Jake Levine On Midterms and Fighting for American People
4/4/202623 mincomplete
0:00In the midst of a catastrophic war in Iran, Donald Trump has announced his catastrophic
0:052027 budget. And folks, this is not getting enough attention.
0:10Donald Trump is demanding that he receive $1 .5 trillion as the 2027 military budget.
0:20Now, Donald Trump's prior military budget, which was a massive increase of former President Biden's
0:26$800 billion military budget was $1 trillion last year spent on military spending.
0:34And now Donald Trump essentially wants a 42 % increase year over year to make
0:40that number $1 .5 trillion.
0:43Meanwhile, non -defense spending would be cut by $73 billion or 10%, perhaps even more.
0:51Folks, this would be the largest year over year increase for military spending since World
0:58War II. And you all recall that Donald Trump held a press conference at the
1:02end of last week where he said, our country's too big.
1:05We're involved in too many wars now where we can't spend money on social programs,
1:12on Medicaid, Medicare, on Social Security.
1:15Those should all be destroyed and eliminated, Donald Trump basically said.
1:19And instead, all the money should go to funding wars.
1:23I'll show you that in a moment.
1:24But I want to dig deeper into this disastrous budget because here in the Midas
1:29Touch Network, we get into the weeds.
1:30We reveal the secrets. We talk about things that aren't getting enough attention anywhere else.
1:35So let's do that right now.
1:36Donald Trump is demanding close to $200 million, technically $152 million, but lots of people
1:43believe that will be increased.
1:44To rebuild Alcatraz and to turn Alcatraz, which is a museum right now, into a
1:51super prison, as Donald Trump is calling it.
1:54And what else is Donald Trump spending?
1:56What else does he want your taxpayer dollars to go to?
1:59Well, you know how Donald Trump's been saying, oh, well, we're spending no money at
2:03all on the ballroom or White House renovations.
2:06It's all of my rich billionaire friends who are the ones paying for the ballroom
2:10BS. Donald Trump plans to spend $377 million on what's being referred to as executive
2:18residence renovations, plus $174 million more in miscellaneous funding.
2:26And that doesn't even include potential classified funding, which could be in the hundreds of
2:32millions of dollars, if not billions of your taxpayer dollars for the secret bunker that
2:39the Midas Touch Network was the first to report about it under the East Wing
2:43that was demolished. We reported about it five months ago.
2:47You dig in, you can see in these line items, and we've analyzed them, potentially
2:53a billion to $2 billion when you add up what could be going down in
2:58the underground bunker, plus the $450, $500 million in White House renovations that taxpayers are
3:06paying for right now. Just take a look.
3:09Remember five months ago, we were the first to report this secret bunker exposed underneath
3:16the ballroom. And then we did a report three months ago.
3:19It's under the ballroom. And I just remember there were so many people who were
3:24like, okay, you're being hyperbolic secret bunkers.
3:27That's what. They're doing the secret bunkers.
3:29That's my voice of people mocking us, but we were right.
3:32It's just funny because 12 hours ago, the New York Times did a story on
3:36this. What to know about the massive military bunker beneath Trump's ballroom.
3:42Trump's been talking about the emergency facility beneath what was once the East Wing details,
3:47which are usually kept secret as he tries to justify his renovation.
3:52So that underneath portion as well.
3:55Yeah. Who do you think's paying for that?
3:57Also, the 2027 budget proposal calls for spending close to $650 million, technically $605, but
4:05again, based on some of the ways this is written, it seems like it'll be
4:09closer to $650, but $650 million on National Guard mobilization in Washington, D .C.
4:15Also, $75 billion more to ICE, including these massive concentration camp facilities they call detention
4:27spaces. These 100 ,000 single adult bed factories that look like these Amazon factories, 30
4:35,000 family unit beds, $15 .4 billion for transportation to move people to concentration camps.
4:4467 % increase in ICE staffing through 2029.
4:49What's being cut in this disastrous budget?
4:52Well, the 2027 budget proposes steep cuts to the EPA funding by 52%.
4:58This reduces the EPA's budget to the lowest level since the 1980s.
5:04Trump's 2027 budget fully eliminates sexual risk avoidance programs and teen pregnancy prevention programs.
5:12Donald Trump is a sicko, of course, and he's part of the Epstein class.
5:16Trump's 2027 budget proposal cuts over $15 billion in funding for renewable energy projects and
5:23removing carbon dioxide from the air.
5:25It cuts $240 million from the McGovern Dole Food for Education program.
5:32This program is strongly supported by U .S.
5:34agriculture groups and trade organizations.
5:37The budget cuts $2 .3 billion from the Department of Education.
5:41It cuts significant amounts of money to small businesses.
