Between controversial salutes, inflammatory statements, and billionaires pretending to be normal people, there’s a lot to take in from Donald Trump’s inauguration. The newly re-elected president tore up Joe Biden’s legacy with one executive order after another as a crowd of mostly rich and very rich people looked on.
“I think it's clear that a handful of billionaires are in charge, and Musk certainly has the most influence,” says Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who joins Mehdi to share his perspective.
“What you're seeing being constructed is essentially a kleptocracy in which the billionaires of this country are going to steal from the poor and the middle class.”
One of those billionaires, Elon Musk, spent day one of the second Trump era performing two Nazi-looking salutes on stage in DC. Despite his supporters denying it was a “Heil Hitler,” Murphy is not convinced.
“Maybe you could excuse that gesture if it wasn't coming from somebody who has a consistent history of identifying themselves with neo-Nazis and with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. He literally amplifies some of the most vicious anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on Twitter.”
Mehdi pushed Murphy on his support for Israel since October 7, on the TikTok ban that Democrats voted for, and the increase in billionaire wealth on Joe Biden’s watch.
And, looking forward, Mehdi asked the senator about the future of a deeply unpopular Democratic Party.
“If we want to win,” says Murphy, who is considered to be a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, “you have got to make economic populism and economic fairness the tent pole of your party, and you've got to build a bigger tent in which you have the courage…to bring in some people to that tent that might not line up with you on all the issues that I think are important.”
If you are a paid subscriber, you can watch the full interview above to hear Mehdi question Murphy on sending weapons to Israel, Kamala Harris’ campaign, bipartisanship, and the normalization of corruption.
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