Reality TV Stars in Politics

Joining us now for the first time on Hire Learning. We are very excited. joining us representing from Minnesota's fifth. Congressional district Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Thankk you so much for joining us on Higher Larning. Yeah, so excited to be here with you. We're excited to. We we don't normally typically do this setup. My co host Van Lathan. he's on the screen here joining us from Los Angeles where where you normally are, but we're happ to be here in her person. Hey, what's up? How are you? We met? Remember met Mhm I was telling I was reminding my husband, you had the cowboy hat Yeah when we met M Cabwa had Eera. I made an impassion plead to the Democrats. in Maryland, I guess I was two years ago. I'm not sure they listen, rep. I'm not sure they listen to me Yeah, I don't think they listen much. They were distracted by the cowboy hats. That's probably that's probably what it is. What is going on here? Okay, we wna definitely make sure we consider your time. Thank you again for joining us. I'm gonna just jump right in. There's so much to cover right now, but you've been in Congress since twenty nineteen. How different does governing feel right now compared to when you first? I mean, it's a continuation of chaos. You know, our class was sworn in doing a government shutdown Our class had two presidential impeachments U We survived an insurrection Um, we you know survived COVID as legislators. I'm still trying to match faces to names because so many years people wore masks and You know, it's it's and then now we have another presidency. so it's just been I think, a chaotic seven and a half years. So chaos, you're used to chaos. You like the chaos then kind of because I think I don't know if I like the chaos, but it's been our norm, you know, so that's kind of the mode that we've been set on. that's where we seem to stay. It's interesting when you talk about chaos too because As someone said to me the other day You have to be crazy to run in politics right now, just with the times that we're living in. And you know, when you look at where this country is right now, politically, economically, socially, culturally, I guess w what word comes to mind? And then what is it that keeps you going in a time where it almost feels impossible to get things done I mean, I I keep going because I think in my core, I'm an optimist And I still believe that we can be the generation that gets this country to that perfect union. I know it seems bleak most of the days. But you know, there's always signs of hope that are out there and I tend to pay attention to those rather than the despair that might surround us What's the sign recently of something that you saw? I want to take this. I want your optimism. What's the sign of something recently that you saw? that gives you hope Yeah, I mean, when we had the federal occupation of the twwin cities, You know, we saw ordinary people coming out to support their immigrant neighbors, their brown and black neighbors, we saw moms signing up to take kids that weren't even their own to school. We saw people U doing mutual aid, trying to grocery shop for people, trying to pay other people's rent I was at a business center where there are condominiums above the center and peopleeople were sheltering the workers, just so that they didn't get exposed traveling from their home to work to IC agents. And so just the the sheer audacity in the face of crazy times we're living in for people to show up with love and care gives me a lot of hope because we just hear a lot of angry people. We hear a lot of people that are filled with hate and fear and to see people that were filled with love and courage and resilience I thinkese helps restore my optimism of where we can go as a country as Thank you for sharing that. I love that. My optimism today, I said was hoping to catch the letters coming down from the Kennedy Center today while in town. Looking forward to that as well. Van. I love the both of you guys. I'm not so sure I'm as optimistic Uh But I do have belief and anger which really matters. So Rip O More, I want to ask you a question. We're seeing MAGA right now, particularly Donald Trump as unpopular as ever. uh his approval rating No Poland on the Republican partarty is in the dirt But what we don't see though is a commiserate Affinityity for the Democrats What do you think about the Democrats right now. is hindering them from breaking through to Americans I mean I do believe individual Democrats who are running for office are breaking through And we're seeing the polls trending towards U us But I think our brand as Democrats have been tarnished. We've become the party that promises and never really follows through on that promise And it will, I think, take few generations probably for brand of Democrats to come back to being the party that fights for the little guy, the party that cares about the working and poor people, the party you know, that actually performs on behalf of the people that send them to represent them Recently, I think a lot of people are asking of American politicians on both sides. Like who are they really beholden to kind of piggybacking off what you just said You know, be it special interest groups, be it foreign lobbies U whatever lobby it is, be it the NRA. be it the pharmaceutical lobby, be it APAC, a lot of people are wondering who their politicians masters really are in The specific case of APAC we've seen Fundraising in races all over the place to specifically oust prorogressive. candidates who are critical