Speaker 1: KBLA Talk fifteen eighty we are talking politics. I'm so
Speaker 1: pleased to have my colleague on board with me this morning.
Speaker 1: He's a journalist and educator and he is KBLA Talk
Speaker 1: fifteen eighties chief National Affairs Analyst. He's a podcaster, a
Speaker 1: TV guy, and so much more. Doctor Nie Cordelaine Corte
Speaker 1: can also be heard Monday through Thursday from four to
Speaker 1: six pm right here, so that means he's doing a
Speaker 1: little double duty today. Good morning, doctor Corte.
Speaker 2: Good morning dominiquea Prima.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for chapping in with me today.
Speaker 1: There's so much going on it's making my head explode.
Speaker 1: I don't know how you keep track of all these primaries,
Speaker 1: and I try, I really do, but it's just a
Speaker 1: lot to keep in your head right now.
Speaker 2: It's a lot going on, a lot to keep in
Speaker 2: the head. But you know, a lot of odds are
Speaker 2: going to be on Florida today because they're having their primary.
Speaker 2: And you know, you got some pretty prominent black folks
Speaker 2: that are going to be on the ballot. I'm talking
Speaker 2: about representative GOP Representative Byron Donald's he's running as running
Speaker 2: for the right. He's running for the Republican nomination for
Speaker 2: governor of Florida. He has chosen not to debate anybody
Speaker 2: that is also running for the Republican nomination for governor,
Speaker 2: and so all eyes are on that race. Also, all
Speaker 2: eyes are on the congressional race where State Representative Chevron
Speaker 2: Jones is running for congress. This is a seat that
Speaker 2: is highly coveted. You might remember Chevron Jones. Nador Jones
Speaker 2: has been in the news recently because there were some
Speaker 2: opponents there that had leaked a false story that he
Speaker 2: was HIV pop and was trying to use that as
Speaker 2: a bludgeon against him in this race. But if the
Speaker 2: polls hold and the polls are in his favor, he
Speaker 2: may very well, uh get the nomination for that congressional
Speaker 2: seat we want to run.
Speaker 1: I mean, like as we started out, there's so many
Speaker 1: different stories here. You started on Florida where they have
Speaker 1: Donald's running for governor, but it seems like we could
Speaker 1: end up with the slew of black governors, I mean
Speaker 1: as possible. Right we have we just have won right now, right,
Speaker 1: which is Wes Moore more. Yeah, but there's a bunch
Speaker 1: of people running. You know. Keisha Lance Bottoms made it
Speaker 1: to their runoff there in Georgia, and you mentioned Donald's,
Speaker 1: but there are several others, so I don't some of
Speaker 1: them Republicans. This is one of their new hats tricks, right,
Speaker 1: running black Republicans for for governor. So we could see several.
Speaker 1: I guess, uh, Aaron Ford is running in Nevada, Jermaine
Speaker 1: Johnson in South Carolina? What how what do you make
Speaker 1: of that? Do you think that is that significant? Do
Speaker 1: you think it's a sea change or you think it's
Speaker 1: just a cute strategy rephn Representative John James in Michigan.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and also and also David Crowley who just won
Speaker 2: the Democratic primary in Wescontint. That's right, you mentioned Keisha
Speaker 2: Lance Bottoms in Georgia. I mean, you know this is
Speaker 2: a sea change. I don't. I don't know how to
Speaker 2: look at it any other way, you know. I recently
Speaker 2: had an opportunity to to do a wide ranging sit
Speaker 2: down interview with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who also happens
Speaker 2: to be the chair now of the National Governors Association,
Speaker 2: the first black governor to be chair of the National
Speaker 2: Governor's Association in one hundred and eighteen years and so
Speaker 2: that also is significant. But I remember during that interview
Speaker 2: he told me the story of a conversation he had
Speaker 2: with former Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick. He was the second
Speaker 2: elected black governor in the United States, and there was
Speaker 2: something that Governor Patrick said to him that really stayed
Speaker 2: with him. He said, look, you know, his only regret
Speaker 2: is that he didn't start to think about the third
Speaker 2: black governor in the United States until after he was
Speaker 2: out of office. And so that is a reality that
Speaker 2: has motivated Governor Wes Moore to spend some political capitals
Speaker 2: and to get out on the campaign trail and help
Speaker 2: elect more black governors across the country. He has been
Speaker 2: on the campaign trail supporting Keisha Lan's Bott in Georgia,
Speaker 2: Jermaine Johnson South Carolina, Aaron Ford in Nevada, and will
Speaker 2: likely be on the campaign trail supporting David Crowley in Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: He is in high demand. You know, his endorsement matters,
Speaker 2: and it's good to see not just more black folks
Speaker 2: running for governor, but being competitive in their run for
Speaker 2: governor and being supported by the only sitting black governor
Speaker 2: in the United States, Governor Wes Moore.
Speaker 1: Right, And you mentioned deval Patrick there. You know, they're
Speaker 1: Douglas Wilder back in the I guess nineties. There have
Speaker 1: been very very few. I think it's like six or
Speaker 1: five or six seven in all of US history, going
Speaker 1: all the way back. And so if we end up
Speaker 1: with a handful, that would be that would be significant.
Speaker 1: And of course Keisha Lance Bonds would be the first
Speaker 1: black woman to serve as a governor.
Speaker 2: Right, that's right, it's right. I'm also part of why
Speaker 2: this is a significant dominique. As you know, there's so
Speaker 2: much that's happening on the state and local level as
Speaker 2: a check on the Trump administration and Republicans that are
Speaker 2: considering federalizing the elections even though the Constitution says you
Speaker 2: can't do that. But this president and Republicans are playing
Speaker 2: foot see with the Save Act, which really is nothing
Speaker 2: but a voter suppression bill. But you know, the counterweight
Speaker 2: to some of the tactics and antics that we're seeing
Speaker 2: coming out of this administration is on the state and
Speaker 2: local level. Governor's matter, mayor's matter, especially when we talk
Speaker 2: about sanctuary cities, sanctuary states, when we talk about getting
Speaker 2: creative about addressing some of these deficits in funding that
Speaker 2: are directly tied to the so called Big Beautiful Bill,
Speaker 2: remember the cuts to Medicaid for example. Absolutely, well, it's governors.
Speaker 2: It's governors have to figure out how to make those
Speaker 2: ends meet. And so not only is the consequential that
Speaker 2: these folks happen to be highly competitive black folks running
Speaker 2: for governor, but they're running for governor at a time
Speaker 2: where that office has probably never been more important in
Speaker 2: our lifetime.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a fair point. I mean, especially we think
Speaker 1: back a little further when Trump made those in his
Speaker 1: first term, he made those Medicaid cuts, and then we
Speaker 1: had these supplements to Medicaid which Republican governors were refusing.
Speaker 1: And so it's, you know, it's how do they wrangle
Speaker 1: the money out of the federal government and how do
Speaker 1: they make do when you know, the money drives up
Speaker 1: so many other issues. That said, although I'm happy to
Speaker 1: see so many black folks running for governor, some folks,
Speaker 1: you know, some folks the Byron Donald's of the world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we don't need a black governor that badly. Uh, doctor,
Speaker 1: get me go ahead.
Speaker 2: No, I mean, you know, you're you're you're not alone.
Speaker 2: And that's why a lot of people are gonna be
Speaker 2: watching this race closely. I mean, he really is taking
Speaker 2: so many pages out of the Trump playbook again, refusing
Speaker 2: to debate even other Republicans in the race. I mean,
Speaker 2: we've got to ask ourselves, you know, take take the
Speaker 2: party affiliation out of it. Do we really want to
Speaker 2: be electing people to public office that are unwilling to
Speaker 2: debate some of the issues that loom large in our
Speaker 2: every day.
Speaker 1: Lot, right, and surprise, surprise, I mean some of the
Speaker 1: stuff he says is absolutely indefensible. So why would yeah,
Speaker 1: why would he debate? You know, it's the kind of
Speaker 1: thing you can you can say if you're the resident
Speaker 1: of the White House. It's the kind of thing you
Speaker 1: can say if you're by yourself on a panel with
Speaker 1: a bunch of other you know, maga folks. But if
Speaker 1: you say it with people who are fact based, it's
Speaker 1: not gonna hold water. So of course he doesn't want
Speaker 1: to debate. But does does he? I mean, how is
Speaker 1: his polling? Is he gonna is? Does he have a
Speaker 1: strong chance here?
Speaker 2: He has a very strong chance of not just winning
Speaker 2: the Republican nomination, but but winning that seat his uh,
Speaker 2: you know, Democratic opponent it's like David Jolly, you know,
Speaker 2: made cruise towards getting the Democratic nomination. Last poll that
Speaker 2: I saw, I think there was maybe a seven to
Speaker 2: ten point differential, and so you know, Democrats have some
Speaker 2: ground to make up in Florida. But Barra Donald's don't
Speaker 2: underestimate his momentum.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Wow, we shall see.
Speaker 1: When was the last time there was a Democratic governor
Speaker 1: in Florida? I'll google it.
Speaker 2: Uh so the Charlie I think it was Charlie Cris.
