#273 – Reflecting on the 2024 Election: How Third-Party Votes Shape Long-Term Change in Politics
Welcome to another episode of the Spun Today Podcast! I’m your host, Tony Ortiz, and today we’re diving into the hotly debated 2024 US presidential election in Episode 273. We'll reflect on the election outcome, as Donald Trump secures victory against Kamala Harris, and I’ll share my personal voting experience and why I chose to support third-party candidate Cornel West over the major candidates.
In this episode, we’ll explore my frustrations with the two-party system and discuss the broader implications of third-party voting. We’ll also touch on key political issues such as the economy, foreign policy, reproductive rights, and the importance of political parties realigning with their core values. Additionally, I’ll offer insights and advice for both political parties as they navigate the shifting landscape of American politics.
Beyond politics, we'll delve into the creative and motivational aspects of staying informed and engaged, underscoring the power of podcasts in reaching and influencing voters. We'll also discuss media strategies, the significant role of influential figures like Elon Musk, and considerations for the future of political discourse.
As always, we have some exciting ways you can support Spun Today, including special offers from our sponsors like Athletic Greens. So, sit back, grab your headphones, and let’s get started on this enlightening and thought-provoking episode!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spuntoday
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spuntoday/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spuntoday
Website: http://www.spuntoday.com/home
Newsletter: http://www.spuntoday.com/subscribe
Links referenced in this episode:
Election Results: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ELECTION/RESULTS/zjpqnemxwvx/
Legacy media ratings cited: https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-fox-news-interview-ratings-donald-trump-1970906
Chart of Elon Musk’s company entanglements with the U.S. Government: https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2024-09-20-musk-network/119f813d-4113-46ac-8a1b-1c3f2e9a766c/_assets/contracts-600.png
Get your Podcast Started Today! https://signup.libsyn.com/?promo_code=SPUN
(Use Promo code SPUN and get up to 2-months of free service!)
Check out all the Spun Today Merch, and other ways to help support this show! https://www.spuntoday.com/support
Check out my Books
Make Way for You – Tips for getting out of your own way
Melted Cold – A Collection of Short Stories
http://www.spuntoday.com/books/ (e-Book, Paperback & Hardcover are now available).
Fill out my Spun Today Questionnaire if you’re passionate about your craft. I’ll share your insight and motivation on the Podcast: http://www.spuntoday.com/questionnaire/
Shop on Amazon using this link, to support the Podcast: http://www.amazon.com//ref=as_sl_pc_tf_lc?&tag=sputod0c-20&camp=216797&creative=446321&linkCode=ur1&adid=104DDN7SG8A2HXW52TFB&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spuntoday.com%2Fcontact%2F
Shop on iTunes using this link, to support the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTop?genreId=38&id=27820&popId=42&uo=10
Shop at the Spun Today store for Mugs, T-Shirts and more: https://viralstyle.com/store/spuntoday/tonyortiz
Background Music: Autumn 2011 - Loxbeats & Melody - Roa
Outro Background Music: https://www.bensound.com
Spun Today Logo by: https://www.naveendhanalak.com/
Sound effects are credited to: http://www.freesfx.co.uk
Listen on: ApplePodcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | YouTube | Website
Transcript
Tony Ortiz [00:00:19]:
What's up folks? What's going on? Welcome to the Spun Today Podcast, the only podcast that is anchored in writing but unlimited in scope. I'm your host Tony Ortiz, and I appreciate you listening. This is episode 273 of the Sponsor Day Podcast and in this episode I am going to recap the 2024 presidential election here in the US give you my general thoughts on how everything played out, share some advice for what it's worth for both the Democrats and Republicans moving forward, and we'll let you know who I voted for. Stick around for all that good stuff. But first I wanted to tell you guys about a great way that you can help support this show if you so choose. Your support goes a long way and means a ton, and there's a bunch of different ways and avenues that you can take to support this podcast, which I get into in the outro at the end of the show. But here is just one of those ways and then we'll jump right into the episode.
Tony Ortiz [00:01:22]:
Another great way for you to help support the show and also take care of your foundational health is by going to spontaneity.com forward/support and clicking on my affiliate link for Athletic Greens, aka AG1. One scoop of AG1 in your water helps to fill nutrient gaps, promote gut health, and support whole body vitality. Just one serving delivers a comprehensive blend of nine products, a multivitamin, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens and more, all of which work together for the strongest foundation for better health. I personally take AG1 and really appreciate the peace of mind of knowing that my foundational health bases are covered even when I know I'm not eating as healthily as I should be. Also, by using my affiliate link@ Sponsor.com support will get one free year of vitamin D3 as well as five AG1 travel packs absolutely for free. Again, go to Spun.com support and click.
