The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.8 The New MrBeast Allegations Are Much Worse, Taylor Swift Terror Plot, Harris & Walz Controversies, &

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

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Sup you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news and dear Lord, I keep saying it, but it keeps being true. The news will not stop newsin'. Just a lot that we have to talk about, but we're gonna make sense of it all. So you just sit back, you hit that like button

to let YouTube know you love these big daily dives into the news and let's just jump into it. This is a news show. Y'all another day, another Mr. Beast scandal. I got off the treadmill. The blisters I had on my feet were like, you wouldn't believe. It's all over, just these big red... I couldn't walk.

My muscles were like, just... The lactic acid, I... So I'm in this situation where my mental health is not good. My physical health is getting worse, but we're filming. So I'm doing bits. It was too real. If they're faking videos, why couldn't we fake this one? But Jimmy had his like, he was sitting in the chair turned around like an evil villain. Swear to God. So that is Jake Weddle and he used to work for Mr. Beast. And those clips you just saw come from a video that Dogpack404, aka Dawson, uploaded last night titled, I Worked for Mr. Beast, He's a Sociopath.

With this being part two of Dawson's expose on Jimmy, where we talked about part one last week. With him in that video calling Mr. Beast a fraud, claiming that Jimmy rigs his competitions and is running illegal lotteries targeting kids. And that's among other things, like I talked about when we last covered it, the video covering all the allegations.

It was almost an hour long, so we weren't able to go point by point, but I'm going to include links in the description so you can watch it. But in this latest installment, Jake makes some truly disturbing allegations in a sit-down interview with Dawson. Like, I mean, we're talking about allegations like Jimmy knowingly hiring a registered sex offender, also allegations about what's been described as war crime level torture. But we also have to talk about a few smaller things to get there. Because to start painting the picture, you had Jake saying he worked for MrBeast from 2019 to 2020, and he briefly appeared on the channel again in 2021.

With Jake saying that he watched the MrBeast channel move from genuine to stage, saying that it went from a guy with a camera to something like Amazon. With him pointing specifically there to a video that he worked on himself about a fake meteor hitting his car. Saying he knew about the bit from the beginning

and even asked his mom to play into it for the video. But more importantly, under the accusations of staging and faking videos, Jake talks about the bit from the beginning and even asked his mom to play into it for the video. But more importantly, under the accusations of staging and faking videos, Jake talks about the culture of Team Beast, like what it is like to work there. And he claimed that there are two camps of people at the company, those who were on Jimmy's good side and those who weren't.

But Jake saying he often found himself in the camp that wasn't, and therefore his parts of the video were often left on the cutting room floor. He also said that Jimmy didn't want people on his team to have an outright, a way to get big outside of him. He didn't want anyone to get more popular or have more of a way out necessarily. Like, oh, I'm doing my Twitch thing on the side. Don't do that because you could get

famous and leave and talk about me negatively. With that claim then appearing to be backed up by Jake the Viking, another former member of Team Beast, with him claiming on X that he was asked to delete his social media and he refused. Then there was the actual salary aspect of working for Mr. Beast with Jake saying that his pay didn't reflect the work that he was putting to delete his social media and he refused. Then there was the actual salary aspect of working for Mr. Beast with Jake saying that his pay didn't reflect the work that he was putting in or the revenue the videos were making. Something that he said became a bigger issue when he realized that there was another writer

that was making even less than Jake despite working the same job and being a parent. And so with that, you had Jake saying he thought that was wrong, he wanted that dealt with, but also noting that the other writer didn't wanna rock the boat, saying that he liked his job. But he said, hey man, if that's how you feel, you know, like if that's like, I trust you.

