Yet Another Impeachment Special Featuring Really Drunk President Nixon

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Ok, remember in our other episodes where we talked about a drunk President Nixon? This time we really mean it.

We’re 99% sure he’s sloshed in this episode.

“So what,” you say. “What does this have to do with what’s going on today?”

Fair enough, but the reason that the president was getting loaded, my dear listener, is because he was under investigation about a little thing called Watergate. We thought it would be the perfect pairing to start of with the beginning of President Trump’s impeachment trial in the good old US of A.

The date was April 30, 1973. Nixon had just broadcast a nationwide address declaring that he had fired two of his most trusted advisors and was getting to the bottom of all this Watergate hoo-haw. After the speech, Nixon sat waiting for the calls of well wishers. Which didn’t really happen, because he had told the White House switchboard not to put any calls through. Or did he tell them to put calls through? Even the President himself didn’t know.

In today’s call, President Nixon recieves praise from none other than Hobart D. Lewis, the Chief Executive of Reader’s Digest and dammit Nixon’s “god bless America” added to the end of the speech was just ok by him. During their conversation, Nixon also takes some time to wax emotional about the Watergate break in and what happened - or, more precisely, what didn’t happen there.

Was the president drunk? You make the call!

Also in the episode, Harmon and Scott make their Trump impeachment trial predictions (HINT: He’ll get away with it) and Harmon returns with his Congressional impressions.

This episode also brought to you in part by our pals over at Stitcher Premium. Use the code PRESIDENT to get a FREE month of Stitcher Premium on us! That’s right your very own FREE Abe Lincoln from us at This is the President.

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George HW Bush Has a Crack Attack

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June 12, 1985 was vice presidents George H.W. Bush’s special day.

He was turning 61 years young, so the White House staff decided to suprise him with a cake and a couple of special presents.

Which unfortunately didn’t include the bag of crack that President Bush would so proudly hold up to American’s TV screens just a few short years later.

Those are just a couple of the memories that Harmon and I unleash when we talk about our newest dead president, George Herbert Walker Bush.

But that’s not all, in this episode, we also bring back a couple of favorite bits, Harmon’s Presidential Impressions and, of course, we go shopping for Trump products in the Amazon.

Want to share in the party as well? Be sure to watch the video!

This episode is brought to you in part by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

And last, but not least, this episode is also sponsored by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

Ronald Reagan, Johnny Cash and Trumpy Bear

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It was a fine spring day in May of 1988 when country music (and just plain music in general) legend stopped by the White House to pay his respects to President Ronald Reagan - on their agenda: drugs.

Not the taking, as Johnny points out in this conversation, but rather the stopping thereof.

And that’s only one of the few small conversation nuggets you’ll find in our presidential appearance this week.

Johnny didn’t come alone - no, he brought June Carter Cash with him as well. But what’s surprising is who WASN’T able to make the photo session. Be sure to listen to the podcast to find out who could have made photo history with Reagan in the White House.

Also in this episode, Harmon and I continue our feature “Trump in the Amazon” where we read Amazon reviews and questions about Donald Trump products on Amazon. Up this time - and we swear we didn’t know this was “a thing” before we did this - the Trumpy Bear!

This episode is brought to you in part by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

And last, but not least, this episode is also sponsored by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

Making the President Funny

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Especially after the events of the past few days, it’s hard to believe that there are people who are paid to make the president funny. Does the current White House resident, for example, really need people to write jokes for him when he’s hanging out with Kanye?

It turns out sometimes they do.

Which brings us to this weeks episode. This time around, we interview David Litt. Mr. Litt was a head speechwriter for the Obama White House and charged with the task of making the president a funny man. He’s recently written a memoir of his White House years, Thanks Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years and shared some of his thoughts on the challenges of writing for Kanye’s newest BFF.

But that’s not all! Oh no. Harmon and Scott will also analyze the Trump Kayne summit, Harmon expresses his love for Steely Dan and Scott helps to correct the historical record on the drunkenness of General (and later President) Grant.

Like what you hear? You can listen to the whole interview over at our sister podcast, Comedy HIstory 101.

This episode is brought to you by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

We’d also like to welcome a new sponsor on board, The Political Research Digest. The Political Research Digest delivers fresh insights on the big trends driving American politics and policy today.

Each 20-minute episode explores one hot topic in the news with two political scientists who have just published relevant empirical studies. Hear about their new discoveries and get important insights that are lost in the daily news shuffle.

Download the Political Research Digest with your favorite podcast app today!

And last, but not least, this episode is also sponsored by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

The Justice Abe Fortas Pornographic Film Festival

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Well, well….and how was YOUR weekend?

Our long national nightmare is now over and we’ve got a shiny new Bro-Judge installed on the Supreme Court. A “non-partisan” judge who starts waving around conspiracy theories at the drop of a hat (ie: let’s all blame the Clintons). Well, this is going to be fun.

