EVERY SPOKEN WORD
115 min read · 22,742 words- 0:00 – 4:57
Intro
- KSKara Swisher
... I was in a store and they were pushing it on me, I'm like, "I'm not taking your shitty, like, buy now, pay later thing." Like, I don't need to, and I'm not gonna.
- NANarrator
(Instrumental music)
- KSKara Swisher
Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher.
- SGScott Galloway
And I'm Scott Galloway.
- KSKara Swisher
Scott, how was your Thanksgiving? I saw a beautiful picture with you and your sons.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, they're nice?
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, yeah, it was, uh... You know, the highlight of it was my, my oldest brought two friends from boarding school home.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
And they say that from about...
- KSKara Swisher
British folk?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah. Both, both...
- KSKara Swisher
British folk.
- SGScott Galloway
Both British kids, and they say that the key indicator of your son's outcome is, is, uh, his peer group-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... from a certain point on.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
And it just made me feel so good about his prospects.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
These kids are just such good kids, you know?
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
You wanna say impressive kids and all that, ones implying... Or gotta...
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
... go to Cambridge, but they're both just, like, lovely nice men.
- KSKara Swisher
So there wasn't any, like, rich kid louche thing, you know, British rich kid thing? None of that.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, they had to sneak out to go score ketamine.
- KSKara Swisher
Right, of course.
- SGScott Galloway
But they... But other than that, um, and you know, they yelled at the help.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, good.
- SGScott Galloway
But other than that, they were really... I'm, I'm kidding about all of this.
- 4:57 – 15:57
Consumer Spending Surges
- KSKara Swisher
uh, shoppers turned out in force, as we said, for Black Friday, spending both record-breaking amount both online and in stores. Uh, online spending alone hit 11, uh, point, uh, $8 billion, up about 9% from last year, and overall sales were up around 4%, which is an enormous. A lot of the growth is just inflation though, not people going wild with their wallets. People actually bought fewer things. Order volumes dropped 1% but prices jumped 7%. Another twist, which Scott you talked about all of the time, higher income shoppers are spending like usual, but middle and lower income families are pulling back. Retailers are somewhat optimistic about the holiday season overall, with sales expected to top a trillion dollars for the first time ever. Again, inflation. Um, you know, you talk about this if the, if the rich people pull back, that's a real problem. But obviously middle and lower income families are feeling the pinch from inflation, and so they're buying. As Trump said, "You don't need so many dolls." And apparen- apparently they are not buying so many dolls. Um, and then there's the tariffs, et cetera. Talk about this, about w-... You know, you ran a retail business, uh, an online retail business. What does this mean? What do, what do you think is happening here?
- SGScott Galloway
Well, there's a lot there that... The reason why... I mean, in addition to the kind of moral problem or societal problem of having a top 10% responsible for 50%-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
...in consumer economy, what that says about our economy is that it makes the economy more fragile because if 60, 70, 80%, uh, of spend from a middle-class household, probably closer to 90%, are things they can't adjust up or down, they're going to have to figure out a way either on credit or to get a second job to maintain, to continue to pay to their mortgage or for groceries. Whereas when, when Oracle... I mean, Oracle's off... I forget what it's off, like 24%. Uh, it's down... Excuse me, it's down 22% in the last 30 days.
- KSKara Swisher
The markets are still rocky. Again, as we tape the S&P 500, the NASDAQ down, all down. Palantir was down 16% in November, its worst month since August 2023. Nvidia ended November down 12%. Oracle fell 28% last month. Morgan Stanley analysts are warning that Oracle's credit conditions could worsen next year, you think? So p- p- put that all in there because that's the, that's the, the big spenders presumably, right?
