Dan Bongino the Fraud

Summary

Part Of The Problem – "Dan Bongino the Fraud" (April 2, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave Smith and Robbie “the Fire” Bernstein tackle the latest developments in US foreign policy, the unfolding situation with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, media narratives around the ongoing conflict, and, most prominently, the recent feud between conservative commentator Dan Bongino and Congressman Thomas Massie. The conversation balances sharp political critique with direct mockery, especially in their treatment of Bongino’s shifting positions and public persona.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcast & Personal Updates

• Dave Smith recaps his recent major interviews, notably with Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, reflecting on the value and exhaustion of long-form conversations.
  • "My feeling coming out of it was like, I thought I was like, that might be the best podcast I've ever done. I mean, I think this guy [Tucker Carlson] is like the realest guy out there." (Dave Smith, 00:46)
• Robbie plugs his own projects, including a satirical newsreel on his show "Run Your Mouth."
• Dave apologizes for the inconsistent podcast schedule due to extensive travel and previews upcoming live events in Stamford and Chicago.

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2. Previewing Trump’s Address: Foreign Policy in Crisis

• Speculation on Trump’s upcoming address regarding the Iran conflict:
  • Dave and Robbie are skeptical that Trump will announce a peace deal, reading between the lines of political timing and recent administration rhetoric.
  • Dave highlights the significance of Trump’s timing – announcing after markets close as a possible tell for bad news, referencing prior trading day behaviors:
    • "If he was making that announcement, he would do it at the beginning of the trading day, not after the markets have closed." (Dave Smith, 05:22)

2.1. The Regional Power Game

• Robbie points out the precarious situation with NATO, the UAE, and regional oil partners, suggesting the US may have “started a war you didn’t want to finish and just leaving a mess.”
• The hosts agree: If the US walks away and leaves the Strait of Hormuz in Iran’s favor, this would be a foreign policy defeat on a different scale than Iraq, Afghanistan, or Vietnam.
  • "But if the case is that...Trump launches a war...they start hitting some ships in the Strait of Hormuz...and the economic global order has shifted wildly in favor of Iran...I cannot think of anything that compares to a loss like that." (Dave Smith, 11:45)

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3. International Law, Hypocrisy, and Realpolitik

• Robbie and Dave mercilessly mock US and Israeli officials who invoke “international law” after years of ignoring it themselves, particularly in the context of Ukraine, Iraq, and now Iran.
  • "This is the biggest hypocrites in the fucking universe...There's no such thing as international law. International law...a tool that could be used by the empire against the enemies of the empire." (Dave Smith, 15:20, 17:00)
• They analyze Marco Rubio’s statements, ridiculing his outrage over Iran being paid for open access to the Strait of Hormuz, noting the real preference of many nations is simply to get back to business, not war.

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4. War Propaganda and Narrative Shifts

• They dissect talking points around the Iran war, such as Trump administration claims (versus military claims) of having destroyed 80% vs 30% of Iranian missile capabilities.
• Robbie: "The newest talking point I'm seeing is that we're ahead of schedule, which is a tough argument to make when you were saying this is going to be weeks, not months, and you're already over a month in." (20:04)
• Dave: "With the Iranians...they talk a big game...but it does seem like we've hit a tipping point here...the incentive structure has been changed." (20:18)

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5. Asymmetry & Incentives: Will Iran Go Nuclear?

• Dave spells out why this conflict uniquely incentivizes Iran to pursue nuclear weapons, given previous restraint under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the current lack of inspections.
  • "It is worth pointing out that the inspections regime...that's over...they're just so incentivized to race to a nuclear weapon now." (Dave Smith, 39:17)
• He summarizes how Iran’s strategic calculus has changed: "If history is any guide, we really don't fuck with nuclear armed countries..." (Dave Smith, 40:30)

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6. Ridiculing Dan Bongino & Defending Thomas Massie

6.1. The Genesis of the Feud

• Dave participated in Thomas Massie’s successful fundraising livestream and is infuriated that Dan Bongino, who he labels a “sellout,” is now attacking Massie.
• The context: Bongino, after previously promising to expose the Epstein cover-up, reversed course and is accused by Dave of “running block” for the deep state after seeing sealed files.

6.2. Bongino’s Evasions and Hypocrisy

• Dave outlines why Bongino is “trapped” and will never publicly debate his critics:
  • "He can never have a conversation with someone critical of him because you, everyone can end him in one question...You said Epstein killed himself. All the files have been declassified now. What'd you see? Where's the proof?" (Dave Smith, 44:48)

6.3. Bongino’s Attacks Responded

• Audio clips of Bongino’s recent criticism of Massie are played and dissected.
  • Bongino: "I have never been as disappointed in a human being in politics as I am in Tom Massie." (52:53)
  • Dave: "This fucking fraud sellout to call out say he's disappointed in Thomas Massie...you are really relying on people to not have a memory two years old..." (53:00)
• The hosts ridicule Bongino’s “no dog in the fight” claim and describe his refusal to meaningfully engage on the Epstein file disclosures.
  • "He can only go, you know, level 10 decisions. You've never done the job that I did, and you don't even know level 10. You can't please everyone. Okay, sir, that is not an answer to any of our questions." (Dave Smith, 61:18)

6.4. The FBI Trap and Due Process

• They explain why it’s a trap for Massie to “get a briefing” by the FBI, referencing the infamous General Flynn case. Bongino’s calls for “due process” are lampooned:
  • Dave: "Yes, it is true that libertarians believe in due process, but we, we don't believe in corrupt FBIs covering up information to protect powerful people...when left in a situation where there is no option for due process, then, yeah, we would prefer as much information get out on Twitter as possible." (Dave Smith, 63:24)
• Robbie: "I didn't realize transparency got in the way of due process." (64:57)

6.5. Dan Bongino’s Persona

• Multiple moments where Dave and Robbie mock Bongino’s physical appearance, oratory style, and media self-promotion.
  • Robbie: "He looks like one of the Mars Attacks aliens disguised as a Japanese samurai." (54:35)
• Dave highlights Bongino’s declining podcast relevance: "He had absolutely nothing. Couldn't respond to any of the criticism. Just called everybody else black pills, black pillars and doomers..." (59:28)

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7. Closing: The Stakes of the Massie/Bongino Rift

• Dave’s parting words are both passionate and explicit:
  • "You protected like the most unimaginable evil. You will burn in hell for the rest of your life. You keep Thomas Massey's name out of your fucking mouth before you get Will Smith bitch slapsed." (Dave Smith, 67:10)
• Robbie and Dave close by reaffirming Massie’s rare virtue in Washington, giving credit for his pursuit of Epstein file transparency despite the intense political blowback.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On US hypocrisy:
  • "This is the biggest hypocrites in the fucking universe...There's no such thing as international law." (Dave Smith, 15:20–17:00)
• On Bongino’s credibility:
  • "He can never once think about how trapped, what a little bitch Dan Bongino is for life, that he can never have a conversation with someone critical of him because you, everyone can end him in one question." (Dave Smith, 44:48)
• On the strategic consequences of US withdrawal:
  • "If that is the result of this war, this is a different type of loss than even Vietnam or Afghanistan or Iraq..." (Dave Smith, 11:45)
• On Massie’s courage:
  • "He got the files to the American people, that's a bridge too far. That’s when you know...you didn’t fail to expose the deep state. You are the deep state. You're their protector." (Dave Smith, 46:48)

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Key Timestamps

• Trump’s speech speculation and foreign policy analysis:
  04:06 – 12:23, 14:41 – 24:02
• International law hypocrisy and Rubio mocking:
  15:20 – 18:33, 27:17 – 29:46
• Iran’s nuclear incentives and war consequences:
  29:46 – 41:18
• The Bongino/Massie conflict begins:
  41:18 – 52:53
• Bongino’s audio dissected and further ridicule:
  52:53 – 67:57
• Final defense of Congressman Massie:
  67:57 – 68:26

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Summary Flow

This episode mixes hard-hitting foreign policy critique, deep skepticism towards US establishment narratives, and personal media feuds with a distinctly bombastic, sardonic style. Dave and Robbie maintain a tone that is both mocking and analytical, never shying away from strong language or vivid analogies. For listeners interested in libertarian perspectives, media accountability, and the cynical realities of modern politics, this episode delivers pointed commentary and memorable soundbites.

