crime
00:15:56.180 in our cities
00:15:56.840 and the unwillingness
00:15:58.220 of Democratic DAs
00:15:59.700 and mayors
00:16:00.260 to do anything about it.
00:16:01.760 The fact that
00:16:02.360 when you go into a CVS
00:16:03.620 and you need to call
00:16:04.640 a locksmith
00:16:05.360 to liberate some razor blades
00:16:06.820 and Tylenol,
00:16:07.960 that is an absolute disgrace.
00:16:10.640 It is a clear degradation
00:16:12.140 of the quality of life
00:16:13.560 in American cities.
00:16:15.100 And these things
00:16:15.740 mattered on Tuesday
00:16:17.060 when people went
00:16:18.040 to the polls.
00:16:19.380 And most of our
00:16:19.920 largest cities
00:16:20.620 are run by Democratic mayors,
00:16:22.440 at least two-thirds
00:16:23.320 of the top hundred.
00:16:25.160 And I think it's a higher
00:16:25.900 percentage of the top 20.
00:16:27.780 What are the Democrats
00:16:28.800 doing about homelessness?
00:16:31.440 The Democratic Party
00:16:32.760 largely owns this problem.
00:16:35.500 And for years,
00:16:37.020 Democrats have been acting
00:16:37.780 like the answer to it
00:16:38.700 is for everyone
00:16:39.300 just to become
00:16:40.020 more tolerant.
00:16:41.500 They won't police
00:16:42.280 the streets,
00:16:43.300 but they'll police
00:16:44.060 the language.
00:16:45.660 These people are not
00:16:46.320 homeless.
00:16:47.040 They're unhoused.
00:16:48.920 Okay, great.
00:16:50.380 Anyone who lives
00:16:51.380 in a city
00:16:51.920 who has to shepherd
00:16:53.300 their kids past
00:16:54.340 some raving lunatic
00:16:55.580 standing outside
00:16:56.320 the supermarket,
00:16:57.540 or who knows
00:16:58.140 that there are
00:16:58.500 whole sections of town
00:16:59.860 that he shouldn't
00:17:00.420 even set foot in
00:17:01.380 because they look like
00:17:02.400 the third act
00:17:03.240 of a zombie movie,
00:17:04.860 many of these people
00:17:06.000 are done
00:17:07.280 with your politics.
00:17:09.240 And so are millions
00:17:10.260 who don't live
00:17:10.800 in big cities
00:17:11.480 but visit them
00:17:12.500 or to see the images
00:17:13.860 on social media.
00:17:15.620 No one wants
00:17:16.360 to live like this.
00:17:18.020 This is the sort of issue
00:17:18.940 that was easily
00:17:19.800 and justifiably
00:17:21.180 weaponized
00:17:22.360 against Democrats
00:17:23.580 in this election.
00:17:25.180 Or take the Hamas
00:17:26.380 supporters
00:17:26.820 on our college campuses.
00:17:28.660 You don't have
00:17:29.340 to be Jewish
00:17:30.120 to see how shameful
00:17:31.800 this is.
00:17:33.340 This is an assault
00:17:34.500 not just on Jews
00:17:35.680 and Israel
00:17:36.400 but on Western civilization
00:17:38.220 or let's just call it
00:17:39.740 what it is
00:17:40.220 real civilization.
00:17:42.520 If the Democratic Party
00:17:43.920 can't figure out
00:17:45.480 that civilization
00:17:46.920 needs to be defended
00:17:48.500 from barbarism
00:17:49.780 what do you expect
00:17:51.060 is going to happen
00:17:51.740 in a presidential election?
00:17:53.900 Yes, Biden and Harris
00:17:55.400 were not terrible
00:17:56.700 on this issue
00:17:57.760 but they talked
00:17:59.260 out of both sides
00:18:00.020 of their mouths.
00:18:01.320 They bent over backwards
00:18:02.640 to not offend
00:18:04.120 the people
00:18:04.940 who were totally confused
00:18:06.620 in the Democratic Party
00:18:08.220 about what happened
00:18:09.440 on October 7th
00:18:10.540 and about the problem
00:18:11.920 of Islamism
00:18:12.660 and jihadism worldwide
00:18:14.200 who think in terms
00:18:15.360 of Islamophobia
00:18:16.260 rather than really
00:18:17.720 protecting human rights.
00:18:19.980 Here's one clue
00:18:20.680 on the path back
00:18:21.560 to sanity
00:18:22.100 on this issue
00:18:23.040 which you may have missed.
00:18:25.380 The hijab
00:18:26.160 is not a symbol
00:18:27.280 of female empowerment.
00:18:29.740 Most of the women
00:18:30.620 throughout the world
00:18:31.300 who wear the veil
00:18:32.100 are forced to
00:18:33.940 by men
00:18:34.940 who will beat
00:18:35.500 the shit out of them
00:18:36.520 if they don't.
00:18:37.880 It might be time
00:18:38.860 to figure this out
00:18:39.760 if you actually care
00:18:41.300 or want to credibly
00:18:42.700 pretend to care
00:18:43.900 about the rights
00:18:45.100 of women
00:18:45.600 on planet Earth.
00:18:48.520 There's simply
00:18:49.520 no question
00:18:50.280 that democratic
00:18:51.460 moral confusion
00:18:52.320 on many of these issues
00:18:53.380 cost Harris
00:18:54.700 millions of votes.
00:18:56.360 So that's the reckoning
00:18:57.660 that has to happen now
00:18:58.960 among Democrats
00:18:59.980 and I hope it does.
00:19:02.500 But the concern now
00:19:03.720 is that four more years
00:19:04.800 of Trump
00:19:05.400 and Trumpism
00:19:06.360 will prevent it.
00:19:08.420 Trump is such
00:19:09.200 a provocation
00:19:10.140 to the left
00:19:11.020 and to liberal institutions
00:19:12.640 that Democrats
00:19:13.900 could find themselves
00:19:14.620 doubling down
00:19:15.380 on all their delusions.
00:19:17.200 Needless to say
00:19:17.660 this will be exactly
00:19:18.400 what Trump
00:19:19.040 and the MAGA cult
00:19:19.980 want
00:19:20.460 because it will be
00:19:21.880 politically suicidal.
00:19:24.080 If you are a Democrat
00:19:25.140 who voted for Harris
00:19:26.760 please absorb this.
