The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.22 WOW! Musk Slams Trump Deal & Trump Demands Public Apology After "Radical Left" Bishop Budde Sermon

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdjWJtOWzEo&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1 Go to http://www.vessi.com/pds  for 15% off your first order. Go to https://sponsr.is/magicspoon_defranco & use code DEFRANCO at checkout to get $5 off your next order. Or look for Magic Spoon on Amazon and in your nearest grocery store! https://BeautifulBastard.com Get your new "God is Testing Me", "Silly Goose", & "F With Politics" Shirts, Crews, & Hoodies right now. Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Trump Demands Apology From Bishop Who Begged Him to Show Mercy  05:23 - Trump Expands Fast-Track Deportations 11:35 - Sponsored by Vessi  12:31 - Trump Faces Unexpected Backlash for $500 Billion AI Investment 18:06 - Founder of Infamous “Illegal" Marketplace Silk Road Pardoned  21:32 - Sponsored by Magic Spoon 22:42 - MrBeast Reportedly Among Investor Group Looking to Buy TikTok 25:44 - Netflix Hikes Prices After Reporting Massive Subscriber Jump 27:50 - Comment Commentary  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino  ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #DonaldTrump #MrBeast ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk just slammed a Trump deal that the president touted as one of his crowning achievements. Trump's new immigration crackdown has now opened the door for raids on churches and schools. Donald Trump's also demanding an apology from a bishop who hurt his feelings. And Mr. Beast may legitimately own part of TikTok soon.

We're talking about all that and even more today on your brand new Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, how it's being covered, and how people are reacting to it. And you know what? Let's start with this. Donald Trump is now demanding an apology

from Bishop Mary Ann Edgar Buddy. And as far as who Bishop Buddy is, she is the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She's actually the first woman to serve in that position. And yesterday, she spoke at the inaugural prayer service, the Washington National Cathedral. And she was there along with more than a dozen

religious leaders from various faiths. And of course, the timing of this situation is key. It came a day after Donald Trump became president again and issued a flurry of controversial executive orders, including some dealing with transgender rights and immigration. So we saw with that, Bishop Buddy had a message for Trump. At the end of her sermon, she took a breath

and then looked directly at the new president of the United States to say. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. We're scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants,

who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, wadara, and temples. And from there, she actually kept going a bit.

For example, also asking for mercy for parents whose children fear that their parents are going to be taken away. As well as calling on Donald Trump to quote, "'Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution.'" And as far as Trump, he definitely did not appear to be happy with him speaking to reporters after the service and saying,

I think it was a good service. They could do much better. And it appears that what she said really stuck with him because shortly after midnight, you had him doubling down on his negative review in a lengthy post on Truth Social writing. The so-called bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning

was a radical left hardline Trump hater, with him then going on to accuse her of being nasty in tone, saying she wasn't compelling or smart, and claiming that she failed to mention the, quote, large number of illegal migrants that came into our country and killed people, with him then also claiming

that many were deposited from jails and mental institutions and that it, quote, is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. With him then finally saying that she and the church owe the public an apology. Now with all that, I'll say two things to start. One, we quickly saw a number of people fact-checking the president as they often do

when he says things without providing evidence. Saying regarding the idea that a large number of individuals have entered the country illegally and killed people, on one hand, it's subjective and any number could be considered large. But then adding that there's no evidence that migrants of any kind commit violent or other crimes at higher rates than citizens. And noting, in fact, some evidence suggests they commit crimes at lower rates. Also saying there's no evidence of mental institutions or prisons being emptied into the country. And as far as a giant crime wave in

general, FBI data suggests that that is just not the case. But then secondly, on another thing, I will say Trump is not wrong that Bishop Buddy has a history of criticizing him. With her, for example, in 2020, writing an opinion piece in the New York Times saying that she was outraged by Trump's posing with the Bible at St. John's Church after officers used tear gas against racial justice protesters nearby.

