The Precap | Ronny Chieng on Trump's Venezuela Surprise

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition — The Precap | Ronny Chieng on Trump's Venezuela Surprise

Date: January 5, 2026
Main Theme:
A behind-the-scenes, comedic roundtable where Astro Wommack and Ronny Chieng reflect on the chaos they missed over the Daily Show’s winter break—most notably, the stunning U.S. military action in Venezuela under President Trump. The duo jumps from headline to headline, blending insightful social commentary and legal expertise with classic Daily Show banter.

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Episode Overview

This “Precap” episode features Astro Wommack hosting, with guest Ronny Chieng, as they process the winter news deluge, especially the shock U.S. strike on Venezuela. Through irreverent humor, cultural takes, and legal reflections, they explore everything from holiday downtime and burnout, to presidential overreach, bot-driven discourse, broken redactions, and the personal growth of surprising political figures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Winter Break and Life Offline

• Astro and Ronnie trade jokes about their first real winter break and the working culture behind "The Daily Show."
• Ronny on going offline:
  • “Offline, one, is the new luxury. And two, offline is a form of resistance, you know...either you're bougie, go offline, because that's what rich people do. If you're poor, do it. Because that's what the resistance does.” (04:00)
• Processing News at Your Own Pace
  • Astro shares how refreshing it is to process news (esp. Venezuela) at his own pace compared to having to constantly “have a take.”

2. Post-Holiday News Storm: Trump's Venezuela "Surprise"

• The Venezuela Strike, Explained
  • The hosts recap the shock upon returning: “...we all woke up, I think it was January 2nd or 3rd...Trump apparently conducted a military strike in Venezuela where he then, you know, I would say kidnapped [the] sitting president.” (11:50, Astro)
  • Ronny clarifies: “I think rendition is kidnapping.” (12:12)
  • The duo lampoons the manufactured justification for intervention:
    • “These fishermen are actually drug dealers...This is the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction.” (15:11, Astro)
    • “I mean, these evil Venezuelans forcing all these rich New Yorkers to take cocaine at gunpoint.” (16:28, Ronny)
• The Speed and Spectacle of Modern Coups
  • “We have a TikTok attention span coup. These things used to take months.” (11:09, Ronny)
  • Parody of the “parade” through Brooklyn:
    • “Can you not bring [Maduro] to Brooklyn? We got enough to deal with in Brooklyn.” (18:25, Ronny)

3. Distrust in Media and The Comment Section

• Bots, Bad Faith, and the Dead Internet Theory
  • “The comment section might not even be real people.” (13:26, Ronny)
  • Astro unpacks the uncanny online support for the president’s actions:
    • “That’s the part that's scaring me the most…how the willingness…the online faction, they'll tell you—the President can do this without Congress’s approval.” (12:29)
  • Ronny warns that “the comment section already was not real 10 years ago…now maybe it's AI trolling us.” (14:19)

4. Holiday Catch-up & Anti-Consumerism

• Lighthearted debate over the value of holidays and presents:
  • “I'm anti consumerist. So I'm trying to not…give presents when we don't need to give presents. But I'm just a weirdo.” (07:34, Ronny)
  • “Christmas is for my 16-year-old cousin…” (07:49, Astro)
  • Discussion about getting what you want for Christmas—including weed. (08:07, Astro)

5. Legal and Democratic Gray Areas

• Presidential Overreach:
  • “...as someone who went to law school...I have no idea what the fuck's going on. I do think that, yeah, the President can do it without Congress. Because he did it.” (13:04, Ronny)
  • “Checks and balances. Separate but equal branch of government. But Congress has power to declare war...I guess it's...I don't know what they're doing.” (20:47, Ronny)

6. Wider Geopolitical & Social Consequences

• U.S. Hemispheric Dominance & Retreat:
  • “...they've already said that the US must dominate the Western hemisphere.” (39:48, Ronny)
  • Astro: “This is us like being seen as...we can't compete on the global stage. Cause somebody's...bigger and badder...so we gotta...retreat to our home hemisphere.” (40:18)
• Loss of Global Clout:
  • Ronny: “...all these, you know, MAGA Americans start freaking out that they were not the dominant thing anymore. But it was intentional.” (41:51)
  • Astro: “America has a problem with equity...to give equity...you're gonna lose.” (42:08)
• Satirical Speculation:
  • “What if Venezuela gets statehood before Puerto Rico?” (22:02, Ronny)
  • PolyMarket bets on world events, including Jesus returning: “It pays like 5% or something. So I feel like it just beats treasury bills as an investment.” (28:49, Ronny)

7. Leaky Administration & Epstein File Fiasco

• Epstein Files and Botched Redactions
  • “...because bad redaction, well, they canceled this Adobe subscription.” (23:48, Astro)
  • “Proper redaction...for goddamn national security issues...the leakiest administration.” (24:23, Ronny)

8. The Renaming of the Kennedy Center

• Trump renames Kennedy Center:
  • “It’s called the Trump Kennedy Center. And can you even do that?” (26:10, Ronny)
  • Astro quips: “How do you add your name to something that already has someone else's name?...like putting your name on top of like someone else's homework…” (26:23)

9. Political Redemption Arc: Marjorie Taylor Greene

• MTG’s Character Turn:
  • “She left the squad, left the team...she's also, like, weirdly apologetic...It's very rare to see a politician tear accountability…” (29:44, Astro)
  • “...it requires a lot of intelligence to just say...To understand what they're doing. Meaning part of accountability is being dragged through it a little bit...” (31:13, Ronny)
  • Ronny claims: “I take her at face value. I think she's out, I don't think she's trying to run for office anymore. Everyone...thinks she's running for governor.” (32:51)

10. January 6th Anniversary & National Memory

• Reflection on Jan 6:
  • “I was in a used bookstore yesterday...and there was the thickest Jan6 report...If you want to see all the crimes that happened that...will never get, you know, prosecuted. Everyone got pardoned.” (35:52, Ronny)
  • “Will America ever agree on what happened that day? Probably not.” (36:30, Astro)
  • “...it's the definition of gaslighting when people try to tell us what happened that day...the people in the minority...hijacks the news cycle...” (36:45, Ronny)