00:19:30.080 You lost
00:19:31.100 more people of color
00:19:32.380 than you ever have
00:19:33.980 in a presidential election
00:19:35.440 while running
00:19:36.980 against Archie Bunker.
00:19:39.460 Worse
00:19:39.780 Trump is actually
00:19:41.420 supported
00:19:41.980 by real racists
00:19:43.920 and white supremacists
00:19:45.060 and that still
00:19:46.440 wasn't enough
00:19:47.100 of a problem.
00:19:48.720 Who do you think
00:19:49.360 your identity politics
00:19:50.400 is for?
00:19:51.940 You're really going to
00:19:52.760 keep celebrating
00:19:53.620 pornographers
00:19:54.460 of racial grievance
00:19:55.660 like Ta-Nehisi Coates
00:19:57.080 and Ibram X. Kendi.
00:19:58.820 Should we just give
00:19:59.300 another Pulitzer Prize
00:20:00.320 to the 1619 Project
00:20:01.760 and congratulate ourselves?
00:20:04.140 You really think
00:20:05.380 racism
00:20:06.160 is the problem
00:20:07.620 in America?
00:20:09.180 And what we saw
00:20:09.700 this week
00:20:10.120 was just a victory
00:20:11.040 for white male
00:20:12.160 identity politics?
00:20:13.800 That's how you're going
00:20:14.460 to explain
00:20:14.920 Trump's popularity
00:20:15.860 at this point?
00:20:18.040 Trump
00:20:18.540 gained
00:20:19.320 support
00:20:20.060 from
00:20:20.940 every racial group
00:20:22.660 except
00:20:23.940 white people.
00:20:25.100 where he lost
00:20:26.500 one percentage point
00:20:27.540 when compared
00:20:28.600 to 2020.
00:20:29.820 You're going to
00:20:30.760 chalk that up
00:20:31.760 to racism?
00:20:33.740 We're about
00:20:34.520 five days out
00:20:35.340 from the election
00:20:35.880 when I'm recording this
00:20:37.000 and I'm still hearing
00:20:38.860 prominent Democrats
00:20:40.640 say things like
00:20:41.900 America was never
00:20:43.420 going to elect
00:20:44.060 a black woman
00:20:44.920 for president
00:20:45.900 in the year 2024.
00:20:48.320 That's not the issue
00:20:49.720 and if you keep
00:20:50.940 this up
00:20:51.560 you're going to get
00:20:53.120 President
00:20:53.700 Candace fucking
00:20:54.780 Owens
00:20:55.360 someday.
00:20:57.080 Wouldn't that be
00:20:57.720 a perfect rejoinder
00:20:58.840 to this stupidity?
00:21:01.140 I hope it's obvious
00:21:02.560 from everything
00:21:03.500 I've said
00:21:04.160 and written
00:21:04.680 for years
00:21:05.820 and from the first
00:21:07.120 half of this podcast
00:21:08.220 that I understand
00:21:09.960 the frustration
00:21:10.880 and even revulsion
00:21:12.700 that people feel
00:21:14.060 for the far left
00:21:14.940 and for the
00:21:15.860 progressive orthodoxy
00:21:17.280 that has infected
00:21:18.380 our institutions
00:21:19.180 for the censoriousness
00:21:21.280 and thought policing
00:21:22.340 and the gaslighting
00:21:24.280 and the lying.
00:21:26.160 I understand
00:21:26.860 the degree
00:21:27.520 to which our institutions
00:21:28.660 have been bent
00:21:30.400 by this
00:21:31.220 and anyone
00:21:32.480 who's followed
00:21:33.000 my work
00:21:33.560 from the beginning
00:21:34.460 knows that I've
00:21:35.640 been outraged
00:21:36.340 by this encroaching
00:21:37.240 moral blindness
00:21:38.000 for at least 20 years
00:21:39.320 long before
00:21:40.860 wokeness
00:21:41.640 or Black Lives Matter
00:21:43.200 or trans activism
00:21:44.740 or defund
00:21:46.100 the police.
00:21:46.720 In the years
00:21:48.140 after September 11th
00:21:49.660 2001
00:21:50.360 when I began
00:21:51.440 to focus
00:21:51.860 on the problem
00:21:52.460 of Islamism
00:21:53.380 and jihadism
00:21:54.180 I was complaining
00:21:55.580 about just this.
00:21:57.680 I could see
00:21:58.300 that anyone
00:21:58.880 who described
00:21:59.820 these problems
00:22:01.040 too honestly
00:22:02.180 would get tarred
00:22:03.740 as a racist
00:22:04.480 as though that
00:22:05.380 made any sense.
00:22:06.740 I saw how someone
00:22:07.440 like Ayaan Hirsi Ali
00:22:08.580 was treated
00:22:09.740 like an untouchable
00:22:10.700 by left-wing
00:22:11.600 think tanks
00:22:12.280 and liberal writers.
00:22:14.280 How even
00:22:14.700 Nicholas Kristof
00:22:15.660 at the New York Times
00:22:16.640 whose whole shtick
00:22:18.300 was to show
00:22:19.060 his concern
00:22:19.680 about the rights
00:22:20.340 of women
00:22:20.780 in the developing world.
00:22:22.560 Even he felt obliged
00:22:24.100 to condemn Ayaan
00:22:25.720 as an Islamophobe.
00:22:27.780 This is a woman
00:22:28.280 who is quite literally
00:22:29.060 being hunted
00:22:29.760 by Muslim theocrats
00:22:31.460 in one of the most
00:22:32.500 cosmopolitan societies
00:22:33.920 we have
00:22:34.860 modern Holland.
00:22:37.060 For years
00:22:37.900 I witnessed
00:22:38.840 journalists obfuscate
00:22:40.380 about the threat
00:22:41.360 of Islamic extremism.
00:22:43.300 Someone was found
00:22:44.040 just stabbing people
00:22:45.340 in a European city
00:22:46.320 or mowing them down
00:22:48.080 with his car
00:22:48.820 shouting
00:22:49.900 Allahu Akbar
00:22:50.660 and it would be reported
00:22:52.240 that the motive
00:22:52.980 for the crime
00:22:53.960 was still mysterious
00:22:55.200 and the perpetrator
00:22:56.720 would be described
00:22:57.460 at most
00:22:58.020 as an immigrant.
00:22:59.620 Sometimes every detail
00:23:00.980 like this
00:23:01.780 was suppressed
00:23:02.640 and you'd have no idea
00:23:04.040 what happened.
