Kamala CRUSHED It

The vibes are high after an epic debate performance from VP Kamala Harris. We break down the highlights, lowlights (Trump's many lies), and the stark contrast between the candidates on stage on Tuesday night. 

And... America's favorite "childless cat lady" broke her silence and weighed in on the race. Listen in for a live reaction to Taylor Swift's official endorsement of the vice president in this episode. 

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Transcript

Brian Derrick: [00:00:00] No muted microphones, 

Glennis Meagher: no knee jerk reactions to polls, 

Brian Derrick: just vibes. This is vibes only the podcast that promises to check the vibes of American politics every week and the vibes this week. 

Rachel Maddow: I've never seen a starker contrast in presentation from two candidates in any debate, in any type of contest, in any political race.

We'll 

Glennis Meagher: play it. It's giving pull up our group chat, but first we're going to get right into it and give you our hot takes on this debate. Let's go cooked. She ate that. She ate that one little thing as they say on TikTok. And by one little thing, I mean the entire thing. 

Brian Derrick: The entire thing. Wow. That was epic.

My phone is blowing up. The internet is losing it. Okay. We have a lot to talk about. I feel like let's start. With the fun stuff, and we'll get into some of the meatier things. Most viral moment from the entire night go. 

Glennis Meagher: The transgender [00:01:00] aliens getting surgery at criminal jails? Like, what did he even say? It didn't make any sense.

Brian Derrick: Period. I think, other than just the reaction face, which was, Absolutely a whole moment in and of itself, President Trump got fired by 81 million Americans. And I think he's having a hard time processing that 

Kamala Harris: Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. So let's be clear about that. And clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.

Hmm. 

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. He also, he just lied. He kept lying. 

Brian Derrick: The dogs. 

Glennis Meagher: The dogs. Like, he was asked a question. Yeah. Why was he even talking about? 

Donald Trump: They're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating, they're eating the pets. 

Brian Derrick: The number of cat dog. memes that have been birthed into the world tonight are like [00:02:00] astronomical.

We're going to get a solid week, maybe a few weeks of very iconic pet related content. I already got like five tonight. Yeah. Incredible. 

Glennis Meagher: That stemmed from like the racist conspiracy theory that popped up on Twitter in the last 24 hours, correct? 

Brian Derrick: Yes, right. 

Glennis Meagher: A literal dog whistle. 

Brian Derrick: The frequency of the lies is really intense in formats like this for Trump when he's being like, boxed into corners on things.

He just like lies literally 30 times a minute to like get out of it and it's so hard to like pin down which of those things you want to chase. I thought she did a good job of not trying to take the bait. Every time of like trying to actually lie, fact check him because you just can't know. On the other hand, she set some incredible traps for him.

Probably most notably the comment in her [00:03:00] answer on immigration about his rally size. 

Kamala Harris: I'm going to actually do something really unusual and I'm going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies because it's a really interesting thing to watch. You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter.

He will talk about when mills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early, out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams, and your desires.

And I'll tell you, I believe you deserve to be heard. A president who actually puts you first. And I pledge to you that I will 

Brian Derrick: absolutely sent him into a tailspin where he completely diverted to that topic to protect his ego and left basically like home base, which again is supposed to be a winning issue for him undefended because she had such a strong answer on him killing the bill that would have added [00:04:00] 1500 border agents and all of We've 

Glennis Meagher: talked about many times on this pod.

Brian Derrick: Absolutely. I thought that was really strong. Not only did she do it on that, she also did it when she talked about his daddy giving him 400 million versus her personal narrative of growing up middle class. 

Glennis Meagher: He wasn't even able to debunk. He was just like, it was less than that. It was less than okay. Well, you got to be more clear.

Less than 400 million could be 40, 000 or it could be 4 million. 

Brian Derrick: No, it was hundreds of millions. It was hundreds of millions. It's literally giving the debate from Parks and Rec where it's Leslie Knope versus the rich son of the hometown company's owner. Oh my God. Incredible. Bobby Newport. Come on now.

