The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.9 Nikocado Avocado Situation is a Crazy, Weird, & Inspiring Mukbang Mess, DR DISRESPECT Scandal Update

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

Weird weekend huh? Let's talk about it... Visit  https://www.cozyearth.com/defranco and use my code DEFRANCO to get 40% off your purchase! Get your first https://WakeandMake.com Bags of delicious coffee for 25-50% OFF! And get your international coffee club membership while spots are open! 57 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Nikocado Avocado Stuns Viewers With Secret Weight Loss 06:41 - Sponsored by Wake and Make 07:28 - Top Streamers Slam Dr Disrespect After His Return Streaming 15:11 - Sponsored by Cozy Earth 16:16 - New Mexico Sues Snapchat Over Failure to Protect Young Users 18:43 - Typhoon Yagi Hits Vietnam, Killing Dozens 20:35 - Police Requests to Seize Guns Have Skyrocketed Under Maine’s Yellow Flag Law 22:31 - Trump Claims Election Will be Stolen, Threatens to Jail Opponents ——————————   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 ———————————— #DeFranco #NikocadoAvocado #DrDisrespect ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the actual hell did we all just witness? Because there's a lot of stuff that we got to talk about today, but let's start with the most requested story over on the text line, and that is the story about the man who just broke the internet, Nikocado Avocado. Because one, even if you've already seen

his atomic bomb of a video, there's still a lot more context that makes it deeper than you may realize. And then two, if you're someone who hasn't seen it or you've never even heard of this guy, I mean, strap in, because it is a ride. See, because Nikocado Avocado, also known as Nicholas Perry,

is a 32-year-old YouTuber who makes mukbang videos, which, you know, is that type of content that was pioneered in South Korea and then grew from there, where people basically just inhale ungodly amounts of food. And so seemingly, as someone that wasn't faking his videos, he ballooned all the way up to 411 pounds at his peak, with him never really dropping much below the low 300s, which seemed to also become a part of his character, right?

He was very open about it, he even made fun of himself. With this, his fans often express serious concerns about his health and wellbeing. But then, out of nowhere, last Friday, he drops this shocking video. Today, I woke up from a very long dream. And I also woke up having lost 250 pounds off of my body.

Yet just yesterday, people were calling me fat and sick and boring and irrelevant. Right, just a wild transformation. I mean, look at him before, look at him after. Look at him before, look at him mean, look at him before, look at him after. Look at him before, look at him after. Look at him before, look at him after. But also to fully grasp how shocking this is, you have to understand the scale

of the deception he created. You see, because just a few days before his big reveal, he posted a video to his third channel in which he looked like this, with him clocking in at around 350 pounds there. And this, after a few months before that, he announced that he had given up trying to lose weight. If I lose any weight, I gain it back within a month or two. Do you realize

I have been doing this for years and look practically the same? I know I have a problem and there's nothing I can do about it. So what happened? Did he somehow miraculously shed 250 pounds in a few days? Well, no, it turns out that he had been working on this for years with him telling NBC, I have been strategically posting pre-recorded videos for two years on both YouTube and TikTok. I edited the video so that they would appear recent, allowing me to focus on healing my body behind the scenes.

I shaved my head so that people wouldn't recognize me in public. And adding a handful of fellow YouTubers also helped to keep my secret. And then on top of all that, he even hinted what he'd be doing two years ago in a video titled, The Best Burger I've Ever Had, which has also now been retitled to Two Steps Ahead,

original 2022, with him reading almost the exact same script as Friday's reveal, though back then, nobody understood what it meant. I am always two steps ahead. I am always two steps ahead. And as far as, you know, why did he do all this? Apart from the obvious money, fame, memes, he simply explained.

This has been the greatest social experiment for my entire life. I feel as if I'm monitoring ants on an ant farm. One follows another, follows another, follows another. It's mesmerizing, it's spellbinding. All these little consumers, all of these lost and bored people, people consuming anything that they're told to consume.

