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C0MMENTARY The Coffee Klatch for January 18th 2024 Robert Reich and Heather Lofthouse Preparing for Trump 2.0 PLAY YOUTUBE VIDEO Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI2FCBlO4EY Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess
Preparing for Trump 2.0 \| The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Robert Reich Premiered January 18th 2025 ... 8 hours ago 1M subscribers ... 64,925 views ... 5.3K likes The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Are we ready for the dark days ahead? On today's Coffee Klatch, Heather Lofthouse and I examine what's to come. The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Transcript 0:00 and it is the Saturday coffee clutch with Heather loft house and yours truly Robert R Heather it is good to see you even if remotely and I know it's remotely good to see you too it's remotely wonderful good to see you uh so what are we going to talk about today we'll talk about the last week of Biden's presidency Trump's inauguration wait a minute is B Biden still president I know Bob we'll talk about his fwell speech the ban on the ban of Tik Tok there's lots to cover there is a lot to cover so I I mean I you know this this business about Biden still being president I I I really it it I only offer it I mean as a kind of half a joke because you would think that he wasn't even president anymore I mean it's all Trump all Trump all all the time Elon I know and all Elon all of Trumps Trump and musk Trump and musk you think musk was vice president and Trump was president and Biden and KLA Harris still vice president as we speak 1:00 but it's a it's such a shame I mean he did his farewell speech so let's talk about that but normally in a farewell speech you list all of the things you've done and he's done so many things right he's done a lot of things and you list some of your faves well I'm I think uh you know he has legislative record particularly in light of the fact he had almost no wiggle room uh given Joe mansion and uh you know his and and the limits placed on him I mean he did a remarkable about the infrastructure huge you know two trillion infrastructure Bill W and you know we're not going to see the results of it for a while uh he also did an amazing uh thing with with with climate change I mean we are seeing the results of climate change unfortunately uh in fires in Los Angeles and elsewhere around the country but his uh his climate change legislation was extraordinary very important huge uh effect on uh 2:00 you know kind of creating incentives for wind and you know Trump hates wind I mean he says wind he he thinks he thinks wind energy is is destroying whales I mean since when did Trump start getting worried about whales U the other day wait but what about Labor I mean labor there's been some exceptional stuff on labor he has been the most PR labor president uh really I can I cannot remember I mean certainly in in recent memory since I was labor secretary uh and before and then all of the antitrust right I mean there's interesting stuff happening in these last weeks in terms of the Consumer Financial Protection board and um it it just gets lost I mean Trump says something and the media just look at to at to Trump as if none of these other things happened I thought the farewell speech uh that he gave was actually quite uh important and it reminded me you know when when Dwight Eisenhower talked about the military industrial well you don't remember 3:04 Dwight Eisenhower I remember you telling me about it he was make a farewell speech he talked about the military industrial complex uh and for years uh we've been talking about the military industrial complex he warned against the power of the military industrial complex that was Dwight Eisenhower's farewell speech uh well you know the the farewell speech that uh was given by Joe Biden warned about the oligarchy the ol the American oligarchy in very dramatic terms if I may it sounds like some of the things you've said over the years that speech Yes something some of the phrases some of the points I mean and it's oligarchy is it I thought it was this is why I thought it was a terrific speech by the way no right it really rang true but it it was it was it was sad also it was sad to watch that as his farewell speech of course to be the focus this horrific future that we all 4:05 have here well it was also sad Heather because I don't know if you have this feeling I just don't think he's going to last very long I I think had he been reelected uh I'm not sure he would have lasted um I think that's a lot of people think that when they and um I I think that there is a question I mean he he leaves office with this question did he do right by the American people in terms of staying on as as long as he did could he have helped kamla Harris's campaign and her the possibility of her being elected if he had left office earlier um I think there's also a question a legacy question about how how Cooperative he was with Netanyahu and and the bloodbath Netanyahu created uh in in Gaza and and I think these These are are things that are you know that that that taint all of the good stuff that Biden did but also 5:04 Trump's interpretation of them all and taking the credit for the good things and lying about the bad things I mean excuse me other way around lying about the good things taking credit for the other things I mean it's well I mean you haven't seen anything yet I mean when the economy as a whole uh is really quite good right now even though people even though people a lot of Americans say prices are are still too high yes they are and a lot of that has to do with as you and I have talked about before with the Monopoly power of big corporations but