It Could Happen Here – Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #35 (September 26, 2025)

Podcast: It Could Happen Here
Hosts: Garrison Davis, Robert Evans, Mia Wong, James Stout
Episode Theme: A weekly rundown of the latest executive actions, controversies, and crises emerging from the White House, with a focus on political violence, immigration, anti-left crackdowns, tariffs, right-wing “civics” campaigns, and anti-trans panic.

1. Episode Overview

The hosts deliver a rapid-fire but in-depth examination of key news and executive orders from the Trump administration in mid-September 2025. The program dissects the facts behind viral shooting incidents, analyzes new government moves against both immigration and leftist activism, and unpacks right-wing efforts to dominate public education and government rhetoric targeting trans people.

The tone is equal parts exhausted, darkly humorous, and deeply concerned, focusing especially on how “unreality” and conspiracy-mongering are corroding political discourse and hamstringing resistance.

2. Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. The Dallas ICE Facility Shooting

(02:54–15:35)

• Incident Summary: Shooting at a Dallas ICE facility by an individual wielding an inherited WWII-era Mauser rifle, killing 2 detainees in an ICE van before dying by suicide.
• Online Aftermath: Immediate conspiracy theories labeling it either a right-wing false flag or a state op.
  • Robert Evans [04:12]: “Liberals and leftists casting doubt on the authenticity of this.”
• Weapon & Motivation:
  • Shooter used a Mauser likely inherited from family, not purchased recently—a type of gun usually exempt from proposed gun control laws [07:14–09:10].
  • Shooter’s political allegiance is unclear: Voted Dem in 2020, mother complains about GOP inaction on guns, online presence is ambiguous [09:10–09:57].
• Broader Pattern:
  • Mass shootings increasingly copycat in nature, with superficial “ideological” signifiers like “anti-ICE” written on ammunition, but these often mask primarily suicidal motives [04:43–06:13].
  • Media ecosphere’s reflexive narrative-building now bypasses evidence, fueled by “weaponized unreality.”
  • Garrison Davis [11:25]: “People are so quick just to point the ‘Black’s rule’ image to discount every single thing that might confuse you at first glance.”
• Family Perspective:
  • NBC interview with shooter’s brother: no political fixation observed, recent unemployment, life going badly—fit for “contagious” suicidal violence [13:42].
• Warning Against Conspiracism:
  • Robert Evans [16:49]: “...there’s a part of me that feels like caring about the reality of the situation is almost a vanity project... people are increasingly going to dig into the reality tunnel that’s most comforting...”
  • Reality distortion now common on both right and left, undermining reasoned response.

B. Trump Declares Antifa a Domestic Terrorist Group

(21:26–27:29)

• Executive Action: Trump issues EO attempting to designate “Antifa” as domestic terrorists, urging federal agencies to pursue them under terrorism statutes [22:28].
• Legal Realities:
  • No formal “domestic terrorism” designation exists under US law—this is mainly rhetorical and procedural, not a new legal power [22:28–23:41].
  • Legal battles continue, but for now, some courts push back and fail to indict on weak federal cases [23:41–24:34].
• Contextual History:
  • Aggressive federal prosecutions of leftist protest activity predate current administration (e.g., Green Scare), often involving RICO and terrorism enhancements [22:28–24:16].
• Analysis:
  • Mia Wong [24:52]: “Authority is brittle, oppression is the mask of fear.”
  • Crackdown on dissent is a sign of government’s fear in the face of successful grassroots opposition (notably anti-ICE actions).
  • Everyday resistance, including basic filming of ICE raids by regular people, has disrupted government operations [25:20–26:54].
• Reassurance & Call for Action:
  • Systemic intimidation should not deter holding the line; legal defenses continue to succeed, and broad suppression is not inevitable [24:16–25:17].

C. Immigration: “Gold Card” Sale, Judge Firings, and Guatemalan Children

(29:26–36:31)

• “Gold Card” EO:
  • Fast-tracked, million-dollar permanent residency for wealthy applicants. Corporations can pay $2M for workers [29:26–32:58].
  • Paid “donations” are accepted as evidence of “exceptional business ability”—bypassing normal standards [30:30].
  • Concurrently, a $100K H-1B fee hike devastates skilled worker immigration, representing a hard-right turn [32:07–33:24].
• Immigration Judge Purge:
  • The administration has fired or forced out over 150 immigration judges since January, leaving courts severely understaffed. Many cases now delayed until 2028 and massive detention backlogs growing [34:07–36:31].
• Child Deportation Case Victory:
  • A class action secures protection for unaccompanied Guatemalan children, rebuking ORR and DHS deceit regarding family “reunification” [27:30–29:26].

D. Tariffs and the Midwest “Soybean Logistical Nightmare”

(40:37–47:00)

• Tariff Escalation:
  • New penalties remain on Brazil (for jailing Bolsonaro) and India (for Russian oil trade); U.S. Supreme Court hears tariff case in November.
• Agricultural Impact:
  • China has stopped buying American soybeans (over 50% of US exports), devastating Midwest farmers and storage capacity, triggering cascading losses through small towns [41:26–46:21].
  • Bailouts have started, but if the embargo persists, it may seriously damage Trump’s base and the larger agricultural economy.
• Cultural Distraction:
  • Real economic pain is being drowned out by culture war messaging—deliberately so, according to hosts [46:21–47:08].

