Good morning, peeps, and welcome to Okay f Daily with Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Bunker. Folks. You know, as I record this, the January sixth seventh hearing is unfolding, and so we will not know the outcome of that until later in the week, in which
I will share my thoughts. But as we go into this hearing, which is supposed to be defining the connection between the Trump administration and two known white supremacist organizations in this country, I can't help but wonder why the Department of Justice, why the FBI, why the CIA has yet to designate white supremacist organizations in this country as
terrorist organization. Now we know, by virtue of the law, and I use that in air quotes, that the only designations for terrorism have been from foreign quote unquote invaders right or from foreign entities like ISIS, like al Qaeda. And since the beginning of the birth of this nation, there has always been white domestic terrorism. As a matter
of fact, it's what this country was founded on. When you think about the nature of indigenous populations, the nature of the enslaved African population, and the free Africans who would become enslaved. Their idea of society has always been communal. It has always been about community and uplifting community and connection.
And so when you know, the Pilgrims quote unquote found themselves on the shores of this new land that they felt like they discovered because they didn't know anything about it, as opposed to how would one discover something where people were already living. They were met with open arms, they were met with curiosity. And I realized that that is the defining thing, the defining difference between Republicans and Democrats.
And my friend Kurt Bardella will be joining the show later to talk about what he feels like is just a fundamentally different DNA makeup political DNA makeup, as he says,
between Republicans and Democrats. And I will go and provide what my thoughts are, and what I've been mulling around for a while is that there is a fundamental disconnect, right, There is a fundamental difference, and that is of a ideological thinking that assumes that all people have the right to liberty and justice and equity and dignity and respect, and that there is a driving sense of curiosity, not judgment, but curiosity about how we expand in our thinking to
embrace those that come outside of what has been spoon fed to us as traditional or as quote unquote norms. And I think that the problem with Republicans and their current iteration of their cultish behavior is the fact that they don't have curiosity. What they have is judgment. What they have is fear. What they have is anxiety. And for them, that results in it of itself, into violence,
into oppression. And I realize that as you look throughout history as your guide, and you see that there are these times of great inflection, it is because the people that have been marginalized recognize that they have power, recognize that they no longer want to conform to or follow in the steps that do not serve them. That they believe that they have power outside of what has been
granted or what has been withheld. And for people who believe that their way is the only way, you exist as a threat to that ideal, a threat to they're understanding, a threat to what they believe to be normal. And what do people do with threats, Well, they try and put them down. And that is what we are seeing
right now, and what pisses me off. And in the conversation that I have with Kurt, what pisses me off is that democrats within the democratic establishment, and I'm talking about those that cut their teeth in politics in the twentieth century, do not fundamentally understand that this is an existential threat to our society, to our way of life. Is the ignorance right or the feeling that because you have right and facts on your side that eventually owe
the people will come to their senses. And Kurt and I will talk about the fact that he brought up, you know, the issue that this administration was caught off guard with how rabid the right wing had become. And my pushback to that is how how could you be caught off guard? Because Republicans have been shown knew who the fuck they are for the last twelve years. At the beginning of the Obama administration, when the birth of the Tea Party was happening, we saw exactly what direction
that this party was going to. But it made us feel good to say that that was the fringe. And because we didn't pay attention to it, because we didn't decide to stomp it out in its infancy, it has grown into a monster that can no longer be controlled, not by those who have been uplifted by it, like the Republican establishment, and not by those that have choose to ignore it, like the democratic establishment. And so here
the fuck we are. And the thing with me is that if you continue to ignore this threat, if you do not name this threat, then how do you devise a plan to take it down? You don't, and you simply continue to spin your wheels doing things the way that you have always done and assume that something is going to change. And friends, that is actually the definition of insanity. And frankly, I do feel fucking crazy, as I know many of you do, because you tell me on a regular basis, why is he doing more? Why
isn't Biden doing more? Why isn't this administration fighting? And it's because they are so stuck in their twentieth century ways and so stuck in the way that they think that, you know, if we just assume this normal political stance, then everything will fall back into place. Well it's fucking not.
It's been eighteen months since the insurrection and we are still holding hearings and trying to get our arms around all the ways in which the Trump administration enabled by the Republican Party, is seeking to overthrow our democracy and using white domestic terrorist organizations to do so. Like, this isn't something that is just cocktail party fodder inside the Beltway. This is a fucking real existential threat to our way
of existing. And they are showing you in places like Florida and Texas and Alabama and Mississippi all the ways in which they are going to exercise their will, their Christian fundamentalist, white supremist will on this. Once they are able to put the gavels back in their hands, they are not going to bang them on a desk. They are going to pound into marginalized and outsized communities that they feel like are a threat to their way of life.
