The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.9 Trump LA Protests Situation Just Got Crazier, 700 Marines Mobilized, Greta Thunberg “Kidnapped”, &

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

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Snacks delivered. Fresh fruit delivered. Grocery delivery on repeat for just $2.50 a month. Learn more at pcexpress.ca. Trump, once governor Gavin Newsom arrested now as what started his scattered protests in LA has spiraled into federal raids, violent clashes, and a constitutional showdown.

What's really going on with the Greta Thunberg kidnapping scandal? Late DNC audio just exposed what's really going on with the Democrats and the fallouts just starting. Now, Alex Cooper just dropped a bombshell sexual harassment claim. We're jumping into all that and much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show,

you daily dive into the news, starting with this. We need to talk about how it started as scattered protests in LA has now spiraled into federal raids, violent clashes, and a constitutional showdown between Donald Trump and the White House and Gavin Newsom in California. Because yeah, what we've seen are small, scattered, and largely peaceful protests growing bigger,

more widespread, and in some cases increasingly violent. But that also only after what's been described as a heavy-handed response from law enforcement, as well as the nearly unprecedented and possibly illegal decision by Donald Trump to send in the National Guard against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local officials.

Which has now led to Newsom announcing a lawsuit against the administration and accusing the president of one, manufacturing a crisis, two, fanning the flames of violence, and three, doing it all as a way of increasing his own power. But with all that, there's a lot that's happened and is continuing to happen, so I'm gonna try and break it down for you.

And so taking it a day at a time, we start with Friday, when you had ICE raiding three locations in LA, taking dozens of people into custody. With that, also notably coming shortly after the White House had a goal for ICE to make at least 3000 arrests per day. A move that has reportedly led to the agency increasingly targeting workplaces

such as restaurants and retail shops to meet their new quota. So on Friday, as these raids were being carried out, you had newsome writing on social media. Continued chaotic federal sweeps across California to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. And at around the same time,

you had a few dozen people gathered in LA's fashion district at one of the locations where ICE agents had showed up. And soon enough, dozens of federal agents arrived in riot gear and they threw flash bangs to disperse the crowd and clear a path for two vans leaving the area. But then later in the afternoon, hundreds of protesters gathering outside

the Los Angeles federal building, where you had officers from the department of Homeland security firing pepper balls at the protesters before the Los Angeles police department dispersed the crowd. And overall, over the course of the day, pepper balls at the protesters before the Los Angeles Police Department dispersed the crowd. And overall, over the course of the day, more than 100 people were arrested according to federal officials.

And among those arrested, you had David Huerta, the president of service employees in International Union, California, who officials claimed was impeding federal aides by blocking their vehicle. Though notably there, you had video of the incident showing him being knocked down and lying with his head on the curb,

with an report saying that he was briefly admitted to the hospital and he remains in custody. And you have the union leading or participating in rallies in cities all across the US on Monday, and they have called for his release. But then, moving on to Saturday, right the second day of the protest, there were reportedly rumors that immigration agents

planned to raid a Home Depot in Paramount, a small city about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. And again, we saw clashes between law enforcement and protesters who showed up to oppose the raid, with the LA County Sheriff's Department eventually ordering protesters to disperse and warning that they would face arrest or use of force if they didn't.

And they made good on that with officers then shooting tear gas canisters into the crowd, even as protesters retreated. And then with all that, you had Newsome, along with LA Mayor Karen Bass saying in separate comments that they believe that local police could handle these protests. But then at around 6 p.m. local time,

you had Trump signing a memo ordering 2000 National Guard members to Los Angeles to protect federal officers conducting immigration operation. And that as he also authorized Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth to use regular federal troops as necessary to augment the work of the Federalized National Guard unit. And so with that, you had Hegseth writing on X,

the Department of Defense is mobilizing the National Guard immediately to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles. And adding, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized. They are on high alert. You know, with that, whether you agree or you disagree,

this is highly unusual. Normally a state's National Guard forces activated at the request of the governor. And we've actually seen that several times in recent years. During the pandemic, for example, you had National Guardsmen helping to make face masks, field calls

from concerned citizens, disinfect facilities, and assemble testing kits. And following the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, several states sent guard members to Washington for additional security. But Trump's federalization of the guard troops is the first time an American president has used such power since the 1992 LA riots.

And then actually the last time a president sent national guard troops in to deal with civil unrest without the cooperation of a state governor, that was in Alabama in 1965 when Lyndon Johnson dispatched them to protect a civil rights march led by Martin Luther King Jr. And so with this being a very different situation here, you had knew some arguing.

