Hey, guys, ready or not, twenty twenty four is here and we here at breaking points, are already thinking of ways we can up our game for this critical election.
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But enough with that, let's get to the show. Good morning, everybody, Happy Thursday.
We have an amazing show for everybody today.
What do we have today? We do lots of interesting things breaking. We're going to give you a little update on what's going on with the whole border Ukraine, Israel deal, non deal, etc. Some question marks about what's going to happen in the Senate today, so we'll break that down for You've also got Nikki Haley losing to none of the above. Some amazing cope there, R and C also apparently in shambles. Ronnie McDaniel apparently leaving break that down
for you as well. Trump is now saying, hey, maybe we should give bud Light a second chance. Hilarious be me rejecting a ceasefire deal and the us getting put on blast from Saudi Arabia for basically lying about what that country's position was with regards to normalization with Israel. Fox News aired what appeared to be a live hate crime. We'll show you that and tell you the background and what we have learned about what exactly the hell transpired there.
Hillary is weighing in on Tucker's interview with Putin. You're gonna love that one, and we all needed and Sager Scott is Apple Vision Pro. That's right here on the desk. So we're going to do a little We're going to do a little.
Live debut using in front of you guys. I recorded especially something at home just to show it to everybody.
Give ale review.
I am an Apple fan boy, to be fair, so this is not necessarily the most unbiased.
Well I'm a cynic. Good, it'll be pretty bad.
I will try and I will try and convince you as to why it's a great device and it's changing the world.
I was saying, I have yet to see a single woman who's actually why we showed you. We showed you one, found one, we showed you one. Well, we have one on our side. That's all takes. That's how groundbreaking tech work. Anyway, lots to get into this morning before we get to any of that, though, Thank you guys so much for helping us get that Rfkjunior focus group together. Super excited to share the results with you next week. Yeah, that's right.
So we are going to be debuting it to everybody early next week. The full version is going to go out to our premium subscribers first. You guys can listen to that or watch it at your leisure if your premium early otherwise is going to post up much much later. So if you want to be able to watch it early and you want to be able to support that type of work breakingpoints dot com, you can go ahead and sign up for a premium membership.
Yeah.
It comes kind of a perfect time because it really I just was reading an article this morning about how the Biden team is like freaking out about the third party candidates and whatever. So it's about to be a really big story, and it'll be interesting to hear from the voters themselves about why it is that they're rejecting both Trump and Biden and instead opting for RFKAGINGI.
I think you guys are really going to resonate with some of these people. Okay, let's go to the end of deal. There were some major developments in the United States Senate. Just yesterday we brought everybody the news that the border deal would appear to have collapsed but has now led to a new situation. Let's go and put this up there on the screen, just we can give
everyone and update. The Senate is currently in complete turmoil because they're both trying to advance two separate pieces of legislation. First and foremost is the quote border deal, which is then attached to the foreign aid deal, which we brought everybody the details of in our last show. Just a reminder, that includes sixty billion for Ukraine, fourteen one point billion for Israel, ten billion in quote unquote humanitarian aid, a pittance to Taiwan, and then an additional twenty billion.
With some border reforms that would have passed.
Now it does not appear that that bill is going to have this sixty votes to be able to even move to debate and consideration on the floor. Senator truck Schumer, though, has now decided to put four two separate votes Crystal one will be on this border deal, which they anticipate failing, although that actually is up in the air right now, currently has fifty eight votes.
The vote is held overnight.
The second piece of legislation is actually stripping away all of the border provisions and would include just foreign aid for Israel, for Ukraine, and for Taiwan humanitarian aid as well. Originally appeared to be a non starter, but there are some Republicans, people like Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and others who have said that they would be supportive of such a measure. So the big question is whether that gets
to sixty. But I guess what belies this entire thing is the House of Representatives that this whole thing is dead no matter what. So right, in a certain point, this is all fake, but you know, we get to see Washington's real priorities. This is the sixty billion for Ukraine, fourteen billion for Israel. Well, remind everyone, by the way that the Israelids specifically says shall not be subject to
congressional oversight. Imagine writing that in when you are the ones who are in Congress, you would expect the Israelis or the President to ask for something like that, not to just preemptively put it in there in the right.
Congress be like, we don't want any authority, no thank you, we don't really know what's going on, no oversight.
First take the bombs, drop it on whoever you want.
It is incredible. I mean, obviously, I'm cheering for every one of these things to go down and flame, so the fact that it looks like it's headed in that direction is good either. The one that there's the biggest question marks about is the just foreign aid piece, the just Ukraine and just Israel peace, which is ironic. I mean again, listen, I'm glad this is all failing, so
let me just be really clear about that. But it is sort of a hilarious situation because at the beginning of this Republicans were like, we're never voting for Ukraine unless it comes with border funding as well, and then the border one goes down, and yet just the Ukraine and is zero one seems to have a better shot at passage. But again, as you said, Soger, it doesn't look like these things are going to get through the House.
Although I don't think Mike Johnson has been totally definitive about just the foreign aid package and what he would do on the other hand. You know, people like Marjorie Taylor Green and others have been very adamant that they will push for Mike Johnson. He pushed out of the speakership if he does bring any Ukraine aid to the floor. So that obviously puts him in a very tricky position. And this is not a man who has navigated tricky positions very effectively thus far.
Yeah, listen, I want it both to go down for the same reason, so so for different reasons. So I guess we're definitely united on that one. A little bit of horseshoe theory.
Yeah, the fun thing watch are our long immigration debate. If you want to really understand, we have to reopen that.
I think I would probably slip my wrist. But that's a different, different scenario for another day. You were talking about Mike Johnson. Johnson has honestly humiliated himself. The last couple of days were an absolute disaster for any House speaker. And I'm talking you know, this isn't anything personal. It's just this is inexperience and chaos within the caucus. So I know Ryan and Emily covered a little bit of
this yesterday. They had the failure of the majorcis impeachment vote, which was like the House Republican thing.
I cannot tell you.
My phone blew up whenever that impeachment vote failed. People in the House and others were like, I cannot believe this. They're like this everyone told me for weeks. They're like, it's done, deal, don't worry about it. You guys can cover it. Blah blah said, all right, you know, when
it happens, we'll do a segment or whatever. And now the only it's a failure, and the reason is a failure is because he has no control on the caucus and he just the margin of votes that they have is so slim to none that you can have Al Green, who is the Houston Democrat, trotted in from literally from like the operating room table to vote and it changes their whole margin and then they lose one guy and that's it. Boom, they lose two back to back votes
on the floor of the House. He's also under two major pressures right now, as you were saying, with regard to Ukraine. The thing is about Ukraine is that there is a House Ukraine Caucus which isn't chaired by a Republican. Mike Turner. Now, Mike Turner has previously said he wouldn't consider it without the border deal. But this is a diet in the wall neocon also one of the people blocking UFO transparency.
Interesting, So we'll put those two things there.
So that's about one hundred and so Republicans that are in that category.
But then you've.
Got Marjorie Taylor Green, You've got Steve Scalise who's in the House leadership as well others who are skeptical of Ukraine Eiden, and those are equally saying, if you bring this to the floor, we're going to go after you. He's in a near impossible position, and it's one of those where we genuinely have no idea what he's going to do. He gave kind of a sad press conference yesterday. Let's take a listen to what he said.
We'll see what the Senate does. We're allowing the process to play out, and we'll hand as it is sent over. I have made very clear that you have to address these issues on their own merits, and Israel desperately needs the assistance. Everyone knows that things have changed pretty dramatically since we passed that first Israel package in the House three months ago. Everyone knows the tensions have escalated and we need to support it there on impeachment. Last night
was a setback. But democracy is messy. We live in a time of divided government. We have a razor thin margin here and every vote count. Sometimes when you're counting votes and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation. I don't think that this is a reflection on the leader. It's a reflection on the body itself and the place where we've come in this country. Look, the nation is divided.
We lament that right. The difference is the chasm between the two parties right now is wider than it's ever been, and there are lots of emotions and we live in the age of social media and twenty four hour news cycle. You know, there were previous congresses where this a gaggle like this would not even have been possible. So we're in a different time.
We're in a different time.
Yeah, I guess you could say that mister Johnson, mister speaker. Lookas I don't know what he's gonna do, but he's in a bad spot. The big question right now, you know, we thought that the votes were going to happen late last night. They've decided to delay it. I don't I genuinely have no idea which one's going to pass. It actually is conceivable that one of them could. But then, as Speaker Johnson just laid out there, he barely has
any idea what his own votes are. He's very willing, which is very bizarre to bring votes to the floor which failed. I mean, this never happened under Bayner and under Pelosi, you know, save for I'm trying to think maybe tarp I mean that was back in two thousand and a seven, you know, the last time that we saw like dysfunction like this, and that was.
A way higher stakes environment.
So, I mean, this just shows a complete breakdown of the entire Republican institutional establishment.
At the top.
Really like the quote unquote like what is the inmates are running the asylum and Johnson is one of those people where you know, a shiit is waiting for him basically no matter what he does.
Yeah, in that situation, arcas thing was the thing that was most amusing to me is afterwards, I think it's Marjorie Taylor. I think Ryan and Emiley covered this boat was so funny. She was like cleaning, you know, crying foul over the Democrats just getting their members to vote. She was like they were hiding members. Is like, no, you scheduled to vote for when you probably knew this man was going to be in surgery and just assumed
that you could count him out. And you should probably assume the other side is going to bring their caucus and you know, on something that's a priority for them to try to vote it down and make sure you have the margins. I mean, it's just very it's just very rookie behavior. On the other hand, you know, the Republican Party isn't really about like governance at this point, especially not in the House, in the Senate. It's all a cold of personality around Donald Trump. He told him
to vote down the border thing. They fell in line and did exactly what he wanted them to do. I think there's I'm enjoying watching the chaos. It's amusing to me to watch this man be like basically humiliated in real time. I am I have to admit I'm enjoying that spectacle. But I don't think anyone should either fool themselves about like this really meaning anything for twenty twenty four for the broader politics, et cetera. The last thing I'll say about whatever is going to happen today with
the just Ukraine and Israel piece of this. The question marks are not only on the Republican side, although that's where the sort of the biggest question mark is. Is also some question marks about how many Democrats will refuse to back another blank check to Israel. You've already had Bernie Sanders, of course he's technically an independent, but coxes
with the Democrats. Obviously he's a no. Elizabeth Warren put out something yesterday that seemed like it indicates she didn't say she's a no, but she said no more blank checks for Netanyahu. So that's sort of indicated maybe she's a no. And there's a handful of others, just a few others that could potentially bulk at another complete blank check for Israel. So that's another thing to I'm talking like, maybe you get another one, but when you have margins,
that matters a lot. The difference between one versus three not voting for it is a big deal.
Yeah, exactly, So we could end up with nothing, which you know what, I'm pretty that's what I'm cheering for, especially whenever it comes to the situation going on in Ukraine.
Speaking of public humiliation, I enjoining Nikki Haley and Nevada managed to lose to none of the above. She's now given an interview explaining her cope of what exactly happened here and trying to justify her continued existence in this race. Let's take alism. Does that situation Nevada hurt a little bit?
No, I mean Nevada. It's such a scam. They were supposed to have a primary. Trump rigged it so that the GOP chairman who's been indded would go and create a caucus. We knew months ago that we weren't going to spend a day or a dollar in Nevada because it wasn't worth it, and so we didn't even count Nevada. That wasn't anything we were looking at.
We knew that was rigged from the start.
Our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan Super Tuesday. So if you look what we did, and I when you look what we did in New Hampshire, we're continuing to grow. That's what matters, I think more than anything else. But look at what happened this week here you have Republicans lost a major vote on the border, Republicans lost a major vote on Israel. Donald Trump was found that he will not have immunity in all of these court cases
coming up. The R and C chair is fired. All of this chaos is happening around us, and Donald Trump's fingerprints are on every bit of it. We can't continue as the Republican Party to go forward with this chaos. You don't defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. And that's why we've got.