11. Social & Economic Reflection

• Discussion on America’s “intentional step back” from global domination, the false nostalgia around manufacturing, and the affluence/purpose paradox.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Offline is the new luxury. Offline is a form of resistance.” — Ronny Chieng (04:00)
• “We have a TikTok attention span coup. These things used to take months.” — Ronny Chieng (11:09)
• “These fishermen are actually drug dealers...This is the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction.” — Astro Wommack (15:11)
• “Can you not bring [Maduro] to Brooklyn? We got enough to deal with in Brooklyn.” — Ronny Chieng (18:25)
• “It’s called the Trump Kennedy Center. And can you even do that?” — Ronny Chieng (26:10)
• “She is the first...I cannot believe I'm giving this woman credit for real.” — Astro Wommack on MTG (30:12)
• “This is what society needs now, is even people who you dislike...going like, my bad, dude.” — Ronny Chieng (30:19)
• “Will America ever agree on what happened that day? Probably not.” — Astro Wommack (36:30)
• “If you kidnap our president, probably should declare war. I don't know.” — Ronny Chieng (21:16)
• “America has a problem with equity...You're gonna lose...You have everything. And now we're giving other people resources and opportunity to grow...they freak out.” — Astro Wommack (42:08)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:07 — Show open, Astro and Ronny reunion, banter about winter break
• 04:00 — Ronny on going offline: “Offline is the new luxury…”
• 11:09 — Quick U.S. coup in Venezuela and TikTok attention spans
• 12:29 — Astro on scary online support for Trump’s moves
• 13:04 — Ronny’s legal confusion on presidential war powers
• 15:11 — Satire about justifying Venezuela strike
• 18:25 — Comedy riff on Brooklyn as landing place for world’s “notorious” inmates
• 23:48 — The botched Epstein file redaction
• 26:10 — Trump renames Kennedy Center
• 29:44 — MTG’s unexpected redemption arc
• 35:51 — Preview of Jan 6th anniversary, bookstore report
• 36:45 — Ronny on minority views hijacking the news cycle
• 39:48 — U.S. hemispheric domination policy
• 42:08 — Discussion of equity, clout, and American expectations
• 44:47 — “Daily Show and Tell” — Ronny recommends Quentin Tarantino’s Cinema Speculation as a lighthearted post-heavy-news read

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Final Segment: Daily Show and Tell

• Ronny recommends: Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino
  • “If you love movies, very easy read...he gives so much context in terms of show business...I highly recommend this book if you want something that's not too heavy, if you're into movies.” (45:48)

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Tone and Style

• Fast-paced, irreverent, sharply observant with a blend of gallows humor, cultural critique, personal anecdotes, and casual profanity.
• The hosts maintain a playful, “in-the-writers-room” energy, cracking jokes about heavy topics without trivializing them, and frequently breaking into extended bits that comment both on the world and on Daily Show culture itself.

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Summary

The episode delivers a rapid-fire, big-picture dissection of post-holiday news — starring Trump’s headline-grabbing action in Venezuela — and effortlessly careens through U.S. politics, internet reality, legal confusion, and cultural trends. With legal perspective, comedic humility, and fresh angles on the news, Astro and Ronny serve up a blend of catharsis and comic relief for anyone overwhelmed by current events, while also giving a rare tip of the hat to political honesty and the accidental humor of American empire.

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For listeners:

• This “Precap” is perfect if you want thoughtful news breakdown, law-adjacent takes, and smart, funny processing of an ever-faster, ever-weirder world.
• For in-depth headlines and more about the week ahead, tune in to The Daily Show on Comedy Central or Paramount+.

Transcript

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[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, such a clutch off season pickup Dave.

[Astro Wommack]

I was worried we'd bring back the same team.

[Ronnie Tang]

I meant Those blackout motorized shades.

[Astro Wommack]

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[Ronnie Tang]

Hard to install?

[Astro Wommack]

No, it's easy. I installed these and then got some from my mom. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and.

[Ronnie Tang]

Install hall of fame son.

[Astro Wommack]

They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world.

[Ronnie Tang]

Blinds.com is the goat. Visit blinds.com now for up to 45% off site wide and free. Professional installation rules and restrictions apply.

[Astro Wommack]

You're listening to Comedy Central. Yo, yo, yo. What up? Oh, no, I lost the mike. Here we go. We're back. If you're hearing this voice, then you know it's your favorite writer on the show. If not, then you clearly aren't paying attention. No, it's your boy, Astro Wommack. And you are listening right now to the pre cap with the Daily Show. And right now I'm joined by one of just genuinely my favorite people. I'm not saying that just cause he's in the room. I'm not saying that. You genuinely, bro, you're like, I fucking love this guy. No, please, I'm gonna have to gas up my homies.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, please don't gas me.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm gassing up. I'm gassing up the homies.

[Ronnie Tang]

You're hyping it up too much now.

[Astro Wommack]

No, but you already know who it is. The. The powerful Ronnie Tang, everybody.

[Ronnie Tang]

Hey, good day, people. Thanks. Thanks, Ashton. Thanks for doing this.

[Astro Wommack]

Of course. No, of course. I got out of doing my job.

[Ronnie Tang]

This is not work.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, this is not.

[Ronnie Tang]

This is not work.

[Astro Wommack]

Hey, do you want to write jokes or just talk to Ronnie? I will go talk to Ronnie. Right? But yeah. Welcome to the pre cap. This is the show where we talk about things that are coming up on the week that Ronnie's hosting, which is this week, and we try to talk about stuff we missed while we weren't here. And if you Do. If you're a Daily show listener, you probably know that we were gone for Christmas break. Winter break, with a Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, whatever you celebrating, you know, we were gone.

[Ronnie Tang]

And so a lot of people don't know that, eh.

[Astro Wommack]

Cause of Kwanzaa?

[Ronnie Tang]

No, People don't know that we are away.

[Astro Wommack]

Oh, yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

They're like, hey, yeah. People don't know that we take breaks.

[Astro Wommack]

My family is like, what are you doing here? I'm like, when I tell my family I'm on winter break, they're always like, I have to work 365 days.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. Because of the name of the show. The Daily show really makes people think.

[Astro Wommack]

We want people think we're here every.

[Ronnie Tang]

Single 247 to make fun of us.

[Astro Wommack]

And I'm glad for those. I've never had a job that had a winter break.

[Ronnie Tang]

Sure. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

I've always had to work straight through. So this is by far my favorite.

[Ronnie Tang]

Best job in comedy, for sure, hands.

[Astro Wommack]

Down, might be the last job. But. But, but we were gone for the winter break, and one of my favorite things happens when we're gone for the winter break. You know, I fuck with a little bit of war. Yeah. You know, I'm a fan a little bit. Guns are cool. No. Just kidding. No.

[Ronnie Tang]

Damn.

[Astro Wommack]

No, but honestly, that's a good question I want to ask you when we're going for a break. How do you, like, do you ignore the news? Do you?

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. So I have been cultivating a more offline life.

[Astro Wommack]

I saw you post that. You were like, get off the.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, get off. I posted on social media. So there you go. Get off. But I think that's. That's the people who need to hear it. Right.

[Astro Wommack]

For sure.

[Ronnie Tang]

So it's like, get off. Read more books. You know, don't be so online. I think offline, one, is the new luxury. And two, offline is a form of resistance, you know, so either you're. If you're bougie, go offline, because that's what rich people do. If you're poor, do it. Because that's what. That's what the resistance does.

[Astro Wommack]

So, yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

So either way, if you're rich or poor, offline is where it's at. So answer your question. I've been kind of offline, so the entire Christmas news cycle caught me by a surprise.

[Astro Wommack]

That's what's always funny. 1 I also try to avoid. I'm still online. I just avoid the important sections like.

[Ronnie Tang]

The news, the front page. You go to the sports section.

