The Philip DeFranco Show - The Candace Owens Situation Just Got Worse...

Starting point is 00:00:00 This Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk, TPUSA situation is crazy. Right, it's tearing a lot of the online right apart. So Candace Owen just dropped what she called another explosive revelation, and this time accusing leadership at Turning Point USA of working with France and betraying Charlie Kirk to his death. You know, we've talked about Candace a decent amount recently with her investigation into Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president as well as her claims last week that the French government planned to assassinate her. So now with this last one, people saying she's doing mental gymnastics to pin the blame for Charlie the Kirk's assassination on France.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Except also now she's dragging the leadership of Turning Point USA into the mix. And you see Candace, she claims that what really blew this open was some water cooler talk at TPUSA saying that she heard that nearly immediately after Charlie's death, TPUSA's COO Justin Strife made a call to a prospective donor. And you had Candice saying that her sources told her that this donor was planning on offering

Starting point is 00:00:50 ridiculous amounts of money to the organization. It turns out that these ladies told me that this donor actually had a, a pretty big piece of bait on the hook for Turning Point USA. We're not talking like, oh, a check that's going to be reeled in for $5 million or $10 million or $50 million or like the $90 million at Turning Point USA raised in the first couple of weeks following child assassination. We are talking like billionaire money, potentially billions of dollars, and this was a very big

Starting point is 00:01:29 Secret. But it also, we're noting here that she harped on this being so secret that not even people working in the donations department at TPUSA would know about it. But anyway, you know, Candace went on to say that she learned that this top secret donor was a French American named Pierre, and then immediately jumped to it being Pierre DuPont. And that last name, DuPont, is one that Candace has become pretty fixated on recent. And in fact, she goes into this deep dive about the names, apparent connection to Wilmington Delaware, saying that she's gotten a bunch of tips from residents who claim that the family

Starting point is 00:01:54 owns everything from hospitals to theaters out there. She then also says that Brigitte, Macron's lawyers are headquarter. that there are federal agencies there. And then she says she also recently realized that the DuPons founded the law firm that's filing paperwork for her. Though she doesn't really elaborate or explain further on what paperwork they're filing for her and what capacity or anything like that. And so it seems like she's kind of red string connecting everyone even tangentially involved in the situation to a city of like 70,000 people. But still, you know, learning that a TPUSA exec allegedly called a potential donor named Pierre, it was a big realization for Candace. And these ladies messaged me and said, oh, you figured it out.

Starting point is 00:02:28 it out. It's Pierre DuPont. Question mark, exclamation point. This took my breath away. I will be honest. I was, I cried really hard yesterday thinking, my goodness, how could I have forgotten that this donor was French, French American? And I would like a clean answer as to whether or not it is Mr. Pierre DuPont. Yeah. because this would be a devastatingly dark story. And my sources are very sure, very sure that this is what was on the line, that this was life-changing money. And they are very sure that this individual got a phone call after the assassination.

Starting point is 00:03:19 And I think that we deserve to know. I don't think this should be a secret, right? Charity shouldn't be a secret. And that's a running theme for Candace recently, right? espousing connections that don't seem to hold up to scrutiny in the name of finding the truth about Charlie's death. And you have many saying it seems like she's really pinning herself as the hero of this story. I'm going to miss Charlie. I really am going to miss Charlie. And I think when Charlie was assassinated, there was something about it. I knew that this story was going to be dark. Instantly, I knew that Charlie was

Starting point is 00:03:50 betrayed. It laughed at me. Oh, you had a dream. Charlie told you he was. Yeah, Charlie told me that he was betrayed. And I think part of the morning was, the grief that I was experiencing, was in large part due to my understanding that this was going to be missional for me. I kind of knew deep down that the whole world was going to be against me, or I guess the whole dark apparatus was going to be against me. Now with this, as far as the reactions, you know, her loyal listeners, they appear to be buying this fully interested in what she's putting out there, believing, yes, she is the hero. But also, you have plenty of people, including many on the right, thinking that she's essentially just kind of removed from reality. And that's for a number of reasons, including that leading up to her video yesterday, she wrote,

Starting point is 00:04:33 I received information last night that put the final pieces together for me. I now can say, with full confidence that I believe Charlie Kirk was betrayed by the leadership of Turning Point USA and some of the very people who eulogized him on stage. Yes, I will be naming names and providing evidence for my claims. And I am making a personal plea to every well-meaning person who donated to this god-versaken organization to request a refund. You were lied to and leadership knew. So you had many thinking that not only did this video not accomplish that, right? She didn't really provide evidence or change her narrative all that much.