To see a change.
So it was rigged. Is that what she's saying. I'm pretty sure she's saying it was rigged.
I love the part. My favorite part of that is when she's like, we weren't even counting Nevada. Like yes, begin well, and not only that, but like, you're not the one that gets to decide which states count and which states don't, so the fact that you weren't counting Nevada doesn't really count for much. I mean, listen, she is right. There was like a weird thing that happened with Nevada that I don't totally understand that led to there being a primary and a caucus and that's why
Trump's name wasn't on the ballid or whatever. But if you are the basically the only current candidate who is on the ballot and you're getting destroyed by none of the above, it's like it shows you where the Republican Party is. And so it is hard for me to understand her justification for staying in the race at this point. Let's go and listen to Steve Kernaki on the night of this Nevada situation explaining what exactly was going down, because this is kind of funny. Take a listen.
Haley, without Trump's name, even on the ballot, still loses to the Nun option by better.
Than two to one.
So that's that is a tough reality for her night. Trump you on the ballot and she loses, and it's a closed primary. So it really reinforces what we've been seeing that when you're just talking about Republican voters, she's really she's really getting clavered with Republican voters. She's had independence and Democrats to keep her in it.
I love the way he's like, he's, yeah, we know, Steve, we agree, So.
You know, after I don't remember I it was before
new him. I think it was before New Hampshire. I was saying, you know, there's a chance that even though this ends up just being a long humiliation for her, that she stays in on the possibility with like the donor class backing her under the possibility that some black Swan event occurs and takes Trump out of the race, even though if that did happen, I'm not even sure how that would go down, if that would leave her as the heir apparent, or what would happen in that scenario.
I guess it depends on the timing of when said black Swan event were to occur. And I think at this point that's the only real justification for her candidacy is like, you know, maybe something crazy happens, because if you are losing to none of the above, and Republicans in every contest are clearly with the other guy, in spite of the fact that you know Paul's do show,
would she would destroy Joe Biden? You know, I don't think there's any doubt if you're just looking at electability, you are taking a risk with Trump that you're not taking with Nikki Haley. But people are convinced Trump can win. I think there's a good chance Trump can win and they haven't been given a reason to move off the guy that they still really love.
Yeah, exactly, And look, I mean, when you've got the other thing is is that?
Sure?
But general elections don't happen in a vacuum. You have to win a primary with at least in the current system. I don't necessarily love it, but it is what it is. Let's put this up there on the screen. I mean,
just look at this. In terms of the overall vote total, sixty three point two percent two thirds of the people who took time out of their day came to check none of them, thirty point five percent for Naki ham Okay, forty three eight hundred and ninety three American citizens took time out of their day to march their ass to the polling poll just to check none of the above, specifically to say screw you to Nikki Haley, and they outnumbered them two to one to the people who actually
thought that they were going to go vote for her.
That, I mean, how the hell.
Are you supposed to compete with this? It's just literally impossible. It Also, you know, bringing back to what we were talking about in our a block Crystal about the demise of the Republican establishment for her to be defending the RNC and the collapse of that as some sort of sign of chaos.
So let's put this up there on the screen.
Somebody sent me this yesterday and I've gone through and verified this through Red State, which was the original publisher. Look at RNC versus DNZ spending. Top line, the RNC spent one hundred and twenty eight million versus the DNC spent one hundred fifty six million. But when you break down what they were spending money on, it is shocking. The rn C spent seventy thousand dollars on floral arrangements.
The DNC spent seven hundred and ninety five. The RNC spent two hundred and sixty three thousand dollars on a limousine service. The DNC spent seven grand. It's like, what, lady, you never heard of Uber Uber Black's not good enough for you? What is going on over here? I mean, the fact is is that you can see so clearly that they were squandering their budget to a historic degree, even in that management consulting line. Look at that one million dollars on management consultants.
That's by far the motion, I totally agree, far worse out of the flowers or the thig whatever. The management insulting bad it's a shameful Yeah, a million.
Bucks on management consulting. The DNC spent one hundred and fourteen grand office supplies. They're spending three hundred grand on office supplies that DNC is spending for it. What are they buying? Are they buying vision pros? You know, like what's happening? Well, are you buying the G.
Two pens and not the top high level off? What are you people doing? The other thing you note there is the things that Democrats outspent them on were like voter outreach, like to your TV texting. But I mean,
yes to all of that. But I also think it's such cope to think that the problems of the Republican Party are like the Lin nine homes of spending at the R and D. I know you agree with me, but I just want to like put that out there because I'm just remembering for vac at that debate that was like, oh, the reason we're losing is because of Rana and the R and B, and I think that's preposterous like, obviously, the overall political dynamics are backlash against Trump,
backlash against extremism, and backlash against the dab's decision overturning Roe versus Weight. I mean, those are the big pieces. So in that way, Nikki Haley is right that, like you know, in terms of Republican and electoral prospects, they would be much better off if they moved past Donald Trump.
I don't think there's any doubt about that. I mean, the reason that they underperformed in the midterm elections, the reason that they're losing like every special election that comes up, the reason that they've definitely lost every single ballot initiative has anything to do with abortion rights. Those things are not about the RNC. They do stems sort of directly from Donald Trump or the Supreme Court justices that he put on the bench. So that is the big picture.
But yeah, I mean, this is an embarrassing profligate like profligate spending on all of the wrong things at the RNC as well on top.
Of everything, right, I mean, and more, what I'm saying is that these people are morally bankrupt and oh and just not deserving of any sort of reverence Like within the Republican Party, which is part of why, Like it's one of those where you're right, Look, is it the rnc's fault they're losing. No, But at the same time, you can't be blowing people's money on florinal arrangements and on limousine services. It's shocking. And I'll put a modest
defense in here. RNC and DNC. Yeah, they don't matter at a macro level, but you know, at a micro level they can matter. They can you know what, five ten thousand votes people who are canvassing, having the right software and all that stuff. Again, it is not determinative, like it is not the major thing that matters, but people do give money, and the allegedly are supposed to exist for a certain reason, and you shouldn't be spending that on floor arrangements and on.
The thing they primarily exist for at this point is just to like control the process and make sure that you know, the flowers that be get their way, that you know, Joe Biden doesn't have to debate and he gets the lineup of states that he wants and that the process is completely controlled. And the RNC side the same thing. I mean, they were actually had much more of a democratic process than the Democrats did. But there's also no doubt that there was a lot of fealty
from Ronald McDaniel to Donald Trump. You know, he gave her his blessing. She was allowed to stay in there so long as he felt that she served his purpose. And apparently that rain is coming to an end. Put this up on the screen. Ronald looks like she is leaving after some criticism from Trump. She plans to step down on a Trump likely to back a supporter of his false cly sames of election fraud fraud Michael Wattley,
the head of the North Carolina GOP. There's a quote in here from someone, you know, some insider, who said mister Trump likes mister Watley for one overwhelming reason according to people who have discussed him with the former president. Quote, he is a stop the steel guy, as one of the people described him. You also have some, uh it is, you know, not a guarantee that this dude will get it, even though this is Donald Trump's pick. But I think
it's very very likely. But there could be internal dissent and it's not like Trump can just tap him on the head and appoint him. There does have to be some internal process, so we'll see how that plays out.
I also thought this was amusing. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point UNS USA, has lobbied publicly to remove Miss Daniel, suggesting last week in an interview that some Trump family members, including Laura Trump, former president's daughter in law, could be potential picks for party leadership posts as well. So you're looking at staffing up the party with direct Trump relatives.
To be honest, it would be logically consistent. If the whole party's going to be about Trump, then just put a Trump person, true, right.
I mean, if it's going to be a called, just get the loyalists, make.
Clear to day right, let's just put the last name Trump and put you know.
Is mke Don Junior the VP.
Pay it is what it is. I don't support it, but I'm just like that clearly that's a Republican reality. I was once in the Trump hotel when Don Junior walked in, and it was literally like it was like being in a hundred years ago when a Habsburg prince must have walked into like a vdah.
It was crazy.
I mean I watched people grown men in Carhart jackets lose their minds over the son of the President. And I was like, do you think Chelsea Clinton is getting greeted like this anywhere?
You know, she'd probably get walked into the.
Rich Carlton or whatever New York and people are like, you know, they'll give it an acknowledgement, but they're not.
There's no person now. Back in the heyday of like the Clinton Global Initiative, that's when she would walk into that room. I'm sure she was treated with, you know, fawning admiration back when she was being hired by NBC crews. What about Sasha Obama?
Right Like I once walked past Stash Obama on the street in Georgetown. You would never have known it if it wasn't the Factor Secret Service guy was right behind her. It's just different, you know, in terms of the way that the parties are anyway.
Sick country we live in. It's a crazy country. This was amusing as well. I'm interested in Sager's take on this. So Trump put this post up on true Social basically calling for people to forgive and forget when it comes to bud Light. Put this up on the screen so I can read this in its entirety quote the bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for that a very big price was paid. But Anheiser Busch is not a woke company, but I can give you
plenty that are and building a list. It might just release it for the world to see. Why not. The radical left does it viciously to well run conservative companies and people. Very nasty, but it's the way they play
the game. On the other hand, Ann Heeiser Busch spends seven hundred million dollars a year with our great farmers, employ sixty five thousand Americans, of which fifteen hundred veterans, and is a founding corporate partner of Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships for families of fallen servicemen and women. They've raised over thirty million dollars given forty four thousand scholarships. Ann Heiser Busch is a great American brand that perhaps
deserves a second chance. What do you think, perhaps since dead, we should be going after those companies that are looking to destroy America? Or your thoughts on this dagger?
Well? First of all, who wrote that like an Anheuser Busch spokesperson twenty five thousand Americans, fifteen hundred of which.
As like, who wrote that, just clearly somebody. He definitely didn't hit all these facts on the top of his head.
Yeah, I know, it's like, listen, I met Trump. He he's not that coaching, all right. He definitely doesn't know things like that at the top of this.
So what's going on here?
That's upon some digging by some conservative activists, it turns out, let's put this up there on the screen that after the year long now boycott, it turns out that Trump not only is their top lobbyist, a major fundraiser for him Anheuser Busch, but that Trump himself actually owns up to five million dollars in Anheuser Busch stock. And why I think is hilarious is that Trump is just one of those people who has the ability to take.
A conservative call.
You know, if this was Marco Rubio, if this was if this was I mean even Ted Cruz, Marjorie any of these people.
Matt Gates people who are literally anyone else.
Anyone else, they would be savaged by the conservative faithful. But they give him a pass even when he does like blatantly liberal things, or he just like stabs conservative orthodoxy in the heart. In many cases it's very useful, like when we're talking about tax cuts or whatever, or tariffs. That's a better example because he was actually quite conservative on tax cuts traditionally.
But whenever it's.
Stuff like this, people who are like pro life, and you know, in this case anti bud Light are just left like shocked.
They're like, this is all that I worked for and they just destroyed it.
The perfect example is Matt Walsh, who over at the Daily Wire, let's put this please up there on the screen.
He put this out there.
He says, quote, we managed to organize the first effective conservative boycott ever. Nobody has given any good reason why we should surrender now without an apology or concession, and heiser Busch isn't even an American company. We would be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for the sake of rescuing a foreign corporation from the consequences of its own action. Absolute madness. But you know what, I really noted The word Trump is not.
In that true. It was greatly in a.
