Skeezy You Say!!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand - Episode: Skeezy You Say!!

Release Date: May 14, 2025

Hosts: Jack Armstrong and Mark "Getty" Halperin
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Jake Tapper’s Forthcoming Book and Joe Biden’s Health

The episode opens with a critical analysis of Jake Tapper’s upcoming book, which alleges severe physical deterioration of President Joe Biden. Armstrong expresses skepticism about the revelations Tapper claims to offer.

• Jack Armstrong [00:44]: "According to the same Biden book, Joe's physical deterioration was so severe that aides thought he'd need a wheelchair if he was reelected. That's crazy."

Mark Halperin supports Armstrong's stance, suggesting that Tapper's revelations lack novelty and fail to provide groundbreaking information.

• Mark Halperin [01:13]: "The much more interesting question is, Jake, what makes you think this is surprising anyone? Have you lost your mind?"

They further criticize the media's portrayal of Biden's health, accusing outlets like The New York Times of gaslighting the public about Biden’s cognitive state.

• Jack Armstrong [02:23]: "They were gaslighting us at the time... and now they're gaslighting us about the gaslighting."

2. Controversial Gift: Qatar’s $400 Million Plane to Donald Trump

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the controversial proposal for Qatar to gift Donald Trump a $400 million airplane, purportedly to be used as Air Force One or eventually donated to his presidential library.

• Jack Armstrong [04:08]: "Is so strange to see some of the other Bigfoot media outlet outlets... now they're gaslighting us about the gaslighting I mean, oh, here's a shocking, shocking announcement. Joe Biden was senile."

They debate the ethical and security implications of accepting such a gift from a nation accused of supporting Hamas and other Islamist groups.

• Mark Halperin [04:18]: "Until he was no longer using it. And then give it to the library."

The hosts highlight bipartisan criticism and concern from both Republicans and Democrats, emphasizing figures like Ben Shapiro labeling the deal as "skeezy."

• Jack Armstrong [06:28]: "Ben Shapiro characterized the idea as skeezy."

3. Diddy’s Legal Troubles and Testimonies

The podcast shifts focus to the high-profile trial of rapper and mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, exploring allegations of coercion, sex trafficking, and racketeering.

• Katie Green [19:44]: "They're establishing his capacity for brutality."

Armstrong and Halperin dissect the harrowing testimonies of Cassie Ventura, who accuses Diddy of orchestrating non-consensual "freak offs"—sex events involving coercion and substance abuse.

• Jack Armstrong [21:39]: "Which essentially just means forming an organization to do criminal stuff."

They bring in perspectives from legal experts like Suge Knight, who comments on the damaging optics and legal challenges facing Diddy.

• Suge Knight [23:13]: "His whole defense is going to be... everyone who participated... did so consensually... when a jury looks at this video, there's nothing consensual about getting beat down in a hotel hallway."

4. Historical Presidential Gifts

In a lighter segment, Armstrong and Halperin reminisce about unusual historical gifts received by U.S. Presidents, drawing parallels to the current Qatar plane controversy.

• Jack Armstrong [32:36]: "In 1961, John F. Kennedy and family received a dog named Pushinko from the Soviet Union."

• Mark Halperin [33:20]: "He gifted a donkey, which he aptly named royal gift."

5. Mayor Pete’s Bearded Appearance

A brief and humorous discussion ensues about Mayor Pete’s recent appearance in Iowa sporting a beard, speculating on its significance in his potential presidential ambitions.

• Mark Halperin [34:21]: "I just was looking up at the TV. So Mayor Pete was in Iowa at some town hall yesterday... He's bearded now. How do we feel about bearded Mayor Pete?"

• Jack Armstrong [34:39]: "About the way I felt about clean-shaven Mayor Pete? He's a phony."

6. Final Thoughts and Humor

Wrapping up, the hosts share light-hearted banter and personal anecdotes, maintaining their signature blend of humor amidst serious discussions.

• Jack Armstrong [35:11]: "Katie, I thought... I stabbed myself in the face with a fork while I was just trying to eat."

They humorously reflect on historical anecdotes and contemporary political quirks, leaving listeners with a mix of laughter and contemplation.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Jack Armstrong [00:44]: "Joe's physical deterioration was so severe that aides thought he'd need a wheelchair if he was reelected."

• Mark Halperin [01:13]: "What makes you think this is surprising anyone? Have you lost your mind?"