Starting point is 00:05:02 But also, you had people saying they think that it's offensive to Charlie's legacy to tell people that they should get refunds for their TPUSA donation. We're saying that organization was his and she claims to be doing all of this for Charlie, but the end goal is likely going to be his life's work suffering. So there, you had people saying things like, if you think for a second that Candace ever cared about Charlie or Erica, especially now, your brain might be buffering indefinitely. This is beyond demonic, calling on a public audience of millions to destroy what Charlie spent years building is sabotage. And I pointed out several months ago that one of Candace's key goals, aside from profiting from his death, was to destroy Charlie Kirk's legacy and organization because she resents how he distanced himself from her. I hope they sue her. And you saw that echoed by a lot of people out there, with people calling for TPUSA to break out the libel lawyers.

Starting point is 00:05:43 And so then with all of that, one of the things this has continued is to stoke the fires of civil war on the right. So for example, one of the most vocal critics of Candace's latest video was the likes of Tim Poole, who posted on X, In the sociopath influencer world, there is no amount of money that will never be worth it. That's Candace Owens' world. Publishing texts out of context, post, and attempting to eviscerate Charlie's legacy seems to be worth every penny to Candice. And that idea that she's doing this in part or completely for money, it was something that a lot of people pointed to and said, you know, that's not insane.

Starting point is 00:06:09 Right, and connected to that, just yesterday you had Fortune publishing an article talking about Candace's multi-million dollar media empire. And there, it noted that because right-wing podcasters get such high engagement, right-wing brands are willing to shell out a lot of money for ad space. And in fact, you had the outlet estimating that Candace could make anywhere from $50,000 to $175,000 for a single sponsorship read. Right, not per video per ad read, and there are multiple of those in her episodes. And so then with that, you had the piece adding, for Owens, this creates a direct financial incentive. The more provocative the content, the higher the audience engagement and the higher the ad rate.

Starting point is 00:06:39 Put simply, controversy drives views, views drive sponsors and sponsors fund her entire operation. Though also, with the defamation lawsuit from the McCrawlins filed against her, the article points out some serious risk to Candace on the horizon. Rick as well, she's promised to fight that all the way. I mean, that's very likely going to cost a lot of money. Not to mention that the Macron's there, arguing that Candace's entire platform is essentially built on the spreading of misinformation. And you have the firm representing them saying in a statement, despite the irrefutable evidence that was provided to her on multiple occasions, she not only persisted but doubled down on her attacks. And then adding to make matters worse, many others have republished her lies,

Starting point is 00:07:11 thereby increasing their global audience and the emotional and reputational harm they have caused. And saying it is clear that for Ms. Owens, truth is irrelevant. But for now, we're going to have to continue to watch just to see how. how it plays out, both in the courts as well as what happens with the civil war that's been happening on the right. Because while some people, they try to just dismiss Candace Owens, if you look at her number, she is the, if not one of the top five right-wing podcasters in the world. Right, I mean, just on YouTube, each one of her episodes is getting two to three million views and she's big in a lot of places, including on Facebook. But hey, in the

Starting point is 00:07:40 meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions to what we're seeing play out here. But then next up in the news, let's talk about how Trump's White House is going to war with Sabrina Carpenter. Because yesterday they posted a video monster. of ICE and federal agents arresting people and they used Sabrina's song, Juno, in the background. And specifically, they kept repeating the lyric, have you ever tried this one as each new arrest was made? And so, well, apparently, Sabrina wasn't happy that they used her song,

Starting point is 00:08:01 and so she responded, this video is evil and disgusting, do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda. And that response is maybe a side note, but it's on its way to the ratio Hall of Fame. With as of now, Sabrina getting over 1.3 million likes and 180,000 reposts compared to the White House only getting 64,000 likes. And so with all that, you had people applauding her over

Starting point is 00:08:20 standing up against the administration, but then you had the White House responding by again using Sabrina's lyrics against her. With spokesperson Abigail Jackson saying, here's a short and sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter. We won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid or is it slow. And here, I do think it's worth noting that this whole outrage cycle, it was likely the point of the White House's post in the first place. Where the White House would probably rather have a spotlight on this than just a number of other things. Or Whether it be something like the private employer's jobs numbers that just came out,

