Every two years a full one third of United States Senators have to face voters back home, and 2024 is already shaping up to be a scorcher. But for the UFO community, it may prove a snoozer — or it may prove infuriating.
Below find 10 newly released Ask a Pol exclusives with an array of senators on the ballot in 2024.
We’ve also linked to our past content with the Senate’s most embattled incumbents.
NEW EXCLUSIVES (audio and transcripts below): Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Highlights from our new content:
1) Sherrod Brown — laughs off UFOs
“UFOs?” Brown dismissively asks.
2) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — laughs off David Grusch
“His testimony was pretty wild. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but if they’ve got little green men, I’d sure as hell like to see em,” Cruz exclusively told Ask a Pol.
3) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) — plugs (unnamed) UFO skeptic’s podcast
“It's just a very interesting podcast, because it takes these things that look like they're unexplainable and he very readily explains it. You can look at the cockpit dials and say, ‘well, what happened here is the plane turned 30 degrees’ and he just puts it all together. It's kind of a good debunking of some of the mystery about these videos,” Whitehouse tells Ask a Pol. “I think it's worth checking out.”
ICYMI — Ask a Pol Exclusives with most embattled Senate incumbents
Jon Tester
Bob Casey
Kirsten Sinema
Jacky Rosen
Rick Scott
NEW EXCLUSIVES — ALPHABETICAL
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Tammy Baldwin
TRANSCRIPT: Tammy Baldwin (7-19-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Sen. Baldwin. Random question. Have you heard of this UAP-UFO whistleblower David Grusch?”
Tammy Baldwin: “No.”
ML: “No? He's testifying in the House.”
TB: “Okay.”
ML: “Preciate ya.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. John Barrasso
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. John Barrasso (7-19-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Random one for ya Sen. Barrasso. Have you looked into this UAP-UFO whistleblower David Grusch at all? Has he come up?”
Barrasso shakes his head, “No.”
ML: “No?”
John Barrasso: “I mean, I’ve seen some stories occasionally, but he’s not come up in discussions.”
ML: “Appreciate ya.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Marsha Blackburn
TRANSCRIPT: Marsha Blackburn (7-20-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Oh, no! What happened ma’am?”
Marsha Blackburn: “Oh, it’s an old running injury, and it flared up again so they made me get the boot.”
ML: “I’ve had ACL surgery and then MCL surgery chasing Vice President Mike Pence in this building.”
MB: “Oh, my word. Oh, my word.”
ML: “Random question, have you heard of UAP whistleblower David Grusch?”
MB: “Nope.”
ML: “Nope? Thank you ma’am.”
Camila Aponte and Noah Kolenda contributed to the production of these transcripts.
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Sherrod Brown
TRANSCRIPT: Sherrod Brown (7-26-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Have you heard of this UAP-UFO whistleblower David Grusch?”
Sherrod Brown: “Some reporter asked me about the UFO thing.”
ML: “He testifying in the House today.”
SB: inaudible
ML: “He testified in the House, but Gillibrand and Rubio are investigating him over here.”
SB: “UFOs?”
ML: “Well, he claims — he worked for the government, so he was an intelligence officer…”
Brown waves Laslo off.
SB: “I don’t.”
ML: “It’s interesting.”
Other Reporter: “I want to ask about the Space Force bill?”
SB: “Yeah, talk about the Space Command.”
ML: “Oh yeah?”
SB: “Nothing new. We’re still working on it.”
ML: “Have a good one, sir.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Maria Cantwell
TRANSCRIPT: Maria Cantwell (7-25-2023)
Matt Laslo: “How are you ma’am?”
Maria Cantwell: “Good.”
ML: “I've got a random one for you.”
MC: “Okay.”
ML: “Have you heard of this UAP-UFO whistleblower David Grusch? He’s testifying in the House tomorrow.”
MC: “No. No.”
ML: “I guess Armed Services, Gillibrand’s looking into it here, and Intel. so Rubio and Warner.”
MC: “I’m not on Intel. What's he saying?”
ML: “Well, he claims that there's recovered craft that the US government has, but then his second claim is that they're SAPs — special access programs — that the federal government's hidden from you all, which is — the second claim is the one that really woke people up. And what Rubio tells me, he goes, there's been a lot of whistleblowers over the years, but this one was, I guess, vetted by the Inspector General, deemed credible and then sent to Congress.”
MC: “I don't know.”
ML: “Me neither. I do not have a clearance.”
They laugh.
