BRIAN DERRICK: 0:00

I'm Brian Derrick.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 0:00

And I'm Glennis Meagher. Welcome back to Vibes Only. We are less than two weeks out from Election Day, and to be totally honest, we are tired.

BRIAN DERRICK: 0:10

We are, but we're checking in on the state of the race starting in Ohio, where political attacks have hit a new rock bottom, featuring estranged family members and mailers designed to deliberately confuse voters.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 0:24

We're also breaking down evil, pure evil, news clips on Republican messaging strategy, Donald Trump's bizarre campaign claims in North Carolina, and new polling showing 59% of voters disapprove of his performance.

BRIAN DERRICK: 0:38

Plus, we're gonna get into the real world hit to your wallet. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and the US is officially running a $2 trillion annual deficit, thanks to all of Trump's lies.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 0:50

And wait until you hear about Elon Musk's new scam, giving stock to newborn babies as a tax write-off that conveniently funnels money right back into his pocket.

BRIAN DERRICK: 1:03

Let's get into it.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 1:04

Hey, Brian.

BRIAN DERRICK: 1:05

Hey, G. Less than two weeks to go. How we feeling?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 1:10

I've- I'm hanging on by a thread. That's how I feel. How are you feeling?

BRIAN DERRICK: 1:15

Yeah, dragging my raggedy ass over the finish line like a broken pile of bones is how I feel. Yeah.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 1:23

I had to, like, throw my Oura Ring out the window yesterday 'cause it was like,"Major signs you seem stressed," and I'm like, "Yeah, thanks. Thanks, data. Thanks, Palantir."

BRIAN DERRICK: 1:33

This is for sure the most burnt out I've ever been. It's my-

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 1:37

Ah… BRIAN DERRICK: fifth election gig, and I'm exhausted. I'm cooked. Okay. So what commitment are you making to yourself for self-care post-election? Are you gonna do something? Are you gonna do a spa day?

BRIAN DERRICK: 1:53

Oh, I'm just literally gonna vanish. No one's gonna hear from me for months.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 1:57

Yeah, you're gonna be like, "Uh, Alexa, play Lady Gaga Vanish Into You." Brian disappears.

BRIAN DERRICK: 2:03

Yeah, I'll be gone. You'll-- No one will have any idea where I am for- Okay, good … an extended period of time.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 2:08

I love that for you. You deserve it.

BRIAN DERRICK: 2:09

I mean, same. Where are you going? Sweden.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 2:13

No, I mean, I'm gonna-- I think I wanna do, like, a staycation in New York City and, like, do a spa, like into, like, a nice hotel night, into like, no one can reach me vibe.

BRIAN DERRICK: 2:24

I love it.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 2:25

Yeah, I-- You know, we all need, we all need to go offline for a second. We're very online.

BRIAN DERRICK: 2:30

Yeah. The good news is we'll be celebrating post-election- Yes … we think, not sort of sulking as has been the case for the last few election cycles. Yeah, we have lots of good news. Should we get into state of the race?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 2:46

Yeah, let's get into it. It's funny you say that, too. Also, I was in a meeting the other day, and we were, like, going back and forth on something, and I'm like, I had, like, a meltdown, and I was just like, "We don't even ever win anyway." I was like, "Why are we talking about this?" 'Cause it was just like this, like, minute thing. And you know, Republicans are so experienced at throwing spaghetti against the wall and doing everything that they possibly can to try and win, and testing various different messages and digital strategies and ground strategies. And I think right now we are seeing that Republicans and Trump himself are trying everything possible to win, whether that be horrific attack ads that we're seeing, whether it be Trump stumping on this, like, roadshow he's on for rallies for Republican candidates, money being thrown into the race. And then I don't know if you saw this Jesse Watters clip from the last 24, 48 hours saying how Republicans should be messaging. It's absolutely horrific. So where should we begin?

