Bondi Gets the Boot

[00:00] Pods of America is brought to you by SimpliSafe Home Security. It's April, which means we're all thinking about hidden costs and fine print as we file our taxes. But one thing that shouldn't be loaded with junk fees is your home security. I file my taxes every January 1st. SimpliSafe earns your business by keeping you safe. Get ahead of it. Yeah, you stand up late New Year's Eve. Not by trapping you in a contract. There are no long-term contracts, no lock-ins or hidden cancellation fees. Get 24-7 monitoring for a fraction of what the traditional brands charge. [00:30] cameras and professional monitoring in the event of a break in fire or flood. Simply saves agents are ready to take action, easily customize a system that's right for your home. It's simply safe.com and it ships to your door in a few days with app guided setup and no drilling required. You can install and arm your system in under an hour. No need to wait around for a technician appointment. Did you use any drill? [00:51] What? Did you use a drill? I did some drilling, and then I set up my SibliSafe home security system. [00:59] Sorry, everybody. And here you are all these years later. And it was so easy. Really easy to do. You can customize it to your home. It works really well. The app is great. The customer support is great. Highly recommend it. We've partnered with SimpliSafe to offer an exclusive discount for our listeners. Right now, you can get 50% off your new system by visiting simplisafe.com slash crooked. That's half off at simplisafe.com slash crooked. There's no safe like SimpliSafe.

[01:43] Welcome to Pod Save America, I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Dan Pfeiffer. Dan, in studio. Middle spring break, right here, stopped on the way back. [01:53] has been in Disneyland, and then I think you're doing Universal. I am. And this was like a stop in between. That's how committed you are. [02:00] It is our Wally World spring break. We are here. We had a great time in Disneyland. We saw lots of friends of the pod in Disneyland. All very nice. Incredible. And here we are. I picked a great week to not be able to do anything other than look at wait times on my app. [02:11] I have to say, Dan, you were gone this week on family vacation. Tommy, it's like it's getting lonely in some of my text chains about the news. Yes. And everyone else. Everyone else sleeps normal hours. Yes. Not getting those same responses as fast from Lovett or. No, no, no, no. And you never know what time zone Ben is in. No, that's also true. All right. On today's show. [02:34] Pam Bondi's out, and we're going to talk about why Trump fired her and who might replace her. We're also going to dig into Trump's primetime address on the war. He doesn't seem to know how to get out of. As well as a comment he made in what he thought was a closed-door event that could end up in... [02:48] every Democratic ad this fall. We'll also cover the Supreme Court hearing on Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship, his new executive order to take control of voting from the states, the possible end of the DHS shutdown, and of course, the moment we all learned what bimbofication is. [03:05] You know exactly what it is now, right? I learned about it this morning. From the Daily Mail? Actually, from an email from you.

[03:14] Quick reminder. It's a perfect time to remind everyone to please consider becoming a subscriber to Crooked Media if you haven't already, so that you don't miss out on any of the great content we're putting out for our friends of the pod. You get more on bimbofication. Subscribers also get a new extra episode of Pod Save America called Pod Save America Only Friends. [03:35] With Dan Pfeiffer. I saw there was a new Polar Coaster episode this week, too. There was. We recorded it on Friday. It was a mailbag episode. And the Pod Save America... [03:44] News curse hit Polarcoaster. [03:46] Because our one fun question was about Kyle Cook and Amanda Batula at Summer House. And then there were major revelations since then. And Caroline Reston had to come in and record a special addendum to the podcast to address the new news that Amanda Batula and Wes Wilson are dating. You might as well have just said that in a foreign language. Called pop culture. But now I feel like I should. Called American. Now I feel like I should start watching. You also get access to all of our excellent sub-stack newsletters like Pod Save America open tabs. [04:16] And you get to feel good about supporting one of the few independent, proudly pro-democracy media outlets left in Trump's America. So head to crooked.com slash friends and subscribe. All right, Dan, as forgettable as it may have been, the president did just deliver a primetime address to the nation on Wednesday about Operation Epic Fury, the war in Iran he got us into that has now dragged on for more than a month. [04:39] The 19-minute speech contained no news, no exit strategy, and no coherent rationale or even coherent sentences to explain why 50,000 American troops are still deployed in a conflict that has already cost us tens of billions of dollars and sent gas prices through the roof.

[04:56] Other than that, fine showing by Donald Trump. Here are the highlights. [05:00] We're now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet we are there to help. We don't have to be there. We don't need their oil. We don't need anything they have, but we're there to help our allies. America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas. The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. [05:30] over the straight [05:32] will open up naturally. It'll just open up naturally. We've done all of it. Their Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone. [05:38] Their missiles are just about used up or beaten. There's never... [05:43] been anything like it militarily. Everyone is talking about it and tonight I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion. Over the next two to three weeks, [05:56] We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. [06:01] In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. If there's no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their... [06:07] electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously. [06:12] We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all, but we could hit it [06:18] and it would be gone and there's not a thing they could do about it. The whole world is watching and they just can't believe what they're seeing. [06:26] They leave it to your imagination, but they can't believe what they're seeing. That is very true. Don't know really where to begin there.

[06:35] Some good highlights, right? That summarizes it all right there. It'll open naturally, but you've got to grab the straight of Hormuz. [06:45] I already made the joke in my YouTube react with Ben, so I won't do it again. Also, we'll bond them to the Stone Age. But negotiations are ongoing. I laughed out loud when I first heard that. I think he probably ad-libbed a bit of the Stone Age thing from his truth, obviously, because he originally said it. [07:05] but discussions are ongoing. I guess I'm supposed to talk about diplomacy. So your message box take on the speech is that Trump declared victory, but admitted defeat. [07:14] Say more about that. Sure. So I tried to treat the speech seriously, which was hard. I would say that. I did that, too. It was very difficult. But it is the president of the United States addressing the nation at a time of war. [07:25] and economic chaos. [07:26] So we should at least try to look at it from that point of seriousness. And so... [07:31] To the extent that Trump's speech had a message or a strategy, [07:35] I believe it was to say the war was coming to an end and declare victory. Right. And he went through. He just said we saw that in a clip. All of our strategic objectives have been met. He went into great detail what we've destroyed. [07:49] the Navy, the missiles, all of that. But at the end of the day, what he was really saying is this thing's going to wrap up in the next two to three weeks. [07:57] And when we leave, however we leave, [07:59] We are going to leave the same Iranian regime in place, although likely more anti-American and radicalized than before.

