The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump's Iran War Has MAGA Turning On Itself & The Middle East Spiraling

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Just go to https://www.zocdoc.com/phil and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today! Join & Support @ https://DeFrancoForFulton.com  Learn more & join Lindsay's newsletter @ https://LindsayForFulton.com  LISTEN TO THE SHOW iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2VWATCH CRASHING OUT w/ PHILIP & ALEX Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCergKLoy-Yv9zlPk3XQYK7Q?sub_confirmation=1 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DkU87umhGH9mH1z24Bi9w?si=6sSdjhVNQjyVeBQDLiXcyg Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crashing-out-with-philip-defranco-and-alex-pearlman/id1843429519 WATCH/LISTEN TO MY NEW PODCAST w/ ADAM FRIEDLAND Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CePXwDrvdQTes844wflKp?si=55a6b6049c4841ed Youtube: https://youtube.com/acw?sub_confirmation=1 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-good-faith-with-philip-defranco/id1827016835 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY 📸Instagram: https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco  🐦Twitter: https://twitter.com/phillyd  🎵TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco  TODAY’S STORIES 00:00 - Four U.S. Troops Dead Amid Iran War 08:17 - Political Fallout from Iran Strikes Divides Both Sides 14:10 - Sponsored by Zocdoc 15:14 - U.S. Experiences Three Mass Violence Attacks in 12 Hours 20:30 - France Increasing Nuclear Arsenal for First Time in Decades 22:55 - Democrats Say They Have Votes for Lutnick to Testify in Epstein Probe THE TEAM Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino   ———————————— #DeFranco #Iran #Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So people are dying across the Middle East right now, at least 55 in Iran, including what may be 165 schoolgirls, four American troops are dead, and the no more war's president's telling us there's likely more death to come. And this is the U.S. attacked Iran without congressional authorization, without U.N. backing. And according to the Pentagon's own closed-door briefings, without intelligence that Iran was about to attack us first. So let's break down what is actually happening, what it's costing and what comes next. Starting with how it started, right? Because the last chance to avoid this, it played out on Thursday in Geneva. US officials told Iran to give up uranium enrichment entirely for 10 years.

Iran's foreign ministers said that enrichment was an inalienable right, and Trump envoy Steve Whitkoff fired back that the U.S. had an inalienable right to stop them. And then two days later, the bombs started falling. The CIA had reportedly been tracking their Supreme Leader's location for months. When the agency learned that he and some of the country's top military and intelligence officials would all be together above ground at a government compound in central Tehran, the timeline changed. Because the U.S. and Israel had actually originally planned a strike at night. This was apparently just too good to pass up.

And so at Saturday, around 9.40 a.m., local time, long-range missiles hit the compound, killing the man who had ruled Iran since 1989. And you had near simultaneous strikes at two other locations, altogether killing some 40 senior figures, including the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the country's defense minister. With then U.S. Central Command announcing Operation Epic Fury, and about an hour later, Trump posted an eight-minute video. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.

It's menacing activities directly in danger. The United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties that often happens in war. Trump also claimed that this was necessary because Iran rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions,

and then he told the Iranian people directly. When we are finished, take over your government, it will be yours to take." Then hours later, Trump confirming the supreme leader's death, calling him one of the most evil people in history and saying, heavy and pinpoint bombing will continue uninterrupted throughout the week, or as long as necessary. And the second wave of strikes had actually begun almost immediately

after the attack on the Supreme Leader, targeting Iran's air defense, especially surface-to-air missile batteries guarding the Capitol. By midday Sunday, Israel said that it had achieved air supremacy. With the former Israeli Air Force commander, putting it bluntly, saying, Iran right now is totally exposed to air strikes. It's only for US forces and the Israeli Air Force to decide where, when, and how. And then the next wave, they went after Iran's ballistic missile systems, right, munitions, launchers, crews, storehouses, production sites, and you had Israel deploying 200 fighter jets

and what it called its largest air operation in history. As far as how it was divided, you had Israel taking Western Iran and the U.S. taking the east. And you also had Trump targeting Iran's navy posting, I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk nine Iranian naval ships and adding, we are going after the rest. They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea also. With the US and Israel also striking dozens of military command centers, including the main IRGC headquarters. With Suncom posting, the IRC killed more than a thousand Americans over the past 47 years. Yesterday, a large-scale U.S. strike cut off the head of the snake.

