Armstrong & Getty On Demand

I Rolled A 6. Do I Go After The Pope Or Those Damn Immigrants?

35 min
Feb 24, 2026about 2 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Armstrong and Getty discuss the Ukraine-Russia war, the upcoming State of the Union address and its theatrical nature, and the historical evolution of American board games as cultural artifacts reflecting societal values and anxieties.

Insights
  • State of the Union has devolved from constitutional requirement into partisan political theater, with both parties using guest lists as messaging tools rather than substantive policy discussion
  • Board games serve as historical mirrors of American culture, revealing attitudes toward immigration, wealth, morality, and gender roles across different eras
  • Political candidates lacking adversarial experience in competitive systems struggle with authentic communication, as evidenced by recent gaffes attempting to relate to specific demographics
  • Russia's economic transformation into an arms manufacturing state creates long-term structural damage that cannot be recovered through military victory alone
  • Congressional power has been systematically diminished in public perception despite Constitution allocating majority of legislative authority to Congress, not the presidency
Trends
Breakdown of institutional norms in political theater accelerating since 2009, with planned walkouts and coordinated guest strategies replacing substantive debateBoard game industry resurgence driven by crowdfunding platforms and online communities, reversing decline from video game eraSingle-party political systems producing candidates unprepared for adversarial scrutiny and authentic cross-demographic communicationHistorical revisionism of founding documents and constitutional structure through executive-centric media narrativesWeaponization of victims' stories and personal narratives as political messaging tools in high-profile government addresses
Companies
iHeart Media
Podcast network distributing Armstrong and Getty show; identified as podcast provider in opening and closing
FedEx
Mentioned by Jack Armstrong as having successfully located and returned his lost bag after multiple contact attempts
NASA
Astronauts from NASA's lunar mission invited as guests to State of the Union address to highlight space exploration
People
Vladimir Putin
Russian leader discussed extensively regarding Ukraine war strategy, economic devastation, and megalomaniacal decisio...
Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian president quoted on war survival and negotiation efforts; noted as surviving four years despite initial exp...
Donald Trump
President delivering State of the Union address; discussed regarding speech length, guest strategy, and policy priori...
Gavin Newsom
California governor criticized for SAT score comment to Black audience; example of anointed candidate lacking politic...
Cornel West
Harvard PhD and prominent Black intellectual who criticized Newsom's SAT comment as reflecting white supremacist thin...
Ian Bremmer
Political analyst frequently appearing on show; discussed regarding European ally reliability and U.S. partnership cr...
Boris Johnson
Former UK leader praised for editorial criticizing European inaction on Ukraine war and lack of military support
Eileen Gu
American Olympic skier competing for China; criticized for dismissing Uyghur genocide concerns as not her business
Claire Lai
Daughter of imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai; invited to State of the Union as guest highlighting press freedom
Jimmy Lai
Hong Kong publisher imprisoned; daughter invited to State of the Union to highlight press freedom and political impri...
Bill Maher
Comedian and political commentator quoted extensively on State of the Union's constitutional misrepresentation and th...
Milton Bradley
Game pioneer who created 'The Checkered Game of Life' in 1860 with religious and moral messaging for children
Lizzie Maggie
Game designer who created 'Landlord's Game' in 1904, later commercialized as Monopoly to teach wealth concentration d...
Henry George
Political economist whose 'Progress and Poverty' was second-best-selling book after Bible; inspired Lizzie Maggie's g...
Thomas Jefferson
Third U.S. president who discontinued in-person State of the Union delivery, establishing 112-year precedent
Hakeem Jeffries
Democratic leadership figure advising party members to maintain decorum and avoid disruptions during State of the Union
John Fetterman
Senator advocating for respect for the office and discouraging disruptive behavior during State of the Union
Boomer Esiason
Sports commentator quoted criticizing Eileen Gu's interviews as insufferable despite her intelligence and attractiveness
Nancy Pelosi
Former House Speaker referenced for tearing up Trump's speech; example of escalating State of the Union norm violations
Joe Biden
Former president discussed for repeatedly emphasizing U.S. support for Ukraine while providing minimal practical assi...
Quotes
"We didn't lose our country, our independence and freedom. We have it. Now we speak in the capital. Russia is not winning."
Volodymyr ZelenskyOpening segment
"That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy, the belief that black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent. Don't play with us like that."
