Ben Shapiro (2:44)

Dastardly proposed and dastardly. I didn't realize that those were, quote, unquote, misdemeanors, high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution of the United States. Al Green is going to write in his articles of impeachment dastardly deeds done. That's going to be what it says. By the way, what Trump is proposing for the Gaza Strip is not, in fact, ethnic cleansing. He is proposing that people ought to be allowed to voluntarily leave an area where there is nothing but rubble. There is no economy, there are no jobs, there is nothing. And. And then that place would be rebuilt into something that actually is great and decent, and some of those people would be allowed back in dependent on circumstance. That is the proposal that Trump has actually put forward. And according to Al Green, that's now impeachable. Okay, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what Trump did. He could have found a thousand things to, quote, unquote, impeach Trump over. He is saying, by the way, that the articles of impeachment are still a work in progress. Senior Democratic sources are brushing off the efforts, casting him as a backbencher who is not in coordination with leadership. But that'll last precisely as long as they think. They can't actually get any steam behind it. Democrats are absolutely struggling here, and one of the reasons they're struggling is because Trump is picking targets that are unpopular for Democrats and he is hitting them with regularity. This is the most targeted administration I have ever seen in my entire life. He has picked a set of targets that are 80, 20 targets in favor of the Republican position, and he is hitting them over and over and over. And Democrats are in full scale disarray. Aesthetically, they're in disarray. Organizationally, they're in disarray. The Democratic National Committee just picked David Hogg as its Vice chair. Meanwhile, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority leader, is attempting to lead Chance, and it is going wildly wrong. He showed up to protest along with his fellow Democrats like Maxine Waters and, yes, Al Green. Remember, Al Green's supposed to be a backbencher. Thank. There he is, right next to Chuck Schumer at this rally protesting Elon Musk's access to the Treasury Department. Now, remember the Complaint as we'll get to in a moment from Democrats about Elon is how could this unelected person be doing all of this? Well, I mean, you guys are defending, I noticed hundreds of thousands of unelected bureaucrats from the elected presidents of the United States. That's the thing. I know. In any case, here is Chuck Schumer trying to lead a chance and it all goes wildly wrong. I am going to stand with you in this fight and we will win.

Al Green (5:05)

We will win.

Ben Shapiro (5:06)

We will win.

Al Green (5:08)

We will win.

Ben Shapiro (5:10)

We will win.

Al Green (5:12)

We. We won't rest. We won't rest.

Ben Shapiro (5:18)

We won't rest. We won't rest.

Mary Margaret (5:21)

Thank you, everybody.

Ben Shapiro (5:24)

Yeah. As producer Savvy points out, that is the chance at the nursing home right before they take him away to nap time at 5pm we won't rest. And he's holding Maxine Waters his hand. My favorite part of that clip, I think, for those who can't see it, is all the people in the background who look absolutely confused, bewildered and upset by this old man screaming into the microphone while holding Maxine Waters his hand in the air. It's just pathetic. Politico has an entire piece titled, quote, blow this place up. Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder. Senate Democrats are struggling to deal with a rising tide of anger inside their party as President Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk run roughshod over federal agencies, with House members seething and activists demanding they shut down the Senate in response. Instead, it has been in many ways, business as usual in the Senate. Over the first two weeks of Trump's second term, Republicans have ground through procedural obstacles to confirm nearly a dozen Cabinet nominees, a pace that alarms a broad swath of Democrats. The lack of organized pushback has many Democrats wondering when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other party leaders will put forward a more aggressive strategy for resisting the GOP blitzkrieg that has already gutted US Foreign aid agencies, halted many federal grants, and left government employees shell shocked. Representative Alexander Ocasio Cortez, she of the bartending in the low iq, said, quote, this is not business as usual and Senate Democrats should not be treating this as business as usual. We need to see a halt on all Trump nominees. Yeah, please do it. Seriously, do it. Try to stop all the nominees. Shut down the Senate. Really shut down the. Let's see how that goes for you. See if the American people like that particular plan. House Speaker Johnson, he says, you know, the problem for the Democrats is they don't have a vision, they don't have a Leader, they got nothing. Here's Mike Johnson. The President is doing exactly what he said on the campaign trail that he is going to do, would do and he's delivering on that. And we're a big part of that. We're going to do it as well. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party truly is seemingly lost. They have no rudder, they have no vision, they have no clear leader. The only message they have is anti President Trump. And we've all seen that that's a failed strategy time after time. Okay, again, Democrats don't have a strategy. So impeachment, obstruction, let's see how that goes for them. And they are picking some of the worst things in the world to defend. It turns out the American people do not like wasting billions of dollars on ridiculous giveaway projects to Democrats friends, as we've been talking about for several days at this point, maybe, maybe weeks at this point. The Democrat Blue Taxpayer pipeline that was set up from the bureaucracy inside the executive branch. Billions of dollars flowing from unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch to non governmental organizations run by unelected Democrats outside the executive branch branch all over the world. That pipeline is coming to an end thanks to Doge. I'm old enough to remember when Democrats laughed at Doge. So this isn't a real thing. Ah, Elon Musk. What's he really going to be doing? And then President Trump gave Musk the keys to the car to go into all of these agencies and start gutting them and start looking at all the problems in the agencies. And now Democrats are freaking out. Well, Democrats are freaking out right now and that's good news. But let's be real about this. Life is filled with uncertainty. That's particularly true when it comes to the economy. Some economists are forecasting a depression. Not a recession, a depression by the year 2030. Here's the reality. All the systemic debt of the United States is eventually going to come due. That includes things like Social Security and Medicare. The largest generation is now hitting retirement. A smaller workforce means a smaller tax base. Pair that with our growing national debt and the rising cost of living, we could have a very big problem. What are you doing right now to protect your family for the future? Gold is a safe haven in hard economic times. Birch Gold makes it easy to diversify a portion of your savings into physical gold. Birch Gold will help you transition existing IRA or 401k into an IRA and gold. And it doesn't cost you a penny out of pocket. Protect your future. Today tech spend to 98. 98, 98. Get your free info kit on Gold and a copy of the Ultimate Guide for Gold in the Trump Era with Forward by Donald Trump Jr. There's no obligation, only information. I buy my gold from Birch Gold. You can trust them as well. Diversification is just a smart strategy when it comes to your investment portfolio. Text my name, Ben, to the number 989898 to get started today with my friends at Birch Gold. Also, let me tell you something. I never realized just how bad my old mattress was until I got rid of it in favor of my Helix mattress. You know that feeling where you wake up and your back is already whining at you? Well, that was me. Very often actually. And don't even get me started on how my old mattress turned into a heat trap at night. Which is the worst. There's nothing worse than waking up in a puddle of sweat because your mattress is trapping the heat. Since switching over to Helix, I wake up feeling ready to take on the busiest days the craziest headlines. He here's what makes Helix different. They don't believe in one size fits all sleep solutions. Instead they use their Sleep quiz to match you with a custom mattress based on your body type and sleep preferences. Whether you sleep hot, need extra support for your back, or share your bed with a restless partner, Helix has the perfect match for you. We took the Sleep quiz. We got a mattress that is firm but breathable and it's been great. Right now Helix is offering an incredible President's Day early access sale. Visit helixsleep.comBen get 20% off site wide plus two free dream pillows with mattress purchase. That's helixsleep.comBen for 20% off sitewide plus two free dream pillows with Mattress purchase. Again just visit helixsleep.comBen for this exclusive offer, Musk and Trump targeting USAID, the US Agency for International Development, which has again become a corrupted institution. The original idea that was promoted by Congress and JFK way back in 1961. That idea was not bad that you counter Russian influence by funding organizations all over the world that do the sort of soft outreach that's necessary to deter people from joining the communists. Not a horrible idea. But in the aftermath of the Cold War, USAID was shifted into a welfare agency for left wing international and domestic causes. And Doge has uncovered all of that and turns out the American people don't like any of that. Democrats are picking a very weird thing to defend. The Wall street journal says, quote no doubt spending $40 billion which is the budget of USAID in is bound to do some good somewhere. One off cited example is the PEPFAR program that has funded anti AIDS efforts in Africa in particular. But usaid, like most foreign aid, has become something of a plaster saint in Washington, even if it does far less good than advertised. And they mention some of the things that happened under the Biden administration. The agency during the Biden years supported electric vehicles in Vietnam and a transgender clinic in India. A Serbian LGBTQ group called grupa Izadci received $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities. And there are many other examples. An analysis by the Middle east forum says $164 million of U.S. aid money has supported radical organizations around the globe. $122 million of that aid was going to groups aligned with foreign terrorist organizations, including organizations directly controlled by Hamas in Gaza. Recipients of that money have called for their lands to be cleansed from the impurity of the Jews. So Musk and Trump going in and cleaning this thing out. Turns out the American people generally like that. But one of the elements that became very public yesterday was questions over the relationship between members of the federal government and Politico. So Politico, the publication Politico has a sort of specialized service called Politico Pro. It's usually for lobbyists. It has kind of public knowledge, but specialized public knowledge. And a subscription on a yearly basis goes for something like $10,000. $10,000? Well, USAID spent about $44,000 on POLITICO payments between 2023 and 2024. But federal government employees did spend something like $8 million on POLITICO Pro, which is a pretty large subsidy from federal employees to Politico Pro. By the way, that does include money from Republican places like the Office of the speaker of the House or the House Committee on Agriculture. However, that is a giant taxpayer subsidy. Now, whether you're going to say that it's individuals in the federal government doing it, or agencies in the federal government or usaid, here is Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, saying, well, we're not going to allow that sort of thing anymore.

