This Is Why Jeanine Pirro Defied Trump: Wolff | Inside Trump's Head

If it went before a judge, it would be thrown out. She could be sanctioned on this. I think she just said I can't. There is just no way. Even I, a loyal, abjectly. loyal Trump functionary factotum. I can't do this. Let's not call it honesty. I think it's incredulity. I think she said, I'm in a. I'm in a terrible corner here. Some people suddenly say, I have a reputation. I have a reputation.

I'm Judge Jeanine, I have a reputation. There's an old expression. There is some **** I cannot eat. Michael. Joanna. We have a new positioning of the microphones. It's weird. It's a little weird. Yeah, I know, I feel like I want to reach out and I can't. It's almost as if we're in. It's like. It's like my. My shoulder is speaking. Your shoulder is speaking.

It's also a bit like, you know, when you see those TV shows. and there's someone behind the glass on a phone talking, you know, criminal, and they've got a guest, a visitor. It's a big I feel like you're in person, the person is in jail. And yes, you visit them. Yes. The murderer. I wasn't going to say the murderer, but the glass. And then they're on the phone. It feels a little bit like that. Anyway, we have a lot to get to this morning. Jeanine pirro, Max Miller did Trump.

What did Trump say to Max Miller? What's happening at the Paramount deal? David Ellison wants us to know he's not MAGA, even if Barry Weiss is MAGA curious or MAGA coded. And Todd Blanche will he sent he ascended ascendant, ascendant, and we've got Abdul El CID and. Haley. Haley not. Hailey Bieber I won't say Haley Carpenter, but who is Haley carpenter?

Sabrina carpenter, Haley Stevens in Michigan. It's a white noise. It's a white. It's a white noise. Last name. But she's not got a white noise. Voice. Actually, Haley, she's got a Michigan. a I guess that's where she's going to be defeated on that basis anyway. Not a lot of Michigan in Michigan that we're going to talk about. We're recording this on Tuesday morning and we have no idea. what's going to happen. But we do know Melania. We can get to Melania. We'll get to. Always, always. And the polls. Money in the bank, Melania.

Money in the bank. Monetizing the presidency. Why not? He is. So why shouldn't she? If you haven't already, please subscribe to the podcast. Share it with your friends. Just like it. Please. We need your support. Independent media. All right, let's get into it. Jeanine Pirro, what's going on there? She looked so dejected. when she left the white House, pulling a little bag behind it. What was that about? Why didn't she have someone with her? She literally walked out in, like, flat, weird flip flops with a kind of. Or mules.

Flat mules with pulling her back behind her as if she'd been made homeless, which is odd. Or an airline stewardess. Or an airline stewardess. Her father actually sold mobile homes. And there was something about mobile bags. No, not mobile bags, not travel bags. But she she looked dejected. What's happening? You would. I mean to go in. Let me just set the scene of what happens when you're called into the principal. Donald Trump, Donald Trump's principal office.

Right. Your. First thing, you don't say anything. You're there. You're literally called on the carpet, and he literally goes crazy on you. And why is it? Why do people find it so frightening? Does he just yell and yell and yell is a spit coming out? Like, what is the kind of well, you don't get in? Not necessarily. He's he's not necessarily out of control, but he is. You don't get to say anything.

So it's his show entirely. And he is he's he's he can be pretty devastating. He's he's mocking. He's contemptuous. He belittles you. He I mean, you you you don't get out of there. without feeling like you have. It's humiliation. You're an adult woman. Even Jeanine Pirro, you know, who has been humiliated many times. You did many times. But she's she's obviously had a substantial career.

She is. And a person of, you know, a. certainly on the right wing of some substance. And then she goes in there and she's reduced to nothing. You are nothing. You can do nothing. Okay. So let's set the scene for why he called her in, because those who haven't been following it as closely as we have. this is to do with the reflecting pool. Well, I mean, the snort, the.

Well, it's ridiculous. The entire government has become the Trump. government has become focused on this reflecting pool. You have to at some moment take a step back and say, this is ludicrous. And actually, that's what Jeanine Pirro did. So that's her sin. She took one step back and thought, oh my God, can we really pretend? So do we know that she did that?

Because how do we know that she's not covering something else up? Oh, this is this is the Joanna Coles conspiracy theory. It's incredibly I think everybody was surprised, frankly shocked with the vehemence. with which she came out and said, this is not an act of vandalism. This is poor contractor work. Okay. This is let's repeat that this is not an act of vandalism. It is poor contractor work. Right. So she just said the truth.

She just said not only not only the truth, but. the obvious truth in opposition to what Donald Trump is saying, which is that this, these, this reflecting pool, which he is obsessed about. I mean, really, really, he has gone down a. he's gone down the rabbit hole on this reflecting pool. He's going to produce a reflecting pool that is blue, right? American flag. And it has not worked out in any way, shape or form.

In a normal president, a normal person, right. Would have would have said, okay, well, you know, you know, there are some problems here. And quickly stop talking about it, okay? There are some problems here. There's nothing but problems here. And he can't stop talking about it. Therefore it became who do I blame? And he blamed who? The vandals. The van. What vandals?

