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Left Out Loud is a progressive political podcast breaking down the biggest stories shaping our democracy. From up-to-the-minute political news and midterm election coverage to in-depth interviews with grassroots Democratic candidates, the show spotlights the voices and movements fighting for real change. Smart, informed, and unapologetically loud, Left Out Loud pairs sharp analysis with humor and plain-spoken commentary, cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters. If you care about elections, organizing, and the future of the Democratic Party—and you like your politics with a little personality—this is the podcast for you.
Hey, Seth.
Hey, Allie.
All right, so we have a guest
today that is connected to a
previous guest that we had.
So do you remember Hunter Miranda?
Of course.
Unfortunately, did not win his primary.
We love him.
Um, we hope that he will maybe even
just remotely consider running again.
But we have his campaign
manager on today, who also- Nice
is a human rights advocate, an
activist, a progressive, a rising
progressive superstar who has
his own political aspirations.
Let's welcome him in.
Aiden Salas, welcome to Left Out Loud.
Thank you so much for having me- Hey
…
on Left Out Loud.
Absolutely.
Thank you for coming.
So, um, we don't wanna focus too
much on Hunter because we're here
to talk to you, but talk to us
about just how did you get…
Well, let's go back even further.
You are 20 years old.
You have managed a campaign
for a previous guest.
When did all of your political
sort of interest begin?
Did you have an, a singular
event that sort of launched you
into your political interests?
Yeah, so, uh, I've always been political.
Like when I told my outside family
that we don't really talk to, like,
"Oh, yeah, just letting you guys
know this is what I'm doing now."
Mm-hmm.
They all responded, "I'm not
very surprised." "Like you've
always been this type." Hmm.
Right.
"You like to try to be right, and
you love sitting at the adult table
arguing with us about something-
Mm-hmm
…
you never experienced." Love that.
And so- Yeah … so I've always
kinda had that older mentality.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, I, I remember I always asked
my que- uh, or I always asked my dad
questions like, you know, with, uh,
Medicare, why can't it just be cheaper?
Yeah.
Like my mom, she has a lot of, um, like
health problems, and I always ask like,
"W- why does it have to be how it is now?"
And I always saw like it can be changed.
Mm-hmm.
And then, yeah, like we were
doing good and, or we are doing
good, and we, uh, moved out to
Northern California from SoCal.
And from there I got into a school.
So I went from public
to, um, an academy now.
Mm-hmm.
And they were… The opening
statement they told me was, "You're
allowed to debate at this school."
And my parents warned the staff,
like, "You shouldn't have told him
that." I took every debate class.
Mm-hmm.
And when I graduated they all said,
um… The director of the school said, "I
would love to welcome Aiden to the stage.
Also, he's a dangerous debater."
Like it got- Yeah … to the point
where they were like, "This guy is
either gonna be a politician or,
you know, political activist like-
Right
…
Martin Luther King, just out there
speaking but no politics." Mm-hmm.
And so yeah, so, um, since I was
young I always, I don't know, eight
or nine years old, I've always
done research on, uh, politics.
And then when I was, like, 17
years old, I started just interning
with candidates and stuff.
And then, um, yeah, I used to
have a, uh, just retail job,
and then I was political there.
Like, I, I got promoted
to a manager position.
And yeah, since it's, you know, like, a
billion-dollar company, um, they wanted
to obviously screw over the people.
Mm. And I kept saying like, "Hey, it's not
right. It's not right for my associates,
or it's not right for the customers."
So they did the greater thing to make
it easier for them and just fire me.
So-
Oh my God.
So I, uh, I go home and I told
my parents, "Hey, like, I know I
have a purpose. I know." Mm-hmm.
So, um, one day, uh, I sleep in and then
I just hear banging at the door, and
it's a lovely candidate, Eric Jones,
progressive candidate in my area.
And then worked with him for a bit.
And then yeah, I was like, "I know I can
do greater things." So I left and met up
with Hunter, and from there I explained
who I am, explained that with me on
the team it would be a right thing, and
then, uh, got in contact with a lot of
other progressives because of Hunter.
And since then it kind of showed
me it doesn't matter about age,
it doesn't matter about, you know-
Mm-mm … religion, ethnicity.
It just matters about whether you
put the people first over politics.
Yeah.
And that's why I always remind
every single person, it's
always people over politics.
Absolutely.
Phenomenal backstory.
I love that Hunter… I mean, I obviously
I love, um, how much work you've put
in, right, to sort of become more
engaged and involved in your community
politics, but also so fantastic that
Hunter took this chance on, on you,
right- Yeah … to lead his campaign.
Um, just amazing and it speaks
volumes about, about you-
Yeah
and your commitment.
Yeah, absolutely.
