The Philip DeFranco Show - Noem Sex Worker Leak Is Worse Than You Think & What Trump Is Not Telling You About the Iran War

Starting point is 00:00:00 Let me just confirm with you. This is not an April Fool's joke. Christy Noem's husband was reportedly sending photos of himself with balloon breast stuffed in a shirt to women in something called the bimboification community. A sexual scene where usually people pump large amounts of saline into their breasts to look like human Barbies. He was using a fake name, setting at least $25,000

Starting point is 00:00:15 to online sex workers during the 14 months at his wife ran the Department of Homeland Security, and you have national security experts saying that the whole thing it left her vulnerable to blackmail by hostile intelligence services. Oh, and he also apparently knew about her alleged affair with Corey Lewandowski with the Daily Mail breaking all of this yesterday. They reportedly reviewed messages between Brian Nome and three women from the bimboification scene with Brian using the pseudonym Jason Jackson.

Starting point is 00:00:35 One of the models that he contacted or reported that his fetish was 3,000 cc plus boobs. He reportedly traded photos with these women. He sent at least $25,000 online and according to reports, he admitted to being married with kids. Only one model that he loved his wife and wanted to, quote, get better and then would disappear, only to come back and start the cycle over again. And when one model figured out who he and his wife actually were and asked him about the rest, she says that he didn't care. But that's also where this stops being a tabloid story and it becomes a national security one. Because reports say that if payments to these women were delayed, they would quickly turn sour. At one point, someone actually exposed them online before later deleting the post.

Starting point is 00:01:06 And that is exactly the kind of leverage that could be used to compromise the head of homeland security. And so you had Jack Barski, a former US counterintelligence asset saying, it's astounding that somebody whose spouse is at that level has that kind of bad judgment. Also, we had other national security experts saying, if a media organization can find this out, you can assume with a high degree of confidence that a hostile intelligence service knows this as well. And while Brian Noem didn't deny having explicit conversations or sharing photos of himself, He did deny making any comments that could have exposed his wife to blackmail. But that denial it doesn't really hold up well because one of the models also claimed that he talked about his wife's alleged affair with Corey Lewandowski,

Starting point is 00:01:37 Trump's former campaign manager. She claimed that Brian knew about it but said that there was nothing that he could do, and this isn't a new allegation. Noam was even asked about it directly during a recent congressional hearing. Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski? Mr. Chairman, I am shocked that we're going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today. Reclaiming my time. Ma'am, one thing that I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House There are thousands of them in the federal government

Starting point is 00:02:05 And as an advisor It is okay for you to And as we talked about then that response was very specific Right under oath, Noam never outright denied the allegations But also despite the rumors she and Lewandowski had still been seen together publicly including during a recent trip to Guyana Now as far as the reactions to this online It kind of became the joke of the day on the internet But you also at the New York Times talking to people in Noam's hometown of Castlewood South Dakota and they found something that was more complicated

Starting point is 00:02:27 Brian Nome's apparently a very well-like guy there, the quintessential small town guy who runs an insurance agency and advertises in the local paper every week. And one of the things you saw was that people who knew him, they had a hard time believing that any of this was real with one person telling the times, must be AI. I grew up playing ball with Brian. I've never known him to be part of stuff like that, saying I don't believe that at all. But with that you had the Daily Mail saying they ran the photos through specialist software that found no evidence of AI manipulation. Also, as far as other reactions, you had former Senator Nancy Turbach saying, I am sorry that Brian is now the subject of so much attention himself and for any embarrassment he's experiencing. And adding, he never asked for the public life in the first place, and I know him to be a kind and decent man. Then, as far as Christy Dome being a focal point, she got a lot less sympathy from the community with people saying, Christy invited this type of coverage by her actions of the Department of Homeland Security.

