June 25, 2025 • 56 mins
Krystal, Emily, Ryan and Griffin cover Zohran Mamdani winning the NYC mayoral race over Cuomo, Bowman sounds off on elite Dems, Trump rages over US intel report saying Iran nuclear strikes failed.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, guys, ready or not, twenty twenty four is here,
and we here at breaking points, are already thinking of
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Coverage that is possible.
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the absolute world to have your support.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
But enough with that, Let's get to the show.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (00:27):
This is the legend legendary New York reporter Ross Barcan,
who has his own substack, the Metropolitan Report, the Metropolitan Review,
also a columnist for New York Magazine, a long time
reporter here in DC, in New York.
Speaker 6 (00:45):
What do you what? Do you sorry?
Speaker 7 (00:46):
DC?
Speaker 6 (00:47):
We're not in DC, We're in New York. Do you
what are you saying?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Huge, huge showing for Zurn tonight?
Speaker 8 (00:53):
Honestly, I am taken aback by how large a lead
he has.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
What's what's the current umbers? Right now?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Azo, right now, you can look on the screen there,
I've got issues.
Speaker 9 (01:04):
So it's about the same.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Zorn's at forty three with eighty percent of the vote
in Orn.
Speaker 8 (01:12):
I feel safe saying Zoron is going to be the
Democratic nominee for mayor in New York City. I don't
like to call elections, but I think I think we're
getting very close to there. I don't see how Cuomo
pulls this off, honestly at this point. Maybe there's some
last burst in these final twenty percent of votes, but
he holds a really significant lead in an election where
(01:35):
it looks like more than a million people voted, a
million Democrats voted.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
This this is a realignment election.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
This is what what do you mean by that ross?
Speaker 8 (01:44):
This means that more than any election I can remember,
far more than AOC Joe Crowley, far more than I
don't even know some some gubernatorial array somewhere, there has
been a massive shift in how people vote, at least
in the largest city in America, where a man who
was governor for eleven years, who had the entire political
(02:09):
establishment quite literally behind him, who had a super pack
spending close to thirty million dollars, is losing by a
significant margin to a thirty three year.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Old socialist state assemblyman.
Speaker 8 (02:23):
That is something that even the wildest leftist forecasts could
not predict.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And so I had not looked at the vote yet.
Speaker 8 (02:34):
By neighborhood and by precinct, by assumption is with a
win like this, it cannot be written off as oh
it was low turnout. Oh it was the gentrifiers. Oh
it was this. It was that you have this many votes.
You are getting a multi racial coalition, you are getting
a working class coalition, you are getting upper class people,
(02:57):
and you're getting young people.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So I wanted to warrant to the data.
Speaker 8 (03:01):
But right now, this is a stunning It's a massive upset. Honestly,
you could call this one of the biggest upsets in
American political history. I think I'm gonna put it in there.
Lomo ran an awful campaign. I don't I don't as
by I say, I'm gont a credit Zoron. Lomo ran
an atrocious campaign, the laziest campaign I've ever seen. But
(03:23):
this is still a monumental showing ross.
Speaker 6 (03:27):
Go ahead, Crystal, I.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Was just gonna ask about the attacks on Zoron, accusing
him of being an anti Semite, and you know what
it means. This very clear rebuke of that tactic, which
I think in any year now in New York City
you can tell me, because you're the expert, would likely
have been pretty successful, you know, would have been a
very difficult thing to overcome.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
Yes, so ten, ten years ago, maybe even five years ago,
if I you said a candidate who is pro palestigned,
openly pro Palestigne and had been an anti Zionist, does
not identify it like that as a muscle, yeah, and
is a Muslim. If you took all these things and
five years ago you'd have said no way. And now
(04:11):
he has run up a huge margin in a very
diverse city.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
The Israel lobby.
Speaker 8 (04:20):
Must be absolutely I don't know what's going through their
head because you don't see rebukes quite like this very
often politics.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Do you remember the Jessica Ramos story from twenty fourteen,
So during the twenty fourteen Gaza war, Jessica Ramos, who
has gone full circle, she went left and now she
endorsed Andrew Cuomo in this and you running and she
got zer point four percent I think in the first round.
She says, there's a head New York Post headline is
one of the funniest things I've ever seen, maybe even
(04:49):
New York Daily News. It says lawmaker expresses sympathy for
people in Gaza. That was the headline. No context was needed,
that was a scandalous. It was understood to be a
scandalos thing. She had to apologize because she wrote a
Facebook post that said, like, that's sad that so many
people are getting bombed.
Speaker 8 (05:07):
And I remember that twenty fourteen summer very well because
the entire democratic establishment lined up with Israel.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Literally you had massive rallies.
Speaker 8 (05:17):
Every so called progressive Democrat was there cheering on Israel,
cheering on the bombardment.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And the shift from there has just been seismic.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
And we know that generational shift is happening, that that
that has been ongoing. But now you have an election
like this one, you see it's bigger, It's actually bigger.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So I am really.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
As someone who thought thinks highly of Zorn's political talent
and saw him for long time going places to see
this kind of result.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And what other have new results come in? Where are
we at right now? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (05:55):
So here Russ, this is Adam Carlson, Polster Adam Carlson
who has said stick a fork in it. Zoron Mumdani
will win the first round of the Democratic primary for
New York City mayor.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So we would post calling it period. That's so it's
fun that that's that it's finished.
Speaker 8 (06:11):
Right, He's not gonna get He's not gonna win brad
Landers votes. So I'm looking at this map right now.
Zoron won three out of five Burroughs.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Wow and yeah, so uh ross.
Speaker 10 (06:24):
Like, you know, is this a similar to an AOC
moment where someone like this wins and then the squad
comes afterwards and it spreads across the country to other races,
or do you view this more as a very unique race.
Speaker 11 (06:36):
In a vacuum.
Speaker 8 (06:37):
What's funny is this race is far more impressive than
AOC's race. But I don't know if it's going to
be as influential. I don't know yet. I can see
Zorn being turned into a boogeyman because he's Muslim, because
he's openly socialist, even the way AOC is not. I
can see Democrats around America, some excited and some feeling consternation.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 8 (07:01):
Twenty eighteen was sort of the height of resistance blue
wave politics. I actually do not know. I think Zoron
is undoubtedly a leader on the left. He might be
the leader and this is all said and done, leading
the largest city.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
In America if he win to the general election.
Speaker 8 (07:16):
That's a really good I think though, how other Democrats
approach him is going to be fascinating. Some are going
to be very excited to embrace it. Some are going
to want to run the other way. It's going to
be more complicated. But but the scale this race was
waged on is like a statewide race. New York City
(07:37):
is larger than most states in America, and it's a
very diverse city. It's ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, politically diverse too.
It's not just all lefties. It's a very complicated city.
And so for someone to win and win so convincingly,
to come from behind all all on tomorrow, you're gonna,
(07:58):
I'm sure you're gonna hear a lot of explanations from
some of the center. They're gonna say this that, but
it will I think it's falling flat because turnout was
big Democrats.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Oh yeah, I was just gonna say, there's there's never
been a Muslim mayor of New York City.
Speaker 9 (08:13):
There's never been a socialist.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Some people have likened him to LaGuardia, you know, can
you spell out do you think that there are parallels
with LaGuardia as considered you know, one of the best
mayors of New York City of all time.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, there's certainly LaGuardia is sort
of the progressive ideal of of of big city mayors. Now,
LaGuardia wasn't as a come from behind candidate as Zorn was.
LaGuardia was a liberal Republican running against the Democratic machine,
but he'd been a popular congressman. He'd been kind of
building a political operation for years. I mean, I mean
(08:46):
Zeramamdani was mostly unknown as recently as five to six
months ago, and is now poised to become the mayor
of America's largest city. This is not no offense to
Chicago or to Boston or to any.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Of these places.
Speaker 8 (09:04):
But this, this city is a massive, massive place, and
so I think Loguardia is a parallel. You have the
Sewer socialist mayors of the early twentieth century. The mayors
of Milwaukee were socialist. I think Zorn is coming from
that good government reform model, delivering public services, delivering public goods.
(09:25):
He's not running on ending capitalism, mostly because mayors cannot
end capitalism. It's a very economics first campaign, and it's
a good I think it's a good message for all
Democratic I.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Could take out Wall Street, that would strike a blow
at capitalism.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Wearing tickets could try.
Speaker 7 (09:42):
This brings up a question I wanted to ask, which is,
you know you often see from the primaries to the
general election, the the pivot to the center.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
How do you expect Zoron?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
You followed his campaign so closely, you've truck to him,
how do you expect him to handle now actually going
city wide and having a feel not just in a primary.
Speaker 6 (10:02):
And let me piggyback onto that.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
What do you think this does to Cuomo running in
the general I was very.
Speaker 8 (10:08):
Sure before this night that Cuomo was running in the
general election as an independent with a massive super pack
behind him. That may still happen, but this is a
convincing victory for Zorn. This is a large victory. This
is not two points, this is very big. So for
Cuomo it's going to be harder to pivot into being
(10:29):
the super pack candidate now. I think Zoron is going
to have to do outreach to a lot of different
interest groups communities that he did less of in the
primary because he is going to be mayor. Even though
he ran against the power elite, that power elites sought
to destroy him. You're mayor of New York City, You're
going to have to take meetings with financiers, with developers.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
It will happen.
Speaker 8 (10:53):
So the pivot might not mean any new policy or
kind of any rhetorical shift necessarily. But I think he's
somebody's He's very charismatic, he likes to to deal with people.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
He'll hilly, he will talk to anyone.
Speaker 8 (11:10):
So I expect there to be significant outreach to a
lot of the groups that have been most hostile to him.
I think he's smart enough to try to attempt a
as big attempt as possible.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
But look, there are forces.
Speaker 8 (11:24):
In this city that are going to want to destroy
him and destroy his mayrality.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
That is a fact.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
And they tried with Doblasio. And this is much bigger
than Deblasio was. It was a center left progressive democrat
who came out of the political establishment.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
This is something very different.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
So these headheadge fund finance types, they will think of
ways to destroy him.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Zoron Magzil have breakfast with them.
Speaker 10 (11:49):
In ways like they would destroy him, Like what could
they do to him?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
As made well, Yeah, it was partly CuMo, who was
trying to destroy Deblasio.
Speaker 9 (11:57):
I mean, I remember the battles they were having.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, so Cloma, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 8 (12:00):
I think they're gonna appeal to Kathy Hochel, Hopeful is
a centrist Democrat. I think they're gonna look to hope
Goal to kind of be a check on Zoron if
he's mayor.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Look, I think the super Pack failed miserably, but.
Speaker 8 (12:13):
They can always spend more money, and when your mayor,
perhaps those attacks lened differently. There's a media apparatus that
is some is depending on what outlet very hostile to Zoron.
The New York Times and New York Post editorial boards
were very anti Zoron. So there is a sort of
media establishment that is against him. Now, younger journalists and
media types like him. So I think there's a generational
(12:35):
divide where older media is opposed younger media in favor.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
He will have a lot of.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
Challenges if he becomes mayor, and I do expect these
these forces to work against him. It'll be very interesting
to see how he how he deals with that, how
he works with them.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Well, and Ryan and Ross, either one of you guys
can reflect on this. It's very fraught for the last
because anytime you have a loftist who does a poor
job of governing, it's an indictment of the entire left.
If you have a stress who fails at governing, that
was just one guy.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Like Eric Adams.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
MBO.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Yeah, right, and Drew.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Also if you have if you have a leftist who
is good at governing, like Michelle Wou in Boston, you
never hear about.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
It again, you don't know it.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, Now that's the interesting with Zoron.
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Everyone was like Brandon Johnson, Brandon Johnson, I tweet this,
Sam and wait a second, there's a progressive Elizabeth Warren
actallyte governing Boston with a sixty one percent approval rating.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Why can't Zoron be Michelle Woo. In fact, I think there.
Speaker 8 (13:35):
Are real parallels there in zarn he's a competent person,
he's very bright. I think he's going to hire very
good people if he's mayor. I think he's going to
attempt a sort of reformist good government type administration because look,
it's important to do the public these that the progressive
leftist policies, the things he ran on. But but good
(13:57):
government and anti corruption is very important here because Eric
Adams is so corrupt. It's going to be very important
for Zorn to not being boiled in any scandals because
he will he will go down fast. If that happens,
he can stay clear and have a very clean administration.
