The Chris Cuomo Project - Chris Cuomo reacts to comments about "sanewashing" Trump, Luigi Mangione & more

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

Chris Cuomo responds to a new batch of listener calls and YouTube comments, diving into topics like Trump’s support among Latino voters, the debate over whether violence drives societal change, and ...the controversy surrounding the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Cuomo also addresses criticisms about his coverage of corporate power, reflects on the complexities of immigration and labor in America, and pushes back against claims that he’s “sanewashing” Trump. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com Support our sponsors: Bamboo Reclaim your time. Check out the free demo at BambooHR.com/freedemo. See for yourself all that BambooHR can do – and how truly affordable it can be too! Cozy Earth Luxury Shouldn’t Be Out of Reach. Visit CozyEarth.com/CHRIS and use my exclusive code CHRIS for up to 40% off Cozy Earth’s best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more. RadioActive Media Learn how you can experience the power of audio marketing by also utilizing the strength of text messaging which can generate and RIO as high as 7 to 1. Text ""CHRIS"" to 511 511 or on the web at radioactivemedia.com Text rates may apply. Select Quote Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SELECTQUOTE.COM/CHRISC to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from AG1. Listen, we're getting into the spring. Everybody wants to declutter, spring cleaning. We all need resets all the time. And one of the easiest things to do is to start your day off right in terms of taking care of yourself. And that's where AG1 comes in. You're just one and done.
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Starting point is 00:01:21 you see I'm putting in my IFB. Why? Because it is time for me to hear from you. What are your questions? What are your comments on what I'm putting out here on the project? And to take you on you have a very very capable advocate in the form of Gregory, maybe his real name, maybe not, Ott. 100% my real name. Hey, tell people what IFB stands for. Interfrequency Broadcast. Wow. I didn't know that. Did you think I wasn't gonna know?
Starting point is 00:01:51 No, I figured you would know. Funky ass. But you say IFB, you know, that's an acronym. It's like a business industry acronym. You gotta tell, no, okay, fair. Okay, well, the audience listening to this can't see that you're pointing at a muscle on your body. A big muscle.
Starting point is 00:02:04 Okay, but a muscle. A big muscle. Okay, but a muscle. A big muscle. Okay, great. Well, I'm just telling the audience what you're doing if they're listening to this and not watching it. So let me tell you something. It is very important that we keep doing this.
Starting point is 00:02:19 Too many of these podcasts are falling prey to something that happens in all media, which is bubble effect. So it's really important that we keep hearing from who likes and who does not like and looking for that space and the nexus of the two. And if Greg Ott loves doing one thing, it's finding comments and questions that are bad for me. Now, hold on a second. I found a pretty good mix this time. I've also went through all the YouTube comments, not all of them, but many of them. And I've filtered out the automatic mean ones.
Starting point is 00:02:59 There's a lot of them that is like, Cuomo, you suck, Cuomo, fuck you, blah, blah, blah. I'm not using those. I don't really rely on those anymore. I actually have a pretty good grab bag for this episode. I think you're gonna like the calls and the comments, many of which we have. Are you cool if we launch into this?
Starting point is 00:03:15 I don't know what else I'm gonna do. Well, you're playing on your phone right there. You showed off your muscle to the cameras. So I just wanna make sure you're all ready. I showed off the muscle to the camera apropos of my strong move on that gotcha question. It's a gotcha question. I'm trying to muscle to the camera apropos of my strong move. Right. Because you know, you know, it's a gotcha question. I'm trying to clarify for the audience what IFB means. And now I am also, you know, when I'm doing this, I am not just a podcaster.
Starting point is 00:03:35 I have a cable news show every night that I write. So I'm always working on different things. Always, always, always multitasking. And I believe it helps. Cause I think that I'm just in a general groove. You know what I mean? Like this isn't just one aspect of my day. I'm working on a 24 seven, 365.
Starting point is 00:03:58 So what do you got? Let's launch into the calls right now. These are listener calls, real calls from the people who listen to and watch the show. These are real calls from the people who listen to and watch the show. I just had a question in regards to Trump. If he can have 34 fellow reasons to still be the president, why is it that I can have one and can't find a job or not get hired. Just saying.
Starting point is 00:04:28 That is a great, great question. It's because it's not fair. That's why. It's because the system's not fair. And we don't believe in rehabilitation and redemption in the society the way we say we do. Everybody loves a comeback. Yeah, yes and no.