Speaker 1: Okay, so it's been a minute. Uh. Doctor Nee Cordelai
Speaker 1: Corte is with me when we come forward. I want
Speaker 1: to get your opinion. Why is everyone suddenly piling on
Speaker 1: the resident's girlfriend? I mean human printer, I mean senior advisor,
Speaker 1: Doctor Nee Cordelai Corte, Dominique Prima for KBLA Talk fifteen
Speaker 1: eighty your News right now with doctor Nee Cordlai Corte.
Speaker 1: I feel like, doctor Corte, there's been this tradition, if
Speaker 1: you will, in this country, of giving presidents grace when
Speaker 1: it comes to their side chicks, you know, Democrat Republican
Speaker 1: probably going all the way back to Washington, George Washington.
Speaker 1: I don't know that I've tracked it that far back,
Speaker 1: but certainly going back to Kennedy, these are open secrets
Speaker 1: that the press tends to pass on and fellow politicians
Speaker 1: tend to pass on. But now all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: everyone's talking about Natalie Harp. And I don't know that
Speaker 1: she's his side piece, alleged side piece, but some call
Speaker 1: her is Binkie. That she prints out, you know, letters
Speaker 1: to him, you know, glowing glowing articles about him and
Speaker 1: reads them to him, That she prints out his truth
Speaker 1: social posts, that she does the truth social post, that
Speaker 1: she's written all these love letters to him. And when
Speaker 1: we saw the who was left on the decoy plane
Speaker 1: to possibly be blown up by you know, Iran or whoever,
Speaker 1: and who got to stay with the president in the
Speaker 1: sneaky plane. She was in the sneaky plane and Marco
Speaker 1: Rubio was left to be exploded. Maybe that's why she's
Speaker 1: come into the spotlight. But I noticed, you know, Senator
Speaker 1: oss Off talking about her. There was an article in
Speaker 1: the Huffington Post, several other political types have called it out.
Speaker 1: What do you make of that?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, I can't make much out of it,
Speaker 2: As you know, I have reported from the White House,
Speaker 2: you know, as a White House correspondent for KBLA. I've
Speaker 2: been in the oval office of questioned.
Speaker 1: Trump and she's done a great job, by the way.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you. And I don't remember much about
Speaker 2: Natalie Harp, and so I can't speak to any observations
Speaker 2: that I've had in their presence, but I know that she's,
Speaker 2: you know, a thirty five year old Californian, and she
Speaker 2: really came to prominence with Trump back in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2: And so their relationship, their relationship working with each other,
Speaker 2: didn't start with his most recent twenty twenty four presidential campaign,
Speaker 2: actually precedes that. And I also learned that she battled
Speaker 2: stage two own cancer, and she she claimed that both
Speaker 2: the political and medical establishment had left her behind, but
Speaker 2: the good Samaritan Trump helped her. So she's so so
Speaker 2: this may even be a co dependent kind of relationship
Speaker 2: where you know, she she sees Trump, you know, as
Speaker 2: as somebody who you know, uh, stepped in and helped
Speaker 2: her in her her darkest moment. And it seems that
Speaker 2: she is, you know, she seems to be sort of
Speaker 2: a security blanket for Trump, a Trump whisperer, if you
Speaker 2: Will and so you know a lot of folks are wondering, well,
Speaker 2: you know, why are you on the decoy plane and
Speaker 2: all the people to pick you didn't pick Caroline Levitt.
Speaker 2: You didn't take a lot of people. You picked her. Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, I think it's because of some bond, some
Speaker 2: trust that they developed, you know, whether it's more than that.
Speaker 2: It's everybody else's guests. But I just wanted to make
Speaker 2: sure that the audience has a sense of, you know,
Speaker 2: the origin story as has been reported about the relationship.
Speaker 1: I mean, and she was on Fox News and she
Speaker 1: was on Oam. You know. So he likes to find
Speaker 1: people friends and people from his administration off of television,
Speaker 1: and so she fits that. She's a you know, attractive,
Speaker 1: skinny blonde, so she fits that description. So and you know,
Speaker 1: her own brother says that their relationship is unhealthy, whatever
Speaker 1: it is, you know, but it's interesting that she could
Speaker 1: be so close to the president and have really gone
Speaker 1: without a lot of you know, scrutiny, as you point out,
Speaker 1: from twenty nineteen to twenty twenty six, and now all
Speaker 1: of a sudden everyone is talking about her, even you know,
Speaker 1: rival politicians. So it we'll see. But it seems like
Speaker 1: is this a new is this a new thing now
Speaker 1: where we're gonna start talking about all of the people
Speaker 1: in these politicians' orbits and and speaking of that back
Speaker 1: to the primary, I didn't realize doctor Knee Corday Corte
Speaker 1: that they are they're competing to fill Eric Swalwell's seat
Speaker 1: in northern California that is also on the primary agenda today,
Speaker 1: and we have sort of a repeating theme. You've got
Speaker 1: two Democrats who are you know, one is more progressive
Speaker 1: and one is back by Apak and and pro Israel
Speaker 1: dollars to a very large degree. This same conversation that's
Speaker 1: been playing out and other in other states is actually
Speaker 1: happening in California. For that fourteenth district, State Senator Aishawa
Speaker 1: Hobb is running against BART board president Melissa or Nandez,
Speaker 1: and apparently the American Israel Public Affairs Committee super pac
Speaker 1: has spent more than two million dollars to try to
Speaker 1: defeat w Hobb.