• Jack Armstrong [06:28]: "Ben Shapiro characterized the idea as skeezy."

• Katie Green [19:44]: "They’re establishing his capacity for brutality."

• Suge Knight [23:13]: "When a jury looks at this video, there's nothing consensual about getting beat down in a hotel hallway."

• Jack Armstrong [32:36]: "In 1961, John F. Kennedy and family received a dog named Pushinko from the Soviet Union."

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Conclusion

In this episode titled "Skeezy You Say!!," Armstrong and Getty delve into contentious political narratives, scrutinize media representations, and explore the murky intersections of power, influence, and ethics. Balancing serious discourse with their characteristic wit, they provide listeners with a comprehensive and engaging analysis of current events, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with the episode's content can stay informed and entertained.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty. According to the same Biden book, Joe's physical deterioration was so severe that aides thought he'd need a wheelchair if he was reelected. That's crazy. Who needs a wheelchair to carry an urn? Wow.

[Mark Halperin]

Again. So the Jake Tapper book comes out next week. The first revelation that's even the slightest bit surprising. I'm not even setting the bar at shocking or revelatory, just even slightly new. I will, I will, I will, I will mark that with wonder. But so far, there hasn't been anything that would be of news to anybody.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, some of the quotes and specifics that say, yes, we were aware of what everybody else was aware of. Yes, we were. I mean, but that's the, that's it. As you pointed out. The much more interesting question is, Jake, what makes you think this is surprising anyone? Have you lost your mind?

[Mark Halperin]

Let's play that. We will this hour. We'll play the how hard he went at, at Lara Trump when she was on his show. We'll play that later this hour. And to give you an idea of, because he's trying to go out there and claim, because his book comes out next week, he's probably got more money at stake than, and with this than anything he's ever done in his life, all that. And, and he's really hoping to sell gazillions of copies of this book. And I think a lot of America is looking at it the same way. We are like, what are you going to tell me? I didn't know. The only person who didn't know this already was you. So it just seems kind of odd. So he's getting a fair amount of pushback out there that, no, I was, I was hard on the, the Biden people. I got all these examples of how I pushed back and. Okay, well, we'll play the clip of him when he had Laura Trump on, Lara Trump on, and she brought up Biden's decline and man, he attacked her really quite rudely. We'll play that later this hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it's so strange to see some of the other Bigfoot media outlet outlets like the New York Times joining in on the game. They were gaslighting us at the time, as we discussed earlier, that Biden was not non compos mentis. And now they're gaslighting us about the gaslighting I mean, oh, here's a shocking, shocking announcement. Joe Biden was senile. Like virtually all of America is saying. Yeah, we know. We said so at the time. Time.

[Mark Halperin]

The people around us, the people around him knew it and were trying to hide it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, we caught on. Wow. I know.

[Mark Halperin]

And we, as you keep pointing out, and we had no inside sources. The 85% of America who didn't think he should serve a second term had zero inside White House sources. And we figured that out.

[Jack Armstrong]

And that has been Jake Tapper's weak, weak response to the increasingly snarky, appropriately snarky questions about. Dude, what? You're telling us what we already Knew. Polls showed 80% of Americans believe that. Yeah, well, we. We interviewed more than 200 sources who had inside information and have given us anecdotes about what happened behind the scenes. Did you not hear me? We know. We knew then, we know now. What? What are you even doing, Jake? Anyway, I'm delighted by the fact that this book and Jake are becoming more of a punchline than a news story. Speaking of news stories, the big Qatari Rul wants to give the president a $400 million plane to use as Air Force One. Then allegedly. Perhaps it will then be given to his presidential library, which is very, very close to be given to him as a gift.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, I think there's speculation that he would use it after he was done being president.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Until he was no longer using it. And then give it to the library. I think that's a distinction. I mean, if it's Air Force One, then go straight to the library. I still don't. I don't still understand why we would take a plane from a Hamas supporting Middle Eastern country for our Air Force One. But, I mean, him using it for his own personal use as just Donald Trump flying around afterwards, that's a non starter.

