Mark Cuban, Billionaires, and the $1.7B Outrage: Culture, Consequence & Chaos

This week on Culture and Consequence, Andrea and I show up sick, tired, irritated, and absolutely done — which means it’s the perfect time to talk about billionaires, state‑run media, and the slow‑motion collapse of American democracy. Happy Thursday.

We start with Stephen Colbert’s final show on CBS and why his removal should terrify anyone who cares about free speech. Then we get into Mark Cuban standing next to Donald Trump like a confused extra in his own downfall. Spoiler: if you’re a billionaire, you didn’t “earn” it — and yes, I’m still dying on that hill.

We also break down the absolutely unhinged $1.776 billion “Anti‑Weaponization Fund” settlement — a taxpayer‑funded slush pile dressed up as patriotism — and why it’s one of the most openly corrupt moves we’ve seen yet. And that’s saying something.

Plus: why we named the show Culture and Consequence, why politics is doing you whether you “do politics” or not, and why your local elections matter more than you think.

If you’re overwhelmed, angry, exhausted, or just trying to understand what the hell is happening in this country, pull up a chair. We’re right there with you.

If this episode brought you a little joy, consider liking, subscribing, or sharing it with someone who might need it.

As always, remember it really is All About The Joy.

Thank you for stopping by.  Please visit our website: All About The Joy and add, like and share.  

You can now watch the livestream version of the show on YouTube at @CarmenLezeth 

You can also support us by shopping at our STORE - We'd appreciate that greatly.  Also, if you want to find us anywhere on social media, please check out the link in bio page.

Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth


DISCLAIMER:  As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast.  Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance. 

Transcript

[00:00:16] Carmen: How you doing?

[00:00:17] Andrea: I think I'm getting sick, Or I am sick, so

[00:00:21] Carmen: Okay, so I was just sick for the past couple days, and it's not only just like the fires and... 'Cause I didn't realize that there were even the fires going on, but it really, I was like, "What's wrong with my throat?"

[00:00:35] Andrea: Yeah. Yeah. I was, I just thought about that this morning. I was like, "Oh, maybe it's the smoke," but

[00:00:40] Carmen: Yeah, it's probably the smoke and just everything else. And, yeah, I'm sorry to hear that, dude. I don't even know what to say. I'm kinda just pushing through. Like, I'm in such a bad mood today. Um-

[00:00:54] Andrea: Me too. Let's do it

[00:00:55] Carmen: I know. I'm just, I'm... There's just so much, and it's... Okay, so let me start with just some basic stuff that I wanna announce today.

[00:01:05] Stephen Colbert's last show is on tonight on CBS, and, Jimmy Kimmel and, Jimmy Fallon are gonna go dark, which I think is just cool camaraderie kind of thing. and then Jimmy Kimmel said, "Everybody watch CBS tonight, watch his last show, and then never watch CBS again." I was like... And he said it like straight up.

[00:01:26] It was so hilarious, but yeah, I think it's so important that we understand this moment, whether you watch Stephen Colbert or not, he's being taken off the air because he talked about the president, is basically what it comes down to. And that should be alarming for all of us, that state-run media is what's about to happen, you know what I mean?

[00:01:54] So,

[00:01:54] Andrea: It is happening, yeah.

[00:01:55] Carmen: I'm sorry. Thank you for correcting me. Is happening, But the beautiful part about it, Bruce Springsteen, who everyone knows, I don't listen to his music. I know one song, "Born in the USA," But I've always respected him. I've always... But he was on the show, and he totally eviscerated like CBS and the Ellison brothers, and I was like, he- that's using your power for good, you know?

[00:02:23] and then the last thing I'll say about Stephen Colbert is they took a lot of the stuff from the studio, and they sold it as auction items, and they sold T-shirts or whatever, and then they took all that money and presented it to, World Central Kitchen as a donation. Isn't that beautiful? Chef Andrés was on the show last night, and, it s- was, just shy of $2.5 million.

[00:02:51] Andrea: Oh, wow. That's amazing.

[00:02:52] Carmen: It

[00:02:53] Andrea: does such great work.

[00:02:55] Carmen: just, they do great work. They're a great nonprofit. and just,I thought that was a beautiful thing. So everyone watch the show tonight. Watch it on YouTube. watch the clips. They'll show it there, whatever. And, yeah. I don't know. That just made me so sad. the other thing I wanna, confirm for...

[00:03:12] I got an email, and it's fair enough. People wanted to know why I call the show Culture on Consequence and why we always talk about politics. I was like, okay. So I'm just gonna give

[00:03:24] Andrea: we talk about some other stuff too

[00:03:26] Carmen: it, look it, here's how I'm gonna explain it. I chose Culture and Consequence after thinking about it. I had other names for the show, and, it's anything to do with culture and then the consequences of it.

[00:03:37] And if you go down the line of all the things that have to do with our culture, like a TV show, it's all comes down to politics. And I'm not saying the show is only about politics, but in this administration, there is a straight line to almost everything that's happening in our country, in the United States, that is a through line to politics and how it affects us.

