Amped Up's Rollicking Convo w/ Billionaire Stephen Cloobeck, Running for CA GOV

Hey Blue Amp family!

If you missed today’s Amped Up, buckle up, because Cliff came out swinging.

Here’s the lightning rundown:

1. Cliff’s Opening Rant: “Do It.”
   Cliff kicked off with a fiery call to arms: Democrats need to gerrymander aggressively in every state where we hold a trifecta. Not because we love gerrymandering, but because Republicans are weaponizing it to shred democracy. We must grab hold of every political advantage because they sure will without a second thought. His message was simple:

   Stop bringing a nerf hammer to a sledgehammer fight. Don’t look backward [at how Dems have ceded power], fight forward. And fight like hell—doing whatever it takes to stop them from stealing the House

2. Trump’s Presidential Fitness Test Hypocrisy
   Trump is relaunching the presidential fitness test—ironic, given his own “Big Mac” lifestyle—while simultaneously slashing food stamps, school lunches, and Medicaid. David brought up the topic which brought David and Cliff much laughter. David ripped the cruelty and stupidity of starving kids in school by cutting SNAP funding, while preaching fitness.

3. ICE Brutality in Florida
   We covered the horrifying story of 18-year-old American citizen Kenny Lainez, tackled and choked by ICE agents while telling them he had rights. Their response to this U.S. Citizen: “You have no rights.” Cliff called it exactly what it is: a police state in action. The cruelty is the point—the accountability’s nonexistent.

4. Exclusive: Billionaire Steven Cloobeck for Governor of California
   Our main guest, billionaire and philanthropist Steven Cloobeck, joined us for a wide-ranging interview. He didn’t hold back—and neither did we, not with our crazy world of Trumps, Putins, Hamas. Bibi, etc…

   Some interesting moments

   • Cloobeck criticized Kamala Harris for being “disconnected” and applauded her decision not to run for governor. Cliff reminded him that she only had 90 days to run a presidential campaign. They both wondered what he thought about the outsized influence of billionaires, with Cliff pointing out the danger to our democracy posed by tech-bro fascists like Elon Musk & Peter Thiel.

   • He laid out plans for homelessness solutions using empty office buildings, a “California Department of Performance and Results,” and cutting red tape to get businesses moving. David and Cliff asked how this would be done logistically, how many empty office buildings there were and more.

   • He said he’s ready to fight California’s fights like a businessman, not a bureaucrat—and isn’t afraid to throw a punch at political opponents or even ex-girlfriends who cross him. David questioned why he seemed to be in constant lawsuits, including this ex-girlfriend who was a an “OnlyFans” model and the former Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa. David even asked if it was fair that some called him the “Democratic Donald Trump.”

Cliff and David were not cantankerous, but they were no pushovers. They were fair, but they steered Cloobeck back to unanswered questions—following up, oh denizens of corporate media who’ve forgotten what the phrase means—and it got a bit testy once or twice. And if you know Cliff and David, you know there was as much humor as one can fit in an interview with a billionaire, California candidate for governor.

Maybe not 1000, but this picture must be worth at least 845 words:

If you want to see the full fire and fury of some rants plus the unfiltered Cloobeck interview—watch the replay on our Substack page. If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, please consider becoming one forthwith!

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All my best, my friends!

Cliff

Thank you

Joel M. Albers

,

P. J. Schuster

,

Muse Tutor

,

Kimberly Krautter

,

Kay Smith

, and many others for tuning into my live video with

DavidShuster

and

Stephen J. Cloobeck

! Join me for my next live video in the app.