7/14/26: AIPAC Deploys Obama Ads In Michigan, Bryce Harper FanDuel Scandal

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2:33We need your help to build the future of independent news media, and we hope to see you at BreakingPoints.com. So we wanted to turn to the Michigan Senate Democratic primary where Haley Stevens, the establishment darling, is up against Abdul El-Sayed, the left wing insurgent. And there's a new tactic being deployed from Stevens and Stevens allied groups to make it seem like maybe kind of sort of she was endorsed by Obama. Let's go ahead and take a look at one of these ads. My husband worked at Ford for 41 years. My father worked for General Motors for 30 years. And when they came for our auto jobs, Haley Stevens stood up.

3:17She was chief of staff to President Obama's auto rescue. And Haley Stevens, by the way, she was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back. That saved 200 ,000 Michigan jobs. She helped save jobs for my own family. If President Obama trusts her, so do I. Stronger Michigan is responsible for the content of this ad. President Obama trusts her and so do I. Stevens has millions of dollars, more than tens of millions of dollars, flooding into this race on her behalf from a variety of super PACs, including some that are backed by APAC. This is a mailer that's going out to homes around Michigan that says, similar quotes, Haley Stevens was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back.

4:01President Barack Obama, Detroit Free Press opinion, black Michiganders will help decide Michigan's U.S. Senate primary. This one is from one of the APAC allied super PACs. And you've had Michigan voters who are taking in this content assume that it means that she is fully endorsed by Barack Obama, which she is not. He is not endorsed in this race. Of course, he could pipe up and make that clear. He has chosen not to do that at this point. But in any case, you have some voters who are saying that, you know, I'm going to vote for Haley Stevens based on these ads. Let's go ahead and put the first part of D2 up on the screen.

4:41This is one couple that was quoted saying that President Obama is the reason they're voting for Haley Stevens. Quote, they put a lot of money behind Haley. We don't know a whole lot about him being Abdul El-Sayed. I asked about AIPAC. The Mills said they are not anti-Israel, but what's happening in Gaza is a genocide. So these are people who ideologically align with Abdul El-Sayed. But Barack Obama's word means so much to them that they are, you know, they are voting with the person who is not ideologically aligned with them because they have been basically tricked into believing that Obama backs them.

5:16Yeah, this is a classic strategy by many politicians. I've seen it with Trump as well, where somebody – Trump will endorse somebody like in 2020, and then they'll – actually he won't endorse them in 2024, but he'll be running their endorsement back from 2020. Like the previously Trump-endorsed candidate who is in this race. So it's not like it hasn't happened before, but it is very obviously being boosted by titanic amounts of money. And that's part of the reason why we're even covering it is the amount of money in this primary is shocking, like tens of millions of dollars. Some of it appears to be APAC, but a lot of it seems to be more institutional interests as well.

5:56So it's like pro-corporate, all of these other influences which are in this state. The part that really stuck out to me was Gary Peters. Can we put D6 up here on the screen? He previously said he's a sitting senator. He's the person who she is running to replace. He previously had said that he was going to sit out of the entire primary. He's like, oh, whoever wins, we'll let him win. And it appears now that El-Sayed is coming at least within striking distance, it seems to be tied in the polls here with Haley Stevens, that he has come out and explicitly said, I'm all in for Haley Stevens. And even his announcement makes it clear that this Obama thing is part of their strategy.

6:36Quote, Haley began her service to Michigan as a critical part of our team as President Obama and I fought to save 200 ,000 jobs, rescuing and helping the auto industry come roaring back. I'm proud to have Haley was recognized as the most effective Michigan Democrat in Congress. So they are leaning heavily back on that auto bailout from 2010 to boost her chances in her previous association with Obama, the last Democrat really to win the state overwhelmingly, which shows part of the problems, I think, for the Democrats in terms of actually trying to turn this seat, you know, solidly blue this time around for Slotkin.

