The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.31 The Elon Musk “Election Buying” Problem, Marine Le Pen Guilty & Banned, Chappell Roan Backlash, &

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

We’re back! Unbox comfort at https://rovelab.com/defranco and get $200 off—only for the next 7 days. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the M1 sofa. Don’t let your device’s battery run low: go to http://ridge.com/defranco to get a Ridge Power Bank 10% off! Your 5 New Tees & Hoodies Just Dropped! @ https://BeautifulBastard.com Use Code “PDS15” for 15% OFF! Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78ZYc3GMQo&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Trump Says There are Methods for Him to Seek a Third Term 04:07 - Chappell Roan Slammed for Politics & Parenthood Comments 08:58 - Sponsored by Rove 10:09 - Elon Musk Does $2M Giveaway Ahead of Wisconsin Supreme Court Vote 13:50 - Special Elections in Florida Could Strain GOP Majority in Congress 18:14 - Far-Right French Leader Marine Le Pen Found Guilty of Embezzlement 20:52 - Sponsored by Ridge 22:06 - Utah Becomes First State to Ban Fluoride in Water 27:08 - Uganda Ranch is Home to 50 Rhinos After Species Went Extinct in the Country ——————————   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 #ChappellRoan #ElonMusk ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Trump is teasing a third term as president because who cares about the 22nd Amendment anyways? Marine Le Pen was just found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running for president. What's really going on with this new fluoride and public water ban? Chappell-Rones now found herself in two controversies at once. And then a good news story to keep you sane. We're talking about all that and much more

on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show you daily dive into the news, how it's being covered, and how people are reacting to it, starting with this. So let's talk about Trump saying that he is not joking about seeking a third term in office. Right, and you know, Trump has repeatedly teased the possibility of another term in office,

despite the fact that the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution clearly states, no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice. While at least one of his most fervent allies in the House has proposed a long shot amendment that would allow Trump to seek a third term, Republicans have largely painted the president's comments

as a joke or just trolling. But now what we're seeing is that in a phone interview with NBC yesterday, Trump made it clear that he is actually serious about it, telling the outlet, "'A lot of people want me to do it, but I mean, "'I basically tell them we have a long way to go. "'You know, it's very early in the administration.

"'I'm focused on the current.'" And when asked if he wanted another term, Trump responded, "'I like working.'" With the outlet then asking him to clarify and Trump explicitly saying, "'I'm not joking, but I'm not, "'it is far too early to think about it. And when NBC pressed the president

on whether he had been presented with plans to seek a third term, Trump just vaguely said, there are methods which you could do it. And there you had host Kristen Welker asking about a scenario where J.D. Vance could run for office with Trump as his vice president and then just pass the role off to Trump

to which Trump replied, that's one method, but then adding there are others too. However, when he was asked to share another method, Trump just said no. And to that point, it's unclear what other methods could really be used besides just amending the constitution to abolish the two-term limit. Though that, I mean, it would be, to put it lightly, incredibly challenging. Right, either two-thirds of Congress would have to vote in favor or two-thirds of the states would have to call a constitutional convention to propose changes. And regardless, both options would still require ratification from three-quarters of the states. And then as far as, you know, the idea that Trump could assume

the presidency if J.D. Vance ran, tap Trump as his veep, then stepped aside, I mean, experts say that there are flaws there too. Because there has been some debate over a provision of the 22nd Amendment that says termed out presidents can't be elected, but doesn't address whether they can ascend to the office. Like, you know, if they were the vice president under a president who stepped down from power. But this also, as you have experts saying that such a scheme, it would run up against other provisions of the constitution. With the saying, for example, Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and a scholar in election law, explaining that the 12th amendment, which was ratified in 1804, explicitly says, no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of

president shall be eligible to that of the vice president of the United States. And arguing the language there implies that if Trump can't run for president again under the 22nd Amendment, he also would not be eligible to run for vice president either. With the madding there, I don't think there's any one weird trick to getting around presidential term limits.

