The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 4.16 Elon's Baby Mama Situation is Pathetic, The “MrBeast Experience” Disaster, & 245% China Tariffs

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Go to https://ground.news/defranco to see beyond the headlines and stay fully informed without feeling overwhelmed. Subscribe today through my link for 40% off unlimited access. Use code DEFRANCO at https://incogni.com/defranco to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan. 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   YOUR APRIL DROP IS LIVE @ https://BeautifulBastard.com Get 10% OFF with code: "Tariffs" Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here:  https://youtu.be/ujdKsJ1RjME?si=agJZ0gTsbsJLXf6f&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - How Elon Musk Reportedly Bribes, Gags & Threatens His Baby Mommas 07:42 - MrBeast Responds After Vegas Experience Leaves Fans Furious  10:44 - Sponsored by Ground News 11:56 - U.S. Skyrockets Chinese Tariffs to 245% 18:26 - Sponsored by Incongi  19:34 - Dog Rescues Lost Toddler Who Walked 7 Miles in Arizona Wilderness 21:20 - 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 #ElonMusk #MrBeast ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got to talk about this increasingly creepy Elon Musk situation with alleged secret babies, gag orders, millions of dollars, and one of his baby mamas allegedly being told by his fixer to not get a lawyer because, quote, that always leads to the worst outcome. The US-China trade war just got even more ridiculous, and now there's a growing rare earth material refining and processing problem that could be devastating for everyone. Mr. Beast is being accused of having his own fire festival scam in the wake of the Mr. Beast experience disaster in Vegas. And then a good news story to help try 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. Y'all, this Elon Musk legion of kids, baby mama drama situation, it was already creepy, weird and pathetic. But with what we're learning now, it's just, it's crazier than we expected. You know, it gives us a unique insight

into the inner workings of a man who has bought his way into the halls of power. Right, so to start, if you don't know, Musk has had at least 14 children with at least four different women that we know of, and I'll get into that later, with the mother as being author Justine Wilson, the pop musician Grimes,

the Neuralink executive Siobhan Zillis, and the right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair. And then as far as his kids, there was his first child, Nevada Alexander, who died shortly after being born. Next, the triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damien, the twins, Griffin and Vivian, who notably became estranged from her father

as he refused to accept her transgender identity. Then you've got Strider and Azur, and then this name, which depending on whether you ask Grimes or Musk, is either pronounced X-Ash-A-12 or X-A-I-A-12, followed by Exa-Dark-Cyderio, whom Grimes said has been informally, though not legally, renamed Y. And that can alternatively be spelled like the letter, the question, or just the pure question mark.

Then you've got Technomechanicus, also known as Tau, Selden Lycurgus, Arcadia, and Romulus. But also I said that we know of earlier because the journal reports that multiple sources close to Musk believe that the true number of kids is actually much higher than 14. But whatever the number may be, Musk reportedly calls his offspring collectively a legion,

an apparent reference to the military units of the Roman Empire. Such as when he reportedly told St. Clair during her pregnancy to reach legion level before the apocalypse, we will need to use surrogates. With him there referencing his conviction that declining birth rates will lead to civilizational collapse unless people just start popping out babies, which is a typically right-wing belief known as pro-natalism. Though notably, according to the journal,

one source said that Musk is concerned not just about low birth rates in rich countries, but also high birth rates in so-called third world countries and the disparity between them. Which reportedly is why, according to multiple people close to him, he believes that educated people need to repopulate the earth with high IQ babies. And specifically through C-sections, not vaginal birth, because he also believes the latter limits brain size. Which I should just note, by the way, is not supported by the evidence.

In fact, there's research suggesting that vaginal birth babies have better cognition than C-section ones. But anyway, throughout this investigation, the journal paints a picture of this man who is pretty much constantly looking to impregnate women. In fact, so much so that reportedly he often looks for prospective mothers on Twitter,

which is how he met St. Clair. Well, at least with her, they apparently had the romance and baby talk after meeting in person. Though for others like the cryptocurrency influencer, Tiffany Fong, he allegedly just slid into her DMs like, "'Hey, wanna have my babies?'' Notably, the Wall Street Journal reporting there that Musk followed her last summer

and saying that sort of attention from Musk on X, where he has more than 219 million followers, sent droves of followers to Fong, which was a financial boon. Right, noting that more engagement means more earnings for her as part of a revenue sharing program for creators on X. With him then going on to say

