I Know Why Trump Is Terrified of Firing RFK Jr. | Inside Trump's Head

They don't want to fire him because he has the Maha. constituency is significant. They feel to their to the Trump base. So they want him to go away but not go away mad. That's a powerful constituency. If he becomes their enemy. Tucker has become there. and there's only so many enemies in their own base they can afford. We are seeing the gradual defense of RFK Jr.

Still junior at 72. Michael. Juliana. How goes. It's a lot. As as close observers of this podcast will know, this is not my usual background. I'm in my childhood home where my mum is terminally ill. And what I've discovered through so many notes from people and comments. and emails is how many people are going through this.

right now and have gone through this and how devastating it is. And we mentioned last time when we were talking about it, this is something. that everybody inevitably goes through, but it's very hard to prepare for. My mum has pancreatic cancer, which is a you know, it's a nasty cancer. A lot of people out there have had run ins with it and lost loved ones. And just a big thank you to everybody who's written in. and this is this is difficult.

But I didn't want to pretend that it was business as usual because it's not. But as they say, thank you for asking. Yeah. No, as as you know, I've been through this and as as we've discussed, everyone is inevitably heading for this so. Well. And the weird thing is a little bit like we talked about often. at the beginning of the Trump madness of Trump, too.

You walk outside, you order your cappuccino, the sun's shining, and you think, can all this really be going on? Is America being dismantled brick by brick? And it's a little bit like that. You walk outside, people seem to be having normal lives and you think, But I'm dealing. with this enormously. And then you think, well, other people are dealing with it too. And we all potter around. as if it's not going on when it is. Anyway, anyway, we have a lot to discuss. We've got all our friends.

We've got frat boy hackers that we need to get into. We've got RFK junior, who's still junior at 72. As you're always pointing out, we have a lot of stuff to get through. I know the the. And don't forget Cache Patel and don't forget Tucker. I mean, it's a a great it's a great cast of characters. I mean, it's a rogues gallery characters. It's a rogues gallery, actually. Of of.

It's extraordinary. Yes. Today, the New York Times, we're recording on this on a Saturday morning US time. And the New York Times has dropped a podcast which is almost two hours long, an interview with Tucker Carlson, which will get into a bit later. And it's not just the podcast because they reproduce and they reproduce. the podcast word for word in the paper. It's a it's actually a monumental Tucker package. Well, he must be involved. Well, it's in contrast to.

I wrote a book a couple of years ago about Fox News, and Tucker. was one of the main characters, of course, in, in at Fox News and in, in my book. And I was with him. and I think this would have been the spring of 2022, when The New York Times did a three part series about him. Devastating. I mean, it was just every just taking him apart, everything that he had ever said.

I mean, it was a real, a real, a real focus. All the guns on Tucker Carlson. So now I think it's just worth pointing out more as a media point. than anything else that because Tucker has, has now. disassociated himself from Donald Trump, he gets to. gets quite a respectful treatment from the New York Times. Well, I will confess, I'm halfway through it. I started listening to it somewhat surreally, picking up.

medicines for my mum in the local pharmacy. So I'm halfway through it. But he sounds so convincing, and I want to remind people. a little bit later on at some of the texts and the emails that surfaced. during that Dominion battle, when, of course, he got fired for. for as part of the settlement, they wanted the head of Tucker Carlson. Yeah. Well, let's let's talk about that because I know I know. a considerable amount about that, because I've known Tucker for a very long time.

Well, we should talk about that. But I wonder if we talk about it later, because I would love to get into. what on earth is going on with the appointment of the Surgeon general. We haven't had a surgeon general since Donald Trump took over in Trump two, which makes me wonder if we actually even need one. Well, let's let's look at this. The more global global issue. And there are two levels. First, the the level of all of the people around Donald Trump.

And, you know, they're now like. each one in turn seems to be. in danger of his of of losing his position, his or her position. Many are her, many hers so far. And and this is among Donald Trump's problems. This is a central one that he is staffed the administration. with people who everyone, everyone thinks are jokes.

