The Philip DeFranco Show - The Elon Musk Charlie Kirk FBI Situation Has Divided The Internet

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

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Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. You daily dive into the news. It's Thursday, and there's a lot to talk about today, starting with this. Two Jewish people were killed and four others severely injured in the UK this morning after a man drove a car into a Manchester synagogue. This guy got out and started stabbing people before being shot to death by the police shortly after the attack began. So given the nature of the attack and the fact that it happened on Yom Kippur, which is

the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, police are calling this a terror attack. At least, as I'm recording this, we're not seeing a lot of footage that you would normally see in an incident like this from the scene in. prior to the attack. And that appears to be largely because of the demographics of the area, right? Manchester and this area in particular has the highest Jewish population in the UK. And generally speaking, observant Jews don't use devices on high holidays like Yom Kippur. And so for now, regarding a number of the details from this attack, we're waiting for that to come out. And I'm also saying attacker and you're seeing attacker everywhere because right now we don't know

the suspect's name. Or you've got London police saying they believe they know his identity, but they're, quote, unable to confirm at this stage. Also another hurdle in identifying the attacker was because suspicious items were found on the body, which required the bomb squad to come out. There, it's being reported that the items weren't viable and not a threat. And then with all this, it looks like he may not have worked alone as two others have been arrested in connection with the crime.

Also, as far as what we're seeing, you had Prime Minister Kier-Starmer telling reporters. The attack in Manchester this morning is absolutely shocking. And all of our thoughts are with those affected. I'm on my way back to London. When I arrive, I will chair an emergency cobra meeting. I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.

You also had the Israeli embassy condemning the attack and saying that such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar in a place of prayer and community is abhorrent and deeply distressing. And for Jewish people in the UK, this attack appears to be just another example of the rising wave of anti-Semitism and here a deadly one. In fact, according to the community security trust, which is a charity that tracks anti-Semitic acts in the UK, 1,521 cases have been documented between January and June of this year. And that number includes a wide range of things, everything from graffiti and online abuse to assaults and other acts. But altogether, that means that this year has the second highest

rate of anti-Semitic incidents since they've started tracking it in the country. And with all this, in general, there's a real fear from the UK's leadership that this could lead to even further increased tensions between sectarian groups across the UK. And we may already be starting to see that play out. I mean, just a quick search on social media and you have people bringing up Israel and Palestine, the UK recently recognizing Palestine as a state, pro-Palestine marches in the country, though again, right now we do not officially know any details about the attacker or his beliefs. But again, for now, we have eyes on this and we're going to have to wait to see what information comes from the investigations here. But then also, regarding the topic

of anti-Semitism, we should talk about this news involving the ADL and FBI. Because Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, he just announced that the agency is cutting ties with the anti-defamation League. But them saying that they're an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization. And this notably after Elon Musk and other right-wing influencers went after the ADL for its work documenting alleged racism and anti-Semitism connected to Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA. Though technically, the ADL never actually labeled Turning Point an extremist or a hate group. Instead, it described it as a right-wing student organization that provided a platform for extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists. They then also claim that TP USA's leadership and activists have

made multiple racist or bigoted comments and have been linked to a variety of extremists, and they gave various examples there. And they then also argued that Kirkham, pushed numerous conspiracy theories about election fraud and COVID-19 and has demonized the transgender community as well as promoted Christian nationalism right and then connected to that you had a fair share of people sharing screenshots of an ADL webpage talking about what's known as the Christian identity movement right which is it's not just about identifying as Christian instead it's described as an extremist ideology dating back to the 19th century which believes that white people are God's chosen ones and advocates for a holy war against Jews and other minority groups and so with all that in mind you had Musk pointing to the ADL and saying that they're a hate group against Christians right and claiming that the ADL using what he called false and defamatory labels about people and organizations, including calling them extremist, hate, or terror groups encourages murder. And Musk then going on to say that there are a far-left hate propaganda machine, which I will say is also a little bit funny. Just because, you know, a lot of the criticism of the ADL has actually come from people that are considered more far-left. And specifically, Palestine supporters or Netanyahu critics, they've slammed

the organization for equating anti-Zionism and even general criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. I mean, you've even had ADL employees speaking out against the ADL's defense of the Israeli government. Though also, notably, a lot of backlash came in response to the ADL's past defense of Elon Musk. You might remember when Elon Musk did this, the ADL called it an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm. And actually now, in response to all this, you've had the ADL accused of folding to Musk again