[00:04:02] And honestly, Andrea and I have these conversations on a regular basis, and it was just a way in which to share straight talk from people who are not professionals, who are not somebody who worked in the White House. And no offense, I love all those shows. But just a regular conversation between two women who always talk about this stuff like regular people do.

[00:04:25] al- although we're really smart about stuff, and I want you to be smart too. So, well, I always thought I was dumb about politics, Andrea, and then I'm like, "Oh my God, I'm like a fucking genius."

[00:04:38] Andrea: and I think it's important to point out,I think we would both-- Well, maybe this isn't true. Like, we've always talked about politics. That's how we initially bonded, right? and really got to know each other. But, I would love to not have it be the topic of the day every day, right?

[00:04:55] But actually, the fact is, and you say this all the time, for people who are like, "I don't do politics," politics is doing you

[00:05:03] Carmen: Every day

[00:05:04] Andrea: every day, right? are you having problems paying for gas or groceries? do you have issues with your health insurance? Can you not have, get health insurance? Is it not covering the things you need to get covered?

[00:05:17] what does education look like? How are the roads in your... You know what I mean? All of this stuff, we think it's something far away that doesn't really have anything to do with us, but it a- has an effect on everything that we do.

[00:05:32] Carmen: Yeah, and I just wanna say, I don't think we initially bonded over politics. That's not how we met. But... no, I'm just gonna fix something 'cause I think it's important. You want someone in your life that makes you smarter, makes you better, makes you question stuff, and I think that's what we bonded over. we bonded over because we worked together and, whatever.

[00:05:50] But I think I learned a lot from you, and then I also questioned a lot of things that I didn't understand. and then we fought about things, and that makes us smarter and better. And, that's why I think these conversations are important. By the way, I was just kidding when I said I'm a genius. I'm just...

[00:06:09] I am-- I really feel like I don't know enough about politics, and so when I hear other people who sound so stupid 'cause they don't know the basics, I'm shooketh 'cause I'm always... I know. I-- But am I? I feel like I'm a genius in comparison to so many people who are voting, and it bothers me.

[00:06:34] Andrea: people. Check in.

[00:06:36] Carmen: Yeah. I'm like... So what I'm trying to say is we all need to get to that level where we can read a book that's like Politics for Dummies and be able to be like, "I got this."

[00:06:46] You know what I mean? there actually is a book called Politics for Dummies, by the way.

[00:06:51] Andrea: I mean, understand what is happening literally to you. To you, not just around you. Like, what is happening in the political arena definitely right now, but really for your entire life

[00:07:05] Carmen: Ja

[00:07:06] Andrea: is happening to you.

[00:07:08] Carmen: and you have the power to make a difference. You may not think so, but voting matters, and how we vote. And even that's being taken away and eroded from us, and that matters in this country, in the United States. And yeah, I named it Culture and Consequence for that specific reason, 'cause I knew Andrea and I would probably talk mostly about politics, but I wanted to leave it open a little bit, knowing that at the end of the day, that's the through line.

[00:07:34] that's how we're affected every day. And if I could impress anything on anyone, yes, learn what you need to learn. You can learn the simple things that, that, the way I do, the way I try to always come from a child's point of view, not because I think you guys are dumb, it's because I learn better as, as I learned things as a kid, right, Andrea?

[00:07:57] I've always been that person. I want things as simple as possible. and so I encourage people to, also really pay attention to your local politics. I can't emphasize that enough. Y'all are worried about the presidential election, and you're not paying attention to who represents you in your own state and your county and your local politics.

[00:08:17] And if you're really a real American, and I'm gonna put it that way, a real United States American, let me be specific, then you're going to understand how important politics is, and you are gonna be involved, and you're gonna make sure your vote. You're gonna vote, register to vote and vote

[00:08:34] Andrea: And that's where you can have the most impact. If you're like, "Ah, my vote doesn't matter," some of these people win by, seven votes or lose, right? there are not a lot of people voting in some of these elections. Even something, we've got, eight million judges on our ballot this time, and that's a whole week of, research or whatever for me.

[00:08:52] But a lot of people don't even vote. They just leave it blank. They

[00:08:57] Carmen: And look it,I'm gonna say this. It, I already voted. I already voted. I already dropped off my ballot and stuff for the California election, and the judges thing really pissed me off. It was too much. I don't know much about them. and I'm gonna say this, and I know you're gonna be against this. Do your research, vote for the things that are important to you, but you don't have to vote for every single thing on your ballot.

[00:09:21] You do not. I know. Andrea's Andrea's gonna be beside herself.

[00:09:25] Andrea: What?

[00:09:28] Carmen: I know. But people get confused. You don't actually have to vote. There was two judges, and I was like, "I can't... What am I gonna do, flip a coin?" I'm like, "I don't know who these two judges are. I can't figure out" And by the way, I, the way I did the whole judges thing, And this is, Andrea's going to recoil as I say this, but I'm trying to get people to get involved in the process, okay? we have different, things that we're trying to do

[00:09:54] Andrea: My ballot thingy is it's got, sauce on it. It's got some dried up ketchup over here. Like-

[00:10:01] Carmen: I know. I did it the other day 'cause I was like, I was, I just needed to get it over with. but here's what I'm gonna say. I sometimes go to people that I respect, and they'll list who they voted for, and when I really can't figure out what it is, then I'll be like, "All right, whatever." But the, there were two judges on there I could not...