It's gonna go a long way, and I think he will.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Are you sad to see you gonna jump?
Speaker 6 (14:18):
Well, we're gonna let Ross go.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Oh if you have one more question, because we're gonna
Andrew Epstein, communications director for j join us in a second.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
But you have a wrap up question for Ross.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I do have a wrap up for Ross, which is
aren't you gonna miss Eric Adams content creation?
Speaker 8 (14:32):
He's a great he's a great content creator and he's
running in the general election, so he's.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Gonna be content creating through November.
Speaker 8 (14:38):
And this is what's very This is very interesting right
now because Cuomo is down so much. Eric Adams, who
is left for dead, He's going to try to be
the power elite Kennedy. He's gonna go to these financiers
that Bill Ackmans of the world and Michael Bloombergsy know what,
loll this guy blew it come back to me?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, support me. So look out for that too interesting.
Speaker 9 (15:01):
Ross.
Speaker 8 (15:01):
Thank you, I mean I I call him from New
York Magazine. My substack, Ross Barkin Political currents. Look on
the substack, subscribe to it. Lots of mayoral race writing
to come. Yeah, Ross, thanks so much, really appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
We're joined now by former Congressman Jamal Bowman's.
Speaker 12 (15:24):
Not Crystal Ball right there? What's what's up? Yo? Crystal?
You're great, y'all. Love your work, work doing that dope ship.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I'm sweating because I've been hugging people and celebrating.
Speaker 12 (15:37):
Because it's a hundred hell so excuse me for sweating
and know that. What's up home girl? Is that Emily?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 12 (15:46):
I'm sure you're great too. What's up? You got some questions?
What's some questions?
Speaker 6 (15:52):
What what happened?
Speaker 12 (15:53):
Why?
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Why was he able to do this in the in
a way that candidates in the past.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Hapn's well z run is exception Know, he's an incredible
person and an incredible candidate. He has the right values,
he has the right policies. He's probably one of the
best communicators we've ever seen. And he's exceptional. Number one,
Number two, His team is exceptional. They have like I
(16:18):
call this campaign manager like a pianist. She struck all
the right chords at the right time. Team exceptional. Three.
Speaker 12 (16:26):
This is New York, mother FN's city.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So we're talking about diversity, beautiful people, language, culture, different ideas,
and so the fear mongering and the BS it's not
gonna work here the same because this is New York City.
So you put those things together in addition to, oh,
by the way, capturing the hearts and minds of the
people to the point where you got thirty thousand volunteers
(16:52):
knocking on a million doors and como. You know, he's
trying to coast right and pablishment. If they know what's
good for them, they take this as the resurrection of
their freaking party. So we'll see man. But for me,
that it came down to all of that.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
No matter what mom Donnie got asked, whether it was
about Israel, whether it was about the culture war, whether
it was.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
About what it didn't matter.
Speaker 12 (17:18):
He brought it back.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
To affordability in New York City and free and freeze
the rent, like it.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
Always back to his message.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Is he just better at that than other Democrats and
progressives or did he have almost a more a thin
have a different idea about like, no, everything is going
to come back to this one thing.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
I mean, when you run campaigns, you have to be disciplined,
So you have to be disciplined in your movements politically
and disciplined in your communication. And he was disciplined in
his communication, and that is hard to do because everybody's human.
(17:56):
You got emotions involved, all kinds of stuff. But he
was very, very very disciplined that so so you got
to be disciplined. And then secondly, again he's an excellent communicator.
So it's not just about cutting and pasting what they've done.
It's about excellent candidates who are excellent communicators and they
(18:18):
have to listen, they have to be orators to a
certain extent, and they have to also be disciplined.
Speaker 12 (18:25):
So it's already above.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Do you think this does this open anything up for
the Democratic Party?
Speaker 8 (18:30):
Like?
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Does this does open.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
If the Democratic Party is smart and I'm speaking specifically
Hakeem Jeffries, Greg Meeks, Jim Cliburn, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris,
by every allly establishment leaders, they would get one hundred
percent behind Zorn for the general and they would do
(18:52):
it this week to set the tone because they're not
gonna beat Maga trying to do all the stab limid
shit like they've been doing the last couple of years.
That's not gonna work. And so they better understand. I
wish they would have understood this before. But they are
superstars in the Democratic Party. You know, alc is one
(19:13):
of them. You know, some people disagree with her. Whatever
you disagree with, she's still a superstar. Nowran's another one.
You gotta uplift your superstars. Man, Like you know, I'm
a sports fan. You gotta let your great players make
plays to win championships. You can't fucking put them on
the bench and say we're gonna put some seventy year
(19:35):
old white man in charge of some committee. Think you're like,
that's what, that's what, that's good for America. That shit
don't make sense. I'm sorry, I don't mean to talk
one for me. And then you guys, hurry up.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I got CNN and like Richie seven minutes, Uh, Richie
Torres doesn't this doesn't this suggest that Richie Torres is
vulnerable and somebody like a Jamal Bowman run.
Speaker 12 (19:57):
Against Can we stop talking about Richie? Rich is a
what motherfucker.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Let Richie Trres keep doing his bullshit and let's keep
doing our ship. We don't care about Richie tares son.
Richie too is not consequential. Please, let's not lift him
to him. We don't need Richau.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
What's it nice to see APAC take this big loss tonight?
And what does that mean for other Canadis in the future.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Listen, I don't I don't want to underestimate APAC because
they have a lot of resources, So I don't really see.
Speaker 12 (20:29):
This as a loss for them. I see himaw as
a win for us.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
And so you know what, what what I hope they
begin to understand is your fear mongering, your hate, your racism,
your money is not enough.
Speaker 12 (20:45):
You got to actually like win on the issue.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
You gotta actually win on the issues and and and
have good values, right, like yo, we were not supported
the killer the starving of children, like we not support
that because we're actually human beings, ye, right? And so
for them, hopefully actually again I'll put them in the
Richard Tories category.
Speaker 12 (21:08):
Not about that. For us as progressives, we we got
this victory.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
But now we got to win a general and now
we got a show we can govern I'm sorry, maybe
so Ron's coming here?
Speaker 6 (21:20):
It comes?
Speaker 12 (21:21):
Yeah, Hi yet yet? All right, we got it.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Hurry up, I'm sorry, I got seeing that in like
two minutes. I'm listening.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
Thank you, Bud, Greece. Love y'all keep going your work,
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Yeah, thank you for having us.
Speaker 10 (21:37):
So we've got Andrew Epstein here, he was what's your
official title?
Speaker 11 (21:41):
The communications director?
Speaker 12 (21:43):
Video communications director?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
How are you feeling right now?
Speaker 11 (21:46):
Very confident, very excited. I mean, we found the early
voting totals. We walked into today where two hundred thousand
New Yorkers had already voted for saran Uh. We won
a majority of Burroughs in early voting, and not just
the kind of caricature of a left wing insurgent campaign.
We are leading in the hearts of immigrant New York
(22:07):
and South Richmond, Hill and Corona. We're winning districts in
the south shore of Staten Island, all over Manhattan. We're
competitive in the Bronx. We are building the multi ethnic,
multi lingual, multi generational, working class coalition that this campaign
had always set at its north star, and that's starting
to show up in the data tonight.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So when the so what what do you think you
did differently to overcome the problem that the left has had,
which is you can do well and what I think
Michael Lang was calling the commed corner.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
You know, like you know.
Speaker 11 (22:44):
Of Brooklyn.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know you do well among the hips, among the hipsters,
but breaking out beyond that, it's what crippled Bernie Sanders campaign.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
What what did you do differently that broke through?
Speaker 11 (22:58):
It is just correct a little or challenge some of
the caricature, even of those voters that often get ascribed
as the heart of insurgent progressive democratic socialist campaigns. Yes,
many people who vote for Democratic socialists have college degrees,
many of them have parents who have had middle class
or white collar jobs. But they are also tenants in
(23:19):
the most expensive city in the country and have struggled
to actually realize any of that sort of educational attainment
or cultural capital. You can't pay your rent with cultural capital.
You pay your rent with money, and people aren't making enough.
So even among the kind of like caricature of our
base voters, there's a different story to be told than
(23:42):
I think has been. But we've also found out long
beyond that, and we did it with a relentless focus
on an economic agenda, rejecting all of the narratives about
what this race should have or would have been about.
I think a lot of candidates and pundits and consultants
over corrected from twenty twenty one or looked straight at me.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
In what way, what do you mean?
Speaker 11 (24:03):
They thought this would be a campaign about first, about
the corruption in city Hall, about the kind of law
and order messaging that became dominant at the end of
twenty twenty one. Even that I think was quite different
in reality than what was said. Eric Adams said he
was running to deliver both justice and safety. As a
burninstool farmer, we said from the beginning, this is about
(24:25):
the cost of living crisis. This is about one in
four New Yorkers living in poverty. This is about the
inability to pay rent, to pay your mortgage, to have
raised kids in the city, to retire in the city.
And we developed and Zoron went out with a program
that was memorable and relevant and deliverable, and even as
early as December January, Zoron would move around the city
(24:47):
and they wouldn't just recognize him as like, Oh, I
liked your video, or you're really dynamic they'd look at
him and they go freeze. The red bus is fast
and free, universal childcare right. And that is both the
premise of the campaign and also how we intend to
win a mandate for delivering those things. We don't want
people to just elect Zoram because he's a dynamic figure.
(25:07):
We want them to elect him to actually then hold
him accountable to the exact policies he has laid out
from the beginning of this campaign. And the second piece
is that we would not have been able to deliver
that message to voters without the largest grassroots campaign this
city has ever seen. We knocked on fifty thousand doors
today alone in temperatures that felt over one hundred. We've
(25:29):
knocked one more than one point six million doors since
this campaign began, more than fifty thousand volunteers all across
the five boroughs. It's the combination of that focus on
an economic agenda, on what we are going to do
for people, not just what we have done for people,
and the fact that that was being delivered by this
incredible grassroots movement across the city.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
And the thing I've been writing about my entire career
and has never really materialized is the idea that if
you excite people, they will come out and.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Vote for you.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
It never quite, but it never it's you can't find
much evidence for today to do.
Speaker 11 (26:08):
For them, not just what your character is.
Speaker 6 (26:12):
So freeze the rents.
Speaker 11 (26:14):
Frustrate like that, right, and now, if we win, if
we win this nomination, if we defeat the other candidates
in the in the general, we want to be held
to account for delivering those exact things that we promise.
Speaker 6 (26:26):
It's a it's it's similar maybe to Georgia.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
If you remember the Georgia Senate elections, Democrats were like,
if you vote for us, we'll give you two thousand dollars, right,
and give us the Senate.
Speaker 11 (26:36):
Version of that, and that worked out pretty well.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
People were like, I vote for you, and you'll give
me two thousand dollars. Okay, that's a good.
Speaker 11 (26:42):
Thing in in in some pointners of the democratic establishment,
the consultant class that promising people things is like the crass,
cheeting crass. It's kind of low. Politics shouldn't be about
Politics should be about like you know your your your character,
your you know what you know, how how good you sound?
Speaker 12 (27:01):
You know?
Speaker 10 (27:03):
No, so you shouldn't just do you shouldn't just do
Obama voice.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
You should give them something.
Speaker 11 (27:08):
You should give them something. Yeah, a lot more than
they have right now in this country and in the city.
And politics is about organizing those people to deliver those
things and make life better and easier.
Speaker 10 (27:21):
I had a question to for you about sort of
the hinge points of this campaign. What were like the
key markers that this campaign was growing. Were there are
moments that sort of made this campaign to get you
to this moment here? I'm thinking about the AOC endorsement.
Was there a first viral video? What were those hinge
points for this campaign?
Speaker 11 (27:39):
There's a couple.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
I mean it's I mean, it was the Breaking Points bump. Obviously,
it was the Breaking.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Points interview was Emily and Ryan, you know it was
that was I can I just say I'm actually a
very big fan of breaking points. This is a little surreal.
That's how we got hey, that's how we got here.
Speaker 6 (27:56):
We will We would not be let in if you
weren't a fan, So thank you.
Speaker 11 (28:00):
I have been yelled at today by press from around
the world how they are not being allowed into this argument.
I said, no, drop site, breaking points. You're in.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
That's it.
Speaker 12 (28:12):
That's awesome, this is what.
Speaker 11 (28:13):
It's going to be.
Speaker 10 (28:14):
Yeah, some of the nine of sitting room, some of
those hinge points, like what were those moments?
