The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.5 Coronavirus Prank, Michelle Khare, Polarizing SOTU, FINAL VOTE & Trump Acquitted

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Wednesday. My name is Michelle Carre and let's just jump right into it. Love it. There you go, we're good. Another Wednesday, another temporary host of the Philip DeFranco show fired Michelle Carre. Jacket was just too awesome, I felt like she was flexing on me. Not the appropriate time or place, Michelle. But for everyone else, despite that unfortunate firing,

Starting point is 00:00:25 if you'd like to watch my brand new podcast with Michelle, check it out right, well, not right now. After today's show, I actually uploaded it right before this video over at youtube.com slash a convo with. There's also an audio version, links, blah, blah, blah. This was a really fun and interesting one. It's been awesome to watch her career since she left BuzzFeed. She just throws herself into the new, the different, the uncomfortable,

Starting point is 00:00:41 and is someone that has a career based off of locking himself in a room six to eight hours a day, I was fascinated to talk to her. So definitely check that out. But with that said, buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. The first thing we're gonna talk about today is our douchebag of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:55 So coronavirus, you've heard about it, we've talked about it. As of this morning, 490 people reportedly have died in China from it, two in Hong Kong and the Philippines. And the reason we're talking about this today is there is a scare on an airplane. Reportedly, the flight was going from Canada to Jamaica.

Starting point is 00:01:09 You had 243 people on board. During the flight, one of the passengers mentions that they came from the Hunan province, and the next thing you know, people are in masks. The flight gets turned around, two flights end up getting canceled. And as it turns out, it was a prank to make a viral video. Now, the self-described artist actually gave an interview with the news.

Starting point is 00:01:27 I'm not going to show his face, this, primarily because he even says... I'm an artist. Any publicity for myself is good publicity. He says his name. We're not going to include it. And this douchebag explains his thinking as far as why he was doing this. I stood up. I said, can I have everybody's attention?

Starting point is 00:01:45 I just came back from Hunan province. That was it. Why would you say that? Well, I had my camera with me. I was looking to get a viral video. I was looking to get it up on all the social media platforms. I figured it would invoke some type of reaction, not on the plane, more people seeing on social media going, wow wow this kid's

Starting point is 00:02:06 got some balls or this kid is crazy whatever it is and he's also apologized mentioned that what he did was wrong but ultimately as far as repercussions he was reportedly arrested and charged with mischief and breach of recognizance he's set to appear in court on march and personally i do hope something happens here i mean i think at the very least he should be held liable for the economic cost of what he did. And the reason I feel like this is it feels increasingly more common that someone is an artist, that they're a creator,

Starting point is 00:02:31 but really they're just a professional asshole. Like people are dying out there. There's genuine fear out there. You have 14 day quarantines out there. And I call bullshit when he says, you know, I apologize for my ignorance. I didn't realize it was an epidemic. What ignorance are you talking about?

Starting point is 00:02:43 You said who province because you knew you would get a reaction. You even talked about getting a viral video. Also, according to a report from Toronto City News, who you spoke with, you apparently didn't just say you were there, you said, quote, word for word, I said, "'I just came back from Hunan province,

Starting point is 00:02:57 "'the capital of the coronavirus. "'I'm not feeling too well, thank you.'" You also try to half-assedly compare this to a not panic-inducing announcement you said that you did on a plane. But the only ignorance I see possibly connected to this situation is that your father didn't have the foresight to pull out. But that's the story, some of my personal takeaway, and of course, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this?

Starting point is 00:03:15 And then, let's talk about this incredibly messy story. It's an update to a story that we talked about in the past, but there's a lot of twists and turns here. And this story is about the case surrounding Dr. Grant Robichaux, who was a surgeon in Southern California, and his girlfriend, Sarissa Riley. Now, if you don't know or you don't remember, the two had been accused of drugging and assaulting women and were charged back in September of 2018. That case making headlines for a number of reasons.

Starting point is 00:03:37 First, Robichaux was already sort of a high profile figure. He was named Orange Coast Magazine's most eligible bachelor in 2013. In 2014, he appeared on a Bravo reality show called the Online Dating Rituals of the American Male. And secondly, some of the details surrounding the allegations against these two were disturbing. Tony Rakakis, who was the Orange County District Attorney

Starting point is 00:03:53 at that time, led the charges against them and originally hit Robichaux with nine charges, Riley with seven. Among those counts, both were charged with rape by use of drugs. Rakakis said that the two would meet their alleged victims in bars or dating apps, then taking them to Robichaux's home where they assaulted them.