00:23:04.960 Just random mass murder.
00:23:07.380 Needless to say
00:23:07.860 this kind of
00:23:08.640 politically correct
00:23:09.860 dishonesty
00:23:10.760 has since spread
00:23:12.020 to many other topics
00:23:13.140 as the left-wing
00:23:14.740 hatred of western
00:23:15.880 civilization
00:23:16.540 and capitalism
00:23:17.900 and white people
00:23:19.260 has distorted
00:23:20.300 everything
00:23:21.000 left of center.
00:23:23.360 I understand
00:23:24.360 how infuriating
00:23:26.460 this is
00:23:27.080 especially on an issue
00:23:28.560 that touches
00:23:29.040 your life directly.
00:23:31.080 I know what it's like
00:23:31.900 to read an article
00:23:32.580 in the New York Times
00:23:33.540 and to spot
00:23:34.740 obvious lies
00:23:36.260 but the alternative
00:23:38.100 to the failure
00:23:39.680 of journalism
00:23:40.460 simply isn't
00:23:42.100 the fire hose
00:23:43.420 of lies
00:23:44.180 and half-truths
00:23:45.260 and conspiracy theories
00:23:46.500 that you find
00:23:47.660 on X
00:23:48.320 and it's not
00:23:49.900 the calculated
00:23:50.920 and ever-present
00:23:52.060 distortion
00:23:52.620 you find
00:23:53.180 in right-wing
00:23:53.900 news channels
00:23:54.680 that never had
00:23:55.760 any journalistic
00:23:56.700 standards to violate
00:23:57.920 in the first place.
00:23:59.780 There is simply
00:24:00.560 no alternative
00:24:01.580 to healthy institutions
00:24:03.740 that maintain
00:24:05.120 their credibility
00:24:05.960 even when they
00:24:07.300 make mistakes
00:24:08.160 by reliably
00:24:09.560 correcting their errors.
00:24:11.760 And when they
00:24:12.260 fall short
00:24:12.880 of this standard
00:24:13.680 they can be
00:24:14.780 pressured
00:24:15.220 to do better
00:24:16.240 because they have
00:24:17.660 intellectual
00:24:18.380 and moral
00:24:19.420 scruples.
00:24:20.880 It's an imperfect
00:24:21.620 process
00:24:22.340 but it's the best
00:24:23.740 we've got.
00:24:25.280 Elon Musk
00:24:26.300 never corrects
00:24:27.740 his errors.
00:24:29.340 Chukar Carlson
00:24:30.400 never corrects
00:24:32.120 his errors.
00:24:33.700 Donald Trump
00:24:34.440 never makes
00:24:35.540 errors
00:24:36.020 because he
00:24:36.680 never stops
00:24:37.280 lying.
00:24:38.680 He's playing
00:24:39.200 tennis without
00:24:40.060 the net
00:24:40.640 and his fans
00:24:42.240 love it.
00:24:44.200 Putting your
00:24:44.660 faith
00:24:45.140 in deranged
00:24:46.600 personalities
00:24:47.500 isn't a viable
00:24:49.380 alternative
00:24:50.080 to having
00:24:50.840 truly liberal
00:24:51.940 institutions
00:24:52.700 that you can
00:24:54.000 trust
00:24:54.480 and that can
00:24:55.460 be obliged
00:24:56.060 to earn
00:24:56.620 your trust
00:24:57.300 back
00:24:57.860 when they
00:24:58.720 fail.
00:24:59.780 I understand
00:25:01.000 how satisfying
00:25:02.300 it is
00:25:02.980 to find
00:25:03.880 a new
00:25:04.380 bully
00:25:04.760 to beat
00:25:05.760 up the
00:25:06.160 other
00:25:06.380 bullies
00:25:06.900 who've
00:25:07.600 been
00:25:07.740 making
00:25:08.000 you
00:25:08.220 miserable.
00:25:09.580 But the
00:25:09.900 problem is
00:25:10.580 this new
00:25:11.560 bully
00:25:11.900 is worse.
00:25:13.600 This new
00:25:14.120 bully has
00:25:14.680 no principles.
00:25:16.100 This new
00:25:16.480 bully has
00:25:17.000 no journalistic
00:25:17.960 or academic
00:25:18.780 or scientific
00:25:20.200 conscience
00:25:20.980 to appeal
00:25:21.720 to.
00:25:22.500 Whatever
00:25:22.940 might be
00:25:23.360 wrong with
00:25:23.920 a person
00:25:24.300 like Anthony
00:25:24.940 Fauci
00:25:25.420 or Francis
00:25:26.360 Collins
00:25:26.820 or any
00:25:27.640 of the
00:25:27.820 other
00:25:28.000 doctors
00:25:28.480 who have
00:25:28.860 been
00:25:29.060 demonized
00:25:29.960 right of
00:25:30.360 center
00:25:30.660 for their
00:25:31.280 approach
00:25:31.600 to setting
00:25:32.020 COVID
00:25:32.480 policy.
00:25:33.640 At least
00:25:34.320 they are
00:25:35.020 real doctors
00:25:35.920 and scientists
00:25:37.280 who have
00:25:38.120 some
00:25:38.660 professional
00:25:39.360 scruples
00:25:39.940 and reputations
00:25:41.240 to protect
00:25:41.860 among people
00:25:43.120 who actually
00:25:43.740 know something
00:25:44.580 about medical
00:25:45.380 science.
00:25:46.540 RFK Jr.
00:25:48.180 has none
00:25:48.720 of that.
00:25:49.740 He's just
00:25:50.080 a cowboy
00:25:50.660 taking shots
00:25:51.800 at the
00:25:52.040 establishment.
00:25:53.720 The Joe
00:25:54.140 Rogan
00:25:54.540 podcast
00:25:54.980 is not
00:25:56.140 a substitute
00:25:56.780 for the
00:25:57.760 Wall Street
00:25:58.260 Journal
00:25:58.660 or the
00:25:59.460 Kennedy
00:25:59.760 School
00:26:00.160 at
00:26:00.400 Harvard.