[08:06] Iran will continue to have all of their nuclear material. [08:10] Which we all basically monitor with Google Maps, Google Satellite. Yeah, but we could look at it. But we could have done before we bombed them. It's in the same place it was before. They still have it. And now, as a special bonus to Iran for participating in this war, they get to treat the world's [08:26] most strategic water passageway as a toll road whenever they want. [08:31] Thank you. [08:32] And so he wants this war to be over. He knows this is bad for him politically, knows it's bad for the economy. He's trying to declare victory when what he's actually doing is simply waving the white flag of surrender. I think that's true. And I also it explains the incoherent, conflicting messages because he also can't like for the Strait of Hormuz. He knows that we need the Strait of Hormuz open. [09:02] There's a global oil market. Just because we have a bunch of oil doesn't mean that we're not going to be paying more for it if there is a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. He can't plead. [09:13] with our allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz because then he looks weak and he already pissed them off anyway by starting the war without consulting them and insulting them basically completely. [09:25] every single day since he has clearly decided that a u.s military operation to reopen the strait or to take control of the strait is too risky so he's not doing that but he also knows like he just so he doesn't know what to do so basically he's going to say we don't need it but then he's now negging europe and other countries to reopen it for us and saying and

[09:55] We have no idea how to open the Strait of Hormuz, and we're just going to pretend that some other countries will open it or it'll open fucking naturally, and then we won't have to worry about anything. Yeah. It's complete. And that's just one example of the many contradictory, conflicting messages in that speech. Well, the conflict is in the part we just mentioned where he will bond them to the Stone Age, but also we won't have diplomatic negotiations ongoing with their new president or whoever he has been. He sort of made up in his head. He was a good ally. [10:25] and a negotiation require you to demand something yeah what are we demanding because in that speech we won we bombed everything we don't care about the strait of hormuz we don't care that the nuclear material is still in iran we don't care that the regime is still in place because it's a new regime according to donald trump we've destroyed their military so why are we threatening to bomb them into the stone age and why are we continuing to hope that they will make a deal what is the deal [10:55] It's totally illogical. It's complete... [10:58] confusion. He also, by, like, it's not even clear who he's speaking to. When he says we don't need the straightforward moves, he is saying that to Iran. [11:08] If you say to the American people, [11:10] then that doesn't really matter because the – [11:13] The price of oil is the price of oil. And so as they could as they could see it going up while speaking. Yes, there's the price. And that to me is actually a critically important part of what this speech says about where Trump is right now, which is.

[11:26] he [11:28] He almost didn't just admit defeat. [11:30] on the war he's admitting defeat on his entire second term here because what really powered Trump, like he hasn't passed any laws. [11:37] Right. He he is. Don't forget the big, beautiful bill. I mean, he hasn't mentioned that in months. I hope he talks about it more on the way to the election. Me too. Me too. But. [11:47] Like he has succeeded in implementing his agenda in the second term through the force of his words. [11:53] He's threatening, cajoling [11:55] universities, law firms, media companies. And here you have the president, the president of the United States, in a national telephone address at wartime, trying to send a message to... [12:04] not just the American people, but also the markets. This thing is coming to an end. And they took the exact opposite approach. They did not believe what he was saying. They did not take him seriously. Oil went up. The stock market went down. So if his goal was... [12:17] I believe, and it's hard to tell, but was to suggest that this is coming to an end so everyone can chill out. [12:23] And they said because of the way he did it, delivered this speech because the way he's acted erratically over the last several months, not too much less several years. [12:30] they took the opposite approach. Like the world is tuning him out. Do you think, [12:34] Why did they do this speech? I was wondering. I get that he sounds like an idiot all the time when he's off the cuff and does his thing. He does the weave and he's got all those crazy tics. But... [12:47] This was a primetime address that he was reading off the prompter. You imagine that some number of people in the White House, perhaps in the State Department, the Defense Department, other agencies, took a look at the speech, and it just was like crazy.

[13:01] I mean, the speech was all over the place. The written prepared speech was all over the place. What the fuck were they doing? [13:08] It may be they're bad at their jobs. Yeah, well... I mean, you do have an erratic... [13:13] stubborn president who is getting bad information. There was a report today that Susie Wiles has been telling. [13:19] other aides that they are only giving Trump good information about the war, and they're not being honest with him about what's happening militarily or economically. And so that's feeding his mentality. This communications team has no idea how to do serious stuff. [13:34] Yeah. Like if you want to do memes and attack people and quote tweet them like that, that's their game. And that can work in a campaign to a certain extent. But this is like serious shit. And they are they are unserious people. And that is coming. It's like so obvious to bear here. And I'm like, why did he do it? The question is like, what makes him do it? They didn't they haven't done it for a month. [13:54] His approval rating is now under 40% in the Nate Silver model. He is taking on water. He's been dropping for a while, for a year, since a year yesterday, which was Liberation Day. But that drop has been steeper since the war started. And so I think they're lashing about trying to find a solution to their political problem. And they actually have not really a political problem. They have a substantive problem. Right. And I'm sure they're hearing from – because someone was talking to Steve Bannon before the speech, [14:24] But he was like, yeah, the message is we're going to wrap this up. It's over. Like he's probably hearing from people in his base or his orbit that like you got to you got to communicate that this thing's almost over. Yeah. And we know this from whenever we worked in the White House, whenever there was like bad political things. Speech will fix it. Where's the speech? Race speech for the straight of Hormuz. Remember the oil spill? You know, I was talking to Rhodes about that because I was like, that is a crazy, crazy speech.

[14:54] If you are too young or don't remember that, 2010, there was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and no one could figure out how to stop the oil spill. The oil just kept coming out into the Gulf of Mexico. And every cable news channel in the corner of the television, you could just see the oil coming out into the spilling out into the Gulf of Mexico all day long, 24 hours a day. And everyone was like, Obama, you should fix it. You've got you're the president. Why haven't you fixed it? And the solution was he will give an Oval Office address about the oil spill. [15:24] And it sucked. Yeah, it was the worst. Because somehow we decided that it was like a good time to talk about climate change in that speech. And it had to be an Oval Office address. Like, that was how stupid the conversation was. A standing speech... [15:37] in the East Room was insufficient for the moment of the oil spill from a private company. [15:42] If only I had known, though, that I could have just like farted out a bunch of crazy talking points and that could be a second. That may. But like it was it was a speech that was panned that didn't work out well, but we still worked really hard on it. No one worked hard on this one. There's some fascist Jon Favreau over there just angrily reading Politico right now. Back to the real substance of it, because I was trying to think like Donald Trump is sensitive to the market, to what's happening. Like he he knows that he has a problem with the straighter form is. [16:12] guessing that his cockamamie plan here is, or hope, is that [16:16] We walk away from this after a couple of weeks. We say we bombed everything. Everything's great. We've destroyed them. We won so badly. They're begging us for they're begging us for a deal. But whatever. We're walking away. We don't need them anymore. We don't need the oil. And then he hopes that the Europeans will.

[16:33] And the Chinese and maybe anyone else like cuts their own deals with Iran for the straight. And then that alleviates sort of the crisis around the world. And obviously, we don't got to deal with the Iranians. The Israelis don't. The Israelis are probably still at war with them. But if enough countries do, then, you know, maybe prices are a little high, but he can sort of blah, blah, blah his way past that. I think that's what he's hoping. I think it's a little more chess than he gets credit for. [17:03] the other countries around the world who are meeting about this and having a conversation without the United States about how to open this up. I think it's a little more... [17:10] like, [17:11] I'm sure you've done this, is when you have an older child and a younger child, and the younger child wants the toy the older child has. I would always tell Kyla, [17:19] our daughter, just pretend like you don't want it for two minutes and they'll let it go. Now, the only downside in that theory is I'm pretty sure that Trump was not deeply involved in litigating the disputes of his children. Yeah. [17:31] That's good. Maybe he saw a nanny do it. I don't know. Yeah, I think that's a well, that's that's definitely a dumber theory for Trump. And the Iranians are like, Iranians right now have to feel great. [17:43] They're like, yeah, I mean, the regime. Yeah. No, I'm saying that the Iranian people, but from a leverage, from a leverage point, like, yeah, a bunch of the leadership got assassinated. But the ones who are still surviving are like, I mean, we we can control the Strait of Hormuz. The the United States is eventually going to give up and run. And they're giving us billions of dollars to sell our oil. Yeah. We've lifted the sanctions. Yes. So that's something. So that's that.