With her accusing him at the time of using sacred symbols while espousing positions antithetical to the Bible. Though as far as prominent religious figures criticizing Trump, Buddy wasn't alone this weekend. We saw Pope Francis calling Trump's mass deportation plan a disgrace. But then also with this, another big aspect is that there's been some serious backlash

against Bishop Buddy especially. Fox News, for example, highlighting criticism from conservative commentators and right-wing pastors, with one claiming the sermon is, quote, "'Just the beginning of Democrats' desperate attempts "'to race-bait America back into the pernicious grips "'of DEI,' and adding, "'The fact that President Trump demanded that God remain

as the foundation of America should have received nonpartisan praise from all of our nation's clergy.'" With another striking a similar tone saying, "'Unity can only be achieved through a commitment to biblical truth, not cultural assimilation.'" Her sermon was indicative of the heresy being taught by mainline denominations. And so then with that, of course,

we saw a number of people saying, all of this kind of highlights some of the extreme views and Christian nationalism underlying support for Donald Trump. With people saying it also feeds what some see as an ongoing attack on the principle of separation of church and state and religious freedom. With then others also arguing that anyone

who has a problem with Buddy's sermon isn't really preaching Christian values. For example, one Texas-based pastor responding to comments by a Newsmax host on X writing, when you worship power, a sermon on the love "'and mercy of Jesus sounds like spewing hate.'" And then, with that, you have people highlighting what they see as hypocrisy in the response

in terms of secular American values. Right, and with that, one of the wackiest, most criticized responses to Buddy's sermon came from Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, with him writing on X, "'The person giving this sermon "'should be added to the deportation list.'" With then, people pointing out the obvious hypocrisy

and just insanity to that idea, writing things like, for example, "'To be clear, you're calling for a New Jersey born bishop "'to be deported because you don't like "'that she exercised her first amendment right "'by delivering a sermon in accordance with her faith, "'imploring Trump to show empathy to people.'" And while we're seeing all that play out here,

I gotta ask, what are your thoughts on this Donald Trump-Bishop buddy situation? But then, shifting gears, we need to talk about how Donald Trump's massive immigration crackdown is now well underway. Because on top of his executive orders that we talked about yesterday, his administration is already issuing new and specific guidance,

aiming to follow through on his promise of mass deportation. And of course, with this, the activists, some cities, and a few states, they are fighting back now. But with all that, right, one of the biggest new policies, it's actually the nationwide expansion of an existing process known as expedited removal.

Right, basically, it's a process streamlining the deportation of unauthorized immigrants by just bypassing the lengthy and massively backlogged immigration court system. And if those identified for expedited removal do not request asylum or are deemed as not having a legitimate asylum case, it's not always that simple, but in theory,

they can go ahead and be sent back to where they came from. And that, notably, without ever having the chance to make their case before a judge. Now with that, like I said, this is not totally new, and in fact, it's long been criticized by immigration advocates, with people like the president of the non-profit Immigrant Defenders Lawyer Center claiming, expedited removal is a deeply flawed practice that often denies immigrants a fair opportunity to access relief, separates families unnecessarily, and makes a mockery of the right to access counsel. But also with everything there, in the past, that process was limited to unauthorized immigrants

detained within 100 miles of an international border and who had been in the country for less than two weeks. Thing is now, it reportedly applies to any unauthorized immigrant anywhere in the country who cannot prove that they've been here for at least two years. Now, some interesting background with this is that Trump similarly tried to speed up deportations

during his first term, but not until 2019, which was the third year of his presidency. With then the ensuing legal battle, keeping the rule from going into effect until late 2020, when a federal appeals court allowed him to move forward with the plan while the lawsuit continued. But then, of course, not much later, the Biden administration came in and they undid the policy.

