Chasten Buttigieg
Appearances
Pod Save America
Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah. It was like the kids in The Shining. I turned around and they're just two twins standing. I didn't even hear him come down the stairs. Just jailbreak. Yes. And they're really into talking about our friends right now. Okay. So they'll be like, who are you talking? Are you talking to your friends? Or if we're FaceTiming one another. If I'm FaceTiming the kids back home, they'll say...
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
If I was FaceTiming them right now, they'd be like, can I see your friends? Even if they had not met anybody in the room and they would have to say hello to everybody.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah. She's got me just. The floor around Gus's bed is like 30 stuffies. Yeah. And people just give them to you and they just keep giving them to you. And it's really hard to make them go away. And then he doesn't have a favorite one, though. So every night it's like, I want little bear. And I have now learned that little bear is the tiny white bear. There's 15 bears in there.
Pod Save America
Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
You have to turn the lights back on, look under the bed. Yeah, it's a journey.
Pod Save America
Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah. I mean, our kids are about to turn four. So it's weird to think that I wrote this book, I believe, before they turned two. I was coming home from a work trip and had been thinking about writing a children's book because I had asked around for books that looked like our family. Yeah. As you know, you read 15 books every night.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
So it would be great if just one of those books featured a family that looked like ours. And we came up short. There are a couple of good ones out there. And it was also important to me that, you know, the lesson in the book was just a family loves each other. Unconditional love for your child. It wasn't kind of punching you in the face with the morals.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Um, so, uh, I was on an airplane, uh, and, and the idea came to me, uh, how excited I was to get home and how excited my kids might be that I'm coming home. Uh, and that was it. I just wanted a, a nice sweet story, especially for bedtime.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I was kind of thinking of, you know, the book that incorporates, uh, that message of unconditional love for your kid, but also with, you know, some silly things in there that they're going to latch on to.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I don't want to ruin the ending for anybody. Yeah, they helped me write it, right? Because there's so many things that they decide to bring to the airport to greet Papa with. And that was fun to work with Gus and Penelope on. And I would workshop it and see if they'd giggle or not.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Well, luckily, no, right now. I can shield them from the Internet. There are only three. You know, we try in our house to leave the discourse at the door. It's very hard. It doesn't need to be at the dinner table. It doesn't need to be in the minivan on the way to school. We don't need to be talking about, you know. negativity while our kids are around. Yeah.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Like another thing about Tucker Carlson, Gus. Yeah. Well, like, you know, the kids are talking to you and there's like spaghetti flying at the dinner table, right? It's like, Hey, did you see this crazy thing that, you know, Caroline Levitt decided to say, say like, why does that need to be in our kitchen? Why does that need to be at our door?
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And, you know, I'm no stranger to the attack, but I have always believed that the best thing that we can do for our community and our family is just to live our lives authentically, to show people who we are. We're just like every other family, you know, going about our day, reading 15 books at bedtime.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And, you know, there's probably a lot of applesauce and mac and cheese stuck to our kitchen table chairs just like yours. And to the dog. Yeah. Yeah, Buddy loves it. Buddy's like a Roomba.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah, I mean, I started writing it, like I mentioned, two years ago, so I didn't see the Supreme Court case coming. And now, of course, it's coming out in a couple weeks. And I just keep thinking about what a kid like ours might feel sitting in a classroom where someone says, like, I don't want to read that.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I don't want my kids exposed to that when it's simply a book about two loving parents going about their day. And at the end of the day, loving their children unconditionally. So, you know, I'm really disappointed, especially to see that the conservative Supreme Court seems to be favoring the parents in this particular case. As a former teacher myself, I think that's going to put a lot of.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
unnecessary burden on teachers and schools. I mean, the school district in that particular case already said they tried it, right? And it failed. It didn't work. It was so cumbersome to constantly deal with those.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And then like, where does the line get dropped? Like, I want to pull my kids out of lessons about, you know, evolution or like how many permission slips are we sending, you know, every day or every week to pull our kids out of certain lessons. So again, like this book, it was very important to me that this is a Father's Day book. It's just a book about two dads who love their kids.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I think it's like a modern American family. And so I hope that other families will enjoy it. I hope it brings a lot of joy to bedtime. But again, I'm not naive and understand what we're up against as a community and as a country. So not to be like the guy out here hawking his book, but a great thing that you can do is request books like this at your library and at your school.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
because I do think it represents who we are as Americans and there's room for everybody at the table.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Well, I think this administration definitely seems to love to go after teachers and families, right? Making it harder for teachers and harder for families. Imagine that you're like a 21, 22-year-old college graduate with your bachelor's degree in education. And you're looking around thinking, okay, I'm ready to start my career in education. Where am I going to go?