00:26:01.380 It is
00:26:02.220 simply
00:26:02.600 not
00:26:03.020 progress
00:26:03.680 to have
00:26:04.460 a comedian
00:26:05.040 like Dave
00:26:05.940 Smith
00:26:06.480 who's
00:26:07.080 apparently
00:26:07.400 done his
00:26:07.900 own research
00:26:08.600 interviewed
00:26:09.440 about the
00:26:09.960 history of
00:26:10.480 the Middle
00:26:10.780 East
00:26:11.160 or the
00:26:11.760 war in
00:26:12.100 Ukraine
00:26:12.580 like he's
00:26:13.540 the next
00:26:14.000 Henry Kissinger.
00:26:15.640 All of
00:26:16.180 this free
00:26:16.740 access to
00:26:17.680 information
00:26:18.280 is making
00:26:19.740 us
00:26:20.120 dumber.
00:26:22.040 Of course
00:26:22.900 I blame
00:26:23.460 Trump
00:26:23.920 and social
00:26:24.820 media
00:26:25.200 for how
00:26:25.980 divisive
00:26:26.480 our
00:26:26.640 politics
00:26:27.120 have
00:26:27.620 become.
00:26:29.080 Trump
00:26:29.260 is what
00:26:29.500 you get
00:26:29.740 when 51%
00:26:30.600 of a
00:26:30.880 society
00:26:31.300 just
00:26:31.560 declares
00:26:31.880 bankruptcy
00:26:32.520 on core
00:26:33.720 moral values
00:26:34.620 and political
00:26:35.580 principles
00:26:36.100 and journalistic
00:26:37.280 ethics
00:26:37.700 and necessary
00:26:38.860 institutions.
00:26:40.300 There is
00:26:40.800 no real
00:26:41.420 defense
00:26:42.020 of Trump
00:26:43.240 and Trumpism.
00:26:45.120 All his
00:26:45.520 defenders
00:26:45.880 act like
00:26:46.420 his critics
00:26:47.000 just don't
00:26:47.540 like the
00:26:47.860 man's
00:26:48.200 style.
00:26:49.160 He's
00:26:49.320 just too
00:26:49.660 crass
00:26:50.140 or bombastic
00:26:51.060 or they
00:26:51.940 think we're
00:26:52.240 worried about
00:26:52.800 hypothetical
00:26:53.300 things that
00:26:54.040 might never
00:26:54.460 happen.
00:26:54.780 We're
00:26:55.560 worried he
00:26:55.920 might
00:26:56.080 become
00:26:56.620 a
00:26:56.900 fascist
00:26:57.380 in the
00:26:57.940 future
00:26:58.240 and needless
00:26:59.060 to say
00:26:59.280 these concerns
00:26:59.860 are telltale
00:27:01.020 signs of
00:27:01.660 Trump derangement
00:27:02.600 syndrome.
00:27:03.520 But none of
00:27:04.340 that is true.
00:27:05.760 The problem
00:27:06.360 with Trump
00:27:07.040 isn't his
00:27:08.140 style and
00:27:09.240 it's not
00:27:09.500 merely what
00:27:10.040 might happen
00:27:10.780 in the
00:27:11.220 future.
00:27:12.220 The problem
00:27:12.800 is what
00:27:13.320 has already
00:27:13.840 happened.
00:27:14.920 It's the
00:27:15.300 damage that
00:27:15.900 Trump has
00:27:16.420 already caused
00:27:17.540 to our
00:27:18.120 democracy.
00:27:18.600 And it's
00:27:19.820 the fact
00:27:20.140 that he
00:27:20.360 has turned
00:27:20.820 the Republican
00:27:21.300 Party into
00:27:21.880 a personality
00:27:22.580 cult that
00:27:23.800 celebrates all
00:27:24.700 this damage
00:27:25.320 as a sign
00:27:25.920 of progress.
00:27:27.300 For instance,
00:27:28.160 while many
00:27:28.520 of us really
00:27:29.380 wanted Kamala
00:27:30.160 Harris to
00:27:30.620 win on
00:27:31.380 Tuesday,
00:27:32.240 we are also
00:27:33.320 breathing a
00:27:33.900 sigh of relief
00:27:34.540 that she
00:27:34.900 didn't win
00:27:35.680 by a very
00:27:36.460 narrow margin.
00:27:38.140 Why are we
00:27:38.700 relieved about
00:27:39.740 this?
00:27:40.560 Because Trump
00:27:41.740 and Elon
00:27:42.660 and several
00:27:43.740 other high
00:27:44.440 profile freaks
00:27:45.720 spread so
00:27:46.780 many lies
00:27:47.660 and conspiracy
00:27:48.600 theories about
00:27:49.560 election fraud
00:27:50.380 that they
00:27:51.360 effectively rigged
00:27:52.720 our society
00:27:53.480 to explode.
00:27:55.860 On the day
00:27:56.880 of the vote,
00:27:58.300 Trump and
00:27:58.620 Elon were
00:27:59.040 both spreading
00:27:59.840 lies about a
00:28:00.720 terrible fraud
00:28:01.620 being perpetrated
00:28:02.460 in Pennsylvania.
00:28:03.940 Now that Trump
00:28:04.580 won, where's
00:28:06.080 the concern
00:28:06.620 about fraud?
00:28:07.940 It just
00:28:08.320 evaporated.
00:28:09.660 I guess Elon
00:28:10.200 looked into it
00:28:10.900 and our voting
00:28:11.340 machines are fine
00:28:12.100 now, right?
00:28:13.960 Pay attention
00:28:15.060 to what happened
00:28:16.080 here.
00:28:17.080 These guys
00:28:17.640 imposed a
00:28:18.380 serious risk
00:28:19.360 of injury
00:28:19.980 on our
00:28:20.820 whole society
00:28:21.720 for purely
00:28:22.880 selfish reasons.
00:28:24.620 And the fact
00:28:25.080 that we're now
00:28:25.580 relieved to
00:28:26.580 have avoided
00:28:27.060 a civil war
00:28:28.020 is itself
00:28:29.340 an injury
00:28:30.020 to our
00:28:30.720 democracy
00:28:31.240 and to
00:28:32.220 our social
00:28:32.660 order.
00:28:34.140 Is this
00:28:35.020 too ethereal
00:28:35.920 a point
00:28:36.580 to understand?