But of course, this time, much different situation. Not only is Trump making these moves in the first week in office, his administration now appears to be so much more organized and prepared than last time. And so with understanding that, we got to move on to another big immigration policy shift, which is that immigration authorities can now enter places like schools, healthcare facilities, and places of worship to conduct arrests. With the saying of the Department of Homeland Security rescinding what it described as the previous administration's guidelines that thwart law

enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas. With that sensitive areas policy first being enacted under the Obama administration back in 2011, and notably, it mostly stayed intact during Trump's first term. And then in 2021, the Biden administration actually updated and expanded the policy, creating so-called protected areas,

with the basic idea being that immigration enforcement operations should not be taken in or near a location that would restrain people's access to essential services or engagement in essential activities. Now, with the end of that policy, you have a spokesperson for the DHS saying, the Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense. But all of this is on the flip side of people like the interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy

saying, this action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U. including US citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activity. So with all that, for a moment, let's focus on schools. That is where a lot of attention is right now. And part of the reason for that attention

is there are an estimated 733,000 school-aged children in the country without legal status, according to the Migration Policy Institute, with also many, many more having citizenship, but their parents don't, which is something worth pointing out because Donald Trump has suggested deporting entire families with mixed immigration status,

which is why with that, you have outlets like the Associated Press reporting that some families are now wondering whether it's safe to send their kids to school. And in fact, we're seeing reports that numerous schools are saying they're getting calls from worried parents about rumors that immigration agents

would try to get inside. Now, with this being just such a quick and drastic change, it's too early to tell for sure whether large numbers of families are or will end up keeping their children at home. Though there, it'll also likely vary depending on where the school's located. And that because education officials in some states

and districts have vowed to stand up for immigrant students. In Chicago, for example, the Board of Education passed a resolution within days of Trump's victory with it asserting that schools wouldn't assist ICE in enforcing immigration law, saying agents would only be allowed in with a criminal warrant, and that in California, the Attorney General recently issued guidance advising immigrant families of their rights and reminding schools of state law limiting local participation in immigration enforcement. And this is in New York, they actually issued similar guidance as well as

offering Know Your Rights training sessions for immigrant families and staff. And the big thing is that this is just one example of the pushback that we're already seeing in various parts of the country. For example, we're already seeing attorney generals from 22 states suing to block Trump's executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship. You can bet your ass that more lawsuits from both states and advocacy groups are on their way.

And then besides school districts, you have many local police departments issuing statements about how they're gonna deal with immigration authorities. A number saying immigration enforcement is not their job and that they won't be cooperating. And then of course, all of this kind of lends itself to the broader conversation about so-called sanctuary city.

You know, LA, for example, being one of the biggest to approve a sanctuary city law in November that forbids city employees and resources from being involved in federal immigration enforcement. But then another key thing is that on the other side of this, right? Some cities who embrace the sanctuary city label last time, they've been much more hesitant to do so this time. And that may be because Donald Trump has promised to make

rebellious cities pay, and he seems to be following through on his word, right? And I say that because one of the executive orders that he signed on Monday, right, something that we didn't get a chance to unpack, it calls for the AG and Homeland Security Secretary to, quote, evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called sanctuary jurisdictions which seek to interfere with a lawful exercise of federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to federal funds. And so with that, we're seeing things like the LA Times reporting that the order could threaten the city's access

to federal money that's needed for disaster relief and recovery from the fires. Which I will say, by the way, are not over. And this, as there's also a search still underway for an estimated 22 people who remain unaccounted for. But in any case, it's important to know, this is not the only threat that we've seen against sanctuary cities.

With us also seeing, for example, White House border czar Tom Homan telling CNN yesterday that agents are focused on migrants considered a public safety threat. Then, at the same time, claiming that there is nothing in the law that says a person has to be convicted of a serious crime to be removed from the country. With him then saying, connected to that, arrests of migrants without a criminal record could also be swept up by ICE, especially those living in sanctuary cities. There's going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go in the community and find the guy we're looking for. But when you release a public safety threat out of a sanctuary jail and won't give us access to him, that means we gotta go to the neighborhood and find him.

And we will find him. But when we find him, he may be with others. Others that don't have a criminal conviction are in the country illegally. They will be arrested too. But ultimately, that is where we are with this. We're gonna have have a criminal conviction are in the country legally. They will be arrested too. But ultimately, that is where we are with this. We're gonna have to wait to see how all this plays out.

