The Philip DeFranco Show - The Trump Colbert Talarico Problem is So Bad

Starting point is 00:00:00 CBS banned Stephen Colbert from interviewing a Democratic Senate candidate and then told him he couldn't even mention the ban The Colbert, he used what I think a lot of people have misplaced these days his backbone and he mentioned it anyway and now that interview which was really supposed to air to maybe a few hundred thousand people has been seen by millions and millions of people because the FCC and CBS just trisand affected themselves when we first learned about this because Colbert opened his show last night saying you know who is not one of my guests tonight that's Texas State Representative James Tala Rico he was supposed to to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast. Then, then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this. We've been talking about Colbert's network a lot lately. It's CBS. And over the last year,

Starting point is 00:00:59 CBS and its parent company Paramount Skydance, they've been bending over backwards to appease Trump ever since David Ellison took ownership. Among other things, CBS News has been accused of morphing into Fox Newslight, its chief pulled a 60-minute story critical of an immigration detention center used under the Trump administration. And last year, they announced that they were pulling the plug on Colbert's show. That was a move that many viewed as currying favor with Donald Trump. And CBS's rightward shift, it's been really well documented. And all of that brings us to the Democrat running to unseat Republican John Cornyn in a major Senate race, James Taylorico. Right, in Texas, you have Cornyn facing a primary challenge from AG, Ken Pett. Baxter and Tala Rico is facing off against Jasmine Crockett and the Democratic primary.

Starting point is 00:01:32 And while Democrats in Texas have not won a statewide election in Texas for decades, this race has become very chaotic and Democrats are hoping that they can actually pave a path forward. And as far as this ban, as far as this controversy, you had Colbert explaining that it deals with the FCC's equal time rule, which says that if a broadcast network gives airtime to one candidate, then their opponent is entitled to equal airtime. And while news and talk show interviews have long been considered exceptions to the rule, earlier this year, you had Trump's FCC chairman, and Brendan Carr releasing a letter suggesting that talk show interview should maybe not be exempt from the equal time rule, especially if they're, quote, motivated by partisan purposes.

Starting point is 00:02:03 And for those unfamiliar with Brendan Carr, maybe you haven't seen us talk about him in the past. One of his favorite past times is to lick the bottom of Trump's filthy boots, and he hates. And he hates anyone who hates anyone who probably has no issue painting Colbert as too partisan for an exemption, though Colbert, he disagrees. Colbert thinks that Carr is actually the one motivated by partisan purposes, and he argued. Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV. And you also had Colbert noting that just a week ago,

Starting point is 00:02:28 the FCC actually opened a probe into the view for interviewing Tilarico, and his candidacy has really been at the center of the FCC's politics lately. Now, all that said, right, to get a round equal time rule, you had Colbert still interviewing Tala Rico, but instead uploading it to YouTube instead of airing it on TV. Because the rules, it only applies to radio and broadcast television, not streaming or social media.

Starting point is 00:02:46 And what we saw in this interview that was banned from TV is that even though there's political heat on him, Tala RICO wasn't afraid to call out Trump and CBS for the censorship. I think that Donald Trump is worried that we're about to flip Texas. This is the party that ran against cancel culture. And now they're trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top. And as far as the backlash with all this, you have people comparing this to when ABC and Kimmel off the air last year after being threatened by Trump's FCC.

Starting point is 00:03:18 You also had Senator Chris Murphy writing, this is a censorship state. Is censorship a conservative value? is that why Republicans are silent about this. No, of course not. They are just happy to let Trump try to rig our politics because they benefit. You also had Representative Yassaman and sorry echoing that. Saying the Wright hates freedom of speech because their policies are largely unpopular and implementing them requires shutting people up and a lack of opposition.

Starting point is 00:03:38 Meanwhile, you had others tying it to the ongoing corporate deals at CBS and Paramount. Saying the real reason CBS didn't let Colbert air his interview with James Tyler Rico is that the Ellisons are still trying to buy Warner Brothers and David Ellison runs Paramount, which owns CBS. He's using CBS to show what loyal, oligarchs they are as they seek FCC approval for a WBD deal. And overall, you just have so many people giving Colbert props for calling his network out. So he was told not to say anything and did so anyways.