And so with all this, as of recording, you have the Iranian Red Crescent Society reporting that the attacks on 131 cities have killed at least 55 people. The most horrific attack we've heard about so far apparently happened on Saturday. But with Iranian state media reporting that U.S. Israeli strikes had a girls' school killing 165 people, mostly children. You also had the New York Times verifying videos and images showing at least half the school destroyed. But they're being reported that the school sits next to a revolutionary guard-navel base and footage shows emergency workers and families digging through the rubble littered with school books and bags covered in blood and ash. As far as Iran, they're not just kind of absorbing this quietly. They've been hitting back at Israel and the Arab Gulf states that are hosting U.S. forces and the damage, I mean, it's already spreading across the entire region. Right this weekend, you had Iran striking a base in Kuwait, housing American troops, killing three army soldiers in a supplies and logistics unit.

Five more were seriously wounded, several others sustained shrapnel. injuries and concussions. And actually today, you'd have fourth American confirmed dead after dying from wounds from Iran's initial attacks. You also had a missile strike on an Israeli city, killing at least nine, injuring 27, bringing Israel's total death toll to 11 as a recording. Hezbollah has also begun launching rockets and drones towards Israel overnight, with Israel also responding by striking dozens at targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon, killing at least 31 and injuring 149. You also had an Israeli official saying that the military has launched an offensive in Lebanon that could include, quote, many prolonged days of

combat ahead with all options on the table for a ground operation. You then also had an Iraqi Shiite militia claiming a drone attack on U.S. troops at Baghdad's airport, though there were no reported casualties. And then you had the Pentagon revealing that three U.S. fighter jets went down over Kuwait and an apparent friendly fire incident late last night. The reportedly all six aircrew ejected safely and they're in stable condition. But even all of that, right, how many and Venns can I have? Even all that, it doesn't capture the full scope here. And as far as the regional fallout in Syria and an Iranian missile likely meant for Israel killed four people. In Kuwait, beyond the base attack, a drone hit an airport, debris struck an oil refinery, and smoke was seen rising from the U.S. Embassy this morning.

One killed, 32 injured overall, and then in the UAE, three dead, 58 wounded, with drone debris, setting an airport and a five-star hotel on fire. Then in Bahrain, right, home to the U.S. Navy's fifth fleet, they say they intercepted 61 missiles and 34 drones, but shrapnel from one, killed at least one person, and some strikes got through entirely hitting buildings in the naval base. Also, Qatar says that it intercepted attacks targeting civilian infrastructure, including its international airport. And as all of this is playing out, there's also an economic ripple effect that you're seeing that's massive. For a Qatari state-owned energy company, one of the world's top LNG suppliers,

halted production, sending European gas prices surging as much as 54%. You also had a drone hitting an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing one crew member. A major Saudi refinery was targeted production halting there despite reportedly limited damage. You then had the IRGC claiming three attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a fifth of the world straighted oil. Regarding oil, oil prices rose nearly 10% today, and they could keep climbing. You've also got shipping companies diverting vessels around Africa. to avoid the Suez Canal.

You're also seeing hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded as mass cancellations at some of the busiest airports in the world. And in Pakistan, 22 people were killed trying to storm the U.S. consulate. And so then with all that, you know, there is the question of, well, what is the White House actually saying

about why this was necessary? Well, on Sunday, you had Pentagon officials reportedly acknowledging in closed-door congressional briefings that there was no intelligence suggesting that Iran planned to attack American forces first. Instead, their argument was that Iran's ballistic missiles and proxy forces posed an imminent threat to U.S. interests.

And with that, as Trump has claimed, Iran would soon be able to strike the United States with a ballistic missile, though he provided zero evidence. Sources say that his claims armed backed by US intelligence and experts and official reports both push back on the idea that Iran's missiles could reach the United States. And then you also had Trump telling reporters they weren't willing to stop their nuclear research. They weren't willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon. Very simple.

But there's actually no credible evidence Iran was actively building a nuclear weapon. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has said that Iran doesn't have a weapons program and America's own intelligence backs that up. But with all that said, right, there's the question of, well, what comes next? You know, this has happened. It is currently happening. How long is this going to last? And there you had Trump telling reporters.