How? For what reason? They're vandalizing. And then this particular vandal who turned that turned out to be a former. Olympic contender kayaker, a kayak or kayak. And having called attention to this, this reflecting pool, constant attention to this reflecting pool, it's. not an expected. that people would go down and look at this fiasco and in fact, grab.

little pieces of this thing that's that's peeling off lightly where you look. But you you try and get a little bit of the Berlin Wall when it was coming. dates me. But yeah. No, I was there. when the wall came down in Berlin in front of the wall that week, 1989. Extraordinary. Yeah, it was extraordinary. And I've always regret I didn't get a piece of the wall. You could go down. You couldn't miss getting a piece of the rubber.

Yeah. The. And anyway, so this big they they came. Trump demanded these vandals, this kayaker. peeling off a little of of the of the Trump. mess be indicted. This is in Washington DC. The, the the US attorney in Washington is Jeanine Pirro. Jeanine Pirro is a former district attorney in Westchester County, then a television judge.

I think she had a couple of posts in her television. She was on the CW and she was on then. we went justice with Judge Jeanine, I think it was called. And then and then she became an active Trump. supporter, partly because because of the New York. connection, partly because she's, of course, a right winger. And then and then, of course, I spent one evening with her in the Hay. Adams Hotel as she proceeded to get drunker and drunker and drunker,

to the point that I have never been with someone so drunk. Was it just the two of you? For for a period it was just the two of us. But then Steve Bannon as PR person. and Steve Bannon's PR person then brought two other people. So there were a few other people there at various points, but it was largely me and and the judge. But it wasn't a date. It was. It was. She was a source.

Yeah. No, we were talking. I was writing Fire and Fury and so and and. that, you know, the Hey Adams Hotel is a it was a very good place to do this. because because, you know, it's right across the street from the white House. and people would come over and it's got a bar downstairs, hasn't it? Yeah. It has a bar in a dining room. Yeah. So the thing that people might have gotten about Jeanine Pirro, which I remember. because I moved here and was fascinated by the fact that she was the, you know, lead, I guess, district attorney in Westchester.

And her husband got found guilty of tax evasion for $1 million. So he ended up going to jail. Trump eventually pardoned him in 2021. But I was fascinated that you could have someone, in theory, prosecuting the law. whose husband went to jail for tax evasion. Well, it was an anomaly. Well, it doesn't usually happen. And then and it became I mean, that was a substantial embarrassment for her.

I mean, she was on a trajectory. for a political career, senator, governor. And and that she was derailed by that. Well, and then her husband went on to have an affair with someone who. she thought about taping, and that also surfaced. And then he ended up having a kid with someone else, at which point. she'd had enough, and they got divorced, and she's had enough. But she still she she still wasn't giving up. No, she wasn't giving up. And in fact, it turns out that her career has been much better if you count.

working for Trump and being the US attorney in DC. as better than it was when she was when she was married, but. and she was in in instance, I mean, she did not she was not a US. attorney in the first Trump administration, which was somewhat. more restrained in the ass licks that it hired. But she was pretty ass licky over the Dominion. and the the election was stolen when she was working for box.

She was very much in that chorus of he didn't. Joe Biden didn't win. But then in the campaign, in the second administration campaign. to turn the Justice Department into Trump's personal law firm, they. he went out of his way to hire these people who were abjectly lackeys, right? No, no, no pretense otherwise. And that was Judge Jeanine in any,

any way, shape or form except the reflecting pool. Well, and interestingly, because when she first went after Davie. Hearn, the Olympian canoeist, and of all the people. that you would arrest, how you would arrest an Olympian, I mean, amazing luck for the reflecting pool, who I've now come to anthropomorphize because I feel so sorry for it, but amazing that it turns out to be an Olympian that they foolishly arrest. And when she initially goes after him, she behaves as if this is the most.

egregious crime in America and she is going to bring justice. And now, on a Friday afternoon, they release the fact that she. that this is a contractor error. And then Donald Trump pulls she does she she she releases this fact. So she makes herself the, the the face of this apology. So why is she doing that? Well, just a slight. step back when Trump brings the.

The National Guard into Washington. And that was when are we talking now? Six months ago. Eight months ago. You know, this is a this is part of the the Ice. and the immigration push and and and they, they, they arrest all kinds of people and all kinds of people. And she and she indicts them. And then almost to a man to a case, these cases are thrown out.

that all released. And I think then even then you saw that she was. chastened. I think by by this. So now we come up with this case. Even more preposterous isn't just flatly not true. It is obviously not true. If it went before a judge, it would be thrown out. She would be.

She could be sanctioned on on this. I mean she is so Trump I mean understand the operation here. Trump wants this done, but she has to do it. and she has to do it in her name. So I think I think it just got to be too much for her. I think she just said I can't. There is just no way. Even I, a loyal, abjectly loyal Trump. functionary factotum. I can't do this. So.

So you think she's had a burst of. heart clutching honesty here? Because I'm not seeing that from anyone else in the government. And I think it's unlikely. I mean, let's hear about honesty. I think it's incredulity. She couldn't get over this. I mean, I somehow in in her mind, I think she said, I'm in. I'm in a terrible corner here. I mean, I am going to look, I do have some kind, you know, some people suddenly say, I have a reputation.

