Governor Josh Shapiro
Appearances
The Dan Bongino Show
Another Assassination Attempt? | Episode 21
Lori and I are overwhelmed by the prayers and the messages of support that we've received from all across Pennsylvania and all across the United States. We've heard from our fellow governors and first spouses. We've heard from several of the former governors of Pennsylvania. We've heard from so many friends and loved ones. And we've heard from so many caring citizens of this great commonwealth.
The Dan Bongino Show
Another Assassination Attempt? | Episode 21
I want you all to know that your prayers lift us up. And in this moment of darkness, we are choosing to see light. We appreciate the light. that you have shined upon us.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
Our military service members don't deserve to be told by a washed up Fox TV commentator who drank too much and committed sexual assault before being appointed Secretary of Defense that they can't serve their country simply because they're black or gay or a woman. And if it sounds like I'm becoming contemptuous of Donald Trump and the people that he has elevated, it's because I am.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
You should be too. They're an affront to every value this country was founded upon.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
But because of Donald Trump's xenophobia, we've seen foreign students already choosing not to attend our universities and being told to leave. Businesses from overseas are afraid to invest their money here and to bring their executives to our shores. Scientists are choosing to innovate in European laboratories instead of American ones, already in just 100 days.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
If the best and the brightest around the world no longer flock to this shining city on a hill, then the US economy is likely to fail. But failure It's starting to look like that's the point of all this, doesn't it? We have a Secretary of Education who hates teachers and schools. We have a Secretary of Transportation who hates public transit. We have an Attorney General who hates the Constitution.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
We have a Secretary of State, the son of naturalized citizens, a family of refugees, on a crusade to expel our country of both.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
We have a head of the Department of Government Efficiency, an immigrant granted the privilege of living and working here, a man who has made hundreds of billions of dollars after the government rescued his business for him, who is looking to destroy the American middle class to fund tax cuts for himself.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
And we have a president who claims to love America, but who hates our military so much that he calls them losers and suckers and who can't be bothered to delay his golf game to greet the bodies of four fallen US soldiers. And we have a grand old party founded by one of our nation's bravest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, who today would be a Democrat, I might add.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
It's time for us to be done with optimism about their motives or their objectives. Time to stop wondering if you can trust the nuclear codes to people who don't know how to organize a group chat. It's time to stop ignoring the hypocrisy and wearing a big gold cross while announcing the defunding of children's cancer research. And time to stop thinking that we can reason or negotiate with a madman.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
but a grand old party so afraid of the felon and the fraud that they put into the White House that they would sooner watch him destroy our country than lift a hand to save it. Democrats, we may have to fix our messaging and our strategy, but our values are exactly where they ought to be. And we will never join so many Republicans in the special place in hell reserved for quizlings and cowards.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
There are plenty of people in this country who hold opinions that I find abhorrent, but my faith and our Constitution dictate that I fight for their freedoms as loudly as I defend my own. And as a Ukrainian-American Jew who built a Holocaust museum, whose family immigrated here as refugees from the Russian pogroms, Let me say this to Donald Trump.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
Stop tearing down the Constitution in the name of my ancestors. Do not claim that your authoritarian power grabs are about combating anti-Semitism. When you destroy social justice, you are disparaging the very foundation of Judaism. When the pendulum swings back, and it always does, you will have contributed to the climate of retribution that will inevitably follow.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
What I find ironic about the current conversation surrounding our party is that the voices flocking to podcasts and cable news shows to admonish fellow Democrats for not caring enough about the struggles of working families are the same ones who, when it comes to relief of the struggles of real people, have been timid, not bold.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
They didn't want to fight the health insurance companies and the drug manufacturers. They didn't want to demand an increase in the minimum wage or require paid family leave. They gave in to the powerful hedge fund managers and tech bros whose blind pursuit of profits is now destroying everything that matters to middle-class families, from home ownership to healthcare to veterans benefits.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
They told us to ignore the fact that most Americans can't afford a vacation while they're young or retirement once they're old. Here's the problem with the do nothing crowd now telling us what to do. Well, they spent their years watching Republicans illegitimately pack the Supreme Court. take away voting rights from people of color, systematically chip away at the constitutional order.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
And all the while they offered in response, a simple defense of norms and decorum and a blind hope that one day soon, Republicans would wake up to find their better angels. Well, that got us exactly where we are today. So folks, the reckoning is here.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
Time to stop apologizing when we were not wrong. Time to stop surrendering when we need to fight. Our small businesses don't deserve to be bankrupted by unsustainable tariffs. Our retirees don't deserve to be left destitute by a Social Security administration decimated by Elon Musk. Our citizens don't deserve to lose health care coverage because Republicans want to hand a tax cut to billionaires.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
And now that this culture of timidity is on full display, those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of black people, of trans kids, of immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
It's wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law. And I want to be clear, this is not an argument about immigration. This is an argument about the Constitution. Remember, Trump just last week arrested and deported three children under eight years old, all U.S.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
citizens, all of them, one of them a four-year-old with stage four cancer. Let that sink in.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
I understand the tendency to give in to despair right now, but despair is an indulgence that we cannot afford in the times upon which history turns. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
They must feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our democracy intact, because we have no alternative but to do just that, that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
Our federal workers don't deserve to have, well, a 19-year-old doge bro called Big Balls destroy their careers. Autistic kids and adults who are loving contributors to our society don't deserve to be stigmatized by a weird nepo baby who once stashed the dead bear in the backseat of his car.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
And when the courage of our civic leaders wavers, when they fail to stand up for our country in its moment of greatest need, then we should remind them that cowardice always comes at a cost. In the world's most successful republic, No generation of Americans has escaped our true inheritance, the test that we are given that asks how hard we are willing to fight to keep our society free.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
It was selfish to think that ours would be the first. But the fact that we are still here debating the question tells me our predecessors never failed this test in the past, often in situations just as dire as the one in front of us. Cowardice can be contagious, but so too can courage. And courage born during times when complacency beckons like a siren call is the most important kind of all.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
Just as the hope that we hold onto in the darkness shines with its own special light. These days, I cling to the courage and the hope demonstrated by Andy and Gavin and Lucy. Courage and hope that risks limbs and livelihoods to go to the most visible place possible, to wave a sign or to post an upside down flag and remind everyone that what we do and what we don't do matters.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
So tonight, I'm telling you what I'm willing to do, and that's fight for our democracy, for our liberty, for the opportunity for all of our people to live lives that are meaningful and free. And I see around me tonight a room full of people who are ready to do the same. So I have one question for all of you, Granite Staters. Are you ready for the fight?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Governor Destroys Trump in Most Powerful Speech Yet
For real, Granite Staters, are you ready for the fight? Good night, New Hampshire. God bless you and God bless these United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We have gone out of our way to make sure that we get people insured because one, it improves people's lives. Two is in the long run, we end up saving money and it's stronger for our economy, making sure our children are fed, making sure our children are covered, making sure our children are getting tax cuts to their families to get the things that they need.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But I can tell you this, it doesn't matter which of these states and you're going to hear from two states with New York and Illinois that are very large, but economy of scale doesn't help you when they take the Medicaid away from you. It will have devastating impacts. It will have devastating impacts on people like Deanna's son.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And you couple that with the destruction of the Department of Education that takes away our civil protections around students with disabilities and IDEA. And you have a situation where the Secretary of Health basically said it and was speaking with the language of eugenics that some people just don't matter. People like Deanna's son or my son or those of you listening tonight.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So look, this is a fight we must win. It's a fight that the American people are overwhelmingly on our side, but we need to get out and make the message of how important this is. Don't let them message this that somehow Medicaid is a giveaway program. It is foundational to everything we do.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Yeah, thanks, Michael. And Michael, just so you know, Congressman Conley's sister is a state court judge right here in our Commonwealth, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm supporting my attorney general. You know, I know the work that the attorney generals did in Trump one was so important. We were successful over 85 percent of those cases.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And this group of AGs is having the same success and right there holding him accountable in the court.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So, you know, I think as a governor, that that is something that I'm going to continue to absolutely to support the work of the attorneys general who represent, in our instance, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in court, bringing cases, holding on to the rule of law and pursuing justice in the courts. The other thing I'm going to do is to do my job as Governor Michael.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
and more involvement by the United States military across the world. And then finally, I just say that the rights of our friends and family, our neighbors, American citizens across this great country, are being taken away.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
You know, Massachusetts, we have laws here that protect people's access to health care, protect women when they need access to an abortion, that make sure that kids with disabilities are treated equally and fairly. We have laws and policies on our books that make sure that kids are fed. I copy Coach Wallace and and free school lunch and breakfast in Massachusetts.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We have strong supports, housing programs, healthcare programs, programs for our seniors. We passed, I think, the country's best veterans legislation just recently. And we continue to support and enforce that and support our veterans. So, you know, I'm going to do all I can within my power, Michael. And this is why governors matter, because we're on the front lines right now.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We've got laws that we want to implement and enforce here in our states. We want to make sure that people's rights are protected. And we also do that working with one another, other states, and working with our state AGs. These are these are really important things that we need to do.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I'm also speaking up and using this platform to talk about what's happening when they disappear people from our streets without cause, when they scare away our foreign students or illegally take away their visas to study in this country when all they want to do is study and research and invent new technologies and pioneer new cures. I mean, that's outrageous what came out today.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So part of my job, Michael, is to to use this platform so that we can explain to the American public what is going on real time in our states. Donald Trump takes this action, here's the consequence in our state. And I'm gonna continue to do that. And I will say to you, cause you're from Virginia, we just kicked off celebrations of 250 years of this country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
The revolution kicked off here in Massachusetts with the shots fired and conquered in Lexington, and people joined up and down from all of the then colonies to form this amazing, amazing union in this great United States of America. And all of us in power are going to work our damnedest every single day to preserve that and to further that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And that's the job of those of us in office and the job of all citizens and Americans.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I gave a speech on Sunday night talking about, well, in part about habeas corpus, about the government doesn't have a right to just make you disappear or snatch you off the street without giving you the right to a hearing. And we're seeing that happening to legal residents of the United States. And now we've seen it happen to U.S. citizens.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
You know, Jesse, a place like South Carolina, where you're from, really relied on textiles. And just like New York State, upstate New York, we've had manufacturing since the very beginning along the Erie Canal. It opened up commerce to the rest of the world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And now it is so painful to see that as we've transitioned from the traditional manufacturing, the smokestacks manufacturing, where my grandpa and dad worked in the steel plants in Buffalo, we've now converted into an innovation economy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And so we don't have those opportunities anymore, but Donald Trump seems to think that we're gonna overnight bring back all those jobs and everybody's gonna wanna work in those type of factories once again, not realizing our country has moved on. Yes, we need to do more manufacturing here, but it's gonna take so long, so long for that to happen.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
He seems very conscious of the fact that he's going to cause short-term and long-term pain to the American people. and doesn't care because he's so committed to this concept that terrorists across the world are the answer for everything. I'll tell you the effects right here in New York State. We are on the border with Canada. We share a border with Ontario and with Quebec.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They're our largest trading partner. You know what has stopped right now? Trading. They don't want to send their products here. And our farmers and growers and people who rely on this opportunity to trade with Canada are just being stifled. They're not going to expand their facilities. They're not going to hire more people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They're stagmired right now in a situation where they don't know what's going to happen because of the instability. I wish I could give you a better answer. I've got statistics that'll just blow your socks off in terms of how many people's jobs will be lost in one state alone because of these painful tariffs, these taxes. But most importantly to me, what it's doing to the average family.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And when their grocery bills are going to go up, despite Donald Trump's campaign promise over and over and over, that on day one prices would go down and instead they've gone up exponentially. I don't know how we can get away with that. So we're suffering. Our people are suffering. Our businesses are suffering. Our tourism industry is going to be flat on its back if we don't change.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
It's because the Canadians who spend a lot of money in our country go to our little restaurants and our hotels and our attractions and go to Buffalo Bills games and go to Sabres games where I'm from. They're not coming because they're so angry at us for going to war with one of our best friends in the world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So it's not just the tariffs, the talk of tariffs, it's also the relationships that are forever severed, at least at this point. We have to start rebuilding trust. And so here's the answer. We have to mobilize. And people like yourself do not think you are alone. There are people all over America who want to stand together. And you know where you go to?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I guarantee you have a lot of Republican congressional offices in your state, right? Guarantee it. I do as well. We have seven in New York. Go to their offices. Don't make it easy on them to stand blindly with Donald Trump and not feel the consequences of it. They must know what they've supported in Donald Trump's policies, that they're hurting the people who put them in office.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I'm a former member of Congress. I served at a time when the Tea Party was just running wild. They used to come and protest my town halls. It was hard, but you know what? I stood there and took it. These people are too chicken because they know they're on the wrong side of history here. But get out there with your friends, start writing letters, start sending the emails,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
filling up their phone banks and just blasting them because when they start feeling enough pressure that they may not get reelected again, that's the power of the people that started way back when our country rebelled against a dictator and rebelled against a king. Donald Trump called himself a king when he shut down something called congestion pricing in New York. Called himself a king.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Said, long live the king. You can't make this up. He did that. But I said, we have not labored on our king for over 250 years and we're not about to stand for that now. So Jesse, you have the same sentiment as millions of us. We have to rally together, stand together, mobilize, organize, and get out there and vote next year to take back our country, at least the House and the Senate.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So I'm deeply concerned about what the next hundred days and frankly, the next thousand days will be like.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, first of all, April, I'm sorry for the challenges that you're going through. And when I listen to you, I think, as a state, we've made an enormous amount of progress toward addressing housing. In fact, as you may know, I put together a commission last year that came up with a bunch of really great ideas for us to follow through on, and we're doing that this year in the legislature.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, yeah, thank you, Ben. And to my fellow governors, I couldn't be more proud than to be with these folks that are taking that fight. Look, I don't think any of us are surprised. This is where Donald Trump ended up. It's what he said, and he's carrying those things out. I think for us here in Minnesota,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We've put a lot of money toward our Department of Housing, and there's so much more that we can do. You heard Governor Healey talk about how the cost of building housing has gone up, and it really has. And of course, although under President Biden,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Inflation started coming down, which allowed the Fed to consider bringing down the cost of borrowing so that you could borrow money to take out a mortgage to build a house. But Trump came in. And he's reversed all that because of the damage that he's done to the economy and the increase in prices, the Fed is likely not to lower interest rates now.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So we have real problems when it comes to addressing this outside the state that are affecting the state. But in the state of Illinois, again, we're putting policies in place that are increasing housing. But I want to address the broader question that you were talking about, which is housing is a point of stability in somebody's life that allows, for example, people to survive and thrive.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Without it, people who have medical challenges aren't able to find the stability that they need to recover from those challenges. So housing is probably the very first and foremost thing that we ought to be addressing. So what did I do in Illinois?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We put Home Illinois in place to make sure that people who are unhoused can begin the process of moving toward not just shelter, but first temporary housing and then permanent housing. We, in fact, put more money toward that program than we've ever done before. We're seeing in places like Rockford where we've finally gotten to functional zero homelessness.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And that's what we're trying to do across this entire state of Illinois. So, look, Donald Trump is making everything harder. Housing, rent, being able to borrow money to buy your first home or any home. And that's something that we're all going to have to live with until we're able to overturn the Congress. And that, in fact, is one of the things I want to say to everybody that's listening.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
