PivotWhy Democrats' Trump Resistance is Failing | Pivot
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
140 min read · 27,622 words- 0:00 – 5:52
Intro
- KSKara Swisher
I didn't want to see Mark Zuckerberg's chest in any way, and there it was. (instrumental music) Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher, and it's tomorrow where I am, Scott Galloway.
- SGScott Galloway
Are you still in Australia, Kara?
- KSKara Swisher
I am still in Australia. I am still in Australia.
- SGScott Galloway
Wow.
- KSKara Swisher
I know. I've been here-
- SGScott Galloway
Wow.
- KSKara Swisher
... a while. I've been all over this amazing country. I was in, uh... I was in Brisbane, I was in Adelaide, I was in Sydney, and now I'm in Melbourne, which I think is my favorite city. I hate to pick one 'cause there'll be... all the Australians who love us will be mad at me. But it's a great city, it's a fantastic city.
- SGScott Galloway
It's a great city. Last time I was in Australia, I traveled to New Zealand.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- SGScott Galloway
And, uh, I was driving... I was driving along the side of the road and there was a guy fucking a sheep.
- KSKara Swisher
(laughs)
- SGScott Galloway
And I said, "You know, in Australia, they shear them." And he said, "Fuck you. I'm not shearing her with anybody."
- KSKara Swisher
(laughs)
- SGScott Galloway
(laughs) That's good.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh my God.
- SGScott Galloway
That's good.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, I can't believe you have a dirty Australian joke. This... Where-
- SGScott Galloway
I'll... I'll take it PG-13.
- KSKara Swisher
Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
You're coming to Texas in a few days, right?
- KSKara Swisher
I, I... Tomorrow, yeah. Mm-hmm. Well-
- SGScott Galloway
I'm bringing cheese for it.
- KSKara Swisher
Yesterday t-... the day after tomorrow for you. But go ahead, sorry. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I'm bringing cheese, uh, for us, uh, so that we can handle any emergency. I'm calling it my Just-in-Caso. (laughs)
- KSKara Swisher
(laughs) Oh, Scott. Oh, Scott. I love-
- SGScott Galloway
So what do... Okay. What have you been doing-
- KSKara Swisher
To ask you about Australia.
- SGScott Galloway
... in Australia?
- KSKara Swisher
I've been, uh, going on my book tour. Um, I, I didn't come here when my book came out last, uh, March.
- SGScott Galloway
What, are you gonna sell 11 books this year in Australia? (laughs)
- 5:52 – 10:11
Jon Stewart vs. Elon Musk
- KSKara Swisher
the two of them sit down for an interview. After an X user suggested the two should have a conversation, Musk said he'd be up for it if, quote, "The show airs unedited," after Stewart accepted. And obviously the show is always unedited-... Elon. Musk proceeded to call him a propagandist, saying he used to be more bipartisan and sort of, uh, backed away. Let's listen to Stewart's fantastic response.
- JSJon Stewart
The guy who custom-made his own dark MAGA hat-
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JSJon Stewart
... that he wears to opine in the Oval Office with the President who he spent $270 million to elect, uh, thinks I'm just too partisan.
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JSJon Stewart
I, I, I'm really not sure what he thinks bipartisan means, but it's generally not, "I support Donald Trump and also Germany's AFD party."
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- JSJon Stewart
That, that's not bipartisan, that's just the same shit. So, uh, I guess what I would say is this, uh, look, Elon, uh, I do have some, uh, criticisms about Doge. I support in general the idea of efficiency and delivering better services to the American public in cheaper and more efficient ways. And if you wanna come on and talk about it on the show, uh, great. Uh, if you don't want to, sure. But can we just drop the pretense that you won't do it because I don't measure up to the standards of neutral discourse that you demand and display at all times?
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. That was good, that was good. Um, you know who's doing really well? I think comics have like... Like Stewart and Bill Burr has been really funny and Bill Maher has kind of been up to... Like all, all... Chelsea Handler, all of them are really handling it, like, really well, I would say. Like in a way that's funny, approachable and also very pointed. I, I'm just... I find them, I don't know, for some reason, quite good. I don't know if you do, Kimmel?
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, they've been great. But the most... I would argue, you know, comedians have always played a pretty big role in culture and highlighting the injustices of culture. I would argue the most important in that group is Bill Burr-
- KSKara Swisher
Bill Burr.
- SGScott Galloway
... because I think Bill has so much credibility across the conservative ecosystem. And he was constantly setting progressives' hair on fire with very, very funny, provocative and, you know, whatever, inappropriate, see above, comedian. And he's just gone off on Musk. Uh, and I think for me, it represents sort of the nadir, the peak or whatever, where the dialogue has really, really flipped and people are coming... I, I do think there's sort of been a reveal. By the way, I wonder if, if Elon's gonna bring one of his kids as a human shield to Jon Stewart. By the way, I don't think that's ever gonna happen.