I have a reputation. I'm Judge Jeanine, I have a reputation. I mean, this is the woman that said that Donald Trump had won 2020. I mean, she went to, you know, she was battling. There was an old age. There is some shit I cannot eat. Right. And I think that that she just came to the end of the road. And I'm sure she now regrets it, by the way. But I think she had a burst of, of, of clarity, a burst of just, can I do anything else?

I got to get out of her. And she really blamed the Interior Department. She just said they gave a completely. the wrong information, so she threw them under the bus. I mean, I want to believe what you're saying, but I can't help wondering if there's something else afoot. It just seems so unlikely that Jeanine Pirro would reach the peace. of, to use your phrase, shit that she cannot eat. And then she went before. And then the. the further proof of this is that she, when she was called into the white House,

called onto the carpet, berated, and will probably be fired. Right. Another woman in the parade of people who've been fired. Why? Why isn't there been a single man who's been fired? The men are just as incompetent as the women. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, maybe somehow they are even more abjectly. loyal to Donald Trump, although I can't. Women's the men, the men. So what happens if Jeanine Pirro is fired?

What happens to her? Does she go back on Fox? Does she go to CBS? Barry Weiss could hire her at CBS. Barry, that's an idea for you, Judge Jeanine. She could brighten up the show. It's good. Good, right? Yeah. No, I think that's good. Yeah. Okay. All right, so we're recording this on Tuesday morning. This morning, Axios reported. that Donald Trump had called Max Miller.

the congressman in, Where is he? Oh, I knew you were newsmen in Ohio. who is in the middle of a horrible custody. Well, who is the son in law of the senator from Ohio, the Republican senator, senior senator, the senior senator, whatever that means. Bernie Moreno, I think it just means he's been there longer.

Bernie Moreno is the Republican senator from from Ohio, and his daughter is married to. Max Miller, the congressman from a district. that includes a piece of Cleveland, I think. And anyway, a. And just think, anyway, he's in a very close race, but but also the nepotism here. Do they all marry each other?

It's the right wingers. Marry the right wingers. What about. in Maine? Who's married to his second cousin or not? They're not married. He has two children with his second cousin, the guy that stepped in for Graham Platner. And apparently that's very common in Maine. Yep. But but she's not in she's not a Democratic political. She's not at the senator. No, no she's not. But it's just it's just when you said, are they all related to each other? That's all. But no, it is it is.

The situation in Maine has nothing to do with the situation in. It's not there's no parallel here. There is no. So there's a congressman. There's so many important elections today. I'm feeling a bit feverish. So. Right. Unnecessary connection. The congressman from from Ohio. is married to the daughter of the senator from Ohio, the Republican congressman, married to the daughter of the Republican senator, who he then did various things too.

Well, they're in the middle of a custody battle and divorce, and she's accused him of throwing her against the wall when she was changing. their baby, of breaking the trials. All kinds of things which which he which he denies. His previous girlfriend, who worked for Donald Trump, Stephanie Grisham, dated him for a bit and then outed him and said that he was an abuser. So this is the second time this has happened to him.

Now, Bernie. Moreno has had some problems to correct. Well, funny Moreno. So Bernie Moreno has refused to say. anything about this divorce case, which has been going on for two years. The accusations have been going on for no, no, no, no, no, until this weekend. when he came out and said, Max Miller is not fit to be a congressman. At which point Max Miller said, the only reason you've said this,

and the only reason you've avoided. saying anything, is because you had your own media circus. And his own media circus was to do with the fact that it. it was uncovered that he had a profile on a. on a thing called Adult Friend Finder, where he was looking. for a young man to travel with and have good times, good times. So then, then it turned out that. the allegation was that one of his interns had created.

this profile for Bernie Moreno's senior senator. That's because that's what interns here, that's what interns do. Lose a job to curry favor with their waste, lose jobs. Any of our interns do that, they will be out of here now. So we don't quite know the truth about it. The important point, which I'm not sure that we've gotten to, we're very possibly we haven't. Isn't is that Max Miller is.

has until tomorrow to withdraw from the race. If he does not withdraw, then he is on the ballot. And he is he is potentially beatable. I mean, this is a it's a very close even in Ohio, which is a red state. This is a close. This is a close race and closer still because Max Miller is. is nobody's friend at this point. So Donald Trump calls him and says that he says to.

Max Miller, this isn't looking good for you. This is leak to Axios, but this is Donald Trump. So the leak may be different from the actual. the actual event or actually what he said. So you think it's possible he's leaking something that he didn't say? Very possible. I mean, remember he has a lot of he has.

he has to please Bernie Moreno, the senator from Ohio. I mean, he doesn't want he's already got enough problems. with people in the Senate, with Republicans in the Senate. So he has to please him. At the same time, he always has a soft. spot for. Rapist. Well, well, alleged rape, alleged rape, men, men. who have been accused by by women as he has been accused so many times.

