1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Hey, guys, ready or not, twenty twenty four is here, 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: and we here at Breaking Points, are already thinking of 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,040 Speaker 1: ways we can up our game for this critical election. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: We rely on our premium subs to expand coverage, upgrade 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: the studio ad staff give you, guys, the best independent 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: coverage that is possible. If you like what we're all about, 7 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: it means the absolute world to have your support. What 8 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: are you waiting for? Become a premium subscriber today at 9 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: Breakingpoints dot Com. Good morning, everybody, Happy Monday. We have 10 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: an amazing show for everybody today. What do we have Crystal? Indeed, 11 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: we do lots of big stories breaking this morning. And also, 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: by the way, guys, nice to be back home. Everybody happy, 13 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: lovely Thanksgiving. So mass protests all across China. We will 14 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: tell you everything we know about that and what the 15 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: fallout from that could ultimately be. This is mostly around 16 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: their continued insane COVID zero authoritarian policies, so we will 17 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: break that down for you. Also, all the latest about 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: Trump's dinner companions, Nick Fuentes, Kanye West, Ando Milo, Oh 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: my god, it's the whole thing. We have to talk 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: about it. And also interestingly who is saying anything about 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 1: it on the Republican side, who is not. That's maybe 22 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: the most revealing part of all of this. Trump doing 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: insane shit at this point is no real surprise. Also, 24 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: the very latest out of Ukraine where winter is setting 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: in and blackouts are roiling that country. It is, you know, 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: it's a very disturbing and distressing situation there. We also 27 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: have some news with regards to Venezuela and oil. This 28 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 1: one has been a long time coming. What is that 29 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: going to mean in terms of your price at the pump? 30 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: And we also got a little fun Taylor Lorenz updates 31 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: for you. Her reaction to everything going on in China 32 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: is really quite something. We also have our own little 33 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: news about FIFA and little issue with FIFA coming directly 34 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: from us. But before we get to any of that 35 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: live show, live show, put it up there on the screen, guys. 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: That's right, December sixth and December seventh, New York City 37 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: and Boston. As we said, we really want to sell 38 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: those theaters out, so we've got tickets down in the description. 39 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: We've got that fun meet and greet schedule with all 40 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: our VIPs and our lifetime members who are currently having 41 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: their tickets reimbursed. Just to get a reminder, we will 42 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: reimburse the full cost of those tickets for our lifetime members. 43 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: That reimbursement will come after the show. But go and 44 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: buy those tickets. We're excited and we've got some good plans. Marshall, 45 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: Kyle will be in the house. We've got some multimedia, 46 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: et cetera. So it's gonna be totally different than Boston. 47 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 1: So then what was the right Atlanta and Chicaga. He's 48 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: all blent together. He's all blent together. But with that, 49 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: let's get to the show. And with China. Some really 50 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: just remarkable stuff coming out of China that was sparked, 51 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: it seems by a fire in Jinjan. So let's go 52 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: and put this up there on the screen. Protests have 53 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 1: erupted now across the entire country, but appear to have 54 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,239 Speaker 1: originated over anger of what happened in I. Apologies for 55 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: my pronunciation throughout this entire show, Urimki, I do not 56 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: speak fluent Turkic. Apologies for that. Now, there was the 57 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: fire engine Jang's Capital in an apartment building after fourteen 58 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: people were killed and appeared to have difficulty exiting the building. 59 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: The reason why this connects to the COVID lockdowns is 60 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: that across Chinese social media we chat and elsewhere, there 61 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: were videos circulating and immediate speculation that and I did 62 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 1: not even know to the extent of what zero COVID 63 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: means there beyond the insanity that we did. Christal, if 64 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: you are living on an apartment block where there's somebody 65 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: that tested posit for COVID, not only do they lock 66 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: you down, they actually put barricades up in the staircases 67 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: and to prevent you from actually leaving the apartment. So 68 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: whenever a fire breaks out in a shoddily constructed apartment building, 69 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: people die because they literally can't get out. And of 70 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: course it's a very crowded country anyway, this hit a 71 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: nerve across the entire country, sparking protests really, you know, 72 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: both in some of the major cities in Beijing, Beijing 73 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: and in Shanghai. It has been some of the major 74 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: areas of protest. Shanghai in particular. The reason why it 75 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: matters is because the protesters were actually gathering on a 76 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: street called Rimky Street, which is named after the capital 77 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: in Jinjang is kind of like a one China policy 78 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: and protesters gathered there, shouting and the lockdown just widespread anger, 79 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: even some Chinese citizens speaking to Western journalists on the street. 80 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: I think it's important here that we parse exactly what's 81 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 1: going on. Is this like an uprising against Chinese socialism? No, 82 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: this really is an uprising against zero COVID. Also, because 83 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: it's China, we have very limited view into how widespread 84 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: these are, what they are, the level of support they 85 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: have within the domestic populace. What we can say is 86 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: that some several thousand people do appear who have had 87 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: completely enough with being locked down and an ongoing commitment 88 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: by the CCP to zero COVID. They have not issued 89 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: any public statement either against for or listening to the 90 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: protesters as of yet so far, and we're going to 91 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: go into a little bit into what their expected response 92 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: will be. Yeah, and so as always when we cover 93 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: international protests, especially in countries that are repressive and where 94 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: we don't have, you know, total freedom of the press, 95 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: it's very hard to tell exactly, like you said, how widespread, 96 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: how significant, how much of the population supports the sentiment, 97 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: what does it mean, How much of a threat does 98 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: it really represent for the government in power? So all 99 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: of those caveats on the table. Financial Times has a 100 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: piece out this morning talking about what makes these protests different, 101 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: because it's not like there's been zero protests in China, 102 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: but typically it's been limited to a single local issue, 103 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: so maybe like working conditions at one factory. What makes 104 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: this different is that you have a sort of uniting 105 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: national cause and you have protests that are spreading across regions, 106 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: you know, all the way across China, and that's what 107 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: really makes this quite significant and quite different than what 108 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: we have ultimately seen in the past. By the way, 109 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: some of these protests have already borne fruit. You had 110 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: some places where people heard that there were COVID lockdowns 111 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: that were coming into place, they protested, they went to 112 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: their local government, and some of those things got rolled back. 113 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,720 Speaker 1: So it shows you that even in an authoritarian country, 114 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: you still have to worry about the social contract that 115 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: you have with your domestic populace. And right now that 116 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,480 Speaker 1: seems to be very very afraid. The other contexts here, 117 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: and we can put this next piece up on the screen. 118 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: Why now, why did this spark of the apartment fire 119 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: and the deaths there from people who are trapped inside 120 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: because of zero COVID. Why is this really touching such 121 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: a nerve across country the country, And it really is 122 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: because you now have another surge of COVID cases. So 123 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: people are looking again at like, my god, we're going 124 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: to go back to these incredibly stringent authoritarian restrictions and 125 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: total total lockdown. And so I think that's part of 126 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: the important context of why right now they say that, 127 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: you know, confrontations have already erupted in a few locations. 128 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: Had at a fox con plant in central China that 129 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: makes the world's iPhones, there were confrontations there, and then 130 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,239 Speaker 1: it is spread across the country. Part of the issue 131 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: here at Sager, as we've covered before, only forty percent 132 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: of Chinese citizens over the age of eighty have received 133 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: a booster shot, and the vaccines, the Sinovac made in 134 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: China vaccine less effective than some of the international mRNA vaccines. 135 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: But as like a matter of national pride, they don't 136 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: want to go to the international market. They don't have 137 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: the levels of natural immunity that other countries around the 138 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: world do, and so they really are in this sort 139 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: of disastrous situation because of choices they've made all the 140 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: way along that if they did totally open up. They 141 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: have a very vulnerable elderly population that could be hit 142 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: really hard and die in large numbers if they did 143 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: just say like, ah, we just got to open the 144 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: game kind of played itself on multiple levels. They were 145 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: committed to zero cod even in the face of omicron 146 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: where it's effectively impossible to do so they've had been 147 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: the effective case now there for a year before that, 148 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: they were still committed to total lockdown. They didn't encourage 149 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: mass vaccine uptake. Also, it appears that a lot of 150 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: the Chinese population, because they actually believed the CCP, were like, 151 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: I'm not going to get vaccinated. I don't need protection 152 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: because the Chinese government has got this. So now they're 153 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: dealing with a variant what one thousand times more at 154 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: this point, I don't even know what variant is circulating. 155 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: But the point is is that it's nearly impossible to 156 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: circumvent this in any way. And what they point to 157 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: is that at this point, given the fact that you 158 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: have vaccine scheduling that takes like a month or so 159 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: out from that period, what are you going to do? 160 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: You can't just, you know, in the face of surging infections, 161 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: especially with omicron, it's going to go much faster than 162 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: any of your capacity to mass vaccinate the population. Almost 163 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: two thirds you were saying the elderly and of people 164 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: sixty plus have not taken the vaccine or even a booster. 165 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: And look, you know, we've always said on the show, 166 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: it's like, look, if you were in a vulnerable population, 167 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: you should consider it. And over there they're actually giving 168 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: them the option, which is you should stay home and 169 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: stay locked down. But that is having massive impacts on 170 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: the total society. I do also think it's important let's 171 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: take this out of COVID, because at this point I 172 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: don't even know if this is about COVID anymore. I think, 173 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: and what I have read so far, is that the 174 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: oppression is the point zero. COVID is the opportunity for 175 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: the CCP to install cameras in every house that they 176 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: want to, in every shop, to have QR codes, to 177 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: keep total and complete track of every single Chinese citizen 178 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: wherever they are, what they're doing, their access to work. 179 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 1: It has become like the worst of the authoritarian nightmares 180 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 1: that we could even dream of here in the US. 181 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: And look in China, there has long been a social 182 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: contract which is you accept like deep political repression, but 183 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: we make you rich in the process. And so the 184 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: problem though, is that zero COVID is now really implicating 185 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: that trade off at a very basic level, because people 186 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: are not getting rich. They're not only curtailing their social life. 187 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: A lot of people are suffering economically also. You know, 188 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: we remember the Shanghai lockdowns just a couple of months ago. 189 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: People were going without food straight up. I mean they 190 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: were literally unable to get food. So the most basic 191 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: elements of Chinese society are beginning to chafe, but no 192 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: signs yet the CCP is like willing to give in 193 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: in any way. And the indications are that these protests 194 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: really are among a broad swath of groups. It's students, 195 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: it's laborers, it's all kinds of people who are participating 196 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: in these protests. And I think what you said makes 197 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: a lot of sense just in light of the fact, 198 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 1: you know, our experience here, which you never want to 199 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: project onto the rest of the world, but seems to 200 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: be sort of a global phenomenon. Is COVID was just 201 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: an accelerant. Yeah, like the trends that were already in place, 202 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: you know, the breakdowns in the social contract that we're 203 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,440 Speaker 1: already starting to come apart. COVID was an accelerant, and 204 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: COVID revealed a lot, and so I can imagine in 205 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: that context it was also obviously an accelerant of the 206 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: surveillance state, an accelerant of this sort of like brutal 207 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 1: police state crackdown. And so while the core issue here, 208 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: I mean, they definitely are chanting about COVID, they're talking 209 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: about COVID zero. That clearly is the impetus the apartment fire, 210 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: which they you know, appears those deaths were caused by 211 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: zero COVID lockdown procedures. That is definitely the spark. But 212 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: I do think that that is the sort of like 213 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: deeper level concern that has to be you know, the 214 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: most the most concerning for the regime and power. Yeah, 215 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: so let's go. We have a montage of photos videos 216 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: from across the entire country. So these are all photos 217 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: that we've been able to gather. This one is in 218 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: Shanghai in particular, and while you're watching, what you can 219 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: see there is the police, you know, just basically in 220 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: a line trying to keep away. Everyone is showing blank 221 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: pieces of paper both as a protest against censorship and 222 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: against the lockdown. It's become, at least in the last 223 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: couple of days, one of the universal ways that people 224 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: are showing their discontent. While we play those photos, I'll 225 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: just list off some of the cities. There's ten confirmed 226 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: cities across the entire country Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, chang Dou, 227 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: all massive cities, tens of millions of people who live there, 228 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: all having widespread protests, or several other cities where this 229 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: has gone ahead and broke down. Now, what we also 230 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: see crystal is that the Beijing government is asking universities 231 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: to send students home quote as soon as possible to 232 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: quell further dissent on campuses. This is a long standing 233 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,560 Speaker 1: fear that universities represent kind of the you know, the 234 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,959 Speaker 1: epicenter of protests, especially with the scar of Tianum and Square. 235 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 1: So right now you have Shingwa and Peking universities, some 236 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: of the most prestigious universities in the entire country, who 237 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: have hundreds of protests, who actually stag staging peaceful demonstrations 238 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: there on campus. They are doing their best to empty 239 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: those universities as soon as possible. And I just want 240 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: to again caveat, which is at this point with China, 241 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: we just do not have a lot of good information 242 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,679 Speaker 1: except in the massive urban centers where there are of 243 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 1: course Westerners who are living outside of that. To what 244 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: extent this is a phenomenon in the rest of rural China, 245 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 1: where information and all that is very tightly controlled, it's 246 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: pure speculation. We just genuinely have no idea. Yeah, that's right, 247 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: and I mean the context, as we've also covered here, is, 248 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: of course, she just appointed himself president for life. You know, 249 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: appointed a bunch of really hardline loyalists, including as premier 250 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: of the country. So the number two person was the 251 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: dude who was in charge of the most stringent Shanghai 252 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: lockdown procedures. And so you know, for a while at 253 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: the beginning of the pandemic, like we were looking at 254 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: envy at some of their cities which had been able 255 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: to open up because they had had these incredibly strict, 256 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: onerous lockdown procedures in the places where you had hotspots, 257 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: and that's when you had a variant that was somewhat 258 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: more containable. Now, so it was like, okay, well, we 259 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: can sort of like force a minority of the population 260 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: to have to deal with these horrific like this horrific 261 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: temporary lifestyle so that the rest of the country can 262 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: open up and do whatever we want now. Because the 263 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: variants are so hard to contain, and because they are 264 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: so infectious, you now have a bulk of the population 265 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,199 Speaker 1: that is potentially subject to these lockdown procedures. So I 266 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 1: think that's part of what has flipped, as well, as 267 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:04,319 Speaker 1: you can no longer look at it as like, Okay, 268 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:05,959 Speaker 1: let's just contain the problem over here and the rest 269 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,479 Speaker 1: of us can go on living our lives. It's like, no, 270 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: nobody can go on living their lives. We are all 271 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: a day or an hour or a week away from 272 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: being locked into our apartments again and worrying about whether 273 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: we have enough food teat right, especially more than two 274 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: years later. So let's get to that part. What is 275 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: China going to do? Is an interesting tweet from a 276 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: guy who lived in China for thirty years. Put it 277 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: up there on the screen, David Moser. He's a sinologist. 278 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: He says, quote, I have lived in China for thirty years. 279 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: I have never seen such brazenly open, sustained expression of rage. 280 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: We Chat is exploding with protest videos and furious fiturell 281 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: civil disobedience is becoming rampant. This is a serious test 282 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: of CCP governance, and of course the question comes, what 283 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: are they going to do. Well, so far, they've done 284 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: what they mostly do best, which is using force against 285 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: these lockdown protesters. Let's go ahead and put this one 286 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: up there on the screen. You can actually see this 287 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: video and shows a man you know, standing in front 288 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: of a police car basically you know, the van being 289 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: used to press and harassed protesters. And across the entire 290 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: country you're seeing mass you know, arrests. Here, you're seeing 291 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: a violent takedown of I think he was an older man. 292 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: It's a difficult to tell, but you can see very 293 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: forcibly restrained. This is something that you had seen all 294 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: across China being drug off to god knows where and 295 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: for what exactly will happen to him, which is really 296 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 1: the scariest point about all of this, and unfortunately it 297 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: really confirms Schieshi Ping's central governance and the way that 298 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: he has handled almost all protests. So let's go put 299 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: the next one up there. I thought it was important 300 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: to highlight this, which is look, she really was tested 301 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: the first time with mass protests in Hong Kong after 302 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: the pass of that Hong Kong Special Law, which effectively 303 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: gave the CCP more control and their ability to govern 304 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: Hong Kong, you know, with outside of the whole one country, 305 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: two systems, the crackdown that happened on Hong Kong throughout 306 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen and then beginning of COVID and leading to 307 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: effectively a full scale crackdown not only a rest of 308 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: anybody in the press, but any protesters in the street, 309 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: moving the military in. There's a lot of theory crystal 310 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: that if COVID had not happened, that they would have 311 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: done a Tiannaman level a takeover of Hong Kong, because 312 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: I mean, I actually remember covering it with you at 313 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: the time. Remember all those photos of convoys of military 314 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: and police moving from all across the country towards Hong Kong. 315 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: That is a central lesson for Shishingping. And he can 316 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: take away from it and say, hey, it worked. It 317 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: was painful. We got criticized in the press in the 318 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: West elsewhere, but at the end of the day, we 319 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: took Hong Kong and now we fully and tightly control 320 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: it under the boot and unfortunately, this is a lesson 321 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: that he has internalized for a long time from his youth. 322 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: Let's put this final one up there, because I think 323 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: this is important. I remember reading it at the time. 324 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: I think it's important to highlight. It's called Sheshingping's Tianeman 325 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: Family Lessons, and he says one of the things that 326 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: he learned from his father quote is that the party 327 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: comes first, and that his experience of Tiannaman and Square 328 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: where really of protests in general, is that he sees 329 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: protests as quote chaos. He says, quote she sees the 330 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 1: student protest as chaos, similar to the destruction of the 331 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: Cultural Revolution. The Gi family suffered terribly during Mao Zedong's 332 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:17,360 Speaker 1: campaign and the resulting political turmoil. His father was kidnapped 333 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 1: by Red guars and forcibly brought to Xian, where he 334 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: was subjected to struggle sessions and later incarcerated in the capitol. 335 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,679 Speaker 1: Shishingping was even berated for his father's supposed failings as 336 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: a class enemy. So the scars of the Cultural Revolution 337 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: and of such an immense fear of chaos is effectively 338 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: what led to the Tanaman Square massacre in the first place. 339 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: It was the lesson that g has internalized for Hong Kong. 340 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: And unfortunately, I do think, you know, given everything that 341 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 1: we see right now, the CCP always reaches for more oppression, 342 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: for more control, and all at the liberty of use 343 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: of force that they have a complete monopoly on in 344 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: their country. I mean, the next Chief Executive of Hong 345 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: Kong that they appointed as literally a cop who yes 346 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: the charge with cracking down on the protester, just to 347 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: give you a sense, and so the visit there is 348 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: incredibly symbolically significant. I mean, it's a victory lap. It's 349 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: a show to the international community of look, this is 350 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: what we did, and we really don't care what you 351 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: had to say about it. And so, you know, I 352 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: think China is in a very tough place. The Chinese 353 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,640 Speaker 1: government is in a very tough place about how exactly 354 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: they get out of COVID zero, how exactly they move forward, 355 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: just because of what they have done up to this point, 356 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: allowing people to believe they could rely on the zero 357 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: COVID policies that they don't have to get vaccinated, leaning 358 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: almost exclusively on a sinovac vaccine that is less effective. 359 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,120 Speaker 1: And so now you're in this situation where they're sort 360 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: of damned if they do and damned if they don't, 361 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:47,160 Speaker 1: and the population obviously getting extraordinarily restless. So listen, Obviously, 362 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: China is an incredibly significant global player. The Biden administration 363 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: has been, you know, following sort of in the footsteps 364 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:58,440 Speaker 1: of the Trump administration, reorienting our relationship towards China. These 365 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: things have incredible glade global significance, and so that's why 366 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: we're going to keep keeping an eye on to. I 367 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,200 Speaker 1: have no choice to could have massive implications. I mean, look, 368 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,680 Speaker 1: don't forget you know, countries that feel under the gun 369 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,439 Speaker 1: often do crazy and erroneous things. Just to ask Ukraine 370 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: for what that looks like. Another important point that Matt 371 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: Stoler has continued to make is that the Chinese government 372 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 1: is set up for economic growth. They have not had 373 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: an economic downturn since nineteen seventy six. The modern CCP 374 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: is built on the back of eight percent annualized massive 375 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: industrial growth. Well COVID the supply chain resulting global inflation 376 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: and COVID lockdowns and COVID zero in particular, that's not happening. 377 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: So for the very first time, their social contract is failing. 378 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: What would they choose. Unfortunately, history tells us almost certainly 379 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,919 Speaker 1: they will choose oppression and violence, and that could, of 380 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: course have major geopolitical implications. Well, and she has signaled 381 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 1: as much that they're shifting from that extraordinary growth phase 382 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: into a phase of sort of you know, certainly power consolidation, 383 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: loyalty consolidation, and you know, moving forward with their Chinese 384 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:11,360 Speaker 1: nationalist project. So they were already moving in this direction, 385 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: and COVID has certainly accelerated it. So we will see 386 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,239 Speaker 1: where we go from here. All right, turning to our 387 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: own lovely domestic politics here. You've probably been following this. 388 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: You know, Kanye has decided he's going to run for 389 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: president twenty twenty four. He's been hanging out with Milo Minneapolis. 