Al Green (13:27)

So upon coming out here to the briefing room, I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room. And I can confirm that the more than 8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers dime will no longer be happening. The DOGE team is working, working on canceling those payments.

Ben Shapiro (13:52)

Now, okay, so there are a few problems with what she's saying. Number one, it is not USAID money that's going directly to Politico. Also, the number of dollars going to Politico from the federal government is not $8 million, it's $16 million. So it turns out that if you run in a publication that covers the government and members of the government are paying you $16 million, that seems like that could be a bit of a conflict of interest. But the real answer on all this is that Americans don't want their money wasted on stupid trash. And Democrats are perfectly fine with wasting money on stupid trash. Yesterday there is an entire House hearing about where US Aid money is going. And Representative Nancy Mace from South Carolina, she asked a Democratic witness named William resch about spending $2 million to trans people in Guatemala. And here was William Rush's response.

Al Green (14:42)

Today I'm going to expose some of the initiatives USAID has funded over the years and ask each of you a yes or no question if you believe these expenditures of American taxpayer dollars. Put America first. So it'll be yes or no. USAID awarded $2 million to strengthen trans.

Ben Shapiro (15:02)

Led organizations to deliver gender affirming health care in Guatemala. So to each of you this morning.

Al Green (15:08)

Does this advance the interests of American citizens paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of two, two million dollars?

Ben Shapiro (15:15)

Yes or no, Governor? I have no position. Of course you don't. I have no position. I have no position. Why would you not have a position on that? How exactly does that advance American. The answer is he does have a position. He's for it. The left would love to push trans propaganda in Guatemala with your taxpayer dollars. And then you wonder why precisely Republicans are targeting this sorts of spending. That would be exactly the reason right there. So Democrats who are struggling for an answer here, they've decided that instead of defending the spending, they're just going to attack Elon Musk. Because Elon Musk is really, really rich. And in the polling data, Elon has become less popular. Cuz it turns out that when you do controversial things, you become less popular. The nice thing for Elon is he doesn't care this thing about Elon Musk. Elon Musk is famous for not caring what people think of him. It is sort of his stock in trade. It also happens to be one of the reasons why he is singularly successful. While Democrats have decided it's absolutely imperative to yell about Elon Musk and his intervention at USAID, Cory Booker, Mr. Potato Head, took out his angry eyes popped those things in and decided to rant about USAID and Elon Musk and how dare they touch our vaunted foreign aid going to transgender people in Guatemala.

Al Green (16:36)

We are going to fight this legally.

Ben Shapiro (16:38)

In every way we can. We will fight their violation of civil service laws. We will fight their violation of civil rights laws. We will fight their violations of separation of powers. We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America. Angry eyes. Hey, he's not the only one who's ripping on Elon Musk and the rest of the Trump administration for cleaning out a deeply corrupted agency. Jasmine Crockett, who is sort of the fresh new aoc, and there's a point when AOC was so fresh and so faced, she was a fresh face and incredibly fresh and incredibly face. Well, she's being replaced in her faceness and her freshness by Representative Jasmine Crockett, who is now the darling of the left wing media because she is spicy in hearings and she says obnoxious things and seems to have a very inflated sense of her own skill set. Like, here was Jasmine Crockett yelling about Elon Musk yesterday in Congress. Feels as if y'all have just decided that y'all are going to castrate your.

Al Green (17:47)

Constitutional duty and hand it over to.

Ben Shapiro (17:51)

Someone who is unelected.

Al Green (17:52)

It doesn't matter how many cheerleaders he had on the field campaigning for him. That doesn't mean that that he gets to go in and sit atop any of our agencies. And the fact that we had a vote today and we asked to bring.

