Breaking News from Pod Save America - BOMBSHELL Epstein Update Rocks Trump World

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

You’re 30 seconds away from being debt free with PDS Debt. Get your free assessment and find the best option for you at https://PDSDebt.com/rank. Trump’s Epstein problem just got MUCH worse. Tommy Vietor and Brian Tyler Cohen  @briantylercohen  explain the new developments — plus the latest on the Republican shutdown. 00:00 - Epstein Update 06:14 - Ad Break 07:25 - Republicans’ Gov’t Shutdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I, Brian, we get to major Jeffrey Epstein News. A top Trump administration official did a New York Post interview that is raising a lot of eyebrows. Liberal Tears is brought to you by PDS debt. I mean, that's an incredible story that you could pick up that he was a pervert. It's gross. The guy's gross. Right, with my wife. The guy's gross.

This was not, oh, the deep nuance of Howard Lutnik. This guy's gross. Right. So how come Bill Gates and all these other people could hang around him and not see what you saw? Or did they see it and ignore it? No, they participated. Right. That's what his MO was. You know, get a massage, get a massage. And what happened in that massage room, I assume was on video. This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever. Brian, that was Howard Lutnik, Trump's Secretary of Commerce. Listenersers were probably thinking, yeah, it seems like he's stating the obvious. That's what we think, too.

But in that brief clip, he contradicted both the Department of Justice and the FBI's narrative about Jeffrey Epstein. Remember back in July, the Trump administration leaked this. weird memo to like axios and it said epstein didn't have a secret secret client list that there's no credible evidence that he blackmailed people and then fbii director cash betel has insisted that epstein was was not murdered that he actually did kill himself and inexplicably also said that there's no evidence that epstein trafficked women to other people despite lots of epstein's victims saying that's exactly what happened so brian i mean i watched that and it made me wonder like if letnik got the ick about Epstein in like 30 seconds, why was Trump friends with him for what a decade? I mean, to answer that

question, you really just have to look at the Virginia Goufrey example. We know that she worked at the spa at Mara Lago. We know that she was eventually poached by Jeffrey Epstein to go work for him. And we know that after that point, she was abused and trafficked by him. And so, and so, you know, if you're wondering why it was worth Trump to maintain that relationship, it's because there was some business transactional relationship happening between between them. But also I think what's more important to recognize between what Lutnik said versus what the rest of the administration said, if we're getting contradictory information from these people, there's an answer here. And that's just to release the files. Right. Like this stuff exists. We don't have to pretend that it's all some amorphous black box here. There is a file that includes hundreds of thousands of documents that is sitting on Pam Bondi's desk. Her words, not mine.

And if she wants to give some clarification here as to as to the truth, just release the files that are already in your possession. Yeah, like there was a several weeks, if not months long, firestorm about Jeffrey Epstein and the Epstein files. It has died down in kind of the mainstream media discourse. But we're still waiting on this vote in Congress to get to release the Vole Epstein files, which has been held up for some pretty shady reasons. Well, there is a new update on that front, and that is that Adelita Grijalva won her special election. and she's supposed to be sworn into the House of Representatives, she would represent the 218th vote that would force this discharge petition

to be brought to the floor for a full vote. And yet Mike Johnson refuses to allow her to even be sworn in. And now that the shutdown has occurred, there's no chance of her being sworn in anyway. And so they kind of benefit both ways here. They get this shutdown, which allows Donald Trump to usurp all of these powers and to continue enacting all of the policy points

that he wants to enact with Project 2025, But also, they get to prevent this discharge petition from moving forward because they get to prevent this new Democratic lawmaker from signing on. Yeah, which basically means like, Speaker Johnson is colluding with the Trump people to prevent a vote on the release of the Epstein files. And it's pretty shady. And every day we learn something new that makes you wonder why. Also, Brian, last week, the House Oversight Committee got their hands on a bunch of new files from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, including a copy of like an itinerary or kind of like schedule or diary that Epstein kept. So Politico reported on what was in some of these files. They found what appears to be a copy of Epstein's schedule that had, wait for it, Elon Musk making a trip to Epstein Island on December 6th, 2014.

The calendar also mentions lunch with Peter Thiel in November of 2017 and breakfast with Steve Bannon in February of 2019. And to be clear, all of those dates are years after Jeffrey Epstein went to prison for his conduct in Florida. So like you read this, you're like, I don't know, man. Like I guess the Epstein calls have been coming inside the house the whole time. You know, it's like all of these top people. Elon famously had his breakup with Trump and he tweeted Trump is in the Epstein files. Well, so are you, Puddy. Right.