[Astro Wommack]

No, I'M watching Tracks NYC go crazy. I don't know if you saw the diamond, the video. Cause you're offline. You probably didn't see. But there's a jeweler in New York City.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, yeah, yeah. The guy spit on the guy.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

I just watched that the whole Christmas break. But what I did find for me that because we work this job and it's very. Politically, you're just in it all the time, getting a chance to, like, process something on your own time is. It's a luxury that everybody else has that I forget. I'm like. Oh, I'm used to, like, having to, like, news have a take. News, have a take.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

This is like the first. This break, bro. It felt so good just to, like, recharge. Yeah. Process the Venezuela stuff at my own pace. I was like, oh, right. I can.

[Ronnie Tang]

Right?

[Astro Wommack]

I don't. I don't need to have an opinion right now. I genuinely was excited about that.

[Ronnie Tang]

I think most people. It's okay to not have an opinion. So it's. You know, our jobs have an opinion, so that's separate. We're professional. I'm just saying. Yeah. It's good to not have to 100% on that offline. No, I mean, this is what I've been using lately. I've been. I've been using an Apple Watch, like. Like a pager. So this is my new.

[Astro Wommack]

Does that even count that you're technically. Still. You get notifications.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. So if I can take calls on this, like, on like, Liam Neeson and taken.

[Astro Wommack]

My boy Ronnie, when he said he was like, it's the new level of bourgeoisie. He's not. He's on his Rick Rubin.

[Ronnie Tang]

Shame. I'm trying. I'm trying. But. Well, then now we got thrown into his news cycle, so. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah. No. Well, I do want to talk about the news cycle, but I also want to talk about your break. You're always working.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, I love how you. We have this crazy news cycle, but we're still trying to talk about. Yo. So what did you get for Christmas?

[Astro Wommack]

I don't care about you.

[Ronnie Tang]

Sure. Thank you. Thank you.

[Astro Wommack]

This is first off. This is the pre cap. We talk about what happened before and after.

[Ronnie Tang]

Sure, sure.

[Astro Wommack]

We're getting into all that. But I do. Just as a human.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

Want to know how does Ronnie and the fan. The people want to know.

[Ronnie Tang]

People don't want to know. They want our jokes to be good. And they don't care about. Nah, I'm just.

[Astro Wommack]

All right, that's fair.

[Ronnie Tang]

They do Care about. I guess you care about us. I had a decent Christmas. Let me see what happened. My wife made me put up a Christmas tree.

[Astro Wommack]

Was this your first Christmas tree?

[Ronnie Tang]

No. I mean, I had one when I was a kid, but I kind of fell out of that.

[Astro Wommack]

That's good. I like that. I like that you're getting into the. I mean it's so funny that you on the show. I'm not gonna say it's a character, but you do play like the.

[Ronnie Tang]

It is me though. I kind of. I'm so over Christmas, I don't care about it. But both for. Because I'm anti Abrahamic religions and also because my boy Buddha, I'm also not. I'm a grown ass 40 old man. I don't need presents or tree.

[Astro Wommack]

That is very fair.

[Ronnie Tang]

But everyone else around me needs it. So I have. I'm forced to participate.

[Astro Wommack]

Also, you're the one with the money. Hey man, put the trees on.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, no, it's not my money. In fact, if anything, I'm anti consumerist. So I'm trying to not. I feel like this culture of presents when we don't need to give presents, but I'm just a weirdo. Look, I don't want to. I'm sure you had a different experience. You're a Texas Gu. Big on Christmas, right?

[Astro Wommack]

We are big on Christmas, but none of us, we're everybody's old. Once you're old, it's like Christmas is for my 16 year old cousin and none of us were like, would you get me anything I want?

[Ronnie Tang]

Would you get me?

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, I'm like, anything I want, I'll buy myself. I'll just like. And then I'm like, I can't be like. My mom's like, what do you want for Christmas? I'm like, weed.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, she's not gonna want.

[Astro Wommack]

Can you get me weed?

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh my God. That's very funny. That's under the Christmas tree. It's the only thing he actually wanted. But like. But like the other thing's also. The older you get, the more specific, like you know what you want.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

Like down to the model to the strain of weed. So it's like other people getting you stuff. It's like, oh man, I got it now I gotta deal with this.

[Astro Wommack]

Find a place.

[Ronnie Tang]

I got a place for. You know. Yeah, I said I sell it on ebay.

[Astro Wommack]

So you like anime one time and then now your whole. Yeah, Naruto posters.

[Ronnie Tang]

I don't mean a rude opposite.

[Astro Wommack]

Okay, well, I'm glad to know you.

[Ronnie Tang]

Had Anti consumerist, anti religion and just a. I guess I'm a grumpy dude. So.

[Astro Wommack]

I don't know. You're. You're. You're what I call. That's like spiritually clean, bro. You like it? Maybe, Yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

I mean, tell my wife that because she takes up. So. So she doesn't. Yeah, she wants. Anyway, we, we. For the first time in New York City, I got a tree. I had to go buy one from, you know, I. I shouldn't say I got it. She got it.

[Astro Wommack]

Well, it's. It sounds cute. I'll say that.

[Ronnie Tang]

It was nice. It was pretty, it was cute.

[Astro Wommack]

And you work a lot, bro. So hearing you do, like something, you know, not to say because you're always working. Part of my break was seeing you at work.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, no, that's again. I mean, you're giving me too much credit because I think the dream, if you do comedy is to do comedy.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, for sure.

[Ronnie Tang]

So I don't. It doesn't feel like work a thousand percent. It feels like a dream.

[Astro Wommack]

It feels like facts.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. Doing shows is like a dream.

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[Astro Wommack]

I'll talk about what we're.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, we should talk about this. How the world is being destroyed.

[Astro Wommack]

Before that goes into our next topic, I'm sure you've heard.

[Ronnie Tang]

Hope you guys had a decent Christmas.

[Astro Wommack]

Because right after your New Year's, after you got out of your drunken Haze of a New Year's, your boy. We all just. We went back into our old empire phase.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, old school.

[Astro Wommack]

Old school. I'm talking 1950s Latin American coup type stuff.

[Ronnie Tang]

But you know how, like 20, 25, everything moves so much faster than 1950s. So there's a couple.

[Astro Wommack]

I know. That's so crazy.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, we have a TikTok attention span coup. It's like these things used to take months.

[Astro Wommack]

Well, that is a big. I mean, that is like a big thing people are saying, like, not just the people's attention spans are shortening, but our government's attention span. And, like, things we do is shortening and things we. We coup seconds. And it's.

[Ronnie Tang]

The world is moving very fast.

[Astro Wommack]

It's so fast. Like, it's hard. It's like, almost faster. Then you can process and be like, okay, I'm thinking about this coup, and the next thing you know, oh, we're also about to invade Greenland, by the way.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, we're about Greenland. And then let's start from the top one. There's so much to unpack with this Venezuela thing. So what happened? Yeah, no, what happened?

[Astro Wommack]

The eyes, as far as I know. So if you're unaware, we all woke up, I think it was January 2nd or 3rd.ish. I can't give you the exact date, but we all woke up and Trump apparently conducted a military strike in Venezuela where he then, you know, I would say kidnapped. Sitting president.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, I think that's. That's. I think rendition is kidnapping.

[Astro Wommack]

Yes, that's what I would say.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Astro Wommack]

The comment sections on anything.

