Bill Gates Issues AI Warning

0:00Hey, everybody. It's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically, it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday. So subscribe, please, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Whoever says saving money is hard doesn't know that new customers who bundle and save with Progressive save hundreds. Because switching your home and auto insurance is better than cutting down on the things you love.

0:44Like those iced lattes that help you get ready to face the day. So switch your home and auto to Progressive and see if you could save. And keep sipping away. Get your quote today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers. Not available in all states. Welcome to The Beat. We have a big show. There is more and more discernible panic among Republicans about how these midterms are looking. Trump has a polling crash. The unpopular war grinds on. The high prices are getting to the point that, believe it or not, Republicans sometimes mention them in their fundraising emails, basically saying, we know how bad it is under our watch.

1:23And now I'm going to show you this. the top Republican in Congress, House Speaker Johnson, basically trying to do what we've seen happen in so many political things when you're kind of losing or before the debates, when they're always trying to work the odds. Well, the Speaker is basically admitting that they're bracing for loss and trying to put it in historical odds of the steep, steep hill they have. We have to win the midterm. Now, we have to defy history to do it. It's only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president has picked up seats for his party in that first two year cycle. Why bring that up?

2:02I mean, you don't usually talk about the fact that what you're trying to get people to do is unlikely to happen or virtually impossible or whatever point he's going at. But remember, these folks don't want to upset the notoriously sensitive president we have in the Republican Party. They try to avoid having those scuffles. That might just be their political survival. And yet they are already looking past November, where apparently they expect a loss and looking past what might be the lame duck era of Trump and then beyond him. And so they're trying to say, hey, this will be normal if we lose. That's just the normal course of history.

2:36And so if you want a kind of a history version of a fact check, it's true. The president's party loses House seats in 20 of the past 22 midterm cycles. right? That's the off-year cycle. So if you count it that way, he is right about that factoid going all the way back to 1938. And yet there is something beyond just, oh, sometimes the incumbent usually loses, right? That's kind of the history. What we are looking at is not a normal potential correction. Even right now, regardless of what happens in November, we know that the job approval of this president is worse than most second-term presidents.

3:14Polling now shows Dems have an 18-point advantage among women. Among white women, 47 to 39, Republicans won that demographic in the last two cycles. So that's just some of the mood music, including in people who are part of the coalition. And then you have this reporting about Trump's hold in the Republican Party, basically is now a formal liability. The New York Times is just a straight objective news section analysis saying, yeah, Republicans are caught in a bind with Trump because he's so unpopular. And that message has left the pages of The New York Times and also kind of interacted with some of what you'll hear on Fox.

3:53We're 10 weeks out from today from the midterms. I think Republicans are kind of whistling past the graveyard on some of these Senate seats that they thought were safe. We got to kick it into gear over these next 10 weeks or we're looking at not only losing the House, but losing the Senate as well. Paxton in Texas. I don't even see him campaigning at all. Is he campaigning? I think there are a number of states that Republicans better get better get their act together. Get their blank together. You're listening to the sound of Fox News talking about Republicans potentially losing Texas. There's growing concern in the White House that inflation could doom Republican prospects in November.

4:26That's how Politico looks at it. You've got a new kind of revived Canada trade war that no one asked for, which is the opposite of the inflation messaging that Republicans want to give. They wanted to argue, hey, I know it's bad, but things are going to get better. They're getting better. That's hard to do when the president is picking these fights that fuel a rising cost of everything from toilet paper to the already punishing gas prices. Trump, what's he doing? Fixating on the vanity projects, naming bodies of water. This is new, he wants to sign an order here that will, he says, rename Lake Ontario to Lake America Whether anybody in the real world around that lake starts to reuse, use a different name or not Again, speaks to the limits of the powers of this lame duck sitting at his desk Worrying about renaming things instead of even pretending to do something about this economic crisis I want to bring in Josh Marshall, founder and editor of Talking Points Memo, and Jason Johnson, politics professor with Morgan State University, MSNOW analyst.

5:33Josh, you know, sometimes you'll see a headline on Facebook, and even if you have good media literacy and you kind of know that's not a factual source, you go, I wonder, is that true? I'm on the news, so I won't give a hypothetical, but sometimes you see those headlines, you go, that can't be right. That's what Donald Trump's messaging has been like all week. petty self-focus, renaming things, the kind of headlines where you'd say, oh, that's a Trump critic saying that that's what he's like. And yet that's what he's like right now, Josh. Yeah. You know, I've sort of been wondering for a while, how much is Trump worried about the midterms?