If you're not out there protesting in front of a Republican congressman's office or out in the street making your voice heard or calling your friends in another state to have them do it, or showing up in Washington, D.C. in front of their offices, those Republican congressmen, then you're not doing what's necessary to put pressure on them to vote the right way.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
This summer, they're gonna be voting on a budget. And we're going to see the consequences of that budget. What are they trying to do? They're trying to lower taxes for the wealthiest people by raising taxes on you. Those tariffs, those are taxes that are put on working class, middle class people across the United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
guidance to my team and to the administration and to folks who care, and that's a lot of folks taking to the streets, we protect the most vulnerable and we protect our gains. We have an opportunity to prove a different way of governing, governing that improves lives, whether that's providing food for children or making sure our folks are covered with healthcare.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And if we don't stop them, they're going to make things harder and harder for the very people that we as Democrats and all of our Democratic governors are trying to protect. And that's the working families of America.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Yeah. Well, thank you, Danielle. Thank you for the service and thank you for the courage to come on. And look, troops are just not supposed to be partisan, but you can be political. You need to be. It's a responsibility to tell what's going on. And with Donald Trump, I can assure you of this. There is no care for our troops.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
There never has been, whether it's disrespect of troops or whether it's the inability to fund the things that are most important for the troops.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
On this one, it's personal for me, both having served but also being the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, that prior to Donald Trump being there, whether it was under George Bush or Barack Obama when I served in that position, there was bipartisan support, things like the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, where we came together to reduce suicides and saw the work being done, both when our troops were in uniform
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
and after they left understanding that those those wounds of war uh run deep and are not always so obvious uh those days are coming and much more difficult the cuts that donald trump is making 84 000 of a providers at the best health care system in the world which is the va a promise that we made to troops that if you serve us we will serve you in your health care
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
becoming much more difficult to be able to provide all the services that are necessary. And this is not about running a business. The VA trains 70% of the physicians in this country, and it provides care to well over a million veterans. And it is the best care in the world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
The mental health piece of this, we know that getting access to that care in a timely manner, understanding that we're going to have to, when these troops come home, we've got a lifelong commitment to make this happen. Donald Trump is continuously trying to underfund. And I will just say this, this is a fight I have been fighting almost two decades now, is the attempt to privatize the VA.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
have access to free college and some help owning homes. Those are the things that people are looking for. So look, Trump is a disaster, which we knew he would. I think it gives us an opportunity. And what you're seeing is people rising up and showing that there's a better way. We can govern with compassion. We can govern with a sense of vision and innovation, and we can govern effectively.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
This goes back to our current Secretary of Defense ran an organization called Concerned Veterans of America. Its purpose was to undermine the VA and privatize the VA and shift that money out of that. And what that ends up doing is leaving veterans without care. And that's why we get so many veterans. If they can get into the system, We can prevent the mental health issues. We can help heal.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We can be part of a broader community. And I will also say this. Many of our veterans depend not just on the VA. They depend on Medicaid as a part of this. So all of these things fit together. The education pieces that are being pulled back to be able to make sure that our veterans get the training they need to live the careers post-medical. military.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So the assault that Donald Trump has made on this, I won't stand for it. If he wants to stand in front of troops, he wants to wave the flag, he doesn't do a damn thing for veterans. He has undermined their care. He's put them at risk. And I want to just say this, trying to get people out of the military because of who they are,
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
and who they authentically are of someone who has had the courage to sign up where donald trump did not or to put our troops at risk our female troops at risk have the right to make their own reproductive decisions and we have a right to make sure they have access to that care So this is a fight that I'm glad folks are on. Danielle showed courage to speak up, which she has the right to do.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But those of us who aren't in the military now have a responsibility to make sure that we're pushing for this issue. So I'm grateful for the question. I'm grateful for the work that's being out there, being done. And we need to call out any time Donald Trump mentions anything about patriotism, the military or veterans, he's a damn liar and he has not delivered on those promises.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Go ahead. Emma, thank you so much for your service. And I come from a military family, so proud of our military and those who serve, our veterans, our service members, our Gold Star families who paid the ultimate price. You know, the military has become stronger over time because it has embraced diversity, you know, desegregated the troops way back, then allowed women.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
In fact, I'll tell you this, Eamonn, the woman who actually was the pioneer and made possible women in the Army is a woman named Edith Norris Rogers. She actually served in the United States Congress for Massachusetts. And a few months ago, I've lost track of time, as Governor Hochul says, I don't know how many days it's been, the same day that Donald Trump
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
had the Department of Defense and Arlington National Cemetery take down on their websites all the images of women, of Black people, of Latinos, of Asians. Remember that day? We had a celebration of Edith North Rogers in the State House, and I put on display all the uniforms that women had worn in combat over the years. Diversity is a strength. It's not a flaw.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So I think here in Minnesota, we're continuing to show that there's a better and a different way to do this. We collaborate with these governors that are on with me tonight and others across the country to ways that we can make sure that we're continuing to show as many people as that is possible.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
It doesn't make any sense for us in classrooms, in boardrooms, in C-suites, or in the military to exclude women, people of color, people with disabilities. It's wrong. doesn't make for better outcomes, doesn't make for better results. So as governor, I've convened with my veteran secretary.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We have a targeted effort in our state to fund and support programs for women veterans in particular because of some of the added burdens that they've endured, particularly around PTSD. But we do that for all of our veterans. But I just want you to know that You know, if you were in a state like Massachusetts, you'd have the benefit of our HERO Act, which benefits 30,000 women in Massachusetts.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We also have a deputy secretary who's a woman as in that position at Veterans Affairs here in Massachusetts. And, you know, I say this to you, Emma, somebody like I was. I was the first gay person elected attorney general in the country when I got elected. And I'm the first woman elected governor in the state of Massachusetts.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I wouldn't be where I am today if we didn't have anti-discrimination laws in place. I'll tell you that. And, you know, that's why we need to really push back hard on what Donald Trump and his administration is doing in trying to write diversity out. Again, diversity is a strength, not a flaw in America.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
John is New York state's first mom governor. Maternal care is everything to me. And I will tell you this, we are the first state in the nation, I'm really proud of this, to require that insurance companies, all insurance companies, not just for people on Medicaid, that they provide paid prenatal care.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And so this thing's going to get a little bit bumpy, but I think you're seeing right now folks are turning out. I do want to give a huge shout out to, I got neighbors. These states are my neighbors, but Our Canadian neighbors, they know that this is wrong. They stood up to it. It provides a lot of momentum coming out of the Wisconsin special Supreme Court election.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So you don't get a situation where a mother, as I've met them, had to make a choice between her minimum wage job as a waitress and leaving that job for a few hours to go to a prenatal appointment to take care of her baby's health and her health and possibly risking money to bring home to her other kids at the end of the day. We didn't think that was a fair choice for people to make.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I hope other states will follow what we did here. We're proud of our focus on moms and their health and their baby's health. And we do have pockets where maternal mortality and infant mortality is very high, especially among women of color. And we've gone into those communities and supported programs for doulas and made sure that there's doula directories.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And this is covered by insurance as well, focusing on not just the mom's health, but with the baby afterward. And so we cover moms and babies on Medicaid even for the first year after the birth. So we're laser focused on this in New York. You ask a different question though. You're asking what happens when Donald Trump's cuts come or the Republican cuts come.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I anticipate there'll be more cuts when they work on the reconciliation bill later this summer. We need to hold them accountable. Every single one of them, probably many of them are moms and dads themselves. These Republican members of Congress who need to know the outrage of their residents. And on Long Island, you have a number.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
You have two Republicans, and I will give you their addresses to go down and ask them what they're doing to protect Medicaid, especially for our most vulnerable moms in their hours of pregnancy, the months of pregnancy, and brand-new babies. We're focused on putting money back in families' pockets. I just got through an arduous effort to get our budget done, almost 100 percent finished.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And it's focused on families. We'll have child care tax credits for the first time ever, $1,000 for every family with a child four years old and under. Because I know, personally, that's when you have to pay for the diapers and the formula and always going for those medical checkups and the vaccinations. And yes, get your vaccinations. So we're putting money back in families' pockets.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We have a middle-class tax cut coming, the largest tax rate cut in 70 years. We have money in inflation rebate, putting money back in families' pockets, starting as soon as possible. And we're focusing on nutrition programs, making sure we cover all the lunches and breakfasts in school, just like some of my colleagues do. So it's all about the family to me.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
As I said back when I first announced my budget this year, I said, your family is my fight. Now, I didn't know at that moment that fight would also include taking on Donald Trump and his administration, who's trying to undermine all these safety net programs like Medicaid for expectant families. So I appreciate your concern. We are on this.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And if something does happen, our Attorney General Tish James and I will be on the front lines to try to stop it in court. We can't always rely on the courts, but sometimes we're surprised. Even the Supreme Court, handpicked by Donald Trump, the majority of them, have sometimes done the right thing in the interest of protecting the separation of powers and ultimately protecting our democracy.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So this fight is my own, and you can count on me being on the front lines if this happens.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I think the mobilization that's happening out there. So it's 100 days of just crap. We've got 500 plus till the midterms. But the work has started. Folks know that. And I think they're looking to see. folks stand in the breach and push back. So I'm glad to be with you, Ben. I want to give a thank you to folks who took time out of your busy lives to tune in tonight.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, let's start with we've got to speak plainly to the American people about what really matters, right? The things that I think in the hearts of all four of us about standing up for working families, about being the party that fights for the middle class and for the working class and for the most vulnerable in our country.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And we've got to make sure that people understand what we're doing to get things done. Every one of the four governors on here have accomplished really important things in our state. So I'll give you an example in my state. You know, there's a federal minimum wage, $7.25. Nobody can live on $7.25 anymore. It's $14,000 a year if you're working full time. You've got to work.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
two to three jobs to take care of your family at $7.25. It's impossible. So in my state, we raised the minimum wage to $15. It was important to us to make sure that we're lifting people out of poverty. If you're going to work full time, you ought to get a wage that's appropriate to that, that you can live on. So that's something that we ought to be talking about federally.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
The $7.25 minimum wage, not enough. And Democrats are for raising it. Republicans don't want to raise it. In fact, many of them would like to do away with the minimum wage. So we should be speaking plainly about raising wages. We should be speaking plainly about the fact that we are for universal health care. Every one of us believes that. Health care is a right, not a privilege.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And we can have disagreements about how you get there. Some say Medicare for all. Some say that we ought to expand private insurance to cover more people with a state subsidy, for example, or a federal subsidy, but whatever that is. It's we believe that everybody should have a doctor and that no one should go without. Republicans are trying to take away. You're about to see this.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They're trying to take away Medicaid and Medicare from people who need it most. So I believe that the way to communicate is to start with the simple messages of the things that we believe that are reflective of our values. And then we've got to choose the media response. where messages are really getting to people. And this is one example of it.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We're on here today because this is one of the great outlets, one of the great channels that really reaches people. So many people listen to Ben. And going on, and I saw this with Tim Walz when he was running for vice president. He went on just about every kind of podcast that you could possibly go on. He was everywhere. We've got to do that, all of us,
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We're all in this together and I'm just glad you're here.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
and make sure that the Democratic message of standing up for working families is heard everywhere and directly to people who are online and listening.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Yeah, well, Henry, thanks for the question. And I look, you've got these three governors myself. I'm partial towards governors. I'll just say that they're out there. But we need everybody on the field. We need everybody out there filling a lane and taking a message. Donald Trump understands this. He sucks up so much oxygen. He's the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And the debate that's happening right now, could 100 people defeat a gorilla? I'd like to find out with 100 of us. to get out there and fill these lanes. Tell them what we're doing. Show them a difference. Show them the fight that people are ready to lead, and we need to be alongside of them. And then when we gain power, I think this is really critical.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
These governors you have on here, I'm going to go with what Governor Pritzker said. These are consequential governors that have passed important legislation, not to get themselves reelected, they did it to improve lives. And this idea that when you win an election, don't bank that political capital, burn it as quickly as possible.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I will tell you, someone asked me if I've learned anything from Donald Trump. I learned this. We need to move as aggressively and as fast as Donald Trump has moved with our progressive policies. We need to expand health care. We need to make access to it more affordable. We need to make sure education is more affordable.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, Ben, it's great to be with you and great to be with my friends and colleagues on this. You know, I underscore everything said about the economy. The one thing that he ran on, he has been an abysmal failure, only making life more expensive, more difficult for residents, for businesses. for our economy. I also just want to comment too, you know, I was Attorney General for two terms.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We need to make housing more affordable, not talk about it, not to have a better idea than them. The thing that governors do They actually implement it and get it in. So I think now if someone's lane is to do their own podcast, do the podcast. If somebody's lane is to do large rallies, we see Bernie Sanders and AOC out there.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We see Chris Murphy out there, governors, Andy Beshear, this group here, everybody out there and state house members. I see it doing it to flood the zone. Talk about what can be improved. Make it clear that that he's failing. They know that. But tell them what we're going to do. And I would just tell all of us when we win. And this thing starts when we hold the governor in New Jersey.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And when we win back the governorship in Virginia, Donald Trump becomes a lame duck and we run as fast and as hard as we can. And we win. Start putting the plans together. In January of 27, we need to be passing legislation that improves people's lives. As he's recklessly tearing things down, we need to aggressively build them up. So Henry's on the right spot.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I want to thank my fellow governors who are on here tonight. And they're right. This is one way of doing it. But everybody's finding their niche. And we're the 100 gorillas. And I'll bet on us against him on this one.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
All right. Thank you, Coach Walls. You know, I agree with everything that my colleagues have to say. And, you know, I'll just I'll just add to it. You know, I was really moved hearing from Deanna earlier in the night. I was raised by a single mom and she went back to work, became a school nurse to take care of us. You know, we've got to get out and fight for people and we've got to.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
make it clear to people the things that donald trump is doing here's the action here's the consequence and we need to continue to stand up to him and to speak out against what he is doing when he are doing when he's doing things that hurt people that hurt our economy tank our economy are illegal and unconstitutional i think that is really important right now i'm not sure that people who voted for donald trump voted
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
to have their dad not be able to get care at the VA because they laid off all the doctors. And I'm not sure that people voted for Donald Trump to fire all the scientists and the people who are trying to cure cancer right now. They certainly, I think, didn't vote for him to raise prices, right, and raise costs. Nobody wants that, but that's what's happening.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So we both need to be really clear about that and then show the contrast. Here's what we're for. You know, all of us, the four of us and our colleagues, we want to fund education. We want people to have health care. We want people to be able to afford a house. We want people to be able to go to school if they want and then get a job and have a career and growth.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We don't want moms like Deanna struggling. And by the way, not everybody is in a position to go to those town halls or go to those congressional offices because moms like Deanna got to take care of her son. So everybody's got to find that lane and step up and fill that role. An example of what I'm talking about when I say draw the contrast, I cut taxes in Massachusetts.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I'm the first governor in 20 years to do that. This spring, because I wanted people to understand and feel that impact, I did a whole roadshow. And I focused on showing up in places where parents were, where seniors were, because among the things we did is we provided the country's most generous tax credit for families with kids or dependents at home.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I wanted people to know as they were doing their taxes, they had the benefit of that. I went to all these senior centers because I wanted them to know that we doubled the amount that they're going to get back in a refund this year. And, you know, I think every time we take actions, whether it's stockpiling Mifepristone or
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Streamlining permitting so that we can bring more clean energy on and modernize the grid. We got to be out there telling people, showing people what we're doing and how it impacts their life in real ways. And, you know, I know that with that, Democrats are going to have success because I know what we believe in. I know what we fight for and I know who we fight for.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
All right, the answer is not simple because we've heard it all from all my friends here. I also think, yeah, we talk about different platforms of communication. We all know how to go on cable news. We're invited all the time and that's great. But how do you amplify beyond that to people who are not watching MSNBC or CNN?