[Ronnie Tang]

I disagree.

[Astro Wommack]

Oh, completely. They're like, this is within his powers.

[Ronnie Tang]

Really? I don't. I genuinely don't read the comment section. I'm surprised that the comment section are with this.

[Astro Wommack]

Oh, my God. That's the part that's scaring me the most about this is how the willingness of. I'm not gonna say, obviously, the US People, but like the online faction, they'll tell you. We all see. We've watched history, not just the Latin American regime changes, not just Iraq stuff that we all come.

[Ronnie Tang]

Domestically, literally.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm thinking these are all lessons we all learned collectively. But then this happens, and immediately you just see people who are like. Who are just like, no, the President has the. He can do this without Congress's approval.

[Ronnie Tang]

Well, as someone who went to law school, he studied international humanitarian law and international human rights law. I have no idea what the fuck's going on. I do think that, yeah, the President can do it without Congress. Because he did it.

[Astro Wommack]

And that's what the comments are saying. Like, well, he did it, but.

[Ronnie Tang]

Sorry. My broader point to this was like, I think also in this situation, more than almost any situation, the comment section might not even be real people.

[Astro Wommack]

I agree.

[Ronnie Tang]

So that we don't even know what is in the comments section. So don't put too much weight on that because for some reason the. You have a dead Internet theory, right? Yeah. So where the whole Internet is actually. No, there's no one actually on it.

[Astro Wommack]

I agree. And it gets worse because like I was on threads and I saw like I'm seeing. As soon as I go on threads, I see all these like super anti. Momdotti posts. Yeah. As if I'm like, I don't even like subscribe to that like echo chamber. So the fact that it was like coming up I was like, this has to be like AstroTurf with bots and Astro. I think that like with AI, people are like making front facing videos. A lot of times I think these bots are using like AI to create 6 second videos. 1000% to look like a real person.

[Ronnie Tang]

No. 1000%. It's the comment section already was not real 10 years ago. 10 years ago it was people trolling. Now maybe it's AI trolling us. So you don't know what you're seeing down in the comment section. I think avoid it. I, I do think like it's funny how the Soviet. The remnants of the Soviet Union and communism, I guess discovered capitalism's weak spot is. Is making. Saying something that's pro Diddy or something in the comments. And that's how they managed to fragment our society, you know, because it's so weird that that's the angle. Vector of attack was the comment section. Everyone feels demoralized. But I don't know, let's not go to the comment section. But let's discuss this thing like.

[Astro Wommack]

No, absolutely.

[Ronnie Tang]

Let's break it down here. So Venezuela. This guy. I didn't even. I knew it was an issue because they were bombing the boats that were coming from Venezuela.

[Astro Wommack]

Is that because that's. They were. It started with. We were all on this media campaign watching Pete Hegset try to, I would say manufacture consent for this war by being like, these are. These farm. These fishing fishermen are actually drug dealers.

[Ronnie Tang]

Drug dealers.

[Astro Wommack]

We have no evidence that they actually are drug dealers. They're just like, this is the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction.

[Ronnie Tang]

Sure.

[Astro Wommack]

But that, that was the right. The, the justification for why we were going over and taking over Venezuela.

[Ronnie Tang]

Because they. Because they keep sending drugs to America.

[Astro Wommack]

Because they keep sending drugs to America. Mind you, they.

[Ronnie Tang]

Drugs specifically, not weed. It's like.

[Astro Wommack]

No, no, it's like. I'm pretty sure it's like cocaine opioids and opioids. Like the good stuff, actually. I don't know the type of drugs is it.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

But it was very vague in its justification in the first place. But that. And it's all like very.

[Ronnie Tang]

He's probably take over Sackler as well, you know. How can you go take over?

[Astro Wommack]

That's what I'm like, bro.

[Ronnie Tang]

Pharmaceuticals.

[Astro Wommack]

That he literally called the opioid epidemic.

[Ronnie Tang]

Venezuelan causing it. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

How is the Sackler family not in jail? And how are they like, how are they not being paraded around New York City right now?

[Ronnie Tang]

Right.

[Astro Wommack]

And it's also, also, if it's cocaine.

[Ronnie Tang]

It'S also like, yeah, I mean these evil Venezuelans forcing all these rich New Yorkers to take cocaine at gunpoint.

[Astro Wommack]

I think they're doing that without stop.

[Ronnie Tang]

Forcing Americans to take cocaine at gunpoint. Venezuela.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah. And it's like, yeah, okay, so we kidnapped. We, we kidnapped Maduro, bro. All the Americans are gonna be like, well, we're gonna get our cocaine from somewhere. We're gonna.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, no, actually all Americans will be like, you know what, maybe we should not do cocaine now that Maduro's in jail.

[Astro Wommack]

Maybe I guess I'll get clean. This, this is. This, this is what did it.

[Ronnie Tang]

This is what did it.

[Astro Wommack]

Thank you. Top of the year. I appreciate. You knew what my New Year's rescue.

[Ronnie Tang]

Get sober. Maduro's in jail. Get sober.

[Astro Wommack]

Apparently it was like a six months operation where they were like trained to train for it. Yeah, they built it. They literally did like a Nathan for you. They built up a mock rehearsal.

[Ronnie Tang]

A rehearsal. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

We go in, we're go practice this over and over and then we're gonna go in.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. And then they took him. And apparently. Do you see that thing where they said part of the reason Trump was motivated to do it was cause Maduro kept dancing? Kept dancing.

[Astro Wommack]

That is hysterical.

[Ronnie Tang]

Kept dancing at the threats.

[Astro Wommack]

The things that get that guy upset. Is very funny. Cause the dances were worse than Diddy's dances. They were just like he was also. If the United States empire is threatening to come get you, man, it's not like he was like shaking nervous dance. I'm dancing when I'm nervous, when I know there's a drone watching me.

[Ronnie Tang]

But you also don't know what you're watching because you know we all saw the video of him dancing, right? But we don't know if he was dancing in response to Trump's threats. It's just a video of him.

[Astro Wommack]

He could just be.

[Ronnie Tang]

He could be dancing for Christmas or something. And then they're like, look at this guy dancing. We're gonna get him. And he's like, damn. It was. You know, it was crazy.

[Astro Wommack]

He might have did one of Trump's moves. And that was like, oh, yeah, he probably hit him with the.

[Ronnie Tang]

Hit him with the double dicks.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, the double Donald dicks stole his double dick move.

[Ronnie Tang]

And he was like, nah, nah, don't steal my moves.

[Astro Wommack]

Get him out of here.

[Ronnie Tang]

And then they took him, and then now he's in Brooklyn.

[Astro Wommack]

That is the craziest.

[Ronnie Tang]

Can you not bring him to Brooklyn? We got enough to deal with in Brooklyn.

[Astro Wommack]

I felt bad because everybody was like, zoron, now's your chance to shine. He's like, I can't. This is a federal.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, it's a federal.

[Astro Wommack]

It's. What do y' all want me to do?

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, take on the. So. So he's in Brooklyn with Diddy and Luigi.

[Astro Wommack]

I believe so.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. Which is like, it's.