Like, uh, after, after the race,
um, sadly didn't go our way, I gave
him a call and I was like, "You,
you took a chance on…" Like-
Yeah
…
if I were to go to any candidate
and be like, "Hey, you know, I'm
not 40 years old with 20 years
political experience." Right.
Yeah.
Uh,
a- and me and him were talking and
one, one of the greatest things he said
that I'm going to continue on with my
campaign was e- everything is, you know,
so- Every city, every district, every
person is all gonna campaign different.
Yep.
And it's not all the same.
So we were learning together and, you
know, he couldn't ask for a better person.
And it, it kind of warmed my heart,
so when I went to go find my staff,
it was a, I gotta do it my way and-
Mm-hmm
…
find that team chemistry
just like how he did.
'Cause his team chemistry was amazing.
He did amazing getting the staff.
M- I'm glad to hear that.
Not surprised.
Yeah.
I know, he is good.
Yeah, man, super impressive.
And, uh, you know, like what,
what I like about Gen Z is that
you guys are more involved.
You are… You- you're, you're very smart.
You're very informed.
Kind of grew up in the,
in the tech era- Yeah.
Mm-hmm … uh, which is a little bit
different from, say, me, a Millennial,
where first half of my life ab-
absolutely none of that, and then all
of a sudden you're thrown into social
media and the internet and all that.
So, uh, but I… what I would say, what
I want to know is, you know, in the
la- in this last election, you know,
Gen Z, you know, there w- there was
record voter turnout, things like that.
But we thought that we would get, that
we would see just a little bit more.
Like I- I'm not sure- Yeah … where
our expectations were, uh, because kids
are young and they're impressionable.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And so you, you are, you guys are a
lot more literate, a lot more informed,
but there is the red pill aspect- Mm
that younger kids and, and even
Millennials fell into, right?
Yeah.
And so, you know, what, what do you think
was w- what do you think was really behind
that, especially during the election?
Wha- you know, coming from, uh, from
your generation- Yeah … what did
you see leading up to that election
that maybe kind of explains why we
didn't see as big of a push from
Gen Z?
Yeah.
So, so what I noticed is in this,
uh, election recently, I have
noticed a lot of people were
playing the social media route.
For instance, if we look back then
to let's just say Obama or Bush, like
they were kind of just campaigning
all throughout the nation- Mm-hmm
… just as much events as possible.
And then with the recent election, we
can also see people going on Instagram
Lives, you know, stuff like that.
But I also think- Um, a- and,
and I will be honest, the younger
generation does also follow trends.
Mm. And I, I will say, um, the
Republican side was really good
at just making a lot of trends.
For instance, a great example is MAGA.
Like, MAGA became such a huge household
thing where some kids were thinking,
"Maybe this is the right way."
Mm.
And we can kinda see it with, like,
Mamdani, where he had- Yeah … a
crazy turnout rate from people that's
never voted in their life to people
registering the first time to vote just
to circle his name in, just because
they were excited because people in
their family or friends or anybody
around was just talking about it.
So I think it's also a big trend aspect
where politics for once I think we can all
agree where it became a household where in
a way it almost became, like, fun almost.
Mm-hmm.
Which is what- So, so talking about
Mamdan- Mamdani and then obviously
he just had some candidates also,
um, win their primaries- Yeah
candidates that he backed.
How are you feeling?
I know that you are obviously progressive.
Um, how are you f- l- do you feel hopeful?
Do you feel like maybe
that's the new trend?
Um- Yeah … or is it here to stay?
Do you think it will just
continue to grow as time goes on?
Yeah, so I think as a true progressive,
'cause I think also progressive was
thrown around so harshly- Mm-hmm
before.
So when we start seeing actual true
progressives get in office and make
those changes, I think it will also
make a lot of people more comfortable
saying- Yeah … the word progressive.
Yeah.
'Cause, um, yeah, like when
I've said progressive I've
gotten a lot of, like, you know-
Pushback
…
I guess I would say feedback.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just saying, uh, I'm a
communist or something.
I'm like- … "That's lovely.
Thank you, guys." Yeah.
It's, um, it's not a-
We hear it all the time.
I know.
I know.
It's- So, uh, so I'm like, "Thank you,
guys." But, uh, yeah, so I feel like
once people start seeing truly all
the good that they're doing, I mean, I
will say, um, it's a political podcast
so I can go to the extent- Mm-hmm
but I will say, um- America has done
a great job like brainwashing American
citizens where if I vote for somebody
in office and all they're doing is
good, it's a check his background
because he wants something out of this.
Yeah.
Like how much slander all these, you
know, politicians that are truly trying
to help like candidates and they're
saying, "Hey, it's too good to be true.
I don't wanna vote for him."
Mm-hmm.
Like I, I was asked the other
day, um, what, what's my main
thing, what's my main policy?
And I was like, "I have to go to my
colleagues to get these policies passed.