Starting point is 00:08:53 or, you know, Secretary of War Crimes, Pete Heggseth, him being in hot water, or, you know, the Epstein situation. And so, you know, what we're seeing here, it's part of the playbook. And Sabrina, she's also not the first person to say, you know, they don't want the Trump administration using their work or likeness in their rage bait posts. Or I mean, just this week, you had the Franklin publishers saying they wanted nothing to do with Pete Hegset's post using the cartoon to promote targeting narco-terrorists. And in the past, you had things like a Pokemon saying that its theme song was used without permission in a nice video. Theo Vaughn calling out DHS after they used a clip of him and a deportation video and just last month Olivia Rodrigo issued a statement similar to Sabrina's where DHS used all-American bitch. And so in the cases of Sabrina and Olivia, it's publicly known that their politics are not in line with the Trump administration.

Starting point is 00:09:30 So it can definitely at least seem like officials are intentionally trying to poke the bear when they use music of stars who dislike them. But this also is not everyone speaks up. Right. And so with what happened here, you had many pointing back to the White House using the fate of Ophelia for a video last month and Taylor Swift, notably not really saying anything. But also with that when Variety asked the White House why they'd use her music, a spokesperson responded, we made this video because we knew fake news media brands like Variety would breathlessly amplify them. Congrats, you got plead. So that's why, you know, you had some saying that it was wrong for Taylor Swift to not say anything, saying that by doing that she's complicit, but others saying, you know, she's just trying not to give

Starting point is 00:10:03 the situation any more oxygen or attention because that's actually what Trump wants. So in addition to, you know, you letting me know what you'd think about this situation, I'd love to know where you stand on that debate. Do you want artists to call this out? Or is it just doing the thing where it's amplifying that post. Whereas the amplification thing, not really a valid argument because it's coming from the White House and the President of the United States, and people are already going to see it. And then I've got more that we're going to dive into in just a minute, but first let me say, you know, fresh start, same rigged system. You try to pay things down and

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Starting point is 00:11:34 her department would start withholding billions of dollars in federal funds for states to administer their SNAT programs if they don't turn over sensitive data about recipients. And this, after Back in May, you had Rollins ordering all states to hand over information on their SNAP enrollees. So things including Social Security numbers, birthdays, and home addresses so that the administration could verify the eligibility of over 42 million Americans who received food stamps. Right with the Trump administration's claim there being that they needed a root out fraud and waste in the system. But then 22 Democratic-led states in BC, they filed a lawsuit to block the demand. And you had them arguing that they already verify SNAT beneficiaries and that they never share large chunks of

Starting point is 00:12:06 sensitive recipient data with the federal government. And when they do share data, it's small, it's randomized samples, and one expert saying that no agency ever required states to share this amount of data with the federal government. And then, back in May, a federal judge appeared to agree, issuing a preliminary injunction, blocking the USDA from collecting data from the states that sued and preventing the agency from cutting funds to punish them. And you with a judge arguing that the states were likely to win their claim, saying that federal laws, including the one governing snap, prohibited them from sharing the information

Starting point is 00:12:32 and that cutting funds could cause irreparable harm to the states and their residents. But 29 other states that were not part of the lawsuit ended up complying with Rollins' order, and now she's trying to get the rest to follow suit, despite the ongoing lawsuit. And so during a cabinet meeting yesterday, you had Rollins accusing Democrats of not doing enough to address what she called rampant fraud in SNAP. And adding, as of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply, and they tell us and allow us to partner with them to root out this fraud and to protect the American taxpayer.

Starting point is 00:12:59 Though then notably, you had the department later issuing a statement, clarifying that Democratic states have been sent another request for data, and if they fail to comply, they'll get a warning informing them that their administrative funds will be pulled. Right, and then you had the agency also basically claiming that non-compliant states are choosing to, quote, protect illegals, criminals, and bad actors over the American taxpayer. And so with all that, there are a few things to unpack. First of all, despite Rollins and the administration's repeated claims that SNAP is riddled with fraud, experts say that it's there, but it's minimal.

