Chapter 1: What is the main conflict between MAGA media and Trump?
There's a new book that I think is particularly timely. It's called Control, Why Big Giving Falls Short. Author Glenn Gallich offers a rare insider view exposing why billionaire and millionaire donors move so slowly while communities battle urgent crises.
In Control, Why Big Giving Falls Short, Gallich reveals how our philanthropic system and culture encourage excessive donor control and keep over $2 trillion from reaching communities. By prioritizing wealthy donor interest, power, and control, this system doesn't simply slow social progress, it structurally prevents it.
This is a weird world where you have all these billionaires who sign like giving pledges and talk about all the money they give away and their foundations. I feel like people didn't really think about whether they had ulterior motives for a very long time and just kind of like celebrated them. And then when you really dig into the details, kind of controlling a lot of things.
Yeah, it's one of the reasons we have a progressive taxation system in the country and don't rely just on. billionaire philanthropy.
Chapter 2: How does the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz affect U.S. politics?
We should tax these people. But I'm sure Gallich gets into that in the book. If you care about how extreme wealth shapes our society and how to fix it, this is the book to read. Order your copy of Control Why Big Giving Falls Short by Glenn Gallich from your favorite indie bookstore. That's Control Why Big Giving Falls Short out now. Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Dan Pfeiffer.
You're about to hear my conversation with progressive political commentator David Pakman, someone I've long wanted to have on the show. David's been covering the news and talking politics online longer than just about anyone, hosting the self-titled David Pakman Show since 2005 when it launches a radio program at a little station in Massachusetts.
We hopped on Zoom to talk about the week's latest news, the Iran negotiations, and the White House's attempt to pivot back to the economy, as well as the growing revolt against the president among the MAGA media.
Chapter 3: What strategies are Democrats using to pivot back to economic messaging?
We'll get to that conversation in a moment. Before we do, if you want to support independent media, I hope you'll consider subscribing to Messagebox, my newsletter that gives you in-depth political analysis and cuts through the BS to help you understand what you can do to defeat MAGA in this election and beyond. And I have a special deal for Crooked fans.
Go to crooked.com slash yes, sweet Dan for 20% off your subscription. And I hope you'll consider heading over to crooked.com slash friends to become a friend of the pod. You can get this episode ad free and get access to my subscriber show, Polar Coaster. Now here's my conversation with David Pakman. David Pakman, welcome to Pod Save America. Thank you.
We've wanted to have you on the pod for a long time.
Chapter 4: How has the media landscape changed for political commentators?
I'm very excited about this. I want to talk to you about the media ecosystem, how Democrats should communicate, your career, and how you got to be one of the longest-serving progressive political commentators, which is very impressive. But because this is Pod Save America, before we do that, let's get to some news.
This morning, Friday, when we're recording this, the Iranians announced that the Strait of Hormuz was now open. Donald Trump, very... cheerfully truth about how this was a great deal. The Strait was open. There would be a deal within a couple of days. We were going to get all of the dust, although there are reports that we're going to give the Iranians $20 billion for that dust.
But it seems like things are in a better place than they were a few days ago.
Chapter 5: What role do algorithms play in shaping political discourse?
What is your take on this? Do you think this is a big win? Should we just give Donald Trump the Nobel Prize now? What do you think?
I say we wait a little on the Nobel prize, maybe, but no, I mean, listen, the theme is like arsonists setting fires and then declaring victory when they partially put the fires out after they've already done a bunch of damage.
And, uh, I, I was going back and forth with some people on social media yesterday about how, can't I just say it's a great thing to open the straight of Hormuz or straight of Vermouth. I think Besant called it weirdly yesterday. It was a weird thing. Um, and, and of course I want it open.
There's no reason to, uh, um, start, uh, pumping up the price of oil, which leads to more expensive gas for, for, uh, no benefit whatsoever for the average American who's just filling up their tank.
Chapter 6: How can Democrats build a media ecosystem to rival the right?
Of course, that's good. But I think if we just talk about that, we lose sight of the fact that this was optional to begin with, that even the objectives changed and didn't make sense. And it all really goes back to Trump getting out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
And I played that clip for my audience this week of Trump doing this big announcement where it's all presented as if he's just so strong and powerful and smart saying, we are getting out of this deal. That was really the moment that led to 90% of what's taken place. And I said at the time, I'm not an advocate of the Iranian regime. I oppose right wing theocracies.
Uh, they regularly threatened the existence of other countries.
Chapter 7: What are the implications of the MAGA revolt for the upcoming elections?
And also if I were them from like a basic game theory perspective, it makes sense to go back to enriching uranium. Once Donald Trump says we're out, if only to have leverage for future negotiations. So great. It's open. I think that that that's a great thing, but it never should have been closed in the first place to quote Trump. It never should have happened as he likes to say. Right.
It's like where we're going to end up here. If like this can go a couple of ways, this, this trade is going to be open for the length of the ceasefire. Maybe they're going to extend the ceasefire.
Chapter 8: What lessons can be learned about effective political communication?
Maybe they'll get a deal. There's optimism that they're going to get a deal in the next three days. Seems a little skeptical to me. They, these, these are hugely complicated negotiations, but if they're on a path towards a deal, maybe they straight will stay open. We will stop bombing. Importantly, there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon with Israel like that. That is all important and good.
But Donald Trump's best case scenario is probably a slightly lesser version of the deal that he ripped up in 2018. So this was like, to what end was all of this to just end up right where we were before?
I'm so glad you brought that up because I did a breakdown last week of what was in the original 2015 deal, which was a terrible deal according to Donald Trump. It didn't make sense. Obama shouldn't have signed it, etc., And the administration by their own admissions were struggling to get even back to the full strength of that deal. Uh, and it's, I mean, it's, it's beyond parody.
It would be, it would make sense to laugh if it weren't also tragic and so serious. And at the end of this rainbow, what we hopefully would have is something that resembles 80 or 90% of the original Iran nuclear deal. And so this, this kind of goes back to something that's an important prism when analyzing anything Trump does, which is he wants to take Obama and Biden's names off of things.
I mean, we think about replacing NAFTA with the USMCA and there are some differences in there about the percentage of vehicles and parts that can be made in Canada, us and Mexico. But it's basically a recreation of NAFTA with a different name and slightly different parameters. This is the exact same thing all over again. And, um, we,
The priority seems to be not really ballistic missiles or regime change or nuclear. It's erase things that Obama has done and put Trump's name on them, even if they're operationally basically the same thing.
Even if a deal gets done, there are some longer term consequences here because there really was like why the Iranian regime. is quite radical and quite anti-American. There was a growing, there were whole generations of Iranians who were raised to not necessarily hate America. They were looking for a more modern version of their country. And we've now, you know, we blew up a girl's school.
We've been bombing their country. We've bombed their country a couple of times now. We've set back the possibility that one day this regime will leave, and the one that comes in will be one that's more friendly to America. It has set the US back in that longer-term effort, once again, to go right back to where we were in 2015.
I think that's right. And that applies in a lot of areas. I mean, when we're in and then out of Paris climate or WHO or WTO or whatever, one aspect of it is, can we undo the practical changes that these decisions make? And so like in this case, we got out of a deal. Now we've bombed. They're trying to recreate the deal. Cool.
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