- KSKara Swisher
I don't think he's going. No, no, he's not going. He's saying he's too bipartisan. He's so... He's such a chickenshit.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- KSKara Swisher
He's such a chi-
- SGScott Galloway
I'll, I'll fight you anywhere in jujitsu.
- KSKara Swisher
I'll fight... Oh, I'll fight you.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh no, never mind. My, my-
- KSKara Swisher
Sticky.
- SGScott Galloway
I have a herniated disc. There's no way he's gonna go on that show.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, no way.
- SGScott Galloway
No way.
- KSKara Swisher
No, because he can't keep up. Stewart's too fast and too sharp for him. He's not... He's not... I, I think people should realize, I mean, Elon's not... He's a very smart person, but in this regard, he is not. And Stewart would run circles around him in a way that would be embarrassing. Um, uh, anyway, we'll see. Uh, in other news-
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, by the way, uh, just-
- KSKara Swisher
... you were right to start.
- SGScott Galloway
Just because you didn't ask-
- KSKara Swisher
Sure. What?
- SGScott Galloway
I've been in Barcelona, Miami-
- KSKara Swisher
Oh.
- 10:11 – 13:51
Musk’s Influence In Wisconsin Election
- KSKara Swisher
Supreme Court election, like, what is he doing over there? Ads run by the group highlighting progressive values appear to be coming from supporters of Democratic-backed candidate, but instead come from conservatives. Musk's America PAC, uh, is the biggest outside spender in the race. The outcome of the election will have major implications in Wisconsin as the court is expected to face issues surrounding abortion, voting rules and unions. Liberals gained a four to three majority two years ago, if you remember that, and after 15 years of conservative control. Um, I, I, I heard from the people who are backing the, the... It's a woman candidate for the judgeship, um, uh, who, who are working really hard, who won the last time they had this fight. Um, but the money from Musk is... This is where you're gonna see it, uh, all across the country, people that, that are against Trump in some way are gonna... This money is gonna move in, uh, like, uh, crazy. Like...
- SGScott Galloway
But, but there's a couple of reveals here-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... or points, and that is one... And I've said this, this is one of my big themes for 2025. Democracy and rights have now become the R is almost one. They're almost perfectly correlated with how much money you have. Because in almost every election in America, it's kind of 48% vote one way, or 49, and 48 or 49 vote the other way. And one or two percent swing the election. And lately, because of gerrymandering, it's 0.1% that swing the election. And it's pretty fairly obvious that, that Musk and his t- ad targeting and a third of a billion dollars in key states, uh, leveraged by a platform, he probably decided who was president in the most... He's probably decided the geopolitical priorities for the next four years globally. So if you don't think that rights are directly correlated to money, case in point, Elon Musk. And then when you look at Doge and what he's doing in Wisconsin, there are people on the right and they are...... they are intellectually honest. It's about politics for them, it's about a belief system. Whether you believe th- th- if, whether you agree with them or not, you have to respect their ideals and them putting their money, their time, their treasure, and talent behind those ideals. It has, I don't think it has anything to do with it here, and that is, if you look at Doge, Doge isn't about fraud and waste. The first thing they've, they thought they identified on their wall of receipts at eight billion was eight million, and numbers two, three, and four, people can't even verify. They seem to be false. But what they've managed to do really elegantly is remove regulators in autonomous driving.
- KSKara Swisher
(laughs) Yeah, not just that-
- SGScott Galloway
I mean, it's just so obvious-
- KSKara Swisher
... all over the place, yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
This isn't about ideology-
- KSKara Swisher
Far from true.
- SGScott Galloway
... it's about money. And by the way, that judge that he is trying, that he is trying to get, that he is trying to get elected, Wisconsin, you need an exemption to directly own car dealerships, like most states. The, the regulators or the lobby for car dealerships have made it very difficult for, uh, car dealerships to be vertically owned by the manufacturer because there's a lot of wealthy people and they think that it's good for competition. You have to get an exemption in Wisconsin. He has been suing th- in Wisconsin for this exemption, and if he gets his guy on the Supreme Court there, it'll likely be overturned. Folks, wake up. Money equals power, full stop. And this guy, it's all about money. It has nothing to do with his views politically-
- KSKara Swisher
Or, or control.
- SGScott Galloway
... or-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... i- i- this all reverse engineers to, "I want, I want my cars put on the road regardless of safety standards. I want Verizon kicked out and then you get in."
- KSKara Swisher
"I'm behind in AI, I'm in, behind in AI. I would like this to happen." Yeah, I agree. I think people, you know-
- SGScott Galloway
I mean, the Koch brothers have a lot more intellectual honesty than this guy.
- KSKara Swisher
They do, they do. I think they actually believe-
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah.
