Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics, where we discussed the top political headlines with some of today's best minds, and a CBS you gov poll has Trump at his lowest approval rating of thirty seven percent. We have such a great show for you today. The Lincoln Project's own Rick Wilson joins us to discuss Senator Bill Cassidy losing his Senate seat and what it means for trumps support. Ben We'll talk to Assemblyman Michael Lasher about why he thinks he's the candidate to choose in
New York twelfth's crowded congressional race. But first the News.
Molly that this was a really good article on NBC News. It's entailed what GOP officials are hopeful and worried about six months from the mid terms, because I think we don't often get that perspective.
Yeah, so b, It's actually a really smart way to go. NBC News no longer a part of MS now loved them anyway. NBC News spoke to roughly thirty Republican National Committee members and GOP activists around the country. We saw Politico Playbook did this the other day where they talked to a very big guy from the Trump administration who is going onto the campaign side, and he basically said he's totally convinced that they're going to win and they're the best, which seemed very trumpy.
That felt more like spin. This felt a little more honest.
And you know why it's honest because you're not getting anyone's names, Whereas with James Blair from the White House, you've got his name, and you've got Trump who's you know who might see that, whereas here nobody's giving their names. And so they said they see reason for optimism, Okay, and what is that optimism? They think there's optimism because everybody who does use their name does actually say that everything's going to be right. Who is delivering real results
for the American people? Says Joseph would char Of, the chair of the Arkansas Republican Party. President Trump's administration has already run circles around failed President Biden. Okay, Joseph, I want whatever you're smoking, you know. So there's a lot of that. And then some of them are saying that because the redistricting, they might win, which is what we call cheating. In case you're wondering, a North Carolina Republican said we stopped the largest tax increase in American history.
I mean, I guess it's sort of true that his tax cut would have expired, but the rn C refused to comment. You know, we're in the third month of the Iranian War, and there's been a real divide between
America Firsters and Trumpy Trumpers. So that's a real split for them, you know, and Trump has been like a little involved, but mostly in trying to go off enemies, so I think, and you know, whenever Trump starts talking about the midterms on social when he starts posing about them, he basically says that they have to pass the same America Act so that they can so that make it harder for people to vote, which I think is a pretty good sign that he is a little bit worried
about what's coming down the pike.
Yep, we saw Governor Jared Poulis, who, while they have a democratded next to their name, is long thought to be much more of a libertarian Democrat, part in election, denier and mischief maker. To put it nicely, Tina Peters, this says people very very very very bad, and I would agree.
So the governor of Colorado. Jared Paulis is going to release Tina Peters from jail. And I think that what's important here is Tina Peters did a lot of crimes, election crimes, and Polis is going to commute her sentence. She's serving a nine year sentence, Like this is not some minor thing, right, she tried. Trump had wanted him to pardon her, and he's like cutting Colorado's federal funds
in order to make Polis partner her. Like it's a real blackmail stuff and it's really bad that he's doing it, But I bet what happened was he felt like he had to in order to get the money for Colorado. This is not how the federal government is supposed to work any which way. It was a I think it's a huge mistake to do it that way. Pardoning her
was terrible because it's sense of precedent. But I certainly could see how it happened, and I could see like Polus being set being in a situation where there was just nothing where he had sort of no choices. But I still think, like he's going to to regret this. We're all going to regret this, and you know, again, like we are still cruising into this midterm cycle, and while it looks like it may be okay, it's still far from We're still far from sure that this is
every that everything here is going to be fine. It seems like a really dicey moment for American democracy, and the idea that a democratic governor would pardon someone who's done election crimes is pretty dark.
Yeah, so we are now seeing a big reaction also to another governor, Abigail Spinberger down in Virginia. There are a lot of people who feel like she's giving up the fight on redistricting a little fast after some court losses.
She could in fact take this to the Supreme Court, and I'm not entirely sure why she wouldn't. Now, the Supreme Court is filled with partisan hacks, but you'll remember the very conservative of Virginia court, filled with Republicans, voted it down. But she can still take it up, and she seems like she's not wanting to. This Supreme Court has thwrown out this demended constitution which people voted for, and the referendum costs Democrats seventy million, and they really
did play by the rules to get over lined. I still think that Democrats will ultimately win. Again. This is this thing with asymmetrical warfare, where Democrats refuse to play in the same way that Republicans do. And so you have these Republican governors like the governor of Louisiana who's very maga and he's doing stuff like redistricting when people are already voting in the primaries, and then your democratic
governors refusing to do that. And the incentive structure is now that Republicans behave in a way that's anti democratic, and that's just it, you know, that's just what's expected of them, and Democrats still follow the rules. And you know what will happen eventually if this doesn't get rectified,
and it may not. If it doesn't get rectified, then Democrats will ultimately be what's happening really now, which is they won't be operating in the same political universe as Republicans, and that will mean that Democrats will play by the rules and Republicans will cheat.