BRIAN DERRICK: 3:48

Yeah, I, I think that you're right. It's sort of Republicans in free fall is the vibe right now, and they are grasping at, at straws, and it's getting really ugly. I feel like we should start with Ohio because that's probably the tip of the spear in terms of the ugliest politics can possibly be. What do you think?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 4:07

Yeah. So I saw this yesterday on my For You page. Jen Psaki did a video on this. Vivek Ramaswamy has put out one of the most horrific attack ads I have ever seen On background, Amy Acton was pulled out of her family home because her mother's husband, her stepfather, was abusive to the children. She has no relationship with her mother. It's known she has no relationship with her mother, and that her mother is a piece of shit. That's kind of public knowledge. And cut to an attack ad that was put up in the last week with her mother speaking about Amy against her How low can you go?

BRIAN DERRICK: 4:54

Totally. Her mom calling her a liar because she told the truth about her mother's husband being a sexual abuser and pedophile is

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 5:12

Like

BRIAN DERRICK: 5:13

jaw-dropping in, in how fucked up that is and to, yeah, like you said, clip it and then use it for political purposes is really rock bottom kind of stuff. When they published the ad, it got immediate bipartisan backlash. Republicans saying- Mm-hmm … "You have to distance yourselves from this." They spent more than $4 million pushing that ad. And it plays into all of the worst things that people think about Ramaswamy, that he's ultimately this like sleazy, slimy, philandering scam artist. Because, I mean, his whole background is, is made up. All the phar- Mm-hmm … the pharmaceutical company that he sold was literally all fraud.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 6:01

Yeah.

BRIAN DERRICK: 6:01

And him making hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars off of investors, not off of selling a product that worked. Nothing- Yeah … that they, they produced actually ended up working. He had hired his mom, who was not qualified to do anything that she was doing to, like, produce the study that said that this drug worked, and then he built an entire company off of it. So ev- everyone already knows that he's a, a fraudster. Scam artist.'Cause he's a grift artist. So I think that going and misrepresenting someone's family trauma as a political talking point plays directly into the worst things that people believe about him already.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 6:44

Yeah. Talk about someone that we want to go offline and never hear from again. Vivek Ramaswamy, you're number one.

BRIAN DERRICK: 6:51

Totally.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 6:52

We also saw in Ohio a Republican super PAC spend on mailers for the socialist candidate for Senate trying to split the vote for Sherrod Brown. This is potentially less… It's less violent behavior, but still really shitty. Thankfully, there's a lot of internet traction on this, and, uh, Ohio content creators in the news are reporting out on this. But they are-- They put together these, like, really, like, well-designed mailers around this candidate, and they're just trying to split the vote.

BRIAN DERRICK: 7:25

Yeah, and Republicans have been doing this all cycle. That they're- Yeah … standing up these PACs in the final weeks before an election, before anyone can really see where the money's coming from, and then dumping a bunch of comms, digital mail, et cetera, into boosting socialist candidates and targeting Democrats, not Republicans, with that messaging, trying to, to split the vote. They've had relatively little success, but I think it kind of undercuts their entire argument of the whole cycle. Like, the only thing they're running on is Democrats are socialists, and therefore you- Right … have to support us. You have no choice. But if you're the ones actually spending the money to boost socialists, clearly you don't think that they're that much of a threat

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 8:05

because- 'Cause heaven forbid a socialist wins- Right thanks to your spending.

BRIAN DERRICK: 8:09

Totally. And this also just gets to the problem with having so many ways to hide and disavow political contributions and political activity that re- Republicans should have to, like, stand on business and own it if you're gonna run ads for someone. And that's why our campaign finance system is so fucked up, that they feel like they can do this without ever having any accountability for who paid for it.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 8:31

Yeah, they stand it up, they stand it down, they're gone. Right. As you and I both know, state-specific campaign finance can get very wonky very fast. Okay, here is another thing that I saw. I'm gonna play this clip. Jesse Watters on Fox.

JESSE WATTERS: 8:48

And have fear porn. You have to say, "These people are gonna take your healthcare. They're gonna let in the Third World. They're gonna jack up your taxes," and that's what's gonna get people to come out to vote. You have to say, "These people are scary and dangerous. You know what we're all about." And that's really a choice.

FOX NEWS: 9:06

Hmm. Good for you. Fear porn.