And so if we have a democratic establishment that is not has the inability or frankly lack of desire to wrap their minds around that truth, how the fuck do we plan on fighting? You know? So, Kurt and I will have a series of conversations about, you know the fact that it is not too late right, It is never too late right to turn the beat around to fucking like get in line to wake up. That is the beauty of being gifted with a new day is that in each and every new day, you have an
opportunity to act different than the day before. But this administration seems to think that everything is going just fucking fine because you added some jobs and are able to somehow stop the bleeding as it pertains to gas prices. That so people are going to turn around and say, oh,
that's the party I want to be with. Do you know how many people are waking up in this country from a cold sweat just in fear, riddled with depression and anxiety and tiredness and distractedness and all of those things. And this administration is not offering a reprieve. They're not offering an oasis. And so for those of us who choose to bring attention to what can be done better, all of a sudden, we're the ones that need to be crucified. And I find that to be absolute bullshit.
You don't win by pretending that you have the best strategy when clearly it's not fucking working. And that's the only thing that I want to message out to people. I am never telling people not to vote. What I am saying is that voting alone in this climate isn't going to be the end all be all that we thought that it was going to be. We thought that when we voted in twenty twenty and we changed administrations,
that we were going to be on an upswing. But apparently we did not understand how far down the Trump administration and Republicans had pulled us into the fucking muck. So now that we are here, and I don't even think that we have gotten to the bottom of the bottom. So the upswing that we are all hoping and praying for,
I think is fucking decades into the future. I hate to break it to you, right, we actually may never see an upswing in our lifetime, given the mechanics of the Supreme Court and the lack of will to do
any type of thinking even threatening the expansion thereof. So when we wrap our minds around this, we have to understand that it is going to be the young people, those that are under the age of thirty five, those that are under the age of thirty, those that are Generation Z, that are going to be the ones to make a shift, right, But we need to listen to them in order for that to happen, And right now,
the Democratic establishment isn't listening to its stars. They aren't listen, listening to and uplifting right those people that are more in touch with and tapped into how people communicate and how people get excited right about getting out there and doing the right thing. And sometimes fear friends is a motivator. We know that because that's the only thing that the
right ever uses. So when are we going to start using all of the tools that we have in our toolbox, expressly the stars that we have, in order to get our message out? So coming up next, my conversation with our good friend Kurt Bardella. Get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the
notable guests and experts from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws and take a closer look at how and why these topics matter. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on the iHeart Rate Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday. It's no secret that the news is horsepill
hard to swallow. Thankfully, there's The Bituation Room podcast hosted by comedian and commentator Francesca free Erntini for a lighter take on the heavy stuff. Each week, the Bituation Room brings you progressive comedians, experts, and activists to break down the issues in a way that won't just leave you
crying under a weighted blanket. Get the Bituation Room on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and streaming on YouTube and Twitch, Folks, So whenever I have the opportunity to be joined by our friend Kurt Bardella, who is a messenger spokesperson for the DNC the d Triple C. He is also a writer for a myriad of outlets including The LA Times in USA Today and if you're a country music fan, he is also prevalent in that world as well, a man of many talents, Kurt Bardella, there are new poll
numbers that are out that put Biden's approval rating somewhere between a toilet and a sewer. It is roughly at around thirty three percent, which, if I'm not mistaken, is lower than Donald Trump's approval rating ever was, which is shocking. But I first want to get your reaction to these latest numbers, the fact that ninety four percent of young people, people under the age of thirty five, do not want Joe Biden to run in twenty twenty four. He is
not their candidate. That when we are looking at satisfaction and whether or not this country is on the right track, that number two is in the toilet. And we have roughly one hundred and nineteen or eighteen days until midterm elections. So I want to first get your opinion. And I say, oftentimes on woke a YEF, I am not beholden to polls, right, I really am not. Because the Poles told me that I should have had a different president in twenty sixteen.
The Poles told me that we should have a sixty three court in our favor right now, and none of that came to pass. And so I take things with a grain of salt, but I do recognize that they are warning signs. So how did that New New York
Times CNNA pole land with you? Well, you know, the first thing, the number that I would be most interested in, and I noticed it was a number that was not asked, do you think Joe Biden should run if Donald Trump's Republican nominee that would be an interesting question to know. You know, as we have seen, Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Joe Biden got the most votes in the history of any presidential candidate ever, and I don't think
we can discount that. I'll also point out that in every hypothetical matchup with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and even Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Donald Trumble loses. You know, So polls it's such an interesting thing. You have to think about the person that gets this phone call from a polster, you know, and you're asked a question that up until that exact second, you probably were not thinking
about one way or the other. There's something almost unnatural about how polling works, and I think that explains why so often, frankly, they've been off the mark and if misled him, misguided all of us at various pointed time.