during the height of her interaction with Musk, Fong earned $21,000 on the platform in a two week period in November, according to a screenshot that she posted. With the journal then adding that was about when Musk sent her a direct message asking if she was interested in having his child, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two had never met in person. But then adding, Fong didn't move forward with Musk because she pictured having children in a more traditional nuclear family, but confided to a few friends about the approach, including St. Clair, whom she knew as another conservative social media figure, and how she worried that turning him down

could hurt her earnings. With the Wall Street Journal then reporting, "'Once Musk learned that Fong disclosed the request "'to others, he chided her for not using discretion, "'according to the people, and unfollowed her,' "'with him adding, that contributed to a fall "'in her engagement and her earnings decline.'" But then, you know, moving on from that,

with 14 plus kids and a growing list of mothers to manage, Musk doesn't have time to handle all of it on his own. I mean, he's gotta run Tesla, SpaceX, X's smaller business ventures, and now Doge, and he's apparently posting memes a good chunk of the day. And so with all that, he reportedly outsources much of his life to a guy by the name of Jared Burchall. He's essentially been described as, you know, Elon's right-hand man, his fixer, his consigliere, the Carl to his Logan Roy, with managing Elon's fortune, assembling the team that helped Musk buy Twitter, and helping organize the $250 million effort

to get Trump elected. But also, according to reports, more quietly, he also runs Musk's family office, which is said to entail stuff like acquiring the property for a compound in Austin, Texas, where Musk reportedly wanted his entire harem of baby mamas and their kids to all live. And apparently, at least Zillis lives there,

but Grimes refused. And then, according to the journal, Burchall also manages a complex web of privacy and financial agreements between Musk and his various lovers, according to the journal, Burchall also manages a complex web of privacy and financial agreements between Musk and his various lovers, both current and former, which according to documents and sources, often gets signed under threat of punishment.

Right, so allegedly, Musk pays the money for the childcare expenses, but also throws in non-disclosure clauses. And then, if the mothers push back or seek outside counsel, Musk's advisors, including Burchall, allegedly threaten them with financial retribution. And so for St. Clair, for example, the Journal reports that Musk offered her $15 million for a home and living expenses, plus $100,000 a month until the first child turned 21. With them also

there allegedly demanding complete and total silence about the kid and her relationship to Musk in return. But notably, she says she never signed that agreement, nor did she obey Burchall's warning not to hire her own attorney. Though with that, she says she did agree to keep Musk's name off the birth certificate. Though really, that part didn't matter because the New York Supreme Court eventually compelled him to take a paternity test, which all but confirmed it's his child.

Now as far as why he's allegedly so obsessive about secrecy, there are a few possible reasons. First, Musk reportedly texted St. Clair that revealing he's the father would be dangerous because he's the number two after Trump for assassination. With him reportedly adding only the paranoid survived. Second, Burchell allegedly told her that the NDA was necessary because, quote,

"'We've been through way too many issues "'where to not sign some agreement associated "'with handing over 15 plus million dollars "'is absolutely insane and irresponsible in "'because we have dealt with some very unstable, "'mentally unstable people "'that all of a sudden misremember things.'" But then third, reportedly Burchell also seemed to suggest

that Musk just didn't want anything about his private life getting out. True or false? They're being reported that he said that Musk cannot allow people to just go and share his life information because he is the biggest lightning rod on the entire planet. You know, whatever the reason, virtual reportedly said in December that privacy and confidentiality is the top of the list in every aspect of Musk's life. Every aspect in his entire world is set up to be like a meritocracy and explaining that benefits flow when people do good work. So when you combine these two facts, that Musk apparently wants to have as many babies as possible and that he tries to keep as many of those babies a secret, you begin to see why people think that he may have more than just 14 kids. But arguably, that's not even the main headline of the story. Because really, if you look out, more people are focusing on the way

that he allegedly bribes, threatens, and gags women to get them to do what he wants. Which, you know, has a lot of people saying that it adds to a vast mountain of reporting on his, let's say, questionable sexual conduct. Right last June, for example, the Journal reported on several female SpaceX employees who have claimed that Musk made advances on them, starting with one college attorney reportedly slept with, broke up with,

and offered a job on the company's executive team and frequently texted late at night, inviting her over to his LA mansion while she was working for him. Then there was that SpaceX flight attendant who claimed that Musk exposed himself to her and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex acts. Next, you had a woman who claimed as she was working for him. Then there was that SpaceX flight attendant who claimed that Musk exposed himself to her and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex acts.