Ben Shapiro (18:05)

Him in because we have a constitutional duty. We all took our oath, and maybe.

Al Green (18:10)

Some of y'all just don't take it seriously.

Ben Shapiro (18:12)

But I take it seriously when I take an oath to do a job.

Al Green (18:15)

And my job is to look out and make sure that we don't have any kings or queens in this country. But it seems like y'all have decided that it's going to be Mr. King and his queen, and y'all can pick which one is which.

Ben Shapiro (18:31)

Articulately spoken, madam. It's a lot of y'all happening in that particular clip from Jasmine Crockett. Democrats have decided again to focus their ire on mosque because they are hoping also to drive a wedge between Musk and Trump. What they don't understand is that by focusing their ire on Musk, it makes them closer to President Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren, fresh from her latest pow wow, she said at a rally quote in the building behind me, Elon Musk is seizing power from the American people. We are here to fight back. Musk, quote, wants the power to decide whether or not every road repair in America goes forward, whether or not every Head Start center in America opens, whether or not every military base anywhere in the world operates according to Elon. Now, again, the thing about this that is absolutely hysterical is that you hear Jasmine Crockett or Elizabeth Warren or Cory Booker ranting about the systems of government. Oh, he's a threat to the systems of government. You built this system. You did it. You created unelected bureaucracies unanswerable to the American people, staffed by people who have never had any level of accountability to Americans directly. That was you. The legislature, over the course of the last 120 years in this country, has abdicated extraordinary responsibility to the executive branch. They decided to write nonspecific laws delegating absolutely extraordinary powers to regulatory agencies filled with unelected bureaucrats who are unaccountable in the extreme. And now you're claiming that it's bad that an unelected bureaucrat, which is what Elon Musk currently is, is coming in and cleaning it out. I'm sorry, you don't get to complain about that. You don't. You built this. You're just off because you built a weapon that's now being wielded by people you don't like. That's your own fault. That's your problem. If you wanna seize back your power, maybe what you should do is stop delegating all your power to the executive branch in the first place. In other words, you are fine with dictatorship. You just don't like it when somebody else grabs the power that you established for your own self, that that's all that's happening right here. If you're worried about the centralization of executive power, something I've been worried about my entire career, then maybe it should apply all the way across the board. But I noticed that you guys don't have any of those principles. It doesn't matter to you? And now turnabout is fair play because there is no mechanism for clawing back this kind of power. Can't be. The one side plays by the rules and the other side gets to violate those rules and destroy the entire system. And then the minute that the levers of power switch hands, the other side plays by the rules. This is one of the huge differences between Team Trump and the entire Trump MAGA movement. And prior iterations of conservatism. It's one of the biggest distinctions. Prior iterations of conservatism said Listen, there's a set of rules. We're gonna abide by the set of rules that we think is the right set of rules, trusting that the other side will, will not violate the rules. And then over the course of decades, Democrats violated the rules over and over and over and over and over. And Republicans, when they got in power, they said no, no, no, we're still going to play by the rules. And it turns out that it's just an incentive for Democrats to violate the rules. There must be a mutually assured destruction when it comes to the powers of government. If Democrats are going to do things like, for example, blow up the filibuster, then absolutely, Republicans should use their newfound powers under that exact rubric to ram through conservative justices on the Supreme Court. If Democrats are gonna centralize all power in the executive branch of government, in regulatory agencies that write tens of thousands of pages of rules and rob Americans of their freedom and initiative, then when Republicans gain control, they should use those exact agencies to do precisely the reverse. Because otherwise that is a form of surrender. That is not high mindedness, that is not objectivity. That is not constitutional government. It is simply surrender when the other side is breaking the rules day in and day out. Playing by the rules is a form of surrender. That is the message that is Democrats fault. This is a boomerang and you're on the bad end of the boomerang right now. Well, welcome to the party, pal. You broke it, you bought it. You don't like what Elon is doing. Elizabeth Warren of all people doesn't get to complain about this. She created the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, a totally unelected bureaucracy that isn't even funded by Congress. It's independently funded by the Federal Reserve. She created an entire agency to anti Elon Musk. And then she complains that Elon Musk is going in and doing things she doesn't like. Well, tough bleep. Seriously, you're the ones who did this. When one side is breaking the rules, it does not behoove you to play by the rules. In a rough and tumble world, you got to balance everything out. Just like your nutrition. With an entire month of the new year already behind us, I need to make sure I'm maintaining my health. Hitting the gym, spending time with my family, even with my busy work schedule. When I was younger, I used to think I could just power through on pure conservative willpower and caffeine. I learned pretty quickly peak performance actually requires peak nutrition. And that means eating enough veggies. That's why I'm So thankful to have Balance of Nature which fits right into even the busiest of days. Imagine trying to eat 31 different fruits and veggies every day. Sounds miserable. Time consuming with Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies. The there's never been a more convenient dietary supplement to ensure you get a wide variety of fruits and veggies daily. Balance of Nature takes fruits and veggies. They freeze dry them, they turn them into a powder and then they put those into a capsule. You take your fruit and veggie capsules every day and your body knows precisely what to do with them. They're kosher so I can pop it right into the protein smoothie to keep the gun show going. Go to balance of nature.com use promo code Shapiro for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. That's balanceofnature.com for promo code Shapiro. Go check them out right now. Balanceofnature.com promo code Shapiro for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus that free bottle of fiber and spice. Also, let's talk about something that's important for most parents their kids. Nutrition. You know how most kids vitamins out there are basically candy with a vitamin label. They're loaded with two teaspoons of sugar and artificial ingredients kids really don't actually need. Well, that's where Haya comes in. They've created an amazing chewable vitamin the kids actually like. The best part? Zero sugar. Still totally delicious. They've packed in 12 organic fruits and veggies plus 15 essential vitamins and minerals. We're talking vitamin D, B, 12C, zinc, more. All the good stuff kids need for healthy growth. And they've thought of everything. It's non gmo, vegan, allergen free, thoroughly tested for safety. That means you and I can both feel confident giving our kids vitamins made to this high quality standard. Are you tired of battling with your kids to eat their greens? Hai now has Kids Daily Greens plus Superfoods, a chocolate flavored greens powder designed specifically for kids. Packed with more than 55 whole food ingredients to support brain power, development and digestion. Just scoop, shake, sip with milk or any non dairy beverage for a delicious and nutritious boost your kids will actually enjoy. They even send stickers with your first order so your kids can decorate the bottle and make it their own. We've worked out a special deal with Haya for their bestselling children's vitamin receive 50% off your very first order to claim this deal, you have to go to hayahealth.comshapiro this deal is not available on the regular website. Go to H I y dash A H E A L T h dot com Shapiro get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Representative Jared Goldin, a centrist Democrat from Maine, said his office has been inundated by calls in recent days about Musk, not the president. Quote, my constituents and a majority of this country put Trump in the White House, not this unelected weirdo billionaire. Listen, here's the thing. Because Musk isn't running for office, it doesn't matter. You can attack him all day long and guess what? He's not running and he will never run for office. The only question for Trump is going to be do you like the changes that are being made? And it turns out the vast majority of Americans do not want to spend billions of dollars on transing the kids in Ethiopia. That is not something that they are interested in doing. You know who understands this is David Axelrod, the former Obama adviser. He said officials in his party should not try to save the USAID from its likely illegal gutting at the hands of Elon Musk. According to Mediaite. The strategist told Politico his party is walking into a trap. He says, man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight. When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is cut foreign aid. Rahm Emanuel, former Obama chief of staff, said, quote, you don't fight every fight. You don't swing at every pitch. My view is, well, I care about usaid. That's not the Hill I'm going to die on. But Democrats are going to die on these hills because they have no hills that they can die on. This is the dirty secret. Democrats don't have defensible ground. They ceded all the defensible ground. This is a point I made during the election cycle. Donald Trump occupies the mainstream middle of American politics. That was the dirty secret of the last election cycle. Democrats kept trying to say Trump is out of the box. He's so crazy, so extreme, it's so wild. Every position they took was psychotic and he took the non psychotic position and then he won. And so the idea that Donald Trump is going to plug Elon Musk into, for example, the Transportation Department to gather information is that scary to people. You know, it's scarier to people when it comes to the transfer transition Transportation department that you put in charge, Democrats, Pete Buttigieg because he liked choo choo trains and Then he went on paternity leave for months without notifying anybody and couldn't be bothered to visit East Palestine, Ohio. That was weird. Plugging Elon Musk in there to clean the place out. That's not all that scary. Secretary Sean Duffy said, quote, big news. Talk to the Doge team. They're going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system. And Democrats are pretending that they're freaking out about this. I have a question. What is freaky about this? You mean some of the most technologically sophisticated people in all of the world are going to be plugged into our transportation system as opposed to using computers from 1982? Wow, that sounds absolutely terrible. Again, Democrats have boxed themselves in. They've painted themselves into a corner. There is no issue on which this is more true, more obviously true, than on the trans issue. There is no issue on which this is more true. Again, the Daily Wire fought a pretty lonely fight in the early days of this issue. Many conservatives and many Republicans were like, why are we even fighting this? Ah, you know, let's just be. Just be nice. Just be nice. Why are you even making a big deal out of this? What difference does it make if a man wants to be called a woman? And some of us at Daily Wire said no. We said no from day one. And we've been saying no consistently for over a decade at this point. And now we win and you lose and Democrats lose. Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order keeping men out of women's sports. The argument is that this is a revision of the Biden administration's interpretation of Title 9. Title 9, the 1972 Civil Rights Law, prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs. The whole purpose of Title IX was to protect things like women's sports. The reason you have separate women's divisions is because of Title nine. And so the administration said the obviously true thing. Men should not play in women's sports. That is a form of discrimination. In 2023, the Biden administration proposed a rule change that would prevent schools from categorically barring trans athletes from teams that match their gender identities. They called that a violation of Title ix. And Trump was like, no. Sorry, that's stupid. The answer is no. The answer is no. Now Democrats, like, why is this even an issue? I mean, There are only 10 publicly identified athletes at the collegiate level who are identifying as transgender. That's not the point. On a principled level, no one is in favor of this. According to CNN, 79% of Americans, 79 oppose men and women's sports. This is an 8020 issue, and somehow Democrats insist on taking the 20, which means Trump is going to take the win. So here he was yesterday again. You want to make the claim that Donald Trump is against women and girls. I challenge you with this picture. There is no way for this optically to be a loss for President Trump. You're the morons who decided to take the side of a hulking dude in a dress over this conglomeration of women and girls. Here is President Trump surrounded by young female athletes ranging from probably ages 7 all the way on up to college age and post college age. Here he was signing the executive order yesterday. Secret Service is worried about them. If we have to worry about them, we have big problems. Okay, do you want to have a. Do you want to do this? Watch. Watch what I do and then I'm going to give you some pens.