But don’t worry - we here at This is the President will be right here by your side. In today’s episode, we wanted to take a look at another controversial Supreme Court appointment - this one from 50 years ago. It was the summer of 1968 when President Johnson decided to throw his weight behind nominating his pal Abe Fortas as the Head Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Let’s just say that the Senate was not amused - so much so to the point that they forced Fortas to testify before them. The first time in history that a judge from the Supreme Court was called in this manner - sound familiar?

Download this episode to listen in on Fortas advising President Johnson on exactly what type of book he needed to take his oath of office on and how the Johnson’s walked away with a little souvenir after that fateful day in Dallas, Texas in November, 1963.

We’ll also hear from Senator Strom Thurmond with his opinions on Fortas and discuss the Abe Fortas Film Festival that Thurmond threw on the floor of the Senate.

ALSO - Check out our newest segment - Amazon Reviews of Donald Trump products!

This episode brought to you in part by Plowdypod - the think tank that answers the questions that nobody asked, like “Would you rather be Trump’s wife or Putin’s mistress?” Check it out and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

We’d also like welcome our returning sponsor, The Political Research Digest. The Political Research Digest delivers fresh insights on the big trends driving American politics and policy today.

Each 20-minute episode explores one hot topic in the news with two political scientists who have just published relevant empirical studies. Hear about their new discoveries and get important insights that are lost in the daily news shuffle.

Download the Political Research Digest with your favorite podcast app today!

Oh yeah - let’s also not forget to mention  Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

Of Playboys and Beer

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As Harmon so eloquently puts it in this episode - hard to believe that so many bat-shit crazy things happened this week WITHOUT Trump.

Indeed, my friend, indeed.

The major batshit crazy thing that happened last week was, of course, the Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings in Washington, DC. In just a few short hours, “Renate Alumnus”, “Devil’s Triangle” and “I like beer” soon became catchphrases around The Swamp.

Scott and Harmon take the time to discuss their impressions of what President Trump called a “trauma” and add in their thoughts, and try to come up with some catchprases of their own.

For comparison with the “trauma” of the Kavanaugh hearings, Harmon and Scott dial the Presidential Time Portal (tm) back to 1971, to listen in to a phone call between Richard Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell. In this (surprisingly good quality) phone call, Nixon and Mitchell as they discuss their current pick for the vacant Supreme Court seat - Senator Howard Baker. Is Baker up to the task? Or is he just a playboy with a jackass record? Listen in and decide for yourself!

This episode is brought to you in part by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

We’d also like to welcome a new sponsor on board, The Political Research Digest. The Political Research Digest delivers fresh insights on the big trends driving American politics and policy today.

Each 20-minute episode explores one hot topic in the news with two political scientists who have just published relevant empirical studies. Hear about their new discoveries and get important insights that are lost in the daily news shuffle.

Download the Political Research Digest with your favorite podcast app today!

Oh yeah - let’s also not forget to mention  Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

Getting the Led Out with Dick and Beto

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Things just keep getting weirder and weirder.

One week we’ve got a description of the president’s penis from a porn star, the next we’ve got a Texas candidate for Senate referencing the Clash. As the Chinese saying goes, “May you live in interesting times.”

And an interesting time indeed is what Harmon and Scott have on this latest episode of This is the President. We’ll touch on the highlight from the Texas senate debates, the onset of fall, the ubiquity of “Getting the Led Out” across the globe and wrap it all up with a look back at some recently unearthed Nixon conversations from 1972 where the president is discussing his vaunted debating skills.

This episode is brought to you by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

This episode is also sponsored by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Like This is the President? Why not  subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! Hey - and while you’re there, leave us a comment or rate us! Don’t cost nothing!

Omarosa Unhinged

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Hey everyone, we're back!

What'd we miss? Anything? lol. 

Well, turns out we did miss only one of the first times that President Trump has been actually recorded on tape,, which is kind of the premise of this here podcast.

Whoops. 

So we're playing catch up now, which is why we've brought you an episode packed with nothing but Omarosa goodness. Things are really starting to get ugly in the Trump White House, as everyone  has turned to covertly taping each other in order to save their own asses.

Really, who could blame them?  

Also,  just for the record, I have to reiterate that, until a few episodes ago, I really had no idea who Omarosa was. I've never seen an episode of The Apprentice, other than bits of the celebrity one with Meatloaf. 

Also, Harmon and Scott discuss the state of the missing presidential portraits at the US border and attempt to do English/Scottish accents. 

This episode is brought to you by Blinkist. 

Blinkist is the only app that takes thousands of the best-selling nonfiction books and
distils them down to their most impactful elements, so you can read or listen to them in
under 15 minutes, all on your phone.

