The Chris Cuomo Project - Chris Cuomo’s 3 Key DNC Takeaways You Need To Know

Episode Date: August 22, 2024

Chris Cuomo breaks down three critical takeaways from the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in this special edition of The Chris Cuomo Project. Exploring why Joe Biden was pushed out due to poor poll numbers, how Kamala Harris was strategically chosen to preserve the power structure, and the alarming role corporate money continues to play in our political system, Cuomo urges viewers to think critically and consider the pressing need for change within America’s two-party system. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Look, I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to Chris Cuomo project. So we're here at the DNC, show them. Go on, number one. Everybody's coming out, telling their speakers. You know, the speakers during the day matter in a way that the DNC, show them. Roll number one. Everybody's coming out to turn their speakers. You know, the speakers during the day matter in a way that the speakers at night don't. The speakers at night are the stars, right?

They're the galvanizers. But these are the soldiers. This entire convention is about a two-tiered game. And that's gonna be my third point that I'm gonna tell you, but I don't wanna waste it. These are the soldiers. The party needs these people, okay, who give this, and they give this, all right? They don't necessarily give this.

These are the people who work constituencies, work communities, work issues. So it's about energizing them, making them feel that it's worth it to take the time off their jobs, okay? To take the time away from their families. Big names galvanize that at night, right? They're the special sauce. Here are the three things that we've learned. One, we now know what happened to Joe Biden. Joe Biden was absolutely pushed out.

Joe Biden did not want to get out. Now look, you can say at this point, the party's fine with it. Every poll that we see has over 80, 90 percent of Democrats are good with the switch. So really this is somewhat of a dead issue, alright? But it's good to know how we got here. It's good about what it means about party politics. So here's what happened.

There are no chiefs in the Democratic Party. Barack Obama does not run the Democratic Party. That's not how it works. no chiefs in the Democratic party. Barack Obama does not run the Democratic party, okay? That's not how it works. It's about constituencies and influence in that moment. So what happened? They were learning from regional pollsters that in counties that mattered

that would determine congressional seats, Democrats were sinking. The presidential nominee, the presumptive one, Biden, wasn't able to get there, wasn't able to pump them up, wasn't able to deliver money. Moments become momentum in politics. Moments become momentum in politics. What does that mean?

The polls start to drop, the local organizers start to worry, the donor base starts to hear about it, starts to get a little itchy. Am I making a bad investment? The people who are your bundlers that I've talked to you about before, the people who call the people with the money, started to get nervous. So, they start comparing notes. Nancy Pelosi finds out about these things. Other members of Congress that are key to their caucus start to find out,

start to go to Hakeem Jeffries and say, I think my scene is in jeopardy. Biden can't come. I don't even know if I want him to come. How are we going to generate the money? How are we going to generate the excitement? How am I going to generate what I need to get the constituents out? They're worried. Chuck Schumer's worried. Hakeem Jeffries is worried. Quigley is worried.. They're worried. Chuck Schumer's worried. How King Jeffries is worried. Quigley is worried. Senator Warner is worried. Senator Coons is worried. People are worried.

Guess who also knew these numbers? Biden's team knew the numbers. They had been getting the research from the same cultures. They weren't telling Joe Biden. Why not? Good question. Several potential answers. One, numbers could change. They didn't believe the numbers. Two, they didn't want to lose their position in status.

Three, Biden didn't want to hear it and the people closest to him didn't want to tell him. That was a big mistake. So eventually what happened was people around him, Pelosi, the Jeffries, they kept coming at him from different angles until he was finally addressed with the reality of the numbers and then he made the decision. So when he said only if the Almighty comes down and tells me, that's because he didn't know the truth. And for many people who choose to have faith in their lives, you know what we often call God?

What we call the revelation, what we call the word? The truth. And when the truth was finally given to President Biden, that he is sagging in places that are probably unable to recover from in the amount of time he made the move. Did Kamala Harris have something to do with pushing them out? Nope. Her team was loose, disassociated.

She was not a player in the process. She was the no brainer choice. Why? Because she's a black woman? No. That is hate parade talk. And I'll tell you how we know. The real rationale is very obvious.

You want the person who can make the case that is closest to your power base. Who is that? The VP. For you to have overlooked Kamala Harris as the sitting vice president would have been almost a hostile act within the democratic ranks. So the idea of process and all of that they didn't have time for. They decided how do we overlook the vice president. So the idea of process and all of that, they didn't have time for it. They decided, how do we overlook the vice president? It's not so much that they picked Harris because she's a black woman. It's that if they hadn't picked Harris,

it likely would have been because she was a black woman. And what would that have meant in a party that says it's about celebrating diversity? Ah. So we now know what it was that led to Biden's house. Wasn't Obama pulling strings. It wasn't Harris pulling strings. That is all for the haters and the people who love conspiracy thinking. It was far more organic than that. And by the way, there's still plenty of room for blame.