[Astro Wommack]

That prison's the hottest prison in.

[Ronnie Tang]

The hottest prison in America.

[Astro Wommack]

America. Literally all the. I wonder if everybody was like.

[Ronnie Tang]

It'S wild in that prison right now. Who knows? Diddy, Luigi, and who else is. There's a few people. I mean, I love New York City. I think it's the cultural capital of America. But even I'm like, do we need to put all these people in broken.

[Astro Wommack]

In one just celebrity prison?

[Ronnie Tang]

Can we move them? I mean, Diddy, I guess he was. He was pros. Luigi. But, you know, these were New York jurisdiction. Yes, but Mondoro, is this random? What does it have to do with New York now?

[Astro Wommack]

I have literally no idea why this man is. It was random. And they were just, like, parading him around New York City as a show of force.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, did they parade him?

[Astro Wommack]

I didn't know that. They literally so, like, glass helicopters came.

[Ronnie Tang]

I remember they drew a helicopter.

[Astro Wommack]

The highways were packed, like. But, yeah, it's a parade. People were saying it was. He was being paraded by around, and it felt like that. It's like, why is this guy. Why are y' all driving him around in tanks? Right? Yeah, I think he had, like, a clothes change. It was like, maybe.

[Ronnie Tang]

Maybe it was just New Year's traffic. They couldn't, you know, they couldn't get through it.

[Astro Wommack]

No, I also, I. That could be the situation.

[Ronnie Tang]

Maybe don't drive him through Times Square on New Year's. This is a bad security idea. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

Elmo's taking pictures.

[Ronnie Tang]

We got mmm store.

[Astro Wommack]

You want to go on the subway? We're show you some Showtime performers.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah. So, yeah, this really came out of nowhere for me. I'm someone who reads the news and I read the newspaper every day. I read Foreign affairs magazine. I didn't know this was going to happen.

[Astro Wommack]

So I get confused at, like, do the American people no longer have a say in the thing? That's why congressional approval was important to me. Why it upset me because it made me go. I know that they say, like, well, the president can do what he want because we voted for him in office.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, no, that's not legally how it works. Yeah, yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm like, I just learned checks and balances in school. Yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

Checks and balances. Separate but equal branch of government. But Congress has power to declare war, but these guys are not declaring war. So I guess it's. I don't know what they're doing.

[Astro Wommack]

It's specifically confusing because they've labeled Maduro, right. Narco, drug terrorists. But Trump only, like a little bit ago, pardoned. Actual, actual drug, drug, narco, president, terrorist.

[Ronnie Tang]

Right.

[Astro Wommack]

So there's no ideological consistency to it.

[Ronnie Tang]

So also is weird Venezuela hasn't declared war. I mean, it would be ballsy, but I mean. I mean, that rights. If you kidnap our president, probably should declare war. I don't know.

[Astro Wommack]

That is fair. The other part is the vice president that was there is now president. So she's like.

[Ronnie Tang]

I mean, you think she's like, I.

[Astro Wommack]

Just got a promotion.

[Ronnie Tang]

You think she's like, she's down for it.

[Astro Wommack]

I haven't even. I don't know what she's down for. I've heard the administration, Trump administration speak, and they talk like, she still has power.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

But they also talk like at any moment they can remove it her put in their people.

[Ronnie Tang]

Right. So is Venezuela. Do you think it's going to be the new state? What if Venezuela gets statehood? Statehood before Puerto Rico? Oh, my God.

[Astro Wommack]

That would be Puerto Ricans. They'd be all in the streets and we'd be like, is that a parade or y' all mad Puerto Rican Day parade? Or y' all just upset right now?

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, unfortunately, because this snuck up on me. I haven't been able to read up enough background on what this all is.

[Astro Wommack]

Dude, it snuck up. Well, they one. They have been, like, seeding it. Yeah. Like, they've been framing it in our Mind. They've been like constantly insight putting us in like the. The little things in our head to be like Venezuela.

[Ronnie Tang]

Venezuela. Yeah. I've been hearing more about Venezuela and drugs lately. But it is truly unprecedented to kidnap a president from a foreign country. I mean, can't even feel. When did that ever happen?

[Astro Wommack]

It just feels like all rails are loose. It feels like all like. I mean we always say we live in like an unprecedented times. It's always. It's felt like that ever since this dude came into our lives. But each. He never ceases to amaze me. No, he's always. You say. Gotta say something about that guy. He knows how to like keep upping the ante.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, he definitely finds new angles on being president for sure.

[Astro Wommack]

Gotta keep it fresh, baby.

[Ronnie Tang]

Keeping it very fresh.

[Astro Wommack]

But yeah, that's the Venezuelan situation. But a lot of other things happened while we were gone. Namely the Epstein files were released. I don't know if you had time to digest the quote unquote redacted ish Epstein files that got released.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh no. Yeah. So this was a bunch of stuff dropped. This was the. I think didn't we cover this where they dropped stuff. But then they redacted it. They redacted it, but it was like interns who redacted it so you could just like copy and paste.

[Astro Wommack]

Not only was it just interns, they found out that because bad redaction, well, they canceled this Adobe subscription.

[Ronnie Tang]

Is that true? Is that true?

[Astro Wommack]

It's true, dude.

[Ronnie Tang]

So funny. The redactions didn't stick because they cancel Adobe.

[Astro Wommack]

Oh my God. They fired. I think it was like specifically like they fired the people who knew how to actually do this. It had something to do with the Adobe contract. And so now when they released it, basic people who have just basic knowledge of Adobe were like, I can see this.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, actually you can just copy and paste it in. Which by the way, like proper redaction is like. It's like something I said. Interns did this. That's not even giving interns enough credit. Interns would have executed on this.

[Astro Wommack]

Correct? Yes.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, they wouldn't know how to do it. If you're a trained professional, like redacting is the number. I mean for. For bullshit legal cases, much less goddamn national security issues. You know, dude, these dudes the leakiest administration. If I was a spy right now, if I was a working, I'll be.

[Astro Wommack]

You could work from home.

[Ronnie Tang]

If you were a spy, I'd be nervous. Oh yeah, this guy's a leaky boat man. More leaks and Goddamn China.

[Astro Wommack]

Like a leak of our. They got access to spies there who are in China. Oh my God.

[Ronnie Tang]

And they just like spreadsheet some spreadsheet, these guys.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah. That is probably. It's definitely a weird time. Probably the worst administration. Absolutely. To be a spy for. But it also feels like they're just like, they're just like celebrating. Like they're just winning. Even though this is like the worst time for everybody. It feels like they're winning.

[Ronnie Tang]

Like they're just like, yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

Overtly, like they're just championship bottles.

[Ronnie Tang]

Like I think that champion. They're winning in the playoffs. But the locker room is a mess. I think. I think probably is what is happening. Well, the holidays have come and gone once again.

[Astro Wommack]

But if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life a gift. Well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea.

[Ronnie Tang]

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[Astro Wommack]

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[Ronnie Tang]

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[Astro Wommack]

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[Sponsor/Announcer]

Per month when network is busy see terms.

