WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 It feels like every time you check the news, 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.019 there's a whole new wave of stuff happening, 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:08.439 especially with the economy and politics. It 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:10.660 can be so overwhelming trying to keep up with 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:12.759 everything. Totally. That's exactly what we're 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.439 doing here on The Deep Dive. We take all those 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:17.960 huge news dumps and break down the stuff that 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:20.600 matters to you. Exactly. We've got a ton of news 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.120 and analysis today. Yeah. Really focusing on 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:25.140 the big stuff that's been happening with politics 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:27.440 and the economy. Yeah. We're going to help you 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:29.519 understand what's going on without getting lost 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:31.760 in the weeds. And we've gone through all sorts 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.200 of sources this week, government stuff, court 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.840 decisions, political maneuvering. And we even 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:39.780 have a really interesting take on a new world 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:42.920 leader. Oh, yeah. But first, let's talk about 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:45.100 what's happening with government funding. Okay. 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:47.479 So the Senate's about to vote on something called 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:51.600 a continuing resolution. A CR. A CR. Yeah. And, 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:53.520 you know, it sounds like it's just going to keep 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.899 things running as usual. Keeping the lights on. 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:59.179 Yeah. But that's not the whole story. Not even 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:02.380 close. From what we're seeing, the CR is actually 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:05.159 a pretty big deal. There are some big funding 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:07.700 changes and it looks like it's giving even more 00:01:07.700 --> 00:01:10.560 power to Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Yeah. That's 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.500 where things get really interesting and complicated. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.519 Yeah. So where do things stand in the Senate? 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.099 Okay, so there are 53 Republicans in the Senate, 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:20.260 but Senator Paul's probably gonna vote against 00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:23.519 this thing. So that leaves them with 52. Okay. 00:01:23.819 --> 00:01:26.959 And then there are the Democrats. They've been 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.400 talking about a filibuster. Right, for a while 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:31.219 there on Wednesday, it seemed like Schumer was 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:33.700 ready to go for it. Yeah, but then things changed. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:36.659 A lot changed. There was a pretty intense caucus 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:40.120 meeting on Thursday, and... Gillibrand really 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:42.420 push back against the filibuster. Yeah, it sounds 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.140 like Schumer's not really going for it anymore 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:46.359 and probably won't vote for it himself So what's 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:48.859 gonna happen then? Well, we're starting to see 00:01:48.859 --> 00:01:51.280 who's probably gonna vote for cloture, you know, 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.379 that's the vote to end debate, right? So who's 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:55.200 looking like they'll vote for cloture from what 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:57.879 we're seeing it's looking like Schumer Gillibrand 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:01.299 Federman Kelly and Hickenlooper they'll probably 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:03.560 get a vote for cloture. And, you know, almost 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:04.780 all the Republicans are going to vote for it, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:06.840 too, so they only need a couple more votes to 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:09.000 end any filibuster. So why are the Democrats 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:10.979 backing down from a fight? I mean, this seems 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:13.520 like a big deal. Well, Schumer and the other 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.960 Democrats are saying they're worried about a 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:18.419 government shutdown. They're saying that a shutdown 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:21.240 would be even worse than the CR and that it would 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.680 give Musk and Trump even more power. In fact, 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:27.159 Schumer said that the CR is bad, but a shutdown 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.120 would be much, much worse. So they're trying 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:31.020 to avoid what they see as the bigger problem. 00:02:31.219 --> 00:02:33.199 Right. But there are definitely people who disagree 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:35.460 with that approach. Yeah, for sure. Some people 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:37.439 are saying this was the Democrats' best chance 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:40.099 to push back against Musk no matter what. And 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:42.159 others are pointing out that keeping the government 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.780 running doesn't actually stop Musk and Trump 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:46.800 from doing what they want. Right. And a lot of 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.319 people who don't like Musk and Trump want to 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:51.199 see the Democrats put up a fight. So it sounds 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.969 like no matter what the Democrats do... Someone's 00:02:53.969 --> 00:02:56.110 going to be upset. That's the thing. Our sources 00:02:56.110 --> 00:02:58.050 are saying that the Democrats were stuck between 00:02:58.050 --> 00:03:00.750 a rock and a hard place. No matter what they 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:03.110 chose, it was going to be bad. Yeah, I can see 00:03:03.110 --> 00:03:05.569 that. But even if it's the least bad option, 00:03:06.250 --> 00:03:08.169 I imagine there are still a lot of Democrats 00:03:08.169 --> 00:03:10.569 who are not happy about this. Oh, yeah. There's 00:03:10.569 --> 00:03:12.310 a lot of anger and disappointment out there, 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:14.330 especially among the more progressive Democrats. 