US Midterm 2026 LIVE — Democrats’ Maine Battle: AOC Joins Troy Jackson to Challenge Susan Collins

[0:01] U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Portez. [18:56] I'm proud to be here as a campus fellow for the week's childhood environment for myself [19:43] seeing what this country can offer and the promises of what I can be. [19:51] However, the American I grew up in currently preside. [19:55] With the leadership of our current administration, opportunities are no longer being afforded to the working class families. [20:04] Instead, the top numbers are not being used to increase access to health care, [20:11] increase housing, and improve our infrastructure. [20:14] Instead, they're being used to fund ballrooms, separate families, and fund campaigns. [20:24] I'm here today because I understand that no one is going to add people I care about [20:29] if I'm not willing to first take a stand and make space and safety for other people to join as well. [20:35] That's why I got involved. [20:39] I believe that we cannot fix the system from the outside, [20:47] but that we have to work from the inside out by affecting policy and pushing the people. [20:52] That's why we need leaders like Troy Jackson and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Portez in Congress to represent the values of the country and vote. [21:01] So please do better than vote. [21:09] Encourage your friends to vote. [21:11] Make a plan for voting. [21:12] Vote early if you can. [21:14] And also assist your neighbors in thinking about getting to the ballot. [21:17] Thank you so much. [21:21] I'm here again. [21:32] I'm from North America University. [21:33] Portland. [21:34] We are witnessing a power crowd right before our eyes. [21:39] Oliverks are laughing in our faces while they squeeze us for everything that we've got, poison our world, [21:46] blast the airwaves with their propaganda, and buy off Congress. [21:50] There's something Oliverks do when they're trying to seize and consolidate power. [21:56] They're first trying to control how we think and what we think. [22:00] What that looks like is silencing honest journalism and starving our education. [22:06] They will freeze university funding and only regranted on the condition of compliance, [22:12] but collaborate with loyalist billionaires to control and corrupt our media, [22:17] and they'll time make examples out of those who don't accept this. [22:21] Not from those who are students. [22:23] They'll reprimand stream of reporters who expose the university in commigulation [22:27] and crack down on free speech on campuses writ large. [22:32] Now, something that corporate media wants to depict our generation as struggling because of our own life choices, [22:46] because of how we budget or how we live our lives. [22:50] Not because tuition is skyrocketing. [22:53] And not because we are inheriting a terrible job market in an accelerating climate crisis. [23:00] And they do this. [23:01] They depict us this way because they know that students are a threat to the billionaire class. [23:07] They know that students have not just a generation, but workers, tenants, and the whole 99%, [23:18] a movement that organizes, unionizes, votes, and ultimately questions [23:23] is all of our women's government by and for the people. [23:26] Since September, where students have had the opportunity to ask political figures questions [23:39] about the issues that matter most to us. [23:41] And if you only listen to corporate media and how they depict students, [23:44] you'd think that when you give them the floor to ask questions unfiltered, [23:47] that they might ask about matcha or Love Island, but no. [23:51] Students are asking questions of substance. [23:54] Questions like how to get money out of politics. [23:56] Questions like how to actually win Medicare for all in this country once and for all. [24:01] The billionaire-controlled media and show how serious this generation is through these town halls. [24:18] At More Perfect University, we believe in the power of a story. [24:22] To inform, inspire, and catalyze chain reactions of effective organizing from campus to campus. [24:29] We believe that when students at UW-Madison report on how they got their university to terminate its block contract. [24:36] When students at Missouri State University report on how their state legislators try to gut direct democracy in the state. [24:43] And when we work with these students and report these stories, we're sharing blueprints of how to take on unchecked power and win. [24:50] So that's what we're doing. [24:52] We're building community in person like we're doing through these town halls. [24:55] Thank you for being here. [24:56] And through advocacy journalism. [24:58] Where we train and work with students to cover the issues facing our campuses and our communities. [25:03] Stories that corporate media won't tell. [25:05] And stories that create domino effects that make us greater than the sum of our parts. [25:10] So thank you so much for being here today. [25:13] I'm so excited for your questions. [25:14] And with that said, are you all ready to get started? [25:19] It's an honor to introduce Representative Allison. [25:23] I'm knitting during the summertime when it's really hot. [26:33] And it's election season and I'm going to be on planes a lot. [26:37] So I decided, you know what, I'm going to pick it up again so I can pass the time and play. [26:42] And so I decided that I was going to wake up this morning and I was going to go to the Purling Pigeon, the knitting shop here downtown. [26:54] And so I walked over there and it opens at 10. [26:57] There was a little handwritten note on the door that said, hey sorry, we're opening a little late this morning. [27:03] And I said, that's great. [27:05] I went next door to grab a cup of coffee and I heard and we found out that the owner of the Purling Pigeon was out trying to get tickets to come here while I was trying to get into her shop. [27:22] And so she was having some trouble finding cover so we may go or say hello later but it was just a really lovely moment together. [27:34] And we're just so excited to be with each and every one of you today because we've got a Senate race to win. [27:41] And we've got a logger that we are hoping to send to the United States Senate. [27:55] It is up here and so much more. [28:05] So it's such an honor to be here with you here today Troy. [28:08] And I'm so excited for us to be able to send again to the issues. [28:11] Thank you for having me. [28:12] Well, thank you. [28:14] It's an honor to be here with you. [28:17] Thank you so much for coming. [28:18] Thank all of you for being here. [28:20] It's really, really sweet to you. [28:25] She couldn't get cover on her ship so we'll go to her. [28:31] Don't worry about it. [28:32] So I have a couple people here in front. [28:35] Well, there's a bunch of people here. [28:36] Good friends and allies. [28:39] A couple right here in front. [28:41] I was on the Congresswoman. [28:42] Whenever she ran back in 2018, she had just an unbelievable video talking about water issues in her district. [28:51] And we used that to talk to our state senators. [28:57] And we've got Rebecca Malad and Kathy Green here. [29:01] Thank you. [29:02] Thank you. [29:07] We did use that. [29:08] Oh, seriously. [29:11] I want somebody that's not afraid to stand up. [29:15] Fighting for, you know, what she believes in. [29:17] Not afraid to stand up to millionaires. [29:19] Exactly. [29:20] It really is. [29:21] It's an honor to have her here. [29:27] It's an honor to have her here. [29:28] It's a passion that I definitely want to bring to the U.S. Senate. [29:32] And I'm looking forward to working with her and being a partner and using them for us. [29:37] Classic. [29:46] Thank you. [29:49] I am a college student on the autism spectrum. [29:56] And my question is for Representative Abbasio Cortez. [30:02] So we know that RFK and Strom have said that when pregnant women take Tylenol, then their kids will have autism. [30:11] And that is not good. [30:13] So what can be done in the House of Representatives? [30:18] Or maybe what have you done? [30:20] What do you plan to do to push back against this narrative of Tylenol causing autism and autism being dead? [30:28] Well, thank you so much. [30:29] Let's give him a big round of applause. [30:31] Stand up and ask your questions. [30:38] So I so appreciate that. [30:40] You know, I think so much of what we've been hearing from this administration and from RFK and all of this, [30:47] the ironic part is that there's actually some of the initial things that we kind of agree on. [30:55] I've questioned RFK. [30:57] For example, the role of money in politics, the role of big pharma, the role of our medicine system is corrupting everything. [31:10] But then he says that and proceeds to take their money and make decisions that they want to be pushed through. [31:20] And when it comes to the narratives around autism, it's been so damaging. [31:28] First of all, the way that this administration talks about autistic Americans is shameful. [31:34] It's absolutely shameful. [31:37] And neurodiversity is something that we should all be able to embrace and be able to celebrate. [31:48] And that our differences are not anything to be afraid of. [31:52] They can be embraced and all that. [31:55] So the actual challenging thing is that while parroting all of these damaging falsehoods, right, there's no evidence. [32:10] There just isn't. [32:11] There's no evidence about taking Tylenol being damaging. [32:15] And by the way, pregnant women shouldn't be taking ibuprofen when you're pregnant. [32:21] And so Tylenol is one of the few things that you have to alleviate pain. [32:26] And so to parrot something like that that's unsubstantiated is very damaging. [32:31] He's also completely gutted our vaccine advisory boards. [32:37] He strips scientists from these boards. [32:39] And they've been replaced with oftentimes less qualified or unqualified political appointees [32:47] that are responsible for really overseeing medicine approvals and medical device approvals. [32:54] So one of the first things that we need to do is we need to get all of those political appointees out of scientific positions. [33:01] And we need to put scientists in scientific positions. [33:05] We need to get big money out of politics. [33:12] We need to get big medicine, big pharma, big insurers out of politics [33:19] so that we can employ actual doctors, scientists, and qualified professionals to be making these reviews. [33:26] And by the way, the other thing that they're doing is in the things that are known to cause harm, [33:33] they are allowing these big companies to pollute chemicals near working class communities. [33:39] They're allowing them to poison our food system