Shadowing Practice: I Can’t Believe This Happened - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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If you still believe that Mitch McConnell is alive, I don't want to share evidence of the weird photos, the proof of life that he has put out,
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seemingly AI, dates not matching up with what his wife is wearing.
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I don't want to show you the Scott Jennings, I called him for 15 minutes post.
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No, I don't want to show you any of that.
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If you still believe that Mitch McConnell is alive and well and his brain is functioning,
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I want to show you how he and other Republican senators respond to any questions about his health.
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We know that Mitch McConnell's office runs away.
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We know that they have their police cars out front the hospital.
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But what gets even worse than just the police cars outside the hospital is the police that were sicked on journalists.
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asking questions, not harassing anyone, not causing problems, asking questions about a senator we haven't seen for months.
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We're going to get into it all, but it begins with an update outside the hospital before we
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get to what Republican senators are doing to not have to answer questions about what's happening inside the hospital.
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Desiree Townsend here again outside of George Washington University Hospital for day 48 of the medical miracle
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that continues to be Senator Mitch McConnell.
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His Capitol Police detail is still outside the hospital here, also trapped in the hell that is the Groundhog's Day of his hospitalization.
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So he was hospitalized on June 14th for a fall with absolutely no complications and mild pneumonia,
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yet he'll be heading into seven weeks come tomorrow.
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His office has released an official statement stating that he was discharged from hospital care, but yet he still remains here in the hospital, presumably for this rehabilitation.
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Again, unsure for what, because he was confined to a wheelchair.
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So the necessitation of rehabilitation in order to get him to walk again is unnecessary.
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He also seemed to have had multiple conversations a few weeks back with Jennings, Brasso and Thune.
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So speech speech pathology and rehabilitation wouldn't be necessary.
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And lastly, he also signed his name to a response.
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Andy Beshear had made a President Trump to release disaster aid to Kentucky for the flooding that happened in June.
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So taking all of this at face value,
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it's really unclear what would be the reason for continued rehabilitation here in this hospital.
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So there was one other thing I wanted to bring up for any media networks out there.
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I'm not backed by a media organization, so it's very difficult for me to reach out to organizations, reach out to Congress and get a response.
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But in the statement that was made a few days back by Senator McConnell's office, there was a quote from the Office of the Attending Physician,
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just basically stating that the Office of Attending Physician was coming here every day, but he wasn't cleared for rehabilitation.
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I tried to see if I could find this from
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that came directly from the office of the attending physician and I could not.
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So I ask any of you of the alphabet networks to reach out to the office of the attending physician
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and just confirm that this actually did come from their office.
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The only reason I bring that up is the signature that was on the Andy Beshear letter,
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the response to to try to get President Trump to release funding for Kentucky.
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I'm a little concerned about that signature being on that letter because if Senator Mitch McConnell is capable of signing a letter,
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then he should have resigned a long time ago knowing that he is holding up votes for Kentuckians in the Senate.
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So as of today, Senator McConnell has missed 46 roll call votes.
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That's roll call 172 through roll call 217.
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Come next week, he will have missed upwards of 50 roll call votes.
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So the Senate is set to adjourn most likely Thursday night.
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They will not be reconvening or returning until approximately September 14th.
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So it's very possible that Senator McConnell can continue to be in rehabilitation all the way through potentially September,
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holding up this seat and preventing a special election and maybe not even returning when the Senate reconvenes in mid-September.
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So I think this is very important for media organizations to look into.
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Let's let's verify the facts, verify that the office of the attending physician actually did make that statement.
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Let's let's verify from Senator McConnell's office who actually signed
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that letter to to President Trump to support Andy Beshear and trying to get disaster relief for Kentucky.
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Because as of as of today, tomorrow will be week seven.
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None of this is really making any sense for somebody who just had a fall with no complications and mild pneumonia.
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This is just so ridiculous right now.
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Mitch McConnell is alive or he's not.
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Right now, we don't have it confirmed that he's dead.
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I say this every single time I make a video about our good old friend Mitch.
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We don't know if he's dead.
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He can't be alive because if his brain is working
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and his mouth is moving because they haven't said he needs speech therapy, they didn't say he had a stroke,
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they didn't say that there's any complications, then what is it?
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Why can't he record a video?
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I'm not even asking for a press conference.
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I'm asking for a video because we know we're not going to get a press conference.
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I'd love a press conference, but we're not going to get one.
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And do you know how I know I know that?
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Because when Republicans are asked questions in the halls of Congress, where they're allowed to be asked questions by reporters, they run away and then they call the cops.
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Republican senators are now calling Capitol Police on reporters to avoid answering questions about Mitch McConnell.
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This is Senator Pete Ricketts from Nebraska.
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No, I already have been through security, sir.
