Latest / V / Super Bowl Vibe Shift: Trump Cheered, Taylor Swift Booed (Ep.136)

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Super Bowl Vibe Shift: Trump Cheered, Taylor Swift Booed (Ep.136) · V

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: President Trump became the first U.S. president in history to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: attend the Super Bowl last night. The crowd, as you
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: could hear, erupted.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: In cheers when he appeared on the Jumbotron. It was,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: I think, emblematic of how America, majority of America, feels
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: about President Trump. Meanwhile, you had Taylor Swift, who was
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: booed last night. Again, this is a stark contrast from
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: even just last year. Let's play that video of Taylor.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Swift, Mikey.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: She looks so uncomfortable as the camera shows her. I
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: think there's a couple of things going on. I think
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: this is part of the vibe shift. We've been talking
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: about it for a really long time. Now, I also
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: think that football fans are really fatigued with Taylor Swift
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: and Travis Kelsey. They're just done with those two. We
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: want to talk about football, just football, not about Taylor Swift,
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: her relationship with some football player.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: And so I think a lot of fans, particularly men.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: Are sick of the Taylor Swift obsession that the NFL has.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: All right. So President Trump, in response, posted this on
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: Truth from the Stands, I guess. The only one that
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Taylor Swift. She got booed out of the stadium. MAGA
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: is very unforgiving. And this man, he's just such a comedian,
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: taking live swings at Taylor Swift. It's just savage. What
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: president would say, you know what, I was cheered, she
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: was booed, I'm going to tweet about it. It's so Trump.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: It's so It is so actually very smart. And we're
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: going to talk more about that in a second. But
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: I want to draw your attention to a new CBS
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: News poll. First few weeks of President Trump's second term
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: had a net positive approval rating among the American public.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: 53% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance.
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: This is not super normal. For President Trump, he had
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: a net negative.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: His first term. People are really happy and optimistic right now.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: The respondents described Trump with words such as tough, energetic, focused,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: and effective, with the majority agreeing that these terms accurately
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: represent the president. Probably not the polling the Democrats were
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: hoping for right about now, but this is what they're getting.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: 70% of Americans said that Trump is fulfilling the promises
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: he made during his campaign.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: So that's for better or for worse.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: But Americans think that he's following through, which is a
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: huge deal. That's promises made, promises kept. On immigration, 59%
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: of Americans support his administration's efforts to deport illegal immigrants,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: while an even greater 64% approve his decision to deploy U.S.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: troops to the southern border. These are excellent numbers for
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: President Trump. We are supposedly a 50-50 country. And on
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: the biggest issue, right, the border crisis, this is what Trump.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Ran on mostly. The American people are with him.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: They're on board. Just an all-around stark contrast from his predecessor.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: The president did a sit-down interview with Brett Baier before
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: the Super Bowl. Pre-Super Bowl interviews with the president is
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: a pretty customary thing to do. But as David Axelrod
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: tweeted yesterday, a year ago, President Biden refused the traditional
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl interview and the unparalleled audience it would have yielded.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: That bewildering decision was a major sign of trouble. Here
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: was President Trump, unlike Joe Biden, during his interview yesterday.
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: You are going to be the first sitting president to
• 4:06
  Speaker 5: attend a Super Bowl.
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: It's a big day for America, always is. What made
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: you want to do it?
• 4:11
  Speaker 6: Well, first of all, I'm very surprised to hear that.
• 4:13
  Speaker 6: I would have assumed many presidents came. But I think
• 4:16
  Speaker 6: just the spirit of the country, the country's taken on
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: a whole new life. I thought it would be a
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: good thing for the country to have the president be
• 4:22
  Speaker 6: at the game.
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: I think the country has taken on a whole new life.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: And I did think it was really positive that President
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Trump attended. Trump understands the importance of symbolism and culture.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Trump's a culture creature. He gets that just his presence
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: at the Super Bowl. probably the biggest cultural nonpartisan event
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: of the year, sent a powerful message. Other than the
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: ballot box a few months ago, the Super Bowl really
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: is indicative of who we are as a people.
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: The Super Bowl is.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: One of the very last shared American experiences. Polling shows
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: that 44% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans are self-described
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: football fans. And meanwhile, just a few months ago, a
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: YouGov poll found that a majority of Americans considered members
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: of the opposite party, quote.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: Downright evil.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: This is the one thing we come together for after
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: hating each other on everything else. And we're going to
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: take a quick break, but when we come back, I'm
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: going to dissect last night. I'm going to talk about
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: it on a deeper level, what it says about us,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: what it's saying about our future.
