The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump’s Epstein Files Problem Just Got Worse As Deadline Nears & Why Even MAGA Mocked Trump's Speech

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.

Starting point is 00:00:23 I also found I'd been paying for a service I hadn't used in years. You know, Rocket Money, it gives you an all-in-one, easy-to-digest, dashboard overview of your financial life, subscription, spending habits, bills, and more. And Rocket Money will help you cancel unwanted subscriptions in just a few taps. But it also doesn't stop there. The app also helps you cut back on spending like it did for me with dining expenses I didn't realize we're adding up. Plus, it lets you set budgets and tracks your spending automatically. I mean, Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in cancel subscriptions and

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Starting point is 00:01:11 Dan Bongino is out as Deputy FBI Director, where the situation with Venezuela is now even more primed to go off. And what the actual hell was that manic, desperate speech last night. We're talking about all of that and even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco's show you daily dive into the news and stay till the end today because I got a big announcement about the next two weeks of the show. But with that said, let's start with this. Republicans are fleeing the Capitol right now, like there's a bomb about to go off, and there may as well be.

Starting point is 00:01:36 Because the House was originally scheduled to hold its final votes of the year tomorrow, but the Republicans, they suddenly canceled that and let everyone go home this afternoon instead. And so with that, you had Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez speaking, I think, for many when she posted in response. Like I said, view all political developments for the rest of the week in light of the fact that the Epstein files are supposed to be released on Friday. But also, while Republicans seem to be expecting some kind of bombshell tomorrow, others say that it's far from clear that we'll actually get the disclosure that we've been promised. Right, because while Attorney General Pam Bondi did say that she would abide by the December 19th deadline mandated by the law that Trump really had no choice but to sign

Starting point is 00:02:07 last month, she's been kind of oddly quiet since then. In fact, when a bipartisan group of lawmakers asked her for a briefing on the DOJ's progress recently, she just didn't provide one. And so in response to it, Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Ben Ray Lujan saying on Tuesday that they would do whatever they could do to block any of Trump's political nominees explaining, there could be no business as usual until justice is delivered for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes. And saying the Trump administration's lack of transparency about its plans to release the Epstein file signals it is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress.

Starting point is 00:02:38 And with that, you had Chuck Schumer adding, We fully expect Trump, Bondi, and their minions to dodge, delay, or partially release these files. We are all asking the obvious question that looms, President Trump, what are you trying to hide? With that, then bringing us to our main story here, and that is a bombshell update on what I'd like to call the curious misadventures of Don and Jeff. Or because the New York Times just published a wild investigation into their past relationship based on never-before-seen documents and interviews with 30 people from that time, many of whom have never spoken publicly before. And it gets just crazier and crazier, but where we'll start with is the basics. Trump and Epstein were close friends. And while, of course, we kind of abstractly knew that at least, this report, I mean, it goes beyond that.

Starting point is 00:03:22 They reportedly went to each other's homes, offices, and businesses, constant. In fact, the bond apparently was so intense it left people who knew them with the impression that they were each other's closest friend. I mean, one of Epstein's assistants told the times that the men talked at least three times a week during the mid to late 1990s. And another assistant added that those calls actually continued through the later years of their friendship Saying sometimes she even heard them because Epstein put Trump on speaker now with that that specific person says that much of what they talked about was relatively innocent Great pageants modeling shows fashion trends that kind of thing and with that saying in fact Trump sometimes went on so long that Epstein would leave the room while he was talking but then also a third of assistant said that they frequently talked about sex and deliberately did so on speaker so that she would hear. For with her recalling how Trump seemed to enjoy describing his sexual exploits and how Epstein seemed to delight in the calls making her uncomfortable. Things like the men discussing a woman's pubic hair and if there was enough for Epstein to floss his teeth with. On another call, Trump allegedly described having sex with another woman on a pool table.

Starting point is 00:04:15 You know, these stories, they just keep coming and coming. Things like during a flight, Trump allegedly came on to one of Epstein's employees telling her he could have anyone he wanted. Another employee recalling that Trump occasionally sent over modeling cards for Epstein to peruse like a menu. You also had the Times reporting that Jill Harth, a former business partner who later accused Trump of sexually assaulting her at a party that Epstein also attended, saying that Trump once demanded that she provide him with a 17-year-old Czech beauty pageant contestant. And while we don't know what, if anything happened there, you also had another contestant from Switzerland telling the times that during that same event, one of Trump's employees asked her to meet privately with him and a sweet upstairs, saying that once she arrived, Trump began groping her, kissing her, and trying to lift her dress, recalling, I yelled, I screamed, I pushed. him, he didn't want to give up. And with that, you had her friend corroborating the story, saying that she told him about it back in 2004, and there's a photo of her with Trump as well.