Starting point is 00:13:25 And saying of the bigger problems, those are things like organized crime efforts to fabricate or steal benefit cards, not wrongdoing by enrollees. And with that, saying that the Trump administration has largely failed to provide evidence for its claims of systemic fraud. And so then with all this, I think we need to talk about things like, for example, For example, you know, Rollins has said that data she has received from Red States shows that there have been hundreds of thousands of instances of dead people receiving benefits or enrollees being sent in double benefits. Right, and Rollins adding that over 120 people have been arrested for snap fraud. But she's also provided zero evidence to the public around the biggest claims to actually back that up, so it's impossible to verify right now. And what's more, you have experts saying those figures don't necessarily prove that fraud has happened.

Starting point is 00:14:01 In fact, they say that there are a number of potential innocent reasons for those figures. So, for example, lots of dead people receive benefits because it takes a while to process of death in the system. But their families are required to send all the money back. And then people, they might be receiving double benefits because they need a supplemental payment to correct an error. But even if the payments were made improperly, that's not necessarily an indication of fraud. Right? In previous studies have in fact shown that a majority of incorrect SNAP payments were unintentional mistakes by state workers or households, not intentional fraud. And that actually appeared to be backed up with the data that Rollins cited, right? She herself said that there were only 120 fraud-related arrest as a result of the information that states handed over. So that's just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of incidents. that she claims took place. And then it's even more minuscule when you consider the fact that those were only the arrests made after drawing from the data of roughly 20 million snap recipients.

Starting point is 00:14:49 Additionally, experts say that there's no evidence of systemic snapfrawn from illegal immigrants. In fact, only select groups of carefully vetted legal immigrants can collect the benefits, and studies have shown that 96% of recipients are American citizens. But then even beyond all that, experts widely agreed that Rollins' threats

Starting point is 00:15:03 to pull funding from states that don't comply with her order, it's illegal. I mean, for one, a federal court has literally blocked her from forcing states to hand over the data or from punishing them by withholding funding. Though with that said, the USDA specifically is withholding funds for administering SNAP, not money that goes to recipients. So it seems like they might try to use that fact to claim that they're not violating the court order. But there you have legal scholars saying it doesn't matter because the federal government doesn't have the authority to withhold SNAP benefits or administrative

Starting point is 00:15:28 funding. But counterpoint, since when has the Trump administration cared about what is legal or, you know, court orders? And so with that, I'll say if they go ahead with these cuts, It could be absolutely massive. The states that would be impacted are home to more than 20 million beneficiaries who could be affected, and those states could stand to lose millions of dollars. In big states like New York and California, we're talking a lot of money. $475 million for New York, and California, I mean, that's $1.2 billion. And you have experts saying that the loss in administrative funding,

Starting point is 00:15:53 it could also jeopardize states' ability to implement SNAP, which in turn could force them to push enrollees out of the program. So this is a situation where people could start losing benefits. And I mean, you literally had the Washington State Attorney General saying that any cuts to the $129.5 million that it received would be catastrophic for the state and the residents who rely on SNAP for food. So this is massively consequential, but also unfortunately, par for the course. I mean, since taking office, the Trump administration has been fighting tooth and nail to deny people's SNAP benefits. And millions, they're already set to lose benefits over the next few years, thanks to new work requirements and eligibility rules that Republicans enacted and Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill,

Starting point is 00:16:28 which alone amounts to the deepest cuts to the program in history. And then, of course, there was the whole shutdown battle with Trump pausing SNAP benefits for the first time in U.S. history during the 43-day government shutdown. And Rollins, I mean, she's been scheming in other ways to deny even more people access. I mean, among other things, her department recently submitted a draft of a regulation that would narrow an eligibility metric used by more than 40 states, a move that could result in nearly 6 million people losing SNAP benefits. So one, definitely something to keep eyes on.

Starting point is 00:16:53 And two, a shout-out to my uncle for inspiring me to do this topic, because at Thanksgiving dinner, he said that 50% of SNAP was fraud. And then I was like, okay, well, now I have to dive into it. that story and see what's actually real. But then, next up today from that, I want to talk about the suspect in the shooting of the two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., because he has now pled not guilty. Right. And so his name is a Raman Nula, Lackenwall, and he's accused of fatally shooting specialist Sarah Bexstrom and critically injuring Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, both of whom were from West Virginia and deployed to D.C. under Trump's crackdown there. And then as far as Lackenwall,

Starting point is 00:17:27 he's an Afghan national who entered the country back in 2021 after years of working with a CIA back counterterrorism unit in his home country. Right. And since there, he's been here with his wife and five children in Washington State, and the Trump administration formally granted him asylum back in April. But now, you know, he's been charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill while armed and two firearms offenses. And actually, since he was also injured during the shooting, you had him making a virtual appearance in DC Superior Court from his hospital fed yesterday. And there, you had a defense attorney pleading not guilty on his behalf to all charges that have been filed so far. And actually, the reason I say so far is because prosecutors have said that they'll file additional charges as the case advances.