Al Green (30:04)

Okay?

Ben Shapiro (30:05)

You ready? What a nice picture this is, huh? Governor, you ready? We'll do a good job. Wait, let me press that. I want to make this a really good signature because this is, you know, this is a big one, right?

Al Green (30:27)

Oh, I think.

Ben Shapiro (30:27)

I think we have a 10. We have a 10.

Al Green (30:30)

God bless you, Mr. President.

Ben Shapiro (30:36)

Okay. President Trump knows how to do this better than anyone else. You handed him the issue and he clubbed you to death with it like a baby seal. You handed it to him. Cuz you're idiots. And you insist on continuing to hand him these issues and then complaining about Elon Musk and Doge. Good luck to you, you political idiots. You seriously. And I gotta say, President Trump is a different President Trump this time around. Why? Well, number one, there's no sort of burning sense of insecurity and rage. He won. And a happy Trump is good. President Trump is happy with life. He is happy with his administration. He's happy with the direction of the country. Him being surrounded by young girls and women to defend their rights to play sports without the intervention of a man is an amazing optic moment. It is a fantastic exclamation point on top of his victory and an end to the transgender madness that we all experienced for about a decade here. Here is President Trump saying, we categorically reject this lunacy. Marco is going to make clear to the International Olympic Committees there, and he's going to make it as clear as anybody can make it that America categorically rejects transgender lunacy. We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject that we even have to talk about this subject. If you went back 10 years or 15 years and you would move forward and listen to this. You'd say, what the hell are they talking about? This is impossible. But you have people out there, Democrats, that are still totally in favor. They can't win the argument. They can't win a debate. They look like fools, and they continue to go on. He is right about all of this, obviously. Our own Mary Margaret Olihan was at the White House, and she asked, how would this executive order impact the Summer Olympics, for example?

Al Green (32:26)

So how is today's executive order going to impact the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, for example? Would a man who thinks that he's a transgender woman be allowed to compete as a female on US Soil? It's a very good question. And the President has actually mentioned this, that he does expect the Olympic Committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in women's sports. And I think the President, with the signing of his pen, starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls across the country. Again, this is an incredibly popular position. There have been many notable female athletes who have. Have had the courage to speak out against some very powerful institutions in this country. They deserve to have a voice and a say. The President is bringing their voice to the highest level at the White House this afternoon, and he expects these organizations to comply with this federal executive order that he'll be signing today.

