The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 4.3 TOTAL DISASTER! Trump Stock Market Plummets, Nintendo Pricing Backlash Getting Worse, & Today's News

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

Kickstart your passion project with a free trial today: https://www.Squarespace.com/Phil  & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!  https://BeautifulBastard.com Get 15% off... the best tees and hoodies out there with CODE: "PDS15" on top of select 50% OFF sale items. Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkeav7Ztl3U&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Global Stock Markets Plunge Following Trump’s Tariff Announcement 09:29 - Nintendo Faces Backlash for Switch 2 Pricing 12:45 - Sponsored by Squarespace 13:53 - Tesla Stock Drops After Sales Decrease 13% Globally 17:29 - Eric Adams Running for NYC Mayor as Independent  20:42 - As Real ID Deadline Approaches, DMVs Nationwide are Overwhelmed 23:41 - Teen Saves Mother and 3 Children from House Fire  25:02 - 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 #Moistcritikal ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Grocer $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Trump's tariffs just caused the stock market to plummet today in the biggest wipeout since 2020 and what has now become the
Starting point is 00:00:35 worst 10-week start under a president since 2001 with friend and foe alike beginning to respond. Nintendo's pricing backlash may be about to get worse and it was already pretty bad. The real ID chaos that you need to be prepared for. And then a good news story to help 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. But first, we've got a quick announcement about next week's shows. And that because you're still going to be getting your Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Philip DeFranco shows, but they will be a little bit different. Because we're gonna be deep diving into two to three important stories that you should know about,
Starting point is 00:01:08 but it's not gonna be like same day timely like this episode is. And I've largely pre-shot those episodes over the last two weeks, because next week, I am actually gonna be on a vacation. And I promised my wife that at most, I'd work 60 minutes a day. Which is actually also why I highly recommend
Starting point is 00:01:21 you follow me on any and all of these socials, including here on YouTube at PDS News Clips. And that because we're still going to be posting quick short form content around big breaking stories because the news never stops. But those in a day take me an hour at most compared to the show, which can take eight to 10 hours. So yeah, now you know why next week's going to feel a little bit different, but we have a lot to talk about today, starting with this. You may have noticed that some of y'all's 401ks are 372ks today. And that of course is because we're currently in the midst of the first 24 hours of Trump announcing his Liberation Day tariffs. And as expected, we've seen a lot of
Starting point is 00:01:50 reactions from people, institutions, companies, and the markets themselves. So to fully understand and appreciate the situation and all get on the same page, we actually have to back up a bit. Because leading into yesterday, there was a bit of speculation about what the tariffs would actually look like. And in the end, it was actually a mix of the two top theories. There is a baseline 10% number across the board, followed by a so-called reciprocal tariff that can increase that number. And those so-called reciprocal tariffs, they allegedly do not just take into account the tariffs that other countries place on American goods, but also what were referred to as currency manipulation and trade barriers. So take China,
Starting point is 00:02:19 for example. The Trump administration claims that when accounting for everything, they tax their citizens 67% extra to buy American goods And so in return you have Trump saying we're going to charge Americans a 34% tax to import Chinese goods Vietnam is then a similar story. We have Trump saying that they make American goods 90% more expensive So we're gonna make their stuff 46% more expensive and then generally of that Trump administration making it look like we're giving a 50% Discount on what other countries are charging us that is unless unless they're the baseline, in which case there's the 10%. And so with that, right off the bat, there was a lot of confusion
Starting point is 00:02:48 on how the administration even came up with these numbers. Or with the White House's official Twitter post even getting a community note on it, which read, Trump's quote, reciprocal tariffs aren't based on actual foreign tariffs, but likely on the US trade deficit divided by imports. See WTO data. Now those numbers, they don't completely add up,
Starting point is 00:03:03 but they were very close leading to speculation that the formula was actually something else. And officially it is. And we know this because yesterday evening, the office of the United States trade representative released this formula with an explanation. So as it turns out, it just looks more complicated than it actually is.