Trump's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. And whatever the intent or case may be, more chaos is definitely what we saw. Or with protesters in the sheriff's department continuing to clash in Compton, which is across the LA river from Home Depot in Paramount. And again, you had officers firing flashbang grenades

and rubber bullets at the protesters. You threw rocks, glass bottles, and fireworks at the officers. And back in downtown LA, you had protesters gathering outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center. The police department there setting up a barrier outside the building and declaring an unlawful assembly

and ordering demonstrators to disperse. But this then zing shortly before midnight, Trump bashing Newsom and Mayor Bass, but then also complimenting the National Guard on doing what he called a great job. Though with that, very notably, you had Newsom quickly pointing out, the National Guard wasn't even deployed on the ground

when Trump posted this. So that's also not the only issue that some have taken with Trump's words. And I mean, even just from that post on Truth Social alone, because for example, you had him going on to say, those radical left protests by instigators and often paid troublemakers will not be tolerated, saying also from now on,

masks will not be allowed to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide and why? But then of course, with that, right when it comes to masks, you have ICE agents coming under criticism themselves or messing up when making arrests, with obviously a key difference there being that they're federal law enforcement agents, not random protesters.

And then regarding the whole outside agitator narrative, you have a number of places pointing out that it's got a long history of being used to try and delegitimize protests, including during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. Which hey, understand, is not to say that there are not opportunists in the mix

just excited for the chance to see a car on fire. But there are also a lot of people peacefully exercising their right to protest something they disagree with. And with that, moving on to Sunday, we saw both of those things on full display. There were the seeing a lot more cases of apparent vandalism, property destruction, or violence on the part of protesters.

I mean, at one point, for example, you had demonstrators throwing tree branches, scooters, fireworks, and debris from a freeway overpass onto police below. Then somewhere else, a row of self-driving Waymo taxis had their tires slash window smashed and exterior spray painted before then being set on fire. And then several businesses reported looting late

in the night, according to the LAPD. But then also on the flip side of this, there was a lot going around to suggest police haven't exactly been calming things down. Right, Sunday it started with nearly 300 members of the California National Guard taking positions at three different sites around the city. With more than a dozen homeland security officers

in riot gear, joining them at the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown. And then throughout the day, you had officers deploying crowd controlled munitions like rubber and foam bullets and tear gas. And actually in one case, it's gone massively viral. You had an Australian news reporter being filmed, being struck by what appeared to be a rubber bullet

fired by law enforcement. You then also had a British photographer reportedly undergoing emergency surgery after being struck in the leg by a non-lethal bullet. You then also seen the likes of online commentator Hassan Piker getting mixed up in all of it. He was out there and in one clip he spoke to someone else who had been hit. I had the Palestinian flag with the shahada on it and they purposely uh shot you in the arms. Yes they said get the girl with the tan backpack my comrade overheard there's

a tan backpack and they shot me point blank. They dragged me. And then separately you saw him being a part of a crowd that was being pushed away by cops and fleeing tear gas. With him then also writing alongside another clip, people who freak out about retaliation to cops at these rallies need to attend one protest and they'll quickly realize that the agitators

are the armed dudes in riot gear, tear gassing thousands of unarmed taxpayers who were paying for the chemicals as well as their salaries and pensions. You then also had political leaders across the country speaking out, every single democratic governor joining Newsom and saying a joint statement condemning Trump's deployment

of the California National Guard as an alarming abuse of power. You also had Newsom releasing a statement saying that he formally requested the Trump administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County and return them to his command and adding, we didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,'

saying, this is a serious breach of state sovereignty, inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed.'" We also heard from Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, saying that he would arrest anyone who obstructs immigration enforcement, with that then being seen by some as a threat to arrest Newsom or other officials,

and actually led to a pretty stark response from Newsom himself. Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy. You know, I don't give a damn, but I care about my community. I care about this community. The hell are they doing?

These guys need to grow up. Then also had Trump later saying that California officials who stand in the way will face charges. And you had Newsom responding by claiming that Trump is, quote, inciting and provoking violence, creating mass chaos, militarizing cities, arresting opponents. These are the acts of a dictator, not a president.

