Dave Smith interviews Nicole Shanahan
Dave Smith interviews Nicole Shanahan
Video Published on 29 Aug 2024
[Dave Smith]
Introduction and Dave Smith's Tour Dates
Hey, what's up everybody. Welcome to a brand new episode of part of the problem. A quick note before we get started with the show, I will be in Dallas on Friday and or Fort Worth and Dallas on Friday and Saturday. There are still some tickets available to hyenas comedy club. If you want to grab those tickets, go to comic Dave Smith.com and for all the, my tour for the rest of the year, you can get tickets there.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Introduction of Nicole Shanahan
All right.
[Dave Smith]
I am very thrilled to be joined once again by Nicole Shanahan. How are you?
[Nicole Shanahan]
I'm doing well, Dave. How are you? Thanks for having me on again.
[Dave Smith]
Of course.
Discussion of Bobby Kennedy's Suspended Campaign
My pleasure. I'm, I really enjoyed our last conversation and a lot has happened in the world. Uh, and, and a lot has happened in your world since, uh, since last we talked for everybody, I'm sure you know, um, that, uh, Nicole Shanahan is Bobby Kennedy's running mate. Um, although the campaign now has been, uh, suspended and Bobby is, uh, came out and gave this really phenomenal speech the other day.
[00:01:03]
Um, I think it was, as I said on the show, I think it was one of the best political speeches I've ever seen in my life. And I think it was, um, you know, it was delivered in, it was kind of his biggest speech and one of the best speeches I've ever seen. So it was pretty incredible that he had it in that moment. He, um, I had heard whispers for like a couple weeks before it happened that this was a possibility. Um, I didn't know whether or not they were, you know, it was, it was really going to happen as, as we all know now this has happened. So I'm curious, you know, like there's a lot of questions I could ask you about it.
Nicole Shanahan's Experience on the Campaign Trail
I want to get your thoughts on, on this move, but what was it like on the campaign? Like when was this decision made or when was it like beginning to be considered? Uh, how did this kind of develop?
[Nicole Shanahan]
Yeah. So, you know, so much of our campaign was dedicated to getting on the ballots. We had 50 state ballots to get on.
[00:02:00]
No third party's really successfully gotten on all 50 since Ross Perot in the nineties. It's, it's incredibly hard. It's, it's probably a magnitude of, you know, 10 X what I thought it was going to take, uh, just both in perseverance challenge.
Challenges Faced by the Campaign, Including Infiltration
Um, we were infiltrated. I mean, can you imagine that one of the contractors of vendors we hired, uh, to do signature collection, which is a very common thing in politics. You there's all kinds of vendors, but they were intentionally collecting signatures fraudulently. And this was discovered in New York and we immediately moved to rectify it. But, you know, we ended up having to collect an additional 50,000 signatures just to make sure we had enough properly collected signatures to submit. And we did. Um, and now that is the subject of a lawsuit. I actually testified and was cross-examined yesterday.
[00:03:01]
Um, in that case. And so, you know, Dave, when you ask what it's, what has it been like, it certainly hasn't felt normal.
Observations on the State of American Democracy
It hasn't felt like a American democratic process where there's fairness and respect and sportsmanship. It's been brutal, um, to learn these lessons on where American democracy is today. It's also been brutal to see, um, how, and I hate, and I hate bringing this up because I don't want to, you know, just take this time to bash the Democrats, but, um, they really do cross sacred lines, the things that make democracy, democracy, they've crossed them in ways that I could have never expected they would do. And, um, they do it in a way also that comes across with this sense of entitlement that they are entitled to sabotage our campaign.
[00:04:02]
They are entitled to put up websites, proudly declaring they have a pack designed to take out third party candidates. Um, so I have to, you know, pause in this moment. I mean, I could go on and on about the ways that I've been shocked by their behavior, but I will say that many of us have had an education in the current state of American politics that we never anticipated having. And that education I think is really important for the rest of the American public to understand. Um, because the foundations of democracy are so critical, you know, all of the pieces that make us the country that we are, those are not where they ought to be right now. And there is definitely a singular group of people dedicated to undermining it.
[Dave Smith]
Discussion of Media Blackout and Censorship
Yeah. Well, there's, I mean, there's really no question about that. It is, it's it even for someone like me where what I do is I, you know, I do a show about this stuff and I'm constantly talking about it, but as you zoom out and kind of try to get perspective, it is wild.
[00:05:12]
I mean, thinking about part, that was part of the speech that really stuck out to me. Um, that Bobby's speech I'm referring to, or he was just talking about how he, I mean, just like objectively speaking, he's the biggest third party candidate since Ross Perot. And then he was comparing the amount of interviews that, that Ross Perot got to how the, the complete blackout of, of, I mean, if it wasn't for shows on the internet, you would have not known Bobby Kennedy was running yet. He was getting millions of supporters. Raising tens of millions of dollars is obviously a huge name was drawing big crowds. And he's still treated as if he's not a candidate, as you said, with these, these, um, active measures to undermine him. And then, I mean, you just think about the fact that, I mean, the Biden administration tried to set up a ministry of truth. I know they don't care for that name, but they really did try to set up a ministry of what's what information is allowed to be said.
[00:06:05]
Yes. And, um, and, and, you know, the stuff that Zuckerberg's letter to congressman Jordan just kind of reminded a lot of us of like, Oh yeah, there was this massive censorship campaign and whatever you want to call, um, a society where there is massive government censorship and you are not allowed to have, um, other options running for office. That's not a free society. It's not a democracy. I don't know what word, you know, we could argue over what word it should be called, but it certainly ain't a liberal democracy.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Nicole Shanahan's Testimony and DNC-Funded Attorneys
Yeah. I mean, you say it so well, what have we become and why is it so hard for such a large population of the American public to see that this is very problematic? I, you know, during my testimony yesterday, I was being cross-examined by the DNC funded attorneys and you know how they do their thing, but they were, I mean, they made me feel like a criminal, like by running for office.