Ben Shapiro (33:23)

Speaking of which, Mary Margaret joins us on the line right now. She's our White House correspondent, of course. So, Mary Margaret, you were present at the White House yesterday. The President signed an executive order that basically said that men no longer get to play in women's sports. What was that like? It seemed like a pretty amazing optic moment.

Al Green (33:39)

Well, good morning, Ben. And it was. It was really cool to be there. The whole room was filled with women, whether it was middle school girls who are female athletes, advocates, people like Sage Steele, Riley Gaines, members of the Independent Women's Forum, all gathered to celebrate this historic day when Trump banned men from women's sports. My favorite moment was when he gathered all of these kids around him. He kind of joked that they were going to make the Secret Service nervous. But he said, if you guys are going to be the biggest threat we have, then that's a bigger problem. And he gathered them around him to watch this signing. And I spoke to Riley Gaines afterwards, and she told me that this was a really moving moment for her and so many other people to see these little girls with their whole futures ahead of them, watching the President of the United States say, no longer will you be forced to compete against men who identify as women. And of course, the White House ban was playing girls just want to have fun in the background, Dancing queen, just a really lively event. And Trump himself seemed like he was in a great mood. The White House celebrated this aggressively on social media. And they understand this is an issue that many Americans voted on in the last election. It was what I like to call the sleeper issue. Many, many Americans care about this very deeply, and they do not want men in women's spaces.

Ben Shapiro (34:57)

So, Mary Margaret, you had the opportunity to be at the White House and ask Caroline Levitt about the President's approach to the Olympics that are, that are coming up and what exactly the United States should do about that. What information do you have on that?

Al Green (35:10)

Yes. So we wanted to see kind of how far this order extends. Right. Because in 2028, the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. So I asked Caroline, how does this apply to the 2028 Olympics? Are we going to allow men who identify as women to compete as females? And she said that, yes, it's the position of the Trump administration that men shouldn't be competing in the Olympics as women on US Soil. So that was really interesting. It was great to hear her clarify that. I also asked her about media standards when it comes to language and the gender issue, because we see so many outlets, except of course, the Daily Wire, using the activist language of groups like the ACLU and glaad, which tell reporters to say things like gender affirming care, or to call men who identify as women transgender females. Caroline said that the posture of the Trump administration is that there are only two genders, male and female, and that that's the kind of language that they prefer to use.

Ben Shapiro (36:08)

Mary Margaret, it's a story a day out of the White House. We're very glad to have you there because this White House is breaking extraordinary news on an almost minute by minute basis. Really appreciate the time. I'm sure I'll be talking to you soon.

Al Green (36:20)

Thanks so much, Ben. It's so much fun being here.

Ben Shapiro (36:22)

By the way, it is absolutely true, there are many heroic female athletes who have done an amazing job standing up to this, who have said, no, I'm not going to race against a man. One of those is, of course, Riley Gaines, the swimming star who refused to swim against Leah Thomas, a very, very large male. She produced an ad all about female athletes who was actually tweeted out by J.K. rowling, who's also done heroic work on this particular issue. Here is Some what that ad looked like. Riley Gaines and Sia Lihi Lehi are.

Mary Margaret (36:49)

In hot water over their transphobic comments. And I just gotta say, who cares.

Ben Shapiro (36:54)

If biological males play in women's sports, Just be inclusive.

Al Green (36:58)

Could not agree more. This is just a bunch of fear mongering from right wing bigots.

Ben Shapiro (37:15)

All video of young women preparing to play and receiving nasty messages from the trans community and trans advocates. And it says real strength, real courage.

Al Green (37:30)

Very much responsible for these boycots which have cost her team a playoff bid.

Ben Shapiro (37:35)

Guess we'll see how Sia handles all that pressure tonight. Real girls rock. Okay, and that that ad was put out there by the truthfits.com. you can go check that out. You know this movement is popular. There's a reason that it's popular, the MAGA movement is because it's saying obviously true things. By the way, the Democratic Party has never been in worse shape in my lifetime. Current polling suggests a 31% popularity rating for the current Democratic Party. 31%. 31%. That's unbelievable. We'll get to more Trump winning in a second. First, another Trump executive order. Another massive win for the Daily Wire. Everyone agreed men and women's sports were unfair and dangerous. It was the Daily Wire that took action on a wide variety of fronts. Well, we made and released Lady Ballers, the most triggering comedy of the decade, from one rating. Written, directed and starring Jeremy Boring and featuring the entire Daily Wire cast like you've never seen them before. Why a comedy? Well, because sometimes the only way to make people listen is to make them laugh. And it worked. Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order to finally start keeping men out of women's sports. Watch the movie that triggered the left and triggered a landmark new policy protecting women and girls. Lady Baller, streaming right now exclusively at Daily Wire. Plus. Meanwhile, President Trump was at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning and he proposed something that he proposed during Trump version number one. That was an excellent idea. Never fully came to fruition. Hopefully now that there's time that will happen. He proposed the creation of a new national park that would be filled with statues of American heroes. In other words, precisely the reverse of the thing that Democrats have been standing for for years. Democrats have spent the last decade trying to literally rip statues off pedestals, removing statues of American heroes, taking historic people from American history and completely just whitewashing them from American history, pretending that history is not shaded or interesting, treating American history as though you're either all good or all bad. And that if you were in the all bad Category, you have to be removed, your statue torn down, defacing American history. Trump is doing the reverse. He's instead saying, you know what we ought to do in this country? Honor American heroes. Here he was explaining, the stories of legends like Washington, Winthrop and Williams remind us that without faith in God, there would be no American story. Every citizen should be proud of this exceptional heritage. We have an unbelievable heritage and we have to use that and make life better for everyone. That's why as we approach the 25th times 10 anniversary, think of that 250, 250 years we'll be celebrating next year of our country's founding. I have signed an executive order to resume the process of creating a new national park full of statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived. We're going to be honoring our heroes, honoring the greatest people from our country. We're not going to be tearing down, we're going to be building up. It would be called the National Garden of American Heroes. Why would that possibly be controversial? Now, Democrats will cry foul because they'll say, well, who are these heroes that you talk about? But that's the whole point. When Trump says make America great again, he also means make America's perception of their own country great again. No more the 1619 project lies and crap. No more Ibram x Kendi nonsense. It's time to actually treat American history with the reverence and respect that it actually deserves. And these are all popular moves that Trump is making. Oppose them at your own peril. Meanwhile, President Trump's most audacious move has been his attempt to solve the situation in Gaza by allowing people who are in a rubble strewn area a way out so that the Gaza Strip can then be rebuilt as basically Monte Carlo on the Mediterranean. Everybody who is opposing this, everybody who's yelling about this, their solution is no solution. Their solution, of course, is to simply allow the rebuilding of Hamasistan in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the people who live there for decades on end while they rebuild nothing with no money and no jobs. That is their solution. Trump is proposing an alternative. He is also making clear that contra the sort of idiotic opinion that America is going to send troops to do this, no, we're not. And we shouldn't. Obviously, we shouldn't be taking in refugees from this area, nor should we be sending American troops to this area. Of course, of course. Caroline Lovett of the White House, she was asked about this by members of the media about are you risking American lives in Gaza? And she's like, what are you even talking about is it worth risking the.