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: Don't go anywhere.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: As always, so grateful to our sponsors. They make this
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: show possible. So what did the Super Bowl tell Americans
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: about ourselves? I want to dissect what happened yesterday from
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: a cultural perspective. I won't dissect the game because football
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: commentary sounds like Chinese to me, I promise you. I
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: have no idea what's going on. And if you're listening
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: to this podcast, you're not listening to it for my
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: sports take. Although I will tell you guys that I
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: was rooting for the Eagles. It's not anything deep or personal.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I just decided I'm going to support the Eagles. I
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: don't like Travis Kelsey. Taylor Swift's annoying.
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: So that was the basis of my support for the Eagles.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: And so I was happy that they won last night.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: But I think a more fruitful discussion will be my
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: cultural breakdown. I've got nothing to say about football. Let's
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: start with this crap.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I was like, the audio is not messed up. This
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: is really what it sounded like.
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: There was all these memes yesterday about all of the
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: boomers who were listening to this and they were like
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: turning the volume down like no one can stand it.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: It was bad. That was Kendrick Lamar's halftime show. No vocals.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Kendrick Lamar is a rap artist. He really doesn't do
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: any singing. I'm not sure why we picked just.
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: A pure rap artist.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: I think people want to hear some vocals, some beautiful music.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: This was not my style of music. I don't think
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: it was America's best, in my opinion. And the performance
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: did appear, I will say, to be somewhat patriotic. There
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: was Red, White, and Blue, a human American flag formation performance,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: You had Samuel L. Jackson come out dressed like Uncle
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Sam for some reason a couple times. I mean, it
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: was odd, but it was patriotic. But in general, the
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: art was bad. The music was not good. One plus
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: is there was no pole dancing. I don't know if
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: anybody remembers when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed an entire
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: pole dancing routine in 2020. So Michael said he was like, oh,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: this is like a one out of 10.
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: This whole thing sucked. I'm like, well, at least there
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: was no pole dancing.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Now, Maybe last night wasn't necessarily debaucherous, but most football
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: fans haven't heard of Kendrick Lamar or his music. As
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Matt Walsh posted, bizarre decision by the NFL to have
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: some guy come out and lethargically mumble a bunch of
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: songs that 90% of the NFL audience has never heard.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: I think that's true.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: I think most people watching and listening who aren't Gen Z,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: don't know who Kendrick Lamar is, haven't listened to any
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: of his music, were really unhappy with that.
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: Performance last night.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Someone else wrote on X, This halftime show was rejected
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: at the ballot box. I think that was the sentiment
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: of a lot of conservatives. Like, what is this trash?
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: What are we listening to right now?
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: We think we were.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Ready for a more authentic, unifying American cultural experience, and
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: that did not happen last night.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Kendrick Lamar... happens to be.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: A radical abortion activist who mocks Jesus in his artistry routinely.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: He didn't do that last night, but this is not
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: a guy that I think is representative of American values
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: at large. There was also not a single white person
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: part of the halftime show. Michael and I looked around like,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: there's only black people who are a part of this performance,
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: which not very diverse, probably, ironically, the least diverse halftime
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: show in American history. But of course, diversity to the
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: left is limiting the representation of white skin. So it's
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: actually the opposite. Diversity is not diversity. It's actually lack
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: of diversity. Then that's diversity. I mean, you guys see
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: how crazy these people are. So the halftime show is
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: being dubbed the worst in the history of halftime shows.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: And I will say, I don't want to take it
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: that far because like I said, The music wasn't my favorite,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: but nobody pole danced.
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: Nobody was, nobody was nude.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: There was nothing gay or anti-Trump or anti-America in the performance.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: And I understand that the bar is low, but we
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: are used to so much worse, so much worse. Not
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: my style, but it also was better than any of
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: the things that I just listed off. Now I do
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: get that most major top artists these days suck. Nobody
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: likes modern music. This is supposedly my generation of music, right?
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: I'm supposed to love what's coming out now.
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: I hate it. I've hated it for a while.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: So why doesn't the NFL just bring out one of
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: the oldies? Somebody who's great, like a Dolly Parton. I mean,
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: she'd be awesome.