Starting point is 00:04:46 And I think there are few and far in between. And you know, it's interesting. The difference is this. His 34 felony counts that he was convicted on are about business records and of course, the payments, right, to the women. And those I don't think were really valued by people as much as saying 34 counts. What they were about matters also and people thought that this was a selective prosecution
Starting point is 00:05:22 that was done because it's Trump and that if it was anybody else, these cases would not have been made this way. Now, they're counterfactuals to that. There are a lot of business records cases that are made exactly like this. But again, people had mixed feelings about it. And that was certainly true about the hush money payments, which I definitely agree with that. I believe the New York cases were not the best cases to bring against Donald Trump. And I don't believe that the metric is as simple as, well, is it a case you think you can win? I think it's about what the public policy is that's involved also. And yet at
Starting point is 00:05:56 the other end of the scale, there's you. And there's somebody who has a felony for something. I don't know what it is. You didn't say what it is, but that it's unforgivable and you can never get back. It is a double standard. And the irony within the irony is people see that Trump was a victim of a two-tiered system, right? Because they were going after him for political expedience. Other people see him as proof of a two-tiered system because the white guy with power doesn't get screwed
Starting point is 00:06:26 by the system the way you did in terms of harshness. And that's where we are. And that's really frustrating. And there's no question that we have to do better about how we reincorporate people into society. Change is slow, especially when we're not focused on it. And right now we are often wasting energy on what I think are things that take us nowhere
Starting point is 00:06:52 or backwards. And I'm sorry for your situation and I hope it changes for the better. And I appreciate your question, it's a great one. Oh, hello, my name is Rosa. I'm calling you from Montauk. I just want you to talk about the Latinos to drop in power. The Latinos didn't know about the things. They just did it because, okay, the economy and maybe the Latinos want to deport the others. The Latinos want the illegal to be deported.
Starting point is 00:07:28 And they vote for Trump for that and for the economy. But I know the economy was good. We had a pandemic, but they don't know. They never think about that. How they think Trump is gonna give them papers. Sometimes you don't know about those think about that. How they think Trump is going to give them papers. Sometimes you don't know about those things about Latinos. They don't know. They don't listen to good news like you and the news that I watch. Okay, bye. Thank you. Well, Rosa, look, I get it and I appreciate you and maybe we'll bump into each other.
Starting point is 00:08:06 I love Montauk out there all the time, especially during the fishing season. My wife serves out there, kids are always out there. Thank you for calling in. Now, no disrespect, obviously you're a Latina and you understand the culture better than I will, but let's not generalize. Okay? Not all Latinos, it's not a monolithic group, right? And the idea that Latinos put Trump in office, is that true?
Starting point is 00:08:34 No, white voters put him in office, but he got 46% of the Latino vote, give or take looking at the exit polls, and that is almost a 10 to 15% increase, depending on which slice of Latinos you're looking at, from the election he lost to Biden. And so why did it change in his favor? I think the economy had a big thing to do with it.
Starting point is 00:08:55 And I also think a lot of Latinos are against illegal immigration and don't believe that Trump is a bigot. They believe it's about right and wrong and that they did it the right way. And overwhelmingly, Latinos in this country are here legally or born here, right? And they can also be frustrated by and against politically and personally to what is seen as a permissive southern border mentality and an unsafe border. And Latinos, again, not to generalize, but there is a cultural influence of family unit,
Starting point is 00:09:36 very important, Christianity, very important. And those structures and values play to being slightly conservative. So I'm not shocked that Latinos vote right, and not just Cubans, who are known to be center-right. But I think the idea that all Latinos are going to be lefties because they're illegal immigrants, or they side with people who enter illegally, I think is old thinking. I think the economy and yes, culture and concerns about our culture can move Latino voters.
Starting point is 00:10:12 And we saw that in this election. They shouldn't be looked at as a monolith and they shouldn't be looked at as single issue voters. And I don't think it's about collective ignorance. You know, I hear that a lot from people who are anti-Trump that they think people who vote for him are stupid. I think that that is a stupid idea. Not you, Rosa, I would never disrespect anybody that way.
Starting point is 00:10:32 And I think you're intelligent and I think you care, and thank you for caring. But you don't have to be a bigot and you don't have to be dumb to vote for Trump. You can be worried about things and think that the risk of what the alternative is to him is even worse than what he is personally. And I think that's why we are where we are.
Starting point is 00:10:51 Chris, nobody supporting what you're saying about this. The Louie's you imagine he'd been a terrorist. You said not on your own, man. You're totally wrong. Ain't nobody scratching their heads or whatever. You've been covering this for over 20 years and you see it hadn't changed. When is it going to change? Chris, what are the insurance companies going to change? It ain't changing. Maybe it takes violence.
Starting point is 00:11:12 And I think you're wrong. Look at throughout history. You never see a change. You, that takes place a significant change takes place without violence, even in civil rights and stuff here in the U S for black people, it had to be that balance that made it change, you know, peaceful preaching and walk in and all that stuff. Doesn't cause no changes or whatever for that.
