I Know Why Trump Is in His Shameless Cash Grab Era | Inside Trump's Head

This was a Grif beyond just this. was just a grab in which they didn't even care. That's the moment in which in which this came tumbling down. Part of what is going on now is he's figuring out. what he gets, what he can get. He runs this government. This government, government offers all kinds of opportunities. So they have to figure out what's the opportunity. that they can get away with. It's just pure opportunistic grift.

What he can get away with. What he can get away. That's that's the that's the grifters creed. Michael, are we rolling? Joanna. We are. You've got. What's happening? I'm confused. You've got patterns on. I'm not used to you coming in with patterns. Summer. Oh, it's summer. Patterns summer. Okay, so it's giving me a kind of cornfield vibe. Well, my.

ten year old daughter said it was giving her a kind of a Nazi vibe. Oh, interesting. That's impressive that she knows. the Nazi symbolism, even if Graham Plattner does not. Yes. Yeah. And he got tattooed with it. Nevertheless, I like Graham planners energy. Well. And do you like his texts? I haven't read the text. He texted you. He definitely hasn't texted me, though. We did have him on the Daily Beast podcast and I really enjoyed talking to him. And at the time we had him, he was in Norway with his wife.

She can weigh in on the text because they were having IVF in Norway, because it's $5,000 there, as opposed to $25,000 here. Well, let's I want to I want to find people that he's the Democratic candidate. running for the Senate seat in Maine, where he might upset Susan Collins. Indeed. But I want to come back to this because it gets to the sex in politics. story is a story that is more and more prevalent,

perhaps more and more unavoidable, and. an equal opportunity. Right? But often more interesting than politics. Definitely, definitely. And the Democrats have felt by it just as much as the Republicans are they? Yeah, I have to go. But I think it's well, except for Donald Trump, who. it should have felled, but it managed to actually elect.

Which is another interesting thing about this, that maybe the Democrats are. have this wrong and maybe, maybe they should all be having more sex. Exactly. I mean, there's a there's a thing. But let's come back to that. We have to start by asking people to subscribe. That's where we have to start. Call to action. It's called in podcast parlance. And because we're independent media, we need people support. We need people to subscribe. We're determined to get to 1 million subscribers. So if you haven't subscribed, please hit that subscription.

asking you what what what to subscribe gets anyone. Well, it gets notifications. for when the episodes are dropping because we may end up dropping episodes. It does get notifications because I've subscribed off, I think. I don't get notifications okay, it gets you extra bits of content. There are sure it gets that notification and ask. People have commented frequently, Michael, you've just switched the bell off. There's a little bell thing that you press,

but depending on the tier of subscription, you get extra content. We start with the Trump screaming and swearing at Bibi Netanyahu. that Netanyahu is in the way of Trump getting a deal with the uranium. Let's let's get I think that that's in the I mean, the Iranian thing. is still the major thing in the middle of this presidency. So let's just put that off a little, because I think it really has to. we have to devote a little time to that. But let's do the slush fund because I think it's an interesting it's.

an interesting moment in which he's been told, and basically it's his party that has told him, no way. And and so I think. that obviously prompts the question, what's going on in his head? I mean, he has been he has been bitch slapped on this one. I mean, the whole thing is preposterous to begin with. I'm I mean, you can't even.

This may be a jump the shark moment. I mean, there's so many jumped the shark moments. There's so many. But is this because he said, I don't care about the midterms? And they're like, well, we care about the midterms. We're up for election. Yeah, well, of course, but I think it is also that this is more preposterous. than even the usual preposterous. Right. You know, so he sued himself. You know, he sued the IRS, which is effectively suing himself.

And then he settled with the IRS, which is effectively settling with himself. Right. And the settlement was this $1.8 billion fund, which would be paid out to his supporters effectively. And then on top in the January 6th protesters. Yes. And then on top of that, he gets which no one else in the country. gets, tax forgiveness and family.

immunity he and his family get I mean, the last people, I mean, the people who are who the entire tax system, really, if you think about it, the the whole tax system is, is meant. to supervise people like Donald Trump. because they will cheat otherwise the. so but no, but this settlement means, means that he and his family. get immunity from from from the tax laws.

