Ted Cruz & Tucker Carlson Battle Over Iran While Trump Enters His Decorating Era | Matt Berninger

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We got so much to talk about Tonight, Donald Trump takes a mental health day. We go balls deep on sports stories about balls, and Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz have a douche off.

So let's get at adlines.

For two days now, the world has been waiting for Donald Trump to decide whether to accept Israel's evite to go to war with.

We know he's viewed it.

But he still has an RSVP. I hate it when that happens now. In the meantime, the question has started a separate war inside his MAGA base, and today it exploded into a heated debate between the two most likable and charming.

Voices on the Riots.

On the one side is Ted Cruz, who wants war with I run, And on the other is Tucker Carlson, who thinks Ted Cruz doesn't know shit about you know.

How many people living around by the way, I don't know the population at all.

No, I don't know the population. You don't know the population of the country. You seek to topple how many people living around ninety two million?

Oh damn, Ted Cruz, are you a pair of eight hundred dollars Ferragamo boat shoes? Because Tucker Carlson owned you, buddy, And Ted Cruz.

Was like, I know the population.

Just give me a second to count. Okay, let's say there's the ayatola. That's one, the iron cheek two is a Latin one.

I don't know.

No, But if you enjoyed seeing Ted Cruz get metaphorically punched in the face, I would you like to see it again?

Why is it relevant whether it will be ninety million or eighty million or a hundred million.

Why is if you don't know anything about the country.

He didn't say, I don't know anything about Okay, what's the ethnic mixer for?

Wrong?

Oh no, oh no, oh no, not ethnic mixes. You don't want to go toe to toe with Tucker Carlson on ethnic mixes.

That's his best subject. Look at poor Ted Cruz.

He's like, uh, I'd like to phote a friend please.

Oh shit, I don't have any Uh.

I had a waiter last night and out back and he called me Champ, Can I phone him? You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm I'm starting to feel bad for Ted Cruz.

So come on, Ted, you got this.

They are Persians and predominantly Okay, you don't know anything about Iran, So okay, I'm not the Tucker Carlson on Iran. You're a senator who's calling on government about the country.

Eight.

No, you don't know anything about the country.

You don't know anything. No, you don't know anything. I don't care about who wins the fight. I just like watching the fights.

It's like alien versus predator, but somehow more gross.

You can see how heated this is getting.

Clearly, MAGA is much more divided about whether to overthrow Iran than they were about whether to overthrow America. Every little comment in this interview turned into a semantic battle.

Really believed that carrying out military strikes today. Who said Israel was right with our help? I'm said, we Israel is leading them, but we're supporting them.

Well, this you're breaking news here because the US government last night denied the National Security Council spokesman Alex Fiffer denied behalf of Trump that we were acting on Israel's behalf in any offensive capacity.

We're not bombing.

Then Israel's bombing.

Then you just said we were, we are supporting it.

We I you.

For the party that promised no confusion around pronouns, This is really a confused The point is Michael world is tearing itself apart, and everyone is waiting for Trump to make a decision. And remember, Trump abruptly left the G seven sumven so he could rush back to the White House, meet with his national security team in the Situation Room and decide if he's bringing America into this war. So we were all waiting for the big announcement, and then it came.

Trump said, in a true social post, it is my great honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful flagpoles on both sides of the White House North and south laws.

Yes, that is definitely an announcement, not the announcement we were waiting for. But sure have a couple flag poles installed at the White House. That'll be something for the groundskeepers to take care of while you're busy in the situation room dealing with more important matters.

At eleven o'clock, we're lifting the flag.

But we're going to lift the pole now and then they're.

Going to the other side.

Okay, all right, be out there introducing the whole thing. Now back to the situation room.

So we'll have one on this side of the building. We'll have one on that side of the building, properly placed. These are the best poles anywhere in the country, in the world.

Actually, they're tapered.

They have the nice top. You know, I don't know if few people are aesthetic.

You know, they're the fake news.

I don't know about it. I don't know they're but it's a very exciting project to me.

What's going on here.

It feels like someone told him, sir, you're not doing well in the pole, and he was like, I hear you.

I'm on it.

By the way, what was that aside about how the fake news doesn't understand flagpole esthetics? I mean, this is a whole new stereotype of the liberal media.

I didn't even know about. They lie about Hunter Biden's.

Laptop and they have no appreciation for tapered flagpoles.

Now, personally, I think it's cool that Trump found a new use for.

The fifty foot pole that Millennia refuses to touch him with He was clearly having a good time, although he stopped himself from getting too carried away.

