Original subtitles

Trusted journalists at Comedy central... 2

It's america's only source for News. 3

This is "the daily show" with Your host, jon stewart! 4

[cheers and applause] 5

>> jon: boom! Hello! 6

[cheers and applause] 7

Hi, everybody! Welcome! 8

Welcome to "the daily show!" My name is jon stewart. 9

Got a great show for you Tonight. 10

Later on, we'll be joined by Governor spencer cox of utah, 11

He's got a new book out on how We can as a nation disagree more 12

Agreeably -- and i will be the First to tell him to go [bleep] 13

Himself. That can't be what's written. 14

Hold on. Folks, i am re-energized. 15

We've been gone for the month. For the entire month of august. 16

I assume the same for Yourselves. 17

Now that we are all synced up on The french calendar. 18

Cause i think we've all learned From experience, august is a 19

Dead zone. People are on vacation, 20

The news ticker slows to a Crawl, it's just a series of 21

"black bear in swimming pool" Videos. 22

So i checked out. Rejuvenated. 23

Just out of a kind of morbid Curiosity, did i miss anything 24

At all? 25

>> president trump rolling back Decades of childhood vaccine 26

Guidance. 27

>> threatening to demolish The kennedy center. 28

>> trump's attack on mail in Voting. 29

>> suggesting that he'll take Over the midterm elections 30

>> president trump siding with North korea. 31

>> crisis at sea aboard The u.s.s. Lincoln. 32

>> conditions so bad, there are Reports of sailors attempting to 33

Jump overboard. 34

>> trump threatening to wipe out Iran. 35

>> threatened to bomb oman, a U.s. Ally. 36

>> saying he was going to use The u.s. Military against the 37

Bond market. 38

>> jon: no! Oh, no! 39

I'm old again! I'm old again! 40

[applause and laughter] I love that they thought i 41

Needed a beard to look old Again. 42

Oh, no! It never ends with this dude, 43

Trump. I've never seen one person work 44

So much and fix so little. It's exhausting in a way that's 45

Difficult to articulate. Which is why one of the stories 46

From this past august did Resonate with me so much more 47

Deeply: That's the plight of 48

The u.s.s. Lincoln. 49

>> 5,000 u.s. Sailors and Marines serving on the 50

U.s.s. Lincoln stepping on Dry land for the first time in 51

More than nine months. The once-gleaming aircraft 52

Carrier docking in thailand After 286 days at sea, covered 53

In rust after a record-setting Deployment. 54

>> jon: do you see it? Look. 55

Look. Look carefully. 56

Do you see? Let's do the the before, 57

Let's do the after! Do you see the metaphor? 58

This ship, a symbol of American might, ingenuity, 59

Technical know-how and Patriotic determination laid low 60

By prolonged exposure to Relentless corrosive elements. 61

Reckless mismanagement. This ship... 62

Do you see? It's not the u.s.s. Lincoln, 63

It's not. It's just u.s. 64

It's just -- It's us. 65

We're the ship. This is what we look like as 66

Americans inside after 18 months Of this presidency. 67

By the way, we don't get The one-week thai sex trip to 68

Try and paper it all over. We just have to suck it up. 69

I want you to look at the Picture of the rusted ship -- 70

Look at it! Don't look away! 71

I want you to think about the Visible, tangible, actual 72

Indisputable, factual signs of Corrosion on this ship. 73

This is the president discussing It. 74

>> people on the lincoln, they Say it's beautifully maintained 75

And beautifully taken care of. 76

>> jon: it's not! It is obviously not! 77

Look at it! Look at my precious! 78

The actual abraham lincoln is in Better shape than this ship. 79

[applause] A beautifully maintained, 80

Beautifully taken care of ship Doesn't look like the abandoned 81

Bridge near my high school we Where we used to smoke weed. 82

And it's this: The relentless denial of reality 83

That is just one of the elements Eating away at the foundational 84

Load-bearing structures that Hold this country together. 85

Us. And the other corrosive element 86

- - the memes, make it stop! 87

>> overnight, the trade war with Canada continuing to escalate. 88

>> president trump posting a Hockey cartoon mocking canadian 89

Prime minister mark carney as Governor. 90

>> jon: what the [bleep]? First of all, i can't believe 91

That ai has gotten so advanced, It can fit trump's ankles into 92

Ice skates. That's not real. 93

[applause] That can't be right beard they 94

Are computer 95

Generated. Yeah, we're in a full blown 96

Trade war with canada. Real consequences. 97

Here's what they're hearing from Their leader. 98

>> in the face of unjustified, Unprovoked tariffs from the 99

United states, we're stepping Up. 100

When we're united, there is Nothing the canadian workers 101

Can't do. 102

>> jon: here's what we're Getting. 103

>> so lake ontario, That's gone. 104

Lake america. Thank you very much, everybody. 105

Enjoy lake america. 106

- >> jon: you can't just [bleep] - - that's not how things work. 107

