The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump BETRAYED & SCREWED! 5 Epstein Files Release Problems & Donald's Saudi Suck Up Fallout

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wait to see if there's a long-standing impact here or it's just a blip. And then I've got more news for you in a second, but do you ever wonder how many subscriptions you're actually paying for? Because if you're like me, it's more than you think. Right, and thanks to today's sponsor, Rocket Money, I found subscriptions I totally forgot about, like the random app I hadn't touched in months. And Rocket Money, it's the personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors you're spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

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Starting point is 00:01:12 he may have already signed it. But what we end up getting, it might not satisfy people who want to get to the bottom of this. And that's unfortunately not going to be that surprising for a lot of people because we've already gone through five months of feet dragging, deflection, diversion, distraction, and denial from Trump and the Republicans. But then, after realizing he was going to lose the vote

Starting point is 00:01:27 and that was going to be so embarrassing, And he told Republicans, okay, vote for it. And every single lawmaker in the House except one, Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins, voted in favor. And then, and I was shocked by this, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fast-tracked passage of the bill by a procedure known as unanimous consent. Right, and basically that meant as soon as the House bill reached the Senate, it automatically passed without any debate, delay, or revisions. And for that to happen, it's not that everyone needs to vote, yes, it just requires nobody to object. Though it also meant that senators didn't have to go on the record with a yes or a no vote like the House did. And actually, when Schumer was asked why he opted for that trade-off, he explained,

Starting point is 00:01:57 Because we want to get this done, and if they would have been allowed amendments, they could have delayed it. And if you have amendments, guess where it goes? Not to the president's desk, to the House. And the House, who knows what they do with it? And actually, according to reports, ever since the discharge petition setting all this in motion passed, White House aides had been trying to get the Senate to amend the bill when it arrived. With them reportedly encouraging senators to frame any slowdown as responsible oversight and circulating talking points to vulnerable Republicans. And then, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson urging the Senate to amend it,

Starting point is 00:02:26 yesterday Majority Leader John Thune just didn't put up a fight. And as far as why, you had Republican Thomas Massey giving his opinion on why his own party had such a change of heart. They realized this could jeopardize the majority if they took the side, literally the side of pedophiles and rapists. And with this, you had a Trump official saying that once Trump got it, he'd sign it. And a big thing is that from the moment Trump signs it, the clock starts ticking on the Department of Justice will have 30 days to release the full files. So that then gets us into muddy waters. But it's unclear whether they intend to use up all that time or just rip it off like a bandaid sooner. With that, if you ask critics, the DOJ really shouldn't need any more time to redact sensitive victim's information

Starting point is 00:02:58 because they've had close to 10 months now to do that. You know, you're even seeing Republicans publicly just wanting to get this over with, such as Tom Tillis. Release the damn files, period. I don't care about how the sausage is made, I just want it out in the open for everybody to consume. But still, you've got just so many people bracing to see what else Trump and the people around him are going to do to possibly protect him. Right, because by my count, there are at least five potential moves that Trump could make in the coming weeks that people are anticipating. First, he can and will go back on the offensive with, for example, a White House official saying, the Democrats are going to come to regret this.

Starting point is 00:03:28 Let's start with Stacey Plaskett. You think we're not going to make a scene of this? Or with that, referring to Stacey Plaskett, who's a Democrat and non-voting delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose name popped up in the most recent Epstein e-mails stone. And that showed that during a 2019 oversight committee hearing with Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, she was having a text exchange with Jeffrey Epstein. And she had critics latching on to that and accusing her of secretly being fed questions in real time by a pedophile sex trafficker. But then yesterday, she defended herself on the House floor,

Starting point is 00:03:51 claiming that at the time she didn't know that he was being investigated and that he texted her not the other way around. Explaining that after a live clip of her went viral, she got flooded with texts from friends and foes alike, and one of those people was Jeffrey Epstein, her then constituent. I don't need to get advice on how to question anybody from any individual. I have sought information from confidential informants, from murderers, from other individuals, because I want the truth, not because I need them to tell me what to say. Still, you had House Republicans trying to censure her over, which actually would have removed her from the Intelligence Committee. But that motion got shot down last night in a vote of 209 to 214.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Or with it mostly being a long party lines, though, three Republicans joined Democrats and three more voted president. Though that's not to say that there wasn't some heated debate on the House floor. Standing against a convicted predator's influence in our proceedings is not partisan. It's basic decency. We cannot pretend this didn't happen. This seems to me to be one more pathetic. effort to distract and divert attention from the fact that the president's name appeared more than a thousand times already in the small fraction of material released on Epstein.

