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[A Fish Aficionado]

What a great dialogue.

So, did you vote?

Yes. No fan of the Clintons am I, by a long shot. But I’m a New Yorker, Donald Trump is a New Yorker. And the New Yorkers I know, we’ve lived with this guy for 30 years. I’ve seen Donald Trump say things one day, and then I saw what he did the next. I’ve seen up close how he does business. Just like if you lived in a small town, you’d get to know the sheriff, the guy who runs the hardware store, the guy who runs the filling station — Trump comes from that era of guys you followed, guys you knew about every day: Trump, Giuliani, Al Sharpton, Curtis Sliwa. I’d see him at Studio 54, for fuck’s sake. I’m not saying I know the guy personally, not like I’d hug him, but I’m saying that as a New Yorker, we pretty much are neighbors. And my many years of living in his orbit have not left me with a favorable impression, let’s put it that way. There’s so many reasons to find the guy troubling. When Scott Baio’s the only guy you can find to show up at your convention, you’re in trouble.

The big platform that kicked all this off for him, his comments about Mexican immigrants, intersects so directly with your vocal championship of Mexican restaurant labor —

He has a vineyard in, is it Virginia? I think a very interesting project would be to see who’s picking his grapes.

That’s a good question.

Well, I believe I know the answer, which is why I’m asking the question.

I’m heartbroken. I enjoy visiting Turkey. It’s a place I have a lot of friends. Now I have to think about what happens to friends who I visit in Turkey, would that compromise their position? I wouldn’t go to Turkey if anyone I’d talk to would lose it or would be potentially under suspicion. They just purged tens of thousands of teachers and government employees on much less grounds. So, you know, that’s not helpful.

Russia clearly is going to be a problem for me. The last time I was there, they killed my lunch partner, you know? And I’m a little pissed about that. And I’ve expressed that publicly, which is increasingly not such a wise thing to do.

What do you think of that phrase, "real America"?

"Real" — I hear that a lot, on my show. Any time I shoot in any city, someone’s going to say "How can you come to Mexico City and show only this and this and this, you didn’t show the real Mexico City." It can mean a lot of things. "How come you didn’t show the real Baltimore" can mean "How come you didn’t show white Baltimore?" Or it could mean "How come you didn’t show my side of the city, the part of the city that I know and I’m proud of and I wanted the world to see? And instead you came and you made a show about my town and it was a total disappointment to me, you concentrated on a tiny pocket, a corner that interested you for some reason." It doesn’t really mean anything, except to the people who say it, and whether they realize what it means or not, it’s a genuine expression of emotion. I mean, what is the real New York?

Edit for this truth bomb.

Isn’t that exactly what people are mad at news media about? I’m also very cynical about this sort of stuff, but it seems clear to me that there’s no such thing as unbiased media, because there’s no such thing as unbiased experience.

Look, I think Walter Cronkite, Edward Murrow — those guys tried. The news was pretty dry, back then. They were all products of the same schools and the same environments. Chances are they shared many of the same experiences, too. These guys went through wars. But their backgrounds were similar. And in the eyes of many, that made them unreliable, and that’s not an unreasonable impulse. Our best and brightest and most liberal gave us Vietnam, after that.

Read the entire piece here
http://www.eater.com/2016/12/21/14038332/anthony-bourdain-election-trump-interview

 

[WascallyWabbit]

Oof, I remember that episode on Turkey, really a shame everything that has happened in that country. Seems like a wonderful place filled with great people and an amazing historic culture

 

[Steel]

Bourdain does have a habit of meeting with people that eventually end up dead or in prison. I remember him sitting down with that reporter in Iran that ended up thrown in jail not long afterward.

 

[CrocMother]

Oof, I remember that episode on Turkey, really a shame everything that has happened in that country. Seems like a wonderful place filled with great people and an amazing historic culture

Well it still has the great people and amazing culture. Just a shitty government at the moment. And an unfortunate geographic location (currently).

