The Fascist Takeover of the United State is Happening Right Now

Summary

Podcast Summary: IHIP News

Episode: The Fascist Takeover of the United States is Happening Right Now
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie “Pumps” Sullivan
Date: September 18, 2025

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Overview

In this fiery episode, Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan dig into what they describe as an active fascist takeover of America under Donald Trump’s renewed influence. Through satirical but alarmed commentary, they spotlight the government’s alleged coercion of media networks, the firing of comedian Jimmy Kimmel, and the coordinated efforts between state power and oligarchic billionaires to suppress free speech. The hosts blend righteous anger with gallows humor, calling upon listeners to recognize the scale of threats to democracy and participate in pushback.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing the Crisis: Government Overreach & Suppression of Speech

• Opening Rant: Krystal Ball sets the urgent tone, arguing that mainstream media is downplaying the dangers of state-sponsored censorship and oligarchic collusion under Trump.

  • “This is not cancel culture. What happened to Jimmy Kimmel will continue and continue. They are moving the goalposts and they will not stop.” (Krystal Ball, 00:42)

• David Pakman:

  • Clearly distinguishes state censorship from “cancel culture,” describing the firing of Kimmel as “not culture, it’s state repression… an order from the government.”
  • Illustrates the danger by comparing it to a hypothetical where the Biden administration demanded media personalities express mandated opinions after the Paul Pelosi attack.
  • “There was an order from the state about what people must say. Jimmy Kimmel did not say that and… was threatened with consequences… This is not cancel culture because it’s not culture, it’s state repression.” (David Pakman, 01:23)

2. Media Consolidation, Corporate Complicity & Regulatory Leverage

• Brian Stelter explains the business pressures:

  • Media conglomerates Nexstar and Sinclair needed Trump’s FCC approval for mergers.
  • Both companies lobbied ABC to pull Kimmel in hopes of currying favor with the administration.
  • “We know that both Nextar and Sinclair called up ABC this afternoon, complained about Kimmel and said they were yanking the show off their stations… It’s exactly what it looks like.” (Brian Stelter, 04:34)

• Krystal Ball expands:

  • Calls out Sinclair for using local news credibility as a cloak for coordinated propaganda.
  • Notes the symbolic insult of replacing Kimmel with a tribute to far-right figure Charlie Kirk and the demands for a public apology and donation to Turning Point USA.
  • “It is jaw dropping that they are mainstreaming a racist… We believe it, we like everything he said, we support everything he said.” (Krystal Ball, 07:08)

3. Public Reaction and the Myth of “Majority Consensus”

• Saagar Enjeti raises alarm at the number of Americans supportive of these actions and voices fear that Trump’s base is more powerful than the left acknowledges.

  • “77 million Americans believe the same that Charlie Kirk did… That is terrifying because Trump with the billionaires, they have to have the consent of the people.” (Saagar Enjeti, 09:10)

• Krystal Ball Reframes:

  • Pushes back, arguing many Trump voters are just anti-status quo, misled, or seeking different policy outcomes — not all are ideologues.
  • Critiques Democratic strategy for centrism, insisting it appears to be “status quo” rather than real change.

4. State Retaliation and Erosion of the First Amendment

• Adam Cochran’s Twitter report is cited for a timeline and facts:
  • Nextstar is depicted as being coerced directly by federal threats tied to their merger: “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
  • Network executives reportedly had no issue with Kimmel, but removed him under pressure from Trump’s administration.
  • “This was expressly the federal government weaponizing federal departments in retribution for someone being critical of the President. This is literally what the first amendment exists for.” (Krystal Ball, 13:23)

5. The Weaponization of State Media

• Saagar Enjeti notes the full defunding of PBS and NPR, moving even public broadcasting toward state-controlled media akin to Putin’s Russia.