But what I can guarantee you, I don't
wanna make promises, but the promise
I'll make you is I will fight for you.
And the bills I sign, I will not sign
a bill going, 'Is this what they want
or is this what they don't want?'"
Right.
I will think, sit down and say, "Is
this what my people want?" Yeah.
And it's just hard for them to
believe it- Mm-hmm … because
we haven't had that for so long.
So once we start noticing Hey,
like we're actually truly here
for you guys and progressive
title is actually used properly-
Right
I think it will start creating a trend.
I think you're right.
I think there's a lot of
stigma around the word.
I think a lot of people don't really
understand what progressive means.
I think they, they equate it with all
kinds of crazy things, like culture
war issues and blue hair and, you
know… A- and, and the reality is
that progressivism is really about
what you said at the very beginning of
the show, putting people first, right?
Mm-hmm.
Policies that actually help
working class Americans, and
most Americans for that matter.
Yeah.
And I'm hoping that as we see more
progressive policies make their way in to
local politics and federal politics, we
will see more im- you know, more people
embracing the idea of progressivism.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So I agree with you 100% on that.
And, you know, I, I think it's, it's,
it's… At the end of the day, we are
in a results-oriented business, right?
Like, people wanna see
everything work in real time.
It's, it's great to talk about it.
A lot of people say if you're a
progressive you're too idealistic.
But I always like to say there's so
much money, you just don't understand.
Yeah, yeah.
We could be… It's, it's
all about priorities.
Yeah.
So what do you, what do you really
prioritize in terms of w- you know, as
you, as your politics evolve and you look
at policies that you wanna kinda implement
once you would try to get into office,
what, what are, what are your priorities?
What's, what's most important to you?
Yeah.
So what's most important, so what I wanna
do first is a lot of people ask with,
with all my policies before I continue
is all of my ideals and stuff will
make their taxes go up, and I say no.
For instance, California
gave $6.8 billion to Israel.
At state assembly I budget it,
we're putting that to an end.
We're done.
Mm-hmm.
No more money.
And with that money we're gonna get it
back and we're gonna stop sending it.
With all that s- accumulated money,
I wanna put it back into the people.
Great example is when I was first
born, I mean, there was three classes,
and now that I'm growing up I'm
like, "Is there even a middle class?"
Right.
It's either you're rich or you're poor,
because it's like people in office that
are going in there and screwing it up.
So I want to put it back into the
people, whether that is put it
back into reforming our parks.
I mean, there's a lot of
parks that need some work.
Uh, fixing our roads, helping
the housing, first time buyers.
I know a lot of, um, older people
that are retiring and going into
an apartment just for safety that
they're gonna lose their home.
Mm-hmm.
Like, it's stuff like
this where you don't do.
And if we're truly a democracy, then why
are we treating our people like this?
Yeah.
Um, and so- I just wanna use all
the money and instead of, you know,
pocketing it or, you know, sending
it all to Israel or just making a
ballroom, 'cause I don't think I need a
ballroom at the Sacramento Capitol- Yeah
um, I, I think it'd be better to use that
money and actually give it to the people
that vote for me, and the people that
even didn't vote for me, 'cause my job
isn't to represent certain people, so.
Yeah.
You talked about the parks and, you
know, one, one, one of the things in,
in the ballroom, one of the things
that's really pissed me off the most
about Trump is that he is taking money
from our parks budget and putting it
into his own little beautification
projects around the White House.
Yeah.
And I'm just… And it's j- it just speaks
to, you know, you're not about the people.
Mm-hmm.
You're not in- you're not
into investing into us.
You're just trying to create this,
this, this, this palace- Mm-hmm.
Absolutely … uh, that none
of us will be able to enjoy.
None of us will set e- will ever
set foot inside that ballroom.
Yeah.
And so is it really the people's house?
Is it really the people's ballroom?
I, I think not.
Yeah.
Like, a great example, I remember I was
having a conversation and I said, "The
White House is where the president lives,
but the White House represents us." And-
Yes
…
even I've even seen a lot of Republicans
say, "I didn't ask for that ballroom."
Yeah.
Their own… Like, I have seen so
much Republicans either switch sides
or go, "I'm still Republican, but
what the hell is going on in office?"
Yeah.
Yeah, it's excessive.
It's excess.
Um, it's really out of touch
with, I think, the way most
Americans are feeling right now.
Uh, they can continue to say the economy's
doing great, but we are not feeling that.
We are not seeing that when we look at
grocery prices and prices at the pump.
Now Iran is starting to feel like
it may literally be a forever war.
We just can't seem to come
to an agreement with them.
Um, so yeah, when you're doing things like
vanity projects and building ballrooms
and, and, and arches and, uh, we don't
even know what the scaffolding is
around the White House right now- Right
that they've covered up with tarp.