[18:13] somehow live streamed, even though the event was supposed to be closed to the press and the public. The White House eventually deleted the footage, but not before clips were posted all over the Internet. That includes such memorable moments as Trump's spiritual advisor comparing him to Jesus Christ. Happy Easter. Trump comparing himself to Jesus Christ. Trump calling all Somali Americans low IQ bad people. And Trump saying that Christians like Israel more than Jews, actually. [18:43] None of that was as newsworthy as what the president said [18:47] about his priorities for America. [18:49] United States can't take care of daycare. That has to be up to a state. We can't take care of daycare. We're a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare. [19:03] You've got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it, too. [19:07] They should pay. They have to raise their taxes. [19:10] But they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up. But it's not possible for us to take care of daycare. [19:18] Medicare, all these individual... [19:21] things. [19:21] They can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal. [19:24] We have to take care of one thing, military protection. We have to guard the country. [19:29] I mean, I need to know if you have somehow been able to infiltrate the White House and are now writing talking points for Donald Trump. I would not have done as good a job as that, because that is so obviously on the nose, the Democratic argument.

[19:45] It is... [19:46] wild and a lot of time like trump says things that should end people's political campaigns all the time like his remarks on a daily basis are more politically damaging or should be more outrageous more scandalous than mitt romney's 47 mark comments that were uh so critical in the 2012 election people who don't remember mitt romney was caught basically blaming 47 of the country for mooching off the government but one of the theories as to why trump's comments don't get sufficient [20:16] like, drive enough conversation or coverage is because he just says them out loud. They're not secret, right? And the press is not secret. This is a, just like the Mid-Romany thing, this is a... [20:26] private videotape that was essentially leaked by the White House, but leaked by their own idiocy. So it's like we get to see the things Trump is saying behind closed doors. [20:36] to political supporters. [20:38] And the president says that because we're so busy fighting wars that he started, we can't pay for daycare. [20:46] States should raise taxes. And he seems to say at the end that we can't afford that states should do Medicare and Medicaid. Yeah, throws in Medicare. That was the amazing thing. It's like the daycare is bad enough to throw in Medicaid and Medicare, which is not. I mean, that's a national program. That's a federal program. So he wants to he wants to block grant everything. Basically, he wants to give all the like all the states fend for themselves.

[21:16] taxes in your state because I'm over here very busy paying for bombs on Iran. Yeah. And other places in the war too. Like we don't, we don't know what's happening in Cuba. [21:26] The Venezuela operation probably ran up a pretty big tab. I mean, there's also a Bloomberg story this morning because the budget's coming out, Trump's budget. And the headline for this is Trump budget to focus midterms messaging on defense boost. President Trump is preparing to release a fiscal year 2027 budget plan on Friday that will frame his party's midterm election message around a massive defense buildup. [21:48] partially paid for by cuts to domestic agencies. [21:51] like health and science. John, I've not only been in the President's Talking Points, I've also been in the OMB documents. What are they doing? Yeah. [22:00] I don't... [22:02] I mean, and it's not just him. Like we talked to, I don't know if you and I talked about it or I talked about the other part, but like the, uh, the Axios story about the house Republican or the Republicans in Congress are thinking of paying for the, the military supplemental $200 billion for Iran by cutting healthcare. Yeah. [22:20] Thank you. [22:20] Also, and just not for nothing, Trump didn't even mention – [22:25] that he needs Congress to pay for this thing. He did not mention that. We should talk about that because I haven't heard much about that at all. And now we'll talk about it when we get to DHS. But now they're talking about a budget reconciliation bill that just funds ICE. So when are they going to vote on the $200 billion that's supposed to pay for Iran? It's a great question. I mean, who knows? But maybe we're all supposed to pay for it. Maybe it's going to be higher taxes for everyone. You know who's going to do it? The states.

[22:53] They're going to get rid of their daycare. [22:55] their healthcare, their Medicaid, their Medicare, because everyone's got to pay. [22:58] for the bombs. Because we just bombed the biggest bridge in Iran that's civilian infrastructure. For what reason? We don't know. But Trump bragged about it on Truth Social. No bridges in the Stone Age. No bridges in the Stone Age. That's right. So we've got to blow up someone else's bridge. So no money for bridges here. That's what we're doing. [23:26] Pod Save America is brought to you by Blinds.com. If you've ever thought about upgrading your window treatments but didn't want the hassle, Blinds.com is here to change the game. [23:34] They're the only company that lets you shop custom blinds and shades online, then backs it up with professional in-home measure and installation services. At Blinds.com, you can skip the stress and get expert design advice through their convenient virtual consultations on your schedule. They're on a mission to make custom window treatments easy and affordable for everyone. Get the same quality and service you would at other high-end stores, but at a fraction of the price. Samples are sent directly to your door, fast and free. Compare colors, textures, and materials right from the comfort of home to help you make the perfect selection. All Blinds.com orders are backed by their 100% satisfaction guarantee. [24:04] Blinds.com has been around for 29 years and has covered over 25 million windows, making them the number one online retailer of custom window treatments. Right now, Blinds.com is giving our listeners an exclusive $50 off when you spend $500 or more. Just use code CROOKED at checkout. Limited time offer. Rules and restrictions apply. See Blinds.com for details.

[24:24] Pod Save America is brought to you by Quince. This time of year might make you rethink what's in your closet. You want to move away from clutter and toward high-quality pieces you can actually live in. That's why you should check out Quince. The fabrics feel elevated, the fits are thoughtful, and the pricing actually makes sense too. Quince makes high-quality everyday essentials using premium materials. Their 100% European linen pants and shirts for men are lightweight, breathable, and comfortable. Basically, the perfect layer for spring. The pants strike the right balance between laid-back and refined, so you look put together without trying too hard. [24:54] Wicking anti-odor and soft enough that you'll actually want to wear it all day. The best part is that their prices are 50% to 60% less than similar brands. How? Quince works directly with Ethical Factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Everything is designed to last and make getting dressed easy. Looking for some moisture wicking activewear right now. No, I want the moisture right on top of me. Yeah, I don't want it wicked. [25:17] I want it. I don't know. Whatever the opposite of Wicked is. That's where I want it. I want it right there on the skin. They have great sheets. Great sheets. Great stuff. I haven't thought about any sheets from Quince. That's a good idea. It's in everything store. Go check it out. If you need something, go there first. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to quince.com slash crooked for free shipping and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. [25:38] Go to Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash Crooked for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash Crooked.