So interesting thing. You know, when Trump first got into office, we talked a lot about Alligator Alcatraz and this was their big, big own, the Libs saying about how much the cruelty is going to be awesome. Well it looks like it's over with.
Some of these really dumb ideas. It's funny because Alligator Alcatraz was little death camps they built in the Everglades, and it was where they were going to send migrants some migrants there. It was hot, it was shitty, and it cost It was so expensive. And by the way, my favorite part is as they're closing it, Ron DeSantis says,
we save taxpayer money. No, honey, you didn't. And in fact, so the total spent on an Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot Depot, Florida's other state run detention centers, is at least four hundred and sixty million dollars. The highest bill, ninety two million, went to Duty Calls, a portable toilet and sanitation company. So basically, they spent like hundreds of millions of dollars and more than a million dollars a day. The Agency PROTECT projected the center would cost one point
one billion. By June twenty twenty six, they spent four hundred thousand dollars to Taser or International. I mean, like, you look at this spending and you are like, what the fuck, what the fuck?
So this is giving Putin's Russia grafted a real run for its money.
I mean, it's what we call fraud, waste and abuse. Perhaps you've heard of it.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, that's familiar. Why does it suff so familiar?
I don't know. I just I think Just Dance is doing it right now. Hey, it's Molly john Fast here. My memoir, How to Lose Your Mother is out now on paperback, arriving just ahead of Mother's Day. How to Lose Your Mother has garnered a lot of praise from Good Morning America, then Your Times, Book Review, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and a lot of other outlets Washington Post. The book is about what it's like to be part of the Sandwich generation, to take care of your mother and your children.
And I talk about being a mother and a daughter and the relationship I have with my mother and all of its complexities. It's funny and it's fraught, and it's sad, and it's about life. My story, this story, the story of How to Lose Your Mother, follows a year in which my mother, Erica Johng, is diagnosed with dementia, my husband faces a life threatening illness, and what unfolds is a really honest story about what happens when the shit
hits the fan and everything goes wrong. As The Washington Post said, the book is filled with lines so good you won't just want to underline them. It's a memoir that continues to resonate, so please pick it up. Rick Wilson is the founder of The Lincoln Project and the host of the Lincoln Project podcast. Rick Wilson by John Fast How are you Oh? Every day is another day of everything.
Fun, bridal, joy and pleasure.
Everything Trump touches die. Now it has.
Been said to be the case that everything Trump touches dies.
And the Louisiana Primary edition so amazing that Saturday Louisiana has a primary. It is no longer a jungle primary. It is a one party Republican primary. It is you'll notice there's not a congressional primary that day because the governor of Louisiana, who is a big Trump humper, decides that he's going to redistrict because the Donald Trump Supreme Court has killed the Voting Rights Act. So I'm just going to set you up for this. We have John,
we have Bill Cassidy. He votes to confirm RFK Junior despite the fact that he's a doctor. And then he comes in not first, not second, but third in his primary to keep his seat.
All these people that go to these MAGA rallies, they've heard that thing about the snake thousand times, right, they've heard that the thing about the snake. You knew I was a stake before he took me in. Bill Cassidy should have known that the minute he voted to impeach Trump after January sixth, that he would never be forgiven and that in and Trump is a terrible president. He is deeply, wildly unpopular in the country. He is failing
in every axis. But Molly, he still has a hypnotic control over the Republican base, and they are going to go out and do what he tells them.
Yeah, and so you know. And by the way, the.
Other thing about about about voting for RFK, that's ironic for Cassidy. Casey Means, who runs the MAHA super Pack, went out and up to a million dollars against Cassidy even though he voted to confirm RFK, because.
He voted not to confirm.
Correct, these people, these Republicans, you can make one of two choices. You can choose exile with honor or, you can choose eventually being eaten by the alligator. And I mean this, just this week, You've got Lauren Bobert. Okay, now on the wrong side of Trump. Now he's trying to get somebody to primary Lauren Bobert. It goes off.
Why is he mad at Lauren Bobert.
I don't even know Molly. It could be anything. I mean, she's not blonde enough. Who knows. But nothing about this should surprise any single Republican. They all of them, they drive by the car, crash, they go, that'll ever be me. Trump loves me. I'm never going to get on the wrong side of Trump. And if you do not display one hundred percent utter devotion at all times, he will turn the base against them and destroy them. And look, it's okay with me. I want them to be stuck
with him this point. I want them to be stuck in the in the hole with him at this point.
