The Philip DeFranco Show - Tucker Carlson Qatar Scandal is Getting Worse & Netflix Paramount Warner Bros Will Change Everything

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

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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 your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.
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Starting point is 00:01:09 it's kind of become my favorite thing to watch other than Pluribus this year. Great series. Highly recommend. Right, but yesterday with MAGA, you had just fighting on multiple fronts with Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Green, Tucker Carlson, Ted Cruz, Laura Lumer,
Starting point is 00:01:20 and others just kick and punch and just grabbing fistfuls of hair. You know, we'll start with Trump and Greener, as he calls her brown. Right, because Marge, I mean, she's broken from Trump on several issues. this year, what was happening with Israel and Gaza, the strikes on Iran, the Epstein files, the healthcare subsidies, and all of that has led to her next month resigning. And you have Trump
Starting point is 00:01:37 calling who used to be his bravest soldier, a traitor, among other things. And so yesterday, she went on CBS's 60 minutes and she shot back. With Marge saying that around the same time, he invited the Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani, the Saudi crown prince, Mohamed Boneson, the new Syrian president whom she called a former al-Qaeda leader to the White House. And so he had green seeming to imply here that if anyone's a traitor, it's not her, it's Trump. And then with that, you had her getting really serious about her own personal safety. After President Trump called me a traitor, I got a pipe bomb threat on my house, and then I got several direct death threats on my son.
Starting point is 00:02:11 The subject line for the direct death threats on my son was his words, Marjorie Trader Green. And Green then later elaborated on X, saying I sent these assassination threats on my son to President Trump, and which he responded with harsh accusatory replies and zero sympathy. And doubting, I also sent these threats to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief James Blair, and received no response, nothing. Saying it was shocking to be treated this way by top Republican Party leaders, considering everything I did to help elect their boss
Starting point is 00:02:35 and the fact that I have paid all of my dues, $350,000 plus to the NRCC every single Congress, including this one and have a 98% voting record with President Trump and a 100% rating by conservative review. And then asking, what is required of me to be an American first representative? Must I stay until I am Charlie Kirk or my children are murdered? And adding, Republicans need to take a hard look in the mirror
Starting point is 00:02:55 and ask themselves, are you a mindless pawn, taking orders, or an elected representative serving your district in their views and needs. Saying a congressional Republican majority who takes orders from the White House and relinquishes all control to the executive branch is not serving the will of their voters. And an admin that only provides results through executive orders only provides temporary policies to the American people.
Starting point is 00:03:14 But then also with 60 minutes, what a lot of people have grabbed on to is how she described Trump's conversation with her about Epstein. He was extremely angry at me that I had signed the discharge petition to release the files and he was furious with me. What did he say? He said that it was going to hurt people. I don't know what that means. I don't know who they are.
Starting point is 00:03:35 With Green then claiming that he passed a crypto bill to benefit his donors, attacked Iran to serve Israel's interests, and kept the COVID vaccines on the market to help big pharma. And then finally, she said that behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers talk much differently about Trump than they do in the public and what they say it would shock people. I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks,
Starting point is 00:03:55 making fun of me constantly for supporting him to when he won the primary in 2024, they all started, excuse my language, Leslie, kissing his ass and decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time. And so, you know, all of that, it goes out yesterday, and there were a lot of reactions, but some of the wildest ones maybe came from Donald Trump himself. Saying on truth social,
Starting point is 00:04:17 the only reason Marjorie Trader Brown, green turns brown under stress went bad is that she was jilted by the president of the United States, certainly not the first time she has been jilted. Too much work, not enough time, and her ideas are now really bad. She sort of reminds me of a rotten app. Marjorie is not America First or Maga, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person. That was proven last night when washed up Trump hating 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl, who still owes me an apology from when she attacked me on the show a serious conviction
Starting point is 00:04:46 that Hunter Biden's laptop from hell was produced by Russia, not Hunter himself. Totally proven wrong, interviewed a very poorly prepared trader who, in her confusion, made many really stupid statements. But then adding my real problem with the show, however, wasn't the low IQ trader. It was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. They are no better than the old ownership who just paid me millions of dollars for fake reporting about your favorite president, me. And saying, since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten worse. Oh, well, far worse things can happen. P.S., I hereby demand a complete and total apology, though far too late to be meaningful from Leslie's
Starting point is 00:05:21 stall in 60 minutes for her incorrect and libelous statements about Hunter's laptop. I have no idea how anyone could think that man does not have all his faculties intact. Right, that's the main takeaway we all get there. But like I said, you know, this is a war on multiple fronts and another one it opened up with a different interview and that one was between Tucker Carlson and the prime minister of Qatar. And that was a controversial one because for context, Qatar has long been accused of a laundry list of human rights abuses. Right, things like women being subjected to male guardianship laws, people being imprisoned for extramarital
Starting point is 00:05:50 sex and gay sex, freedom of expression being non-existent, and, you know, modern-day slavery. Right, because according to Human Rights Watch, migrant workers make up almost the entire population, and because of the way that the sponsorship works, their employers have disproportionate control over them. And so you saw things like before very recent reforms, they needed permission to even leave the country. They still need permission to change jobs. They often work in brutal conditions for low pay, and sometimes they even die. But, you know, when Cucker Tarlson visited the capital city Doha yesterday, he had nothing but kind words for the PM. This country is being denounced as a terror state, terror financing.
