Trump Threatens the EU and Chaos Erupts in FBI Hearings as Kash's Team Faceplants

Summary

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IHIP News Podcast Summary

Episode: Trump Threatens the EU and Chaos Erupts in FBI Hearings as Kash's Team Faceplants
Release Date: December 12, 2025
Hosts: Jennifer Welch (A), Angie “Pumps” Sullivan (D)

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Episode Overview

In this high-energy, irreverent episode, Jennifer and Angie dissect the latest political chaos: the embarrassing FBI hearings led by Trump-appointee Kash Patel, Trump’s latest attempts to intimidate the EU and red states, and the alarming mainstream platforming of far-right voices like Erica Kirk. The hosts skewer right-wing narratives, lament the corruption and dysfunction at federal levels, and push back on media complicity—all with biting sarcasm and wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. FBI Hearings—Confusion, Farce, and Fabrication

[00:00–03:19]

• The hosts react to clips from recent congressional hearings featuring the FBI, led by Trump loyalist/“failed podcaster” Kash Patel.
  • FBI officials struggle to identify Antifa as a real terrorist organization, failing to provide numbers or locations.
  • Hosts ridicule the fact that the FBI is “pouring all these resources…into an organization that does not exist” (D, 02:38).
  • Emphasis on the real threats: Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, right-wing extremist groups—ignored by Trump’s FBI.

"They're making everyday Americans that are resisting this fascist regime into an imaginary terrorist organization. And it is so Nazi-esque, it's unbelievable."
—Jennifer Welch [05:31]

• Jennifer raises the specter of weaponizing the “domestic terrorism” label against anti-Trump Americans, referencing reporting by journalist Ken Klippenstein.
• Both hosts draw historical parallels: Timothy McVeigh, Oklahoma City bombing, and January 6—underscoring the longstanding issue of right-wing domestic terror.

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2. Trump’s Delusional Rhetoric and the EU

[06:15–09:57]

• The hosts play a clip of Trump boastfully claiming Europe “listens to us and respects us like never before.”
• Angie mocks Trump’s “delusions of grandeur,” highlighting frequent protests against him in Europe:
  • “Every time you go overseas, they put Jeffrey Epstein in your picture on the side of castles. Scotland protests and says Trump is a Nazi...” (D, 06:40)
• Conversation pivots to the strategic dangers behind Trump’s stance:
  • Jennifer posits this is either dementia or intentional manipulation (by Putin, oligarchs, etc.) to destabilize the EU.
  • Discussion of the coordination between far-right US actors (Elon Musk, Peter Thiel) and efforts to undermine European regulations and unity.

"They want all of the Europeans data and they're going to try to collect it as they come into the United States. And Europe is holding a lot of these tech oligarchs accountable." —Jennifer Welch [09:22]

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3. Media Fumbles: Bari Weiss at CBS (“Cringe Bullshit”)

[09:57–12:36]

• Jennifer slams Bari Weiss’s ascendancy at CBS, rebranding the network as “Cringe Bullshit.”
• Critique centering on Weiss’s “softball” interview with Erica Kirk (widow of Charlie Kirk), focusing on conspiracies and grief instead of gun violence or far-right rhetoric.
  • “Barry Wise, did you ask her…your husband said that if some kids were killed in schools, as long as he had his Second Amendment, that he was fine with that.” (A, 11:00)
• Both hosts denounce the lack of real accountability in mainstream reporting and the overall erosion of media standards.

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4. Heritage Foundation, Indiana, and Federal Extortion

[15:27–19:06]

• Jennifer spotlights a threatening Heritage Foundation tweet, warning Indiana lawmakers of lost federal funding if they resist GOP redistricting (gerrymandering):
  • “If the Indiana Senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state…These are the stakes and every no vote will be to blame.”
• The hosts decry the Heritage Foundation as a “Christian nationalist mafia,” condemning local establishments for hosting their events.

"The federal government is a mafia regime. If they're going to deny hardworking Indianans their funding…those businesses deserve to go bankrupt. Shame on anybody who welcomes these bigots, these crime mafia style insecure babies…"
—Jennifer Welch [16:52]

• Angie frames Trump’s threat as outright criminal extortion, expressing hope (tempered by Jennifer’s realism) that such actions could warrant prosecution post-presidency.

