Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan on ICE in Minnesota

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ICE agents have continued to terrorize Minnesotans, yanking them from cars, dragging them, wrestling them to the ground, beating them, using pepper spray and rubber bullets for crowd control. Americans don't like what they're seeing. For the first time ever, more Americans want to see ICE abolished than not. 46% compared to 43% abolished. That's amazing. Minnesotans bravely continue to stand up to ICE and Border Patrol, blowing their whistles and documenting the abuse on video and helping their undocumented neighbors and friends. That's what Minnesotans are doing. Now, after I recorded my conversation with Peggy on Thursday, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into the state to put down the folks he's calling insurrectionists. Remember, this is a guy who pardoned almost 1,600 actual insurrectionists on his first day in office. On Friday, Governor Walz called on Trump to turn the temperature down and urged Minnesotans to do the same. Now, before we go to my conversation with Peggy, I wanted to talk about the criminal investigation into federal chair Jerome Powell, which, according to Donald Trump, did not come from Donald Trump. It came from, I said, from Jeanine Perrault, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. I wonder if they ever talk. This is supposedly an investigation into whether Powell is personally responsible for the cost overruns in the renovation of the Fed's headquarters. Of course, it's not about that. It's about Trump wanting the Fed to lower interest rates to juice the economy. Well, Jamie Dimon, head of J.P. Morgan, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Tom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the banking committee, are seeing this for what it is, and Tillis has said he won't vote to confirm any Fed nominees until this goes away. The Fed keeps two things in mind when it sets interest rates, keeping unemployment down and inflation low. Trump wants lower rates to give a jolt to the economy for the next three years, but that would trigger inflation. But don't take my word for it. That would be ridiculous. Take Jerome Powell's. Who's going to win this one? Powell. And you can take my word for it. This is an unforced error. This is the kind of thing that makes Trump look even more reckless than he normally looks, and Republicans and the business community have taken note. This matters. Lisa Murkowski and Tom Tillis didn't object when Trump added his name to the Kennedy Center. They didn't say anything when he took the $400 million Qatari jet. But this is fucking with the economy. And one more thing before we turn to Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota. I just wanted to talk about my friend Bob Weir, who passed last week. Bobby, of course, one of the co-founders of The Grateful Dead. I knew Bobby for 50 years. Tom Davis and I, you might remember Franklin and Davis from Saturday Night Live days. Tom and I were big deadheads. And back in 1975, the first year of SNL, Tom and I kept, well, pestering Lorne Michaels to book the dead. And Lorne was not a deadhead. So that first season, no grateful dead. But during our first summer break, Lorne went to LA and produced a documentary on the Beach Boys. And Lorne interviewed a number of rock icons, Mick Jagger, I remember, and Jerry Garcia. Well, Lauren was very impressed with Jerry, so he booked the dead, and of course, Tom and I glommed on to them, and we became friends with the band, and Bobby and I started a long friendship. I think I've gone to 50 or more dead shows over the years, the last one at the Sphere in Las Vegas in March with my daughter, Thomason. When she was 12, Thomason and I went to a show at Giant Stadium, and Bobby invited us to be on stage with them. And at the end of the show, they huddled on stage to confer on the encore, and Bobby asked Thomason what she wanted to hear from the encore, and she said, a box of rain, which if you know the dead is not a rocker, and very odd for an encore. But they played it anyway, and the 80,000 Deadheads there loved it. a few years ago, I went to a Dead & Company show, and during the break, I was talking to Bobby and the two drummers, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman, and I asked them about a version of Althea, one of my favorite songs, that they, this is when they did in 1980 at Nassau Coliseum, and it was the most spectacular hair-raising version, and I asked them, why hadn't you guys listened to that version and just tried to duplicate it, And Mickey said, well, that's antithetical to everything we do. And then Billy said, that's totally antithetical to everything we do. And then Bobby said, well, it wasn't for want of trying. The Dead did SNL only twice. They were great both times, but Deadheads are fanatics and very resourceful. And both times the Dead were booked to SNL, these deadheads managed to finagle tickets to the air show. So about half the studio audience were deadheads, and they were there for the dead and were not great laughers. So Lorne refused to book them again. And Tom and I understood we wanted laughs too. Bobby was a big supporter of my political career. He did a lot of fundraisers for me with various iterations of The Dead and Solo. He also was just a great guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and band leader, and cared about the world. Fare thee well, my friend. Well, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor and Candidate for U.S. Senate, Peggy Flanagan, joins us. It's a great one. you