Right. So is it possible that Donald Trump said to Max Miller, hang in there, boy. And then said to Axios, I told him he's got to go. Yes, that's exactly cool. That's exactly right. And we will know. We will know the answer to this, of what happened today, because Max Miller, if Donald Trump said to Max Miller, you got to get out. Max Miller will get out.

So that and that has to happen today. If Max Miller doesn't get out, that will be because Donald. Trump said, you hang in there, boy, you can write this out. so we can figure out, this is this is this is binary. And we will find out which one is true within hours, actually, maybe even as we speak. So if Max Miller stays in the race, Donald Trump has encouraged him. to stay in the race and said, you can brazen this out. Just do what I do, do a Brett Kavanaugh. Just go full anger.

Exactly. He said, you know, I mean, it will just be. Yeah. Forget about it. Come on. Okay. All right. So you mentioned the Senate. He doesn't want to piss off Bernie Moreno. It looks today. And again, we're recording this on Tuesday morning. It looks as if the Senate are about to confirm, Todd Blanche, that John Cornyn from Texas and Thom Tillis, the two holdouts, because they said they wanted written proof that their $1.8 billion. fund had been closed down there. Now, satisfied that that's happened.

or they say they're satisfied. So. Right. But the point is they've caved. Yes, they've caved and have. and have got almost nothing for it. They were issued, apparently. I mean, so Todd Blanche has issued two, two letters, which are. there's some dispute about how binding they are. And I think that the, that the conclusion is that they are not very binding.

So Donald Trump will do whatever Donald Trump wants to do. I mean, and he's already I'm sure he's Donald Trump is already pissed off. that he actually had to even make a feint in the direction of, of of saying that these things, that he's not going to get these things. and in fact, he has he has basically said just the other day he. said, I'm going to, you know, I'm I'm doing it anyway. We're doing this anyway. But the the more this is already egregious,

this, you know, this $1.8 billion stuff. But even more egregious. is this IRS settlement in which the. in which the Justice Department has agreed, essentially given. Donald Trump immunity for his on his on his. on his taxes and his family and his family. Yes. And so there was a little bit so. they kind of wrote so.

Todd Blanche is kind of said, well, that would be not apply in the future. Just in the, in the past, just in the past. So they get a retrospective pardon essentially for any tax crimes. No. I'm tens of millions of dollars could be worth $100 million to. I would have thought it'd be worth more than that. I mean, Trump himself has said he made $2.2 billion last year. I'm sure that there is some Jeanine Pirro husband going on there. But yeah, I mean, I think that this is.

the specific issue is a is a holdover. tax issue in which there is that was that's actually the the. the amount of money that is at issue is $100 million. I saw that, but I couldn't help wondering if it was more. I'm sure that there's I'm sure that there's more. But so the the interest and we have said this all along. I mean, the issue here is that. that these guys held out, you know, Cornyn and Tillis, like,

you know, we're we're we're somebody we've got backbone. We're as we're leaving the Senate. Yes. I need all of and I've we've we've discussed that. even if Todd Blanche is not confirmed, he would go on. to be the acting attorney general and be a threat to these guys. These guys do not want that. I mean, and in essentially essentially, they have clearly spent this.

the last number of weeks trying to figure out, okay, how can we position ourselves. as being as being as being good guys and against this. But at the same time, how do we confirm this guy? Because we don't want this hanging over our head. Right. And also it's got the I mean, assuming because I think Thom. Tillis is 66, a John Cornyn is 74. They've still got money earning years. Tillis resigned and were all retired.

But John Cornyn wasn't expecting to lose his seat, wasn't expecting Trump to primary him as effectively as he did with Ken Paxton. So he may well want to make some money now. Yeah. No, no. Completely. I mean, they do not want the US. Exactly. So this is I mean, this is raw politics that we just see here. They were never going to not confirm this guy. The question is how do they get what they want, which is to say look like they're they're significantly stronger than they are.

Right. And and yet not be pursued by, by Trump and the Justice Department. Yeah. It's kind of as you say, it's just pure politics. and it's just revolting to see it like that. All right. So the polls are literally the lowest they have ever been. This is the most unpopular president since the polls began. You know, people in the comments keep asking me what.

I mean when I say literally, which apparently I say often. And now you have picked that up. I picked up your bad habit. What do we mean when we say literally? We mean literally? Yeah. We mean that the no president has ever been lower in the polls than Donald Trump. Nixon in the week before he was resigned. But that's it. He's bottomed. He actually the interesting thing is he hasn't bought. He could go lower. It keeps going lower and lower and lower.

He is he is the most unpopular person in America. So so what's inside his head when he hears this? Okay. Set this again against against. And I have a Substack piece today on this very subject. I'm glad you asked. Okay. I'm very glad to hear that. I will look forward to reading it. I haven't read it yet. Has it already dropped? Yes it has. I missed that and I sent it to you.

Well, then I just didn't read it. At any rate, the background this is. You have to understand. Really, it's important to understand. It's kind of gob smacking. Every white House is governed by the polls. They don't think about anything else, really, except the polls. And any little, little, little movement dictates what they're going to do. And you can say, well, that's that's terrible.