Starting point is 00:03:09 And her representative said that the family was blindsided by this, and they asked for privacy and prayers at this time. But really, here's what I'll say with this situation, right? This is, it's easy for people to laugh at and people are, we're seeing that. But underneath the jokes, there is a real national security concern that shouldn't be dismissed. You're seeing people note that last year, Trump's team halted FBI background checks, making it easier for people to, slip by the Senate to get security clearances and access to sensitive information. The person that was running the Department of Homeland Security, agency, overseeing ICE, CBC, TSA, FEMA, and the Secret Service had a spouse that was engaged in activity that

Starting point is 00:03:38 national security professionals have said made her an obvious blackmail target. And if a reporter at the Daily Mail can find it, a foreign intelligence service absolutely can. And unlike a reporter, an intelligence service, it doesn't publish the story. They use it as leverage. So the biggest question isn't whether Brian Nome's personal life is anyone's business. One of the biggest questions is whether this kind of vulnerability in the spouse of a the cabinet secretary was ever flagged, ever investigated, or ever even considered a risk by anyone that's responsible for protecting the integrity of US national security.

Starting point is 00:04:03 Because if it wasn't, that's a failure that goes well beyond one man's fetish. With all this, I will say, it's not just foreign adversaries that politicians are worried about right now. Because you have TMZ right now, tracking members of Congress while they're on vacation, and you have many saying, honestly, someone had to.

Starting point is 00:04:17 Because the DHS shutdown, it's nearing 50 days at this point, with TSA workers still fighting for back pay, and all 535 members of Congress just leaving DC for a two-week-long spring recess. You had Harvey Levin telling TMZ's army of celebrity tipsters to pivot. Find a congressperson doing anything that isn't their job. Take a photo and send it in. They even post some photo after photo with,

Starting point is 00:04:35 I think Lindsay Graham probably getting the most notable one, getting caught at Disney World holding a bubble one. But all of this started with TMZ founder Harvey Levin, announcing the effort in a video. If anybody goes to Disney World with their family for spring break or goes to a beach somewhere or anywhere on vacation, Take a picture and send it to us at TMZ. We will post that picture on our website, on our social media, and we will put it on our television shows. We want to show what they are doing at your expense. And in addition to people delivering, both parties have been getting hit. Democrat Seth Maganizer got tagged for posting a party celebrating the inaugural season of the Real Housewives of Rhode Island. Amy Klobuchar was at a high school robotics conference and Robert Garcia was spotted at a casino in Vegas. And then on the Republican side, Ted Cruz,

Starting point is 00:05:24 was caught in the Fort Lauderdale Airport, Marsha Blackburn, apparently slipped out for anyone else even left town, but nobody probably got it worse than Lindsey Graham. With TMZ extensively tracking his vacation to Disney World. And that highlighted a bubble wand, his office quickly clarified that it was for a child. Then actually Graham later posted a photo of himself skeet shooting because apparently, you know, he was like, ah, the masculinity. Not a pretty princess, I'm a big strong man. But then, you know, as far as the responses, some lawmakers, they handled it better than others.

Starting point is 00:05:50 You had Robert Garcia posting on Twitter, actually I don't mind what TMZ is doing here. Like the story says, my dad has lived in Vegas for 15 years and I had just finished lunch with him. And like I said, a few days ago, Speaker Mike Johnson should have never sent us all home. But then you had people like Graham, who is more defensive, saying that he was in Florida for a meeting with Trump and Steve Whitkoff and he stopped at Disney World to just see some friends. And he added, I voted seven times to fully fund the government, call it Democrat. But as far as Levin, he wasn't letting either party off the hook. There has to be some kind of a movement because they are insulting our intelligence by thinking, oh, we can get over on them by blaming it on the other party.

Starting point is 00:06:23 It's not the other party, it's both parties. And we are kind of sick of the way they are patronizing us, and that's why we're doing this. And while I personally blame the Republicans more than the Democrats here because the Democrats tried to fund TSA, I do agree, Dem leadership, especially in the House, could be doing a better job, whether on the shutdown or the War Powers Act before the recess. That said though, you know, as strange as it might seem for TMZ to be kind of the congressional watchdog, the reason they felt like they had to, it says everything about where we are. Again, the DHS shutdown is stretched well past 40 days at this point.

