The Philip DeFranco Show - The Shocking Candace Owens Hunter Biden Moment No One Saw Coming

Episode Date: May 25, 2026

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that California was going to get blown up this weekend. We're talking about all of that on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, your Monday Memorial Day show, starting with this. There is a state of emergency in California. Parts of six cities have been evacuated, and we spent all weekend waiting for this thing to explode, literally. And if you haven't even seen a little bit of what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the crisis that's had much of Orange County in an absolute panic since Friday, all because of this aerospace manufacturing plant and garden grove. Because you see, the 7,000 gallon tank full of highly toxic, a highly flammable chemical called methyl-metacrylate. Well, for some reason, it's still unclear. It started to get a little hot,

than too hot and then just kept getting hotter and hotter and hotter. The temperature was 90 degrees. Yesterday morning, it was 77 degrees when we backed out. It's been averaging about a degree an hour increasing. Now that was Friday, and at that time, authorities were certain that there were only two possible outcomes here. One, the tank ruptures in 7,000 gallons of this hazardous liquid spills into the surrounding area, making a fun little mess. Or two, the tank literally explodes into a fireball that one official compared to those railroad tanker explosions, which gives me an excuse to play this video.

points. And actually, since the tank in Garden grows, it's next to two other tanks, that would mean more like 34,000 gallons going boom, not just seven. So it was pretty frightening when the fire chief was like, yeah, whichever disaster it ends up being, this thing's inevitable. I cannot emphasize, this is not precautionary. This thing is gonna fail. We don't know when.

Right, and it's not just about the explosion itself, even if you're outside the blast radius, you're looking at a ton of noxious fumes going whichever way the wind blows. And with methylomethrylate, that means that one end of the space. spectrum, irritated skin, and eyes, or at the other end, potentially respiratory issues, neurological symptoms, and organ damage. And while it hasn't been proven to cause cancer, long-term exposure has been linked to cardiovascular disorders. So then Gavin Newsom, he declares a state of emergency, and roughly 50,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their homes with the lucky families crowding into shelters, and then the less

lucky ones having to sleep in their cars are intense. I'm scared because I don't know what's gonna happen, and I don't know if anything that already is in the air is going to affect us. This is my hometown and I'm sorry. And I'm worried for everyone. And with all this, you're the county's fire chief trying to reassure the people there. Your protection, your life safety is our paramount responsibility right now. We know you're out of your homes.

We want to get you back, but we cannot do that until it's deemed safe. So then what you saw is that on Saturday night, very, very carefully, firefighters approached the tank, they had a good look at it, and they actually came back with some good news. What they found was a potential crack in the tank. So that normally wouldn't sound like a good thing, but it turns out that's actually the best case scenario. Because if there's a crack, that could possibly relieve some of the pressure that's inside the tank,

making an explosion less likely. Well, yes, it might leak. One, that's better than blowing up. And two, a slow leak is actually much more manageable than everything just spilling everywhere. Still, you had this very tense situation. I mean, the tank had already begun to bulge outward, so people are just kind of waiting for it to blow at any moment.

The making matter is more complicated. You had firefighters only getting near it at night, because when the sun's out, the background temperature is higher and so is the risk. So during the day, he just had thousands and thousands of people kind of collectively wincing as they waited for the sun to go back down. And in the meantime, the firefighters spraying the tank with water and an attempt to cool it down, and they laid down sand around the perimeter to kind of contain any spillage of the chemical, hopefully.

Right and then, as another night came to California, they ventured back into the belly of the beast for another inspection of the tank, and this time, they came back with even better news. Also, for context here, when he says, Blevie, he's talking about an explosion. We are happy to report that the threat of a Blevie is now off the table. That threat has been eliminated. And the tank has released its pressure. Additionally to that, the temperature has been stabilized in actually reducing. It is currently 93 degrees, down from 100 degrees. And while it's wonderful to hear, the situation's still not over. Right, because not only is the evacuation order still in place as officials make the area safe again,

