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Matt Kendall (00:00)
this is only just the beginning. It's it's a win. Let's notch it down. I think the Democrats can have one night of celebration, then they've got to get busy. They've got to get working, they've got to prove that they're ready for a fight because there will be a fight.
Hello and welcome to Worth Knowing, a weekly podcast about the forces shaping politics, power, and technology and how they affect you. I'm Matt Kendall.
Elliot Costello (00:28)
and I'm Elliot Costello.
Matt Kendall (00:31)
So, Elliot, back to normal programming this week. Uh, it's pretty hard to ignore the blue wave that became the blue tsunami. I I think they've missed out an opportunity on calling it the Bluenami. so I'm gonna go with the Bluenami. Um, but yeah, I don't look, I even in a lot of pundits wildest dreams, I don't think anybody was in ex was expecting a result like that.
Elliot Costello (00:56)
No one was. I'm not wearing blue in honor of the Blue Nami. You've always been good with branding and making up good titles, Matt. But yeah, I've randomly put this t-shirt on and I seem to be catching the, uh I guess, the thread of the blue wave. um Yeah, where to start? Like today's episode is just a dive into, I guess, our reflections.
um For me, there's three things, m gas, gas and gas. um Having lived and worked in the US and studied in the US, you just never stuff with gas prices. It's 101 economics. When the rest of the world is unable to control um its gas prices, America's wound is self-inflicted um in a war that they started and unable to close and finish.
trade war, so a physical war and a trade war. So the tariffs that Trump's imposed added to the problem mixed with the uh clear war that it's launched in Iran. Those two things coming together have increased gas prices for all American consumers. um And fundamentally, that's what it's come down to, a cost of living crisis.
We want to unpack so much more because it's not just a referendum on um the cost of living and the price of gasoline. This is also a clear message to Trump and his MAGA community that we're not happy with the politics of Trumpian circus, might say, lies in the election campaign, not doing what you promised to do, the corruption. um
mixed with so many things that we're going to unpack around what this means for the progressive or the democratic party.
Matt Kendall (02:56)
Yeah, it was interesting in in the lead up to the election, I heard people talking or certain certain pundits talking about the the red riptide. So they were saying don't not don't to not so much expect a blue wave, but it's a red riptide. Um, that, you know, the the Democrats uh hadn't exactly one hearts and minds, but it's just that what had been happening with Trump, Trump's just chaos and corruption and and the prices. Yeah. You know, Trump said,
vote as if my my name is on the ballot. He's now turning around and saying um they didn't vote as if uh his name is on the ballot, otherwise they would have won. The typical narcissistic personality disorder. Um but he I think, you know, l like he said, it's the the g the the you know the petrol pump prices or the gas pump prices as they call them over there.
You know, whenever
Elliot Costello (03:47)
Hmm.
Matt Kendall (03:48)
whenever they drove into the into the the gas station, they saw Donald Trump's name there on those prices, which I think is i in some ways like just as a a as as a as an Australian observer removed from American politics, I just think it's absolutely insane that that's the thing that makes
Elliot Costello (04:05)
Hmm.
Matt Kendall (04:05)
you send a signal. It wasn't the cruelty, it wasn't the fact that, you know, all those years ago, you know, Trump uh spoke about you can just grab women by the proverbial.
Um it you know, it's just that the the the cruelty, the criminality, the corruption. I I think probably played some role in this, in the the red riptide that we're sort of talking about, you know, in terms of the the votes getting sucked away um from the Republicans. Uh they he lost a lot of Hispanics and and young men. Um and and I think they from they tend to vote around.
uh Their economic opportunities, uh, those particular cohorts. Um, but regardless, I mean what a crazy result. you know, Texas, possibly even Mississippi, South Carolina,
Elliot Costello (04:59)
Hmm.
