(upbeat music) - Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Don Lemon Show. We're so happy to have you live at five. Welcome to all the lemonheads part of the lemon nation here. You know, it has been just six weeks since Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as a Democratic presidential nominee. And you have probably heard a hell of a lot about Pennsylvania. Oh, she's gonna pick Josh Shapiro. She needs Pennsylvania. You've heard a lot about Michigan, I'm sure. Is it gonna be Gretchen Whitmer? What can Gretchen Whitmer do? What about Arab Americans who are in Michigan? You've probably heard a lot about Georgia, right? Oh, the election fraud, they're nervous in North Carolina and Arizona. North Carolina is in play and Arizona as well. Could turn blue. Those are in play. What you probably haven't heard about really is Florida, but here's the thing. I think that we should be talking about Florida. There are a number of things that I should, I think we should be talking about, but I do think that we should be talking about the Sunshine State. There are multiple polls this month that have shown that Vice President Harris, that she is within striking distance of Donald Trump, including one from Florida Atlantic University that put her within two among likely voters. So I think Florida is in play. And I think my next guest today will agree with me. And that is Nikki Freed, who is the chair of the Florida Democratic Party Congresswoman or chairwoman, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you so much for joining. How are you doing? How would I do on my intro? Am I right or wrong? - I think you did great. I think you did exactly set the stage of not enough time and intention as I've been put on Florida and what's actually happening on the ground here. - Okay, good. So I'm glad you agree with me and there's lots to talk about. So we're gonna talk about Florida's polling, Florida's abortion ballot initiative, and then what's Ron DeSantis been up to since his presidential campaign flop. So as I said, there is a lot to discuss. So I appreciate you joining us today. Okay, so my question for you, Madam Chairwoman is, you can set the table for our conversation here. Why do you think Florida is in play in this cycle? Because I think we hear a lot, oh, you know, Florida, it could go blue, Texas, it could go blue and then Democrats get all excited about it and then it doesn't happen. So why do you think that Florida's in play? - Well, I think this is a really important conversation. And if you give me some flexibility and kind of laying out the case. So first of all, let's talk about who Florida is. Who Florida has always been. I've born and raised here, my parents have been born and raised here. And our state has always been very libertarian. Whether you wanna hang out and Key West and go on Duvall Street, whether you go to Daytona 500 or you live in the Panhandle, Gasparilla, you kind of found your people. You found your community and everybody else, you know, kind of left you alone. You wanna diverse community of Miami, Dade versus conservative parts of our state. You found your people. And what has happened for the last six years under Rhonda Santas administration, it has taken us into such an extreme direction, whether that has been book banning or moving on elected officials from office. That's now a six week abortion ban. That's going after our immigrant populations. That's the fights with Disney. The overruling of local governments when it came to the pandemic, it's going after our school. I mean, you name it. Rhonda's just taken us into a very extreme direction, all at the same time, property insurance, number one issue for Floridians. It has increased over 400% since he got into office. Number one issue, they've come back in and they've had three special sessions and all they've done is written blank checks to the insurance companies, taken away people's rights to sue. Now we're seeing things like climate issues that are coming up into the forefront that are front and center for every Floridian, whether you live in the center part of our state or the coastal communities, we're getting hit by hurricanes. As somebody who is a survivor of Hurricane Andrew from 1992, that was supposed to be once in a lifetime hurricane, we're seeing threats and hits almost every single year. And so you're seeing also not only property insurance, but we are the number one state when it comes to inflation. We're higher than the national average. That's because the Santas hasn't pulled down resources from that by array, from the infrastructure bill, from even feeding our children to energy grants, all these resources that have been put into place under the Biden administration, appropriate to use inflation, government understand is not take benefit of. And so we're seeing the high costs of every aspect. - Okay, so you think all of those, does that go up? You know, does that's, I don't know. Is there an ideological part to that? I mean, is that split among Democrats and Republicans? Do they have a, do they feel like the current administration may be responsible for some of those things? How do Democrats benefiting from what Ron DeSantis apparently, what you're saying he's not doing? - Yeah, of course, because you have seen 30 years of one-party control. You've seen this legislative just assault that has been under the assignment of Ron DeSantis. And so what has happened now is that we have almost one third of our state is independent. So we've got almost a third, a third, and a third. Republicans having a little bit more than Democrats, but the reality is it's third, a third, a third. And so when you're able to talk about all of those issues that I just discussed, they're not part of it. Those are issues that are concerns of Floridians, whether you're an independent Democrat Republican. So now we have candidates in every one of our house, Senate, and congressional seats. And our candidates are going and holding those Republicans accountable. And so there is a movement that the Republican party at an adult totality has gone extreme. And we've seen since 2023 during, you know, Ron DeSantis's rise to wanting to run for president, to getting annihilated, that we have seen independence in our state flipping for Democrats 60 to 70%. - And too extreme for Florida? Do you think, really? - Oh, for sure, too extreme for Florida. 97% of Floridians didn't want a six-week abortion ban. 72% of Floridians did not want to take away permit-less carry here in the state of Florida and get rid of concealed weapons permits. So you see these issues that are crossing over that the Republicans have been just not listening to the people and you're seeing an organized Democratic party that is taking advantage of that and bringing in a broad coalition. - Okay, so let's talk about, I want to get more specific about Florida and you're the person to talk to. Some of the key races there. I'd like to start with House District 13, if that's okay with you. A brand new poll shows that Democratic challenger, Whitney Fox is leading Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna by nearly four points. Luna is a darling of the MAGA movement. What is going on there, Chairwoman? - MAGA's losing up and down the ballot, everywhere. We had primaries in the state a week and a half ago, actually during the national convention, where Rhonda Santis endorsed 23 school board rep numbers. 