PivotOpenAI May Delay Its IPO. Scott Galloway: "Anthropic Is Eating Their Lunch" | Pivot
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
50 min read · 10,259 words- 0:00 – 0:28
Intro
- SGScott Galloway
The internet doesn't have a speech problem, it has an accountability problem, and our fetishization for free speech and anonymity has resulted in a total lack of accountability.
- KSKara Swisher
[upbeat music] We've got a lot to get to today, so let's dig in. We, we-- There's so much news. Scott even participated in the group chat. He's like, "There's so much news." But actually, his selections were correct, but, 'cause the first one is something I think I was a little... Was I surprised? Comcast
- 0:28 – 13:31
Comcast Splits
- KSKara Swisher
is spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate publicly traded company. The new NBCUniversal will include NBC, the Universal Film Studio, theme parks, and Sky. This is the, the satellite service they have in, in, in the, in Europe. Comcast keeps Exfi-Xfinity Internet and Wireless, so it's back to square one, I guess.
- SGScott Galloway
Mm-hmm.
- KSKara Swisher
The market liked it. Comcast shares jumped twenty-one percent in pre-market trading Monday morning. It's not a total clean bake. Comcast will hold a roughly twenty percent stake in the new NBCUniversal. I think they still have a big stake in MS now too. Um, and the deal's expected to close w- in about a year. There's a catch, though. Analysts say, while the spin-off gives NBCUniversal more freedom to do deals, it leaves Comcast broadband business more exposed at a time when cable is already under pressure. So talk about this. The people they're putting in place are very good executives, um, but does NBC now, now remerge with MS now or what in the... You need to explain this to me. I really didn't quite understand why they're doing it now, uh, what the troubles they're seeking. I know they had looked at, uh, buying Warner at one point. Um, so could Netflix buy NBCUniversal? Um, what, what, there's a lot there. There's a lot at those studios. So thoughts?
- SGScott Galloway
So this is why companies conglomerate. The board who decides the CEO's compensation hires a firm called Towers Perrin, uh, b- 'cause compensation's the hardest part and one of the most important things that a board does. And because boards don't want to do any work, they pay this firm, Towers Perrin, two or three hundred thousand dollars, and they come in with a survey, and the survey says, on a scale of zero to a hundred, fifty being the average compensation, and they look at the industry and the size of the business. And so if you're running a bank that does ten billion a year in business, uh, fifty percent might be three million a year. But if you're running a bank that does eighty mill- eighty billion in business or whatever, then the average compensation is twenty million. So the incentives and also the ego and the also the testosterone and the, and the, and the penis and the midlife crisis all lead-
- KSKara Swisher
Penis
- SGScott Galloway
... incentives for the CEO to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And th- sometimes there are real synergies around different businesses, but almost always not. Typically what happens is you end up with a Frankenstein. And so the market g-gets to a point where the, you have these Frankensteins of businesses that add no synergy, and what the market-
- KSKara Swisher
Can I change the metaphor? It's a turducken.
- SGScott Galloway
A turducken.
- KSKara Swisher
That's what you're talking.
- SGScott Galloway
Thank you for that.
- KSKara Swisher
A turducken. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And what the market has a tendency to do is it looks at the shittiest business, 'cause it says, "There's no synergy here," and it says, "Okay, New York Times, you own seventeen percent of the Boston Red Sox and the seventh tallest building in America."
- KSKara Swisher
This is previously. Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
"This is how much the building is worth. This is how much the Boston Red Sox are worth. But instead, we're gonna look at your shittiest business, your regional newspapers, which trade at four to five times EBITDA, and we're gonna assign that multiple to the entire business," because they don't give you any credit for the, for the stuff that's working really well. So the dispositions, the disposition of assets becomes accretive to shareholders. And in this case, you have a media business that's strong and growing while the connectivity business is shrinking, and what they do is shareholders assign the multiple on the connectivity business to the strong and growing business. Last quarter, the media division, get this, reported a forty percent increase in revenue to nearly twelve billion for the quarter. Theme parks grew twenty-four percent.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Great theme parks. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Media grew sixty-one percent, and studios grew twenty-one percent. And over the same busine- over the same period, the connectivity division shrunk revenues three percent.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
So what you have is-
- KSKara Swisher
So it's connectivity that's not as-
- SGScott Galloway
That's right.