ML: “Appreciate you, ma 'am. Let me know when you do know.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Ted Cruz
TRANSCRIPT: Ted Cruz (7-26-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Senator Cruz.”
Ted Cruz: “How you doing?”
ML: “Do you have any thoughts on this UAP or UFO whistleblower David Grusch? He testified in the House today.”
TC: “His testimony was pretty wild. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but if they’ve got little green men, I’d sure as hell like to see em.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Josh Hawley
TRANSCRIPT: Josh Hawley (7-12-2023)
Josh Hawley: “What are you working on?”
Matt Laslo: “Have you heard of this UAP whistleblower?” ”
JH: “I haven't. I’ve been asked about this. Maybe because I'm not on Armed Services any more, so I don’t hear…”
Hawley turns to another reporter waiting in the wings.
JH: “Did you need to talk to me?”
Reporter: “Yeah, but whenever you’re done.”
JH: “…so I haven’t heard anything about that one way or another.”
ML: “I’ll be watching. Gillibrand’s looking into it and Rubio…”
JH: “Yeah, Marco’s been on this. He knows more about it, because he’s on Foreign [Relations &] Intel. That's a priority for him.”
ML: “Yep. Preciate ya.”
JH: “Alright. See ya.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Amy Klobuchar
TRANSCRIPT: Amy Klobuchar (7-25-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Have you been able to look into this UAP or UFO whistleblower David Grusch?”
Amy Klobuchar: “No. I just know that there's a…”
Sen. Martin Heinrich walks past us on his way to vote on the Senate floor.
AK: “Martin Heinrich's an expert on UFOs. He is like New Mexico. No. I don’t. You should talk to the Intel. Committee.”
ML: “Right? Yep. He's testifying tomorrow in the House, so I'm just curious.”
AK: “Oh.”
ML: “Have a good one, ma'am.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Chris Murphy
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Chris Murphy (7-25-2023)
Matt Laslo: “Have you looked into UAP or UFO whistleblower David Grusch?”
Chris Murphy: “I haven’t.”
ML: “You know the House is having a hearing on him tomorrow?”
CM: “Are they?”
ML: “It’s off your radar? Fair, you have a day job. Appreciate ya, sir.”
LISTEN: Laslo & Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Whitehouse (7-26-2023)
Sheldon Whitehouse: “What are you doing lurking around here? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Matt Laslo: “You guys don't let me sleep.”
They laugh.
ML: “I've got the most random question I've ever asked you. Have you looked into this UAP or UFO whistleblower David Grusch at all?”
SW: “Nope. Don't even know the name. Sorry.”
ML: “He testified in the House today. Gillibrand’s investigating him over here, but that's more Armed Services and Intel. I figured.”
SW: “My only thought on that subject, for whatever it's worth, is there was a member of Congress from New Hampshire who is out now and who does a podcast. And he did, in his podcast a series a guy who is a professional video analyst and he went through a lot of these famous ‘What is that? That must be a UFO, because it’s so bizarre, and the guy explains, ‘no, that's actually just a question of perspective, relative to speeds or whatever.’ And it can all be explained.”
ML: “Interesting. That's not Charlie Bass or Frank Guinta?”
SW: “Nope.”
ML: “I used to be the correspondent for NHPR. And it's not [former Sen.] Judd Gregg?”
SW: “Nope. And it's not Judge Gregg. It was a House member.”
ML: “Interesting. I'll have to look it up.”
SW: “And his wife was called, like, Peachy. And he was called — I campaigned with him a couple of times.”
ML: “Oh, is he a Dem?”
SW: “He was a Democrat.”
ML: “Oh, he predates me.”
SW: “If you look at living Democrat, former New Hampshire House members, he'll be in it — Peepsy, was his wife’s name, I think.”
ML: “Did he kind of convince you?”
SW: “It's just a very interesting podcast, because it takes these things that look like they're unexplainable and he very readily explains it. You can look at the cockpit dials and say, ‘well, what happened here is the plane turned 30 degrees’ and he just puts it all together. It's kind of a good debunking of some of the mystery about these videos.”
ML: “I’ll check it out.”
SW: “Yeah, I think it's worth checking out.”
ML: “Appreciate you, sir.”
Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps, asking your questions at the Capitol. @Ask_a_Pol (or @askpols).
Ask a Pol is a new, people-powered press corps, asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. Follow us on the socials @Ask_a_Pol (or @askpols on Insta).
EXCLUSIVE — Election 2024: Incumbent Senators laugh off UFOs & David Grusch