He stood with me. He went to that meeting with me. And I said, I said I have my piece and he backed me up. And I said, I need X, Y, Z or I'm out of here. And they said, bet. And they gave me a severance check the next day. And they gave him a severance check the next day. And if I knew,

if I knew he was going to lose his job too, I wouldn't have done it. Also, as far as Jimmy himself, Jake says his goal isn't actually helping people, it's being the best YouTuber. With Jake echoing a criticism that we've heard about Mr. Beast for years, right? Filming yourself doing nice things isn't actually doing nice things. I think when he's generous on camera, it's the least authentic thing in the world. There's an element of, you know, oh, hey, you're crying. That's so good for camera. You know, I'm so glad he's, if you're crying because you're so thankful that you

got X, Y, Z, and then you go, oh, it's so, I'm so glad he needed it that bad so I could come in and, oh, can you cry more? Oh, it's so good for the camera. If you could, oh, I just did. It made me uncomfortable that I was working there and i didn't like it and i vocalized it sometimes and i think that's why i wasn't on camera as much everybody loves jimmy and behind closed doors he is not superfully and intentionally. And it's branding, it's marketing, it's YouTube. But with all of that said, it brings us to what's really gotten the most attention here.

Because in 2021, Jimmy's team, they called Jake back for a video. And the idea there was 100 days in solitary confinement. A video that may sound familiar to you because Mr. B's team actually did end up putting a video together, but it was with someone else. Because according to Jake, the first time they filmed it, it went very, very wrong.

Starting off, you had Jake saying that all the stuff that they gave him to try and make the confinement bearable actually had the opposite effect. Saying that the hot tub wasn't actually connected to a filtration system, so it got very smelly. The shower was always cold. The ice cream machine was either too loud or if he turned it off, it started to smell like mildew and rotten milk. Also notably,

he said the lights never shut off despite him making requests as well as complaints that he couldn't sleep. I had good people looking out for me. I had a lot of good people looking out for me saying this, this, we got to stop. So I, I just wanted to turn the lights off and I'm vocalizing to people, I wish the lights would turn off. And I go up to my friend, my good friend. And I go, they're not turning the lights off. He goes, what? That's a war crime. We're not allowed to do that to terrorists. Oh, oh good.

24 hours breaking the Geneva Convention, I guess. But I'm also going on to say that he'd get lines to say to the cameras from Jimmy or the director. This is a note I got from the director from Jimmy when I'm receiving some cash. He said, Jimmy said, "'Can you say to the camera how thankful you are "'that now you can pay back your student loans.

You know how hard it was to do a take of that? To pretend to make it genuine? I don't want to have student loans. I don't want to be in a cage. But Jimmy's the guy with the money. And if you do what he says, he'll do what you want. Oh, you want your student loans paid off? You're being scaped. Throughout the whole experience, Jake says that he was suffering, but he was always trying

to perform, right? To stay on for the cameras. I'm talking to the camera! And I'm being, you know, like, hey, it's been a couple days, I'm not doing so hot! You know, which if I'm filming a video, that's what I should be doing for the camera, but it was too real. If they're faking videos, that's what I should be doing for the camera, but it was too real. If they're faking videos, why couldn't we fake this one? You know, if we're allowed to let these cast members

have some time off of this difficult challenge, how come we couldn't turn the lights off? But I'm also saying, even with everything that was going on, Jimmy had challenges for Jake to do, including solving a Rubik's cube, which he says he tried to refuse, but was told to just do the thing.

And then saying there was another challenge to run a marathon on a treadmill, with Jake saying that he felt like he couldn't say no. There was so much pressure to just do it, just do the thing, you know? You know, and I, if I refuse, it's just, that's the whole video, I guess the budget's, you know, so much money up in flames,

because Jake said he wouldn't wanna to do the thing and so I wanted to be a good sport and I wanted to get the boost and I wanted the cash and so I start running at 12 um I was able to take some breaks and I asked him how long do I have

he goes until I get back and I'm running until 3 a.m. And I got off the treadmill. Oh, the blisters I had on my feet were like, you wouldn't believe. All over, just these big red... I couldn't walk.

