193.) Ebro Returns! + Midterm Madness (10/5/26)

The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show

The hosts dive into the political landscape surrounding the upcoming US midterms and international elections, focusing on Trump's $5,000 voting promise and alleged US interference in Brazil's election

Key takeaways

• Trump's $5,000 voting promise is widely dismissed as a political hustle, with hosts noting Republicans already control Congress and could pass it immediately if genuine.
• Brazilian intelligence alleges the US is running psychological operations to influence the election between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro over strategic rare earth mineral competition with China.

Main topics

• US midterm elections and Trump's $5k voting promise
• Brazil election interference and rare earth minerals

Notable quotes

"Every accusation is a confession. Every adjective he used to call out... The fascists? Yeah, I know. I'm like, y'all are the fascists."

Conclusion

The episode balances sharp political commentary on election tactics and foreign

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:00) Just don't call it a podcast. Speaker 4 (0:05) The Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show. Speaker 6 (0:17) Well, well, well. See, bro, Laura Rosenberg show. Mostly Laura and Rosenberg. You know what I mean? Trying to hang in there. I'm trying to keep up, man. These guys is on a roll. What's happening? Rosenberg is incognito in some sort of... What is that, Laura? That's some sort of... Speaker 8 (0:38) He's in a room. Is that a Speaker 6 (0:40) room? Is it a full room? It looks narrow. It looks more like a storage facility. Speaker 7 (0:45) By the way, it is borderline narrow as a storage facility, but it is just a room that is basically doubling as a storage facility. Got it, got it. Okay, these things happen. But it's Speaker 6 (0:55) a Speaker 7 (0:55) room. It's a room in a home. Listen, Speaker 6 (0:56) what you're saying is very common. Were you, I mean... Yeah. Listen, they can't make fun of you for being in a kitchen with a laundry room and a kitchen all at the same time this time. Speaker 7 (1:05) Facts. No, they can just say that your house looks like a storage room. Speaker 6 (1:08) Now they're just going to be like Rosenberg is at a Manhattan, what is it, Manhattan storage. Speaker 7 (1:14) I'm in Manhattan mini storage as we speak. Speaker 6 (1:18) Laura, how was your weekend? Speaker 8 (1:19) It was good. It was good. I had my ambassador graduation for the Envision Foundation yesterday. Speaker 6 (1:26) Shout out to the Ambassador Foundation. Speaker 8 (1:28) No, not Ambassador Foundation. Ambassador Graduation. Ambassador Graduation Foundation. I Speaker 4 (1:32) do a Speaker 8 (1:32) mentorship program that kicks off in January and it wraps up this month. So Speaker 4 (1:37) it was Speaker 8 (1:37) really cool. So I spent my Sunday in festivities. With Speaker 6 (1:41) the gals. Speaker 8 (1:41) Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was cool. Y'all love Envision Fest, Speaker 6 (1:44) man. I'm so proud of you guys for keeping that going during the tough time, too. Thank Speaker 8 (1:47) you. Speaker 6 (1:48) Yo, man, I heard, you know, there was a number of activations around New York City this weekend, like was it Culture Con? And there was something else going on. And people, you know, shout to Culture Con and everybody who plans those things as well. And Kevin Speaker 8 (2:04) Ortega Rojas, who was one of the speakers there. Oh, he was? Yeah. Okay, did not Speaker 6 (2:08) know that, but shout to our guy. But similar to what you articulated with companies not being able to activate close to culture and things like that, I heard some people who work on CultureCon were expressing similar. Even that event, which is more of a commerce facing event, but because it's tied to culture, because it's tied to black and brown and street wear and these other things, some of the similar challenges. So all of you, all of y'all creating space for, you know, black folks and cultural things are dealing with those headwinds. So big up to everybody doing it. Speaker 4 (2:46) It's Speaker 7 (2:46) going to be, listen, it feels like it may be over. Speaker 6 (2:50) Or at least subside soon. You know, the way the midterms are playing out and the way you see the conservatives and the right scrambling, grasping at straws. Yes, Lou, you look like you want to say something. Speaker 5 (3:07) Well, here's my thing. Yeah, they're scrambling. The Democrats might win and