of Israel We saw that with Jamaal Bowman. We saw that with Cory Bush and say, Lewis, we've seen attempts at your seat as well Um, Recently, Jasmine Crocket came under some fire for what some people believed was an endorsement A packed back candidate Wesley Bell in St. Louis. Like There was video of it. I don't know if you saw that. Congressman Croet came out and said that she did not believe was an endorsement. She did not endorse him Two questions for you. One, do you see what she said as an endorsement of him at an event that he had there in Missouri. and number two How should candidates that are specifically positioned by APAC to take out the progressive wing of the Democratic partarty be treated by the rest of the Democrats. I didn't see Jasmine come out and say that that wasn't an endorsement, but I did see her comments at an event, I think that they were together. You know, Corey is my sister. I love Coreory. I miss Corey. and I was taken aback by the fact that she said, you know no one fights harder for Sain. Louis and Missouri because Corey literally was putting her life on the line on behalf of her constituents, on behalf of the city that raised her that she loves on behalf of Missouri. and on behalf of you know, people that are marginalized in this country. And so I took that to mean a slight. And, you know, it's not It's not that controversial, I guess for a lot of members in the House to support a colleague when they're running for reelection. You know there's that incumbent protection system that often exists and there isn't that much to read to it. but I did find the sentence in itself to not be accur and and I took it as a slight against Cory Bush, I believe APAC is toxic. Um, I believe is one of those organizations that really creates an environment where the members that are elected to represent the interest of those that send them to Washington, DC lose the capability of doing that. They do not just threaten to fund an opponent against you. It is a constant harassment barrage of text messages that are sent to your constituents. It is the digital ads they run. against you. It's the fact that they will say that you are interested in killing people if you are not ording what they're pushing for It is a very scary organization that is built on intimidation and bullying and I think It is in the best interest of every single member of Congress, whether you're indepeent, whether you're Democrat, whether you're a Republican to free yourself from that toxic hold because it ultimately does make you a better representation, a better representative of the people that entrusted you with their vote Did it sound like an endorsement to you, though Did it sound like she was saying that it did. it did sound like an endorsement to me, yes For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tromphia offers self injection or intravenous infusion from the start Trmphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self inject trymphia, proper training is required. Trymphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tmphia today. Call one eight hundred five two six seven seven thir six to learn more. or visit trmpharadio. com This summer, fandoo is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers, Uhuh. Volleys? Yep, headters. Every goal is worth more on fandoo. So let there be goals. New customers get up to a one thousand dollars in bet reset tokens when you bet five dollars daily Coto one plus in present in select states, ofptten required, Refund issueed is non withdraw of bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. M minimum five dollar waight are required for five consecutive days. Max refund two hundred dollars per day. Restrictions apply, including token expiration, SaFullurns at Vendool d. com slash spportsbook. Gambling problem callall one eight hundred gambler or one eight hundred my reset This episode is brought to you by Fan Dual Predicts. You can predict the summer soccer showcase action all the way to the final match with Fan Dual Predicts. All you have to do is sign up to get your twenty five dollars bonus. From the opening game to the final whistle, stay locked in with every pass, every goal, and every moment that moves us closer to crowning a champion. Sign up now for your twenty five dollars bonus on Fan Dual Predicts Go to fandle dot com slash predicts to sign up. That's fandle dot com slash predicts to get your twenty five dollars bonus. Offered by Fando Prediction Markets LLC, a registered futures commission merchant, eighteen plus restriction supply. see terms at fandle dot com slash predicts slash bonus dash offer dash terms. I don't even know if you can answer this question We weren't talking about APAC the way that we are now. L I think as voters we're much more knowledgeable and maybe that's coming off of you know, Jamal Bowman's race and then with Cory Bush's race before. and we saw how certain candidates were being positioned against other candidates, you know to further their narrative or their interest. But now it is such a part of the conversations where you're hearing certain Democrats say, politicians say, I won't accept that or maybe avoid the question. Do you think that affects the messaging, you know, is something that we continue to talk with the Democratic Party. The fact that you know, there seems to be a little bit of split and it is centered around APAC or that or that type of money Yeah I mean, the reason that we didn't talk about it as much as we are talking about it right now, even when, you know They went after me in my first