Starting point is 00:06:21 One of the reasons I openly admire you despite much criticism and was grateful to interview you today is because your country acts as a kind of neutral zone around the world. And you then end up going on to Pinatara as an innocent victim of Israeli aggression, who was just trying to get aid to the Palestinians and only hosted Hamas leaders because Israel and the U.S. asked for it. And notably, for the whole 20 minutes, he'd never asked a single, even remotely critical or challenging question to the Prime Minister. You know, instead, he treated him as a kind of subject matter expert on the region's politics, almost like he was interviewing a political science professor and not, you know, a very controversial head of state. But then, at the end, Tucker revealed something about himself that caught the most attention online.
Starting point is 00:07:00 Personally, not to make it about me, but I have been criticized as being a tool of Qatar. And I just want to say what you already know, which is I never taken anything from your country and, and don't plan to. I am, however, tomorrow buying a place in Qatar, both because I am. pay a high check. In Doha, yeah. And I'm doing that because I like the city. I think it's beautiful. But also to make the statement that I'm an American and a free man, and I'll be wherever I want to be. And immediately, you had many on the right just dunking on it. Or with Ted Cruz, oddly, or maybe not oddly, I remember that one 9-11 post that he liked, opting for a sexually suggestive angle of attack. We're posing a picture at Tucker sitting with his legs spread out in the air,
Starting point is 00:07:39 and what can only be described as a very eager and receptive position with the caption. Live footage of Tucker Carlson interviewing the Prime Minister of Qatar. With him then also posting, I thought Fallatio was illegal in Qatar. And then when Neil Patel, the CEO of Tucker's media company, posted a photo of themselves in Doha with the ironic caption, greetings from the bloodthirsty, terror-supporting slave state of Qatar, Cruz responded, fact-checked true. But all of that was pretty tame compared to the Firestorm that was unleashed by one of Trump's closest confidants, Laura Loomer. When I say Firestorm, I mean, she has been posting incessantly for the past two days about him and Qatar literally dozens upon dozens of pose,
Starting point is 00:08:12 with her fingers just flying. Writing things like, Nothing Says America First, like giving your money to the funders of global Islamic jihad who have made being a Christian or Jew illegal in Qatar, as well as video of Tucker Carlson at the Doha Forum tonight is now emerging
Starting point is 00:08:24 in which he looks incredibly flustered and flushed in the face. He's saying, I can't tell if his face is flush because he's angry or because he's having a capillary response to alcohol as a self-admitted alcoholic. Rehab has helped millions of people. If you have relapsed Tucker, just know that there's help. And again, there's a lot that she has said,
Starting point is 00:08:39 but with that you had some shooting back at her like Roger Stone writing. the ability to quite legally obtain all of Laura Lumer's bank and financial records offshore, very soon you'll know exactly who's paying her and why. And adding, Tucker Carlson will always be Laura Lumer's intellectual superior and no amount of her annoying whining will ever change that. And then adding, Laura Lumer and Tucker Carlson are both longtime friends of mine, but Laura needs psychiatric help for her obsession regarding Tucker. Frankly, if I were him, I'd sue the fuck out of her because there is not a lawyer in the United States willing to defend her. See a shrink, Laura,
Starting point is 00:09:07 you ain't right in the head. With then Lumer firing back, Roger, if I'm your friend, and why do you continue to lie about me to run cover for Tucker? Tucker is allowing Qatari influence in our politics. I'm going to keep exposing his lies. He's whitewashing Islam and everything I said about him is true. Where they're then going on to say he can sue me for telling the truth and then I will get to see who pays him and Neil Patel and Tucker Carlson network. I can't wait to see his text messages with Trump haters. That is also not where it ends because Lumer called out another interview that Tucker just did with the once notorious but now obscure conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos. With a nearly two-hour exchange titled, Why Are You Gay? Milo Yiannopoulos
Starting point is 00:09:41 explains. I've always wanted to say in a Ugandan accent, are you gay? Why are you gay? It's just let me let me ask, are you gay? Were you gay? Like, what is gay? Nobody's gay. And you really only need a glance at the time codes to see how nuts it was. Where they include, is there a demonic aspect to addiction? Is Dave Rubin really conservative? As Pete Buttigieg really gay? Is lesbianism real? And why you aren't allowed to leave the gay mafia? But at least, I guess for this video, that ends up being besides the point, because what Lumer found so objectionable wasn't that, it was, I'll just read her posts. With Lumer writing, Milo Ionopoulos is allegedly an illegal alien who is living in California