but you've got people looking for someone to blame for this huge scare and disruption to their lives. And at least with that, there is a very obvious culprit, GKN Aerospace, the company that's responsible for the chemical tank. And so actually, there's a law firm already seeking to get a class action lawsuit against them, demanding accountability for residents facing evacuation orders, property disruption, potential health risks, loss of use of their homes, related expenses, and diminished property values. In the meantime, you also have the Orange County District Attorney saying he's investigating the company. It's apology letter that it issued today is far from adequate. 50,000 of my constituents are currently displaced with no idea about what the potential impact

of this tank malfeasance might be for their community. And what we're gonna have to wait to see what comes next there. Where we are getting updates is with that shooting that was outside of the White House this weekend that left the suspect dead and a bystander injured. Right, according to reports from yesterday, that unidentified bystander is in serious but stable condition and the gunshot wound that they sustained

was described as not life-threatening, but right now we don't know who shot the person, whether it was the suspect or secret service. But what we do know is that an investigation is underway to determine who shot them, and you had secret service also releasing a statement saying, We are grateful no officers were injured and appreciate the strong support from our federal and local partners. And adding our thoughts are also with the innocent bystander who was wounded during this incident,

the Secret Service is hopeful he will make a full recovery. And as far as what went down at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, the suspect apparently approached a Secret Service checkpoint, pulled a gun from a bag, and opened fire. With officers returning fire, shooting him, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, all while Trump was at the White House as is played out. The authorities are also investigating just how much gunfire was exchanged between both parties, but based on footage from reporters who were at the White House when it happened, it seemed like a lot. Because right now, we can't see the shooting itself. It could be heard in videos posted by several journalists, including this one from an ABC News reporter.

Trump has said a deal is close, only for the two sides to remain far apart. Though I will say you might not have seen that one because the one around this has gone the most viral is this one. What is that? It sounds like tar. Weird. Now as far as what we know about the suspect, he was identified as 21-year-old Nassir Best from Maryland. Turns out he's actually been on the Secret Service's radar for around a year. Right, he was recently flagged for walking around the White House complex,

inquiring on how to gain access to various entrances. And in June, he was arrested for misdemeanor, unlawful entry after blocking a vehicle from entering the White House and reportedly told officers that he was Jesus Christ and wanted to get arrested. Then again in July, he entered a restricted White House grounds area for ignoring commands to stop. to stop, and he was eventually issued to stay away order at a hearing that he didn't attend. And according to reports, the idea that Best thought that he was Jesus Christ appear to impact other areas of his life. He's reportedly cutting off contact from his closest friends and last year unfollowed many on social media, angry with them for not believing that he was Jesus. He also had a friend saying that he had a really rough senior year of high school. He dealt with

bullying getting into fights and that quote, nothing really went his way. But right now, a more specific motive behind why he opened fire outside of the White House, it's not clear. With that, you had the post reporting that in 2022 when he registered to devote, he listed himself as a Republican, but he also didn't have any public political statements. His friend even actually described him as apolitical, so right now there's a lot that we have left to learn. But with all this, we're also seeing a lot of different kinds of responses. I'm with tons of people focusing on how this is just the latest incident of violence, either targeting the president or within his vicinity.

You're the Post putting out a piece arguing that this should force us to question how divisive political speeches become. You'd some arguing that the focus should be on the president himself, with one professor saying, the tone from the top models expected behavior. If you create conditions where hate and violence become more acceptable, people are going to act on that. Sometimes it will be supporters, sometimes it will be opponents. But as far as Trump's response, he was actually very quick to try to use it to support construction of the White House ballroom. Again, insisting that it was needed for safety and security reasons.

And he actually wrote on Truth Social that the suspect, quote, had a violent history and possible obsession with our country's most cherished structure. And adding, this event is one month removed from the White House correspondent dinner shooting and goes to show how important it is for all future presidents to get what will be the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. And saying the national security of our country demands it. And then actually this morning we got news that the deal. VOJ cited this weekend shooting and a court filing demanding that construction be allowed to continue, arguing. This second attack on the president this month underscores the critical need for top-level state-of-the-art security at the White House, including the ballroom, a knitted, unified, cohesive part of the East Wing project, which is vital for national security and is being constructed to ensure that the president can perform his constitutional duties in a safe and heavily secured facility.