You don't settle complicated International agreements by 108

Writing just a new name on the Map and expecting everyone to 109

Just follow along. 110

>> google maps is complying with President trump's 111

Executive order, renaming Lake ontario to lake america. 112

>> jon: i feel the rust Eating me -- 113

Canada is our second largest Trading partner! 114

60% of our oil imports come from Canada. 115

Half of our timber. We get parts for cars and 116

Planes, not to mention 100% of Our carly raes jepsen. 117

Why are we trolling them? Is that the plan? 118

To troll them into submission? Treasury secretary 119

Scott bessent, surely you have a More substantive understanding 120

Of the canada-united states Dynamic. 121

>> how do you see all of this Playing out? 122

>> well, you know, lara, the -- I had a german shepherd and 123

There was a dachshund that used To antagonize her at the 124

Playground. 125

>> jon: ah, yes, the "playground," as dog people 126

Famously refer to the place they Take their dogs to play. 127

"yes, my shepherd friend and i Were enjoying a sphere-retrieval 128

Session at the playground. You know, dog truly are one of 129

Man's closest associates." But carry on with your 130

Trenchant, completely real story Analogy. 131

>> and this little yippy dog Used to just, like, bark away 132

And, you know, for a long time. 110-pound german shepherd was 133

Ignoring the dachshund. And then one day she'd had 134

Enough. And unfortunately, 135

Prime minister carney did Walk away. 136

>> jon: is it weird that the Treasury secretary is at some 137

Sort of german-only dog Playground? 138

"the schnauzer and the Weimaraner can enter. 139

But this doodle is a mutt! It's a mongrel! 140

A mixed breed! Doodle unclean!" 141

Sorry, germany, you brought These jokes back yourself. 142

But seriously, who is The united states anyway in this 143

Analogy? Are we the dachshund? 144

Are we the shepherd? Did canada walk away from the 145

Deal, or were we the ones who Blew up the deal with last 146

Minute stuff? 147

>> i spoke to president trump Over the weekend after the 148

Breakdown in negotiations with Canada. 149

He did not dispute that the u.s. Added conditions late in the 150

Talks. He said, quote, "that sounds 151

Like me," end quote. 152

>> jon: "that sounds like me"? "that sounds like me"? 153

"that sounds like me." It just happened! 154

This isn't a story from the Frat days where you're like, 155

"i woke up in a pool of my own Vomit in a trade war with 156

Canada? Yeah, i guess that sounds like 157

Me. But i'm married now, settled 158

Down, but in those days, me and The boys sure could derail a 159

Negotiation." God, you can feel the metal 160

Buckling on our starboard side. But with the trade war now here, 161

The news media has been quick to Jump in and explain what's at 162

Stake. 163

>> americans are now facing Higher prices. 164

Some examples: milk, honey, Smartphones, liquor, and even 165

Wigs and fake beards. [laughter and applause] 166

>> jon: oh, beardy! I'll never let them take you. 167

But hey, man, canada, about time You learned a lesson. 168

That's right. Don't [bleep] around and yet 169

Still have to find out. But if you think canada got 170

Raked over the coals, Steve witkoff and jared kushner 171

Headed to russia to let Vladmir putin know what we 172

Thought of their war of Aggression in ukraine. 173

Yeah! Who's the dachshund in that 174

Room? 175

>> so first of all of all, President putin, thank you, 176

Thank you so much for having us. We were sitting outside just 177

Now, me, jared and carol, and Then yuri joined us and we were 178

All talking about when we Retire, we'll have all these 179

Incredible stories and Incredible memories, and yours 180

Will be right at the top of it All. 181

>> jon: "jared and i just want To thank you. 182

This has been the best semester Abroad. 183

I said i wasn't going to do This -- 184

This has been the best semester That me and jared could have 185

Ever asked for." By the way, what's going on with 186

Jared? He looks like he pre-poisoned 187

Himself. You can tell he lives in miami 188

Full time now. By the way, why are we even over 189

There negotiating with them? Why can't trump just get out the 190

Old one-two and Here is what we will do. 191

Here is what we will do. And we will call it... 192

Love-istan? And it is all fixed! 193

You seeing this shit, google? [cheers and applause] 194

And i know the naysayers out There are going to go, 195

"but that's not real, jon." But isn't that the trick? 196

Isn't that the whole game that's Keeping this incompetent 197

Ship of fools of an Administration afloat? 198

You've been filling up your tank These past six months, probably 199

Feeling like gas prices are High. 200

Well, joke's on you! 201

>> how much longer will Americans continue to see these 202

High gas prices? 203

>> well, they're not very high. 204

>> jon: oh! You think they are high they are 205

