Theo Von Blasts Schumer as ‘Little Money Monkey’ on Podcast With Ro Khanna

Podcaster and comedian Theo Von called Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) a “little money monkey” after worrying he was “slandering” the Democrat during a conversation with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

Khanna joined Von on his This Past Weekend podcast for a wide-ranging interview that one point got into voters being disillusioned and special interest money influencing politicians. Von referred to the current state of the United States as “privatized communism,” with special interest and lobbying groups holding more sway than voters.

“After awhile, it’s like, I’ve seen this show so many times, I think even our DNA is sick. So I think you’re having newborn children that are like, ‘This is fucking bullshit,’ because I think it’s in our DNA now how long this charade has been going on. And that’s where I see people are at a point where they’re just at a loss,” Von said.

The podcaster, who has interviewed President Donald Trump and has appeared at multiple events with him, asked Khanna what can be done to change the current state of politics, arguing that debates around transgender-related issues serve as distractions that are cyclical and never-ending.

“Well, I think one of the things you go do is like look at who’s taking money from these interest groups,” Khanna said.

“Okay, is there a site that we can look at where that’s reported?” Von asked.

“OpenSecrets.org,” Khanna answered.

Von then excitedly told his producer to pull up the site.

“I know Chuck Schumer’s on it,” he said.

“And everyone—” Khanna began as Von jumped back in.

“Is that slander or not?” the comedian asked.

Khanna assured him he was “not even close to the line” of slander.

“We’re not? Oh good. Oh yeah, that little money monkey taking something,” Von said.

Von did not go through Schumer’s information on the site, but according to OpenSecrets, the Democratic leader’s biggest donor was Blackstone Group in 2024 and he receives large sums from a number of industries. The majority of the money comes from large individual contributions, which make up more than 70%, according to the website.

Von did not explain why he singled out Schumer, but during the podcast the comedian said he felt the United States “working for Israel,” as questions loom about the United States’ potential involvement in escalating fighting between Iran and Israel. Trump’s openness to being more involved has led to a split among prominent MAGA voters. Von told Khanna during the podcast that no one he knows wants a war with Iran. Schumer, who is Jewish, is a vocal supporter of Israel and receives large contributions from pro-Israel groups.

Schumer said after Israel’s recent expansive strikes against Iranian military bases that the United States’ support of the country needs to be “ironclad.”

“The Iranian regime’s stated policy has long been to destroy Israel and Jewish communities around the world. I have long said that Israel has a right to defend itself and that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Ensuring they never obtain one must remain a top national security priority,” the senator said in a statement after the attack.

Khanna, who said he does not take lobbyist or PAC money, told Von that voters should look at contributions to individual lawmakers and compare them with that person’s voting record.

“Are they voting against Big Pharma? Are they voting against the big insurance companies?” Khanna said. “So the first thing is being aware, but we’ve got to demand that people have a vote.”

Watch above via This Past Weekend.