• Krystal Ball ties this to Trump’s personal vendettas:

  • “He’s a little titty baby who got his feelings hurt by comedians. And he's been chomping at the bit to go after everybody that's hurt his feelings his whole life.” (Krystal Ball, 15:52)

6. The Role of Billionaires and Corporate Cowardice

• Hassan Piker and Krystal Ball stress:
  • Corporate America will not defend democracy; their only loyalty is to profit and currying favor with power.
  • “Every corporation is instantly folding to the admin, even when it’s over an utterly inoffensive joke. The administration doesn’t like liberals need to wake up. We all have to fight back.” (Krystal Ball quoting Hassan Piker, 16:55)

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• “We cannot lose our country and our right to free speech, to free expression and we cannot lose our comedians because a demented 80 year old man… The biggest fraud on the planet.”
  (Krystal Ball, 00:34)

• “If you don't like Jimmy Kimmel, you don't watch the show. I think Greg Gutfield and Jesse Waters are pricks. Guess what? I don't watch their shows.”
  (Krystal Ball, 03:15)

• “Sinclair's ABC stations are going… Instead of airing Jimmy Kimmel, they are airing a special remembrance of Charlie Kirk… They have also demanded that Jimmy Kimmel pay a heartfelt apology to the Kirk family and make a donation to Turning Point USA.”
  (Krystal Ball, 06:15)

• “The billionaire ruling class plus all of the crazy MAGA cultists and all of the just bend over beta males surrounding Trump. They have no conviction. They operate out of fear. And do you want to know who the billionaires are scared of…? The people. Us.”
  (Krystal Ball, 16:50)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:15: Krystal Ball and David Pakman frame state repression vs. cancel culture
• 04:14–05:08: Brian Stelter’s explainer on media business, Sinclair’s and Nextar’s compliance
• 05:08–09:10: Sinclair Media’s propagandizing and coordinated messaging
• 09:10–12:00: Debate over Trump’s support base and Democratic response
• 12:20–15:25: Dissecting the facts of the Kimmel firing; First Amendment stakes
• 15:32–15:52: NPR/PBS fully defunded; pivot to state-run media
• 16:50–End: The call to action and warning about corporate cowardice and organizing resistance

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Tone & Style

The hosts alternate between comedic sarcasm, righteous fury, and analytical clarity. They use pointed language and pop-cultural references (“titty baby,” “suck it, America,”) to keep the commentary direct and relatable while underlining the anxiety and urgency they perceive in the present situation.

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Conclusion

This episode serves as both a warning and rallying cry about the convergence of political power and media influence, the closing of independent speech, and the dangers of apathy. The hosts detail the Kimmel firing as a case study for broader authoritarian trends and urge progressive listeners to resist normalization of state censorship and billionaire-driven compliance. The final note is a call to unity and vigilance for defenders of free expression.

Transcript

[Krystal Ball]

Foreign. The fascists are here. They are flexing their muscle and you guys, it is far worse than, than the mainstream media is letting on. This is coercion. This is coordination with the oligarchy in this fascist regime that is headed up by an incompetent idiot. A total lock in. Buckle up, buttercups. We cannot lose our country and our right to free speech, to free expression and we cannot lose our comedians because a demented 80 year old man who lies about his height, lies about his weight, has to wear a shit ton of makeup. The biggest fraud on the planet. We're going to lose our country to that. This is fascism. This is not cancel culture. What happened to Jimmy Kimmel will continue and continue and continue. Continue. They are moving the goalposts and they will not stop. They don't give a about the Constitution, they don't give a about inflation. They don't give a shit about any of the people that voted for them. David from right here tells us exactly what this is. Play the clip.

[David Pakman]

One thing that matters. There's only one thing that matters. We had a threat of retaliation by a government official for not. For someone not pronouncing government commanded speech. There was an order from the state about what people must say. Jimmy Kimmel did not say that and he was. And his corporation was threatened with consequences by a government official. This is not cancel culture because it's not culture. It's state repression. It's an order from the government. Here's the script you must read. If you do not read it, you will be taken off the air. Jimmy Kimmel didn't read it. He was taken off the air. This cannot be because he's a comedian. There'll be people say maybe we shouldn't take this as seriously. But here's the question. I would. Here's the comparison I would suggest. When Paul Pelosi was brutally attacked, many, unfortunately, including the son of the former President Trump, made light of it. A terrible thing. Heartbreaking. A terrible attack on an 82 year old man. Imagine if the Biden administration had given a script and said this is what everybody must say but Paul Pelosi. And if you don't say it, we will bring pressure to bear on your parent corporation to fire you. Greg Gutfeld at Fox, you're not sad enough about Paul Pelosi. You're not saying what we command to be said about Paul Pelosi. Therefore, unless Fox fires it, fires you, we are going to bring regulatory havoc to bear on the parent corporation.