[Ronnie Tang]

But oh yeah, the Kennedy center got renamed. Renamed all the way. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

Trump renames Kennedy Center. What's it, is it, is it the Trump Kennedy Center?

[Ronnie Tang]

What's it called? Yeah, it's called the Trump Kennedy Center. And can you even do that? I think he, he made him of the board there.

[Astro Wommack]

How do you add your name to something that already has someone else's name?

[Ronnie Tang]

Kennedy's name as well?

[Astro Wommack]

You know, it's like putting your name on top of like someone else's homework, but you don't like erase the other person's name, bro.

[Ronnie Tang]

This might be United States of Trump soon. You know, he might rename America Trump.

[Astro Wommack]

That's just like his thing is just add Trump.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, he loves putting his name on buildings.

[Astro Wommack]

We could dodge a lot of stuff if we just put the Trump Show.

[Ronnie Tang]

The Trump Show. We call ourselves the Trump Show.

[Astro Wommack]

I mean, at some point.

[Ronnie Tang]

The Trump Daily show is very funny. Yeah, he put his name on it. I think if I'm not wrong, he actually needs congressional approval as well this. But so I think what will happen is probably when he leaves, if he ever leaves, they'll probably change it back, I think.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm assuming, I'm assuming they'll reclaim It'll.

[Ronnie Tang]

Be like improper renaming. You know, he didn't go through a process.

[Astro Wommack]

I do think that's going to happen. Like all the. I think that's like the easiest reversal of Trump stuff. Just get all his names off. That'll do a lot for people. Symbology, symbolically.

[Josh Whalen]

Yes, yes.

[Astro Wommack]

But it's all the other stuff that he has. His name. I think his name being put on everything is surface level. What I get caught up in is how entrenched his family is in just the economy and the wealth.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, yeah. That's small.

[Astro Wommack]

Jared Kushner being part of massive deals with Saudi Arabia. I think more of the long term effects of. Dang, we're about to be stuck with this family for a minute.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, they made a ton of money. They did. They made a truly gross amount of money. And not to mention part of the fortune, which is a substantial amount is like in crypto. So it's untraceable. So, you know, it's intangible. Untraceable. Just making, you know. So these guys are balling ball. And these guys are balling.

[Astro Wommack]

Speaking of, like, somebody made a poly market bet. And on like Maduro being.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, yeah, I saw that.

[Astro Wommack]

Kidnapped, like, they made a poly. Which I can't help but think, like, okay, these guys are someone on the inside. Insider, obviously. Insider trading, giving them like insider knowledge. And you don't even need stocks to. Insider trading. You can make a poly market bet on something that's so news anti Democratic. Like we're about to kidnap a sitting president.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, that's crazy. I didn't even. Yeah, sorry. Just so people who don't know. So someone made a poly market bet that Mondoro would be captured by the US Like a day before it happened or something, and they won like 300 grand. Hey, did you see the poly market bet about Jesus coming back in 2026?

[Astro Wommack]

No. What?

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, it pays like 5% or something. So I feel like it just beats treasury bills as an investment. So it might be worth, you know, if you're like me, who's like, yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

This is, you know, we gotta bet.

[Ronnie Tang]

On Jesus not coming in or bet.

[Astro Wommack]

On him not coming back. Yeah, I was gonna say bet on him coming back.

[Ronnie Tang]

And, oh, it pays like 5,000 if he comes back. It's like 5,000.

[Astro Wommack]

That's what I'm saying now. Jesus. Will Jesus count?

[Ronnie Tang]

Well, that's what I'm worried about is that they're going to say he. You know, someone's going to be like, what do you mean he Came back in all hot. He's in all, you know, some stupid bullshit.

[Astro Wommack]

I also want to talk about this. I know we're moving around from stories hilariously.

[Ronnie Tang]

You know, part of it is. What jumping around. Part of it is this is the world we live in. So I don't know what you want us to do here.

[Astro Wommack]

We do live in somewhat of a schizophrenic.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes. It was Epstein, and then it was Venezuela.

[Astro Wommack]

Venezuela. But my favorite story so far, this is, like, a really effective Marjorie Taylor Greene.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, yeah. Mtg.

[Astro Wommack]

She left the squad, left the team. She didn't just leave. She's also, like, weirdly apologetic.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

Like something like she was hit on the head and the station. It came back, right. And she was like, yes. She's been taking a. Like. It's very rare to see a politician tear accountability. I don't see that on the left. I don't see that on the. She is the first. I cannot believe I'm giving this woman credit for real.

[Ronnie Tang]

I give her credit, too. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

It's confusing, but it's also refreshing.

[Ronnie Tang]

It's refreshing. It's actually what society needs now is even people who you dislike, for whatever reason, kind of, you know, going like, my bad, dude. It's. That is so healing to society.

[Astro Wommack]

I.

[Ronnie Tang]

You know, on whoever says in my bad, you know, it's. It's. It's.

[Astro Wommack]

I can genuinely see the authenticity in her.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

And, like, meaning it. And because they. Because the news. When she comes on the news, still pokes and prods, and they're like, you said that the. The. What was it? The COVID Covid was like the Holocaust. And she's like, well, actually, I said the.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

Having Covid cards or having. That's. That's. It's. Nothing is. Nothing is as bad as the Holocaust. Let me get that clear. She's like, Genu. Taking steps to make sure I take accountability for those words. I see you wanting to keep dragging me into these firefights, but I'm sorry.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

That is crazy.

[Ronnie Tang]

It is crazy. Also, it requires not just so much contrition and kind of will to do. It also requires a lot of intelligence to just say, this is what. To understand what they're doing. Meaning part of accountability is being dragged through it a little bit. You know what I mean?

[Astro Wommack]

Like, of course.

[Ronnie Tang]

You can't come through this without people kind of coming at you.

[Astro Wommack]

It's the definition of an apology.

[Ronnie Tang]

You can't be unscathed. Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

If you've hurt somebody and then you come to apologize. Their emotional state, you're responsible for, in a sense. And so even if you can apologize and name like, ah, I fucking hate you, I da da, da.

[Ronnie Tang]

And that's part of it.

[Astro Wommack]

That is absolutely.

[Ronnie Tang]

That's part of it. And you take your licks and understanding that is actually a higher level of enlightenment. And it seems like she does understand that, you know, taking care for us. But like, the. The interesting thing, I just want to say on this podcast, I called this. I called this on the year end review. I said, I take her at face value. I think she's out. I don't think she's trying to run for office anymore. Everyone around me, all these other Daily show hosts were like, she's trying. This is an angle, this agenda, you know, pulling the clip of me saying, freaking. I called it kind of sad to see MTG go. You think she's gone? I think based on my read of her, the way she's giving speeches now, my read is she's gone, gone. I can see the true belief in her of like, I'm out, really. I think she's playing the long game. And I was gonna give her a shout out for being the most compelling character just in terms of, like having a real character arc. Yeah, her arc is great. Yeah, great character. Very bingeable. MTG's out. I take her at face value.

[Astro Wommack]

Why didn't you make a polymarket bet? You could be up so much money right now?

