Stop Funding Trump's Takeover | The Ezra Klein Show

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 2:46: Senate, muzzle velocity stage, authoritarian consolidation, Canada

Notable quotes from "Stop Funding Trump's Takeover | The Ezra Klein Show"

• Lacked. What they lacked was power. They didn't have power. They didn't have the House or the Senate. But they did have one sliver of leverage. In order to fund the government…

  about Senate · at 0:49

• This presidency where Donald Trump is trying things and seeing what sticks. We are in the authoritarian consolidation stage of this presidency.

  about authoritarian consolidation · at 1:57

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• Senate — Company · 3 mentions · first at 0:54
• US government — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:26
  We were in the full muzzle velocity stage of the presidency. more mass firings in the US government, froze federal funding on projects across the country. He is taking retribution.
• House — Company · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

• muzzle velocity stage — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 0:22
  We were in the full muzzle velocity stage of the presidency. more mass firings in the US government, froze federal funding on projects across the country. He is taking retribution.
• retribution — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:30
  Firings in the US government, froze federal funding on projects across the country. He is taking retribution.
• authoritarian consolidation — Concept · 1 mention · first at 2:01
• mafia — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Canada — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:34
  Sweeping tariffs, but why Canada?

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 In about 3 weeks, the government's funding will run out. Democrats will face a choice. Join Republicans to fund a government that Trump is turning into a tool of authoritarian takeover and vengeance or shut the government down. Democrats faced a version of this choice 6 months ago. The chainsaw for bureaucracy. We were in the full muzzle velocity stage of the presidency. more mass firings in the US government, froze federal funding on projects across the country. He is taking retribution. The law firms have to behave themselves.

0:34 Sweeping tariffs, but why Canada? And Democrats at that moment seemed completely overwhelmed and outmatched. We will win. We will win. I kept hearing people say they lacked a message, but that's not what they lacked. What they lacked was power. They didn't have power. They didn't have the House or the Senate. But they did have one sliver of leverage. In order to fund the government, Senate Republicans needed Democratic votes. Not just one or two votes. They needed at least seven Democrats to reach that magic 60 vote threshold in the Senate.

1:10 All eyes are on Democrats and what they'll do. Shut it down. House Democrats wanted a shutdown. But now I can report that the Senate Democratic leader himself, Chuck Schumer, vote no, has told Democrats that he plans to vote yes and encouraged a crucial number of his colleagues to do the same. The bill passed. I appreciate Senator Schumer and I think he did the right thing. But that bill that passed back in March funding the government, it runs out at the end of this month. And so now we're facing the question again. Should Senate Democrats partner with Senate Republicans to fund this government?

1:51 And I don't see how they can. We are no longer in the muzzle velocity stage of this presidency where Donald Trump is trying things and seeing what sticks. We are in the authoritarian consolidation stage of this presidency. I want to be very clear about what I'm saying here. Donald Trump is corrupting the government. He is using it to hound his enemies, to line his pockets, and to entrench his own power. He is corrupting it the way the mafia would corrupt the industries it controlled. You could still under mafia rule get the trash picked up by cement. But the point of those industries had become the preservation and expansion of the mafia's power and wealth. This is what Donald Trump is doing to the government.

2:38 This is what Democrats cannot fund. This is what they have to try to stop.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Stop Funding Trump's Takeover | The Ezra Klein Show"?

In order: 0:00 Senate, muzzle velocity stage, authoritarian consolidation, Canada.

What is mentioned in this The Ezra Klein Show episode?

8 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Senate, muzzle velocity stage, US government, retribution, Canada, authoritarian consolidation. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Stop Funding Trump's Takeover | The Ezra Klein Show"?

The episode runs 3 min; the transcript is about 434 words in 5 timestamped sections.

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