Starting point is 00:10:16 with Dob Charney when he's not living inside the Rome, Georgia residents of Marjorie Taylor Green, doing her dirty work. Milo had what many believed to be a sham marriage with a black man named John to get a visa, and now Milo is allegedly a visa overstay who is violating State Department policy by pushing out Holocaust denial and interfering in our elections by attacking Donald Trump and spreading malicious lies about Charlie Kirk, his wife, and Benny Johnson. With that, adding, Milo is a notorious drug addict, and I personally, believe he is lying about having cancer.
Starting point is 00:10:42 He was fired for pro-pedophile comments and he is allegedly a criminal illegal alien. I am calling on ICE, DHS, Christie Nome, and Tom Homan to deport Milo Yianapolis back to the UK. I am happy to provide witness testimony and hand over Milo's address to authorities and immigration officials.
Starting point is 00:10:57 And then, in another post, she continued further proving that Tucker Carlson is totally okay with the attacks on TPUSA and the accusations for Milo that Tyler Boyer and Benny Johnson are gay, Tucker Carlson is continuing to promote Milo tonight just hours after Benny and his wife threatened to sue Milo for defamation. And then continuing, Milo also went on Timcast this week and said Charlie Kirk was gay and was planning to divorce Erica Kirk.
Starting point is 00:11:16 Tucker is literally trying to destroy TPUSA and for some weird reason, they won't call him out. This is clearly coordinated. So yeah, for now, we'll have to continue to watch this, wait and see where any of this just dumpster fire shit show goes. You know, in the meantime, I don't know, I'll just, I'll have my popcorn ready. Again, love pluribus. This is the show of the year. We'll get right back into the news in just a minute. But first, let me say, you know, life already charges enough.
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Starting point is 00:12:11 don't wait, so why should you? Also, you know, do you want to build credit without juggling credit cards? The current build card? It helps you raise your score safely. I mean, users see an average 80-point increase in six months. And you can earn 4% on savings, plus access to a 40,000 plus fee-free ATMs nationwide. It's fast, it's flexible, and actually build for the year that we're living in, not whatever nonsense banks are still stuck in. So hey, you can make it easy, just scan that QR code or click the link down below and use code fill for $50 on us. But then next up in the news, I'm very interested to know your your thoughts here. This Paramount, Netflix, Warner Brothers situation is crazy. It's got a lot of people
Starting point is 00:12:45 going. It doesn't feel like there is a best path forward, but maybe a less concerning path forward. Because Paramount has just now launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Brothers. And they're arguing that this isn't the best interest of the creative community, the consumers, and the movie theater industry for Paramount to buy the studio instead of Netflix. Right, because last Friday, we learned that Netflix won a major bidding war to buy Warner Brothers in a deal value to $83 billion. And you know, this is a big, big deal. Netflix beat out Paramount, Comcast, and more longtime major players to get this. I mean, this is a move that would essentially cement Netflix as an official king of Hollywood. But also, I mean, you have a lot of people concerned here. One, you have people
Starting point is 00:13:18 fearing that this would lead to a monopolistic control of the streaming market. And two, you know, this really made people worry about the future of movie theaters. Because while Netflix said that it expects to keep releasing the studio films theatrically, it also said that they plan on making the release windows more consumer-friendly, which essentially means that films won't be released in theaters for as long. And to then pair that with Netflix's co-CEO Ted Serendos long downplaying the importance of theatrical releases. And you have many questioning. what Netflix's long-term goals would actually be here. And with that, you had a group of anonymous producers
Starting point is 00:13:45 even writing a letter arguing. Netflix views any time spent watching a movie in a theater as time not spent on their platform. They have no incentive to support theatrical exhibition and they have every incentive to kill it. And they definitely weren't alone there. You had major Hollywood unions like the Writers Guild going as far as to say that the deal should be blocked.