Starting point is 00:03:16 And the big thing is that it is essentially dividing the trade deficits by the imports. So the Chi symbol literally just means our total exports to a country. The mu is our total imports. And then on the bottom, you have epsilon and phi, which respectively represent the price elasticity of import demand and the elasticity of import prices with respect to tariffs. And it appears they actually set those numbers to 4 and 0.25, which is notable because what
Starting point is 00:03:36 is 4 times 1 fourth? 1. Which would make this formula literally just trade deficit versus total imports with more steps, as many have pointed out. So it appears that the reason the community note was off is because it was using different trade deficit versus total imports with more steps, as many have pointed out. And so it appears that the reason the community note was off is because it was using different trade deficit data. But if you use the census.gov 2024's numbers, it's spot on. And so in the China example, you have 295.4 billion
Starting point is 00:03:53 deficit and import 438.95 billion, giving us 67%. And then you divide that by two and it's 33.5%, which is then rounded up. And it appears that the only time this doesn't hold true is if we have a trade surplus or a country doesn't tax American goods as much. In which case their goods still get hit with a 10% tariff anyways.
Starting point is 00:04:10 And regardless, it doesn't actually take into account what other countries are charging us as claim. Like in the case of China, the WTO claims that the average tariff rate is 7.5%, which, you know, is one of the reasons we saw so many critiques of this. With us even seeing this play out with one of the guys who managed to reverse engineer
Starting point is 00:04:23 the formula, getting into a tiff with the deputy White House press secretary. And after revealing the formula, deputy secretary Cush Desai responded, no, we literally calculated tariff and non-tariff barriers. And then getting a helpful community note pointing out that the official formula is essentially equivalent to the original post and includes no terms for the tariff rate charged by the exporting country. Which as we've seen and looked over here, it's true. There are no references to tariff rates, currency manipulation, and trade barriers in the official formula. And so with that, you also had others going on to say, one of the most depressing things about Trump's tariffs
Starting point is 00:04:51 is that he constantly lies about them and so many of his followers believe him. No, these tariffs are not half of what they charge us because Trump used a formula, disconnected from tariffs, and then flat out lied about it. As well as, holy fuck, this is bad. Even Grok is like, the White House's terror formula is faulty. When saying all that, not everyone is upset with the formula with, for example, supporters writing, Trump's terror formula is further evidence he is laser focused on reversing these imbalances. Although we will say,
Starting point is 00:05:16 finding people outside of the administration or the just like true, true rider dies defending the tariffs, it was a bit hard. Right, and with that, I mean, if you thought people were worried about how these tariffs were rolled out, I mean, wait until you see the markets. Well, obviously there are gonna be fluctuations.
Starting point is 00:05:27 The Dow Jones opened up to a 3% crash. The NASDAQ had a 5% drop and the S&P 500 fell almost 4%, making it 10% down from its all-time high. With us seeing major banks and investment groups describing these tariffs as a worst case scenario. And UPS predicting that they'll lead to slowing the US economy by two whole percentage points this year alone and raise inflation by 5%. And it looks like such a bad situation that
Starting point is 00:05:49 strategists at the bank, they almost think it's just brinkmanship because it, quote, makes one's rational mind regard the possibility of them sticking as low. And this is others thinking that the market's dropping 10% from their all-time highs is just the start. But for example, experts from Thornburg Investment Management saying, markets may actually be underreacting, especially if these rates turn out to be final, given the potential knock-on effects to global consumption and trade. And you can actually look at the bond market to see how much investors appear to be worried. 10-year treasury bonds fell from 4.2% to 4.04% as of recording. And that's just the latest drop because back in January, they were sitting at almost 4.8%. And a big thing to keep in mind is this is a market where jumps like this are considered a
Starting point is 00:06:24 massive, massive deal, especially when they're made in just three months, whereas normally it would take like half a year to see those results. Now with this, it may be possible for the government to offset some of these challenges by lowering interest rates. And it had actually been doing that late last year
Starting point is 00:06:37 before pausing in 2025. It's something that would allow companies and people to borrow way more money, which helps put cash into the economy. But of course, the potential drawback with that, as we saw during the COVID era, is that it can easily lead to big spikes in inflation since there's more money flowing around. And all of this is, it's not just like the markets. Everyday people are worried about things right now,
Starting point is 00:06:53 with households reporting a 12-year low and how hopeful they are about their financial futures. But you know, with that, just to avoid being a complete Debbie Downer, not every economic marker is bad news right now. You know, joblessness is down and remaining solid, and that trend could continue if Trump's plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US actually pans out. But also I would say we are in a world of widespread uncertainty right now, especially because the tariffs like we just saw,
Starting point is 00:07:14 they are not a one-way street. While many were waiting for Trump's so-called liberation day, you had people worrying about the retaliation days. Everyone's waiting to see exactly how other countries are gonna respond. And there, we saw the Chinese commerce ministry calling the tariffs unilateral bullying and promising to retaliate.
