The Philip DeFranco Show - The Marjorie Taylor Greene Situation is Crazier Than Most Realize & Hostages Released, But What Now?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news. It is Monday, and there's a lot to talk about starting with this. We need to talk about Gaza, Israel, and Hamas. Because the ceasefire, it seems to be holding. All 20 living hostages have been released by Hamas, and nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been freed from Israeli imprisonment and detention. But then with all that, there's still violence in Gaza,

Starting point is 00:00:19 and there are a lot of questions about what happens next that still haven't been answered. But to start with the good news. As we talked about, Israel and Hamas, they agreed on a first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal on Thursday. And then on Friday, Israeli forces withdrew to a new defensive line inside of Gaza. In that, it left them in control of 53% of the territory, and also it triggered a 72-hour deadline for the hostage exchange. And then we fast forward to this morning, and Hamas first released seven hostages at around 8 a.m. local time, with them handing them over to Red Cross, who then transferred them to the Israeli military. And then around 11 a.m., the Red Cross received the final 13 living hostages.

Starting point is 00:00:50 With this then, seeing the first clips of these people reuniting with their families after more than two years in captivity. Right, and then, you had similar scenes playing out as Israel released 1,9668. Palestinians, who I will note here have most often been described in mainstream media as prisoners. And I mentioned that because, you know, for many, that label, it's in dispute. Right, because among those who were released, there were only 250 who had actually been sentenced to prison terms. Right, most of those people were convicted of murder and terrorism and deadly attacks on Israelis, according to Israel's justice ministry. Though also notably, some were convicted in military trials that rights advocates say often lack due process. And then also, right, beyond that,

Starting point is 00:01:23 the remaining 1,700 or so Palestinians released, there were among several thousand Palestinians that Israeli troops have taken from Gaza and have held without charge. And in fact, even now, about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza remain in Israeli custody. And that's according to a recent count by an Israeli human rights group. And in fact, most of the detainees were held under new laws that were passed in Israel at the start of the war that allowed Palestinians to be detained for months as so-called unlawful combatants without judicial review or access to lawyers. And with that, you've had rights groups, the UN, and detainees themselves,

Starting point is 00:01:49 all having reported routine torture and abuse in the facilities where Palestinians have been held with at least 75 dying in custody according to the UN. And so then with that, as far as the ceasefire and the hostage release deal, I mean, there's still a matter of returning the bodies of those who have died. I mean, specifically with that, you have the remains of at least 26 hostages who died in Gaza meant to be handed over in exchange for the remains of deceased Palestinians held by Israel. But also, both Israeli and Hamas officials have said that it would be difficult for Hamas to gather all of the bodies on the three-day window that was stipulated by the ceasefire agreement. Right in that, I mean, it's already sparked anger. You have the hostage families for him, for example, accusing Hamas of dragging their feet, saying in a statement, this represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. You also had the Israeli defense minister writing on acts that Hamas failing to return all of the bodies as a failure to meet its commitments and adding.

Starting point is 00:02:32 Any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a gross violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly. But also, despite those concerns, you had Trump hailing today as the historic dawn of a new Middle East when he became the first president to address the Israeli parliaments in George W. Bush in 2008. In typical Trump fashion, you had him seemingly veering off script bashing Joe Biden and Barack Obama while also heaping praise on himself and his administration. Then you also very notably had him urging Israel's president to pardon Netanyahu, who's in the middle of a long-running criminal trial on corruption charges. Then, on the other side, you had Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians heaping praise and applause on Trump, although not all of them. In fact, at one point, two lawmakers belonging to a joint Palestinian-Israeli political party were escorted out for displaying signs that said, recognized Palestine. And you had one of them writing on social media afterward. To crown Netanyahu, through flattery, the likes of which has never been seen, does not absolve him and his government of the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, nor of the response.