My muscles were like, just the lactic acid, I... Right after that, Jake says that he called it off, saying he couldn't do it anymore. And they didn't let me leave right away either. They wanted to make sure, you know, everything was fine.

So I, you know, slept for a while. They turned the lights off. And they brought... It's like they brought in all my friends, you know, to make it a little... They brought in all the people I liked. And Jimmy. With Jake then going on to claim that the first thing Jimmy said to him was... As if rehearsed by his lawyers.

Yeah, you know, your mental health is the most important thing. You just want to make sure you're okay. And the last thing we want you to do is... I can almost hear the words Sue come out of his mouth. The S. He just stopped right before I got out. And so he had Jake saying he ended up getting $100,000 and some change for the whole experience. So of course, with that, he ended up having to pay over $40,000 in taxes that year. He also had Jake saying that he shared some text messages that he got right after they cut filming, or where it looks like he said that he wasn't in a good place mentally,

that the blisters on his feet still hurt to walk on, that his therapist was concerned about him. And all this is something that was supposed to be a fun Mr. Beast video, not obviously a traumatic experience. But Jake also saying he's never been invited back to the channel since then. But then also after sharing that story,

Dawson shifted directions and asked Jake about the Ava Chris Tyson situation and whether he witnessed any sexual misconduct at the company, which we saw Jake reply that he spent a considerable amount of time with Ava. And while she definitely made offhand and gross jokes, they didn't raise any concern in Jake because he's a comedian. But Jake also went on to say that it was more than just Ava. I heard, you know, people have been let go for sexually assaulting some very young people. Well, there was a known sex offender, registered sex offender, convicted sex offender

on the registry and everything who worked there. But that guy, from what I hear, I can't confirm or deny from what I hear, he's on the registry for doing some not great stuff to some underage people. And they knew that. And he's working at a channel that has underage people on and around and is targeted to underage people. Truck month is on at Chevrolet.

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Refreshingly simple. And they covered up the fact that not only did he work there, but he was like the manager when it all started. With Dawson then going on to say that another former Mr. Beast employee said that the company was working to expunge the record of this employee from the sex offender registry. With a person being identified as Delaware and people quickly making the connection saying, hey, isn't that Jake the Viking's brother-in-law? Right, one, Jake the Viking also being a former Beast employee and two, that's something that he confirmed today explaining on X, yes, Delaware is my brother-in-law. Yes,

he is a RSO. And saying when he was 21, a 16-year-old girl accused him and others of SA when she was 11. Delaware took a plea deal. That's why there was no jail time, but he still had to register. And with that saying, he was hired before I was and was actually the reason I got hired at Mr. Beast. Before being hired, Delaware sat down with Jimmy and Sue, Jimmy's mom, and explained to them everything. So yes, Jimmy knew, but again, this incident happened in 2010. Delaware was hired in 2017-2018. And going on to claim, Delaware's charges are set to be dropped this fall. I understand why anyone would be upset and frustrated over these allegations, and I do not blame them. Hurting kids in any way is completely unacceptable, but in the case of Delaware, I firmly believe he

did nothing wrong and look forward to the day these charges are dropped. But with all that said, as far as if there's more to the story regarding allegations, at the very least, I'll say Dawson has promised a part three. So I will just tell you, James, what will be in part three, so you don't have to harass my people. It will be about serious allegations of sexual misconduct in the company and your direct involvement in covering up those crimes. And I'll make sure to give you full credit and plaster your face all over the screen when we talk about that. And then it also doesn't end there. I mean, Rolling Stone, for example, just published an article last night where they spoke to a woman who was reportedly Ava's executive assistant from 2023 to 2024.

With her claiming the two formed a sexual relationship before she got the job, but also noting that she always felt like she had to say yes to anything to get the job. Claiming that it got to the point where Ava would just start dropping her pants randomly and ask for oral sex. And that former assistant saying everything became very one-sided and she now views this as sexual assault. Also, in terms of a response, we haven't seen anything public yet from Jimmy or his team, but there is an email that appears to be an internal communication from Jimmy to those within the company that's been making the rounds online, right?

