The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.5 Trump US Gaza Takeover Plan is Insane, The Truth About Elon Musk’s Gutting of USAID, & Today’s News

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here: https://youtu.be/6IAKpswZYT4?si=ItogERB_zCCFCNUR&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=2&t=56s  Level up your health at  http://www.TryARMRA.com/DEFRANCO and use code DEFRANCO at checkout to get up to 15% off your first order. Go to http://rocketmoney.com/pds to cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money. 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   https://BeautifulBastard.com 3 New Tees & Crews Available – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Trump Suggests the U.S. Should “Take Over” Gaza  10:38 - Sponsored by Armra  11:45 - Trump and Musk Effectively Shut Down USAID 17:42 - USPS Flip Flops on Accepting Parcels from China 20:05 - CIA Offers to Buyout its Entire Workforce 21:53 - Sponsored by Rocket Money  22:58 - Meta Lobbying Group Sues to Stop Child Safety Law Meta Promised Not to Block 26:15 - 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 #Gaza ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump now wants America to level, take over, and own Gaza. Musk and Trump are now pulling almost all USAID workers off the job in what could be a devastating and deadly move for millions. And a lobbying group representing Meta is suing to fight a law meant to protect kids online, despite Meta saying they wouldn't. We're talking about all that and even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, where you daily dive into the news, how it's being covered, and how people are reacting to it. So buckle up, hit that like button if you like these big daily dives into the news.

And let's start with this. In recent weeks, Donald Trump has said we are buying Greenland, annexing Canada, reclaiming the Panama Canal. And now Trump is saying that we are going to take over and own the Gaza Strip. With Trump yesterday saying he's not trying to be cute, but we could turn it into the Riviera of the Middle East.

So let's talk about the details, right? We talked last week about Trump suggesting his plan for the Gaza Strip was to clean out the whole thing. Right, a direct quote and a proposal that was widely condemned by the international community as illegal and criticized by many as a call for ethnic cleansing. And now, while the details are few,

he is fully leaning into the idea. Right, last night we saw him welcoming Israeli PM, Bibi Netanyahu to Washington and reaffirming his stance that Palestinians should leave Gaza so it can be rebuilt. But then he went even further, stating much less ambiguously that he sees this as a long-term, if not permanent exit for the Gazan people. Right, with him also suggesting there that one,

it would be the US to take ownership over the territory and that two, he would not rule out the deployment of American troops. And with all that, it's interesting to see how all of this unfolded, right? It started with Trump's comments during an Oval Office meeting with Netanyahu when a reporter asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza under his plan.

And he said this. It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good where they wouldn't want to return. Why would they want to return? The place has been hell. It's been one of the meanest, one of the meanest, toughest places on earth. And right now it's it, I've seen every picture from every angle better than if I were there

and nobody can live there, you can't live there. And then with that, Trump suggested they would build new, beautiful, peaceful places for Palestinians to live in Jordan, Egypt, or elsewhere. He also claimed that these places would be built with massive amounts of money supplied by other people, including very rich nations, and claiming they're willing to supply it.

And then, notably, when asked what would happen if Egypt and Jordan said no to him, Trump responded. Well, I don't think they're going to tell me no. I don't think they're going to tell me no. I think they're going to tell Biden no, and I think they're going to tell other people no. So you think it will happen at the end? I think there's a good chance, yeah. How many people are you thinking about?

All of them. I mean, we're talking about probably a million seven people, million seven, maybe a million eight, but I think all of them. I think they'll be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life and not be worried about dying every day. But then with all that, I do wanna note

that Egypt and Jordan have actually very firmly stated that they're not interested in taking in hundreds of thousands of people from Gaza. And this, of course, as I mentioned, while the idea has also been widely criticized by all, but the most right-wing elements of the Israeli government and some international supporters. With a big key point now being, you know,

the Palestinians, by and large, they do not want to leave. With us seeing, for example, one Palestinian professor who has been displaced from his home in Gaza, describing Trump's claim as outrageous and addict. Palestinians would rather live in tents "'next to their destroyed homes "'rather than relocate to another place.'" Which was also something seemingly backed up

by one 29-year-old Gazan speaking to NPR who said, "'Even if there was a place "'that was a million times better than Gaza, "'and even if I could be sure "'that life there would be luxurious, "'I would still be ready to live "'among the rubble and intense here.'" And adding, "'If they come with the army,