Starting point is 00:07:28 But the commerce ministry spokesperson even accusing the US of violating international trade rules and saying the reciprocal tariffs, quote, "'seriously undermine the legitimate rights "'and interests of relevant parties.'" You then had the French prime minister calling the tariffs a catastrophe for the economic world and brutal and unfounded while a government spokesperson said that, quote, "'We are also going to attack services. And that makes up a majority of the
Starting point is 00:07:48 US economy and mean services from Google, Apple, Microsoft, you know, all the big tech giants, they could be hit. And in fact, the French prime minister just called for all European companies to suspend their planned investments in the US, which I mean, we'll have to see what happens, but that could have an impact of billions and billions of dollars. Just one French electrical equipment supplier promised $700 million to support US energy infrastructure to power the growth of AI just last month. And this, as the EU itself, was also vague about an exact response right now, only threatening that if you take on one of us, you take on all of us.
Starting point is 00:08:16 With the European Commission president promising what Bloomberg called firm and proportionate countermeasures, though, we don't know yet what that's going to look like. Though all of this is other leaders weren't as confrontational, where the British prime minister seemed to say that negotiations for a different rate were ongoing. Though this is the government also released a 400-plus page list of U.S. goods that could be hit by retaliatory tariffs should they decide to strike back. Meanwhile, Japan called the rates regrettable, while India said it was carefully examining the implications of the various measures. Though notably, all of them dodged actually saying
Starting point is 00:08:41 that they would retaliate. And so it's because of all of this uncertainty that we've seen figures like Mark Cuban, for example, suggesting, it's not a bad idea to go to the local Walmart or big box retailer and buy lots of consumables now. From toothpaste to soap, anything you can find storage space for, buy before they have to replenish inventory. Saying even if it's made in the USA,
Starting point is 00:08:57 they will jack up the price and blame it on tariffs. And all of this has even led to some congressional figures in Trump's own party worried that he's gone too far. With us seeing, for example, Senator Chuck Grassley announcing that he was sponsoring a bill that would claw back a lot of the tariff authority that Congress has given the president. With him saying in a statement, Congress has a constitutional role through the Commerce Clause on trade matters, and we should reassume that role. And this is the Democratic co-sponsor of the bill,
Starting point is 00:09:17 Senator Maria Cantwell added, arbitrary tariffs, particularly on our allies, damage U.S. export opportunities and raise prices for American consumers and businesses. As representatives of the American people, Congress has a duty to stop actions that will cause them harm. But notably, you know, without widespread Republican support, a bill like this is going to be dead on arrival. So getting a Grassley on board, it's a good step to passing it. And in fact, we're now seeing reports that other leaders like Senator Tom Tillis are supporting the bill as well. You know, regarding if they are the first two of many or just two, that remains to be seen right now. You know, for now, that is where we are
Starting point is 00:09:47 and we're gonna have to wait to see how this plays out over the coming days, weeks, and months. You know, of course, in the meantime, I would love to know your thoughts on this and it's also gonna be for any story that stands out to you today. Because for anyone new here, yes, this is a daily news show, but I also, I want it to be a daily conversation.
Starting point is 00:10:00 But then from that, switching gears to a very different story, are you fucking kidding me? That has been one of the most consistent reactions we've seen around Nintendo Switch 2 prices. With it being announced yesterday that the device will be available starting on June 5th, starting at $450, or you can buy it in a bundle that includes Mario Kart World starting at $500, which Nintendo says is actually a deal because if you were to buy it on its own, it would be an $80 game. And so you have a lot of people looking at that going, okay, so this is going to be the relatively standard game price for the Switch 2 going forward.