Starting point is 00:04:59 Also at the same event, she says that Epstein introduced himself to her as Don's best friend. With that, adding that she was confused because he didn't seem to be affiliated with the pageant, so she didn't understand why he had been allowed into the press luncheon. But she said, Epstein allegedly continued telling her, Don likes you very much, invited her to Mar-a-Lago, promised to take care of her flights and hotel, and when she declined, she says that he tried to convince her by talking about the wealth that he kept in Swiss banks as well, as famous friends that he could introduce her to. And then there's just kind of a mishmashes stories. The paper spoke to Tina Davis, a then-14-year-old model for Ford,

Starting point is 00:05:28 whose Booker allegedly told her to dress sexy for a Mar-a-Lago party in 1994. And her mom, saying that eight or nine other girls on the bus, looked really young, adding that some of them could have been in training bras. But also, despite that, she says that her daughter was repeatedly offered glasses of champagne and approached by middle-aged men, at which point she'd step in and say, hey, I'm her mom. And finally, with her, when she said she went to the bathroom, she says that they ran into Trump's then-wife, Marla Maples,

Starting point is 00:05:48 who clasped her hands, looked her in the eye, and warned, whatever you do, do not let her around any of these men, and especially my husband, protect her. Though I will say when asked about that, Mabel's denied ever saying that. But with Trump, whether you think that he was actively doing something or not, a big part of the focus here is just the relationship with him and Epstein. Because for some, it helps paint a picture, because, I mean, Epstein himself was even asked about it during a deposition in 2010, and this was his answer. Have he ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?

Starting point is 00:06:20 Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today, I'm going to have to assert my 5th, 6th, 14th Amendment rights, sir. Also today, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a batch of around 70 photos reportedly found on Epstein's computer. And although none of them implicate Trump, some of them do offer a glimpse into the kind of stuff that still hasn't been released yet. So that includes things, for example, like a text exchange with an unidentified person who says, I will send you girls now, and maybe someone will be good for Jay, as well as several images. showing a woman's lower leg and foot on what looks like a bed with a copy of the novel Lolita in the background. Right, on her foot is a handwritten quote from the book that reads, She Was Low, Plain Low in the Morning, standing four feet ten in one sock.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Also, there are photos of women's passports and ID cards from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. But also, reportedly, there are more than 95,000 more images that were turned over to the committee by Epstein's estate last week. So you can definitely expect to see more in the near future. And all of that, it brings us back to the question of, well, what the hell is actually going to get released, on Friday. Is it a bombshell? Is it a nothing burger? Is it a bombshell that was cleansed into being a nothing burger? Well, time will tell and we'll see what the fallout from that is. But then, next up, we've got to talk about Trump getting the green light from Congress to start Venezuela after they fail to pass a war powers resolution bill that would preemptively stop it. Are you at house stems making two pushes for a war powers resolution and responds to Trump cryptically saying that strikes would start soon? And so the first resolution tried to remove the U.S. military from hostilities with any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere. That failed by And the second one was more specific to Venezuela and trying to stop the army from, quote,

Starting point is 00:07:54 hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress. And that one failed by just two votes. And all of that is, you know, the whole point of the War Powers Act from 1973 was to force the president into asking Congress for permission to start conducting strikes and using the armed forces abroad for more than a few days. So Trump, he hasn't done that so far with his boat strikes, arguing that since they don't put service members in danger, congressional approval isn't actually needed. And well, now the real concern is that Trump's going to just start blowing up land targets,

Starting point is 00:08:18 which would, without a doubt, technically require congressional approval. But it's usually such a big deal that even President George W. Bush got congressional approval before his wars. Reality, though, is that unless Congress actually flexes its ability to stop the president, Trump can just run wild. You can do whatever. And, you know, over this past year, we've seen just how often congressional Republicans are willing to do that. And actually, if anything, when Congress was doing stuff, they gave Trump more resources to conduct this likely war. With the Senate, they overwhelmingly passed a $900 billion defense package, and Trump just needs to sign it. It's just a quick refresher with that bill.