Though, we likely will not have to wait that long because things are developing fast. And in the meantime, I gotta ask, what are your thoughts here? And then we'll get back to the news in a minute, but you know those rainy or snowy days when the weather forces you to cancel plans, skip errands, or settle for boring outfits?

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Trust me, your feet will thank you. That's Vessi.com slash PDS and get them while they still have your signs. But then next up, we need to talk about Donald Trump unveiling what he calls the largest AI infrastructure project in history. And so the initiative in question is a joint venture with OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle

that'll invest in data centers and computing technology for AI. And while that venture, called Stargate, will start with an initial investment of $100 billion, Trump and the tech partners said it could reach as much as $500 billion over the next four years. And specifically here,

those three massive companies will help fund these investments, but the venture will also be open to other investors as well. With Trump also claiming that Stargate will create more than 100,000 jobs almost immediately. And so as a result, the president has championed this as a massive success in the first days in office, painting this as a vote of confidence in his administration and saying,

this monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential under a new president. But very notably here, you have people pointing out that despite Trump's claims, the initial plans for Stargate actually reportedly went back to when Biden was in office. Right back in March of last year, the tech outlet, The Information, reported that Microsoft and OpenAI were working on plans for a $100 billion data center called Stargate. The fact that when we were looking around,

many right-leaning outlets neglected Dimension instead, just presenting this as a major victory for Trump. And this is even at the press conference announcing the initiative, you had Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison, saying that construction for 10 data centers was already underway, indicating that this was already in the works before Trump.

But with that said, Donald Trump has also made it clear that he intends to go much further than Biden when it comes to AI. And I mean, just one example of this is that this announcement is coming after Trump as one of his first acts in office rolled back an executive order on AI that Biden had enacted that aimed to reduce risks

the technology presented to consumers, workers, and national security. And during the presser yesterday, we also saw the president saying he would remove barriers to allow for more data centers to be built, vowing to make emergency declarations to expedite the project's development

and allow Stargate to generate its own electricity. Though I will say there, he did not provide any details on how exactly he would justify doing that or what powers he has to achieve those goals. So as a result, critics have raised concerns about plowing ahead with these AI efforts full speed and the risks these pose to consumers,

the environment and national security. And as we've talked about a number of times before, these AI data centers speed and the risks these pose to consumers, the environment, and national security. And as we've talked about a number of times before, these AI data centers use massive amounts of energy, with them mostly being fossil fuels. And hell, just last month, the Department of Energy estimated that energy demand for US data centers tripled over the last decade and is expected to double again in just the next four years.

And this is the enormous energy required for those centers. It doesn't just increase pollution, it strains resources. With the North American Electric Reliability Corporation finding in a recent report that nearly half the entire country is at an increased risk of power supply shortfalls over the next 10 years as power consumption increases for AI data centers and other needs. But then also, in addition to the usual conversations about the environment and security that always crop up with big AI ventures, some of the backlash we ended up seeing coming from this announcement came from unexpected places. Right, I mean, it included people like Elon Musk,

a fervent champion of both Donald Trump and AI. With Musk seen responding to a post by OpenAI announcing Stargate and writing, "'They don't actually have the money.'" With them then adding, "'SoftBank is well under 10 billion secured. "'I have that on good authority.'" But there, notably, we saw OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

praising Musk as the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time, but then hitting back at his claims, writing, "'Wrong. As you surely know, "'wanna come visit the first site already underway? "'This is great for the country. "'I realize what is great for the country "'isn't always what's optimal for your companies, "'but in your new role,

"'I hope you'll mostly put America first.'" Right, and this back and forth and Musk's comments here are super notable because according to the Wall Street Journal, Musk's comments mark the first time that he has raised questions about a Trump-led initiative since the president put him in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency. Though also, I would say it's not surprising because it's one of the first time that he has raised questions about a Trump-led initiative since the president put him in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Though also, I would say it's not surprising because it's one of the first times Donald Trump has done something to benefit a rival of Musk's. Because even though Stargate seems like it could also benefit Musk's AI company, XAI, he is long, we'll say, had it out for Sam Altman. But among other things, initially, Musk was an early investor in OpenAI,