- KSKara Swisher
-huge.
- SGScott Galloway
Residential connectivity shrunk about four percent-
- KSKara Swisher
Sure does. Yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... while business connectivity grew six percent. So what happens is, if you split these things apart, you have one company, the connectivity business, which is a mature business that's in structural decline but still spins off a ton of cash, and then you have a growth business, when it becomes a pure play growth business, gets a much higher multiple, and the result is a stock that was up twenty-five percent based on these two companies that have-
- KSKara Swisher
Two companies
- SGScott Galloway
... more focus.
- KSKara Swisher
So what happens to each of them? Is there, like, look, you have MS. They, they split off MS now, a-and now it's trying to create its own little news division and everything, and doing well for what it is, right? It actually has seen some growth under, uh, those executives. And then you have the media business that has, by the way, there's some fine executives at the media part.
- SGScott Galloway
Very well-run company.
- KSKara Swisher
Donna Lang- Don- Donna Langley. It's a very smart group of people. Whenever I meet them, I'm always so impressed. Um, but they weren't able to participate in the Warner thing, for example, and I know it was frustrating 'cause they were actually the natural owner for that.
- SGScott Galloway
Agreed.
- 13:31 – 22:22
OpenAI Weighs Delaying IPO
- KSKara Swisher
IPO until next year, according to New York Times. The company has been planning to go public as soon as the third or fourth quarter this year. Valuation appears to be one of the sticking points. Sam Altman is reportedly holding out for a $1 trillion. Well, they all want this. The company was valued at 850 billion back in March, 850 billion. There's also some hesitation in light of SpaceX IPO, which is sort of bumpity, which has been trending downward after the sky-high debut, though it's doing a little better as we record. News of the possible delay led to a, a tech sell-off, stock sell-off, with shares of Oracle, CoreWeave, and SoftBank all falling. Um, a- and there's a possibility that Anthropic is breathing down their neck, that they may delay too. There was some t- chatter about that. So is it important for them to wait? As you talked about, the money is getting sucked out of the system. A- and their financials leaked a few weeks ago, with losses increasing nearly 8X in 2025, and spending hitting $34 billion. It's not a, the greatest story in the world. That, and of course, they've got Anthropic right in front of them, not breathing down their neck, right in front of them. They're riding behind it.
- SGScott Galloway
I think this is not systemic, or I think this is, uh, an individual thing, and that is I, I believe that Anthropic is still gonna get out. This is what I call the great flippening, and that is I, I-
- KSKara Swisher
Flippening. Is that a word you made up?
- SGScott Galloway
Fl-
- KSKara Swisher
Is that a vulgar word you made up?
- SGScott Galloway
Flippening. Yeah, there you go. There you go.
- KSKara Swisher
It does sound-
- SGScott Galloway
In the Lincoln bedroom tonight-
- KSKara Swisher
It does sound like a sex act, doesn't it?
- SGScott Galloway
There you go.
- KSKara Swisher
Flippening. What would that be?
- SGScott Galloway
Well, uh, I feel as if I need to use my safe word right now.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm. Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
Maybe.
- KSKara Swisher
[laughs]
- SGScott Galloway
Anyways, the, the great flippening-
- KSKara Swisher
I, I laugh at that every time.
- SGScott Galloway
It's good.
- KSKara Swisher
You've said it-
- SGScott Galloway
You never get told
- KSKara Swisher
... hundreds of times to me, and I laugh-
- SGScott Galloway
You never get told
- KSKara Swisher
... every time. Go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
Um, so Q4 of 2025, OpenAI is the dominant leader. Right now, Anthropic is the d- we've never seen Avis overtake Hertz this fast. This isn't even Pepsi overtaking Coke. It's like RC Cola one morning is the market leader.
- KSKara Swisher
RC Cola.
