← The David Pakman Show
The David Pakman Show
BONUS SHOW: Mask ban for ICE agents, Trump's sketchy smartphone, Mike Lindell loses in court again
00:17:59
-- On the : California may ban masks for ICE agents, Trump sells a sketchy $499 smartphone, and Mike Lindell loses another $2.3 million defamation case, much more... -- Become a Member: https://www.davidpakman.com/membership Become a...
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- [00:00]
David Pakman
Hey, everybody. David here. What you're about to hear is an episode of the bonus show. We do a bonus show every day for our members and for a limited time, we will release one of the week's bonus shows on Saturdays exclusively for our audio podcast listeners. If you'd like to get access to all of the bonus shows, simply sign up@join pacman.com here is that bonus show episode. Welcome to the bonus show. A lot has been made of the protesters in Los Angeles wearing masks, but many were quick to point out the ICE agents and the riot police and whoever else, they're wearing masks, too. And California Democrats have now introduced the no Secret Police Act. This is a bill which would ban any law enforcement agents, including ice, from wearing face coverings when they interact with the public. ICE officials and Homeland Security said, hey, no, they need to use the masks because they could get doxed. We need to protect their identities, and so on and so forth. And California Republicans are saying that this no mask bill is just a political stunt. You know, I do think that there is merit on both sides here. On the one hand, the legislation is obviously a flashpoint in the clash between those who support the immigration raids and those who don't. Those who support the protesters and don't those who don't. This is a proxy about that who gets to wear masks. However, there is the undeniable reality that when it has come to protests now for a very long time, and when it has come just to people out in public in general, Republicans have generally been anti mask and now they find themselves in the situation of going, okay, all that anti mask stuff we said is true, but when it comes to police, there's actually a good reason for them to wear masks. Now, personally, Pat, I've said I don't love the whole, like when there were the encampments on college campuses, the protesters all being masked, and when they were asked why, they were like, well, it's because we want, we don't want to be identified because the school might care after. Maybe that's true, although I have not seen evidence that that's the case. I wasn't big on that use of masks, but it was certainly legal. There's no question about that. And it's up to people to decide if that's what they want to do. So it's another one of these carve outs. They have a principle, no masks in public. So your actions can be attributed to you. Except when it's the police. Except when it's the ICE agents conducting the deportation raids. At the same time, I know members of law enforcement and they do face threats and I know members of law enforcement who have had issues when their home addresses were public record. Right. So like, I'm also sensitive to that, but I don't know that that is really the determining factor in what the law should say.
- [03:01]
Pat Ford
It's interesting how you point out the double standard, how Republicans are upset with protesters wearing masks, but they're okay with the police officers wearing masks. If there is going to be a double standard on this issue, it really should be reversed because you do have the right as an American citizen to protest with your mask on and to try to keep that anonymity. But if you're a police officer, you can argue that you are doing the work of the public. This isn't something you have to do by any means. You've elected to take on this responsibility and part of that responsibility is being forward, being upfront about who you are to the public. So you can argue that they should not be allowed to wear the mask except for specific instances like if they're working at a toxic site or if there's a pandemic, the traditional carve outs that we would expect when it comes to this sort of thing. So when it comes down to it, my sense is that the police officers probably should not be able to wear the mask because it is quite intimidatory. And I think people do get that sense when they're confronting police officers or just engaging with police officers who are all masked up. What I wonder more so is if we can buy this excuse that the cops are giving that they just don't want to be docs and that they're trying to protect themselves and their families, or if it really has to do with shame, that they don't like what they're doing, that they've signed up to do this job. Yes, but they don't want to carry out these specific orders. And the masks are giving them a bit of protection and allowing them to hide their identities because they don't like themselves, what they're doing.
- [04:34]
David Pakman
I think if there's any real criticism of what Democrats are doing is that this is a performative proposal. I mean, it's about optics. It's really not about substance, it's not about doing anything about the raids, etc. The counter being Democrats are not in a position to do anything about the raids, especially not California Democrats when these are federal raids. So this is getting extraordinarily convoluted. I think without a doubt there is a double Standard. There's a question, as Pat points out, if there's going to be a different standard, which direction should it apply it in? Which direction should it go? Big picture. I want to be able to identify who it is that is carrying out the actions of the state or of the government or whatever. And I also personally know law enforcement people who were, were targeted based on investigations that they were doing. I want to hear from the audience about this and we will see what people have to say. I don't know.
