The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.7 Ethan Klein Nuked From Orbit, The Ban Makes Sense, Elon Musk, Trump Slaps Desantis, & Midterms Chaos

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, make sure you hit that like button, and let's just jump into the news. Starting with Ethan Klein got nuked off the internet. Again, but this time on Twitter, and it's because of Elon Musk. Just a little over a week ago after Elon Musk took over the platform, he declared that comedy is now legal on Twitter. But he has seemingly unveiled that he is not an absolutist about that. That there sometimes have to be limitations to that rule specifically Impersonations and a key thing with this story is people impersonating Elon Musk since his takeover It's been a big trend for verified people to change their name and photo to Elon Musk's and tweet something absurd or out of character

Starting point is 00:00:36 But here's the thing and you may not expect it It makes complete sense why these people were suspended impersonation has always been against Twitter's rules So it wasn't surprising to see this happen to the accounts. And I have to imagine a number of the people that were banned, including Ethan, were expecting this. I mean, even Ethan's own fans were like, he's going for the ban. For anyone that did this and didn't expect to get banned, I got a beautiful book for you to buy the week of Thanksgiving. You'd have to include that it has a parody account in the bio and in the name of the account itself. And while people like Ethan put parody account as a banner, you put parody in the bio, the name was just Elon Musk. And actually on that note, on Sunday,

Starting point is 00:01:08 Musk also took it a step further by tweeting, going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying parody will be permanently suspended. Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter blue and adding any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified check marks. So Ethan changed his name to Elon Musk and joked about the increased use of the n-word on the platform, as well as a tweet about Musk missing Jeffrey Epstein. He got permanently suspended, as well as Kathy Griffin, and now a growing number of people. Because like I said, it wasn't just one or two people that were

Starting point is 00:01:38 doing this. Though you did have Ethan Klein defending his tweets on TikTok, saying it was a clear parody, something Elon said would be an exception. Also around this time, you had Elon making jokes about the suspension, saying of Kathy Griffin she was actually suspended for impersonating a comedian, but if she really wants her account back, she can have it for $8. Well, yes, you had people understanding or even defending the bans. You had a lot of people using this as a way to attack Elon, tweeting things at him like, free speech includes racism, but not making fun of you. But here's the thing. Like I said, I am not a Musk fan, but I understand these suspensions. That said, that is not where the Elon Musk bullshittery ends today. There's been a lot of focus on getting the checkmark for $8 a month. With that, you've got

Starting point is 00:02:11 the New York Times reporting that Twitter's delaying the rollout of that until after the midterms. There were concerns about this feature just causing chaos on election day. People saying, whoa, so for $8, you'd be able to just impersonate a lawmaker, an official, and tweet out election misinformation. So for now, you've got a manager telling the outlet that they're rolling it out on November 9th. The Times saying they also reached out to Twitter's comms team, but didn't get a response, most likely because most of them were fired last week. Twitter laid off about half of its staff, but also you had Bloomberg reporting yesterday that Twitter's already trying to get some of those people back, with the teams most impacted by the layoffs including product trust and safety, policy, communications, ethical AI,

Starting point is 00:02:42 accessibility, and more. And according to Bloomberg, some of those people were actually fired by accident, and others were let go before management realized their work would actually be necessary for working towards Musk's goals. But also, going back to the $8 verification, I will say I do have even more concerns now as Elon Musk has continued to talk about it. And I know I'm not alone with that, right? I've seen other big creators like Moist Critical making a video called Twitter is Dying. While he doesn't lay out his intentions to leave the platform, he does argue that Elon's plans will ruin it. Because the way that Elon Musk has begun talking about this, it sounds like Twitter is going to be almost unusable or for you to just

Starting point is 00:03:11 almost seemingly not exist unless you pay the $8 per month. And we're going to prioritize Twitter search replies, mentions by verified users first. And, yeah, if your payment verified with Blue Checkmark, then you're prioritized and hateful conduct pays. But if somebody risks losing even eight bucks, the net effect will be over time that the verified users will pretty much always be at the top of comments and search. And you won't really see, you'll have to scroll far to see the unverified users, which will be the bots and trolls and whatnot.

