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Luke Thomas discusses Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat, endorsing Mike Rogers, a Republican, for Senate instead of Abdul El Sayed. #abdulelsayed #michigan #lukethomas

Luke Thomas discusses the latest news in national and world politics in this podcast series. #election #trump #lukethomas

By Luke Thomas: Abdul El-Sayed took Mike Rogers apart in the Michigan Senate debate, and Luke breaks down exactly how it happened. Rogers had one play all night: Muslim, Muslim, Muslim. Associations, names, anything to Islamify his opponent for the voters he’s courting. Luke explains why that strategy told you more about Rogers than about El-Sayed. The more revealing pattern was what Rogers did on tariffs and every other issue where the GOP is on the back foot. He wasn’t doubling down. He was softening, sounding neutral, trying to remind voters of the Mitt Romney era Republican Party before MAGA. Luke reads that as national Republicans realizing MAGA went too far and that they’re about to pay for it. Then Rogers brought up Hamas and babies in ovens, lifting straight from the New York Times “Screams Without Words” article. Luke explains why that reporting fell apart, and why a candidate named Abdul can’t push back on it without sounding like something he isn’t. Add the stammering, the awkward mid-sentence pauses, and the “AI chatbot” accusation, which Luke says is what debaters do when they know they’re losing. In the spin room, El-Sayed was asked why Rogers has to answer for Trump but he doesn’t have to answer for Hasan Piker. His reply was perfect. Luke then takes on the CNN report that El-Sayed told Piker his rhetoric is costing votes, the concern mongering that follows every insurgent leftist, and why Piker’s comment about Iran and nuclear weapons is closer to mainstream academic thinking than the corporate media will admit. He reads a passage from a book on the Israel lobby that makes the case. Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/ Subscribe and turn on notifications for more debate breakdowns and political commentary. Chapters 00:00 Rogers vs El-Sayed: Who Won? 00:45 Muslim, Muslim, Muslim All Night 01:45 The GOP Is Running From MAGA 03:15 Rogers Repeats the Screams Without Words Claims 05:00 Why El-Sayed Can’t Fight Back 05:45 Stammering and the Chatbot Accusation 07:00 “Is That a Serious Question?” 08:00 Did Hasan Piker Cost Votes? 08:45 Concern Mongering Against the Left 09:30 Piker, Iran, and Nuclear Deterrence 10:15 The Israel Lobby and US Military Intervention 11:15 Expanding the Overton Window

Luke Thomas: In August of 2025, I spoke to Zeke Hernandez, the Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. That conversation largely centered on Hernandez’s 2024 book, ‘The Truth About Immigration’, and how the scholarship around immigration was at odds with Pres. Trump’s early mass deportation efforts. Fourteen months later, the situation has only grown more dire. The U.S. isn’t merely deporting mostly those with no criminal records, but taking active steps to reduce immigration overall. ICE agents have gunned down American citizens on camera, toddlers are forced to defend themselves alone in immigration court and families across the country are being ripped apart. A question I keep coming back to is: what is the cumulative effect of these immigration efforts on local business, communities as well as the nation more broadly? As Hernandez notes, much of what will be done to the U.S. can’t be measured yet, but early signs from his own recent research point to durable and lasting decline where deportations have taken place. In this conversation, Hernandez reflects on what is known about how deportations are changing the country, how this is being experienced at the local level and the modest but real optimism that a better immigration future is still within reach. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:18 Trump’s impact on immigration 03:37 Is this worst case scenario? 05:40 Contemporary policy as compared to past immigration changes 08:23 GOP’s immigration aims 10:35 Historical parallels to ICE’s violence 13:46 Hernandez’s personal view of force brought to immigration enforcement 17:44 ICE’s “collection” methods 18:54 Hernandez’s research on what deportation is doing to communities 23:14 Second-order impacts 25:11 Potential displacement effects 29:16 Effects concentrated by industry? 31:01 Rational worker fear of ICE 33:49 Americans realizing ICE is killing their economies? 36:30 Long-term economic impact of mass deportation 38:33 Trump’s de-legalization campaign 42:46 H-1Bs have become a target 46:43 Why H-1Bs are important 50:46 Somali fraud controversy 54:51 Economic questions Hernandez is focusing on 57:34 What’s possible for immigration reform? #ice #immigration #lukethomas

