Debating an RFK Jr. Interview | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 0:39

   Scott’s dilemma: Should Prof G host RFK Jr.?

   1. SGScott Galloway0:00

      Can I ask you a professional question?

   2. KSKara Swisher0:01

      Sure.

   3. SGScott Galloway0:02

      So, you know, Bobby Kennedy was on Bill Maher when I was on, right?

   4. KSKara Swisher0:06

      Yeah.

   5. SGScott Galloway0:07

      And I got to know him. By the way, incredibly likable guy. Um-

   6. KSKara Swisher0:11

      Obviously.

   7. SGScott Galloway0:12

      ... and impressive in person.

   8. KSKara Swisher0:14

      He has charisma.

   9. SGScott Galloway0:14

      And it's re-... Uh, and not only that, to be fair, he's been great on the environment. He's been a leader, like around-

   10. KSKara Swisher0:19

       Right.

   11. SGScott Galloway0:19

       ... the environment on some issues. Anyways, um, I got to know him. Texted me and said, uh, and his head of com said, "We'd really like to come on the Prof G pod."

   12. KSKara Swisher0:29

       Oh no. Okay.

   13. SGScott Galloway0:31

       Uh, so I met with the team and I said, "Bobby wants, Bobby Kennedy wants to come on the Prof G pod. Uh, what do you think?"

   14. KSKara Swisher0:37

       Mm-hmm.

   15. SGScott Galloway0:37

       What would you do?

2. 0:39 – 1:17

   Kara’s initial answer: Don’t book him—and here’s why

   1. KSKara Swisher0:39

      Me? Not have him on.

   2. SGScott Galloway0:40

      Not have him on. Why?

   3. KSKara Swisher0:41

      Maybe. Um-

   4. SGScott Galloway0:43

      Maybe, yeah. See? It's not, it's not a slam dunk, is it? I, it took me a while to think about it.

   5. KSKara Swisher0:47

      I, I have to say, not because of like... Listen, I've interviewed lots of... You know, I had the Parler guy, if you remember, right after the, the thing. I didn't agree with most everything he said, and he of course ended up getting fired from that interview. Um, uh, I don't mean to say you're not qualified to take this guy on, but I think you will take a mis-

   6. SGScott Galloway1:06

      That wasn't the answer I was looking for, Kara.

   7. KSKara Swisher1:08

      Well, I, I think, I, I wouldn't be qualified, I don't think. I think, I think he's a tough customer.

   8. SGScott Galloway1:11

      Oh yeah, right. (laughs)

   9. KSKara Swisher1:13

      I, I don't care if he is.

   10. SGScott Galloway1:13

       Uh, you're not qualified to bring this guy on.

   11. KSKara Swisher1:16

       Even, here's the thing. You need a lot-

   12. SGScott Galloway1:17

       Okay.

3. 1:17 – 1:38

   The core challenge: Constant misrepresentation and conspiracy claims

   1. KSKara Swisher1:17

      ... of prep on this one, a lot of prep, and you need to counter him, because he's a profession- he's, he lies almost constantly and misrepresents things he's said.

   2. SGScott Galloway1:27

      Ah. Got it.

   3. KSKara Swisher1:27

      And so, getti- even getting him spewing stuff is a problem. Like, he, you just, catching his many, many misconceptions of everything, and, and countering back is a very-

4. 1:38 – 2:10

   Why expertise matters: You’d need an epidemiologist-level prep

   1. SGScott Galloway1:38

      But unless you're an epidemiologist, you're not gonna be able to do that, which is an, is-

   2. KSKara Swisher1:41

      Right, exactly.

   3. SGScott Galloway1:41

      ... essentially why we decided not to.

   4. KSKara Swisher1:43

      And so that... Well, some reporters are more qualified than others to do that and stuff. That's if you're g- that's just on certain things. He like spouts off all kinds of conspiracy theories, you know, that end up doing the some people said. So I think it's a very difficult interview, and he's charismatic, which is, um, hard-

   5. SGScott Galloway1:59

      Mm-hmm.

   6. KSKara Swisher1:59

      ... to deal with when someone seems reasonable and then throws in a lie here and there and think that's difficult. This is why I would, I would have had a very difficult time with this fella.

