Obama Hits the Campaign Trail as Trump SPIRALS Ahead of Midterms

What this episode is about

Barack Obama campaigns for Democrats as Trump faces renewed controversy and potential election interference, highlighting Trump’s escalating rhetoric, anti-Muslim bigotry allegations, and new political scandals, alongside upcoming Democratic events and strategy discussions.

Key takeaways

• Cheesecake Factory as a metaphor: luxury aesthetics collide with populist politics, revealing fragility in both camps.
• Trump's era weaponizes throwaway lines; Obama’s ‘Elitist’ label becomes a mirror for cultural wars and class signals.
• Media hype around long Truth Social posts shows how anecdotes eclipse policy in shaping public narratives.
• Crooked Con signals blockbuster midterms: hype, panels, and optics overshadow concrete policy concessions and turnout tactics.
• Discourse over 'cringe liberalism' highlights a movement pivot—from ideology battles to branding, positioning, and narrative leverage.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Jon Favreau (Host) · 12 min speaking
• Jon Lovett (Guest) · 12 min speaking
• Tommy Vietor (Host) · 9 min speaking
• Barack Obama (Guest) · 6 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: The Cheesecake Factory, John Lovett, Democratic Party, Twitter
2. 5:00 – 10:00: The Cheesecake Factory, Donald Trump, Twitter, Hussein
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Donald Trump, Nicki Minaj, The Cheesecake Factory, Barack Obama
4. 15:00 – 20:00: SimpliSafe, Donald Trump, The Cheesecake Factory, Venezuela
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Donald Trump, Michigan, Mike Rogers, Democratic Party
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Muslim Brotherhood, Donald Trump, Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Michigan, Donald Trump, Pod Save America, Abdul El-Sayed
8. 35:00 – 40:00: Michigan, Democratic Party, Haley Stevens, Donald Trump
9. 40:00 – 45:00: Dan Sullivan, CrookedCon, The Guardian, Department of Justice
10. 45:00 – 50:00: Dan Sullivan, James Comey, Department of Justice, Alaska
11. 50:00 – 55:00: Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Maher, Donald Trump, Democratic Party
12. 55:00 – 57:46: Pod Save America, Donald Trump, Mike Rogers, Crooked Media

Notable quotes from "Obama Hits the Campaign Trail as Trump SPIRALS Ahead of Midterms"

• On today's show, we got Barack Obama hitting the trail for Democrats, Cheesecake Factory discourse, more ass play from Trump, Mhm.

  about Democratic Party · at 0:03

• He's got THE WHITE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.

  about The Cheesecake Factory · at 3:08

• I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States Senator. Any Jewish person that support this guy should be ashamed of themselves. I'll.

  about Donald Trump · at 21:14

• I've heard this from a few people. What about this letter? What about the mother? I hear that he won't answer questions about the Muslim Brotherhood. I've heard this from people who are very engaged,.

  about Mike Rogers · at 25:49

• This stuff didn't work on me, not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul.

  about Michigan · at 33:43

• Another thing they're doing is in Alaska, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit there to prevent the election from being certified if and I'm quoting from the lawsuit here, one, Senator Dan Sullivan does not win the.

  about Department of Justice · at 44:18

• Speaking of DOJ funny business, the department's sloppy cover-up of the Epstein file debacle has returned as a midterm issue in the final week.

  about Jeffrey Epstein · at 49:40

• Course, Dan and I will be back with a new show on Friday. Pod Save America is a Crooked Media production. Our show is produced by Austin Fisher, Saul Rubin, McKenna Roberts…

  about Pod Save America · at 57:18

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Referenced subject / Criticized public figure · 29 mentions · first at 3:08
  Central figure in multiple segments — his campaign rhetoric, Truth Social post about Bill Maher, attacks on Abdul El‑Sayed, and election-related actions were discussed throughout the episode.
• Abdul El-Sayed — Person · Democratic candidate / Target of attacks · 8 mentions · first at 21:06
  Central to the Michigan Senate race discussion; episode covers anti‑Muslim rhetoric directed at him, responses from Obama, and strategic implications for Democrats.
  I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States Senator. Any Jewish person that support this guy should be ashamed of themselves. I'll.
• Mike Rogers — Person · Republican Senate candidate in Michigan / Discussed interviewee · 12 mentions · first at 12:36
  Subject of critique for evasive performance on Meet the Press and for enabling anti‑Muslim attacks against Abdul El‑Sayed.
• Barack Obama — Person · Featured speaker referenced / Campaign surrogate · 5 mentions · first at 0:03
  Discussed for his campaign appearance in Michigan (Cheesecake Factory line) and for defending Abdul El‑Sayed during the rally.
  This stuff didn't work on me, not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul.
• Jeffrey Epstein — Person · Oversight/Corruption example · 7 mentions · first at 0:14
  Discussed as a renewed midterm issue — Democrats' oversight into the DOJ's handling of Epstein files and related ads aimed at highlighting elite protection and corruption tied to Trump.
• John Favreau — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at 0:00
  Co‑host and primary presenter of the episode, framing segments and leading discussions.
  On today's show, we got Barack Obama hitting the trail for Democrats, Cheesecake Factory discourse, more ass play from Trump, Mhm.
• Dan Sullivan — Person · Referenced ballot‑name confusion subject (Alaska) · 7 mentions · first at 44:28
  Central figure in the Alaska lawsuit discussion — presence of another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan raised DOJ action to challenge certification.
  On the ballot as one of the top four primary vote-getters along with Democrat Mary Peltola. DOJ is arguing that if Senator Dan Sullivan loses because of the votes that may…
• John Lovett — Person · Co‑host · 4 mentions · first at 0:02
  One of the show's hosts; contributes analysis and humor throughout the episode.
  I said that my I was going to order Cheesecake Factory to my home, which looks like a gay Saddam Hussein designed a Soho House. And I was Oh my god.
• Tommy Vietor — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at 0:02
  Co‑host contributing analysis on campaign developments and DOJ actions discussed in the episode.
  On today's show, we got Barack Obama hitting the trail for Democrats, Cheesecake Factory discourse, more ass play from Trump, Mhm.
• Todd Beamer — Person · Referenced 9/11 hero (symbolic) · 1 mention · first at 22:50
  Trump invited the father of someone who died on Flight 93 (Todd Beamer referenced) to the stage to equate political opposition with 9/11 terrorism
  Grotesque, even for him. in the middle of his Michigan event for Mike Rogers, Trump invited to the stage the father of someone who died on 9/11, one of the people who was on Flight 93.
• Bill Maher — Person · Subject of Trump's Truth Social post · 6 mentions · first at 0:22
  Referenced in discussion of Trump's 1,300‑word Truth Social essay attacking Maher and recounting a White House visit; used as the focal point of that odd post.
  Thing before we go, on Sunday night when most of us were savoring the last few moments of the weekend, Donald Trump posted a dense 1,300 word essay to Truth Social. Again, record breaking. on a subject of vital importance to all of us,.
• James Comey — Person · Referenced legal subject · 4 mentions · first at 47:36
  Mentioned in connection with his daughter's wrongful termination ruling and his own indictment developments discussed in the episode.
  The bad news, James Comey facing indictment in DC for alleged disclosure of classified information. That is not a repeat headline. You are not hearing an old episode. This is now the third time.
• Kristen Welker — Person · Referenced journalist / interviewer · 3 mentions · first at 27:11
  Quoted as the Meet the Press interviewer who pressed Mike Rogers on whether he considered himself a MAGA Republican
  Do you consider yourself to be a MAGA Republican?
• Haley Stevens — Person · Former primary opponent / Reluctant endorser · 3 mentions · first at 35:48
  Discussed for her tempered, somewhat distant endorsement of Abdul El‑Sayed and the political optics around that in Michigan.
  Democrats are out there campaigning for Abdul, but there are some notable exceptions. here's his primary opponent, Haley Stevens, on CNN this weekend.
• Mohamed Morsi — Person · Referenced former Egyptian president (context for Muslim Brotherhood discussion) · 1 mention · first at 26:26
  Mentioned to provide historical context for the Muslim Brotherhood, Arab Spring, and U.S. diplomacy at the time Abdul El‑Sayed's letter was signed.
  So, he was like immediately seen as this helpful actor on the world stage, but then he made this big power grab. the economy collapsed. He's deposed in a brutal coup and the military's been in.
• Nicki Minaj — Person · Referenced celebrity in Trump's rally remarks · 4 mentions · first at 12:21
  Mentioned because Trump publicly praised her body during a rally, used as an example of his crudeness and appeal to some voters.
  Headline. But I said, I don't give a damn. I'm going to say it. We're making a freaking fortune. By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before, Nicki Minaj. I've been living with this whole thing about the ass.
• Hosni Mubarak — Person · Referenced former Egyptian dictator (context) · 2 mentions · first at 25:32
  Mentioned to explain the political context in Egypt around the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood's rise and fall.
  Brutal coup and the military's been in charge ever since. So, the letter Abdul signed was like purge the media, purge the police of the Mubarak regime loyalists because…
• Benjamin Netanyahu — Person · Referenced foreign leader · 1 mention · first at 18:06
  Political figure citation
  Netanyahu is like apparently in a giant fight with the chief of staff of the IDF over whether or not to bomb the Iranians again and they're all everyone assumes it's going to happen after the election.
• Jocelyn Benson — Person · Referenced Michigan official · 1 mention · first at 37:10
  Referenced as Michigan's Secretary of State (running the next election) and part of local Democratic ticket context
  With everything that's gone on. I'm not looking to be front and center right now. I'm looking to be on the team to support, my next governor, Jocelyn Benson, and frankly, these…
• Hakeem Jeffries — Person · Referenced Democrat leader · 1 mention · first at 37:17
  Mentioned as a target outcome (making Hakeem Jeffries Speaker) in a discussion of Michigan Democrats uniting on the ticket
  Jocelyn Benson, and frankly, these great Democrats who are working their tails off, who are going to make Hakeem Jeffries the first black Speaker of the House.
• Mary Peltola — Person · Referenced candidate · 1 mention · first at 44:50
  Mentioned as one of the top four primary vote-getters in Alaska's ranked-choice primary
  Won the election. So, just to catch everyone up who needs it on this, someone with Senator Dan Sullivan's name, named Daniel J. Sullivan, will be on the ballot as one of the…
• Jalani Hussein — Person · Historical reference for comparison/joke · 4 mentions · first at 3:10
  Invoked by Obama (humorously) and hosts when describing gaudy White House renovations compared to Cheesecake Factory aesthetic.
  He's got THE WHITE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.
• Elon Musk — Person · Platform owner referenced · 2 mentions · first at 0:06
  Mentioned in relation to discourse on 'Cheesecake Factory' rhetoric spreading on his platform (Twitter/X).
  On today's show, we got Barack Obama hitting the trail for Democrats, Cheesecake Factory discourse, more ass play from Trump, Mhm.
• Chris Van Hollen — Person · Referenced Crooked Con panelist · 1 mention · first at 1:01
  Listed as a participant in a Pod Save America panel on the future of the Democratic brand
  There are more than 25 different conversations planned. I'm hosting one on the future of the Democratic brand that includes Chris Van Hollen, Sarah McBride, and Milak Kuros. what about you guys?
• Kenny McBride — Person · Referenced Crooked Con panelist · 1 mention · first at 1:01
  Listed as a panelist for Pod Save America's Crooked Con discussion on the Democratic brand
  There are more than 25 different conversations planned. I'm hosting one on the future of the Democratic brand that includes Chris Van Hollen, Sarah McBride, and Milak Kuros. what about you guys?
• Mark Kelly — Person · Referenced attendee · 1 mention · first at 2:02
  Listed as an added attendee for Crooked Con, indicating civic and political interest
  I'm sure everyone will walk away from that one We also added to our list of attendees who are coming Wes Moore and Mark Kelly. so we're not adding names every day. So check it out crooked.com, get your tickets today, and.
• Wes Moore — Person · Referenced attendee · 1 mention · first at 2:02
  Mentioned among added attendees for Crooked Con, signaling notable participants
  I'm sure everyone will walk away from that one We also added to our list of attendees who are coming Wes Moore and Mark Kelly. so we're not adding names every day. So check it out crooked.com, get your tickets today, and.
• Byron Tau — Person · Referenced reporter · 1 mention · first at 9:04
  Cited for reporting that he once worked as a waiter at the Cheesecake Factory and saw Sasha and Malia Obama there, used to illustrate cultural references about the restaurant
  Did you see that Byron Tau, who was a reporter now at ProPublica, said that his first job in DC was a waiter at Cheesecake and he said he used to see Sasha and Malia Obama there all the.
• Martha MacCallum — Person · Referenced Fox host · 1 mention · first at 9:50
  Mentioned as an example of a Fox host who mischaracterized the Cheesecake Factory comments
  Rich pundits on the coast know what the they're talking about or have been to a Cheesecake Factory. Like Martha MacCallum was on Fox. She like she couldn't even put her heart She didn't even know what she was talking about.
• Sean Hannity — Person · Referenced conservative media host · 1 mention · first at 10:13
  Mentioned as an example of right-wing media figures who attend Mar-a-Lago parties, underscoring perceived hypocrisy
  All these same Fox hosts are at least like gaudy Mar-a-Lago parties every weekend. Like Sean Hannity's wedding was just there. Like it's ridiculous.
• Ted Cruz — Person · Referenced Republican critic · 1 mention · first at 10:47
  Quoted reacting to Obama's Michigan speech in a hyperbolic way (saying Obama would stay in White House without 22nd Amendment), used to illustrate right‑wing response.
  [snorts] I wouldn't dismiss what Barack Obama is doing there. Barack Obama may be the most effective Democrat politician of our lifetime. His ability to communicate is really powerful and really dangerous.
• J.D. Vance — Person · Referenced conservative commentator/politician · 1 mention · first at 12:51
  Mentioned briefly as someone who would come off poorly if he tried to mimic Trump's crude rhetoric and as part of broader discussion of MAGA figures.
  The the funny thing with have you seen J.D. trying to riff on ass now?
• Justice Samuel Alito — Person · Referenced public figure · 1 mention · first at 40:37
  Mentioned in speculation about Senate confirmations and future replacements if control flips
  You had like I don't think you'll I don't think you'll feel good about that when we're nominating a replacement for when Trump is nominating a replacement for Sam Alito in the spring.
• Todd Blanche — Person · Referenced official · 1 mention · first at 41:12
  Named by the hosts as the recipient of tips about alleged voter fraud reporting process (referenced jokingly in context of reporting tips to DOJ)
  What are we doing? We're Do you just email Todd Blanche directly?
• Carter Sherman — Person · Referenced Guardian contributor / Crooked Con participant · 1 mention · first at 43:58
  Named as part of Crooked Con lineup and promotion of The Guardian's Stateside podcast presence at Crooked Con
  Crooked Con November 5th through 7th in Washington, D.C. We have lots of amazing talent joining us including folks from The Guardian like Kai Wright and Carter Sherman who'll…
• Kai Wright — Person · Referenced Guardian contributor / Crooked Con participant · 1 mention · first at 43:58
  Named as part of Crooked Con lineup and promotion of The Guardian's Stateside podcast presence at Crooked Con
  Crooked Con November 5th through 7th in Washington, D.C. We have lots of amazing talent joining us including folks from The Guardian like Kai Wright and Carter Sherman who'll…
• Shangel Marco — Person · Referenced ad analyst/source · 1 mention · first at 51:13
  Mentioned as appearing on a media program discussing the volume of Epstein-related ads and reporting on ad buys
  Opportunity for Democrats to deliver on a promise to really follow up on this one. I think it's important. Daily had a good episode on this today. Well, they had an episode on…
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Person · Referenced political figure · 1 mention · first at 52:22
  Mentioned in context of conspiratorial groups and loss of trust among parts of the electorate
  Theories that are important in that world. I think RFK Jr. is a part of it, too. Like kind of a an amorphous group of people that believe the government is lying to them all…
• Dan Bonino — Person · Referenced conservative commentator · 1 mention · first at 52:32
  Referenced as an example of a right-wing figure whose conspiratorial cohort felt betrayed by Trump's failure to expose deep-state conspiracies
  Government is lying to them all the time and he was going to expose it and he just played them for fools. That's why Dan Bongino was like in this difficult position of having…
• Caroline Leavitt — Person · Referenced guest on Bill Maher · 1 mention · first at 53:15
  Mentioned as having appeared on Bill Maher's show and defended by Trump in his Truth Social post
  18% and Abraham Lincoln being at 8% and these are CNN polls, people not exactly in love with me. So, Bill Maher lied, but he lies about everything and I believe he lied to me…