390 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: He's been hanging out with this holocaust denier, right wing 391 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: white supremacist dude called Nick Fuentes, and he made a 392 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,479 Speaker 1: trip down to mar A Lago to visit President Trump, 393 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: former President Trump, where he apparently asked him to be 394 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: his vice presidential running mate. Okay, and afterwards he dropped 395 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:51,360 Speaker 1: this little video which revealed it was not just Kanye 396 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: and Trump who was having dinner that anti semitic white 397 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,400 Speaker 1: nationalist dude. Nick Fuentes was also at the table. Let's 398 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: take a listen to the video that Kanye You put out. 399 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: I think the thing that Trump was most perturbed about 400 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: me asking him to be my vice president. I think 401 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: that was like lower on the list of things that 402 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: caught him off guard. It was the fact that I 403 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: walked in with intelligence. So Trump is really impressed with 404 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: Nick Fuentes. And Nick Fuentes unlike so many of the 405 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: lawyers and so many people that he was left with 406 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: on his twenty twenty campaign, He's actually a loyalist. When 407 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: he didn't know what the lawyers is, You'll still have 408 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: your lawyer list, and when all the lawyers said forget it, 409 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: Trump's done. They're a loyalists running up in the White House, right. 410 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: And my question would be, why, when you had the chance, 411 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: did you not free the January six ers. And I 412 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: came to him as someone who loves Trump, and I said, 413 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:40,919 Speaker 1: go and get Corey back, Go and get these people 414 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: that the media tried to cancel and told you to 415 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: step away from. He basically gives me this would be 416 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 1: mob esque kind of story talking to some kid from 417 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: the South Side of Chicago trying to sound Moby or whatever. 418 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: He goes into the story about all that he went 419 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,239 Speaker 1: through to get Alice Johnson out of jail and how 420 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: he didn't do it for Kim, but he did it 421 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: for me. But then he goes on to say that 422 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: Kim is it. You could tell her I said that, 423 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: and I was thinking, like, that's the mother of my children. 424 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: Since we know and all the Christians in America that 425 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: love Trump know that Trump is a conservative, We're going 426 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: to demand that you hold all policies directly to the Bible. 427 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table, 428 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: telling me I was going to lose. I mean, has 429 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: that ever worked for anyone in history? Telling me, I'm like, well, 430 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: hol on, Trump, you're talking to ya. So there's a 431 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:33,479 Speaker 1: lot to say about this. I mean, first of all, 432 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: let's not forget Kanye ran for president last time. Yeah, 433 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 1: missed the ballot deadlines. I mean, immediately launches and is 434 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: having public meltdowns. I mean, this is a man who 435 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,640 Speaker 1: clearly has entreated mount to illness, which is an important 436 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: context for this whole story. So there's that he got 437 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: I think sixty thousand votes, not a really strong showing ultimately, 438 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,240 Speaker 1: but you know, he's been a sort of Trump hangarund 439 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: there was a big White House visit. He's been a 440 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: fan of Trump's all that stuff. He's been embraced by 441 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: a lot of right wing figures because of that, even 442 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: as lately he's been just going all in on this 443 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: anti Semitic it's, you know, going into every like stereotypical 444 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,879 Speaker 1: trope about the Jewish people that you possibly could. So 445 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: there's been a bit of a distancing there. So already 446 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: just Kanye going to Mara a Lago is already not 447 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: advisable at this point. Right then you add into the 448 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: mix Nick Fuentes, and this turns into obviously people going like, 449 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,120 Speaker 1: what the hell are you thinking about here? Former President Trump, 450 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: who has just announced his reelect. So, as he does, 451 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: he takes a truth Social to try to lie and 452 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: clean this thing up as best he can. Let's go 453 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 1: ahead and put this up on the screen. This is 454 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: his first statement. There were a number of statements. I'll 455 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: read you two of them that Trump put down on 456 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: truth Social. Here's the first one. He says, Yay formerly 457 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: known as Kanye West, was asking me for advice concerning 458 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: some of his difficulties, in particular having to do with 459 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 1: his business. We also discussed to a lesser extent politics, 460 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: where I told him he should definitely not run for president. 461 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: Quote any voters you may have should vote for Trump. Anyway, 462 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: we got along great. He expressed no anti Semitism, and 463 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,360 Speaker 1: I appreciated all of the nice things he said about 464 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: me on Tucker Carlson. Why wouldn't I agree to me? Also, Kama, 465 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,919 Speaker 1: I didn't know Nick Quette. Okay, So this one, you know, 466 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: isn't really passing muster. He's still spinning. He's still trying 467 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: to figure out what's the best way, like out of 468 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 1: this Jim that I've created for myself. So here's another 469 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,920 Speaker 1: one of the statements he put out on True Social 470 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: He says, so I help a seriously troubled man who 471 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: just happens to be black yay, Kanye West Okay, who 472 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 1: has been decimated in his business and virtually everything else, 473 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 1: who has always been good to me, by allowing his 474 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 1: request for a meeting at mar A Lago alone so 475 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: that I can give him very much needed advice, which 476 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:46,879 Speaker 1: you put in quotes. For some reason, he shows up 477 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,199 Speaker 1: with three people, two of which I didn't know. The 478 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: other a political person who I haven't seen in years. 479 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,680 Speaker 1: I told him, don't run for office, a total waste 480 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: of time, can't win. Fake news went crazy, So Sager, 481 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: that is the story. Yeah, there's a couple of things 482 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: I think. I mean, with Kanye and the re emergence 483 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,120 Speaker 1: of Milo and Nick, I just find it incredible that 484 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: they are so willing to latch onto and obviously mentally 485 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: ill and the crazy person not only in distress, but 486 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: just for the two minutes of fame that they both 487 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: like so desperately crave. And it's also especially ironic that 488 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: it's like the moment that a canceled black artist is 489 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 1: who comes into prominence, like, oh yeah, you know what, 490 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: We're going to latch ourselves onto them for notoriety. So 491 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, it's actually a huge victory 492 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: for the two of them, who all they really care 493 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: about is getting people to even say their name and 494 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: to pay attention to them. And sure in the first place, 495 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: and I mean in many ways they have succeeded, so 496 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: congresulations relegated to the sidelines for quite a while now 497 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 1: after like whybe you only would have didn't recognize him 498 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: in that I was like, oh my god, that it's 499 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,159 Speaker 1: only until someone was like that's my I was like, 500 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: oh my god, that is my life. Yeah. I was 501 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: watching with Kyle and I was like, wait, does that 502 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: knit He's like, no, that's Milo. Anyway, for those of 503 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: you who are just listening and not watching, Milo is 504 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: standing there ill a whole time in the video. He's 505 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 1: his campaign with Kanye, right, he's his campaign manager apparently. 506 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: And this dude, you know, the last time we saw 507 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: him he was doing an unpaid internship for Marjorie Taylor Green. 508 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: That was there was only a couple of months the 509 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: recent foray into politics. For that he was no longer 510 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: gay and he was Christians. Wait, he was actually on 511 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: YouTube like selling these like Christian chotchkes on like some 512 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 1: Catholic channel. That was where I'd seen him before. But yeah, 513 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,959 Speaker 1: I mean these Mileo cares about nothing other than attention. 514 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: I think Nick is the same way. Really, Yeah, I 515 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:33,959 Speaker 1: don't know as much as the control. I mean, all 516 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: these guys they're excellent at what they do, which is 517 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: that they say outrageous things. They get people to pay 518 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: attention and the reviews that reaction or to fuel even 519 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,200 Speaker 1: more trolling against said people in order to draw eyeballs 520 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,920 Speaker 1: toward the screen. That's I guess fine. The point is, though, 521 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: and I think Richard Hanania put this best. I'll just 522 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: read it quote. One reason Milo and Nick Wentez will 523 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,239 Speaker 1: never recapture the magic of twenty sixteen is because they 524 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 1: used to freak normal liberals out and it was fun. 525 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: Now liberals are so hysterical the normal g causes them 526 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 1: to melt down. You don't actually need censored performance artists 527 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,200 Speaker 1: to do so. They simply have no role. I think 528 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: there deeply is something to that, and beyond that, I 529 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: find it tired and boring, like in a lot of 530 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: the ways that they were able to freak out and 531 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: latch onto. You know, the so called Trump movement was 532 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: because it generally was dissonant to beat pro Trump in 533 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,400 Speaker 1: twenty fifteen, and in twenty sixteen, it's no longer dissonant 534 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,880 Speaker 1: to do so. Trump is the gop man. Yeah, president 535 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: of the United States. Many people have reconciled themselves to it. 536 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,359 Speaker 1: So it's like, what value add are you giving to 537 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: the conversation. And then you know, of course they're abhorrent 538 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: in particular, you know what they say just about Jews 539 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: and the statement even that Milo put out. There's a 540 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: more recent one that actually just came out this morning. 541 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: I'll read it directly. This is from GAB. Of course 542 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 1: it's horrific and abhorrent, but he says this quote. Nick 543 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,359 Speaker 1: and Ye didn't discredit the Trump twenty twenty four campaign. 544 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,159 Speaker 1: Trump did that by himself by having his most boring, 545 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,119 Speaker 1: low energy announcement in history. He did it by continuing 546 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: to quote suck the boots of the Jewish powers that 547 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: bee who hate Jesus Christ, hate our country, and see 548 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: us all as disposable cattle according to their quote Holy Book. 549 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: So I don't think it's literally like reading something from 550 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages. Yeah. Whatever. Twintes has said of his 551 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 1: opposition to LGBTQ wrights, he's referred to it as the 552 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: bastardized Jewish subversion of the American creed that is dismantling 553 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,159 Speaker 1: our civilization. So does they know we're not like you know, 554 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: this is very clear cut. It's not like borderline type 555 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: of rhetoric here. What I know with both of them 556 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: is they just want attention. It's very clear they are trolls. 557 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: They are obviously always trying to say outrageous things. I'm 558 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: not saying they don't actually necessarily believe them, but what 559 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: they have both calculated and always wanted was for people 560 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: to see them as the flashpoints so that they themselves 561 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: could be elevated to the top of said movements and 562 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: hold people to the standards that they want for the 563 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: entire party. I think what's fascinating really about this is 564 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 1: that they were able and are still only to really 565 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:07,960 Speaker 1: get the like most grifting of like most grifting, like 566 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: mentally ill person to latch onto in order to do so. 567 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: It actually shows a level of deep desperation whenever you're 568 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: willing to do that. And the reason why is because 569 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,160 Speaker 1: beyond the censorship, and I don't support censorship. But what's 570 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: clear is that the world is even much of like 571 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: the online right has looked, moved very very far past 572 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,040 Speaker 1: these figures. It wasn't just them getting deleted off of 573 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: Twitter and off of social media, it was that people 574 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: looked at them and were like, yeah, you're beyond and crazy. 