Starting point is 00:04:02 This man is not getting enough credit for standing up free speech. Right, and with all this, you've got people pushing back against Carr and the FCC for enforcing the equal time rule against Colbert like this, claiming that it's not how it works. With the bulwarks Tim Miller, for example, saying this would basically mean no presidential primary candidates in 2027 on network TV because none of the shows are going to talk to all the loser also rins. But also you've got some people, and I include myself in this camp, that think,

Starting point is 00:04:24 this is really one of the best things that could have happened to Tilarico's campaign. Right, he's making national headlines because you essentially have the Trump administration and a big corporation trying to censor him. And while the views are still going up on YouTube and all these other platforms, we're talking seven-figure views. It is another case of the Streisand effect. In attempting to mute Colbert and Tilarico, the FCC and CBS actually ensured that even more people would be watching.

Starting point is 00:04:44 And you know, well, yes, that is a win. This still is something you need to be concerned about because, you know, watching the FCC get weaponized in real time to chill political speech on broadcast TV, it's scary and it matters. Right, the equal time rule exists to prevent networks from giving unfair advantages to candidates. But talk shows have been exempt from this rule for decades because news and interview programs serve a different function than campaign advertisements. Johnny Carson interviewed candidates, Letterman interviewed candidates, Stuart, Colbert,

Starting point is 00:05:07 Fallon, Kimmel, all of them have interviewed candidates for years without triggering equal time requirements. But then you get partisan figures like car, you get corporations, whether they are complicit or they're scared, bending the knee. And that's a big part of this, because the interview does not violate any clear rule right now. What we are seeing is a chilling effect in action. And understand, self-censorship, it is just a stop on the way to explicit government censorship. This is not a new playbook. It is just new to us. And while Tyler Rico's interview, getting millions of more views on YouTube than it would have gotten on CBS, yes, it is satisfying. It does not solve the underlying

Starting point is 00:05:38 problem. Because if and when, this becomes more and more of the norm, most candidates aren't going to get that stric sand effect into virality. Most late night hosts, they do not have Colbert's platform or a willingness to defy their network's lawyers. And well, you can do things like contacting CBS yourself and telling them that this is unacceptable and, you know, CBS's public contact information is available out there. You can also support and praise those in the mainstream that fight back. You can support independence and you can support organizations fighting for press freedom. You've got groups like the committee to protect journalists, the freedom of the Press Foundation in Pan America tracking threats to independent journalism and pushing back against

Starting point is 00:06:09 government intimidation of media. And also, if you're angry, stay angry. Be loud about it. Make it public because the only counter to corporate capitulation, it is public pressure. And actually on the note of public pressure and how it could move things along. Let's talk about Epstein. Because there's a lot to talk about here. New Mexico just launched the first full investigation into Epstein-Zoro Ranch with subpoena power and plans to name perpetrators publicly. You have Hillary Clinton accusing Trump of a continuing cover-up. Trump, claiming that he's been totally exonerated despite his name appearing thousands of times in the files. And high-profile executives, they're resigning and having to face consequences while

Starting point is 00:06:40 Trump has faced zero. But let's start with the lawmakers in New Mexico, who launched a sweet big investigation into Epstein-Zoro Ranch over allegations that he used the property to sexually abuse and traffic women and girls. Because yesterday you had the state house there voting unanimously on a bill to create a subcommittee that will investigate what happened at the mansion outside of Santa Fe that Epstein owned from 1993 until his death in 2019. Right, that's massive because it marks the first full investigation of the property, despite incredibly serious allegations that have been swirling for years.

Starting point is 00:07:04 Multiple girls and women have claimed that they were abused at the ranch, which appears numerous times in the Epstein files at the DOJ's release. And while law enforcement authorities raided, Epstein's other properties is New York townhouse, Palm Beach Mansion, Paris apartment, and Epstein Island, there have been no holistic inquiries into Zoro Rin. And it seems that federal officials may have even scuttled a state-level investigation in the past. Right after Epstein's arrest in 2019, the then-attorney general in New Mexico launched a probe into the property, but the state's AG's office put those efforts on hold after federal prosecutors in New York told them to back off because the federal investigation