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: Everybody would love that.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: And everybody would know the songs as well. I don't
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: know why we can't bring out somebody who's not a
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: modern artist for the halftime show. Bring back somebody who
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: is old but great. Here is one example. This was
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: circling around Twitter yesterday in response to this halftime performance
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: of a great classic American halftime show.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: Let's go.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: There.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Let's make our escape.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: Come on, let's go there.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: Let's ask and.
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: We'll stay.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: So this is pre-performing at the Super Bowl in 2021.
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: I'll go with that mic. That was 2001, you guys.
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: I'm so sorry. 2021, 2001.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: So much joy, so much creativity. It was, there's just,
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: you could feel the energy. I mean, I wasn't even
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: old enough to remember that performance and I'm pining for it.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: So last night's halftime show, it was fine. It wasn't
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: It wasn't horrible. It wasn't a dumpster fire. But I
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: think America deserves excellent. And that was far from excellent.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: I want to dive into the ads because the ads
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: tell us a lot about corporate America, how corporate America
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: perceives all of us, what they think will land with
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: the rest of us. Some people thought that last night
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: was emblematic of a vibe shift to the right in
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: terms of ads. I think overall it was more complicated
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: than that. I want to start on a positive note.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Brad Pitt narrated a Super Bowl ad calling America to
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: huddle up ahead of the kickoff and you'll see kids sports,
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: you see the founding fathers, you see Native Americans and
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: military members and the American flag and ranchers and the
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: signing of the Declaration of Independence and The deal is, again,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: the bar is low. So seeing founding fathers viewed in
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: a positive light is a huge step up from statues
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: of the founders being torn down by Black Lives Matter,
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: which is a movement that just a.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: Couple of years ago, the NFL openly endorsed.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: So at the same time, we were subjected to something
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: called the Black National Anthem by the NFL.
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: So we had this great ad that most Americans could
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: get behind.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: We thought it was wonderful and unifying and very aligned
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: with the American ethos.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: But then we got the Black National Anthem. Let's play that, Mikey.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: Sing, sing a song.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: So Black National Anthem, as it's called, also known as
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: Lift Every Voice and Sing, is a nice song.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: A little background on it.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: It was originally composed for Abraham Lincoln's birthday celebration. It
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: was later adapted by the NAACP in 1919 as a
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: rallying song for black civil rights. Abraham Lincoln's birthday, anti-segregation,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: but fine.
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: It's a fine song.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: But at the Super Bowl, the only national anthem that
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: we need is the national anthem.
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: I'm not sure why black.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: People need their own separate national anthem or why that
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: even exists as a thing at the Super Bowl. Should
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: we have a Hispanic national anthem? Should we have a
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: white national anthem? Oh, that wouldn't be okay, right? No
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: white national anthem.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: That's not cool.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: It's just, it's really unnecessary. It's really, I think, instead
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: of unifying in any way, it creates divisions in this
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: country along racial lines that are completely unnecessary. I think
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: what MAGA has done is shown that there is a
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: populist movement growing in this country that transcends racial lines
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: and why the NFL is insistent on dividing us along
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: those lines is is, I think, very out of tune
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: with how most Americans feel, which is that it's actually
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: a division between populist, working class Americans, regular Americans, and
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: the elites in this country aligned with globalist interests, people
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: that are, for instance, at USAID that we've been exposing
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: for the last couple of weeks. Those are where the
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: divisions really lie and who has real power and control
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: in this country. So I didn't think that was a
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: really good.
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: Move on their part.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Again, I'm laying out a tension from last night, competing
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: values at constant war on the TV screen. Now, the
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: generals also made a showing last night. The NFL ran
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: this patriotic opening ad featuring the founding fathers. And then
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: they made an ad that takes place in the 80s
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: and is about proving that women, I guess, are better
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: at football than men.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: Black football than men?
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: This one takes the cake for the most insufferable ad
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: of the night.
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: Take a look. Dorsky, you're on thin ice, mister.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Hey, Principal P.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Stop kicking your principal.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: Everybody's on thin ice. What's this? A Dorcasaurus Rex? Come on, Chad.
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: I don't want any trouble. Leave him alone. I'll kick
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: your butt, Chad. Hey, Chad. Check out the new girl. Ew,
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: what is she wearing? Girls don't play football. They do
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: where I'm from. Get a load of this one. Think fast.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: You think fast.