Tony Ortiz [00:02:25]:
On the banner for AG1. The 2024 US Presidential Elections Donald J. Trump, the former 45th President of the United States, was ousted by Joe Biden in 2020, was running against Joe Biden's VP Kamala Harris in 2024, and he beat Kamala Harris decisively by getting and exceeding the 270 requisite electoral college votes where he received 301 versus Kamala's 226. He also, surprising to some, not surprising to others, won the popular vote with 74,168,456 votes compared to Kamala's 70,255,523 votes. And these figures, if interested, are from a Reuters article that we'll link to in the episode notes. Now in a previous episode of this podcast, I don't know if it was the last one or, or two or three episodes ago, I made it clear that I was not voting for either of these candidates. I have no confidence in either one. No complete confidence in either one.
Tony Ortiz [00:03:42]:
I gave you guys my full spiel of feeling like a lifelong Democrat that no longer has a political home with how upside down and bizarre a world the two parties have become. So if you're interested in hearing all about that and me fleshing that stuff out, you know, feel free to go listen to that prior episode. But I essentially resigned myself, decided months ago that I was definitely voting third party. And I fundamentally disagree with the ideology that a vote for a third party is technically a vote for either Democrats or Republicans, which living in New York, which is a deep blue state, the electoral votes are going to Kamala anyway. So in that sense it quote unquote doesn't matter. But I also don't agree with that thought process, although I get it and on paper it's practically true. But I think there's more to voting than just that portion of it. The philosophy of voting, the civic duty of voting also matters.
Tony Ortiz [00:04:49]:
And I think that ultimately, if you think within the limit of the two party system that this country has, Democrats and Republicans, and you fast forward 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 decades and you don't change that behavior pattern, 70 years from now, it's still going to be the same thing. And being that voting is supposed to be a reflection and affirmation of your views and your thoughts and your beliefs represented through a candidate that holds those values and virtues that you are voting for, then that signal of what it is that you believe in, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem when drowned out by the two behemoths that are the Democratic and Republican parties, that signal is still valuable. That signal is still important. That signal is still necessary to one day gain the momentum to break the two party system, even if it is 70 years down the line. And I get it, to some folks that might mean also it doesn't matter because it's not in my lifetime. But to me, having kids and just always thinking in forever terms, not just within my lifetime, I think it matters. If something matters 500 years from now, it matters. But I digress.
Tony Ortiz [00:06:13]:
So after some soul searching and a little research and reading the platforms that other candidates that were in the race were running on candidates that were on the ballot in some states, weren't in the ballot on most. Like in New York for example, on the ballot we just had Kamala and Trump. These other folks do make it on the ballot in other states in itself is something that I hate because it's a, that's a byproduct of, in my estimation of Democrats and Republicans alike having the money and influence and attorneys and entrenched know how and essentially the bandwidth to just ballot challenge and signature, signature challenge, all others from even being possible to get on the ballot, which is pretty fucked if you ask me. And then I helped narrow down my choices by doing a, an election survey by the Telegraph that wasn't backed by which the Telegraph itself isn't backed by any political party or candidate. I think it was like sovereign Middle east money I believe as of 2022 or 2023 or something like that. But it was interesting. I've done these in the past, but this one was interesting in that it'll give you five different categories and then give you four different candidates per category. Candidate A, B, C and D, it calls them and then it breaks down the platform within that category.
Tony Ortiz [00:07:49]:
The category, for example immigration, it'll tell you it'll give you three or four bullet points of what candidate A aims to do on immigration first candidate B and then it says, you know, pick A or B, then you pick one and then the one that you pick, let's say you picked A, then it'll give you candidate C's viewpoint and you could pick C. Oh, I like C's actually better than A's or I still like A's. Then it'll show you these and then at the end it just ranks all your choices across. Immigration was one category, the economy was another category, reproductive rights, foreign policy and gender issues. And on immigration I leaned libertarian, which I which I see myself leaning towards a lot in terms of the philosophy of some libertarian folks that I listen to, like Dave Smith for example, and I agree with a lot of their core viewpoints but up until the whole viewpoint of as little or no government as possible and like the should it work itself out kind of. And again I could be wrong on the fundamentals there most likely am, but that's my outside looking and understanding of it. Where Democrats are more big government, well traditionally big government and more regulation to curb big business and Republicans are more less government, smaller government and more pro business to give more businesses and corporations the reins. But yeah, going back to this survey then with the Economy, I was more on the Democratic side.
Tony Ortiz [00:09:31]:
Reproductive rights, I was on Team Cornel West. Foreign policy, I was also on Team Cornel west. And gender issues also on Team Cornel West. And Cornel West. So I was with him for like three out of the five categories. And I like Cornel West. I've seen him on, you know, like Bill Maher for example, for years. I wasn't thrilled about his VP choice which was the co founders of blm.