by taking down its so-called glossary of extremism, or reportedly removing over a thousand pages of related research from its website. Though there, the ADL defending itself in a statement saying that an increasing number of entries in the glossary were outdated and noting, you also saw a number of entries intentionally misrepresented and misused. But again, another big aspect of this backlash we're seeing it has to do with the ADL's ties to the FBI and other law enforcement. Because if you didn't know, the ADLs partnered with law enforcement agencies for decades to educate them on extremism and anti-Semitism. And actually, in the case of the FBI, it's mandatory for new agents to

complete the ADL's Law Enforcement and Society Workshop, which, according to the description, examines the history of the Holocaust, the role of police under the Nazis, and the implications of the Holocaust for law enforcement today. I mean, even had in 2014, former FBI director, and I guess now recently indicted James Comey, delivering a speech praising the ADL for its work, saying, if this sounds a bit like a love letter to the ADL, it is, and rightly so. But now you've got Cash Patel telling Fox News. James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing love letters to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans. That was not law enforcement. It was activism dressed up as

counterterrorism and it put Americans in danger. And saying that era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey's policies in any partnership with the ADL. But then next up in the news, let's talk about Trump gearing up to send ICE to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance. Because in case you missed it, the NFL and Apple Music, they announced that Bad Bunny is going to be the halftime headliner this year. And that's not like the most surprising news. He's one of the biggest artists in the world. But still, because everything is stupid, that sparked a controversy. Because even though Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, which is an American territory, many on the right believe that this was an un-American choice.

With some outrage, that his music is primarily in Spanish, not English. You had people like Megan Kelly even calling the selection an active middle finger to the right. And then others posting things like Roger Goodell and the NFL just decided to make the Super Bowl political. This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message. Does this guy really scream American football to anyone? Right, and then with all that, you had people boring to Bad Bunny actually opting to not do any shows in the 50 states for his recent tour because he has a huge Latino fan base and he was concerned about ICE.

With him explaining, there were many reasons why I didn't show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate. But there was the issue of, like, fucking ice could be outside my concert. And well, now it's not just randoms and commentators online. This has reached the Trump administration. Right, because you had Corey Lewandowski, a senior advisor in the Department of Homeland Security, going on a podcast and getting asked if there would be ice enforcement at the Super Bowl. And there, he said, there is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you.

We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention. and we will deport you. So know that that is a very real situation under this administration. It's so shameful that they've decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game. Right, so that clip it's taken off and you had ice backing up those comments to TMZ, confirming that ice presence will be at the event.

And that ended up sparking its own wave of responses with something that it's ridiculous to threaten an ice raid over a Puerto Rican and therefore American artists. Right, some saying this just proves bad Bunny's point about not touring here. But this also, as some have said, this feels like a pretty empty threat. Arguing that the crowds attending the Super Bowl and those attending a regular Bad Bunny concert, they're just not the same group.

Some people saying it's less likely that fans would be putting themselves at risk or be in risk in the same way with his own world tour. Also, the fact that this even turned into a big controversy at all, for many, it proves why it's such a big deal that Bad Bunny is doing the halftime show. Bad Bunny is performing at the biggest stage

on the biggest night in the United States when Latinos are being scapegoated and persecuted and being talked about like we don't belong here. Bad Bunny champions his island, okay? He's constantly wearing his culture on his sleeve. It's representation. It's defiance. It is joy in the face of people who try to shrink us.

And then there's more news we've got to talk about, but first let me say, you know, fall is here and it's stacked with football, baseball concerts like Billy Eilish, the Lumineers, Benson Boone, Lord, the Joachie, the Jonas Brothers, it's all happening. And we've been giving out $500 every single week for over a year thanks to our sponsor at Seekek, and somehow you still haven't entered for free. All while, it's been so awesome seeing so many of you beautiful bastards win the $500

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Because that 30% is up 11 points from just a year and a half ago. And while you saw increases for all party identifications, they did not rise equally. Republicans went up three points, independence, went up seven points, and Democrats shot up 16 points, going from 12 to 28%. But with that, well, the Democrats had the biggest increase,

that's only because Republicans were already so high. Right, a year and a half ago, Republicans were where Democrats are now in terms of support for potential violence, And today, they're even higher, showing 31% support. And so basically what you have are the Dems catching up. And as for why you're seeing all this, you had NPR's senior political editor, Domenico Montanaro, whose outlet was involved in the survey, giving his interpretation.