Transcript

[Dave Smith]

Foreign. What's up everybody? Welcome to a brand new episode of Part of the Problem. I am Dave Smith. He is Robbie the Fire Bernstein. I am tired, but I'm home and I've got a little stretch of being home now. So that I am very much enjoying or I should say looking forward to, I guess not really enjoying yet. It's. I've only been home for a few hours, but, but as you guys may have seen, just dropped this morning, brand new episode with Tucker Carlson with the great heroic Tucker Carlson. And please go check this one out. I, you know, Rob, when you do the really long form podcasts, it's, you know, it's hard. You come out of it and you're almost like, forget, like, what did I say? I remember I said this at one point. So me and Tucker had breakfast and it was, we had a two and a half hour breakfast, just me and him just talking for just very interesting. And then we did about a two and a half hour podcast and there was, you know, like the ride from breakfast to there and then we talked for a little bit after it. So it's like, we talked for like six hours. So I don't, you know, I'd have to watch it back. But my feeling coming out of it was like, I thought I was like, that might be the best podcast I've ever done. Like, I just, I, it was just, I don't know, he's just such a pleasure to talk to. And I really gotta say, man, if, if Tucker Carlson is not genuine and really just believes everything he's saying, like, God damn, he has me fooled. And he is like an Academy Award winning actor. I mean, I think this guy is like the realest guy out there. Anyway, please go check that out. I hope you guys enjoy it. Cool.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

And not nearly as substantial, but check out run your mouth. I did a new 1950s style parody newsreel. The fans seem to like it and love it. It's no Tucker Carlson appearance, but go check it out.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely go check it out. But yeah, it's been, you know, I, it's been cool to get to do Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson within a week of each other. It's, it's. I'm very kind of humbled by, I don't know, maybe I'm using that word wrong. I hate when people use the word humbled to say they did, you know, a big thing. But it's a weird, it's like I'm very grateful that I'm so fortunate that I get to be in the situation to present my views on the biggest shows out there. And I think it's an. Obviously, I think it's an important time for, for some of these points to be made. So it's very cool. But man, it's been, it's been a string of traveling so much and sleeping in so many hotels and it is just very, I'm very, you know, I love it. It's thrilling and exciting and very rewarding and you know, I get paid way too much to do what I do and all this stuff. But man, it's really nice to be home and yeah, holidays coming up and stuff. I'm going to see a lot of family. Got a lot of family coming over to the house this weekend. So just really, I'm. I really need some recharging batteries, time, if you know what I mean. And sorry about the inconsistencies in the schedule, but it's just, it's. It's next to impossible to, to do all this traveling and all these other shows and keep it the same. But we will be back to that. And I'll do some makeup episodes and stuff because I'm, I'm home. I got a little bit like a few weeks to get my head above water before we got a one nighter in Stamford coming up. One night only, April 11th. Two shows up there. Really looking forward to that. Great club. If you're, if you're in the Connecticut area, the Stamford greater area, come on out to that. Robbie's home turf. And then we got our run in Chicago at the Rosemont Zany's in the Chicago Zany's, which are always, for years now, have always been like one of our best, most fun weekends of the year. So really looking forward to all that stuff. All right, sir, let's get into it.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

You know, I got nothing else we've plugged. Well, people know we're all right.

[Dave Smith]

So here's the big thing to get into, right? And this is a little bit of what, you know, it's the game that we're in and the way our show is done and the model we're under. So this episode, of course, subscribers are listening to it at 1:00pm and please subscribe if you, if you can, @partoftoftheproblem.com and you get the bonus episode every week, our fourth episode of the week, plus some other perks. And it really helps support what we do. But. So it comes out for them. But then it'll be up everywhere tonight. And tonight the President is addressing the nation. So this show is us kind of speculating or previewing what that might be, or at least a little bit of the show will be that. And then of course, tomorrow we will, you know, we'll be able to respond to it. So I don't know, Rob. I really, obviously I'm like praying that tonight Donald Trump gets up there and declares victory and says it's been tremendous and maybe we have a deal or maybe, you know, best case scenario, we have a deal, it's over, we're done with this. And then, so first you got to pray for that and then pray that the goddamn Iranians actually agree to that and stop. And then you got to pray that the Israelis actually go along with it and all this stuff. I, I don't expect that to be the speech tonight, if I'm being completely honest. There's a few things and we'll get into some of them. But all of the indications that I've seen out of what Trump is saying, out of what Hegseth is saying, out of what Rubio is saying over the last 24 hours doesn't seem to indicate that that's going to be what the speech is tonight. I really, really hope I'm wrong in my gut feeling about that. The other thing that I don't, maybe I'm making too much of this, but this was the first thing I thought when I heard yesterday, I heard it was announced that Trump would be speaking to the Nation at 9:00pm Eastern tonight. I was like, this is Donald Trump we're talking about, and if he was making that announcement, he would do it at the beginning of the trading day, not after the markets have closed for the day. You know, and I do think that that is something that does really motivate Donald Trump, and maybe I'm wrong about that and maybe for some other reason he chose to announce that it's all over after the markets close. But I know, and I know, Rob, if you've been pay attention to this, you've seen there's been several times already over the last six weeks or whatever it's been now where Donald Trump will say something very positive in the beginning of a trading day and then say after the markets have closed, oh, we're going to do all of this, we're going to escalate, blah, blah. I think he is, obviously he's got to be hyper focused on that. So I don't know. I'm really hoping my instincts are wrong on this one, but I don't think that's the announcement we're going to get tonight, I think we're going to see