Tony Ortiz [00:09:56]:
But again, don't know much about her. I don't know if she was the co founder that was skimming and spying real estate properties with the ELM donations and stuff like that. Maybe that was the other co founder, but just across the board I thought all the VP candidates were Trump with JD Vance and Kamala with Tim Walz. None of those folks instill confidence anyway. So Cornel West's VP pick wasn't a deal breaker for me either. And that's where my vote went. So here are a few takeaways from me and just some thoughts around how it all went down and looking forward My hope for the Democrats Again as a lifelong Democrat from New York, and I say that to highlight my bias more than anything else, but I think how I feel is reflective about of how a lot of Democrats feel, a lot of even Republicans. Because it's not just the Democrats that seem to have abandoned a lot of the traditional liberal views.
Tony Ortiz [00:11:01]:
Republicans and more conservative folks seem to have adopted some of those views and swapped with Democrats in some cases. Which goes back to the whole bizarro upside down feeling that I mentioned in the intro. But my hope for Democrats is that they go back to the ethos of who they were. The Democratic Party was always, you know, anti big corporation and anti lobbyists and against Big Pharma and big Tobacco and checking these behemoth entities doing harm to everyday people for monetary gain. They're anti the military industrial complex and going to war. And this time around it seems like Democrats are more hawkish and funding the shit out of the Ukraine war against Russia and the Israeli government's genocide against Gaza slash war against Hamas. And Kamala was parading around with Liz Cheney who endorsed Kamala Republican Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney which was the VP of George W. Bush and Satan reincarnate Darth Vader himself that led us into the two longest decades long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan completely unnecessarily and for personal interest and gain with Halliburton getting no bid contracts to which he was the CEO of getting no bid contracts to rebuild Iraq after they just blew it up for 20 years, killing hundreds of thousands in the process and just feeding the military industrial complex.
Tony Ortiz [00:12:59]:
So his spawn, his daughter Liz Cheney is who? The Democrats, for some reason thought it was a great idea to say, see, we got Liz Cheney support. I don't get it. Whatever the strategy was there, you know, maybe to seem tough and on the world stage, you know, we, you know, not going to be soft. We could do the whole war, war thing too. Whatever that strategy was, it was incorrect, it was wrong, it did not work. Your actual supporters, you know, lifelong court Democrats, nobody liked that shit. Nobody supported that. I feel like that was a big misstep.
Tony Ortiz [00:13:36]:
Go back to being the party of pro free speech and anti censorship. How is Trump selling the. Successfully selling the Republican Party as being the party of free speech? That was always a left thing. That was always a. Was it ACLU or Anti Defamation League, one of those big civil rights groups, not civil rights or rights groups that were so adamant about protecting free speech that they also protected hate speech. They saw the wisdom in understanding that if you do not allow free speech for all, even folks that you disagree with, then it's just going to come down to whoever's in power is just going to say the other side is hate speech, they can't speak anymore. Then when the pendulum swings, same thing now that's the other side is, you know, hate speech, they can't speak anymore. Censor them.
Tony Ortiz [00:14:32]:
And you got to keep the same energy across the board. Like the ACLU defended the free speech and the rights of neo Nazis and white supremacists, famously, as seen in the 1978 Skokie case. Skokie, Illinois, I believe. Case. It just says a Skokie case here. And on the other side defended the free speech rights of BTQ groups. Then on the flip side, the free speech of conservative anti gay groups. Then on the flip side, civil rights groups flip to the other side.
Tony Ortiz [00:15:08]:
NRA and the gun rights go back to being the party of freedom of speech. So that's two big things, right? Go back to being the anti forever wars and policing the globe. Because I feel like a lot of the independents and libertarians that wound up going to Trump versus Kamala did so largely on that issue. And also I want to highlight, we got to stop making this such a partisan binary thing because now, because Trump is now again salesman, sleazy salesman to the core, selling the Republican Party as the, you know, anti war will stop all the wars party, which to his credit didn't start any new wars. But still kept all the ones, all the existing ones going when he was president. So you do technically have to give him credit for that, although his volatile way of governing and fucking up our foreign relations with allies and just destabilizing. I don't think that bill has come due yet. So time will tell there.
Tony Ortiz [00:16:11]:
But to his credit, he didn't start any new wars. But going back to the point, just because they are selling themselves as that now I feel like Democrats are like, all right, so now we got to be the pro war party. Like, no, no. That should validate that you were right all along or traditionally and good, you won those folks over. Now they see that we shouldn't be in these forever wars and policing the world, policing the globe. Don't switch up. And I'll say that you're the pro war party and act as if by funding all these wars. Stick to your values, go back to being the party that you were.
Tony Ortiz [00:16:52]:
So that's a big one there, the pro free speech and here's a big one moving forward. Do more podcasts this election cycle was coined by many Shout out to Crystal from Breaking Points and Saga as the podcast election. Both candidates to the accredited podcast. But Trump ran the gamut of podcast. I thought he was promoting an album at one point with how many pods I saw him on, whereas the Democrats seem to be too calculated with it. And it seems that backfired. Like Kamala did the one on one with Charlemagne and the Breakfast Club and the Caller Daddy podcast. She did snl, which is great.