- SGScott Galloway
The consumer confidence for, for the top 10% is based on the most damaging metrics ever invented for Western society, and that's the S&P and the NASDAQ because more indicative or fruitful metrics would be like self-harm or suicide or body mass index or what Bhutan does, a happiness index, whatever it might be, or divorce, things that actual- actually drive purpose and meaning. And wealthy households will buy based on a number. They look at the value of their stock market portfolio and when it's really high, they feel comfortable going to Van Cleef & Arpels and giving money away to nonprofits and spending money on nicer vacations, whatever it might be, buying another car. And the thing about wealthy people that's... makes this economy less, uh, more fragile or less robust is that if Palantir goes down 80%, which it easily could, easily, and if Oracle went down 60%, see above easily could, and Nvidia went down 70%, which it easily could, what the top 10% are capable of doing, which the bottom 90 are not, is the top 10% on a dime could cut their discretionary spending by 70%.
- KSKara Swisher
Right. Will they, though? Will they feel not as jolly or what, you know, in terms-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah. They... You can, you can correlate fractional jet ownership and inquiries to the stock market.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I've done the analysis. My speaking inbounds. What I track very closely, I love data, the number of inbound inquiries I get for speaking gigs. I've created... I've tried to create artificial scarcity around my speaking. The sexist word in the English language is no. I don't like to travel so I charge crazy fucking rates.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
That's my rate. Crazy or free.
- KSKara Swisher
I hear it from people when I go speak for lesser amounts but go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
When, when I... My rating, my price card is crazy or free and, and I can correlate the number of inquiries I get to the stock market because when Salesforce, w- when, when I'm speaking at an investment bank's annual gathering, M&A is way up and all of a sudden these niche investment banks are asking me to come speak. Why? Because they're making record fees. So when all of a sudden... And that's the dangerous thing about an economy reliant on the top 10%.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
It's not only morally problematic, it makes it very fragile because they can take spending down on a dime.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
And if you take the top 10% out, the economy is basically flat and then if you add in inflation, you could make an argument that spending is down. Now, in terms of attributes that I think are a little bit more interesting about or are interesting about this Black Friday, one, AI did play a role, kind of these AI tools and bots were responsible for, um... I think, uh, they think that about 10% or a 10% increase was due to AI tools and that... So in-store sales were basically flat. They were just up 1%. Online was up 10%.
- KSKara Swisher
Right. One percent is nothing. Right.
- SGScott Galloway
But also, AI-driven traffic to US retail stores soared 800% or 9X. So AI is starting to creep into retail. The stat that people aren't talking about that I think is really important-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
...and quite frankly very upsetting and a negative forward-looking indicator is that, uh, buy now, pay later usage surged on Black Friday-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
...and it's up 9% overall and it-
- KSKara Swisher
With young people or everybody?
- SGScott Galloway
Young people.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
41% of shoppers aged 61 to... 16 to 24 use buy now, pay later.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh. Such a waste of money.
- SGScott Galloway
And milleni- millennials, get this, increased their usage 87%-
- 15:57 – 21:50
Who’s the Next Fed Chair?
- KSKara Swisher
says he's made his pick for the next Fed chair though he's not sharing a name yet. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, uh, probably the, the most ex- ex- excellent suck-up I've ever seen, is a rumored frontrunner with several current and former Fed governors also in the mix. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who previously said he didn't want the job, said last week that Trump could announce a nominee before Christmas. All of this is happening as the Fed prepares to meet later this month for a closely watched interest rate decision which people aren't really sure about. Two things. Uh, I think Hassett is like literally the... And so many economists I talk to have always thought he was smart, now are like, "What happened to Hassett?" essentially. And of course he sucks up continually and, and I would say lies on, on, on the air quite a bit about where inflation is in numbers. Like he did one about gas prices, none of which was factual and he had to be fact checked on i- in real time and he just kept smiling like an idiot throughout the whole thing. Um, do you have a, someone, you have a, a dark horse you think? And then what, do you think they'll cut, uh, rates in, uh, in their, in, when they meet, uh, later this month?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, I mean it's not gonna consider the people I'd want. I'd wanna go, uh, I'd want something like Austan Goolsbee or, uh, a Justin Wolfers or I'd, I'd like... Uh, yeah, I think Janet Yellen was fanta- I, I, I want someone who's just a total fucking wonk and, and sits by the fire with a Labrador and just looks through data all day long.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm. That's not happening.