So so you know, it's. the the entire country. plus the people, the people in. in Congress, the Republicans in Congress said, oh my God, he's really gone to my God moment, right? And particularly the Senate, I think I mean, I think John Thune was going around telling people behind closed doors. This is not going to happen under my watch. Yeah. You know, and and it's this, it's this thing that that this is adding up.

The grift becomes a significant issue. And this was a Griff beyond just. this was just a grab in which they didn't even care. So so that that's the moment. in which in which this came tumbling down. But the interesting thing is what's in Trump's. head about this and what's in Trump's head about about this. And I was poking the people I know who are close to this.

What's he you know, what's going on? And this is what they said. Well, it's back to the drawing board. And I said, well, what does that mean? Right. Then they said, what do you think it means? And I said, come on, come on. And he's going. Part of what is going on now is he's figuring out. what he gets, what he can get. So the idea that he is that he has been.

chastened by this is totally not true, right? It is. It is. There are. He runs this government. This government, government offers all kinds of opportunities. So they have to figure out what's the opportunity. that they can get away with. So basically he's just introducing things. And then if someone says no, that's too much, he's like, okay, on to the next. Basically it's just pure opportunistic grift. What he can get away with, what he can get away.

That's that's the grifters creed. So that's the Grifters Creed. What I can get away with. So is this a lesson for Republican politicians that actually. you can push back and he just goes back to the drawing board? Or do you think he will be now he's got people in his sights. for more retribution because we know that he's motivated by that. Yeah, I know it's much more easy for me to get into his head.

than than it is to get into the Republicans heads. I mean, what have they been thinking about for ten years now? And I think they're constant. This this is a constant measurement on their part of his. of his strength and his shamelessness. and his nuttiness, too. I mean, does he come after I mean, he goes after them. at the expense of himself and his party.

I mean, well, that's what's so crazy that he goes after. after people, I mean, witness, possibly Ken Paxton. I mean, definitely he's now going to be the candidate. Whether or not he wins is another matter in Texas, obviously, after all. But but but what he did there and specifically. he had a significantly safer candidate. in Texas, a Republican, a largely. a Republican who voted the Trump way almost all of the time.

And yet he went with this other person who is. who makes that seat significantly more vulnerable. Well, and he said out loud, I don't care about the midterms. Yes, but nobody believes that he doesn't care about the midterms. Quite the opposite. He he obviously cares about the midterms. or he cares about casting them even in some further.

demonstration of his control over the Republican Party. I mean, it is almost that. And yes, you can say, actually, you might be able to deconstruct. this and say, I don't care about the midterms. What I care about is control over the Republican Party, right? I don't care if I lose. I don't care if you're in the minority, just as long as I control that minority. And I think that's a. that's a plausible way to see this. And it's probably half true, but it doesn't really account.

for what's going to happen to him if he is, if all he does is control a minority party. Okay. So so what's inside his head about Bibi Netanyahu? Axios had this story that dropped on Monday, saying there had been an expletive filled conversation with Donald Trump. basically screaming at the Israeli prime minister, just saying, what are you doing? I think you have to. I think you have to go back to what's inside his head about the war.

Okay. I mean, I mean, remember, we're now sort of back to war, sort of not really. Well, with 13 weeks in. Yes. I mean, this still goes on, but we're actually, you know, we've had a couple of weeks of, of at least respite from, from expending munitions. And, but we now seem to be. surgically back to bombing them.

His he's in a war which he cannot get out of. So I mean let's what's the what's the headline here it is. the no Forever Wars. president is now in a forever war. He cannot get out of it. No matter what he does. And and it is as though the Iranians are trapping him in it. I mean, they're the ones you would think. Obviously, they want to get this out of there.

They want to deal. They want to they want to not be bombed. They want to. They want to put their country back together. But no, what they want to do is be devil Donald Trump. Well, and I think they want to humiliate America. Death to America. Is that right? Yeah. And I'm not even sure that I think I think in their minds, if I got into. the heads of the Iranians, please don't please don't go into the mullahs head. We'll never hear the end of that.

You know that they have this mark. there, Donald Trump, he is so easy to play. You know, I remember in in you know, when you. when you speak to people in New York who dealt with Trump over all those years, you know, and that was always this, you know, he was a great deal maker, you know, that was. and that was always people regarded that as a great people. who knew him as a great joke, because he was a terrible deal. maker, because he he was so easy to read.