Starting point is 00:11:31 It was, it was, it was the people like the, it was the nation of Islam and all of those and the violence and everything and the black Panthers and stuff that cause it, that cause it to change and even throughout history and stuff. So maybe it's time for violence or whatever, in order to initiate a change. Not all of this peaceful stuff or whatever, even covered us over 20 years. What, why hasn't it changed? And Chris, there's been plenty of protests, plenty of lawsuits, plenty of
Starting point is 00:11:56 appeals, all of this stuff. Why hasn't it changed? Chris? I mean, I goodness don't assume that everybody has your same opinion or whatever, but maybe if you give us some of that rich insurance you have, we won't have a problem. I'm sure you never had to struggle with insurance problems at all. Being all that money and rich and everything, you know, with your daddy and stuff coming to being governor, I'm sure he was, I'm sure you had the best insurance
Starting point is 00:12:18 out of your life, man. Once you try putting on our shoes and struggle for a while and then being caught. All right. Look, you have your right to your opinion. I appreciate your calling in. You make some decent points. I have had problems with insurance personally. I've been fighting with an insurance company over about one hundred thousand dollars for a surgery for my daughter that they don't want to pay for. So I do know. And that money would matter to me.
Starting point is 00:12:47 My father was a public servant almost my entire life, certainly growing up. He got out of public service when I was 25, and then he died in 2015, so I was, what, 45. when in 2015, so I was what, 45. So for 20 years, he was in private sector, for 25 growing up when he was insuring me, to your point, he was in public service. And yeah, there was good insurance.
Starting point is 00:13:18 I don't think that means, and I think we have a problem. I don't think it helps you get to a better place by accusing a person who says something that you don't agree with of privilege. Most of the people who fought for civil rights were not black people who were disenfranchised in terms of creating the change in Congress, which is where it happened.
Starting point is 00:13:43 LBJ, you can question why he did itBJ, you can question why he did it. Kennedy, you can question why he did it. Those were white men that made it happen. And it was white men in Congress who codified it into law. So the idea that just because you're a privileged white person, you can't understand anything, I think is a little off, okay? And I think that whatever my personal experience is, and again, it's not as you see it, but even if it were,
Starting point is 00:14:09 it doesn't mean that over the course of decades covering the issue, because you're saying two things at once, that I've covered it for 20 years and nothing's changed. So you get that I see that, but you also say at the same time that I don't understand your pain. And I think I can understand the issue
Starting point is 00:14:23 and understand the pain that people feel without having felt it myself. And I think that that's true for you too, right? There are lots of things that you can understand and have sympathy for and empathy for that you didn't experience yourself. Now, I really don't agree with you. And if you are a black man, this doesn't make me racist. The idea that we got civil rights reform because of violence, I think it's the opposite. I think the reason that Dr. King and a generation of activists prevailed was because they didn't succumb to the tactics of their opponents, of harshness and violence and ugliness. I think it's the opposite. I think the reason
Starting point is 00:15:06 that the movement wound up going with Dr. King and not Malcolm X's early understanding of by any means necessary and violence as a path to change and the Panthers, et cetera, is because of the nonviolence of the movement and that it was done through litigation and not violence. So I disagree. I think that there was unrest. I think that there was anger and I think that those are motivating factors, but the violence, I don't agree with you. That being a positive change aspect in our history.
Starting point is 00:15:43 And I think that even our revolution against England, when you have an oppressor and that is the only mechanism for change is warfare. That's one thing, right? Even the Vatican acknowledges that there can be such things as a good war. But the specific here with the guy who assassinated the CEO, what has changed for the better with healthcare because he shot the guy in the head? I think if anything, we got distracted by how wrong that was and it kind of took the energy out of dealing with healthcare.
Starting point is 00:16:20 And there are real problems and now we're seeing real problems with the California fires in property and fire insurance. Should you go shoot some big shot from all these different companies that we're dealing with now? I hope not, God forbid. God forbid, what would that make better? The idea that you can become what you oppose
Starting point is 00:16:43 and get to a better place, I don't think works. And I don't think that's some bullshit, you know, mushy headed thinking. I think it's cold hard practicality. You got to be better than what you oppose if you're going to change it. And I think that's always been true. And the idea that you're going to shoot someone in the head and it's going to lead you to a better place. I haven't seen it yet.
Starting point is 00:17:05 Hey, my name is Stephanie. Super weird request. My grandmother loves you so much. She's 88. She's bedridden. I got her a pillowcase with your face and a heart around your face last year for Christmas. And I'm just wondering if you can call and just leave her a message. Her name is Robbie and she would freak out if she got a message from Chris Cuomo. We live in Vancouver, Washington and she has the absolute biggest crush on you.