Starting point is 00:04:07 And of note here, Rukakis talked of video evidence saying, "'There are several videos where the women in the videos "'appear to be highly intoxicated "'beyond the ability to consent or resist, "'and they are barely responsive "'to the defendant's sexual advances.'" And as far as how much footage there was, Rukakis said that there could be 1,000 videos

Starting point is 00:04:22 of women who were assaulted, and he also urged more women to come forward. What we ended up seeing is in October of 2018, more did, leading to Robichaux and Riley getting hit with more charges and both facing life in prison. But then the following month, we see a notable change. In November, Rakalkas loses his reelection bid to be Orange County DA.

Starting point is 00:04:38 That job, that position, that spot, it ends up going to Todd Spitzer after sort of a heated rivalry between the two. So one of the things this new DA does is he ends up ordering a review of the evidence of this particular case. And what we ended up seeing announced yesterday is that all of the charges against Robichaux and Riley

Starting point is 00:04:51 were to be dropped because there was not enough evidence to support them. In the statement, he said that the review was led by two veteran sexual assault prosecutors who spent three months going over every piece of evidence. And this review, which he referred to as a de novo review, included thousands of photos, videos, and chats from computers,

Starting point is 00:05:05 hundreds of hours of audio recording, thousands of pages of documents as well as text messages on dating apps, emails, and interviews. But said this review revealed that there was not a single video or photograph depicting an incapacitated woman being sexually assaulted by Robichaux or Riley. Also saying that there were no witnesses who came forward

Starting point is 00:05:21 saying they saw the defendant's assault, an unconscious woman. But Spitzer even going on to claim that Rukakis spun this case to gain media attention to help his reelection efforts and added in a statement. "'The prior district attorney and his chief of staff "'manufactured this case and repeatedly misstated

Starting point is 00:05:34 "'the evidence to lead the public and vulnerable women "'to believe that these two individuals "'plied up to 1,000 women with drugs and alcohol "'in order to sexually assault them'." And videotaped the assault. And then going on to claim that what these two did to these defendants and to the women involved in this case is a travesty.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Right, in this update, this announcement, it was met with a ton of reactions. You had people online saying women making the accusations who can testify should be enough to keep the charges. Others kind of wondering which Orange County DA they should believe here. Some horrified at the prospect that the previous Orange County DA

Starting point is 00:06:02 would have misled the public like this. We also ended up seeing the people involved in the case responding as well. You had Robichaux's lawyer, Philip Cohen, speaking to reporters saying, I don't want to be overly dramatic or hyperbolic, but the mere filing of this case has destroyed irreparably two lives.

Starting point is 00:06:15 He has become persona non grata with an entire city, an entire state, and I don't want to be exaggerating, but probably an entire country. But then on the other side of this, you also had Michael Fell, who's representing one of the accusers in the case, speaking to the Los Angeles Times, where he said, "'For somebody to report for them to go through

Starting point is 00:06:28 "'what she had to go through with the police, "'for the district attorney's office "'to file criminal charges, "'for her to have to be patient the last two years "'while the case is being prosecuted, "'only for it to be dropped, she's going to be devastated.'" And he also had Rakaukas speaking out against the decision himself, saying,

Starting point is 00:06:41 "'Any prosecutor should think long and hard "'before dismissing such a case where multiple women have independently come forward. I just hope they're not being sold down the river for some twisted political motive.'" And ultimately, that's where we are with this right now, and I'm personally left with just more questions. One, based off the way that everything has been described,

Starting point is 00:06:57 it does sound like of sex at the very least, there were videos and photos. But the new DA and his team are making a judgment call saying that none of the women in those are incapacitated. But others there might question the move, saying just because someone's not completely incapacitated doesn't mean that they weren't raped. Or were some still drugged or plied with liquor or drugs

Starting point is 00:07:13 and they weren't in the right state of mind to be able to consent? Or are we looking at something that's far different than a judgment call? Because these are some pretty bold accusations against the former DA and the kind of stuff being talked about here, it feels like there would be charges associated with that. Right, Because if you have someone manufacturing something,

Starting point is 00:07:28 making things up, ruining people's lives for your own personal political gain, that person should obviously be punished and held accountable. So right now I'm waiting to see what other information comes out. Yeah, right now this just feels like a weird, messy, crazy debacle. And of course with that, I would love to know your thoughts on this case. And then how do we even talk about last night's State of the Union? Right, there's the fact checking angle of it. What was true, untrue, misconstrued,

Starting point is 00:07:53 maybe kind of cherry pick data. Then unfortunately separate from facts and issues, the effectiveness of what was said and done by Trump and others. You know, I've seen a number of people reference the entire night or just moments as theater, as even reality TV. Right, so what I will say, separate from facts, claims,

Starting point is 00:08:09 all of that stuff, I do think for Trump, this will prove to be an effective night. This speech, which at times had raw, raw Republican rhetoric, but then also did hit on things that I think could be appealing to moderates, paired with the emotional stories and guests that he invited to the State of the Union, as well as the Republicans

Starting point is 00:08:25 in the Senate will acquit Trump today. I do not think that it would be surprising if Trump got a bump from here. So that said, regarding the fact checking of some claims, I'm not gonna nickel and dime things. Are you have places taking on Trump's claim that he implemented historic and record setting tax cuts? Right, that, not true.