He just did the same thing over and over again. He just signaled everything. So and I think that's what the Iranians see now. So he is stuck. Now it becomes, who to blame. Is he going to blame BB, who deserves. certainly a portion of some of this blame. And he does seem to be. Yeah, I mean I was I would say I would say he's kind of he's kind of right.

So according to reports, Trump yelled at him, you're fucking crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this, because of the bombing in Lebanon. And he says it's what's in the way of him getting a great deal done. with Iran, because Iran's like, well, we're not going to do a deal with you. While this is going on. Right. And again, this is this is just the blame part of this exercise.

Iran is not going to do a deal with him because they don't have to do a deal. with him because they are. the, the. the longer they take to do a deal, the more they win, the more their leverage increases. So yeah, I mean, Netanyahu I mean, if we go back to this, why did this war begin? It began because Bibi Netanyahu convinced.

Donald Trump that this would be a cakewalk. And so it is. I mean, I mean, I'm I mean, Netanyahu is probably saying, you know, it's worth it to get to get reamed out. by Donald Trump if, if the. if in exchange, I got the United States to go to war against Iran. Right. Something he has tried to get presidents before Trump to do, all of whom. have turned down the opportunity. And of course, he's got an election coming up in Israel later this fall.

So this is good for him. It's not good for Donald Trump. So their interests completely are misaligned at this point. Yeah. But and we should think about this and keep our eye on who is blamed. Always. Somebody in Donald Trump's world has to be blamed. so that it is clear it is not Donald Trump who is being blamed. Right? It's not his fault. So and one of the things I think,

I think Marco Rubio comes into, into the blame frame, okay, so Marco Rubio, who as we speak is facing. a select majorities arguing for his budget for the State Department. So you think he's going to get blamed? And I think JD Vance has already been blamed isn't he? I mean, he was dispatched to Pakistan to try and do a peace talk. He came straight back because he got to know what? No. And actually Rubio is up now. He's up in Trump's estimation.

Is he up in Trump's estimation or is he up in everybody else's estimation. Which means it goes down in Trump's estimation. Well, that will happen. It hasn't happened yet. Okay. But it is going to happen. You're right. Yes. So say I was right. Can you just say it one more time? This never happens. It never happens that you say I'm right. Well, that's that's what they call chemistry. Oh, is it, is it what they call chemistry or. Well, I'm banking it. I'm banking it. All right.

So Marco Rubio is doing his thing arguing for a huge State Department budget. And Trump, meanwhile, is also saying he's bored of the Iranian talks. It's boring. It's boring to him. It's boring. He'd rather be on the golf. Right. So that's that's in this other this new theme that has come up the. I don't care president, I don't care about. about the midterms, I don't care about the economy. I don't care about the war in Iran. What do you care about cares about golf.

He's played golf 26 times this year. And do you know what? We have an excellent piece by Josh Filo in The Daily. Beast today counting. We're now monitoring the number of truth social posts that Donald. Trump is sending out. He's now sending out 27 Truth Social posts a day. That's what he averaged out on in May. It's the biggest number of truth posts he's done. And it's as if it's his sort of way of signaling to the world. is completely frenzied and panicked and spiraling,

and they're all sent out in the middle of the night. He doesn't sleep, the man doesn't sleep. He doesn't get more than two hours sleep in a row. We know this is actually actually an interesting contrast. between the frenzy, the posting frenzy, and then going out on the golf course. Right? So it is as though, you know, going out on the golf course. It's like, I really don't care. The posts mean I am I'm spiraling. Yeah. I'm spiraling. I'm on my own. I'm anxious.

I just want to make a point. about the golf, because it is really this is fundamental to who Trump is. And during the during the campaign, the 2024 campaign. So running for president is. one of the most spectacularly difficult, demanding things that you can do. And remember, Trump was not the president. He's a candidate. He's he's he's out there. He can't really be, you know, like like anyone in the white House.

And and you can do the, the Rose garden strategy. Well, the, the rose garden, which no longer exists. You can't if you're a candidate, you're out there. You're out there constantly. I mean, it's so bad that actually there's something wrong with it because. by the time you actually if you do win, by the time you win, you're you're dead. But trump every day of the campaign.

that he was in Mar-A-Lago, which was most days. started with 18 holes of golf. So what are you saying that that's what grounds him. And that's what that's what resets him. That's I don't know what I'm saying, except that it's wholly anomalous. His relationship to this job is different from any other. professional politicians relationship to to this job. And I think it's more again, it's more dominant.