Starting point is 00:10:25 So you had a lot of people writing things like, those prices for Switch 2 games killed any and all excitement I had for it. Nintendo can go fuck themselves. As well as it's called Switch 2 because you see the prices and switch to a cheaper hobby. You then also had people quick to blame Trump's tariffs for the high prices, though there, there was a big debate
Starting point is 00:10:40 of if the tariff prices were already baked in or not. With that, some wondering if the tariffs could inflate the price, which is already high for them, to an even higher one down the road. Meanwhile, you had others pointing just to corporate greed with some saying it could also lead to the console flopping. And then others concerned, this could have an industry-wide consequence. For example, the likes of huge commentator,
Starting point is 00:10:57 Moist Critical saying, "- It's Nintendo. They can strong arm their way and get away with it. And what this means is $80 games, and I guess in some cases $90 physical copies, that's going to become the industry standard. All of the other big players in the industry are going to follow suit. Nintendo has just busted the lid off of $80 as a normal amount to charge. People are finally starting to see like, oh no, this company, like they don't
Starting point is 00:11:24 like us. Like they do not really like the consumer. And that actually brings us to the next piece of backlash because some reports have said that some Switch 2 games, they're going to have only a download key, not a physical game cartridge. For the customer support page, explain it. Game key cards are different from regular game cards because they don't contain the full game data. Instead, the game key card is your key to downloading the full game to your system via the internet. After it's downloaded, you can play the game by inserting the game key card into your system and starting it up like a standard physical game card. With also Nintendo's Spanish site showing that the games cost more if you want a physical version
Starting point is 00:11:55 with it there being a 10 euro difference. And this is some people either having mixed or fully negative thoughts on not owning the physical cartridge, right? With Polygon noting, we don't know how often Nintendo and its publishing partners will use this game key card solution and maybe in some cases it's the right answer. But then also adding that it begs questions like, what happens when companies, and maybe specifically here at Nintendo, take their own game servers offline?
Starting point is 00:12:15 Can I download what I bought? How do I play older games I care about? And again, we saw many, including Moist Critical, unhappy about this aspect. You're not actually owning anything if you're buying a physical copy of a game, you're still just getting a permission slip. You're not actually owning anything if you're buying a physical copy of a game. You're still just getting a permission slip. You're getting like a hall pass
Starting point is 00:12:28 where you get to put your physical copy into the Switch 2 in order to download the game itself from Nintendo. You don't own s***. You own absolutely nothing. You own the idea of being able to have this game on your console. I will say, you know,
Starting point is 00:12:43 some have defended it saying, you know, it's not fully replacing physical games and not worth getting upset over. Though I will say, you know, some have defended it, saying, you know, it's not fully replacing physical games and not worth getting upset over, arguing things like this is actually replacing what some companies have done for years, release a fake physical game that is just a download code in the box. And saying this forces third parties
Starting point is 00:12:55 to make this a smidge more user-friendly, and there is resale value now because you can sell the key card. And that is Nintendo's customer service page also says that you don't need an internet connection to start the game after it's downloaded, but the internet's only needed when launching it for the first time. You know, for now, the official release is still a month away, And that is Nintendo's customer service page also says that you don't need an internet connection to start the game after it's downloaded. The internet's only needed when launching it
Starting point is 00:13:06 for the first time. You know, for now the official release is still months away and it's gonna be very interesting to see how this launch goes. You know, in the meantime, I gotta pass the question off to you, especially if you're a gamer, what are your thoughts here? Then I've got some more really interesting news for you
Starting point is 00:13:18 in just a moment, but first, do you need a little nudge to take your side hustle or passion project to the next level? Because you know, I get the whole procrastination thing, like the book club idea I had forever. But thanks to our friends at Squarespace, DeFranco's book club, it went from a dream to reality in under an hour.
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Starting point is 00:14:11 ask yourself, what is holding you back? Kickstart your digital space today with a free trial at squarespace.com slash Phil or scan the QR code on screen. Just remember when you're ready to launch, use code Phil for 10% off. That's squarespace.com slash Phil. But then next up from
Starting point is 00:14:25 that, we got to talk about bad news for Tesla and Elon Musk right now. Because Tesla just put out its first quarter sales numbers and it was a bloodbath. With the company delivering less than 337,000 electric vehicles, which is a 13% drop from a year ago. And this after in 2024, they saw their first annual sales dip in a decade. Now, as far as why this quarter was so bad, you had Tesla quick to point out that it temporarily paused its production of its Model Y SUVs back in January while it upgraded them. But this is you have skeptics pointing to more long-term structural problems.