[25:47] Trump didn't make any news in his Iran speech, but he certainly did the next morning when he announced in a phone call to Fox News, as one does, that he had just fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. Follow that up with a true social post where he said, quote, we love Pam and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector to be announced at a date in the near future. [26:16] Does she belong to him forever? I think this is because... [26:21] In the Peter Doocy interview with Trump, it seems like Trump told Peter Doocy that she'd be getting another job in the administration. Oh, so he had to clear it up. He had to clear that up, yeah, because Peter Doocy reported it would be in the administration. And then he got it transitioning wrong. Yeah. So it looks like Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch is. [26:36] President's former defense lawyer, personal lawyer, will now be the acting attorney general. During Pam's year plus as attorney general, she distinguished herself by, one, weaponizing the DOJ. [26:50] to go after her boss's perceived enemies, two, executing that vision poorly, and three, bungling the release of the Epstein files so badly that it became a massive political liability for the president that stayed in the news for longer than maybe any other scandal of the Trump era? Oh, for sure. Not even close. Close to Russia, but Russia had a lot of twists and turns. This was like... [27:10] Sustained. This lasted longer than... [27:13] Trump's involvement in an armed insurrection that almost murdered members of Congress. Yes, I do remember that. I recall. It did vaguely happen. Not too long before he was elected president again, but it did happen. So I guess my question is why now on Bondi? I remember when we were in Australia in February. Yeah. And that's when she did the big hearing where she talked about the Dow above 50,000 since then.

[27:36] went below 50,000, and now she's out. So there you go. There you go. [27:41] I remember talking about, like, is he going to fire her now, whatever. It seems like it's a month and a half later. [27:48] She hasn't been in the news all that much? Yeah, so I think there are a couple things going on here. First, I think the... [27:56] orderly fascism of Trump's second term has been, has reverted to the chaotic fascism of Trump's first term. [28:03] he knows things are not going well. He's sort of lashing out all over the place. He's, [28:07] doing sort of crazy things left and right. And I think firing people is that's real first term. Trump behavior is so that's like comfort food. Yeah, exactly. So that's one, uh, it's kind of, it's, it's, [28:19] It's his blankie. Yes. His blankie. It's because he's going back to his apprentice thing. That's the way he knows, you know. And then this – but I think the second thing going on here is that no one pulls a Band-Aid off slower than Donald Trump. [28:32] And so what he tends to do is there's been stories about him thinking about for like a month. And so what he like like Christy Noma is what happened with Christy Noma is very similar to Pampani, which is a massive scandal happens. [28:44] Trump. [28:45] Sticks with him through the scandal, takes on all the water of that scandal. [28:50] waits till the scandal is out of the news. [28:53] And then fires them, bringing the scandal back in the news, but getting none of the actual credit for responding to the scandal and holding someone accountable. Like if Trump had fired Kristi Noem right after Trump. [29:03] the murders of Renee Good and Alex Freddie and the smearing of them. Right. That would have, he would have gotten a little, he would have seemed responsive to something. He held someone accountable instead.

[29:13] He gave him a pat on the back, said he was sticking with him. [29:15] Waited until later and fired him. Same thing with Pam Bondi. I also think the... [29:20] The congressional hearing probably helped her. [29:23] They probably bought her time. I saw some detail in one of the stories that he actually thought that she was he liked that she was combative with the Democrats. Yeah. After all, they were like, oh, is this going to be the end for pan bonding? I was like, no, he liked it. She knew she was doing there. [29:35] I think the New York Times story said that she spent much of the last day making her case to stay. [29:43] What a sad, pathetic thing. Just imagine... [29:48] selling [29:50] Every bit of your integrity... [29:52] to Trump. Every bet. Every bet. [29:54] and then getting fired for [29:57] not executing on his corruption, [29:59] Well enough. [30:00] Which, I think I'd say this, in Pam Bondi's defense, by the way, like, I do not think... [30:07] She failed to execute [30:09] Donald Trump's agenda at DOJ just because of her own incompetence. I'm not saying that she is competent, but like the problem goes beyond anything that Pam Bondi or any of the stooges he installed at DOJ can fix. The problem is the judges and the juries who are like, these cases are crazy. You don't have a case against any of these people. You just hate them. Yes. Like on that part of that is true. The other thing that happened in the news recently that probably got her in hot water [30:39] The... [30:40] announcement that the Department of Justice was going to stop...

[30:44] was going to stop trying the case on the law firms? [30:48] Oh, yeah. And with all the law firms off the hook who did not agree with Trump settlement. And then Trump got very mad about that. And then like an hour later, they had to announce they were going back in. [30:55] to continue to fight that case. You see the pro publica story last week too, that the, uh, DOJ, uh, has basically, uh, under Bondi and Trump, um, just stopped prosecuting 20,000 criminal cases because they've spent so much time on all of Trump's fucking weird priorities, whether it's, you know, [31:14] uh getting his you know going after his enemies all the other bullshit the dj so yeah immigration stuff yeah that was that was most of it sorry uh so it's like yeah they've still you know good time to be a criminal if you're not uh if you're not an immigrant good time to be a certain type of type of criminal right a certain type of yeah white collar criminal for sure yeah there's some reporting that what finally uh did bondi in was an allegation that she tipped off congressman eric swalwell who's running for governor in california about an fbi investigation concerning him now this [31:44] Basically, the FBI notified Swalwell that an associate of his might be a suspected Chinese spy. [31:51] When he was notified, he broke ties with that person. And then the FBI investigated and nothing ever came of it. This is, what, 10 years ago? I guess they were going to release the files. Yeah, it's clearly. I mean, it's so obviously, oh, he's running for governor. Let's release the files. Maybe there's something in the files that will embarrass him because we couldn't bring a criminal case against him. [32:11] I find this one hard to believe because in the story it says that –

[32:16] I think it's in the Independent. I can't remember. But the story says that a source close to the White House says that Bondi notified Swalwell due to their personal friendship. It's the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she's intervening in those matters. The White House wasn't pleased she was intervening due to her personal friendship with Swalwell, the source added. And then it says, it is unclear why Bondi would have intervened, but it is believed that Bondi and Swalwell have a friendly relationship. [32:46] who would carve out her own soul with a spork for Donald Trump is going to feel so loyal to Eric Swalwell that she's going to tip him off on something like this. [32:55] I don't know if I believe that one either. And Swalwell, his office put out a statement saying, absolutely not. No one tipped us off. No one in the government let us know this was happening at all. And honestly, the best thing that could happen to Eric Swalwell as he runs for governor in a crowded primary in California is being targeted by Donald Trump. For sure. Just ask Senator Adam Schiff how that went for him. I also noticed that the House Democrats are saying she still has to test. She has a scheduled appearance in the House Oversight Committee about Epstein. And they're saying she still has to do it. [33:25] imagine that comer will want that too yeah probably so that's he had to subpoena her and subpoena her to get her there so let's talk about bondi's potential replacement i've seen reports that trump wants epa administrator lee zeldin uh i've heard janine pierre might be an option i saw a report that some republican senators want mike lee god help us um [33:45] What do you think the chances are that there will be a real confirmation fight for whoever this is in the Senate? And do you have ideas on...