reelection you know, spending outspending me four to one is because they never run on the issue of Israel. None of their ads will ever say, you know we want this candidate reelected or we want this candidate to replace the incumbent because they are pro Israel or they want to send your tax dollars to Israel, to continue to commit a genocide, to continue their apartheid, to continue the illegal settlements. they will never say that. What they will do is that they will create a pack that is like for a better future for a progressive majority. I think in Chicago, they had one that was like elect women of color or some you know something benign like that where you're like, o, yeah, that sounds great. But you don't know that the money behind it, the effort behind it is to elect a candidate that is Bu Israel, that is going to vote Um and the way that APAC tells them to vote, that they've taken some pledge that they've you know, they have a position paper that they signed that APAC wanted them to sign, that they will eventually get a handler. You know, all of these things are not things that they're going to advertise or talk about, they will take credit after that candidate wins. And so it has taken us many years. You know, I was very vocal the fact that APAC was toxic, that they were pressuring people to have a position, a point of view was not authentic to them. Many of the members of Congress that say they're Israel could not really, you know intellectually have a conversation with you about why they are supportive. No one can really explain how it benefits us to have, you know three point. five billion dollars of our money going to a foreign nation when we're getting nothing in return And so We are starting now we're getting more educated. peopleeople are much more willing to say because they understand that they're that the American people, that the voters, whether you're a Democrat or Republican donon't want a single group of people to have this much leverage on their members of Congress When it comes to messaging and kind of reworking things based off everything that you're just saying, based off the twenty twenty four election results. We got that post mortem that came out recently or the lack thereof, right? Like there wasn't a lot there. And we talked about it here on the podcast, but I'm wondering for you, like what does it tell you or what does it tell the voters that the party really isn't having this complete conversation around you know, messaging and what went wrong. And then I guess to piggyb back on that You know, when you werere talking with Van and you're talking about people who have left the party or who don't trust the party, I should say, what is it that you actually think is driving them away And I guess those are two separate thoughts Well, let me answer the latter first. I think the people who are not as interested or enthusiastic about the party that might be interested or enthusiastic about an individual candidate I think they are waking up to the idea that we shouldn't just support someone because they are a part of a particular party we should be much more informed voters and try to look at the platform what the candidates are about, what they're willing to do on your behalf once they're elected. Wh is supporting them? Where is their money coming from? What kind of pledges are they willing to take about you know money and corporate pack money and how are they going to make their decisions once they get there about what they're going to vote for and what they're going to vote against Oftentimes you get these exciting candidates and people like really don't pay attention to who they are and what they stand for. And you know if they had a record of activism and what was that record like? if they didn't, you know, what did they do for a living? What is their background U and and we're I you know, we're trying we're starting to see a lot of young people be that way, right? where they are meticulous about the agenda that the person is running on rather than you if they're flashy enough, they're exciting enough, and if they have enough resources to get them to vote for you Um And I think to your question about the autopsy you know, when U when we had our first DEM retreat I think Van was there. they had a couple of panels to talk about U, you know, what what we did wrong and, you know, what we should have done. And I was surprised that no one was really talking about what happened with the people that voted in twenty twenty and didn't vote in twenty twenty four, because no one was really concerned with it and and that is a disservice to our party, Is a disservice to the kind of progress we want to make U and the reason for that is We are also funded U as as a Democratic party by the groups that didn't want us to talk about the genocide in Gaza byy individuals who, you know, will write a million dollar check to unsee a progressive because they signed on to a resolution calling for a ceasefire. And so when you have that kind of apparatus set up a system in which You know, the Uper wealthy want you to stay silent in order for them to fund your campaign and your operation then you're risking a lot if you do not stay silent. and the Democratic Party donors are the people that want us to keep giving Israel this billion. dollars. They are the ones who will say, you know the genocide was justified. They are the ones who know will call us annti Sites because You know, we talk about on the floor, we talked about the apartheid that was happening in Israel or that we called for a ceasefire