Jesse Jackson Jr.

Well, you look at Leading the Future, right? That's one of the very big ones.

Um, they have supported some Democrats, Melissa Bean, Jesse Jackson Jr.

How much of the hesitation around criticizing AI is about not wanting to cut off potential money sources?

Look, I know for a fact, and there's been a lot of independent reporting on this, that there are consultants in Washington, DC telling their Democratic clients, "Don't talk about AI because you don't want to attract a big money dump against you or for your opponent." And so candidates are being told just not to talk about it, to pretend it's not happening, and that would be devastating for the American people and ultimately for Democratic politics because, look, I want Democrats to be successful, and the best way for us to be successful is to be with the people, even if that means that we're not with those big money interests.

Jelly Belly likes to puff out his, uh, gut and, uh, issue that, uh, challenge to...

It's-- And remember, Ilhan Omar basically pulled a Jesse Jackson Jr., said, "Go ahead, investigate me.

You know, I dare you." Okay, we will.

How'd that work out for Jesse Jr.? The interesting thing, too, is about, uh, Jayapal.

Do you remember in 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's office said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but it turned out he was really in Argentina canoodling with his mistress.

In 2012, Jesse Jackson Jr. disappeared for several months.

because of exhaustion, turns out to be a bipolar disorder plus a federal investigation that ended with him in prison.

At any rate, I don't think the revelation that Epstein associate Reid Hoffman is a major contributor to Talcum Powder's campaign helped his mental state at all.

I go to Urban America and I see plants closing and jobs leaving and tax base eroding and the number one urban growth industry is jails, the number one public housing program is jails, that's unappealing and it's not right and it's not what we voted for.

Jesse Jackson was with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when the civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968.

From a base in Chicago, Jackson built a significant career in civil rights advocacy and in politics.

After a number of years with neuromuscular disease, Jesse Jackson's death on February 17th, 2026 was confirmed by his family.

He was 84.

After the assassination of Dr.

King, Jesse Jackson used his oratorical power to become a force on issues of race, economics, and presidential politics.

He used the call of keep hope alive.

And so, um, their parents helped them get elected to office if they had been activists and hadn't been able to get elected to office before.

So you could look at, um, somebody like, uh, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., right? His father never held political office, had been unsuccessful in his bids for the presidency, but that name certainly did help Jesse Jackson Jr.

get elected, um, to Congress in the 2000s, and it certainly hasn't hurt his brother, Jonathan Jackson, who now, um, you know, holds a seat in Congress today.

So you can see how, like, that, uh, you know, could, could, could help.

So he told me once that somebody a- said to him, he was gonna be-- he, he, he, uh, with pr- at the time, President Barack Obama at a Cubs game.

He's gonna be with him and Jesse Jackson Jr.

A Jewish religious man, they were all gonna be together.

He had helped-- He did a favor for Jesse Jackson Jr., and that person invited him to come to the Cubs game, and he'll be sitting next to President Obama.

And so this guy asked, he was a religious Jew, a very religious Jew, he asked Rabbi Keyles, like, "What should I ask Obama? What do we need right now? You know, what's realistic that I can ask him which would be a benefit to our community?" And he asked him, and actually, the thing that he asked him for, which was not a major thing, but a minor but important thing, uh, he was very helpful, helpful for him.

But the point is, you're sitting next to the President of the United States, and you have an opportunity to ask for something.

And he'd go right back into the groove.

Well, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s whole family was sitting in the front [laughs] and they went crazy, and they, and they, they were, like, screaming at him to do it again, and then he went back into the groove.

[laughs]

Wait, Jesse Jackson Jr. or om- Jesse Jackson Sr.? Which one? The father?

Jr.

Junior.

Eventually, the records say Obama made a firm decision that Jarrett would join the White House and that he would not reconsider.

Other names considered for the appointment included Tammy Duckworth, Representative Jan Schakowsky, and Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. Obama also told Emanuel that he did not want to influence the selection directly.

At the same time, Emanuel was sent to communicate with the governor's office that Obama wanted someone who would serve Illinois well and could hold the Senate seat in the 2010 election.

Blagojevich ultimately appointed Roland Burris to the vacant seat.