nevertheless uh you know things are quite good and I think they're on the the right Glide path and if Trump doesn't screw it up with his tariffs and his you know Dragnet which is inhumane but is Dragnet against uh undocumented workers which both of which could really cause huge economic problems for the United States if he doesn't screw it up he's going to rise 6:00 on the coils of Biden's good economy and you've said the stock market is not the economy but people's personal wallets are also not the economy so people don't feel that feel that the economy is good um but by many metrics it's doing incredibly well so Trump is coming in in a day and a half and everyone who has more do you have do you have to remind us of that that's a terrible terrible fact day have a lot of questions I have a lot of questions to ask you okay so all of the billionaires have rsvped yes we are not surprised well this this is the thing uh Biden you know I think the the warning about oligarchy makes a huge amount of sense and oligarchy uh basically the re the the meaning of oligarchy is you have a few people who are in have all you know a huge percentage of the wealth and they control the power it's wealth and power the combination of wealth with power and 7:02 that's what we have in this country but I also think it's I mean I know kleptocracy is which is also called a theocracy means people powerful rich people are rigging the system to get richer but there's a little bit of that going on too I feel like oligarch sells it sells it short we need a new word I mean I let's be clear about this I have been in and around politics for what 80 90 300 years uh no I but but but seriously since I started paying attention to this issue of stagnant wages and most of the gains going to the top and people at the top using those gains some of the people at the top using their gains uh to put it into politics so they get even more money because they bribe legislators legislators and lawmakers to change the rules of the game well that's what we've been having that's that's the oligarchy that that led in my view a major reason Donald Trump is in office because so many Americans were just so disgusted by the system and Trump at least played the 8:05 part of somebody who was going to shake the system up in favor of working people now obviously he won't he didn't you know his big tax cut the first Trump Administration was went mostly to very wealthy people and big corporations and he's talking now about another big tax cut he's not talking about it publicly but obviously this is what he is aiming for as a payback to the billionaires who financed his election Elon Musk being the first and foremost it's so interesting though because so all of these men are going to DC we have Jeff Bezos we have Elon Musk we have um the president of Tik Tock or the CEO of Tik Tock by the way also going to Zuckerberg you Zuckerberg I mean the interesting thing is you've got the first second and third richest people in America all men and they're all big they suddenly they have become big Trump backers they're all going to be on the Das uh in 9:07 Washington Monday with Trump along with the billion the other billionaires that Trump has pulled into his administration I mean this is not a this is not a a an administration of working people or Administration for working people or I mean this is administration of buying for billionaires and I don't know and I think our job is to continue to point that out because there is no economic populism happening it is beyond the opposite of it but this energy I feel like they all have grievance energy you know they're all coming in like I'm mythed and we're going to fix things my life is so bad I mean it's it's a fascinating to watch these people and what circulates around them I mean they don't need more money they don't need more power but they're there it's this fetishization of power and might I mean but Heather grievance are they what 10:00 grievance do they have I mean is it is it is it immigrants no is it is it the griev I think the grievance frankly is that they are they want more power more money and more respect uh and they feel like they haven't had for some reason enough power money and respect and and they're they're going to change America they're going to make themselves great again they're going to make billionaires great again I mean that's what it's it's not a Maga movement it's a it's it's it's a MAA movement make billionaires great again I think we have to work on The Branding of that I mean this is this infu can I just say this whole business about people you know Trump having Grievances and the billionaires he's pulling in and Elon Musk having grievances they're no they don't have these griev they've made these up they're just they're they're moving the whole country and the world Elon Musk is moving the whole world or trying to move the whole world into a kind of fasc Neo fascism because that Steve Bannon is calling the fir the Days of Thunder the 11:03 beginning the first hundred the first thousand the first days whatever it is picking number the Days of Thunder and what are they and and fight fight fight what are they fighting I mean whe they're fighting democracy it's a Days of Thunder against democracy what these guy what these people really hate and what they fear is democracy because they're more of average people than there are of them and they know that that if there is a vote to tomorrow on whether for example there's going to be a big tax hike on billionaires a wealth tax they know that it could be that the majority majoritarianism in a democracy they could have a a huge tax and they don't want democracy I think that's I think that's what's motivating Elon Musk and and a lot of these other people