And that's in the third-party investigation that Jimmy promised following the Ava Chris Tyson allegations that will be expanded to include, quote, a full assessment of our internal culture and to investigate allegations of inappropriate behavior by people in the company. The email also going on to say

that the company is implementing several changes in light of the preliminary findings of that investigation, with that including hiring a new chief human resources officer and implementing mandatory training on safety, sexual harassment, diversity, sensitivity, and workplace conduct. Also saying they'll be implementing anonymous reporting and listening sessions with the new president and COO of the company, and saying they've also asked an external company to come in and review their policies and practices. With Jimmy saying, as your leader, I take full responsibility and I am committed to continue to improve and evolve my leadership style. I recognize that I also need to create a culture that makes all our

employees feel safe and allows them to do their best work. But for now, that is where we are. And of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on this whole situation in those comments down below. But then, you know, I gotta say, it's been fun for me to learn how you guys are using your SeatGeek winnings. From comedy shows to festivals, our weekly SeatGeek $500 giveaway lives on and you beautiful bastards are crushing it. Also, for the uninitiated, SeatGeek is the number one rated live event ticketing app with over 28 million downloads

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also, if you're new to SeatGeek, you can add code Phil for $20 off your first purchase. But again, SeatGeek vets can add code PDS, which gets you $10 off any purchase. And again, you'll be entered for your chance at the $500 SeatGeek credit, no purchase necessary. And then just to make it extra awesome, if you're interested in a chance to win $1,000 SeatGeek credit, Daily Dip newsletter subscribers can earn double entry and double winning. So keep up with the PDS in your inbox as well with the Daily Dip and subscribe right now. And then in good but frightening news, we need to talk about how a possible terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert was foiled in Vienna. Because the details that Austrian officials have given, they are serious and scary.

Because Taylor was scheduled to perform three shows this weekend, but after two suspects were arrested over this plot, event organizers and Taylor's team announced they had no choice but to cancel for everyone's safety. Now as far as the two suspects who have been arrested, there are 19 and 17 year old Austrians with reports saying that they were inspired by the Islamic State.

With that, you have reports referring to the 19 year old as the main suspect and officials claim that he began working on this plan back in July. And he actually previously uploaded a note of allegiance to the Islamic State online. Authorities also say that he confessed to plans to kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.

Also that he quit his job last month and stated that he still had big plans. You also have Austria's intelligence chief saying chemical substances were found at his home and security officials saying that he took preparatory actions for a possible attack. Officials also saying he had downloaded manuals for bomb building and that they found hydrogen peroxide, homemade explosives, and detonators at his home. And so with all this, you had the interior minister speaking at a press conference saying the situation was serious, but a tragedy

was prevented. As for the 17-year-old suspect, authorities say that he had recently been employed by a company that would have provided services at the concert venue. There's also a 15 year old that's being questioned, but right now investigators are saying they're not seeking anyone else in connection to the plot. But also with this, you have people now wondering if the status of any other future shows are gonna change. Right, our next and final stop

on the European leg of her tour is in London. And right now police in the UK say that events in Vienna shouldn't impact the Wembley Stadium shows. But also with that, police will be working with security teams to make sure appropriate actions are taken. And this is you at outlets like Reuters noting that the UK is already on high alert

after racist riots have been breaking out in the country. With many of those, of course, tracing back to a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. And so for now, we'll have to wait to see if there are any updates that come from that. Now that said, as far as Taylor, she hasn't addressed any of this directly herself, and her team hasn't put out any statements

aside from the one announcing that the Vienna shows were canceled and that ticket holders will get refunds shortly. So with that, you know, you have some fans upset by this, thinking Taylor needs to say something or there needs to be an announcement to reschedule the shows. But it's also worth noting that this whole situation is likely one that Taylor is not taking lightly herself. I mean, she's even previously called an event like this her biggest fear. Saying that after the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert and the shooting in Vegas, she was terrified to go on tour because she didn't know how to keep her fans safe. And also saying this fear of violence