- SGScott Galloway
We could do a lot worse than this guy. He, he's known for writing a book that could not have been more wrong. He tried to predict the market and, uh, you know, that's a difficult business.
- KSKara Swisher
We could do worse? (laughs) He wrote a book that was completely wrong. Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
I know but he does... Okay. He, he did st- he wa- he is an economist in the research and statistics department in 1992. He did serve in the Treasury Department under Clinton and Bush. He's not-
- KSKara Swisher
No.
- SGScott Galloway
... not a dumb man and also-
- KSKara Swisher
But people think he's lost his mind. Every economist I talk to liked him and now does not like him.
- SGScott Galloway
Let me be clear. Not my pick. It could be worse. I wouldn't, I just wouldn't have put it past-
- KSKara Swisher
And that's where we are.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't have put it past him to, uh, appoint Don Jr. I mean...
- KSKara Swisher
Right. Yeah, fair point.
- SGScott Galloway
Anyways, I don't... This is not who I would have picked. I would have renominated Jero- Chairman Powell. I would have said, "Hey, you can leave any time. Will you do this for another three or four years?" He's not listening to me.... but I actually, when I first saw this, I thought, "Yeah, not ideal. Could be a lot worse."
- KSKara Swisher
All right. Any other names you think? Just all of a, out of the blue? Could be Don Jr. You're 100% right.
- SGScott Galloway
It just, at this point-
- KSKara Swisher
If he had a pet, it could be his pet. That's, that's where we are.
- SGScott Galloway
I actually think-
- KSKara Swisher
If he does have a pet.
- SGScott Galloway
... I would, if I'd ha- if someone had said, "Guess who it's gonna be, s-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... be," I would've thought it would've been Bessant.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-mm.
- SGScott Galloway
Um-
- KSKara Swisher
Another thirsty person who's lost his reputation.
- SGScott Galloway
But again, you're asking me who I th-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... thought he was gonna appoint, not who I think he should appoint. Um, but yeah, I don't-
- KSKara Swisher
I thought it was Hass. He's been all over the airwaves and that's what Trump likes, right? He's been all over the... He can't shut his-
- SGScott Galloway
I mean, Kevin Warsh, he's a former Fed governor.
- 21:50 – 28:12
Questions about Trump’s AI Czar
- KSKara Swisher
we're back. Tech bros are reaping the benefits of the Trump administration, as if we didn't know that, but the biggest winner might be White House AI and crypto czar, uh, David Sacks. Uh, by the way, cryptos, Bit- Bitcoin's real down recently, by the way, according to a piece in the New York Times, which was m- a mild criticism. His, and, and all sort of, sort of the obvious, uh, Sacks has kept his role as a Silicon Valley investor while serving as a special government employee. That's the way he gets out of it. Ethics waivers, he said he was selling or had sold most of his crypto and AI assets, but the Times found he has more than 700 tech investments that stand to benefit from policies helping shape, and in fact are f- are focused on AI. In his White House role, he's opened the doors to his tech network and pushed to clear regulatory hurdles to the AI firms and attacking any AI firms that don't, you know, go along, like he, he did a really weird attack of Anthropic as if they were, like, part of a... I don't know. He, and he of course never talks about safety, never talks about anything, and they all get to have dinner with Trump. So, uh, Sacks, uh, deemed the story a nothing burger, and tech folks, of course, are really in a very sen- overly sensitive way coming to his defense. Marc Benioff said the article was almost strategic sabotage. Oh, Marc. Marc Andreessen called Sacks a credit to our nation. Um, let me just, I'm gonna start with this. Listen, I'm thrilled we're doing lots of stuff in AI. I think we should invest in it. I've talked about it for years. But this is such an i- in- this is such an insider game for all of them. There's, they don't have anyone who has safety issues. He zeroes out people who, like Anthropic, who have just a little bit of concern for people. This is not about the American people. This is not about democracy. This is about the rich getting their shit and telling us what to do, and their ridiculously over, overweening, uh, reaction was just example of that. This was the mildest of criticisms to point this out, and they're losing their ever-lovin' minds. And I find nothing wrong with pushing AI. I think it's a real opportunity for whatever the president is, but this is so clearly, these dinners, these, it's grifty to the extreme, and it's benefited all of them, including David Sacks. Thank you.