- SGScott Galloway
And I think Anthropic gets out, but I think OpenAI, if they were gonna have to show their wares or open their cupboards, there was just gonna be evidence everywhere that Anthropic is eating their lunch. And I talk to a lot of CEOs about AI, and the comp- a company I'm an investor in, Section, talks, it does all this, helps companies upscale around AI. What they're seeing is the following, is, quote-unquote, "blame the model." And everyone's blaming OpenAI and swapping them out for Anthropic, believing they're gonna get a much greater ROI. So I think that basically if, when we look back on the great drawdown that will be O, uh, uh, AI valuations that is, I think, gonna happen in the next 12 months, this will be seen as a real crack that, that it kind of was a signal of what's to come.
- KSKara Swisher
I- is it smart to wait? T- you talked about the sort of lack of cap. There's not enough money here, essentially.
- SGScott Galloway
I don't... I, I, if they could get out, they would. I, I think what, I, I think what this says is the CFO talked to the banker, and the banker said, "Okay, there's no wallpapering over this. Your business has lost a ton of momentum." And then you combine it with the second thing that is different than Anthropic. Altman has taken the Amazon and Netflix fake it until you make it, spend more money than anyone else, and your stock will go up. He's taken that to an extreme that is too much, and that is if you look at how much money they are burning, I think what the S1s, and they would be, they would be side by side immediately. Everyone would be comparing Anthropic and OpenAI's financials against each other.
- KSKara Swisher
Yes, they would. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And I think what you would see is the following. Not only has OpenAI massively lost momentum against Anthropic, it is also operating much more promiscuously with cash, and that is, uh, despite Anthropic's massive investments and massive losses, it's projecting that it'll break even by 2030, and Sam Altman's whole thing is, "No, I'm committing to a trillion dollars in CapEx, 'cause the future, there's only one winner." And I think the market, I, I think the S1s side by side would show a company that is losing momentum and is spending way too much money and losing too much money, and I think the bankers have come back and said, "Default."
- 22:22 – 29:40
Buttigieg Targeted
- KSKara Swisher
family. Buttigieg says police showed up at his house after an anonymous tip claimed his four-year-old twins were at risk. CPS investigated the claim, and the Michigan State Police later confirmed the report was completely fabricated. Uh, while the incident was being investigated, Buttigieg was not allowed to be alone with his four-year-old children for 24 hours, and they were interviewed by authorities without either parent present. The incident happened during Pride Month, right after the family posted a Father's Day, uh, photos online. Uh, I was, uh, this was terrifying to someone like myself. This was like it was just some tip that was called in about another tip of something Pete allegedly... It was all nonsense from the... But they had to because they're authorities and he's a well-known person. They had to actually investigate, which is their job. I think they felt sick to do it, but, uh, it turned out to be all false. Uh, uh, it, it, it's a, it's a version of swatting, but more nefarious.
- SGScott Galloway
Swarming.
- KSKara Swisher
Swarming or whatever. Uh, and you know, he's polling well for the 2028 presidential run. This is just, I can't imagine. I know, I know them pretty well. I know, uh, especially Chasten. Uh, uh, you know, this is the fear they have as gay parents, and w- as something I've discussed with them. You know, this is the fear. This is this sort of weird feeling people have about gay parenting that is just, it's, I don't even wanna call it gay parenting, just parenting, um, but that they get stuck with. Um, they are wonderful parents, and these kids are lovely, uh, and for them to have to go through this just sent a chill when I read his piece, and he's not someone who usually is particularly dramatic, but he was f- furious about what happened, as he should've been. Any, any thoughts on this?
- SGScott Galloway
I don't think this is a gay thing. I think this is stochastic terrorism. I, I know a couple-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, interesting
- SGScott Galloway
... I know a couple, a straight couple in the Midwest, and Child Protective Services showed up at their door one day and said, "We need... We're from Child Protective Services. We need to speak to your children." They had no idea what was going on. Uh, by the way, the whole neighborhood found out about it. There's no way you recover from that. No, no matter how innocent you are proven, that's on your Wikipedia page.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
If you're ever on trial for anything, the prosecutor can ask, "Weren't Child Protective Services called to your house?"
