Podcast bro Andrew Schulz sours on Trump for 'disheartening' failures on these issues
Schulz admitted in an interview with the New York Times that it was 'disheartening' to see the president pursue the deportation of working illegal immigrants who wanted a pathway to citizenship, as he had hoped for more 'empathy' from him on the issue.
'[I]t doesn't look like has been happening. This is disheartening for me,' he said, speaking after the enhanced ICE raids took place in Las Angeles, sparking violent rioting in the city.
Schulz revealed in the interview he wanted to address three issues when he interviewed Trump in October 2024 for his Flagrant Podcast that he co-hosts with Akaash Singh, in vitro fertilization, immigration, and foreign wars in the Middle East.
At the time, Schulz asked Trump whether he would have 'empathy' for illegal immigrants, noting that a lot of them were working and wanted a path to citizenship.
'You have to start with the criminals,' Trump replied shortly, before pivoting away from the question.
When asked about the Middle East, Schultz praised him for developing the Abraham Accords and asked the president if he would pursue more diplomacy in the region if he was reelected.
Trump referred to a biblical prophecy in the book of Revelations about the end of the world, suggesting the escalation of war in the Middle East would lead to nuclear Armageddon.
'You know, there are great philosophers that said the world will end in the Middle East. We're not going to let that happen. You've heard that expression,' Trump said. 'We're not going to let that happen, okay?'
Schultz' brash and anti-woke comedic style found a huge audience online in just a few years as he spoke directly to his audience on his podcast.
Trump's interview with Schulz and his friends on the podcast made a huge splash in the comedian community as the president spoke frankly about his interview strategy that included 'the weave.'
'I do a thing called the weave and there are those that are fair that say this guy is so genius. And then others would say, oh, he rambled. I don't ramble,' he said in a clip that was widely shared on social media.
The interview, which now has 9.6 million views on YouTube, was notable for revealing Trump's sense of humor and authenticity as he spoke about politics.
Schulz was praised by his audience for asking about questions that were relevant to them, rather than focusing on making the president look bad.
Trump's last-minute focus on interviews with comedian podcasters was later seen as an untraditional but successful way to reach last minute deciders, particularly young men.
In the Times, Schulz confirmed he voted for Trump in the 2024 election even though he considered himself a Democrat. But he cited his dissatisfaction with Biden's presidency
'I voted for Trump, yeah, but my vote was more like I voted against a Democratic institution that I feel was stripping the democratic process from its constituents,' he said. 'I didn't like the way things were going, and Kamala was saying, Yeah, we're going to keep doing that.'
Schulz said that he reached out to the Harris campaign for an interview through many different channels and the campaign lied about his efforts to interview them.
'It's wild to blatantly lie when not only did I reach out — Charlamagne, who's working with them, reached out. Mark Cuban, who's a surrogate, reached out, and we reached out, and they blatantly lie,' he said.
Schultz said he reached out to then-transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Vice Presidential nomineeTim Walz, former President Barack Obama, and even former President Bill Clinton but they all turned him down.
After the election, however, Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and other Democrats appeared on his podcast to talk politics, comedy, and culture.
Schulz said he would continue to ask political figures about the questions that mattered to him, not just the questions that the media wanted him to ask.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
UN council authorizes continuing vigilance of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping
The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday authorized continued reporting on attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have defied its previous demands to immediately halt all such attacks. The vote in the 15-member council was 12-0 with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining because of attacks against Yemen in violation of its sovereignty, a clear reference to U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen. The Trump administration has carried out the strikes because of the group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on close ally Israel. The resolution, cosponsored by the United States and Greece, extends the requirement that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provide monthly reports to the Security Council about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea until Jan. 15, 2026. Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution recognizes the need for continued vigilance 'against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist threat.' She cited the two latest attacks by Houthis against civilian cargo vessels, the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C, which caused both vessels to sink and led to the loss of innocent seafarers and saw crew members taken hostage. 'The United States strongly condemns these unprovoked terrorist attacks, which demonstrate the threat that the Houthis pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,' Shea said, reiterating the council's demand for an immediate halt to Houthi attacks and the release of all crew members kidnapped from the Eternity C. The assaults represent the latest chapter of the rebels' campaign against shipping over the war in Gaza that began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. They also come as Yemen's nearly decadelong war drags on in the Arab world's poorest country, without any sign of stopping. Greece's U.N. Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris said the Houthi attacks have continued to fuel mistrust in the international maritime community, stressing that security and freedom of navigation are essential for the stability of global supply chains and economic development. 'If the Red Sea region — a critical international maritime route — becomes even more degraded, it will expose the international community to more acute security risks and economic uncertainty,' he warned. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow abstained because language in the previous resolution demanding a halt to Houthi attacks was arbitrarily interpreted to justify 'the use of force affecting the territory of the sovereign state of Yemen.' 'We stand convinced that any steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in Yemen and around Yemen should be taken in political and diplomatic ways,' he said. China's deputy U.N. ambassador Geng Shuang said his country abstained because 'certain countries took military action against Yemen, which seriously impacted the Yemeni peace process and exacerbated tensions in the Red Sea.' The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Shuang called tensions in the Red Sea 'a major manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict.' Russia's Polyansky also stressed the link between normalizing the situation in the Red Sea and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages. Algeria's deputy U.N. ambassador Toufik Koudri, whose country is the Arab representative on the Security Council, expressed regret the Yemen resolution demanding an immediate halt to Houthi attacks made no mention of the Gaza war, which he called 'one of the catalytic factors.' 'The Security Council cannot disregard the clear nexus between the attacks in the Red Sea and the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the deep feelings that resulted from the brutal massacres committed against innocent civilians,' he said.