With him then elaborating to NBC saying, While everybody pointed and laughed at me for over-consuming food, I was in total control the entire time. In reality, people are completely absorbed with internet personalities and obsessively watch their content. This is where a deeper level of over-consumption lies, and it's the parallel I wanted to make. Also, if you're wondering about what the fuck is up with Panda Head, he told the outlet that it's meant to symbolize the quote, "'World of social media is not as black and white "'as it appears.'"

But with all this, you know, some of his viewers aren't buying that explanation. But then pointing out that it looks similar to the panda mask that fellow mukbang YouTuber, Stephanie Su's husband wears to conceal his identity. And this is also where things get really messy because it turns out Nikocado and Su, they have history. Right back in 2019, she posted a video titled "'Why I Scared of Nikocado Avocado, in which she claimed that

during a recent collab, Nikocado had pressured her to share gossip about her former friend and fellow YouTuber, Veronica Wang. I feel like I've been manipulated by fear that I can't say no to him. I just want to take back my power to say no, not feel like someone's holding this thing over me and threatening me. But they're alleging that he has a pattern of behavior and pointing to times when he spammed her to get her to talk to him. But then, Nikocado responded on social media

threatening to expose her with audio clips to prove that she was in the wrong. But according to Sue, she never let him record any audio inside her home, so she checked her security cameras and found him taking photos while she was out of the room. But there, Nikocado defended himself, claiming that Sue agreed to talk about Veronica before filming the video,

and denying that he took any photos without her permission. And instead claiming that it was Sue that was the one being manipulative and begging him to collab on videos for her own fame. With him also name dropping a few other big mukbang YouTubers whom he claimed didn't actually like her. But then you had Sue shooting back with another video and bringing her own evidence

that he was the one reaching out to get her to collab and that she had no bad blood with those YouTubers. And so with all that as context, you had some people interpreting the panda mask in Friday's video as Nickicato's way of mocking Sue's husband, especially because he dramatically takes it off showing his face.

And it's also why you have others expressing frustration that it seems like everyone's forgotten about what he allegedly did to Sue and was just showering him with praise for his transformation. Though in his own video, Nickicato seems to acknowledge his infamy and he ropes it into his giant social experiment. So I am the villain In his own video, Nikocado seems to acknowledge his infamy and he ropes it into his giant social experiment.

So I am the villain because I've made myself one. And you will continue to consume these stories about me year after year after year for as long as I tell the internet that I am the villain. But as far as what's next for Nikocado Avocado, it might actually be more of the same. But it looks like he's gonna be sticking

with the same mukbang concept. With him even slurping down an enormous tray of spicy black bean noodles after his reveal and then ending with, I love being a mukbanger, I love food, I like eating food, and I like being here, so. But ultimately, here's what I'll say. One, I've only ever seen this guy in passing

and I think we've covered a few things in the past, but he genuinely seems happy and in a great place. But also two, I am saying that outside of that weird villain monologue, which is strange, feels like the safest word to use. But also three, you know, I wish him all the best. His transformation and his accomplishment is nothing short of amazing.

Someone who's lost between 90 and 100-ish pounds over like two, three years, I wish him all the best. His transformation and his accomplishment is nothing short of amazing. Someone who's lost between 90 and 100-ish pounds over like two, three years, I know that's hard. I can't fucking imagine 250 pounds in two years. Like in that regard, you can't help but give props. And if anything, you know, I do hope it serves as inspiration that you can always turn your life around. Yeah, that said, I gotta ask you, what are your thoughts here?