BRIAN DERRICK: 9:08

That's psychotic.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 9:08

So that psychotic talking points coming out of Fox News. They're saying the quiet part out loud now. They're just othering people. They have for many, many cycles, and it's not about their policies, their horrible policies that are taking money out of your pocket and putting it into theirs. They're saying it's, "Oh, that person's fault, that person's fault." Cut to Donald Trump. He's on this tour. Have you been following this at all, his, his GOTV-

BRIAN DERRICK: 9:41

I try not to. I try not to.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 9:43

Well, NPR doesn't allow me not to. So this morning- … they were talking about it. He was in North Carolina. Apparently, it was one of his smaller rallies. One, he basically said Roy Cooper's gonna get elected. I don't know if it was a gaffe or what, but he said, "You're gonna have Roy Cooper as, as your senator, and it's gonna be bad." So that sucks. Like it- it's just like, what you… What, dude? What are you talking about? But then also he's on this road show, and he's promising, as we spoke about a couple weeks ago, you know, if Republicans win, he's giving every American $5,000, which presumably you could do anyway, regardless of an electoral outcome. He's also promising North Carolinians, "Oh, if the Republicans win, I'm going to…" I forget what it was, like clean up your water or something. Why not just do that now?

BRIAN DERRICK: 10:35

If you- Me and ExxonMobil. Yeah.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 10:38

So it's, it's so blatant, and then we get this Times-Siena poll this morning that, and let me get this right, just 36% of likely voters said that they approved of Mr. Trump's performance while 59% said that they disapproved. That is his lowest approval rating in any Times-Siena poll. More than two-thirds of independent voters said that they disapprove of the way he has handled his job as president

BRIAN DERRICK: 11:06

Yeah. I can't help but to, to think about Trump's midterm strategy as, like, he's a pilot and there's just a blaring warning sign in the cockpit, "Terrain. Terrain. Pull up. Pull up." And he's just like, "Boo." Right. Like, literally like- Kamikaze… steering directly into the mountain. Like, every decision that he's made has made things worse. Like, every decision. I can't think of something that they've done that has actually improved their electoral prospects in months. In months. Even things like the Russian diesel stunt, which we talked about, like ultimately hurt his electoral chances because people simultaneously know that it's a farce and can see that he's kowtowing to a dictator. Like, it's crazy.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 12:00

Wait, to that point, I didn't realize this. Did you know… I'm kind of flabbergasted this isn't, like, even bigger news with this diesel stunt. So Congress had voted to pass the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, and this cleared on September 16th. Like, very safely cleared, and it was set these new sanctions against Russia were set to go into effect on Friday, October 17th. But one day before they started, Trump signed an executive order waiving most of the sanctions.

BRIAN DERRICK: 12:37

Totally.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 12:38

It's legal. There was an escape hatch in the bill saying that if it was for reasons for national security, the new sa- sanctions wouldn't go into place.

BRIAN DERRICK: 12:47

No, it's crazy. And it's, again, coming at the same time that Trump's best friend, unelected oligarch, Elon Musk, is turning off and on the Wi-Fi for Ukraine like it's the'90s and someone's being banned from the family computer room. You know what I mean? Like, to have that level of control and then use it in ways to personally benefit the, the president or to advance his agenda, which is directly opposed to the agenda and best interests of the United States I don't have

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 13:33

words I'm going crazy. I don't have words. And not only that, Elon Musk, who's turning Starlink on and off, on and off, which is like making a lot of the Ukrainian drones like inoperable-

BRIAN DERRICK: 13:45

Right… GLENNIS MEAGHER: is also pumping elections to get electoral outcomes that best benefit Elon Musk. 100%. A lot of the dots are starting to be connected for people in ways that just feel really crazy. Like, how can you not see it, you know?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 14:06

It's, it's-- Well, people are seeing it, and that's like, you know, having the talking point of MAGA Republicans, Republicans are taking money out of your pocket and putting it into theirs. Like, I think people are actually feeling that. You go to the gas pump, you go to the grocery store, things just cost more.

BRIAN DERRICK: 14:21

Yeah.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 14:21

Speaking of things that cost more, Brian, you know what it is? Not only is it voting season, it's open enrollment for-

BRIAN DERRICK: 14:27

It is… GLENNIS MEAGHER: healthcare. It is.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 14:29

It opens on November 1st, but like you're allowed to start browsing now. Health insurance is gonna go up 15%.