Companies & orgs

• Department of Justice — Company · Actor in legal/election actions · 3 mentions · first at 44:19
  Discussed for filing the Alaska lawsuit regarding ballot confusion and for being criticized over handling of Epstein files and politicization.
• The Cheesecake Factory — Company · Cultural reference / Punchline · 17 mentions · first at 0:06
  Used as a comedic comparison by Obama to criticize Trump's White House renovations; sparked media and political pushback discussed in the episode.
• Crooked Media — Company · Parent company / Producer · 8 mentions · first at 0:33
  Producer of Pod Save America and organizer of Crooked Con; referenced in show intro and promotions.
  Course, Dan and I will be back with a new show on Friday. Pod Save America is a Crooked Media production. Our show is produced by Austin Fisher, Saul Rubin, McKenna Roberts…
• Muslim Brotherhood — Company · Allegation / Political smear theme · 7 mentions · first at 21:17
  Used as the basis for attacks and guilt‑by‑association claims against Abdul El‑Sayed; discussed in historical context of Egyptian politics.
  Muslim. It's because of all these ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Blah. The latest thing is like apparently Abdul signed this open letter to the new Egyptian president.
• Twitter — Company · Referenced social platform · 5 mentions · first at 3:21
  Mentioned as part of discourse where the Cheesecake Factory line ignited debate; also referenced with alternate name 'X'
  Cheesecake Factory line there ignited a discourse on Elon Musk's platform. it started with just a handful of like some of the most insufferable MAGA types, your Scott Jennings, Megyn Kelly's producer, and they tried to argue that Obama was.
• Truth Social — Company · Platform referenced for Trump's post · 3 mentions · first at 0:18
  Host platform for Trump's long 1,300‑word post about Bill Maher; used to illustrate the president's media behavior.
  Thing before we go, on Sunday night when most of us were savoring the last few moments of the weekend, Donald Trump posted a dense 1,300 word essay to Truth Social. Again, record breaking. on a subject of vital importance to all of us,.
• Fox News — Company · Referenced media outlet · 2 mentions · first at 4:16
  Mentioned as a platform where the Cheesecake Factory dispute and conservative reactions surfaced
  And of course then because of the algorithm and it just snowballed and now it's on Fox News and then of course Donald Trump got a question about it today on Monday afternoon. Let's hear what he.
• CNN — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 36:55
  Cited (jokingly) for counting Trump's Truth Social post length and as a mainstream news source contrasted with 'fake news' jabs
  This was all one sentence. CNN did another poll that who was the most unpopular person in the history of the Republican Party and I won that too with me being at 53%, Ronald Reagan being at.
• Alaska Supreme Court — Company · Referenced judicial body · 1 mention · first at 46:59
  Mentioned as having ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan could appear on the Alaska ballot, context for DOJ lawsuit challenging certification
  Yeah, the Alaska Supreme Court did rule that he could be on the ballot.
• Houthis — Company · Referenced actor in global energy discussion · 1 mention · first at 17:52
  Mentioned as one of the actors who may have contributed to spiking oil prices ahead of the midterms
  They stopped doing that. They started importing more oil and I think frankly, I think the Iranians and the Houthis kind of made a play to spike oil prices before the midterms.
• Politico — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 50:08
  Cited as one of the outlets reporting on the congressional report and Epstein-related coverage
  Connection. They also called for a special counsel to investigate Trump's Epstein connection. According to analysis pieces in both the Washington Post and Politico, Democrats…
• Washington Post — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 50:08
  Cited as one of the outlets reporting on the congressional report and Epstein-related coverage
  Connection. They also called for a special counsel to investigate Trump's Epstein connection. According to analysis pieces in both the Washington Post and Politico, Democrats…
• University of Southern California — Company · Referenced academic affiliation · 2 mentions · first at 25:30
  Mentioned as part of background on Mohamed Morsi's education/experience
  Democratically elected president of Egypt. It's a big deal. interestingly, he's an engineer who went to USC for a bit and then taught at Cal State Northridge for a few years.…
• The Guardian — Company · Referenced media partner / Source · 2 mentions · first at 43:45
  Mentioned in episode description and promotion (Stateside podcast) and as a source of reporting referenced in context of midterms coverage.
  The Guardian has an incredible legacy of journalistic talent and big thinkers from all over the world. So, Kai and Carter will be introducing some of them to you at Crooked Con. If you want to.
• DoorDash — Company · Referenced company · 1 mention · first at 5:41
  Mentioned by a host when describing an attempted food delivery of Cheesecake Factory being outside the delivery zone
  I did it on DoorDash and then it's right outside the delivery zone which is crazy cuz it's at The Grove which is not that far from us.
• ProPublica — Company · Referenced news outlet · 1 mention · first at 9:06
  Mentioned as Byron Tau's employer when discussing his Cheesecake Factory anecdote
  Did you see that Byron Tau, who was a reporter now at ProPublica, said that his first job in DC was a waiter at Cheesecake and he said he used to see Sasha and Malia Obama there all the.
• California State University, Northridge — Company · Referenced academic affiliation · 1 mention · first at 26:35
  Mentioned in background context describing Mohamed Morsi's brief period teaching at Cal State Northridge
  Democratically elected president of Egypt. It's a big deal. interestingly, he's an engineer who went to USC for a bit and then taught at Cal State Northridge for a few years.…
• CBS — Company · Referenced broadcaster · 1 mention · first at 39:15
  Referenced since Haley Stevens appeared on CBS and hosts discussed media interviews (Meet the Press on NBC and other network coverage)
  She was on CBS and she was asked, Are you going to campaign side-by-side with Abdul? And she said, Whatever he wants me to do. It's like I did something I wonder if something changed.
• Bertucci's — Company · Referenced restaurant · 1 mention · first at 9:19
  Restaurant chain mentioned as location cue
  My favorite thing about this is just like clearly none of these like rich pundits on the coast know what the they're talking about or have been to a Cheesecake Factory. Like Martha.
• Panda Express — Company · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:15
  Mentioned by a host as their preferred mall food instead of Cheesecake Factory
  It's By the way, if I'm going to a mall, I'm getting Panda Express. You get those little meats on a stick, it's way better. Or Bertucci's if you're in Boston. Or whatever.