Starting point is 00:17:36 Okay. Thanks so much. Bye. Hey, you like to have any Olivia. Thanks so much. Robbie, this message is for you. It's Chris Cuomo. And I need to have you on my show because I have to ask you where you were on the night of April 5th, 2017. No, I'm kidding.
Starting point is 00:17:57 I'm calling to say thank you so much for caring about what I do and for supporting my efforts and for giving me an opportunity to do the job. And your granddaughter is a beautiful example of being raised right by you and by her parents that she thought of you this deeply to waste her time coming to someone like me to try to call you. And I'm happy to do it. I hope everything is good with you.
Starting point is 00:18:34 I've been to Vancouver and it is an interesting place. I was covering a bad thing when I was there, but I hope you guys are well up there. And I thank you again for giving me a chance and for thinking good thoughts about me and what I do. And I appreciate Stephanie, your granddaughter as well. God bless, be well. That was very sweet of you. I assumed you would call them right away
Starting point is 00:19:00 as soon as I played that call. Really? Yeah, cause you do that kind of stuff. What are you a mentalist? No, I just think you, I think you like reaching out to people who, you know, you're always telling me I'm going to pull all the bad stuff. That was a nice thing. And by the way, there are multiple Cuomo pillows available on, if you Google
Starting point is 00:19:16 Chris Cuomo pillow, there's one of you on a- Probably whoopie cushions. Bronx chair. There's one that says in Godfather, we trust with Fredo. And it looks like a dollar bill with you on the center. I don't think that's the one they got. Italians, the only ethnicity you can shit on. And it's not bigotry.
Starting point is 00:19:36 What about you kissing Don Lemon? That's a pillow. That's nice. That's beautiful. And then there's one of lots of your face. This is just lots of you in profile and your face. Hmm, nice. This is, it's available on- It's a lot of me.
Starting point is 00:19:50 That's a lot of you. Hey, this channel's a lot of you. This is all Cuomo. So maybe this is, 1999, it's actually on sale right now down from 2199 if you want a small 14 by 14 version, or if you have a big couch, that's $29.99 on sublyworks.com. You enjoying yourself right now? No, I'm just telling you that this lady
Starting point is 00:20:10 said she got a pillow with your face on it. And if the audience wants another pillow with your face on it, well, here's one right here. Okay, next. Support comes from Oracle. All right, look, I don't know where you are in AI. You may think that too much is being made of it. It's coming.
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Starting point is 00:21:44 Now streaming. What do you know about the happy face killer? He's my father. That's oracle dot com slash CCP. You don't see how the birds sing to you. Anna Lee Ashford and Dennis Quaid star. I am not responsible for what my dad did. This going how you hoped? Happy Face, new series now streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus. TD Direct Investing offers live support. So whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, you can make your investing steps count. And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for total fund savings adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. We're gonna move on to the YouTube comments right now.
Starting point is 00:22:37 I'm sorry, I didn't like all the pillow talk. Ha ha ha, pillow talk, see what he did there? What? Go ahead. I'm just talking about pillows. I am gonna go back to the call that we had a moment ago about the health insurance CEO, Brian Thompson, his, his murder. There has been a lot of comments on the channel about you covering that subject and health insurance in America. This is from Ria 5690 from YouTube.
Starting point is 00:23:03 You make the CEO out to be a saint. He was making millions in bonuses and he knew exactly what he was doing. 237 likes. Marianne Kunitz7777 wrote, Chris, I just cannot relate to a man who earns $10 million per year. I can't relate to a person
Starting point is 00:23:18 who puts corporate profit over human life. I'm a very empathetic person, but this type of greed is not anything I can relate to at all. 295 likes. And then Muddy Waters, 538 wrote, I disagree with what you said. Every penny that CEO made was blood money.
Starting point is 00:23:32 And he was walking down the street like he owned the whole world. 397 likes. First of all, I'm happy the numbers are small because I just think it's a reflection of the worst of us. And here's why. I'm not a fan of the worst of us. And here's why. I'm not a fan of the health insurance companies. I've been covering it for 20 years.
Starting point is 00:23:48 We're working on a News Nation series where we're going through all these different things that need to be changed about health insurance. And I guarantee you we'll be ahead of most people who will just move by that tragedy and just forget about it like we do all the time in our society. Look, I can't get past the idea that murder
Starting point is 00:24:08 is a good change mechanism for policy. It just doesn't work. You don't know anything about the guy and every cent of or every dollar he made, so UnitedHealthcare does nothing good. I mean, come on, It's just, it's not even, it's not rational. And I get the anger, but the idea that murder gets you to a better place, you just, you lose me. That doesn't mean that I don't think that these guys put
Starting point is 00:24:37 profits over people. You know, look, we have a problem with capitalism in this country, right? You're not really allowed to talk about it. Everything's got to be capitalism. It's like our national religion, right? But you can take care of them whenever they need it. They get bailed out. They get special treatment. They get accommodations that no individuals get or small businesses don't get.