Luke Thomas: Jerry Seinfeld has been confronted about the Gaza genocide more than once, and every time the answer is some version of the same thing: it’s great, or it’s not real, or it is real and so what. Luke calls Seinfeld sick, a monster, and someone who cannot be reasoned with morally. Then back to Seinfeld. Luke explains the difference between people who have a hard time letting go of what they thought Israel was and someone who revels in the blowback and smiles at the suffering. He compares it to the Latin American upper class instinct to solve problems with the baton, the rifle, or the gunship. And he suggests Bill Maher might be in the same place. Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/ Subscribe and turn on notifications for more political commentary from the live chat. Chapters 00:00 Seinfeld Doesn’t Hide It 00:45 Watching Admired People Reveal Themselves 01:30 Hispanic Voters Moved. Jewish Voters Didn’t. 02:30 Israel: Blue State to Red State 03:15 Jewish, Democratic, or Large: Pick Two 04:00 They Gave Up Democracy 04:45 Untenable at Home and Abroad 05:15 Seinfeld Revels in the Suffering 06:00 Bill Maher Might Be the Same

Do Democrats lose because they’re too progressive or too centrist? A viewer hears both constantly and wants Luke to square the difference. His answer: most people have a propagandized, cartoon version of what progressive politics even is, and the Democratic Party has been run by the corporate center for fifty years. Luke starts with the two caricatures of the left that turn off persuadable voters: the wokeness one and the “borderline communist” economics one. Then he points to the Citations Needed podcast and its three-part series on a pattern that predates MAGA by decades, the alliance between the right and the center left to defeat the progressive left. The case study is 1972. Nixon crushed George McGovern, and the story that got told was that McGovern was too far out there. The story election experts actually tell is about a booming economy and a secure country, and McGovern’s ideas have only gotten more popular since. Luke is fair about where the left has failed. He talks about his own city’s struggle to house people camping outside Union Station, and why letting encampments sit is not the answer any more than burning people’s belongings is. But he asks the question that cuts through it: who has been guiding the party since McGovern? Look at Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer. Look at what free trade, neocon-adjacent Democrats did to the brand. Bernie Sanders got popular in spite of all of them. The second question comes from Iowa: how much should anyone trust the polls? Luke talks landlines, Ann Selzer, and a conversation with a neighbor from Michigan about Abdul El-Sayed’s lead, then gives his honest read on El-Sayed, Angie Nixon, and James Talarico. Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/ Subscribe and hit the bell for more political commentary and live chat breakdowns. #lukethomas #democrats #electionresults Chapters 00:00 Too Progressive or Too Centrist? 00:30 The Two Caricatures of the Left 01:45 Citations Needed and the Anti-Left Alliance 02:30 Nixon vs McGovern: What Really Happened 03:45 A Historically Unpopular, Corporate Party 04:30 Where the Left Has Fallen Short 06:00 The Union Station Encampment Problem 06:45 Who Has Run the Party Since McGovern? 07:45 Schumer, Jeffries, and the Bernie Problem 08:30 How Much Should You Trust Polls? 09:15 El-Sayed’s Lead and the Michigan Question 09:45 Cautiously Optimistic on El-Sayed, Nixon, Talarico

Luke Thomas discusses the need for the Democratic Party to prosecute all forms of corruption and law breaking if they take back the House in the midterms. That includes, but is not limited to Pete Hegseth. #petehegseth #aoc #lukethomas

Luke Thomas goes over the latest political news for viewers on the weekly edition of this podcast. #lukethomas #trump #election

Luke Thomas discusses on CNN whether Abdul El Sayed trying to prove his masculinity on the right's terms will be effective in generating support. #abdulelsayed #lukethomas #cnn