"'with military force, I will still never leave. And so, you know, with that, it appears that's why you have outlets like the New York Times explaining that to Palestinians, Trump's proposal would constitute ethnic cleansing on a more terrifying scale than any displacement they have experienced since 1948, which is a big statement. I mean, that is when roughly 800,000 Arabs were expelled or forced to flee during the war surrounding the creation of Israel. But there's also seeing here the head of Amnesty International USA claiming

that by removing all Palestinians from Gaza, that would be tantamount to destroying them as a people. With them then going on to say, Gaza is their home. Gaza's death and destruction is a result of the government of Israel killing civilians by the thousands, often with US bombs. Right, but that is not where this ended, right? After that Oval Office meeting,

Trump and Netanyahu held a press conference where Donald took things to a whole different level. The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. If you go back, it's going to end up the same way it has for 100 years. I'm hopeful that this ceasefire could be the beginning of a larger and more enduring peace that will end the bloodshed and killing once and

for all. And from there, Trump went on to answer questions and say he sees a long-term ownership position for the US and claiming it would be great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East. And then adding, We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal.

And I don't wanna be cute. I don't wanna be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so bad. This could be so magnificent. But more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they're living in hell. And those people will now be able to live in peace. We'll make sure that it's done world class. It'll be wonderful for the people. Palestinians, Palestinians, mostly we're talking about.

But then with that, when asked who he thinks would live in Gaza, you had him saying that he envisions the world's people living there. I think you'll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there and they'll and they'll live there. Palestinians also. Palestinians will live there.

Many people will live there. Finally, when asked about the possibility of sending U.S. troops, he simply said, As far as Gaza is concerned, we'll do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that. We're going to take over that piece and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs. And it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of. So with all this, we saw immediate reactions, people chiming in. You had people like Andrew Miller, for example, a former Middle East policy

advisor under Obama and Biden telling the New York Times, this is literally the most incomprehensible policy proposal I have ever heard from an American president. With him also saying at the cost of Trump's plan, it would make the $40 billion foreign assistance budget that Trump and Elon Musk call a waste look like a rounding error. And this is you had Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator, noting that Trump's gossip proposal goes against his avowed opposition to nation building and could undermine his efforts to get Saudi Arabia to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. That's without mentioning him saying that this provides Russia and China a green light to take over territory as they see fit. But he then also went on to argue that all of the hoopla

on the U.S. taking over Gaza caused us to miss the real story from the meeting. Or with him there, referring to the fact that there was relatively little discussion about the current ceasefire or negotiating the second phase. And notably, you had Democratic Senator Chris Murphy making a similar point on the U.S. side, writing in a Senator Chris Murphy making a similar point on the US side, writing in a post on X, "'A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter "'of thousands of US troops "'and decades of war in the Middle East.'"

It's like a bad, sick joke, but then adding in a separate post, "'I have news for you. "'We aren't taking over Gaza.'" But the media and the chattering class will focus on it for a few days, and Trump will have succeeded in distracting everyone from the real story,

the billionaires seizing government to steal from regular people. But understandably, a lot of the conversation has been around this, including with Democratic lawmakers. Chris Van Hollen, for example, claiming Trump's proposal defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution, and describing it as ethnic cleansing.

Chris Coons saying, that's insane. I can't think of a place on earth that would welcome American troops less, and where any positive outcome is less likely. And Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, writing on X, Palestinians aren't going anywhere. This president can only spew this fanatical bullshit

because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. They're saying it's time for my two state solution colleagues to speak up. Though also notably John Fetterman, probably the staunchest supporter of Israel on the democratic side, has signaled his openness to Trump's proposal.

With that said, moving to the Republican side, we are definitely seeing a lot of confusion there on how to respond, right? Some seemingly trying to walk the fine line of voicing their skepticism without outright opposing Trump. With Lindsey Graham, for example, saying, "'I think most South Carolinians are probably not excited "'about sending Americans to take over Gaza.

