Fake News 1968 Style

Don’t think that “Fake News” is solely President Trump’s domain. Oh no….

As we listen in to this weeks phone call, you’ll hear TITP fave President Lyndon B. Johnson bitching about news coverage - even suggesting that a reporter be taken out and shot at one point.

Granted, Johnson was having a pretty tough week. This phone call, taken from February 5, 1968, was recorded during a time when Johnson was under a bit of stress.

Just a few weeks prior, the USS Pueblo, and all it’s crew, were captured in the waters off North Korea (yean, that North Korea) and accused of spying. Then, just a few days before this phone call, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, immediately dismissing any notion that the end of the war was anywhere near.

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia that didn’t make it to the podcast - the captured crew of the USS Pueblo later figured out that the North Koreans had no idea what “flipping the bird” meant, so they started doing it in every staged photo taken of them. Here’s a still taken from a propaganda film made by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea of the Pueblo crew….

So take a few minutes in to listen as LBJ rattles on about the press, easily standing up to anything that President Trump has mouthed off about lately. And the best part - LBJ is talking to a reporter! It’s like getting to listen in to Trump talk to his favorite news reporters from Morning Joe!

Also, we catch up on some of the craziness in Washington and, of course, we go back and visit Trump in the Amazon.

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!

George HW Bush Has a Crack Attack

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

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!

Election 2018 Special: Ronald Reagan meets Mr. T

Did you vote? No? Then what the hell is wrong with you!

Go now!

Then, once you’re done voting you can settle back and listen in to the glorious sounds of our Election 2018 special!

Harmon did an excellent job of piloting the Presidential Time Portal (tm) to take us back to December of 1983 when two great titans of statesmanship met for the first time - President Ronald Reagan and Rocky III/The A Team star, Mr. T! Yes, this really happened!

Mr. T was at the White House playing - believe it or not - Santa and helping out First Lady Nancy Reagan with her Just Say No to Drugs campaign (of course, this was at the same time when the US Government was importing cocaine from South America but we’ll leave that for another podcast).

So step into the voting booth and back out again into the world of 1983 with today’s edition of This is the President.

Harmon and I will also be discussing some of our predictions for the election and what the outcome could mean for the future of the United States - and the world, the inner workings of the Mr. T doll by Galoob, Rocky III vs. Rocky IV, and, in keeping with the spirit of election day, reading reviews of Trump products on Amazon.

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! 

This episode also 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.

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

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!

Nixon and Trump Want Cash

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! 

Ronald Reagan Talks Turkey

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! 

The Beginning of the End for Nixon (and Trump)?

If you had to pick the beginning of the end for President Nixon, the date of June 13, 1971 might be the front running candidate. That was the day that the New York Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers, a top secret study commissioned by Defense Secretary Robert McNamera in 1967 which basically said that the US had f**ked up in Vietnam. And badly. 

After the story about the Papers broke, Nixon became very concerned about leaks coming out of his administration.

Which, in turn, led to him creating the Plumbers unit to stop the leaks (get it?). The Plumbers eventually became frustrated with the lack of action and began to pester the Nixon White House for more jobs to do. One of the last jobs assigned to the Plumbers was to plant listening devices into the Democratic headquarters, located in the Watergate Hotel, almost exactly a year later in June, 1972. 

In this episode's phone call, a nonplussed Nixon gets word about the Pentagon Papers from General Alexander Haig. But is it really possible the president wasn't aware of the impact of the New York Times story? Or was he lying? 

That's what Harmon and Scott will be discussing in this episode. We'll also touch on how this reflects on President Trump and what the recent arrests mean for the Trump White House. 

Also in this episode: the World Series, New York City open container laws, 80s sitcom starrs and Scott learns that there is a bona fide cast member from The Apprentice in Trump's White House Staff. 

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! 

The head of IBM and the Stewardess Incident

Boys will be boys, right? The press caught President Trump on tape talking about "grabbing 'em by the pussy" and he still got elected. 

Turns out things back in the 1970s weren't that much different.

That's when columnist Jack Anderson was about to spill the beans on Ambassador to France Arthur K. Watson. Watson, the son of the founder of IBM, had gradually been forced out of the company his father built and had to settle on a career in US Government service. On a flight in 1971from London to Washington, DC, he got rip roaring drunk, demanded to be served a bottle of Scotch and started shoving money down the blouses of Pan-Am stewardesses. 

President Nixon discussed the incident with his Chief of Staff, HR Haldeman in the Oval Office and the conversation has been helpfully preserved by the White House taping system. 

Like with President Trumps locker room conversation caught on tape, Nixon and Haldeman agree that there's nothing with having a few drinks and chasing girls. The main thing that they're in agreement that it's better than chasing boys. 

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?

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 26: Gerald Ford Talks to his Rocketman

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 24 - FDR and the Pearl Harbor Conspiracy

TRIGGER WARNING: The President uses the "J" word a lot in this recording. 

Did FDR know about Pearl Harbor in advance?

That's the burning question that we're answering in this episode of This is the President. 

In today's instalment, Scott and Harmon travel back in time to October, 1940 to listen in on some of the oldest presidential tapes available in the archives.

Originally setup to record a presidential press conference (held in the Oval Office, no less) someone "accidentally" forgot to turn off the tape recorder.

The result is we get to listen in on some of President Roosevelt's most private conversations with an unknown individual.

So, did FDR know about Pearl Harbor? Take a listen and decide for yourself. 

Also in this episode: the latest Trump news from NYC and Scott and Harmon do their Walter Winchell impressions. 

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

Episode 23 - Richard Nixon's Drunk Phone Call

Sometimes, even a President has to cut loose and toss back a few cold ones. Or more than a few.

Or maybe a couple of bottles.

Because that's certainly how President Nixon sounds in our phone call for Episode 23 of This is the President.

Today we're setting the wayback machine for April 30, 1973. That was the day that President Nixon made his first TV speech about the "Watergate Affair."

It was during this speech that dear old President Nixon started throwing his friends under the bus in order to clear himself of any wrongdoing. One of the first to go was his right hand man, HR Haldeman. 

But letting go wasn't that easy for Dick, as we see in this phone call. After giving the speech and receiving a few phone calls from supporters such as future presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Nixon turned to his old pal Haldeman (who he'd just fired, remember) to ask for his help in gathering the mood of the country. Not the most diplomatic of moves, but easily forgiven for someone who sounds like they might have been on the silly juice. 

Was the President drunk or not? Have a listen for yourself! 

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

Episode 22: Behind the Scenes Special

To mark our 22nd podcast we wanted to do something a little special - in this case, give you, our listener, a little peek at what goes on behind the scenes when these presidential recordings are made. 

We don't want to spoil the surprise too much by giving away any names, but just make sure you're sitting down when listening to this episode. 

Also in this episode, Harmon opens his porch door to let in the first signs of NYC spring, we discuss the pizza principle and President Trumps penchant for using outdated 1990s catchphrases in his tweets. 

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