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
And when I go through TSA, I immediately feel guilty. I immediately like, "Oh, where's that joint in my po- I've done something wrong." When they, when you see your suitcase go to the, go to the part of the, the, the part where they, they investigate it, you immediately feel guilty. How does a four-year-old not remember that strangers who you're supposed to speak to, who have the authority to separate f- you from your parents, start asking these types of questions, how do you not somewhere in your brain think, "Are mommy and daddy not good people?"
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
How, how do you-
- KSKara Swisher
100%.
- SGScott Galloway
How do the parents, the community, their reputation, and the kids ever recover from that?
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Ever.
- KSKara Swisher
I agree.
- SGScott Galloway
And this is the problem. This is a result of the fetishization and anonymity being linked to shareholder value. And that is, uh, democracy depends upon disagreement, but also accountability. And when the loudest voices face no consequences, the most thoughtful ones log off in fear. And what happens here is the following. I- i- Child Protective Services, their heart is in the right place. They're trying to encourage people to, to, to bubble up real instances of child abuse.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, because they usually miss a lot of them, right? You know, that's, that's what-
- SGScott Galloway
That's right
- KSKara Swisher
... the alarm goes.
- SGScott Galloway
But here's the problem, and here's what needs to be done. The fix isn't to end anonymity. It's smarter than that. The solution is verified yet anonymous credentialing, and that is online, there should be a digital stamp that proves you are a unique human being without revealing which human you are. When you call Child Protective Services, and as it ended up, so the family I was referencing, you know what it ended up? Two months later, they found out one of their daughters was in a beef with another girl in the same high school, and the girl, the rival girl-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, God
- SGScott Galloway
... called.
- KSKara Swisher
Wow.
- SGScott Galloway
This happens all over. But here's the problem. The family faces no consequence. So if you call Child Protective Services, uh, we're gonna guarantee your anonymity. But after investigation, if we find out there's no evidence, guess what?
- KSKara Swisher
We come for you.
- SGScott Galloway
We're gonna investigate you.
- KSKara Swisher
I agree. I was, I was like, "Who are these people who did this?" And, you know, swatting is bad. Swatting is dangerous because there's guns involved, like with kids and everything else. And to me, uh, so heinous, the idea of it. Uh, swatting is when you call in that there's some terrible thing happening at the house, and then, you know, SWAT teams come in, a- as they should when, 'cause they never know, right? And so this is such an abuse of a system that's already broken, right? It's already a problematic system. They don't catch enough child abuse, and sometimes kids don't get checked on, and you read those stories over and over again. But in this case, what, what sick fuck would think of this thing? Like, what sick fuck would make this stuff up? That to me, and I would like to find them, and you know what I'd do to them. But y- I think the authorities really need to have a system. A- and it, y- the thing is, you don't wanna discourage people from telling on real issues of abuse-
- SGScott Galloway
Sure
- 29:40 – 33:52
Housing Bill Future
- KSKara Swisher
housing bill to the White House days after Trump abruptly canceled the signing ceremony for that bill. Interesting move. The bill, which passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, aims to-- and also would be a win for Trump, aims to bring down housing costs, expand homeownership, and boost construction. But Trump says he won't sign it into law until Congress passes his Save America Act, which would require a photo ID to vote and effectively end mail-in voting. By the way, the Supreme Court just upheld a Mississippi law for late-arriving mail-in ballots, a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to queer the election, which is what they're trying to do. Uh, and the housing bill can still become law even if Trump doesn't sign it. So it's technical. If he doesn't sign it, it can become law. If he vetoes it, I believe they have the votes to overcome his veto, so they're kinda putting him in a position. Uh, under the Constitution, the president doesn't sign a bill within 10 days, it becomes law without a signature. And again, Congress can override this one. And so it was interesting that Johnson did this. He obviously knows it's a good thing for, to have this on the Republican record, or at least take credit for it, even though it's kinda bipartisan. Uh, thoughts on that?