Follow up that he says, Trump getting those strategic reason why abandoning this one single thing would be a good idea. Apparently we should back off because it would be a nice thing to do, and it's very important to be
nice to people who push transgenderism. But you know, again, what's shocking to me is that if you look at the comments, if you look at the you know, the if you look at like the quote tweets and some of the replies and stuff, people are like, well, it's okay, guys, because Dana White over at UFC signed to deal with them,
so they're cool. It's like everyone does jiu jitsu to justify why Trump can say something that any again, any conservative influencer, any Republican politician, anyone, Dan Crunch, whatever, they would be savage beyond belief. They would be mounting boycotts, they would be you know, pushing a primary candidate and
all this other stuff. And here where he has a blatant conflict of interest and is going against something which was I mean, I can tell you from social media wise and all this stuff, this is the most successful conservative things I've ever seen. And Trump just comes out and he's like, no, we're not doing it anymore.
It's amazing.
You know.
It's like even guy like Walsh I would say relatively consistent in his views and all that he knows, like he's like, I'm gonna get chin On for this. It's just it's nuts the way that Trump just gets a pass by his voters.
I mean, if Nikki had done that tress.
And especially if she owns stock in that corporate can you believe forget about Instagram accounts and all these people constantly talk about Nancy Pelotzi and con which we agree with.
We're one of the people who started that movement. You can go back and roll the tape. But it's like with Trump, it's he just gets everything.
You know.
I was just at the Trump well the Waldorf for story Now, and I was walking around and just remember like the Bonanza what it was at the time. I remember seeing foreign diplomats and all these people blowing all this money at the hotel, and at that time, I was like, this is so disgusting and so crazy. And of course only Democrats cared right at that time. And then you know Biden or Hunter whatever, oh mum's the word. Nobody says yeah when.
It's Kushner, then suddenly oh yeah, yeah Kushner, than we don't, or when it's literally Trump getting money directly through his hotels and whatever. Don't care. I mean, this is like a typical of classically swampy behavior. It's terrible regard obviously, Like I so, just so people recall in case you follow, all the ins and outs of this all was sparked by one like trans influencer at that but Late Light
decided to do and it caused this whole thing. But in terms of you know, being effect like it genuinely was a huge thing on social media. It genuinely impacted their stock price, they pulled the ads, There was a whole thing at the corporate level, and it also sparked these follow on trends of then going after Target and
going after this and that other company. So you know, if those if that's what you're into, He's right that it was successful, and it's just it is just another instance of how much pull Trump has with this entire party. And the other thing is, though, you know, you have to think about now, he's very clearly heading into a general election, and he doesn't need freaks and weirdos like Matt Walsh to love every move that he's making them a vote for him. Of course they're gonna vote for him.
They're going to rally the faithful, They're going to rally all their audiences for him. So he doesn't need to appease. I mean, he doesn't care. He can do what he wants and appear much more of a He has a good sensibility of like normy impulse and some a lot of this right wing influencer stuff is just completely off the rows, like the Taylor Swift sigh up stuff, which is noteworthy.
This comes at that moment too, because bud Light is tied into the whole, that whole thing because I guess Travis Kelsey did some bud light ad Oh you didn't know that. Yeah, it was drinking, but that there was some bud light situation here as well. That was part of the bud Light necklace. There you go. It's part of the whole conspiracy around Taylor and Travis Kelcey and so which makes the look like such crazy freaks and weirdos that they're like obsessing over these weird you know,
deep state sigh up conspiracies. And he also has fingers on the pulse of like this is not going to resonate with normal people whatsoever. So I think there's an element of that as well, of like he doesn't have to care about those people anymore.
I would be curious to see what happens with the tailor thing because I could see Trump be because the only reason is that the people around Trump have been tweeting about this tailor thing, and I actually think it's one of those things that he would pick up at dinner at mar a Lago and he might fire off a truth. So I'm not convinced yet that he may not trash Taylor Swift eventually, even if she does not endorse me.
I think that work. You might be right. I think he's too smart to do it personally.
You know what. The one thing is that Trump does understand is he understands media, and he understands when somebody is more powerful than him. By all accounts, the person who he feared most and he was resident was Oprah. He was always like, if she runs against me, I'm toast. It's one of those smart like But you know, he probably was right, so I guess we should give him another media credit. Any Anyways, this whole thing is just
you know, these concervative infludentals. Other people, It's like they have no backbone like you know, wall shure he stood upgainst them, But how many of these people who were cheering. I saw people make YouTube channels that went to one and a half million just shitting on bud light and it was fun.
Listen. I enjoyed it.
It was a fun thing to watch and to all that take place. But they'd have no word, you know, not one whenever it comes to Trump or something like this. And as I said, if it was Nikki, if it was anybody else, they would savage them.
And the icing on the cake, not only that is the stock and.
The fact that that is such an obviously ghost written tweet by some lobbyists, it's craziness.
Yeah, that's when of the you know, writing was always on the wall with regards to the Republican primary because this has always been the dynamic. It is true, it's always been the case. And that's why I was never convinced that anything Ronda Santis could say, or anything Nicki Haley could say, we're going to move people off of him, because they just you know, they still really like this guy and they're gonna go down with the ship if
that's what it takes. They're going to stick by him no matter what he says, what he does, how contradictory, whatever, it doesn't matter. Absolutely so, guys, as we've been reporting, there have been active negotiations for another ceasefire agreement, a temporary or even a potentially permanent ceasefire. Hamas returned their counterproposal and bb Netna, who has rejected it completely out of hand. Let's take a listen to some of his comments.
I came here this evening to say, we are on our way to that decisive victory. It is in our hands. It's not a matter of perhaps weeks, but it is in a matter of months. The IDF for working systematically, and they will achieve all the objectives of the war. They're going to release all the hostages, eliminate Hamas, and Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel. The achievements of the IDF are unprecedented. Within four months, the
Ideaf have wounded and killed over twenty thousand terrorists. In other words, we're talking about all those brigades that we have actually achieved to eliminate.
There is, first of all, no evidence that they have killed twenty thousand fighters, and even independent analysts, even a former general from the US said that their success has been incredibly limited. They have not taken out the top
top Hamas leadership, they've not destroyed the tunnel system. So he's, you know, really trying to convince the Israeli people that victory is just around the corner, just months away, just at hand, and they're going to get the hostages released, et cetera, et cetera, and so it's fine to reject this deal. Of course, the reality is that they've killed more of their own hostages by quite a number at this point, than they've been able to rescue through military operations.
The only time hostage releases were secured was during the last temporary ceasefire. So I want to give you a sense of what the Hamas counterproposal was because you know, the media doesn't cover it in depth, and also because the US is saying it contains non starters quote unquote non starters. Yeah, one of those non starters is that they actually want the war to end, and the US and Israel do not want the war to end. Let's go and put this up on the screen. The basic
idea here. I'm not going to read all of this, guys, ab I'll give you the top line. The basic idea here is for a three stage deal, with different groups
being released in each of those stages. In the first stage, they say they would see a temporary cessation of military operations, and the two parties will release Israeli detainees from among women and children under the age of nineteen, not conscripted, the elderly, the sick, in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners, ensuring the release of all individuals whose names
are pre agreed upon during this stage. Also critical here they say they want to start reconstruction of hospitals across the strip, and that last bullet this part is also really important beginning of indirect negotiations regarding the requirements necessary
for restoring complete calm. So effectively, in the first stage, you'd start some reconstruction, you have a total pull out of the Israeli military, you'd have this first batch of hostages released in Palestinian prisoners exchange, and you would start negotiations to a complete end of the conflict. That's the part that really is the non starter quote unquote for the Israelis in the US. Let's put the next piece up on the screen here regarding second stage, it would
be another forty five days. This stage aims to release all detained men, civilians and conscripts in exchange for specific numbers of Palestinian prisoner's continuation of humanitarian measures. So the basic idea here is you sort of continue the projects of reconstruction and the continued negotiations while men and idea of soldiers are released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Put
the next piece up on the screen. In the third stage, you'd have a complete cessation of military operations from both sides, read deployment of Israeli forces away from populated areas. Both parties will release all Israeli detainees from among women and children under the age of nineteen, not conscripted, elderly sick, in exchange for all prisoners and the occupations prisons, including women, children, elderly.
Let's put the last piece up on the screen. This is also the stage where any hostage dead bodies, because there's somewhere around fifty hostages who have been killed at this point, unsurprising given that they're in the Gaza strip under heavy bombardment. At this point. There's some other pieces here, like stopping the incursions and aggression by Israeli settlers on Al Azamas, returning the situation all Oxamas to what it
was before two thousand and two. That may not sound like a big deal, that is considered kind of a big ass return of displaced persons, ensuring opening of all crossings, lifting an Israeli restrictions on the movement of travelers, patients and the wounded through that Rafa crossing, resupplying the Gaza strip, and the occupations commitment to supplies supplying Gaza with its electricity and water needs. So that was a lot, guys.
But basically the idea from the Hamas proposal was these three stages, different types of hostages released in each stage, with the idea that the negotiations would be ongoing to bring about a complete end of the conflict. And so howber that's the piece that's really considered a non starter. We can also get Tony Blincoln responded to these negotiations. He's claiming the negotiations aren't dead. I don't know whether
that's true or not. You can't really leave a word that comes out from any of these people's mouths, by the way, but let's take a listen to his response to the Hamas proposal.
We've looked very carefully at what came back from Hamas, and there are clearly non starters in what it's put forward, but we also see space in what came back to pursue negotiations to see if we can get to an agreement with regard to Rafa. Look, as I said before, Israel has the responsibility, has the obligation to do everything possible to ensure that civilians are protected and that they get the assistance they need in the course of this conflict.
Any military campaign, military operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost in mind, and I suggested again some ways to do that. And that's especially true in the case of Rafa, where there are somewhere between one point two and one point four million people, many
of them displaced from other parts of Gaza. So we want to make sure again that in anything that's done in any military operations, the situation for civilians is first and foremost in mind, and that necessary steps are taken to make sure that they're protected and they have the assistance they need.
So a few things there, I mean. First of all, Gany describes the Hamas proposal as a non starter, and largely because you can read into that they want the war to end. And I'm going to show you some pulling in just a minute that shows you exactly why bb Netyahu does not want the war to end, which is because Israelly citizens overwhelmingly want his ass out of there once the war does end, So that's always been his posture. The other piece that's really important there, though,
is he's talking about Rafa. And the reason that's so significant is because as Palestinians were forced out of Gaza City, they were forced down to communis then they were forced down to Rafa. Now you have over a million people clustered at the border, and Israel signaling that they are planning to widen their operation to that Rafa border. Well, you can only imagine, I mean, it's already a total
humanitarian catastrophe there. You can only imagine if you start having scenes of battle and intense bombing and all of that on top of this incredibly densely packed civilian population clustered now in Rafa, what kind of a catastrophe that would be. I mean, even given the levels of destruction and chaos and atrocities that we've seen, it could be the case that we haven't seen anything yet compared to what could unfold in Rafa.
That's actually where obviously, that's also why Blinkn is so concerned, at least privately.
Let's put this sump there on many end.
He's got it up here, Tony, Sorry, Tony, Blinkn was actually directly this is from Axios yesterday by the Defense Minister that if they do have a rejection of the ceasefire, that the operation into Gaza quote will expand in the
city that have now mostly remained unharmed. Blincoln told the Lot told Blincoln during this meeting that this will push them into continuation of the ground operation, and that the response they said was drafted in a way that they believe that Israel World rejected the Hamas position will just lead to the continuation of the war and our forces to enter more places in Gaza soon.
So pretis rallies never have any responsibility for their actions.
The clear point that they're making there is that they're like, this is going to continue. Part of the reason why that this could actually be the most explosives.
It was like, look, we've already had what.