know, for a change. We've known each other for a long time. Yeah, I mean, what, 2003, 2004? Something like that. Did the first thing we do together, you brought me to a Native American conference in the Twin Cities? I think that's right. I think, yeah, Indians List was in town, which is no longer a functioning organization, but at the time it was basically like the EMILY's list of Indian country. So we brought you out to the Shakopee Midovaka Dengt Zoo community to talk to a bunch of Native folks from across the country who were running for office. Do you remember the bit that Tom Davis and I did that we played there? I do remember that bit. It was Tom and I had done this a bit on Saturday Night Live where he was, the premise was, what if the Indians had won? And Tom was from the Bureau of White Man Affairs and trying to defend the names of the major league lacrosse teams, like the Cleveland Kikes and with their mascot, the Screaming Rabbi, and the Milwaukee Dagoes and stuff like that. And you brought that. You said they'd like it. Yes, and they did. And boy, wouldn't things look a little different now if that were actually the case? Well, that was 40 years before they started changing. I mean, did you see that Trump wants the commanders, he wants them to change it back to the Redskins? I'm sure he does. Put it on a long list of terrible things that are going on with this guy. Well, last week's killing of Renee Good was just horrifying. Were you shocked by the immediate response from Trump and Kristi Noem and Vance or not? I mean, you know, it is it was absolutely horrific and people are, you know, angry and heartbroken and, you know, in lament. And I have to say that any emotion that people experience right now is feels like, OK, because this is just so horrific. I'm in shock only in that I still have some expectations for humanity and the dignity with, you know, how our leaders are supposed to function in this country. And the tale that Donald Trump and Kristi Noem are trying to spin about who Renee Good was, calling her domestic terrorist. It's like she was a mom, right, with stuffies in the glove box. Right. And, you know, the the idea is J.D. Vance, you know, standing behind that that podium saying that ICE agents have absolute immunity. First of all, it's false. But they don't. They sure don't. They have qualified immunity. It's yeah. I mean, it's it's just terrific. Let me play a couple of these clips from them. uh this is uh gnome this is like the first hour after after uh renegade was killed she called her a domestic terrorist and then do you have that clip uh peter she then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run an law enforcement officer over it this appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents. Okay. We've all seen, you know, many angles on the tape and she is, you know, the head of Homeland Security. She has seen the tape. There's no way. And then Vance does the thing about absolute immunity. Trump, what Trump said was was crazy. He said that the woman driving the car violently, this was, he put it on True Social, violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer. Sorry. Based on the attached clip, it's hard to believe he is alive. I mean, this is why it is so incredibly important that we continue to have legal observers, constitutional observers, who are recording everything that these folks are doing. Because as we can see from multiple angles, that is absolutely not what occurred. Trump says weird things all the time. At a press conference, this is just, I saw this a couple days ago. Did you see this? He claimed that he won Minnesota three times? Yeah, I sure did. Let me play this because it's unbelievable. It's a very corrupt state. I feel that I won Minnesota. I think I won it all three times. Nobody's won it since Richard Nixon won it many, many years ago. I won it all three times, in my opinion. And it's a corrupt state, a corrupt voting state. But I won Minnesota three times, I didn't get credit for it. I did so well in that state. Every time the people were they were crying every time after. That's a crooked state. California is a crooked state. Many crooked states. Oh, it's the railings. Yeah. President old man yells at cloud. I just it's I mean, and it's so interesting to listen to that. And I so I say interesting in the most Minnesotan way possible. but you know the idea he said i you know i feel that i won i feel that i won i feel that i won and then it gets to i won i won i won well he he said he won of course in uh 2020 so uh now six prosecutors from the u.s attorney's office in minnesota uh resigned on uh this past Tuesday because the Justice Department, they wanted them to investigate Renee Good's widow. It wasn't clear what they wanted to investigate her for, but Trump administration officials accused her of impeding an immigration operation. How sick is that? I mean it is incredibly sick And I also am grateful that there remains some level of integrity as you know Joe Thompson and others and DOJ have resigned that they are clear that this goes far beyond what they should ever be asked to do And, you know, the absolute just horror and heartbreak, right, of watching your spouse essentially, you know, be executed while you're in the car. And then this is the response. It's horrible. Six prosecutors in D.C. resigned as well from the Justice Department Civil Rights Division. Now, the Civil Rights Division is always brought into these things, but they were told they would not be. So the FBI is now solely in charge of investigating the Merv and a good. And it took that away from