that extends to her personal life. She even carries Kwik Klot army grade bandage dressing around with her. So while she's not one to usually cancel shows, it makes sense that organizers still made this call given how extreme the situation was. Well, obviously you had fans shaken, very disappointed, some traveling from all over the globe to go,

you know, some have found unity still. People sharing photos of Swifties congregating in Vienna, singing and trading friendship bracelets still. But really, what matters most is that everyone is safe. A tragedy has been avoided. And I'm happy today that the story ends with disappointment and not a number of dead. But then in quick business and entertainment news

that may affect your wallet, Disney is gonna be raising its prices again. With them specifically on October 17th, raising the price of both ad and ad-free subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, by as much as 25%. And you know what? They have earned it, or at least that is what their CFO, Hugh Johnston, is saying.

Because this week, Disney announced the price hikes around the same time it reported financial results for the third quarter, with them revealing, one, Disney's overall streaming business has actually turned a profit for the first time. And so with all that, two, Johnson saying, but we could make more money. Specifically saying, we do feel like we've earned that pricing in the marketplace, and we feel positively about that. And then,

as far as the company's CEO, Bob Iger, he claimed they're not even worried about the customer pushback, saying, every time we've taken a price increase, we've had only modest churn from that, nothing that we would consider significant. And also claiming that Disney hadn't seen any real amount of backlash to the announcement that they'd be getting tough on password sharing. And with that actually saying the real crackdown would begin in earnest in September. And everything that was just said, yeah, it makes sense.

It's like what we talked about last time. It just becomes a math problem. And I'll oversimplify it, but like if they're raising prices by 25%, let's just say that's flat, as long as they don't lose 20% of their audience, it's a net positive for them. And as we've seen with their past price increases,

the amount of people that unsubscribed, so small compared to the amount of money they gained. With this ending up being one of those examples where the internet isn't reality. Like how many times in the past have we covered a story where it was like, oh, Netflix is gonna crack down on password sharing, oh, they're raising prices. And then social media would be ablaze for a week

of fuck Netflix or fuck whoever. And then in the next quarterly report, they were like, turns out it was an amazing move on our part. Good job, us. So of course, there are likely policies and price increases where there is a seal, where a company can go too far and people go, fuck it. That was the final straw. But so far, we haven't seen that with Disney. But also notably, while things seem to be going well for Disney, not everything. Because their third quarter statement also revealed that Disney's theme parks are struggling. With Johnson, the CFO, saying, "'The higher income consumer "'is traveling internationally a bit more,

"'and the lower income consumer "'is feeling a bit of stress.'" Which yeah, probably for a number of reasons, including streamers just randomly raising their prices all the time. Also, I should say, like when I say, oh, their parks aren't doing that well, they saw a 3% drop in their operating profit from last year,

but we're still talking about an operating profit of $2.2 billion. So you know, not that you were gonna, but don't go out there getting worried for Disney. But then, shifting gears, we're going to talk about Vice President Harris experiencing her first major pro-Palestine protest since she launched her campaign. Right, because yesterday, Harris had two absolutely huge rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan. But the Michigan rally has since gotten more attention because there were protesters there interrupting her while she was trying to talk about Trump and Project 2025. While some in the space have falsely showcased this as a singular moment, here's what happened.

So you've got these protesters chanting while Harris is trying to do her speech. Harris keeps trying to talk over them until other members of the crowd then drown them out by loudly chanting her name. Kamala! Kamala! Kamala! Kamala! Kamala! So that's one of the first key moments, but then once those Kamala chants died down, the pro-Palestine demonstrators still continue

as Harris went on trying to give her speech. With that then prompting the crowd to once again overwhelm them with chants of Kamala, with Harris then chiming in herself. Kamala! Kamala! Kam them with chants of Kamala, with Harris then chiming in herself. I'm here because we believe in democracy. Everyone's voice matters, but I am speaking now. I am speaking now. But then after those two instances, the protests still continued on as Harris tried to bring the conversation back to Trump.