And that is also this is. certainly true of RFK Jr, but also very specifically directed at him. because he has become the face of something that is deeply, deeply unpopular, which is the anti-vax position, you know, and that's a kind of worth noting. that that anti-vax position became.

something that that central to MAGA. and something that much of the media credited with, with, with, with being behind. Donald Trump's 2024 victory. Well, it turns out, in fact, that the anti-vax position. is wildly unpopular, wildly unpopular everywhere. That whole idea that this was part of a new movement. in America is flat out wrong.

So they are now stuck with RFK junior. and his the the the anti-vax face. So what do they do now? What I'm hearing is that they're trying to get rid of them. I mean, and they are trying to to get him. the way this was put to me, they are trying to get him to go. So the rationale that they're trying. to get him to relinquish power himself, they're not going to fire him.

They want him to somehow resign. Right? They don't want to fire him because he's he's he you know, he has the Maha constituency is significant. They feel to their to the Trump base. So they want him to go away but not go away mad. Wow. What. do they think would happen if he went away mad.

Well it's just a that's a that's a powerful constituency. If he becomes their enemy. I mean we'll get we'll get to Tucker in a in a minute. But Tucker has become there and there's only so many enemies. in their own base they can afford. Well, and you have always made the point that that he, like Tucker, is contemplating standing in 2028 as president himself. So this would be a way of him taking his base, perhaps with him and building on it for 2028, though, it's hard to.

to believe anybody could possibly vote for RFK junior, apart. from Cheryl Hines, who, you know, tragically was trailing. behind him as Secret Service led him out of the ballroom. at the white House Correspondents Dinner last week. I saw so many memes of Cheryl. sort of running behind him as he was led away. You would think they might remember the wives. And in all this.

there is. You know, it's also worth noting that Tucker and RFK. are closely aligned in some sense. RFK is a Tucker creation. I mean, that was his sort of that was his first. his first big media base in the 20. when he became a 2024 candidate. Tucker's show. So the first two nominations. for the secretary general, the first one was Jeanette near Swat.

I think that's how we pronounce it. What's surgeon general? Sorry, sorry, surgeon general. She was dismissed. General. Is that the UN? Yeah, I knew there was a general in there somehow. Okay, so Surgeon General first. First nominee was Jennette Nash. What? She was dismissed because it turned out, though, questions about her academic qualifications. Casey means after a year has finally been put to one side.

So we've we've not had a surgeon general for the first, what, 16 months of Donald. Trump's second administration and the third one, Nicole Sapphire. is an expert in in breast cancer in Casey Means. Just got the ax this past week. Yeah this happened on Thursday. So so this seems much more significant.

than just someone having their nomination withdrawn. No. And there's also at the CDC, there was a. RFK lost his choice in the white House, imposed another choice, a doctor Schwartz doctor Erika Schwartz. So he's being the white House is trying. is trying to essentially curtail. or limit RFK junior. And they're trying to put in their own people who are mostly less.

extreme, certainly on the anti-vax side than RFK. So, I mean, I think we can, you know, I mean, it's certainly we we are seeing. the gradual defenestration of RFK junior, still junior at 72. Still, we should always remind people of that. Still junior at 72. Yeah. And Casey Means was particularly problematic.

She hadn't finished her residency. She'd suspended her own license to practice. She was very much an entrepreneur who is a big believer in metabolic health. So she wanted everybody wearing a glucose monitor, which, happily, she sells through her own company called levels. Nicole Sapphire, who's now been. nominated instead, is, of course, she is a doctor. She's head of, I think, breast cancer radiology.

in in New York at one of the big hospitals in New York, but also a Fox News contributor, which is probably where she first surfaced. And she also has her own business. Interestingly, she suffers from Hashimoto's disease, which is an autoimmune disease that actually attacks the thyroid. And of course, she has her own company full of organic supplements. So if you need some tinctures, Michael, I recommend you go on, drop our X. and you can support our potential new Surgeon General.