Speaker 11 (28:18):
I mean, I think I think one of them is
one that I think Zoron went on to talk about,
which was after Donald Trump was elected and everybody was
in this state of shell shock. What was this about?
Speaker 12 (28:29):
What happened? What did we do?
Speaker 11 (28:30):
We said, let's just go ask people like, let's go
to the hearts of immigrant in New York. Let's go
to South Richmond Hill, Let's go to Fordham Road, Let's
go to working class immigrant and black and brown neighborhoods
that swung big for Trump, and just ask people, why'd
you do it? We really really made a sign that
said let's talk politics. This was five days after the
(28:51):
presidential stood on the corner and said let's talk. And
we heard again and again and again. I used to
have more money in my pocket. Things used to be
more affordable. The government is not delivering for me. But
there are endless wars around the world, you know. And
obviously Trump cynically and disingenuously spoke to those things, in
(29:13):
addition to also promising to punish his enemy and you know,
playing on a kind of cruelty as well. He also
said cheaper prices and of wars, right, And those are
the things that we heard all over the city, especially
in those neighborhoods. And when Zoron then said I'm running
for mayor to freeze your rent, make buses fast and free,
deliver universal childcare, they said, I'll come back and I'll
vote for you. And we are actually seeing that tonight.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
How much of that?
Speaker 5 (29:35):
And then if you guys, I won't have a question,
but you know, how much of that agendas, affordability, freeze,
the rent, buses, fast and free kind of float out
of those conversations.
Speaker 11 (29:44):
So the kind of three pillars of this campaign preceded that.
We launched the campaign on October twenty third, just a
few blocks from here at a different venue in Long
Island City, and we launched with those three three signature promises.
We have added more, we have talked about more since that,
but but those have been the core three and those
are the ones that people remember and literally shout at
(30:06):
Zoran as he moves around the city, and those have
always stayed the same. And I think it's that that focus,
that relentless discipline on that agenda that has popularized it
around the city and allowed us to stay the chorus
despite as you know, a lot that's been thrown out us.
Oh yeah, like Bernie with the metacare poal thing.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
That's the phrase that Emily, Yeah, Emily, do.
Speaker 11 (30:28):
You have any questions?
Speaker 9 (30:29):
Can you hear us? Okay? Andrew? I wanted to make
it okay perfect.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I just wanted to ask you a little bit about
all the attacks on zoron as you know, anti semitic,
and how you guys thought about those attacks and also
how he coped with them, because I know we saw
a moment where he got emotional on the campaign trail
in response to a question about that.
Speaker 11 (30:46):
It's painful, you know, it's it's really painful to have
those accusations, terrible, terrible accusations leveled that you when they're
not true and they've never been true, and they've never
been who he is or what the spirit of this
campaign has been about, which has always in all of
his politics has been about universality. Every single person deserves
(31:10):
the same thing, freedom, justice, dignity, peace, everybody, no exception.
That's been what's motivated his politics and to have that
twisted into bigotry or hate against any group of people.
To have that and then to be relentlessly hounded about
a very narrow set of questions when he has spent
(31:32):
the whole campaign focused on lowering costs, delivering affordability, making
the city work better for working people is difficult. And
he has had moments of vulnerability where he's also said,
I haven't been more vulnerable because of what happens, especially
to people of color, to Muslims, when they express emotion,
(31:53):
it can be twisted in a different way. He had
that authentic moment, the genuine moment of a profound, owned
sadness about that. But he's incredibly resilient and has spence
and just every single time gotten back on why we're
running this campaign, and that has broken through. It really has,
you know, I mean, yeah, so please, Oh no.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
I was going to say, actually, now, it looks like
you guys are in a position remarkably to be talking
to New Yorkers who are voting outside of just the
Democratic primary.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
And if that's the case, people.
Speaker 7 (32:25):
Have been sort of relentlessly battered with that message from
the Cuomo campaign and also the message that businesses are
about to flee in mass and the city's going to
collapse if Zoron becomes mayor so as you guys kind
of may have to broaden your messaging now to people
outside the dun primary.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
What is your message to.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
People who have heard all of the scare mongering about
what could happen under a Mamdani mayorship.
Speaker 11 (32:50):
You know, one thing Zarana said throughout this whole campaign
is there is not an ideological majority in New York City,
but there is a majority of people who feel disillusioned
with the political system and alienated from the economic system
and feel the strain of the cost of living crisis.
And so I actually, I don't think the message really changes.
(33:10):
I think it continues to be this relentless economic agenda
is focus on cost of living, on our core policies.
We're already seeing that resonate beyond registered Democrats. And I
think Zoran in the same way that Bernie Sanders is
one of the most popular politicians in America outside of.
Speaker 9 (33:32):
You just call it.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
It's a brad Lander. Let me move.
Speaker 10 (33:35):
Okay, it looks like there's a little bit of chaos.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
It seems like is Brad.
Speaker 11 (33:42):
Lander taking the stage.
Speaker 10 (33:45):
Uh, we don't have audio yet on this, but Emily, what.
Speaker 12 (33:49):
Are you saying?
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Can you thank Andrew for us?
Speaker 11 (33:51):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, thank you Andrew, My pleasure.
Speaker 11 (33:57):
This has been thanks, such a pleasure and honor. I
can't wait to let's see you guys. We'd love to
have you back sometime. My pleasure, anytime.
Speaker 9 (34:03):
Thank you, guys.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Thanks so much for everyone who joined the live watch
party of the Zoran versus Cuomo election last night. We
were supposed to during that live stream get to covering
a bunch of the new details regarding Trump and Iran
and the leaked intel report that actually the attacks on
the Iranian nuclear sites were not fully successful, but we
(34:30):
were so busy covering the election results that came out
much faster than anyone predicted. Because of the margin, the
extraordinary margin of Zoron's victory.
Speaker 9 (34:38):
Didn't actually get to it.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
But that's okay, because we've got some new comments from
Trump out this morning that I want to go ahead
and bring to you.
Speaker 9 (34:45):
So let me go ahead and put this up on
the screen.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
So, as I just said, Trump is raging that a
leaked intel report came out in multiple news outlets indicating
that contrary to what he had said, those Iranian nuclear
sites that we dropped dropped massive bombs on, they were
not actually completely destroyed. So he is very upset and
he is disputing by the way that Intel and will
(35:08):
get to more on that later, but just take a
listen to what he is saying about the news outlets
that revealed this information.
Speaker 13 (35:18):
Very bad demeaned by fake news.
Speaker 14 (35:20):
CNN, which is back there, believed in wasting time, wasting it.
Nobody's watching them, so they just wasted a lot of time,
wasting my time. And the New York Times they put
out a story that, well, maybe they were hit, but
it wasn't bad. Well, it was so bad that they
ended the war.
Speaker 10 (35:37):
It ended the war.
Speaker 14 (35:39):
Somebody said in a certain way that it was so devastating. Actually,
if you look at Hiroshimo, if you look at Nagasaki,
you know that ended a war too. This ended a
war in a different way, but it was so devastating. Also,
they have out of Dubai just came that Iran's Foreign
(35:59):
ministry this is a rans Farmers says, it's near its
nuclear installations were very badly damaged by the American strike.
So what bothered me about these reports with fake reports
put out by the New York Times, failing. I got
the failing New York Times because it's doing terribly.
Speaker 8 (36:20):
Without me, it would be doing.
Speaker 12 (36:21):
No business at all. But and by fake New.
Speaker 14 (36:26):
CNN and MSDNC, all of these terrible people. You know,
they have no credibility. You know, when I started, there
were ninety four percent credibility the media. Now it's at
sixteen percent. And I'm very proud of it because I've
exposed it for what it is.
Speaker 12 (36:41):
But when I.
Speaker 14 (36:44):
When I saw them starting to question the caliber of
the attack, was it bad, Well, it was really bad.
It was devasted. They obliterated fa You can't get into
the tunnels, they just put that over that just came out.
They can't. There's nothing, there's no way you can even
get down. The whole thing is collapsed to the disaster.
Speaker 9 (37:03):
And I think, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
That's what Trump is saying about all of this. And
this is a pretty exuordinary development as well. Let me
put this up on the screen here, so our own
intel this is the New York Times report that Trump
is referring to.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Here.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
There was clearly a leak from the intel community saying
preliminary classified findings indicate The attacks sealed off the entrances
to two facilities, but did not collapse their underground buildings.
I'll read you a little bit of this preliminary classified
US reports is the American bombing of three nuclear sites
in Iran set back the country's nuclear program by only
a few months. According to officials familiar with the findings,
(37:41):
the strike sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities,
did not collapse their underground buildings. Before the attack, US
intel agencies had said if Iran tried to rush making
a bomb, it would take about three months. After the
US bombing run and days of attacks by the Israeli
Air Force, the report by the Defense Intelligence Agency now
estimated the program had been delayed, but by less than
six months. That report also said much of iran stockpile
(38:03):
of and enrich uranium was moved before the strikes, which
destroyed little of the nuclear material. Iran may have moved
some of that to secret locations. I suspect basic you know,
based on publicly available satellite information and other analyzes of
people who know a lot more about this than I do.
I suspect that assessment is in fact correct, But also
I strongly suspect that the people who are leaking this
(38:28):
assessment of saying, like, what are you talking about? You
obliterated these nuclear sites? You didn't, you did, you barely
accomplish anything. They moved all of the enriched uranium beforehand
because they had such a heads up here, and you
didn't even destroy these facilities. And oh, by the way,
there are other facilities. So yeah, you've set them back
a little bit, but ultimately not that much. I am
quite sure the people who are leaking that assessment are
(38:49):
people who want us to go back to war directly
with Iran. So the information they're putting out, which again
I believe is accurate based on what we know publicly
of you know what we were and weren't able to
accomplish with these bombs that we foolishly dropped on Iran.
They're trying to say, listen, you're claiming victory. You're claiming
that Iran can no longer pursue a nuclear weapon. You
(39:11):
President Trump have laid down foolishly again a red line
saying Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. You didn't accomplish that.
So they're trying to push a continued logic to war.
Now this is all Trump's own fault, because we've all
been saying, you know, myself, Zager, Emily Ryan, like Dave Smith, all,
you know, plenty of people who and plenty of people
(39:34):
probably within his own administration as well. Misteve Bannons and
the Tucker Carl since the world have been saying, no,
if you actually want to try to prevent Iran from
racing towards a nuclear weapon, you've just done the worst
possible thing. The best thing you could have done is
remain in diplomatic negotiations and be able to pursue an
actual diplomatic settlement like oh, the JCPOA that Trump got
(39:57):
out of in his first administration. So by bombing them,
he has created more logic for them now to pursue
a nuclear weapon and made that much more likely. So
he is given ammunition to the Hawks and the neocons
who want to keep this war going and want us
to fully commit to total war with Iran. So this
(40:20):
leaked intel report, this is the next sort of salvo
from that group. Again, I think it's accurate. I think
he's you know, I think he's lying when he says
this is these were completely obliterated and is just trying
to be able to claim a victory. And so what
they're trying to do is give ammunition to those who say, no,
(40:40):
you did not, You did not destroy the nuclear weapons program.
You yourself said they can't have a nuke. So that
would mean you have to go back to bombing them.
You have to re engage in this conflict, and you know,
and get more fully invested in directly using bombs, destroying
the Iranian capability. Because Trump himself really blew up the
(41:01):
possibility of a diplomatic very likely destroy the possibility of
a diplomatic resolution at this time. So the next move
from Trump, and this is again absolutely extraordinary. This is
from Barack Revide. He says, the White House sent to
reporters a statement by the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission that
(41:22):
claims US strike on Photo destroyed the site's critical infrastructure
rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. Revied goes on accurately to state,
this is a highly unusual case of the White House
releasing a statement on behalf of an Israeli security agency.
The statement was not distributed to the Israeli or international
media by the Prime Minister's Office, which is responsible for
(41:44):
the Atomic Energy Commissions Press. So, just like the US,
Trump relied on the Israeli assessment that the Iranians were
actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, discarding our own intelligence community,
discarding the assessment of the IAEA, the international body that
(42:04):
was monitoring this. He relied on the Israelis convincing him no, no, no,
I promise they were pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Speaker 9 (42:11):
That's why you have to bomb.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
Now you have the president sharing not our own intelligence
community assessment of what happened here. Again, the Israeli's assessment
of what happened here just absolutely extraordinary and so unusual.
