AI Backlash, Trump vs Kimmel, and the Kelce Podcast Empire

Ultimize. Across the United States, a broad and unusual backlash is forming against artificial intelligence, not as an abstract concept but as a physical economic force reshaping local communities in real time. What began as a debate about software is now a fight over land use, electricity, water, and political power. The New York Times reports that opposition now spans evangelical leaders concerned about AI relationships musicians facing copyright erosion, farmers worried about water depletion, environmentalists focused on energy consumption, and populist voices on both the left and right questioning why the benefits of AI appear concentrated while the costs are increasingly local. At the center of this conflict is the modern data center. They are not passive facilities. They are energy-intensive industrial operations requiring massive electrical loads. Significant water for cooling, new transmission infrastructure, and often substantial public subsidies. So when residents say they are against AI, what they're often reacting to is something much more concrete: rising electric bills, drained water supplies, backroom political deals, in the sense that they are paying for a technological revolution they don't actually benefit from. The concern is not abstract. It is economic, it's local, and it's very real. Across the country right now, people say they're against AI, but what they actually mean is this: they don't want their electricity bill going up so a tech company can train a chatbot to sound more empathetic than their ex. They don't want millions of gallons of local water going to cool servers while farmers are being told to conserve. And they definitely don't want politicians cutting quiet deals with trillion-dollar companies only to tell the public after it's already done. This isn't fear of technology. This is people realizing the costs are local and the profits are not. And for the first time, communities are starting to say, if AI is coming here, we're not going to pay for it. We're charging for it. Okay, now here's the part that makes people uncomfortable, but it happens to be true. You don't get to vote. You don't get to vote technology out of existence. You can dislike it, You can protest it, you can post about it all day long. The loom still came. The automobile replaced the stagecoach. Technology— television crushed radio. And AI is not going to stop because a town council passes a resolution saying we're not fans. But technology is undefeated, always has been, which means the real question isn't whether AI is coming. The real question is who pays and who benefits? Because right now the pattern looks very familiar. A handful, a tiny handful of companies capture enormous upside and everybody else gets higher energy costs and infrastructure strain. So instead of trying to stop AI, communities need to get smarter about how they deal with it. Here's what that actually looks like. If a giant AI data center wants to come to your town, here's a radical idea: make them pay for it. Not symbolic payments, real ones. If they need new power lines, they pay. If they strain the grid, they pay. If they use massive amounts of water, they pay. Because right now the deal is upside down. Big Tech gets the profits and regular people get higher utility bills. So Flip it. Charge data centers higher electricity rates. Force them to invest in local infrastructure. Make them fund schools, roads, and emergency services. Because if your town is hosting the infrastructure of the AI revolution, you shouldn't be paying for it. You should be getting a dividend from it. First, data centers must pay true cost of electricity, not discounted rates negotiated behind closed doors. If a facility requires new substations, transmission lines, and grid upgrades, the company should pay for it, not residents. Because nothing says the future is here like your air conditioning bill doubling so a chatbot can generate knock-knock jokes. Second, create a separate AI utility rate. If a facility consumes power like a small city, it shouldn't be billed like a local restaurant. Communities can charge significantly higher rates for hyperscale data centers, especially during peak demand, because during the heat wave, the priority should be people, not servers. Third, mandatory community benefits agreements. No deal, no data center. If a company wants access to your land in your community and infrastructure, it funds schools, broadband, emergency services, and long-term community investments. —not just PR stunts, not innovation hubs with beanbag chairs, actual measurable financial benefits. Fourth, let's ban the secret negotiations. Too many of these deals are structured before the public even knows they exist. Florida's already taken steps requiring public notice and limiting non-disclosure agreements. This should be standard everywhere. Because if a deal can't survive public scrutiny, it probably shouldn't exist. Fifth, strict water usage rules. Some proposed data centers would use millions of gallons of water per day. That's not minor impact, that's industrial-scale consumption. So require public reporting, drought contingencies, and automatic usage limits. If residents are conserving water AI should do it too. Sixth, no tax breaks without real jobs. Many of these projects create short-term construction jobs but very few permanent positions, like, you know, a handful sometimes. If a facility uses massive resources but employs minimal people, it's not economic development, it's infrastructure extraction. 