Matt Kendall (05:00)
just that it's um yeah, it it was a blue nami. And um, I think many are talking about, you know, it's a repudiation of Trump policies. S many are saying it's it's the end of MAGA. Uh we might get into that a little bit later. I
think it's I don't think MAGA is dead yet. Um, but yeah, it's certainly when we did that episode a while ago, I said we're at the fork in the road. Um thankfully Americans uh took took the right turn.
Elliot Costello (05:30)
Yeah. Look, if you were a pundit on the left spectrum of US politics, you couldn't script a better night. Very few called what the outcome is. Right now, Democrats are 10 seats up in the Senate and just short of 100 seats up, I think about 80 to 85 seats up in the House. And there's still a series of too close to call seats. So it is
remarkable. The results are remarkable. um Leading into the election, having gone through a lot of the statistics, um Harvard had some really good polling, uh aggregation of polling out, and there's a 97 % chance that Democrats would win back the House, but only about a 78, 79 % chance that it even win the Senate. uh So yes, that's strong, but you know, there's a lot of variance in there.
and um one in five chance that the Republicans, um the grand old party, the GOP would hold the Senate. So to be 10 seats up um is simply remarkable. There's two things to unpack um because they're not mutually exclusive and both things happens. Republicans lost and lost comprehensively based on their strategy and their positioning.
and their alliance to a megalomaniac liar and the Democrats won and won big. And
Load full transcript
there's different ways that they won in each state. um But it was a very comprehensive campaign. Now, still mistakes made, still people they backed and funded and, you know, um probably spent money in the wrong areas, you know, listening to some of the sort of analytics around how much money they put in.
John Ossoff's campaign in Georgia. Of course, future presidential candidate, great speaker, amazing person that's contending with Trump, but he was never at risk. He won
Matt Kendall (07:35)
Yeah.
Elliot Costello (07:36)
by eight to nine points. So maybe shifting some of that money to the Mississippi's where they probably thought, you know, in their wildest dreams, it wouldn't happen. But those two things happened. Republicans really stuffed up and the Dems did have a great night. Who had the best night?
Like certainly someone having followed the campaigns, I would say James Tallarico has had the best night flipping Texas for the first time in 50 years, turning a very red state blue. This isn't an overnight
Texas has been becoming increasingly purple over the last sort of...
five to 10 years. There's a lot of young people in Texas. Austin's a blue dot in a, what do they say? It's a blue dot in a Red Sea. um A lot of tech, technology companies now based out of Texas, better tax incentives. It's kind of deemed as the new San Francisco. So it's becoming more progressive. There's a bit of a backlash post Bush era uh away from the Republican party, but Texas is Texas. Safest houses if you do the right things.
Telerico's campaign over the last 12 months has been inspirational, one on hope, one on positivity, one on optimism, one on a belief that um there can be a better way for Texans. Telerico's story is remarkable, brought up by his mother, very poor community, as she basically brought him up in a closet that was the nursery in a single bedroom home after... um
having experienced violence at the hands of his father when he was a newborn. His role as a educator at one of the poorest schools in southern Texas, his shift into local politics, his ministry and the depth he has around biblical knowledge and the way he's countered the evangelical uh stronghold of Texans with, you know,
the form of Christianity that might is right, that you need to entwine church and state and to control the church as a role in playing, church has a significant role in the state. He's flipped that part in the parable, but he did talk about Jesus is walking into the temple and flipping the table and saying, this is not God's.
house. We stand to support the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, the marginalized. He's talking now about going into the Senate and doing the same thing. A
Matt Kendall (10:22)
Mm.
Elliot Costello (10:23)
message for Christians that they are there to represent the weakest and the meekest. That's Jesus' message. those things, and then the money. How dare I forget the money? Two weeks ago, we spoke about the influence of Musk.
and the amount of
money being spent by Musk and others to ensure that the Texas was held for the Republicans. I'll shut up about James because there's others to talk about, but his speech is phenomenal. And the victory speech he made on the night of the midterms at about 11.30 PM is remarkable and one for everyone to watch. And it wasn't a F you have won. This is great. It's all about me. This was a message about
all Texans. He's going to govern for all of them. He wants to represent all of them. He wants to extend the hand. He is a big believer in social progress and pushing for better education, health care. So that for me was the takeout. What about you, Matt?