7:12I mean, she barely won. Biden won it, but it was close. It was very close. Slotkin won it, but it was fairly close. I think she might have outperformed Biden a little bit, actually. Because he lost. He lost the state of Michigan. She won. But didn't he? I think he won the state of Michigan. Did Biden say? Oh, man. While you're looking that up, there's another element of this. We didn't pull this particular screenshot. But at the same time, they're trying to suggest, like, oh, this is Obama's candidate. The UAW United Auto Workers have endorsed Abdul. And they're also, some of the super PACs backing Haley are also trying to suggest that she's the candidate of the auto workers, even though the actual auto workers endorsed her opponent.

7:49And the UAW actually had to issue a cease and desist to one of the super PACs that is backing them because they used the UAW's logo in election ads that were promoting a candidate not endorsed by the union. So this is the sort of tactics. And if Abdul loses, like, this ploy will have been successful. I think the other thing is it's a testament to how popular Obama remains in the party, that they feel that he is the best validator that she could possibly have, especially with black voters. I do think that his word continues to be very powerful in the party. He's still one of the most popular politicians, if not the most popular politician in the entire country.

8:26So even though I have my feelings about the disappointment of Obama, many other people do as well. Overall, broadly, among sort of normie voters, he still has a lot of popularity. This race also pits him de facto because of these quotes that Haley Stevens is pulling from the past versus Bernie Sanders, who actually did endorse Abdul and that Abdul has been featuring in his ads. Bernie Sanders being probably the second most popular politician in the entire country. So there's an interesting dynamic there as well. Bernie has always done really well in Michigan. That was back in 2016 when he was running against Hillary.

9:01That was sort of like his miracle comeback. He wins the state of Michigan. It seemed like maybe he had a shot at getting the whole thing. But so in any case, he has only grown in popularity in the state over time. Yeah. Trump did win Michigan. Barely. In 2020? Oh, no. Sorry. 2024. That's what I was talking about. First lock in because she won. Oh, OK. I got you. But in 2020, Biden won. OK. All right. We were talking about it. But it was actually very close. It was like two percent back in 2020. Whereas if you look at the 2016 or sorry, the 2012 and the 2008 margins, it's crazy how much Obama, how much Trump flipped the map overall.

9:37I do think, you know, to the Obama point, this is this is fascinating. I do not understand why this man still has so much affection in the Democratic Party. To me, it's all vibes based because, you know, empirically, he chose Hillary. She was a total disaster. He told Biden, who was still cognizant at that time, not to run, even though he might have been able actually to win the election whenever his brain was still not completely all mush. His legacy is the election of Donald Trump. And nobody can look back at the time period and say, well, even though we had all these nice vibes of hope and change, the fact that it was immediately, you know, that immediately was followed by the Trump era means things were not all hunky-dory.

10:21And yet, simply because I think he's rhetorically articulate and, you know, I guess, like, overperformed dramatically in 2008, that all these Democrats are just like, oh, I long for Obama. You know what I think it is? I think it's because— He was objectively a bad president. I think it's for a couple reasons. Obviously, I agree with your analysis, but if I have to put myself in the shoes of, like, why people have this nostalgic yearning for him, which in some sense I do kind of feel because he represents the pre-Trump era. So it's like when you think. You don't long for Obama. But I'm not trying to explain it like rationally.

10:58But in terms of people's sense of things. Right. Because I agree with you. The fact that Trump comes immediately after Obama is kind of an indictment of Obama. And nobody ever talks about that. But that is real. In any case, I think there's this sense of like politics were simpler. They were more aspirational. There's this kind of sense of the pre-Trump era that comes along with the feeling of what Obama was. And then you also have, like you said, very, very talented, very charming, funny. You know, he's got all the things and him being the historic first black president. You know, obviously that carries a lot of weight with a lot of people, but especially with black voters.