that's why musk is trying to get Germany and and Britain and and Italy and all these other countries to move to the far right against democracy but I think I 12:01 have to hope and I do think that this is going to get old quick I mean all of these people none of them are exceptional strategists none of them have significant government experience I mean there is no way that this is going to go well it's obviously going bad for so many people including the most vulnerable we know that but just in terms of I mean it's I I can't wait to watch it crumble and I don't know which place me you know I say that I'm hopeful for America and they people say are you kidding how can you be hopeful for America uh well I say I'm hopeful because I think that the Trump crew these you know musk and ramaswami and all of the others they're going to reveal to most Americans the extent of the power of the American oligarchy they're going to show it they're going to be right up there Monday on the on the deis they're going to they're going to make rules and have uh political 13:01 influence uh that that is beyond anything that anybody has seen since the F first Gilded Age in the United States of the late 19th century in terms of changing laws uh that that help them make even more money the conflicts of interest Heather alone uh among you know this this group of billionaires coming into the administration you look at I mean Bezos his SpaceX is a major government contractor what is he going to do when he's in charge of this kind of supposed efficiency group that he and ramaswami are going to do the Doge the department of government efficiency they're going to cut military spending on Space X and on satellites baloney of course not I know the conflicts of interests are obscene and they have been and we haven't done anything about them I mean there's a big conflict of interest which is he shouldn't be president I mean that's a problem well he has conflicts of interest coming talk about but you know you're right and and it's been normalized I I I've 14:06 noticed that press accounts of of trump and his conflicts of interest uh have have almost disappeared uh because I think because the Press assumes the public is not interested because Trump is just going to make money off of his off of his second regime the same way he made huge amounts of money off of his first regime but nobody's even raising the question do you remember the first time Trump was President there was a kind of big discussion about the emoluments clause in the Constitution well there's money rushing in to Trump's coffers and the Republican party from all of these countries right now certainly the Saudis and others is anybody even complaining have you heard people talk about the amalan Clause no people say well forget it years ago um but so and also we have I mean the Press 15:02 I don't know they're kind of out to lunch we had Jack Smith's full report released this week I mean that was a blip was a blip it was almost a blip I think that even the Press I don't know whether it's they feel like the public is isn't interested or the Press is intimidated what do you think is it is it intimidation is it a continuation of what we saw with Jeff Bezos not allowing the Washington Post to endorse Comm Harris and I know and the political cartoons I think it's a combination of all of it but also it's where the the media system is I mean they need clicks people need money and so I think where the clicks are are not a lot of it is driven by traffic and I think the American people and the readers not enough people are clicking on the full report I mean it's well I you know I think people are interested I I think they're I think 16:00 I think the the media are wrong about that of course they are I mean Haren Harris haris lost by 1.5% of the vote I mean most and and that that also a lot of a lot of traditional Democrats a lot of democratic voters did not vote I mean so you it was 19 million that voted for Biden stayed home and did not show up to vote and they have reported different reasons for that but let's remember he won by under three million that was not a landslide no it's in fact it's like it's let's talk about a majority of America let's assume a majority of Americans really don't want Trump fascism they really do want a democracy they want to hold on to our democracy uh and that's again I go back to my hope because they are going to see this these conflicts of interest they're going to see these billionaires uh raking it in they're going to see the Press cowed by Trump maybe uh and all of this adds 17:03 up to a huge backlash but then you watch Bob you watch the Congressional hearings I mean I'm with you and now I'm fighting against you so when you have hope I don't have hope and then when I have hope this is why I'm going to meet you for coffee for the rest of our lives um but I mean it's I don't know what do we do I mean watching these Congressional hearings the people who are in charge who have no experience and no Mor and don't admit that there have been wait a minute you're talking about the the people have been nominated people the people have been nominated are a you know a a Star Wars Cantina of of the most inexperienced and uh and and often people who are just like Heth I mean the the sexual harassment uh allegations they're more than allegations I mean even his his mother uh wrote him and and it was part of the record uh that you know he has to stop abusing women uh and his his record his 18:02 book I I I got a copy of that book and I read it I couldn't believe my eyes I mean Heather Heth is talking about you know the Enemy Within in a much much more dramatic way than the Trump and this man is going to be the head of you know the defense department no experience