Products & tech

• Brent crude — Product · Referenced commodity · 1 mention · first at 17:58
  Commodity reference
  They nailed it. Like Brent crude is at like 115 today.

Concepts & topics

• Democratic Party — Concept · Political actor / Referent · 16 mentions · first at 0:05
  Referenced as the primary opposing party to Trump's GOP and as the context for campaign strategies and debates discussed throughout the episode.
• Jihadists — Concept · Pejorative label used in campaign rhetoric · 2 mentions · first at 21:33
  Term used by Trump and surrogates to paint Abdul El‑Sayed as a security threat; discussed critically by hosts as racist/overblown rhetoric.
  [snorts] If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a.

Places & events

• Michigan — Place · Key battleground state / Setting for discussion · 12 mentions · first at 20:43
  Setting for Obama's campaign stop and the Michigan Senate race (Abdul El‑Sayed vs. Mike Rogers) that is a major topic of the episode.
• September 11, 2001 — Event · Historical reference / Emotional framing · 2 mentions · first at 20:46
  Invoked by Trump and allies when referencing Flight 93 to equate political opponents with terrorists; central to criticism of the campaign's rhetoric.
  And Trump said, 25 years later Michigan needs to stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop a jihadist.
• Arab Spring — Event · Historical context · 2 mentions · first at 25:32
  Used to contextualize Egyptian politics and Abdul El-Sayed's contested past letter and the Muslim Brotherhood's role in early 2010s politics
  This is after the Arab Spring, after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, the dictator there. And this is somehow now evidence, according to Mike Rogers, not Donald Trump, cuz Donald Trump doesn't.
• United Airlines Flight 93 — Event · Historical reference · 1 mention · first at 20:49
  Referenced when discussing Trump's use of 9/11 symbolism at rallies (Todd Beamer/Flight 93)
  He does an event with Todd Beamer right who was a hero of 9/11.
• Alaska — Place · Setting for election litigation · 4 mentions · first at 0:14
  Site of the DOJ lawsuit about ballot name confusion (Dan Sullivan / Daniel J. Sullivan) and discussion of ranked‑choice process implications.
  Another thing they're doing is in Alaska, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit there to prevent the election from being certified if and I'm quoting from the lawsuit here, one, Senator Dan Sullivan does not win the.
• Washington, D.C. — Place · Event location / headquarters context · 4 mentions · first at 2:07
  Referenced as the site for Crooked Con and as the seat of federal political action discussed in the episode
  So, we got lots to talk about today, but first, Crooked Con's coming up right after the midterms, November 5th through 7th. You're going to want to be there cuz everyone else is going, and you just don't want to miss out on what.
• Mara Lago — Place · Setting / example of Trump's aesthetic · 2 mentions · first at 7:43
  Used as an example of gaudy Mar-a-Lago parties and Trump aesthetics contrasted with the Cheesecake Factory joke
  All these same Fox hosts are at least like gaudy Mar-a-Lago parties every weekend. Like Sean Hannity's wedding was just there. Like it's ridiculous.
• Ohio — Place · Battleground state · 4 mentions · first at 11:38
  Geopolitical location in campaign context
  With Houston, it's all waving like and this guy played football and he was good and he thinks that's like good politics and manly and like an effective in Ohio.
• Israel — Place · Referenced topic in political debate · 3 mentions · first at 1:50
  Appears in discussion of Democrats' internal debates around Israel policy and as part of argument urging Jewish voters in Michigan to support Abdul to avoid a worse future.
  Fine. We can handle that, but we cannot handle a continued slide to this hateful authoritarian right. It will be dangerous for us.
• Hussein — Place · Referenced name in cultural comparison · 3 mentions · first at 3:10
  Used in the recurring joke comparing White House renovations to 'Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory' — 'Hussein' here refers to Saddam Hussein as part of that simile.
  He's got THE WHITE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.
• Iowa — Place · Mentioned battleground state · 2 mentions · first at 11:38
  Geopolitical/location reference in campaign
  Litmus test where Trump is proving he's a man of the people. he's barnstorming battleground states like Mississippi, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida this week. That's it. That's…
• Texas — Place · Battleground / campaigning state · 2 mentions · first at 11:40
  Geopolitical location in campaign context
  Litmus test where Trump is proving he's a man of the people. he's barnstorming battleground states like Mississippi, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida this week. That's it. That's…
• Venezuela — Place · International partner / energy reference · 2 mentions · first at 15:24
  Geopolitical/location reference in energy context
  People are voting. It's a All the moves all the things he did all the releasing the oil reserves, the Venezuela stuff, the Russian diesel deal. None of it none of it did.
• Egypt — Place · Contextual nation for Muslim Brotherhood discussion · 2 mentions · first at 25:29
  Referenced in the context of the Arab Spring, elections, and Mohamed Morsi — background to explain the Muslim Brotherhood connections discussed.
  There's parliamentary elections. The Muslim Brotherhood does really well. And then the presidential election is in 2012. Mohamed Morsi is the democratically elected president…
• Florida — Place · Mentioned battleground state · 1 mention · first at 11:42
  Geopolitical/location reference in campaign
  Litmus test where Trump is proving he's a man of the people. he's barnstorming battleground states like Mississippi, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida this week. That's it. That's…
• China — Place · Macro-economic actor · 1 mention · first at 17:38
  Mentioned as having cut back oil purchases which affected global oil prices; described as 'Chinese drastically cut back their purchases of oil'
  The interestingly, the main reason prices didn't spike more than they did was the Chinese drastically cut back their purchases of oil. No one really knows why. Probably cuz they didn't want.
• Iran — Place · Referenced foreign policy concern · 2 mentions · first at 17:10
  Mentioned in passing when hosts discussed oil markets, regional tensions, and possible spikes in Brent crude ahead of the election.
  They stopped doing that. They started importing more oil and I think frankly, I think the Iranians and the Houthis kind of made a play to spike oil prices before the midterms.
• Iraq — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 4:12
  Referenced in Obama's 'Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory' line comparing White House renovation aesthetic
  Aesthetic of their favorite chain restaurant if it were designed by the deceased Iraqi dictator.
• The Grove — Place · Local landmark · 1 mention · first at 5:45
  Location reference; needs disambiguation
  I did it on DoorDash and then it's right outside the delivery zone which is crazy cuz it's at The Grove which is not that far from us.
• Gaza — Place · Referenced foreign policy location · 1 mention · first at 26:43
  Mentioned historically in context of Egyptian president Morsi brokering a 2012 ceasefire in Gaza
  State Northridge for a few years. So, the West is okay, maybe we can work with this guy. he brokers he Morsi helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza in 2012. I don't know if you remember that.
• Georgia — Place · U.S. state referenced · 1 mention · first at 56:35
  Referenced in connection with Kelly Loeffler running for office (context: she ran in Georgia), used in a broader political anecdote.
  Does Kelly Loeffler and giraffes They both actually evolved separately. You see those TikTok memes it's her and Susan Dell and then the other woman and then the other woman she ran in Georgia.
• Chevy Chase — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:12
  Referenced as the location of a Cheesecake Factory where Sasha and Malia Obama were seen by a reporter
  Reporter now at ProPublica, said that his first job in DC was a waiter at Cheesecake and he said he used to see Sasha and Malia Obama there all the time? In the Chevy Chase one?
• Manhattan — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 10:17
  Mentioned to note lack of Cheesecake Factory locations on the island of Manhattan
  There's no Cheesecake Factory in the island of Manhattan and it shows. I didn't know that.
• Christmas — Event · Referenced cultural event · 1 mention · first at 21:37
  Used rhetorically in Trump's anti-Muslim comments to evoke fear (claiming opponents would prevent people from having a Christmas).
  [snorts] If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a.
• Palm Beach — Place · Referenced location · 1 mention · first at 46:03
  Mentioned in a joking reference to Mar-a-Lago / Trump-related context and past scandals (Pat Buchanan votes comment referenced Palm Beach)
  From the Aldercacas in Palm Beach.
• Burlington Mall — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 5:18
  Mentioned as the 'fanciest mall' where the host used to go to Cheesecake Factory
  Burlington Mall that's where I'd go to the Cheesecake Factory. Justin Timberlake yeah.
• Boston — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:19
  Referenced in passing as the location associated with Bertucci's (host noted Bertucci's if you're in Boston)
  Getting Panda Express. You get those little meats on a stick, it's way better. Or Bertucci's if you're in Boston. Or whatever.
• Long Island — Place · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:28
  Mentioned in a host anecdote referencing Bertucci's on Long Island and a joke about lines
  Sorry. RIP. There was a line that my father once said when we were driving by the Bertucci's on Long Island which I've actually is come to mind many times in my life. He said, No one ever goes.

Media & podcasts

• Pod Save America — Media · Producing podcast · 7 mentions · first at 0:00
  The show hosting the discussion; the episode itself is a Pod Save America production with hosts and producers mentioned.
• Meet the Press — Media · Media outlet referenced for candidate interview · 3 mentions · first at 22:01
  Source of clips discussed in the episode where Mike Rogers was criticized for evasive answers.
  Do you consider yourself to be a MAGA Republican?
• Playbook — Media · Referenced newsletter / media · 1 mention · first at 50:33
  Referenced for calling the midterm 'the Epstein election' (as cited by the hosts)
  Details in that congressional report are very troubling and should be run down and investigated. I think calling it the Epstein election is a touch overstated is my guess.
• The Apprentice — Media · Referenced TV show · 1 mention · first at 55:27
  Mentioned in passing in relation to Trump's TV past and as a tangent in his Truth Social essay
  It sounds like dictation. It does sound like dictation. It sounds like someone saying something out loud that someone else is typing. Cuz he's not typing all this stuff.
• Lovett or Leave It — Media · Related show · 1 mention · first at 0:46
  Mentioned as one of the live shows at Crooked Con
  Just don't want to miss out on what happens. It's going to be a lot going on. Our Pod Save America live show is sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for Lovett or…
• Strict Scrutiny — Media · Related show · 1 mention · first at 0:46
  Mentioned as part of Crooked Con programming available for attendees
  Just don't want to miss out on what happens. It's going to be a lot going on. Our Pod Save America live show is sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for Lovett or…
• Pod Save the World — Media · Related show · 1 mention · first at 1:40
  Referenced as a complementary Crooked Media show and as part of hosts' live programming
  Nice. Ben and I are going to do a little, Pod Save the World action.

