‘Regret is a wasted emotion’: The ‘I’ve Had It’ hosts on their 2025

By CNN Newsource

Published December 19, 2025 7:01 AM

By Scottie Andrew, CNN

(CNN) — In 2025, despondent and angry Democrats wanted to hear from likeminded pundits who wouldn’t feign politeness or objectivity. And there, waiting for them, were Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, co-hosts of the political, profane podcast “I’ve Had It.”

Welch and Sullivan, formerly an interior designer and attorney, respectively, are best friends who, in their own words, love to “b*tch to one another.” (Fans first met the prickly pair on the 2017 Bravo series “Sweet Home Oklahoma.”) Their podcast, launched in 2022, started as an extension of their treasured venting sessions, focused on trivial complaints –– one of their first episodes was called “Toddlers Are A**holes.” But the shadow of the second Trump era kept creeping into their rants before finally engulfing the show.

“We should be on here talking about petty grievances,” Welch said on an August episode. “Instead we have to talk about this fat, fascist f**k who’s ruining everything for everybody, even for his own supporters.”

Welch and Sullivan’s readiness to rail against the president, patriarchy and social ills — they often refer to the commander-in-chief as “Cankles McTaco Tits,” and his supporters as “big titty babies –– turned the pair into formidable forces in Democratic politics. But they’ve taken the party to task, too, grilling politicians like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

“When you did your 25-hour speech, I was like, ‘Go Cory, I love this, that is amazing,’” Welch told Booker in an October interview. “And then there’s a photoshoot with you with Benjamin Netanyahu. I was like, ‘What in the actual f**k? Like, how can he do that?’ It was heartbreaking. I felt betrayed.”

Level-heads, listen elsewhere: As the title suggests, Welch and Sullivan are fed-up and fuming. That’s why listeners love it –– here are two women who love their country and aren’t afraid to name and shame people. Their critiques are unvarnished and often darkly funny. With Welch and Sullivan, there’s catharsis in commiserating.

What was the most memorable moment from this year?

Jennifer Welch: Sadly, when Donald Trump was inaugurated to his second term, and he predicted that the crowd size was going to be so small that he moved the inauguration inside. And it was in that moment that I realized that this is going to be the same sh*t, different day. It’s going to be the same government for fragile ego, with more corruption, more lies, more BS than before. And I have to say that Trump 2.0 has exceeded my expectations in the corruption and failure that I anticipated that it would be.

Angie “Pumps” Sullivan: No Kings rally in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 14. I was so surprised so many thousands of people attended in my very red state. It was the first time since the November election results I felt optimistic. Trump’s birthday parade being a total disaster later that same day was chef’s kiss.

Which of your dreams came true this year?

Welch: I moved to New York City. I love OKC, and it will always be home, however, I often felt like the skunk at the garden party. Being a progressive atheist in the heart of the Bible Belt can be exhausting. I longed to live in a diverse, walkable city, and after my youngest son fled the nest for USC, the opportunity was ripe to reinvent the narrative that “empty nests can be depressing.” Living in New York has exceeded all expectations and I love it.

Sullivan: Reaching one million subscribers on YouTube.

Is there anything you regret?

Welch: Regret is a wasted emotion.

Sullivan: Not being able to convince my daughter to get her PhD versus her master’s degree in graduate school. Continuing to vape and not yet having quit.

What vices are you giving up or carrying with you into 2026?

Welch: I’ve chewed Nicotine gum for the last decade and will continue to do so through 2026.

Sullivan: I do not make New Year’s resolutions because if I do it ensures I will not be able to attain them. I still vape and I really want to quit, but I like it so much.

Who do you think made the biggest splash this year (if not yourself)?

Welch: Zohran Mamdani. He’s an absolute sensation and his victory is a rebuke on culture war fear-mongering.

Sullivan: Governor Gavin Newsom standing up to Trump and mocking him and his ridiculous cabinet. Representative Robert Garcia becoming a ranking member of the Oversight Committee and his relentless pursuit of truth.

How did you survive the hard parts of 2025?

Welch: I seek companionship and solace with my dogs. They don’t know who the president is and they aren’t aware of how disappointing it is to see so many cowards bend the knee to a morally corrupt criminal. When I feel overwhelmed, I think about the world from their perspective: they want love, shelter, food, and companionship. It reminds me that that’s what we all want and need.

What’s the biggest existential threat to humanity?

Welch: The dismantling of facts, science and expertise poses the biggest threat on humanity. Ignoring and/or rewriting the scientific community’s findings on climate change, vaccines, poverty, mental illness, and on and on. If we diminish the value of expertise and facts, humanity will struggle.

Sullivan: Racism and lack of empathy.

What’s your review of 2025?

Welch: 2025 has been a really sh*tty year. Watching our institutions crumble, masked ICE agents terrorizing people in the streets, observing wholly unqualified individuals run governmental agencies into the ground, watching billionaires enrich themselves by sucking up to Trump and abandoning their customer base and humanity has been utterly brutal. However, the No Kings March and the elections in November reminded me that not all of us are cowards and that we must stand together because all human rights are connected.

Sullivan: My biggest takeaway is the failure of the US Supreme Court and Congress to exercise their constitutional power to stop the US’s slide into authoritarianism and change or allow Trump to violate long established law. The capitulation of universities and media companies to the Trump regime also sticks out to me.

Is there a political figure or movement you’re looking forward to podding about in 2026?

Welch: I’m looking forward to covering establishment democrats that are getting primaries by progressive, non-AIPAC-taking Dems.

Sullivan: If he would be candid, former President George W. Bush. I would like to get his thoughts on the current regime and the state of the Republican Party. I want to continue to platform all resistance to Trump and his administration. I would also like to platform the victims of Epstein and Maxwell.

Rapid-fire favorites: Movie?

Welch: My favorite movie of this year is an old one, “All the President’s Men.” I recently rewatched it and marveled that the media and the Republican Party used to have courage and integrity.

Sullivan: “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”

Music?

Welch: This year I’ve been listening to a lot of Tame Impala and Cigarettes After Sex.

Sullivan: Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” concert

Moment of your own podcast, perhaps?

Welch: My favorite moment of our podcast was hosting historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat. I found her expertise regarding the current state of Trump’s dismantling of the constitution pertinent, educational, and therapeutic. In a world full of blowhard pundits (myself included in that critique), experts should be front and center.

Sullivan: When Jennifer went on her Cracker Barrel rant on the pod is my favorite podcast memory of 2025. It was funny in the moment, but I didn’t truly appreciate it until I saw the clip. I laugh uncontrollably every time I see it.

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