Fighting with Fox News feat. Jessica Tarlov

Tommy Vietor (0:21)

Welcome to Pod Save America, I'm Tommy Vietor. My guest today is a political strategist, a pollster, TV commentator, a podcast host. These are in order of importance. You've almost certainly seen her trading barbs, throwing haymakers, cracking jokes. You picked the cliche on The Five.

And now she's the author of a new book. I Disagree Winning Arguments without Losing Friends, Jessica Tarlov. Great to see you again.

Jessica Tarlov (0:44)

Yeah, thank you for having me. This is so exciting and in person.

Tommy Vietor (0:47)

In person, in LA.

Jessica Tarlov (0:48)

A West Coast hang.

Tommy Vietor (0:49)

A West Coast hang in an important time because the midterms are about six weeks out. Hopefully the Democratic Party is gonna do a little bit of a better job of just sprinting through the finish line here.

Jessica Tarlov (0:58)

Yeah, maybe, like, let's not kill each other. Let's just, like, go towards the goal.

Tommy Vietor (1:02)

Yeah, that would be good. But the minute the midterms are over, bloodsport. And it's gonna be a huge conversation and a fight over the future of the Democratic Party, the style, the substance, the political approach, the way to win, which is why I wanted to talk with you today.

Because you are a pollster by training, a data junkie, someone who understands these arguments in sort of the cross tabs. But also, like, you don't just work in a spreadsheet. You're on TV every day, kind of where the rubber meets the road, battling it out with various interlocutors and feeling, you know, figuring out what works in real time.

Jessica Tarlov (1:36)

Yes. It is a it's like a political test kitchen. Yeah.

You're scramble an egg over here. Didn't need that nutmeg. Or like, I'm not a great cook, as you can tell that I went for nutmeg, which is not an essential ingredient anyway. But yeah, it is fun to test your ideas out and then to also watch them testing their ideas. They're like, what do we think? The fences. Like, how easy is this to pull apart? Also, what is the counter to it, right? Like, what do you have hanging in your arsenal that you're like, oh, you shouldn't have zigged there because my zag is way better on that.

Tommy Vietor (2:09)

Right. There are definitely times on the show where you make a good argument and Greg and Jessie don't say something obnoxious, because they know that they are quietly owned.

Jessica Tarlov (2:19)

Yes. The silent L is my favorite. The loud L is the worst. You think you're having a normal conversation about the war in Iran, and suddenly you get asked, what is a woman?

You think, I have one, but I also hate myself. We're talking about this now.

Tommy Vietor (2:37)

Well.

Jessica Tarlov (2:38)

Thank you, Marshall Blackburn, forever.

Tommy Vietor (2:40)

More of that. I'm excited to unpack with you what it's like to work at Fox as a Democrat, whether Democrats should go on Fox News. I think we have a little debate about that. If you go on how to be successful, what you do, messaging strategy, what Democrats are getting wrong, and what they're getting right. But in case listeners have not seen you on The Five, first of all, their loss.

But here's a little taste of the vibe and what it can be like. Let's watch.

Jessica Tarlov (3:06)

They're not cutting snap benefits.

Tommy Vietor (3:08)

They're just saying, you can't buy Doritos with food stamps.

Jessica Tarlov (3:11)

That's absolutely not true. It is true. That is not true.

Tommy Vietor (3:14)

You can't buy candy with food stamps. That's not a cut.

Jessica Tarlov (3:16)

Even second tier senators like Josh Hawley would tell you that that talking point is invalid. Please talk about the useless trade war. We talk about how you feel. What's a woman? They usually find a woman. Why do you ask the woman who gave birth that all the time? You're talking about $20 billion in American goods.

Tommy Vietor (3:31)

We're going to get a deal, Jessica. It's just posturing. Just the way Carney walked out at the last second because he didn't want to open up his economy. The president is trying to get a better deal for Americans.

Jessica Tarlov (3:43)

This is part of the deal. Well, when you have no toilet paper, don't complain to me about your wiping. I'm stuck up during the pandemic. Yes.

40% of Donald Trump's wealth has been accumulated since he became president because of two crypto coins. This is not even part of the segment. So what? You're talking about a meme callout. No, I'm talking about who's corrupt and who is profiting off the American office. Did he try to cover that up?