but he has since sued the company, alleging that it put profits before the benefit of humanity, with him claiming that OpenAI tricked him into becoming an investor by promising to keep its status as a non-profit organization, but then later changed to become a for-profit company. With it then also reported that sources close to Musk have said that he openly despises Altman. But then also beyond that, I will say we saw some unexpected backlash from other Trump supporters, with many seen taking issue with remarks made by Ellison, right, the Oracle CEO at the press conference announcing Stargate. Because while Ellison was talking about the uses of AI that this investment will fuel, he said this. the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will

stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. One of the most exciting things we're working on, again, using the tools that Sam and Masa are providing, is a cancer vaccine. All of our cancers, cancer tumors, little fragments of those tumors float around in your blood AI, you can do early cancer detection with a blood test and using AI to look at the blood test. Then beyond that, once we gene sequence, once we gene sequence that cancer tumor, you can then vaccinate the person,

design a vaccine for every individual person to vaccinate them against that cancer. And you can make that vaccine, that mRNA vaccine, you can make that robotically again using AI in about 48 hours. So with that, you had a lot of Trump supporters hearing the term mRNA and just losing their fucking shit with the phrase trending high on X this morning and people writing things like, "'I'm sorry, I am MAGA, but I hear mRNA vaccine and that'll be a no for me.'" Then others also saying they voted for Trump,

but this crosses a line urging him to stop the effort. I mean, we even saw major conservative voices chiming in, like conservative YouTubers, the Hodge twins who tweeted, "'So y'all know we are 100% against the $500 billion mRNA Stargate AI vaccine program. We said, make America healthy again, not load us up with experimental shots that are gonna kill us.

Yeah, not a clean one side versus another thing. There's a lot of infighting, a lot of different thoughts and opinions. Time will tell though, how all this is gonna play out. But then to shift gears to other Trump news, we should talk about Trump making good on his campaign promise to libertarians and crypto fans by giving a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht.

Right, and Ulbricht, if you don't know, he founded and ran the Silk Road, which was an online dark web marketplace where essentially anything could be bought and sold, generally using Bitcoin. While legitimate transactions did take place on the platform, it also became infamous for facilitating drug trades and other illicit activity to the tune of $214 million.

With that then getting on law enforcement's radar, leading to an arrest in 2013 and two life sentences in 2015. And for years, libertarians and Bitcoin fans alike, they have demanded his release and claim that he was unfairly targeted and received a completely out of proportion sentence. Then eventually Trump promising

to commute Albrecht's sentence while speaking at the Libertarian National Convention and what many saw as a strategy to win over libertarians and libertarian adjacent lawmakers. Which was something that at the time he had people arguing had mixed results as he also got booed at the convention. But of course what we ended up seeing,

it wasn't even a commutation, it was a full pardon. And possibly because Trump sees a bit of himself in Ulbricht's prosecution. Also with that, understand I'm not speculating. He literally wrote on Truth Social yesterday. "'I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht "'to let her know that in honor of her "'and the libertarian movement,

"'which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross. With him then adding, the scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences plus 40 years. Ridiculous. But whether Ulbricht's sentence was really because of lunatics in the government or because of Ulbricht's actions, it probably depends on your political leanings. And some definitely felt like the prosecution got it right,

saying things like Ross William Ulbricht stole hundreds of millions of dollars and ran a massive dark web narcotics scheme as the drug epidemic destroyed lives. He was convicted. Trump just gave him a full and unconditional pardon. Remember this when Trump blames immigrants for drugs and economic harm.

And this is those who support his prosecution will argue that even if the entire case was politically motivated, it does not excuse some of Ulbricht's other actions. Like for example, that he allegedly solicited the murder of several people that threatened the security of the site. But to be clear here, it doesn't look like anyone was actually murdered because of this, but it is still illegal to solicit murder.