Starting point is 00:24:56 Why? Well, because they motivate our economy. They employ a lot of people. But what do you get when capitalism is unbridled by ethics or morality? Then it's just about greed. And I think health insurance companies have certainly been on the wrong side of that line way too many times. And there's a need for change. But, but, but, you don't get to a better place by shooting a guy in the head.
Starting point is 00:25:23 Look, are we having congressional hearings right now about changing the healthcare industry because this punk-ass kid shot somebody in the head? And by the way, he didn't have a single fucking problem with health insurance companies. It never affected his life. He's been living his best life in Hawaii on his parents' dime, who made their money in the healthcare business. Don't you see the hypocrisy at play here? You are no better than what you oppose as soon as you made their money in the healthcare business. Don't you see the hypocrisy at play here? You are no better than what you oppose
Starting point is 00:25:48 as soon as you shoot a guy in the head because you don't like the system. Why don't we kill our leaders all the time then? Be like Pakistan. I mean, come on. Either you want a standard that they're not meeting. There's a morality, there's an ethical standard that they are failing to meet, but you're not gonna meet it yourself?
Starting point is 00:26:07 Well, sometimes violence is justified, really. And this is the case? I don't accept that. And that doesn't mean that I have a different feeling than you about the insurance system or the need to change it. It's about how you change it. And I don't see how shooting a guy in the head
Starting point is 00:26:23 who you don't know anything about, let alone that he's responsible for what you hate about United Health Care or insurance in general. He was walking around like he owns the place. How the fuck do you know how he was walking around? So if somebody thought that your father was the reason that their life isn't going great at work because he's a shitty boss, should they shoot him in the head? If he had been unfairly holding them down, keeping them back for money they should have made, ripping them off, should they shoot him in the head? These are from your interview with Ian Bremmer.
Starting point is 00:26:57 You recently had him on and he talked about the biggest geopolitical risks he sees in 2025. He put out a report about that and also talked a bit about Trump's second stint as president, Jim McCord, 4,722 just wrote, I generally listened closely to Ian, but as a former farm operator,
Starting point is 00:27:12 I totally disagree with his opinion that Americans will be willing to take on the work in agricultural fields that illegal immigrants now provide. House construction work, yes, but nope, never going to happen in our ag fields. Or- Depends what they pay. There's another comment, Thomas Thietens wrote,
Starting point is 00:27:26 I highly doubt corporations and businesses are going to give up cheap labor to give Americans the jobs they aren't eager to work. It depends how much they pay. And I agree, I don't think that the pay will be enticing enough to do work that Americans to this point have shown that they don't wanna do anymore, which is why there
Starting point is 00:27:45 is the demand for labor, right? Which is why they're coming here, right? They're coming here to do jobs that we don't want to do. But a big part of the reason that we don't want to do the jobs is because of what they're getting paid and how they're treated there. So that's part of it also. And then you have the other part to Ian's theory, which is, well, what happens when they do start paying
Starting point is 00:28:12 enough to make you want to pick strawberries? Well, then how much do the strawberries cost? See, I don't think the American, look, I think we know the answer already, okay? The American consumer is okay with things being made elsewhere if it puts their prices down. And that is why nothing changes, is that you don't see an American revolt
Starting point is 00:28:38 against buying abroad. I'm only gonna buy American. Who does that? Who does that if it's not cheaper? Do you do that in your life? I think of like a guitar, like a US made guitar or a one made in Mexico or something that is ostensibly a very similar model.
Starting point is 00:28:55 Like I think like a Fender Telecaster. Like I have a non US Telecaster at home because it costs like half as much as a US made one. And what's the difference to me? While I'm a casual player, it's like, I don't want to invest all this money. Do you remember Amherst? You'll correct me if I'm wrong, but remember Ibanez?
Starting point is 00:29:11 Ibanez was not an American company, I think. You gotta look it up. But they were so much less expensive. They look just like the other ones, so you buy it. I mean, that's what China has done, right? And I'm not blaming them. That's what the market demand. Yeah, they're a Japanese company.
Starting point is 00:29:28 So the idea that this sucks. Trump is right. OK, how is he right? Well, because these illegals are coming here and taking our jobs. They are not taking our jobs. They're taking lower rung jobs that Americans demonstrably don't want to do, which is why they're available. Yeah, but that's because they don't pay enough. Make them pay. Okay, but then those things are going to cost more and you don't want to pay more.
Starting point is 00:29:55 And look, there is an argument to be made and I've heard it made many times and there is a compelling aspect to it, but it's tricky, which is what? Our best national security, okay, is to make everything here and only buy our own stuff. But economically, it gets tricky because, sorry, so you're paying more and things cost more. But then what does that do in terms of inflation rate and currency value and savings rate, which is ridiculously low anyway. But if you only bought stuff that you make and you don't need anybody else, it's very safe for you.
