The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.20 Trump OUT. Biden IN. What Happens Now? Inauguration 2021, Last Second Pardons, & More

Episode Date: January 20, 2021

Lock in your best rate and get your family covered at https://ladderlife.com/defranco WATCH My John Green Podcast: https://youtu.be/L8SOhkpjtGA  -- WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/ACW  LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com WATCH the ACW Clips channel!: https://youtube.com/ACWClips -- 00:00 - Trump's 140+ Pardons 03:23 - Biden's Inauguration and First Steps 07:16 - Sponsor 08:09 - Influencer Being Deported From Bali 10:54 - Eugene Goodman Is A BAMF 11:42 - Final Thoughts -- ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com  ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  Trump Issues Over 140 Pardons and Commutations: https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/20/trump-140-pardons/ Watch President Biden’s Inaugural Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBcTCmEOAU Biden’s Day 1 Executive Actions: https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-executive-orders-watch-live-stream-today-2021-01-20/ Bali Influencer To Be Deported: https://www.vulture.com/2021/01/kristen-gray-deported-from-bali-after-viral-twitter-posts.html Capitol Police Officer Who Faced Down Pro-Trump Mob Escorts Harris at Inauguration: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/20/eugene-goodman-kamala-harris/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ Google Investigates Top AI Researcher Who Was Looking Into a Previous Firing https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/20/google-investigates-top-ai-researcher/ Netflix Passes 200M Subscribers as Other Streamers Struggle With Retention: https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/20/netflix-200m-subscribers/ ——————————     Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxx Enright Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst  Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda, Brian Espinoza Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning  ———————————— #DeFranco #JoeBiden #KamalaHarris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best is yet to come. So help you God? So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. President. Oh, that's what she meant. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. It is January 20th, 2021. And let's just jump into the news of the day

so you can get back to yours. And first thing up today, while I would love to talk about the future, we should also talk about the last 24 hours of Trump's presidency and what he did with his power. Because while Joe Biden is now officially the 46th president of the United States, in his last hours, now former President Trump

granted clemency to more than 140 people at 1 a.m. this morning. Many of those notable pardons and commutations were given to people whose names have been circulating in reports earlier this week, as we mentioned on Monday. This, including big music industry names like Lil Wayne, Kodak Black, and Death Row Records co-founder, Michael Harris.

Also very notably, after a lot of conflicting reports, Trump also pardoned his former advisor, Steve Bannon. And Bannon's pardon is especially significant for a number of reasons, including he hasn't even stood trial for the charges that he faces. Which by the way, those charges centered around allegations that he defrauded half a million people

who donated to a crowdsourcing campaign to fund construction of the border wall. That charity aptly named We Build the Wall brought in reportedly $25 million. But according to prosecutors, they say that Bannon took $1 million for his own personal expenses. And so with this, you had a lot of people saying,

this just shows how Trump has used his power to help his allies and political backers. Some pointing to the fact that Trump has also recently granted pardons to several of his former top aides, many of whom seem to have this, I don't know, knack for committing crimes for him. And in this newest batch of clemency grants,

Trump also pardoned Elliot Broidy, who's a top Trump fundraiser who pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws and accepting millions of dollars as part of a secret campaign to lobby the Trump administration for Malaysian and Chinese interests. Trump also pardoning a number of politicians

who have been indicted for corruption, including three former Republican members of Congress and one former Democratic mayor. Notably though, I do want to note Trump's last round of clemency did also include several nonviolent drug offenders whose requests have been supported by criminal justice reformers. This including Chris Young,

a man who had been sentenced to life for drug conspiracy and whose commutation Kim Kardashian West had lobbied for. But despite a few of these examples that have been encouraged by Kim Kardashian, he's also been largely condemned by criminal justice advocates and others for overlooking people wronged by the justice system or those who have shown that they have been rehabilitated

and instead focus on giving out political favors to his allies. In fact, despite the attention that some of his pardons have received, either because they have celebrity power behind them or they were controversial, Trump has actually granted fewer clemency requests than most previous presidents who served one term or less.

In fact, until this week, he'd only granted clemency to 95 people. Also of interest in addition to the pardons were pardons that apparently he was considering but ultimately decided against. Names that seemed to have a trend until the end, names like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Joe Exotic, who may or may not have gotten his deposit back

for that limo. He was apparently very confident that he was going to get a pardon. Though maybe made sense that he had some hope because there was a last second, Oh my God, maybe I forgot sort of pardon from Trump. With literally just over 30 minutes left in his presidency, he issued a full pardon for Jeanine Pirro's ex-husband.