[33:52] why he might want any of the people I just named or who it might be. [33:56] Well, first, let's start with how long Blanche can serve. Blanche can stay as acting for 210 days. Oh, boy. Now, here's what I would say to that. One is, I'm not sure who enforces the Vacancies Act, but I'm not sure. Sounds like it's probably Todd Blanche. Yeah, so I think that he could probably stay longer than that if he wants. And there is actually some legitimate questions about whether that 210 – [34:17] day clock applies to the Attorney General because in the specific language around the Department of Justice, that 210 days is not in there. But either way. [34:25] In a normal course of business, he could stay for about, in acting, sex, he could stay for about 210 days. Not really sure why Trump wants Lee Zeldin. [34:35] was... [34:36] a [34:37] Jag officer in the military during his career, but he's never actually worked in traditional prosecution and law enforcement. So he would have very little experience for the job. Cool. So I'm not sure he would be. There's not a like the deep wall of experience he has with the environment. Well, well, he's hated it for a long time. So, yeah. OK, so not really clear. It's not really clear what Trump wants. It's in all the stories that he has mentioned Lee Zeldin. [35:02] None of the stories say why he's mentioned Lee Zeldin. I'm sure Trump doesn't fully understand. I'm sure it's how he looks. Yeah. He probably did like one good thing that's stuck in Trump's Adelman. And that good thing is an interview on Fox News. [35:14] Mike Lee, I think that is directly related to Republican senators wanting to spend less time with Mike Lee. [35:19] That's funny. It's a joke I saw from one of it from earlier YouTube. But the same reason the Republican senators keep wanting to put Ted Cruz on the Supreme Court. I mean, well, the Mike Lee thing is funny because I just read a story, I don't know, a couple of weeks ago that Republican colleagues in the senator like pissed at Mike Lee because he's fucking crazy. These two things are exactly related because you know what you do when you're in the Senate? You have to have a lunch with your colleagues every single week.

[35:41] Yeah, so definitely promote that person to a position of near absolute power as Trump's attorney general. That's responsible. You know what? It's going to be a bad person under all scenarios. You might as well stop having lunch with Mike Lee. I mean, in terms of the confirmation fight, you've got Tillis, who's got a very powerful position in this. He's already said, what is he blocking because of the Jerome Powell investigation? The new Fed chair? The new Fed, yeah. Oh, there's a new Fed chair. That's what it is, yeah. [36:11] I think he could stand in the way of this. There's, you know, if it's a real crazy person, does Susan Collins want to vote for the crazy person? I think this is a Mark Wayne Mullin. You think so? I think the next, the person who replaces Pam Bondi is going to get the job the same way Pam Bondi got it, which is being someone other than the purpose before then. The only reason Pam Bondi got confirmed easily is because she's not Matt Gaetz. Yeah. And so Mark Wayne Mullin... He's had a... [36:31] a long line of attorney general attorneys general. Yes. And I'm unhappy with you get your bill bars, your, uh, [36:38] Jeff Sessions. Jeff Sessions. Oh my gosh, I forgot that was the original. Yeah, Jeff Sessions to that interim guy to... Do you think it's something that all these people have in common? Or is it you? Look, it's bad luck. You know, it happens. Well, the thing is, like, Lee Zeldin's not going to be able to get the Justice Department to prosecute the people that he wanted Pam Bondi to prosecute that she hasn't been able to prosecute yet. [37:02] All of this stuff is interesting, but not that significant. Yeah. Like, who is it? We talked about this with Chrissy Noem and Mark Wayne Mullen. Yeah.

[37:12] It's probably true that Mark Wayne Mullen is not having an affair with Karoli Lewandowski. So that's not going to be an issue in this situation. But other than that, it's still the same policies. But if that's what it took to get the job. [37:23] He would. [37:26] Allegedly. [37:29] It's just my opinion. There was a story this morning. [37:32] in The Guardian that Trump might be looking to fire Tulsi Gabbard next. [37:36] And since we talked about discussing this one, advisors close to Trump told Jennifer Jacobs at CBS that originally he had the Trump had the idea of moving Bondi to director of national intelligence. Maybe this is what Peter Doocy was talking about. But now Trump said he wants Tulsi Gabbard to stay in that position. And then I think the White House through Stephen Chung just put out a statement. It's like it's all it's a lie. Of course, we want to keep Tulsi Gabbard. Well, if Stephen Chung said it. [38:06] is good. She did a good job. This one was more of a little punchy. Yeah, I... [38:11] I'm confident that [38:14] neither Trump nor anyone around him likes Tulsi Gabbard. I just think the job is fake. [38:18] Um [38:19] It's a job created after 9-11, [38:22] It doesn't I don't think it really has to matter that much in this situation. So if you just want to ignore the DNI as he has done, like she doesn't go to anything. He doesn't meet with her, doesn't talk to her. We went to war without speaking to her. He invaded Venezuela. She was on a beach. [38:34] A lot of those post-9-11 moves really coming back to bite us in the ass now. You mean like the Iraq War? [38:41] DHS, DNI, all of it.

[38:53] Pod Save America is brought to you by the Break Fake Rules podcast. If you're a listener of PSA, this is a podcast you might enjoy. Hosted by Glenn Gallich, CEO of the Stoopsky Foundation and a rotating cast of co-hosts, Break Fake Rules, Change Big Giving for Good is about how we give specifically when it comes to philanthropy. It's a challenge to the self-imposed rules that shape the flow of money, power, and resources in America. Hear conversations with rule breakers in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, and more. If you care about how extreme wealth shapes our society and how to fix it, this is the show to listen to. In one recent episode, co-hosts Eric Brown, [39:23] took the reins for a deep dive into Glenn's new book, Control, Why Big Giving Falls Short. Their conversation was more than just a review. It was a candid reflection on their own professional journeys and a provocative look at how traditional philanthropy can sometimes fail the very communities it intends to lift up. To listen to Break Fake Rules, search for Break Fake Rules in your podcast app. That's Break Fake Rules. [39:42] So, Trump's reverence for the law and the legal system was on full display this week when he gave himself a literal front-row seat to the Supreme Court hearing on his executive order... [39:53] to end birthright citizenship, the first president ever to attend a session of the High Court, [39:58] Presumably to intimidate the justices he recently accused of treason. Not sure it worked. Here are some of the conservative justices peppering Trump's solicitor general with pretty skeptical questions during oral arguments. [40:10] Do you think Native Americans today are birthright citizens under your test and under your friend's test? I think so. I mean, I was going to grant citizenship by statute. Put aside the statute. Do you think they're birthright citizens? We're in a new world now, as Justice Alito pointed out to, where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who's a U.S. citizen. Well, it's a new world. It's the same constitution.

