Jon Lovett
Appearances
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
You have people like Elon Musk, these are unelected, just billionaire donors having meetings with foreign heads of state on Trump's behalf. I'll meet with Iran.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Right. I'm trying to, like, separate my, like, frustration with basically Joe Biden in his final year and culminating that debate and hanging on that, like. How much we paid for having somebody who just wasn't articulate and comprehensible messenger, not just on behalf of his own presidency, but on behalf of like progressivism democracy. Right. And like, I am very angry about that.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And I'm a little bit mad at myself for not being more honest about how I felt or not seeing it as plainly because I think we're obviously paying dearly for it. I guess what I'm more concerned about is less like, am I seeing Joe Biden enough? Maybe he's right that people don't want to hear from him.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
It's more like, do I feel confident right now that Joe Biden behind the scenes is thinking of every single way he can try to future-proof the White House, that he's thinking through all the different levers of powers, the kind of creative ways in which he can do everything to protect everyone from undocumented DACA recipients to trans people to the benefits of the inflation reduction.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I think there are very smart people thinking about that. And I hope they succeed. And it sounds like from that memo the White House put out that they are thinking about the best ways to do that. But do I think Joe Biden himself is like at command being thinking about this? Like right now, I don't. I just honestly don't. Maybe he is. You can't tell.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
There's a debate about what the president can do on behalf of, say, DACA recipients. And there are some legal scholars that assert the president can use the pardon power, even though immigration violations are civil, to pardon DACA recipients or undocumented immigrants more broadly. There are some people that say that that would create problems.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
There's a debate about whether, because it's never been used in that way, but whatever. There's lots of ways in which presidential... Someone you then you use it. You assert it right. Like, is there a debate right now about whether President Biden can can pardon DACA recipients? Is he asking about that? And others are saying no. Are people coming to him with that? And he's not sure. Right.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Right. Right. But this is I think like right now, like I don't know what we're meant to think is happening. Right. And we get a memo that basically lays out the fact that that Joe Biden is going to try to use his time most effectively over the next couple of weeks. But the memo exists in part because Joe Biden either is unwilling or unable to go to the microphone and explain himself.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
But like, yeah, it was it was it was interesting watching a bunch of people on the left being really critical of this because this was a monstrous.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
crime that i think basically kind of it was a kind of like a for-profit version of the cruelty and unfairness that the judicial system often meets out right so this is somebody receiving clemency for participating in the larger evil these people are are spending their lives fighting exactly against so that that's what made it i think like a little bit like confusing but it also does expose that like even people that advocate for
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
whatever prison abolition there's a part of us that demands justice and that wants someone like this thrown away for fucking ever but I think part of the deeper thing is like also prison abolition is crazy I'm just gonna say that it's crazy but you murder someone you're gonna keep them away from people for sure and then no no and I just wanna I just wanna second that we're in similar t-shirts similar view on murder but I'll take the slings and arrows it's fine but the pardon power is strange
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
John, there's nothing defamatory in any of the things that he describes.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
and like silly and yes but so I think what's so galling about these examples is just like who gets who gets mercy in our system exactly there are so many people that deserve mercy yes and they deserve it before these corrupt public officials and the other part too is it's like Donald Trump He cut taxes for the rich. He vilified immigrants. He shifted the court to the right.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And he basically decriminalized corruption. And we are going to pay for that. Like corruption is a cancer. And these are corrupt officials. And it would be nice if one of the ways in which Joe Biden kind of defended the values he cares about is to is to strongly defend laws that protect against corruption, which is what these people were punished for.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I was surprised by how mad and disappointed I was when I saw it. I couldn't believe it. I thought I must be missing something to see them. So this is Disney we're talking about. Now, you might remember Disney famously tried to avoid facing consequences when someone died of an allergy at Disney World by claiming that in the Disney Plus terms of service, they'd been indemnified.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Well, no, I'm just curious what it is. Can't I just be curious about what it is? I've said my part. Tommy?
