Inside the Deal to Free WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
So in some national slash international news, Assange has been
freed in a US plea deal. Wiki Leaks is now
confirming he has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for release,
ending his standoff with the United States of America. Here
is the latest on this story.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
A huge development overnight in a case that has captured
the world's attention for years. Wikileak's founder, Julian Assange, who's
been in jail for more than five years, may soon
be free. He's expected to appear in a US courtroom
tomorrow to accept a plea deal for espionage with a
Department of Justice. Assnge was released from a British prison
last night and flew to his home country of Australia.

(00:42):
He spent years trying to avoid US prosecution after seeking
asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy as well. Assange is now
expected to plead guilty to a felony charge of violating
the Espionage Act. He released one of the largest US
government breaches of classified documents. Senen's nick following the story
for US, You've been following the story for a very

(01:03):
long time. This has been an incredibly long saga where
he's making his court appearance is part of this story.
Where is that happening is What does it say about
what's going on in his mind?

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Well, it speaks a lot to Julian Losannge's state of mind,
the fact that he has an absolute distrust of the
US judicial system that he won't appear in a court
in North America to face this one count that he's
expected to enter this plea deal and agree to in
exchange for time served in jail. So he is going

(01:34):
to be appearing in a US district court in Saipan,
which is in the archipelago of islands in the Pacific Ocean,
not too far from Guam. He's on his way there now,
believed to be somewhere close to Bangkok, in the aircraft
that took him from the UK late yesterday afternoon. This

(01:55):
court is part of this sort of complex jigsaw puzzle
in sort of essentially facilitating Assange release.

Speaker 4 (02:05):
And we've got details.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Of this in the last half an hour or so
from a UK court saying that this deal was essentially
worked out or signed off on in the middle of
last week, that the British court system has given him
leave to sort of forego his bail conditions. If you
will to leave the country to go face this count,

(02:28):
and the British courts expect by the end of this
week to get everything sort of signed side signed, sealed
and deliver from Assannger as side from the US side,
and will that will be an end of his case.
But it's been a hugely long road, not least for
his family and all those campaigning for his release. And
we've heard from his wife, Stella Massage, who's in we

(02:48):
believe Australia waiting for his arrival there in the coming days.

Speaker 5 (02:54):
When we met he was under house arrest. It will
be the first time that I that I get to
see him as a fully free man. And I was
just when I was speaking to him, I said, well,
you know, we can walk, go for a walk and
there will be no restrictions, no curfew.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
So it's been a head but an incredibly long road
to get to this point. As you said, you know,
two thousand and ten Assanngers in Sweden because the United
States is interested in bringing him to justice for the
Wiki leagues. Then he is under you know, facing an

(03:33):
arrest warrant from the Swedish authorities linked to rape allegations.
Flees to the UK twenty twelve. The UK says he
can be extra related to Sweden. Assannge bolts for the
Ecuadorian embassy in London. He's there until he's extra died
from there in twenty nineteen, held in the UK Belmarsh
Jail since then for the last sixty two months, fighting

(03:54):
extradition to the United States every step of the way.
So it's those sixty two months in Belmarsh jail which
were expected to be the time served, and that's why
he'll get off on this one count.

Speaker 6 (04:06):
And we should mention this.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
He was also responsible in twenty sixteen for releasing some
emails from the campaign chair of Hillary Clinton, John Podesta,
which played a role, but those are not any part
of these charges, but something to note. Nick Robertson in
London life for us this morning, I appreciate you well.

Speaker 7 (04:25):
Joining me now from Camber is Australian Senator David Shubrich Senator.
Great to have you with us. You have continuously been
campaigning for Julian Assange's release. What was your reaction to
the news and what has been the reaction in his
native Australia.