With Mueller going on to note that beyond that, even if Trump were going to try to attempt such a move, there are tremendous complexities in its implementation that are both legal and logistical, and adding, "'My belief, and perhaps I'll be proven wrong, "'is that such bluster is bluster to give the illusion of strength about lame duck president and that is actually an opinion that's been echoed by many others that this is just a tactic to strong arm or at the very least distract from all the other things that the administration and elon musk are doing but of course at the same time you bother saying

do not take this lightly or with people sharing takes like people dismissing the idea of trump winning a third term because of constitutional term limits are underestimating the far-right's willingness to circumvent the law by any means necessary. Which I will say, as far as how the right has responded publicly, it's been a very interesting mix. But on one hand, you have some downplaying the comments or at least echoing left-leaning outlets and refuting the viability of such a move. But on the other hand, you have others implying this is a real possibility and some even cheering for it. And this is you have multiple right-leaning outlets painting this as a loophole without any mention

of the 12th amendment or other legal obstacles. With this including the New York Post, which also tried to preemptively downplay the fact that Trump, who will already be the oldest ever president when he completes a second term, would be nearing 87 years old at the end of a hypothetical third term writing. A small handful of leaders have led

major Western democracies well into old age. Which one, it is crazy that this is even a conversation that's being had. And two, I don't think we could technically call America a democracy anymore if this were to play out. You know, ultimately that is where we are. And of course, I'd really love to know your thoughts here. Do you see this as bluster to make him seem stronger? It's a distraction tactic or no, do you think he would actually go for this? But then from that, let's switch to a different kind of news and let's talk about us entering a new wave

of Chapel Roan backlash. And that because she was just on the Call Her Daddy podcast and she made comments about an artist's role in discussing politics and it's pissed a lot of people off. And so with that, let's start with her noting that people have different expectations for her as a gay pop star. Saying on red carpet,

she gets questions about issues related to the LGBTQ plus community, but arguing that just because she's opinionated on and impacted by this topic does not mean she knows every single thing about every single issue. With her then going on to say that she doesn't know how any artist could manage having a full career and fully formed views on so many subjects.

How can these girls tour, write, perform, interview, write, perform, interview, sleep, eat, and eat, and f*** work out. And like, how can they do it all? And lead a team, and be a boss, and pay people, and like, and be like be like so politically educated it's it's exhausting and it's also impossible also why the are you looking to me for some political answer you think i have the answer but you're like listen to my song bitch turn it up like i'm a pop star i wish i had the answers i wish the president was a pop star, but she's not.

Right, and what we saw were those comments irking a number of people. With some saying that it was out of touch for her to suggest there's not enough time to educate yourself because you don't have to be a pop star to have a busy job. Right, arguing that tons of working people, they educate themselves. And this is others were mad because they think

Chappell's using drag and making political art, but still wants to be excused from political conversation. But then also for a lot of people, the backlash stemmed from the fact that her comments, they don't exist in a vacuum, right? It's not the first time that she's given her thoughts on a celebrity's role in politics. People noting last fall,

she faced backlash after telling the Guardian that she didn't feel pressure to endorse a presidential candidate because she sees so many issues with our government in every way and there's problems on both sides. And there, you had a number of people think that it was irresponsible for her

to put both parties at the same level when one is clearly worse for LGBTQ plus rights. And she ended up making two videos following up as criticism of her was just getting louder and louder. I have encouraged people to use critical thinking skills, learn about what they're voting for. Actions speak louder than words and actions speak louder than an endorsement. No, I'm not voting for Trump. And yes, I will always question those in power. Trump for real, but some of the that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people

like me and you. Yeah, I'm voting for Kamala, but I'm not settling for what has been offered because that's questionable. And so it was just this whole big ordeal. The backlash blew up for a number of reasons. And I mean, you saw a wave of op-eds and celebrities in politics.

And so that's why you had a number of people saying that after that whole situation, it just didn't make sense for Chapel to go on Call Her Daddy and suggest that as a singer, she shouldn't be turned to for political discussions. Or with a number of people arguing that it was her who positioned herself as an activist in the first place. With some writing, love her lots, but babes, you were the one who claimed using your voice and all that was important. And she was so fucking opinionated

and politically active when she claimed both parties were equally bad. What happened? Trump got elected and she's now suddenly just a girl? Or with a number of people arguing, you know, she dipped her toe into politics by having so much smoke for Biden and Kamala, but now is saying she's just a pop girlie who's too busy to keep up. But also notably is of course, there are a lot of people defending her as well. They're saying that Chappell has made it clear what her beliefs are through her work and by platforming other queer artists.

