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October 9, 2025 95 mins

We are celebrating episode 100 of Native Land Pod!! With our hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, AND Bakari Sellers. 

 

Bakari joins as our fourth host of Native Land Pod! Like Angela, Bakari is the child of an activist, and similar to Andrew, he made history when he became the youngest South Carolina state rep back in 2006 (beating a 26 year incumbent). He brings his sharp wit, cutting political commentary, and sibling-like sass. Welcome Bakari!! 

 

Native Land Pod has launched a Substack for our 100th episode! Subscribe here and get exclusive access to our crossover show with Joy Reid: https://substack.com/@nativelandpod

 

The federal government is becoming more and more militaristic in its efforts to deport millions of immigrants. In Chicago, they rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters into an multi-family building, going apartment to apartment and rounding up men, women, and children–including American citizens (later released). 

 

We are seeing Charlie Kirk-wannabes and Black organizations bearing white messages invade our HBCUs. How do we handle trolls and white supremacists coming on our campuses? 

 

Former LSU football star Kyren Lacy tragically took his own life last April after being charged with negligent manslaughter for causing a car crash. Now, new video evidence has emerged which may prove his innocence. 

 

 

And of course we’ll hear from you! If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod. 

 

We are 390 days away from the midterm elections. Welcome home y’all! 

 

—---------

We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. 

 

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Watch full episodes of Native Land Pod here on YouTube.



Native Land Pod is brought to you by Reasoned Choice Media.

 

Thank you to the Native Land Pod team: 

 

Angela Rye as host, executive producer and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Lauren Hansen as executive producer; Loren Mychael is our research producer, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Special thanks  to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media. 


Theme music created by Daniel Laurent.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Native Lampard is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with
Resent Choice Media.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Native Lamp pid one hundred episodes.

Speaker 3 (00:06):
Let's get it, get it, get it, get.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
It, because there's so much about this moment that it's trying.

Speaker 4 (00:12):
To make people feel like they've lost their mind, when
in fact.

Speaker 5 (00:17):
The welcome home, y'all, welcome to another episode of the
Native lamp podcast. This week is our hundredth episode, and
we're so proud to be here and joining you guys
as we always do, to talk about everything that's going
on in the culture around us, politically, sports, entertainment, all

(00:38):
those good things.

Speaker 6 (00:39):
Andrew, you look so different.

Speaker 5 (00:41):
Andrew ain't never looked as good.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Can you remember how I used to tell you that
he used to think we were the same person and
not physically in the same space. Brother, Good to.

Speaker 5 (00:54):
See, it's good to see. I'm glad that you're one
of the number. As they say where we're from.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
That's right now. The difference of course between party and
I car gets him self compliments. I tend to wait
for them to be merited.

Speaker 6 (01:04):
Welcome home, Welcome home.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yes, it is official.

Speaker 6 (01:16):
I love it.

Speaker 7 (01:17):
How that was amazing, very chill.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, it's fine.

Speaker 6 (01:23):
Yeah, it's fine.

Speaker 7 (01:23):
I give you a me for not Beyonce.

Speaker 6 (01:28):
How did you open up? Do you hear somebody say
these mothers were crazy? I think that was the best
exactly because they really are great. They really are.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
So I know I want to get into Bakari, but
first we got to let our viewers know. On this
hundred episode, when we talk about today.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
Beyond Beyonce, beyond Beyonce, we are also going to talk
about speaking of these mfs are crazy, this government shutdown
that is still going. Yeah, I want to get into
MAGA invading black spaces, not just taking over our cities,
but also this turning point idea of coming to college campuses.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
I'm not feeling it. I don't know if the young
people are going to show up or not. I don't
think they should, but I want to hear what you
all have to say.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, I'm interested, and let the audience get to know
Bikari a little bit better. We all know, of course,
why this man is on the platform, has graciously agreed
to join us graciously, but I know that the listeners
and the viewers, our family out there, want to know
what they can expect, and you'll get a good flavor
of it. Today you've already gotten I don't know, confidence

(02:32):
on steroids. But the rest of it is to come.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
What do you want to talk about on your first.

Speaker 5 (02:37):
I'm just happy to be here. This is family. This
is not an adjustment. There will be no adjustment period,
you know, because we all we all talk and every
every day you guys are texting me for advice.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
On how to be better, how to be better?

Speaker 5 (02:49):
That is actually the misinformation I want to talk about,
Kyrien Lacy young Man at Louisiana State University. There's a
lot of conflicting if mation and reports, but you know,
the way that we treat each other on social media
something the cesspool that has become Twitter and Instagram. And
we're raising kids in this environment too, So how do

(03:10):
we do that? What do we do? And I look
forward to spend in the next few minutes with your Yeah,
oh if.

Speaker 6 (03:15):
We have time, you won't.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, maybe we can talk about on minipop. But you
showed us a video clip of Congressman Katie Port.

Speaker 5 (03:23):
Oh, yeah, we need to talk about it was running for.

Speaker 6 (03:25):
Governor in Florida, who had this really California?

Speaker 7 (03:28):
Yeah what you said?

Speaker 6 (03:31):
Sorry?

Speaker 5 (03:37):
Yeah, I think it's that you know, when you're running
for office, there are moments in time. It's like playing sports.
There are moments in which who you are kind of.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Moment.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
It was an ugly interview. We'll show you guys the
clip later, but let's get into the show.

Speaker 6 (03:49):
All right, Welcome home, all right, Vacari.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Angela, you were saying that you wanted to do a
rapid round with Bakari, But I just want to say,
I'm actually thrilled that you're joining the show. I find
it hilarious that you fancy yourself the Beyonce of our cent.

Speaker 6 (04:09):
But I have known you. We've all known you.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Our friendship stretches decades, and I think the thing I'm
most excited about is all of us, our friends, and
the conversations we have here. We have them the same. Angela,
and Andrew and I went to dinner this week and
no Bakari was flying in.

Speaker 5 (04:30):
I was busy.

Speaker 6 (04:31):
He looked and busy as always.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
But we were at the table laughing so hard, and
people had recognized us and they were coming up saying,
we love Native Lampard. What's happening? We heard y'all were canceled.
I just want to say I'm throwing angela other to bus.

Speaker 6 (04:43):
It was this one. She made us do it. She
made us do it.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
I just want to say for the record that it
was my idea, and I want to say that it
wasn't five seconds that went by before these two were
absolutely on board with it, because it was not a
wide shot. When I said these two, I will say,
it's Andrew to my left and Tip to my right.

(05:07):
And the idea really was it's hard to break through,
which is something we talk about on this show all
the time.

Speaker 7 (05:13):
It's hard to break.

Speaker 4 (05:14):
Through in this news environment, and so you have to
get creative. Perhaps it was a little too cunning, I
don't know, but we just wanted people to realize that, yes,
Culture Con was our last show together as a trio,
so their tripod became.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
A quad pip.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
And on that note, I just I want to say, Nakari,
we all had the opportunity when we started the show
to tell people stuff about ourselves that they may not know,
and so we wanted to ensure that you had a
proper introduction to Native Lampa's audience. We're sure some of
the Bacari Sellers podcast audience will also come over, but
just want to give you an opportunity to have the

(05:51):
floor and tell your story and we can ask you
questions on the other side of that.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yes, but it's important before you start that it must
be vulnerable. Generally some people don't know. Oh and if
it could bring you to tears, that'd be a real plus.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
What would I do without you? Before I get started
telling you who I am, I've known Andrew since my
time at Morehouse College. And Andrew was a phenomenal, phenomenal
young man who was had been SJA president but was
kind of figuring his way out in city politics. Of course, Angela,
the first time we met, you were executive director of

(06:25):
the CBC at the time, grinding away hurting cats. That
is a very very parting feathers. That was a very
very difficult challenge and tasks. And I believe your chairman,
one of the chairmen that you served under was Emmanuel
Cleeford from not mistaken only one great, great and awesome
human being, great and awesome leader. And that's when you
know the Caucus has had is ups and downs in

(06:46):
terms of perception.

Speaker 7 (06:47):
But I'm sorry, do you but you got me CBC.

Speaker 4 (06:50):
I just want to just send a special prayer to
the family of Carolyn Chiefs Killpatrick cast Away as a
former CBC care I can't not think about my cbcpans
brought rest in power miss Killing.

Speaker 5 (07:03):
And then yes, that was a yeah segue. I was
just going to say the strength that you all displayed
at that time. And one of the things people don't
know about the CBC. It's a family, and I don't
think people really know how close those members are, those
staffers are, and so that's that was my entree into
meeting Angela. And then Tiffany has been I don't think

(07:23):
people really know that Tiffany has been in every level
of journalism, and that is why her knowledge and probably
disappointment comes from what you've been able to see and
gain and garner from working at many different institutions. And she,
as I was talking on earlier, she's the only true
journalist we have, and so I believe that shown through

(07:43):
quite often. You know, I tell people in the barbershop,
I get paid for my opinion, and then you have
people who are true journalists, and there is a clear
line between the two. I guess for audiences who may
not know who I am, I think that my story
starts February eighth of nineteen sixty eight when my father,
along with twenty eight others were shot. Three were killed
on the campus of South Carolina State and what's known

(08:04):
as the Orangeburg massacre. My father was not only shot,
but he was arrested that night. He was charged with
five felonies, looking at a maximum of seventy five years
in prison. He ended up having his bond deny and
serving a little bit of time on death row while
his bond was denied. His bond was eventually set about
a month later fifty thousand dollars. And so that was

(08:26):
a great deal of resources for my grandparents. And in
between the time where those three young men were killed
and Henry Smith Samuel having to Dellanha Middleton and my
father's eventual trial, all nine officers who fired shots into
the group of students were tried random footnote. It was
the first and only time in this country's history that
well the first time in this country's history that law

(08:48):
enforcement was charged with federal civil rights violations federally, and
they were all found not guilty. My dad went to trial.
His indictment was backdated from February eighth to February sixth.
All the charges were dismissed except for one, and he
was charged, tried, and convicted of rioting, and my father
became the first and only one man riot in the
history of this country. He ended up serving a year
of hard labor. And we have this amazing picture of

(09:09):
my dad where he's sitting with his prison blues on
and he has this white little uh prison number on
and my mom sitting beside him, and Uh, it's the
first time my dad saw his daughter. My sister's name
is no seasway Abida Ma sellers abide me means born
while father's away. And it was a powerful picture. He
was feeding my sister and they took that photo on

(09:32):
you know you're old enoughing thank you polaroid, Uh, polaroid.
At the time, another inmate took it, and that was
the first time my father was able to lay eyes
on my sister was in the prison cell. And so
you know somebody who has seen all those things, Jimmy
Lee Jackson, MegaR Emmett, all those things very close with King.