Speaker 2: Here, Yeah, I mean, and this is a this is
Speaker 2: a trend that we're seeing in races across the country
Speaker 2: where you know, you got big money, big special interest
Speaker 2: money that is very active in these congressional races. We're
Speaker 2: talking about a PAC money being one of the biggest
Speaker 2: pot that's out there, AI money being another big pot
Speaker 2: of money out there, Crypto being another pot of money
Speaker 2: that's out there. And so those seem to be the
Speaker 2: special interests that are are throwing down the most in
Speaker 2: these congressional races. And you know, there are a number
Speaker 2: of people that are quite concerned about what that means,
Speaker 2: what that means to have you know, a packed you know,
Speaker 2: looming large yet again. And in another race, you know,
Speaker 2: we know that they spent millions of dollars on advertisements
Speaker 2: to think Wahab's candidacy and boost Hernandez in the final
Speaker 2: weeks of this race, and and uh and Ai and
Speaker 2: an A and an a PAX affiliated group, the United
Speaker 2: Democracy Project, they spent one point two million dollars on
Speaker 2: the race in August in support of Fernandez and in
Speaker 2: opposition to Wahab. That's according to a Federal Election Commission report.
Speaker 2: Another group spent one point seven million dollars on the
Speaker 2: race and so collectively dominate outside groups, they spent over
Speaker 2: four million dollars on the race.
Speaker 1: That's insane. One house seat, that's that's right, that's just
Speaker 1: it's hard for me to get my mind around that.
Speaker 1: I always think of it as some kind of low
Speaker 1: key wealth redistribution on the plus side, but on the
Speaker 1: minor side. You know, that means that you cannot win
Speaker 1: these races without big, big money, or can you. I
Speaker 1: don't know. Abdullah say Ed was outspent right in Michigan
Speaker 1: and still prevailed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean, look, the reality is is that
Speaker 2: organized people always beat organized money, right. You know, the
Speaker 2: organized money is really intended to buy the people power
Speaker 2: right to buy the name ID. Right, But if you
Speaker 2: have organizers on the ground on the job. I mean,
Speaker 2: look at not just you know, mister l s a
Speaker 2: Ed in Michigan, but you know, let's look at our
Speaker 2: own backyard. Four years ago, when Karen Bass is running
Speaker 2: from mayor against Rick Caruso. He spent over one hundred
Speaker 2: and ten million dollars to defeat her, and he couldn't
Speaker 2: in part because of the ground game that then candidate
Speaker 2: Bass you know, had here in LA And so that
Speaker 2: stuff makes the difference. And so just because you see
Speaker 2: the big numbers, just because you see a lot of
Speaker 2: the money pouring in, it doesn't It's not inevitable that
Speaker 2: the person with the biggest pocketbook is going to win.
Speaker 2: I would also note Dominique Wahab, who's an Afghan American
Speaker 2: who is the first Muslim woman elected to the California
Speaker 2: State Senate. She's called out the genocide in Gaza and
Speaker 2: legislator from condemning it. And so that's a part of
Speaker 2: what is animating the support of special interest in this race.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but sometimes that can that can backfire because voters are,
Speaker 1: you know, on alert for being controlled by foreign interest.
Speaker 1: Eight hundred and nine to fifteen eighty. If you got
Speaker 1: a question, we've got news, traffic and sports. Then more
Speaker 1: Dominique de Friema and doctor Nikr la Quarte. I'm KBLA
Speaker 1: Talk fifteen eight. You are, and I have the pleasure
Speaker 1: of talking with my colleague dot or knee Cordelai Corte.
Speaker 1: Of course you see him, hear him, and sometimes see
Speaker 1: him Monday through Thursday from four to six here on KBLA.
Speaker 1: He is our chief national Affairs analyst and host of
Speaker 1: a More Perfect Union, also television host and an author,
Speaker 1: among other things, a journalist. We were talking yesterday, doctor Corte,
Speaker 1: about you know, Steven A. Smith saying he's going to
Speaker 1: war with the National Association of Black Journalists because they
Speaker 1: gave him the Thumbs Down award. And my question was,
Speaker 1: when were they not at war with him? I mean,
Speaker 1: when was he not at war with the NABJ. What
Speaker 1: did you think about that sort of threat by Stephen A.