Starting point is 00:03:55 The way that he describes it, it's hard not to see that as like shadow banning anyone not willing to give him $8. Well, that will have zero impact on me. I've already been paying for Twitter Blue since it launched. The way Elon describes it is that he's putting a paywall on the service that democratized speech. And hey, like I've said from the beginning, it is now his thing to build or burn to the ground. But also, this morning I think Elon was like, people aren't talking about me for enough reasons. With him making headlines as of this morning for endorsing the GOP going into the midterms.

Starting point is 00:04:22 Tweeting to independent-minded voters, shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties. Therefore, I recommend voting for a Republican Congress given that the presidency is Democratic. Which, I mean, I saw a lot of people going like, wow, holy fuck, I can't believe he said this. To which, and I mean this in the nicest way, have you just not been paying attention?

Starting point is 00:04:38 How is this surprising? He's publicly and privately complained that as a billionaire, he's being overtaxed. And when I say privately, I mean, he spoke at a Kevin McCarthy GOP retreat with a no press fireside chat just a few months ago He recently tweeted and promoted out right-wing misinformation about the Pelosi's and that's in addition to primarily Retweeting a lot of right-wing mouthpieces and hey as an individual I think he's free to do this obviously where my annoyance comes from is his kind of framing

Starting point is 00:05:01 This is him being an independent everything and at least the last two years has pointed to that not being the case. And in recent months, right back in April, before he made himself the king of Twitter, he tweeted for Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral. To which I know a lot of Elon defenders will say, hey, he used to donate to Dems. Yeah, so did Trump.

Starting point is 00:05:18 I don't think you would call him an independent. I always try to be very fair in my reporting. I'm not always gonna hit that mark. Everyone makes mistakes now and then. But most people who have watched me for a long time know I have made my reporting. I'm not always gonna hit that mark, everyone makes mistakes now and then, but most people who have watched me for a long time know I have made no secret that I'm left of center. Like I'm not cosign and defund the police, but I do think we need to tax the fuck out of billionaires. I agree with Obama that some on the left have gotten overly preachy and over reactionary, but I think that pales in comparison to the threat democracy is facing from a number of far-right Republicans as well as human rights.

Starting point is 00:05:45 Whereas in the past, I was the enlightened centrist who was like, everything is equally bad. But yeah, that's where I'm at with all this. And I know we talked about it a lot, but I would love to know your thoughts on any and all aspects of this just clusterfuck in those comments down below. And, friendly reminder, whatever comments you leave may end up in the Sunday Community Show, which if you didn't see, it premiered yesterday on the channel. It's been very, very loved. I'm so happy to see that. I really look forward to continually doing that in the future so that we can actually have a more in-depth conversation

Starting point is 00:06:12 and interaction. And then it's official. The pandemic economy is done, which would have been great news for me to know before the value of my Peloton stock dropped 91%. Also, no, I will never get over it. Bicycle plus iPad. Obviously, that should be a trillion dollar company. No, but we're not talking about Peloton today, even though that lives rent-free in my head. Instead, I'm talking about the implosion of Carvana. Because while I lost some money, holy shit, the father-son duo behind this company has lost tens of billions of dollars. So Carvana sells used cars. When new cars were impossible to buy during the pandemic, used car prices soared. And if you got in on Carvana's rise, ooh, it was exciting, with its stock even selling for over $370 a share

Starting point is 00:06:50 at one point. But today, it is now valued at $7. In fact, the stock is so volatile right now, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading on its shares this morning. While this is horrible for Carvana and its investors, this is a clear sign that the economy is returning to normal in many ways. Right, you have car brands finally able to get the electronics they need to build new cars, helping drive up their availability, although pricing remains volatile. I mean, shit got crazy during the pandemic. I know people that were spending like $35,000 to over $100,000 over sticker price to buy new vehicles. Talking absolute hate-your-money insanity.

Starting point is 00:07:19 But also, a key thing, this isn't the only industry that's returning to normal. Essentially anything that relied on electronics has seen their prices plummet as the chip industry has started to stabilize. But before you celebrate too hard, you should know that industry experts say we're not completely out of the woods yet. And then, in positive news, yes, it turns out good news still happens now and then, two Korean miners were just saved after being trapped nearly 600 feet underground for nine days. The two were reportedly working in a zinc mine in the country's southeast region when part of the mine collapsed, with rescue workers only discovering them after drilling a hole into an area and inserting a small camera, finding the

Starting point is 00:07:47 two men huddling together for warmth, and it turns out they managed to survive for so long by building a small tent and making a small fire, with the area luckily not filling with smoke because they actually managed to be trapped in an area that was quite spacious. And as far as how they survived so long, they drank water that dripped from the roof, and for food they actually used instant coffee mix. Now the two men were taken to the hospital after experiencing hypothermia and muscle pains, but reportedly, this was only as a precaution, and they're expected to make a full recovery. With South Korea's president celebrating this news, writing on Facebook, Thank you and thank you again for coming back safely from the crossroads of life and death.