Biden should have known his numbers. His people should have addressed him with them. They should have had clear eyes. They should have not seen it as a coronation. They should have not seen it as a given, even if traditionally it is. But it's traditionally a given because that's your strongest person. And they had a lot of reason for a long time

to not believe that. So now we know, next thing that we know. As a connection to this point, Kamala Harris was picked because they need someone to make the case they believe they can make. Kamala Harris was not picked just because of what boxes she checks in terms of diversity. Although diversity should matter. We want leadership in this country that looks like our country. The Democrats say they're going to prioritize that.

Right. So they're doing it. But that is not what is driving these people, even though you have a lot of people of color within the constituency. It's that she's supposed to be able to make the case. Has she proven that? No. And there are people in-house, this is great. You have the Obamas, they can

make the case. Goddamn can they make the case. The Obamas blew the roof off this place. I don't know which one's better. Although I do believe there is something a little kind of magical when it comes to politics about Barack Obama. I don't know if it's just his cadence, his demeanor, his call and response. You know, they often say as one of the tropes in politics that Republicans like leaders that can teach, you know, that seem to instruct them about what's going on and what the dynamic is and who's out to get you. Whereas Democrats like people who can preach, right?

Who can reach out, who can really connect with the heart as well as with the head. And Obama's got that all day long, as does his wife. But I do think there's something special about Barack Obama when it comes to political acumen and political skill set. And I think he showed that last night. Now, there's also a reason that he and Michelle were removed by two days from Harris.

Why? Because you gotta be careful about overshadowing, you know what I mean? And when she gets this mantle, Why? Because you got to be careful about overshadowing your nominee. And when she gets this mantle, when this convention ends, when Labor Day happens, right, which is like a week after the convention, it's time for her to make the case. With me, on the media, in the papers, on the sets, from the stump, in a a debate in more than one debate. She's got a show She can make the case two reasons Maybe three but two reasons for sure one That's why they picked her

And she shouldn't be hiding from making the case You'll buy some time the trend is your friend in politics and the numbers are trending the right way So they don't want to put her in front of the media, but that teaches us something also You don't want to put her in front of the media, but that teaches us something also You don't want to put her in front of the media because you think there's risk in that wouldn't have done that with Bill Clinton I wouldn't have done that with Hillary Clinton. They wouldn't have done that with Barack Obama Because they thought there was no risk about putting those people in the chair So here they do see some risk. What does that tell you? It's an open question I keep saying we've seen a drop in the level of political talent in this country in recent years. I think it's true. And I think that's what people were reminded of when they saw the

Obamas. Is that we got to a place where you had Biden versus Trump in America, the greatest country in the world with all these leaders, all these people doing amazing things. And that was the best you could get. Two people at the end of their utility curve. Weird. So Harris is getting pressure in-house, in-party, to make the case. Why? Because that's why she was picked. But also, there are questions about what that case is for her. I heard two different members of Congress give me two different explanations of what she's going to do with the Iran nuclear deal.

One said, completely clear-eyed, she's going to get back in it. Another one said, completely clear- completely clear I they got to find another way which is it's not that they're lying. It's not that the deceiving me. It's that she's got to pick a path. She's got to make her position known and very often even within the party. They learn from what they hear candidates say to the media.

That's why it's so important to have free press and to have these conversations and to have these confrontations when need be. to have free press and to have these conversations and to have these confrontations when need be. Support for the Chris Cuomo project comes in part from AG1. Listen, I've been using AG1 for a long time, long before I've been podcasting and for good reason. It's one and done. One scoop, one cup of water, you're done. Second, I know that they are research backed. They reflect on

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drive of OCI at oracle.com slash CCP. That's oracle.com slash CCP. Oracle.com slash CCP. Now's the third point, okay? And this to me is the big one. What did we hear at the RNC? Going after the elites, baby. We're going after these big corporations with a two set of rules where it's all about them and Trump can do it because he knows them and they can't own him. Even though he's taking their money hand over fist in ways and amounts we've never seen before out where I live on Long Island. Insane amounts of money

millions per person. Wow that's what they said. What do you hear here? Going after the corporations for price gouging. That's why you have my grocery prices. I don't really believe that by the way the margins and groceries areouging. That's why you have high grocery prices. I don't really believe that, by the way. The margins in groceries are very thin. It's about the supply chain. It's about the cost structure. It's about the cost of money. It's about how much money was put into the economy.