So she's walking the walk and that's enough. And this is others argue that Chappell isn't saying she isn't politically educated. She's just saying she doesn't have all the answers. So people shouldn't be looking to her for them, which is true. Though then also with this, I'll say it wasn't all just pure political backlash,

because there was a whole other side to the controversy from this podcast, because she said that all of her friends who were parents at her age are miserable and in hell, which, you know, then just spawned massive conversation, so many videos, people going into one or two camps, right, a lot of people supporting and embracing the no kids life, and then you had a lot of parents going,

hey, I love my kids, like they bring me so much joy. And personally, I have no strong feelings about that controversy. Everyone's different. Everyone wants different things. Everyone shouldn't be a parent. And her saying that it's like, it's not an attack on me or my life. And there are realities like, you know, my children can fill me with such joy and pride. And I get to have so many experiences I wouldn't have without them. Kids take time and money. And also depending on like the dynamics of your home, it doesn't hit each parent equally, at least oftentimes. But you know, yeah, in general, I just don't have strong feelings for it.

I think the biggest thing that could be associated here is know thyself. I will never push someone to get married or have kids or to not get married or to not have kids. So maybe that's just like my age showing. My reaction to most things now is like, does this hurt someone or restrict their rights in some way? No, then I probably don't care. But yeah, whether it be the politics or the parenting part, I'd love to know your thoughts here as well. And then we'll get to more news in just a moment. But first, I got to

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Though in this case, he may be kind of right, which is also why people saying that he is trying to buy a win here. So everyone should be aware of it, but especially if you live in Wisconsin, you need to know that the election happens tomorrow, April 1st. And on one side, you have the liberal Susan Crawford,

a Dane County judge. And on the other side, you have conservative Brad Schimel, a judge and former Republican state attorney general. So where we're at is if Crawford wins, the court will keep its liberal majority. And if Schimel wins, it'll flip conservative. With this race being seen as pivotal, not only for local politics,

but also for the country as a whole. So first, as far as the local stuff, the court is set to decide two cases that could determine whether abortion is banned statewide. This is Republicans are also worried it could reverse a voter ID law and restrictions on collective bargaining for most public workers in the state.

But then also as far as the national stuff, Wisconsin of course is a swing state and the court could redraw the congressional map. So while now six of the state's eight federal representatives are Republican, a liberal court might change that. And this is the GOP's majority in the house right now is razor thin, right? It's just three seats. So conceivably, the outcome of this Wisconsin Supreme Court race, it could flip the balance in Congress, giving the Democrats more power to block Trump's agenda. So

with the stakes that high, it's no wonder that the GOP has mobilized like crazy, with Trump endorsing Schimel, Don Jr. holding a rally for him, and Elon Musk having the judge on X for an audio livestream interview. And that is in addition to holding his own rally in Wisconsin on Sunday, where he impressed upon his supporters the need to get out the vote. I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it's going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will. You know, just like he poured nearly $300 million into the presidential race, Musk has devoted a fair bit of money to this one as well, with him and groups affiliated with him spending $20 million in Wisconsin, which is over a fifth of the more than $90 million

spent by both sides overall, which has actually made this the most expensive judicial race in US history. Though I will say, while he's clearly the biggest, Musk and Republicans point out that Democrats enjoy support from a few big-name donors as well, namely George Soros, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker,

and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. And with this, traditionally, the Democrats would be expected to have a strong advantage in a race like this, but with all the money that's going around and such a high voter turnout, who really knows? I mean, as I'm recording this, some 650,000 people have voted early

with turnout up as much as 40% in some counties. So Republicans think they can shake up old patterns by whipping up extraordinary enthusiasm for an election that usually doesn't draw much attention. We need to generate an anomaly in the matrix. And actually in an effort to get to that goal, Musk has offered registered voters in Wisconsin $100 if they provided contact information

and signed a petition opposing activist judges. Then also offering the $100 for each registered Wisconsin voter they referred to sign the petition, though the fine print said that Elon's PAC would determine whom to pay and noted payments may not be made for months. Then on Sunday, Musk announced a plan to give $20 to residents who took pictures over the next two days,

holding photos of Schimmel. And then he pulled this stunt with two people who signed his petition. Let me first hand out two $1 million checks in appreciation. The first check goes to Nicholas Jacobs. Second one is to Ekaterina Dísler. And like I said, this is just helpful for getting attention.