What is going on in the same time, you know,
there's a lot of indications that the Iranians were able
(42:33):
to strike significant blows against Israel. Let me just show
you a little bit of the Iranians after this quote
unquote ceasefire, however, along this hills or whatever it means
at the moment, there were a lot of Iranians who
were out in the street. You can see them celebrating
here because you know, if you think about it, from
their perspective, they took much more Very likely, although it's
(42:56):
kind of difficult to tell, they took much more significant blows,
certainly in terms of the death toll and the infrastructure
toll than the Israelis did. But the Israeli's goal was
regime collapse of regime change. Israeli's goal was to destroy
the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation was not destroyed. The
government is probably actually stronger and enjoys more credibility based
(43:16):
on the reports we've gotten with the people. So from
that perspective, the Iranians feel like they've achieved a success
because they were able to exact enough damage on the
Israelis that the Raelis kind of had to take this
ceasefire and at least take a break.
Speaker 9 (43:30):
Now.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
You know, I'm very skeptical that this is going to
be an end to the conflict because I don't think
bb nat Nyahuo woke up today and was like, you
know what, Iran can, Let's live, and let live my
multi decade goal of destroying this country. I'm all finished
with that. I'm all through and you can see that
from the you know, the leaked intel report is an
indication that the people who want more war, they are
(43:53):
still going to work and they have some tools and
some leverage because of the corner Trump has backed himself
into in a lot of respects, they still have some
leverage to try to effectuate their outcome of total and
complete war. So the Iranians feel actually that they have
something to celebrate right now because they feel like they
were able to do enough damage to Israel that that's
(44:14):
what created the compelling reason for Israel to need to regroup.
We had the reports that there were low on interceptors.
You know, the military sensors really kicked in hard to
keep us from seeing how widespread the extent of the
damage was. But let me go ahead and show you this.
President Trump himself admitted that the Israelis took quite significant damage.
Speaker 9 (44:35):
Let me go ahead and.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Play this for you as well. This is also from
that NATO summit.
Speaker 7 (44:41):
Bigger right.
Speaker 13 (44:41):
Look, you know, they've got a country, and they've got oil,
and they're for smart people and they can come back.
Israel hit very hard, especially the last couple of days.
Issue has hit really hard. Those ballistic missiles. Boy, they
took out a lot of buildings and they've been great
being that. Yeah, who should be very proud of himself,
(45:02):
and they've really been great.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
So he says there that Israel was hit very hard.
Steve Bannon echoed a similar sentiment and explains, and I
think he's right about this, explained that the part of
the reason for the ceasefire right now is that Israel
needed to be saved. In his words, let me go
ahead and play for you what he had to say.
Speaker 15 (45:25):
Yes, so they took the This ceasefire was as much
to save Israel. That's the hidden story here. They bid
off way more than they could chew. They were played
out as far as yesterday was a brutal day for
the citizens of Israel, took horrible incomings, particularly in Tel Aviv,
and I guess Bersheba also they needed this because they
were running a defensive ammunition and Presidence Trump stepped in
(45:49):
there with the help of guitar. Look, you know, we've
come a long way since seven years ago when Qatar,
you know, would not worked with us on stopping the
financing of Islamic terrorism, the financing of it. And they
come a long way. They've stepped in the middle of
the situation in Gaza, and they stepped in the middle here.
(46:10):
And President Trump is going his way to praise them,
and he's not going to have his way to praise
net Nyahu's government, which I think is getting to be
an issue.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
So pretty interesting comments there. He said, you know, the
ceasefire really was to save the Israelis, very counter the
media narrative, but as I said, I think there's something
to that. That's not to say that the especially the
initial Israeli onslaught in Iran was quite devastating. You know,
the number of officials who they were able to assassinate,
(46:39):
you know, the amount of infrastructure they were able to destroy.
But it's also very clear they were depending on they
could not accomplish their objectives, and they still can't accomplish
their objectives, which are regime collapse without the UN the
assistance of the United States. And so we were reading
all these reports from Wall Street Journal and other places
(47:01):
that this As this war went on, it was a
race between okay, how many missiles do the Iranians have
and how many interceptors do the Israelis have, And some
of the tension between you know, Israelis was spilling out
into the public at the amount of damage that the
(47:22):
Iranians were able to, you know, we're able to effectuate.
Within Israel, you had citizens who of course are you know,
having to go into underground bunkers.
Speaker 9 (47:32):
Every day.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
Life is completely disrupted, the airport is completely closed. And
so I do think that the reason why Israel was
willing to accept the ceasefire at this point was a
chance to regroup. Now that doesn't mean they're done, far
from it. I guarantee you Net Yahoo is scheming right
now how to get this thing kicked off again. And
(47:53):
those are incredibly powerful, powerful forces. We also don't have
a track record of Donald Trump in any way consists
stantly standing up to Israel at all. In fact, I
think you should continue to be you know, maybe he's
earnest in his frustration with NATANYAHUO.
Speaker 9 (48:08):
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
But it's also possible that this is also theater, because
we've seen theater deployed in the service of furthering this
conflict directly from Donald Trump before. So in any case,
where we are this morning, is Trump is very upset
at the leaks from the neocons about the assessment that
the nuclear sites were not destroyed. He is using Israeli
(48:32):
intelligence to try to, you know, assert that no, no, no,
it accomplished the goals. But because of the way that
he has backed himself into a corner of destroying his
own diplomatic negotiations, putting in place a hard red line
of Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He's left himself
vulnerable to these sorts of you know, these sorts of
(48:52):
manipulations to try to get this thing kicked off again,
and not assuming that he himself doesn't share the goal
of the Israelis of getting back into this conflict after
some sort of a pause, which I don't think we
can put off the table either. The last piece that
I wanted to share with you is we're getting the
first pulling in about how popular Trump bombing these Iranian
(49:13):
nuclear sites ultimately was. I will tell you with the
Republican base and specifically with the magabase, it's now that
Trump did it, it's very popular. Ninety four percent of
MAGA aligned Republicans say they support the strikes, even though
before Trump did it, the numbers were not that great
(49:33):
for you know, they were still like kind of favorable,
but pretty mixed. Once Trump did it, you now have
ninety four percent of self identified MAGA Republicans who are like, oh,
Trump did it, so it must be great. Broadly though
the public much less supportive and let me go ahead
and play this Harry Entin clip, and then I'll tell
you a little bit on the other side why I
(49:54):
think this is actually pretty extraordinary that these numbers, even
initially are as low as they are.
Speaker 16 (50:00):
Yeah, these things are moving quite quickly, but these are
initial readings. And I will say, from a historical perspective,
I am surprised that the net approval rating is so
low on these strikes. And it's in two different polls.
It's our CNN SSRs poll twelve points underword one thumbs down.
How about the Rotner Zipsos poll. Look at that the
exact same reading, minus nine points underwater two thumbs down.
And why am I so surprised from a historical perspective,
(50:22):
because usually air strikes rate fairly highly. What are we
talking about. Let's go back through the time machine net
approval of US air strikes. You see it here around
minus eleven points underwater on the average. Compare it to
isis back in twenty fourteen, fifty eight points in the
positive direction. So this is a nearly seventy point difference.
That is why I'm so surprised from a historical perspective,
(50:43):
because normally these air strikes rate quite highly but this one,
you go back through history, it rates as the lowest
that I could possibly find on the historical record.
Speaker 1 (50:53):
And that is exactly why it surprised me as well,
and why I was wrong, somewhat wrong in my assessment
of what the popularity of these attacks would be. I
was concerned that, actually, you know, among certainly I knew
the Republicans would support it, and they do, but I
thought some significant chunk of independence would as well, simply
because throughout my life, people in this country have supported
(51:15):
bombing other nations.
Speaker 9 (51:16):
And that's just the unfortunate fact.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
The propaganda machine ramps up, people get the sense that
this is going to be mission accomplished, that it's going
to be quick and easy and painless, and we're going
to accomplish whatever goal we're being sold at the time.
Speaker 9 (51:27):
And so, at least in.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
The very early days, they're usually, as Harry Enton points out,
there there's usually pretty broad support. The fact that there's
not really is so noteworthy, so incredibly noteworthy. I would
attribute it to a few things. Number One, there was
so little effort at a propaganda campaign build up. You know,
it just was like all of a sudden, we're supposed
(51:49):
to be kind of out and overhere, convinced that what
was going on in Iran was existential over the assessment
that we got from our own intel community just a
few months ago. I mean, I do that that testimony
from Tolsey Gabbard, which was played everywhere where, she's saying no,
very clearly no, our assessment continues to be they're not
pursuing a nuclear weapon. I think that really undercut the
(52:11):
very haphazard and unimpressive propaganda efforts that came out of
the Trump administration to try to justify this. So I
think that's part of it. I think the fact that
you know now have this much more robust independent media
landscape is another significant part of it, where it's just,
you know, if you're going to manufacture consent, you're going
(52:32):
to have to do a lot more work than they
were ultimately able to do. And so people just weren't
really buying that this was necessary right now, that this
was going to accomplish the goals, that this wasn't going
to create incredible tremendous risks. And then a third factor
is just you know, most of the country is very wary,
(52:53):
understandably so, of getting involved in some new Middle Eastern quagmire.
Regime change does asterisk boondoggle. So maybe most of the
elites in this country haven't learned the lesson, But according
to these numbers, the majority of Independence and Democrats certainly
have learned the lesson and are not willing to gamble
(53:16):
the way that President Trump really did with these strikes
on Iranian nuclear facilities. Now where we are today, there's
you know, a possibility that things quiet down for a while. Again,
I'm very skeptical, and I know Soccer is also very
skeptical that this is the end and it's wrapped up
in peace forever, as Trump says. But we're also very
(53:37):
fortunate that the Iranians decided, in response to our dropping
these you know, a dozen giant bunk or buster thirty
thousand pounds bombs on one of their key nuclear sites,
attacking two other key nuclear sites, that their response to
that was so muted and so theatrical, you know, it
was just meant to be a show of Hey, we
could get you in Qatar at your you know, largest
(53:59):
air base in the region, but we're going to tell
you in advance to make sure there's no damage, so
that there's a possibility of some sort of a de
escalitary off ramp. Now, I think the logic of the
Israelis again in agreeing to this ceasefire in this moment,
is not because they want the war to be over.
It's not because they feel they've accomplished their objectives. Their
(54:20):
objectives are regime change or regime collapse that obviously hasn't
been achieved. It's because they needed to regroup, as Trump
himself seems to indicate. As Steve Bannon says there, Israel
needed a chance to regroup so that they could continue
a sort of phased approach. But their desire to destroy
this regime has not ebbed. They still continue to be
(54:40):
incredibly powerful within this administration, as we saw in the
first Trump administration as well. And so you know, my
fear is that right now this is far from over.
There are also some reports, and I want to see
this confirmed in more places, that the Iranians is Iranians,
Oh my god, Iranians are withdrawing from the nuclear oversight regime, which.
Speaker 9 (55:07):
I mean many.
Speaker 1 (55:08):
I'm not the only one that John Meerscheimer tell you this.
Jeffrey Sachs will tell you this. Anyone who's looking at
this from an objective perspective, will tell you that what
we have done has created all the incentive in the
world for the Iranians now to develop nuclear weapons outside
of an inspections regime in the same way by the
way that the Israelis did and will create a similar
(55:30):
logic for other countries around the world. So we already
have some early indications that that's exactly the direction that
they're moving in. So that's what I've got for you
this morning, Sagar and Now will be back with a
regular full show tomorrow. We've already got some fantastic guest booked.
I'm excited to, you know, to bring that to you.
(55:50):
We'll have a full breakdown of all the latest book
of gard to Iran. Sure we'll can continue to cover
There's been a delicious miltdown over Zoron's victory, both from
the more Joe types who or you know, there's some
real hard coping on the Democratic side. The Republicans are
losing their minds. You've got these psycho groups, Zionist groups
like Betar Worldwide is saying that the Jews must evacuate
(56:13):
New York City. I mean, based on the margin of
victory here I'm quite confident that zor On probably one
Jewish voters overall in New York City. So anyway, there's
so much to talk about with that race. Continued to
talk about what it's going to mean for the future
and what the reaction has been, so I'm sure we'll
have more of that for you as well. In the meantime, guys,
enjoy your day, thank you for your support, and I
(56:34):
will see you.
