Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Pimp Caine edition of The Ross Kominski Show.
I have no idea if my guest and friend, Leland
Vindard has any idea what I'm talking about when I
say Pimp Caane. Leland hosts on Balance on News Nation
at seven pm Mountain time weeknights, with a replay three
(00:20):
hours later. He also puts out at five oh five
pm hour time each night his war Notes, which you
can get for free, and it's basically his show prep.
You can see what he's thinking and talking about how
he's thinking about it.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It'll make you smarter.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And I know this is a small thing, but a
lot of times we get buried in newsletters and stuff
in the morning. I really like getting this in the afternoon.
Gives me something to read and think about. If you
go to war notes dot com, you can get it
for free. Hi, Leland, and welcome to the Pimp Cane
version of The Rosskominski Show.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
when you call it?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Is it the pimp can Yes, sir, yes it is.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Is this something I want to be associated with?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Not necessarily no? Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Lauren Lauren Bobert described representative al green As waving his
pimp cane around during that speech.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
And now there's a and now there's.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
A Democrat who wants to censure Lauren Bobert for that,
saying it was a racist statement. And Lauren said, wait,
aren't there any white pimps? So that's uh, that's the
level of American governmental discourse these days. And I thought
I would just revel in the stupidity of it all
a little bit. Well, in Washington, there's a lot to
(01:33):
go around, and you know, because you're there every every day,
we have a we have a lot of stuff to
talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
But let me let me start with this.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I am I am very, very rarely envious of guests
and interviews that other folks get to do. But dude,
you had Boris Johnson yesterday and I was, I was
a little jealous, and I would like to know. I mean,
I know what you talk about because I watched it
a lot of Ukraine Russian stuff. How was that conversation
(02:04):
for you? Did you enjoy it?
Speaker 4 (02:05):
What?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Tell me a little like in Leland's brain, you know, Ross.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You're right to say you should be jealous, because he
is an amazing interview. My favorite Prime minister since Stature
and before that Churchill. It's rare, and you know this
to be intimidated or a little bit nervous or starstruck.
And I was with him because he is so smart
(02:31):
and he has real moral.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Clarity on the Ukraine issue.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
This is a guy who went to Ukraine in the
very beginning of the war because he believed in their
in their cause and the righteousness of it, and his
ability to I think weave together the moral case both
for supporting Ukraine and also for bringing a peace deal
(02:56):
and for pushing for a peace deal is really unlike
any that I've heard. Really fantastic and thoughtful guy. An
interview we will link again to the interview itself, which.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think everyone should hear. As you point out on
War Notes.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Today, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
It was fantastic and I'm not easily starstruck either, but
I can imagine being a little bit so by him.
That was That was really an interesting conversation. And let's
stick with that for a minute. So let's stick with
the Ukraine Russia thing. I think part of the the
the obvious question now, and this came up when you
were talking with Boris Johnson, is how is Russia likely
(03:37):
to respond. And I know that you don't do predictions.
Could you always tell me that? But what is your
analysis in terms of how how what we might expect
and what you think maybe is going through Putin's mind.
If it's possible to even analyze that guy.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
It's very difficult to analyze him because he is by
definition a sociopath, which is what the KGD tested for
when they hired people as spy runners. So he is
someone whose job in whose livelihood and success came from
being able to manipulate people. And that depends on having
(04:18):
the ability to sort of not show your handment right,
which he's very good at. So I don't think you
can really analyze it right now.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
That is to.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Say that the question to me is not whether or
not the Russians take it, because we don't really have
control over that.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I think the more interesting question is.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Whether or not Donald Trump puts the thumbscrews to Houghton
the way he did Zelensky, right, because the linky you
know who, Trump has gotten Zelensky where he wanted him,
which is to say, I will accept this piece deal.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
The question now is will and go along with it?