575 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: You're boring now, like you're doing the same shtick that 576 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: you've been doing now for several years. So that's anyway, 577 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: I think the greatest, the greatest victory against these two 578 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: individuals is to just really not talk about them or 579 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: give them the attention in this case, we have to. 580 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 1: I mean they met with the foreign president of the 581 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: United States. That again, you know, to take it even 582 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: up with Trump. It's like, people were like, I can't 583 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: believe that Nick Fuente has got into mar A Lago. 584 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: I'm like, really, yeah, honestly, I was like, I'm literally 585 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: not shocked by that at all. But people, what kind 586 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: of process does he have in place? None? Guess what, guys. 587 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: I literally when I was in the Oval office, I 588 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: remember this there at one point where like seven people 589 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: while I was interviewing Trump just floating in and out 590 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: of there. Yea. And that's just actually not supposed to 591 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: work at all. You're really not supposed to have so 592 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: many people who are allowed in and out. That is 593 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,200 Speaker 1: the level of chaos and the ability for Remember that 594 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: the Mike Lindell and Overstock CEO who are doing all 595 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: this insane stop to steal stuff, and they like snuck 596 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: into the Woodhouse, walk into the over yeah, and the 597 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 1: White House Council walks and He's like, who are you? 598 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 1: He's like, what are you doing here? Yeah? Yeah? So 599 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 1: White House count he was like on his way home 600 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: for the night and then someone calls him urgently, like 601 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: you have to get in here. That fucking insane people 602 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: are like talking to the president talking back. I see. 603 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 1: Note this is not surprising to me at all. Everyone's like, 604 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: I'm shocked and outraged by President Trump, not actual politicians, 605 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: which we'll get to. I'm like, really, because this actually 606 00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: seems incredibly standard for him. I'm not saying it's a 607 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: good thing. Yeah, really, how could you be shocked by 608 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 1: this at this point? I mean honestly, Yeah, And I 609 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,480 Speaker 1: saw Steve Bannon with some kind of cope that was 610 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 1: like he needs who's around him to make sure things 611 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 1: like this down. How I'm like, this is the way 612 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,720 Speaker 1: he intentionally runs. He's a former president of the United States. 613 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: He's a big boy. He can make his own decisions, 614 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: as he clearly did about who he's having dinner with. 615 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,360 Speaker 1: So I mean again, and this is a common tactic 616 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 1: with him, whenever he does something that his acolytes don't like. 617 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,160 Speaker 1: It's not his fault, it's Jared Kushner, it's somebody around him, 618 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: it's the staff failed him. Whatever. No, no, no, this 619 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: is one hundred percent on him. That he even taken 620 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 1: the meeting with Kanye at this point, why, like, what 621 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: do you hope to accomplish there? And then letting Nick 622 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: fuent As in the door. I just don't even know. 623 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: So maybe the most interesting part of this story to 624 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,960 Speaker 1: me is how the Republican Party is responding to this, 625 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: and especially some of the people who are you knowing 626 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: that they're going to challenge him in twenty twenty four. 627 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: There's of course been all sorts of conversation which I 628 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: think is legitimate that Trump is significantly weakened by the 629 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: midterm election results where a bunch of his candidates went 630 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:13,840 Speaker 1: up in flames where it close ties to him, and 631 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 1: especially the further you went in on the stop to 632 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: steal nonsense, there was just a really direct correlation to like, 633 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: the further in the that you went on that the 634 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: worst you ultimately performed. So there's this huge reckoning. At 635 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 1: the same time, you of course have Ron DeSantis, who 636 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: you know, cleans up in Florida. Florida goes a totally 637 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,080 Speaker 1: different direction than the entire rest of the country. DeSantis 638 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 1: is re elected by you know, double digits easily, no problem. 639 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: So you have this moment where a lot of people 640 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: are saying, oh, Trump looks kind of weak, the announcement 641 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: wasn't all that exciting, and maybe someone could ultimately challenge him. Okay, 642 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,959 Speaker 1: so you have a big mess up here from Trump 643 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,360 Speaker 1: that people all across, you know, on both sides of 644 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: Aisle are condemning. So what are these people going to 645 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,479 Speaker 1: ultimately say? Let's go ahead and put this Maggie Hamberman 646 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 1: tweet up on the screen. So here's basically the run down. 647 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:05,560 Speaker 1: Chris Christy, who has criticized Trump directly before, also criticized 648 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: him here for meeting with Fuentes and Kanye Mike Pompeo 649 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: said something about anti Semitism being bad, so a little 650 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: passive aggressive subtweet, but did not actually name Trump and 651 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 1: basically everyone else except for Asa Hutchinson, who's the governor 652 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: of Arkansas who's apparently posturing like he's gonna run for 653 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,240 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. He did say something as well, but 654 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: all of the other potential twenty twenty four Republican candidates, 655 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: most notably, she says, the one who's governor of the 656 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: state where the dinner took place, that would be Ron 657 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: de Santas, have stayed quiet. Let me give you the 658 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,360 Speaker 1: comments from Pompeo and from Chris Christie, and then we 659 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:43,719 Speaker 1: could talk about all of this. Go ahead and put 660 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,560 Speaker 1: Pompeo up on the screen. This is old Trump subtweet 661 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: anti Semitism is a cancer. As Secretary, I fought to 662 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: ban funding for anti Semitic groups that pushed BDS. Okay, 663 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: we stand with the Jewish people in the fight against 664 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: the world's oldest bigotry. So you know, happy to go 665 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,560 Speaker 1: against people who are protesting for Palestinian human rights, but 666 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: unable to call out and overt Holocaust. And I are 667 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,880 Speaker 1: like Nick Fuentes when he meets with President Trump. Got it. 668 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,759 Speaker 1: And then you've got Chris Christy, who he's had a 669 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: few things. Let's put this up on the screen. This 670 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: is on Twitter. He says, this is just awful, unacceptable 671 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,280 Speaker 1: conduct from anyone, but most particularly from a former president 672 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: and current candidate. He links to New York Times article 673 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 1: where he is also quoted, and he said this is 674 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: just another example of an awful lack of judgment from Trump, 675 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: which combined with his past poor judgment, make him an 676 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,239 Speaker 1: untenable general election candidate for the Republican Party in twenty 677 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,320 Speaker 1: twenty four. He also said, and I think this is accurate. 678 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: He can't stand not having attention all the time, and 679 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,880 Speaker 1: so having someone show up at his club, even if 680 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,400 Speaker 1: you believe that he didn't know who Nick Fuentes was 681 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,600 Speaker 1: and want to sit with him, feeds the hunger he 682 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 1: feels for the attention he's missing since he left the presidency. 683 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,799 Speaker 1: And I do think that there is I think there 684 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,440 Speaker 1: is a lot to that. Yeah, I think for me 685 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 1: this just crystallizes something. Trump is obviously just going to 686 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,919 Speaker 1: be the nominee at this point, like if you can't 687 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: and look, they're actually making I think the correct decision 688 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,960 Speaker 1: from a political point of view, what is the lesson access? 689 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,440 Speaker 1: Hollywood doesn't stick, Charlottesville, doesn't stay, any of the innumerable 690 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: so called contraceiencies. If you do speak out against him, 691 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,280 Speaker 1: you politically will suffer and you will have no benefit 692 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,040 Speaker 1: to that. Now, the fact is is that Ron DeSantis, 693 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: the fact that Mike Pompeo wants to run against Trump 694 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: and can't even say his name on something he disagrees with, 695 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,080 Speaker 1: good luck running against a man and winning in the presidency. 696 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,359 Speaker 1: Like to what this really underscored to me was, Yep, 697 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:31,800 Speaker 1: Trump is still the absolute leader of the GOP, not 698 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: a single major elected official has said a word about this. 699 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,120 Speaker 1: If you were to ask him about the specifics, they'd 700 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:37,960 Speaker 1: be like, yes, I think he's abhorrent. You know this, 701 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,200 Speaker 1: I don't support that, etc. But they know that if 702 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: they criticize Trump, he'll criticize them, that it'll hurt them electorally, 703 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 1: possibly in a primary or in the future. And it 704 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 1: just shows me like, how are you supposed to run 705 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,440 Speaker 1: against a man? What case can you prosecute against the man? 706 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: And I'm of two minds on this because I do 707 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,680 Speaker 1: think that the midterm elections have shown us. I'm like, hmm, well, 708 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:01,320 Speaker 1: some you know, trump maga extremism clearly is deeply repellent 709 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: to a lot of independent voters. Yep. That said, uh, 710 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 1: those are not Republicans, right, So that people who are 711 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,920 Speaker 1: Republicans they actually love Trump. So are those people actually 712 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,160 Speaker 1: going to be affected by this. There's not a lot 713 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:16,520 Speaker 1: of evidence to tell us that they will be, that 714 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:18,399 Speaker 1: they probably will stick by him, that they will look 715 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,759 Speaker 1: at this as like a media persecution, or that they 716 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:22,960 Speaker 1: will believe Trump about I hardly knew the guy, right 717 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: his most famous statement, even whenever it's like, you know, 718 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: Michael Cohen or people will work for him. Right for 719 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:32,480 Speaker 1: the twenty five years, I barely knew the guy on 720 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 1: this one, Like maybe he did, maybe didn't. I personally 721 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 1: think he probably knew exactly who he was. I think 722 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:38,480 Speaker 1: he probably just loved getting his ass kicked, you know, 723 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,680 Speaker 1: and all my experience covering him and seeing at the 724 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:43,959 Speaker 1: White House, like the thing that he responded and loved 725 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,799 Speaker 1: to the most was just people sucking up to him. 726 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,279 Speaker 1: And you know, you remember that cabinet meeting which was 727 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:53,120 Speaker 1: on TV where he made every member of his cabinet 728 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: go around and say how proud it were to work 729 00:36:55,719 --> 00:37:00,560 Speaker 1: for him, and everyone's like, what is the North Korea level? Right? 730 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,000 Speaker 1: So anyway, I think again to underscore from a GOP 731 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:07,520 Speaker 1: point of view, Trump is still the leader of the GOP. 732 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 1: If you literally can't criticize and this is people are like, 733 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:11,959 Speaker 1: if you can't criticize him for this, I'm like, that's 734 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,120 Speaker 1: the point. You really can't criticize him. I mean, not 735 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:18,239 Speaker 1: one hundred percent agree with you, Ron DeSantis politically, like 736 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 1: put morally aside. Politically, he made the right decision by 737 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: not saying anything. Yes, but think about what that says. 738 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:32,280 Speaker 1: Here's Trump supposedly at his weakest, right, yeap, Supposedly he's down. 739 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:36,040 Speaker 1: He's almost like, now's the time when if you can't 740 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: say anything about this, Now, how's this going to work 741 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,799 Speaker 1: for you? Like? What is your plan? Yeah? I think 742 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,920 Speaker 1: DeSantis has played his cards smartly in Florida again politically. 743 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,759 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about whether I agree with what he's 744 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,960 Speaker 1: done or not, but played his cards very wisely politically. 745 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:54,640 Speaker 1: I think, you know, he's sort of done everything he 746 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,480 Speaker 1: needs to do to position himself as the Trump alternative. 747 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,439 Speaker 1: Has he positioned himself as someone who can actually take 748 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: out Trump? No, and this incident shows you exactly why. Now, look, 749 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: anything can happen. You know, Trump ends up in prison, 750 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,800 Speaker 1: does that change the dynaw all those things? As of today, 751 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:16,440 Speaker 1: there is just no denying he continues to be the 752 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:20,720 Speaker 1: undisputed leader of the Republican Party. The base likes the sky, 753 00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:24,440 Speaker 1: and if you can't come out and give an explicit 754 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,719 Speaker 1: reason why they should go in another direction, they're not 755 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,719 Speaker 1: going to go in another direction. So I mean, just 756 00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 1: like Chris Christy here does the right thing, right, does 757 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,279 Speaker 1: the full on condemination, he did the right thing at 758 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 1: the Republican Jewish Coalition too, Like at least he's out 759 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,560 Speaker 1: there actually saying Trump's name and making some kind of 760 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:44,560 Speaker 1: a case. Does anyone think that Chris Christie has a 761 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:48,040 Speaker 1: shot in hell of being the Republican nominee? No, no, no, 762 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:51,040 Speaker 1: he doesn't. And the same thing will happen to Ron 763 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,960 Speaker 1: DeSantis or whoever it is the minute they start going 764 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,600 Speaker 1: directly at Trump, It's going to be the same, the 765 00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,759 Speaker 1: same calculus, the same situation. So yeah, I think it's 766 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:05,319 Speaker 1: a very revealing episode ultimately. Absolutely All right, let's move 767 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,760 Speaker 1: on to Ukraine. Some really terrible stuff for Ukraine happening 768 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,800 Speaker 1: right now. Let's put this satellite image up on the screen. 