Starting point is 00:07:33 was already covering multiple jurisdictions. But then, in December of 2019, a federal prosecutor told the co-executor of Epstein's estate in an email that federal agents had not searched the New Mexico property. A numerous state and local officials in New Mexico have said that they were not aware of any federal search at the ranch. Right, and since the DOJ started releasing files, there's been increased scrutiny of the ranch and the fact that there doesn't appear to have been any real investigation into it. The Trump administration, they have done fuck all about anything and instead they've chosen to gaslight the American people whenever someone asks if they might consider new probes and light of the damning evidence that's been released. This is even after state officials repeatedly

Starting point is 00:08:05 asked the administration to investigate allegations that the bodies of two girls were buried near the ranch, which is a claim from an anonymous email made public in the latest Epstein files done. And the Trump administration's refusal to do anything is exactly why state lawmakers said that they needed to take matters into their own hands. State Representative Andrea Romero, who sponsored the bill to create the subcommittee, argued that the case has been mishandled and pushed out of the purview for many years and adding. We have heard years of allegations and rumors about Epstein's activities in New Mexico,

Starting point is 00:08:29 but unfortunately, federal investigations have failed to put together an official record. And with that, saying that the subcommittee can finally fill in the gaps by investigating the failures that led to the horrific allegations of abuse and crime at Zoro Ranch so we can learn from them and prevent such atrocities from taking place in our state going forward. These state lawmakers don't appear to be fucking around, right? Mero says that one of the goals it's going to be to gather information that could be used in court for future prosecutions. In the panel, it'll be given power to issue subpoenas, access public records, and seek testimony from survivors of alleged abuses, well as local residents who may have relevant information.

Starting point is 00:09:00 Right, and lawmakers say that key pieces of evidence will be used to identify people who visited the ranches, well, as state and local officials who may have known what was going on. And that's notable because the files have already revealed ties between Epstein and two former Democratic governors and an attorney general of New Mexico. With a lawyer for Epstein survivors, even telling reporters that local politicians and others were aware, of what was happening at the ranch. And unlike the Trump administration, they are not afraid to name names, right? Romero has vowed that the committee will publicly identify suspected perpetrators. While the panel is officially starting today, they're not expected to release interim findings

Starting point is 00:09:28 until July with a final report set for the end of the year. Right, and then, while you have lawmakers in New Mexico taking steps to uncover the truth, you have Hillary Clinton accusing the Trump administration of launching a full-scale cover-up while speaking to BBC. And what we're seeing, I think it's fair to say, is a continuing cover-up by the Trump administration. So there's something about this administration's attitude toward this, which I think really leads us to conclude they have something to hide. We don't. We have been willing to say whatever we know. Get the files out. They are slow walking it. They are redacting the names of men who are in it. They are stonewalling legitimate requests from members of Congress. That has nothing to do with us. Something is going on.

Starting point is 00:10:14 They know it. I know it. Right new and Clinton, noting that both she and her husband have both agreed to testify before the House about Epstein after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress and arguing that this whole thing is just a diversion and accusing Republican House leaders of trying to protect Trump. But with that, you had Trump hitting back at the Clintons. I have nothing to hide. I've been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. They went in hoping that they find it and found just the opposite. I've been totally exonerated. They're getting pulled in and that's their problem. I don't know. They're going to have to see what happens. but I watched her in Munich, and she seriously has Trump derangements in. He said if she should publicly testify.

Starting point is 00:10:49 I've been totally exonerated on Epstein, and it's really interesting because they've been pulled in. Think of it. They've been pulled in. Clinton and many other Democrats have been pulled in. But with that, understand, Trump has not been totally exonerated by the files. No matter how many times he says it, it does not make it remotely true. His name is mentioned thousands and thousands of times.

Starting point is 00:11:09 If anything, it shows his relationship with Epstein was much longer and more involved than he's clear. But also, while Trump might not be exonerated, it does look like he's never going to be held accountable for associating with Epstein. And that's even, as you're seeing more and more people continuing to face career-ending fallout after having their names appear in the file. Right over the weekend, high-profile Hollywood agent Casey Wasserman announced that he'll be selling his agency amid widespread backlash from his ties to Epstein and Maxwell. Right in that, coming after major clients like Chaparone, left the agency following the initial revelations. And yesterday you had L.A. Mayor, Karen Bass, calling on Wasserman to resign from his post as chairman of the 2028 Olympics. Also, yesterday you had Thomas J. Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the high.