[Jack Armstrong]

It makes Hunter Biden look like he wasn't even trying. Yeah. So this is. It's funny because Trump is doubling down on this and angrily saying, why would we turn this down? The tide is growing. You've got a handful of Republicans of pretty serious heft who are cautiously saying, number one, security wise, scrubbing a gigantic, technically advanced plane for foreign surveillance technology would be a costly and laborious process. Although costly and laborious, that's what the government does. My concern is it would be an unsuccessful effing process. And that a Hamas supporting frenemy. Weird. Tough to get your handle on a foreign government. It's gonna have all the intelligence they want from Air Force One. And some are questioning whether the plane would have the necessary capabilities carry the advanced technology. Well, that could be worked out. John TH Senate Majority Leader, Hollywood good looks.

[Mark Halperin]

I couldn't have told you that. If you to ask me that off top of your head, who's the Republican leader in the Senate? I don't think I could hit you with that name.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'd have had to think about it for a second. I could picture him. But yeah, John Thune, super handsome Republican, South Dakota.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm glad you waited on his handsomeness twice.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stressed Tuesday afternoon that nothing was official yet and predicted that there would be plenty of scrutiny around the arrangement should it move forward. Quote, there are lots of issues around that and I think that will attract very serious questions if and when it happens. Some other, let's see, Republicans comments were mild compared with those of Democrats who've raised ethical and constitutional flags. Outrageous. Trump has also. Thank you for summarizing their comments. Trump has also faced some criticism over the deal from conservative commentators. And I thought this was interesting. Ben Shapiro characterized the idea as skeezy. And the influencer Laura Loomer took aim at Qatar via social media, saying, we cannot accept a $400 million gift from jihadists in suits. That is something.

[Mark Halperin]

Skeezy, you say?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Senator Todd Young, R Indiana, told the Wall Street Journal, quote, I have concerns whenever you accept a gift from a foreign country, even those that we perceive to be the closest allies, whether or not that plane might have any listening devices in it. On and on it goes. And then I was struck by the editors of the Free Press, which I am a big fan of and is remarkably fair to Trump. They have a very Armstrong and Getty ish approach. When he's 1, they say he's 100% right. If he's 75% right, they will say so. And if they think an idea is bad, they say the idea is Hitler there. No, they don't call him Hitler. The the headline here is Trump's disgraceful palace in the Sky, a $400 million cuttery gift in the Trump family business. They go into the whole Hunter Biden thing and blah, blah, blah. The Hunter Biden affair really was a scandal, but these days it seems like small potatoes. Look no further than the latest gift from the Qatari government, which Trump is reportedly set to accept this week, the luxury Boeing 747, blah, blah, blah.

[Mark Halperin]

What's the plane worth?

[Jack Armstrong]

In theory, $400 million.

[Mark Halperin]

Wow. So Trump, you know, he's out of office in three and a half hours and then for the rest of his life, he flies around in a $400 million plane that was given to him by a country that supports radical Islam.

[Jack Armstrong]

Correct? Yeah. Put aside the legal aspect of this for a moment. And even the question of whether the prospect of eventual ownership by the Trump library is the same thing as personal gift to the 47 president. Just consider the plain matter of our national security. A plane handed to the president by a foreign government, let alone a government that hosts the leaders of Hamas, cooperates with Iran, fuels popular anti Semitism throughout the Arab world through its government mouthpiece, Al Jazeera, and has poured in nearly 2 billion billion into American universities since 2021 as these campuses express solidarity with. Solidarity with Palestinian terrorism. Oh, and here there is much more than the plane to report all the conflicts of interest with the Trump family and their plans. The Qatari plane is not an exception, but the rule for the second Trump administration so far, foreign friends and foes are now treating this as a pay to play presidency. They're right. It just looks terrible. Looks terrible. Stop it.

[Mark Halperin]

So do you think this is real or was this a they got a into a signal versus noise discussion on MSNBC today? Is this noise to distract from the signal of the fact that Trump ain't meeting with Netanyahu? And we have clearly the reporting from David Ignatius in the Washington Post. We have backed way away from the whole we're on board with you Israel for attacking Iran. Walked that way back.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. My argument against that idea is that you're trying to cover up being overly friendly with Islamists and not nearly friendly enough with Israel by accepting a giant gift from Islamists. That's like emphasizing the story, not covering it, but I see. Well, we're talking about the plane and not the.

[Mark Halperin]

You don't believe in five dimensional chess?