Starting point is 00:08:46 It fulfills the bulk of Trump's national security agenda while also including other few things that Trump didn't want like blocking him from removing troops in Europe. It also places pressure on Secretary of Defense Hegsef to actually release information about who ordered the so-called double-tap boat strikes by cutting his travel budget by 20% until he does. So really at worse, what, that's maybe a minor inconvenience for Hegseh, so I wouldn't hold my breath there. And then with this whole situation as far as, you know, looking at Venezuela over there, they're scrambling to prepare for an armed conflict. The walls with that, I'll say, really no one has downset. that in a conventional war, the US would just crush Venezuela. There's almost no tank, ships, it's Air Force or 40-year-old F-16s that haven't been upgraded

Starting point is 00:09:21 in decades because of sanctions. And it's because of that, that you have Nicholas Maduro making some desperate pleas to countries like Colombia for help. Now that very, very, very likely will not happen, but he tried to call back to a time when the two countries were part of a massive super country in South America called Grand Columbia. Right, so most experts feel that if a resistance is made by Venezuelans, it'll be in the form of guerrilla tactics.

Starting point is 00:09:39 Which, yeah, they also think would probably be a nightmare because a lot of Venezuela is just undeveloped wilderness. And you could just take a look at neighboring Colombia. It's considered pretty stable despite dealing with decades of insurgencies by communist groups across its jungles. Now with this, if we zoom out internationally, we've seen countries trying to de-escalate the situation with both Mexico and Brazil saying they'd offer to mediate. But this also, as you had Russian's foreign ministry saying, hopefully the Trump administration, known for pursuing a rational and practical policy course, will stop short of making a fatal mistake and refrain from escalating things down a path that may cause unpredictable consequences for the entire western hemisphere.

Starting point is 00:10:11 But yeah, on one hand, this could get ugly fast, to be a horrible nightmare that spirals out of control. But also, is the pot calling the kettle black? But also, we're going to kind of have to just see what happens. Because, I mean, circling back to Congress, this was their last chance to stop Trump for a while as they're going on break for the holidays. And you know, as far as what's going to happen from here, we'll see. My personal take is, you know, I'm hoping for peace. I'm hoping for a de-escalation. But, you know, it's also Trump.

Starting point is 00:10:34 And so it wouldn't be completely out of character for him to, like, strike on Christmas and be like, hey, here's a Christmas present for Maduro. Then like official government accounts tweeting like AI Santa Claus launching a fucking like rocket launcher. IMCA playing in the background. I got to stop. I feel like I'm just giving them ideas actually. But yeah, for now we'll have to wait to see how this plays out. And I really would love to know your not only your thoughts and reactions, but what are your predictions? Do you think that we are going to see a strike? Are things going to escalate or is this kind of just saber rattling? And then we're going to dive into even more news in just a minute. But first let me say, you know, New Year's panic. It's real when you open your fridge and it's just condiments and vibes. And that is why Hello Fresh has been saving my weeknight sanity. Cooking at home, it's my way of pretending that I've actually got everything under control,

Starting point is 00:11:15 and today's sponsor, Hello Fresh, makes that delusion delicious. But when using Hello Fresh, I hear things like, oh, you cook cooked from my family. And that, it scratches a special itch in my heart and my brain. And with Hello Fresh, there's over 100 plus recipes every week. Seasonal favorites, global flavors, comfort meals, even, you know, I'm pretending to be healthy today options. And the portions, they're generous with 35 plus high protein options, Mediterranean meals, and just a ton of whatever you're doing, friendly recipes. Also, the ingredients are high quality. You have sustainably sour seafood and 100% antibiotic and hormone-free chicken.

Starting point is 00:11:45 Plus, there's three times more seafood recipes at no extra cost, which I'll say with that, try the walnut-crusted salmon. And also, they don't forget the sides. Feast on seasonal produce, like fresh corn, stone fruit, you know, the good stuff. And HelloFresh, you know, they make busy nights manageable for us. It removes the mental load, which might be the best part. You know, I use it, and honestly, I think you should too. It tastes great and it fakes the illusion that you've got kitchen skills. Hey, the best way to cook, Just got better. Go to Hellofresh.com slash DeFranco 10Femm or scan that QR code now to get 10 free meals plus free breakfast for life. That's one box per active subscription. And again, that's Hellofresh.com slash DeFranco 10 FM to get 10 free meals plus free breakfast for life. But then next up,

Starting point is 00:12:23 we've got to talk about how Dan Bongino just announced that he's leaving his job as deputy director of the FBI in January. With him writing, I want to thank President Trump, A.G. Bondi and director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. And adding most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America and all those who defend her. As you had Cash Patel and Pam Bondi thanking him for his work, Trump telling reporters Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show. And his desire to go back to his show is part of why his departure isn't the most shocking. Ray Bongino is never actually an obvious pick for such a powerful FBI role because he never worked for the FBI.