- KSKara Swisher
... some of their nonsense. Anyway, speaking of which, it's not just Musk. Google is urging officials at Trump's DOJ to
- 13:51 – 20:29
Google Urges DOJ To Stop Breakup
- KSKara Swisher
back away from breaking the company up. Reps from the parent company, Alphabet, argue that breaking up the search engine could have national security repercussions. I'm sure that not. As a reminder, the Biden administration called for Google to sell off Chrome and make other business changes after the judge ruled the company, uh, to be an illegal online search monopoly. A federal judge is set to rule on what Google must change, uh, at a hearing next month. Um, but it doesn't... The judge is gonna decide this, but this is a, a... They put a donation to Trump's inauguration. And, you know, these people have been running from regulation for decades, two decades now. And here is what I consider a minor thing, a minor change, that other, other industries, um, have been ab- have not been able to get out of. And here they are doing the same thing. So it's not just limited to Musk, although he's the most egregious example of it. Um, but they're all sort of pay-to-play kind of stuff going on.
- SGScott Galloway
Yeah, they're doing what they're doing.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
They're, they're trying to figure out a way not to be broken up.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
What, what's, what's counterintuitive is I think shareholder value would actually go up if they were broken up.
- KSKara Swisher
You and I both, sir. Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
But, but the problem is the people in charge wanna sit on the iron throne of all seven realms, just not Westeros, and they get to decide. But Alphabet, while having probably more, maybe with the exception of Apple, more separate, independent, $100 billion plus independent companies that you could spin, they probably have four or five, they do have an existential crisis, and that is their search, uh, share, or their share of search fell below 90% for the first time. And AI is just starting, is starting to, uh, uh, eat away at their share, and it is the ultimate example of the em- innovator's dilemma, where they essentially invented much of the original IP, yet they sat on their hands, and as a result, Alphabet's Gemini, their LLM, is vastly beaten by OpenAI, Anthropic, and even DeepSeek. And it's just, they gotta be really kicking themselves that, "How did we let everyone get out, uh, ahead of us?" In their latest, uh, earnings report, the stock tumbled by nearly 9% and their revenue had growth, uh, their revenue growth slowed, um, uh, has slowed since, uh, this time last year. And it's... So they're facing their own issues. And the o-
- KSKara Swisher
Did you see Sergey Brin was talking about everyone back to the office and we gotta hardcore it? He was, he's the fo- one of the founders, was talking about the need to do that in order to prevail in, in AI. He, he even was sounding the alarms.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, th- this is, I mean, it really is, this company is, uh... But here's the thing, the iss- the argument they will make when they get in front of judges, on earnings calls they will say, "Temporary lag. Look at this. Everything's great. We're amazing. The power here is unprecedented." When they get in front of a judge next week, they're gonna be like, "Oh my God, things are so terrible. You can't break us up right now. We're, we're really weak."
- KSKara Swisher
National security implications, I mean, they, they... (sighs) It's just, they come up with something every time. Like, "We must have strong national champions." It sounds so, I don't know, Chinese, fascist.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, nationalist. I, I mean-
- KSKara Swisher
I know. (laughs) I know.
- SGScott Galloway
... just, just a quick definition. When people throw around the term fascist a lot, they use it to describe Carter, Obama, people incorrectly use it to describe certain aspects of the Trump administration. Fascism is extreme nationalism. It's a belief that someone you elect, who, for whatever reason, your, his, his view of what's good for the nation should su- supersede the other party, any governance, any checks and balances, even the courts. Even you don't, you refuse to condemn violence against your enemies, you condemn immigrants. That is fascism. It literally... This kind of, the current administration and their current policies are literally the textbook definition of fascism. So it's, it's a word that's become overused, but it's absolutely appropriate here.
- KSKara Swisher
One of the things that I was saying to someone, I forget, to one of the questions, and they said, "What bothers you the most?" I said, "Well, a lot of times they competed." I was, you know, as I go, look back on, I'm talking about my book and stuff like that, like, they compet- like, like Steve Jobs competed on product, right? Or tried to compete on the actual products. There's so many bad products. Like, Tesla has not innovated. I said, "I'm offended by Elon because of Elon," but the car hasn't innovated, right? Very much. And there's, and that's why he's losing. Or Google Search hasn't innovated. And, and, and all kinds of products aren't better, right? They're, a couple, couple of them are, are doing a better job. I think Apple has come up with several new interesting products over the past 10 years, for example, AirPods, the Watch, things like that. But they, they're, th- right now, they're competing on oligarchy and-... access and proximity, and none of it's about the actual product. And that makes me... I don't know, I was like, vaguely, like, it was irritating that they can't... That this is the way they're going to get an advantage. And I get that's why, but it feels that's late stage, and it m- it's a real turn for them that they can't compete on actual things. They have to get whatever angle they can in order to stay in business. Like, like Starlink, "I wanna s- I want, I, I wanna be close to where it is so I can get whatever I want." Although Canada just kicked him out. That Justin Trudeau has gotten a dose of backbone, have you noticed that? He's ver- he's extra adorable recently, I have to say.