[Jack Armstrong]

I really don't know. No, I just, I think Trump wants the plane and he's very, very stubborn and. And said, no, I want the damn plane.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. I think somebody offered him a 400 million dollar plane. He saw pictures of it and he thought, man, that'd be cool. Let me also play on that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that'd be my reaction to. Of course, I could probably play for like the pay for the crew and upkeep for about a week. I'd be dead broke.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Having looked into the whole private flying thing, it wouldn't even be that long. It's so expensive. Fuel is the number one thing. You can't afford the fuel. If somebody gave you that plane, you couldn't. You wouldn't go Anywhere you wouldn't take one trip you couldn't afford to fuel.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fabulously wealthy.

[Mark Halperin]

Are you sure I was using the understood you for everyone, not just you. In this particular case, yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

How much do you recall the. Well, probably not, but yeah, I'm always fascinated by those numbers it costs to fuel a 747, for instance.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, a buddy of mine is a private pilot and even those tiny jets, it's just insanely expensive.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't doubt it.

[Mark Halperin]

And then you'd have to have a crew and a. Probably like this Trump. I suppose he has a full time pilot that flies his Trump plane around, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, he's got a. Yeah, at least a pilot you have to have two, right?

[Mark Halperin]

By law. Yeah. I remember when I saw him at 20:15 when he was running for president and he flew in his plane, landed it. The rally was at Sacramento International Airport. I was there with my kids when they were little and at. Gladys, are you paying. Gladys is not paying attention. Gladys is watching Wheel of Fortune.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gladys. Whoa, whoa. There's going to be a mention of this in your. You call him your annual review.

[Mark Halperin]

We went to the Trump rally and man, he flew in on that plane and people were cheering. And then they taxi that thing up with just Trump on the side in big giant letters and everything like that. That's quite the flex. And that's his old dumpy plane compared to the 400 million dollar cool Qatari plane he was going to get.

[Jack Armstrong]

The cost of fuel for a Boeing 747 can range from 1,000 to $2,000 per hour of flight time.

[Mark Halperin]

Per hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's, that's not as much as I'd imagined. So you fly it, you know, three hours away. You can cover a bunch of the country in that.

[Mark Halperin]

I gotta believe that's wrong. Just based on my own experience with some private flying and what I paid. That's gotta be way low.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's just the gasoline, just the whatever you call it, aircraft fuel.

[Mark Halperin]

Anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you arguing with the Internet?

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, using my own personal experience against the Internet. So I'm angry, I'm actually angry that Jake Tapper might make money off of this book that is coming out. And it pisses me off. It also pisses off Mark Halperin, another journalist who is not going to be friends with Jake Tapper anytime soon as he called him out hard yesterday on this whole story. Anyway, we got an example of Jake Tapper speaking truth to power in the Biden administration and pushing back. Right? Okay, stay tuned for that.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Mark Halperin]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Mark Halperin]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Mark Halperin]

So Jake Tapper of CNN, their biggest star, has written a book called Original Sin in which he claims that he's got the behind the scenes story that the White House hid from us of how the mental decline of Joe Biden had been so bad and they kept it all secret. And it's all ridiculous because we all knew this all along and it's being called out as ridiculous by a number of people. So he and the publisher are making the rounds saying, no, no, no, no, no, no. I worked really, really hard to point out how much trouble the Biden campaign was. And I questioned them hard. Mark Halpern took that apart on his TV show last night. Journalist Mark Halperin, he played a couple of clips and here's an example of Mark Halperin's reaction.

[Jake Tapper]

All right, again, amazing. True. Here's something true that he said that Jake Tapper said on CNN this morning, true, that there was a cover up that senior Biden officials worked very hard to cover up as much as they could his decline, including amongst other people in the government and in the campaign. That's true. Here's two things that are not true, okay? And this is where the credibility is just so important that people be honest. I shouldn't be the only one in the media being honest about this. It's bizarre. Okay? One thing that's not true is that you needed that the COVID up was so good that no one could see this, that we couldn't possibly have gotten to the bottom of this during the election. Again, it makes me mental. It was clear.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right.

[Mark Halperin]

What is going on there? Anyway, halpert on his TV show last night. What's a TV show on YouTube? But then he spent like 45 minutes taking apart Jake Tapper and his responses in his book. He seemed to be like personally offended by this whole thing. But Halperin played this clip which goes back to during the election. Jake Tapper has on Lara Trump who attacks Joe Biden's brain. And Jake Tapper's having none of it. Here it goes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is very clearly a cognitive decline. That's what I'm referring to. It makes me uncomfortable.

[Lara Trump]

You, you are. No, I can't. That's so amazing. It's so amazing to me that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Try and figure out an answer.