They're saying it's- Yeah … you
know, dings on the columns.
Like, you don't need scaffolding to
take care- Yeah … of dings on columns.
Yeah.
God only knows what, what's
gonna be sitting there when
they take all that down.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Um, so we've buried the
lead for a while now.
Let's get into your plan, Adam.
Okay.
So you plan to run for State
Assembly District 5, California.
Currently, um, that, that role has been
filled by Joe Patterson, a Republican.
Um, he was first elected in 2022.
There is a 12-year term limit
in California, so if you're a
state assembly person, you can
only have that six terms- Yeah
and then you're automatically timed out.
Um, talk to me about- So you're
s- you have not officially
launched this campaign.
No.
Um, you're not running for 2026.
You're going to be running for 2028.
Correct.
And talk to me about sort of what even
made you think to d- I mean, you're 20
years old, and I'm not minimizing…
I don't say that to
minimize your experience.
I say that to really applaud you,
because at 20 years old, you're
thinking about running for state
assembly, which is in- remarkable.
Yeah.
So-
A lot of people
aren't willing to step up at a young age.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
So kind of what set you on the path?
Was it this last campaign that
you worked on with Hunter?
Like, how did you arrive at this decision?
Yeah, so I always knew I wanted to run.
Mm-hmm.
I, I always knew that.
Like, when I was younger and it was,
"What do you wanna be when you grow up?"
My mom has all the papers somewhere.
Like, when I run, I'll probably ask
her, "Hey, can we tear the house down
and find it?" But there's kids' papers
of me, like, drawing the White House,
drawing the American flag, drawing all
that stuff, and writing on the back of
it, "I wanna be president," "I wanna
be Congress," "I wanna sign bills."
Yeah.
And I always had reasons, and all
my reasons were to help people.
Mm-hmm.
And I believe what's going
on in office is not working.
Yeah.
It's not.
And whether that is on a city level, on a
state level, or federal, it's not working.
Right.
And I've, I've been told, "Hey,
you know, you're young. Why not
start at the council or anything?"
But I, I don't wanna have that pushback,
whether I wanna do something with the
city and the state not like it while…
And what I mean by that is I'm going to
do a lot of good, and I know it- Mm-hmm
…
that
obviously the state and
federal area will not like it.
Right.
So with the previous campaign I worked
on with Hunter, and I also did help
out at other campaigns as well, 'cause
it was just so open, um, a lot of the
people I worked with were so young.
Mm-hmm.
And I remember I sent, uh, Hunter a
long text one day, and I said, "Just
out of curiosity…" I'll sum it up.
I was like, "Out of curiosity,
what's your thoughts on state
assembly?" And he responded back
two days later, so thanks to him.
Uh, he said, "It's very important." Yeah.
And I don't know, a week later
I sent him, "In 2028, I wanna
be running for state assembly."
And I sat with- Love it.
Manifest it … with- exactly.
That's how you manifest it.
I love that.
Exactly.
And listen- So- … you know,
people underestimate how impactful
and important local politics
are to their day-to-day lives.
Absolutely.
In this, in this country, we
really take that for granted.
We really underestimate the
power of our local politics.
Yeah.
Um, so I think it's brilliant that
that's where you want to start.
Um-
Yeah
…
and so, oh, I had
another question for you.
What was it?
Um- Okay.
So do you think that you will go the
route of getting a campaign manager,
or since you've already done that, do
you feel comfortable kind of running
your own campaign at this point?
No, so I, I did bring on a team.
Okay.
We have a team of, like,
seven, eight people already.
We're kind of strategizing all of
that- Yeah … uh, type of stuff.
Um, and yeah, the, the main thing we're
kind of working on right now is, and I,
I hope he's watching because just, just
as much as I say I hope he campaigns,
'cause once I win the primary I wanna
make it a mark of, like I said, um,
Seth, Joe Patterson has not campaigned.
Yeah.
Uh, the only time he campaigned
was in his first term.
Other than that, he's not campaigned.
He has not stepped foot outside,
and he keeps winning 'cause
I live in a red district.
And I know once we get a strong
Democrat, um, candidate that
it will give some pushback.
So I want him to, you know- Is he, is
he, is he holding any
town ha- halls or- No
meeting with consti- Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing since he's been elected.
And- We hear this, unfortunately,
time and time again as well.
Man, do we hear
it.
H- Yeah, I know.
I know.
And that's w- another reason, like, then
that's why I was very close with saying
that's why I'm going to talk to my people.
Uh- Yeah … and I don't mean
my people as my staff, I mean
my people that I represent.
Mm-hmm.
Whether that's a bill going through,
I have seven days to sign that.
I don't- Mm-hmm … what's, what's
the rush to veto it or not veto it?