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I was Attorney General during the Trump years and we brought hundreds of lawsuits. And I can tell you that this administration is Far worse than than what we saw with with Trump won. And I think that's evidence by the past hundred days. I mean, what we've seen here in Massachusetts, firing of doctors and nurses from our VA hospitals, denying veterans care cuts to our.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And the answer is you do have to be creative and have, I would say, surround yourself with young people and ask them where they're getting their news from. We know most people are getting their news from Facebook. They're getting their news from TikTok.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And it's not always gone through the rigors of a 60-minute interview where you have to know exactly all the facts or else you'll be called out on it because facts sometimes are collateral damage to this war on truth that we have right now. But that being said, go into the places that aren't always comfortable for us as leaders of our party and of our states and to meet people where they are.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So have a robust, robust social media communications strategy. the traditional and not so traditional, the new and emerging ways to connect with people. But as you've heard from my friends, you can't sit behind your desk. You know, we do have loud platforms. I have the New York City media market. There's nothing more challenging but also more expansive.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And that gives me an opportunity as I'm going out there and I'm literally on the roadshow. I was in a childcare center this morning telling the parents about how I'm giving them more money for childcare because I knew what it was like when I had to leave my job with Senator Moynihan as a young woman because there was no childcare. So that reminds me all the time of being more relatable to people.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We all have our own life's experiences. And I tell him I never forget the people who are still in the trailer park that my parents used to live in when they first started married life. They're still there. I still go to the diner in that neighborhood and talk to people.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I go by the old steel plant and think about the people that feel like they're abandoned because of their jobs being shipped overseas or elsewhere. So. Use your own stories and connect with people. Don't talk down to people. We don't need any more policies or plans or prescriptions for success.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We don't need a 20-point plan on how to make people feel that they've got more money back in their pocket. Be more relatable. Let them understand. empathy and emotion are important to convey as well. So we're not just by the book Democrats. We know better than everybody else. We don't. We're always learning. And we learn more by reaching out of our comfort zone and going into the spaces.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Like when I got elected in the most Republican district in the entire state of New York a few years ago during the Tea Party revolution, I went to the diners. I went to one diner. This one man said, Not only have I never voted for a Democrat, I've never even seen a Democrat. So I went to those places, uncomfortable, but eventually you can win people over.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
You slap them on the back, you find a shared experience. All my grandparents came from Ireland, their family were dairy farmers. So there is a way that we need to be more relatable and stop talking down to people, let them know we understand them, but find the different ways that people are reaching out. Because the message we have for 2026 and 2028, it has to fit on a bumper sticker.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Not to make America great again. We know that was a disaster, but it wasn't a disaster marketing wise. You know what I'm saying? Everybody knew what that meant. We need to distill our message as the one that's bringing hope to bringing back our country and fighting for the working class, as you've heard from my colleagues. So we've got the answers.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
It's how we convey them is what is going to be our next challenge. And we'll get it right.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Let's start with it's time to fight. Everybody has to get up, stand up, speak out, show up. And if you can't go somewhere to do that, well, go online and make sure you're speaking up and showing up online. And if you can't do that, how about calling your congressperson, your senator, to make your voice heard? Everybody has got to...
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
stand up for not only what's best for themselves and their families, but also their neighbors and their friends. And I'm seeing that. Here's the thing that I want to say to everybody.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
You should have a lot of hope because I'm seeing Republicans and Democrats showing up to make their voices heard, to stand up for veterans who've lost their services, to stand up for those who are receiving Social Security, but whose Social Security offices are closing. And so they've got to show up in order to get their social security check. Medicaid is under attack.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
institutions, which mean cuts to those who are currently right now involved in the process of discovering cures and treatments for ALS and Alzheimer's and cancer. We've had clinical trials with people on them shut down in Massachusetts because of Donald Trump's cuts to NIH. I think about the tariffs in very real terms. You know, as governor, my top priority has been building housing.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I think everybody understands that if you're not on Medicaid, someone you know needs medical care and they rely upon Medicaid. And I'm seeing families show up for other families. I'm seeing veterans show up for each other. And many of us who come from a military family are showing up for our veterans as well.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I want to say this is a moment when we have an opportunity to really stand up for each other. It's who we are as Americans. It's what we ought to be doing. And I'm as much as I am challenged and all of us are by what Donald Trump and his gang in the White House are doing. I also see that the American people are standing up and getting the job done of making their voices heard.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We're going to see a real momentum over the next few months and over the next year. And by November of 2026, we're going to take the Congress back because of everyone listening to this podcast and Americans all across the country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, Ben, thank you. Thanks, Midas Touch Network and to my fellow governors. I'm so proud to stand with you. Look, let's get a couple ground rules first. You can't appease authoritarianism. Call out their crap and just know that that's who they are. Stand proud. on our progressive values. Stand proud that we're feeding children. Stand proud that we care about the environment.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Stand proud and get out there and don't try and find an easy way to this. This is a way that we have to have policies that improve people's lives and then find a lane. Find your lane, everybody who's out there, whatever it is. If you're good at something, do that. If you'd rather do something else, get there.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I will associate myself as a, we were colleagues together, Governor Hochul and I, show up at those things. It makes a difference. Call their offices. They work for you. Make them work for you. And I'm telling you, it's working. We've had, some of us have shown up in Omaha. There's a whole bunch of folks stopping through that Beautiful blue dot. Don't anybody diss Nebraska. They turn out in Omaha.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They've got a GOP congressman in a district that is ours and should be one. You know what's happening to him now? He thinks maybe we shouldn't cut Medicaid. And this weekend he was talking about he might want to spend more time with his family instead of running again. That's a good idea. And we need to keep the pressure on every single one of these. So I thank you for doing this.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I thank folks who tuned in. This is our fight. It's our time. Nobody's going to come riding in here.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Thanks, Ben, and thanks for having us on. And thank you, everybody who tuned in. I, too, want people to leave here tonight with hope. I see people speaking up every day. I see people standing up every day around this country as more and more people are realizing the pain and the consequence of Donald Trump and what he is doing. And I just encourage people to continue to stay at it.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And understand that this is... This is going to be a marathon. It's going to take some time. And we just got to stay at it every single day. You know, basketball, I was a basketball player. Basketball is big in my background. It's a team sport. Everybody's got a role to play. And there's something about basketball where, you know, you got to play offense and you got to play defense.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And as a point guard, if I stood up, you'd see I'm only 5'4". It's about making plays, right? And it's about the assist. And everybody's got a way to play. to participate in what we need to do right now as a country. So, you know, get out there, get after it, continue to talk to people, share experiences. I think that's really important.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
On social media, if you see somebody posting something and you think it's a good telling of something that's going on, then share that because the voices... Elected leaders matter. Politicians matter. But every day, Americans matter more. They always have. They always had.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I was reminded of that when I stood in Concord for the 250th celebrations, when that ragtag ban of farmers and tradespeople and, you know, other colonists faced down a mighty, mighty British army and king. And, you know, at the end of the day, we know what happened there. Yeah. continue on with the work.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I filed and got passed a $5 billion housing bill to build more housing in Massachusetts so we can lower costs. And what does Donald Trump do? He puts a tariff on the lumber that's coming in from Canada for that and the gypsum and other materials that we need from Mexico to build that housing. So making housing more difficult at a time a governor like me is trying to make housing more abundant.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I look forward to being able to work with many of you and talk with many of you over the coming weeks, months, and years. Thank you for what you do.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
All right. Thank you, Ben. And I'm always inspired when I hear my fellow governors. And these are just a small sampling. I believe that this is the new leadership that our country needs is among the ranks of our governors. And they're extraordinary leaders really in there fighting the fight right now, not just talking about or pontificating about it. I'll tell you a couple of things.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Donald Trump killed a lot of things. What he killed was killing our economy. He's killing education. He's killing health care. But you know what? He also killed complacency. I don't think there's an American alive right now who's watching what is unfolding over these last 100 days and there's 1,362 more to go. that are feeling complacent or apathetic and gonna sit on the sidelines. No, no, no.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They are energized. They're mobilized. They're ready to organize. And I can feel it right now in every corner of my state and across this country. And that is the power of the American people. Don't ever count us down. We're never out. We do fight back. And I can give you one example of hope because that's something seems a little bit of lost today. A lot of people are giving up hope.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
They're despairing over the state of affairs and their own family's affairs. I would cut my teeth into politics. My parents used to protest the Vietnam War. I used to wear a black armband when I was in my Catholic grade school. The nuns didn't like that, but this is in my genes. I'm genetically created to protest and be an agitator.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I was a kid when I saw Richard Nixon resign in disgrace after Watergate and fly off in a helicopter off the White House lawn. Our country was in disarray. The vice president was in trouble. Our country was literally imploding. We lost young people during the Vietnam War. We lost people at Kent State, the shooting. Look it up in your history books, young people.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But listen, you know what happened the next year? 1974 was the greatest wave of Democrats elected to Congress that our country had seen at that point. had seen at that point. So that's what's in store for us. You don't give up. You use that anger and channel it into action. That's what I'm calling for from everyone. We'll stand together. We'll get through this. We've been through a lot.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And we look back, people look back at our time and ask, your grandkids will ask you, what did you do during the Trump administration? You can look at them and say, I fought back and we won.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I cut taxes and, you know, every day he continues to do things that add to the inflationary pressures that are out there. I heard him earlier tonight, and once again, he lied. Eggs are still over $6 a dozen. And that's just where we are. And I think one thing that's also, I'll end with this last comment. Massachusetts, we're home to a lot of colleges and universities.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We have about 100,000 students that come here from around the world to study, to do research. Some of them pioneer new treatments, win Nobel Prizes. A lot of them are entrepreneurs. They start businesses, start companies that to take off and flourish, not just in Massachusetts, but around this country.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And with Donald Trump's terrible job that he's done to scare foreign students away, it was just revealed tonight the illegal efforts of DHS around the student visas, We have people who have packed up who have left because they're scared. And with that goes talent.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I'll also tell you the one who's winning in all of this, China, because right now China is on our campuses recruiting our scientists and faculty and saying, hey, Donald Trump is cutting your funding, but you come to China and we'll set you up with a nice lab and plenty of staff and everything. I guess it'll be in China that we're going to see those inventions and entrepreneurship and growth.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
So we just got to keep speaking up and playing offense, talking about calling him out for the things that he's doing that are causing so much harm, and then continuing to talk about the things that we governors are doing in our states that make our states more competitive, safer, where there's greater opportunity. And I think all of us have records to show that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
I'm proud of Massachusetts because right now we're number one in education, healthcare, and innovation. My colleagues will rib me on that, probably challenge me. But the point is, we as Democratic governors know how important those investments are in science and in kids and education, workforce and the like.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Nice commercial from Massachusetts, by the way, Governor. Well done. Good to see my friends once again. And Ben, thanks for hosting this important conversation. The first 100 days, is that all it's been? It feels like every passing day we're finding another way that Donald Trump is turning the American dream into a nightmare.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I can't the stream of broken promises that many people in our country believed in him. It's just extraordinary. And I've never seen in all my life. And I've been involved in elective office for 31 years. The way that he is weaponizing the American government against its own people. And let's just dissect some of these things that he's done. I mean, you talk about the tariffs.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Who are they helping? Who are the winners in this? Seems to me we're all gonna be losers because the only ones getting jobs in this era are bankruptcy lawyers. And we're starting to hear even effects like toy manufacturers are cutting back production. Stores that normally do their holiday purchasing. This time of year, my mom had a small flowering gift shop.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
We were buying our things in the spring for the next Christmas. i'm not sure santa claus is coming this year at the rate we're going because the cost is so high we're going to be driving businesses out of work and out of business and the cost in new york is estimated about seven billion dollars a loss of 280 000 jobs now
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
This is also gonna cost families in New York over $6,000 a person if these Trump tariffs, which I call the Trump tax, stay into effect. So at the same time, what are we doing? I'm fighting back. We're going to court. It's also a growth industry for all lawyers. My attorney general, Tish James, has been teaming up with the attorney generals from all across the country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Today, I think we're filing a lawsuit to stop what they're trying to do, destroying our offshore wind industry. I know it's important to my New England friends as well. trying to stop the tariffs and litigation, trying to stop everything they're doing, the cutbacks, the $300 million we lost that's supposed to help build back communities after natural disasters.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Our people are hurting, not to mention the farmers. It's not just... Wall Street that's hurting in my state, it's also the main streets and the small towns and the farmers who cannot believe that their costs went up $10,000 a month to get more fertilizer and their feed that they normally get from Canada. So I have a whole litany, a parade of horribles.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But my concern is that the people of my state are hurting. They're hurting all over America. And we're going to keep going to court and standing up. But the next thing we can do best is to organize, take this anxiety and this anger and turn it into action. Action means we're mobilizing already for 2026.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I'm proud to be leading that effort in the state of New York to help take back the Congress, because if we can finally get a firewall and stop at least part of this insanity, at least we got hope again. And that's what I'm focused on these days as well.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, thanks, Ben. And I'm so excited to be, especially with my friends, the fellow governors and with you, Ben. I think all of us are deeply, deeply concerned about what's happening across the country. And, of course, 100 days in, it's been, well, a disastrous administration for the American people. Essentially, we've seen Donald Trump do exactly the opposite of what he said he was going to do.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Well, thank you. And I have to say, one of our obligations as governors is to keep the peace when people are protesting. But I have to say, people are mobilizing on their own, and we are seeing peaceful protests all across the country, but especially in Illinois. I want to give you an example. There's a young woman down in Edwardsville. It's a
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Southern Illinois town, about 28,000 people live in Edwardsville. Andy Smith is her name. And she went out with a sign and stood at the intersection of two highways that are nearby just by herself. She was so frustrated in early February about what Trump was doing. And she just held up a sign and said,
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
to express herself and you know somebody that was walking by with their dog saw her walked over and joined her in the protest and then the next day she showed up and four friends showed up to to protest with her and then two days later more people joined her and now every friday at one o'clock 300 people show up to protest with her. That's just because one person was willing to go out there.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
She felt a little crazy. She said the first time that she was out there by herself. But now she's got friends and people that she never knew who are showing up and expressing themselves. That's happening in, you know, that's only 300 people in Edwardsville. But think about that all across the state of Illinois, where Most of our state is is rural and exurban.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But of course, in the city of Chicago and people are activated and they're motivated, they're getting out there. And of course, we're protecting them. I am encouraging them. In fact, I believe that we all ought to be mobilizing. It's the best way for us to get across.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
what we really believe is that, you know, show up at your Republican congressman's office and let them know, quit shutting down veteran services, quit taking away social security and Medicaid. And we know that's what they're about to do. They deny it.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
But this summer, in fact, over the next few weeks, we're going to see them start to articulate why they're going to take away Medicaid in my state from 770,000 people, but it's millions across the United States, people who might die because they don't have health care because Republicans took it away from them.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And 100 days in, we've seen prices go up. We've seen, you know, it's hard to buy a car, hard to buy a house. Your tomatoes, lettuce and beer at the grocery store, prices have gone up. And, of course, when he promised that he was going to bring peace to Ukraine and around the world, the opposite has happened. There have been, you know, more attacks on our friends and our allies.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Governor Wolf. Yeah, well, thank you, Deanna. Thanks for being on here. And in Minnesota, we do take care of our own. And I think we're getting out there. We've been doing a lot of town halls around the state, letting people understand exactly what Medicaid and Medicare does for them. Forty percent of all children in this state don't rely on Medicaid.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
Eighty percent of our seniors in long term care and nursing homes depend on it, especially in and Deanna's right up there across from Fargo when you get out into the more rural areas. And so in Minnesota, we make it a top priority. We have one of the highest rates of folks that are insured, but it's dependent on the federal government's share of this.
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Dem Gov Town Hall on Trump 100 Days with JB Pritzker, Tim Walz, Maura Healey, and Kathy Hochul
And I think you've got a district that Deanna's speaking from that you have a member of Congress who is unwilling to meet with their constituents. We were up in Moorhead a week ago and a town hall with state legislators and myself, making sure that our neighbors know exactly what's going to happen here.
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
Donald Trump snatching up college grad students and sending them back or sending folks to El Salvador illegally. That's not the policy. But for us to them to say, we don't care that violent criminals come in, we most certainly do. What we were asking for is the resources to make sure they don't get here. And the same thing with the other policies.
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
There's a couple of facets to your question, Margaret. It's a good question. You're right, though. When you look back, it was Republicans supported tariffs in the 1800s and up through about 1930 when we passed the Smoot-Hartley Act that created one of the worst, well, the worst oppression we ever had. We learned from that that Paris and protectionism does not work.
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
And a free trade in the end, as long as it's fair, we want fair trade. And I support the president wanting to get fairness. Some of these countries do treat us wrong, but fair trade should be the goal. And you're right, the president talked about this. He did not hide as this is part of his agenda. But here's my take on it. And I've been studying politics since I was like 13 years old.
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
People voted for president Trump because of the border and he is really delivered there. They voted for him.
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
It's not a woke policy to provide food for children, to get breakfast and lunch, and we get better outcomes from that. They defined things on their terms that weren't true. And what I'm saying is, are we going to turn away from being a country of legal immigration?