7th, require local clean energy investment. No more accounting tricks with the renewable credits purchased elsewhere. If the data center is local, the energy solution should be local— solar, wind, storage, something that benefits the actual grid. Otherwise, it's environmental outsourcing. 8th, use the waste heat. Data centers produce enormous amounts of heat. That can— that energy can be redirected to heat buildings, schools, or greenhouses. If you're generating it anyway, use it. Ninth, create a local AI dividend. If a community hosts the infrastructure powering AI, residents should receive direct benefits— utility credits, tax relief, education funding— because right now most people are seeing the opposite. A surcharge. 10th, real penalties for violations. If companies exceed water limits or strain infrastructure, penalties should be meaningful, not symbolic fines—consequences that actually change behavior. The goal here is not to stop AI. I don't think that's realistic. The goal is to stop being passive participants in a system where the costs are local and the profits are global. Because technology may be undefeated, but that doesn't mean communities have to be. AI can come to your town. It just needs to show up like a good neighbor, not like a vampire with a building permit. And if Silicon Valley says you're standing in the way of the future, the correct response is no, we're charging rent to the future, and the future can afford it. I'm TJ Walker. There is lots more to come. Stay tuned. I'll be honest with you, most people don't have a learning problem, they have a consistency problem. They'll watch something, listen to something, get fired up for a day, and then life takes over and everything resets. That's exactly the gap I'm trying to fix with Ultimize. So if you're getting something out of this show right now, go to ultimize.com, U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E and get a free course. There's one on communication skills, one on building better habits, and the whole idea is to make this part of your daily routine, not a one-time thing. It's simple, it's free, and it actually works if you use it. Ultimize.com. The White House is once again demanding that a comedian be punished for telling a joke. This time, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are calling on ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a single line from a monologue recorded before the White House Correspondents' Dinner. According to reporting, Kimmel imagined himself hosting the dinner, said this to the First Lady, that, uh, you have the glow of an expectant widow. Okay, I thought it was funny. You might not think it's funny, but that's the joke. Not a manifesto, not a threat, not a call to violence— a joke. And yet within hours, the President of the United States was demanding Kimmel be fired, calling the remark far beyond the pale, while the First Lady said his words were corrosive and contributing to political sickness in America. Okay, the President of the United States is demanding a comedian be fired over a joke. The joke being, hey, Melania has the, the glow of an expectant widow. That's it. That's the scandal. And here's the problem: that's not a real problem. That's not a call to violence. You know what? It's just absurd. Trump is trying to I guess, make us forget the fact that he's the least popular president ever. He's trying to make us forget the fact that gas prices are extraordinarily high, that he's gotten us into a massively, massively unpopular war, and Epstein. It's more distraction. More in a moment. Let me ask you something. How many times have you heard a great idea and thought, that's really useful, and then never used it again? It happens to all of us because without repetition, even the best ideas just fade. So instead of just collecting more information, do something different. Go to ultimize.com, U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E dot com, and grab the free course. You can start with communication skills or building better habits, but the key is it's designed to reinforce the message so it actually sticks. If you're already listening or watching this, you're halfway there. Just go to ultimize.com and take the next step. Okay, I'm TJ Walker. This is Filtered. I'm so happy you're with me. By the way, I'm going to take you behind the scenes today. I do select all my own topics. I do a rough draft of