It's more I can do whatever I want to do, right? Right. I mean, there is that thing that's that, that fundamental thing, you know, you can't hold me to account. I do what I want to do. Don't don't even try to pin me down. or make me follow your rules. Right. Can you just tell me my favorite anecdote from the campaign trail, which is when he's on the plane and they discover that the plane he's on.

because his own plane has broken down again, because it's an old plane that he's actually on Jeffrey Epstein's plane. It's just my favorite anecdote of the entire campaign. But just for people who haven't heard this anecdote, regular people, regular viewers and listeners will know it and I think will enjoy the retelling. We don't have to dwell on it, but it's such an interesting anecdote. They're on their way from Montana and now I forget. Where are they going? To Salt Lake City. Are they going to Colorado? I think they get into Colorado.

There they his plane. One of the themes of the campaign was his plane breaking down all the time, which is why he got the got this plane from the from the Qatari. This was the new one, the new one, the $400 million plane. just obsessed with this fact. And it made him crazy. And no one in the staff would know what to do. Oh my God, the plane is down again. And then he would the on various.

occasions, whoever was responsible, the engine, the engineer, the maintenance got fired on the spot. So at any rate, they're in Montana. The plane is broken. They have to get a new plane, a charter plane, that's that's brought in. And one of the reasons he doesn't want a charter plane is, is because the charter plane doesn't have the right signage. This signage is so fundamentally important to him.

So a generic plane. Oh my God. Because the point is to have Trump on the side of the plane as it comes down. and as it takes. Exactly. Yeah. And that's always used as a stage set. You know, the the news, his news conferences. are against the background of the plane that says Trump, very, very, very large letters. Anyway, they have to get this, this new plane. The plane comes in there on the plane. It's a very, very bad trip.

So it's turbulent. Yeah. Some of the people I know. on, on, on the plane said, really, this is the worst trip, that these are people on planes all the time. This is the worst trip that they've ever been on, really heart. and throat thinking this could be it. And and on this flight, this has happened there notified. and I guess maybe press questions begin that this is they realize. they're on Jeffrey Epstein's old plane, which, by the way, Donald Trump has been on many, many times in its other incarnation.

But the plane is anyway shaking, rattling, going like this. And then Trump starts to scream, I'm going to die on Jeffrey. Epstein's plane is such a good anecdote from the campaign. I mean, I'm so glad I wasn't on that plane, but fascinating anecdote. All right, so available in my book. All or nothing, all or nothing. Just in case you want to revisit the 2024 campaign. And I'm just going to remind people you've written four books on Donald Trump,

four books on Donald Trump with a variety of incredible sourcing. All right. So New York Times has a piece this morning just saying what we all know, which is that certain diseases are back on the rise. because people aren't having vaccinations, because RFK junior, as you like to say, still, junior at 72. is causing chaos at the Department of Health. Why is he still there?

You predicted he would be gone by now, did I? Well, you predicted that he would at some point. This isn't this is very Trump either. He's now a troublesome figure within the Trump orbit. I mean, the anti-vax position is very unpopular. This is going to become more and more unpopular. The the measles thing is becoming a real issue. and a real personal threat to a lot of people.

So, yeah, I think they're they're they're caught here. I mean, Trump for Trump. has this attachment to RFK Jr. because of the name Kennedy. I mean, it's a real a real emotional thing. I mean, he really would have liked RFK. to have been his vice president in. and not JD Vance. And why didn't that happen? Interest.

That's the first time I've heard you say that. That he wanted RFK as his number two. Oh, yeah. A long, you know, kind of I mean, this this was I mean, Trump would go around. saying this and make people say, I just want you to say it. Trump. Kennedy. How does that sound? Trump? Kennedy. Well, we know how it sounds on the side of the Kennedy Center. It sounds like it's going to be Kennedy again. Exactly. And. and then he would. go, this was this went on for quite a number of weeks.