Sponsors

• CrookedCon — Event · Promoted event · 5 mentions · first at 0:33
  Advertised early in the episode as an upcoming Crooked Media event with panels and ticketing information.
  So, we got lots to talk about today, but first, Crooked Con's coming up right after the midterms, November 5th through 7th. You're going to want to be there cuz everyone else is going, and you just don't want to miss out on what.
• SimpliSafe — Sponsor · Episode sponsor · 5 mentions · first at 18:18
  Presented as the episode's presenting sponsor in an ad read describing home security features and a promotional CTA.
  Million people who entrust SimpliSafe with their home security. Right now, save 60% professional monitoring when you visit simplisafe.com/crooked.
• Ziotics — Sponsor · Episode sponsor (ad read) · 3 mentions · first at 19:25
  Included as a sponsor in an ad read promoting a genetically engineered probiotic for pre‑alcohol use with a promotional code.
  Try for yourself today and if you're unsatisfied, they will refund your entire order, no questions asked. Head to zbiotics.com/crooked code crooked for 15% off your first order. That's zbiotics.com/crooked code crooked.
• Nutrafol — Sponsor · Episode sponsor (ad read) · 2 mentions · first at 32:02
  Mentioned in ad copy promoting hair growth supplements and discount code for listeners.
  Stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding in just 3 to 6 months. Now, Neutrfol's offering our listeners $15 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Jon Lovett. I'm Tommy Vietor.

0:03 On today's show, we got Barack Obama hitting the trail for Democrats, Cheesecake Factory discourse, more ass play from Trump,

0:09 Mhm. more anti-Muslim bigotry from Trump, more election meddling from Trump, this time in Alaska, the return of Jeffrey Epstein as a political issue, and the president's longest Truth Social post ever.

0:22 Was it? About his breakup with Bill Maher. Was it really the longest ever? CNN counted. According to CNN. Now, they are fake news, so

0:29 I wouldn't ask Daniel Dale on this one. So, we got lots to talk about today, but first, uh, Crooked Con's coming up right after the midterms, November 5th through 7th. You're going to want to be there cuz everyone else is going, and you you just don't want to miss out on what happens. It's going to be a lot going on. Our Pod Save America live show is sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for Lovett or Leave It and Strict Scrutiny on Friday night. Uh, we also just published the official schedule for Saturday, November 7th at crookedcon.com.

0:56 There are more than 25 different conversations planned. Uh, I'm hosting one on the future of the Democratic brand that includes Chris Van Hollen, Sarah McBride, and Milak Kuros. Uh, what about you guys?

1:07 Uh, so I'm doing two panels. I'm doing one with Jerusalem Demsas and Derek Thompson and, uh, Faiz Shakir. We're going to talk about why liberalism has become cringe, whether or not it can be saved, whether the challenge from the left means it should be of, uh, replaced, and we're going to have we're going to lib out, we're going to pivot left, and we're going to have a fun time.

1:26 Cool. And I'm going to do a panel with a bunch of strategists who were on the 2026 campaigns right now about what worked, what didn't work, what was exciting in those races, what annoyed the out of them in those races. It's going to be great.

1:39 Nice. Ben and I are going to do a little, uh, Pod Save the World action. Get ready for that with a focus on what Democrats should do in terms of oversight if we, uh, win back Congress, knocking on wood, everyone knocking on wood. And then I'm going to host a debate about US policy towards Israel, specifically what the Democrats should be saying and doing. So, uh,

1:55 Something light. No tripwires there, guys. Yeah. I'm sure everyone will walk away from that one

2:00 We also added to our our list of attendees who are coming uh Wes Moore and Mark Kelly. Uh so we're not adding names every day. So check it out crooked.com, get your tickets today, and we will see you in DC. Uh all right, let's get to the news. The midterms are just 7 days away. Around 30 million ballots have already been cast. How about that? Uh and the campaigns are in full get-out-the-vote mode, which means it's time for rallies with the best closer you've got. For the Democrats, that's this guy.

2:29 We have never seen a president excel in straight-up grifting on your dime like this. And as as Abdul mentioned, the guy's become billions of dollars wealthier in office. Nobody disputes this. How do you do that when you're supposed to be looking out for you? I don't know if you've noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation. And then there is just gold everywhere. WHAT'S WHAT'S UP with the gold? I mean, he's got THE WHITE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. It's

3:15 It's just gold everywhere. I'll tell you, when I saw that line, I loved it. I like I thought that was great. I just instantly reposted it. That is great. It didn't even occur to me that there would be a backlash or a fake backlash. It didn't occur to me. It didn't occur to me.

3:31 You know, in the back of my mind, I kind of I was like, there will be a few I didn't think it would go as far as it did. I thought it would be like now So the for those who don't know what we're talking about cuz you don't spend all your life on Twitter, uh the Cheesecake Factory uh line there ignited a discourse uh on Elon Musk's platform. Uh it started with just a handful of like some of the most insufferable MAGA types, your Scott Jennings, uh Megyn Kelly's producer, uh and they tried to argue that Obama was being elitist and condescending to real Americans who apparently believe that the White House should match the aesthetic of their favorite chain restaurant if it were designed by the deceased Iraqi dictator.

4:15 And of course then because of the algorithm and it just snowballed and now it's on Fox News and then of course Donald Trump got a question about it today on Monday afternoon. Let's hear what he said.

4:28 For you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.

4:35 I love that. He's talking directly to Obama in the camera. What? I really hurt his feelings. It really he got pause that pause he was really hurt.

4:44 It hurt. That was a response. why I'm surprised why didn't he take it as a compliment that it was compared to the Cheesecake Factory because I thought that's what real that's the top aesthetic for for real Americans.

4:54 I'll I'll tell you why it didn't occur to me that it would become one of these because I don't you know a lot of these like the mega people are saying like oh it's an insult to real Americans and the rest of the country and the heartland that love Cheesecake Factory but I have associated since my childhood the Cheesecake Factory as the fanciest chain restaurant in the fanciest mall in town.

5:16 Always. It's the fanciest mall. Burlington Mall that's where I'd go to the Cheesecake Factory. Justin Timberlake yeah.

5:21 You get it's an event. You get your you get your buzzer and you walk around the mall till your buzzer buzzes.

5:26 And I get the bang bang chicken and shrimp since I was in high school. Plus the chicken romano extra sauce. Pasta's a little dry otherwise.

5:33 Can I tell you guys something? What? Uh as a surprise I wanted to order Cheesecake Factory to have a bunch of apps here.

5:40 Come on. I did it on DoorDash and then it's right outside the delivery zone which is crazy cuz it's at The Grove which is not that far from us.

5:47 Again fancy mall. Again yes Caruso's The Grove. That's where that's that's the closest Cheesecake Factory to me.

5:54 Yes the Grove of the Americana. It's close enough to my house but when I made the delivery zone the office it was I know so pissed and now I really now I need to go cuz we've been talking about it for two days.

6:03 I know I know and then we were we were posting about it and I was I made a joke at my own expense that sort of hurt my own feelings, which I regret.

6:10 I know. I was going to respond with a new joke. I'm like, he made the joke about himself.

6:13 I said that my my I was going to order Cheesecake Factory to my home, which looks like a gay Saddam Hussein designed a Soho House. And I was like, "Oh my god. I really I genuinely wrote that." And I was like, "Ah, John."

6:24 I thought the Soho House thing was worse. That's mean. Yeah. I was really mean to myself.

6:29 I was really I was like, "Jesus, you worked hard to make this place look nice."

6:34 Did you see they sent Scott Bessent to Cheesecake today to troll Obama? Your your hundred millionaire uh hedge fund manager like pissy cadaver Treasury Secretary is the guy you should be making fun

6:45 guy on earth. Also, did you see the clip because the the tweet from Bessent says, "Oh, Bar- Barack Obama, I recommend the um uh the cheeseburger spring rolls." But in the in the answer, Scott Bessent doesn't say anything about any of the food at the Cheesecake Factory because clearly Chuck Scott Bessent is never been to the Cheesecake Factory and his staff was like, "Oh, that's what we're going to put in the tweet because he didn't say it in the in the interview."

7:09 True heroes of the Cheesecake Factory know that you order the egg roll sampler and you don't know which one is which and you never find out.

7:16 And you and there's four sauces and there's four spring rolls and you dip with wild abandon.

7:21 Also, the buffalo bites so good. I like I'm surprised they ran this play because they seem like such humorless scolds. It's just really it's just really lame. And like everyone knows Trump has shifted the Overton window when it comes to politics and when it comes to what you can say to Vince. We're going to talk about another version of it in a minute. But like Trump literally said affordability is a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats. They had a Great Gatsby themed costume party at Mar-a-Lago during the government shutdown. I think on the day snap benefits were suspended. Like the list goes on and on and on.

7:50 But it's like you you don't even have to get past the fact that it's like he wasn't he specifically wasn't making fun of the Cheesecake Factory, let alone people who go to the Cheesecake Factory. He was saying that the aesthetic of the Cheesecake Factory, which as those who go to the Cheesecake Factory know and the people who designed the Cheesecake Factory have said in interviews is purposely over the top and gaudy. That's the whole joke.

8:12 That's why I didn't understand. the idea that most people who love the Cheesecake Factory would then say, "I want my White House to look like that. I want the people I want the president to spend time making the White House look like that if Saddam Hussein decided to design it."

8:28 When you go to the Cheesecake Factory and I I I pointed this out on on social media. I am a I am a member of Cheesecake Rewards. I'm a part of the family. When you go to Cheesecake Factory, one of the things you do is you sit down and you look around and you go, "Boy, this place is nuts. Look how crazy it is. Look how big these stupid columns are. It's like you're inside of a of an Egyptian cake."

8:46 That's what's awesome about it. It's the aesthetic. I love Las Vegas. I like going to casinos. I like the aesthetics of casinos. I like casinos don't pretend they're anything other than what they are. There's no irony in the design of a casino. But I don't want the White House to look like casino. I want the White House to look like a nice place where foreign leaders will come and boy scouts and so on.

9:04 Did you see that Byron Tau, who was a reporter now at ProPublica, said that his first job in DC was a waiter at Cheesecake and he said he used to see Sasha and Malia Obama there all the time? In the Chevy Chase one?

9:14 I mean, it's By the way, if I'm going to a mall, I'm getting Panda Express. You get those little meats on a stick, it's way better. Or Bertucci's if you're in Boston. Or whatever.