Speaker 8 (04:45):
Well, there are millions of Australians with a tear in
their eye at the moment that thought that Julian will
come home. And I know that was very much to
fill any in my office and many of the close
supporters of Julian. You know, his brother has been, you know,
constantly campaigned, and his dad has been constantly campaign and
his wife and his kids, and they've been joined by
millions of Australians who are just so glad that this

(05:08):
terrible saga will finally come to an end and Julian
will be able to come home and you know, spend
that time with his family, go for bushwalk, maybe have
a barbecue and go to the beach, because he deserves that.

Speaker 7 (05:22):
His mother said in a statement, this shows the importance
and power of quiet diplomacy. Have you spoken to his family.

Speaker 8 (05:32):
Well, I mean obviously his family is in close contact
with not just myself but with others, his brother and
his dad in particular, and the courage of his wife,
Sella has been extraordinary. Yes, it is about quiet diplomacy,
but I think it's far more about millions of ordinary
people across the planet who actually prize truth telling, who

(05:53):
think it's important that governments are held to account. That
militaries are held to account and they rate WikiLeaks and
what Julian Assange has done. Truth telling can be very
inconvenient for people in power, but Julian Assange stands for
that principle that a truth can be more powerful than
any government.

Speaker 7 (06:14):
He has managed to wait out the US Department of Justice.
I wonder if you have any insights into this plea
deal and do you think it's a case of the
Biden administration wanting to put this to bed, a saga
that is dragged out for too long. As we heard
from the Australian Prime Minist Anthony Albanesi.

Speaker 8 (06:34):
Well, I think this in part reflects the fact that
people in Washington from across the Isle, and not just Democrats,
but across the Isle and realize that it's important to
stand up for brave reporting. It's important to stand up
to the ability of people to hold governments to account.
As an Australian senator, I never thought it was legitimate

(06:56):
that the United States government could seek to prosecute an
Australian's citizen who was never on US soil, for the
so called crime of sharing the secrets of the United
States military. What Julian Assan showed was some pretty awful,
appalling instances of the United States military in Iraq, in
a war which my government was complicit in and also

(07:17):
involved in incidents like the collateral murder video. I don't
believe that it was ever a legitimate act from the
United States government to seek to prosecute an Australian citizen
who was not on US soil, who had no connection
with the United States for sharing that information. And I
am very glad that Julian is finally able to come home.

Speaker 1 (07:38):
This story basically is another example of the weakness of
the Biden administration and the Biden Department of Justice saying, Hey,
you've been avoiding responsibility for long enough. That fine, we
just want to move on from this. That is not
a reason to move on from this. Join as signs rogue.

(08:01):
He stole classified documents in state secrets and released them
on the internet. That is not a hero. Are there
some of the things they released that you could make
an argument that we should know about and shouldn't have
been hidden from us. Yeah, you can make that argument.
It doesn't mean that that argument is valid. It doesn't

(08:23):
mean that you should be able to just go rogue
and start releasing secrets on the internet the way that
he has. That's the problem. Juliana Massage is now a
free man, that's right, a free man. He can go
about his business. He is going to plead guilty to
one count in this country. And so now you're supposed

(08:45):
to be very, very very excited about this, right like
this is great news. Sons released from prison after a
US plea deal, ending this year's long saga. The latest
coming from moments ago, Good Evening.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
After years of imprisonment and appeals, Julian Asange has left
the UK after agreeing to a plea deal with US authorities.
The Wikileik's founder was facing extradition to the US over
the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US military
documents detailing America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had

(09:24):
been facing eighteen espionage charges. Instead, he'll plead guilty to
a single criminal charge, allowing him to walk free and
return to Australia as a convicted felon Under heavy secrecy.
Assande was freed on bail from Belmarsh Prison in London
on Monday. He left the country hours later from Stansted

(09:44):
Airport aboard a private jet. This afternoon, his aircraft made
a refueling stop in Bangkok en route to Saipan, the
capital of the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands,
where tomorrow's sentencing hearing will take place.

Speaker 9 (10:00):
Release the first steps towards freedom. This video, provided by
Wiki leaks Juliana Sange finally out of his maximum security cell.
His wife had recorded this message last week.

