ORLANDO, Fla. – In a candid and wide-ranging conversation on Florida’s Fourth Estate, prominent attorney and businessman John Morgan didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the current political climate in the United States.
From discussing campaign finance to the deep divides between political parties, Morgan’s remarks paint a picture of a system that, in his view, is increasingly driven by special interests and polarization.
Morgan traces much of the vitriol in today’s political climate to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, whom he describes as a central figure in changing the tone of American discourse.
“Rush Limbaugh gave us, all of us, the permission to be nasty, and he became a billionaire doing it,” Morgan said, noting that before Limbaugh’s rise, such harsh rhetoric was typically confined to “crazy Uncle Ed at the head of the table,” but never broadcast so widely.
Limbaugh’s influence, according to Morgan, helped fuel the rise of partisan media, which has only widened the divide between Americans.
Yet despite this growing division, Morgan believes that, deep down, the average citizen still agrees on many of the same issues.
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“When you take a D down and an R down, most of us agree on most things. We don’t care about gay marriage... if you want to smoke weed, do it,” Morgan emphasized.
As the 2024 presidential election looms, Morgan expressed frustration with the choices available to voters, predicting that a significant portion of the electorate will vote not for the candidate they support, but against the one they dislike the most.
“We’re an election now where I believe 75% of the people who vote will hold their nose when they go to vote. They’re gonna be voting not for who they like the most, but who they hate the least,” he stated, highlighting the pervasive sense of disillusionment that many Americans feel.
When asked his thoughts about Vice President Kamala Harris, Morgan began his answer by bringing up the person he wanted Biden to pick as his running mate in 2020, former U.S. Representative from Florida, Val Demings.
Morgan doesn’t hold back admitting, “The train I was on was the Val Demings train.”
He admitted that he pushed hard for Demings to be Biden’s running mate but was ultimately disappointed when Biden chose Harris instead.
Morgan’s frustrations with Harris stemmed from the Democratic primary debates in 2019 when he says Harris aggressively confronted Biden on the issue of school busing, accusing him of supporting racist policies.
While debates are traditionally combative, Morgan said he wouldn’t have employed Harris’ strategy. But he went on to say he’s made his peace with what happened.
Morgan went on to say, ”It’s not my grudge to hold. It’s Joe Biden’s grudge to hold.”
Though Morgan wasn’t initially thrilled with Harris, he now sees her as a strong contender in the 2024 race. “I’ll vote for Harris because I look at what Harris’ cabinet would look like, and then I think about what Trump’s cabinet would look like,” he said, contrasting the potential leadership teams of the two candidates.
Morgan went on to discuss Biden’s departure from the presidential race, coining the term ”Joe Jitsu” to describe how the situation played out.
He explained Biden didn’t want to leave the race but was pressured by key Democratic figures, particularly Nancy Pelosi.
“Joe is pissed that he’s gone. Joe’s pissed at Nancy Pelosi because he saw her as the reason,” Morgan revealed.
According to Morgan, Biden ultimately made the decision to step down because he was backed into a corner.
“If he didn’t do it, they were gonna release 100 congressmen and women, all gonna go against him,” Morgan explained.
He characterized the situation as a hasty decision made in a moment of frustration: “He did it in a fit... but he knew if he didn’t do it, she was gonna release them.”
When discussing the physical and mental health of political figures, Morgan offered insights from his personal conversations with President Joe Biden. He revealed that Biden suffers from neuropathy in his foot, which affects his gait, a condition Morgan says should be openly addressed.
“He has neuropathy in his foot. It’s burning...tell America. They’ll probably understand. They’ll say, ‘I got some stuff in my body. We all got stuff,’” Morgan said, arguing that transparency could help voters better understand the president’s condition.
Morgan also acknowledged the fierce loyalty that exists for certain candidates, especially Donald Trump.
“There’s gonna be some people very rabid for Trump,” he said, while also acknowledging that the same passion may exist for Kamala Harris.
But ultimately, for most voters, the decision will come down to choosing the lesser of two evils.
Morgan’s frustrations with the political system are not new, and he’s been vocal about his attempts to work around it.
“I said (expletive) the system. I went around the system, and I did my constitutional amendments,” he said, referring to his advocacy work in Florida, where he helped lead successful campaigns for raising the minimum wage and legalizing medical marijuana.
Morgan spent millions of his own money to help make medical marijuana legal in Florida eight years ago.
He lamented the influence of money in politics, noting that campaigns, especially presidential ones, are heavily reliant on the support of wealthy special interests.
Reflecting on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential run, Morgan said, “When he ran for president and needed $100 million dollars... that’s special interest, pharmaceutical, liquor, hedge fund, builders.”
He added that it’s difficult for any politician to escape the grip of big-money donors, saying, “That’s how the system is designed.”
Despite the challenges, Morgan remains hopeful that positive change is possible, especially when partisan labels are stripped away. He believes most Americans share common ground on many key issues and that working together could yield real solutions. However, he acknowledges that the road ahead is difficult, with money and media continuing to drive much of the political narrative.
Ultimately, Morgan’s take on the current political climate is a mix of frustration and realism. He sees a system bogged down by special interests and media-fueled divisions, but also recognizes that there’s more commonality among the American people than it may seem. For Morgan, the key lies in bypassing the system’s pitfalls and focusing on what unites, rather than divides, voters.
In his own words, “Most of us agree on most things.”
Whether that agreement can translate into meaningful political change, however, remains to be seen as the 2024 presidential race continues to heat up.
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