because in gutting the FDA, the CDC, [33:48] none of these inspectors are inspecting these farms. [33:52] And we're seeing this with food recalls every day. [33:55] And so what we really need to do is root out this corruption. [33:58] We need to celebrate neurodiverse Americans. [34:02] Make sure that you get the support you need with proper health care, mental health care, [34:07] it should be part of our health care insurance. [34:09] And let people know that it's not going to be afraid of. [34:16] Our neurodiversity is something to be celebrated. [34:19] Yeah, yeah, thank you. [34:27] Great black jacket. [34:41] I'm very strongly about all GDPR laws. [34:55] It has a lot of, like, intensity and protection. [34:58] And the EU also just implemented some regulation on AI. [35:03] I feel like their foundation of GDPR helped them regulate AI. [35:08] And I'd love to hear your thoughts about how it can increase their ability to add more private spaces online [35:15] where legal privacy laws implement it because I feel like it's just completely like the wild-last [35:22] back in the United States but it comes to that kind of things. [35:25] And I feel like it's so invasive constantly. [35:29] And, like, the target ads that I get are insane. [35:32] You know, like, anyways, I could go on about it, but I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. [35:37] Well, thank you. [35:38] That's a great question. [35:39] I feel the same way. [35:40] You know, right now, obviously, you know, they're using AI. [35:45] They use huge spaces, you know, no regulation. [35:48] They can do whatever they want. [35:49] I mean, it looks, you know, it looks exactly like, you know, [35:52] the person that they're trying to replicate. [35:55] And they put you in all kinds of different situations. [35:58] And that shouldn't be. [36:00] I mean, AI has some good benefits, but, you know, not to make campaign ads [36:06] or, you know, make people feel, you know, like they've done something wrong. [36:11] And as far as the privacy, I mean, here in Maine, we've certainly tried to take that on. [36:20] The federal government has to be the one to regulate this, you know. [36:24] The state's having different privacy laws and stuff like that. [36:28] And so I'm very much in support of getting a government that actually is willing to take these issues on, [36:35] and not listen to people like Zuckerberg and other ones. [36:38] Let's actually, let's do some real guidelines and real regulations. [36:46] That shouldn't have to be worse. [36:48] And that's something I feel very strong about. [36:53] Also, AI, we have, I mean, the federal government, I mean, [36:59] we can't let people like Donald Trump say that, you know, this is going to go unregulated. [37:06] I mean, that's what the billionaires are spending money in Maine right now. [37:10] We have a government that does not hold no cap. [37:14] AI is something that can work to do good things for us. [37:17] But there's a whole world where this can get out of control in a way that none of us want to see happen, [37:22] including those billionaires. [37:23] They're just cooped up and have a great understanding. [37:26] I'm in honor of two Somali immigrants. [37:49] They came to Maine in 2005. [37:52] This question is for Congresswoman AOC. [37:55] Given the warring increase of hatred, negative press on immigrants and minorities in Maine, [38:02] being a woman of color in Congress yourself, how do you deal with the false representation? [38:08] And how do you suggest Troy deals with the negative representation towards minority groups in Maine? [38:14] Yeah, no, thank you. [38:17] Is that I often say, I actually heard this from Congresswoman Omar initially, is you can't hate up close. [38:33] It's a lot harder to hate up close. [38:37] And so much of this present moment, because of AI, because I think we're still living in this hangover of COVID lockdowns and everything that went on, [38:53] is that people are living in a lot of isolation. [38:56] It's a lot easier to buy into these extreme ideas and caricatures of your neighbor. [39:04] It's a lot easier to make you fear your neighbor when you are isolated, [39:09] and when you don't see them, when you don't shake each other's hands. [39:14] And so for me, one of the ways that I try to deal with it is I have this saying that I say at home, [39:23] which is, I'm not going to stop trying to be your friend. [39:26] And people will, I've had people say, well, we don't want you at our luncheon, [39:33] or we don't want you around here at these bars, or whatever. [39:36] And they'll say, that's fine, I'm not going to stop trying to be your friend. [39:39] I'm going to be all up in your room. [39:41] I'm not showing up to your door to fight with you. [39:46] But I think that eventually, you have someone that's very angry and has, you know, [39:55] that has been taught all of these terrible things. [40:00] And I actually think that when you don't respond in kind, but you stay right there, [40:07] you're like, hey, it's hard for them to maintain that anger, actually. [40:14] But in this present moment, in the run-up to this election, we've been seeing, [40:19] Troy and I are actually talking about this backstage. [40:22] I come from a community with a very high immigrant population, [40:26] and ICE has been incredibly active trying to intimidate people from just going outside. [40:32] Maine is very different. [40:35] It does not have anywhere near the immigrant population that my community has in our city, [40:41] and yet they are sending ICE out in droves to intimidate not just the Somali community, [40:48] not just the immigrant community, but to intimidate all of us. [40:51] This is about intimidating all of us. [40:54] And I want to be very clear, because in this last question we're talking about privacy. [41:03] Palantir, surveillance companies, these AI companies, they are going out to lunch [41:14] on the $70 billion in ICE funding that Susan Collins helped rubber-stand. [41:23] And it's so important that we understand every single time [41:29] that whenever this administration is targeting an individual community, [41:33] it is their way of trying to wedge open the door to compromise all of our rights. [41:39] They're using immigrants to take our privacy rights. [41:43] They're using it to erode our constitutional rights to privacy, [41:48] the ability to demand a warrant before search. [41:52] And it's so important that we see right through that and stand with one another. [41:58] And I would just say the big thing that they want us to do is to feel scared of being in solidarity with one another. [42:06] And I have to give you, Troy, so much credit for the courage that you've already showed. [42:12] Although there are a lot of consultants out here in Washington that would tell him, [42:18] do not sit next to a stage next to her. [42:22] I'm sure you've probably heard some variation of that. [42:25] And it takes a lot to say, you know what, no, I know my people, and I know who I am, [42:32] and I'm going to do things my way. [42:35] The dog, yeah. [43:08] He brought the prop. [43:11] Will it be American first or Israel first? [43:21] And second, day one agenda, if you take back both the House and the Senate. [43:27] Well, I mean, American first. [43:35] I don't want to see blank checks go in the net. [43:38] No, I would win more. [43:39] I don't want to see the agenda. [43:45] I mean, I think, I mean, there's a lot, obviously. [43:50] Repealing the beautiful bill, which I know would be a great obstacle to be able. [43:54] So we can get some senators that are up to their back. [43:59] I mean, I don't care what else we've done before, but, you know, trying to get that back [44:02] so we can work on Medicare for all. [44:04] How can we be stronger than that? [44:06] First, it is just unconscionable that we spend trillions of dollars going to war, [44:21] not just funding the atrocities of what's happening in Gaza, but across the entire world. [44:27] One of the things that I find so mind-boggling is that whenever we want to expand healthcare [44:35] in this country, Medicare in this country, education, everyone's first question in Washington is, [44:43] we have no money. [44:45] How are we going to pay for this? [44:47] As though the richest nation in the history of the world is a pauper right now. [44:53] And we hear that constantly. [44:57] Yet, every single year, the United States Congress rubber stamps trillions and trillions [45:08] and trillions of dollars in current and expanded spending without anyone at all. [45:16] How are we going to pay for this? [45:19] And where do we get this money from? [45:22] It's just treated as a matter of course. [45:25] It's just, well, of course this budget has to go up. [45:27] No one says, no one said after we pulled out of Afghanistan, do we need to still be sustaining [45:34] this level of funding? [45:35] No one has asked any question to that. [45:37] And by the way, the Pentagon has continued to fail every audit that they have been presented [45:47] with. [45:49] And so, why are we continuing to dump this money? [45:52] And I'm going to tell you, they are paying for it with your healthcare and lack thereof. [45:59] So it's about time that we flip that equation and start asking, how can we afford war after [46:06] war after war? [46:07] How are we going to afford Iran? [46:08] How are we going to afford Gaza? [46:09] How are we going to afford Gaza? [46:10] How are we going to build a bridge to get to work? [46:20] How are we going to be willing to go back to me at the previous time? [46:30] Why wouldn't I walk alongside someone that should talk like that? [46:40] It's not unique. [46:41] It's people that actually care everyday people. [46:43] And that's what I see, you know, in this race, it's been really often to me, I mean, [46:48] just over 80 days. [46:50] How much has been a real flashpoint, and not just from the people I was expecting, but [46:55] from the media. [46:56] Like, just exactly what you said, we can't pay for this. [46:59] How are you going to do it? [47:00] And what we do it by not wasting all the money that we have been, by taxing the millionaires [47:06] and whatever. [47:07] It made people feel like asking for healthcare is too much in this country. [47:18] Everything people at COPPA was, you know, yeah, everything. [47:22] No, we can do it. [47:23] We absolutely can do it. [47:24] We have to do it. [47:25] Great shirt. [47:26] If you want to stand up. [47:33] Yeah. [47:34] Thank you all so much for being here. [47:43] It's such a pleasure. [47:44] In a post-January 6th world, especially the Congresswoman of Omar, and what has been happening [47:50] in the prior, I would love to hear both of your thoughts on what we should maybe expect [47:54] post-November 3rd, what your worries may be, and