Speaker 10 (10:15):
This period of our lives, I'm confident now has come
to an end, and I think that by this time
next week Julian will be free. Things are moving very
quickly and it's very difficult for us to plan or
even play out the next few hours and days.

Speaker 9 (10:33):
Developments coming at lightning speed. News just breaking of a
plea deal when it was revealed Julianassange had already been
released from Belmarsh Prison in London, where he was held
in a cell twenty three hours a day for the
last five years.

Speaker 11 (10:49):
Corstal Julian, of course, has been to deprive of freedom
for all these years, in the battle for journalistic freedom,
freedom to publish, foundation of democracy.

Speaker 9 (11:01):
The Prime Minister had lobbied the US President directly during
his state visit last year Australia's leaders had joined on
the floor of Parliament to call for his release, in
a rare show of bipartisanship.

Speaker 12 (11:15):
Will this is a welcome development. We recognize that these
proceedings are crucial and they're.

Speaker 9 (11:20):
Delicate, repeating the diplomatic entreaty that's been used before the
cameras and behind closed doors.

Speaker 12 (11:27):
Regardless of the views that people have about mister Osane's activities,
the cases dragged on for too long. There's nothing to
be gained by his continued incarceration, and we want him
brought home to Australia.

Speaker 11 (11:40):
We think the UK and US justice systems should be
respected and we welcome the fact that.

Speaker 13 (11:45):
Mister Sannge's guilty plea has allowed for him to be
released early.

Speaker 9 (11:50):
Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was among a cross
bench group who were the loudest lobbyists working with US
Congress to apply pressure.

Speaker 8 (11:59):
Everybody gets point where you say I think that's enough,
I think they'll do.

Speaker 12 (12:03):
And for my part is well, I don't think should
ever have been there if.

Speaker 8 (12:07):
He'd left it to the legal system, and it's highly
likely that Julian would be grinding his way through years
more of legal process and on his way to the
United States to face a secret a secret trial and
potentially years in jail.

Speaker 9 (12:21):
The Republican firebrand Thomas Massey among those on Capitol Hill
in Washington who've been agitating for action. His liberation is
great news, but it's a travesty that he's already spent
so much time in jail. Obama, Trump and Biden should
never have pursued this prosecution.

Speaker 14 (12:40):
It has been a case that has cast a very
long shadow over press freedom globally.

Speaker 9 (12:46):
In a case that's never been simple or straightforward, the
expected final chapter to play out in a tiny island
courtroom before Judge Ramona Manglona. The Pacific island of Saipan
on US soil is known for its tranquil beaches, about
to be at the ebby center of a protracted global saga.

Speaker 14 (13:06):
Julian's effectively had to pede guilty to an activity that's
the kind of activity that journalists globally perform day in
day out. It really has exposed that use and abuse
of national security type laws to silence journalists who would
seek to expose crimes committed by governments.

Speaker 9 (13:28):
Julia Sanz touched down in Bangkok late this afternoon, the
global movement still on edge, once again seeking the mercy
of the courts.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
And Chief political correspondent Anna Henderson joins me now from Canberra.
Good evening, Anna, this certainly came out of the blue.
Can you shed any light on the process of how
it happened?

Speaker 9 (13:50):
Well, Catalina, of course, there had been some discussions as
early as last year, sort of signals being sent out
from the US about the potential that there could be
a plea deal on the TI and certainly when it
came to waking up this morning and this news unfolding,
it really was quite a surprise that sudden things to
be on the precipice of freedom and a life. Back

(14:11):
in Australia, we know that the UK High Commissioner, Stephen Smith,
a former senior Cabinet minister for the Labor Party, is
the UK High Commissioner. He was on the plane with
Julian Assange, we're told as he departed. We also know
that in Washington, another key kind of player in the
background is Kevin Rudd, former Labor Prime Minister and the

(14:32):
ambassador there for the US. We understand that behind the
scenes he has certainly been looking at ways that he
can really advance the case of Julian Assange with the
US Department of Justice and other authorities that had some
sway here. This moved from a press freedom issued in
Australia to a political issue. We saw the bipartisanship coming forward,

(14:53):
and then it's really become an issual of diplomacy between
Australia and the US. And certainly, while there are some
deep reservation about how Julian Esane made these decisions on
his way through to publishing this material, at this point
in time in this Parliament, there are very few members
of this building who are not really celebrating this decision tonight.