Mary Margaret (42:16)

Life of a single US Marine to.

Ben Shapiro (42:18)

Turn the Gaza Strip into the Riviera of the Middle East?

Al Green (42:21)

Phil, I'm not sure why you're asking that question, because I've already said the President has not committed to sending Marines or any boots on the ground in Gaza.

Ben Shapiro (42:30)

Okay, so again, they made that clear. Trump himself made that clear this morning. He put out a statement, quote, the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting the Palestinians. People like Chuck Schumer, but I'm for it, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities with new and modern homes in the region. They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free. The US Working with great development teams from all over the world, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth. No soldiers by the US Would be needed. Stability for the region would reign. Again, President Trump sees this as a real estate project. He's a real estate guy. What he is basically saying is Israel should clear the ground. People who want to leave should be allowed to get out and go live somewhere that is not, in fact, a hellhole run by Hamas. And then the United States will basically take the thing that's good about the area, meaning the beachfront property, and turn it into something nice as a good investment. He's basically gonna syndicate a real estate deal in Gaza, is the thing that Trump is saying. Not that he's gonna pour 20,000American troops, God forbid, into the Gaza Strip in order to clear out Hamas. He's saying that's Israel's job. Let Israel do its job and finish off Hamas and then give people who have been living in the worst situation imaginable the ability to leave if they want to leave and go somewhere else where they can actually have a nice life. Everybody who's opposing this needs to answer a question. You're claiming that Gaza was an open air prison and a genocidal hellhole, but you won't let people out. Explain yourself. If you say that you oppose Hamas, why are you opposed to an administration of that area that will be rich and prosperous and free? Why? Again, Trump, thinking outside the box is what is changing the equation here. It also happens to be changing the equation in the Middle East. The math was for literally decades, declare a war, kill people, lose the war, be rewarded. That was the way that foreign policy was done in the Middle east for several decades. Now, the foreign policy has changed. Launch a Massive terror attack, take Americans hostage, lose everything. If you're Hamas, for example, Pete Hegsett, the Secretary of defense, he's an oppressor yesterday with Benjamin Netanyahu, among others, and he said, listen, let President Trump think outside the box. Let him do his, let him cook. Let him cook. I would just say to the question of Gaza, the definition of insanity is attempting to do the same thing over and over and over again. And as the president and prime minister pointed out last night, the president is.

Mary Margaret (45:03)

Willing to think outside the box, look.

Ben Shapiro (45:05)

For new and unique dynamic ways to solve problems that have felt like they're intractable. So we look forward to more conversations about that, creative solutions to that. And as the man tasked with leading the Defense Department here, we're prepared to look at all options, as we've said before.

Al Green (45:25)

Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary,. Do you have a plan to send troops to Gaza? Are you working on options for the president right now that would involve US Troops in Gaza?

Ben Shapiro (45:33)

The president is involved in very complex and high level negotiations of great consequence.

Mary Margaret (45:39)

To both the United States and the state of Israel.

Al Green (45:41)

And we look forward to working with.

Mary Margaret (45:43)

Our allies, our counterparts, both diplomatically and.

Ben Shapiro (45:45)

Militarily, to look at all options. But we certainly would not get ahead of the president or provide any details about what we may or may not doing do. That's just bad military. Again, Hegseth is right. He's an excellent secretary of Defense. This cabinet is just a knockout. I mean, so far, so amazing. By the way, for those who continue to stand for Hamas, I'm just going to point out that Hamas agreed yesterday to hand over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her children. Shiri Bibas, you'll remember from October 7th, there is a horrifying picture of Hamas taking into captivity a young mother and two red headed children. You remember, like a toddler, both kids and the mom are dead. That's what Hamas did. The idea they should be allowed to retain control of the Gaza Strip is the great evil, of course. So President Trump thinking outside the box and changing the world in doing so. Joining us on the line to discuss President Trump's audacious statements about what should happen next with Gaza is Brooke Goldstein, human rights attorney and president of the Welfare Project, a pro bono organization representing victims of anti Semitism. She's also an expert on the Middle East. Brooke, thanks so much for joining the show. I really appreciate it.

Al Green (46:50)

Ben, I appreciate being here with you. Thank you for having me.

Ben Shapiro (46:55)

So when it comes to President Trump's announcement, I think it's Difficult to overstate just what a massive ground shift this is in terms of Middle Eastern politics, in terms of the way people view the entire situation in the Middle East. I spoke about this on the show yesterday. But essentially every aspect of idiotic conventional wisdom that has been tried and failed for 75 odd years, President Trump overturned all of it. Maybe you can speak to some of the premises that President Trump just threw directly out the window in favor of actual reality.

Al Green (47:24)

Yeah, absolutely. Look, I mean, the whole premise that there is a two state solution, right? That creating another Islamist state in a sea of failed Islamist dictatorship is some sort of solution to anything, especially when you don't get rid of the radicalization problem. And this, not that the Israeli Palestinian conflict has to be solved before any progress is made in the region was already debunked during Trump's first term with the historic Abraham Accords. And now people are crying violations of international law because Trump wants to save the civilian population in Gaza from being used as human shields. I want to say very clearly Trump's suggestion to temporarily remove the civilians in Gaza for their own safety is 100% legal. The Geneva Convention prohibits the permanent relocation of a civilian population by an occupying power. Now forget the fact that there is no occupying power there, that there is no sovereign that is currently in control. And Hamas is illegitimate. Right? There's an exception. The Geneva Convention says that if civilians need to be removed for their own safety, they can be. And that's clearly what's happening here. Hamas, which is operating in violation of the Geneva Convention, using civilians as human shields, recruiting thousands of children as child soldiers, is using the civilian population in order to maintain a terrorist state. They are hiding within hospitals, within schools. The only way to make Gaza safe, the only way to guarantee the safety of these civilians is to temporarily relocate them. And nobody is saying they can't go back. Everyone is free to go back, whether you're Jews, whether you're Muslim, whether you're Druze, whether you're Christian. Anyone who once lived in Gaza should be free to return to Gaza once it is made safe.