Let's have a good They call it a lifting. They also use another word, but I'm not going to use that word. You know that is the word. It starts with an e.

You know what the word is.

If I haven't used it, I'd be run out of town by you people.

All right, so enjoy it.

Come on, Donald, you think if you say the word erection, we're gonna all act like children and take it out of context. I mean, come on, come on, where do you get a silly idea like that? I'm gonna come Okay, now, I remember, right. That's crazy for Trump to suddenly get all worried about saying erection. His closing campaign message was vote for me. I saw Arnold Palmer's incredible penis. But okay, you came out, you talked about flagpoles, You met the

Let's not waste any more time.

Say what do you want about? But he wasn't for open borders. He wasn't for transgender for everybody. We don't know where it's coming from. Sir, I said, check out the tariffs. He calls back about a day later. Wow, somewhere in this group there's somebody that he's going to captivate, some movie producer. Not harvery Wednesday. The only thing too late is Powell. Powell's too late, too late, Let's have dinner too late. You have to have a guy that's not a smart person, and you're.

Dealing with her.

Any illegal immigrants in her thirty five club championships.

You will know.

I know that thirty five club championships and groceries a.

Down, Eggs are down.

You know you know what I do whenever I talk about Gavin Nuskin, I say, look at the railroad. Austria has very, very flammable trees.

Good lord.

I don't want to say anything, but if your flagpole erections last more than four hours, you probably want.

To see a doctor.

Donald donal focus, focus, focus, Get back to the flag poles.

No, wait, get back to the war. I mean war. He's got me all mixed up. Just someone ask him about the war.

You even to answered questions about whether you are moving closer.

You believe the US is moving closet of striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Where's your mindset on that.

I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm gonna do it.

Right, Super helpful, Thanks guy. That is the key to this whole thing.

Nobody knows what he wants to do, including Donald Trump. You'd rather be doing home renovation projects than figuring out how to fix all his.

Crops, And honestly, I you agree.

I think we should encourage him to spend all his time on landscaping projects as opposed to bringing America into another Middle East war. Frankly, I think a lot of people would be relieved by that decision, even overjoyed. It might even give people. I don't want to say it, but it starts with an E.

We come back. I fight with Dazie Leideck about.

Sports don't go on.

Well, that's the Daily Show.

I think I speak for everyone when I say politics, drools, and sports rules. For a full recap of the biggest stories in the world of jocks and straps, we turn to sports War. You're ready for battle.

It's time for Brought to you.

By Gambling gambling. It's literally free money.

One times pros and sports frauds.

I'm Daisy Lighted.

And I'm Jordan Klepper.

This is Sports War, the show where we are legally not allowed to agree with each other.

So if I say cheerleading is not a real sport, and.

I say, of course cheerleading is a sports, why else would I be constantly watching it when I'm alone at home.

Whatever keeps you indoors and away from people. Let's kick things off with our top story. Caitlyn Clark has returned to the court from injury, and not a moment too soon for the WNBA.

It wasn't just the Indiana fever that miss Caitlyn Clark.

The WNBA missed her and badly.

Caitland Clark effect.

Since the WNBA stares injury, ticket prices have drastically dropped.

WNBA ratings plummeted fifty five percent league wide.

Wow, So Caitlyn Clark gets injured and you all just stop supporting women's basketball. You people bailed on the WNBA quicker than Desi did on her fifth marriage.

Look Fairweather fans make me sick.

I Jordan Klepper, Champion of Women, Friends of the Female Maya Angelou Lover and Susan b Anthony Megafan. IM here to tell you there is plenty, I mean plenty of excitement in the WNBA besides Caitlin Clark.

Name one WNBA team, okay, all name three?

The Cleveland Clams, Toledo Tampons, and the Boston Bush's Go.

Bush, Jordan, you idiot, those are possibly correct.

I don't know I was bluffing.

Regardless, it's great that Clark's absence gay fans a chance to watch cooler, less popular sports like I don't know women's cornhole, which I happen to have played professionally. In fact, people say I'm the Caitlin Clark of Cornhall.

You're the Caitlin Clark of Cornwall who says that you just.

Did your big dumb giraffe, which brings us to.

Our holy hut bet of the night.

Will our ratings decline if Jordan Clepper gets injured by the hood of my car brought to you by gambling. Gambling, you can't spell degenerate without great.

Staying in the world of basketball, did you know it's also played by men and one former NBA star is making headlines in Puerto Rico by going.

A little nuts.

Former Golden State Warrior DeMarcus Cousins was suspended for the rest of the season in Puerto Rico's basketball league after this he did exchange with a fan during a game. Cousins made an obscene gesture exchange words with a fan. The four time NBA All Star was ejected.