Speaker 4 (15:15):
Thank you for your analysis, Anna Henderson.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
So you can understand why they're so excited about this
in Australia because he didn't share state secrets about Australia.
This is a guy that shared state secrets about America.
So they're not focused on the threat to national security.

(15:39):
They're also not focused on who's going to do this
next and the copycats because now there's kind of a
game plan for this, like how do you pull this off?
What do you do if you're going to do this,
how do you go about doing it like there's a
real clear, kind of now game plan for this, Like
this is the one two three punch, this is how
you do it. This is how you pull it off off.

(16:01):
If you're gonna do it, this is how you get
away with it. Yeah, you might have some years that
you are in you know, like in in exile. But
if you're a narcissist like Joannasage was standing out there
like he's some do gooder, some god on the Ecuadorian
balcony in the UK, then I think people think this

(16:23):
guy is an amazing guy and and and some sort
of hero there. It's one thing to do a story
to expose things. It's another thing to just blatantly just
drop hundreds of thousands of classified documents the way that
he did. And and he's gonna walk away from this,

(16:43):
I think, acting like he is a god. And he's
going to walk around like he's a celebrity, and he
is going to empower others to steal state secrets and
publish them. I don't know if that is what we
want in the world, but the if I an administration
has decided okay, fine, let's let this end. Let's let

(17:04):
the saga end, let's let him walk free, and that's
exactly what's happened.

Speaker 15 (17:09):
Lee.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
He's saying he undermined the security of the United States
of America, violated the laws of the US.

Speaker 13 (17:14):
Listen Prank Center for Rhode Island, Jack Reid, he's a
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. It's good to
see you, Senator, Thank you for coming in. Julian assand
a free man likely to avoid any prison time in
the United States. It's a far cry from the charges
that have been brought against him. What's your reaction to
this final twist.

Speaker 6 (17:33):
Well, my reaction is that he clearly stated he was guilty.

Speaker 16 (17:38):
That all of the obstrucation, all of the deviation over many,
many years and hiding in embassies, that's over. He's come
forward and said, yes, I am guilty. I violated the law.
The issue of custod I think is less important than
his unconditional declaration of his guilt.

Speaker 13 (18:00):
I mean, because look, this involved one of the largest
leagues of confidential US military information in history. He's celebrated
by some for his work, hated by others as endangering
Americans and those who worked with Americans in these conflicts.
What do you think of the man in his work
after all of this. You know, he defends himself and

(18:21):
says he should be afforded First Amendment free speech privileges
that other journalists should be afforded. Others say he's done,
he's gone way too far and didn't too much damage.
What do you think.

Speaker 6 (18:34):
He violated laws?

Speaker 16 (18:35):
And I'd say it's again, I think his unqualified plea
of guilty should settle this matter.

Speaker 6 (18:43):
When he faced real trial, there were no.

Speaker 16 (18:46):
Adequate defenses that he could find, and he simply admitted, yes,
I'm guilty.

Speaker 6 (18:50):
He undermined the security of the United States.

Speaker 16 (18:52):
He did it systematically, he did it for his own gratification,
self promotion, etc.

