Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin on Fighting Trump

0:00Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump and his team and these MAGA media influencers he surrounds himself with are just losing it on live TV. They're just making an utter mockery of the White House right now. There are very serious issues that we need to deal with and grapple with. The economy inflation is surging. The issues surrounding affordability, the fact that Donald Trump's broken every single campaign promise. Wars are raging across the world right now. Donald Trump is disappearing human beings off the street. migrants and citizens alike, just their racial profiling people. It's horrific. And for Trump and his sycophants, it's all one big game.

0:39Ben Meiselas:It's all one big joke. So they just held a press conference where they've invited right wing extremist podcaster, Benny Johnson as a VIP into the press room with Donald Trump's chief propagandist, Caroline Levitt. And you'll see just how what they think about we the people like what what do they think about us that this is how they deal with issues here play this clip all of his residents just a very quick follow-up to that given the heroic actions of a member of this administration just a few blocks from this building will the president consider giving the presidential medal of freedom to big balls i haven't spoken to him about that um but perhaps it's something he would consider i'll ask him and get back to you, buddy.

1:21Ben Meiselas:Thanks for being here. Gabe. I mean, do they think that they're stand-up comedians? Will the president consider giving a medal of freedom to big balls? I mean, they're referring to the guy who worked with Doge to terminate thousands and thousands of veterans from government jobs, and Doge took a wrecking ball to our government while only increasing our deficit. We got the latest reports out. The deficit is surging under Donald Trump, far worse even than it was under any previous administration. So you have that. Oh, and then they bring in now one of Trump's influencers, Charlie Kirk, somehow is now on CNBC.

2:01Ben Meiselas:And now you get your MAGA financial advice from Charlie Kirk. I don't think Charlie Kirk went to college and he goes and bullies college students on campus now. Here, play this clip. Agree. And I'll just say, look, in a post-COVID world, we have - So I'm just an idealist to believe that - No, hold on, Andrew. You're not the left. You're not intolerant. You're not going with this. We did not receive any apologies from the ruling class that lied to us repeatedly during COVID. The lockdowns, the efficacy of the vaccine, mask mandates, school closures, and we just act as if it didn't happen. And I don't think the American ruling class understands the undermining of their credibility that happened when the entire country had their lives.

2:42Ben Meiselas:Oh, yes, the ruling class, the ruling class, Charlie. I mean, Donald Trump building a 90 ,000 square foot ballroom and ripping down the east wing of the White House. And by the way, I'm just trying to remember that guy. Who was the ruling class when COVID hit? Who was the ruling? Oh, wait a minute. It was you all. It was Donald Trump. It was Trump lockdowns. It was Trump saying like a miracle it was all going away. It was Donald Trump saying, if we don't test, we don't have to worry about that. Who was the ruling class. Like they all think that we're a bunch of idiots, don't they? Then you have Janine Pirro, the Fox host, now somehow the top United States attorney in Washington, D.C.

3:20Ben Meiselas:And she goes on Fox where she formerly was. This whole setup here, I can't even believe I'm saying it. It would be a parody if it wasn't so freaking serious. And she's like, I'm just really tired of hearing the stats saying that crime is down. Here, play this clip. If we have our way, we will be able to make D.C. safe again. And the president's going to do it. And we've got this. Last night, there were 700 federal and local cops on the streets. And this is what the community wants. They want to be able to be safe. They want to come to the nation's capital and look at the fabulous museums and the monuments that we have here.

3:58Ben Meiselas:And last night, there were 43 arrests and we see seven handguns. And every night it's something else. But this is a message that we're not going to tolerate crime as if that's just the way things go. And I'm tired of hearing that crime is down. It's not down for people who are suffering from violent crime. And one thing I've admired about you when you got there. One thing I admired about you when you got there, I'm tired of hearing that crime is down. Crime is down 30-year low, by the way, in Washington, D.C. While they should be focused on their red states and their red cities where crime is at the highest versus attacking Democratic cities.

4:37Ben Meiselas:so Donald Trump's dictatorial fantasies can play out in real life. I want to bring in a candidate for Connecticut's first congressional district, Luke Bronin. Luke was the former mayor in Hartford when you were in your 30s. You're in your 40s now, but you are injecting kind of new young energy back into politics. You and I are around the same age, so I'll say it's young energy into politics, But you're challenging a Democrat who's been in that district. And you've been very respectful about it. You just said, look, it's time for new young leadership. You know, we appreciate Larson's. You know, he's done what he had to do.

5:14Ben Meiselas:But we need fighters right now. And now, after what we just saw there, now is not the time to stand back and good old boys club or all that crap. We got to fight. So you're running for the first congressional district. Tell us first, let's address what I just showed you there. And let's get into why you're running. You're also a Navy veteran in addition to being the mayor of Hartford. What do you make of just this moment? Well, I mean, first of all, you see an administration that was built to cast a reality show, not to actually govern. And you just saw that in five different ways. You've got an administration that is increasingly thoroughly corrupt in every single way.