Tony Ortiz [00:17:40]:
This kid was dope with my Rudolph. But I feel like it stopped there. It was a calculated decision to not do certain shows Trump did, to name a few. Theo Vons. He did the Knuck Boys. He did flagrant. He did Rogan, as Rogan mentioned. According to Rogan, Kamala's camp reached out and wanted to do the pot as well.
Tony Ortiz [00:18:06]:
He absolutely agreed. But then they gave terms that he would have to fly out to Washington D.C. and do a 45 minute podcast. And Rogan was like, no, this is literally the biggest in this part. He didn't say obviously, but he was like, the show is, you know, everybody flies here does it in Austin for three hours. That's the point of it. People can see you as a human being, you know, not just a bunch of edited talking points and segments and shit. And I thought that was a huge misstep not to do it, not not to do Rogan.
Tony Ortiz [00:18:41]:
And she was in Texas at one point. She was in Houston when she did the thing with Beyonce and Kelly Rowland and stuff like that. But folks, candidates, Democrats especially of the future, do more podcasts. Traditional legacy media is all but dead, and I don't want that to sound like hyperbole. It's not completely dead. There's a place where there's demographic for it, but it is dead in the way that newspapers went from being the sole way that everyone got their news and information about the world to where they are now. No longer the main source of news for anyone. They're still there.
Tony Ortiz [00:19:20]:
They still have a core base of folks that read physical newspapers every day. But it's a candle in the sun. Podcasts are where your future voters and current voters, that's where they are. So here's just a few stats of legacy media this election cycle verse podcast Kamala's largest interview this election cycle, largest by terms of viewers, was on Fox News, where she had 7.1 million views. Earlier that day, Fox also had Trump's town hall and his views for that town hall drew 2.9 million views. Prior to that, on September 18, Trump had an interview with Greg Gutfeld on Fox. And I'm citing Fox, by the way, because Fox versus CNN and MSNBC has a much larger, larger audience. But Trump's interview averaged 4.9 million viewers.
Tony Ortiz [00:20:18]:
For contrast, Kamala's podcast on Caller Daddy that The that's around 800 to 900,000 views on YouTube, which is a fraction of the traffic that most all podcasts get. Most podcasts are consumed audio only, so through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc. And then much lesser so on YouTube. So I'm comparing again for the legacy media, the Fox News interviews, the tv, that's where they're going to get their biggest concentration. And for the podcast numbers, I'm showing where they're getting their smallest concentration. So I'm giving the benefit there in the comparison to Fox because if you pull up those interviews, for example, on the Fox News YouTube channel, it's a fraction of those numbers that I just mentioned. So Kamala's Call Her Daddy podcast on YouTube was is around 800k. Then let's go to the big boy podcasts.
Tony Ortiz [00:21:25]:
Trump on Theovon, 14 million views. Trump on Flagrant, 8 million views. And again this 8 million and 40 million, both of which are a lot more just on YouTube views, both of which are a lot more than the views that any of the legacy media channels got. These are a fraction of the listeners that listen to those episodes on Theovon and on Flagrant, because the majority of podcast listeners still Listen audio only, Spotify and Apple podcasts and obviously other podcasters. So it's more than 8 million and more than 14 million views, just to be clear. But even if we say that it's only YouTube and only those 14 million 80 million, it's already a lot more. Now when you look at Trump on Rogan, on the JRE, on YouTube alone, 47 million views, then on X, because YouTube was apparently shadow banning and throttling the episode, supposedly they were like a lot of clips and videos of people posting, hey look, I'm searching JRE Trump and nothing's coming up. So they also streamed it on X on Twitter.
Tony Ortiz [00:22:43]:
So the same Trump episode on Twitter got 22 million views. And again, I can't emphasize that underscore enough. The 47 million views plus the 22 million views, you know, maybe some folks saw it twice, once on each platform, which habitually I don't think makes sense, but let's call it 60 million instead of 69. That 60 million, those 60 million views is a fraction of the number of people that actually listened to that episode. The way Obama fucked up the political, political game. And I mean that not negatively, I mean how he fucked up the status quo and disrupted shit when he ran by leveraging social media and Facebook ads and stuff like that and galvanized a shitload of younger people to vote. Podcasts definitely had that influence this time around, I feel, and will much more so moving forward. Do more podcasts go where the people are and stop.