It's very clear the president President Biden has challenges. It's very clear he inherited the most challenging environment, I would argue in the history of our country, a pandemic and an economic crisis at the same time, not to mention cleaning up the message that Donald truploff behind across the entire form policy spectrum. It has not been an easy path, and it seems like every time he gains a little bit around, something else happens, and it's like one step forward,
a few steps back, and that that's really frustrating. The American people are frustrated, you know. I think my takeaway with Poles, as always, I don't care what the exact number is. It's just an indication of a trend of where they are emotionally at any point in time. American people are frustrated, They're tired, they're exhausted. So much of that is because of the four years of Donald Trump.
I would make that case, you know, and it's likely not getting any better as things have gotten even more divisive in this country because the Republican Party has lurched towards the extreme, embraced violent white nationalism, and is imposing an extreme minority of view on the rest of us. And I think those of us who voted for Joe Biden, who voted for a different path, they're going, how the
hell us is happening right now? While we in theory have the reins of power, yet somehow we're losing things. Things are being taken away from us left and right. It's it's maddening, it's frustrating. But I think for all those people who are under thirty particularly, and there's an irony that those same people who say Joe Biden may be too old urn for president, we're also the heart and sole of the Bernie Sanders movement. Who's not a
young spring chicken. I might point out just say that there's a little bit of the it doesn't quite add up to me sometimes. Uh, you know, I tell everybody the most single, most important polls the one that's conducted on election and for people under thirty, particularly who do not show up in elections, who still underperform and elect. If you want to change the way things are doing, you want to change our politics, change politicians, you got
to show up and vote. That's barrier number one because most politicians when they hear under thirty, they roll their rise because they go off. They don't vote anyway. So what do they do they what do they matter? You know, I think you bring up several good points and and you've been doing. Let me just commend you as I do in private in public again, such a great job on using utilizing all of your platforms, to you know,
to pound this this this message in. I want to say that this administration did inherit multiple compound did crises. My problem, however, is the fact that they don't continue to talk about that fact that they inherited a series of compounded crises that have only gotten worse over the last year and a half. The last eighteen months, right, I date things from the day of the insurrection until now, so we're looking at the last eighteen months of how
quickly things have devolved. But my problem, Kurt, is the fact that this administration does not connect the dots to the American people to remind like you shouldn't have to
be reminded. It should just continually be pounded into your psyche that you are here in this space trying to put gas in your car and food on your table and medicine in your cabinets because of the decisions that were made in the Trump administration and because of the Republican Party that continues to vote against your best interests. So the question that I ask is, you know, as a person who is a messenger, why do they move away from a very clear message that is about defining
for the American people. Why you were in this situation. You know, I think the trap that the Biden White House kind of stepped into was the desire to want to turn to page on COVID because people were so frustrated. They were they were over isolation, they were over uh you know, some of them remote working, they were overwearing masks and vaccinations and all that, and some people, a large, alarmingly large number of them didn't want to do anything
to protect anybody's health in America. I can't forget those those great people. I think that they wanted to just turn to page and you know, I equoted to that George W. Bush Mission accomplished moment, you know, back in the two thousand and I think that going into it, they thought the administration that this would be that that they would be able to get vaccines at shots and arms, and then we would be able to get back to quote unquote normal uh and people would be happy and
excited about that. And of course that that's not really how it played out, uh, not even remotely. And and I think that they underestimated the real venom of the right uh and how they weaponized things like vaccines, how they weaponized uh, you know this ridiculous notion that it's somehow government intrusiveness to promote a vaccine that will save lives. Uh. You know we heard at the time, you know, my choice,
my body. The irony there of course, as things would play out later on, but they turned it into this whole uh you know, attack on schools and teachers. You know, that is where the myth of critical race theory was born. Was born from that period of time. Uh. And I think that the the administration wasn't prepared for that type of just dishonesty. UM. I think a lot of people
thought going into it that, especially after January sixth. Remember this was a point in time where even Republicans were saying, oh, that went too far, this is terrible, we need to move like that was not good. In the immediate aftermath of January six Kevin McCarthy was out there saying this was ridiculous. I think that they thought, well, Donald Trump has now been disposed of, he's lost. We just went through this January sixth episode. Republicans are wanting to go