11:37And so you put all those pieces together. And even though it drives me crazy that he barely ever pops up and does politics at all, it's like when he wants to crush a left-wing insurgency, that's when he pipes up or does something behind the scenes, like when he made sure to line up all the ducks so that Joe Biden could get through ultimately and crush Bernie Sanders. even though that irritates me the fact that he has remained kind of above the fray and doesn't dive into every political issue of the day i think also gives him a bit of a halo with the population i think i kind of get it because i have this problem with a lot of republican friends they like worship reagan and i'm like guys like reagan was you know sure he was nice like he was you know he spoke well he was very charismatic the whole jelly beans thing but then when we look at the issues that they purport to care about from immigration or neoconservatives or tax policy i'm like what about this what about this what about this they're like oh i didn't really know any of that i'm like yeah it was really bad yeah i'm like why do we still have to worship ronald reagan the architect of the horrors that we're living through now like you can go back to reagan with almost everything yeah and so i'm like well i'm like why don't we worship nixon and they're like but nixon was bad i'm like well what about that you know i have to talk about environmental protection act that realism uh you know in terms of his relationship with big government, the post Eisenhower Republican, and a lot of them are like, oh yeah, it does seem like Nixon really aligns much more with my politics than Reagan.

13:02And yet they feel this immense affection for Reagan simply because he was deeply charismatic, which is kind of the ultimate problem, I think, with a lot of our politics. But yeah, if anything, my message to a lot of these Democrats, it's like Obama's hold on the boomer mind is unbelievable. Like the way that they worship the ground that he walks on. It's like if you look at the trajectory, even having lived through it, also having seen what came after, it's like he was not good at actually fulfilling any of the things that he wanted to do. Like from 2008, if you actually look at the overall record from the war, bailouts, everything was handled.

13:41He lost the House majority. Obamacare is a horrible product. Yeah, and that was the big signature item. Like when you think of Obama, you think of Obamacare, obviously. And I think at this point everybody knows that it was not enough, the problems with it, etc. But it'll be an interesting test to see if this works in Michigan. And it might. It honestly might. I will say they really – they tried a kind of similar playbook with Daria Lisa. Granted, New York City is very different. But they thought that her saying F Kamala Harris would be the killer blow for her. They sent out mailers, especially in there's a large black community in her district, went out to all those people, and it didn't work.

14:26She won black voters in the district. So it may be a new day for this stuff. And also there you had her directly criticizing Kamala Harris. Here the best they have with Abdul Syed is he one time said that Michelle Obama's move campaign was well-intentioned but ineffectual, which AIPAC is also— Objectively true. Which is true and has a public health professional. He understood the time and continues to understand. But in any case, they're running that as an ad also to try to be like, see, he doesn't even like Michelle Obama. So we'll see. We'll see if it works. There is he is getting dramatically outspent by.

15:02That's why we're covering it, because you shouldn't discount it is in that because I remember looking at his polling. He's wildly popular with young people, still neck and neck or underwater whenever it comes to seniors. And guess who votes? The median primary voter is like 55 years old. So this is the system that we have. That's part of the reason why he said we should freeze property tax. One of the most naked, disgusting political gambits I've ever seen. But everyone was like, oh, this fucker wants to win. So I guess that's what you need to win over seniors. He's got to win seniors, I guess.

15:34If he gets screwed over and even though he bent the knee to the old lobby, I will never let him live it down. All right, let's get to gambling. Where your story starts. The July savings event from Apple Vacations is here. Book by July 23rd and save up to$400 off your flight and hotel package to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, or Europe. From all-inclusive escapes to bucket list adventures, Apple Vacations makes it easy to create memories with the people who matter most. Start today at AppleVacations.com or contact your trusted travel advisor. Apple Vacations, where your story starts.

16:12Summer is here, which means we all want to look and feel our best. A GLP-1 may be right for you. Visit orderlymeds.com to learn more about which GLP-1 you could be eligible for. Getting started is fast, easy, and happens virtually through telemedicine from licensed professionals. Check it out for yourself. Go to orderlymeds.com slash podcast. That's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Taking care of yourself feels great. Comp out of medications are not FDA approved. Eligibility required and determined by a licensed provider. Individual results may vary. See website for details. The official language of football is trash talk, late night group chats, memes, and unbelievable highlight clips.