No. The entire right wing appears to be supported by supplements. So do you. How does this go down? Obviously taking them to. Well, so do you. Does RFK junior at 72. Does he leave voluntarily? Isn't this the most exciting thing that's ever happened to him? Here's a man who's been trying to fulfill his destiny.

He's finally swinging his legs from a cabinet secretaries. chair. Yeah. I mean, if they want you to leave, you're going to leave. Absolutely. And and so, I imagine, I mean, I assume that what. that's what's going on right now. They are negotiating a leave taking. They don't want him to go in a hostile fashion. They will probably find something else for him. And by the way, that's not so bad for him either.

I mean, he is now a national figure. He has his own constituency. He's got if he wants to take the next step. Then he has to get out there. He has to free himself from the from the Trumpers. And I'm not sure you want to be. You want to you want to be bolted on to this, to this white House. You want an independent, an independent life, an independent platform, and then you want to devote your time to raising money and running for president.

Well, and he may want to start a supplement business. He's. going to have to finance the campaigns and to direct a supplement business. Cheryl Hines has her own bath and body business, which I can't remember if you've. I feel like we talked about the ad where RFK Jr at. 72, is in the shower behind her, and she's kind of blocking his tackle, as it were. So he appears to be naked, but you never actually see anything,

as Sylvia Plath would say. You never see the turkey giblets, but he's promoting her bath and body line, so they could do a quick year at that, build up some resources. because he won't have. his previous. supporter. No, but I don't think that I think he's gone. I think the entire RFK junior. career has has changed. I mean, he he went from a marginal figure to now he's.

a central figure in the conservative movement. So I think that there's probably. an enormous amount of of money that will be available to him. I mean, this is this is I mean, one of one of the things that I think. you can say about this, about this administration, is that. it has elevated all kinds of. of unlikely people to national stature.

Indeed, indeed. And also, we mentioned in the last podcast the recent spate of hearings. and will come on to the frat boy, Pete Hegseth, in a moment. But RFK sat through, I think, seven hearings, seven committee hearings, and by the end of it, you just thought that he'd been pretty much shredded. Yeah. Nobody in the white House was was, was happy about this. I mean, it is just a thing. It was a misunderstanding that has now been corrected.

The anti-vaxx position is not popular, and I think it's come as a kind of a shock to a lot of people. There there was I mean, we've all lived through this, this idea that that suddenly there was this reaction. in the United States against vaccines. turns out totally wrong. Everybody wants their vaccines. except some, you know, oddballs, right? And nobody wants measles.

And having eradicated the disease wholly in 2020. It's now back with an estimated 6000 cases this year. We're projected to have, what about the damage she has done to science and scientific research? Is that coming up at all as you talk to people? Well, you know, it's one of the things that's, that's that's coming up is an interesting. it's interesting is that a lot of the money.

that has been cut appears to be returning. So this is I mean, you know, and it's one of those. those few instances where I think that the Trumpers are looking at this. and saying, hey, you know, you know, we've really got a course correct on this. This is radically unpopular. But how could they ever think that it would be popular in the first place? Everybody knows someone who's got some sort of disease where America.

is ahead of everybody else in terms of trying to figure out the cure for it. It's just it's astounding that. they would think that could have been a popular position. Oh, we're going to cut cancer research. We're going to cut clinical trials. How could that possibly be popular with people? You know, I think I think this this was just a general, you know, the the fog of politics. that somehow this became an idea.

that America had profoundly changed in this regard. And you saw this everywhere through the certainly. through the through Covid and the 2024 campaign. These were the things people didn't want this. There was a rebellion against science, against medicine. And it just turns out not to be true. It's crazy. And yet Donald Trump talks about bombing Iran back to the Stone age, and his own.

health department is trying to take American science back to the Stone age. No. And there was another there was a decision this this week. by an appeals court on, on. on MyFord Preston, which is the which is the abortion drug. And you take a pill and, you know, it's the it's the. it's the method of abortion, which has become infinitely more popular. since abortion has been been been.

been made illegal in many states. Yeah, yeah. You know, in that's that's something in that within the white House. that is going to be something else that will be that, that there. You know, they regret this. They know that this is not a popular issue now. And actually on the on the I remember at one moment. on the campaign trail, Trump was asked. about about misoprostol.