the former The Press secretary called us repugnant Biden secretary, press secretary. And so you can see that these are people who are in lockstep. And so of course they're not going to have an autopsy that says the thing they're not supposed to say And they're not going to have those kind of voices at their retreat to give them the actual reason why we We could have won Michigan, but we lost Michigan. Yeah, yeah Um Be it's almost as if they forgot that there was this whole uncommitted movement. right. There were like thousands and thousands of people that you know this was an issue for them. It was as if it never happened. you know, like the Trump administration, their campaign, worked really hard to have a conversation with these people. He himself individually, his daughter's father in law, who I believe is Lebanese, went and talked to these people individually. And so the fact that We didn't even make the attempt to have these conversations with people or to use our power to negotiate a ceasefire um really tells you why some of these things are not in the autopsy. And they're still ignoring it. Yeah. U, I wanted ' talk about you for a second because It seems as if You are sometimes attacked from within your own party, but you are certainly outside of your party. The MAGA Republican wing of our government, just the Republicans themselves the right has always use you as a sort of a punching bag and now is directly targeting you with the Justice Department investigation Now for a lot of Americans Even the hint of something like that is enough for them to be like, hey, look at this person Uh like bad person, corrupt, whatever But they are investigating your finances, campaign spendings, interactions with the foreign citizen Could you walk us through what actually happened and what do you want people to know that they have not heard I mean, that's what they're saying, they're doing. I don't know of an official investigation into any of those things So it's a bizarre thing the hat to read these reports or to see you know, these influencers and the vice president and the president constantly talk about this without there being an actual u an investigation or anything like that U, and I just think it is You know, I joke that whenever Trump and His mega movement are stuck and there's something they don't want to talk about Um You know, whether it's the abpstene files or the illegal war in Iran or the fact that gas prices are soaring and the economy is going to shit. It's like, oh, that Ilhan omar or the Somalis in Minnesota. And so it's just it's one of those kind of distractive things that the media then picks up is able to run headlines instead of running headlines on the failures of the Trump administration How hard has that been specifically for you It's really not. I don't It has no impact, I guess on me because Um, it's just crazy people talking shit and you know, I don't really don' I've got healthy kids. I'm healthy, you know, like my family's good, I'm good. and so I don't really worry about U these people who seem obnoxiously obsessed with me All newews Sundays at nine, exclusively on AMC and AMC plus. I am the vampireist. I'm a rock star now An Rice's ofmortal Universe comes what Vulture calls the most momentous event in fictional rock history. Thousands of fans. I want millions It my de. This is the Vampirelistot, All new Sundays at nine exclusively on AMC and AMC pllus stream now. For adults with Crohn's disisease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Trmphia offers self injection or intravenous infusion from the start Trmphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self inject trmphia, proper training is required Tremphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection flu like symptoms or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tmphayia today. Call one eight hundred five two six seven seven three six to learn more. or visit trmphiaradio. com So thevoy off of this. I want to ask you a specific question that's sort of about you, but it's more about Minnesota Where did Minnesota get its balls Like I'm just being for real. like everyone knew and LA showed out and a lot of other places showed out. everyone knew that all of the ice overreaches would eventually come to a head. But I don't think anyone could have predicted the degree to which The people of Minnesota would just say no Specifically Minneapolis would just be like, no, we're not doing this. We're not having any of this. We don't want to be a part of this and we will initiate the type of response and resistance that sets a standard for the rest of America if in fact you try to do this in our community And you know, we've seen them be targeted a lot of lies and smears and all of that. We've seen them be like surged with IC and CBP and all of this type of stuff, but they stayed resilient. made unconscionable sacrifices And one What specifically is it about the cultural makeup from the state that you represent, like what is it about them we just build different, you know, we are cold our state. It is cold. andakes it takes a lot of courage and resilience to survive that cold You know, it I remember when We lost in twenty twenty four and we knew that the Trump administration was coming in, I'd set up a meeting to go visit with DHS officials in Minnesota And one of the their one of their attorneys said to me, you know,'ve I've been to like twenty states and the worst state for us to function in is Minnesota. And I said, well, why is that? And he said, you guys are just too coordinated and too