Starting point is 00:08:37 This, according to the Treasury Department. When Trump's tax cuts are measured as a share of the US economy, they rank as the eighth largest in the last hundred years. Right, accurate, but still most people are gonna say, well, it was a meaningful tax cut. Then he in place is taking on Trump's claim that since his election, we've created 7 million new jobs.

Starting point is 00:08:51 Right there, technically he's using the number from election night, not when he actually took office. There, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, starting February 2017, 6.7 million jobs have been created. But there, I would say most people are gonna say, hey, new jobs are new jobs. I think something that would be more effective would be pointing out that Trump inherited an economy

Starting point is 00:09:06 and a country on the rise. For example, the Obama administration inherited the housing and financial crisis, but in the last three years, under the Obama administration, 8 million jobs were created. Once again, those are comparisons in the conversation being made if you already believe that the president

Starting point is 00:09:20 is inherently connected to the number of jobs being created. And so I guess for me, when it comes to the economy and the fact checking and talking about it, I think it's really the focus on what he inherited and what happens from here. Because here's the thing, Trump is correct when he says the unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in half a century, right?

Starting point is 00:09:35 3.5%, but economists believe that our economy is also slowing down. In 2018, our gross domestic product went up 2.9%, 2019, 2.3%, and economists expect it to be even lower this year. But there, to be fair, since we are making comparisons, Obama also had ups and downs when it came to the GDP. And at this point, I'll once again say,

Starting point is 00:09:52 we're only touching on some things in this moment. You wanna see more detailed fact checking, things that are true, things that were misconstrued, stuff like that, I'll link to it down below. Probably the biggest thing to me when it came to fact checking was regarding healthcare. During his speech, Trump said this. I've also made an ironclad pledge to American families.

Starting point is 00:10:09 We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Truck month is on at Chevrolet. Get 0% financing for up to 72 months on a 2025 Silverado 1500 Custom Blackout or Custom Trail Boss. With Custom Trail Bosses available, class-exclusive Duramax 3-liter diesel engine and Z71 off-road package with a 2-inch factory suspension lift, you get both on-road confidence and off-road capability. Dirt road ahead? Let's go! Truck month is awesome! Ask your Chevrolet dealer for details. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door.

Starting point is 00:10:53 A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over deliver. But based off of actions we've seen, that is not true. And this all stems around the debate around the Affordable Care Act, or as some call it, Obamacare. And among other things, the ACA or Obamacare guarantees insurance coverage for patients with preexisting medical conditions. Right, and just for transparency's sake,

Starting point is 00:11:26 the preexisting condition part is really important to me, not only because I have PKD, my children might have PKD, my dad has it. Well, the system in place now is nowhere near perfect. I just remember the struggles he faced having a preexisting condition. But jumping back to Trump and his claims around preexisting conditions,

Starting point is 00:11:42 we had people pointing out that in the past, Trump and his administration had taken several different efforts to weaken and repeal Obamacare. This through legislation he supported, regulations imposed by his administration, and now a lawsuit the Justice Department is litigating that could make Obamacare unconstitutional. Right, so outlawing it would also be scrapping

Starting point is 00:11:57 the guarantee of coverage for preexisting conditions, at least for the time being. Which is significant because Trump has not announced a plan that seems like it would actually fill in the gaps. We've seen him back the American healthcare act, but that's something that would allow insurers to charge possibly prohibitively high premiums for people with preexisting conditions, but you wouldn't really be covering

Starting point is 00:12:13 preexisting conditions if it wasn't economically accessible. And in general, I have concerns about Trump in the healthcare space because I remember before he was president, I remember before he was president, he said, quote, he was the first and only potential GOP candidate to state that there will be no cuts to social security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But reportedly his 2020 budget proposal

Starting point is 00:12:29 would cut 1.5 trillion in Medicaid over the next decade. But that said, we then move to moments. Regarding Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi, there were a few. And there were three key moments from them. One, it appears as is customary, she extended her hand for a handshake. He didn't give her one. Some saw this as a snub,

Starting point is 00:12:45 others saying he maybe just didn't see it, noting that he also didn't shake Mike Pence's hand. Then Pelosi, for her part, also broke tradition by not saying, I have the privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States. Members of Congress, the President of the United States. And then of course, finally, one of the most talked about moments since it happened,

Starting point is 00:13:02 ripping in half of the President's speech and throwing it on the table in front of her. The response to that moment was very polarized. A number of people cheering it on, saying the president's words here, especially his lies, are worthless. Whereas others called it a tantrum or disrespectful. White House Twitter account in particular

Starting point is 00:13:17 framing this as being disrespectful to the guests. One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, the survival of a child born at 21 weeks. The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Muller, a service member's reunion with his family, that's her legacy. And while there were people that agreed, there was also people that were essentially like,

Starting point is 00:13:32 hey, if you think she was being indirectly disrespectful by ripping that up, wait till you find out what Donald Trump has said about Gold Star families directly. But much like I said regarding Trump and the effectiveness of his speech, we're gonna have to wait to see what the fallout from this is.