Starting point is 00:03:25 responsibility for the blood of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian victims and thousands of Israeli victims. With him later adding, there are two people here and neither is going anywhere. But then also with the situation you have Trump leaving for Israel and heading to Egypt for a summit on the ceasefire deal along with other world leaders. And soon we're going to have to wait to see if that leads to any questions being answered about what happens next. Because for example, as of right now, it's not totally clear which if any countries are planning to send troops to join what was called an international stabilization force that Trump said would handle security in post-war Gaza. And then beyond that, there's also the question of whether Hamas will be disarmed and stripped of its power in Gaza and how the

Starting point is 00:03:57 territory will be governed after the war, right? Because that's a demand from Israel, but we've already seen reports that Hamas has been moving to reassert its control over the territory. I mean, you've got the BBC reporting that Hamas has recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces to move into areas recently vacated by Israeli troops. And the mobilization order reportedly announced that their aim would be to, quote, cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators with Israel. And then seemingly connected to that, you also had the BBC reporting that at least 27 people were killed over the weekend and clashes between Hamas and armed members of a major clan in Gaza City. And you had what was described as a senior source in Gaza's Ministry of Interior telling Al Jazeera that the clashes in Gaza

Starting point is 00:04:31 involved in armed militia affiliated with the Israeli occupation. And for some important context there, you had Netanyahu confirming way back in June that Israel had been arming clans in Gaza that he said were opposed to Hamas. And you also had international aid workers later alleging that leaders of one of these groups, who Israeli and Palestinian analysts claimed had been involved in drugs and weapons smuggling before the war. also did business with the Islamic State, was behind the systemic looting of aid entering the Gaza Strip last fall. And with that, you've had analysts and historians

Starting point is 00:04:57 saying that providing weapons, money, and other support to these types of groups is a strategy that Israel has used several times in the past to divide Palestinians and undermine their national aspirations. Where with one Columbia University scholars saying, it's the oldest colonial strategy in the book, and adding, Israel wants a state of chaos because if the Palestinians are unified,

Starting point is 00:05:14 then they might have to actually negotiate or deal with them. With also a retired security officer who previously served with the Palestinian Authority in Gaza claiming, Gaza is flooded with arms. Looters have stolen thousands of weapons and rounds of ammunition from Hamas stores during the war and some groups have even received supplies from Israel.

Starting point is 00:05:28 And then adding, this is a perfect recipe for civil war, weapons, frustration, chaos, and a movement desperate to reassert control over a shattered and exhausted population. And so ultimately, you know, that is where we are and we are gonna have to wait to see how this plays out because there is so much happening right now. Right, I think we can hope for the best,

Starting point is 00:05:44 we can celebrate people being back with their loved ones and their families. But we should also prepare for the worst and expect that maybe everything doesn't go according to plan, at least the public facing peace plan. But the next step in the news, Donald Trump has a Marjorie Taylor Green problem right now. Because she's been breaking from Trump and her party over and over recently. I mean, just over the weekend, you got a ton of attention over comments that you made regarding

Starting point is 00:06:05 Trump's ice raids and immigration policies saying on Tim Dillon's podcast. But I look at, you know, showing up to a high school graduation and deporting someone's father, I go, this seems to a lot of people to be inhumane. Yeah, that's hard to watch. a secure border? Oh, hell yeah, unapologetically. Yes. Immigration laws, you have to follow our immigration laws. Those are our laws. However, let's be in reality for a minute. We have a labor force in America across many industries that has been built on illegal labor. That's a fact. That also cannot be ignored. As a conservative and as a business owner in the construction industry and as a

Starting point is 00:06:45 realist, I can say, we have to do something about labor, and that needs to be a smarter plan than just rounding up every single person and deporting them just like that. With their comments coming as ICE raids have been making headline after headline from Chicago lately, where with, for example, tons of video showing an instance where two women were allegedly pulled from their cars outside of an elementary school, and more footage showing a news producer being detained by Border Patrol agents while her face was held to the ground before being put into a minivan. Right, Marge, also saying that her party is just not doing enough to address costs, a living, and other everyday issues that Americans are actually dealing with.

Starting point is 00:07:19 But I'm really upset with the direction Congress is going. But when we are not doing anything to address the cost of living, we aren't doing anything about Blackstone buying up houses where people, most young people can't find a house and they're having to compete in bidding wars. Right. And we're not doing anything about health insurance premiums. Then for the love of God, what are we doing? And again, this is just the latest and what's been kind of a trend for green lately.