well connected to one another. And And that's kind of what, you know played out and what the country in the world got to see is that we are You know, we the word community is not just a word we use. We believe it, we live it and people really deeply care about one another And that's why, you know, people like myself who are immigrants in this country, who come from Saran weather, have gravitated towards that state and have, you know, created a life for themselves there. It's just it's a very special state with really special people. Yeah I have better white people there? I think How do we get some of those What we do? tellell us how to we do have we do we do have great people in general, but yes, a lot, you know, the best of the best, I guess. We've got Scandinavians and they, you know, they have Um They're just really sweet, incredible people who deeply believe in community, who deeply believe in volunteerism, who deeply believe in civic engagement. And that's also why we have one of the highest voter turnouts in the country as well Van, have you been to Minnesota? Yep Okay. there's something there. the Minnesota nice thing. Yes the Minnesota I used live in Wisconsin for qu example. Okay. The Minnesota nice thing is a real to the hot Yes. I think that I was You said what? into the hot dish What's the hot dish? Yaz a hot dish. I mean, it's a Ohh, it's a food. Yes. Yeah Casserole.. They make all kinds of different types of Casserole is what other people call it Yes. They make different types of hot d. We call call our casserole hot d Yeah It was up there. they make sometimes they put all different types. sometometimes they make a dessert hot dish. It's a great place in Minneapolis Staint Paul, shout to Graam Maray, shhout out to like all the different spots up in M shout out to all the places in Minnesota I've been up to So you've vacationed, you know about Gramarade Gramaraade, Minnesota right there then on the other side, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Lake Superior All of that stuff right along Mississippi. shhout out to all my people up there. yall know how we get down. Yeah, we have great parks, we have great you knows just it's a great environment. And Prince used to say it is so cold because it keeps the bad people away.. And so that's also how we ended up with all the nice people because the cold has kept all the bad people away. I like that. I like that. One more thing on this topic before and I'llan turn it to something else I want to say that, you know Representative Nancy Mays, you know, she's introducing this constitutional amendment that would bar naturalized citizens from serving in Congress She named you explicitly, which you already said, you know, they go down a checklist. They target you. But one, I want to know how you respond to that, but it's not just you, like this would affect people on bothoth parties So you know, it's not about you, Is it something bigger here? Like what do you think that it is that she's trying to accomplish And how do you respond to that? Yeah, I mean, well bless her heart.. You know, she represents South Carolina. You know, oftentimes usually I watch these people and you can almost certainly tell when they're having a slow press week. is that they'll start to do something just obnoxiously awful so that they can get invited to do interviews. And You know, I saw her amendment thing and I was thinking, it's very odd. And my staff was like, she's probably going to be on everything tonight And just let clockw work she was doing the rounds that evening. And then I was in South Carolina my in laws live there And I was watching the news And here comes this really awful ad against Nancy Mays and it was called Crazy Nancy. And I was like, o, so her governorial run is not going very well. And you know, they're running these ads where you know, they're calling her crazy. So just clicked because she's, you know, trying to like now Um, Hes, I guess, the bigots She's desperate. Yeah And by having this, you know, cynophobic amendment to the Constitution that's not going to go anywhere U But, you know, I've like that's all of them. their anti sharia Cucus, the bills that they have bills to say people have to denounce their other citizenships If they're a U. S citizen, which is the thing that you do when you're becoming American. It's just I mean, they're all and the thing to me that that is Al fascinating is that seemingly normal U peopleeople like would see these things and see through it. Yeah. But they but they have a base that just has no concept of understanding what is stupid and what is not U, and so you can, you know, tell them Paasians are eating cats and dogs and they'll be like, sure, yeah, that's a thing. You can tell them you're going to introduce an amendment to the Constitution Um, and they' are like Sure, that's a thing, you know, and they'll walk around asking you like how do you feel like when you know, this is going what somebody was saying to me the other day, you filed for reelection with Nancy May's amendment pending and I'll say Do you even know how a cononstitutional eens? No. that happens. And That's why I was gonna ask you because Gun beRA has that has not been, um part of the Constitution yet and it's been decades. Please stop Well I was gonna to say, do you think the jig is up where people see through this kind of stuff that it's performative or they're having a slow week or they're overreaching to try to win a race? And then you said, well, there's still this strong base and I'm with you. I'm sometimes just amazed at the