Then, just to take a quick 30-second break from the news real quick, I got a little community announcement. Over at WeickedMake.com, a lot of you know that we have our fantastic coffees, where right now you can actually get your first bags for 50% off. You know, those three, Guiding Light, Happy Medium, and Dark Matter, they've been our staples for about a year now. But we've also been wanting to get other fantastic coffee in your hands and in your mouths, which is why we're testing and launching our brand new International Coffee of the Month Club. We only have a few hundred spots open, but when you buy and subscribe, you'll get a new bag of coffee every month. With the first

bag from the club being 25% off. This first batch 001 is a medium roast from you will find out when you get it. With the goal being every month you get to try new cool coffee. And then on our end at six months and 12 months, we'll look at the reactions and we might create new staple coffees based on the reactions. Yeah, snag your bag and spot while you can, because again, we're gonna keep these numbers limited. All at wakeandmake.com. Then, shifting gears, let's talk about updates to the Dr. Disrespect situation.

Right, some internet news, because he just hosted his first stream since taking a break after those allegations that he inappropriately messaged a minor. But that's also not exactly right. I mean, he himself also wrote in a statement, were there Twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017?

The answer is yes. Though he described them as casual mutual conversations that sometimes lean too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more. Right, and especially since he released his statement, which he also ended up deleting, there's been a ton of fallout. With that including Doc's aka Guy Beem's YouTube channel

being demonetized and a Rolling Stone article reporting that the messages between Doc and the minor were quote, sexually graphic. And while Doc has been on this, quote, unquote, vacation, now with his latest stream, he said he wanted to offer his side of the story, seemingly in addition to his last previously deleted statement.

And so with this, what we see is that he addresses the former Twitch employee, Cody, that came forward with the allegations and says that he suspects this was a coordinated attack against him. At one point, Doc then goes on to say that he deliberately chose the words that he used in his statement to bait reporters.

You also said the word minor, Cody. At one point, Doc then goes on to say that he deliberately chose the words that he used in his statement to bait reporters. You also said the word minor, Cody. I even made sure that word was emphasized in my statement, edited, etc. Just to make sure these so-called journalists would pick up on it. And boy, oh boy, did they ever, champs. When you and all these so-called journalists, Cody, fired off your tweets, did any of you consider that the Twitch user may have been over the legal age of consent

at the time of the messages? You didn't. I even used the word inappropriate, purposely. And look at how it was defined by everyone, champs. Huh? Including these defaming articles. I'm sorry, but mutual bantering with inappropriate jokes taken out of context should have never led to me

getting banned from Twitch in the first place. These big time publications, these journalists, these various outlets are sort of just gossip channels now, don't you think champs? Beam then goes on to say the same thing that he said in his original statement on X, that he had no intentions or plans of ever meeting up with the user.

He then goes into details of his claim of how this whole situation came to be, saying that his former Twitch partner manager who quote, had it out for him, directed the user to file a report even after they said they didn't want to. Then, according to Guy Beam, that report was reviewed and the conclusion was drawn that it didn't need to be escalated. But then Beam says that his former partner manager personally sent the report up the chain to a friend on Twitch's law enforcement

response team. And then he says, the LER analyst cherry picks and sends a few targeted excerpts out of context from the whisper messages to this director. Now, if you do this, you can make anyone's messages look inappropriate, even when they aren't. Within less than one hour, this LER analyst and his director have made the decision to suspend me from Twitch. The same people that made this decision

admit internally that the messages did not constitute sexting. The same people that made this decision at Twitch admit internally that the messages did not constitute sexting. The same people that made this decision at Twitch admit internally that the messages did not warrant any child sexual abuse material charge. Twitch makes this decision to terminate my contract and ban me while admitted they did not perform any legal analysis of whether the messages exchanged were illegal in any way. Twitch makes this decision to terminate my contract and ban me while admitting that they never investigated the age of consent

in the jurisdiction where the user's messages were sent and received. Twitch makes this decision to terminate my contract and ban me without ever interviewing me, the user, or any other third party, including the partner manager. It's unbelievable. Now here, you know, it is worth noting

that everything Doc has said in this video, it is just words. And pretty much everything with this story is just words. Right, Guy Beem as well did not include any messages, any documents or anything to back up his claims. And actually regarding people in his chat saying, hey, release the messages, it led to this moment. People want, show the message, release the messages,

show the messages. Hit pause on whatever you're listening to and hit play on your next adventure. Stay three nights this summer at Best Western and get $50 off a future stay. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. 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 groceries that over-deliver.