769 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,399 Speaker 1: This was taken just five days ago, so for those 770 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,760 Speaker 1: who are just listening, this is a satellite view of Europe, 771 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:20,240 Speaker 1: and you can see street lights and other lights shining 772 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,640 Speaker 1: across the entire continent from Russia, even in Turkey, down 773 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,120 Speaker 1: below Bulgaria, Romania, and there's just a massive black hole 774 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:29,880 Speaker 1: in the middle of it. Some of that is the 775 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:33,320 Speaker 1: Black Sea, the other is Ukraine itself, which just shows 776 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:37,480 Speaker 1: a massive power blackout basically across the entire country. And 777 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:42,360 Speaker 1: this was really a result of in moving Russian missile barrages. 778 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:46,759 Speaker 1: Across the country, directly targeting power and water station. So 779 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:48,840 Speaker 1: let's go to the next one up there on the screen, 780 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: which is that really what the Russians have pivoted towards 781 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,560 Speaker 1: is waging war on the ability of the Ukrainian populace 782 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,120 Speaker 1: to continue to support the war efforts. So they have 783 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:01,480 Speaker 1: now caused outages in Kiev and lev Eve, in several 784 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,600 Speaker 1: other major cities, even in the former city of Kharkiv, 785 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,040 Speaker 1: which remember, according to Russia, is technically Russia denying power 786 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 1: to their own supposed citizens. Half of Moldova, whose grid 787 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:15,880 Speaker 1: is tied to Ukraine, also lost power. So more than 788 00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:18,280 Speaker 1: one hundred missiles and drones in the last two weeks 789 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:23,000 Speaker 1: have actually rained down across the country, is striking power facilities, 790 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,000 Speaker 1: water facilities, leaving much of Kiev in the dark for 791 00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 1: several days. And you know, again, just to remind everyone, 792 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,600 Speaker 1: the weather over there has already turned. It's snowing this morning. 793 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:39,040 Speaker 1: It is a high of thirty four degrees basically from now, 794 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:43,560 Speaker 1: basically November fifteenth, I believe, up until February, the average 795 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:47,760 Speaker 1: high in Ukraine is thirty five degrees, So it's freezing cold, 796 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,120 Speaker 1: and you have millions of people without any access to power. 797 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,239 Speaker 1: You have stories there of people in hospitals having to 798 00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:56,400 Speaker 1: perform like open heart surgery literally by flashlight from their 799 00:40:56,400 --> 00:41:00,000 Speaker 1: phone in nightmare. It is complete nightmare. And again it's 800 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:03,239 Speaker 1: a long and tried and true strategy of militaries that 801 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,160 Speaker 1: are trying to wage wars, especially from position of weakness, 802 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:08,080 Speaker 1: but with some firepower, which you try and deny the 803 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:11,520 Speaker 1: enemy and it's civilian population the capacity to continue to 804 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,520 Speaker 1: support the war effort. And unfortunately that is in full 805 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:16,640 Speaker 1: swing right now. We are in the middle of the 806 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,600 Speaker 1: muddy season or as they say in Russian Rasputitsa, which 807 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,920 Speaker 1: famously dogged the Nazis in the invasion of Russia back 808 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,960 Speaker 1: in the nineteen forties. Basically the frontline is ground to 809 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,720 Speaker 1: a halt. There are videos coming out from the front 810 00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:33,399 Speaker 1: line and from all across Ukraine of Russian soldiers literally 811 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:36,520 Speaker 1: trying to drag tanks by hand like through the mud. 812 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: It's a disaster. It's just really not going to be possible. 813 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: The only time to resume fighting is when the ground 814 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:45,040 Speaker 1: has become so frozen solid that it can be moved 815 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,480 Speaker 1: at and at that point it's like minus ten degrees 816 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,160 Speaker 1: and with wind chill and people are literally buried in 817 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: the snow. So it's a very bad situation. Likely the 818 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:58,040 Speaker 1: fighting season has relatively stalled at this point. There's been 819 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,719 Speaker 1: some limited battles and there probably will be throughout the time. 820 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,759 Speaker 1: But I think this is a preview of what the 821 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:04,839 Speaker 1: next three to four months of rush to strategy are 822 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:08,239 Speaker 1: going to deny, deny to the enemy, make it miserable 823 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:11,360 Speaker 1: as possible to get through the winter, and is working 824 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:16,280 Speaker 1: so far. That's exactly right. According to Ukrainian intelligence reports, 825 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:19,960 Speaker 1: Moscow is running low on precision cruise missiles, but they 826 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,399 Speaker 1: think they have enough in their arsenal to carry out 827 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:26,120 Speaker 1: attacks of a similar scale three or four more times. 828 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,520 Speaker 1: So I thought there there was a quote here from 829 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:33,760 Speaker 1: the US Ambassador to the UN who was talking about 830 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,719 Speaker 1: you know, they're basically weaponizing winter. They say Putin's motive 831 00:42:36,719 --> 00:42:39,840 Speaker 1: could not be more clear and cold blooded. He is 832 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:43,719 Speaker 1: clearly clearly weaponizing winter to inflict immense suffering on the 833 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:47,280 Speaker 1: Ukrainian people. He's decided if he can't see Ukraine by force, 834 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:51,360 Speaker 1: he will freeze the country into submission. So that is 835 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:54,520 Speaker 1: the calculus here, is to try to hold the lines 836 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,760 Speaker 1: where they are, to try to inflict as much suffering 837 00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:59,200 Speaker 1: as possible on the Ukrainian people. And this has come 838 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,440 Speaker 1: you know, this is caused real problems for them already. 839 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:05,960 Speaker 1: You have rolling blackouts instituted across the country for everyone 840 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,839 Speaker 1: four to twelve hours a day without power. That's how 841 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:11,840 Speaker 1: you end up with an image like the one that 842 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,920 Speaker 1: we ultimately saw. Zelenski has announced a national drive that 843 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,919 Speaker 1: he's calling points of invincibility where they have He's trying 844 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,960 Speaker 1: to set up thousands of makeshift centers so when people 845 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,319 Speaker 1: do lose power, they have somewhere they can go that 846 00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:28,799 Speaker 1: has heat, that has water, that has phone service, that 847 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:32,439 Speaker 1: has internet service, to try to protect the population that way, 848 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:34,640 Speaker 1: because there's just no way that you can guarantee that 849 00:43:34,719 --> 00:43:37,319 Speaker 1: you're not going to be without electricity during the cold 850 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:39,759 Speaker 1: winter months for some significant period of time. Yeah, I 851 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,200 Speaker 1: think that's right. Let's move on now to my personal favorite, 852 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:47,160 Speaker 1: this new accusation by European diplomats. Let's put this up 853 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,279 Speaker 1: there on the screen from Politico Europe. Quote. Europe is 854 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,960 Speaker 1: accusing the US of profiting from the war. EU officials 855 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,280 Speaker 1: attacking Joe Biden over sky high gas prices, weapons sales 856 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:01,520 Speaker 1: and trade as Vladimir Putin's war threatens to destroy Russian unity. 857 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:04,120 Speaker 1: Here's a direct quote from a top European diplomat quote. 858 00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 1: The fact is is, if you look at it soberly, 859 00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:08,200 Speaker 1: the country that is profiting most from this war is 860 00:44:08,239 --> 00:44:10,520 Speaker 1: the US, because they are selling more gas at higher 861 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,680 Speaker 1: prices and because they are selling more weapons. Now, I 862 00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:16,359 Speaker 1: would just want to say, Crystal, nothing is stopping them 863 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:19,680 Speaker 1: from selling weapons to Ukraine. Also, nothing stopped them from 864 00:44:19,719 --> 00:44:23,080 Speaker 1: building more nuclear power plants across their country. Nobody forced 865 00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:26,319 Speaker 1: them to take their nuclear power plants offline. You're not 866 00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:29,040 Speaker 1: the ones. We're not the ones who forced you to 867 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:32,319 Speaker 1: make yourself heavily reliant on Russian gas. So when then 868 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,239 Speaker 1: you voluntarily cut yourself off from Russian gas and have 869 00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:38,120 Speaker 1: to buy it from US, that's your fault, not ours. 870 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:41,920 Speaker 1: I do think it is revealing, though, that the long 871 00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:46,600 Speaker 1: standing prediction not necessarily coming fully to fruit, that European 872 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:50,799 Speaker 1: gas prices, energy crisis and more would fracture. The kind 873 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:53,880 Speaker 1: of Western resolve is starting to come at some point 874 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:57,440 Speaker 1: because the US, by definition, by not being reliant on 875 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,040 Speaker 1: Russian gas, is of course going to fare better. And 876 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,520 Speaker 1: then when we are going to supply ninety some percent 877 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,240 Speaker 1: of the arms going in Ukraine. Of course, our weapon, 878 00:45:05,239 --> 00:45:09,560 Speaker 1: our defense snfactors are going again German defense contractors. You 879 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,920 Speaker 1: guys are welcome to profit from the war too, you 880 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:16,480 Speaker 1: sell it. I would love for that to happen. Okay, 881 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:19,400 Speaker 1: there's a lot to unpack here, ultimately, because at the 882 00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:23,040 Speaker 1: beginning I was sympathetic to their position because if you 883 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,000 Speaker 1: think of it from their perspective, France and Germany in particular, 884 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,239 Speaker 1: they didn't want to take approach to this war that 885 00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:30,359 Speaker 1: the US and the UK ultimately did. And of course 886 00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:32,759 Speaker 1: we're driving the train. So we're the ones who, you know, 887 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:35,000 Speaker 1: dispatched Boris Johnson to say, like, we don't want to 888 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 1: peace steal. We're the ones who say we want to 889 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,279 Speaker 1: push Poodin out of power. Were the ones who lead 890 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,520 Speaker 1: the charge in terms of the sanctions. Knowing that, yeah, 891 00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:46,200 Speaker 1: it's been a little tough for our population, no doubt about. 892 00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:48,480 Speaker 1: I don't want to downsell it, but it's nothing compared 893 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:52,839 Speaker 1: to the vulnerability and the price hikes and the incredible, 894 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,399 Speaker 1: you know, costs that the European countries have had to bear, 895 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:58,319 Speaker 1: especially some of the poorer European countries. You only talk 896 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:01,480 Speaker 1: a lot about Germany. Obviously they're very vulnerable, but you know, 897 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:05,200 Speaker 1: there's basically like a bidding war and competition for energy 898 00:46:05,239 --> 00:46:07,640 Speaker 1: reserves in Europe right now, and so the wealthy countries 899 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:11,399 Speaker 1: are much better positions. So I am sympathetic to that 900 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:15,319 Speaker 1: piece that we basically have been driving this train, you know, 901 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:17,799 Speaker 1: putting diplomacy off the table, although there have been some 902 00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:20,640 Speaker 1: more encouraging signs that maybe the Biden administration is considering 903 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,239 Speaker 1: that potentially there is a point in time, and that 904 00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:25,640 Speaker 1: point in time maybe coming where we push our Ukrainian 905 00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:28,960 Speaker 1: friends to at least come to the table and try 906 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,839 Speaker 1: to come to some sort of diplomatic resolution. So I'm 907 00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:34,520 Speaker 1: sympathetic to that part. But then when you really read 908 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:37,600 Speaker 1: into this piece, it seems like what they're really pissed 909 00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:41,040 Speaker 1: off about is actually the Inflation Reduction Act, Like that's 910 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:47,200 Speaker 1: why it wasn't actually really anything Russia did that is 911 00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:50,520 Speaker 1: causing this tension right now, Like why is this coming 912 00:46:50,640 --> 00:46:53,840 Speaker 1: right now at this point? It's actually because the US 913 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:57,360 Speaker 1: took some really good steps in terms of our own 914 00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:02,200 Speaker 1: domestic green manufacturing case abilities and especially with regards to 915 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:05,839 Speaker 1: electric vehicles, and they are very very upset about that. 916 00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:09,120 Speaker 1: Because they're worried about that undermining. I get it, we're 917 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,160 Speaker 1: worried about undermining their own industrial base, their own electric 918 00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:16,399 Speaker 1: vehicle manufacturing capacity, and especially all the component parts all 919 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:19,760 Speaker 1: of that stuff. So this is sort of being framed 920 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:22,640 Speaker 1: as part of their beef with the US about how 921 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:24,640 Speaker 1: we're profiting off of the war, and you know, we're 922 00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:26,520 Speaker 1: leading the charge in those pieces I think are just 923 00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:30,560 Speaker 1: like justified and there's some legitimate critique there, but yeah, 924 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,239 Speaker 1: what they're really upset about right now and why it's 925 00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:35,600 Speaker 1: coming to a flashpoint, is because they're mad about the 926 00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:38,040 Speaker 1: inflation production. What they are mad about is that our 927 00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:42,480 Speaker 1: EV subsidies basically require our EV credits to go to 928 00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:45,760 Speaker 1: companies that build stuff in America. There's made in America provisions. 929 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:49,680 Speaker 1: Crazy concept. I know that a country would want critical 930 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:52,600 Speaker 1: supplies to be made in its own country, And they're like, no, 931 00:47:52,719 --> 00:47:56,840 Speaker 1: that is a egregious affront because it might undermine reciving protectionism, 932 00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,319 Speaker 1: et cetera. Time they have their own protection. Do you 933 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:02,040 Speaker 1: want to know what the most protectionist places on earth? 934 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:06,040 Speaker 1: It's called Germany, the largest economy in Europe, and try 935 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:10,000 Speaker 1: and buy Mercedes Benz parts factories and other and build it. 936 00:48:10,239 --> 00:48:13,360 Speaker 1: Not just in Mexico, try building it like in France 937 00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:15,839 Speaker 1: or somewhere in a neighboring country. The German government would 938 00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:18,920 Speaker 1: freak out. They look at them rightfully as national assets. 