Matt Kendall (11:25)
Yeah, I gr agree with with everything you said there. I think um we we were speaking about losers before we yeah uh Musk was absolutely a loser. He obviously he moved his businesses and and everything to Texas to avoid taxes, then invested five hundred million to try and buy his own senator. And it was um Jones Talarico was excellent at framing it as that. That essentially that's what Musk was trying to do, like essentially purchase his senator. Um and
I think he was definitely one of the standout stars. Um I that speech, one of my favorite points in that speech, he talks about the David and Goliath story. And then he talks about how uh, you know, his fans, his fan base were his slingshot, which I I thought was brilliant. Um, a couple more standout stars, obviously John Osoff, um
Yeah, we'll we'll we'll start to claim him as one of ours. He has an Aussie mother. Apparently he likes Vegima and importantly he can pronounce Melbourne properly. Um yeah.
Elliot Costello (12:22)
I didn't know that. That's great.
Matt Kendall (12:25)
Yeah. Um and then obviously um Al Saeed is uh is is another standout star. And I think all all three of those, they that one there's this even though they're very different, you know, they're um I think what one of the I suppose the I I full credit to the Democrats
was rather than this being an ideological push, what they did is they they um supported they, you know, I primaried and and and supported uh you know uh representatives who were representative of that state, of that community. And I think
Elliot Costello (12:58)
Hmm. Hmm.
Matt Kendall (13:01)
um that that was something that really came through to me. They're um, you know, they they also there's a lot of pride in where they come from and that they really want to they're they're setting out
To do as much for their constituents as possible. And that was what their messaging was about. Um, and when you look at it, like the way Talareko speaks, the way Osof speaks, the way Al Al Sayed speaks, um, they're they're very different, but they're very similar in that they're incredibly proficient. you could they they they go on podcasts for three hours. This isn't uh you know, Kamala Harris, kind of, you know, media managed politician.
They can go into the Lions Den, they can go onto Fox News, they can
go onto podcasts for two or three hours and they can just hold uh the because their their politic their politics is a politics of conviction and they're able to ensure that their messaging is um always on um on and and focused because that that is what they believe in and it's what they're fighting for, which I I found really interesting.
Elliot Costello (14:06)
You speak about like the election being a mandate for those that are representing their community. isn't that staggering that that's an outcome, that democratic election campaigns are built on representative politics. So you are elected to represent constituents in your community. So you're a voice for the whole community.
And the influence, certainly in the United States of corporations and big money that has meant that so many of the representatives voted in the House of the lower house, the House of Representatives in the U S are not representing the community. They're representing their donor class. Um, so it is a staggering step away from big money. Al-Sayed was probably the most, um, sort of effective at communicating how trap
his opponent was, both his primary component, primary contender to win the Democratic nomination and also the Republican. The amount of money they've taken from Big Pharma, from APAC, from other groups that have a vested interest in controlling what they do and what they say in the Senate. El-Sayed was brilliant at sort of trying to ensure that his message was grassroots. And that
That's probably uh up there with uh gas and corruption as a major outcome. How this is a movement back towards grassroots representation over big money. And there's a long way to go because if anyone thinks
Matt Kendall (15:47)
yeah, yeah.
Elliot Costello (15:48)
overnight universal healthcare, primary and secondary education will be publicly funded, um a shift towards um no foreign interference with wars, um
you know, a move away from the material, uh military industrial complex, you are wrong because the huge win for the Democrats means that the progressive arm doesn't have as much control over the Democratic party. The centrists still have enough power in the party room and there's enough vested interests on the Democratic side. So I think it's a massive step forward, but it's not a overnight flip. Like we're still going to have to contend with so many
leaders in the American political system that are trapped by big money.
the last thing I want to mention. This is a massive
repudiation of um how young voters want change. And I think it was 70 to 72 % of young voters under that 30 year old age bracket that voted blue.