Cornel WestMid-episode
"Article 1, Section 1, all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States. Not mostly, not unless the president has a really bitchin' idea."
Bill MaherMid-episode
"You roll a six. Do I go after the Pope or those damn immigrants?"
Jack ArmstrongBoard games segment
"It's no wonder that Americans think the president controls the price of eggs. Nearly a third think he controls gas prices and the unemployment rate."
Bill MaherLate-episode
Full Transcript
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now, here's Armstrong and Getty. We didn't lose our country, our independence and freedom. We have it. Now we speak in the capital. Russia is not winning. This is very important. And everybody is asking how long we can hold the line and how long we can stay. And how long can you? You know, it's not about it. We wanted Putin to stop this war yesterday. And when we speak about how to stop him, first of all, to give Ukraine security guarantees. Obviously, the voice of President Zelensky of Ukraine still alive four years later. Four years ago today, the war started and there was a decent chance and a fair belief that he would not live through the opening couple of days since he decided to stay. He went on to say this. And really, each day we do all we can. I speak with all the partners. I try to negotiate. I'm asking different partners in different continents, help me to stop Putin. But if we will give him all he wants, we will lose everything. Our houses, our lives, our families, everything. Because all of us people will have to run away from the country or be Russians. So we've talked a lot about the war over the last four years. Russia is currently losing 35,000 men a month, which is just a stunning number. Historically, throughout the history of war, it's a stunning number. They've also gutted their economy and remade it as an arms plant in a way that is, I was thinking about this, if I was part of the Voice of America or the CIA or something, And I would be blanketing Russia and Russians with the message that Putin has murdered the future. Because economically, how do you make the transition? They're poisoned for foreign investment at this point. Putin is, I would say, betting everything on this war. But betting everything what? What next? What happens after you win it? Well, that's the whole thing. It's just your birth rates are tragically low, too. It's a weird vanity thing where it's important to him that Ukraine's part of Russia. but it doesn't do the Russian people any good to take half of Ukraine. They're not going to get anything out of it. No, it's really setting fire to yourself to make a point or something, or he's become a megalomaniac. It is a strange chapter in world history, and bloody, obviously, too. Well, and the other end of the strange chapter is that Europe allowed a psychopath with the biggest nuclear arsenal on Earth to invade a country, and they're like, eh, sure hope the United States does something about this. Yeah. What? Screeching about how important it is that the United States do something about this. Right. And then, listen, this is one thing I just do not understand Ian Bremmer on, who we have on the show a lot. The whole we've damaged relations with Europe and our allies. They don't seem to give a crap about their own damn backyard. I just don't get it. whatever. Yeah, Bojo took his boot to the Europeans. Boris Johnson wrote a great editorial saying all this big talk, what the hell are you doing? How about some boots on the ground? How about some long-range missiles? Why are you the only ones afraid of escalation? Putin ought to be afraid of escalation. Well, in the end, let's talk about us not being a reliable partner anymore. As opposed to who? The reliable French or the reliable Brits or the reliable Germans? Who are the reliable partners out there that were... I just don't understand why there's not more pressure on Europe to do something. Anywho, the State of the Union address is tonight. You know, it'll be interesting is if Trump brings up that war at all. It certainly got mentioned quite a bit the first several State of the Union addresses after the war started with Biden shouting constantly, we're with you to the end, while doing practically nothing to help them. anyway, stay the union address tonight. It's, it's, I hate it. I think it's dumb. It out, it outlived its usefulness a long, long time ago. It's just a political, it's a pseudo event now. It's created for the media and then the media reports on it like it needs to happen because then they have something to talk about. That's what a pseudo event is. And so both sides try to get their maximum out of it. Democrats, for instance, are inviting accusers of Jeffrey Epstein. several of them will be in the crowd. A couple of names that maybe you know if you're following the story. Oh my God, they didn't care about Jeffrey Epstein until it became a club to hit Trump with. No, the Jeffrey Epstein story's been around for a long time. The files have been around for a long time. You didn't have any of these people in the crowd two years ago. Close friend to New York Democrats, in particular Jeffrey Epstein. Yeah, just ridiculous. Anyway, several of the accusers of Jeffrey Epstein will be there to spotlight accountability and victims' rights. One of the things, though, is when the out-of-power party brings their guests in, the president doesn't point them out. The president has, you know, it's the president's speech, so he gets to bring his own guests and say, standing right up there is, and I'll get to that list in a second, and really draw attention to it. The Democrats have on their side, though, that the mainstream media will do it for you. And there you see in the crowd victims of Jeffrey Epstein, invited by the Democrats to make the point that, So they got a mouthpiece, the mainstream media. I do like this one. Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, is going to be on the guest list. She wrote an open letter to Eileen Gu, by the way. Oh, really? I didn't hear about that. Saying, hey, maybe you could bring this up to your Chinese overlords. Got some astronauts that are going to be there? Eileen Gu, by the way, the American who skis for the Chinese, who when asked about the enslavement and genocide of the Uyghurs, said that's not really my business. Astronauts from NASA's upcoming lunar mission, which are going to go back to the moon for the first time in 50 years, or fly around. Going back to our moon. Our moon, reclaiming our moon. They're the guest of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Sports figures, the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team will be there. The U.S. women's hockey team was invited, but they declined to show up for whatever reason. Got some farmer that's going to be there. First lady is invited. A couple of people. See if any of these are interesting before I get to the ones that I know are interesting. So here's... Well, even if they're not interesting, they're interesting to me. It shows, you know, directionally or what gestures are being made. The ones that Trump's invited that's going to get a lot of attention, the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old National Guard soldier killed in D.C. by an Afghan man led into the country during Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Oh, boy. So he's got that. And then seven-year-old Ms. Coleman, who was left with life-altering injuries after she was caught in a multi-car collision caused by an illegal immigrant here in California who had a commercial driver's license given by the state of California while Gavin Newsom was governor and was behind the wheel of a semi-truck. Is Trump going to like, is that just a guess that will be there or is Trump going to point that out and like really drive home the point? of the open borders. The second one. The second one? Yeah. Wow. Angel moms, et cetera. Yeah. Yeah. That could be a big one. And, you know, he's going to be playing the greatest hits for his own crowd. I just saw up there 66% of Republicans want him to talk primarily about the economy. He's going to hit on how good the economy is and try to convince people it's good, even though most people feel like it's not. That's a tough one. and he's going to do immigration because that you know what got him elected The economy and immigration So he going to hammer that over and over and I sure he tout the amazing numbers at the border He did say yesterday it going to be a very long speech What very long in Trump world Because he has given some long speeches. Fidel Castro length. Yeah. Castro, the dictator, famously would jab around for six hours or so, and you had to sit there listening, probably peeing quietly down your leg, thinking, when's he stopping? Why does Trump, who understands entertainment, you know, he's got such a sense of entertainment. But when it comes to the speeches, he talks way past the point that people want to hear anymore. Why do you think that is? Undisciplined, self-indulgent. That's the negative take on it. I was trying to come up with some positive take. Maybe he understands that it's going to be soundbited anyway, so it doesn't really matter at the moment. I don't know. I think you're right. He's incredibly undisciplined. We were at the convention when his nomination speech, and it wasn't 90 minutes long? It was crazy long. I stood there for hours because I had to. I had no seat. I listened to him for a while and was exhausted. I thought, screw it, I'm going back to the hotel. I took the Uber back to the hotel. I got to the hotel, laid down on my bed and listened to another 40 minutes. It was insanely long. He lost everybody. Yeah, but it's going to be again tonight, probably. Yeah. With those guests in the crowd. The big question mark is how many Democrats show up? A lot of them aren't going to. They've got a planned walkout at some point for the ones that do show up. Oh, very dramatic. Very moving. They're really pissed off now, Jack. Some of them will stand up and walk out. They probably know at what point in the speech you're going to do that. Are all the gals wearing dresses of the same color to illustrate some S or another? Was it last year that they brought the ping pong paddles with some sort of verbiage on them that they kept holding up? Yeah. Shut up. And a crazy old man shouting at clouds. Al Green shook his cane and got dragged out. Oh, Lord. And the odds would suggest, or the trend line suggests, it's going to be even more absurd this year. It started with you lie when Barack was president. Lying, yes. But nobody had ever yelled at the president while they were in the State of the Union before. And it started there, and the breaking down of norms or whatever. And it just kept going from there. Nancy tearing up the speech behind Trump when it was over. Oh, boy. Showing her. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Michael? I'm almost afraid to suggest this, but because of social media and TikTok, do you think... Streaker? No. Right in front of him, right in front of the podium. J.D. Vance has to tackle the streaker. Do you think they'll do some sort of TikTok stunt, you know, to get attention to... Get the younger crowd, so to speak. Start a chant or something? I expect... Well, I would have expected something, but Hakeem Jeffries has said, keep your mouth shut, did us more harm than good last year. um senator fetterman saying have respect for the office don't be nuts so some of the the leadership the popular people in the in the in the high school that is washington dc are saying don't don't it doesn't do us any favors but you can't control an aoc or whoever she might be trying to maybe that's but that's my that's my dark horse on this one after her she's her own brand right yeah after her bad week and getting beat up even by the new york times everything like that she needs to get back on top, and she's going to make some sort of giant display. She's going to rip off her shirt, and it's going to say on one boob, Ethan, and another boob, Rich, that she's going to turn around and face the camera. Or just ice out. There you go. That would be a powerful and sexy protest. Oh, my God. Okay. Coming up, you're going to love this. What two centuries worth of American board games. Tell us about our history. B-O-R-E-D. Well, both, yeah. Okay. That and other stuff on the way. Stay here. Armstrong and Getty. Washington's first State of the Union was 833 words. It was hardly worth throwing his wig on for. It lasted all of 10 minutes. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, stopped doing it in person altogether. As did all the presidents for the next 112 years. They just wrote a brief report. Because even they understood nobody likes a meeting that could have been done by email. I hate to be one of those people that are constantly talking about things are falling apart or worse than they've ever been. But things are falling apart and they're worse than they've ever been. It's a good point. It's just nothing good about the change in like, for instance, the State of the Union address, which used to be a report, as required by the Constitution, just become a political show, like everything else, and it's partisan, and it's just... It's full of ugliness and stupidity. And it was the premier branch of government demanding one of the lesser branches give it a report, so it could make decisions going forward on legislation. That's not the way we treat it. Now, we treat the president like, Ladies and gentlemen, the king of the world! And then whoever is current president who is treated like the king of the world comes in. Let me touch his garment! Let me touch it! Right, and they all climb over each other to try to shake hands and have a picture for their newspaper of them shaking hands with the king of the world. And then the king of the world introduces the queen of the world, and everybody stands and cheers. It's sickening! I find it sickening! Here's more Bill Maher talking about the State of the Union address. Then he proceeds to tell Congress what he wants them to do, making it look like the president is in charge of everything, and it's he who sets the agenda. But that's not what it says in the operating manual. You know, the Constitution. Article 1, Section 1, all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States. Not mostly, not unless the president has a really bitchin' idea. Only half the words in our Constitution are in Article 1, that's the one about Congress and all the stuff they're supposed to be in charge of. The exclusive power to make laws, declare war, tax, tariff. Even organize the other branches. Congress creates the laws. The president is just supposed to execute them, execute, like the executor of a will. He doesn't decide the deceased's wishes. He just makes sure they're carried out. But you'd never know that from the State of the Union speech, which has become the president's big Etsy wish list for America. We were talking about that way back when Clinton was president. That's how long we've been doing this show, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, good Lord. Dead end job. Hey, it's short, Michael. Play us clip number eight. It's no wonder that Americans think the president controls the price of eggs. Nearly a third think he controls gas prices and the unemployment rate. One in four thinks he has control over interest rates and consumer prices. What do you expect when we have this big ballyhooed annual event that looks like the president's royal wedding to himself? That's great. That's good writing, Bill. Well done. we used to mock the uh and this was when they were better is a every president at the end would list off all these things that people would cheer that were never going to happen no it's just ridiculous so coming up america's history is told through board games way more interesting than the games themselves including stuff in kids board games that would be considered way too heavy for adults now. Wow, okay, now you've got my attention. That's on the way. If you miss it, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand. Armstrong and Getty. Boomer Esiason on Eileen