Not high! They're actually gas-gaslighting 206

Us. And you may say, "oh, but you 207

Know what? Even trump can only stave off 208

Reality for so long. That the cumulative effects of 209

High prices and punitive and Chaotic tariffs and reckless 210

Wars and narcissistic Self-aggrandizement will take an 211

Inevitable toll that cannot be Denied. 212

And yet! And yet! 213

[vocalizing] That is well maintained! 214

>> every presidency in a second Term, his poll numbers usually 215

Start to decline and he starts To weaken, and that's happening 216

To you. 217

>> no, it's not. Fake polls. 218

I have great poll numbers. 219

>> jon: you have great poll Numbers. 220

Sure. Presidential polls are scored on 221

A scale of one to 30. At 32, you're killing it! 222

And by the way, Where does trump get the idea 223

That his policies are having a Positive impact? 224

>> i have people coming up to me That have 401ks. 225

They said, you know, i was a Disaster. 226

My family wouldn't talk to me. They thought i was a total 227

Loser. And now i'm like the one guy 228

Said, i feel like Warren buffett. 229

>> jon: oh, i see. Trump gets it from fictional 230

Interactions from "people" whose Families had "cut them off" 231

Because of "portfolio Performance issues." 232

"i went no contact with my Parents because of their 233

Underperforming index funds." And you may say that you don't 234

Know that these interactions Didn't happen! 235

Oh, but we do, friends. We do. 236

We know by the way trump Describes the interactions. 237

>> every day i come to The white house, people are 238

Thanking me. Thank you, sir. 239

Thank you, thank you, sir. 240

>> jon: bullshit. First of all, you don't come to 241

The white house? You live there! 242

Your commute is stairs! Anybody you run into works 243

There. But i'll let you continue 244

Describing the regular folks you Run into on your way to work. 245

>> no, these young, Beautiful girls -- these young, 246

Beautiful girls -- these young, Beautiful girls in 247

The white house. 248

>> jon: what's with the Three times? 249

You trying to beetlejuice this Shit? 250

Tell us again. [cheers and applause] 251

No, i mean it. Tell us again. 252

What do all these young Beautiful girls that you run 253

Into on your commute to The white house from 254

The white house tell you? 255

>> these gorgeous, beautiful Girls. 256

They want to be safe, and they Come -- mr. President, may i 257

Speak to? Yes. 258

Thank you, sir, thank you. I said, why are you thanking me 259

Because a year and a half ago, i Was afraid to leave -- i was 260

Afraid to open the door of my Apartment. 261

And now i walk to The white house every morning 262

And i have absolutely no fear. Thank you, sir. 263

>> jon: that is true, it was Pretty chaotic around 264

The white house a while back, I do remember that. 265

But trump cleaned all that up. But i have to say, there is a 266

Part of me that thinks fighting His reality distortion field is 267

Slowly killing us all. Is rusting us out from the 268

Inside like that poor Battleship. 269

Is living in it better? Maybe it's just better to be 270

The guy in "the matrix" going, "oh, this blue pill's not so 271

Bad! That reality has steak!" 272

But i know too much. How do i get there? 273

Who would give me the blue pill 274

>> she's one of President trump's closest aides 275

Natalie harp. 276

>> harp's nickname is the human Printer because she follows the 277

President everywhere with a Laptop and printer, feeding him 278

A steady stream of positive news Stories. 279

>> jon: yes, Donald trump has an individual 280

Whose whole job is to reinforce His warped reality. 281

And if you were thinking of Going into that field, and were 282

Wondering what kind of Qualifications you would need, 283

Buckle up. 284

>> an aide so devoted that she Sprints alongside his golf cart 285

When he's out on the links. 286

>> she once jumped in the trunk Of an suv to ensure she would be 287

Able to be with the president For a court appearance when 288

There weren't enough seats in The motorcade. 289

>> reportedly slept in the Bedminster women's locker room 290

To be closer to trump. 291

>> wrote him letters that can Only be described as 292

Love letters. 293

>> quote, "i never want to bring You anything but joy." 294

>> jon: for the sake of my own Sanity, i'm going to pretend 295

She's referring to the Dishwashing liquid. 296

This is unbelievable. The outside world is fed into 297

This woman, a single conduit, And from there, she is the 298

Filter to all of the information Directly fed into donald trump's 299

Psyche. And by the way, natalie harp had 300

Repeatedly declined to get Security clearances. 301

Can we even trust her? Well, decide for yourselves. 302

Because tonight, here on "the daily show," we are 303

Premiering exclusive footage. We lived with natalie harp and 304

The president for a month to Determine what their 305

Relationship was really like. Let's take a quick preview. 306