And why would they do this? And nobody has any backbone, but it's also democracy. I mean, this is what we're doing, something unpopular. How do we make it? How do we make it more popular? And everybody is I mean, everybody is hooked to these posts. It's not just the president or other elected people. It's Aids in the white House, it's cabinet members. If the polls suck, somebody's going to get fired. Often many people are going to get fired. Okay. It's entirely different in the Trump White House.

Nothing. It is, it is. We are the polls say what they say. And because I'm Donald Trump, I say I don't believe them. Right. So it just is that that I mean, I think that there are two two levels here. There's literally I don't believe them. And I have good reason not to believe them. Remember 2016? Nobody ever said I was going to be elected. I never thought I would be elected, and I was elected.

So the polls were wrong and the polls are often wrong. And also Donald Trump does this other thing. They come in and they say, this is the polls. and this and that, and he says, bring me better polls. So why why are the polls often wrong? How come we haven't got better polling? I understand why Donald Trump sort of thinks that. I don't know, Joanne. Well, it actually could be and Donald Trump would. His explanation would be people love me.

They don't admit it because, you know, they're liberals and they don't want to, you know, it's the elites. And so it's a it's a secret revolution, which and there are some validity to that. But the other aspect of it is that. I'm Donald Trump and I'm the president of the United States. And what is the point of being. the president of the United States if I have to bend to the polls? Right? I mean, I would rather not be the president of the United States. I mean, or.

or the literal reason to. be the president is so people can't tell me what to do. That is me. And that is my persona. That is what I'm selling. And so I remember during the 2024 campaign, you know, the, you know, he was going after Kamala on a moment by moment basis. And everybody, everybody on his team was going, oh my God, no. You have to, Mr.

President, you have really. We'd be better off if you talked about the economy. And and then he would do two words about the economy, and then he would be going immediately back to piling on Kamala. And and then he would ultimately say, because they would. say, you know, you're you're wrong. This is people like there to be an enemy. They need conflict. I'm going after. They need a face.

So he always thinks that he knows better. Polls come in. No no no no ignore I know better. And in instances there have been enough instances where that's true. Yeah, that's very interesting. And I wonder I mean I can't help wondering because it's such a feeling in, you know, among the Democrats. that I speak to that it's going to be a blue tsunami in November. And you just wonder, I wonder if there are still people that like Donald. Trump enough to not give certainly the Senate to the Democrats.

I mean, the House does look like it's in. Well, and that's I think it's well, it is going to be. this is going to be a democratic election. They are going to win certainly the House, maybe, maybe the Senate. But that won't sway Donald Trump either. I mean, he'll just. go on and then it will be either because it's rigged. And remember that that's also the case when he lost in 2020.

And instead of being chastened democracy. This is the people have spoken. No, they didn't speak. It was rigged. So he's just living in his own reality? Yes. His own situation in which Donald Trump can be, can be chastened, in which Donald Trump can be think I've got to make a change. I've got to adapt. I've got to modify, mollify, whatever. No. Okay. So are we are we not at war with Iran?

He seems to be changing his mind. I saw you did a very good Instagram post on this, that we're literally caught up. in the wake of his whims, and one day we're at war. The next day we're not. He's about to bomb them. The Iranians have asked him not to bomb them, so he's not going to bomb. I mean, it's just chaos. Is this is he is this a demented policy? Is it just a chaotic policy? Why is it so bad? Well, let's look at it.

Something else. It's a policy based on having no information whatsoever. So it is just the guy who's basically operates in a vacuum. I mean, he knows I mean, I mean, he comes into this office, the presidency, knowing nothing about being. being president, all of this. Well, he knows a bit because he got more done this, you know, in his first eight months. Well, he got he only got more done by doing it and doing things that have now.

come back to bite him in the ass, which is nothing in the past. Nothing is kind of nothing is thought through. Everything is is done reflexively. Everything is a knee jerk reaction. Everything is a reaction, and it's a reaction on the spot. So, you know, why are we. Why are we in this war? Well, it was suddenly, you know, Bibi. Netanyahu came to Washington and said and said you could win. And he just came off of off of Venezuela.

and thinking, oh my God, it feels so good to win. Let's go win again. And and of course, that didn't because it was an entirely different situation. I'm the Strait of Hormuz where we're back to the Strait of Hormuz. But he didn't have enough information, didn't listen. I mean, well, he he doesn't listen. No, listen. He doesn't therefore that that kind of that central fact. this could go grievously wrong doesn't cross his mind.

I mean, little crosses mind. The mind itself, which is what we're here talking about is a is a mind of, you know, it's a child's mind of of of desires and and. and indecision. Well, and also I think his thought that he can somehow, by the sheer. force of his personality, will what he wants into being. So he wants to will a victory into being with Iran. But he can't because it's a country and because there are other people in the.

Middle East, and it's not all about him, but he's unable to see beyond that. I'm able to see, I think is the thing, and it just doesn't have the. I mean, these are complicated issues and you can say what you want. about American foreign policy in all its various failures. over many decades, but that also includes an enormous number of successes. And it's a very complex matrix. that you're dealing with at all times. And.

well beyond. his capabilities, you know, and he has, you know, obvious. Obviously, he has access to the to the. to the best intelligence in the world, but he doesn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he just doesn't listen to it. It just doesn't because you can't get him information. So here we are. So so we're in this this this thing.