Gu. She's a very attractive woman and she's extremely bright. She went to Stanford, but if you listen to her post-participation interviews, she's insufferable. I've heard that from several quarters. I haven't heard any of her interviews really. Oh, they are insufferable. In what way? she is extremely pleased with herself oh boy don be hot and smart and rich and come off as pleased as yourself People don like that And speaks in platitudes. It's just tough to take. So I was really trying to lean into daring to love myself, daring to trust myself, daring to believe that I could do something wonderful tonight. Please stop that before I commit a murder, Michael. Hey, kids, you want to play inflation? Yeah, Dad, let's play! It's a history of the United States as seen through board games. I actually found this deep, deep within the Wall Street Journal website. They're running a series called USA 250, The Story of the World's Greatest Economy, and they look into various aspects of it. And I found this one charming. Board games were popular in the United States from the beginning, but they were generally brought from the old world, chess, checkers, various card games, etc. that had been around for ages and ages. The very first American-made board game in 1822 was made by a small map company in New York. It was called Traveler's Tour Through the United States, a novelty that featured a hand-colored map of the then 24 states, peppered with towns and landmarks. You make your way across the map by naming geographical facts, with the winner being the first person to reach New Orleans. Which, I don't know, sounds reasonable. Nothing wrong with memorizing some geographical facts. And there weren't nothing else to do in 1822. But that gave birth to an enormous industry which has made billions and billions, uncountable billions of dollars through the years. So a board game, let's skip ahead. We already mentioned that several games, including that one, had the whole manifest destiny. We're expanding. We're going to go coast to coast thing at their heart. And people were super positive about that sort of thing and loved the idea. Let's see. Indeed, a moral... Oh, I almost skipped this one. I should have highlighted this. By the mid-1800s, Salem, Massachusetts became a hub of early game development for some reason. aided by European printing technology that had made its way across the Atlantic. In 1844, picture playing this with your kids or your little cousins or whatever, brothers William and Stephen B. Ives released the game of Pope and Pagan, or Siege of the Stronghold of Satan by the Christian Army. That was the rather long title. In the game, players act as missionaries attacking Lucifer, the Pope, and Pagan. reflecting both the tight-laced culture of the day and antipathy toward Catholicism and immigrants. Oh, my God. So you'd have your kids attacking Lucifer, the Pope, and the God-forsaken immigrants with their foreign beliefs. That's a fun board game. Wow. You roll a six. Do I go after the Pope or those damn immigrants? they're both within reach i don't know god dang it so uh a moral message was central to many board games of the year among the most popular the checkered game of life which got a shorter name after a while okay created by none other than game pioneer milton bradley in the year 1860 profoundly religious and an early advocate of the kindergarten movement in america Bradley developed his game for children as much as their parents. Listen to this. This is the game of life. Players navigated a board with spaces identifying the highs of life like college, success, happy old age, among others, and several frightening lows including ruin, disgrace, and suicide. This is a game for children, remember. You roll a six. Wah, wah. Suicide for you. I was just disgraced. Darn it. Watch the language, son. Sorry, Paul. Ruin, disgrace, and suicide. Wow. How soft are our children compared to that? Chutes and ladders, you go down the chute, you land in suicide. Oh, boy. Sorry, son. Suicide. Oh, Jesus Christ. Now, as the 19th century was growing to a drawing... Can I have a second take? Do we have enough take, Michael? Yeah, go ahead. Okay. As the 19th century drew to a close, a growing middle class found itself with disposable income, shorter work weeks, mail order to catalogs, department stores, which really helped the board game industry. The railroad boom then helped the game industry, which increasingly focused on capitalism in addition to moral uplift. Starting in the 1880s, a series of games derived from the Horatio Alger books with titles like From Log Cabin to the White House caught the public's fancy. A boy, always a boy, popularized the rags-to-riches fantasy, pulling himself up by his bootstraps toward wealth and respectability. Well, is this the beginning of what we were talking about earlier, where every presidential candidate has to have that origin story, like Gavin Newsom's trying to create? just became part of our the way we look at this. Yeah, it's unquestionably part of our culture. Yeah. Now, the gals had different messages in their games. One called Marriage Auction, which was popular from the early 1900s. The card values laid out a bride's worth, noting that, quote, the bridesmaids have no value, however they rank. Unless you're a drunk groomsman. Exactly. You're both out of town. All right, come on. The rules note marriage, they say, is