I think he's going to I think we can get him to do it. I think we can get him to do it. And then the reason that it stopped, I mean, I think there are probably other reasons, and other people would have stopped it. and it would have been clear that this was that this was probably a nonstarter. But Kennedy stopped it. Kennedy said, I don't want to be your vice president. Yeah. I mean, he. and that was still at the moment when he was running for president. Okay. So and I don't know if he assumed that this wasn't real or I don't know,

I don't know the circumstances from his side, but the circumstances. from the Trump side were that Trump was this was a real moment. of enthusiasm bordering on obsession. So and so. At any rate, there's that. And then there's the fact that they do believe within Trump circles, they think that RFK Jr has a very a direct he's a has a direct. hold on the anti-vaxxers.

within the MAGA base, which is a. which is a, you know, a very a very potent base. And for them to, to say at the to get rid of RFK junior and say, you know, okay. And that's another one of those Trump I made a mistake things. which he is never going to say. Still, I think that they may have to at some point. Well, and also, it's one of those things that takes time to play out because just. because people stop having vaccinations, it takes time for diseases to come back.

Right. But now it's very clear that the numbers in various diseases. Well, I think that in that about a lot of. things is a is a kind of good metaphor. because you make these decisions at the time and then they, they, they are revealed or their effects are revealed incrementally. In other words, even the New York Times has this story. We're still not most of the countries not feeling this yet. There's not it, does it?

It takes a lot of this stuff, takes a long time to sink in. Even Trump stuff. This is bad. This is ridiculous. This is preposterous. And yet that's still an abstraction. When does it hit? Now. I think some of this Trump stuff is hitting. We're seeing this. I mean, we're seeing in I mean, certainly in terms of in terms of the health stuff. that we're starting to see, obviously the immigration stuff and,

you know, and it's not just. people, it's not just the videos, but more and more people hear. actual personal stories of things that are happening. to to. people they know or the people they know. No good people are being destroyed by this. Right? And gas prices and then gas gas prices. Yes. Right. That's the thing that's really become the most immediate threat to him, I think, is the you know, they've risen by 30%.

Yeah. No. And that is I mean, that's the that. is then the, the literal manifestation of the war. And it's an interesting thing that the war, the calculation of the war. is not in people killed, but in, in the price of the gas pump. Right. Right. Okay. So what about his health? When we talked last, he had been back to Walter Reed.

He keeps referring to the fact that he's just had an incredible. ace passing of the tests they've been given to him. We haven't actually had any report from the hospital. Sean Barber belly. His doctor has said nobody's ever seen presidential health like this. At the same time, of course, we've got Jill Biden out promoting her book. about the ailing Joe Biden. Why do you think we haven't.

had a report from the hospital? For those people who are listening. on, on, on, on audio, my expression is now a modern deadpan, right? The the answer is obvious. because he's a mess, because this is an 80 year. old obese man who doesn't get. a lick of exercise and who has a.

Negative health diet. So what is he? I mean, we can we can see the the his extremities filling up with fluid. There's a 14 pound weight gain. His blood pressure has, has, has got to be up, which means they're. increasing his blood pressure medication means that he's waking up dizzy. It's a it's a it's a calamity. I mean, we can see this. It's a body struggling against itself, a failing body,

a body struggling against itself. What an image. I think in the people around him are aware of this. I mean, aware of it in, in really in an existential sense. Is it is it possible, is it more likely than not or as likely. as not that just one day he doesn't wake up?

Right when we ask you is when we asked listeners, everybody was like, I don't care if he survives the presidency, can we survive it? Can America survive it? Yeah. No, I mean, well, that is the question. I mean, a different question, but yes, but let me come back to the weight thing. because you flagged the 14 pound weight gain now. and he refers to, you know, fat drugs. Okay. During the campaign.

there was there was a whole. a set of people who I was speaking to, people who kind of denizens. of the moral Lago Terrace, and they were good sources of information. because these are people who hung out. on the terrorists, you know, basically because because Trump was there, because that was a way to get close to Trump, because that was a way to get information about Trump. And so among these people, a handful of people absolutely,

absolutely assured me that he was on GLP ones. and which would explain the weight gain if he was on them. And then he went off them. Why would he come off them? Because they didn't agree with him. I mean, they're not always straightforward. They can give you stomach. I don't know why. I'm just saying that there's a plausible reason, because you're right. that a 14 pound weight gain within basically the last time he was in the.

we got we got a rapport, a physical report, which wasn't that long ago, six months ago. Right, is a lot of weight and it's a lot of weight for someone at that age. Normally at that age, I mean, it also could be getting retaining fluid. It's not good news. Actually, the GOP one explanation is probably the better news than the than the. than the alternatives. Okay, so this morning we woke up to the news that he's replacing.