- SGScott Galloway
There is, there is a real void-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... that people are stepping into-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... I would say Trudeau, and I also would say Macron-
- KSKara Swisher
Macron.
- SGScott Galloway
... is really stepping. Uh-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, they're looking very handsome. I don't... They're looking very handsome.
- SGScott Galloway
You're, you're drawn to these individuals, and then-
- KSKara Swisher
Well, they are. I'm, they're acting like leaders. They're not, not just 'cause I like what they say, but like-
- SGScott Galloway
Power is an aphrodisiac, I get it, I'm, I'm a little pumped.
- KSKara Swisher
Um, they're being clear and crisp, and, uh, you know-
- SGScott Galloway
The real test. Are, are you hot for Starmer yet? Keir Starmer, who assembled-
- KSKara Swisher
I love him. I think he's adorable.
- SGScott Galloway
The... Who assembled world leaders.
- 20:29 – 26:37
Trump’s Speech To Congress
- KSKara Swisher
to Congress this week, and for those watching, it felt like yet another campaign rally. He has gotta get some new material. Over the course of one hour and 40 minutes, very long, uh, Trump touted his accomplishments, revisited old grievances, and repeated lies. It was vintage. It was a good version of what he did, what he does. He praised Elon Musk and Doge, mocked Democrats and wokeness. Uh, he didn't unveil any future policies or plans, it was a greatest hits, and it was a good version of greatest hood- hits. We'll get to the Democrats in a bit. Um, what did you think about, uh, the speech? And I'll just note, um, Trump also noted in the speech that he's working to end the war in Ukraine, and also said a letter he got from Ukraine's President Zelensky apparently now is ready to come to the negotiating table. He's had to, he, he's had to do, he's had to get the lesson in how to suck up to Trump, which is unfortunate. Um, it follows this explosive meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and JD Vance in the Oval Office last week, the second most interesting thing JD Vance has done on a couch, uh, according to the American people. Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine earlier this week, and he's cut off intelligence sharing as well, which is probably even more devastating. Um, first, talk about, uh, what you thought of his speech, and, and then the Oval Office situation.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, putting truth aside, and I'm gonna circle back to truth, um, I thought it was a win for him-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm. I agree.
- SGScott Galloway
... and I thought it was a loss for Democrats.
- KSKara Swisher
I agree.
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, I thought he came across as, uh, resolute, as strong. I thought he looked good, I thought he was forceful, I thought he was articulate. And I don't wanna be one of those nations that digresses into a total fucking food fight in our, in our, uh, uh, uh, addresses. I think that it reflects poorly on the United States.
- KSKara Swisher
Well, get to the Democrats in a minute. Talk about him. Why do you think... I agree with you. Why do you think he did well? Even though it was the greatest hits, he did the greatest hits well, is what I thought.
- SGScott Galloway
Well, he was just... He came across as forceful, and we are now in a situation where I have friends who have become, who put out reels and just adopt every talking point no matter how r- outrageous it is. But just a little bit of an economic reality check, he could declare it "America is back." Meanwhile, markets are tanking and the economy is tumbling.
- KSKara Swisher
I know.
- SGScott Galloway
GDP.
- KSKara Swisher
I know.
- SGScott Galloway
The US economy, the US economy is contracting at the fastest rate right now since the COVID lockdowns. The Atlanta h- the Atlanta Fed has something called a GDPNow model, which estimates annualized growth. And it's gone from 4% up, which was remarkable, to negative 2.8 in the last month. Consumer confidence has had its greatest drop since COVID. Retail spending is down.
- KSKara Swisher
Eggs up. Trump, take egg.
- SGScott Galloway
The markets are not in free fall, but definitely declining. The NASDAQ has lost 9% in 10 days. All of the gains since the Trump bump has, have disappeared. He has the greatest levels of disapproval of any president except one other-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... at this time in his presidency, and that other was Trump's first term. 52% saying he's ignoring the country's biggest problems. And just a little word search fun here, he mentioned Greenland three times more than affordable housing, veterans, or prescription drug costs. Zero mentions of healthcare, zero mentions of veterans or prescription dug- drug costs, five mentions of tax cuts for billionaires, five mentions of illegal aliens, six mentions of the Panama Canal, 13 mentions of Joe Biden, and three mentions of annexing Greenland. So, it was-
- KSKara Swisher
Panama. Don't forget Panama.
- SGScott Galloway
(sighs) It is just... And my favorite was, "The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over."
- KSKara Swisher
Oh. And then-
- SGScott Galloway
While Elon Musk- (laughs)
- KSKara Swisher
I know.
- SGScott Galloway
... sat in the audience.
- KSKara Swisher
I know.
- SGScott Galloway
And oh, my, uh, uh, my second favorite-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.Oh, transgender mice? Oh. Free speech- Oh, go ahead.