Tony Ortiz [00:23:45]:
Democrats especially, stop throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Stop demonizing folks that are largely on your side just because they deviate on and don't agree with you on every single thing. Rogan, for example, is like shat on and you know, demonized as like some right wing dangerous nut job when he has been self admittedly Democrat his whole life. Always voted Democrat, fucking endorsed, endorsed Bernie Sanders, which is damn near socialist if you, if you hear some folks tell it, it was pro universal basic income, pro choice on abortion, pro legalizing weed and all other fucking drugs. So he's even more left than most folks on that issue. But because he's pro second amendment and hunts, you know, oh, he's a right wing Nazi. It's like, all right, relax guys, use the feedback, use the signals that you got from this election to course correct, not to dig in your heels and go deeper into the wrong direction. Chris Cuomo said this and I agree with him.
Tony Ortiz [00:24:59]:
And he was speaking to the PC culture and the wokeness. He's like, we have too much P and not enough C. So too much political, not enough correctness. He said we need to put more energy into addressing the problem instead of defining the language around what the problem is because that's an extension of Wokeism and you. And by you he meant the Democratic Party, you don't have to agree, but you have to realize that that ideology beat your ass in a way that you are shocked by. And I thought that was a very salient point that he made. Musk is another one. He's a darling billionaire of the left all his life.
Tony Ortiz [00:25:44]:
Like a. Mark Cuban is one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time and innovators and has brought to fruition half a dozen or more human species impacting innovations that will forever alter our realities. From the ubiquitousness of electric vehicles with Teslas and the influence that that possibility had on other car manufacturers to the self driving, the reality of a self driving future that we seem to be heading towards. To neural link and where that's going to be fucking brain implants where we can interface with a chip that's in our brain. To the innovations in space travel, the efficiency gains of just reusable rocket boosters to Starlink which has more satellites in space to date than any other single entity, including countries, including the U.S. u.S. Satellites and any other country satellites and is able to provide in doing so high speed Internet to places that otherwise couldn't have it and where that's going to be. And it's just insane.
Tony Ortiz [00:27:04]:
All pro life champion things. It's literally a virtue signal to drive a Tesla and you know, be snooty and you know, say I care about the environment, you don't. So the dopest license plate actually the other day, or not the other day, it was months ago, but I always remember this girl was driving a Tesla and the license plate said E Gas. E www Gas. But yeah, but then you know, he buys Twitter out the, you know, via the Twitter files and did, did so through reputable journalists which nobody could shit on their credentials. He outed things like how the FBI was meddling and asking and trying and successfully in some cases doing so to censor certain stories like the Hunt Hunter Biden laptop story around the time during, you know, Trump and Biden's election and how they had a direct portal into Twitter itself. The government did. And that led to the domino effect of, you know, Mark Zuckerberg on Rogan actually saying how yeah, you know, yeah, there is a, there is or was a protocol in place with the government, you know, reaching out and flagging certain things and letting us know things that could be dangerous, things that weren't.
Tony Ortiz [00:28:30]:
But then when they look behind that, it's, you know, to their benefit, to a specific party's benefit, usually the left and like that. And anyway, I digress. Once Elon did that, you know, now he's a piece of. And the left doesn't like him anymore. So you throw the baby out with the bathwater, you forget everything else. And because he highlighted something that we shouldn't want as a people, you know, something similar to WikiLeaks with Julian Assange and how he uncovered all the negative shit that we didn't know about with the Bush and Cheney's and things going on in Iraq, Afghanistan and then Edward Snowden under Obama through the Guardian and Glenn Greenwald and highlighting the surveillance of that the government was doing on its own citizens and denying it until Edward Snowden blew it up. Those are positive things that those folks did. Elon did a similar thing just at this side.
Tony Ortiz [00:29:26]:
It was against the. The left, essentially. We shouldn't want that shadowy type of shit to go on within our government, regardless of the side that it's on. It sucks that it was on the left, you know, being someone from the left, but it is what it is. We shouldn't want that. Keep the same energy, stop throwing the baby out with the bathwater. And honestly, you shouldn't want to win that way.
Tony Ortiz [00:29:50]:
I don't want to win that way. Democrats should not want to win that way.
Tony Ortiz [00:29:53]:
If you have to coerce and essentially cheat and fuck Bernie out of being the Democratic nominee in favor of the more establishment candidate at the time, which was Hillary, which seemed more convenient if you have to swap out Biden for Kamala without giving the chance for a true primary, because in your estimation, you might wind up with a candidate that's less favorable to the powers that be within your party. If you have to leverage your own versions of, you know, disingenuine and misinformation under the guise of, but we are truly the good guys, and that's why we're doing it. That's why we're being underhanded, then truthfully.
Tony Ortiz [00:30:29]:
You don't deserve to win.
Tony Ortiz [00:30:30]:
You're just as bad as the other side. I do not want to win that way. Democrats shouldn't want to win that way. If I have to cheat to win, I rather not win. Go back to the drawing board, recalibrate and do things correctly, do things the right way, the way it should be done, and make it so that you deserve to win. And then it's also a bad chess move also, because then Elon is someone hugely influential in his own right. Then he says, all right, fuck you guys, then I'm gonna support the other guy. It's no bueno.