Ben Shapiro (49:30)

So, Brooke, there's so many sort of claims that are being made that are just legally specious here. So what you've heard is, well, you know, this is, this is Palestinian land. It's a violation of law because it's Palestinian land. There's literally no iteration of law by which this is Palestinian land. Prior to 1948, it was ruled by the British Mandate. Between 1948 and 1967, it was occupied by Egypt. At no point Was there an independent Palestinian state there? In fact, the only autonomy ever granted to the Palestinians in this area was granted by Israel in 2005 when it pulled completely out of the Gaza Strip and allowed Hamas to be elected in the Gaza Strip by Palestinians living there. So this idea that there's any sort of legal claim by anyone to that land connected with the Palestinians, what legal grounds? I mean, you've heard this kind of trotted out there routinely by members of the mainstream media and the left. I've yet to hear an actual legal argument for why this is quote unquote Palestinian land as opposed to say Israeli land, Egyptian land or anybody else's.

Al Green (50:22)

Right. Well, they defeat their own legal argument when they claim that every single so called Palestinian Muslim living in Gaza is a refugee. So Gaza therefore is not their home. And if Gaza is their home, then the entire premise upon which the so called Israeli Palestinian conflict exists is false. I've said many times that the whole construct of the exclusive Palestinian Muslim identity is one that's bigoted. My ancestors, before the establishment of the modern state of Israel were Palestinian. Describe themselves as Palestinian. The Jerusalem Post used to be called the Palestine Post. Palestine is a geographic location. It's not an exclusive Muslim ethnicity, religion or national identity. It was a construct that was invented by Yasser arafat in the 1970s, who himself is an Egyptian, in order to engage in these lawfare attacks. Right? The use of the legal system. Because they know they cannot defeat Israel on the battlefield. No matter how much terror, terrorism and how much asymmetric warfare they use, they will not be able to defeat Israel or the United States for that matter, on the battlefield. So they need to construct a legal premise by which they are entitled not only to occupy land. Like for example, let's talk about the so called west bank because we're always using this terminology. West bank of what right? This is Judea Samaria. If Jews are not from Judea, I do not know where we are from. And the whole settlers, right? Jews are settlers and settlements. They're Jewish homes. There are Jewish people, there are Jewish schools and Jews have every right to live in that area. Now if I were to tell you there's an area of Belgium, right, or square in Paris where no Jews are allowed to live, you'd say that's racist. But why are we arguing and saying it is required by international law to create these Juden Rhine zones in the Middle east, the only place where we can live freely under our own sovereignty and self government, which we have every legal right to do so it's just the use of the lawfare attacks and the manipulation of terminology and the perversion of the real meanings which has really got us to this point in the first place. Which is why speaking clarity and truth is just so shocking to everybody.

Ben Shapiro (52:51)

Well, this is, I think, the reason why this is so groundbreaking. President Trump's plan here, whether it eventually ends up becoming reality or whether he has just kind of spoken it has exploded all of these premises and completely shifted again the grounds upon which all Middle Eastern policy for the west has been based for decades, which is exactly what he did with the Abraham Accords. And now he's doing it again. He did, when he moved the embassy to Jerusalem. He basically gave the lie to the idea that the Arab street was going to explode if the embassy was moved to Jerusalem. He exploded the lie that the Palestinian issue lay at the heart of all Israeli Arab relations. He blew that up with the Abraham Accords. And now he's exploding the lie that the two state solution was ever a required element of a future. And in fact, he's saying precisely the opposite, that it is, in fact that idea that is the obstacle to peace in the Middle East. And I think that's gonna change things pretty dramatically. You know, the claims of people that this is somehow inhumanitarian, that's terrible. What's amazing to me is that their alternative, their proposed alternative is for people to live in rubble for the next 10 to 15 years without any source of income. No one is going to be allowed by Israel to use a work visa, for God's sake, to go into Israel to get a job. There will be no functional economy, no infrastructure, no water, no power. Nothing in that area. That area has been completely wrecked specifically because, not because Israel is being brutal, but because Hamas literally implanted itself in these areas to force Israel to destroy them. And now they're all destroyed. What is the alternative plan? Nobody has proposed an alternative plan that actually helps Palestinians other than both Israel and the United States.

Al Green (54:23)

Up until now, the world has been screaming, let them out. They're in an open air prison, get them out of Gaza. They, they should go move into Israel. Now all of a sudden, when they're literally being used as human shields, when we're seeing the mass death of civilians that is being caused by Hamas, who's putting them in harm's way. All of a sudden the world wants them to stay and they won't let them out. I mean, what is this, this ridiculous? To me, it's so perverted because anyone who is saying that Gazan civilians should not be allowed to leave Gaza is arguing that they should be murdered by Hamas. This is so clear to me. And thousands have already left voluntarily, which they have every legal right to do. The entirety of the Israeli Palestine I call the so called Israeli Palestinian conflict because there is no conflict between Israelis. A fictional Palestinian people. There is a regional war where Iran uses its proxies in order to dominate, spread chaos and destabilize the Middle east they want to spread. The caliphate is a theologically motivated war. It's not about land per se. That the Palestinian movement has nothing to do with creating a civil society, a democratic, a so called democratic Palestinian state. There has never existed a democracy in the Arab world ever. So the fact that we think that all of a sudden there's going to be a democratic Palestinian state and this is the solution, it's just so absurd. And yet anyone like me or you who has been speaking these, I guess, inconvenient truth for so long and especially calling out radical Islam and the hate education that's happening in the Middle east, which is the root cause of the conflict, because if you want to know what the future looks like in 10, 12 years, look at what they're teach the 5, 6, 7 year olds in their schools. And they're teaching them death and they're teaching them jihad. And anyone like me and you who have been calling this out as the true human rights violations have been slandered, have been called anti Muslim, racist, Islamophobic, et cetera, et cetera, we've been marginalized. And yet now, you know, thank God, I guess. I hate, I hate the term silver lining when it applies to what happened on October 7th. But I guess the outcome of this that is slightly positive is that we have woken up, right? We've woken up not for the first time, but for the second time because we were supposed to wake up after 9, 11, but we had that whole Islamophobia mania campaign that made us shut up and not want to talk about issues of national security and theologically motivated radicalism. But now we've woken up again and we're not willing, at least no matter how much the media and the so called policy experts want to shove this, you know, their ideas down our throats. We're like, this doesn't make any sense anymore. This is not working. And now with President Trump in office for his second term, it's provably false. It's not just theory, it's provably false.

Ben Shapiro (57:28)

Well, that's Brooke Goldstein. You can check out her work over at the Lawfare Project. Brooke, really appreciate the time and the insight.

Al Green (57:34)

Thank you so much.