Speaker 6 (18:59):
And that the guilty police speaks volumes.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
That's a democratic center. Jack Reid saying that I rarely
say I agree with Democrats on things of national security
US who were on the opposite side. I couldn't agree
more in this one. And what was just said there
and this was a deal that was done that's going
to put American lives at risk. I am frustrated by

(19:26):
this because it's another example of the Democrats like, let's
just move on, right, It's been long enough let's get
past this, right, like like let's like let's just let's
just move on past it, act like it's not really happening.
And it was something that was so far in the past.
Who really cares, right, Like, like like who cares? Like,

(19:50):
this's just was okay, it's it's it's in the past.
Can can I also remind you, guys the story, and
this is I think important. At the broadest level, Joinisage
outed our operations how they worked in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also named the informants that we were using and

(20:13):
that had some horrific effects. It exposed them number one
to being hunted down and murdered famously. When he was
asked about this, he said that those Afghans were traders
to their countries, so f them, they deserve it. It
also signaled to everyone in those countries and beyond that

(20:36):
we can't keep our secrets, so don't help America. It's
too big of a risk. It made operations more dangerous
for our troops and undoubtedly led to more injuries and
deaths because people stopped working with the United States of America.
Now you also go to the second part of that,

(20:57):
all right, and it goes back to this liberal psycho
freak ecosystem that we operate in.

Speaker 6 (21:06):
The man who leaked to.

Speaker 1 (21:07):
Juliana Sage was a man by the name of Bradley
Manning who was convicted under the espionage jack but he
became a hero of the left because he became trans
and then he was at release by Barack Obama. Manning
is the definition of a trader, and Americans shouldn't be

(21:28):
on the creepy side of a super creepy asset who
published the trader's work. These people are not heroes, they
are villains. Now, I understand why other countries may say, hey,
we love getting American secrets and seeing how you guys work.
And that's why in Austray, in other countries they're like,

(21:49):
oh yeah, like we like this, right, we like seeing
how America works behind the scenes. It doesn't mean that
it's the right thing. It doesn't mean that it's good
for this country. And that is the point that I
think should be brought up here. There's a very interesting,

(22:09):
by the way, new poll that goes back to the
mentality of Americans right now. They're concerned about the economy,
they're concerned about national security, they're really concerned about inflation,
and Democrats have had have tried to tell Americans that
if Donald Trump gets re elected, that he is a
threat to democracy.

Speaker 10 (22:30):
Now.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
I could play you a montage of this, but I
think you guys have heard it enough from the left
over and over again. They're like, oh, Donald Trump's threat
to democracy. He will in this country as we know
it if he gets if he gets elected again, well,
this country will be unrecognizable. Right, it's a threat to democracy.
He's a threat to democracy. Everything's a threat to democracy.
If there's a Republican's a Republican next to a person's name.

(22:55):
That rhetoric seems to have now backfired in a major way.
A Washington Post poll, not a conservative publication, This is
the I would say, communist Washington Post has now come
out with a shock poll that Donald Trump is stronger
than Joe Biden on the issue of protecting the democracy.

(23:21):
This is very interesting. Now David Axerod went on TV
and is trying to now flip this because he was
one of those guys like, oh, this is a threat
to democracy, right, Donald Trump's a threat to democracy. Now
he's basically saying that if you're worried about a democracy.
You're a rich white person, and that's a conversation that
you have at the dinner table as a rich white

(23:43):
person trying to flip the narrative.

Speaker 17 (23:45):
Listen, Look, I've said before, I mean, I'm Jake, you
know this. I'm the son of a Jewish refugee from
Eastern Europe and I still love this democracy and I
think this is a central But I've also said, if
you are talking about democracy over the dinner table, it's

(24:05):
probably because you don't have to worry about the cost
of the food on your dinner table.

Speaker 6 (24:11):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
So that's a pretty big change, right, If you're talking
about democracy over the dinner table, it's probably because you
don't have to worry about the cost of food on
your dinner table. So, in other words, he's saying democracy
is for rich people. Now, that is very different from
what the left has been saying about this issue, like
extremely different. Let me just remind you of Hillary Clinton

(24:35):
when she was doing an interview recently.