[00:10:19] The two judge races I could not figure out, and I couldn't find anyone I respected enough to... And then I was like, "I'm just gonna leave those two blank." So I did. 

[00:10:28] Andrea: Okay, so yeah, I am scandalized because I think everyone should vote for whatever's on the ballot. but I completely understand what you're saying. If it's gonna stop you from voting because you don't understand everything that's on there, then yes, just vote for the things that you, you know, the offices that you know about or whatever.

[00:10:47] don't just not vote. But and I will say, and I've complained about this for a long time, like it's a part-time job figuring this shit out.

[00:10:56] Carmen: It is. It's too much. The

[00:10:58] Andrea: it's a lot.

[00:10:58] Carmen: stuff, the judges' stuff

[00:11:00] Andrea: do it, like for me, it's really important to me. I don't wanna make a mistake in who I vote for. So like I get crazy.

[00:11:08] I will start stalking people's social media. I'm I'm not even kidding. I will look who's supporting them and stalk their social media. Like it's crazy because you don't have any information on these judges and stuff like

[00:11:20] Carmen: There's not a lot. I feel like there, there were two things I wish would change about our system. Two, there's a lot of things I wish would change about our system. But with this, I feel like, Lookit, I just got called in for jury duty, and I'm, I'm happy to do what I need to do. You know what I mean?

[00:11:36] and I think everyone should want... You know, you wanna complain about the justice system, then when you're called to do your civic duty, you should do your civic duty. But there's a part of me that's like, seriously, I wish they would have professional jurors because it's random, right? And it's so weird, and it's 

[00:11:54] they're having me hike out to, East Oshkosh Court, when there's a court right here I could go to, And I'm requesting that they move me, and it's just all this weird red tape thing. That's one of them. And then electing judges is... I don't know enough about all of them, and they're not like they have profiles.

[00:12:11] Like, all I need to... I was like, if I could just find a place where it says, "Are you a Democrat or Republican?" that's all I need to know. But judges don't do that. That's not what they do. They're not supposed to, right? So

[00:12:22] Andrea: Yeah, I would be all right with electing like whoever up at the top, and then there's like a panel of peop- you know, and, and they appoint the judges. I don't... It's a lot of work and am I gonna go through their, last five years of cases? Or maybe they're not a judge.

[00:12:40] it's just too much work.

[00:12:42] Carmen: Yeah, that one is. but again, we're encouraging people to vote, and you don't have to vote for every single, item on your ballot. But a- again, we should know more than not. and you should vote for most things, and you should vote for everything if you can. it is your civic duty as a citizen of this country who has the right to vote, which so many people don't have and are losing.

[00:13:04] so yeah.

[00:13:05] Andrea: of these offices, again, if you, if it's gonna stop you from voting, do what you can. But you look at something like, insurance commissioner, and you're like,

[00:13:13] Carmen: Oh my God.

[00:13:14] Andrea: "What do I know about that?" E- except for that's really important if you're a homeowner, if you have health insurance, if you have car insurance, like that's mo- that covers most of us.

[00:13:26] You know what I mean? it actually is important to you who that person is and what they're going to fight for and what they're not gonna fight for, who they're beholden to, those kinds of things.

[00:13:37] Carmen: And sometimes what you can do, and here's a little trick. Okay, again, everything I'm saying is new to Andrea, so I would be very careful. go back and look at what the old, the current insurance person is doing, right? that's what I did. I went back to be like, and see if there's like ratings or thought process or, And because I don't remember who I voted for the... I'm gonna be honest, I don't remember, and I think that comes up every four years, right? Or six years. I don't know how the insurance thing works. But so that's what I did. But anyways, just, I don't know, do better, people. That's all. But anyway, that's what Culture of Consequence, that's what the title is.

[00:14:16] Andrea: I just wanna talk a little bit about Stephen Colbert's show, and then I wanna tell you why I'm in a bad mood, 'cause, do it, girl. Me too

[00:14:22] Carmen: Okay, I think I sent you, this thing about Mark Cuban. oh, no, I think I said I wanted to talk about Mark Cuban.

[00:14:29] Andrea: yeah, yeah. I never liked him, so let's, let's dig in, girl.

[00:14:32] Carmen: Okay, so I, I liked him 'cause I thought, okay, y- look at anybody who's a billionaire, I've been saying this now for a couple weeks, and I'm standing on this is...

[00:14:43] I'm, I'm gonna die on this hill. If you're a billionaire, you are a piece of shit. I don't care what kind of billionaire you are, I don't care. Beyoncé, Oprah, there is no way you can become a billionaire in any really honest way. Meaning, you are able to manipulate capital gains tax, you're able to manipulate taxes in general, shelters.