Tens of thousands of civilians who have been killed two to one, maybe in three to one in ratio. Nobody even really knows what it is. But because the civilian population is so densely populated here, it is actually conceivable that if air strikes and ground operations were to be continued, especially if they were going to operate the same way they did in Communis in Gaza. No reason to think they're not, that the civilian population or the civilian death
toll would actually be even higher. There's also way more tunnel mileage under the Rafa crossing than there is anywhere else in the rest of the Gaza strip, which means that it will be deadlier for the IDF and then more likely that they would have to use or will use bombs that will.
Try to collapse him. I'm interested.
So there's a piece of news that just flashed, and I wanted to know what your take was. Here they say Israel will allow the exile actually of Ya Sinoar from Gaza in exchange for the release of all remaining of all the remaining one hundred and thirty six hostages. NBC is reporting now, citing six Israeli officials and senior advisors.
Do you think that could be a way out of this. Oh, go ahead. I mean, they're just my understanding of the proposal, and you can crack me if I'm wrong, because I just saw the headline as well. But is that basically they're like, oh, we'll let you live if you know, basically like give up. And I can't imagine that he would agree to those sort of terms. So no, I don't see it is likely to you know, lead to any sort of padforward.
Yeah, I mean that was just the only Well, I guess it's one of those counters where they want the release of all in exchange for one and that would be exile and then you know, it's not like it would actually give anything up and he likely would be killed anyway, you know, after he left, so he Yeah, I mean, it doesn't seem like there's going to be
any sort of negotiation. The real thing is is that the reason why I think that this is just all kind of just arguing over rhetoric is do these Raelies really believe that you're going to have a two month seas fire and resumption of military operations. I can't think of a single time in the past of modern conflict where you have sixty whole days of no fire and you have then a resumption of military hostilities. It just doesn't especially even more ramped up comas. I mean, listen,
they took those hostages for a reason. They know it's an emotional issue. Number one, They're not gonna give up all their leverage, you know, if it doesn't mean to have a complete end to this. I am not justifying this. I think they should all be released. I'm just saying, like you know, from a pure cold calculation perspective, if they know this is the one chance that they have basically from total annihilation, If they haven't even you know,
whatever they faced, it could be a lot worse. So they didn't have hostages or within them because of the Israeli populous which, as you said, polling indicates how important that issue is to the Israelis themselves.
Yeah, there was a pull that just came out of Israeli society that asks, hey, what do you think the goals of the military operation should be? What should take precedence? And a majority actually put fifty one percent put bringing home the hostages over destroying Hamas. Only thirty six percent said destroying Hamas. And I mean, of course neither goal has been accomplished. Neither has been the real goal of the net Nyahu government. As we've discussed at length, they've
been incredibly ineffective at actually eradicating Hamas. They've only been effective at complete destruction of civilian infrastructure and massive civilian death tolls. That's what they have been very effective doing. You know, even the tunnel system has not been remotely destroyed.
So and of course, as I said before, you know a lot of hostage families from the beginning, they have been saying, hey, we would take a deal that's all hostages released for all Palestinian prisoners release what they call
all for all. So while the US government and the net Yahoo government are saying the Hamas deal is a non starter, please understand that many Israelis, even you know who don't have to be peace necks, but even you know, families of the hostages, they would be very open to a deal like this if it meant that they're family members.
That all one hundred and thirty six of the hostages, those who remain alive, because a number of them somewhere around estimates are around fifty have been killed during this conflict. But some sort of deal of what Hamas has offered here that would bring all of the hostages home. They would be very open to. But again, the domestic political calculus for Biebe is he's got to keep the war going because if he doesn't, then his political ragin is
going to be at an end. So please understand when they say it's a non starter, that's what they consider to be a non starter, the idea that the war would actually end. We have another thing I can put up on the screen. I mean, to me, this is just more theater, but put this up on the screen. Netanyahu reacting to President Biden's like little pitoy sanctions on four settlers, he called them inappropriate and highly problematic. You know,
does he is he really upset about this? I don't know, Probably, I guess, But also I think it benefits him for his right wing base to act like he's outraged. It benefits actually President Biden for the Israelis to act outraged because it makes this pitily you know, sort of pathetic virtue signaling action that they took. It makes it a
year morning meaningful than it actually was. So anyway, that's his reaction as they were quote unquote inappropriate and highly problematic at the same time, there's some really significant developments unfolding vis a vis Saudi Arabia's role in all of this.
So the Biden administration has been trying to float what Thomas Friedman labeled the quote unquote Biden doctrine for the future of the Middle East and essentially involved Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel at the end of all of this, even though the Saudis have really indicated, hey, we're not interested in that unless there is a Palestinian state, something that of course net Nyaho rejects completely out of hand
also as a non starter. So Kirby, John Kirby put this up on the screen, had just said recently that, oh, we received positive feedback from Saudi Arabia and Israel that they're willing to continue to have normalization discussions. These were ongoing before October seventh, to recall was according to again
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby. This apparently really pissed off the Saudist because they felt the need to put out a statement directly in response and even sort of like calling out John Kirby directly that this does not reflect their position at all. Put this up on the screen. So this is a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the discussions between Saudi Arabia, USA and the Arab Israeli peace process. Let me read this
isn't all that long, they see. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that regarding the discussions between Saudi and USA and the Arab Israeli peace process, and in light of what has been attributed to the US National Security spokesperson that would be Kirby, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the position of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been steadfast on the Palestinian issue and the necessity that
the brotherly Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights. The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the US administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the nineteen sixty seven borders with East Jerusalem as is capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli
occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The Kingdom reiterates its call to the permanent members the UN Security Council that have not yet recognized Palestinian state, to expedite the recognition of the Palestinian state on the nineteen sixty seven borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, so that the Palestinian people can obtain their legitimate rights, and so that a comprehensive and just peace is achieved for all. I mean it's somewhat diplomatic language, but sagur in the like
diplomatics speak. This is as much of an over the top SmackDown as you could possibly get in the situation.
The reason it matters is because Saudi normalization is something that the Israelis have wanted for years. Look the Saudi royal family themselves, they don't care about the Palestinians and they don't even care about Israelis. But Saudi Arabia is a big country. They have a big population, yeah, their population. They care a lot about the Palasts. This is the thing that many people don't understand is that the golf monarchies and even you know, the monarchy of Jordan for example.
These people are educated in the West. I mean they you know, they're real politique. As long as they can hang out on the south of France, they don't care.
But they're people.
I mean, in many cases they're poor, and they're very identified with the Palestinian cause they are not as integrated with Western society and all that. And for them this is a deeply emotional issue such that if the Saudis are seen to leave the Palestinians behind in any way by normalizing relationship, it's just it's a.
Complete non starter.
It would actually put the monarchy at risk, something that they will never withstand. Part of the reason that they've been and taken the posture that they've had. It's something that the US and in my opinion diplomats often forget in our dealings with them, is like the Saudi king does not speak for.
The Saudi people.
Sometimes he does, but you know, in cases like this, definitely not.
Yeah, he didn't get edged.
Most of these people ain't educated in the Sandhurst or Georgetown or whatever.
Like.
They are Arab and their very identification with the Arab with Arab nationalism, with Arab cause, and they hate Israel with the fiery passion.
Yeah, I mean, there was a uh, there was a I think it was a league or maybe an administration official officially said this on the record, but they put out to the press like, oh, just before October seventh, we totally were going to work on with Saudi this track to Palestinians statehood, and then October seven just ruined
every It's total nonsense. The Saudi thought they could get away with normalization when the Palestinians were being erased as an issue, and when they're completely on the back burner. No longer possible because of all of the energy in Saudi and throughout the region on behalf of the Palestinian people.
And as I said to you before, Sager, you know a lot of these countries have been sort of humiliated by South Africa who stepped up and they were the ones that filed the charges with the ICJ and accused Israel of genocide. Any one of these countries could have done the same, but they didn't. And so even though it's a monarchy, it's not anything close to a democracy, they still have to respond to pressure from their people.
And if they were seen so for John Kirby to be out there like, oh yeah, they're still interested in normalizing with Israel without having a clear cut Palestinian state Along nineteen sixty seven porters, they felt the need to be like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That is not our position at all. We told you that's not our position. We are very clear about where we stand on all of this, and so it really is once again extraordinary humiliation and rebuke of the US and our posture in
the region. The last thing that I want to share with you with regard to Israel, because there was a lot of interesting polling that recently came out about the Israeli people themselves put this up on the screen. So it continues to be the case that majority of Israelis safety do not want a Palestinian state or peace with Arab countries. Half of Israelis would oppose a deal to end the war in Gods if it includes Palestinian statehood
and peace agreements with other Arab countries. Only thirty nine percent think Israel is ensuring the security of its citizens as well. So there's you know, real indictment of the current Israeli government that's kind of across the board. In addition, this again understated scores the weakness of Netnyahu's position. About seventy one percent of Israelis would like to see early elections. Their current elections are scheduled for November twenty twenty six.
Seventy one percent are saying no, no, no, no, no, we
can't wait till then. We got to either have them, and there's a split in opinion between we should just have them right now, which is of what the quote unquote left in Israel once and the Arab population in Israel once, or hey, we can wait till the war's over, but then we need to have elections, so that polling is in the back of Netanyahu and the rest of the war cabinet by the way of their mind when they're making all of these decisions about how to proceed.
And then I reference this before, but I want to underscore it again. They also asked about the main goals of the war in Gaza, whether bringing home the Israeli hostages are Topplinghamas should be the priority. About half said bringing home the hostages fifty one percent should be the main focus, while thirty six percent said it should be destroying the terror group in the strip. But you know, you have a majority of Israeli societies as we do
not want a Palestinian state. And what does that tell you? It tells you that if it is going to be. If that's going to be a real thing and not just a thing that US politicians say to pretend like they give a shit about Palestinians, then the US is going to have to really use some muscle and basically force a solution on the Israelis. That's really the only way that this would ever happen. And even then it would be, you know, not a certain situation absolutely.
I mean, the thing is is that emotions run hot.
I would say that if you are in the middle of a hostage situation in a full blown war, and you've still got the polling where it is right now, a couple of years from now, guns are not there, some hostages get returned, I could see a difference in the opinion. I mean, it's one of those where I actually was shocked by the numbers, considering I thought it would be two thirds or you know, maybe even three
forts who were opposed to a Palestinian state. I think people there are going to get to a point too where look, right now you're in but war fever. You know you're in the middle of it. Take a year, Israelis. You guys love to travel.
And I'll meet you all over the world.
Try traveling a little bit see what the global reaction is like. You know, if you get denied from a few countries, get meet people in a hostel or whatever.
They're like, oh, you know, you're you know, something like that.
That's going to start to sting, and then you're gonna have to get to a situation where you have to reconcile yourself to the international community on top of US pressure. And I could see things going to fifty percent or so not that long from now.
You're you're right, like, we're gonna have to there's no question you're gonna have to force their hand.
But I also could see democratic sentiment in Israel, especially when bb is finally gone, Smo, trit Bent, all these other people no longer given you know, the bully pulpit. We're not in the middle of a war, you don't have a baby being held hostage and all that.
I could see things changing.
Yeah.
Good, maybe, I mean, there's no guarant It is worth remembering that there have been many previous situations in world history where you had two groups of people, you know, killing each other totally at odds. Seems like an intractable conflict, and it's actually not that long after you're able to negotiate some sort of settlement where there really is like genuine ped every reports to Ireland. I was going to be the perfect example.
When we were in graduate school for my security thing, one of the papers very rarely school assignments stick with you, but it was this like statistical study where and this sounds weird, but the more attempts at ceasefire that there are, the more likely peace is there in the end. And it sounds trite, but what it really means is that the mere act of talking, even though most talks will fall apart, is a precursor to an eventual piece. It actually makes sense, which is if you don't talk at all,
then you can ever arrive at piece. And so even though most talks are intractable, they fail, they fall apart. I think the vast majority of ceasefires actually have resumption of conflict, not two months like what I was talking about. You know, for example, in Syria, we negotiate a seasefire and we have one two days later it kept, we had nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Whatever.