- SGScott Galloway
I didn't even read the article.
- KSKara Swisher
Go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
I knew what it said before I read it.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Um, and this is-
- KSKara Swisher
All they did was go through this, companies. It was just a, it was a mathematical thing, but go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, look. I, I come back to the same place, and that is, he's playing the game that's been set up where if you... I do- I don't, I've never listened to the All In pod, but I've seen clips of it. And it strikes me that they figured out the best economic model in history is to try and-... is proximity and suck up to the President in hopes that he'll give y- h- he and some of your companies regulatory capture or just straight-up government contracts, or maybe award you TikTok at 80% off, that that's the fastest way to go from being worth 50 million to five billion. Or to get your nephew out of prison is just to show up at one of his fundraisers and say, "I'm in for three million for you renovating the East Wing." So I don't... Uh, uh, you read the article, I didn't. I don't see him doing anything different than anybody else that, that is engaged in this conflict of interest, and it all leads back to the same place for me. I think the government, to get that call to serve at the highest levels and be an official advisor in a senior policy position is extremely prestigious, and it should be. And in exchange for doing that, it's absolutely a, a, a signal, accommodation, acknowledgment of your success, and in exchange for taking that position, everything you own, everything you have an interest in, is put in a blind trust. And, and, and also, I think we need to pay these people more. But i- i- we ha- we can't have public policy and competitive markets shaped on who has proximity to the President, 'cause anyone who doesn't ends up-
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
... leaking advantage to those who do. This is just more of the same.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, I think the, the... If, if he was gonna go in and, and impo- improve AI, which is great idea, w- he would, he would look for ways we could all agree. Like he would, he would deal with universities. He would bring in other people, not fucking Mar- how many times has Marc Andreessen been to Mar-a-Lago? Dozens, right? Or whatever it number is. They, they all get to go. I haven't been asked by David Sacks. I disagree with him. I think I have some ideas. Like, he doesn't ask critics. He doesn't ask for feedback. He's not, he's never said the word safety once at all. He's not doing this for all Americans, people. He's doing it for him and his cronies, and that is perfectly fine. This is not a new Washington thing where the cronies don't, uh, belly up to the bar or pigs to the trough. This is not a new thing. It's just this... W- every time they get criticized, like literally it... I, I, I don't even mind them, like, going crazy about this and acting like it was, "Oh, how dare you insult our genius?" Wh- I'm so used to that bullshit, like, 'cause they're such victims themselves. I really got offended when h- he attacked Anthropic in a really rid- like it, it, he picked out an... This is the AI head. He should shut his fucking mouth about individual companies. Anthropic is more safety conscious, and they should be able to say it and be part of the conversation i- in a bigger way. And everybody, if you're the real AI advisor to the President, you let them hear problems too, right? You let them hear, like, criticisms. You let people in. And this is just, this is just pigs at the trough, same thing. And, uh, again, not new but to, th- th- when they get offended by it, it makes me exhausted by these people. They're so overly sensitive. Anyway, go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
Let me just say that I find the thing that's most problematic in that... (sighs) And I don't know if the NYT reported on this, but he received ethics waivers in March and, and said that he'd sold or begun selling many conflicting assets. So I understand the conflict. I'm not guilty of it, and I'm making personal and financial sacrifice to reduce the actual in appearance of conflict. And what it ends up is he has hundreds of investments in companies that have reclassified themselves as computer-
- KSKara Swisher
Yes.
- SGScott Galloway
... or hardware that are basically AI companies.
- KSKara Swisher
Yes. They have AI in every website. That's what... That's all they did. That's all The Times did. Sorry, Marc Benioff. It isn't like strategic fucking sabotage. What is... I'm sorry, I know you're on Mark's side, but stop it, Mark. There's no-
- SGScott Galloway
I did not understand why Mark came to David's be- uh, defense.