Starting point is 00:11:43 Hyatt Hotel's fortune and cousin, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, announcing that he stepped down as executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation. With that, coming after the latest dump of files revealed that Pritzker was in regular contact with Epstein in the years after he accepted a plea deal on sex crime charges in 2008. Also last Friday, Columbia University said that it punished two people affiliated with its dental college after documents revealed that they helped Epstein's girlfriend gain admission outside the normal application process. Or with the school cutting ties entirely with one person and stripped another of their administrative duties of the dental college. And so with all this, you know, you have some saying, while it's a good thing, that at least some

Starting point is 00:12:13 are being held accountable. It makes it even more infuriating that Trump and other top officials, they're not experiencing really any consequences. That's even when their ties go just as deep, if not deeper, than some of these people. But you know, with all that said, obviously, this is going to be a story that we keep covering and covering and keep our eyes on. New Revelations seem to come out of the files every single day. We have things like the New Mexico investigation that isn't going to have interim findings until July. There are a lot of moving pieces. There are a lot of things that matter, and I'm going to try and keep you in the loop. And then there's more we're going to dive into in just a minute. But first, let me thank a sponsor and say,

Starting point is 00:12:43 You know, nobody warns you that adulthood is just deciding what's for dinner every single day forever. And that exhaustion, it's why today's sponsor, HelloFresh, it stays in my life. It removes the hardest part, the planning, the portions, the what are we even making debate? Everything shows up pre-portioned and ready to cook, so dinner feels manageable instead of mentally draining. And honestly, the meals look and taste like you tried way harder than you actually did. HelloFresh has 100 plus recipes every week. Comfort food, global flavors, quick meals, even I'm pretending to be healthy today options. And if you're trying to eat better, they've got 35 plus high protein recipes plus medicate.

Starting point is 00:13:13 Mediterranean and other friendly choices. Also the ingredients they're legit sustainably sour seafood and a hundred percent antibiotic and hormone-free chicken. And yeah, the good stuff's here. Steak and triple the seafood choices at no extra cost. Portions are generous too. Nobody's quietly raiding the snack drawer an hour later. And for me, it's stress relief. No decision fatigue, no surrendering to takeout again. It's the rare life upgrade that actually makes my daily routines easier. Say, just go to hellofresh.com slash DeFranco 10fm and scan the QR code to get 10 free meals plus a freeze-willing knife on your third box. Offer valid while supplies less. Free meals applied as a discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. But then, diving back into the news,

Starting point is 00:13:47 are Muslims coming for your dogs, or is Congressman Randy Fine just a sick, disgusting bigot? Spoiler, it's a second one. But we still have to talk about why you have people saying this, including his bogus claim that an Islam-inspired dog ban is on its way to New York City, which to be crystal clear here isn't even remotely true. And it's really just the latest example of Republicans spreading lies about Muslims and the U.S. in order to score political points, especially in Texas. But starting with Vine, who represents the great state or flacid dick of America, Florida, you had him sparking outrage this weekend when he wrote on X. If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one. With him then saying in a follow-up post

Starting point is 00:14:20 that his statement was a response to another post from someone that he described as the leader of one of the key mainstream Muslim groups that supported New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, which said, finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we've said all along, they are unclean. Right, and that person is Nardin Kiswani. Right, and she's the founder of one of New York's major pro-Palestinian group. She's actually criticized Mom Donnie several times and she has zero role in his administration. And actually in addition to all that, according to her and many who read what she wrote, she wasn't being at all serious. Where they're explaining after the post started picking up steam, it's obviously a joke. I don't care if you have a

Starting point is 00:14:53 dog. I do care if your dog is shitting everywhere and you're not cleaning it. Right. And that's actually an ongoing point of conversation in the city right now. The number of complaints about dog waste not being picked up in the city has reportedly increased over the years. And in fact, just a few days ago, before all of this, you even had the New York Post publishing an article about New Yorkers being forced to dodge minefields of unscooped dog poop, littering weeks old. sidewalk snow. With Kiswani also later telling NBC news that her original comment was satire based on a hyper-local New York City conversation about dog waste in the city. And adding she was satirizing Islamophobic hysteria portraying Mumdani's mayoralty as a