The whole point though, is that the mere act of talking eventually does lead to breakdown to breakthroughs and populations can shift very very quickly whenever they are led by people. So that's one that sticks with me here. And part of the reasons why I think talking even the mere act as maddening and all this is to cover is that it can be very beneficial in the future. A part of the reason I'm rooting for some sort of cease fire agreements actually come.
Yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know, on the flip side, there's no guarantee that whatever comes after net Nyahuo will be more open to peace than Net Naho is. I mean, he's basically his entire career on blocking Palestinian state. There's a reason why you know, he's been able to ascend to power multiple times while staking out that position. It's because it's a position that is widely held in Israeli society.
I do think it's noteworthy that in spite of October seventh, I mean, these poll numbers about statehood basically haven't really moved during this current conflict, which is, you know, I probably would have predicted right after October seventh that, you know, those in favor of a Palestinian state, I mean, it
would just be like sort of completely wiped down. So the fact that you even have like roughly a third that is still like okay, but we should you know, look towards statehood or I would accept at least statehood, you know, and that that hasn't further deteriorated. I guess I can take that as like a positive sign that there is some potential for peace because the reality is, like, there is no military solution to this conflict of course, period,
end of story. The only way that Israelis and Palestinians are going to be able to live in you know, peace and with some relative security, etc. Is through a negotiated settlement is the basic rights of the Palaestinian people and provide them with some sort of a of statehood, you know, that's legitimate, that's not like fake like Biden's also like floating these ideas that would effectively result in what they call like state minus, which wouldn't be real sovereignty.
I mean, it has to be something approaching genuine statehood for the situation to be resolved.
But one yeah, we can look back to, yeah, is disengagement from Gaza Aerosharone. I mean, he's you know, by many war criminal, right, but he was the guy behind the disengagement from Gaza.
I have it here in front of me.
Sixty five percent of voters in a referendum on May second, two thousand and four oppose the disengagement plan. Government went through it anyway, you know why because the Bush administration was like, you're doing this, it's going to happen. So it's one of those where we have the ability and
they can buck their own thing. And now in retrospect, you know, look, there's a lot of things to say about disengagement from Gaza and all that, but it's a good example of how they rooted their people, settlers out of the Gaza Strip and they're like you're getting kicked out, period, And the story that could be, uh, you know, that could be one of a precursor for what the West would look like in the future and their ability.
You know, if the government wants to do it, they can get it done.
Yeah, it's just going to require some political capital and then diplomatic pressure on our end.
Yeah, your point being not that that was good for Palestinians, because it wasn't. I mean, the good conditions and Gaza Strip dramatically deteriorator. They are an incomplete blocking and siege machine guns pointed in at them, et cetera. But that they did something that was unpopular with the popular Yes, exactly.
The Israelis can do it if they want to. Yeah, the end result, I mean, there's a lot of people to blame for that one, mostly Bush. But we'll get to that first.
All right, guys, As you probably know by all of the videos circulating of people looking absolutely ridiculous on the street, the Apple Vision pro has been released. And prepare yourself, guys, go ahead and show the two shot because Sager just got his mail.
We're here here, it is ready. How's my pass through? Can you guys see my eyes?
No, we can't see your eyes at all. We just see the reflections of like our You know what's great.
I can see all of you. I can see you all be digitally rendered right here in front of me. I got my laptop screen over there. I've got some fun stuff going on over here. But I'm still about the studio.
What does it feel like on your head? Like? It seems like it's pretty heavy.
It's a bit heavy. Yeah, I'll be honest, I think that the most comfortable. So I worked for a couple of hours. Yesterday's just literally deliberate. I was actually on the phone with you whenever I have worked for a couple of hours. Yesterday, after three hours, I was like, Okay, you get like kind of a.
Red area that arrives on the forehead.
So the best way is if you're on the couch and you're just kind of leaning.
Back a little bit, like resting on your face. It's just totally amazing. Okay, that's even makes it even a little more dystopian, and we're all just gonna be laying on our couches in another world in these things.
My favorite thing and I saw crysl I'm curious what you saw is a guy who had an infant who was napping on his chest and he's like, usually I can't watch TV because I can't use my hands.
So he had his vision pro on and he could watch TV.
But we'll get to God forbid. We'd just be like present with our loved ones while joining the moment of your precious baby sleeping on your chest. I can't say I've seen any favorite things. I've seen lots of things I've found very disturbing and dystopian. And also it's like for me this thing fits in this weird space of both being kind of dystopian but also kind of like ridiculous and lame. But you can try to change my mind.
Let's Sager did record a video, but first I want to show you some of the videos that have been circulating of other people out in the world using this monstrosity. So here we have the dude who got the first one.
Yes, being cheered as a hero, which he is he is.
He I wonder if he really used better. He's going to resell it because the resale has got to be a lot. Here's someone who is skateboarding down the streets of what appears to be New York City. That's case. He's a YouTuber. Oh for reality he's reviewing that looks terrifying.
Here's the guy this is even more terrifying, who's doing He's in a Tesla self driving, so his hands are not on the wheel and he was like, I don't know, clicking is the guy on the subway who's clicking and people, you know, doing their thing And he just looks kind of like a goober, because that's what you look like when you have this thing on. As we can tell from Sagary others, I'm not so sure. Look at me
over here, my life. You look really cool there we're looking here on my computer, So soccer, where do you put this intern of? You know, there's people like myself who were like, this just seems like another way to have more screens in front of your face, not particularly revolutionary. There are other people who think that this is like groundbreaking, that's going to be the whole new thing, new era.
Where do you fall on that spectrum? What do you find to be the most sort of like, I don't know, revolutionary about the technology.
So for me, this is just v one of the future. I love gadgets.
So my dad and I were Google Glass guys, like just just so people know, you know, like we Google Glass.
Are those guys or freaks?
All right?
So we're one of those now.
The real reason that I bought this and wanted to use it and cashed out some ethereum just to be able to buy it was specifically because I thought this is the best piece of enterprise tech that I had seen yet. So Oculus, which is the meta Quest headset that they have out there, that one is much more geared towards gaming, And I'm not a gamer.
I don't particularly care, but what.
I do love love about this is entertainment is secondary to me for the enterprise application. And what I mean by that is my sheer ability to be able to do work wherever the hell that I want to. I recorded a video actually here on the Vision Pro at home, showing everyone how it was working on my monologue yesterday and kind of the cool setup that I had literally while I was sitting on my couch in my living room.
Let's take a listen.
Hello, everybody, I am coming to you from my living room. As you can see, I want to give a little demo of how I would use the Apple Vision Pro. This is quite literally what I am doing right now. First, I want to show everybody one of my coolest and favorite things about this thing, which is called the environments. So currently I am fully immersed now in Joshua Tree.
So as you guys can see, I literally was just there, and even though I'm in my house, I swear to God, I feel like I am right right there and you can see a little bit of the pass through that's happening here right now. So what I have here in front of me is actually the script for my monologue, which I can am right, I can do some editing. This is fully functional with my laptop keyboard, which is right in front of me. If I want to watch a little bit of Apple TV, I can have it
all right here as you guys can see. And then here I've got what you can use in terms of YouTube for Safari.
This is just on the browser.
As you guys can see, I'm like scrolling, we can look this way, et cetera. If you guys want to get a little preview of the actual like the keyboard and all that, you could see here you get the keyboard that pops up right here in front of you. It's actually really really cool. So for me, this is just the ultimate desktop experience. I've got full three sixty degree vision everywhere I look, as you guys can see
you with me. Even though I am right here. I'm also using the optical insert so I don't even have my glasses that are on me right now.
So anyways, that's why I love this thing so far.
There's my video, Crystal, What do you think You're not a little bit in transpi.
It now, Okay, you the biggest desktop in the world. You can do anything this This thing.
I don't.
I don't need more things to disconnect me or my children, by the way, especially my son. I would not like kids anyone near this, I will tell you from reality, Like I already have enough ways to disconnect myself from reality and be constantly distracted by work and Twitter and YouTube and whatever. So and then also, you know, I
mean some of the videos I saw. I saw one of this dude who was you know, It's like, oh my god, I'm using the maps in Apple Vision Pro and it's actually amazing, and you see the vision of what is and he's just like walking down the street in the map instead of being here on his phone. It's just like, oh, it's right there. It's like, that's
not revolutionary. It's just makes you you are even more disconnected from your surroundings and even more in your own bubble and have exactly the same access to tech that you already had on your phone. So no, I'm not excited. I'm I'm the opposite of excited. I am anti excited about I'm sort of like dreading the possibility that this thing could take off and we all be even more sort of like remote and distant from each other. Here's the case I would give.
The case is is that at the very least, Apple is not committed to quote unquote virtual reality.
They're committed to augmented reality.
The idea being that I can see you, I'm interacting with you right now, but I can also click this button and I can throw like I've got my text messages right now that you can't see.
But that I'm literally like throwing up like here, and I can look at you.
When you're with someone you want to be able to talk about, see their eyeballs.
How many times do you go out to eat and you see what are two people who are sitting across doing.
They're sitting on their phones already.
Right, and then we'll be like, we do that more. Let's just put it like right in front of our eyeballs instead of having a surreptitiously It's like, I think it's better.
It's better I can be here.
So look, this is V again, this is V one, Like it's going to be a lot small three to five years from now, think about iPhone one versus iPhone four is a completely different change. Again, I would say that the enterprise application of this is amazing now just in terms of the sheer tech. The first time that you see something appear in front of your eyeballs that has been placed there through is is insanity. I can barely describe how what it feels like. It's like magic.
I honestly, it feels like magic. Whenever the first time that you open it and you put it on, the Hello that usually comes up on your desktop screen flashes in front of your eyes.
I was taking it back. I was like, oh my god.
You know you've seen video and all that, but it's difficult to uh to comprehend. So I mean, listen, we're already in a world of tech. We've we're already addicted to our phones and all that. This is just what the next jump could look like. I would be much I would be much more in favor of the augmented reality, the spatial computing that Apple is doing, which is an extension of your already existing ecosystem and or work as opposed to fully going ready player one like living in
a different world. So for that, I think that this accomplishes that quite well. And I mean, if you like, if you're a video editor, or if you have something that you want to get really up close with, it's really useful. I mean, I'm telling you like, I had stuff right in front of me, and I was trying to, you know, look at a video actually, the one that I shot, just frame by frame, just to see what it would look like. I can't imagine you for people, for the guys who work on our show, the ability
to like zoom in with your hands. It's just like Minority Report. It feels like Minority Report is actually real. So I mean, I think it's really cool. I definitely think that three to five years from now, when this tech is fully deployable, it could completely replace both the laptop, computer, and the television, so then you have a combined thing. Also, I have a flight later today, so I'm actually really pumped to try to actually use it on the airplane.
So the downsides, I would be remiss if I didn't give the downsides. It's heavy, let's be real. Also, this Dongo battery thing, it's annoying because you have to put it in your back pocket and it's only got two hours, so it costs more money if you want to buy extra. The other thing I didn't realize is that you know, when you download a movie or whatever on your phone,
it's like four hundred megs. These they are like four gigs because you have to be able to throw it up in a full ten ADP or four KHD like one hundred screen TV. So the hard drive on mine I got the cheapest one is like two hundred fifty six gigs or whatever. But I mean, honestly, if you're trying to consume download content, you're going to need.
A hell of a lot of space or something like that.
But overall, I mean, listen, you know, for a first try, it's a risky device, and I like that.
I think it's cool. Mark me town as a hater skeptic.
We haven't even tried it on yet.