And then like, it's kind of fun to see the legacy media lose their minds over it too. Right, and with Elon making it rain with all his money, it sparked a lot of outrage with some accusing him of essentially bribery. And in fact, after legal experts raised concerns, he deleted a post justifying Sunday's event and prized money as an appreciation for early voters.

And although the state attorney general tried to block the $2 million giveaway, the state Supreme Court allowed it to go through. So for now, we're going to have to wait to see what happens. But if you are in Wisconsin, you should go out and vote. Get out the vote. Push your like-minded friends and family to do the same. Because, you know, in the here and now, you still have the ability to go out and vote what you want to live in and where you want the world to go.

It's a privilege and right that many in the world do not have. And it's one you shouldn't squander. But then next up, we got to talk about these two closely watched special elections happening in Florida to fill a pair of congressional seats. So one of the elections will determine the next representative of Florida's sixth district, which is a position that was left open after Mike Waltz left Congress to become Trump's national security advisor and leak private signal messages to Atlantic reporters. And then the other race is for a seat in Florida's first district, which was vacated by Matt Gaetz, who resigned immediately after Trump tapped him to be attorney general. Though he then, of course, later withdrew his nomination after it became

clear that he just didn't have the votes to get confirmed in the Senate. Now, initially, Republicans thought both of these were going to be super easy breezy elections. I mean, we're talking about two solidly red districts that Trump won by more than 30 points back in November. But now what we've seen are the political winds shifting in a way that it's made the GOP at least sweat a little. Because first of all, we've seen Trump's approval rating starting to slip since he's been in office. And while, you know, he still remains above water in Florida, some Republicans are worried that he has angered constituents in a state which, in turn, could hurt the two Republican candidates in those races, both of whom he endorsed. And then

secondly, Democrats in both races have been bolstered by a massive swell of grassroots energy from across the country, pushing both to dramatically out-raise their opponents and over-perform early voting expectations. Where in the first district, for example, gun control activist Gay Velleman has reportedly raised over $6.5 million, which notably is three times more than the $2.1 million brought in by a Republican opponent,

Florida's chief financial officer, Jimmy Petronas. And then over in the sixth district, public school teacher, Josh Wheal, has out-raised Republican state Senator Randy Fine by nearly 10 to one. With Wheel racking up $9.5 million, while Fine had less than a million, nearly half of which he donated to his own campaign.

And so as a result, polls have shown that this special election in this solidly red sixth district has actually become a competitive race. Now with that, let me stress that Fine is still polling ahead and Republicans have widely said that they're confident they will still win both of these contests. And while many Democrats have acknowledged that likely fate as well,

it would still be a massively important symbolic victory for them if they can make the margins tighter. Because for Democrats, these two elections are key tests of how voters are feeling just over two months into the Trump administration, and a good showing in deep red areas, it could give them some much needed momentum. But also with that, let me stress that experts

are emphasizing that you can't draw too much information based on how this plays out. But what happens here does not mean that is what you will see in the midterms. These are special elections with a lower turnout and they have favored Dems in recent years. But also it has been argued that a close margin for either of these races would have more than just a symbolic impact. With for example the New York Times writing, but an especially narrow margin on Tuesday could affect governing in the House and Mr. Trump's agenda if it spooks Republicans who have so far proved unusually aligned with the president and one another. And all of this says, you know,

the GOP concerns over these two Florida seats, we've already seen it have a tangible impact. The withdrawal of Representative Elise Stefanik's nomination as UN ambassador. Because as you might remember, Trump nominated her months ago, but the party, they kept stalling her confirmation because she was needed for key votes in the House

where the GOP has a razor thin majority. majority. But then, last week, Trump announced that he was pulling her nomination and actively admitted that the decision was driven in part by fears that Republicans wouldn't be able to prevent her seat from flipping blue, as well as there being concerns about the two races in Florida, especially with the 6th District. Mr. President, yesterday you asked Representative Stefanik to stay in her seat. Can you explain your reason for that? Did it have anything to do with the tight polling in the Florida district that former Representative Waltz held? Well, I think we're doing. Yeah, I think we had, as you know, we have a few elections going on and she is phenomenal. Number one, we cannot take a chance. We have a slim margin.