What are we, in second grade? What you know, some have said, is an interesting choice of words for a person in this particular situation. But as far as, you know, if we will ever get anything, this is not an open and shut case yet. He says at the end of this conversation that he has more information he hasn't disclosed yet,

but also he added that he isn't gonna talk about this situation anymore unless he absolutely has to. Regardless of what information we may or may not see in the future, Doc's video once again caused a massive wave of reactions. You know, there really being no shortage of big streamers having takes like XQC saying Doc's story really doesn't make any sense.

That would mean, that would mean that in retrospect, his tweet was a rage bait. It troll it was fake for for attention for media outlets to pick up on it right one two two the gaia employee is saying some complete bullshit three every other person involved and was then incorporated those statements all at the same time lied and also for twitch banned one of their biggest money cow that they could ever get one of their biggest icons money making machines one of their poster boy for their company banned them outright for not sexting a not minor gotcha gotcha i i believe it you also had folks like hassan piker pointing out that Not sexting a not minor. Gotcha.

Gotcha. I believe it. You also had folks like Hasan Piker pointing out that even while addressing this very serious situation, Doc was still maintaining his character. Dude, you're literally dressed up. Gorgeous. Athletic. Successful. College degree.

College athlete. Bourbon. Business. Gaming. How are you doing your character in the midst of being, like, in in the midst of like really allegations i'm losing my mind bro also amongst those reacting to the situation you had some of doc's old friends and allies like dr lupo and nick murk slamming it and every single time he talks about it it's going to be sugar-coated it's going to be dumbed down because at what point do you expect someone to say

yeah i wanted to a teenager do you think he's going to say that? F*** no. He's going to make it look better for himself every single time. There is no place along that. It doesn't matter if it's Tyler. If it was my f***ing brother, I would say the same s*** because you do not defend that. There's no defending it.

But also not everyone was attacking Doc here. One of the big names in this conversation has been Asmund Gold, who instead reacted by saying there is likely a missing piece to the puzzle. And he pushed back against the general assumption of Doc's guilt. Also, you know, he did make clear that he isn't defending it. I'm not defending him. I'm talking about hypotheticals and looking about it from different directions. And I know that to people that have already made up their mind about this i understand this might be upsetting

i i get it but i try to look at this objectively and i think about it and i'm like what what really happened here why is this happening how is it happening and what really makes sense out of this situation and so if if that's upsetting for you to hear then then I think that you're in the wrong place. So here you also have creators like Mighty Keef saying, the Dr. Disrespect situation is a litmus test for people's critical thinking skills and a lot of people are failing. Do you know, on the note of people bashing or accepting him,

it does seem like he still has a sizable audience here. Because while with that first stream back, I think he was streaming to like a quarter of a million people. With that, likely because you're gonna have supporters, critics, and those just interested to see what the first thing back is gonna be. Well, this morning, as I was actually recording this segment,

he was streaming gameplay to YouTube to over 44,000 people. So, you know, while his YouTube channel isn't monetized right now, one, his audience is there, and two, he's still making money from donations. So also with that guy, Beam did say that he intends on reapplying for YouTube's partner program later this month. And it will be interesting to see what happens there because while yes, he did get banned

over on Twitch, seemingly there's no criminal charges here. But you know, for YouTube is usually the line. But for now, we'll have to wait to see how this plays out. And also in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts. Like where do you land on this? And then it's been one hot summer and I got to say, sleeping on my cozy earth sheets, it's been game changing. You see, they're made with viscous from bamboo, so their bedding is designed to naturally regulate temperature, keeping you cool when the heat's relentless. So big thank you to Cozy Earth,

not only for sponsoring the PDS, but for helping to make my home feel like a sanctuary. The ultimate ingredient for a luxurious sleep is softness, and Cozy Earth's use of only the best fabrics and textiles, it enhances that. And they're so confident, they offer a 10-year warranty on bedding products. Plus you can experience your own sanctuary,

not only with Cozy Earth sheets, but with their stretch knit bamboo pajamas. A timeless classic crafted with a soft stretch knit that features enhanced breathability and a luxurious lightweight drape, keeping you degrees cooler than cotton. Plus more importantly, keeping your temperature just right through the night.