Starting point is 00:18:00 You also had attorney General Pam Bondi saying that she's considering the death penalty. But either way, there, in the meantime, Superior Court Magistrate Judge Renee Raymond grants the prosecutor's request to detain the suspect without bond pending a trial and arguing that the government's case against him was exceedingly strong and adding. It is fairly clear that he came across the country 3,000 miles, armed with a specific purpose in mind. There's video footage of him waiting in broad daylight while armed and that upon seeing a contingent of law enforcement officers, including the slain and injured National Guard persons, he went in their direction and he started shooting at them. And then also as far as what happened, what we know is charging documents that were filed yesterday, also said that Bextram and Wolfe, they had been speaking with a supervisor when gunfire broke out

Starting point is 00:18:37 and they both fell to the ground. With a supervisor claiming that he saw Lackenwal shooting a gun and screaming Alua Akbar. Right, and after that, he said that a gunfight broke out during which Lackenwall was shot with a witness of the scene jumping on his back while he attempted to reload his gun. And the two of them, along with multiple Secret Service officers who responded to the scene, assisted in apprehending the suspect. But for now, as we wait to see how this case plays out,

Starting point is 00:18:55 we're also continuing to see the fallout, both in terms of what's happening in DC and with immigration policy nationwide. Right, starting with DC, a federal judge ruled last month the National Guard deployment likely violates federal law, but she also delayed the order to end the deployment for 21 days to let the Trump administration appeal. And so that deadline, it's coming up on December 11th, but one, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal against it after the shooting. And two, they ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops to the city, which would bring the total to roughly 2,700. And that is, as these troops have also started patrolling D.C. with local law enforcement.

Starting point is 00:19:25 And there, you had the Pentagon announcing this week that all troops will now be armed with live weapons as well. Whereas when this first started, they were unarmed and weren't even allowed to have weapons. and their vehicles. And, you know, all of this is, ultimately, there's a concern that just having more troops doing tasks that they're not necessarily trained to do is just going to create greater risk. With, for example, a former senior National Guard commander who's been critical of deployments in U.S. cities telling the Wall Street Journal, the military is not and should not be trained for law enforcement. And saying the solution is to move military forces out of the cities, which they should not be in to begin with, and to enhance law enforcement capabilities

Starting point is 00:19:55 to help local communities achieve increased safety. But then also, right, zooming out, another big aspect of all this is how it's being used to justify new restrictions on immigration. I mean, Within hours of the shooting, you had the administration suspending the processing of all immigration requests for Afghan National specifically. And then they took it further by halting all asylum decisions and announcing the start of a sweeping review of green card holders and what the administration is described as countries of concern. And then that led to this week a pause on all immigration applications for those 19 countries. All of which are countries whose nationals not already in the U.S. have been fully or partially restricted from mentoring the country thanks to Trump's so-called travel ban. And so what's different here is that this is affecting people who are already here. You know, already we've seen reports of key interviews and even citizenship ceremonies being canceled.

Starting point is 00:20:35 And then beyond that, you had Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Nome saying, it's not enough, writing on social media this week that she is recommending, quote, a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nations with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. And so while it's not clear there exactly what countries this will include, it is coming only days after you had Trump himself saying that he intended to permanently pause migration from all third world countries. And while, you know, an immigration crackdown has obviously been underway from the very beginning, what does stand out here is how much he's targeting legal immigration pathways. And so ultimately, we're going to have to keep our eyes on this because there's a lot

Starting point is 00:21:06 that could still happen, especially because we're not even a year into this presidency. And then there's even more we've got to break down in just a minute, but first let me say, you know, you ever hit that point in holiday shopping where you realize you bought nothing and the countdown clock is like basically mocking you? Well, that is why today's sponsor, Oroframes, it is my go-to, I swear I planned a hand gift, even if I didn't. Like, it genuinely feels like a cheat code. I mean, I've had an Oroframe for a while now, and it is genuinely making me happy