they might win big. My thought process over the weekend, though, as I was watching some of this happen, was... Do you think they're going to seat these people? Like, this is not going to happen without drama. So if the Democrats win big, do you think they're going to do something to not even seat these people? We shall see. Speaker 8 (3:25) We shall see, Louie, because you never know. I did. I was listening to the Daily and they were talking about Democrats sweeping the midterms. But one thing they did bring up is that the Democrats are doing pretty good in the red states. But. Not in the blue states like Maine, like Susan Collins is is is completely basically like on top of whatever. Is Maine a Speaker 6 (3:50) blue state? But, you know, Susan Collins, a Democrat, we don't know. But Speaker 8 (3:56) I was even me and producer Griff were discussing it like I hope they just don't neglect. The blue states like you still got to do the work. You still got a campaign. You got to do it. You have to do it. Well, Speaker 6 (4:06) simultaneously, I don't know if you guys care, but are you paying attention to what's going on in Latin America and South America? Which country? All of them. Where you have a significant number of conservatives, Trump supported, Netanyahu supported, politicians who have taken leadership in what, Columbia? Speaker 6 (4:33) Brazil, I believe. Well, no, Brazil is in a runoff, but you have Bolsonaro's son battling it out with the president there, Lula, who's trying to get his fourth term, who's super progressive and wanting to represent the environmental things. Yes, Rosenberg. Speaker 7 (4:51) No, I didn't even realize that they were already back in the election. I didn't realize that Lula could lose to Bolsonaro's son. Yo, Brazil is like the U.S. It's crazy. It's just ping-ponging back and forth. Speaker 6 (5:02) Well, listen, I believe it's destabilization and money coming from, you know, conservatives and the big tech bros trying to take over South America where they think they could probably, you know, really take control of governments down there. There's this clip I found. Play clip one. Speaker 1 (5:26) Brazil's own intelligence agencies just issued an internal alert warning that the U.S. is running a psychological operation against the Brazilian elections on Sunday, and Brazilian federal investigators believe it is being directly coordinated by the White House in collusion with the candidacy of Flavio Bolsonaro, which aims at a new coup attempt against progressive incumbent President Lula, according to reporting by Forum. Brazil's federal police and intelligence agency have reportedly circulated warnings through their internal communication network describing an active U.S. operation to manipulate the first round of elections on October 4th. The trigger was the US embassy in Brazil's sudden suspension of all in-person services on Friday, citing unspecified security concerns, along with the Canadian, British and Australian embassies announcing restrictions. Brazilian intelligence read that closure as the opening move of a coordinated effort to generate fear and tension in the days immediately before the vote. A federal police source cited by Forum described it as hybrid warfare and laid out the operation's intended effect. Manufacture enough of a climate of insecurity that voters either shift away from Lula or stay home entirely, driving a high enough to deny a first-round victory for Lula. The intelligence services believe the operation is designed to disadvantage Lula, who leads polling ahead of Bolsonaro, whose father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is himself convicted for his failed coup attempt following Brazil's 2022 elections. Brazilian intelligence has internally named the suspected operation Brother Sam 2, referencing the 1964 U.S. intervention in which Washington moved an aircraft carrier toward Brazil's coastline to support the military coup against progressive Jao Goulart, installing a 21-year brutal military dictatorship. The US footprint in this election extends further. The Guardian reported this week that the Trump administration has allocated $1 million through the State Department's Human Rights and Democracy Fund to Brazilians explicitly tasked with attacking and undermining Brazil's Supreme Federal Court. Eduardo Bolsonaro, brother of the candidate, holds direct access to the State Department in Washington and is described in intelligence assessments as the principal interlocutor between the Bolsonaro campaign and the Trump administration. Ten days before the vote, Meta disabled all of Lula's campaign advertising across its platforms without offering any explanation. Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America. holds rare earth mineral reserves that Washington has explicitly identified as strategically important in its competition with China. And the outcome of this election will shape the region's political direction well beyond its borders. Speaker 6 (7:46) It's going down. And that last few lines there where they talk about those rare earth minerals that the U.S. wants as we compete with China, you know, always pay attention to the money, man. Always, always. So we'll see what happens with Brazil in the next few days. Speaker 8 (8:03) Yeah, man. Speaker 6 (8:05) Now, it's important to note that Brazil also jailed the former president for the coup attempt. Here in the United States, January 6th was... handled a bit differently oh Speaker 8 (8:17) yeah yeah so Speaker 6 (8:18) far a bit they Speaker 8 (8:19) were rewarded they Speaker 6 (8:22) were rewarded a slight difference here in the united states and how we handle coup attempts uh and attempts to overturn elections so uh it's very interesting does any a couple questions for you rosenberg um do does anybody believe that they'll get this five thousand dollars from trump If the if the Republicans continue to control the House. And the Senate. Anybody on this program? I don't know. Speaker 7 (8:52) SNL made a funny joke about that in the opening of this week's episode. They did a Trump sketch where all the politicians, all the Republicans were sending messages to the audience to try to get him to vote. And Trump comes out last and he's like, and I'm giving you $5,000 and it's not bribery because everybody knows I have no intention of paying you. Doesn't that kind of sum it up? But I don't know if anyone actually believes. he's going to pay that money. But the, I know you're not ever, Ebro, surprised by the boldness anymore, but the boldness these days, the guaranteeing money if you go vote, the last week during football, airing a crazy pro-Trump commercial all day during NFL Sunday, and at the end it says paid for by the U.S. government. Just in your face. You have that commercial, Bascom? Speaker 8 (9:50) Oh, I haven't seen this. I haven't seen Speaker 7 (9:51) the commercial. I Speaker 6 (9:53) heard Speaker 7 (9:53) the commercial. I Speaker 6 (9:54) saw Speaker 7 (9:54) people Speaker 6 (9:54) talking Speaker 7 (9:54) about it, but I didn't Speaker 4 (9:54) see Speaker 7 (9:55) it. It's wild. Speaker 4 (9:57) This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout. the fake news media and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all. Speaker 8 (10:29) It should be paid for by your tax dollars. Speaker 6 (10:31) No, it is. It's at the bottom. You guys, anything paid for by the U.S. government is paid for by your tax dollars. Always remember that. Yo, it's crazy, too. In that commercial, the first thing that struck me was every accusation is a confession. Every adjective he used. Speaker 6 (10:55) To call out. Yup. The fascists. Yeah, I know. I'm like, y'all are the fascists. What are we talking about? Speaker 6 (11:07) The warmongers? Who is that? The warmongers and the fascists. That's you. Speaker 7 (11:14) Bruh. Speaker 6 (11:14) That's your man. Speaker 7 (11:17) Cuomo. That's your man. That's a Speaker 5 (11:19) great job. Speaker 6 (11:20) They questioned him on it. Sidebar, I got to say this. We was on a call, Rosenberg and I, last week, and we had to listen to the entire Cuomo interview. Really? Damn good interview. No, listen, bro. We were a good morning show, man. I don't care what nobody says. You'll never convince me. Yo, this is Hot 97 on VH1. Damn good show. You'll never convince me otherwise. Ebro in the Morning with Laura Stiles and Rosenberg. It was a fucking awesome morning. You'll never convince me otherwise. Yo, that Cuomo interview. Speaker 6 (12:00) It's aggressive. It deserves an award. Speaker 7 (12:03) Now, that was like lean-in, must-hear radio. You're like, yo, are they just going at Cuomo? Speaker 6 (12:09) But not even, though. Speaker 7 (12:10) We Speaker 6 (12:10) were having a constructive combo, and then bro started to. Speaker 7 (12:14) True. No, I agree. It was a legitimate combo, but it was also intense and very raw. Like, you just didn't hear. It was the realest combo the guy had the whole time. Speaker 8 (12:25) Yeah. And it's his team's fault for not preparing him. Speaker 6 (12:30) Well, look, you know, we could blame whoever hung up the phone, thought