America in the Crosshairs: A Doctor-Senator Exposes Trump’s Cruelty

Folks, welcome back to Amped Up—and look, today’s thumbnail says it all: Pete Hegseth playing G.I. Joe on a beach with Kristi Noem while claiming he couldn’t tell if he blew people up because of the “fog of war”? Give me a break.

Before we even got into the meat of today’s show, we had to start with a little schadenfreude—my schadenfreude, to be precise. See, David Shuster is a proud University of Michigan alum, and after four years of owning Ohio State, he came into this season feeling pretty invincible. But when the Buckeyes finally pulled off the win, the man had to honor his bet. Which meant Shuster—Michigan Man himself—opened the show by singing the Ohio State fight song while I, an Ohio resident, sat there beaming like it was Christmas morning. His pain was my joy, and honestly, it was the perfect appetizer before we dove into the heavy stuff.

But unlike sports or the Hegseth circus, we had someone serious with us today—someone grounded in reality, science, decency, and actual public service. And I mean that sincerely.

Today, we got to talk with Connecticut State Senator Saud Anwar, and I’ll tell you right now: if every state had one like him, this country would be in a hell of a lot better shape.

Saud is not just a legislator—he’s a physician, a pulmonary expert, a former mayor, and a guy who actually gets what’s happening to working families in the real world. We started with something that hit me hard: he chose to live for nearly two weeks on just $6.20 a day, the SNAP food allowance Republicans are slashing. I’ve talked policy my whole career, but hearing a doctor and state senator describe losing weight, losing sleep, losing basic human comfort—because he wanted to understand what tens of thousands of his residents face daily—that landed differently. This wasn’t a stunt. This was empathy as action. It was leadership.

And Saud didn’t mince words: the Trump administration’s attacks on public health, SNAP, Medicaid, housing, vaccines, childcare—they aren’t theoretical. They are targeted assaults on the basic wellbeing of an entire nation. In Connecticut alone, 36,000–42,000 people are about to lose food benefits. 182,000 are slated to lose Medicaid. And as Saud said, “What good is the federal government if it doesn’t take care of its people?” The man is right.

We dug into the Trump administration’s illegal maritime bombings—yes, bombings—which violate U.S. law, military law, and international law. Saud was blunt: if you start normalizing killing people without due process, whether at sea or at home, you are no longer a functioning democracy. And you know what? He’s not wrong. We’re watching an administration shred constitutional restraints like they’re Pete Hegseth’s dignity in that ridiculous pool photo.

We also talked about local resistance: Connecticut’s efforts to protect residents from masked ICE agents, banning courthouse arrests, strengthening childcare, boosting vaccination rates to the highest in the nation, and trying—desperately—to maintain humane government in an era when the federal level is run by corporate oligarchs and cruelty merchants.

But the moment that stuck with me most? Saud revealing he’s been personally threatened repeatedly—by anti-vaxxers, white supremacists, extremists—because he dares to protect people. And he still shows up, still passes legislation, still fights. That’s courage. That’s service. That’s patriotism.

I’ll be honest: I don’t often say this about politicians. But this man gives me hope. Real hope. He’s doing the work. He’s speaking out—even against his own party when necessary. And he’s building a model for what democratic governance should look like.

Follow him. Support him. We need more leaders like Saud Anwar—and far fewer Fog-of-War Hegseths running around pretending their incompetence is valor.