We don't want to take any chances. We don't want to experiment. When it comes to Florida, you have two races and they seem to be good. It's a Trump plus 32 area. The one thing is they're spending like $12 million and our candidate doesn't have that kind of money, spending much less than that, like maybe one twelfth, about a million dollars, a little bit more than a million dollars. So the airwaves are blanketed and you never know what happens in a case like that. And so you have experts saying those comments are incredibly significant, especially when it comes to Stefanik's seat. Because, you know, while it's definitely more moderate than these Florida

seats, it's been widely considered pretty safe. I mean, he wouldn't have even picked her in the first place if he didn't think the seat could stay red. And so with that, you had one Democratic strategist explaining. Trump clearly understands the perilous position of the GOP house majority and the fact the GOP might lose this very red district in Florida. Trump's actions to pull the nomination are a clear indicator of how worried he is about losing Ruby red seats. But yeah, you know, for now we'll have to wait

to see how the elections play out. Polls are polls, votes are votes. And like I say, with pretty much every election story, it doesn't matter what kind of election, general, midterm, special, if it's for you, go out and vote. It's better to try and fail than just let history happen to you. But then next up, we gotta talk about Marine Le Pen

being found guilty of embezzlement today. And I mean, French politics and European politics in general just got a major shakeup. Because Le Pen, she's the face of the national rally, a major right-wing force in French politics and often considered a top contender for president. And as far as the case, it stems from 4 million euros that European Parliament allocated to the national rally between 2004 and 2016 so that they could hire assistants for their work in the EU Parliament. But Le Pen and 24 others allegedly misused those funds by paying party staffers who weren't involved in work for the Parliament.

Notably, Le Pen denied this, claiming that the people hired with the EU's money were political aides and not direct employees of the European parliament, so the national rally was allowed to have them do party-related work. But the court disagreed with that argument and slapped her with a 100,000 euro fine and a four-year prison sentence, with two of those being suspended

and the other two being under house arrest. But easily, the most impactful thing that the court's doing here is banning her from running for office for five years, because that means that she will be ineligible for the 2027 presidential elections. And even when Le Pen appeals the ruling, it may not matter. Because during her appeal, which could take years,

the fine and the prison sentence, that could be put on pause. But her ban from office, that starts immediately and it won't be paused during the appeals process. Which, you know, is something she obviously wasn't happy about because during the proceeding, she was kind of just sitting there, but the second it was clear that she'd be banned, she just stormed out. And also, as you'd imagine, her party has

completely blasted the ruling with Le Pen's protege writing on X. Today, it's not only Marine Le Pen that has been unjustly condemned. It's French democracy that's being executed. Meanwhile, over in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote, Je suis Marine. And all of this as supporters of right-wing politics online had a lot to say, but the most common sentiment was that democracy has died in Europe. With them not only pointing to Le Pen, but, you know, other actions in countries like the United States where Trump was impeached. Also, you had people pointing to Romania where elections that a right-wing candidate won were canceled by a top court due to alleged irregularities. And while there are a number of different things being pointed to, in general, there was a very real sentiment that any actions against a right-wing politician were politically motivated, regardless of the facts surrounding the case. But then also, as far as the other side of this,

you know, you had people kind of just generally supporting the court's decision. But you also had some joking that this decision is the best eid present to the country's Muslim population, considering Le Pen's anti-Muslim stances. But for now, as far as what's next, you know, we're seeing that National Rally President Jordan Bardella has called for peaceful mobilization

in response to what he called the dictatorship of judges. And then you had Marine Le Pen herself going on TV to say, Millions of French people are outraged. In France, the country of human rights, judges have applied the laws of an authoritarian regime. This is a tragic day for our democracy with millions of French people deprived of their candidate. And adding, this trial was taken against by political adversaries. But for now, that's where we are. And while we wait to see how this plays out, of course,

I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below. And then I've got more news for you in just a moment. But, you know, real talk. Your digital life is chaos. And that's okay. Admittedly, mine was too. Between creating the show, traveling, and managing family and business, I mean, I was drowning in charging cables and various power sources,

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Learn more at visa.ca slash fintech. But then next up from that, we got to talk about how starting on May 7th, nobody in the entire state of Utah will get fluoride from their public drinking water. And this because Republican Governor Spencer Cox just signed a law banning the mineral from public water system. And so Utah is now officially the first state in the nation to do that.