what we can do as citizens and young [47:58] people as well, to hopefully push back against maybe any attempt to, you know, control this [48:04] election. [48:05] First and foremost, anything that we are seeing unfold right now is an absolute weaponization [48:18] of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. [48:22] Point blank period. [48:25] And I want to zoom out. [48:28] You know, if you're having a conversation with someone that isn't sure about the details [48:32] of what's happening in the news and whatnot, just know that it has been standing practice [48:39] in order to protect the integrity of our elections, that the FBI and the DOJ do not take actions [48:46] like these within a certain timeframe of an election, regardless of what is happening [48:52] in any circumstance of an investigation. [48:55] And so the very fact that this is happening in October and September tells you, period, [49:01] that these agencies have been weaponized and compromised. [49:05] So what we have to do, whether it's this, whether it's the corruption that we've seen with crypto [49:13] and the ballroom and all of these things, is that we've known that Kash Patel has purged [49:19] the FBI of many serious investigators. [49:22] We've known that the Department of Justice has also been weaponized in its absolute groundless [49:29] indictments of everyone from Tish James to Jerome Powell and so on and so forth. [49:36] Day one, we need to be opening investigations to the heads of every single one of these agencies. [49:42] And we need to open power. [51:51] I'm not being willing to get out of line. [51:54] I'm not being willing to say anything. [51:56] Because I've been told that if you do, they're going to be an example of you. [51:59] I'm told that by my parents, by my community. [52:02] Because usually that is what happens. [52:04] You know, every day people have a hard time break up because we don't have one. [52:10] But you can't afford to lose what you have. [52:12] And this is the same thing with Medicare for All. [52:15] I mean, they want to keep a dreamy, dirty, scumbag system that they have right now [52:22] because it works for them. [52:23] It doesn't work for us. [52:24] I mean, before we move the bill, it's not where I want to be. [52:30] I mean, it's just to get something back that we've already lost. [52:34] But this country is struggling. [52:38] I mean, we're struggling with health care. [52:40] We're struggling with oil, heating. [52:42] And I just think that we have to get greed out of our health care system. [52:48] I mean, this is the right. [52:50] This is something everyone should have. [52:52] And too many people here today don't agree to this industry. [53:03] And so, explaining to people that, you know, this is not going to take health care away from you. [53:09] It's going to be better. [53:10] Because that's what they want. [53:11] I mean, this is what I hear all the time from people that don't want Medicare for All. [53:16] Well, fine. [53:17] I'm going to do something that's going to be better than your private insurance. [53:22] Yeah. [53:23] I mean, because of this bill, because we have so many people that don't have health insurance, [53:35] that have bad debt and charity care, I mean, if everyone that, you know, in this country had insurance, [53:41] was able to go in, the hostage had paid something appropriate, we'd have a much better system. [53:46] And so, I think it's just taking the time to explain to people that you're not going to get bad insurance, [53:51] you're going to get hostile insurance, and that we can't do it. [53:54] We just don't want these billionaires to sell us differently. [53:57] President, thank you. [54:06] I'm Schills, who needs autism and ADHD. [54:15] I'm at Portland High School. [54:18] And I have a question for Troy Jackson, my senator, who I just don't have to pay for. [54:30] There's a shortage of various disability services, not just in the state of Maine, but also nationwide. [54:35] My younger brother, who has high support, who needs autism and ADHD, [54:39] who has been on Medicaid waitlist for years at a time, [54:42] not getting sufficient support that he needs. [54:45] And this has been a reality which I've witnessed for several years at a time. [54:49] We have been trying everything possible to get sufficient support. [54:53] We have a case manager. [54:54] We have applied to various waitlist. [54:56] We even had a single assessment which was supposed to get my brother one more waitlist for service. [55:01] And we need to just reach out to disability rights debate about this, but despite all this stuff, [55:06] these backlogs still persist. [55:08] Max, we've just been saying that this isn't a reality, [55:11] even though only my opinion has faced. [55:13] This is a reality that all across the state and all across the nation has faced. [55:19] When you're elected, what do you plan to expand access to disability services all across the nation? [55:44] So, great question. [55:45] I'll send her to Green which is a high five day because she was chair of corporations. [55:48] She worked really hard trying to make it better for everyday people. [55:53] There you are. [56:00] Again, it comes back to prioritizing where are we going to put money? [56:04] Are we going to give access to other people or are we going to give benefits to people that need it in this country? [56:10] And that's something that I feel very strongly about. [56:12] They're absolutely correct in the name. [56:14] We've had a waitlist. [56:16] We've lowered it. [56:17] I mean, they're trying to lower it. [56:19] A big part of that too is getting the services. [56:21] They're able to have people that are getting paid for the job that they're doing. [56:27] We're not putting enough money to that. [56:29] Much like a lot of the other professions, you know, nursing homes and things like that. [56:33] Child care. [56:36] We don't pay the most people the professions that they are. [56:40] We have put more money in the last year. [56:41] We have more people to give the services. [56:43] But look, it does come down to prioritizing where we spend the money. [56:47] We haven't been doing good enough jobs anywhere close in this realm. [56:50] And that is something that I get from. [56:52] That's why I say Medicare for All will help with that also. [56:56] All kinds of things that are left out to help insurance industry right now. [57:06] But if it is, I want to make sure that people that need services get them and not just their priorities. [57:13] Thank you. [57:20] I just told you that AOC are from an area where there is public transit. [57:31] What do you think commuting through public transit? [57:33] And where is the power? [57:36] Thank you. [57:37] I grew up in New York City and I grew up in the suburbs of New York as well. [57:47] Which also has a commuter train that has integrated so much the city and the suburbs. [57:54] And also it even goes all the way up to Dutchess County. [57:58] And it has created such a connective tissue. [58:04] I'm a big believer in that, in the idea that our public transit system is one of the reasons why New York has one of the greatest municipal economies in the United States. [58:15] And when, back during the Biden administration, when we were fighting on the Inflation Reduction Act, [58:23] when we were fighting on the American Rescue Plan, [58:26] one of the things that I strongly advocated for was a one-to-one investment. [58:32] Which was, for every dollar we put in road infrastructure, [58:36] we put a dollar into rail and public transportation. [58:39] The more ways we have to get around, [58:49] the more places we can live, [58:52] the easier our lives are. [58:55] And, I mean, a car payment is a lot of money. [58:59] And, you lose your car, [59:03] you can't get to work, [59:05] it's hard to get a job, [59:07] and so it's almost like a prerequisite. [59:09] If you don't live in a city with public transit, [59:12] or reliable public transit, [59:14] it's almost like owning a car is a prerequisite to participate in society in any meaningful way. [59:21] And when a car payment, especially nowadays, [59:25] a used car is like, as much as a new car was not too long ago, [59:30] it becomes really hard to start that journey. [59:32] And so, everything from, not just rail, [59:36] it also has to work for wherever you're designing it for, [59:40] but even things like bike infrastructure, [59:43] making it easy to get around with micromobility to trains, [59:48] it's so tremendously important. [59:51] Because without it, we don't have access to economic opportunity, [59:55] and it actually makes it so that people increasingly feel like they have to move to a city [1:00:01] in order to have a job in their life. [1:00:03] And a lot of people don't want that. [1:00:05] We want to be able to live and thrive where we grew up and have that option, [1:00:10] but we have to be able to get past this time where you have to be able to afford a car [1:00:16] in order to afford a job. [1:00:18] And she's wearing her own salt button because you don't have it. [1:00:34] But, you know, seriously, I mean, obviously, [1:00:37] it's a big, it's a very rural, [1:00:39] I mean, I don't know if we're going to be able to get a public transportation [1:00:44] and require this, but we can certainly do more. [1:00:47] Right here in Portland, I was shocked at how little the state actually pays from us [1:00:51] and that's something that we actually have to increase, you know, [1:00:55] because busing in Portland is a big deal. [1:00:57] But also, you know, we act like the main, we can do rail, [1:01:01] can do rail service. [1:01:03] And I don't know why it would be such a hard thing to, you know, [1:01:07] maybe have rail from Agar in Portland, [1:01:09] and a lot of people work here, I mean, you can come in, [1:01:18] and the parking is really hard in the city, you know, [1:01:22] and I would seem to be getting that environmentally much better than that would be. [1:01:26] But those things, I think, obviously, a lot of that has to come from [1:01:30] funding from the federal government to Maine, [1:01:32] you know, we won't be able to pick that up on our own. [1:01:35] But the other thing that, you know, another thing I've been criticized for, [1:01:41] let's get out of our hand, so that people, you know, [1:01:50] be stabilized, get prices back down. [1:01:52] I mean, I think we're always going to have transportation in Maine, [1:01:56] and in the rural parts, well across the state, [1:02:00] but in the rural parts, that's the only option, [1:02:03] like a commercial mistake will work and stuff like that. [1:02:06] It's out of hand right now. [1:02:08] I mean, people that are paying, you know, [1:02:10] $7 for diesel to work in forestry and fishing, [1:02:14] environmental