Earlier today in the Oval Office, Donald Trump looked at the assembled cameras and asked for me personally to say, Mr. President, can you do us the honor of protecting our city? Instead, I say, Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. [00:00:16] You are neither wanted here nor needed here. Your remarks about this effort over the last several weeks have betrayed a continuing slip in your mental faculties, and are not fit for the auspicious office that you occupy. [00:00:33] Yeah, that was governor JB Pritzker of Illinois responding to President Trump, flanked there by members of Congress Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Raj Krishnamoorthi. There he was responding to Donald Trump's threats that that he was going to send the National Guard into the city of Chicago, among other places. [00:00:51] His comments came during that press conference yesterday where he stood alongside business leaders, religious leaders and other community organizers. We'll hear more from him shortly. But first I want to I want to say what happened to me when I heard that and I said, okay, the race for the Democratic nomination is on. [00:01:10] Yeah, you're right. There's two different issues here, guys. One is Donald Trump's authoritarian tendencies and his needless desire to bring military into our streets and turn us into a banana republic. And so, there's a half an issue on the Democratic response, that is substantive, [00:01:29] and I don't want to let that go. We're going to talk about that as well. But the other big issue is the Democratic primary in 2028. So Gavin Newsom tried, to, go and talk to the right wing after the election was over. [00:01:44] That strategy didn't work for him. He changed strategies. And now his strategy is attack Trump, as much as you can. So now that's forcing the other potential candidates, like Pritzker, to then switch over their strategy and go, oh, yeah, I'll kick him out of Chicago more than you'll kick him out of LA. [00:02:02] I'm even tougher on him. So that's also part of what you're seeing here. Yeah, there's no question. And again, I think I'm glad you said it's substantive because we don't want to just be cynics about it here. Pritzker and Newsom are motivated by everything that motivates us. And and so the fact that he's doing this, he's doing it on substance. [00:02:20] He's doing it because it's the right thing to do, and he's responding to a president in a way that more people should respond. It just does so happen to be that he wants to be president as badly as Gavin Newsom. So yesterday, Trump, the president held a Q&A, a Q&A where he made threats [00:02:37] to send troops to Maryland and Chicago. And it's not confirmed if he will actually send the National Guard to Chicago. But CNN explained that that why that would be a lot different than what Trump did. You'll remember earlier this year in Los Angeles and currently in Washington, D.C., [00:02:54] when he sent the guard into Los Angeles, says CNN. Trump at least had the patina of an excuse that he was protecting federal buildings following demonstrations that erupted in June. Washington, D.C. Is a federal district and affords Trump significant leeway within limits [00:03:10] he may soon test to wield power. But a decision to defy Pritzker, who commands the Illinois National Guard and to federalize reservists in the absence of an unusual emergency, would represent another step toward strongman rule. [00:03:26] Title ten of US code the US code allows the president to deploy reservists in the case of invasion, to suppress rebellion, or to execute the laws of the United States. None of those conditions seem to accurately describe the current situation [00:03:42] in Chicago, Baltimore, or Washington, D.C. So going back to Pritzker, he also had stern words for the entire Trump administration and claimed that if the guard is deployed, that he isn't going to forget those who were complicit. Here's J.B. Pritzker. [00:03:59] To the Trump administration officials who are complicit in this scheme, to the public servants who have forsaken their oath to the Constitution to serve the petty whims of an arrogant little man, to any federal official who would come to Chicago and try to incite my people [00:04:18] into violence as a pretext for something darker and more dangerous. We are watching and we are taking names. Illinois governor also stated that a deployment of troops in Chicago was not needed because crime was not rampant in the city. [00:04:35] Look at the people assembled before you today behind me. This is a full cross-section of Chicago's leaders from the business world, the faith community, law enforcement, education, community organizations, and more. We sometimes disagree on how to effectively solve [00:04:54] the many challenges that our state and our city face on a daily basis. But today we are standing here, united in public, in front of the cameras, unafraid to tell the president that his proposed actions will make our jobs harder [00:05:10] and the lives of our residents worse. And while there is certainly still crime in Chicago, of course the murder rate is down 32% to 188in the first half of the year, the lowest in more than a decade. In, as you saw there, the city of Big Shoulders. [00:05:26] According to the Chicago PD, the number of murders has declined over the past four years, but