00:28:38.180 If someone
00:28:39.180 rigs your
00:28:39.820 house to
00:28:40.380 explode
00:28:40.960 and the
00:28:41.820 bomb just
00:28:42.280 happens to
00:28:42.860 not go
00:28:43.380 off
00:28:43.780 for reasons
00:28:44.860 that they
00:28:45.360 didn't
00:28:45.760 actually
00:28:46.240 control,
00:28:47.540 it seems
00:28:47.920 to me
00:28:48.140 that they
00:28:48.500 don't get
00:28:48.760 to say,
00:28:49.540 well,
00:28:50.100 no harm,
00:28:50.520 no foul.
00:28:51.440 Let's just
00:28:51.940 move on.
00:28:53.000 Let's agree
00:28:53.440 to disagree
00:28:53.980 about what
00:28:54.600 happened here.
00:28:55.760 No.
00:28:56.700 You put our
00:28:57.600 whole democracy
00:28:58.720 at risk
00:28:59.640 with your
00:29:00.500 lies.
00:29:01.640 You knowingly
00:29:02.760 raised the
00:29:03.300 temperature and
00:29:04.200 the pressure
00:29:04.720 on your side
00:29:05.980 of the electorate,
00:29:07.240 again,
00:29:08.180 with lies,
00:29:09.640 and ran the
00:29:10.440 risk of producing
00:29:11.140 serious violence
00:29:12.520 if things
00:29:13.460 had gone
00:29:13.800 the other
00:29:14.120 way.
00:29:15.180 Honestly,
00:29:15.660 there was a
00:29:16.040 moment on
00:29:16.740 Tuesday night
00:29:17.340 when the
00:29:18.140 tide had
00:29:18.660 fully turned
00:29:19.260 against Harris,
00:29:20.180 when the
00:29:20.760 needle over
00:29:21.220 at the
00:29:21.420 New York
00:29:21.660 Times website
00:29:22.460 was giving
00:29:23.200 Trump an
00:29:23.640 89%
00:29:24.340 probability
00:29:24.920 of winning,
00:29:25.680 but the
00:29:26.180 blue wall
00:29:26.680 states had
00:29:27.220 not been
00:29:27.560 decided.
00:29:28.660 It was
00:29:28.920 still possible
00:29:29.740 at that
00:29:30.480 point for
00:29:30.880 Harris to
00:29:31.280 win.
00:29:32.120 One in
00:29:32.620 ten chance
00:29:33.300 events happen
00:29:33.940 all the
00:29:34.300 time,
00:29:34.900 but I
00:29:35.580 remember
00:29:35.900 thinking
00:29:36.400 that I
00:29:37.080 hope she
00:29:37.460 doesn't
00:29:37.980 win now,
00:29:39.380 because at
00:29:39.880 that point,
00:29:40.600 given the
00:29:41.480 optics,
00:29:42.660 given that
00:29:43.000 Republicans
00:29:43.500 really thought
00:29:44.440 they had
00:29:44.880 it in
00:29:45.060 the bag,
00:29:45.980 and that
00:29:46.260 even Democrats
00:29:47.200 seemed to
00:29:47.960 think that,
00:29:48.680 and thought
00:29:48.940 that publicly
00:29:49.620 in plain
00:29:50.660 view of
00:29:51.080 everyone on
00:29:52.040 television and
00:29:53.020 social media,
00:29:54.300 if Harris's
00:29:54.980 luck had
00:29:55.760 turned at
00:29:56.620 that point,
00:29:57.380 and she
00:29:57.900 had won,
00:29:58.820 we could
00:29:59.180 have had a
00:29:59.560 civil war,
00:30:00.880 given the
00:30:01.400 degree to
00:30:01.860 which conspiracy
00:30:02.640 thinking had
00:30:04.000 been weaponized
00:30:04.960 by Trump
00:30:06.000 and his
00:30:06.680 enablers.
00:30:07.860 Again,
00:30:08.440 even on
00:30:09.080 election day
00:30:09.820 itself,
00:30:10.600 these lies
00:30:11.540 had been
00:30:11.940 spread
00:30:12.480 consciously,
00:30:13.940 deliberately.
00:30:15.240 Elon did
00:30:15.820 this personally
00:30:16.780 to hundreds
00:30:18.080 of millions
00:30:18.640 of people
00:30:19.180 on the
00:30:19.780 social media
00:30:20.400 platform that
00:30:21.240 he owns.
00:30:22.880 Given all
00:30:23.400 of that,
00:30:24.660 honestly,
00:30:25.420 I think it
00:30:25.820 simply wasn't
00:30:26.500 safe for
00:30:27.620 Harris to
00:30:28.100 win a free
00:30:28.540 and fair
00:30:28.840 election at
00:30:29.600 that point.
00:30:30.740 That is a
00:30:31.660 totally crazy
00:30:32.940 thought to
00:30:33.540 have had
00:30:34.020 on election
00:30:35.180 night in
00:30:36.200 America in
00:30:37.320 the year
00:30:37.580 2024.
00:30:38.240 where do
00:30:40.120 we send
00:30:40.460 the bill
00:30:41.000 for the
00:30:41.820 damage
00:30:42.400 that has
00:30:43.040 been done
00:30:43.660 to our
00:30:44.480 country?
00:30:46.700 Half of
00:30:47.460 our society
00:30:48.200 just elected
00:30:49.660 a man to
00:30:50.180 the presidency
00:30:50.780 who they
00:30:52.180 know would
00:30:53.400 not have
00:30:53.820 accepted the
00:30:54.380 results of
00:30:54.840 the election
00:30:55.320 had he
00:30:56.140 lost.
00:30:57.280 Vice
00:30:57.480 President
00:30:57.780 Harris
00:30:58.220 conceded the
00:30:58.860 next day,
00:30:59.900 as everyone
00:31:00.480 knew she
00:31:00.920 would.
00:31:02.000 There is
00:31:02.340 probably no
00:31:03.320 one who
00:31:04.100 supported
00:31:04.500 Trump who
00:31:05.660 thinks that
00:31:06.180 he would
00:31:06.600 have done
00:31:07.080 what they
00:31:08.000 fully expected
00:31:09.380 Harris to
00:31:10.340 do,
00:31:11.080 which is to
00:31:11.540 protect the
00:31:12.080 most important
00:31:12.740 norm of
00:31:13.320 our democracy,
00:31:14.540 the very
00:31:14.980 thing that
00:31:15.460 makes it
00:31:15.820 possible,
00:31:17.040 the peaceful
00:31:17.520 transfer of
00:31:18.140 power.