We don't know what. Last last Friday we were we were going to all out war again. on on Sunday it was like like no, no, it's okay. We're negotiating. They want to make a deal. They want to make it. And this is this. How many times have we gone through this exact same thing? So there is no consistency here. There is no pattern. There is no plan. I mean, this past week he was on, on, you know, Ukraine and Russia. It was like, you know,

Ukraine, Russia. I like I like Putin, I like, I like. what's a guy to do. But but but as we know the war and we talked about this a little bit last week. The war seems to be spreading. Ukraine, you know, bombed an Iranian ship. It's now spreading out to other countries. There was a piece by I think it was David French in the New York Times today. that you pointed out that said, we may be not sleepwalking.

We may be wandering into a third world war here. Yeah. No, no, I mean, this is you can begin to describe the constellation of factors. that bring so many other countries into this that the conflict just expands. It doesn't. It's not reduced. It's not limited, you know, which is finally the, the. the point about a foreign policy establishment of a well, of a well of well-informed. foreign policy establishment, that you may not be able.

to maintain the peace at all times, but you're trying to limit, limit the damage, limit the limit the fallout. And this seems to go become. become greater and greater by the day. Well, and also we've got what is it, 120 ambassadorial posts not filled. So that's 120 knowledgeable people on the ground, not creating soft relationships, not constantly. whispering in the ear of the people running the country.

I mean, the British ambassador used to go to certain British ambassadors, used to go to number ten three times a week. to sort of fill in what they thought should happen and was happening, and it would be helpful, if so, to have that many jobs empty. also seems like a huge disadvantage on the home front. I don't, you know, and so somebody it's interesting to. to imagine what Marco Rubio who is a again you know,

a relatively sophisticated foreign policy player, what is he doing? What's in his mind trying to deal with this. president is no, nothing president? I mean, that's literally the thing. What does this what's the problem here? The problem is he knows nothing and he won't listen. So what is Marco Rubio doing that? Does he think he's trying to mitigate the damage that Donald Trump is doing? I mean, last week. you said they all go back from Camp David and they all sit there with their wives.

And for in Scott Besson's case, his husband and just say, Fuck Trump. He's a nightmare. You can't imagine what's going on there. You cannot imagine what it's like to have to listen. Yes, absolutely. And there and what they are thinking now is okay, this is bad. How do we limit bad? It will be. It will never get better than it is. It will probably get worse. So what do we do?

And the answer is essentially we make a deal. in which we give the Iranians the Strait of Hormuz. That's what this is going to. And the $300 billion sitting in a bank account. That was. Yes. In other words, we're going to be at a significant deficit. with in the Iranian situation than we were when the war began. And we'll pretend that it's a victim. Of course we'll pretend. Yes. And then, well, when other people point it out, we'll just. say, that's fake news fails all all bullshit.

There it is. Except the only problem with this is that the Iranians are not cooperating. Right, exactly. So I was just going to say what is going on? Well, we don't know. Nobody seems to know. The Iranians don't seem to know. Well, they just say we have the advantage. So? So keep pressing the advantage. It's what anyone would do. And they know it's bad for Trump in the midterms, too. And they can sit it out whereas he's facing another election. Exactly. Totally. I mean, did we just agree on something?

It's highly unlikely that that's possible. All right. So David Ellison, writing this morning in The New York. Times, wants to assure us or reassure us that he's not MAGA. David Ellison being the guy who is the son of Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, who is trying to create this merger. between Paramount, his company, and Warner Brothers discovery, the $200. billion father and the $200 billion.

son of the father with $200 billion. Well, he's I think it's fair to say he's playing with his father's mother. Money. Is that fair? That is fair, yes. So what has happened is they have. I mean, it's it's still an extraordinary story. So last August, they closed the deal for Paramount, a deal that they basically got. because they had the support of of Donald Trump. Larry Ellison is a major Trump supporter in September.

And David Ellison, when you say they got the Paramount, what are you saying? Skydance. Yes. So skeletons, David Ellison's company, right. A very small a small company and nothing company. So David Ellison has limited experience in the entertainment business. Business limited management experience. Nevertheless, he he took over Paramount, which includes CBS. and a host of cable stations including MTV, Comedy Central.

And so he he in one leap, one leap of his father's money, he wanted to the top of the entertainment industry. That's in August. In September. Then he announces or Paramount announces, that they are going to make a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery. a an even larger company significantly larger than than Paramount. As a matter of fact, if they acquire with both companies.

would make them the largest company in the entertainment. So this is a classic case of a minnow eating the whale. Yes. And a minnow without, you know, with limited experience, but with his father's amazing amount of money. So that's where this then then they they announced this deal for Warner. Warner Brothers discovery. But then Netflix announced a competing bid. So over, over a number of months they fought that out there.

And the Ellison's had two advantages. The Ellison's senior money. So he is essentially a a very willing and docile shareholder. And and they had the support of Donald Trump. Right. And in order to get this deal through the regulatory, the federal regulatory hurdles is was going to be intense.

