All of Trump’s Cabinet Picks Have These Things in Common

This members-only episode was originally published on September 13, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Senator Sheldon Whitehouse thinks the biggest problem with climate change deniers is the people that line their pockets. The Rhode Island Democrat joined The New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast and producer Jesse Cannon to talk about the environment, the GOP dropping the ball, and how putting an end to secretive political cash could be the key to solving it all. “The key thing to do on the environment is to focus on the dark money problem,” says Whitehouse. “I don't care whether you're talking to Tea Partiers or Bernie Bros, the notion that big, powerful, special interests can spend unlimited money anonymously through front groups and deploy huge political power out of sight is equally offensive across the board.” He explained how certain groups are in the pockets of political donors (cough cough, Republicans) and how the party's disdain for science has similarities to their COVID-19 response. “The power of the science denial industry is manifest in both examples, Coronavirus and climate, and the willingness of Republicans to bear pain and scorn and deny truth.” But does the GOP stand a chance of ever going back to being that Grand Ole Party? For the sake of the climate, at least? In Whitehouse’s opinion, there are two options for that to happen, one of them involves a complete overhaul. (“You wait until the Republican party is so discredited and its climate denial that a surge of new Republicans come in and sweep out.”) Then, the three discuss Trump’s eerie Supreme Court scouting and the funding of the Federalist Society: “The whole thing is being basically run like our intelligence community would run a covert operation against a hostile nation.” Plus! Molly really wants to know how Whitehouse can work with Rand Paul and if Rhode Island calamari is really as amazing as the DNC made it seem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Loka 202022min

This members-only episode was originally published on September 6, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Lev Parnas has been a major character in the ongoing Trumpworld corruption saga and was even arrested for his role in it all. These days, he is choosing to spill the tea. The former ally of Trump lawyer Rudy Guiliani joined this bonus members-only episode of The New Abnormal to come clean about his complicity in the Trump “cult,” how he started to “drink the Kool-Aid” (“I was approached by a couple of gentlemen in Florida to hold a fundraiser for [Trump]”) and what he knows about Ukraine. “Rudy is very key. He has the president's ear,” Parnas says. “That's the most important part.” He says Rudy was the person who approached him and “basically started asking us some questions about Ukraine and Igor [Fruman.]” But despite the circle of shady players that continues to revolve around Trump, they all talk behind his back. The subject varies depending on the new cycle. “We would talk about his bad decision making, the stubbornness. Like I remember with Charlottesville, for instance, when he came out and said there were people on both sides. I thought half the RNC was going to fall off their head,” he said. “It was not off limits to anybody as long as [Trump] wasn't around or [Donald Trump] Jr. wasn't around,” says Parnas. “I mean, he was laughed at. It was funny to watch how nobody had the strength to go up against him” Plus! Parnas also name drops the people still caught in Trump’s inner circle and who is in his ear (besides Rudy—“It's not only Sean Hannity.”) and why he literally thanks God he got out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Loka 202039min

This members-only episode was originally published on August 30, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Even a former member of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security thinks he is bat-shit, and surrounded by actual racists. It would be funny if some of the stories that former DHS official Elizabeth Neumann told Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast on this episode on The New Abnormal weren’t so terrifying. She admits that she did “hold her nose” and vote for him in 2016 and really believed he would rise to the occasion. But that dream died super quick—by the end of summer 2017 to be exact: “It was clear he didn’t have a strong enough character to put aside some of his bad habits,” she said. There was one moment, though, that changed it all. Or, as Molly put it, “made you realize we’re not in Kansas anymore.” “He was having some sort of school yard bully fight with a man who is trying to launch a nuclear weapon,” she explained. “It was a huge wake up call for the department.” Neumann also spoke to the influence Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller had on immigration and when she, a pro-lifer, realized the president “wasn’t a true Christian.” And then she makes two scary admissions, which says a lot because they are all pretty scary, tbh. The first is that Nuemann can say with certainty that many of those in Trump’s orbit are racist. In fact, she had a moment while working in the department in which she thought, “Oh my God, some of these people are racist.” The second, and related to the first, is the role that Trump has had on domestic terrorism and white supremacy in the United States: “The president not speaking out against white supremacy and against QAnon is extremely dangerous. He is creating that fear that creates vulnerability in people to be recruited and radicalized by groups that have an intention of violence.” Plus! Will more former administration officials come out? Neumann shares her thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This members-only episode was originally published on August 23, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Actor, comedian and activist Billy Eichner totally gets why Taylor Swift took so long to get publicly political. In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, the “Billy on the Street” star explains why celebrities may take a long time to speak up—and how Trump is changing that. “It's easy to sit back from a distance and say like, ‘why doesn't so-and-so get more political.’ And I definitely feel that way sometimes, but the few times I've had like internet backlash for something or, you know, people being angry at something, I can hold my own. And it doesn't, like, ruin my life at all,” he explained. “I think Trump pushed us to a place” where celebs who were previously silent on major issues now feel compelled to speak up. That said, he is just “sick of getting angry on Twitter.” Eichner also spoke about the ways he’s trying to make one of his biggest dreams come true: “It would make me so pleased to flip the Senate.” Plus, he shares his thoughts on the South Carolina race between Lindsey Graham and Jaime Harrison. “Lindsey Graham, to me, is the epitome of someone who makes me physically ill,” he added. And of course, he answers our burning question: When is Billy on the Street going to come back? (“Coronavirus killed my career.”) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Loka 202017min