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Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
that thinks diversity and making sure that we don't have gaps in income between blacks and whites those are policies that have strengthened america and i think what we allowed ourselves to do is we we got timid and then when we got power we didn't pass things that improved people's lives this whole idea i think the democratic party gets theoretical you know talk about food insecurity people are hungry get them food
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
Donald Trump snatching up college grad students and sending them back or sending folks to El Salvador illegally, that's not the policy. But for us to them to say we don't care that violent criminals come in, we most certainly do. What we were asking for is the resources to make sure they don't get here. And the same thing with the other policies.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
It's not a woke policy to provide food for children, to get breakfast and lunch, and we get better outcomes from that. They defined things on their terms that weren't true. And what I'm saying is, are we going to turn away from being a country of legal immigration?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
Are we going to turn away from a country that thinks diversity and making sure that we don't have gaps in income between blacks and whites? Those are policies that have strengthened America. And I think what we allowed ourselves to do is we got timid. And then when we got power... We didn't pass things that improved people's lives. This whole idea, I think the Democratic Party gets theoretical.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
You know, talk about food insecurity. People are hungry. Get them food.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
They're the ones that are working to do research, to have cures, to save our lives and make sure that we don't die from the next pandemic. So these are essential people and they're treated as if they're like disposable tissue. They don't care about them. So here in New York, I started a campaign.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
In fact, we have digital ads right now in Union Station in Washington, as well as in Moynihan Station in New York saying, you know what? Doge doesn't want you. They say you're fired. We say you're hired. Come up to New York. I have almost 7,000 open jobs, great jobs throughout the state. I want you to come to New York. So screw that. I'm sorry about what happened to you. It's painful.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Well, this is just another devastating policy from the Trump administration. Just a couple of hours ago, I convened a roundtable of farmers from New York who are desperately fearful that this is going to kill their livelihood. They export most of their products to Canada. They get a lot of supplies. Their fertilizer all comes in from Canada.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I sat down with federal workers yesterday and they're so traumatized. They don't know what hit them and they didn't deserve this. So here in New York, we're saying we appreciate you. We value. Come on. We've got a job for you.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
A lot. First of all, you're absolutely right about the impact on our rural communities. A lot of people think of New York City as just Manhattan and the city. Most of our landmast, 25% agriculture. A lot of it is really small towns and we have rural hospitals that'll absolutely collapse under the weight of this if they lose the Medicaid dollars.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I was in a hospital in Queens just a couple of days ago and we went and saw a hospital that's caring for the most, the sickest kids you'd ever see. They're not gonna make it home, so many of them. And I went there and many of them are on ventilators and their parents, a little two year old sitting in a wheelchair, maybe never going to go home.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
And I said I was so angry to think that these Medicaid cuts could hurt families like these. They've got so much stress. And I said, Republicans from New York, come on down here and look in the eyes of these children and their parents and tell them you're going to cut Medicaid.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
And if you can do that and go back to Washington, then you've got the most callous, cruelest hearts of people ever walked this earth. I hit him hard and I said, families, you need to start marching to these Republican offices and demanding that they stop what they're doing. They voted for this. They own this. And she said, what are we going to do?
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I'm going to make sure everybody knows who did this to them. So that's what we're going to do here in New York. Make sure he will know that elections have consequences and there's one way to fix it. In 2026, we're going to make sure that we continue our sweep of elections. We won five out of seven battleground seats in Congress last year. We worked really hard.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
And I'm going to make sure we can make Hakeem Jeffries the speaker next. to create a firewall against the insanity that has been unleashed on Washington.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Weird, it's next level insanity. And when I saw that post, I thought, did someone hack into his account? He didn't just call himself the king, did he? And then I thought my staff, I thought maybe one of them had made the picture of Donald Trump with the crown on. And it turned out it was the White House that posted it. So I went right down to the subway. I was so pissed off.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
The sawdust that they use for their animals comes in from Canada. So I don't know what they're thinking in Washington, but this is going to crush the livelihoods of people who supported them. These are your supporters you're killing. So it makes no sense. And to say that it's short-term pain for long-term gain, like people want relief now.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I marched in there and I said, we have not labored under a king for 250 years and we sure as hell are not starting now. So what I also said, here the Republicans say that states should be the ones who determine control and whether or not a woman can control her own bodies, right? Reproductive freedom. They want to be able to control women's decision making.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
But I in New York can't control my own damn traffic. Who are you kidding here? So we're fighting this, the end of congestion pricing, which has worked incredibly successful. The traffic is down. The quality of life is up. And who are you to tell us we can't do this? This is managing our traffic, for God's sake. Go worry about solving the crisis in the Middle East and Ukraine.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Figure out something more useful to do and stop doing so much harm to New York.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Stop hurting America. A lot of people put their faith in you. They believed that you would actually reduce prices the day you got sworn in. They believed you, that you'd create all this, all these great things were gonna happen. And it hasn't happened. Things are off the charts. The anxiety levels of families, when you're talking about taking away healthcare, that covers little kids or seniors.
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New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Your parents and grandparents are nursing homes. You know what's going to happen if Medicaid can't cover their costs? They're going back right home in your guest room. You're going to be able to take care of them? That's the reality of America today. He can stop this. President Trump can stop this. He did a lot.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I would say just pull it all back and start thinking about, are you really going to keep hurting your voters? I will talk about a place like Long Island. Offshore wind is big for us. A lot of people, union members, trained hard to be able to get these good paying jobs as we transition to clean energy economy. But guess what? Long Island voted for you. These guys voted for you.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
And then one of the first things you do is you kill the industry. So I would say, look at the people who voted for you and stop hurting them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Oh, I represent the largest Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine. You know, we go to the Ukrainian restaurants. We go to the, you know, we interact with individuals all the time. And this is so painful. The way that he just tried to embarrass a brave, courageous individual who's leading this country through some of the most traumatic times you ever could imagine.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
They were promised relief from high prices on inauguration day. Still waiting for that one. And now this is going to make it more expensive for average families. So it makes no sense at all. We have to shut this down.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Republicans ought to hang their heads in shame about how they are cozying up to one of the most villain, vile people. who's in Russia, Putin, who's been doing nothing but hurting us, undermining us and compromising our own security. We have to walk away from people like that and embrace people like Zelensky and praise him for what he has done and give him more money. Don't starve him.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
It's a shame that he has to run in the arms of Europeans and not get that kind of comfort and support that he had all these years. The last three years, he's had that from us. And now to just say it's gone, they don't know what's hit them. So let's stop the craziness. Let's stop the insanity and say, let's really look at who our friends are and stand with them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
I just wish Washington would do what we're doing here in New York, which is focus on affordability. My budget has plans to put upwards of $5,000 back in the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers, $1,000 child tax credit, middle-class tax cuts, and inflation rebate. You know what? Here in New York, because inflation was so high for the last few years,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
We collected $3 billion more in sales tax revenue. And I said, that doesn't belong to us. Let's put that in the pocket of New Yorkers so families are going to get a $500 rebate. So I've added up countless ways to address what we heard loud and clear. Democrats heard this in the election, that people want some kind of relief. Someone who's listened to them, understands their pain.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Now listen, I didn't start here. My parents used to live in a trailer park. We bought our clothes at used clothing stores and ate spam sandwiches for dinner a lot. So I know what they've been through, and I want them to know that we are going to not just listen to you, we're gonna do something about it. Washington has the same power. They should be doing this, but until they do,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
Other states, my friends, Democratic governors, and they are just extraordinary leaders, are working hard to just say, we'll take care of you. And I think there's going to be a backlash like we've never seen in the 2026 elections for the House and the Senate. And then we finally get the checks and balances, the firewall that is so essential that is not there right now.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
New York Gov Hochul Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Policies
They're killing us. First of all, the poor people who are dedicated public servants who could make a lot more in the private sector. These are talented individuals. They're lawyers, they're engineers, they're social workers. They're people that make sure the planes land safely. They're the ones who keep an eye on the nuclear code.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And I don't say that because I'm a Democratic governor and he's a Republican president. I say it because it's solely his fault. Every economist is saying, don't do it. It's slowing down our economy. It could lead us into a recession. You inherited an economy that was growing more than most in the world and you're tanking it. you're wrecking it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And people in my state are going to pay more than most because our number one export target is Canada. And so whether it's Kentucky bourbon or our aerospace exports, we get hit and we get hit hard.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Oh, Medicaid cuts would be devastating for Kentucky, but really all of rural America. So Medicaid covers the people that we love the most, our parents and our kids. Half of Kentucky's kids are covered by Medicaid. 70% of our long-term care costs for our seniors are covered by Medicaid. So what happens when you cut Medicaid? Kids see the doctor less.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Our parents and grandparents aren't with us as long, don't get the same level of care. But Medicaid and expanded Medicaid are critical to rural healthcare. If they go through with these cuts, virtually every rural hospital will close. That's typically the second largest employer behind the public school in so many of these rural communities.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And so think about it from the job loss, but think about it from this way. It's not just those on Medicaid. It's everybody else who is going to see the doctor in their community when their rural hospital closes has to drive two hours to a bigger city to see the same doctor who had to move because they lost their job. This will be... devastating, devastating across the country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And it'll make a country that needs to get more healthy, less healthy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
I think it's three things. It's focus on the core concerns that Americans wake up with in the morning. It's talking to people like they're real people, not using all the sanitized language that's been out there. And third is sharing your why. So if you start with focusing on people's everyday worries, when most people wake up in the morning, they're not thinking about politics.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
They're thinking about their job and whether they make enough to support their family. They're thinking about their next doctor's appointment for themselves or their parents or their kids. They're thinking about the roads and bridges they drive every day. They're thinking about the public school they drop their kids off at, and they're thinking about how safe they feel in their community.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Now, if you don't feel secure in all of those areas, it's really hard to reach another issue or cause no matter how much you care about it because you're worried about your family. So for me, listen, I always stand up for my beliefs. I've vetoed a lot of nasty discriminatory bills. but I'm always out there trying to create that next job, trying to make healthcare more accessible.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
When we built a road in Eastern Kentucky, it cut down the commute for some families by 20 minutes both ways. People underestimate the impact on somebody's lives, 40 more minutes with your family. And so it's making sure that 80% of what I or what the Democratic Party should be talking about should be those core concerns. but how you talk about them is important too.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
I mean, we've gotten to a point where we use language that doesn't mean anything. We use the term substance use disorder instead of addiction. Well, the folks I know that have gone through addiction, they call it addiction or food insecurity. When people are going hungry, it makes us sound like professors as opposed to talking to people as people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And then the words lose their power and their meaning. But the last piece may be the most important. And that's I think we as leaders need to explain our authentic why, why we make decisions, why we do these jobs with everything you got to put up with, why we put our families through it. And for me, it's my faith.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And so, for instance, when I vetoed the nastiest anti LGBTQ plus bill during my election year, in Kentucky. You know, I explained it, why I did it. And that's that my faith teaches me that all children are children of God. And I wanted those children who are being hated on by their General Assembly to know their governor cares for them and loves them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And my faith tells me that that's my job to do, to stand up for them. And so I'll never forget, I think the next day, a guy walks up to me and I thought, oh, you know, what's coming now? And he said, Andy, I'm I don't know if I agree with you, but I know you are doing what you think is right.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And so if we can explain our why, we can create hopefully the grace and the space to have some disagreements that are out there. But people still understand what you're doing each and every day and how you're going to make their life better.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Kentucky and the rest of the United States cannot possibly reach its full potential unless our people feel supported to be themselves. Discrimination against our LGBTQ plus community is unacceptable. It holds us back. And in my Kentucky accent, it ain't right.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Well, bullying is always wrong and standing up for people is always right. Hate's always wrong and love's always right. Judging people is always wrong and accepting them is always right. But I think what many Democrats are doing is misreading the last election. They're seeing that last ad that was played and thinking that the last movable voters voted on that anti-trans issue.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Well, first, April 2nd is actually the day after my wife and my anniversary because we got married on April Fool's Day. I'm told that means I can forget it once for a couple of hours before I fix it. But in seriousness, this is the Trump tax day or the super inflation day. Tariffs, especially on Canada, lead to increases in the price of gas. How much they lead to that increase is the Trump tax.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
I don't think that they did. I think what Donald Trump convinced them is that his opponent was distracted by other issues while he was focused on prices and the economy. And so this isn't an either or. As a Democrat, stand up for what you believe in. Stand up for protecting people. But at the same time, the next day,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
be out there opening that new factory, be in your community cutting the ribbon on the new clinic where people are gonna be able to see a doctor that are right there. Be out there making sure that public safety is improving for everybody.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
You know, we've gotta show people that you can stand up for your principles while at the same time being there every single day for every working family, regardless of their politics. We have to do both and understand that this is not an either or.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Well, first, congratulations to y'all on all this success and for being out there speaking truth and making sure people get real information. For me, I think our country is right now at a test of our humanity and a test of our empathy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
The idea that tens of thousands of Americans are getting laid off from civil service, many of them veterans trying to continue their service, and Donald Trump and Elon Musk are lying to them, saying it was because of their performance. You can think that the government's too big, but have the humanity and the empathy to be concerned about these families, many of which have young kids.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
Have the humanity and the empathy to say it's wrong to lie to people about why they're losing their job. You know, I think that we've got to make sure as a country that we as leaders are setting the right example while at the same time we are pushing back. What's happening through this president and out of Washington, D.C. is wrong. It is wrong in so many different ways.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
And it sets such a bad example for our kids and for the people of America. But I'm convinced that we as Americans are better than this. And if we are reminded of our humanity and who we are, that we can rise above this. See, I see it after every natural disaster that hits my state. We've been hit by 13 federally declared disasters since I became governor. And what do you see?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
You see people pulling up into each other's driveways, introducing themselves for the first time and saying, how can I help? You see somebody sitting on their neighbor's porch while the waters rise because their neighbor doesn't want to leave until the neighbor's ready and then carrying them out. Now, we may have folks out there that thought that Donald Trump was going to be focused on prices.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
They're seeing right now he's focused on anything but. We deserve a president and we deserve a government that always puts our people first and recognizes that those basic needs shouldn't be partisan.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
So just imagine a federal administration that every day is trying to create more jobs for Democrats, Republicans, and independents, trying to make healthcare more affordable for every American, trying to have safe roads and bridges for every state and everyone who's out there that believes in public education instead of trying to tear it down.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
and wants to improve public safety in every single community. Now the answer to where we go is something that won't just win elections, but it's good for all Americans and hopefully can help us find some common ground. So I know we're going through a tough time, but I certainly haven't lost my hope and I'm in this fight because I refuse to leave a broken country to my kids.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
You're paying it solely because of the president. Tariffs on places like Mexico increase the price of groceries, which are already too high. The extra amount you pay is the Trump tax. The tariff on lumber, that's out there. It's gonna increase the price of new homes that are already so tough for that couple trying to buy their first home. That increase in price is the Trump tax.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Andy Beshear on Winning as a Dem in a Red State
They deserve to have a strong, solid America that's governed by the rule of law. And I'm going to make sure I do everything I can so they get that country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR Breaking News
I call for him to come out, take a look for himself. We want to do in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist. He's the president-elect. I respect the office. We have a president of the United States that within 36 hours provided a major disaster declaration over a text. We had support from the president of the United States, Joe Biden, with 100% reimbursement.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR Breaking News
All the resources you could hope for. Imagine constant communication. I'd like to extend that to the president-elect. I don't know what he's referring to when he talks about the Delta smelt and reservoirs. The reservoirs are completely full. The state reservoirs here in Southern California, that mis- and disinformation, I don't think advantages or aids any of us.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR Breaking News
Responding to Donald Trump's insults, we would spend another month. I'm very familiar with them. Every elected official that he disagrees with, very familiar with them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR Breaking News
And that's exactly what triggered my desire to get the investigation to understand what was happening with that local reservoir.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR Breaking News