And I think what's most telling about this is the extent to which Trump supporters were conned. I mean, Trump himself, campaigns on this issue in particular, made sure to exploit this issue to get support from these voters who didn't know any better, only to, I mean, he knew full well that he was in the files. He knew full well that the reality. But also, this has been going on for years. I mean, Alex Acosta was Trump's Labor Secretary. The guy was in his administration. And so the notion... And he gave the sweetheart deal to Epstein in Florida in 2007. Exactly. And so this notion that Trump was ever going to be some champion for accountability when it comes to Epstein is just such a joke and such a slap in the face to anybody out there who earnestly believe

that he would be some crusader for transparency. This is a big deal that anyone wants, like, justice for the Epstein's victims. It's not. also a big deal politically because there's a new PBS News NPR Maris poll out this week that asked about Trump's handling of the Epstein files. Let me read you some findings. 61% of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the Epstein files, including 69% of independence, nice. 77% of Americans want the files released with appropriate redactions. That includes 84% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans and 83% of independence. Only 9% of people who responded to this poll don't want the files released. So like, it's like, it's like Trump, Elon Musk, Don Jr. Yeah, yeah, Howard

Lutnik. So like I will, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I like, look, there are some politicians who like, I roll my eyes and they're like, everything is a distraction from the Epstein files, but clearly this is an issue that voters care about that is overwhelming on the side of transparency and we should keep pushing. Yeah. Liberal Tiers is brought to you by PDS debt. The system isn't broken. It's rigged. And if you're buried in debt, that's exactly how they want it. Big banks profit when you're desperate. Creditors win when you lose.

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Monday if that fails. In the meantime, though, as you mentioned earlier, like Trump is using the shutdown as a pretext to slash funding for blue states. OMB announced the cancellation of $8 billion in green energy funds to 14 states run by Democratic. and then $18 billion in funding to New York City was just cut. But Brian, somehow this very serious and important policy debate and debate about health care and debate about like the function of our government has devolved into the dumbest possible me more. Yeah. Here's an example from the Republican side. There's no way to sugarcoat it.

Nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of all of our woke trans bullshit. Not even black people want to vote for us anymore. Even Latinos hate us. So we need new voters. So that's from the Trump's official account. And then there's been some rejoinders from Democrats. Here's an example from the DNC.

Republican and Democrat Kitties cannot agree on what should be funded. Democrat Kitties want you to have health care. Republican Kitties do not. Republican Kitties control the Senate, House, and the White House, so they're using that to cut your health care and give money to billionaires. Democrat Kitty tries to negotiate, but Republican Kitty keeps running away. He has a vacation to get to. Uh-oh. Suddenly the money you pay for your health insurance has tripled. Thanks, Republicans.

Is this not why you jumped into politics? Yeah. I kind of think like maybe the one rule of political me more is no one wins political me more. But I don't know. What are your thoughts on this communications battle? Is this breaking through to people? So I think if you're looking at just raw numbers, I mean, both of them are breaking through and they're speaking to a, they're both speaking to their respective audiences and not entirely unpersuasively. I mean, If you look at the kitty explanation, that's reached well over three million people on TikTok. It's intended for a TikTok audience. I think we're safe to say that we're probably not the intended audience. Yeah, we're a little outside of it, I think. And in terms of the meme war stuff, I mean, that resonates with Trump's audience. Is it, is it, are, do both of them represent a pretty, a pretty sad de-evolution of our, of the political discourse?

Yeah. But I actually think if you're looking at the, at, at what both sides are representing, I think it's, it's a pretty, apt representation because Trump is relying mostly on just, you know, xenophobic slop. Lies in xenophobia. They're saying that Democrats are trying to pass funding to give undocumented people health care, which is just a made up thing. And they're doing it in a way that is designed to be inflammatory and to feel racist and to make Democrats respond to the tone and tenor of the memes themselves and the videos themselves. And all of a sudden, we're having a conversation about that, about whether Trump's tweet was racist,

which is just like not the ground the Democrats should be fighting on. The Lincoln Spring Sales event is on now, and there's never been a better time to experience the feeling of driving a Lincoln. Pictures, sunlight through the available panoramic vista roof, music, weather, and maps on the 48-inch panoramic display, and a drive so smooth that inspiration rides up front.

Stepping out better than you got in, that's the Lincoln feeling. Get behind the wheel of the 26 Lincoln Nautilus SUV and discover exceptional offers only at your local Lincoln retailer. You've heard the expression, like never wrestle with a pig in mud because you both get dirty and the pig likes it. I mean, that's what Trump is trying to do here. I know you're getting real excited at the prospect of some mud wrestling with me. I'm just editing a lot of jokes in my own head, but please continue.

But you're right. I mean, the reality is that they want this to be put on their own grounds where they usually succeed, which is the idea of either attacking immigrants, attacking trans people, whatever it may be. when in reality this argument is actually very simple to understand. Republicans want to cut health care funding with these ACA subsidies, and Democrats are saying if you want the government to reopen, our red line, we're going to use what little leverage we have because you need seven Democratic votes in the Senate. We're going to use what little leverage we have to force you to continue the existing ACA subsidies.