“If Donald Trump withholds one federal dollar based on this tweet, that is extortion…”
—Angie Sullivan [18:03]

“They will find some loophole…they keep siding with him time and time again.”
—Jennifer Welch [19:06]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the absurdity of FBI priorities:
  “They're looking at a non existent, what they think is a Democratic leaning organization. It's bananas.” (D, 02:38)

• On mainstream media and propaganda:
  “She is a walking, talking advertisement [that] they are not a serious news organization in the least.”
  —Jennifer Welch [10:19]

• On the normalization of extremism:
  "These are questions that need to be asked, but they won't be. They'll be like, oh, poor Erica. You know, everybody feels sorry for Erica. She lost her husband."
  —Angie Sullivan [12:37]

• On the Supreme Court’s complicity:
  “I love you, but you think Alito Gorsuch, the Handmaid, Thomas, they're gonna rule that he has immunity.”
  —Jennifer Welch [19:06]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:19 – FBI hearings, Antifa myth, and critique of federal law enforcement
• 06:15–09:57 – Trump’s speech on Europe, analysis of manipulation tactics and the new right-wing “charm offensive”
• 09:57–12:36 – Bari Weiss at CBS and the media’s failure to engage on gun violence and extremism
• 15:27–19:06 – Heritage Foundation’s Indiana threat and the legal/moral implications of Trump’s extortion

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Summary Tone and Style

The episode is fiercely progressive, sardonic, and urgent. Jennifer and Angie balance caustic humor with alarm at the severe erosion of democratic norms and institutions. They call listeners to resist normalization—of both right-wing extremism and media complicity—and remind their audience of their own agency.

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For those who missed the episode, this recap covers the episode's major developments and the hosts’ scathing commentary—giving context, insights, and clear references for deeper exploration.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. The FBI is in complete disarray, which is no surprise because it's being led by former podcaster Cash Patel, who goes online and tweets about his girlfriend being a great patriot. So this isn't a serious person. And so then you always wonder, like, well, what are the other people at the FBI up to? Well, they got drug in front of Congress yesterday, and this is stupid. Stunning. Watch every minute of this. Play the clip.

[B]

Taking water. Domestic terrorist organization, Antifa. That's our primary concern right now.

[C]

All right. That's what President Trump did. What does the FBI say?

[B]

We share the same view. When you look at the data right now, you look at the domestic terrorist threat that we're facing right now, what I see from my position is that's the most immediate violent threat that we are facing on the domestic side.

[C]

So where is the Antifa headquarters?

[B]

What we're doing right now with the.

[C]

Organization, where in the United States does Antifa exist? If it's a terrorist organization and you've identified it as number one, we are.

[B]

Building other infrastructure right now.

[C]

So what does that mean? You see, I'm just. We trying to get the information. You saying TIFA is a terrorist organization? Tell us as a committee. How did you come to that? What it. Where do they exist? How many members do they have in the United States as of right now?

[B]

Well, that's very fluid. It's. It's ongoing. For us to understand that the same, no different than Al Qaeda and isis.

[C]

No, no, I don't want you. I asked one question, sir. I just want you to tell us if you said Antifa is the number one domestic terrorist organization operating in the United States. I just need to know where they are. How many people. I don't want a name. I don't want anything like that. Just how many people have you identified with the FBI that Antifa is made of?

[B]

Well, the investigations are active.

[C]

So you wouldn't come to this committee and say something you can't prove. I know. I know you wouldn't do that. But you did.

[A]

Love him. Yeah. Just phenomenal. Pumps. What's your take on that?

[D]

Here's the thing. While there's actually real domestic terrorist threats and domestic terrorism is on the rise, they're running around worried about an organization that does not exist. They're pouring all these resources and setting up infrastructure for something that's not real. That's how stupid these people are and how partisan they are, because they're not looking at the proud boys, the Oath Keepers, all the right, the groipers whatever. They're looking at a non existent, what they think is a Democratic leaning organization. It's bananas.

[A]

Well, and it's even more dangerous than you describe because we know from journalists, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, which we reported on last week, that the FBI is starting to make a list of anti Trump Americans. So that's what he's talking about right there. It is fake, but not to them. They are making people like you, like me, like our viewers that comment, like other Americans freely exercising their First Amendment. They're forcing it into an imaginary organization. And here's the thing about domestic terrorism. Number one, Pumps and I are from Oklahoma City. And Timothy McVeigh, a right wing domestic terrorist, drove a rider truck up to a federal building and set it off and bombed a governmental building with a daycare at the bottom of it. And then if we move along to January 6, these are all right wing nut bags prior to this fascist regime. And I want to go on the record to say that I am anti fascist. All of the government civil servants had determined that right wing domestic terrorism was incubating. Incubating and a massive problem. These people so desperately wanted Charlie Kirk's murder to be a Reichstag fire. And they came out with it and it didn't get as much traction as they wanted in the aftermath because you can't play anything that Charlie Kirk says. There's not one obituary, video obituary of him. Like when you see anybody else that dies where they use the deceased's own words to describe, you know, what an incredible person, where you don't see that because they can't use it. And so this FBI agent sitting there just completely humiliated himself. Because what the plan is and what the congressman was getting at is that they are pulling this out of absolutely nothing. And they are making moms like pumps and me and dads and sisters and mothers and people that went to the no Kings march. All the boomers that Fox News made fun of on the no Kings march, that's Antifa. They're making everyday Americans that are resisting this fascist regime into an imaginary terrorist organization. And it is so Nazi esque, it's unbelievable. And then I want to play you guys this clip. This is yesterday. Pudding boy says the following about Europe and we need to analyze it and talk about it as a group. Play the clip.