back to normal. I think they really, in their heart believe that on some level, and that's why they were so I think blindsided when it turned out the Republican Party they didn't need Donald Trump anywhere because they had fully embraced and embodied the very worst elements of what he brought to the political conversation, and there was no going back for them, and they weren't going to try to go back to quote unquote normal. This was their identity going forward and had really nothing to do with
Donald Trump anymore. But let me push you on this part, because you know, we say that the administration was caught off guard, and my pushback is, how because Joe Biden spent eight years in the Obama administration as Vice President of the United States, when that very same party was at the beginning stages of their of their cultish behavior, when they said that that president was not a citizen of these United States, when they lied about him being
a Muslim, when you had Mitch McConnell come to the forefront and say we're going to make him a single term president. You also had Mitch McConnell stealing the Supreme Court seat, which has us in the position that we're in. So how is it that Joe Biden sat literally shoulder to shoulder with Barack Obama as this Republican Party began its initial morphing into the radical right, white domestic terrorist cult that it has become, and say to himself, Oh,
but I can do better, And I asked this. I say this because to say that folks are caught off guard, it's the same way to say, oh, my god, they were caught off guard that Rob Wade was turned back. Really because Republicans have been organizing in playing site for fifty years saying that this was their holy grail. So to say that they are caught off guard is for me to alert me to the fact that you haven't
been paying attention. And I mean you, as in the administration haven't been paying attention, even if ignore the last fifty years and say, Alito and the League draft opinion gave you a two month head start to create a strategy, to figure out whether or not you could issue a public emergency health emergency based around abortion, and to do all of these things. So what is it that you think, honestly,
had this administration caught off guard? Because as far as I can see, they were all conscious during the last eight to twelve years. Now, I think to myself, I go back to the Obama administration, years when I was on the other side of this Republican and I would make the case that often than that we got the better of the Obama administration in our battles and fights. And I remember thinking to myself back then, It's like,
how are we winning? I would I would be in meetings with my fellow Republican colleagues and I'm like, how is it that work? We shouldn't be winning these fights right now. And now that I'm on the Democrat side and I get to interface a lot with Democrat advisors and staff and members, I swear to God, Danielle, there is just a DNA difference I think from a political operative standpoint. Yeah, how they view the world. Uh, you know, Democrats, God bless them and God love And I'm proud to
be one of them. Let me say that very clearly. I'm proud to be a Democrat and remember this party. But they are they are such true believers that it's almost as if there the self righteousness procludes them from seeing the forest producers. They genuinely believe they are right and that should win the day they believe that, you know, Uh, yeah, they can't understand why they're not winning when well, but we're right, and we tell everybody we're right all the time.
And as it turns out, people don't really like that about Democrats. Frankly. Uh, it's a major turn off. I mean, any conversation now with anybody, if you start it with listen, I'm right, you're wrong. Let me tell you why, see the lights and all will be good. People are going to smack you in the face. What are you talking about? Um? Republicans don't really operate that way. It's just a very
very different almost again, at a molecular DNA level. And I think that is the real blind spot for Democrats at times tactically and in these fights that we have. Uh, you know, they I can't tell you how many times they know. I've been in meetings were like, but but they're lying, as if that's like a revelation. It's like, of course they're lying. Of course the Republicans are lying. That's what they do. Their entire strategy is built on lying to the American people. How do you not get that?
By now? I say the same thing you do. But every time it's like Charlie Brown, Lucy and the Football that they cannot believe that Republicans lying that they get away with it, and it frustrates them to know in And I mean that's why I think it's important for Democrats as a party. And I don't mean this in a self and ranizing way, but to listen to different voices, Listen to people like me who came from a very
different part of the political conversation. Listen to people like our dear friend Ellie Missed All who I think if I were the President of States, I hire Elier right now and just let him go to work. You know, people like Jason Johnson and tiffty Cross and you and me and Wajahad. I've noticed that our conversations that we have amongst themselves, it's so very, very different than when I get from the operational side of the Democratic Party.
And I think that there's that kind of group think DC belt Way insider loop that they just kind of all have had for so long. You look at anybody who serves right now in this administration, they've been with Biden forever. Yeah, And I think, and to your point, I genuinely believe that that is part of the problem.