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah, I do think, look, I think she has paid politically for having come up as a prosecutor, then run for president at a time when that was seen as a liability and shifting to the left on a bunch of issues and then walking away from those positions.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And if you were to ask me right now, what are Kamala's views, actual personal views on a host of those issues, I sincerely would say, like, I think she's
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
consensus builder I think she but like I don't actually know and if she is going to want to seek whether it's California governorship or national office I think like it's about taking the time to figure out an ideological perspective that like informs everything that she does going forward because I do think some of the ways in which she's had these like whether it was tough interviews in the 2024 race or the quotes that were taken out of what she said in the 2020 race like the lack of that
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I think worldview and ideology is going to make it very, very hard for her to get past the previous two runs. That's my concern.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
It's not at all. Actually, it's more Shakespearean. If you want to say it's Shakespearean, you have to find the ways in which her own deeper flaws were ultimately her undoing, which would be, I think, more dramatic.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Right. Yeah. Anyway. I guess it's a Romeo and Juliet. They're both fucking dead. Oh, no. Maybe that's it. Just star-crossed lovers, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I do not remember that. Disney has lawyers. They are famous. They are famously brutal lawyers. And so to see them capitulate in this way, and by the way, if I got any of that wrong, Disney, I'm sorry. Do not revoke his fast pass. Yeah, and don't come after me. Don't come after me.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah, finally showing some discipline. Yeah, man, it is tough having a country when you're like, oh, what are the drones? Well, some of them are manned and maybe some of them are hobbyists. And actually, we don't know what some of them. And then the next president of the United States grabs the microphone and says, it might be the Jews.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
What is this country? What's going on here? You know what? If the government won't, if the federal government won't shoot some of these things down, we're going to have no choice but to give your meanest friend from high school the authority. That's what's going to happen. That's where this ends up.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
But Disney knows how to fight a frivolous or false lawsuit if it wants to, and it is choosing not to in this case, and that is very disappointing.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Look, by the way, and that's the second worst option, because what's really going to happen is randos are going to start going outside and shooting at drones. And of course they are. And you know what? Some of these drones are planes and those planes have people in them. So we got to just shoot one down. Can we just shoot one down? Let's make sure it's a drone.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
It's like a deep state head. Let's see what the deep state has to say.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Here's the thing. Here's the good news. Here's the good news. All right. I obviously I think the worst case scenario would be shooting down a passenger aircraft.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
After that, after that, after that, if you shoot down a hobbyist drone, I don't care. Bring them down. Those people should be sadder, frankly. Commercial drones, government drones. Shoot one down. Take a look. And when you look in the air, you'll be able to tell which is which, right? I think you should be really sure. Let's be really sure. Someone tell Elon Musk about this guy.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
We've got to get him in government. No, if I'm going to press the Elon button, it's going to be around daylight saving time. We're getting there.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I believe the Larry Hogan ones turned out to be celestial bodies, which is tough. It's tough. People are losing their minds. Yeah. Look, I love a good mania. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. People are losing it out there. I also do like Andy Kim being like, I think it's economic anxiety. It's like, okay. I'm with you. I'm with you to a point.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
That's wrong. Yes, I know. It should be Daylight Savings Time, but it is technically Daylight Saving Time.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah. So he does probably almost certainly means making daylight saving time permanent. He actually tweeted that in, I think, 2019. So currently there is a bill in Congress called the Sunshine Protection Act. It is sponsored by Rubio and Padilla in California. Also, Ed Markey in Massachusetts, Patty Murray.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And a bunch of other senators, 20 states have already passed by ballot measure or legislation state rules that would switch to permanent daylight saving time if Congress allows it. Now, I have actually like I used to think, yes, of course, we should switch to permanent daylight saving time. That used to be my position. I really dug into it for a while.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
I did a lot of interviews, did a lot of reading about it. And I have a more nuanced view on it, which is basically, it's not a surprise that it's being led by a Massachusetts senator, a Florida senator, and California senators. Florida and California were further south. All that means is our winters aren't as dark and our summers aren't as bright, right?
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
The closer you get to the equator, the less the time shifts, not with time zones, but just with longer days and shorter days. In Massachusetts- in the dead of winter, right now in Maine or Massachusetts, the sun is setting around four o'clock. It gets late. It gets even into the threes, right? But in a state like Michigan, which is in the same sign zone, it's fully an hour later, right?