Starting point is 00:07:47 Right, in the past few months, she called what was happening in Gaza, a genocide. She's one of the few Republicans pushing for the Epstein files to actually get released. And actually, with this shutdown we're seeing, she's been very outspoken. I mean, just last week, she pinned the blame on her Republican colleagues and leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson. So you're putting the blame on the leadership of your party? Absolutely, we control the House, we control the Senate, we have the White House. I've been vocal saying, you know, you can use a nuclear option in the Senate. this doesn't have to be a shutdown. Right, and with all this, condemning her party for not having

Starting point is 00:08:17 solutions when it comes to healthcare, saying that Mike Johnson should really bring the house back in session for many reasons. And saying this cliff is coming for millions and millions of Americans where their health insurance premiums are about to skyrocket, so put your money where your mouth is. And so you know, all of this, it's prompted a lot of reactions from people from all sides. Right, and connected to what we're seeing, you had the likes of Johnson saying that he had a meaningful conversation with her about issues like health care. Though that also, as you had other Republicans seemingly like a little more annoyed with her, arguing that it's unfair for her to pin all these issues on our own party. But then also on the left, you had some

Starting point is 00:08:47 seeing her comments and asking, how is Marjorie Taylor Green a new ally of the left? Right, you're seeing pieces out there titled Marjorie Taylor Green, welcome to the resistance. The calmness for the AJC putting out a piece saying she is the quote, singular Republican voice in Washington willing to speak truth to power, her own party politics be damned. And adding, even if you don't agree with Green on everything or even most things, you have to admire her willingness in this moment to say what is true even when other Republicans refuse to. Maybe it's queer suicide or maybe it's leadership but then also you would some really not sold on this right arguing that her so-called pivot it's not a moral awakening saying it's a political calculation that recognizes

Starting point is 00:09:22 trump's political weaknesses right and with that you've got people pointing to the full interview saying you know if you look at them she's still praising trump's leadership she hasn't done a full 180 right if you go to her twitter you see kind of anti-vax rhetoric or her claiming antifo is at january 6th and even though you know she's slamming the republicans handling of health care she's also still pointing fingers at democrats and obamacare and so that is why you also have people like this columnist for USA Today saying. Keep in mind that Green, like so many MAGA figures, is a grade A grifter who craves the thing all good opportunists need. Attention. Saying Trump is unpopular, he's aging swiftly. The economy is green so boldly noted is not good for most Americans.

Starting point is 00:09:56 And adding, before long, MAGA will need a new figurehead. And you can bet every fast talking fact-averse tailkisser who helped Trump build his faux populace racket wants a shot at the con artist's crown. And saying, I don't think Green has come to her senses. I think she's a gifted grifter dipping a toe in the pool of Trump defiance to see if it makes waves she can ride. But then also, regardless of her motives here, you have outlets like time, noting, either way, Green's growing independence poses a risk to Republican power. With a thin majority in the lower chamber, every non-party line voter could upend Trump's in the GOP's agenda.

Starting point is 00:10:24 But ultimately, that's where we are right now, and as we wait to see what happens from here, whether it be with Marjorie Taylor Green, Donald Trump's relationship with her, or even other Republicans, right? Do they start joining her? I got to ask you, what are your thoughts, opinions, and reactions here? Like, do you think there's an ulterior motive, or no, she's. a true ideologue and trumps the one that's that's straying from it and so she is kind of tried and true or is she just a gripped her navigating the situation what are your

Starting point is 00:10:46 thoughts and feelings here and then there's more we've got to dive into but first I gotta take a minute to say you know I love today's sponsor KiwiCo aka the answer to both kids and parents dreams right KiwiCo crates or gifts that kids remember because they build it themselves and as a long time parent and fan I got why KiwiCo I mean they make crates the kids actually build explore and play with I mean it's like sneak in veggies and dessert except it actually And every crate is designed to spark hands-on discovery, from engineering and art to robotics and geography. And Kimiko, they have options for every age, from babies learning colors to teens building legit robots.