Speaker 9 (56:35):
Sud
Hey, guys, ready or not, twenty twenty four is here,
and we here at breaking points, are already thinking of
ways we can up our game for this critical election.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We rely on our premium subs to expand coverage, upgrade
the studio ad staff give you, guys, the best independent.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Coverage that is possible.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
If you like what we're all about, it just means
the absolute world to have your support.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
But enough with that, Let's get to the show.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (00:27):
This is the legend legendary New York reporter Ross Barcan,
who has his own substack, the Metropolitan Report, the Metropolitan Review,
also a columnist for New York Magazine, a long time
reporter here in DC, in New York.
Speaker 6 (00:45):
What do you what? Do you sorry?
Speaker 7 (00:46):
DC?
Speaker 6 (00:47):
We're not in DC, We're in New York. Do you
what are you saying?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Huge, huge showing for Zurn tonight?
Speaker 8 (00:53):
Honestly, I am taken aback by how large a lead
he has.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
What's what's the current umbers? Right now?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Azo, right now, you can look on the screen there,
I've got issues.
Speaker 9 (01:04):
So it's about the same.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Zorn's at forty three with eighty percent of the vote
in Orn.
Speaker 8 (01:12):
I feel safe saying Zoron is going to be the
Democratic nominee for mayor in New York City. I don't
like to call elections, but I think I think we're
getting very close to there. I don't see how Cuomo
pulls this off, honestly at this point. Maybe there's some
last burst in these final twenty percent of votes, but
he holds a really significant lead in an election where
(01:35):
it looks like more than a million people voted, a
million Democrats voted.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
This this is a realignment election.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
This is what what do you mean by that ross?
Speaker 8 (01:44):
This means that more than any election I can remember,
far more than AOC Joe Crowley, far more than I
don't even know some some gubernatorial array somewhere, there has
been a massive shift in how people vote, at least
in the largest city in America, where a man who
was governor for eleven years, who had the entire political
(02:09):
establishment quite literally behind him, who had a super pack
spending close to thirty million dollars, is losing by a
significant margin to a thirty three year.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Old socialist state assemblyman.
Speaker 8 (02:23):
That is something that even the wildest leftist forecasts could
not predict.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And so I had not looked at the vote yet.
Speaker 8 (02:34):
By neighborhood and by precinct, by assumption is with a
win like this, it cannot be written off as oh
it was low turnout. Oh it was the gentrifiers. Oh
it was this. It was that you have this many votes.
You are getting a multi racial coalition, you are getting
a working class coalition, you are getting upper class people,
(02:57):
and you're getting young people.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So I wanted to warrant to the data.
Speaker 8 (03:01):
But right now, this is a stunning It's a massive upset. Honestly,
you could call this one of the biggest upsets in
American political history. I think I'm gonna put it in there.
Lomo ran an awful campaign. I don't I don't as
by I say, I'm gont a credit Zoron. Lomo ran
an atrocious campaign, the laziest campaign I've ever seen. But
(03:23):
this is still a monumental showing ross.
Speaker 6 (03:27):
Go ahead, Crystal, I.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Was just gonna ask about the attacks on Zoron, accusing
him of being an anti Semite, and you know what
it means. This very clear rebuke of that tactic, which
I think in any year now in New York City
you can tell me, because you're the expert, would likely
have been pretty successful, you know, would have been a
very difficult thing to overcome.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
Yes, so ten, ten years ago, maybe even five years ago,
if I you said a candidate who is pro palestigned,
openly pro Palestigne and had been an anti Zionist, does
not identify it like that as a muscle, yeah, and
is a Muslim. If you took all these things and
five years ago you'd have said no way. And now
(04:11):
he has run up a huge margin in a very
diverse city.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
The Israel lobby.
Speaker 8 (04:20):
Must be absolutely I don't know what's going through their
head because you don't see rebukes quite like this very
often politics.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Do you remember the Jessica Ramos story from twenty fourteen,
So during the twenty fourteen Gaza war, Jessica Ramos, who
has gone full circle, she went left and now she
endorsed Andrew Cuomo in this and you running and she
got zer point four percent I think in the first round.
She says, there's a head New York Post headline is
one of the funniest things I've ever seen, maybe even
(04:49):
New York Daily News. It says lawmaker expresses sympathy for
people in Gaza. That was the headline. No context was needed,
that was a scandalous. It was understood to be a
scandalos thing. She had to apologize because she wrote a
Facebook post that said, like, that's sad that so many
people are getting bombed.
Speaker 8 (05:07):
And I remember that twenty fourteen summer very well because
the entire democratic establishment lined up with Israel.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Literally you had massive rallies.
Speaker 8 (05:17):
Every so called progressive Democrat was there cheering on Israel,
cheering on the bombardment.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And the shift from there has just been seismic.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
And we know that generational shift is happening, that that
that has been ongoing. But now you have an election
like this one, you see it's bigger, It's actually bigger.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So I am really.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
As someone who thought thinks highly of Zorn's political talent
and saw him for long time going places to see
this kind of result.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And what other have new results come in? Where are
we at right now? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (05:55):
So here Russ, this is Adam Carlson, Polster Adam Carlson
who has said stick a fork in it. Zoron Mumdani
will win the first round of the Democratic primary for
New York City mayor.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So we would post calling it period. That's so it's
fun that that's that it's finished.
Speaker 8 (06:11):
Right, He's not gonna get He's not gonna win brad
Landers votes. So I'm looking at this map right now.
Zoron won three out of five Burroughs.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Wow and yeah, so uh ross.
Speaker 10 (06:24):
Like, you know, is this a similar to an AOC
moment where someone like this wins and then the squad
comes afterwards and it spreads across the country to other races,
or do you view this more as a very unique race.
Speaker 11 (06:36):
In a vacuum.
Speaker 8 (06:37):
What's funny is this race is far more impressive than
AOC's race. But I don't know if it's going to
be as influential. I don't know yet. I can see
Zorn being turned into a boogeyman because he's Muslim, because
he's openly socialist, even the way AOC is not. I
can see Democrats around America, some excited and some feeling consternation.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 8 (07:01):
Twenty eighteen was sort of the height of resistance blue
wave politics. I actually do not know. I think Zoron
is undoubtedly a leader on the left. He might be
the leader and this is all said and done, leading
the largest city.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
In America if he win to the general election.
Speaker 8 (07:16):
That's a really good I think though, how other Democrats
approach him is going to be fascinating. Some are going
to be very excited to embrace it. Some are going
to want to run the other way. It's going to
be more complicated. But but the scale this race was
waged on is like a statewide race. New York City
(07:37):
is larger than most states in America, and it's a
very diverse city. It's ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, politically diverse too.
It's not just all lefties. It's a very complicated city.
And so for someone to win and win so convincingly,
to come from behind all all on tomorrow, you're gonna,
(07:58):
I'm sure you're gonna hear a lot of explanations from
some of the center. They're gonna say this that, but
it will I think it's falling flat because turnout was
big Democrats.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Oh yeah, I was just gonna say, there's there's never
been a Muslim mayor of New York City.
Speaker 9 (08:13):
There's never been a socialist.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Some people have likened him to LaGuardia, you know, can
you spell out do you think that there are parallels
with LaGuardia as considered you know, one of the best
mayors of New York City of all time.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, there's certainly LaGuardia is sort
of the progressive ideal of of of big city mayors. Now,
LaGuardia wasn't as a come from behind candidate as Zorn was.
LaGuardia was a liberal Republican running against the Democratic machine,
but he'd been a popular congressman. He'd been kind of
building a political operation for years. I mean, I mean
(08:46):
Zeramamdani was mostly unknown as recently as five to six
months ago, and is now poised to become the mayor
of America's largest city. This is not no offense to
Chicago or to Boston or to any.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Of these places.
Speaker 8 (09:04):
But this, this city is a massive, massive place, and
so I think Loguardia is a parallel. You have the
Sewer socialist mayors of the early twentieth century. The mayors
of Milwaukee were socialist. I think Zorn is coming from
that good government reform model, delivering public services, delivering public goods.
(09:25):
He's not running on ending capitalism, mostly because mayors cannot
end capitalism. It's a very economics first campaign, and it's
a good I think it's a good message for all
Democratic I.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Could take out Wall Street, that would strike a blow
at capitalism.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Wearing tickets could try.
Speaker 7 (09:42):
This brings up a question I wanted to ask, which is,
you know you often see from the primaries to the
general election, the the pivot to the center.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
How do you expect Zoron?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
You followed his campaign so closely, you've truck to him,
how do you expect him to handle now actually going
city wide and having a feel not just in a primary.
Speaker 6 (10:02):
And let me piggyback onto that.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
What do you think this does to Cuomo running in
the general I was very.
Speaker 8 (10:08):
Sure before this night that Cuomo was running in the
general election as an independent with a massive super pack
behind him. That may still happen, but this is a
convincing victory for Zorn. This is a large victory. This
is not two points, this is very big. So for
Cuomo it's going to be harder to pivot into being
(10:29):
the super pack candidate now. I think Zoron is going
to have to do outreach to a lot of different
interest groups communities that he did less of in the
primary because he is going to be mayor. Even though
he ran against the power elite, that power elites sought
to destroy him. You're mayor of New York City, You're
going to have to take meetings with financiers, with developers.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
It will happen.
Speaker 8 (10:53):
So the pivot might not mean any new policy or
kind of any rhetorical shift necessarily. But I think he's
somebody's He's very charismatic, he likes to to deal with people.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
He'll hilly, he will talk to anyone.
Speaker 8 (11:10):
So I expect there to be significant outreach to a
lot of the groups that have been most hostile to him.
I think he's smart enough to try to attempt a
as big attempt as possible.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
But look, there are forces.
Speaker 8 (11:24):
In this city that are going to want to destroy
him and destroy his mayrality.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
That is a fact.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
And they tried with Doblasio. And this is much bigger
than Deblasio was. It was a center left progressive democrat
who came out of the political establishment.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
This is something very different.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
So these headheadge fund finance types, they will think of
ways to destroy him.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Zoron Magzil have breakfast with them.
Speaker 10 (11:49):
In ways like they would destroy him, Like what could
they do to him?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
As made well, Yeah, it was partly CuMo, who was
trying to destroy Deblasio.
Speaker 9 (11:57):
I mean, I remember the battles they were having.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, so Cloma, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 8 (12:00):
I think they're gonna appeal to Kathy Hochel, Hopeful is
a centrist Democrat. I think they're gonna look to hope
Goal to kind of be a check on Zoron if
he's mayor.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Look, I think the super Pack failed miserably, but.
Speaker 8 (12:13):
They can always spend more money, and when your mayor,
perhaps those attacks lened differently. There's a media apparatus that
is some is depending on what outlet very hostile to Zoron.
The New York Times and New York Post editorial boards
were very anti Zoron. So there is a sort of
media establishment that is against him. Now, younger journalists and
media types like him. So I think there's a generational
(12:35):
divide where older media is opposed younger media in favor.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
He will have a lot of.
Speaker 8 (12:42):
Challenges if he becomes mayor, and I do expect these
these forces to work against him. It'll be very interesting
to see how he how he deals with that, how
he works with them.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Well, and Ryan and Ross, either one of you guys
can reflect on this. It's very fraught for the last
because anytime you have a loftist who does a poor
job of governing, it's an indictment of the entire left.
If you have a stress who fails at governing, that
was just one guy.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Like Eric Adams.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
MBO.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Yeah, right, and Drew.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Also if you have if you have a leftist who
is good at governing, like Michelle Wou in Boston, you
never hear about.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
It again, you don't know it.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, Now that's the interesting with Zoron.
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Everyone was like Brandon Johnson, Brandon Johnson, I tweet this,
Sam and wait a second, there's a progressive Elizabeth Warren
actallyte governing Boston with a sixty one percent approval rating.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Why can't Zoron be Michelle Woo. In fact, I think there.
Speaker 8 (13:35):
Are real parallels there in zarn he's a competent person,
he's very bright. I think he's going to hire very
good people if he's mayor. I think he's going to
attempt a sort of reformist good government type administration because look,
it's important to do the public these that the progressive
leftist policies, the things he ran on. But but good
(13:57):
government and anti corruption is very important here because Eric
Adams is so corrupt. It's going to be very important
for Zorn to not being boiled in any scandals because
he will he will go down fast. If that happens,
he can stay clear and have a very clean administration.
It's gonna go a long way, and I think he will.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Are you sad to see you gonna jump?
