The David Pakman Show
Episode: "Another War is Starting and Trump's Confused About It"
Air Date: December 30, 2025
Host: David Pakman
Episode Overview
In this charged year-end episode, David Pakman dissects a series of alarming events surrounding former President Donald Trump, focusing especially on Trump's confusing announcement of American military action in Venezuela. Pakman unpacks the reality behind the so-called "anti-war president" image, Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, his performance in recent high-profile meetings with world leaders, the pattern of flattery by figures like Netanyahu, and the ongoing mythmaking around Trump's record. Throughout, Pakman brings his signature direct and fact-based critique, peppered with moments of sharp wit and incredulity at unfolding developments.
Key Topics and Insights
1. Did Trump Casually Announce a New War?
[03:20 – 12:30]
- Event: Trump, during a little-noticed radio interview, offhandedly claims responsibility for a strike in Venezuela—an American escalation of force that no one else seemed aware of.
- Quote (Trump): "Two nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard." [04:07]
- Pakman's Reaction:
- Emphasizes the recklessness and lack of formality—no official address, no authorization acknowledged.
- Notes Americans are now accustomed to pauses after Trump statements, unsure if he is revealing real info or confused:
Pakman: “When the President speaks, we shouldn't be in the position of saying, did Trump declare war? Does he not know what his administration is doing?" [06:55]
- Confirmation: CNN later confirmed the strike by a CIA drone targeted a dock on the Venezuelan coast suspected of being used by a drug gang. No casualties.
- Background:
- Part of an expanded campaign—US has also destroyed more than 30 boats, blockaded oil tankers, and built up military presence in the Caribbean.
- Officials admit the broader aim is pressuring for regime change—Pakman, as an Argentine, is particularly wary of US actions in Latin America:
Pakman: “I would rather the administration just be honest than not come up with this whole alleged counter-narcotics thing. Just tell me what you're really doing." [05:46]
2. The Epstein "Hoax": Gaslighting the Public
[12:35 – 16:20]
- Trump's Claim: Trump reiterates the claim he had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein, calling scrutiny of those ties a "Democrat hoax."
- Quote (Trump): "I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.” [09:13]
- Fact-Check:
- Trump didn’t throw Epstein out for abuse, but over an internal dispute (employee poaching).
- Evidence of ties is extensive—flight logs, money trails, photos, and Trump’s own admiring comments from early 2000s.
- Pakman's Critique:
- The real “hoax” is pretending Trump wasn’t involved. “What’s fake is the idea that somehow all of this stops mattering when Donald Trump's name is involved.” [10:00]
- The term "hoax" is now a universal eraser for Trump: “January 6th, that's a hoax…The felony convictions, that's a hoax…Epstein, definitely a hoax.” [10:50]
- Cites cognitive dissonance among Trumpists and the difficulty they have acknowledging reality as facts pile up.
3. The Netanyahu-Trump Meeting and the Israel Prize
[17:00 – 36:45]
- Ridiculous Claims:
- On hostages: Trump, with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, claims "Every hostage, just about, that's been released was released because of me." [17:16] (Pakman immediately calls this false; many releases were under Biden.)
- Trump bizarrely takes Putin's word on a supposed Ukrainian attack:
- Trump: "President Putin told me this morning it did [happen]." [19:59]
- Pakman: “Trump is not outmaneuvering anybody. Trump believes dictators.” [43:29]
- Trump’s Cognitive Confusion:
- Notoriously conflates “asylum seekers” with “insane asylums”:
Pakman: “I think that Trump simply does not understand what's going on.” [22:03]
- Notoriously conflates “asylum seekers” with “insane asylums”:
- Bragging About “Ending Wars”:
- Trump on a hot mic: “How about India and Pakistan?... So I did eight of them. And then I'll tell you the rest of it.” [23:51]
- Pakman notes Trump obsessively brings this up, privately and publicly, without understanding or substantiation.
- Press Conference Lowlights:
- Trump flounders on questions about the West Bank and China-Taiwan tensions, responds with vague platitudes and a lack of detail.
- The Israel Prize:
- Netanyahu announces the Israel Prize will go to Trump, breaking tradition of awarding only Israelis.