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And if he doesn't If he does, great, If he doesn't,
will Trump put the thumbscrews two it in a meaningful way?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, So two things to say to that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
First, I think the obvious expectation would be that Putin
wouldn't go along with it because he feels like he's
got the advantage right now, and therefore, because he's a
sociopath and always enjoys wrongfooting his opponents and enemies. I
actually think there's a decent chance he will say yes
to the thirty days. Plus a thirty day delay is
probably better for Russia than it is for Ukraine, so
(05:31):
I think he might actually say yes to the thirty days.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So first, do you want to comment on that?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Again, I think it's very difficult to endeavor to predict
what someone like him will do, both what they say
they will do and then what they.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Will actually do. And if I were him, I would
be scared of.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Trump because the one thing that Trump hates more than
anything is being embarrassed, right, And that's really what Zelenski
did to him in the Oval office, and that's why
he snapped at him.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yeah, he embarrassed him. And if Putin thumbs his nose
at Trump, that will embarrass Trump.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And I think the one thing that people have not
given Trump credit for is the tweet where he talked
about what he would do to Russia, which.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Is the banking sanctions and.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
The push on Europe do not buy oil, which would
bankrupt the Russian economy and war effort in a matter
of months, if not weeks. And that was something Biden
would never do. So if Trump is willing to do that,
Putin should pay attention.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Okay, so this next question is not a prediction kind
of question. So, and you got right to where I
was going. So you talked about putting the thumb screws
to Russia, and I was going to stick with your
analogy and ask do we have any thumb screws that
will fit Russia?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And you know, so you.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Just talked about a couple of things that Trump threatened.
And what I wonder is whether the US has any
any sticks from the old carrot and stick thing that
that Russia is actually afraid of getting hit with.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, if you delist all the Russian banks from Swift,
which is the clearinghouse for electronic wire transfers transactions, and
you tell any bank that if you do business with
Russian or Russian oil. You will not do business in
the United States that will.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
End Putin's economy.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So that was always something that Joe Biden was unwilling
to do because it would have irritated the Europeans who
were demanding the green.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Utopia and wouldn't did Biden didn't want to have more.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Oil exploration, natural gas exploration in the United States to
offset what was coming from Russia.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You accidentally muted yourself, Leland, there you go.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
You know, you know Russia.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You're the only guy that demands be coming on zoom. Okay,
with what I do for you and for our friendship
is unbelievable. But okay, Ross makes you go on zoom
so you can see him. Who wants to see Ross?
But anyway, I think there's more than thumbscrews. I think
(08:20):
there is. I think there are things that the United
States could do to Russia that would drastically alter Putin's
calculus quickly.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And one thing that occurred to me, and I'm not
sure yet whether this is a good idea, but one
thing that occurred to me was Trump could also threaten,
for example, India and China, saying I'm gonna do X, Y,
and Z to you if you don't.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Stop buying Russian oil.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Sure, all of these are all of these are on
the table. I think again, underestimate Trump's willingness to escalate
to de escalate at your own peril. Right now, what
I just said is interesting because there's a Russian term
for it.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I can't remember the translation, but.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
That's Russian military doctrine is escalate to de escalate. So
essentially Trump and putin play from the same playbook. Right
this is like Bill Belicheck and you know, one of
his disciples going up against each other in a football game.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
We're talking with Leland Vindt from NewsNation. You can watch
on Balance at seven pm Mountain Time and again at
ten pm. And it's it's It's the show that my
wife and I make sure to watch either right when
it's on, or we DVR it and watch a little
bit later.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
It's it's it's the best show on cable news.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So I want to switch to something else you talked
about yesterday. And you've been leaning into this in a
very interesting way. And I don't think of you. I
think of you as really an analyst and not a cheerleader.
A reporter and analyst and not a cheerleader. And so
it's very just see to hear you talk about I'll
(10:03):
categorize it as a method to Trump's madness. Now you
talk about this in much more detail than you did
last night as well, But could you elaborate a bit.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, I think there.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I think Trump's madness if you want to call it that.
But the chaos theory is one that does yield results.
You know, there is a reason that the craziest person
in the room sometimes it gets you know, gets playcated.
And that's what that's the game that Trump plays. And
it's funny. I'm actually in New York today walking around
(10:34):
on Fifth Avenue, and again what I do for you.