Glennis Meagher: Also, I kind of lost it when she asked him the question on abortion and he ended up talking about student loans. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. My group chat said she should have started every answer by saying, and that was his answer on climate. And that was his answer on healthcare because [00:05:00] you literally couldn't ever tell what he was supposed to be talking about.

Glennis Meagher: Yeah, you couldn't follow. And he just was Full of shit. He was talking about how the Biden administration, like we all know, tried to cancel student loans. The conservative Supreme court that has three justices that Donald Trump like cheated his way to have said no. So the administration went back and figured out another way to do it.

It has canceled almost 170 billion of student loan for close to 5 million Americans. Right. What are you talking about? I will, I will say I appreciated the ABC, the anchors did snap back and would state the facts before they pivoted to the next question when he was like very egregious. 

Linsey Davis: There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born.

Madam Vice President, I want to get your response. 

Brian Derrick: I will say about the anchors, our moderators, where was the moderation and where was the mute button? I want to see a runtime of Trump's overall. Talking [00:06:00] time versus Kamala's. 

Rachel Maddow: Yeah. 

Brian Derrick: Um, because baby, he talked whenever he wanted to talk. 

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. And they would turn his mic on.

He would be talking and they would turn his mic on. I'm like, why are you turning his mic on? The rule was they both had to be talking for the mics to turn on. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. That was bonkers. I do think that it hurt him ultimately, which is what we knew from the very beginning is that he was successfully goaded into being as unhinged as he is.

I was getting. Texts from literal Republicans, literal Republicans, particularly in Ohio, that were saying they couldn't believe how incoherent he was, and it was just like belligerent, and I think that not muting the mics gave more that effect, and the fact that he seemed to just ramble forever on these random things that were incoherent.

unrelated to each other and illogical also added to the sense that he was talking for a majority of the time. But I would like to see the stats on that. I'm sure someone has the number somewhere. 

Glennis Meagher: You know what I also I'm using loved and [00:07:00] like not, I didn't actually love it, but I, it was just very rich was when he was questioned about January 6th and he said that he had nothing to do with it.

Linsey Davis: Is there anything you regret about what you did on that day? I 

Donald Trump: had nothing to do with that other than they asked me to make a speech. I showed up for a speech. I said, I think it's going to be big. It's like, 

Glennis Meagher: no bro, you rallied them, rallied them to scream, hang Mike Pence. And then when he closed it off and was like, J six, J six, I'm like, Oh, you got a nickname for it.

You're cozy. You're cozy with that date. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah, I thought that that answer was really, uh, egregious. She then responded and said she is here for people who stand for country and stand for democracy and the rule of law. 

Kamala Harris: For everyone watching who remembers what January 6th was, I say we don't have to go back.

Let's not go back. We're not going back. It's time to turn the page and if that was a bridge too far for you [00:08:00] Well, there is a place in our campaign for you 

Brian Derrick: And I thought her answer on that and like let's put an end to the chaos was a particularly strong response from her to like hold him to account.

Let's talk about the segment on reproductive rights. It was early on in the night. It was especially spicy. Trump was trying to set a world record for the number of lies and focused heavily on the non existent. Democrats murdering babies after birth or a month 

Glennis Meagher: and falsely claiming that all Democrats wanted Roe v.

Wade given to the states, all people, all Republicans, all Democrats. No, that's not true, 

Brian Derrick: right? And like Roe v. Wade, obviously being wildly popular in both parties, like most people over 

Glennis Meagher: 70%. Yeah, 

Brian Derrick: he did debut a bit of a new strategy here where he was really focused on [00:09:00] like saying that the people would decide that it wasn't even just like it's a state's issue.

It was it was a step beyond that. It was him saying, Oh, we're going to give it back to the people and they're going to vote. He highlighted Kansas and Ohio as examples. I was 

Glennis Meagher: extremely liberal. examples. Yeah, right. 

Brian Derrick: Exactly. I'm extremely liberal Ohio, 

Glennis Meagher: which is getting more conservative by the day. No offense, Brian.