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: Right in the Jimmy Johnson. This ain't over. We're just
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: getting started, Chad.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: Get in the car! Let's go, let's go!
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Get down, get down!
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: Come on! There you go, there you go!
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Ooh, little girl, bang!
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: Oh!
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Enough!
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: Let's settle this once and for all. Your best guy... Girl.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Whatever.
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: Versus our best guy. The Brad.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: Brad, Brad, Brad. Oh, not the bread. I'm Brad.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: I can read.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I can read.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: The girl, I guess, fakes out this super jacked football player.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: Okay, okay, that's what I'm talking about!
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: He says, leave the past behind.
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: Let's make girls flag football a varsity sport in all
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: high schools.
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: Is that what I said, Michael? I mean, okay.
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: I've never been one to love flag football. I don't
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: think that it's that great of a sport. Maybe you
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: love flag football. I don't understand, but we have to
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: pretend like women are better at flag football in order
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: to get flag football in high schools. Like what, like,
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: why is that the, the route.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: We're taking here?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: And it's an absurd claim to be making that what,
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: like women are somehow amazing at sports so much better
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: than men that we would just crush any man and
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: flag football. It's the stupidest assertion I've ever heard. There
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: is a reason why last night on the football field,
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: there were no women. Women are not as athletic as men.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: They aren't. The NFL tried one time to have some
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: female kicker. She flopped. She was horrible. Never seen again.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: College, sorry.
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: College football.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: It's just silliness. Men and women are different. I don't
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: know why we have to keep having this conversation. My
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: biggest gripe is that the ad spits in the legacy
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: of 80s movies and the movies and culture that it's
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: trying to emulate. In 80s movies and in real life,
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: the hot jock does not bully a cute chick.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: He flirts with her.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: 80s movies jocks were, they were confident, socially dominant, but
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: they were charming and they were also protective and loving
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: toward the female lead. And this ad intentionally subverts that
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: aspirational idealized version of masculinity in 80s movies. This redefining
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: of jocks as cruel and predatory toward women is more
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: modern feminist man-hating. We've seen it before.
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: And it sucks. The NFL.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: And the advertisers don't know what female empowerment actually means
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: at all. To them, it's being like a man. That's
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: what female empowerment means. Instead of women being women, it's
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: women being like men. They don't understand that genuine respect
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: for women is having an appreciation for the unique compliments
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: that they are to men. Last week, President Trump protected
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: women and girls everywhere by putting a stop to trans-identifying
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: men infiltrating women's sports in publicly funded schools. The NFL
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: is not taking a stand for women and girls' sports
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: in any authentic way. Instead, they're just going back to
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: the old man-hating denigration of of men that we're so
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: used to from the left, that's so tired and fake.
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: Woke Nike has actively.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: Harmed female athletes by celebrating men competing in women's sports.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: I think desperate to rehabilitate women its reputation and pretend
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: to actually care about women in the wake of this
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Trump executive order, Nike ran this ad yesterday.
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: You can't be emotional, so be emotional. You can't take credit.
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: You can't speak up. You can't be so ambitious. You
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: can't break records. You can't have any fun. You can't
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: make demands. You can't be proud. You can't keep score.
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: You can't stand out. Whatever you do, you can't win.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: So when? We're just seeing a lot of black and
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: white female athletes. It's just like a pro women's sports ad.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: I'm not really sure what exactly they're advertising. Just like,
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: we love women's sports, I guess is the message here,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: which is dumb because nobody believes you, Nike.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: But do you guys notice the tension?
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: The desire to appear feminist while also not taking a
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: true stand for women's athletics.
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: Thank you, Michael.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: This is what it looks like to be a women's
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: sports fan, to be a real feminist. This is Trump
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: signing his executive order, surrounded by women and girls.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: That's a real feminist. The NFL and Nike, they don't
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: know what the hell they're talking about.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: On a positive note, Google Pixels did a beautiful ad
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: about being a dad yesterday. In this ad, you have
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: a dad practicing with Google Pixels for a job interview.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: And the tech at the start of the ad asks him,
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: tell me about the job that taught you the most.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: And this man starts talking about being a father, which
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: to him is the job that taught him the most.
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: It is a really beautiful script. Here's part of that ad.
• 21:52
  Speaker 6: Last question.