Starting point is 00:05:02 But moving on from that, for now you have Trump's second option being to just not release the files and open defiance of the law that he himself signed, which I would say it would be an extreme action though not totally unprecedented. I mean we've seen this administration ignore judges at least temporarily and refused to spend funds that were appropriated by Congress for a specific use. Plus, Trump has broad criminal immunity and he can pardon anyone he wants, so there's arguably not a whole lot preventing him from just breaking the law. Though given the number of options here, I don't think he goes this route, at least not immediately, and at least Thomas Massey, he doesn't seem too worried about that possibility right now.

Starting point is 00:05:32 They are criminally liable at the DOJ and FBI if they don't release these files. This is a law. And that brings us to option number three, which is for Trump's DOJ to block certain documents from getting released, citing ongoing investigations. Because when you know it, this bill, it has a little caveat, which is that it allows the DOJ to withhold or redact any records that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution. And again, oh my gosh, the shocking timing. Last Friday, Trump had Pam Bondi open investigations into Epstein's relationship with three Democrats, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman. But also, the bill states that any withholding a material related to an ongoing

Starting point is 00:06:07 investigation must be narrowly tailored and temporary. And so with that, it's unclear how much time that would actually buy them. And again, you have Massey not seeming overly concerned about that either. Even if they start 10 investigations, there's no way they're going to cover up the crimes that have been perpetrated on a thousand victims. But the next step, the fourth option is to release the files, but redact the parts that are embarrassing to Trump and his allies. And you know, while the bill explicitly prohibits the DOJ from doing that, it's unclear what tools lawmakers actually have to ensure that rules follow. And while I personally think it's going to be a mixture of options one, three, and four,

Starting point is 00:06:38 there's also option five, which is to just dump the files unredacted all at once. Right, in the hopes that the media and just people in general will be flooded with so many repulations about people whose name are not Donald J. Trump that minor mentions of Trump just kind of get overshadowed. But of course with that, you know, he is the sitting president of the United States, so he'd likely be at the center of any conversation. Especially because in this power hungry and billionaire world, so many people are connected. And again, like I've talked about, with the way that Donald Trump has handled this, no one, no matter what gets released, people are going to believe that there's more. Whether there is or there isn't, because he has acted this entire time like the most guilty, sketchy person ever. I mean, he fought this thing, tooth and nail, put his hand up Mike Johnson's asshole, to puppeteer him, to roadblock everything.

Starting point is 00:07:20 More and more time passes, if you've got more and more people saying, okay, it feels like they're buying time to remove things, to have some sort of conspiracy. You've got Mark Epstein talking about he heard that there's a facility where they're removing information. And so in the meantime, you've got a lot of people like Massey's saying, you know, they're not going to be satisfied until some real shit comes out because he knows that it exists. We will know when the Epstein files are released because men will go to prison. I know through the victim's lawyers, there are at least 20 credible accusations of rape and sex trafficking that have been relayed to the FBI and they've done nothing about it. You know, whether the Epstein issue hangs over Trump's head or not, you have many feeling like this past week alone, it's already shattered his myth of political invincibility.

Starting point is 00:08:02 Before this, it appeared like he had an iron grip on his party. They followed him, he didn't follow them. But now you're hearing more and more talk, and this includes in mega circles of, is he a lame duck? Right. And as we've seen with these situations with Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candice Owens, Marjorie Taylor Green, some on the right, they're maneuvering themselves to come out on top in a post-Trump future. Because, you know, I know it's easy to forget because he's just on every screen, every single day, but he's not going to be there forever.