Oh, and also remember how Donald Trump, one of the big things, he's like, I'm gonna drain the swamp. And so while early on in his presidency, he pushed that line, he also imposed a five-year lobbying ban for administration officials and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign governments.

Trump ended up actually revoking that rule as he was leaving office. Cause you know, lies and hypocrisy. But ultimately those were the final moves of a now former President Trump. And we have newly elected President Biden, the 46th President of the United States. As well as Vice President Kamala Harris,

the first woman African American and Asian American in that role. And today after Joe Biden took his oath of office, he spoke of hope. This is America's day. This is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve. Democracy is precious.

Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. And in this speech, we saw Joe Biden repeating those words once again, whether you voted for him or not, he is a president for all Americans. With a message very much about trying to move forward together, which he even noted is a message that some people might find ridiculous. I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But

I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we're all are created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. And while I very much agree with the president, I want us to try to move forward together as much as we can. We should also not, or rather we can't slip back into a place where we make false equivalencies.

Like it doesn't make sense for Joe Biden to meet halfway with a QAnon supporter, which by the way right now it is fascinating to watch that community implode, though let's be honest in no time flat a lot of those people are going to believe in another dangerous fairy tale conspiracy theory. We're in a place where divisions are so intense, people are so divided, people are also just separated from reality that at the last minute, Mitch McConnell of all people seems reasonable. And that only because his red line in the sand that he won't cross is completely undoing democracy,

which horrifyingly was not a red line in the sand for a number of Republican senators and over a hundred Republican house members. So yes, let's try to move forward, but not if it is legitimizing pure undemocratic insanity. The cruises, holly, gateses of the world are more than happy to sell out the country for personal gain.

But also that and this, this is all words. What about actions? Actually on that note, we should talk about the day one executive actions that are expected from Joe Biden. You can check out the full list at whitehouse.gov, but some of the highlights include moving to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, asking the Department of Education that are expected from Joe Biden. You can check out the full list at whitehouse.gov, but some of the highlights include

moving to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, asking the Department of Education to extend student loan relief, an executive order to rescind the Keystone XL pipeline permit, rejoining the World Health Organization, asking the CDC to immediately extend eviction restrictions, reversing Trump's travel ban

on several Muslim majority countries, temporarily halting oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Initiative on advancing racial equity and federal policy making, and overturning a Trump order excluding undocumented immigrants from the census count. And that is where this section ends.

But of course, this is just the start. Well, this morning I let out a massive sigh of relief. I also, I would hate to have Joe Biden's job. And I mean, we've seen people like Bernie Sanders hitting on this. Joe Biden will inherit from Trump the worst economy since the Great Depression, the worst public health crisis in 100 years,

massive wealth inequality, the existential threat of climate change. And the list goes on and on. We are in no way out of the woods yet. But ultimately, today is a day of hope. And I look forward to a world and a show where I will be critical of the Biden administration, but also I'm not gonna be making false equivalencies.

Cause that is a road that takes you right back where we came from. And then because today is kind of a backward show, we started with the politics. Let's talk about some of the other news of the day. This including the news that an American influencer by the name of Kristen Gray is facing deportation and backlash in Indonesia.

So the way the story goes is that Gray and her girlfriend moved to Bali back in 2019 with plans to stay for six months, but they ended up extending that stay because of a pandemic. And Gray actually went viral last week for posting a Twitter thread about how the experience has been. And in it, she points to the benefits of moving to Bali, like its safety, low cost of living, luxury lifestyle,

as well as its queer friendly and black community. She also encouraged others to make the same move she points to the benefits of moving to Bali, like its safety, low cost of living, luxury lifestyle, as well as its queer friendly and black community. She also encouraged others to make the same move and promoted her $30 ebook, "'Our Bali Life is Yours' for tips on how to do it." In one post, she even wrote, "'We include direct links to our visa agents "'in how to go about getting to Indonesia during COVID.'"