industries, transportation, [1:02:17] that should be an easy thing to accomplish [1:02:20] to get our levels back down, [1:02:22] and then start working on some other things to try and do this all [1:02:25] and do this all the time. [1:02:26] We just saw the boom and bust of getting these firm rewards [1:02:29] that always drive a raise up. [1:02:31] But, I mean, I think there's a lot of things about, you know, [1:02:34] doing more airplane to help and pay for bussing, [1:02:37] doing more trying to get rail, [1:02:39] the short-term things, let's get out of the form of war, [1:02:42] let's get over. [1:02:43] I go to Bowden. [1:02:57] My question is for Mr. Johnson. [1:02:59] I've lived and paid my whole life, [1:03:01] and something we've seen with Susan Collins [1:03:03] is an absence of accountability and authenticity [1:03:06] and a lack of connection to the people's actual concerns in Maine. [1:03:13] How, during your term in Washington, [1:03:17] do you plan on actively listening to the people of Maine [1:03:20] and fighting for their concerns in Washington? [1:03:24] Good question. [1:03:27] So, you know, I tell the story a lot about how I grew up. [1:03:34] I met my first billionaire. [1:03:35] I was in the seventh grade. [1:03:37] Senator Collins, yesterday, [1:03:40] I was with that billionaire Lewis. [1:03:43] What she's willing to do is go out, [1:03:47] cut commitments, things like that. [1:03:49] But I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be any elected official. [1:03:53] We'd be a select board, we'd be a Congress, [1:03:55] we'd be a state legislature, [1:03:57] and not be willing to show up and hear from people. [1:04:00] I mean, for me, that's what I always wanted in my elected official. [1:04:04] That's why I get into this, [1:04:05] because I didn't feel it was working for the people I cared for. [1:04:08] You know, my first, uh, [1:04:15] we went to her, [1:04:21] and she found out that we were on the other side of our landowners. [1:04:24] That was the end of it. [1:04:26] But I've gotten such a better education, [1:04:32] a better understanding of going to a place like this, [1:04:37] going to town hall. [1:04:38] I'm here to be divorced. [1:04:41] It's no secret that I've changed my opinion on our major issues, [1:04:46] because, you know, [1:04:57] I wouldn't have been willing to take the higher questions, [1:05:08] you know, [1:05:09] and hear from people. [1:05:10] Yeah, sometimes, you know, [1:05:12] people can be, uh, interested. [1:05:15] But, uh, I enjoy this. [1:05:19] We've got a great state, you know, [1:05:27] but it is diverse. [1:05:28] I mean, uh, [1:05:29] it's diverse in the way grown up and lived, [1:05:33] and how they're making their living. [1:05:35] I would never understand any of that. [1:05:36] I wouldn't talk to you. [1:05:37] I think that's a failing center college. [1:06:07] Delivery services at Lincoln Hospital. [1:06:09] This will be the 12th labor and delivery department [1:06:12] to close in the last five years of me. [1:06:15] What can we do to stop these closures [1:06:17] and to return maternal health care services to rural communities? [1:06:21] For all of us to understand that the trillion dollars [1:06:34] in health care cuts that Susan Collins paved the way for, right? [1:06:40] She will say, oh, I didn't vote for the big ugly bill. [1:06:45] She waited until they had enough votes. [1:06:47] But I'm going to tell you something. [1:06:50] She voted. [1:06:51] In Congress, there's a lot of procedural votes that say, [1:06:55] you go ahead. [1:06:56] You can go ahead. [1:06:57] Move it. [1:06:58] It doesn't just show up on the floor one day. [1:07:00] It has to pass committee. [1:07:01] It passes rules. [1:07:03] And at every single moment, [1:07:05] you have an opportunity to stand up and say them. [1:07:09] In the votes that allowed this trillion dollars [1:07:14] in health care cuts to go to the floor, [1:07:16] Susan Collins voted yes. [1:07:18] Susan Collins, Senator Collins voted to allow us to proceed [1:07:23] at every opportunity. [1:07:25] And it is only when she thinks people aren't looking [1:07:30] and aren't paying attention that she'll vote no thinking [1:07:35] you don't know what she's up to, [1:07:37] that she waited until it went past the post in order to say no [1:07:43] when at every other point she said yes. [1:07:45] But something that's very important for us to understand [1:07:48] is that this trillion dollars in health care cuts across our systems [1:07:53] is threatening the closure of our rural hospitals [1:07:56] and our urban hospitals alike. [1:07:58] But the first thing to go in every one of these systems [1:08:05] is labor and delivery and OB-GYN. [1:08:10] It's when these hospitals need to stop the bleeding, [1:08:14] the first wing that closes is women delivery babies. [1:08:20] You can look at whether it's in Maine, New York, Iowa, [1:08:24] everywhere in this country. [1:08:26] And I want to embrace that because not only did Susan Collins [1:08:32] pave the way for women and people who are about to deliver a baby [1:08:39] to have their lives in danger through defunding, [1:08:43] but she also did it by supporting Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. [1:08:51] It stood by him and allowed Brett Kavanaugh to be named to the Supreme Court [1:08:56] when there were standing, credible allegations of sexual assault against him. [1:09:03] And that matters because Susan Collins, one of the only Republican female senators [1:09:14] in a unique position to protect every woman in America, decided to declare open season on us instead. [1:09:22] And I want to say for every woman in Maine, if we want to be able to deliver our children safely, [1:09:32] and for our men in order to protect our families in moments of crises like these, [1:09:39] the most important thing that we can do for women in Maine is to vote for Troy Jackson for the United States. [1:11:02] ...resulted into reverse discrimination against white people. [1:11:04] Trump allowed ICE to come terrorize our communities and contributing against minorities is hypocritical. [1:11:13] How do we not just verbally protect our people? [1:11:16] How do we prevent ICE agents from taking our community members? [1:11:20] Well, I mean, honestly, this has been for everybody, what they want to do. [1:11:31] I mean, I think the question we had earlier about power, [1:11:34] I mean, they've shown that the way to keep power, and this is one of them. [1:11:40] Yeah, but... [1:11:45] Go on, it's Pastor Guerrero. [1:11:49] You can say his name, I think... [1:11:52] Thank you. [1:13:16] Hi, I am a transgender student at the University of Southern Maine. [1:13:25] I and a lot of, you know, trans people in America feel that we have been abandoned by the Democratic Party, [1:13:39] that we are a losing issue, that it's not worth defending us. [1:13:47] What do you say to that? [1:13:50] They're wrong. They're wrong. [1:13:53] And first and foremost, I want to just let you know how shameful and sorry I am that there are people out there that scare so easily after an election. [1:14:13] And I think it's what people hate most about politics, and that we can come to support trans Americans. [1:15:03] Because, you know, there's plenty of people who may not understand or the conversation about gender may be very new to them, depending on who they are and where they live. [1:15:15] However, our basic rights shouldn't have to matter. [1:15:21] They don't matter in who you are or what you do. [1:15:23] You have those rights guaranteed by being an American citizen point blank period. [1:15:29] They don't understand what they are doing. [1:15:38] Because the billions of dollars and the enormous amount of energy that the right is putting in focusing on trans Americans, when you actually zoom out, trans people in America are 1% of the population. [1:15:56] There are people who have taken surveys after they see all these ads, and people think it's like 40% from the way that they talk about trans people. [1:16:08] But the focus is strategic, especially when they talk about trans people's access in higher education, when they want to focus on trans girls in sports. [1:16:21] It's not just about trans girls in sports. [1:16:23] It's about girls, all girls, in education. [1:16:28] Because look at higher education. [1:16:31] The focus on this is actually when you ask, okay, so how do you propose we actually execute on their agenda? [1:16:39] It's about attacking Title IX. [1:16:41] Title IX is the federal protection for all gender equality and all women to be protected in accessing a higher education. [1:16:53] And what the Trump administration is doing in targeting trans people is to get everyone on board with supporting defunding their own civil rights in going to college, university, what have you. [1:17:11] We just saw and we've been hearing nationally about what happened at Cornell University. [1:17:16] And we know that what happens at Cornell and what happened there with the assaults of these young women is not just at Cornell. [1:17:23] It's at virtually every institution of higher learning in the United States. [1:17:28] And the way that people who have survived assault try to get justice and are federally protected is through Title IX. [1:17:38] So this administration, in focusing and trying to gym up hatred against trans Americans, the Trump administration, while everyone was focused on that, quietly defunded the Civil Rights Division of Enforcement in the administration on Title IX. [1:17:55] And so understand that when they attack trans girls in sports, they're also attacking all women's ability to stand up against their abusers, their rapists, and their assaulters on campuses across America. [1:18:13] And that's why I think it's very important for all of us to understand and to feel and to know that our fight is united. [1:18:23] It really is united. [1:18:26] I don't support the rights of trans people just to protect my own rights, but I support the rights of trans women because I'm a girl's girl. [1:18:41] And I think that all of our bodily autonomy is tied together. [1:18:47] The right to choose over our bodies is the right to choose over our bodies. [1:18:52] And once people start to try to carve out and say, well, you can allow this and you can't do that. [1:18:58] Same thing with the right to reproductive care. [1:19:01] Oh, you can only access an abortion if you were raped and reported it in a certain period of time to a police precinct. [1:19:12] That's not how the real world works. [1:19:14] And at the end of the day, we need to have whatever happens in the doctor's office, whether you are a man, woman, cisgender, whatever it is, that that's your medical right, that that's your autonomy, that we have the right to not be discriminated against. [1:19:31] And when it comes to the specifics of