But what I'm also seeing and what I was faced with last week is you know, all of a sudden, I'm the one to be at fault for pointing out all of the things that are not going in our direction, right, like, all of a sudden, Now it's not the actual inaction of the Democratic Party. Apparently it is tweeting about the inaction of the Democratic Party that is going to upend our midterm elections and the entirety of the Biden administration,
which I think is absolute bullshit. And so you know, I'm like, how is it that we are able to critique? Not in the way that I'm saying. I'm saying, there is still fucking time. But there is only time if you decide to wake up today and recognize that, yeah, just saying that you own the truth or that facts are on your side is not going to be the
winning thing. And I think to go back to the polls, frankly, is that, Yeah, the matchup is with Trump, but I guarantee you that like Trump ain't going to be the nominee. It is going to be round Santis and a eighty year old Joe Biden up against a fifty or forty something year old Ron de Santis who is smarter than Donald Trump, and a lot more cunning than Donald Trump and is showing the Republican Party, based on the things that he is doing in the state of Florida, what
he can do nationally. I don't think that Joe Biden stands a chance, not this configuration of the Biden administration, and so I'm like, how do how do we reconcile that reality and how do they step into that reality? Yeah? I mean yeah, I'll tell you. I think some of the things that make me feel optimistic about the Democratic Party going forward outside of this election cycle, but into
twenty twenty four. So I look at people that have emerged like the governor Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, the state Senator in Michigan, Mallor McMorrow, who I think it's incredibly impressive. I look at even people like Pete Bodha Chiche and what he did this past week on Fox News Sunday, you know, or one of the Fox shows and dismantling them as he does very effectively. It's like, you know,
we got we got some talent in our bench. And I do think in a much bigger picture, there is a generational shift that does need to happen in the Democratic Party I think myself. I came here in two thousand and six to Capitol Hill, and at that time, the top three leaders in the House representative sort of Democrat party were in Nancy Pelosi, Stanny Lawyer, and Jim Clever. It's twenty twenty two and we are the exact same people.
And this, to be very this isn't a knock on any one of them individually or what their accomplishments with their with their entire career of public service, which has been extraordinary, has meant to our country, to our party up and down. Everyone will tell you an Explosi is the most effective Democratic leader in Congress we've ever had. Jim Clyburn has obviously been an incredibly meaningful uh and historical figure. But who have they been? But who have
they brought into your pot point under their wings? Right to grow the next generation, the next generations of Democratic leaders up like this is this is the same thing that happened in the Obama years, right. I always say the greatest endorsement of a leader's legacy is who comes after him. And if that leader did such a good job that you know that they also groom the next generation to carry For that I guess see, Democrats have not been good at that. For my observation over the years.
Say what you want about this Republican Party, let me tell you something. When the battles with the Obada administration, we're going on the people who are at the forefront of that fight. It was Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, like Pompeo, These people who have become ten years later some of the most visible, influential, powerful figures, and those were the young guys back then. You know this is ten twelve years ago. Conversely, on our side, I do see people that have a lot of town I see people like
Rubin Gayego. I see people like Eric Swallow, like Ted Lu like Castro in Texas and its Towad brother as well. I see people like AOC and Congresswomen's leave. There are an incredible amount of people under the age of forty, yeah, who are who are dynamic. They understand the modern world.
They understand communications, they understand messaging, they understand follow they understand the enemy that we are up against a day um and so that gives me, that gives me some semblance of hope that going forward we'll have an opportunity to get some new blood. And I do think that if Republicans win in twenty twenty two, uh, we're going to need to have a massive, widespread change in our
entire party apparatus. I think if we are able to hold on and and and defy expectations and defy history and preserve our majority, and I do think we have a really good shot in the Senate. Let me be very clear, I think that we're gonna, We're gonna we could even grow the Senate. Frankly, when I look at the lunatics like herschel Walker and Memo, Oh my god, greetings that are running right now like they're wow. But I think in the House, uh, you know, we're going
to need to change some things up. Um. Last question for you, Kurt is, do you think that while I agree with you, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Do you think that democratic establishment is ready to relinquish their power to the younger set that is ready for the twenty first century battle as opposed to the twentieth century one
that they all cut their teeth in. You know, whether they're ready or not, they're going to have to live with it because because because our generation we're coming and we are no longer satisfied with just sitting on the stylelines or being told to wait our turn. We're done with that. I really think that there's going to be a massive change that's going to happen within the Democratic Party, and it's going to be people like all the folks that we've talked about here that's going to lead that,
and we're just not going to be quiet anymore. I think that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again to expect different results. And I think that also applies to leadership. If we keep putting the same people in leadership positions, if we keep starting the same quarterback over and over and over again, and we still don't win a champ, if it's time
to make a change, absolutely, Kurt Bardella. Always love when I have the opportunity to chat with you, my friend, and appreciate again all of the work that you continue to do to ring the alarm or as I like to say, get people as woke as fuck as possible. We appreciate you. Thanks Daniel. That is it for me today, Dear friends on woke app as always, power to the
people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck, get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the notable guests and experts from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws and take a closer look at how and
why these topics. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from The Daily Show with Trevor Noa on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday.