Trump LOSES IT over midterm convention attendance

0:01Brian Tyler Cohen:Trump does not react well when confronted about poor attendance at his midterm convention. And I'm joined by the future governor of California, Javier Becerra, and Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. So Trump was asked about Republicans bailing on his big midterm convention. Here's how that went. And Mr. President, several Republicans in competitive races are not coming to the convention. Do you understand why they're deciding not to come? The President, everybody that's coming to the convention. Everybody wants to come, but we only want, and the people that are coming.

0:34By the way, we're going to be sold out tonight, just so you understand. Who are you with? ABC News, sir. ABC Fake News. One of the worst. You are the worst of all, in my opinion. The reason that some people are not coming is because we don't have room for 500 politicians. We have room for the ones that have a close race, if they're slightly behind or slightly ahead or tied. but we don't have rooms for people that are 35 points up and don't need to be there. We said stay back and campaign. Every politician that we've wanted to be there is there.

1:06Brian Tyler Cohen:Seems like somebody struck a nerve. That's right. Everybody Trump wanted at this convention is going to be there and not a person extra because there's simply no room, as was evidenced by all of those videos with tons of empty seats. But anyway, back on Earth One, here is the reality. Political reported on this. Turns out that out of the 70 Republican candidates and sitting members who were specifically asked about attending, 45 either said no outright or that they were considering, which translated from political speak means no. AP covered this as well. By their count, more than 100 House Republicans were not expected to make the trip, with only about 100 planning to actually attend the full conference.

1:45Brian Tyler Cohen:Not great when attendance at rallies is kind of your thing. As for the reasons, first, there is the price tag. attendees were asked for a donation of$25 ,000 just for the privilege of walking in the door. Look, these aren't fundraising juggernauts. A lot of these Republican candidates have to scrape for every single dollar. Trump, meanwhile, has half a billion dollars sitting in his account, and yet these candidates are expected to pay 25 grand while Trump hoards his cash, which sounds about right. Second, and more importantly, there is the electoral aspect of things. A lot of these Republicans are sitting in competitive districts, thanks to Trump, heading into a brutal midterm environment.

2:23Brian Tyler Cohen:And spending two days in Dallas at a Trump love fest means two days not knocking on doors, not doing local press, not doing the work to actually win tight races. When you are fighting for your political life in a swing district, a convention floor in Dallas is not where the votes are. But the biggest reason is that this convention was always going to be a Trump worship fest. And Trump is dragging down anybody standing right next to him. Donald Trump's own RNC is not going to put on an event where it's anything other than that. So anybody who goes is basically telling their voters, signaling to their voters, this is where my allegiance lies.

2:58Brian Tyler Cohen:I am in Dallas, genuflecting at the altar of Trump instead of talking to you. You don't show up at Trump Fest and then get to show up in your district and try to distance yourself from that very guy. You don't get to have it both ways. But of course, Trump doesn't care about any of that because it's not about anybody else. This is about him. And if you dare question him about who's not attending, then he'll lash out because at the end of the day, this is all about his ego. I mean, the guy went nuclear on an ABC News reporter for daring question him about that objective fact that Republicans aren't showing up to the convention, which only further proves my point that this guy's ego is so overbearing the same way he can't handle that question.

3:39Brian Tyler Cohen:He also can't handle the prospect of anybody in his party not directly linking themselves back to him seven weeks before midterms. He may be an anchor around all their necks, but he is going to make damn sure they all feel the weight of it. Next up are my interviews with Javier Becerra and Tommy Vitor. No Lie is brought to you by SimpliSafe. When your home is under threat, you need more than a recording of a break-in. The video is all well and good, but I assume what's more important is preventing that break-in from happening in the first place. SimpliSafe stops break-ins before they start. When a burglar steps onto your property, AI-powered cameras alert live US-based agents who take action to deter them and call for police dispatch.

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4:57Brian Tyler Cohen:Right now you can get 50 % off a new simply safe system. Go to simply safe.com slash BTC. That's simply safe.com slash BTC for 50 % off. And when you order, please write in no lie in the, how did you hear about us section to let them know that we sent you. Don't forget, there's no safe like simply safe. We have a tacit admission here that Donald Trump's midterm convention is toxic. I'm joined now by the next governor of California, Javier Becerra. Can you talk about these California Republicans who've decided not to go to this midterm convention in Dallas? Ryan, I think California Republicans are finding where there is a place where they can go because anywhere Trump goes is going to be toxic.

