A Zoom gathering called "White Women for Kamala" apparently broke the app. Nearly 170,000 people, including celebrities like P!nk and Megan Rapinoe, reportedly gathered to discuss the best ways for white women to support VP Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign. But things quickly went beyond "cringe." Comedian Bridget Phetasy, herself a white woman, joins Glenn to explain why the entire premise of the call is rooted in racism: "It is actually white supremacy. You have to believe you are better than everyone else and that it is up to you to lift up all these poor people who can't help themselves and speak to everybody like toddlers...it's insanity!"
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: All right. Let me see. I want to play a couple of things, here. Just a couple of pieces of audio, that I don't know. I'm a little uncomfortable with.
Here's white women for Kamala. Cut one, about women's privilege.
VOICE: White women. I mean, here we are. I have to admit when I was writing stuff down. It was like, parents for Kamala. I don't know. Why is it so difficult, as Glenn was saying, to acknowledge and address ourselves as white women?
But here we are. And I am so proud for all of us to be together, as women, as white women. We are the ones that have the privilege, of course. And we too have had to fight and continue to fight for equality, our self hood, our freedom.
But we have whatever privileges are male -- white male counterparts, and have the good sense to bestow upon us. And then whatever else it is we have managed to take for ourselves, often being led by as many have said earlier tonight.
The leadership of our sisters of color, who have fought and fought and continue to fight, for their righteous place on God's green earth.
GLENN: Uh-huh. Yeah.
Yeah. So white women have the privilege. They're now apparently, the -- the ruling class, I think. I think that's what she was saying.
And they wanted to make it very clear, when they started this Zoom call. One of the influencers, really wanted to make sure that nobody makes any mistakes on this phone call. Cut four.
VOICE: I'm going to share some do's and don'ts for getting involved in politics online. Don't make it about yourself. As white women, we need to use our privilege, to make positive changes. If you find yourself talking over or speaking for BIPOC individuals. Or God forbid, correcting them, just take a beat. And instead, we can put our listening ears on. So do learn from and amplify the voices of those who have been historically marginalized and use the privilege you have in order to push for a systemic change. As white people, we have a lot to learn, and unlearn. So do check your blind spots.
GLENN: Uh-huh. Okay. All right.
Well, let's -- let's bring on Bridget Phetasy. And please, please, check your blind spot, Bridget, if you will. Please.
BRIDGET: Please acknowledge that I'm the most powerful person on this call right now.
GLENN: Yeah, you are. You have all the white woman privilege. And you're -- you really are going to be the one that turns this whole thing around. You white women.
BRIDGET: Glenn, do you understand that it's up to me and my people, to save the world.
Literally, save the world.
It is up to us, if we don't get it together, the world will end.
GLENN: Yes. Yeah.
They said that. I know you know that. They said that yesterday. That it's up to white women. Oh, my gosh.
Do women -- I mean, are there a lot of women, that think this way? That are like, you know, fine with, I just have -- I have so much to learn. And so little to say, and so much to unlearn.
But I'm the most powerful person here. What are you talking about?
Oh, my gosh.
BRIDGET: Right. It's such a weird humble brag in a strange way. It's like at the same time you're saying, you are -- you know, I was saying this yesterday, to you, actually.
In talking to my friends about this. You have to have the worldview. You have to start with the premise, that it's -- it's actually white supremacy. You have to believe you are better than everyone else.
And that it is up to you, to lift up all of these people, these poor people, who can't help themselves, and speak to everybody like they're toddlers. We need to put our listening ears on. And talk to all --
GLENN: Oh, my gosh.
BRIDGET: It's insanity. But I do think it's a way for people -- I mean, what is more important, than saving the world, while also somehow humbling yourself and recognizing your privilege?
It is -- it's still all ego. It's so gross!
It's so gross!
GLENN: Is this --
BRIDGET: I have strong feelings about this.
GLENN: Is this popular? Is this going to, Bridget?
BRIDGET: I mean, I don't know. It's weird. Just, I went off line for a couple of days, just to take a break. And I came online, and it was like 2016 with flavors of 2020 all over again. And this didn't -- it didn't work in 2016. You know, all of this -- like, I feel like, oh, we're just going to run a very unlikable politician, that people have openly said that they don't like. We're going to AstroTurf the entire media with, oh, look at how cool this person is, with celebrities and white dudes for Harris, and white women for Kamala. Weird, weird Zoom calls.