00:03:14.939 --> 00:03:17.180 A lot of the House Democrats are upset, too, 00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:19.199 especially the ones who are in swing districts 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.759 and have been voting with the party leadership. 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:22.680 Right. They're the ones who are taking the biggest 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.400 risks with these votes. Exactly. They feel like 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:26.780 they're putting their necks on the line, and 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:29.180 the CR doesn't really show that the party appreciates 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:32.240 that. So what does the CR actually mean for people? 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:34.419 What are the consequences? Well, there's one 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:36.280 big consequence that's going to hit Washington, 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:39.020 D .C. pretty hard. Oh, yeah. Tell me about that. 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:42.379 OK, so usually when Congress passes one of these 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:45.280 short term funding bills, they include this little 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.659 clause that says the D .C. council can spend 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.780 the money it budgeted. But that clause is missing 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:54.060 from the CR. And the reason it's missing is because 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:56.539 the Republican leadership in the House doesn't 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:58.819 really care about D .C. residents who are mostly 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:01.340 black and Democrats. So what does that mean for 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:03.800 D .C.? Basically, D .C. is going to have to operate 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:05.879 under its old budget, which means they can't 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:07.560 spend the one point one billion dollars they 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:09.849 were planning to. So where does that money go? 00:04:10.389 --> 00:04:13.030 It basically gets put on hold because DC can't 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:15.610 spend money that Congress hasn't approved. And 00:04:15.610 --> 00:04:17.889 here's the thing. This doesn't actually save 00:04:17.889 --> 00:04:20.069 the federal government any money because this 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:22.610 is money that DC raised from its own residents. 00:04:22.850 --> 00:04:24.949 So it's not about saving money. It just sounds 00:04:24.949 --> 00:04:27.129 like they're trying to punish DC. Yeah, it really 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:29.730 does. Our sources are saying that the Republicans 00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:32.480 are trying to be cruel and punitive towards DC, 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.079 maybe because of things like Black Lives Matter 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.079 Plaza. So they're trying to use this CR to score 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.240 political points. Yeah, but you know what? What? 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.040 This actually gives the people in DC another 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:46.600 reason to push for statehood. That's a good point. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:48.879 So looking ahead, what's next for Congress? Well, 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:50.500 the next big thing is going to be the debt ceiling 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:54.899 debate. That's always a mess. Yeah, it is. And. 00:04:55.449 --> 00:04:57.170 because the Democrats are probably going to let 00:04:57.170 --> 00:04:59.910 this CR pass, it might look like they're not 00:04:59.910 --> 00:05:01.610 willing to fight over the debt ceiling either. 00:05:01.750 --> 00:05:03.490 Which could make it harder for them to get what 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:06.189 they want. Exactly. That's why some people are 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:08.290 saying that the Democrats need to come out strong 00:05:08.290 --> 00:05:11.029 right now and say that they won't raise the debt 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:13.930 ceiling unless there are limits on Elon Musk's 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:16.490 power. So basically they're saying the Democrats 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.149 need to draw a line in the sand. Exactly. They 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:21.350 need to make it very clear what they will and 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.420 will not accept. They need to be proactive and 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:26.579 send a strong message. Otherwise, they're going 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:28.560 to be stuck reacting to whatever the Republicans 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.420 do. OK, so we've talked about the legislative 00:05:30.420 --> 00:05:32.439 branch, but what about the judicial branch? Are 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:35.319 they doing anything to check the executive branch? 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:37.579 Oh, they are definitely stepping up. In fact, 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:40.319 just yesterday, two different judges on opposite 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.399 sides of the country ruled against the Trump 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.199 administration. Wow. So tell me about these rulings. 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.850 What did the judges say? OK, so the first ruling 00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:50.470 came from Judge Alsop in California, and the 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:52.470 second one came from Judge Bradar in Maryland. 