(09:52):
King actually performed my dad's first wedding in the basement
of I joke with my dad. He didn't find it
funny I don't think, but King don't didn't get everything right.
I mean he did the first wed and it lasted
like six months. But he was very close with King
and very close with Stokely and Julian and all of
those heroes in Heroin. Shout out to Judy Richardson at

(10:14):
the Snake Project over there, Marion Barry, Uncle Mary, and
I was really close with Marion Barry. And so that
was my village. I'm a product that probably takes a
village to raise a child. My village was unique because
it had people like Uncle Jesse. Who is Jesse Jackson.
I shout out to Uncle Jesse was born in nineteen

(10:34):
forty one, I believe, and his birthday is October eighth,
So shout out to Uncle Jesse on his birthday. And
I think that down South, you give people their flowers
while they're living. Amen. Yeah, and so I want to
do that. And you know, I have grown to define myself.
Contrary to what Andrew may say that I don't like

(10:56):
to necessarily write my own obituary. I think when people
go up and start reading all these accolades, that's for
other people to say. But I do define and my
my number one and two and one A is very clear.
That's my husband. In one B is I'm a father,
and so Sadie, Stokely and Kai Or you'll hear me
talk about them a lot on the show, because they

(11:17):
are my world. Is the reason I can never put
my phone on D and D. It's the reason that
my anxiety level is always high. It's the reason that
I understand freedom as a concept that we'll talk about
a lot, because I can't be free until we all
are free, and so I look forward to it. You know,
my story is just as complex as as all of
you all. You never know what people go through, and

(11:40):
I think that we have to be able to put
ourselves in the shoes of others every now and then.
I do too.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
Cliff knows he's royalty, civil rights royalty.

Speaker 5 (11:50):
I won't run from that, I know. I'm just saying, yeah,
I definitely won't run from that, because I think those
stories are, those stories are, and the further we get
away from them. And for people of us a generation
who are watching, my challenge to all of you all
is like you were challenging younger generation on the Breakfast Club.
My challenge the older, more seasoned folks is go down
to Walgreens or Dwayne Read or CBS or whatever you got,

(12:12):
get one of them little eighty nine cent composition notebooks
and begin to write your story, because there is an
entire generation of folks who birthed us and raised us
whose stories aren't being told and they're not yeah.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
Or they told them and that their books are banned,
or they told them and they were on websites where
you know, the federal government is deciding what should be
history or not, and that is in and of itself violence.
So you know, in a land in the era where
facts in and of themselves are now arguable debatable, it
is most important if we have to go back to

(12:46):
what it means to be agree on that.

Speaker 7 (12:47):
So I'll do it. Then.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
You know, it's interesting because you and Vacari both descend
from activiststy right.

Speaker 5 (12:55):
Let me just take you right. I love that show
and whenever he asked me to be on that show,
I still get the I still get the emails. I'm
on the email list. I didn't know that Eddie Virginia
had an email list, but I got one and I
still follow it on have you been on a jet?

Speaker 2 (13:13):
I haven't. I've been advising, but we haven't. And how
many times I say yes every time?

Speaker 5 (13:20):
Trust me? The indvice coming this week and and I
follow it on Facebook and I just I love I
love me some Eddie Virginia and people. You have to
remember that the sacrifices that we paid. Remember he was
telling me a story about uh, his efforts to get
a king day in Seattle, right, And you just don't,
you don't. You don't know the struggles. That we're so
disconnected sometimes that you don't know the struggles. And I

(13:42):
would love to read that stuff.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
And you and Angela like it should come as no
surprise to your parents and people who knew you all
come and growing. You have a choice around no choice,
how the depth that would at which you feel these issues,
the consequences that are not yet felt but can be
predicted as a result of the actions that power takes,

(14:07):
and also how to negotiate your way around it to
get the result that you want. I think I think
we should never run from legacy within our upbringing. Some
people attempt to try to make you feel bad for
having had certain lived experiences that you are in some
way not connected because of that lived experience. Well, you
may not share the same lived experience as everybody, but

(14:29):
you've got one that I think is important and powerful
that we have to uplift and also platform in our
community and those who have come through the legacy of
people who were front line fighters on the civil rights movement.
Now everybody is today, right, except when you consider you know,
you know, close to five percent of us who had
the opportunity to be active in as Black Americans weren't.

(14:50):
And that's okay because people have to negotiate their involvement
from the space in which they're at and for some people,
losing your job was what was on the line that
story or life.

Speaker 5 (15:03):
You're right, you know, I was saying that story you
were telling us is fascinating because I think we teach
leadership really perversely in this country, which is a whole
other conversation, because we always try to denote leadership as
being defined by how many followers do you have, when
like leadership begets other leaders That's how I that's what
they taught us at more House.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Well, I'm glad you were taught, thank you.

Speaker 5 (15:27):
But but I do think that when you have you know,
when you write history or look back at history, and
it's rewritten you look at particularly black folk. Everybody talks
about how they were part of the movie. Everybody talks
about how they work with teams when less than one
of them was actually there. And that's why I tell
young folks all the time, leadership's really lonely. Like I
was reading Condoleeza rasis autobiography, and you know her her

(15:53):
parents were Baptist ministers in Birmingham, Alabama, and they were
part of a group of individuals who King was like
talking to an a letter from the Birmingham jail. They
were a group of individuals who were like.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
I knew that before you said.

Speaker 5 (16:05):
It, Like no, don't come, I.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
Do that before you said it. These were the folks
who said not here, chaos here.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
I just I wanted to shift gears quickly back to you,
because this is going to be probably the one time
where you get to have most of the attention focused
on you and on one thing that I appreciate about
you and Andrew, given that you're two different people, is
how you all represent black fatherhood. The ways in which

(16:38):
you are are very very present in your kids' lives.
I was very fortunate to have a very very active
father too. He couldn't do hair, he didn't make my lunch,
but he did everything else. He go buy it like
everything else. So I want you to talk a little bit.
You talked about how they're your world. They've contributed to
your anxiety, but there's some other parts of you that
they've also helped you to under fold and uncover.

Speaker 7 (17:01):
What has fatherhood done?

Speaker 4 (17:03):
How has it reshaped who you are and how you
show up in the or up?

Speaker 5 (17:06):
Well, it changes your life everything because you somebody once
said it, and I think it was a comedian, I
think who stated that when he got a when he
had a daughter, Now, when he had a son, it
showed that he would die for someone, and then when
he had his daughter, it showed that he would kill

(17:27):
for someone. Like and I got him. I got him
both at the same time. But I also had this
amazing young lady in my life when she was three
and I was still figuring out life. I was twenty three. Kai,
who is I guess that math? I don't do math. Well,
maybe that'll work out, maybe it won't. But she was
three when I met her, and she's my bonus daughter,

(17:48):
and so there's a there. You know, the modern family
is so different now sure, I mean, and so you know,
you have these preconceived notions about what it is to
be with the woman who has a child, How you
accept that child, how that child accepts she you, How
your family looks like I love Vince, Vince's is my
daughter's father, and we'd family. I love Vince's mom, we'd family.

(18:10):
It's like the family just it looked in twenty twenty five.
It just looks different. We're all there to provide this
environment of comfort, care, nourishment, nurse sustenance, substance for Kai.
And she's doing amazing at Howard right, and then you
have these two little rugrats running around here losing teeth.
You know. I send Sadie to school and she has

(18:31):
her hair slicked back one and then you're I'm like,
what child? Did you get jumped? Like?

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Does she start putting purses in the bag?

Speaker 5 (18:41):
We have purses and we have Lula boos yo.

Speaker 4 (18:49):
Yeah, yeah, you forget it.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yes, that one that's exactly too much money?

Speaker 5 (18:57):
What you call it?

Speaker 8 (18:58):
Just so?

Speaker 5 (18:58):
Was it? They only naomisaka just sound a huge deal. Whatever.
So we're doing all that. She came out and make everything.
She's gorgeous. She went through a liver transplant. She's strong,
she still wears her scar with pride. She takes her
you know, five emails attacker in the morning and at night.
And then Stokely is just like you know, don't you. Yeah,

(19:20):
He's like, no, he's my dad, He's real chill. It's
like Stokely is like, I'm gonna just sit over here
and chill out and relax and you know if you
need me any smiles at everything, and that's his natural disposition. So,
you know, having children, I don't I'd love to hear
what Andrew says, but it just makes you, It just
makes you kind of recalibrate because you begin to you
really live for something else.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Yeah, I mean. The only thing I add and it
is probably I hope it's probably true for you, is
I was told us like wearing your heart outside your
body with all the elements having access to it, Yeah,
and not being able to control what will happen to it.
And so my kids are an appendane of any organ
that's vi to my living and you can't protect them

(20:05):
from everything. Yeah, like that elements impact your outside. The
wind comes to snow, the whatever, and maybe you can
put a raincoat on. Maybe you can shelter it a
little bit, but buy in lage is going to do
what it's going to do. And so that to have
so much controlling and no control about their safety and security, that's.

Speaker 7 (20:25):
That's generally got.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
That's that's amazing because I thought you were emotionally stunned.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
So this is yeah, yeah, especially around you, I am.

Speaker 5 (20:37):
Vulnerable, vulnerable.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
You clearly have missed out.

Speaker 5 (20:44):
That's why we always say that we fill our house
with love, as you probably do as well. Just pour
into black boys as much as possible, fill the house
with love, because when they leave that, when they leave
their nest, I just think it's it's different. And I'm
not I don't do the oppression Olympics, but I'm very
cognizant that I recognized that the plight of being a

(21:05):
black male in this country is is one that becomes
arduous and one that some just don't grasp. But also
I married well and I output in my coverage as
we say, and Ellen gets mad at me for saying this,
but one of the reasons, if not the thing that
was most attractive when coming together as a partnership, and

(21:29):
I believe marriages are partnerships. Was the fundamental fact that
I was able to see how she raised Kai and
she was such a good mom that I wanted I
could see myself with someone. And then she's always like,
why is number one always about you know, my child?
It's not about the way I treat you like that
because for me and for us, that is it's I

(21:51):
can't really I can't separate it, right, I mean I
can't separate of course, the way you love me, you
care for me, you hold me, those type of things,
all those you know when I take the honeypack and
all those things.

Speaker 2 (22:03):
The next episode.

Speaker 5 (22:06):
But but it's also it's also the way that you
are able to be a parent. And you know, everybody
can be a mom, I guess, but being a mother
and being a good mother is something that I look
at it as a skill and a talent.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
It is, it is, And you both have TWINSS.

Speaker 5 (22:30):
We paid for hours, well, I contributed to Yeah, I
did too. You know how many times I was in
that dark room.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
Times room was lit.

Speaker 5 (22:41):
I was in a room with a VHS just as
on a chair, magazine chairs, Yes, I mean this is
one of them.

Speaker 2 (22:49):
However, from any other support.

Speaker 5 (22:52):
This is but women don't know what we go to
don't want to because you don't want to, but people don't.
People don't know that you don't. I mean, you start,
you know, you know how many people that room is used?

Speaker 9 (23:05):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, I think about the hotel.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, okay, well more on that on Native Land after Dark.
But honestly, just welcome home. I'm so thrilled to have
you part of this show. Honestly for our audience. Angela
always envisioned this force in here to be part of
this show. I did read a lot of your the
Quad pod. Angela dropped one of the comments in our

(23:35):
group chat because I the plan was. Angela was like
saying it was our last show as a trio, and people,
you know, took that the show was over, but we
were being cheeky and the point was there was going
to be no more podcasts. That was like our little
cheeky thing. And so when Andrew responded in the comments
as a part of our cheeky game, like Angela, really,

(23:56):
why did you do.

Speaker 7 (23:57):
It this way?

Speaker 1 (23:57):
We were supposed to do it together, and Angela's like
lead in the comments you could text me. I just
jumped in because I wanted to be a part of it.
And I was like, yeah, exactly, Andrew, I'm going to
respond to this on Thursday and said, messing it up.