Tulsi Gabbard. Who who left because her husband has got cancer. as head of intelligence with a man called. Okay. Yeah, but let me just say, literally nobody believes that she left because she was pushed out, right? And she left because she wasn't really involved in. any of the decisions that required that a head of intelligence be involved. Right. She I think she posted pictures of herself doing warrior one. or warrior two yoga pose on the beach in Hawaii as.

the bombs were beginning to drop in Iran because she didn't even know about it. It's my understanding. Anyway, she's she's being replaced by a man called Bill palsy, whose head of the national housing thing. Right. Can you, can you? Is this. Do we care? Yeah. Well, no, no, I mean, I think it's interesting because just. when you think that Trump couldn't find any more. inappropriate, unqualified, moronic people.

to fill to fill the jobs around him, he does find someone. Right, right. You sent a bill? Yeah. So? So this guy, this guy. And it's interesting what he is noted for within the Trump circle. and what Trump in the reason Trump has singled him out for, for affection and elevation is that. is that he has used the mortgage laws.

in banking, the banking, the relationship you have with your bank when you get a mortgage and the and the. the technicalities of that relationship to go after Trump enemies. He loves this, right? So he did this with Tish James, right? Because she's got two homes and he went after saying that. she claimed one as a primary residence, when in fact it was the other. And she had a niece staying there. And. Right. And then it sort of got thrown out and, and also the woman on the,

on the Federal Reserve, Lisa Cook. on the board of the fed, that's a very flexible mind you got there. So I hope so. Although I'm still struggling with the names. God school tomato. What was the other one. White pants. No not pants. Leg legs. Not pants. So yes, that's his contribution. That has been his singular contribution to the Trump government.

So retribution for Trump's enemies. So and that was if you do this, if you align yourself with his mission. to go after his enemies, you're really gold. And we should come back to Todd Blanche on on on that. But but the point about Bill is that he's incredibly loyal. and he's been egging Trump on to go after his enemies. Correct? Well, I mean, I know yeah, we don't need to egg him on.

No you don't you don't need to. He's found ways. That's what his usefulness. Okay. Let's go. We can do this. These mortgage things. You know, if you look at the fine print, we can get anybody and. And so that's delightful to Trump. But the. other interesting thing about this guy, also, we should point out that he has no, no experience in the intelligence community at all. Nothing completely unqualified.

And in that vein, it's interesting that he comes. his family is a major family in, in, in in the housing industry. Right. In building houses. Right? Yes. And and they have thrown him out and they, they, they keep disavowing. He's not in my and he keeps trying to use that as his, as a major credential, professional credential.

And the family keeps saying no, no, no, no, he's not involved. We don't have anything to do. And he doesn't speak for us. Right? He's not on the board. Nothing to do with the company. Anything. Right. Nothing to do. Not us. Never heard of the guy. Well, you've heard of him. Now he's back. The relative. You spurned his back running the intelligence services. I mean, it's just incredible. Imagine working for the CIA or the FBI. and having to deal with this guy who knows nothing.

Nothing about what they're doing. I mean, it's incredible. It's incredible. All right, so Pete is busy blocking women rising in the. in the military. What do we think about this? Not not just women. Women and and and and black, black men who are. who are in the, in the chain of command. and who are expecting and promotion and by any,

any other, in any other. normal moment would be promoted. Right. So no female officers were included on the new one. star list, which was released last week. Despite the fact that women make up 21% of the active duty Navy. And the list includes only two nonwhite officers. So this is, in other words. But the background this is this is pro-forma. These are these are.