other data does show that misdemeanor thefts have gone up by 61% in the last four years, and motor vehicle thefts have gone up by 79% in that same time frame. [00:05:42] But yesterday, Trump wasn't just concerned about crime. He also took the time to call governor JB Pritzker a slob. And Governor Pritzker responded to that comment by saying it takes one to know one. On the weight question, and the president, of course, [00:05:57] himself is not in good shape, so we ought to respond to that from me, Jake. We have, we have some feisty governors now. I think that's exactly the kind of democratic, interaction that you've been wanting to hear, to a degree at least. [00:06:14] Anyway. Yeah, I still think it's relatively mild. It's taken 20 years, but. Good, good. I'm glad to have it. And, guys, it's on a super important issue. Okay, so, if you think look, let me give you both sides of this. So Brandon Johnson was on MSNBC. He's the mayor of Chicago. [00:06:32] Scarborough asked him multiple times, how about more cops? Obviously, Chicago's got a crime problem. They do. Right? They've historically had one. They continue to have one today. And he dodged that question, over and over again. And he said maybe social services is better. [00:06:48] Okay, look, I think he's going to get thrown out of office, so, you can say, oh, no, Jake, you're wrong. There's no crime problem, and social services will fix it. Okay. One, the American people don't agree with you two. My guess is soon Brandon Johnson will find out that the people of Chicago [00:07:04] don't agree with him. Okay, so now is the correct answer to Chicago's persistent persistent crime problem. Military in the streets? No, that's the pendulum swinging way too far and for no reason. First of all, because of the laws of this country, the military cannot do [00:07:22] a policing role in the country. So he's asking them to do something illegal and unconstitutional. So now there's a difference between this is important. There's a difference between D.C. And the other cities, because in D.C. You can federalize. Now, even that has limits, significant limits. [00:07:37] And you're supposed to ask Congress for permission, etc., but at least you could do it initially under a theoretical emergency for the other cities, you have no such power. So if you send the Marines or the National Guard into the middle of Chicago, they can't arrest anyone. So it's useless unless you're doing an authoritarian takeover. [00:07:55] And again, this is like what drives me crazy about there. First of all, all sides. Because everybody's totally blind. They don't realize they're in their bubbles. So in the bubble. No, no no no, there is no crime. And Americans don't have any problem with it. But the polling shows that the Americans voters do have a problem with crime. [00:08:14] They do have a problem. So you should try to address it instead of ignoring it like an idiot, because that's not going to help you win elections. It's going to help people like Donald Trump. And it's going to lead to the pendulum swinging too far. Now, if you're on the right. My God, man, please go burn your Don't tread on me flags [00:08:32] because apparently, first of all, you can. You're allowed to. Okay. Second of all, you should because you never meant it. You never meant the guys who said don't tread on me are letting tanks roll into the middle of our cities and tread, like, literally have tank tires [00:08:47] going over their don't tread on me flags. So no, we didn't ask for authoritarianism. Maybe some of you did. Maybe you. You hated democracy all along. You hated our freedoms all along. I don't know, that's for you to decide. But that's not what freedom looks like. So there's a simple answer. [00:09:05] Some more cops. See if that works. And if that doesn't work, try a different thing. Mamdani is going to try something slightly different in New York. All the mayors should try different things to bring crime down. And his crime, at this point, some sort of epidemic. No. Trump is going to crime because it's one of the few issues he has left [00:09:24] where Democrats are not as popular. I have a crazy idea. Why don't you get popular on crime? And the way to get popular on crime doesn't necessarily just mean more cops. It could mean a variety of different things to bring crime down. And it doesn't mean beating up black people and Latinos [00:09:41] or shooting them without asking. That doesn't help crime prevention at all. Why don't 100 Democratic mayors try like hell in different ways to bring down crime, and then come up with 18 amazing ways to do it, and then have that go to all the cities. [00:09:58] And then if you're a Republican, what do you want him to do? So you want him to break the law and you want him to have military in the streets, look like a third rate country and not listening to our Constitution. Okay, if you say that, then you're just told on yourself you never believed [00:10:15] in America in the first place. Yeah, I'm. Look, I'm a broken window guy on crime like you are. I think the crime that affects, you know, the misdemeanor thefts going up, the the auto theft going up is a terrible thing for any city. And I think that what it does is it historically, criminologists will tell you [00:10:35] this, that it creates higher crime rates in some of the crimes that are worse. And