9:23 I think it went bankrupt. Now that's fancy. Sorry. RIP. There was a line that my father once said when we were driving by the Bertucci's on Long Island which I've actually is uh come to mind many times in my life. He said, "No one ever goes to Bertucci's. There's always a line."

9:39 You know? Yeah. I think about that with home prices and like, you know? My favorite thing about this is just like clearly none of these like rich pundits on the coast know what the they're talking about or have been to a Cheesecake Factory. Like Martha MacCallum was on Fox. She like she couldn't even put her heart She didn't even know what she was talking about. She's like, "And one thing about the Cheesecake Factory thing, it's another clinging to guns and religion moment. And this is why they lost the working class."

10:04 How about this basket of deplorables? How about this basket of shrimp? All these same Fox hosts are at least like gaudy Mar-a-Lago parties every weekend. Like Sean Hannity's wedding was just there. Like it's ridiculous.

10:17 There's no Cheesecake Factory in the island of Manhattan and it shows. I didn't know that.

10:20 Yeah. Right before we started recording, I noticed a tweet from uh I'm just going to read what the person said about Barack Obama in the speech.

10:28 [snorts] I wouldn't dismiss what Barack Obama is doing there. Barack Obama may be the most effective Democrat politician of our lifetime. His ability to communicate is really powerful and really dangerous. If we didn't have the 22nd Amendment, it wouldn't surprise me if Obama spent the rest of his life in the White House.

10:41 Wait, wait, hmm. I like I want to say it's someone in the Tucker world or like a Marjorie Taylor Greene type.

10:47 Ted Cruz. Woah! today. Huh? What? wild? What? I know. I was like, is this right? I like I had to listen to the whole thing.

10:57 I don't know. Ted Cruz. This is a weird day in politics, I guess. It's a very weird day cuz it's cuz Ted is starting to figure out how to run against Vance and so he's starting to find his way to

11:06 says he's like in Obama previewed in that speech what the Democrats are going to do, how what the plays they're going to run in 2028, corruption, not Cheesecake Factory, but like corruption and all this kind of stuff. And so he's he's really like studying it, which is interesting.

11:18 We are. Yeah. Yeah, so you mean the most obvious case against the worst president in history? Yeah, like the

11:23 Yeah, well. the the the billions in crypto corruption, yeah. In the land of the blind, you know.

11:27 Yeah, right. Uh it's not just the Cheesecake Well, jail for you. I was just going to say. Yeah. Come at me.

11:33 Uh it's not just the Cheesecake Factory litmus test where Trump is proving he's a man of the people. Uh he's barnstorming battleground states like Mississippi, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida this week. That's it. That's the final week uh with his famed I'm one of you message. Uh here's how it went over this last weekend.

11:48 We're making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars. But my people said, "Please don't mention that, sir." Cuz people are paying a little higher. We're making money like this country has never made before. So I said, "Let me say it very gingerly, very softly." You just see the fake headlines. President Trump is talking about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump. That'll be the headline. But I said, "I don't give a damn. I'm going to say it. We're making a freaking fortune." By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before, Nicki Minaj. I've been living with this whole thing about the ass.

12:26 And believe me, it's of no interest to me. Other than to say, "John Hustead is one hell of an athlete, okay?" So, I'm willing to sacrifice. I'd say that about your ass, too, Mike, if it gets you a guaranteed win.

12:43 I've been living with this whole thing about the ass. Uh honestly, one of one of his best lines. The the the the funny thing with like, have you seen J.D. trying to riff on ass now? He's He's been doing He's been like, "I won't talk about John Hustead's ass. I won't talk about it. Not like Trump will." He can't pull it off. In the same way that Trump Look, I don't think Trump should be talking about Nicki Minaj's ass, but could you imagine if J.D. Vance said a word about Nicki Minaj's ass? I think people would walk out.

13:12 Yeah. Also, his voice, woof, sounds like kind of like a Fats Domino doing Blueberry Hill thing there. I liked it. But um Yeah, look, I The risk of being on my fainting couch, I think we're all used to Trump being a little politically incorrect. I think that's kind of the appeal for a lot of people. Him saying um uh this one surprised me a little bit, I think, that him saying to Nicki Minaj, "By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before. That's hard to miss." And then, "Get up, Nicki." That's a weird thing to do.

13:39 Well, I mean, there's reports now that she may be the next White House Press Secretary. That's a real rumor. And so, if I mean, if you're going to have your White House Press Secretary, you've got to You've got to check out their ass.

13:48 Parade her. Yeah, yeah, you don't become White House Press Secretary in this administration without walking in the Oval and doing a 360.

13:53 Yeah, you can't be You can't be getting that job without having your ass inspected by the president.

13:58 I will That's funny. I will say that I will say uh he did set himself up. If there was ever going to be a time that Donald Trump could say uh uh Nicki Minaj, I enjoyed looking at your butt. Uh boy, he's done all the leg work. It's as if it was all a It

14:15 You know what I mean? It was the long play. The whole It's actually It's like well, he has been talking It's like you got you step back and you're like I mean, it's strange to see a president just outright complimenting a celebrity's ass and asking her to show the ass to the arena. But then again, it's kind of what he's been doing with all the men. So

14:31 Yeah, in a way it was misogynist to not be mentioning a woman. That's fair. he's only talking about men's asses the whole time.

14:38 Building to a a pretty epic no homo there. With Houston, it's all waving like and this guy played football and he was good and he thinks that's like good politics and manly and like an effective in Ohio. And Trump's whole like version of politics is like strength versus weakness, right? He's always doing things strongly like using it as an adverb where it doesn't make sense.

14:58 like fascist aesthetic kind of Calling very strongly to my counterpart. That kind of stuff. Anyway.

15:03 Uh on the gas prices thing, uh Trump's obviously been saying like this for months. Uh I don't give a damn. We're making a freaking fortune. Does seem like the worst version to be closing with. Um though maybe the political damage from high gas prices can't get any worse for Trump at this point. All baked in. What do you think?

15:20 I Yeah, I I think it's the gas prices versus him claiming we're making a fortune on on Venezuelan oil. But also then you're like, well, he's also personally making money, right? Like he's talking about the country. He's clearly in that moment talking about the country making money, of course. And nobody feels

15:35 we didn't say that that um that Trump's uh his stocks uh in oil and gas have been making quite a bit of money.

15:41 Oh, good for him. So, you know, I chalk it up to I think it's a pretty brazen like nobody's feeling like the country's making lots of money. But I just chalk it up to Trump usual kind of bragging about the economy. Uh I think it's more of the part where he goes, oh, the gas prices are up just a little when it's actually like hurting a lot of people, including uh uh you know, the one of these events you'll see like truckers for Trump back there and like those are the people who just absolutely getting reamed because of this.

16:04 Well, also just the way he's doing it in like a mocking voice there, you know? Yeah. That's the problem.

16:08 Ooh, ooh, struggling at the pump. Which of course they're not offended by because they're so upset that the White House doesn't that Barack Obama thinks that the White House shouldn't look like the Cheesecake Factory that they're not even thinking about the the price of gas.

16:20 Yeah, the price of gas issue is probably pretty baked in, but I do think like you when you're 2 weeks out, I think things that happen are like exponentially more important than things that happen 2 months out. And so there will be people who are late deciders who will hear this and be like, "What the man? This this sucks." Or there will be candidates who'll be doing local TV interviews and they'll get asked about those comments.

16:39 Also do the Trump dance and kind of like half defend what he said, but not offend their voters. So I like it's not

16:45 It's not a helpful closing message. I'd be really pissed if I was the person campaigning with him.

16:49 Right. Like I presumably like they've they've now picked a fight over whether or not the White House has been turned into a Cheesecake Factory and whether or not the country's making a lot of money even though gas prices are high. Like I would say Donald Trump being a corrupt, distracted buffoon and the fact that the economy is is hurting are probably like the two things they should be talking about the least if I were to pick the two things. Maybe they ran Iran Iran war one one more one more notch up.

17:15 Remember the the there was a a thought like a couple months ago that maybe gas prices would like inch down by the election. I mean we're a week away now. That's it. It's not happening.

17:25 People are voting. It's a All the moves all the things he did all the you know, releasing the oil reserves, the Venezuela stuff, the Russian the Russian diesel deal. None of it none of it did.

17:34 the interestingly, the main reason prices didn't spike more than they did was the Chinese drastically cut back their purchases of oil. No one really knows why. Probably cuz they didn't want the global economy to collapse because they export all their stuff. But um then they stopped doing that. They started importing more oil and I think frankly, I think the Iranians and the Houthis kind of made a play to spike oil prices before the midterms.

17:57 Well, that's my guess. They nailed it. Like Brent crude is at like 115 today. Well, and I wonder if I I wonder if part of that is

18:04 Getting reamed by Brent. Brent. Freaking Brent. Netanyahu is like apparently in a giant fight with the chief of staff of the IDF over whether or not to bomb the Iranians again and they're all everyone assumes it's going to happen after the election.

18:14 Yeah, I was sort of wondering if that's what was causing Brent to spike for sure.

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20:31 On a darker note, as if there's a darker note than more war after the midterms, uh Trump's also decided to ramp up the anti-Muslim bigotry in the home stretch uh in a way that's just stunningly grotesque, even for him. Uh in the middle of his Michigan event for Mike Rogers, Trump invited to the stage the father of someone who died on 9/11, uh one of the people who was on Flight 93. Um and this guy then compared the election to the horrific terrorist attack on 9/11. He said, quote, "What's different this time is the enemy has not come from abroad. The enemy is right here among us, local terrorists." And then he said, "Mike Rogers is an American. Abdul has a birth certificate.

21:08 A birth certificate doesn't make you an American." Trump decided to be even less subtle about this in his remarks.

21:14 I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States Senator. Any Jewish person that support this guy should be ashamed of themselves. I'll tell you what.

21:28 [snorts] If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a Christmas. Anyone with that record of support for jihadists would be screened and unable to get a seat on an airplane. He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector.

21:56 Jesus. Mike Rogers was said nothing at the rally, of course, but was finally forced to answer for this on Meet the Press this weekend. Here's what he said.

22:04 Do you agree with calling him a violent terrorist? he said the guy said, "Are you going to answer the question?"

22:10 Hold on. Will you disavow? And he said, "Yeah, absolutely. I'll answer the question." He never answers the question.

22:15 Is that up to your standard? No, I don't. I've never called him a terrorist. I've never called him a terrorist. This This election is about me versus Abdul.

22:24 That's a lie, by the way. I Did Portnoy tweeted a clip of Abdul making a joke about Michigan football and said this guy really is a terrorist and Mike Rogers quote tweeted it and said Portnoy is exactly right.