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Because they're further west in the time zone. So it makes sense that a bunch of East, like Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, California, all these states would want to do it. The problem is- I was in Vancouver the other weekend and it was like four o'clock dark. Yes. So- Even in California, Los Angeles, the sunset in Los Angeles will be almost an hour later than it will be in Seattle or Portland.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
So some of this is where you're located. What needs to happen is Congress needs to amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to allow for a third option. And then every state can choose between permanent daylight saving time, permanent standard time, or continuing to make the switch. This is the compromise. This is the solution.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Because we did do permanent daylight saving time in the 70s during the oil crisis. And in a lot of places, people fucking hated it because there are places where if you go to permanent daylight saving time... sunrise won't be until either close to nine or even after 9 a.m. Oh, wow. Right. People don't like, people, if you poll them, say they don't like daylight saving time.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Really what they mean is they don't like springing forward. They hate losing the hour. They hate the time switch. And the time switch does suck. But really what people like are longer days in the summer and shorter days in the winter. And unfortunately, you can't legislate For that. But I like if I had to choose between the switch and permanent daylight saving time, I would choose that.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Well, that is that is like even that I think is being so like generous towards Trump interpretation of what Stephanopoulos said, because, yes, it is true technically that it was for sexual abuse and not rape. Even the judge in the case made a point of saying this is a narrow legal definition. And by the common use of the word rape. it could apply in this case.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
But that's because we live in California, which is a place that would benefit from being in permanent daylight saving time. But there are states like Michigan. Michigan, for example, should actually switch to permanent standard time because in Michigan in the summer, the sunset is so late. Is it possible? Can a possible solution be that some like. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Because in practice, I think a few states would continue to switch. If you pass the Rubio-Markey-Murray bill, then everybody's going to be on permanent daylight saving time. But if you pass a law that just allowed states to choose, just add the third option, letting them choose permanent daylight saving time, about 20 states, their laws would go into effect.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And then some states would either choose to keep switching or stay on permanent standard time. Michigan So if you look at the time zone map, Michigan is so far to the west. I know, now I know, I feel it. This was the moment, I went too long. This was the moment. Will you let me know when this wraps?
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah, Michigan is so far west of Massachusetts, it doesn't really make sense that they're in the same time zone. Michigan should be in permanent standard time, Wisconsin can be on permanent daylight saving time. In practice, what that means is they're both in the central time zone. Michigan would just shift one time zone over.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Well, you know there's going to be companies that are going to start allowing you in the night to rent light via mirrors. What? There are companies that have like, they want to put satellites up that have big reflectors, and then you could go on your phone, literally on your phone, and say, I would like it to be light out on my yard at this time.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And they'll turn the mirrors, and you'll have daylight on your yard. What kind of dystopia is that? Dystopia? Okay. Okay. What about AI, permanent sunlight, corrupt fucking dumbasses present? What about this screams dystopia to you?
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Is there a call to action? There is a call to action. The call to action would be to say we do not need to argue about whether the whole country should be on permanent standard time. Oh, by the way, the scientists and the nerds, they're all for permanent standard time. I've interviewed them. They're fucking wrong.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
They're just wrong about it because they are confusing the benefits of not switching to the benefits of standard time. We should switch to permanent daylight saving time in a lot of places. And there's a reason 20 states haven't. have passed it. But no, this is the compromise. The whole country doesn't have to switch and the whole country doesn't have to have one policy.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
It won't be complicated because you go through a period of transition over a year or two, which people can choose which time zone they want. And then basically you just end up with a new time zone map and we never have to deal with this again. Most places would choose either permanent standard time or permanent daylight saving time.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
A few might continue to switch, but we know that that's fine because Arizona doesn't switch, right? And society moves on. Society's fine and so does Arizona.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And so there's an argument to be made that this isn't what what Stephanopoulos said wasn't even incorrect. His interpretation of the conclusion of the court is that it was liable for this, even if the technical legal wording might be different. So like it is all eminently defensible.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
That's the thing is, it's like, A, it can be interpreted as being accurate. B, he wasn't intending and purposely misleading anybody. Relying on the judge's words and the Washington Post. And see, it's not even clear if there were any damages to Donald Trump, right? Like all of this, the lawyers at Disney are well aware of.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
But it's also like and all of that, like it's also there. It's a charitable donation. They're going to write some of it off. It would have cost them millions of dollars to defend the suit. Right. Like the delta between the big 16, really, because you pay a million dollars for the legal fees. Right.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
