Video summary
Eric Weinstein reflects on the political landscape of 2016 and speculates about the trajectory leading into the 2024 election, noting his recent meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who appears willing to sacrifice everything for a vision of a "remembered America." Weinstein argues that American voters are increasingly aware that both major parties operate as self-serving entities designed primarily to enrich their members rather than serve the public good. He describes this dynamic as politicians acting like pigs at a trough, where party loyalty and corruption take precedence over national interests such as environmental stewardship or global welfare. Consequently, he suggests that what Americans truly desire is an end to these corrupt systems ("troughs"), yet political parties resist any changes that would undermine their ability to distribute favors among friends and secure lucrative revolving door contracts with regulated industries. The uncertainty surrounding the 2024 election looms large in Weinstein's analysis, particularly regarding the health of Joe Biden, whom he estimates has a significant risk of suffering a debilitating event or death before November. He also highlights the potential legal challenges Donald Trump faces due to ongoing investigations and questions whether Kamala Harris will be viewed as a viable commander-in-chief given her current status as an internet meme rather than a serious political figure. Weinstein expresses deep concern that whoever emerges victorious may not be accepted peacefully, noting that modern society has lost the necessary mystique and majesty required for stable governance. He emphasizes that citizens now rely on institutions like the Supreme Court to function effectively, yet trust in experts is eroding as people turn to social media narratives over factual reality, creating a dangerous environment where fiction replaces truth. Weinstein addresses his own retreat from public life, explaining that he feels unable to engage with topics that seem increasingly nonsensical or "pathetically crazily stupid." He questions whether the current political climate represents a failure of leadership rather than an inevitable outcome, pointing out that the existence of Donald Trump versus Joe Biden signifies a collective failure by everyone involved. Despite having reached millions through his podcasting efforts and teaching various concepts, he finds himself surrounded by negativity where critics dismiss him as someone who "goes on forever." He references Mick Jagger's observation about fame not sitting comfortably on anyone's shoulders to illustrate that while public recognition is flattering, it also creates an inescapable reality. Ultimately, Weinstein concludes that the current state of affairs suggests a breakdown in shared reality and institutional trust, where people are willing to accept stories over facts even when those stories endanger their children or lives. He acknowledges that he has fantasized about disappearing from public view but recognizes that it may be too late to reverse this trend given how deeply entrenched these issues have become. The discussion underscores a profound disconnect between the political class and the populace, where voters demand an end to corruption while parties continue to prioritize internal gain over national survival. As the election approaches, Weinstein leaves listeners with a sense of unease regarding whether any sane solution remains available or if society has entered a phase where managed reality dictates all outcomes regardless of truth.
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you mentioned before about being able to
have an insight into what was happening
in 2016 yeah what do you think happens
in
2024 I don't know I don't know you know
I I
um I met with Robert Kennedy Jr not too
long ago and he was nice enough to have
uh my wife and I to his house it was
very clear that he's trying to hearken
back to a previous remembered America
through his family and he's willing to
die for it there's no question that he's
willing to die to seek the
presidency I think that Americans are
going to have to come to grips with the
fact
that um our two political parties either
one of them could win if they
wanted but the problem is is that they
want to win as a
trough so in other
words imagine that what America wants is
no more
troughs you don't want to win playing to
that aspect of America if it means
getting rid of the trough because the
trough was your entire reason for
running a political party what you mean
when you say
trough assume that your party gets into
power now you get to hire all of your
friends into government positions then
they get revolving door contracts with
whoever they were regulating or dealing
with so effectively everybody's going to
pig out and help themselves okay we got
Democrats into Congress now they can
trade their personal accounts and pass
legislation and do far better than the
market you know whatever it is imagine
what Americans want is like hey stop the
corruption I don't trust why we're in
Ukraine the way we're in Ukraine because
I don't trust why Hunter Biden is being
given a cushy salary from a a Ukrainian
company well what you're telling what
the what the population is telling the
two political parties is and the
troughs and the political parties are
saying okay what else do you want we
can't give you that because that's the
whole point of why we do what we do
we're not public spirited we're not
thinking about America we're not
thinking about the future we're not
thinking about the good of the world or
the environment or any of the stupid
stuff that we are forced to talk about
every four years we're talking about
swimming pools we're talking about um
third wives fourth homes you know you're
getting in the way of that so tell us
what else you want that doesn't
interfere with the trough and Americans
are pretty clear like get rid of the get
rid of the goddamn
troughs you're slop you know you're
slopping each other you're you're pigs
at a trough and and now the idea is that
since you're not doing anything I want
my ethnic group to be at the trough too
it's like this has nothing to do with
anything we have to clear these people
out they're just bad people well way too
close to the 2024 election for anybody
to be cleared out
now really I mean what's going to happen
between now and November I don't know I
mean how old is Joe Biden I don't know
okay what are the odds that Joe Biden
has a debilitating event between now and
November including death so he runs a
one in 20 chance of dying in any given
year or above