it also creates a perception in a community that things are rampant and out of control. The fact that, that the murder rate has gone down in Chicago by that much, [00:10:50] I think is, is exceptionally good news. And so the city is doing something right on some scores or the economy or whatever. Whatever it is that has done, has created those cycles, is working. There's nothing wrong with saying that you need community services, [00:11:06] but you cannot say it as a Democrat. In the same breath, while you say, we don't need more cops, you can have both. And that Chicago is a city where community service. Look, they sent a community activist to the white House, Chicago. So community activism is a centerpiece to making Chicago better. [00:11:22] It might be unique among American cities in that way. I don't think it is, but certainly in a celebrated way. I think that it is. But, what Jake said, what you said, Jake, is absolutely right. The whole notion that these people are talking about crime and don't tread on me [00:11:38] are allowing this blatant breaking not just of local law, but of constitutional law. State law and constitutional law doesn't have the right to do it. Hasn't done it. But let's see what happens when it happens. Yeah. Last thing is, the what happened to states rights because the right wing told me, [00:11:56] oh, states rights, states rights. The federal government better not mess with the state government. And here you are messing with state governments, local governments, etc.. So guys, look, both sides can pretend to be tough guys. I don't really care about that. What I care about is solving problems. Okay, so in terms of the politics. Yeah. [00:12:16] I mean, it's so okay. Super lasting. It's so discouraging to me that you it took 20 years for Democrats to realize you're supposed to fight the other side. And now, yeah, they're doing it on important issues, but it's obvious that they're trying out different theatrics and optics. [00:12:34] Yeah. And so they're like, oh, it might help my career if I look like I'm fighting harder. Yeah, that's true. But you know what would help your career a lot if you actually were fighting harder. So on this one fine. They're doing as much as they can. Right. [00:12:49] And Gavin's doing a great job of trolling Trump. And even if you don't like Gavin, it doesn't matter. Just from a political analysis point of view. He is doing a good job with it. It is working and his numbers are going way up. Okay, within Democratic voters. But if your other Democratic politicians, even if you don't care [00:13:07] about anyone but yourself, learn from what they're doing and and please trust me. And I'm telling you, this will help your ego. You'll feel great about it. Okay? And your status will be improved. Your poll numbers will be improved. Please trust me. [00:13:23] Actually fight for your own voters, including on economic issues like paid family leave, getting money out of politics, etc. And they'll love you for it. This is not that complicated, but for now we have. Okay, no military in the streets. Good. [00:13:39] Everything else, they'll have to learn that it might help their careers so that they can begin to do it. And I believe that these governors are also genuinely offended by what this president is trying to do. So career help or not, I mean, politicians, that's their career. [00:13:55] So they're always going to be thinking about politics and staying where they are. And so while while it's easy to be cynical about that, it's, it's also part of what they have to do. So it's a tough place for them to be in this case. I think both governors are responding very organically and very, with real, [00:14:13] genuine force to how upset they are by what Trump is doing. And Newsom is continuing that online trolling that you were talking about just a moment ago. He recently even opened a store, an online store called The Patriot Shop. And my favorite thing about this logo is the undercard. [00:14:30] They're the greatest merchandise ever made. I mean, it is just the best troll ever. Trump who, who refers to his followers as patriots and the only patriots that are out there. And this goes to what we've been talking about for years as Democrats taking back the flag. [00:14:47] Maybe start by taking the word Patriot back. He sells them red themed, cheaply made merchandise. Does Trump. But this store includes these things and Newsom was right about everything. Hat that you see there on the left. And a Trump is not hot tank top, which is perfect for your MAGA friends, [00:15:07] and a $100 Bible marked as sold out. You can't even get them anymore. Well, that was never actually for sale. But of course, that's making fun of the fact that Trump himself was selling Bibles. She has a shirt called The Chosen One where he is surrounded by kid Rock. [00:15:23] Hulk Hogan, with the angel wings there and Tucker Carlson, play on some of that. I don't know if that artist's name offhand, but, it's it's pretty wonderful the way he's he's teasing that his account posted to X after the shop opened. [00:15:39] Wow. We have now sold over all caps. Of course, 100,000 of the best products ever made. If you hate the Patriots shop, you hate America. Thank you. Man, this is kind of fun. Yeah, I mean, they should have been having this fun all along. But but but the point