Starting point is 00:15:23 societal takeover. And then with all this you had her online saying that she's received death threats and also highlighting what she sees as hypocrisy. Writing Christy Nome literally bragged about shooting her own dog and most of you did not bat an eyelash. And doubting in a separate post that 97% of Gaza's animal life has been wiped out. And actually looking into it, that number comes from an advocacy group and it refers specifically to the territory's animal wealth, such as livestock. But you know, in any case, while all that context matters, you know, many have argued that whatever Keswani said, there's no context that would have made comparing dogs to Muslims okay. And so you had people like New York Congresswoman, Alexandra

Starting point is 00:15:53 Ocasio-Cortez, writing on X. This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official. It should not stop shocking us that the Republican Party openly embraces this. Fine should be censured and stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize it. And you had Representative Irwana hitting kind of a similar statement saying, we must call this what it is, disgusting bigotry. Fine must be censured. It's about morality and decency, not politics. Right, and that is, you had others keeping it kind of short and sweet.

Starting point is 00:16:18 California governor Gavin Newsom urged Fine to resign and called him a racist slob. You even had conservative commentator Pierce Morgan slamming Fine as a disgusting prick. But also, you have many saying, this isn't the first time that Randy Fine has said something that should make him lose his job. And that actually included Kiswani, who told NBC that he had a documented pattern of dehumanizing Palestinians and Muslims and adding, there has been a troubling pattern in which anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian rhetoric from elected officials has not been met with the level of accountability we would expect if almost any other community were discussed this way. And with that you also had the Council on American Islamic Relations noting that it's already called for fines resignation after he suggested that you can't make peace with quote mainstream Muslims and you have to destroy them first.

Starting point is 00:16:55 But with all that, as far as fine, he's shown zero remorse and in fact he's only doubled and tripled down. He actually expanded his claims about who made the original post from someone in charge of an organization that supported Mamdani to a major New York City Muslim leader and a key Mamdani. advisor. Then in a Newsmax interview, you had him somehow making the leap to a dog man being something that Democrats, including AOC, are pushing for. It's not enough for Democrats to think anyone who wants to come here illegally should be able to do that. They also think they should be able to get whatever free stuff they want. Now they're demanding that we change our values and how we live as Americans. My post was in response to a major Muslim leader saying dogs should be forbidden from New York City because to some Muslims, it bothers them. Well, if they're going to make us choose between our dogs and them going

Starting point is 00:17:41 home, the choice is easy. And people should know Democrats like AOC are saying, we are going to get rid of your dogs. Americans need to keep that in mind when they go to vote in November. Just lie after lie after bigoted lie. Because of course, the Democrats don't because no one, and especially no one in powers, trying to get rid of dogs in New York City. Just like no one is seriously trying to implement Sharia law in Texas, but still, Republican lawmakers from there have created a Sharia-free American caucus in Congress. And actually, the state senate there is currently weighing legislation requested by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to ensure Texans, quote, are never held under the heel of Sharia law. You know, with all that, this type of anti-Muslim rhetoric that we've seen

Starting point is 00:18:19 from fine, it's become especially common in Texas with the elections coming up. Ray Valentina Gomez, she launched her candidacy in Texas's 31st congressional district last year, with a video showing her burning a Quran and declaring that your daughters will be raped and your sons beheaded unless we stop Islam once and for all. Also, Texas Senator John Cornyn, he's currently up for re-election, and he recently launched a seven-figure ad by declaring radical Islam a bloodthirsty ideology. Right, and then you have people like Larry Brock and Air Force Vet who served two years in prison for entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, and he's currently running for a seat in the state legislature, and he's calling for banning the hijab,

Starting point is 00:18:50 Hilal-Meed, and the celebration of Ramadan. Right, and then also notably several ads from different candidates in the state have used footage from a place called the East Plano Islamic Center, where just this weekend, Muslims were harassed while praying. And with all that, You have many saying that they're now increasingly living in fear, but also notably, right, all this attention? It is despite the fact that the Muslims there make up 2% of the population. And so actually, a lot of the anti-Muslim sentiments believe to have originated out of the suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth. Because that's where the number of Muslim residents has really grown significantly in recent decades along with the number of mosques. And with this, you have many arguing that this focus on Muslims, it's the new way to motivate Republican voters now that the border crossings of all but come to a stop.