So we're not asking for anything more. We're not asking for increased subsidies. We just want a continuation of the existing subsidies so that, 24 million people don't see their health care costs double or triple as we head into 2026, which is a pretty reasonable thing to ask for, especially when you consider the fact that in the last five years, the vast majority of ACA enrollment happened in red states. Texas, West Virginia, Tennessee, all of these states together saw a combined 157% increase in ACA enrollment.

States that voted for Kamala in 2024 saw a combined 36% increase. increase in ACA enrollment. So there are a lot of red states who are taking advantage of these ACA enrollments that are about to see their health care costs double or triple because the Republicans refuse to continue this funding. And so what the Democrats are saying is, look, we just want a continuation of this funding and Republicans are coming and saying the Democrats want to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, illegal aliens. And there is not a single dime of federal funding that goes toward health care for undocumented immigrants. Not a dime. It says it, on health care.gov, which is a website run by Trump's own administration.

Yeah, it's deeply frustrating. I mean, look, on the merits, on the policy merits, like Democrats are unequivocally in the right. Like, we can't let people's premiums increase 75%. That's a horrible thing. On the politics, it's like we're like helping bail out Republicans from their own political problem, right? Which is like always in the position we're in because we're like the responsible party that cares about people and thinks government should help you. And you know, there are people out there who are saying, look, why not, why not just allow the Republicans to shoot themselves in the foot in an election year? What do you say to those people? Look, I mean, I think I understand the thinking. Like, I'm torn on this. I'm torn on this whole government

shut down, whether it was a good idea, whether it was a bad idea. I sort of had this similar thought, too, which is like, I don't know that people are really going to turn on Trump until they feel the impact of his policies economically. There's a part of me that's like the Democrats keep swooping in to bail out Republicans on the issues that they're most vulnerable. I think what's more likely to happen here is there will be some deal made that reopens the government. And then After that, there will be something done to address this concern about the subsidies that will probably involve more like brutal policy choices and deep cuts in health care. And look, all of it just speaks to how much it sucks to be out of power.

Yeah. So, but like, look, Democrats, we like led with the meme stuff because it's, I don't know, visual and funny. But like, Democrats are trying to get more digitally savvy. They're creating more of their own social media content. They're talking to progressive YouTubers like you, like us, independent media. the leader Jeffrey's office tried to do a 24-hour live stream about the shutdown. It was like somewhat effective.

It turned into a bit of a punchline because it's like low viewership that kept getting screenshoted. I'm, here's what you made of it, Brian, because like on the one hand, look, I'm glad these guys are trying.

We've got to try new things. We have to be creative. We have to stop going through like mainstream media filter or thinking that an MSNBC hit is going to win the political debate. But on the other hand, you know, I don't know the impact has been what we wanted to be it. Yeah, I mean, look, I think there's a difference between Democrats embracing independent media or digital media and Democrats thinking that their media distribution strategies should be completely vertically integrated, right?

There are companies like crooked media, like what I do, like Midas Touch, like all of these creators who do a great job who've built that infrastructure, so you don't necessarily need to reinvent the wheel. When we want Democrats to embrace independent media, that doesn't mean to create it unto yourself. Like they are not, they are not independent media outlets. These are members of Congress or senators. Some of them have the ability to do that really well onto themselves. Bernie Sanders gets well over a million hits on all of the videos that he puts onto YouTube. AOC, obviously, when she goes online, there's, you know, I tune into her Instagram lives.

Thousands of people tune in a video. They did together. They're like, Bernie and AOC are kind of walking somewhere in D.C. It's like two and a half minute long video where they kind of explain the stakes of this healthcare fight. And I think they did so in a really effective way. It's super effective. And I just covered that on my YouTube channel as well. And so I think if you have people like that who are able to build out the infrastructure onto themselves, great. Then then that's like, that's gravy, right? But I think in instances where where you want to get the word out and also show some support and embrace independent media, then there are other ways to do that without thinking that you also need to become the outlet that you then distribute your message on. Yeah. If you sort of treat yourself as the distribution channel, then you have to do a lot of work to build the infrastructure. to build the follower account to kind of like make it so that it's juiced and we'll get seen by

like it's it's work work smarter not harder and so if there are people that already have uh you know the distribution channels that and and and you you don't have the ability to do that and ramp up as quickly as we need uh eyeballs on this stuff then then find the folks who are already doing it well speaking of independent media uh if you're not already please subscribe to pot save america surprise to brian's channel because we are little lone little voices in the space trying to combat some right-wing channels here on YouTube that have huge follower accounts. And what that means in practice is when normal people search on YouTube for information about the shutdown, they're finding right-wing crap from Ben Shapiro or T-PUSA.

And what we're trying to do is get them good, factual information from a progressive standpoint and just to help them better understand stuff. So please subscribe to Brian's channel. Subscribe to Pod Save America. Thank you for watching. It's free.