And, and so I can, you know, set a town
hall two days later and- Yep … "Hey,
this is, you know, what we're going
through. Do we agree?" And I don't care
if, you know, it's a really strong MAGA
saying yes or no, I'm taking his, um…
I'm taking his, like, examples just as
much as I'm taking the blue side as well.
Right.
And- And there could be a democracy
within a democracy, right?
And-
Exactly
…
understanding that not everyone is
going to get their way on every vote,
but you can certainly get a consensus.
You can certainly-
Yeah … get a majority- Yeah
in terms of understanding what the
people are really looking for, and our
politicians right now just don't do that.
And your, your representative,
your assembly person is a
perfect example of that, right?
Yeah.
Great, great example.
Um, I, I really do, uh, hope he
knows what my main goal is, but
when I step in office I'm gonna be
reversing a lot of stuff he created.
Yeah.
For instance, he backed banning books.
I'm sorry, but- Ugh … we
have no right, we have no right
touching children's books.
Um-
In 2026 in California, banning books.
Yeah.
I, yeah.
I, I have a, uh… So, you know,
Mexican family, we're very close.
Yeah.
My two older brothers, they graduated.
I don't need to worry about
them no more with education.
My little sister, she's going to school.
The last thing I want is to ask her what,
like, what happened with civil rights
and her respond back, "What is that?"
Yeah.
Why are we gonna ban books?
So-
Exactly
I- if it goes through, I'm reversing it.
And, uh, what I noticed is I did
sign up on his email so I can,
uh, so I can get his email- You
can track, yeah
yeah.
And he does, like, a lot of, "Hey, I
helped this bill go through." And I
look, and I'm like, "No you didn't.
That's a, that's a
Congress and Senate bill.
You, you did nothing for that
bill." And, uh, yeah, so-
Oh, he's gonna hate to
see you come in, Aiden
…
oh, oh, most of the- He's gonna
hate to see you
come
in
…
yes, yes.
So most of the videos we're gonna be
doing, I'm going to basically not only
sit down with people and tell them,
like, "Hey, he said he's doing this,
but it's actually this," I'm gonna sit
down, and I know how politics works.
Mm-hmm.
They're gonna purposely
make it confusing for you.
I'm gonna read it.
I'm going to explain it like,
like it's nothing to them.
Yeah.
Put it in simple terms and go, "This
is truly what the bill means, so as
great as it sounds, this is actually
what it means, and here's proof." Love
it.
Love that.
So I will sit down with every voter
and every question they have on every
bi- bill he has signed or vetoed.
Mm-hmm.
He's, he vetoed for, uh, corporations,
um, we give them more power now.
Yeah.
And so the bill sounds great.
It's made so well, where it's like,
I'm so glad he said yes to this.
And o- once, once I read it to the people,
like, no, no, no, that means corporations
can have, now have more power over you.
Yeah.
It's never corporations over people.
And when they actually read the bill,
they're gonna realize my representative
is just as corrupt as the people in
Congress, Senate, and the Cabinet.
As they so often are.
I
mean, and so what I would like to,
what I would like to, you know, just
touching on, on that, um… Sorry, I
kind of blanked out there for a second.
Um-
Rem- remind me, 'cause
sometimes I space out.
What, what were we just-
Uh,
his,
uh, veto and-
Yeah Okay
…
corporations.
That, that's, that's right.
That's right.
So first off, it's amazing that you're
already scouting the competition.
'Cause that right there, as
a sports guy, I dig that.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Because you're gonna go in there.
Uh, he's not gonna see you coming- Mm-hmm
… and you're already gonna have… You're,
you're, you're gonna be locked and loaded.
So that's- Yeah
that's already just a great
thing to, to, to be scouting out.
Yeah.
And so that you're prepared, and you're a
debater, so- Oof … he… I mean, the…
It's, it's, it's gonna be a problem.
Yeah.
I, I- I would love to.
Yeah.
Like- I mean, that's gonna,
that's gonna be a fun one Oh,
I know, I know you're
itching for a debate, Aiden.
I know that.
Oh, I, I was talking- I know that … I
was talking to my grandma earlier on,
on my lovely walk, and I was like,
"I'm this close to just sending an
email going, 'What's the problem?
Hey.
Hey." "I'm, I'm half your age.
You know, why, why would
you be scared to debate me?
Please
debate me." Oh.
The… And- And another thing I
was gonna say is, like, it's, it
is really, it really is brilliant
to just put it in layman's terms-
Yeah
for a lot of the voters.
Because so many, so often we get
fooled by the legalese- Mm-hmm … and
the, and the highfalutin language.
That's the, that's a term
that we use in Alabama.
The highfalutin fancy language, right?
Yep.
But, but explaining it to the people,
that you're… And removing that kind
of, like, confusing legalistic barrier,
I, I think that's brilliant as well.