a gamble. One thing very certain is that money plays an important part. Let's see. As the Gilded Age rolled on, one female game designer subverted the script. Lizzie Maggie? Maggie, maybe? Maggie? Was an impassioned follower of Henry George, a popular political economist, and author of the best-selling book, Progress and Poverty. George, the economist, believed that taxing land and only land, the single tax, was a path to a more just world. If you think these people would invent a really boring game, you'd be right. It's funny you bring this up, and I won't get off on this, but I just became aware of Henry George a couple of weeks ago in a podcast. His book was number two selling book only to the Bible for a very long time. His economic theory, he was like the biggest thing in the world, not just in America, with economics. And everybody quoted him all the time, and then it just went away. Well, this big adherent of his, Lizzie Maggie, received a patent in 1904 for her Landlord's Game, which millions know today as Monopoly. Yeah, that's interesting. What most people don't understand is her game was created to teach about the ills of concentrated wealth. It wasn't until economists... Oh, no, that's not terribly interesting. From the 1900s through 1930s, financial games gained favor. The games Finance, Inflation, and others thrived during the Great Depression as a fantasy of the American dream far out of reach for most homes. Back to Ms. Maggie, she published Bargain Day in 1937, a game in which players move through a store making purchases by trying to save the most. the player of shop's most thriftily wins. Wow. Wish my wife would play this game. Hey, maybe see if you can find an old copy. Great 1960s old man started joke there, Michael. Hey, honey, here's an old-timey game. Let's play it. I'll bet it'll be fun. Wish my wife would play that game. Tell the other women. You can't tell them anything. Then you got after World War II, Cold War Anxiety. gave birth to strategy games like Risk as you'd capture the territories across the world. It's stunning that Monopoly ever caught on and became as popular. Why as popular? Lack of alternatives? I mean, I never had the slightest bit of enjoyment playing Monopoly and never finished a game once in my life. But I've played it a lot of times. Other than talking to the friends you're playing with and the rivalry of it No the game itself brought no joy Interestingly Candyland perhaps the simplest game ever invented by any human being was designed in 1948 to brighten the spirits of children in hospital wards. Oh, wow. I played a lot of Candyland. I played Candyland in the hospital as a kid. You know, frankly, that was about up to my intellectual level, Candyland. I enjoyed playing that with the kids. Very relaxing. And then the act of playing games reinforced wholesome suburban family values. Consider the 1965 game Mystery Date, in which girls try to land a dreamy date and avoid the sloppily dressed dud. Oh, you don't want to end up with the dud. Right, right. And let's see. The game was developed by Marvin Glass and Associates, a Chicago toy design firm, whose other hits included Simon, Rock'em Sock'em Robots, which I wanted at age five more than I wanted my next breath. they also invented operation and mousetrap rock'em sock'em robots i knew people that had it but i never owned it yeah yeah and then in 1966 twister became a phenomenon and challenged sexual norms tell you what as a teenager playing twister with the other uh fellas and girls yeah i enjoyed that a great deal you get somebody the opposite sex play and there's a good chance your groins are going to end up against each other. Wow. Wow, that was really delicate and artful. Well said. It's like I'm working with Shakespeare. Holy crap. That, that, I wish we had a penalty box. This conduct, two minutes. Can't help it. I got to put my left foot on a yellow dot, so how's your father? Wow, wow. Today, even with the rise of video games, board games in the U.S. are more than holding their own. Thanks to Kickstarter, order interestingly enough the crowdfunding platform lower costs of production and online communities players can enjoy hits like settlers of catan wingspan exploding kittens ticket to ride which is a railroad game interestingly and all sorts of other different ones my kids in their generation are crazy into the game the card games and the board games and the character playing games board games are really all about the hanging around with your friends or family that's what is, I mean, we always do lots of Uno at our big cousin Christmas family get-together, and it's not about the freaking game, obviously. Right, right, yeah, yeah. Well, you hope to avoid ruin, humiliation, suicide, and puncture wounds or whatever else was on that list. That one is pretty funny. Severe burns. You lost an eye. You'll have to go back three spaces. Oh, dang it! I only had one eye left. This is fun, kids. But prior to, you know, pick the date, there literally was nothing else to do. Cold winter night. It's dark now and it's five o'clock. What are you going to do for the rest of the evening with no radio, no TV, no, maybe no books? Right. Right. Play a little landlord's game. To warn your kids about the dangers of concentrated wealth. Have you learned your lesson, children? Now go to bed. That was fun. We'll finish strong next. Armstrong and Getty. I'm like you. I'm