That was not a state system reservoir, which the president-elect was referring to as it relates to the Delta and somehow connecting the Delta smelt to this fire, which is inexcusable because it's inaccurate, also incomprehensible to anyone that understands water policy in the state.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/1/25
let me show you the josh let me show you the josh wheelhead i'm josh wheel and i approve this message randy fine a violent corrupt politician so radical and dangerous he supports the effort to cut 880 billion for medicaid devastating disabled children and those in nursing homes fine is so unhinged and anti-american he supports the idea that social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/1/25
He wants to cut 700 billion stealing from your retirement. Randy Fine, unhinged, un-American.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And as you know, since then, California, the largest state in our union size of 21 state populations combined, now the fourth largest economy in the world based on IMF figures that just came out, International Monetary Fund figures yesterday. No state has been more impacted by the tariffs economically. And as a consequence, we're the first state to sue the Trump administration.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And we're damn confident that we're going to win that lawsuit. Tell us about that lawsuit, Governor. How important is it? Well, it's critical. I mean, he has no unilateral authority to impose these tariffs. And interestingly, the Koch brothers backed a lawsuit saying exactly the same thing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
So look at the ideological prism here, a big blue state and a progressive governor and some of the most conservative quote unquote leaders in this country representing the same point of view. And you may have seen just in the last 24 hours, 12 states' attorney generals just joined and are also suing the Trump administration, making exactly the same claim. And it's interesting, final point on that,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
The Trump administration is trying to change the jurisdiction for our case and our suit, which is just another example of how concerned I think they are. And again, any legal scholar looks at this, it seems pretty black and white. He simply cannot assert the authority he has under this 1977 construct to unilaterally advance tariffs. So we think we are in a very good and solid position.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
I mean, free enterprise to crony capitalism overnight. I mean, every single one of those meetings represents sort of a side deal, a special interest of sorts. Some may be nations, others may be companies the size of nations that make political contributions. We saw this in Trump 1.0.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
There was an independent analysis done as it relates to the relatively modest tariffs that he imposed in his first term and how he decided to pull some of those tariffs back. And now they were directly connected to contributors. I mean, this is serious stuff. It's happening in just plain sight. And he wants everyone to kneel. and everyone to reach out directly to him. And this is democracy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
This is Donald Trump's version of it. And so it's a very serious moment. And that's why there's a serious of purpose and grateful with these attorney generals in these 12 other states. And I think everybody, not just crying foul, but getting a little bit more strategic. And I appreciate, you know, we're seeing this party's buzzing now. It's come alive at the grassroots.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
People are showing up, stepping up. They're not giving into the cynicism and fear. There was some resignation, I would argue, for a while. It felt that way. in some corners right after the election, that's no longer the case. And it's really wonderful to see that energy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
You see in the AOC rallies and Bernie rallies, which is just incredible, but also just the enthusiasm that I always feel when we see a guy like Cory Booker stand up for 25 hours or what Chris did down in El Salvador. It's just great to see people being accountable at this moment. And I think states like California have a responsibility. We're now about to
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
to present our 16th lawsuit against the Trump administration. We need to really start to assert ourselves from a position of strength.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
Well, I saw a meme of Xi reading The Art of the Deal laughing. I think it summed everything up. That was on my feed yesterday. I mean, here's Trump negotiating against himself. And, you know, I want to be careful here because I love my country. I love this nation.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
But it's just interesting the approach that she has taken, which seems a little bit more steady handed as it relates to his approach on retaliatory tariffs. Now, the impacts of that are outsized in my state. You know, I've got the port of Long Beach with 40 percent of goods move in this country in L.A. and Long Beach come through and they're starting to dry up. That's not a gross exaggeration.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
It's modest one drying up. But they're starting to significantly decline in terms of amount of cargo coming in to the states. One of the principal reasons we felt we had standing in a lawsuit. This is the number one manufacturing state in America. It's the number one state in terms of direct foreign investment, two-way trade. We dominate in every category, economic category.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
There are no peers in ag and forestry jobs. Across the spectrum, this state is disproportionately impacted. And so I just, I pray. that we can get a deal with China because of its outsized influence. And I'll just argue one simple point as a guy with four young kids, 80% of those toys that are supposed to be coming in the ports right now for the holidays, they come from China.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And so this impact is to me, it's personal,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
uh yeah it's a professional responsibility as a fiduciary for the state uh i'm a small business person myself and business is directly impacted so it's it's not an intellectual exercise uh this one is absorbed in every corner of our society democrat republican rural urban these impacts are extraordinary and what he's done is extraordinary and we have to be extraordinarily vigilant and forceful in our response
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
Well, it's a point of pride. I mean, it's a big blue state with $4.1 trillion a year economic output. We're 14% of the GDP in the United States of America, 50% more than the next big state. But I also want people to understand that this is a donor state. In 2023, Californians contributed $83.1 billion more than we received from the federal government.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And by the way, for your viewers, they may be interested in this. That state, Texas, took $71.1 billion.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
more than they provided the federal government california 83 billion contributor taker texas and i say that to make a broader point 71 of the economic output in the united states america blue counties blue metros blue states with lower deaths of despair rates higher wages more productivity greater growth lower death rates as it relates to murder uh
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
It is a mythology that somehow red states are dominating and blue states are struggling. It's factually untrue. And I think today, as it relates to the illumination from the International Monetary Fund that did the analysis that we highlighted, it's just a proof point of states like California, big blue states all across this country that continue to be the tentpole of the U.S. economy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
Well, we had a formula for success. We have a conveyor belt for talent that's second to none, and that's being vandalized all across this country. It's our university system, the UCs, the CSUs, our community college system, the backbone of our workforce development that conveys more talent than any other system in the United States. And again, we're seeing that attacked
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
for ideological reasons all across this country. Good for Harvard for standing firm and standing tall. And that's a call to arms for all universities to follow suit and do the same. We invest in research and development. 18% of the world's Research and development. Number three on the planet, China, Germany, and California.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
The biggest investment in research and development, pushing out the boundaries of discovery, more scientists, engineers, researchers, more Nobel laureates, more venture capital coming from California and the interstate and the nation, that innovation, the entrepreneurialism.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
The reason we call this a coast of California is the coast of dreams because we're a dream maker for people all around the globe that want to come here for riches and new beginnings. 27%. of this state is foreign-born, majority-minority state, living and advancing together across every imaginable difference. That's what makes us great.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
We celebrate our interesting differences, as Clinton said, but we also unite around the things that bind us together. And it's a point of pride, all of that under assault, under attack, human capital, economic impacts of these tariffs, human capital being assaulted with these immigration raids and the chill as it relates to legal immigration. not just issues related to the border.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And so all of these things, these are precious things, but all these things are foundationally part of that formula for success that I think blue states understand at their core. You invest in people, you invest in opportunity, you invest in growth, and you create conditions where people feel included. They feel seen, they feel heard, and they come out and they take risks.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And a consequence, we're all rewarded for that. And so that's why I'm proud. I've come from a state, there's the American dream and there's a California dream. There's only one state that's attached itself to a dream. And my job is to keep that dream alive, to push back against Trump and Trumpism and to continue to invest in our growth engines.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
Well, I mean, 10X worse than we even feared. And we were pretty sober when we got together the day after, quote unquote, Liberation Day. But we've seen what's happened to the world economy. The coin of the realm is trust and how...
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
You've never been more important. I mean, don't give in to the cynicism. Don't give in to the fear. Don't give in to the anxiety. That's what he counts on. It's shock and awe. He's coming every day, every minute, trying to win one thing, the news cycle. 24-7, win the news cycle. So keep our eye on the ball, focus on what's important. Let's try to avoid chasing every damn rabbit.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
But the most important thing is we have to maintain our vigilance. We have to step up and step in. We have agency. We can shape the future. The future is not something to experience. It's something to manifest. It's decisions, not conditions that determine our fate and future. So I say it all the time. It's not what happens to us, it's how we respond.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And right now the American people are responding in extraordinary ways. It's inspiring. Real people that understand what's at stake for themselves, for their kids and grandkids. And it's inspired, I think, inspired me to do more and do better. And so if we continue with that spirit, We're going to get back on track. We're going to win the damn midterms. We're going to get back the White House.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
And all we have to do is continue in this spirit with that sense of purpose, mission and meaning that's behind folks that are standing up for democracy, their families, this nation and the world we're trying to build.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Gavin Newsom on Trump’s 100 Days of Failure
We have eroded trust around the globe, how this is going to take, I think, years and years and years to unwind despite what Donald Trump believes and how the markets are behaving as they zig and zag.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
If you could speak directly to Donald Trump, what would you tell him?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Stand up, speak out, show up. This is how we're going to change things. It's clear Democrats can't. I mean, you can't outvote Republicans in Congress. We don't control the executive branch in Washington. States can't change the trajectory of the federal government.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
But all of us can use our bully pulpits or our own feet and voice and show up because I'm telling you, Congress people who work against the will of the American people are gonna feel it. If you show up, and I mean, even if there's not a town hall meeting, go to their office, bring five friends with you, show up with signs, make sure people know you're going. That is how we're gonna defeat them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
That's how we're gonna stand up to them. It's how we're gonna slow down the damage that they're trying to do and aim toward the November elections in 2026. We have to retake at least one, if not both houses of Congress. And we have the ability to do that if people will speak up, stand up, show up.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Well, I will say, at least for me, I expected it. I think we're living in a kleptocracy now. It's clear that Elon Musk is trying to benefit himself while he's also exercising powers that he was never supposed to be granted. The Constitution certainly doesn't give someone unelected like that the amount of power that he's got. And you're watching as he benefits himself, harms his enemies.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And I'm talking about just Elon Musk. Then you've got Donald Trump, who is enriching himself. We've seen him already selling meme coins that are worthless, taking people for all that they're worth sometimes. And then at the same time, You know, he said that on day one, he was going to bring down prices for people across America. Right.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
That you could go to the grocery store and you'd know that inflation was gone. Well, he's done the exact opposite. That was supposed to be day one. You know, day 62. We've seen prices at the grocery store are going up and 25 percent tariffs. on tomatoes and lettuce and barley from Canada and aluminum cans. You go to the grocery store, your beer is costing you more.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Your tomatoes, your lettuce, et cetera, costing you more. Automobiles costing you more. Housing, lumber costing you more. This is what Donald Trump's all about. And and what's what does he get out of all of it? The ability to cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the United States, the people who don't need it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
He's taking money from people who are suffering, people who are just trying to get by and giving that money to, again, the wealthiest and the biggest corporations.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Yeah, and I think we could talk about, you know, why that was obscured during the campaign, but I am beginning to see it and look at, you know, I wish it was sooner, earlier that everybody was waking up, but here's what I'm seeing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Veterans across large swaths of my state, we have about a half a million veterans in Illinois, in the southernmost district, congressional district of Illinois, represented by Mike Bost as the congressman. who is the chair of the Veterans Committee.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
That district has a lot of veterans in it, and those veterans are already seeing that their services are being taken away, that it's taking longer to get an appointment at the VA. There are homeless veterans that aren't getting the kind of services and help that they need to get shelter over their heads, to find the the food, the basic necessities that they need. And so they're showing up.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
They're speaking out. These are not Democrats, many of them. Many of them are Republicans. But they are outraged. They can't believe many of them that, you know, they voted for Mike Bost and they voted for Donald Trump. And now this is being done to them. And so I think that's just one example of a group of people who are waking up and speaking out.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Well, Ben, we know who this guy is, right? I was governor back in 2019 and 2020 when he was in his first term. And I can tell you that my experiences back then and, of course, the man's history would tell you that he doesn't live up to his promises, that he doesn't give a darn about really any of the people that he represents.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
But so many of us who revere veterans are also outraged by what's happening to them and speaking up and speaking out about it. I'll tell you one quick other story. We have many Head Start programs and I've been for decades. decades now involved in early childhood education and development.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And those Head Start programs are hugely important to especially middle class and working class families across our state. Well, the uncertainty that was created and has still persisted across Illinois about whether those programs are going to get funded
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
has led many parents to wonder whether they can even keep their jobs because they no longer have a place that they can rely upon to take their child. So when you think your job is at stake and you're worried about whether you can leave your child in a good location while you go to work,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
I mean, you can imagine there are people thinking about, you know, they may have to quit their job or they're going to be laid off because they're going to have to take care of their child at home and not be able to go to work. So these are the kinds of things that are happening for people. And those people are showing up, speaking up and speaking out.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
It's a it's a gathering storm against Donald Trump and Elon Musk. But it's getting more and more intense every day.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Well, let's start with an underlying problem that, you know, you can't point fingers exactly about this. And that is there was high inflation and people were feeling it. And so they're living in an environment where they were feeling like things have been bad and it's you know, it's hard to recover from that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
You know, in a political environment, there are folks who say that by June of an election year, if people are not feeling like the economy is going to improve or like inflation is under control, by November, they're going to vote for the non-incumbent, for the opposition party in that election. in this case was Donald Trump and the Republicans.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
So that is a problem that was, you know, just a baseline issue for Democrats in 2024. Add to that, of course, the uncertainty of of the president decide President Biden decided not to run for reelection. Never in my lifetime have we had anything like that, where the incumbent who's running for reelection decides not to after the primaries.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And then replaced by the vice president who, as much as people may like her, she wasn't very well known. And just people don't know the vice president. They still don't know J.D. Vance, too. And so, you know, she took his place, but all of a sudden she had to introduce herself. So in 108 days to run the.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
OK, so that's the part that I think where, you know, it's hard to point fingers exactly about some of those things. But but let's just be clear that. It also was a messaging problem that in those 108 days, there were challenges, you know, the attacks that were coming on Kamala Harris. I think the Harris campaign had difficulty responding to.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And I knew that we had to start on day one as Democrats to rebuild and remind people who we are as a Democratic Party and what we stand for. Because he sort of during the election obscured so much of what he really is about. Somehow the campaign last year just wasn't able to get across what our fundamental values are as Democrats. So that's why I was immediate about it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
They didn't directly go after or even respond to some of those attacks. And I think that was a mistake. You really can't let any time go by in this 24-7 media world. where you're getting attacked and people don't know what your response is. So that stuff can stick.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And especially, like I said, in an environment where people are very uneasy and they feel like going to the grocery store is a disaster every time because prices are going up. So, you know, those are a lot of things that I've said.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
But just to be clear, what we should have been focused on every single day is and every minute of every day is on the things that matter to your life at the kitchen table. Like, can you pay your bills? Can you buy the the tomatoes, the eggs, the groceries that you need for your family? Can you afford those things? You know, which under Donald Trump has gone up in price significantly.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Just things that matter to you in your everyday life. One more thing about this. You know, Biden gave a speech in in January of 2024, I think, at Valley Forge about democracy. Everything he said was accurate and democracy was on the line in that election. But.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
The problem is if you go door to door, and I've done a lot of door to door, door knocking for votes, and you talk to people at the doors, people don't understand what it means when you say democracy is at risk. And you could explain it all you want, but people are used to a system that just works for them. They've never seen democracy that goes away, right, in your entire life.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And so it's hard to make that case to people. But you can make the case that we Democrats, we're the ones who are providing childcare for families that need to go to work and leave their child in a quality environment. We're the ones who are funding education and believe in funding education, not just K through 12, but also being able to go to community college.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
We're the ones who are standing up for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. And Those cases really weren't made very well during that last election. So we need to, you know, laser-like focus on those issues.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And if I had to pick one thing that I wish that Kamala Harris had talked about, because I think it's such an easy thing for us to point out to the American public, the Republicans are opposed to raising the minimum wage at $7.25. $7.25 an hour, $14,000 a year. You can't live as a single person, let alone raise a family. So we should have been talking about the minimum wage.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Here in Illinois, we raised the minimum wage to $15. We should be talking about that, doing that nationally. We should be talking about the idea that we want higher wages for people. Republicans want lower wages. There are many Republicans, if you just survey the Congress, they're opposed to raising the minimum wage, and many of them would like to get rid of the minimum wage.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
So I think just messaging was a little off, maybe a lot off in 2024, and I think lesson learned by a lot of folks. But for me, it's what we've been doing in Illinois for the last six years.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Yeah. You know, I was asked the other day if I could say something to Donald Trump, you know, one question, what would it be? And I said, what does Putin have on you? Because Donald Trump has literally changed our alliances entirely, switching sides. You know, we used to be the country that stands up for the good guys, that stands with our allies. Ukraine is our ally.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