And, you know, clearly he had he had no idea what this was. And I remember his his immediate answer was was, we're we're going to we have a position on that. We're going to make that clear in two weeks. Of course, those. The two weeks and the two weeks. Yes. Well, well just explain. Yeah. Just explain the two weeks because I love this as a as how Trump operates.

For those who didn't hear it. when you discussed it last time, it's such a good insight into Trump. Well, whenever he doesn't know something, whenever he gets hung up about something, it's just two weeks. I'm going to I'm going to we're going to discuss that in two weeks. Let me get back to you with two weeks, even in the war, you know, in the in the. you know, this this the cease fire was supposed to last two weeks. And he has a special understanding of that, which is that during the first week,

people still remember, but by the second week everybody forgets. Well, especially the pace with which he works. So the decision on Stone was what exactly? I will confess, this is one I slightly dropped, which I shouldn't have done, but what was the decision? So the appeals court has restricted me for Preston in, in in states. I mean any it we the court. the courts have now allowed states to put up put up, you know, really kind of.

absolute restrictions against getting, getting the oral abortion drug. It's just extraordinary. The rights of women are being stripped back all the time. Maybe maybe this is something Jeff Bezos can deal with. And maybe they can make it available on Amazon, as apparently they. are thinking of rebooting The Apprentice because Amazon got the rights. to The Apprentice in some deal, I think with MGM,

and they're thinking of rebooting it with Don Jr. as the host. You know, it's interesting because I remember when. and I guess this was this was in the first. in the first flush of the second term. when all kinds of media companies were. were either settling their the lawsuits that Donald Trump had brought against them. or rushing down to see how they could court favor with the new administration.

And the people at Warner Brothers discovery went down, had a meeting in the white House with with top Trump aides. And very specifically, they were told, well, why don't you look. at the example of Amazon and Jeff. Bezos paying Melania Trump $40 million? And then they went on to say that there were, in fact, other members of the Trump family who might like a.

Their own particular shows specifically. and specifically, it was that John Don Jr would have. would like a show about hunting and fishing, and that was. specifically on the Discovery Channel, which I guess would have been appropriate. But but Jeff Bezos certainly. has gotten the message. So this would be yet.

another suck up from Jeff Bezos to the Trump administration. He's using corporate resources to give money. to people in the Trump family and the Melania movie. I mean, the Melania movie, I mean, can't can't possibly. have been a a financial success for. for Amazon and certainly not, shall we say, a critical success. Well, I think it took 16 million at the box office, global box office.

They paid her, I think 40,000,028 was what she actually got. And then they spent another 35 million promoting it. I mean, I guess it goes on their service. So I don't know how many people have actually watched it on the on. Amazon Prime. Perhaps over the years, the long tail of it. will repay their $75 million. I seriously doubt that.

Just amazing. And I think and if and if the the the Trump's exit. public life as as I expect they will. I don't think you'll you'll ever be able. to see Melanie of the movie. Do you think that Don. Jr who I will confess I don't have as much experience of. Do you think he would be a suitable replacement for his father? I remember Martha Stewart and Schwarzenegger and and Trump.

delighting with glee that their ratings. were not as good as his. Would this be something that the son would be forced to do. under pressure from his father, and then it wouldn't work? I'm sure it wouldn't work, but. And I'm. But I'm sure he wouldn't be forced. I'm sure he'd be delighted to do it. I mean, he's always do.

well. Hunting and fishing could run for president. I mean, he probably sees this. I will I will become the, the the host of The Apprentice. And then I will become the president of the United States. Let's now discuss, Tucker, let's discuss this two hour podcast. that The New York Times put out two interviews by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. of The New York Times with Tucker Carlson, two interviews that they put together. Okay. And then the background of this is that Tucker, last week, week.

before last came out in a very vocal way, a very kind of an extraordinary way. to say that that he was that he has. he not only was against the war in, in Iran, but he regretted his support. for Donald Trump from the very beginning. And. there's a. there's a back and forth in the, in the, in the New York Times interview.

about Tucker calling Trump the Antichrist, which then Tucker. says he didn't do, but then they produce the evidence that he did. And, you know, at any rate, he was everything that he says. about Donald Trump at this point is a. What I've seldom heard, actually, a former supporter, even a former supporter, damn, someone like this.