[00:15:07] you're not making money as a carpenter. You're not making money as an administrative assistant. You're n- you're making money by hiding it, investing it. I'm not saying it's illegal, I'm saying it's not an honest wage. And for me, it's not an honest way to make money. I'm gonna die on that hill. I am tired of

[00:15:26] Andrea: say something last week like, you don't earn a billion dollars"?

[00:15:30] Carmen: I said that first. I feel like people are stealing my shit. No, Trevor Noah the other day was talking about aging, and I did a whole fucking thing on "Carmen Talk," and he's talking about we don't respect our elders. I'm like, okay, everyone is coming onto my All About The Joy, watching my shit, and then talking about it.

[00:15:50] It's just the timing is off. I'm sorry. I don't know.

[00:15:53] Andrea: enough.

[00:15:54] Carmen: And I love AOC and I love Trevor Noah, but I'm sorry, I'm a little bit pissed off about this 'cause it don't make no sense, okay? It's too coincidental. But, but, but it's okay. It's okay. I'm nobody, but, anyways, that's my feeling on billionaires, and I feel like we need to stop elevating billionaires as if they are some great accomplished people.

[00:16:18] They are not, okay? You do not bec- I'm sorry. Name one

[00:16:22] Andrea: and not particularly smart either. Like, "Oh, we should be looking up to them and listening to what they have to say about this, that, and the other thing." Fucking why?

[00:16:31] Carmen: And look at, I'm glad MacKenzie is doing her thing and giving out money to everybody, she didn't earn that money. She got divorced. You know what I mean? And good for her. You take your shit. That's not my p- you take your half. But th- that, you know what I mean? No, I was trying to go down the list of everyone to see, did anyone really earn their bill- you can't.

[00:16:52] Here's my thing. I have worked for way too many wealthy people. Only one was closest, kinda close to a billion dollar worth value. You know who I'm talking about because you worked for them as well.

[00:17:05] Andrea: Ja.

[00:17:06] Carmen: and what I'm understanding now is I have a wealth of information about why people end up becoming the people they become once they have all this money.

[00:17:20] And I don't know, I'm gonna start really thinking about this part of it, where along the way they get confused that having a lot of money equals not just power, but that you know more than other people. Like you just said, they're dumb. I'm... It's true. They're not that smart when it comes to simple things.

[00:17:42] So let's get to Mark Cuban. So Mark Cuban appeared with President Donald Trump at the White House because they were jointly announcing a major expansion of the Trump Rx prescription drug pricing platform. Cuban's company, Cost Plus Drugs, is now supplying 559 of the 600 generic medications being added to the Trump Rx site. The event focused on expanding access to lower cost generic medications. Okay. During the event, Trump joked that Cuban made a mistake by supporting Kamala Harris in 2024. Of course he did. Of course that's what he was gonna do. Cuban laughed it off and said he wasn't discussing politics. What did, what did we just say at the beginning of this motherfucking show?

[00:18:30] Okay.

[00:18:30] Andrea: "I'm focused on money."

[00:18:31] Carmen: Yeah, He was there strictly for healthcare, okay? So the backlash is after the event, Cuban posted and then deleted an ex- expl- how do you say that? Bad word e- explicative? I can't say it.

[00:18:46] Andrea: explo... Now you got me...

[00:18:47] Carmen: Okay, a bad word filled message. He swore a lot in the message that he posted. I can't say explicative, whatever.

[00:18:55] Um, bad word filled message defending the decision to appear with Trump, saying anyone who thought he'd put politics above lowering drug prices was a fucking idiot. He later said he deleted it because cursing didn't make my point. Dumbass. Okay, last thing

[00:19:16] Andrea: You just didn't make your own point, motherfucker.

[00:19:19] Carmen: so he said it was... he didn't say this, but this was the intonation, that it was a business partnership announcement centered on drug pricing. So thoughts, and then I'll tell you what I... You can already tell what I think,

[00:19:33] Andrea: Yeah. I have a lot of thoughts, but the very idea that you need to lower the cost of prescription drugs is politics,

[00:19:47] Carmen: It's all

[00:19:47] Andrea: we shouldn't be, we shouldn't have to pay anything really for prescription drugs. Healthcare as a for-profit enterprise is inherently political. So right there, shut the fuck up.

[00:20:03] Carmen: Угу, угу

[00:20:05] Andrea: Cuban not making any money off of this deal, off of getting people low-cost prescription drugs? Look, it's great, right?

[00:20:11] Like, 

[00:20:12] Carmen: He, he's been doing this for a long time. But just, just so people know, he's been... He's had his prescription drug thing, Cost Plus Drugs, for a long time, and what he has done is he has, I'm gonna give him credit, taken his money and used it in this one way to provide prescription drugs much cheaper than going through a middleman like CVS or whatever.

[00:20:37] You just, it's mail order whatever. So okay, he's doing... But you're right. In the big scheme of things, this should not even be an issue, but we're here, and he did have it. So now go ahead. I just want people to understand what he was doing

[00:20:48] Andrea: No, I mean, that's essentially what I was saying, right? we don't live in that utopia that most other countries live in, Western countries where you have socialized medicine and, essentially sort of, you know, taxpayer-funded healthcare, right? so yes, providing a place or, or, you know, a, a company where people can get lower cro- cost prescription drugs is a good thing, I think, right?