The fact is that the lies have cost so much for the American people even already. What are we, 62 days into his administration? And I think people are finally, finally waking up. But it was important to me to sound the alarm.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
Europe, Western Europe, all of Europe, really, those are our allies. Why did Donald Trump switch sides and choose not the good guys, but the villain, Vladimir Putin? And everybody understands, everybody rational understands that Vladimir Putin is trying to put together the old Russian empire. And he has been feeling that and wanting to do that since he took power many years ago.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And Donald Trump is literally handing it to him when he hands him the power to control the peacemaking with Ukraine. And I'm Ukrainian-American. I have to say my family escaped being killed in Ukraine by Russians. And this country offered us the safety and security that so many refugees have been able to obtain by coming to the United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And we have stood with Ukraine for more than 10 years in their battle for democracy. And the question I guess I would ask is, if you're willing to hand the keys to Europe over to Vladimir Putin, what's next? Where does this end? And how does the United States retain its leadership in the world when essentially he's retreating entirely to the borders of the United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
He's even made enemies now of the Canadians. I mean, I can't imagine anything more telling than, you know, having such a close relationship, probably one of our closest allies in the world, certainly in the Western hemisphere. you know, we now are, you know, we've now made enemies of our friends. Europe is going it alone and trying to figure out how to deal with Putin. What happened?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
What happened? And so Donald Trump, all I can say is he must, you know, have read the wrong books, listened to the wrong people, and certainly misunderstands the importance of leading in a, you know, in a world that needs a leader of a free world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Fights Back Against Trump
And Donald Trump wants to lead just the United States when we need to provide leadership and human rights leadership and strength to so many allies across the world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
the way this administration does and changing numbers every day. And I mean, that leads to a level of uncertainty that I think drives not just markets crazy, but drives all business influence crazy. I mean, the thing that we are trying to do in our state is we have really been focusing on focusing on economic growth.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
on giving certainty to industries because that can lead to greater levels of employment, it leads to greater levels of economic growth, and also it allows us to diversify our economy off of Washington. And if you're looking at what's happening in the state of Maryland, it's actually working, even contrary to the headwinds that we're getting from Washington.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
where we just announced, if you look at the most recent job numbers, we have now added more jobs in Maryland over the past two years since I've been the governor than the previous administration and the previous governor got during eight years, during two terms. Right.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
So our focus on things like investing in child care, our focusing on things like investing in apprenticeship programs and trade programs, our focus on the service year option, which is getting more young people into the workforce. Like these things are actually working to drive growth, particularly private sector growth.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
But it is without a shadow of a doubt, the kind of craziness that we have seen from this new administration is definitely making it harder for our nation's chief executives and not easier at all.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
For what? This is not a game. And you're playing with people's lives. And I think about where our largest trade partner is Canada, for example. We've got $3 billion of exports that we do with Canada every single year. This past weekend, I was speaking with a Canadian ambassador and almost doing essentially my own independent diplomacy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
With our trade partner, because that level of diplomacy coming from the federal government is now non-existent and it's now almost playful. This is serious stuff because this is impacting our businesses, which turns around and impacts our neighborhoods, which turn around and impact our families, which turn around and impact our children. This is not a game.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
And the really frustrating thing about it for me is we have people who are in very serious positions who are not serious people. And this has very real consequences on the states that we run and in the communities that we are vowed to protect and that we will protect.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
Well, a lot of what we're seeing is you're seeing some of the direct impacts on things like the port of Baltimore. which is one of our nation's largest ports. And also you're seeing how trade, where the Port of Baltimore really serves as a real vessel for larger trade all across the country, which has been directly impacted.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
But who we're also hearing it from is things like chicken farmers on the Eastern Shore. who rely on trade from Canada and Mexico, and both import and export. We're also hearing it from people who are like developers who are working on housing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
I'm very aggressive when it comes to the opportunities to create more housing inventory, because I believe that creating more housing inventory will also drive down housing costs. And so we've been very aggressive on things like transit oriented development and density bonuses and creating incentives for more housing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
But when materials are more expensive now because of these arbitrary trade wars we're putting on board, it makes it more complicated for our developers to be able to predict what becomes the cost that we're going to have for our trade. And so the thing that we're just continuing to lean on our partners and our international partners is basically showing them that here you have consistency.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
Here you have a measure of soberness in the way that we think about the work. And here you have people who are going to put together policies that actually defend our people and not policies that end up actually impacting and hurting
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
You know, a big thing for me is we just follow the data. That if you look at the data, you talk about things like the suicide rates. We talk about the fact that college attainment levels for young men and boys were the same now as they were in 1964. Our young men and boys are falling behind. And the problem is, is that I think for so long, we've also just been deeply ignored.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
And for me, it's not just a it's not a, you know, some data conversation. It's personal. Right. I'm a kid who grew up and was raised by an immigrant single mom who did not get her first job until with benefits until I was 14 years old. And I'm also a kid who had handcuffs on my wrist by the time I was 11.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
I'm a kid who was who was who was sent to a military school when I was 13, joined the army when I was 17 years old, went to a two year college, was a person who came up in communities that were over policed. And we knew it and we knew that the way they oftentimes dealt with young boys was simply by criminalizing us.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
And so this is a very personal thing for me and something that I knew that people can't just wake up to this because they look at election rolls. If you're looking at an election, you caught it too late because that's the tale. We have young men and boys who feel deeply disillusioned by this system because the system has left them behind.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
And so as a state, we're making a very deliberate effort to be able to address this. I've actually ordered all of my cabinet secretaries and all of my agency heads where this is now a performance indicator for them about what are they doing in their own areas to be able to impact the prospects for young men and boys.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
Where we are doing things like putting a core focus of getting more men inside of the classroom.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
putting a focus on getting more men inside of nursing, the nursing industry in places where we know there's been a dearth and a pullback from men, doing more when it comes to job training and apprenticeship programs, doing more to be able to help the young men who are involved in our juvenile justice system.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
Because if you look at the juvenile justice system in the state of Maryland and around the country, it is predominantly dominated by young boys. So we've got to get serious about this. And if you care about the growth
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
of your communities, if you care about the growth of families, if you care about having more people who are who are who our daughters are going to have the opportunity to be able to have as partners, get young boys right. And that's what I think this country has deeply, deeply missed.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
And so that's why I'm just unapologetic that in the state of Maryland, we're going to make this a real focus about how we think about our work going forward.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
I appreciate you so much. And congrats again.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov. Wes Moore on Trump's Economic Chaos
Yeah, the only certainty we've gotten from this new administration is uncertainty. Right. And I think people are just looking for basic predictability. They're just like, tell me what the situation is and we can find ways to adapt and to adjust on it. But when it changes every day and when you are using tools like tariffs, which are tools and using it as an ideology.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MAGA Mike in Panic Mode as Bill Starts Blowing Up
We do that by giving them tax relief. We do that by bringing down their health care bills. We don't do it by cutting Medicaid.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MAGA Mike in Panic Mode as Bill Starts Blowing Up
This bill is not going to become law in its current form, not least because President Trump won't sign it. Manu, I've talked to him about this personally multiple times. He has been crystal clear in public, too. No Medicaid benefit cuts. We need to give a tax cut to working people, not raise their taxes when it comes to health care, not take away their health care benefits.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MAGA Mike in Panic Mode as Bill Starts Blowing Up
I hope this bill will get refocused on delivering relief for working families. That's what we ought to be doing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MAGA Mike in Panic Mode as Bill Starts Blowing Up
I'm fine with that. You know, the president has floated that. He said maybe we ought to allow the top rate, the very top rate for people making over a million or over $5 million a year to go back to where it was before. It's like a one point increase money. I would be fine with that if that's what the president wants to do. Bottom line.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
I hope that you're I think your viewers know this is there's no plan behind this. Donald Trump doesn't know how anything works. Donald Trump is this caricature that had a reality TV show that pretended like he knew how to run businesses. The reality is he doesn't. As a governor, we have to make these things work.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
Local school districts have to understand what are the impacts going to be when you lay off 1300 experts who are there to make sure that every one of our children get an equitable education. It's chaos.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
with them. If trade is so bad with Canada, he was the guy who signed the deal. It defies logic. But look, I think this is how he ran business. He stiffed contractors. He stiffed workers. He doesn't pay his bills. He declares bankruptcy. The one thing is, his claim that he's the business president, he is the worst possible business executive that I have ever witnessed. And I hope
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Dems Finally Smack Down the GOP Over Trump Disaster
You know, this is what we need. I need the business community to speak up. The Wall Street Journal, thank you. Thank you for saying this is the stupidest trade war because I've been saying it. And so now I can go back to my constituents, Republican constituents, and say, this is the reality of what you're facing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
These people live on a different planet, Sean. They're totally out of touch with reality. Donald Trump is turning the country around in 100 short days, and that's why they're desperate. The Democrats are totally desperate. They're jetting around now to foreign countries to hold hands with terrorists.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
is that Joe Biden and Buttigieg and all the rest, they now act like they have no idea how the country got into this state. I mean, my gosh, inflation's really high. Gee, how did that happen? Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because Joe Biden shut down American energy production, spent three, $4 trillion on green new deal giveaways.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
You know, he told you he would end the war in Ukraine. He would bring prices down eggs and now telling people, when did government get to tell you how many dolls your child has? I mean, this was my whole point about this, you know, government just big enough to fit in your bedroom, your womb and apparently now in your toy chest. That is it's insane. It's a command economy with him dictating.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
It is no free market principles. My farmers have worked years to cultivate markets in a free market around the world. And we have thrived at that. We feed the world. We clothe the world. We power the world. Donald Trump is now deciding that he gets to do all of that. And the real thing is, is to enrich the industries he chooses. He's picking the winners and losers.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
And in this case, the billionaires are winning. The rest of us are losing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
I, you know, I don't know this for my amateur psychologist. I think he listened to one class when he was back in the 80s or something at Wharton in his six months there or whatever. And he misreads this. It's a ludicrous philosophy. No one agrees with him. And then they come back to, well, Democrats put tariffs on. Yes, they're a tool. They're a scalpel.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
You can use them when you have unfair practices. But he's talking about the thing that drives me insane with working with Canada and Mexico. He's the guy who negotiated the deal. And then he turns around and and says, well, we don't care much about Canada. I was glad to see the prime minister coming in from Canada saying, are you out of your mind? We're your biggest trading partner.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
They are our biggest trading partner in Minnesota. They're our dearest friends. They're who we care about. He has no concept. This goes back to that idea. So many Americans thought, you know, we need to hire a businessman to run government like business. Two things about that are wrong. No, we don't need to run government like a business because we're not in the profit making.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
We're in the proving lives and looking towards the future. And this guy has a proven track record of being an absolute failure. And I think the opening for Democrats is is to work with the business community. My I am. home to many large Fortune 500 companies that are put at risk by this. And I'll just say this. I'm calling these folks out. They need to stand up. He threatens them.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
He threatens universities. Thank goodness Harvard's standing up to them. But that's how he gets things done. He doesn't get it done through competency. He doesn't get it done through results. He gets it done through fear, intimidation. And I'm with you. I wish he could have been weirdly obsessed with like pickleball or something rather than tariffs. That's where he could spend his time.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
But it's on this tariff thing that doesn't work.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
I think Howard Lutnick is whistling by the graveyard. I think that this incredible uncertainty is a real drag upon the economy. I think investors have spoken. You see that with the market reaction today. People don't know if they should invest or not because they don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
The herky-jerky style with the tariffs is just symptomatic of this administration where every day is more incoming. And that's bad for the economy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
What we're doing in Connecticut is working through our budget as best we can based upon the fiscal 24 numbers. We get about a third of our revenues from the feds. But we have a reserve in case there's a lot of incoming. Let's say they want to cut $800 million out of Medicaid in our state. We're modeling right now in terms of who gets impacted, what we can do to soften some of those impacts.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
But I got to remind people, there's no way the taxpayers of Connecticut could ever make up for all the federal if they pull it back as dramatically as they're talking about.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Not so much. I don't think I can blame tourism here in Connecticut on the president. Most of our tourism is the greater region. Look, if you're down in Naples, Florida, Canadians have stopped coming. I know that story. Here, we've had more tourists visiting the state of Connecticut in the last three years than ever before in our history. But most of that is regional. A lot of that is cars.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
I'm hearing that Doge says we're just getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse. That's nonsense. All they're doing is pushing costs onto the state. We've already had. Well, we get cuts. We don't get any notice. All of a sudden, the portal turns off and they stop paying for daycare. They stop paying for health department services. They stop paying for education.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
And we have a pretty substantial rainy day fund, about 18% of our budget. So we're able to manage a lot of the smaller items as they come along, at least for the near term. What worries us is the big items. Medicaid could be enormous, and there's no way we can manage that by ourselves.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Talk to us. Say, I'm going to have work rules for Medicaid. Okay, I understand that. We're going to phase it in over the next 12 months, and this is what you can expect. We think SNAP benefits are going to be trimmed back. Don't do it tomorrow. We'll do that over the next six months. I'm a little different than the senators and congressmen. Every day they just, you know, bang President Trump.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
I also try to work with red state governors. I talk about how Medicaid cuts will hurt my hospitals. It'll really devastate your rural hospitals in Tennessee and Kentucky. Maybe this is an issue we can work together on.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
My deal with the legislature here is no surprises, and I wish our deal with the federal government was the same way. It's been a partnership going back a long time. I understand President Trump won the election. There are going to be changes. Now let's work that through so it's the least harm for people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
And by the way, Liberation Day, really, the only thing you're going to do is liberate my consumers' wallets of about $200 or $300 a month. That's what's going to get liberated.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Well, A, we have to have an honestly balanced budget. We have to have a balanced budget. That's very different than the federal level. You know, unlike a lot of Democrats, I put a big emphasis on growth. So a lot of the investments we're making are to keep our economy growing. That solves an awful lot of problems.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
We're making the biggest commitment, for example, to daycare and childcare in history. I love it because, you know, we Democrats like it. It gives kids the very best head start in life. The businessman in me likes it because it allows people to get back to work. So those are the type of investments we're trying to make.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
And we also have some powder in reserve just to take care of the unexpected as it comes from Washington. These are like unguided missiles that come in every day or two.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
History. You just mentioned Smoot-Hawley, 1930.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
probably two-thirds of world trade ground to a halt over the succeeding year we already were moving into a depression it made it more severe and longer and uh why are we making picking fights with our friends if you want to do um more tariffs against russia god bless you but why are we doing canada you know fire brett whitney we make jet engines here in the state of connecticut
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
They probably import $3 or $4 billion a year of parts from Canada to build our jet engines here in East Hartford. All of a sudden, the price of a jet engine is going to go up by $200,000. Who is that helping? And by the way, we get our fruits and vegetables this time of the year. They all come from Mexico.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
So, you know, if you want to have a guacamole dip with your chips to watch the Yukon Huskies on Friday night, better buy it soon because it's got a lot more expensive.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Well, you have a case to be worried. Connecticut is better positioned than most because we have the reserves. But talk to your red state governors. Talk to your red state congresspeople. Make sure, this is what I'm doing, make sure folks know how these changes, these cuts, and they are cuts, they're not just waste, fraud, and abuse. These are cuts being pushed on the backs of your state taxpayers.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Make sure they know how that will impact Tennessee and Kentucky and Alabama. Let's work together, at least to soften the blow.
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Connecticut Governor Lamont responds to Trump Tariff Disaster
Thanks, everybody.
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Demented Trump Has Most Shameful Day in U.S. History
It's almost inconceivable. And look, Chris, I don't know. You almost have to be an amateur psychologist on this. It's like Trump is stuck in the 80s. His music, his clothing, his thinking. He has been on this tariff thing forever. And every economist, conservative or liberal, will tell you they just simply don't work.
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Demented Trump Has Most Shameful Day in U.S. History
We use them strategically, but he doesn't fundamentally understand how trade works. It goes back to what I continue to say. I think the biggest myth perpetuated on this country is that Donald Trump understands anything about business. He's bankrupt every single one he's been into, and now he's bankrupting this country. So I appreciate you talking about this.