I got up from lunch with Rachel in order to
come be with you on radio. These are the These
are the sacrifices friends make.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Uh huh, I said, thank you.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Yes, She'll understand completely.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
So the point, the point is that I was looking
at Trump Tower, right, and he tells the famous deal
where in order to get Trump Tower built, he had
to get Tiffany's approval for their rights, and he designed
two buildings. One was the ugliest hotel possible, and one
was the most magnificent building possible instead of Tiffany's. If
you give me the air rights, you get the most
(11:09):
beautiful building in the world next to you. And if
you don't, then I'm building the ugliest one. Right this
is this is Trump's playbook, and for as much fun
of anybody wants to make of art of the deal.
And I think that will read that book. Trump tells
you who he is. Now you cannot like who he is,
but it's very simple, you know. And it was what
(11:32):
was so surprising to me about this Zelenski moment is
when someone tells you who they are and is always
that person, it's pretty easy to get what you want
from them.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
You just have to know what buttons to push.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So before I get to the next major topic, I
just thought of what's probably the most important question, and
I should have asked it before, and that is, did
you get Boris Johnson's cell number so you can call
him and have a pint?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
No, but I do intend the next time I'm in
London to try and work out that. I think he'd
be one of those guys whould be a great guy
to interview and even more fun to have a beer.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
With Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yes, all right, So I learned something that kind of
angered me, not at you on your show last night,
about what the FAA knew regarding the risks at Reagan Airport.
Obviously in the context of that horrific helicopter airplane crash
(12:30):
that killed so many people. Can you tell us a
little bit about what the FAA knew?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, they knew that over the course.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Of twelve or thirteen years before the crash, that there
was one incident a month of a in the words
here matter a near myth, meaning that there was an
alert in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, a helicopter
gotten too close and the plane needed to take immediate
(13:04):
evasive action. And yet they never changed the procedures, either
for helicopters or for the runway use.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Now there's two explanations for that.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Either a gross gross in confidence, B negligence or C.
The FAA was focused on something other than safety. And
that's the point that Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Made yesterday.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And we have an answer to what they were focused on,
which was, at least over the past few years, they
were focused on diversity.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
How do we know that because.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
They told us that they told us that diversity makes
us safer, which is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, it's infuriating, isn't it. It's not just an it's
not annoying. I don't know if you, I'll ask you
are are you attributing some percentage chance, some percentage probability
that what happened was because the FAA has been chasing diversity.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
There's a lot of ways to put this.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
We do know that the FAA limited the number of
students at its Air Traffic Controllers school in order to
meet certain ratios of diverse candidates. Meaning it's not that
they allowed unqualified people to become air traffic controllers. It's
that they didn't allow all qualified people because they wanted
(14:37):
better ratios, which is to me reprehensible. And I guess
I don't know how not to attribute is the better question?
The crash to these misplaced priorities, because when your priorities
you're misplaced, by definition, you're not focused on the right things.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
That's just basics.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Are you doing the show from New York tonight?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
We are doing the show from New York tonight and
tomorrow night.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Now you're gonna ask me why.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
It has nothing to do with some big exclusive. It
has nothing to do with some super big project. Is because,
as you know, Ross Television is a team sport. I
have about the best team in the business. I'm so
proud of them. But they are split. We have a
part of our team in New York and part in DCS.
So every once in a while we come up to
(15:35):
New York to be able to hang out and talk
to the team here and go out to go out
to a dinner.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
So that's what we're doing, all right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And give me one topic that we will see in
war Notes and on the show tonight.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
A warning too, Republicans who are overplaying their hand on
the trans issue and becoming bullies. And not only is
it undignified and wrong, but it's politically stupid.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
How about that.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I can't wait to hear it, and I already agree
with you. That's the great Leland vinter. His show is
called On Balance. It's on News Nation seven pm, right
in the heart of primetime now seven pm Mountain Time,
with a repeat at ten. Go to Warnoes dot com
and sign up for his each weekday newsletter. It's absolutely free.
Comes at five oh five pm our time. Leland really
(16:22):
tell Rachel I appreciate her letting you talk to me
in the middle of lunch. She will be grateful, all right,
Thanks my friend Sia
Welcome to the Pimp Caine edition of The Ross Kominski Show.