Starting point is 00:19:26 Or you even had a top strategist for Governor Greg Abbott telling the New York Times any event you go to, people ask about it. like the border used to be. What are you doing about Sharia law? What are you doing about the Muslims taking over the state? You had a consultant for the Texas GOP telling Politico, the Muslim community is the boogeyman for this cycle. 100% this message works. There's no question about it. This has been pulled up one side and down the other and with Texas Republican primary voters, it works. It is the thing they are legitimately scared of. And it's these last statements that I think we really need to absorb. Because these people, people like Randy Fine, he didn't accidentally say something offensive and apologize. This bigotry is a coordinated campaign strategy.

Starting point is 00:19:59 The truth doesn't matter to so many of these people. They got called out for lying, for being bigoted liars, and they just escalated the rhetoric. And Randy Fine, yes, he is an exceptional douchebag, a waste of space, but he is also not an outlier. He is part of a pattern. They go after these small groups of people that they want you to see as just so different from you. And you know, so many cultures are different from one another. But they are trying to make the Muslim community a boogeyman. And so I think it's very important to remember that these are people that are your neighbors, your coworkers, your community members, not boogeymen.

Starting point is 00:20:27 It's just another way for them to make people fearful and angry and fight left versus right rather than having the time and the ability to look up and see who's really pulling the puppet strings. And as far as when, you know, people ask, what is it that I can actually do to then help? You can do things like call out the lies when you see them. If you want to do something in person, there are interfaith events. Because what a lot of these scumbags don't want you to realize is you have so much more in common with one another despite different cultures than you have with the elites. We are cattle in their eyes. Don't forget that. And then there's more we're going to dive into in just a minute. But first, let me thank a sponsor and

Starting point is 00:20:56 say, my brain seems to have two modes, either hyperfocus, or why am I reorganizing my desk when I should be working? That's why I use and I love today's sponsor, Brain.fm. It's not just music. It's audio designed by scientists to help your brain lock into focus, relaxation, or sleep. Before Brain.com, I'd throw on random playlist and somehow end up more distracted than when I started. And their tracks, they're built differently using science-back sound patterns that help your brain stay on task. When I put it on, it's like the background noise in my head dials down from chaos to, okay, we can work with us.

Starting point is 00:21:24 And they've got modes for deep work, creativity, relaxation, and even an ADHD-specific mode. And it's dead simple. Open the app, pick what you need, hit play done. I use it any time a brain starts acting like it left the stove on. And also a fun fact, Brain.fm's actually the only music app supported by a National Science Foundation grant to study focus. So staying concentrated feels harder than it should.

Starting point is 00:21:41 This is absolutely worth trying. Just go to brain.fm slash DeFranco or scan that QR code to get 30 days free. That's brain.fm. slash DeFranco for a free month of better focus. But then diving back into the news, write the final story of the day today. We've got to talk about what many are calling the unofficial primary for the Democratic presidential nomination. It actually went down not in D.C., not in any swing state, but rather in Germany at the Munich Security Conference.

Starting point is 00:22:03 Because three Democrats who were widely seen as potential 2028 frontrunners hopped on planes and they flew over there to provide some opposition at a summit where the U.S. was otherwise represented by Marco Rubio. And also, don't worry, we will get to the crazy shit that he said. But first, we've got to talk about these Democrats starting with Gavin Newsom attacking Trump on climate policy. I hope if there's nothing else I can communicate today, Donald Trump is temporary. They'll be gone in three years. California is a stable and reliable partner in this space. Then you had Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who got a lot of flack for this answer to a question about what victory would look like for Ukraine.