Brian Derrick: Well, no, he won Ohio twice by eight points. And so like the idea that that's like somehow a liberal state is laughable. So again, showing the bipartisan nature of like Roe v. Wade being a common popular standard. I think that his overemphasis on putting it on people is such a strawman argument because number one, a majority of the country cannot have citizen initiated ballot referendums in their state.

That is only a state by state option and a majority of the country doesn't have it. And so the idea that like, Oh, this is on you. It's actually on the voters and they can decide is not accurate. It's on These Republican state [00:10:00] legislatures that are passing the most extreme bans and then gerrymandering to keep themselves in office to protect them from themselves from the will of the people.

So I did want her to take him to task on that, but like overall, I have to say like her response on repro was incisive and incredibly human. And she really focused on like the human toll of his abortion bans in the States and of his legacy of overturning Roe v. Wade and taking away women's constitutional right to bodily autonomy.

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. 

Brian Derrick: The other moment that I was just going to go to Vance. 

Glennis Meagher: Oh, you got to check with JV. You got to check with JV. Did you even talk to your vice president? 

Brian Derrick: That was wild. I have not seen a president throw their vice president under the bus. So publicly before crazy, like notice the difference in there were specific situations where vice president Harris differs with Biden But she would never just be like, [00:11:00] well, that was his thing and that's his problem and I'm gonna do it differently Meanwhile, he was like, mmm JD and I never talked about that.

Don't know her don't know what she's talking about 

Linsey Davis: JD Vance has said that you would veto if you did come to your death Well, 

Donald Trump: I didn't discuss it with JD in all fairness JD and And I, I don't mind if he has a certain view, but I think he was speaking for me, but I really didn't look, we don't have to discuss it.

Glennis Meagher: No unity that was something that a VP chipped at a little bit tonight, which was like all of your, all of your staff members basically hate you and don't endorse you and talk about how. That's cool. Bad you are for this country. 

Brian Derrick: That was another one that really got under his skin. She listed all those Republicans.

She talked about Liz and Dick Cheney. She was talking about all these people in his administration. She had exact quotes from the, from his former cabinet members who are now saying that he's a threat to democracy. And [00:12:00] that's the kind of stuff that like rolls off the tongue and you're like, Oh, wow, that's great.

The amount of prep. That it takes when you're on that level of adrenaline to remember the exact quote from John Bolton or whatever is like, yeah, really impressive. 

Glennis Meagher: Yeah, that was a really powerful moment when she like looked to camera essentially and talk to everyone who feels like they have been abandoned and betrayed by the Republican Party sense.

The MAGA movement has taken hold, and you have to hope I'm curious to see how many people tuned in. You have to hope that they heard her and believe her. Yeah. I also to that point, I was thinking about that when she brought up the tiki torches. Yeah. And I was like, say that again. Like she really did just have like An almanac in her brain of the MAGA map of like all these insidious things that the movement has done to this country and was able to go into her headspace and pull them out.[00:13:00] 

I was, I was very impressed. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. I do just want to point out that overall, in addition to like lots of lies, which was expected Trump's point of view on everything that he talked about was dark. It is very dark. And I don't think that people like get to hear it all packaged up in that way very often. But he literally said, America is quote, a nation that is dying.

Glennis Meagher: Bad part. I literally got up to walk to the restroom when he started saying that. And I stopped and I walked back to my TV and I was like, then leave Donald Trump, leave. We don't want you. If you don't believe in this country, he is so anti American and anti Presidential. That should have lit a fire under everyone's ass.

A hundred percent. And he couldn't even say, When he was asked point blank, do you want you Ukraine to win this war? Never said yes. 

Brian Derrick: Right. That was also pretty wild to [00:14:00] me. And she, I'm jumping all 

Glennis Meagher: over, but yeah, no, no, 

Brian Derrick: no, no. I agree. I, I, she, she got him on it too. She said like, he says this war is going to end because the minute you give him the keys, he's going to hand over anything.

That Putin wants to Putin, 

Glennis Meagher: right? It would be good in his own words. Yeah, but that is thank you for highlighting that. Because that wasn't even a moment for me. It's like, then why are you here, dude? Why are you here? 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. He talked about, um, immigrants destroying the country that we would be quote Venezuela on steroids.