Starting point is 00:06:54 And the biggest reason there's no deal? Republican infighting. Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved forward with a package that would fund all DHS except ICE and Border Patrol. It was described as the only deal he believed was possible to end the shutdown. The House GOP killed it immediately, and we initially saw Johnson leading a public campaign to pressure the Senate to come back to Washington to push a hardline strategy instead. With Johnson claiming we have got a dilemma.

Starting point is 00:07:14 The Senate has to do their job and help us on this heavy lift. We have to get the government funded and they are playing games with real people's lives. And you notably stopped short of any public Criticism against Thune, though reports say that he and other House GOP leaders believe that Thune totally botched the negotiations. But apparently, they were able to find some common ground thanks to Trump breathing down their neck. Or with an announcement coming from both Thune and Johnson today, as I was recording today's show, saying that they've got a solution for the shutdown. Right, and their plan functions on what they call two parallel tracks. The first one being to get the Senate bill that the House so violently rejected last week passed for real this time.

Starting point is 00:07:43 That one that excluded funding for ICE and border protection so that they can get Democrat support. And then it appears that their plans to turn around and kind of stab the Democrats in the back with a reconciliation bill, to fund immigration enforcement. Right, because of reconciliation bill only requires a simple majority. With the big thing on that one being that Republicans plan on funding ICE for the next three years to make sure that those operations are, quote, insulated from future attempts by Democrats to defund those agencies. So they're trying to cover their asses in case Democrats take the House back in the midterms. But yeah, this is the closest thing to a resolution to the shutdown that we've seen so far, right?

Starting point is 00:08:09 Because to this point, the only attempt to address the fallout was Trump's promised executive action from Friday. With Trump saying that his administration will use, quote, funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to get workers their back pay. It was unclear whether those checks will continue as the shutdown drive. And that was also widely seen as kind of a band-aid on a bullet hole. But for now, that's where we are. This new plan, it's still up in the air as I'm recording. We're just gonna have to wait to see how this plays out from here.

Starting point is 00:08:30 And then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, the older that you get, the less a few drinks feels like no big deal, and more like a terrible decision with a 48-hour warranty. That is a feeling I had until I discovered today's sponsor, Z-biotics pre-alcohol. You see, Z-biotics pre-alcohol is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic, designed by PhD scientists to save you after a crazy night out.

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Starting point is 00:09:26 So hey, scan that QR code or head to Zbiotics.com slash DeFranco and use the code DeFranco to get 15% off your first order. It's Zbiotics.com slash DeFranco for 15% off your first order. Then diving right back into the news, we have finally learned why the Trump administration has been demanding lists of registered voters

Starting point is 00:09:43 for months from states across the country. But this has been an ongoing legal issue, with some red states complying, the White House suing more than two dozen that didn't, and federal judges in 3, three states tossing out those suits. And will now, using whatever data it has, Trump's directed the Department of Homeland Security

Starting point is 00:09:55 and the Social Security Administration to drop a nationwide list of certified eligible voters. And then, using that list, the US Postal Service is barred from delivering mail ballots to anyone that the administration deems ineligible. Where which Trump claims is necessary to prevent fraudulent voting by non-citizens, even though that there is no evidence they vote in any meaningful numbers.

Starting point is 00:10:13 Right, just last year, the Brookings Institution found that male voting fraud occurred in only 0.00-043% of cases, about four per 10 million. Also, the DHS system for verifying citizenship that Trump wants to use, it's been criticized not only for privacy concerns, but also because it has been shown to contain unreliable data sets.