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Starting point is 00:22:03 code fill when scanning the QR code or click the link below to get $35 off the Carver Mat frame. It's an exclusive deal and these sell out fast, so order now to get it in time for the holidays. But then next up, I'm interested to know your thoughts here. Donald Trump's physical health and mental sanity, they're back on the table after what was just for many considered a disastrous cabinet meeting. With that, I'll say, you know, concerns about his health, they've been growing for a while because at 79 years old, he's the oldest most shriveled up man ever to be elected president and by the time that he leaves office he would be 82. Now to mention just the myriad of things like the bruising on his hand, the swollen ankles, the MRI exam during a

Starting point is 00:22:37 half-year physical and as we're going to be diving into his propensity to just fall asleep in public. You know, cute if it was a dog doing it concerning when it's the man who can, you know, launch nukes. And so with all of that in mind, the other week, the New York Times publishing this report where they analyzed Trump's public schedule throughout a second term so far to see how he's been doing. And while they noted that people have regular access to him and he takes questions from the press far more than Biden did. They concluded that he's actually slowed down noticeably from his own first term. So they found that his total official appearances decreased by 39% this year compared to 2017, going from almost 1,700 to just 1,000. And whereas in 2017, his scheduled

Starting point is 00:23:12 events started on average at 10.31 a.m., now they start at 1208 p.m. And that, even though they end around the same time they did before shortly after 5 p.m. So you had many, including the times itself, framing those findings as signs of the president's growing fatigue as he just succumbs to the reality of aging. Though in response, you had Trump calling the woman who reported that story ugly, both inside and out. Or within the White House this week, giving its own Oval Office logs to the New York Post, reporting to show that Trump worked up to 12 hours a day throughout 10 weekdays last month. But then there, even if that was accurate, you had skeptics countering that it's a stretch to call it working when he's dozing off during meetings or posting nonstop on truth social.

Starting point is 00:23:46 But I mean, just on Monday, for example, he posted 150 times between 7 p.m. and midnight. He averaged about a post every two minutes for five hours straight. Like, just think about it. If anyone else did that, someone would call the police for a wellness check. And then, presumably after waking up at 5.48 the next morning, his first post on the new day was Truth Social is the best. There's nothing even close. Do you know how long you have to be on the toilet to post that much? I mean, what is he eating?

Starting point is 00:24:12 Right. And so then, yesterday with the Times report, apparently still on his mind, you had Trump opening up a cabinet meeting by denigrating Joe Biden and defending his own mental acuity. I'll let you know where there's something wrong. There will be someday. That's going to happen to all of this. but right now I think I'm sharper than I was 25 years ago, but who the hell does? I'm a smart person, not a stupid person. But then, I shit you not. Within minutes of closing his mouth, the let others speak, he closed his eyes as well.

Starting point is 00:24:35 But as one person after another, Scott Turner, Brooke, Rollins, Linda McMahon, Marco Rubio, RFK Jr., and others just glazed him for being God's gift to the earth, he appeared to nod off over and over again. With him seeming to struggle to keep his eyes open, sometimes shutting them for several seconds at a time, often leaning back and forth in his chair. And at some points, it even seems like he jerks back, awake as he desperately clings to consciousness. So with all that, you had people dunking on him online, calling him Sleepy Don, joking that he looks like he's about to enter REM sleep.

Starting point is 00:25:01 Tell us again how Sleepy Joe is, will you? Of course he's tired. He was up all night posting. Now with all this, you may remember that less than a month ago, Trump appeared to doze off during another Oval Office event as well. And so when the Times asked Press Secretary Caroline Levitt whether he fell asleep again yesterday, she replied that the president was listening attentively and running the entire meeting. But also, as many have pointed out, much of what he said while he was awake didn't make sense. Things like, for example, claiming to have lowered drug prices by numbers that are mathematically impossible.

Starting point is 00:25:28 I got him down 400, 500, 600%, and more, and the fake news won't write about it. Because quick math lesson, if you reduce anything by 100%, that is zero. So a 600% drop in the price of something would put it in the negative, which means that the pharmacy would pay you to take the drugs. Which yes, would be awesome, though nonsensical and it would ruin the economy. But also that's not what's happening and I don't, it sounds like he doesn't understand numbers. Also, Trump claimed that the United States has already collected trillions of dollars in tariff revenue, which is just not true. But it's more like $200 billion, and that's without