these issues, you can allow, you know, sports authorities who are the experts in these things, medical professionals, the trans community, everyone else to come together and come to a reasonable agreement on all of this that works for everyone. [1:19:47] But what we're not going to do is shred our constitution, kill Title IX, and defund all of our healthcare just to attack 3% of the U.S. population. [1:19:58] We're going to be sure it's the center there. [1:20:08] Beautiful and very sure. [1:20:12] So we'll take that one first. [1:20:13] Sorry. [1:20:14] Hello. [1:20:17] My question is for our future senator, Terry Jackson. [1:20:20] My name is Dawson. [1:20:22] I'm a senior at the University of North Southern Maine. [1:20:25] I'm studying biology. [1:20:26] And we all know that Maine is one of the less funded states in order of research and development. [1:20:32] And my question is what can you do in order to improve all this funding as we know that there is so much casting in funding for research right now. [1:20:41] Thank you. [1:20:43] There's kind of been a question for one, too, because I know she's happy to deal with that now. [1:20:52] I mean, obviously, stopping the president that doesn't believe in rural law, I mean, when Congress creates money for research, you know, it has to go forward. [1:21:02] And he can't hold those things up. [1:21:04] And he can't go to war without Congress approval. [1:21:08] He can't do that tariffs. [1:21:09] But because the Republicans are in charge, they're letting him get away with whatever he wants. [1:21:14] And so clearly making sure that the money that we've already funded gets out to those institutions. [1:21:19] But I think it's increasing and obviously, again, it's about priorities. [1:21:23] And their priorities are giving billionaires taxes. [1:21:26] That's always what they want. [1:21:28] I don't care. [1:21:29] The billionaires are doing fine. [1:21:31] And what we need to have is people in the spectrum that have helped do research to find out how we can stop cancer, how we can stop Alzheimer's. [1:21:39] And we're only going to be finding that we're coming from. [1:21:45] There are people out there that can do this. [1:21:48] Make people's lives better in so many different ways. [1:21:50] But it's going to start with research. [1:21:52] And we have a lot of great researchers here in Maine. [1:21:54] You know, they're struggling with the funding that's not coming from the federal government. [1:21:59] We need to do more. [1:22:00] That's something I have to fight for. [1:22:01] But, like, we need more of our money. [1:22:04] Yes, you can see here. [1:22:11] Let's drop the back. [1:22:14] Let's drop the back, folks. [1:22:18] Sorry. [1:22:19] Join us. [1:22:25] We're really excited to be here. [1:22:30] Thank you. [1:22:31] Obviously for Troy, but also for AOC. [1:22:34] It's okay. [1:22:35] You can ask her a question. [1:22:43] A bunch of us. [1:22:44] We're all students. [1:22:46] We're going to have so much student debt and all this stuff. [1:22:53] And with the increasing AI jobs, jobs being taken over by AI, what can we do to make sure that this doesn't happen and that we can help ourselves with our debt? [1:23:06] Thank you. [1:23:08] Thank you. [1:23:09] Thank you. [1:23:12] And so much can be said about the student debt crisis. [1:23:16] And it kind of goes back to one of the earlier questions as well about how would Troy stay in touch while Senator Collins has gotten out of touch? [1:23:30] And the reason I tie those two things together is because one of the reasons that people get so out of touch in Washington is that they write rules for everybody else and then they write a different set of rules for themselves. [1:23:44] And so, you know, Senator Collins went and has been in there for a very long time voting to and allowing people's health care to get cut, allowing all sorts of things and has been going around, you know, meeting with billionaires and having these kind of closed door meetings. [1:24:06] And she does not support a congressional stock trading ban. [1:24:12] And Troy Jackson does. [1:24:15] When COVID came around and it was time for PPP loans to go out, fully forgiven loans intended for small business owners in local communities. [1:24:35] Lots of members of Congress started feeding at the trough and taking millions of dollars of fully forgivable PPP loans for themselves. [1:24:46] And they never once questioned any of it. [1:24:49] And they never once said, you took out a loan, you need to pay it off. [1:24:55] But that is what they're telling teenagers who are taking out student loans and have to take out student loans at unconscionable amounts because the price of higher education has unforgivably become a luxury good. [1:25:14] And increasingly, it feels like only a certain class of Americans can possibly afford it. [1:25:20] Not only that, the rates on these loans are so high to the point that people who I've heard from people that have been paying off their student loans for 10, 15, 20 years, [1:25:37] and their balance is still higher than the principal that they started off with. [1:25:42] That's usury and should never be allowed in the United States of America. [1:25:49] But in addition to that, public colleges and universities should be tuition free. [1:25:58] Or they are tuition free. [1:26:09] It's just for us that they started charging huge amounts. [1:26:12] And the reason that's so important is because once public colleges are tuition free, that forces the private institutions to rein in their costs. [1:26:22] So we need to lower the costs of college. [1:26:25] We need to ensure and take care of insane amounts of student debt. [1:26:31] And most importantly, when we look at what this administration has been doing, we need to understand that education is important to employment, but it is so much more important than just a job. [1:26:46] Accessing an education is about being a full human being and a full participant in American society. [1:26:57] It's the education that you see fit. [1:27:04] And that can be immediate, maybe later on in life you want to go back to school. [1:27:11] People's lives weave and bob in so many different directions. [1:27:16] I wanted to go to medical school and I couldn't because my dad passed away from cancer, my mom was a school bus driver. [1:27:24] I couldn't afford to continue to go to school. [1:27:28] But that doesn't mean that if I didn't end up in this situation, that that shouldn't be something that's proposed upon you. [1:27:38] And that's one of the reasons why I started waiting tables. [1:27:42] And so I say all of this because as AI begins to encroach in our society, their goal is to take your cognition away from you. [1:27:53] AI's goal is to take your thoughts away from you, your ability to think away from you so that you become dependent on a machine. [1:28:03] And we have to understand that our pursuit of education, whether it is higher education, self-education, you know, reading books and doing things the old fashioned way sometimes. [1:28:17] It is an act of resistance. [1:28:19] And it is an act of protection of our humanity. [1:28:22] Incredible. Proud that we've had it. [1:28:30] I hope we can just tell them all the more. [1:28:31] Thank you so much. [1:28:32] Any final words from our incredible guests? [1:28:34] Yeah. [1:28:35] Well, I agree. [1:28:37] It's been a great interview with all of you. [1:28:39] Obviously, it's been an honor to be with college women. [1:28:42] I'm really, really excited and really excited to get a chance to work with her. [1:28:47] But I'll tell you, I think voting hands up over 29th. [1:28:52] This is going to be a tough race. [1:28:54] It's going to be a tight race and they are spending all kinds of money in here. [1:28:59] I mean, go out and vote. [1:29:02] Get the quarters of your family. [1:29:04] Talk to other people. [1:29:05] Look, you can't change the weather. [1:29:07] I mean, we talk about students. [1:29:11] I think that's the way that they keep us in. [1:29:14] You know, if you can't afford to stop, if you can't afford to pick your head up and say, [1:29:19] you know, this world is not working for me, then that happens. [1:29:22] And right now, I mean, this is not about me. [1:29:26] This is about changing our government. [1:29:28] It always has been. [1:29:29] I'm just lucky enough to be hired right now. [1:29:32] We can't lose. [1:29:33] The Lions vote. [1:29:35] The mountain population is particularly out here. [1:29:39] I've actually changed the way this race is going. [1:29:42] I can see it. [1:29:43] It's great in front of us. [1:29:44] Let's grab it and grow. [1:29:53] In this race, in some ways, it's one of the most, it's one of the ways where this theme [1:30:02] is strongest in the country, is that this is about class. [1:30:08] And the House and the Senate have always been institutions for the ruling class in America. [1:30:16] And they call us a democracy, but there's only one class of people that can afford to bundle and collect millions and millions of dollars to run for office. [1:30:29] And Susan Collins is a member of the ruling class. [1:30:35] And what this institution tries to do is protect it from it being intruded upon by working class Americans. [1:30:51] And so they want to call, they call people communists, they call them this, they call them that. [1:30:57] But really what it is, is that they're afraid, they've been afraid of a waitress in the House and a logger in the United States. [1:31:03] Troy to go in there. So they want to critique how he talks, how he looks, how, how, the way he says things. [1:31:24] Because if you're not one of them, they at least want you to act like you are. [1:31:27] But the fact of the matter is, when you have someone like Troy go to the United States Senate and call everything for what it is, [1:31:38] it disrupts and makes it harder for everyone to get away with all of the glad hand they've ever done. [1:31:43] You turn out and vote. But we need you to bring at least one or two other people out to vote with you. [1:32:04] This is a game of numbers. Persuasion is not just about, you know, encouraging people and opening their mind and changing their vote, [1:32:13] which is very important. But it's about also persuading people oftentimes to show up to the polls for the first time. [1:32:20] that it's worth it, that they matter, that this moment is different. [1:32:25] And there are very few opportunities that we get as everyday people to do something that can actually change the country [1:32:33] and that can actually change the world. [1:32:36] In these next 12 days, everyday people in Maine have that shot. [1:32:41] And if we can turn out enough people to send Troy to the Senate, the people have made change to the United States of America. [1:32:51] The conversation about gender may