that so I I don't think you know whether
he's even going to make it to November
81
yeah you have no idea what it's it's a
million years between now and November
I don't know whether Donald jump Donald
Trump is going to be you know facing
jail time I don't know whether there's
going to be an Insurrection by Maga
people that who feel that the Department
of Justice is going after a candidate
for political reasons I don't know if
people are going to look at kamla Harris
as uh you know the likely
commanderin-chief
why are you
laughing kamla Harris is like she's
become a meme of a meme of a
meme
so so absent
from public life as far as I can see
that it's it's hilarious you don't think
it's hilarious oh it's hysterically
funny you're talking about kamla Harris
being in charge of the world's greatest
nuclear
superpower it's it's a
scream you're talking about Joe Biden
being in charge of or Donald Trump well
Trump will be older than Biden on this
next re-election than Biden was when he
first entered
office well yeah Biden began at 29 in
the senate in
72 look this whole thing
is Chris let me let me just be more
forthcoming people want to know why I've
somewhat retreated from from public life
I have no clue how to talk about this
stuff this whole thing is so incredibly
stupid nobody has ever done this in the
United
States we had a election 1980 because
Ronald Reagan was 69 years old age was
Central we've never been in this
territory before does that not mean that
you should spend more time trying to
Grapple with ideas if you're not sure
about them what does that mean that if
your concern is you mentioned people
have asked why you've stepped back from
having more public conversations one of
the reasons is that a lot of the topics
that you try to Grapple with don't seem
to make sense that much anymore is that
not the time when you're supposed to
Grapple harder with
them if somebody says to you
uh
Eric uh you know previous election
uh are you supportive of of the Hillside
Strangler or uh Ted Bundy
go well I don't know if Charles Manson
might run as a as a third party
candidate so it's too early to say this
is all so pathetically crazily stupid
what am I supposed to do just say get
off my lawn every 4
seconds I I I don't know how to react
anymore there's no part of this world at
the moment that looks sane to
me and and you know I've done the
requisite work which is if that's the
way it feels to you then you should look
at your own sanity okay let's let's
entertain the idea that I've lost my
mind it's like
no no this is all
completely
one problem of managed
reality one of the things I am concerned
about toward the back end of this year
is whether or not whoever wins is going
to be accepted in even remotely a
peaceful
way it doesn't mean the same thing as it
used
to look there's some mystique and some
Majesty
necessary to
make these things
work you have to believe that the
Supreme Court is a bunch of incredibly
smart legal mind you have to believe
that the president of the United States
is an ex exed being who has power to
make decisions on the behalf of the
country you can't
afford Nancy Pelosi's husband trading up
a storm like
this everything's become Instagram
stories behind the scenes of the
Kardashians nobody trusts experts
exist when your kid needs a life-saving
surgery you're going to find out that
all you're drawing off on Twitter about
screw the experts doesn't mean anything
to you you're like save my
child we need experts we need
institutions we need Lies We need
fictions we need
stories we need adult level
public-spirited fictionalization of the
truth I'm not claiming we don't but now
you've got this different class of
people who says okay you don't want the
truth we need to have stories let's just
make up stuff and put stuff in our
pockets how much of it is coordination
how much of it is cowardice
well I would rephrase that a little
differently maybe I would say uh nobody
smart has gotten anything to work like
this in a long
time the reason we have Donald Trump
versus Joe Biden is that everybody
failed I failed I've been podcasting
reaching Millions I've been teaching
people about all sorts of
things one of the things I find very
funny is that there's a if you look at
um the negativity that follows you
around there are these very conserved
things that one of them is Eric goes on
forever and says nothing if you look at
the sheer density of information I've
dropped on podcast I'll put that up
against anybody you know but it's like
we want Eric to disappear we want Eric
not to say things who do you think is
behind that don't
know because you stopped your podcast
yeah I was a fan of that podcast that
first episode that you did with I
thought was was fantastic I can't tell
you how many people every day where's
the portal bring the portal back what
does it take to bring the portal back
you tempted MC Jagger said something
about Brian
Jones that has just haunted me and he
said Fame doesn't sit comfortably on
anyone's shoulders but there are
shoulders upon which it appears not to
sit at
all and I thought okay if there's one
guy who's good at being famous it must
be MC Jagger and for him to say it
doesn't sit comfortably on any shoulders
if you just parse it you think oh he's
telling us something it looks like I'm
good at being famous but it's not easy
and it's not something that's
comfortable and then he makes the second
point about Brian Jones and he says
there appear to be shoulders upon which
it does not sit at all and I think I
don't like the fact that you can't turn
it
off it's a oneway street for a very long
time that's right and you
know there's a point where you're
wandering through Istanbul and somebody
yells out Eric Weinstein and you're like
there's no way to get away from this and
you didn't like
that wonderful guy
um most everybody I meet is
fantastic I like lots of of lots of
being well known but the toothpaste
hasn't I I've hoped that the toothpaste
would sort of go back in the tube I
could do a little bit of podcasting here
and there and it just doesn't work
so you don't want to are you at the
moment are not prepared to bring the
portal back no I'm thinking about it I'm
thinking about it because I can't get
back
to look I have fantasies
about not being wellknown and I don't I
think it's too
late deeper into the breach look but
also nobody wants to listen to this you
know remember what you were saying
before mgrm questions H I didn't wait
let's play with it cuz I I think it's a
fun it's a fun
idea you ever heard somebody say
something oh the
paparazzi like yeah but actually I
believe
it I wouldn't want to live with
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