This is awesome.

He grabbed his crutch and wiped it on that fan's face.

Oh, anyone could shake a player's hand, but not many get to taste a player's ball.

Sack you. I just bought season tickets at the player too.

Rican Basketball League, and I'll be watching every game courts hid with my.

Mouth wide open.

Jordan, you human gloryhole. You couldn't be more wrong.

De Marcus Cousins should know how to act professionally during the game, but after the game he should break into that fans car and rub that tank stank all over a steering wheel. The guy will have pink eye before he leaves the parking lot.

Wait, is that how I got pink eye?

Which brings us to tonight's second tack bed.

Of the week.

How many CDs will DeMarcus Cousins buy in his free time.

Wait, wait, wait a minute, hold on, hold on, wait what CDs?

CDs?

No, these nuts have been brought to you by gambling, gambling, sack up and bit.

I should have seen it coming.

Moving on from a former pro to a current pro who just won't go away.

Well, after months of speculation, looks like Aaron Rodgers, the former Jets and Packers quarterback, is going to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So this was the decision that was best for my soul.

Good for you, Aaron Rodgers.

He listened to his soul, the one part of his body that can't get cte Daisy.

Daisy, dazzi, DESI did your botox your brain? Come on, Aaron Rodgers shouldn't be doing anything good for his soul. Everyone knows that bad souls equal great players. OJ Simpson terrible soul, incredible player. Mother Teresa great soul. Dog shit quarterback.

You're just mad she wouldn't sleep with you.

Woman, Get away.

But luckily for the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers' soul wasn't the only thing making headlines.

Rogers was at the Steelers mandatory mini camp yesterday.

Noticeable difference compared to last season.

Rogers was rocking a wedding ring, and he did confirm that he's now married.

Although we don't know the identity of his wife. Ooh, the man does a lot of ayahuasca.

Are we sure he knows the identity of his wife.

He could have married a fighters plant.

Either way, you know it's true love because he found someone willing to live in Pittsburgh, Jordan.

We should not be celebrating this. Everyone knows football and marriage don't mix. Oj Simpson, great football player, terrible marriage.

But what do I know.

I've only been married twelve times.

Which brings us to ours. Say yes to the bet wager of the week. What eradicated disease? Did guests contract at Aaron Rodgers' wedding? Brought to you by gambling gambling?

He went to Jared. That's my boogee, And that's all the time we have for sports war. Join us next week when we debate if hockey would be better if they played on pogo sticks.

Of course not, they'd slip all over the ice.

Oh there's no ice to play on a layer of sticks.

Oh my god, that's a genous think about it.

Lay.

Welcome back to the Danisher.

My guest tonight is a Grammy Award winning singer songwriter in frontman of the band The National. His new solo album is called Get Sunk. Please Welcome, Matt Berninger.

Welcome.

I love this new album, I truly do. And a thing that I noticed. I'm a Midwest boy. I'm from Michigan. Yeah, and I know you're a Midwest boy from Cincinnati.

Yep.

Is that right?

That's right.

A lot of people in this world think the Midwest is anything that's not on the coast. First of all, screw those people, right, But what I noticed within this album is you have very specific references to Indiana. Yeah, and I think I know that's not Ohio, and I know that's not Michigan. To you, What does Indiana mean? Why is that making its way on this album.

I grew up on the west side of Cincinnati, which is right on the border of Indiana, and my uncle Jack had a farm which is where I spent like so many weekends and summers.

And Christmases and everything at.

A Christmas tree farm, originally a Christmas tobacco farm, and then switched it to Christmas trees when he found out that it caused cancer.

Not Christmas.

Good, Okay, good, yeah, yeah, I don't want to have to fact check you on that one. It's still okay to do the Christmas just causes poverty, I believe.

Yeah. Yeah, So I spent a lot of time on that farm, and.

So this record I was really, uh, just.

Just kind of visiting that idea of like what, you know, what makes you you? You know, why why did I end up like this with all my combination of neurosis and anxieties and stuff and so and and and you know, and then also just trying to figure out, you know, like where where were those happy, happy, yeah, care free times and just trying to connect with that.

I wanted to make a record.

That was it was happy, it was you know, positive and uplifting, and it's it's kind of hard to do, you know sometimes and especially now. And I don't know if I made that happy right, but it was it was revisiting that time and place made me understand a lot about my stuff.

I think.

So you're thinking about what makes you you?