BRIAN DERRICK: 14:37

Yeah. We just did this for Oath. We obviously give all of our employees healthcare. It's, it's tough. When you have a limited budget, any additional money that you're spending on healthcare comes out of somewhere, right? You're-- It's- Mm-hmm … you're either reducing other kinds of expenses, you're reducing the budget that you had for raises and compensation. It plays into the hidden ways that healthcare being so expensive actually makes all of us poorer.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 15:11

Yeah.

BRIAN DERRICK: 15:12

Even if you're not the one directly footing the bill, there's just more and more money being set on fire in this part of the economy that doesn't materially improve lives. Like, no one is happy with their healthcare outcomes. It would be so different if it was like, "Okay, it's expensive, but like we're living good. People are healthy. They're stress-free. They can go to the doctor. They can get the healthcare that they need whenever they need it." Like, then it would be like,"Okay, yeah, like it's expensive. I, I get it." But it's like, no, no, no, no, no, like these are margins that you're directly paying to CEOs and shareholders that are not going to actually improve your healthcare experience or outcomes. That's what's infuriating.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 15:57

It's, it's absolutely crazy. I don't even know what to say. It's just, I don't know how people can afford it. I really don't. Like, especially on the, the marketplace, the monthly cost is, like, upwards of $1,000 just to have coverage, let alone what your deductibles- That's what I was saying… and out-of-pocket maximums are. Um, that's why so many people just have, like, catastrophic health insurance.

BRIAN DERRICK: 16:22

Right. Right.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 16:24

They're like,"Okay, let's see what happens." But then, of course, you know, this … As you know, as a one-year potential major in public health, like, it's, it's a domino effect. People don't go to the doctor, so they end up in the ER. The

BRIAN DERRICK: 16:40

ER- Excuse me. You mean as an epidemiologist.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 16:44

Yeah, no. I mean, you, you intended on majoring in for at least one year. Okay? So you took more public health

BRIAN DERRICK: 16:50

classes than I did. For at least one semester. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 16:52

Oh, one semester. Okay. That's different than a year.

BRIAN DERRICK: 16:54

No, it was a year. It was a year.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 16:55

Okay. Anyway, just like add it to the list of things that are costing too much money, and it's just, like, the quality of life in the United States of America is deteriorating while the rich get richer

BRIAN DERRICK: 17:09

Kooky crazy man. Totally. Back to Elon Musk for a second.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 17:13

No.

BRIAN DERRICK: 17:14

Did you see the news that Elon Musk is planning to give one share of SpaceX stock to every American child?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 17:22

I did, but then I saw, not unlike the Susan Dell, Dell family Trump accounts for kids, this is just a tax maneuver to save-

BRIAN DERRICK: 17:32

100%… GLENNIS MEAGHER: billions Yeah.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 17:38

I also don't fully understand the mechanics of it, but I saw a video that's saying that, like, the Dell account specifically, it was supposed to originally be, like, X amount of dollars, like hard cash, and now it's becoming, like, just, like, stock dumps. So people-- these accounts are taking on, like, stocks that, like, people don't want. I don't know.

BRIAN DERRICK: 17:59

Totally. Yeah, so they set up these Trump accounts, which obviously will be renamed in 2029, but it's an account in the name of every child. This is an orig- this is a Democratic idea and a Democratic Party proposal. At the time, it was called Baby Bonds, and the idea is give every child when they're born an account that gets them invested in the s- like, in the economy overall, and so that by the time they're 18, it's actually matured over a long period of time, and that that would actually be more cost-efficient than other, certain other parts of the safety net- Mm-hmm because someone would actually, there'd be compounding interest and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, returns. Private companies and individuals like the Dells, as you said, have d- made their own decision as to if, if they wanna contribute something into these accounts, and it does largely seem to be a PR or tax move. Elon Musk's is particularly egregious. So he's saying that he's gonna give one share to everyone, but that's gonna allow him to write off billions and billions of dollars to avoid paying taxes on being a trillionaire. The way that it's gonna work is it's gonna move the money from the stock market, from his personal accounts, to a foundation, his foundation- Hmm and then from his foundation to the Trump accounts, and his foundation is required to hit a minimum every year of how much it pays out. You can't just dump unlimited sums in a foundation and hold it there and, and get the tax benefits. So this is a way around that because he has failed to actually donate sufficient, the mandatory legal minimum from his foundation, he has failed to donate the last five years running. So he never gives away any money because he's literally a psychopath and the greediest person on planet Earth. And This is a way for him to avoid having to actually give away money. It's a giant tax write-off. It's basically like double-dipping on tax benefits.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 20:10