[E]

European nations are reporting that your president might as well be the leader of the European nations also. They listen to us and they respect us like they've never respected us before. So we're going to work Very hard. We get along with them. We want to get along with as many nations as we can. We've been ripped off off by a lot of them for a lot of years.

[A]

And frankly, Pops, can you imagine having.

[D]

To sit through a speech by him? Just the absolute. But here's the thing. Delusions of grandeur. Like everybody in Europe loves me. Really every time you go overseas, they put Jeffrey Epstein in your picture on the side of castles. Scotland protests and says Trump is a not like he does not live in reality. He is delusional. The President of the United States is single handedly trying to undermine, with all the help from Putin and his administration, undermine the European Union. The European people come out and they protest in their countries on the no Kings rally because he is so hated. So that's why his little minions have to say everybody in Europe loves you despite Trump is all over the place when you land at an airport.

[A]

So here's my thing. Is it at first blush, is it him being demented in delusions of grandeur or deeper than that, is this a part of the charm offensive used by nefarious actors to manipulate him into getting what they want, which is a new world order? So has Putin who has assets inside the federal government, in my opinion, with like Steve Witkoff has he said make sure you tell him Europe if he does this, if he sides with Russia, he could be the leader of Europe, which we all know Putin wants to be. But he's so easily manipulated by using flattery and a charm offensive that it's so dangerous. And I read this morning that now the Americans are trying to get four countries to pill out of the European, European Union, Poland, obviously, Hungary, Italy and I can't remember the other. So Italy, they're in Georgia. Maloney has shown a real fascist streak. She has been very anti LGBTQ plus she does show a little bit more empathy than a lot of these sociopaths. But it's going to be interesting to see because they have broken what they want to break here in the United States and now they are all fixated. Elon Musk, all of, all of the players, Peter Thiel. They want all of the Europeans data and they're going to try to collect it as they come into the United States. And Europe is holding a lot of these tech oligarchs accountable. They want safety regulations on their website. So they are going full court press against Europe. So I just think somebody has told him this. I think somebody has told him you're, you can be the leader of Europe and then he just hears that stuff and it's like, oh, that's great. I got the FIFA Peace Prize. I'm going to be the leader of Europe. I'm Marie Antoinette. Where's Hannibal Lecter? You know, it just all plays into the dimension. Everything. Okay, I want to now move on to Barry Weiss. Bari Weiss is now the head of cbs, which I'm going to nickname Cringe Bullshit because she's rolling videos and it's so incredibly cringe. And she is a walking, talking advertisement. As to now, they are not a serious news organization in the least. We have all of our pillars of our democracy are completely under attack. Well, what's her first solo interview that she's rolling out?

[D]

Erica Kirk.

[A]

And here's a video of Cringe and their crazy ass leader, Bari Weiss. Just watch how cringy this whole thing is.

[F]

I just sat down for an hour with Erica Kirk and we talked about everything. We talked about what was going through her head when she stood on that stage and forgave her husband's alleged murderer. We talked about all of the conspiracies surrounding his assassination. And of course we talked about grief, political violence and so much more. Watch this Saturday night on CBS at.

[A]

8:00Pm okay, number one, that is so cringe. Number two, can you imagine being a journalist ahead of a department? And you don't talk to her about gun violence. You don't talk to her about regulating firearms. The number one killer of Americans in this country, children. American children in this country is firearms. And you don't ask her about that. Barry Wise, did you ask her? Now your husband said that if some kids were killed in schools, as long as he had his second amendment, that he was fine with that he was fine with senseless, preventable murders of children in schools in America, which is uniquely an American problem. And this Cringe bullshit rolls out and she wants us to take her seriously. And this is what I want to remind everybody. We have agency. We have autonomy. They might force all of these oligarchs and all of these dipshits force and do all these hostile takeovers. They're nothing without customers. They are nothing. Look at what happened with Jimmy Kimmel. And everybody canceled their Hulu. So I want to start a mass movement to ban Cringe. That is a propaganda channel. She is not a serious journalist. She has no business being in charge of cringe news news. And this is. We do not have to watch it. We don't have to listen to it. And if she wants to be serious, ask serious questions, let's talk about gun violence. Because nobody surrounding Charlie Kirk wants to talk about what killed him. Nobody. They want to make it into conspiracy theories about antifa which we established earlier in the House Oversight Committee. Doesn't exist.