- SGScott Galloway
Free speech, it's back. Uh, forgetting that on his social media post, he said he would ban illegal protests at universities and that he has barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office. So, unfortunately, our leadership and our politics and even our truth have become just who can lie the most with the most confidence.
- KSKara Swisher
He was an effective liar. That's what I thought. I'm like, "He's lying excellently here." And it's, and it was like so, it was easily proven lies. The transgender mice thing was insane because it's transgenic mice and it, they put DNA. It's a, it's a, it's not what he was describing it as. But of course, he wins the day because it's like transgender mice. And you know, it's ridiculous.
- SGScott Galloway
You know-
- KSKara Swisher
It's ridiculous.
- SGScott Galloway
And you know what was just, uh, uh, just when you thought the guy couldn't get any more craven, the emotionally mani- the emotional manipulation of that, that girl who had her face, uh, her nose broken and got a concussion because of a spike from a transgender volleyball player. I just want to remind everybody before they clutch their progressive pearls, a couple years ago on this show, I said that transgender women should not be allowed to be in sports where there is money or scholarships on the line. I have, I said that early and often, much to the, much to the-
- 26:37 – 32:00
Ukraine’s Future
- KSKara Swisher
of beating up on someone and, and planning a, a ridiculous attack.
- SGScott Galloway
Purely orchestrated by Putin.
- KSKara Swisher
Orchestrated. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
Purely orchestrated by Putin. I mean, just, uh, that was planned. Vance who doesn't have... I mean, my, uh, the only thing that gave me any sort of joy there was watching literally Senator Rubio lose all of his last-
- KSKara Swisher
Bits of soul.
- SGScott Galloway
... final specks of soul and respect for himself.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh. And then he defended it.
- SGScott Galloway
Knowing-
- KSKara Swisher
Then he defended it.
- SGScott Galloway
Knowing that TikTok would come up with every time he's presented himself as a cold warrior and he just sat there literally-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
... uh, melting into detritus.
- KSKara Swisher
Him and Lindsey Graham, Lindsey Graham. "I can't believe I, I, I can't believe."
- SGScott Galloway
Oh my God.
- KSKara Swisher
Listen, Foghorn Leghorn.
- SGScott Galloway
Jesus Christ.
- KSKara Swisher
Closeted Foghorn Leghorn.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, my God.
- KSKara Swisher
Just go back to your closet, would you?
- SGScott Galloway
Which, that reminds me, what's the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea?
- KSKara Swisher
What?
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, I'm not gonna pay 50 bucks for a garbanzo to bean on my face.
- KSKara Swisher
I don't even know what that means.
- SGScott Galloway
Think about it. Think about it.
- KSKara Swisher
Uh, oh.
- SGScott Galloway
I, I...
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm. I still don't get it. Don't explain.
- SGScott Galloway
Fi- 50 bucks.
- KSKara Swisher
(laughs)
- SGScott Galloway
I pay 50 bucks for a chick to pee on my face.
- 32:00 – 43:01
Democrats’ Lackluster Resistance
- KSKara Swisher
let's talk about the Democrats who tried all sorts of tactics during Trump's speech, none of which worked. Congressman Al Green was removed from the chamber after interrupting the speech, shaking his cane and shouting to Trump, "No mandate to cut Medicaid." I didn't mind him as much. That's fine. And other forms of protests, some Democrats wore pink, some held up auction-style paddles that said, "False" and "Musk steals." A few walked out during the speech. One lady was wandering around, "This is not normal" behind Trump. It was juvenile. It was so, oh, they were trying to make-
- SGScott Galloway
It looks terrible, almost.
- KSKara Swisher
... fetch hack, like completely, the whole thing. If you call someone Hitler, wearing pink is not the response, people. I'm sorry. It's just not. Uh, uh, uh, uh, the only person I did thought, think was a good job was Senator Elissa, uh, Slotkin gave a Democratic response after the speech where she talked about the dangers of Elon and Doge. I thought she did an excellent job. Let's just listen to her and then I want your response of what you thought.
- JSJon Stewart
While we're on the subject of Elon Musk, is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information, and your bank accounts? No oversight. No protections against cyber attack. No guardrails on what they do with your private data. We need a more efficient government. You wanna cut waste? I'll help you do it. But change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe.
- KSKara Swisher
Thought she was great. Uh, that was the only high point is a really nice response and a very clear, uh, centrist, very, very, uh, uh, focused on the audience, which is the American people. So, what, tell me what you thought about this and what would have been an effective strategy here?