And you have proponents of the law making several arguments with them claiming that fluoride hurts children's brains, that it deprives people of individual choice and that it's too expensive. But of course this, as you then have public health experts countering those claims and saying that fluoride also strengthens oral health, especially for poor people who lack access to dental care. Now with all this, I will say it's not the most shocking thing that Utah took this step. With that, in part because just a few years ago it ranked 44th for the percentage of residents that received fluoridated water, according to the CDC.

And in fact, even before this ban, only 66 out of the 484 water systems that reported data last year fluoridated their water, according to the Associated Press. Though, you know, very notably, Salt Lake City was one of them. But also, right, Utah is not completely alone here. Other states, including South Carolina, Florida, and Ohio,

they're currently considering their own bans. Within similar legislation being proposed in Kentucky, Montana, and Tennessee as well. And this is hundreds of local municipalities of banned fluoride, including Portland. And back in September, we saw a federal judge ordering the EPA to further regulate fluoride, though he noted that the risk was uncertain. With us also seeing RFK Jr., who is now the health secretary, then promising in November that the Trump administration would advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water. I think fluoride is a poison. And so with that, we've seen a number

of experts saying that just like vaccine skepticism, fluoride fears have been brewing for decades, but really exploded after the pandemic. We had people alleging that it causes everything from acne, high blood pressure, and thyroid dysfunction to bone cancer, kidney disease, and arthritis. And of course, all of that in addition to the most heated accusation, which is a decrease in intelligence. So there, just to spoil the ending for you, the evidence for those claims is very weak. But also, before we dive into exactly why, let's get the facts right about fluoride. Starting with the basics.

It is a naturally occurring mineral found in water, soil, plants, rocks, and even the air. And by the late 1930s, scientists discovered that people whose water naturally had more fluoride also had fewer cavities and stronger teeth. With experts also saying that putting it in toothpaste or mouthwash, it wasn't enough because it needs to be ingested to get the most benefit. And so in 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first U.S. city to start adding fluoride to tap water. And

one of the things they ended up saying was that cavities among young children plummeted by 60% within a decade. With then federal officials endorsing water fluoridation in 1950 and the practice spreading throughout the country from there. Now our children can have better health through fluoridated water. They can drink away tomorrow's tooth decay. So by 2020, just over 70% of Americans receive fluoride through their community water source, according to the CDC, making it what advocates call one of the greatest public health interventions

of the 20th century. And notably, you have the CDC, the American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all supporting water fluoridation. And you had this dentist telling NBC News. We know that fluoride works. All the journal articles have shown

that there's a 25% reduction in children and adult decay for people that are in community fluoridated water. So then we get to the question of, well, why all the skepticism? Where is it coming from? And well, when you dig into it, the skeptics almost always cite this one study from 2019 in Canada that associated fluoride exposure

during pregnancy with lower IQ scores in children. But there, you have experts noting the study was based on self-reporting, which isn't very rigorous. And it's also been criticized for its perceived methodological shortcomings. Now also with this, there's another report that came out last fall from the federal government's National Toxicology Program.

And it found that water containing more than 1.5 milligrams per liter of fluoride is consistently associated with lower IQs in children. But that report too has been widely criticized for the low quality of its data and its irrelevance to the United States. Right in that because the evidence came from Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Mexico.

And it focused on populations that received very high fluoride levels. Which you know matters because the United States has never recommended more than 1.2 milligrams per liter. And even then, only in cooler climates where people supposedly drink less water. And in fact, in 2015, officials lowered the recommendation to just 0.7 milligrams nationwide.

And that, after a condition called fluorosis, where you get streaks or splotches on your teeth, it had become more common in kids. A condition that I should note, by the way, that the deputy surgeon general at the time said was primarily cosmetic. So there's still no good evidence that the standard fluoride levels

here in the United States are dangerous. So that also is a very different statement from nobody in the United States ingests too much fluoride. Because the report noted that about 0.6% of the US population or nearly 2 million people are on water systems with naturally occurring fluoride levels of 1.5 milligrams or higher, which is the level that the report claims

with moderate confidence could be dangerous for kids. Though again, the World Health Organization maintains that it is safe. And so with all this, you have experts saying that the fix for this is to just reduce the fluoride levels, not ban it entirely. Plus, the CDC already recommends limiting how much fluoridated toothpaste you give to your kids.