22:35 Oh, yeah. off. him a terrorist, buddy. Like you can't deny that. I like what Trump is doing there it's racist, it's bigoted, but I also think it's like genuinely putting Abdul's safety and life at risk because

22:47 That's what I was worried him an enemy. He calls him a jihadist. He does an event with Todd Beamer right who was a hero of 9/11. But the the suggestion is that Abdul is like a 9/11 hijacker, that Abdul is al-Qaeda. And And Trump said, "25 years later Michigan needs to stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop a jihadist. So, kill them." And like it's an overt call for violence and US presidents they kill enemies, US presidents kill jihadists. Um Nothing about that is acceptable or backed up by the facts and like like all the Republicans who blamed the Democratic Party and the rhetoric from Democrats after the assassination attempts on Trump and who blamed Democrats for Charlie Kirk's assassination are silent on this. Just silent.

23:29 So, Donald Trump says there that any Jew would be ashamed to vote for Abdul and there's a debate among Jews in Michigan about whether to vote for Abdul. I just want to be very clear. Jews in Michigan have a moral obligation to support Abdul. They should do it to protect themselves from anti-Semitism and rising hatred in America. And if that sounds confusing to you at all, uh you should imagine two futures. One in which there is a debate inside the Democratic Party about America's relationship to Israel, military aid for Israel, and anti-Semitism on the left which is real.

24:02 That is a big and important debate we could have to try to find places of agreement, a grace a places of consensus. There can be persuasion and argument and hard feelings, but there can be democracy. On the other you have this kind of politics on the right where it is about dominance and hatreds and and othering of people. It starts with Muslims. He does it for trans people. He does it for immigrants. He does it for Haitians eating the dogs and the cats. If you think that that doesn't end with Jews, you are out of your minds.

24:32 A country where this kind of politics is rewarded is a country where Jews are less safe. And anyone who has allowed their own uh uh uh uh concerns and legitimate concerns about Abdul to cloud that ultimate larger point is missing the the the big picture here. For Jews in America our safety is based around the idea that there's a society in which we can have arguments and disagreements, but we respect those differences. Trump does not believe in that, and we need to have a check on Donald Trump in a Democratic Senate. And maybe Abdul is not your cup of tea. Maybe Abdul is is not is going to be a reliable vote against Israel.

25:09 Fine. We can handle that, but we cannot handle a continued slide to this hateful authoritarian right. It will be dangerous for us.

25:19 Yeah. I will just add that like um you know, people say, "Well, it's not because he's Muslim. It's because of all these ties to the Muslim Brotherhood." Blah blah blah. The latest thing is like apparently Abdul signed this this open letter to the new Egyptian president. This is after the Arab Spring, after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, the dictator there. And this is somehow now evidence, according to Mike Rogers, not Donald Trump, cuz Donald Trump doesn't know anything. He's just like, "Mhm, he's a terrorist." But Mike Rogers is trying to do the whole connection thing.

25:46 And this is what people are hanging on. I've heard this from a few people. Like, "What about What about this letter? What about the mother? I hear that he won't answer questions about the Muslim Brotherhood." Like, I've heard this from people who are you know, very engaged, smart people who are just like asking questions about this.

26:01 Yeah, and and I don't know if we're going to play that clip, but Mike Rogers gets asked about comments he made about the Muslim Brotherhood, which is basically about trying to find moderating forces within the Muslim Brotherhood that the US could work with. Which again, like ironically, like neither Abdul nor Rogers are saying things that are all that radical at the time. Cuz the the chronology, as you said, it's like we're the beginning of the Arab Spring. Mubarak gets tossed in February 2011. There's parliamentary elections. The Muslim Brotherhood does really well. And then the presidential election is in 2012. Mohamed Morsi is the democratically elected president of Egypt. It's a big deal. Um interestingly, he's an engineer who went to USC for a bit and then taught at Cal State Northridge for a few years. So, the West is like, okay, maybe we can work with this guy. Um he brokers he Morsi helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza

26:45 in 2012. I don't know if you remember that. No. Um so, he was like immediately seen as this helpful actor on the world stage, but then he made this big power grab. Uh the economy collapsed. He's deposed in a brutal coup and the military's been in charge ever since. So, the the letter Abdul signed was like purge the media, purge the police of the Mubarak regime loyalists because everyone thought that they were going to stage a coup. And that ultimately is what happened. And the quote that Rogers uh gets read by Welker that he said in like 2012 is again trying to find someone in Morsi's government to work with to kind of maintain the US-Egypt relationship. Um so, both of them are being like eminently reasonable given the context and the politics of the time. I think Rogers is ultimately probably thrilled to see the military coup happened because then the people of Egypt have no say in their political future anymore

27:32 and all the like intel and security officials um you know, that the intel community knew are back in charge. But it's all just like it's very specious. It's all guilt by association. And then there's Abdul's mom who may or may not have been in the MB at one point, but like they didn't really have a relationship.

27:48 No, and was doing like charity work for orphans. Um when she was part of this organization, you know, back in Missouri. And again, he never like It's just the idea that we are

27:58 Like family members that Abdul didn't live with, that aren't Abdul, we're now like he he has to like answer for everything they've ever done or said, every tweet they've ever done, every letter he's ever signed, even though it says the same thing that most members of Congress were saying at the time as well, Democrats and Republicans. It's so absurd and it's designed just to be like, if you're someone who wants an excuse and someone's like, don't be anti-Muslim anti-Muslim bigot, don't be Islamophobic. And you say, well, no, no, no, I'm not It's not because he's Muslim. It's because he's tied to this organization. And so, you throw out little crumbs, right? Of like, well, there is this connection. And then you just hope that people aren't don't know enough about the history that they or aren't going to research it that they just say, "Ah, I don't know. He seems extreme."

28:40 Yeah, that's it. That's that's the what the whole thing is based on. Yeah, and and all Italians are mobbed up and all Catholics have dual loyalties. Like this is all very old that that Jews can't be trusted. They're not really Americans, right? This idea that oh sure Abdullah has a birth certificate, but he's not a real American. Like that is the exact same kind of that has been directed at Jews and other minority groups for a very, very long time. And people really need to wake up for it. Whatever your Whatever your concerns are with Abdullah, you can talk about them. You can debate them. You can try to persuade him. You can accept or not accept the apologies he's given for statements that I think were wrong and stupid and bad.

29:20 But to pretend that what this is isn't the greater threat is I think to have your head in the sand and to allow your bad feeling and kind of to become a kind of privilege.

29:30 Um In that same interview on Meet the Press, Rogers also had to defend an association that might end up being a lot more politically damaging than any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Let's listen.

29:40 Do you consider yourself to be a MAGA Republican? Listen, I'm going to tell you something. This is I get you guys on the national press, but this is a little bit disgusting to me. Building around is all you want to do is talk about something else. On the ground. I've already answered the question, Kristen.

29:59 That's just what I want to know. Do you consider yourself to be a MAGA Republican?

30:03 Kristen, let me I'm going to go right back through this. Is a vote for you a vote for the Trump agenda?

30:12 Um I'm apologizing. I'm having some difficulty in my earpiece, [clears throat] but Is a vote for you I'm not sure. I'll tell you what a vote for me is. It's a great day for the state of Michigan.

30:23 Uh the question I heard is is Abdullah in the Muslim Brotherhood? Great question, Kristen.

30:28 It's so easy to answer that and not be like a petulant baby. Like I'm a Mike Rogers Republican. So easy. You know what I mean? Like are you going to vote for I'm going to I'm going to vote for the agenda that's going to help the people of Michigan. Like you don't have to be a petulant little baby.

30:39 Yeah, but here's the thing like he's having Trump he needs the MAGA people to show up and think he's part of the team. He really is in a bind. Like I

30:45 Yeah, but they're not watching Meet the Press. Just like The clip will go viral.

30:48 about it. Yeah, well they don't he doesn't want Mr. Trump to hear. Yeah, right. Bad for Mr. Trump to hear, bad for the clip to go around.

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33:02 lion, but I think it's also just like a it's good to take. See thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding in just 3 to 6 months. Now, Neutrfol's offering our listeners $15 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you visit neutrfol.com and enter promo code crooked. That's neutrfol.com, spell n u t r a f o l.com, promo code crooked for $15 off. Be sure to use our code to support our show. So, Abdul and his campaign have been obviously pushing back on these anti-Muslim attacks for most of the campaign. Uh he did get some help from Obama during the event in Michigan. Let's listen.

33:34 We have seen this movie before. I I started it. I I've I've got a a long-form birth certificate to prove it.

33:44 This stuff didn't work on me, not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul. IMAGINE THE POWER duo of Abdul and Elissa. You've got a a Muslim man. You've got a Jewish woman fighting for you in the United States Senate. That's something, Michigan, you can be proud of.

34:03 So, I thought that was a a good way of handling it from Obama. Like, Abdul's campaign, this is the challenge here. Like, obviously, they want to focus closing message on cost of living issues, Rogers being tied to, you know, Donald Trump, MAGA, he's going to be Trump's vote in the Senate. To what extent do you think they also have to deal with these attacks? Cuz this is the tension every day in the campaign. You're like, "Wow, we don't want to have another day on this." But also, there there we're hearing things from, you know, it's like it's

34:28 to take it head on. I think you can't just do this is a distraction. I think you sound like you're ducking it. I think we learned this the hard way with Obama. I mean, there was a period of time when there the birther stuff, you have the questions about whether or not he'd been born in the United States was like email forwards and seen as a subterranean smear campaign and we had to take it head-on. We like built a seems sort of hokey now, but we built a website stopthesmears.com to like fully take on these charges. And I think Abdullah has to speak directly to these attacks. I think Republicans have made the election about Abdullah. He would rather it be about Trump and the MAGA agenda and Mike Rogers being a rubber stamp for that, but voters in Michigan are getting inundated with ads and articles and you know, clips about you know, mother and motherhood or whatever it might be and he needs to speak to it

35:13 because the late deciders are getting this information now and they're paying attention now. And so, um it's unfair and it's bigoted, but I think that was an effective way to push back from Obama. I think part of it is Abdullah like growing out and talking about football and talking about going to Michigan, but Obama saying they tried this on me. You know, they're going to try to do it to him, but there's nothing radical about, you know, universal healthcare. Like it's a good pivot.

35:35 Yeah. Yeah, clearly like Obama spent a lot of that speech trying to do the consolidation work, right? He's trying to make an argument to get whatever that subset of black voters in Michigan, some Haley Stevens voters, some Jewish voters, whoever that just don't feel totally comfortable yet with Abdullah to come on board and to make the best to tell the best story about why they should and why they should see themselves as people that should be excited to be part of that even if right now they're not. And I think what Rogers is doing, right? This fear-mongering does two things for him. One, it is about trying to get some maybe disaffected or unenthusiastic Republicans to show up and to keep some of those Democrats or potential Democratic voters to stay home. So, he gets to do one thing and that one thing does both of the things that he needs to do. And so, Abdullah has a bit of a harder job because it's it requires kind

36:23 of making two different cases. Yeah. And I think I you know, I I saw there was an ad from Abdullah over the last couple of weeks where it's just an ad about his faith and it's a little broader than like answering the specific charges, but I think you're right, Tommy. Like they just in the final week when people are looking for information as they're about to go into the into the voting booth, you kind of need to knock down the specific. So, she's breaking through. I mean, you got to speak to it. You just can't let it go. Yeah. Uh one more thing on Michigan, you know, ton of state Democrats are out there campaigning for Abdul, but there are some notable exceptions. Uh here's his primary opponent, Haley Stevens, on CNN this weekend.