Starting point is 00:08:27 He's almost 80 years old, and he's not exactly the healthiest human specimen. Though personally, I think it's more likely we enter a post-Trump future because of his McDonald's order rather than, you know, Republican politicians getting a spine. I truly think many just want to be able to fall back in line.

Starting point is 00:08:39 I mean, we even saw that with Elon Musk. One of the reasons the Epstein situation got to this point is Elon Musk blasted Trump about the Epstein files publicly. And after jabs left and right, he was out that Saudi dinner last night. You know, I think Marjorie Taylor Green would love to be in his good graces despite, you know, Trump attacking her, even though she's been like one of his biggest warriors over these years. But whatever the case may be, I think we'll get a lot more insight very soon. Because sooner than later, there's going to be that vote around the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Starting point is 00:09:03 And while a big thing was that Marjorie Taylor Green broke with him on that, it's also been reported that some other Republican lawmakers want to compromise with Democrats on the issue. As far as Trump, he doesn't seem like he's budging. And a big thing is, if those subsidies expire, premiums are going to skyrocket for over 20 million people. And of course, that's on top of the inflation situation and the dire state of the economy in general. But in the meantime as we wait to see what happens, one, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions here, but also two, what do you think is going to happen with the Epstein files? Or whether it be something to do with the five options I talked about or even something else. And then there's more we're going to dive

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Starting point is 00:10:44 Or because back in September, you had the LAPD saying they found a body in his impounded Tesla, which was at a towyard in Hollywood. And those remains were later identified as 15-year-old Celeste, who actually had been reported missing from Riverside County back in April of 2024. And the details are horrifying, that the body was reportedly not intact when it was found. It was also said to be severely decomposed, suggesting she had been dead inside of the car for an extensive period of time before she was found. And as all this was happening, the cause of death wasn't clear. There were no official suspects, and David's rep said that he was cooperating with the investigation. But the internet, they jumped on it with many quickly believing that David was responsible. And I mean, people were posting non-stop breaking down their theories with this case.

Starting point is 00:11:18 Right, among other things, you had a lot of people freaked out by the fact that he and Celeste appear to have matching tattoos that said, and by the fact that one of his most dreamed songs is literally called romantic homicide. But all of that, it brings us to now where you have multiple outlets reporting that the LAPD has identified him as a suspect. Where to source telling NBCLA that he hasn't been cooperative in the investigation, and actually other outlets out of that he apparently had never at any point been cooperating despite what his reps had been saying. Well, right now they believe that Celeste death happened sometime in spring and that David likely had help in dismembering into disposing of her body. Though with all this, I'll say, while multiple reports have since confirmed that he is considered a suspect by LAPD sources, you also had TMZ noting that there is no paperwork officially classifying him as one. Right? Investigators are reportedly just looking at him as one. But also with that you had sources saying that the LAPD is not close to making any arrests. We have no clue if there

Starting point is 00:12:00 There's any other suspects outside of David and technically the medical examiner hasn't even ruled as a homicide yet But also as we wait to see what happens there we've learned a few more details about Celeste's disappearance Where her brother says that the family was aware that Celeste knew David and when she disappeared she was apparently on her way to see a movie with him but just never came back. But for now I'll have to wait to see what comes from all this and in the meantime of course I'd love to know your thoughts. But then moving on to our next story today, President Trump, he just so badly wants to be friends with Muhammad Bonesaw, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. And some of the ways that he's trying to accomplish that include he wants to give the kingdom access to America's most powerful fighter jets. He upgraded the country

Starting point is 00:12:34 to a major non-NATO ally and he ran cover for MBS when he was asked about the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the White House. Going into the details on these earlier in the you had Trump announcing that he intends to grant Saudi Arabia's request to buy F-35 fighter planes. And, you know, it's important to understand that these are America's most advanced. And in the Middle East, actually, only Israel has them, or I guess, for now. Also, with that, I'll say Israel wasn't happy for a few reasons. One, they still don't have good relations with Saudi Arabia, despite failed U.S. efforts to change that. With that, leading to the IDF being concerned that their current air superiority over other