Yeah. I think if you put my, like, blood in a thermometer right now, it would be boiling, 'cause when you think about also what he did with DOGE and the cuts that he did, and the fact that there are literal children who are dying globally because USAID has pulled out of their countries or communities, it is pure evil. Bono and The Edge from U2 did a-- The New York Times, they do an interview every Sunday, and they were last Sunday, and the reporter asked Bono about it because, you know, with RED he's been doing aid work for a long time. Remember RED where, like, you got an iPad and that U2 album was, like, automatically downloaded, and everyone was like, "We don't want this." Like, what? Anyway, he worked closely-- Like, the RED organization worked closely with USAID, and Bono was like, "You know, when I think about how one categorizes pure evil or evil in this country, I think-- or in this world, I think about children."

BRIAN DERRICK: 21:09

It's how, how someone affects children.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 21:13

Yeah, exactly. Or, you know, look at Epstein. Like, all-- It's all of-- It's all evil and, like, the Republican Party is filled with evil people.

BRIAN DERRICK: 21:23

And speaking of DOGE, did you see the new deficit numbers?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 21:30

No

BRIAN DERRICK: 21:31

The US is running the largest deficit in the history of the country outside of the one year that we spent our way out of COVID economic catastrophe. And it's $2 trillion now that we're running at an annual deficit of $2 trillion because Republicans made it look like they were gonna cut spending and taxes at the same time. But really, they just, like, gutted the programs that actually deliver meaningful, useful things to the public, did not cut spending overall across the federal government because they boosted military and war- Yeah costs by so much, and simultaneously let corporations and billionaires off the hook for taxes, the top 1% having the only, like, real meaningful drop in incurred cost in the last year. And so we're literally drilling ourselves down this hole of national debt faster than we ever have before and getting nothing for it other than bombs dropped on the Middle East.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 22:47

And increased health insurance costs, and increased gas prices- It's crazy … and increased grocery prices, and larger interest rates on mortgages, and no one can afford to buy a home. Like, it, it's, it's not good, and I can only think of how we break out of this. We hold people accountable, and we create policies in this country that actually help the American people. Like, the, the last time the budget was balanced was Bill Clinton.

BRIAN DERRICK: 23:19

Yeah. Democrats always reduce the deficit, and Republicans always increase it. That's, like, the, the truth of the last 40 years.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 23:26

Damn. Should we do some clickbait?

BRIAN DERRICK: 23:31

I think we should.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 23:32

Okay, Brian, let's do a little clickbait double click, where we run through some of the week's headlines, and we decide if it's worth your time or not.

BRIAN DERRICK: 23:41

Let's get into it. Democrats in the House are circulating a letter of intent, essentially, to impeach Pete Hegseth immediately after the midterms. Clickbait or double click?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 23:58

Combo. Like good, and I, I think we need to like really pressure Democrats to just begin the accountability era of the United States government, where we're not letting anyone off the hook.

BRIAN DERRICK: 24:14

Totally. Yeah, impeach his ass. I'm like very, very pro that. Hegseth is a disaster. Okay, next one. President Trump announced controversial plans to renovate the public East Potomac Golf Course in DC.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 24:28

I saw that. Double click 'cause it's like, okay, yeah, duh. That's all he cares about is golfing and his ballroom and destroying everyone's lives except for his cronies. So, okay.

BRIAN DERRICK: 24:43

Is that the new kicking ass and taking names? It's playing golf and destroying lives. Doesn't quite have the same ring.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 24:50

No, but that's, that's-- And he's not even like good at it. Do you think-- This is unrelated. I guess this is like internet clickbait double click, that Trump is wearing an exoskeleton. Have you seen this?

