Politics

Tammy Duckworth Wants to Know WTF Are We Supposed to Do With Our Kids During COVID?

THE NEW ABNORMAL

In Ep. 30 of The New Abnormal, Tammy Duckworth tells Rick and Molly her COVID homeschooling dilemma and Princeton’s Sam Wang nerds out on polling.

20009-new-abnormal-tammy-duckworth-tease_hcrwkx
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty

Sen. Tammy Duckworth may be on Biden’s VP shortlist. But when it comes to childcare during the pandemic, she’s just as confused as the rest of us. 

“So my choice is five hours of homeschooling every day for my daughter and failing her, because I’m not a trained educator, or sending her to a school where she could very likely get this virus or bring it home and get her 2-year-old sister sick or my 79-year-old mom, who lives with us,” Duckworth tells Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson on the latest episode of The New Abnormal.

“That’s the problem: impossible choices.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Duckworth also opens up about just how hostile the Senate was to working moms until a hot second ago. One particularly ridiculous question stands out. “They want to know if you’re gonna breastfeed on the floor. [And I said,] ‘I’m not exactly planning on whipping one out in front of them. But if the baby is hungry, I’ll feed her.’” 

Then Princeton’s Sam Wang talks about how national polling works, what it means for Biden, and the out-of-the-way campaigns that could make a huge difference for decades to come. Oh, and the elephant in the room: the United States Postal Service.

“My biggest concern this year is the post office,” he says.

Plus, a Trump ambassador goes to a Nazi cemetery—and gets all wistful. A Republican candidate swears “celebrities and Democrats catch COVID and magically heal.” The Stephen Hawking of the U.S. House of Representatives displays his genius—at infecting everyone around him. 

And finally, Rick asks the big questions: Who’s more popular, Zombie Bin Laden or Ron DeSantis? Was Tulsa Trump’s Jonestown? And does Chuck Schumer realize that “he’s got Mitch McConnell’s balls in a bag for once?”

Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.