And we have right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks. But we have capability to go far longer than that. We'll do it. He has also acknowledged more than once that more American casualties are expected, saying, And sadly, there will likely be more. Before it ends, that's the way it is, likely be more. but we'll do everything possible where that won't be the case. On the question of, you know, what replaces the current regime?

You had Trump saying he'd like Iranians to rise up, but there's no guarantee that successors would govern any differently. He also reportedly floated several competing ideas for how power could transfer, including keeping the existing structure in place, with leaders more subservient to U.S. interests. He also talked about applying the Venezuela model, even as advisors have told him that the cultural and historical differences make that nearly impossible. And then also, Trump said he has three very good choices for who could lead Iran, though.

He wouldn't say who they are, And for now, you know, what's left of the Iranian regime is reportedly said to choose a new Supreme Leader any day. But in the meantime, we're left to wonder what happens from here. Reportedly hundreds of civilians are dead, including kids. You have four American service members so far dead. The entire region appears to be destabilizing. We've got constantly shifting public justification for why this happens with the evidence not seeming to support most of it. Well, obviously, we're all hoping for whatever the best outcome is here, that the president's exit strategy appears to be hoping that a country of 88 million people spontaneously overthrow its government and also in start.

leaders that we approve of. But then also, you know, with our no more wars president starting another war in the Middle East, we need to talk about the fallout that's splitting both parties and exposing fault lines that could really reshape the midterms. Republicans in general are a cheering regime change. Democrats in general can't agree on how to push back. Candice Owens and Marjorie Taylor Green, they're blaming Israel and someone just made half a million dollars betting on the Supreme Leader's debt. Right, so let's get into it. Starting with on the right, the messaging is simple. This was a win. Right, and with that you had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framing the strikes as a necessary response to Iran targeting the US military and

interests around the world. And Heggs had also added that, well, this isn't officially a regime change war. The regime will be changing and that's a good thing. Turns out the regime who chanted death to America and death to Israel was gifted, death from America and death from Israel. You also had Senator Lindsey Graham taking it even further on Meet the Press. I don't know if this is technically a war, but where the here's what I can say the headline is for me, Sunday.

The mothership of terrorism is sinking. the captain is dead. The largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, is close to collapsing. But then when pressed on what comes in attitude, Graham insisting that the US won't be choosing Iran's next leader and there are no plans for boots on the ground. It's not his job or my job to do this.

How many times I have to tell you? Our job is to make sure Iran is no longer the largest state sponsor of terrorism to help the people reconstruct a new government, no boots on the ground. And then on the other side of the aisle, like with the Democrats, It's a mess and that's kind of putting it charitably.

Some Democrats are defending the strike out, right? Like Ohio Representative Greg Lansman. You also have others like Senator Markelly trying to thread the needle, agreeing that the world is safer with the Supreme Leader dead, but warning, hope is not a strategy. We've got to have a plan here. What is the strategic goal and how do we achieve it?

In California Governor Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, they struck kind of a similar tone, condemning the Iranian regime while also slamming the administration's approach. Then also, you've got Democrats who aren't hedging at all. Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez accused Trump of lying to the American people and making a deliberate choice of aggression when

diplomacy and security were within reach. You also had Senator Bernie Sanders calling the war unconstitutional and a violation of international law and saying, we must not allow Trump to force us into another senseless war. And so with that, very likely the next concrete move, it comes later this week. Because you vote the Senate and the House expected to vote on resolutions, requiring Trump to get congressional approval before any additional military action in Iran, and boaking the 1973 war powers resolution, which was actually passed after Vietnam, specifically to check presidential war-making powers. And to be clear, That's in addition to the Constitution already requiring Congress to approve any declaration of war.