5:39And so at this stage, right now, I think probably the best place for them is some black hole underneath the ground.

5:46Brian Tyler Cohen:You know, there is also the added fact that Donald Trump is making these Republicans pay their way into this convention. And I just think it's ironic that a lot of these people have a little bit of trouble earning or raising money, certainly can't get as much earned media as he can. He's sitting on half a billion dollars and yet is forcing these Republicans to pay anywhere between$25 ,000 to$100 ,000 just for the privilege of walking into that door so that he can tie themselves to them, these candidates, with his 33 % approval rating just a few weeks before midterms. It's like wanting to be tied to an anchor right before you jump into the water, right?

6:28Yeah.

6:29Brian Tyler Cohen:We'll put that to the side, but we actually do have some legitimate issues that we're with by these Trump aligned Republicans right here in the state of California. So can you give a lay of the land of what Prop 39 is? Because voters are going to have to contend with that as we head to the polls just a few weeks from now. Well, it goes along with what we just finished talking about, Brian, the fact that Donald Trump and his politics are toxic. His agenda is toxic. He's trying to go after all immigrant families. He's trying to make it harder for us to have access to health care. He's making it very difficult for us to feel like this is an inclusive society.

7:03All of that is forcing Republicans to make choices. Do they want to be with Trump or not? And Trump is trying to make it so that they can win. The only way they can win is to not have us all vote because they know if we're all voting, we're not going to vote for that Trump agenda. So right now, there's an initiative, Prop 39, on the ballot that would make it tougher for Californians to vote. It would require you to identify one of your forms of identification, whether it's your driver's license, maybe it's your passport, maybe it's your student identification. Whatever you use to register to vote, you would have to now be able to put that identification number, at least the last digits of it, on your envelope when you go vote by mail.

7:44And so for a lot of folks who are very concerned about privacy, about identity theft, this is the last thing you want to be doing. At the same time, he's trying to intimidate all those new voters. So people like my mom, a naturalized citizen, he wants to make it so that you fear going to vote. He's going to try to intimidate you. So Prop 39 puts up all those boogeymen out there telling people why you should not vote. And what we want to tell them is just the opposite. Please go out and vote. Defeat measures like Prop 39 that Donald Trump depends on to keep you from exercising your democratic right to vote.

8:18Brian Tyler Cohen:You know, this is all predicated on this idea that Republicans have been perpetuating for years that there is rampant or widespread voter fraud. Can you speak about the existence of actual widespread voter fraud that would supposedly warrant all of these steps? Well, we can't actually speak about widespread voter fraud because there's not widespread voter fraud. That's why Donald Trump has never been able to prove that the 2020 election was a hoax that he really won. We all know what the votes showed. And unfortunately, Donald Trump has never admitted that. Republicans don't admit it. And so what they're trying to do is make it very difficult for all of the rest of us to vote by saying that there's actual voter fraud.

9:03And so we just have to defeat that type of politics that tries to exclude, tries to intimidate. And if we can just get out and vote, vote against Prop 39, we will defeat that type of agenda that Donald Trump has been espousing since he got into office.

9:19Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, you know, I think the ultimate irony of this is Republicans would not have to do this. They wouldn't have to put all of their chips in the let's change the election rules basket five minutes before an election if they were actually able to run on their agenda. And they've got full control of government. So presumably with no Democrats to have gummed up the works, they would be able to run on all of the things that they had campaigned on because they have the House, the Senate and the White House. And yet costs are higher. The Epstein files still aren't released. We have a brand new war in the Middle East.

9:50Brian Tyler Cohen:And so and so it kind of puts on full display that they were perfectly content to lie to their voters in the lead up to the election. and now because they know that they're going to be held accountable by those very voters, knowing that they can't win on the merits, they have to just change the rules of the game to benefit themselves. Yeah, it's one of those situations where Donald Trump and Republicans understand that this is a referendum on their leadership. They understand that Donald Trump is on the ballot and they don't want you to know that. And if they can't keep you from voting, they're going to force you not to vote with propositions like Prop 39, which would make it very difficult, much harder for you to vote.

10:27So they recognize that they are on the ballot, that Donald Trump is on the ballot, that this is a referendum on their leadership, and they know what the outcome will be. And so they're doing everything they can to keep people from voting.