Right, so we saw the thread initially sparking outrage for encouraging an influx of travelers to a country that has closed its border over the worsening pandemic, also sparking conversations about the gentrification of neighborhoods there. Bali is a major tourist destination for Americans, Europeans, and Australians in particular, but locals have been steadily priced out

of certain areas of the island as foreigners open up businesses there to cater to tourists. Poorly restricted development there is also destroying industries that Balinese people have historically relied on. And on top of all of that, Gray also faced criticism for characterizing Bali as a queer friendly place. And on top of all of that, Gray also faced criticism for characterizing Bali as a queer friendly place. I think this TikTok kind of best captures the reactions

to that characterization. It well may be the case for you. However, please recognize it's because A, you're a foreigner and B, you have economic leverage since the Indonesian local community is financially dependent on keeping you happy so they don't mess with you. Please realize for the rest of us Indonesians on the island,

this is not a queer friendly place. Our gay communities are often shut down and raided by authorities, and Indonesia at large has tried to mandate conversion therapy for us in the LGBTQ plus community. Also, a big part of the reason we're even covering this story today

is that the local government there has responded to the public outrage over Gray's threat. With them saying that her selling her book and also offering paid consultations on traveling to Bali violated the purpose of her visitor stay permit, which was only valid until January 24th. And she is now also suspected of quote, "'spreading information that could unsettle the public'

by saying that Bali is queer friendly and suggesting that foreigners travel there during the pandemic." With them now saying she will be immediately deported and according to Reuters she is being held at an immigration detention facility and will be deported as soon as a flight is available. As far as what Gray had to say, she gave a brief statement to the Balinese press. I am not guilty. I have not overstayed my visa. I have not made money in Indonesian Rupiah, in Indonesia. I put out a statement about LGBT and I'm being deported because of LGBT.

With this, we've seen many of her fans believing her, also arguing that she's seeing this level of criticism because she's a black woman. But also you have others arguing that's just a deflection from the issue, which was that she was trying to get foreigners to come to a country during a pandemic. Then, okay, this is technically kind of political

and it comes back to Biden, but it is still its own good story. So remember this guy, this is Eugene Goodman. He's one of the Capitol police officers who was hailed as a hero for his actions defending the US Capitol from that violent mob of Trump supporters. With Goodman specifically being praised for being by himself and somehow being able

to lead those supporters away from the Senate chamber. An action that is widely believed to be one of the main reasons that Vice President Mike Pence and others came out safe. And in addition to all that praise, we learned today that Goodman has actually been named the acting Deputy Senate Sergeant at Arms. And actually may have seen him today escorting

now Vice President Kamala Harris from the motorcade up the stairs to the US Capitol. And we'll end this just by saying congratulations to Eugene Goodman, one, for just revealing yourself to be the main character, and two, you're just our Banff of the day. And the last thing that I'll talk about today is I kind of just, I need to talk to you as a person

and talk about moving forward because let's be honest, democracy dodged a bullet today, but this thing ain't over. If you stop caring as much, you don't want to be engaged, you get complacent, all of this craziness comes back. It's also not completely gone. We have members of Congress who during the insurrection were tweeting the location of Nancy Pelosi. Yes, Donald Trump is no longer president,

but the people that were more than happy for personal gain or for whatever reason to regurgitate his lies that have threatened democracy, they're still there. And there's a reasonable expectation going into the midterms that people that did not just universally support Donald Trump, they may get primaries. Remember what you have felt these past few years.

Remember what we've experienced this past year, and remember this moment. The progress made can all be undone if you get cocky and complacent. It can all be undone when you start making false equivalencies and time maybe softens the harshness of the reality that you have experienced this past year.

Donald Trump exposed how vulnerable and fragile our democracy is. And next time there might not be enough people to stop him or whoever the next person is. And remember that the next time someone says you're being dramatic or you're being alarmist about it, there were just enough people. Many of which who were actually Republicans

who decided to choose country over party, over a man. Republicans that I most likely disagree with on a number of issues, but prove themselves to be patriots. Yeah, I guess the main final note here, and it's as much for you as it is for me, remember all this, never forget all this. And also thank you for being a part of us trying to navigate the insanity

of the last few years. Yeah, I think that's where I'm going to end today's show. Thank you as always for being a part of my daily dives in the news, especially if we got through these past few years together. And with that said, of course, as always, I love your face, you beautiful bastards. And this has been news that matters for people that care.

I'll see you tomorrow.