Starting point is 00:26:02 factoring in any lost revenue from other sources. Then he also promised to use that money, both to pay down the debt and give Americans dividend checks, which is impossible with the actual amount of money that's been coming in. And then finally, on top of all that, he suggested that the tariffs are generating so much revenue that it's about to replace other taxes. I believe that at some point in the not too distant future, you won't even have income tax to pay, whether you get rid of it or just keep it around for fun or have it really low. But there was also one moment from the cabinet meeting that Leavitt pointed to as a proof of Trump's sharpness. Right, and that came at the very end when he got a question about Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

Starting point is 00:26:36 You know, after ripping into his enemies for a few minutes, he turned his attention towards Somali immigrants whom he said are ripping off our country and contributing nothing. I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you, okay? Somebody who said, oh, that's not politically correct. I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country's no good for a reason. Their country stinks. We're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Elon Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage.

Starting point is 00:27:03 But when they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it. And so yeah, that's the portion that Levitt picked out from this two hour plus event. And she told the Times, this epic moment put an exclamation point on President Trump's ninth cabinet meeting of his second term. all of which have been entirely open to the press for the whole world to see. But you know, to many others, this was just the president being shockingly racist,

Starting point is 00:27:30 and among the reactions you had Ilhan Omar herself responding to him calling around. He's always been a racist, a bigot, xenophobic, um, and Islamophobic. We know that he called African nations a shithole in his first administration. We know that, um, he is afraid of what is in the Epstein files as he's fought, um, to be the head of the pedophile protection party. You then also had an interviewer asking the Homeland Security spokesperson this question. My question is all of them? The president says he doesn't want them here.

Starting point is 00:28:04 He called them garbage. Do you consider that to be all of the 40,000 people born in Somalia now living in Minnesota? John, this is not about politics. This is about public safety. We saw what just happened last week with a terrorist attack against us here and our nation's capital. As well as Republican Representative Tom Emmer giving his own answer to that on Fox News. It's not that all Somalis are committing crimes, but 80% of the crimes being committed in the Twin Cities in Minnesota are being committed by Somalis. And then with all of this, you had the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Fry, responding to what he called credible media reports that as many as a hundred federal agents will deploy to the Twin Cities with a specific focus on Somalis.

Starting point is 00:28:41 To our Somali community, we love you, and we stand with you. Targeting Somali people means that due process will be violated. Mistakes will be made. And let's be made. And, let's be. Let's be clear, it means that American citizens will be detained for no other reason than the fact that they look like they are Somali. But then, next up today, please listen up if you or someone in your life is diabetic. Because the FDA, they just warned that one of the most popular monitoring devices, it's led to hundreds of incidents and multiple deaths. And specifically, I'm talking about the freestyle Libre III and associated models, which are made by Abbott Diabetic Care. And for those who don't know, the freestyle series of monitors, they're some of the most popular out there for diabetics and near ubiquitous. But you had Abbott revealing last week that there was a production issue on one of its lines, which led to about

Starting point is 00:29:27 3 million devices incorrectly reporting glucose levels and that the affected units, quote, may post serious health risks, including potential injury or death. And they're not joking either. There have been at least 700 reports of problems and at least seven deaths worldwide so far. And if you should know one thing about diabetics, it's that knowing your glucose levels, it's the bedrock of how to even treat it. Or without that information, you're just kind of shooting in the dark. All of which is why you now have the FDA coming out and telling people to check their unit numbers, all of which will link down below. Because if you or someone you know has one of those, it is very, very important that you stop using it and get a new one. And with this, I'll say, even if you don't think you know anyone who's diabetic, you probably do. Because as it turns out, one in ten Americans have it, so about 38 million people.

Starting point is 00:30:05 Say, hey, spread the word, I love your faces, and be safe out there. But then, in just crazy international and security news, hackers in South Korea accessed 120,000 cameras in homes and other private places, and they stole sexually exploitative material that they then sold online. And according to the country's national police agency, four people, People have been arrested and charged with violating laws against hacking, with only one being released while three remain in custody on additional charges of creating or selling sexually exploitative material, including some involving children. And so with all this, the cameras that were allegedly hacked, they were installed in private residences as well as businesses, including hospitals, saunas, karaoke rooms, a Pilate Studio, and even a gynecologist clinic. The police said that they were able to get into these devices because many were protected with extremely weak passwords made up of repeating characters or combinations of sequential numbers and letters.