We are going to make it seem like it's all very popular. Except, it's not.
And then they will be out marching in their -- in their little pink hats. You know, the day after the election. You know, I don't think.
This feels like, it feels like -- I don't know. It feels manufactured to me. All of it.
GLENN: Okay. So let me ask you this.
You heard that everybody is now calling Trump and J.D. Vance weird.
And I think it's weird, that everybody started saying it, at the same time.
And I think, Bridget, that this is the new strategy where he was a danger to the republic. People are so sick and tired of hearing all of this.
And they just want somebody just to be normal with them. And so I think it's a way to have, you know, Donald Trump or whoever say, the woman is a socialist.
And then they go, you know, they're just weird. They're just weird.
I mean, I'm more like you. We're just laughing it off. That seems to me, to be a dangerous strategy, for the right.
BRIDGET: It's very dangerous. I'm -- I'm obsessed with this weird thing.
This morning, I was going down all these rabbit holes, for numerous reasons. One was clearly, the memo went out. And this is blatant AstroTurfing. Then there's this strange weaponization of the word weird by a party that has generally, that has been cool coated. It has been Lady Gaga was weird.
And her little monsters. And this was something that was always very left-wing dominated. We're going to make weird cool.
So they were the ones who said, no.
You can't use weird.
But then there was all this language of ableism that came out. And you couldn't say crazy. And you couldn't say insane.
And I was looking at all the list this morning. And it's weird, it's either been retroactively removed, which I wouldn't be surprised by. But it might have been the one word, like, hey. What can we call him that we won't get yelled at for?
And weird isn't on any of these lists, strangely. And as I'm talking to my editor at the spectator about -- we were texting. And he was saying, to win the general, you have to seem normal. And it's whoever is normal, and now they've made weird, this, you know, this step to creepy.
Like one step away from creepy. But I don't know if you should be doing it, if you have guys like Sam Brinton. And Rachel Levine on your side.
You can't. That seems like a bad idea for the left, to make weird one step away from creepy. Because they have way more weird people, that represent them.
Than I would say, the mainstream right-wing.
GLENN: If I may, however, you know, it's always the happy warrior, that America wants to be with.
And so if they are -- if they are seen as almost mocking themselves. You know, Karens for Kamala. And they're not taking themselves so seriously. Even though, on the call, they took themselves like God-like seriously.
And they're calling them weird.
And then you say, really? That's weird?
How about the dude that is stealing women's suitcases that you had watching over our nukes?
And then they -- their response is, see, I mean, you're just bigoted and hatred. Full of hatred. I mean, you're weird. But you're also bigoted.
And we just have -- I keep coming back to what she said, at the very end of that phone call. With Barack and Michelle.
Or big Mike.
She said, and we're going to have a lot of fun with this, aren't we?
And it was so fake. But I think that's what they're going for. Just laugh their way through this.
It will just be fun. We'll just have fun.
BRIDGET: Yeah. I think they realized a couple of things. Which is -- it's smart of them to course correct.
They seem to have leaned back into, okay. America isn't horrible, like we have we've been saying, and preaching, and academia. And we will reembrace the American flag.
They seem to have been saying, like, they realized, you know, the -- the RNC, for whatever Idiocracy, it might have seemed like, it was fun.
It was like people having fun. And I was saying this on Twitter. They're like, oh, look. What they're projecting.
They're projecting fun. This thing that Americans like to have. And generally have. And I think that they're realizing, they're not seen as the fun party.
They're seen as the scold now.
And the -- the authoritarians who are checking everyone's language.
And so I don't know. It's -- they're not going to believe -- that's not. You can't be. You can't say this is a weird paradox. You can't say this is the end of democracy.
And, oh, look how weird J.D. Vance is. That doesn't -- that doesn't carry this -- they're trying to walk this tightrope. And I don't think they'll be able to do it.
You can't be calling everybody bigoted. And racist.
And that this is a fascist takeover of America. And then be like, look at how weird he is. Yucka, yucka, yucka, it's not -- it's like weird. It's -- that's weird.
GLENN: Yes. It is -- it is awfully strange.
However, it might work, for a limited time. You know, that was the thing that I think the G.O.P. had going for, this year.