Starting point is 00:30:32 But it's not a reality in a global economy when there's such inefficiencies that way. You can get things cheaper outside and obviously you're okay with it. Because that's why it exists. If Americans refuse to buy things from abroad because they wanted stuff that was made by Americans who were given a living wage,
Starting point is 00:30:53 then the correction would take care of itself and people would start making things here and paying people to make it here because that's the only way they could sell it. But that's not what we buy. What am I missing? There's a little irony here. Do you remember a few months ago
Starting point is 00:31:07 there was that dock worker strike that had to be resolved and people were starting to hoard toilet paper. They were going out and buying all the toilet paper. Well, it turns out that nobody needed to hoard toilet paper because something like 90% of it is made in the United States. So it's this converse thing of like even the things that people worry,
Starting point is 00:31:22 oh no, I'm not gonna be able to have this, I better stock up on it. It's like, well, you're actually stocking up on the one thing that's made in the US because it makes no sense to make this anywhere else because we use so much of it and it's all, you know, we have plenty of force, I can produce this stuff, like it's a domestic product.
Starting point is 00:31:34 So look, sometimes perspective, perception is not always reality, okay? It is in politics. Perception wins over reality all the time. And this is an example of it. That it feels satisfying to say, yeah, keep these people out. Let those jobs be here.
Starting point is 00:31:50 And Ian says, yeah, I'm happy paying for more, paying more for those things. I don't think most people are. And I look, I also think that it is, it's minimizing the real challenge for our leaders in terms of our economy. The real challenge is to train our workers to do jobs that are higher paying jobs in our economy,
Starting point is 00:32:13 create more of those jobs and create more people who are able to do those jobs that make more money. I mean, that's the real solution, more pie. Instead of who gets this slice of the pie, make a bigger pie. More jobs that are high paying jobs. Encourage industries where that is what is happening there. How? Why? I don't have the answers to this. I'm in the business of asking questions and scrutinizing and testing power. But that should be the bar for leadership instead of just blaming illegals. Because, okay, there's no more illegal labor.
Starting point is 00:32:51 Who's gonna do those jobs? Oh, well, these guys will. Really? They're gonna make a fraction of what they're making now? They're gonna start paying three times what they're paying now for things? I don't think so. That has not been the history in America.
Starting point is 00:33:08 See, people leave that part out. Why? It's not as satisfying. And you have to discern. That's critical thinking. Sounds good. Get rid of them. Yes, America's work. You know that the unemployment rate is almost at a record low, right? Most economists believe we're almost at full employment, right?
Starting point is 00:33:24 Means that the people who can work and who want to work are working. So what does that tell you? You need labor. You need new blood. Either you're going to make it with babies or you're going to bring it in or both. It sounds good, doesn't mean it is good. Same episode, AlSavesDemocracy writes, the scariest thing in America is watching people like C. Cuomo sane washing Trump and helping him get elected. Oh, please. Listen, at what point are you going to realize that people know who Trump is and what he is
Starting point is 00:34:00 and what he has done? They're not electing him to be their daddy or to date their mom or to take care of their kid or to be in business with them. They are picking him to be a disruptor of a system that they are more concerned about than any of his personal foibles. Don't you get it?
Starting point is 00:34:20 I'm not sane washing him. Who criticizes Trump more than I have? Come on with my platform. Give me a break. I'm one of the only anchors in the media who will tell you outright, personally, I've had beef with him for calling me an enemy of the state and making life hard for my wife and my kids. I had to move because of that bullshit.
Starting point is 00:34:41 And he knew about it and he continued doing it anyway. That's my beef, but I still cover him fairly. Why? Because I care more about the people who voted for him and that he is now in control of again, in terms of our collective fate, then I do my personal problem with him. It's not the job to just judge people
Starting point is 00:35:01 on the basis of how I feel about them. It's about what they mean in society and what the issues are for the collective. Not just me. I'm not stain washing Trump. I'm not now a Trump or I haven't been red-pilled. It's all bullshit. But I gotta be hopeful that he does better this time. I want good things for the country. I want progress. Don't you? To support sustainable food production, BHP is building one of the world's largest hot ash mines in Canada. Essential resources responsibly produced. It's happening now at BHP, a future resources company. This is from your take on Mark Zuckerberg's wonderful suite of apps, ending fact checking
Starting point is 00:35:47 programs. CLI3335 wrote, as an Australian, I'm so thankful to the government for banning social media to under 16. Yeah, me too. I mean, look, I think it's way out in front of us. I think that we're overwhelmed in a way that television never was. You know, my generation of parents,
Starting point is 00:36:11 my parents called the boob tube and they were so worried about TV. It was nothing compared to these kids with these phones. And here's why. I didn't watch TV and watch a movie at the same time. I didn't have to watch TV while I was doing anything else. These kids can't watch a movie without their phone. They wanna look at their phone while they're playing catch.