307

>> why would i deceive you? There's no -- there's no 308

Reason for me to do that. 309

[laughter and applause] 310

>> jon: i mean, i guess i want That. 311

Who is going to do that for me? 312

>> i'll do it. 313

>> jon: what? Ronny chieng? 314

[cheers and applause] This is unbelievable. 315

Ronny chieng. [cheers and applause] 316

Ronny, you'll be my natalie? 317

>> yeah, yeah, sure. I want to bring you joy. 318

You're my everything or Whatever. 319

>> jon: and you were just Standing back there with a 320

Printer? 321

>> what, you think i was Stealing a printer to make 322

Fliers for a show i'm doing? That's racist! 323

>> jon: how is that racist? 324

>> oh, wait, good news coming In! 325

Beep, boop, boop. Here ya go. 326

>> jon: honestly, i think that Was more of a modem voice. 327

Oh, my god. "late night television has never 328

Been more fiscally robust and Governmentally appreciated?" 329

Wow! Thanks, ronny! 330

[cheers and applause] Is that true? 331

>> of course. Could i have printed something 332

That isn't true? 333

>> jon: ronny chieng! I feel better already. 334

When we come back, Governor spencer cox will be 335

Joining us, so don't go away. Thank you! 336

>> jon: welcome back to "the daily show." 337

My guest tonight, he is utah's 18th governor and author of 338

"off ramp: how to be a Peacemaker in an age of 339

Contempt." Please welcome to the program 340

Republican governor spencer cox Sir! 341

[cheers and applause] 342

Nice to see you. 343

>> governor cox: it's good to Be here. 344

Thanks for having me. 345

>> jon: "off ramp: how to be a Peacemaker in an age of 346

Contempt." Talk about, what is the purpose? 347

I will use a trick from your Book at the very start. 348

You seem very passionate about This. 349

Can you tell me why you feel That? 350

>> governor cox: it is in There. 351

>> jon: a strategy. 352

>> governor cox: it is a Strategy. 353

A year ago, something terrible Happened in my state. 354

I've been writing about Contempt, studying about 355

Contempt. 356

>> jon: i have been practicing At. 357

>> governor cox: you are very Good at it. 358

>> jon: thank you. 359

>> governor cox: polarization In our country and inability to 360

Accomplish anything. When charlie kirk was 361

Assassinated in utah, i felt Compelled to finish the work and 362

To write this book. I care deeply about our nation. 363

I think we can solve problems Without shooting each other. 364

>> jon: yes. 365

>> governor cox: i would Prefer that. 366

So that is why. 367

>> jon: we have a pretty good History in our country of 368

Shooting each other. 369

>> governor cox: fair. 370

>> jon: in pre-social media. We used to shoot people quite 371

Frequently. What is different about this 372

Time in your mind that makes the Rhetoric -- it reminds me that 373

Sticks and stones will break my Bones but names, that is the 374

Real issue. What do you mean? 375

>> governor cox: i don't know That this is a new problem. 376

And we do have this recency bias Where we think everything is the 377

Best or the worst. Clearly, 600,000 americans 378

Killed each other in the 1860s. 379

>> jon: don't tell me how it Ends. 380

>> governor cox: you will get There. 381

The 1960s, the 1970s, Political assassinations were 382

Fairly common. I am not here to tell people 383

That it is worse than then but i Am here to tell people that we 384

Are headed in that direction. Again. 385

I don't think that is good for Us or our country. 386

The tools are different. The divisive tools are 387

Different. Social media, the algorithms. 388

Our ability to surround Ourselves with only people that 389

Are just like us, only hear what We want to hear, that 390

Confirmation bias. That is fairly new. 391

The atomization of facts. You know, we used to have three 392

Stations where you could kind of Hear what was happening in the 393

Country. So all of that is very 394

Different. We are lonelier than we have 395

Ever been as a country. I think that is very dangerous. 396

I think young men especially, The gamification of society. 397

The lack of real contact is bad For them and the results we are 398

Starting to see come a not 399

Great. 400

>> jon: the idea is by using Different tools to disagree, we 401

Can begin to solve those Problems? 402

Or are those problems the result Of those things? 403

In other words, would you like To see that done to alleviate 404

The loneliness or are there Measures that need to be taken 405

That we are not taking? 406

>> governor cox: so what we Are seeing in this country right 407

Now is this toxic divisiveness. And what we are seeing at the 408

National level and that is what I know you want to talk about. 409

It is what you just talked about For sure. 410

What i am even more concerned About is what is happening at 411

The individual level. So four times as many people 412

Have lost a friend or a family Member to politics. 413