- SGScott Galloway
Look, the, the, one of the most powerful things about the presidency is they get the bully pulpit. And they get to stand up in front of the vice president and the speaker and the cameras and the music and the majesty. And they get to, they get to win every time they do it. And, uh, I think the whole thing reflected really poorly on Hakeem Jeffries and, uh, Democratic leadership because they clearly have no control over their constituents and their messaging is awful. We looked terrible, Kara. We looked, we looked reckless, immature, beside ourselves. You don't think that emboldens Republicans when they see us acting this way? What could they do? The bottom line is, there's not a lot to do. You sit there. You're polite. Uh, there's probably a couple things you can clap for when they welcome, whatever, a war veteran-
- KSKara Swisher
Right.
- SGScott Galloway
... you can stand up and applaud. And other than that, you just sit there and you take it.
- KSKara Swisher
Or you don't go. Or you don't go. Right? You can-
- SGScott Galloway
Uh, fine.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
I, I don't even think that's a good idea.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
'Cause I don't, uh, eventually we're gonna digress to only half the chamber shows up-
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
... for every presidential address.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, yeah. That's fair. That's fair.
- SGScott Galloway
And I think there's a certain level, there's a certain level of decorum. But they, this is again, the Democrats, uh, have consistently-
- KSKara Swisher
Feckless. Feckless is the word, I thought.
- SGScott Galloway
... shown they do not have discipline and they do not have leadership and they do not have, uh, good messaging right now. They haven't gotten their shit together. They are-
- KSKara Swisher
The signs. I was like, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, this is not gonna be a viral moment."
- SGScott Galloway
I-
- KSKara Swisher
This is so bad.
- SGScott Galloway
It disgusted me when one of the squad put up this, this sign saying, "Genocide" when Netanyahu spoke.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
Whether they, uh, you just don't, you don't show up with signs.
- KSKara Swisher
It's not the place for it. It's not the place for it.
- SGScott Galloway
Anyway.
- KSKara Swisher
I like a good protest, let me just tell you.
- SGScott Galloway
I thought, I thought it was a loss for us.
- 43:01 – 53:04
Trump’s Tariffs
- KSKara Swisher
break from Donald Trump's 25, uh, percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, roiling markets and creating headaches for companies in the US and around the world. Canada quickly announced retaliatory tariffs, with the very handsome Justin Trudeau doing it. Uh, Mexico is announcing countermeasures. She's also fantastic, the president of Mexico, uh, this week. China is also taking action after Trump added 10% to existing tariffs. Trump acknowledged in his address to Congress that there would be a little disturbance from these tariffs, but he's okay with that. But then he- he turned it around, which means he only wants to sort of threaten American companies, it felt like. He's trying to like let certain people in and pay homage to him and this and that. So, stocks have been on a roller coaster, as you know, during the last few days, with Dow falling almost 700 points on Tuesday. The markets rebounded on Wednesday on the news that automakers were getting the exemption. It's such a fucking game. It feels so deep state and manipulative. And anyway, um, we'll see more exemptions. And if you're a CEO right now, uh, it would be very hard to know what to do. Target and Best Buy CEO's are already warning about price increases. Um, and is the rest of the world just gonna start doing business without the US if these tariffs continue? Uh, Warren Buffett looks like he's sick to his fucking stomach. He does. He- first time, he didn't respond. He- he said the tariffs were ridiculous and that it's a tax, uh, on- on the little guy. But then when some- when asked about the economy, he's like, "I'm not gonna comment," which is bad news, 'cause Warren Buffett always gives the straight scoop on things. What do you think?
- SGScott Galloway
Put the moral arguments aside. We have established amazing economic trade relationships and trust and rule of law and reciprocal... When- when I'm in the Gulf, I have a speaking gig in the Gulf, and then October the 7th happens and I make some comments that they don't- they- they find, uh, disagreeable and they cancel the speaking contract. We have a contract, and nowhere in that contract did it say, "You're not allowed to say certain things." And then we point it out and they say, "You're right, we respect rule of law. We've got a great trading relationship. We're gonna come to a settlement." We have established really strong economic relationships with the world's largest economies over the last 80 years that benefits them and benefits us. And one of the key tenets of American capitalism democracy is we believe in lifting up people all around the world, that economic prosperity, if it's shared, we all do just much better. And we have amazing trading relationships with the world's largest economies and we are taking them and saying to those economies, "Figure out alliances and relationships and trade routes and supply chains and legal agreements with each other and go around us and exclude us and be less inclined to trade with us moving forward." Because even if he drops these tariffs, they can't trust us. They- they can't go- they can't start clearing off all Jack Daniels off of all shelves and figuring out how on earth are they gonna reconfigure the supply chain of cars. By the way, with these tariffs, cars are going to cost, if these tariffs hold, an additional $12,000. Each car. What people don't realize, cars, General Motors cars, those big American trucks, the parts go back and forth across the Mexican and Canadian borders numerous times. So, you're talking about another- another $12,000. More than half of America's produce comes from Mexico. Everything's about to... 99% of shoes in America are imported. You're gonna see this everywhere.