5:47Specifically, it eliminates multiple SBA entrepreneurial development programs.
5:52That provides small businesses with quality training, counseling, and access to resources.
5:58Trump's 2027 budget proposal cuts $1 .1 billion in NASA funding for the International Space
6:04Station. It cuts $297 million for space technology.
6:09It cuts $3 .4 billion in other NASA science research programs.
6:14It cuts $204 .5 million for a community development financial institution fund, which stimulates growth
6:22in economically disadvantaged communities. It cuts $2 billion in humanitarian assistance.
6:29The budget proposal fully eliminates the Food for Peace program, which would otherwise provide $2
6:35billion in support for the U .S.
6:37farm economy each year. It cuts $234 million in funding for worker protection agencies.
6:44It fully eliminates Job Corps.
6:47Job Corps, as you probably know, provides free education and vocational training to young Americans.
6:53It fully eliminates HUD, the Housing and Urban Development's Fair Housing Initiative Program, which assists
6:59victims of housing discrimination. It also fully eliminates HUD's Pathway to Removing Obstacles, PRO.
7:06It's a very important thing to do.
7:06It's a very important thing to do.
7:06So... housing program. These grants remove restrictive zoning regulations and promote the construction of affordable
7:12housing. Also, it fully eliminates HUD's Community Development Block Grant program.
7:17The program develops housing and expands economic opportunities for low -income families.
7:22The 2027 budget proposal includes $40 million in cuts to the Department of Homeland Security's
7:28office of countering weapons of mass destruction.
7:32It fully eliminates HUD and Housing and Urban Development's Native American Programs and Native Hawaiian
7:38Housing Block Grant, which provides affordable housing and community developments for Native Americans and Native
7:44Hawaiians. It also fully eliminates HUD's Home Investment Partnerships program, which creates affordable housing for
7:52low income families. The budget includes $354 million in funding cuts for HBCUs and other
7:58similar institutions. It includes $1 .3 billion in cuts to FEMA disaster preparedness programs.
8:06It cuts $5 billion to the National Institutes of Health.
8:11It fully eliminates low -income Home Energy Assistance Programs, LIHEAP, which helps struggling families with
8:19energy bills and energy during an energy crisis.
8:23It also includes $1 .6 billion in cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
8:30which monitors predicts natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.
8:36Trump's 2027 budget includes $82 million in cuts to the USDA's Rural Business Service.
8:41This program supports economic development, boosts farms, and creates job opportunities in rural communities as
8:49well. And just so you remember, I mean, here's what Donald Trump said at the
8:52end of the week. We don't have money for these programs.
8:55We only have money for war right now.
8:58Here's what Donald Trump said.
8:59Let's play this clip. We're a big country.
9:01We have 50 states. We have all these other people.
9:04We're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare.
9:07You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for
9:10it, too. They should pay.
9:12They have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it.
9:15And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up.
9:19But it's not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these
9:24individual things. They can do it on a state basis.
9:27You can't do it on a federal.
9:29We have to take care of one thing, military protection.
9:32I want to bring on right now Jake Levine running for California's 32nd congressional district.
9:40Very competitive primary right there.
9:42Incumbent Brad Sherman. Lots of people know him.
9:47You know, he's been in that district, entrenched in that district for a very long
9:51time. I've interviewed him. I've had him on my show before.
9:55I would be remiss if I didn't bring you on, though, because your campaign is
9:59gathering a lot of attention.
10:01You and I are about the same age.
10:04You've worked in the Obama administration, had a big role there.
10:07You worked in the Biden administration.
10:09And lots of people are looking to you and your campaign as kind of a
10:13model for the next generation.
10:15And, you know, in my view, you know, I don't think, you know, it's not
10:20a no offense taken to other people out there who have worked hard in the
10:23districts. I do think that there is a lot of people saying, what is the
10:27future look like of a Democratic Party?
10:31And this race is one that people point to.
10:34So talk to us about that a little bit.
10:36But let's I want to get to you and I are about the same age.
10:40I went to Georgetown. You went to Harvard.
10:42You worked in the Obama administration.
10:44So right after, you know, undergrad, talk to us about this journey though.
10:49So people get to know you a little bit, Jake.
10:51Well, Ben, uh, I think I'm a little bit older than you.
10:54Unfortunately, I have to admit that.
10:56Um, but, um, I'm, I'm glad I'll take a couple of years here.
11:00We look the same age, younger than me.
11:04Um, look, I, I, I think a lot about the young people who are getting
11:08involved in my campaign. Um, these are people in college.
11:12We've had some, some high schoolers out on the doors with us, you know, we're
11:15knocking thousands of doors. And I think about the moment that they're, that they've come
11:20up in where, you know, they lived through nine 11, then the great recession, then,
11:27uh, Trump one, then COVID, then Trump two, they have not had a model for
11:34hope or inspiration or success.