And the men's pajama bottoms, they're so comfy, you won't wanna change out of them. And Cozy Earth products have the softest, and really, I mean, the most uniquely soft fabric that actually holds up, doesn't pill. I mean, your peace of mind matters. So embrace the comfort of Cozy Earth and feel the difference.

Just go to CozyEarth.com slash DeFranco and enter DeFranco for an exclusive discount of up to 40% off. And if you get a post-purchase survey, say you heard about Cozy Earth from this video. And then, so if you've got a child predator story in the news that we gotta talk about today that actually doesn't involve a YouTuber.

But one, it's something I wanted to talk about because it is very interesting. And two, it has resulted in a lawsuit. Right, because the news is that law enforcement officials in New Mexico created a Snapchat account for an AI-generated 14-year-old girl to prove that the platform is failing to protect minors from sextortion.

Right, and that was actually revealed in this new and absolutely massive lawsuit brought against Snapchat by the New Mexico Department of Justice. See this lawsuit, it files a months long investigation and the agency is saying that it found evidence that Snapchat is recommending minors to friend adults who will then ask them to trade nudes,

which they can then use to blackmail the minors into sharing more photos or giving them money. With the lawsuit even calling Snapchat a breeding ground for this kind of exploitation and alleging that the app's policies, design, and algorithmic recommendations openly foster and promote illicit sexual material involving children and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children,

drugs, and guns. Right, and as evidence for this, the lawsuit says that the investigators set up a decoy account with the username sexy14heather using AI simulated images of a fake 14 year old girl named Heather. And that account they said got a ton of recommendations urging it to contact accounts

that sought to trade sexually explicit photos and messages. With this allegedly including accounts with names like teen trade, virgin, and other sexual phrases. As well as others that apparently focused on collecting explicit images of children. Like one with the username, I like kids 60 and a tagline that reads kids under 12 with a heart eye emoji.

It's not exactly fucking cloak and dagger. But the big key thing being that the lawsuit is alleging that Snap violated state law against deceptive trade practices by misleading the public about how safe the platform was so that it would keep profiting off of young users. And this including by making misleading claims and omissions about the explicit content on the platform,

even when its own internal research showed the opposite. With New Mexico's attorney general telling reporters, Snap has misled users into believing "'that photos and videos sent on their platform "'will disappear, but predators can permanently "'capture this content, and they have created "'a virtual yearbook of child sexual images "'that are traded, sold, and stored indefinitely.'"

And adding that the app has created this false sense of security in the way that it's marketed the platform, and that makes it so dangerous, especially for young ones. And noting here that the state investigation also uncovered a whole network of sites on the dark web devoted just to sharing these illicit images collected from Snapchat, with investigators finding more than 10,000 photos

and videos apparently linked to the platform. But as far as what happens from here, that remains to be seen. I mean, Snapchat has only responded by saying it will address the claims in court and issuing a generic statement claiming that it cares about online safety and protecting young people.

But according to experts, it is very possible that we're gonna see this expand to other states as well. And then in horrifying international news, Typhoon Yagi has smashed Vietnam and China, killing at least 60 and collapsing key infrastructure. Right, because with coverage about massive hurricanes, usually coming from the Atlantic and hitting the Gulf area, such as with Tropical Storm Francine right now,

it can be very easy to forget that other parts of the world also struggle with similar storms. Right in the Pacific, they're called typhoons. And here we saw Southern China and Northern Vietnam getting hit by Typhoon Yagi, with us then seeing on Sunday being downgraded to a tropical storm, although that just meant that it wasn't as windy.