[Ronnie Tang]

No, to be fair, I called it after she said she's out. I just said I was the only one who took her at Face Valley. Everyone else thinks she's running for governor or something.

[Astro Wommack]

Bro, my jaw was dropped the entire time. I could not believe. To me, that's like, this is a metaphor. Probably only two rap fans will get. But it's like when Lil Wayne left cash money. Like cash money. Like cash money. Trump is Birdman. And.

[Ronnie Tang]

Wait, I didn't. This is how out of it I am. I didn't know Lil Wayne left cash money.

[Astro Wommack]

Lil Wayne left cash money years ago because they owed him $50 million. 50 million. And he was beefing with Birdman. He was talking, talking noise to like. There was a whole era where Birdman and Lil Wayne not talking at all.

[Ronnie Tang]

Wait, are they back together now?

[Astro Wommack]

They've.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, really?

[Astro Wommack]

Cause the bigger label cut Lil Wayne a check, and so that brought him back. He's still not cash money. He's still not Birdman.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, but why would you ever be down with Birdman again after that?

[Astro Wommack]

Most likely they still have years relationships.

[Ronnie Tang]

But you know Lil Wayne, I don't know him at all, but he sounds like someone who's like, he's not, you know, he's not someone who would be forgiving after you cross him, Especially when there's no contrition.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm gonna honestly say I do not know because Lil Wayne's a little confusing to me. He was pardoned by Trump.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes.

[Astro Wommack]

And as soon as he was pardoned, he went and performed at a Kamala. Yes.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, he did. He performed at Kamala.

[Astro Wommack]

He got invited to a common.

[Ronnie Tang]

He didn't.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, he did.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, that's funny.

[Astro Wommack]

So I was just. I'm like, I don't know.

[Ronnie Tang]

He plays both sides.

[Astro Wommack]

I have no idea.

[Ronnie Tang]

But wasn't Drake connected to Lil Wayne?

[Astro Wommack]

Of course. Lil Wayne discovered Drake.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yes. So does he still get checks from Drake?

[Astro Wommack]

That's a good question. I think probably not, right? I think that's a good question. I don't know if any more. Cause Drake is no longer signed to Lil Wayne. Drake has his own. He got his own OVO stuff going on.

[Ronnie Tang]

Do you think Birdman gets a cut of.

[Astro Wommack]

I do think Birdman probably.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, shit. Birdman's getting Drake money.

[Astro Wommack]

I do think Birdman gets. I think that's why everybody's mad at Birdman is because he did such shady contracts. All of his artists have some sort of ill will. Like, he would buy them. Like, hey, playboy, look at this. Look at this Lamborghini I got you.

[Ronnie Tang]

Right, right.

[Astro Wommack]

Meanwhile, you don't know that's from the money he's making from you because you. So that's like a Birdman.

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, damn.

[Astro Wommack]

And I've heard. Yeah, I've heard Drake talk about that quite often.

[Ronnie Tang]

Well, as in a bad way.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, he's rapped about it. He's like, I keep the lights on in this building. Like talking. Talking shit to Birdman. He's. I pay for the lights of cash money, so.

[Ronnie Tang]

But if I was building, I'd be like, keep rapping, man. Every time you dis me, I actually make money off.

[Astro Wommack]

That is hilarious.

[Ronnie Tang]

I don't know. But anyway, I know. I feel like they're going to cut all. Please don't cut it. No, whatever. Whatever you need to do.

[Astro Wommack]

But we talked about what we. We missed over the break. But let's talk about what's coming up now. What's. What we talking about this week on the show?

[Ronnie Tang]

Oh, my God. We haven't gone to this yet. I thought we were wrapping up the podcast. Oh, my God. I'm exhausted. Okay, let's speedrun. Okay, let's speedrun this. What's coming up?

[Astro Wommack]

Tomorrow's January 6th.

[Ronnie Tang]

The fifth anniversary of Gen 6 is coming up. Oh my God. Yeah, January 6th. I was in a used bookstore yesterday in Beacon, New York, New York, and there was the thickest Jan6 report. Like, no, the actual report, like the book is like, it looks like the dictionary and you can buy it for like, you know, $5 and read through it if you want to see all the crimes that happened that, that will never get, you know, prosecuted. Everyone got pardoned. So that's coming up. I guess Gen 6 is the new July 4th. Yeah, I guess we celebrate mega. Yeah. So will America ever agree on what happened that day?

[Astro Wommack]

Probably not. That's, it's, I think I, I, that's what I always get confused by. Is it the, I think I feel like a majority of Americans do agree.

[Ronnie Tang]

That that was, I think most Americans agree what happened.

[Astro Wommack]

I think a global consensus, it's hard to like, I think the global consensus.

[Ronnie Tang]

Is like, yo, I think it's the, Yes, I think it's the definition of gaslighting when people try to tell us what happened that day because, and I think that the people who say that are the minority and unfortunately this is a, you know, a, a 15 year old media tactic. They, the people in the minority saying outrageous things hijacks the news cycle. And so we think that that's the majority. But I think most people, I, I, I think most people agree on what happened Gen 6. But, but I also think that doesn't mean that how much you want to prosecute that case varies. Just because you agree with what happened doesn't mean you want the same outcome.

[Astro Wommack]

How many 3,000 people, however many people were at January 6th, all of them in jail. No, there's probably more nuance there.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, there's probably people who agree what happened January 6th and frankly are like, don't care about what happened. You know what I mean? I don't care what happens to the people. I know what happened, but I don't care what happens with you.

[Astro Wommack]

But I mean, again, I think when you go back to calling Trump a dictator, when people are like he's not a dictator, I do think that lends he's not like, like a dictator by like, I don't know what the definition of a dictator is anymore, but you know, authoritarian esque behavior, that's very much like, bro, you lost an election and you tried to rob it.

[Ronnie Tang]

It's disgusting. Also, the FBI thoroughly investigated every Single person they prosecuted with the help of the Internet, by the way. There was like a whole mass. They actually outsourced the Internet identifying these people, and they found them and they prosecuted each of these cases in courts of law. You know, I mean, this wasn't some guy just. Just going opinion. He did. He did. He was there. Yeah, they prosecuted them. So it was actually. As someone who loves the law, I actually was like, this is actually a triumph of law and order. Until the fucking pardoning at the end was like the most. The biggest travesty because a lot of people spent a lot of men and women hours prosecuting, you know, working out the details of the case and bringing the court. And so it's just really demoralizing when, you know, everyone there just gets pot. And by the way, these aren't. These are dangerous people. Police officers died there. People died in this thing. You know, it's not. It wasn't like. It wasn't like they stormed the Starbucks. It's like.

[Astro Wommack]

Yeah, they stormed a literal.

[Ronnie Tang]

They stormed the capital and they raised the foreign flag. For the first time on US History. The Confederate flag was raised on. In a. In a building. It's actually insane.

[Astro Wommack]

No, when Ronnie says it, I get mad again.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, yeah, they raised a foreign. Can you imagine raising a foreign flag in the goddamn White House, dude?

[Astro Wommack]

You know, every. This is the most wild. Time is wild. I can't believe when Obama got elected, I was like, wow, we're done.