Starting point is 00:10:30 Right, even after just a few states began using the system, it reportedly flagged hundreds of people as non-citizens who were actually citizens. And so you've got the Brennan Center for Justice saying our government's citizenship lists are incomplete and inaccurate. The United States Postal Service is overburdened inadequate. This combines a car crash with a train wreck.

Starting point is 00:10:45 And that's also without mentioning the dubious legality of all this, right? For one thing, that the Constitution gives the state's broad authority to run elections as they see fit. And even to the extent that the federal government can intervene, it generally requires an act of Congress, not just the president signing some decree. Also, in the mail-in ballots in particular, the postal service is run by a board of governors that's supposed to be independent from the president's direct control.

Starting point is 00:11:04 And so as experts have pointed out, he's not meant to be able to tell it what mail it can and cannot deliver. But with all that, Trump's been trying to erode the agency's independence for a while now, just like he's done for pretty much the entire executive branch appointing loyalists to the board. And in fact, he's even proposed absorbing the service into the Commerce Department, whose secretary Howard Lutnik was there when Trump signed the executive order. And then as for the states, you had Trump threatening to withhold federal funding for any of them that refused to comply with the order. In fact, Trump said that the DOJ will investigate and prosecute anyone engaged in or aiding and abetting the printing, production, shipment, or distribution of ballots to individuals who are not eligible to vote in a federal election. Of course, you know, the minute this thing was signed, the legal objections came flying in with several states pledging to sue, including Arizona's Secretary of State.

Starting point is 00:11:42 This is how the majority of Arizona's vote. This is a system that was set up by Republicans. and had kept them in a lot of power for a long time. It doesn't make any sense, especially when the courts have repeatedly told him, this is not in your purview, Mr. President. With him also adding elsewhere, it is just wrongheaded for a president of the United States

Starting point is 00:12:00 to pretend like he can pick his own voters. That's just not how America works. But then from Trump's perspective, it's apparently equally bewildering that anyone would think he can't pick his own voters. I don't see how anybody can challenge it. You may find a rogue judge. You got a lot of rogue judges.

Starting point is 00:12:14 Very bad, bad people, very bad judges. But this isn't the first time that Trump's tried to control elections via executive order. But he said another one last year that's since been tied up in the courts, but he tried to limit mail ballots and required documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form. And in the meantime, he's also been trying to restrict who can become a citizen and even strip citizenship from certain people. Which actually brings us to yet another Trump executive order that is now before the Supreme Court, the one that is seeking to overhaul birthright citizenship.

Starting point is 00:12:38 Because for some 125 years, the courts have consistently agreed that the 14th Amendment it grant citizenship to nearly everyone worn on American soil, even if their parents aren't citizens. But then Trump came along and was like, no, that's stupid. With Trump arguing that the rules become outdated and is now being exploited by non-citizens running across the border right before they give birth. It had to do with the babies of slaves. It didn't have to do with the protection of multi-millionaires and billionaires wanting to have their children get an American citizenship. It is the craziest thing I've ever seen. And apparently he feels so strongly about this that today he actually attended the Supreme Court's hearing in this case, something that no sitting president has ever done.

Starting point is 00:13:16 with Trump sitting right up in the front of the room alongside several cabinet members, including Pam Bondi and Howard Lutnik. And at least according to reports, the justices never acknowledged his presence, even though the man sitting across from them has repeatedly insulted them and questioned their legitimacy. But you'd have the ones that were appointed by Barack Hussein Obama and Biden. I don't care how good your cases. You can have the greatest case ever. They're going to rule against you. They always do. And it's not supposed to be that way. They also are a, frankly, disgrace to our nation, those justices. They're very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. It's my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests

Starting point is 00:13:55 and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think. But with all that, according to reporters who were there and the audio that we've heard, the justices seem much more skeptical at Trump's lawyer's argument than they were of the other sides. And the stuff you have about unlawfully present is like Roman law sources. you're going to. If somebody showed up here in 1868 and established domicile, that was perfectly fine without respect to any any immigration laws. There they were. And so why wouldn't we, even if we were to apply your own test, come to the conclusion that the fact that someone might be illegal is immaterial? I would first cite Wong Kim Ark on that point because Wonka Mark says you're...