Tony Ortiz [00:31:03]:
Now, a couple things that worry me about Trump is that if we have more of what we had the first time around, we're gonna go back to divisiveness and bullshit. And again, his destabilizing approach to things. The I don't want to play anymore, so I'm going to take my ball and go home unless you play how I want you to play type of approach. His lack of diplomacy in that way, or at least, you know, that's how it seems. And perception is fucking reality. But I think that is a very dangerous thing. His short term thinking, his transactional nature, his narcissistic tendencies. Sam Harris highlights this how, because he's so transactional, it's kind of like he'll default to, you know, what's in it for me in scenarios when negotiating with these foreign powers, like, he wouldn't put it past him to make a deal that benefits him above the American people.
Tony Ortiz [00:32:05]:
That type of shit worries me. And like I was saying, the short term gains. So thinking along the lines of, again, to look good, to feed his own narcissism, if you will. Not thinking long term as you should as the leader of a country. You know, you have this leadership role for four years, but you should be thinking about the next 100 years and playing into that longer goal. I feel like with him, it's more like, nah, I'm just gonna, you know, drill right here, get some oil to make everything cheaper for now. And if there's none left after I'm gone, then whatever, you guys figure that out. You know what I mean? I feel like it's that type of mentality when it comes to him, and hopefully I'm wrong, but I think that's a negative.
Tony Ortiz [00:32:52]:
I think that worries me. And you see folks on the right gaslighting with all the so blowy racist shit that he says, and when he fucks around about, you know, being a dictator for a day and maybe I won't leave. And the folks already gaslight and say, you know, don't listen to what he says. You know, he speaks in hyperbole, you know, listen to what's in his heart and what he actually does. I think that's, that's bullshit. That's, that's gaslighting akin to how the left gaslights or was gaslighting about Joe Biden. And, you know, when we see him, you know, mumbling and fumbling and falling and cognitively in decline and them saying, oh, no, but behind, you know, don't, don't worry about that. How he looks at Pollock, because behind closed doors, he's sharp as attack.
Tony Ortiz [00:33:41]:
It's like, all right, you both gaslighting. You're both full of shit and bullshitting on both sides, like, cut the shit. And so the health of the economy worries me under Trump, ironically, because a lot of folks champion him. As you know, the economy was good on him, but the debt of the country is out of control and exacerbated under Trump. And what's going up even before COVID because a lot of it has to do with COVID obviously, and stimulus checks. But then that. I personally blame Trump in a way because that. For the pandemic, I'm saying because the NIH was doing gain of function research in the Wuhan lab in China, where the virus came from.
Tony Ortiz [00:34:25]:
I think that's without a doubt clear. However, they were doing that shit under Obama, and Obama cut the funding for it. It was on some. You what? Are you guys fucking crazy? You're like making super viruses here. No, we're not paying for that anymore. You're not doing that anymore. And then Trump comes into office and he says, I want to undo everything Obama did, because fuck him, I'm the new president. And starts funding them again.
Tony Ortiz [00:34:51]:
And then fast forward a year or a few months, whatever it was, a fucking super virus comes out of that lab. So in that way, it is his fault, which again, ties to the whole. When your back's against the wall, when you're not sure what decision to make, or when you make hasty decisions, stuff like that, you fall back on your character. And if your character is rooted in narcissism and fuck the other guy, I'm the one that wants to look good. We get this short term gains so people could feel good in the moment. That backfires long term. So that stuff worries me. And the other big worry of mine under.
Tony Ortiz [00:35:27]:
Under Trump is that I personally think would be negative. But again, this is more of a values thing, is the Supreme Court and the potential for another one, maybe two appointments for Trump, which is unheard of. It was unheard of that he had so many last time. And he flipped the Supreme Court, conservative leaning, I think it's five to four, but that's how we lost Roe v. Wade, the abortion protection rights. But under him, he'll have possibly two other Justices retiring or God forbid, dying under his watch. And then he'll have to reappoint. He'll stack that conservativeness even more.
Tony Ortiz [00:36:11]:
And that's where the long term, you know, course of the country shift happens most, I feel. But I want to end on a positive note. So a few positives that I feel can come from a Trump presidency circling back to some of the folks that he has around him, which are and were actually lifelong Democrats like in Elon Musk, his innovation, his mind, his efficiency ness. Is that a word, efficiency ness or his efficiency. It's good to have that on Team America. I believe so. Definitely would be interesting to see what comes out of that. Although I am an Elon fan, even though I don't completely agree with him politically as of late, even though I am a fan, I, it does make me weary that his and I think this might be part of his, part of the math in his brain when it comes to, you know, backing, backing Trump and, and so forth.