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

the world's greatest display of somebody talking out of both sides of their mouth, and we'll get a grand speech where we can all sit down and listen to what Donald Trump's mood is for the next five minutes. Now on the good indications are that we're ready to be done with NATO because they don't want to come to our back on reopening their Hormuz Strait. And we're realizing that we're the losers in this agreement. And also that Donald Trump is not declaring that one of the goals of the war was keeping our move straight open and that he's more than comfortable walking away from it because it's not an US Problem. And so those would seem to be interesting indicators that Donald Trump is willing to declare victory and walk away. The, I think, worst indicator that I've seen was that the UAE was saying, no, we're going to back you guys, and we got to get this done. I thought that maybe all of the, and I've been talking about this quite a bit, that maybe the other oil partners in the region would rather just be paying Iran and moving on, and this was more of just an Israel problem than it was a them problem. Yeah, but if the, if our allies in the region are saying, you can't leave us with this mess, then, I mean, this might be one of the biggest foreign policy blunders anyone's ever made of starting a war you didn't want to finish and just leaving a mess and alienating, you know, all of our oil partners.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, dude, this, this point that you've been making for, for weeks now is a really astute one and a very interesting thing to keep your eye on because, you know, there's, like, you know, what people will say that we, you know, America lost the war in Vietnam or we lost the war in Afghanistan, or we lost the war in Iraq or something like that. And, and of course, when you say this, I mean, it's not as if, when we say we lost, it's not like, hey, we killed a lot more Vietnamese and Cambodians than they killed of ours. You know, we lost hundreds of thousands, but they lost millions. We blew up a lot more than they did. And we, you know what I'm saying? So, like, even, even in it, like, if you say we lost the war in Iraq, it's not like Saddam won, like, in conventional war, we destroyed them very easily. And so, but look like, so the Taliban, for example, right? Taliban took way more losses than The US did over there. And we were at least at one point fairly dominant in terms of how much, how much land mass our warlords controlled as compared to the Taliban. They came back toward the end when our numbers were lower and controlled the majority of the thing. But the reason you say that we lost is because, well, I mean, your goal was regime change against the Taliban and you left a better armed Taliban in control of the entire country. So, you know, that's a loss or whatever. But even by the standards of the way we, we, we judge wins and losses in war, if the case is, as you've been indicating, which obviously this is not a foregone conclusion, but if the case is that essentially what happened here is Donald Trump launches a war of aggression with Israel against Iran, they start hitting some ships in the Strait of Hormuz, then they say, then Trump, in this ridiculous fashion, goes to the rest of the world, hey, why is it our job to open the Strait of Hormuz? You guys are the ones who rely on this more than us. And they're like, yeah, but you're the one who started the war that resulted in this. And we don't want to go fight around to try. Like, if the US Military is sitting here and saying it's not really logistically possible for us to force open the Strait of Hormuz short of some type of ground invasion where we're going to take huge losses and it'll cost trillions of dollars and we just can't do that. That's not a realistic option. Well, then why the hell would that be a realistic option for Singapore? You know what I'm saying? Like what? Why would anyone who's more dependent on, you know, it just doesn't make any sense at all. And so in this situation. So then the rest of obviously isn't going, no, we think we can do what the US Military can't do. And if Iran does decide to go to say what they've been saying right now, which is that they go, no, we haven't closed the Strait of Hormuz. We're saying anyone who gets our approval and trades in, you know, the currency that we choose can, can come through. The obvious answer for the rest of the world, who is very dependent on that straight being opened, is to go, okay, we'll go get permission from Iran and we'll trade in the currency that you ask us to trade in. And if that is the case, if that is the result of this war, this is a different type of loss than even Vietnam or Afghanistan or Iraq, we've never really, you know what I'm saying? Like, there's different ways to judge a win and a loss in these wars, but I, I cannot think of anything that compares to a loss like that. We didn't, not only was it just destruction with no benefit and the regime still standing and our, we took a lot of damage and we lost soldiers and we, we got a lot of our guys injured over there. But you're telling me that then the economic global order has shifted wildly in favor of Iran.

[Dan Bongino]

I've.

[Dave Smith]

This is re. That would really be something that, I mean, I couldn't, man. I'm hoping that that is something Trump's just willing to accept, but, wow, Rob, would that be quite a development? And this is the thing you've been talking about now for a while. It's a really. Not saying it's 100% that's going to happen, but it does seem to almost be like the most plausible scenario if we were to end right now. All right, guys, let's take a moment and thank one of our sponsors for today's show, which is Fast Growing Trees. I love this company and I'm thrilled that they're on board. I'm a big tree guy. I've become a big tree gu over the last few years. And whether you're in a house or an apartment, whether you have a green thumb or you really need help, you need to know about Fast Growing Trees. They're America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants to choose from and experts available every day to help you plan, design, or just learn how to care for them. Why spend your whole weekend hauling plants around making a mess when you can schedule the same plants delivered to your door? On your schedule, just click, order and grow. They make it that easy. Plus you they're alive and thrive guarantee promises your plants arrive happy and healthy. And I will tell you, since I've, I've been in, in my house for about the last three and a half years. Me and my wife have done several trips to nurseries and we've also tried fast growing trees. It makes it so much easier, dude, the loading up your car with these things, bringing them around, doing the stuff yourself. I love trees, but I do not have a green thumb. My wife does. She's got a nice garden. I don't that, but I need this. I need professionals to just show me what to do and give me the beautiful tree I want in front of my house. Whatever you're looking for, Fast Growing Trees Helps you find options that actually work for your climate, space and lifestyle. And right now, they have great deals on spring planting essentials with up to half off on select plants. If you use my promo code problem at checkout, you'll get 20% off your first purchase. That is an additional 20% off at fast growing trees.com when you use the promo code problem at checkout, it's the perfect time to plant. Let's grow together fast growing trees.com promo code problem. This offer is validated for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. All right, let's get back into the show.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

And listen, this is not the most dignified way of putting this, and I probably need to experience more of the world and come to better views, but the best I can state it is, I can't believe how bitchy the Donald Trump administration is being. And so Marco Rubio's comments on this was, if the rest of the world thinks that they're just going to pay for access, this is illegal and unacceptable. What makes it unacceptable? If everyone else would prefer that, versus the cost of going to war with Iran, that makes it acceptable. They've decided that between the two options of having to go fight Iran, it's easier just to pay them and get along. And of course, that's not good for the United States, who also wants to walk away from the situation.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah. And just to even start talk, it's just so funny. I mean, I was, you know, I was saying this years ago when, you know, in 20, 22, four years ago now, when Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine and every, you know, pundit and the whole Democrat and Republican establishment were all like, this is in violation of international law. And you're just like, yo, you gotta be kidding me, dude. Like, there's just no. You know. And by the way, yes, it clearly is, but the USA is really gonna sit here and lecture other people about international law, and is Israel gonna lecture people about international law? However you feel about it, like, this is the biggest hypocrites in the fucking universe. And for Marco Rubio to say that you're like, I'm sorry, I must have missed the part. When did we get a UN security resolution to launch this war? I can't remember that part. Did I miss that story, Bob? Like, oh, yeah, no, that's right. We didn't.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

We didn't get congressional approval.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah. I mean, like, yeah, which. I'm much more concerned with our own law. I'm much more concerned with the Constitution of our country. But if you want to play the international law card, I mean, it's just, it's too absurd. And again, I mean there's, it's just, I think it's so like naked and transparent for everyone to see now. I mean, think about it, Rob. The Israelis, the Israelis have been arguing for fucking 25 years that Iran is developing an illegal secret nuclear weapons program. Like what? It's the chutzpah, Rob. You know, like, you're almost just like blown away by it. You go like, dude, Iran is a member or was a member in good standing of the Non Proliferation Treaty. Israel is not. And we are. And the whole agreement, right, is that we're essentially, it's illegal for us to be giving aid to Israel if they have nuclear weapons, right, because you can't do business that's part of the Non Proliferation Treaty is that you can't do business with nuclear armed countries who aren't signed on to the treaty. And that's why Israel has what they call the strategic ambiguity, right? That's why they won't say they have nuclear weapons. Because if they said that, then the relationship's illegal. But we all know they have nuclear weapons. Every, everybody knows it's the most open secret ever. So like, even, even some, I think Israeli, like, officials will like kind of threaten to use the weapons that they don't technically admit to having. And so I don't know, this whole thing, it's just a joke. It's all such a joke of a system. You know, there's no such thing as international law. International law was always, from its inception, a tool that could be used by the empire against the enemies of the empire. We can point to it and say Saddam Hussein violated international law, therefore we have the right to go overthrow that guy. Vladimir Putin violated international law. So we have the right to and jump in this war. But do we have to follow it? Well, no, that's not for us. It's for them.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

I think in terms of what will be the more entertaining lie of this evening's broadcast. So, you know, he has moved troops into the region and I think it's almost like flipping a coin if he's pitching the American people on. I know that you guys think this is unpopular and gas prices are going up, but this was important because they were a threat and they were going to nuke us and we had to do this. I think that that might be the pitch, the walk back pitch of hey, we're just moving on from this though is going to be funny because, you know, he's claimed more than Once he's negotiating with someone but not telling us who he's negotiating with. And in this case, he said that Iran had the president agreed to a ceasefire. I think I saw on Twitter, maybe it was even Scott Horton, that there is no current standing president, and so it's unclear who on that side has agreed to a ceasefire. I also don't know that Iran is abiding by said ceasefire. So if he's going the hey, we won and I'm negotiating with them pitch, that's almost going to be sillier and funny to see how. Funny to see how he presents and how Iran responds.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah. Also kind of in the background here is that Trump and others. Others in his cabinet were bragging about how they destroyed 80% of Iran's missile capability. And then the military told the New York Times that it's closer to 30%, which, Rob, I'm no math whiz, but last I checked, that's a big fucking difference. Yeah, that's a really, really big difference, though.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

Also, the newest talking point I'm seeing is that we're ahead of schedule, which is a tough argument to make when you were saying this is going to be weeks, not months, and you're already over a month in, so does that mean you lied to us at first and you guys had a different timetable and a different schedule?