5:55And right now, what you've got an administration that's desperate to distract people from the fact that the U.S. Congress just went on a two month break so that Donald Trump wouldn't have to deal with the fallout of releasing the Epstein files. You know, what we're seeing is stuff that you would never have imagined in a million years in the United States of America. But one of the reasons I'm running is because I think the Democratic Party has got to be willing to look ourselves in the mirror and say, we just lost to this guy. And we lost not just the presidency, but the Senate and the House. And this has to be a moment when we recognize that we need to be willing to change some bigger things.

6:31And we better be doing that with a real sense of urgency.

6:34Ben Meiselas:You know, it seems to me the answer is obvious, but I want to hear from you because when I see people saying we can't afford things, it's affordability. I can't pay my rent. We want health care. We like they're saying it. Yet oftentimes these issues are just kind of they kind of get ignored. And they're also saying fight for me. Be out there. Do everything you can to fight. I don't want you to try to compromise with fascism. I don't want to see I don't want you to make deal making with Donald Trump. He's bad faith. There's no deal you can cut with this guy. He's going to screw you like he's did before.

7:15Ben Meiselas:So fight this guy. Like, that's what I hear. What are you hearing out on the trail? No, I think you're exactly right. I mean, first of all, I think people want to see a Democratic Party that is relentless and clear in fighting back against Donald Trump and calling out the authoritarianism, the corruption, the chaos, and also drawing a connection between those things and people's lives. I mean, Donald Trump said he was going to focus on costs on day one. Every single thing he's done has been the opposite, whether it's tariffs driving costs through the roof, sending mass agents after workers on factories and farms and kitchens is going to drive prices through the roof.

7:54Ballooning the deficit is going to drive costs in the longer term through the roof. Every single thing he's done has gone the other direction. So we need to draw the connection between what Trump is doing and how people are going to feel it. And then we have to be equally relentless and clear as a democratic party and saying, we are serious about addressing cost of living issues, housing, healthcare, childcare. You know, it has to be possible to build and live a middle-class life. And we've been hearing from everywhere that people don't believe that's possible anymore. And we better earn people's trust back that we are focused on those issues.

8:29Ben Meiselas:You're a Navy veteran. You see Donald Trump seizing the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., deploying the National Guard. I live in Los Angeles. So we saw just the low morale of our troops here. I mean, the Marines and the National Guard were like, what are we doing here? I mean, you heard stories about them defecating in Humvees and not having the resources that were needed and not just not getting paid on time. Right. It was sloppy. It was messy, sleeping on the floor. But what's your take as a veteran? Well, first of all, we've known for a long time that Donald Trump has no respect for the military, no respect for veterans.

9:13And we see that in a whole bunch of ways. You see it in the fact that they slashed health care for veterans, that they fired thousands of veterans from federal service who are doing good service on behalf of their fellow Americans. You saw it in the fact that they are now misusing the military. You know, when people, we've got a volunteer military force. When people sign up to serve our country in uniform, they sign up to help make our country safer and more secure and deal with the real threats that we face. And Donald Trump is misusing the U.S. military as a prop. You know, this is just one more way that he tries to satisfy his authoritarian inclinations and also tries to distract people.

9:56You know, he loves the images of a militarized city. And but it is fundamentally disrespectful and a misuse of the U.S. military.

10:07Ben Meiselas:Luke, tell us where people can find out more information about you and any kind of message that you have to the people that you want them to know about you, your campaign, this important historical moment. I mean, people know you in Connecticut, and they know the great work you did as the mayor of Hartford. They know your background. And it's a little bit, look, it is a little bit controversial. Does a Democrat run in the primary, not run in a primary? But you made it clear, look, I appreciate it. It's time for new leadership here. So maybe speak to that and more broadly where people can learn more about the campaign.

10:45Sure. So first of all, I appreciate that. And you can go to broninforcongress.com and check it out and get some more information. To your point about whether people should be running primaries, look, if last year, if what happened last year was not a wake-up call for the Democratic Party, then I'm very worried about the future of the Democratic Party. We have to be willing to make some changes. And that includes letting some new voices in and making some generational change. If we want to be a party that is serious in our commitment to democracy, then that means we've got to be serious in our commitment to competition and to giving voters a choice.

11:28And fundamentally, that's why I'm running. You know, we're at a moment right now where everything is changing faster than it ever has. Climate, AI and technology, the structure of our economy, the way people communicate. The one thing that's changing slower than ever is who's representing us in Congress and our institutions. And we better catch up to that change and start letting some new voices in.

11:51Ben Meiselas:Luke Bronin, where do they find out about you? Where's the website? Broninforcongress.com. There you have it, everybody. Thanks, Luke. We appreciate you joining us. And hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers here. The truth is more important than ever. Check out our new Truth Over Lies collection at store.midastouch.com. All 100 % USA union made.