And that also notably coming as Republicans just handed the White House a major L when it comes to the ballroom by opting to not include a billion dollars of security funding and an immigration bill. Right, and then also what was interesting with the coverage around this is which reactions got attention. Because it very much feels like lately Fox News has been on Hassan Piker watch, and they actually ran a whole headline accusing him of mocking the shooting. Right, and that's because as the news was breaking, you had Hassan writing, sources tell me the ballroom is safe, please God. Or with that being, get another meme parody of the Tim Poole tweet around Charlie Kirk, where Poole wrote, sources tell me, Charlie is stable, please God.

And then as far as Piker, you had him later mocking Republicans who have stumped for the ballroom. If there was a ballroom, this would not be happening. One can assume that this is only happening because there is no ballroom as a matter of fact, because if they knew that there was a ballroom, you would basically stave off all potential shooters in the future because they would know how powerful the ballroom is. Because it appears to be kind of just a small part of a kind of a grander situation. I mean, this wasn't even the only headline that Asan made on Fox News this weekend.

Because Hassan is now reportedly being subpoenaed by the feds for ties to terrorism. And it appears that it's all over this aid convoy to Cuba that I joined earlier this year with the organization Code Pink, which describes itself as a feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism. It was reportedly this trip meant to be a humanitarian mission to deliver essential supplies to the country after Trump imposed a fuel blockade. But now, reportedly, the Treasury has ordered both him

and the co-founder of Code Pink to produce financial, logistical, and communications information believing that they have ties to extremist movement. So it also appears that it all stems from the belief that they may have stayed at a hotel that the State Department has put on a Cuba restricted list. And because businesses on that list are thought to be, quote, under the control of, or acting for,

or on behalf of Cuba's military or intelligence operations, they're considered state sponsors of terrorism. And when we don't know what's happening behind the scenes, you had Hassan publicly hitting back saying, one, the American government would rather try to criminalize delivering aid to a country we've starved than punish the Epstein class. Two, he claimed that he stayed at a hotel approved by the State Department and adding, the government got duped by a fucking viral Twitter post,

I'm losing my mind. And three, he accused the right-wing influencer Nick Shirley of actually staying in an off-limits hotel. Right, and that's the guy who went viral for claiming that Minnesota was overtaken by fake Somali-run daycare. So the specifics there is at the hotel that Shirley admitted staying at, Yes, is prohibited because it has ties to the Cuban government, but it is also not part of the same terrorism-linked list that Hassan's accused of violator. But with all that, you now have activists,

including the co-founder of Co-Pink, worried any sort of crackdown here is going to have devastating consequences for people on the island. They're asking, taking medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Cuba is now a crime, saving the lives of babies as a crime. This administration is beyond grotesque. But for now, while we wait to see how this plays out, and you should definitely subscribe to stay in the loop, I got to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts with this situation, the White House shooting, or the first story in our first block today? And then there's more we gotta dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, I want to give a shout out to all these beautiful bastards that have entered our weekly $500 Seatgeek giveaways.

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Siki. Just scan that QR coder, click the link below and use code fill 10 and go make some memories. But then, Devin, right back into the news, we've got to talk about this situation. It was actually one of the most requested stories over on the text line. Right, and that is this Candice Owen's Hunter Biden crossover collab interview. Starting with this moment, which might actually be one of the craziest developments in the whole Maga Civil War. The only way I got it is when they just tore off all my clothes. It's hard and feathered me. and put me in the center of town and said, look at him. And I survived. When you survive that, you kind of go, what am I going to do with my life? I'm really sorry that I contributed to that.