I have no idea if my guest and friend, Leland
Vindard has any idea what I'm talking about when I
say Pimp Caane. Leland hosts on Balance on News Nation
at seven pm Mountain time weeknights, with a replay three
(00:20):
hours later. He also puts out at five oh five
pm hour time each night his war Notes, which you
can get for free, and it's basically his show prep.
You can see what he's thinking and talking about how
he's thinking about it.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It'll make you smarter.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And I know this is a small thing, but a
lot of times we get buried in newsletters and stuff
in the morning. I really like getting this in the afternoon.
Gives me something to read and think about. If you
go to war notes dot com, you can get it
for free. Hi, Leland, and welcome to the Pimp Cane
version of The Rosskominski Show.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
when you call it?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Is it the pimp can Yes, sir, yes it is.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Is this something I want to be associated with?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Not necessarily no? Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Lauren Lauren Bobert described representative al green As waving his
pimp cane around during that speech.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
And now there's a and now there's.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
A Democrat who wants to censure Lauren Bobert for that,
saying it was a racist statement. And Lauren said, wait,
aren't there any white pimps? So that's uh, that's the
level of American governmental discourse these days. And I thought
I would just revel in the stupidity of it all
a little bit. Well, in Washington, there's a lot to
(01:33):
go around, and you know, because you're there every every day,
we have a we have a lot of stuff to
talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
But let me let me start with this.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I am I am very, very rarely envious of guests
and interviews that other folks get to do. But dude,
you had Boris Johnson yesterday and I was, I was
a little jealous, and I would like to know. I mean,
I know what you talk about because I watched it
a lot of Ukraine Russian stuff. How was that conversation
(02:04):
for you? Did you enjoy it?
Speaker 4 (02:05):
What?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Tell me a little like in Leland's brain, you know, Ross.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You're right to say you should be jealous, because he
is an amazing interview. My favorite Prime minister since Stature
and before that Churchill. It's rare, and you know this
to be intimidated or a little bit nervous or starstruck.
And I was with him because he is so smart
(02:31):
and he has real moral.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Clarity on the Ukraine issue.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
This is a guy who went to Ukraine in the
very beginning of the war because he believed in their
in their cause and the righteousness of it, and his
ability to I think weave together the moral case both
for supporting Ukraine and also for bringing a peace deal
(02:56):
and for pushing for a peace deal is really unlike
any that I've heard. Really fantastic and thoughtful guy. An
interview we will link again to the interview itself, which.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think everyone should hear. As you point out on
War Notes.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Today, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
It was fantastic and I'm not easily starstruck either, but
I can imagine being a little bit so by him.
That was That was really an interesting conversation. And let's
stick with that for a minute. So let's stick with
the Ukraine Russia thing. I think part of the the
the obvious question now, and this came up when you
were talking with Boris Johnson, is how is Russia likely
(03:37):
to respond. And I know that you don't do predictions.
Could you always tell me that? But what is your
analysis in terms of how how what we might expect
and what you think maybe is going through Putin's mind.
If it's possible to even analyze that guy.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
It's very difficult to analyze him because he is by
definition a sociopath, which is what the KGD tested for
when they hired people as spy runners. So he is
someone whose job in whose livelihood and success came from
being able to manipulate people. And that depends on having
(04:18):
the ability to sort of not show your handment right,
which he's very good at. So I don't think you
can really analyze it right now.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
That is to.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Say that the question to me is not whether or
not the Russians take it, because we don't really have
control over that.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I think the more interesting question is.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Whether or not Donald Trump puts the thumbscrews to Houghton
the way he did Zelensky, right, because the linky you
know who, Trump has gotten Zelensky where he wanted him,
which is to say, I will accept this piece deal.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
The question now is will and go along with it?