Like it is a very dark and backwards looking view of America. Like it is inherently saying that America is that our best days are behind us that the only way is to go back to him. And she, when she picked We're not going back. Weeks ago, it just captured [00:15:00] it. So well, I can imagine if you are locked in your house and you watch a lot of Fox News that honestly trumped it very well tonight.

And I'm not saying that that's no one like that is there. There are millions of people that like that. Is real for who believe when Fox runs a story that Colorado is being taken over by Venezuelan gangs or whatever. And I think that like Trump was playing to those people, but that is his mistake is that he thinks that those are the people that are going to get him elected.

And they're not, that is not the median voter in Pennsylvania. That was not the median voter in Michigan. And I think that at the end of the day, Kamala Harris had that person Literally at the front of her mind the whole time she was looking dead into the camera and saying, Do you want someone who cares about you?

I have served the people for my entire career, and that is what I'm promising to do as president. Or do you want someone who has always been a billionaire and will always be a billionaire looking out for other billionaires? 

Glennis Meagher: And like a confirmed narcissist who only cares [00:16:00] about himself. Oh, whoa, breaking news.

Breaking news what? Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris. 

Brian Derrick: Period! Wow! Oh my god! 

Glennis Meagher: Where's my push notification? Cause babe, cause you, this is my pop crave. 

Brian Derrick: Not pop crave breaking the news again. No pop 

Glennis Meagher: bass, pop bass. 

Brian Derrick: Wait, I'm, I'm confirming we're fact checking live. Where do you guys see this? I see nothing. 

Glennis Meagher: She signed it.

A childless cat lady. And used a photo of herself with one of her cats. 

Brian Derrick: This is gonna break the internet. If, if anyone is gonna decide who wins the debate, Taylor Swift is not a bad arbiter. 

Glennis Meagher: Brian, did you see that, uh, the VP was doing some road stops this weekend and she went to, uh, she was in Pennsylvania and I, this is also why I really like her.

She went to a spice store. That's so niche. You know she cooks, right? If she's [00:17:00] going into a. Yes, 

Brian Derrick: and instead of behaving like normal humans, Fox News is obviously having a meltdown about her visiting said spice shop. 

Fox News: So couldn't wait to get out of that hotel there, but it's not just any spice store, you guys, that she stopped by.

that the vice president stopped at Penzi spices in downtown Pittsburgh. What's Penzi's? It's a nationwide chain that's become pretty well known for posting about politics, often attacking the G. O. P. Take a look at this. Okay, Penzi's just recently offered customers a discount to celebrate Trump's indictment.

They sent that out in an email branding the spice. spice justice, uh, saying reindited and it feels so good, but 

Glennis Meagher: yeah, I'm like, 

Brian Derrick: I bet that tastes good. I'm going to buy some. It's giving free advertising. 

Glennis Meagher: Literally. Thank you. It's like now more people are going to go buy that. 

Brian Derrick: Wait. I love that. Kamala is normal and cooks and knows how to like Knows her way around a kitchen and a [00:18:00] dinner menu.

It's giving in a garden. It 

Glennis Meagher: is giving someone who knows what food costs someone for sure goes to the grocery store at least like sends a list and sees the bill. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. Oh, I mean, yeah, she probably doesn't shop while she's in the White House, but she definitely grocery shops before and she will again when she leaves.

Well, 

Glennis Meagher: she when she found out that she was And become the nominee. She was cooking for her family and she got the call and she was like cooking up Sunday dinner or whatever, or Saturday dinner. And she was like, okay. So, I mean, yeah, I mean, it is super like, wow. Someone who actually lives a life and knows things.

Well, our group chats have obviously been on fire. Un fuego, because it's like the hottest night to be texting. But what else is going on in your group chat? What's been popping off this week? 

Brian Derrick: My group chats have been. Heavily dominated by my bestie, Benj Pasek, [00:19:00] securing an Emmy, which got him his EGOT, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and that's been like blowing up.