BRIAN DERRICK: 25:03

What are you talking about?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 25:05

So the conspiracy is that when you look at Trump's frame, it's always been off, right? And a bit grotesque But now look, like look at the way, I'll send you some clips. Like, the idea is that, I don't know, his brain, like the dementia is affecting his gait and his ability to stand and- Guys Did you, or did you see the clip of

BRIAN DERRICK: 25:30

him? Keep it together. Keep it together for a couple more weeks. We just have to get through the midterms. This is ridiculous.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 25:39

If any nurses or doctors listen to Vibes Only, please DM us. This is a real- All

BRIAN DERRICK: 25:45

right… GLENNIS MEAGHER: like hot internet. It's the definition of clickbait, and think of how, for how many months, years at this point, have we been talking about every bruised hand and every doctor's appointment and, and day that he's missing, whatever. He has ingested so much artificial preservatives that he is now pickled and he- Totally … will be around forever. He's gonna outlive his children. We just have to make our peace that he's

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 26:11

going- Wait, he, he also said- … nowhere … in one of these rallies that he takes like one of those like massive like Tylenols every day. It's like part of his protocol. Oh. I'm like, "Oh, you're on a blood thinner because you're gravely ill. Okay-" Wait, he's- "… thank you for letting us know."

BRIAN DERRICK: 26:26

He's supposed to be on like baby aspirin and he's taking like oxy?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 26:30

No, like literally he's like, "I need it. It's my medicine." And I was like, "Okay."

BRIAN DERRICK: 26:33

That's funny.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 26:34

Okay. Yeah.

BRIAN DERRICK: 26:35

Okay, I have another one for you.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 26:37

Wow.

BRIAN DERRICK: 26:38

During the No Kings protest that happened last weekend, Meta took down the primary No Kings organizer's account for most of the day and blamed it on them posting at a very high frequency, but the account shared data that shows that they were not posting anywhere near their highest frequency that they regularly do

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 27:03

Hmm. So this was big in my world, obviously, but on No Kings Day, I was at the UGA game. I think this is worth talking about and being curious because I don't trust Meta, I don't trust TikTok, I don't trust any of these platforms, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone was like, like switch that account off for a couple hours. Um, I also do know that, like, you can get banned on the platform or, like, your account can be suspended if you are, like, DM'ing too many people the exact same language or if you're spam posting. But if Indivisible is saying,"We weren't spam-- Like, we weren't posting at a faster cadence," I think it's sus. Like, I do think it's sus.

BRIAN DERRICK: 27:49

It's so sus. In the same week to have one billionaire turn off the internet for one of our allies and a different billionaire's platform de-platform the opposition, not just even in the US, but they are doing the same thing in Brazil with Lula.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 28:07

Mm.

BRIAN DERRICK: 28:07

And they are doing the same thing in Albania with this fight over the Jared Kushner island purchase-

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 28:14

Really? I didn't know that … that Meta has been--

BRIAN DERRICK: 28:17

Yeah, that Meta has been interfering and making it harder for people to organize against it online. So there's a lot of very sketchy things happening potentially at the direction of billionaires associated with Donald Trump. It's the biggest threat to American democracy is us-

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 28:35

Yeah

BRIAN DERRICK: 28:35

collapsing into a sort of hollow shell of our government that's really run by a handful of tech billionaires.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 28:45

Yeah. And lest we forget, you know, Meta does not have the best track record. Uh, Cambridge Analytica comes to mind. Here's one related to all of our Russia stuff. This happened yesterday. Russia releases American Stephen Hubbard from prison. Are you aware of this?

BRIAN DERRICK: 29:04

Clickbait. No. I mean, yes, but, like, no, I don't, I don't-

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 29:08

Also, he… Okay, listen

BRIAN DERRICK: 29:09

Like, great. I don't really know who that is, but who cares?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 29:12

He's a guy who volunteered to go fight for Ukraine, and he got captured by Russia. Trump's using it as, as a political stunt 'cause he wants people to be distracted from the fact that he literally went against the Republican-controlled House and Senate sanctioning Russia with his executive order.

BRIAN DERRICK: 29:29

Yeah, I mean, this costs Russia nothing. Steve Witkoff called Putin a humanitarian while they thanked him. No, it's

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 29:37

insane. So- They're trying to, like, rebrand Putin for him. It's crazy

BRIAN DERRICK: 29:42

It's really rough. Any

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 29:43

others? It's depressing. This one, okay, 'cause I saw this viral clip that's associated with this."Abdul El-Sayed highlights Muslim faith in new ad after Republican attacks."