"'I think that might be problematic, "'but I'll keep an open mind.'" But also understand, yeah, there were some that were very gung-ho about this, with, for example, House Republicans like Nancy Mace and Richard Hudson. With Mace posting on X, let's turn Gaza into Mar-a-Lago. With that, then even kind of turning into a trend with Trump's former ambassador to Israel, for example, writing on X, Mar-a-Gaza or Gaza-Lago? And also saying Trump's proposed USA takeover of the Gaza Strip may sound out of the box, but it is brilliant, historic, and the only idea I have heard in 50 years

that has a chance of bringing security, peace, and prosperity to this troubled region. Right, and that is also a stance that we've seen taken by far-right members of the Israeli government. But you know, a key thing there being that Netanyahu is under a lot of pressure from these far-right allies to abandon the ceasefire and resume fighting in Gaza to eliminate Hamas.

And in fact, one of them already resigned from Netanyahu's government over the ceasefire and hostage deal. You've got another who had previously vowed to topple the government if the war isn't relaunched. But now Trump's plan might seem to them like an acceptable or even better alternative. With one writing, with God's help we will now act to finally bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state. And the other calling on Netanyahu to announce the adoption of the plan as soon as possible and to begin immediate practical progress. And this is Netanyahu for his part seems open saying Trump has a different idea

and he thinks it's worth paying attention to this. So then also with everything here, you have some saying that Trump's comments should not be taken literally. Instead, arguing this is just a negotiating tactic aimed at getting compromises from both Hamas and Arab leaders. For example, one analyst telling The Times

that faced with a choice between controlling Gaza and just maintaining some sort of presence there, it might choose the latter. And then with Saudi Arabia, for example, another expert saying it might give up its insistence on Palestinian statehood in exchange for a deal that preserves Palestinians' rights to stay in Gaza. Though there, I will say,

Saudi Arabia quickly rejected Trump's plan and reiterated its stance that it will not normalize ties with Israel unless Israel agrees to the creation of a Palestinian state. But some still think that the Saudi position could change. With some pointing to Trump's first term, for example, when the UAE agreed to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for Israel postponing

the annexation of occupied territory in the West Bank. And so ultimately, we're gonna have to wait to see where things go from here. And I mean that both long-term and also in the next few weeks. And that, because a very big thing is that the first phase of the ceasefire is over at the end of the month.

While talks for the second phase are reportedly now underway, there is a lot of ways that this could go wrong. And it's obviously not yet clear exactly what kind of impact Trump's comments are going to have. So in the meantime, I would love to know any and all thoughts, reactions, opinions you have on this in those comments down below, because yes, this is a news show, but I also want it to be a conversation. And then we'll get to more news in just a moment. But first, you know, I've been taking Armour and Colostrum for months, and I can genuinely say I've noticed a difference in my immune system,

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to get 15% off your first order. Just click that link in the description or scan the QR code on screen. But then, in other big news we need to talk about, the Trump administration has now effectively shut down USAID. We talked about this whole messy situation earlier this week, and specifically, Elon Musk's involvement is totally imploding the six-decade mission to ensure American security through a wide range of aid abroad.

But then, yesterday, the administration sent in a notice sent to staff and posted on the USAID website that almost all workers around the world would be put on administrative leave and pulled from postings in the field abroad starting this Friday. But with the only exceptions there being for what they described as designated personnel responsible for mission critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs who are directed to keep working and will be informed about next steps by tomorrow. So for all other staff posted abroad, which is about two thirds of the agency's 10,000 employees, the notice says that the state department

is working on a plan to arrange and pay for their travel home. Though notably the notice did say the agency, seemingly referring to USAID, will consider case by case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility, or safety concerns, or other reasons.

And with that, including the need for the children of employees to finish school, family medical needs, and other reasons. But as the Associated Press explained, it's unclear who at USAID would be processing those claims or other documents for the removal of thousands of workers abroad, given the fact that most of the agency is being fired

or put on leave come Friday. Or how the administration plans to pay for the travel and relocation of those workers and their families, which experts say will cost tens of millions of dollars, given the fact that most agency spending has been frozen. And even if the people who are supposed to process these requests are deemed essential and allowed to keep working,

the people they're supposed to help are already being cut off from the tools they need to communicate. Or with the AP reporting that many of the aid workers abroad are locked out of email and emergency communications with their own government. And with this specifically, to work around that, employees were told to email a specific USAID official

their personal contact information so they could continue to communicate. But there, you had one worker telling CNN that when they did so, they literally got a bounce-back email saying the person is also on leave. So as a result, it's been widely reported that USAID workers are scrambling to get everything sorted and leave the countries that they and their families have been living in. With many now saying that despite the administration's assurances, they're still worried about being stranded abroad or left to make their own way home, given how short the time frame is, the general mess and confusion

and the cutoff of communications. And all of this is some staffers are reportedly having to make difficult decisions about pulling their kids mid-school year, others having to give away pets because they don't have enough time to get the proper documentation to relocate them. And this is a very big thing.