[Krystal Ball]

And I want to remind you here that this is when the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, threw out rumors that Paul Pelosi and his attacker somehow were had a gay relationship going on. That's what they always do. They always have to link some marginalized group into this. Sound familiar? Sound familiar? As to what they're doing right now. This is state sponsored coercion of cowardice. MAGA supporting right wing billionaires that suck off the American taxpayer all the time. They don't pay taxes. There's all these tax loopholes and they go and kiss the ass to Donald Trump. There was not an outpouring of people that were upset about what Jimmy Kimmel did. The average American, if you, you don't like Jimmy Kimmel, you don't watch the show. I think Greg Gutfield and Jesse Waters are pricks. Guess what? I don't watch their shows. This, everybody has agency over what they watch. This is complete fascism. Call it what it is.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I'm very upset about this. Not just because, I mean if Jimmy Kimmel, he didn't really even say anything that was that controversial. He was basically repeating facts. You've got Stephen Colbert, you have Jeff Bezos with the Washington Post. We are seeing slowly but surely democracy is dying if it is not already dead because of Donald Trump and these billionaires.

[Krystal Ball]

Okay, next up we have Brian Stelter with the real reason Kimmel was taken off air. Of course, it's money and oligarchs uniting to fleece us even more.

[Brian Stelter]

Already owns lots of TV stations. It wants to merge with techno, which owns lots of other stations. In order to do that, it needs Brendan Carr, the FCC permission and it actually needs the FCC to change the regulations entirely about how many stations an individual company can own. So Nexar has all of this pending business before the government. Techno also does. And there's another big station owner called Sinclair that also has business pending before the government. So what do we know tonight? We know that both Nextar and Sinclair called up ABC this afternoon, complained about Kimmel and said they were yanking the show off their stations. ABC subsequently yanked the show nationwide. So we know that two major TV station owners, both of which need to curry favor with the Trump administration, were the ones that most loudly and vocally condemned Kimmel and said they were going to not air the show tonight and in the coming nights. This, it's an Occam's Razor situation. It's exactly what it looks like.

[Krystal Ball]

Okay, so Sinclair Media, this is super important because they have been propagandizing for the Trump regime. They've Been chilling for him since 2016. Sinclair Media is the group where you get your local news, so your local channel and we're local and you know, they make you feel like they're a part of the community. Seth, first let's play the clip of Sinclair Media channels all over the United States with their North Korea style propaganda. Play the clip. Sharing of biased and false news has.

[David Pakman]

Become all too common on social media.

[Krystal Ball]

Facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the museum use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think. And this is extremely dangerous to our democracy. So think about this. All of these local communities are owned by this huge multi billion dollar company. The owners of this company are big MAGA supporters and they want to the news. They don't believe in the First Amendment, so they make all of their local stations read a script. And that's why you could see all the screens coordinated. But it doesn't stop there. These people are punitive and petty and diabolical on top of that. Seth, put up the next one. All right, Sinclair's ABC stations are going. Instead of airing Jimmy Kimmel, they are airing a special remembrance of Charlie Kirk during Jimmy Kimmel Live on Friday night. They have also demanded that Jimmy Kimmel pay a heartfelt apology to the Kirk family and make a donation to Turning Point usa. That's what they're demanding. That's how empowered and emboldened these fascists are. It is jaw dropping that they are mainstreaming a racist that these right wingers are showing us. We believe in every single racist, sexist and homophobic word that Charlie Kirk said and you have to suck it. That's what they're saying to us. We believe it, we like everything he said, we support everything he said and we are mainstreaming everything he said said because they can't hold two truths at the same time. On the left, I can say Charlie Kirk's violent death upset me. I don't want to see anybody, anybody in this country because far too many people have, including kindergarteners and others, shot with a gun in public in the United States of America. While at the same time, I'm not going to go down the road of revisionist history. That Charlie Kirk is some great activist. He was a racist, an unapologetic one at that. But Sinclair is saying, listen up, suck it America. We like him. We're going to remember his racism. We're going to remember all the shit and Jimmy Kimmel. They're saying you have to bend the knee to this racist. This is fascism. This is beyond cancel culture. Sinclair Media, shame on you. But thank you for showing me exactly who you are and exactly what you think of marginalized people in this country. And thank you so much for making it so clear and evident that you are the oppressor and you are pissed off that during Obama or Biden you couldn't brazenly oppress and now you have a green light to do it. Thank you. Well noted. I'm glad to know where you stand on these issues.