Starting point is 00:14:01 And overall, like if you looked out there, there were a ton of people in the industry just kind of panicking about this acquisition. But then also, even though today's news it may lead to that deal falling through, it's created even more panic. Right, because you've got Paramount putting itself back into the conversation and appealing directly to WB's shareholders in a hostile takeover bit. And specifically, they're throwing an all-cash offer of $30 per share or a total value of $108 billion.
Starting point is 00:14:22 Right, with Paramount claiming this provides shareholders with $18 billion more in cash than Netflix's offer does. But also, this would include all of Warner Bros Discovery, meaning that it's for the film studio, streaming services, and cable channels. And that's a notable difference because under the Netflix deal, cable channels were not included and they would have to be spun off. Though the way you had Paramount Skydance's CEO David Ellison explaining it is that the plan provides superior value in a more certain and quicker path to completion, saying we are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares. And with all that, claiming that this merger would create a stronger Hollywood for both consumers and creatives who would, quote, benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend, and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies and theaters as a result of our proposed transaction. And while you might think that those claim commitments to Hollywood and movie theaters who would put,
Starting point is 00:15:07 industry at ease, that's really not the case. Because again, there were still major monopoly concerns, but also Paramount CEO is the son of Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire and Trump ally. Also, some of the deals funding is supported by the Ellison family, so that means that Larry could have his hands on this. David Ellison also led the charge to get a Paramount and Skydance merger through earlier this year, and there were concerns that there were a bunch of secret side deals with the Trump administration to get that deal through. And then also there are more concerns about how Paramount is financing this, right? Because their offer actually includes billions from wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, as well as an equity firm backed by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
Starting point is 00:15:40 The with as you had Paramount saying that the foreign wealth funds have agreed to forego any governance rights, including board representation associated with their non-voting equity investments. As you know, those promises, they could help it get federal approval. But also, the thing is, there's just a ton of politics involved no matter who buys it. And you know, Trump, he really hasn't said where he stands on this. He has given mixed messaging on the companies. It often feels like he supports whoever he most recently met with. Though, he recently just praised Netflix and Ted Sarandos, but then added that the merger could be a problem.
Starting point is 00:16:07 Which I'm saying, they have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Brothers, that share goes up a lot. And adding, I'll be involved in that decision. Also, I've got to add that as I was recording, both Netflix and WB ended up responding to the news. Right, Netflix's kind of dismissing it, saying this bid was expected, but they remain confident in their deal. And Warner Bros saying it will carefully review this new Paramount offer and respond within 10 business days. Right, and then with all of this, we haven't even touched on the fact that WB's cable channels include CNN. So if the Ellison's get their way, they would then be in charge of CNN, and they already have CBS news. And then that, I mean, it doesn't even get into the TikTok of it all.
Starting point is 00:16:38 I mean, the amount of control that's happening in the media right now, it's crazy. But hey, for now, while this plays out, I'd love to know your thoughts, opinions, reactions, and maybe even predictions about what's going to happen next. Definitely let me know your thoughts on that in the comments down below, because, yes, this is a news show, but I also want it to be a conversation. But then, next step from that, this is ridiculous. President Trump is announcing a $12 billion bailout for farmers who have been heard. by Trump's own tariffs. Because nothing screams the tariffs are working like needing a massive bailout
Starting point is 00:17:07 because you fucked farmers over so much. And while the plans are set to be announced at a round table later today, at least as of recording, it's been widely reported that up to $11 billion will go to one-time payments under the Agriculture Department's new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which was created to support American crop farmers and as far as the remaining $1 billion,
Starting point is 00:17:23 that'll go towards aid for commodities not covered by the program. And while it would seem pretty obvious to anyone with eyes, ears, and a brain that the Trump tariffs are responsible here, He still had a White House spokesperson trying to put the blame on Biden. Saying today's announcement reflects the President's commitment to helping our farmers, who will have the support they need to bridge the gap between Biden's failures
Starting point is 00:17:40 and the President's successful policies taking effect. With it then also praising Trump's tariffs, claiming that Trump, quote, is helping our agriculture industry by negotiating new trade deals to open new export markets for our farmers and boosting the farm safety net for the first time in a decade. But, very big thing, experts widely agreed that farmers have been dramatically hurt by Trump's tariffs on a number of fronts. First off, many farmers have been struggling, to sell their crops because other countries have retaliated against Trump's tariffs by imposing their own, making American crops more expensive in global markets.