Next, you had a woman who claimed that she was leaving the company that Musk asked her to have his babies, as well as a woman who claimed that she had a month-long sexual relationship with Musk while she reported directly to him. With that reportedly ending badly as she sent her recriminations over text and email,

as well as an NDA. Now, of course, with that, it needs to be noted that Musk denies the allegations of wrongdoing, but then also, more specifically today, in regards to the most recent Wall Street Journal report, thus far, it appears that the only thing he has had to say is that TMZ is greater than the Wall Street Journal. But, you know, ultimately, that is where we are right now. Obviously, we're going to keep our eyes peeled for updates, whether it's a big response or yet another secret baby mama. And, of course, in the meantime, I would love to know your thoughts on this weird, weird mess. But then going from that to very different news,

did Mr. Beast just have his very own Willy Wonka, Glasgow or fire festival experience? Right, that is what many are asking right now because both he and Resorts World Las Vegas are facing backlash for what was advertised as an immersive Mr. Beast experience, but it only ended up disappointing attendees. Right, and so as far as what we know,

the experience took place at Resorts World on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. And according to a previous report from the Hollywood Reporter, fans could book a three-night stay at the hotel and receive a mystery bag of exclusive Mr. Beast merch and goodies, with one fan winning a $10,000 gift voucher. Restaurants at the resort were also set to offer themed food and drinks, and a since-removed website for the event promised a series of on-site activations and an immersive experience for guests. But then, those who attended told local news that they're seeking refunds because it was such a disaster. But according to 8 News Now in Vegas, the experience cost around $1,000.

But one guest told the outlet that there were no mini games or photo ops or special foods or really anything you would expect this kind of function. But then another source telling Fox 5 that they went to three restaurants asking about the special menus and activations and no one knew what they were talking about. And during check-in, the hotel reportedly told guests

to wait in their rooms for their mystery boxes to arrive. So some waited for 24 hours anticipating a big surprise. But that box, it reportedly just ended up including chocolate and assorted merchandise with one person getting kid shorts and an extra small shirt, a medium shirt and a hat. But with that person claiming that the items were far from exclusive and currently in the clearance section of Mr. B's store.

And it was also really interesting watching all the TikTok videos that were being made by the attendees. And so with everything being a mess, you had some guests gathering in the lobby to voice their concerns, even speaking to the CEO of Resorts World. But also many have said that they weren't given enough in compensation with one mom who took her son for his birthday telling 8 News. Their ultimate resolution for all the way across the board was $50 food and beverage credit for two different outlets. This experience has been nothing short of horrible. That's the only experience that we've had. You also had other guests telling the outlet

that they're considering suing to get their money back with one also addict. If Jimmy is part of this, I hope he feels good for scamming a whole bunch of adults and their children. That's how you get subscribers? Cool. And another person telling Fox 5 in Vegas, it makes Las Vegas look bad.

It makes Resorts World look bad. It makes Mr. Beast look bad. They gave us an experience, all right? A real bad one. And so with all this, you had a lot of people on TikTok sharing their experiences, calling it a scam. With also, notably here, a person ended up tweeting at Mr. Beast about the ordeal writing,

"'Yo, Mr. Beast, I'm at Resorts World doing your experience "'and it's been 24 hours and nothing. "'Where's the experience? "'Is there gonna be any activities or anything? Waiting in room, LOL. And here, the big update is that MrBeast actually replied, saying, hey, this definitely isn't the experience we hoped they'd deliver.

My team's already on it. I'd love to personally make it up to you and anyone else by inviting everybody affected to tour my actual studio. Can't wait to meet you all and my team is reaching out to everyone. And so for now, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens next, and I mean that on multiple fronts.

One, if we get more information about how this happened. Two, who is around the experience specifically, because based off of Mr. B's response, it sounds like Resorts World or a group that was supposed to work with Resorts World was supposed to be responsible for the experience. As well as three, if the Mr. B's team is gonna be able to coordinate all the tours.

I don't know if they're gonna be part of the refunds or what else is gonna happen. And then I've got more news for you in just a moment. But first, you know, I really ought to thank you for trusting us to wade through the chaos of the daily news cycle. It seems like everyone occupies a different reality these days,

and we strive to break through echo chambers to bring you the story behind the headlines. You know, one of the critical tools that we use to see the bigger picture is Ground News, a fantastic sponsor of today's show. And that, because unlike other news sites, Ground News delivers multiple perspectives on each story to hedge against reporting biases.