11:38And a big part of why I'm running is because within our own district, we've
11:43had no model for hope and success and effectiveness for 30 years with our incumbent
11:48member of Congress. This was something that I came to appreciate, um, very recently after
11:54losing my childhood home in the LA fires and watching the ineffectiveness of our incumbent
12:00member of Congress. But we have got to demonstrate across the government as a whole
12:06that we can actually deliver on important things.
12:09I mean, I, you mentioned when, after I graduated college, I had the opportunity of
12:13a lifetime to go work on the Obama campaign.
12:16I started in 2007. Um, actually my very first real job on that campaign was
12:22as Michelle Obama's driver. And I shuttled her around New Hampshire and we were barnstorming
12:28the state, um, after Iowa, before the New Hampshire, um, primary.
12:33And there was something hopeful.
12:35And then we delivered on healthcare, on financial regulatory reform.
12:39We, I worked in the first ever white house climate policy office.
12:44We delivered a bipartisan bill that we got out of the house called Waxman Markey.
12:48These folks coming up now have no models for success.
12:53And that is the fundamental reason why I'm running.
12:56We need a refresh. We need dynamic leaders with new ideas and who are capable
13:00and have a track record of getting things done.
13:03You know, people are looking at this current moment and they're seeing, I know this
13:09teaching college students at, at USC.
13:12Um, they're like, we were prompt, you know, people, but it's, it's incredible to me
13:17that people believe some of the stuff that Trump was selling, because I've always known
13:21the guy as a con artist, his entire life who bankrupted this, that, and the
13:25other thing. And so for whatever reason, there are some group of people, oftentimes young
13:30men as well, you know, who bought into some of this stuff and said, you
13:35know, I believe that he's going to do this.
13:37And I, I tried telling people in 2024 and 2023.
13:40And you know, since we started this, no, he's not the guy, you know, just
13:45look at the facts and the data.
13:46But what's been fascinating for me to see is the shift recently as well.
13:51And the feeling of this betrayal Allah, all the other people Trump has come into
13:56touch with. But, you know, I, I think about Trump's statement that he made in
13:59the past 24, 48 hours where he goes, we don't have the ability.
14:03Right. As a wealthy big nation to deal with Medicare, Medicaid, and other social services.
14:08We need to focus just on war.
14:10That's the direct quote from the guy.
14:12And people are like, what?
14:14So talk to us about kind of your priorities, but also this moment where, especially
14:18with you working for Obama and Biden to even hear somebody are.
14:23say that out loud to me is like, how is that not disqualifying?
14:28Well, obviously, Trump is totally out of touch with what people actually are going through.
14:36But the sad truth is that so are a lot of Democrats.
14:39So are a lot of people who have held on to office decade after decade
14:43and have not delivered. When Brad Sherman was first elected to Congress, you could rent
14:48a one bedroom apartment in our district for $700.
14:51Today, it's $2 ,800. So we're putting a renter's tax credit on the agenda as
14:58part of our core housing agenda.
15:00We're also fighting for a national housing development bank to help create the supply of
15:05new housing that we desperately need, not just here in LA, but across the state
15:08to bring down prices. We're going to support first time home buyers with mortgage assistance
15:15and young people, whether they're dreaming of buying a home or whether they're dreaming of
15:21having a family and they want support on child care and education, insurance.
15:27They deserve leaders who are actually in touch with those needs.
15:32So that's at the top of our agenda.
15:34And I hear that knocking doors is folks even still in their thirties and forties
15:39paying off a thousand, two thousand dollars a month of student debt.
15:44People who are dreaming of buying a home, but just can't do it.
15:47They're still living at home.
15:48People who don't feel safe in their communities, whether it's from fire or from crime.
15:53And they've had a government that has said to them, well, there's not that much
15:57that we can do. And now you've got the ultimate contrast with a president that
16:02has taken us into yet another forever war with no clear objectives, no set of
16:10strategic goals, no transparency as to what's happening, never making the case to the American
16:15people and spending a billion dollars a day asking for 200 billion dollars more to
16:21finance this when we actually need a whole host of other things on the home
16:26front. We got to bring prices down and we got to support the things that
16:30people need. And I will say my opponent, Brad Sherman has not been on the
16:35record as to where he would be on funding this war.
16:37I want to be very clear that I would not support funding this war at
16:41a moment when we have enormous economic challenges and needs for everyday working families here
16:47in our district. And we deserve a member of Congress who will fight for that
16:51and be clear about where they stand on everything else.
16:55You know, I think an important an important point and what I think a lot
16:59of people point to your campaign that you're doing that perhaps some other people who
17:06who who have kind of young, fresh campaigns don't fully appreciate.