[D]

Well, and I would like for her to ask Erica Kirk, when you found out your husband was murdered, did you think it was because of his homophobic remarks and then telehomophobic remark? Do you think that it was related to racism? Do you think it was related to how he spoke about women? You are now running Turning Point usa, but by the logic of Turning Point usa, you should be at home raising children. These are questions that need to be asked, but they won't be. They'll be like, oh, poor Erica. You know, everybody feels sorry for Erica. She lost her husband. Okay, what. Whatever the problem is, Charlie Kirk is not a martyr. He was a unrepentant, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and he kept this soil wound up for young men to feel like victims. Something that we need to address across the board. And so this, this thing is just. And I can't help but remember Barry Weiss was in the room when Nora, Nora o' Donnell gave softball questions to Donald Trump. I why she felt the need to be in the room. Because he has dementia, obviously. Listener everybody has somebody in their life that's hard to buy for. You do not know what to get them and you want to get them something personal. So I have found the aura frames to be the perfect gift for somebody in my life. ARA is a digital picture frame that allows you to upload unlimited photos and video chronicling your life, your year, whatever you want to share with your loved one. And what's so great about it. It's so easy to use. You can download pictures directly from your phone to an aura frame regardless of where you are. You can upload your videos and photos while you're on vacation. And they include a gift box. So for a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting ARR Ames.com to get $35 off ARRA's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by wire by using promo code IHIP at checkout. That's Ara A U R A frames.com promo code IHIP. This deal is exclusive to our listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout.

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[A]

You with now the United States with an assist from the Heritage foundation are just a complete mafia crime group. Indiana rejected the cheating attempts by the Trump administration to gerrymander the map. And the Heritage foundation puts out the following tweet Put this up. President Trump has made it clear to Indiana leaders if the Indiana Senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state. Roads will not be paved, guard bases will close, major projects will stop. These are the stakes and every no vote will be to blame. Hashtag pass the map. And I just want to tell you all a personal story. I last year during the campaign the Heritage foundation was going to a private club called Citizen House in Oklahoma City and some of my friends are members of this and I we covered it here because I think when you welcome an organization like the Heritage foundation to your establishment, to your business, you are letting people know that you are okay with the dismantling of the of democracy, the complete misogyny and sexism and homophobia and racism that this organization sends out into the world. And the Heritage foundation is a Christian nationalist mafia and now the federal government is a mafia regime. If they're going to deny hardworking Indianans the their funding and the Heritage foundation, which is Christian Values foundation and then these country club Republicans and other organizations and red states welcome them as though they are a legitimate think tank. Those businesses deserve to go bankrupt. Shame on anybody who welcomes these bigots, these crime mafia style insecure babies who want to force a solution and and take away democracy, take away the vote of the Indiana State Senate. You don't get to do that and intimidate your way to power is just a an advertisement of number one bad your ideas are that you have to bully your way to get them done. And number two, how insecure you are. The insecurity of these people is is is such an exclamation point right now.

[D]

I completely agree. And I also when I saw all this come through I thought if Donald Trump withholds one federal dollar based on this tweet that is extortion in my mind. And a I would believe that he could be prosecuted when he leaves office and he would not get IMM the immunity was executive power. It is not an executive decision necessary to the presidency to extort people to get your way. So I thought if he withholds $1 we've got a real live criminal case for prosecution.

[A]

Do you think Pumps. Do you think the Supreme Court would say, I don't know.

[D]

I mean, obviously they can justify anything that he does. But what my thinking is, is you have an organization that clearly has him by the balls going on to say this so that if he actually with, you know, he. He does something in furtherance of the threat, it is extortion and punishment.

[A]

I love you, but you think Alito Gorsuch, the Handmaid, Thomas, they're gonna rule that he has immunity. They're gonna rule that he has immunity from this. They will say it was a. They will find some loophole that they have been over every time he's taken it to the shadow docket. They keep siding with him time and time again. And I. I want to think that there's accountability, but we all have to come to the sad realization that the time for accountability with him was under the Biden administration and they fumbled the bag so bad, and the Supreme Court is already dug so deep in covering for him. I just have a hard time finding at some point they're going to go, oh, wait, this one. This one was criminal. If they didn't. January 6th. And they're going to get upset about this map. I just. I hope you're right. I hope that you're right. But sometimes you and I vacillate back and forth. I'm the person who has the hope, and you give me a dose of realism. Today you have a dash of hope, and I'm trying to give you a dose of realism. I hope at some point somebody has. Exhausting. Yeah. All right. We'll be back later with some more disappointing news.