Starting point is 00:13:04 Arab countries could be eroded. And two, this is being seen as a clear sign that the U.S. is moving closer to Saudi Arabia, which is a red flag for Israel. And, you know, to be fair to them, they're hardly the only ones. that have issues about this sale. Right, even our own Pentagon raised concerns that despite Saudi Arabia's status as a major buyer of US arms,

Starting point is 00:13:18 we don't give them our most advanced stuff for a reason. I mean, one report by the Defense Intelligence Agency found that if the kingdom got F-35s, China would be able to access the sensitive tech in the jet. And actually, it's because of these concerns that Trump's plan to sell these to MBS might not end up actually happening. Right, in particular, while he has a pretty good hold

Starting point is 00:13:33 of his party outside of Epstein things, there are a good number of Republican lawmakers who think that a sale of these jets should be contingent on Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel and normalizing relations. You know, at the very least, this announcement from Trump, it was seen as a way to butter up MBS before he showed up to the White House yesterday. And there, a big thing is you saw one reporter just going straight forward, asking Mr. Bonesaw about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and touching on the families of 9-11 victims who have long blamed Saudi Arabia for being partially responsible for the attack. But before he could even talk about it, Trump intervened.

Starting point is 00:14:01 You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened, but he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that. And with that said, despite Trump protecting his boo, MBS did answer the question. You allow me to answer. You know, I feel painful about, you know, the families of 9-11 in America.

Starting point is 00:14:29 But, you know, we have to focus on reality. Reality, based in CIA documents and based on a lot of documents, that Osama bin Laden, he used Saudi people in that event for one main purpose, is to destroy this relation, to destroy the American-Saudi relation. That's the purpose of my living. Now with that, I want to know that MBS's description of Bin Laden's motivation, it definitely takes artistic liberties and stretches the truth to its limits. But also I do want to say, yes, he's not wrong that bin Laden didn't like

Starting point is 00:14:56 that America and the Saudis were getting friendlier. But then also regarding Khashoggi, you at Muhammad Bonesaw saying, about the journalist, it's really painful to hear, you know, anyone that's been losing his life for, you know, no real purpose or no real purpose or no not in a legal way, and it's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We've did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia, and we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that, and it's painful, and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best, that this doesn't happen again.

Starting point is 00:15:31 But ultimately, what you saw were just many feeling like this was Trump giving the Crown Prince a chance to whitewash his nation's reputation. It's something that we've seen from so many sports stars, recently comedians, and also now Mr. Beast, But then, of course, you now have the President of the United States, and that's on a completely different level. But also, I want to know that these topics ended up dominating the headline so much that I think there was another line of questioning that slid under the radar. Right, and that was, does President Trump have a conflict of interest since the Trump organization has ongoing construction projects there? And while you had Trump saying that there is no issue because he's not technically in charge of the organization, he's long been criticized for only giving up control of the company and not actually divesting himself from it. So even if he's not in control, he has a big financial incentive to make it work. But then ultimately, the cherry on top of this whole situation was the,

Starting point is 00:16:11 official dinner at the White House hosted afterwards. So that's why tonight I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them. With Trump then following it up by saying that the two sides signed a new strategic defense agreement. You know, while some have taken it as so, the designation of major non-NATO ally, it's not just fluff. It comes with perks, like a deeper cooperation between both. signs. Though I will say it notably lacks the mutual defense clause that NATO has. But it's still

Starting point is 00:16:45 standout. Only 19 other countries had that designation. You know, for some, it was kind of a surprise that Saudi Arabia didn't already have this designation, considering how close the two are militarily. However, the U.S. has major concerns about human rights abuses there. Or I guess I will say, had major concerns. But at their meeting, Trump actually praised MBS as a champion of human rights and said that Saudi Arabia made serious progress in this space. But as we wait to see how that plays out, and of course, like with anything in the show, I love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions in the meantime. Let me quickly take off the news hat, that was the news, this part's my opinion. Because I'll keep it quick, but I just need to vent a little. Because you're seeing more and more people who support or former supporters of the president saying,