Or this vote is about enforcing that. And so with all this, you have Representative O'Connor calling for every lawmaker to go on the record with their vote, but he's also being honest about the math. And Wakana admits that this resolution is very unlikely to pass. He argues that just something has to be done to at least attempt to rein it in. But also, I think, for a lot of people watching, this feels a little like too little, too late. And also a part that's hard to ignore is that a core piece of Trump's platform in both elections was no more wars. And it's why if you hop online, you see just so many people,

Piling clip after clip of Trump accusing Obama of planning to attack Iran to say face or project toughness. You know, the irony, the hypocrisy, whatever you want to call it, it is not subtle. And actually, one of the loudest voices pointing that out is Candace Owens. We need a pretext for war. Like we always need a pretext where we're constantly bombing and killing people all the time. We're committing a Holocaust in Gaza. Could you just go up there and tell what they had a nuclear? They were building a nuclear bomb?

They weren't. And there's been no evidence of that outside of BB Netanyahu's trust me, bro, because I guess you have to come up with something to make people hysterical to believe that we have this never-ending right to murder human beings in the Middle East, to use American soldiers to affect regime changes in the Middle East at the benefit of no one but Israel. You also had Marjorie Taylor Green agreeing calling war with Iran America last in writing. Americans are once again coming home and flag-draped coffins from another stupid, pointless foreign war for foreign regime change on behalf of Israel. With Green then also turning to Laura Lumer, who praised the American soldiers killed in action this weekend and applauded their families

and Green's response was just scorching. Calling Lumer this bitch, who's celebrating the death of American military members and adding, sign up for the military, Laura. Go to the front lines, Laura. You don't love Trump enough unless you go fight Iran yourself.

Which is to add context for the normies out there that don't live and breathe this. This is Marjorie Taylor Green going after Laura Lumer, right? These are, I mean, you used to think two of Trump's most devoted supporters now publicly going after one another

over at war that Trump started. That by itself, as well as, you know, the things we've covered over the last year, it tells you something about how deep these fractures run. And then, on top of all of that, there's a part of this story that feels like it belongs, I don't know, in a different timeline, but it isn't. Polymarket reportedly saw roughly $530 million in contracts tied to the Iran strikes. Some of the activity, it sparked serious red flags.

You've got Bloomberg reporting that six accounts made around $1 million each betting on the February 28th strike date. All six were freshly created that month, and all of them only ever placed bets on strike-related contracts. Some even purchased shares just hours before the news broke. And so you had Bloomberg noting that these are hallmarks that blockchain analysts associate with insider trading. And then also, there's a trader called Maga My Man who made over half a million dollars betting specifically on the Supreme Leader's ousting in death. And then over on Kaoshi, there was a similar situation playing out, but with a twist. Because that platform had bets on whether the Supreme Leader would be out of power. But once his death was confirmed, people who bet yes, they didn't get paid.

So with that, you had Kalshi CEO explaining, we don't list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involved death, we designed the rules to prevent people from profiting from death. So Kouchi is refunding fees and paying out based on last treated prices before the death was announced. But still, you know, the outrage hasn't died down. You had Senator Chris Murphy saying, it's insane, this is legal, saying people around Trump are profiting off war and death. I'm introducing legislation ASAP to ban this. You know, with all that said, I'd now like to kind of turn the tables.

I'd love to hear from you in those comments, whether it be about the strike itself, the democratic response, the Israel angle, the polymarket scandal, any and all. Let me hear from you in those comments down below, especially because at least on YouTube, I have now the ability to respond with audio, so I'm going to be testing that out over the next 24 hours. And then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute. First, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know,

raise your hand if you've been meaning to book a doctor's appointment for, what, like six months now. You know, whether it be dental cleaning, annual check up, a weird thing, keep pretending, is probably nothing? All of it. And that's why today's sponsor, Zock Dox, actually useful. Is Zocktax a free app and website that helps you find and book high quality in-network doctors so you can find someone that you love? No phone tag, no being on hold while a flute solo destroys your will to live. You know, you can search by specialty or symptoms. So whether it's primary care, dental, derm, eye care, a bunch of other stuff. specialties you can find what fits. What I love, you can also choose what works for you,

in-person visit or video visit. And you can read verified patient reviews so you're not going in blind and hoping that your doctor has a personality. Though actually I'd say the best part is that you can see real-time availability and book instantly and there's a lot of appointments that happen pretty fast, sometimes even same day. I've used it myself and I've also booked an appointment faster than I could talk myself out of it. So hey, stop putting off those doctor's appointments and just scan that QR code or go to Zocdoc.com slash Phil to find it instantly book a top-rated doctor today. That's ZOC, DOC dot com slashville. Zockdot.com slashville.