But then on the other hand, critics of Ulbricht's prosecution, they have a lot to say. They point out that he wasn't convicted for solicitation of murder and their general sentiment is that the entire prosecution was government overreach. Saying things like, so they gave Ross Ulbricht two life sentences for creating a website that other people used for illegal activity,

but they won't go after the creators of porn websites that knowingly show child porn, rape, other sexual assault and human trafficking. Got it. And then there's the whole crypto angle with people saying things like, the government gave him two life sentences without parole "'for nonviolent charges, including money laundering.

"'Just for using Bitcoin, "'they relied on questionable evidence "'and made him an example.'" As well as, as a developer who has worked with Bitcoin for years, this always felt personal. "'I didn't build a marketplace, "'but it could have been me or any of my friends "'targeted by the government.'"

Ross's case was a warning shot. And for many, the Silk Road and its embrace of Bitcoin as a way to end economic coercion embodied what a successful marketplace and world with decentralized currencies could be. And so they felt that the government going after Ulbricht was a clear attack on the entire premise of cryptocurrencies in its infancy.

But regardless of people's opinions on this, what camp they land in, though I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments down below, the reality is that Ulbricht is a free man right now. And as far as what is next for him, who really knows? Although some have jokingly made predictions like, "'Heartbreaking! Trump condemns man to 20 years

of libertarian podcast appearances.'" Also, just to add this on here, I mean, what we're seeing here, it could be a sign that Trump's more serious about keeping his promises to crypto people. Because in addition to launching his own meme coin, which has received mixed reviews, he has said that he wants the United States

to be the crypto capital of the planet. And I'll get right back to talking about more news in just a second, but this morning, you know, I had one of my favorite breakfasts and it was Magic Spoon cereal, frosted flavor to be exact, which seriously, it's like happiness in a bowl. It's wild how they've managed to recreate

those nostalgic childhood cereal vibes while packing in 13 to 14 grams of protein, zero sugar, and only four to five net grams of carbs per serving. So a big shout out to Magic Spoon for sponsoring the show and for bringing me that nostalgic joy in a healthy way. And also, here's what really got me hyped. They have expanded beyond just cereal. Their new crispy treats and granola are insanely good. Perfect whether you're watching carbs or just want healthier snacks. Magic Spoon's granola, it is a game changer. 13 grams of protein, zero added sugar and flavors like honey, almond and peanut butter, which has been great for keeping me fueled on hikes.

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But then to switch gears to a different kind of news, though it is everything right now is still connected to politics. MrBeast may soon actually own a part of TikTok. So for the past week or so, you may have seen that MrBeast has made various posts about the prospect of buying TikTok, but you know, tons of people weren't really sure how serious he was. Because he's obviously successful, he's obviously rich,

but like not multi, multi-billion dollar company rich. While there were mentions of other people potentially being involved, yesterday we saw reports that he's actually part of a group of investors led by entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley that announced a formal offer. And according to the law firm representing them, they submitted an all cash offer to acquire TikTok's US operations and various assets from ByteDance. With them then also adding that the investor group is made up of institutional investors

and high net worth individuals. So there, the statement doesn't name anyone outside of Tinsley and Mr. Beast. But then this morning, Mr. Beast's role in this became a lot more confusing after a spokesperson told the Associated Press that he has not officially joined any bids. Explaining several buyers

are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy. He has no exclusive agreements with any of them. With Mr. Beast then tweeting not long after that comment was made saying, the leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok have reached out for us to help them. I'm excited to partner slash make this a reality. Big things cooking. And so it seems like he is involved with something. It's just not clear what, which is definitely interesting because he was not only named in the law firm statement, but just, Tinsley tweeted that Mr. Beast could be TikTok's CEO. And that, notably coming after he already shouted Mr. Beast out as one of the investors he's working with in a tweet this week. Tinsley also writing that he planned to meet with Trump

to discuss the offer and adding that his goal is to ensure TikTok stays accessible, thriving, and aligned with the values that make America great. And notably, this is happening as all eyes are on the situation as Trump just signed an executive order seeking to delay the TikTok ban, essentially pausing enforcement of the law for 75 days to give his administration time to find a way to save the act. And while, as we've talked about,

there are questions as to whether or not a president can actually use an executive order to halt enforcement of a federal law, TikTok has notably applauded Trump for his efforts. And they were definitely not alone, with Tinsley also giving a statement to Bloomberg saying, As President Trump reestablishes America's dominance, "'our group stands ready to partner with the U.S. government

"'to acquire TikTok and help secure and stabilize "'the platform for hundreds of millions of Americans "'who safely enjoy.'" So even though Mr. Beast's role appears to be unclear, it does seem like Tinsley's bid is still legitimate. And this is there are murmurs about more bids to come, right, billionaire Frank McCord and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary have expressed interest.