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: When it comes to work, what motivates you?
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: I guess.
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: Knowing that people can depend on me. And knowing I
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: can depend on them, too.
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: That's a great answer.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: Sounds like you're ready.
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: Hey, James. Thanks for joining us.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: It's good to see you all.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: I've been looking forward... We're good with that, Mikey.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: If you're listening, you see a flashback of, so you
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: see his daughter, he hugs his daughter, and then it
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: flashes back to her hugging him as a little girl,
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: also in a blue sweater. And I think that's how
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: all dads view their daughters, right? They're always like little
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: girls to them. They never really grow up. And the
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: message is really spot on. I think all men desire
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: responsibility in life. That's why fatherhood is so fulfilling for men.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: Men want to know that people depend on them.
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: How many ads and.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: Movies and TV shows do portray dads as bumbling idiots
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: these days. That ad respected the unique and beautiful roles
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: that fathers play in family and in society, something that
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: we really aren't used to seeing from a culture that
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: constantly is denigrating men, like with the ad I just
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: played from the NFL and flag football. And especially white men,
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: I'll add too. Another great ad came from Ram starring
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Glenn Powell. And this is a little bit different of
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: a vibe, But it was still, I think, a really
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: positive ad, a positive portrayal of masculinity. This is Glenn
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: Powell reading a bedtime story to his niece and his nephew.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: Again, tone is different. Message is still great. Take a listen.
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: Once upon a time, there was a girl with golden locks.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: You know what?
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: Maybe it was like a rugged woodsy dude.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: The beds were too hard.
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: The chairs were too soft. The porridge was too.
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: This Goldilocks wanted something tastier.
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: Those look just right.
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: First, he drove the Ram 2500 Rebel to pick up
• 24:08
  Speaker 6: some dinner.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: Too hot!
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Freedom! I know, Glenn!
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: What about the three bears?
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: This is my story. But yeah, the bears were there.
• 24:36
  Speaker 5: And they all lived happily ever after.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: Sort of.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: We're good with that, Mikey. Somebody just commented that, oh,
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: this ad was super weird.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: It was strange. I don't get it. This is how
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: men tell stories. I'm sorry. And this is what I
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: said about men and women being different.
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: Women will read the book or they'll tell their own
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: story and it'll be very sweet. And men will insert
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: their own tint. Yeah, Van Halen into the bedtime story.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: This is how men tell stories. This is how men
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: are just different from women and they contribute in a
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: special way to children's lives.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: Um, that's different than just.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: Sort of sitting nicely and reading the book and blah, blah,
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: It's like, this is, this is how men are action in,
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: in young children's lives and, and energy. And I think
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: that's a really positive thing and a very accurate portrayal
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: of being an uncle or being a brother or being
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: a father.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: You guys drop a comment in the chat.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: Tell me if you're a man, if you ever put
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: your own span at a bedtime story, I've seen that
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: from my brothers. Um, and I love to see that.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: I thought that was a really great ad. My favorite
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: ad actually was from Rocket Mortgage, which turned into a
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: historic sing-along with the entire stadium.
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: Take a listen.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Let's get you home. Almost heaven West Virginia Blue Ridge
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Mountains Shenandoah River Life is all there Older than the trees.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: Younger than the mountains. Growing like a tree.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: That's your boy? Yeah, I can't wait to.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: Get there tonight. Country roads, take me home.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: So you're seeing people moving to the other place. Starting
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: to move to the other one.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: Now you see the entire football stadium and they've all sort.
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: Of erupted singing Country Road.
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: A moment of unity inspired by Rocket.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, the message is really beautiful, right? You have
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: families starting lives, building communities. You have the sing-along with
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: the entire stadium, which is really wholesome. And the ad
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: is right to frame home ownership as a huge part
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: of the American dream, as a perhaps even being the
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: American dream. And there's a tension here that shouldn't be
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: lost on anyone. Yeah, it is aspirational, it's beautiful, yet
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: it's increasingly unattainable. Home prices have not kept up with
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: household incomes. At the same time, private equity firms are
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: buying up single-family homes. At least some in corporate America
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: know what Americans desire, know that we're getting our priorities.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: And yet again, there's a tension with reality. There are
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: were also some truly bizarre and meaningless ads that I
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: did not like. Somebody commented, Michael, did you like that
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: seal ad? I thought it was weird too. Somebody in
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: the comments said that they liked the seal ad. And
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: mind you, companies are paying millions to produce these ads
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: and get them in the Super Bowl. Here was the
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: nerds ad. You see just like this giant blob, red monster.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: So pretty.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: And then the other monsters sort of like attached to it.