This message is sponsored by ZockDock. But then, diving right back into the news, we need to talk about how three mass violence events happened in 12 hours this weekend. You had a shooting in Austin, now being investigated as terrorism, a mass shooting at a Cincinnati music venue and a fatal stabbing spree on a D.C. highway.

So starting with Austin, early Sunday morning, you had a gunman opening fire outside of Buford's backyard, Beer Garden on 6th Street, which is one of the most popular nightlife strips in Austin and right near the University of Texas campus. With the police,

identifying the shooter as Indiega Gianna. Investigators say that he circled the block multiple times and stopped in front of the bar, turned down his hazards, and just started shooting at people on the patio and sidewalk. He then reportedly drove further down the street, parked, walked back toward the bar, and then open fire again on foot. Right then, because it was already a heavy police presence

in the area, the officers were able to intercept him before he could do more damage. What the . Jesus Christ. What the . And ultimately, you had three dead, two bystanders in the shooter, as well as 14 others being injured.

three critically and some of the victims were UT Austin students. Now also, here's where the story kind of gets bigger, right? The shooter reportedly wore a hoodie that read property, Abala, and had a t-shirt with the Iranian flag. He also, according to reports, had been posting about support for the Iranian regime and hatred for Israeli and American leadership since roughly 2017. And the authorities also said that they found items in his car that raise even more concerns. Obviously, it's still way too early in the process to determine an exact motivation,

but there were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle, that indicate potential nexus to terrorism. Since it's a matter of real looking at it as a potential matter of terrorism, obviously the Joint Terrorism Task Force is engaged. In terms of specifically what type of terrorism, we're just at this point prepared to say that it was potentially an act of terrorism.

Now, as for any more background, do you have reports saying that the shooter first entered the U.S. in 2000 on a tourist visa, became then a lawful permanent resident after marrying a U.S. citizen and was naturalized in 2013. And with all this, you had Texas Governor Greg Abbott

releasing a statement calling it an act that will not define us in warning that Texas will respond with decisive and overwhelming force against anyone who tries to use the Middle East conflict to threaten the state. Right, and all in all, this is actually the biggest mass shooting in Austin in 60 years, which is also why you had, at least as a recording, many people wondering why the president hasn't addressed it. But that then brings us to Cincinnati, where around 1 a.m. on Sunday, just hours before Austin, shots were fired inside of Riverfront Live, a music venue in Cincinnati that was hosting an event. And here, nine people were injured, one critically, five were in stable condition at UC Medical Center.

two were released and one was treated and released in another hospital. We do not have any further information on the victims or what started this or any information on the suspect or suspects at this time. Now with this, you had a witness describing hearing shots that a quick pause followed by screaming and running saying that she wanted to get out of harm's way but didn't know where the harm was actually coming from. You also had Cincinnati mayor, Purevall, thinking first responders, but also being blunt about a bigger problem. Our laws make it so easy to get a gun in our community that a lot of people have guns coupled with the fact that they refuse to deal with disagreements

peacefully to the extent that they not only refuse to deal with disagreements peacefully but they immediately run to mortal danger as you can imagine our law enforcement leaders our city leaders are very, very focused on what we can do to prevent people from getting access to guns. And then all of that brings us to D.C. where you had a man reportedly stabbing four people in a dog with a knife on the Capitol Beltway after what witnesses said started as a road rage incident following a crash on I-495. Here, one victim, a 39-year-old woman, she's dead, that the dog was also killed, the status of the three victims. That's unknown. And you'd a witness telling CNN that he saw two cars that were kind of banged up and then two people covered in blood

while there was a woman trying to stop the attacker, but the man just kept swinging his knife. And then when a state trooper arrived, the man reportedly approached him with a knife, and he was shot, with him then taken to the hospital with serious injuries, and he's since been pronounced dead. Right, and actually with this, one of the details that kind of stood out to people is you had the D.C. Police Department posting on social media that the reports of a mass stabbing incident, they were incorrect, and that the MPD wasn't investigating any matter like that. So you had many wondering, how were four people stabbed, one's dead, and it didn't meet their threshold. And, you know, as I was going through this news, it was kind of that last part that was a punch in the stomach, but it felt like maybe almost the core thing to all of them,

it's not the only thing that matters. But it kind of just stands out that the violence, it's just become routine. And it's also something Cincinnati City Councilmember, Cheryl Long, put in terms that are really hard to shake. Like all of us, I'm heartbroken to witness such a senseless act of violence. But unfortunately, I am not shocked. So many of us in America are in a similar state of unease.