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Starting point is 00:12:13 for its role as a mediator and peace talks between Israel and Hamas and then adding, and I'm also proud that today we're announcing, we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emory Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho. The location will be host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots

Starting point is 00:12:33 to enhance our combined training, increased lethality, interoperability, is just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, Your Excellency, that you can count on us. And so you had a ton of people out there taking that to mean that the U.S. is letting Qatar build its own military base on American soil. And I don't just mean like everyday random people. We're talking about prominent, conservative, and maga voices who tore into the idea.

Starting point is 00:12:55 With people like Laura Lumer, for example, who posted a series of tweets slamming the announcement and writing at one point, never thought I'd see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from Qatar a military base on U.S. soil so they can murder Americans. I don't think I'll be voting in 2026, and then adding, this is where I draw the line. Right, and then, because the backlash got so big, you actually saw Heggseth posting a statement on X, where he made what he called an important clarification, and he wrote, the U.S. military is a long-standing partnership with Qatar, including today's announced cooperation with F-15 QA aircraft.

Starting point is 00:13:22 However, to be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States, nor anything like a base. We control the existing base like we do with all partners. So then, with that clarification, you had many noting that this is actually not an unusual arrangement at all. Air Force units from countries like Singapore and Germany, they regularly train at U.S. facilities and pilots from some NATO countries, they've done so for decades. But still, despite the follow-up clarification, you had Heg-Seth getting a ton of backlash. Where with many arguing that this is just yet another example of Heg-Seth fumbling the ball because of the way that he phrased this announcement. It's saying that communication is key for leaders, and he really made it sound like the U.S. was allowing a foreign Air Force base in the United States. But also, I will say, beyond that, you still had plenty of folks slamming this partnership.

Starting point is 00:14:00 So, people like Luma, responding to Hegst's clarification by doubling down. Nobody wants the funders of Hamas in America being trained to fly fighter jets on U.S. soil and then saying that this move is a threat to our national security Also in addition to that you had others condemning the move as a quid pro quo or with people arguing that Trump's doing Qatar a favor because the Trump organization is building a multi-billion dollar golf resort in the country Which also gave the president that luxury four hundred million dollar jet to replace Air Force one and then just yesterday you had vice president J.D. Vans going on Fox News where he seemingly tried to reframe the story. He blamed the the fake news media for all the confusion that Hegeseth created. What is the function of this Cutter facility? People are wondering, is this an airbase? What is Qatar going to be developing in Idaho? Yeah, I saw some reporting about this. Maria, I actually talked to the Secretary of War Pete Heggseth this morning. This is largely a fake story. We continue to have with countries that we work with. We have relationships where sometimes their pilots work on our bases,

Starting point is 00:14:59 sometimes that we train together, sometimes we work together in other ways. They're reporting that somehow there is going to be a Qatari base on United States soil. That's just not true. We are continuing to work with a number of our Arabs or our Arab friends to ensure that we are able to enforce this piece. But we're not going to let a foreign country have an actual base on American soil. So there's a bit of misreporting on that, as there often is, as you know, Maria. But then, after that, we saw other big reactions, though, in different ways. So pretty much all the reactions focused on Vance saying, largely a fake story.

Starting point is 00:15:33 Some, they just read that first line, disregarded the rest, and they were like, okay, so this is proof that either Vance or Hegset's lying. Which I will say doesn't make sense when you take into full account the context of what Vance is saying. Which then brings us to the other big reaction of people saying, why are you blaming us for a thing your guy said? Vance, he could have just explained the misunderstanding, but apparently he just still had to blame the media for some reason. Hey, long story short here, Qatar is not building a military base in the United States,

Starting point is 00:15:58 But if you were confused about that, that's really not on you. You're not alone on this one, and they just, they mess this up in their very special kind of way. But then next up in the news, we've got to talk about how this factory making munitions for the U.S. military exploded and left 16 people presumed dead with no survivors. Right, in the factory, it was accurate, energetic systems in Humphreys County, Tennessee, and it's a privately owned facility that process ammunition and explosives for the Army and Navy. And reportedly, they had contracts for products like landmines and smaller breaching charges to get through doors. But then, early Friday morning, an explosion completely leveled the building. With the shockwave being felt by residents in a town 20 minutes away. And as far as those living closer, they said they were scared for their lives with one telling the AP.