Speaker 5 (24:10):
It was.

Speaker 4 (24:10):
I was like, I said, you tell me when and where, Like, okay,
you got a podcast.

Speaker 6 (24:15):
But that comment that you dropped, the one that was like,
this is has Angela all over it?

Speaker 7 (24:21):
Yeah, we have.

Speaker 4 (24:22):
We have some listeners who are so faithful they know
what part of everybody played. So they were like, this
has Angela mischief written all over it.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (24:31):
The fact that Tiffany came in, she's too nice, she
couldn't hold the hold the storyline. And then they were like,
in the fact that Andrew commented on anything, there's a
dig giveaway, it's a dig giveaway shadow account, you know, Andrew,
this might have been her Kevin Durant moment, because now

(24:52):
that I'm thinking about it, the fact that she even
made herself nice in the comment means that might have
been Tiffany's shadow account.

Speaker 5 (24:58):
I was in an airport and it was a small airport,
so it might have been. It was Jacksonville or Tampa,
and I was at a I was walking by and
I kept hearing this voice. It was loud, and the
lady was like Andrew, Andrew, and I didn't turn around
right and here she comes. She was coming out of subway.

(25:20):
She was working. She stopped making this person sandwich. Oh
my goodness, in the middle of the sandwich, and she
came and she tapped me on. She said, Andrew, I
voted for you. And I turned around and looked at it,
and I said, thank you. Please please keep me in
your prayers, she said. She said, was nice as head.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Oh my god, they gonna know what me then, yes, yes.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
All right, Well people want to know how you feel
about things. So let's shift and get into the show.
One thing that I think we've all been really concerned
about is this federal takeover of black cities. And unfortunately
we had so much going on that we did not
get a chance to get to what was happening in
Chicago on our last episode. And I am personally devastated

(26:14):
and terrified about what's happening there. Just this week, Donald
Trump has threatened to arrest the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson,
and the governor Governor Pritser.

Speaker 7 (26:23):
And it's just frightening.

Speaker 6 (26:25):
But for our viewers, take a listen.

Speaker 1 (26:27):
This is sound from residents in this area where our
own government descended from Blackhawk helicopters and seized this housing
unit and zip tied children burst into apartments, just something unimaginable.
So for all the people that was like, this ain't

(26:47):
our business. This business has literally come knocking down our
front door.

Speaker 8 (27:03):
The alarming scenes coming out of Chicago. There was this
early morning raid of an apartment building earlier this week
that evolved around three hundred federal agents, including those repelling
down from a black Hawk helicopter. As the Chicago Sun
Times reports quote, armed federal agents and military fatigues busted
down their doors overnight, pulling men, women and children from

(27:26):
their apartments, some of them naked. Residents and witnesses said
agents approached or entered nearly every apartment in this fire
story building, and US citizens were among those.

Speaker 5 (27:37):
Detained for hours.

Speaker 8 (27:38):
Agents claimed the neighborhood was quote a location known to
be frequented by Trinda Uragua members and their associates. DHS,
of course, gave no evidence to support that assertion, and
authorities did not confirm that any of the people arrested
were members of the Venezuelan gang.

Speaker 10 (27:53):
They were terrified, the kids was crying, people were screaming.

Speaker 7 (27:56):
They looked very destraughted.

Speaker 10 (27:58):
I was out there crime when I seen the little
girl come around the corner because they was bringing the
kids down to had them zipsides to each other, and
that's all I kept asking, what is the morality? Where's
the human One of them literally left. He was standing
right here, he said, some.

Speaker 11 (28:14):
Keep Meanwhile, Friday, federal agents handcuffed Chicago alder person Jesse
Flentis and briefly detained her. When she asked if they
had a signed warrant for a man they were trying
to detain at a hospital, she has.

Speaker 1 (28:33):
A sign.

Speaker 5 (28:35):
Turn around turnun.

Speaker 6 (28:40):
You were going to be placed under.

Speaker 2 (28:43):
Do you have a sign?

Speaker 5 (28:45):
I mean, first of all, let me just say that
I think that the leadership is being displayed on the
front lines of the Democratic Party is something that is admirable.
And when I say the front lines, I'm not talking
about Washington, d C. I'm talking about what you're seeing
with Brandon Scott in Baltimore, what you're seeing with Andre
Dickens in Atlanta, Frank Scott and little Rock Randall Woofing.

(29:10):
And I am not I have not been a big
fan of Brandon Johnson in Chicago. I wasn't. I thought
that the job was too big for him. I was
very critical of him, have been very critical of him,
however during this time, and he's like found his footing
and you know the way that he's displayed and we're
not gonna always agree, and you know, it is what

(29:30):
it is. But the strength and courage that he's kind
of led his city through this time period, I believe
shows and different moments are met from different type of leaders.
And I questioned his ability to lead got when he
got elected in his first few months, but this moment,
he's really rising to that occasion. And I think that
because from the outside. This is where you know, you
guys may differ from the outside. When you ask just

(29:53):
the typical person that you bump into on the street
how they feel about the National Guard or somebody coming
in to help them tamp down on crime, which they
all know is a real thing, They're gonna be like,
that's fine, bring it on in whatever. I want crime
to be out of my communities as well. I don't
want my grandson or whatever. So listening to the mayors
who are on the front lines of the city, who
are actually articulating what's going on, why this is bad,

(30:16):
et cetera. These should be the messengers that we platform,
not the talking heads that we listen to normally on
this issue.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
That's fair, you know.

Speaker 4 (30:24):
I think first of all, I think Brandon Johnson should
do a masterclass on how to handle when you're you know,
being faced with the National Guard, any national law enforcement
invading your city, because he's been phenomenal. Even the idea
of like ice being stopped by ice trucks, like I

(30:44):
loved it, Like he was like, We're gonna barricade off
the streets with the ice trucks. I have to say
that I think one, I can't believe that we're here
in this moment where this is actually like a real conversation.
Mostly they've mostly targeted black run cities. It is forcing us,

(31:05):
I think the one positive. It is forcing us to
unite and figure out how to have strategies around best
practices with people who are not our body politic who
we don't normally agree with, and those mayors that who
don't normally agree there have there being faced with the
same set of circumstances. There is some polling out though
that says that people don't want national law enforcement in

(31:29):
their cities. So maybe they thought the National Guard was
going to appear one way. But right now in Chicago
it is the Texas National Guard.

Speaker 7 (31:37):
It ain't Illinois, you know it is.

Speaker 4 (31:40):
So I just I think that somebody somewhere, some somewhere
deep it feels like, okay, now, y'all in our business?

Speaker 5 (31:46):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 7 (31:46):
And I think it's just in some really inappropriate line.

Speaker 5 (31:49):
Why did you not? Why did you? Why can't you
believe we're here? Because you said that? Because I mean,
Kamla told us what, she literally said that they were
going to.

Speaker 4 (31:55):
Be We told people too, We told people too. I think,
you know, as I I told y'all earlier, I really
think it's the pace. It's a break neck pace. I
can't keep up. And I thought one probably part of
it is, like you know, they say, you can't change
anything until you accept it. I'm having a hard time
just accepting this is our reality, and I'm mad about it.

Speaker 7 (32:15):
So there's a deep.

Speaker 4 (32:17):
Seated resentment and bitterness about where we are. So that's
probably a part of it. That if I am to
accept where we are, I'm still like, I can't believe
that the number of people who won't push back, who
won't take the time to fight every single battle with
every fiber of their being.

Speaker 7 (32:31):
I don't get it. I just don't get it.

Speaker 2 (32:33):
I agree with you around disbelief around being here. Yeah,
part of the disbelief around being at this moment for
me is contrary to history. In this country, the various
branches of government generally act to protect themselves, to protect
their power and not to see it. So presidents, regardless

(32:55):
of party affiliation, they protect the executive branch, They protect
the executive of the presidency, the legislative branch per texts
the legislative power of that branch, and it doesn't matter
if their president is of the same party or not.
They are going to preserve their power. They don't give
it away. The judicial branch the weakest supposedly of the branches,
because they don't have the power of the purse and

(33:17):
they don't have a military to then enforce their decisions.
Their power only comes to the acceptance of people's ability
and willingness to accept their decisions. So the fact that
of all three branches collapsing, the judiciary happens to be
the one that it seems to be staving off the
total collapse by itself, and by the way, to be

(33:39):
more specific, the judges under the Supreme Court happen to
be the ones staving off a complete and total collapse
of every branch of government, bending the need to the executive.
The reason the frame has created three coequal branches of
government was not to put set one power above the other.
And what we've now done is he said, forget the

(34:00):
democratic experiment doesn't work. We prefer autocracy. They have they have,
they have conceded their power. It's not even consult they're
not jointly managing. The executive is doing what he's doing,
and every every every of the branch appears to be
collapsing to it. The other thing that is enraging to
me about that that imagery that we just saw is

(34:23):
when does the military decide that they are enforcing an
unjust and illegal order They are admonished to hear the
to follow the commands of the commander in chief when
they are lawful orders. When do they decide that the
orders that they're carrying out are not lawful? Because the man,

(34:46):
the military person who was sitting there laughing and saying,
forget those kids.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
Yes, the others who.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
Are putting handcuffs on elected officials who are in public
places and being told that they are now trespassing on
what are public places? The Chicago City Council, I'm sure,
puts millions toward their local hospital. She got more of
a right to be there than they have to be there.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (35:09):
So my fury right now is with those of us
who are in the system who have a role to play,
a duty to carry out. When does their humanity show
up in a way that says, you know what, it's
an order, but this is an unjust in an illegal order,
and I will.

Speaker 12 (35:23):
Not carry about.

Speaker 5 (35:24):
Yeah, I just think people are tired because as much
as that enrages you, I think about the federal workers
who are without a job trying to figure out how
to make their ends meet sure because of Medicaid cuts.
Thinking about those people who don't have access to care
or who are working at those places. Now, I mean,
there's just and to your point, I think that's what
Donald Trump does extremely well. And I don't know if

(35:46):
it's Trump that's probably giving them too much credit, but
Steven Miller does extremely well, which has flood his own
They just put so much out there on us that
it makes people extremely weary, and that's what we're seeing
right now. I also think it's all to cover up
the Epstein files, but.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
I see I think its I think it cheapens what
they're doing to blame Epstein alone. It is no doubt
a part of it. I think it is a convenient
part of it. I think their intention has always been
toward autocracy. The right wing has been writing papers, memos
about the power of the Supreme Executive. I mean, they

(36:22):
have a theory.

Speaker 5 (36:23):
But this is how I view this conversation with right
all right now, we've already said because the first person
actually bring up the Epstein files was Donald Trump in
twenty fifteen. Clinton, this is this is the first person
to bring it right. And so he made all of
these promises. They brought everybody. I don't know if you remember,
they had all these right wing influences with these notebooks
and they held them up. And then Pam Bondi went

(36:44):
on TV and they were talking about the list, and
she said, it's right on my desk, I'm reviewing it,
contrary to what she said this week in her Oversight
Committee hearing. And I think what happened was there was
a conversation being had in the White House about the
Epstein files and how this is really really because you
have Marjorie Taylor Green. You had all these individuals asking
for him to be released, the right wing, lower lumin

(37:05):
everybody asking for it to be released. And they said,
where do we poll? Well, we need to we gotta,
we gotta figure out we pull well on crime. All right,
what do you want to do. Let's send some National
Guard into some cities. We talked about doing it. Let's
continue to do this. Where do we poll? Well? You know,
you you took off those things and you begin to
flood the zone. I actually think that, Yeah, I think
it has been written for years. But I think the
impetus to do it now is to because they were panicked.