Tony Ortiz [00:37:17]:
You know, it's not just because the left shat on him and demonize them, but it's in his two main companies interest to be on the winning team, to be, you know, within the orbit of Trump. SpaceX gets funding and has contracts with NASA, with the Environmental Protection Agency, with the Department of Defense, with the Department of Transportation, with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce, the Department of State. Tesla also has contracts with the Department of State, the Department of Energy. Like he's very intertwined with the federal government and funding as is. So I'm a little weary there. I think it's a, oh, it's a net positive, but I'm a little, little weary. Then another positive that I feel could be and it's more related to again another lifelong Democrat that is now within Trump's orbit is RFK Jr initially when he was actually running as an independent, he was like my placeholder. Okay, I'm probably going to vote for RFK Jr just based on again tons of podcasts that he was on and hearing him articulate his ideas and policies and platform and just view on the world and things.
Tony Ortiz [00:38:40]:
Up until his hawkish approach to the Middle East I was with him and then he wound up dropping out and backing Trump. So obviously didn't get my vote anyway. But I don't agree with him on everything obviously. But I do like his, his Make America Healthy Again, his MAHA campaign, specifically when it comes to the fda. And we're going to read you guys a tweet of his from recently, from a couple weeks ago, which think highlight where he's coming from. And he says, quote, FDA's war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, iberin, hydrochloroquine, vitamins, clean food, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals, and anything else that advances human health and can't be patented by pharma. If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you.
Tony Ortiz [00:39:51]:
One, preserve your records, and two, pack your bags. Kind of like that energy. I can't front. I like that energy specifically, again, when it comes to the fda, because although you obviously need a Food and Drug Administration and fda, I don't like the fact that if you look at the board of the fda, you'll see executives from Coca Cola and other food and beverage companies and pharmaceutical companies, and vice versa. Folks that used to work at the fda, it's like a revolving door. Get a nice cushy deal, a nice position. Over at Pfizer, for example, surprisingly, after, you know, helping get some approvals through the FDA system. And if the FDA was like, infallible, I never did anything wrong, that would be great.
Tony Ortiz [00:40:45]:
But the fda, I think it's a year or every five years or something like that, a third, one third. So out of 100 drugs that they approve and put out, they have to recall 33 every year or every five years, whatever the status. But it's like they're wrong like a third of the time, essentially, is what that breaks down to, to me. So it's not to demonize and say that, that, you know, they have to be abolished or some shit like that. But clearly it could use some cleaning up. And also I recently found out that, for example, the FDA, this country, allows or has something like 100 or 1800 chemicals in our foods. You know, the. If you look at the ingredients list behind like a cereal box and has yellow 5 and red 4 and stuff like that.
Tony Ortiz [00:41:38]:
A bunch of chemicals that are within our foods, the vast majority of which are not allowed, they're illegal for those same companies to include in their products. Overseas in other countries, other developed countries, in England, for example, or in Canada, for example, a box of Froot Loops here in the US versus a box of Fruit Loops in Canada. Two completely different compounds and components. Other countries like Canada, for example, they have like 300 chemicals or 400 chemicals that are allowed in their food system. We have over a thousand. And we're a very unhealthy people. You know, we're very Americans are, we're overweight, diabetes, hypertension, which I myself have cancer. All this at higher rates in other countries.
Tony Ortiz [00:42:35]:
This could have something to do with it. So I think some positive can come out of that relationship. And also Tulsi Gabbard, which I like, which got my vote in the Democratic primary when she was running for president. And her, you know, personal experience as a Democratic congresswoman for eight years, serving overseas in Iraq in the medical unit. But she has a very, you know, anti forever war, military industrial complex, you know, firsthand experience view, but very anti war and overthrowing regimes, overthrowing governments and putting in your own puppet government. She's against all that, which I'm for. No idea what role she will ultimately play, but she is within that orbit now. She did endorse Trump in again, another scenario of a popular Democrat went against the quote, unquote, Democratic machine, spoke up against Hillary Clinton, and then Hillary winds up calling her, you know, a puppet for, for Putin or something like that.
Tony Ortiz [00:43:44]:
And then all thems turned their back on her and it was another, you know, all right, you, I'm gonna support the other guy then it's just like high school, I swear to God. But yeah, hopefully Trump this time focuses on legacy. You know, he's not gonna get another term after this. When he has this four years, hopefully it'll be less contentious, more shit gets done. Maybe he'll focus on infrastructure and building. You know, he's a by trade, you know, a real estate guy. Implement that into building up home that people see that affects a quality of life, everyday life, gets the right people in his cabinet or better people than last time and fucking hope for the best. That's my hope for him and his administration and my hope for Democrats.
Tony Ortiz [00:44:32]:
Again, just to underscore before I sign off, don't continue Whatever fucking strategy you are doing. Had it right on a lot of things for a long time. Go back to that. And that, folks, was episode 273 of the Spud Today podcast. Thank each and every one of you for listening. I appreciate each of you that take the time to do so. Please stick around for a couple minutes so I can tell you about some great ways you can help support this podcast if you so choose. Your support means everything.