Starting point is 00:17:19 we have a president that seems more Saudi first or Israel first than America first. So I think the real truth is that he is Donald Trump and his friends first. But if you have money or power and you support him, he'll support you. It's why the president apparently thinks that MAGA means make Argentina great again. And all while, he's just a phony. He says, you know, I'm here for Joe Blow Americana. But then he says, you know, Americans, they're just not smart enough for hundreds of thousands of jobs a year. We've got this bowl of mashed potatoes jammed into a dress shirt shouting quiet piggy to female reporters for having the audacity to ask him questions about his dead pedophile friend while he treats your tax dollars as a piggy bank for him and his billionaire buddies. And if you're someone who voted for him who has said or you're just even thinking, I don't, I don't like this. I'm not going to throw tomatoes at you like others are. He lied to you and I don't think that you're stupid for believing him. Desperation and frustration make us drop our guards. The system hasn't worked for so many of you. I mean, why not take a chance on

Starting point is 00:18:10 chaos, like if it breaks a system that isn't working for you, maybe it can be rebuilt back better. But if you were drowning, you might be more inclined to believe the guy that said he had life preservers. Well, that's in no way everyone who voted for him, right? This is not a free pass. Whatever the situation is, right, he doesn't want to build back better for you. He wants to build back better for him and for his billionaire buddies, as donors, who only God and Pam Bondi knows how many of those are in the Epstein fides. Ah, but that's where I'll leave. And then we're going to dive into more news and a minute of it. First, let me say, you ever stare into your fridge, hoping dinner magically appears? Because yeah, same. And that's why I'm hyped about today's sponsor. Hello Fresh. They make that whole what's for dinner stress disappear. Right, and they're the number one meal kit in America, and this fall, they've seriously leveled up. Like, this is not the Hello Fresh you remember. With 100 meal options every week, including seasonal dishes and global recipes, you'll find the flavor you want. It's also healthier. You know, I've been crushing their high protein meals, like grass fed, ribi or lamb chops. Actually, I mean, it keeps me moving instead of crashing. And I will say it's tastier, like three times more seafood options, steak nights that don't destroy your budget and new fall favorites like beef chili and honey glazed pork tenderloin. Also, did I mention the fresh produce from leaks to, brocolini to Italian eggplant and more.

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Starting point is 00:19:31 right now to get 10 free meals and a free breakfast for life. And that's one per box with active subscription, the free meals applied as a discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plant. That's Hellofresh.com slash DeFranco 10 FM to get 10 free meals plus free breakfast for life. But then next up in big international news, we got to talk about the $100 million corruption scandal that's rocking Ukraine, the Trump administration's secret plan for ending the war and Russia's latest attacks far from the front lines. I mean that in Ukraine and maybe even beyond.

Starting point is 00:19:57 But starting with the scandal, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies have accused several people, including some in Zelensky's inner circle of siphoning off and laundering $100 million from the state-owned nuclear power company. A company that covers more than half of Ukraine's electricity needs. And with that, this is especially bad timing because many Ukrainians are now living with daily scheduled blackouts because of the Russian attacks on the power grid. And actually, according to investigators, this kickback scheme took advantage of the fact that Ukraine is under attack, reclaiming that they're exploiting a wartime rule that keeps contractors from collecting debts in court from companies providing essential services. And making matters worse, right? These kickbacks, they were allegedly tied to contracts for building protective shelters over critical equipment used to supply power to nuclear plants.

Starting point is 00:20:35 Plants that Russia specifically targeted as part of its assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. But then it also doesn't end there that the kickbacks were allegedly laundered through an office in Kyiv owned by relatives of a former pro-Kremlin Ukrainian lawmaker. This guy who fled the country at the start of the war and is now a member of the Russian parliament. And then with that, excerpts from wiretap recordings released by the anti-corruption agencies suggest that some funds may have actually been transferred to Moscow. And then, as far as who else might be involved, you have investigators as of now accusing eight people, saying the leader of this criminal network was a prominent businessman who also happened to be a clear associate of Zelensky. In fact, he's the co-owner of the film production company co-founded by Zelensky way back in 2003. Plus, he also reportedly introduced Zelensky to an oligarch who helped fund his presidential election campaign, and oligarch who is now awaiting trial on charges