939 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:21,719 Speaker 1: That's great, it's a cool car. I want cool cars here. 940 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:25,560 Speaker 1: I want more than one just American company that actually 941 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:29,759 Speaker 1: makes stuff. So I only support these subsidies. And the 942 00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:33,160 Speaker 1: point is is that they're mad that we are not 943 00:48:33,719 --> 00:48:36,439 Speaker 1: completely reliant on them for a so called fake free 944 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:38,960 Speaker 1: trading system. They're mad that we're trying to build stuff 945 00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,080 Speaker 1: here in the US. And really what they're mad about, 946 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:45,080 Speaker 1: I think is that their own just fundamental strategic flaws 947 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:47,839 Speaker 1: are coming to light. And I just look. Let us 948 00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:51,920 Speaker 1: again go over how much money we have given to Ukraine. 949 00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:55,520 Speaker 1: Total government aid by the United States Ukraine is fifty 950 00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:58,640 Speaker 1: two point three billion dollars. The vast majority of that 951 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:02,399 Speaker 1: is military aid. The EU countries and EU institutions in 952 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,560 Speaker 1: total only reach twenty nine point two billion if you 953 00:49:05,640 --> 00:49:09,400 Speaker 1: stratify it to military aid. The vast majority of the aid, 954 00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:12,520 Speaker 1: some twenty seven billion so far that has been appropriated, 955 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:15,719 Speaker 1: has come from the United States. No other country in 956 00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:18,400 Speaker 1: Europe even comes close, except for the UK, which is 957 00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:22,960 Speaker 1: currently allocated four billion pounds, so you consider that the 958 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,080 Speaker 1: only other country that even comes close to US is 959 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:27,399 Speaker 1: still five hundred percent less than what we have given 960 00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:30,920 Speaker 1: to Ukraine. Just the audacity to say that we're quote 961 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:33,520 Speaker 1: that we are the ones who are quote profiting, when 962 00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:35,359 Speaker 1: you're the ones who are not spending any of your 963 00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:39,000 Speaker 1: own money on this actual contin You know, this is 964 00:49:39,040 --> 00:49:41,320 Speaker 1: the issue too, Crystal. They can be in the driver's 965 00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:43,560 Speaker 1: seat if they want to. Germany is a rich country. 966 00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:45,360 Speaker 1: It's one of the richest countries in the world. So 967 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:48,680 Speaker 1: is France, so is the UK. These are massive titanic 968 00:49:48,760 --> 00:49:51,200 Speaker 1: economic powers which if you combine them, sure they may 969 00:49:51,239 --> 00:49:53,239 Speaker 1: not punch above the US weight, but they actually, you know, 970 00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:56,880 Speaker 1: share a land with the with Ukraine and with Russia. 971 00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:59,319 Speaker 1: They are welcome to do that if they want to. 972 00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:02,480 Speaker 1: They just don't. And it's like it shows you that 973 00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:05,640 Speaker 1: they are willing to offload all their responsibility onto Ustin. 974 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:08,560 Speaker 1: I honestly can't blame it for that because like clearly 975 00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:12,439 Speaker 1: they don't like Biden administration has been willing to spend whatever. Yeah, 976 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:14,640 Speaker 1: I mean, they might do the same thing. Don't complain 977 00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:16,440 Speaker 1: about it. I don't blame them. I don't blame them 978 00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:19,080 Speaker 1: for that position. I don't blame them for spending you know, 979 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:22,000 Speaker 1: less money as a percentage your GDP on supplying weapons. 980 00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:23,960 Speaker 1: I don't blame them for any of that, because, like 981 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:25,480 Speaker 1: I said, I think at the beginning it was very 982 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:28,040 Speaker 1: clear there was a France and Germany wanted a somewhat 983 00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:31,080 Speaker 1: different approach, and ultimately our approaches what winds out. But yeah, 984 00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:33,520 Speaker 1: you can't then go and complain like Lucky he's making 985 00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:35,560 Speaker 1: too much money. I mean, yeah, I agree with you, 986 00:50:35,640 --> 00:50:38,320 Speaker 1: but you've made a choice about how you want to 987 00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:42,080 Speaker 1: approach this. Yeah, but I do think when you read 988 00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:45,279 Speaker 1: into this, the piece that they're really smarting over is 989 00:50:45,320 --> 00:50:48,680 Speaker 1: the Inflation Reduction Act and the fact that after years, 990 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:52,760 Speaker 1: decades of the US being all free trade all the time, 991 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:57,200 Speaker 1: you finally have the tiniest glimmer through you know, the 992 00:50:57,200 --> 00:50:59,680 Speaker 1: Inflation Reduction Act is what they're concerned about. Also the 993 00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:03,360 Speaker 1: Chips Act. But these little glimmer of industrial policy of awareness, 994 00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:06,360 Speaker 1: especially post COVID, that hey, guess what you need to 995 00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:10,160 Speaker 1: have some of these critical supply lines here, even companies, 996 00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:13,480 Speaker 1: you know, even without tax incentives, realizing that this was 997 00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:16,200 Speaker 1: bad for business when you have this massive supply chain breakdown, 998 00:51:16,520 --> 00:51:19,120 Speaker 1: worries about their future in terms of being able to 999 00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:21,080 Speaker 1: manufacture in China and what that's going to look like 1000 00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:22,840 Speaker 1: in the future. So you have some of this happening 1001 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,360 Speaker 1: organically as well, but it seems like that's really the 1002 00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:29,160 Speaker 1: flashpoint here. And the other piece that is ongoing is, 1003 00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:32,080 Speaker 1: remember they agreed that they're going to try to set 1004 00:51:32,120 --> 00:51:35,319 Speaker 1: this oil price cap on Russian oil. Well, you have 1005 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:38,040 Speaker 1: the European embargo on Russian oil that is set to 1006 00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:40,960 Speaker 1: come into effect here very shortly, in just amount of 1007 00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:43,440 Speaker 1: days I think is December fifth is ultimately the day. 1008 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,560 Speaker 1: And then separately, they're trying to institute this oil price 1009 00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:50,360 Speaker 1: cap to try to keep Russia from profiting to the 1010 00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:52,560 Speaker 1: extent that they have been off of their oil sales. 1011 00:51:52,760 --> 00:51:55,160 Speaker 1: Having a very hard time coming up with what the 1012 00:51:55,239 --> 00:51:57,560 Speaker 1: dollar amount there should be. Some people are floating like 1013 00:51:57,600 --> 00:51:59,759 Speaker 1: sixty five or seventy dollars a barrel. A lot of 1014 00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:02,960 Speaker 1: your p and diplomats are floating that. But then that 1015 00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:06,920 Speaker 1: is still way above the actual production costs for Russia. 1016 00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:09,239 Speaker 1: So Russia would still be profiting there. But then they're 1017 00:52:09,239 --> 00:52:11,399 Speaker 1: worried if they said it lower than maybe Russia won't 1018 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:14,719 Speaker 1: produce or so you have an issue with oil prices. 1019 00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,480 Speaker 1: So this is and then the supper concern is like 1020 00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:19,200 Speaker 1: it's not clear that this is going to work at 1021 00:52:19,239 --> 00:52:21,879 Speaker 1: all anyway. So that's the other piece that's going on here. Hey, 1022 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:23,759 Speaker 1: you guys can have cheap gas anytime you want, buy 1023 00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:26,160 Speaker 1: from Russia. That's what the Indians and the Chinese are doing. 1024 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:29,080 Speaker 1: You're the ones choosing not to, so it's your fault, okay, 1025 00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:32,239 Speaker 1: all right, So we have another piece of very significant 1026 00:52:32,280 --> 00:52:33,960 Speaker 1: oil news. This is something that has been a long 1027 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,560 Speaker 1: time coming, and we've been tracking closely here. Biden administration 1028 00:52:36,600 --> 00:52:39,680 Speaker 1: has taken a very different approach towards relations with Venezuela 1029 00:52:39,719 --> 00:52:41,799 Speaker 1: than the Trump administration did when they tried to have 1030 00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:44,920 Speaker 1: that whole fake coup one Guido thing. I mean, listen, 1031 00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:47,520 Speaker 1: I don't want to oversell it here. The Biden administration 1032 00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:49,960 Speaker 1: is still out there pretending that one Guido is the 1033 00:52:50,080 --> 00:52:53,880 Speaker 1: legitimate leader of Venezuela. But we do now have a 1034 00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:57,400 Speaker 1: deal in terms of Chevron being able to pump oil 1035 00:52:57,520 --> 00:52:59,520 Speaker 1: in Venezuela. Let's go ahead and put this up on 1036 00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:02,520 Speaker 1: the screen. US gives Chevron the go ahead to pump 1037 00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:06,040 Speaker 1: oil in Venezuela again. The Treasury Department on Saturday said 1038 00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:08,960 Speaker 1: they would allow them to resume pumping oil from Venezuela's 1039 00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:12,480 Speaker 1: oil fields. This license is not going to allow the 1040 00:53:12,520 --> 00:53:16,560 Speaker 1: state owned oil company in Venezuela to benefit, but it 1041 00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:19,080 Speaker 1: does signal, they say, in opening for other oil companies 1042 00:53:19,120 --> 00:53:22,080 Speaker 1: to potentially resume their business in the South American country. 1043 00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:24,680 Speaker 1: Two years after the Trump administration cracked down on companies 1044 00:53:24,719 --> 00:53:27,480 Speaker 1: activities there in an effort to put pressure and oust 1045 00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:32,840 Speaker 1: the Maduro government. They came to a deal here to 1046 00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:37,920 Speaker 1: basically require the Maduro government is negotiating now with the opposition. 1047 00:53:38,040 --> 00:53:42,840 Speaker 1: There are some negotiations over humanitarianism, you also had, so 1048 00:53:42,880 --> 00:53:45,600 Speaker 1: they returned to political negotiations in Mexico. Those have been 1049 00:53:45,600 --> 00:53:48,040 Speaker 1: suspended for more than a year. They signed a rare 1050 00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:51,160 Speaker 1: humanitarian agreement that seeks to free up Venezuela and funds 1051 00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,520 Speaker 1: that were frozen abroad for health, infrastructure, and education. And 1052 00:53:54,640 --> 00:53:57,359 Speaker 1: that is around estimated to be around three billion dollars 1053 00:53:57,360 --> 00:53:59,880 Speaker 1: and that's going to be administered by the UN. So, 1054 00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:04,440 Speaker 1: you know, the Biden administration reportedly run plane in particular 1055 00:54:04,520 --> 00:54:08,200 Speaker 1: chief of staff became sort of obsessed with gas prices 1056 00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:10,879 Speaker 1: and what they meant in terms of politics. That's why 1057 00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:13,680 Speaker 1: you had all these big releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 1058 00:54:14,160 --> 00:54:16,879 Speaker 1: this ongoing attempt to try to come to some deal 1059 00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:19,520 Speaker 1: with Venezuela where you could start getting oil flowing there 1060 00:54:19,560 --> 00:54:23,000 Speaker 1: again to increase overall global production, and that is now 1061 00:54:23,120 --> 00:54:25,360 Speaker 1: bearing fruit here. Yeah, it's interesting. Let's go put the 1062 00:54:25,360 --> 00:54:26,879 Speaker 1: next one up there on the screen, because the oil 1063 00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:29,680 Speaker 1: market's actually changing pretty significantly right now. We're actually looking 1064 00:54:29,719 --> 00:54:31,520 Speaker 1: like we're going to have decent supply and there is 1065 00:54:31,680 --> 00:54:34,200 Speaker 1: unfortunately we can demand. Some of that week in demand 1066 00:54:34,480 --> 00:54:38,839 Speaker 1: comes from just like winter and less usage. A lot 1067 00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:41,120 Speaker 1: of it comes from zero COVID. Yeah, a lot of 1068 00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:43,440 Speaker 1: it comes from recession severe. So it's not always a 1069 00:54:43,440 --> 00:54:46,560 Speaker 1: good thing whenever demand for oil goes down, but whenever 1070 00:54:46,600 --> 00:54:49,480 Speaker 1: you have more supply and a little bit less demand, 1071 00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:52,720 Speaker 1: then you're seeing more equalizing in the range of price. 1072 00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:57,040 Speaker 1: As wrong as China especially remains committed to zero COVID, 1073 00:54:57,080 --> 00:54:59,239 Speaker 1: you're not going to see as high gas as if 1074 00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:02,160 Speaker 1: their economy open. I really actually can't imagine what the 1075 00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:04,839 Speaker 1: midterms might have looked like without zero COVID. We really 1076 00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:07,719 Speaker 1: could have had gas more than a dollar more per 1077 00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:10,120 Speaker 1: gallon across the country, which really could have impacted things 1078 00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:12,160 Speaker 1: on a major level. More so, you know, everyone talks 1079 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,759 Speaker 1: about the strategic reserve, the global market is so much 1080 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:17,440 Speaker 1: more important than that line in terms of where national 1081 00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:19,320 Speaker 1: gas prices are. Right now, let's put this up there 1082 00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:21,760 Speaker 1: on the screen. We've got a map. So three dollars 1083 00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:24,000 Speaker 1: and fifty five cents dropped a little bit this morning 1084 00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:26,360 Speaker 1: to three dollars and fifty four cents across the country. 1085 00:55:26,400 --> 00:55:28,919 Speaker 1: I was just in Texas for Thanksgiving. Very cheap gas there, 1086 00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:32,560 Speaker 1: two eighty eight a gallon, some of the cheapest in 1087 00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:36,120 Speaker 1: the entire country. The American Southwest, anything near the refineries 1088 00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:39,080 Speaker 1: in generally cheaper. Still quite expensive out in California. But 1089 00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:41,279 Speaker 1: California right now is still the really one of the 1090 00:55:41,280 --> 00:55:45,160 Speaker 1: only states with five dollars gas on average, and here 1091 00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:46,920 Speaker 1: on the East Coast it looks to be, you know, 1092 00:55:47,080 --> 00:55:50,360 Speaker 1: pretty normalizing around like less than four dollars a gallon. 1093 00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:53,880 Speaker 1: None of this is ideal, necessarily, but we should remember 1094 00:55:53,920 --> 00:55:57,040 Speaker 1: that a year ago, before the invasion of Ukraine, and 1095 00:55:57,080 --> 00:55:59,719 Speaker 1: still in the midst of some like COVID craziness, it 1096 00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:01,759 Speaker 1: was three dollars and thirty nine cents, So that was 1097 00:56:01,800 --> 00:56:04,320 Speaker 1: definitely higher than it was in the middle of the pandemic, 1098 00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:06,960 Speaker 1: but to equal eyes back to where things were before 1099 00:56:07,160 --> 00:56:09,279 Speaker 1: the Russian invasion, and if we continue to see like 1100 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:13,080 Speaker 1: a downward, downward move in price, actually think that's pretty 1101 00:56:13,080 --> 00:56:17,319 Speaker 1: significant on for the Biden administration Venezuela part. You know, 1102 00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:19,439 Speaker 1: if they can really get oil pumping and flowing there 1103 00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:24,200 Speaker 1: would only increase the amount of supply, especially with weak demand, 1104 00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:26,719 Speaker 1: and hopefully help the economic situation. So I supported of 1105 00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,920 Speaker 1: suported since day one. I hope they continue to pursue 1106 00:56:29,040 --> 00:56:32,799 Speaker 1: creative diplomacy to get cheaper oil for Americans anywhere. Yeah. Absolutely, 1107 00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:34,960 Speaker 1: And I mean they've been like the sanctions that the 1108 00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:37,799 Speaker 1: Trump administration imposed have also been contributing to I'm not 1109 00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,560 Speaker 1: saying it's the sole cause, but contributing to unnecessary suffering 1110 00:56:40,600 --> 00:56:42,560 Speaker 1: of the Venezuelan people, which is important to keep in 1111 00:56:42,600 --> 00:56:46,000 Speaker 1: mind as well. Compare the prices now three dollars and 1112 00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:48,200 Speaker 1: fifty four cents a month ago, it was about three 1113 00:56:48,320 --> 00:56:50,440 Speaker 1: seventy five, so you can see there's been a sort 1114 00:56:50,480 --> 00:56:54,239 Speaker 1: of consistent downward ticking of the gas prices. I think 1115 00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:57,080 Speaker 1: that trajectory is almost as important as anything in terms 1116 00:56:57,080 --> 00:57:00,319 Speaker 1: of how people feel about gas prices, because it's like like, Okay, 1117 00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:02,120 Speaker 1: am I getting squeezed more and more and more? Am 1118 00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:03,960 Speaker 1: I getting? You know? Can I see the light at 1119 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,560 Speaker 1: the end of the tunnel? Here? California is the only 1120 00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:09,840 Speaker 1: state at least as of yesterday, that had gas averages 1121 00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:12,759 Speaker 1: over five dollars gallon. I mean, that's not a great 1122 00:57:12,760 --> 00:57:15,680 Speaker 1: place to be, but it is significantly better than where 1123 00:57:15,680 --> 00:57:19,080 Speaker 1: things have ultimately been. So yeah, the economic picture right now, 1124 00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:22,920 Speaker 1: it also it looks like inflation, the very last numbers 1125 00:57:22,960 --> 00:57:26,600 Speaker 1: we got overall inflation seems to be on the wane. 1126 00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:29,680 Speaker 1: Potentially the Federal Reserve will take note of that and 1127 00:57:29,760 --> 00:57:32,640 Speaker 1: maybe they will stop hiking interest rates to the extent 1128 00:57:32,720 --> 00:57:34,280 Speaker 1: that they have. There's still going to be a lot 1129 00:57:34,280 --> 00:57:37,160 Speaker 1: of pain over the Christmas holiday season, as you know, 1130 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:40,000 Speaker 1: people's wages have really been cut into buy inflation as 1131 00:57:40,040 --> 00:57:43,400 Speaker 1: prices and food prices and shelter costs and housing costs 1132 00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:46,760 Speaker 1: in general continue to go up and rise. So there's 1133 00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:48,840 Speaker 1: going to be a real squeeze on people. And also 1134 00:57:48,880 --> 00:57:51,720 Speaker 1: the end of the pandemic era programs that really help 1135 00:57:51,800 --> 00:57:54,280 Speaker 1: support people and give them a tiny bit of cushion. 