I'm already a hater. I'm going full like get off my lawn on this one. That's good. Listen, listen, listen. Just my view, every technology comes with pluses and minuses, right, this has so much is so much of an advance, so much. You know, there's so much benefit to this, and even it has massive drawbacks some of what you're talking about in your model today as a matter of fact, So you always have to weigh, like do the pluses outweigh the minuses? And who knows, maybe I'm just not
creative enough to imagine the possibilities of it. But the idea of like, oh, I can multitask better, or I can be more consumed in my work, or I can be more distracted while I'm having a conversation with people right in front of me, That benefit benefit does not outweigh the cons of increasing disconnection increasing like insolerity increasing, you know, remoteness from the actual real world. My personal view.
Well, listen, Crystal, whenever you've done a multiple FaceTime call and you're all just hanging out together and you're r it feels like you're right there. We can all go visit Joshua Tree together and we don't even have to go.
It's that lovely. Or you could actually, yeah, you should visit v you could actually touch grass as the other alternative.
So anyway, thank you guys for sticking with us. This is a fun review. We will what's next? Oh wet, Look right, we've got media.
I can still read. See he's not even connected to our show right now. He doesn't even know where he is or what comes next in our show.
I'll pull it up right here.
Anyway, all right, We're going to take a second, so Saga can take these ridiculous things off of his face, and then we're going to talk about what just happened on Fox News. So an absolutely insane situation unfolded live on Fox News on Sean Hannity's program. He was in the middle of interviewing the head of the quote unquote Guardian Angels in New York, This dude, Curtis Lee White. You guys probably heard of him. They're this sort of
like street vigilante group. And in the middle of the live interview, they turned the cameras to the Guardian Angels like beating up and putting in a headlock and throwing on the ground some random dude. Take a look at how all of this unfolds.
If you divide fifty three million by five hundred, that's one hundred and six thousand dollars debit card. Not a bad deal. I don't think they're given them to vetsa that are homeless in New York City, not that I've heard, Curtis.
Oh.
In fact, guys have just taken down one of the migrant guys right here on the corner forty second and seventh while did you pan the camera.
They've taken over, They've taken over, Like the camera.
Over there fit all possible. Yep, you got your key open, guys, he is Idi control Bartie control there all right now.
Eric Adams often complains he's getting no support from the federal government to help him with the surge of Joe Biden's unvetted illegals in New York, and that could be because of the so called borders.
Are is a little distracted right now.
According to a report, Vice President Harris has now suddenly quote found her footing.
So for those of you who are just listening, what you see is the camera pans over to this group of quote unquote Guardian angels in red jackets wrestling this man, putting him in a headlock to the ground. Okay, that's what happens on screen, and then you can hear their Sean Hannity sort of quickly changes the subject interview over and moves ones of whatever Kamala Harrison when he has up next. So later on, apparently they go back to Curtis Leewa to get an explanation of like what the
hell just happened here? His story about this quote unquote migrant guy that he claims is, you know, one of these illegals that Joe Biden is letting into the city. He says he had been shoplifting. First, the Guardian Angel spotted him, stopped him, he resisted, and let's just say we gave him a little pain. Compliance His mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations. He's sucking concrete. The cops scraped him off the asphalt. He's on his way to jail,
but they'll cut him loose. We've got to take forty second street Backshawn. These illegals think they own the street. They think they ruled the night. This is our country. Hannity goes on to describe the role of the Guardian Angels as quote unquote amazing. Well, it turns out all of that was completely a lie. First of all, put this up on the screen, so this is NBC News. First of all, the man that they said was a quote unquote migrant is in New Yorker from the Bronx.
Let's start there. He's from the US Number two. They talked to the cops. The cops said they had no proof of the shoplifting claim. They did give this guy some disorderly conduct citation because they said he was disrupting
a live TV interview. So apparently what actually happened here is that the Guardian Angels decided, you know, I don't know if this dude was really like disrupting the live TV shot shot or whatever, but they just effectively picked him out of the crowd, thought that he you know, looked brown and maybe was possibly speaking Spanish and then just like tackle him and wrestle him to the ground.
And the NYPD has stopped answering questions about, Hey, what about the Guardian Angels basically like open public assault and hate crime, targeted hate crime that occurred on camera. Is there any responsibility or accountability for them whatsoever? Completely insane situation.
Yeah, So, slie Wes said he believed the man was a migrant because he had been speaking Spanish and because other guardians had encountered people with Spanish speakers on previous vituals.
Have you never been to New York City before? Like, what are you talking about? People who speaking Spanish there for one hundred years speaking It doesn't mean that you can like beat a person up and put them in a headlock and throw them on the ground.
The whole situation is totally nuts. I actually was not familiar with the group. Apparently traces back you were explaining to me from nineteen seventy nine, whenever Sliwa founded them to quote patrol the streets and subways during the high crime days have drawn criticism since that time, I think fairly for allegations of targeting, you know, people of color and criminals. So they say vigilantism is not the answer. One of the city council members. Yeah, the whole situation
is nuts. Like, look, you know, people know my views on immigration. I'm not supportive of illegal migration or any of these people being in New York City.
But this man is a US citizen.
You can't be rough enough as a private citizen random people just because they're speaking Spanish. First of all, my peoples deserve to be beat up. Okay, that's the job for the authorities.
That's not for you.
If he was a shoplifter or whatever. Number two, it's like, guys, you can't be just be rough enough random people who are speaking Spanish. And have you ever been a Times Square, it's the norm not to hear English. You know.
It's like it's mostly tourists, it's people.
From everywhere else.
Only people who are in The only people in New.
York who are in Times Square who are like from New York are the people who like work in those downtown office buildings who have a misfortune of having to go there. Everybody else is just a tourist.
Nobody else is saying that. If you actually live in New York, which I did for many years, you avoid time saying they're at a play with God. Yeah, I mean there's a lot to say about it. First of all, you know, the whole thing from Sleewas, Oh my god, it's chaos and these migrants would take the over blah blah blah. Meanwhile, tourists are casually walking by and everything's fine. The only disturbance is your goons roughing up for no reason,
targeting this man, throwing him on the ground. And again, I just want to say, the shoplifting thing is bullshit. There is no credence to that whatsoever. There's no evans the cops are saying that didn't happen, et cetera. So I don't want to give any credence to that, not that even if he was shoplifting, that the answer is to, you know, put him in a headlock and throw him
on the ground, et cetera, et cetera. So the criminals here are the quote unquote Guardian Angel vigilante hate crime perpetrators out in broad public on Handity Show second half, Can you imagine if on MSNBC they had something like, you know, Reverend Sharpton leading a gang of people to just randomly assault some white guy on the street live on camera. Can you imagine the freak ount over that.
I mean, that's exactly like the parallel of what we watched unfold over on Fox News, And it's complete insanity. I mean, they lost their minds on this one. And I just the fact that there obviously this went viral online, but the fact that it hasn't been an even bigger deal to me speaks to a real sort of double standard that's going on here, because this was completely insane to watch unfold Well, what do you mean by that?
What do you mean by double standard? Well, like I said, if it was Reverend Sharpton and leading a gang of black people to beat up some like random white dude on the street, what do you think you think that would be national news right now?
Well?
Absolutely, yeah, one hundred percent, we would never hear the end of it. They would be arrested. The cops wouldn't be saying like, oh, it's fine, we just we gave the white dude a disorderly conduct charge because he was disrupting a live TV broadcast. As a total double standard, I'm not sure I agree with that.
I mean, people literally burned, rioted, and looted for two years straight or like on camera broadcast live supported by the media, and no, and they.
Were prosecuted, no, very very they were prosecuted. Very few people, the people who were violent were prosecuted. No. That is how do you think how do you think it would go down? It's the situation that I described. Do you think they'd be let off with, oh it's fine and it just would like go viral online but no one would report on it, and that they would face no charges or whatever. Course I'm not.
I'm not quite listen, I'm not defending these guys whatsoever. But I'm not quite so sure that this would be like some major thing, especially if there was a racial angle to it. The other way, Let's say they were like, oh, well he beat up somebody and they beat him up, like I'm not quite sure that those people would be prosecuted quote unquote to the full extent of the law because of liberal pressure.
So you're crazy you think that that Reverend Sharpen could lead a gang of dudes to beat up a white dude on the street on camera on MSNBC and everyone would just be like, no big deal.
Leaving up.
I did a riot against Jews and the eight. Yeah, it was a big deal. And we still know about it.
Yeah, I mean, I know still walking around about it to we know all about it.
Sure, Yeah, yeah, it was a massive news story. There was a big deal and there were consequences here. They just let off Scott free and nothing that the dude that they beat up is the one who got the citation.
It's in the New York Times, it's in the Guardian, It's spent like every major paper. We're covering it. You know, It's like it's not like it's getting totally ignored. Now listen, I think these guys should be arrested. Like, don't get me wrong, I support the rule of law, but I'm not going to say that, you know, quote unquote liberal violence or whatever would be equally treated, just because I did not live through that experience.
A couple of years ago, during BLM. It was just massive. The violence of BLM is massively covered, massively covered the people. Yes, they were prosecuted, Absolutely, they were prosecuted.
I mean there are people here in Lafayettes where trying to bring down a statue and never face a single charge. People who broke down looted cities, people who burned down charges. So some people face people who burned down Minnesota police station. Like, look, liberal violence got plenty of passes in this country.
And I again want to be one hundred percent clear, I think.
You imagine, but hold on a second. Can you have an imagine m SBC playing something like that. No, no, no you can't.
But they already did broadcast violence in the past.
This was just this quote unquote amazing. Yeah, I could amazing.
I'm not supporting it, but I mean, how many how many people were on TV either in the BLM riots.
Being like, well, you know, the riot is the voice of the young.
That they're dumned. Yes, they were by Joe Biden and all every Democrat. We're actually the ones who want to fund the police, and it's the Republicans who want to fund them.
Months later, in the moment they were supported dramatically by every liberal commentator, every.
But you don't have to remember it was, especially at the beginning, the overwhelming percentage of Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful. There were protests all over the country, and many of them were peaceful, and the vast majority people participate in them were peaceful. So it's also not fair to hear the whole thing it's like they were all violent people.
Who marched silently. Great, right, you know, I have no pride, no issue with you. I sat by and watched them. I said, hey, good to go people who burned out. But this is the thing. Look, they burned down that Minnesota police station, what six days or whatever into the whole George Floyd thing. It's not like it just kicked off and it was like all kumbaya.
At the beginning.
You know, things went bad very very quick. Look, I'm not there's not a lot of disagreement. I don't think though, that there is a double standard in the way that you're saying.
Given what we all had to live for, I cannot imagine a situation reverse that unfolds on camera that first of all, the hosts are just like that was incredible, and it's a blip on the radar, and the person who got attacked is the one that gets the citation. I can't imagine it. Listen, you can't argue a counterfactual. Who knows how it went on. But I again, I can't even imagine that same thing happening on MSNBC or CNN.
Let me give you an example. These migrants who just beat up NYPD cops. They were just arrested. Yeah, the guy flipped them off.
I mean, how many people watching MSNBC no about that story.
That's what has been massively cop It's been massively covered by the right wing. No gotten, No, that is nice, huge.
Fox News New York post. It is barely covered by NBC.
Even then.
It's because it's like Kathy Hope.
You know what, Actually, I saw rymend Sharfton commenting on that exact same thing on msmb I don't watch it. I don't either. I saw the headline about it, so it got did get covered on m SMBC. Anyway, we can stop arguing about the counterfactual. That was an absolutely insane thing to unfold on Fox News. And for the dude who got beat up because he was brown and speaking Spanish. Apparently to be the one that ends up with the citation and the cops cover for these assholes,
you know, vigilante hate crime perpetrators on the street. I'm with you on that one.