We have replaced healthy tribes In our country, volunteer 414

Organizations, faith-based Organizations, with politics. 415

Politics has become a religion For a lot of people. 416

Those are very unhealthy tribes. And so my concern with that is 417

As we continue to lose that, as You drive to taco bell and don't 418

Talk to a real person now, you Are talking to artificial 419

Intelligence, that is going to Continue to lead us to this very 420

Dark place. And we can't solve any of our 421

Greatest problems if we can't Have a debate, if we can't talk 422

To each other, if you are Beneath me and i am not willing 423

To engage with you, then we Can't solve that. 424

So my point is that i don't Pretend like i am going to solve 425

All of the nation's problems, But if i can get you to talk to 426

A cousin or a friend that you Don't talk to any more, that is 427

Eventually how we heal our Nation. 428

[applause] 429

>> jon: the crowd feels that Very strongly. 430

Let me make an argument for Contempt. 431

The reverse. I have found in my experience 432

That you have to be able to Discern things that are 433

Contemptible. There are things that are 434

Contemptible. How do you reckon that we 435

Address that? Is the idea that we just 436

Acquiesce to the contemptible? I will make it specific. 437

>> governor cox: tell me more About why you feel this way. 438

>> jon: senator mike lee. He is a utah guy. 439

I dealt with him trying to get The 9/11 bill passed which was 440

Funding for first responders and Survivors of 9/11 who went down 441

To ground zero who were getting Sick. 442

>> governor cox: i am very Familiar. 443

>> jon: we had a meeting with Him, with firefighters, police 444

Officers, and all that. He was -- i'm going to go with 445

Not good. And then was one of only two 446

Senators to vote that down and Then when the tragedy happened 447

In minnesota and those people Were killed and he tweeted out, 448

"nightmare on walz street." How do i first of all, when i 449

Spoke to congress, i treated Them with disdain because that 450

Is what they have earned and That disdain helped the power 451

Disparity between them. Isn't that a tool sometimes for 452

The weak? If you can't call something 453

Contemptible and truly treat it As that and have society agree 454

To that, why would we have to Acquiesce to that? 455

I'm curious, truly. And i mean that. 456

This i think is a good Conversation to have about it. 457

>> governor cox: it is an Important conversation to have. 458

I am not telling you that you Should not find things 459

Contemptible. I find lots of things 460

Contemptible and you have given Some examples of that. 461

That tweet was contemptible. We should all stand up and say 462

That is not okay. We don't support that. 463

And yet you met with him even Though you knew he wasn't 464

Supportive -- 465

>> jon: i didn't know at the Time. 466

I knew he wasn't supportive but I didn't know he was that. 467

>> governor cox: which is Fair. 468

But you had the meeting. That is the point i am trying to 469

Make. There is nothing -- no argument 470

I am making here that we should Compromise on our principles, 471

That we have to give up on the Things our core beliefs. 472

I am not talking about just Being nice to each other. 473

That is not what this is about. This is about sitting here and 474

Having this debate face-to-face. 475

>> you telling me how you feel Come i will tell you how i 476

Feel and at the end of the day Come we might find some areas 477

Where we agree and we might not And you might think i am a 478

Terrible human being and i might Leave here thinking that that 479

Was a waste of time. My mom was right. 480

I shouldn't have come on the Show. 481

>> jon: did your mom say that? [applause] 482

Can i tell you something? My mom says i should not be on 483

The show. She doesn't like me. 484

>> governor cox: for the Record, my mom likes you. 485

It was not that. But that is not what this is 486

About. It turns out that the people who 487

Learned how to debate in High school and college are less 488

Polarized than the rest of the Country. 489

Having actual debate is Something we don't do any more. 490

I think we actually need more Disagreement. 491

I think we need more of this Instead of the "i'm not going to 492

Engage with you because you are Beneath me. 493

I think you are evil." I think there is nothing more 494

Un-american than hating our Fellow americans. 495

>> jon: i just think that that Is in some ways a caricature of 496

How americans relate to each Other. 497

One that is displayed on -- i Find it more in statehouses than 498

I do in actual houses. I find that before we can all 499

Learn to be peacemakers with Each other, the system is not 500

Incentivized for that. Like -- 501

>> governor cox: on that we Agree. 502

>> jon: aren't we placing the Onus of this on individuals when 503

In some respects, this is a Natural product of the incentive 504