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And if he doesn't If he does, great, If he doesn't,
will Trump put the thumbscrews two it in a meaningful way?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Okay, So two things to say to that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
First, I think the obvious expectation would be that Putin
wouldn't go along with it because he feels like he's
got the advantage right now, and therefore, because he's a
sociopath and always enjoys wrongfooting his opponents and enemies. I
actually think there's a decent chance he will say yes
to the thirty days. Plus a thirty day delay is
probably better for Russia than it is for Ukraine, so
(05:31):
I think he might actually say yes to the thirty days.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So first, do you want to comment on that?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Again, I think it's very difficult to endeavor to predict
what someone like him will do, both what they say
they will do and then what they.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Will actually do. And if I were him, I would
be scared of.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Trump because the one thing that Trump hates more than
anything is being embarrassed, right, And that's really what Zelenski
did to him in the Oval office, and that's why
he snapped at him.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yeah, he embarrassed him. And if Putin thumbs his nose
at Trump, that will embarrass Trump.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And I think the one thing that people have not
given Trump credit for is the tweet where he talked
about what he would do to Russia, which.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Is the banking sanctions and.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
The push on Europe do not buy oil, which would
bankrupt the Russian economy and war effort in a matter
of months, if not weeks. And that was something Biden
would never do. So if Trump is willing to do that,
Putin should pay attention.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Okay, so this next question is not a prediction kind
of question. So, and you got right to where I
was going. So you talked about putting the thumb screws
to Russia, and I was going to stick with your
analogy and ask do we have any thumb screws that
will fit Russia?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And you know, so you.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Just talked about a couple of things that Trump threatened.
And what I wonder is whether the US has any
any sticks from the old carrot and stick thing that
that Russia is actually afraid of getting hit with.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, if you delist all the Russian banks from Swift,
which is the clearinghouse for electronic wire transfers transactions, and
you tell any bank that if you do business with
Russian or Russian oil. You will not do business in
the United States that will.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
End Putin's economy.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So that was always something that Joe Biden was unwilling
to do because it would have irritated the Europeans who
were demanding the green.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
Utopia and wouldn't did Biden didn't want to have more.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Oil exploration, natural gas exploration in the United States to
offset what was coming from Russia.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You accidentally muted yourself, Leland, there you go.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
You know, you know Russia.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You're the only guy that demands be coming on zoom. Okay,
with what I do for you and for our friendship
is unbelievable. But okay, Ross makes you go on zoom
so you can see him. Who wants to see Ross?
But anyway, I think there's more than thumbscrews. I think
(08:20):
there is. I think there are things that the United
States could do to Russia that would drastically alter Putin's
calculus quickly.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And one thing that occurred to me, and I'm not
sure yet whether this is a good idea, but one
thing that occurred to me was Trump could also threaten,
for example, India and China, saying I'm gonna do X, Y,
and Z to you if you don't.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Stop buying Russian oil.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Sure, all of these are all of these are on
the table. I think again, underestimate Trump's willingness to escalate
to de escalate at your own peril. Right now, what
I just said is interesting because there's a Russian term
for it.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I can't remember the translation, but.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
That's Russian military doctrine is escalate to de escalate. So
essentially Trump and putin play from the same playbook. Right
this is like Bill Belicheck and you know, one of
his disciples going up against each other in a football game.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
We're talking with Leland Vindt from NewsNation. You can watch
on Balance at seven pm Mountain Time and again at
ten pm. And it's it's It's the show that my
wife and I make sure to watch either right when
it's on, or we DVR it and watch a little
bit later.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
It's it's it's the best show on cable news.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So I want to switch to something else you talked
about yesterday. And you've been leaning into this in a
very interesting way. And I don't think of you. I
think of you as really an analyst and not a cheerleader.
A reporter and analyst and not a cheerleader. And so
it's very just see to hear you talk about I'll
(10:03):
categorize it as a method to Trump's madness. Now you
talk about this in much more detail than you did
last night as well, But could you elaborate a bit.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, I think there.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I think Trump's madness if you want to call it that.
But the chaos theory is one that does yield results.
You know, there is a reason that the craziest person
in the room sometimes it gets you know, gets playcated.
And that's what that's the game that Trump plays. And
it's funny. I'm actually in New York today walking around
(10:34):
on Fifth Avenue, and again what I do for you.