[00:07:10]
Um, and, and, and we had plenty of good signatures in New York. So that's not the issue. It's not like we provided fraudulent paperwork. We sifted through at all of them. We had many double check, like we had so many redundancies to check their quality. And I'm S I'm sitting there not campaigning. And this was really where it got problematic for Bobby is he wasn't campaigning anymore. All of our money was going towards fighting these frivolous lawsuits one after another. We just got another one, um, in Illinois. And they get more and more aggressive. And the way that they're set like signaling to us is that the more you keep trying, the harsher we will be on you and the harsher your punishment. And, and that, that is the basis of this totalitarianism that the more exposed you get, the more resources we are going to put towards destroying your reputation.
[00:08:13]
Um, the more progress you make on ballots, the more money we're going to put towards invalidating your ballot petitions. Um, so, you know, it wasn't something that we wanted.
Decision to Align with a Major Party
Wanted. We didn't want to have to align with one of the two big parties. We are so committed to breaking the duopoly and we had a really good shot. And I'm a, I'm a data scientist at heart. I have a background in econometrics. Um, I'm an AI developer who can do sentiment analysis. I can do some of it in my head. And before we decided to run or before I decided to even get involved with Bobby and support him, I did all of that modeling. And people on the left told me, you know, he'll never win.
[00:09:01]
He has no shot. And I looked at the numbers and I was like, actually all of the preconditions are here for a, the strongest third party challenge ever in American history.
Data Analysis and Preconditions for a Third-Party Challenge
I mean, look at it. 71% of Americans want a strong third party. At the time, more than 70% didn't want to vote for Biden or Trump. Um, we have the highest registrations of unaffiliated, uh, voters ever over 50% ever in my lifetime. I don't know how far back those statistics go, but you know, so all of the preconditions were there. I looked at all the ballot petition requirements, set aside a budget. We came in under budget. Um, so every, every technicality of us succeeding, um, was accomplished. And the only thing we couldn't have anticipated was how brutal the Democrats were going to be and, and, and really how sinister they were going to be towards us.
[00:10:00]
And it continues. It's, it's not like once we endorsed Trump and suspended our campaign and ended, they've actually since doubled down on us. Um, cause we're trying to remain on some of the ballots. Our agreement was we would bow out of battleground States.
Democrats' Opposition to the Campaign's Withdrawal from Ballots
And you want to hear something really crazy?
[Unidentified]
Sure.
[Nicole Shanahan]
They won't let us pull out now, withdraw from certain ballots because they think that us being in hurts Trump more. Now they finally caught up to the numbers.
[Dave Smith]
That's really, I read something about this and I was like, is this real? They're actually fighting against you guys pulling off the ballots because they think that hurts them. That is really something.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Yeah. So now we don't even have a choice on which ballots we're on. But apparently that's not our call. It's the secretary of state's ability to decide if we're allowed to stay on or withdraw our names. I mean, this is, you can't make this up. This is out of, this is, I mean, mind blowing. It's really mind blowing.
[00:11:00]
[Dave Smith]
Blatant Corruption and Viciousness in Politics
It is. It's, um, it, you know, it's like, even for people, I think who understand in some general abstract way that the system is corrupt, it is something to see the, um, it's a mix of how blatant they are with the corruption. Like there's not even an attempt to, to like, so you can rationalize to yourself that you don't feel like a bad guy. You wouldn't be this blatant about it. And the other thing is just the viciousness. I mean, I, I was playing yesterday, uh, on the show. Forgive me. I can't remember. It was either CNN or MSNBC. It was one of the two. I think it was MSNBC. Um, but they're, they're so similar. It's hard to remember. Um, but they, so they, the back to the speech of Bobby's that I'm referring to, they, first off, they don't play it. They let their viewers know that it's happening, but they don't play the speech they cut back to. And one of the guys there, again, it's either MSNBC or CNN. I just played the clip on our last episode literally starts mocking his voice.
[00:12:01]
They come by and he makes a comment. It's pretty clear. He's going, I mean, you can't even understand the guy when you listen to him. So what's the point of listening to him? And you're like, wait, wait, what? You guys now that's acceptable. Like what? I mean, just like the vision, the levels of viciousness and nastiness. And of course I was making, you know, I was pointing out these, they're the same people who got so offended when Donald Trump did the impression of that reporter back in 2016 or something. It's like you're doing the exact same thing, but got like, I mean, take on one thing he's saying, but your mate, it's a neurological disorder. You're making fun of it. It's like, I could, like if I saw my five-year-old behaving that way, I would reprimand her. Like it's insane to see adults in suit and ties at that supposedly legitimate, you know, like news outlets acting this way. It's just wild. It's just wild to say.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Bullying and Harassment Experienced by the Campaign
Yeah. And, and all of the bullying as well too. And, and just outright harassment that happens. It's, it's, it's like you can tell when they're coming because all of a sudden you'll get emails and calls from people you haven't spoken to in 10 years saying, Hey, this Washington Post journalist wants to ask me about your take on gender identity.
[00:13:13]
And I'm like, okay, they're mounting another, you know, hit piece. And, and so they, it comes in waves and the waves, it's almost like I know exactly what happened in their war room two days before I can tell you exactly, this is how we're going to frame Nicole. This is what's going to go out to the press. This is where we need the sleuths. And, and, you know, the narrative has to be this, this week. And, and so they just kind of point and then they shoot and, you know, there's this journalist that was supposed to be on JD Vance. She was on me before at the Washington Post and she just got put back on me. So we, they thought they, they had us beat before this Trump endorsement. And they've since now looked at us and they're like, Oh, they're actually really effective in their messaging.
