In a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel welcomed special guest Chris Hayes, the host of All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. Hayes, who is also a bestselling author, joined Kimmel to discuss his latest book, The Sirens Call.
The conversation kicked off with Kimmel joking about Hayes getting Mondays off, which Hayes humorously agreed that Mondays are the worst day to take off because that’s when news breaks and the “takes start building up inside me like a volcano.” Hayes also shared some funny anecdotes about the Easter egg roll and how it becomes even more amusing when a president is in the middle of it.
Kimmel then delved into Hayes’ role as a political insider and asked if he ever receives inadvertent texts from Pete Hegseth, to which Hayes jokingly responded that every journalist in the world was jealous when Hegseth’s texts fell into Jeffrey Goldberg’s lap. Hayes admitted that while he has never been on the receiving end of such texts, he believes there might not be proper “hygiene” around signal chatting, hinting at the possibility of more accidental texts occurring in the journalism world.
The conversation then shifted to Trump and the current state of the Republican party. Hayes expressed his belief that Trump has learned from his first term that if nobody inside the party criticizes you, you can hold the party together and weather any storm. Although some Republicans have spoken out against him, Hayes pointed out that as long as everyone remains united, Trump can get through anything.
When asked about Trump’s supporters and whether they are starting to question their decision, Hayes mentioned the polling data that indicates some people on the outskirts of Trump’s diehard circle are losing faith due to the economy, tariffs, and other factors. Hayes believes that people are beginning to feel the constant distractions of social media and how it affects their own attention and focus.
This led to a discussion about Hayes’ book, The Sirens Call, which explores the dangers of being constantly distracted by social media and the media in its current form. Hayes argued that attention is the most valuable resource we have as individuals, and corporations and politicians understand this and constantly try to extract our attention. He related the constant interruptions to feeling like attention is being pulled from us against our will, referencing both Trump and phones as sources of this constant interruption.
In a surprising twist, Hayes confessed to joining TikTok for research purposes. He recounted getting caught up watching videos, particularly ones of people making sandwiches and cutting them in half. The conversation then veered off to discussing power washers and Hayes’ love for carpet cleaning videos. Interestingly, Hayes linked the sophisticated technology of social media and online platforms to its ability to intuit our preferences and keep us hooked, even if we don’t realize it.
Despite the seemingly bleak implications of the book, Hayes also shared his optimism that people are starting to rebel against this constant distraction and searching for alternative ways to spend their attention. He likened this shift to the rebellion against processed foods in the culinary culture of the ’70s and ’80s, saying that people will find different expressions to break free from the current dead end of attention overload.
In conclusion, the conversation between Jimmy Kimmel and Chris Hayes on Jimmy Kimmel Live was a lively and thought-provoking discussion about Trump, the Republican party, and the dangers of constant distraction in the digital age. Hayes’ insights shed light on the importance of attention and the need for individuals to take control of their own focus amidst the constant pull of social media and technology.