Speaker 2 (37:29):
The reason I rejected, and by the way, I hope,
I hope it doesn't matter the motivation in the long run.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
And if they see that none of this will matter.
I forget her name, so they see the what's her name?

Speaker 2 (37:41):
The member of Congress suit, and then they'll get the
floor vote.

Speaker 12 (37:44):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
But but but I think the reason why it is
not helpful to make that the motivation or anything else
really is that it removes it lessens the consequence. It
almost erases the very deadly in detrimental impacts their actions
are having on our entire system of democracy. From this

(38:06):
point forward, no democratic Republican I don't know that we'll
ever see a president come into office who tries to
give back what Donald Trump has cleaved through the executive branch.
They never lose their power once it's a newer, once
that power is a newer to the executive We've never
known a president who says, I want to give back

(38:26):
this executive power. I want to give back the ability
to send the military. I want to give all that
stuff and stays with the officer. And I don't trust
not one of them sons of bitches with it.

Speaker 7 (38:36):
Well, and here's the thing.

Speaker 4 (38:37):
The invasion isn't just happening in our states and cities.
Is also happening on college campuses. And to that end,
we have a clip of what's happening with Blexit, especially
around HBCU homecoming.

Speaker 5 (38:48):
Like the way you move in this.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
Primited But what we created, all knowledge, we created our frights,
we created 'all.

Speaker 11 (38:57):
That not even do.

Speaker 5 (38:59):
Besides this, y'all didn't.

Speaker 13 (39:01):
Do anything.

Speaker 6 (39:05):
Showing them the door were walking them to the door, y'all.

Speaker 7 (39:08):
I don't even know how they got on campus. We're
gonna figure that out, but I don't know.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
They need to get like a trespassed like penalty or something.

Speaker 14 (39:17):
Because sending them off selling that was gonna come up
like yeah, yeah, that good job.

Speaker 7 (39:29):
I wanted to play this.

Speaker 4 (39:30):
This is actually at Tennessee State University, where students were
like not on our watch. There are actually I think
it was three white guys with MAGA who went onto
the campus set up a table for debate, and where
I think we're really expecting during HBCU homecoming, blexit has
announced the tour. We're expecting our students to keep the

(39:50):
same energy, at least I am. Let's see what my
co hosts say. I want them to keep the same
energy offt them off.

Speaker 6 (39:57):
If you say that.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
Thousand. The reason why it this fight gets so removed
from everyday people, the way in which we're even you know,
dealing with the pot what branch of government functions in
which way this conversation you're going to you're gonna come
and provo, You're gonna be a provocateur to me on
my HBCU campus, reminding me that I'm not dirt right.

(40:19):
I'm not even equal to dirt right. These folks are
having to develop their own talking points, their own pushback,
They're having to use their own lived experience to delegitimize
these three white provocateurs who have come under their campus
and tell them that there's something that they're not. But
their experience is something.

Speaker 4 (40:35):
If it's not that, let me set this up a
little differently. We know what happened at TSU. What is
a little different about this Bleckxit, which is black exit
from the Democratic Party. If we contextualize with those people
set up with turning point, I'm not even naming them,
but if we are to contextualize this, it is black people,

(40:55):
blackfaces who are going to various HBCU homecomings, inviting our students,
our young people in the conversation around conservative policy. And
so it's slightly different than the three white boys to
go in set of shop at TSU.

Speaker 2 (41:11):
No, they went to do the same thing. They laid
out these pamphlets and wanted to talk about how they
their idea is more beneficial to black people. And what
I'm saying is it is helpful to us for all
of our people to deepen into why it is they
believe what they believe to be able to articulate in
their own words, why your agenda doesn't work for me,
because otherwise they wait for the politician to show up

(41:31):
on the campus, on the HPC campus during homecoming to
talk about their race for office, X, Y, and Z,
and guess what Once that campaign's over, that thing is
off and what stays is that I've developed my argument.
I know why I feel the way that I feel.

Speaker 5 (41:46):
It came by the mind. It's not going to comment
on the reaction people should have when they come on
campus that you know that that is what it is.
Either you can sit down with them or you can
run them off. That's But there's a young lady in
Columbia South care Line. Her name's Diane Sumter, and she
I don't know how old she is. She's more seasoned though.
Shout out to Diane Sumter. But she's been around politics

(42:06):
for a long time and she's somebody that you know
when you run for office, you always want her on
your side. She helps black folk get city contracts, goes
through procurement, and she's been texting me about the same
issue for a long time. She hit me on Friday time. Abow,
good morning. You can draw the eighteen to twenty five
year old black males to help them register voting. Believe
in this democracy. I will help you. Your leadership can

(42:27):
make a difference. Diane something ten o'clock in the morning.
She's been texting about this just religiously. And while I
hear about chasing them off campus or sitting down and
engaging them, where are we in having these discussions where
that vacuum exists? Yeah, And like like I hear you,
and I'm like cool, At more House, They're probably more
House is decently contrarian enough where there probably is one

(42:49):
hundred black folk who will invite. I mean, we got
to we have a Republican club, and we might even
have a we might even have a talking point us
a charter.

Speaker 7 (42:57):
Yeah, at turning.

Speaker 6 (42:58):
Point at one point. But that's saying there.

Speaker 5 (43:01):
Yeah, so like we may have that as well. But
like the question is, and you know it's then you
then you have a bigger and broader question, like is
it a new organization, what does this organization look like?
How do we get funded? Is the NAACP nimble enough
in their youth division like it used to be? You
know where where are we in doing this? Are we
training our HBCU, SGA presidents right to do these things

(43:24):
and have these discussions? And so yeah, run them off campus.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
It's cool put them on, but what they did, they
did just run them off campus. Though that brother at
the beginning of the video was saying, all y'all did
was still yes, we worked, we built, they deepened into
a truck.

Speaker 4 (43:37):
But that's why I'm saying, I feel like if I
want to come to you, That's why I feel like
it's different because that is a conversation point that works
with white people.

Speaker 7 (43:45):
Right. You can't say all y'all.

Speaker 4 (43:47):
Did was steal this this and we're talking to black people,
So how does it change or ship?

Speaker 6 (43:51):
That's my polan.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
So I don't think you're going to change minds. You're
not going to change hearts and minds. And so I
want to hear from our viewers who are watching this,
like how they think we should engage because of to
me Andrew, I feel like you're giving them bodies, you're
giving them faces. And so it looks like one of
two things. One, it looks like you were able to
attract this large crowd at an HBCU, which helps get
them funding. Just for context, Turning Point was Charlie Kirk's

(44:15):
organization that got funding from all types of conservative outlets.
So you're saying, oh, look this is working because there's
all these people. Two, if there's a lot of conflict,
then it shows Oh it's mayhem at HBCU's when Turning
Point shows up, we need to send a national guard,
we need to send law enforcements to protect these white boys.
Decrease funding or decrease funding or these black faces carrying

(44:37):
white messaging to these campuses. So my personal opinion is
I would love for them to show up and nobody
engages them, like, don't let you're not going to disrupt
our black joy at HBCU homecomings, Like that is the time.
That's so lit, it's safe, it's fun. You know, people
are watching the halftime show, people are on the yard,
people you haven't seen in years, and we need to
protect our black joy. But I'm saying, how does it

(45:00):
look if they are sitting there by themselves talking to themselves.

Speaker 5 (45:04):
The point is that that ship is sale is.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
Getting to them anyway, it's sail.

Speaker 5 (45:09):
Because because of the way that we consume information now,
in ways to them. And I don't have no Snapchat
mainly because Ellen don't want me to have a snapchat
because why are you talking to people? And your messages
disappear at the thirty seconds? So I ain't really no
need to have no snap Who you snapping? Right? So
that's first. But like snapchat, TikTok, you know the way
that people are communicating with each other now, I mean

(45:30):
I'm on Instagram and you know, I feel like I'm
a little too young to be using Facebook like that,
but they're they're streaming. I mean, like we one of
the examples I gave you Tysonot. You know, there was
a question about whether or not Kamala Harris is gonna
be able to sit down with Kaysonat He was on
the front of Time magazine. Joe Rogan. You know, people are.

Speaker 1 (45:49):
You saying, is penetrating the minds of our young people?

Speaker 5 (45:53):
And that's what they not only is it penetrating the minds?
And I would say that yes, the answer to your
question directly is yes.

Speaker 6 (45:58):
Young fall in for y'all.

Speaker 5 (46:00):
The reason but the reason being is because it's the
reaching reaching.

Speaker 6 (46:05):
There's no.

Speaker 5 (46:08):
It's like going drinking. There's one stripper at the strip club, right,
regardless of what that stripper looks like, if she can
dance whatever, because it's a vacuum and ain't nobody show
up to work yet.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
I think Sean Pitman asks, sorry to interrupt the stripper.

Speaker 7 (46:32):
Yes, one says is.

Speaker 2 (46:34):
What are we pretending not to know? This is my
im want to credit Sean Pittman with asking that question,
because we're pretending not to know that this information is
in mass taking up space in our community, on all
the places and platforms in which we don't exist. I
hear the talking points coming back at us. People are
recycling them as if they're their own, even finding live

(46:57):
experiences that they've had that they connect to these right
wing talking points.

Speaker 6 (47:01):
That is so frightening to me.

Speaker 1 (47:02):
I can go out of touch and out of the
loop because I did not think this messaging was pinished.

Speaker 7 (47:09):
Exactly. Let me if we can, y'all.

Speaker 4 (47:13):
I just I think this is a really good opportunity.
We talked about the invasion of cities and colleges. I
want to throw to one more example. Someone who teeters
on the edge quite a bit shows up talking out
of both sides of his mouth. He had this to
say recently about Jasmine Crockett. Sometimes you get attacked by your.

Speaker 8 (47:30):
Own Jasmine Crockett chooses to express herself.

Speaker 2 (47:36):
I'm like, is that gonna help your district to Texas?
Aren't you there to find a way to get stuff
done as opposed to just being an impediment to what
to what Trump wants? How much work goes into that.
I'm just gonna go off about Trump cuts him out
every chance I get, say the most derogatory and sending

(47:56):
everything's imaginable, and that's my day's work. That ain't work.
He's got to deal with black woman issues, Oh my god,
how large and whatever self hate exists within.

Speaker 5 (48:07):
Them, it's self hate before I've never seen a clip
of him where he actually praises a black woman.

Speaker 2 (48:13):
That he's got black woman issue he's got to deal with.

Speaker 7 (48:16):
But for those who are listening that with Stephen A.

Speaker 4 (48:18):
Smith commentating about Jasmine Crockett's lack of work, for context,
there was a poll that was recently done and Jasmine
Crockett's approval numbers amongst the American people rival Barack Obamas
in two thousand and eight. So, just for context, he
is on an island unto himself because because people because

(48:41):
people see her largely working on our behalf. And I
also want to say we recently had Jasmine Crockett on
It was on my solo pod, and Jasmine is on
the show talking about having to go get.