The delta between the $16 million they're going to spend versus the millions they'd spend if it went to court, plus the cost to their reputation of fighting this in public, the damage, right? Like, I'm sure they're thinking about all of that. But there was a time when news organizations understood that they had an obligation to the public and, by the way, to their own journalists –
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
that they know that even if they make a good faith mistake, which can happen, that they will have lawyers behind them defending them because people make mistakes. People say the wrong thing. People are allowed to get things wrong without the threat of a lawsuit. We have really good. That's a great thing about the First Amendment and the way we do defamation in this country.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Assuming everybody. And, like, look, do all of these come to, did they actually pursue any of them? Does Trump's lawyers talk him out of some of these and not others, whatever? But, like, the effect of that, like, The chilling effect of this is real. Like they're raising the cost of investigating these people. They're raising the cost of doing journalism.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And there are going to be places that just decide it's not worth it. There are going to be people that decide it's not worth it. Somebody like Olivia Troy. There's a lot of people that could speak out about what they saw inside the Trump administration that have it. They're making it more costly. They're making it more dangerous.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
And I mean, look, take just a pure fact. Donald Trump killed JonBenet Ramsey. That is not something you're going to be free to say in the public sphere anymore because you say it and all of a sudden people are going to.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Oh, that's a good idea. For sure. I have some members of my tribe, the Gata tribe, I'd like to sue.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
It's funny to be like Liz Cheney is like, no, no, no. Yeah. Protect the land. Got to keep those trees safe.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah. I watched the SoftBank CEO speak and it is this sort of funhouse mirror version of a presidential announcement because, yes, as you noted, he's not president. But in the past, when when there's been a major announcement and it did involve like a private sector figure speaking, they would speak about how great America is.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
and how important it is to be investing in the future of this great country. But instead, this guy gets up there and be like, God, this guy, Donald Trump, what a deal maker he is. It's all about Trump. It's all about him.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
Yeah, well, it's another exact, just more blending. Yeah, it's more blending of like the private and the public and making it less about the country and more about Donald Trump personally. That said, like, you know, Joe Biden believes in tradition and institutions and we should only have one president at a time. And I think it's a surprising choice to allow it to be Donald Trump.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
But if that's what his plan is, I think it's about his long term respect for our kind of our basic mores.
Pod Save America
Is Biden Quiet Quitting?
He got a little too loose, I think. He's only got a couple more weeks to drink. Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
But I saw all my fellow castaways. Do they remember you?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, I think that I feel like the interpretation that Sarah has there is completely fine. The hope that the that Seltzer was right is completely fine.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You remember me, short guy, first day? They're like, you're a producer, right? Yeah.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
She's taken enough shit for this poll and she had the kind of courage of her convictions to do a poll the way she was accustomed to doing it, taking what the data showed her and releasing it, which is what a lot of pollsters refuse to do, which is why all the polls heard she got this one wrong. Whose take are we judging, Sarah?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
No, I actually don't think it is. I think it's the fucking keys.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
She said, you'll distribute my ashes over Des Moines.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Because you know what? Because there's... We're people. People make mistakes. People get things wrong. The best methods lead to an incorrect result. But she had the humility and like the expertise to put behind it and the rigor. This guy's running out there being like, I've I've been in the sarcophagus and found the secret eye that tells you how politics will be in the future.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
The this is an insurrection commentary was some of the dumbest fucking shit ever. And the indignity of having to actually walk through why it's so fucking stupid. I don't think we even have to. I don't think we ever had to. We never did.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You're either stupid enough to believe it or you're full of shit. And I don't need to convince any of those people.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, good luck in life. I hope you figure out how to tie your shoes.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Okay, Saul, let's do another take, but this time kind of more throw it away. Who was that? Who was that? Yeah.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. So this is somebody claiming that it's a conspiracy on Epstein's Island to remove Joe Biden?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I think you do. That is chilling. The two of you calling that name out there being like, I remember who said it. That is chilling.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
No, he's not the game theory guy. What happened to that guy? Where'd that guy go?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And another kicker, Kamala Harris, black. Right. That's also an important thing to know. Joe Biden. White.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