[00:21:14] But to stand there with Trump of all fucking people and say that I'm not talking about politics today, is just absolute and total bullshit

[00:21:25] Carmen: he got, a lot of backlash. I know this is gonna be shocking to people, swore on Threads at him. I tagged him. I was like... And I never really swear when I'm writing stuff, but I was, "I'm done. I don't even care. I don't care if I never get a job again, 'cause I'm gonna end up homeless anyway, because we're living under this regime."

[00:21:41] You know what I mean? Here's my problem with this whole thing, Mark Cuban, 'cause everybody's watching my show now and stealing shit, so okay, here it is. you don't partner up with a bully. I don't know where you don't learn that. When you're a little kid and there's a bully on the playground, you don't tell your kid, "You know what?

[00:22:01] Why don't you negotiate and talk with him and see if he'll help you out a little bit. Let's see if we can make a deal with him." And so that's my whole point with this, is that you're partnering with a bully, expecting the bully to actually adhere to whatever your terms are. Oh, and the other thing is, no one can afford prescription drugs.

[00:22:21] We can't afford healthcare. We can't afford food. You think we give a shit how much our insulin costs right now? We don't care, because we haven't even gone to the doctor to be fucking diagnosed. I'm so sick of billionaires, and he knows he's wrong because the way he reacted. Somebody said he's using his political capital to do a good thing.

[00:22:43] No. No. No, he's not. That's not what just happened

[00:22:48] Andrea: w-, in, in what world would anybody think that Donald Trump wants to do anything helpful for the American people, right? That he, that he wants, that he's going to follow through on this in any real way.

[00:23:02] Carmen: even naming it Trump Rx, what... There's no need. that's part of it. here it is, Trump Rx is not even anything except another name labeling thing. It's not like Trump has hired a whole bunch of people to go... You know what I mean? Like, it's just all about Trump. And then he had him there. He had Mark Cuban, who has been known to be a liberal Democrat supporter.

[00:23:27] He had what he wanted, a fucking idiot token standing next to him so that he could say, "See, you shouldn't have voted for Kamala Harris, and now you're on my team, and I knew you'd come over, you dumb fucking idiot Mark Cuban." I'm gonna say it again, you're a fucking idiot for what you just did

[00:23:48] Andrea: Totally agree.

[00:23:52] Carmen: My God. All right, let's talk about the 1776 settlement 'cause again, that makes complete sense, right? So for people who don't know, Donald Trump sued the IRS, right? Sued them because someone leaked his tax returns or something or other. 

[00:24:15] for some reason, again, don't know why, can't imagine what it would be, Trump has never wanted to and has not released his tax returns. So he went after the IRS, okay? He went after the IRS for $10 billion. Okay, can we just, again, $10 billion 'cause someone leaked your tax return... Okay. Anyways, as a settlement, instead of going to court because court would be discovery, right?

[00:24:43] Wouldn't court be something that would... I don't know enough about judgy stuff, but of course you'd wanna settle out 'cause you don't wanna be all up in the business. They negotiated a 1.776 billion settlement that refers to the creation of a massive new federal fund called the Anti-Weaponization Fund, established by the US Department of Justice as part of a settlement in President Donald Trump versus the IRS.

[00:25:12] It is a taxpayer-funded... If you don't know what that means me and Andrea and you are paying for this, okay? It's a taxpayer-funded compensation pool created after Trump agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. In exchange, the DOJ created a fund to compensate people who claim they were victims of lawfare or political weaponization under previous administrations.

[00:25:48] This is for the January Sixers primarily. So they're going to create a fund, and let me tell you what my idea is. Trump wants to keep support in whatever way, shape, or form he can, and this is another way. In one way, he's making sure people can't vote, so that's gonna eliminate a lot of people from voting against him because if you can't vote, you can't vote.

[00:26:13] So you eliminate all the Black districts, you eliminate all of the districts where people can carve out people against him that are gonna be in Congress that would bring him down, and this is the other way. You funnel money in some corrupt, horrible, overt way. He's not- even hide in this shit no more and give it to people who he knows will support him.

[00:26:37] That's what's happening right now in the United States

[00:26:43] Andrea: Yep. Yep. I saw that. I knew you were gonna talk about, wanna talk about this, and I saw this in your email and I was like, I don't know that I can have a productive, coherent conversation about this because this is what really sent me over the edge this week. I read about it on Tuesday and haven't looked at really at the news at all since then 'cause I was like We're fucking cooked.

[00:27:11] What are you gonna do? Last week I was all like, "I'm focused on solutions." that bitch is gone. Now I'm like

[00:27:18] Carmen: gone. It feels overwhelming, the corruption

[00:27:22] Andrea: and, let it sit for a good long while, and then maybe plug it back in and see if we can reboot, because this shit is too fucking much. It's too much

[00:27:32] Carmen: So overt. of course they've come out, not they as in the Trump administration, but other people have come out. Everybody knows he's made $4 billion, him and his family. So the other part of this is that they cannot audit... I know. The money part is one thing, okay? The next part of it that's even more interesting is part of the settlement is no one can ever go and prosecute or look at Donald Trump or anyone in his family's tax returns ever, and they cannot be looked at or sued or held to account.

