[00:00] Hi everybody, I'm John Kuryaku and welcome back to the briefing room. I'm greeting you again from beautiful Athens, Greece. I flew in from Cairo a couple of hours ago and then headed back to DC uh tomorrow. So, thanks for joining us from beautiful Athens. We usually don't start off these uh podcasts with politics, although I've always been a political animal since I was a little kid. I love love love politics. It's like a sport for me. So, let's talk about that. I want to start
[00:31] with the Alaska Senate race. I'm fascinated by this race for a couple of different reasons. First, Alaska is fiercely independent. Although it tends toward conservatism, that conservatism is a libertarian kind of conservatism. And so, every once in a while, a Democrat will find himself or herself elected to statewide office. sometimes the one at large congressional seat, sometimes one of the two Senate seats, occasionally the governor. It's
[01:03] always a race and we have election results from from Alaska and from a bunch of other states. So, let's start there. Voters in this Alaska race had something very interesting on their ballots. It's not very nice, but it's very political. There are two men named Dan Sullivan, both on the ballot. This may be a dirty trick. It may be a coincidence. You figure it out. One of them is the current Alaska Republican Senator Dan
[01:35] Sullivan. The other is a retired school teacher and a US Forest Service employee with zero political experience. Now, Alaska's elections work differently than almost anywhere else in America. It's very interesting. Everybody w runs together in one giant primary regardless of party and then the top four finishers advance to November where voters then use ranked choice voting until somebody gets a majority. So imagine you're an
[02:07] Alaska voter who doesn't follow politics every day. You open your ballot and there are two Dan Sullivans. Are you gonna Google which Dan Sullivan is the actual Senator Dan Sullivan and which one is kind of the impostor? Maybe I would, but not everyone would. The Democrats though are hoping with their candidate, former Congresswoman Mary Pelah, performing very well in polling and very well yesterday that
[02:39] this second Dan Sullivan can pull enough votes away from the current Senator Dan Sullivan. Of course, that trick won't work on most voters, but just a few people is all it takes, especially considering the fact that Mary Pelah has already served two terms in the House of Representatives. That one atlarge House seat covers the entire state of Alaska. So, she's already won statewide. And she's rather popular. She's the first native Inuit ever to be elected to
[03:10] Congress. To be clear, no one has established a clear link between the Democrats and the second Dan Sullivan. The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas as part of an investigation into whether Dan J. Sullivan entered the race with the intent of confusing voters. An investigation does not mean that anybody committed a crime. and Sullivan says that his candidacy is legitimate, but it's pretty hard to
[03:43] imagine that nothing is going on and this just is a complete coincidence. And I want to I want to talk you down a historical rabbit hole kind of for a minute because this is actually a tactic that has been used many many times throughout history. Here in the United States in 1946, John F. Kennedy used the same trick to first get elected to Congress 1946 when he was running to represent Massachusetts 11th
[04:13] Congressional District. His main opponent was a strong, popular established candidate. His name was Boston City Council member Joe Russo. Okay, Russo had been around for a long time. He's the kind of guy that made the trains run on time. Everybody liked him. Well, Joseph P. Kennedy senior John Kennedy's father and Democratic c campaign operatives paid a 27year-old janitor also named Joe Russo to file his candidacy to confuse voters. Now Kennedy
[04:46] received far more votes than Russo. Kennedy got 22,183 votes. Russo got 5,661 people and then the other Joe Russo, the janitor, got 773. But there are other times when this tactic actually changed the outcome of an election. In Florida in 2020, Democratic State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez lost by 32 votes to Republican
[05:17] Ilana Garcia. Well, a consultant later acknowledged that he approved the move to run somebody else named Joseé Javier Rodriguez against state senator Jose Javier Rodriguez. And there are dozens more examples outside of Florida especially, but the most interesting examples come from other countries. This is kind of fun. In Russia, it's a little bit more difficult to pull this off because candidates have their head shot featured
[05:49] on the ballots with their names. This is in case the voter is illiterate and can't read the names, you can at least recognize the picture. Boris Vishnvki, a staunch Kremlin critic, ran against two men who were also named Boris Vishnvki. But not just that. Take a look at this photo. What the Kremlin did is not only did it get two other guys named Boris Vishnvki to run against the actual Boris