- KSKara Swisher
Uh, it's 'cause he, he's so thirsty and wants to get in. Mark, it's so disappointing. It's just a story that shows that his companies are very much in conflict of interest. That's all. So calm the fuck down, all you dudes. Anyway, um, the d- anyway, it was so mild. It was so mild.
- 28:12 – 33:24
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
- KSKara Swisher
Anyway, Donald Trump is escalating his immigration crackdowns o- in another area after two National Guard members were shot, one of them fatally, near the White House last week. And, and, uh, condolences to the family of that woman, uh, National Guard woman, um, allegedly by an Afghan national on Thanks- it's very confusing. On Thanksgiving, Trump posted he's permanently pausing migration from, quote, "third world countries," whatever that means, and is ending federal benefits for non-citizens. He also... These are workers who, who contribute to our society. He also threatened to denaturalize Americans he claims are undermining domestic tranquility. That means you and me, Scott, I guess. Tru- uh, Trump said only reverse migration can fully cure this situation. All asylum decisions have been halted for the time being. Kristi Noem made a... went around and said illegal things all over the place. Um, Ian Bremmer pointed out on Threads this is basically a gift to China and any other country eager to scoop up foreign talent. It also hurts everybody from people who take care of the elderly here, to stores, to factories, to, um, to go after. And there were some... There was a really interesting look at Chicago, and almost all... there was just... Of the 4,000 arrests, maybe 100 had criminal, uh, criminal problems, and, uh, very few of them had serious problems. It was more like they missed an appointment versus, um, versus anything serious. I think the number of serious people was a dozen of the 4,000 people. Th- it was mostly hardworking people that they targeted and, uh, uh, and, and violently I would say. Um, so thoughts on this? I mean, from an economic point of view this has... And denaturalize Americans? How in the hell can you do that?
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, this is just awful on a number of levels, and we don't know if this person had a mental health episode or... and I don't mean to diminish the tragedy here. But, I mean, watching Secretary Noem put herself in knots trying to blame the Biden administration for setting in place the policies that the Trump administration then granted this individual som-... And by the way, I think it's really important that when we have pers- people supporting and collaborating with us in saving American servicemen's life and taking huge risks themselves-
- KSKara Swisher
Like in Vietnam we did at every, everywhere we go.
- SGScott Galloway
... and then repatriating them, giving them opportunity to immigrate here...If this threatens that, I think that's just awful because, uh, I mean, there's a bigger issue around letting, uh, letting the best and brightest come to our nation at all levels with the kind of labor stack. But I think we do, we, we weaken or we put our servicemen and women in much greater peril when we are not taken seriously or the cr- the promise of getting you out of a hostile territory when you decide, uh, uh... You know, these people, if you don't get these people out and after you've abandoned Afghanistan and, and... (laughs) These people are gonna die terrible deaths and their families if you don't g- if you don't give them asylum here. So when I saw this, I thought, "I hope they don't use this as an excuse to stop." At the end of the day, we will be less safe overseas and our fine men and women in uniform will have a diff- more difficult time accomplishing missions if they don't, if the people over there don't feel as if America's gonna look after them.
- KSKara Swisher
Yep.
- SGScott Galloway
If they, in fact, if they, in fact, um, aid us. All right, so this is just... I mean, this is bad all the way around. I don't-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I don't know how to, I don't know how to frame this other than this is a tragedy on a number of levels.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, it's just, it's nuts. Like, look, obviously, we bring people back here, as you said, because they helped us. This was vetted by the Trump administration, and of course, Kristi Noem is doing every pretzel possible, by the way, saying she wouldn't follow federal judges' rulings. I was like, "Are you, like, getting ready to be arrested soon when this is done?" Because she's just like, these people are self-owning themselves legally, like, a lot. You know, "I don't listen to judges." Oh, good. That, when we arrest you, we will be playing this particular, uh, thing. I, the fact that she doesn't wanna figure out what happened here and instead just lay blame. Um, obviously, there was a mental... He was working for a, a, a, I think it's called the Zero Team, which was a particularly brutal, um, group that he worked for. He might have had a mental breakdown. He obviously wasn't, when he was granted asylum by the Trump administration, he obviously was not vetted properly, right? And, and that is what it is. And again, I wouldn't even blame them for that, right? Like, you, nothing's perfect in any of these vettings by the way. But the fact is they have to lay on blame to Biden, by the way, who looked rather rigorous over the holidays, I will say.