[00:28:08] What? What?

[00:28:11] Andrea: I,I know I'm living in la-la land, but I have to believe, just to be able to wake up in the morning, I have to believe that this is not actually legal. like there's gotta be some

[00:28:26] Carmen: Okay.

[00:28:27] Andrea: legal recourse to this, but I... Maybe I'm wrong. I'm probably wrong, but

[00:28:31] Carmen: it's not that you're wrong, it's just that the DOJ's Judgment Fund, which is what they're funneling this through. So the DOJ, for those of you who don't know, is the Department of Justice, which is who you think would be like, "Absolutely not." Like, but

[00:28:46] Andrea: Currently run by Trump's former per- personal attorney

[00:28:50] Carmen: yeah, right. Um, Judgment Fund is normally used to pay settlements to actual plaintiffs, but the people who may apply for payouts were not plaintiffs in Trump's IRS suit.

[00:29:01] So these are the legal problems. Some legal experts say this could violate the domestic emoluments clause, which he has been shitting all over since day one, so whatever. so the DOJ says the amount is based on the projected valuation of future claims. I

[00:29:15] Andrea: just happens to be 1776.

[00:29:19] Carmen: for, our birthday, whatever. I am, I think I'm like you.

[00:29:23] Andrea: It's like I'm not giving up. It's just, it's t- it's so obvious, it's so obvious that it's almost like I can't even digest it as having so much outrage. It's like we've been here for 10 years now, right? We've been here since day one, and this is just piling on. It's piling on. Like the collective cortisol level of everybody in this fucking country has gotta be insane.

[00:29:51] Carmen: be insane. It's gotta be insane. I don't know how they shut it down. I don't know, because he has... what he's been effective at doing is putting all of his cronies in office and in places that matter, and he's convinced a lot of you dumbass people who are still supporting him to be able to do that, right?

[00:30:11] There's still, 30% or 30, I think it might be 37 per- oh my God, 37%

[00:30:17] Andrea: saw actually the other day when I was, it was like, it's 31, that's just a poll,

[00:30:22] Carmen: You know what, Esther? It's, you know what? Why?

[00:30:25] Andrea: fucking people.

[00:30:26] Carmen: Why?

[00:30:27] Andrea: You

[00:30:28] Carmen: Um,

[00:30:28] Andrea: know what? I was talking about this yesterday with a friend of mine who has relatives of a friend who are MAGA, right? And I was like, "Okay." was like, "All right, you have least some contact with way more MAGA people than I do because that's not, that doesn't live in my world. so help me understand." I was like, "Because my take is that these are all just racist motherfuckers, and that's what this is about ultimately." And so he was saying, "Yes."

[00:31:00] Carmen: he's,And I thought this was an interesting point, and he's "They're just self-righteous and intellectually lazy. They just don't care to learn and, you know, s- consider the other side in any kind of real way. They're just comfortable being spoon-fed what to believe by Fox News, and that sort of, upholds their worldview, and they're perfectly happy to just leave it at that."

[00:31:26] I think it's also something else. I have people in my life who were... I am proud to say most everyone in my life has stopped, being Trump supporters that are people I actually care about. You know what I mean? 'cause that was so bothersome for so long. I'm still not really connected with them, but I am.

[00:31:47] You know what I mean? Like I, whatever. So I think that's probably the bigger one, is, people cannot admit that they were wrong. It's really hard, especially when you don't have the verbiage to explain why you got sucked into a cult. It's even more embarrassing 'cause I feel like, intellectually, academically, scholarly speaking, there are stats out there that just Trump supporters are not as aware and are not as up on what is going on in politics.

[00:32:17] And tho- so they, yes, racism, whatever, all of the words, all the words that people keep using were their way in even if they don't understand it. And I keep saying this, if the word racism bothers you, that's a you thing and there's a reason why that bothers you. Just like, uh, being gay or trans or if those words do something in your heart, in your heart chakra, for those of you into all that shit.

[00:32:43] You know what I mean? Like, if it's doing something to you, you feel like a pit and you wanna eh, that should tell you that you are that. You are homophobic. You are racist. You are transphobic. Is that the right word, transphobic? I don't know. Whatever. You are all those things if it's bothering you that much that it makes you retaliate and eh.

[00:33:06] That should be a clue. That will help you if you start to embrace that. But I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to give them an idea.

[00:33:13] Andrea: wasn't thinking you were mean. I was actually thinking "She's trying to be so helpful right now."

[00:33:18] Carmen: You know what? Some fucking famous person is gonna watch the damn show and they're gonna talk about it, and they're gonna get all the fucking credit and followers, 'cause that's how this works now. But it's true. I think that if it bothers you to hear those words, but that was your throughway. That was how you got hooked into this man.