Starting point is 00:08:15 Later adding that their rescue gives new hope to the Republic of South Korea, which has been stricken by grief, which is a clear reference to the recent Halloween tragedy we discussed there. And then, you know, there's nothing like going on a long hike and it just starts raining. And then your shoes get soaked, which just by itself is horrible. And then if it's cold, your feet freeze. But thanks to our fantastic sponsor, Vessi, that doesn't have to be the case. Vessi's are great for the gym, running errands, vacationing, beach days, and muddy hikes. They're built for everyday life and perfect for all season because they actually keep

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Starting point is 00:09:11 the Republicans are very likely on the verge of taking back Congress. And for some reason, Donald Trump figured that was the perfect time to take a shot at one of the Republican Party's biggest stars right now. We're winning big, big, big in the Republican party for the nomination like nobody's ever seen before. Let's see, there it is, Trump at 71, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10%. Ron DeSanctimonious, I just don't think that's gonna catch on. When you want something to stick, what is it? Keep it simple, stupid. That's the perfect advice. Little Marco, Lion Ted. And here's the thing, you got people buzzing about this moment because they're saying, hey, it signals a deepening rift within the Republican Party, right? Yeah, you got a ton

Starting point is 00:09:50 of Republicans sticking to Trump like flies on shit, but many see DeSantis as a Trumpian alternative without all the baggage. But the key thing with this is I think it all just highlights how insecure Trump is. I mean, just last year, Trump suggested DeSantis could be his new running mate. But Trump now seemingly sees Florida Man as a potential threat, with Trump reportedly telling advisers DeSantis is ungrateful and doesn't appreciate him. This is the Washington Post reported in September that the two hadn't spoken to each other in months. But then, after the DeSanctimonia stuff, on Sunday, Trump took the stage in Miami and seemed to endorse DeSantis for governor. Are you going to re-elect Ron DeSantis as your governor of your state?

Starting point is 00:10:23 But also, in that moment, he was supporting him for the governorship, not the presidency. And notably, this all comes just days after Trump heavily hinted at a 2024 presidential bid, with him claiming he won the election twice already. Now, in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again, okay? And as far as when he's making that announcement, reportedly he's considering announcing on November 14th. And another notable thing is this is all happening while DeSantis has long refused to say whether he would actually run for the presidency. Even regarding that, Trump currently leads him by a large margin in those polls.

Starting point is 00:10:56 But not everywhere. DeSantis has showed a lead in certain states like Florida and New Hampshire, with a recent survey finding that more Republicans believe he should have a great or good deal of influence in the GOP's future. Plus, another poll found that a record number of Republicans, 62%, support the party more than Trump. But also, I wouldn't overthink those polls. I think the party has shown they're very much willing to get in line. I can't think of a better example of that than when Trump called Ted Cruz's wife, essentially, Fugo McGillicuddy, and was like, yeah, I don't know, maybe Ted Cruz did help kill JFK. And then Ted Cruz was calling people like, hey, will you vote for Donald Trump? Can Daddy Trump count on your donation? And as far as predictions, unless something crazy or drastic happens, I personally don't see a world

Starting point is 00:11:33 where Donald Trump doesn't run again and Ron DeSantis just waits for his time. Because I just can't imagine a world where he decides to go against Trump in the primaries and his political career doesn't end up extremely bruised, or with him having a ton of blood on his hands and alienating a huge portion of his base. Unless he goes into the primaries with kids gloves on with the hope of being Donald Trump's VP. I don't know, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Because the midterms aren't even until tomorrow though, like I've said, in most places that's just the last day you can vote. I personally voted early over the weekend so my son could at least see what it looks like. That's a joke.