- SGScott Galloway
Housing is one of the biggest problems in America, whether it's I was reading this morning that Finland took an opposite route. Instead of focusing on mental health or veterans affairs for the homeless, they just focus on housing. They're like, "Just build cheap housing and get people in housing." And it ends up that housing is a weird form of birth control, that every 10% increase in housing prices, birth rates go down 1%. It reduces people coupling, it reduces birth rates, it reduces self-esteem. You know, housing, uh, affordable housing is really important. And what we have here is, again, the incumbents, once they've owned homes, make it more and more difficult for new permits. It's gone way too far. Uh, Congress, to their credit, recognized it. This bill attempts to get rid of NIMBY legislation and propose YIMBY re- legislation, credits f- more credits, more s- federal sponsorship for communities that have more housing. This is-- I actually thought the bill itself, when you read it, is pretty weak sauce, but it's a very strong sy- symbolic-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm. I agree
- SGScott Galloway
... movement in the right direction.
- KSKara Swisher
Correct. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
And in addition, when does the last time Congress voted 358 to 32 on anything? [chuckles]
- KSKara Swisher
Right. Right.
- SGScott Galloway
So this makes all sorts of sense. Trump getting in the way of this was just stupid. And again, it's veto-proof, so I, I think this is a win.
- KSKara Swisher
What does he do? What does he do? Sign-- He's gotta sign it and take credit, right?
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, yeah, I think so. I, I don't-
- KSKara Swisher
He should. But he's gonna, he's still gonna try everything possible. This SAVE Act, that's not gonna pass, President Trump. It's not.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah.
- KSKara Swisher
It's not happening. So why does he keep doing this?
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, shit. I, I mean, you're asking me to get into this guy's brain.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I would've thought he would-- If I were-
- KSKara Swisher
Sign it. Second it
- SGScott Galloway
... advising him, I would say, "Oh my God, put on-
- KSKara Swisher
Right
- SGScott Galloway
... put on a, a, put, put on a tool belt like you're on a construction site and-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm
- SGScott Galloway
... and run around the-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, that's his thing
- SGScott Galloway
... and take credit for this thing.
- KSKara Swisher
Yes.
- SGScott Galloway
Take credit for, uh, housing. This is, this is a big, big issue for Americans.
- KSKara Swisher
Right. Right. You know, instead he's obsessed with, you know, now he wants to build a golf course and put trees in front of the White House. He's just obsessed with all these weird, uh, obsessive things around the DC area to preserve his legacy, which seems more interest to him. He went and visited. It was pouring rain yesterday, and he was out at Haines Point, where he wants to put in a, a golf course of some sort. Uh, there is a golf course. Everybody wants to improve it. Um, and then putting maple trees around Lafayette Square, all this stuff, and then, of course, touting his really loser, uh, s- American State Fair, whatever, that was... nobody went to. Um, he just seems all obsessed with that kind of stuff and not something that is e- even if it's symbolically, is... E-even symbolically, it's important to, to... I don't get this. This is, this guy. I, I think he's terrified that things are gonna go very badly after November, and so it seems to-- he's gonna self-soothe with maple trees.
- SGScott Galloway
There you go. Self-soothe.
- KSKara Swisher
Self-soothe, right. But he should take credit for this one, and he won't. Um, all right, Scott, we'll be, uh, we're gonna have one more quick break. We'll be back for wins and fails. [whooshing] Okay, Scott, we're gonna do some wins and fails. I think I shall go first.
- SGScott Galloway
You go first.