Speaker 18 (24:37):
Alito struck me almost immediately upon sitting down to talk
with him as a radical, as a fanatic about his
views of culture and the role of religion in our
society and his religion not maybe yours or mind marks,
but his religion. And I found him scary and I

(25:02):
said so on the floor of the Senate when I
voted against him.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
So now we're going back to we're going to undermine
people that actually stand up for democracy, right, And you
notice the switch here. Michael Cohen, by the way, on MSNBC,
this is the guy that stole from Donald Trump. This
is a guy that's a convicted felon. This is a
guy that lied in court and has been to jail.
But he's the favorite love child of the of the left.

(25:28):
They're obsessed, They are absolutely obsessed with with Michael Cohen
because he hates Trump. He has Trump derangement syndrome. And
he goes on MSNBC and says this about the judge
partially lifting Trump's hush money gag order, which is a

(25:48):
victory for Donald Trump.

Speaker 19 (25:50):
An update out of the New York hush money election
interference case. Today, Judge Wanbershawn partially lifting that gag order
placed upon Donald Trump, the disgrace. Now k only convicted
ex president is able to comment on the witnesses who
testified against him in that case. Witnesses like his former
attorney Michael Cohen and the woman Cohen paid the hush
money to Stormy Daniels. Judge Marschawn did not lift the

(26:13):
part of the order barring Trump from going after court staff,
individual prosecutors, and family members of any council staff member,
the court, or the district Attorney. That part stays in
place until Trump's sentencing on July eleventh. Michael Cohen's response
to this quote. For the past six years, Donald and
his accolytes have been making constant negative statements about me.

(26:34):
Donald's failed strategy of discrediting me so that he can
avoid accountability did not work then and won't work now.

Speaker 6 (26:41):
Joining us.

Speaker 19 (26:43):
Former Trump fixer and attorney Michael Cohen host of the
Maya Kulpa and Political Beatdown podcast. He is the author
of the Book's Revenge, How Donald Trump weaponized the US
Department of Justice against his critics and disloyal memoir Now
classic both of them. Michael Cohen, how are you doing
and how are you feeling about this gaggarder being lifted

(27:04):
by the way?

Speaker 15 (27:04):
I love this so like?

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Oh, both classics. Now, Oh, let's just give you this
amazing that knows they don't mention you're a convicted fellon
that you stole money from Donald Trump and you had
admit that under Oh don't forget you. No, no, no,
you're a fixer. Like fixer is like the gangster word
of the left. Now, like, oh, man, that guy is
a fixer. Yeah, he's a fixer. That's how MSNBC introduces

(27:27):
the guy. Keep listening.

Speaker 15 (27:29):
I'm hanging in there, and Nicole, you know, like I
said before, for six years, he and his acolytes have
been doing this. Let's not forget the number of members
of Congress and other acolyte friends of Trumps that showed
up to the courthouse when I was testifying, and the
first chance that they had to go to run out

(27:49):
to do Donald's bidding. They're right there in front of
the camera, including people like the number two guy in
our government, Maga Mike Johnson, out there carrying Donald's water
for him. So, look, is it stressful? Sure? Do I
feel bad for myself and other witnesses that Donald intends

(28:09):
to go after who knows, maybe he'll even do it
at the upcoming debate. Yes, I feel bad for them.
I feel bad for myself. But it's what can he
say that he has not said already a thousand times.
I mean, that's what Donald does. He repeats himself over
and over and over. So what's he gonna say. Michael
Cohen's a liar, Michael Cohen is a gloat. Michael Cohen

(28:31):
didn't tell the truth. He's my lawyer. He did it
all on his own. We all know the truth already.
It's six years of me telling the same story and
Donald can't keep track of what story. You know, he's
saying next.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
This is a guy that's been convicted of lying and
had him met under oath. Recently, he actually stole from
Donald Trump, pocketed cash, tens of thousands of dollars, and
MSNBC puts him up there, and now he says that
Trump is dangerous to democracy, He's dangerous to just the world.
So their's his one liner. So Democrats now seem to

(29:07):
be very divided over this, right do we bring up
like democracy or do we kind of just shut it down?
That there's even a conversation of how do we save democracy?
On pod Save America. It's a hardcore liberal podcast. Here's
what they were saying recently.