exactly what I want to say in my comments. And then I do have AI edit it, refine it, add something, and then I put it all on a teleprompter, which you can see right here, and I put it on my camera. So I'm taking you behind the scenes today because I do believe that some transparency is helpful from time to time, and some people find it interesting. These are my own beliefs, these are my own thoughts, and the major contours of every commentary are what I have said in my first draft. But I do in fact use AI to help with scripting, and I'm very upfront about that. It edits it, it makes it a little tighter, it'll sometimes add in a little humor. So what happened today is my AI froze— or not my AI, my teleprompter froze. So, oh well, now it's upside down. Okay. So my teleprompter froze, and so I am just going to restart that one because we do also share these videos in an edited format where they're, they're not really added into it in any meaningful way or changes. So I'm leaning into my teleprompter right now, which is attached to my camera, and I just use an pad, and the teleprompter follows my voice. I do not have to have a little person, man, woman in the corner scrolling like you've seen on broadcast news and other things like that. So we're going to start that last segment over just because my teleprompter froze, and that's a part of doing things live. We're live here. So I appreciate your indulgence. And we're also simulcasting on TikTok today. We have a lot of people watching on YouTube, X, LinkedIn, elsewhere. And folks are laughing at me. Fine, that's okay. I don't mind. That's a part of the risk of trying and experimenting. Drake says, ha ha ha ha. Drake says no one agrees with you. Well, Drake, you're being dishonest. You— what you really mean to say is you don't agree with me. That's okay. Okay, we're gonna hop right in again. The White House is once again demanding that a comedian be punished for telling a joke. This time, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are calling on ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a single line from a monologue recorded before the White House Correspondents' Dinner. According to reporting, Kimmel said this to the First Lady: you have the expectant glow of a new widow, or, or a prospective widow. That's the joke. It's not a manifesto. It's not a threat. It's just a joke. Okay, so here we have the problem. My AI didn't put the joke in, and I'm trying to ad-lib it. So that's where we That's where we got the problem. So apologies for that. So here's the part that I want to continue to— so the First Lady and the President of the United States are outraged at Jimmy Kimmel making a joke about Melania glowing like an expectant widow. Now this outrage is coming from the same Donald Trump after the death of former special counsel Robert Mueller said, good, I'm glad he's dead. So let's translate the new rules of American civility. A comedian makes a joke about the very real possibility that an 80-year-old husband might not outlive his younger wife. That's outrageous, right? A president celebrates someone dying, and that's supposed to be totally fine. Apparently, that's just what patriotic grieving at this point. The only thing more fragile than Trump's ego is the standard he applies to himself. Now, let's step back and look at what this joke actually means, because the reaction is far more revealing than the line itself. What does glow like an expectant widow even imply? It could mean something pretty simple. When you marry someone 25 years older than you, there is a non-zero chance you will outlive them. That's not an insult, that's actuarial science. That's not comedy, that's an insurance table. Or it could mean that when someone is pushing 80, like Trump, avoids exercise like it's a tax audit, and treats cheeseburgers as a food group, the long-term health outlook isn't exactly screaming centenarian. That's not a death threat. That's WebMD. And if jokes about aging presidents are now off limits, we're gonna have to cancel half of comedy and most Thanksgiving dinners. Here's what's really going on with this Jimmy Kimmel controversy. Donald Trump isn't upset about a joke. He's upset that the joke isn't about him, or that it's about him and it doesn't make him look good, because Trump has never met a situation he couldn't try to turn into a political weapon. A hurricane? Political opportunity. A court case? Political opportunity. Late night monologue? Suddenly a national emergency. And now he wants a comedian fired for doing comedy. Think about that. The same guy who spent years insulting war heroes, judges, entire groups of voters. Now he's the guardian of civility. If Trump actually cared about tone, Step 1 would be don't celebrate people dying, especially patriotic Americans like Robert Mueller. Step 2 would be don't spend a decade insulting everyone in sight. But instead, we're supposed to believe Jimmy Kimmel is the real threat to America, not the most powerful man in the world, the guy