- SGScott Galloway
(laughs)
- KSKara Swisher
Um, uh, it just felt, it just felt, it just is like, these people cannot ever just have a tragedy happen and try to solve it. They have to do threats, and they have to u- uh, use everything for a political end. And in this case, it's really bad for our economy. That's all I kept thinking as they were yammering on. Um, and, and still, and it remains a tragedy for all these families that get upended in a really unnecessary way. Anyway, um, I would recommend you listening to people like Ian Bremmer and others so you can understand the economic implications of this. Um, all right, Scott, let's go on a quick break. When we come back, Melania's new production company. Scott,
- 33:24 – 40:49
Melania Launches Production Company
- KSKara Swisher
we're back with a very important story. Melania Trump has launched a new production company called Muse Films. The first project is a documentary titled Melania. Set for global theatrical release in January, the film will spotlight, uh, the 20 days leading up to Trump's 2025 inauguration. The documentary's rights were reportedly bought by Amazon MGM Studios in a bribe... Oh, I mean, uh, they thought it was a great thing, for $40 million. I don't know the last time a documentary got that amount. Um, I, uh, the director of Melania, Brett Ratner, is staying busy thanks to the Trumps again. Ratner, who'd been accused, very credibly, in a really br- uh, an astonishing piece in The New York Times actually, of sexual harassment and misconduct, um, is at work on Rush Hour 4 after President Trump reportedly pushed Paramount to revive the franchise. I don't feel like we need Rush Hour 4. I did like Rush Hour, the original one. Um, so what do you think of this? It feels like another Obama group that's not gonna... She's gonna make one shitty thing and then that's it, these sort of vanity production companies, right?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, whether it's the Markles or the Obamas-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... this is nothing unusual. And that is people who studios convince. Studios like proximity to famous people, powerful people. Also, their fame can lead to... Usually when they write a book, they, it does really well, sells a lot.
- KSKara Swisher
Sometimes, yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Um, uh, what the Obamas and the Markles, quite frankly, developed a reputation for was cashing checks and then not wanting to actually do any work.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
And these things kind of fizzled out and really didn't go anywhere. But what... And look, buyer beware. If they wanna let- leverage their celebrity to... Every author wants to be overpaid. Everyone who write, uh, signs their film production up wants to be overpaid. That's your agent's job is to make the studio, I won't say regret it, but when my book agent negotiates my book deals, i- if I don't get royalties, that means he's done his job. It means he got a big upfront advance or... So them going out and getting deals is fine. What's different here is the following, and it is a distinct difference. They waited, the Ob- the Obamas waited until they were out of office and weren't in a position to influence mergers and acquisitions, uh, with the DOJ or the FTC. The First Lady should not be entering into commercial agreements in exchange for, wink wink, "I'll make sure this acquisition does or does not go through." Netflix, Netflix probably will not get, unless it's some sort of club deal, Warner Brothers because Reed Hastings is known as a Democrat. And so when you say to m- when... This has nothing to do with the untapped, extraordinarily deep creative talents of Melania Trump. Okay? So what this is, is okay, will this put us in a favorable light for $40 million on all regulatory concerns from the FCC around mergers we want or business we want from the most powerful man in the world? And it's bullshit. It all comes back to the same level. If you decide to be in public service, you and your family give up, you get a lot. You get a lot of great shit. You get to fly out on a really cool plane. You can get reservations anywhere for the rest of your life. You get a library named after you. People stand up when you walk into the room.... the downside is you cannot have (laughs) conflicts of any sort like this. And Melania Trump, I've always thought, quite frankly, the first lady, uh, First Lady Trump, I've always thought like, I, I've never understood. I think she's a fir- let me, I think she's the worst first lady in history.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
I, I don't, I don't think she does anything redeeming. I, I, I, I'm still convinced... I, I wanna give her this. I think her English is better than my Czech. I've never heard her speak. Uh, she's guilty of the same chain migration-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... that they're all claiming.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Fine. Uh, uh, she obviously wants nothing to do with him. She's never at the White House. Uh, fine. But, but at the same time, there's no... I, I don't ever feel a need to... I think it's a little unfair when people go after family members, whether it's the first lady or what have you. If she wants to go into film production the day after she leaves office, more power to her. And if someone is stupid enough to believe she has any insight into cre- the creative process, fine. And maybe she does have contacts. Maybe people would be so interested-
- KSKara Swisher
No.
