Justin Wolfers & Bradley Onishi

**Molly Jong-Fast** (0:00)
Hi, I'm Molly Jong-Fast, and this is Fast Politics, where we discuss the top political headlines with some of today's best minds. And a new CNN poll says 60% of Americans believe there's been too little focus on domestic matters. We have such a great show for you today. Think Like an Economist, Justin Wolfers, talks consumer sentiment hitting the lowest it's ever been. Then we'll talk to author Bradley Onishi about Pete Hegseth and the particular religious influences in his life. But first, the news.

**Jesse Cannon** (0:36)
So, Molly, I saw a lot of people being very mad about this headline that says Democrats shut down talk of impeaching Trump this year. And I felt like we should kind of explain to the listeners what's happening here.

**Molly Jong-Fast** (0:47)
Yes. So, okay. American voters, Democrat, Republican, but centrist, are very mad. They are mad at a number of things. I think the thing they're probably the maddest about is the war, but followed by inflation, the economy, et cetera, et cetera. They are very mad. Now, why are they so mad? Because things are not going the way they wanted. They voted for a change candidate. They got, you know, change that wasn't the change they wanted. It was worse. Democrats have to do this thing now, where they have to be the normal party, but also protect norms and institutions and also win at the midterms. A lot of people want Democrats to impeach Trump. Now, impeachment is a mass problem, right? You need enough people to vote for the impeachment to start, and then you need a trial that will take place in the Senate. And first you'll have hearings, and then you'll have a trial take place in the Senate, and then you need 60 senators to remove. Now, even at Donald Trump's very worst, you couldn't get 60, not your very worst, but even at the impeachment after January 6th, the impeachment where Donald Trump had his guys flood the Capitol, even then, you could not get 60 votes to remove or to make it so he couldn't run again. Had Republicans done that, we would not be in this fucking disaster we're in right now. Point is, Democrats do not have the votes right now to impeach Trump. It will fail. Do we see? We saw, I think it was 80 said that he should be impeached. They are on the record saying it. And when Democrats win power back in the midterms, they will absolutely impeach Trump. They cannot do it before that. And that's just the mechanics of how the House and the Senate work and impeachment works. It just aren't the numbers. So it's annoying.
I constantly criticize and I'm happy to criticize leadership when it feels like they are not meeting the moment. But in this case, there's just no mechanism for it at this moment. Now if Democrats win broadly in the midterms and they win the House and they win the Senate, there will be a number where Trump's approval rating will get so bad that even Republicans start breaking with him. And you see that just with the MAGA world, right? Like the reason that Megyn Kelly is breaking with Trump is not because she believes different things now. It's because her people are saying, this guy's nuts.

**Jesse Cannon** (3:18)
This is most apparent in Tim Pool's explanation of his break with Trump yesterday. We basically said, well, my followers aren't buying my coffee anymore, so I guess I'll break with Trump.

**Molly Jong-Fast** (3:27)
Right, exactly. No, but that's exactly. And that's why you're seeing all these guys. Did he really say that?

**Jesse Cannon** (3:35)
He basically was saying it with a sarcastic tone because that's what he does for engagement. But it was also one of those things that on his show today, he's warming up the audience to that he's going to break up with Mr. Trump.

**Molly Jong-Fast** (3:46)
Yeah, that's why I think that no one is operating out of good faith here. Thinking that MAGA has changed their mind because this is a bridge too far, no. They've changed their mind because they have a business model, which has to reflect the views of their listeners. And when their listeners are like, fuck this, they are like, well, maybe we shouldn't support this anymore. So I don't want people to think this is some kind of like moral reckoning because it's not.

**Jesse Cannon** (4:14)
No, coffee sales are down and now we have to change the grift.

**Molly Jong-Fast** (4:19)
Yeah, and coffee has even gotten more expensive.

**Jesse Cannon** (4:21)
Well, that's a whole nuanced conversation right there. Okay, but we have other fish to fry. Speaking of giant grips, Palantir, one of the most evil companies our country has ever seen. Trump has manipulated their stock market for their stock game.