Yeah, that's 

Glennis Meagher: major. I mean, that's like world news. Him and his writing partner, Justin Paul, have now secured, 50, EGOT status. Actually, I have to do a shameless plug because Benj and Justin wrote a song for us in 2020 called Actually Vote. You can find it on YouTube. It is an absolute bop.

Brian Derrick: It really is. 

Glennis Meagher: It really is. They're extremely gifted. Yeah. 

Brian Derrick: Performed by Kiki Palmer. Oh yeah. 

Glennis Meagher: My Kiki Palmer. The Kiki Palmer. My favorite 

Brian Derrick: celebrity of all time. 

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. Snaps for them. Cause that's just like, and they're also, you know, very kind, generous, lovely people, which just is the cherry on top. 

Brian Derrick: No one deserves it more.

Yeah, I'm so so so so proud of him. Other than that, I feel like my group chats have been like full of all the crazy conspiratorial shit [00:20:00] that Trump has sort of been spewing. He's like really spiraling as as we've talked about, but he's now like threatening to jail election officials. I haven't 

Glennis Meagher: even seen this.

Brian Derrick: No, he's literally saying that if he doesn't win, he's gonna put everyone in jail when he takes power anyway. It's like, it's like very unhinged. 

Glennis Meagher: He's unwell, truly unwell. 

Brian Derrick: My group chat was also all about the Super Bowl halftime show announcement. How are you feeling about Kendrick Lamar? I 

Glennis Meagher: think it's awesome.

Brian Derrick: Yeah, I'm hyped. I think that people might be surprised, but I'm like a huge Kendrick Lamar fan. 

Glennis Meagher: I'm a little surprised. What's your favorite Kendrick song? 

Brian Derrick: Mad city, I think is the greatest rap song of all time. 

Glennis Meagher: Okay. 

Brian Derrick: Of all time. It's highly like parental advisory required. But I can basically like wrap the whole thing.

It's so good. Also, can we, can we just give a shout out to like the importance of having a great group chat, because when you really [00:21:00] need help, it's the group chat that you go to. Like if you need emotional help, you call a friend or whatever. But like when you need someone to like pick you up or like help you out in a tough spot, it's like the group chat that comes to the rescue.

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. An example. 

Brian Derrick: Yeah. Yeah. I found out after call a business on Friday, I worked late. and found out that the event that I was attending the next day was black tie that I thought was just business professional. And I was leaving on a train at like 9 a. m. the following day. So I had literally zero time and I put an entire fit together.

That actually fit me perfectly in a tux in like two hours, three hours because the group chat came through. I was like, who has a tux in my size ready to go right now? 

Glennis Meagher: Literally dry clean. Right. Exactly. 

Brian Derrick: Right. And boom happened. I got shoes from someone. I got a tux from someone and the group chat really came through for me.

Glennis Meagher: Okay. That's, I mean, I would say women can do that too, but I think our [00:22:00] sizes just like vary so much more than men's, but maybe not. I mean, men are like. Tall short. 

Brian Derrick: I think it's less noticeable if men wear something that doesn't fit. Exactly. Yeah. 

Glennis Meagher: Right. Like Tom Ford's not gonna be at your table like questioning your hemline.

Brian Derrick: Right. If I like, don't have the exact break in my pant Right. That I want, then that's okay. But like if you're dress is like dragging on the floor like a train, then people are gonna notice. 

Glennis Meagher: Yeah. Wait, there's, I actually had, um. Someone in one of my group chats and then also a listener DM me and this is around like political flair.

So flags, signs. And they both had similar circumstances where they, like came back to their neighborhood and they saw all of these different yard signs pop up and they are not common yard signs. So one person had a bunch of like, uh, Kennedy signs pop up after Kennedy, uh, Literally like said, Oh, I'm not running and I'm going to help Donald Trump.

So [00:23:00] she was like, the fuck what's going on. And then my other friend came back and there was like, and she lives in Florida. So like Kelsey Prius, but there was like all of these signs. So she like frantically DM me and she's like, where can I get the most loud, proud walls? Like, and it turns out there's a lot of back orders.