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: They're supposed to be nerds, I think. It's very odd.
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: And then let's play the seal ad because that was
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: also weird, Michael. You had a Mountain Dew Super Bowl
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: ad where the seal, the singer, turns into an actual
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: singing seal.
• 29:03
  Speaker 4: Very strange.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you're listening, it probably sounds good, but
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: it looks very creepy.
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: Like, very odd. We'll go with that, Mikey. weird.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: There's no substance. There's no story, no creativity other than
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: just how can we make this ad as weird as possible?
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: And yes, I'm sure it was memorable, but it's also
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: horrifying and frankly repulsive in my opinion. Again, companies spend
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: millions on these ads and there was a lot of
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: really poorly done ads. At one point, Snoop Dogg and
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: Tom Brady came out starring in a stop hate, stop
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: anti-Semitism ad which was a very odd choice considering, as
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: David J. Harris pointed out, Snoop Dogg portrayed shooting President
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Trump in the head a few years ago in his
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: rap video. He's kind of an odd poster boy for
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: stopping hate. We also got a really annoying part two
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: of the He Gets Us campaign from last year.
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: God gets us. Jesus gets us. This is the last
• 30:24
  Speaker 4: night's rendition of the ad. Take a look. Because what
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: is greatness? When you're seeing people push.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: Others out of a snow pitch.
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: Don't know.
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: Recipients.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: People laughing someone to hear your prayers someone.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: Who's there immigrants gays hugging at a pride event but
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: with john's 316 on the.
• 30:53
  Speaker 4: Hat feeling unknown and you're all alone.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Flesh and bones by the telephone lift up the receiver i'll.
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: Make you a believer.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: Now, last year, the campaign, and.
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: As with this year, aimed.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: At giving an updated portrayal of Christianity to sympathize with
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: the plights of people who are quote, spiritually open but
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: skeptical of organized religions. In other words, the ad is
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: meant to appeal to worldly cultures or to bring people
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: into like a big tent Christianity. The issue is that
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: Jesus called us to not conform to the world in
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: any way that compromises our morals. Opposing mass illegal immigration,
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: the human trafficking and drug crisis at our border, that's
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: not hateful. Promoting the pride agenda is not Christian in
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: any way. I want to play for you guys the
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: ad that this organization should have spent millions airing last night.
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: This was made by Pastor Jamie Bambrick in response to
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: last year's ad. And this is called, Instead of He
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: Gets Us, He Saves Us. Take a look.
• 32:24
  Speaker 4: That's former witch. Dawkins, former right-hand man. Former jihadist.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Former KKK member.
• 32:34
  Speaker 4: Former drug addict. Gang leader. I was standing. You were there.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: Worlds collided, and they could never tear us apart.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: A new age guru, former lesbian activist. Jesus doesn't just
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: get us, he saves us.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: We can live for a thousand years.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: It says, he transforms us, he cleanses us, he restores us,
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: he forgives us, he heals us, he delivers us, he
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: redeems us, he loves us.
• 33:29
  Speaker 4: It's a really beautiful.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: Ad and I think a really, the correct message, right?
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: It's not just that you're okay and that Christ is
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: okay with all of the sin in the world. It's
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: that despite the sin, he is forgiving when you come
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: to him and ask for forgiveness. It's not that he's
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: accepting of the sin, but that he's accepting of of
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: you and is always ready to provide forgiveness in a
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: really broken world.
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: That is the Christian message.
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: That is much more aligned with the faith, what Christ
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: taught when he was here on earth. So I thought
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: it was a really beautiful response to that ad. It's
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: unfortunate that we had to have it again, sort of
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: distort Christianity at the Super Bowl this year. And I
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: think if last night was indicative of anything, it is
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: that we are still competing for the soul of of
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: this nation. I think if that ad just by itself
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: was indicative of anything, it is that we are competing
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: for the soul of the nation. Last week, I asked
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: the question, did we just win the culture war? And
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: I think the answer.
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: After last night is that there's indeed a vibe shift.