Reportedly, some have been placed directly in harm's way. For example, one contractor who's posted in an often violent region of the Middle East telling the AP that the shutdown endangered their family because they were unable to reach the US government for help. Or with this contractor saying that one morning, they woke up and they had just been blocked

from accessing their government email and other systems, including an emergency panic button that was taken off their phone. And so with all of this, we've seen continued uproar from USAID employees, Democrats, and other advocates who have broadly condemned the continued erosion of the agency that culminated in this final strong. And with that, we've seen protests taking place

in the nation's Capitol where hundreds of demonstrators were joined by Democratic lawmakers who delivered remarks as people reportedly yelled, lock him up and do your job. And notably, those are coming as other protests against Trump and Project 2025 are also being planned around the country today. With those being part of a movement that aims to hold 50 protests in all 50 states today,

many of which are planned at state capitals. But as far as what happens next with USAID, I mean, saying it's really unclear, that is truly the understatement of the year. And by year, I mean the 275 days of January that we have all lived through together. The one thing that just appears certain is that this mass relocation will be a huge fucking mess

and put people in challenging and outright dangerous positions. But this also, as it's very likely that many of these actions will be challenged in lawsuits. But as we talked about on Monday, Democrats and experts have argued that because Congress passed legislation enshrining USAID as an independent agency,

it can't be shut down without the approval of the legislative branch. And beyond that, as you had the AP explaining, "'Staff being placed on leave include both foreign "'and civil service officers who have legal protection "'against arbitrary dismissal and being placed on leave "'without reason.'" With them adding there that the union

that represents US diplomats has already sent a notice to members saying it was preparing legal action. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how this absolute shit storm plays out. But that's the story. And I do wanna share my opinion on this. And if you care about this country,

please listen to the end. Almost all geopolitical experts agree that the death of USAID means the end of the American century. And all around the world, you have experts expecting that millions of people will die from preventable disease and hunger because of this. Reportedly, 20 million people will lose access

to life-saving HIV medication, and USAID workers predict even more kids will be born HIV positive now. Experts also believe that millions could die from malaria throughout all of Africa, and this is over 100,000 refugees in Thailand are losing access to medical care after several hospitals shut down.

And it's also unknown just how many Vietnamese kids will step on old US bombs and become victims of a war that ended 50 years ago without USAID's efforts to eliminate them. And all of this, as do you know how much is allocated to USAID in the federal budget? $38 billion. Do you know how much that costs you,

the taxpayer, every year? About 50 bucks a year. It's less than 1% of the budget. And this, as Elon Musk has called the agency, criminal and radical without evidence. And notably, before they took USAID's website down, you could see where every single dollar was going and why. With some arguing the reason Elon and others would want to take the site down was so they could lie about it. And so you wouldn't be able to check. But with all this, I just have to say something really quick, right? This is not a charity or a subsidy. America

and these programs, it's not just a big bleeding heart. We do all of this because it's in our own interest. It fights disease before it's in our own interest. It fights disease before it gets to our borders. It creates new markets for our goods and it makes people like America. It has created unprecedented soft power and has furthered our interest more than any military action, sanctions package or tariff ever has.

One of the lessons the World War II generation learned is that people like helpers and giving people a helping hand, it's a great investment. They didn't do the Marshall Plan because they felt bad for the Germans who were just shooting at them. They did it because they needed a market for their exports. And the end result was that it made America richer

and it gave us allies. That's why they created USAID as a bipartisan program. The Myanmar chapter of USAID, that is a Mitch McConnell passion project. The HIV and malaria program, that was President George W. Bush. Tibet human rights, that's Nancy Pelosi. No one loves the Dalai Lama more than Nancy.

But now China will very likely fill the place of the United States on the global stage with their Belt and Road Initiative. They will likely pay pennies on the dollar for incredible amounts of goodwill. And in 10 to 20 years, you may look back and say, when did the world start liking communists more than us? And it may very well be this exact moment.