[Lara Trump]

A cognitive decline.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trying to tell me that. What I was suggesting was.

[Lara Trump]

I think you were mocking his stutter. I think you were mocking his stutter. And I have absolutely no standing to diagnose somebody's cognitive decline. I would think that somebody in the Trump family would be more sensitive to people who do not have medical licenses diagnosing politicians from afar. Plenty of people have diagnosed your father from afar. And I'm sure it offends you.

[Jack Armstrong]

The two of them trying to filibuster each other is going to make me mental. But having said that, the idea that you need to be a medical professional to recognize that somebody is aging very quickly and aging badly is just a ridiculous assertion.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, Halperin's point was look how quickly he got into defense mode when somebody from the other side presented. Hey, I think Joe Biden's brain doesn't work anymore. Oh, okay. So you're an expert. You're not a doctor. He's got a stutter. You're attacking his. I mean, he got really, really defensive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and he wasn't even like defensively inquiring, like what evidence do you have or what makes you say that? No, he was denying the reality of it and attacking her for making the assertion.

[Mark Halperin]

Absolutely. Which he did. Constant. And now to have the freaking cojones to come out here and write this book and act like you're revealing something to us because you have inside sources. Are you kidding me? I don't know if he's crazy.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's one of the most astounding self owns in the history of media.

[Mark Halperin]

The book comes out next week. We got to decide if we can get him on. I'll bet we can because he's going to be out there pumping the book and then how we. I Want to handle it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy.

[Mark Halperin]

You're either stupid or you're a liar would be a good question.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not a question.

[Cassie]

Armstrong and Getty Ventura said Combs proposed this sexual encounter that he called voyeurism, where he would watch her having sex with other men. She took drugs, she said Combs supplied beforehand. I couldn't imagine doing all of that without some sort of buffer or a way not to feel it. Sex with a stranger I didn't want to be having sex with soon, she said. These so called freak offs happen weekly. Combs demanding them so often it stifled her music career and became her full time job. They lasted two, three, sometimes four days.

[Mark Halperin]

I don't understand what that means. That's from yesterday's testimony and the P. Diddy trial. I spoke. I mean, maybe we'll learn more today or have learned more today with a. What was two or three or four days? What's going on? I mean, there's all kinds of. You got it. The human body needs to sleep. Occasionally you need to eat.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're taking it too late tax season.

[Mark Halperin]

You got some paperwork to do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that's, that's the thing. She, she wanted to go record or play some shows or whatever. And he said no, no, no, the freak off's continuing at least through tomorrow and perhaps into Wednesday. Oh, geez. Yeah, so, I mean, not literally without a break. You know, you gotta share like you say, you gotta visit the bathroom, have a meal share.

[Mark Halperin]

Check your 401k.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we're contemplating doing a semi regularly Diddy update featuring Katie Green. Depends how the, the news flows from the trial, but what the heck, what do we have? Katie?

[Katie Green]

Yeah, this morning they're talking a lot about the domestic violence aspect of it. She talks about how after the hotel assault, Diddy followed her to her apartment and there was chaos outside of her door. A lot of kicking and banging and yelling. Also a text message from Diddy to Cassie about the freak offs. He suggested that to have a proper freak off, no ketamine can be involved because it's cheating. It's only successful when we remember. And ketamine, according to Cassie, was her favorite drug for freak offs because it's very disassociative.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, he has two standards.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, true.

[Mark Halperin]

She also, this is not grade A, USDA approved freak off. We're using ketamine.

[Jack Armstrong]

She also, that's, you know what? You're despoiling the very principles of freak offs.

[Mark Halperin]

I remember when I was a kid, a freak off meant something that could just be anything. So he's really concerned she wouldn't remember the freak off that was her his problem. What?

[Katie Green]

Yeah, that was in a text message that they revealed this morning that it's only successful when we remember.

[Mark Halperin]

Holy crap, that's deranged.

[Katie Green]

Right. She also testified that this led to an on and on opiate addiction. On and off opiate addiction. And then she also talked about him taking her to sex clubs several times where she would have sex with him and a male escort named Jules. And on one occasion in 2013, she was packing up to go to a music festival and she got into a fight with Diddy. She suffered a pretty significant gash on her head after he threw her into a bed frame. He then took her to a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills to get it fixed and sent her a text of a photo of her injured face writing so you can remember. Oh, but again, none of this has anything to do with what the trial is actually about, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, no, I would. I would disagree. It's not specific to the charges, but the charges involve enforcement through brutality of semi involuntary sexual servitude. So they're establishing his capacity for brutality.