You know, to my brothers who were out there, who were walking around speaking Spanish, you know, you don't you don't deserve to be wrapped up on the street.
I think that's totally nuts. All right. I hope the guys who did go to jail. Let's move on to Yes, let's move on to Tucker his big interview with Putin. I think when does the job in today or tomorrow? It is nobody knows.
It has been foretold by the Russians that it will be happening tonight at six pm.
All right, So listen, whatever you think about Tucker Carlson, the reaction to this has been completely insane, including there's some EU politician, diplomats, whatever you want to call him now, who are floating that he should be sanctioned and banned from the EU. Put this up on the screen. This is from Newsweek. This is the second element, guys that we have here. E three. Tucker Carlson could face sanctions
over the Putin interview. One European diplomatic official didn't wish to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly, told Newsweek any future travel restrictions would like to require proof he's linked to Moscow's aggression, something that is absent or hard to prove. So they're saying it's kind of a long shot that this would actually come through. But the same person who says it's a long shot says that they support it. Yes, they agree with the stance quote.
He's no longer a newsman but a propaganda's for the most heinous regime on European soil and the one which is most dangerous to our piece and security, this diplomat said to the Newspeak of Carlson. At the same time, Hillary Clinton weighing in on her thoughts on the whole situation. Less they listen to that.
He's like a puppy dog, you know, he somehow has after having been fired from so many outlets in the United States. He I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with outlet because he is a useful idiot.
He says things that are not true.
He parents Vladimir Putin's pack of lies about Ukraine so I don't see why Putin wouldn't give him an interview because through him, he can, you know, continue to lie about what is you know, objectives are in Ukraine and you know.
What he expects to see happen.
It's really quite sad that not just somebody like Tucker Carlson, who has, as I said, been fired so many times because he seems unable to, you know, correlate his reporting with the truth, but also because it's a sign that there are people in this country right now who are like a fifth column for Vladimir Putin.
And why I don't know.
I mean, why are certain Republicans throwing their lot in? Why are you know, other Americans basically believing Putin? Why did Trump believe Putin more than our eleven intelligence agents.
I don't know.
Do you have a working theory? You have a working theory. So I mean it's just she's still.
On Russia, the insane, both of them too, They're still on it.
And she just lets that all go. Of course, yes, and listen, I mean my first thing with all of this is in yeah, I know, like and I mean people on both like the people who are like this is going to be amazing, and the people who are like this is terrible, It's like, can we just wait and judge the interview? Number one not agree with you more.
But that being said, even if it's complete propaganda, which I think is very possible, if not probable, if not likely, we hear the US Western propaganda all the time, you know what, it's a benefit to hear the other side propaganda too and understand their perspective how they're spinning it
to their population. So even if it's one hundred percent propaganda, then it still is a good thing for the American population to hear what the Russians are saying and how they are explaining this conflict in their position, even that would be beneficial. I'm glad you said that, because that's basically what I was going to pick up on.
Everyone's like first, okay, So first of all, they're like, well, you know, uh, he has to challenge him or otherwise it's not real. I'm like, yeah, you guys been slobbering over Zelenski for the last two years and apple Bomb, you know, literally with tears in her eyes talking about the goddamn hero of democracy. I would just watch the clip of a CNN reporter literally nearly in tears talking with Zelensky.
So shut up about propaganda.
Number one, You people have been the propagandast in this war from the beginning. Number two, as you said, now, look, I hope that Tucker actually does challenge him on a couple of things. Number One is the detention of the American journalist Evan Gersovich, who is currently in prison unjustifiably and needs to be released. I will be very disappointed if he doesn't bring that up. But maybe it was a precondition or something like that. I personally would not
have agreed to that. We'll see. As you said, the literal thing is not aired yet. Two is on the justification and be like you said, you're doing this to make Russia safer. Now listen, I don't agree that the United States should be.
All that involved.
That said, you've killed three hundred thousand of your men, you know, maybe more of the people here.
Do you? How do you sleep at night?
You know? What do you tell those moms who lost their sons and daughters who were there?
What's the justification? I want to hear that.
But then even if it wasn't challenging, as you said, Okay, so I have been subjected to the biggest Ukrainian si up the of like war in my lifetime since Iraq.
Yeah, I want to hear a little bit of what the other side is.
I'm a fully functioning, capable adult who can see Putin talking about the Treaty of Breslatovsk and be like, that's bullshit, that's not actually what happened.
Many people can do that too.
So if we're Subechia is subjected our own propaganda, Ukrainian propaganda now for over two years, a little bit of Russian propaganda ain't gonna hurt anybody, if anything, is just gonna be in the mix, and people who already agree or disagree or whatever will likely fall on that side. The other thing is is that you have to be able to understand the goals and the impetus of what they are saying.
And that's part of the other thing.
Where on the history and all of that Putin speaks as a Russians are as I just reference a Treaty of Bresolatos. How many people who have people a strong opinion, even here in Washington, can even tell you about the independence of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia.
The historical Soviet Empire.
I'm not I don't agree with Putin at all, but I need to understand where the guy is coming from.
Period.
If we want, you know, I don't want to go to nuclear war, I would like to be able to understand where he comes from. In the same thing, the Chinese interpretation of the Opium Wars and all that stuff is nuts. Like they literally think themselves currently as the as the inheritors of like the whatever, the king dynasty or something like that. But if we are to be rivals and all this stuff, I better understand how their
self conception of their national identity goes back. Even if you do not agree, Like, think about what's happened since the war.
We've had RT be banned.
We've had like what spot they can on these many of these journalists have been expelled here from Washington for for what reason. It's like it's one of those where I again would much rather hear what these people have to say. I used to watch when I cover the Pentagon and the State Department. We had we had straight up Russian spotnik people who were right next was asking all kinds of BS questions. But it was actually very useful because I'd be like, oh, that's what's pissing the
Kremlin off. Whenever they would ask a question or something like that. It was very useful to be able to just get into mind again. You know, you don't have to agree with somebody. That's that's just how I see this whole situation. Yeah, I mean that was crazy.
I also would like to know from him what he would say that he would publicly accept in terms of a peace settlement. Yeah, this totally Like that would be really you know, that would be extremely important to know. All that being said, I don't think we should also harbor ring in a lotus about why they allowed Tucker to conduct this interview, which is they certainly think it's going to be a softball and think it's going to
be easy for them to manage. It's the same reason why Hillary Clinton accepts an interview from Alex Wagner and I'm the same six exact exact same reasons, and Tucker did kind of step in this is I mean, this is the part where like, I don't put yourself out there like, oh, I'm some brave journalists when there are literal, actual Russian journalists who have had to flee the freaking country because they were willing to stand up to power and to expose this dude. So don't put that out there,
and you can put this up on the screen. Even sort of stepped in it with the Kremlin because he said in this thing that you know, why is it that not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview Putin? And Dmitri Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, came back and said, mister Carlston's not correct. In fact, there's no
way he could tell this. But we received numerous requests for interviews with the president all the time, and there were a number of other journalists who came out where like dude, I've asked to interview Putin any number of times, and of course they always rejected. And it's not an accident that they're allowing you to come in and do this interview because they think it will serve their purposes. So let's just you know, keep it one hundred on
that front as well. He's got to sell memberships, you know, it is what it is. I would not have said it.
Just because it's very obvious that many people do actually want to interview Putin. People were in the West, there was something though, I want to comment on this. Yeah, you just said where they're like, oh, they only agreed to it. I'm like, yeah, guess what, guys, you want to interview with VIP.
That's just how it goes.
Sometimes, it's not all you know, they don't have to sit with you in these things. When I would interview Trump, I played every card I could get to try and get in there.
So did every other journalist who was there.
That's why Hillary sits with Alex Wagner so they could giggle over Russia Gate there at the end. I'm not justifying it, but to a certain extent, guys, we're all playing the same game. You know. Trucker said in his thing that he had requested an.
Interview with Zelensky. You think Zelensky's gonna sit with him?
Or does Lensky set with NBC News because he knows he's gonna get a slob job in the same way that he has been for the last two years.
So at a certain point, I mean, let's all.
Be honest about me. The game that we're all playing. I'm not playing that game. You're not playing that game. There's a reason why Joe Biden and Hillary, right That's what I'm saying, though, is there's a reason why Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton would never sit with us. There's a reason why, you know, putin, we're not like, there's a reason why many elected officials won't come on here because we won't agree. They don't expect just to get a softball interview. And kudos to the ones who are
willing to. But unfortunately it's not the normans exception of people who are actually willing to come on and mix it up.
And it was going to like that kind of spirit business model, which is set up so that we can talk about stuff and we can occasionally build enough of the platform and people will come here. But if you are in the game of interviewing, like elect access journalism, how it works period.
Look, it's the same as access journalism here in the US. Yes, it's the exact same it's exact same thing. I do think that the there's a lot to the panic over it. I mean, I do think it's emblematic of the fact that they're so afraid that something he says, because any good propaganda is going to have some kernel of truth, that something might land, that something might actually click changed that and They're already on thin ice with their whole
narrative of the Ukraine conflicts. Even here they're on thin ice, let alone around the world. Nobody's ever bought that this is some grand like project of democracy and human rights and whatever. Are like, No, it's never been about that in our conduct visa the Ukraine, Russia versus Israel Palestine really shows you how that's complete bs that we care about any of those things. So I think they feel like their narrative is already at kind of a breaking point,
no pun intended. When this interview chops, and obviously it's going to get tons of eyeballs. Plenty of people who will never admit that they watch it are definitely gonna.
Watch for as well, you know, And that's the I think really what they're afraid of is listen. I don't like Putin. I'm no Futin fan or any of that. He's a smart guy. You know, he may be crazy and many respects has done some irrational things, but I've listened to a lot of speeches.
He's a well read man.
He's been a world leader for over twenty five years, and he's very you know, you don't become the iron ruler of Russia because you're an idiot.
Like these guys, they know who they're talking to.
I've seen past interviews that he's given real throw January sixth or whatever in the face of the interview where they're like shure circuit because they don't know what they're dealing with.
He knows how to navigate American politics.
He speaks perfect English, like he reads all of our news and all that. And I think they're honestly afraid that he'll say something which could convince people in a different direction. But again, even if so, so, what you know, we if we allow Zelenski or you know, I would love to see shishing Ping sit for an interview.
MBS is set for interviews.
You know, all these are great, These are all good things, you know, NBS was I believe he was challenged on koshogi to his face by a US interviewer.
I forget who it was. That's a great moment.
You know, that's one of those where we should have the exact same thing, and we need to hear exactly what they think. It's helpful for us, it's helpful for them. You know what if Putin makes a fool out of himself. It could be definitely helpful in terms of the Ukrainians. I'm sure they can use clips for it, even if they're super upset about it.
So anyway, more information, not less. That's kind of the maxim all right, sorryy looking at well.
A crazy phenomenon that I've observed in the last few years is a concerted mainstream effort to target online mail spaces for or self improvement. Much of it can be traced back to gamer mitgait and the fake moral panics about the so called pickup movement, but in recent years it's transformed into something else entirely. The latest iteration that you will all famously recall is the infamous MSNBC article about fitness to somehow fascist. But at a deeper level, the demonization has been in many.
Forms for recent months and years.
The targeting of any discussion and about testosterone, about people doing their own research when it comes to medical procedures. My personal favorite latest it recommends that people eat less protein because it goes against what the US government recommends on nutrition. The tilt to all of it is a fear of self discovery, self mastery, and self improvement, mostly by men who are issuing official recommendations by medicine and government.