These a population of colonel? These are all colonels. Right. And who then come up for promotion. Right. You know, the nature of the military is that, you know, you come up for promotion, you have to be that's what happens. Or then you're kind of have to leave. So, so this is a lot of talent. who have who have risen to this point. You're not you're not at the point of, of a promotion to a.

to a general command unless you have, well, unless you've done the work, unless you've done the work. 38% of the Navy are nonwhite, and only two of them have been promoted. Remember, this is a kind of policy within the Trump administration, D-I initiatives, diversity initiatives. We don't want that anymore. All of them have been canceled, and public companies have had to drop.

diversity from their kind of homepages, all that stuff. Right. And let's, let's. there's a kind of there's an argument that you can make. that diversity dei initiatives when went too far. And all in all of all of that. and, and and the Trump administration has probably gotten some credit. for for doing that for reining that in. But the, the the line and obviously.

I mean it's an important line between. anti pro anti diversity. Anti diversity. Yeah. Pro anti diversity and racism. and misogyny is a is. you know once you cross that line everything begins to change. And there is within that the Trump orbit.

This is a very real thing. I mean Stephen Miller for instance. it is not hard to see that he is not just. just anti-de di. di. Yeah. Anti-de. And kind of. whatever that rationale, he's a racist. I mean, he's a, he's a person. I mean, I mean, there is a deep seated.

old fashion unreconstructed. We don't like people who are different from us. We don't like brown people. Yeah. And and this is and I think Trump. I mean Trump is, is I've sort of seen this in action. And I've certainly spoken to a lot of people around Trump who don't feel that, who don't feel who are not in themselves racist and are kind of like, And then the question is, is Trump.

a racist? Is Trump an anti-Semite? Is Trump a misogynist? And it always kind of goes, well, well, you know, you have to think of him as a kind of, you know, a guy from the 50s and 60s. So it's not really he doesn't really hate people. I mean, this is this is this is what people say. Yeah. This is a kind of strangled rationale, but he's of a time of a time and.

Yeah, of the time of all the time. But he's currently president of a modern country. Well, at least a half modern country. That's that's sort of the issue. Yeah. Okay. Divided between a modern country and and a country. So your friend Melania has been back in the news, or rather, the ex-girlfriend of Paolo's and Polly. The model agent has been back in the news because she made an accusation.

on Elon Musk's platform X, saying that she knew about Melania's background with Jeffrey Epstein. The post that she put out there was immediately taken down, but by then it had taken off, and the conversation. all over the web yesterday was that she. that that Jeffrey Epstein had introduced. Donald and Melania. I think it was more pointed and explicit than that.

Amanda Narrow was the girlfriend of Paolo Zamperini. They had a trial together. She overstayed her visa. Somehow the Immigration department found out about it. She has been. She went back to her native Brazil, but minus her child, and she's clearly extremely distressed about it. She been posting significantly about it. Many people thought that her posts. were the.

inspiration for Melania to come out and make her very peculiar speech. a few weeks ago, saying that she didn't know Jeffrey Epstein. She wasn't a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. She'd never really been in Jeffrey Epstein's world. Thoughts? I mean, we can just read the quote. I mean, she says, let's tell the public you never. was the one introducing Melania to Trump. It was Jeffrey Epstein as she was escort of Jeffrey Epstein.

That's how she met Donald Trump, is what. this woman says. And this woman who had been, you know, in a in. quite a close relationship with, with Melania, were they roommates? Well, they were models at the same time. And there are plenty of photos of them at New Year. hanging out with the Trumps, Paolo's and Poli and and Donald Trump. And he's an ambassador for Trump.

He issued a statement saying, I think it's a disgrace that she dares to say this about a marvelous first lady. You know, there's not a denial there. just to. to know that's a that's what we used to call a non denial. Denial. Right. I will say Amanda on the tape. sounded like she could be under the influence of something. drugs, drink or just. sheer distress at having lost access to her child.

Yeah, I don't know. And I and I don't I don't know this. I don't know anything about this woman. I don't know anything about that relationship. I don't know, but I do know that what she is. speaking into the the sort of the, the black hole she's speaking into is that nobody really knows about. about Melania Trump, of how she got of, of what she was doing in New York, how she got here, the terms of that, the terms of her employment.

It's a mystery, and it's a mystery that she has. Melania Trump has worked very, very hard to keep a mystery. So, you know, she's obviously there is some vulnerability in in whatever her. I guess. you her origin story is well, and the interesting thing. to when she's given the opportunity to make the movie with Amazon, she makes it about the 20 days in the run up to the inauguration.