Starting point is 00:14:38 Well, I'm not sure how much you want to rely on Wong Kim, R. The position you're taking now is a revisionist one with respect to a substantial part of our history. Are you suggesting that when a baby is born, people have to have documents, present documents? Is this happening in the delivery room? So we're bringing pregnant women in for depositions? Even some of the conservatives appeared unconvinced, with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito being really the only ones who seemed sympathetic to Trump's argument. Then when it was the other side's turn to defend themselves, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney-Barritt grilled them as well. so it looks like they may be the swing votes here.

Starting point is 00:15:12 But while it's gonna be a little while before we know the outcome of that case, we also just saw Trump getting dealt two other incredibly significant legal losses. Right first up, you had a federal judge ordering the president to stop construction on his prized White House ballroom until Congress approves its completion.

Starting point is 00:15:25 But the lawsuit in question there being brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is a nonprofit chartered by Congress to preserve historic buildings. And in their suit, the National Trust argued that Trump acted illegally when he tore down the East Wing and began building his ballroom

Starting point is 00:15:36 without approval from Congress, with him instead using at least $350 million from around two, dozen massive companies in tech, cryptocurrency, and defense industries. Corporations that also just so happened to have a collective $275 billion in government contracts before the Trump administration, you know, kind of just coincidentally. With all that, in an absolutely scathing decision, you had U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who notably was appointed by George W. Bush agreeing with the national trust.

Starting point is 00:15:58 Arguing that from the start, the administration had provided shifting and dubious accounts of what legal authority the president had to fund this project with private donations and zero input from Congress. Claiming that Trump has failed to identify a law that allowed him to demolish the White House's being without congressional approval and ruling that Trump likely didn't have the authority to replace entire sections of the White House without Congress and saying, the President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of first families. He is not, however, the owner and then adding, no statute comes close to giving the president the authority he claims to have. With Leon going on to directly contradict Trump's claim that Congress had implicitly given him the power to make changes

Starting point is 00:16:31 because it set aside several million dollars to the White House as part of a law that allowed alteration and improvement. With the judge noting there that the law in question only allows the president who spend an annual budget on the building's care, maintenance, repair, and specifically lists examples like air conditioning, heating, and lighting. Now, beyond that, Leon also hit back at the administration's repeated claim that the project must go forward because of unspecified matters of national security that could imperil President Trump. Because while the administration has not elaborated on those claims, it's long been known that there are secure facilities for the president and staff under what used to be the East Wing before Trump demolished it. But in his ruling,

Starting point is 00:17:02 Leon pointed out that Trump was literally the one who created a potential vulnerability in the first place, writing. Please, while I take seriously the government's concerns regarding the safety and security of the White House grounds in the president himself, the existence of a large hole beside the White House is, of course, a problem of the president's own making. But with all that said, the judge did say that he would allow construction to continue for the safety and security at the White House, a line that some believe is a reference to the military bunker that's being built under the ballroom. And then in addition to that, Leon also paused his own order from taking effect for two weeks, noting that the administration was likely to appeal, which it did just hours later. With Trump repeatedly railing against a decision going on an extended ran during a public event at the White House where he insisted that the

Starting point is 00:17:38 project was not any different from previous renovations that were done without consulting Congress and claiming. Congressional approval is not necessary to put up a ballroom, with them also noting that Leon had said that the White House could proceed with efforts to ensure safety and security, arguing that as a result, many parts of the project will still be moving forward. With that, including installing bulletproof glass in the ballroom and anti-drone installations on the roof. So as far as the actual practical effects of this ruling, we're going to have to wait to see. But that then brings us to the second legal L that Trump was hit with, though, it might not be as big of a loss as the headlines have made it seem, though I'll explain here.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Because yesterday, another federal judge ruled that the president's executive order barring federal funding for NPR and PBS was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment. As you might remember, Trump initially signed that order last May, alleging that the two broadcasters were spreading what he called left-wing bias. And then two months later, the Republican-controlled Congress voted to claw back $1.1.1 billion that had already been allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which used to distribute money to the broadcasters but has since shut down. But in this new decision, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss halted the federal government