Starting point is 00:21:18 of embezzlement and fraud. But also with this, you know, as far as the first guy, the alleged ringleader of this whole scheme, he was reportedly tipped off and he fled the country, possibly to Israel. And then, among those you have been arrested, you have Ukraine's former deputy prime minister who is also a close ally to Zelensky. And while he's maintained as innocent, you have investigators saying that he took home $1.3 million from the kickback scheme. And then, besides him, five others have been taken into custody and one more is reportedly fled. Also, another notable thing is that Ukraine's justice minister, who previously served as energy minister, has been potentially implicated in the whole scheme.

Starting point is 00:21:47 Though there, I'll say he has not been charged and he denies any wrongdoing. But still, you know, both he and Ukraine's current energy minister have resigned Zelensky's request. And in addition to calling for their resignations, you had Zelensky imposing sanctions on his former business associate, and he's vowed to clean up the country's major state-owned energy companies. But also, I'll say that hasn't been enough to pacify all his critics. You know, with that, to be clear, while Zelensky can be heard on some of the tapes, he never said anything incriminating and he hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. But he has also in the past been seen by some as shielding his allies from justice. Especially this summer when he tried to strip the independence

Starting point is 00:22:18 of the state's anti-corruption agencies by placing them under supervision of a political appointee. Or because notably, this move, it coincided with anti-corruption agencies investigating members of his inner circle. But then, as we previously talked about it, sparked major protests and backlash from the EU, which then led the government to reverse course. So even after that, the European Commission published a report just this month, warning that Ukraine's limited progress and tackling corruption was jeopardizing its hopes of joining the EU. So now with all this, you have one of Zelensky's main rivals saying about these latest revelations. The country is finally seen with the expression blood money means and also collecting signatures for a no-confidence

Starting point is 00:22:49 vote in Zelensky's wartime cabinet. Right, and that is, there's also pushback coming from within Zelensky's own party. I mean, one member openly called for Zelensky's chief staff to resign, and a leading Ukrainian news outlet reported that a faction within the party is threatening to resign if the chief of staff remains in his position. But also, with that said, high-profile politicians aren't yet calling for Zelensky to resign, and with election suspended under martial law, he can't be voted out of office. But this could, at the very least, impact his ability to easily pass legislation, which has been important for quick decision-making during the war. And in fact, with that, voting on next year's budget, which was scheduled for this

Starting point is 00:23:19 week, has now been delayed. Or you've got opposition politicians saying that they want new anti-corruption protections included in the bill. So we're going to have to wait to see where that ends up, but in the meantime, this war, it's still raging on. I mean, just yesterday, for example, Ukraine launched strikes inside of Russia with American-made long-range missiles the first time it's acknowledged doing so, since Trump relifted restrictions on their use. And then on the flip side, you've got a key strategic city in eastern Ukraine on the verge of falling into Russian hands, and you had Russia launching a massive assault on cities far away in Western Ukraine, killing at least 25 people, including three children and injuring dozen. And you even had Romania

Starting point is 00:23:50 and Poland scrambling fire jets in response to that attack, as well as an alleged drone incursion about five miles into Romanian airspace, which you know is also not surprising, given that both countries are on high alert right now. On Monday, a Romanian village had to be evacuated after a Russian strike ignited a gas tanker at the Ukrainian port across the way. And in Poland, someone blew up part of the railway used to transport aid to Ukraine, and what the prime minister described as an unprecedented act of sabotage. And you have the country today announcing that it'll charge two Ukrainians who allegedly rigged the explosion on behalf of Russia, as well as closing the last Russian consulate in the

Starting point is 00:24:19 country. And then, as all that's been going on, you have the Trump administration reportedly secretly working with Russia to draft a new plan to end the war. It's reportedly a 28-point plan inspired by the 20-point plan for Gaza. But it's also unclear so far how it deals with the most contentious issues, including if and what territory would be ceded to Russia. And while there are many doubts around this, you had a U.S. official telling Axios that they think that there is a real chance of getting everyone on board.