You then had Newsom having words for any bad actors attending the protests, saying violent acts will not be tolerated. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. Donald Trump is using you as an excuse to militarize a city and circumvent our democracy. To the many, many peaceful protesters,

we want to keep you safe. We want you to exercise your fundamental rights. Within all of this, leading up to Newsom announcing today that his office will sue the administration over his deployment of the National Guard and warning that Trump's actions could happen anywhere in the country next. Saying he flamed the fires and illegally acted

to federalize the National Guard. The order he just signed does not just apply to California. It will allow him to go into any state and do the same thing. Though there, you had Trump continuing to defend the decision and posting today. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. Just one look at the pictures and videos

of the violence and destruction tells you all you have to know. And not only has he defended it, but he has taken some of his rhetoric even further, more clearly endorsing the idea of arresting Newsom. And this afternoon, you had CNN reporting that 500 Marines have now been mobilized to respond to the LA protests.

With them saying that this is a significant escalation in Trump's use of the military as a show of force against protesters, but also saying it's still unclear what their task will be once in LA. But then also with all this, I do wanna say, especially regarding the way that Trump is talking about the pictures and the videos,

and this is important for every situation. When you see something, do not just assume, okay, well, that is definitely what's going on and it's what's going on everywhere. But again, when it comes to news and attention, if it bleeds, it leads. But it's easy to see some videos or some pictures and go, okay, so it was just widespread lawlessness and chaos.

That's all it was. But it is also very important to remember that as far as we can tell, most of the people that were showing up and protesting were doing so peacefully. And away from these few areas of clashes, life was going on as normal for most people in LA. And I mentioned that for two reasons.

One, just as part of the job, I think it's important people understand the scope and scale and the context of all the situations. And two, because if you look out there, there are people that are trying to say that this is much bigger than what was actually happening on the ground and they're trying to do so to manufacture consent.

Right, if you look throughout history, it's done in so many ways all the time and one of the ways is showing only violent protestors to delegitimize peaceful movements and you try to engineer public approval for things that people would have once thought was unthinkable, the idea of like sending Marines in against American citizens.

But now, according to Trump at least, that's exactly what's on the table. But then to shift gears from that to a very different story, podcaster Alex Cooper just opened up about being sexually harassed by her soccer coach at Boston University. Because she has a new documentary called Call Her Alex

that's getting released tomorrow on Hulu, but it also just premiered yesterday at the Tribeca Film Festival. And now, according to multiple reports, you have Alex claiming that her school didn't help her as she was dealing with this harassment for years. And so she played soccer under coach Nancy Feldman with her mom specifically being happy

that she chose a school with a female head coach. And so when that coach started paying extra attention to her, she thought, hey, this was because I was working really hard, but according to her, my sophomore year, everything really shifted. I started to notice her really starting to fixate on me way more than any other teammate of mine. And it was confusing because the focus wasn't like,

you're doing so well, let's get you on the field, you're going to be a starter. It was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me. With a teammate even corroborating this, and they claimed that when the coach would review game tapes,

she'd tell everyone to look at Alex's legs or the way she looked in her uniform. With an Alex even adding that during pre-season, the coach would quote, pull me in, just be staring at me, sit next to me on the couch, put her hand on my thigh. I felt so deeply uncomfortable.

I was attending BU on a full tuition scholarship. If I didn't follow this woman's rules, I was gone. It was a psychotic game of, you want to play? Tell me about your sex life. I have to drive you to your night class, get in the car with me alone. And saying every time I tried to resist her,

she would say there could be consequences. And there were. With Alex alleging that the coach even benched her for most of a championship tournament after seeing a man drop her off on campus. So prior to Alex starting her senior year at BU, her parents contacted lawyers to discuss pursuing some kind of sexual harassment case.

But you also had Alex saying that the attorneys warned that the school would likely drag this out for years and years. And you know, you had Alex and her family saying they gave BU written documentation of her coach's actions, but said that the Athletics Office declined to penalize the coach. And even though Alex wanted to stay on the team,

they basically told her instead of firing the coach, she could just keep her scholarship without playing. With Alex then adding, "'No investigation. "'Within five minutes, they had entirely dismissed "'everything I had been through. "'I felt a lot of anger, anger at my coach, "'anger at my school, and anger at the system

"'that allowed this to happen. "'I don't think anyone could have prepared me "'for the lasting effects that came from this experience. She turned something that I love so much into something extremely painful. And for longtime fans, this is actually something Alex kind of alluded to in the past, telling the New York Times back in 2022

that she dealt with what she called a traumatic experience while playing college soccer, but she declined to fully detail what happened. And notably, it's also similarly alluded to in the trailer for the documentary and kind of pointed to as a turning point in her life that made her want to use her voice. I experienced something extremely painful.