Was, it was full of joy. And it was fun.
And, you know, it was like a respite from the end of the world.
And it was still serious, had its serious moments when it needed to be. But it was fun. And I think that's what gave the wind in the sails of the Republicans in Donald Trump.
And I think that's what they're going for. I could be wrong. I want to hold for one minute, if you will, Bridget.
I want to ask you how would you -- if you're Donald Trump. How would you handle Kamala Harris. What would you do in a debate?
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(music)
Bridget Phetasy is the spectator contributing editor and columnist. She's the host of walk-ins welcome. And the host of the weekly Dumpster fire, which I absolutely love.
I was on her show yesterday. And we were talking. And it was -- it was an odd -- it was a very odd interview. I was in a weird space with you, yesterday, Bridget.
(laughter)
BRIDGET: It was so fun. I still love talking to you.
GLENN: Did you?
Yeah. Was it -- at you release this already?
BRIDGET: No. No. No.
GLENN: It wasn't odd. Just spilling into people's houses.
BRIDGET: No. I would definitely let you know, if you were going live. No. It will be cleaned up.
And, yeah. I thought -- I thought it was great.
GLENN: Oh, wow. Yeah. I really enjoyed it.
I always enjoy you.
Anyway, Bridget, tell me about -- you know, Donald Trump has to switch, fighting strategies. Because she's a different fighter than -- than Joe Biden.
So he's got to come to a whole new world. What would your approach be, or recommendation on debating her and taking her on?
BRIDGET: Gosh, I'm not. Some brilliant adviser to the people.
But I --
GLENN: No. But you're a white woman. And you have all the power in the world.
BRIDGET: Yeah. I'm obviously the most knowledgeable person on this call. As we mentioned.
I just want to -- put your listening ears Donald Trump.
(laughter)
Maybe you should talk to her like she's a toddler.
I don't know.
I think -- you know, they get away with not having to focus a lot on stuff that she -- she is basically now saying, oh, I lied about everything I said if 2020.
You know, now it's like, all of -- she's totally pivoting. I think you call her out on that constantly. And try to nail her down on what she actually believes.
Because I don't -- does anyone really know? It seems like she was quite radical.
I believe she's -- you know, she's from California. So I know what they've done to that.
GLENN: She's from -- she's from Berkeley, and her mom and dad were both Berkeley professors. So she's not just from California.
She's not the average Californian. She is way off the deep end.
BRIDGET: She's from Commie-fornia.
GLENN: Yeah. So she was -- she was saying the other day that -- and the press was helping her. That Donald Trump was accusing her of -- of having these certain viewpoints. What was it, Stu? They said that she was being accused of? And it was her stated policy.
STU: Oh, being -- she was accused of wanting to ban fracking.
BRIDGET: Oh, yeah.
STU: She said multiple times on debate stages over and over again.
GLENN: Right. But that was Donald Trump accusing her. Go ahead.
BRIDGET: Yeah. I love when the right-wing pounces on things that have been spoken in direct quotes by that person.
GLENN: Yeah.
BRIDGET: There is --
GLENN: I mean, it's just --
BRIDGET: I also think the right-wing needs to stay away from, you know, the commentary, the commentators, the childless thing. There's a lot of women who wanted to have kids, who couldn't. I think there are a lot of independent women who have been pushed -- you know, there is literally men boxing women right now. Men boxing women.
And you're calling other people weird? People who support this?
Like, focus on the erosion of women's rights on -- on the left in policy.
It's not just -- I think you have to stay away from the like -- all that childless stuff.
That's not good. That's not helpful. It turns people off. It turns people away.
He's got to pivot. He has to kind of get some substance from that.
I actually think he's really smart, and even if a lot of the right-wing doesn't agree. And even moderate on abortion. He was kind of doing the right thing to win a general election.
And now he's going to have to really -- he's going to have to step it up. But I really think all you have to do is keep forcing her to reiterate what she believes.
GLENN: Well, she likes. She believes in Venn diagrams. And she likes yellow school buses. But who doesn't? Bridget Phetasy. Thank you so much.
Host of walk-ins welcome. You can find her podcast, every day.
Bridget Phetasy. Thank you so much, Bridget. I appreciate it.
BRIDGET: Thank you for having me. Bye, Stu.
GLENN: God bless. Goodbye.