16:51That's why Boost Mobile brings you our new global connection plan. The first plan ever made for WhatsApp. Get unlimited data, talk and text, international roaming, and calls to over 100 countries for just$40 a month. The$40 price includes$5 a month auto pay discount. After 40 gigabytes of premium high-speed data, speeds will be lowered. Coverage not available everywhere. Visit store or boostmobile.com for details. Turning now to gambling, the Philadelphia Inquirer has come out with a new investigation involving a fan duel gambling whale named Terry Thompson, who is suing the company, saying that they enabled his gambling addiction.

17:27I've talked previously extensively about how these gambling companies have VIP hosts, which shower gifts, a.k.a. losses that are converted into making you feel better about yourself. And in one of these gifts, FanDuel's VIP host named Brittany reached out to the MLB star Bryce Harper and got him to record a video for the habitual gambler Terry Thompson, who eventually lost millions of dollars on the platform and had police had to come into his home to prevent him from committing suicide. So with all that being said, let's take a listen to the Philadelphia Inquirer's investigation into this. A personal video message from Bryce Harper arrived on the cell phone of a habitual sports bettor in November 2024.

18:09Hey, Terry, what's up, brother? Hey, man, your host, Brittany from FanDuel. Wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special. A Montgomery County resident named Terry Thompson lost$1.5 million on bets with FanDuel Sportsbook during the last six years. In February, Terry was diagnosed with a gambling addiction. While Thompson gambled away his family's life savings, he allegedly heard often from FanDuel employees. In a recently filed lawsuit, Thompson's attorneys allege that a FanDuel VIP employee enticed him to place more bets by giving him exclusive rewards like a$500 bottle of champagne and tickets to two Super Bowls.

18:45The video from Harper, the face of the Phillies and a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, was another reward. In March, attorneys for the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed a lawsuit on Terry Thompson's behalf against FanDuel and DraftKings. By then, Thompson was in deep financial ruin. He couldn't bear to tell his family the scope of his losses, so he texted his therapist and indicated that he was planning to take his life. Thompson is now undergoing treatment for gambling addiction. So, you could see, Crystal, from that video. Bryce said, hey, your host from FanDuel, Brittany, wanted to make sure that you had a great Thanksgiving.

19:21Obviously, this ignited a lot of questions because Bryce Harper, by the way, is supposedly a devout Mormon, which is, you know, OK, so it's supposed to be against gambling. Right. We also know that the MLB is currently locked in some controversy with the gambling companies because of advertising deals. There has been a lot of consternation about the players themselves and their relationship with gambling companies. And initially, there was a lot of speculation. Did Bryce Harper have some sort of secret deal with FanDuel? Harper, by the way, has come out with a statement denying all of this. Here's his total response.

19:57He says, I did not know FanDuel would do this. I did not consent to it. FanDuel had no right to do it. What he says is that an individual named Britney paid the$899 fee for his personal videos on Cameo and that they were given through the personal section as a holiday video for Terry. He claims Cameo has a separate category for business video requests. At the time, I did not know this video would be used for commercial purposes. The request included a short script. I read it in good faith. And he says, again, I had no idea FanDuel would do this. I did not consent to it. Here's the problem for Mr.

20:33Harper. Here's the script, by his own admission, which he posts there. Here's a script that Brittany reached out to him. Hey, Terry, your host Brittany from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special. So I just wanted to hop on and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Tell blank son I said hello. Can add his own personal touches to the above as well. It strains credulity that Bryce would say, I had no idea that FanDuel would do this. And look, maybe if you know absolutely nothing about gambling, you can say, I didn't know what a FanDuel host was. Bryce Harper, I can virtually certain, knows at least a little bit about sports gambling just from engaging with sports media and others.

21:16Most people, like myself, who are familiar with the gambling industry, know that host from FanDuel is a well-known thing, like a casino host. Basically, what they do is they encourage ultra-rich people to gamble on the platform. And in exchange, they shower you again with gifts, which are just ways to make you feel better. Also, as the Philadelphia Inquirer video showed you, I mean, scumbag behavior. Hey, Terry, you hit a big one. You're on a roll. You're due for a win. You're due, Harry. That's why you need to deposit even more money in these programs. They give you free tickets. Again, it's not free.