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, if you're ahead of schedule, I think we have a week and a half till this is technically months. So, you know what I mean? Like, it's. We'll see. But again, the reason why that 3080 distinction is so important is that it lets you know that, like, oh, Iran can keep this up if they want to. Now, Donald Trump, also, it should be mentioned to your point that after Donald Trump said he's negotiating with the President, the. The Iranian foreign minister came out and said, absolutely not. He goes, that is just not true. He's not negotiating with anyone. And we'll be very upfront. We do not want a ceasefire. And that was, again, look, again, with all of these things, right? Like, part of the dynamic here of trying to cover this. The difficulty for me and you in trying to cover what Donald Trump's gonna say tonight is like, it's Donald Trump. Who the hell knows what he's gonna say? We literally. I mean, it is quite plausible right now, and I think almost everyone, no matter what side you're on, on this, even if you support this war, I think almost everyone knows on some level that it is totally plausible that Donald Trump announces that boots on the ground. Are going in tonight, or it's totally plausible that he announces it's over. It was tremendous. We won. Like, that's how far. And also then with the Iranians, you know, they. They talk a big game and they have bluster and they always say things like this and they don't always follow through with what they say. But it does seem like we've hit a tipping point here and that a switch has been flipped, the incentive structure has been changed, which was always my first comment on this, and the fact that they're publicly saying, like, openly, like, we do not want a ceasefire, we're not trying to stop. We want this to keep going because they understand even though they're losing more people, that's not really the game. This is an asymmetrical war. And in that context, they're winning the war. And so they're not only winning the war, but putting themselves in a position where they may come out much more in a much stronger international position than they went into it. Remember, this is a country that's really suffered under brutal sanction sanctions for many, many years now. And if they can come out of this where they flip that and now all these different countries essentially have to do business with them, this is going to drastically change the prospects for the future of the Iranian economy.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

So it does come to mind, though, that this might be Iran's highest point of leverage. I can't say that for sure, but the big variable on the table is as real oil shutdowns or slowdowns start taking place and other countries end up desperate or in depression like environments of them just going, all right, well, we're going to reopen that thing. And maybe you do have a more united front. And also, I just listen for as inept as our military seems to be in the amount of money that they're spending on outdated gear, while people are striking at us with the relatively cheap stuff, I think, as Kyle Anzalone pointed out on my show, that our military is just a money laundering scheme and they're not actually built for warfare. But I'm going to guess that if this goes on another year, we'll have very good anti drone technology and other. So I do wonder, for as much as Iran has clearly won the current leverage game, that Donald Trump has conceded that they can even keep defense ballistic missiles, and now he's flirting with conceding with even their control of the Hermes Strait. My guess is Iran does not actually want an escalating.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, well, look, I get what you're saying, and that is that's what I'm hoping for, you know, like, kind of banking on this idea that, like, look, on some level, Iran's got to go, hey, if they can get this to stop right now, that is pretty beneficial for them to not have to keep taking huge losses. And, like, you know, you keep escalating this thing, if Donald Trump's willing to escalate it, like, we. We will destroy their country. And they know that. And so, yeah, you're. You're right, they have more leverage than they've ever had before, but not like there's still some leverage on the other side there, because we have a lot of firepower just. Even just from the sky. That being said, you do kind of. You wonder. I mean, you know, you're banking there on the Iranians acting rationally. And I don't know that there's a whole lot of evidence that you start dropping bombs on countries and you slaughter their leader and their whole family and kill a bunch of little girls and destroy a bunch of their energy production and all this, that then they act rationally after that. You know, it was in. In, obviously, this is a different generation, and this was right at the beginning of this regime, but in the 1980 through. I think it was. I think it went to, like, 1986 war with Iraq. You know, Iraq invaded. They had superior military force. They had weapons from the west, they had the US Backing them. They had chemical weapons which Saddam Hussein used. And the Iranians wouldn't talk to them for, like, years. Like, even when people were trying to work out, like, negotiations for a ceasefire, the Iranians were like, fucking you. We will fight to the last man. They took deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Way more damage than they've taken in this war. And they just kept fighting because this is like the Shiite warrior spirit or whatever. And also, you know, in lots of different ways, I think one of the things we, you know, Iran, which guys like me have been saying for a long time, Iran is not Afghanistan. This isn't a country of illiterate goat herders. These are smart people. The Persians are smart, I believe. I think Tucker said this the other day, which I didn't know. I think they have a higher average IQ than we do. You know what I'm saying? This isn't just some backward third world country. In some ways, it is compared to us. And obviously it's a very repressive theocracy. But I don't know, man. You know, again, it's not that I don't think there's a lot to the point that you just made. And, but, but again, and this is part of the reason why you don't want to get into these situations. This shit is risky and difficult to predict with certainty. And so I hope you're right. I've been, you know, I've been thinking that and hoping that that's the case. But again, we will see.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

John flip a coin speech.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, right, exactly. Did you, I don't know if you guys listening caught this, but I did think there was this one. Let's, let's play the Rubio clip. It was the one on, from Fox News. Rubio. This is a country whose economy is in shambles. I thought this was, there's been a lot of things said recently, but this one I just thought was particularly rich. Let's take a listen.

[Marco Rubio]

Understand this Iran, this is a country that has trouble coming up with drinking water. This is a country whose economy is in shambles. It's going to be even worse off after this operation. This is a country whose people have been protesting, investing in the streets because not just the lack of freedom but the lack of economic opportunity because they've taken all of their money, all the money they have, the little money they have because of sanctions and they've invested all of it in sponsoring terrorism and building long range missiles, increasing the range of their missiles every year and building thousands of them, building these one way attack drones that they're using against their neighbors. This is what they put their money towards and this is what they were going to continue to do. They refuse to negotiate on missiles. They refuse to even negotiate on terrorism and they refuse to negotiate on, down on enrichment. But understand that.

[Dave Smith]

All right, so leaving aside that last part, which is an absolute lie, that they refuse to negotiate on enrichment, that is just simply not true. But there's a, isn't it something, Rob, could you imagine having an American, a Republican Warhawk, actually say about another country? Well, you know, their economy is in shambles because look, all they're investing in are missiles. They're just building missiles instead of, you know, investing that money in their economy or something like that. You're like, yeah. Do you know what Iran spends per year on defense, Rob? It's like I think under $10 billion. You know what, you know what we spend every year on missiles? We've, we blow through, we've, and I mean this, we've blown through substantially more than Iran's entire military budget in the last five weeks. Like so, yeah, maybe that is, that isn't great for an economy when all of your resources are going toward things that blow other things up, rather than say, you know, schools and businesses and roads and airports or whatever. But I don't know your thoughts.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

I saw a different clip where he was even less precise in his words, and he was criticizing Iran for how much money it spends on its military as opposed to its own people. Same basic point here. He was a little bit slicker. And yes, I could. It's one of the rare instances where I agree with Marco Rubio and the governments, instead of spending its money killing other people on the other side of the world, should spend it at home on its own people. You know what? You might even call that policy, Dave? America first.