- [05:32]
Pat Ford
Yeah, I mean, this is interesting because when you make the argument about police officers wanting to protect their identity, that's always been true to a degree. It's not like there's a unique threat that they're now facing because of these ICE raids. It just seems as though the public, by and large is not in support of it and they're targeting people who we wouldn't traditionally think of as criminals. So this issue has always been something that we could have faced potentially as a society because police officers have always had to do raids of sorts, have always have to, always had to go after people who they believe to be breaking the law. So the fact that we're only really now seeing this and it's becoming a story now because of these mass raids that are unfolding, it makes you question whether they're doing it for the right reasons, whether there's a good cause of all of this. And of course, we on the left believe that it's not a good cause. And that's exactly why they're deciding to hide their faces.
- [06:28]
David Pakman
All correct. Let us know your thoughts. I want to hear from you on this. The latest grift from the Trump family is Trump Mobile. This is a phone service and a smartphone. It's expected to come out in September. The offering will be a $500 Android phone called the T1. It'll have the American flag engraved. They will also have a $47.45 a month plan called the 47 plan. This is a reference to Trump having been the 45th president and now is the 47th president. You will. If you're worried about this, you'll get unlimited talk, text and data. You'll also get roadside assistance and telehealth services. This is, as are many Trump ventures, just a branding and licensing venture. The Trump Organization does not manage the products. They don't manufacture the phone, they don't provide the underlying phone service. It's basically Trump putting name on yet another thing. Watches, Bible, sneakers, you know, whatever. Of course, there are major ethics concerns. This continues this fusion of Trump with politics and commerce. Trump's presidency is the marketing asset. Now, there's a very fine ethical line being walked here. The Trump Organization is distancing itself by saying this is only a licensing deal. It's like Trump putting his name on a building that they don't manage or own or any of it. It seems pretty low risk, it seems pretty high profit, and it just is another one of these ways to suck money out of Trump's followers. That's all this is.
- [07:59]
Pat Ford
That's absolutely right. And with these other scams like the coins and the dinners and everything else, those were just one time things. So I wonder if the Trump team was thinking of a way to consistently get money from their support base. And selling a phone plan is one such way to do that because you don't only get the initial $500 sale, you also get the $47.45 a month coming in from every user. So it's going to set them up well financially, I suppose, is that's what they were thinking of. They have something more long term that they can plan on here. I will point out though, that it does seem like a reasonable price for what you're getting. I mean, I don't know how good this smartphone is going to be. I don't know how good the service is going to be, but when you think about it, a $500 smartphone, that's pretty much in line with the typical smartphone that you can find in the market right now. I know that iPhones, for example, are even more expensive. And then a phone plan for about $50 a month with the unlimited data, that's not unreasonable. So when it comes to these Trump scams, at least you're getting something for this. It's not just like a NFT that you're not going to be able to do anything with. And at least it is in line with other phones and phone plants that we see in the market.
- [09:09]
David Pakman
Yeah, I mean, I think this is more equivalent to like a Mint Mobile is the sense I get. And Mint Mobile plans, once you account for, there's like an upfront payment, you're talking about 20 to 40 bucks a month also. I don't know, you know, I mean, I guess it's like, yeah, it's at least there is something of value here. If you can send a text message or make a phone call, it's not nothing. I guess that's what we can say. It's not totally vaporware.
- [09:34]
Pat Ford
The proof will be in the pudding, though, because I would not be surprised if these phones malfunction, if they break in half, if they don't work, if you never have service. Knowing Trump's brand of overpromising and underdelivering, that's probably what we can expect with something like this.
