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This week, James Matthewson and I spent the bulk of our episode on the Michigan Senate primary results, and the surprising view of its candidates from the UK.
We closed on Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are fighting UK extradition for their human trafficking crimes. We also got into why men like Tate, and members of Congress like Max Miller, have felt so comfortable operating without consequence.
I appreciate those of you who tuned in live and contributed so much to the conversation. This is truly the best community on Substack. If you’re just catching it now, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
You can watch our full conversation above and read key takeaways below. And, as always, thank you for supporting independent media.
Michigan’s Israel Litmus Test And What It Exposed
James opened the show admitting he had gotten the Michigan Senate primary almost completely backward. Several of his contacts in the UK assumed Haley Stevens, the establishment-backed Democrat, was actually the Republican in the race, based entirely on how she talked about Israel. There aren’t primary elections in the UK, so that was the source of the confusion. The race further clarified how toxic Israel and AIPAC have become to the Democratic Base.
Israel Became The Line Nobody Could See Past. James said that when he looked into Stevens after seeing her speak, he assumed she was Republican, and when he checked with friends back home they told him the same thing, all based on her rhetoric around Israel and AIPAC backing, which he estimated at tens of millions of dollars. I said that money has become a liability inside the current Democratic base rather than an asset, and that Stevens speaking like a traditional Democrat about Israel from a few years ago shows how fast the ground has shifted under this issue.
British Media Found Their Own Way In. James said UK outlets largely covered the race through the lens of Hasan Piker’s involvement, since Piker’s ban from Britain over his comments on Hamas and Hezbollah gave British press a domestic hook to justify covering an American primary they would otherwise have treated as background noise.
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Tate’s Reckoning And The Shame Trump Erased
We closed on Andrew Tate’s extradition case, which James has been tracking closely from the UK side. It turned into a conversation about a culture where shame stopped functioning as a check on bad behavior, and what it looks like when institutions finally start clawing that back.
Three UK Counties Are Building The Case. James walked through how three different English police forces are prosecuting the Tate brothers while they remain in the US awaiting extradition. He said UK authorities have already seized several million dollars tied to the brothers and, unusually, are paying it out immediately to fund anti-misogyny programs in schools rather than letting it sit in a general fund.
Max Miller Said The Quiet Part Out Loud. James referenced a Jake Tapper interview where Congressman Max Miller, facing multiple domestic abuse allegations, refused to step aside and pointed directly to Trump’s own political survival despite dozens of accusations as his justification for staying in his seat.
Trump Built The Permission Structure. I argued Trump is the reason figures like Tate and Miller feel safe operating the way they do, because he proved shamelessness gets rewarded rather than punished. I said the fix has to include actually bringing shame back as a tool, and that classroom conversations like the ones the UK is now funding, where boys hear directly why this behavior is disgusting, and girls feel empowered to say so out loud, are a real part of rebuilding that.
Bottom Line
That's where we left it this week. Michigan's primary is a preview of arguments Democrats are going to keep having all the way to 2028, and the Tate brothers are finally facing consequences that took far too long to arrive. Glad we got into both.
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