[Dave Smith]

And I'll go for it. Well, also, but also, that's. That actually doesn't apply to Iran. You know what I mean? And I don't even care whether it was a government or whether Iran went anarcho capitalist tomorrow and it was private defense firms or something like that. See, the thing is, America spending all this money on defense is stupid because we are the United States of America. We can destroy the entire world with a few good submarines that we have. You know what I'm saying? Like, we are not in a defenseless position at all. Nobody, nobody can fuck with us. We have the biggest economy in the world, or at least per capita, we have the biggest economy in the world. We have the biggest military in the history of the world. We have two giant oceans next to us and a nuclear arsenal that can touch anybody and delivery systems that can touch anywhere in the globe. We have no need to be spending a trillion goddamn dollars every year to increase our military. Right, But Iran is in a totally different situation. Iran is in the crosshairs of the previously mentioned country. And so Iran needed to develop these missiles because this was from their perspective for their, you know, if they want to survive, then this was their only option. So it's not even like the case. Like, it's like Marco Rubio is sitting here and saying they wasted all of. On the thing that's preventing us from destroying the regime right now, on the thing that's making them this. So it's even worse than just the hypocrisy because it doesn't actually apply to them. And when he sits there, he's lying about nuclear enrichment because he's a liar and he lies people into war. That's what he does. But it is true, I guess, fair enough, that he says Iran wasn't willing to negotiate on missiles and they weren't Willing to negotiate on terror, as he calls it. But again, what does that really mean? That's just him saying, like, yeah, these were the poison pills that were put into the deal that no country would negotiate on. Nobody's gonna say, you know, you have to. I don't know. It's like if. If somebody. If a bunch of guys with guns come to your house and they kill a few of your family members, and. And then they're like, all right, look, we need to make a deal. And you go, okay, fine, I'll make a deal. And they kill a few more, your family members, and then they go, okay, listen. Now we need to make a deal. And you're like, what's the deal? I just need you to give me all the weaponry you have in the house. Give me your guns, give me your knives, give me all that. You'd be like, well, no, obviously you're just going to come back and kill all of us if I do that. This is the whole point of the kind of negotiate. It's like if a guy comes to your door with a gun and puts it to your face, and you're like. You're like, okay, listen, buddy, I don't want any trouble. Like, whatever you want, you can have it. I got some cash in the safe. I got some jewelry, Whatever you want. He goes, give me your kid. You go, okay, well, I can't give you that because that's the whole threat of the gun. Sorry. And so, yeah, in other words, Iran wasn't willing to disarm and say that they'll stop supporting Hezbollah in groups like that. That was always obvious that they were never going to do that. So, yeah, I. It's just all so ridiculous. What a mess this is. All right, guys, let's take a moment and thank our sponsor for today's show, which is Brunt Work Wear. Choosing work boots used to mean sacrificing com or durability. If they felt good, they didn't last, and if they lasted, they wrecked your feet. Brunt thought that was bs. So they built tough boots that feel great from day one. No breaking, no sore feet. Because people out there doing the real work shouldn't have to choose between comfort and durability. I can tell you guys this is not just something they're saying. I got a pair of Brunt boots. I love them. And it really is true. Like, the first time you put them on, I was like, these feel like sneakers. I got a big property here. We just had a big, brutal winter. I was doing a lot of you know, snow blowing and shoveling and being out there. These boots really stand up even in the elements, and they're genuinely very comfortable. It feels like you're out there in sneakers. And I've, I'm sure some of you have done it, too. But I've, I've worked in uncomfortable work boots before and it'll, your dogs will be barking. So go over to bruntworkware.com for a limited time. Our listeners get $10 off when you use the promo code problem. Once again, that's bruntworkware.com promo code problem for $10 off. The best work boots, the most comfortable work boots you'll ever own. All right, let's get back into the show.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

Well, it just speaks the hypocrisy of this administration and that they're out there criticizing other governments of what they spend on their militaries.

[Dave Smith]

It is.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

And how it harms the general population. Great.

[Dave Smith]

It's a talk about that.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

More, please.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, really, let's really get into that. All right. So Donald Trump, by the way, posted earlier this morning, he said Iran's new regime, president, much less radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, have just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire. We will consider when Harmu Strait is open, free and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or as they say, back to the Stone Ages President Donald J. Trump. So, again, I'm really hoping that tonight is the announcement of the end of this. But I mean, from what Donald Trump is saying, again, not that he won't just completely contradict himself. And as we mentioned before, the Iranian foreign minister already said this isn't true. But so what, what we're to believe is that either by tonight he's announcing an agreement where the Strait of Hormuz is open, or he, he's still saying we're going to bomb them into the Stone Age. So I don't know, I mean, maybe he'll just come out and say it and then maybe the Iranians actually agreed to it and their foreign minister is lying. But I just also don't understand what would be the advantage of the foreign minister coming out and saying this isn't true if they're going to announce later today that it is true Also, isn't it kind of crazy, Rob?

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

Maybe it just gets out there and goes, here's another red line I'm not gonna hold them to.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe. Maybe it is. But wouldn't it be fucking crazy if, do you remember there's that episode of always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's a great episode where, like, they. Someone wants to buy the bar. Like, a big corporation wants to buy it because it's, you know, the location or whatever. And they offer them, like, a crazy amount of money and they're all like, oh, my God, we're gonna be rich. This is nuts. And then Frank's like, no, no, no, no, no. You gotta negotiate. You gotta make them. Woo. And then they go there with all of their demands, and they're like, we want this. We want a statue built of us. We want a plane, we want this. And then the guy goes like, you know what? I'm just going to take the offer off the table. I don't want anything to the. And then they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How about. How about the original. We just go back to the original offer. And then he's like, no, no, no, it's. And they go, how about less? How about less? We'd be willing to take substantially less than the original offer. And, like, it does feel like this is almost like Donald Trump is always sunny negotiating here. Like, it's like, like, so even he now seems to be saying that the best case scenario here is that they open the Strait of Hormuz. Like, if we can get them to open the Strait of Hormuz, then we'll stop here. But you're like, but the war started with your demands being give up your civilian nuclear program, the nuclear weapons program you claim had been obliterated last summer, but your demand was that they give up their nuclear program altogether, no enrichment of uranium, give up all their intercontinental ballistic missiles, stop supporting Hamas and all this. And. And also, like, promise you're not going to hurt any of the protesters or whatever. Okay, well, like, since then, if this is the deal, we'd be coming out with no promises that they're not going to have a nuclear program. According to you, they went and hung that wrestler publicly, which was. He was saying, don't do that, according to you guys. Still haven't seen any evidence for it. But. But according to you guys, they did slaughter tens of thousands of the protesters when Trump was saying, don't you dare do it. So they didn't compromise on the nuclear program, they didn't compromise on the protesters, they didn't compromise on ICBMs, they didn't compromise on supporting Hezbollah. But we did get the Strait of Hormuz open, which was open before the war. So we came back with this with exactly what we had, getting absolutely nothing in addition, man, I mean, look I don't want to discourage Donald Trump from doing the right thing here, but to try to spin that as a victory of some sort is even for Donald Trump, that's one that he goes like, okay, it's tremendous. You know, like, I mean, this. That's just so wild, Rob, that we'd be back to the place we were with no improvements on the negotiations and just death and destruction to show for all of this.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

Well, the pitch will be we did get regime change. We took out their leadership. We took out a substantial amount of their. Of their, you know, missile capabilities. They learned that they can't just push us around, and so they're giving up their nuclear ambitions, which is a lie. But he'll pretend that they were going nuclear, and now they're not also. I think everything that we've done has made them more likely to go nuclear, but.

[Dave Smith]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

But, you know, just go with the lie. And so, hey, we worked it all out. And because they like me so much, the reopening of the Hormuz, which remains to be seen if that happens.