And you can see for yourself at ground.news.deFranco. Right, recently, we've been tracking recession expectations in the wake of Trump's trade wars, and it turns out more than 60% of CEOs expect a recession in the next six months. And as always, the left and right discrepancies, they're somewhat telling. You know, for instance, left-leaning NBC News reports

that half of CEOs surveyed forecast double-digit percentage increases in costs. Then more centrist outlets like Fortune are highlighting how some tariff supporters are questioning the president's strategy. With, you know, uncertainty rattling markets and business leaders across the political spectrum, it's very interesting how this angle, I mean,

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or head to ground.news.com today to get 40% off unlimited access to the Vantage plan, which is the same plan that I use. But then next up today, let's talk about China now facing some 245% tariffs from the United States. Right, and that, according to a fact sheet that the White House released yesterday,

which states that the number is a result of China's retaliatory actions. So notably the 245% number is not all encompassing and the fact sheet itself also clarifies that these are not new tariffs. Instead, they're just saying that in addition to the 145% general tariff on most Chinese goods, there's another 7.5 to 100% increase on specific items

that have been around for a while. With, for example, the fact sheet breaking it down saying, quote, this includes a 125% reciprocal tariff, a 20% tariff to address the fentanyl crisis and section 301 tariffs on specific goods between 7.5 and 100%. So it's not exactly new per se, but the fact sheet did point to new actions

that the president has taken in the ongoing trade war. With notably, for example, him signing executive orders yesterday that launched an investigation into the national security risks posed by US.S. reliance on imported process critical minerals and their derivative products. You know, that meant to examine which parts of the U.S. supply chain are vulnerable to foreign market disruptions, give recommendations on how to bolster domestic production, and if any new tariffs need to be levied, they would fall

into the reciprocal tariff rate. And the big thing that the administration is especially worried about is rare earth elements. With the fact sheet even pointing out, process-critical minerals and their derivative products are key building blocks of our defense industrial base and integral to applications such as jet engines, missile guidance systems, advanced computing, radar systems, advanced optics, and secure communications equipment.

And this is, in addition to the defense industry, pretty much all modern tech, it relies on these materials at some point in its supply chain. I mean, it's one of the few things that many experts agree that the US needs to get going ASAP, even if producing them here would be costly. And that especially because clearly the United States

and China aren't getting along right now. And it just so happens that nearly all refinement and production of rare earth materials happens in China, as well as other key materials. So even though the US has a lot of these minerals at home in the ground, such as one of the biggest known lithium deposits in California, we don't actually have a way to make it usable at home. And what you've already seen is China using this weak point in the trade war by banning the export of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the US. Not to mention banning a whole other group of

materials and magnets from being exported at all. And you know, much of this stuff, it's in production lines all across the globe. So even countries that the US may be working on some kind of trade deal with, such as Japan, they're going to be heavily affected. And this is also a sign that China is switching up how it's engaging in this trade war. Because before it was just matching U.S. tariffs with its own, but after things started getting to over 100%, they just laugh. And I mean that almost literally. They describe Trump's policies as a joke, and the State Council Customs Tariff Commission then announced last week that they would actually be reducing tariffs on American goods from 125% to 84% in that quote. Given that there is no longer any possibility of market

acceptance for U.S. goods exported to China under the current tariff levels, if the U.S. side subsequently continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S., the Chinese side will pay no attention to it. Or in layman's terms, the tariffs are already so high that adding more isn't going to do anything. At the current level, Chinese people already aren't buying US goods. So if tariffs aren't the answer to fight back, the question becomes what is? And there we saw them banning exports and other parts of China have followed that lead.

With for example, the Hong Kong Post announcing it was suspending mail services to the US. And notably, lots of companies use post services like that to send their goods to the United States, especially those that rely on the de minimis exemption. That rule that if a shipment is less than $800, it could essentially bypass tariffs. But starting May 2nd, that's going away.