[40:34] Burn! Take that! That's the closest thing you get to, a real burn from John Roberts. Were you surprised by anything in the oral arguments? [40:40] I was surprised that Trump went. Yeah, let's start there. Let's start there. Like, think about... What a fucking bozo, though. Like, I saw that, and he's like, this is the worst thing. But I'm like, you know what? Go for it, man. You think these fuckers who have lifetime appointments are going to be intimidated by the 35% approval lame duck second-term president? [41:02] It probably had... Let's go through the decision-making process here, which is... [41:06] were at war [41:08] Gas prices are high. People are really mad about the economy. [41:12] And when you decide that your high-profile public appearance that day should be to attend... [41:16] A Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship that almost every legal expert in the world says you're going to lose. You know what I love about it? [41:24] is just so crazy it could work no it's that i bet anything that the person who convinced him to do this steven miller steven miller and i bet when he walked out of that courtroom i'm [41:34] Donald Trump, he probably said to himself or maybe said it out loud to Stephen Miller. What the fuck did you make me do that for? Because there's no way Donald Trump left thinking that what he did was that was a good idea. Well, he left in the middle. So because he's because he probably listened. First of all, he probably couldn't understand a lot of the words they were saying. But he was I bet he could tell it wasn't going well. Yeah. Even he could probably figure that out. And then. [41:58] So that's the... [41:59] political communications aspect of the decision. Let's talk about the legal aspect of the decision to do it. Do you remember when the fate of the Affordable Care Act hung in the hands of Justice Anthony Kennedy? And Barack Obama used to make a joke all the time how he was going to mow his lawn, wash his car. And then someone, I don't think they heard directly from Kennedy, but they sort of knew Kennedy's told Obama to stop making that joke because that

[42:23] Like being seen as if you were trying to see it. He made that joke in public all the time. Yeah. [42:29] And so, uh, or at least in enough places, like not just in the office, he was making that events. And so enough that it would get back to Kennedy. And so this person who was close to Kennedy told Obama, uh, [42:39] That's a bad idea because if it looks like you're trying to unduly influence the court, it's probably going to push them in the opposite direction. So we stop making that joke. And that is like a tiny little bit humorous bit of putting your thumb on the scale. Here you have Trump sitting in the front row trying to stare them down like – [42:57] when [42:58] You know, in a wire reference, like when Avon Barksdale would go to the hearings and just like look at the witnesses, like same thing. And it's obviously not going to work. It makes the justices look ridiculous. And so if you're sitting on the fence of your justice, so like, am I really going to go down this? [43:12] Pretty ridiculous path. And now it's going to look not only like I don't understand the law, it looks like I did Trump's bidding because he was there. [43:18] Not going to work. Not going to work. Yeah, it doesn't seem like it's going to go well for them. You know, I think the justices also, especially some of the conservative justices, also asked the ACLU's lawyer some tough questions as well. But you have to listen to much of it or even be a legal expert to know that it was it was going badly just because like the unworkability of what they're asking for here. Right. Like at one point they're like, OK, well, you say that the executive order. [43:46] is perspective so that anyone born from here on out now, there's no birthright citizenship. But like, how do you make that work for all the people before? Like, what do you? So now everyone is just going to have to go prove their citizenship and prove that they were born before. Like, what is this is it is the most unworkable, crazy fucking executive order. And I just can't. I mean, I'm sure you'll get like Alito or Thomas or whatever, but I don't know.

[44:16] dissenting judges, I guess. But I don't know how anyone looks at that and thinks that you can just overturn the 14th Amendment. And not for nothing. It's been a while since I've seen polling on this, but when Trump first opposed this last year, it was a 75%, 80%. [44:32] opposition to the idea? [44:34] I mean, as Robert's asked, he's like, so the cases that you're talking about, which is like birth tourism or, you know, what happens if there's an invading army and a child born from a member of the invading army? He's like, strikes me as some quirky example. Yes. Yes. [44:52] It's like, yeah, no, I think that's probably right. So Trump sent out his usual bitchy truth about the court right after he left, but he reserved his angriest reaction for another court when a judge appointed by George W. Bush ruled later in the day that Trump can't start construction on his White House ballroom, his pride and joy, the only thing he cares about unless Congress approves it first. [45:22] Republicans in Congress take that vote? [45:23] I would love, just love to see them vote on it. They would flee town to avoid it. Put it in the supplemental. Put it in the $200 billion for Iran when you're cutting health care. Just throw it in that one. I mean, these fucking yahoos who clearly want to be in the minority so bad probably would propose cutting ACA funding to pay for the ballroom. [45:43] I didn't think that anyone would stop him on the ballroom, but I don't know. I was looking. I'm like, okay, maybe this could be.

[45:53] that he might just ignore. I mean, he already knocked down the East Wing. It's a little bit like putting the toothpaste back on the tube. Yeah, we should maybe respond a little faster here. [46:03] Courts? I'm not really sure what the remedy is here. Just we have to leave a hole in the ground. What is the remedy? Yeah. I guess then maybe the remedy is that Congress would have to approve something. [46:12] they would have to come to some kind of agreement on what they could build in that, in that space, besides the fucking eyesore of a, of a monstrosity that, that we saw in the New York Times last week. Yeah, I don't, I don't know. It's, but just leaving the hole there for a while will be fun. [46:31] Yeah, that'll be good. And by the way, I'm I'm now on board with the next Democratic president bulldozing the whole thing. Oh, no, that's no, no. After seeing that, after seeing what it looks like in the in the times and like the stairs to nowhere and the windows that aren't windows and like the fact that it's like three times as big as the actual White House residence. Like this isn't like, oh, Trump did it, but it's a ballroom and it's a good space and whatever else. And it looks fine. Like, let's leave it. Who cares? This is like, what? Come on. [47:01] You're going to just build like another White House three times as big stacked onto the side, except it's like super tacky because it's from Donald Trump. [47:09] I don't know. Not top of my agenda. [47:12] Are you going to make a litmus test for primary candidates? Yeah, it's like APAC. Yeah, you've got to demolish the ballroom. It's first and foremost. Filibuster. Oh, we can do a crooked questionnaire. That's perfect. That's perfect. We'll send it in with third way. Eliminate the filibuster. Demolish the ballroom.

[47:31] So, Trump's other passion project as of late is making it harder for Americans to vote. And now that the SAVE Act isn't passing Congress anytime soon, he did what we all expected, and he just signed an executive order version of the law, which isn't how this works. But nevertheless, the EO directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a list of eligible voters using Social Security data and send each state their list before every federal election. [48:01] on that list. States that don't comply would lose federal funding. [48:05] Constitution explicitly give states the power to run their own elections. But at the signing ceremony, Trump seemed pretty confident about this move. Take a listen. I don't know how it can be challenged. Probably challenging. You may find a rogue judge. You get a lot of rogue judges. Very bad, bad people. Very bad judges. [48:24] But that's the only way that could be... [48:26] change and hopefully well we don't appeal if it is but I don't [48:30] I don't see how anybody can challenge it. [48:32] I don't see how they can challenge it. [48:35] So Oregon and Arizona immediately said they'd be suing. The challenges happened right away. So a bunch of other groups, Democratic Party, everyone's challenging it. Earlier this year, Trump said Republicans should nationalize and take over elections. [48:48] What do you think about this? This did not strike fear into my heart. [48:54] It should have. But I was just like, this is going to be immediately rejected. Yeah, this doesn't strike fear in my heart as well. It seems pretty clearly in line with all the other things the courts have thrown out that Trump has wanted to do. And my general fear about.