[00:14:00]
We got to take them out. Um, and, and, and again, the troubling part is how this is being condoned by their supporters as acceptable behavior. Um, and, and I will say what makes us unique, Bobby and I is that we're very different characters than Trump and those around Trump. We're California, New York liberals, and we are going to take our time to explain what's happening to the public. And we're going to do so with, you know, caution, respect and as much detail as we can. Um, and so we speak the language of the progressive left, um, that allows us to communicate with them in a way that I don't think Republicans can. And, and, and that's, I think this might be that their greatest threat right now is that they have former insiders, um, taking the time living the experience and putting themselves out there for their persecution and they can't hold themselves back.
[00:15:05]
They can't, you know, there's no bit of them that says, Oh, maybe this is not the right thing for our longterm cause. Let's double down. Yeah.
[Dave Smith]
Vaccine Skepticism and Traditional Liberal Values
Well, it is, it's, it's amazing in a way, because you know, they're obviously over, let's say the last few years, let's even an issue like, like, um, uh, vaccine skepticism, let's say, or something like that. Has been the corporate media has tried to cast this as like a far right wing position, but for people who are like older than five, like it's who have a memory of like the before time you're like, no, this was always something that left-wingers were very concerned with. Like, this is, this is not a right wing position. Just like believing in free speech is not a right wing position or believing in, you know, corporate corruption or being against corporate corporations colluding with government.
[00:16:00]
None of that is inherently a right wing position. Being anti-war is not inherently a right wing position. Like this is, it's just funny that they're almost, and I think with you and Bobby, it's kind of, it's just very difficult to caricature you guys as like far right wingers. Wait, what? Like, like just everything about you guys is like, clearly you're not of the right. And so it is, it is interesting. It's also, um, obviously part of it's, you know, it's like this kind of bigger dynamic where you have people like Elon Musk, uh, Tulsi Gabbard, now yourself and Bobby, where it's just like the, all of you guys are clearly, I mean, you're all former Democrats, but in a weird way, it's like, you're supposed to still be Democrats. Like it's, it's, it's just that you're going like, no, I mean like, if the democratic party has become the party of war and censorship and government corruption, what's really left there for any traditional liberal to support. All right, guys, let's take a quick moment and thank our awesome sponsor.
[00:17:02]
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[00:18:00]
All right, let's get back into the show.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Lack of Transparency and Decision-Making in the Democratic Party
Yeah. It's such a siloed black box right now. And it's so unclear who is running things. I asked for years to engage with substance within the party. And I can't tell you probably three dozen times. The response is, do you want to take a car ride with Obama for $150,000? I'm like, no, I don't want to figure out what the longterm plan is for regenerative or farming. Like we call it whatever kind of farming you want, but farming a real healthy food. Like I really want to talk to somebody about that. And then, you know, they're talking about chronic health issues. And it's really interesting. Before I took the offer to do this job, I spoke with some of Bobby's family members. They reached out to me. One of them, we had a mutual friend and then the other reached out through a mutual friend.
[00:19:00]
And these are individuals that are in DC. So they're part of their, they're on the, on the payroll.
[Unidentified]
Right.
[Nicole Shanahan]
And they reached out and you know, they're like, what is it going to take for you to not take this offer? And I said, and I'll be totally honest and let your viewers know. I said, look, we've, we've got to bring back liability, product liability for vaccine manufacturers. We've got to bring that back. He said, okay, let me see if I can get this done. Reverts. 15 hours later, I hear, yeah, I can't. No, never going to happen. And I was like, really? Like, who would I even talk to? Like who did you talk to, to have that conversation? Like where does one go within the organization to have that conversation? And he said, it's unclear to me, but from the people I talked to who claim that they know it just can't happen. And so it's there, there's, they're sheltering the individuals that are ultimately making the decisions.
[00:20:01]
And you know, even Bobby's family, I would say, they don't really know who is making the decisions, but they act, we asked to the structure.
[Dave Smith]
Status and Influence in Washington D.C.
Yeah. There's a, there's a lot of that. And it's, um, there's something in my limited time, um, being in, uh, like on the cable news circuit, like I worked for, uh, for CNN or for Turner for a little less than a year. And I've done a lot of shows at Fox news and stuff like that. And just from getting to know some of the people there it is. And this isn't like at the highest level. I mean, and I was just on like regular shows. Um, but there is this thing about the status of all of it that people get so intoxicated with, you know, you see like the, the show hosts and they're like, you know, I just got off the phone with, uh, with Dick Cheney's chief of staff. And, uh, yeah, he talked to me for 20 minutes about this and that. I'm at a cocktail party with the former head of the federal reserve, you know, next week. And like people really get into status. I mean, I'm, I'm, we're all guilty of that to some degree.
[00:21:02]
You know what I mean? It's, it's a very, like some of us are immune to it.
[Nicole Shanahan]
There's like a few people that are just immune to it because they tried to play and got burned and they're like, yes, yes.
[Dave Smith]
I think there's some of that too.
Personal Sacrifices Made by Nicole Shanahan and Bobby Kennedy
Um, but there is, and, and look, I mean, that's, I think it's, it's true about you. And obviously it's very true for, for Bobby Kennedy that it's like what the most impressive thing about people like you guys, to me, at least is that you really didn't have to do any of this. You know what I mean? Like you guys, you guys were fine. You know what I mean? Like, it's not like neither of you were like broke on the corner, like, and we're like, well, this is my only shot to make it. It's like you had a, you had a very nice, much easier life in front of you. If you didn't choose to do this. I mean, Bobby, it's like a caricature. It's like, you're married to like a Hollywood darling. You're a Kennedy. You're gonna, you're just in, you're in, you have, you have an easy life laid out right in front of you. And there's always something compelling about people who choose a harder path because there's something they believe in.