Starting point is 00:18:07 And this struggle is especially pronounced when it comes to China, which is normally a major buyer of U.S. crops, especially soybeans. For China is the world's largest buyer of soybeans, and earlier this year, they stopped purchases from America as the trade war with Trump escalated. And while China agreed to start buying again during a trade truce in October, the whole thing, it's massively hurt soy farmers. In fact, it's been reported that the new bailout is specifically aimed at helping soybean farmers who have just seen a massive drop in sales.
Starting point is 00:18:30 And beyond that, the tariffs have also increased input costs for farmers on products like machinery, supplies, and fertilizers. And then Trump's constant flip-flopping on various tariffs, it's created market uncertainty that makes it impossible for farmers to plan their planting and sales in advance. In fact, Trump's trade policies, not Bidens, appear to have pushed many farmers into bankruptcy. Back in October, it was reported that 181 farmers had filed for bankruptcy protection in the first half of 2025. That is a massive increase of 60% from last year and the highest six-month reading since the height of the pandemic in 2020. Right? Well, Trump's tariffs, they have directly impacted American farmers in a better. China, they've been thriving.
Starting point is 00:19:02 I mean, just today it was reported that China's trade surplus, it topped $1 trillion for the first time. And so the Washington Post explaining that this is, quote, a sign that President Donald Trump's high tariffs have done little to stop Chinese factories from flooding global markets. And so as a result, you have many arguing that these new bailouts are essentially an admission that Trump's trade policies are failing American farmers. And not failing by a little, failing so much so that Trump needs to spend billions of dollars
Starting point is 00:19:24 to bail out this key segment of his base. But also, I'll say, it's unclear exactly how much these bailouts are going to help as long as Trump's tariffs remain in place and his trade war which China rages on. I mean, even back in September, the president of the American Soybian Association explicitly rejected the idea that relief from Washington would structurally help farmers. Saying a government payment is not the answer to long-term success in our industry. China consumes 61% of all soy consumed in the world. It's not a market where we can just say, oh, well, we'll just sell to somebody else.
Starting point is 00:19:50 You know, as far as what happens from here, you know, Congress is going to have to approve a final version of Trump's bailout. But with that, I will say, there's been a lot of support from this move, especially from lawmakers who represent agriculture-heavy states. But then, next step today, this one just makes me laugh. Only Trump could flip on someone within days of signing a pardon that saved them from potential prison time. Because you've got this guy, Representative Henry Quayyar, he's a Democrat from Texas. And last year, the Biden-D-OJ slapped Quayyar and his wife with charges including bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Starting point is 00:20:18 Right, accusing them of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an Azerbaijan oil company at Mexican Bank in exchange for advancing Azerbaijan interests in Congress. So with that, these two, they've maintained their innocence. They have accused the DOJ of entrapment and their trial it was supposed to kick off next April. But then, their daughters, they sent a letter to Donald Trump requesting a pardon for their parents. And Trump, he even shared that letter dated November 12 in which they argued that their father's quote, independence and honesty may have contributed to how this case began. And it looks like they knew how to work Trump.
Starting point is 00:20:45 They pointed to his criticism of the Biden administration's border policies. And the daughters, they appeal to Trump personally, saying when you and your family faced your own challenges, we understood that pain in a very human way. He watched from afar through the eyes of daughters who knew what it felt like to see parents under fire. And all of that, it led to Trump actually last week, granting both Quayar and his wife a presidential pardon with him applauding him for standing up to the Biden administration and saying on truth social. Henry, I don't know you, but you can sleep well tonight. Your nightmare is finally over. And Quayar was quick to respond, saying, I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.
Starting point is 00:21:17 I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time, this decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas. This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone, the work remains, and I intend to meet it head on. And so with all this, for Republicans in Texas, this was a unique situation. Ray Quayar is already a pretty conservative Democrat. And for a minute, there was a long-shot hope that this moment with Trump, it could actually be a thing that tipped him over to the other side. Something that, you know, it pad the pretty narrow majority the Republicans have in the house going into the midterms. And just hours after getting that pardon, Quayar filed for reelection and announced that he had no intentions of changing his party.