Not wondering if a shooting like this will occur, but when. The stress, the exhaustion, the confusion, they are constant. That moment when your heart drops, because it's happening again, is something we're all terrifyingly used to by now. You know, it's important to acknowledge where we are. Don't let it fully get lost in the mass understand where the baseline is now. That's how you know where to try to go to get things to a better place. But yeah, we are currently in a situation where we're not left wondering if the next one's going to happen.

It's just when. And you know, with every days we get closer to the midterms and I mean, even before then to the primaries, we need understand there is a question that nobody in power seems willing to want to answer. How much more normalized does this get before someone actually does something about it? And then actually, you know, while all eyes are understandably on Iran's nuclear program, we also have to talk about this other country that's making very, very big moves. And that's because France is building more nuclear weapons of the first time in over three decades. And it's not just the expansion that matters, right?

It is why it's happening and what it signals about how much Europe trusts the United States right now. Because you had French president, Emmanuel Macron, announcing that his country is increasing its nuclear arsenal. It's the first expansion since 1992. And when I didn't give a specific number, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, France currently holds just under 300 warheads. And you have experts saying that a dramatic expansion is actually possible, given the high levels of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium the countries believed to have. But also the warhead count, it's not even the biggest story here. Like, what really stands out is the cooperation

piece. Because France has actually long insisted on keeping its nuclear program fully independent. But that's changing now. As part of this buildup, Macron said that France will expand nuclear cooperation with European allies, including allowing other nations to participate in war game drills and offering to temporarily deploy nuclear-capable fighter jets to allied countries. All while making clear that the French president, retain sole authority over any deployment decisions. But even with that caveat, this is a landmark shift in doctrine there. France is actually the only EU member state with nuclear weapons and one of just two nuclear powers in all of Europe alongside the UK, which relies on the United States for

technological support. And that means that most European countries actually depend almost entirely on America's nuclear umbrella, right? The longstanding security guarantee that U.S. nuclear forces will be used to defend allies if they're threatened. But now with Trump, that umbrella is looking a lot less reliable, right? You have European leaders raising serious concerns about Trump's wavering commitment to the region. I mean, this unprecedented shift in U.S. foreign policy that has shaken decades of transatlantic security beliefs. And in fact, Macron framed the expansion as a direct response, citing a recent U.S. national security strategy that signaled a clear, quote, reorganization of American priorities. And he argued that this should push Europe to, quote,

take more direct responsibility for its own security. Or in other words, if America won't guarantee Europe safety anymore, France is volunteering to start filling that gap. You know, as far as why this matters, I think it's really important that people understand what's happening here. A major Western democracy is expanding its nuclear arsenal for the first time in 33 years, not because of a new enemy, yes, they're worried about Russia, but also because it no longer trusts its oldest ally to actually show up. The fingerprints of that fact, they're on everything that's happening right now. And also, we should expect to see the ripple effects going beyond France, right? If this leads to a broader European push toward independent nuclear deterrence, it fundamentally reshapes

the global security order that's held since the Cold War. And ultimately, one of the biggest questions now is whether this is going to make Europe and its allies safer or we're just entering a new arms race. And that's on top of the arms race that already felt like we were having. Right. But then from that, the final bit of do is that we should talk about today is that Democrats say they now have the votes to subpoena Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. And if the midterms go their way, they're already signaling that they'll go after Trump next. In the meantime, you've got both sides spinning what Bill Clinton allegedly said about Trump during his closed-door deposition and neither version appears to line up. So where we'll dive in is that you had Representative Roecona

going on Meet the Press yesterday and he said it plainly. We have the votes to subpoena-Lutnik. I'm working with a Republican actually to subpoena Howard Lutnik next week, and I believe he will come before the committee. Well, I didn't say who that Republican was specifically. You have people pointing to Nancy Mace who just said she would call Lutnik to testify. You know, the pressure, it's been building on him for a while now. The Epstein files appear to suggest that Lutnik lied about the timeline of his relationship with Epstein, and it shows the two emailing after Epstein was convicted as sex crimes. Then, over the last couple of days, the DOJ briefly removed a photo of Lutnik from the files. And that image shows him with Epstein on Little St. James, right, Epstein's Island.