But really either way, the footage from this weekend, it was crazy with buildings being torn apart by the wind. And I mean like after it calmed down to a tropical storm, it was still so windy that cars slowed to shield motorcycle apart by the wind. And I mean, like after it calmed down to a tropical storm, it was still so windy that cars slowed to shield motorcycle riders from the wind. And in nearby parts of China, hotel workers literally risked their lives trying to keep the doors shut as the storm raged outside.

And of course that was just in addition to the intense rainfall from a tropical storm that can cause massive damage on its own, especially in a region that is susceptible to flooding and landslides, such as in one Northern Vietnamese province where a major bridge collapsed and cars fell into the river.

And as if that wasn't horrible enough, it also hampered emergency efforts as it essentially cut off half of the province from the other. Also on top of that, the storm cut power to millions of homes as well as industrial centers, although state officials have said

that 75% has been restored. But even those, I mean, they were the lucky ones with many homes being destroyed and even modern factories like those owned by LG being heavily damaged. With it being estimated that cleanup and rebuilding efforts are gonna cost billions of dollars. And unfortunately, this is the kind of cost

that's likely just gonna continue as typhoons continue to get stronger and stronger in the area. Right, I mean, Yagi, for example, it's estimated to be the strongest autumn storm to have hit China since 1949 and the 11th storm this season alone. Right, so it's not just the Atlantic

that's seeing hurricane-like storms not only becoming more common, but also stronger on average. But luckily, you know, the good news is that it's probably gonna stop here. Because as we all know, climate change is not real. It's just something that's made up. There's no reason to be alarmed.

Keep buying and doing everything the same. No companies or industries need to be held in check. And then, so back in October of last year, you might remember that there was a gunman in Maine who killed 18 people and injured 13 more at two locations in the city of Lewiston. Right after a massive manhunt that went on for days, the shooter, a 40-year-old Army reservist, was found dead.

And part of the reason we're talking about this situation, again, is after an independent commission tasked with investigating the shooting released its findings and the police released their own report, we now have Maine Governor Janet Mills delivering her final remarks. Here, one of the biggest new takeaways has been that the police released their own report, we now have Maine Governor Janet Mills delivering her final remarks. Here, one of the biggest new takeaways has been that the police have significantly upped their use

of the state's so-called yellow flag law. Because some states have what's known as red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders. Like in Massachusetts, for example, any relative or roommate who suspects a gun owner is an immediate violent threat can apply for an emergency court order. And if a judge approves that order,

the gun owner has to temporarily give up their gun license and their guns. But in Maine, as of 2020, you have something similar but different, right? There's a few extra steps in the middle. See, in Maine, someone who suspects a gun owner is an imminent threat, they can report them to the police. But then, before the guns can be seized,

it's up to law enforcement to take that person into custody and have them evaluated by a mental health expert. And so what we saw is that after the shooting last year, you had a lot of people asking, hey, does this yellow flag law actually work? And this is you had critics saying, hey, a red flag law, it would unfairly target law abiding gun owners and infringe on their constitutional rights.

So in the end, what ended up happening after a lot of debate is that the state beefed up the yellow flag law instead of turning it red. And since then, according to Governor Mills, the law has been used 15 times more often than it was during the three previous years. Saying, it is clear that following last year's tragedy, more and more law enforcement officers across the state

are taking this law seriously, have taken state provided training on its use, and are now using it on a daily basis to remove firearms from those who should not have them. And a big key thing here is that she also emphasized that police could have taken advantage of the yellow flag law to take custody of the gunmen ahead of the shootings last year.

With that, you know, really just being one example of how this shooting reportedly could have been prevented. Because the commission's report, it found that the army reserve and police, they miss multiple opportunities to intervene and initiate steps to seize the shooter's weapons. So, you know, with that, it's gonna be interesting to see what happens in the years that follow,

not only in Maine, but do we see other states follow in their footsteps? And then, you know, there's perhaps never been a worse time to be an election worker in America. And that is also probably why more of them are leaving their jobs than any other time in recent memory. And I say that not because it feels like, or it seems like,

that is according to a new investigation from CBS and a nonprofit by the name of Open Source Election Technology Institute. With what they found being that more than a third of all top election officials have quit or retired since the 2020 presidential election. Y'all, that is the highest number in at least the last two decades.