It was all taken away from me. It ignited this desperate rush to find my new purpose. And as far as that coach, while she got to keep her job and was celebrated throughout the city of Boston, she has since retired. And with that, neither she nor Boston University have responded to several outlets requests for comment. But as far as Alex, during a Q&A at the film festival,

she opened up about her decision to tell this story and revealed that she is still scared to talk about it today. But then saying, I actually think this is just the beginning. It's really opened my eyes to how difficult the system is and it's so built against us as women and we have to fight so fucking hard to have our voices heard and we are denied or we're questioned or you feel shame.

And that started to really get into my head of how am I about to not put this in the documentary? I realized, holy shit, I have so much more work to do and I'm going to use my platform to hopefully inspire other people to come forward and tell their stories because conversation is the only way that we're going to actually have change. And you know, with all that,

it's gonna be very interesting to see what comes, if anything, from the release of this documentary, whether it be with the coach or the school in question, or just with other people sharing their stories. And then you've got even more news you need to know about in just a minute, but first, gotta pay some bills and say, have you ever gotten so frustrated with buying furniture that you almost consider throwing pillows down

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Nice. On behalf of Air Canada, nice travels Wi-Fi available to airplane members on equip flights sponsored by Bell Condition Supply, seercanada.com Then getting back to the news Greta Thunberg says that she's been kidnapped by israeli forces If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters By the is the Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel. I urge all my friends, family, and comrades

to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible. With that pre-recorded video being released today after Israeli forces seized a ship occupied by Tunberg and 11 other activists from several different countries. Right in the ship in question here was bound for Gaza after departing from Italy last week on a voyage organized

by the pro-Palestine group Freedom Flotilla Coalition. With the goal there being to deliver a small amount of food aid for Gaza and draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis. So very notably here, the activists have described the food delivery as a symbolic amount of aid and made it clear that the trip was mostly about raising awareness for the issue

and protesting Israel's blockade, which actually has been in place in some fashion since Hamas took power in 2007. With Israel arguing that the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from importing weapons, though critics say that it's unfairly punishing Palestinian civilians. But then also, as we've talked about before,

more recently Israeli leaders have banned all international aid from reaching Gaza and enacted their own limited system of aid delivery under armed guard, and it's resulted in some violent confrontations. And all of that, it's coming amid growing concerns over malnutrition and potential famine in the war torn region. As far as this boat is, it neared Israel.

You had the country's defense minister ordering the military to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza. Claiming that the mission was a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. And that is the Israeli foreign ministry posting a statement on X where they called the effort a media gimmick for publicity,

claiming that the maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorized vessels under illegal naval blockade and adding, unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts, and saying we call on all actors to act responsibly and to channel humanitarian aid

through legitimate coordinated mechanisms, not through provocation. And since then, the ministry has made numerous posts trying to undermine the voyage as a publicity stunt and repeatedly referring to the boat as the Selfie Yacht. With them sharing a video yesterday of an Israeli naval officer engaging with the ship and instructing it to change course as it approached the restricted area. And then later confirming that the boat had been seized by Israeli forces, writing, the Selfie Yacht of the celebrities is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.

And once again, they went on to accuse Thunberg and the other activists of attempting to quote stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity. Noting that the delivery included less than a single truckload of aid and adding, There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip. They do not include Instagram selfies. The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the celebrities will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels. So notably there you had many people pushing back on that and noting that the activists themselves never painted

this as a huge aid mission. We're saying that from the start, this was a symbolic effort to raise awareness, which is then why you had a number of people saying that it seems like Israel actually played right into their hands with that one by widely publicizing this whole ordeal, especially because the foreign ministry has continued to post about it online.

Even sharing a video of the activists that got over 27 million views on X in writing. "'All the passengers of the selfie yacht "'are safe and unharmed. "'They were provided with sandwiches and water. "'The show is over.'" With the agency then also posting a widely viewed photo of Toonberg and claiming that she was on her way to Israel,

safe and in good spirits. And so again, you had people arguing if their main mission was to draw attention to the humanitarian situation, it looks to some degree like they succeeded. But then also the Freedom Flotilla Coalition capitalizing on that and issuing a statement reiterating Toonberg's claim that the activists

had been kidnapped by Israeli forces while trying to deliver aid. And with that claiming that the Israeli forces had acted illegally because they took the ship in international waters about 120 miles from Gaza. Saying the ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted its life-saving cargo, including baby formula, food,

and medical supplies confiscated. And that was also echoed by a rights group in Israel that told reporters it was representing the activists. With them saying in a statement that Israel had no legal authority to seize the ship because it was in international waters and because it wasn't headed to Israel, but to territorial waters of the state of Palestine.