6:10Because he seems pretty worried about them. He telegraphs that he's worried, you know, kind of all of this energy. And yet what he does, he's not doing any of the things. Now, let's be clear. It's not like he could just like flip a few switches and suddenly he's winning. He's there in a bad situation for the historical reasons, all that kind of stuff. But he's not doing the things that could sort of like decrease the velocity of impact, for lack of a better word. And I think that's because over the last 20 months or so, he is just so cocooned. He's so cocooned. He is so surrounded by yes men even more than than he was in his first term.

6:49And he's older. He's older than he was in 2017. And all of those things combined, I think it's kind of both. I think he's both very worried about it. And at the same time, he just lacks the dexterity and canniness that he used to have that let him kind of pivot and kind of help himself. And I he cannot get out of that mad king mode. And I think that's why this new line kind of like the Republicans messed up, you know, he's going back 10 years or eight years, you know, whatever, to when he wasn't synonymous with the Republican Party, that the Republican Party wasn't a like an appliance that he owns and is in his kitchen or something like that.

7:36But that brings it all together because because that sort of squares the circle for him. Yes, he may not be able to help himself, but he at least knows who to blame. And that is, that's a bit of a problem for Republicans running, you know, who are actually running, because that suggests a lot of turbulence that may come up pretty soon. Well, you know who agrees with you, Josh, is the Manitoba province premier. Viewers of this program know there's not a day that goes, yeah, well, there's not a day that goes by that I don't reach to that province. I'm kidding, but we have this little scuffle with Canada, and they're known to be pretty nice.

8:15Even their politicians and diplomats definitely have a little more decorum than we do down here. But this is a clip we have from the premiere of that province. You know when like a rock band is really over the hill and you see them like in a casino playing some song from like 50 years ago, I think that's the part of Donald Trump's presidency we're at now. Josh? You know, he called it. And, you know, as many terrible things are happening in the world right now, and as much as we are collectively as a nation ambushing Canada, which has been our friend and a kind of a neighbor for so long, It's really a disgrace for the entire country, what is happening.

9:08For all that, Donald Trump has the stench of defeat about him right now. He looks pathetic, and he's even looking pathetic to people who are inclined to like him. And, you know, that's sort of a small recompense. But, you know, we can be united across the border, goofing on this ridiculous person who's living in the White House. Jason? I think we had friendly relations with Canada for a long time. I don't know if this started with Drake and Kendrick, but now it's turned into this like heated rivalry between our countries. Now people are taking shots back and forth. And that's not what we used to have to think about, right?

9:49We're used to politicians maybe being critical of our neighbors to the south, but not to the north. I think the larger issue here, and Mike Johnson exemplifies this, and Trump exemplifies this, when you're explaining you're losing, right? When Mike Johnson has to give a sixth grade history lesson to make everybody feel better, you know things are going to go badly. And Trump has been sort of preparing. He's kind of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's like, well, let me name this and let me change the curtains because he's prepared for his shaggy defense. When the Republicans lose this fall, he's going to say it wasn't me.

10:18It was them. They didn't listen to me. If they had stuck closer to me, we would win. And that's what he's always done. And Ari, it's not just that it's bad for branding. It's not just that he's unpopular. This is affecting fundraising. Right. It's not just a bad economy. People don't want to give money to Republican candidates who are too closely aligned with Trump because they think they're not going to get a return on their investment. So this is a huge issue this fall. I think in some places like Texas, you're seeing Democrats begin to take advantage of it in the polls. Yeah. And you mentioned, I mean, Johnson's saying that in politics where we're used to so much bravado and overstatement and the effort to look strong and have momentum, they say power is perception.

10:57whatever those schools of thought are you can go to Kissinger 48 laws of power Robert Greene right people who are trying to look powerful they don't say and do things where someone else can kind of correct them or say no to them and and it's a lot of it is power games it's why in a lot of offices people get annoyed with the folks who seem to be obsessed with that well that's DC and so in that context Jason the Mike Johnson instead of doing that going you know we're probably going to lose because this is a situation where we lose, tells you how much he is assuming a loss. Anything could happen.

11:31And in the news, it's also important that we always tell people it's up to you. Don't think that, oh, it's all been decided, so you shouldn't participate. I think that's a big problem with certain media. But that's how he's acting. And then I want to show you J.D. Vance or whoever writes for J.D. Vance in the system. But what they put out under his name is this RNC fundraising. Amazing. You mentioned this field and it says, hey, look, if you can't give right now, don't. They drop in the auto, you know, name. Groceries cost what they cost. But then the pitch goes on. Can you answer this with the link from J.D.

12:05Vance? What does it tell you that they feel this is their best case? Because without acknowledging that, when you get it in a text or an email, Jason, and you are on the RNC list, so for whatever reason you voted for them before, you're still a candidate to be really angry without that disclaimer. It's a shame that we're 80 something days out from the election. And the first time the Republican Party can acknowledge the affordability crisis is when they're begging you for cash. Right. Like that's how bad things are for them. This is the first time they've actually acknowledged it's the case. It's like, can you lend me$5?