the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension by basically denying them any of the tools for the investigation. Correct. And, you know, this and I think it's important that we remind folks that this is a normal, you know, the normal operations or order of operations is that the Minnesota BCA, right, would be part of this investigation. So cutting them out is deeply troubling. And this is one of the places where if your listeners are interested in how they can push back, they can call their member of Congress and ask them to ensure that the FBI is working in partnership with the BCA. Now, the attorney general, Keith Ellison, along with Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty, are conducting an investigation of their own. They have a public portal where they have asked individuals to submit evidence and, you know, they are pursuing this investigation. But it absolutely is being hampered by the fact that, you know, no evidence is being shared with them from the FBI. so the fbi is doing it and because they're withholding i mean they should be sharing all this this is that's standard procedure that's correct absolutely uh you know this suggests that the fix is in from the administration and engaged in the cover-up and will absolve rossi you don't want to i hope that's not the case i mean i hope there there are professionals at the FBI, but Kash Patel isn't, of course, in charge of this. Do you trust Kash Patel? I don't trust a lot of what this administration does. And I would just say, you know, that this is one of those places where we can see in real time just the deep commitment to injustice and or, you know, justice through one lens in this moment. And the people, Brene Good's family deserves this, right? Deserves to have a proper investigation, a full and fair and transparent investigation. The people of Minnesota certainly deserve that too. And I just think, you know, Americans as well, we should be able to trust in these systems. And, you know, what we see happening is maddening. That's maddening. Now, Ellison says Hennepin County doesn't have the gun. I mean, they let these guys leave immediately after this. That's against the normal procedure, of course. Right. Absolutely. And all of the evidence, you know, the vehicle and, you know, everything else, state officials don't have, yeah, state officials don't have access to. Have you talked to the attorney general about this in Minnesota and to Keith about the possibility of his being able to do this investigation? We've talked about Keith and I have talked about the suit that they're bringing against the Trump administration. Is to have have ice leave? to have. Yes. Yeah. And, you know, that was a joint with St. Paul in the city of Minneapolis. And so, you know, that's one of the tools in our toolbox to push back on, you know, what is happening in our streets right now. So we've, we've talked about that. And frankly, I'm so grateful for Keith because he continues to be. Keith Ellison, of course, the AG. Yeah. Continues to be one of the most important leaders we have right now, who's pushing back on just the absolute cruelty that is coming out of the Trump administration right now. So we talked about we talked about the lawsuit. And now the reaction throughout the country has been there were thousands of demonstrations last weekend, big cities, small cities, Fairbanks, Alaska. They had a big crowd, brave 20 below. How cold is it in Minnesota today? uh today i think it's like 13 oh that's yeah it's not too bad i mean it's you know we gotta we're rocking a windchill um uh it's it's actually 16 feels like four um okay that's about right we're gonna take a quick break we'll be right back with minnesota lieutenant governor peggy flanagan Now that the holidays are over, you might be feeling like you've got a big spending hangover. The drinks, the holiday food, the gifts, it all adds up. Luckily, Mint Mobile is here to help you cut back on overspending on wireless this January with 50% off unlimited premium wireless. Mint Mobile's end-of-year sale is still going on, but only until the end of the month. Cut out big wireless's bloated plans and unnecessary monthly charges with 50% off three, six, or 12 months of unlimited. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. 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And I think it's important that folks know that they're not just in the Twin Cities metro. This past weekend, I was on the road and we saw them as we were driving up I-94 to go up north. They had pulled someone over. We were doing an event in Alexandria. And all of a sudden, there was a buzz. People's phones started going off because, as you can imagine, as we're doing an event, there's a room full of folks who've been trained as legal observers. And so people had to respond at a local restaurant and a construction site. the same thing happened when we were in Detroit Lakes, that ICE agents were at a local community center and a business kitty corner from where we were. And then I went to St. Cloud and just hours before we got to St. Cloud, there was essentially a standoff with the Somali community. Right at a shopping. Yeah, at a shopping center. Yep. So. A Somali-owned shopping center, right? Yeah, that's right. And there was a confrontation that finally ended. St. Clyde's about 60 miles north of Minneapolis. That's right. With a significant immigrant population. And, you know, and the local leaders there did an incredible job, I think, of de-escalation. And, you know, so far, the response across Minnesota has been one of peaceful protests. We had, you know, thousands of folks who are marching last