no better than you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. So we've been talking about that for a couple days and trying to figure out, like, did that actually do any damage? Gavin Newsom sitting in front of a black audience with a black interviewer and saying, hey, I'm just like you. I got a terrible grade on my SAT. So, I mean, you know, I'm as dumb as black people. Is that what the message was? And Joe was saying, no, I'm stretching it. Maybe Cornel West. I don't know if you know who he is, but he has got a million followers on Twitter. He's a big deal in Democratic woke politics. Charlie Rose used to have him on all the time is like the voice of reason for black America and that sort of stuff. He's a Harvard PhD. He's one of those people. Cornel West, in an interview yesterday, said this. Brother Newsom could have taken a humanist approach. He could have said, I'm just like you. I was born of a woman. I'll face loss, pain, and death just like everyone else. But instead, when he thinks of black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy, the belief that black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent. Don't play with us like that. so at least for one of your leaders of that sort of woke view of the world prominent black thinker they took it the way I said it like sitting there in front of a ham just as dumb as black people yeah yeah what I was saying is I don't think that's what he meant but this is a great sign as I think I said of what happens when you get a guy who's been anointed and lifted up in a one party system out on the actual field of play. He doesn't have the chops for an adversarial political run. He says stuff as dumb as what he just said and came off the way you and Cornel West said he came off. I agree. That's what it sounded like. Me. Like you. Me and Cornel West. That's a phrase I never thought I'd be part of. Yeah, what next? Mika Brzezinski seen on Jack Armstrong's arm? I mean. That was a heck of a thing to say. I imagine he'd like to have it back, just slightly differently worded. Yeah, and then the absolutely priceless exchange with Dana Bash that we played last hour, which I can't wait to hear. Do you want to hear that again, or do we have time? Do we have time, Michael? I don't know if we have time. Do we? How much time we got? We got to start right now. Final thoughts. We'll do that. Yeah, we'll play it for you tomorrow. And also, stay the unionist tonight, and there's almost certainly going to be some hijinks along with 90 minutes of I'm-not-going-to-listen-to-it speech. Final thoughts with Armstrong and Getty. You'll get the facts. They're sharp and steady. Tune in tomorrow. Don't you forget it. For more from Armstrong and Getty. I really like that. That's really good. Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty. Is that auto-tuned or is your pitch that good? Because I think that's a real human being, right? Not AI. I think it is. Yeah, mailbag at armstrongandgetty.com. Seriously. Hey, let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap up the day. There he is, Michelangelo in the control room. Michael, what's your final thought? You know, I've been thinking about it. Jack might be right from earlier. Somebody may streak. Somebody, like the oldest Democratic lawmaker may streak the... Nancy. Nancy Pelosi, final term. Somebody challenged Trump to a fight. Nancy Pelosi, what? Katie Green, our esteemed newswoman, has a final thought. Katie? That board game segment reminded me of the meme. The only acceptable way for a game of Monopoly to end, and it's just a table that's overturned and Monopoly money everywhere. I agree. Yeah. That's the dangers of concentrated wealth right there. That's what I enjoy. Jack, a final thought for us? Thank you to FedEx for finding my bag and returning it. I did send like 8 million emails and call 6,000 times, so I don't know if that played any role on working harder to find my bag, but it can be done apparently. I think my final thought is I'll watch the first chunk of the So Too. If anything happens, we'll let you know. Oh, yeah. We'll have the highlights. Doesn't mean I need to watch it to have the highlights. I remember when we had a Congress. Those were good times. Bill Maher pointing out that almost half the words in the Constitution are about Congress. There's a reason for that. We don't have an effing king. We have a Congress. Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four-hour workday. So many people to thank so little time. Go to armstrongandgetty.com We've got all sorts of hot links there for you. We've got the mailbag at armstrongandgetty.com. Drop us an email. Links to get the podcast. Podcasts are easy. You ought to subscribe. Katie's Corner. All sorts of good stuff. Does he lecture the Supreme Court on their bad decision? Yes, and it will be horrible. We'll see you tomorrow with all of that. God bless America. As we walk out the door, here's just one more. Oh, the topical thing they put on your gum so you don't even feel the injection. I know, I know, I know. Who wanted to hear that? Nobody. What the hell are you doing? Grow up. I've never had anything done to my teeth, so I don't know anything about this. When the needle goes into your gum, you hardly, you don't even feel it. It's wonderful. Get a podcast. Armstrong and Getty on Demand. Armstrong and Getty. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.