Basically, Donald Trump said, I'm going to I'm going to help you get this through. So Netflix gave up. So therefore they basically. one or they thought they had one. But then the various states. got together and sued them, sued to stop this deal. and on the grounds that it would be a monopoly on. Yeah, I'm pretty tenuous antitrust grounds. I mean, antitrust is not something is not a state is not a state issue.

It's a federal issue. But there were enough lawsuits here in enough bad press to, well, to. make the careers of a few attorney generals of the state. These are all I mean, AG's look for cases like this where they can make their name. They're often young people wanting to get higher in politics, and this can be a wave for them. Yes. No. And it was along they could they could what they could do is. waylay this deal for a long time, long enough.

to possibly kill the deal, you know, because the people at Warner Bros. Discovery are sitting there, you know, they're, you know, the company. these companies are not performing at their at their. at their best when they don't know what the future is going to go. Right. So but then the, the, the, the Ellison's. It's not. necessarily calling their bluff, but it's sort of calling their bluff.

And they said, okay, we will we'll we'll delay the close of our deal. for I think, I think up until next spring sometime, something like that. But and with, with the understanding that they would go to trial. as quickly as possible. So I'm going to tell you what's going to happen with this whole thing. Okay. Let me just understand one thing. So the the AG's are bringing the case. on tenuous antitrust laws. Right. And the other specific issue that they have highlighted,

which David Ellison's piece in the New York Times today. addresses is the issue of news right now. This is a kind of an anomaly here because this is an entertainer. This will be an entertainment giant of about of of. which news is a very, very small part of their portfolio. But that portfolio with this merger would include.

CBS news 60 minutes is is part of that and CNN. and and of course, as we've talked about before. But the thing that's been, I think, perhaps unexpected for David. Ellison is the blowback he's got over the changes at CBS news. because he put in Barry Weiss, who had created a newsletter, called the Free Press, in to be the editor in chief. And Barry Weiss, who's a talented newsletter creator, turned out to have.

zero management experience and has really, I think it's fair to say, humiliated David Ellison in a way that he probably could not have foreseen. Otherwise he wouldn't have hired her. I might. qualify that a bit that anybody any disruption in these legacy. news organizations creates enormous amount of blowback. And these are vipers, and they'll bite you.

Okay. Until. And also, we should point out the CBS news has churned through. six presidents of CBS news and I think six years. Exactly. That is not a place where news presidents. Now, in other important element there is that. the news side of this is what is dearest to Donald Trump. So Donald Trump is has shepherded the Ellison's along here. because on the prospect of of winning what would.

what for Donald Trump would be an ultimate battle. The battle for CNN in Donald Trump's mind. again, where we should always be, where we always are. Right. You know, is this CNN is his mortal enemy. This has so many, so many layers for for him, it's an obsession. It's, it's right up there with the reflexive. Yes, even bigger than the reflecting pool. Yes. And and so that's what's going along.

And I mean, that's what's what's pushing this along. and that's what the Ellison's know they have. This is CNN is is the chit here. that is going to it is both both helping them. with Donald Trump and hurting them with the various states. in the various AGS all, by the way, blue states and Democratic states. So this is you can see this actually writ large as about Donald Trump.

Now, the other thing, which is kind of odd, is that CNN, which has become so central to this, is functionally, I mean, it's almost as if thinking about CNN as we once thought about CNN. I mean, CNN is a much diminished enterprise. It's diminished in audience. It's diminished in revenue. It's diminished in influence. You know, it's part of cable television, which is fast shrinking.

And it's one of the arguments that basically. the Ellison's are making in terms of antitrust. You know, we I mean, David Ellison is saying, you know, this is a legacy media organization. at a moment when legacy media organizations are collapsing. So just to be clear, the issue here for the antitrust is the. the assumption that there will be a merging of CBS news and CNN. So you take one news station out and you make it more, probably more MAGA coded.

Yes, yes. So you want to know what's going to happen? Tell me what's going to happen. I have no idea what's going to happen. I wish you could tell me what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, but tell me what's happening in the Strait of Paramount. The they will go to the trial will approach, and the day. before or two days before, hours and hour before they get to trial, because nobody's nobody is going to want to go to trial on this.

The elephants are not going to want to go to trial. The AGS are not going to want to go. No, it's going to want to go to. nobody ever wants to go to trial except the lawyers. The lawyers want to go to trial. So what will happen is that they'll spin off. CNN day before the trial, two days before the trial hours. Interesting. Interesting. That solves that will solve the problem. The AGS will agree to this. They'll say, okay, that's the settlement we want. And the Ellison's will say, okay, yeah, we'll CNN,

you know, well, the business that we're in. Right. Well, that's very interesting. So we should we should be watching this. Yeah. No, that's we should we we could buy CNN. We could by saying, well, Barry. Diller, our partner. in The Daily Beast, has made it clear he would love to buy CNN. I think you and I are going to CNN. Well, that would be fun. That would be fun. Although I think, in truth, Michael, we have bigger audiences. We we we actually have a much bigger audience.

than anything on CNN at this point. I mean, CNN, it's a I mean, that is a really. I mean, a curious situation that we continue. to think of CNN as CNN, but it hasn't been CNN for quite some time. But it has a great brand. It's internationally known. Well, yes, it has all that except that it's. no one watches it and no one listens to it and no one pays attention to it. So it's one of those things. It's a disappointment of brand and reality.