Like, I just feel really shitty. Like, I feel guilty because like hearing you talk about, I mean, basically having the worst moments of your life. I just saw you as a caricature. And it was, it was definitely, like I said, like feeling gaslit by the political machine, convinced that it was just the left that part took in this political. political machine and I just like really want to say like genuinely like I'm so sorry that I just didn't even consider he's a crackhead and like you know like that's actually a very relatable thing and it's not who I want to be and I think I've I've come a long way from that in general. So a lot of people were initially psyched and then hyped about this interview. You had a lot of people thinking it was just

going to be filled with vitriol or at least you know you'd have a ton of spicy moments and actually in contrast it was incredibly tame and conciliatory like legitimately more than half of it was a very earnest conversation about addiction, right? Because Hunter is an addict, also religion and grief. And right at the top, Candace said that she was not going to put Hunter in a position to say anything bad about his father because she felt it would be unfair. But they also focused a lot on the growing divisions within MAGA, the future of the movement, and the need for both sides to stop painting each other as the enemy so we can find some common ground. And this was just super significant for a number of reasons, including Candace has become one of the biggest voices in

the MAGA Civil War. So it was really notable even just on that front that she sat down with Hunter Biden and actually talked about what comes next after, you know, so many people have split with Trump. During the interview, she said that Charlie Kirk's assassination was a big awakening for her and made her draw lines in the sand. We still don't know what happened to Charlie Kirk. There's zero interest. That's another thing that just completely for me was like done with Trump. What this has done to me and I've said this, I'm just done with politics. I'm just done with politics because I can't even begin to comprehend it. And again, that element of gaslighting that's happening here where they're pretending that the people who are noticing that none of this is making sense are the crazy ones.

It is the most infuriating thing. And it's just fully removed the scales of my eyes. And I've stopped with this left versus right, Democrat versus Republican. I'm like, this is sheer evil versus good. This is like sheer evil. That was actually something that both Candace and Hunter hit on a lot throughout the interview, right? The idea that the Trump political machine has pitted both sides against each other when really we should be fighting together against the machine itself. Coming from someone who you've attacked and you've, politically, you know, had all of your criticism, which I have no problem with and we disagree on so many things. But I listen to you and I go, right on.

When are people going to kind of wake up to the fact? And it's not left or right. This is a really, really horrible group of people that are pulling strings that impact us all. And they make us think that because you and I disagree on, you know, the graduated tax rate or some social issue is that we are sworn enemies. I mean, not just, you know, like sworn enemies that I deserve violence. And you had Hunter going on to say that Trump totally killed the mutual respect that used to exist across the aisle by driving people towards extremism and violence. Part of what you're describing is politics. Moriam, you know, part of it.

But something's changed. There is a meanness, a willingness, a willingness to adopt very, very un-American tactics against our opponents because it become a zero-sum game. It's not just that I disagree with you. It's you need to be punished. You need to be punished for what you believe. Right. Saying that Trump's made it so that any source of disagree.

even on the tiniest issue is a cause for war. And that kind of rhetoric coming from the president and others with authority has directly translated into real threats of violence. I know where that started. And that started when Donald Trump from rally stages started the where's Hunter or yell,

Where's Hunter? Call and response, crowds. And then they printed T-shirts and then they made hats. And then they made mugs. Where's Hunter? And then they showed up my door. And the way that they got there,

is the New York Post published on the front page on its cover, at an aerial view of my home with the address. And actually, even Candace acknowledged that this is something that is unique to the Trump era. Now it's getting dirtier. The games people are playing are dirtier, and it is about wanting you to feel unsafe. Like for me, it was me changing my mind on Israel.

And suddenly, I'm getting the New York Post treatment, and I'm getting all of these people coming after me. But to do these tactics where you're trying to destroy people, is that feels very, very new to me. Right. And all this has led to Canada's just being exhausted with Trump. I'm like, how are we going to deal with four years of just being gaslit every five seconds and told that, but MAGA, literally MAGA is not MAGA anymore.