[Dave Smith]

Yes, yes, Big, big remains to be seen. But that point you just made there is such a great one, and I'm glad you. You brought that up, because that really is. That cannot be understated how much we have incentivized them to race for a nuclear weapon. And, you know, I've heard this now. I. Again, this is a little bit above my pay grade, but I have heard, like, experts in the field of nuc energy and nuclear weaponry who have kind of been arguing that it's like, look, you can't really destroy a country's ability to make nuclear weapons in the way you think. It's like they're. So much of it is in your mind. Like, if you have the scientists who know how to do it, once they've learned how to do it, they can do it. Now, destroying facilities can set back your ability to do that. It's not exactly clear how much enriched uranium they still have, but the knowledge of how to enrich your uranium and the mastery of the fuel cycle and all this stuff, that's unless you kill all of the scientists who have the knowledge. But it's very difficult to do. And it. It is worth pointing out that the inspections regime in Iran, the IAEA coming in with UN Inspections and testing every. Every nuclear site in the country, and all this stuff, that's over. That held even after Donald Trump pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018. It held all the way to the 12 day war because Iran was still in the agreement with the other nations in that deal. And so they were still, even though they were enriching up to 60% which they were allowed to do once America pulled out under the deal, they were still having inspections. That's why, if you remember back at the 12 Day War, we were all pointing to the IAEA report from just a month earlier where they had just come in and inspected the whole place and they concluded that they weren't developing nuclear weapons. And so, but to be clear, those inspectors are gone now. That deal is over now. And so Iran doesn't have an inspections regime in there. And so if we were to end this war now, let's say all the pieces that have to come together to the puzzle to end the thing right now, I mean, they're just so incentivized to race to a nuclear weapon. That's, that, that almost would have to be. And again, this is just being a realist about this and understanding incentives and strategy and what's in whose interest that would, you would think that would almost have to be the number one priority of the regime. Well, like we have to race to a nuclear weapon now. And maybe they can do that in secrecy because there isn't an inspections regime in there anymore. And then that like, that would be the best case scenario for them to just be able to come out in a few months and go, hey, look, we did it. We did it because you pushed our hands. But we're doing a demonstration, demonstrating we have nuclear weapons. We will not use them unless we're attacked again. But if we're attacked again, we're using them. And that would probably be enough to get everyone to not with them. I mean if, if history is any guide, we really don't with nuclear armed countries. I mean, okay, like you, you know, we've messed the Ukraine one is pretty close to messing with Russia, but we're still not directly engaging with them or at least not openly doing that. And yeah, we had a drone bomb campaign in Pakistan, but we also stopped when they really told us to cut it out. And you know, North Korea, we're leaving them the alone because what are we going to do? You know, you go in there, you know, this guy could nuke Seoul tomorrow if he wanted to and he's not doing it now, so leave him alone. It's really, it's, you know, it's, we've really, really changed the calculation. And of course the ayatollah who had sworn for religious reasons that they don't Believe in nuclear weapons and guaranteed that they'd never make them is dead. What a victory. USA really is something. All right, guys, let's take a moment and thank our sponsor for today's show, which is massive chips. Massa chips are all the rage these days. They're all over the place because, you know, people really have been waking up about a lot of health issues in this country. And if you're gonna be having a tortilla chip, why not go get masa chips? And you know, they contain just three ingredients, and there's no seed oils, and there's no mystery chemicals. And you're just eating real food. You know, you go grab some random bag of tortilla chips at the supermarket, you're putting all types of that you cannot pronounce into your body. And snacking on massive chips isn't like eating regular chips with masa. You feel satiated, light, and energetic. You don't have a crash or have that gross sluggish feeling or feel bloated. And because these chips are made with real food, they're more satiating so you don't find yourself uncontrollably binging and still being just as hungry afterward. And if you love masa chips, make sure to check out Vandy crisps. Vandy is Master's sister company. They make the most delicious three ingredient potato chips you'll ever have. So if you're ready to give massa a try, go to Massachips.com Dave and use the promo code Dave for 25% off your first order. And if you don't feel like ordering online, NASA is now available nationwide. At your local sprout supermarket, stop by and pick up a couple of bags before they're gone. But if you want that discount, go over to Massachips.com Dave promo code Dave, 25% off. All right, let's get back into the show. Okay, let's. Here. Let's switch gears a little bit because I do want to make sure we. We talk about this because it's just too outrageous for us not to defend. So by the way, I guess I should say first that I did. I jumped on Thomas Massie's. Like, he did like a live stream money bomb thing the other day, the day before yesterday. And so I jumped on that for a little bit, which was great. It was. It was nice to be honored. I was honored that they invited me. And yeah, he raised like, I think he broke like a quarter million dollars or something like that in the day. So it was a big fundraiser, very Successful, I think a very important race. And then I saw on social media that of all people, Dan Bongino has been attacking Thomas Massey. Now, I don't remember. I don't remember. So, Tom, Congressman Massie was on with me when I was there, but it was like one of those like marathon shows where like you different people would be popping on the whole time and then he'd pop back on and pop off and other, you know, like, I think a bunch of, a bunch of great people were on it. And so I don't know, like if he had specifically said anything about Bongino in other portions of it. I don't think if I'm remembering correctly, I don't think we mentioned Bongino. It's hard to imagine. I did trash the out of Bongino on Tucker's show the other day because, you know, I was going to make sure to get that in there. But, and you know, I mean, he deserves it. He's an awful sellout. So. But, but of course, anytime we even, you know, you know, you talk to Thomas Massie, you kind of can't get around that he got the Epstein Transparency act, you know, passed because it's like one of the biggest, most relevant political stories of, of the last decade and it's his biggest achievement as a congressman and it's a huge part of the reason why the Israel lobby is trying to ruin his life right now. And so anyway, Dan Bongino of all people is really going to go call this guy out. You know what's funny? I said this, I said on Tucker Carlson show because I did want to make sure that I got this out on the biggest, you know, right wing show in the country that I said the thing about Dan Bongino is when he started talking shit to me and then people were like, oh, you should debate Dave and all this. And I said, dan Bongino will never debate me. And Dan Bongino can never debate anyone for the rest of his life. He can never do one contentious interview for the rest of his life. He can never once think about how trapped, what a little bitch Dan Bongino is for life, that he can never have a conversation with someone critical of him because you, everyone can end him in one question. Every single person can just go, hey, you look the American people in the eye. You said Epstein killed himself. All the files have been declassified now. What'd you see? Where's the proof? Now you notice, by the way, in Dan Bongino on his show, you know, he's spent Time talking about me and Candace Owens and, you know, Tucker Carlson and Joe Kent, and he's trashing Thomas Massie. But you know what he will never do is answer that one simple question. And this is why he went on that blocking spree. Did you see, like, everyone on Twitter, when he was talking shit, were sharing their screenshots of. Dan Bungeon is just blocking everyone because he can't have his comment section be asking this question. There's one question that he has to run like a girl from for the rest of his life. It's the most obvious question. It's right there. He can't answer it. And so it's. He's got some nerve to think he's the guy to come pick these fights. Fights. But the other thing is that. That I'll just say is that Dan Bongino has really revealed himself. And this is why he deserves for us to really, you know, tear him a new. Especially because he's going after a good guy. But it's the point that he's going after. It's not. You know, there might have been some speculation for a while there, like, what exactly happened with Dan Bongino? You know, you talked such a big game about how you were going to get to the bottom of this. You were going to expose the files day one. Don't give up on this thing. This is a huge scandal. He didn'. Himself. We're going to get to the bottom of it. And then you went in there and then you gave this, like, what seemed like a hostage video of saying, nope, nothing to see here. Stop asking questions. He killed himself. Come on. Now, some people speculated when they see that, that it's like, oh, they got to him, or he was threatened or he was, you know, whatever. He was scared. He looked into the darkness and saw how dark it really is and was like, yo, I don't want a part of this. But when you see him attacking every decent person out there, you know, it's one thing to not do the right thing, to be a pussy, run away, not do what your job was that you signed up for and to just leave everyone alone after that, but to come out and try to smear every decent person, including the guy who did what you were too much of a pussy bitch to do, who got the files to the American people, that's a bridge too far. That's when you know, like, oh, you're, you're not. Like, you didn't fail to expose the deep state. You are the deep state. You're their protector. And a lot to abuse underage kids. So that's not good to protect those people.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

I think among the weaknesses of this administration, the fact that they're going after Thomas Massie really showcases where their agenda is and the fact that they don't actually care or are not America First. Thomas Massie has been heroic not just on the Epstein files, but also one of the rare people speaking out against government spending and was excellent on Covid on nearly every topic I see him open his mouth on, I'm like, oh, thank God one person's getting this message across in front of Congress.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, even. Even the best at fighting the climate agenda. Like, just the best on almost every. Like, I'm sure we could find one thing we disagree with him on, Rob, if we tried hard enough. But he is so goddamn good on so many of the most important issues.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

And I was enjoying the conversation between Bungino and Massie the other night on Twitter. I don't know if you saw it, but Cash was calling him the biggest fraudster and releasing texts he got into

[Dave Smith]

or just Dan Bongino. I didn't see Cash.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

I'm sorry. It was. It was Bungino. My bad. I grew them together as the same as, you know, it's just sell out frauds are all.