23, he only won six. In an areas where, and we're talking in purple areas, blue areas and deep red areas. And even in deep red areas, and there might have been two Republicans against each other in a primary, MAGA all lost. So the MAGA movement in Florida is really kind of seeing his last leg. There's cultural wars of DeSantis and to some extent, obviously of Donald Trump and all of their minions. They're losing ground and they're losing space. And what is really happening is that Democrats are showing, this is not the way to govern. The way the governors bring people together to have sensible conversations about policy issues. And that's why you're seeing this number, even with Whitney Fox over Congressman Luna, by four points because her extremism and her antics just aren't working anymore. And people are starting to become really annoyed by the divisiveness, the rhetoric, the attacks on people. And I think that the Democrats are gonna be rewarded for showing unity and wanting to end that chaos. - Well, here's what I wanna know from the folks who are watching. This is a show where we let our subscribers actually have a voice, Chair Freed. And so the poll that is up now, and not enough of you voted, there are a lot of you are tuning in, but not enough of your voted. It says, will President, will Vice President Harris win the state of Florida? Okay, I want you to participate in that poll. So go ahead and vote. But what I wanna know from you is if you agree with Chair Freed, Chair Womack Freed, regarding Florida now actually being in play, do you think that there's a possibility that Florida could turn blue? You think it's possible? And do you think that candidates there are the policies that Ron DeSantis has been touting? Do you think that that is turning even Floridians off that they've gone too far, right? So please, weigh in on the comments, besides go Gators. - Go Gators. (laughing) - Let me know what you think. And I'm gonna read some of your comments. So thank you for that. And make sure you hit the thumbs up, okay? And make sure you subscribe. And also make sure you hit the bell that gives you the notifications so you'll know every day. So let's talk about the Florida race, okay? Chair Freed, I'm actually shocked to see how competitive it is. And I'm gonna dig into the polling in just a second. But first, what I think is a very, very, very important, very good ad from former congresswoman, Mukarsal Powell, who's challenging Senator Rick Scott. Let's play it and then we'll talk about it. Here it is. - Rick Scott. - Rick Scott. - Rick Scott. He'd strip away women's rights with a national abortion ban. He cuts taxes for himself. But he'd raise them on you. He wrote the plan that could take away the social security and Medicare you worked and paid for. And he's gotten tens of millions of dollars richer while so-called serving the people. But our costs for prescriptions, health insurance, homeowners insurance, have all gone up. But what do we expect from the CEO of a company that made a fortune robbing Medicare? Yeah? No, must. I'm ready to do something about. - So we got it and I think it's a very powerful ad. So let me just set this up before you answer here because we have a pair of recent polls regarding this race. A survey from Clean and Prosperous Energy shows that Debbie MacCarso Powell, just three points behind Rick Scott. That's within the margin of error. Meanwhile, a poll from Florida Atlantic University found a four-point race between MacCarso Powell and Scott. Why is this race so tight, you believe, and has MacCarso Powell run a very good campaign or is Rick Scott running a very bad one or maybe it's a combination of both? - Nobody likes Rick Scott. Literally, that's the issue. Nobody has ever liked Rick Scott. Rick Scott has won his only three races here in our state by less than one percentage point, by less than one percent. When he won in 2018 for the US Senate, he beat Senator Nelson by 11,000 votes. He has never created this kind of base of supporters, of people that like him. And he's bad on every issue. You know, every issue that Floridians care about, the environment. I mean, we used to call it a red-tied Rick, you know, bad on the environment, even didn't even let his administration talk about climate change. He is bad on social security, bad on Medicare, bad on Medicaid, bad on women's health. I mean, he saw that he was the one who put together the plan to get rid of social security and Medicare. He is literally bad even on cannabis, which is also on the ballot this year. So these are all types of things that you couple them all together. He and Ron DeSantis hate each other, so he's definitely not getting any support from the DeSantis administration. And this is what-- - Interesting, wow. - There is, oh, and that's the other part of the story in Florida. There is a lot of Republican in fighting. And so those were the reasons, and Debbie is able to come in and say, we're gonna fight. We're gonna fight for the things that matter to the people of our state. And the fact that he has been using the word socialism as this attack on Democrats with no-like foundation for it. And people are tired of that attack too. And Debbie, as a Latina, her family came over. She wasn't born in America and her family left. And so she's able to combat even those types of lies and attacks that were coming from Rick Scott, and it's just not landing. And I think that this race is tight because no one likes Rick, and he's battling on the issues. - Well, let me tell you, I traveled around the country a bit at least to Chicago, and I'll do some more traveling before the election. And what I hear from people, even when I'm just out in the bout, is that they're tired of the negativity, and especially coming from the right. They all say, I'm tired of it on both sides, but mostly I'm just tired of it from Donald Trump and MAGA folks. So I understand that when you say there's a lot of in-fighting and people are over it. Chairwoman, I'd like to get your thoughts on Florida's abortion ballot initiative and the chaos that's caused with Trump's presidential campaign. But before we get to that, can you please explain to me and to our subscribers, amendment four, what would it do? Amendment four puts Roe back into our Florida Constitution. And unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court earlier part of this year stripped out that right to privacy that's been in the Florida Constitution for almost 30 years. And so what amendment four does is it protects that healthcare access up to viability. And that's so it basically codifies Roe into the Florida Constitution, and that is what's on the ballot in November. - Okay, all right, so then I wanna play two quick bits of sound for you. Thursday and Friday of last week, the first video is Trump saying that Florida's current six-week ban is too short. I'm sure you've heard all about this. We've talked about it. I was like, wait, what is he saying? 'Cause it seems like he, I think he like flipped up like three times on this. So the first one is saying that the current six-week ban is too short and suggesting that he might vote for the ballot initiative, vote for it. The second video is Trump attempting to clean up the job the next morning. So let's watch and then we'll talk. Here it is. - Over first. - Over first. - Everyone does. I mean, I think everyone else is here. - And you want abortion to be a states rights issue. In Florida, the state that you are a resident of, there's an abortion related amendment on the ballot to overturn the six-week ban in Florida. How are you going to vote on that? - Well, I think the six-week is too short. It has to be more time, and so that's, and I've told them that I want more weeks. - So you'll vote in favor of the amendment? - I'm voting that I am gonna be voting that we need more than six weeks. Look, just so you understand, everybody wanted Roe v. Wade terminated for years, 52 years. I got it done. They wanted to go back to the states. Exceptions are very important for me, for Ronald Reagan, for others that have navigated this very, very interesting and difficult path. - And here's the second one. - More no on amendment four in Florida. - So I think six weeks you need more time than six weeks. I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries. When I heard about it, I disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation that where you can do an abortion in the ninth month. And some of the states like Minnesota and other states have it where you can actually execute the baby after birth. And all of that stuff is unacceptable. So I'll be voting no for that reason. - Execute the baby. I mean, come on, that would be infanticide. - That's called murder. That's called murder. - Yeah, it's crazy. So, I mean, look, I think they're clearly sweating in this abortion issue. What is that doing to voters? And what do you make of all of this? I don't believe he helped his case with that. - No, he absolutely hurt his case. I think that, but what it did is solidify that he has no values on this issue, that he has been all over the place on this and that nobody can trust him. Even Jellicles is just why he backpedaled the next day. Even Jellicles were going crazy on him, staying home, what is this about. So he pivoted once again. And I think that what this has done is shows that he can be bought and paid for, that we can't be trusted. But let's also remember how we got here, that we were even having this conversation. It is because of him. It is because of 2016. He campaigned to stack the courts, the conservative judges to overturn the way. And then it happened and he celebrated it. And he wanted it to go back to the states. It should be with the states. Okay, well, it's with the states. And now we have a six-week abortion ban and one out of three women across the country, 22 states have some type of very restrictive measures. And so he not only hurt his case more, but it shows to your point how scared he is of this issue, 'cause he doesn't get it. And how scared he is to potentially lose Florida, that he is going back and forth on not just amendment four, but also amendment three, which is a legalization of cannabis. So he's scared of losing Florida. And that's why he's playing this dance and it's backfiring on him. People just can't trust him on either side of the conversation. - Do you think amendment four on the ballot could actually affect the presidential race? - Yes, absolutely. We've seen, look at how it's happened across the rest of the country. You've seen people turning out in record numbers in Kansas and Ohio. We saw it in Wisconsin, red areas, purple areas, blue areas of protections. And here in Florida, the way I like to couple it is multi-pronged. One is that this is gonna be one of those issues that is gonna transcend partisan politics. I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican independent, a vast majority of Floridians and Americans believe that politicians and government don't belong in the conversation. And so that's one. And so people are coming out to protect this reproductive rights. Again, six weeks in the state of Florida, when most women don't even know that they're pregnant with virtually no exceptions, is not who Florida is. Go back to my first thing out of my mouth when I'm in our conversation. We've always been libertarian. And so this is one of those issues. And then you couple it with the actual word of freedom. And here in the state of Florida, Ron DeSantis is like to talk about the free state of Florida. How can you be free when there's six week abortion bans on our books? And so when we're able to kind of couple everything together and sell it into one package and it's about freedom, people understand that Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott and Donald Trump want to limit people's access to reproductive freedoms and overall freedoms. And so I do think it's going to make an impact. I do think that our numbers are going to be high and people are going to hold these, hold Trump, hold the Republicans of our state accountable for the moment that we are in. And that's why also I think Florida is in play because you're going to see these hall turnouts and people just rejecting this extremism. - When we were talking about that, listen, I think it was a perfect segue to not only doing it because it's there, but I write about this in the book and I want you to know about it. And also other women who may be buying this book and just even, even folks who are not buying it. So here's what I talk about in the book and it just so happens that there's a correlation here, okay? And so I interviewed someone for this book. The book comes out on September 10th Congress, a chairwoman, if you, by the way, if you want, I'll send you one if you want one. And so I was talking to a friend who had told me about being violently assaulted in college. And then I asked her about what was happening with Roe and a woman's right. And she said, well, I'll tell you a story that I don't share much. And she said that she was pregnant back in the 1980s. She was a Republican woman then. So there was a method to why I'm asking you this. And she was talking about, remember the silent scream video that the Reagan administration put out? Apparently it was supposed to be of a fetus screaming and in pain and it turned out to be propaganda. It wasn't so. So she tells me a story and I call her Fiona, that's not my friend's name, that's not her real name. So when she talks about the silent scream, she says it was fake, but it was effective. Free Roe v. Wade abortion rights activist kept the focus on women maimed and killed by back alley abortions. The silent scream recasts the fetus as the innocent victim of a grisly murder. And here's what she goes on to tell me. She said in the late 1980s, Fiona and her husband were happily expecting a second child. She was well into her second trimester when things took a tragic turn. We couldn't afford an ultrasound. So we didn't know anything was wrong until my water broke and I went into labor. They said the fetus had developed in a way that was incompatible with life. And I was like, what does that even mean? Basically the organs were growing outside of its body. My husband was crying. I was in a lot of pain and scared shitless at the risk of sepsis, at risk of sepsis and no one was helping me. They said I could not have food or water because I might need emergency surgery. And they couldn't give me anything for pain because it might slow down the labor. And they couldn't give me anything to speed up the labor because that would be a late-term abortion, which was illegal. I had to wait for the fetal heartbeat to stop. After three days, I was just begging, help me. Please, you have to make it stop. And the nurse said, instead of begging for an abortion, you should be praying for a miracle. And then she offered to pray with me. I guess that was her way of trying to help maybe, it was just her way to feel better about herself. Decades later, Fiona told me this story with tears in her eyes. When I was in college, she said, I was a victim of a violent sexual assault. On so many levels, this was worse. And in some ways, it felt exactly the same. And then she went on to say that she would never vote against, on that day, she became an independent. And she was a Republican. She said, I will never again vote against my own interest that way. Do you think stories like that, that lawmakers don't understand that the pro-life movement doesn't understand that they will get Republicans, and especially Republican women, to vote Democrat, maybe in the presidential race and in your state race? Yeah, I mean, I saw goosebumps from hearing that story. Because it's not uncommon of a story. It's not even in the pregnancies, as they think. Women's reproduction rights is about so much more. And that's the stories that are being told right now. We're not-- yes, there are those stories, of course. And that's about choice of women becoming pregnant in college and obviously not being ready necessarily to be parents. There are those. But more, you're hearing from the ecosystem, those types of stories of women whose water breaks and are told to go home until they're actually in sepsis or other types of medical