things that some people will repeat to me, that's a headline or a social media post You know, now I'm just forgetting what the question I was going to ask about it, but No, no, they literally forgot. They are gullible. There are so many people that are just gullible. They believe because they want to, right? Like they want these bad things to exist or they live in a world in which, you know, people are capable of eating cats and dogs? Or do you think they think the government wouldn't It's interesting, right? becausecause the whole running thing was the government, you can't trust the government, you can't trust the government yet they trust everything that base that Trump says. And I'm wondering, is it just that they think, well, he would never lie.ike whyy would the government lie to us? Of course it's true. I'm trying to figure out where it comes from, because I'm trying to avoid, we were talking about this earlier calling them stupid. I'm trying to be nice But that's what it feels like. So I'm I guess I'm wondering, where do you think it comes from not I would say some of them are stupid Um I would also say You know, I've seen really smart, educated both all for this stuff Um and And it's it's, you know, I do think that they do have probably somewhere in their heart, you know, they are cynophobic, they have these sort of, you know, awful thoughts Um but also peopleople whose lives are very small And they get a joy out of looking down on someone else or wishing harm on someone else Um, and like that that's the thing that they live for. you know, I see people who are like they'll enjoy Trump's like insults on, you know vulnerable people or, you know, they'll like they'll have it would be entertaining to them to have like somebody get hurt or, you know, bombing a school full of girls. Like they think those are you know, those those things are like fun for them And it's just it is sad to think about peopleople like that existing, especially, you know, where I grew up where you know, people like deeply care about their neighbors and deeply care about one another. It's hard imagining you know, a state over that there are people that just enjoy those kind of awful things. Right. Yeah Um let's talk about some of those people You like me. you cause an argument on this podcast between me and my co host R. You did. because you had said I tend to do that. You do. You're very controversial. We're here to hold you to task U you said some time ago that and correct me if I'm wrong, but that we should find our way to put our arms around our embrace in some way All the Mga expats like I don't know. we were talking about Marjorie Taylor Green in this situation, but there are a bunch of people who I guess? Either stay true to the American first doctrine that they thought that Donald Trump believed in or canan see the writing on the wall for the post maga existence of the write and are doing their damnedest to be positioned as the leaders in that move And this set off a firestorm conversation because People really do not know what to do with these people were on that were for all of this stuff then but now have seen some sort of light since they've been cast out by the deity known as Donald Trump If we're not putting our arms around them if we're not U casting them out From our own side, they're already sort of cast outs, then what do you do Is there a point on the left where you invite Fmer dissenting voices in No matter how vile that disscent has been. And I'll have a follow up on this based upon what you say. Um No, I mean, don't I don't believe that you put your arms around the individual. What I was saying is that putting your arms around the idea that people are You know for policy positions that we've been advocating for and are speaking to an audience that doesn't listen to us and getting them on our side for you know, some of the things we care about. We're anti war. We want the genocide to end. We want Um, A pAC to be held account. We want candidates not taking their money. And so if that's what you're preaching You know, I will embrace and put my e the idea that you are now taking a policy position that I've been on and I've been called names for. And so I do think when people have the ability to lift up, something that you deeply care about and have advocated for you welcome their ability to do that My follow up question is The guy that I really enjoy listening to is a gentleman by the name of Basem Yusf sure you've se him before. He's awesome. He's very funny. He goes on Piers Morgan and he takes them down with a wink and a knot There is something interesting about him He's Egyptian. they tend to be very funny. He's comedy central from before, He's like a brilliant guy But there is something interesting that's happening. now with him and I see this happening a lot, you know He has sort of embraced Tucker Carlson. He's sort of embraced Candace Owens It seems to me sometimes, as a Black American living here, If someone is anti Israel, It really doesn't matter what else they are anti that sometimes some of the other repugnant things that they have said and continue to say about people about other people, about other things kind of get washed away if they are in fact anti Israel, anti genocide and While those are things and solidarity with Global South is an incredibly important thing A lot of Black Americans here feel like we are left out in the wilderness everybody else's cause, but then we are also asked to energetically engaged And in those same causes, R right? And this was the whole even, you know, in