00:31:19.100 And the
00:31:19.420 astonishing
00:31:20.020 thing is
00:31:21.300 that Trump
00:31:21.700 supporters are
00:31:22.380 totally okay
00:31:23.640 with this
00:31:24.620 asymmetry.
00:31:25.800 They expected
00:31:26.800 Harris to
00:31:27.540 concede and
00:31:28.600 would have
00:31:28.900 demanded that
00:31:29.740 she do it,
00:31:30.860 and yet they
00:31:31.280 know Trump
00:31:32.260 wouldn't have
00:31:32.840 conceded if
00:31:33.900 he lost.
00:31:34.420 understanding
00:31:35.680 all the
00:31:36.340 risk this
00:31:37.300 would have
00:31:37.600 posed to
00:31:38.500 our social
00:31:38.960 fabric,
00:31:39.780 and they
00:31:40.500 are fine
00:31:40.960 with that.
00:31:42.580 That is
00:31:43.300 already the
00:31:44.640 ruination of
00:31:45.820 our politics.
00:31:47.180 That is
00:31:48.300 what the
00:31:48.840 path to
00:31:49.420 fascism
00:31:50.020 looks like.
00:31:51.320 We are
00:31:51.780 already on
00:31:52.700 it.
00:31:53.620 There is
00:31:54.000 nothing
00:31:54.300 hypothetical
00:31:55.080 about this.
00:31:56.600 Bad things
00:31:57.460 have already
00:31:58.220 happened.
00:31:59.360 And this
00:31:59.880 is true
00:32:00.460 whatever
00:32:01.540 happens over
00:32:02.760 the next
00:32:03.080 four years.
00:32:04.420 It's like
00:32:04.940 in the
00:32:05.200 film
00:32:05.500 The
00:32:05.800 Exorcist.
00:32:06.840 If your
00:32:07.420 kid has
00:32:07.920 stigmata
00:32:08.600 and is
00:32:09.420 vomiting
00:32:09.800 green goo
00:32:10.700 in all
00:32:11.080 directions
00:32:11.560 and is
00:32:12.380 moving
00:32:12.640 furniture
00:32:13.200 with her
00:32:13.640 mind,
00:32:15.020 you should
00:32:15.600 admit that
00:32:16.560 you have
00:32:16.840 a problem.
00:32:17.800 It
00:32:17.940 shouldn't
00:32:18.220 require
00:32:18.640 Satan
00:32:19.180 himself
00:32:19.880 to make
00:32:20.780 an
00:32:20.900 appearance.
00:32:22.100 What is
00:32:22.940 so frustrating
00:32:23.940 about Trump
00:32:24.880 supporters is
00:32:26.060 that they
00:32:26.280 refuse to
00:32:26.960 acknowledge
00:32:27.400 any of
00:32:27.940 this.
00:32:28.900 They
00:32:29.100 simply
00:32:29.640 refuse to
00:32:30.480 acknowledge
00:32:31.040 how
00:32:31.800 pathological
00:32:32.760 our situation
00:32:33.500 is and
00:32:34.540 how
00:32:34.700 pathological
00:32:35.380 Trump
00:32:35.960 himself
00:32:36.620 has
00:32:37.120 made
00:32:37.360 it.
00:32:38.220 Whatever
00:32:38.540 story you
00:32:39.160 have in
00:32:39.460 your head
00:32:39.880 about all
00:32:40.740 the good
00:32:41.320 Trump might
00:32:42.160 do in a
00:32:42.620 second term,
00:32:43.920 he's a
00:32:44.380 disruptor.
00:32:45.500 He's got all
00:32:46.220 the tech
00:32:46.640 bros in
00:32:47.160 there with
00:32:47.520 him.
00:32:48.140 He's just
00:32:48.760 crazy enough
00:32:49.380 to scare
00:32:49.780 our enemies.
00:32:50.920 Or he's
00:32:51.240 just a
00:32:51.540 bullshitter
00:32:52.000 and he
00:32:52.200 won't do
00:32:52.480 half of
00:32:52.840 what he
00:32:53.060 claims he'll
00:32:53.500 do,
00:32:53.780 so don't
00:32:53.980 worry about
00:32:54.420 it.
00:32:55.080 Whatever
00:32:55.420 story you're
00:32:56.220 telling
00:32:56.440 yourself,
00:32:57.440 here is
00:32:57.880 what is
00:32:58.180 true
00:32:58.600 now.
00:33:00.180 We are
00:33:00.760 returning a
00:33:01.560 man to
00:33:01.940 the Oval
00:33:02.320 Office
00:33:02.780 who as
00:33:03.780 a sitting
00:33:04.340 president
00:33:04.840 would not
00:33:05.900 commit to
00:33:06.380 a peaceful
00:33:06.780 transfer of
00:33:07.360 power and
00:33:08.560 who tried
00:33:08.980 to steal
00:33:09.740 the 2020
00:33:10.460 election all
00:33:11.960 the while
00:33:12.420 claiming it
00:33:13.140 was being
00:33:13.520 stolen from
00:33:14.440 him.
00:33:15.120 And he
00:33:15.620 has lied
00:33:16.100 about this
00:33:16.820 ever since,
00:33:18.320 knowing that
00:33:18.980 these lies
00:33:19.760 stand as a
00:33:21.000 continuous
00:33:21.540 provocation to
00:33:23.180 violence.
00:33:24.100 And there
00:33:24.720 are court
00:33:25.100 cases pending
00:33:26.140 seeking to
00:33:27.240 hold him
00:33:27.520 accountable for
00:33:28.320 all of this,
00:33:29.440 cases which now
00:33:30.140 that he'll be
00:33:30.500 in control of
00:33:30.980 the Justice
00:33:31.320 Department will
00:33:32.300 be dismissed.
00:33:33.580 We're putting
00:33:34.380 Trump back
00:33:35.540 in power when
00:33:37.020 we know that
00:33:38.340 he can't
00:33:38.820 honestly discharge
00:33:39.740 his oath of
00:33:40.280 office because
00:33:41.360 he has no
00:33:41.900 respect for
00:33:42.440 the Constitution.
00:33:43.720 And half of
00:33:44.160 our society is
00:33:44.880 not only willing
00:33:45.620 to run this
00:33:46.380 risk, they're
00:33:47.500 positively jubilant
00:33:49.000 about it.
00:33:50.360 At a minimum,
00:33:51.700 you should
00:33:52.220 acknowledge that
00:33:53.460 these events have
00:33:54.260 seriously injured
00:33:55.520 our politics.
