Today's Poll Question: Agree/Disagree: Donald Trump Is A Symptom of America's Anger, Not The Cause.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Get ready to vote on today's daily poll question at smerconish.com.

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But first, Michael explains it for you right here.

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Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:11)
For Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:14)
Hi everybody. TGIF. Today is Friday. It's the 26th of June. Can you imagine? Next weekend is the 4th of July weekend.
Here's your poll question at smerconish.com. It's going to require some explanation. I'm glad you're here to listen to that.
Donald Trump is a symptom of America's anger, not the cause. Do you agree with that statement? Donald Trump is a symptom of America's anger, not the cause. I fear that so many are going to vote without listening first to the podcast that the die will be cast, but there's a reason why the question has been framed as such. Doug Sosnik, who was Senior Advisor to President Clinton from 1994 to the year 2000, he's advised more than 50 governors and US senators. He said that on yesterday's program. I'll play the clip for you in a moment so that you'll appreciate the context.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:08)
The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

**Michael Smerconish** (1:11)
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**SPEAKER_1** (2:49)
The Daily Poll Question at smerconish.com, a non-scientific social political question designed to spark broader discussions about current issues.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:58)
Get ready to cast your ballot and leave a rating and review of this podcast on your favorite podcast app.

**Michael Smerconish** (3:03)
I'm really fortunate to have Doug Sosnik in the orbit of the program. Much like Mark Halper and much like Admiral Stavridis, he's become a regular.
Doug, who advised Bill Clinton and advised more than 50 governors and senators and advised universities and corporations, really a knowledgeable political force. And periodically, he releases written memos or slide decks, painting a picture of the political moment in time as he sees it. And I told him yesterday on air that his written missives, the typed missives, remind me of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger releasing the Berkshire Annual Reports, if you've ever seen what I'm talking about, because there's a simplicity to them and yet there's a genius in that simplicity. Well, Doug's most recent release are slides and about 50 of them. So I identified, I don't know, about 10 And on air yesterday, and please, you can watch this on my YouTube channel, on air yesterday, I ran through a number of those slides with him. And when we got to a particular slide, he said something, and I thought, wow, that is really profound, and that is a poll question waiting to happen. So here's the setup. The first slide that we discussed was one that shows, actually, the first three are all related, that the share of wealth held by the top 0.1% is at a record high.
And the data that supports that statement is all there. It comes from the Fed. Secondly, that the US economy is increasingly dependent upon consumption by the rich, by the wealthiest among us, and the market is geared toward them, which is the third slide, which is that retailers are increasingly focused on high-income consumers. In other words, it's the luxury SUV, it's the luxury car that the retailers are concentrating on because, as, who said it? Willie Sutton said it, you know, why do you rob banks? That's where the money is. And when Doug said it yesterday, I said, I noticed that the airlines are all making a play for the wealthiest traveler as well, to which he responded, yeah, and it's not just cars and not just planes, but, you know, look at Disney, to which I then said, and look at the cost of taking a family to a pro-sporting event.