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Demented Trump Has Most Shameful Day in U.S. History
This is a tax on working people that we've not seen in any of our lifetimes, and it is going to have dramatic effect.
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Trump Very Publicly Screws Over States Who Voted Him
I just spoke, the president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and called him right back. And he just said, hey, what do you need? And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We'll work through the federal process. He offered that if there's other things we need, just to call him directly, which I did. Appreciate that.
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Trump Very Publicly Screws Over States Who Voted Him
Well, Madam Vice President, we are so glad to see you and welcome you once again to North Carolina. This has been an unprecedented disaster for our state. But what you are seeing, thanks to you, the Biden-Harris administration, state and local officials, volunteers, private organizations, this has been a massive, unprecedented response.
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Trump Very Publicly Screws Over States Who Voted Him
We are deeply grateful for the federal resources that we have. FEMA has been on the ground with us since the very beginning of this. So we look forward to briefing and giving you details about the significant progress that's happening and all that we have to do. Unfortunately, we have 68 people who've lost their lives, but people are still working hard.
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Trump Very Publicly Screws Over States Who Voted Him
and search and rescue to save people and to surge resources into Western North Carolina. So thank you for being here.
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Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
I understand that right now with all the chaos Donald Trump has brought to bear over these first 17 days of his administration, the way he's attacked certain people in our community because of what they look like or where they come from, who they love, who they pray to, who they are. I understand how that can make people feel uneasy and worry. And I understand how that can make some people retreat
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Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
and not engage? I think the answer right now is to engage directly, is to show up, is to make your voice heard, is to let your congressman and your senator know just how important these issues are to you as a Pennsylvanian and encourage them to do their jobs. and actually be a check on the president. I think it is very, very important that Pennsylvanians stand up and speak up.
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Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
I think it needs to be done in a constructive and peaceful and safe manner. And that is what I would encourage Pennsylvanians to do. Stand up, speak up, and allow your voices to be heard.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
When they pulled the Stefanik nomination, you know, it was earlier in the day. And, you know, we looked at, you know, my team and I, we looked at each other right away and we said, you know, this isn't a move you make when you're scared. This is a move you make preparing for a loss like you. You think it's done. You think that you've lost this race.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
If you were scared, you would wait until Wednesday. You'd wait until the day after the election. And, you know, you'd probably call Representative Stefanik now and be like, listen, on Wednesday, we might be having a. Difficult conversation. But they pulled the trigger five days out. And then like four hours after that, we saw the polls.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
And, you know, the polls are I mean, they confirm what our internal polling has been saying. But, you know, the polls show it's not just that we're leading. It's that they have him only at 41 percent.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
the republican candidate is only at forty one percent uh... which you know i don't know how big your you have to have a margin of error of ten points to get him over fifty percent uh... which is what he would need to wait uh... It's he's so far behind in support that, yeah, we feel fantastic.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
But just like you said, we have to continue driving out the vote every single day because there are a lot of Republicans in this district. And, you know, anything can happen until they call this race 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
We're seeing historic Dem turnout. We're still at about 40% of total voters in this election are Democrats in a district where 27% of registered voters are Democrats. So we're seeing incredibly elevated voter turnout. And
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
We're seeing in Volusia County, the largest county in this district, more Democrats have voted than Republicans, which was historic when it happened on the first day of early voting because there hadn't been a single day of that in like 30 years. And now it's held. It's held for an entire week throughout early voting here.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
The closing messages were almost there. Our message is resonating with people in this district. I mean, we just the local Fox 30 Fox affiliate just did a pair of side by side interviews, you know, myself and Randy Fine separately. And, you know,
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
it's wild because you know we watched him speak this entire time and he doesn't mention the voters of the people wants his entire matches is either just about how terrible i am or how great trumpets and you know i'm answering the same questions i didn't know what find it said at the time when i was in the studio and you know we're talking about the people you know that the people
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
They rely on these systems. They rely on Social Security. They rely on Medicaid, Medicare. They rely on the VA. These are essential systems for people living and they need someone to fight for that. They need someone to represent their interests. And, you know, that's that's what they want. And if he's not even trying to sell it, which is just wild at this point because we're four days out.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
So for the next four days, we just have to keep we know we have the support, but having the support and having the votes are two different things.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
I went to Stony Brook.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
I grew up down here in Orlando, but my family is up in Long Island. And so I went up there for college. I lived with my uncle in St. James.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
Yeah, 700 points down that day. That was one of the better days that week. He had like four days in a row where it crashed over 1,000 points.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
these are people's retirement we have desantis here and uh super majority because of horrible gerrymandering super majority republican legislation that had made it impossible to live in florida people cannot afford to live in florida we're in a housing crisis we're an insurance crisis you know we had the inflation that the entire nation was suffering we felt here as well and there are a lot of people on fixed incomes whether it's their retirement funds that just
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
went in the wrong direction hard under the Trump administration, or whether it's their social security or their veterans benefits. And all of those are at risk. And I can't tell you how many people have looked at me. It's just the anxiety, the not knowing.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
They never thought they'd be in a place where they didn't know if their next social security check was going to come through or what they would do if it doesn't.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
Yeah, follow us at joshwheel.us, J-O-S-H-W-E-I-L.us. You can keep track of our events, where we're going to be. We have mobilized links up for phone banking. No matter where you are in the country, you can jump on for just two hours if you want. Make phone calls, dial, get a hold of voters in our district. There's two days left for them to vote. Early voting is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Dem Candidate for Florida Special Election Surges (Josh Weil Interview)
on Saturday, and then it's election day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and that is it. So we've got to drive as many voters to the polls over these next four days as possible. But we are there. It is within our grasp. We just can't fumble the bag. That's it.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
Play this clip. Look, I got asked that question. I got asked the question, who's in charge? Who's the leader of the Democratic Party, Governor? And I said, the people are. And for three days on Fox News, they're like making fun, you know, the bungholes that are in the morning, like talking, oh, Walls doesn't even know who the leader of the party is. Well, you know why? They sure know where it is.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
They know who their leader is because Chaplin from butt kissing one person. So demand it. There's... There is not going to be a charismatic leader ride in and do this. It is going to be people coming out on a beautiful Friday afternoon, demanding change and holding people accountable. Governor Walz, again, let's play it.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
But this issue around healthcare and the issue around Medicare and the things we're talking about, we've got people now that are exactly like this story, worried about basic human right of healthcare and decency in their life. And I own this. The idea that millions of people stayed home because they didn't think there was any difference between Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and myself on the ticket.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
They didn't. They didn't think that. And we we need to acknowledge that. I think one of the reasons is, is that when Democrats have been in power, we've been timid about passing things that make a difference on their lives. And why? Why do we have citizens that are in this piece of, in this situation?
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
Why are we at that point when we are the richest nation on earth and yet our outcomes are 41st and we spend twice as much as any nation next to us? We should demand a redo of this system in a way that makes a difference on that because I think it's very hard that we have to win elections but Good politics follows good policy. And the ACA was an improvement.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
And again, I got to be honest with you. They hate public education. I think they hate it for the reason we all know in here. It's easier to run an authoritarian government if you don't have a population that knows. So again, obviously I don't have all the answers, but I think it's appealing to people's sense of decency. I should be careful about that.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
But let's be honest, the ACA is still a pain in the ass to get things paid, to get things done. It's important protection like pre-existing conditions, but it's still too expensive.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
And so what I would say to you is we need to tell your son that we need a health care system that he doesn't have to worry that one election could throw him out and into the streets, that one election would make a difference.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
I thought a message that we should value all people and we should have an immigration policy that adheres to the law but adheres to humanity. And they talked about eating dogs and cats and they won. And so I myself am soul searching when I hear this, how in God's name of all the money that's being spent and all the tax cuts they're giving, we can't fund
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
You hear what people are irritated about. And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that's coming from America is do something, damn it. This is wrong. This is wrong. And independence. And there's nothing conservative about about an unelected South African netball baby firing people at the VA.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
And for our Republican neighbors, now all of a sudden they're like, I wanted my 401k to go down. I wanted this, you know. This idea that you would be okay. Can you imagine if President Barack Obama had brought his unelected African friend to cut
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
Those interventions that we know make a difference in millions of children's lives, I can't believe America wouldn't go for that.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And so I talked to the federal government and said, yo, y'all can't do this. You've got to give us the money that is owed to us. Remember, a deal is a deal. They refused. And so I had no other choice but to take them to court. I sued them, but I kept talking to them during that process.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
and ultimately made very very clear i wasn't going away pennsylvania was going to get its fair share of federal funding and what's been promised to us and we were able to get them to unfreeze all 2.1 billion dollars that had been taken away from pennsylvania i'm really proud of that and i'm grateful to the people whose voices were raised up demanding that the federal government do what they were legally
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Hey, Ben, it's great to be with you. And by the way, I just want to say thanks for having me back on. I know you're Mr. Big Time now, but you remember who was there in the beginning. Now you all are number one. Congratulations. I'm so proud of you and your brothers. But I'm glad you didn't forget us little people.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
You know, literally, Ben, just a couple hours ago, I was up in what we call the northern tier of Pennsylvania. You can't get any further north. Otherwise, you're going to be in New York. And these are really conservative Republican voting communities. A lot of voters. voted for me there. But by and large, these are communities that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And two things were brought up to me by folks there, folks in the media and folks just when I got pulled aside who were wanting to talk to me. One, they said, thank you for protecting us. Thank you for making sure that we are seen. This was a member of the LGBTQ community who came over to me and said that. The other thing is people are really worried about
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
about the impact of these federal cuts on their communities. Let's talk just for a moment about Medicaid, right? They're talking about cutting Medicaid in Washington. I get $30 billion a year coming to Pennsylvania to pay for Medicaid. There are 3 million Pennsylvanians who get healthcare through Medicaid. There are 13 million total Pennsylvanians 3 million of them are on Medicaid.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And by the way, Ben, a high percentage of them are in these rural communities where I was just a few hours ago. I've made clear to our federal officials that a cut to Medicaid directly hurts your constituents here in Pennsylvania, it would have a devastating impact on these rural communities.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
I'm gonna do everything I can to both educate our lawmakers, to help them understand that cuts to Medicaid are gonna harm our citizens, especially in rural Pennsylvania, and hold them accountable if they make those cuts.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
If they even cut 10% out of Medicaid, that's a $3 billion hit, and that's something that is gonna be very difficult for us to make up here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through our state budget. Now, there might be some people out there going, well, I mean, the federal government What's their role in sending money to Pennsylvania or any other state? Well, here's the thing.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Folks in that rural community where I just was, they pay federal taxes and they want that money to come back to our state. Nearly every state in the nation gets somewhere between 30 and 40% of their overall annual budgets from federal tax dollars, from federal money that comes back to their states. The idea that that's going to be cut
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
and we're going to make it harder to build roads and bridges, cover kids with autism, protect our veterans, just to name a few things, that is really, really concerning to me. And we've got to push back on that. And so if Mike Johnson thinks that this is just
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
made up or astroturfed or whatever you said, how about he shows up in some of these rural communities in Pennsylvania and actually listens to the real concerns on people's minds? By the way, the people that voted for a Republican representative who made Mike Johnson speaker, the people who voted for Donald Trump to make him president, they don't want to see their communities be harmed.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And these cuts that they're talking about would be really devastating.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Are you hearing that? Yeah, and look, protecting privacy is a fundamental responsibility I have as governor in overseeing a government that serves the needs of 13 million Pennsylvanians. Protecting people's privacy, their health, their safety, and ensuring that we have proper protocols in place to protect their interests. You know, look, I hold the president accountable.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
He decides who he's going to surround himself with. He decides who he is going to empower. And I want to make sure the people he surrounds himself with, the people he leans on to help lead this nation, are people who actually give a damn about the American people, protecting their privacy, protecting their interests, looking out for their needs. That's what I want to see.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And I hold the president accountable to that.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Yeah, look, you know what it is? It's common sense. You go out there, you talk to moms and dads and caregivers, you talk to business owners, you talk to chambers of commerce and labor unions, and you talk to them about the concerns they have about workforce, right? Who's going to do the jobs we need, not just today, but well in the future? And you ask them, what's holding you back?
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
well for many it's child care you know if parents don't have a safe and reliable place that they can drop their kids off at and go to work well they're not going to go to work because they're going to be home caring for their kids or making other arrangements we know that if we can build out a child care system that is available to all we talked about rural communities before especially
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
in those rural communities, we know that we can have greater economic productivity. Let me offer, I'll nerd out on you here for a quick second. We have the need to put about 25,000 more kids in childcare in Pennsylvania. This is a need that parents have identified. Well, to do that, we need to fill 3000 open early learning teaching slots.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And so my budget does a common sense thing, which is to say we're going to give $1,000 stipend to childcare workers to either retain them or attract them into this really important field. This is something that's been endorsed by Republicans and Democrats alike.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And it builds on the work we've done on childcare by tripling our childcare tax credit to reduce the cost for families trying to avoid childcare and actually giving businesses a tax write-off when they pay for their employees' childcare costs. So we're trying to come at this in a bunch of different ways.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
funding the providers, putting money back in parents' pockets to be able to afford childcare, and helping businesses support their employees. This is a common sense thing we can do to attract more people into a really, really necessary field. It's going to help us grow our economy and have really good outcomes for our communities.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Yeah, we won. Look, I mean, this really comes down to a simple thing that our kids learn in middle school, right? A deal is a deal. That's it. The federal government made a deal with Pennsylvania to invest $2.1 billion in our commonwealth. A whole lot more than that, but that's what was frozen.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
It does. So let me address, you know, on both of those fronts. Pennsylvania is proud, the proud home of nearly a million veterans. And these veterans deserve better than what they're getting from the Trump administration. Veterans are getting laid off and veterans are going to see their programs that they rely on for health care and
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Other things get cut back on as a result of the budgets that are going through Washington right now. Veterans deserve better. And by the way, here in the Commonwealth, we are looking to hire some of those laid off veterans for really critically important jobs that we have.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
From a broader national security perspective, and Ben, we could spend hours on this, but I think this is a critically important point that we need to start talking about more. I don't hear enough people talking about this.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
When Donald Trump took the oath of office, he took the oath of office to be president of the United States and be the leader of the free world, as presidents have been for many generations, stretching back even before Ronald Reagan and the changes that came there.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
He went from being the leader of the free world to now in just one month wanting to be a leader of a single hemisphere and leaving China and Russia in charge of the other hemispheres. That is deeply, deeply dangerous for America's national security interests. It is deeply troubling to see a president retreat in the face of Vladimir Putin and President Xi.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
We need a president who's gonna stand up for America's interests, who wants to be the leader of the free world. He has demonstrated nothing but weakness when it comes to national security over the course of his first month in office. Ben, we need to talk about this more. America's national security is at risk as a result of these decisions the president has made. And I'm very, very concerned.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
I'm concerned about how he's treating our veterans, and I'm concerned about our national security going forward.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
And understand, Ben, this was money that was going to things like fixing old abandoned minefields where we were having sinkholes. We actually had a woman die in Western Pennsylvania who fell into a sinkhole. It was capping orphan wells that were leaking methane into our communities, which was speeding up climate change and having really adverse health risks in the community and so much more.
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Governor Shapiro on Big Court Win Against Trump
Thanks, Ben. Great to be with you. And sincerely, congrats on all your success. I'm really proud of you guys. And, you know, thanks for remembering us little people who were there in the beginning.
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Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
Well, bullying is always wrong and standing up for people is always right. Hate's always wrong and love's always right. Judging people is always wrong and accepting them is always right. But I think what many Democrats are doing is misreading the last election. They're seeing that last ad that was played and thinking that the last movable voters voted on that anti-trans issue.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
I don't think that they did. I think what Donald Trump convinced them is that his opponent was distracted by other issues while he was focused on prices and the economy. And so this isn't an either or. As a Democrat, stand up for what you believe in. Stand up for protecting people. But at the same time, the next day, Be out there opening that new factory.