Starting point is 00:22:38 It is, the two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than a governor is. But, you know, I do think that Ukraine's independence, keeping their landmass and having the support of all the allies, I think, is. is the goal. With that, you had some saying that it's weird that she's on a panel talking about foreign policy if she claims not to know much about foreign policy. But that also brings us to one of the other panelists that she pointed to as being more steeped in the subject, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Because when she spoke, everyone listened very intently, right? I mean, she's typically

Starting point is 00:23:13 focused on domestic issues and this was the most prominent foreign trip for her to date. Plus, you have people saying, you know, if she's going to be running for president, which is not confirmed yet, then it is important to hear her philosophy on world affairs. And generally, her international message mirrored her domestic one, right? The United States needs to cooperate with allies. inequality, lift up the global working class and combat far-right authoritarianism. Or with her also favoring diplomacy with Iran and saying that unconditional aid to Israel has enabled a genocide in Gaza. But then also with this, you saw Republicans seizing on a few

Starting point is 00:23:39 specific moments where she seemed to stumble and they try to use that as evidence that she and the Democrats more broadly are unsurious about foreign policy. So for example, when she was asked about whether the US should commit troops to defending Taiwan, if China moves against it, she appeared to kind of fumble for a good 20 seconds before giving a non-answer. Um, you know, I think that, uh, This is such a, you know, I think that this is a, this is, of course, a very longstanding policy of the United States. And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point. And we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any,

Starting point is 00:24:30 such confrontation and for that question to even arise. Also with this, you had people pointing to another point where instead of saying transatlantic partnership, she said, Trans-Pacific partnership. They was he later acknowledging that that was just a mistake. And then lastly, during a question about Venezuelan ex-President Nicholas Maduro, she said, he canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn't mean that we can kidnap ahead of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator. Right. And for context, Venezuela is just above the equator. And so with all that, you had people on the right, kind of

Starting point is 00:25:00 having a feel day with this, Mockinger is stupid, clueless, unformed, and Trump joined in as well. I watched AOC answering questions in Munich. This was not a good look with the United States. They started answering questions. She had no idea what was happening. She had no idea how to answer, you know, very important questions concerning the world. Which I gotta say, that's insane coming from a one, a man who's entire schick is calling reporters fake news when they ask questions that he doesn't like. And two, the man is a fucking gaff machine. Right, among other things, he's the guy who apparently thought that he was about to board a plane to Russia to be Putin, it was actually Alaska, and he repeatedly mistook Greenland, the territory wants to fucking invade because he didn't get the Nobel

Starting point is 00:25:38 Prize for Iceland. But personally, I will say one of my favorites is that time that he said George Washington's army took control of airports during the Revolutionary War. It took over the airports. It did everything it had to do. But anyway, you had AOC actually telling the New York Times that she was frustrated by the way that her performance at Munich was microscopically dissected through the lens of what it meant for a hypothetical White House campaign. I saying the supporter came up to me and was like, is Munich the new New Hampshire?

Starting point is 00:25:59 And I cannot say enough how out of touch and missing the point, genuinely that is. Global democracies are on fire, the world's over, and established parties are falling to right-wing populist movements. And adding that she went to Munich, not because I'm running for president, not because I've made some kind of decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm bells that a lot of these folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fueling far-right populist movements. Rainier at AOC saying that argument was well received by the Europeans, including the German leaders that she privately met with. But also, she did participate in the viral clip drama at least a little bit because she took this shot at Trump's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for this claim. Our horses, our ranches, our rodeos, the entire romance of the cowboy archetype that became synonymous with the American West.

Starting point is 00:26:45 These were born in Spain. And with that, you had AOC later calling that out in the same conference. My favorite part was when he said that American cowboys came from Spain. I thought they came from Winnet, but I believe the Mexican. and descendants of African enslaved peoples would like to have a word on that. Now that then, of course, it sparked this heated debate online about where cowboys actually come from. Also, like, if you looked online, you could tell it was like one of those debates where all of a sudden everyone was like a cowboy expert. And for a lot of it, it became very clear that it's about something much, much deeper.

Starting point is 00:27:19 So you had those on the right, pointing out that the Spanish had a long tradition of horsemanship, which they brought to the Americas, right, the earliest American cowboys were the bequeros with vodka being Spanish for cow. and even the lasso coming from the Spanish word for rope. But then Ted Cruz declaring victory, overwokeness, writing at AOC, tell me you know nothing about history without saying you know nothing about history. But also, Ted, you should hold up because it turns out that the actual history, it's a bit more complicated. Right as the history chattel notes, first trained by the Spaniards who arrived in 1519 on land,

Starting point is 00:27:45 later known as Mexico, the original Vakueros were largely indigenous Mesoamerican men who were trained to wrangle cattle on horseback. Also, the Vauqueros weren't just horsemen in the Spanish mold. They developed their own distinctive culture. They built their own saddles. they braided their own rope and vented their distinctive chaps, they tamed wild horses and mastered the signature lasso. Plus, you have historians estimating that by the 19th century,

