Celebrities and Rats

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:09.199
Calaroga Shark media from New York City, where the Mayor's place is filled with

2
00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:14.599
rats. This is ballid today,
a look at the intersection of politics,

3
00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:21.320
celebrities, and well rats, Let's
hit this. It seems Hollywood is feeling

4
00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:26.559
rather skittish about overtly backing Biden this
election cycle, amidst the current hyper polarized

5
00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:31.960
political climate. Even the Biden campaign
itself is being cautious about rolling out too

6
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:37.759
many celebrity endorsements too soon. The
concerns from publicists and political strategists make sense.

7
00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:43.399
In today's devisive atmosphere. A celebrity
taking a strong partisan stance can quickly

8
00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:48.520
become a pr landmine. One ill
advised social media post or SoundBite, and

9
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.880
they risk igniting a firestorm of backlash
from the other side's vocal base. Just

10
00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:58.000
look at poor Mariah Carey getting dragged
for that seemingly innocuous White House Christmas visit.

11
00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:03.359
Yikes. No good deed goes unpunished
when you're a famous person voicing any

12
00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:07.480
perceived political leaning. Nowadays, it's
almost comical to envision some of these advisors'

13
00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:14.000
nightmare scenarios playing out. Can you
picture the online meltdown if Zendaia or Taylor

14
00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:18.640
Swift threw their weight behind Biden.
The Swifties and Anti Swifties would wage all

15
00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:23.280
out social media warfare like we've never
seen. At the same time, you

16
00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.519
can't really blame celebs for being a
bit gunshy. This time. Around four

17
00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:32.560
years ago, not loudly resisting Trump
was seen as complicity in Tinseltown. Now

18
00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:38.239
the opposite seems true. Any overt
political engagement carries massive perceived costs in our

19
00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:42.480
discordant times. Still, you know
Hollywood's liberal elite can't resist getting involved.

20
00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:47.760
As election day looms. The Biden
camp is, no doubt hoping those quiet

21
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:53.079
zoom strategy sessions and hush hush fundraisers
lay the groundwork for a full court celebrity

22
00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:57.079
press closer to November. Who wouldn't
want Queen Beyonce leading the Bidens back again

23
00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:01.640
rally in swing state arenas or the
erstwhile Fresh Prints doing some get out the

24
00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:08.719
vote hyping viral gold. Of course, the Israel Gaza conflict muddies the waters

25
00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:15.719
even more for the more progressive anti
warflank of the entertainment biz Ruffalo and Eilish

26
00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:21.680
rocking those artists for ceasefire pins definitely
doesn't jibe with Biden's full throat at Israel

27
00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.639
backing, But that's where compartmentalizing comes
in handy. Most celebs will likely pick

28
00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:30.360
their spots issue by issue, rather
than hitching themselves to Team Biden. Fully

29
00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.240
abortion rights, they'll amplify that climate
change. No doubt, the Leo Dicaprios

30
00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.319
of the world will stay on message
at the end of the day. The

31
00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:45.960
incentives and risks around celebrity politicking have
clearly shifted in this corrosive era, but

32
00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:50.000
you can bet your bottom dollar those
publicity starved stars will find a way to

33
00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:53.639
get their messaging out there one way
or another. As novemberners, love it

34
00:02:54.039 --> 00:03:00.400
or hate it, the intersection of
Hollywood and politics persists as a garish annual

35
00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.360
tradition. Even if twenty twenty four
looks at a little more subdued on the

36
00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:08.080
superstar endorsement front early on, I'd
bank on the celebs bringing the razzle dazzle.

37
00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:14.120
Eventually, it wouldn't be an election
year without gratuitous star spangled pageantry.

38
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:19.240
Meanwhile, the Washington Post warned about
a group of never Biden voters. Certain

39
00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:23.360
Democrats are trying to cope with President
Biden's continually underwhelming twenty twenty four poll numbers

40
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:30.280
the sealing theory. Yeah, it's
the political equivalent of she's just not that

41
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.560
into you, But maybe if I
keep telling myself, she'll come around.