Starting point is 00:12:02 I hope it's a joke. But I really do want to stress even if you're like disillusioned and just exhausted by national politics, you should vote tomorrow. Well, voting for senators and house members is incredibly important. There's a lot of propositions, a lot of other shit that you should be voting for. For example, in California, there's props on explicitly protecting the right to an abortion. Should the state ban the sale of flavored tobacco products? Should online sports betting be made legal? Should wealthy Californians pay an additional 1.75% in state taxes? With the bulk of that money meant to subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles instead of charging stations and other infrastructure. But all of that's just

Starting point is 00:12:31 stuff in my state. There's 49 other states with their own unique things going on. But with all that said, as far as like the main noise around the midterms right now, yeah, you should continue to expect Trump and his allies promoting baseless claims about fraud or elections being rigged just as they did in 2020. Though the key thing is, despite their repeated lies, they were never able to prove that there were any instances of widespread voter fraud, with many election deniers pointing to the fact that it took several days for major news outlets to officially call the election. Though, very notable there, there are very legitimate reasons why it could take a minute before we see any final results. And I say this not just looking back, but moving forward. Each state has

Starting point is 00:13:01 different rules for carrying out the election process, like when polls close and when ballots can even start to be counted. There are also varying rules for when mail-in ballots can be received and counted that can extend when they'll be tallied, which is why early results can sometimes give a false impression, especially in places that have seen a major rise in the number of people voting by mail. Right? Remember back in 2020, we talked a lot about the Red Mirage, where you had ballots cast on Election Day being reported first and they favored Republicans, but then you had mail-in ballots, which were being used more by the Democrats.

Starting point is 00:13:25 They were counted later, making it seem like the Republicans had a much wider lead, which is exactly what Trump and others used to push their false fraud claims. That's an incredibly important thing to remember, especially in several key battleground states. For example, some key things to know, in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,

Starting point is 00:13:37 election officials are not allowed to start counting mail-in and absentee ballots until election day. Some have also speculated we could see something similar in Georgia because the suburbs, which have shifted blue in recent years, report their results later than rural counties. And understand, I say this for both parties because at the same time, there are also some states where we could see the opposite,

Starting point is 00:13:52 right, a blue mirage where it appears that Democrats are doing better than they actually are. For example, in Arizona, election officials can process mail-in ballots as soon as they receive them, and we saw a similar trend play out in 2020. But another key thing, beyond all that, there are a number of other factors

Starting point is 00:14:04 that could delay when we get final results. For example, in Georgia, candidates need to get at least 50% of the vote to win. And if none do, then the top two were sent to a runoff election on December 6th. And that could be incredibly consequential there because there's a libertarian on the ballot who could siphon enough votes from Herschel Walker and Senator Raphael Warnock to keep them below the 50% threshold. And that's a huge one because that could decide who controls the Senate. And if everything went down a certain way, we might not know the outcome until a month after the election. And then you have experts saying that legal battles over mail-in ballots could also further delay results or even go all the way to the Supreme Court. According to the New York Times, even before Election Day, over 100 lawsuits have already been filed.

Starting point is 00:14:36 In Pennsylvania, for example, the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit from the RNC and other Republican groups requesting that mail-in ballots that did not have dates on outer envelopes be invalidated. And already, multiple rights groups are suing to get that reversed. And, if they're successful, the outcome of some key races in the state could be totally changed because thousands of ballots have already been put aside as a result of the state Supreme Court decision. Also, a key thing is, if you're in Pennsylvania, you actually may have time to fix this. With Pennsylvania's acting Secretary of State saying, you should contact your county elections offices, and if the county won't let you fix the problem,

Starting point is 00:15:03 you should go to your local polling place on Tuesday and request a provisional ballot. Some election officials like that of Allegheny County have posted the names and birth years of voters online. So if you're in the state or you know someone in the state, definitely double check, because according to reports, we're talking about thousands of votes, which could be enough to change this election. But for everyone else, for now, we'll have to wait and see what happens. But that is where that story in today's show ends. As always, thank you for watching, and remember, your comments down below could be a part of our brand new Sunday show Which we haven't seen yet. We premiered yesterday

Starting point is 00:15:30 I'll also link to it down below or you can click or tap right there to watch it as always My name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.7 Ethan Klein Nuked From Orbit, The Ban Makes Sense, Elon Musk, Trump Slaps Desantis, & Midterms Chaos

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