Stephen Miller’s Promotion, Big Tech’s Reality Check, and Guest Harvey Levin
Episode of Pivot · November 8, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, live in Los Angeles, interview TMZ founder Harvey Levin and discuss Stephen Miller's promotion, post-midterm tech stocks, data centers, and Elon Musk.
Summary
Recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles two days after the 2026 midterm elections, this episode of Pivot opened with an interview with TMZ founder Harvey Levin. Levin described knowing Donald Trump for 20 years as a laissez-faire celebrity whose political persona he viewed partly as an act, explained that Warner Bros. twice killed his plans for a Washington bureau, and said TMZ DC launched after viewers sent photos of vacationing members of Congress during a government shutdown. He argued that television and even websites are legacy media, that TMZ is focusing on YouTube and social platforms, and that the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard trial convinced him traditional media was finished.
Swisher and Galloway then discussed Trump replacing Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller as chief of staff. Galloway praised Wiles as a skilled operative and called Miller dangerous, predicting Trump would spend his remaining term in a "snatch and grab"; Swisher said senators had told her Pete Hegseth would be impeached. On the Los Angeles mayoral race, Galloway argued Karen Bass lost because of the Palisades fire rather than Nithya Raman winning on socialism, cited large swings among Hispanic and young voters, and urged Democrats to pair accountability with economic plans.
Galloway criticized wealth taxes and opposition to data centers, while Swisher argued that data centers had been rolled out badly and proposed conditions such as closed-loop water systems and no NDAs. On the post-election tech sell-off, Galloway attributed market jitters to anti-data-center ballot measures that hurt leveraged AI companies while favoring incumbents, and Swisher read an Ed Elson post calling the votes a historic shift in power over Silicon Valley. The hosts closed with Elon Musk's bad week, including the end of Cybertruck production and his poor return on midterm spending, with Galloway calling for campaign finance reform and more progressive taxation, before a comic segment in which Galloway gave Swisher Rimowa luggage.
Chapters
- 1:42
Live in Los Angeles and Harvey Levin introduced
Swisher and Galloway open the live show and introduce TMZ founder Harvey Levin.
- 3:27
Trump as celebrity and launching TMZ DC
Levin describes knowing Trump before politics and explains why and how TMZ launched its Washington bureau.
- 12:11
The future of media
Levin argues TV and websites are legacy and describes TMZ's push into YouTube, social media, and cheap documentaries.
- 15:08
Legacy media companies and the TikTok trial
The conversation covers Dancing with the Stars' social revival, cross-platform distribution, and the Depp–Heard trial on TikTok.
- 23:50
Subpoenas, Democrats' messaging, and the election
Levin weighs in on who should fear Democratic subpoenas, criticizes post-election messaging, and fears Miller will push Trump to double down.
- 31:33
Stephen Miller replaces Susie Wiles
The hosts discuss Miller's promotion, Hegseth impeachment talk, Rubio's prospects, and eroded guardrails.
- 40:25
L.A. mayoral shake-up and the swing electorate
Galloway argues Karen Bass lost rather than Nithya Raman won and urges Democrats to focus on economic policy.
- 45:21
Becerra, wealth taxes, and data centers
The hosts debate the billionaire tax, data center rollout, and tax policy favoring owners over earners.
- 55:49
Big Tech's reality check and the AI stock sell-off
The hosts discuss Democratic probes of tech, the market sell-off, anti-data-center ballot measures, and the AI bubble.
- 1:05:11
Elon Musk's bad week and the Cybertruck's end
The hosts cover the Cybertruck wind-down, Starlink payments, Musk's failed midterm spending, and campaign finance reform.
- 1:13:14
Luggage surprise and sign-off
Galloway surprises Swisher with Rimowa luggage before the hosts close the show.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Harvey Levin
Levin says the Trump he knew for 20 years before politics was extremely laissez-faire and very different from the president.
“he was the most laissez-faire guy that you could imagine”
- Harvey Levin
Levin argues his D.C. reporters succeed because they hold conversations rather than formal interviews.
“They don't do interviews with people. They have conversations with people. And there's a huge difference”
- Harvey Levin
Levin recounts that Warner Bros. twice canceled his planned Washington bureau over fears of angering a congressman.
“twice i was on the eve of launching it and warner brothers killed it because they were nervous”
- Harvey Levin
Levin says TMZ will keep its TV shows for now but believes television will disappear.
“I'm not going to give up our TV shows, but TV is going to go away”
- Harvey Levin
Levin says his staff produced a YouTube documentary for $1,000 that would normally cost $300,000.
“These should be $300,000 productions. And we did it for $1,000”
- Harvey Levin
Levin says the TikTok-dominated Depp–Heard trial convinced him traditional media is finished.
“when I looked at that, I thought traditional media is gone when I saw that trial”
- Harvey Levin
Levin argues Democrats' first post-election message should have been about improving lives rather than investigations, because Trump lost by ignoring that.
“Donald Trump lost the plot. He didn't get that people cared about, they wanted their lives better”
- Harvey Levin
Levin fears that with Miller in charge, Trump will double down and defy everything.
“my problem is I'm afraid that he's going to double down now and just defy everything”
Listen from 27:28 · Stephen Miller appointment as White House chief of staff
- Scott Galloway
Galloway calls Susie Wiles one of the most talented political operatives and says removing her for Miller makes no sense.