Speaker 7 (48:54):
Fit for a bulletproof vest.

Speaker 4 (48:56):
So it is this is not the time for this,
and it is very dangerous for this. So I hear
you even on the danger even on campuses. But I
wanted to bring this in because this is the kind
of messaging they're hearing on their sports platforms, on talk
radio all the time. There is a growing divide between
black men and black women.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
Oh my god.

Speaker 7 (49:15):
And I think that some of them are also leaning
more conservatives.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
From Texas and Texas has this open Carrie law Governor
Abbott is such a dangerous, problematic false argument.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
Yes, how much attention is just taken away from you
getting whatever you need for your district. The Republicans controlled
the House of Representative to send it in the White House.
They not letting her get ish for her districts. And
so the best she can do right now, not just
for her district, but for the country is to speak
up and hold them to account at every single level.

Speaker 6 (49:49):
Yeah, of course, but they would take that and taking
like white.

Speaker 5 (49:53):
Men yea, And they think I think they think, no,
I'm not just saying that snaps her fingers and and
they caricature her like he's doing. And so my point
though is that, yeah, I didn't I didn't like the
back and forth with Jasmine Crockett and Nancy Mace or
whoever it was, right, But.

Speaker 6 (50:10):
Nancy Mays is the one that got violent. She was
the one.

Speaker 14 (50:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (50:14):
I know them both. I know them both very well.
And you know that just because I was a legislator.
So I look at that, I look at that totally different. However,
I will tell you that there is a through line
between the ice Cubes and the Jason Whitlocks and the
the stephen A. Smiths and these individuals and ice Cube
may be slightly different than the other two, but these

(50:37):
but these, but these individuals have been around since we
have been on this freedom struggle. There have always been
individuals out there which exhibit behaviors of Charlatan's who utilize
you know, some people are in it for the change
and some people are in it for the change, right,
And I think that that's indicative. And they found they

(50:58):
find the easiest path to the front of the line.
And Stephen A. Smith is someone who doesn't have the
depth to talk about house oversight or the appropriations process
right and how you're able to bring resources back to
your community, or what Jasmine is doing. So he rather
lampoon her or instead of having a constructive conversation. And
so I just I've said what I've had to say

(51:20):
about Stephen A. Smith in my book anywhere I can.
I don't have a lot of use for him in
the political dialogue. I think that, you know, I think
that they are individuals who he matriculated with at Winston
Salem State University that are extremely disappointed about the man
he's become.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
I just because we have an equal We have equity
here among our gender divide, and it's so disheartening to me.
It's frustrating one because anytime we speak on this, it's
like we you know, man haters and all this. But
I feel such confidence in black men. I've never brought
into the idea that all these black men are voting

(51:57):
for Trump like they vote overwhelmingly Demmrik, We're pretty much
in line with each other. What you all are saying
is no they are, and the data shows that there
have been in roads among black men. I want to
ask why because it is frustrating to me, and it
feels heartbreaking to be honest, because we are impacted by

(52:19):
this system as well. It's not a matter of who's
impacted worse. We're impacted differently. We sit at the intersection
of being black and being women, and so when men
are frustrated with this system, it feels like they fight us,
you know.

Speaker 6 (52:31):
And I would put Stephen A.

Speaker 1 (52:32):
Smith in that category too, Like I'm mad at y'all
for having enjoy I'm mad at y'all for having success.
I'm mad at y'all for surpassing us on college campuses.
And so it's a small sect of men that are
so angry and hurt that they're willing to align with
the people who will oppress us. What am I getting wrong?
Because if you listen to Stephen A. Smith and you
find anything other than some absolute, pure self hating, little

(52:55):
dick energy nonsense from that half witted idiot basking in
the non existent raise of his own ignorance, it is
sad to me that he even gets an audience of
black men. Why are black men right now Sam stephen A. Smith,
We've banned him. We not listening to his podcast, We're
not watching his show anymore. That's what black women do.

Speaker 2 (53:13):
We organize.

Speaker 5 (53:13):
But do you ask the question why, Yes, tell me why.
By the way, I love the usage of adjectives love me.

Speaker 6 (53:21):
I'm sure I messed it up somewhere.

Speaker 5 (53:23):
But the answer to the question why is it's kind
of twofold. Black men showed up. We were the third
largest demographic voting for You had black women, you had
Jews as a collective, and then you had black men
somewhere between seventy four to seventy six percent voting for
Kamala Harris, and so yeah, it's not a large number.
We still are there. But the slipp as you've seen,

(53:45):
is twofold. The first is that there's been no party,
no group which for the past twenty thirty years has
taken the time to listen to black men holistically. And
many times we are spoken to about policy. That policy
revolves around things like criminal justice. But yeah, in marijuana.

(54:07):
But very rarely, but very rarely, do we have wholesome,
fullsome conversations about the black men who are out there
struggling to pay for early childhood, education, child support? Right,
you know how that age is? You know when you
know the craziest thing is when you get locked up
for child support. Do you know that your child support
continues to grow like it it's your driver's license get suspended.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
Unbreakable cycle.

Speaker 5 (54:29):
It's an unbreakable cycle, right, I mean, just opportunity stem opportunity.
So just having a holistic, fullsome conversation around black men
is something that hasn't happened. The other thing is, which
is a question that we have to answer and hopefully
we will untangle it over the next you know, one
hundred episodes. While you're here, certainly while I'm here, is
there are a lot of black men who question whether
or not they have the ability to breathe and lead

(54:52):
in an era of black girl magic.

Speaker 2 (54:54):
I will say what I would add because I disagree
in the latter point, but I do you agree to
this one, which is I think black men want the
bag too, and we on the democratic side don't talk
about don't talk enough if at all, well, listen about
how I'm will help you prosper What is prosperity for

(55:16):
us look like? So if at every turn you're the
deficit end of the equation. Every turn, somebody's got to
do something for you. You're not making room. And one
thing that Trump's agenda, I'm sorry, Trump's talking points appear
to do is to put you on track or on
alignment with getting a bag. I don't think that is

(55:37):
wholesale widespread. Yeah, Stephen A. Smith, I think he does
have issues with black women, but I also think the
brothers also trying to get and maintain and grow a bag.
And he's similar to a lot of the black Republicans
who ideologically could not articulate anything worth mentioning, are out
here caping because they're not in competition with the Bacari

(55:59):
sellers or Andrew Gillip But but they're at the front
of the line on that side because they're willing to
say the things that white people think and don't get
to say with license. But they got you cape and
clown who's willing to say it, and they get rewarded him.

Speaker 5 (56:14):
But he looks he looks like money, he smells like money.
He talks love. He knows Lebron, you know Lebron that
can't stand him, you know, So he's there, he walks
with a swag. He went to an HBCU, So he's
the perfect messenger. And so yeah, when when people come
to him because he looks like he doesn't look black
men are always, always, always in the mode of survival always,

(56:35):
and he looks like somebody who's thriving. So you're more
inclined to listen to someone who has made it to
It's an aspirational thing. So that that is the That
is kind of the the why. Like if I if
Stephen A. Smith comes up, you know, it's like if
the question.

Speaker 2 (56:51):
Is why always.

Speaker 7 (56:55):
Willing? I think because I know where Tip is going.

Speaker 4 (56:57):
If you all are willing this Black Girl Magic conversation,
I think this would be an excellent mini pod. What
I would love to do if y'all are okay speaking
of bleach bad, blonde built butch bodies. Who actually is
aligning with Democrats right now? Is the government shut down looms.
Marjorie Taylor Green has said that she is interested in

(57:18):
preserving healthcare. Contrary to the fact that eighty two times
plus the Republicans try to obliterate Obamacare, she wants to
preserve a little part of it because she wants to
censure that premiums don't continue to rise. So there's a
government shut down conversation we're gonna have. But before we
do that, we bring to.

Speaker 7 (57:35):
It to this question from the audience right on the
other side of.

Speaker 8 (57:37):
This head.

Speaker 5 (57:46):
Nobody knows.

Speaker 12 (57:54):
Hello, Nati Blam Podcast. My name is Matt Higgins. I
live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Have work also in Columbus, Ohio.
So I'm back and forth quite a bit. From my perspective,
I find it really difficult to reckon with the fact
that the political right has deformed our political process to

(58:16):
the point that it's unrecognizable to what it used to be.
And I'm frustrated with the political left for spending so
much time just simply refuting the lies that are coming
from the right and the racism and hate that comes
from the right. I understand that it's important to do so,

(58:37):
but I would like to see the left spend more
time communicating their plan for the future.

Speaker 9 (58:44):
What are we going to do?

Speaker 5 (58:47):
You know?

Speaker 12 (58:47):
And accurately, I feel like it's fair to say that,
you know, there's not a lot of progress to be
made in the midterms outside of slowing down the agenda
of the right. But if you rock with us to
the next presidential election and we have majorities in both houses.
You know, this is what we're going to provide for you,

(59:10):
and I feel like that's a much more consistent and
useful way to communicate with the American people. What do
you think, Matt?

Speaker 7 (59:19):
Thank you so much for that question. Andrew.

Speaker 4 (59:21):
I want to come to you because you know, one
thing that we keep seeing everywhere, no matter where we go,
even if it's people responding to the podcast, people are
constantly talking about how they really want you to run again.
I know you're like, and I'm living a whole life
since then, But coming to you because I think one
of the most important pieces of the campaign you ran

(59:43):
for governor was laying out of vision and I don't
understand why this is so hard for the Democratic Party
to do in a time where things are being taken
off the table left and right, people are suffering. It's
such a I don't want to say easy, but it's
such low hanging fruit.

Speaker 2 (59:59):
It was feeling that way, Angela like is low hanging
free to turn the page. But I don't know a
better way to sort of sort of demonstrate this. But
if a building on our street is burning down, but
we have plans for redevelopment, a couple of blocks over,

(01:00:19):
and I spent my time talking to you about the
redevelopment that we have a couple of blocks over. But
the local media, the radio, my neighbors still see smoke blooms,
and I'm wondering what is going to be done about
this fire that is right now raging. They are not
going to have an appetite to hear anything I have
to say about this new redevelopment taking place a couple

(01:00:41):
of blocks over. I say that to say, absolutely, the
Democrats need an agenda. Absolutely, they need a reason to
give voters to go out and vote for them. But
they also have to be present in the fight that
we're in. And I know it's a frustrating thing, but
there's no we can allow them on our university campuses

(01:01:02):
and not have a check to that. There's no way
we can allow them to bear barricade down buildings like
we're in the middle of a bea route fighting a war,
but yet they're doing it on American cities and not
have a response to that. We can't let Trump continue
to run roughshot over the Constitution and not have a

(01:01:23):
response and an answer to that. So this is a
difficult one. Because it's equivalent to building the boat and
rowing it at the same time there but both have
to be done. My fear, honestly is is that we
don't have thinkers on our side that are right now
planning for what that vision roll out. Next step is
we're right now cinched and the war that's happening right now,

(01:01:49):
and the strategy for overcoming for what comes after, I
don't think has been had answer. It's one of the
reasons why I wanted to know during CBC to members
of Congress, who has the plan for accountability once this
next administration is out? How do you get to be
lawless for four years and nobody has thought about what
the consequence of that is going to be? Right, because

(01:02:09):
I can tell you right now Democrats are going to
say we need to turn the page. The American people
are exhausted by what we've just been through and need
to move on, and we won't have accountability for what
happened this time, and the failure to do that is
an invitation for the next time.