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 29:53

I'm Abdul El-Sayed, man of faith. That's a good thing. Faith is a thing there's just too little of in Washington.

BRIAN DERRICK: 29:59

I have not seen the clip.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 30:01

The clip was, like, a conservative operative, like an agitator, not, like, maybe like a, a beta Nick Shirley. And-

BRIAN DERRICK: 30:09

Oh, I saw that… GLENNIS MEAGHER: yeah, and he him to say that he would, like, defend and protect and serve the US Constitution, and El-Sayed had a really good response about, like, JFK being asked as the first Catholic president if he was going to listen to the Constitution or the Pope, highlighting that the question was, like, wildly Islamophobic.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:32

You give me your name, I'll answer the question.

TOMMY: 30:34

Okay. Tommy.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:34

Hi, Tommy. How are you?

TOMMY: 30:36

I'm great.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:37

Are you… Do you know what the Constitution of the United States is?

TOMMY: 30:40

I have one simple question. No. Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:43

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. Why are you asking the question?

TOMMY: 30:46

Well, because they're a terrorist group.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:49

Okay. No, no, but what are you implying? The, the… Do you assume that I wouldn't?

TOMMY: 30:54

Yes.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:54

Why not?

TOMMY: 30:55

Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 30:57

Have you disavowed them? I haven't heard you disavow them yet.

TOMMY: 30:59

I disavow them.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 31:00

Do you? Great. But here's the thing about it. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties, right? You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow. I'm gonna swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and that constitution guarantees us all- … the right to practice whatever faith we want or no, no faith at all. This is not the first time people have asked those kinds of questions because… Do you know who John F. Kennedy is? Do you know who that is, Tommy?

TOMMY: 31:28

I do.

ABDUL EL-SAYED: 31:29

All right. Uh, do you know what he was asked as the first possible Catholic president of the United States? What did they ask him? You don't remember? You should read history. Tommy, when he ran for president, he was asked whether or not he was going to have allegiance to the Pope at the Vatican, because, of course, he's Catholic. And his answer famously was that he was not running to be a Catholic president, he was running to be president and happened to be Catholic I'm not running to be a Muslim senator. I'm running for US Senate and happen to be Muslim.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:06

Anyway, hope he wins. I'm in Michigan this weekend. Let's go.

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:11

Are you going to a U of M game?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:12

Hell yeah.

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:14

Oh, wow.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:16

Yeah.

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:16

That's bleak. Have fun.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:20

Oh, because you're OSU, so you're like… But one of your best friends went to Michigan. Two of y- and like a lot of your friends went to Michigan. Had- Yeah, that- Do you guys talk about that?

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:29

That theater program is really just churning out a bunch of losers.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:34

Yeah. They're, they're not successful at all. It's not good. Yeah. Yeah, UMich. And you know, I mean, this is a tight race, Abdul El-Sayed. He only won the primary by what, one, one percentage point?

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:45

Totally. Yeah, can't wait to hear about your experience.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 32:49

Go Wolverines, I guess. Or blue. Go Blue

BRIAN DERRICK: 32:55

Yeah. For our Oath candidate of the week this week, I'm gonna send people directly to our max impact slate. It is really the last week that you can donate and have the money get to the campaigns in a way that really matters. There will probably be a handful of races that we recommend giving to right up until Election Day where we have confirmation that the money can be spent, but this is really the last window that you have to give that $5, $10, $20. We're updating our max impact slate every single day with the latest data of how much money's moving, what other donors are giving, and, uh, that's the smartest place on the internet to give money right now. So, uh, head over to oath.vote, give to the top-rated races, and help win everywhere because it is so critical in this cycle that we are funding these down-ballot candidates and not just giving Talarico another $100 million.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 33:53

And Brian, what would, like, a $200 donation… What does that actually mean? Like, how does it help?