And they are saying that we do not want to hold up or vote for candidates that are trapped in a system that Trump represents. And that voting segment was about 50, 52 years ago. So that 20 point jump is so significant in terms of young voters coming out and saying, no, no, we're done with the politics. We were promised change and this is bullshit.
Matt Kendall (17:17)
Yeah, I think that's the the key headline here and and um Democrats, um, if they want to actually win here, like they've yes, they've they've won this election, but if they want to turn this into an actual electoral win, they had better heed that message. Is it people want change? And I think um that should be heeded all the world over. There's been a lot of green shoots that we've seen, um, you know, whether it be in Serbia
Israel and Brazil. Um, I I think um we're starting to see it in Australia, you know, the the rise of one nation, i if anything, is a cry out for a change from the status quo. And I think um that was what that was what got Trump back in is they wanted people wanted change and then Trump didn't he certainly delivered a lot of change but towards basically uh corruption and and and and higher prices and
chaos on on the on the world stage. Um and I think this is this and this is I've it's something that I've I've shared with some with friends in various group chats is never underestimate the Democrat leadership um and elite's propensity to snatch uh to underwhelm, snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory by steering things back towards the status quo, which is let's face it, what their corporate donors want.
There's still
Elliot Costello (18:42)
Mm.
Matt Kendall (18:43)
a big A APAC um contingent that is um that you know is wanting to um support Israel um in a in uh you know its genocidal uh approach in Gaza. Um and I think we need to be cognizant of the fact, just like you said, that even though a lot of progressives got up, it's so many of the the centrists um got in as a it looks as much as as a as a
cry out for new leadership from Hakeem Jeffries and um and and Charles Schumer, Chuck Schumer. Um that's probably not going to happen in the next two years. So there's a there's we can just hope that they're that they are listening to the change that's wanted and that they are going to act on it. Um I rema it will it will remain to be seen. But I think there's there's a there's a big danger there that with those two
'Cause what's needed is subs you know, is is a leadership that's willing to roll up their sleeves, go in there and fight some really difficult fights to, you know, it's not necessarily about retribution, but to get some accountability for the corruption. The corruption is also a massive cause of of um cost of living. Um so they're gonna have to get some action on that from. Start to get some ethics bills across the line. Sure, let Trump veto them. Um
they're going to have to have some, you know, some really big debates around what's going to happen with the war in Iran and um and and um with Israel and Gaza. And um I think, you know, having fighting for policies, I think I almost think what they need to do is is go just do rapid fire singular bills. So it's not like you get this omnibus and people can say, I I voted against it because I didn't like it, A, B, C and D.
If they just start to do
these like really singular bills and start to get them across the line, and then, you know, if Republicans decide to vote against them and and Trump decides to veto them, then then so be it. But I think um that's what the Democrats need to do, uh, whether that leadership, you know, Chuck Schumer and his his stern letters, I think we're um we're we're well past that.
was a a very weird meeting apparently between Hakim Jeffries and and um uh Jared Kushner, which sounds odd given that he seems extremely compromised by some of the reporting and the the self-dealing and the corruption that he's he's neck deep in. He's a he's a he's a slick political operator operator, so I can imagine he's trying to play nice in there so that he can potentially stay out of jail. Um but I I really do
Elliot Costello (21:30)
Kushna, not, um you're talking about Kushna, not Jeffreys. Just to be clear.
Matt Kendall (21:33)
Yeah, haven't talked about Jared Krishna, no, not not Hogan Jeffrey.
Yeah, so I'd look it's I think it's gonna be interesting to see what they start to do um in terms of priority prioritizing action. And I think that will be a signal for what we'll see from the Democrats in the next few years.