it was a bad idea for it to continue. It would have actually been a great idea for it to continue. Speaker 8 (12:39) Yeah. For its own Speaker 6 (12:41) legacy. If you missed that, it's somewhere on the Internet. Somewhere. But anyway, so nobody believes in the 5K that Trump's going to give us because there's this clip that Isaiah Martin posted. He's been on our show before. And I think this is one of the best kind of. Look at it from 30,000 feet, what Trump is talking about, while Isaiah Marlin basically is like, why are you waiting till after election? Y'all control everything right now. If you're serious. Speaker 4 (13:15) Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate. I'm going to give all. citizens in the United States of America $5,000. Speaker 3 (13:25) Hey, Donald. Speaker 3 (13:28) Why don't you just do it now? You control the House, the Senate, and by the looks of where you are, the White House. Why don't you just do it now? Speaker 3 (13:42) That's how low IQ all this stuff is if he wanted to he has the ability to do it now and Speaker 4 (13:49) Republicans can do it And Democrats can because we're taking in massive amounts of money through tariffs and record setting economic success. But Democrat policies won't allow this to happen. Speaker 3 (14:03) How can you blame the Democrats when you literally run the whole government? You even control the Supreme Court. In Speaker 4 (14:10) fact, the opposite is going to take place. They're going to raise your taxes and they're going to destroy our country. Speaker 4 (14:19) You Speaker 6 (14:20) just Speaker 3 (14:21) talked about tariffs, but who pays a tariff? A tariff is an import tax. You just raised our taxes a different way. You literally are the one that raised our taxes. If the Speaker 4 (14:35) Democrats win, you will have an economic depression much like 1929's. If the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pocket. Speaker 3 (14:48) Well, let's see, Donald. Under your watch, health care premiums are up 26 percent. Energy bills are up 13 percent. Farm bankruptcies are up 47 percent. Diesel prices are at all-time highs. And gas prices are literally more than $1.30 more than what it was when you took office. What was that? About economic success. By the way, you still owe us a doge check, a tariff check, an ACA refund check, and now this new check. That's now $13,000 for every single person in America that you owe us. Donald, why don't you just run us our money if you actually wanted to do this? Because the reality is that he has absolutely no plans to. It's yet another distraction with the fact that he destroyed our economy with his stupid policy. Speaker 8 (15:31) Yeah. Speaker 6 (15:33) That's probably the most that I could see was the most direct counter to this latest Don Conn. Because that's what it is. It's a hustle. And by the way, they're going to. Speaker 6 (15:50) I hate to call people who would fall for this low IQ. I really don't think that's constructive. But you're dumb as hell if you actually think. Because think about it. For $5,000, let's just hypothetically say you're going to get this money. Based on what you've seen over the last 10 years, is that $5,000 worth it? Speaker 6 (16:16) Right. Truly, what you've seen with regard to the amount of money that has gone out the back door with this administration. Speaker 8 (16:28) And you're just never going to get it. That's it. It's just a lie. Speaker 6 (16:31) You're never going to get it. And I know most people don't think that this is affecting their bottom line. The amount of money that Trump's family has been able to make, the lack of regulation across a number of financial sectors, the war, you know, the military operations and wars going on. I know you don't actually believe that this is affecting you, but long term, it is thrashing us. Speaker 6 (16:57) Also, where would they get this money? Speaker 7 (16:59) From Speaker 6 (17:00) us. Speaker 7 (17:00) It's our money, man. Speaker 7 (17:03) How many people would get it? Every adult. Think about it. What's that number? I Speaker 5 (17:09) don't know. What's the number? He changed it. It's now every person. He changed it this week and not just every adult, every person, every U.S. citizen. So 350 million Speaker 6 (17:19) people will get $5,000. $5,000. Speaker 7 (17:26) Times 350 million it's gonna give me a number. I won't even know how to read Speaker 3 (17:33) Let's see. Speaker 7 (17:34) 1-7-5 and then so many zeros I don't even know what number this is. Speaker 4 (17:41) That's what it would cost Speaker