It was pretty bad. A white guy accusing other white guys of being racist for trying to dethrone a white guy. It reminds me of this other like you'll see like a white male comedian refer to white women and make fun of them because he knows he can't say women. And so he has to add the white so that he can make fun of women. You know, it's like I'm suspicious. I'm suspicious. Color me suspicious.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
That was a good one. I think that wins for me as well. That also was a moment where also the worm kind of turned.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Sorry. Oh, yeah. Yeah, no. And you know what? Honestly, I would like a cogent, comprehensible president. If that makes me an ableist, so be it. If that's what ableism means now, then I'm an ableist.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
So that was about RFK Jr. believing, according to the the rules that have traditionally been used, that he would have gotten a slot at a presidential debate, which which might be true. And then there was a separate discourse about whether it was bad for the country that the debate commission was basically ignored. And then the candidates spoke directly and figured out debates with the networks.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
The whole thing was so, everything about it was stupid. Everything about it was frustrating. Like I love Chapel Roan. I think Chapel Roan, like a lot of the people criticizing Chapel Roan should go outside and touch grass.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And like I'm being perfectly clear and then kind of like a pundit, just like fucking losing it, like like being like, how dare you misinterpret my completely elliptical and confusing way of talking about politics. Allow me to make myself perfectly clear. I'm once again going to say something similar. That's very hard to interpret. It was like for no one.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And it's like, you're not a political expert. You're putting yourself out there. You became incredibly famous in this year. That must be an insane amount of pressure. Why are we doing this?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And who is the current president? Right. And is that person involved at all? Do we know what that person thinks about this?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Well, I think like the bigger thing to take from it, it's not like this one moment about Chapel Rome, but like, you know, like there was like a big chunk of people, like, The people that got behind Trump were super excited and gung-ho about it.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
A few people were like that about Kamala, but there were a lot of people like Chapel Roan that felt like it was uncool or problematic to full-throatedly get behind a Democrat. And I would like that to not be true in the future. It'd be great if we were a movement where Chapel Roan was excited and it was valuable for her to be a part of it and in both directions. That'd be cool. That'd be nice.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Too many fags in the Democratic Party, huh, Travis? Jesus Christ.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, we have a huge problem. I think it is. I think pointing at consultants is whatever, but it's a collective inability to sound like normal people. Also, a bunch of podcasts where it's like, hey, come over here. You can say whatever you want. We don't care. I don't love that. But on our side, it's like, you better be careful. There are tripwires, and you're going to hit them.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Look, we're having a human problem. We're having a difficulty reaching voters.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Think about what? Here's what I've been thinking about just as we watch the final few weeks of the Biden administration. And it becomes clear in just these past few weeks how ridiculous the assertion was that he was in shape to be president over the next four years. That my regret is that it took until... Not just seeing him once behind the scenes when we went to the White House.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Not just seeing him a second time when we saw him at that fundraiser. But till the debate, to be full-throatedly honest. Don't we this. I wasn't there. Didn't I say I?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I was there when we saw him. Well, some of us were there. He was at the Clooney fundraiser. You're part of it. You're fucking part of it.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
But I think... Because he wasn't dropping out and it seemed like a fait accompli, we were very hard on Biden and wanting him to get out there to dispel questions about his age. But looking on it back, could we have gotten there faster? Could we have pushed harder? I don't know. But I come away from that moment thinking more about how we got to that place in the first place.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Right, right, right. But he did. But the pressure did come.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
No, I don't think so. No, I don't think so. Some of the best discourse. Some of the best and most of the best discourse we've ever had.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Debate commission. We choose debate commission. Sometimes an ugly, shitty little pug makes it to best in show and that thing never wins.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
What a weird thing to say. He's always tongue-in-cheek about those kinds of things, but it is just a reminder that masculinity is a prison that locks from the inside. Oh, is it gay to have a birthday, fellas?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I think it's that George Soros, via his vehicle of Taylor Swift, is going to push a pro-gay, pro-trans, pro-abortion agenda.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I don't know if she stuck the landing on that one.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
It's also just like goldfish level memory. Taylor Swift has endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, endorsed Marsha Blackburn's opponent, got involved in a bunch of different issues. Ties just pride every pride when she's on tour. Like just it just this is just part of her politics in the documentary. Yeah. There's a documentary about it where she's on film talking about why she wants to talk about politics.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Just like you're just paying attention. But but like even though you don't have like the world exists when your eyes are closed.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