42
00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:38.120
All Biden needs to do is rally
allies who are unenthusiastic about him, particularly

43
00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:44.719
young, black and Hispanic voters,
against Donald Trump. The former president's ceiling,

44
00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:46.840
after all, has proved to be
low. He didn't crack forty seven

45
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.439
percent in either the twenty sixteen or
the twenty twenty election, and Biden has

46
00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:55.879
shown he can win a majority of
the popular vote. True, but it's

47
00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.719
getting harder and harder for Biden to
paper over those crin worthy approval numbers with

48
00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:04.680
yeah, but at least I'm not
Trump. There is some truth in that,

49
00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:11.439
but it overlooks something important that hasn't
gotten much attention. Poles show that

50
00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:15.639
Biden's ceiling actually appears to be lower
than Trump's. Ouch talking about a low

51
00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:19.639
bar to limbo under. When your
ceiling is underneath Trump's, you know you're

52
00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:25.160
really scraping the bottom of the electability
barrel. While much has been made of

53
00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:30.079
never Trump Republicans, never Biden voters, appear to loom even larger, at

54
00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.480
least for now. It's like choosing
between a racist to pay and a dusty

55
00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:39.160
cloth bag to be your running mate. Not exactly an inspiring pair of options.

56
00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.079
Biden just doesn't appear to be a
viable option for lots of voters right

57
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.000
now, as much as a majority, and certainly many more than in twenty

58
00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:51.360
twenty. The high no chance numbers
for Biden undercut another common strain of perhaps

59
00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:59.360
overly optimistic Democratic thought. Optimistic is
being generous. It's more like desperate grasping

60
00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.279
at straws. At this point,
Trump's ceiling doesn't actually appear that low.

61
00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:06.079
Right now, He's at forty nine
percent head to head with Biden across the

62
00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:10.800
six states polled by The Times.
Biden's ceiling, on the other hand,

63
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:15.959
does appear that low. Yikes,
when Trump's upside looks rosier than yours,

64
00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:20.279
you know you've got an enthusiasm problem. And that suggests Biden's got more work

65
00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:25.680
to do than merely rallying the troops
against a common enemy, like trying to

66
00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:29.759
rebottle the pungent odor of failure that
seems to be following him everywhere on the

67
00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:38.000
campaign trail. It looks like New
York's rodent loathing Mayor Eric Adams is in

68
00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:44.040
the doghouse again, or should I
say rathouse. The city health inspector slapped

69
00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:47.000
him with yet another summons for a
fresh rat infestation at his Brooklyn property.

70
00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:55.240
I'm picturing him launching into an apoplectic
fit. Rats in my kingdom. This

71
00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:59.480
is an outrage, a disgrace,
a desecration of all I stand for.

72
00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.199
You just know Adams was seconds away
from deploying his patented drowner rat device,

73
00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:09.560
a ritualistic vat of caustic liquid specially
designed to send those whiskered hell spawn to

74
00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:14.879
a burbling demise, a real grug
the Neanderthal approach to pest control. But

75
00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:18.319
alas the party pooper, health inspectors
beat him to the punch, Spotting fresh

76
00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:25.079
droppings and burrows for themselves, the
evidence was incontrovertible. Mayor Mcdratheter had been

77
00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:29.959
harboring underground infiltrators all along. To
his credit, though the Mayor ain't taking

78
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.879
this line down. He's petitioning to
contest the citation come July, probably armed

79
00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:39.519
with a ragtag team of NYC's most
fervent ratbusters. Ready to dispute the findings.

80
00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:43.839
You see these scratches, your honor
battle scars from me wrestling one of

81
00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:47.639
those filthy rodents with my bare hands
last Thursday. Conno from mortal combat's got

82
00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:53.079
nothing on me. I'm the real
sub zero. Still, you do have

83
00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:56.920
to wonder when Adams will concede,
defeat and stop tilting at these windmill tails.

84
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.160
Seven thousand dollars spent on mitigation and
a solid handful of citations later,

85
00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:05.360
methinks it's time to make peace with
the grimy realities of NYC real estate.

86
00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:11.040
Or hey, if all else fails, maybe he can appoint a rat extermination

87
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.279
Zar whose sole mandate is rooting out
any unfortunate laissez faire critters squatting at his

88
00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:20.720
honors cribs. Desperate times, y'all. Portions of today's program were made with

89
00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:23.680
the help of AI and a couple
of rats.