I'm hot, take hot take. The only way when Trump comes after you like this to survive is what Zoran did is to have game Like I think so much about Zoran versus least of honor, Okay, at least Dephonic bounced scrapes, gets put up for a job, gets taken down for a job, back and forth. In the end, he refuses to endorse her talk about that Trump has Trump.
Grew up in the culture of New York celebrity of page six. You could have a mistake, you could do something wrong. As long as you can build up some idea that you had star power or charisma or presence or game or game, you were gonna be Okay. He looks at mom Damie and says, that guy has charisma, that guy has game. You look at Alista Fanic is like the female Ron de Santis. Okay, I think that's
charismo whatsoever? Zero charisma, Like no one wakes up and goes man, that's the most compelling person I've ever met.
Yeah, Trump, if Bill casting.
Him out there swinging it around and being a big character instead of like, I'm just a doc from Louisiana, I'm gonna do the best for my people. If it had been like, yeah, whatever, fuck yourself, Donald, go for it. You ain't gonna come down here and fuck with me. If he had done that, Trump is a is kind of a pussy, he's kind of a week guy. And and if he had done that. It might not have worked, but it would have at least made Trump like skip
a beat. He would have like been uh oh uh oh, this guy's not given in, which is what Tom Massey is doing, which is like right in his face.
And that's gonna be. So next week is the Tom mass in prime. Stay, we'll see, Yeah, is it Tuesday, So we'll see if he survives, if he wins, he.
Is if he wins, if he wins, And look, I can tell you I heard from somebody last late last week that they are pouring in resources into this race that that that other Republican candidates will need later in the year won't have.
So I'm fine with that.
But they have gone a four Republicans who is pouring into money to.
Republican super PACs or pouring money in against Massy to make Trump happy. Wow, Spending millions and millions and millions in millions of dollars in a congressional race that they won't have in the budget later in the year to defeat Democrats looks good with me. But yeah, I mean, look, Massy has Massy is very iconoclastic. He has a personality. He has a bigger character than Bill Cassid dead. But look,
I go back on this again and again. Bill Cassidy should have understood that the only way to separate yourself from the vulnerable maga herd is to go out and build a bigger legend. Yeah yeah, and and go out and and frame it like if Trump, if Trump loses this, it's all all that stuff could have been done psychologically because Trump is vulnerable to psychological warfare, as we all know. But you know, he proved it in Indiana, and he
proved it again in Louisiana. The Republican base voters and those, by the way, the ones that are voting out in these off year or excuse me, you know off the early primaries and all that stuff. Those people are the hardest core of the hardcore. They're the cuckoos. Okay, they're the they're the they're the wack a doodles. But they came out and voted in a a in a Saturday primary.
And I mean it also, I mean.
Closed primary, by the way, closed primary. They changed it from open to closed primary.
So you didn't so in an open primary he would have had a much better shot.
Be curc Cassie always won by crossover.
Democratic votes right, So right now that I'm just trying to look up the polling on UH to see whether Massy what Massy looks like in these polls.
It's it's closer.
It's been closing up because I think the negatives have started to have a pretty strong effect on Massy.
But I will say this, I will say this.
The real reason we all know, the real reason he's against MASSI it's Epstein, right, and and yeah, Trump hasn't figured this out yet. Okay, you defeat Thomas Massey. So for the rest of this year, he's a suicide bomber on Epstein every day. Oh yeah, it goes out and reads names in the congressional record.
What are you going to do? Fire him?
Yeah? And I actually think that while Cassidy will not be a well, Cassidy will not be a firebomber is suicide bomber. Massy will be right.
But here's the thing. I think Cassidy will look a lot like Tom Tillis.
Right. Well, you'll get a little bit of it where.
He'll he'll he'll blue card if you of the appointees that are coming. He's not going to be an instant, reliable vote. And I have heard also that Cassidy repeatedly went to Thune and said, the NRSC is supposed to protect incumbents. What the fuck are you doing? Why aren't you helping me? And they went hammaahammahammada.
Trump, Yeah, Thune is really, if.
You're not going to protect your incumbents, you're going to lose your leadership and how hard rule.
And part of this race that is we need to talk about is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro Israel groups have uncorked nine million. So it's not just Republicans. And you'll remember that Massey is super against foreign wars like that, huh his thing.
So it's not even it's not even a right massive Massi is one of these guys you comes from that.
Ron Paul.
Yeah, he's a libertarian Ron Paul like tradition of wrong foreign involvement is wrong. We've got to do war powers if we're going to do this, And he's not incorrect in the in the in the case of this war against Iran, we are.
Violating the law right now.
Yeah, Trump is saying, oh, we're on a We're on a It's like we're on a break. Really, so what you tell all your girlfriends.