Starting point is 00:14:52 Namely that Tesla has actually been losing EV market share to competitors, especially the Chinese firm BYD. With BYD actually projected by counterpoint research to surpass Tesla's 15.3% share for the first time this year. And then as far as other reasons why this is happening, there's a claim that Musk's political activity has alienated much of Tesla's 15.3% share for the first time this year. And then as far as other reasons why this is happening, there's a claim that Musk's political activity has alienated much of Tesla's base, whom CNN characterized as upwardly mobile,
Starting point is 00:15:11 eco-conscious lefties from the coasts. With that culminating in the boycotts, protests, and vandalism that we've seen directed at the company recently. But either way, Tesla's stock has been a roller coaster recently. Seemingly, Tesla's poor sales performance prompted its stock to drop over 6% yesterday.
Starting point is 00:15:25 But then, you had Politico reporting that Trump had told his inner circle that Musk would be stepping back from his role in the government in the coming weeks. And although the White House and Musk have denied that claim, the news seemed to prompt the stock to rebound over 5%. But then, later that afternoon, you had Trump revealing his so-called Liberation Day tariffs,
Starting point is 00:15:38 which, among other things, are expected to disrupt Tesla's supply chains, and it wiped out the stock's momentary gains, with shares then dropping around 7% by Thursday morning. And while obviously there are gonna be fluctuations from when I'm filming this to when you're watching this, or just day to day, all of this is happening as Tesla has lost
Starting point is 00:15:51 around 45% of its value since mid-December, which notably enjoyed a record high thanks to Trump's election victory and expectations that the government would ease regulatory pressure on the company. But seemingly, at least so far, despite Trump's sales pitch on the White House law and the Commerce Secretary's encouragement to buy shares
Starting point is 00:16:05 and the FBI's classification of vandals as domestic terrorists, Tesla hasn't reaped what Musk sowed. And you have many critics arguing that's because whatever support it gets from the White House, it's been offset by the irreparable damage to the brand. With us seeing, for example, early Tesla investor Ross Gerber writing on X,
Starting point is 00:16:19 the high-end EV business has totally eroded. The cyber-truck is basically not selling, the brand is broken and may not be fixable. With him then further arguing that Tesla's board needs to remove Elon Musk and find a new CEO. And this is, you've got Dan Ives, an analyst for wealth management firm Wedbush, saying, the brand crisis issues are clearly having a negative impact on Tesla. There is no debate. And adding, we are not going to look at these numbers with rose-colored glasses. They were a disaster on every metric. But then also, aside from the brand risk, it's unclear just practically
Starting point is 00:16:44 how Musk can balance so many different responsibilities between Doge, Tesla, SpaceX, X, and his other ventures. You know, Musk himself even admitted as much during an interview recently with Larry Kudlow. I mean, how are you running your other businesses? With great difficulty. Right, the situation may be about to get messier
Starting point is 00:17:00 for a number of reasons, including on Tuesday, the comptroller for New York City urged the law department to sue Tesla on behalf of the city's pension system, disclosing that they had lost more than $300 million in three months thanks to the plummeting stock and stating, the basis of the potential litigation are the material misstatements from Tesla claiming that CEO Elon Musk spends significant time on the company and is highly active in its management, despite his helming the Trump administration's Doge initiative, spending little of his time actually managing Tesla and promoting policies that are actively harmful to Tesla's business. And New York City is not alone there, right? I mean, the president of
Starting point is 00:17:31 the American Federation of Teachers wrote to dozens of public pension funds that Tesla's sales were shaping up to be abysmal. With that, she urged them to take a close look at their Tesla holdings and at what their money managers are doing to safeguard retirement assets. And so, you know, it seems like Elon's political interests and his business interests are diverging more and more. And you have some investors thinking that one will eventually have to give way. You know, who knows? The future, it's a crazy son of a bitch.