weekend and have had faith leaders right on the front lines. And Minnesotans are responding in the way that Minnesotans do. When you're out state and in red areas, are you sensing a revulsion even from people who aren't, you know, your typical liberals? And what are you hearing from folks? Absolutely, that folks are troubled by this. You know, it is and there's folks who, you know, have said to me, you know, I'm a Republican and, you know, I don't like what I'm seeing or, you know, I don't agree with you on a lot. But, you know, this feels like it's over the line. You know, I think that that's going to be important for folks who find this deeply disturbing to to make their voices heard. We know that, you know, Donald Trump cares tremendously, right, about what people think of him and how popular he is. But this isn't playing. This isn't playing nationally. This is not playing. But is he thinking this place is his base and he doesn't care or he is this the cruelty is the point or is this Stephen Miller? Yeah, I think it is a cruelty of the point. I think, you know, this is Stephen Miller is, I think, loving every minute of this. But, yeah, folks are troubled. And there's some people who are absolutely in his base who are eating this up. But there's also, you know, like we have to – I think our job is also to make sure that we are telling the story of what this actually looks like on the ground. I mean, my auntie on my mom's side, on the non-native side, was literally the Irish side, right, was forced off the road by ice. Right. They they surrounded her vehicle and like she was forced to pull over. They come up to the window. They have surrounded her vehicle. and you know because she uh you know has a sparkly personality she was like she was like hey guys how's it going and just like congratulations you just pulled over a 78 year old white grandma and you know she had a bumper sticker i heard she did have a bumper sticker that said uh black lives matter so she's pretty sure that they that's why she pulled her over but like she's just like you know five feet tall tiny white lady grandma but they didn't break her window and uh drag her out of the car like we've seen videos of that kind of thing absolutely um and i'm and thank goodness she's okay right because like we don't know um how these guys are are playing right like so we have also seen this we have seen uh that folks are being violently dragged from their vehicles We have also seen ICE agents use their vehicles to ram the vehicles of legal observers and then abandoning these cars or as they violently remove people or detain them, just leaving their cars in the middle of the street or at gas stations. And it's it's horrific. I mean, and let's be clear, like these are folks who have no problem going to schools. They went to Roosevelt, right? That's right. So Roosevelt High School. And so, you know, shortly in Minneapolis, right, shortly after Renee Good was killed, ICE agents went to Roosevelt High School during dismissal. They tackled staff members who are beloved by the students who go to this school. They deployed, you know, chemical agents with children present. And I think it's important to name, you know, I think sometimes people think of high school students, right, as just, you know, smaller adults, their children, right? And they have no problem putting kids at risk with their behavior. So this is, and then Minneapolis Public School closed school for two days. They're offering distance learning along with, you know, other districts across the state because they are trying to protect children from federal agents. Right. Like this is madness. And this is the story that we have to make sure that we are telling. So whatever cowboy version that the Trump administration is trying to portray, like these are, you know, tough guys who are using chemical agents against children. And this is not polling well. There's a recent poll out that more Americans, I think it's 46 percent to 30 some or maybe it's a 40 low 40s, want to disband, want ICE to be disbanded. Now, that's never happened before. I mean, a lot of people have been critical of ICE and especially now. I mean, huge numbers of Americans are responding to this, saying they're against what's happening. But to say they want ICE disbanded is pretty amazing. I mean, it is. And I think folks are clear that this agency, under the direction of Kristi Noem, right, it's supposed to be under the guise of safety. No one is making Minnesotans or Americans less safe right now. I think then then ICE overhauled, right. Start over. And, you know, as this vote is coming up in in Congress, in my opinion, they shouldn't get one more penny. Right. To terrorize us. And they've got what, you know, seventy five billion dollars, something completely bananas. Amazing. I think they're funded more than any military in the world other than like Russia and China. Yeah. I mean, it's these, you know, these these individuals, masked agents with, you know, not a whole lot of training or just like released into, you know, our streets to wreak havoc with their $50,000 bonuses. And it's it's outrageous. Trump Department of Homeland Security put out a video montage of aggressive arrests in Minnesota of unarmed non men many of them thrown to the ground and cuffed set to the 1977 hit cold as ice someday you pay the price is the lyric this is sick i mean i mean yeah i mean it and they have right like uh influencers with them as they are detaining folks whose like purpose is to record that, to put together that very video montage, right? It should not be entertainment for folks, you know, watching this occur. It's, it