Doll because no, I mean, here's the problem. And I think you and I can agree on this. As someone who's very anti war, the worry I have with some of these anti war Republicans, and it's certainly the worry that I have with Tuckercalls, and not necessarily the worry I have with Thomas Massey, but certainly the worry I have with Grand Paul is that there's a there's a deep antisemon.
You know.
It's one thing to be against foreign wars. It's another thing to not want to give any money.
Did you right?
And look, look you are seeing. While there is an element in the progressive side of the Democratic Party now, not a majority, but an element of anti Semitism. Now it has become a defining characteristic of a rising cohort in the Republican Party, specially eighteen to thirty year old men who aren't just like I disagree with the policies of the Yahoo administration.
It's like that the Jews burn. It's not good.
It's not good. And so when we talk about the mass he race, we have to talk about all the different proxies that are trading in it. But I do think it's a very interesting moment. And as someone who because we've been talking about this guy for so long, it's interesting to me to see, like what can survive in Trump two point zero and what can right? You know, talk to me about that.
Look, the number one thing that Donald Trump wants, number two thing donald Trump wants, Number ten thing donald Trump wants is obedient. He is about one hundred percent blind obedience, even in seats that are in danger. He doesn't care if you cross him, doesn't matter. So you got Brian Fitzpatrick last week who's against the ballroom, and now Baga is turning onto the Jihad to try to get rid of him, and they'll lose that seat. They'll lose that.
Seat if if, if he takes a lot of political damage from his own side, and he's gonna do it, he's gonna they're gonna hurt him, and they're gonna try to punish him to prove that if you cross Trump on any issue ever, you cannot disagree with him. You cannot, you cannot. You have to play the Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, JD.
Van's game of mister President. You're so right, And I was hoping that I could offer you the slightest, tiniest hint of a suggestion that if I may lick your boots, sir, then perhaps you would consider the humble of blah blah blah balance.
Right, But it is interesting to watch like this administration with the ballroom because so the Senate parliamentarian was like, I'm sorry, So the way they're trying to do this is they're trying to put it in this package called uh reparation. No, not reparation. Yeah, somebody Saturday Live, this group right Saturday A Live was talking about how uh Iran, the Iranians were not getting reparations. Like they were like, here's what you're not getting. It's called, uh, what's it
called when you're when you do it that way? Recision recision, right, the recisions package package. So there's recision package. It's meant to be about the budget. And in this budget is a billion dollars for ballroom. And the Senate parliamentarian, the same one who said you can't forgive student loans, that same one said no billion dollars from right.
And here's the other part of this that that, as as as Ray pointed out to me, the arch they started moving construction equipment to build the arch. Yeah, they're also counting that under the ballroom budget now, and it's like, no, this is not how it works. You don't just get to slapshit into the budget. Willy nilly. Now what Trump will try to do this and he'll build pressure a Thune. Now. Thune said no before on overriding the parliamentariat. And it's
a very slippery slope if you do that. But every Republican out there, I say this a lot. Now, I want to make sure I make this clear. I want you guys to push for the ballroom. I want you to vote for the ballroom. I want you to fight for the ballroom. I want you to make Donald Trump the happiest man on earth by being front and center.
On the ballroom.
Mike Lawler comes out front and center on the ballroom. I mean, dude, thank you, thank you, Mike Lawler. The ads right themselves and they already Mike.
Mike Lawler is a is a Republican in a district that rushing New York district that yes, yeah, it's the Hudson Valley. So you know, it's pretty great to have him. He really went pro ballroom.
He went hard pro ballroom. The president needs this for his security.
It's interesting. I mean, one of the really interesting things about this moment is, if you're a strategist, pretty much everything Republicans are doing is.
Wrong, right, It's an embarrassment of riches right now, Yeah, the ballroom telling people just suck it up on the gas prices.
Right Trump? And whenever you get Trump talking, he's like, did you see my new granite? Look what I'm doing for the reflecting.
I don't think about America's economic problems.
I just think about yeah.
Like do you And even like even when he talks about the war, he says like, don't worry, it's not nearly as long as Vietnam.
Like Vietnam, you know, the super popular Vietnam war.
It's like yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not as long as I mean, it's just completely like at every point he just does what is the thing a strategist would tell him to do? I mean, do you think? And we have the gas prices, so tell me what you think. The movie Pharaohs look.
For Democrats to move is to absolutely continue to hammer their Republican counterparts and opponents on the economy. People do not trust Trump on the economy anymore, and that includes a majority of Republicans now think Trump's doing a bad job on the economy. Folks, they still love him on foreign policy. Why who knows, but they I think because Iran is like their foreign policy version of Hillary Clinton. They just hated it for so long that it's automatic.
That's pretty good.