[49:08] election interference from Trump is not grand gestures from the White House like nationalized elections, canceling elections, banning mail ballots via executive fiat. It's smaller scale [49:20] use of ICE or to intimidate voters, having ICE do patrols in certain precincts. Like if the Texas Senate race is closed, you can see ICE all of a sudden showing up in the – [49:31] Latino precincts of Houston or San Antonio or in the Rio Grande Valley counties and all of the above. I'm worried about them seizing machines. Yeah, on the back end. I'm worried about most of the back end stuff. Yeah, and the thing that I worry about a lot is – and this usually would have to be a very narrow, narrow house majority for it to matter – would be the failure to seat – [49:53] Yeah. [50:11] That's a very... [50:13] Black Swan event to get to the one seat holding us from the majority. Yeah, I feel like this will be struck down in short order. [50:29] Today's show is sponsored by strawberry.me. You don't have to be unhappy at work to want something more. Success doesn't just happen and the most successful people in the world don't just figure it out alone. They have mentors, coaches, and people guiding them every step of the way. That's where strawberry.me career coaching comes in. Career coaching through strawberry.me can help you get unstuck, uncover what you really want, identify obstacles holding you back, develop a step-by-step plan, and turn your goals into a reality.

[50:54] You might not have a career coach, but we've all had a mentor or someone we worked for or with who taught us a lot of things, helped us overcome tough times. I had this great coach once, and when he didn't like the job we were doing, he would just throw a folding chair. Nice. And it was – Indiana basketball? Yeah, yeah. And it was like, wow, like, boy, I don't want to have a chair thrown at me. No. I'm going to do a good job. But there's all kinds of coaching. Maybe not the best one. That's a great mentor. [51:24] information that person is really meaningful to you. That is mentorship that you take with you your entire life, and it's truly invaluable. If you want someone like that in your life, go to strawberry.me slash crooked and find out if career coaching is right for you. That's strawberry.me slash crooked to get 50% off your first session. Strawberry.me slash crooked to get 50% off your first session. [51:48] Quick update on what appears to be a fittingly stupid end to the partial shutdown of Department of Homeland Security that's caused chaos at airport security lines. Last time we checked in, [51:57] House Republicans had just rejected the Senate's plan, which passed by unanimous consent to fund all of DHS except immigration enforcement. Then Congress left town for a two week recess and then they were followed around everywhere they went by TMZ. Now, just a few days later, House Republican leaders apparently decided to cave. [52:16] Notice I said of House Republican leaders apparently decided to cave, saying that they'll go along with the Senate's partial funding plan and then try to fund ICE and Customs and Border Patrol with a budget reconciliation bill, which only needs Republican votes.

[52:30] which was, of course, the Senate's plan all along. Only problem is that Congress is still in recess until April 14th. So Trump announced on Thursday that he would, quote, soon sign an order to pay all of the incredible employees, the Department of Homeland Security and not just TSA. Right before recording, I heard that Mike Johnson on a call with his caucus is just facing an uproar. Hard liners, moderates, everyone. Everyone's just pissed because Mike Johnson called it a crap sandwich before. [53:00] Just last week. And now he's saying, I don't know what else we can do. Sometimes you have to eat the crap sandwich. That's part of being in Congress. Yeah, that is true. Do you think, like, how did they fuck this up so badly? [53:09] Mike Johnson's the one person in America who could make Kevin McCarthy look like a competent legislator. I mean, he's just he's Mike Johnson is both dumb and weak. [53:18] Yeah. Like, it's worth remembering he's an accidental... [53:21] Speaker. [53:22] He wasn't even particularly high up in leadership or had any real role. He just happened to be a guy so inoffensive that you could get an exhausted – [53:30] majority to vote for him. [53:32] Yeah. And so you end up with lowest common denominator leadership. And so he listened to the far right. [53:38] rejected this thing, had no plan for what came next. It was obviously the only way to solve this problem was to do what the Senate did. [53:47] Yeah. And instead he decided, you know what? I know the Democrats are the ones who shut down the problem. I know that there are lines everywhere. People are really pissed about it. I am going to take full ownership of this. [53:59] and then go on recess.

[54:02] I'm wondering now if he can put down the rebellion or just quiet the anger right now. Because again, I don't know how else they would... [54:11] Fund. [54:11] DHS. [54:13] If they don't go on. No, there's no there's no there's no other plan. This is it. They're going to have to do it. They went through all the iterations. And if they don't do it, they're not. I mean, I think the reason why they that Johnson caved is like they tried to blame this on the Democrats and were like Senate Republicans who who went along with this plan. I think they're having regrets now. I think they're having second thoughts. But like, there's no way to pin this on the Democrats. So they would just own the shutdown. Yeah. The Democrats won the shutdown. Right. [54:40] Yes, I think it's fair to say Democrats won the political battle over the shutdown. Yeah, they what they said from the beginning was fun. One, we're not going to fund ice and let unless you do reforms. We will, however, fund the rest of DHS. Yes. [54:55] And do that. Do that. Probably say, no, we won't do that. We won't do that. We won't do that. [54:59] Democrats won that battle. The thing that they have not won are reforms to... [55:04] Ice. [55:05] Right. Right. So like politically, again, it's not surprising because like you can't the only way you can reform is if you have the votes to reform ice and we don't have a majority in either house. So all we can do is say, if you don't make our reforms, then we're not going to vote to fund it. [55:20] Which is what we did. And what matters in the end here is that we win the majority and therefore have a ton of leverage because a bill can't leave the House without a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries. [55:29] allowing it to come to the floor. Yes. We win the House. This is a completely different dynamic, even if it's over the same general issue. Yeah. And I do think just it goes to show both Trump and Republicans weakness. Just imagine this scenario a year ago. Yeah.

[55:42] Seven months or whatever it is before the election, the Democrats shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Probably because I was – and I would have been for it, you know, and you would have been like, you're an idiot. Well, then it would have been true. [55:59] Like they shut down Department of Homeland Security over ICE funding, would have thought that that was the Democrats doing the dumbest thing possible. And they end up with a political... [56:07] high ground here. It says a lot about just how the politics have changed. Alright, two final very important items to discuss. The first is a huge update that I'll just let you hear about from a trusted newsman [56:18] Brett Baer. [56:19] Kristi Noem is asking for privacy and prayers tonight. She's said to be devastated by a report alleging her husband has been what is being called a cross-dressing double life. Senior National Correspondent Rich Edson has details tonight. Good evening, Rich. Good evening, Brett. The Daily Mail alleges it obtained hundreds of messages between Brian Noem and three women involved in a site where men cross-dress. The Mail posted several of these photos and writes, Brian Noem allegedly sent women in the community $25,000 in virtual payments. [56:49] The publication says Brian Noem did not deny the explicit conversations, but says he never put national security at risk. All kinds of stories today. [57:01] I had not watched that clip I saved it for this and fuck that was good All kinds of stories today Absolutely So since the release of the Daily Mail is reporting on Tuesday at least one performer specializing in

[57:19] quote, sissy sub and [57:21] Her bimbofication has publicly come forward to claim she was paid $5,000 by Bryon. Her name is Bryon, but it's B-R-Y-O-N. I heard Tim Miller calling him Bryon the whole time, and now I can't get out of my head. Over the last two years, telling the Daily Beast, quote, there is no way in hell that Christine Ome didn't know. Per the Daily Beast, Bryon Ome wanted the performer specifically to, quote, instruct him to bend over Archer's back, spank him. Oh, you guys didn't need to put all this in. [57:51] And show off what she describes as the largest prosthetic breasts she's ever seen on a client. Okay. [57:56] A lot of different ways we could take this. [58:01] I've told you before, I would not kink shame you for bimbification, because I know this is a thing for you. A word I learned from you this morning. You didn't know what it was before, right? No. I didn't even know. I read this story. I was like, what is this? I don't believe. Is this a thing? I knew that there was a cross-dressing scandal with... [58:22] Brian gnome via... [58:25] some texts I got because I was not really reading the news. Just not, not, not, not before the story. No, [58:31] Are you the source? Yes. In the, in the last 48 hours, whatever it was, but I did not read any of them. Oh yeah. And then just when I looked at the outline for this morning, it just had a, something that said bimboification. And I was like, [58:43] I didn't know it was the same thing. So I'm learning. I learned about it in real time. [58:46] I will say my take on this is you're the spouse of a Homeland Security secretary and you're getting into stuff that if it's public can embarrass you, your spouse. Black opportunity for blackmail. Even if it's just like public embarrassment, like you can't be doing that stuff, you know. But aside from that, you know.