I'm so far off the Trump chain. He's posting me. Oh, no, by the way. And I'm not even saying it for the purposes of like, but it is embarrassing. It is embarrassing because we got behind him as the answer to corruption. We thought he was going to be this outsider. You know, he's going to go to D.C. He's going to drain the swamp.

and then he became the Lochness monster. How much more money does Trump family need? I mean, just like, literally, how much more money do you need like that you're going to allow this to happen? Don't you just want to have now the legacy of being a good president? And at that point, you also had Hunter, noting at the right and the media at large come after him for alleged corruption. Meanwhile, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner, they've massively enriched themselves from this presidency

in ways to go far beyond anything that he was ever accused of. So when it came to the whole scandal involving Hunter's laptop, he and Canada has actually both highlighted how the whole ordeal, it was kind of just small potatoes in comparison. You know what the laptop proved? That you were crackhead. There you go. The laptop absolutely proved nothing, but it became this cultural touchstone.

It was like it embodied the Biden crime family. I was one of the chief people that was really angry about it. And it did. That was the exact reason why when I re-examine it was the gaslighting. It's the same reason why I'm angry with Trump over the Epstein thing. It's like I can't come back from media gaslighting. I think it was a historian that wrote on X, exactly how I feel, which is I wish I could go back to the days where I thought, like,

Hunter Biden's art was the most corrupt deal that was done in politics. And when it comes to Splitton from Trump, she says that others share her feelings as well with Hunter praising Candice for using her platform, arguing this interview could be a model for those who have left Maga to find a way forward and have real conversations. If we could have this conversation and genuinely, authentically believe that, I think just opens the door for a few other people without being. you know, with all humility, like maybe, you know, maybe a few other people. And even though they mostly focused on the extreme polarization that the country's witnessing

right now, Hunter said that he still has hope for the future and our ability to move past this moment and time and come together across differences. This is a cycle. There will always be really bad people. We will always be disappointed in the end with leadership. We will always have corruption. It doesn't mean that we need to accept it. It doesn't mean that we don't need to fight against it. I have absolute hope. I really truly still believe in America, even with all of the all of its faults. This has truly been one of the most powerful discussions that we've ever had.

Right. And to that point, if you go to the comments section, overall, you saw people very impressed with the conversation. Saying that it was refreshing to see two people have a respectful discussion based on common ground, praising them for putting humanity ahead of politics and showing people that we can still have civil conversations. But then also, and this is the case with a lot of social media, if you go other places, for example, on Twitter. Well, there, you also had praise there were plenty of others who were frustrated for a number of reasons.

You had some mad at Candace for going too easy on Hunter, thinking that she should not be extending the olive branch. You also had others thinking that it was rich for Candice to talk about how divisive politics has become while she played a part in driving the polarization to get more views. Right saying that she's profited off of these divides for years, so it's too little, too late now. And then you also had some saying, you know, while it is important to acknowledge that this looks like a big step for Candice, that she's taking some accountability, They also don't want everyone to start painting her suddenly as a credible beacon of truth, saying she still spreads multiple conspiracies, including some in this interview. Another is saying, you know, they won't be surprised if she goes back to transvestigating next week. And so, you know, with all that, I then got to pass the question off to you.

Like, what do you make of this interview and Candace's general shift? Do you buy any of it? Do you feel like it's genuine or not? Any in all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. But then, diving right back into news that we should talk about, people are dying that otherwise might not have so that other people can make more money. That's a statement that I'm guessing a lot of you agree with. And this story, it's about just one way that that dynamic may play out in the world today.

And it starts a few months ago, near the end of last year, when the CEOs of several major pharmaceutical companies gathered in the White House. And Trump, our billionaire president who's refused to divest from his business empire that's used his name to rake in millions or overseas business deals, who has traded thousands of stocks in companies that he regulates, who nearly doubled his net worth after just a year in office, and who just recently announced a $1.8 billion slush fund to reward his supporters and allies while freeing himself from a tax audit

that could have cost him more than $100 million? He promised that these CEOs who earn more in a year than the average American earns in an entire lifetime had agreed to drastically lower their prices for American patients. Starting next year, American drug prices will come down fast and furious and will soon be among the lowest in the developed world. This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American healthcare by far. But a month later, it was 2026, and every pharmaceutical company led by someone in that room released higher list prices for at least some of their drugs. But according to the New York Times, the drugs listed on Trump's RX can cost American patients up to hundreds or thousands of dollars while a patient walking into a

German pharmacy pays next to nothing. And so there's a lot to unpack as far as what Trump claimed companies and their CEOs would do to lower drug prices. And right now, I'm going to focus on one of those companies, one of their CEOs, and one of those drugs. Right, so the company is Merkinco. It's one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. It brings in around $65 billion in revenue just last year. The CEO is Robert Davis. He reportedly took home at least $20 million in total compensation in 2025, and he declared 100% support for Trump's drug price lowering initiative. And the drug is Pembrolyzimam. Although it's better known by its brand name, Ketruda.