   7. SGScott Galloway2:08

      Yeah.

   8. KSKara Swisher2:08

      Um, the other thing is, I, I, I-

   9. SGScott Galloway2:09

      Took me a couple days to figure it out.

5. 2:10 – 2:52

   Interviewing style clash: “Present people in their best light” vs. adversarial necessity

   1. KSKara Swisher2:10

      This is not an insult to you, but you give people a lot of... You, you, you try to come to comedy with people, and you're uncomfortable in-

   2. SGScott Galloway2:20

      Comedy or comity?

   3. KSKara Swisher2:21

      Comity.

   4. SGScott Galloway2:22

      Yeah, that's right.

   5. KSKara Swisher2:23

      Com- not co-... Don't start doing-

   6. SGScott Galloway2:24

      Yeah.

   7. KSKara Swisher2:24

      ... joking around with JFK. That's like a death-

   8. SGScott Galloway2:26

      No, I, I, I did, I was, I didn't know what you were s- I didn't know-

   9. KSKara Swisher2:28

      Yeah, comedy.

   10. SGScott Galloway2:29

       I didn't know what you meant. Yeah, agree.

   11. KSKara Swisher2:29

       I think you are, you try to see the best side of people.

   12. SGScott Galloway2:32

       That's right.

   13. KSKara Swisher2:33

       And I think this is a very cynical, disturbed person. So-

   14. SGScott Galloway2:37

       Yep.

   15. KSKara Swisher2:38

       ... I, I think you are too nice. You're too, you're o- wanting to come to some can't we all get along. And in some cases, no, we just can't. You're, you're, you're being-

   16. SGScott Galloway2:46

       No, my interviewing style, I believe in what Sam Harris said, that you wanna present people-

   17. KSKara Swisher2:49

       Yeah.

   18. SGScott Galloway2:49

       ... in their best light.

   19. KSKara Swisher2:50

       Right.

   20. SGScott Galloway2:50

       And that just might not be the right approach with us.

6. 2:52 – 3:07

   Staff verdict and political calculus: Platforming a likely spoiler

   1. KSKara Swisher2:52

      Right. I don't know. What does your staff think?

   2. SGScott Galloway2:55

      Oh, it was a universal no.

   3. KSKara Swisher2:56

      Yeah.

   4. SGScott Galloway2:57

      Uh, the, the general view was realistically he doesn't have a path to presidency.

   5. KSKara Swisher3:01

      Yeah.

   6. SGScott Galloway3:02

      So if Donald Trump called and said, "We wanna be on your podcast," I'd have him on, and I would do my best to be prepared. Um-

   7. KSKara Swisher3:06

      Right. In that case, I'd say yes.

7. 3:07 – 3:32

   Scott’s response to RFK Jr.: The vaccine recklessness concern

   1. SGScott Galloway3:07

      But they said he really doesn't have a path. All he's gonna do is potentially be a spoiler. And the general sense was that he has been... While he's been very good on certain topics, that he's been so reckless. What I told him, I texted him back, and I don't think he'd mind this. Well, maybe he would, but I'm gonna say it anyways. I said, "The general view is that you've been, uh, so reckless on the issue of vaccines that we don't wanna platform those ideas for fear that they'll get the resonance they really legitimately don't deserve."

8. 3:32 – 4:07

   “Liars always get one in”: The mechanics of misinformation in interviews

   1. KSKara Swisher3:32

      He gets one in. He always ge- Liars always, lo- persistent liars always get one in, um, and you have to really counter them. I think I did a good job in that Parler interview, where he started saying, "Many people say," and I said, "Nobody says that." And here's the nobody who says it. You show m- You know, you have to be real tough and vicious almost, and I think you're not... I, I think it's a quality I like about you. You're not capable of it. I don't think you're c- you can do it.

   2. SGScott Galloway3:54

      You just feel bad 'cause you said I wasn't worthy, I wasn't up to it. Now you're trying to backtrack.

   3. KSKara Swisher3:58

      I, I don't think many people are up to it. I don't think many interviews do a good job with him, honestly.

Episode duration: 4:07