And I think that it really speaks a lot to people who feel under threat in the country, whether they're targeted for hiring practices or feel like they don't have upper mobility or feeling like that the country's not going in the direction they want. In some senses, though, I feel like there's a failure of politics here overall. because if you feel that politics, which is the only way to really create change in the country is the way to make that change, then you don't feel this way. But when politics people feel has let them down, then you start to see these kinds of openings. Right. And that actually brings us to another poll that just came out because it seems to demonstrate what he just said. Because it found that

64% of registered voters believe the nation is too politically divided to solve its problems. And that's up 22 points from 42% in the fall of 2020, which was when the US was dealing with COVID lockdowns and BLM protests. Right. And we're seeing all of this is now a third of people said that America's problems are so bad that it's in danger of failing as a nation. And that, including well over a half of Democrats and only around 6% of Republicans. Right. And with all of this, I also think it's important to note the timing. Because these polls, they happened after the Kirk assassination, but before the government shut down. So it's very possible that some of these numbers may have shifted. Now, with all that said, you know, there are things that Americans seem

to agree on. Right. So for example, despite a third thinking that political violence may be necessary, 95% of Americans still say that it's a problem. Then with that, would you ask about what kind of violence they're worried about? You get very different answers. So for Republicans, you saw more concern about violence against public officials, whereas Democrats, they had more concern for violence against protesters. And then for many other issues, the broad surface-level agreement, it also turned out to conceal kind of a deeper disagreement when you break it down further.

So, like, for example, only 12% of registered voters support revoking the licenses of TV stations that air programs criticizing Donald Trump. But when you narrow it down to just Republicans, that number jumps up to, 26% or around one and four. And that is 64% of Republicans here added that Trump's actions pressuring media organizations, which cover him unfavorably, have been about right or haven't gone far enough. And then, even on Jeffrey Epstein, although 61% of Americans disapprove at the Trump administration's handling of the case, that number is only 25% for Republicans. There was nearly half of Republicans approving of it and 9% saying they don't want any of the files or release,

whether the victim's names are redacted or not. But I will say, despite all this, I was able to find at least one question from the second survey on which it would appears at both sides seem to genuinely agree. Right, and that is whether they would call each other the enemy or fellow Americans whom they merely disagree with politically, which is 10% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans opting for the harsher description

and the overwhelming majority liking the kinder one. Which, you know, does give some hope given the kind of venomous rhetoric we've heard from many, including from the president. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are.

It is the enemy from within, and they're very dangerous. They're Marxists and communists and fascists, and they're sick. These people, they're so sick and they're so evil. But the next up in the news, we should talk about why these 20 states are suing the Trump administration.

Because they say that Trump's barred them from using federal funds to help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who can't immediately prove their immigration status. In the AGs who brought this case, they're saying that even lawful residents and US citizens could be shut out from these urgently needed services and adding,

people fleeing abusive households often do not physically have the legal documents needed demonstrate immigration status. And adding abusers will frequently restrict the victim's access to important legal documents as a means of control and as a tactic to prevent them from escaping the dangerous situation. Then with that, they also pointed to Trump's recent statements

that appear to minimize the seriousness of domestic violence. Things that take place in the home, they call crime. You know, they'll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime, see? So now I can't claim 100%. But also, with this to zoom out a bit, this has to do with funding that's awarded by way of two laws.

The Victims of Crime Act and the Violence Against Women's Act, as well as something called the Burn Memorial Assistance Grant Program. Right, and the Justice Department's new rules restricting the use of this funding to provide legal services to undocumented immigrants is scheduled to go into effect on October 31st. Though also, with this, I'll say, you know, this isn't the first time that the White House has gone after money meant for the victims of crimes. Back in August, the Trump administration actually threatened to withhold Victims of Crime Act funding to states that don't assist with immigration enforcement. With that, also prompting 20 states as well as D.C. to sue the Trump administration, right? because that funding, it reportedly covers the cost of about 75% of state-run victims' compensation programs. Right, in those programs, they help victims with medical expenses, counseling, and even funeral costs in the case of homicides. Right, in these funds, they also pay for services, including testing rape kits, and going toward grants for organizations helping people recover from domestic violence and other trauma.

And also, a very big thing is that this funding, it doesn't actually come from tax dollars. It comes from fines and penalties in federal court cases. And so with all that, you've got people like New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Pleckin saying, you know, the administration's threat to withhold funds was the most heinous act that he's seen in politics and adding, these people did not ask for this status as a crime victim. They don't break down neatly across partisan lines, but they share one common trait, which is that they've suffered an unimaginable trauma.

You know, what's really crazy is there's just a lot of stories like this. Every single day when we look to the news, there's kind of like one to three things that suck up all the oxygen. And it becomes very easy to forget or miss so many things that are actively happening. And with that, it brings us to the end of this video. You've got even more just a click away. Or even the first episode of my brand new podcast. podcast crashing out with myself and Alex Perlman.

And while we promise each other that we'd do this for three to six months, no matter what, very happy to see y'all loving it. Also, for the newest Philip DeFranco show that you might not have seen, you can click or tap right there. And if you've got links for all my shows, all my podcasts, if you want to watch them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you'd prefer to get filled in. No matter what, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here on Monday.