1136 00:57:54,560 --> 00:57:57,240 Speaker 1: There are so many numbers that show that bank accounts, 1137 00:57:57,320 --> 00:58:01,000 Speaker 1: especially of the poorest percentage of Americans, have really been 1138 00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:05,520 Speaker 1: sort of blood dry. But at least the Venezuela thing 1139 00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:07,600 Speaker 1: seems like a little bit of a good news. How 1140 00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:10,600 Speaker 1: much will it affect oil prices and ultimately gas prices 1141 00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:14,560 Speaker 1: at the pump? Anyone's guest, but absolutely moving them bright direction, right, 1142 00:58:14,560 --> 00:58:17,280 Speaker 1: all right, let's end fun media segment. The gift that 1143 00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:20,479 Speaker 1: keeps on giving. The Taylor Lorenz of The Washington didn't 1144 00:58:20,520 --> 00:58:23,240 Speaker 1: resist this one couldn't resist because it's also actually deeply 1145 00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:26,720 Speaker 1: revealing of like a true insanity that runs through a 1146 00:58:28,160 --> 00:58:31,840 Speaker 1: very over representative group and yet powerful one that exists 1147 00:58:31,920 --> 00:58:35,920 Speaker 1: in American media. So Taylor has taken to Twitter to 1148 00:58:36,080 --> 00:58:41,720 Speaker 1: actually defend China's zero COVID policy with outright actual misinformation 1149 00:58:42,280 --> 00:58:45,160 Speaker 1: and just revealing what the end state for a lot 1150 00:58:45,200 --> 00:58:48,080 Speaker 1: of these branch covidians really is. So let's put this 1151 00:58:48,160 --> 00:58:51,080 Speaker 1: up there on the screen. So she replies to a 1152 00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:54,440 Speaker 1: tweet that talks about a Chinese business consultant talking justifying 1153 00:58:54,520 --> 00:58:56,360 Speaker 1: zero COVID by saying that in ten years, the West 1154 00:58:56,360 --> 00:58:58,840 Speaker 1: will be brought to its knees because of long COVID, 1155 00:58:59,000 --> 00:59:02,560 Speaker 1: which will decimate most its labor force. She says, quote tbh, 1156 00:59:02,720 --> 00:59:05,200 Speaker 1: He's right. Millions of people in the Western world are 1157 00:59:05,200 --> 00:59:08,720 Speaker 1: becoming permanently disabled and chronically ill with an incurable conditions 1158 00:59:08,720 --> 00:59:10,960 Speaker 1: that destroys their ability to live a normal life, and 1159 00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:13,120 Speaker 1: our leaders and majority of media are simply ignoring it 1160 00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:16,520 Speaker 1: and misleading people about the risk. Secondary in a response 1161 00:59:16,600 --> 00:59:20,160 Speaker 1: officially to the zero COVID protests, here's what she says. Quote, 1162 00:59:20,640 --> 00:59:23,840 Speaker 1: there is no quote lasting natural immunity to COVID. You 1163 00:59:23,840 --> 00:59:26,240 Speaker 1: can get COVID over and over and over again because 1164 00:59:26,280 --> 00:59:29,360 Speaker 1: there are so many endlessly evolving strains and antibodies wane. Also, 1165 00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:33,080 Speaker 1: choosing not to kill off millions of vulnerable people as 1166 00:59:33,160 --> 00:59:37,520 Speaker 1: the US is doing isn't a critical flaw. And you 1167 00:59:37,600 --> 00:59:40,040 Speaker 1: know when you look and you think deeply about that. 1168 00:59:40,080 --> 00:59:42,800 Speaker 1: First on the long standing natural immunity. Now, it is 1169 00:59:43,160 --> 00:59:45,040 Speaker 1: from what I have read and what I have seen, 1170 00:59:45,280 --> 00:59:48,480 Speaker 1: it is true that your natural immunity can wane and 1171 00:59:48,520 --> 00:59:50,960 Speaker 1: that you can get COVID again. However, and as I 1172 00:59:51,040 --> 00:59:54,560 Speaker 1: understand it, the severity of the actual disease decreases over 1173 00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:57,000 Speaker 1: time as you continue to get it, and one of 1174 00:59:57,080 --> 00:59:59,840 Speaker 1: the whole theories around it is that constantly evolving COVID, 1175 01:00:00,280 --> 01:00:03,640 Speaker 1: through natural immunity and through going through the population, is 1176 01:00:03,720 --> 01:00:06,080 Speaker 1: eventually becomes much more like the common cold in the 1177 01:00:06,120 --> 01:00:07,800 Speaker 1: way that people can live with it. So let's put 1178 01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:12,240 Speaker 1: that aside on the outright medical misinformation secondary though, what's 1179 01:00:12,240 --> 01:00:15,320 Speaker 1: the alternative What she's defending here is zero COVID total 1180 01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:18,560 Speaker 1: lockdown policy where people in Xinjang literally burn to death 1181 01:00:18,640 --> 01:00:21,560 Speaker 1: because they're holed up in their houses and can't leave 1182 01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:25,880 Speaker 1: or unable to get food. Like the idea that we're 1183 01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:29,520 Speaker 1: quote choosing to kill off millions of vulnerable people is ludicrous. 1184 01:00:29,560 --> 01:00:32,680 Speaker 1: Vulnerable people can get a booster shot anytime that they want. 1185 01:00:32,720 --> 01:00:35,600 Speaker 1: They are also and we should, you know, pursue policies 1186 01:00:35,600 --> 01:00:37,439 Speaker 1: that make it so that not as many people get 1187 01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:40,400 Speaker 1: diabetes and not as many people are obese here in 1188 01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:42,400 Speaker 1: the US. But something tells me that she would say 1189 01:00:42,400 --> 01:00:44,000 Speaker 1: that that was ablest, so I don't even think she 1190 01:00:44,040 --> 01:00:47,520 Speaker 1: actually supports any policy on that. Regardless, there is this 1191 01:00:47,640 --> 01:00:51,520 Speaker 1: deep and unhealthy strain with this, you know, this idea 1192 01:00:51,640 --> 01:00:54,960 Speaker 1: that millions of people are being permanently disabled. There's no 1193 01:00:55,120 --> 01:00:58,160 Speaker 1: evidence of that zero on long COVID. I'm not going 1194 01:00:58,200 --> 01:01:00,280 Speaker 1: to say long COVID is totally fake. So I think 1195 01:01:00,320 --> 01:01:01,760 Speaker 1: most of the people who claim to have it is 1196 01:01:01,880 --> 01:01:05,720 Speaker 1: totally fake. And what I see in general is like 1197 01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:09,400 Speaker 1: a neurosis that is manifesting itself online amongst people who 1198 01:01:09,520 --> 01:01:12,120 Speaker 1: can totally work from home and are you know, basically 1199 01:01:12,160 --> 01:01:14,760 Speaker 1: take givers like her. I saw another woman who was like, 1200 01:01:14,800 --> 01:01:17,040 Speaker 1: I finally got it. I got She was looking at 1201 01:01:17,080 --> 01:01:20,200 Speaker 1: as a moral failing on her part that by getting COVID. 1202 01:01:20,240 --> 01:01:22,680 Speaker 1: She was like, I skipped everything for the last several 1203 01:01:22,760 --> 01:01:24,720 Speaker 1: years and I still got it. I'm like, yeah, that's 1204 01:01:24,760 --> 01:01:27,640 Speaker 1: the point is it can happen. So don't skip everything, 1205 01:01:27,760 --> 01:01:30,680 Speaker 1: right if you're really afraid, you know, really afraid, Okay, 1206 01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:32,880 Speaker 1: you know, you can consider your booster. You could consider 1207 01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:35,160 Speaker 1: wearing a mask. Yeah, go to an event, wear a mask. 1208 01:01:35,200 --> 01:01:36,960 Speaker 1: But even then, you know, as we have proven and 1209 01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:38,840 Speaker 1: basically shown at this point, if you exist in our 1210 01:01:38,920 --> 01:01:42,080 Speaker 1: society today and as China's showing us right now, zero 1211 01:01:42,120 --> 01:01:45,520 Speaker 1: COVID doesn't even work. Yeah, So what's the point. There 1212 01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:47,560 Speaker 1: are two big things I want to say about there. 1213 01:01:47,600 --> 01:01:48,960 Speaker 1: There's a lot I could say, but there are two 1214 01:01:48,960 --> 01:01:50,880 Speaker 1: big things I want to say. First of all, in 1215 01:01:50,920 --> 01:01:53,200 Speaker 1: that first tweet that she put up, where she says, 1216 01:01:53,200 --> 01:01:56,040 Speaker 1: like a majority of the media are just ignoring long 1217 01:01:56,080 --> 01:01:59,880 Speaker 1: COVID and you know, the risks of the population. I 1218 01:02:00,160 --> 01:02:02,680 Speaker 1: find it so funny. And I see this not just 1219 01:02:02,760 --> 01:02:04,959 Speaker 1: from Taylor, but I see it from other people who 1220 01:02:05,000 --> 01:02:08,880 Speaker 1: have a similar like like COVID lockdown forever kind of mentality. 1221 01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:13,280 Speaker 1: They are disproportionately represented. The media was so late to 1222 01:02:13,720 --> 01:02:16,160 Speaker 1: where the most of the population was in terms of 1223 01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:18,680 Speaker 1: how they were actually living their lives. I mean, we're 1224 01:02:18,680 --> 01:02:20,600 Speaker 1: still having this year like how to be safe. It's 1225 01:02:20,720 --> 01:02:24,200 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving when you know, I mean some Tinese liver people 1226 01:02:24,200 --> 01:02:26,360 Speaker 1: are very concerned about that. If you have like underlying 1227 01:02:26,360 --> 01:02:28,880 Speaker 1: health risks and whatever, yeah you worry about it and 1228 01:02:28,920 --> 01:02:31,360 Speaker 1: be careful and safe and all that stuff. But the 1229 01:02:31,480 --> 01:02:34,760 Speaker 1: media was much much later. They were much more on 1230 01:02:34,880 --> 01:02:38,520 Speaker 1: the side of the like Taylor lorenzs of the world 1231 01:02:38,720 --> 01:02:40,560 Speaker 1: than they were of the way that most of the 1232 01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:44,760 Speaker 1: American population was ultimately living. And I have always thought 1233 01:02:45,120 --> 01:02:50,640 Speaker 1: that what has made the COVID procedure conversation difficult is 1234 01:02:50,680 --> 01:02:54,720 Speaker 1: that you have two competing values. You have the idea 1235 01:02:54,880 --> 01:02:57,160 Speaker 1: of like health, and we're in it together and we 1236 01:02:57,280 --> 01:02:59,200 Speaker 1: have to like do things to protect each other. And 1237 01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:02,280 Speaker 1: then you have the idea of liberty and freedom and 1238 01:03:02,320 --> 01:03:05,440 Speaker 1: so like, these are competing values. And I understand how 1239 01:03:05,480 --> 01:03:08,040 Speaker 1: people can come down in different places about how heavily 1240 01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:10,720 Speaker 1: away different things, what they value in their own lives, 1241 01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:13,360 Speaker 1: how what they think makes sense as a national policy. 1242 01:03:13,640 --> 01:03:16,160 Speaker 1: And I think we have worked through that in a 1243 01:03:16,400 --> 01:03:18,800 Speaker 1: not always optimal way, but we have worked through that 1244 01:03:18,920 --> 01:03:21,440 Speaker 1: together as a country. I do not find it to 1245 01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:24,560 Speaker 1: be an acceptable point on the spectrum to be where 1246 01:03:24,600 --> 01:03:27,800 Speaker 1: Taylor Lorenzo is here of being like, what China is 1247 01:03:27,880 --> 01:03:31,280 Speaker 1: doing is actually the right policy. I mean, she says, 1248 01:03:31,320 --> 01:03:36,400 Speaker 1: because she's quote tweeting a Washington Post tweet here where 1249 01:03:36,440 --> 01:03:42,040 Speaker 1: they describe the Beijing's COVID zero strategy as having a 1250 01:03:42,080 --> 01:03:47,320 Speaker 1: critical flaw because you know, you have these insane lockdowns, 1251 01:03:47,360 --> 01:03:49,880 Speaker 1: and she's like, no, it's not a critical flaw. Actually, 1252 01:03:49,920 --> 01:03:57,720 Speaker 1: she's actively advocating for insane authoritarian crackdown lockdown procedures of 1253 01:03:57,760 --> 01:04:01,640 Speaker 1: the type that people in China are now rebelling against 1254 01:04:01,920 --> 01:04:05,520 Speaker 1: after watching some of their you know, some of their 1255 01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:09,080 Speaker 1: fellow citizens die in an apartment fire because they literally 1256 01:04:09,080 --> 01:04:12,160 Speaker 1: couldn't get out of their apartment. So it's revealing to 1257 01:04:12,240 --> 01:04:15,280 Speaker 1: me that that is like, actually, where you are in 1258 01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:19,040 Speaker 1: the spectrum, you are on full authoritarian And again, there 1259 01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:23,360 Speaker 1: are many places on that spectrum balancing like safety and freedom. 1260 01:04:23,400 --> 01:04:25,720 Speaker 1: There are many places on that spectrum that I think 1261 01:04:25,760 --> 01:04:29,880 Speaker 1: are acceptable answers. Full authoritarianism is not one of them. 1262 01:04:31,160 --> 01:04:34,680 Speaker 1: That's just my perspective. Should go without saying. You would 1263 01:04:34,720 --> 01:04:40,160 Speaker 1: think in the United States. But here we are today, folks, Crystal, 1264 01:04:40,200 --> 01:04:41,960 Speaker 1: what are you taking a look at today? I want 1265 01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:45,160 Speaker 1: to unravel a little political mystery. How is it that 1266 01:04:45,240 --> 01:04:48,400 Speaker 1: our political class managed to pass literally one of the 1267 01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:52,520 Speaker 1: most successful programs in history, a government program which was efficient, 1268 01:04:53,000 --> 01:04:57,560 Speaker 1: wildly popular, and insanely impactful, and then they let it 1269 01:04:57,640 --> 01:05:00,600 Speaker 1: die almost as soon as it had begun. I'm talking 1270 01:05:00,600 --> 01:05:03,360 Speaker 1: here about the Expanded Child Tax Credit. Was passed as 1271 01:05:03,400 --> 01:05:05,600 Speaker 1: part of the American Rescue Program at the beginning of 1272 01:05:05,640 --> 01:05:08,680 Speaker 1: the Biden administration, and then in July of twenty twenty one, 1273 01:05:08,920 --> 01:05:12,680 Speaker 1: three hundred dollars checks started to flow to millions of families. 1274 01:05:13,080 --> 01:05:15,480 Speaker 1: Ninety percent of children in the country were eligible for 1275 01:05:15,560 --> 01:05:18,600 Speaker 1: these payments, and the benefit was immediate and it was obvious. 1276 01:05:18,840 --> 01:05:22,680 Speaker 1: Childhood poverty plummeted by forty percent, lifting three point six 1277 01:05:22,840 --> 01:05:27,320 Speaker 1: million kids above the poverty line. Food insecurity fell by millions. 1278 01:05:27,560 --> 01:05:29,880 Speaker 1: The lies we've been told for decades about lazy parents 1279 01:05:29,920 --> 01:05:31,880 Speaker 1: just looking for a hand down so they can stop working, 1280 01:05:32,040 --> 01:05:35,440 Speaker 1: those were all exposed as ugly myths. Studies found those 1281 01:05:35,440 --> 01:05:37,920 Speaker 1: who benefited did not drop out of the workforce, as 1282 01:05:37,960 --> 01:05:41,360 Speaker 1: conservatives had predicted, Although I personally believe that working less 1283 01:05:41,360 --> 01:05:43,000 Speaker 1: so you can invest more time in raising your kids 1284 01:05:43,040 --> 01:05:45,680 Speaker 1: is a noble and worthwhile choice, one which supposedly pro 1285 01:05:45,720 --> 01:05:49,320 Speaker 1: family conservatives should support more than anyone. But maybe even 1286 01:05:49,360 --> 01:05:52,880 Speaker 1: more powerful than the statistics are the anecdotes about what 1287 01:05:52,920 --> 01:05:56,200 Speaker 1: these payments meant to struggling families. New York Times just 1288 01:05:56,240 --> 01:05:59,400 Speaker 1: interviewed several beneficiaries, and it really breaks your heart to 1289 01:05:59,440 --> 01:06:02,680 Speaker 1: think about how this little shred of relief which meant 1290 01:06:02,840 --> 01:06:06,640 Speaker 1: so much to these families was ripped away so quickly 1291 01:06:06,800 --> 01:06:10,360 Speaker 1: and so cruelly. One dad said that with the child 1292 01:06:10,400 --> 01:06:13,200 Speaker 1: tax credit, it mostly went to help with bills, but 1293 01:06:13,240 --> 01:06:18,600 Speaker 1: it also enabled some small, previously impossible, little luxuries. In particular, 1294 01:06:18,920 --> 01:06:20,920 Speaker 1: he said he was able to take his kids to 1295 01:06:21,040 --> 01:06:24,000 Speaker 1: Walmart for some new clothes so that it wouldn't be 1296 01:06:24,080 --> 01:06:27,360 Speaker 1: teased about their thrift store wardrobe. He was also able 1297 01:06:27,360 --> 01:06:28,800 Speaker 1: to take them to a state park for a night, 1298 01:06:28,800 --> 01:06:31,160 Speaker 1: where they made s'mores and they slept in a borrowed tent. 1299 01:06:31,600 --> 01:06:34,360 Speaker 1: Of that trip, he said, I saw a happiness in 1300 01:06:34,360 --> 01:06:36,440 Speaker 1: my wife and kids that I hadn't seen in a 1301 01:06:36,480 --> 01:06:39,720 Speaker 1: long time. I felt like father of the Year. Another 1302 01:06:39,720 --> 01:06:41,960 Speaker 1: story showed why scaling back work is in the horrible 1303 01:06:42,000 --> 01:06:45,000 Speaker 1: sin that some have portrayed it. As with child tax credit. 1304 01:06:45,040 --> 01:06:47,439 Speaker 1: One mom was able to briefly quit her night job 1305 01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:49,960 Speaker 1: so she could take her girls to their cheerleading classes. 1306 01:06:50,320 --> 01:06:53,040 Speaker 1: She told the Times quote, my kids always want me 1307 01:06:53,120 --> 01:06:56,520 Speaker 1: to be there. They looked so happy. But now, after 1308 01:06:56,600 --> 01:06:59,520 Speaker 1: less than a year, that credit is dead. Mom is 1309 01:06:59,560 --> 01:07:01,200 Speaker 1: back at the night job, and one of the girls 1310 01:07:01,240 --> 01:07:04,600 Speaker 1: dropped cheerleading Altogether. There are no more state park trips 1311 01:07:04,720 --> 01:07:07,640 Speaker 1: or new Walmart clothes in the budget. Just like that, 1312 01:07:07,840 --> 01:07:12,360 Speaker 1: millions of kids, our most precious resource and most sacred responsibility, 1313 01:07:12,560 --> 01:07:16,080 Speaker 1: are plunged back into the stress and uncertainty of poverty, lights, 1314 01:07:16,080 --> 01:07:19,120 Speaker 1: cut off, housing insecurity, not having enough to eat. The 1315 01:07:19,160 --> 01:07:22,880 Speaker 1: whole thing. It doesn't make any sense I mean on 1316 01:07:22,920 --> 01:07:25,800 Speaker 1: a theoretical political level, Yeah, I know what happened. Joe 1317 01:07:25,800 --> 01:07:27,960 Speaker 1: Manchin decided to kill Build Back Better. That was where 1318 01:07:28,000 --> 01:07:30,720 Speaker 1: Biden and Bernie and planned to extend this credit. Mansions 1319 01:07:30,800 --> 01:07:33,080 Speaker 1: viewed a bunch of evidence free nonsense about how parents 1320 01:07:33,080 --> 01:07:34,840 Speaker 1: were using the credit to buy drugs as part of 1321 01:07:34,880 --> 01:07:38,000 Speaker 1: his justification for killing the whole Build Back Better effort. 