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Places like Florida, probably not as attractive. Places like Oklahoma that welcome libs of TikTok in. right? Who bring her to the table to draft policy. You know, just a bigoted real estate agent is now the person who's going to be helping draft education policy. But imagine that college graduate Thinking, is this really what I want to do?
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Or what kind of environment are we creating as a country that asks people to step up to the call to become educators, right? You're underpaid, right? It's a really hard job. You don't get the appreciation and respect. On the way over here in the Uber, I was reading about how they want to do away with Head Start. Like you're talking about the most vulnerable kids in our country.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
So now you want to take away Head Start. Now you're putting tariffs on baby goods coming from Asia, right? So now you're making car seats more expensive, strollers more expensive. And these are the people in Washington who are screaming like, have more kids, right? It's like their weird thing right now. It's like, well- Natalism is real weird.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
We'll give you money to have kids, but then like we can't afford childcare. We can't afford a stroller. Yeah.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I thought you were going to say an Elon Musk designed stroller. No. No, I saw a cyber truck.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Oh yeah, yeah. it's so weird to think about that chapter in life. Now that we have these, you know, brilliant, incredible kids running around our house and just destroying the walls. Um, but when we were a crayons everywhere, they just started. Yeah. And you know, I, I swear like the other week I was like, I think they're doing really good with the white walls. Right.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And then just like, boom, just like crayon on loud. Everything. Yeah. Jinxed it. You know, there was a time when, when Pete and I, uh, We were on a list, we were on an emergency placement list.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
So that's where you sign up and say, you know, if there's a call in the middle of the night, in our case where a kid is left at the hospital, the hospital works with an adoption agency to make an adoption plan. So a parent might need to be called right away. So we had about 24 hours notice. They give you the call and say, hey, you're next on the list. We really need you. Are you stepping up?
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yes or no. And you have a couple hours to decide. We had about five adoptions fall through in the span of a year. And the really hard part is they tell you not to plan the nursery. Don't buy anything. Because when one of those cases might inevitably fail, it hurts to look at the crib, to look at the room, to look at the nursery and have it fall through.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
So we, you know, for Christmas and birthdays and stuff, like aunts and uncles and parents, I couldn't help themselves. Right. And so they'd start getting things. And it did. It always hurt seeing those things in the corner. You get the call in the middle of the night. There's a situation. Are you guys ready to step up? We'd say yes. And then, you know, it turned into 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 8 a.m.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
We wouldn't hear back. And then ultimately something changed. where you think you're going to be parents and then you're not. But then it works out. And, you know, whatever God you believe in or however you come to religion or belief, I think, like, the stars just aligned. And then one day you're standing in a hospital room and you're holding your kids. But there were multiple reasons.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
There were multiple nights along the way where there was some heartbreak. But then, my God, as you know, that moment you hold them, there's nothing like it. Yeah.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
It's beautiful chaos now. You want it so bad. And we wanted to be parents so bad. And that's the thing that I felt like I kept saying to them. They had some health complications after they were born. We were in the hospital for quite some time. RSV? Before the RSV.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
So after they were born, we were in the hospital for almost two weeks and we went home and then I got RSV and that's when Gus wound up on the ventilator. I just remember like holding them and thinking like, you're so loved. Like you are so wanted in this world. Like just... Just looking at them, they were like barely five pounds. They were premature.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And just thinking how badly we wanted that and how loved that they were and that they were going to be. This huge community, excited to welcome them. And then, yeah, you fast forward. It's like, why is there a magnet tile under my pillow? You step on another Lego and you're like...