 

[UrokeJoe]

Oof, I remember that episode on Turkey, really a shame everything that has happened in that country. Seems like a wonderful place filled with great people and an amazing historic culture

Yeah I keep wondering about the lady that hosted him twice in Turkey.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Well it still has the great people and amazing culture. Just a shitty government at the moment. And an unfortunate geographic location (currently).

And it seems like that shitty government is determined to keep itself dug in for life, or at least as long as possible. So sad. I visited Istanbul once, absolutely beautiful place.

 

[Citizen_Insane]

Such a great interview.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Russia clearly is going to be a problem for me. The last time I was there, they killed my lunch partner, you know? And I’m a little pissed about that. And I’ve expressed that publicly, which is increasingly not such a wise thing to do.

can't help but laugh at this section

 

[eyeball_kid]

can't help but laugh at this section

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

I'm going to assume it was a reporter.

 

[SchrodingerC]

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

Either he's talking about the female gay activists or the journalist? that was super critical of Putin.

 

[Steel]

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

I remember the episode, it was Boris Nemstov Russian politican. Ironically, the discussion they had was about all the assassinations in Russia. Bordain even asked if he should be worried about the food having polonium in it.

I'm going to assume it was a reporter.

Nope.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

It was an opposition leader and/or vocal critic of Putin's.

Boris Nemtsov or something?

Dude was "coincidentally" shot dead outside the Kremlin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Nemtsov

 

[Frozenprince]

I remember the episode, it was Boris Nemstov Russian politican. Ironically, the discussion they had was about all the assassinations in Russia. Bordain even asked if he should be worried about the food having polonium in it.



Nope.

Yeah Putin didn't even really try to hide the he murdered Nemstov in cold blood.

 

[Steel]

Yeah Putin didn't even really try to hide the he murdered Nemstov in cold blood.

Putin doesn't really hide any of his assassinations. I mean, half of them are by polonium and no one else has access to it. The discussion Nemstov had with Bordain was basically Nemstov basically saying everybody in russia knows that the assassinations aren't accidental deaths.

 

[eyeball_kid]

It was an opposition leader and/or vocal critic of Putin's.

Boris Nemtsov or something?

Dude was "coincidentally" shot dead outside the Kremlin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Nemtsov

Ah right thanks, I remember that assassination. Forgot that Bourdain had met with him.

I think it's got to be tough, being a journalist, and knowing that you're putting people at risk just by talking to them (though I don't think Bourdain was a factor in this man's death). I suppose Bourdain must feel at risk though, considering his response. He's not generally a guy that will back down from government pressure, but it sounds like he doesn't want to return to Russia.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Ah right thanks, I remember that assassination. Forgot that Bourdain had met with him.

I think it's got to be tough, being a journalist, and knowing that you're putting people at risk just by talking to them (though I don't think Bourdain was a factor in this man's death). I suppose Bourdain must feel at risk though, considering his response. He's not generally a guy that will back down from government pressure, but it sounds like he doesn't want to return to Russia.

The guy was probably already on the list just for opposing Putin, I don't think Bourdain had anything to do with it.

The one where he might be more prone to putting people in danger is the people in Turkey that he mentioned. Nemtsov was already on Putin's radar, but the people in Turkey meeting with Bourdain gave the government a reason to pay attention to them.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Laugh? WTF. I know Bourdain was attempting dry humor about it, but it's horrific and I know he thinks so too.

Does anyone know of the lunch partner he's talking about? I remember a Russia episode I think last season? Where he visited with some gay activists.

it was extremely effective dry humor

 

[Frozenprince]

The guy was probably already on the list just for opposing Putin, I don't think Bourdain had anything to do with it.

The one where he might be more prone to putting people in danger is the people in Turkey that he mentioned. Nemtsov was already on Putin's radar, but the people in Turkey meeting with Bourdain gave the government a reason to pay attention to them.

Yeah the reason he dislikes doing things like that is that the people who helped him and talked to him in Iran are still in prison.

So he wants to avoid hurting people if he can. It's awful.

 

[Aquavelvaman]

That was an excellent but depressing interview.

 

[Apathy]

I love Bourdain, guy knows whats up.