Elliot Costello (21:51)
Don't
hold your breath, Matt. You started off with a honest assessment of the centrist nature of the democratic institutions, provided a bit of hope, but they're not racing to the left flank. Now, should they? Well, there's a lot of messages they can pick up and lean on and policies they can adopt. There's also...
the view that politics is always one in the center, keeping in mind how bright the US center is compared to most other parts of the world. So yeah, Schumer is now the majority leader in the Senate. Hakeem Jeffries is very likely to be the House speaker. Two significant power brokers who have the entanglements of everything that Democrats are.
fighting to ward off. know, young people haven't voted for Jeffreys and Schumer to, I guess, keep the establishment politics together. So there is an internal battle that's going to be waged. It's to be staggering to see where we go between this centrist democratic alliance versus this sort of progressive DSA arm. We vote.
Matt Kendall (23:13)
Actually you mentioned
messaging, you missed and mentioned messaging then. I they f I think finally the democratic messaging was on point. I think that the killer message from the twenty twenty four election was um, there for they, them, where for you. Um, you know, regardless of what you think of that that debate, it had incredible cut through. And I it was interesting. I saw some messaging come through from the Democrats that lent on that in in a different angle and they said, uh, there for the money, where for the many.
I thought that was that was very neat. Um AOC came out, it's not it's not communism, it's common sense. Um so so there was some there was some really good I as a brand communications guy, I I there was some some very tight
messaging that I think landed really well. Once again,
Elliot Costello (23:57)
Yeah.
Matt Kendall (23:58)
just talking about practical things that are gonna make people's lives better. I think that and mum da
Elliot Costello (24:03)
Well, then that's the thing.
Matt Kendall (24:04)
that's a big mum dany lesson, I think, that they've picked up from
Elliot Costello (24:08)
Well, centrist Democrats have long said that they believe in Medicare for all, know, so a healthcare system that works for everyone, education that works for all, public services, better roads, better infrastructure. But they've always pointed to, you know, our Republicans won't let us do it. now realistically, they're all funded by Big Pharma.
that prevents pulling these policies in place. They're funded by private interests that doesn't want certain infrastructure projects to go ahead and certainly education that doesn't really benefit all. So the challenge for them now is with the rise of Telerico, El Sayed and others across the board, how do they hold that narrative? And that's gonna be the really interesting thing to see play out.
The last thing I'll say, because I too have to wrap up short today, Matt, early flight tomorrow morning. Last thing I will say is that there's two ways that this could roll out in Australia. And I think we're yet to define how it will be. One arm, can say that this is a huge risk to the rise of one nation because this is a repudiation of populism.
So you have seen what happens in the US, One Nation, you know, we're putting you and this, right, probably you're listening, yeah, sorry, that's
Matt Kendall (25:38)
Or far right populism.
Elliot Costello (25:42)
fair. You know, allegedly One Nation's already changing some of its website that says,
Matt Kendall (25:47)
Mm.
Elliot Costello (25:48)
if you like Trump vote for us. So it's beginning to go, maybe we can't align ourselves too closely with Trump. That's one view. This is a threat to One Nation. Or to your point, that One Nation benefits from this because this is an anti-establishment vote.
The structures in place do not service the people. One Nation is at least a middle finger to the two major parties that are not representing the interests of common Australians. So I don't have a magic ball. I don't see where it happens. What we've talked about for a long time is that is usually a few years behind. So maybe we're still going to have 2024 and the rise of, you know, One Nation for right-wing populism before stepping back to the center.
Matt Kendall (26:29)
Yeah, and I think on that we our our mainstream media needs to do a much better job. Um I you know, just to quit, you know, date David Shoebridge's excellent uh speech at the press club talking about uh the Greens plan for taking it up to the one percent um and making corporates and gas and fossil fuel companies play pay their fair share in order to, you know, help us grapple um with
This cost of living crisis in a way that doesn't involve raising interest rates. And the mainstream media, apparently, because of David Shoebridge said that he didn't want to, he wanted to no longer um send military support over Ukraine, the uh Russian ambassador was in that meeting. So instead of this kind of, you know, people are looking for alternatives. Instead of explaining
Elliot Costello (27:18)
Hmm.