Speaker 1: Smith against the NABJ.
Speaker 2: Well, Dominique, as you know, you know, as a member
Speaker 2: of NABJ, I was at the NABJ convention in Atlanta.
Speaker 2: I just came back Saturday night, and so I missed
Speaker 2: some of the fireworks at the gallo where they announced
Speaker 2: the thumbs up and thumbs down. But it's it's interesting
Speaker 2: NABJ and Steven A. Smith have a pretty long standing relationship.
Speaker 2: In fact, I learned watching his response on his YouTube
Speaker 2: channel yesterday afternoon that he got his start at NABJ,
Speaker 2: like so many black journalists, he started at the Philadelphia Choir.
Speaker 2: I think he got that job through a relationship at
Speaker 2: the NABJ, and has been fairly active over the years,
Speaker 2: particularly with the Sports Task Force at the NABJ. And so,
Speaker 2: you know, he ran down a timeline of you know,
Speaker 2: you know, you know, collaborations with the NABJ. You know,
Speaker 2: all the ways in which he has supported other members
Speaker 2: of the NABJ, you know, and to be that, but
Speaker 2: be that.
Speaker 1: Isn't may doctor quarte. He has also gone in on
Speaker 1: lots of members of the na a BJ. Black women
Speaker 1: are his favorite targets, and so he can write all
Speaker 1: that stuff he wants to, but it doesn't erase the
Speaker 1: misogyny and anti blackness of his vituperative commentaries.
Speaker 2: I think I think that's fair, Dominique. I think there's
Speaker 2: there's a lot to hold. And you know, even a
Speaker 2: broken clock is right twice a day, right, and and
Speaker 2: and and and I think that's part of what we're
Speaker 2: seeing in the situation. Look, Aaron Haynes, the president in
Speaker 2: a BJ, is a friend. We've worked together. We've been
Speaker 2: on the campaign trail together covering Kamala Harris and other
Speaker 2: sort of issues.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And I know how she leads. She she leads with integrity.
Speaker 2: Uh and uh you know she. I hope that that
Speaker 2: that this marks the beginning of you know, a better
Speaker 2: stephen a right moving forward. That's something that he certainly pledged,
Speaker 2: or at least appeared to pledge in his video, responds
Speaker 2: that I had a chance to look at yesterday. Everybody
Speaker 2: else can take a look at it on their own
Speaker 2: on YouTube and make their own determination. But you know,
Speaker 2: when we have these these powerful platforms, Dominique, we have
Speaker 2: to be responsible in terms of how we use them.
Speaker 2: Do you using the punch up or do you using
Speaker 2: the punch down? Right? You know? Do you use them
Speaker 2: to critique fairly or unfairly? Right? And I think that's
Speaker 2: a big part of what people are calling out, particularly
Speaker 2: on the internet streets, is that he does not have
Speaker 2: a track record of of acting fairly in his critiques.
Speaker 2: Right when you have the president of the United States
Speaker 2: that says that he's dumb as rocks, you know, and
Speaker 2: he does not push forward with a response that is
Speaker 2: as energetic and as full throated as what you might
Speaker 2: say about you know, a Joy Read or a Kamala
Speaker 2: Harris or you know or someone else. That is where uh,
Speaker 2: folks believe that uh uh, he may be doing the
Speaker 2: bidden of folks outside of our community, and so uh,
Speaker 2: you know, I also want to mention in all fairness, Dominique,
Speaker 2: that there were other folks that also got a thumbs
Speaker 2: down vote.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we talked about that. There quite a long list actually, yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, including SEC chairman Brendan Carr. Uh for the folks
Speaker 2: over at CBS, which, as you know, their editorial now
Speaker 2: being led by Barry Wiss, has led to the firing
Speaker 2: of a lot of black journalists. Right. And so while
Speaker 2: Stephen A. Smith and and the tango with the NABJ
Speaker 2: seems to be getting the most attention, I want to
Speaker 2: remind our audience you know that, uh, the the work
Speaker 2: of Brendan Carr and what we're seeing happening happening at
Speaker 2: CBS is extremely consequential. Uh and is and and imposes
Speaker 2: a significant challenge to the black press at a time
Speaker 2: where we need a robust black press and a a
Speaker 2: robust independent press that is clearly filling the squeeze in undertack.