[Mark Halperin]

What a nut. Most of us, because we all get sex and in the enjoyment of it and maybe at various periods in our life wishing we had more. But I don't think any of us have any idea what it would be like to have sex, you know, unlimited amounts per day, day after day. I mean, would it continue to be something you craved or enjoyed? I don't even know because I've never had that experience, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it would seem that he had to go further and further and more and more perverse and that sort of thing.

[Mark Halperin]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's see. His charges include racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

[Mark Halperin]

So a lot of that stuff will be, like you said, very boring. Records of planes leaving certain areas and landing somewhere else and money being transferred and that sort of stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, many of the most severe allegations relate to the racketeering conspiracy charge. This includes accusations of kidnapping, drugging, and coercing women into sexual activities, sometimes using firearms or threats of violence. So that that goes to the racketeering conspiracy.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, that's nice.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which essentially just means forming an organization to do criminal stuff.

[Mark Halperin]

That's nice since you considered going to law school. But here's somebody on Fox who actually went to law school explaining what the upsides and downsides are.

[Suge Knight]

For Diddy to call this video disturbing is an understatement. And I have said from the beginning, Diddy's Biggest problem isn't the indictment, it's the optics. And number one with that is this video. You can't. His whole defense is going to be, look, everybody who participated in these freak offs did so consensually, including Cassie. But when a jury looks at this video, there's nothing consensual about getting beat down in the hallway of a hotel. Number one.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I must remind folks, speaking of celebrity trials, that all OJ Said, well, a couple of his buddies were heavy, as they say, they were carrying guns. He said, ain't nobody leaving this room. That made him guilty of kidnapping and he spent years in prison. So you try to get out of this freak off, and I will beat you down in a hotel hallway. It's kidnapping. Mm.

[Mark Halperin]

A little more from the lawyer.

[Suge Knight]

And number two, the other problem is this star witness just so happens to be eight and a half months pregnant while she's testifying. That is gonna be so tricky for the defense attorney to cross examine her. Why, the jury is gonna have to look at her and say, you know, can you really go for the jugular? Asking cross examination questions to a woman who most of us would give up our seat on the subway for? I mean, that's just another optic and a. A minefield, really, for the defense attorney who's going to have to paint her as a liar.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

So I'm not carefully. Maybe Joe and Katie can help me with this. I'm not really good. On whose side? On which side of the rap wars between, like, Tupac got shot and Biggie and Suge Knight and whoever's. I don't really fully understand that. So Diddy and is on the Suge Knight side of the rap wars, apparently.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't. He's a New York guy, so. Or what is he? I don't know. I don't. I really don't know. Do you have any questions about the Civil War? I can tell you about Long Street, Stonewall Jackson, whoever.

[Mark Halperin]

Because Suge Knight was behind killing Tupac, Right? Or Biggie.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's Jack. Who said that? Not. Not me, Suge.

[Mark Halperin]

Anyway, Suge Knight, who is still alive, called into the Cuomo show on News Nation last night from jail because he's in jail and had this to say.

[Joe Getty]

I still feel that Puffy's gonna be all right and have a fair shot at it, because Puffy, he's not a dummy. And I'm quite sure somebody gonna talk to those jurors and convince one or two of them, and that's all he Needs is one. So at the end of the day, it's going to be a real exciting situation, but I think he's going to be all right.

[Mark Halperin]

Suge, do you think he's going to be all right because someone's going to tamper with the jury? Is that what you're trying to say?

[Joe Getty]

He got enough influence and I'm quite sure. Don't seem like the prosecution is that bad against him. Don't seem like the. You know, I think he got some favors with the government. I think they're going to show him a little leeway. It might not seem like it when it's all said and done, but I don't think he had nothing to worry about. I don't think he's worried because he's gonna be federal and if he get convicted, Trump's gonna pardon him.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Couple of bombshells there. Oh, man.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, man.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no.

[Mark Halperin]

So he flat out says he's only gotta get to one juror, Ryan threaten and or pay them, which is true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah. There are many examples of that through history. You got enough money and enough connections, you will find a way.