This members-only episode was originally published on August 16, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Delayed prescriptions, mailboxes being toted away, Americans dying and families wondering if they’ll get evicted. Seems like a great time for the Senate to go on vacation, at least in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s eyes. In this members-only episode of The New Abnormal, Sen. Gary Peters, Sr. (D-MI,) who is leading the investigation into the United States Postal Service backlog, explains this postal shitshow to co-host Molly Jong-Fast and producer Jesse Cannon—and how Mitch McConnell is screwing over the American people from a comprehensive COVID relief package. “So the negotiations started finally,” says Peters, “but not in the room was Mitch McConnell.” And neither was another Very Important Person: “President Trump was on the golf course,” says Peters. Then, there is the postal service situation. “There was a major spike in comments coming in” about post office delays, he explained. That’s when he kicked off his inquiry, which hasn’t been easy with a Postmaster General who is “not very forthcoming.” But he does have some ideas on what’s happening (hint: it’s pretty messed up.) Plus! The group touches on where polling is for Joe Biden in Michigan (which makes Molly’s heart race) and what those who are furious about what is going on with the post office can do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Loka 202016min

This members-only episode was originally published on August 9, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.The job of a White House reporter is no easy feat, especially under an administration that constantly refers to the press as “the enemy of the people.” But CNN Chief WH Correspondent Jim Acosta knew early on he would not back back down. “When he started to call us fake news and Sean Spicer was calling us fake news and Mike Pence was calling us fake news at that infamous news conference, I just thought, you know what, that's it I've had enough,” Acosta told Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal. That may explain why CNN assigned FOUR bodyguards to him at a Trump Rally (“You have journalists in this country who were being threatened on a regular basis.”) He also answered some burning questions on the forefront of all our minds, including whether Trump writes some of his own daily briefing questions for right-wing pundits and the real end-game for press secretary Number 3405: Kayleigh McEnany. “I'm old enough to remember when the White House press secretary’s job was to serve the American people, to serve the presidency, not just the person who is the current occupant of the Oval Office,” he says. Plus! The trio discuss who may be leaking to the public these days and the White House’s reaction to Trump’s interview with Axios’ Jonathan Swan: “They were trying to do ‘Clean up on aisle 6.’” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Loka 202024min

This members-only episode was originally published on August 2, 2020 and moved to this feed for full member access.Turns out, Sen. Cory Booker is a bigger pacifist than we suspected. He joined Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast on this members-only episode of The New Abnormal and told them about the time “a big guy” asked the New Jersey native to punch Trump in the face–and his response to that person. Booker also shared his thoughts on what may happen in the Senate thanks to Trump (“I think that what people are realizing is this could be the end for Republican party dominance”), how the president compared to Nixon, and the time one of his campaign staffers projectile vomited all over him and his partner Rosario Dawson. Plus! The trio imagine Putin staying in a Motel 6 and get Booker’s advice on how the Democratic Party can get out the vote: “If you’re not doing something about an issue that you care about, then you are complicit.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Loka 202016min

The juiciest stories in politics, pop culture and more -- fast.Get Subscribed today on your favorite podcast app: https://pods.link/j6cshnbpj3mm9 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Loka 20207min