So like a lot of them are taking like two to three weeks to get to people want them now. So. So if you're looking to open an Etsy shop and you're ready to start pumping out flags and signs, I think there's some people who would take them. 

Brian Derrick: Weirdly, that's been in my group chat too. I definitely have like had people asking what they should put in their, in their yard or in their window.

I'm always a fan of the Nicki Minaj in front of the bar. 

Glennis Meagher: Someone has it in my neighborhood and I'm like, we know, okay, we see you. 

Brian Derrick: Right. Because it's like, it's not the same as a comma sign, but like, you know, we, we know. 

Glennis Meagher: Is it though? 

Brian Derrick: You don't think all the barbs are Kamala Stan? You're right. You're right.

Glennis Meagher: You're right. 

Brian Derrick: They definitely are. 

Glennis Meagher: Uh, I haven't. [00:24:00] Yeah, I know. I could hang. I mean, I do in it's actually a question for all vibes only listeners. What kind of like flare signs are you seeing in your neighborhood? Are you seeing when you go to your parents neighborhood or family members neighborhood or siblings neighborhood as it compares to yours?

I'm seeing more and more yard signs. New Yorkers put them in their windows because We don't have yards. Yeah. I would love to hear what kind of flair you're seeing. 

Brian Derrick: I'm going to order some and bring it on to next week's episode. 

Glennis Meagher: I want to get one that's like really obscure. That's like Irish Americans for Harris walls.

Brian Derrick: I'm going to get one that's like birders. No. Okay. 

Glennis Meagher: Wow. Okay. You're a birder now? When did this happen? You hate birds. You literally are anti bird. We know this. Everyone who listens to Vibe Only knows that you're anti bird. 

Brian Derrick: I love birds. I love birds.

And after [00:25:00] watching that rock star performance, I feel like it's only fitting that we leave Vice President Harris with the last word on this episode. We're going to be talking for days and days about that debate. But I think that this sums it up perfectly. 

Kamala Harris: So I think you've heard tonight, two very different visions for our country.

One that is focused on the future and the other that is focused on the past and an attempt to take us backward. But we're not going back. And I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us. And we can chart a new way forward. And a vision of that includes having a plan.

Understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the American people, which is why I intend to create an opportunity economy, investing in small businesses, in new [00:26:00] families. And what we can do around protecting seniors, what we can do that is about giving hardworking folks a break and bringing down the cost of living.

I believe in what we can do together that is about sustaining America's standing in the world and ensuring that we have the respect that we so rightly deserve, including Respecting our military and ensuring we have the most lethal fighting force in the world. I will be a president that will protect our fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.

I'll tell you, I started my career as a prosecutor. I was a DA, I was an Attorney General, a United States Senator, and now Vice President. I only have one client. And I'll tell you, as a prosecutor, I never asked a victim or a witness, are you a Republican or a Democrat? The only thing I ever asked them, are you okay?[00:27:00] 

And that's the kind of president we need right now. Someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first. I intend to be a president for all Americans. And focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back up our country by investing right now in you, the American people.

Brian Derrick: And those are all the vibes this week. Thank you for listening. Don't forget to get in touch and tell us what kinds of political signs you're seeing in your communities. You can text us your thoughts by clicking the link in the description or emailing us at vibes at courier newsroom. com. Finally, do not freak out.

about any single poll that comes out this week, or next, or the one after that. If you find yourself worrying, do what Michelle Obama said, and DO SOMETHING. And most importantly, keep tuning in to Vibes Only every week. And don't forget to follow and subscribe on your platform of choice. Catch you next Wednesday.

Glennis Meagher: Vibes [00:28:00] Only is a production of Courier, a civic media company that protects and strengthens our democracy through credible, fact based journalism and secrecy. to create a more informed, engaged, and representative America. Vibes Only is produced by Devin Maroney with support from Courier's Kyle Tharp, Arsi Demezo, Daniel Strasburger, and Lucy Ritzman.

Video editing is by Shane Verkest. Tara McGowan is founder and publisher of Courier.