And all of these policy changes have also given Chinese president Xi Jinping leverage in positioning China as a new leader in free trade. I mean, over the past few days, he's been visiting Vietnam and Malaysia. And during his visit, he signed some agreements with Vietnam that would strengthen their supply chains

and open up Chinese markets to Vietnamese agricultural exports. And the deal between these two countries is kind of big. Like as of late, they've been friendly, but that was not always the case. And the two even had a short war back in 1979 that caused issues between the two for decades. It's with these agreements,

we saw Xi saying in a statement, as beneficiaries of economic globalization, both China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying acts, uphold the global free trade system and keep global industry and supply chain stable. Though Trump had a very different view of the meeting, claiming that it was a way to figure out

how to screw the United States of America. And the thing there is, if he feels like that about a single trade agreement between Vietnam and China, he's gonna get pissed when he hears about the plan for the Malaysia portion of the trip. Xi is expected to work out a deal between China and ASEAN, which is an association of countries in the region. With us also seeing the general secretary

of the association saying, we will bring more tariffs down to zero in many cases and then expand to all the areas. So essentially, they're working out a free trade agreement. With this trip also notably a chance for Xi to portray China as a responsible superpower compared to the US constantly shifting its policies. You know, I will say, just to be clear here, that's not all Trump's fault. But yes, he has done decades worth of policy shifts in just a few months. But also, you know, having new administrations often with opposite stances

on issues every four years, it puts a strain on countries like China, which highly value stability. Granted, it's at the cost of democracy and rights, but you can't argue against the, I guess, the consistency of it all. Also, what's kind of crazy about this whole situation is everything that we've talked about, it's just a handful of the developments going on

in this trade war. Like for example, there are also ways that Chinese producers are trying to offset how damaging the tariffs are. Because just a 35% tariff, that largely means that any margin a US producer would save by buying their goods, it's quickly eroded. So with that, we've seen factories themselves taking to social media to try and sell

directly to US consumers. With many of them claiming to be where big name brands make their products, right? So they can offer them to consumers directly for less and still make a buck themselves. Do you recognize this style, this bag? Of course you do. For the past more than 30 years,

we have been OEM factory for most of the luxury brands around the world. Gucci, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton, you name it. We will always be the best OEM factory for luxury brands. Why don't you just contact us and buy from us? You won't believe the prices we give you." With even household items being sold like this now, such as laundry pods.

Though to be clear here, I'm not saying that every single one of these videos is real and that is where the item is actually manufactured for every single brand that's being mentioned. But even that, I mean, that's just with talking about China. Elsewhere around the world, other countries are also making their own moves to target the US. With possibly one of the most impactful being the EU's plan

to tariff things other than physical goods. But the reality is in the grand scheme of things that US doesn't actually produce a lot of physical items outside of high-tech things. And instead, much of the economy, it revolves around services and software, such as things like Microsoft Windows and other various cloud services that Google offers,

all of which the EU is exploring how to tariff. And that specifically could dramatically affect one of the few areas that the US has a massive trade surplus especially if other countries follow suit. But we'll have to wait to see what happens there because the EU and US is supposed to discuss tariffs pretty soon here, although European officials aren't hopeful. But hey, this is constantly evolving or better put,

the ground is constantly shifting. So we have no idea how things are ultimately gonna play out though. If things stay on this trend, it does seem like many things are gonna be more expensive pretty soon and experts are increasingly predicting that we're heading towards a recession. And then we'll get to more news you need to know in just a moment. But you know, look, the truth is personal details like your full name, address, your phone number,

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to take your personal data off the market before things get even weirder. But then to shift gears from that to a very different kind of news, I wanna talk to you about this news involving a missing toddler and a hero doll. Because reportedly at around 5 p.m. on Monday in Arizona, a two-year-old boy by the name of Bowden

disappeared from his parents' home in his pajamas. Which, you know, then prompted a massive search operation. I mean, we're talking 40 search and rescue team members, several deputies from local sheriff's offices, and even some members of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. There were teams on foot, teams on off-road vehicles, and there were even helicopters out all night

looking for this little boy. And the big thing is that this area is especially dangerous with all the wildlife. I mean, mountain lions, coyotes, even the occasional bear. With then, after 15 hours with no luck, Bowdoin turned up at a ranch seven miles away from his parents' house where the rancher, Scotty Dutton, found him thanks to his dog.