[00:22:06]
It's something that seems more and more rare in our society today. But I really do think that examples like that are very powerful. And even like even with the Zuckerberg letter to Jim Jordan, yes, some of that is cause he's, he's worried about getting in trouble and some of it is covering his own, but okay. But there's also something where it's just like, Hey, Elon Musk stands up and says something brave and it's not the end of the world. And then you're like another tech giant out there and you're like, Oh, I kind of want to say something brave. You know what I mean? Like it just like, and so there really is something great. I, as I said, on a, on Twitter, um, or X, uh, I really am. I'm grateful to both of you guys that you ran the campaign.
Impact of the Campaign and Gratitude for Their Efforts
You did. I think it, I think it really did. Um, I think what I just said in itself, it has an impact. And also, I just think there are, there are certain issues that you guys are talking about that there's just, you know, we, we discussed this a little bit the last time you were on the show, but the fact that you guys made health the center of your campaign is unprecedented.
[00:23:15]
Focus on Health as a Central Campaign Issue
Nobody's ever done that ever. I don't even think it's ever been number four or five on anyone's issue.
[Nicole Shanahan]
It was an untouchable topic.
[Dave Smith]
Yes. And just to be very clear, I'm not, there are people who have made health insurance the center of their campaign. There are, you know what I mean? Like there are people who have made like, like, I'm not saying like, obviously Medicare for all comes up. Obamacare came up in 2008. There are these, but it's always at the end of the discussion. It's like if it ever comes up, it's Kamala Harris or Joe Biden bragging about how the cost of insulin went down because of a bill they passed. But it's never the question of like, why do we need so much insulin in this country? Like, why is it that? And the stuff Bobby was talking about, you know, I was watching, I watched the speech with my mother-in-law who's a nurse and she was like his whole health section.
[00:24:07]
I mean, she was like yelling with him. Like she was like, thank you. She's like, why does no one ever talk about this stuff? How does it never come up that our kids are sick? Like it's just so insane who could argue that like who forget even you can argue with his, uh, what the culprits are or something. Oh, I think he, he said this, but I don't think this is what's responsible for it. I think this is what's okay. I'm totally willing to hear those arguments out. But how is this not at the center of every single presidential campaign? Like our kids are sick. What's more important than that?
[Nicole Shanahan]
The Impact of Parenthood on Perspectives on Health
It, you know, for, and Oh God, am I going to go there? All right, I'll go there. You know, when you have a kid, it changes your perspective on these statistics, right? Versus when you are, you know, a bachelor or somebody who doesn't want to have kids and you're, everyone's entitled to their own decisions.
[00:25:04]
But if you've lived, and this is why our campaign resonated so well, this is why it was so important is that so many parents and people are afflicted and they're Democrats, they're Republicans and they're independents. And that's why doing this as an independent candidate worked. That's why sharing with everyone that we were an open, uh, umbrella and we would take anyone in who cared and wanted to sincerely work on this issue. There's so many, I can't tell you how many hundreds of letters I've received personal. I mean, these are really personal letters that I'm getting, describing what's going on in homes across America. People struggling to keep their kids healthy. They're kids that just won't eat. Their stomachs don't work. Um, kids that have behavioral challenges and self harm.
[00:26:02]
Um, kids that the parents are just trying so hard to get through to and they can't get through to them and no one seems to be able to help them. I've heard from grandparents who have grandchildren that are affected and, you know, these are people from every walk of life. They're, you know, wealthy wall street people or they're veterans or they're farmers. I mean, it's literally everybody. This is, this is the thing that has no real social divide just because you're wealthy doesn't mean you're saved from this by any measure.
Environmental Toxins and the Prevalence of Health Issues
So there's something in our environment we've got to figure out. And you know, I had already been talking to some of the censored scientists before this and getting some indications of what's causing all of this. But to talk about it publicly, most people cannot actually afford the risk.
[00:27:00]
And that's where I think Bobby has come off as being incredibly brave, somewhat cavalier and putting himself out there to just receive all of the attacks up front on behalf of these people that can't be platformed because they would be de-platformed if they, you know, were heard more publicly. And, and they literally cannot afford to lose their licenses or mortgages, et cetera.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah, that's such a good point. Um, it's one I've tried to make, uh, myself several times, but I, I saw it in, and from people who are maybe like broadly speaking, uh, would be like on our side of some of these issues. Uh, but I've seen like stuff on, on social media where people will be attacking, uh, people who got fooled into taking the vaccine or something like that. And you're kind of like, Hey, listen, like if there's a dad who's got three kids and he's making 70 K a year and his job told him he has to take the vaccine, like that guy had to take the vaccine.
[00:28:03]
You're not like smarter than him or better than him because you were in a situation where you weren't like, didn't have your back against the wall like that. Like, like I'm not better than that guy. Cause I didn't take the job. It's like, I just happened to have a job where you couldn't force me into taking it. And if it, if, if, if it was a choice between me having to take that or not being able to provide for my wife and kids, I would have taken it. Like it's not. And there's, there's something where like people who do have a little bit of money in the bank, people who are in a, in a less vulnerable situation, there really is an onus on us to step up and tell the truth because the vast majority of people simply are not in a situation like that. Like they, they cannot risk. Um, you know what I mean? Like in today's America, particularly with the price inflation in today's America for like the, the average say like family, you know, and when I say average, I just mean like a working class family. Like if, if the, you know, the, a wife who's a waitress and a dad who's a truck driver or something like that, they're not in a position where they can do anything to risk their livelihood or risk those arrows coming at them.