 

[Cat Party]

Yeah the reason he dislikes doing things like that is that the people who helped him and talked to him in Iran are still in prison.

So he wants to avoid hurting people if he can. It's awful.

If you're talking about the reporter, he was released a while back and left the country.

 

[SwolBro]

really good interview.

 

[Yukinari]

I guess i should watch that episode then because it sounds extremely uncomfortable for Bourdain. I would be pretty upset too.

 

[rugioh]

I think it was one of the Turkey episodes I watched that felt really really tense. Like the journalists were trying to be cordial with him, but you could tell the fear of God was in them whenever he asked something controversial about their government. It was really unsettling how much they had to walk on eggshells about even saying anything remotely critical about their leaders, and even still one of the guys was thrown into jail after the episode aired anyway.

 

[FrontalMonk]

it was extremely effective dry humor

Yeah, the "I'm a little pissed about that" part made me chuckle.

 

[Blader]

Great interview. I especially liked his point about grassroots revolutions and civil unrest during the 60s just resulted in Nixon being elected (twice!), which was a salient point, though kind of leaves you feeling like, well, ok, then what else do we do? :lol

 

[Ravager61]

Bourdain is great. Great interview. His shows are awesome. He does such an amazing job of humanizing the world. I'm actually reading Kitchen Confidential right now after binge watching No Reservations on Netflix. The episode of No Reservations where he goes to Atlantic City and spends a good chunk of time shit talking Trump and his hotels there is pretty good in context with this interview.

 

[Darksol]

Man speaks a lot of truth.

 

[J4g3r]

And Trump — the man eats his steak well done! I don’t think he’s a good person.

Great read, thanks OP!

 

[leakey]

Bourdain is a treasure. Entertaining, yet sobering interview.

 

[BorkBork]

Super read. So many good quotes:

"We are a violent nation, from the beginning. I’m not arguing for current gun policy, but I think it’s worth acknowledging that this is a country founded in violence, a country that has always worshipped outlaws, loners, cowboys, and people who got the things they got by the gun. We glorify it, we created an entertainment industry that does little but glorify solving complex problems with simple violence."

"And Trump — the man eats his steak well done! I don’t think he’s a good person. I remember the Central Park Five, and what he said. I’ve seen how he’s treated employees. I saw what he did to Atlantic City. I saw what he did to the west side of this town. It’s fuckin’ ugly. He’s going to make the whole world look like the back of Rick James’ van."

"Hunter Thompson said, America looks soft but under the flab it’s all fucking titanium steel underbelly, and it’ll come rolling right over you, any time it wants. And look, there are people in this world who have deliberately inspired exactly that kind of opposition, just to give them a reason to roll over it. So I’m not saying we should sit back docilely and silently while Trump dismantles our institutions, and our Supreme Court, and the rights of individuals, as men, as women, as parents — I’m not saying that at all. But we’d better come up with some fresh fuckin’ ideas. And I would think that they’d better be grass roots, and they should keep very much in mind all those people who voted for Trump. Many of whom surely, surely, are decent people who love their kids, and go to sleep at night like all of us wanting good things for their kids, a roof over their heads, some security, to live without fear, a measure of justice, some hope. Anything that doesn’t include that kind of an outreach, that’s not going to help. That’ll be playing into their hands. I lived through the ‘60s. There ain’t gonna be no revolution."

 

[phazedplasma]

Thanks for posting, great read

 

[PeskyToaster]

Anthony Bourdain has a great way with words. He's always 'gotten it'.

 

[Guileless]

You guys missed the best part.

The utter contempt with which privileged Eastern liberals such as myself discuss red-state, gun-country, working-class America as ridiculous and morons and rubes is largely responsible for the upswell of rage and contempt and desire to pull down the temple that we're seeing now.