00:05:52.990 --> 00:05:55.209 They both basically said that the Trump administration 00:05:55.209 --> 00:05:57.670 can't just fire federal employees without a good 00:05:57.670 --> 00:05:59.910 reason and that the employees who were fired 00:05:59.910 --> 00:06:02.589 have to be rehired right away. That's pretty 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:04.569 clear. Did the judges have anything to say about 00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:07.610 how the administration was acting? Yeah, Judge 00:06:07.610 --> 00:06:10.050 Alsop was really upset. He ordered the acting 00:06:10.050 --> 00:06:11.910 director of the Office of Personnel Management 00:06:11.910 --> 00:06:14.930 to come to court. And when he didn't show up, 00:06:15.370 --> 00:06:18.120 Alsop got rid of his deposition and demanded 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.899 that someone else come instead. He even said 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:23.199 that the firings were a sham and that the Department 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.300 of Justice was lying to the court. Judge Bradar 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:29.379 wasn't quite as outspoken, but his ruling actually 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:32.319 affects more people. It applies to 18 federal 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:34.560 departments, while Alsop's only applies to six. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.040 So what was the reasoning behind these rulings? 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:39.319 Why did the judges decide that the firings were 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:42.189 wrong? Both judges used almost the exact same 00:06:42.189 --> 00:06:44.870 language to say that the administration's excuse 00:06:44.870 --> 00:06:46.649 for firing these people, which was performance, 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:49.149 just wasn't believable. One of the judges even 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:51.350 called it a load of bull cookies. They both said 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.810 that the firing seemed totally unjustified. And 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:57.009 other judges, in similar cases, have been saying 00:06:57.009 --> 00:06:58.829 the same thing. So it sounds like the courts 00:06:58.829 --> 00:07:01.050 are not buying what the administration's selling. 00:07:01.389 --> 00:07:03.170 Nope. So does this mean that all those fired 00:07:03.170 --> 00:07:05.310 employees are getting their jobs back? Well, 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:08.160 not so fast. These rulings are called preliminary 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:11.000 injunctions, which means they're temporary. They'll 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.139 be in place until the judges can make a final 00:07:13.139 --> 00:07:16.399 decision. Judge Alsop's injunction doesn't have 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:19.800 an end date, but Judge Bredar's expires in 14 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:23.319 days, though he could extend it. And the administration's 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:25.120 probably going to appeal no matter what the judges 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.459 decide. But even if they're temporary, these 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:30.480 rulings are still a big deal, right? Huge. Our 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.399 sources are saying that this is a major loss 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:35.100 for Trump and Musk. All the rulings so far have 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:37.439 been totally in favor of the employees and the 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:39.379 judges haven't been holding back in their criticism 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:42.000 of the administration. So what can the administration 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.740 do now? Well, their best hope might be that the 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:47.019 Supreme Court will weaken a law called the Pendleton 00:07:47.019 --> 00:07:50.420 Civil Service Reform Act. It's from 1883 and 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:52.639 it basically protects federal employees from 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:55.139 being fired for political reasons. So if the 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:58.199 Supreme Court changes that law, it would be easier 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.139 for the administration to fire people they don't 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:03.000 like. Exactly. But for now, it looks like they're 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.259 facing a tough battle in the lower courts. It's 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:06.899 been a rough week for the Trump administration 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:10.319 so far. Yeah, it has. Shifting gears a bit, there's 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:12.939 been some sad news in Congress recently. Two 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:15.220 House Democrats passed away. Yeah, that's right. 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:18.759 Representatives Raul Grialva from Arizona and 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.480 Sylvester Turner from Texas. Yeah, Grialva had 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.420 been in Congress for a long time and was a really 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:27.500 important voice for progressive causes. He was 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:29.519 even the chair of the House Natural Resources 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:32.419 Committee. And Turner was just elected this year 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:35.840 to replace Sheila Jackson Lee. So what does this 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.399 mean for the balance of power in the House? Well, 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.100 for now, it means that the Republicans have a 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:42.840 bigger majority. They had 218 seats, and now 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.879 they have 220. And once a couple of vacant seats 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.879 in Florida are filled, they'll have 222. Then 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:50.840 Representative Stefanik's expected to resign, 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:53.399 so it'll probably go back down to 221. But either 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.000 way, it's a bigger majority than they had before. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:57.019 Does that mean they'll be able to pass more of 00:08:57.019 --> 00:09:00.500 their agenda now? It's hard to say. Our sources 00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:02.980 are saying that even when the Republicans had 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:04.899 complete control of the government a few years 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:07.639 ago, they still had a hard time passing major 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:09.879 legislation. Yeah, getting everyone on the same 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:12.559 page is hard. It is. And without that sense of 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.200 urgency, it's going to be even harder to pass 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:16.639 anything. So what happens to those empty seats 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:19.860 now? Well, both of those districts are very likely 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:23.019 to elect Democrats again. Grijalva's district 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:26.799 in Arizona leans Democratic by 15 points and 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.299 Turner's district in Texas leans Democratic by 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:32.039 23 points. So it's pretty much guaranteed that 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:33.679 Democrats will win those seats. But it'll take 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:35.460 some time to actually hold the elections and 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:37.820 get those new members sworn in, right? Right. 00:09:37.820 --> 00:09:40.240 And it's interesting because Arizona and Texas 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.059 have different rules for special elections. Arizona 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:45.179 announces them quickly, but the elections themselves 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:48.080 take longer. Texas is the opposite. They take 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:49.759 a while to announce the election, but then they 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.139 happen pretty quickly. But in both cases, it'll 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:53.840 probably be summer before the new members are 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.120 in Congress. OK, so let's go international for 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.440 a minute. There's a new prime minister in Canada. 00:09:58.920 --> 00:10:01.519 and we have a British take on him. Yeah, a reader 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.879 from the UK sent us a really interesting perspective 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.620 on Mark Carney, the new Canadian PM. You might 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:09.399 remember him as the governor of the Bank of England. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:12.399 Oh, yeah, he was a big name in UK economics. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.700 What does this British reader have to say about 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:17.860 him? Well, first of all, the reader pointed out 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:20.480 that Carney was the first non -British person 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.580 to lead the Bank of England since it was founded 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:25.799 in 1694. It's pretty amazing when you think about 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.860 it. Wow, that's a long time. It is. And it also 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:30.399 took him a while to become a British citizen. 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:32.879 It didn't actually happen until 2018 after a 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.820 lot of public debate. Interesting. Did his time 00:10:35.820 --> 00:10:38.580 as governor coincide with any big events that 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:40.639 our listeners might remember? Oh yeah, big time. 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.500 He was in charge during some of the most important 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:46.879 economic events in recent UK history. like the 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:49.860 recovery after the 2008 financial crisis, the 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.620 Brexit vote in 2016, and the very beginning of 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:54.960 the COVID pandemic. So yeah, he was definitely 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:56.820 in the hot seat during some really tough times. 00:10:57.059 --> 00:10:59.000 So what did people think of him? It was kind 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.659 of a mixed bag. Some politicians really liked 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:04.600 him, especially during those crises. But the 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.240 people who supported Brexit didn't like him very 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.240 much because he kept warning them about the economic 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:12.960 risks. In fact, they even gave him a nickname, 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:16.169 Project Fear. Oh, wow. Yeah. And the public was 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:18.450 split, too. Some people thought he was a really 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:20.990 competent guy who kept things stable, but others 00:11:20.990 --> 00:11:23.129 thought he was too focused on helping banks and 00:11:23.129 --> 00:11:25.309 financial institutions. So what do you think 00:11:25.309 --> 00:11:28.230 his legacy will be in the UK? Well, it seems 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:30.269 like he's known for a few things. He strengthened 00:11:30.269 --> 00:11:32.990 the UK's financial system after the 2008 crisis. 00:11:33.250 --> 00:11:35.450 He was a big advocate for taking climate change 00:11:35.450 --> 00:11:37.710 seriously in the financial world, and he's still 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:40.330 a major figure in global economics and politics. 00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:42.330 And there was one more thing about his nationality 00:11:42.330 --> 00:11:44.159 that you mentioned. Oh, yeah. He also used to 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:46.139 be an Irish citizen, but he gave up that citizenship 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:48.480 recently. So by the time you're hearing this, 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:51.019 he might not be a British citizen anymore, which 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:52.840 is kind of funny considering he's now the prime 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.379 minister of Canada. Very interesting. OK, last 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:58.179 but not least, let's talk about JD Vance and 00:11:58.179 --> 00:12:01.500 Ron DeSantis. There was a really interesting 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:03.860 word used to describe JD Vance. Yeah, the word 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:07.340 was creepy. Creaky. Creepy. Our source said that 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:09.679 JD Vance just gives off a creepy vibe, and that 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.620 could be a problem if he ever wants to run for 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:13.559 president. So why do they think he's creepy? 