Also just yesterday, Trump said he'd be hoping to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying it if they were interested. But no matter what ends up happening in the next 75 days, it's gonna be interesting. Because TikTok is in this weird limbo period right now. And also with that, we're seeing companies like Meta trying to pounce on its creators since its future is uncertain. With Meta, for example, launching a breakthrough bonus program that gives creators up to $5,000 in 90 days for posting to Facebook and Instagram Reels. With it really seeming specifically designed to scoop up American TikTok creators, since in order to be eligible, you have to be based in the U.S. and have a presence on a third-party social app and link to it in the application. And then, on top of that, there are reports saying that Meta is looking to ink content deals with some TikTokers to help them grow on Instagram and Facebook.

Also, love the timing here. When TikTok went dark over the weekend, Instagram also announced a CapCut competitor named Edits. So a lot of different people, a lot of different groups, a lot of different companies trying to make the most of the next 75 days. Who knows, three months from now, maybe it'll be Beastalk. But then in a completely different kind of news,

let's talk about Netflix. With everything going on in the world, the story feels a little bit like one of these is not like the other. But it's something that a ton of people are sounding off on right now because Netflix just announced that they are raising prices for their premium, standard, and ad-supported tiers. Meaning that the ad tier will go from $6.99 to $7.99, the standard will go from $15.49 to $17.99, and the

premium tier is going up $2 to $24.99 a month. What was really fun with a lot of this is that when Netflix announced this, they also outlined their numbers from the last quarter, saying that the revenue actually went up 16% and they added nearly 19 million subscribers. So they're raising prices after having one of their biggest jumps in subscribers. That also reportedly bringing them to a total of 302 million subscribers worldwide. With the belief that their latest bump is thanks to things like season two of Squid Games, as well as their live events. Things like the live Mike Tyson, Jake Paul fight. They've also done live events like Christmas Day, NFL games and WWE broadcasts.

So with that, we saw the company saying in a letter to their investors, as we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can reinvest to further improve Netflix. And seemingly, at least in the investor space, everyone's loving this, right?

Netflix stock surged 13% in extended trade, lifting its stock market value by almost $50 billion. But this is, unsurprisingly, members of the company is now asking to pay a little more, less enthused. With many reacting very negatively online, saying things like, once again, Netflix bends over their customer base

so their executives can buy another luxury yacht, another house, and a fancy vacation. All while the majority of people are just hoping to have food and heat. Greed is destroying the US. And as for reinvesting to further improve Netflix, many online are saying that the content on Netflix is just not worth the price anymore.

But then many also claiming that this is the final straw and that they're either ready to or already have canceled their subscriptions. But there, I gotta bring it up. You can't always believe the noise. Right, it is very much worth noting that there was a similar reaction to when Netflix stopped password sharing

and the last time they hiked prices. There was a lot of noise, a lot of fuck you, I'm canceling. The company still pulled out ahead. And according to the numbers, they're still doing so now. So unless there is real action at a massive scale to back up the words that are out there, I don't imagine things are gonna change. I could be wrong.

Some would argue I should be wrong, but I don't think I am here. Then finally today, let's end with a congratulations and let's talk about yesterday. Starting with a congratulations to this week's SeatGeek prize winner, right? Getting $500 towards any tickets on SeatGeek. And tonight you can go see your favorite artists, sporting event or play.