Starting point is 00:18:33 from permanently cutting off funding for NPR and PBS. Ruling that the executive order was a clear violation of press freedoms under the First Amendment because it amounted to viewpoint discrimination and unconstitutional retaliation. It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the president does not like and seeks to squelch. With him then going on to say that Trump can express his views and criticize certain reporting, but adding he may not, however, use his governmental power to direct federal agencies to exclude plaintiffs from receiving federal grants or other funding and retaliation for saying things he does not like.

Starting point is 00:19:03 And as expected, you had the two public media broadcasters and their lawyers cheering the move on as a major victory for press freedoms. And there, while I say that is certainly true, it might not go as far as they had hoped. Because the ruling, it doesn't override Congress. So there's no way to get back the $1.1 billion in funds that have already been revoked, nor does it say that Congress has to fund NPR and PBS in the years to come. But, and this is big, it does remove a major hurdle that a future Congress would have faced if it wanted to restore funding. Like, let's say, if things go well in the midterms and Democrats take over, it is a very real possibility they could start funding the two entities again as soon as next year. And so even if in the immediate future, it's not as big of a win as some have hoped, it's still in some eyes a nice middle finger to Trump and his efforts to undermine basic democratic principles.

Starting point is 00:19:41 And you have many saying that any win for press freedoms, it's a loss for Trump and authoritarianism and it's important to celebrate the small victories where we can, especially if it can lead to bigger ones down the road. And then there's more we've got to dive into it in just a minute. But first, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, if you're planning any trips abroad, do not sleep on today's sponsor, Saly. The second that you land and you try to use maps, book, ride, or check literally anything phone-related, that's when your data decides to become a financial threat. But Saley, it gives you instant affordable internet

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Starting point is 00:20:54 And he'll not only leave American allies to clean up his mess with the straight-of-hoer moves, he may just abandon them altogether, saying that he is strongly considered pulling out of NATO, which actually is also why, in addition to being subscribed to this channel, you should join the text line at 813-213-4423. Shoot me a text. And or you should subscribe to Philiptofranco.com, so we hit your inbox because we'll be live streaming and covering Trump's address tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. Might even have some guests along with us. You know, all of this is gas prices are still at their highest point since 2022, though there you have Trump saying, you know, it's okay because you're safe.

Starting point is 00:21:22 $4.00, yeah, and we have a country that's not going to be throwing a nuclear weapon at us in six months. But Americans are feeling the effects in the interim. And they're also feeling a lot safer. What is the plan to bring them back down? All I have to do is leave Iran, and we'll be doing that very soon. And they'll become tumbling down. Well, that's, you know, less than a 20-second clip. There is a lot of bullshit that we have to wade through.

Starting point is 00:21:43 And where we'll start is with him saying that Americans are safer. And he says that it's because the U.S. has achieved one of the primary objectives of this war, the elimination of Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon. I had one goal. They will have no nuclear weapon. And that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons. But of course, in reality, more than a dozen American lives have been lost, hundreds have been injured,

Starting point is 00:22:03 and an American journalist has now been kidnapped in Iraq, possibly by members of an Iranian-backed militia. And regarding the threat of nuclear weapons, he may really only be pushing Iran and other nations to pursue them. Because going back to 2015, that's when the Obama administration negotiated a deal that led to Iran shipping about 97% of its nuclear stockpile out of the country. It left them with so little material that intelligence agencies figured that they'd need at least a year to make the fuel for a bomb and months or years to make the weapon itself. But then Trump pulled the United States out of that agreement in 2018, which he called one of the worst deals in history while also claiming that Iran would now have a nuclear weapon had he not withdrawn from it. Except Iran, as far as we know, they were complying. And only then, once it no longer had any reason to, they started building up a stockpile of highly enriched uranium,