Speaker 6 (14:18):
Well, we're gonna let Ross go.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Oh if you have one more question, because we're gonna
Andrew Epstein, communications director for j join us in a second.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
But you have a wrap up question for Ross.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I do have a wrap up for Ross, which is
aren't you gonna miss Eric Adams content creation?
Speaker 8 (14:32):
He's a great he's a great content creator and he's
running in the general election, so he's.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Gonna be content creating through November.
Speaker 8 (14:38):
And this is what's very This is very interesting right
now because Cuomo is down so much. Eric Adams, who
is left for dead, He's going to try to be
the power elite Kennedy. He's gonna go to these financiers
that Bill Ackmans of the world and Michael Bloombergsy know what,
loll this guy blew it come back to me?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, support me. So look out for that too interesting.
Speaker 9 (15:01):
Ross.
Speaker 8 (15:01):
Thank you, I mean I I call him from New
York Magazine. My substack, Ross Barkin Political currents. Look on
the substack, subscribe to it. Lots of mayoral race writing
to come. Yeah, Ross, thanks so much, really appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
We're joined now by former Congressman Jamal Bowman's.
Speaker 12 (15:24):
Not Crystal Ball right there? What's what's up? Yo? Crystal?
You're great, y'all. Love your work, work doing that dope ship.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I'm sweating because I've been hugging people and celebrating.
Speaker 12 (15:37):
Because it's a hundred hell so excuse me for sweating
and know that. What's up home girl? Is that Emily?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 12 (15:46):
I'm sure you're great too. What's up? You got some questions?
What's some questions?
Speaker 6 (15:52):
What what happened?
Speaker 12 (15:53):
Why?
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Why was he able to do this in the in
a way that candidates in the past.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Hapn's well z run is exception Know, he's an incredible
person and an incredible candidate. He has the right values,
he has the right policies. He's probably one of the
best communicators we've ever seen. And he's exceptional. Number one,
Number two, His team is exceptional. They have like I
(16:18):
call this campaign manager like a pianist. She struck all
the right chords at the right time. Team exceptional. Three.
Speaker 12 (16:26):
This is New York, mother FN's city.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So we're talking about diversity, beautiful people, language, culture, different ideas,
and so the fear mongering and the BS it's not
gonna work here the same because this is New York City.
So you put those things together in addition to, oh,
by the way, capturing the hearts and minds of the
people to the point where you got thirty thousand volunteers
(16:52):
knocking on a million doors and como. You know, he's
trying to coast right and pablishment. If they know what's
good for them, they take this as the resurrection of
their freaking party. So we'll see man. But for me,
that it came down to all of that.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
No matter what mom Donnie got asked, whether it was
about Israel, whether it was about the culture war, whether
it was.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
About what it didn't matter.
Speaker 12 (17:18):
He brought it back.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
To affordability in New York City and free and freeze
the rent, like it.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
Always back to his message.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Is he just better at that than other Democrats and
progressives or did he have almost a more a thin
have a different idea about like, no, everything is going
to come back to this one thing.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
I mean, when you run campaigns, you have to be disciplined,
So you have to be disciplined in your movements politically
and disciplined in your communication. And he was disciplined in
his communication, and that is hard to do because everybody's human.
(17:56):
You got emotions involved, all kinds of stuff. But he
was very, very very disciplined that so so you got
to be disciplined. And then secondly, again he's an excellent communicator.
So it's not just about cutting and pasting what they've done.
It's about excellent candidates who are excellent communicators and they
(18:18):
have to listen, they have to be orators to a
certain extent, and they have to also be disciplined.
Speaker 12 (18:25):
So it's already above.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
Do you think this does this open anything up for
the Democratic Party?
Speaker 8 (18:30):
Like?
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Does this does open.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
If the Democratic Party is smart and I'm speaking specifically
Hakeem Jeffries, Greg Meeks, Jim Cliburn, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris,
by every allly establishment leaders, they would get one hundred
percent behind Zorn for the general and they would do
(18:52):
it this week to set the tone because they're not
gonna beat Maga trying to do all the stab limid
shit like they've been doing the last couple of years.
That's not gonna work. And so they better understand. I
wish they would have understood this before. But they are
superstars in the Democratic Party. You know, alc is one
(19:13):
of them. You know, some people disagree with her. Whatever
you disagree with, she's still a superstar. Nowran's another one.
You gotta uplift your superstars. Man, Like you know, I'm
a sports fan. You gotta let your great players make
plays to win championships. You can't fucking put them on
the bench and say we're gonna put some seventy year
(19:35):
old white man in charge of some committee. Think you're like,
that's what, that's what, that's good for America. That shit
don't make sense. I'm sorry, I don't mean to talk
one for me. And then you guys, hurry up.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I got CNN and like Richie seven minutes, Uh, Richie
Torres doesn't this doesn't this suggest that Richie Torres is
vulnerable and somebody like a Jamal Bowman run.
Speaker 12 (19:57):
Against Can we stop talking about Richie? Rich is a
what motherfucker.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Let Richie Trres keep doing his bullshit and let's keep
doing our ship. We don't care about Richie tares son.
Richie too is not consequential. Please, let's not lift him
to him. We don't need Richau.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
What's it nice to see APAC take this big loss tonight?
And what does that mean for other Canadis in the future.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Listen, I don't I don't want to underestimate APAC because
they have a lot of resources, So I don't really see.
Speaker 12 (20:29):
This as a loss for them. I see himaw as
a win for us.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
And so you know what, what what I hope they
begin to understand is your fear mongering, your hate, your racism,
your money is not enough.
Speaker 12 (20:45):
You got to actually like win on the issue.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
You gotta actually win on the issues and and and
have good values, right, like yo, we were not supported
the killer the starving of children, like we not support
that because we're actually human beings, ye, right? And so
for them, hopefully actually again I'll put them in the
Richard Tories category.
Speaker 12 (21:08):
Not about that. For us as progressives, we we got
this victory.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
But now we got to win a general and now
we got a show we can govern I'm sorry, maybe
so Ron's coming here?
Speaker 6 (21:20):
It comes?
Speaker 12 (21:21):
Yeah, Hi yet yet? All right, we got it.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Hurry up, I'm sorry, I got seeing that in like
two minutes. I'm listening.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
Thank you, Bud, Greece. Love y'all keep going your work,
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Yeah, thank you for having us.
Speaker 10 (21:37):
So we've got Andrew Epstein here, he was what's your
official title?
Speaker 11 (21:41):
The communications director?
Speaker 12 (21:43):
Video communications director?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
How are you feeling right now?
Speaker 11 (21:46):
Very confident, very excited. I mean, we found the early
voting totals. We walked into today where two hundred thousand
New Yorkers had already voted for saran Uh. We won
a majority of Burroughs in early voting, and not just
the kind of caricature of a left wing insurgent campaign.
We are leading in the hearts of immigrant New York
(22:07):
and South Richmond, Hill and Corona. We're winning districts in
the south shore of Staten Island, all over Manhattan. We're
competitive in the Bronx. We are building the multi ethnic,
multi lingual, multi generational, working class coalition that this campaign
had always set at its north star, and that's starting
to show up in the data tonight.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So when the so what what do you think you
did differently to overcome the problem that the left has had,
which is you can do well and what I think
Michael Lang was calling the commed corner.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
You know, like you know.
Speaker 11 (22:44):
Of Brooklyn.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know you do well among the hips, among the hipsters,
but breaking out beyond that, it's what crippled Bernie Sanders campaign.
Speaker 6 (22:55):
What what did you do differently that broke through?
Speaker 11 (22:58):
It is just correct a little or challenge some of
the caricature, even of those voters that often get ascribed
as the heart of insurgent progressive democratic socialist campaigns. Yes,
many people who vote for Democratic socialists have college degrees,
many of them have parents who have had middle class
or white collar jobs. But they are also tenants in
(23:19):
the most expensive city in the country and have struggled
to actually realize any of that sort of educational attainment
or cultural capital. You can't pay your rent with cultural capital.
You pay your rent with money, and people aren't making enough.
So even among the kind of like caricature of our
base voters, there's a different story to be told than
(23:42):
I think has been. But we've also found out long
beyond that, and we did it with a relentless focus
on an economic agenda, rejecting all of the narratives about
what this race should have or would have been about.
I think a lot of candidates and pundits and consultants
over corrected from twenty twenty one or looked straight at me.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
In what way, what do you mean?
Speaker 11 (24:03):
They thought this would be a campaign about first, about
the corruption in city Hall, about the kind of law
and order messaging that became dominant at the end of
twenty twenty one. Even that I think was quite different
in reality than what was said. Eric Adams said he
was running to deliver both justice and safety. As a
burninstool farmer, we said from the beginning, this is about
(24:25):
the cost of living crisis. This is about one in
four New Yorkers living in poverty. This is about the
inability to pay rent, to pay your mortgage, to have
raised kids in the city, to retire in the city.
And we developed and Zoron went out with a program
that was memorable and relevant and deliverable, and even as
early as December January, Zoron would move around the city
(24:47):
and they wouldn't just recognize him as like, Oh, I
liked your video, or you're really dynamic they'd look at
him and they go freeze. The red bus is fast
and free, universal childcare right. And that is both the
premise of the campaign and also how we intend to
win a mandate for delivering those things. We don't want
people to just elect Zoram because he's a dynamic figure.
(25:07):
We want them to elect him to actually then hold
him accountable to the exact policies he has laid out
from the beginning of this campaign. And the second piece
is that we would not have been able to deliver
that message to voters without the largest grassroots campaign this
city has ever seen. We knocked on fifty thousand doors
today alone in temperatures that felt over one hundred. We've
(25:29):
knocked one more than one point six million doors since
this campaign began, more than fifty thousand volunteers all across
the five boroughs. It's the combination of that focus on
an economic agenda, on what we are going to do
for people, not just what we have done for people,
and the fact that that was being delivered by this
incredible grassroots movement across the city.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
And the thing I've been writing about my entire career
and has never really materialized is the idea that if
you excite people, they will come out and.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Vote for you.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
It never quite, but it never it's you can't find
much evidence for today to do.
Speaker 11 (26:08):
For them, not just what your character is.
Speaker 6 (26:12):
So freeze the rents.
Speaker 11 (26:14):
Frustrate like that, right, and now, if we win, if
we win this nomination, if we defeat the other candidates
in the in the general, we want to be held
to account for delivering those exact things that we promise.
Speaker 6 (26:26):
It's a it's it's similar maybe to Georgia.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
If you remember the Georgia Senate elections, Democrats were like,
if you vote for us, we'll give you two thousand dollars, right,
and give us the Senate.
Speaker 11 (26:36):
Version of that, and that worked out pretty well.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
People were like, I vote for you, and you'll give
me two thousand dollars. Okay, that's a good.
Speaker 11 (26:42):
Thing in in in some pointners of the democratic establishment,
the consultant class that promising people things is like the crass,
cheeting crass. It's kind of low. Politics shouldn't be about
Politics should be about like you know your your your character,
your you know what you know, how how good you sound?
Speaker 12 (27:01):
You know?
Speaker 10 (27:03):
No, so you shouldn't just do you shouldn't just do
Obama voice.
Speaker 6 (27:07):
You should give them something.
Speaker 11 (27:08):
You should give them something. Yeah, a lot more than
they have right now in this country and in the city.
And politics is about organizing those people to deliver those
things and make life better and easier.
Speaker 10 (27:21):
I had a question to for you about sort of
the hinge points of this campaign. What were like the
key markers that this campaign was growing. Were there are
moments that sort of made this campaign to get you
to this moment here? I'm thinking about the AOC endorsement.
Was there a first viral video? What were those hinge
points for this campaign?
Speaker 11 (27:39):
There's a couple.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
I mean it's I mean, it was the Breaking Points bump. Obviously,
it was the Breaking.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Points interview was Emily and Ryan, you know it was
that was I can I just say I'm actually a
very big fan of breaking points. This is a little surreal.
That's how we got hey, that's how we got here.
Speaker 6 (27:56):
We will We would not be let in if you
weren't a fan, So thank you.
Speaker 11 (28:00):
I have been yelled at today by press from around
the world how they are not being allowed into this argument.
I said, no, drop site, breaking points. You're in.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
That's it.
Speaker 12 (28:12):
That's awesome, this is what.
Speaker 11 (28:13):
It's going to be.
Speaker 10 (28:14):
Yeah, some of the nine of sitting room, some of
those hinge points, like what were those moments?