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Budget airline shuts down operations across West Coast
Californians will soon have one less flight option. Avelo Airlines, the Texas-based budget carrier known for its sub-$30 fares and West Coast roots, is pulling out of California. Its decision comes amid mounting backlash over its cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and increasing business pressure in the region. The company announced Monday that it will shutter its base at Hollywood Burbank Airport and shift focus to its 38 other destinations, largely concentrated on the East Coast. 'We are in the planning phases of relocating the three planes to the East Coast, so [these are] only positive outcomes for our East Coast airports,' Avelo added. Before the decision, Avelo flew into 10 cities on the West Coast. Budget fliers could connect to destinations spanning the region — including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland, and Kalispell, Montana. Those services will end by December 2, 2025. It's a major retreat from the first airport the company ever served. Avelo's inaugural flight departed Burbank and flew to Northern California in 2021. 'This was not an easy decision,' the company's top boss, Andrew Levy, said in a statement. 'Our company's deepest operational roots are in BUR, having launched our first flight there over four years ago during the Covid pandemic. ' But the company said those roots weren't deep enough to weather the region's competitive pressures. The spokesperson said executives made an 'investment of significant time, resources, and efforts' to make the West Coast routes work, but the venture did not produce 'the results necessary to continue our presence there.' Avelo plans to redeploy its California aircraft to the East Coast, where it sees 'more efficient longer-term growth prospects,' Levy said. The decision to shutter California operations also comes as the company faces mounting criticism. Avelo is under fire from activists and consumers calling for a boycott over its cooperation with the Trump administration on deportation flights. The airliner signed a contract with the US Department of Homeland Security in April to transport migrants to detention centers inside and outside the US. It maintains that protests had no influence on the decision to leave California. 'Protests nor our contract with DHS had any effect on our decision and have not impacted our business,' a spokesperson for the company told Opposition has cropped up across the country — from outside Burbank Airport to the company's hub in New Haven, Connecticut — with demonstrators urging Avelo to end its partnership with DHS. Nancy Klein, a California-native, told Reuters she had organized seven protests against the company. She believes the company's decision to end their service at the airport is partially due their calls to boycott the airline. 'This change in Avelo's business operations is some evidence that being on the right side of history, while being principled and persistent, can make a difference,' she said in a statement. Klein said she is planning the next protest against the carrier at Burbank Airport on July 27.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kevin Spacey calls for release of Epstein files
Actor Kevin Spacey has called for the release of the so-called Epstein files, saying, 'the truth can't come soon enough.' It's been nearly six years since disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, and Americans are still asking questions about the registered sex offender. The Trump administration had promised to release files from Epstein's federal investigation after conspiracies swirled over the financier's associates and how he died. But the Justice Department and FBI made waves among Trump's Make America Great Again base when they said earlier this month there was never any client list of high-profile names associated with Epstein and confirmed he died by suicide. Spacey, who's faced allegations of sexual offenses, wrote on X Tuesday morning, 'Release the Epstein files. All of them. For those of us with nothing to fear, the truth can't come soon enough. I hate to make this about me — but the media already has.' The 'House of Cards' actor was acquitted by a jury in England in July 2023 of nine sexual offenses, including seven counts of sexual assault. The charges stemmed from allegations made by four men regarding incidents between 2001 and 2013. During an interview with English journalist Piers Morgan in June 2024, Spacey recalled flying on Epstein's jet with the late financier, former President Bill Clinton and a group of 'young girls.' Spacey said he had been invited by Clinton on a humanitarian trip to Africa in 2002, telling Morgan, 'It was primarily to raise awareness and prevention for AIDS, and particularly for mothers who had HIV to get the medication they needed to not pass it onto their children, so I said yes, absolutely.' He claimed not to have known who Epstein was or that it was his plane at the time. The actor went on to say he felt uncomfortable about Epstein, despite claiming to initially not know who he was. 'I didn't want to be around this guy because I felt he put the president at risk on that trip to South Africa, because there were these young girls,' Spacey said. 'We were like, 'Who is this guy?'' Spacey insisted he had 'no relationship' with Epstein, adding, 'He's not my friend. I am not a confidant. I've never spent time with him.'