Starting point is 00:17:51 Anything could happen. Anything is possible. And I used to think of that statement as like a positive when I was growing up, but it's like, oh, anything is possible, good or bad. But then next up today, we should talk about why you're seeing some people out there today saying that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has metamorphosized like a beautiful butterfly
Starting point is 00:18:08 from an allegedly corrupt Democrat Trump bootlicker into a radical independent centrist. Well, that, as it turns out, is at least in part because he told Politico that he is dropping out of the Democratic primary and instead running for reelection as an independent. There isn't a liberal or conservative way to fix New York, but there is a right way and a wrong way. I firmly believe that this city is better served by truly independent leadership, not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far left or the far right, but instead those rooted in the common middle, the place where the vast majority of New Yorkers are firmly planted. Now with that, to be clear,
Starting point is 00:18:48 he says that he is still a Democrat though. You also have the New York Times reporting that for weeks, he privately considered whether to run as a Republican, but instead you have Adams saying he just couldn't remain in the primary for more practical reasons. Namely that thanks to his federal corruption indictment, there's simply not enough time for him to recover the public support and the money necessary
Starting point is 00:19:03 to have a shot in the June 24th primary. And so now he's got seven months to build up a new electoral coalition of moderates and unengaged voters with a campaign focused on public safety, which means we could be looking at a spectacular showdown in the general election between Adams and whoever the Democratic nominee is. And very notably, right now, the front runner for the Dems is former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who's been drawing away support for many of the mayor's former allies. Though all of this, as New York notably has a ranked choice voting system. And so some of Adams' remaining allies,
Starting point is 00:19:28 they reportedly hope that one of the eight other Democrats, specifically the Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani, gets the nomination. But you know, either way, what we're seeing is that most people with an opinion on this matter, whose name is not Eric Adams, they seem to think that Adams' chances of winning the general are close to zero.
Starting point is 00:19:41 And this one, because New York is already heavily Democratic, and two, Adams in particular is extremely unpopular with an approval rating of just 20%. And so really right now, the only things he is going for are one, his incumbent status and two, whether he's gonna be able to distance himself from the indictment by November. You know that, it remains an open question though.
Starting point is 00:19:57 A new update on that story does give him a little more breathing room. Because as you might remember, back in February, Trump's Justice Department dropped the corruption charges against him. With them arguing that the charges inhibited the mayor from addressing illegal immigration and violent crime. And with that, the DOJ dropped them without prejudice,
Starting point is 00:20:10 meaning that it could refile the charges whenever it wanted, which also was widely seen as a tactic to keep Adams on the hook so that the White House would always have leverage over him. And in fact, what people saw is that Adams cozied up to Trump, dining with him at Mar-a-Lago, refusing to say anything bad about him in public,
Starting point is 00:20:23 and even slamming the Democrats on Tucker Carlson's show. But now a federal judge has permanently dismissed the corruption case with prejudice, meaning they can't refile the charges based on the same evidence. With him writing that everything here smacks of a bargain in attic,
Starting point is 00:20:34 dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the mayor's freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents. And as for why the judges didn priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents.
Starting point is 00:20:47 And as for why the judges didn't reject the motion to dismiss the charges altogether, he said that he can't force the DOJ to prosecute a case if it doesn't want to. And so now Adams, I mean, he could plausibly argue that his ties to the Trump administration have been severed and his legal troubles are in the past. So with that, you have many noting,
Starting point is 00:21:00 he still seems to be leaning into his more rightward turn with him praising FBI director Kash Patel's book, "'Government Gangsters'," yesterday, for example. So yeah, New York politics getting weirder and weirder, he still seems to be leaning into his more rightward turn with him praising FBI director Kash Patel's book, Government Gangsters, yesterday, for example. So yeah, New York politics getting weirder and weirder, more interesting by the day, and it looks like this year's election is gonna be a firework show. But then, next up today from that,
Starting point is 00:21:15 we gotta talk about Real ID, because it is causing chaos. Starting with some bad news from my procrastinators out there, the Real ID deadline is just over a month away now. Right after years and years of delays, it is finally here. Starting on May 7th, all travelers flying domestically
Starting point is 00:21:28 must be Real ID compliant, meaning you need a Real ID or a passport to board domestic flights. Which, you know, for some of y'all watching, no sweat off your back, right? Some people have had Real ID for years now. This law was actually scheduled to be enforced way back in 2008, but it faced a lot of resistance
Starting point is 00:21:42 and it took until 2020 until all states were able to issue real IDs and it still got delayed repeatedly after that. And so some people thought they could continue pushing it off, but it is finally caught up to us and it's looking like May 7th is the date that is here to stay. Which, as it turns out, raises some problems because as of January of 2024, only 56% of driver's licenses and IDs in circulation nationwide complied with real ID. And DHS thinks that that would only increase to around 61% by the deadline. And this notably as the stats vary state to state, right?