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.879 Well it seems like it started after he met with 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.860 Zelensky in the Oval Office. There's been a ton 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:22.259 of memes about it online making fun of how weird 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:25.039 he acted. The internet is ruthless. It is and 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:27.860 apparently these memes are pretty surreal and 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.340 kind of unsettling. So are Vance's supporters 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.419 trying to spin this in a positive way? Some of 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:35.419 them are saying that these memes might actually 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:38.399 help him by making him seem more relatable. Nor 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:40.539 relatable. Yeah and others are saying that by 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:42.490 the time he runs for president everyone will 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:44.190 have forgotten about these memes. But your source 00:12:44.190 --> 00:12:47.289 doesn't buy that? Nope. They're pretty skeptical. 00:12:48.070 --> 00:12:49.850 They don't think Vance likes being the butt of 00:12:49.850 --> 00:12:53.090 the joke any more than any other politician would. 00:12:53.649 --> 00:12:55.690 And they don't think creepy memes are going to 00:12:55.690 --> 00:12:58.049 make him seem more relatable. Plus the internet 00:12:58.049 --> 00:13:00.509 never really forgets. Exactly. And when you give 00:13:00.509 --> 00:13:03.419 them material like Vance did with Zelensky, They're 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:05.360 never going to let it go. OK, so let's move on 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:07.960 to Ron DeSantis. He's a climate change denier. 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:10.299 Right. Yeah, he is, though. Our source thinks 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:13.360 he might just be saying that because it's what 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.120 Republicans are supposed to say. It's definitely 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.620 good politics for him in Florida. Right. But 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:20.399 here's the interesting thing. Florida is actually 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.299 way ahead of the curve when it comes to solar 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:24.879 energy. Really? Yeah. They're second in the country 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.940 for big solar farms and first for residential 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:31.539 solar. And right now, 8 % of Florida's electricity 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:35.200 comes from solar. Wow, that's a lot. So why is 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.960 Florida going so big on solar if their governor 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.919 doesn't believe in climate change? Well, there 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:41.519 are a few reasons. First of all, Florida gets 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.179 a ton of sunshine. A sunshine state. Exactly. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.740 And second, Florida gets hit with a lot of hurricanes 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.460 and other bad weather. So having solar panels 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:51.639 on your roof can be really helpful when the power 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:54.279 goes out. That makes sense. Plus, the federal 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.360 government gives tax breaks for people who install 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.250 solar panels. And this is the big one. Most of 00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:01.269 the decisions about power generation in Florida 00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:04.289 are made at the local level. So even if DeSantis 00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:07.110 wanted to stop solar, he probably couldn't. So 00:14:07.110 --> 00:14:09.190 DeSantis talks a big game about climate change, 00:14:09.370 --> 00:14:12.250 but he's not really doing much to stop the growth 00:14:12.250 --> 00:14:15.149 of solar in his state. Exactly. He recently signed 00:14:15.149 --> 00:14:17.470 a bill that says Florida can't mention climate 00:14:17.470 --> 00:14:19.929 change in its policies. Wow, really? Yeah, he 00:14:19.929 --> 00:14:22.750 called it restoring sanity and said it was about 00:14:22.750 --> 00:14:25.730 pushing back against radical green zealots. So 00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:28.289 that's his public image. But behind the scenes, 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:30.929 he's not really fighting solar that hard. Nope. 00:14:31.470 --> 00:14:33.610 In fact, he quietly vetoed a bill that would 00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:35.610 have made it harder to install solar panels. 00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:38.049 Interesting. So maybe he's not as anti -solar 00:14:38.049 --> 00:14:40.250 as he seems. Maybe not. Our source is hoping 00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:42.330 that the economics of solar will win out in the 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:44.470 end, no matter what the politicians say. Makes 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:47.549 sense. Well, we've covered a lot of ground today. 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:49.970 We talked about the government funding, fight 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.169 the courts pushing back against the executive 00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:55.830 branch, the changes in Congress, a British perspective 00:14:55.830 --> 00:14:59.429 on Canada's new prime minister, and the curious 00:14:59.429 --> 00:15:02.669 cases of JD Vance and Ron DeSantis. Yeah, we've 00:15:02.669 --> 00:15:04.850 been all over the place today. We try to give 00:15:04.850 --> 00:15:06.850 you the information you need to understand what's 00:15:06.850 --> 00:15:08.389 going on in the world without getting bogged 00:15:08.389 --> 00:15:09.970 down in all the details. We just want to make 00:15:09.970 --> 00:15:12.210 things a little bit clearer. Exactly. So here's 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:14.379 a question for you to think about. We've talked 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:16.000 about all these different things happening in 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.899 politics and the economy, and they're all connected 00:15:18.899 --> 00:15:22.019 in some way. What do you think is going to be 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:25.139 the biggest factor that shapes things going forward? 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:27.659 How do you think all these events are going to 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:30.879 play out? That's something to think about. Thanks 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:32.759 for listening to The Deep Dive. See you next 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:32.919 time.