With Eddie Perez, a board member at OSET, saying not only that it is unprecedented, but adding, for me, the greatest concern is that the departure of experienced officials creates vulnerability for how the public is going to perceive elections at exactly the same time that the information environment has just been absolutely poisoned

by a lot of baseless and unfounded claims. But also, understand, this trend, it goes as far back as the 2000 presidential election, which was a whole different shit show. Of course, it's reached this whole other level, at least in part because of Donald Trump's big lie. But there's just no evidence of the kind of fraud Trump continues to insist plague the 2020 election.

And this not according to people with Trump derangement syndrome or whatever the fuck that really is. I mean, that's just, that's usually just something people say about anyone that doesn't go along with your leader. But this is according to dozens of courts, Republican state officials,

and people in his own administration have admitted that he lost fair and square. In fact, Donald Trump, maybe it's due to his age. He forgot to lie and he acknowledged that he lost in a Lex Friedman interview just last week. I was told if I got 63 million, which is what I got the first time, you would win.

You can't not win. And I got millions of more votes than that and lost by a whisker. Also, I will say he technically wasn't accurate. It wasn't a whisker. It was a few whiskers, thanks to the Electoral College. He got pummeled when it came to the popular vote, but it was very close

when you consider the Electoral College. Just tens of thousands of people across a few states deciding the election. But you know, in any case, the consequences of the lie, they've been very, very real, right? I mean, many of those election workers are now leaving their jobs,

citing threats against them as one of the reasons. With Reuters, for example, documenting hundreds of threats to local election officials, specifically by Trump supporters, outraged by his claims the election was rigged. In fact, back in May, nearly 40% of election officials surveyed reported they had been harassed, abused, or threatened,

which was an uptick from 30% the previous year. And also, I mean, said threats have increased since 2020, with more than half of these officials saying they were actually worried about the safety of colleagues and staff. Which I mean, to that point, 92% of local election officials surveyed said they had taken action since 2020 to increase security.

Right, I mean, just last month, for example, local officials in Georgia, they started equipping election workers with panic buttons. The thing is, it's not just Trump supporters, but Trump himself has threatened people, with him specifically threatening to use the office of the presidency to exact retribution if he wins a second term in the Oval Office.

In fact, analyses by media outlets and NGOs, they've documented dozens of instances of this. With the latest example coming just this week, and when he repeated his claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him in a post on Truth Social, writing, I know better than most the rampant cheating and skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 presidential election. With that, saying that some people would be getting long-term prison sentences if he wins this year and him going on to write, please beware that this legal exposure extends to lawyers,

political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and voters, and corrupt election officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our country." So basically he's just planting the seeds to spread more lies in November if he ends up losing, which once again, it's a coin flip right now. Which I mean, if you're an election worker,

that's gotta be scary to hear. It's also one of the reasons I think that if you have not left or you're getting involved, you are one of the most brave, patriotic motherfuckers out there. It very much seems like a thankless job. You know, for now, time keeps marching on. We are just 57 days away from the election.

Also, notably Harris and Trump are debating tomorrow. It's gonna be very interesting to see what that looks like and what the fallout is from that. But for now, I'll leave you with two things. One, what are your thoughts on the situation and the story in general? And two, just your semi-friendly daily reminder to, if you haven't already, go to vote.org to one,

make sure that you are registered to vote. And two, if you're not, get registered to vote. You know what? Let's add one to it. Three, check in with some friends and see if they're registered to vote. Especially if y'all are in any of these battleground states where elections literally get decided by individual tens of hundreds of thousands of votes.

Feed your main character syndrome because you literally have a greater weight on the scales of history. But that, my friends, is the end of your Monday evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news. I hope you feel filled in. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.