17:10And I think this is your background with Obama and Biden and being, you know,
17:14in these rooms, though, you know, lots of people think that just saying what you're
17:18going to do to stop Trump and block Trump and anti -Trump, you know, is
17:22is enough because people despise and hate Trump.
17:25Sure. I think people granted, you know, he's the least popular.
17:29His approvals like like historically low, awful human being so stipulated.
17:35I still think and I want I want to hear from you on this, though,
17:38is, OK, well, what is the forward looking affirmative agenda?
17:42Yeah. And people are like, just don't use the word affordability.
17:46Tell me, like at a very specific and granular level, like what are you going
17:50to do actually to make my life, you know, better without speaking like a politician?
17:55And I think some of the voices right now that have really broken through in
18:00this moment. at a granular level are talking about this specific thing, this specific thing.
18:05And people are like, yeah, that's actually going to make my life better.
18:08So talk to us about that before we go.
18:10Yeah. Well, I want to also stipulate to everything you had to say about Trump.
18:15But that's the table stakes, right?
18:17I mean, we'll all stipulate to that.
18:19And I think what will distinguish Democrats and we'll see this in the presidential election
18:27debates coming up is what are we articulating that is an affirmative message for what
18:33people need that is not about purely opposing Trump?
18:38What we're focused on is three things, fundamentally.
18:41One is on bringing the cost of living down so that people can afford to
18:47live where they work here in LA.
18:49Number two is making a safer Los Angeles.
18:53And I'll talk about that in a second.
18:55And number three is electing effective members of Congress, people who can build coalitions and
19:01get things done. So bringing costs down.
19:03I mentioned housing where we're really focused on supply side and also supports for mortgage
19:10support and renters support. But we're also focused on bringing down the cost of utilities
19:16like I did when I helped start a tech company called Opower that has saved
19:20people billions of dollars on their electric bills.
19:22We can do this by deploying cheap, affordable, clean energy.
19:26We're focused on bringing down the cost of child care and education by providing support
19:33through federal programs that can be improved through streamlining and additional funding in those areas.
19:40And we're focused on bringing down the cost of insurance.
19:42And I've got an opponent who's taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the very
19:46insurance companies that are denying claims to survivors in the Palisades and in Malibu when
19:52we actually need to be providing accountability on the insurance industry to be ensuring that
19:57prices are affordable and that coverage is provided.
20:00But we also have to address the concerns that people have around safety, whether that's
20:06the mayhem that ICE and CBP have created in our communities.
20:10And so we're fighting for a pathway to citizenship for the hardworking, taxpaying, law -abiding
20:16members of our community who are here without status but really driving our economy forward
20:21in construction, agriculture, services. We're fighting for accountability around the overreach and unconstitutional conduct that
20:29ICE and CBP demonstrated during their raids and continue to demonstrate.
20:34And we're fighting for resources around fire and public safety.
20:38This is the basics of government.
20:40People, you know, people experience burglary.
20:43They call the police here in LA and the police tell them get a dog
20:47because the police is not going to be here fast enough.
20:49We've got to, as Democrats, pay attention to our shortcomings there.
20:53And finally, Ben, we need members of Congress who can actually perform the job.
20:58My opponent has passed four bills in 30 years.
21:02Two of them are to rename post offices.
21:04I didn't wait to become a member of Congress to start an organization helping survivors
21:09in the Palisades in Malibu get the resources that they need.
21:12I didn't wait to become a member of Congress to to launch the California Climate
21:16Action Corps, which has put 20 ,000 young people to work doing the resilience and
21:21climate security that they need in their communities.
21:23I didn't wait to start a petition to make sure that this city was not
21:27allowing ICE to conduct unlawful raids on city property.
21:32And we shouldn't have to wait any longer for a member of Congress to actually
21:36perform their job in this district.
21:37And I think that's what voters are looking for is someone who has the urgency
21:41and the plans and the experience to actually address these urgent issues.
21:46Jake, where can people learn more about the campaign?
21:49And when is the primary?
21:51The primary is June 2nd.
21:53Ballots will drop actually like a month from now in early May.
21:57So this thing is off to the races.
21:59People can check us out on our website, jakelevineforcongress .com.
22:04We're constantly posting to Instagram and TikTok and Facebook.
22:11Please follow. There are opportunities to get involved.
22:14We had 50 volunteers out on the doors last weekend.
22:17We're knocking on thousands of doors.
22:20This is a campaign that young people are responding to because I think they feel
22:25that for too long, the needs that they have have gone unanswered.
22:30And we want to get more young people involved.
22:32So join us. Jake Levine running for Congress out here in Cali.
22:37Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Ben.
22:40Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers.
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