00:33:56.980 Again, whatever
00:33:57.980 happens over the
00:33:59.040 next four years.
00:33:59.720 And I have
00:34:01.700 something that I
00:34:02.100 really must say
00:34:02.820 to Joe Rogan
00:34:04.140 and the other
00:34:04.940 podcasters who
00:34:05.820 interviewed Trump.
00:34:07.540 You can't have
00:34:08.700 it both ways.
00:34:10.200 You don't get
00:34:10.700 to say that this
00:34:11.540 was the podcast
00:34:12.340 election and
00:34:13.840 that these long
00:34:14.460 form conversations
00:34:15.440 are incredibly
00:34:16.240 important for
00:34:16.960 people to hear
00:34:17.620 so that they
00:34:18.520 can make up
00:34:18.920 their mind
00:34:19.340 about who
00:34:19.660 to vote for
00:34:20.220 and then take
00:34:21.520 no journalistic
00:34:22.520 responsibility
00:34:23.160 whatsoever to
00:34:24.780 get your facts
00:34:25.400 straight or to
00:34:26.500 expose obvious
00:34:27.660 lies when you're
00:34:29.000 talking to the
00:34:29.620 most prolific
00:34:30.280 liar on earth.
00:34:31.920 You don't get
00:34:32.640 to spout endless
00:34:33.820 conspiracy theories
00:34:35.000 about how our
00:34:35.960 election system
00:34:36.680 is dangerously
00:34:37.540 broken and
00:34:38.720 vulnerable to
00:34:39.380 fraud.
00:34:40.080 And then when
00:34:40.780 your candidate
00:34:41.340 wins, say,
00:34:42.940 oh, well,
00:34:43.180 Trump's victory
00:34:43.760 was just too
00:34:44.380 big for them
00:34:44.960 to rig the
00:34:45.480 election.
00:34:46.540 No.
00:34:47.520 How about
00:34:48.100 realizing that
00:34:49.280 there was
00:34:49.560 nothing significantly
00:34:50.640 wrong with our
00:34:51.440 election system
00:34:52.120 in the first
00:34:52.560 place, and that
00:34:53.860 all these concerns
00:34:54.820 about fraud
00:34:55.740 were lies
00:34:57.140 coming from
00:34:58.140 your candidate
00:34:58.940 and his
00:34:59.740 surrogates, and
00:35:01.020 they were telling
00:35:01.620 these lies in
00:35:03.000 preparation for
00:35:04.020 not accepting
00:35:05.060 the results of
00:35:05.900 the election
00:35:06.460 had he lost.
00:35:08.360 And you let
00:35:09.100 your platform
00:35:09.700 be used for
00:35:10.880 that purpose
00:35:11.460 by people who
00:35:12.480 were willing to
00:35:13.120 shatter our
00:35:13.760 politics and
00:35:14.860 even risk
00:35:15.340 provoking a
00:35:16.000 civil war out
00:35:17.180 of personal
00:35:17.820 self-interest.
00:35:19.340 Every podcaster
00:35:20.440 who interviewed
00:35:21.060 Trump managed
00:35:22.200 to make it seem
00:35:22.780 like all the
00:35:23.440 bad things that
00:35:24.280 have ever been
00:35:24.760 said about him
00:35:25.420 were the result
00:35:26.320 of some left-wing
00:35:27.400 elite media
00:35:28.560 conspiracy.
00:35:30.000 To interview
00:35:30.740 Trump or his
00:35:32.240 surrogates
00:35:32.820 responsibly would
00:35:34.680 have required
00:35:35.380 that you put
00:35:36.080 them on the
00:35:36.580 spot for any
00:35:37.540 number of
00:35:38.240 odious things
00:35:39.080 he has said
00:35:39.640 and done,
00:35:40.680 and for things
00:35:41.180 he said he
00:35:41.620 intends to do
00:35:42.520 in his second
00:35:43.340 term, all of
00:35:44.780 which are well
00:35:45.280 documented, and
00:35:46.760 many of which
00:35:47.300 should be totally
00:35:48.020 disqualifying in
00:35:49.020 a presidential
00:35:49.500 candidate.
00:35:50.540 It's not enough
00:35:51.360 to just turn on
00:35:52.240 the microphones
00:35:52.780 and have a
00:35:53.400 conversation.
00:35:53.920 And it
00:35:54.940 doesn't matter
00:35:55.540 that it's
00:35:55.940 three hours
00:35:56.480 long, if
00:35:57.340 all you're
00:35:57.680 going to
00:35:57.940 do is
00:35:58.260 launder the
00:35:59.000 man's
00:35:59.440 lies by
00:36:00.600 ignoring them
00:36:01.320 in the
00:36:01.540 interests of
00:36:02.040 maintaining
00:36:02.540 good vibes.
00:36:04.280 There is a
00:36:05.140 complacency and
00:36:06.600 an amorality to
00:36:08.220 the way you
00:36:08.620 approach this
00:36:09.380 that was
00:36:10.020 actively
00:36:10.580 harmful.
00:36:12.660 And all you
00:36:13.020 people with
00:36:13.540 Twitter files
00:36:14.340 derangement
00:36:14.960 syndrome, just
00:36:16.340 how fair and
00:36:17.100 balanced are
00:36:17.720 things over
00:36:18.200 there at X
00:36:18.980 now?
00:36:19.820 Is it the
00:36:20.280 bastion of
00:36:20.980 free speech
00:36:21.600 you were
00:36:21.960 hoping for?
00:36:22.360 You think
00:36:23.260 having a
00:36:23.600 platform run
00:36:24.460 by a
00:36:24.900 manic
00:36:25.220 billionaire
00:36:25.680 who doesn't
00:36:26.220 trust any
00:36:26.660 of his
00:36:26.880 own
00:36:27.040 moderators
00:36:27.600 to vet
00:36:28.000 information,
00:36:29.020 so he
00:36:29.360 fires them,
00:36:30.340 but trusts
00:36:30.840 random
00:36:31.320 conspiracists
00:36:32.220 and lunatics,
00:36:33.380 so he
00:36:33.680 personally
00:36:34.120 amplifies their
00:36:34.960 lies to
00:36:35.660 200 million
00:36:36.640 followers,
00:36:37.380 you think
00:36:38.020 this is
00:36:39.280 progress?