10:38Brian Tyler Cohen:Right. And by the way, before anybody sheds a tear for these Republicans, they have had years to distance themselves from him, to show that they're a co-week-old branch of government, to exercise their own autonomy. And every step of the way, they've contracted that autonomy over to the executive branch. and they did it when the trade war happened, didn't say a word. They did it when the Iran war happened, didn't say a word. They're still doing it to demand the release of the outstanding three million files in the Epstein files. So every step of the way, they've shown this president that they're not willing to act as a co-equal branch of government.

11:12Brian Tyler Cohen:And so now when the election is a referendum on him and he's become so emboldened to just run away with his unpopular agenda, of course they're going to bear the consequences of that because they had the ability to step in and chose not to. Yeah, they've resorted to scaring voters, intimidating voters, lying to voters, trying to keep voters away from the polls, because that's about the only way that they can get a vote that they want. And by keeping you from voting, it makes it so that if anyone that wants to vote for them becomes a more powerful vote. The more we get out and vote, the more people who don't like this agenda of exclusion, of lying, of recklessness, the more the chance that we're going to defeat that referendum, excuse me, that agenda that Donald Trump has put forward.

12:01So I would just encourage folks, get out there, exercise your vote. That's your power. We don't have the kind of money Donald Trump has. We don't have the recklessness and the law-breaking nature that Donald Trump has. We can do this the right way. We can do it the authentic way by getting out and voting. And so really encourage everyone to don't let the noise of Donald Trump, don't let the attacks of Donald Trump keep you from exercising your power, your vote. And let's show him on November 3rd. We see exactly what he is, what he's done. And by the way, we see exactly who all his cronies, his sycophants are who go with him and now are trying to avoid him desperately.

12:43Brian Tyler Cohen:Okay, so I want to finish off with one more issue that is something I've been focused on for years and years and years. As you know, I'm coming to you from Los Angeles. I've lived here for 15 years, moved here for the film and TV industry, and I still advocate as much as I can for this industry. We are now facing the prospect of a nationwide TV and film tax credit. So can you speak about that issue and whether you'd like to see that happen? And if you've been a party to any of the conversations that are happening right now? Yeah, we've got to fight fire with fire. Right now, countries around the world are trying to steal our industry, our entertainment industry, TV and movie industry, because they know that it's lucrative.

13:32There are good paying jobs. It creates a ripple effect in the job market. Somebody's got to feed all those workers and actors. Someone's got to create all the costumes. Someone has to build the sets. The entertainment industry creates a lot of economic activity, a lot of good paying jobs. And there are countries who are doing everything they can to steal that industry from us. trying to undercut us in terms of what the cost would be for a production. And so we have to fight back. And the best way to fight back is to make sure nationally we do exactly what the other countries are doing. If they're going to try to say, well, we'll give you a break if you come and shoot here, we're going to say, no, we're going to make sure that you can match whatever they're trying to do so we can be competitive and keep Hollywood in America and make sure that the production that people around the world are anxious to see and enjoy originates in the U.S.

14:30and here, of course, in Los Angeles, in Hollywood.

14:32Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, I want to take you on on the second part of that. As I said, you're going to be the governor of California. You made the case that I was going to make to you, which is all of the ripple effects that it'll have. Look, the entertainment industry here in Los Angeles is the economic engine of the state. And we have watched as we have lost this industry to New Jersey, to New York, to Georgia, to New Mexico, to New Orleans, in Louisiana. And so all across the country, they've been able to offer better film and TV tax credits than California has. Finally, California offered$750 million, which is certainly a step up from where we were before.

15:14Brian Tyler Cohen:But it's not good enough. And we're still losing jobs to other states. If I'm not mistaken, Georgia still has a better tax credit. And so something I've been advocating for is an uncapped tax credit. Again, I don't have to make the argument to you because you just made it to the audience about all of the virtues that a thriving film industry is going to have and the downstream effects that it has on the economy. We also know that for every dollar of tax credit that's offered, it brings in more than a dollar into the local economy. And so is there a world where you would be supportive of an uncapped tax credit when you become governor of California?

15:51There could be such a world, Brian, because we have to go punch for punch, punch, counterpunch, make sure that when we step into the ring to fight for our entertainment industry, that we're fighting to keep it not just in America, but to your point in California, in Los Angeles. Because as you said, the competition, the folks who are trying to steal that industry, while we know it's around the world, it's also in America. And maybe it's a little friendlier competition with our friends in Georgia or New Jersey, but it's still competition. And we want to keep Hollywood in Hollywood. So we will go punch for punch.