I've spent a lot of time in gun-country, God-fearing America. There are a hell of a lot of nice people out there, who are doing what everyone else in this world is trying to do: the best they can to get by, and take care of themselves and the people they love. When we deny them their basic humanity and legitimacy of their views, however different they may be than ours, when we mock them at every turn, and treat them with contempt, we do no one any good. Nothing nauseates me more than preaching to the converted. The self-congratulatory tone of the privileged left—just repeating and repeating and repeating the outrages of the opposition—this does not win hearts and minds. It doesn't change anyone's opinions. It only solidifies them, and makes things worse for all of us. We should be breaking bread with each other, and finding common ground whenever possible. I fear that is not at all what we've done.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

You guys missed the best part.

Yeah, we should definitely break bread with people who think we are subhuman for being of x descent/having x sexuality

 

[FlutterPuffs]

Yeah, we should definitely break bread with people who think we are subhuman for being of x descent/having x sexuality

He's right though.

The left should do a lot more with finding common ground with the right. Even if you might not get their support, at least you'll probably motivate the next generation.

 

[Bolivar687]

Yeah, we should definitely break bread with people who think we are subhuman for being of x descent/having x sexuality

Youre right, they all uniformly think that way, without any exceptions.

All of them.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

He's right though.

The left should do a lot more with finding common ground with the right. Even if you might not get their support, at least you'll probably motivate the next generation.

Why bother when the right just preaches to their own crowd and incessantly others anyone who isn't white and Christian?

Youre right, they all uniformly think that way, without any exceptions.

All of them.

The GOP did nothing to condemn their primary candidate for holding those views and the electorate then voted him in.

:/

 

[capitalCORN]

He's right though.

The left should do a lot more with finding common ground with the right. Even if you might not get their support, at least you'll probably motivate the next generation.

We do that ALL THE FUCKING TIME. And the right responds by taking a step further back.

 

[Slayven]

We do that ALL THE FUCKING TIME. And the right responds by taking a step further back.

Hell they did that last week with HB2 bullshit...

 

[j-wood]

You guys missed the best part.

What am I missing here? Because I did a find for parts of this quote and it's no where in the article the OP posted.

 

[EdibleKnife]

Hell they did that last week with HB2 bullshit...

We weren't breaking bread hard enough then, obviously

What am I missing here? Because I did a find for parts of this quote and it's no where in the article the OP posted.

There's something similar under "Does that change the urgency of the work that you do?" but yeah I'm not really finding it either

 

[Garrett Hawke]

It's like the last 6 years didn't happen to these "reach over the aisle" people. Like 6 years of R's obstructing Obama on every fucking thing didn't just occur. Like the right didn't just run with a candidate who was the most partisan and the most intolerant of other people's views and cultures.

 

[j-wood]

We weren't breaking bread hard enough then, obviously



There's something similar under "Does that change the urgency of the work that you do?" but yeah I'm not really finding it either

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that "best part" isn't in the article at all, and was just an attempt to spread misinformation for people that didn't read the article fully (and succeeded, judging by the posts directly after).

Come on man.

 

[mike6467]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that "best part" isn't in the article at all, and was just an attempt to spread misinformation for people that didn't read the article fully (and succeeded, judging by the posts directly after).

Come on man.

Edited, because apparently the "best part" post was heavily edited. This whole thread seems like it should play out wonderfully.

 

[DrROBschiz]

You guys missed the best part.

This has been the running post mortem theme of the election debates from what I have seen

The problem is that both sides feel the stakes reach too high of a fever pitch to budge and are fearful of the immediate consequences a Trump presidency will bring

Maybe after the new year people will.... reset? so to say?


I feel like at least a realignment of everyones interests makes the most sense while avoiding hot controversial topics... benching them to focus on more immediate issues that are easier to agree on

The bridges are there but it only takes one bad actor to tank negotiations by saying something stupid

 

[zethren]

I love Bourdain, will have to give this interview a full read later.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that "best part" isn't in the article at all, and was just an attempt to spread misinformation for people that didn't read the article fully (and succeeded, judging by the posts directly after).

Come on man.

Welcome to Trump's fake news America.

 

[gamz]

Scott Baio comment was great.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

We do that ALL THE FUCKING TIME. And the right responds by taking a step further back.

Good. Keep fighting.