[00:33:35] This man has been evil, and Drea and I have been saying this since day one that you saw him. Day one on his little reality show, all of that was bullshit. It was

[00:33:45] Andrea: Way back in the '80s.

[00:33:48] Carmen: bullshit since day one. Ask anybody in New York, anybody. Even people who support him, who live in New York will tell you about him being a real estate person.

[00:33:58] And it's just, it's so obvious to those of us who've been watching this. it's so obvious

[00:34:05] Andrea: It's just, yeah. it is. It is so obvious and it makes it really hard for me to wrap my head around it, like this whole 1776 fund or whatever it's called. It's like something like that you think could break through 'cause it's okay, we all hate paying taxes, right?

[00:34:21] Like whatever. We all, and we all certainly have our things where it's like, "I don't want my tax dollars going to whatever," right? Different for everybody, I'm sure, to some extent. But I feel like, and I could be wrong and living in la-la land again, but I feel like giving our tax dollars to people who literally shit in the halls of our capital

[00:34:46] Carmen: It's

[00:34:46] Andrea: is something we can all agree that we don't really wanna do.

[00:34:51] Carmen: I know, but I don't think... I know, but see, this is the thing, you're right. I do think we could all agree on that, but here's the problem. They're changing the story. So this is the finesse of what Trump and his dumbass people are able to do. They're changing the story, and they started right away. They were tourists.

[00:35:13] They were... You know what I mean? Like they're using all these different words, all these different things to wash away what the truth was of what happened on January 6th. So people who are for the fu- By the way, everyone has already started applying to get the money. But here's my favorite part.

[00:35:31] What they don't realize, what they don't... I, Trump is appointing all the people that are supposed to be on it. I don't think this is gonna work. I do believe, I have to believe, or maybe I'm just hoping to believe, that this will not happen. But what was interesting was people like Jim Acosta from CNN was like, "Oh, I guess I would, I could apply."

[00:35:50] You know what I mean? It was like... I was like, oh my God. So all these other people are coming out the woodwork because they're saying they have cases too.

[00:35:58] Andrea: watched it live on TV. I'm a victim,

[00:36:02] Carmen: It has traumatized me, right?

[00:36:05] Andrea: I mean, okay, so actually this is a really good point 'cause my friend and I were talking about this yesterday too, because I was on the phone with him while this was happening on January 6th, right? and I remember, or I was think- I was like, you know how, we have all these documentaries about, 9/11 and all kinds of, there is nothing I've found that really breaks down, that day and how, like how it all came to be.

[00:36:29] And I just remember, 'cause I said I was on the phone with, I-- He called me for our regular call and I was like, we were gonna talk about some other stuff, and I was like, "Are you seeing what's happening?" And he's "What?" And he lives in Northern Virginia. I was like, "Dude, turn on the TV." And we just sat there "What the fuck?"

[00:36:47] Carmen: Yeah

[00:36:48] Andrea: And we were like, "When is the National Guard coming in?" that was a crazy ass fucking day. What was happening was insane. Josh Hawley was running his ass out of there. Republicans were actually in fear for their lives from these tourists.

[00:37:04] Carmen: 哼。I

[00:37:05] Andrea: it was not a play. it wasn't fucking playtime.

[00:37:08] this was, people died

[00:37:10] Carmen: I think though it goes back to this thing of like we've lost our moral core as a country, and it's happened little by little for a long time. I'm not making excuses. I think you're right. I was here and I was crying watching it 'cause I couldn't believe, Like I couldn't believe what was happening.

[00:37:27] But, and the whole, the thing that struck me that will always stick in my head that I think, was more traumatizing than I realize is the guillotine. Remember they erected a gui- is that what you call it with the lynching thing? And it just, 'cause they were gonna hang Mike Pence. That's what they were saying, and I remember be- I have no fucking love for Mike Pence, but this... I, look it, I'm gonna, uh

[00:37:56] This morning I was on Facebook and I saw, Black Lives Matter and, You Know Your Rights. some of these organizations had posted a couple days ago, and I was just looking at it this morning drinking coffee, a picture of, what's his name? Let me just... Michael Brown. He was the 18-year-old who was killed, the hands up, that whole thing.

[00:38:16] He was killed by a police officer and, 12 times in the chest. and his birthday would've been, I think, on the 20th, and, he would've been 30 years old, so it's been a long time. it's so... And I thought to myself, you know, like, so they were just saying he would've been 30 years old, whatever, and I, I, I don't wanna cry, but this is what...

[00:38:40] Th- what bothers me more about the time we're in as a country is that our moral core has been eroded, and you see it everywhere. And so in the comments was the most vitriol, horrible, nasty, one after the other. And I went in and checked, and a lot of the initial comments were bots, right? So Facebook is, has all these bots, and you can tell they're bots if you just click on them, right?

[00:39:11] You can tell because they don't have that many followers, they don't have that m- you wouldn't... You can see it. And then it's all the real people commenting underneath supporting the bots. And I'm like... And look at, I don't care who you are, if you don't have the ability to have compassion for a... He was a teenager who was killed.

