How Can This Life Be Real? Digby Joins Nicole Sandler to Make…
Today was a close call! Between missing my guest spot on Bob Cesca’s show (long story, time zones, don’t ask) and still recovering from a scary hospital stay three weeks ago, it’s been a lot. But Digby is here, and honestly, we needed each other today. I always say our conversations are cathartic!
Seriously, HOW IS ANY OF THIS REAL? There’s literally a coliseum being built on the White House lawn for a UFC fight on Trump’s birthday. He tried to add the Abraham Accords as a footnote to an Iran peace deal — on a call with Arab leaders — and was met with dead silence.
Ken Paxton, indicted, impeached, and a walking crime wave, just won the Texas Republican Senate primary because Trump likes him. And somehow we still have to figure out how to save democracy.
Digby and I cover all of it — the Iran debacle, the Texas race and what Nate Cohn is saying about Talarico’s real chances, the new crop of Democratic candidates and our complicated feelings about them, and why we think what comes after Trump is going to require more than just “getting back to normal.” Buckle up.
YOUTUBE TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Intro / Patrick Fitzgerald’s song parody
3:07 — Nicole’s health scare: what happened at lunch three weeks ago
13:11 — “How can this life be real?” — Digby’s first image of the day: the White House
14:32 — The coliseum on the White House lawn / Trump’s birthday UFC fight
17:30 — Idiocracy on steroids: Trump, his cabinet, and the man-child problem
24:37 — The Iran war debacle: we lost, it’s done
26:01 — Trump’s Truth Social “by the way” — adding the Abraham Accords to the ceasefire
27:00 — Dead silence on the Arab leaders’ call
33:41 — The literal coliseum: Caligula, the Roman Empire, and Lindsey Graham as the horse
43:04 — Ken Paxton’s rap sheet: a greatest hits of corruption
48:57 — What last night’s Texas primary result actually means
53:18 — Nate Cohn says Talarico has a real shot — here’s why
58:45 — The Constitution is “frayed and tattered” — what real reform looks like
1:01:33 — The new Democratic candidates: Plattner, the Iowa independent, and our complicated feelings
1:06:41 — The bottom line for 2026: vote D, take the I’s, beat Republicans
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