Starting point is 00:36:35 It's how they spend every other moment. You know, I saw this comedian the other day talking about how we never heard the word mindfulness when I was growing up because you had plenty of moments of being mindful, alone waiting for something. You know what I mean? Walking somewhere, getting somewhere, waiting for a bus, waiting for a train. We had moments where we were just thinking, just alone with our thoughts.
Starting point is 00:37:02 You don't have that anymore. I am good with a ban. And I get why a lot of parents aren't going to like it. A lot of parents don't like that they take the phones in schools. I think that's crazy. I love it. It has changed every measurable performance dynamic in my kid's school. It's a good thing.
Starting point is 00:37:19 Why? This is a drug. And it is fucking up how they deal with one another how they think about themselves and Creating this huge basis of false understanding about the world and dynamics from sex and love To how you're supposed to look to how you're supposed to be I have no problem with it being banned if I could go back and do one thing differently as a parent I would have fought for my one thing differently as a parent, I would have fought for my kids to not have a phone as long as possible. Not a phone, social
Starting point is 00:37:50 media access, internet access for as long as possible. You give me an age, I think the kids better off without it. Seriously, right into college, I think they're better off without it. I cannot even make a case that the pluses are anywhere near what the negatives are. This is from your predictions for 2025. Brennan Rateni writes, I don't really get the hate boner Cuomo has for Rogan. Every chance he gets, he takes shots at him. Rogan stays at number one in podcasts this year. Maybe maybe not. I don't have a hate boner for him, which is a weird pseudo sexual thing. Well, a couple of people have said things along those lines.
Starting point is 00:38:28 Kroma17 said, Cuomo never fails to try to throw a jab at Rogan. Stop listening to the episode as soon as I heard that. And Umkay replied, well, as soon as you remove Rogan's cock from your mouth, maybe you can join the adults. So a lot of, a lot of sexually explicit. Well, if I have his cock in my mouth.
Starting point is 00:38:43 No, I think the cock is in the commenter's comment. I think you're saying that Crooma17 has the cock in their mouth. Look, I am not a Rogan hater. I respect his success. I think he says a lot of things that are ignorant and that he's advancing a lot of things that he should not a lot of things.
Starting point is 00:39:05 From time to time, he advances something he shouldn't given his platform. What I respect is, he's kind of like the Trump of digital media where people don't just listen to him or watch him. I don't believe he's a thought leader. I believe you watch him because you identify with him and he is symbolic for people. So you believe that watch him because you identify with him and he is symbolic for people.
Starting point is 00:39:26 So you believe that I'm insulting you when I'm critiquing him. And I get that, I just don't give a shit how you feel. What I care about is what matters to everybody, not just those who have a cult following for Rogan. I respect his success. I don't agree with you that he's going to be at the top this year. I think that better talent is going to get involved. And I think
Starting point is 00:39:52 that there's going to be, and I mean, look, it's already happening. I mean, Kelsey's wife came out of the box and was challenging Rogan. Why? Because the zeitgeist has caught on now that digital media is a place where you can get traction. And I think you're going to see a different level of talent get into it. You know, Joe Rogan has many things. He has never been a top talent, right? He's not a top comic. He wasn't a top host on television. He is a great and I would argue top MMA fight analyst. I think he's great, very entertaining.
Starting point is 00:40:27 But I think that people are gonna overtake him. And is that what I want? No, not necessarily. I mean, it doesn't bother me what Rogan is doing. From time to time it does and I speak about it, but I don't hate him and I admire his success and I wish him more of it. I can want him to be successful
Starting point is 00:40:45 and think that someone's gonna catch him and pass him because I think there's gonna be better than what he offers. Cause I think the main value of what he offers are the guests, not his input. I saved this for last in your 2024 year in review episode, we went over some of the biggest stories of 2024. One of them was the big solar eclipse. And I gave you an anecdote about how my neighbor
Starting point is 00:41:07 came upstairs and they used a colander to watch the shadow instead of looking through those eclipse classes. And you, for some reason, didn't like me using the word colander. You said you wanted to use the word strainer or something. And you kept, yeah. So there's a lot of replies about this. Christopher Benson, 2634 says, Cuomo, anyone with kitchen awareness knows it's a lot of replies about this. Christopher Benson, 2634 says,
Starting point is 00:41:25 Quomo, anyone with kitchen awareness knows it's a colander. J.Q. Lawrence says, Chris, you're wrong on this one. A colander and strainer are different tools. 39 Zonk says it's a colander for goodness sake. Cynthia Geskies, 1457 says, I call it a colander. R.Loraro, 6844, some people still call it a colander, Chris, especially in New York State.