So the- Yeah … the only thing… The,
the last thing that I would like to say
is, obviously, uh, you're, uh, part of the
Latino community, and ICE has been awful.
Uh, and but we saw a lot of
Latinos vote for Trump in 2024.
I… What I would like to know is, what
have you seen over the last 18 months?
Uh, have you seen a change
within the community?
What, what have, what have you been
seeing, like, on the ground in terms
of… 'Cause I'm sure so many people
have, ha- either have had something happen
to them or know somebody, uh, who's…
where something has happened to them.
And of course, we just lost somebody
just this past week to ICE violence.
Yeah.
A guy who's been living here in America
for 35 years, and it didn't matter.
So you know, what, what are,
what are the rumblings going
on in the Latino community?
Is… Going into these midterms,
how are people feeling?
Yeah.
So first, um, I, you know, I wanna take
that moment to acknowledge, um, not just
him, but all of the ICE agents killing.
I think we're at 16 ever since,
uh, Trump has been in office.
I think that's the number.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and so yeah.
Every single one, it… I, I s-
can't sit down and… or even lay
down and go to sleep and say, "I
understand why they shot." Yeah.
Can't do that.
Right.
And w- what I can say is, what I
noticed is- People were doing the
No Kings protest all the time.
And what I noticed, um, is when
I did the protest, the No Kings
protest, so much people showed out.
We do it, like, once a month,
and I feel like every month it
grows by, like, tens of hundreds.
Yeah.
Like, it grows and grows.
Now, I do see, you know, some, uh, people
in the Latino community that do notice,
or I do notice that they are very MAGA,
and I don't, you know, sit with them
with discuss, like, "Hey, you know, we're
supposed to back each other," or anything.
But I try my best to
enlighten what is going on.
Like-
Mm
…
whether it's Republican or Democrat,
we have to agree this is not right.
Yeah.
This is America.
We… You know, to rip
people out of their cars.
Like, I saw an amazing comment on a
post where it said, "Would I be the
problem if I accidentally grabbed my gun
because a masked man is rushing my car,
ripping the door open and taking me out?"
Right.
And they don't go, "I'm an ICE
agent." They don't do any of
that, and sometimes they don't
e- they put a sweater over their
bulletproof vest, so it's just a mask.
Mm-hmm.
And, and, like, uh, the girl grew
up in Detroit, and she's like, "If
a masked man came to me, whether
it's a cop, a SWAT team," you know,
a s- I think they even went on to,
like, a secret agent or something.
My instincts as a human is my life is
in danger, do whatever I, it takes.
Sure.
Of course.
A-
and we gotta think of, like,
okay, the CIA, FBI, all of that.
Okay.
But ICE was created in 2001
to protect us from terrorists-
Mm-hmm
…
as they said when they first got created.
And ever since, they have only
been focusing on ruining us.
And this wasn't just Trump.
This was, you know, prior
presidents as well that- Yep … are
harming American citizens.
Now, I will say, okay, they do take, you
know, the people they say they take out,
but it's that great percent that has not
been lowered, and it's only been going up.
Yep.
Yeah.
You know, they said the criminals,
they were only going after criminals,
people with criminal records.
Um, that is not the case.
We've seen time and time again, the
data shows that's predominantly not
who they're sweeping up in these,
you know, mass deportation efforts.
And, um, and it's breaking apart families.
Yeah.
I mean, the people that have lost
their lives for absolutely no reason,
putting that aside, which is atrocious
and a stain on our history forever.
Yeah.
Um, the fact that you're just, you're
breaking up families, destroying families,
hardworking families just here to make
a better life for themselves and their
families, paying taxes, contributing
to our society in the most positive,
meaningful ways, I don't think… I
mean, we, there has to be a change.
Um- Yeah
after this administration is gone, we
have to find a way for real immigration
reform that is humane and just and
leans into helping immigrants versus
harming them and targeting them.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Like, one story that still breaks
my heart, even though it was a
long time ago, was- Um, or a few
is some, I think it was in Dallas.
Uh, it was in Texas, I, I can guarantee
that, is ICE agents were outside schools.
Yes.
Like, not high schools, middle schools.
They were outside elementary schools.
Yes.
And I remember when I was growing
up, we had the superintendent and
their staff in suit and ties, and
that scared all the kids already.
Right.
And they came in to ask some
questions because our teacher was
being… Our teacher was, like,
yelling and so they were like, "We
need to b- investigate her." Yeah.
'Cause, like, there was a
lot of teacher complaints.
That already, just suit and
ties, and it's just the school
district, was scaring the kids.
Right.
Now imagine ICE agents coming into
a school, throwing people on the
ground, teachers on the ground that
are saying, "Hey, like, you can't do
this," and throwing them on the ground.