1322 01:07:38,320 --> 01:07:41,920 Speaker 1: Sustained high inflation than strengthened Mansion's hand made Democrats go 1323 01:07:42,000 --> 01:07:44,760 Speaker 1: wobbly on all social programs, so we ended up with 1324 01:07:44,760 --> 01:07:47,840 Speaker 1: the so called Inflation Reduction Act. That bill cut most 1325 01:07:47,840 --> 01:07:50,280 Speaker 1: of the social spending from Build Back Better, instead settling 1326 01:07:50,280 --> 01:07:53,800 Speaker 1: for a slice of the green manufacturing agenda. Republicans, a 1327 01:07:53,800 --> 01:07:56,160 Speaker 1: few of whom had previously floated some version of their 1328 01:07:56,200 --> 01:07:58,800 Speaker 1: own child tax credit, while they've now turned fully to 1329 01:07:58,840 --> 01:08:01,280 Speaker 1: their old deficit reduction talk, and they're more likely to 1330 01:08:01,280 --> 01:08:04,280 Speaker 1: talk about cutting social Security than they are cutting families 1331 01:08:04,360 --> 01:08:07,800 Speaker 1: a break. But on a deeper level, it really doesn't 1332 01:08:08,080 --> 01:08:11,840 Speaker 1: make any sense. The program worked, It was extremely popular 1333 01:08:11,880 --> 01:08:15,160 Speaker 1: across the political spectrum. How could it be dead and 1334 01:08:15,200 --> 01:08:18,760 Speaker 1: gone just like that? Seventy percent of voters in these 1335 01:08:18,760 --> 01:08:22,400 Speaker 1: midterm elections said they supported the expanded child tax credit. 1336 01:08:22,439 --> 01:08:25,360 Speaker 1: Only twenty percent opposed it. It was especially important for 1337 01:08:25,400 --> 01:08:28,160 Speaker 1: the multi racial working class that both parties claimed to 1338 01:08:28,200 --> 01:08:31,400 Speaker 1: want to represent. Now Polster Stan Greenberg. He found that 1339 01:08:31,520 --> 01:08:34,320 Speaker 1: hitting Republicans on their opposition to the child tax credit 1340 01:08:34,680 --> 01:08:38,599 Speaker 1: was even more impactful than hitting them on abortion rights 1341 01:08:38,760 --> 01:08:42,000 Speaker 1: for a bunch of crucial voting blocks that includes black 1342 01:08:42,040 --> 01:08:44,679 Speaker 1: and Latino voters, along with gen z and millennial voters. 1343 01:08:44,680 --> 01:08:46,400 Speaker 1: It was one of the top three issues for the 1344 01:08:46,479 --> 01:08:50,120 Speaker 1: white working class as well. The Democrats they didn't run 1345 01:08:50,160 --> 01:08:51,880 Speaker 1: on the child tax credit. They didn't run on the 1346 01:08:51,920 --> 01:08:54,280 Speaker 1: fact that they passed it. They didn't attack Republicans for 1347 01:08:54,320 --> 01:08:56,960 Speaker 1: blocking it. There was no mass rebellion among those who 1348 01:08:57,040 --> 01:09:00,040 Speaker 1: had benefited from it once it was stripped away, so 1349 01:09:00,200 --> 01:09:03,040 Speaker 1: clear plans from Democrats who try to reinstate it now 1350 01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:06,560 Speaker 1: in the lame Dock session. The abandonment of this transformational 1351 01:09:06,600 --> 01:09:10,520 Speaker 1: program is a clear sign of the dysfunction in our democracy. 1352 01:09:10,800 --> 01:09:13,320 Speaker 1: A program that works, a program that's popular among seventy 1353 01:09:13,320 --> 01:09:15,439 Speaker 1: percent of the public, should be invincible, It should be 1354 01:09:15,439 --> 01:09:18,280 Speaker 1: impossible to kill. But the voters who benefited most from 1355 01:09:18,280 --> 01:09:21,440 Speaker 1: the program are also most likely to be politically disaffected 1356 01:09:21,640 --> 01:09:24,599 Speaker 1: and disenfranchised, the poor children themselves. Of course, they don't 1357 01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:26,320 Speaker 1: get a vote. They don't have an army of lobbyists, 1358 01:09:26,320 --> 01:09:29,400 Speaker 1: they don't make political contributions, they don't organize fundraisers. Their 1359 01:09:29,439 --> 01:09:32,040 Speaker 1: parents they may have a vote, but they are statistically 1360 01:09:32,160 --> 01:09:34,840 Speaker 1: likely to be non voters, too busy struggling to get 1361 01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:38,719 Speaker 1: by to protest, and too poor to donate to political candidates. Meanwhile, 1362 01:09:38,720 --> 01:09:41,120 Speaker 1: the voices which are loudest in they are the political class. 1363 01:09:41,120 --> 01:09:43,080 Speaker 1: While they're all singing the same song about how all 1364 01:09:43,080 --> 01:09:44,840 Speaker 1: this spending on the poor in the working class was 1365 01:09:44,880 --> 01:09:47,439 Speaker 1: causing inflation, that how we need the Fed to hike rates, 1366 01:09:47,479 --> 01:09:50,439 Speaker 1: to discipline labor, to fully bleed out the meager savings 1367 01:09:50,479 --> 01:09:53,679 Speaker 1: accounts of workers. And so Democrats, who are more enraptured 1368 01:09:53,720 --> 01:09:57,160 Speaker 1: with and concerned at this point by their affluent suburban voters, 1369 01:09:57,240 --> 01:09:59,960 Speaker 1: they went all in on abortion in January sixth instead, 1370 01:10:00,320 --> 01:10:02,920 Speaker 1: as Stan Greenberg put it, quote, I think the main 1371 01:10:02,960 --> 01:10:05,559 Speaker 1: reason is that Democratic elected leaders see their political base 1372 01:10:05,600 --> 01:10:09,280 Speaker 1: as increasingly college educated women voters in better educated suburbs 1373 01:10:09,280 --> 01:10:12,960 Speaker 1: and economically dynamic metropolitan areas. And they believe their diverse 1374 01:10:13,040 --> 01:10:16,560 Speaker 1: base of African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are motivated 1375 01:10:16,600 --> 01:10:21,280 Speaker 1: by identity politics more than economic issues. Listen. Politically, the 1376 01:10:21,280 --> 01:10:23,280 Speaker 1: strategy worked well enough in the short term. At least 1377 01:10:23,320 --> 01:10:24,960 Speaker 1: it was good enough to at least keep the Senate 1378 01:10:25,120 --> 01:10:27,320 Speaker 1: keep the losses in the House to a minimum. But 1379 01:10:27,400 --> 01:10:31,439 Speaker 1: morally it's a catastrophe, and it leads Democrats politically vulnerable 1380 01:10:31,479 --> 01:10:34,599 Speaker 1: to any Republican who isn't a psycho election denying freak. 1381 01:10:35,120 --> 01:10:36,760 Speaker 1: The story doesn't have to end this way, though, is 1382 01:10:36,800 --> 01:10:40,200 Speaker 1: another disaster for American democracy, another instance of the political 1383 01:10:40,240 --> 01:10:43,080 Speaker 1: class abandoning the working class and the poor. A number 1384 01:10:43,120 --> 01:10:46,080 Speaker 1: of progressive lawmakers signed on to a letter suggesting they 1385 01:10:46,080 --> 01:10:49,000 Speaker 1: will refuse to extend a number of corporate tax breaks 1386 01:10:49,080 --> 01:10:51,559 Speaker 1: in the lame duck session unless they re up some 1387 01:10:52,000 --> 01:10:55,080 Speaker 1: version of the expanded child tax credit. Now with Republicans 1388 01:10:55,080 --> 01:10:58,800 Speaker 1: set to control the House, this is realistically the last 1389 01:10:58,880 --> 01:11:01,680 Speaker 1: chance for the expand child tax credit for a very 1390 01:11:01,720 --> 01:11:04,519 Speaker 1: long time, The last chance for millions of kids to 1391 01:11:04,560 --> 01:11:07,320 Speaker 1: get their new set of clothes from Walmart, their tripped 1392 01:11:07,320 --> 01:11:09,920 Speaker 1: to the state park, their cheerleading classes, and their mom 1393 01:11:09,960 --> 01:11:12,519 Speaker 1: at home instead of at the night shift. The last 1394 01:11:12,600 --> 01:11:14,559 Speaker 1: chance for millions to go to bed with enough food 1395 01:11:14,600 --> 01:11:16,559 Speaker 1: in their bellies and a home with heat in the 1396 01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:20,160 Speaker 1: cold winter months. These children, they might be powerless, but 1397 01:11:20,200 --> 01:11:24,880 Speaker 1: they are counting on you. Please come through. And I 1398 01:11:24,920 --> 01:11:27,720 Speaker 1: saw center Michael Bennett, who is more of a centrist type. 1399 01:11:27,840 --> 01:11:30,679 Speaker 1: And if you want to hear my reaction to Crystal's monologue, 1400 01:11:30,680 --> 01:11:36,960 Speaker 1: become a premium subscriber today at breakingpoints dot com. All right, saga, 1401 01:11:36,960 --> 01:11:39,800 Speaker 1: we're looking at well. As a journalist, it's expected you 1402 01:11:39,840 --> 01:11:41,920 Speaker 1: are going to get things wrong. That is built into 1403 01:11:41,960 --> 01:11:45,800 Speaker 1: the profession. It's why news organizations are not individuals. They 1404 01:11:45,840 --> 01:11:49,400 Speaker 1: have editors, standards processes in place which determine how and 1405 01:11:49,439 --> 01:11:52,320 Speaker 1: what information gets printed in their paper, how much they 1406 01:11:52,439 --> 01:11:56,080 Speaker 1: vet information before they publish it, and at least allegedly 1407 01:11:56,160 --> 01:11:59,679 Speaker 1: check facts with parties involved before going to print. Perhaps 1408 01:11:59,720 --> 01:12:03,240 Speaker 1: no organization on Earth has more of a responsibility on 1409 01:12:03,280 --> 01:12:06,519 Speaker 1: this front than the Associated Press or the AP for short, 1410 01:12:06,720 --> 01:12:09,799 Speaker 1: one of the oldest news organizations in America, which holds 1411 01:12:09,800 --> 01:12:13,000 Speaker 1: an old and vaunted responsibility for gathering and pushing it 1412 01:12:13,040 --> 01:12:15,760 Speaker 1: out in a timely manner, the most basic facts in 1413 01:12:15,840 --> 01:12:19,120 Speaker 1: major situations. They're more conservative than mainstream media in almost 1414 01:12:19,200 --> 01:12:21,840 Speaker 1: every way, their Elections Bureau being one of the last 1415 01:12:21,840 --> 01:12:24,120 Speaker 1: to call races and frequently at missing some of the 1416 01:12:24,200 --> 01:12:26,719 Speaker 1: most deranged and woke think pieces at the Washington Post 1417 01:12:26,880 --> 01:12:29,680 Speaker 1: and The New York Times. Their most basic function is 1418 01:12:29,840 --> 01:12:34,479 Speaker 1: information in its purest form, X happened? Why presidents said this? 1419 01:12:34,800 --> 01:12:37,080 Speaker 1: Than those of us in Washington can ste with it 1420 01:12:37,200 --> 01:12:40,799 Speaker 1: what we will. Its information is so trusted. In twenty thirteen, 1421 01:12:41,080 --> 01:12:43,599 Speaker 1: their account was actually hacked and false tweets were aired 1422 01:12:43,600 --> 01:12:45,960 Speaker 1: saying President Obama had been attacked at the White House, 1423 01:12:46,120 --> 01:12:49,640 Speaker 1: plunging the global stock market and sending Marcus into chaos 1424 01:12:49,640 --> 01:12:52,759 Speaker 1: for a few minutes. That is the power of their information, 1425 01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:55,679 Speaker 1: and as anyone who is even vaguely familiar with Spider 1426 01:12:55,680 --> 01:12:58,800 Speaker 1: Man can tell you, with great power comes great responsibility. 1427 01:12:58,960 --> 01:13:01,439 Speaker 1: That's why this monologue is important, not to applaud the 1428 01:13:01,439 --> 01:13:03,800 Speaker 1: AP for making a mistake and then putting processes in 1429 01:13:03,800 --> 01:13:06,680 Speaker 1: place to fix it, but instead an ongoing cover up 1430 01:13:06,720 --> 01:13:10,640 Speaker 1: of massive, globally important story that they bear total responsibility for. 1431 01:13:11,040 --> 01:13:12,920 Speaker 1: As you can all remember, on the night of Donald 1432 01:13:12,920 --> 01:13:15,439 Speaker 1: Trump's announcement for president, we also had to lead with 1433 01:13:15,479 --> 01:13:18,679 Speaker 1: an important story. A Russian missile had landed in Poland, 1434 01:13:18,800 --> 01:13:22,439 Speaker 1: killing two civilians, but it was according to the Associated Press, 1435 01:13:22,800 --> 01:13:25,240 Speaker 1: that was the story. It was a massive importance. It 1436 01:13:25,240 --> 01:13:27,719 Speaker 1: could have indicated an attack by Russia on a NATO country, 1437 01:13:27,800 --> 01:13:31,040 Speaker 1: precipitate World War three. The story was immediately seized on 1438 01:13:31,040 --> 01:13:33,519 Speaker 1: by President Zelenski of Ukraine to call for NATO intervention 1439 01:13:33,600 --> 01:13:36,599 Speaker 1: in his war. Kremlin accounts disputed the story were dismissed 1440 01:13:36,680 --> 01:13:40,800 Speaker 1: in chaotic hours long environment. It was only several hours later, 1441 01:13:41,000 --> 01:13:43,360 Speaker 1: when the world was waiting with baited breath, did we 1442 01:13:43,479 --> 01:13:46,719 Speaker 1: learn the truth. Actually, these weren't Russian missiles at all. 1443 01:13:46,960 --> 01:13:50,040 Speaker 1: Actually there were Ukrainian air defense missiles that landed in Poland, 1444 01:13:50,120 --> 01:13:52,880 Speaker 1: killing two civilians. That truth, of course, paints a very 1445 01:13:52,880 --> 01:13:55,639 Speaker 1: different situation, a much more gray area that doesn't bear 1446 01:13:55,680 --> 01:13:59,200 Speaker 1: the consequences of possibly massive escalation and a planet changing war. 1447 01:14:00,000 --> 01:14:02,160 Speaker 1: So well, of course, the AP was not only incorrect. 1448 01:14:02,320 --> 01:14:04,760 Speaker 1: They got played by someone in the intelligence community, a 1449 01:14:04,760 --> 01:14:08,719 Speaker 1: so called senior US official. How why who was this official? 1450 01:14:08,840 --> 01:14:11,200 Speaker 1: Was he truly so important that, based on his word alone, 1451 01:14:11,240 --> 01:14:14,200 Speaker 1: you're willing to scare the entire world? Clearly the APE 1452 01:14:14,320 --> 01:14:17,040 Speaker 1: needed to answer some questions, and immediately they produced their 1453 01:14:17,080 --> 01:14:19,920 Speaker 1: fall guy, James Laporta. He's the reporter who received the 1454 01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:22,360 Speaker 1: tip and was then fired. It's clean and easy, but 1455 01:14:22,400 --> 01:14:24,720 Speaker 1: it's not so fast. The APE spun the firing of 1456 01:14:24,720 --> 01:14:26,920 Speaker 1: the reporter as justice, because it was his fault that 1457 01:14:26,960 --> 01:14:29,160 Speaker 1: he left quote the impression that the story sourcing had 1458 01:14:29,200 --> 01:14:32,240 Speaker 1: been approved, yet leaked slack messages were that it just 1459 01:14:32,280 --> 01:14:35,320 Speaker 1: shows you from inside the AP newsroom very different story, 1460 01:14:35,560 --> 01:14:38,120 Speaker 1: one that cast out on the entire organization, from route 1461 01:14:38,120 --> 01:14:40,840 Speaker 1: to branch. Here's how the terrible saga played out. On 1462 01:14:40,920 --> 01:14:44,400 Speaker 1: Tuesday afternoon and one thirty two pm Eastern Standard Time, 1463 01:14:44,640 --> 01:14:48,960 Speaker 1: Laporta posted slack. He said senior US official previously vetted 1464 01:14:49,000 --> 01:14:51,839 Speaker 1: by the Vice president of AP News and Investigations Division, 1465 01:14:52,040 --> 01:14:54,880 Speaker 1: had told him that Russian missiles had crossed into Maldova 1466 01:14:54,920 --> 01:14:58,120 Speaker 1: and into Poland. Immediately, the head of AP Europe applied 1467 01:14:58,160 --> 01:15:00,880 Speaker 1: with the question can we send out a coveted and 1468 01:15:00,920 --> 01:15:04,320 Speaker 1: official AP news report with that information and do we 1469 01:15:04,400 --> 01:15:07,839 Speaker 1: need confirmation from another source, to which that reporter replied, 1470 01:15:07,960 --> 01:15:11,720 Speaker 1: quote that call is above my pay grade. When an 1471 01:15:11,840 --> 01:15:15,439 Speaker 1: editor followed up and asked for a story, Laporta couldn't 1472 01:15:15,600 --> 01:15:18,360 Speaker 1: because he literally was at the doctor's office. He said, 1473 01:15:18,479 --> 01:15:20,920 Speaker 1: all he knew is what he had passed along. Ten 1474 01:15:20,960 --> 01:15:23,559 Speaker 1: minutes after that message, a news alert was then sent 1475 01:15:23,600 --> 01:15:26,599 Speaker 1: by the deputy head of the European AP Desk, reading 1476 01:15:26,680 --> 01:15:30,320 Speaker 1: quote Russian missiles crossed into Poland, killing two. According to 1477 01:15:30,360 --> 01:15:33,920 Speaker 1: a senior US official, the damage at that point was 1478 01:15:33,960 --> 01:15:37,479 Speaker 1: done and the entire world was on edge. Only twenty 1479 01:15:37,479 --> 01:15:40,920 Speaker 1: four hours later, after the Polish government announced its conclusions, 1480 01:15:41,040 --> 01:15:43,360 Speaker 1: did the AP actually retract the story? And then the 1481 01:15:43,360 --> 01:15:46,639 Speaker 1: blame game began in earnest how could this happen? Well, 1482 01:15:46,840 --> 01:15:50,879 Speaker 1: looking at the slack transcript, we can actually surmise something obvious. 1483 01:15:51,200 --> 01:15:53,720 Speaker 1: This is not the story of a single reporter screwing up. 1484 01:15:54,000 --> 01:15:57,720 Speaker 1: This is a systematic failure top to bottom that indicts 1485 01:15:57,760 --> 01:16:00,880 Speaker 1: all their coverage in the past and in the future. Again, 1486 01:16:01,000 --> 01:16:04,080 Speaker 1: let's review, Laporta was at the doctor's office. He receives 1487 01:16:04,120 --> 01:16:07,240 Speaker 1: his false tip from some sort of senior intelligence official, 1488 01:16:07,560 --> 01:16:10,839 Speaker 1: not just any official, an official previously vetted and trusted 1489 01:16:10,840 --> 01:16:13,360 Speaker 1: by a senior vice president of the Associated Press for 1490 01:16:13,439 --> 01:16:17,000 Speaker 1: determining trustworthiness, Meaning that we should all be asking the question, 1491 01:16:17,360 --> 01:16:20,439 Speaker 1: Hold on a second, how many other alerts and how 1492 01:16:20,479 --> 01:16:25,200 Speaker 1: many other stories quoted this guy have we been misled before? Further, 1493 01:16:25,520 --> 01:16:28,080 Speaker 1: this shoddy information was enough for the editors in the 1494 01:16:28,160 --> 01:16:30,760 Speaker 1: chat to get excited enough to push an alert to 1495 01:16:30,840 --> 01:16:34,000 Speaker 1: the entire world who according to them, they believe that 1496 01:16:34,120 --> 01:16:36,759 Speaker 1: Laporta had actually cleared his tip with the vice president, 1497 01:16:37,000 --> 01:16:39,479 Speaker 1: not just the source in the past, hence why they 1498 01:16:39,479 --> 01:16:43,280 Speaker 1: are blaming him. But you read the transcript, his intent 1499 01:16:43,400 --> 01:16:45,759 Speaker 1: is actually clear. I think it reveals that the central 1500 01:16:45,800 --> 01:16:50,040 Speaker 1: news organization, which can impact markets and instantly change geopolitics, 1501 01:16:50,200 --> 01:16:53,559 Speaker 1: has terrible editorial standards. It is something that has plagued 1502 01:16:53,640 --> 01:16:56,559 Speaker 1: journalism on a mass scale since the arrival of Donald 1503 01:16:56,600 --> 01:17:00,599 Speaker 1: Trump and Russiagate. Russiagate and Trump brought record ratings to 1504 01:17:00,600 --> 01:17:03,960 Speaker 1: news organizations and power to intel agencies to get journalists 1505 01:17:04,000 --> 01:17:06,920 Speaker 1: even more so, to believe literally everything that they told them. 1506 01:17:07,080 --> 01:17:09,960 Speaker 1: It eroded long standing editorial practices at some of the 1507 01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:13,080 Speaker 1: most important journalistic institutions, and it made it so that 1508 01:17:13,160 --> 01:17:15,840 Speaker 1: in the middle of a crisis, random dudes on Twitter 1509 01:17:15,920 --> 01:17:18,760 Speaker 1: second guessing the AP report based upon photos from the 1510 01:17:18,800 --> 01:17:22,400 Speaker 1: scene gave us more accurate information in real time than 1511 01:17:22,400 --> 01:17:25,439 Speaker 1: the AP did. Let this be an important lesson for 1512 01:17:25,479 --> 01:17:28,040 Speaker 1: all of us. With the erosion of standards, it literally 1513 01:17:28,080 --> 01:17:30,320 Speaker 1: is a free for all out there. The only person 1514 01:17:30,360 --> 01:17:32,640 Speaker 1: that you can trust is yourself, not to be not 1515 01:17:32,760 --> 01:17:34,439 Speaker 1: to know what is right in the moment, but to 1516 01:17:34,479 --> 01:17:37,240 Speaker 1: be skeptical of everything that you see in an ongoing 1517 01:17:37,240 --> 01:17:40,280 Speaker 1: and chaotic situation. I think it's crazy, you know. At first, Crystal, 1518 01:17:40,320 --> 01:17:42,320 Speaker 1: I was like, Wow, I can't believe it. And if 1519 01:17:42,320 --> 01:17:45,120 Speaker 1: you want to hear my reaction to Sager's monologue, become 1520 01:17:45,120 --> 01:17:51,439 Speaker 1: a premium subscriber today at Breakingpoints dot com. Okay, guys, 1521 01:17:51,640 --> 01:17:53,679 Speaker 1: it was really fun to be back here at the desk. 1522 01:17:53,720 --> 01:17:55,960 Speaker 1: Shout out to all of our premium members. Also, don't 1523 01:17:56,000 --> 01:17:58,519 Speaker 1: forget live show. We've got the tickets on sale down 1524 01:17:58,600 --> 01:18:01,160 Speaker 1: the description of all of our videos. We really appreciate 1525 01:18:01,200 --> 01:18:02,960 Speaker 1: to come and see you guys in New York and 1526 01:18:02,960 --> 01:18:05,200 Speaker 1: in Boston is going to be a lot of fun. 1527 01:18:05,320 --> 01:18:07,559 Speaker 1: Special thank you to all the Premium members out there 1528 01:18:07,800 --> 01:18:10,240 Speaker 1: for supporting our work and the show. You guys are 1529 01:18:10,280 --> 01:18:11,920 Speaker 1: just the people that we think about every single day. 1530 01:18:11,920 --> 01:18:13,879 Speaker 1: How we can help your experience, how we can continue 1531 01:18:13,880 --> 01:18:17,000 Speaker 1: to grow. Counterpoints is going to continue back here on 1532 01:18:17,040 --> 01:18:19,440 Speaker 1: the show this week. We're going to full normal scheduling. 1533 01:18:19,520 --> 01:18:21,639 Speaker 1: So with all that, we'll see you tomorrow. Love you guys, 1534 01:18:21,720 --> 01:20:00,640 Speaker 1: See you Tomorrow shot Keep to keep p