36:57 You're still fully behind Abdul El-Sayed? Look, I'm I'm on the Democratic ticket. You know, I I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on. I'm not looking to be front and center right now. I'm looking to be on the team to support, you know, my next governor, Jocelyn Benson, and frankly, these great Democrats who are working their tails off, who are going to make Hakeem Jeffries the first uh black Speaker of the House.

37:21 You didn't mention Abdul El-Sayed in that last answer. Well, look, I I would just say you had asked me if I'm still on the team. I'm on the team.

37:29 So, Stevens did endorse Abdul, of course, as soon as the prime like right as the primary ended. She said at the time, you know, the time for the disunity is over. She made a strong case against Mike Rogers. I remember like we were all saying right after that primary was over, like, "Wow, very gracious of Haley Stevens. That's like exactly you know, really like stepping up there." Um this is kind of a confusing uh shift in tone from her. Like, I I I didn't quite get it. What did you guys make of it?

37:56 Yeah, it's strange, right? Because she's already endorsed. So, uh a statement like this doesn't make you less for him. It just makes you less helpful, right? Like, okay, you're on the team, but you're just not interested in being very good as a teammate, right? You're just you're you're I'm on the team, but I'm not like super committed to helping my team win or anything, right? So, I I like find it strange because if she thinks that's going to like if she if there's some specific thing she wants from Abdul in order to become a better endorser, the time for that has long since passed, right? So, there's no strategic benefit to doing this in the week before the campaign.

38:30 Like, she's registering some dissatisfaction with some specific thing she'd like him to do differently. Instead, it's just kind of feeding this idea that there's Democratic disunity. And no matter what happens, she will still in the future be very much tagged with being associated with Abdul if that's her So, I just it's of no value and only harm to me.

38:50 Yeah, I just don't I don't understand why like if you don't have if you knew that if you don't want to be out there saying, "Of course I support Abdul." And just cuz I'm not on the campaign trail doesn't mean I don't support him 100%. Don't do interviews.

39:03 Right, do you want him to lose? Do you want him to win? Because if you're going to do an interview

39:06 Can you ask? Unless that was the intention to to knowing that you were going to be asked to say that, in which case that's not great.

39:12 Do you want to seem like you want him to win, but actually you want him to lose?

39:15 Right. She was on CBS and she was asked, "Are you going to campaign side-by-side with Abdul?" And she said, "Whatever he wants me to do." It's like I did something I wonder if something changed.

39:22 Yeah, that's what I Like was there some falling out? Did they not do their politics well enough on the Elsayed campaign? Like I I don't know. It was It was odd.

39:29 Yeah. But I would like you know Does it seem like the worst of all worlds for her politically?

39:32 Yeah. And to echo what you said, love it. Like we we're in the final week here and it's like you know, whatever reservations people have about Abdul, I think we just if you're a Democrat or an independent or anyone who finds what Trump said there odious and what Rogers has been doing odious, then like you know, I would I would urge you to lock in. Just for the final week and help because I think that whatever reservations you may have, what they're doing is far, far worse.

39:59 And I'll be cynical for 1 second. I don't think what I was saying before was cynical, I sincerely believe it. Let's be cynical. You want to You want to either help him lose or not be needed to help him win? Great. That's helpful.

40:09 Yeah. I think there's also some people who are like, "Well, I think we could win the Senate and just lose Michigan, you know?" That's No, no, no, no.

40:17 Like it is very all the possible outcomes, there's a very possible outcome where we come Michi- one Michigan Senate seat short of losing the Senate. And then will you feel like happy that you left it blank for Senate, you know, that you didn't vote for Rogers, but you left it blank because you had like I don't think you'll I don't think you'll feel good about that when we're like, you know, nominating a replacement for when Trump is nominating a replacement for Sam Alito in the spring.

40:40 Have your Senate and eat it, too, huh? Um all right. As we get closer to election day, Trump is also trying to use every lever of power at his disposal to screw with the outcome. Just before we recorded this on Monday afternoon, Trump posted that he's offering a $1 million reward for anybody reporting voter fraud in the past elections or the upcoming 2026 midterm election payable when the person behind the fraud is convicted. First of all, does anyone think they're getting that money?

41:07 What's the process for submitting these claims, do you think? So now we're doing citizens arrests? What are we doing? We're

41:12 Do you just email Todd Blanche directly? Who's going to vet these things? How do I get paid out? How do you know what Cuz I'm going to start submitting some ideas if there's a million bucks on the We're just asking neighbors to go like like report on your neighbor who you don't like. Send a tip in to to the DOJ that they might be an illegal voter.

41:30 Can I tell you I've had a theory about this which I'll share here. So there was a point during the rise of fascism in Germany where at some point the Yep. I've I've seen an analogy. Just everybody deal with it. We're all adults, all right? Where the Gestapo had to tell people, "Hey, we're getting way too many reports on our neighbors. We can't follow up on all these leads. You all hate all your neighbors. They're all being disloyal. Can you please be more discerning because you're all ratting on each other a little too much and we just don't have the bandwidth to follow up on all these reports."

42:06 And I was thinking about just like clearly there is this they really want people to be reporting on undocumented people, on reporting on their neighbors. And maybe it's happening more than it's than it's being reported, but so far they just haven't had that kind of groundswell, right? Like we're just not seeing that as driving deportations. It's not a big part of the story, right? And I sometimes wonder if the kind of social media policing of each other, tattletaling, video each other at sweetgreen's and and and and pinkberries and my they were mean to me at the airport. All this filming. It's a strange little release valve for whatever that impulse is in our society right now, whatever that feeling is that things are so unfair and I must have justice all the time and report on people on the only one following the rules. And so they try to find this sort of energy, but it's actually being spent

42:52 with what they would call cancel culture or kind of like each other policing each other with our phones and so they don't get the they don't get the juice from it. That's just my little theory about it.

42:59 It's so weird. I mean, maybe or they could just be trying to it's just voter suppression. They want people who think they might be seen as, you know, fraudulently elected because they're a person of color or recent immigrant or whatever just to stay home and not risk it cuz no one wants to get sent to, you know, C-CAT or whatever.

43:16 Yeah. And and I'll tell you from the You can't really tell a lot about the early vote in terms of like who's voting for who, but the Latino turnout is is breaking some records in Texas already. So, I do I do not think this is necessarily working so far.

43:31 They also just came out with a bunch of people that they're charging for voting illegally as as non-citizens, right? They're just They're also just looking for the even if it's just a few, it's an ex- examples that proves their point that there's rampant fraud.

43:43 Yeah. Save America is brought to you by the Stateside podcast from The Guardian. Listeners of the show know by now that we're headed to the second annual Crooked Con November 5th through 7th in Washington, D.C. We have lots of amazing talent joining us including folks from The Guardian like Kai Wright and Carter Sherman who'll be telling us about their new podcast Stateside with Kai and Carter. The Guardian has an incredible legacy of journalistic talent and big thinkers from all over the world. So, Kai and Carter will be introducing some of them to you at Crooked Con. If you want to make sense of the midterms and what happens next, you'll need The Guardian's global progressive reporting. We look forward to seeing you there.

44:18 Another thing they're doing is in Alaska, uh the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit there to prevent the election from being certified if and I'm quoting from the lawsuit here, one, Senator Dan Sullivan does not win the election, and two, had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan, and Alaska's ranked-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election. So, just to catch everyone up who needs it on this, someone with Senator Dan Sullivan's name, named Daniel J. Sullivan, will be on the ballot as one of the top four primary vote-getters along with Democrat Mary Peltola. DOJ is arguing that if Senator Dan Sullivan loses because of the votes that may mistakenly go to other Dan Sullivan, the election should not be certified. Uh and if you're wondering whether the lawsuit is the result of elections experts at DOJ simply following the

45:10 facts as they see them, uh here's your answer. Have you thought of the Alaska lawsuit? With uh

45:16 Well, I'm the I'm the one that said do it. At least let him use the name Senator Dan Sullivan as opposed to incumbent cuz a lot of people don't know what incumbent means.

45:28 I I know you say it's not fair with his name being on the ballot, but how is it illegal?

45:34 I think it's illegal because it's unfair. If it's unfair, you don't you want you want fairness in voting.

45:39 Honestly, so insightful from him. It is how he thinks. Well, so if things that I think are unfair, of course illegal. And if I think it's fair, it's legal. That's it. There's no laws.

45:50 I Here's I'll make a deal right now. If they can say that votes for the wrong Dan Sullivan don't count, then we get to go back and count all those Pat Buchanan votes from 2000 uh by those those old

46:02 Rewind the timeline? from the Aldercacas in Palm Beach. get to install Al Gore immediately.

46:06 We get to We reverse all of this. We all get to go back. We go back. Uh yeah, I'm not uh I don't think this is I don't think this is the the best legal work of uh the the Trump administration that that we're going to cancel the votes of the Dan Sullivan we don't like without it being able to know who voted for who and for and for what reason after the fact because we don't like the outcome. If they would like to get Dan's the wrong the their their wrong Dan Sullivan removed, they had their chance to do that. It didn't work.

46:33 Yeah, I think that's the um that's the the the legal challenge that they face here is that state litigation already addressed the second Al Sullivan's eligibility uh and the ballot as as Trump referenced does identify Dan Sullivan as the incumbent and Daniel J. Sullivan as not the incumbent.

46:50 Which is a word a lot of people know. More and more of these days I think know what that word means.

46:55 So there's many who know that the dumb is spelled d u m b. Yeah. Yeah, the Alaska Supreme Court did rule that he could be on the ballot.

47:02 It I will there's a it's funny too cuz he could just be kind of out there saying, "Don't forget to vote for the right Dan Sullivan. This is Donald Trump reminding you to vote for the right Dan Sullivan." And I guess this is in a way uh uh uh going to get that out there a little bit, but what what I uh uh what do you what do you call when it bounces off the backboard?

47:19 Ricochet? Bank. Backboard? Bank shot? Or bank shot? Bank shot. Nice. Nice. There you go. Bank shot.

47:24 Cuz that's what that that's what that is. Yeah, nice. Oh, yeah. Some good news, bad news for the Comey family today.

47:32 Good news. Good Thorns and roses? Uh-huh. Uh good news, uh the court found that Maureen Comey's termination, uh James Comey's daughter, was unlawful uh from termination from the DOJ uh and it violated her rights under the Civil Service Reform Act and they uh granted reinstatement and back pay. I'm sure she won't take that job. Uh the bad news, James Comey facing indictment in DC for alleged disclosure of classified information. That is not a repeat headline. You are not hearing an old episode. This is now the third time apparently they have tried to uh they're indicting James Comey.