And I mean, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from. And then for the rest of y'all, that's right. SeatGeek is still giving away $500 in tickets and you should definitely enter today if you haven't already. It's simple, it's easy, it's free. You just add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize,

no purchase necessary. But with that said, let's talk about yesterday in comment commentary. And understandably, a lot of those comments yesterday had to do with the whole Elon Musk situation. And I just wanna say thank you for making it happen. Thank you. Thank you. My heart goes out to you.

My heart goes out to you. And overwhelmingly we saw two main reactions. One, people saying he 100% did the salute. People even trying to link to side-by-side comparisons that have been going viral. And two, people saying whether he did it intentionally or not, his reaction afterward is still very, very concerning. So we ended up seeing a lot of top comments like,

"'As an autistic, if I were to ever accidentally Nazi salute, I would immediately notice and go off on a 20 minute non-interruptible apology explanation that goes on way too long and reduces me to a rocking puddle on the floor. Man's knew what he was doing, demanding our attention with an out. As well as, as an autistic person, I've never been told Nazi saluting would be one of my symptoms. Strange to have never seen it in the DSM-5. And then adding, as someone with ASD, I have had hand-jerking motions before. It's very common, but even if it's not, it's not that simple for me to compare my autism

to anyone else's. Everyone's different. That's where the spectrum part comes from. I'm not saying Musk wouldn't do hand-jerking motions, but even if it's completely accidental, we should not tolerate this kind of behavior because of whatever inherent bias we have. Whether accidentally or on purpose,

he did the salute, full stop. This kind of enabling is going to send the wrong precedent to autistic people on top of the blatant racism. As well as my husband and my son both have autism, neither do a Roman salute. They're autistic, not stupid." Right, and there were just an avalanche of these type of comments.

You can pause here to read a bunch of them. There were also a number of people who just quoted George Orwell saying, "'The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.'" But again, this also in addition to people saying, hey, if we give him the benefit of the doubt, he didn't do the thing on purpose. Saying the fact Elon didn't try to

immediately distance himself or condemn that to a degree that would make him look non-sympathetic, but rather play defenses. In fact, what makes people think he was more intentional with his salute. For a man chronically online and owns his own social media company, he really doesn't have an excuse. But then of course, in addition to that, there were conversations around Donald Trump and the executive orders. Shane saying, giving the guy who said he loves firing people the authority to fire up to 50,000 people

solely on the grounds that you disagree with him is terrifying. He also had people sharing their experiences, with for example, Coco Cat saying, I am an army civilian who was supposed to start my position next week. I just received a message that because of Trump's executive order freezing all federal hiring,

all EODs are frozen. No one is allowed to start any position next week. I just received a message that because of Trump's executive order freezing all federal hiring, all EODs are frozen. No one is allowed to start any empty or new position because of this freeze due to the lack of clarity from the executive order. Fortunately, I still have a job and they're just going to extend my current fellowship. But many other people are not so lucky and will likely have to wait without pay

even after leaving their jobs. And then adding, I have tied up my loose ends in preparation for my new position. This freeze is literally keeping me from doing my new job while trying to find menial things to do in my old position. In other words, it has created a swamp and I am in it wasting taxpayer dollars being prevented from doing the job I'm supposed to do. This is the opposite of efficiency. And this is expected to last 90 days. Imagine people who have already left their jobs to start a new one having to go 79 days without

a salary or insurance. And this person wasn't alone. There were also people that were claiming Trump enacting the order for the hiring freeze "'invalidated two different tentative job offers "'I got in the government that I waited months to get. "'I cannot be more heartbroken right now.'" But hey, with all that said, let's end on a positive comment. Those happen now and then.

And in fact, this was the most liked comment on yesterday's show. Dismar Art wrote, "'Something happy for those of you struggling. "'I got a puppy and named him Nougat. "'He was found in a dump and will never not have a house "'so long as I can help it. So y'all, something positive today.

Except of course, I've been doing this for so long and you've been watching possibly for so long, you know that in two weeks, that puppy's old tweets are gonna come out and they are in fact so disgusting, I can't even show them on this show. But hey, that is where your Wednesday evening, Thursday morning dive into the news is gonna end.

Of course, remember you get a brand new Philip DeFranco show every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Yeah, thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.