conditions, or to be bleeding out in doctors. We're missing a lot of other perspectives here, too. Yes, it is absolutely about the woman and what she is going through. But the laws that are happening right now is also criminalizing the doctors for having to make those types of decisions of protecting their patients. We're talking about the husband. You didn't hear the story of what was happening through her husband's own perspective, of that he could end up losing his child and his wife. And there's all these very complicated, personal, and medical decisions that most importantly, politicians shouldn't be in those conversations. That has to stay with the doctors and the families and the patients and be able to give doctors the freedom to do what is necessary to save their patients' lives and not put them through that drama and that stress. And just, I'm sure, she has tremendous-- I mean, she's still decades later tearing up and she's telling those stories. Why are we subjecting people to that? That is a choice that government is making to make her go through those traumas. And yes, more of those stories are coming out as we're getting closer to the election and we're hearing them from Democrats, Republicans, and independents. This isn't a partisan issue. The Republicans are making a partisan issue. This is a human rights and a health care issue and a privacy issue. And the Republicans have just diluted the conversation and even Trump's comments of justifying not voting for Amendment 4 even shows you they're rhetoric. And Rick Scott's Justice Fatty said, "They're wanting the babies to be crying in the nurseries until they die." Tell me the proof of any of that nonsense. And unfortunately, there are portions of our country that believe it and that's unfortunate and we're going to do our best to educate. Where do you think this issue ranks? Because, I mean, we just had a shooting, right? A mass shooting just yesterday. Just the day of the day before, I forget, but just recently in Georgia. And then, so we have that. We've got the issue of guns. We've got the issue of reproductive rights. We also have the economy and inflation. Where do you think, where do they rank? Economy is always me, number one. I mean, we always hear it. It's the economy is stupid. It's, you know, people always are going to be voting with their pocketbooks, no matter what level of the economy you're in. That is always going to be front and center. And truth be told, Democrats have not been good on messaging on those issues. Even though we know that every Democratic president has had a better economy. You've seen Republican presidents over times are going into great recessions, deep recessions, recessions and spending billions and trillions of dollars putting us into debt. So the Democrats have never been good on messaging, which is why I think it's also an opportunity now where Kamala Harris has been able to package the Biden economic plan to show what is happening to our economy that we're seeing better job growth in the last four years. That we're seeing the inflation going down and recession averted where more people, more manufacturing jobs are coming to America, the capping of insulin, all of the things that are making lives better for the middle class and for those of our labor unions and supporting them. So economy is always going to be number one. Then you go underneath that and it kind of depends. You know, I certainly for this younger generation, it is guns, I think more so than abortion because they've been going through active shooting drills in their classrooms for the last 10, 15 plus years. That is traumatizing in and of itself. They've seen politicians not listen. Again, I'm sure we saw and I was not on social media that much yesterday 'cause I was on the reproductive freedom tour bus tour with the Harris campaign. But I am sure there was lots of thoughts and prayers and everybody's going to move on, come at the end of the weekend. But to see that this generation is fighting back and is holding people accountable in the destruction of the NRA in the last few iterations of the political movement. And then, but reproductive freedom for our country and our women is front and center too. - Yeah, I just want to read some of the comments because let's see, Bridget Adams says, "Okay, hey Nikki Fried, it must be a Floridian." C.C. Ryder says, "Amen, Nikki, word." John Young says, "Fried for president, 2032, "with an exclamation point." And George M. says, just before, I know we have a short time with you. George M. says, "I blame Christian fundamentalists "for this mess. "They should lose their tax exemption." That's a whole 'nother thing. But the idea of the separation of church and state, I believe when evangelicals or fundamentalists are pushing for theocracy, that they're actually pushing us away from God and they're pushing us away from democracy. I don't know if you agree with that, but I think our politics and our religion and our faith should be separate. - I completely agree. And that's an actual fight that's happening today, today in the state of Florida. It passed a few things that have happened recently. One, they passed a law be putting part of this year during session to allow chaplains into our schools. And so you're seeing some school boards pushing back because now there's some chaplains and some pretty rogue cults that are wanting their chaplains inside of our schools and so now they're realizing they can't pick and choose which religious chaplains they want into the schools and so there's been some pushback. We also have now universal choice and vouchers inside of the state of Florida. So we're taking state dollars that should be going to our public education system and are going to religious institutions and religious schools. And what's happened even today? Today, the Department of Health in the state of Florida launched a new website that basically is anti-emement for using our state taxpayer dollars to spread more of that information through the official sites. And the separation of church and state is getting very blurred in the South more than anything else. And so this is something that is very worrisome, somebody of Jewish faith to know that the Project 2025 and the Amaga Extreme Movement wants to take our country and make it true Christian nationalism, where do people like me fit into it? And should I be concerned and worried? And I think that this is a very dangerous direction which is why we have a separation of church and state that there should never be a mixing of the two. - Chairwoman, Nikki Freed, thank you so much. You are a fantastic guest. Good luck to you and I hope that you will come back. Okay, thank you really. - Absolutely. And certainly if you're touring across the country and you want to come to Florida, we can do a live show together in Florida or-- - I'm actually going to be in Florida. I'll tell you when I'm going to be in Florida, just 'cause I know you have to go, but let me just tell you real quickly when I'm going to be there. And then that way we can possibly do a live show. And just so the folks in Florida know. So I'll be there and then we're going to add more dates, not until November that I'm going to be in Miami, but maybe we'll try to do something sooner in my, especially before the election. I think that would be important for us to do. So we'll come on out. - Come on out. - Let's collab, maybe we can collab right now. - As we keep saying, if you really want to know what is going on in the MAGA movement and what is happening in Trump world, no better place to come to the belly of the beast than here in the state of Florida. - Thank you, you'll be well, okay, take care of yourself. Thank you. - Thank you, thank you. - Keep up the good work, thank you. - Thank you. - Okay, so Adrizzle 315, 315 says, thank you by the way for supporting independent media. He says, shout out to you for schooling