the election of Kamala Harris, there was a lot of tension around How do you support and advocate and at the same time, understand that you will drink dirty water if the Republicans win. You will have your voting rights taken if the Republicans win What do we do with this tension? How do we figure this out? What would you say to people that are from Houston, Ban Rouge. Tallahassee Wherever the black people live in Minneapolis, I don't know where they'd be at. But like what would you say to to what would you say? I know, I know they upd there. I just like messing with them. What would you say to those people Mut'ess valid U, you know, you certainly don't want be a person who Um, doesn't doesn't care about Um issues because they are personal to you or be told not to care about issues because they're personal to you. I mean, I care about what's happening in the Middle East, I care about war. I survived one, like I care about us being annti war and not contributing to destruction around the world Um, but I also care about My wace I care about the injustices we experience here in the United States and what it means for us to be protective of one another and to pick candidate that is not going to cause us harm U which, you know, which is why I voted for for Harris and advocated for people to vote for her Um So I don't I don't think it is invalid for people to hold attention, for people to speak to that tension. but I also want people Um, to Think about what it means when we say someone is embracing someone U You know, if you're going on their show to have a conversation about the particular topic Im of the destruction of Palestinian lives in the hands of Israel that's the topic of the day. and you have that conversation with whoever is willing to have that conversation with you. you're certainly then it would be really weird if you were on there and were they were talking about Black people or some other thing and you were agreeing with them, that would be embracing. If you were agreeing with a point of view that was bigoted that they might p towards black people. So I think that's the that's how I would Look that tension Um, because like for me, I'm not going to be able to to sit and have a conversation Um with Marjorie Taylor Green Um, who thinks my religion is fake U who doesn't believe you know I have a right to be in the United States, I have a right to be in Congress, that my oath is legal about any of those things because obviously we are not going to agree to have that conversation. And I'm not going to uplift anything that she's saying But do I think she's right in making the comments about you know, the broken promises that the Trump administration made about not starting another forever war, yes O and you don't have to One gentle push backack here Gentle. veryy gentle I understand what you're saying is I wonder how that would read if someomeone were having a conversation with Mark Lavin. Ben Shapiro on an issue other than the Middle East, other than Gaza, other than Israel, other than whatever and you're sitting down and that is hanging over the conversation. and you never get to it, right? And so sometimes I feel like That's the way a lot of brothers and sisters feel when they watch that. sure that conversation is about Israel's genocide in Gaza. It's about the war in Iran. It's about all of that stuff If we are in solidarity, don't you think it's fair as a fair ex there's a fair expectation that at some point we get to your bad ideas that affect my life. becausecause if I were talking to Mark Levin or Ben Sapiro Bhiro needs no help in being anti black, like he's done that before At some point, we are going to get to the fact that it feels like their job is to launder a genocide for foreign government. Like we're going to have that conversation. no matter what else we were talking. I can't imagine what we would be talking about that we would agree on. But at some point it seems like we would have that conversation Yeah, I mean, it also I hear you. And and I think it also depends on platform is being utilized If they were on your show that makes sense, right? that you would bring up different topics But if You know, I don't get to interview you. I'm answering your questions So that's that's why I say like somebody going on somebody's show or saying, you know, we should listen to this segment that Tucker might have. might not be the same as having them on your platform to give them the opportunity to say the stuff they say without you bringing up Um the other stuff that is on your mind That makes sense No. It makes sense. We would be bad interviewees. We would be like, just so you know, we want to say this. make sure say this. That's weated man. We would be bad on that. one hundred free events sixix thousand kids One mission Kids is using sports and evidence based wellness coaching to help kids build confidence, resilience, and the tools they need for life's challenges and opportunities. Up through august twenty twenty six, they're running one hundred free sessions for school and community based organizations near you Learn more at clinickids d. com slash one hundred K That's Clinic with a K Cinic Kids is registered by one C three nonprofit This episode is brought to you by Nas Energy Every ounce of dirt, sweat and gears, every checkered flag and trophy raised, every lap, every race, every hard fought place They're all jammed inside every can of NSA energy performance energy for burning the midnight oil in the garage and pedal to the metal human horsepower For the streets, goo ahead, crack