And all in all calling it a serious breach of international law. You know, as far as what happens next, you have Israeli officials saying that they'll sail the boat to an Israeli port. So as far as how it's gonna play out from there, we'll have to wait to see. And in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts on this.

Then shifting gears from that to other news. This new leaked audio, it exposes what's really going on inside of the Democratic party right now. And for some context, you should know that back in February, the Democratic National Committee actually elected new leadership in the wake of its just traumatizing defeat in November with Democrats voting in two people who now represent opposing perspectives

about how to move the party forward during the second Trump term. You've got 51 year old Ken Martin, the new DNC chair and 25 year old David Hogg, who is one of five new vice chairs. And Martin, he's a real nuts and bolts experienced party man. He's led the Minnesota Democratic farmer labor party for some 14 years

and cultivated relationships with leaders around the country. Whereas then Hogg, by contrast, is a much younger, much more militant voice from the activist wing of the party. But with him emerging as a leading advocate for gun control after the 2018 Parkland School shooting, which he survived.

When politicians say that your voice doesn't matter because the NRA owns them, we say no more. When he secured a seat in the actual party leadership, a lot more moderate Dems were worried because they were worried he was too far left for them. With them among other things, digging up tweets in which he said stuff like,

I'm one of the most politically toxic people in the country and I'm too radical for American politics. As well as for saying things like billionaires shouldn't exist, all drugs should be legal, college should be free, and healthcare should be universal. Then in April, it appeared he really crossed a line that finally brought him into conflict with Ken Martin.

Because his private group, Leaders We Deserve, which he co-founded in 2023, announced plans to spend $20 million funding primaries against sitting house Democrats. With Hogg explaining, "'We have a culture of seniority politics that has created a litmus test of who deserves to be here. We need people, regardless of their age,

that are here to fight and adding. People say they want change in the Democratic Party, but really they want change so long as it doesn't potentially endanger their position of power. That's not actually wanting change, that's selfishness. I think having members face a challenge in a safe seat, there are only potential benefits that can come from that because we're holding our members to a higher standard,

we're holding our party to a higher standard, we're holding our party to a higher standard, and we're embracing the true democratic values that our party is named after. But this move, it stirred up a lot of controversy within the party with some backing hogs saying, hey, he's pushing Democrats to take a more aggressive posture towards Trump, but then others opposing him,

arguing that it doesn't make sense for a top party official to be undermining elected representatives in that very party. For example, Martin, the DNC chair saying, "'In order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the DNC's longstanding position

that primary voters, not the national party, determine their Democratic candidates for the general election.'" Then adding, "'When you lead the institution tasks with calling the balls and strikes, you don't get to also swing the bat,' saying, "'Our role is clear.

Let the voters decide then work like hell to swing the bat. Saying our role is clear, let the voters decide, then work like hell to support the nominee they choose. And then reportedly, Haag proposed a compromise, suggesting that an internal firewall would bar him from accessing sensitive information in the primaries that his group is involved in. Then reportedly, Martin shot down the idea, instead backing a proposed rule to mandate neutrality

from party officials in primaries. A move that would effectively force Haag to either abandon his outside group or step down from the DNC. And that is he then also faced another threat to his position from a different direction. Oklahoma DNC member, Kaylen Free. Because Free, she filed a complaint back in February

claiming that Hogg's election violated DNC rules. Saying that it made it harder for a woman to be elected vice chair. And then last month, a DNC panel recommended holding new elections for Hogg and another vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta. But then Hogg responding that, "'It's impossible to ignore the broader context

"'of my work to reform the party,' "'which loomed large over this vote,' "'and that the DNC has pledged to remove me, "'and this vote has provided an avenue "'to fast track that effort.'" And then a few days later, roughly 10 DNC officers and staff reportedly held a Zoom meeting.

But then Politico obtaining a clip where you had Martin saying to Hogg, -"I deeply respect you, David. I too was looking forward to working with you, but this has created a situation and I'll be very honest with you, for the first time in my hundred days on this job and Jessica knows this.

The other night I said to myself for the first time, I don't know if I want to do this anymore. No one knows who the hell I am. Right. I'm trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win. And again, I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. Right, and after that leaked yesterday, it blew up online for obvious reason.