Speaker 11 (28:18):
I mean, I think I think one of them is
one that I think Zoron went on to talk about,
which was after Donald Trump was elected and everybody was
in this state of shell shock. What was this about?
Speaker 12 (28:29):
What happened? What did we do?
Speaker 11 (28:30):
We said, let's just go ask people like, let's go
to the hearts of immigrant in New York. Let's go
to South Richmond Hill, Let's go to Fordham Road, Let's
go to working class immigrant and black and brown neighborhoods
that swung big for Trump, and just ask people, why'd
you do it? We really really made a sign that
said let's talk politics. This was five days after the
(28:51):
presidential stood on the corner and said let's talk. And
we heard again and again and again. I used to
have more money in my pocket. Things used to be
more affordable. The government is not delivering for me. But
there are endless wars around the world, you know. And
obviously Trump cynically and disingenuously spoke to those things, in
(29:13):
addition to also promising to punish his enemy and you know,
playing on a kind of cruelty as well. He also
said cheaper prices and of wars, right, And those are
the things that we heard all over the city, especially
in those neighborhoods. And when Zoron then said I'm running
for mayor to freeze your rent, make buses fast and free,
deliver universal childcare, they said, I'll come back and I'll
vote for you. And we are actually seeing that tonight.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
How much of that?
Speaker 5 (29:35):
And then if you guys, I won't have a question,
but you know, how much of that agendas, affordability, freeze,
the rent, buses, fast and free kind of float out
of those conversations.
Speaker 11 (29:44):
So the kind of three pillars of this campaign preceded that.
We launched the campaign on October twenty third, just a
few blocks from here at a different venue in Long
Island City, and we launched with those three three signature promises.
We have added more, we have talked about more since that,
but but those have been the core three and those
are the ones that people remember and literally shout at
(30:06):
Zoran as he moves around the city, and those have
always stayed the same. And I think it's that that focus,
that relentless discipline on that agenda that has popularized it
around the city and allowed us to stay the chorus
despite as you know, a lot that's been thrown out us.
Oh yeah, like Bernie with the metacare poal thing.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
That's the phrase that Emily, Yeah, Emily, do.
Speaker 11 (30:28):
You have any questions?
Speaker 9 (30:29):
Can you hear us? Okay? Andrew? I wanted to make
it okay perfect.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I just wanted to ask you a little bit about
all the attacks on zoron as you know, anti semitic,
and how you guys thought about those attacks and also
how he coped with them, because I know we saw
a moment where he got emotional on the campaign trail
in response to a question about that.
Speaker 11 (30:46):
It's painful, you know, it's it's really painful to have
those accusations, terrible, terrible accusations leveled that you when they're
not true and they've never been true, and they've never
been who he is or what the spirit of this
campaign has been about, which has always in all of
his politics has been about universality. Every single person deserves
(31:10):
the same thing, freedom, justice, dignity, peace, everybody, no exception.
That's been what's motivated his politics and to have that
twisted into bigotry or hate against any group of people.
To have that and then to be relentlessly hounded about
a very narrow set of questions when he has spent
(31:32):
the whole campaign focused on lowering costs, delivering affordability, making
the city work better for working people is difficult. And
he has had moments of vulnerability where he's also said,
I haven't been more vulnerable because of what happens, especially
to people of color, to Muslims, when they express emotion,
(31:53):
it can be twisted in a different way. He had
that authentic moment, the genuine moment of a profound, owned
sadness about that. But he's incredibly resilient and has spence
and just every single time gotten back on why we're
running this campaign, and that has broken through. It really has,
you know, I mean, yeah, so please, Oh no.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
I was going to say, actually, now, it looks like
you guys are in a position remarkably to be talking
to New Yorkers who are voting outside of just the
Democratic primary.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
And if that's the case, people.
Speaker 7 (32:25):
Have been sort of relentlessly battered with that message from
the Cuomo campaign and also the message that businesses are
about to flee in mass and the city's going to
collapse if Zoron becomes mayor so as you guys kind
of may have to broaden your messaging now to people
outside the dun primary.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
What is your message to.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
People who have heard all of the scare mongering about
what could happen under a Mamdani mayorship.
Speaker 11 (32:50):
You know, one thing Zarana said throughout this whole campaign
is there is not an ideological majority in New York City,
but there is a majority of people who feel disillusioned
with the political system and alienated from the economic system
and feel the strain of the cost of living crisis.
And so I actually, I don't think the message really changes.
(33:10):
I think it continues to be this relentless economic agenda
is focus on cost of living, on our core policies.
We're already seeing that resonate beyond registered Democrats. And I
think Zoran in the same way that Bernie Sanders is
one of the most popular politicians in America outside of.
Speaker 9 (33:32):
You just call it.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
It's a brad Lander. Let me move.
Speaker 10 (33:35):
Okay, it looks like there's a little bit of chaos.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
It seems like is Brad.
Speaker 11 (33:42):
Lander taking the stage.
Speaker 10 (33:45):
Uh, we don't have audio yet on this, but Emily, what.
Speaker 12 (33:49):
Are you saying?
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Can you thank Andrew for us?
Speaker 11 (33:51):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Yeah, thank you Andrew, My pleasure.
Speaker 11 (33:57):
This has been thanks, such a pleasure and honor. I
can't wait to let's see you guys. We'd love to
have you back sometime. My pleasure, anytime.
Speaker 9 (34:03):
Thank you, guys.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Thanks so much for everyone who joined the live watch
party of the Zoran versus Cuomo election last night. We
were supposed to during that live stream get to covering
a bunch of the new details regarding Trump and Iran
and the leaked intel report that actually the attacks on
the Iranian nuclear sites were not fully successful, but we
(34:30):
were so busy covering the election results that came out
much faster than anyone predicted. Because of the margin, the
extraordinary margin of Zoron's victory.
Speaker 9 (34:38):
Didn't actually get to it.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
But that's okay, because we've got some new comments from
Trump out this morning that I want to go ahead
and bring to you.
Speaker 9 (34:45):
So let me go ahead and put this up on
the screen.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
So, as I just said, Trump is raging that a
leaked intel report came out in multiple news outlets indicating
that contrary to what he had said, those Iranian nuclear
sites that we dropped dropped massive bombs on, they were
not actually completely destroyed. So he is very upset and
he is disputing by the way that Intel and will
(35:08):
get to more on that later, but just take a
listen to what he is saying about the news outlets
that revealed this information.
Speaker 13 (35:18):
Very bad demeaned by fake news.
Speaker 14 (35:20):
CNN, which is back there, believed in wasting time, wasting it.
Nobody's watching them, so they just wasted a lot of time,
wasting my time. And the New York Times they put
out a story that, well, maybe they were hit, but
it wasn't bad. Well, it was so bad that they
ended the war.
Speaker 10 (35:37):
It ended the war.
Speaker 14 (35:39):
Somebody said in a certain way that it was so devastating. Actually,
if you look at Hiroshimo, if you look at Nagasaki,
you know that ended a war too. This ended a
war in a different way, but it was so devastating. Also,
they have out of Dubai just came that Iran's Foreign
(35:59):
ministry this is a rans Farmers says, it's near its
nuclear installations were very badly damaged by the American strike.
So what bothered me about these reports with fake reports
put out by the New York Times, failing. I got
the failing New York Times because it's doing terribly.
Speaker 8 (36:20):
Without me, it would be doing.
Speaker 12 (36:21):
No business at all. But and by fake New.
Speaker 14 (36:26):
CNN and MSDNC, all of these terrible people. You know,
they have no credibility. You know, when I started, there
were ninety four percent credibility the media. Now it's at
sixteen percent. And I'm very proud of it because I've
exposed it for what it is.
Speaker 12 (36:41):
But when I.
Speaker 14 (36:44):
When I saw them starting to question the caliber of
the attack, was it bad, Well, it was really bad.
It was devasted. They obliterated fa You can't get into
the tunnels, they just put that over that just came out.
They can't. There's nothing, there's no way you can even
get down. The whole thing is collapsed to the disaster.
Speaker 9 (37:03):
And I think, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
That's what Trump is saying about all of this. And
this is a pretty exuordinary development as well. Let me
put this up on the screen here, so our own
intel this is the New York Times report that Trump
is referring to.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Here.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
There was clearly a leak from the intel community saying
preliminary classified findings indicate The attacks sealed off the entrances
to two facilities, but did not collapse their underground buildings.
I'll read you a little bit of this preliminary classified
US reports is the American bombing of three nuclear sites
in Iran set back the country's nuclear program by only
a few months. According to officials familiar with the findings,
(37:41):
the strike sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities,
did not collapse their underground buildings. Before the attack, US
intel agencies had said if Iran tried to rush making
a bomb, it would take about three months. After the
US bombing run and days of attacks by the Israeli
Air Force, the report by the Defense Intelligence Agency now
estimated the program had been delayed, but by less than
six months. That report also said much of iran stockpile
(38:03):
of and enrich uranium was moved before the strikes, which
destroyed little of the nuclear material. Iran may have moved
some of that to secret locations. I suspect basic you know,
based on publicly available satellite information and other analyzes of
people who know a lot more about this than I do.
I suspect that assessment is in fact correct, But also
I strongly suspect that the people who are leaking this
(38:28):
assessment of saying, like, what are you talking about? You
obliterated these nuclear sites? You didn't, you did, you barely
accomplish anything. They moved all of the enriched uranium beforehand
because they had such a heads up here, and you
didn't even destroy these facilities. And oh, by the way,
there are other facilities. So yeah, you've set them back
a little bit, but ultimately not that much. I am
quite sure the people who are leaking that assessment are
(38:49):
people who want us to go back to war directly
with Iran. So the information they're putting out, which again
I believe is accurate based on what we know publicly
of you know what we were and weren't able to
accomplish with these bombs that we foolishly dropped on Iran.
They're trying to say, listen, you're claiming victory. You're claiming
that Iran can no longer pursue a nuclear weapon. You
(39:11):
President Trump have laid down foolishly again a red line
saying Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. You didn't accomplish that.
So they're trying to push a continued logic to war.
Now this is all Trump's own fault, because we've all
been saying, you know, myself, Zager, Emily Ryan, like Dave Smith, all,
you know, plenty of people who and plenty of people
(39:34):
probably within his own administration as well. Misteve Bannons and
the Tucker Carl since the world have been saying, no,
if you actually want to try to prevent Iran from
racing towards a nuclear weapon, you've just done the worst
possible thing. The best thing you could have done is
remain in diplomatic negotiations and be able to pursue an
actual diplomatic settlement like oh, the JCPOA that Trump got
(39:57):
out of in his first administration. So by bombing them,
he has created more logic for them now to pursue
a nuclear weapon and made that much more likely. So
he is given ammunition to the Hawks and the neocons
who want to keep this war going and want us
to fully commit to total war with Iran. So this
(40:20):
leaked intel report, this is the next sort of salvo
from that group. Again, I think it's accurate. I think
he's you know, I think he's lying when he says
this is these were completely obliterated and is just trying
to be able to claim a victory. And so what
they're trying to do is give ammunition to those who say, no,
(40:40):
you did not, You did not destroy the nuclear weapons program.
You yourself said they can't have a nuke. So that
would mean you have to go back to bombing them.
You have to re engage in this conflict, and you know,
and get more fully invested in directly using bombs, destroying
the Iranian capability. Because Trump himself really blew up the
(41:01):
possibility of a diplomatic very likely destroy the possibility of
a diplomatic resolution at this time. So the next move
from Trump, and this is again absolutely extraordinary. This is
from Barack Revide. He says, the White House sent to
reporters a statement by the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission that
(41:22):
claims US strike on Photo destroyed the site's critical infrastructure
rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. Revied goes on accurately to state,
this is a highly unusual case of the White House
releasing a statement on behalf of an Israeli security agency.
The statement was not distributed to the Israeli or international
media by the Prime Minister's Office, which is responsible for
(41:44):
the Atomic Energy Commissions Press. So, just like the US,
Trump relied on the Israeli assessment that the Iranians were
actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, discarding our own intelligence community,
discarding the assessment of the IAEA, the international body that
(42:04):
was monitoring this. He relied on the Israelis convincing him no, no, no,
I promise they were pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Speaker 9 (42:11):
That's why you have to bomb.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
Now you have the president sharing not our own intelligence
community assessment of what happened here. Again, the Israeli's assessment
of what happened here just absolutely extraordinary and so unusual.