[00:29:11]
And what we need is the people who are in a more comfortable position, even though again, it's very easy for those people to not want to do it because of course you're comfortable. You, who wants to give up that? But there kind of is an onus on, on people in that situation. Cause if they don't stand up, no one's going to be able to.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Personal Motivation and Catharsis in Taking a Stand
Yeah. Yeah. And trust me, it's been hard to stand up. Like I had a pretty comfortable existence. Um, you know, flying under the radar, doing my philanthropy, but the frustration I felt in my own life to be heard on behalf of my own child and living in an environment in which there are environmental toxins everywhere going to the mall and seeing like every three child has some kind of issue. Um, because you know, being a mother of somebody with special needs, you, you start to become hyper aware of every other person's special needs and, and you know, you can't in your right mind just say, all right, well, um, this is actually what they used to tell parents in the seventies have another one.
[00:30:18]
Don't worry, move on. You know, these things just happen. Um, you know, we live in a day and age where just having one kid is a huge deal, right? It's, it's tough having two, you're like extremely fortunate. And if both are healthy, I mean, you're in this, you know, sliver of, of, of you lucked out in a, in a really serious way. Um, but that's just not the case for many people our age, Dave. And, uh, I think that had I not done anything, I would have lived a life of, of lies. And I would have just lived a life within the silos of my own pains and frustrations.
[00:31:02]
So in many ways it, for me, it's been very cathartic to do this and that that's what drives me. I mean, I laugh at some of the comments I get sometimes from the far left that like, I'm a billionaire and I'm doing, I'm aligning with Trump to protect my financial interests.
Financial Implications and the Concept of Civil Service
This has been so expensive. I have made no money, nor am I aligned with any groups that have ever like promised to make me any money. In fact, you know, this is, this is true. I, you know, the way that I'm looking at it, it's true civil service. And I think if you do it the right way, you do it four years, maybe eight, and then you kind of take up, you got to take a break because when you do it the right way and you actually focus on getting the work done, it's super hard, exhausting and kind of like, you know, it takes a lot out of you both physically and financially and emotionally.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah. Well, on top of that, not to mention that, like, as if like the progressive status quo is bad for billionaires or something like that, like, as if like Joe, you know, as if like the Biden administration is really hostile to the wealthy.
[00:32:09]
I mean like, please, like it's you, you'd be, if you were just in it purely for financial interests, you're going about it all wrong. This is not the way to protect yourself. It literally just say something, say the same typical thing that every Democrat says about climate change and racism, cut a Kamala Harris, a check. And you'll be, you'd be just fine.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Protected for all of time.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah, really?
[Nicole Shanahan]
Not all of time until you run against them.
Inflationary Policies and the Wealthy
Then you're not protected.
[Dave Smith]
Well, that's right. Exactly. So, and, and even like the policies, like even the, the inflationary policies are very good for the wealthy. Like that's, it doesn't really hurt you that assets are going up.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Inflate like when you have a net worth over, you know, $15 million or so inflation, you're untouchable. Like either way where interest rates are, either the market is up or interest rates are up and you benefit from interest rates.
[00:33:02]
You're just sitting there and your funds are accruing wealth. So the wealthy are truly immune to the, the economic issues and the toying around.
Military Spending and Its Impact on the Middle Class
And you know, you and I haven't had a chance to talk about military spending. I know this is something you're super passionate about, something I'm passionate about too. And, but it, it, and Ron Paul said it best. He said, effectively, what we're doing is we're gutting our middle class to send money to wealthy people overseas. And, and that is exactly how the system works. Um, and the wealthy are fully immune to it until there is some large correction in which the wealthy can no longer hide behind either the market or interest rates. Right. Cause then you have to do the correction in both places at the same time, which is the kind of correction that actually addresses longterm inflationary issues and debt.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah, no, that's, that's exactly right.
[00:34:00]
And it's, uh, it's like the, not just like say the foreign aid, but just as you mentioned, the entire military budget, I mean the whole thing. And it's quite funny when I'll see, uh, um, people who, who kind of boast about this, but, um, they're talking point and they're like, well, it creates all these American jobs or something like that. And you're like, yeah, but jobs doing what jobs like running weapons companies. Yes, you're right. It creates a whole lot of wealth for them. That's your wealth American taxpayer being given to these people. So it's the whole thing is, is such a obvious racket.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Venture Capital Investments in Defense Startups
Even venture capital. If you look at where a lot of the venture capital dollars have gone, even from my area here in Silicon Valley, it's gone into defense, uh, startups and defense intelligence and all these different kinds of AI robotics, computational companies. Uh, it's, I mean, they, the writing is on the wall. Like these people that are invested are now over leveraged and they need to have their repayments or their payout.
[00:35:07]
And the only way they're going to get those payouts is if we're in engaged in active war. Um, and that's, uh, that was, that was something shocking because I hadn't, I'm, that's not an area that I've ever invested in, but then I started looking at some of these other portfolios in the area and was shocked to see what a large percentage of venture capital even has gone into a defense related startups.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah, it's on, it's, it's unbelievable. Um, and, and of course, on top of that, it's by the way, the system is designed in DC and specifically, you know, I'm talking about just like the, how high government spending is, how high the military budget is and the, uh, the, the fiat currency and the money printing of the federal reserve between all of those. It's like the biggest industries become the defense industry, you know, like all the industries that are connected to government spending, whether it's big pharma or big, uh, big defense companies.