Good, I'll take it.
But I think what's really happening underneath the waterline is that is that Democrats have a golden opportunity. Stay on target, do not walk away from the target. The target is the target. It's the economy. This is crazy. Trump is hurting you. Republicans are with them one hundred percent. We're going to change it and make your life better. It's an easy narrative and they just need to stick with it.
Nobody cares about anything else right now now. People out in the country, all the list of issues that may have merit on their own are not in the top ten or even fifteen issues. If you look at the top ten or fifteen issues, it's the economy. It's against inflation, gas prices, food prices, you know, economic uncertainty, the feeling the country is on the wrong track, right track, wrong track is always a really powerful indicator, and even Republicans
think we're on the wrong track. Democrats and independents think we're on the wrong track in the eighty percent range.
And the group that he's really lost, which he cannot which I think is the biggest red flag, are the Republican leaning indies.
That is correct, You have a lot of those, are the some of the people that are the Lincoln Project's primary voter target. You go after soft Republicans and conservative leaning independents. Those people are gone. Last year around this time, they were about two to one against Trump's policies but still neutral on him. Now they are three to one against his policies and two to one against him.
He has lost that group. It is cooked, and there's not a.
Lot of There aren't a lot of options for Trump to get them back.
You know. The one thing he's going to try in the next couple of weeks is suspension.
The gas tax, oh eighteen cents and a half.
That ain't gonna work. Chiefly, it's not going to bring those indies back.
And I mean the gas tax is an amazing opportunity for her Democrats because all these Republicans have said, like do not suspend the gas tax. Right, and now they're like, we should suspend the gas tax, you know what?
Yeah, I mean the Democrats if they just stick with the most profound weapon they've been given for twenty five years. This economy has Americans on the verge of panic. Yeah, they are absolutely freaked out every day. And when Trump goes out and says, look at my beautiful ballroom and look at my beautiful arch and look at my reflecting pool, they're seeing, oh god, I can't pay the more if I'm also going to pay the pay.
The gas bill this month.
Yeah, they're they're in a state of economic panic and Trump is And this is one of those things where you know that Trump has kind of lost his mojo. Trump would have gotten this five years ago. He would have pivoted already on this five years ago. Now the only thing that sort of makes him do something different is the bond market.
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I was actually thinking about that.
Well.
The way in which I see him having lost his step is when people when he comes out and does the bulls prays and they, you know, he says, you know that that, You know, what do you what do you say to people? That question was what do you say to people about the gas prizes? And he was like, I don't think about that at all. All I think about is whether the Iranians will have a nuke? And like that is It just was never message, It was never clear. And the American people don't find it scary.
No, they don't find it scary, they don't find it convincing. And and and again we have heard the drum beat from trum and a group of Republicans for and I used to be one of them, that Iran having a nuclear weapon was an absolutely global game changer. But you know what really was the global game changer Iran taking control of the straight or hormones because of what Donald Trump did. That has given iron more power in the global economy without a nuclear weapon than they would have
had with one. And that is directly one hundred percent a Donald Trump decision. And he has not stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. They may get one after all.
Well, no, and supposedly that reporting we saw that contradicts everything the administration said, is that they are in much better shape than the administration said they were.
And then and now they've got China well ready for them, to rebuild their military for them.
By the way, that China trip could have been an email.
That China trip could have been a signal message. What a disaster. He got rolled. He was insulted over and over again in ways that the Chinese understood, but he didn't because he's a child. But also deeply embarrassing.
If you're one of those billionaires who went with him, what are you thinking, like, do you hitch your wag into this quote unquote story.
This is the guy, this is your guy, this is the guy.
You're going You're gonna live or die by economically going forward.
Good luck, it's rough.
Rick Wilson, Molly John Fast.
MICHAEH Lasher represents New York State Assembly District sixty nine and is a candidate for Congress in New York's twelfth congressional district. Welcome, Welcome, Michah.
Glad to be here. Thank you for having me.
You're running in this congressional race. It is the district I live in. You are the candidate who has all the endorsements, right, you're the candidate that you got the former Congressman Jerry Nadler who's endorsed k you have Mike Bloomberg, who a lot of us who live in this district hold in pretty high esteem that his presidential run did not didn't do it for You are the candidate that most of the sort of establishment has gotten behind.
Why, well, again, thanks for having me. Look, I've worked hand in hand with a lot of these folks on tough and important issues going back a lot of years, and so I think that there is a sense that this is an important seat and they want to know that whoever is going to be in the seat knows what they're doing and is going to be member of Congress that can be effective in a way that reflects the sort of the intellectual capital and creative capital and
kind of power of this district. And I think they know me and they have faith that I can be that be that congressman.
