 By the time most people see this, I'm sure that this will be really old news I know that by now most people who are political junkies who watch this podcast already know about this story But I felt like I had to talk about it because This is the conclusion to one of the most fascinating chapters of the 2020 election cycle And of course, I'm talking about Mike Gravel So he qualified for the debate, but as we all know still Was not invited. So with that being said since he wasn't able to accomplish that goal He will be dropping out and all of the money that was raised will be going to Flint and other progressive charities And I'll just say this that Mike Gravel ran such a fantastic campaign because even if he did not make it into the debates I still think that him and the teens that were running his account and did a fantastic job Still pushed the Overton window to the left in this election cycle and I think that that's really important So he dropped out but upon dropping out He decided to endorse someone who he thinks can get the job done. My name is Mike Gravel I'm proud and honored to endorse senator Bernie Sanders for the presidency of the United States Bernie has a program that benefits all Americans not just the 1% He will be a great president for all Americans. We have a simple choice We can have a democratic socialism of Bernie Sanders to benefit all Americans or we can have republican socialism Which benefits the 1% and leads us to a constant state of war The choice is yours Now in response to that Bernie Sanders tweeted, thank you senator Gravel Together we will end forever wars fight for an economy that works for all of us And bring millions of people into the political process So this is great. I'm really, you know, thankful that he decided to endorse Bernie And um, you know, I'm glad that He was in this election cycle that he decided to run Because his platform that he released was by far the most progressive I've said it multiple times on this program Mike Gravel's platform is better than Bernie Sanders platform So that positive influence on the politicians in this race It was absolutely necessary and it's not like this is the worst election cycle either like we actually have Several fairly progressive options Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson But to have Mike Gravel there to influence the conversation and just push the envelope even further When it comes to progressivism and bring up issues like reparations for Anyone in Iraq who was affected by our invasion? I mean these are important things and it just cannot be overstated How amazing it was that this campaign was run by two teenagers That is absolutely insane and kudos to them. I expect nothing but good things to come out of them And you know seven years Six years down the line depending on how old they are when they are old enough to run for congress I am absolutely excited about bringing them on my program to talk about their platform because if they can take Mike Gravel And one convince him to run and two get him to poll even higher than some of the establishment candidates This is political talent that absolutely is going places. This isn't the last that we heard of them So, you know, it's sad. It's bittersweet, right? It's sad to see Mike Gravel go Um, I hope that he continues to tweet and I hope that the teens continue to tweet on his behalf But you know, I'm I'm glad that he's still going to advocate for progressive policies and progressive politicians And I'm absolutely thankful that he endorsed Bernie Sanders. This was the right move Bernie Sanders is the real deal And I think that it's only logical for him to endorse Bernie When we have a real shot this time of winning we can actually do this we actually can get Someone in power In the executive who will bring about real change democratic socialism, you know more social democracy But still to get us on that trajectory Would be a game changer. It would literally not just change lives, but save lives So, you know, I'm just I'm overjoyed and I feel privileged that I was able to speak to Mike Gravel That he came on the program just all around. This was, you know, I'm glad he ran I'm absolutely glad that he ran. This was inspiring. I know that if I were his age I would not want to do something like this, but you know Some people just never stop fighting for what they believe in and that's really admirable So thank you to Mike Gravel. Thank you to the teams I'm gonna miss you guys. This was absolutely a phenomenal campaign