Matt Kendall (27:19)
what the Greens policy platform was and the alternatives on that, what do we get?
A bunch of headlines about the Russian ambassador being at David Tubridge's um press club speech. So I think that's this is what uh some of the issues we've got in all this is that we've got this establishment media that still runs this weird kind of interference where it gives a lot of oxygen to something like uh a rebellion or an insurgency coming from the right. And I think once again, it's because it does protect corporate interests. Um but I think
You know, just also as a as a closing comment, I think it was um just two things I wanted to say was it's just um it there was a lot of firsts. There was the um a lot of first sort of female governors in states and and whatnot. Um there was the first um First Nations um I think Senator. There's uh obviously the first Muslim. Um the there's there was a uh uh a Paralympian um that uh that was that was voted in. And I think um
You know, there's um a a lot of I I as I'm I'm I'm not an idea I don't subscribe to identity politics. I'm a universalist. And what I loved about it is that none of these campaigns ran on that being I'm gonna be the first or I we need that kind of representation. It's just that that representation is now organically happening in the electorate. So I thought that was another really positive signal. Um we always tend to to
end our podcast on a bit of a a down note, but um I think the one to watch is and is how Trump and the White House respond. I've been watching them closely already. Um
Elliot Costello (29:01)
Have you seen
today's announcement?
Matt Kendall (29:04)
Y yeah, uh which one the the Dana White Yeah.
Elliot Costello (29:07)
The... The... No, yes... The White House Press Secretary.
Matt Kendall (29:12)
which is I think uh I believe another four seasons mess up. I think that the actual Dana White that he was meant to announce was a uh a a very capable um it's it it's it hasn't been confirmed yet, but a very capable Pentagon spokeswoman and he just got the wrong end of the stick.
Elliot Costello (29:26)
Oh no, you've got to be kidding me.
Matt Kendall (29:28)
Yeah, and he got the wrong end of the stick and and is has announced it Dana White, who's the the this you know
the CEO of of UFC. Yeah, so
Elliot Costello (29:34)
UFC oh my god
Matt Kendall (29:37)
I it that's it's from the time of recording there's a lot of speculation aro around that. Um but I mean prior to that, you know, he has he he has announced Stephen Miller, who I think I have um
Elliot Costello (29:46)
Yeah, cheap as stuff.
Matt Kendall (29:48)
chief of staff who I think on a previous episode I I labeled him a t a Temu Goebbels. Um and I think that I've heard him referred to as a bunker pick.
I mean he he is batshit insane, that guy. And I think that's that that that's gonna be with him as chief of staff, I think that's a signal that he that Trump is gonna is kinda um yeah, it's
Elliot Costello (30:09)
doubling down.
Matt Kendall (30:10)
almost like for the Australians, it's almost like Ned Kelly. I'm gonna put my I'm gonna put my my my metal helmet on and my metal plate. I'm just gonna go out guns blazing, um, come what may. I I just feel like it's a it's a really desperate pick. Um
Elliot Costello (30:24)
And let's just
hope that Trump doesn't live with the same folklore that Nick Kelly has in American history to come.
Matt Kendall (30:32)
No, no, no. But a few episodes ago I said I was really worried about the calm that I saw within the White House. Uh almost as if something was afoot. Um, something I didn't mention in that podcast, but then later mentioned in the the substack was that I was enthused by, you know, results like in Hungary where the it was just the the results were just so emphatic that it didn't matter what thumbs were put on the scale, it was
You know, that that's it's it is one of the the beauties of democracy. But there was a calm with Trump and there still is that calm and I think part of that calm comes from nothing, if you look, nothing really has changed. You know, Trump was not governing with the co through through Congress at all. He's just doing executive orders. He's
Elliot Costello (31:15)
Through congash. correct. Spot on. Yeah.