Tony Ortiz [00:45:06]:
So make sure you like, subscribe, rate, review, do all that good stuff. And here are a couple other ways you can help support the Spun Today podcast. I'll check you guys out next time. Peace. What's up folks?
Tony Ortiz [00:45:21]:
Tony here. I hope you're enjoying the Spun Today Podcast as much as I enjoy producing it for you. Here are a few ways you can help support the show. You can support the Spun Today podcast financially by going to spuntoday.com support. There you will find a couple different ways that you can do just that, some of which will actually not even cost you a dime, such as using my Amazon affiliate link. When you go to spuntoday.com support you'll see my affiliate link to Amazon. Click on it and it will take you to Amazon's website where you can do your shopping like normal. This will not cost you anything extra, but Amazon will pay me for driving traffic to their website.
Tony Ortiz [00:46:01]:
If you'd like to support the podcast more directly, you can do so by becoming a patron@spuntoday.com support. You'll also find my Patreon link. This is where creators such as myself can be paid directly by patrons like you. You can either make a one time donation or schedule recurring donations if you so choose. There are also different tiers of support and depending on which you decide to go with, you'll also receive some perks in return such as early access to content, free digital copies of my books, free bookmarks, etc. That is again by supporting via my Patreon link available@spuntoday.com support similar to Patreon at that same location. You'll also find my Ko Fi link as well as my Buy me a coffee link. They work very similar to Patreon and are different ways you can help support the show financially.
Tony Ortiz [00:46:51]:
And last but certainly not least, you have the good old fashioned PayPal donation button. Any which way that you choose to support is greatly appreciated. It all helps me do more of what I love, which is writing and podcasting. Again go to spuntoday.com forward/support. You can also support the Spun Today podcast by rating and reviewing the show. Wherever it is that you're listening to.
Tony Ortiz [00:47:14]:
This episode, I'd really appreciate it because it really does help.
Tony Ortiz [00:47:17]:
Also follow me on all socials Fun Today on X formerly known as Twitter, on today on Instagram and on today on YouTube where you'll not only find full length episodes of the podcast, but also chopped up clips and additional content. And of course you can follow the Facebook page at facebook.com forward/spun today. Another way you can help support the Spun Today podcast and also upgrade that stale wardrobe of yours is by going to spuntoday.com support and clicking on the banner for Stitch Fix. Once you do, you'll enjoy a $25 discount to your first purchase. And the way Stitch Fix works is pretty cool. I use it and I've never been disappointed. You'll set up a profile. You'll put in all the sizes for your clothes as well as all the different brands and types of clothes that you like to wear.
Tony Ortiz [00:48:11]:
It's really simple and intuitive to set up. They'll show you pictures and pretty much give you a thumbs up or thumbs down option on if you would wear something or not. And you get to select all the brands that you already are used to wearing. With this information, there are thousands of passionate trend setting stylists will curate a.
Tony Ortiz [00:48:29]:
Stitch Fix box for you.
Tony Ortiz [00:48:31]:
They'll send you five items that you get to preview before they mail it to you and you'll get to select based on the image if you like it or not. If not, they'll replace it with something else and if so, they'll mail it to you absolutely for free. You can try everything on and you have a few days to send everything back or keep the stuff that you want to keep. Then you can use that $25 credit that I mentioned towards your purchase of those items again. To freshen up your wardrobe and also support the Sponsor Day podcast, go to spontaneity.com support and click on my affiliate link banner for Stitch Fix and enjoy your $25 credit.
Tony Ortiz [00:49:06]:
Do you want to start your own podcast? Have a great show idea that you want to get out into the masses but don't know quite how to get it from your head out into the world?
Tony Ortiz [00:49:15]:
Well, here's how.
Tony Ortiz [00:49:16]:
Use the podcast host Libsyn. That's who I use to bring the Sponsor Day podcast to you. And now you can use them the same way. Using the promo code spun s P u n you can open up your Libsyn account today and get two months of free podcast hosting. Here's how it works. Once you record your show, you upload it to your Libsyn account where you can fill in your episode notes, upload your podcast art, and schedule when you want your episodes to release. Once you do that, Libsyn will take care of the rest. They'll distribute your show to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all the other podcasters that you choose instantaneously and seamlessly.
Tony Ortiz [00:50:00]:
Again, go to Libsyn.com and use the promo code spun s p u n to get two months free. Or use the affiliate link that's in the episode notes. Again, that's libsyn.com promo code spun. Take that great podcast idea from out of your head and put it out into the world. And as always, folks, substitute the mysticism with hard work and start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams. Thanks for listening. I love you, Aiden. I love you, Daddy.
Tony Ortiz [00:50:46]:
I love you, Grayson. I love you, Daddy.