Right, it's not every day that you hear a DNC chair telling a DNC vice chair he might have to resign because his capacity for leadership has been destroyed. And as far as the reaction to it, a lot of it seems to be sympathetic to Martin. But the same, for example, six people who were on the call defending Martin and statements to Politico and some also attacking Hogg.

But Jane Klebe, for example, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees saying, instead of helping to rebuild the party he's supposed to serve, he's attacking it for personal gain. That might boost his PACS fundraising, but it erodes trust in the very institution we're trying to reform and strengthen.

And that is, you had DNC associate chair, Stuart Applebaum, added, the stakes are so high right now that we can't afford distractions like the ones that David has created. But you also had a lot of people criticizing Martin for buckling so fast under so little pressure. With one person posting,

"'If you've spent decades in party politics and you're being outmaneuvered by David Hogg, maybe it's time to give up the ghost.'" And another agreeing, I've still got some Hogg skepticism, but if saying we should primary old people ruin Martin's ability to show leadership, then he didn't have it to begin with.

And then as far as Martin himself, he told the outlet, I'm not going anywhere. I took this job to fight Republicans, not Democrats. So as far as Hogg, he may be going somewhere. Right, and that because this week DNC members will vote on whether to hold new elections for his and Kenyatta's posts. But then from that, as we start to wind things down today,

I wanna shift gears to a human interest piece. I wanna talk about Mike Hale Baker. You've never heard of him, because he's a teenager who just graduated from Mill Creek High School in Georgia. On the day of his graduation, he walked across the stage, got the diploma, took the pictures, did all the normal graduation day stuff.

And then he and his family, they decide to go get dinner at the Burger King that Mike Hale had been working at for the last few months. But then when they walked in, Mike H to go get dinner at the Burger King that Mike Hale had been working at for the last few months. But then when they walked in, Mike Hale saw that the store was shorthanded for the day. And so he decided to jump in and help for a bit. So he's behind the counter, still wearing his graduation sash and medals,

filling orders, serving customers, not even clocked in, just ready to help. And then just so happens, a few minutes later, Maria Mendoza pulls up through the drive-through. Maria's daughter, Daisy, she also graduated from Mill Creek High School. And Maria, she was going through the Burger King to take some dinner home and celebrate.

But then she saw my kale, and she later said in an interview, my whole world froze. My first thought was he's working. He's not out celebrating like the rest of the kids. My child gets to be with me after the ceremony, and he's here. So she just whips out her phone

and starts taking a video of my kale in action, and she posted on TikTok. And in that video, she calls on Burger King to give him a scholarship. And that video goes viral. It's over 4 million views with countless people asking for ways to donate to it. And so Maria, she sets up a GoFundMe

with the goal of $5,000 to kickstart his education fund. With the donations then just starting to come in hitting more than six grand by the time they even tell Michael about this. So I did a GoFundMe for you. And so far I have raised over $6,000. Oh. Oh. Oh my God. over $6,000. Over $6,000.

I told you it was worth it, honey. I told you. But then local and national outlets see this story, they pick it up and the fundraiser has now hit more than $220,000. With that on top of that, the Burger King Foundation getting on board and giving Michael a $10,000 scholarship saying, for him to come by the restaurant

on one of the biggest days of his life, to share the moment with his BK family and choose to jump in and help is a testament to his character. For good measure, they also gave Maria's daughter, Daisy, the same $10,000 scholarship as she gears up to attend Georgia State University to study neuroscience. And they added there,

it was Maria's kindness and empathy that helped bring Mikel's story to the world. So we are excited to also celebrate her daughter Daisy with a scholarship for her studies. Right, and as far as Mike Hale, he's been working since he was 16 years old. And his original plan was to just take a gap year to save money before being able to go to college,

to study automotive technology. Saying, you know, if he couldn't come up with the money there, his plan was to then join the army, which would cover the cost of his tuition. But now, thanks to all this, he's looking forward to going to trade school this fall and the rest of the money is gonna be going to fixing up his car and then into a trust.

And so, hey, with that, I will say, I know how this goes. I would love to live in a society where, you know, college was free for everyone, everyone could go. But that is not the reality for many people in this world. And so, you know, it's kind of cool to see someone that's empathetic and thoughtful and took the time and someone who cares about his coworkers, who cares about having that work ethic

being rewarded for having that. You know, I find myself agreeing with Maria who said, there's still a lot of humanity out there. There's still a lot of hope. We can help each other out without expecting anything in return. But then my friends is gonna bring us to the end of today's show.

Thank you for watching, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow, because remember I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Love you, mean it, bye.