48:07 That's just it's so up. So up. Is it the same underlying substance or are they saying he disclosed something else that was also classified?

48:14 Was the first Well, no, the first one was perjury. Uh in the was was uh false statements

48:19 That's the memo stuff or the body or whatever. The second one was the seashell threat.

48:23 Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. I forgot about the big Seashell Yeah, yeah, John Bolton was the classified information.

48:27 Yes, sorry. And then this now one now they finally got him on classified info apparently.

48:31 Cuz they're claiming he corrected a journalist or did they like reached out in some way and and kind of conveyed something which may have been classified information.

48:39 Unfuckingbelievable. Yeah, and again I'll I got um I obviously think this is wrong and pernicious and uh you know, terrible to have the politicization of the Justice Department. Um but I also think James Comey should die in prison, so.

48:54 I don't. That's just my feeling. I I think people should only go to prison if they've broken laws and they should the nation serve the exact sentence.

49:05 Yeah, no I know. That is commensurate with their No, I know that that's right. I'm telling I know that's what your mind says, but in your heart in your heart. I don't mean it. I don't mean it. I think it's wrong. I'm just kidding. I think what's happening to James Comey is horrible and what he deserves. I'm just I don't

49:20 Our producers are laughing. I can hear it through the walls, yeah. hear Austin laughing.

49:24 [snorts] Uh speaking of deal Think about James Comey lying in that cell. Feet dangling off the edge of the cot.

49:29 He's so tall. He's said a cell for him is worse than it is for the rest of us. Cuz he's so big and tall.

49:36 Disavow. Disavow. Disavow. Disavow. Speaking of DOJ funny business, uh the department's sloppy cover-up of the Epstein file debacle has returned as a midterm issue in the final week. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released an unsigned staff report on Monday that quote demonstrates that Trump was a quote active participant in Epstein's abuse in the '90s including new details on a rape allegation. Uh and they also called for a special counsel to investigate Trump's Epstein connection. They also called for a special counsel to investigate Trump's Epstein connection. According to analysis pieces in both the Washington Post and Politico, uh Democrats have also spent north of $30 million on Epstein-related ads in battleground states. Kind of a sleeper there cuz I like I I I knew there was a few Epstein ads here and there, but there it was

50:22 I think there's a lot of mentions, though. A lot of mentions. Yeah, I I look I don't know. Like the details in that congressional report are very troubling and should be run down and investigated. I think calling it the Epstein election is a touch overstated is my guess.

50:33 That's what Playbook I should have said. That's what Playbook called it. Yeah, yeah. I mean the the Epstein I think it's mentioning Jeffrey Epstein is useful because it's shorthand for how rigged the system is and how elites get protected in Donald Trump's America. Uh it is also shorthand for Trump breaking his promises. It's responsible for a huge rupture between Trump and Republicans and also the kind of Joe Rogan podcast cohort. Um so Democrats should keep mentioning it. We should keep doing these oversight hearings. But also I think like Trump promised to get to the bottom of what happened and punish the abusers. He lied. Like this would be a good opportunity for Democrats to deliver on a promise to really follow up on this one. I think it's important. Daily had a good episode on this today. Well, they had an episode on just ads, all the ads that were being run. And Shangel Marco was on and it's interesting that a lot

51:17 of these Epstein ads are running in red states with in some of these like yeah, very Trumpier districts as a way to kind of depress turnout a little bit. Just that like if you're not going to vote for a Democrat, at least like aren't you upset with the broken promises of Republicans who promised they would clean up corruption, promised they would do something about Jeffrey Epstein's the Epstein files, and then absolutely broke that promise.

51:42 Yeah, it's it's as if he's methodically it's as if he like had a board that had the different coalitions that he assembled to become president and wanted to go through and cross them off, right? Like the the America first crowd he got with the Iran war, the people genuinely concerned about prices he got with sort of tariffs and the gas prices. and failing to address this. I mean, the one group of people he's kept are the kind of old school Paul Ryan style type conservatives cuz he did do a fair amount of deregulation and tax cutting. He's managed to keep them. And with Epstein there's this sort of conspiratorial part of the right that was relying on him to kind of expose the deep state. I I don't like it is one of many conspiracy theories that theories that are important in that world. I think I think RFK Jr. is a part of it, too. Like kind of a an amorphous group of people that believe the

52:27 government is lying to them all the time and he was going to expose it and he just played them for fools. That's why Dan Bongino was like in this difficult position of having been someone who said that the conspiracy theories were real and then couldn't justify it once he was inside the government. So, uh I don't know how much of a difference maker it is, but I think it is one of the reasons he lost people in a way that makes it hard to get them back. Last thing before we go, on Sunday night when most of us were savoring the last few moments of the weekend, Donald Trump posted a dense 1,300 word essay to Truth Social. Again, record breaking. Uh on a subject of vital importance to all of us, talk show host Bill Maher.

53:05 Trump trashed Maher and his show, said Maher's visits to the White House, which he called a quote very seductive and beautiful place, were no fun and that Maher was stoned and drunk and he defended Caroline Leavitt's performance on Maher's show last week, which I'm guessing is where this all came from.

53:19 Has to be, right? Uh among many other tangents, um Trump added at the end, "Bill, don't call anymore."

53:25 That was my That was my favorite part. Bill, don't call anymore. What were your favorite parts, guys? What was

53:29 Uh That was what wild. Do you think he dictated it to Natalie? Did she have to write down all of that as he like sort of read it aloud?

53:35 I mean, I'll just I'm not going to read the whole thing, but can I just read a sentence? Cuz I don't I don't know how Natalie could have faithfully just written this down or typed this out. Uh this was all one sentence. CNN did another poll that who was the most unpopular person in the history of the Republican Party and I won that too with me being at 53%, Ronald Reagan being at 18% and Abraham Lincoln being at 8% and these are CNN polls, people not exactly in love with me. So, Bill Maher lied, but he lies about everything and I believe he lied to me when I asked him with all the applause and laughter he gets after almost everything he says about things that aren't funny or even any good, what laughter machine does he use?

54:09 That was the line that jumped out at me, the laughter machine. He said the laughter machine three times.

54:14 Yeah, turn your laugh machine off. It's a joke when they laugh uncontrollably even when you say nothing funny. So, he's watching Maher every Friday now? Is what's going on?

54:22 this time. Bill was drunk and had alcohol in his hand as he walked through the White House. Overall, I thought it was a good meeting. It didn't last 4 hours, it lasted 2 hours, maybe less. Everybody was happy. We have the timestamps. I learned nothing. Felt it was a waste of time.

54:32 I learned nothing. I learned nothing. After the first dinner, Bill Maher was friendly, I guess. Everyone walked away pleased. He gave me a good first show with lots of laughing machine laughter, which is a real term, but it is what it is and then reverted back to his former self in his old ways.

54:44 Like It's translation. I had the dinner, he was nice to me for one episode, then he was mean again and I'm going to complain about it.

54:49 But like talk about your like the the Natalie could not have done I mean, there's no proofreading. You would have cleaned it up a little bit.

54:56 think she cleans it up, man. I think she wants to stay true to her voice. pure uncut.

54:59 that's what she thinks the gig is. Certainly no one's going to be reading his AI of writing his stuff.

55:04 not. It's not that. 100%. Hunter Biden Chronicles. This is raw uncut real typing.

55:11 1,300 words. Yeah. And it was like when I first heard about this I'm like, "Oh, how much do you have that that much to say about Bill Maher?" But really Bill Maher is just like the the the delivery vehicle for this. Like he's he's tangentially part of it but most of it is just a long ramp There's a thing about The Apprentice and why it was a great show and how he would have won anyway even without The Apprentice.

55:32 It sounds like dictation. It does sound like dictation. It sounds like someone saying something out loud that someone else is typing. Cuz he's not typing all this stuff.

55:37 Sounds like he's lost his mind is what it sounds like which, you know, it's good stuff.

55:42 It's great stuff. It's a great closing message. Put it in an ad. The end of one of Abdul's piece he talked about Trump bragging about the the neurology test and then which was great just like, you know, he's bragging about taking this test. You only give these people the test when people He's a doctor. They only give tests when people are in trouble and something's wrong and they've given it to him multiple times. And then he then my and saying, "Well, Mike Rogers knows that this is ridiculous and he stands by the guy."

56:06 Which I I was the first time I heard somebody tied directly the fact that he's doing the cognitive test with the fact that everyone's pretending he's not losing his mind.

56:12 Yeah, and he's proud of identifying the giraffe. Which is a tough one to identify, I guess.

56:18 Is it? Maybe the least tough. the really long neck. least challenging animal to identify.

56:21 It's a big horse. What do you think it was? Yeah, just a sort of a neck gives it away. I'm just saying.

56:27 horse like that like that SBA administrator. I'm no genius. Who's that SBA person? What's her name What's her name again?

56:33 Kelly Loeffler. Kelly Loeffler. She ran for She ran in Georgia. That's right. That's right. Does Kelly Loeffler and giraffes They both actually evolved separately. You see those TikTok memes it's her

56:43 and Susan Dell Yes. and then the the other woman Barbara Thornhill. Barbara Thornhill. Barbara Barbara misspelled Thornhill.

56:50 They're AI and they're doing some TikTok da- It's great. It's great. Uh-huh. Anyway, that's our show for today. If you're itching for updates during this election week, reminder, it's a great time to follow us on YouTube or you can just search Breaking News from Pod Save America on Apple Podcasts or Spotify where we post the audio version of these quick conversations between shows. We're doing all kinds of reactions to the news in between these shows. You got to check them out on YouTube. Uh we got a lot of content coming this last week before the election. So, check it out. And of course, Dan and I will be back with a new show on Friday.

57:22 Pod Save America is a Crooked Media production. Our show is produced by Austin Fisher, Saul Rubin, McKenna Roberts, and Michael Goldsmith with Reed Gerlin, Elijah Cohen, and Adrian Hill. Our team includes Matt DeGroat, Ben Herfcode, Jordan Kenter, Charlotte Landis, Kenny Moffit, Adam Joseph Dutra, Desmond Taylor, Dan Fair, David Tolls, Mia Kelman, Ryan Young, and Naomi Our staff is probably unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Obama Hits the Campaign Trail as Trump SPIRALS Ahead of Midterms"?

Jon Favreau (Host), Jon Lovett (Guest), Tommy Vietor (Host), Barack Obama (Guest).

What is "Obama Hits the Campaign Trail as Trump SPIRALS Ahead of Midterms" about?

Barack Obama campaigns for Democrats as Trump faces renewed controversy and potential election interference, highlighting Trump’s escalating rhetoric, anti-Muslim bigotry allegations, and new political scandals, alongside upcoming Democratic events and strategy discussions.

What is mentioned in this Pod Save America episode?

118 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Pod Save America, Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers, Michigan, Barack Obama. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Obama Hits the Campaign Trail as Trump SPIRALS Ahead of Midterms"?

The episode runs 58 min; the transcript is about 12,908 words in 224 timestamped sections.

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