is. Yeah. [00:15:56] - Good. - Good. Right. Don't decry it because it's happening now. No, no, I'll take it. I'll take it, I'll take it. More, more of this. Okay, so last thing, guys. Back to substance. Why are we so concerned? So I'm going to show you a clip of Donald Trump from today. And then we'll talk about it. Let's watch. [00:16:13] But then he goes on television and says Trump is a dictator. He's addicted. And a lot of people. So so the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crying. So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator, but I'm not a dictator. - I just know how to stop crime. - Yeah, no, I'm worried about it. [00:16:33] Because whenever Trump starts with, like, a lot of people are saying, no, I'm not. I'm not saying it a lot. I mean, I used to joke like that on the show all the time. I'd say like, oh, people are saying in the streets how good looking I am. That was a joke, right? For him, he does this. Oh, well, I'm not saying I won a third term, but a lot of people [00:16:51] are saying I should have a third term. I mean, a lot of people are saying I won the 2020 election. Then it turns into I did win the 2020 election, right? And so now when he's saying like, well, I mean, a lot of people are saying they want a dictator to stop crime. You should be deeply concerned. [00:17:07] You know, when I was going around the country with Zephyr this past election, we were speaking to MAGA voters. You remember there was one day or two days that I was asking people, you know, Trump was saying he was going to be a dictator on day one. I was asking people, would you rather have President Biden or Trump as a dictator? [00:17:28] And to a person, almost, they said to me, and I can't think if I don't want to say it, absolutely. But I can't think of one person who disagreed. They said, no, no, we need a dictator. Trump is a dictator. Unanimous that they wanted Trump as a dictator. [00:17:44] Some people went so far as to say, this country needs a dictator. We really should have a dictator. And you can go on YouTube and you can find those at the Young Turks. I don't know how you find them, because I wouldn't know how to find them myself, but they're there They are there, and you can see his followers saying [00:17:59] that they want him to be a dictator. And here he is. So guys, like, is there a portion of MAGA that has wanted that all along? That was before the, election. Well before the election. So they're on tape. They're not hiding it. [00:18:14] That portion definitely exists. Then there's a portion of Trump voters who don't want a dictator. They didn't vote for a dictator. And that sounds nuts to them, right? You got that portion has to speak up. Okay. So the Democrats are opposed to dictators. Great. [00:18:30] Wow. Like, look like we cleared that bar. Okay. But I'm proud of it. I don't know anyone on the left who wants a dictator. I know a lot of people on the right who do. Right. Okay, but you can say they're extreme. Well, then if you're saying they're extreme, show me you're not. [00:18:45] Say, yeah, you know what? I voted for Trump. But no, I didn't vote for military in the streets and banana Republic and violating the Constitution over and over again. No, I didn't ask for a dictator. And I'm against this. If you don't say that. Well, then, you know. Then we have our answer. Then don't complain. [00:19:02] Oh my God, I can't believe, Democrats would say that we're authoritarian or fascist, etc.. Guys, we're in the middle of that decision right now as a country, if we all push back forcefully. Trump. My guess is and I let's hope I'm right, Trump will retreat. [00:19:18] He keeps testing the waters, testing the waters. But if it doesn't work, he retreats. But if you show softness and go, oh, maybe, maybe, maybe we should have tanks, maybe National Guard, maybe Marines. Next thing you know, you're going to have military all over America. [00:19:34] And then, by the way, Palantir is collecting all your information and, oh, there goes your freedoms and you missed it. No, this is the time to push back. This is the time to show what America really is. So to point out to your Republican friends to what's going on, right? [00:19:52] Because a lot of them just sort of hold their nose, hold their ears, and just get through this embarrassing time. Those who don't really love him but voted for him. And that's the thing, is just to point out to them, this is a dictatorship. This is these are the signs of of fascism and dictatorship and, [00:20:09] and authoritarian rule. And that is not in the spirit of the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Yeah. Why is he even talking about a third term? We don't have a third. It's unconstitutional to have a third term. Why are you having that discussion? Well, you can't the military cannot police our streets. [00:20:26] That's a stone cold fact in American law. Now, I don't care. I want to do it anyway. Why? Why do you want. Why do you hate our Constitution? Why do you hate our laws? So that's just a fact. And so now we're going to find out what America is about. And I think we'll, defeat him, and we'll defeat authoritarianism. [00:20:46] But right now, it's nip and tuck. So make your voice heard. Every time you ring the bell below. An angel gets its wings. Totally not true, but it does keep you updated on our live shows.