And that, of course, as we said before, is the reason that the New York Times is now is now deviating. from their past coverage of Tucker and making him somewhat of a poster boy. Which is not to defend Donald Trump, but. Right. But but we have heard this because when it looked as well, when when Trump lost the election in 2020. and the case for Dominion,

the voting machine company, brought its case. against Fox News for arguing that Trump had actually won the election. The problem was with the voting machines, a case that was settled for almost $1. billion in damages, and Tucker Carlson's job, he lost his job over it. Texts and emails surfaced that were going on. And I've got some here. Tucker, I this is Tucker Carlson about Donald Trump in January 21st.

I hate him passionately. We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait. What he's good at is destroying things. And then he described his presidency, his first presidency, as a disaster with no upside. So we know that he thought this about Trump. Well, I know it even more intimately because I've been talking to Tucker. from certainly from the earliest point in to even before.

2016 about Trump. And his view of Trump has always been. harsh, disparaging and harsh. And also Tucker has been a fantastic source for me. He knows all kinds of. all kinds of inner workings, the. the negative spin on the inner workings of the of the Trump White House, which he do you still talk to me and to others?

Yeah, on occasion I do. Yes. And so but I think that that's an interesting example. I mean, because it is not. Tucker is emblematic. of people around Trump who. who are incredibly in public and professionally, completely loyal to Trump and in private. are unsparing in their descriptions of, of of Trump as a,

as a buffoon and moron, incompetent and, and a man with malice in his heart. So the question is, is this. is this not only a break in MAGA, but the kind of break in which we will see. other people who have expressed their true feelings that they're the,

the, the Republicans and MAGA people suddenly are. Will they be feel that. there is permission or the beginnings of permission. to state their real feelings about Donald Trump? I mean, one of the interesting things in the in the interview, when people have finished watching and listening. to this podcast, it's very important you do that forecast first. If you decide to listen to the daily.

What's fascinating is, is Tucker saying that it's as if Trump. casts a spell on those around him, and that you can end up. getting very confused by the end of spending time with. Or at least Tucker says, that that's his experience of being with him, and that he watches how people around Trump get weaker. because Trump is able to sort of squash them. just by sheer dint of personality. I actually feel that he's got the sort of opposite effect.

on lots of people, which which is that they harden their positions against him. But Tucker's suggestion was that it was almost a sort of. surreal, out of body experience being with Trump. He was so powerful. I mean, he literally said, it's spellbinding. It's as if he's cast a spell. Yeah, I think this is this is rationalizing. because in my experience, Tucker has been.

absolutely clear about his. feelings about Donald Trump, his view of Donald Trump. He's been actually incredibly insightful. and uncompromising in his view. that Trump was was a. was unfit to be the president. of the United States. I mean, this seems to be. the feeling of so many people around him. That's what makes it just I mean,

but just understand this because I think it's hard for people to understand this. This is the world of politics. Politics is in politics. You have to accept what is if you. and what is, is that Donald Trump was elected by the American people. He you know, if if you want a career in the Republican Party, it is Donald Trump and you have only so much leeway. So, yes, and that's immoral to want a career,

having to support someone who. who you feel is, is, is unfit. Absolutely. But at the same time. You know, the world is as it is. And that's the that's the central lesson of politics. Oh, goodness. What a it's just that may be true, but the interesting thing is. that that may be changing.

The other thing about politics is it changes the world is. as it is at this moment and that it changes. Do you think it's changed or do you do you think King Charles's. visit will have any longer term impact? Do you think it was just a couple of great speeches, or do you think. actually it will have left a legacy to improve things? No. Well, I think I think all of this stuff, I think it it accrues.