Speaker 4 (01:02:22):
Absolutely, Bakari, I heard you say, I'm gonna come to
you as the other elected on the set so Bacari,
So Bacari on this.

Speaker 7 (01:02:33):
This same question.

Speaker 4 (01:02:34):
I think that you all are the resident Democrats in
the building, and I and also run for office in
one what do where do you think the agenda come from?

Speaker 7 (01:02:44):
Do you think that the agenda needs to come from
the people?

Speaker 5 (01:02:46):
And that's why, yeah, no, I'll be relatively succinct, because
there is somebody who I admired in the way that
he grew the party and kind of took the party
at that time out of the doldrums. And you know,
for better or worse, we always look back at administrations
with hindsight. But Bill Clinton always told me whenever I
would speak to him, he said, ideas when elections idea
And we've gotten away from that. And I was speaking

(01:03:09):
at an event this past weekend at the York County
Democratic Party, and I told the candidates and everybody there, please,
for God's sake, stop talking about Republicans, like just stop
and start laying out a vision for the future. What
you did on your campaign? How are you going to
make people's lives better or different? And I think that
we have kind of gotten away from that. A lot

(01:03:33):
of the ideas and plans of that, to Andrew's point,
of the Republican Party are thirty forty years alec type
of initiatives that you know, think tank and they get
to a point. I mean, Roe v. Wade didn't get
overturned overnight. I mean, you know, the most consequential things
we've ever had happened, well since I've been alive, was,

(01:03:53):
you know, replacing Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas. It was
this battle that not many people know that was fought
when SAMUELA went. The Conservatives got so mad George Bush
about to appoint Harriet Myers that they made him a
point Samuel Alito, whose mission in life was to overturn
Roe v. Wade. And then the fact that none of
y'all gave us about the Supreme Court and thought Hillary

(01:04:14):
Clinton was like pissing and windmills in twenty sixteen when
she was trying to tell you that, you know, the
three most consequential Supreme Court seats will have or be
up now. And so you know, I think that we
have to learn from that history and have some vision
going forward. But ideas when elections, and we right now
are not a party of big bold ideas.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
We're not a party of big bold leadership.

Speaker 5 (01:04:38):
Before we ever get to that in DC.

Speaker 2 (01:04:41):
Well, unfortunately our eyes are trained, yeah, on Washington, because
that's where all of the habit seems to be emanating
out of, that's showing up on our streets wherever we
live in America. I think it's very hard to trust
a party with ideas or that they'll even pursue those
ideas at the moment where I need you to show up,
where I need you to have a fight, we're quite frankly,

(01:05:04):
you're giving grace on whether you can get.

Speaker 5 (01:05:06):
A bill passed. Also have to do a better job
of like like I love Jasmine, and I love the
fact that Jasmine plays her role. Like Jasmine has a role,
and I think we're all like, I.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
Don't think she even begged for it. I think that
she's had to fig.

Speaker 5 (01:05:20):
People forget how brilliant Jasmine Crockett truly is. Like if
you were to look at like her resume on paper,
it like literally blows people's minds. But we also don't
talk about Laura Underwood enough, right, or Laura excuse me
Underwood or Joe.

Speaker 6 (01:05:34):
No goose right, Well he voted for the no, he
he was not eating voted not vote.

Speaker 5 (01:05:43):
But I'm just talking about people who are doing some
of the things that you're talking about. Now, Look, I'm
not a purity guy, and I think the prism of
the party has kind of shifted a little bit too
far left. That's my Southern Democratic leaning is coming out.
But but I'm not about all about purity. But I
do believe that we should uplift the those individuals who
have ideas.

Speaker 2 (01:06:01):
I think unfortunately we're not in a play space and
age that is making a lot of room for all
of the What are all the new voices. Where the
center of gravity is going is who is in this
fight right now? Who's present? Who is showing up? And
I don't think we.

Speaker 5 (01:06:17):
Should stream.

Speaker 2 (01:06:20):
This is real deeper feel very I feel strongly when
we penalize the ones who are showing up, and that's
not what you're doing. But I think grit large what's
happening with Jasmine is there's jealousy, there's being taken off.
There are people who don't have the who are not
being able to show up the way that she is,
and they resent that they can.

Speaker 5 (01:06:38):
And she's also speaking to people that we have just
plainly forgotten.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
I think I think she's speaking beyond them because I
like to think of myself as a person who can
think deeply, and a lot of what she says is
completely one thousand percent resonant. I like the fact that
she's willing to I have to imagine that even there
are parts of her that fee a little compromise. That
she's only associated by certain people on social media with

(01:07:04):
being able to do a clapback. Right it's beneath her station.
She's doing the clapback because sometimes the moment requires kick.

Speaker 4 (01:07:12):
It's for safety, and I think to that end, our
safety is being violated, like over and over again.

Speaker 7 (01:07:18):
The latest violation is, of course, this government shut down.

Speaker 4 (01:07:22):
So I'm gonna yield to you, ma'am, but I think
that it's important for us to talk about where people
are right directly in harms way, and the only fight
back is to keep them in harms way. That has
I think Democrat, the Democratic Party between a rock and
our place.

Speaker 1 (01:07:34):
Yeah, I mean, I would just say there are tangible
consequences to this government shutdown that people are experiencing. Right away,
I talked about this people and my immediate family received
snap benefits. Those benefits will likely decrease. We've already been
forewarned that that funding will likely run out, and so
that cast a dark chattel across a lot of things.

(01:07:55):
That's going to impact my money. I'm gonna have to
now subsidize somebody's full, you know, every need they have,
from deodorant to toothpaste, the tomatoes, the greens, the hot
food or whatever. And so even though I'm not getting
those benefits, I will be impacted with our travel, all
of us will be impacted as we see the airport
lines getting longer. And I talked about this on the

(01:08:18):
Breakfast Club. When we look at in twenty eighteen, what
happened with air traffic controllers. They began increasingly calling out
sick because they weren't getting paid. They already started this
time precisely. That puts our very lives at danger. And
do you think about the holidays coming up, people planning
on traveling to see loved ones. That's going to go away.
The funding for WI women, infinite children. All these people

(01:08:40):
who are self described as pro life. I don't call
them that, I think it's a misnomer, but they describe
themselves as that they voted for this. They're voting to
take away resources from families. You referenced Oh no, that
was Jubakari who referenced somebody's premiums who made, you know,
eighty five grand a year and his premiums are going
to shoot up from three thousand to twenty five thousand.
These are the real life, life consequences that people are facing,

(01:09:02):
and it is a frightening time. And I don't think
people really care about the minutia of politics and what's
happening in DC right now. I think they want to
make the connection of how is this impacting me and
what are people going to do to fix it. So
when we talk about like communications and you know, like
how are we messaging this to certain people? Forgive me,
you made this point already, Andrew. I think on one side,

(01:09:25):
it's just always a very simple message, like we've talked
about before, and yeah, these black and brown people are
taking from you like that's their only thing. And so
it's not that they're such brilliant communicators. It is that
they are all rooted in our destruction, and so I
don't give them credit. I think on the left side
there's a bigger tent and we all don't agree. Butkari

(01:09:49):
just said, which I'm curious. We'll find out on this
episode and other episodes, what does going too far.

Speaker 7 (01:09:53):
Left look like?

Speaker 5 (01:09:54):
Like? What is the shift it? But I do think
that one of the more I call it brilliant, brilliant
rooted in cruel strategies. It reminds me of Lee Atwater,
who's like a South Carolina phenomenon. But he blossomed into
it was busting migrants to sanctuary cities, but not sanctuary
cities in Kansas, right, But he busted them to New York,
he busted them to Chicago. And what were people competing over?

(01:10:16):
Black folk were competing over resources? And we didn't. We
never filled that void. I mean, everything I go back
to is like we haven't. We either fill the void
with a bunch of words or we feel it with nothing,
and we are not. There's like no ine between there
right now. And it talks about the inability and I think,
if I were to surmise leadership in this moment, we

(01:10:37):
don't have leadership prepared to meet this moment.

Speaker 4 (01:10:40):
Let me ask you all this because again to the
two electeds on the set, of course, but I'm saying
y'all have y'all have run and won and been sworn in.

Speaker 7 (01:10:49):
I guess my question is we always say, like, these
people are not meeting this moment.

Speaker 4 (01:10:55):
If you were in Washington right now, let's say you're
in the Senate, you're or one of the two that
could or two of the two that could get them
to the sixty bout threshold to reopen the government. But
you know that once they reopen the government, if this
healthcare piece is not a part of that compromise, everybody's
premiums are going up. Nobody's health care is affordable, Obamacare
is no more. How would y'all meet the moment?

Speaker 5 (01:11:18):
That's different than what they're doing right I mean, the
first thing I'd be doing is sitting down with some
soybean farmers. I have a white country redneck just overall
soybean farming. We just be sitting down having a cup
of coffee and drip in five points in Columbia, South Carolina,
talking about the fact that we he not able to
sell no soybeans to his largest purchase of soord beans.

(01:11:39):
But that's the I'm gonna sit down with him, and
we're gonna broadcast it, and we're gonna send it all
out so people can see the dichotomy of an older,
white rural farmer sitting down with this young black elected official.

Speaker 4 (01:11:48):
Right, Well, I'm gonna push you back because you just
said a moment ago that, right, that what we always
do is either fill it with words, right, we fill
the void with words, or we don't fill it with anything.

Speaker 7 (01:11:57):
So aren't you doing more words?

Speaker 2 (01:11:58):
If you do?

Speaker 5 (01:11:59):
No, I'm actually you're showing me listening to him about
the past. It's a video. I mean, you're we're gonna
clip it up. We're gonna build the content out. We're
gonna go out there and he's gonna be able to
so people are able to see it and be like, man.

Speaker 7 (01:12:09):
But what does that do for the furlough worker? What
does that do for this?

Speaker 6 (01:12:12):
So that's not the only thing, and it's not just
white farmers by the way, Well I.

Speaker 5 (01:12:15):
Get all of that, but I'm just saying you're I'm
very intentional about the content that we're creating.

Speaker 2 (01:12:21):
By the way, that that intention is also the one
that's been replicated in the Democratic Party in every.

Speaker 6 (01:12:26):
Election appealing the last since.

Speaker 2 (01:12:28):
The DLC is what he started. It were ideas, but
there were ideas that buy and large, sidestepped and malign
black folks because we're still dealing with the consequence.

Speaker 5 (01:12:39):
We still are dealing with the consequences, no doubt, but
that we also have that benefit of hindsight as well,
because during that time period, we forget that the Congressional
Black Caucus, many of our leaders, right, we're rallying around
many of those same ideas which in the light don't
shine as brightly as people sold it to us to be.

Speaker 2 (01:12:56):
And there were there were also people, however, the time,
who understood that by making Maimie the the image of
what welfare in this country look like shasting effectly.

Speaker 4 (01:13:07):
So Andrew Bakari sitting down with a soy bean farmer
who is white and in rural South.

Speaker 2 (01:13:13):
Carolina, I mean, I'm organizing the ship out of every
person of color that we can come in the contact
with the way the way organizers do it. You go
to where people are, that's what the pain is being felt.
They have an agitation there.