Speaker 1: I mean to be honest with you, I thought that
Speaker 1: was pretty bold of them to call out Brandon Carr
Speaker 1: like that. Folks. Licenses can be on the line. We
Speaker 1: see ABC today suing the FCC because the FCC is
Speaker 1: threatening its TV licenses, and ABC is claiming that this
Speaker 1: is retaliatory, right, that this is coming from Brendan Carr,
Speaker 1: who is a Trump acolyte, and is unfair. He says
Speaker 1: that the FCC is afringing on their First Amendment rights.
Speaker 1: It's asking the court to stop them from going after
Speaker 1: their licenses that they say can can pose an existential
Speaker 1: threat to their operations. And I think, you know, we
Speaker 1: know you call out Brandon Carr. He is the head
Speaker 1: of the FCC. He is going after not just TV
Speaker 1: but also radio licenses. One of the things he said
Speaker 1: is he's going to end d EI and radio, which
Speaker 1: isn't even a thing. And so I thought that was pretty,
Speaker 1: you know, strong stance to take.
Speaker 2: I have a very strong stance, And I just want
Speaker 2: to remind, you know, our listeners that, you know, it
Speaker 2: even impacts us at KBLA. You know, when we interview,
Speaker 2: when we interview candidates for public office, when we interview
Speaker 2: elected officials, we actually have to fill out a form
Speaker 2: that that tracks, you know, who is joining us on air,
Speaker 2: what they're talking about, you know, and how long they're
Speaker 2: on air with us. And you know, those reports get
Speaker 2: submitted to the SEC right and so we feel it,
Speaker 2: you know, in our everyday work at KBLA. And I
Speaker 2: just want to remind folks, I mean that's the kind
Speaker 2: of pressure you know, that journalists are under, particularly black journalists.
Speaker 2: We saw what happened to black journalists like Don Lemon
Speaker 2: and Georgia Ford, who, by the way, prought a case
Speaker 2: and they are still having to go through the process
Speaker 2: of clearing their name. Right. That's not cheap, right, And
Speaker 2: so I personally, as a member of NABJA, I'd like
Speaker 2: to see NABJA stand up a legal defense fund right
Speaker 2: for independent journalists who may not have the resources that
Speaker 2: Don Lemon has or the resources that Georgia Ford and
Speaker 2: others may have been able to put together. Uh. And
Speaker 2: you know that's that is quite possible under the leadership
Speaker 2: of Aaron Haynes. I know this is something that she
Speaker 2: is looking into, something that we have talked about offline,
Speaker 2: you know, but I'm worried Dominique about the potential retaliation
Speaker 2: as a result of these thumbs down. And we've got
Speaker 2: to be making sure that we keep our eye on
Speaker 2: the job security of black journalists across the country, particularly
Speaker 2: in small markets across the country. You know, we cannot
Speaker 2: allow uh, you know, these these major media companies that
Speaker 2: are sitting on a lot of money right to to
Speaker 2: scuttle the potential and the hopes and dreams uh of
Speaker 2: black journalists, the commitment that black journalists have to the
Speaker 2: tradition of the black press. And so I think NABJSON
Speaker 2: a very strong message saying, you know that they're on notice,
Speaker 2: each and every one of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, But I think that's a really good observation,
Speaker 1: doctor Corte, because right now, you know, we see this
Speaker 1: media consolidation, and we see the broligarchs, these billionaire tech
Speaker 1: guys that are all supporting the Trump presidency at this point,
Speaker 1: and the MAGA agenda buying up everything TikTok, and you know,
Speaker 1: this massive consolidation with the Warner Brothers deal, and you
Speaker 1: know which is followed in an already massive consolidation with
Speaker 1: the Paramount deal. And so you know, even with the NBC,
Speaker 1: these ABC stations, their licenses are not up for review.
Speaker 1: Brendan Carr just decided to call for an early review
Speaker 1: because he says that they're they're interviewing too many Democrats
Speaker 1: and there's not equal time. Which is interesting because he
Speaker 1: doesn't have the same critique of the Fox News stations
Speaker 1: or o N or any of these other stations that
Speaker 1: have almost no Democrats, almost no opposite perspectives. And I've
Speaker 1: been a community affairs public affairs community action person at
Speaker 1: a radio station, a big one and actually more than one.
Speaker 1: And I know what you have to file. It's a lot, right,
Speaker 1: You've got to prove that you're worthwhile in the community,
Speaker 1: that you're being fair and all this stuff. But most
Speaker 1: most stations don't even follow that anymore. As far as
Speaker 1: equal time. I mean, we are really scrupulous about it
Speaker 1: here at KBLA, but most stations don't even follow it.
Speaker 1: So the idea that he would shut stations down or
Speaker 1: takeaway licenses and then hand them over to these billionaires
Speaker 1: for even more consolidation is a real concern.