But then switching gears from that, we should talk about what the hell is going on with the USPS. Because yesterday you might've seen headlines like USPS suspends incoming parcels from Hong Kong and China. But this announcement coming very suddenly and also it was kind of short. It essentially just said that the USPS wouldn't be accepting packages from China and Hong Kong until further notice and that letter size items would not be affected. But it never said why they were doing this. And so it led to a lot of speculation from people and outlets.

Though the most likely reason was tied to Trump's new tariffs on Chinese goods going into effect and most notably an end to the de minimis exception. Because a very key thing is that before these new Trump rules, Chinese packages valued at under $800 were allowed to come into the US tax-free,

which is very notable for a number of reasons, including that most countries have exceptions that are far lower than that. And so companies like Timu and Xi'an have heavily relied on that in order to offer cheap items to American customers. Then after all of reasons, including that most countries have exceptions that are far lower than that. And so companies like Timu and Xi'an have heavily relied on that in order to offer cheap items to American customers. Then after all of that, this morning we saw the USPS flip flop

with them announcing that they would continue accepting these packages, saying in a statement, the USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery. For instance, that statement essentially confirmed

the assumption that the initial suspension was because of the new tariffs. Though to be very clear here, the USPS accepting packages from China does not mean that the de minimis exception is bad. And that is regardless if the item was shipped to USPS, FedEx or some other carrier. And so now if you are ordering something from Timu

or from China, there's a good chance that you'll need to deal with customs and pay the extra 10% for the tariff. Which also means that there will likely be delays as customs navigates how the hell to handle this flood of packages from China. But I mean, they reportedly receive over 4 million packages a week from China that would have qualified for the exception.

And also all of this comes as China has now implemented its own 15% tariff on many American goods with a spokesperson saying that the US must quote, "'cease its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies' and that China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights of Chinese companies. So with this, for many, this entire situation kind of just felt like another example

of the Trump administration kind of winging it. The scene takes like what a total clown show and this administration has seemingly made decisions almost daily that are then reversed often with fanfare, like they actually accomplished something, it's wild. There were also a lot of others that had theories that Bezos might've been involved in order to protect his profits.

So on that note, with this news, we saw that leading to Amazon stocks falling nearly 3%. But ultimately that is where we are though. Who knows where we're gonna be 24 hours from now? Maybe the tariffs go away. Maybe they go from 10% to 8,000%. Maybe there's no tariff anymore, but when you get your package,

you gotta do a little dance for the person delivering it. Personally, I'll be doing the cha-cha slide. Fuck it, that's the end of that story. But then next up, let's talk about how it seems like the CIA is next on the Trump administration chopping block. Right, with us now learning that the Central Intelligence Agency just offered to buy out their entire workforce.

And it's like those buyouts we talked about before, right? A deferred resignation program offering eight months pay for those that wanna leave their positions by tomorrow. But notably, those first offers were focused on workers at civilian federal agencies. And now what we're seeing is that the CIA is the first intelligence agency to make this offer to their employees. And again, we're seeing some of the same concerns, especially regarding the legality of this offer. We're seeing Senator Tim Kaine saying, there's no statutory authority that I can see for the president making this offer.

And adding, they'll find some other way to get rid of you. You should not raise your hand. But then also, on top of the offer for people to leave, the CIA is reportedly freezing their hiring processes. With the Wall Street Journal there citing an aid to the CIA director John Ratcliffe saying that some applicants are likely to see their conditional offers rescinded unless they have a background aligned with the agency's new goals. With that aid there specifically citing the goal of undermining China. And they also went on to say that it was Ratcliffe's idea for the buyout to extend to the CIA,

saying that it would pave the way for a more aggressive approach within the agency. Right, and that does line up with what he said during his confirmation hearing last month, where he promised hard edge spying operations and covert action. But I'm also telling CIA workers, if all that sounds like what you signed up for,

then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. And then adding, if it doesn't, then it's time to find a new line of work. Now with this, while the entire CIA workforce had got this offer, we're not exactly sure how many will actually be eligible. And with a seeing there, a source telling CNN that some positions

in areas of expertise are likely to be restricted. And adding that the efforts to trim down staff is far less expansive in the CIA than it is in civil service agencies that aren't doing national security work. Also, considering that they do not disclose exactly how many people they employ, there's still a lot of questions

regarding the impact this is going to have. But really, other than that, we don't have much more information. But it will be interesting to see what does or doesn't happen, especially considering that the window to accept this deal is closing fast. And then we'll get back to more news in just a moment,