And it's often described as the best-selling drug on Earth, and that's for a good reason. It's revolutionized cancer treatment by switching up the focus from going after tumors directly to empowering the immune system to fight. It's currently approved in the United States to treat 19 types of tumors, including skin, lung, breast, and colon, and it's also helped countless people

live longer, healthier lives. The success of this drug alone, it's one of the reasons that Merck is now ranked number 65 on the Fortune 500. Ketruda revenues alone, they are greater than McDonald's or the entire national football league. And Davis, who first joined Merck just few months before his 82-year-old father died a lung cancer once said in an interview.

I wonder what would have happened if that drug had been available 10 years ago when my father was going through his battle. And that's a fair question, but also, here's the thing. It may also be a question that sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives all around the world are still asking today. But not because the drug doesn't exist, but because for them, it might as well just not exist given how expensive it can be. And they may well have Robert Davis and the rest of the team at Merck to thank for that.

That is, at least, according to this massive investigation that was published in April, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in partnership with 47 media outlets in 37 countries. An investigation purporting to show how Merck has exploited regulatory loopholes, taken advantage of the patent system, and engaged in tireless lobbying to keep prices high by delaying cheaper versions of the drug from reaching hundreds of thousands of cancer patients in the coming years. But also with all that, you know, let's start with a simple question, which is how expensive is K. Trudeau really? And well, it depends. The ICIJ said that the list price for a year's worth of the drug ranges from roughly $65,000 in South Africa to $130,000 in close. Colombia to more than $200,000 in the United States. And actually, reports have it up 6% from last year despite Trump's claims.

But the relative affordability, it depends not only on the price, but also on income. In the US, for example, someone earning the median income can afford fewer than five doses, but in South Africa, a person earning the median income can't even buy one dose in a year. And similarly, you had another study finding a treatment for six months of K. K. Trudeau for head and neck cancer cost six times the average monthly income in the US. But that same treatment also costs 43 times the average monthly income in Pakistan and 80 times you average in India. Right, and then at the same time, Americans who earn the median income can afford less K-truda than those earning the median income in some wealthy European countries,

such as France and Belgium. Though I will say in the US, the amount that someone pays can vary dramatically depending on their location, their insurance, and other factors. Or with the estimated cost for a typical 200 milligram treatment, reportedly ranging from just under $6,000 to almost $44,000. And so with all this, there are people around the world who are just desperate for this drug. The ICIJ, for instance, said that they found 632 cases in which patients across 51 countries turn to go-fund me and other crowdfunding sites to raise money for Ktrude treatments. Meanwhile, other patients have reportedly turned to the black market to get the drug for less money, even though they have no way of knowing if it's real or counterfeit.

And then other patients in need of the drug, they've ended up in protracted legal battles to get their hands on it, but not all of them actually live long enough for a decision to be made. And so then the next question that pops up is, well, why is it so expensive? And one typical answer is that the company has to recover the money that it invested into researching and developing the drug. Right. And this is Merck's CEO in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in 2024. Remarkable progress like this does not come cheaply. For Katrina alone between 2011 and 2023, Merck has invested $46 billion in development, and we expect to invest another $18 billion into the 2030s.