I mean, you are an interesting person in many ways, but the U of you has been a famous person for a long time. The U of you back in Cincinnati and Indiana probably not as much so like, what what are you discovering about the mat of today versus the map of ten years ago.

I think a lot of the reason why I was right going back to think about that, uh, because because yeah, for about i'd say for ten years, I feel like I've been a little bit uh uh have become something, you know, through the through the national and the the sort of brand of the sad depressing uh you know, you know, borderline alcoholic college professor, you know, sort.

Of it's good work if you can get it.

Yeah, yeah, and and and it fits, it fits, but but it's it's also that has kind of turned into a its own uh, an own character, you know, and so and I and I really was getting sick of that character.

Really did you feel like it was a self fulfilling a little way.

I mean a little bit or you just you just get uh you get trapped in a in a in a this is like this is the way a guy like me behaves, you know, or whatever that is. And you and uh, I think sometimes you uh you really everybody what you always want to like discover yourself and figure out who you are. And I think sometimes people do that and then get stuck in that that label or that that that idea of themselves and uh, and

Yeah, I was a lead singer of the National. That's kind of all I was. So I wanted to undo that a little bit.

So I sometimes feel like I'm trapped being me. How do I get out?

Ah? I don't know.

I mean, the truth is I went through a really a really long period of depression and stuff. You know, it was in the pandemic and a lot of people did, but I I went through a period where I didn't want to didn't want to write songs, didn't want to get on stage anymore because I felt that whole lifestyle, the touring and all that stuff and had had had had sort of turned me into somebody I didn't like anymore, you know, And so I think, uh, the depression was triggered by well, the well then.

What do I do?

You know, if I'm not going to be a lead singer of the National, do I go back and be something, you know, graphic designer, which I used.

To be or what do I do?

And I didn't want to do that, so I was kind of stuck not knowing what to do, you know.

So that caused a lot of depression.

And and so I think digging into all that, like why am I.

So at this such a low spot? You know?

And I think it was I had to sort of, you know, just just burn all that down, the idea of who I was and and uh and kind of slowly slowly rebuild something something, maybe more authentic.

But I don't know if here I am. I don't know if this is authentic.

I'm not buying it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think this is total.

This is total bullshit right here, we have our makeup on. I know this is a lot. I don't Yeah, we don't look this good. I was a goddamn mess. It was a ghost.

It's not real here, that's not real.

Thank you. I look great backstage, Thank you very much. Anyway.

Yeah, I'm curious to you a little bit about your your process specifically. I heard you weren't writing on notebooks when you were crafting this album.

Is that correct? I? I, yeah, notebooks. I used to fill up so many little notebooks Moleskin notebooks and always trying to get cool looking notebooks and writing in cafes and stuff, you know, but then all the I've got, I've had so many notebooks that were in plastic bins that were on shelves and never going back to it.

And and uh.

So I kind of stopped writing on notebooks for a long time. I was writing on my phone for I mean a lot of people, you know, you can't. It's a really useful tool, but then you get stuck on your phone. So a lot of it was just to get the phone out of my hand.

And I like baseball. They feel they feel great. I don't follow baseball, but I tossed baseball.

Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

My daughter and my dad and I used to.

That's when my dad and I had our best conversations, tossing basis, playing back and forth.

And that's what baseball means to me. Yeah.

So, And I was from Cincinnati, the big red machine and the whole the whole seventies west side of Cincinnati.

You know, Pete Rose was a was a hero.

Yeah, and you know, not so much anymore for me, for obvious reasons. In a and uh so, all that stuff, like the whole identity of like what a West side Cincinnati kid I was, and how what I thought the world was and who my heroes were.

All that changes, you know.

Yeah, so you'd put you'd put your songs onto these these baseballs.

Yeah, I ret Yeah, I forgot what we're talking about. Baseballs.

So instead of like I think, I started doing out on an airplane and and I usually have a baseball or two with me, and.

Uh, just you were doing it on an airplane.

I started writing on an airplane.

So then I imagine seeing you and most people.

Are like this crazy guy it's scribbling some sort of manifesto out of baseball. No, he's an artist crafting the next great Grammy Award winning album.

Right.

That's what we need to think we have more empathy towards the things that we see.

Uh yeah, I know.

But the but the yeah they're writing on the baseball's things was was it just felt good because the weight of the baseball, and it's just it's just an easy thing thing to Uh. I can lay on the couch and drink wines like weed and write on the baseball. You know, It's like it's just fun. It's it's in the phone is in the other room, and so.

It's a way.

It's also the words.

The words start to go up against each other, and so it's just a trick to change my process, you know.