- KSKara Swisher
Crazy stuff. There was, what was it? Sledgehammers? Um, it was like a bunch of, like, something else that was so strange and I was- I had no idea it was made in Canada besides maple syrup.
- SGScott Galloway
The- the-
- KSKara Swisher
I got that one.
- SGScott Galloway
The average US household is gonna see prices go up by $1,200 each year.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
And when you're- the average household makes, what is it, 68 or $70,000, call it.
- KSKara Swisher
Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
55 after taxes. That's the difference between being able to go on vacation or not.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
So this is... When I- I was a-
- KSKara Swisher
So- so what about these exemptions?
- SGScott Galloway
Go ahead.
- KSKara Swisher
Because a lot of people feel that he is- he is sort of trying to get companies in line with him, like, "Make sure you're on my side."
- SGScott Galloway
It's mob boss.
- KSKara Swisher
Mob boss. That's what it feels like.
- SGScott Galloway
Mob boss. (laughs)
- KSKara Swisher
Deep state mob boss, like, "Hey, you know, what you pay-"
- SGScott Galloway
"You paying me?"
- KSKara Swisher
Uh-
- SGScott Galloway
And by the way, it started with Tim Cook who kissed his ass.
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- SGScott Galloway
And all of a sudden the iPhone was exempt-
- KSKara Swisher
Exempt.
- SGScott Galloway
... from certain tariffs.
- KSKara Swisher
Exempt.
- SGScott Galloway
And-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah.
- SGScott Galloway
So basically what he's doing, he's saying, "Okay, who's willing to give me money?"
- 53:04 – 1:06:14
Wins And Fails
- KSKara Swisher
wins and fails. I shall go first. Um, I'm gonna say, uh, I was gonna talk about, there's a really great, um, column by Mike Masnick in Techdirt talking about how-- he writes about tech, uh, a lot of the time, and he, he, he's, he's, he's written a wonderful piece about how he's now a democracy blog, and he was talking about the importance of tech reporters to really explain what's happening, and I agree with that. I think Wired's doing a great job. I think The Wall Street Journal, uh, has done a great job, and The New York Times has, and, and a lot of publications, uh, big and small. So I think that's the thing. But actually, I'm going to-- actually, some- something I watched on the plane, I binged watched it, it's called Running Point. Our friend Justin Theroux is in it, he's fantastic. But the star is Kate Hudson and this most astonishing group of very funny people. It's about basketball, essentially. It's about, um... it's a group called the LA Waves. It's about a basketball owner, and it's kind of like silly and stupid and a bit of an ad for how good sports is, kind of a feel-good comedy. And critics don't like it because it's not mean and how terrible it is, but I loved it, and I think Kate Hudson is the most adorable person ever, and it's very, very, very funny to me. I love this show. It's on Netflix, again. And I get it, I get why critics don't like it, because they're snotty bitches, but I had a great time, um, uh, watching it, and I watched-- I binge watched the whole thing. And again, Justin is amazing in it, among the many actors in it who are amazing. Every single person is. Um, but he does-- he wears a w- a, a sh- I wrote him, I said, "Your scarf work is excellent." He plays a baske- uh, a basketball owner, um, basketball team owner. Um, anyway, I love it. It's really fun. Um, my, my negative, uh, I- I- I'm trying to go between... I try not to talk about people's outfits, but it's very hard this week. I'm trying to go between Elon's new haircut, which, um, is again, a very lesbian-level haircut of from the '80s, and Zuckerberg, uh...... wearing Benson Boone's powder blue jumpsuit a- for his wife Priscilla's birthday party. I, I, I try, Scott, but they need to stop. These people need to stop 'cause I can't contain myself. I think (laughs) it was so performative. Everything is so performative with these people, and I want them to go away. Like, go away from us and stop posting themselves doing wacky, crazy things. And it feels a lot like Rome is burning and they're, uh, they're fiddling. So, that's why I think it offends me in so many ways. Besides being so awkward, it's painful. Um, I didn't wanna see Mark Zuckerberg's chest in any way, and there it was. And it was hard to avoid. Anyway, yours? Go for it.