[00:39:35] I don't care why he was killed. We, in this country, there was a time we... You know, I was just gonna say something that ain't true. We- you're not the, uh, you know, judge and exe- executioner, but that's not true for Black people, 'cause that has been how it's always been. But that's not who we claim to be as a society, right?

[00:39:52] We have things like, the justice system and people have due process. And so all they wrote, these organizations, was like, "Oh, he would've been 30 today," or whatever, it would've been his birthday. moral core of who we are, and I'm telling you right now, I hate to say it, but it's true.

[00:40:11] Christians, Not all of them, 90% of them, 'cause then I went... This is how I spent my morning, and I was in fucking tears. 'Cause we're talking about the moral core. You're talking about January 6th and how we've washed it away, and they're doing their very best to make it like these people were doing something good and doing something righteous, and they were not.

[00:40:34] They were literally putting poo-poo, in case you think shit was just a word she was using, feces, is that the right word? Feces-

[00:40:45] Andrea: actual

[00:40:46] Carmen: White House. They were breaking windows. They were hurting cops. You're all about the cops.

[00:40:53] Andrea: Blue lives matter unless they don't

[00:40:56] Carmen: You beat the fuck out of the cops with flagpoles and flags attached to them, American flags. All because of what? I don't even know what the outrage was. Because they didn't want our system of government to continue in the way it always has been when we actually have an election. the election was not stolen. I don't care how many times that man says it out of his fucking mouth, that man being Donald Trump, he is wrong.

[00:41:31] He is wrong. He is wrong And a liar. A liar. I don't know how else to say it

[00:41:38] Andrea: A known liar. Even people who support him know he lies

[00:41:44] Carmen: He's a liar. He did not win. And it's like, why? even if it's not true, why would you go and do this to cops? Why would you

[00:41:56] would you go and do this to the capital of the country you claim to love? That's the f- did we become the

[00:42:05] Andrea: they're so flag-waving patriotic, we're gonna take our country back by destroying the capital

[00:42:10] Carmen: And hurting cops. I'm just, I'm not advocating for cops, okay? So I'm just, I'm thrown by this, right? what they did to, to so many people, it's just a we- that's not who, we're not a banana republic. we are now. We were supposed to be above all that. We were supposed to be a country of laws and democracy and blah, blah, but we're not.

[00:42:33] Maybe we never were. I don't know. All right. that was a good conversation. No, I'm just kidding. No, I don't know. So I think what you're talking about is our moral core, is what I'm trying to say. I think... And I don't know how to bring that back.

[00:42:48] Andrea: Burn it all down. No, I'm just kidding. And that's just where I'm at this morning. I'm just like, "Ugh."

[00:42:53] Carmen: I, how do we fix it though?

[00:42:55] Like, how would we... The, the, well, the first way to start is to make sure you vote for Democrats. I know no one else is saying that. Vote for Democrats in the upcoming elections.

[00:43:07] Andrea: Figure out your vote situation. Figure out where you need to go. Keep checking it. Make sure you're still registered. Make sure you know where you have to go. stay up on it. Make sure you vote

[00:43:18] Carmen: Yeah, and if you're confused, they just voted out Massie, right? They just voted him out because he wanted the Epstein files released, which is what Donald Trump promised. They have not released more than 3 million of the, whatever they are, the... Because he's all over the... how do you not get that? So he just, he's getting all of these old school Republicans out, which we're fine with because when it comes to the actual election, it gives Democrats a much better, easier way to win.

[00:43:56] And this is the other thing that, that some people don't understand, a lot of people don't understand. The election that just happened was primaries. Republicans didn't win anything. You won against your own selves. I don't... you see all these people on social media like, "Yeah, we won." I'm like, "No baby, that's the primary."

[00:44:14] Andrea: Yeah. You just want an opportunity to get defeated.

[00:44:18] Carmen: To get defeated. For sure, it for sure in Texas. I don't know, 'cause Texas, Texas be Texas, so I don't trust nothing. And every time we think that thing's gonna go blue, it don't, so I don't

[00:44:28] Andrea: I don't have a lot of faith in some of those

[00:44:31] Carmen: But that guy Paxton is vile. But you know what? Texas, prove me wrong, right?

[00:44:38] Andrea: I said Texas loves Vile.

[00:44:40] Carmen: I, prove me

[00:44:42] Not all of them, not all Texans. 'Cause we're gonna get emails, "But she means all of Texas."

[00:44:48] Andrea: I know. Get-- if you're not, if you don't love that, then get your friends and your cousins and your, high school ex-boyfriend and make sure everyone votes.

[00:44:58] Carmen: And votes for Democrats. I think it's Tall Rico in the Senate, right? It's Tall

[00:45:02] Andrea: Yeah. Yep

[00:45:03] Carmen: right, everyone, look it, I'm exhausted, but, I found joy in this 'cause it's funny 'cause that's all you can do right now.

[00:45:10] Andrea: That's all you can do

[00:45:11] Carmen: That's all you can do. So thank you for stopping by, and remember at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy.

[00:45:18] Thank you, everyone. Bye.

[00:45:20] Andrea: Bye-bye