That's-
Trauma
…
I mean, what is that gonna do?
That's trauma.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, that's PTSD for these kids.
Yeah, and then even another one where
it was, like, a six-year-old went to
appear in front of a judge because
they just got picked up by ICE, and
the judge was like, "Do you know
who, uh, like, do you have a lawyer?
Do you know what even a lawyer is?" Right.
The kid, the kid doesn't know anything.
No.
No.
Like, w- what is he supposed to do?
Get sworn in and go, "All right, I
swear to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?" Like, no.
Insane.
Absolutely insane.
Well, Aiden, I mean, so you're not
officially launched yet, but you are,
you're, you've got a nice long runway.
I think that's so smart.
I, I think that's brilliant, in fact,
um, to sort of soft launch initially,
do your hard launch, but giving
yourself all of that time to connect
with community members, with voters.
So tell our listeners, our audience,
how do they find you, follow along
with you throughout this journey?
Because I feel like really big
things are coming your way, Aiden.
Yeah.
So, um, I'm a human rights advocate, so
I don't pick and choose who to represent.
If you are a human, even animals,
I will represent a animal too.
Yeah.
I am for the people.
So you can find me @aidan.salas28.
Aidan, A-I-D-A-N.
My parents wanted to be
different, and I don't blame them.
So you can find me there.
No matter what, I always
put people over politics.
Corporations, no.
I… If you can find anything of
me even talking to a corporation
asking for money, that won't happen.
Mm. I put people first no matter what.
Every bill I put into play,
it'll be people first.
And yeah, we'll create websites,
TikTok, all of that pretty soon, but
we wanna start off very local and- Yep
try not to make it confusing
for the people, 'cause we
know how the tech is, so.
Exactly.
So for now, go to Aidan's socials.
Hit follow.
Get in on this journey now, because
I really think you're going places.
Thank you.
I have a lot of confidence in you,
and I think your passion, again, for
someone so young, which is not a bad
thing, I think it's a great thing
that you're so motivated and involved
in your local community at this age.
Um, I think you have a big,
bright future ahead of you, Aidan.
I really do.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Yeah, man.
You're showing a lot of initiative.
Yeah.
Thank
you.
And again, it take, it takes
guts to step out this early.
Mm-hmm.
Because a lot of people, you know, at, at
20, I was trying to find the next party.
So…
And not, and, and not a
political party, my friend.
Yeah, yeah.
So.
Of course, of
course.
You see?
You know what I mean?
So it, it is just so very impressive to
see you- Yeah … already with great,
uh, you know, morals and ethics and, and,
you know, you got your- Values … uh,
yeah, you got your values in line.
You know, you're prioritizing right.
So, you know, we're very, we're very
excited that you're here, and, uh,
we can't wait to see what, what, uh,
what everything has in store for you.
Yeah.
Absolutely, yeah.
Once I'm in office, I gotta come back- Oh,
absolutely … and be like, "Hey, here's
what bill I'm signing," all of that.
I
want
you to
come back after the hard launch.
I wanna talk to you after- Ab-
absolutely … you're in office.
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
Let's definitely stay connected.
You're a friend of the show-
Absolutely … for life now
Perfect.
Yeah,
I would love to So
Aiden, thank you so much.
I really appreciate this time.
Thank you so much for having me.
Absolutely.
I
hope I did well.
Well, Ally, we just got done
talking with Aiden Salas.
He's running for state assembly there
in, uh, District 5 of California.
Mm. And, you know, we said it, uh, many
times, a bright future for that kid.
Yeah.
So positive, has his priorities
in order, and I can't wait to see
what's in store for him because,
I mean, he's a, he's a leader.
He's a natural-born leader, and he's
stepped into the, into the spotlight or
getting ready to, and at such a young age.
It's very impressive.
Absolutely.
And I'm da- I'm, like, really dating
myself here, but he reminds me of,
like, um, an Alex P. Keaton type
from Family Ties, but- Oh … on
the left, like progressive.
Uh-huh.
'Cause Alex P. Keaton was a, was a
Republican, a Ronald Reagan lover.
Lance knows what I'm talking about.
I know he's sitting there
quietly, but he knows what I mean.
You're a millennial.
You, you weren't, weren't
around for Family Ties.
But, um, yeah, he's just, he's so smart.
You know, he's had this interest
in politics most of his life,
since he was a small child.
He has always been aspirational
in terms of helping people.
He was talking about the walk he
took with his grandmother tonight.
Like, come on.
Yeah.
I love this kid, you know?
He's just, he's just solid.
Um, he's already worked on a campaign
for Hunter Miranda- Right … who
ran for Congress, who we've had here.
At 20 years old, I mean, neither
one of us were doing that stuff.
Nope.
Nothing even close.
Not at all.
Not at all.