But according to the ICIJ, Merck's already more than recouped its investment, bringing in roughly $163 billion from Katrina sales since 2014, while also sinking nearly $75 billion into dividends or shareholders and $43 billion into share buybacks. Also, a group called Public Eye, which is a nonprofit that's based in They found that Ketruda's R&D cost was only around $1.9 billion anyways. And that's insane because that's around just 4% of what Davis claimed that the company spent, and it's roughly 1% of the drug's global revenue since its launch in 2014. But with public eyes, pharma specialists telling the ICJ that Davis's figures are absolutely unverifiable in dating.

Merrick could throw any figure they want as high as possible to justify the exorbitant price tag. And saying the price of Ktruda is excessively high, not to cover the R&D costs or hedge risks, but to make maximum profits. And one reason that Merrick may be able to get away with this is because of a lack of competition. And the company appears hell-bent on keeping it that way as long as possible. Right, one of the ways to do that is through the patent system. The patent process purposely gives companies more time to dominate so that they can recover research and development costs and earn profits to fund future research. But Merck, they've filed additional patents to extend that time

period and it's a strategy known as Evergreen. And overall, the ICIJ found that Merck and other cancer treatment companies have filed at least 1,212 patent applications in 53 countries, regions, and territories, which could help it suppress competition and keep prices high for 14 years after its original patents expire in 2028. And then also, on top of this, the investigation also found that Merrick may have also encouraged doctors to prescribe a higher dosage of Ketruda than is needed, which, according to researchers at the World Health Organization,

would cost the world an estimated $5 billion just for lung cancer patients by 2040. And they reportedly found that the company had been pouring money into Ketruda-related payments to doctors and healthcare professionals spending nearly $52 million from 2018 to 2024 in the U.S. alone. You had some doctors receiving more than a million bucks apiece. And despite also making more than half of its K-Truda sales in the United States, only around a quarter of the company's income tax payments went to the US government. Now, with all this, Davis reportedly declined to comment, but the company's senior vice president

defended their pricing practices telling the ICIJ, we have a long history of responsibly pricing our medicines to reflect their value to patients, payers, and society. It's adding in a separate letter that the company is working to ensure health care is affordable, efficient, equitable, and sustainable on a global scale. Of course, this investigation begs to differ. And tying it back to, you know, where all this started, the room full of big pharmacy EOs, it's not just Merck. You had the ICIJ notably saying that Merck's conduct was typical of the pharmaceutical industry and the company was not an outlier in terms of its overall business practices. But adding that the incredible growth of and interest in K. Trude, could be further pushing what's acceptable by industry standards. And so that is ultimately where we are right now. And of course, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions.

Here's where I'll kind of end this. As I always feel like I need to preface when I'm critical of things or talking about society. I am in no way endorsing violence. Period. Full stop. But it's also one of those situations where it ends up not being surprising that when Luigi's, Jim Mangione allegedly shoots a health care executive in the back on a Manhattan sidewalk. That there was an enormous number of Americans, including a lot of people who had never in any other context, excuse the killing of a stranger, looking at that story and not feeling the way they normally would feel, feeling less horror and maybe something closer to recognition of just how broken shit is.

And whatever you personally feel about that, and to be absolutely clear, I think murdering people is wrong, full stop. The reaction we saw out in the world to that itself is also data. It is telling you something about where this country actually is right now. One of the problems is you have a system that people are living inside of that's produced so much grief, so much medical debt, so many phone calls to insurance companies, or people weren't able to get the drugs they needed, and the whole situation ended with someone they loved dying. The political violence has started to read to them

as something other than senseless. That's how much pain there is. That's how much greed appears to win the day. And things do need to change through policy and regulation so that the social contract out there that says, you know, we're going to sort this out through votes and lawsuits and elections instead of through violence. That wins the day. And every day, another American experiences some sort of horrible pain that could have been avoided, or every year you have a Robert Davis type standing in the White House promising to lower prices and then quietly raising them. And every year that patents get extended and the lobbyist win, that belief erodes just a little bit more. And that should scare everyone. It scares me.

But then, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Monday show. Thank you for watching. I hope you're having a fantastic Memorial Day. Or if you're watching the morning after, maybe. I hope you had a fantastic Memorial Day. But yeah, that's it. Thank you for watching. Thank you for hitting that like button. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow. Thank you.