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I've already been through security. As you know,
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Mitch McConnell has not been seen publicly outside of two proof of life images now for more than 47 days.
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And even his fellow colleagues don't really want to answer many questions about him.
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Spread the word.
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Follow along for all the news.
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You need to know.
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So after the ridiculous, ridiculous response, Senator Pete Ricketts, who was of course recorded in this video said,
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I reacted poorly to this reporter from TMZ.
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I appreciated talking to him on the phone so I could apologize.
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Oh great.
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You talked to the reporter on the phone.
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You apologized.
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That definitely fixes it.
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No, these people think that they are above being questioned.
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They think that they're above being questioned, that they don't actually have to answer us.
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And if you don't believe me, look at Mitch McConnell.
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He obviously believes that he shouldn't have to be questioned.
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And this is something that we have to talk about with kind of the situation on the Hill, is that it is obviously not just these members,
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these members of Congress being entitled.
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It's also the staff.
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Like, you know, I'm around Washington, D.C.
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These people think that they are superheroes, that they run the world, that they're in the West Wing, they're in a movie.
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and sometimes, most of the time, you're not, especially if you're working for a Republican,
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you're usually just the ladder-climbing bad person, okay?
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I know a lot of Democratic staffers, those people are great, those people are changing the world, but they don't think that they're like Tom Cruise, they don't think that they're like superheroes,
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action heroes, what are we talking about here?
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There is a broken culture on Capitol Hill.
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The members of Congress are entitled, the staffers are entitled, right?
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Because these people want to get their paycheck too.
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These people want to get their access too.
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And why I bring this up is it is because the staffers as well are trying to keep the distance.
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The staffers as well do not think that they have to answer questions.
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The staffers as well do not care about doing their jobs.
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Ladder climbing, what is beneficial to them?
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And that is where we are left in this place in which no one thinks that they have to be held accountable.
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No one thinks that they have to answer our questions.
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No one thinks that they have to serve us.
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They can just do whatever they want.
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And it is despicable.
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And I bring that up.
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I say that because clearly the cover-up, what's being hidden right now is about protecting access, about protecting self.
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That's what it is more often than not.
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And, you know, a few weeks ago, I talked about this with my friend Rick Wilson.
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I just want to play the whole clip
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because it's such a perfect synopsis of what's been going on here and the broken culture broadly.
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A lot of these reporters know.
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Look, I guarantee you, there are 10 reporters in D.C right now who know exactly what Mitch McConnell's medical status is.
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Maybe more.
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They're not reporting it.
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And that video from a few days ago of him getting carried out on the stretcher, if that's from the 14th,
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what were we doing with that?
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Why were we hiding this?
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Why did it take the demanding of attention?
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Why is every reporter in D.C not asking the question over and over again to Mitch McConnell's office?
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What is his health status?
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When can we see him?
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Well, let's have a proof of life.
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He is alive.
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As I like to joke, the and or joke of the Lincoln Project has friends everywhere.
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We know from people who are very much clear that he's in a certain rehab wing for acute cardiac failure, all this stuff, at the hospital.
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He is alive.
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Our source is not able to say if he's conscious or cogent or.
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He doesn't look, he doesn't look very living.
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I mean, what's being reported is not very living, but like, yeah.
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I don't think that the magical 20 minute conversations of Mitch McConnell, you know, calling he's perfectly fine.
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I think we're going to find out all that was a lie
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because they want to run out the clock on the special election question in Kentucky.
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If I'm Bashir, Andy, brother, just declare the election.
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Yeah, make him do it.
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We're always on the back phone.
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And if they want to prove that Mitch McConnell is alive and well, God bless them.
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Go do it.
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But that is not something I think they can prove.
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So I think there's no way we're going to get the Washington, D.C press corps to nuke their relationships in order to get a story anymore,
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which is exactly the problem, I think, with a lot of mainstream media today.
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Is that Washington is a village is a village, it's a small little village and everybody has to get along with each other, they think.
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And so sometimes they don't want to press too hard.
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This is a matter where the control of the U.S.
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Senate is absolutely on the line.
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When McConnell goes, it changes the chemistry of the Senate.
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And Jack, I think that this is not a matter where the Democrats have been treated the same way.
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When Joe Biden's health care, health scares started to mount up, we had 24 hour a day coverage.
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It never stopped.
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They were beating the White House down every single day about it.
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When the July 7th debate happened in 2024, you know, that was a clock that went off because the media drove the story.
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They pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed.
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They turned over every rock.
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We don't see that coverage about Trump.
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We don't see that coverage throughout McConnell.
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And, and I just wonder, I just wonder why Democrats don't act.
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Well, I know because it's what we do.
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Like we don't, we don't act historically have not yet is the Beshear.