Starting point is 00:28:04 as many as a quarter of all cowboys were black. It was only with the Hollywood westerns of the early 20th century that cowboys were seen as heroic white Americans rather than the multiracial groups that actually developed the practice. But also, like with AOC, I don't want this one moment to completely overshadow everything else that Mark Rubio said in his speech. Because on the one hand, he took a much friendlier,

Starting point is 00:28:21 more cooperative posture toward Europe than Trump and Vance have, which gave many there some reassurance. But on the other hand, the common ground that he found between America and Europe, it was a little abstract. And to many, it sounded like a dog whistle for race. We are part of one civilization, Western civilization. We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together. We are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally. Now we should note here that scholars debate whether the concept Western civilization is even useful or historically tenable.

Starting point is 00:29:01 But even putting that aside, many of the things that Rubio thinks bind the West together, language, culture, religion, ancestry, they are precisely things that tore Europe apart in bloody wars for centuries. Yet Rubio cast all of Europe as one unified civilization that single-handedly made the United States what it is. Or with them lumping together, Christopher Columbus, English settlers, Scots-Irish frontiers, German farmers and craftsmen, French fur traders and explorers, and of course Spanish cowboys. Meanwhile, many noting he made no mention of any contribution by non-European peoples, no mention of the slaves who picked the cod, no mention of the Chinese who built the railroads, nothing about the Mexicans who labored on farms, and that's just kind of naming a few of the many, many examples. In fact, the only times that Rubio mentioned non-white people it was to paint them as dangerous threats.

Starting point is 00:29:40 Or with him claiming that mass migration is destabilizing Western societies, disrupting cultural cohesion and threatening the future of what he called our people. Though apparently doesn't care when that migration goes the other way, because he waxed nostalgic about how for five centuries the West had sent missionary pilgrims, soldiers, and explorers across oceans to build vast empires but only stopped expanding after World War II. The great Western empires that entered into terminal decline accelerated by godless communist revolutions and by anti-colonial uprisings. But as others have pointed out, that seems to fly in the face of his earlier argument because the five centuries that he wants to go back to was a time when Europeans were almost constantly killing each other. In fact, the post-war period that he doesn't like, it was one of the most stable and peaceful periods in transatlantic history.

Starting point is 00:30:21 But anyway, right, with all of this, you had Rubio saying that just is leaving, refused to allow the decline of Western dominance in centuries past, Donald Trump and the United States want to do that again together with Europe. This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame. We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilization. So with all that said, just to give my opinion here, I think the few gaffes aside, it is important to really boil this down. AOC's message was about inequality fueling far-right movements, the need for diplomacy, the opposition to unconditional military aid. Rubio's message was about restoring Western dominance, lamenting the end of colonialism, and framing non-white migration as a threat to our people.

Starting point is 00:31:01 But because AOC fumbled the Taiwan question and mispronounce one word, Republicans, including Trump, the man who thinks that George Washington captured fucking airports seized onto it as proof that Democrats don't understand foreign policy. Meanwhile, Rubio explicitly said anti-colonial uprisings were bad, praised five centuries of empire building and argued that we need to stop being shackled by guilt and shame about Western history. When AOC said that she went to Munich to sound the alarm about inequality-fueling far right movements, she's describing exactly what Rubio's speech represents. He's not offering solutions to global problems. He's offering white Western identity politics as foreign policy.

Starting point is 00:31:32 And the fact that mainstream coverage is treating these two performances as equivalent is journalistic malpractice. But hey, again, and as always, this is the Philip DeFranco show. You get the news, my opinion, and whether you agree or you disagree with me, let me know what you're thinking in those comments, whether it be this story or anything else we talk about. But hey, that, my friends, you beautiful bastards is where your Tuesday, Philip DeFranco show is going to end. And well, of course, I love your faces. And of course, I'll see you right back here tomorrow to dive into more news. You've got even more just a click away because you can check out that new podcast and interview I did with Adam Friedland right here or you can check out last night's

Starting point is 00:32:01 Philip DeFranco show that you might have missed.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Trump Colbert Talarico Problem is So Bad

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.