- [09:51]
David Pakman
Probably right. Let me know if you're eager to get the T1 Trump phone. By the way, I saw that Eric and Don Jr. Were doing interviews all about this yesterday. Like it's an incredibly groundbreaking thing. They were at Trump Tower to show that this has nothing to do with Trump as President Trump. It all just feels like an overt scam. Just they look like snake oil salesmen.
- [10:12]
Pat Ford
Even if you're some gung ho Trump supporter, I can't imagine wanting to get something like this. Like, how far gone do you have to be? Or even the phone that you use every day has to be Trump branded. Like, I was a supporter of Joe Biden's presidency. Of course, you know, I had my criticisms here and there, but all in all, I did approve of the job that he did as president. I can't imagine in any world that I would buy a Biden branded phone. No Biden cell phone plan like that just never would come across to me as something reasonable that I would consider.
- [10:43]
David Pakman
It just would not even cross my mind. And you know what? Biden would never offer a Biden phone. That's the other difference, I think, without a doubt. Okay. Mike Lindell, AKA Mike Pillow, AKA Pillow, has been ordered by a Denver jury to pay $2.3 million in damages to the now infamous Eric Kumar, a former Dominion Voting Systems employee. Lyndell falsely accused him of rigging the 2020 election against Trump. No evidence determined that that took place, but Lyndell continued to say, that's what happened. That's what happened. That's what happened. Kumar's lawsuit argued Lyndell made him the target of death threats, that he permanently damaged his reputation. The jury found Lyndell liable. They did not find Lyndell TV at 4 Fault. And Mike Lyndell says that that's a big win for him. He says he's going to appeal. He says he's financially struggling. And you might recall that we had videos of Pillow outside the courtroom pushing promos, like promo code jury outside the courtroom, which was really something to see. This is. So there's two real stories here, Pat. There is another blow to the disinformation ecosystem about Trump actually won in 2020. This is another blow because if it were true that Trump actually won and it was rigged, it wouldn't have been definite defamatory to say so. And then secondly, the Pillow story, which has really become a Greek tragedy of his own making. Another hit for Pillow, a guy who, listen, we know him a little bit, and he's not doing well, and it's his own fault. To be clear, I'm not excusing anything, but it is just one hit after another for Pillow.
- [12:24]
Pat Ford
Yeah, absolutely. And he's had far worse judgments against him than $2.3 million. So I don't think this is going to be the final blow to Michael Lindell if he was able to survive these other lawsuits and if his companies, at least for the meantime, have been able to survive these other lawsuits. This is just a drop in the bucket, this $2 million.
- [12:43]
David Pakman
Yep.
- [12:43]
Pat Ford
To me, it suggests that you really can get away with a lot in this country. You can lie about the 2020 election being stolen, for example, but what you can't do is target specific people you can't target. And those are the mistakes that Mike Lindell and also Rudy Giuliani made. If they were more vague, if they just talked about voting systems more generally or how states are conducting elections, they would have been able to get away with everything. Mike Lindell would still be in good standing with his business and everything else, but he went too far by targeting those specific people. And really, to promote your conspiracy theory, you don't even have to go that far, because I don't think it hinges on any particular person being focused on for people to believe you. So I think that's where he made a big mistake in this.
- [13:28]
David Pakman
The other funny, kind of funny and sad thing is Pillow seems so desperate. You know, he says this is a partial victory because they didn't find Lyndell TV to be liable, only Mike Pillow himself. And then he's. I mean, it's just like. That just seems pretty pathetic to me. I mean, I guess that's a smaller award because of that. I don't know.
- [13:44]
Pat Ford
Well, what I love is that he said that the fact that Lindell TV wasn't found liable, that it's a huge victory for our country. He's doing that exact same thing that Trump always does. Yeah. Whenever he has a personal victory, he claims that it's a victory for the country. And whenever something goes bad in his life, it's something horrible that's being done for the country. I'm going to start doing that in my own personal life, like if I get summoned for jury duty, for example, I'm going to say that it's a major attack on our country or, you know, if I win $200 with a scratch ticket that was gifted to me, I'll say that it was a major win for our country. I'm going to start doing that with everything.
- [14:21]
David Pakman
Well, when we hit 3 million subscribers, it really was like a big, big moment for the country and everybody felt.