And so that's why I'm saying, like-
Like he is, like w- when you're
looking at him, um, kids like Jackson
Arnold, stuff like that- Yeah … I
mean, they are, they are the future.
Mm-hmm.
And they're very informed.
They're very in tune.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and people don't give them credit,
but you know, when you activate
these younger generations- Yeah
it's g- it's g- it, it gives
me hope for the future.
Yeah, me too.
Because it's,
it, it's easy to lose hope i-
here in, you know, when you're-
Oh, 100%
…
when you're a prisoner of the moment.
But-
Yeah
…
you know, we talk to these kids, these
young kids that are getting out there,
and you know, whether they win or not,
they're, they're, they're activated.
They're
informed.
They're
activated.
And they're, and they're, you know-
Hungry.
I mean-
…
they're getting out there and,
and they're changing minds
…
Aiden is hungry.
He is chomping at the bit- Mm … to
have a debate with Joe Patterson.
I c- I mean, it's, you know,
two years away, but he's already
like, "Just let me at him.
Let me at him because this guy is
lying to you or he's ignoring you."
And you know, to have a 20-year-old
so politically, um, knowledgeable or
politically literate, and being able
to see, like, "This guy's not here for
you," and break that down to voters and
explain to them what some of these things
he's voting on really mean versus how
they, he's selling them to people is…
Oh, he's got a bright future.
Yeah.
And- I'm really excited about that
…
and one o- and one other thing, and last
thing, like, you know, he's not s- when
you, when you get further along in life,
you become a little bit more jaded, right?
Yes.
And, and he, and, and there's, that,
that isn't a part of Aiden yet.
Mm-mm.
You know?
That it doesn't, because he's w-
he's gonna go in there and he's
talking about laying it down in
plain layman's terms for the people.
Yeah.
You know, not, not having like this,
you know, lofty lawyer-type language.
Mm-hmm.
He's really trying to put it
out there for the people so
that everybody can understand.
And when everybody understands,
class consciousness is possible.
Absolutely.
And when everybody has access, and
everybody has access- Yeah … to
their representative- Yeah … who
wants to include you in his vote.
You know, he wants to make sure
that he is voting for the people
and what they really want.
And I mean, what more can you ask for?
That's what progressivism is all about.
Mm. That's all it is.
It's not scary.
It's just for the people.
Yeah.
Um, so that wraps up that one.
Really quickly, uh, so
Lindsey Graham died, I guess.
I mean- Wow … crazy.
Damn Um, didn't have
that on my bingo card.
That just happened yesterday.
Um, or actually I guess this morning.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I found out about it this morning.
Technically.
Technically, yeah.
Mitch McConnell came out with
proof of life, which is just him
holding a newspaper with his wife.
Like, come on.
Hold on.
This, this man, Ali, was in a button-up
shirt and jeans- … in a hospital bed?
Yeah.
Hold up.
No.
No, no.
No.
No, no IVs.
Andyører, you better get up
in there.
No, nothing.
Seriously.
Ain't no way, bro Bust the door
down, Andy, 'cause this is not real.
This is not real.
I'm sorry, what hospital patient
is wandering the halls with his
jeans tucked, and uh, and his,
you know, button down shirt tucked
in like- I know … no, bro, no.
And like- No way
and like, okay, so he's allegedly
had multiple conversations with,
you know- Yeah … Scott Jennings
and a couple other people.
Um, and now he's posing for pictures.
Do you know what would
make this all go away?
Hmm.
Just do a quick presser.
I was just about to say.
Just have the camera come in.
Right.
"
Hey, it's me, Mitch.
Wanna let you know I'm doing well.
I can't vote just yet, but I'm getting
better." That's all it would take.
They're doing everything but the
thing that would make people believe-
Yeah … that this man is still alive.
Yeah, I'm- Everything but
…
I'm gonna need to see the metadata on
that, uh, on that picture, all right?
100%.
Until I see him… I mean, do-
m- put the interview on Fox News.
I don't care.
Yeah.
I wanna see you live on camera.
Absolutely.
'
Cause ain't no, a- ain't no pictures, bro.
No.
That is malice If you're doing that
well and you're no longer in the
hospital and you are in a rehab facility
allegedly, you for su- you for damn
sure can get a camera in your face
and say, "Hello, America, I'm alive."
That's all we're looking for.
I'm alive.
Oh, my God.
I'm alive, everybody.
Better you than me.
Oh.
Definitely.
So anyway, that's kind of the
crazy current news of the weekend.
I just wanted to touch on that.
And who knows?
Maybe during our next interview
we'll still be saying, "Where
in the hell is Mitch McConnell?"
At this point- I, I have
a feeling that we, we will
…
yeah.
So all right.
Another great interview.
More to come and, uh, I
will see you very soon.
Yes, indeed.
See you soon.
Bye.