Look, if he is elected, Donald Trump intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare. He intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis. And he intends to end the Affordable Care Act. You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that, otherwise I'm speaking.

And so this was a super notable moment for a number of reasons, starting with, because one, while Biden has faced a lot of criticism from progressives and pro-Palestine activists for his unwavering support of Israel until now, Harris has largely been protected from all that. So two, there were a lot of eyes on how she was gonna respond to this issue,

especially as right now, she hasn't outlined a full platform that's substantially different from Biden's here. Though three, in general, she has been more outspoken about the Palestinian suffering and Israeli accountability, with us seeing her forcefully calling for a ceasefire, taking aim at Israel for blocking aid to Gaza,

and speaking repeatedly about the dire conditions in Palestine, among other things. And notably here, it wasn't just those three moments. We later learned that she actually at least tried to hear from pro-Palestine groups there. In fact, just before yesterday's rally, Harris met with leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, or which is the group that mobilized over 100,000 people

to withhold their votes from Biden in protest during Michigan's primary, with her campaign telling reporters that during the brief engagement, Harris reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities. You know, then with the events from yesterday, it shows that at least part of those groups, they want her to do more. And then as far as the reaction to what we saw yesterday, depending on where you went, it was mixed. Right? I mean, you had no shortage of people applauding her reaction, calling the protesters hecklers and saying she came off very strong, saying what she said is not a diss, it is just a fact.

But then others going further than what Kamala Harris was saying, knowing that Trump's plan or desire if he becomes president is to kick pro-Palestinian protesters out of the country, that he would crush their protests. And that's, of course, in addition to what he would do in the Middle East. But this also is you had a number of people

condemning her response, accusing her of silencing the protesters and coming off as dismissive and condescending. Or some saying she should have at least acknowledged the demonstrators and made them feel heard. Though there you had others pushing back, saying they didn't want to be heard, they wanted to cause a nuisance.

But then also some connected to this, but also a number of separate saying, you know, she just needs to have better go-to responses for protesters. So again, this is a good number of people were happy with her response. But for now, one, we'll have to wait to see if there's any sort of impact.

Two, I'd love to know your thoughts in general regarding this. And three, just a friendly reminder, there are 89 days left till the election. You can go to vote.org to register to vote, check your registration if you think you're registered to vote, and also just come up with a voting plan. Because more than ever, there's a lot at stake nationally,

statewide, and very local. What's the point of a beautiful bastard being informed if you don't follow it up with action? Polls can look however they're gonna look, doesn't matter if you don't vote. And then, don't you ever find yourself struggling to turn your brain off once your head hits the pillow? Toss and turn and waking up multiple times throughout the night? Because I mean, I've been there. But I'm going to say, you need to listen up because the fantastic partner and sponsor of the PDS, Beam Dream, it's made with the highest quality sleep promoting ingredients to help you and me

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DeFranco or scan the QR code to get up to 35% off with my exclusive discount. That's shopbeam.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco. And then let's talk about JD Vance accusing Tim Walls of stolen valor. It's one of the growing side stories in the current news cycle. Vance claiming that Walls retired early from the National Guard to avoid deployment. There, notably, there's no evidence right now that Walls retired to avoid deployment. Walls retired early from the National Guard to avoid deployment. Though there, notably, there's no evidence right now that Walls retired to avoid deployment. Walls retired after serving 24 years in the Army National Guard. And two months later, his unit had been given notice

that they would be deployed. But also, you know, on this subject, I'm some normie that's outside of the military. So like whenever possible, I try to bring in people that are actually connected to the space. And so to try to get a better understanding of all this, we spoke to Preston Stewart. And in addition to being a creator here on YouTube,

he studied international relations and terrorism at West Point. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, makes content on the military, national security, and foreign affairs. So with this situation where, you know, you have Walls filing to run for Congress months before he retired from the service, we started by asking Preston if Walls would have known that he was being deployed when he filed for Congress or when he filed his retirement. So this is why I say it's a little bit complicated. There's so many other factors at play here. For one, most people don't make it to 20 years. Most people leave at the three, six, seven year mark. When I was active duty, we were deploying about every 12 months or every 18 months.