Luke Thomnas: Pro-Palestinian advocates protested Zohran Mamdani, and Luke thinks they were right to do it. A viewer assumes the protest against the New York City mayor must have been a psyop. Luke lays out why it makes perfect sense. Mamdani made a calculation. He wants to be the model of competent, transparent, affordability-focused governance, and that means playing ball with the system and the power lobbies that come with it. What it does not leave room for is the Palestine advocacy that defined his career before City Hall. City bonds tied to illegal settlements, the counterterrorism unit he pledged to disband, keeping Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner: Luke runs through what was promised and what was dropped, and argues that constituents have every right to make the mayor hear about it. He also explains why he gives Mamdani some grace, pointing to a book that traces how president after president tried to rein in Israel and got hamstrung by the lobby. Then a question from Miami: was Markwayne Mullin right that Mamdani’s comments about ICE were dangerous? Luke walks through the shooting, the agent with a history of phony warrants, the NYPD body cam footage, and why the protests were already happening before the mayor said a word. He closes on why the right is so good at assigning blame and so allergic to taking any. Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/ Subscribe for more political commentary and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next live chat. Chapters 00:00 Why Protest Mamdani? Good. 00:40 Mamdani’s Calculation: Competence Over Everything 02:00 Playing Ball With the Power Lobbies 03:00 Bonds, the Counterterror Unit, and Tisch 04:00 No Right Way to Be Pro-Palestinian 04:45 Presidents Who Got Hamstrung by the Lobby 05:45 Politicians Are Employees, Not Heroes 06:30 Mullin Says Mamdani’s ICE Comments Are Dangerous 07:15 The Agent With the Phony Warrant 08:15 Body Cam Footage and Organic Protests 09:00 The Right Never Takes Responsibility 10:00 What a Spoils System Gets You

Historically, discussing the Israel lobby and its impacts in the United States has come with a variety of challenges. Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt earned enormous blowback in 2007 when they tried to simply argue there was such a thing as the Israel lobby. While now the existence of the loose federation of donors, organizations and activists isn’t necessarily contested, few actually understand how they operate, who funds them and perhaps most importantly, how their efforts influence our lives and government’s priorities. That’s where today’s conversation comes into play. In their latest book, investigative journalist Eli Clifton and political science professor Ian Lustick combine their expertises to explain what they call “the greatest story in geopolitics”, namely, how American domestic and foreign affairs are massively influenced by the Israel lobby, who seek to police our speech and cajole our national security apparatus to back “unpopular, costly and national security-threatening politics.” This book deserves consideration because it illuminates what has long been hidden or poorly understood. Clifton and Lustick chronicle how the lobby came to be and why its aims have changed over time. They also expertly detail how its funding has grown and how those impacts have been felt plus the tactics it uses to deliver for the interests of Israel. Most importantly, they leave us with a warning that the Israel lobby hasn’t merely degraded and frustrated American foreign policy for decades, but now actively seeks to turn their efforts toward the rest of American society, attempting to curtail our freedoms at home. #israel #gaza #lukethomas TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Open 01:34 The Israel lobby’s response to the book 04:52 Support from the publisher to get the book printed 07:00 What is the Israel lobby? 11:54 The changing tactics of the lobby 15:50 Changes to Israeli society and how that’s influencing U.S. politics 21:37 The state and failure of the Israeli left 26:39 How the lobby is funded and how that’s changed 33:12 How the lobby was changed by Citizens United 34:22 Lobby and media coordination aligning against Abdul El Sayed 38:00 Israeli support in the Democratic Party 47:44 How the lobby has undermined U.S. Presidents 51:12 What is the IHRA antisemitism definition? 55:24 How this definition is policing speech 59:07 What can an average voter do to push back?