[06:20] Vishnvki, they made them change their appearance so that they all three looked alike. So even the illiterate v voters couldn't tell who was who. Crazy. In India in 2014, this is one of my favorite examples. BJP candidate Chandu Lal Sahu faced seven other candidates also named Chandu Lal Sahu plus three other guys
[06:51] named Chandu Ram Sahu just for good measure in India the problem is on another level an analysis of assembly elections in India found 74 areas in which at least one of the top three candidates faced someone with exactly the same name. Again, in Alaska, the direct link between this other Dan Sullivan and the Democratic National Committee has not been established. But come on. On the
[07:23] Democratic side, there was some good news this week as well, running right up to election day. Mainly the endorsement that nobody asked for. Kamala Harris tried to endorse the Democratic Senate candidate, former Congresswoman Mary Pelah. and Mary Pelah essentially told her to screw off. In a fundraising appeal that was sent out Wednesday, Harris urged supporters to quote, "Stand by stand behind Mary and called Alaska a must-win race for the Democrats." Now, my guess
[07:54] is Harris wasn't personally sitting at her laptop composing this email. Somebody on her political team probably slapped her name on a fundraising appeal and then just hit the send button. But apparently nobody bothered to ask Mary Pelah whether she actually wanted Kla Harris's endorsement. And guess what? She didn't because Pelah quickly responded, quote, "Mary isn't seeking endorsements from anyone from the lower 48. Her focus is and always will be
[08:25] Alaska." Unquote. Ouch. Now, this should come as no surprise to the Harris camp. Joe Biden faced the same problem during the midterms when he was president. Vulnerable Democrats wanted distance from an unpopular White House. Harris lost Alaska by 13 percentage points. Pelah is trying to win voters who may have voted for Donald Trump nationally but were willing to split their ticket and might be willing to split their ticket again for her. The last thing she
[08:56] needs is for Republicans to turn this into a referendum on the National Democratic Party. That's a sure way to lose a statewide race in Alaska. But really, this just seems like an incredibly sloppy and unforced error. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for Democrats that this person will probably run for president again in 2028. I'm talking about Kla Harris. She currently holds a polling lead. That probably is because of name recognition. Remember in 2020
[09:28] Kla Harris dropped out of the race before the very first vote was cast in Iowa. She was that unpopular and then she got creamed by Donald Trump just two years ago. She also seems to have no self-awareness that she's part of the problem where Democrats stood for nothing other than being anti-Trump. Remember, one of my mantras is you cannot win elections by saying, "Vote for me because I'm not the other guy."
[09:59] Politics don't work that way. What if the way money works is about to change? Not someday, not hypothetically, but right now, China and the United States are both making moves that suggest that we could be heading towards something the world hasn't seen in more than 50 years, a return to goldbacked money, or something very close to it. China is shutting down paper gold trading at four of its biggest banks, all on the same day, and they're building a new system that settles in physical gold instead.
[10:32] On our side, the government is sitting on more than 8,000 tons of gold that is still valued at $42 an ounce on the books. Legislation to fix that is already in Congress. If both superpowers start anchoring their currencies to gold, what happens to the price? And more importantly, what happens to every dollar in your retirement that isn't backed by anything at all? That's the question a free report from American Alternative Assets answers. It's called The Day Money Changes Forever. And if
[11:03] you have an IRA or a 401k, you need to read it right now. Get your free copy at johnlovesgold.com. That's johnlovesgold.com or call 888G053. I also wanted to cover a conflict that has sprouted up over the last couple of days and is a little bit down in the political weeds, but I mentioned I don't know. I'm going to say um a week ago I mentioned that I was going to take a
[11:34] closer look at John Osaf. John Oaf is a young US senator from the state of Georgia. He happens to be Jewish and he's frequently talked about uh as as a possible presidential candidate. But how do you break out from the pack? Rahm Emanuel has talked about running. He's Jewish. Uh JB Pritsker, the governor of Illinois, is talked about as a major candidate. He's Jewish. Uh the the governor of Pennsylvania, Dan Shapiro, is Jewish.