Starting point is 00:24:41 The White House has even reportedly started briefing Ukrainian and European officials. And in fact, a high-level Pentagon delegation arrived in Kibb today to try and get negotiations going again. And because Ukrainian and Russian officials, they haven't had direct talks since the summer. So it's going to be very interesting to watch to see what comes from this, especially because, one, you also had Zelensky saying this week that his government had also come up with new proposals to help restart peace talks. Until you had Zelensky going to Turkey today,

Starting point is 00:25:03 which has played a mediating role in past negotiations to try and push for that. But then, finally today, as we wind down today's show, I want to end with a congratulations and one more thing. Starting with a congratulations to this week's Seatkeek Prize winner, getting $500 towards any tickets on Seatkeek. And with whatever you pick, I hope you enjoy seeing your favorite artist, sporting event or play. I mean, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from. For the rest of y'all,

Starting point is 00:25:23 that's right. Seekeek is still given away $500 a week in tickets and you should definitely answer today if you haven't already. Just add code to Franco to your C geek app profile for a chance of the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. But then the last thing today, it's hitting on a story that you might not have heard about. It might be like too niche of a story, but it is, it's huge in a certain pocket of the internet. But Alex Proman and I, we were crashing out about this on our crashing out podcast, new episodes out today, link in the description if you want to watch the full thing. But on today's episode, we were talking about the Olivia Nuzzi scandal. And she's a journalist who's currently the West Coast editor at Vanity Fair, but only because last year she got fired from New York Magazine after it came out that

Starting point is 00:25:55 she had an affair with RFK Jr. while she was actively covering his presidential campaign. And now you've got her ex saying that she had another affair with a presidential candidate back in the 2020 race, former Republican Representative Mark Sanford. But that's coming out as she's promoting her upcoming book about her affair with RFK, and she is. I was left wondering how she got into this line of work. I'm specifically talking about the words work and not whatever the other stuff is. The biggest thing this exposed to me, is that apparently you can, like, thrive in this industry and at the same time be a horrible writer. This is one of the parts that she wrote. I'm just going to read it here. About RFK Jr. Like all men, but more so, he was a hunter.

Starting point is 00:26:38 In a literal sense, he used not a bullet, but a bird. It was not about a chase, but about a puzzle of logic and skill that amounted to a test of his self-mastery. He was the mouse and the arborate. architect of his maze, the giver of his own pleasure and torment, he desired, he desired desiring, he desired being desired, he desired desire itself. I understood this just as I came to understand the range of his kinks and complexes and how they fit within what I thought I understood of his soul.

Starting point is 00:27:09 The desired section made me felt like I was like, oh, this is a Tumblr post. This is a 14-year-old girl's Tumblr post. This reads, this is Bad A-O-3. this is bad This would get banned from literotica.com There are, do I need to, how many slash websites

Starting point is 00:27:26 do I need to list right now to have all, have the comments section go, oh, he knows. Real quick, this is, and what you were talking about here, because we didn't mention

Starting point is 00:27:34 her resume. She was a correspondent for New York Magazine from 2017 to 2024 and a writer for the Daily Beast. And now she is currently the West Coast editor of Vanity Fair magazine.

Starting point is 00:27:48 like right now as of recording as a recording as a recording because we don't know what's going to happen with that now that this has been released but she's a bad writer she's just bad I have I have seen people saying like if she still has this job at the end of the week like just burn down the whole industry it's it's a difficult thing to talk about because this is one of those things where women have strived for how many years to move forward in political journalism to only have a talentless hack like Olivia. and Nuzzi to be in the background. But that, my friends, is where I'm going to end this video. But again, you have more just to click away. You can definitely jump on the crashing out train more and more every day doing just that. I got a brand new hour for you just to click away. And or if you've missed yesterday's Philip DeFranco Show, I got you covered right here. But hey, no matter what you do, let me just say thank you for watching.

Starting point is 00:28:35 I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump BETRAYED & SCREWED! 5 Epstein Files Release Problems & Donald's Saudi Suck Up Fallout

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