So it's just constant. I understand he was on National Guard, so it's a little bit different there. But anybody who retired or left the service between roughly 03 and 2011 would have done so with a deployment, knowing that a deployment is coming at some point in the future. A deployment coming down the pipeline is a decision point. And I had countless soldiers decide that that deployment coming meant that it was time for them to move on and try something else in life. Whether for any number of reasons, maybe it wasn't good for them to go down range. Maybe they had a new kid on the way, a sick family member, a spouse took a new job, who knows what it might be. So anytime a deployment notice comes down, there's a lot of people, and it always has been the case to this day, that that kind of serves as a decision point

for someone's career. And in my reading, that's kind of what this looks like. Wendy's most important deal of the day has a fresh lineup. Pick any two breakfast items for $4. And in my reading, that's kind of what this looks like. delivery through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as

fast as 60 minutes. Plus enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Also with the situation, Vance has come out at Walsh for what he sees as lying about seeing combat to advocate for gun control. That we, and he was making a point about gun control. He said we shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war to be on America's streets.

Well, I wonder, Tim Walsh, when were you ever in war to be on America's streets. Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this, what was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone? What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage.

Do not pretend to be something that you're not. And with this, Walz has been very open about never having seen combat, and Vance has also been very open about not seeing combat either. Vance was a journalist for the air base that he was at in Iran, whereas Walls provided security on bases in Europe

during Operation Enduring Freedom. And so from an outside point of view as a non-veteran, Vance attacking Walls for not seeing combat is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black. And as a whole, it seems like this is a kind of very petty argument. So I asked Preston if that's truly the case here. Yeah, I think we've done a bad job

in the veteran community, in the military community of kind of providing, creating, you know, tiers here that don't exist. So in the last 20 years or so, there's been a lot of opportunities for people to deploy to a combat zone. That wasn't the case prior to 2011. And it's not the case right now. There's countless leaders, great leaders across the military that have never been in a combat zone. It's not their fault. They didn't choose to not go to a combat zone. We just aren't actively fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan like we were for much of the global war on terror. So when I say, unfortunately, we've created this hierarchy, it's unnecessary because somebody today is just as much a soldier,

sailor, Marine or airman as somebody who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not their choice whether or not they deploy. With all this, I will say online though, veterans are split. You have Alex Hollings, another veteran creator tweeting, if you only respect the service of the people you like and agree with, then you don't actually respect service at all. So you had Dr. Waitman Bjorn writing, J.D. Vance was a fucking reporter for a fixed wing aviation unit for six months. He's not Audie Murphy. Then on the other side, you have people like Representative Waltz saying in a video, categorizing Walz's retirement as the quarterback of a big team walking away from their team right before they go to the Super Bowl. And then also kind of a call

out of trying to keep the peace. You had fighter jet astronaut, Senator Markelly writing, hey, JD Vance, did you forget what the USMC taught you about respect? Tim Walz spent decades in uniform. You both deserve to be thanked for your service. Don't become Donald Trump. He calls veterans suckers and losers. And that is beneath those of us who have actually served. And so with all this, you know, obviously I want to know everyone's thoughts here, but especially if you're active duty or you're a veteran, I'd love to know what you're thinking here and why. And then the starvation of millions in Gaza might be justified and moral, according to a guy by the name of Bezalel Smotrich. Oh brother, this guy stinks!