So I was at a dinner last week where almost the entire conversation. was about the new correspondence on CBS 60 minutes, and then someone else said, you know, they've only got six weeks to get their new show, their new version of 60 minutes on the air, which doesn't seem very long. I mean, to make television, television takes forever to make. It takes a lot of people. What is your mix?

Well, I know how it bounces. I don't know, but it's it's weird that you go to dinners. and people talk about television news. Well, it was a it was a dinner of German. I mean, people were passionate. I mean, you were very passionate. I know, because they should be. They should be times they I mean, that is really a their issues, their problem. And they still continue to exist in this bubble. of thinking that this is a is as important as it used to be.

I mean they that's a reality problem. But what's interesting is that the brouhaha around CBS. and about Barry Weiss has been the thing that has dogged. David Ellison since this deal has been in the office. Well, it's only it it's only the thing that we think. dogs him, because these are the people that we know who are concerned about that. I mean, the thing that has him, not just us, it's, you know, the entire media has been watching what's going on.

Well, the entire media is because that's about them outside of the media, actually, there are much larger problems that David Ellison has had with this. The Netflix issue, which ultimately was an issue of who's. going to pay more money, the regulatory issues. is ultimately an issue of what Donald Trump is, is thinking. Not to mention they have their there. They have a sprawling cable business. that is hemorrhaging every as as we speak here.

It's it's it's it's diminished even more. I mean, this is the movie business. Oh my God. I mean, actually, I think it's it's. fair to say that this deal is only happening because. because Larry Ellison has, has just money to just doesn't isn't. what would be called a non-economic deal, a non-economic so whatever. I mean, the news component of this, the Barry Weiss component, I'm sure David.

is saying, yeah, Barry Weiss, but nevertheless, the Barry Weiss component. allows him to to solve the Donald Trump component of this. So he's probably not unhappy with this. And, you know, 60 minutes again, 60 minutes is not 60 minutes. We say this as though it's the most important piece of news. in, in in the nation as, as arguably. certainly the most important piece of television news you might have.

It might have once been it is not now. It's like some hoary, you know who. watches it, except, you know, except very, very old people. All right. We've got two limericks this week. Garth Reed is back from a brief vacation. Golf read. Welcome home. Where was he? I don't know where he was, actually, but he took a break. I hope that's maybe in the Limerick. It's not in the Limerick. Actually. Read. You may want to do a Limerick about your vacation. I think Garfield should start to do limericks about himself.

Trump's gravitas, nothing but costume. And Camp David is shrouded in gloom, with his loyalists. grinning and his doubters all spinning. He goes marching to war self for doomed. is for doomed a word, probably a Limerick word. And then we've got edits. Who's a presidency that burst into power is. instead this year tending to sour. He's headed for a downfall that looks more like a clown fall,

as he squirts himself in the face with his own flower. It's good squirting himself in the face with his own flower. Thank you. And do you know what I've forgotten to do? I've forgotten to print out the alternate covers. some of you've done for JD Vance book communion. A lot of people thought we hadn't read it. We so read. It took us forever to read it. We struggled reading it because it's a hard read.

I can't I can't believe that we spoke about it for quite some time. I know, I know, we did. We definitely read it several hours of my life. I'll never get back. Anyway, if you have been, thank you for joining us. And. someone sent us two. books on truth, science, Faith and trust. Picking up from our conversation. that we had last week about Covid and Anthony Fauci. So we wanted to thank Elaine Miller. for sending us both The Road to Wisdom,

which is by Francis Collins, who is a former head of the NIH. And this is a pro Fauci book. I don't think it's a pro factory book. Is it? I don't know, I think it's a sort of pro science book, I don't know. Well, we can read it. Thanks for not being mean to Anthony Fauci. That's nice, isn't it? Yeah. Well, it's I feel bad. It seems like an opportunity to have been mean to him. But yeah, you mean to everybody else.

Anyway, thank you very much, Elaine Miller, for sending us these books. We're now going to have to read them. What a Tuesday. We've got a lot to watch. We've got our hio to watch and find out what's happening to Max Miller. And we've got to find out what's happening in Michigan and who wins, whether or not it's Abdul El-Sayed or Haley. What did we say her last name was? Stevens. Not Theba, not Hady. Beeper. Well, we'll be back on Thursday. It's rather an exciting week, isn't it? Yeah. No.

I wonder Max Miller. Well, we'll speak later today. It's a countdown. The Max Miller and the Max Miller countdown. The Max Miller countdown. Always good to see you in the studio. Always good to be here. All right, if you have been. Thank you for joining us. Would you like to thank our team? Seeing as you're in the room with them, Ryan, I couldn't I couldn't do it without you, John.

You make all the difference. Heather. Oh my God. Oh, nobody like Heather. Neil. Neil the lawyer. And Rachel who? I don't know who you haven't met. 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.