[12:06] So, how does John Oaf set himself apart? So, stick with me because I think this conflict says a lot about where American political discourse is right now and frankly how this White House operates. In my view, this is exactly how American politics should not be. The whole kurfuffle started off with one line from Senator John Oaf. Let's take a look at this clip.
[12:37] And there's something uniquely despicable >> about lying a nation into war, >> treating citizens as fools and those who serve as pawns. >> Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, they've now been at sea for 240 plus days without a port call. It's a Navy record. And still And still
[13:07] >> And still they serve with excellence. [cheering] >> God bless the sailors, Marines, aviators, and all aboard the United States ship. Abraham Lincoln. [cheering] >> See, they don't expect luxury. They'll endure hardship, but they deserve competent leaders who
[13:39] send them into combat only when necessary >> and with decisive clarity of purpose, not fools who lie about the purpose and progress of war. And while the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. >> See, he doesn't want to do the job.
[14:12] He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Amir of Qatar. [cheering] >> He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie. That set the White House off. Now, if you're wondering who's Natalie, well, that would be Natalie Hara. She's one of Donald Trump's closest aids. someone who has somehow gone from being virtually
[14:44] unknown outside MAGA circles to becoming a a supporting character in the second Trump administration. And judging by the reaction to that one sentence, Assaf really struck a nerve because the White House lost its mind. Before I show you the response, you need to understand who Natalie Harp is and why Oaf mentioned her and why that mention carries a little more subtext than mentioning just some random White House
[15:14] staffer. Harp is essentially Trump's personal information pipeline. She's become famous for following Trump around with a portable printer, an actual printer, printing out articles, printing out social media posts and other information that she thinks the president would want to see. That has earned her the nickname the human printer. Trump reportedly dictates his social media posts to her. She types them up. She prints the material for him. She
[15:46] travels with him. She's around him constantly. Recently, we learned just how close to the president she's become. Remember that extraordinary episode that we covered on this show a couple of days ago when Trump was pulled off Air Force One because of an alleged Iranian assassination threat? The president secretly secretly switched aircraft and was whisked away in a catering truck. Well, who was reportedly in the catering truck with him? It was not Secretary of State Marco Rubio. was not Secretary of
[16:17] Treasury Scott Bessant. It was this woman Natalie Harp. And her role with Trump came from years of dedication trying to get close to Trump. She slept in the locker room at Mara Lago for the chance to work uh to work for him. So when OSU says Trump wants to travel with Natalie, everybody in Washington knows what he's talking about. So here's what the White House communications director Steven Chung had to say. This is amazing. Let's run that clip.
[16:49] John Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics. Instead of denigrating hardworking people serving their country, John should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he's a miserable person who hates his country. It's because he's a radical extremist Democrat. Wow. It's in incredible to me. Another White House spokesperson said this quote, "John Oaf is a cringe-worthy feminine
[17:20] theater kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a what his what this lightweight loser says." Amazing. And check out this clip from Fox News's Laura Ingram. Last month, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Osaf spent more on makeup than any federal candidate this year, beating out AOC and Rashida Tl. And beneath all that pancake, bronzer, and all of that rouge, then we have an
[17:52] ambitious man, but one without a core. That's the most dangerous kind of politician out there. You know who else spent a lot of money on makeup? John F. Kennedy. famously when he debated Richard Nixon. Nixon was suffering from the from the flu and the debate was shot in color, but most Americans didn't have color TVs and so it was all about the lighting. Well, Nixon didn't put on makeup and he was sweaty cuz his fever was breaking from the flu and he looked
[18:23] very pale, almost gaunt. Kennedy looked like he had just come off the beach bronzed. Well, that was makeup. All politicians wear makeup. Oh my god, how much makeup does Donald Trump wear? And I don't know if I don't know the the bat signal went up or something, but practically every MAGA influencer account decided to tweet at the same time that Natalie Harp is great. Funny, check out this collage. This is
[18:54] just a collage of four out of dozens who posted defending her. The party that was completely fine with the president saying quiet piggy to a a journalist that he didn't like is now extremely offended that people would imply that there is something going on between Trump and a staff member. Just saying you could make it a little less obvious that you commanded your social media friends to support her. Eventually Trump himself was asked about Asaf and here's
[19:26] how he responded. Check out this clip. said, "You'd rather travel with your aid Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as president." What is your response, John Ala? >> You mean uh Pee-Wee Herman Peewee Herman lookalike? Uh, no. I would much rather do other things. It's a We're building a great facility here. We're fixing a White House that hasn't been taken care of. >> Pee-wee Herman lookalike? You mean pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike.