System that is in place in our Government and in our ecosystem? 505

>> governor cox: absolutely. So the hardest part about doing 506

This is that the incentives are Completely misaligned. 507

As a politician, the algorithms Reward me saying outlandish 508

Things, tearing down my Opponents. 509

Much more likely to get elected At least historically over the 510

Past 20 years, that has Certainly been the case. 511

We had stanford study this. There depolarization lab. 512

>> jon: elitist communists. [laughter] 513

>> governor cox: sometimes. We actually put a republican and 514

Democratic governor together, They filmed ads together. 515

We got 24 of them to do it where They said we disagree on a lot 516

Of things but we can disagree Without hating each other. 517

We both care about our country And want to work together on 518

Some things. They studied this in their lab. 519

They did an experiment. Thousands of people watched the 520

Videos. We looked at their responses. 521

It turns out that there is Another way to get elected in 522

This country. 70% of americans hate how 523

Divided we are right now. They are desperate for something 524

Else. There is a market failure. 525

The incentives are misaligned. Neither party is responding to 526

The market failure right now. I am convinced that the first 527

Party who does is going to do Very, very well. 528

I hope it is my party but that Remains to be seen. 529

>> jon: yeah, i don't think That is -- 530

>> governor cox: fair. 531

>> jon: that doesn't seem to Be the lesson you are learning 532

From the last ten years. What has worked? 533

Tell me where this has been Successful and where you have 534

Found its limitations? 535

>> governor cox: so it is Successful when you can try to 536

Take what appears to be a zero Sum game and turn it into a 537

Win-win situation which happens On occasion in politics. 538

>> jon: talk to me. 539

>> governor cox: real examples Of this happening in the state 540

Of utah. We are working on the great salt 541

Lake right now. Environmental disaster. 542

The great salt lake is drying Up. 543

No country on earth has been Able to preserve a great saline 544

Lake once they enter terminal Decline. 545

The environmental left of course Was all over this. 546

We got to save the lake. No surprise there. 547

How do conservatives come along And work on this in a state 548

Where we have a supermajority of Republicans in the state house? 549

So this is an area -- 550

>> jon: is that reflective of Your population as well? 551

>> governor cox: yes. 552

>> jon: in a lot of states, Like massachusetts, a lot of 553

States have supermajorities that Are not necessarily reflective 554

Because of gerrymandering. Talking about the incentive 555

Structure. 556

>> governor cox: correct. That is one of the incentive 557

Structures i agree is a problem In our country. 558

So how do we figure out how to Work on this and we need help 559

Nationally. I got to figure out how to work 560

With joe biden on this problem And then i have to figure out -- 561

>> jon: was he anti saving the Lake? 562

>> governor cox: so this will Challenge your a little bit. 563

So i am in the beast with President biden -- 564

>> jon: his car. 565

>> governor cox: the Limousine. 566

The presidential limousine. We are having a wonderful 567

Conversation with him. I bring up the lake. 568

He says, sure, we would love to Help. 569

Nothing really happened after That. 570

He wasn't opposed to it. 571

>> jon: what? From the government? 572

Wait, what? You said they would do something 573

And nothing happened? 574

>> governor cox: shocking, i Know. 575

>> jon: sir, at long last. 576

>> governor cox: a year and a Half later, i am in the 577

Oval office talking to President trump and i bring up 578

The great salt lake. We have a conversation about it. 579

He says, what do you need? I said a billion dollars and he 580

Said, great vehicle let's work On getting you a billion dollars 581

The next day i get a call -- 582

>> jon: and what are you going To have to name the lake? 583

What do you believe will be -- [cheers and applause] 584

So the republican governor of Utah was able through this 585

Peacemaking to get the Republican president to get him 586

Water? 587

>> governor cox: i -- Again, it is really, really 588

Important for our state. This is a big deal. 589

>> jon: completely understand That. 590

A billion dollars is not a Terrible price to pay to 591

Preserve that. 592

>> governor cox: i will say One of the most stringent 593

Environmentalists, anti trump People i know who is working on 594

This project had a red hat made That said "make the great salt 595

Lake great again," tweeted out How thankful he was for the 596

President's help on that issue. I told the president we would 597

Name it whatever he wants if he Helps us. 598

>> jon: in your mind, you were Able to -- what was it about -- 599

What did you change to make that Happen other than in the course 600