12:38But here's the thing, Ari. Every time you send out that kind of a message, that reminds people of how they've been getting gaslit for the last 8 to 10 months. So it makes it all the more difficult. And here's the thing. Fundraising isn't an automatic guarantee of your success in an election. But fundraising does need to be an indicator of enthusiasm. And I'll let you finish. But Jason, I've heard the price of even gaslighting has gone up. This is true. It's too expensive to gaslight anymore, right? That's literally what the Republicans are facing. So this is indicative. And I will say this. When I look at the polls in Texas, when I look at what's happening in South Carolina, there are states that are in conversation now that were not in conversation two months ago.

13:23People were not talking about Iowa two months ago. And now it's like, wait, wait, Texas might really be a thing. And then Maine might really be a thing. So, yeah, this is a real possibility of a change in power. And if we're only a week out from Labor Day, most of these attitudes are going to be locked in by next weekend. Yeah, and we showed it on Fox. I mean, when you hear, say, you know, a Democratic booster or candidate say, oh, this year, Texas is going to be different. You kind of have to measure that against the evidence. when you hear Fox News panicking about Texas, you get the feeling something's shifted.

13:55And Josh, you mentioned that Trump, to your view, seems off message. He doesn't know where he's at. He thinks it works to blame the R's like he did in 2015 as a rebel. He's not a rebel. This quote, I don't think the GOP fully grasped how badly they're effing up right now, is something he shared for whatever reason. And I'm going to show the White House response to that when we're back together in 90 seconds.

14:23Hey, everybody. It's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically, it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday. So subscribe, please, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Ever notice how life's best stories don't happen in your living room? They happen on the open road, out on the water, or parked under the stars.

15:05At Progressive, they get that you want to focus on the experience, not worry about the what-ifs. That's why they offer quality insurance designed for your ride, whether that's a boat, RV, or motorcycle. Adventure with confidence. Visit Progressive.com and see how easy it is to protect your favorite way to get away. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Not available in D.C. Prices vary based on how you buy. Here's what happened when one journalist reported on DEI programs. I decided to just focus on the University of Michigan. I obtained internal documents that showed that the school had spent about a quarter of a billion dollars on DEI programs.

15:42I spent two weeks in Ann Arbor talking to everybody I could find. The unintended consequences of these programs, they had sort of left everybody dissatisfied. And this expensive machinery the school had built just imploded. If you're a journalist, you are not on anyone's team. All you're trying to do is figure out as many of the facts as you can gather. The facts are going to guide you to where the story lands. You're not taking sides. I'm Nick Confessori. I'm an investigations reporter for The New York Times. Journalists like Nick follow the facts wherever they lead. They go where news breaks, get answers firsthand, and publish what they find.

16:21That's fact-based reporting. Seek it out if you don't already.

16:29We're back with Jason and Josh. Josh, take a look at this moment at the White House. Yesterday, the president, he amplified a post on social media that said, I don't think the GOP fully grasped how badly they're effing up right now. He has previously said that some voters don't seem to like Republicans, but they do still like him. But at this point, is the president washing his hands of Republicans in early November? President is wholeheartedly committed to helping Republicans across the board retain the majority. Josh. Yeah, I mean, you know, there's we have a piece up right now at TalkingPointsMemo.com that, you know, people know that like hot dog suit meme, right, where the guy says we're all trying to get to the bottom of who did this thing.

17:19That's kind of where Trump is now. We're all trying to get to the bottom of who did this, why we're having a hard time with the midterms. And, you know, a leader needs to seem powerful, as you were saying before. That's especially in our kind of modern performative politics. They can't seem weak. But what is even worse is when you seem ridiculous. And I think when he does this, he's seeming ridiculous because it is his brand that he owns the Republican Party. The Republican Party is merely an extension of him. So this is absurd. And they're but they're they're the Republicans are paying a price for this because, you know, if anything, they're more they are more popular than he is.

17:56Right. And normally in a situation like this, it with a semi normal president, the White House will give people a long leash like, hey, we know you've got to get some distance and like we need you next year. So it's fine. But Mike Johnson and all these people know that is not acceptable. So they don't have one of the, you know, one of the points of flexibility that at least, you know, gives you something to work with. I don't totally agree with him or something like that. So it's, you know, be glad you're not a Republican candidate for Congress. Were you doing the hot dog meme and Godfather? No, just on this one, we're working with the hot dog meme.