- 33:52 – 51:04
Wins and Fails
- KSKara Swisher
fail choices, the grift watch of the Trump mining deal in Kazakhstan with Don and Eric stand to profit along with, uh, Lutnik's Lutnik family. Um, the, what's happening in Venezuela is really depressing, watching them try to find people. So many people have died. But I'm gonna be a little personal here. There's two people who died this week, uh, who I know very well and were very impactful on my life. One was, uh, Om Malik, uh, one of the very early tech bloggers, uh, someone who had worked very like me in regular media, um, but then sort of spun off and started doing a really fascinating kind of bloggy and yet fully reported, uh, attitude, uh, attitudinal stuff back, way back in the day, an excellent reporter. He also did events. He did parties. And I really, I got a lot of inspiration from Om, who was one of the most jolly fellows. Uh, I just really enjoyed Om. We fought a lot about a lot of things, but what an amazing impact he had on early tech journalism when it was a lot more help-- you know, a lot more hopeful in a lot of ways. But he actually did call people on things very early. Very wonderful guy. Um, he had, uh, you know, he had shifted to becoming a venture capitalist. I didn't go, though, that direction. Um, but just a really wonderful... And he's getting much deserved, um, praise from all of us who were around then. And he struggled with heart issues for a long, long time and, uh, was, uh, just a really wonderful guy. The other one was my assistant. I don't have an assistant, but I did for many years. Ed Daly also died. Um, another-- He had also had health problems with, around diabetes and everything else, and just a tremendous important part of the growth of my businesses in the beginning, uh, of them, and worked for me for a long time, was an invaluable help, and i- you know, the kind of person you don't hear about. He wasn't a reporter, but did so much stuff to really build the businesses Walt and I built, um, and just was a wonderful guy and was wonderful to my kids, uh, especially Louie and Alex, took them on camping trips with his partner, Mark, and just, just a one, one of these hardworking, really wonderful people who, who helped so many people and, uh, just really sad. I'm sorry he-- Louie just went to see him recently, so I'm glad that happened, but really big impact on my life and, uh, just a tremendously huge-hearted person. Uh, so that is my fail. Um, uh, although I, I, I also-- my heart goes out to people in Venezuela and everything else. Um, and my win is the Supreme Court just rejected Trump's attempt to get a $5 million verdict in the E. Jean Carroll [chuckles] sexual abuse case tossed out. This is the end of the road for him. Now, I think he's gonna s- I just texted Robby Kaplan. Let me see if she wrote back. But, uh, who is the lawyer in the case. Um, we'll see where it goes, uh, on the smaller verdict. He has to pay the $5 million. There is the 80, I think $85 million, $80 million verdict that is still being disputed, uh, but he has to give her the $5 million, um, and which I just kinda love, uh, and now he is very firmly What he is accused of, he did, um, and he can't take it any further. Uh, and we'll see on the second part of it, which is a defama- had defamation related to this case. Um, anyway, good for E. Jean Carroll, and pay up Donald Trump, you, for what you did to her. And I just felt that it was like, today is the day that the Supreme Court kicks Trump in the teeth a little bit, uh, after giving him a lot of wins on immigration, uh, which were... That the Haitians, particularly the Haitian ruling, was really terrible for really hardworking people in this country. Um, in any case, uh, congratulations to E. Jean Carroll.
- SGScott Galloway
Nice. So, uh, okay. So my fail is, uh, I can't get over-- Well, you could argue it's a win for, uh, broadcast news, but there were two really illuminating interviews, uh, this weekend. The first was John Karl, uh, from ABC News interviewed Senator Todd Young and, uh, along with, uh, Senator Mark Kelly.
- KSKara Swisher
I saw that.
- SGScott Galloway
And they talked about how President Trump accused Mark Kelly of sedition. Senator Kelly flew combat missions and also flew the space shuttle at 20,000 fucking miles an hour. I mean, there are few things more patriotic or, than, than the actions of Senator Mark Kelly. And, uh, and they asked, I, I appreciate John Karl calling Senator Todd Young out in front and say, "How come you didn't... Do you agree with this?" And of course, Senator Todd Young broke into song about, he texted Senator Kelly to make sure he was all right, but he didn't say a fucking word.
- KSKara Swisher
He didn't.
- SGScott Galloway
And at some point, I'm waiting for people before they are, you know, lose their primary. Let me-- A- at NYU, we have, we have a second year, which is really a waste of money. It's such that we can charge the kids 140,000, not 70. And we teach all these electives like sustainability and leadership and ethics. Let me save you $7,000 on the leadership course of any major university. Do the right thing even when it's hard. There, you just saved $7,000. And we bring in a formerly important person to talk about what a fucking amazing person they are and how the world was against them, but they did the right thing, and we call it a leadership course. Thank you for your $7,000 in student debt. It, there is such a lack of leadership on the most obvious issues, and I don't understand the calculus from a senator who I believe is a, probably a good man and respects his fellow colleague coming out and saying, "It is wrong to accuse Senator Kelly, an American hero and patriot, of sedition." That is just beyond the line. And then the same time, um, Ryan Nobles, who was an outstanding stand-in for Kis- Kirsten Welker, who I also think is wonderful on Meet the Press, basically kinda got in the face of Senator Roger Marshall and asked him to cite a single example of where voter fraud has influenced an election.