be very new to them, depending on who they are and where they live. [1:33:41] However, basic rights shouldn't have to matter. They don't matter in who you are or what you do. [1:33:51] You have those rights guaranteed by being an American citizen point blank period. [1:34:02] Understand what they are doing. [1:34:56] Off knitting during the summertime when it's really... [1:34:59] And it's election season. I'm going to be on planes a lot. [1:35:03] So I decided, you know what, I'm going to pick it up again so I can pass the time on planes. [1:35:08] And so I decided that I was going to wake up this morning and I was going to go to the Purling Pigeon, the netting shop here downtown. [1:35:19] And so I walked over there and it opens at 10, there was a little handwritten note on the door that said, [1:35:26] Hey, sorry, we're opening a little late this morning. [1:35:29] And I said, that's great. [1:35:31] I went next door to grab a cup of coffee and I heard and found out that the owner of the Purling Pigeon was out trying to get tickets to come here while I was trying to get into her shop. [1:35:49] And so she was having some trouble finding cover so we may go over saying hello later. [1:35:56] But it was just a really lovely moment together. [1:35:59] And I'm just so excited to be with each and every one of you today because we've got a Senate race to win. [1:36:06] And we've got a logger that we are hoping to send to the United States Senate for working home, [1:36:26] teachers and our health care and so much more. [1:36:30] So it's such an honor to be here with you here today, Troy. [1:36:33] And I'm so excited for us to be able to get into the issues. [1:36:36] Thank you for having me. [1:36:38] Well, thank you for coming, Joanne. [1:36:39] It's an honor to be here with you. [1:36:42] Thank you so much for coming. [1:36:43] Thank all of you for being here. [1:36:45] It's really a really big deal. [1:36:48] We're on the ship, so we'll learn. [1:36:56] Don't worry about it. [1:36:59] So I have a couple people here in the front. [1:37:01] Well, there's a bunch of people here. [1:37:02] We're good friends and allies. [1:37:04] But a couple are here in the front. [1:37:06] I was telling the Congresswoman, whenever she ran back in 2018, [1:37:11] she had just an unbelievable video talking about water issues in her district. [1:37:16] And we used that. [1:37:18] We talked to our state senators. [1:37:23] We've got Rebecca Malad and Kathy Brainer here. [1:37:26] Thank you. [1:37:28] We did use that. [1:37:34] No, seriously. [1:37:36] Exactly what I want in my government. [1:37:39] Somebody that's not afraid to stand up. [1:37:41] Fight for, you know, what she believes in. [1:37:43] Not afraid to stand up for the millionaires. [1:37:45] Exactly. [1:37:46] It really is an honor to have her here. [1:37:53] I've had a passion. [1:37:56] And I'm looking forward to working with her and being a partner. [1:38:00] Are you losing them for us? [1:38:03] Classic. [1:38:11] Thank you. [1:38:14] I am a college student on the autism spectrum. [1:38:21] And my question is for Representative Abasio Cortez. [1:38:27] So we know that RFK and Strom have said that when pregnant women take Tylenol, [1:38:35] then their kids will have autism. [1:38:37] And that is not good. [1:38:39] So what can be done in the House of Representatives? [1:38:44] Or maybe what have you done? [1:38:46] What do you plan to do to push back against this narrative of Tylenol causing autism [1:38:51] and autism being dead? [1:38:53] Well, thank you so much. [1:38:55] Let's give him a big round of applause. [1:38:57] I'm so curious to stand up and ask your question, so I so appreciate that. [1:39:06] You know, I think so much of what we've been hearing from this administration and from [1:39:11] RFK and all of this, the ironic part is that there's actually some of the initial things [1:39:19] that we kind of agree on. [1:39:21] I've questioned RFK. [1:39:23] For example, the role of money in politics, the role of big pharma, the role of our medicine [1:39:32] system is corrupting everything. [1:39:35] But then he says that and proceeds to take their money and make decisions that they want [1:39:44] to be pushed through. [1:39:46] And when it comes to the narratives around autism, it's been so damaging. [1:39:53] First of all, the way that this administration talks about autistic Americans is shameful. [1:40:00] It's absolutely shameful. [1:40:02] And that's what we're looking for. [1:40:03] And neurodiversity is something that we should all be able to embrace and be able to celebrate, [1:40:15] and that our differences are not anything to be afraid of. [1:40:17] They can be embraced and all of that. [1:40:21] The actual challenging thing is that while parroting all of these damaging falsehoods, right, there's [1:40:35] no evidence. [1:40:36] There just isn't, there's no evidence about taking Tylenol and being damaging. [1:40:40] And by the way, pregnant women shouldn't be taking ibuprofen when you're pregnant. [1:40:46] And so Tylenol is one of the few things that you have to alleviate pain. [1:40:51] And so to parrot something like that that's unsubstantiated is very damaging. [1:40:56] He's also completely gutted our vaccine advisory boards. [1:41:02] He strips scientists from these boards, and they've been replaced with oftentimes less qualified [1:41:09] or unqualified political appointees that are responsible for really overseeing medicine approvals [1:41:17] and medical device approvals. [1:41:19] So one of the first things that we need to do is we need to get all of those political appointees [1:41:24] out of scientific positions, and we need to put scientists in scientific positions. [1:41:36] We need big money out of politics. [1:41:38] We need to get big medicine, big pharma, and the insurers out of politics so that we can [1:41:44] put doctors, scientists, and qualified professionals to be making these reviews. [1:41:52] And by the way, the other thing that they're doing is in the things that are known to cause [1:41:58] harm, they are allowing these big companies to pollute chemicals near working class communities. [1:42:05] They're allowing us to, they're allowing them to poison our food system because in gutting [1:42:11] the FDA, the CDC, none of these inspectors are inspecting these farms. [1:42:17] And we're seeing this with food recalls every day. [1:42:20] And so what we really need to do is root out this corruption. [1:42:24] We need to celebrate neurodiverse Americans. [1:42:28] Make sure that you get the support you need with proper health care, mental health care, [1:42:33] it's a tricky part of our health care insurance. [1:42:35] And let people know that it's something to be afraid of. [1:42:41] Our neurodiversity is something to be celebrated. [1:42:43] Thank you, Blackjacket, for being here. [1:43:07] I have a question. [1:43:10] I feel very strongly about online privacy. [1:43:16] And I used to live in the EU. [1:43:18] The EU has some laws called GPR laws. [1:43:20] It has a lot of, like, intensity and protection. [1:43:24] And the EU also just implemented some regulation on AI. [1:43:28] I feel like their foundation of GPR has helped them regulate AI. [1:43:33] And I'd love to hear your thoughts about how you can increase [1:43:37] that really have more private spaces online [1:43:41] or legal privacy laws implemented [1:43:44] because I feel like it's just completely, like, [1:43:47] the wild-last back in the United States when it comes to that kind of thing. [1:43:50] And I feel like it's so invasive constantly. [1:43:54] And, like, the target ads that I get are insane. [1:43:57] You know, I can go on about it, but I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. [1:44:02] Well, thank you. [1:44:03] That was a great question. [1:44:04] I feel the same way. [1:44:05] You know, right now, obviously, you know, they're using AI. [1:44:10] They use huge spaces, you know, no regulation. [1:44:13] They can do whatever they want. [1:44:14] I mean, it looks exactly like, you know, the person that they're trying to replicate. [1:44:20] And they put you in all kinds of different situations. [1:44:24] And that shouldn't be. [1:44:26] I mean, AI has some good benefits, but, you know, [1:44:29] not to make, you know, campaign ads or, you know, [1:44:32] make people feel, you know, like they've done something wrong. [1:44:36] And as far as the privacy, I mean, here in Maine, [1:44:39] we've certainly tried to take that on. [1:44:41] Every time we hope the government has to be the one to regulate this. [1:44:48] You know, different states have different privacy laws, [1:44:50] just unwieldy and stuff like that. [1:44:53] And so, I'm very much in support of getting the government [1:44:58] that actually is willing to take these issues on, [1:45:00] not listen to people like Zuckerberg and other ones. [1:45:04] Let's actually... [1:45:05] It's actually a real, a guy that's a real regulation, [1:45:11] especially not the people of the force. [1:45:16] And that's something I feel very strong about. [1:45:18] Also, AI, we have, I mean, the federal government, [1:45:22] you can't let people like Donald Trump say that, you know, [1:45:29] this is going to go out and regulate it. [1:45:31] I mean, that's what the billionaires are spending money [1:45:33] in Maine right now for, so that we have a government [1:45:36] that does not hold them accountable. [1:45:38] AI is something that can work for us, [1:45:41] but there's a whole world where this can get out of control [1:45:46] in a way that none of us want to see happen, [1:45:48] including those billionaires. [1:45:49] They're just two governments really can understand it. [1:45:52] I'm in honor of two Somali immigrants. [1:46:14] They came to Maine in 2005. [1:46:17] This question is for Congresswoman AOC. [1:46:20] Given the warring increase of hatred, negative press [1:46:25] on immigrants and minorities in Maine, [1:46:29] being a woman of color in Congress yourself, [1:46:32] how do you deal with the false representation, [1:46:34] and how do you suggest Troy deals with the negative representation [1:46:38] towards minority groups in Maine? [1:46:41] Yeah, no, thank you. [1:46:43] The thing that I often say, [1:46:51] I've actually heard this from Congresswoman Omar initially, [1:46:56] is you can't hate up close. [1:46:59] It's a lot harder to hate up close. [1:47:02] And so much of this present moment, [1:47:09] because of AI, because I think we're still living in this hangover [1:47:15] of COVID lockdowns and everything that went on, [1:47:19] is that people are living in a lot of isolation. [1:47:21] It's a lot easier to buy into these extreme ideas and caricatures of your neighbor. [1:47:30] It's a lot easier to make you fear your neighbor when you are isolated, [1:47:36] and when you don't see