Also to be clear, this is not just some random crazy guy on the internet. One, he's also a guy who was once questioned in connection to a plot to use 700 liters of gasoline to blow up vehicles on a major highway. And two, he is Israel's minister of finance. And along with Itzamar Ben-Gavir, a guy who's been arrested in the past for inciting racism

and supporting a terrorist organization, and is now the Minister of National Security, Smoltrich has been dubbed one of the far-right kingmakers of Netanyahu's government. Right, because in 2020, Netanyahu formed an alliance with them and their parties to get back in power. And so with that, you know, these terrifying comments are just the latest thing that have people worried about how much influence far-right extremists have in that government. And to give you the full context here, Smoltrich said all this in a speech just this week, and his specific words were, quote,

It's not possible in today's global reality to manage a war. No one will allow us to starve two million people, even though that might be just and moral until they return the hostages. With him also saying that Israel was, quote, bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. And adding, we are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war. And finally, claiming you cannot fight Hamas with one hand and give them aid with the other. But to be clear here, right, the aid is meant for the victims of this war, and Israel has control over aid that enters Gaza, and then aid groups are in charge of distributing it. For sure, there have been some reports of Hamas trying to steal aid, but it's not clear right now that it is a widespread issue. But I

mean, for example, you have an American official revealing that in the past, his Israeli counterpart was unable to give him or the Biden administration any specific evidence that Hamas was stealing aid shipments. However, aid groups and international organizations have presented evidence that Israel is restricting food aid into Gaza. Actually, with that, UN experts claimed last month that famine has spread across the entire country, accusing Israel of conducting an intentional and targeted starvation campaign that they described as a form of genocidal violence. And to that point, you have an ICC prosecutor actually seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu on charges, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Though notably, Netanyahu has denied those allegations, making that same claim that if Palestinians in Gaza aren't getting enough food, it's because Hamas is stealing it. Now, with all that said, going back, we now have Western allies

condemning Smotrich's comments. The EU, for example, came out with a statement noting again that deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime, and adding that these comments, they demonstrate his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity. With them finally there saying they expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich.

Then as far as the US State Department, you had a spokesperson say, we are appalled by these comments and reiterate that this rhetoric is harmful and disturbing. Adding there that Joe Biden and US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken have repeatedly stressed the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, remove any obstacles to the flow of aid,

and restore basic services for those in need. But then also with that, some other big news is that the State Department is also now calling on Israel to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the country's detention facilities. Because if you didn't see, this week, Israeli media obtained leaked surveillance footage allegedly showing Israeli soldiers

sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee. And so then with that, you actually have Smotrich calling for a criminal investigation. But it's a criminal investigation to locate the leakers of that video without condemning the abuse. And that, as he already supported members of his party who broke into two military facilities

after military police detained some Israeli soldiers accused of being involved in sexual abuse. And then on top of all that, right, if we zoom out completely, all this is obviously going on as we're still waiting for Iran and Hezbollah's response to the killings of two of their leaders. But the latest there being that the leader of Hezbollah has restated its plans to retaliate, claiming that making Israel wait for its punishment is a method of psychological warfare. And this is the IDF has reportedly said that any attack that harms civilians would result in a disproportionate response. And this is Iran

has also kept up its rhetoric as well with its acting foreign minister accusing Israel of wanting to expand tension, war, and conflict to other countries. And with that saying, Israel has made a strategic mistake that could cost them gravely. We've also learned that Hamas has named the guy who masterminded the October 7th attacks as its new leader.

With unsurprisingly, Israel saying they will pursue and eliminate him. With all that said, for now on all these different fronts, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens from here. And in the meantime, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts. But that, my friends, is where your Thursday evening,

Friday morning dive into the news is gonna end. Thank you for being a part of yet another daily dive into the news. And don't worry, you will see my dumb face relatively soon. It's just, you know, 72 hours. There's gonna be a Monday show. And what are the odds there's gonna be big news that happens during that time?

Ooh, I'll see you then.