There's a fallacy in philosophy that Tommy will remember from his studies, which is, it's called no true Scotsman. No true Scotsman, which is, he says, I'm not against vaccines. He's like, well, are you? You've said this or that. I'm just for safe vaccines. Well, can you name any safe vaccines? No, I'm for safe vaccines, but there are no safe vaccines. What about this vaccine?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Well, that's not a truly safe vaccine. What about this vaccine? It's not a truly safe vaccine. It's a way of claiming something while never actually allowing it to be true. Sounds like Twitter. Yeah. Fun. Yeah. Guys, give me a charge of the water. Enjoy, everybody. It's very bad. Drink up. Drink up. Drink while you can. Yeah. Get all those shots.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
30 years from now, everyone's teeth are going to fall out of their fucking face and be like, I wonder why this happened.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Both have hats? Oh, the tribe has spoken? Wow. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I've been saving these for a while.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You have one person who's going to prosecute this.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Like we said about the January 6th hearings, so good they should be illegal. Yeah.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
It's just before you would have a lot of video. Someone had a flip cam or something. Shameik was busy at the fucking newspaper until 2 in the morning wasting his fucking college life on op-eds. Oh yeah, Williams' record really make a difference? I was playing music.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I think Trump's take really was the take of the year. I mean, it it it. It became the discourse. It was the hinge point. It was one of the policy hinges of the whole election.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Being a speechwriter is about figuring out the best way to convince a bunch of people to either come along with you or agree with you or support you. I think that's a lot of what Survivor is. You know what?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, really crushing on both this year. Got my finger on the goddamn pulse this year. Yeah, thank you for that. Next up.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, now she's in charge of the TSA. The one thing is, it's funny, because that was a very cogent and reasonable take, but Trump was like, actually, I don't need to worry about any of that. I'm going to pick the opposite, a piece of shit guy that makes women uncomfortable, and it won't matter. Yeah.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I think people hate the Biden administration so much that I can choose one of the biggest assholes around.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, I feel like... No, no, I think the polls are... And that's so important to keep in mind, that polls are... If you've ever heard us say that, polls are a snapshot. In time.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
If you look back on the year, but you take away from all of these like very reasonable, like these are all opinions about like ways things could matter at the margins in a race that wasn't really fought. Like, but we were, but oh, but would that it mattered, but we're so fucked it doesn't.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
He's saying that first you put up the sporting dogs, up to the little dogs, then you got your other dogs, and then the best dog in each category, you know, pugs and so forth, they all go head to head in the final category where you're deciding.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You know, I... I remember, I'm not judging. We were all in that headspace. But man, were we grading on a fucking curve at that time.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Well, that's the point I was making about old Seth Meyers. And I would say, by the way, that's the bar that we had set for ourselves, and it was too low. Too low. We're like, Joe Biden is losing the election, but good news, he can occasionally do a public event that's kind of a draw. What are we doing here? Not winning.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
That was pre-State of the Union. It was pre-State of the Union.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
That was the Seth Meyers appearance, though, where Amy Poehler had to come out. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was at the point where he was no longer doing things by himself.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I like that. I have to say, in terms of bad takes, the meta bad take of the year was, hey guys, I know it sounds crazy, but I'm going to go on Survivor. I think it'll be good. Yeah, that's true. That was a bad take. Did you have fun? Yeah, I had a good time. I had a good time. Missed three dinners. You did miss three dinners. Missed three dinners.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Right, exactly. And where a group of adults decide whether or not a Shih Tzu is better or worse than a Labrador. It's like, no, this one's better. Stupid.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Would Michael Phelps be as good of a swimmer if he had diarrhea in the pool and then killed himself? Huh.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And I think, look, and it's funny because it feels like mean. Like we're punching down. Yeah. But I think it's worth just saying, like, there was a lot of people like Alan Lichtman, which were people that were looking at, like, a miasma of contradictory data and saying they knew the answer. And, like... How many times are we going to fucking do this? Because I cling to those people, too.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Like, you know, you're like you're just like reading all things. And there's this person like looking at me like, here's why it's so clear what's going to happen. And like you want those things to be true. Like you want to believe those things, but you just can't. And this was like a signal, ridiculous example of it.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
But no, you're not going to confidently predict the future based on your 14 political science fucking keys.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Alan. Alan Lickman. Your prize money's in the mail.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
This is our last chance to talk about it. How's that late alarm?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Defrosting turkeys all day long? I need more corn for the chili.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
How's your spam problem, Tommy? A lot of self-reflection going on?