Because it turns out that Scotty's dog, an Anatolian Pyrenees named Buford, patrols the ranch to keep out coyotes, and he found the little boy and escorted him for at least a mile straight to Scotty himself. With Scotty saying, "'I got into my truck to go to town, and I see Buford walking down the side of the fence

with a little blonde kid with him. I had heard about the missing child this morning, so I knew it was him.'" Scotty added that Bowdoin was pretty upset, but in good shape, and he curled up under a tree in Scotty's horse pasture to sleep the night before. When he brought the little boy inside and gave him some food and water,

Scotty asked Bowdoin if Buford had found him, to which he said yes. But Scotty's saying it's what he does. He loves kids, so I can imagine he wouldn't leave him when he found him. And adding, it was a relief that he was alive. I was ecstatic that he was okay and that my dog found him. You know, the fact that this little boy made it through the night and walked as far as he did, it's kind of astounding. With Scotty saying, he went through some rough country. It's all mountains and canyons and boulder piles, and it's rough for adults, let alone for two-year-old kids. He did a remarkable job to go seven miles like he did." And adding, I told him,

"'Buddy, you're the toughest little two-year-old I've ever seen.'" With Bowden responding, "'Yep.'" And notably, according to the county sheriff department spokesperson, cases like this winding up with a happy ending, it's a rarity. Which is also why I'm happy to add that Scotty has promised

to give Buford a steak dinner for his heroics. But then, finally today, let's talk about y'all's comments on yesterday's show and also give a congratulations. And I'll start with a congratulations. Congrats to Christina F, SeatGeek's latest weekly winner who just scored $500 in tickets and is using it to go see My Chemical Romance. 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. I mean, just imagine being the next winner and snagging $500 towards seeing your favorite artist, sporting event, or play. I mean, there's over 70,000 events to choose from.

And all you gotta do is add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. You know, it's a win-win, get in on it. But with that said, let's talk about those comments. Right in those comments, there were a lot of conversations happening

around that 81-year-old woman who was a waitress, didn't have enough money to retire. You know, a random TikToker comes by, they end up raising over $300,000 for her. You know, while many were kind of relieved to see some sort of positive outcome happen here, you also had most just kind of horrified by the fact that it needed to happen in the first place.

With Kathleen Mowry, for example, saying, "'It's so dystopian to me that instead of us "'paying more taxes or reforming the social security system, "'people have to use GoFundMe "'to let an 80 plus year old retire.'" Others saying, "'The feel good story of the day is actually soul crushing.'" Saying, "'What's wrong with a country

when a woman working her whole life still cannot retire at 81? Devastating. And others adding the fact that an 81 year old has to keep on working until they die while Trump spends 26 million on golfing so far in his second term makes me wanna cry. You know, with this, I will say,

this is where I have a hard time with, it's kind of like a third of the kind of good news stories or stories that have like a bamf of the day. Because the unfortunate reality is so many of the so-called good things, they really highlight just how fucking shitty things are and like the way things should not be. Like I'm not enlightening you when I say, you know, it feels like depending on where we are

in this world, there's just various hellscapes playing out around every corner. There's a reason it's not coming out of nowhere that a meaningful percentage of the US public reacted in a positive way when someone shot the CEO of a healthcare company in the back of the head. I think it highlights how angry people are

about how unjust and wrong so many different facets of our lives are. But also at the same time, we are actively living in this society together. So when we look at these various situations, whether it's an old woman that isn't able to retire and someone trying to do right by her or, you know, someone getting like a cancer treatment fixed because of a GoFundMe, which

shouldn't be the fucking case. Like it should be like, I know I'm largely preaching to the choir here, like universal health care should be a thing. It's something that I've actively preached for years and years. And so while so many people shouldn't be in the situations they're in dealing with the struggles that they're having to go through, it does give me a little inkling of hope. You know, we get to see people coming together to help a stranger. But then at the same time, it's complicated because I feel this horrible feeling in my stomach because I'm like, this shouldn't have even been a problem. So we often find ourselves in the situation where this is kind of the more popular mainstream way to talk about it, where at the same time we are talking about and preaching that there shouldn't be a fucking baby crusher machine, highlighting when

all the anti-baby crusher machine people pitch in together to make sure a baby didn't get crushed. And maybe you could tell from me talking about it, it's all just an emotional clusterfuck. And so much of it, I mean, it's not that simple, but so much of it gets tied into the fact that billionaires shouldn't exist.

I know, what a, Phil hates success. I should be rooting for the billionaires because who knows, maybe it could be me. Pording an amount of wealth I couldn't spend in a million lifetimes while people fight for table scraps. And Iing an amount of wealth I couldn't spend in a million lifetimes while people fight for table scraps and I use my money to, I don't know, impregnate a random internet girl at $15 million of poppers

and Katy Perry to space. But no, I'm being a little bit extra. The real war that's playing out there are the haves and the have-nots. And many of those who have hoarded wealth and power, they've just done a fantastic job in dividing people on other random bullshit. But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards,

is where your Wednesday evening, Thursday morning dive into the news is gonna end. Thank you for watching. Remember, I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.