Nelk on their pod. You're welcome, you would have thought from the comments that it was the other way around, but we know what's up. We know what happened on that podcast and others. So let's see, Richard Anderson's, Nikki Freet is the Florida S version of a former Louisiana Democratic Party chairwoman, Katie Bernhardt, okay. So I'm voting for democracy. Yes, a lot of us are voting for democracy. So thank you, I got a little slow mode. It's okay, HR 40, I guess, I don't know, I guess you're talking about in the comment section. Okay, I'm so, look, we have some time today for me to talk to you guys. So let me know what's on your mind. I would really like you to know that, really like to know that. And again, I hate to keep pushing this. I'm not just pushing this 'cause I just wanna, look, just so you know, people don't make a fortune off books. That's not why I'm doing this. Unless you have like a Harry Potter or something crazy like that. Otherwise, it is like, it's a labor of love. But the reason I'm doing this, I want you guys to read this book because it's so pertinent to the election and it could help you, it will help you, I think, making decisions when you have to go into the voting booth on November 5th. So let's see, what's the top issue in the election cycle? 500 plus of you voted, democracy 68%, the economy 14%, abortion 14%, immigration 2%. I wonder though, as I have been speaking to people, I just wonder if Republican women are going to get into the voting booth, perhaps. And vote for a woman's right. I wonder, I think this issue really resonates in more ways than we realize it. Yes, of course, it's always the economy, the economy, the economy, that's what's important. That's what's important. That's what sort of drives everything. So speaking of that, as you let me know what you think, let me know what's on your mind. Seriously, and I'm going to get to some comments, okay? My search for God in America. Thank you, spec TV fitness for putting in. Make sure you get your copy and then we're going to read it once it comes out. We're going to, I'm going to do more reading. Okay, so Donald Trump spoke before the economic club of New York this afternoon. It did not go well, okay? Former president rambled incoherently, often seeming confused about what he was even talking about on the issues he was rambling and go back. I tried to understand some of his answers and I didn't get it. He told a group of executives and industry leaders that he wants to lead a national economic renaissance. Those are his words, national economic renaissance by slashing almost all regulations and embracing cryptocurrencies, okay? He proceeded to then rant about Venezuelan gangs and AK-47s seemingly for no reason. Here it is. Aurora, has anyone been there? I think you'd better stay away for a little while. They had AK-47s, the ultimate guns, AK-47s. They can blow lots of people away real fast and the sheriff didn't want to touch him. Nobody wants to touch him. Sheriff, there's 18 Venezuelans attacking my building. Would you please come over and straighten out the situation? He's got a deputy. You know what they say? Well, no thanks. Let's call in the military. They're taking over and I said this four years ago. Okay, so everyone is talking about this Venezuelan gang, Aurora. And so people are trying to get to the bottom of it. I don't know why would he be mentioning it at an economic forum is just beyond me and beyond a lot of people. So is it a problem? According to what you read, it is a problem. Anytime there's gang members, that's an issue. Taking over a building, that's an issue. But there's some truth behind it and then there's also some hyperbole. And a handful of rundown Aurora apartment buildings and the Venezuelan gang, that has become really the focal point of the United States immigration debate. That is the center of the debate right now. That is what runs constantly on loop on right-wing media and on Fox News. And how much do you want to bet? I have not watched the cable news or traditional mainstream media today. But how much do you want to bet that there's going to be another caravan that comes before the election? Several city and law enforcement officials there say that the gang's presence and influence in the city is smaller than what national news outlets and some politicians have claimed. Because they keep running the same video of these gang members going upstairs with guns to an apartment building. They keep running the same thing over and over and over again. The apartment's landlord recently said that members of the gang, Tren D Aragua, took possession of the buildings, shook down residents for rent money, and chased out the property managers. Now, those are the allegations that many residents and some city officials have pushed back on. Okay? However, Aurora police acknowledged recently that they have received complaints of stolen rent and three affected apartment complexes. Police also said on Wednesday that they have identified and arrested several of the gang's members. Now, again, it's not to say that that's not a problem, but it runs over and over and over on a loop, the same bit of video and the same story on conservative media. Now, if you guys are in Aurora, Colorado, yes, Aurora, Colorado, if you're there and you know about this and feel free to weigh in on the comments. So, but this has become really the debate about immigration now. The reason it's become the debate about immigration is because border crossings are down dramatically, drastically, since the current president Joe Biden signed that the that presidential order, okay, that executive order. It's down. So, they don't have anything else to talk about. So, now they're talking about these gangs. Again, if you're there, it is a problem, it is an issue and it should not be happening. But is it happening to the extent that it is being that's playing out in conservative media? Is it being used as a political cudgel and wedge? Absolutely. Absolutely. So, why is he bringing up an economic forum? It is because he's an opportunist. It is an opportune time for him to do what? Scare people to use scare tactics. So, on a stage where he has a national, maybe an international audience, he wants to bring up these, this thing that the Democrats, Kamala Harris, Vice President Kamala Harris, is bad on immigration. Therefore, we should not we should be afraid Americans to elect her as president of the United States. Okay. So, then he goes on from there where he starts, someone asks him about because the vice president, part of her economic proposal and what she plans to do is to make child care cheaper for especially working families, okay? And that's part of her proposal. And so, he was asked about that at the economic club of New York today and see if you can make heads or tails of his answer. Here it is. If you win in November, can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make child care affordable? And if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance? Well, I would do that and we're sitting down. You know, I was somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. It's a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about, that because the child care is child care, it's couldn't, you know, there's something you have to have it in this country, you have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I'm talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they're not used to, but they'll get used to it very quickly. And it's not going to stop them from doing business with us, but they'll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we're talking about, including child care, that it's going to take care. We're going to have, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with child care. I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I'm talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just that I