Of convincing the president why This was a good idea or not? 601

Did you feel that was a cultural Hot button somehow? 602

>> governor cox: sure. I was very worried that 603

Republicans would just see this As kind of a climate change, 604

Leftist idea. 605

>> jon: oh. 606

>> governor cox: that is where If the environmental community 607

Supports it and we are opposed To it. 608

This was us trying to bring Those two together to work on 609

This issue. Not just there but in the state 610

House as well where we have Bipartisan support. 611

>> jon: give me more Hot-button issue. 612

Give me another utah. 613

>> governor cox: several years Ago. 614

Lgbtq protection and rights. No red states had taken this on. 615

This was -- think 2014, 2015. 616

>> jon: you were only one of The red state governors in a 617

Pride month? 618

>> governor cox: i was Lieutenant governor at this 619

Time. Indiana is blowing up over this 620

Issue. Religious freedom laws, the same 621

Thing in arkansas. 622

>> jon: people say income i Don't want to bake a cake for 623

A gay wedding. 624

>> you have to bake a cake Regardless of your religious 625

Beliefs. We brought in the lgbtq 626

Leadership in the state. We brought in the religious 627

Leadership in the state. The predominant church, and 628

Others, the catholic church, the Jewish faith, the muslims come 629

All around the 630

Table. 631

>> jon: muslims? 632

>> governor cox: yes. Yes. 633

They are there. 634

>> jon: okay. 635

>> governor cox: [laughs] I can tell it has been a while 636

Since you have been to utah. 637

>> jon: i haven't been there In a while. 638

Can i get a cup of coffee in This town? 639

Then i was done. 640

>> governor cox: there is a Starbucks there now. 641

>> jon: i am an old man. 642

>> governor cox: i saw the Beard. 643

[laughter] I might need a hit from that 644

Marker. [laughter] 645

So we brought them all together. It was rough. 646

There were times where people Walked out of the room. 647

They felt contempt for each Other at times and yet -- 648

>> jon: what were you Attempting to do? 649

Were you attempting a Legislative solution? 650

>> governor cox: yes. 651

>> jon: what is it that you Were looking to craft? 652

>> governor cox: we did craft It and this is what came out. 653

Two things that were really Important. 654

One was protection for lgbtq People in our state, citizens in 655

Our state in employment and Housing. 656

You don't get kicked out of your Apartment because you are a gay. 657

These did not exist in our State. 658

That was not a protected class At our time. 659

We were the first state in the Nation to do that. 660

And we added protections for People of faith. 661

So you don't have to bake the Cake if you don't want to. 662

But you also don't get to fire People from their jobs or kick 663

People out of their apartments. 664

>> jon: but you can Understand -- 665

>> governor cox: we are Sitting there, on the night this 666

Is signed. Maybe now it doesn't resonate 667

Because it was several years ago But this was groundbreaking. 668

I mean, at the time -- and i Have religious leaders and the 669

Lgbtq community hugging and Tears in the rotunda of the 670

Capitol. It is a great example of 671

Bringing people together. 672

>> jon: i think that is Certainly an admirable effort. 673

It is hard for me not to look at It as there is a vulnerable -- 674

There is a power disparity in That equation and that the gay 675

Community in utah is not Equivalent to the christian 676

Community in utah. [applause] 677

So the difficulty i have, just Being honest, is that you are 678

Asking a community of people Whose humanity has not been 679

Recognized as total to accept That they will be -- 680

We can't fire you but we will Still view you as aberrant and 681

We will enshrine that in the law Because it does -- if you flip 682

That and you say to somebody Come i will not bake a cake 683

Because you believe in for your Wedding, i think you can see 684

That that is a contemptuous Position. 685

So asking a group that is Traditionally less righted to 686

Accept a bargain for their Humanity still strikes me 687

Fundamentally as -- i don't want To say contemptible but boy, 688

There is some synonyms that are Hard for me -- it is a hard one 689

To swallow as a victory. Does that resonate in any way? 690

>> governor cox: i mean, it Resonates but i don't think that 691

That was how it was viewed. 692

>> jon: right. Fair enough. 693

>> governor cox: you can talk To them. 694

I will let them have that Conversation. 695

>> jon: i'm not going to -- [laughter] 696

I do one show a week, man! I spent my whole august reading 697

This thing. [laughter] 698

>> governor cox: what i will Say is those protections went 699

Both ways and it is not about Contempt. 700

It is about religious freedom Which is really important to 701

People. You wouldn't have to bake a cake 702