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
How does that work? Yeah, I was helping my dad and helping is doing a lot of work here. My dad with a floor in our basement and I needed to go to Lowe's to get some more tile. Sure. And I was driving to Lowe's. As one does in Michigan. Yeah. Right. Just me. Hammer. Hammer. Tools and stuff. And I get a call from the adoption agency and immediately panic.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Because whenever I see that number come up, it usually means like there's going to be a heartbreak. I just know like that was my history with it, right? So talking to the social worker and I say, you know, here's the situation. And they said like, are you sitting down? And I was like, well, I'm driving to Lowe's right now. And they were like, okay, well, like, pull over. Like, don't crash.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
You know, like, it's twins. I was just like, oh, shit. What a curveball. Yeah. So I had to... So Pete was on a work trip. And I remember, like, pacing outside this gas station. And I called him. And he's like, hello. I was, like, very formal. It's like... hey, the adoption agency just called and it's our turn. And they think it's real this time. And I'm like, here's the situation.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I'm giving them all the details. I'm like, and by the way, are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? It's twins. And it's just silent. And then I just hear him go, okay, well, thanks so much for that information. And I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Oh, no. He had some serious meetings. Yeah, I was like, are you around a lot of other people? And he's like, yep.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
he's like okay uh uh call me back and then and then it turns out he's on an airplane and oh and he's like he's somewhere out west uh and he couldn't call me back until he like lands at the next spot and had to like turn around get on a red eye oh my god come home and meet me at the hospital um but yeah that the twins thing really threw a wrench in everything incredible
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah, you know, one of the things that bugs me the most about being a public person, like the thing that people say to me that bugs me the most is when they say, like, I want to see more pictures of those kids. It's like, you don't, like, they're not yours. Like, you don't, like, you're not entitled to access to them. And it kind of creeps me out.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And I know that maybe that's coming from a really good place. Like, they're so happy for you and they want to see how happy they are. But I don't know if you've read Jonathan Haidt's book, The Anxious Generation. Yeah.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah, but my kids can't consent to that. They can't consent to having their face online. And in a digital age, I've seen enough deep fakes of my husband and I that I don't need to put my kids on the internet. One, because they can't consent to being on the internet. And two, I don't want people messing with them.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And, you know, even when we were in Washington, I remember we were taking them to the Easter egg roll. We were so excited and like picking out outfits and Pete's mom was with us. It was gonna be a big family day. And the moment we came out of the White House, I sort of had a panic attack because for some reason... All morning I hadn't thought about the press. It's like open press, yeah.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And the moment we walked out, there's just a flood of cameras. And my heart sank because I just, I didn't think about it. And then sure enough, the next day they were on the cover of the Washington Post.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Yeah. And plus, like, you're just on, you know, like, it's really hard to feel like you're having an authentic family experience when people are photographing you. Right, of course. The constant click of the camera and you're just trying to protect your kids. Totally. So, yeah, it's, you know, you... you want people to see your joy and your happiness. And like, I like talking about dad life.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Um, but there's still an element of that that kind of creeps me out.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Oh, yeah. And I've, like, lately... I just sleep through it. I feel really bad. It's like, people would be like, Oh, Penelope had a really bad dream last night. And she woke me up like to like, what? I didn't hear any of that. That's awesome. Yeah. That you can do that, which makes me feel really bad. But, um, yeah, I mean, they'll come, they'll come get us.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And Gus is like, like, uh, you know, up with the sun. It's usually like five 55 on the dot. He's up. He's singing. He goes downstairs and gets his like little power tools. Um, he's got this like little drill, you know, uh, and he like, he's fixing things around our bedroom. It's helpful. Penelope, she's like a teenager. You have to drag her out of bed to get ready for school in the morning.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