The latest and the most shocking attack on this front occurred a few days ago by NPR, which ran a hit piece on a community of men online who are dedicated to shunning pornography and spreading the concern about its widespread usage of young men. The way that you know it is a hit piece as it relies on testimony of so called sexual experts, as if there is such a thing, and appears to basically endorse widespread porn usage
by young men. They write quote, many researchers and sex therapists worry that online communities that have formed in response to fears often endorse inaccurate medical information, exacerbate mental health problems, and in some cases overlap with extremists and hate groups. Extremists and hate groups my god. So, by the way, if you're wondering.
What those ties are.
The NPR reporter relies on Reddit users making jokes in comments about the illuminati and global elite, as well as
an alleged anti feminist bent to caution around pornography. But what actually shocked me about the piece is not that it ran, but what I found out from one of the organizers behind the movement, and how this piece fits into a concerted and multi billion dollar effort in recent months by pornography companies to demonize men who are trying their best to stay away from them and institute guardrails
for teenagers. Much of the machinery behind this story appears to have been orchestra by the so called Free Speech Coalition in the United States. The so called expert and the urologists who are quoted in the story both either have ties to the porn industry or have been supporters
in the past. In fact, when I spoke to a person involved in the so called no Fat movement who worked with NPR on the story, they revealed to me that NPR did not reach out to many of the people that they recommended they reach out to who have been positively impacted from abstaining from pornography. They instead decided to highlight a few examples of their own, only one who spoke positively, and including two who said that they
were no longer followers of the movement. By the way, as evidence for one of their former adherents who is now healthy, they pointed out to an individual who previously had ditched pornography now consumes pornography regularly and indulges in a cross dressing fetish. According to them, that is supposedly healthy and cool, while ditching.
Pornography is bad.
Those that I spoke with at no Fab also notified me that NPR was provided with a list of twenty two separate urologists that they could interview who would support their health claims. Their NPR instead interviewed their own, who, as I said, is a verified friend of the pornography industry. None of this is happening in a vacuum. Much of it is tied directly to a recent government action that
is attempting to put age limitations on pornography usage. In the last year, eight states have now enacted legislation requiring porn companies to verify the age of users attempting to access their content. This has caused major showdowns now between Pornhub and its affiliates with these states in some cases who are resulting blocking access in states entirely who enact this legislation. Laws very simple. Any website which has more than one third of its content classified as adult must
verify that the users are over the age of eighteen. Naturally, The porn companies are freaking out about this new legislation because they rely on hooking teenagers as early as possible and keeping them as lifetime customers. Now, you may say that I'm stupid and the teenagers will seek out porn if there's.
A law or not, and you are You're probably right.
But does that stop us from having drinking age verification when you order liquor online or when you buy nicotine products. No, we recognize as society, while some may see carmful substances or in this case, content out of the side of the law. The purpose of the law is to try and protect children wherever possible. This is not, and I repeat, not, a substitute for parenting. It is an effort by states to protect children from what we used to recognize as
something that's harmful. The NPR article purpose is simple. Concerns about pornography are unfounded. If they're unfounded, then age verification laws, which states are rushing to adopt, are bad.
You could call me a prude if you wish, but.
Ask yourself, why is it all that controversial when every person who has ever seen a child interact with an iPad can instantly recognize we are in uncharted territory with the nature of addictive tech, nature of today's technology.
I write this as secular and non.
Extremists who has long been concerned about the unchecked power of the porn industry in the United States. I don't think they should be banned. I believe adult can make choices for themselves, but I do certainly believe that the media should speak up for those who find themselves at the mercy of these forces, working to keep them weak, rather than as a defender of them. So I'm curious
what you think, Crystal. After all of that, I thought the way that it was written was absolutely I think there's a way that you could have written it where you could have given more of a balanced approach. But the way that it was, you know, the people who they highlighted and all of that, the ties were just so clear to me, Especially when I spoke with the guys who were a target of this. They were like, we tried to work with her, she would not get
she was not giving us a single chance. They didn't reach out to any of the people we spoke to. It was like a completely unidirectional It's like when you set out to write a story that you know you want the headline to be, and then you just just you know, rely on the people for that.
But I find your monologue I'm just going to a little confusing because the overwhelming part of the article had
nothing to do with porn. It was about masturbation, and it was about these cult like these groups like no FAP, which you know, you guys probably know what that means, which are all about telling men the solution to their problems is to never masturbate and backing it up with all these completely bullshit health claims and so, you know, totally opposite the idea that this is an attack on
men who are trying to self actualize or whatever. I see it more as an attack on these people who are trying to take advantage of men and lie to them and add more stress to their lives. I mean the interview people who were like, yeah, I thought that, you know, if I did this like ninety day no
Masturbation Cleanse, then like all my problems would be solved. Instead, I just ended up with more problems because I was so constantly stressed down about trying to figure out how not to jerk off basically for me, so I just found it kind of like strange that that was your takeaway when porn was very incidental to this very long piece.
The reason why is that, the first of all, no fat whatever, this is hilarious to talk about.
I mean, these are ripters, These are rifters who are lying to do like that's a legitimate target.
That is not actually what the organization is based on. The organization is not based on masturbation.
CLIs. It's called no fab no no. It als like what it's about.
It traces back to your brain on porn, which is the original website, and the movement overall, which is dynamically dynamically is targeted to keeping people away from pornography.
There are many schools of the.
Whole likeno masturbation, stemen, retention, all this other nonsense, which I yeah, but that's what the.
Article is focused on. But that's what's focused It's not focused on the porn part of it. It's focused on these communities of dudes who have convinced themselves that like the secret to their problems is not masturbating, which is stupid and wrong and just going to stress you more out.
The article for me, was trying to undermine the overall movement, which is not focused nearly as much on the whatever all this nonsense about testosterone increasing or you know whatever. It was much more an attempt at least, this is the way I read it to try and undermine the overall you know, the overall movement, which is almost entirely if you were to engage and to go on the space,
is centered around pornography. It o has nothing to do with any of these claims about masturbation or about semen rich to whatever test.
It's called noot dot com. I mean, there's clearly an am of that. I just I think you're reading a lot into it that isn't there. I read the whole piece. It's lengthy. It's all about this, like you know, pseudoscience about how you know your testasternal increase and girls will love you and you'll feel better and you'll be like a real man if you don't jerk off anymore, which
is like predatory. That's like predatory to men. So I just viewed it through the total opposite lens of it didn't really take a position on pro pornography or anti pornography. That was like incidental to the whole thing, and.
Only it's true because if you look at the quote unquote survivors and the people who are no longer adherents, all of them talk about consumption of pornography, because again, pornography is the one that is upstream of this entire discussion.
What they said, it's nothing.
To do with many many of the clip look like I said, NoFap dot com and all that, the vast majority of the content is not focused by what we're talking about here.
It is all about pornography. Now.
The people I spoke to have been under attack now for years by the porn industry, largely because they understand that any abstention from masturbation or sexual behavior or whatever is itself obviously an attack on the porn industry.
And I don't think it's an accident that it happens.
Whenever the North Carolina law Virginia up where we both live, both considering legislation on this. They're actually fourteen now states that are thinking about adopting.
This has all happened in the last several months.
For me, though, again the way I read it and I thought it was dwelling telling that they focus on pornography amongst us quote unquote survivors of the survivors or whatever of this thing is that they're trying to make a straw man of acclaimant of a movement which is not the vast majority of people who are engaging with this type of content.
But here's the thing. I mean again, when I read it, the parts where they talk about pornography, I think is also makes a lot of sense of basically, like, you know, these people had been convinced that like all pornagre, you have to completely abstain and you have an addiction if you're watching porn like once a week or once a month or whatever, and that that was adding a lot of shame and pure to their lives that didn't belong.
I don't see anything the farious in that. Well, I mean, look, it depends more.
What I would say is like if we can have a again, I'm a secular person.
I got no Christian undertones to all of us.
But I think we you know, at least when we use our phone, at least when we use any sort of technology that we can understand as addictive alcohol, anything we can see at the beginning from the outset where like this is a trade off. I don't think that is baked into teenagers and others, especially men who are well into the thirties forties now, who have grown up on the internet, the norms and all of the other things that people have internalized around things that are harmful
that does not exist with pornography. And I think that's what most of the no FAP quote unquote movement, people online, people on Instagram and others who talk about this are trying to get into people's heads. So for me, this is way like whatever this is, I think is a very very small part of abstention from pornography movement, which is widespread, increasingly taking off, and I hope it continues to do so for people who are young and is a strong man to try and target them to seem
as freaks and weird. In my opinion, it is much more freakish and weird to celebrate like widespread pornarchy usage and again to come after and to advocate for legislation, which is what the people who are in the quoted in this article believing is you shouldn't have age verification if you do out there, it's.
Not even a part of the article. Age verification thing isn't even in there. I mean that's not even argument that's being made here, but the I think it is entirely appropriate to expose basically predator grifters who are lying to dudes about, you know, some solution that is just going to create more stress, some quote unquote solutions, so only it's going to create more stress and anxiety in their lives. I think that's an entirely appropriate like lane
to investigate. And you may not one hundred percent love you know, the piece that they wrote or the people they talked to or whatever, but to say it's illegitimate to even talk about that and say, hey, this isn't a solution and you're getting lied to, I just I actually think that's a disservice to men.
I don't think it's so legitimate. I think that it was biased. I think that the person behind it was clearly used. I don't think she understood the Free Speech Coalition much of the ties that these doctors and advocates who have been largely appearing at pornography events, which I have evidence if people want to go and look at it and are openly talking and using their power articles like this to advocate specifically against age verification laws, which I'm talking about I was trying to I.
Know they use this is what they use.
They're like, hey, look, these people are all grifters, the people behind this. You want to be aligned with the freaks, Like that's why you can't support something like this, Like for me, it's a big it's a part of a tool. It's the same way as if you look at the past, like the Fitness is a fascist article that we infamulously remember from MSNBC. That whole article was about how some
Nazis or whatever like fitness. What I mean, sure, is that a legitimate point, Yeah, but what are what's the subtext?
Like, what are they.
Trying to say is that gym obsession and all of this is hyper masculine, can have ties quote unquote to right wing movements and is coded as bad. It's I'm reading this in the same like social commentary.
That's not what the article saying is. I don't think I think you're reading too much into it. Maybe, I mean, this reporter is not responsible for that piece, right, This person is writing their own thing about something they seem,
you know, is provably harmful to men. Like I said, I think I think that is a service to men to say Hey, this is a pack of lies, and ending your days of jerking off is first of all, you're not going to be able to accomplish it, and second of all, it's only going to create more stress in your life and is not any sort of a solution for whatever problems you might actually be facing.
I think you're being charitable, and maybe that's good. Maybe I'm too much of a conspiracy theorist here. For me, it's a matter of emphasis. It's a matter of where the quoe unquote medical establishment falls down on what's good
and what's not. And then in general, it's like, we're really going to be policing the thought of a small segment of overall hundreds of thousands of people who are online, who again, this is we're talking about policing Reddit comments inside the threads, as opposed to the overwhelming thing is just hey, stay awake with this is a.
Whole organization that's set up dedicated to like, go on this ninety day no masturbation like cleansed situation.
But I don't know that is about being away from pornography, and it's specifically about resetting your relationship to that.
That's not what this article is really pornography is so incidental to this, and the age verification thing isn't here whatsoever. So I just think you've concocted like an elaborate conspiracy that isn't there in terms of what's actually in the article.
We'll see, Crystal, We'll see when when they use one of these articles in the state legislator to argue against the laws I think.
Well, And I also have issues with the idea of everybody having to upload their driver's license before they jerk, don't it's let me put that on the record as well.
Okay, well we could talk about that another day, all right, guys. As you can see, we enjoy having our fun debates. There are quite a few right last couple.
Of days lately.
But for breaking points, I think you guys can support us at Breakingpoints dot com. And we've got the RFK Junior Focus Group which is coming up, which will again be exclusively available.
Other than that, we will see you all later.