Starting point is 00:22:08 In Texas, compliance is actually at 98%. But then in Pennsylvania, it's estimated that only around 26% of the state has Real IDs. And so in a number of states, they're seeing a massive wave of people who wanna update their licenses to Real IDs, which means even more lines and chaos
Starting point is 00:22:21 at everyone's favorite place, the DMV. You know, some services, they are already feeling the crunch. For this, for example, seeing the Wall Street Journal reporting that there are DMV lines stretching city blocks in multiple states, and there are Facebook groups discussing
Starting point is 00:22:33 and strategizing around the madness. We're also seeing some states trying to warn residents of the mayhem and limit it where it's possible with, for example, the Illinois Secretary of State's office recently saying, our facilities and website have been overwhelmed with requests for real IDs.
Starting point is 00:22:45 "'As a result, we're asking everyone to make sure "'they really need a real ID "'before booking an appointment or visiting a facility.'" And adding, the May 7th deadline is not a final deadline and everyone can travel with a valid US passport. But unless something changes at the last minute, that is final, but because the state is so overbooked, you have some officials saying,
Starting point is 00:23:00 if you have a passport, don't stress too much about it. And all of this is in order to meet the demand, Illinois has had to add over 2000 daily DMV appointments and has even created a Real ID super center. But also it turns out that is the least of the mess. According to CBS news, you are going to love this. And by love this, I mean hate this. Over in Florida, my home away from home,
Starting point is 00:23:17 local authorities discovered scalpers grabbing up open DMV appointments and selling them for up to $250 a pop. With this even prompting Miami-Dade commissioners to pass legislation this week, cracking down on DMV scalping. And then with all of this, of course, there are worries about chaos at airports as well, with, for example, Axios noting that in states with lower compliance, some people might, they will, end up getting turned away at security.
Starting point is 00:23:37 And then staffers at airports and airlines are going to be bombarded with angry people who missed the memo. With it also not helping that summer travel season is approaching. So y'all, if you do not have Real ID and you have upcoming travel, it is something you might want to look into, especially if you don't also have a valid passport. So you can go to your state's DMV website,
Starting point is 00:23:54 see what you need and when you need it. But also I'll say, if you don't have travel plans, it is worth noting that a Real ID is not needed for driving or boating, at least right now. So if you still have a non-Real ID license, you're good for those activities. And Real IDs are primarily for travel and entering federal facilities.
Starting point is 00:24:07 Yeah, consider this your DeFranco PSA so you don't end up being the angry asshole at the airport getting turned away. But then next up today, for your daily dose of good news, we should talk about Tyler Soden, who you probably don't know. Because Tyler is this 16-year-old kid who lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Starting point is 00:24:21 But then recently, Tyler was at home playing a game when he heard screaming coming from down the block. And it turns out that one of his neighbor's houses was on fire and a mother and her three children, a 12 year old, a seven year old, and a 10 month old, they were stuck on the roof. Right in the video, you can see smoke billowing from the window behind them.
Starting point is 00:24:35 And so Tyler, he springs into action. He goes and grabs a ladder, he hauls it to the house on fire, and he sets it up against the roof over the porch. With him then carrying the baby carefully down the ladder before handing her off to some bystanders while he then helped the young boy and the mother up against the roof over the porch, with him then carrying the baby carefully down the ladder before handing her off to some bystanders while he then helped the young boy and the mother down off the roof.