Starting point is 00:22:41 which is believed to now be around 970 pounds, enough for 10 to 12 bombs, while the country's also hanging on to an even larger stash of medium enriched uranium. Now, all that said, it's not clear if Iran is currently able to access that material and its enrichment capabilities, they've been significantly degraded, largely thanks to U.S. and Israeli strikes last June. Which if you remember, Trump claimed then that they obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities, but then he also claimed just a few weeks ago that Iran had been within one month of being able to make a nuclear weapon before those strikes. Except, while experts have said that Iran could have gotten bomb-grade fuel within a month, they say that it would have taken months and maybe more than a year for them to build a weapon.

Starting point is 00:23:13 Though that's not to say that there was actually any clear sign that they had any intention of doing so. And in any case, the Pentagon's own assessment said that the strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program one to two years. And so in the weeks, leading up to Trump's current war, administration officials were actually talking up Iran's capabilities. But with Trump envoy Steve Whitkoff, who by the way is also just like a fucking real estate developer telling Fox News a week before the first strikes. They're probably a week away from having industrial grade bomb-making material. And then, after the war began, Trump claimed that Iran rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions and had attempted to rebuild their nuclear program.

Starting point is 00:23:47 And that's even though, before the US and Israel attacked, most intelligence officials continued to report that there was little risk that Iran was about to have a bomb. And now, despite little evidence that the situation has forced to have a bomb. fundamentally change, with there being no evidence that the US or Israel have removed or destroyed Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Trump's changed his tune. And so you have people like Secretary of State Marco Rubio making the case that it's enough to go after Iran's conventional weapons. Or with him outlining what he said were the clear objectives of the operation, including destroying Iran's Air Force, Navy, and factories, and severely diminishing its missile launching

Starting point is 00:24:15 capability in saying, all of this so that they can never hide behind it to acquire a nuclear weapon. And ultimately, of course, Rubio, he does have a point. It is undoubtedly harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon now than before the war. But while its ability may be degraded, its incentive to make one, it might be much higher now. And other governments, they also may be wondering the same thing now. Where with some experts arguing that Trump's willingness to attack adversaries is threatening to push the world into a new nuclear age.

Starting point is 00:24:38 The way that the United States and Trump work with non-nuclear nations compared to Russia or North Korea, vastly different. Now, with all that said, right, the rhetoric that we're seeing, it may actually be more about giving Trump an offering. And in fact, it's something that Israeli PM, B.B. Netanyahu may also be preparing for. With him declaring yesterday that Israeli and American attacks on Iran had smashed Iran's industrial capacity to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and saying that they have removed two existential threats to Israel and Daddick, the Ayatollah regime in Iran is weaker than ever and the state of Israel is stronger than ever.

Starting point is 00:25:07 We have shaken this regime and I tell you sooner or later it is destined to fall. And with that, Trump suggested yesterday the U.S. would end its offensive in Iran in two to three weeks and adding. We'll be leaving very soon. And if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, They'll go up through the strait and the hormones straight. They'll go right up there and they'll be able to fend for themselves. What happens to the straight, we're not going to have anything to do with. But of course, it's because of the situation with the straight that the U.S. leaving won't mean

Starting point is 00:25:37 that prices will automatically just go tumbling down if the U.S. leaves as Trump claimed. So you have many, including experts saying it's not clear what he's thinking there. Although he did show that it's still on his mind when you had Trump claiming in a social media post this morning, quote, Iran's new regime president, much less radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire. And adding, we will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion, or as they say, back to the stone ages. So there, he's still seemingly trying to push the regime change idea,