[00:36:05]
And then you have all of the big banks, of course, which is just a casino based off fiat currency. And what ends up happening is that now these are all of the industries where you can make a lot of money. And then the result of that is there's this enormous like, um, uh, suction of talent. So like everyone who's talented, who's very smart gets drawn into like, well, it's kind of like, Hey, you want to go, you want to be a doctor and go like help, you know, you want to be a pediatrician and go help sick kids or something like that. It's like, ah, you're going to max out at 300 K a year. Or you could go over to wall street and be making 700 K a year in five years. You know what I mean? And so like you get all the talent ends up getting pulled into these industries that don't produce anything for anyone. They don't make anybody else actually wealthier. They're in many cases, just making people poorer and ripping them off.
[00:37:00]
But it's just this thing of like you're in derivatives trading in something that doesn't exist. Or you're making bombs that could maybe blow up a bridge that then we'll hire a contractor to rebuild in a year. It's all so sick.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Addressing National Debt and Government Efficiency
Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, um, it's a situation that I think gets righted when we address the debt, because the, the, the, you know, this idea that the buck stops here, like we're going to be forced to do that as, as this debt falls off a cliff, which we're close. I mean, every major analyst I've talked to has said, we're really, really close. We need to come up with either some new, brilliant MMT approach or a new form of economics, um, to look at the situation, or we're going to have to move to the gold standard back to the gold standard for which we've been intending to go back to for decades now, but we just seem to be pushing that off.
[00:38:02]
Um, or we try Bitcoin as, as a Stan, uh, going to a Bitcoin standard, but it's, you know, we're, as we address the debt, many of these forms of money laundering, um, that our government is set up to do, you know, can't, won't exist anymore. So I think when we talk about the economy, you've got to always start by addressing the debt because you can try to reduce spending and all of these, you know, interesting ways, but if you start with, we have to reduce the debt by, you know, 20% somehow, and then you go down and you start nixing all of these government contractors immediately and all, and all of these auxiliary programs that are underperforming. And then you have to then look at government efficiency and say, well, is our spend actually translating into the goal?
[00:39:00]
Um, these are, these are questions not being asked today.
Kamala Harris's Policy Pitch and Economic Infrastructure
I mean, you just look at Kamala Harris's recent, um, policy pitch on $25,000, uh, cash payments for first time home buyers. Where does that money come from? Uh, Ms. Harris, really, where does it come from? I'd, I'd like to know. Um, I'd like to hear her articulate that it would be really fantastic for the American public to hear your incredible economic, um, infrastructure that's going to transform and automatically produce billions of dollars out of thin air.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah. Right. As if we haven't had enough of that. What it's a, I just saw before we started recording that she's, uh, they've announced that she will be doing her first interview, uh, on Thursday with Dana bash from CNN, uh, real hard hitting, uh, journalist there. And she's bringing waltz with her. She's still not doing a solo interview.
[00:40:00]
She wants to bring this guy with her, which is just, it's, it's, I don't know. Cause I was getting ready to, to talk with you. And I'm like, isn't it pretty funny that the media is blacked out your campaign with Bobby. And then at the same time there, the other, uh, the, the Democrats don't want the interviews. They're trying to black themselves out as well. There's just something, it's quite a funny contrast.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Media Blackout and the Democrats' Avoidance of Interviews
It's kind of reminiscent of how they're handling our ballot issue. They're like, well, do we want them on that ballot? Do we not want them on that ballot? We don't actually know because we don't have critical thinkers here that are being proactive.
[Dave Smith]
Well, I mean, so let me ask you this because, uh, you know, obviously there's the, the threats that a Kamala Harris victory, you know, would, would result in are, are fairly obvious. And there's no, um, there there's no argument you're going to get from me on that.
Reservations About Supporting Donald Trump
Uh, what, did you have any reservations about supporting Trump?
[00:41:04]
I mean, I'd imagine like, I mean, I don't know, but I'd imagine like if I could speak to 2016, you, you would be like, there's no way I'm going to be supporting Donald Trump in 2024. Um, and obviously, and as Bobby alluded to in his speech, there's a lot of issues that there's disagreement on. Obviously the first and foremost, the one that comes to mind is COVID related stuff and operation warp speed and lockdowns and things like that. But so do you have any reservations supporting Donald Trump or do you think it's just as clear as like the Democrats essentially just can't win this election?
[Nicole Shanahan]
I mean, to go back to your earlier point, most of our supporters are Democrats, former, former Democrats or they're progressives. They're really thoughtful. Nice. I mean, our supporters, some of the sweetest supporters in the world couldn't don't have a mean bone in their body.
[00:42:00]
Um, they roll out the red carpet, they're just sweet and, and they love peace and they love to be idealistic and they are, they speak with hopefulness and they're just bright. They're bright spirited individuals and many of them have looked at Trump for years as have I, as this really dark, heavy, kind of old, you know, New York, not, not, not the kind of character that matches our base base.
Cultural Differences and Perceptions of Trump
Just say the least. And, um, you know, and he has all of these women around him in tight dresses and, and that, that is something I keep hearing. He's terrible for women. And it's been, it's been culturally an awkward fit. I won't lie, but I will say that in terms of the things that make democracy, democracy, which is where we're at right now, um, he is somebody that does, I would say respect the principles of democracy.
[00:43:15]
And I would say he's also somebody who genuinely cares about children.
Trump's Respect for Democracy and Concern for Children
He's a grandfather. He, um, he, I, I think he, he does intend to keep his word. Um, for me it was, you know, it was a perfect storm of things happening around our campaign. Um, just these constant blitzes by the democratic party to take us out, to ruin our reputation, going after some of our supporters too, which I think is a huge no, no. And, um, and, and it was, you know, it was drowning us out and we, and we said this since day one, we're a movement.