Starting point is 00:13:43 Is it actually a good thing? The Democrats going into the primaries talked about unity. It's all about beating the big bad. There's a lot of infighting, as we talked about yesterday with the Iowa caucus, this embarrassment, confusion. And Democrats in general lose when there's not a lot of excitement and unity, but we'll see. Also among the other notable moments and call-outs,

Starting point is 00:13:58 you know you had those moments that the White House Twitter account mentioned. One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, the pointings of that little baby girl who was born at 21 weeks. And also families that were mourning. Then kind of the Oprah or Ellen-esque reunion of a service member with his children and his wife.

Starting point is 00:14:12 He also surprised a student with an opportunity scholarship. He also pointed out and recognized Juan Guaido. Right, the United States has recognized him as the true leader in Venezuela. So, you know, it was used as a swipe towards Venezuela, but also, it was also a moment that was used to swing at Democrats. Kind of the continuing nature of painting them all with the broad socialism brush. And then, of course, one of the most notable moments was when Trump awarded

Starting point is 00:14:31 the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh. If you don't know, he's a conservative radio talk show host who's been very vocal about his support of Trump. Also, it comes a day after Limbaugh announced that he'd been diagnosed with an advanced stage of lung cancer. And he also wasn't just announcing that you're going to get it. He actually had first lady Melania Trump put it on him, right then and there. That was definitely a polarizing moment just because Rush Limbaugh is a polarizing figure. There's a lot of love for him, a lot of hate for him.

Starting point is 00:14:53 Although I will say, random fact, this isn't a comment on that situation or his diagnosis or anything like that. It was really odd for me the other day to see Rush Limbaugh and Michael J. Fox trending. Rush, because he made the announcement, a number of people then sharing, you know, what he said about Michael J. Fox seemingly exaggerating his because he made the announcement, a number of people then sharing, you know, what he said about Michael J. Fox

Starting point is 00:15:05 seemingly exaggerating his disease. Random fact, without that clip, without that moment, there might not be a Philip DeFranco show. I think one of the first videos I ever made, but definitely one of the first news videos I ever made was a reaction to that moment and clip. Yeah, it was just kind of a random moment where I was like, if there was no Rush Limbaugh,

Starting point is 00:15:21 I might not be talking to you right now. Yeah, then in addition to that, there was also a moment that I think Donald Trump probably didn't plan for. Right after Trump finished talking about protecting the Second Amendment, we saw this moment. Right, and the man being escorted away is Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie was killed

Starting point is 00:15:34 during the Parkland School shooting. And for some context here, Guttenberg had actually been invited to the address by Pelosi. He's now an active gun control advocate, but later in the night we saw him apologize, tweeting, tonight was a rough night. I disrupted the State of the Union and was detained because I let my emotions get the best of me

Starting point is 00:15:46 I simply want to be able to deal with the reality of gun violence and not have to listen to the lies about the Second Amendment as happened tonight that said I should not have yelled out I am thankful for the overwhelming support that I am receiving however I do owe my family and friends an apology I have tried to conduct myself with dignity throughout this process and I will do better as I pursue gun safety and along with that We saw that the hashtag I'm with Fred trending with support coming from others like California governor Gavin Newsom and Parkland survivor David Hogg.

Starting point is 00:16:09 So even without diving into everything, that is a lot. Of course, I'd love to know your thoughts in general about this. Also of note, as we were finishing up today's show, Donald Trump in the Senate was acquitted, though notably we did see one Republican vote against Trump, that being Mitt Romney. Yeah, more to come there.

Starting point is 00:16:23 We're gonna see the developments, the fallout from the last 24, 36 hours. With that said, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on that, anything at all, but that does bring us to the end of today's show. Thanks, of course, for watching my little daily news show, whether it be a part of your much bigger news diet or your daily dose of poison. Also, if you're looking for more to watch today,

Starting point is 00:16:39 you should definitely check out that brand new podcast I did with Michelle Khary, or maybe you dismissed the last Philip DeFranco show, you wanna catch up, click or tap right there to watch either of those right now. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in, I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:16:55 I hope you liked this video, subscribe if you like it.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.5 Coronavirus Prank, Michelle Khare, Polarizing SOTU, FINAL VOTE & Trump Acquitted

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