Get started with a FREE seven day trial. along with a 25% discount, for Blinkist today, by clicking here! 

This episode is also brought to you by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! 

Nixon and Trump Want Cash

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I think we're now through the looking glass people.

We've now got the "President" on tape talking to his personal lawyer about funneling cash money into a private corporation to buy someone's silence. And the worst part? Nobody seems to care. 

The even worse part? THIS EXACT SAME THING HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. Nearly 50 years ago, President Nixon was discussion the very same issue with his own personal lawyer, John Dean. Only this time an actual amount of money was mentioned - $1,000,000 in 1972 dollars, which is almost $6,000,000 today. Whew. That's a lot of greenbacks. 

And we all know, they are only two organizations who routinely turn to cash to organize their business transactions: the mafia and drug lords. Which one was Nixon and which one is Trump. Listen to the tape and YOU make the call. 

In addition, Harmon and I will be discussing the brutal heat of a New York summer and Harmon will also give details of where you can see him at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival throughout August. 

This episode is brought to you by Words Over Chair Productions and Comedy History 101.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! 

The Jimmy Carter Jonestown Massacre

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Have you ever heard the phrase "Drinking the Kool-Aid"? Do you know where it comes from? Do you really?

It's an image that few Americans who were around at the time can forget: bodies - some piled on top of each other - sprawled around a crude tin-roofed building in the middle of the South American jungle. A mass suicide of over 900 church members who willingly (and some not so willingly) drank cyanide laced punch at the request of their leader, the Reverend Jim Jones.  The place was officially known as the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project or, as most people called it, Jonestown. 

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The evening news of November 18, 1978 carried the shocking images around the globe and soon Americans began asking themselves the familiar question - how could this have happened?

In this episode, we'll be taking a look at some of the background to the Jonestown Massacre and, as this is a podcast called "The is the President", the US President's response to tragedy. In this case, a press briefing from President James "Jimmy" Carter on November 30, 1978. We'll also play a portion of what is known as the "Jonestown Death Tape", a harrowing real-time recording taken by Jonestown leader Jim Jones as he exhorted his followers to their deaths. And we'll try to set the record straight on the drink involved - despite the ubiquity of the phrase, the drink mix used in Jonestown was actually "Flavor Aid" and not "Kool Aid." 

If you'd like to read more about the goings on in the Guyanese jungle, Jonestown, the Rev. Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, there's an excellent website maintained by San Diego State University that contains pictures, recordings, and a treasure trove of primary source documents.

On a lighter note, Harmon and Scott also discuss the merits of Philadelphia's cheese steaks, the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," and the possibility of President Oprah.  

WARNING: This episode contains graphic audio of people in extreme distress. 

In addition, we're welcoming a new sponsor onboard - Dennis Miller. Yes, THAT Dennis Miller. Maybe you’ve seen him on “The O’Reilly Factor.” Perhaps you remember him from his days as an anchor of the “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live.” 

So wherever you may know him from, now you’ll have the chance to see Dennis Miller
live at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.

Tickets start at $49.50 and can be purchased at the Silver Legacy web site. Enjoy 20 percent off a hotel room on the night of the show with the purchase of a show ticket. What a great Valentines Day idea! 

Use offer code TIX18 when purchasing.

This episode is also sponsored by BLACKBX. Running a restaurant, bar, pub or retail business? Offer your customers fast, free and secure wireless while gaining awesome customer insights.

Get started with a FREE trial today. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes! 

Yelling LBJ - The Real Story - TITP Excusive!

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Happy 2018 everyone! 

Here at TITP we're starting the year off with a bang by presenting you with an exclusive! 

In this week's episode, we'll delve into the real story behind one of the most famous political photographs of all time, which you can see over there to the right and we here at TITP have dubbed Yelling LBJ. A picture that does such an amazing job of catching a specific moment in time that it is now in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

The place is Amarillo, Texas and the time is November 3, 1960 - just a few short days before the 1960 presidential elections. US presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and his running mate Lyndon Johnson make a brief touchdown in the Texas panhandle on a whirlwind campaign stop. They'll be speaking briefly at the Amarillo airport before jetting off to their next engagement. 

The Kennedy campaign team, always planning ahead, ensured that flight traffic would be stopped long enough for the candidates to make their brief speeches. What they didn't realize, however, was that some of the pilots of the waiting planes weren't exactly the biggest Kennedy fans. So they made their displeasure known and tried to harass the candidates with the loudest tools at their disposal - their jet engines 

The result? Well, you'll be able to hear for yourself when you listen to our episode where you can hear - for the first time ever - just how loud those engines were! Also - Harmon brings us the latest Trump news from that famous shithole, Brooklyn, and tells us about his latest book, Meet the Deplorables, now on Amazon.