21:49You probably paid for it many times over in terms of your overall losses. I think what this highlights to me, first of all, why is a guy worth hundreds of millions of dollars doing$900 videos on Cameo? Sorry, that's weird. All right? What's up with that? Number two, you know, his defense basically is, I'm an idiot. I read the script verbatim, and I didn't know that it was going to be from FanDuel. Okay? If we want to go with that in terms of the I have a low IQ defense. And then tertiary, I think, and probably the biggest one, this is the lengths that these companies go to to keep these whales addicted.

22:24Yeah. How, I mean, can you imagine, because I was tweeting a lot about this. By the way, the Phillies fans are all furious with me over it, saying I'm unjustly going after Bryce Harper. And I'm curious for your reaction. Somebody said, why don't you go after Peyton Manning for doing Bud Light commercials? And I'm like, because by that logic, he is just as guilty. This is the equivalent of Bud Light finding its top alcoholics, getting Peyton Manning to record a personal video for them, and that alcoholic nearly dying of a sclerotic liver and then money being exchanged hands in between. That is how scummy this behavior is.

23:04It's totally normalized and worse, it is totally legal. Cigarette companies do not contact their top smokers and say, thank you so much for smoking. Here's some free stuff. You gotta keep smoking. Hey, haven't ripped a few darts today, Terry. You gotta rip a few more. Why don't you go at? But it's the only industry where this is normalized, and it's all because this is the way they make money. The Terrys of the world make up the vast majority of their products. Yes, correct. That's the biggest problem. Yeah. I mean, in a sense, the people who are saying, why don't you go after Peyton Manning or whoever for their Bud Light commercials, they do have a bit of a point that it is gross.

23:42Oh, by the way. I wouldn't do a Bud Light commercial, you know? By the way, you know what's funny? I remember Cameo reached out to us five years ago, and we were like, why? No. Right. Yeah, it's like, I'm not going to charge people for a personal video. I will never understand these people. This man is so wealthy and you're doing this penny ante bullshit for, you know, to fuel someone's gambling addiction. That's very I will never, never understand that. But it is true that we have created this climate of commercialization that it is anything that you can slap your likeness on a financial product or something addictive like Bud Light or alcohol or cigarettes or gambling or whatever.

24:21And it has been sort of normalized. So then when someone like Bryce Harper gets this FanDuel script, he doesn't think anything of it because this is especially in sports. Gambling has become so intertwined in every aspect of it that he probably didn't like he didn't even blink. It's like, all right, FanDuel host. Sure. Why not? Here we go. I'm just ripping through these videos on Cameo for whatever reason. I'm trying to earn my extra thousand dollars on top of my massive multimillion dollar salary. So in a sense, I actually think that they do have a point. We probably should be going after Peyton Manning also for his Bud Light deals or whatever, because it is gross.

25:01And I know you've pointed out, there is another way. Kylian Mbappe has showed us that you can actually be a prominent athlete and have some sort of standards here. He has refused to put his likeness associated with any sort of gambling product. He says sports betting is destructive. It's ruined the lives of some people I know. That's why I refuse to appear in sports betting advertisements. Many of us come from the suburbs. It destroys the lives of countless people there. And this is one of the top footballers in the world, France's top player. And he's drawn a line in the sand around this. And you were saying also around fast food, which is interesting as well, which is also an addictive product.

25:43So I encourage prominent people to have more standards for themselves. And that is the whole reason I want to do this segment. everybody knows FanDuel and DraftKings are scum, okay? And I have extensively detailed multiple segments and monologues here of how many times they've done this to the Terrys of the world. By the way, you read the lawsuit, it's heartbreaking. Terry had never placed a bet in his life before the year 2020, and by 2026, he's broke and nearly committed suicide. Lost his house, lost his entire life savings. So I'm sorry, if you're complicit in that, you're a piece of shit, in my opinion.