is, it's sick. And that's why it's so important that people on the ground are also recording what is happening that is not, you know, set to a 70s classic rock, right? You know, like soundtrack. Yeah. And like, this is the language that they understand, right? And that's what this is, you know, sort of all about, right, is getting those clicks and showing these videos. But we have to make sure we're showing, you know, what's happening to real folks. And I know that you've probably heard this, that they're also targeting and detaining Native Americans as well. That's been a real issue. Now, do they know that Native Americans aren't immigrants? I mean, I'm not sure. I'm not sure they do. You know that. Yeah, we've we've been here. So but it's yeah, there was a red leg descendant and there's a video of this young man who is, you know, hit by ice and then violently dragged from the vehicle and was detained for hours until his mom had to bring documentation down to have him be released. And so tribal leaders are now responding with making sure that folks can get a copy of their tribal ID for free so that they can keep that on their person. It's just it's horrific. So we know that this is going way beyond right. Getting, quote unquote, violent criminals off our streets. They're just sort of targeting everybody who has brown skin or little old white ladies, grandmas, who have Black Lives Matter bumper stickers right on their cars. Now, Trump claimed to be sending ICE into Minnesota due to the fraud investigations and prosecutions against Somalis in Minnesota. Now, we have a large, vibrant Somali community in Minnesota. It's the largest in the country. about 80 to 100,000. And Trump has been targeting them. 92 to 95% are citizens. Somalis started coming to Minnesota. In the 90s, there was a civil war in Somalia. And Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the country. and yeah there were uh some fraud and uh and somalis were involved in it but it's unfair to demonize an entire uh community because of a few bad apples if you get the the senate which i you know i've endorsed you and uh you're you're gonna win and uh when you get there uh you may get a a page, a Senate page. I think I had one phrase there and it was, you know, Wilmer, Minnesota. Well, absolutely. Yeah. Wilmer is the county seat of Kandiyohi County, which is the largest Turkey producing county in Minnesota, which is largest Turkey producing state in the country. and it's a great community and i had a page muna abdollahi from wilmer she uh her principal recommended her she she had written an essay which was great and her and was interviewed by my chief uh chief staff in minnesota and she became a page so the day she arrived i went down to to the Senate chamber and new pages were there. And, uh, she was the only one with a hijab, uh, uh, headscarf. And so I went up to her and I said, uh, you look like a Minnesotan and, uh, yeah. And she smiled and, uh, she was a great page and your page when you're 16 or, you know, when you're a junior in high school, then you leave. And she invited me to her commencement because she was chosen as commencement speaker and she wanted me to introduce her and uh i just tell the story about wilmer i i go there i see the program there i remember there were 236 seniors graduating and i looked at the names and about 60 percent are your you know scandinavian german names uh hovland was the name of the class president uh about uh 20 percent or so were hispanic the valedictorian had been born in ecuador so girl in ecuador and about uh i guess 10 or 15 percent uh were somali and this is muna abdollahi so she was uh she and and she was chosen as class speaker. I introduced her. She got a huge applause and then a standing ovation at the end. She gave a great speech. And then at the end of this thing, they hand out the diplomas. And this gym, of course, is full. They say, hold your applause to the end until all 236 get their diplomas. so she's first her name is abdallahi a b d a you know so they say muna abdallahi and the place went nuts and uh you know parents and family are sitting in the the bleachers so that and they're stomping on the bleachers but the thing is they did this for every kid and this is minnesota and this is how our state works i i saw her uh she went to the university of minnesota i saw her in 2016 on election day she was getting out the vote for hillary and uh i saw her and she told me that her sister had been voted a homecoming queen my god and and so they said they're going to target Somalis, almost all of whom are citizens, which is absolutely crazy. That's right. But like, Al, that story that you just told, that is Minnesota, right? And when you said to her, you look like a Minnesotan, the Minnesota that I have always known, Somalis have lived here, right? And it is. I see you're tearing up a little bit. Yeah. So I'm a crier. And especially over the last week. But like that's that is the thing. About all of this is that it is the beauty of this place that we live. And it is that Somalis and immigrants and Ojibwe and Dakota people are part of this state. And it is, I think, what the beauty is the threat. And the Jews and the Jews. And the Jews. Two proud St. Louis Park alums. We had some Jewish criminals in the 40s and 50s, mobsters in Minneapolis. in North Minneapolis, and Humphrey kicked them out and got them out. They went to Las Vegas. But the Jews from the north side then moved to St. Louis Park, where you and I are from. Great community, of course. Yep. And we have a Somali mayor. We have a Somali mayor of St. Louis Park. And she is in her 20s, and she's