Speaker 20 (29:24):
Why is there such a disconnect? Why do people think
I mean, gosh by the way.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
This is Katie Kirk you're listening to in this voice.

Speaker 6 (29:30):
Keep listening.

Speaker 20 (29:31):
This is what's left a lot of people scratching their
heads ever since twenty sixteen. Why do people think that
Donald Trump is going to make their lives better? It
is confounding to me.

Speaker 21 (29:43):
Yeah, what I've come to think is for a lot
of voters, they don't think that either party or any
politician is going to necessarily make their lives better. And
so what they see in Donald Trump is someone who
is just going to smash the system. And that makes
them feel good, right, because it like, well, at least

(30:04):
he's gonna at least he's my guy. He's going to
like fight for me where he can, and I don't
necessarily expect him to help me. But you know, he's also,
as Tommy was saying, he's very good at blaming others.

Speaker 16 (30:15):
Right.

Speaker 21 (30:16):
And so if Donald Trump tells you, well, you know,
you would you'd be making more and you we'd have
more jobs. If we just got rid of all these
undocumented immigrants, then your life would be better. If we
just cleaned up the crime and we got tough and
let the police get tough on crime in these cities,
your life would be better. And you know, unlike even

(30:37):
Mitt Romney or the Republicans of yesteryear, Donald Trump doesn't
talk a lot about giving huge tax cuts to corporations,
giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy, at least not publicly,
not publicly, right, No, that's all in their agenda fundraisers. Yeah,
but they have. You know, Trump has taught most of
the Republican Party to sort of hide the economic agenda
that is not very popular with most people in this country,

(31:00):
and to really lean on sort of the cultural resentment.
The racial resentment is enophobia that does unfortunately work with
a lot of you know, working class and middle class
people of all races.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
By the way, by the way, they hate you. You
hear that how to save democracy?

Speaker 13 (31:17):
Right?

Speaker 1 (31:18):
Is the conversation they're having, Like, well, how is he
getting away with this? Well, he really hates you, you know,
he really just stands up for the big corporations. Okay,
show me the evidence that that's what he did during
the four years when he was actually the president. Well,
if you tell people to hate immigrants and their life
will be better off, they'll believe you. When did he
say that? He's saying you can come into this country legally.

(31:40):
But he's also said that you don't get rewarded for
breaking American laws. So he's a law and order guy.
And where they say, oh, well, that's that's, you know,
xenophobic and this is but he's taught them to be
quiet on that right, not talk about that. That's that's
where you're just going to have to be quiet. So
I go back to this poll. This poll that has

(32:01):
just come out is the poll that Democrats are now
going to freak out over internally going into this debate,
because what it's saying is former President Donald Trump is
the strongest candidate to protect democracy. After the last year,
Democrats have been saying that Donald Trump is a threat
to democracy. Polling of six swing states that President Joe

(32:24):
Biden won in twenty twenty now show that voters believe
Trump is a greater defender of democracy than Joe Biden,
outpacing the current president by a staggering double digit lead
of eleven points. Here's the question, which candid do you
think will do a better job of handling each of
the following threats to democracy in the US? The Posts

(32:46):
says in their question Trump forty four percent, Biden thirty
three percent, neither sixteen percent, both seven percent. This was
a big poll, by the way, It was a poll
of more than three thousand and five hundred registered voters
in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. So this

(33:07):
is a poll now that Democrats like, holy crap, we
screwed it up with Bidenomics. That's been a disaster with voters.
They don't believe that it's working. They believe it's hurting them.
And then we try to say, well, Donald Trump's a
threat to democracy, and the voters actually smart enough to
say no, no, no, we actually think that Donald Trump is
better for democracy than the current president of the United

(33:29):
States of America is. Make sure you share this with
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I will see you back here tomorrow.