[Mark Halperin]

And I wouldn't go for this, but I could see how you could get to a juror with money who would say, you know, what was she doing hanging around with that idiot anyway? You know, she made bad choices. What do I care? I'll take this $200,000 check. He can go about his business and she can make better decisions in the future. I could see a person getting there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I find that very notion disgusting, mostly because I would ask for a lot more than 200k. Yeah, there's a lot more to be heard in this trial. But no, yeah, somebody could. Yeah, please. You offer somebody enough money, life changing money, they will rationalize absolutely anything.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, then you got the whole bombshell up there at the end. It's federal and he knows that Trump will pardon him. Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, and then we have to come in and do a show. The next day, Trump will be hiding, riding around on his Qatari plane, pardoning Diddy. Why?

[Mark Halperin]

Trump pardoning Diddy is making America great again.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm exhausted.

[Mark Halperin]

That's something. So I don't know where Trump is on this. And then does Kanye play a role ever? Kanye. Kanye's got to get involved. Come on, Kanye, where are you?

[Jack Armstrong]

He's made a comment or two, hasn't he? He's mostly litigating USV Hitler right now.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, he's got a new album out called WW3 that has a song on it called Diddy. So yeah, he's involved in at least.

[Jack Armstrong]

Artist working his way up the totem pole or down it or something. He's begun with the Chancellor of Germany and is moving on, I guess to Diddy at some point. I swear to God, I wish I was just fishing right now. Three or four days. You know what? Homo sapiens are nuts. They're nuts. Can I just go fishing and not talk about all this insanity?

[Mark Halperin]

I want to hear.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's a cost to my soul, Katie. I think I can feel my soul eroding.

[Katie Green]

I actually can see it eroding.

[Mark Halperin]

You're gonna need to get it replaced with a pig soul.

[Jack Armstrong]

Discuss during hour three of the show, I believe. Yes.

[Mark Halperin]

Here's a report from CNN on the testimony yesterday.

[CNN Reporter]

The testimony was graphic, it was intense and it was intended to give you a glimpse into what her experience over more than a decade has been, she says at the hands of a violent abuser who she loved very much but controlled her every move. They asked her the question, was there anything about these freak offs these days, long drug fueled sex events that you enjoyed? And she said being with him, trying to be one on one, it demonstrated that she was craving an opportunity to have it. Which she says was her first adult relationship.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, that is so sad. Even in the midst of a decade of being beaten and used that way and everything like that. Just if I got a chance to be close to him, it was because I was so in love with him.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is just so awful if you are a billionaire, because he is. Maybe wasn't at the time, but I mean if you have more money than anybody can imagine and you're good looking and successful and a music star, you can absolutely find not a woman, but several women I'm sure who are gorgeous, talented and utterly naive or so lacking in self regard that you can manipulate them like puppets.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, I think she's way beyond those. She's got to have damaged in her background somewhere to need what she was needing there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although a master manipulator like him, the story, I mean, it's repeated thousands of times. The pimps who take in runaways and confused girls, batter girls, whatever, and, and they give them emotional warmth and comfort and love and then it evolves into a very, you know, what's, what's the word I'm looking for? You know, it's a, it's a predatory slash. You're like a leech.

[Mark Halperin]

But that's what I mean. I think she's got to have some sort of battered. Something in her background. I'll be. Would be any reason for that to come out in the trial? Would that help the defense or prosecution in any way to point out that she had a horrible childhood, which I gotta believe is the case on some level, for her to end up in that situation.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. I'd have to think about that, but.

[Mark Halperin]

Wonder if that'll come out. I haven't heard anything about that. Have you, Katie, heard anything about her upbringing? Like where's dad? Where's mom and dad?

[Jack Armstrong]

Is there.

[Mark Halperin]

Is there a mom and dad? She was 22 years old when she started dating Diddy.

[Katie Green]

Well, yeah, she started modeling in the industry at age 14.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. So where are the parents? I haven't heard a word about that.

[Katie Green]

No.

[Mark Halperin]

They must not be involved or I would think they'd be at the trial and that'd be part of the news coverage. Wouldn't you?

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe. Yeah, probably. She's a witness though, I think. Yeah. I don't know. She's got a husband now.

[Mark Halperin]

Oof. But he ain't enjoying this either.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I mean, yeah, every. You know, unless you get married very young and are particularly religious and have saved yourself, etc. Which I fully approve of. Blah, blah, blah. You know, there have been encounters in your honey's past, but I don't need them testified to under oath.

[Mark Halperin]

I don't need to watch.