Starting point is 00:12:56 Yes, he worked in law enforcement as a police officer and secret service agent, but he was really most known for being a pro-Trump podcaster. So obviously the government job, very different for being a podcaster. and then you had multiple reports claiming that he complained about how hard the job was, that he was unhappy there, and threatened to leave multiple times. He even apparently considered resigning over the summer after the FBI and DOJ released that memo about the Epstein files that might as well have said, hey, nothing to see here, folks, just look the other way.

Starting point is 00:13:19 And that, it really raised eyebrows because, you know, before he was hired by Trump, he frequently discuss Epstein cover-ups on his podcast. And so the Epstein situation apparently led to a heated fight with A.G. Pam Bondi, with her eventually accusing him of planting negative stories in the press about her. And there were other tensions, too, reportedly he and Patel have been sinking. morale at the FBI over their choices to focus on immigration and to get rid of seasoned veterans at the agency. You also had a September lawsuit from former FBI officials expressing concern over Bongino's intense focus on increasing online engagement through his social media profiles and an effort

Starting point is 00:13:48 to change his followers' perception of the FBI. Also one former official said that he spent more time on creating content for his social media pages than on actual investigations. But really, I'd say that the biggest sign that Bongino might be on the way out was back in August, where you had Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey being appointed to serve alongside him as co-deputy director, which is an unusual move because it's usually just a one-person job. But yeah, the main thing is Bonino is out or technically will be out very soon. And it is interesting to take this as a moment to look at this administration. Right, because Bongino leaving it, it is news compared to when you look at the first Trump administration. I mean, people were getting fired left and right,

Starting point is 00:14:22 people just in and out that door. Whereas here and now in Trump 2.0, I mean, there have been scandals left and right and seemingly no one's been getting kicked out. So this is more of kind of an outlier situation. Then next up in the news today, what the hell was That was that? Right, that was the general reaction to Trump's prime time speech last night. It was so bizarre, desperate, and unnecessary that Matt Walsh and I agreed on something. With even one of the president's most ardent supporters saying, that was perhaps the most pointless prime time presidential address ever delivered in American history. And you've got many saying that speech was evidence that he's starting to really feel the slump in his approval ratings.

Starting point is 00:14:55 Granted, it was one of his shorter ramblings coming in at only 18 minutes, so I will say he was, he was like saying the same stuff, but just louder and faster. faster. It was like his brain realized like this is so boring in the same stuff that it, it selected the 1.5x setting, like a YouTube video. And while you had many tuning in because there had been murmurings, you had Tucker Carlson out there saying that there was a chance he's going to be announcing that we're at war at Venezuela, he really like just did the same speech he's been giving for a year. He opened by talking about how horrible, no good, awful and terrible things were under the Biden administration saying, you know, before him, America was riddled with corruption, the woke were indoctrinating children, there was so much war and of course illegal aliens are ruining

Starting point is 00:15:32 everything, but adding now, we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. And that's said by every single leader that I've spoken to over the last five months. He then at one point claimed that there have been zero illegal immigrants entering the country in the last seven months. You know, maybe one of the biggest themes of his speech was on the economy, right, the cost of things like gas, housing, and health insurance. And while he once again seemed to be kind of hitting on the notes that affordability being a problem right now, that that's a hoax, where that things are actually great despite how you feel. A place that he kind of lingered on was health care, which has, you know, been a big focus since the government shutdown. We're promising that he's taking on the giant health insurance companies to lower costs. Which again, because I think this dude just doesn't understand how numbers work. He said, you know, he's been working directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices by 400, 500, 600 percent. Which again, just is not how numbers work unless you're saying that the pharmaceutical companies are paying you to take their drugs. Also regarding other numbers, he said that in much of the country, gas was less than 250 a gallon and even below $2 in some states. Which I will say, it's always interesting, like, when he's he says something that can also then be easily disproven by his own government.