And so when who lives in this district, it's a it's a district that now there was not a fundraising powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. He was more of a very sort of like left the nineteen sixties kind of you know, he came from a world that has changed so much in the very long time he was in Congress. So I wonder what you think it would mean what your goal would be to be the congressman from this district. How might that change look?
I think that certainly.
Yeah, the world the district has changed a lot in thirty four years. But I think throughout it all, Jerry certainly represented a very cerebral member of Congress. I think someone that people when he took a position on issue, had carried a certain weight, particularly in progressive circles and in the Caucus. So I think that you know, at this moment in time, this district, certainly the people's district want someone who is going to contribute to the fight
in an outsize way against Trump and trump Ism. They want a member of Congress who isn't just going to vote the right way who's but who is really going to be a leader in the in the resistance. And I think they want someone who's going to be legislatively creative and effective. Again, more than just your average one of four hundred and thirty five. I think the expectation is that whoever is representing the center of the universe, at least in my view.
You said it, not me, but I thought it, yeah.
Yeah, kind of punches above their weight.
You're locked in a four way race with an east Side congressman, Boras, a never Trump lawyer, Oh east side guy, never Trump guy, and a Kennedy So why are you different? And what is that like? Those guys all have gotten a lot of attention for different things. Why are you different?
Yeah?
Yeah, There's one thing I've learned during this race is that the Kennedy's and the last Yers are treated slightly, slightly differently. Look, I think I'm different because I spent an enormous amount of time planning for what I would do in Congress to advance the cause of slowing installing the Trump agenda and rebuilding in the aftermath, and that that thinking and that planning is informed by a deep experience on a wide array of issues.
You know, we're all running for.
A very specific job, which is not TikTok star, not you know, political pundit. But we're running to be a legislator who uses the legislative process to fight back and to make change. And I don't think there's anybody else in the race that comes close to the proven track record of being able to do just that.
Boris will say that he is for regulating AI. I hate AI and want it regulated tomorrow. I have been very, very very disappointed with Democrats on regulation, including Chuck Schumer, who I continually fight with on this, and I feel that tech companies the Democrats have been as complicit as Republicans when it comes to the refusal to regulate tech. So Bora says he's going to regulate tech. Is he going to regulate tech? And if he is explained to
does why? And if he's not explained to us, why, and then tell me are you going to regulate tech? And what that looks like.
Yeah, I think there's a I think there's a real reason for skepticism around Alex's claim on this. But I'll just say for myself, going back to my time a decade ago in the state Attorney General's office, where we went after basically every big tech company in America over one or another ways that they were pretending the law didn't apply to them, to my work passing the Safe for Kids Act, which prevents algorithmic feeds in New York being delivered to kids under sixteen. I think we should
repeal section two thirty. I think we need a robust federal regulatory infrastructure on AI. I think we should ban social media for kids. So you know, and I have a real track record I think of being willing to take on not just these particular powerful corporate interests, but basically, you know, all of the various big special interests who get used to throwing their weight around in Albany and getting what they want. And I would take the same
independence to Congress. I think Alex is a slightly different story. The bill that he did on AI, which I was the first cosponsorup, is a good bill and it gored the ox, very specifically of Open AI, and they are coming after him, and their OX.
Deserves to be gored.
I think where it gets a little more complicated is if you look there are a string of bills he basically went to Albany. The most significant professional experience he had before going Albany was four and a half years in senior roles at Pallan. Here he goes to Albanie says I'm going to be the tech bro in Albany, and that.
Was basically the message to tech companies.
There are a host of billsulating AI where.
He was the loan Democrat to.
Vote against them. And then I think at some point, for whatever set of reasons. He decided he was going to pursue this one, this one thing and go after open AI, and he invited their wrath, and that has created kind of a martyrdom narrative. What's happening on the other side of this is you have anthropic now spending
millions of dollars to help his campaign. And the latest is we got a crypto billionaire who's spending three and a half billion dollars to help So we have million dollars to help his campaign.
So you know, yeah, it does seem like if you want to regulate technology, you should it would be strange that you would be then supported by the same technology you'd want to regulate.
Yeah.
Look, I don't think any of our tech overlords should be writing our AI policy, whether that is the most evil AI company or the slightly less evil AI company. You know, And I think, and I should say, I think the crypto thing is also worthy of examination. You can go to Stand with Stand with Crypto, plugging Alex's name, you'll see his A rating and you know, and now we accept the idea that the crypto billionaire is trying to help him get elected because he's concerned about AI regulation.
Instead of maybe he's just doesn't want crypto regulated.