And the question is how much of it occurs. In other words, it's. were this just to be an. where King Charles to be an isolated incident in which you see. Donald Trump and King Charles and King Charles is obviously the. the more intelligent, rational, dignified and. And approachable. figure, then that probably would have gone away. But if you combine King Charles with the war in Iran with ice,

with the failing economy, with tariffs, with all of the morons that surround. Trump, well, that's a that's pretty impactful. Well, I wanted to give a shout out. We forgot to mention this last Thursday when we were wildly enthusiastic, or I was certainly wildly enthusiastic about the King's speeches. Shout out to the person who found the bell. It must be incredibly difficult to find a gift for Donald Trump, and Charles.

managed to find a bell from a submarine. which, who knew had been called HMS Trump. And if you're in the diplomatic department and your job is finding gifts. that certainly deserves, I think it deserves a prize. because Trump looked thrilled with it. I'm sure he can put it on his resolute desk, which was made from wood. and was a gift from Charles's great great great grandmother, Victoria.

I think that's right. So what a what an incredible gift for someone. Hard to think of something. And of course it was shiny, which we know that Trump loves shiny objects. Shiny objects that he can just bang when he wants attention. Although we know that he has his buzzer for the Diet Coke on the on the desk, which I think you reported first years ago from Trump won. Let me, let me, let me I just want to go back to Tucker, because I really think that this Tucker thing is,

is a potentially a hinge moment. And, and and to also point out that Tucker Carlson is running for president. I mean, that's what this is. He has identified this issue. And I think it's a powerful issue and possibly a mortal issue for Donald Trump. The war in Iran. How did you think our favorite frat boy, American boy doll, as I think of him, did in his hearings?

Because that was all about the war to, I think, interrupt. I have A4A4 year old who's just come back. from his first tee ball experience. Sweet. Oh, hackers. Yeah. Hangers. Oh my God, Hagar's. You know, I mean, to me, he's he's the the cannon fodder. It's interesting that the that that the secretary.

of of defense or the secretary of war. is the person who, who, who sends, sends people into, into harm's way. And in this instance, I think Trump is sending him into harm's way. Trump is pushing him out there again and again. He just made made. Hagar's go on, go out and and defend. this idea that they don't have to report.

They don't have to ask Congress for permission about the war. at the 60 day mark, which they the legislation clearly says they they do. So you know, I mean, I think I think along with RFK Jr, we ought to start to start the clock on Hagar's. someone is going to pay for this war. And hackers. who was really, I thought, taken apart by the Democrats. actually, many of whom had served alongside him in Iraq and Afghanistan to.

so he couldn't pull the well, I've served and you haven't obviously Jason Crow. and Elissa Slotkin and Seth Moulton all went off to him, and their experience is every bit as good as his in the battlefield, which is something he holds aloft all the time. But he's trying to get other things. Did you just stop? Did you just stop?

You interrupt me. and then you suddenly thought better of it, and now you're laughing. Now you're laughing. I was I was simply going to say that. Of course, Hedges has found a loophole. He's found a 14 day loophole because of this supposed ceasefire, which means that if you have a ceasefire, then you can tack it onto the 60 days, by which point you're supposed. to have congressional approval, when in fact they've just road roughshod. They've driven a coach and horses through the notion of congressional approval.

Now, please, Michael, continue. You know, I don't think. I mean, it's it's again, Hargus is one of those. those people that everybody I mean, 100% of everybody. in, in, in Washington, in the military. with any association with, with, with with the military. feels is is inexplicable.