open a can of Nas energy and get after it. I know that you have to leave soon. I want to just ask a couple of more questions here. We live in LA By the time this comes out, we will know the results of of the primary. Okay And The mayor race is getting a lot of attention, a lot of national attention because Spencer Pratt former reality TV star running for mayor, okay I'm also formerally from reality TV, but I choose to use my platform in better ways. I'm one you can trust.. But which one was he on? He was on the hill. Okay It all look the house, the house extension of Laguna Beach in L.A But I remember Laguna Beach, but I don't remember the hill. Yeah, it was like they grew up. They went to LA and they're living on their own for the first time. Interpencer Pratt.. so The race is competitive. Like as we speak, he is in the top three And for you, seeing someone was the one that lied about living in a trailer? Yeah. Oh, okay. okay Stop, you being shady No, I really I'm not California so far away Whatever it is, I love it. Yes, he lied about living in a trailer. Yeah I think I remember something about that. And then yeah, Van's former place of employment reported that he lived was at Beverly Hills Hotel Yeah sorry I had to throw that one in there. But the race is competitive sadly. As you know, it's always contentious when you're looking at the who's going to be mayor of a big city like wait, Van used to work for TMC? Yes. You don't know anything. That's not both We both come We both come from places that's TMC that that I saw that treat me Yes. How about you treat me treat me like you treat Marjorie Taylor Green. How's that L that woman Don't bring up the past. I certainly would not be putting my arms around her May not in a different way, maybe in a different. Yes, she clarified that. notot a physical embrace. But with this race, it's competitive. You know, he's going up against incumbent, Karen Bass And Nithia Raman' also up there in the top three. And so I'm just wondering for you, when you look at a race like this, former reality TV star, no experience, no real plans, just ideas, no policies of how he's going to what he's going to end and act in the city, shouldould he win? What does it tell you about the current political moment that this is actually a real competitive race with someone like Spincer Pratt. Yeah. I mean, that's it's all the danger. Always. in races where someone has huge name recognition Um, is that They get like a lot of earned media, right? The media follows them around, they get many more interviews. and no one really gets to the substance because they're a character. And a lot of people just get to see that character, which is kind of what we had with Trump when he first ran in ' sixteen Um And so I, you know, in that aspect, I'm worried. You know, we have't I don't know what reality show or his name, but we also have one in Minnesota. rununning in the Iron Range, a former reality TV star Um Faca huh Oh Luke. Yeah, from Luke He's from Summer House. Summer House.. I should know this. All right. Lke Luke, I can't forget that's another reality show I've skipped, I guess. I don't even remember it being on. And so so you know, and then like you just have these people that are very familiar, right? The Trump was on a reality show. peoplee were very familiar with who he was and they felt comfortable. and That's scary, because we want people elected with substance. wish them I wish u well, I wish Karen the best that's My um so I hope I hope she's successful in winning reelection. All right. Me too. We're going to let you go, Conggresswoman. I will ask you one last question though. Minnesota Mount Rushmore and U We're going politician. You can choose yourself if you like. Athlete Singer. and whoever else you like Oh we're having a Mount Rushmore in Minnesota. And I'm asking you, your Minnesota Mount Rushmore Okay, I see I o. Athlete singer. politician and wild c. you could do actor or whatever Somebody else you like Oh okay, how many people Oh, all of them. Okay. U I would do prints. That's the easyest's number one pick Um Paul Wellstone, the late Senator. Okay, wow U be the politician Kevin Garnet Kevin Garnett Wow. Okaykay, I know how you coming now. Cool Yeah. What was the other was the last? Lasting was the wild card. You could do actor, you could do you could do like whatever. likeike just somebody that you like that comes from Minnesota. Jes see the body, Jes Finu. Oh Wrestling fan I am a huge wrestling fan. He also also watching wrestling. No, I knew he was the governor. I know he was the governor man. Yeah. I grew up watching wrestling with my grandfather. See? Unboxing with my dad so love compat sport Good, did you do a sport I Yes, I did soccer and istance right? I wanted to say wrestling and boxing too. No, I didn't I did not do wrestling or boxing. I did fight a lot Really? in a not in an organized way. Okay, well, thank you so this has been great. Thank you so much for your time, Congresswoman. We really appreciate your honesty, your vulnerability, not shying away from any questions. We hope that you do Join us again on higher learening, and we wish Thank you moving forward. Thank you. We support you. tryry to get the others to act like you. How does that That's what we're like we like we support you guys. I was just talking to like Jamal, we support you. But we're not going to get off the rest of your colleagues's neck for anything. I know Oh, you're running for reelection. Please tell everyone where they can You know Follow, support, all of that Yeah. Elhan Omar d. com. Um