[00:44:05]
The Power of Independence and Movement Building
What really makes independence brilliant, uh, is this power of representing ideas and mobilizing it across different parties and partnerships. Cause we're agile. We can do that. If the green party wanted to do that, they could as well. There's huge power in that, you know, Cornel West is doing it in his own way right now. I think he's just starting to gear up and understand what he has on his hands. Um, really powerful, uh, organization and, and, and leverage like that's where you get your leverage. And that's why the democratic party wants to take us off the ballots. Cause once we're off the ballots, we lose a lot of that leverage. So, you know, when I was told, and this is something a lot of people don't know, and Bobby shared this with Tucker recently, Trump called Bobby hours after he was almost assassinated.
[00:45:00]
Trump's Phone Call to Bobby Kennedy After the Assassination Attempt
And the thing he wanted to talk about was childhood health. And, and you don't just call somebody, you know, think about the first calls you're going to make Dave after you're almost shot dead and someone behind you is dead. Yeah. I mean, that's, that is life changing. And if you're, if your head goes to, I want to do the right thing with my remaining time on this earth. And amongst that is children's health. We are, I mean, that is a powerful thing. So I think Trump was moved to a place of, of higher integrity. And I, and I want to believe this. Like I, I've received also hundreds of letters from people saying that we've been duped, but I I've got to look at, I've got to look at the sequence of events as critically and clearly as possible. And that's what we've done is we've, we've looked at the totality of these interactions.
[00:46:01]
And our goal is to use the leverage that we have to make sure that health is center stage.
Commitment to Putting Childhood Health on Center Stage
And I'll tell you, nobody could have expected the kind of reception Trump gave Bobby on Friday, this past Friday, no one that was, that was pretty special.
[Dave Smith]
Significance of the Campaign and Endorsement by Trump
Yeah, it was, it was it was incredible. And it's been, you know, in this, in this campaign, there's been so many things that are just like, you know, such a big deal that it's almost like it's hard to keep track of all of them. But you're like, Oh yeah, no, this is a really big deal. Like the first real like independent candidate since Ross Perot, you know what I mean? Get to, to endorse the former president and then be embraced by him the way he is. You know, one thing I just wanted to say, because you had mentioned it, and I will say there in terms of the character of your guys supporters it's something I've really noticed myself.
[00:47:05]
Positive Culture and Thoughtfulness of the Campaign's Supporters
And as somebody who's been kind of not had a horse in the race in the presidential campaign, but as you know, I try to criticize and compliment everybody where they deserve it. Obviously, like I, you know, I had Bobby on the podcast a couple of times and when we had our, you know, the second episode where we really got into a pretty intense argument over the war in Gaza there was, there was no other like group of supporters who were cooler than, than yours. I mean, like they were, even when we were having like really intense you know, disagreements, which we did like end on a cordial note and stuff. But there was, I mean, I remember when I was, when I was critical of Trump, having Trump supporters being furious at me when I was critical of DeSantis, DeSantis supporters online were like crazy. Also really delusional. They were all like, you have no idea. He's going to win and you'll, you'll see whenever it didn't work out.
[00:48:01]
But Nikki Haley supporters, Joe Biden supporters, Kamala Harris supporters, but generally speaking, not saying there's no exceptions to this, but you guys did have a base that really appreciated the debate really appreciated many of whom agreed with me on it. And they were like, yeah, listen, I agree with you on this one, but I still think Bobby's better than everybody else by far. So we're still supporting them, you know, but there was something cool about that. And it would be, uh, it made me a little bit more optimistic about the country that like, okay, there's a lot of people who are like not crazy or nasty. We may have, you know, and right. And we may have lots of areas of disagreement, but we're still kind of generally on the same page of like, Hey, this country is really on the wrong track. We'd really like to get it back on the right track and, and at least aren't corrupt, you know, like at least they're like, we're not in on the corrupt system. So that's at least a good starting place.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Importance of Understanding and Deprogramming from Misinformation
Yeah. And, and the culture is so good within this group of people.
[00:49:03]
It's really about understanding where people's perspectives are coming from and, and trying to figure out how to meet them where they are and, and keep an open door and realizing there's probably going to be a lot of anger and hate and misinformation that they're influenced by. I'll just say lies. They've been lied to, they've been programmed and it takes time to deprogram from the mainstream media narratives. It really does. Um, it also just takes time to deprogram from group think.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah.
[Nicole Shanahan]
And, and that's, that's kind of the brilliant thing about our base is that they've all have arrived here because they were alone in their journey of finding the truth. At some point they found it and they found others who also were on similar journeys and, and it was very organic. It just kind of grew out of this desire to find people that were qualifying their end of one lived experiences and creating a larger and larger data set.
[00:50:04]
Um, so it was, it has been a blessing to see, you know, the, actually the best part of joining forces with Trump has been seeing, seeing MAGA, which I'm learning so much about. I was completely misinformed about what MAGA is. I don't know if you've taken any deep dives into MAGA world, but I was just under the impression that they were gun toting radicals who wanted to come to my doorstep and rip my liberal family out of my house. Um, and in, I don't know, do horrible things to liberals. Um, and, and that's how, that's how MAGA has been sold to a huge portion of America by the mainstream media. And, um, I have to say that what I have learned about MAGA is that they're actually their own party. They're their own grassroots organization that chose Donald Trump.
[00:51:01]
They have so much power in deciding where to point their energy and support. And there are really, really smart, thoughtful, intellectual people within MAGA. I've received beautifully written notes, um, from MAGA supporters and they were, you know, our base didn't know how to engage with MAGA. Our base was not, um, you know, MAGA oriented in the sense of even knowing who and what MAGA was and what their infrastructure was. Um, in many ways it's an online viral movement. And so the, the coming together of, and they gave us the name Maha make America healthy again. Have you seen?