Starting point is 00:24:48 And this reportedly is the 12 year old was on the back porch and jumped off the roof themselves. And with all this, you had Tyler saying in an interview, I don't even know what was going through my head to be honest with you. I just grabbed the ladder and ran. I jumped off my garage, so yeah. I'm gonna say this to you,
Starting point is 00:25:02 you've probably heard it already. You know you're a hero, right? I guess. Right after everyone was out and off the building, firefighters and police rolled up with a couple of officers rescuing an elderly couple and a dog from a second home impacted by the fire. And so as of right now, you know,
Starting point is 00:25:14 we don't know what caused the fire, but we do know that it caused over $170,000 in damage. You also know, thankfully, that there were no reported injuries and the firefighters got a handle on the blaze pretty quickly with the Red Cross also reportedly assisting the family that Tyler rescued since they've been displaced. You know, while we wait to learn more, the last thing that we know without a doubt is that Tyler is our BAMF of the day. The kid did good. But then finally today, let's talk about y'all's
Starting point is 00:25:36 comments on yesterday's show in some comment commentary brought to you by beautifulbastard.com where right now you can get any of this year's best sellers for 15% off if you just use code PDS15. Right, grab yourself a, we the people are so totally over it, tea or hoodie, God is testing me and I refuse to study, clearly thriving, a silly goose in this economy, and all of this goodness.
Starting point is 00:25:56 And hell, that code even pairs with stuff we have discounted like at 50% off, like our three pack of core teas, our candles, and so much more. But yeah, definitely check it out all at beautifulbastard.com, links in the description. But like I said, let's talk about those comments. Right in those comments, even though yesterday was a just dumpster fire of news,
Starting point is 00:26:12 a lot of the comments were actually about the positive story. For example, Jay sharing their experience saying, "'I work at AT&T and several months ago, "'I was helping a woman in her early 90s. "'I noticed she didn't have a discount on her account. "'I ran a couple of options, the last one was military, "'and she said yes.
Starting point is 00:26:24 "'Despite knowing women served, I was a little surprised. I asked what she did and she replied, I built ships in Sausalito. I responded with, you're Rosie the Riveter. Her eyes lit up and she proudly smiled and said, yes, I was. It was so cool and an honor. But then others sharing their stories about family members who were connected directly or even kind of parallel.
Starting point is 00:26:38 Like Tana who said, the Rosie the Riveter story is so amazing and it almost brought me to tears out of happiness to hear these women who paved the way for me as a federal employee to do my job. My grandmother worked on the Challenger and Apollo missions and there are so many things, so many great women have done that no one sees and it's beautiful that you're showing that.
Starting point is 00:26:53 Then also in addition to that, in the comments, you had a lot of people giving Cory Booker his flowers. And then around the news of Elon Musk failing to essentially buy an election in Wisconsin, you had people sharing claims like, as someone living in Wisconsin, it was Elon. I was going to vote for Crawford regardless, but a lot of Republicans I know also refused
Starting point is 00:27:09 to let Elon get away with this. But then finally, of course, there were conversations and comments around the tariffs. For example, Danny Spaghetti saying, "'The mindset of hurry and break shit so it's done reminds me of what my drill sergeant always said. Slow is fast and fast is slow. If you take your time to do it right the first time,
Starting point is 00:27:22 you won't have to go back to fix all the mistakes.'" Along with the worst part about tariffs is that, even if the next president completely eliminates all of them, prices won't return to current levels. And saying corporations will do the same thing they did during COVID. Raise things 10% and claim it's a crisis, and then once the crisis is over, only drop them 5% and keep the rest as increased profit. So there you had some replying saying, I would be more concerned about losing markets completely. If tariffs were removed, would Canada buy American again? No. Would a bourbon drinker switch back to American bourbon? No. People don't forget when you F them over. You know, for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how this plays out. You know, like we even talked about today, there's a number of things happening on so many different fronts. I
Starting point is 00:27:54 am hoping for the best, but I'm preparing for the worst. But that, my friends, is the end of your Thursday evening, Friday morning dive into the news. And of course, remember, while next week's gonna be a little bit different, I still got you covered. Again, one, follow me on any and all of these socials. That's where you're gonna be getting any of the breaking news. And then two, right here on this channel, you'll be getting a brand new Philip DeFranco show every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Starting point is 00:28:13 at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Thank you for watching. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here on Monday.

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