just told you about. We're going to be taking in trillions of dollars and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it's relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we'll be taking in. We're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we'll worry about the rest of the world. Let's help other people, but we're going to take care of our country first. This is about America first, it's about make America great. Again, we have to do it because right now we're a failing nation, so we'll take care of it. Thank you. Okay, waiter, I'll have the word salad. What the hell was he talking about? I mean, is it me? You tell me, am I being too critical? Or he is just rambling. And they, you know, and their criticism of a vice president, Kamala Harris, is that, oh, well, she knows it's a word salad and she says things and doesn't make sense and she rambles. I'm paraphrasing there. Have they not heard or watched or seen their own candidate? What did he say? What did he say? I have no idea. Okay, I'm glad you guys agree with me. And by the way, thank you. Thank you, Tessa Hazel for supporting independent media and like a super sticker. You're amazing. Thank you. I really appreciate it. So rambling, weaving, bobbing says Rhonda Clark rambling. Yeah, Rhonda Clark. Raj Richardson says rambling is his thing. Why don't they call him out? A room full of enablers says grace goss. I agree. What are they applauding? Says MZ lady. What are they applauding? Barbara Johnson-Trowar says ramble. No, he just rambles his bet there. So I'm not wrong. I watched it and I said, well, maybe I'm the only one who's not understanding this. Maybe it's just me and I'm being too hard on him. And because, you know, he's criticized me a lot. But what is he talking about? A Mosley said, he said, I don't want to go to jail. You're right, a Mosley. That's exactly word puzzle since Catherine Garcia. Let's move on. Maybe we'll get back to that. Q got one back up because I just want you to know if you guys heard that, just play the top. Just play the question from the one. Just and if you heard the answer about we want to help everybody. We're going to have more money as it relates to this. We're going to make America great again. Listen to the question and tell me if you think he answered it. Just the question, play it. If you win in November, can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make childcare affordable? And if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance? What specific piece of legislation would you advance? He never answered the damn question. You know why he didn't answer the question? Because he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. He doesn't know policy. Donald Trump has no core beliefs ideologically. He really doesn't. His ideological core belief is himself. Okay. Lips Galore says, first, that's a layered question. It is he dodged it. Yes, he did dodge it. Thank you, MZ lady, by the way, for your generous donation, independent media. Thank you for supporting. So here's the thing. He doesn't understand the policy. And if you anyone who's been in his administration will tell you he doesn't read his briefing books. He doesn't. He's very shallow when it comes to policy. He doesn't know what he's talking about. And that is a direct example of it. But then he tries to dance around because he thinks he's a slick talker. And then he can get himself out of it and just go blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, make America great again. Now come on, even if you're in here and you are a MAGA supporter or a Trump supporter or a Republican and you're watching this, come on. You're right, Hank Lewis. It's what a con man does. That's what con men and women do. Right. He cannot answer the question. Thank you, Denise and Tracy. I appreciate your generous contribution to independent media. Thank you. So he's all talking has no substance as Ivan Blanco. I agree. Not a word salad. He doesn't know shit and makes shit up says Truvita Max. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Okay. So now we have another word salad or what did you guys call it? A word jumble word puzzle, a word puzzle. This is him responding to a question about I think is a fiscal deficit. Go for it. First. First, let me thank you for your presentation today. President Trump, in the last fiscal year, the fiscal deficit under the Biden administration was approximately two trillion. Under the policies you've announced, the deficit would come down from items such as increased revenues from tariffs, as well as eliminating the tax incentives for the Green New Deal. These gains would be mitigated by decreases in revenues from policies such as no tax on tips. Overall, what do you estimate will be the impact of the fiscal deficit from your policies? Well, we just hit record highs at numbers that nobody ever thought possible. You're right. It's over two trillion dollars. Nobody thought that was a number that was, I mean, you can go back four years. Nobody thought a number like that would be possible. It's crazy. It's like, it's just horrible, actually. But yeah, we're two trillion and I view it as profit and loss to a certain extent. A lot of people say, oh, it's straight. You know, you have many people say trade deficits don't matter. I think they matter a lot. I think they matter a lot. We're going to have tremendous growth. This, what I'm talking about is all about growth. The tax is relatively minor compared to the growth. We're going to make our money back on growth. We're going to also, I mean, we're going to grow like nobody's ever grown before. I think if this all works out, you're going to have the auto industry come back to America. Right now, China is building two auto factories in Mexico, massive auto factories, and they think they're going to make their cars in Mexico and send them back into the United States with no tax. It's not going to happen under this administration is going to happen. And they wanted to do that during my administration. I said, if you do it, we're going to put a 200% tariff on every car and you'll never be able to see it. There will never be one car coming across our border. And if I would have let them do it, we would have had these two factories. Well, now they're building massive factories more than two, and they're going to kill Detroit. And ahead of the union, the United Auto Workers in Detroit has done a terrible, terrible job, just a terrible job. But we're going to bring tremendous growth back. And remember, we're also going to get in a certain percentage. I won't name the person. All right. Come on, guys. Evelyn Doggins, you read my mind, Evelyn, please stop it. I just couldn't hear anymore. I mean, what the what the hell is he talking about? Why do people like him think or people who support him think that he knows what he's talking about? How can they even be critical of Kamala Harris when I mean, come on, it's just common sense. If you listen to that, how can they even be critical considering that? Did you? Did you guys understand that? So please don't play any more clips said that. Please don't play any more clips. All right. That was Beatrice Velasco. Please don't play any more clips of his crazy ass. Thank you, Belinda Hall Phillips. I appreciate it. Thank you for supporting independent media. Please don't play any more clips. Oh, my ears. I, you know, I've just gotten to a place where I say, you know, yeah, you just have to sit around as a journalist and go, okay, I'm have to sit here and I have to pretend that this person knows what they're talking about or that they are making sense or that they are not lying or that. And now I'm at a place where I can just go, that is some bullshit. That is some bullshit. And it is Delera Washington, your ignorance. So how can you put that person? How can you put that person in the same footing as someone who is the current vice president