On The Weeknight, Angelo Carusone discusses what MAGA media figures are promising Bill Pulte will do as acting DNI
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From the June 25, 2026, edition of MS NOW's The Weeknight
SYMONE SANDERS (CO-HOST): In 2023, a jury awarded $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers, Shaye Moss and Miss Ruby Freeman, who sued Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020, put their life in danger. I think he's still trying to make good on that payment. Angelo, that is -- Steve Bannon's podcast is a place that people listen in the right-wing ecosystem. Are you hearing more of that in those circles?
ANGELO CARUSONE (MEDIA MATTERS PRESIDENT): That's what it's about. And it's about, you know, what they're saying Bill Pulte is going to do is reveal all the things about 2020 where the election was stolen, that he's going to really run that to ground and finally prove this. And here's why that's important. It's more than just hanging on to an old conspiracy theory. There's something very significant in terms of what Janai was saying, which is that he does not have this power or authority, right? That's where we have to start from. But power perceived is power achieved. And part of the storyline and the narrative is being able to demonstrate that there was some massive malfeasance, something to justify a declaration of a national emergency, to add gristle and fuel, you know, shovel that coal in to the storyline that this was stolen, that something extraordinary needs to happen to protect and do something because it's not a reliable system. And that's what they're promising Bill Pulte to do.
And while that's happening at the national level, Steve Bannon is out there pulling a thread locally. It's not just his warning or his declaration that we need ICE at local polling stations. They just did a big event in Nevada where all these election deniers were, including local law enforcement, saying, hey, show up at the polls. We can't get ICE there, you can go. Make sure -- we'll map out the rules and the law as to whether or not your firearm can be in proximity, but show up so that we can have the same effect as doing it. So they're going to federalize this to a degree and organize. And that's the part that's really significant is that the top level, Bill Pulte is about the story and the narrative, because they're trying to reinforce this idea that it was stolen so then they can exert this power one way, shape or form.