- SGScott Galloway
Um, I just have, uh, a win. I'm trying, (sighs) just 'cause I'm such a glass half empty kinda guy, I'm trying to focus on or having some discipline around, if you look at the world actually, the world over the medium and long term, despite some severe hiccups in the short term, the world gets better. And so, it's, uh, your default setting should be, uh, or your, uh, you should always have in the back of your mind what could go right. Because generally speaking, over time, the world has gotten better. And I'm trying to think, looking at this mess and how upsetting it is, uh, what could go right. And I think what could go right here is that I do believe a real silver lining the size of the cloud here is I do think that Europe is threatening to be an actual union. And if you look at, uh, most recently, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, I think is, uh, mhm, I like how you say that, go ahead ... unveiled a... I like how you say that. Go ahead. (laughs) She unveiled a historic $840 billion plan to increase EU defense spending, and they're now looking at going past the 2% number, they're looking at coordinating. And what they've decided is, is that, and this is kind of the unintended consequence of recognizing they can no longer depend upon American consistency in the military umbrella, uh, what... it really doesn't make any sense that Europe would, and they're re- recognizing this, that they would need to back down to the, to Russia. Because Russia's, um, GDP is about two trillion, the combined member states of the EU is 19 trillion. Uh, y- you know, uh, Germany, France, and England all have bigger economies, Russia's just barely ahead of Spain, it's smaller than Canada, both Britain and France have nuclear arsenals, they have very sophisticated manufacturing intellectual property, they have decent AI, they have fantastic communications technology, and I believe, and this is kind of links to, um, uh, investments, if you look at European stocks, European value stocks, on a scale of one to a hundred, one being the cheapest they've ever been, a hundred being the most expensive, US growth stocks are at 98. And that is only 2% i- in history, only 2% of, of time have they been more expensive than they are now. European value stocks, big companies like Mercedes, L'Oreal, are at 2%. Meaning 98% of his- of time they've been more expensive. I think that Europe is finally saying, "Okay, we believe it, we can't count on our rich, crazy uncle, he's gone just fucking insane, we can't count on him. But we as siblings are actually very strong and we coordinate. And we're a bigger economy, we have fantastic technology." And they have already stepped up, they've, they immediately called a meeting in, in, uh, the UK, they're about to call another one in Brussels, and Europe is really stepping up. And my... this really goes to not only my win but my prediction, and that is, I think you're gonna see the European economy and European stocks rip. Because we- if you look at military spending, there really is some spillover in terms of technology. The most valuable companies in the world, Kara, are basically thick lit- layers of innovation on top of technologies developed in the military. Apple is a function of a Cold War technology but we wanted to make sure we could put a missile in someone's pocket in terms of GPS accuracy. All of the internet was the Americans trying to figure out a nodeless or hubless communications network post a nuclear attack from Russia. The drone technology coming out of Ukraine could be, uh, could have unbelievable applications in the consumer economy, ask an AI. Anyways, my win is that Europe is finally becoming a union, commanding the space it occupies, they're gonna massively increase their coordination in the military budget, and I believe the stimulus of that spending and the new technologies it'll spend over to the consumer economy are about to set European markets on a tear. And it's already happened, they're up 12% this year, largely on the back of European defense contractors that have, their stocks have accelerated, while the US is flat. So I think this is, I think we're about to see, my win is the, is that Europe is finally a union, and that I think it's gonna have huge economic, uh, benefits, both stimulative-
- KSKara Swisher
All right. I like it.
- SGScott Galloway
... and in terms of technology spillover.
- KSKara Swisher
Okay. All right. And?
- SGScott Galloway
That's it. That's all I got.
- KSKara Swisher
That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good.
- SGScott Galloway
Just en queso.
- KSKara Swisher
All right. Okay.
- SGScott Galloway
That's it. That's all I got.
- KSKara Swisher
All right. Very good. En queso (laughs) . Oh my God. Are we gonna, uh, are we-
- SGScott Galloway
We're going to Austin.
- KSKara Swisher
We're going to Austin. Are we gonna have a good time? That's my win, you and me in Austin. I miss you.
- SGScott Galloway
There we go.
- KSKara Swisher
We're gonna have fun. We're having-
- SGScott Galloway
There we go.
- KSKara Swisher
... a bit of fun. We're gonna hang out, there's a party. We're gonna do a live pivot. I have to also interview, um, Chelsea Handler, who has the number one book in the country right now, um, and-
- SGScott Galloway
Really?
- KSKara Swisher
... Elizabeth Warren. Yeah. I'm doing two live things there. Um-
- SGScott Galloway
T- that's two great things I didn't see going together.
- KSKara Swisher
That together. They're not going together.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh, okay.
- KSKara Swisher
They're separate.
- SGScott Galloway
Oh. They're separate.
- KSKara Swisher
Although I could put them together, couldn't I? No, I'm not gonna do them, I'll do 'em separately. Anyway, elsewhere in the Scott and Kara Universe this week, this week in Prof G Conversations, Scott spoke with Dr. Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry at Stanford and author of Dopamine Nation. Let's listen.
- NANarrator
Drugs, in all their forms, are the great human replacement.Addiction is a disease of loneliness. Even if we have a lot of great people in our lives, if we are, if we get addicted, we will isolate, and we will use our drug to replace that human connection. So, and I say that because we sometimes talk about loneliness as the cause of addiction, but more often than not, what I see is that the addiction causes the loneliness.
- KSKara Swisher
Oh, I like that. That sounds fascinating.
- SGScott Galloway
She was saying... Can I, can I go to-
- KSKara Swisher
Yeah, please.
- SGScott Galloway
... the, uh, the rant here? The-
Episode duration: 1:06:14
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