them, when you don't shake each other's hands. [1:47:39] And so for me, one of the ways that I try to deal with it is I have this saying that I say at home, [1:47:48] which is, I'm not going to stop trying to be your friend. [1:47:51] And people will, I've had people say, well, we don't want you at our luncheon, [1:47:58] or we don't want you around here at these parts, or whatever. [1:48:01] And I'll say, that's fine, I'm not going to stop trying to be your friend. [1:48:04] I'm going to be all up in your room. [1:48:07] I'm not showing up to your door to fight with you. [1:48:12] But I think that eventually, you have someone that's very angry and has, you know, [1:48:21] that has been taught all of these terrible things. [1:48:25] And I actually think that when you don't respond in kind, but you stay right there, [1:48:32] and you're like, hey, it's hard for them to maintain that anger, actually. [1:48:38] But in this present moment, in the run-up to this election, we've been seeing, [1:48:44] Troy and I are actually talking about this backstage. [1:48:47] I come from a community with a very high immigrant population, [1:48:50] and ICE has been incredibly active, trying to intimidate people from just going outside. [1:48:57] Maine is very different. [1:49:00] It does not have anywhere near the immigrant population that my community has in our city, [1:49:06] and yet they are sending ICE out in droves to intimidate not just the Somali community, [1:49:14] not just the immigrant community, but to intimidate all of us. [1:49:17] This is about intimidating all of us. [1:49:19] And I want to be very clear, because in this last question, we're talking about privacy. [1:49:29] Palantir surveillance companies, these AI companies, they are going out to lunch on these seven times [1:49:40] on the $70 billion in ICE funding that Susan Collins helped rubber stamp. [1:49:49] And it's so important that we understand every single time that whenever this administration is targeting an individual community, [1:49:59] it is their way of trying to wedge open the door to compromise all of our rights. [1:50:05] They're using immigrants to take our privacy rights. [1:50:08] They're using it to erode our constitutional rights to privacy, the ability to demand a warrant before search. [1:50:18] And it's so important that we see right through that and stand with one another. [1:50:24] And I would just say, the big thing that they want us to do is to feel scared of being in solidarity with one another. [1:50:31] And I have to give you, Troy, so much credit for the courage that you've already showed. [1:50:37] Although there are a lot of consultants out here in Washington that would tell him, [1:50:43] do not sit next to a stage next to her. [1:50:48] I'm sure you've probably heard some variation of that. [1:50:51] And it takes a lot to say, you know what? No, I know my people. [1:50:56] And I know who I am. And I'm going to do things my way. [1:51:00] So thank you, Troy. [1:51:01] The dog, yeah. That's a question. [1:51:36] Will it be American first or Israel first? [1:51:47] And second, day one agenda, if you take back both the House and the Senate? [1:51:52] Well, I mean, American first. [1:52:01] I mean, I don't want to see blank checks on that. [1:52:04] No, I would win more. [1:52:05] I mean, I think there's a lot, obviously. [1:52:16] Repealing the beautiful bill, which I know would be the great . [1:52:20] So we can use some settings that are up there back. [1:52:25] I mean, I don't care what it's been looking for, but, you know, trying to get that back [1:52:28] so we can work on Medicare for all. [1:52:30] How can we be stronger than that? [1:52:32] First, it is just unconscionable that we spend trillions of dollars going to war, [1:52:47] not just funding the atrocities of what's happened in Gaza, but across the entire world. [1:52:53] One of the things that I find so mind-boggling is that whenever we want to expand healthcare [1:53:00] in this country, Medicare in this country, education, everyone's first question in Washington [1:53:07] is, we have no money. [1:53:11] How are we going to pay for this? [1:53:13] As though the richest nation in the history of the world is a pauper right now. [1:53:19] And we hear that constantly. [1:53:22] Yet, every single year, the United States Congress rubber stamps trillions and trillions [1:53:32] and trillions of dollars in current and expanded spending without anyone asking at all, [1:53:41] how are we going to pay for this and where do we get this money from? [1:53:47] It's just treated as a matter of course. [1:53:50] It's just, well, of course this budget has to go up. [1:53:53] No one says, no one said after we pulled out of Afghanistan, do we need to still be sustaining this level of funding? [1:54:00] No one has asked any question to that. [1:54:03] And by the way, the Pentagon has continued to fail every audit that they have been prevented with. [1:54:12] And so why are we continuing to dump this money? [1:54:17] And I'm going to tell you, they are paying for it with your healthcare and lack thereof. [1:54:23] So it's about time that we flip that equation and start asking, how can we afford war after war after war? [1:54:33] How are we going to afford Iran or Gaza? [1:54:37] And can we build a bridge to get to work? [1:54:48] And I'm going to be really going back to me at the previous time. [1:54:56] Why wouldn't I walk alongside somebody that should talk like that? [1:55:06] It's not unique people that actually care everyday people. [1:55:09] And that's what I see. [1:55:11] You know, this race, it's been really helping me. [1:55:14] I mean, just over 80 days. [1:55:16] How much has this been a real flashpoint, and not just from the people I was expecting, [1:55:21] but from the media, like just exactly what you said, we can't pay for this, how are you going to do it? [1:55:26] And what we do it by not wasting all the money that we have been, by taxing the millionaires. [1:55:39] It made people feel like asking for healthcare is too much in this country. [1:55:44] Everything people at Comp do is, you know, you're out of here. [1:55:47] No, we can do it. We absolutely can do it. [1:55:50] We have to know that. [1:55:57] That's a great shirt. If you want to stand up. [1:55:59] Yeah. [1:56:00] Thank you all so much for being here. It's such a pleasure. [1:56:10] Um, in a post-January 6th world, especially the Congresswoman of Omar, [1:56:14] and what has been happening to her, I would love to hear both of your thoughts on [1:56:18] what we should maybe expect post November 3rd, what your worries may be, [1:56:22] and what we can do as citizens and young people as well, [1:56:25] um, to hopefully push back against maybe any attempt, you know, uh, control of this election. [1:56:36] And foremost, the only thing that we are seeing unfold right now is an absolute weaponization [1:56:44] of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Point blank period. [1:56:49] Uh, and I want to zoom out. You know, if you're having a conversation with someone that isn't sure about the details [1:56:58] of what's happening in the news and whatnot, just know that it has been standing practice in order to protect the integrity of our elections, [1:57:07] that the FBI and the DOJ do not take actions like these within a certain timeframe of an election, [1:57:15] regardless of what is happening in any circumstance of an investigation. [1:57:20] And so the very fact that this is happening in October and September tells you, period, [1:57:27] that these agencies have been weaponized and compromised. [1:57:31] So what we have to do, whether it's this, whether it's the corruption that we've seen, [1:57:36] uh, with crypto and the ballroom and all of these things, [1:57:41] is that we've known that Kash Patel has purged the FBI of many serious investigators. [1:57:47] We've known that the Department of Justice has also been weaponized in its absolute groundless indictments [1:57:55] of everyone from Tish James to, uh, Jerome Powell and so on and so forth. [1:58:01] Day one, we need to be opening investigations to the heads of every single one of these agencies, [1:58:07] and we need to open it now. [1:58:09] I think that's exactly the problem. [2:00:13] I mean, you know, I spent the first 30 years of my life, [2:00:16] I'm not being willing to get out of line, [2:00:19] I'm not being willing to say anything, [2:00:20] because I've been told that if you do, [2:00:22] they're going to make an example of you. [2:00:24] My parents, my community, [2:00:28] because usually that is what happens. [2:00:30] You know, every day people have a hard time, break up, [2:00:32] and we don't have a lot, [2:00:35] but you can't afford to lose what you have. [2:00:38] And this is the same thing with Medicare for All. [2:00:41] I mean, they want to keep the dreamy, dirty, [2:00:44] gum bag system that they have right now, [2:00:46] because it works for them. [2:00:48] It doesn't work for us. [2:00:49] I mean, I mean, going back before the big move to build, [2:00:53] it's not where I want to be. [2:00:56] I mean, it's just, you know, [2:00:57] you get something back that we've already lost, [2:01:00] but it's struggling. [2:01:03] I mean, they're struggling with health care, [2:01:04] they're struggling with the oil, heating, you know, [2:01:07] and I just think that we have to get greedy out of our health care system. [2:01:14] I mean, this is the right. [2:01:15] This is something everyone should have. [2:01:17] We're greedy in this industry. [2:01:29] And so, explaining to people that, you know, [2:01:32] this is not going to take health care away from you. [2:01:35] It's going to be better, [2:01:36] because that's what they want. [2:01:37] I mean, this is what I hear all the time from people. [2:01:39] Well, fine. [2:01:44] I'm going to do something that's going to be better than your private insurance. [2:01:47] I mean, we'll do it. [2:01:54] Because of this bill, [2:01:56] and because of the fact that we have so many people [2:01:59] that don't have health insurance, [2:02:00] that have bad debt shared care, [2:02:02] I mean, if everyone that, you know, [2:02:04] in this country had insurance, [2:02:06] was able to go in, [2:02:08] the hospital should have paid something appropriate, [2:02:10] we'd have a much better system. [2:02:11] So, I think it's just taking the time to explain to people [2:02:14] that you're not going to get bad insurance, [2:02:16] you're going to get possible insurance, [2:02:18] and that we can't do it. [2:02:19] We just don't want these billionaires to sell us differently. [2:02:22] ぃ, [2:02:29] who's my president? [2:02:31] Who's My president, [2:02:40] who's my president at Portland High School, [2:02:41] and I have a question for Troy Jackson, [2:02:45] my senator! [2:02:46] Roger so-appen- [2:02:47] he's