Starting point is 00:30:51 And then with that, they said they sold the footage to an overseas website with just two of them selling hundreds of videos for tens of thousands of dollars between them, allegedly making them responsible for 62% of the videos posted in the past year on that. Now, in addition to what's happening with East War, you had police saying they're now moving to block and shut down the site, and they're working with foreign agencies to try and find out who's behind it. They've also arrested three people who are suspected of having bought and viewed material through the site. And then, as far as the victims, they've reported to have been notified at 58 locations and they're helping them update their passwords and delete content. and they're also working to identify others who may have been affected. Right, and a big thing with all this is that these people,

Starting point is 00:31:23 they're far from the first victims in South Korea. It turns out, illegally filmed videos have been a major issue there, and there have been crackdowns on hidden cameras in places like hotels, swimming pools, and public bathrooms in the past. I mean, between 2011 and 22, police made nearly 50,000 arrests tied to illegally filming sexually explicit material, most of it involving young women. And then beyond that, where there being more internet-connected cameras,

Starting point is 00:31:42 it's become an issue elsewhere and in other ways. I mean, in the U.S., for example, one camera company, Burkata, they paid nearly $3 million, last year to settle a Justice Department lawsuit connected to a 2021 breach that exposed about 150,000 cameras in places like hospitals and schools. And so ultimately, I actually, I don't know what the moral of the story is. Maybe there's multiple stories. Definitely, one, if your password's password for the love of God, change it.

Starting point is 00:32:03 Two, I guess just don't trust anything with a camera. And to our three, I think the more that I see stories like this, the more that I just, I want to live in the woods with no technology. It feels like cameras are getting put into everything and even the most basic things. For some reason, they need to be connected to your Wi-Fi. I don't know. Be careful out there. Right, but then finally today, as we're winding things down, I want to end with congratulations and one more thing, which, for some of you, maybe the best thing you see all day.

Starting point is 00:32:27 I was definitely at a loss of words over it, but let me start by saying, congrats to Vic M. Because Vic is Seek's latest weekly winner who just scored $500 in tickets and is going to go to WWE Survivor Series. For the rest of y'all, that's right. Seek is still giving away $500 and tickets, and you should definitely answer today if you haven't already. I mean, you could be the next winner and snag $500 towards seeing your favorite artist, sporting event or play. I mean, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from. And all you got to do is just add Code DeFranco to your Seeky Gap profile for a chance of the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary.

Starting point is 00:32:55 But with that said, the final thing today is, as we talked about earlier, this, I had a birthday this week. And unbeknownst to me, my podcast partner, Alex Proman, and my producer, Ben, they had a few people send in, like, happy birthday videos. And when I thought that the most surprising was going to be Governor Westmore of all people, wishing me a happy birthday. They also got someone I did not expect. I do want to say we had one come in late, Phil.

Starting point is 00:33:18 And this was a late edition. We couldn't get him into the edit in time for the editors to put this together. So we just want to, it was a very, very close personal friend of yours that you've known for a very, very long time. So we just want to go ahead and throw that to that video right now. Happy birthday to my closest bestie. Yes. Oh, my God. I can't believe it, Phil.

Starting point is 00:33:38 Look, it's your birthday. And when anyone thinks of Phil, I want. them to think of me and yes me George Santos and I just want you to know that we are so alike Phil we are like practically the same person the only difference is I'm still going to be 21 this year I know it's your 29th um birthday but you know do your thing talk your shit happy birthday dear dear Phil happy birthday to you bye oh by the way

Starting point is 00:34:20 send Alex a kiss she sends you this you gave money to George he's going to buy a credit card skimmer and it's going to be our fault I want you to understand something I Venmoed one of your producers and then he risked his debit card numbers

Starting point is 00:34:40 by paying George Santos $100 on cameo, Phil. But that, it's where we're gonna end things for now. Though, you got more just to click away. But you can, and you should definitely check out the full episode of crashing out there. Today's episode just dropped. It's over an hour.

Starting point is 00:34:53 Things per usual go off the rail, so you can click that or I got links in the description for you that you can go check it out. And or if you missed last night's Philip DeFranco show, you can check that out right here. But hey, no matter what you do, let me end on two things. One, thank you to everyone that's been posting

Starting point is 00:35:04 their Spotify wrapped and YouTube wrapped and just talking about how much the Philip DeFranco show has been a part of their lives on social media. That just, it warms my heart heart, it's so cool to see. And two, thank you for watching. I love you, faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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