Yeah, I think processes the whole.

But the reason why it's also fun, you know, like the making of stuff, the going out and promoting.

I mean, this is also fun to part of the process.

But but I think the the even the right I wanted to change the way my brain was was normally puts words together. Yeah, and so writing on whiteboards or with sharpie's or writing on I mean, I write in write in books that I'm reading. I'll just write in between the lines instead of bringing a separate book, you know, because I'll be like, oh, what's I remember I wrote something great and that my copy of the Sun also rises.

I know where that book is.

Yeah, as opposed to a just a just a notebook on a shelf. I can't find it, you know.

So did I see you post as well? Are you rewriting the Great Gaspy? Saw you post?

I'm not rewriting the Great Gaspy I'm I'm I'm using only Fitzgerald's words.

Uh.

In writing a different novel, kind of line by line. It's called The Great Sponge.

Yeah, I'm only about three pages, but I'm actually really attached to the characters. It's about a father and a daughter. It's not about the Great Gatsby at all, but it's only using his words.

Yeah, you feel like you need that restriction to create.

It's just.

Putting yourself in a corner helps you find a new a new a new crack.

You know.

You it forces you to to It makes your brain go left instead of right sometimes you know where you're so used to going right. So, yeah, you put yourself into a constraint of some kind.

It is really I find that really. Like the baseball itself is like it's it's you have to turn it and you have to.

Go around the seams and then you run out of you eventually run out of space, and I'm like, okay, well that's my songs have too many words anyway, you know, So it's it forces me like, okay, that's all that stuff, and it's not really, it's all just random kind of just letting your mind go. And I'll go back and take the pieces off the baseball and I'll color like all that stuff I'll highlight parts and put pins in it.

The different point where are like, oh shit, my second verse, my daughter's playing with it on the yard.

Just get it back in there.

And I also like not being precious about anything like the notebooks or anything. I've lost so many notebooks, I've lost so munch of stuff over the time that you think, oh, that great stuff is there, and losing everything is a really healthy thing to do, you know, because then you just start you just start putting new seeds in the ground, and different stuff grows.

So I love that.

I love that you've talked about You mentioned sort of being put into a category or a category of like the sad dad, drunk professor.

Wonder Boys category.

I'm curious about, like you talked about how that audience you found there's an audience both for this like middle aged man music that's also found a kinship with Taylor Swift fans and a younger teenage female fan base. What what is that connections.

I know it's a real, it's a it's a pretty I think it makes a lot of sense. I mean, uh, well, the tailor thing specifically is like I mean, she writes very personal dietary not always that she writes all kinds of songs, but but but the personal, the real personal access do you have to her mind and her heart in her all the confusing thoughts is why she's uh, why she is who she is?

Right, and she's she's.

A masterful songwriter that connects with with with people and uh, and I think I write very uh, I try to write pretty honest, emotionally murky, sometimes very ugly emotional stuff.

And and so and it's very similar. I think it's there.

There's a real connection to the way she writes, the way she thinks about songs in the way I do. And she's she's been a fan for a long time. We've been fans for what we've I've you know, met her ten years ago. So that connection and what the work she's done with Aaron was pretty organic and pretty pretty.

It made a lot of sense to all of us.

And yeah, and I've got my daughter's sixteen, and uh, and she loves she really really loves my writing, you know, and and uh and I think I think young people like the dark, complicated stuff, you know. And uh like kids always liked the stuff that's a little scary that the children's books, you know, where the wild things are all that stuff is a little bit because life is scary. And and and if somebody, if they're not if the art that there there are books they're reading don't represent life,

They put it right out there, you know.

And so I think that's that's the connection, I think, which I really that's what. That's what That's why I think it's it's kind of there's this connection between the national and and.

And the teen a teen sort of thinking.

I love that.

I love that we're gonna hear a song from you, Yeah, Inland Ocean. What do I need to know about Inland Ocean.

This is the first song, one of the first songs that ended up that that that made it to the vibe. I writ wrote like thirty or forty songs, but but uh, this one I read a long time ago, and I knew that it was going to be the first song on whatever record I was going to finish.

I wrote it with Walter Martin of The Walkman and Who's Here Tonight and.

And Yeah, this one kind of sets up I think is a good prologue sort of for the album. It talks about just just that murky idea of Middle America, and it sets up Indiana and it's it's just a good Uh, it's good first song.

Well, I'm excited to hear it before I let you go play this song. Yeah, as a fan, I think this is a wonderful album.

Good. Would you mind signing my notebook? I would be happy here?

Yeah? All right? Yeah.

Get song is available now.

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