saying there is a shortage of various disability services, [2:02:58] not just in the state of Maine, [2:02:59] but also nationwide. [2:03:01] I have another brother who has high score of needs autism and ADHD, [2:03:06] who has been on Medicaid Waitlist for years at a time, [2:03:08] and I'm getting sufficient support that he needs, [2:03:10] and this has been the reality which I have witnessed for several years at a time. [2:03:15] We have been trying everything possible to get sufficient support. [2:03:19] We have a case manager. We have applied to various waitlets. [2:03:22] We even had a single assessment which was supposed to give my brother one more waitlets for service. [2:03:27] And we even reached out to disability rights debate about this. [2:03:31] But despite all this stuff, these backlogs still persist. [2:03:34] And I previously stated that this isn't a reality, be that only of my daily attains. [2:03:39] This is a reality that is all across the state and all across the nation that it takes. [2:03:44] When you're elected, what do you plan for disability services all across? [2:04:09] That's a great question. [2:04:10] I was Senator Green, which is a high five day because she was chair of appropriations. [2:04:13] She worked really hard trying to make it better for everyday people. [2:04:18] And I was a killer! [2:04:22] Again, it comes back to prioritizing where are we going to put money? [2:04:30] Are we going to give access to other people or are we going to give benefits to people that need it in this country? [2:04:36] And that is something that I feel very strongly about. [2:04:38] One of them, they're absolutely correct in the name. [2:04:40] We've had a waitlist that was, you know, lowered it. [2:04:43] I mean, they're trying to lower it. [2:04:45] A big part of that too is getting the services. [2:04:47] We're able to have people that are getting paid for the job that they're doing. [2:04:53] We're not running enough money to that. [2:04:55] Much like a lot of the other professions, nursing homes and things like that. [2:04:59] Childcare. [2:05:00] You know, we don't pay those people or the professions that they are. [2:05:05] We have put more money to last so we have more people to give the services. [2:05:09] But it does come out to prioritizing where we spend the money. [2:05:13] We have been doing good enough jobs in this realm. [2:05:16] And that is something that I care about. [2:05:18] That's why I say Medicare for All will help. [2:05:21] Also, there's a lot of things that are left out in the health insurance industry right now. [2:05:31] But if it is, I want to make sure that people that need services get them and not just the priority. [2:05:38] Traffic. [2:05:45] I grew up in New York City and I grew up in the suburbs of New York as well. [2:06:13] Which also has a commuter train that has integrated so much the city and the suburbs. [2:06:20] And also it even goes all the way up to Dutchess County. [2:06:24] And it has created such a connective tissue. [2:06:30] I'm a big believer in that, in the idea that our public transit system is one of the reasons [2:06:36] why New York has one of the greatest municipal economies in the United States. [2:06:41] And when, back during the Biden administration, when we were fighting on the Inflation Reduction Act, [2:06:50] when we were fighting on the American Rescue Plan, one of the things that I strongly advocated for [2:06:55] was a one-to-one investment. [2:06:58] Which was, for every dollar we put in road infrastructure, we put a dollar into rail and public transportation. [2:07:05] And the more ways we have to get around, the more places we can live, the easier our lives are. [2:07:21] And, I mean, a car payment is a lot of money. [2:07:24] And, you lose your car, you can't get to work, it's hard to get a job, and so it's almost like a prerequisite. [2:07:36] If you don't live in a city with public transit, or reliable public transit, it's almost like owning a car is a prerequisite [2:07:44] to participate in society in any meaningful way. [2:07:48] And when a car payment, especially nowadays, used car is like, as much as a new car was not too long ago, [2:07:56] it becomes really hard to start that journey. [2:07:59] And so, everything from, not just rail, it also has to work for wherever you're designing it for, [2:08:06] but even things like bike infrastructure, making it easy to get around with micromobility to trains, [2:08:14] it's so tremendously important. [2:08:17] Because without it, we don't have access to economic opportunity, [2:08:21] and it actually makes it so that people increasingly feel like they have to move to a city [2:08:26] in order to have a job in their life. [2:08:28] And a lot of people don't want that. [2:08:30] We want to be able to live and thrive where we grew up and have that option, [2:08:35] but we have to be able to get past this time where you have to be able to afford a car in order to afford a job. [2:08:43] That's absolutely right. [2:08:51] And she's wearing her own salt button because you don't have it. [2:08:59] But, you know, seriously, I mean, obviously, I think it's a big, it's a very rural, [2:09:05] you know, I don't know if we're going to be able to get public transportation and require this, [2:09:10] but we can certainly do more. [2:09:12] And right here in Portland, I was shocked at how little the state actually pays for bussing here, [2:09:17] and that's something that we actually have to increase because bussing in Portland is a big deal. [2:09:22] But also, you know, we have, like, the main candy rail service. [2:09:28] I mean, I don't know why it would be such a hard thing that, you know, [2:09:32] we have rails in Nagorno and Portland. [2:09:34] And a lot of people, a lot of people work here. [2:09:42] I mean, they can come in and hire me if it's really hired in the city. [2:09:46] And now we seem to be in the environment pretty much better than we need. [2:09:51] But those things, I think, obviously, a lot of that has to come from trying to control governments in Maine. [2:09:58] We won't be able to pick that up on our own, but the other thing that, you know, [2:10:04] I've been criticized for, let's get out of our hand so that people can be stabilized, [2:10:16] get prices back down. [2:10:18] I mean, I think we're always going to have transportation in Maine. [2:10:21] And in the rural parts, well, across the state, but in the rural parts, [2:10:26] that's the only option, like the Congresswoman said, will work and stuff like that. [2:10:32] It's out of hand right now. [2:10:34] I mean, people that are paying, you know, most of $7 for diesel to work in forestry [2:10:39] and fishing and fire ministries, transportation. [2:10:43] That should be an easy thing to accomplish to get our levels back down [2:10:48] and then start working on some other things to try and do the softest human buss [2:10:52] of getting these river waters that always drive a race up. [2:10:56] But, I mean, I think there's a lot of things with, you know, [2:10:59] doing more airplane to help pay for bussing, doing more trying to get rail. [2:11:04] I mean, the short-term thing is let's get out of it more and more. [2:11:08] I think there's a lot of things going on. [2:11:09] Right. [2:11:22] This is Sadie. [2:11:23] I go to Bowden. [2:11:24] My question is for Mr. Jackson. [2:11:25] I've lived in Maine my whole life and something we've seen with Susan Collins [2:11:28] is an absence of accountability and authenticity and a lack of connection [2:11:33] to the people's actual concerns in Maine. [2:11:35] How, during your term in Washington, do you plan on actively listening to the people of Maine [2:11:46] and fighting for their concerns in Washington? [2:11:50] Good question. [2:11:52] So, you know, I tell the story a lot about how I've grown up. [2:11:59] I met my first billionaire. [2:12:00] I was in the seventh grade. [2:12:03] Senator Collins yesterday with that billionaire loose. [2:12:07] And that's what she's willing to do is go out, cut agreements, things like that. [2:12:14] But I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be any elected official. [2:12:18] We'd be a select board, we'd be a congress, we'd be a state legislature, [2:12:22] and not be willing to show up and adhere to people. [2:12:26] I mean, for me, that's what I always wanted in my elected official. [2:12:30] That's why I get into this. [2:12:31] Because I didn't feel it was working for the people I cared for. [2:12:35] You know, my first disobedience. [2:12:41] Senator first chairman, and soon we went to her, [2:12:47] and she found out that we were on the other side of our landowners. [2:12:51] That was the end of it. [2:12:53] But I've gotten such a better education, a better understanding, [2:12:58] you know, going to a council like this, going town hall and hearing from people. [2:13:06] Of course, it's no secret that I've changed my opinion on our major issues, [2:13:11] because I generally think I had better opinion than that. [2:13:30] You know, I wouldn't have been willing to take the higher questions, [2:13:34] you know, well, and hear from people. [2:13:36] And yeah, sometimes, you know, people can be interested. [2:13:41] But I enjoy listening and talking with people. [2:13:49] We've got a great state, you know, but it is diverse. [2:13:54] I mean, it's diverse in the way people have grown up and lived [2:13:58] and how they're making their living. [2:14:01] I would never understand any of that of failing the center of college. [2:14:08] Delivery services at Lincoln Hospital. [2:14:34] This will be the 12th labor and delivery department to close in the last five years. [2:14:40] What can we do to stop these closures and to return maternal health care services to rural communities? [2:14:46] And for all of us to understand that the trillion dollars in health care cuts that Susan Collins paved the way for, right? [2:15:06] She will say, oh, I didn't vote for the big ugly bill. [2:15:11] She waited until they had enough votes. [2:15:14] But I'm going to tell you something. [2:15:16] She voted. [2:15:17] In Congress, there's a lot of procedural votes that say, you go ahead. [2:15:21] You can go ahead. [2:15:22] Move it. [2:15:23] It doesn't just show up on the floor one day. [2:15:25] It has to pass committee. [2:15:27] It passes rules. [2:15:28] And at every single moment, you have an opportunity to stand up and say that. [2:15:34] In the votes that allowed this trillion dollars in health care cuts to go to the floor, Susan Collins voted yes. [2:15:45] Susan Collins, Senator Collins voted to allow us to proceed at every opportunity. [2:15:52] And it is only when she thinks people aren't looking and aren't paying attention that she'll vote no thinking you don't know what she's up to. [2:16:03] She waited until. [2:16:04] It.