She doesn't make it about what is, after all, an unbelievable immigrant story that you come to America. I mean, it's the ultimate in the American dream. You come as a young model and you end up as the first lady. representing the United States. What an incredible story. She chose not to tell. Right. And, you know, and I think probably for obvious reasons, I mean, the coming. coming to New York in the 1990s.

as a model from Eastern Europe. is a potentially likely a pretty fraught story. So where is your case with Melania? We now got thrown out of federal. We'll have some we'll have some news on on this. Okay. Because I know that lots of people who supported you on. Go Fund me of very invested in what happens. No, no, I mean, it is this case. This case will certainly go on. And this is in no way I mean, this is.

this is the process that goes on, and it's a process that we are. wholly committed and wholly funded to keep pursuing. Great. We have a Limerick from Garth Reid. Thanks for reemerging. Garth Reed, who's also written Something Longer he sent to us. because he says he can do more than just limericks. So I must forward that to you. But in the meantime, there once was a don in DC.

who'd sue just to hear look at me. With Blanche at his side and Vance. being fried, he named every grudge policy. fantastic. Fantastic, Godfrey. Thank you. Do we want to just quickly revisit the sex scandals? I'm going to be talking to Farrah Thomson on Friday, our reporter. in DC about the number of sex scandals among the Republicans. But of course, Graham Platten has been caught up with sexual texts.

or sexy sent to women. And it was actually his wife who brought this up, I think, because she wanted to get it out there now. Well, you know, I think it is. And given given. electronic media, its usefulness. in the pursuit of what we used to call. meretricious relationships, right. And and the fact that that, that.

electronic media somehow. reliably becomes. public means that more and more and more and more. political figures are getting caught in this because. politicians. I mean, because people say stupid things. Well, you know, I mean,

desire is cheesy. I think it's almost always cheesy. And it now gets memorialized in electronic media, and it is deeply embarrassing. to if you're a public figure. We can go back to Anthony Weiner. Remember Anthony Weiner. The more interesting point may be that while it was obviously. disqualifying for Anthony Weiner,

it may not now be disqualifying. I mean, it may now be that, that, that, that everybody has texted something embarrassing, something cheesy, something that they shouldn't have done. And maybe that there is, at this point, a kind of unexpected level of tolerance. I don't know, we may find this out with Mr. Platner. Well, and he these were all sent before he started running for office.

I mean, he's got plenty of embarrassing posts on Reddit, too. I mean, but his I mean, he may be there may be so much embarrassing, so much stuff about him. I mean, this may be the the we're on the, you know, this is this becomes kind of kind of the Trump model. The more embarrassment, the more chance you have of of escaping. Right. Of actually. Well, and clearly. the Democrats knew some of this, which is why they were actually behind.

the governor of Maine, Janet Mills, who was running for the seat. The problem with Janet Mills, who's been a popular. governor, is she would be 80 when she went into the Senate. And by. by comparison, Graham Plattner looks like a sort of energetic. I hate to say, but sort of full blooded guy, a full blooded guy. Yeah, I know that sounds wrong. That probably does sound wrong, doesn't it? I haven't read the text, so I don't know.

But his wife put them out, I think. Is that is that weird? It's kind of weird. Yeah, yeah. Well, green platinum, a full, full blooded guy, I think. Godfried, you can do something with that. All right. We will be back on Thursday. I want to come back to this as a theme. Okay, well, let's come back to it on Thursday. Sex and politics. Sex and politics. And actually, is it maybe a qualifier? I mean, look at Jeff Bezos, his his text, his pictures got leaked to the National Enquirer. And the next thing you know, he's.

he and Lauren are having the biggest wedding the world has ever seen. They took over Venice and they couldn't be happier. You don't have to vote for him. And I don't think anyone would vote for him. You do vote for him. Well, I was going to say you do vote for him every day. by choosing to use Amazon. Right. Well, I'm not exactly sure. We have a lot of people who really don't like Amazon. A lot of people comment and say, hey, Amazon not using Amazon. It's very easy not to use Amazon. I think they just had their best quarter ever. So I think this is they may say, but they still do it.

Yeah. All right. Big thanks to our production team. Oh, I thought you were going to thank me. No, I'm not thanking you. Ryan, Rachel, Neil. and Heather and John, thank you so much. See you on Saturday. So the good news is we have so many beast tier members now. There are too many names to read out and we really appreciate your support.