[Dave Smith]

They blend together. Okay, yeah, go ahead.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

And they're also, for some reason a similar shade of brown, which I can't explain. I guess that's however Bongino's tanning himself that he's coming out Indian brown instead of Trump orange. But you know, who am I to judge another bald man on his looks. But anyways, he was attacking him over not calling him back to try and I guess have an honest conversation about the Epstein stuff. To which Massey was responding. That's because you guys were threatening me and my team with investigations or whatever the threat was.

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like you're threatening him with investigation. He's like, why won't you just come have a conversation with me? Because Mass is smarter than you. He's 40 IQ points smarter than you and he knows that. Yeah, just like, Just like General Flynn. Just go have a conversation with the FBI. Like, no, dude, that's not how it works. The FBI is a entrapment organization. You can't talk to them. Everybody knows that. Everybody. Everybody in like our situation. Rob, you know for a fact you can't talk to the. The FBI shows up at your door, you cannot talk to them, dude. And by the way, the FBI is. They're different. I don't know if any of you guys ever into this. But they're way different than like, other. Even like, local police agencies and stuff like that. What they'll do is they'll talk to you. They don't let you record the conversation. They don't record the conversation. They take notes. And those notes now become admissible evidence. It's like you cannot have a conversation with them without a lawyer present. You absolutely cannot do it. And so that's just. Whatever. It's like it this. Yeah, it makes no sense. Anyway, let's. Here, let's play the clock clip of Dan Bongino where he promises to take down Thomas Massie. Let's go. Let's check this out.

[Dan Bongino]

Say some. I have never been as disappointed in a human being in politics as I am in Tom Massey.

[Dave Smith]

Okay, pause it already.

[Dan Bongino]

I largely stayed out of that race already.

[Dave Smith]

Are you. Oh, are you disappointed Dan Bongino, man? So you're telling me someone got into a position in government power and they disappointed you? Why is that? Did he not do what he promised to do? Or did he do exactly what he promised to do? I'm sorry, but this fucking fraud sellout to call out say he's disappointed in Thomas Massie. Like, dude, you did the biggest fucking 180, the most obvious 180 in fucking politics, dude. I mean, you are really relying on people to not have a memory a year old or really not have a memory two years old, where you were on the podcast scene bragging about how you were gonna bring down the deep state criminals who framed Donald Trump for treason, who locked down this country, who, you know, protected Jeffrey Epstein and all of his crimes against underage girls and all types of, like, political corruption. You were going to drain the swamp. You went in, did a 180, defended the Epstein thing, said he killed himself. There were no co conspirators. And you guys don't need to see any of this. You have to trust me. You guys put zero Deep State arrests on the board, but you're disappointed in Thomas Massie for not, what, changing his mind on debt and war and corruption and actually voting and. And having a track record. That is exactly what he ran on.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

He. He looks like one of the Mars Attacks aliens disguised as a Japanese samurai. I don't even understand how you come to the look that he has.

[Dan Bongino]

Oh, I tell you about. I tell you about why Massey bad.

[Dave Smith]

It doesn't fit into any category. There is something about it. Like, it's just. It does look like Dan Pongino was made from spare parts. Of other just leftover people.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

He looks like the one American who managed to be a Hiroshima victim.

[Dave Smith]

All right, let's keep playing.

[Dan Bongino]

Didn't make too many comments on it because the people in Kentucky will choose who they want if they want Tom Massey. I'm not a resident of that district. I live in Florida. You pick who you want. Got his opponent coming on in just a little bit, about an hour. We'll ask some questions about some issues that matter to you. Constitutional carry, Iran, NATO. However, when I got up there in that position, I could not believe what a fraud this guy was. I mean, like an epic level fraud. Whatever you think of this guy, I'm telling you, I have no dog in the fight. I supported him.

[Dave Smith]

Oh, pause it for a second. Absolutely for a second. Dude, he has no dog in this fight. Absolutely no dog. It doesn't matter. Hey, look, dude, I have no dog. I'm not on the side of the people who were lying to cover up Epstein or the people who exposed Epstein. You know, I'm just. Obviously Dan Bongino, one of the major figures who covered this up, has no dog in the fight against Thomas Massey. Like Jude, just the thing about Dan Bongino is it's that there's just too much. There's just the reason why I can't not tear him up is that, like, you can't. First of all, he's. He's a dummy. He's not a very smart guy. You can tell just by listening to him broadcast. It's just he's not a very smart individual. So he's dumb, he's corrupt as shit, he's a liar, and he's trying to ruin good people. It's just too much, too much to possibly tolerate. All right, guys, let's take a moment and thank our sponsor for today's show, which is Superpower. Take the guesswork out of getting healthy in 2026. Get full body testing that goes five times deeper than an annual physical, and a personalized action plan that tells you exactly what to do next. All for just $199. Superpower is an incre service. What they do is they send a licensed professional to your home, or you can visit them in a nearby lab. It's one simple blood draw with over a hundred biomarkers. And this unlocks so much about your own body. Their app includes detailed information on your heart, your liver, thyroids, hormones, your metabolism, vitamin and mineral levels, and even environmental toxins. So from disease prevention to treating that annoying brain fog, or simply optimizing your Gym game. Superpower is the most comprehensive and advanced system out there. There Superpower not only gives you an initial plan, but it also tracks your results over your lifetime. So each test builds on the last, giving you a full picture of your progress year after year. So stop reacting to health problems after they show up, and you start proactively improving your health with real personalized data as part of your overall health plan. Superpower used to cost $499, but right now it's only $199 for the full experience. And if you use my promo code problem at [e-mail] you can get $20 off your membership this year. So take the guesswork out of getting healthy in 2026. Get full body testing that goes five times deeper than an annual physical and a personalized action plan that tells you exactly what to do next, all for just $199. Again, go to superpower.com and use the promo code problem, and you get $20 off your membership this year. All right, let's get back into the show.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

You would also think, well, if you don't have a dog in the fight, I don't think you would dedicate your time to ruining somebody. It sounds like you very clearly do have a dog in the fight or are taking a stance. But also, if you had something that was important to you, and he thought the American people need to know that an individual is a fraud, and it's because you have firsthand eyewitness information that you saw that is evidence of the fact that that individual is a fraud, you would think you would tell us. You would think you might go, here's why I think this person's a fraud. And I saw it firsthand.

[Dave Smith]

Rob, I don't know what you're not understanding, okay? Dan Bongino knew for a fact, he saw it firsthand, that one of the beloved figures in MAGA was an absolute fraud. And so Dan Bongino did what Dan Bongino does best and didn't tell the people about it. Covered it right up, because that's just how Dan Bongino rolls. Unfucking believable, this crap.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

So you're saying when you were in the FBI, you had clear witness of fraudulent behavior from the congressman and decided to do nothing with that information?