[Saagar Enjeti]

What makes me so sick about all of this? I mean, there are a lot of things, but 77 million Americans believe the same that Charlie Kirk did. They believe that nobody should have a right to free speech but them, that nobody should have due process but them. And that is terrifying because Trump with the billionaires, they have to have the consent of the people. He got the presidency, the Senate and the House. And I am scared there are more of them than us. I hope I'm wrong.

[Krystal Ball]

No, I want to push back off of that. I think that that's too black and white view of the electorate. 77 million people. I think there's a percentage of those people that were pushing back against the status quo and the Democratic messaging was status quo. It was centrist politics. And I think a lot of those 77 million people don't follow the daily news cycle like we do and genuinely wanted cheaper prices and a pushback to all of these centrist policies that led us here. And Trump appeared authentic strong man and, and there's this illusion that he is, there's this illusion that he is a billionaire, therefore he can't be bought and paid for. And it's actually quite the opposite. Now within that 77 million, that's where all the racists are. That's where all the white supremacists are. That's where the people who want to nanny, nanny, boo, boo and tattletale and get wound about Cracker Barrel and all of this stuff. The problem with, with that is the Democratic option has often been to swing to center to try to appease the patriarchy. And there's a lot of talk in Democratic strategists right now that we need to go to the center. Go to the center. Well, that's what Hillary Clinton did. That's what Kamala Harris did. It's, there's a huge argument to be made that centrist politics for the non locked in voter appear like status quo. And Trump appeared for people who don't watch the news cycle as a change agent and then they also get sucked in because they were lied to. Donald Trump said, I'm going to sign a executive order and free speech is going to be the mandate. He said, I'm going to reduce the price of eggs. He made all of these, you know, big, big promises, but they were lies, they weren't promises. And then he also had powerful allies during the administration that own media conglomerates like Twitter, like X. And one of them is Elon Musk who high on drugs with sunglasses on, got out a chainsaw and then he sat down. I mean he's clearly not sober in this video and said shit like this.

[Hassan Piker]

You know, and have like a sense of humor, you know, so like, I mean the sort of. The left wanted to make comedy illegal. You know, you can't make fun of anything. So there's like comedy sucks. It's like nothing's funny. You can't make fun of anything. It's like legalize comedy. Yeah, legalize.

[Krystal Ball]