What is going on in the same time, you know,
there's a lot of indications that the Iranians were able
(42:33):
to strike significant blows against Israel. Let me just show
you a little bit of the Iranians after this quote
unquote ceasefire, however, along this hills or whatever it means
at the moment, there were a lot of Iranians who
were out in the street. You can see them celebrating
here because you know, if you think about it, from
their perspective, they took much more Very likely, although it's
(42:56):
kind of difficult to tell, they took much more significant blows,
certainly in terms of the death toll and the infrastructure
toll than the Israelis did. But the Israeli's goal was
regime collapse of regime change. Israeli's goal was to destroy
the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation was not destroyed. The
government is probably actually stronger and enjoys more credibility based
(43:16):
on the reports we've gotten with the people. So from
that perspective, the Iranians feel like they've achieved a success
because they were able to exact enough damage on the
Israelis that the Raelis kind of had to take this
ceasefire and at least take a break.
Speaker 9 (43:30):
Now.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
You know, I'm very skeptical that this is going to
be an end to the conflict because I don't think
bb nat Nyahuo woke up today and was like, you
know what, Iran can, Let's live, and let live my
multi decade goal of destroying this country. I'm all finished
with that. I'm all through and you can see that
from the you know, the leaked intel report is an
indication that the people who want more war, they are
(43:53):
still going to work and they have some tools and
some leverage because of the corner Trump has backed himself
into in a lot of respects, they still have some
leverage to try to effectuate their outcome of total and
complete war. So the Iranians feel actually that they have
something to celebrate right now because they feel like they
were able to do enough damage to Israel that that's
(44:14):
what created the compelling reason for Israel to need to regroup.
We had the reports that there were low on interceptors.
You know, the military sensors really kicked in hard to
keep us from seeing how widespread the extent of the
damage was. But let me go ahead and show you this.
President Trump himself admitted that the Israelis took quite significant damage.
Speaker 9 (44:35):
Let me go ahead and.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Play this for you as well. This is also from
that NATO summit.
Speaker 7 (44:41):
Bigger right.
Speaker 13 (44:41):
Look, you know, they've got a country, and they've got oil,
and they're for smart people and they can come back.
Israel hit very hard, especially the last couple of days.
Issue has hit really hard. Those ballistic missiles. Boy, they
took out a lot of buildings and they've been great
being that. Yeah, who should be very proud of himself,
(45:02):
and they've really been great.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
So he says there that Israel was hit very hard.
Steve Bannon echoed a similar sentiment and explains, and I
think he's right about this, explained that the part of
the reason for the ceasefire right now is that Israel
needed to be saved. In his words, let me go
ahead and play for you what he had to say.
Speaker 15 (45:25):
Yes, so they took the This ceasefire was as much
to save Israel. That's the hidden story here. They bid
off way more than they could chew. They were played
out as far as yesterday was a brutal day for
the citizens of Israel, took horrible incomings, particularly in Tel Aviv,
and I guess Bersheba also they needed this because they
were running a defensive ammunition and Presidence Trump stepped in
(45:49):
there with the help of guitar. Look, you know, we've
come a long way since seven years ago when Qatar,
you know, would not worked with us on stopping the
financing of Islamic terrorism, the financing of it. And they
come a long way. They've stepped in the middle of
the situation in Gaza, and they stepped in the middle here.
(46:10):
And President Trump is going his way to praise them,
and he's not going to have his way to praise
net Nyahu's government, which I think is getting to be
an issue.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
So pretty interesting comments there. He said, you know, the
ceasefire really was to save the Israelis, very counter the
media narrative, but as I said, I think there's something
to that. That's not to say that the especially the
initial Israeli onslaught in Iran was quite devastating. You know,
the number of officials who they were able to assassinate,
(46:39):
you know, the amount of infrastructure they were able to destroy.
But it's also very clear they were depending on they
could not accomplish their objectives, and they still can't accomplish
their objectives, which are regime collapse without the UN the
assistance of the United States. And so we were reading
all these reports from Wall Street Journal and other places
(47:01):
that this As this war went on, it was a
race between okay, how many missiles do the Iranians have
and how many interceptors do the Israelis have, And some
of the tension between you know, Israelis was spilling out
into the public at the amount of damage that the
(47:22):
Iranians were able to, you know, we're able to effectuate.
Within Israel, you had citizens who of course are you know,
having to go into underground bunkers.
Speaker 9 (47:32):
Every day.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
Life is completely disrupted, the airport is completely closed. And
so I do think that the reason why Israel was
willing to accept the ceasefire at this point was a
chance to regroup. Now that doesn't mean they're done, far
from it. I guarantee you Net Yahoo is scheming right
now how to get this thing kicked off again. And
(47:53):
those are incredibly powerful, powerful forces. We also don't have
a track record of Donald Trump in any way consists
stantly standing up to Israel at all. In fact, I
think you should continue to be you know, maybe he's
earnest in his frustration with NATANYAHUO.
Speaker 9 (48:08):
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
But it's also possible that this is also theater, because
we've seen theater deployed in the service of furthering this
conflict directly from Donald Trump before. So in any case,
where we are this morning, is Trump is very upset
at the leaks from the neocons about the assessment that
the nuclear sites were not destroyed. He is using Israeli
(48:32):
intelligence to try to, you know, assert that no, no, no,
it accomplished the goals. But because of the way that
he has backed himself into a corner of destroying his
own diplomatic negotiations, putting in place a hard red line
of Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He's left himself
vulnerable to these sorts of you know, these sorts of
(48:52):
manipulations to try to get this thing kicked off again,
and not assuming that he himself doesn't share the goal
of the Israelis of getting back into this conflict after
some sort of a pause, which I don't think we
can put off the table either. The last piece that
I wanted to share with you is we're getting the
first pulling in about how popular Trump bombing these Iranian
(49:13):
nuclear sites ultimately was. I will tell you with the
Republican base and specifically with the magabase, it's now that
Trump did it, it's very popular. Ninety four percent of
MAGA aligned Republicans say they support the strikes, even though
before Trump did it, the numbers were not that great
(49:33):
for you know, they were still like kind of favorable,
but pretty mixed. Once Trump did it, you now have
ninety four percent of self identified MAGA Republicans who are like, oh,
Trump did it, so it must be great. Broadly though
the public much less supportive and let me go ahead
and play this Harry Entin clip, and then I'll tell
you a little bit on the other side why I
(49:54):
think this is actually pretty extraordinary that these numbers, even
initially are as low as they are.
Speaker 16 (50:00):
Yeah, these things are moving quite quickly, but these are
initial readings. And I will say, from a historical perspective,
I am surprised that the net approval rating is so
low on these strikes. And it's in two different polls.
It's our CNN SSRs poll twelve points underword one thumbs down.
How about the Rotner Zipsos poll. Look at that the
exact same reading, minus nine points underwater two thumbs down.
And why am I so surprised from a historical perspective,
(50:22):
because usually air strikes rate fairly highly. What are we
talking about. Let's go back through the time machine net
approval of US air strikes. You see it here around
minus eleven points underwater on the average. Compare it to
isis back in twenty fourteen, fifty eight points in the
positive direction. So this is a nearly seventy point difference.
That is why I'm so surprised from a historical perspective,
(50:43):
because normally these air strikes rate quite highly but this one,
you go back through history, it rates as the lowest
that I could possibly find on the historical record.
Speaker 1 (50:53):
And that is exactly why it surprised me as well,
and why I was wrong, somewhat wrong in my assessment
of what the popularity of these attacks would be. I
was concerned that, actually, you know, among certainly I knew
the Republicans would support it, and they do, but I
thought some significant chunk of independence would as well, simply
because throughout my life, people in this country have supported
(51:15):
bombing other nations.
Speaker 9 (51:16):
And that's just the unfortunate fact.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
The propaganda machine ramps up, people get the sense that
this is going to be mission accomplished, that it's going
to be quick and easy and painless, and we're going
to accomplish whatever goal we're being sold at the time.
Speaker 9 (51:27):
And so, at least in.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
The very early days, they're usually, as Harry Enton points out,
there there's usually pretty broad support. The fact that there's
not really is so noteworthy, so incredibly noteworthy. I would
attribute it to a few things. Number One, there was
so little effort at a propaganda campaign build up. You know,
it just was like all of a sudden, we're supposed
(51:49):
to be kind of out and overhere, convinced that what
was going on in Iran was existential over the assessment
that we got from our own intel community just a
few months ago. I mean, I do that that testimony
from Tolsey Gabbard, which was played everywhere where, she's saying no,
very clearly no, our assessment continues to be they're not
pursuing a nuclear weapon. I think that really undercut the
(52:11):
very haphazard and unimpressive propaganda efforts that came out of
the Trump administration to try to justify this. So I
think that's part of it. I think the fact that
you know now have this much more robust independent media
landscape is another significant part of it, where it's just,
you know, if you're going to manufacture consent, you're going
(52:32):
to have to do a lot more work than they
were ultimately able to do. And so people just weren't
really buying that this was necessary right now, that this
was going to accomplish the goals, that this wasn't going
to create incredible tremendous risks. And then a third factor
is just you know, most of the country is very wary,
(52:53):
understandably so, of getting involved in some new Middle Eastern quagmire.
Regime change does asterisk boondoggle. So maybe most of the
elites in this country haven't learned the lesson, But according
to these numbers, the majority of Independence and Democrats certainly
have learned the lesson and are not willing to gamble
(53:16):
the way that President Trump really did with these strikes
on Iranian nuclear facilities. Now where we are today, there's
you know, a possibility that things quiet down for a while. Again,
I'm very skeptical, and I know Soccer is also very
skeptical that this is the end and it's wrapped up
in peace forever, as Trump says. But we're also very
(53:37):
fortunate that the Iranians decided, in response to our dropping
these you know, a dozen giant bunk or buster thirty
thousand pounds bombs on one of their key nuclear sites,
attacking two other key nuclear sites, that their response to
that was so muted and so theatrical, you know, it
was just meant to be a show of Hey, we
could get you in Qatar at your you know, largest
(53:59):
air base in the region, but we're going to tell
you in advance to make sure there's no damage, so
that there's a possibility of some sort of a de
escalitary off ramp. Now, I think the logic of the
Israelis again in agreeing to this ceasefire in this moment,
is not because they want the war to be over.
It's not because they feel they've accomplished their objectives. Their
(54:20):
objectives are regime change or regime collapse that obviously hasn't
been achieved. It's because they needed to regroup, as Trump
himself seems to indicate. As Steve Bannon says there, Israel
needed a chance to regroup so that they could continue
a sort of phased approach. But their desire to destroy
this regime has not ebbed. They still continue to be
(54:40):
incredibly powerful within this administration, as we saw in the
first Trump administration as well. And so you know, my
fear is that right now this is far from over.
There are also some reports, and I want to see
this confirmed in more places, that the Iranians is Iranians,
Oh my god, Iranians are withdrawing from the nuclear oversight regime, which.
Speaker 9 (55:07):
I mean many.
Speaker 1 (55:08):
I'm not the only one that John Meerscheimer tell you this.
Jeffrey Sachs will tell you this. Anyone who's looking at
this from an objective perspective, will tell you that what
we have done has created all the incentive in the
world for the Iranians now to develop nuclear weapons outside
of an inspections regime in the same way by the
way that the Israelis did and will create a similar
(55:30):
logic for other countries around the world. So we already
have some early indications that that's exactly the direction that
they're moving in. So that's what I've got for you
this morning, Sagar and Now will be back with a
regular full show tomorrow. We've already got some fantastic guest booked.
I'm excited to, you know, to bring that to you.
(55:50):
We'll have a full breakdown of all the latest book
of gard to Iran. Sure we'll can continue to cover
There's been a delicious miltdown over Zoron's victory, both from
the more Joe types who or you know, there's some
real hard coping on the Democratic side. The Republicans are
losing their minds. You've got these psycho groups, Zionist groups
like Betar Worldwide is saying that the Jews must evacuate
(56:13):
New York City. I mean, based on the margin of
victory here I'm quite confident that zor On probably one
Jewish voters overall in New York City. So anyway, there's
so much to talk about with that race. Continued to
talk about what it's going to mean for the future
and what the reaction has been, so I'm sure we'll
have more of that for you as well. In the meantime, guys,
enjoy your day, thank you for your support, and I
(56:34):
will see you.
Speaker 9 (56:35):
Sud
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