E. The New Civics Culture War: Education and “Patriotic” Indoctrination

(47:20–53:26)

• America 250 Civics Education Coalition:
  • Dept. of Ed, Turning Point USA, PragerU, Moms for Liberty, Alliance Defending Freedom, Heritage Foundation, and explicitly Christian lobbying groups join to advance “God-centered, virtuous education” with direct state partnership [47:20–52:16].
• Promotional Video Lampooned:
  • Overwrought, AI-generated “lighthouse” imagery played for laughs by the hosts, but highlights deep revisionism and erasure of civil rights history [48:25–50:43].
  • Garrison Davis [51:04]: “70 years ago, education was segregated in this country. I’ve listened in person to Charlie Kirk argue that we should repeal the Civil Rights Act. Like, that’s what these people want.”
• TPUSA Chapters in Every Oklahoma High School:
  • Announced by the Oklahoma Superintendent, explicitly framed as a takeover from “radical leftist” teachers [52:17–53:26].

F. Trans Panic and Misreporting: FBI & “Trans Terrorism”

(53:48–67:32)

• Media Claims:
  • Viral reporting (notably from Ken Klippenstein) asserts the FBI is about to label all trans people as “nihilistic violent extremists” after the high-profile murder of Charlie Kirk.
• Fact-Checking:
  • No new leaked documents; reporting is based on a single unnamed source's suspicion that “trans individuals will be increasingly targeted...” [55:16–57:26].
  • The FBI's “nihilistic violent extremism” label predates Trump and is mainly for tracking child exploitation and school shooter fandoms [57:26].
• Heritage Foundation Petition:
  • Heritage's demand for a “trans ideology inspired violent extremism (TIV)” threat category equates “trans ideology” with half of all non-gang school shootings—a claim both factually and statistically absurd [58:41–59:34].
  • Even Heritage admits that not all trans people/allies would be classified as terrorists; it would apply only to those accused of actual violence or threats [59:45].
• Critical Warning:
  • Sensationalism endangers trans community mental health and safety; the real dangers lie in health care bans and physical attacks, not (yet) wholesale FBI classification [61:50–67:10].
  • Mia Wong [63:10]: “Don't panic, organize. That's the actual solution to this.”

3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jumping to “False Flag” Theories:
  Garrison Davis [11:25]:
  “If you cannot understand that someone who is suicidal would do a crazy thing like this, inspired by recent events and scribble something onto a bullet, trying to shoot at ICE equipment or ICE agents, ICE property, inadvertently killing actual ICE detainees... that is a way more disjointed and like broken reality to like force yourself to believe than just take the facts as they come and evaluate them slowly...”

• On Legal “Domestic Terror” Designation:
  James Stout [23:35]:
  “If you're going to be prosecuted for a federal crime, the U.S. attorney has to bring a case against you and there has to be a crime that you have committed... The executive branch does not make law, but they're sure trying.”

• On Executive Overreach and Crackdown Fear:
  Robert Evans [24:16]:
  “I'm not saying don't be afraid, because these are scary times. I'm just saying, like, don't assume that there's no point to fighting back or there's no way to do so, that you'll just, like, wind up in a fucking camp.”

• On Agricultural Impact of Tariffs:
  Mia Wong [43:02]:
  “There is a bunch of soybeans that are being—that are just sitting there... no one wants to buy them. And... there are basically stockpiles building up of these soybeans that can't be sold. And this is becoming an increasing problem because there's the corn harvest and you have to put the corn somewhere.”

• On Right-Wing Civics Push:
  Garrison Davis [51:04]:
  “70 years ago, education was segregated in this country. I've listened in person to Charlie Kirk argue that we should repeal the Civil Rights Act. Like that's what these people want.”

• On Trans Panic Reporting:
  Garrison Davis [62:13]:
  “Spreading misinformation or unverified reports like this that just makes everyone panicked and freak out actually harms us and our community. The transpanic industrial complex is dangerous and people need to be very careful about this because it's an extremely dangerous time. And having an accurate assessment over what's going on is going to be crucial to survive the next few months to years.”

4. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dallas ICE Facility Shooting & Discursive Fallout: 02:54–15:35
• Antifa as “Domestic Terrorists” Executive Order: 21:26–27:29
• Immigration: Gold Card, Judge Firings, and Kids’ Legal Victory: 29:26–36:31
• Tariffs & Farm Crisis: 40:37–47:00
• America 250 Civics Education Coalition & TPUSA Push: 47:20–53:26
• Trans Panic, FBI Designations, & Media Fact-Checking: 53:48–67:32

5. Summary Tone and Takeaways

The episode is a whirlwind tour through legal, social, and narrative battles being waged in America’s starkly polarized landscape. Hosts alternate between gallows humor and blunt warnings, making a strong case for critical thinking, methodical reaction, and mutual aid over panic or conspiratorial flights. Their central thesis: the collapse of “reality consensus” endangers not only fact-based resistance, but hope itself—unless people slow down, read carefully, and organize instead of spiraling.

Closing words:
Mia Wong [63:10]:
“Don't panic, organize. That's the actual solution to this.”