They're prescribing no more than the size of a pea on their toothbrush for ages three to six, and no more than a grain of rice for those below three, and none at all before the age of two. And as for all the other non-IQ-related claims about fluoride-supposed harms, the evidence behind those aren't much stronger. Because what we see is while earlier research was mixed, the most recent population-based studies found no evidence linking fluoridated

water to bone cancer, for example. And when it comes to pregnancy, arthritis, and kidney disease, the research is mixed with scientists saying that we need to study it more before jumping to any conclusions. But for now, that is where we are. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens in Utah and also how many states follow suit. But then next up from that, we have your daily dose of good news. So let's talk about rhinos. Uganda used to be home to hundreds of both the black and northern white species of rhinoceros. But by the late early 80s, native populations of rhinos in Uganda, they were wiped out thanks to poaching, trafficking, and political turmoil. But then flash forward a decade later and a charity named Rhino Fund Uganda was formed and they approached the owner of the Ziwa Cattle Ranch,

Captain Joseph Charles Roy with a crazy idea. Because as it turns out, Captain Roy's cattle ranch was sitting on a prime rhino habitat. So the Rhino Fund Uganda charity asked him to move his cattle and bring in herds of rhinos instead. And according to Captain Roy's daughter, he was a lover of animals and an aspiring conservationist at the time,

so he was all the way on board. So in 2005 and 2006, six Southern white rhinos were relocated to the ranch, with two flying all the way from Disney Animal Kingdom, Florida on Roy's own cargo airline. What we've seen over the last 20 years is that the population of rhinos on the Zewa Ranch has steadily grown.

Today, they reportedly have 48 different rhinos, with five being born in the last three months alone. And I mean, just to put that in perspective, a pair of rhinos at Uganda's Wildlife Conservation Education Center were introduced at the same time as the Zewa rhinos, and they've had no babies at all. With Wendy, Captain Roy's daughter,

who has since taken over some of Zewa's management and collaboration with the Ugandan Wildlife Authority, saying, sometimes in the evenings when I see the rhinos coming towards HQ, I think, wow, this looks like the Garden of Eden. It's incredible, not just rhinos, but zebras, antelopes, water bucks.

It's surreal, it's peaceful, and of course, you haveelopes, water bucks. It's surreal. It's peaceful. And of course, you have to respect your environment and be as equally as peaceful as the animals. But notably, the Zewa Ranch is quickly reaching its capacity. There's only space for roughly 70 to 80 rhinos, and they're expecting to add another eight to their population in the coming months. And so as the rhino population outgrows the Zewa Ranch, the question of, well, what now is popping up? Where are the rhinos going to go? And are they going to be safe from all the things that led to their near extinction in Uganda in the first place? And this is, you know, the plan for Zewa was always to breed enough rhinos so that they could be translocated to other parts of Uganda, like national parks. But poaching is a serious

problem at national parks because they're largely unfenced. Not to mention human settlements creeping in, which ups the risk of human wildlife conflict. And with this, the UWA has been preparing the Ajai Wildlife Reserve for the last four years for the reintroduction of rhinos. But they've been hit with setback after setback, including a lack of funding, a shortage of rangers, and issues relocating people who live in the area. However, according to UWA's conservation director, those setbacks have been conquered, and it looks like the plan is to move some 20 rhinos to the reserve next year. And if this move is successful, you know, meaning that the government can keep the poaching in check, the benefits could be substantial. But if the rhinos start reproducing

at the reserve, they could potentially be reintroduced in national parks across the country, which, you know, would not only help with biodiversity, but also boost Uganda's wildlife tourism. And this also is, you know, there would be a symbolic importance to the resurgence in the rhino population. With us even seeing the founder and CEO of the non-profit Conservation Through Public Health saying, by bringing back the rhino, it shows that Uganda is stable again and can look after rhinos in their natural setting, which will be amazing. So good news, hopeful news,

but nothing's done by a long shot. But then my friends, you beautiful bastards, this is where your Monday evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news is gonna end. And of course, remember I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Thank you for watching.

I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.