Starting point is 00:41:46 Corian Hernandez, 4,449, writes, I call it a colander. Richard in Japan, 4,578. The difference between a colander and a strainer is the size of the holes. Also, a strainer is generally designed such that it can be used with one hand, whereas a colander usually requires both hands to use. An Italian-
Starting point is 00:42:04 I get it. I get that you guys have Google. Several points. One, great example of how people are so desperate for gotchas. And now the second point, do you know that if I had said that on TV, a reporter would now have the basis of a hit piece based on 10 people on social media who say that I shouldn't have said something, which is my biggest problem with the media's interaction with social media, is that we've decided this is Vox Populi when I'm just fucking around with Greg,
Starting point is 00:42:40 the combination of your desperation to be relevant and play gotcha and the media's desperation to be negative and have fodder without they can say, well, it's not me, but online they're upset about what you said. Ten people. And I don't believe that people say colander as much as they say other things. It's a different tool. The one person was saying. First of all, did you even know that it's a different tool? Yes, a strainer and a colander. Oh, really? Yes, there's a handle on one of them. You thought they were different things
Starting point is 00:43:09 because you said on the episode, people call it either thing. Yeah, because they- But now you're saying they're different things. Because I think not everybody understands the distinction between the two things. So I think people think it's interchangeable, but it is two separate tools for the kitchen,
Starting point is 00:43:20 which a lot of these people are getting at. You never said they were two separate tools. But- And you know you didn't think about that at the time, and now lot of these people are getting at. You never said they were two separate tools. And you know you didn't think about that at the time. And now you're using it because it's to your advantage. But now you're trying to do a gotcha to me. You're trying to make it seem like I'm the asshole trying to like, give myself out of some jam.
Starting point is 00:43:34 I am the asshole. That's my job. I think there's no asshole. You didn't know that they're two different things. You wouldn't have separated them. You thought it was about just words you use. They are two different things. Listen, the sides of the holes doesn't matter to me.
Starting point is 00:43:47 No, but that's what, well, it should. It should to a lot of people. In Italian, a colander is generally called a scola pasta and is generally intended to simply drain liquids. Whereas a strainer has a sieve construction. It is intended to filter out small solids as well as liquid. People use them interchangeably all the time,
Starting point is 00:44:03 not just as vernacular, but as kitchen tools. And, you know, look, we have many problems, okay? One of them is judgment. And not just discerning judgment, critical thinking, but social media has driven an addiction, a consumption, an obsession with judging others. It's kind of why daytime TV took off. The desire to see others and judge them.
Starting point is 00:44:37 And this idea, you don't know what happens in the kitchen, you don't know what happens if you don't have insurance. Like you guys know me and know my life and know my experience. Well, you've always been rich. You're a rich guy. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. And that's okay, because I signed up for your judgment. I signed up.
Starting point is 00:44:57 See, I don't get like I used to disagree with Don Lemon about this all the time. You don't get to sign up to be public facing and say shit. And then when people say shit back to you, say I'm offended, or you don't get to sign up to be public facing and say shit. And then when people say shit back to you, say, I'm offended or you don't get to say that, or you don't get to come on here or that's out of bounds. I think that bar's gotta be super high because this is what you signed up for. You signed up to be weighed and measured.
Starting point is 00:45:18 I get measured minute by minute. I signed up for it, I'm okay with it. I just find it lacking in substance and usefulness. Like who gives a shit about what I said about a colander? All the things that we're talking about, that's what you pick on. Why? Because that's where your head is. I would have never remembered that conversation if he didn't, you know, start going through comments about it. And I think that we are easily distracted in this society in general. if he didn't, you know, start going through comments about it. And I think that we are easily distracted
Starting point is 00:45:45 in this society in general. MUSIC Greg Ott, I love you. Thank you very much for going through these with me. Everybody, I appreciate the comments. I appreciate the questions. Even if I don't agree, even if I don't like a perspective,
Starting point is 00:46:03 doesn't mean that I don't value the input. I don't like a perspective, doesn't mean that I don't value the input. So thank you very much. Thank you for subscribing and following here at The Chris Cuomo Project. It is a project because it's a collaboration. We're working on it together and there's a lot of work to be done. Independent, critical thinkers, free agents, wear your independence, get the gear, feel any way you want to feel and tell me about it. We're both free agents. Doesn't mean we're going to agree. In fact, it means we are free to disagree. I'll see you on NewsNation, AP and 11P, every weekday night. And one simple thought.
Starting point is 00:46:33 A lot of problems coming at us. Same approach for all of it. Let's get after it.

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