Speaker 4 (01:13:30):
In fact, it was like when you go out to
organize it just just talk to us like we're slow.
You're going out to organize and your call to action
is what how are you bringing them doors?

Speaker 6 (01:13:38):
What are you saying?

Speaker 2 (01:13:39):
I mean, we are readying ourselves for the moment at
which we get to kick them out. We're reading ourselves
for the moment he sends the National Guard into this city.
We're ready readying ourselves to be first responders to our
neighbors through the blood banks, the food banks, the whatever
we're gonna need in order to meet the basic needs
of people, because that's where rubberies meeting the road. This

(01:14:02):
is where people are complaining. This is where folks are
gonna need triage when they can't get into the doctor
or to have that imperative surgery or whatever done.

Speaker 4 (01:14:13):
So you're organizing around Maslow's hierarchy needs. It's the bottom
level food water shelter.

Speaker 2 (01:14:19):
Because if we don't meet him there, who the hell?

Speaker 5 (01:14:22):
But I think I think that we I mean, I
think he's right. But I'm talking about also, like when
you talk about meeting those people, I'm talking about calling
because I'm an elected official, is said. I'm talking about
calling my local veterans hospital, getting their auditorially agree, having
those federal workers who are there or whatever come in there,
and we're gonna we're gonna lay out the benefits that
are available, talk about those issues, and we're gonna listen

(01:14:44):
to what they say and We're gonna do that at
every veterans hospital so we can kill a couple birds
with one stone. We're gonna stream it on YouTube and
Facebook so people have the ability.

Speaker 2 (01:14:52):
To ability to it.

Speaker 5 (01:14:53):
We're gonna make sure. We're going to make sure that
each event that I have, even if it's that soybean
farmer or I'm in the veterans hospital meeting with federal workers,
I'm going to make sure that there's one or two
people my staff touches and they're going to be writing
op eds in local newspapers because there's total people.

Speaker 4 (01:15:07):
So are y'all when you guys, because y'all are both
still talking kind of if when you go back to
Washington to do your other part of your duty, are
you voting yes to keep the government open?

Speaker 7 (01:15:18):
Are you still voting no?

Speaker 2 (01:15:19):
No, no, And it's not I'm voting yes to make
sure people have health insurance.

Speaker 7 (01:15:26):
I mean you're voting no to make sure.

Speaker 2 (01:15:28):
I'm voting yes to I'm voting yet we never fras
my objection, my objection, I'm yes, you.

Speaker 6 (01:15:37):
Are, you're voting no, changing the framing no health care,
no vote.

Speaker 2 (01:15:42):
And I don't buy with it.

Speaker 5 (01:15:43):
For example, this week when Charlemagne asked us the question
of who's is it? Republican or Democrat? You don't have
to answer the question.

Speaker 2 (01:15:51):
Unless you're writing the answer.

Speaker 5 (01:15:55):
Yeah, you can reject the framing of the question because
my my objection is a yes for you to have
access to that.

Speaker 2 (01:16:03):
I understood yours, and my answering yes, that it is
the Republican's fault is because we have given ground that
somehow there is some equality of responsibility at what's happening.
There is no equality.

Speaker 5 (01:16:16):
We don't have.

Speaker 2 (01:16:17):
We don't have shared anything. There's no shared power structure
in Washington. There is single party rule in Washington right now.
The President, the US Senate, the US House, and by
the way, the US Supreme Court all run by the right.
And so you want me to now take some portion
of the blame for while we're here.

Speaker 5 (01:16:35):
That and also a little unelected bureaucrats, which I think
is a separate portion of government that we haven't addressed
because Donald Trump has empowered more unelected bureaucrats that fall
outside I think he's remade.

Speaker 2 (01:16:50):
He's remade.

Speaker 5 (01:16:51):
He has remade, remade it and empowered it. Because Elon
Musk reported to no one, Yeah, I mean it's he
didn't fall in any other I mean, it's the way
that we're the way that we're analyzing this is like
evolving under our eyes because the traditional three branches of government.
You can't really tell me where Elon Musk falls in this.

Speaker 2 (01:17:08):
But the problem is that it didn't have to be
that way. It didn't have to be that way because
the system is set up for there to be checks
on it. But when you're willing to give all of
it away.

Speaker 4 (01:17:19):
Republicans board did that when they gave him criminal immunity.

Speaker 6 (01:17:23):
But this is something you want to talk about.

Speaker 2 (01:17:27):
No.

Speaker 5 (01:17:27):
I just think that there used to be a time
back when you were running for office, back when I
was running for office in twenty fourteen, where every single
every single interview mattered like people were. They may not
have been hanging on your words for phrases or ideas,
but they were looking at your demeanor, at your context.
You know, people will pull you aside, said man. I
saw the interview on nightly news last night, but look,

(01:17:48):
you look tired. You can't get tired on the job
and it would kill your campaign or lifted up and today,
well this week I'm still learning how to podcast this
week there were there was a video by Katie Porter
of an and I don't even know the journalist that
well or at all, but she did. She did her journalism.

Speaker 2 (01:18:10):
Being a current member of the United States Congress was
a Canadate for governor of the state. I think's I
think she's a former member of Congress. I'm saying this
because she should know better.

Speaker 13 (01:18:27):
What do you say to the forty percent of California
voters who you'll need in order to win, who voted
for Trump?

Speaker 9 (01:18:34):
How would I need them in order to win?

Speaker 14 (01:18:36):
Man?

Speaker 13 (01:18:36):
Well, unless you think you're going to get sixty percent
of the vote, you think you'll get sixty percent? All
everybody who did not vote for Trump will vote for you.

Speaker 9 (01:18:44):
That's what you're in a general election. Yes, if it
is me versus a Republican, I think that I will
win the people who did.

Speaker 2 (01:18:51):
Not vote for What if it's you versus another Democrat?

Speaker 9 (01:18:53):
I don't intend that to be the case.

Speaker 13 (01:18:55):
So how do you not intend that to be the case?

Speaker 2 (01:18:58):
You do?

Speaker 13 (01:18:58):
You are you going to ask them not to?

Speaker 9 (01:19:00):
You know, I'm saying I'm going to build the support.
I have the support already in terms of name recognition
and so I'm going to do the very best I
can to make sure that we get through this primary
in a really strong position. But let me be clear
with you. I represented Orange County. I represented a purple area.
I have stood on my own two feet and one
Republican votes before. That's not something every candidate in this
race can say. If you're from a deep blue area,

(01:19:21):
if you're from LA or you're from Oakland, you don't
have an experience.

Speaker 13 (01:19:25):
Is that you don't need those Trump voters?

Speaker 9 (01:19:27):
So you asked me if I needed them to win?

Speaker 2 (01:19:29):
So you don't.

Speaker 9 (01:19:29):
I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative.

Speaker 7 (01:19:31):
What is your question?

Speaker 13 (01:19:33):
The question is the same thing I asked everybody that
this is being called the empowering voters to stop Trump's
power grab. Every other candidate has answered this question.

Speaker 9 (01:19:42):
This is not and I said I support it.

Speaker 13 (01:19:45):
So and the question is what do you say to
the forty percent of voters who voted for Trump.

Speaker 9 (01:19:50):
Oh, I'm happy to say that. It's the do you
need them to win? Part that I don't understand. I'm
happy to answer the ques answer the question is you
haven't written and all answer.

Speaker 13 (01:19:57):
And we've also asked the other candidates, do you think
you need any of those forty percent of California voters
to win, and you're saying, no, you don't know.

Speaker 9 (01:20:04):
I'm saying I'm going to try to win every vote
I can. And what I'm saying to.

Speaker 13 (01:20:08):
You is that well to those voters.

Speaker 7 (01:20:10):
Okay, So so you I don't want.

Speaker 9 (01:20:12):
To keep doing this, I'm gonna call it.

Speaker 2 (01:20:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 13 (01:20:16):
You're not gonna do the interview with them?

Speaker 4 (01:20:18):
No, not like this.

Speaker 9 (01:20:19):
I'm not not with seven follow ups to every single.

Speaker 2 (01:20:21):
Question you ask.

Speaker 13 (01:20:22):
Every other candidate has I don't care.

Speaker 9 (01:20:24):
I don't care.

Speaker 7 (01:20:26):
You don't care.

Speaker 9 (01:20:27):
I mean.

Speaker 5 (01:20:29):
Ye who have made it this far in the hour
watching us, Let me advise you don't never do it.
Don't you know how you know? People come to you
all the time. I want to be an elected official.
Let me just I don't know how to get.

Speaker 2 (01:20:46):
You to let me tell you a race, mostly because
are humility. Yes, there's no if so if we're talking
about voters reading you, because that's really what they're doing.
They really don't know if you're answer is the right
answer or the wrong answer. But there are people are
looking for the texture of who this person is. If

(01:21:06):
you're going to leave me what am I getting, and
the kind of arrogance that is displayed by this former
member or current I'm not sure a former member of
Congress when her simple answer should have been, what are
you going to say to those forty that forty who
voted for Trump? I'm going to do everything that I
can to compete for their vote based off of the

(01:21:29):
vision that I'm forwarding. I hope that that forty percent
learned what a fraud, liar and a cheap Donald Trump
was to them. But I don't blame them for that.
I blame him, the liar that I mean. It's there's
so much. I mean, you don't have to say I'm
gonna capitulate and say that I'm going to do what
Trump did, and you don't do any of that. Her
arrogance is what stuck out the most of me her responses.

(01:21:53):
There are a million ways to have dealt with that.
But I've seen this in other democratic politics we probably
all have all over the country, where there's this sense
of entitlement that creeps in, that tells you out loud
somehow that there's certain things that are beneath your station
that you are beyond reproach on your votes. We saw

(01:22:14):
we played a couple of weeks back, those members of Congress,
Asian members, Asian Pacific Island members who were asked by
their voters, how can I trust you? You voted for
Charlie Kirk, And they turned around with such fury attitude,
more hate for the person who was on their side
asking them and hold them accountable than they were for
the Republican members who put them in position to have
to make a vote one way or another. I sell

(01:22:36):
that to say, this is case in point our leadership
right now in the Democratic Party, that we have folks
who are disconnected, who are out of touch, who have
forgotten why they're in this thing.

Speaker 7 (01:22:50):
And the other thing is you don't really I don't.

Speaker 4 (01:22:53):
I would advise, as someone who you know, traffics in
communication strategy a little bit.

Speaker 7 (01:22:57):
I would not advise a reporter that you can have
follow up questions that.

Speaker 5 (01:23:04):
Interview of it. That's the language was what threw me off.
I mean, first of all, the lack of humility for
me comes off in language I'm the front runner. It's
not something you should ever say, right if somebody asks
you about if somebody ask you about the electorate, like
you said, you're going to compete because I'm not going to.
I'm not going to. I'm not governor of sixty percent, right,

(01:23:27):
I'm going to compete for every vote. Now, this is now.
This is also how you get beat by Republican. If
there was any Republican worth a skill in California. They
take that forty percent, They throw some wedges out there
amongst Hispanic and black voters. They start talking with people
because right now, I don't know if she's gonna say that.

Speaker 2 (01:23:43):
They would make it real simple, they say, you know what,
Katie doesn't care about that forty but I care about
all one hundred. I'm a governor for every single one
of you.