I got up from lunch with Rachel in order to
come be with you on radio. These are the These
are the sacrifices friends make.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Uh huh, I said, thank you.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Yes, She'll understand completely.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
So the point, the point is that I was looking
at Trump Tower, right, and he tells the famous deal
where in order to get Trump Tower built, he had
to get Tiffany's approval for their rights, and he designed
two buildings. One was the ugliest hotel possible, and one
was the most magnificent building possible instead of Tiffany's. If
you give me the air rights, you get the most
(11:09):
beautiful building in the world next to you. And if
you don't, then I'm building the ugliest one. Right this
is this is Trump's playbook, and for as much fun
of anybody wants to make of art of the deal.
And I think that will read that book. Trump tells
you who he is. Now you cannot like who he is,
but it's very simple, you know. And it was what
(11:32):
was so surprising to me about this Zelenski moment is
when someone tells you who they are and is always
that person, it's pretty easy to get what you want
from them.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
You just have to know what buttons to push.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So before I get to the next major topic, I
just thought of what's probably the most important question, and
I should have asked it before, and that is, did
you get Boris Johnson's cell number so you can call
him and have a pint?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
No, but I do intend the next time I'm in
London to try and work out that. I think he'd
be one of those guys whould be a great guy
to interview and even more fun to have a beer.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
With Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yes, all right, So I learned something that kind of
angered me, not at you on your show last night,
about what the FAA knew regarding the risks at Reagan Airport.
Obviously in the context of that horrific helicopter airplane crash
(12:30):
that killed so many people. Can you tell us a
little bit about what the FAA knew?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, they knew that over the course.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Of twelve or thirteen years before the crash, that there
was one incident a month of a in the words
here matter a near myth, meaning that there was an
alert in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, a helicopter
gotten too close and the plane needed to take immediate
(13:04):
evasive action. And yet they never changed the procedures, either
for helicopters or for the runway use.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Now there's two explanations for that.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Either a gross gross in confidence, B negligence or C.
The FAA was focused on something other than safety. And
that's the point that Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Made yesterday.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And we have an answer to what they were focused on,
which was, at least over the past few years, they
were focused on diversity.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
How do we know that because.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
They told us that they told us that diversity makes
us safer, which is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, it's infuriating, isn't it. It's not just an it's
not annoying. I don't know if you, I'll ask you
are are you attributing some percentage chance, some percentage probability
that what happened was because the FAA has been chasing diversity.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
There's a lot of ways to put this.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
We do know that the FAA limited the number of
students at its Air Traffic Controllers school in order to
meet certain ratios of diverse candidates. Meaning it's not that
they allowed unqualified people to become air traffic controllers. It's
that they didn't allow all qualified people because they wanted
(14:37):
better ratios, which is to me reprehensible. And I guess
I don't know how not to attribute is the better question?
The crash to these misplaced priorities, because when your priorities
you're misplaced, by definition, you're not focused on the right things.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
That's just basics.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Are you doing the show from New York tonight?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
We are doing the show from New York tonight and
tomorrow night.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Now you're gonna ask me why.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
It has nothing to do with some big exclusive. It
has nothing to do with some super big project. Is because,
as you know, Ross Television is a team sport. I
have about the best team in the business. I'm so
proud of them. But they are split. We have a
part of our team in New York and part in DCS.
So every once in a while we come up to
(15:35):
New York to be able to hang out and talk
to the team here and go out to go out
to a dinner.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
So that's what we're doing, all right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And give me one topic that we will see in
war Notes and on the show tonight.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
A warning too, Republicans who are overplaying their hand on
the trans issue and becoming bullies. And not only is
it undignified and wrong, but it's politically stupid.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
How about that.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I can't wait to hear it, and I already agree
with you. That's the great Leland vinter. His show is
called On Balance. It's on News Nation seven pm, right
in the heart of primetime now seven pm Mountain Time,
with a repeat at ten. Go to Warnoes dot com
and sign up for his each weekday newsletter. It's absolutely free.
Comes at five oh five pm our time. Leland really
(16:22):
tell Rachel I appreciate her letting you talk to me
in the middle of lunch. She will be grateful, all right,
Thanks my friend Sia
The Ross Kaminsky Show News
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