16:23We'll make sure that Californians understand why it's so important to keep this industry here, because it's not just jobs, but it's also iconic to have Hollywood in Hollywood. would.

16:35Brian Tyler Cohen:So what would you be looking for in terms of a commitment for an uncapped tax credit so that that could become a reality? It's got to make it work. I got to see the numbers. We have to make sure that what we're doing is beneficial to not just the industry, to the Californians as well, because what we're asking Californians to do is give us a chance through our taxpayer dollars to make sure our industry is competitive. And so we just got to make sure that we can pencil it all out. We can do the math. And what we're doing is not just protecting an industry, but we're creating, we're generating economic activity in California that will benefit our taxpayers.

17:11Brian Tyler Cohen:All right. Well, we will, of course, continue this conversation because as Governor Newsom can tell you and every other California official, I have been and will continue to be a bug up the ass of everybody in a position of power in California that can make this happen. So we'll leave it there. Thank you so much for taking the time. For folks who are looking to donate to your campaign. I'm going to put a link in the show notes of this episode. And again, thank you for taking the time today. Brian, good to be with you again.

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18:48Brian Tyler Cohen:So let's eat real. Head to factormeals.com slash BTC50 off and use code BTC50 off to get 50 % off and one free breakfast item per box for one year while supplies last until 1031-26. That's code BTC50 off at Factormeals.com. BTC50 off at Factormeals.com. I don't know that we could have worse news for Trump and Republicans ahead of this big midterm convention. Take a look at this clip. You know, this idea is so ill-conceived. You can just see it by the fact that they're doing it when the football season is starting. Who does that? My God. 60 % of Democrats are extremely motivated to vote. 59 % of that hardcore Trump-based MAGA Republicans, 59 % of them, the same as the Dems.

19:32The ones who are not motivated to vote are the non-MAGA Republicans, the people who are far less likely to approve of Donald Trump, the people who think that Donald Trump's Republican Party probably should be the end of it. That's where the problem is. It's like, oh, let's focus in on Donald Trump. But in fact, the people who are the least motivated to vote are the folks who are the most likely within the Republican Party to disapprove of Donald Trump. So no, it is not, in fact, the hardcore Republican base that needs that motivation. It is other folks at this convention simply won't be reaching because they'll probably be watching football like most Americans.

20:05Brian Tyler Cohen:All right. So, Tommy, that was Harry Anton laying out a litany of reasons as to why this is not such a great idea to do as we head into this midterm cycle, least among them, because Donald Trump's big Trump worship fest is going to be going up against the NFL, which one would think as a marketing genius, he would know better than to do. Why do you think it was so important for him to do this regardless, knowing that he's going up against the NFL season opener? Patriots versus Seattle. OK, the New England Patriots, not just the NFL, the New England Patriots. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Knowing that he's going up against the season opener of a couple of low rate teams.

20:47Brian Tyler Cohen:Well, no, the Seahawks are there. Knowing that a lot of Republicans want to distance themselves from this guy as we head into midterms and he's got a 30 some odd percent approval rating. Why was it so important for him to engage in this anyway? Because he is the world's biggest narcissist. By the way, it's nice to see you with a shirt on. It's been a while. Yeah. I hope things are well.

21:09We'll get to that in a minute. We're going to get to that. Yeah. He's the world's biggest narcissist. Brian, yesterday he did an event that was about 9-11 and honoring the victims. And he was telling a story about this guy named Wells Crowther who saved 18 people in the South Tower on Ground Zero. And Trump couldn't just talk about his heroism. He had to make a quip about how Wells is more famous than him. And that makes Trump mad. He makes everything about himself. He's a narcissist. It's a pathological thing. So it's knowing that his approval rating is in the toilet, he has to hold a midterm convention anyway.

21:45Knowing that his approval rating is in the toilet, all of the ads are apparently going to feature Donald Trump and just be about his accomplishments. Yeah. The guy is sitting on, what,$400 million in his super PAC? He's not going to spend a penny because that money doesn't really benefit him. I think, like, Trump just doesn't care about the Republican Party. He doesn't care about elections. He cares about, I guess, like, you know, interior design. Yeah. Apparently stone.