telling jokes at 11:30 at night. But instead, we get this performance, the outrage cosplay, the idea that Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian, is somehow more dangerous than the rhetoric coming from the most powerful office in the world? And what makes it even more absurd is that this isn't new. Trump has repeatedly pushed for networks to punish or silence hosts who criticize him, which is a fascinating interpretation of the First Amendment, especially coming from a president attending an event designed to celebrate it. It's like showing up to a vegan restaurant and demanding that they fire the chef for serving vegetables. Now look, Kimmel's joke was maybe a little edgy. That's his job. But edgy is not the same as dangerous. And if we start policing jokes based on whether they offend powerful people, we don't have comedy anymore. We have state-approved humor. And we've seen what approved messaging looks like in politics. It's not very funny. It's not insightful. And it's definitely not worth canceling someone over a line that acknowledges a basic truth. Time exists. Aging exists. Even presidents are subject to both. The real problem here isn't that Jimmy Kimmel told a joke. It's that Donald Trump cannot tolerate being the subject of one. Because if there's one consistent rule, it's this: Trump can dish it out endlessly, but the second it comes back his way, even lightly, even jokingly, it becomes a crisis. A scandal and a demand that someone lose their job. That's not strength. That's not leadership. That's someone who wants all the power with none of the scrutiny. And in a democracy, that's supposed to be the one deal that doesn't exist. So no, this isn't about a joke. It's about whether powerful people get to decide what speech is acceptable. And if the answer is yes, Then the next thing getting canceled won't be a late night host, it'll be criticism itself. And that's a lot less funny than anything Jimmy Kimmel ever said. I'm TJ Walker, this is Filtered. Special hello to our friends on TikTok who are again joining us live. Part of the beauty of live is, hey, you get to see me mess up like I just did. The teleprompter broke. When this is put as a standalone video on this subject, that will be edited out. So, that's part of the reward for joining us live. I appreciate it. Back in just a moment. You don't need a complete life overhaul. You don't need a 10-step system or a 90-day transformation. Most of the time, you need a small shift repeated often enough that it sticks. That's it. If you're listening to this and thinking, yeah, I'd like to tighten up a few things, go to ultimize.com, ultimize.com. Ultimize.com. There's a free course there for you, communication skills or habit building, and it's designed to give you something simple, something you can use and repeat every day. Not overwhelm you, no complexity, just something you can use. Go to ultimize.com and start. And we're back. Across the media landscape, something fundamental is changing, and it's happening faster than most people realize. Podcasting is no longer just podcasting. What used to be an audio format, people talking into microphones, selling mattresses and meal kits, is rapidly turning into something much bigger. Full-scale entertainment ecosystems built around personalities. And the companies driving this shift are not traditional media companies. They're tech companies, believe it or not. Amazon in particular has made a dramatic move. It effectively dismantled its podcast division, Wondery, and rebuilt it into something entirely different, a system designed not just to distribute content but to monetize every aspect of a creator's life and audience. Instead of simply selling ads, the new strategy is to build an entire commercial world around creators, not just shows, worlds. Merchandise, live events, product endorsements, sponsorship integrations, cross-promotion across platforms, everything. The podcast is no longer the product. The creator is the product. Podcasting is dead, sort of, or at least the version you think you know is what used to be a microphone, a conversation, and a couple of ads for socks and protein powder. What is it now? A full-blown business empire built around a personality. Amazon is literally building entire commercial ecosystems around podcasters, selling their merch, promoting their events, pushing products they recommend, and turning fans into customers at every possible touchpoint. The show isn't the business anymore. The person is the business, which means if you're a creator today, You're not just competing to be interesting, you're competing to be an entire economy. The best example of this new model right now is Jason and Travis Kelce. Their podcast, New Heights, reportedly signed a deal worth $100 million. And what Amazon has done with them goes far beyond audio. They've created a centralized hub where fans can buy merchandise, watch documentaries, purchase products the Kelces are associated with, and even shop for themed