Speaker 1 (01:23:50):
I think it's also very Trumpian who attacked the press
like this is a local reporter interviewing a candidate, doing
her job, for you to have the arrogance to tell
her it's your follow up questions.

Speaker 2 (01:24:00):
I don't like.

Speaker 1 (01:24:02):
Camera, Yes, I don't have I mean to me, look,
I think there is a level of white woman entitlement
to this too, that you feel like you have the
authority over this interview because maybe ain't nobody ever told
you you're not in charge and it's not gonna go
your way today, and you feel like you're entitled to
these voters, you feel like you're entitled to control this interview,

(01:24:24):
and then when you don't get your way, you're gonna
take your ball and go home. That doesn't appeal to
me as as a voter as anybody's.

Speaker 5 (01:24:34):
About ahead.

Speaker 7 (01:24:36):
I'm sorry, you know, because we're going to close this out.
So if you feel I was just.

Speaker 5 (01:24:39):
Gonna say, like, look, I think respectfully, I think calling
it a white woman thing, although probably has a great
deal of truth, is kind of selling it short. Because
we have a lot of older members, we have a
lot of black members, We have a lot of people
who treat their voters and the press with a level
of disdain that I don't want to discount. I think

(01:24:59):
that against it's a cancer. I think it's more than
that narrow. I mean, that's just what I see, but
I agree with that.

Speaker 7 (01:25:07):
I definitely have seen it.

Speaker 4 (01:25:09):
I think it's rare, Like I know a lot more
members who are humble and treat everybody so kindly that
it'll delay us getting.

Speaker 7 (01:25:16):
Somewhere, if you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:25:17):
So I don't see that like rit large, but I've
definitely seen it. I think the thing that is most troubling.
I would normally y'all know, especially for anybody in Congress.
I'm gonna try to find well, maybe she was having
a bad day, Maybe she was triggered by the question.
I feel like the reporter at the beginning. We had
some little asshole moves about her too. But the issue
I have is, this is what Katie said she did

(01:25:38):
every day and office.

Speaker 6 (01:25:39):
So I ain't got that Katie. I don't think she
was announcehole. I thought she was doing her job.

Speaker 7 (01:25:45):
I could see.

Speaker 6 (01:25:47):
She's there to pressure for answer, making a pressure.

Speaker 7 (01:25:52):
I'm gonna pressure all to get calls.

Speaker 6 (01:25:53):
To because I do want to talk about this football
player the car.

Speaker 5 (01:25:58):
You will learn that call action.

Speaker 6 (01:26:00):
Actually, okay, okay, well, I just want to thank you.
Normally sports is my thing, and.

Speaker 5 (01:26:06):
Right after this break, we're going to get into our
calls to action, So please stay tuned. I think mine's
gonna be the best.

Speaker 13 (01:26:10):
But you know.

Speaker 2 (01:26:18):
Who cares about truth in the last.

Speaker 14 (01:26:20):
Morning, It.

Speaker 5 (01:26:22):
Kiren Lacy. God rest his soul is someone who took
his life at a really, really young age. And asking
me that's a difficult question.

Speaker 6 (01:26:33):
I really wanted to know.

Speaker 5 (01:26:34):
I was a former former college football player at Louisiana
State University, an amazing and amazing wide receiver. He was
really good friends with Malik Neighbors, who plays not far
from where we're broadcasting here with the New York Giants.
And you went through this process whereby there was an
accident that occurred, and he's twenty five, and when the

(01:26:58):
accident occurred, of course he went through this a criminal process.
We're still adjudicating the fairness of that criminal process. I
have a problem with the DA silence because a young
man is dead, and so there is no privy to
a close investigative file. Because the person is dead that
you're charging, that is now open public record. We can
have a full dialogue about what you saw while you

(01:27:19):
charge the way you did, and a certain level of transparency,
But I don't want to go into the facts too
much of this case. I prefer to talk about the
fact that we persecute and prosecute people on social media
in our daily conversations without knowing the full state of

(01:27:40):
the facts, without knowing the well being of the individual
we're talking about, without knowing the reasoning or the full context,
and we have been conditioned in this age this kind
of magdonalized world where everything has to be fast, everything
has to be quick, and we do it without any
level of grace. And so my call to action, first
call to action, is to make sure that as we

(01:28:02):
go forward, even if you don't know Karen Lacey or
he's his mother, no longer has a son, right, I
want us to proceed with a certain level of grace
throughout this political process. And I know that they're people
who say there's certain people who don't deserve grace. Let
me just tell you this, it's a lot easier to
give yourself grace if you practice giving others grace.

Speaker 8 (01:28:25):
That's so true.

Speaker 2 (01:28:25):
Opposite, I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:28:28):
Yeah, it is really hard to give yourself grace.

Speaker 5 (01:28:31):
I mean, grace is such a fascinating word because it's
what I deduce, and I'm playing with the word a
lot spiritually and otherwise, that it's something that we literally
don't give another others enough of, or ourselfs. We're so
hard on ourselves, and the reason is is because it's
reflected in the way that we treat others. I mean,
you can't just you can't turn it off and on.

Speaker 1 (01:28:51):
Honestly, I'm guilty of that too. Of not giving people
grace or weighing in on the conversation that perhaps I
don't have a place. One of our friends is on
a podcast and he had an ugly exchange with this
woman and I wasn't as familiar with the woman, and
I just thought, I don't like how she dismissed his point.

Speaker 6 (01:29:08):
I didn't like it. And then later it came out
of the two used to date and I'm like, see.

Speaker 1 (01:29:12):
That's why you need to mind your business because I
didn't even know all that, you know, because she.

Speaker 6 (01:29:18):
Was I mean, do you have an issue with me?
They were going back and forth. I was like, this
is why I should just keep you. I don't need
to weigh in with an opinion on everything.

Speaker 7 (01:29:29):
Is it my turn to go? I guess so okay,
keep going.

Speaker 1 (01:29:31):
Okay, So my call to action. I'm going to actually
tell you about my weekend plans because it's part of
my call to action. So you guys know that I
am roommates with Michael Harriet and his lovely wife Karen. Yes,
they don't know that I'm officially a roommate. I've been
there many times. They've never me I'm a squatter, thank you.
I am a squatter. I want to say happy birthday

(01:29:52):
to Michael Harriet, the amazing author of black a f
history that is still on the New York Times Best
that Ware. It was two year later, which is crazy.
But he is having a Sinner's Birthday party that is
all about. The theme is the movie Sinners, and we're
all dressing up and our juke joint attire is in
the Deep South, and people from all over the country
are flying in from LA from New York, from all over,

(01:30:16):
from Georgia, from Mississippi, Alabama, from Tallahassee, everywhere. And so
my call to action is in these times, we are
giving ourselves permission this weekend to have black joy, to
celebrate not only our history and that time period, the
beautiful black art that was created in the movie Centers.

(01:30:36):
We are coming together to dance, to laugh, Mike Is
and Omega. A lot of Omega's Company's gonna turn into
a big Omega hop. But it's just a beautiful evening
and so I just want to encourage other people have
your black joy. Oh and I want to give a
quick shout out to Angela and I. We have a
wonderful makeup artist almost forgot who has this new line.

(01:30:57):
This one is called girl one Girl, the other one
is what millionaire sex girl on girl and Millionaire another
body oil.

Speaker 7 (01:31:04):
So they smell so good.

Speaker 6 (01:31:06):
We're wearing them today. What you smell like though, let
him smell honeycomb.

Speaker 1 (01:31:13):
Billy Jean is our makeup artists and so he's he
gave us this but also like does our makeup and
takes us through metamorphosis. He was doing Ansel's makeup and
I was rushing and Angela, he said, you're not gonna
wear me out this morning and let them continue.

Speaker 4 (01:31:28):
But it's called Billy Jean Body. Yes, all of all
the names of his body oils are very provocative.

Speaker 7 (01:31:38):
I am my.

Speaker 4 (01:31:40):
My call to action is again you all, this is
our hundredth episode. We've technically done a lot more, but
this is our hundredth main episode. And my encouragement to
you all is, if you didn't learn enough about Bakari,
make sure you check him out, follow him on socials.
His numbers are down way too low for us. We
actually need him to tell at Bakari sellers, make sure

(01:32:03):
that you follow them quickly. You can catch them on
seeing it as well. And the last thing I'll say is.
We also launched our substack with this hundredth episode. We
want you all to focus there as well. I'm hoping
I can get all these guys to write on there
as well as to do some substack lives on their
own pages as well as on our native Lampop page.
So that is our way to welcome you home and
to come even closer into this community.

Speaker 7 (01:32:24):
Andrew gill I.

Speaker 2 (01:32:25):
Said, we were supposed to have like toast drinks and
stuff to one some mocktails for everybody.

Speaker 5 (01:32:31):
Shows how much they listen to your input.

Speaker 2 (01:32:37):
Would have done it, I remember, I said, and you
were like, yeah, we'll have to remember that.

Speaker 7 (01:32:41):
Did you remind me?

Speaker 5 (01:32:48):
We're like, do it? Just do it? Yeah, back to that.
We'll get back to that.

Speaker 7 (01:32:52):
Because we share, we can do it on social.

Speaker 2 (01:32:56):
After what she said, that's my calldor order call order,
get us some champagne.

Speaker 7 (01:33:02):
We'll eat right now.

Speaker 6 (01:33:04):
You're on the course.

Speaker 7 (01:33:05):
So this is your camera right here?

Speaker 2 (01:33:06):
Which one from there? So there was that one? Okay,
well how about this? None of the cameras right there.
Y'all matter, Keep listening, keep subscribing. We do have new
family joining us. I want y'all stick with us. It's
a growing experience for us, yes, but it's also one
for you all, our viewers, our family, our peaks. We
were out to dinner last night and ran into a

(01:33:28):
lot of folks who listen, subscribe and take a lot
of information and guidance from the show. And if it
is a gift, and I believe it is, share it
with people like subscribe, share comments, and bring some other
folks into the fold. Welcome home.

Speaker 1 (01:33:45):
There are three hundred and ninety days until midterm elections,
and Bakari, we always told out the show with what
Andrew just said, elections are going to happen.

Speaker 6 (01:33:55):
Welcome home, y'all, Oh, welcome home.

Speaker 5 (01:33:57):
I didn't. I didn't. Let's do it one more time
because I was confused.

Speaker 6 (01:34:01):
I agree what two three?

Speaker 5 (01:34:03):
Welcome home, y'all.

Speaker 3 (01:34:06):
Welcome welcome, Welcome home to the Native landing on the
podcast based that's a for greatness sixty minutes if so,
hit not too long for the grave ship, high level
combo politics in a way that you could taste.

Speaker 2 (01:34:19):
It, then digest it.

Speaker 3 (01:34:21):
Politics touches you even if you don't touch it. So
get invested across the t's and doctor I's kill them
back to get them staying on business with Ride. You
could have been anywhere, but you trust us. Native Laying
podcast the brand that you.

Speaker 12 (01:34:34):
Can trust you.

Speaker 4 (01:35:04):
Native lampod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with
reisent Choice Media. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
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Hosts And Creators

Tiffany Cross

Tiffany Cross

Andrew Gillum

Andrew Gillum

Angela Rye

Angela Rye

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