Starting point is 00:21:48 With him telling Fox News, I'm an American, I'm a Texan, and I'm a Democrat in that order. And I think that anybody that puts party before their country is doing a disservice to their country. And this move by Quayar, not something that Trump was a fan of. Or with him then quickly posting that he felt good fighting for this family against, quote, very sick and deranged people, but saying that Quayar maintaining his status as a Democrat, it ruined it. With Trump accusing him of continuing to work with the same radical left scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in prison. And adding, such a lack of loyalty, something that Texas voters and Henry's daughters will not like. Oh well, next time, no more Mr. Nice Guy.
Starting point is 00:22:22 And with all that, we've got to talk about a few things, right? It's an important note that this pardon doesn't mean that Quayar is in the clear completely, right, he's still under investigation from the House Ethics Committee. And that was an investigation that started last May and then was reauthorized in July of this year. But then also, if we zoom out from this guy, specifically, we should talk about the sheer volume of pardons that we've seen from Trump this year. Because, you know, in his first term, Trump issued 237 acts of clemency over all four years. But this time around, in just the first year alone, he's given out almost 1,600. Though, of course, a lot of those were connected to the January 6th insurrection, but we've still seen nearly a hundred others since he took
Starting point is 00:22:52 office in January, including high-profile people in politics, reality TV, business, and music. You know, a number of those, they've been connected to things that seem to contradict what he's trying to do as far as policy. It's really fueled a lot of criticism that this administration is very pay for play. And at least for now, there's no reason to expect really anything different. Like, the accountability is, uh, it really doesn't feel like anything anyone should expect while these guys are in power. But that also doesn't mean it should be normalized and we don't take in that information. Right. But then, next up in the news, let's talk about international news, because Thailand has launched air strikes against Cambodia. And so it appears,
Starting point is 00:23:22 is like this decades-old dispute that Trump claims to have ended, it's really not quite over. In fact, reporters asked Thailand's prime minister about the U.S. broker deal recently signed in Malaysia with Trump in attendance, and he responded, I don't remember that anymore. Then also, claiming Cambodia must comply to our conditions in order to stop the fight. And then the Thai army chief of staff, adding that the goal is to render Cambodia incapable of military action for a long time. Also, if right now you're like, homie, what are you even talking about? Sorry, this is, this is like chapter 87. To bring it back, these two countries, they share a nearly 500 mile long border, but they don't agree on exactly where it runs. And that disagree, but at least partly stems from a map that was drawn up by the French when they controlled Cambodia as a colony.
Starting point is 00:23:59 Also, there are competing claims over centuries old temples with cultural significance to both sides. And so for decades, I mean, there have been occasional brief border skirmishes, including back in July when at least 40 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced over five days of fighting. Right, and during that conflict, Thailand deployed F-16s to bomb Cambodian military targets, which was the first time that the country had used fighter jets in combat in three decades. I mean, it was an escalation that, along with pressure from the US helped secure an initial ceasefire and then an expanded agreement in October. With Trump, of course, just jumping at the opportunity to take credit and counting it as one
Starting point is 00:24:28 of the eight wars that he says he's ended and why he should get a Nobel Peace Prize. Right, except last month you had Thailand pulling out of peace talks after two of its soldiers were injured by a landmine and a disputed border area. And then yesterday the country claimed that Cambodian troops opened fire injuring another two soldiers. But on the flip side, you had Cambodia's defense ministry accusing Thailand of firing first using handguns, rocket launchers, and mortars. Right, and claiming that its forces had contacted the Thai side without firing back. But then today, the Thai army again accused Cambodia of opening fire, allegedly killing a soldier this time, and it prompted the airstrikes. And specifically, according to a
Starting point is 00:24:58 spokesperson, fighter jets hit three Cambodian military installations near the border, including a radio tower and a casino near the border that the Thai army alleges is used by Cambodia as a drone base. And so at least as of recording, you have Cambodian officials saying that four civilians have been killed and nine others injured. But with the defense ministry, also condemning the Thai strikes and insisting that it remained committed to implementing the ceasefire. And then also in the meantime, as all of that's playing out, you have hundreds of thousands of lives already being affected. For example, just yesterday, Thai officials were at residents in four provinces along the border to evacuate, to shelter with the military claiming that nearly half a million people had to do so.
Starting point is 00:25:30 And then today, you had Cambodian officials announcing that tens of thousands on their side had moved away from the border as well. But that is where today's show is going to end. Thank you so much for being a part of another daily dive into the dumpster fire that is what is happening right now. And hey, if you'd like to continue avoiding your responsibilities, you can check out the new episodes of my newest podcast. They're both crashing out and in good faith. They're great watches and listens. I've even got links for you in the description so you can watch on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
Starting point is 00:25:55 But hey, no matter what you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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