Speaker 2: It is absolutely a real concern. And this is why
Speaker 2: you know, we encourage people to you know, download the
Speaker 2: KBLA asping bread the words right and support independent media
Speaker 2: because otherwise, you know, there will come a time where
Speaker 2: the brologarchs as you call them, are going to own
Speaker 2: an even more substantial share of the media platforms that
Speaker 2: we're on. And when they decided to change the rules,
Speaker 2: when they decided to change the algorithm, for example, where
Speaker 2: content that may be of political nature, content that may
Speaker 2: be unapologetically black, that kind of content may be more suppressed,
Speaker 2: and other content. We've got to be prepared for that
Speaker 2: we shouldn't just be reactionary when it happened. We need
Speaker 2: to be preparing for that right now. And so, you know,
Speaker 2: the work that we're doing here at KBLA, the work
Speaker 2: that Joy Read and Don Lemon and so many others
Speaker 2: are doing on YouTube. You know, I think there's an
Speaker 2: independent media revolution that is afoot, and it's on all
Speaker 2: of us to tap in and more importantly, to support
Speaker 2: and to lift up and to cite, you know, the
Speaker 2: sort of you know journalism that is taking place in
Speaker 2: the tradition of the black press.
Speaker 1: All Right, it's not too late to call us eight
Speaker 1: hundred and nine to oh, fifteen eighty, eight hundred and
Speaker 1: nine too oh fifteen eighty. We do have a lot
Speaker 1: to talk about. You belong here. I'm Dominique Duprima and
Speaker 1: I am joined this hour by KBLA Talk fifteen eighty
Speaker 1: chief National Affairs Analyst, doctor nik Corlai Corte. He is
Speaker 1: on this radio station Monday through Thursday from four to
Speaker 1: six pm, and then occasionally when I can coax him
Speaker 1: on the air with me, he has to do a
Speaker 1: little bit double duty. Got a bunch of folks that
Speaker 1: would like to speak with you. I want to go
Speaker 1: to those phones. But I also want to quickly address
Speaker 1: something we have not talked about, which you pointed out
Speaker 1: to me, which is Oprah kind of pushing back a
Speaker 1: little bit on her her legacy, if you will, of
Speaker 1: doctor Oz and doctor Phil, two prominent TV doctors who
Speaker 1: started out in the Oprah sort of Oprah's sphere, who
Speaker 1: are both very much right wing. I wanted to say weirdos,
Speaker 1: but that doesn't sound professional, like I don't know. Basically,
Speaker 1: she's taking heat for their positions, and she's kind of saying.
Speaker 2: What Well, she's saying, you know, that everybody has their
Speaker 2: own path in life and that it has not one
Speaker 2: thing to do with me. That's what she's says. In
Speaker 2: an interview with Emmy magazine. She says that she doesn't
Speaker 2: have one thing to do with them, right, and so,
Speaker 2: you know, this is probably the harshest language that we've heard,
Speaker 2: most direct language. I should say that we've heard from
Speaker 2: Oprah Winfrey about doctor Oz and doctor Phil, you know,
Speaker 2: who have been in Trump's orbit for some time. I
Speaker 2: remember doctor Oz had run for Senates uh in New Jersey,
Speaker 2: I believe, and lost that race, and he ran as
Speaker 2: a Republican and so you know, look, the reality is
Speaker 2: is that you know, we may work with people over
Speaker 2: the years. There are folks that I went to high
Speaker 2: school with that are maga and we and there are
Speaker 2: are friends I have, I have friends, I have friends
Speaker 2: that went to more House that you know are are maga. Right,
Speaker 2: And and so you know, just because you know somebody
Speaker 2: may have had an affiliation a collaboration once time a time,
Speaker 2: you're not responsible for someone's choices the rest of their life.
Speaker 1: I mean, I get that, But also, like, if you
Speaker 1: have a pattern of elevating people that turn out to
Speaker 1: be maga, do you think that you have to do
Speaker 1: some reflection about why that is?
Speaker 2: Well, I is not maga, you know is not maga. Well,
Speaker 2: you know, are a lot of people in Oprah's.
Speaker 1: Or I'm just saying, yeah, okay, and I get that,
Speaker 1: you know, I have a family member that is maga.
Speaker 1: But I'm just saying to act like you have nothing
Speaker 1: to do with it. I don't know, doctor Corte, I
Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe I don't know how many folks have
Speaker 1: you elevated in the media space that turn out to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, you know, I don't have a great track
Speaker 2: record on that front, and I'm not mad about it.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I've helped a lot of people over
Speaker 1: the years. I call it the unofficial Dominique de Prima
Speaker 1: school of broadcasting, and so far not one of them.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I'm not saying it couldn't happen. It
Speaker 1: absolutely could. I don't know. Maybe you're right, we're going
Speaker 1: to leave that people. I think if you're Oprah and
Speaker 1: you have the influence that she has, which few people
Speaker 1: in modern history do, you know, and you're a spiritual
Speaker 1: person like she is, that maybe some self reflection might
Speaker 1: be in order.