BRIAN DERRICK: 33:59

Yeah. Most state leg races are just trying to get in front of every voter at least once before they go to the ballot box. So it's not like, "Oh, we're gonna air another television ad. We need a million dollars." It's like, "Oh, can we boost the target audience for our digital ads that just introduce the candidate to the voters so that everyone can see it one time- Mm. "… before they vote?" And people are voting actively right now, so that window is, like, very narrow that we have to still move the needle.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 34:31

Mm-hmm. Early voting in New York starts October 24th. October 24th is also, like, nationally Early Vote Day. So if you haven't voted- Mm. … yet, a lot of states voting is open. Uh, but if you haven't voted yet, why don't you make a commitment to yourself and vote on October 24th, Early Vote Day. Get yourself a nice, like, sweet treat. I-- Brian, I started drinking, uh, like, flavored coffee on this tour as, like, my little, like- I'm gonna get myself something. And I, I get it. Like, I've had, like, banana bread lattes. Ew.

BRIAN DERRICK: 35:07

I've had like- That's

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 35:07

horrifying. No, Brian, they're so, they're so good. That is fucked up. Have you ever had, have you ever had like a-

BRIAN DERRICK: 35:13

No. No. That sounds terrible.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 35:15

No, it, it tastes just like banana bread. Or I went to, uh, another place and got like, uh, it was like a, a shake, a shaken espresso brown sugar thing. It was Starbucks, which whatever, at the airport at 6:30 in the morning.

BRIAN DERRICK: 35:32

At this point, I'm not looking for banana bread lattes, I'm looking for a lobotomy.

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 35:37

Oh, well.

BRIAN DERRICK: 35:38

Like, we are at that point in the cycle that is not gonna do it. But I love that for you. You gotta get every kick you can until we're over the

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 35:49

finish line. Over the finish line. I'm just saying to our listeners, like, treat yourself. It's fall vibes. Like, go vote and go- Mm-hmm … get a cinnamon roll or some- just, like, make a thing out of it. Make a little- Absolutely … treat central. Um, so- I

BRIAN DERRICK: 36:04

like that. I like that… GLENNIS MEAGHER: I'm gonna get back, or maybe Monday. I don't know. But by- Yeah … the time we speak again next week, I will have voted. Wow. Crazy. Cra- you're crazy, girl. Girl,

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 36:19

you're crazy. You know me. Crazy. I always get a little, like, nervous too. I'm like, "Oh my God," and then I'm like sweating and the thing. I'm like, "Ugh." Even though I know exactly who and what I'm voting for, I still am just like, don't… I think it's like the Scantron trauma Of our youth

BRIAN DERRICK: 36:35

Totally. Totally. Um, well, there are right and wrong answers, so make sure you get in there and do it right. Yeah. Uh, should we send them off with a Good Vibe?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 36:47

Yeah, we should.

BRIAN DERRICK: 36:48

All right, Glennis, for our Good Vibe this week, we have rock hard data showing that people are jazzed to get out there and vote. If you look at the return numbers, the number of people who have voted early, either by mail or in person, in Georgia and Texas in particular, we are looking at a historic election cycle. In Harris County, for example, in Texas- Oh … more than 105,000 people voted on the first day- That's crazy … of early voting, and the previous record for a midterm election was 63,000. So we're, like, approaching double. And it was even beating 2024 turnout, which was a presidential election. So truly astronomically high numbers. And then if you look at Georgia-

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 37:41

Georgia, Brian, as of Tuesday afternoon, so we record on a Wednesday, over a million people have voted, which is almost 15% of the total active registered voters. So that's-

BRIAN DERRICK: 37:54

That's-… GLENNIS MEAGHER: pretty good. That's crazy. That is crazy. And with that- Ooh … we will… What?

GLENNIS MEAGHER: 38:01

North Carolina too, sorry. North Carolina has almost 740,000 ballots cast, which is up more than 38% versus the same point in 2022. So people are voting. Crazy. People are showing up. But what I wanna say, Brian, don't hear these numbers from us and think, "Okay, we're good." We're not good. We need every single person to still go vote.

BRIAN DERRICK: 38:27

People are voting. Yes, absolutely. What we are saying is get out there and do your duty. We are voting early in person, but you have so many options, depending on where you live, I guess. Uh, make sure you get out there and do it. And thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Vibes Only. We'll be back same time, same place next week. See you then.