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That's rocketmoney.com slash pds. One more time for your memory, rocketmoney.com slash pds. But then moving on to a different kind of news, we should talk about how social media companies appear to have found a sneaky loophole to quietly fight against online protections for kids so they don't look bad. And as far as what that loophole is, it's paying lobbyists to file lawsuits on their behalf. And sometimes those lobbyists go against explicit promises

that the company has made to safeguard children on their platforms. And that is what we're seeing play out with meta right now in Maryland. So you see back in May, the governor signed a bill known as the Kids Code that strictly limited the data the tech companies can gather on minors,

which made Maryland the second state to enact those kinds of restrictions after California. And specifically the law requires companies to conduct impact assessments, ensuring that their products are protecting the best interests of children and mandating that they prioritize the wellbeing of children ahead of commercial interests.

And notably both Maryland and California's laws here are modeled after similar rules in the UK. But the decision to pass this law came as its sister in California was already being challenged by a lobbying group called NetChoice, which represents some of the biggest tech companies like Meta, X, Snap, and Google. And so amid concerns that the lobbying group would sue Maryland over its new law as well, state lawmakers wrote a letter to NetChoice members urging them to, quote, comply with the law and not attempt to undermine this bipartisan life-saving effort by suing to block its enactment through your lobbying group, NetChoice.

And their concerns there appear to have been proved legitimate because this week, NetChoice filed a suit against Maryland's Kids Code, arguing that the law violates free speech and consumer privacy. Arguing that this act compels websites to act as government speech police and would subject them to a vague

and subjective best interests of children standard that gives state officials nearly boundless discretion to restrict speech. Now, of course, the suit itself is not a surprise, but it is super significant because it comes just months after Meta explicitly promised that it would not try to fight the policy in court. And when Maryland lawmakers wrote that letter urging NetChoice members not to block the bill, a law firm representing Meta responded in an email, which was obtained by reporters vowing to comply in writing. Meta is not aware of a legal challenge to the Maryland kids code and does not plan to support one.

But despite that promise, when Netchoice filed a lawsuit against Maryland this week, Meta was still signed on as a member company. Now with that, as far as how Meta has responded, spokespeople reportedly declined a comment when asked by the Washington Post, but they did point to the company's policies regarding its support of third-party groups.

Or with that, stating that Meta quote, "'Does not always agree with every policy or position that individual organizations or their leadership take.'" But with that, we that Meta, quote, does not always agree with every policy or position that individual organizations or their leadership take. But with that, we're seeing experts calling bullshit with one explaining to the Post, Meta and other big tech giants pay net choice because it's obviously unpopular to fund lawsuits against kids,

but bottom line, Mark Zuckerberg is paying for this lawsuit. And while Meta's actions here seem especially egregious, this is far from the only time that the promises big tech companies have made contradict the shady actions of their lobbying groups. Or will these platforms have promised change and assured lawmakers that they take these issues seriously? Lobbyists like NetChoice have launched a massive effort to stop governments at all levels from passing safety measures. For example, during a high-profile Senate hearing last year, the CEOs of Snap and X publicly affirmed their

support for a federal bill called Kids Online Safety Act, or COSA. Elon Musk himself also voiced support for the bill, but NetChoice was one of the most vocal opponents of the bill and successfully lobbied against it, blocking its ultimate passage in the House. And beyond that, NetChoice alone has also reportedly filed 10 different lawsuits challenging state internet regulations. This most notably including a landmark Supreme Court case where the group successfully argued against now-defunct laws in Florida and Texas. So at the very least, the next time you hear some tech CEO talking about child safety

or the policies they claim they're implementing, remember that this just goes much, much deeper. There's public facing and there's behind closed doors. Forever and always, different rooms, same house. But then finally today, let's end with a congratulations and talk about yesterday. Starting with a congratulations to Brian R, SeatGeek's latest weekly winner

who scored $500 in tickets and he's headed to the men's basketball final four. And 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. But imagine being the next winner and snagging $500 towards seeing your favorite artist, sporting event, or play. I mean, y'all, there's over 70,000 events to choose from. And all you gotta do is just add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. But then, like I said, let's talk about yesterday in some comment commentary.