Starting point is 00:16:34 But according to the Energy Information Administration, the national average for gas prices for the week ending in December 15th was $2.90. And in fact, according to AAA, there were only four states where gas was below $250 on average, with Oklahoma being the lowest at $2.34, and there being no states where the average is less than $2 a gallon. Also, regarding inflation, Trump claimed that he inherited the worst inflation crisis in nearly 50 years or even the history of this country, which again really isn't true. inflation did hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in June of 2022, but it had already declined to 3% by the time that Trump took office. So even with that inflation, which of course was connected to

Starting point is 00:17:07 everything that happened with COVID, you had experts noting that inflation reached higher points in the 1910s, the 70s and the 80s. Though I will say as far as Trump and numbers and it being positive for some, you had Trump saying that he's going to send a check of $1,776 to over a million members of the military before Christmas. Or with him calling this a warrior dividend and saying that it was made possible by his tariffs. Though today you actually had multiple reports claiming that they're actually coming from funds Congress already approved under the so-called Big Beautiful Bill to cover housing for troops. But again, aside from that and all the lies and the misdirection and all the stuff that we're all kind of used to, you had many people, even a number of conservatives noting that his tone, his demeanor of the speech, it was less confident than usual. Or some saying that rather than updating the American public about what he's doing, it sounded more like he was scolding us for not appreciating him enough.

Starting point is 00:17:51 And so for example, you had Owen Shroyer, a right-wing podcaster saying, He seemed to be speed reading, the charisma was gone, the aura was gone, the swagger was gone, and the message was stale. There was nothing new. Meanwhile, you had the Guardian comparing him to Scrooge and calling this the Bah Humbug speech. And the general consensus was that he seems to be starting to feel the sting of his falling approval ratings. The latest polling shows that only 36% of Americans approve of how Trump's handling the economy. And all of this, while according to some reports, Donald Trump might not have even wanted to do the speech last night.

Starting point is 00:18:24 Now reports noting that a journalist in the room said that right after the speech, Trump said, Susie Wiles told him he had to give an address to the nation. Which, you know, sounds more like a school kid who's angry, he's not getting to play some Xbox, and instead is having to do a school project. But hey, for now with this, I'd love to know your thoughts and reactions, whether you agree or disagree with the takes that you've been seeing, especially if you're one of the people who, like myself, were essentially click-baited and watching this guy speak last night.

Starting point is 00:18:49 But then finally, as we wind things down today, I want to end on a congratulations, One very, very important thing. So we'll start with a congrats to Alana Tee, Sea Geek's latest weekly winner, who just scored $500 in tickets and is gonna go to Mariah Carey's Christmas show in Vegas. For the rest of y' y'all, that's right. Seekeek is still giving away $500 in tickets

Starting point is 00:19:06 and you should definitely answer today if you haven't already. I mean, you could be the next winner and snag $500 towards seeing your favorite artist, sporting event or play. I mean, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from. And all you gotta do is just add code to Franco to your Seeky app profile for a chance of the weekly $500 prize,

Starting point is 00:19:19 no purchase necessary. But with that said, it brings us to the big final thing today, and that is what the hell is happening from right now to January 5th. Because this is the last full-sized scheduled Philip DeFranco show for 2025, but depending on the news, that does not mean this is the last time you're going to see me in 2025. Part of this, it's due to superstition. It feels like every time I take a long break, the craziest worst thing happens.

Starting point is 00:19:39 And so maybe if I'm, you know, nearby, that won't happen. I won't hold my breath on that, though. And two, I mean, it's a hard habit to break. When something big happens, I want to talk to you about it and break it down. It's what I've done for the last two decades. So what I'll say with that is definitely make sure on this channel, only that you're subscribed, but you have notifications set to all and turned on. And also, if you're not on the text line, it's 813, 213, 4423, text me, sign up, get on it.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Because in addition to putting out a video if something big happens, over the break, I do want to test out some DeFranco Live live streams where, yes, we talk about the news, but also where I can interact with you more than, I don't know, sometimes it's really hard to see what's actually happening and what people think because there's just been such a jump in bots everywhere online lately. You know, I think it could scratch that PDS itch, but also be more interactive. Yeah, hopefully that makes sense. I didn't make it too confusing, because this is the end of the show, though. You've got more just a click away. You've got a brand new episode of my podcast that just dropped crashing out with myself and Alex Perlman. That was a great time. I think you'll

Starting point is 00:20:37 enjoy watching and listening and or if you've missed last night's full of DeFranco's show, definitely check that out. But whatever you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you here soon. Turn on those notifications and text me on the text line.

The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump’s Epstein Files Problem Just Got Worse As Deadline Nears & Why Even MAGA Mocked Trump's Speech

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