Ben Shapiro (57:35)

And now for something a little bit lighter. I mean, a lot lighter. I mean, it is world shattering and earth changing in its own way. I suppose you've all been following the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni scandal that involves Taytay McTay, Tay Swift and all of this. I will admit I have not followed this closely, which is why I on the show, bring on the experts. I do know somebody who is an expert on this. The original influencer and host of the Perez Hilton podcast. Perez Hilton. Perez. Welcome to the Ben Shapiro Show.

Mary Margaret (58:04)

Thanks for having me. I love talking to anybody who'll have me on.

Ben Shapiro (58:11)

So here's the thing. I know nothing about this case. I've talked about it a little bit on the air. It's, you know, Justin Baldoni, frankly, seems like he is right in this, but the public seems like they're siding with him as well. I'd never heard of Justin Baldoni until this whole thing broke onto the public scene. So for those who haven't been watching any of this, what's the story? Why are people generally on Team Baldoni versus Team Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Tay Tag Swift and all the rest?

Mary Margaret (58:36)

You know, if there's one silver lining for Justin Baldoni in all of this, it's that prior to the It Ends with us saga, he was just known as a TV actor whose most well known role was appearing on Jane the Virgin, a little show that not many people watched. But now, because of Taylor Swift's best friend and her husband, he is an a lister, I think, in the eyes of many. And the reason I believe that this story has really gripped so many is one, it really feels like a modern day David and Goliath. He's David and people see themselves in him. And Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are these very famous, very wealthy people using their power and influence to totally exert control over his film and then make multiple threats, not just to him, but also to the film's distributor, Sony. And also this issue of bullying and false allegations. A lot of people have dealt with bullying and maybe some also with false allegations, seemingly false. It hasn't yet been proven in a court of law, but hopefully that will happen if it doesn't get settled before March 2026, when Judge Lyman in New York set the start date.

Ben Shapiro (60:00)

Okay, so apparently over the course of the last few days, Baldoni's team put up a website dedicated to explaining the lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds. They had sued him. He is countersuing them. What exactly is on his website? What's the damning material that he put up?

Mary Margaret (60:14)

You know, the damning material, in my opinion, is he included a previously unseen timeline with every piece of evidence that he has. So even if it doesn't go to trial, the court of public opinion is really what matters here. And it's very similar to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in that for the last five to 10 years, it's been all about believe women, believe women. But I've always been more of a fan of believe the truth. And after seeing with my own eyes all of the receipts that he included, countless text messages, emails, and so much of it had never been incorporated in any of the lawsuits. There's multiple lawsuits going on here. He's previously sued the New York Times. He is suing Lively and her husband and her publicist, she is suing him. And then just yesterday, this kind of shadowy figure based out of Texas, Jed Wallace, is now also suing Blake Lively. It is a never ending saga and I'm personally very thankful for it because I'm very well read up on all of it.

Ben Shapiro (61:31)

Okay, so what were the accusations originally for people who are sort of new to the story, what were the accusations that Blake Lively originally was making about Justin Baldoni and then how is he rebutting those? What's his response?

Mary Margaret (61:41)

Sure. The allegations that Blake Lively made against Justin Baldoni were big sexual harassment, something that you don't want to be accused of. And then she doubled down through her lawyer calling him an abuser and that she was the victim of a retaliation campaign. This orchestrated smear that he and his team engaged in over a period of months. He has countered with defamation, extortion, and a bunch of shady business dealings that she and Ryan Reynolds were doing to hurt him. And it has, it's really affected him. According to the Hollywood Reporter, which I think is a very credible outlet, he was attached to direct this big budget adaptation of the video game classic Pac Man. And after her allegations of sexual harassment, he is no longer attached to that. His lawyer, in a pre trial hearing this Monday in New York said that he and his production company Wayfarer, have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of this all.

Ben Shapiro (62:53)

So obviously this doesn't just involve Blake Lively. This is now dragged in both Ryan Reynolds as well as Taylor Swift. Some of the allegations were that Ryan Reynolds was sort of involved in attempting to cram down a script and script changes on Justin Baldoni, that Taylor Swift was brought into a to a script meeting where she was giving advice on Scripts to Justin Baldoni. And so this has raised the prospect that Taylor Swift may actually be deposed in this particular lawsuit. What are the chances that we end up with a Taylor Swift deposition?

Mary Margaret (63:22)

Just the possibility of Taylor Swift being deposed is very powerful. And actually earlier this week in the pretrial hearing, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds lawyer requested that the judge place a gag order on Baldoni's attorney. The judge denied that, but reminded all parties to engage by the rules of professional conduct in New York. Meaning you cannot say anything in the media that could potentially taint a jury. But Baldoni's attorney and Lively and Reynolds attorney have free reign to talk to the press as much as possible. So yesterday, Baldoni's lawyer gave an interview where he was directly asked, are you going to depose Taylor Swift? And his answer was, that's a decision that we have not decided yet, but any person that could have information relevant to this case will be deposed. And I know that Taylor Swift does not want to be involved in this, but she is.

Ben Shapiro (64:24)

So. Yeah, well, I mean, again, there's so many sort of aspects of pop culture that are being dragged into this case. That includes, of course, Ryan Reynolds latest movie, the Wolverine movie that he did with Hugh Jackman. One of the big characters in it is the so called Nice Pool character. There's Deadpool and then there's Nice Pool. One of the allegations is apparently that Nice Pool, which is sort of a mockable, ridiculous character who's a faux feminist, who isn't really that he's actually based on Baldoni. That's what Baldoni is now claiming. You know, how credible is that? How valid is that claim?

Mary Margaret (64:54)

I mean, it seems obvious that the character of Nice Pool is based on Baldoni. There's so many things that the character says that, that Deadpool makes fun of Baldoni. And the lawyer for Baldoni went and emailed and sent a letter to Marvel and Disney saying that they cannot destroy any information pertaining to the creation of this character, how it came to be. And that's what you brought up. One of the other reasons this is so gripping. It really is like a real life telenovela, a soap opera with all of these characters. And we haven't even talked about the power players over at William Morris Endeavor. You know, Baldoni used to be represented by wme and he claimed that Ryan Reynolds pressured the agency that also represents Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively to drop Baldoni. And they did drop him.

Ben Shapiro (65:56)

Well, the whole thing is in fact much more interesting than I thought it was going to be when we started this interview, so perhaps Perez Hilton, thank you so much for walking me through that and I'm sure that we'll have you on again as the updates flow in. Appreciate your time. Thank you.

Mary Margaret (66:09)

Happy to be back.

Ben Shapiro (66:10)

Alrighty. Coming up, we are going to get to Google, which is now overtly getting rid of its DEI programs. If you're not a member, become member. Use code Shapiro Checkout for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us.