amazing. You know, and again, it's like we're commencement speakers, right? Like Somalis are commencement speakers. They're mayors. They're small business owners. You know, and I went to Carmel Mall and met with business owners there. And this was before, you know, the murder of Renee Good. And they just said our business is down. We're maybe doing 10% of what we were doing before. Just straight up. Because of ICE being there. Because of ICE being there. Talk to, you know, Somali aunties who shared that there are people in their life who are skipping going to the doctor or are no longer, you know, receiving their dialysis treatments because they're so afraid to leave their home. And Minnesotans are doing stuff for those families. They're buying groceries. That's right. We, we, we go to a parish. I'm pretty Catholic. I'm Catholic and native. And, you know, that's always an interesting, it's kind of tough, but I figure it out. And, you know, we have members of our community who are so afraid. And so we're figuring out, right, how to get folks groceries. We have adopted a family and are, you know, shopping for them every week. They've got kiddos at home. And like that is not unique. Right. There are folks all across the state who are doing this because this is who we are as Minnesotans. Right. We're going to make sure that we're taking care of our neighbor. And if you come after, you know, people that we care about, we are going to just we're going to stand together and do what we need to do to respond peacefully, but also to show up for each other. We are passive aggressive, right, to our core. That is the, you know, spirit of Minnesota. Right. But like if you if you come for us, gosh, darn it. Like we're going to make sure that people are getting fed and that, you know, we're really stepping up for each other. So there are stories like that all across Minnesota of neighbors just looking out for neighbors who are afraid and suffering. Right. I know a family who hasn't left their house in two months. like they're afraid to even take out the recycling that's just untenable right for folks we're gonna take a break we'll be right back with peggy fun well i'm over the whole new year new me thing short-term fads don't deliver long-term results but science does especially when it comes to skin care that's why i'm here to tell you about one skin Their formulas are powered by the OS1 Peptide, a patented peptide built on longevity science proven to target aging at the cellular level. It's not about adding extra steps to your routine. It's about swapping in smarter ones. With products like OS1 Body, OS1 Face, and OSI, OneSkin has been validated in four separate clinical studies for their science-first approach to aging. Their products deliver hydration, barrier strengthening, and visible improvements to the skin with every product. All of their products layer effortlessly and can even replace multiple steps in your routine. 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Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. And we are back with Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. Now you're running for the Senate. and again I should point out I endorse you. Thank you. Very valuable endorsement. Yes yes it is. The Star Tribune put out a piece it was yesterday now your primary opponent is Congressman Angie Craig and it pointed out that she voted for the Lakin-Riley Act. Can you can you explain Lakin-Riley? Sure. So the Lake and Riley Act was the first piece of legislation that came up in the in the second Trump administration last January of 2025. And essentially what it does is strips due process away from immigrants, allows for in, you know, indefinite detention. These are they're accused of a crime of some kind of crime, but they don't get they can go to prison without due process. Right. And they just hold people, which, you know, still true in this country that whether or not you're a citizen, you are afforded due due process. Or at least you're supposed to be. And I think it's important just to name that this didn't sneak up on us, right? That Donald Trump wasn't being coy about what his plans were. There literally were signs at every rally and at the Republican National Convention that said mass deportations now, right? This is this wasn just in the fine print It was in giant signs Right And so you know this vote that came down Senator Tina Smith and Senator Amy Klobuchar read the you know sort of led the delegation in voting no And Angie Craig was the only Democrat that voted in favor of it. And so, you know, I think anyone who thought for a second about what it would mean to actually, you know, deport millions of people had to realize that, you know, Donald Trump was going to fulfill this campaign promise and, you know, potentially do so through brute force. So this is a critique that I have had about my opponents and a contrast that I've been talking about long before Renee Good was killed, because I think it's important to name that we shouldn't, we should always put humanity first and politics second. And this is incredible. I think this is what gave permission for what we are seeing in our streets right now. She also voted for a resolution praising ICE in June. this is when they were in LA and she right I mean if that's right like it's as kids are literally being right as we are seeing kids at their elementary school graduation and ice is you know essentially kidnapping their parents like I am glad that uh she's now speaking out but boy it should have taken all of this to to get there okay well let's talk about some of the other issues that you care