There hasn't been you say, you're work sort of cruising into the primaries in June, and that will be the definitive because this is a very democratic but there are real issues in this district and they largely come down to Israel. This is going to be a hard thing for Democrats to negotiate coming up in twenty twenty four. It was a real stumbling block, and perhaps because it
wasn't addressed. I think there's a lot of frustration in the party, in the Democratic Party about the way in which Israel has blocked as us on and how I would love you to talk about out where you are on this.
Look, if you are I'm forty four, If you are you know, any younger than me, you basically don't remember in Israel that hasn't been dominated by bibing at Yahoo and right wing extremist politics. And I think in many ways they've driven the country off the rails. And what's happening in the West Bank is abhorrent, and we saw tens of thousands of people killed.
In Gaza, and.
I should say you know that it really I think has been challenging for people like me who who do care about the survival of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and safety and security of Israel's been very hard.
To grapple with.
And I think that I can't speak for how the Party should deal with this.
I can say for my own piece.
I'm going to continue hold on to the idea that you can care about the safety and security of Israel as a refuge for the Jewish people, and you can care about the safety and security and the plight of the Palestinian people and ultimately their self determination as well.
And it's very hard to see.
A path back to where we were in the nineties, and I don't you know, you can't sugarcoat that, and you know, settlement expansion has made that really hard, and there's also nobody to negotiate with on the Palestinian side.
It's a really intractable thing.
But I'm going to kind of insist that those two ideas remain compatible.
The American people have turned against arms, selling arms writ large and certainly selling arms with you know where we are paying taxpayers are paying for those arms, and as we've seen USAID be defenestrated when that is actually a really good policy that helps both farmers and people who are hungry. It seems harder and harder to make a case for arming countries writ large, Israel or anyone. Where are you on that?
Well, look, I think the last thing you said is an important point, which is I think we need a consistent policy, and we provide military aid to a lot of different allies. We have the Leahy Law, which should which has been I think largely a dead letter on making sure that there is a human rights standard applied to all of our allies. But I'm not there on singling out Israel. As much as I abhor much of what the net Na government has been.
Doing, I would so tell me kind of what you see when you talk to people in this district as the issues that they're struggling was.
I think, Look, I think the this is a district, it's a it is a relatively affluent district. There are pockets of real need, and I think, but it's a district that has real, you know, real liberal values, and so I think that the district wants someone who's going to go to Congress that represents not just the needs of the district, but the values of the district.
And and right now, I think.
People's district look at Trump's trampling of the rule of law, look at the war in Iran, the recklessness of it. They look at what Ice is doing across the country, and they first and foremost want the congressman there's going to be an outspoken voice on all of those issues. And then I think on the issues that are affecting this district, cost of housing, which is a nationwide issue. You know, everybody wants to talk about affordability right now.
The biggest piece of anyone's household budget is their housing costs, and this district, the housing cost crisis is acute. The median rent from Manhattan apartment across all sizes the whole borough just crossed five thousand dollars a month. So I think that on the issues, I think childcare costs huge issue, the cost of raising a kid. I've got I've got three kids where on the other side of the dear
early childcare years. But if you can't, you know, affording housing, affording childcare, it's a It's an issue nationwide, it's an issue citywide.
It's an acute issue in this district.
But I'm just curious, like with rent. I mean you can't. I mean, what could you possibly do legislatively to make rent cheaper?
Well, I mean, broadly speaking, we need a lot more housing in this country. We need a lot more housing in New York, and we need to relieve pressure on the housing market. And the federal government can use the use the leverage of the dollars that we send to states and localities across the country, including New York, to say, if we're if we're pumping money into your into your infrastructure systems, you've got to have policies that allow for housing to get built. So that's a big piece. I've
also I'm putting out a plan. You know, I think a big question I got. I said, I've got three kids, I got two teenagers. Lots of people are asking I'm in a constant conversation with my peers, what are our kids going to do? Where are they going to work? Or they can be able to afford to live here
or anywhere? And so I put out a plan focused on first job, first home, first year of parenting, that the federal government should be actively involved in the idea of guaranteeing that you can get a first job, afford a first a first place and get through your first year of parenting. And on the housing front, that would involve significant assistance, either with a down payment or the upfront costs of rentals.
Right we you know you want to.
Rent an apartment in Manhattan, you're a kid just out of college. You got first month, last month security deposit. That is a big chunk of change you have to put up front to get that first apartment. That's the renter's equivalent of a down payment. The federal government could be involved in helping you get over that home.
How would the federal government be able to help you get a first job?
So I think we should have a paid program of national service.
Oh this is my this is you know, this is my obsession, all right, goal but New Europe national This is the nerdiest.
Breed guilty to nerd nom.
Yeah.
Look, the idea of national service has been in the ether for a while, but I think in a moment that there's a bunch of things that I think make it really salient at this time. Number one, we're looking at enormous economic upheaval because of AI. Because of technological change, careers that exist today are going to vanish.