Speaker 2: I mean, but but but Dominique, let me just let
Speaker 2: me just put this in a little extra context. For
Speaker 2: somebody who has a storied career in broadcasting has interviewed
Speaker 2: over four thousand people over the years, myself included. Right,
Speaker 2: we can focus on the handful of folks that are
Speaker 2: in very prominent positions in our government and that have
Speaker 2: gone full maga, you know, or we can look at
Speaker 2: the breath of the people that she has elevated in
Speaker 2: one form or another over the years. Right, And so
Speaker 2: I think that's part of what she's saying is that,
Speaker 2: you know, she can't be responsible for the path that
Speaker 2: everyone takes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I get it. I get it. I don't.
Speaker 1: I'm just not sure if a total lack of responsibility
Speaker 1: is you know, is fair. But okay, I love that
Speaker 1: she's pushing back and making her position clear. You know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's let's go to Shon calling us from Long Beach.
Speaker 1: Good morning, Sean.
Speaker 3: All right, good morning to you and your guests.
Speaker 1: How are you blessed? How you doing?
Speaker 2: I'm doing.
Speaker 3: I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Well, let's just just
Speaker 3: get to just get to it. We got these midterms
Speaker 3: coming up, got the twenty eight presidential election coming up.
Speaker 3: You got a lot of Democrats who itching to get
Speaker 3: back in power. They want to take over the government,
Speaker 3: get it back from the mac Republican Trump treating the
Speaker 3: Trump Traders scumbags that's in office now. My question is
Speaker 3: what is the Democratic national platform when it comes to
Speaker 3: things that are specifically specifically for black people. Not the
Speaker 3: Rising Tide Raises all boats theory, because that's that's tired
Speaker 3: and warning played out. I don't see any type of
Speaker 3: national agenda that's on the Democratic platform. But any of
Speaker 3: these candidates that said, hey, mister black people, miss black people,
Speaker 3: you come in, vote for me and put me in office.
Speaker 3: This is what I will do for y'all.
Speaker 1: And we're not talking about a platinum plan doctor knee
Speaker 1: court lay like Quarte, do you have thoughts on them?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I think this is a question that
Speaker 2: comes up every election cycle, is what is the black agenda?
Speaker 2: And who's going to be the greatest champion for the
Speaker 2: black agenda? I can tell you traveling across the country,
Speaker 2: you know, black people too are concerned about affordability. Black
Speaker 2: people too are concerned about getting capital to grow their businesses,
Speaker 2: to start their businesses, to scale their businesses. You might
Speaker 2: remember CDFI's Community Development Financial Institutions have taken a huge
Speaker 2: hit under the Trump administration. This is this has been
Speaker 2: a major source of funding, you know, for black businesses.
Speaker 2: So I think to your point, the people need to
Speaker 2: hear Okay, we know this has happened. So Democrats, what
Speaker 2: you're gonna do about it? And between now and November
Speaker 2: that is the task of not just the Democrats, but
Speaker 2: folks who are running in opposition to the MAGA Republicans.
Speaker 2: And so you know, if you check out what the
Speaker 2: Working Families Party is fighting for, you look at their agenda.
Speaker 2: You look at the agenda of DSA, you look at
Speaker 2: the agenda Democrats who are running right, You know there's
Speaker 2: some there there. But to the point of the caller,
Speaker 2: there's a lot more work between now and election day
Speaker 2: to make it plain.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and also I think it's also on
Speaker 1: us to put out there what we want and put pressure.
Speaker 1: The hour is almost upon us, though, scheon. Thank you
Speaker 1: for your call. Dr Corte. Remind people how to follow
Speaker 1: you by your book here your show.
Speaker 2: All the Things well Well. Please tap in weekdays Monday
Speaker 2: through Thursday from four to six pm Pacific to our
Speaker 2: afternoon drivetime show A More Perfect Union. You can follow
Speaker 2: me on all the socials at Doctor in the Courtela.
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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for stepping in this morning. It's
Speaker 1: always fun to talk with you.
Speaker 2: Wise. Thank you, Dominique the Prima, See.
Speaker 1: You soon, Doctor Nikolai Corte. What is the real story
Speaker 1: of what happened to the la jazz festival that is Next.
Speaker 1: Festival founder Martin Ludlow joins me on KBLA Talk fifteen
Speaker 1: eighty