And I just wanna start off here by just saying, thank you, I appreciate you. I love that we have this community where even if everyone doesn't agree and we're having a conversation that at least a conversation could be had and it's just not a billion people jabbing at one another. Cause that is just very much not the case elsewhere on the internet. People take questions as statements. I'm getting attacked. I'm getting high-fived and I'm like, I literally have a show where we talk about the news and people's opinions and reactions. I want to know your reaction. But I also understand very tense times. Everyone's attacking each other. People are incredibly divided. So there's that. I love your faces. I appreciate you. Speaking on the craziness of the times, the most liked comment yesterday was, I sure love the latest episode of things are really bad, getting worse, and there's nothing

to do about it except wait till tomorrow when it's worse. Some then replying shirt worthy comment. I'm just going to cut you off there. No, that is the most depressing sounding shirt I've ever heard of. And I'm the guy that sells emotionally exhausted shirts. But a big thing that I want to stress with the news of the past two weeks, really anything we cover, yes, there are always going to be things that you cannot control, which is why it's important to, one, try to consume these things and compartmentalize like crazy, otherwise it will just ruin your life. Two, a lot about actually like being the change that you want to see in the world, a lot of that, it has to be prefaced by and built upon being informed on what's happening. So right now, in the beginning of the chaos, we're seeing people community building. We're

seeing people organizing so that they can actually do pressure campaigns on Congress people. But yeah, the majority of Americans who participated in the election this last cycle, they gave Republicans the keys to the kingdom. And that drastically limits what the opposition against Trump can do. And the ultimate test on just so many of these fronts is what happens with the legal battles. We saw judges hitting birthright citizenship. We saw judges hitting on the spending freeze. Lawsuits are popping up and piling up left and right. And I think for the Trump administration, those things happening, that's not like out

of nowhere or an example of it being a messy thing that's happening. They're going to want to fight every single thing all the way to the Supreme Court to see, you know, what they can actually do and what they can change, especially with this specific Supreme Court. So if possible, and obviously in this context, it is self-serving, do not tune out, whether it be me or someone that replaces me that you like more,

but compartmentalize as much as you actually can. But as far as comments about specific news stories, yesterday we saw things like, so unelected officials can't be in charge of public education, but they can have unsupervised access to national funds and all that apparently. Right, that makes sense.

Right, and understandably, there was a lot of focus on Elon Musk. Y'all were saying things like, I love how Republican leaders complain about unelected people, but Elon Musk apparently gets a free pass. Right, and there, I will say, yeah, it became very obvious during the election

that for all the talk from many Republicans regarding like, oh, Democrats and George Soros, these like, these billionaires manipulating everything, it seemed like the issue is that they did not have their own George Soros and then they got their own, except he was actually way more powerful than George Soros. He was like George Soros on steroids,

or at the very least like an exaggerated version of what they think he is. And all of that and a lot of what we're seeing kind of hits on the idea that so many accusations are actually projections. So for example, Kings Bard swiping at Musk saying, the absolute irony of this is insane. Unelectable, unaccountable, bureaucratic agency.

You mean like Doge? And then separate from that, there was also a lot of conversation around Trump saying that he wants to send US citizens, hardened criminals in his eyes, to El Salvador mega prisons. Saying they're looking into it. If it's legal, they'll do it in a heartbeat.

Which I will say, experts there have said it does not look legal, but who knows anymore? As I just said, a lot of what we've been seeing are the beginnings of larger conversations of what they think the Supreme Court will find constitutional or unconstitutional, despite however many years of established precedent. But with the mega prisons, y'all were saying things

like the idea that you could be shipped off to another country, away from your family, away from your community, away from constitutional protections, and the eyes of the press as punishment for any crime is an actual dystopic nightmare. Though, while many agreed with that statement, you also had some saying, or here's a novel idea, do not commit serious crimes. There, you had people countering back saying, one, innocent people get falsely convicted all the time, and two, what happens when the laws change and things that were

once perfectly legal for you to do become banned or prohibited? But then this also, as some argued that regardless of the crime, like it ends up being a cruel and unusual punishment. But that, my friends, is where your Wednesday evening, Thursday morning dive into the news is gonna end. Of course, remember, I've got a brand new show for you right here every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific.

I also throw out a ton of shorts and other content on these socials right here. But thank you for watching. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.