whatsoever his only experience has been what a a a Fox News uh commentator well and some organizations he ran badly well he ran the two veterans associations yes and he and he mismanaged the money uh so we're now Trump wants to give him the the biggest budget in the whole United States budget uh to the the Department of Defense I you know uh these people uh are really a a group of people who should never get even close to the United States government I was Pam Bondi refused to admit that Pam Bondi yeah right refused to admit that the election 19:06 had been won by President Biden I mean refused to admit it skirted the whole question and she also she also refused to say she's not going to go after uh you know Liz Cheney and she's you know or or Jack Smith I mean she you you have a politicized justice department beyond belief uh with regard to Pam Bondi I think that also is going to contribute to the kind of the kind of rejection uh in 2026 and 2028 uh the backlash uh I think we're it's going to be huge I know and then there was also um you agree with me I do of course I agree with you hello have you met our coffee clutch um and Russell vote who's the nominee to run the OM the Office of Management budget I mean I mean that's that's another example of what got almost no press 20:02 media attention at all his hearing came up uh he's a per he's the person who was the author the lead author of project 2025 and he also says that it is perfectly okay for Trump to refuse to spend money that Congress has authorized uh when it's not okay the the Congress has passed a law and the Supreme Court has upheld a law which said no president cannot impound money it's if Congress wants a president to spend certain money a president has to spend it the ways the Congress intended I mean and he and vote is going to be in charge of the Office of Management budget yeah yeah that's exactly it and I think what's interesting too so we watch the criticisms of everyone in California as it relates to the Los Angeles fires which are such a travesty and luckily there's been a break in the um Santa Ana 21:00 wind so hopefully there's a little resp bit right now and they can gain some more ground but I mean it's Karen bass cut the budgets how dare she is this is kind of the headline as we set we give Elon Musk an office in the White House and his mandate is to cut the budgets for vulnerable people and for the things that matter I mean the hypocrisy around that and I'm not going to spend it I'm not going to spend it I'm not going to spend but that person cut budgets in the wrong way is wild to watch too it is wild I mean I mean you know our our hearts continually I'm sure yours and and everybody I know continually go out to people in Los Angeles these fires are continuing uh and Trump what does he do he makes up stuff he says uh you know he criticizes California for its water policy this wasn't a water problem it was a problem of of the fire hydrants not having enough water pressure because and why did they because fire hydrants 22:00 have never had the job of doing that much at the same time with regard to this spreading set of fires uh and and Trump says it's not and the Trump people say it's not climate change of course it's related to climate change uh and he wants to say the latest did you see Heather the latest he put out was uh immigrants are are are partly responsible for all of this I'm not surprised long enough to do that Elon Musk is saying uh it's uh it's the in the fire department the Los Angeles Fire Department had too many women and minorities and if they had just more white I don't even want to repeat it I don't want to repeat it I know these are the people who are are becoming in charge of America this is what is so absurd at this time in our history but we're hitting rock bottom right well well well that's sort of the theory that I've been expounding I know in articul if you hit rock bottom 23:01 there's no place to go but up uh in fact if you hit rock rock bottom you get a chance to uh kind of push off from the bottom and then of course tomorrow the Tik Tock ban begins and we downloaded all of our videos this past week because we thought here we go you mean inequality inequality media yeah inequality media Civic action but how tell me a little bit I have not been following the details this ticktock ban I I know that Trump is in favor of Tik Tock being allowed to continue that made me a little suspicious of you know what but is this I mean why doesn't bite dance the owner of Tik Tok uh just simply sell it to an American isn't that the issue here that is the issue but so more will be revealed we'll see I mean presumably they are going to sell it it's not a free spee speech issue as they had hoped I mean that was their case right they can do do anything they want I mean I think it's interesting that Trump was so anti- Tik Tock and now he's so Pro Tik Tock um and we saw this 24:07 past week it's wild to watch all these Tech Trends right so we saw that red note moved to the top of the App Store Heather can c can I ask you a very I mean I a basic question why has Tik Tok become so popular what what is it about Tik Tok that makes it particularly useful especially young people well I think multiple reasons I think the user interface is genius I think the algorithm completely makes it addictive and I think that it hit during the pandemic it was before that when it started but I truly think that the pandemic and everyone being at home and looking humans like to communicate I mean there's we have communication problems right now big time as it relates to the press as it relates to um partisanship as it relates to all of it it's coming out of the pandemic I think people we've seen this loneliness epid 25:01 epidemics Etc um so I