[Dave Smith]
Yes, I've seen it.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Yeah. Oh my gosh. I mean, we, we didn't come up with that. We're getting hats made, but, um, it's the coming together of, of these two groups over the last week hasn't even been a full week yet. But watching that happen, um, has been really glorious because that was always the vision of this unity movement, this desire to heal the divide.
[00:52:11]
And even though these are just two pockets, um, within a much larger group of, of the American demographic, they're two very powerful pockets. And to find common ground has been, um, one of the most motivating optimistic things I've seen in recent, in recent political time.
[Dave Smith]
The Ongoing Battle for Sanity and the Future of the Country
Yeah. Well also because everybody gets kind of, um, it's like political brain that everybody kind of develops. And I'm not, I'm certainly not saying politics aren't important. I do a show on it four days a week because I think these things are important. Um, but it's not as if like the battle isn't over after election day. It's like, no matter what happens, whether Trump wins or Harris wins or whatever happens, it's like, that's not the end of it.
[00:53:02]
It's, it's not as if, even if Bobby Kennedy had won the presidency, it's not just like, all right, job done. That's it. He got it. It's like, no, now is actually the beginning of all of this. And there's going to be a lot of different, uh, I think elements that will be needed if we were to ever restore sanity in this country or just get us not headed off a cliff. But no question. I mean, like, I think there's going to have to be wealthy people who put their money where their mouth is and put, you know what I mean? Like it doesn't work without that. But also you're going to need pressure from the people on whoever the president is. You know, like if we really do want to take on some of these, uh, incredibly entrenched, powerful, special interests, you're going to need a citizenry that has like constant pressure on the political class. So it's good. It's not just even about this campaign. It's about the future of the country. And like, I do think that between like with the, the Matt, the Maha and the, uh, the mega people, it's like if they can be like kind of laser focused on some of these important issues, we're going to need that.
[00:54:05]
And, and beyond just any presidential election cycle.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Hope for a Two-State Solution in Gaza
Yeah, most definitely. And you know, my, my next hope is that those people that are upset about Gaza for which I am also upset about what's going on in Gaza. This is a big issue, um, that we can, and, and I think this is achieved best. If we, we fix our role as America and what America's role is in all of this to find it. I think Thomas Massey has done a really good job talking about how you can be, you can be pro America and put America first and you don't have to pick a side between Israel and Palestine. Um, and that actually lends to great strength as an American, especially if you're an independent minded American.
[00:55:01]
Um, there is a potential for a two state solution. You know, we're not the only mega players in this. There is all of bricks at play too. There's China with the Beijing declaration. I mean, there's there, this is a much more dynamic situation that we will best address if we do not pick a side, um, between Israel and Palestine, but we bless, you know, all good faith to state solutions. Um, but I, I really, I think that when Americans start flying one flag or another during a time of an active war, it's just going to cause such enormous pain and tension here and it's not going to allow us to think clearly into solving the issue at hand and understanding the very unique position we play as Americans.
[Dave Smith]
Yeah, no, I think that's absolutely right. And, uh, hopefully, um, yeah, hopefully Trump keeps some of these, uh, neocons away from them and listens to people like you.
[00:56:06]
Um, cause I would much prefer that. Um, okay. So last question. Um, and, and I'll let you go.
Nicole Shanahan's Role and Plans for the Rest of the Election Cycle
What is your, uh, going forward for the rest of the election cycle? What's your role going to be in all this? Like what's the next step for you?
[Nicole Shanahan]
So we're on ballots in a states like California. You'll still be able to vote for us. We're still aiming to get 5% of the popular vote, which qualifies us as a party, which means in 2028, we don't have to do ballot petitions again, which would allow us to actually campaign in 2028. Um, so please vote for us if you are not in a swing state, although the secretary of states in some swing states are forcing us to stay on and in which case stay tuned on, on how we would, you know, like to present that opportunity. Um, but I think right now I feel really good about our coalition with Donald Trump.
[00:57:03]
Um, I think my role is to not necessarily endorse Donald Trump, but to endorse the partnership, to endorse this commitment to putting childhood health on center stage. Um, so I'll be out there campaigning as an independent, uh, who has not yet endorsed Donald Trump, but as somebody who cares very deeply about this country, who wants to be available for conversation with Democrats and Republicans and independents, I like you, I want to be a source where people can go, um, to, to, to just have a perspective. If you want to, you know, see my perspective, I'd like to make that available. Um, and I think there's great value in that. I have not beholden to anybody. I'm not beholden to a party. I'm not beholden to Donald Trump. I'm not beholden to Bobby, right? But I, I choose to do these things, um, after great consideration.
[00:58:01]
Um, and I would love to make myself available, um, to people who want to know why. Um, and so if, if I can remain center or even left of center and be a voice of reason for people who just instinctively know something is very wrong over there, I will feel very good about that contribution.
[Dave Smith]
Platforms and Resources for Learning More
All right. Well said. Um, and is there anywhere if people wanted to learn more about you and Bobby or any, you know, like, is there a site or anything like that that you want to plug?
[Nicole Shanahan]
Uh, yeah, sure. I mean, we're very active on X. That's our number one source. Um, I have a podcast back to the people, uh, where we talk about some of these big issues and, and help explain some of the inconsistencies going on. Um, I have now a ongoing, uh, series called council of the canceled for which the next one will be in Dallas, Texas in a few weeks. Um, so stay tuned, uh, for that.
[00:59:01]
And thanks for having me, Dave.
[Dave Smith]
Absolutely. Nicole Shanahan. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed both of our conversations and hopefully we do it again real soon. Thanks for coming on.
[Nicole Shanahan]
Thanks for having me take care of Dave.
[Dave Smith]
You too. And thanks everybody for listening. Catch you next time. Peace.