“She won, she likely orchestrated the greatest political comeback in history”
Listen from 33:34 · Stephen Miller appointment as White House chief of staff
- Scott Galloway
Galloway predicts Trump will spend the rest of his term focused on extracting money and assets rather than policy.
“I think Donald Trump for the next 23 months and three weeks is in a snatch and grab”
Listen from 38:52 · Stephen Miller appointment as White House chief of staff
- Scott Galloway
Galloway argues Karen Bass lost because of the Palisades fire, not because voters embraced socialism.
“Bas didn't lose to a socialist. She didn't lose to Nitya Raman. She lost to the Palisades fire”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway cites large swings toward Democrats among Hispanics, young people, and young men in the midterms.
“Hispanics, 28 points. Young people, 18 to 29, 30 points. Young men, 38-point swing”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway warns that Democrats will lose swing voters unless they shift from indignation to economic ideas.
“If the Democrats don't move from being the party of indignance to ideas, those swingers are going to take another key home”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway says he advised Klobuchar to make Minnesota a welcoming home for data centers to fund growth.
“if I were you, I'd become the Saudi Arabia of the digital age and welcome all data centers”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway argues billionaire and wealth taxes do not work, citing European countries that repealed them.
“billionaire taxes or wealth taxes, I get the logic, they don't work”
- Kara Swisher
Swisher argues backlash stemmed from how data centers were rolled out and proposes conditions such as closed-loop water systems and no NDAs.
“It's just the way this was done out. It has to be, one, closed loop water systems”
- Kara Swisher
Swisher blames the AI market slump on speculative funding rather than voters.
“it's these ridiculous Ponzi scheme fundings that did it, and Wall Street realizes the time has come to stop them”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway argues restrictions on new data centers entrench incumbents like Amazon and Microsoft at the expense of new AI firms.
“regulation while it feels good, tends to be a moat for the incumbents”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway says markets were spooked by the passage of nearly all anti-data-center ballot measures, threatening leveraged AI companies.
“41 of 42 measures on the ballot that were anti-data center, 41 of 42 passed”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway says stock buybacks should be taxed to encourage companies to invest and hire.
“I think stock buybacks should be taxed because you want companies being promiscuous”
Linked moment · 1:04:16Skip to 1:04:16 using a listen link in the info box.
Scott GallowayGalloway predicts most AI companies will fail and the market will correct, but society will be AI's main beneficiary.
“I believe the big winner of AI is all of us, because I do believe the majority of those companies are going to go out of business”
- Scott Galloway
Galloway calls for campaign finance reform and highly progressive taxation to curb billionaire power.
“I now believe that really progressive taxation is our Kevlar against billionaires”
- Kara Swisher
Swisher argues no unelected individual such as Musk should hold so much power.
“No individual should have that much power. And he is not elected. He is unaccountable”
People
In the conversation
- Kara SwisherAmerican tech journalist and CNN contributor
- Scott GallowayNYU professor and podcaster
- Harvey LevinTMZ founder who received and described the first ransom note
Discussed
- Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
- Stephen MillerWhite House deputy chief of staff and architect of the administration's immigration agenda
- Susie WilesWhite House chief of staff
- Pete HegsethU.S. Secretary of Defense overseeing the Iran campaign
- Marco RubioU.S. Secretary of State who defended the Iran campaign at a cabinet meeting
- Lindsey GrahamU.S. Senator named by Kelly as an advocate for the Iran war
- Hillary ClintonFormer U.S. secretary of state, subject of a viral photo discussed by the hosts
- Karen BassMayor of Los Angeles, referenced regarding city-level policy conflicts
- Nithya RamanLos Angeles city councilmember and democratic socialist mayoral candidate
- Xavier BecerraFormer U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and California attorney general running for governor
- Elon MuskEntrepreneur behind X, xAI and SpaceX, discussed in AI competition
- Robert GarciaIncoming House Oversight chairman who issued a 'lawyer up' statement
- Bill MaherComedian and talk show host
- Ed ElsonGalloway colleague whose Threads post on data center votes Swisher read
- David EllisonParamount chief pursuing the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
Topics
- Stephen Miller appointment as White House chief of staff
- 2026 United States midterm elections
- TMZ
- Opposition to data centers
- 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election
- Decline of legacy media
- AI stock market sell-off
- Wealth tax
- Tesla Cybertruck
- Campaign finance in the United States
- Anthropic
- Depp v. Heard
- Dancing with the Stars
- Stock buybacks
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From the publisher
Kara and Scott are live in Los Angeles! They unpack Stephen Miller’s promotion to chief of staff, the post-election stock market roller coaster, and the ongoing backlash against data centers. Then, what L.A.’s mayoral shake-up means for the city, and a farewell to the Cybertruck. Plus, TMZ founder Harvey Levin joins to discuss the colliding worlds of politics and pop culture. This episode was recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on November 6, 2026. Pivot Tour sponsor Beehiiv has a special offer! Get 30% off your first 3 months at beehiiv.com/pivot with code PIVOT30 Watch this episode on the Pivot YouTube channel.Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial.Follow us on Bluesky at @pivotpod.bsky.socialFollow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast.Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or email Pivot@voxmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 9, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.