think it was the it was the magic combination of a fantastic technology um a populace ripe for needing information and entertainment and being susceptible to incredible technology that hooks your brain gets the dopamine going and then the pandemic where it was this perfect canvas to just get everyone up everyone was looking for something to do but it was an algorithm that was able to take everything that you were looking at and translate it into other things that you wanted to see which I guess is now pretty typical algorithm but it Blended that it seemed to with the fact that so many people could create content for this uh this system right I mean you and it could surface the content that it would think you would like based on what other people liked based on how long you're looking at something based on what you've engaged with previously um yeah based on your information that I'm sure they're triangula through through my granddaughter I mean I know a lot you 26:04 know the young people who are in their teens who are making content for or were making content for Tic Tac I just Tik Tock Tic Tac tiktock it's different that's a breath mint it's I thought it you know for years I thought it was a bre breath mint that everybody was watching I thought why aren't they watching a breath Min but but all these young people are creating stuff and they have businesses they've actually made you know some people have made money off of oh I know a lot of influencers this is a problem a lot of influencers are very worried and a lot of people like us who make educational videos and are trying to get news and information and education and the truth out are very worried as well where what what but we'll see more will be revealed what will come up you know who will buy it will there be a new technology that'll rocket what billionaire will come in to try and save the day let's move to um um Monday in the inauguration again people are talking about this but inauguration day is Martin Luther King day and I 27:05 think that's so incredibly H poignant and something to remember right I mean the civil rights movement and what he fought for is the day and he and the whole movement fought for is the day that Trump 2.0 begins in actuality well that the irony uh is is just poignant I mean you have a a man Martin Luther King Jr who stood for social justice and stood for inclusion and now you have a man becoming president of the United States who condemns social justice and uh and he condemns inclusion uh well uh I I think that the half mast uh that the flags are being should be held at Monday but in honor of Martin Luther King will not be because Congress because republicans in Congress say no we have to have flags at full mast 28:05 well my own flag outside my front door is going to be at half mast don't tell anybody that that's just between us no I won't I would never also I don't I've been by your front door I'm not sure you have a flag but I'm not going to talk to anybody about I I don't even have a flag listen I he even remotely it is wonderful I'm not sure this is a compliment it is no it is a compliment even remotely it's wonderful to talk with you and um I I really uh well I hope you have a great week and everybody else out there let me just say something uh because uh Monday is it's going to be hard it's just going to be hard uh you you have one of the worst people in the world uh becoming president of the United States in my humble opinion uh I don't want to impose that opinion 29:01 on anybody else but you know this is a man who uh who did uh mount a an attempted coup against the United States who was impeached twice who's been convicted of uh of of of felonies uh a man who uh you know even the justice department the special counsel releasing a report saying that he you know there was enough evidence to convict him of of trying to overrule trying to trying to overturn the result of an election we are in a democracy we are about to have somebody who is the most anti-democratic small d uh President we can have so I get it I get it if you are upset by what's going to happen Monday I I'm with you but all we can do and all we should do is number one one protect to the extent that we can 30:00 the people who are likely to be hurt by this man and by this regime I'm calling it a regime and number two make sure that to the extent that we possibly can we partake and participate in a major major backlash uh in 2026 that takes Congress back uh that in 2028 takes the presidency back that learns the lessons we should have learned the first time about the importance of democratic institutions I mean people Heather you excuse me for running on like this but I just have one more thing to say uh some people say that the election showed that Americans are not concerned about democracy they're much more concerned about bread and butter issues you know kitchen table economic uh the the cost of groceries they're 31:00 more concerned about immigration and you know too many immigrants they're more concerned about this or that of that but let me just say democracy is the way in which we deal with whatever the problems are of the country you can't say that democracy is a special interest or you can't say democracy is equal to all of these other things now democracy is the means by which in a self-government we grapple with what we need to do if we lose our democracy we can't get on with anything including climate change uh including kitchen table economics including everything we need to do so what's going to happen Monday is is going to be difficult but we will all of us together Rectify it save our democracy and protect people who need protection the many over the moneyed take care [Music]

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