Luke Thomas discusses the UFC airing multiple MAGA Inc. ads during their recent UFC Edmonton broadcast. #danawhite #donaldtrump #lukethomas

Luke Thomas discusses the latest political news around the midterms, the Fort Hood execution, Abdul El Sayed and JD Vance trading barbs and much more. 00:00:00 — Intro 00:01:01 — Financial Times UFC and Trump quote 00:01:24 — Weekly CNN appearances with Audie Cornish 00:02:59 — Remote host setup on today’s CNN show 00:04:50 — Michigan Senate race and progressive movement 00:07:19 — Scenarios if El-Sayed loses 00:11:09 — Super chat questions begin 00:11:22 — Zionism and Anglosphere colonial history 00:15:36 — Federal gun laws passable in our lifetimes 00:15:50 — Screen share trouble 00:16:04 — RAND gun policy research walkthrough 00:21:36 — Starshield throttling for Ukraine 00:23:08 — Mehdi Hasan vs Neera Tanden debate 00:23:22 — Joe Walsh on Never Trump Republicans 00:23:30 — Neera Tanden establishment denial 00:25:53 — Odds of Dems taking House and Senate 00:28:04 — Ilhan Omar raid and deportation threat 00:30:51 — Trumpism and who counts as citizen 00:32:51 — Press secretary fired breaking news 00:34:55 — How long is a Scaramucci 00:35:20 — How past Trump press secretaries left 00:36:30 — Leaked CBS editorial meeting 00:36:56 — GOP risks between election and January 00:39:10 — Samson option concerns 00:40:23 — Israel crazy state strategy book 00:42:52 — Marc Lamont Hill collab chances 00:43:28 — Abolishing the presidency 00:45:39 — Super chat comment on worsening outlook 00:45:50 — Task Force Radar election cyber unit 00:46:12 — Entre dos tierras song tangent 00:46:43 — Balancing CNN prep and progressive coverage 00:47:09 — Forensic accounting after Trump administration 00:48:36 — Gun laws and protecting children 00:50:32 — Other candidates to watch 00:50:56 — Candidate watch list 00:52:16 — Mixed support for ending the filibuster 00:52:33 — DC home rule and the filibuster 00:55:33 — Jordan Breen request, no MMA chat 00:56:07 — Twitter replies and MMA fatigue 00:57:04 — Final super chat call 00:57:36 — CNN next Friday announcement 00:57:53 — Outro #abdulelsayed #lukethomas #jdvance

Luke Thomas: The Cornell Seven case exposes how sexual violence gets excused when the accused are athletes, fraternity brothers, or celebrities like Conor McGregor. A viewer asks what men should actually do when accused rapists are celebrated as sports heroes, and the answer is more uncomfortable than a simple yes or no. The conversation moves from the Snapchat group chat at the center of the Cornell fraternity case to the broader culture of impunity in MMA, where fighters hype Andrew Tate and fans shrug at serious allegations. There is a personal story about a female Marine who kept years of harassment to herself, and a blunt argument that most men have no scale for how much women navigate on campuses, in workplaces, and in the military. Then the case itself: New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed Letitia James as special prosecutor, the governor’s own statement signals distrust of the local district attorney, and new evidence keeps surfacing. Whether or not criminal charges follow, the question of what these seven men did to Jane Doe is not a close call. From there, a harder look at what is ailing young men. Fraternity houses as problem institutions. Porn as the primary sex education of a generation. Political leadership that modeled “grab them by the p***y” to boys who are now in their twenties. And finally, why the right’s response to Cornell lands the way it does, and why the left spends so much energy critiquing centrists instead of MAGA. Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/ If you want more political commentary that does not flinch, subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications. #lukethomas #andrewtate #tatebrothers Chapters 00:00 Should men boycott accused athletes? 01:24 McGregor, Gable and sports impunity 02:32 A female Marine’s untold story 04:42 False accusations and fraternity houses 05:52 The grab them by the p***y generation 06:42 Due process vs what women face 07:57 Cornell Seven: they preyed on her 09:39 Hochul appoints Letitia James 10:39 Sexual violence is not new 11:21 Why this fraternity chapter should go 12:07 Porn, power dynamics and young men 15:00 The right’s response and MAGA

Luke Thomas discusses the new Israeli documentary movie NAZA about the use if artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the war on Gaza. #israel #gaza #lukethomas