about in your run for the Senate. What are you hearing from people as you go around the state? I imagine the subsidies for the ACA going away is a huge issue, especially outstate, right? Yeah, absolutely. And so healthcare continues to be the number one thing that I hear from Minnesotans. And we've done over 100 events. We're doing 44 stops on this loud, clear voice tour across Minnesota. And I think I've probably spent more time in the congressional districts of Republicans in Minnesota than they have. But what we're hearing from folks who are in the community of Canby in a small town in southwestern Minnesota, But this woman raised her hand and she said, you know, I'm a librarian. And she's like, they keep me just under the hours I need to qualify for health care through my employer, married to a farmer. So, you know, we purchase our insurance on the open market. And she said our deductible is fifteen thousand dollars a year. That means she has she has to pay out of pocket fifteen thousand dollars for the insurance covers. That's right. Any care. That's right. And she said, I just paid $600 for a five minute medication check. And she said, like, you know, this medication has completely changed my life. And so it was worth, you know, that to our family. But they're in an impossible position. I talked to a psychiatric nurse practitioner just this past weekend that they found out at the end of last year that they were no longer going to be able to have the same insurance that they did previously. She's now looking, they're buying their insurance, and their deductible will range anywhere between $10,000 a year to $16,000 a year. And she's someone who is in the medical field delivering care to people every day. So this, I think, is a thing. I am a supporter of Medicare for All, and I got there because I've been hearing directly from Minnesotans about the high cost of care. Now, Medicare for all is Medicare for all. It's the British system, essentially, right? Mm-hmm. Okay. And every industrialized country except us has universal health care, and they do it different ways, right? Right. But the bottom line is that folks, we are the only industrialized nation that does not offer this to our citizens. and boy, does it show. And when I hear folks who say like, oh, you know, I've had folks say like, gosh, what's the response in greater Minnesota when you talk about, you know, Medicare for all? And I'm like, applause. But would you be in favor of something where you could have Medicare for all who want it? I mean, Buttigieg ran in 2020 on that. And by the way, getting to Medicare for all is going to be very hard. I don't know if you know that. Yeah, I mean, so, yeah, not every certainly not everyone is is is on board. But what I know is that the numbers of people who believe that that we should have an option or should universal health care in this country is growing and folks are absolutely for it. And so the thing that I worry about is that sometimes I think, you know, Democrats are like, oh, gosh, what's the fight that we think we can we can win? Right. Or, you know, fighting from a defensive crouch instead of being bold and audacious and defiant when pushing back against the status quo. And I think that's what's needed in this moment. And, you know, you and I have a deep love of, you know, Senator Paul Wellstone. And we all know the famous quote that I think is the kind of unofficial slogan of Minnesota, which is we all do better when we all do better. But my favorite quote from Paul was sometimes you got to pick a fight to win one. And I think that that is the moment that we are in right now, that we have to ask for what people need and deserve instead of starting from like, what do we think that we can win? Because I think that has to do with why we find ourselves here politically anyways, right? That we have to make sure we're doing everything possible so that people can afford the lives that they want to live. And so if it's health care, if it's child care, if it's housing and, you know, Wall Street coming in and buying up entire neighborhoods and pricing people out and, you know, jacking up the rent. Or, you know, I know that you know this as you represented Minnesota so well, child care continues to be an issue. And we've got folks who are driving in one direction, right, 60 minutes and 45 minutes in the other direction because that's where they can bring their child for the day and are spending an awful lot of time in their car instead of having partners at the federal level who are working with us to make sure that families can get that care, which isn't just good for the family themselves, right? Of course, to have a safe place to bring your child, but also for the economy overall and for employers. So I think people are ready for this. It's what I'm hearing from Minnesotans. And we have to make sure that we are sticking up for the folks who are getting hosed by this administration as Donald Trump and his billionaire besties are doing quite well right now. And I'm sure you're hearing a lot about cost of living. All the time. How do farmers feel about tariffs? Well, they don't like them. And I will tell you this, like I've been just stunned at the size of the middle finger that the Trump administration, right, is giving to farmers. There was a bumper crop this year of soybeans. And, you know, one of the things that, you know, we look to is the directions, right, of the trains that are coming in and out of Minnesota, right? Are they going north, south or east, west? If they're going north-south, that means that a lot of these farmers are having to bend their beans or use