This is the danger of these right wing politicians and these right wing agitators. They will say things in that get clipped, that put out there, that people who don't micromanage the news cycle, like all of us in this silo right here do, they get sucked into it and then they go back to their life and, and they're not super political and all of these promises are made to them. But next up, I want to go over just the facts, straight up facts about the Jimmy Kimmel situation. Put this up. Let's make sure this is from Adam Cochran or Cochran. Let's make sure everyone understands the facts with Kimmel as the right is trying to paint this as at will termination. Nextar, the parent company of Kimmel show is seeking FCC approval for a merger and Kimmel made comments about Trump on Monday night, months after Trump openly said he wanted to get Kimmel fired. Next reporting is that Trump had the FCC lean on nexstar over these comments. Apparently they expressly used the line we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Multiple executives at the network have on background said they had no issue with Kimmel's statements. But the Trump threat loomed, referring to the merger. This was not a network dissatisfied with Kimmel. This was not a network embarrassed or horrified by what Kimmel said. This was not a network that thought he was unfunny or underperforming. This was not a company freely choosing to fire an employee. This was expressly the federal government weaponizing federal departments in retribution for someone being critical of the President. This is literally what the first amendment exists for. It does not protect you from Private actions by private entities. It protects you from the actions by the government to censor your speech, whether brazen and direct or through coercion and threat. This is not about if Kimmel was offensive or not. This is about speech. And I want to say this. I believe with every thing in me that the people that support Trump, I think it's around 30%. We have the numbers. 70% of Americans do not want to see comedians fired. They don't want this Christian white nationalist. They don't want to have to micromanage the news. I think the cult does. The cult wants this Laura Loomer saying she slept on it. She wants a dictator. A lot of Trump people are friends. The good liars go and tour. They say, yes, we think Trump should be a dictator. I think the numbers of people that like the American life and like the free speech is far, far more. And that's why the propaganda machine is working overtime, flooding the zone right now.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I hope you're right. I feel better after what your counter perspective was to mine.

[Krystal Ball]

So I appreciate that.

[Saagar Enjeti]

You know, here's the thing. You also have to remember on all this media stuff, PBS completely defunded.

[Krystal Ball]

Totally.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I forgot about NPR defunded. It is state run media, just like Putin has. Because Trump wants to be Putin. He wants everybody to say how great he is and he looks great with no shirt on.

[Krystal Ball]

And he is a tyrant completely. He's a little titty baby who got his feelings hurt by comedians. And he's been chomping at the bit to go after everybody that's hurt his feelings his whole life. Right? And the more he talks and the more he gets on camera, the more people want to shit talk him. And that's what we get to do in the United States. We get to shit talk. We get to do it. And if you don't like shit talking, don't watch. I've had it. Don't watch Jimmy Kimmel. You have agency. You dip shits. If you're in the cult and you don't like Jimmy Kimmel, don't watch Jimmy Kimmel. It's just super, super easy. I'm not into like Nazi shit, so I don't watch Nick Fuentes, okay? It's a very simple thing. I have agency over that. All right? Lastly, I want to leave you with a voice that keeps rising up, and it is our good friend Hassan Piker. And he says every corporation is instantly folding to the admin, even when it's over an utterly inoffensive joke. The administration doesn't like liberals need to wake up. We all have to fight back. These wealthy aren't going to stand up for anything beyond their bottom line. And that is what you have to realize here. The people who have become billionaires through our hard work and we pay taxes, they are able to go kiss the ring and do show and tell trophy time with Kanks in the Oval Office and humiliate themselves in these ridiculous humiliation exercises. And they are never going to come to the rescue. The the billionaire ruling class plus all of the crazy MAGA cultists and all of the just bend over beta males surrounding Trump. They have no conviction. They operate out of fear. And do you want to know who the billionaires are scared of and who maga's scared of? The people. Us. They're scared of us. The billionaires are afraid of losing our money. Kanks is afraid that we're going to organize against him, which is why he's talking about going after organizing liberal groups which we're going to get to in our next episode. Because today is a day to be locked into this. Because I'm telling you guys, fascism is here. This is a fascist country. They are doing it. This isn't Cancel Culture. That is a big giant diaper wearing titty baby. He is pumps. I can't stand him. And what is so cowardice is how many people are bending over to him. And are we seriously losing our country for that guy? That that will be the autopsy of the first Amendment. We lost it all for him. For you and the cult. Swing for the fences. You know what your rights, free country. Do it. Go after it. But those of us who want to have the first amendment unite and stand up. This is serious. Subscribe to our channel. I went into the back end and looked at the analytics and half of you watch our videos. But don't subscribe. By God, subscribe. We're doing the hard work here and we'll see you all later today with more news. How to beat down a dictator. I've been pulling all nighters trying to research this so you'll want to tune into our next episode.