of the United States, who has been a senator, also the attorney general, graduated law school, passed the bar, how can you put that person in the same footing? How can you do it? This is crazy. Okay. So while he was at this economic forum, Trump outed himself as a no nothing, really, about financial things that he's a financial illiterate businessman in front of that economic club in New York. You guys know how many times he has filed for bankruptcy, right? Ran a business into the ground, businesses into the ground. This is what I was wondering, because I remember recently I went to Atlantic City as I was going halfway across the country. And I saw all of these folks going in and out of these casinos. The house always wins, you know that casinos, the reason that they're big and beautiful and they have so much equipment, so many employees and they can give you free food and rooms and all that is because they win. They make tons of money. How the hell do you bankrupt a casino? You must be a terrible, terrible business person if you cannot make money on a casino. How does that happen? So while he was doing that, Kamala Harris, her business savvy scored a huge endorsement today from none other than a real billionaire. And that's Mark Cuban. Here it is. I mean, literally, if you read the transcript of her speech yesterday, she's talked more about entrepreneurs and helping them have access to investment and making it easier for people to invest in startups than any president that I've ever heard talk about startups and entrepreneurs. So to be literally, she listens, right? This is not something where it's just her policy team comes out and says, Mark, you know, or whoever, let's hope this works. No, she's like, listen to me things you think we should be talking about. You're the entrepreneur. You invest in more startups than anybody I know. What do you think we should be doing and what's going to increase the number of investments and startups? And I've had other conversations with their team where it's like, I literally go through and say, the higher the capital gains tax, the more difficult it is to invest in riskier investments. And the people who have the hardest time getting risk capital are women, people of color, young kids that are coming out of colleges, exactly the people you want to take risk on, the higher the cap gains rate, the harder it is to invest in them for obvious reasons. And they understand that and they've adapted as a result. Okay, so that Mark Cuban speaks, plain spoken English, plain spoken truth, whatever you feel about Mark Cuban, I like Mark Cuban. And look, and when I tell you, I like someone that doesn't mean that I always 100% agree with him on, but at least he is, he tries to be factual and fair, right? He's not bullshitting you. He's not a snake oil salesman. Yes, he is a real billionaire, unlike some people who are not exactly sure who claim to be. And he is supporting and endorsing Kamala Harris, then Steph Curry as well. So maybe, you know, she's a good basketball player. I think Steph Curry endorsed Kamala Harris as well. So, all right, you know how he's at the economic forum today. And we're talking about money. Donald Trump claims that he's out for the little guy, right? For the average American, for the poor person, for the people who are living paycheck to paycheck. When we know, and this is a fact, when he was in office, his taxes, tax cuts, his tax policy, I should say, benefited the wealthy. He cut taxes for the rich, very wealthy people, and not poor people. The poor people ended up paying for it. He claims to be this guy. He's so, you know, but his beneficence to the working class, man and woman is just, you know, off the charts. When we know it's exactly the opposite thing, he coops people and cons them really into voting against her own interests. So I don't know if you've been seeing my social media, but I have been doing this little thing that I've been saying. He's saying the quiet part out loud. I start the video by saying, Donald Trump is, you know, is saying the quiet part out loud, or once again, saying the quiet part out loud. Well, in this, he's saying the quiet part out loud, because he's speaking to a group of very rich people, and he is telling them exactly what people have been saying. People who don't support him, even Republicans, that his financial and tax policies support the people that he's in business with, and his friends, and not for the average MAGA person. You don't believe me? Roll the tape. Here it is. You're all people that have a lot of money. I know one of you and you're rich as hell. We're going to give you tax cuts. We're going to pay you off our debt. We're going to do all of the things that we have. So he is at a fundraiser for, I think it stopped, but it goes on longer, but he says he's in front of some very wealthy people, and I know some of you are really rich. And so he is at a wealthy fundraiser, and this was, this was leaked by Kamala Harris, Kamala HQ. He says, you're all people that have a lot of money. You're rich as hell. We're going to give you tax cuts. I mean, I'm just saying, he's been saying it. Are they paying attention? Now, do you remember what was it? Day before yesterday? Maybe Tuesday, I don't know. Tuesday or Monday. When I showed you, I played him saying the quiet part out loud again, saying when he was on Lex Friedman. Was it yesterday? I don't know. When he said, no, it wasn't yesterday. It was Mark Levine. That was on Monday. He was on with Mark Levine, and he said, when you get indicted for interfering in an election, when you have every right to do so, and then your poll numbers go up, and your poll numbers usually go down after that. So he is admitting, on tape, on camera, that he interfered in an election, that he thinks he's above the law, and that he thinks he's immune. And now he is admitting, in that room, I know a lot of you in this room, and you're very rich, and we're going to give you tax cuts. Excuse me. Now, imagine if you heard Kamala Harris or Joe Biden, or even Barack Obama saying that, or anyone, even any other Republican, if you heard them saying that, wouldn't you do the cartoon, like, what? Huh? What did you say? And with a smile, and the room, and the people applauded, it's a cult people. It's a cult. It is a cult. And I am not ashamed or not afraid to say that it is a cult. He pronounces it love then. Okay, sorry, a strange, self-satisfied phony with a know-it-all stick. It's Greg Javaer. Andrew says, Scooby-Doo, like, wait, what did you say? That's exactly what he said. He said it. Okay, so I have a little treat for you. We had Lara Trump, man, I wish I could play her song every day. We might get demonetized for it on YouTube. If you have her song, I would love to play it, Nikki, if we can find it, if not, no big deal. But, you know, Lara Trump, the other day. Oh, I'm muted. How long was I muted? Sorry. I'm muted. I hope I wasn't muted for that long. Oh, I think I touched it when I was going through the paper. Sorry about that. Sorry that I muted myself. So, I'm not sure how long I was muted, but I was just saying that there's another member of the Trump family that I want to discuss, because remember the other day, when we were, oh, for about 15 seconds. Okay, not long. All right, at least you got it. Thank you guys. There's a button I'll show you right here on the microphone, and it's very, very sensitive. And so if I do this, it will mute, hear me talk, and then if it's green, I'm unmuted. But even if I just like brush across it, like moving my papers on the computer, sometimes it'll mute me. Okay, so anyways, what I was saying is that I have another treat for you, because we played Lara Trump's, she has a new cut from her new video or album or whatever, and you know, where she says she doesn't, well, we say she doesn't need auto tunes sarcastically. So Nick, if you have that, I would love to play