them for feed. They go east-west, that means they're getting to China who purchases Minnesota soybeans. And unfortunately, because of these tariffs, we haven't seen the soybeans going to China. And I will tell you what I'm hearing from farmers and they say, like, we would rather be able to simply sell our product than get this bailout for the Trump administration. And I was talking to a guy this past two weeks ago who said he was like, it's like, you know, Donald Trump with, you know, this bailout is essentially throwing a glass of water at a dying man in the desert. And I was like, right. But like, you know, also the Donald Trump was the person who put that dying man in the desert in the first place. I mean, first of all, is the timing of it is for some people, this money might come too late. And did it make them whole? Right. No. Right. Like folks want to just sell their product. And we also see this money going to Argentina, right? And to cattle farmers there, beef cattle is doing quite well, you know? And so it just feels like farmers are completely getting hosed. And so like, those are the things that I'm also hearing from farmers is that healthcare is a number one cost for them. So things like Medicare for all are things that farmers are interested in. And I had these four Republican farmers come to an event. And they were all sitting in the back with their arms crossed, right, like sort of, you know, grumpy scowls on their face. And I was like, all right, I got to figure out what's going on with these guys. And, you know, one of them raises his hand and he said, you know, we voted, you know, referencing the three other guys who are sitting with him. He's like, we voted for Trump in 16 and 20. And we didn't vote for that lady the last time. And I was like, OK. And he said, but we're here because you're a tough cookie. And for your listeners, being called a tough cookie by a minister of farmer is a big deal. Right. And he said, we're really concerned about the fact that SNAP is essentially being taken out of the ag bill. This has always been a place where he's like, we've been able to count on Republicans and Democrats working together. There were cuts and snap in the big, beautiful bill. That's right. And he said in the dirty little secret that people aren't going to tell you is that there's a lot of farmers who utilize snap themselves. And so he's like, you know, I don't agree with you on everything, but I'm here. And that to me. And he also said that there's, you know, some of these farmers who voted for Trump who, you know, were very vocal in their support are now just more quiet. And so that, I think, is giving me some hope. But here's the deal. Whether or not you voted for Trump and you are concerned by what you are seeing now or how your community is being impacted or the people that you love and care about, come on in. Because it's literally all of us versus extremist billionaires. I am betting on us, right? But I think it's incredibly important. I don't know if the billionaires are extremists. I think they're just selfish. I mean, they're just. That feels extremely mean, right? But like, yeah, I mean, they're doing great. And we need to, we need to point that out at every moment, right? Like the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are like, you got to fight over this one piece of pie. When like, if we come together, we can get the whole damn pie. well um good luck we're thank you i i hope that i hope between now and when we air this we we this is uh thursday and we air this on on sunday midnight uh uh i i hope things have calmed down in minnesota but but that would you know if i but i don't think they're going to i think the administration is intent on stirring shit up. I think that's right. And I would just, you know, just continue to say that people lift up the firsthand accounts that are coming from Minnesotans, amplifying the videos and documentation of the outrageous behavior that we're seeing in our streets. And if you can, to attend a training to become a legal observer, because that is one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox right now is telling the truth. And to invest in some of these organizations on the ground who are doing incredibly important work. We have to use this tool of nonviolent resistance, of peaceful protests, of using our platforms. I oftentimes think about, you know, one of my aunties who said, Peggy, Donald Trump is not in the top 10 worst presidents that Native Americans have ever seen. That makes me feel better and worse. But it's important to remember that. I think, you know, for me, I'm not even supposed to be here. Right. And there are people who loved me into existence and so many of us and that resiliency of people who come before us is in our bones. We got to tap into that. We've got to take care of ourselves. And then we got to bundle up and go outside and document what's happening, but also bring food to our neighbors and protest and just continue to make sure that people know Minnesotans are unique. we are strong and when you come for people we love we're going to stand up for each other well thanks baggy and good luck to you i know you're gonna i know you're gonna win i know you're gonna win and be and and uh be a great center thank you that means so much coming from you well i i hope you enjoyed uh listening that beautiful music is by leo kotki the great leo Kotke. I want to thank Peter Ogburn for producing this podcast. We'll talk again next week. inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at shopify.nl. That's shopify.nl. 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