[19:58] And do you know how the White House responded to the reporter who asked that question? This is this is nuts. They called Kristen Holmes of CNN, the CNN White House correspondent, quote, "A disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession." Rapid Response 47 said, "Someday your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It's quite
[20:29] troubling. Wow. And here's what's so remarkable about this entire controversy. If the White House had done absolutely nothing, how long would Asaf's line have lasted? Maybe 24 hours. We live in a 24-hour news cycle. And most Americans had never heard of John Oaf until yesterday. They should have just let it go. And suddenly everybody in America who had absolutely no idea who Natalie Harp
[21:02] was is now asking, "Wait a second, who the hell is Natalie Harp and what is she doing in the White House?" And honestly, the White House is giving away that Osaf is the person that they're afraid of. I really believe that. Listen, there was something else going on. We've been talking about the race for Lindsey Graham's Senate uh seat in South Carolina. Lindsey Graham died a few weeks ago, dropped dead of a of a massive heart attack just hours
[21:33] after he returned from a from an official trip to Ukraine. Well, his sister was named to fill his Senate seat. His sister is utterly completely unqualified. Her only qualification is that she was Lindsey Graham's sister. Literally, that's it. You've got to see this this clip from a debate that she participated in yesterday for this Senate seat in South Carolina. >> Um, Senator, are Taiwan in the South
[22:06] China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why? Um, I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question? >> If are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States, and if so, why or how? >> I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security. I'm not that informed on national security. So, but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33
[22:36] years. So, I will do everything I can to support the military. My AR My dad was in the Army. I'm not a polished politician up here. I national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military. Good lord. She has no business even being on that stage, let alone being a member of the United States Senate. You notice her name. It said Senator Darlene Graham.
[23:08] Not Darlene Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister who's running for the Senate. She's already a senator. She was named to her brother's Senate seat by the governor. She is a sitting US senator and she didn't know what the South China Sea was and she didn't have any idea what US interests there are. I'm happy to tell her. We could sit and talk about the South South China Sea for a couple of hours if she wants. She's not going to ask me, but she better ask somebody because she's one of the hundred making
[23:38] the laws in this country. She's one of the hundred appropriating money for the State Department to carry out diplomacy over the South China Sea or for the military to protect our friends and allies in the South China Sea. She better get smart quick or step aside. Something I just don't understand here. So folks, I'm going to say goodbye to you from beautiful Athens, Greece. I'm going to really miss this view of the Parthonon, even if this is the grossest Airbnb I've ever been in. But I wanted to thank our producers, John Ball and
[24:10] Victoria uh von Perz for putting the show together. They do an amazing job. I couldn't possibly get all this done without them. I mean, I couldn't get any of it done without them to be perfectly frank with you. So, I want to thank them. And please uh look for me on uh on Apple Podcasts and uh Spotify. I have a podcast there called John Kuryaku's Deadrop. It's a storytelling podcast. And uh you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and uh and Cameo.
[24:43] And I very much look forward to seeing you the next time. Thanks again for subscribing, for liking, for commenting, uh for talking about the show with your friends. We're growing by leaps and bounds in the summer in August when it's the slowest period of the year. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for that. And next week, we're going to have some Q&As's for you. All the best. We'll see you next time.