- KSKara Swisher
He did a great job.
- SGScott Galloway
And I thought he... [chuckles] I watched it, I'm like, "Go." And, and of course, this guy just went into blather and, and-
- KSKara Swisher
Doctors need to be trusted by... I was like, "What in the fuck does that have to do?"
- SGScott Galloway
What is he talking about?
- KSKara Swisher
He's a doctor.
- SGScott Galloway
Or that pilots need to be... And it's like-
- KSKara Swisher
Pi- what was the pilot?
- SGScott Galloway
Okay, but there's no problem here.
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
Planes crash. There, there is no, no one has ever been able to provide evidence that a single election has been influenced, much less decided-
- KSKara Swisher
No
- SGScott Galloway
... by voter fraud.
- KSKara Swisher
This guy's been all over the TV, the Dr. Roger from Kansas, uh, the senator, and he's doing the same song and dance everywhere. I don't know why. Maybe he's in a tough fight. I don't know. It's weird. He does this a lot. He's just done this a lot.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, I understand that the only way you can do good is to get elected, but at some point, they've gotta recognize that, you know, this guy is coming, is becoming a lame traducan, as you would say. And at some point, they're gonna show something resembling leadership. And I can't, I can't square the calculus of a senator coming out and saying, "Senator Kelly is an American hero."
- KSKara Swisher
Here, exactly. I don't get it. It's the same thing when they, when Fox News was broadcasting from that American states thing, which looks like a, like the Fyre Festival. And they're like, "Look at all the people." And I'm like, "There's nobody behind you." Like, how do they do that? Peter Doocy, how did you manage to do that? "Oh, everyone's having fun here," and there's 26 people there. And it was so weird. I don't get it. Like, when are they gonna give? When are they gonna give? When do you think they're gonna give on? Same thing with this guy. It's like, you know, don't believe your lying eyes kinda thing. I don't know.
- SGScott Galloway
Anyways, I, I guess it's sort of a win for, for, uh, ABC and NBC News and these, these programs still matter. Despite their declining audiences, they do, are still really relevant. And specifically, uh, it just strikes me at some point, senators who are elected to six-year terms, uh, at some point are gonna begin-
- KSKara Swisher
Come on, yeah
- SGScott Galloway
... to understand that, okay, with the definition of, quote-unquote, "leadership." My, my win is that Bill Maher was awarded the, um, um-
- KSKara Swisher
Mark Twain Award
- SGScott Galloway
... the Mark Twain Award. And I thought it was really fitting that it was at the Kennedy Center. Uh, but, uh, look, I have said this. Something I don't like about myself is I have been way too influenced by comments in social media, which I think are so fucking corrosive 'cause they start influencing you to say this type of thing and not this type of thing. And I've tried really hard in the last couple years to say, "I'm gonna say what I mean, mean what I say, and I don't care what the comments are." There are very few posts that get as much blowback as when I say the following, and I mean it. Bill Maher is a hero of mine. And I think if you were to take every political pundit and have at zero say, I don't know who the craziest right-wing person is, and on 100 be the craziest left-wing person, if I had to identify someone who was exactly at 50, it would be Bill Maher And evidence that he is a centrist is that everyone appears to hate the guy publicly, and then every podcast I go on, the host, when I follow up and say, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" They ask me can I, can I introduce them to someone at Bill Maher.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, interesting.
- SGScott Galloway
The guy has been in the business for thirty-three years. He is fearless.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
He is funny. His contribution isn't defending the idea that people, uh, who disagree should be allowed in the same room. It's that the weirdest thing is that it's so remarkable, and today that is remarkable. And he, he didn't build an audience by telling people what they wanted to hear. He built one by telling everyone something they didn't want to hear. He literally pisses off everybody.
Episode duration: 51:04
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