- Pakman: “You could say Netanyahu is playing Donald Trump like a fiddle and he's smart to do exactly this. This is optics. Trump wants the applause, he wants the recognition.” [36:05]
- Draws analogy to Fred Trump’s dementia: trophies and fake work created to placate ego and confusion.
4. Fox News Outlier: A Moment of Clarity
[41:51 – 43:29]
- Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov points out that Trump believing Putin over US interests is a redux of the Helsinki debacle, where Trump sided with Putin over his own intelligence agencies.
- Tarlov: "I felt a little bit like I was watching a redux of the Helsinki press conference in 2018..." [42:20]
- Pakman celebrates such candor reaching Fox's audience as a crucial, if rare, reality check.
5. The Myth of “Inheriting a Mess”
[48:35 – 54:27]
- Trump’s Line: Trump frequently claims, “We inherited a mess.”
- Trump: “We inherited a mess. Prices are coming way down.” [48:52]
- Economic Reality:
- Pakman: Trump inherited a stable, recovering post-pandemic economy; inflation had already started to decline, unemployment was low, and corporate profits high.
- Disasters Trump blames on others were actually instigated or exacerbated by his own prior decisions (massive money printing, tariffs, labor shortages).
- Pakman: “You don’t get to claim credit for the good and disown the bad, which is what Trump wants to do.” [49:45]
6. “Ending Eight Wars” – Fact and Fiction
[54:27 – 60:00]
- Trump Repeats: “I did eight of them [ended eight wars].” [54:48]
- Pakman Debunks:
- Trump’s definition of “ending a war” is so loose—pauses, ceasefires, negotiating over disputes—that Obama, by the same logic, “ended” 15.
- Enumerates how most Trump “victories” amount to temporary de-escalations, settlements, or entirely manufactured claims.
- Pakman: “None of this means Obama’s perfect…But by Trump's standards of what he did, 8 of Obama did 15.” [58:55]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Pakman, on Trump’s cognitive state:
"New war or dementia? Maybe it’s both at the end of the day." [08:00] - On the use of "hoax":
"The word hoax keeps getting used, it’s Trump’s all purpose eraser…It just gets rid of everything." [10:50] - On foreign leaders’ manipulation:
“If you praise him and give him a prize, you’ll have him eating out of your hand. …We’ve seen it before. We know exactly who Trump is. We know how Trump succumbs to flattery.” [43:25] - On Trump’s delusional reality:
"Trump bringing up the ballroom...What inauguration is Trump planning exactly?" [27:41] - On ending wars:
"If temporary pauses count as ending wars, if a de-escalation counts...then look at the list for Barack Obama—Obama withdrew troops from Iraq..." [57:15]
Important Timestamps
- 03:20 — Pakman introduces Trump's shocking Venezuela strike revelation
- 04:07 — Trump’s actual audio clip confirming “We knocked that out” in Venezuela
- 09:13 — Trump’s disavowal of Epstein ties, branded as a “hoax”
- 17:16 — Trump claims credit for all Israeli hostage releases
- 19:59 — Trump cites Putin as his sole evidence for Ukraine attack
- 23:51 — Trump’s off-mic rambling about “eight wars I ended”
- 36:05 — Netanyahu announces for the first time the Israel Prize to a non-Israeli (Trump)
- 42:20 — Jessica Tarlov compares Trump’s Putin comments to the Helsinki summit on Fox News
- 48:52 — Trump repeats the “We inherited a mess” economy line
- 54:48 — Trump, again: “I did eight of them...”
Tone and Host’s Style
David Pakman maintains a tone of sharp skepticism and exasperated humor throughout, frequently pausing to fact-check or underscore the absurdity of developments. His style is direct, often incredulous, and deeply informed by progressive values and journalistic standards of evidence.
Summary
This episode pulls back the curtain on the confusion, misrepresentation, and outright fabrications driving Trump’s approach to foreign policy, his public relations blitz, and personal mythology. From Venezuela to Israel, from empty boasts about “ending wars” to embracing flattery over substance, Pakman presents an unsettling picture of a leader manipulated by praise and deluded by self-mythology—posing risks far beyond mere spectacle. Concluding with a clear-eyed debunking of Trump's favorite myths, Pakman urges vigilance and fact-based engagement as the only antidote to the unreality that now shapes part of American political discourse.