Starting point is 00:26:04 even though Iran's new president has been in office for almost two years. And you've actually had an Iranian military spokesperson mocking Trump for his whole regime claim in a post on X writing. Trump has finally achieved his dream of regime change, but in the region's maritime regime, and adding, the Strait of Hormuz will certainly reopen, but not for you. It will be open for those who comply with the new laws of Iran, and adding the 47 years of hospitality are over forever. And also contrary to Trump's claims that Iran's just begging for a ceasefire,

Starting point is 00:26:28 you had Iran's foreign minister telling Al Jazeera yesterday that he's received messages from Steve Whitkoff, but that they don't constitute negotiations saying, we do not have any faith that negotiations with the U.S. will yield any results. The trust level is at zero. And of course, Trump's levied these kinds of threats against Iran before, but he's yet to follow through on them, which is probably not a bad thing since the humanitarian and economic fallout.

Starting point is 00:26:47 It would probably be massive. And again, that's as he's threatening things that, sound like war crimes. But in any case, they're also kind of undermined by him simultaneously saying he doesn't care about the situation in the strait and we'll just leave it for everyone else to deal with. And now, his threats appear to be going further with imploding the possibility of a straight-up exit from NATO, something that members of administration have seemingly been hinting at. But yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth wouldn't reaffirmed the country's commitment to NATO's collective defense. And as far as NATO's concerned, that's a decision that'll be left to the

Starting point is 00:27:11 president, but I'll just say a lot has been laid bare. You then had Secretary of State, Marker Rubio, telling Fox News, I think there's no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship. We're going to have to reexamine the value of NATO in that alliance. Today, you would Trump himself telling the telegraph that he was glad Rubio made the comment and added that he was in fact strongly considering pulling the US out of NATO, saying I would say it's beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger and Putin knows that too, by the way. And again, with all that, Trump is scheduled to deliver

Starting point is 00:27:42 what White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said would be an important update on the war in a a national address tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. And with that, you would trump telling Reuters that he would confirm in this speech that he was absolutely considering withdrawing the U.S. from the alliance and adding, I'll be discussing my disgust with NATO. Of course, an important reminder is that his disgust here, it appears to be based on the alliance not helping him with a war of his choice that he started without consulting it after months of criticizing, insulting, and even threatening its members.

Starting point is 00:28:06 And again, just so we remember, Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, the one that says an attack on one is an attack on all, it's only been invoked one time. by the United States after 9-11 and more than 1100 non-U.S. troops were killed in the subsequent war in Afghanistan. Now, with all that said, if rules or anything matter, any decision to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, it would technically require approval from Congress, which in 2023 actually passed a law, preventing the president of the United States from suspending, terminating, denouncing, or withdrawing the U.S. from NATO without its involvement. And actually, funny enough, Marco Rubio, he co-sponsored the legislation and he argued that any decision to leave the alliance should be rigorously debated and considered by the U.S. Congress with the input of the American people. So there are obstacles that make a formal withdrawal unlikely, but a lot of damage has already been done, and who knows how this is going to play out.

Starting point is 00:28:47 But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards is the end of today's show. But remember one, you should definitely go to philip defranco.com, subscribe and follow there. It's solo breakdowns, extra breakdowns, even add-free Philip DeFranco shows if you want to go that way. And or you should definitely check out today's brand new episode of crashing out with myself and Alex Perlman. It's a great listen and or it'll be cathartic for you. But no matter what you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow. A lion would never drink and drive, but a tiger would.

Starting point is 00:29:11 He flipped a car again. Tiger Woods, he is engaged to Vanessa Trump. They kill people, and then they turn it into a meme. Drusky got the full White Girls 2 makeup kit that the Wayan Butt brothers are trying to find right now.

The Philip DeFranco Show - Noem Sex Worker Leak Is Worse Than You Think & What Trump Is Not Telling You About the Iran War

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