[Dave Smith]

Yeah, exactly. Oh, and by the way, just to, like, mention. Fuck it, how embarrassing it is for this guy. Dude, he's shared today, and I don't know these things. You might know him better than me, but he shared, like, one of these, like, Podcast metric, things that said he was like the third biggest podcast out there, there and there. Then, like, people were going like, dude, this is a thing that you have to join and you only get ranked if you join it. And, like, all these podcasts that are enormously bigger than him aren't mentioned there. Dude, what happened is exactly what we predicted would happen. He came out, had a big audience for the first couple shows because people wanted to go, like, what is he gonna say? What can he even say? The answer was nothing. He had absolutely nothing. Couldn't respond to any of the criticism. Just called everybody else black pills, black pillars and doomers for the ones who were saying the same thing he said before he left podcasting. And then his numbers have tanked since then. Dude, he's like, way in our rear view mirror on the Spotify ratings, this show is just like, not. The guy goes, I'm the podfather. The pod father is back. Like, dude, get out of here, man. I mean, he's got a podcast with a bit of an audience, but he nowhere near, like, doing what he said he was going to do. It's good luck. Good luck. This is the guy who's going to take out Thomas Massie. All right, let's keep playing

[Dan Bongino]

fraud. He decided to do some money bomb thing and just completely BSing people about my record. They're just lying to your face. I tried multiple times to get this guy to come over to give him a briefing on a case he kept bloviating about on Twitter, causing a serious problem, by the way.

[Dave Smith]

Pause it again for a second. Just for anybody who doesn't know, this right, here's the thing. When they brought in general Michael Flynn and ultimately charged him with lying to the FBI and ruined his life, bankrupted him through legal fees, I believe he had to sell his house. Like, really ruined the guy's life. Life. They didn't tell him they were investigating him, the agent. The FBI agents have admitted this. They said they wanted to give him a briefing. He went in there like, oh, I'm in the national security apparatus and the FBI wants to give me some information. But the thing is, lying to the FBI is a crime no matter what. So all they got to do is trip you up on one little thing and they can ruin your life. And, you know, it becomes a whole thing where you go like, whatever. Anyway, I. I mean, I think Flynn did was misleading to the FBI, if I remember correctly. But regardless of any of that, this. So this. This is so dishonest. And if you notice, he goes this guy's a fraud. This guy has a money bomb. And he's just lying, lying about my track record. But you notice he won't mention what the lie is because I don't know what Thomas Massey said. I don't remember if it was when I was on or when someone else was on. But I don't know what Thomas Massey said about him and his track record. But I guarantee you it wasn't a lie. I guarantee you Dan Bongino can't actually say. Think about how crazy is. He can't even address. Address the situation. He's got to just dance around it when it's so obvious, like, you said this, then did the opposite. Explain yourself, sir. And he won't, because he can't. So he can only go, you know, level 10 decisions. You've never done the job that I did, and you don't even know level 10. You can't please everyone. Okay, sir, that is not an answer to any of our questions. And so then. And now he can just fall back on this. Oh, I tried to lure Thomas Massie down to the FBI and he wouldn't come, obviously. Anyway, let's keep playing way.

[Dan Bongino]

And I thought he believed in due process. Supposedly a libertarian wants to try a case on X and he didn't do it.

[Dave Smith]

Oh, my God. Pause.

[Dan Bongino]

I was there for March until.

[Dave Smith]

How stupid? How stupid? How fucking stupid does this dummy think his audience is? Like this, this like 100 IQ guy must think his audience are 80 IQ people, because even he's got to know this Thomas Massie who supposedly believes in due process. He's a libertarian. Don't libertarians believe in due process? But he wants to try this on Twitter. He goes, okay, yes, yes, it is true that libertarians believe in due process, but we, we don't believe in corrupt FBIs covering up information to protect powerful people. And so when left in a situation where there is no option for due process, then, yeah, we would prefer as much information get out on Twitter as possible. Domestic. You got to be such a brainiac to put together how that's not a contradiction, Rob.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

Right?

[Dave Smith]

Like, this goes like, if I'm like, like you, somebody, you know, committed some horrific crime, but they were buddies with the local sheriff. And the sheriff goes, I'm not going to arrest him because he's my buddy. And then we took to Twitter to expose that the sheriff wasn't arresting his buddy who committed this horrific crime. But then Dan Bongino would say, oh, yeah, I thought you libertarians believe in due process. Not Airing it out over Twitter. Well, fucking checkmate. Dan Bongino, what an excellent point you just made there. There. Blew my mind with your goddamn low IQ slop.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

I didn't realize transparency got in the way of due process.

[Dave Smith]

Yes, that's right. Transparency is always the enemy of due process, Rob. Okay, here, let's. Let's play one more little clip and

[Dan Bongino]

then we'll wrap up January of this year. You know how many times he came over to visit and asked about these cases? Despite multiple offers, cases he kept bloving about. We could have actually told them zero. And there's nothing he's going to tell you. All of his BS responses, his fake community notes, it's all a distraction from the fact that he doesn't want to admit that he was offered a detailed briefing within certain parameters on these matters he's bloviating about on X in order to attack President Trump and others. And due process could have cleared it up for him right away, and he just didn't want to do it because he preferred to be stupid.

[Dave Smith]

Oh, he's stupid. Yes. Okay, let's pause it right there. Oh, Dan Bongino, you could turn this off. Dan Bongino thinks that Thomas Massie, the MIT genius is stupid. Yes, bro, he's stupid. I mean, like, just imagine. I mean, what an idiot you have to be to be a Dan Bongino fan at this point. Point. Like, I just don't understand what. Or. Or just like, straight up, like, I don't know, just like a member of the Israel lobby, and you're like, well, he's doing our bidding, so we like him. But the. The idea that you go, like, Thomas Massie could have come. We already covered why you wouldn't want to talk to the FBI. But he could have come and gotten some limited information from this FBI, right? We say within boundaries. Oh, yeah. He could have seen the redact. He could have seen the unredacted version of some files where it's redacted in a different color, by the way. That's what he was legally able to enforce. But to be clear here, Rob, the Justice Department, the current FBI, and the current Justice Department are fucking in gross violation of the law. They. There's millions more documents that they just said, no, we're not going to turn them over. Even Thomas Massie, after legally forcing them to declassify the information in his private meetings there, says there's more redactions underneath the redactions. We couldn't even find them. You're going to sit here and Go. Thomas Massie didn't want the information. Thomas Massie got 3.5 million documents of information to the American people. Dan Bongino would have had you get zero. Dan Bongino would have sat there and celebrated the Attorney General who pretended to release the files to a bunch of right wing influencers and then didn't, and then tried to bury them. Said they were on her desk, Said there were co conspirators, then turned around and went, no, nothing's on my desk. No co conspirators murders. And you did too, you fuck you. You protected like the most unimaginable evil. You will burn in hell for the rest of your life. You keep Thomas Massey's name out of your fucking mouth before you get Will Smith bitch slapsed.

[Robbie the Fire Bernstein]

There you go. Well within parameters. He was willing to play ball. And listen, if you were actually interested in the Epstein files, did you guys ever talk to Wexner, his account, his lawyer, or any of the conversations that they're now having in depositions? It actually seems like there's a little bit of forward momentum on this because of. Because of Thomas Massie's efforts. What efforts did you guys actually make to uncover this? Zero. Yeah, all the efforts were to cover up. That's what you guys did.

[Dave Smith]

That's right. Yeah. Their efforts were to cover it up. All right, guys, we got a wrap there. Thank you very much for tuning in. Catch you tomorrow. Peace. With Verbal's last minute deals. You can save over $50 on your spring getaway. So whether it's a mountain escape with friends, a family week at the beach, or sightseeing in a new city, there's still time to get great discounts. Book your next day now. Average savings $72. Select homes, all only.