- [14:27]
Pat Ford
It that at least you can make some argument that it does have to do with the country because there's a lot of American viewers who are subscribing to the channel and we're promoting our viewpoint when it comes.
- [14:38]
David Pakman
Yeah, it says something about the growth of independent media, people turning to alternatives, but still sounds so pathetic.
- [14:44]
Pat Ford
Yeah, Mike Lindell could get a hemorrhoid or something like that and you would say that it was a big attack on our country and it just wouldn't make as much sense.
- [14:50]
David Pakman
No, it wouldn't. So listen, I don't really know when the end of the pillow story will be. I'm curious, how will the guy is pillow? Let's see. Oh, he's 63. Oh, he's relatively young. OK. So I mean, listen, Pillow may be around for a long time. I don't really even know the state of his business at this point, but I hope that on a personal level he can find something that feels like peace with all of the terrible things that he has unleashed upon the country. Is that fair to say?
- [15:18]
Pat Ford
Yeah. I hope that he can sleep well at night on one of his mypillows and, you know, maybe we'll have him back on at some point. I know the audience seems to be pretty much done with him from what I've gathered. Like there's nothing really new to add to the pillow story and no reason to bring him back anytime soon. But maybe he'll come back on and offer you some more pillows.
- [15:38]
David Pakman
Did he end up sending you the pillows? I now don't remember. He did.
- [15:42]
Pat Ford
Yeah. Because you didn't want them so.
- [15:43]
David Pakman
Because I didn't. Yeah.
- [15:44]
Pat Ford
I'll take them.
- [15:45]
David Pakman
And remind me, they were sort of.
- [15:46]
Pat Ford
Like, okay, they were pretty average pillows.
- [15:49]
David Pakman
Yeah.
- [15:49]
Pat Ford
I'm not going to say that they were like the worst ever, but they were pretty much the same pillows that you could find anywhere else.
- [15:55]
David Pakman
Did it make you feel better that they are made in the USA or was that not like a huge thing for you?
- [16:00]
Pat Ford
Wasn't a huge thing for me. You know, to some degree I feel strange having them because it's like, am I supporting this right wing conspiracy theorist Trump supporting guy just by having the pillows, even though I didn't pay for them just by having them in my house. But the great thing is that you can cover them with a pillowcase and then no one's going to notice.
- [16:19]
David Pakman
And how are they super firm? Because remember when I said I like goose down, and he was like, no, that's bad for your. Your cervical whatever.
- [16:25]
Pat Ford
And I think they have a firm option, but I just got the standard type.
- [16:30]
David Pakman
Okay.
- [16:30]
Pat Ford
So, you know, they're just standard pillows. I got to say, really had more commentary than that.
- [16:35]
David Pakman
It's basically just, like, of completely no consequence. It's just a pillow. Like, all of the story and the imagery around it, it's like. It's just a pillow, right?
- [16:43]
Pat Ford
Like, you can't go too in depth with just the basic product once, you know, you cover the bases. Okay, it's square or rectangular. It's like, puffy, but also has some firmness to it. It has down material or whatever. Whatever else they use in those pillows. Like, I run out of things to say about it.
- [17:02]
David Pakman
Yeah, I thought he didn't use down. Let's see my pillow material. Now I'm like, what is in there? It's filled with chunks of polyurethane foam. Well, you know what? I can tell you, Pat, as a former vegan, maybe it is a good pillow for you in the sense that it doesn't have goose down. Although. Although I do think polyurethane foam as a sort of plastic derivative, meaning coming from oil, it probably does lead to, like, salamanders dying and stuff like that. So I'm not even kidding. Is it better that it's polyurethane foam, which differently affects the environment than just pulling feathers off of a goose? I have no clue. Clue.
- [17:38]
Pat Ford
Maybe better for the environment. Worse. Or maybe. Maybe worse for the environment, but better for the animals. Is that what we're going to come down on here?
- [17:46]
David Pakman
I don't know. I really don't know. In any case, it's just a pillow. At the end of the day, it's just a pillow. That's what it is. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. New show, new bonus show.
- [17:58]
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