It's complicated. It's a world market. It's a world explanation. We don't like complicated in politics. So it's convenient to say go after the corporations and the gouging. Fine, everybody loves that. But here's the reality. You want to hear something that is a fucking shocker?

These are the people. These are the soldiers. Look who's looking down on us. Look who's looking down on us. Ring around and look all the way around. You start at the first level with the media people. They didn't get those boxes for free. They didn't get those boxes for free. They did not get those boxes for free.

You then get to the next level of suites. You see all those suites and glass boxes? On the other side, there are these curtains that get pulled across when people come in for meetings. Those are all corporate donors. 500 grand, 700 grand, a million, a million and a half I'm not making up the numbers they're on the menu seat for the convention RNG same fucking thing so literally the people you say you're gonna go after are

looking down on you you want to go get them go fucking get them they're right there the money has exploded in politics. You people don't have two parties when it comes to this anymore. The theory of the Uniparty is real inasmuch as this one point is true. They need the money. And after Citizens United, legal money is the most dangerous money in the game now. Pax, superpax. It allowed corporations and rich individuals to completely vote around and blow up any kind of common sense about what matters in politics and motivating message. Because they need commercials, they need social media, it's all money. So they're literally saying they're going gonna go after the people who bought the boxes.

They're in the boxes. You see representatives running around on the floor doing hits with people like me. They then push you out of the way at the elevator to get back to the boxes. Why? That's where the money is. That's where the money is. And it's not just the Democrats. The Republicans did the same thing at their convention. We were there. It's all blue. Literally looking down on us from on high. The metaphor is staggering because of the reality of it.

It used to be that politics was expensive, but after Citizens United, you've seen exponential growth. Billions and billions of dollars are necessary to win. Harris has raised hundreds of millions in the last few weeks. How do you think she did that? 200 million people getting 20 bucks each? Bullshit. It's Deepakas. Trump, I don't need their money. He's drowning in their money. It's a total farce. We're going to go after the elites. Yeah, for checks. We're going to go after the corporations for gouging. Yeah, yeah. And then they're going to donate to you. And let's see what kind of legislation you get passed. I'm telling

you, it's the most bullshit thing in politics. And look, I don't blame them, and here's why. This is a binary system that is zero sum, meaning for one to win, the other must lose. There is no cache, there is no currency to cooperation. It's all about the other side being worse. Now I believe that the Democrats play a better game, a better version of the game than the Republicans do. That'll be controversial, people will say, no way, the Democrats are the mean ones. Whatever. I believe that they don't attack the way Trump does. I believe that they are trying

to make a case that they are better. And they. Do they have the ideas? Do they have the messenger? Can they make you believe it as a critical thinker, as an independent voter, as a free agent? I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. That's what the election is about. But we have learned why Biden is out, what they want to see out of Harris, that they still need to see it, which is part there and part the reality of what she's got to show us. And then the idea that anybody is going to go after the money people is laughable. They're literally in the fucking house right now. And you go up and you see their suites and they pull the curtain as the people go in. And who are they? They're

lobbyists, they're corporations, they're big pharma. They're all there. They're all there. And it's not a Democrat thing. I'm not blowing up the Democrats. The Republicans have the same exact thing. The same thing. And all of it is legal. It's unethical as hell. I would argue it's immoral. I would argue it's undemocratic. I would argue it's un-American, but it's the law because of Citizens United.

So I know what they're saying, and you all have to judge it, but I'm telling you, they can't do it. They are literally looking down while they're saying and you don't have to judge it but I'm telling you they can't do it. They are literally looking down while they're being told that they're going to be suffering from this. It's a cost of doing business for them. Hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars and they get hotel rooms and they get passes. By the way, you think the Democrats, you think the Republicans pay for those hotel rooms

that they wind up giving to the people in the boxes? You think those are also gifted from the hotel chains? See what I'm saying? So don't be cynical. Be a critical thinker. How can they go after these people when they fund the system? This is why the two-party system sucks. This is why we need change.

This is why you have to be an independent. That's why I make the case to you on that basis. I'm Chris Wormwood. Thank you very much for joining me here on the Chris Wormwood Project Special Edition here at the DNC. Thanks for subscribing, following and all that other shit. I'll see you at NewsNation. I appreciate you being here.