it and we'll get it up later. If you only, if you have it, no rush, no rush, don't bother if you can't play it. But we have another member of the Trump family, who's in the news today, and that is a former first lady. That is Melania Trump. She wants to quote, clarify the facts about her life. She said in a Thursday video, previewing her first memoir that will be released about a month before the election. The directly to the public is unusual for a wife or of a former president. And as she has stayed largely off the campaign trail during, oh, that's right, we can't, we will get demonetized if we play the Lara thing, Lara thing. I think it's Lara. There's a Laura. I don't know. Anyways, anyway, back to Melania Trump. She has stayed off the campaign trail during this current White House bid. Remember, she spoke at the convention back in, was it 16? She spoke at the convention, and then she got in trouble. She was hit for plagiarizing Michelle Obama's speech. There were virtually the same speech speeches. And when played back to back, I mean, just the exact wording. And if not just a word or two, anyway, she didn't even speak this time. She just appeared, smiled, hugged him. If she did that, waved and left, right? But she is now, you know, out and about, at least with a book. And here is her book. Announcement writing this memoir has been a deeply personal and reflective journey for me. As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentation, I feel a responsibility to clarify the facts. I believe it is important to share my perspective, the truth. [Music] Melania by Jay. Sorry, I couldn't help it. When I saw that, I was thinking like, okay, we're back to the 80s. It's Herb Ritz, and it's a Calvin Klein or some sort of fragrance. If you want to know how to wait, what was it? God, this was back and this is the first thing. What becomes a legend most? And it's usually like one named celebrity's like Judy or Cher or whatever. Melania, I thought it was like a fragrance ad. You know, I mean, hey, look, she's a first lady. I don't want to hit her too hard, but I do have to say she is in at least was in lockstep with this president, and she was definitely on the birther train. You know how I know? Because she appeared on my friend Joy Behar's show on HLN, which was part of CNN back in the day, and she admitted as much. And so, you know, I don't feel too sorry for her because she is in this mess of her own volition, but I mean that Melania Christian deal. Oh, my gosh, I cracked myself up. I'm sorry, I muted you guys for a while. Sorry about that. So you have to remind me, just yell at me in the chat if I ever do that, or I should get a microphone that doesn't have a mute button, but she's not innocent, says Miss C. No, she is not innocent at Nancy time out for you, says try. I don't know what that is. What is rich from malaria? Oh, come on, stop it, stop it, stop it. Okay. So, so glad that you guys joined. I'm going to start talking about more stuff here. I start my book tour starts, and I want you, you'll be able to tune in online. Okay. On Monday, and I will put the information online, you can tune in online, or you can stop by the striker center at Temple Emmanuel on Manhattan's Upper West Side. If you would like to show up, you can go online and register, and you can come and you can be a part of it. And my former boss, Jeff Zucker, my former boss at CNN and my mentor, Jeff Zucker, will be moderating a conversation with me about the book, about my life, about my CNN exit, about what's been going on, about my marriage, everything that you want to know. And it's all in this book. And by so anyway, I once was lost, my search for God in America, and it's not just about God and religion. I keep talking this book, and I know it, I know you're sick of it, but make sure that you buy it. Again, I think it's a fantastic book, and I think that you will, it will enlighten you on so many issues, you'll be surprised. And it is told through the lens of religion and faith in God, my story and America's story, but that's not exactly what it's about. So casual observer, don't say religion black, no thanks. That's not, you're off on, I want you to read it, okay? And if you hate it, let me know. We'll discuss, but you should just go casual observer and read it. And you'll say, oh, now I understand, because I talk about the hypocrisy of evangelicals and fundamentalist and the religious right and politicians. And so, you know, do it. If it don't smell like lemon, I don't know what to say to you. This is my bro, this is HR 40. I don't know what that means. Okay, so thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Oh, I'm a Catholic school survivor too, girlfriend's unfiltered. Have a great day. Make sure you hit the thumbs up before you get out of here, because we have so many people watching and not enough thumbs up and make sure you hit the notification button, the little bell so that you can be notified when our show is when we have a show coming up. And thank you so much. Oh, listen, listen, listen, listen. Enjoy the NFL kickoff game, everyone. Go Chiefs, Cowboys, go Seahawks. So here's the thing is going to be interesting. As you know, I'm sure you guys have been listening, hearing about the, is it Brittany Mahomes, Patrick Mahomes wife. Apparently, according to her social media, a very strong supporter of the former president, I guess she is MAGA. It's interesting for the wife of an athlete, especially a star quarterback football player to come out in support of a political person like that. I think it is usually it is, you know, she's a private citizen, she can do what you want, sort of a private citizen. She's in the public eye, but she's also good friends with Guess Who, Taylor Swift, who supposedly is more on the liberal side and who supported Joe Biden last election. And so it will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts a response if they do at all this game tonight. And so what do you think? Is she going to continue to be friends with someone who's on MAGA? Is that going to affect her? Do you think that she should come out and support Kamala Harris or whoever? What do you think? Let me know. She's all for a rocker, always has been. Really? Rosie? See? So anyway, there you go. I'm going to be watching for that. And has a quarter of black kids. Well, her husband is black, right? I mean, he's obviously biracial, but you know, black. And she has kids by him. So her kids are black. And there you go. Hey, speaking of Taylor, when is she going to make it official? You mean an endorsement? Pat Kahlo, or do you mean marriage? No wonder Taylor hadn't come out yet, says Ms. Lady. That is a good point. It's Red State, Kansas, says Steph Jones. Did she read Project 2025, says? Seibler, or Kybla? No, Seibler to see. Felicia Williams says, I think Taylor will look past MAGA girl. I don't know, but I think it's a very weird situation. I think it's a very weird situation. I don't know what's going on there. All right, guys, let me know what you think in the comments. Watch the game tonight, if you will. Let's see what happens with Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Mahomes. And if Taylor Swift actually is just holding her powder to come out closer to the election, or she's not going to do anything, right? Is your book on Audible, says Rhonda Clark? Yes, it is. So, order it, all right? Thank you, guys. Have a fantastic evening. I shall see you tomorrow, evening, if not before, and actually may do a morning show tomorrow. So, stand by for news on that. I may do a morning show, just going to tell you, may do a morning show, just to catch you up throughout the day on what's happened overnight, between overnight and the morning, because so much happens during the day. So, if I do like a little morning catch up or hot topics, we'll put it out there and we'll see if you like it, okay? - Okay, bye. Bye. [BLANK_AUDIO]