And when an official claim that the photo is part of a batch flag for a nudity review, there's no nudity in that photo. And so you have politicians on both sides demanding answers about why it was pulled. But despite all that, Trump's stand in by Lutnik. Right? When asked about the possibility of a house deposition, Trump called him a very innocent guy doing a good job. But all of that, it brings us to Bill Clinton, who sat for his closed door deposition on Friday, which was about six hours of questioning, which was actually shorter than Hillary's, despite her insisting that she had never met Epstein while Bill is actually pictured in the files. And the head of the hearing, you had Bill saying that he knew nothing about Epstein's crimes, but he agreed to testify because he He believes, quote, no person is above the law, even presidents.

And because the footage hasn't been released yet, you've had both parties already spinning what he said, especially about Trump. Your Republican chairman, James Comer, stepping out to tell reporters that the Democrats ask Clinton whether Trump should testify, Clinton saying that that's for you to decide, and he added that Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved with Epstein. Comer then also posted that Clinton exonerated President Trump

under questioning from the Democrats and accused Democrats of weaponizing this investigation to put politics above survivors. But Democrats on the committee, they fired back immediately saying, that's not how it went down. Their statement said that Clinton raised more questions about the relationship between President Trump and Epstein. And specifically with regards to the reason their relationship ended. They called Comer's characterization flat out wrong, noting that Clinton confirmed that he knew Trump and Epstein had a close relationship and that Trump reported having great times with Epstein. And that is you also had other Democrats pointing out the obvious.

Even if Clinton said he had no personal first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing, that wouldn't exonerate anymore. That's not how any of this works. So you know, also with this, we don't actually know what was said until the footage drops, but that's also exactly why closed-door depositions followed by competing press conferences is such a problem. You get two completely different narratives before anyone checks the tape, which I think is what some people want. And this is also where the politics kick in, because you have Democrats arguing for weeks now that Trump needs to answer questions about Epstein. Now, with the Clinton deposition's done, they're framing it as precedent. You had Representative Robert Garcia, the committee's ranking Democrat, putting it this way. Republicans have now set a new precedent, which is to bring in presidents and former presidents to testify.

We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the president. of the Oversight Committee. He appears in the Epsine files next to Jeffrey Epsine and Galane Maxwell almost more than anybody else. Now, do we think that any of this is actually gonna happen right now? No, most Republicans, they're still defending Trump

and there is zero chance the current House majority brings them in voluntarily. One of the big things here is that Democrats are making this a midterm issue, right? You have Garcia saying that if the House flips and he leads oversight, the committee will absolutely pursue an interview with Trump. They've even floated bringing in Melania.

And in fact, you even have the Washington Post reporting that Democrats are already charting an aggressive strategy of invent the Trump administration next year. So for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens in the short term, right? With Lutnik and the long term, with the midterms and then Trump and Melania.

Then of course, also the bigger question hanging over all of this is whether any of this leads to actual accountability. For anyone or any side, or it just becomes another political football that both parties use to kind of try to score points while you have survivors waiting for actual justice that never ends up coming.

And we wait to see how all this plays out, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions, reactions, maybe even predictions. Let me hear from you in those comments down below. But that right there, my friends, you beautiful bastards is the end Monday Philip DeFranco show dive into the news. But today, there's also actually more to watch right after. You can click or tap. I've got links in the description, but we had an emergency episode of the

crashing out podcast, of course, everything with Iran. Or if you ended up getting to this video, a little later than intended, you can watch the newest Philip DeFranco show right there. But no matter what you do, let me just say, I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow. It's called Operation Epic Fury. Isn't this the most based attack ever? Millennials are never going to be able to live this one down. Don't put this on millennials. Don't put this on millennials. Well, I guess our tax dollars are blowing up kids in schools again. This is not defending Schumer. Fuck Chuck Schumer.

You don't need to read all Project 2025. Just pull up Trump tweets for 2014.