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
All right. Let's hear Lovett's. My resolution is to not spend the year worrying about
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
food and diet like for the first time to go into this year without any kind of like emotionally unhealthy relationship with food and diet and exercise that's my resolution and to keep that going oh yeah well how did you find the willpower to do that where did you gain the strength first of all yeah yeah yeah we're making america healthy again one injection to the hip at a time
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Now, this resolution came after I'd already started taking experimental pancreas medicine.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
No, but I will say I did also fail because I'm still, I'm better, I'm definitely better But I still do have an unhealthy relationship to food. It's so hard. But it's interesting. All of our resolutions, attention span and diet, it's all about trying to find some inner reservoir of discipline to defeat a cultural force. And it's hard. It's hard. Because I'm now better about the diet stuff.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And I am a little bit crazy about exercise. So I don't know. I don't know. Better. Better than I was. That's for sure.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Right, that's the argument for Trump from Republicans in the House.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
I think that's great. Okay. I think it's good to write things down. I think sometimes writing things down is to, you figure out what you really think when you actually try to write it down. That's right.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
We'd love to, but we're just so impressed for our time.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
The overlap is one is a group of people helping to make the world clear. The other is a technology that will make it much harder. So in a way, they're in competition. So that's interesting.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Tommy's going to meditate. It is good. Maybe while you're meditating, you'll see John on one of his walks.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
There's some dead ends along the way. The path is the mindfulness, guys.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Downward Dan. Dan, I'm so excited for you. When you're next in LA, you and I We're going to Pilates. Oh, I'd love to watch it.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Downward Dan. Downward Dan's pretty good. Love it. So I feel like we are coming to the end of the year where we made a lot of shows and we did a ton of content and there was a lot happening. And I want to try next year to do a little bit less, a little bit better and like really be deliberate about because I do think that like like Joe Biden, you're quite quitting, too.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
A little bit more than him. No, but I do think that we're heading into another Trump era. It's going to be exhausting. And we keep saying, we got to make sure that we're disciplined about what we care about, discipline what we pay attention to. And I just want to apply that to what we cover, how we cover it. I want to make sure that... So we took down the Tuesday, love or leave it.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
And that's in part because I want to try to make the Thursday show even better. And I want the time and space to think about that and to think about other things to do outside of these two shows. And I want to have the mental space And it's not about time or even like work. It's just like the creative space to think about how to talk about politics.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Because so much of what we've just been saying for the last couple of weeks is there's something about how Democrats sound and we need to figure out how we're communicating. And like, you're not gonna figure that out in the churn.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Well, they look great. It's going to deliver. It's just for those listening at home, they both, after we began, they both put on their The Tribe Has Spoken hats. That's right. Not one for Dan. They didn't get Dan in on this. We've been saving them for this occasion.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
that honestly it's like that that take has that take it was it aged poorly and then it aged well again right I don't know I thought it no it started well it started right if you'd cut the first 20 seconds of that well I guess because he didn't he didn't end up competing in Michigan right well I guess what I mean is just that like the the liabilities he was describing were correct they ultimately did become Kamala's liabilities and cost us the country so there was some truth in that but Dean but Dean Phillips wasn't the way he wasn't the way he wasn't the way
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Right at the end there. Couldn't stick the landing. Couldn't stick the landing.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah. And the season just ended this week, right? Yeah. That's right. The finale was last night. Yeah. And many months ago, I was on Survivor.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
By the way, those are the cross promos we've been doing.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah, the first one was just wrong. Just completely wrong.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
The Hill. Oh. Max Burns. The Hill, Washington's second choice to read on the toilet. What? Right? I think it's like third or fourth now.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Did we ever get confirmation as to whether there was a deal? I don't think so.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
It's also just like, even where there are times where I feel sure of something, I'm so chastened by the history of recent events and my awareness that the future will come. You will have to measure it against what you thought in the past.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You know, Andy's out there living his dream, and then that's fine. But no, but I have a picture of our meeting, which was funny.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
Yeah. And even more importantly, it's a huge problem for the country, what's happening.
Pod Save America
The Pundies: Worst Takes of 2024
You know, it would be a less divided country if we were all Republicans, but that's also not the world I want to live in.