18:41We'll come back with the Godfather. Yeah, because when you said, well, you said ridiculous, you know, it says Johnny Fantano made me look ridiculous and a man in my position did not be made to look ridiculous. So I'm thinking of that. It's true. That's what we do around here. We mix and match. We had some shaggy from Jason earlier. Whatever it takes. I mean, Jason went with the shaggy thing and I was like, I got to get in the game here. I'm going with the hot dogs. Sure. Put some points on the board. Yeah. Josh and Jason, my thanks to both of you. And Jason comes back, so we'll get into that later.

19:14I'm going to tell folks what's coming up. You have heat on these MAGA tech billionaires. It's a story we told you we would stay on. They might rather we didn't. And I have more on that tonight. Also, Trump has a new threat that looks petty. It's probably illegal, but it is being tested in court. Our great friend Emily Bazelon from The New York Times is here next.

19:40We're reporting tonight on an extraordinary, dangerous threat that has to be taken seriously. It is about the threat to federal government facilities. And so in a different time, you might say, what is it, a terror warning? Is it a bomb threat? But this threat against federal facilities is being made by the federal government itself, by the Trump administration, quite seriously in federal court. Justice Department lawyers have now stated in a real court filing that they may try to use or abuse power to demolish the Kennedy Center if they face further legal wrangling or prevention of Trump's desire to add his name back to the building, which was previously removed and taken down in a different legal proceeding.

20:28This relates to, I guess, an effort to save face in their version of reality. You see the photo there that's covering the name at one point. This legal fight was over. Basically, another one of these loophole efforts. We've told you that while DOJ is still bound by the law and the lawyers can't just completely flout orders, they basically try to do so with these tricks and Orwellian schemes and retitling and renaming things. And so now to sidestep what was a clear order to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, the entrance has been covered by a tarp as a kind of partial way to acknowledge that.

21:01Trump officials say to get the funds raised to renovate the center would be only possible if they can still get Trump's name back on it. And they've sort of brainstormed ways to do that. The group suing Trump responds, saying defendants have a not so subtly said, quote, this is a nice Kennedy Center you have here. What a shame should something happen to it. They are, of course, using a very serious court proceeding to break down and invoke exactly what this is because it sounds a lot like a mafia tactic. Nice to have a family.

21:37Yes, it is. Man should take care. See that nothing happens to you.

21:53If it talks like a gangster and sounds like a gangster, is it a gangster move? And it doesn't become automatically okay just because it's coming from the federal government as a threat to a federal government building. We're joined by Emily Bazelon from the New York Times Magazine. Your view on this very brazen threat that the government's making and the power they claim they have. It seems like if you are a lawyer for the Justice Department, there are some concessions you're just not allowed to make. President Trump wants his name on the building if he can't have it exactly the way he planned because a judge said that's not what Congress intended, went and established the Kennedy Center and named it after John F.

22:37Kennedy as a memorial to him. Well, then they're going to find another way, a workaround, like you were saying. They're going to say that the building was restored by Donald Trump and put that in the building. And they also want to name the plaza the Donald J. Trump Plaza. And the lawyers have to try to go to court with a straight face and say that these things are allowed in spite of the judge's order. And the judge was really pressing them today to explain to him why these new tactics are in line with what Congress intended when it established the Kennedy Center as a memorial to John F. Kennedy, not to Donald J.

23:13Trump. Yeah, and this is a court filing. There are actual sanctions and enforcement mechanisms, as you and I know, and I think plenty of viewers have heard about, with regard to the obligation to be truthful. So we have to take it as a truthful claim from the government that they would do this. I mean, a court could enjoin them. I suppose if they were enjoined and still trying to destroy it, people could show up and try to have direct action or civil, you know, action. But do we have to take it seriously that you take what is a public building? It's not the personal property of a temporary leader that also honors a president who was, you know, viciously assassinated in office.

23:55that they would even purport to threaten to do this. Yeah, I think we do have to take it seriously. They're already purporting to close the Kennedy Center for two years. And there just seems to be a kind of sense that any gamesmanship in the service of getting Trump's name onto the Kennedy Center is what the Justice Department is going to have to do. One of the witnesses in court today was Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary. And he was saying, well, you know, we're not going to demolish it on Thursday. But, you know, making this argument that unless Trump's great prowess as the fundraiser for the Kennedy Center can be recognized, well, gee, they just won't be able to raise the money that's necessary to save it.

24:38It just all seems like a concocted veiled threat to try to move the judge to say, yeah, I guess you need to do this. The judge did not seem, though, to have a big appetite for this. Right. And we've seen, while I think it is fair to report that early on some judges did seem sort of shell-shocked by some of the early games we've reported on, there's certainly a greater awareness that giving in to any of this, especially when it's lawless or hasn't been blessed yet by the court, only invites more of it. As the late Donald Rumpfeld said, weakness is provocative. Emily, good to see you as always. Thanks so much for having me, Ari.