For christians if you didn't Want to. 703

That is also included in the Law. 704

We are not going to force you to Do that piece. 705

And yet at the time -- again, This was incredibly rare. 706

It had never happened. Those types of protections in a 707

Red state and it didn't have to Happen. 708

That is the point. 709

>> jon: even now, though -- And i so appreciate the effort. 710

You no longer have pride month In utah. 711

You have changed it to fidelity Month. 712

Why? 713

>> governor cox: [laughs] Do you want to know the real 714

Story? 715

>> jon: no. Lie to me! 716

Yeah, i really do. 717

>> governor cox: okay, so the Pride month thing again got very 718

Contentious and the decision was Made a couple of years ago -- 719

Celebrate pride month. That is great. 720

The government, we stay out of It. 721

You celebrate whatever month you Want. 722

>> jon: do you not acknowledge Any months there any more? 723

>> governor cox: there are Some months -- 724

>> jon: again understanding The question of the power 725

Disparity. It is a, man, people got upset. 726

Was it mandatory? Did everyone in utah have to 727

Wear a unitard? 728

>> governor cox: they did not. 729

>> jon: and dance? 730

>> governor cox: they did not. What i will say is the fidelity 731

Month piece of that, that was Not intentional. 732

That was something that came out In april. 733

We said that is great and we Didn't know what was coming out 734

In june. 735

>> jon: so fidelity month is Not replacing -- 736

>> governor cox: we did not Switch pride month for fidelity 737

Month although that is how it Looked and i understand why it 738

Looked bad. 739

>> jon: does utah have a Fidelity issue that they would 740

Have to -- seems like every Month is fidelity month. 741

>> governor cox: you would Hope so. 742

>> jon: i would think. Certainly more than jersey and 743

New york. 744

>> governor cox: i have been Here for a couple of days. 745

It is something. 746

>> jon: yeah, man. 747

>> governor cox: it is Different than utah. 748

>> jon: we are going to change That to our new tourist slogan. 749

"new york: it is something." [laughter] 750

[applause] My man. 751

I appreciate you. 752

>> governor cox: thank you. 753

>> jon: i appreciate you Having these conversations in 754

Good faith and good spirit. I will say this. 755

We need more good faith Argumentation and that includes 756

Being able to discern the Contemptible and to discern when 757

Things are being weaponized in The opposite direction and i do 758

Appreciate it and i urge people To read it because it is an 759

Interesting read and it is a Fascinating book and i really do 760

Appreciate you. "off ramp" is available now. 761

Governor spencer cox. We're going to take a quick 762

>> jon: that's our show for Tonight! 763

Before we go, let's check in With your host for the rest of 764

The week, mr. Michael kosta! Michael! 765

[cheers and applause] So good to see you, my friend. 766

What are we looking at this Week? 767

>> jon, big news, The republican party is holding 768

Its first-ever midterm Convention this week! 769

It's got all the excitement of Watching politicians talk 770

Combined with an election half The country doesn't know about. 771

Whoo! 772

>> jon: i feel your energy. It sounds great. 773

>> i'm glad you said that, Because guess what, bitch, i got 774

Us tickets! You and me, front row, watching 775

Superstars like Senator john barrasso, 776

Senator tim scott, And holy shit, is that u.s. 777

House candidate laurie buckhout? You better [bleep] believe it 778

Is! 779

>> jon: i am very busy this Week. 780

>> i didn't even tell you the Best part: it's happening in 781

Dallas! 95 degrees! 782

>> jon: yeah, i don't think... 783

>> i didn't even tell you the Best part: 784

We're going to miss the nfl Kickoff for it! 785

>> jon: i am not going! Michael kosta, everyone. 786

And by the way, before we go, a Quick little thing come a good 787

Friend of mine by the name of John feal has written a book. 788

It is called "i will follow you anywhere." 789

He is a 9/11 responder at, Activist. 790

It is the incredible story about He and a ragtag band of veterans 791

And responders and responders to Nine 9/11 got together and 792

Changed policy in washington. It is an incredible book, 793

Incredible read. I wrote the foreword. 794

Chatgpt wrote the foreword. [laughter] 795

And i signed it. No. 796

His story is truly incredible And he really shines a light on 797

All of the amazing people who Got that done for the people who 798

Deserved it so much down at Ground zero. 799

This is available at the link Below. 800

Please get it. Here it is, your 801

"moment of zen." 802

>> you are learning the latest Escalation between canada and 803

The u.s. Over those tariffs. Could end up costing you every 804

Time you need to use the Restroom. 805

>> reporter kevin landers Explains how our country's 806

Number one export for canada Could impact going number two.