00:36:40.800 Do you
00:36:41.020 think you'd
00:36:41.320 feel the
00:36:41.680 same way
00:36:42.160 if a
00:36:42.980 left-wing
00:36:43.440 billionaire
00:36:43.860 was boosting
00:36:44.940 activist
00:36:45.660 garbage to
00:36:46.460 his 200
00:36:46.920 million followers
00:36:47.700 every hour
00:36:48.520 on the
00:36:48.760 hour?
00:36:50.240 And perhaps
00:36:51.120 a note to
00:36:51.940 journalists and
00:36:53.260 scientists and
00:36:54.560 writers and
00:36:55.540 people with
00:36:56.640 actual reputations
00:36:57.600 to protect
00:36:58.240 and lives to
00:36:59.780 live, none
00:37:01.320 of this gets
00:37:01.780 any better until
00:37:02.440 you all decide
00:37:03.220 to leave X.
00:37:04.920 You know it's a
00:37:06.060 cesspool.
00:37:07.340 You know it's
00:37:08.040 harming our
00:37:08.500 society.
00:37:09.780 Most of you know
00:37:10.680 it's harming your
00:37:11.300 lives personally.
00:37:13.100 By merely being
00:37:14.280 there and making
00:37:15.340 it seem like
00:37:15.920 everyone has to
00:37:16.740 be there because
00:37:17.420 everyone is
00:37:18.080 there, you are
00:37:19.220 helping to build
00:37:19.980 the tool that is
00:37:20.740 making fact-based
00:37:21.740 conversation impossible.
00:37:24.220 Our society is
00:37:25.700 being riven by
00:37:27.460 lies, and social
00:37:29.120 media, and X in
00:37:30.560 particular, is
00:37:31.860 largely responsible
00:37:32.660 for this.
00:37:34.060 Of course I get
00:37:35.280 that some breaking
00:37:36.300 news happens there
00:37:37.960 first, and some
00:37:39.820 news might only
00:37:41.200 happen there, but
00:37:42.800 if that's a feature
00:37:43.680 of social media that
00:37:45.400 we simply must
00:37:46.240 conserve, well
00:37:47.560 then we have to
00:37:48.260 instantiate it
00:37:49.140 elsewhere, not
00:37:50.540 on a platform
00:37:51.440 owned and run
00:37:53.040 and entirely
00:37:54.280 dominated by a
00:37:56.300 meme junkie who
00:37:58.220 lost all of his
00:37:59.380 principles years
00:38:00.620 ago.
00:38:02.080 Once again,
00:38:03.100 everything I've
00:38:04.000 been talking about
00:38:05.120 and complaining
00:38:05.760 about has already
00:38:07.300 happened, but
00:38:09.400 looking forward,
00:38:11.040 of course there are
00:38:11.740 reasons to be
00:38:12.320 worried about a
00:38:13.080 second Trump term.
00:38:14.660 is RFK Jr.
00:38:16.660 really going to be
00:38:17.140 setting medical
00:38:17.740 policy for the
00:38:18.460 country?
00:38:19.380 That should make
00:38:20.080 your head explode.
00:38:21.680 Is Trump going to
00:38:22.620 weaken our
00:38:23.120 international alliances?
00:38:24.680 Will he pull us
00:38:25.480 out of NATO?
00:38:26.560 If we have fewer
00:38:27.580 biological men and
00:38:28.760 women's sports, are
00:38:29.980 we also going to
00:38:30.480 have fewer
00:38:30.860 democracies?
00:38:32.260 Is that a fair
00:38:33.020 trade?
00:38:34.320 Is Trump going to
00:38:35.260 call the MyPillow
00:38:36.200 guy and the
00:38:36.960 Pizzagate dummies
00:38:38.060 for advice on how
00:38:39.260 to run the world?
00:38:39.900 Or will he
00:38:41.000 suddenly pivot and
00:38:42.320 surround himself with
00:38:43.160 competent, ethical
00:38:44.420 advisors?
00:38:45.940 Well, we'll have to
00:38:46.900 wait and see.
00:38:48.640 Needless to say, I
00:38:49.380 will respond to
00:38:50.120 whatever happens on
00:38:51.280 this podcast.
00:38:52.820 But I'm not going to
00:38:54.060 spend the next four
00:38:54.860 years obsessing about
00:38:56.500 Donald Trump.
00:38:58.120 As I've said before, I
00:38:59.220 consider him one of
00:38:59.860 the greatest opportunity
00:39:00.860 costs for humanity
00:39:02.380 to appear in my
00:39:03.720 lifetime.
00:39:05.000 The fact that we've
00:39:05.860 had to think about
00:39:06.460 this man continuously
00:39:08.040 for a decade is just
00:39:10.500 an incredible piece
00:39:11.340 of bad luck.
00:39:13.880 So I'm going to do
00:39:15.740 my best to pick my
00:39:16.760 moments here.
00:39:18.600 I'm sure there will
00:39:19.360 be many over the
00:39:20.580 next four years, but
00:39:22.240 I am just not willing
00:39:23.040 to give more of my
00:39:23.740 time to politics than
00:39:25.560 is absolutely necessary.
00:39:28.120 And I will be sure to
00:39:29.160 tell you when I receive
00:39:29.920 that first IRS audit.
00:39:32.300 Thanks for listening.
00:39:38.040 Bye, Gel Ins MBAรบs.
00:39:49.300 Bye.
00:39:51.580 Bye.
00:39:52.540 Bye.
00:39:52.580 Bye.
00:39:52.780 Bye.
00:39:53.920 Bye.
00:39:54.480 Bye.
00:39:54.720 Bye.
00:39:55.440 Bye.
00:39:55.860 Bye.
00:39:56.300 Bye.
00:39:56.840 Bye.
00:39:56.940 Bye.
00:39:57.620 Bye.
00:39:57.920 Bye.
00:39:58.480 Bye.
00:39:58.680 Bye.
00:39:59.340 Bye.
00:39:59.960 Bye.
00:40:01.400 Bye.
00:40:01.980 Bye.
00:40:02.140 Bye.
00:40:02.320 Bye.
00:40:03.060 Bye.
00:40:03.260 Bye.
00:40:03.660 Bye.
00:40:03.900 Bye.
00:40:05.220 Voy.
00:40:05.840 Bye.
00:40:06.260 Bye.
00:40:07.340 Bye.