- SGScott Galloway
... if she's willing to say, "Okay, this is, this is the behind the scenes story of, of this guy."
- KSKara Swisher
No, it's not gonna be interesting in any way.
- SGScott Galloway
I agree. But my point is, it, this all comes back to the same thing-
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
... whether it's what we were talking about with David Sacks' conflict of interest, you don't do these deals and excep- accept tens of millions of dollars-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... while you're in office.
- KSKara Swisher
She does. Well, come on. She's been for sale from the get-go since she, she took a plane over here. Come on. Let's be clear what she is. It's just the price. (laughs) It's just the price.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, okay. I wanna be clear.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
I think we're all for sale to a certain extent. I don't begrudge her-
- KSKara Swisher
Not quite like this. Or her.
- SGScott Galloway
I've done, I've done, I've done worse things for a lot less money than sleep with Donald Trump.
- KSKara Swisher
I don't think you would fuck Donald Trump.
- SGScott Galloway
I don't know. I don't know.
- 40:49 – 58:20
Wins and Fails
- KSKara Swisher
feel like I, I am her (laughs) uh, Carol. Um, like, "No, get the fuck away from me," or, "No, give me a grenade," or whatever. I love that show. It is such an inc- That guy has just made me think in all kinds of new ways.
- SGScott Galloway
He's a genius.
- KSKara Swisher
Genius.
- SGScott Galloway
Vince Gilligan is a genius.
- KSKara Swisher
It is so, and it's also funny, funny, funny, funny. Like, uh, every bit of it. And I just, uh, it's not dark, but it is, and I just, uh, it's made me... I can't stop thinking of it. That's what I would say. The winner, uh, run, don't walk to watch Pluribus. It is so good. It is that good, and I, I appreciate you showing that, giving me that.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, good. I'm glad.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. That's my, I guess that's my win-fail, I guess? I mean, my fail is the continued ridiculous sensitivity of the grifters of tech who pretend that they're doing this for all of us when they're doing it for them. That would be my fail, but they're, they're always my fail. They're such greedy little pigs. Anyway, go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
Um, so my win is I, I haven't been a fan of the series but I went and saw the third one and I thought it was just so fantastic. I saw Knives Out.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, I love that, uh, I love those movies.
- SGScott Galloway
And I saw the third-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... and I just thought it was so wonderful. I, I don't get a lot of-
- KSKara Swisher
Benoit, right? Is his name Benoit?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah. Uh, so-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Benoit.
- SGScott Galloway
... um, Daniel Craig, I thought he was the most physical James Bond. He's also, I think, the best actor. I think he, and he's also, he is great in this. And the kid who plays the priest, um... I gotta get the cast. The kid who plays the priest is gonna be a movie star.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, Joe.
- SGScott Galloway
Um-
- KSKara Swisher
What's his name? Joe.
- SGScott Galloway
Who plays the younger, uh-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... uh, the younger priest. And also, you know who I've never been... I'm not, um, uh, I would say I'm not a, um, um, a huge fan, but I just think, I hope... She's the most talented actress that has yet to win an Academy Award.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
Glenn Close-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
... was so good.
- KSKara Swisher
She's always great.
- SGScott Galloway
And she was-
- KSKara Swisher
Also love Tom Stoppard. She gave a great tribute to him.
- SGScott Galloway
She's also, uh, she's 78. She's been nominated, get this, eight times.
Episode duration: 58:20
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