experiences like football party supplies. There are live shows tied to global events like the World Cup. There are sponsored tailgates with corporate partners. There are product tie-ins embedded directly into the fan experience. This isn't podcasting, this is vertical integration of personality, and it's working because fans aren't just listening, they're participating, buying, and showing up, which brings us to the bigger shift. The line between podcast, talk show, influencer, and celebrity, it's all but disappearing. If you need proof that podcasts are becoming the new television, here it is. Oprah Winfrey, arguably the most successful talk show host in history, is moving into video podcasting with Amazon. Think about that. The queen of daytime television is now doing podcasts, except they're not really podcasts. They're video shows distributed globally, monetized across multiple platforms, tied into books, products, and entire business ecosystems. This isn't a side project. This is the future of media. The talk show didn't disappear. It just moved to the internet and brought a shopping mall with it. And Amazon executives are not being subtle about where this is going. They've made it clear this model isn't just for podcasters. It applies to anyone with an audience, actors, athletes, influencers, streamers. Anyone who can attract attention can now be turned into a multimedia platform commercial engine because in this new world, content is just the entry point. That's what's so exciting about this. And that's why, frankly, I'm excited. Now, I'm not getting deals like the Kelsey brothers are. But you don't have to. Not everyone needs $100 million. Not everyone needs a giant, giant empire. But content is just the entry point. The real money comes from developing a personality, developing a fan base, developing a tribe. And that's what is so exciting. So it's kind of the best of times and worst of times. If you are someone who's already famous, it's the best of times because it means you never have to retire. I'm old enough to remember when someone like David Cassidy was one of the most famous people in the world when he started The Partridge Family in the early '70s. And yet when the show was canceled, he couldn't get work. He couldn't get a job. He went hungry. He had to do dinner theater. Those days are gone. If you're already famous, You can create podcasts. You can have an empire around you. You could do things solo. You can have someone huge like Amazon take you under their wing and monetize things. So it's a very exciting time. Now, it's also the worst of worlds because for every success story we hear, whether it's Joe Rogan or, you know, Call Me Daddy, someone who'd never been famous before making it big, There are hundreds, even thousands of people who try and try and try, make shows, make podcasts, never get more than 5 listeners or viewers. So we all have to be careful about success bias. But at least the gatekeepers are gone. I know when I started my media career, I had to spend all of my time begging, begging, begging radio stations, TV stations, please let me on, TV networks, please let me, let me on your show, let me host the 5 AM segment on Saturday morning that no one wants. It was all that begging. That's gone. Anyone can have a show now. Not anyone, not everyone can become a billionaire, but everyone can speak. Everyone can have a global audience at some level. I appreciate the roughly half a million people who watch parts of my podcast every single month, and I appreciate the 1,000 or so people who are watching on TikTok today. I appreciate that. Everyone's gotta figure out their own monetization challenge solution. For some, it's simply ads, other it's sponsorship. For me, I sell online courses. That's where I make most of my money. So I urge you, if you have something to say, if you want to entertain people, if you have talent, you have an insight, in-depth knowledge about a particular field, don't compare yourself to the Kelsey brothers. They're very talented, but we're not all going to get $100 million deals. For you, maybe it's fun, maybe it's a passion. I know I enjoy it, but I also enjoy making money. It's exciting new times and the trend line is continuing in one way. People fighting to get the attention of network executives at ABC, CBS, CNN, BBC. That world is fading away. People begging, begging, begging for radio networks to let them do a commentary or a show. That's not the way for the future. People getting discovered by some big network executive. No, you gotta go out, plant your flag, create, do it daily or at least weekly. And build an audience. If you can do that, all sorts of successes can come your way. I'm TJ Walker. Thanks for joining me. By the way, if you'd like a free online course on how to communicate more effectively or how to build good habits, all you have to do is go to ultimize.com, U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E dot com, and you can get a free course now. See you tomorrow.