This this co-host of the week of a weekend. television show sits at the highest level of the. of the industrial military complex. and worth pointing out that that that as. this war is waged, the US munitions are being. our being are being decimated at a level that we cannot keep up with. So that's the guy who we.

who we depend on. Well, and the other thing is that he's asking for a record. $1.45 trillion for the Pentagon budget. And this is a man who ran two Veterans affairs organizations. and left, both under accusations of drunkenness and incompetence. I mean, the idea that you would take someone like that and a allow them to ask.

for such an enormous budget, record breaking budget. and then entrust it to Pete Hegseth, seems to be a terrible lapse in judgment. And speaking of drunkenness and incompetence, that means that perhaps we should go on to cash Patel, strangely missing, conspicuous by his absence at the state dinner. He was not on the guest list and causing a lot.

of unpleasant attention for for Donald Trump. Well, I mean, so we have we have three figures. here in our cast of characters RFK. Junior hangers, Cash Patel, who each of them. seem in a. in a mortal position within the Trump. administration, who's going first.

and who is whispering in Trump's ear? Is this Susie Wild whispering in his ear at this point? Well, you know, I always find that whispering in Trump's. ear is a is a different sort of thing because he doesn't listen. So I you know, I think that there is a separate kind of thing. I think Susie Wiles is maneuvering and that's that's. one of the things that he's she's kind of kind of really good at.

to do these things that are kind of at, at a distance from Trump. So will she that she will undermine RFK. junior and Cash Patel and even Hagar's. On her own account, let's say. Well, I wonder if the cabinet will be intact. when we next speak on Tuesday.

Well. I mean, we we speak often, so. But I don't think the cabinet will be in this in. the state is in now for or five weeks from now. And I would go I would put my money on, on cash. as the first one out at this point. Well, haggis surely has to survive the war, doesn't he? I mean, according to Trump yesterday the war has been terminated.

Its terminated. It's unclear if the Iranians know that. It's unclear. who's got control of the Strait of Hormuz, which we haven't managed to say yet. This particular episode. I always like saying it because it's such a beautiful word, but it is it is clear who has control of the Strait of Hormuz. And that's the Iranians. The Iranians. Yeah. Okay. You know, they have I mean, we've we've blockaded the Iranians.

so that they can't they don't have access to the to the Strait of Hormuz. either, effectively. But having said that, they don't they have deprived everyone else of access. So I think Hedges doesn't go. until they can resolve this, surely. Well, they can't resolve this. This is part of the problem. So the the blame here is going to be on for not resolving this. So someone is going to have to be the fall guy there.

Why is the war still dragging on? Why is there no resolution? Why didn't we win? Why is also the price of oil is still so high? So who's going to who's going to be the fall guy there. Right. You know there's there's there's only one guy right in the middle standing up. And he stands up again and again, just positioned to be knocked down. He looked so agitated in this hearings.

He was trying to do his best to kind of perform and laugh. And you know that he's just thinking Donald Trump is watching this wherever. he is in his bed behind the resolute Desk, hanging out with the King, whatever. He's watching this and I just have to look angry. and as if I'm just dismissing the Democrats claims. And yet he looked agitated. He looked like he lost control and he looked furious. He looked absolutely furious.

And he must know that, as you say, he's been put out there. eventually to be knocked down. Yeah. No. And this is against the I mean, there are there's some key things here, you know, that he has taken that position, that. the war is being lost because Americans are disloyal. Never, never, never a good move. And this is against the backdrop of, of. of polling numbers that show a.

how unpopular the war is, just complete. I mean, I mean, it has it has no natural base at all in the American electorate. Number one. Number two, Trump becomes, day by day, increasingly unpopular. So his his numbers have sunk into the 30s. This is a this is a catastrophe. We are really at the catastrophic point here.

I think it's it's good that we start to develop a kind of scorecard here. Who's going next? Because this is this is the thing that really shows. the weakness of where this administration is, you know, for a year and almost a year and a half, they were they, they. it didn't matter what anyone did. Everybody was secure in their jobs. Now no one is secure in their jobs.

That's a tell. And we should keep following it. Well, we will keep following it. We'll be back on Tuesday with more if you have been. Thank you for joining us. And Michael, I will see you on Tuesday. Can you remind people to press the subscription button, please? I forgot at the beginning. Press the subscription button please. So the good news is we have so many beast tier members now.

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