More or maybe AI is being used as an excuse to fire people. But whatever it is, we're gonna what age do you make this national service start at? How long does it go for, and how does the funding mechanism work?
Sure, So I think that it should be it should be available to anybody basically who has a high school degree or ged or coming out of college, you know, any anyone in that age range. And I think it should be focused on professions where we have significant workforce shortages today. So we have we have a whole bunch of jobs that are really societally important that should be done by human beings today and a decade from now, jobs in mental health care jobs and education particular jobs
in particularly in the kind of caring professions. These are jobs where human work is really important, and we should We should fund whatever training and education one.
Needs for those jobs.
And we should fund salary for at least the first year through qualified nonprofit agencies or government agencies that is a living wage along with healthcare benefits.
And we should.
And it's national service, but I think it should be framed as and it should in fact be a first job guarantee.
So let's we're just almost out of time but I want you to talk about anti corruption measures. If Trump ever leaves office, which hopefully are you, well, you guys are going to have to completely rethink the way. What is the difference between norms and laws in uh so that a lot of that will follow to Congress. Congress is not exactly themselves in glory. So tell us how you would make Congress work in that way.
Yeah, so I've written you know, I'll put a plug.
If you go to Michael Asher dot com slash project twenty twenty six, you will see a series of plans that I've written on. First, how democrats, even in the minority, can use the power we have to slow install what Trump and Mike Johnson are doing. Second, what a plan for oversight looks like in a House majority. And third is the idea of a legal reconstruction. What are the statues that these guys have exploited that we need to
go in and shore up. And that's everything from taking the post Nixon era norms around DOJD, politicization codifying them in law, the Impoundment Act the Empowerment Act in nineteen seventy four intended to prevent the president from subverting the will of Congress when it comes to the appropriation and release of funds.
These guys have completely flipped it on its head.
We need to go in and fix the Empowerment Act, the Alien Enemies Act, and the mccaren Walter Act, which Trump has used to deport people. We need to go in and shore those laws up. The War Powers Resolution, which I wish we could say that Donald Trump was the first president to flout the will of Congress in launching military misadventures, but that's been a bipartisan tradition, and Congress needs to go in and reassert it's constitutionally afforded authority over matters of war and peace.
So there's the work of legal reconstruction.
These guys have been winning forty percent in the district and circuit courts, eighty percent in the Supreme Court, and we need to start taking away the legal arguments they've been making so that a future president can't repeat what this guy's done.
Mikeah Lasher, thanks for coming on.
Thank you for having me.
A moment.
Rick Wilson, Yes, MOLLI.
So around January twenty six, Donald Trump suddenly got very interested in trading stocks. Yes, and d FT has this incredible graph with a very smart piece about how Donald Trump as soon as when he swore into his second presidency, he got a bit of a you know how congress people are not supposed to how I want there to be a law against congresspeople, against Senator Thoing Stocks. Yeah. Well, guess who's who's become quite a trader. That's right, it's Vegas, Donnie, that's right.
You know what's amazing is that he has. Steve Ratner's quote was terrific. I don't know if you saw it. Ratner said, I've been a professional investment of an investment professional for thirty five years, and I've never done I haven't done thirty seven hundred trades in my career. Donald Trump's said thirty seven hundred trades this year, and a lot of them. He's been out there like I love
powervolunteer the day after he buys Palenteer. Yeah, and folks, the corruption is the center defining characteristic of this term. The incompetence is right up there, but the corruption, molly is what astounds me that in a world where we had a functioning justice Department and not the Daine Maxwell cover up department, these people would would he'd go to jail. He's insider trading at a scale that's unimaginable.
And by the way, I really look forward to just Dance or as he's known jd Vance when he starts on his waist fraud and abuse tour, because that it's like, just remind people of what your boss is doing twenty four secs.
He's going to have a very high hill to climb in the future when he runs for when he runs for president, because people are going to say, are you going to pardon Donald Trump? Not for January six or any of the other things, but for thirty seven hundred and least by this by it'll be a lot more by then illegal stock raids where he traded on inside
information and confidential government information. And by the way, the Statute of Limitations is going to be around for a lot longer than Donald Trump is going to be president.
That's right, Rick Wilson.
And by the way, if he goes to jail, he's not going to be a tough He's not gonna be tough like Martha Stewart was.
He's gonna squeal it was Eric. Eric made me do it. I can't I couldn't stop him.
He's too powerful.
That's it for this episode of Fast Politics. Tune in every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday to hear the best minds and politics make sense of all this chaos. If you enjoy this podcast, please send it to a friend and keep the conversation going. Thanks for listening.