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Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
Be in your community cutting the ribbon on the new clinic where people are going to be able to see a doctor that are right there. Be out there making sure that public safety is improving for everybody. We've got to show people that you can stand up for your principles while at the same time being there every single day for every working family regardless of their politics.
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Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
We have to do both and understand that this is not an...
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
When Donald Trump took the oath of office, he took the oath of office to be president of the United States and be the leader of the free world, as presidents have been for many generations, stretching back even before Ronald Reagan and the changes that came there. He went from being the leader of the free world to now, in just one month, wanting to be a leader of a single hemisphere,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
and leaving China and Russia in charge of the other hemispheres. That is deeply, deeply dangerous for America's national security interests. It is deeply troubling to see a president retreat in the face of Vladimir Putin and President Xi We need a president who's going to stand up for America's interests, who wants to be the leader of the free world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
He has demonstrated nothing but weakness when it comes to national security over the course of his first month in office. Ben, we need to talk about this more. America's national security is at risk as a result of these decisions the president has made.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
Today we're really proud to announce that enrollment in Michigan's free pre-K program has reached 47,500, which is the highest we've been in over a decade. So that's 56% of Michigan's four-year-olds who are now enrolled in Great Start Readiness Program or GSRP.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
At facilities just like this one, these young Michiganders learn invaluable skills and get on track to start kindergarten better prepared to learn. Because of our work, thousands more kids are getting the education that they deserve and their parents have peace of mind to know that they are supported and in safe places, and they're also saving money, too, a lot of money.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
Because we know that free pre-K saves parents an average of $10,000 a year for a combined, when you think of all the parents whose kids are now enrolled, $475 million of savings. Think about that. Think about what it means for a middle-class family. A year of rent or bills or a down payment, savings for college or a rainy day.
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Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
What does Vladimir Putin have on you?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
Americans are experiencing the cruelty that comes with authoritarian rule. Donald Trump has handed over the reins of power to Elon Musk and his fellow Doge bags so that they can find trillions of dollars that they need to give themselves a massive tax break. Think about that. What Musk and Trump are doing isn't about efficiencies or about cost savings. It is about cruelty.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
They're intentionally breaking the system and giving themselves the authority to rebuild it in their own interest.
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Democratic Leaders Destroy Trump in Red Districts
Let's play this clip. When Donald Trump took the oath of office, he took the oath of office to be president of the United States and be the leader of the free world, as presidents have been for many generations, stretching back even before Ronald Reagan and the changes that came there.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leaders Destroy Trump in Red Districts
He went from being the leader of the free world to now, in just one month, wanting to be a leader of a single hemisphere, and leaving China and Russia in charge of the other hemispheres. That is deeply, deeply dangerous for America's national security interests. It is deeply troubling to see a president retreat in the face of Vladimir Putin and President Xi
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Leaders Destroy Trump in Red Districts
We need a president who's going to stand up for America's interests, who wants to be the leader of the free world. He has demonstrated nothing but weakness when it comes to national security over the course of his first month in office. Ben, we need to talk about this more. America's national security is at risk as a result of these decisions the president has made.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Yeah, people are excited. We have a real race here. We've known from the beginning that this is a district that has been neglected by the state and national party for a long time. And you know, if we were able to handle our business, get our fundraising right, you know, build the right campaign, that we'd be able to get a real response from people.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
And, you know, then January 20th happened, then, you know, we've got all of the executive orders, the fast and furious barrage against, you know, the infrastructure of our nation, public services that residents here rely on. It's a district that's 25%, age 65 plus, You know, they're not happy about massive cuts to the Social Security Administration.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
They're not happy about cuts to veterans benefits, you know, Medicaid, Medicare. They're feeling the impact immediately. And, you know, we've been here with them the whole way, making sure that they have someone who will fight for them to preserve those systems in Congress.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Oh, they hate each other.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Oh, yeah. So when DeSantis was running for president, Randy Fine was the first Republican to jump off and you know, support Trump instead. And they've had this just furious relationship ever since we've seen it. He called like three special legislative sessions earlier this year, right leading up to the main legislative session that started earlier this month.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
A big part of it was just he wanted an excuse to not be in this district campaigning, which is great for us. But, you know, he spent most of the time, you know, they were fighting over which which immigration, which horrible immigration bill you know, that they wanted, the one that Trump recommended or the one that DeSantis was putting forward.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
And he's been the most outspoken critic of Ron DeSantis. He calls him Ronda Rhino. And a lot of people, a lot of Republicans here like Ron DeSantis, so they don't take that kindly. You know, there's two types of people here in District 6. There's people who don't like Randy Fine, and there's people who haven't heard of Randy Fine. So...
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Yeah, I mean, look, it was a plus 30 Trump area because we had no real Democratic campaign here in the last three cycles. One of them, there was no Democratic nominee for this seat. And the other two, the congressional candidate was unable to raise more than $35,000 over the entire two-year stretch.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
So, you know, it's really, it's like more like an R plus 14 when you look at the current voter registration data, which is a lot more winnable. You know, it's not that our message has been rejected in the past, it's that there was no one here getting the message out. Messaging isn't free.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
you got to be able to build a real campaign to get out and talk to people and you know not only have we been able to do that but in his arrogance randy fine felt that he didn't have to he spent months not campaigning last month he was interviewed by a newspaper and they asked him
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
know what are the issues most important in the district and he's like i don't know he goes it doesn't matter he goes because i'm here to serve donald trump i don't need to know what issues are important to the people there you know he he took two months off um raised no money which i mean honestly we were surprised by we knew we were going to have out raised him because we were handling our business and getting our work done but
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
He didn't even try raising money for a future war chest for 2026. I mean, he did absolutely nothing. No outreach, no messaging, no building of a campaign, just hiding out in Tallahassee from the voters. And now he's scared. Now he's struggling. And we feel really good about it. I mean, look, there's a lot of Republican voters in this district, right? If they
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
There's definitely enough that if they overturn out, they can take this thing back from us in seven days. But right now we feel really good about where we're at.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Early voting goes through this Saturday, the 29th. You can learn more about the campaign at joshwheel.us, J-O-S-H-W-E-I-L.us. We have links to sign up. We have volunteers from all over the country who've been doing phone banking for us, reaching out to voters. We have, if anyone's local or nearby, canvassing. Right now, it's just about getting out there, knocking on doors, driving out the vote.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
And we're... All the money that we raise going forward is going to, you know, help increase what we're on TV because the Republicans poured like $3 million into the final eight days for television. So, you know, we're making sure that we're keeping pace on TV, that we're scaling up our campaign team as much as possible to make sure we drive out the vote.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
You can donate, you can sign up to volunteer, or you can learn more about me all at our website.
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The Florida Special Election That Has MAGA Terrified (Josh Weil Interview)
Appreciate you. Thank you.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
This budget was not written to please everyone. It was written to bring everyone to the table. And when we get there, we're going to have disagreements, no doubt. My progressive friends might have wished we were cutting a little less. My conservative friends might wish we were cutting a little bit more. My wife wishes that I would take the pay raise that was offered, but I turn it down.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
But this is how government's supposed to work. It's not supposed to be one old man sitting in the Oval Office sending out middle-of-the-night tweets that shot markets into freefall. It's not supposed to be a bunch of 20-somethings unelected showing up at federal agencies and firing everyone. It's not supposed to be chaos and destruction.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
It's supposed to be good people elected by their neighbors with differing opinions coming together to negotiate in good faith.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
And on a... Hour by hour, day by day basis, the president of the United States has chosen, chosen to throw our economy into turmoil. Global markets are teetering on the brink of collapse. Businesses across this country and here in Minnesota are already laying off employees by the thousands. Working people are paying more for basic goods. And if you haven't checked your 401k lately, don't do it.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
So let's be very clear. None of this had to happen. When the president took office three months ago, there was no reason to throw a wrench in the works and destroy decades of work. But if you listen to anything that comes out of his mouth, one thing has become clear. He's just plain confused about how the world really works for working people.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
We're talking about a guy that slapped a 10% tariff on an island populated only by penguins. It'd be funny as hell if it wasn't true and stupid. It makes no sense to anyone. That isn't servant leadership. It's not any kind of leadership. It's small, it's weak, and it's petty.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 4/25/25
It takes the awesome power of the federal government and turns it into a crude weapon, wielded by a man who wants to be king. As governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect Minnesotans from getting hurt and continue to provide shelter from the storm for Minnesotans.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Well, Ben, for whatever reason, I missed my normal Sean Hannity show last night, so forgive me. That's the first time I've seen the clip. although I read about it. Listen, let me just tell you what has been in place since we first came into office. We are guided by something called an immigrant trust directive.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
And let me just say, by the way, by many metrics, gun fatalities, shootings, serious crimes, New Jersey is among, if not the safest state in America. We go after criminals hard.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
period full stop regardless of their immigration status what we don't do is we don't go after somebody for jaywalking or where there's no probable cause of a of a crime um and we're very clear about that and by the way if it's the former and there are immigration issues we cooperate regularly frankly, daily with federal authorities.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Again, if you're a criminal in New Jersey, we're coming after you. And if there's an immigration angle to that, we'll work with the feds for sure. But the reverse is not true, that we're going to go after somebody just because they're crossing the street. Law enforcement in New Jersey is obsessed with bringing justice to on crimes and against criminals. We're not in the immigration business.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
If we need to work with immigration authorities, federal authorities, we absolutely do. I would probably say even daily. It's a little bit like saying, frankly, this is a simplified version. Law enforcement doesn't fight fires. There are firefighters for that. So we try to not cross those wires, but we are vigilant about crime in New Jersey.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
And as a result, we have, I believe, the safest state in America.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Yeah, listen, I'll tell you, to your point, Ben, about cooperating, not only do we do it day in and day out, largely through the law enforcement dimension, I personally host an annual dinner of all of our partners, including NYPD, Pennsylvania representatives, Delaware, so our neighborhood, but importantly, FBI, US Attorney, Secret Service,
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
I personally host that and we literally sit around, what are you hearing? What am I hearing? Our Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Department of Homeland Security. We cherish and value those relationships. And as a result, again, it's another reason why, again, we're not perfect. There's crime in New Jersey, for sure.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
But it's a big reason why we've been able to keep crime as low as we have and God willing, we'll continue to do so.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Yeah, and it's self-inflicted. I'm not a tennis guy, but you know that phrase, unforced error? This is a series of unforced errors. It's not that the core principle or objective is off base necessarily. A couple. Do we want secure, humane, by the way, enlightened for sure? Do we want secure borders in our country? Yeah, I think we do. I think folks overwhelmingly voted in that direction.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
And that's something that we've been espousing in New Jersey. Who's for government efficiency? Count me in. I want that in the worst way. In fact, I obviously didn't like the result of the election in November, but one of the silver linings I thought might be, hey, they got a lot of smart tech guys. Maybe there's stuff we can learn from how they're going to approach this.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
We in New Jersey are aggressively implementing generative AI to do the mundane stuff so we can not replace, but upskill our workers. Stuff like that, we're all in for. Do we like the fact that we don't manufacture as much stuff in America as we used to. No, who could like that?
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
In fact, in New Jersey, we're backing a big multi hundred million dollar incentive package to get more manufacturing onshore in Jersey. But it's the execution, Ben. This is the Flintstones executing all of the above. It's not efficiency, it's cruelty. And the markets, the tariff piece, what will that lead to? Broken alliance. By the way, China needs to be called out.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
I'm not sure this is the way I do it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be doing it this way, but they need to be called out. And there are other actors out there that need to be called out. But the Canadians don't need to be called out. We are one of 36 states where they're our largest trading partner. They're our best allies in the world. I'm the former US ambassador to Germany.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
This is one of our best allies in the world, folks that have stood shoulder to shoulder with us for decade upon decade. Let's do this in all of the above, whether it's the border, whether it's government efficiency, whether it's getting more manufacturing jobs, based in America. Let's get the adults in the room and do all of this the right way.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
What you're seeing, particularly in the past week or so, is complete chaos. And when you see the 10-year bond exploding, folks are telling you inflation's around the corner. When you see markets like a sine curve, that's the opposite of stability. Folks invest in stories that they can see going forward multiple years, including in countries. A strong dollar is in our national interest.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
You're seeing the opposite of all of that these past number of days.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Yeah. And Ben, it's almost as though that all that came before is now for naught. And this notion that we can, to use that phrase, put the toothpaste back in the toothpaste container, it's gonna be hard, if not impossible, I fear. You're gonna have an every four year clock. Well, who's gonna be in that office next?
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
And you're going to see unintended consequences here that are significant, including and heartbreakingly, as you said, among our closest allies in the world. It's a complete shame at the moment. And I pray that we get a lot less volatility and a lot more trust into the system ASAP.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
That's a great question. So last year, President Trump shrunk his loss margin by almost 12 points in New Jersey. And it wasn't just New Jersey. You look at New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, New York, California, I believe he shrunk his loss margin by 10 to 12 points across all five of those states. So not unique to us. It clearly emboldened him. I know he thinks he knows New Jersey very well.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
So his sort of core states of interest, I think, are New York, Florida, and new jersey where he has a home where he's been had casinos in atlantic city where he's got family uh so he he i think feels like he knows the state well emboldened by a smaller loss margin um and we'll see i i think it's a uniqueness to him personally I didn't see the coattails. I'll give you an example.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
He won Passaic County, which is pretty shocking, I have to say. But all of the countywide candidates right below him on the ballot, Democrats won handily. We're going to know whether it's him or a broader trend because New Jersey is one of two states this year, as is always the case after the presidential, along with Virginia that have a governor's race.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
So we've got a very contested primary on both sides. Primary is June 10. General election is November. I assume the president will play. I'm not sure on the primary, but I'm certain he'll play in the general. When I first got elected, Ben, he had just had his first year in office. We thought that was chaotic. We obviously weren't anticipating the past two and a half months.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
But I kind of ran against that chaos and won by two touchdowns. I'm not sure that playbook will apply this year. I think it will for the Democrat, whoever the Democratic nominee is, but we're in uncharted waters, to say the least.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
So as a narrow Democratic Party matter, that's very concerning. On the other side, and this is you probably saw this, Ben, around the country as we saw it in New Jersey. We lost the election in November. All of us stunned, sort of a little bit of a, if not more than a little bit of a deer in the headlights period of time that extended, I think, until fairly recently. That has begun to shift.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
We had these protests on Saturday in New Jersey, just like we had them around the country. It reminded me so much so of the 2018 cycle, people coming out of the woodwork, places we're guessing 500 people would show up and three to 5,000 folks showed up. So you're starting to see, it's taken a while, probably shame on the Democratic Party that it's taken this long.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
We sure would have liked to see this enthusiasm going into the election, but you're now starting to see it and it's palpable. So I think that ground is shifting. Where will this head over the next six to eight months? I think if the chaos and volatility, again, I'm not even arguing with the core principles of more manufacturing, more efficiency, let's have smart borders.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
I'm okay with all that, but the execution, if it remains at this level of volatility and chaos, I think you're just gonna see more and more folks, including folks who are not Democrats, just reasonable Americans coming out of the woodwork and saying, you know what? I didn't sign up for this, and I'm not going to stand it any longer.
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Governor Murphy Responds to Trump DOJ Threat
Yeah, I don't have a clue. I'm going to come out and buy you a beer in Southern California and get any advice you got.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 5/2/25
That's something that we're all gonna have to live with until we're able to overturn the Congress. And that in fact is one of the things I wanna say to everybody that's listening. If you're not out there protesting in front of a Republican Congressman's office or out in the street making your voice heard,
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 5/2/25
or calling your friends in another state to have them do it, or showing up in Washington, D.C. in front of their offices, those Republican congressmen, then you're not doing what's necessary to put pressure on them to vote the right way. This summer, they're gonna be voting on a budget. And we're going to see the consequences of that budget. What are they trying to do?
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 5/2/25
They're trying to lower taxes for the wealthiest people by raising taxes on you. Those tariffs, those are taxes that are put on working class, middle class people across the United States. And if we don't stop them, they're going to make things harder and harder for the very people that we as Democrats and all of our Democratic governors are trying to protect.
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MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 5/2/25
And that's the working families of America.