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Like he sent a letter and it was like, okay, he's demanding.
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But then you, you're like, why a letter?
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Like, haven't we been making jokes about it?
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Have we not learned that certainly worded letters do not work in this world anymore?
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It's just not, it's not breaking through.
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It was good that like he had said something.
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I'm glad he did it.
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I like Andy he's tremendous.
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I think he's absolutely a rock star, but to secure his rock star status, now is the time to push the real button.
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That is to just declare there's a special election coming.
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Mitch McConnell is incapacitated and cannot hold this office.
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We must replace him.
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The real secret is MAGA is desperately trying to not have a special where Thomas Massey would win that seat.
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That's what they're really afraid of.
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These people want their access, right?
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Whether that be access to interviews, access to Donald Trump's White House, where they can skim a little off the top, right?
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Make sure they get their cut.
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I will never hold back what I say on this show, because I really want an interview with some Democratic member of Congress.
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I like doing interviews.
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It's why I do the Sunday show with Midas Touch.
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Shout out to Brett Ben and Jordy.
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I like doing interviews.
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I like asking real questions.
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I like having fun conversations that are enjoyable.
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I think it's a good format.
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I think we need different Sunday shows than just, you know, the normal ones.
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But I would never bite my tongue just to make sure I can get an interview.
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What?
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It's not what this is about.
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It's about holding power to account, right?
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It's not getting in cozy.
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And that's what too many people are trying to do.
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And it's gotten us to this place.
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And I'm just so sick and tired of it.
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I think we're all really sick and tired of it.
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It is a broken culture.
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It needs to stop.
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We need accountability.
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We need people who are going to call it out.
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And we need people who are happy being independent, being the independent media.
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That is what we need more of.
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I'm not trying to like go on my soapbox and say that like, I'm, I'm the people's champion.
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There are so many great people in independent media.
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I cannot believe I have only made one video talking about how amazing Katie Fang is.
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Oh my God, Katie Fang.
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You fucking serious?
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The best.
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She took on Todd Blanche in one, and now we're going to have more Epstein files.
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That's independent media.
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That's not someone who's tiptoeing around anything out of fear.
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Is there ever more retaliation from the administration than a person who goes after the files?
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You got to commend Katie Fang.
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That's what it's all about.
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It's what we need more of.
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It's what we're going to be trying to do on this show.
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If you want to support that, as always, you can hit that subscribe button, leave a like on this video.
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If you stuck around at the end, drop a blue heart in the comments.
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Keep on fighting, y'all don't let them silence you.
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And until next time, I'll see you soon.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “I Can’t Believe This Happened”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Mcconnell, Mitch, senator, hospital. This video has 219 sentences and 2563 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:05. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| rehabilitation noun | /ˌɹiː.əˌbɪl.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ | The process of rehabilitating somebody or something. |
| staffer noun | A member of a staff; an employee. | |
| physician noun | /fəˈzɪʃən/ | A practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon; a practitioner who treats with medication rather than… |
| complication noun | /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | The act or process of complicating. |
| verify verb | /ˈvɛɹɪfaɪ/ | To substantiate or prove the truth of something. |
| reconvene verb | /ɹiː.kənˈviːn/ | To resume something that has been convened and then paused. |
| pneumonia noun | /njuˈməʊniə/ | Inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious microorganisms. |
| superhero noun | /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/ | Any fictional crime-fighting character, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature; a fictional hero who does… |
| ladder noun | /ˈlæd.ɚ/ | A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or… |
| declare verb | /dɪˈklɛɚ/ | To assert or announce formally, officially, explicitly, or emphatically. |
| mild adjective | /ˈmaɪld/ | Gentle and not easily angered |
| apologize verb | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
| adjourn verb | /əˈd͡ʒɝn/ | To postpone. |
| cogent adjective | /ˈkoʊd͡ʒn̩t/ | Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hold up verb | To wait or delay. |
| run away verb | To flee by running. |
| break through verb | To gain popularity. |
| cover up verb | To conceal or disguise. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| go off verb | To explode. |
| hold back verb | To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power. |
| put out verb | To blind (eyes). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Why can't he record a video?
- I'm not even asking for a press conference.
- I've already been through security.
- Why were we hiding this?
- When can we see him?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has put · haven't seen · has released |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were sicked · was hospitalized · was discharged |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | somebody who just · people who are · person who goes |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 66 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rehabilitation /ˌɹiː.əˌbɪl.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, physician /fəˈzɪʃən/, complication /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, hospitalization /ˌhɑ(ː)s.pɪ.tə.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/, retaliation /ɹɪˌtæl.iˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: rehabilitation /ˌɹiː.əˌbɪl.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, complication /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, superhero /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, despicable /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like litter, rehabilitation, staffer.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.