Matt Kendall (31:20)
he's got a he's got a fairly compliant
um Supreme Court, which is which is, you know, the at the which is the the third pillar. But I think what if you look at what's happening, if you're putting Stephen Miller in charge, he's talking I mean he just did an insane interview with Jake Tapper where Jake Tapper asked him about Venezuela and he just went off on some rant about how they're a superpower and how they're being playing nice. Like you know how he shouts. He's just absolutely
Elliot Costello (31:48)
Hmm.
Matt Kendall (31:48)
shouting at Jake Tapper.
And Jake's trying to get a word in Edgeways, and he's saying, you know, we've played too nice since World War II. We've been doing this, we've been doing that. And he's just going off. And Jake's like, I don't even know what you're I don't understand what you're saying. I asked you a about Venezuela. So, you know, he is um, he has spoken about the might makes right. We are a superpower, we're gonna throw our weight around. You know, Russell Vaught is in there with his project 2025. They both believe in a unitary executive theory.
Which is that basically the president and the White House and the executive has almost total control. Um, so I think it's gonna be really interesting. I think the difference is is that with Democrats
um having the the House and the Senate, they do have subpoena power. There is going to be they're going to have a lot more power to to r try and reign in the White House than if they didn't have that. But I think look
We're we've only just this is only just the beginning. It's um it's a win. Let's notch it down. I think the Democrats can have one night of celebration, then they've got to get busy. They've got to get working, they've got to prove that they're ready for a fight because there will be a fight. And um I think you're gonna see from the likes of uh Russell Russell Vaught, um Stephen Miller, Trump, um, and and obviously Pete Heggseth as well. He sounds like he's he's not gonna go down fighting out without a fight either.
Elliot Costello (33:14)
Yeah, when you talk about a lame duck president, which I'm given Donald likes his nicknames, he's, you know, become Donald Duck finally, but you
Matt Kendall (33:22)
Yeah.
Elliot Costello (33:23)
are right. He never relied on Congress. He doesn't care if they're Republicans or Democrats. doesn't, he views all these people as ancillary to him anyway. The two things I started off with, the trade war and the actual war in Iran, were both executive orders from the executive.
that had nothing to do with Congress, wasn't passed, wasn't authorized, even with Republicans controlling both chambers. whatever, Trump's just like, we play on, I'll do things my way. So it is going to get messy. There's a few more controls. He can't now stack the Supreme Court if someone passes. He can't authorize a new war without some level of congressional approval. There will be a few caps on military spending on foreign aid.
countries and allies. So there's a few controls, but this isn't like an overnight flip towards the blue. It's a step forward. But there's still a race to run. Haven't filled me with much hope as I fly to Turkey tomorrow across Dubai and around Iran, given that Stephen Miller is now the chief of staff. yeah, hoping for next episode to be safely back on Australian soil next weekend. But
uh in the meantime, wish me luck getting my way past Turkey or to Turkey or past Iran given that Netanyahu is urging Trump to take a harder position
Matt Kendall (34:48)
Mm.
Elliot Costello (34:49)
and more military action uh in Iran because both are in a lot of political pain right now.
Matt Kendall (34:56)
Will be will we be recording next week's episode uh with you from COP or you be back by by then? Yeah. But we'll we'll we'll no
Elliot Costello (35:03)
I'll be back by the end of the week, we'll possibly might not...
Matt Kendall (35:07)
doubt we'll no doubt be be covering it. I think it's gonna be really interesting. Um certainly um especially with Chris Bowen, you know, chairing the whole thing while being one while Australia being one of the most primary exporters of of of fossil fuel emissions.
on the one hand, being a a great shining example in terms of how we're modernizing and electrifying Australian homes and improving the the grid with renewables. But then on the other hand, just opening new coal and gas mines, how he holds that in balance, I think is going to be really interesting. So I look forward to exactly. Yeah.
Elliot Costello (35:38)
One to a unpack next week.
Matt Kendall (35:42)
So just a reminder to everybody to you can find us on Substack, just on Worth Knowing Pod.
dot com and to like and subscribe and you can obviously find us wherever you listen to your podcast. thanks and we'll see you next week.