[Jack Armstrong]

Particularly the kinkier ones.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, four day freak off. The bodyguard did what to you? You never mentioned that.

[Jake Tapper]

Darn.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeesh. Yeah, that was ugly. Google it if you want to know. You don't want to know. We'll finish strong. Next.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. Authorities in Pennsylvania recently arrested a woman after she allegedly stole more than $1,000 worth of candles from a CVS. On the bright side, her very romantic. We mentioned this briefly yesterday. The history of presidential gifts. It's, you know, it's come up because of the. The Qatari plane thing, which again, I don't think is going to happen, but they mentioned that in 2008, George W. Bush was gifted a pair of inline skates from the Netherlands. Rollerblading emoluments.

[Mark Halperin]

Claws. Hitler.

[Jack Armstrong]

What? In 2011, Barack Obama was given a red, white and blue basketball signed by Chinese president Xi Jinping. I see old Winnie the Pooh is kind of a small forward in the Charles Barkley mold. You know, throwing his weight around the lane, doing a lot of rebounding. At least two presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan received baby elephants. Blah, blah, blah, Cutter. Blah, blah, blah. The plane in 1784, King Charles III of Spain gave President Washington a donkey, which he aptly named royal gift.

[Mark Halperin]

Thanks for the donkey. That's the richest guy in the country. I don't need a donkey.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got plenty of donkeys. But the gift was designed in part to cement the friendship between the two nations as the U.S. established its national identity, according to the nonprofit Mount Vernon Ladies association of the Union, which oversees the estate.

[Mark Halperin]

Hey, I got a quick question for you since we're about out of time. I just was looking up at the tv. So Mayor Pete was in Iowa at some town hall yesterday, which has people rumbling that maybe he's looking at running for president. You don't just go to Iowa town halls for the hell of it. He's bearded now. How do we feel about bearded Mayor Pete?

[Jack Armstrong]

About the way I felt about clean shaven Mayor Pete? He's a phony.

[Mark Halperin]

I think he's trying to be a little harder or straighter or tougher or something.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. Do I have to think about Mayor Pete? It's final thoughts.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm strong again.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's final thoughts. It's final thoughts.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm strong again. Get ready with Katie Green and Michael Angelo. Yeah. Here's your host for Final Thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew. Michelangelo leading us off. Michael, you know, if I'm going to a foreign country and they give me a fancy gift, I say, you know, take back this donkey. Just give me the best deep dish pizza you got.

[Mark Halperin]

That's all I need. I have no use for a donkey. A deep dish pizza I would enjoy greatly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here, here. Katie Greener, esteemed newswoman. As a final thought, Katie, I thought.

[Katie Green]

I was doing pretty good there, and then I stabbed myself in the face with a fork while I was just trying to eat. So hopefully you're all doing better than I am.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's bad. Jack.

[Mark Halperin]

Final thought reminds me a story from one of the LBJ books in which he gifted Jackie O. Jackie Kennedy with a prize bull. He was a Texan and thought that she would appreciate that she was an upper crust Northeasterns. Like, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?

[Jack Armstrong]

My final thought. In 1961, John F. Kennedy and family received a dog named Pushinko from the Soviet Union. Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Bulgaria gave George W. Bush a puppy. And in 1950, I already mentioned the elephant. Oh. And in 2011, the head guy in the Northern Territory of Australia gave Barack Obama crocodile attack insurance. Would have paid Michelle 50 grand if he'd gotten, you know, eaten by a crocodile.

[Mark Halperin]

Armstrong and Yeti wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, thanks for the crocodile insurance. So many people to thank, so little time. Go to armstrongandgetty.com. got a lot of great hot links for you to check out. Drop us a note. Pick up some A and G Swag. Huh?

[Mark Halperin]

I feel like I need to mention the elephant in the room, which is an elephant in the room. What am I supposed to do with this? See you tomorrow. God bless America.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm going to say this at risk of my job. Not only they exist, they persist. What the hell are you talking about? Ozzy's crazy. Crazy thinking. It's really come as quite a shock to me.

[Mark Halperin]

It's true. Yep.

[Lara Trump]

So let's go with a bang.

[Jack Armstrong]

I say dig up his bones and reban him. I've rethought it. Pete Rose's bones. You're now rebound.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, man.

[Jack Armstrong]

For all of the eternity.

[Mark Halperin]

And then somebody. And then somebody would set up his bones at a card table at a casino.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank you, Armstrong and Getty. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.