[59:07] She's the one who she's going to put him in this horrible. She's been clearly cheating on him, allegedly. Yes. And we're almost having to drop allegedly at this point. But she's like for just openly the whole country knows for years, for years. She's asked about it at a hearing where he was sitting right behind her. So he's dealing with that. [59:26] And now he's dealing with this. So you get you feel a little bit for for Brian. Yeah. But not so much Christine Ome because like she I want her to be more. Yeah. What about thoughts and prayers? She's the one who really sucks. Yeah. She's the one who like, you know, sent people to a fucking torture chamber in El Salvador and then fucking posed for a picture in front of it. [59:45] Yeah, I have some questions about the vetting process at the White House and the FBI and the Senate. Yeah, he's going to say that. The FBI, I guess they did. I don't think they did background checks. I think the Trump would not let the FBI do background checks on his nominees because he thought that they were. [1:00:00] to anti-insurrection. I'm not entirely sure. [1:00:03] Wow. Trump was asked about it, too, which is I want I would love to hear someone explaining bimbo vacation to Trump. So if you're that mole who's posting the live streams, can we get one of those? I would. Yeah. He was asked briefly, but he was just it is interesting how. [1:00:20] like christy noem and everything like i'm asking for prayers and privacy at this time like him what yeah what it's very um like why not all of them just be like no we're not responding to the story like get away nothing and just like that leave it at that this is her chance to bring her corey lewandowski alleged relationship [1:00:37] to the forefront. Maybe it was Lewandowski that pushed this whole thing around. Allegedly. Theoretically. We don't know.

[1:00:44] That's why I said maybe. Maybe. Anyway, we'll just leave that there. Poor Brian. Finally, [1:00:53] The title of this probably Brian's song. [1:00:59] So you may have seen the viral videos of Kid Rock saluting and clapping on the pool deck of his mansion outside Nashville as two Apache attack helicopters hovered just overhead, [1:01:14] March happening nearby. Those helicopters appear to be from Fort Campbell, an army base over the border in Kentucky. And the army immediately said it would look into it, later announcing that the two crews had been suspended as the investigation continued. [1:01:27] Kid Rock told local reporters, I think they're going to be all right. My buddy's the commander in chief, of course. Sure enough, Trump got a question about it in the Oval Office, said he'd take a look because... [1:01:38] They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock. Maybe they were trying to defend him at his mansion in Nashville. A couple hours later, Pete Hegseth posted, Thank you, Kid Rock. U.S. Army pilot suspension lifted. No punishment, no investigation. Carry on, patriots. With an American flag emoji. What a fucking asshole. Such a coober. I don't know. What do you think of this story? It did not register as a big deal to me until... [1:02:06] Reed wanted us to cover it and then I started reading about it. I'm like, yeah, this is really fucked up and crazy. And the fact that it barely registers, including with me, someone who talks about the news all the time, just goes to show like how down the rabbit hole we are.

[1:02:21] I would just say as a piece of advice to Kid Rock, those helicopter pilots all on the right, that it... [1:02:27] If he... [1:02:27] Perhaps your response to a rally that suggests that Trump wants to be a king and dictator should not be a show of military force. [1:02:38] yeah also what kind of goobers were like we got to find kid rock i think his mansion's up here let's like fly by maybe maybe he'll wait is that what the thing is that it was like uh [1:02:48] It was like a Hollywood star tour? He was on the pool deck. They thought it was hoping it was on the pool deck. Yeah, like what if he wasn't there? But did he know they were coming? That's what I don't know. I'd love to know all about this. You know what, actually? [1:03:00] Democratic majority. You think this is a good one? You know what? [1:03:03] I'm going to send someone to South Dakota. I'm going to send someone to Nashville. I'm going to get to the bottom of all this. I did on this South Dakota thing. Did see... [1:03:11] There was like a clip of... [1:03:14] The Reason podcast, I think, like expressing libertarians, expressing some sympathy for – [1:03:20] Byron gnome on this. And then Dave Weigel quote tweeted and said, it was right sympathy that helped fuel Hillary Clinton's run for Senate in 2000. There is an acting governor of South Dakota. [1:03:32] Right now, Larry Rodin. Oh, they could not. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's because it's replaced Gnome when Gnome... [1:03:39] Oh, interesting. So maybe Byron can get his sweet revenge by running for governor. You know what? I hope he has another turn of the wheel as a MAGA influencer. Or maybe not. It would be nice if he came over to the good side. But I hope that Byron found some kind of happiness. I hope he can live his life. The thoughts and prayers for Byron. It is true that...

[1:04:02] I heard some people say this, like, oh, yeah, you can't feel too bad for him because he was stayed married to Christine Ohm as she went on this reign of terror as as the as the ice queen and never said anything as people's rights were being trampled. So there is that. [1:04:18] with yeah yeah but you know i'm not saying he did he did show up at the hearing to support his wife well so i was you know i was gonna say sitting in the cut chair i feel bad the guy's [1:04:29] whatever we're done Kid Rock bad that's our show for today Love will be back [1:04:37] In the feed on Sunday with a conversation with Senator Cory Booker. You think he's going to ask Senator Booker about bimbofication? Given the volume of laughter happening outside the studio as we were recording, perhaps it was raised. Well, tune in Sunday to find out. Have a good weekend, everyone. Bye, everyone. [1:04:57] If you want to listen to Pod Save America ad-free and get access to exclusive podcasts, go to crooked.com slash friends to subscribe on Supercast, Substack, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts. [1:05:06] Also, please consider leaving us a review. That helps boost this episode and everything we do here at Cricket. Pod Save America is a Cricket Media production. [1:05:14] Our producer is Saul Rubin. Our associate producer is Farrah Safari. Austin Fisher is our senior producer. Reid Churlin is our executive editor. [1:05:22] Adrian Hill is our head of news and politics. The show is mixed and edited by Andrew Chadwick. Jordan Cantor is our sound engineer with audio support from Kyle Seglin and Charlotte Landis. [1:05:31] Matt DeGroat is our head of production. Naomi Sengel is our executive assistant.

[1:05:35] Thanks to our digital team, Elijah Cohn, Haley Jones, Ben Hefcoat, Mia Kelman, Carol Pellaviv, David Tolles, and Ryan Young. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [1:05:50] . [1:05:55] you