[Ronnie Tang]

We're done. Yeah, we did it. But. And also like this, by the way, Gen 6, that happened five years ago. So this isn't even. It's five years old. It's half a decade. So what?

[Astro Wommack]

Where is time at, dude?

[Ronnie Tang]

Nothing means anything.

[Astro Wommack]

All right, all right, let's keep going. We're not. We're not gonna hit all these stuff, but war.

[Ronnie Tang]

If I ran, I don't even want to hit that. I don't even know what. Is that even a thing?

[Astro Wommack]

I'm pretty type that.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, I think. Yeah, I think the producers just type us out. But like, there's also this thing about, like, the speaking of War of Iran. So now that they've done it to Venezuela, I think there's this idea that because they've already said that the US Must dominate the Western hemisphere.

[Astro Wommack]

Oh, yeah.

[Ronnie Tang]

That's the official U.S. department policies that we need to dominate the way. Which is. Which is a baller thing. That's crazy to say. But that also means that what they can just do. Any country in the western hemisphere.

[Astro Wommack]

Canada, bro. People think this is a W. I do not see this as a W. I see this as like an admission to like defeat. We lost on a global stage to China. I feel like this is us like being seen as. We can't compete on the global stage. Cause somebody's out there bigger and badder doing their thing. And so we gotta. We retreat to our home hemisphere and like bully everybody here. It's like when you're in a house, your dad goes out and he's disrespected in the world. So he comes home, he's just. He's beating up everybody at the house.

[Ronnie Tang]

Is this something. What is happening? What is this story? Oh my God. Yeah, this seems personal, man.

[Astro Wommack]

No, no. My dad never lived with me, so I didn't know anyone. But it does feel like we're losing on a global stage. And we came back and we're. Now we're just abusing people here because we lost.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, I mean, this is a. This is a much bigger topic to talk about, but there's definitely something about America was globally dominant after World War II. And they. Over the last three decades, they've. Wait. Since the 1980s, since they opened up China. Yeah. Over. Ever since the 90s, they've taken. America has taken a intentional step back in the world to let other countries grow. And it was seen as like, let's end this, this hegemony. Let's help other developing countries develop. And so it happened. But then what Americans don't realize is like. Like the way they look at the world isn't the way America looked at the world in the 50s and 60s where they were dominant power. It means you adjust how you deal with these other countries. And then America, like all these, you know, MAGA Americans start freaking out that they were not the dominant thing anymore. But it was intentional. Yes, it was intentional. To not be a dominant. Not being dominant also means that you don't have to get involved everywhere. You know, other less immigrants come here because their countries are doing okay. But then everyone starts freaking out because of this. This apparent loss of. What do the streets call it?

[Astro Wommack]

Oh, clout.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah, this clout. This apparent loss of clout. So now they're freaking out a bit. But my point is that they shouldn't freak out because it's intentional and it was fine.

[Astro Wommack]

I mean, it mirrors. To me, it mirrors the story of minorities in this country where I think just America has a problem with equity. The global. Well, to get equity, it's not equality. You're giving equity to people. So now that they can move up. You're gonna lose. You're going. That's just the process. You have everything. And now we're giving other people resources and opportunity to grow. I mean, that's gonna come from you, the person who's been taking everything. And once they start seeing our power in stock grow or lose favor, they freak out.

[Ronnie Tang]

Here's what's even worse. I would argue that America didn't even have to lose. It didn't even lose that much. If you think about it, what they lost was, like, a little bit of soft power. But in terms of wealth in America, this is still the country that was the wealthiest per capita. You know, I mean, every. Every person here was still the wealthiest compared to all these third world countries. So they didn't even lose that much. You know, they just lost a bit of meaning because no one here had to go to a factory to build a microwave, truly. But then now that. Now they want to build microwaves again. Which is. Which is. If you think about it in a macro sense, it's like, it's the most idiotic. What do you want? You want to bring manufacturing back here?

[Astro Wommack]

I don't want to be in a factory.

[Ronnie Tang]

You want to go? Yeah. You want to go mine? Coal mine? I don't.

[Astro Wommack]

You know, dude, they were going so crazy with that logic. They were like. I remember seeing stuff like, maybe kids need to work, like bringing back child labor.

[Ronnie Tang]

Yeah.

[Astro Wommack]

I'm like, what is sure happening.

[Ronnie Tang]

It became so affluent that people lost the sense of purpose here, which I understand. And then they think that sense of purpose is back. Going back to the 50s where we were making, you know, stuff. And, hey, making stuff can give you purpose, I guess, but, like, not. Not. Not as an economy. Yeah, yeah. It's not an answer, but, dude. Not as an economic solution, but.

[Astro Wommack]

Well, damn, dude. I thoroughly enjoy talking to you.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, thanks, man.

[Astro Wommack]

Thoroughly enjoy listening to you. You're one of the brightest. I know. People say you shouldn't listen to comedians. I'm gonna go out and say Ronnie's one of the comedians. You should listen. Don't listen to comedians. Ronnie's also a lawyer. Listen to him.

[Ronnie Tang]

No, don't listen to me. I have no idea what I'm talking about. I have no idea what happened this.

[Astro Wommack]

Week, by the way, feel thoroughly enlightened. And my cup is filled. We got this last segment. We're almost out of here. I know. It's a quick one. It's called Daily show and Tell. We talk about just something that we've watched read you. You Said, you read the January 6th book yesterday.

[Ronnie Tang]

I didn't read a Gen 6 book.

[Astro Wommack]

I said, you're getting really into January 6th, right?

[Ronnie Tang]

Freak. I looked at it, yeah. I don't know. You want something light hearted. I read this Quentin Tarantino book. Book again. 2026. Let's go back to reading long form.

[Astro Wommack]

It was all feet pics.

[Ronnie Tang]

This Quentin Tarantino book where he said, like he was talking about movies from the 70s that he liked. It's called Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino. If you love movies, very easy read. This book is such a joy to read. It's divided into chapters where he dis. He happens to discuss movies that he feels was seminal and he discusses them from all angles, like from a casting point of view, from a script writing, from a point of view of the career of the main actor at that point in time, what that actor was going through, you know, for example, coming off of a box office bomb and so he needed a hit or this actor was coming off a huge hit and so he wanted to do something like he gives so much context in terms of show business and, and it's, and, and the way he talks about movies is like he's truly a savant of movies. So I, you know, I highly recommend this book if you want something that's not too heavy, if you're into movies. And.

[Astro Wommack]

No, I love, I mean, I love movies. I love Quentin Tarantino. What's it? Foxy Brown? Not Foxy Brown, but Jackie Brown. Jackie Brown. Jackie Brown. One of the greatest movies I've ever seen in my life. Great cast, sound loved. So such a small film, five, like five characters, tells the story beautifully and I love a good, passionate person. But guys, that is the pre cap. We thank you for joining us. Catch us, watch the podcast, watch the show and we'll see you this week. Peace.

[Ronnie Tang]

See you this week, guys.

[Astro Wommack]

Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episode anytime on Paramount.

[Ronnie Tang]

Plus.

[Astro Wommack]

This has been a Comedy Central podcast.