• 34:32
  Speaker 4: The zeitgeist is with us.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: Young people are the biggest indication of this, but we
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: haven't won. The NFL gave us patriotism and founding fathers.
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: We weren't tearing down statues and we weren't putting and
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: racism at the end zone, but we also got the
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: Black National Anthem, and we got man-hating, and we got
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: He Gets Us. Kendrick Lamar's music was trash, but he
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: also didn't push cultural Marxism or nudity on anyone. There's
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: some sincerely wholesome, lovely ads, but also some bizarre and
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: even offensive ones. Overall, there were some diamonds in the rough,
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: but also a lot of slop.
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: Devoid of beauty, devoid of charm, devoid of deeper meaning.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: So what does that mean for us? Like I said,
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: the Super Bowl is one of the last remaining shared
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: American experiences. From President Trump's presence in the stand to
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: the halftime show and the commercials, it was clear that
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: we're still at a crossroads. But we saw glimpses of
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: America in the ads that honored the founding fathers, military service,
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: traditional values. Those moments were often juxtaposed with oddities, contradictions, undercurrent, tension,
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: and The advertisements in particular seem to reflect corporate America's
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: attempt to toe the line between appeasing woke sensibilities and
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: tapping into a more traditional patriotic ethos that's gaining more
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: and more traction in this country. America as a nation
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: is still wrestling with its identity, attempting to reverse decades
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: of damage done by postmodernists and cultural Marxists. The conversation
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: isn't just about political figures like Trump or issues like immigration.
• 36:07
  Speaker 4: It is about reclaiming a cultural narrative.
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: What we saw at the Super Bowl was a mixed
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: bag of triumph and disappointment, unity and division, mirrors and
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: broader battles for the soul of this country. And while
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: the vibe shift may be real, the fight is far
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: from over. We're still in search of genuine representation, of
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: a connection with the stories and ideals that define us
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: genuinely as a people. Culture isn't something that simply happens
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: around us. It is a living, breathing entity that we
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: help shape often in ways we don't even realize. And
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: right now we find ourselves in the midst of cultural recalibration,
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: a movement that, while gaining traction, still demands active engagement.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: If the voices we want to hear aren't being amplified
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: by mainstream outlets, it's up to us to make sure
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: that they are. Trump gets this on a level that
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: I really think no politician ever has. He spent his
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: entire career not just playing the political game, but also
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: actively shaping the cultural conversation. His presence at the Super Bowl,
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: was not a fluke. It was him showing that he
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: understands the importance of cultural symbolism and narratives. He doesn't
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: just want to change politics. He wants to change the
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: way America thinks, feels, and remembers itself. And it's clear
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: that culture is where the power really lies. We can't
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: sit back and wait for change to happen. We have
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: to be the ones actively creating it. We need to
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: take control of the stories we tell, the values we champion,
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: the messages we send. Think about the He saves us
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: ad in response to he gets us. That's exactly how
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: we should respond to subversive messaging. Like I said, Trump
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: isn't just a politician. He is a civilizational force. And
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: he's been driving this shift for years. He's shown us
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: that winning the culture war means seizing control of culture
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: and forcefully shaping it for the better. That's all I
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: have for you guys today. Thank you so much for
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: tuning in. I hope you like this cultural breakdown. We'll
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: be back to a more normal show with just straight
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: headlines tomorrow, but I wanted to do a special show
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: dedicated to just what happened last night, what it says
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: about us, and where we are as a country.
• 38:17
  Speaker 4: I'll see you guys tomorrow.
• 38:19
  Speaker 6: We will make America proud again.
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: We will make.
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: America wealthy again.
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: And yes, together, we will make America great again.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: The U.S.
• 38:50
  Speaker 4: Soccer Podcast.
• 38:51
  Speaker 6: I'm your host, Megan Klingenberg, and I am super stoked
• 38:54
  Speaker 6: to be joined by Daryl Dike.
• 38:56
  Speaker 4: Arguably, your most impressive quality cannot be measured. You're a
• 39:00
  Speaker 4: guy who is the definition of grit. Injuries have ended
• 39:03
  Speaker 4: plenty of careers, but instead you decided yours would only
• 39:06
  Speaker 4: be a chapter instead of the ending. Welcome to the show, Daryl.
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: That's a good intro right there.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: That's good.
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: The U.S.
• 39:13
  Speaker 4: Soccer Podcast. Follow and listen on your favorite platforms.