There's two modes. They will go down at 7. They're wiped, and they just go down, or they're going to be up until 10.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I think it shows a side of him that a lot of people hadn't seen before. Like, you know, when he was mayor, you have to talk to everybody, right? We live in North Michigan. You talk to everybody. And this is one thing I really admire about him is he can talk to anybody and he can hold his own. And I love, I love when you hear the host go, Oh, Oh, I had no idea.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
You know, like he's not only is he like surviving in that environment, but he's actually teaching him something.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And he's like, yeah, it's gonna... Yeah, that's just... Yeah. I feel like every time I go to the gym, I'm in the manosphere. Because it's just like, yeah, it's like innuendos flying and like jokes flying. I can only keep up with like half of them. Yeah, that's his professional and personal life. Because he probably... It's probably getting that from me, too.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Like, I'm just like a constant, you know, role of puns and jokes. And so he's pretty good at tuning out what he doesn't want to respond to. It's a necessity in this weird world we're all in.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
i'm a fan fan i love it yeah okay i can't grow one me either but now like i can usually let it go like two days where it's not like terrible but like i can go to like the grocery store and go to meyer and no one's gonna say like well he's really letting himself go but now i feel like that since beat does have a beard if i even let my stubble grow for like one day they'd be like oh he's trying to oh he's like i'm not no i just was really lazy today you're doing like a samesies yeah i
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
just get like a patchy thing here and then yeah it's not good it's not good it's not great like waiting for it to work it doesn't he's like a teenager about it right now like it's really scratchy though like what did you put moisture eyes on did you like put the beard balm or like beard oil on it no oh that's like oh so yeah it's like don't I didn't even know that was a thing.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
I just told him yesterday, like, stop complaining about something you're in control of. Just put the beard balm on.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
No, when we moved back from D.C., he set up an office in the basement. So it's really just become like the Pete cave down there. It's like the Pete office in the laundry room. Go hang.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Oh, man. We just watched, was it episode two of The Last of Us? Of the new season? Yeah. So I don't want to spoil anything for anybody, but, you know. And finish the White Lotus. Mixed. Can I say one thing? Sure. He went on that pod, flagrant, and they were talking about the White Lotus. And he was like, hot take or whatever. Like, Lachlan should have died. That was my hot take. Oh, okay.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
And then he just goes on a pod and says it. When he came home, I was like, you can't just take my hot takes without crediting me.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Oh, you're right. I just spoiled that one. Well, you guys can cut that out.
Pod Save America
Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Brother's doing that? Okay. What a twist. But that's Mike White. He knows what he's doing on that show. Yeah, he does. And that's why I like it. It just slowly builds, and then it all just falls apart.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
That sounds like something I would like. I started The Residence on Netflix. Okay. Cute. It's like a murder in the White House.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
It's like a murder caper. It's kind of weird. I know I'm going to hear the words that are going to come out of my mouth, but if you've been to the White House, it is wild. It's like... They do it well? It's done so well. You're like, yeah, when you do walk down that stairwell, that's what it looks like. It's cool. And it's like very fast paced and it's very funny.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
But we don't really watch a lot of TV together. We commit to one show to watch together. And then everything else we're on our own.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
That's why this whole Signalgate thing is so wild. It is so funny. The ways in which... Like, I could not communicate with my husband when he worked, like, about mundane stuff, you know? Like, they're so, it's just like, you can do whatever now.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
Did he get nominated for UN ambassador? He got sent to New York. Is he out? They're like, this was really bad, so we're going to let him go represent our country in front of the United Nations. That's a good spot to put him in.
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Trump's Trade War Hits Hollywood
There's no top secret information at the UN. No damage can be done there. Imagine meeting him. Hi, Mike. What brings you to the UN? Oh, well. Humiliated out of DC. Yeah. I was just sharing confidential information.