In addition, we're welcoming a new sponsor onboard - Dennis Miller. Yes, THAT Dennis Miller. Maybe you’ve seen him on “The O’Reilly Factor.” Perhaps you remember him from his days as an anchor of the “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live.” 

So wherever you may know him from, now you’ll have the chance to see Dennis Miller
live at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.

Tickets start at $49.50 and can be purchased at the Silver Legacy web site. Enjoy 20 percent off a hotel room on the night of the show with the purchase of a show ticket. What a great Valentines Day idea! 

Use offer code TIX18 when purchasing.

This episode is also sponsored by BLACKBX. Running a restaurant, bar, pub or retail business? Offer your customers fast, free and secure wireless while gaining awesome customer insights.

Get started with a FREE trial today. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes and now over at Google Play as well! 

White House 1985 Christmas Special

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Merry Christmas everyone! 

Wait - can we say that?

Well, maybe not now, but back in 1985 - hell yeah! Not only could you say Merry Christmas until you vomited red and white, but you could sing about Santa AND Baby Jesus on prime time TV.

Damn! Those were the days. 

Sound intriguing? Hold on - what if we threw in a Russian defector, Pat Boone and Emmanuel Lewis into the mix. Holy Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer - that's a hell of a special. It's our first ever Christmas special and you're not going to want to miss this one. 

PLUS - Harmon and Scott discuss the Judge Roy Moore election, Trump craziness and who - exactly - is a puppet. And to top it all off, we plug Harmon's just published book Meet the Deplorables, now available on Amazon. 

You can also subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes and now over at Google Play as well! 

This episode sponsored by BLACKBX. Running a restaurant, bar, pub or retail business? Offer your customers fast, free and secure wireless while gaining awesome customer insights.

Get started with a FREE trial today. 

Ronald Reagan Talks Turkey

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wishing all of our listeners the best this holiday season. Actually just listeners in the US, because in the rest of the world there is no Thanksgiving and today is just a normal day. 

But we're not letting that stop us in bringing you the very best in US presidential holiday spirit!

So we dug into the archives to find today's presidential tape from November 18, 1981 - President Reagan's first Thanksgiving in office. 

Today's tape captures the traditional ceremony as the leaders of the National Turkey Federation presented President Reagan with a holiday gobbler, an occasion that stretches back into the Eisenhower presidency. 

In our special holiday episode we delve into the White House Turkey Presentation and how the tradition of pardoning the presidential turkeys started, get the latest updates on the current president's latest Twitter battle, discuss the merits of various Tom Hanks movies and plug Trumpcon in NYC - a festival of YUGE - proportions. 

This episode sponsored by BLACKBX. Running a restaurant, bar, pub or retail business? Offer your customers fast, free and secure wireless while gaining awesome customer insights.

Get started with a FREE trial today. 

You can also subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes and now over at Google Play as well! 

Episode 26: Gerald Ford Talks to his Rocketman

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On Episode 26 of  TITP, we decided to jump forward in time a little bit to the Polyester Decade - the 1970s.

On July 17, 1975 the United States and the Soviet Union were both doing their bit for international peace and harmony with the Apollo/Soyuz Project. The United States and the Soviet Union both launched their most advanced spacecraft at the time with the goal of a space rendezvous and docking of the two command modules so the astronauts and cosmonauts could meet in space. 

We're not really sure what the fuss was all about, but it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time. After the two spacecraft successfully docked, the space crews toasted to a thaw in the Cold War and were treated to a congratulatory phone call from the United States only non-elected President and Warren Commission member, Gerald R. Ford. 

We'd also like to welcome our first sponsor to This is the President, BLACKBX. Are you running a business and offering your customers free Wi-Fi? Don't leave money sitting on the table - BLACKBX is cost effective solution to gather information over WiFi. Get real time information about customers. track new / return visits, identify peak visit times, create a customer mailing list and generate that all important monthly recurring revenue.

Get started with a FREE BLACKBX trial today! 

You can also subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes and now over at Google Play as well! 

Episode 25 - The President, The FBI and The Tapes

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Or maybe they don't. 

In light of some of the recent tussles between the Trump White House and the FBI, we dug back into the presidential vaults to go back to a simpler time. A time when the President and the head of the FBI weren't at each others throats and were, in fact, good buddies. 

That's in this weeks episode as we head back to August of 1964 to listen in to President Johnson congratulate FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on the successful arrest of the murderers of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. Marvel at how NICE they're being to each other! We're not going to spoil the ending, but President Johnson makes a touching request of Hoover that will bring a tear to even the most jaded eye. 

Before that, Harmon and Scott take a stroll through 1960s history, touching on Woody Allen films, the soundtrack to Antonioni's seminal 1966 film Blow Up, James Bond, and Hugh Hefner, before moving on to the UK elections and Larry the Cable Guy. 

You can also subscribe to the podcast over at iTunes and now over at Google Play as well!