Starting point is 00:16:37 I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it. Right, as far as the facility was situated on roughly 1,300 acres, a rural wooded area, pretty far away from most populated areas. But, I mean, with this explosion, you still had charred debris and mangled vehicles littering roughly half a square mile, with some debris being found up to two miles away. Right, and those who live nearby being told that any debris found should be reported. to the authorities so that trained professionals can come take care of it. Because again, like this was not just any factory. It's essentially like there was an explosion at the explosions factory.

Starting point is 00:17:04 That also is exactly the reason why it's going to take a while to get any answers about what actually happened here. Where the authorities, they even said that they're moving at a snail's pace going foot by foot through the explosion site to make sure that it's safe. You've got special agent Guy McCormick with the ATF saying that there are certified explosive specialists and bomb technicians on the scene to help make sure that the area is safe. And adding in a situation like this, what we find is that when these explosives are subject to the event that took place, which is heat, the explosion being thrown, pressure, they can change and they can become different than how we know them to act. And so hopefully we'll have a clearer picture as to how this happened in the near future. Especially because you have many wondering, you know, was this an accident or was it foul play?

Starting point is 00:17:41 But again, you have local authorities saying that that answer, it could be weeks or even months out. As far as the local authorities believing that no one survived here, 16 people presumed dead, you had a rapid DNA team being brought onto the scene to identify any remains recovered by investigators. Well, those numbers would be horrible anywhere. And what we're talking about here is a relatively small, tight-knit community. And you could see and feel that when the local sheriff, Chris Davis, got choked up at a press conference after the explosion. Truly devastated.

Starting point is 00:18:09 It's a tremendous loss, a great loss. And at this time, we have recovered no survivors. Now, currently, as far as the dead, we have not seen any names release, but we have seen the community come together to support one another. You've got vigils popping up, including one where the senior pastor noted that many of the attendees knew the victims in their families and saying there's a lot of people hurting a lot of people who are crying a lot of tears they can hardly speak or anything they are so emotional i think as this goes on it's going to hit more

Starting point is 00:18:35 people the depth of this the reality of it that's when they're going to need people the most and also sheriff davis saying i never want to give up hope hope's always been my heart but i don't want to give false hope either and saying we need our communities to come together and understand that we've lost a lot of people this doesn't only affect those families it runs deeper this could be people that you grew up with right he also noted that this tragedy it comes just a few short years after the area was shaken by another disaster, right, a flood back in 2021 that killed 20 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. But with all that said, right, regarding what has happened now as far as any accountability, we've got there as accurate energetic systems,

Starting point is 00:19:07 releasing a statement on Friday evening, calling the explosions a tragic accident and saying, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, coworkers, and community members affected by this incident. We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions. But here's the key thing. There have been multiple safety concerns that were raised about this specific plant in the past. And in fact, In fact, they were slapped with a fine from OSHA back in 2019 for violations related to personal protective equipment, employee exposure to contaminants, and inadequate safety training. Though officially, the company contested the findings and eventually they reached a formal settlement.

Starting point is 00:19:37 That said, there was also a fire back in 2020 that broke out in the same building that exploded with the company at the time laying the blame on Sammy Creech, who's a former employee who lives about 12 miles from the site. But Creech also sued for wrongful termination saying that the investigation into the fire didn't even try getting a statement from him about the situation. Or with Creech saying, I tried to talk and reason. with them, they seemed to enjoy the dismissal. I was very ashamed that I was fired. In that case, was eventually dropped during mediation, but we may now see it referenced in the conversation surrounding Friday's explosion in the coming weeks as more information comes out. But that, my friends, is the end of at least this video, but there's more to watch.

Starting point is 00:20:10 You've got my brand new interview podcast in Good Faith, and this week I had Hank Green on. That's a fantastic watch, ride, listen. Also, I got my brand new episode two of crashing out. Myself and Alex Perlman just chopping it up, losing it a little bit. And I've even got links in the description so you can watch on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or over on YouTube. But hey, no matter what, thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see it right back here tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Marjorie Taylor Greene Situation is Crazier Than Most Realize & Hostages Released, But What Now?

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