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- [01:29]
David Pakman
month ever feel like your brain just won't click? Onnit Alpha Brain is a daily supplement engineered to support memory, focus and mental speed. Made with science backed ingredients, Onnit Alpha Brain helps you lock in, tune out distractions and stay sharp. See what your brain can really do. Visit onnit.com and shop Alpha Brain to unlock your next level. That's O n n I dash Republicans are quietly panicking about something that was never supposed to happen. Texas could be in play. A brutal Republican primary between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton is turning the state into a battleground. If Republicans just have to spend money defending Texas from Democrats, that is a win. Trump Epstein Problems are getting worse. We've got new reporting and withheld DOJ materials that raise real questions about what on earth is going on and the political fallout is only getting started. We're also going to look into ice, quietly building up endless weapons supplies in warehouses. Why do they need it? And an ICE whistleblower, a former ICE agent, is alleging serious constitutional violations at ICE Academy, where the legal violations seem to be a feature, not a bug. We've also got a FOX News panel moment where MAGA talking points collapse in real time. Plus, we will hear from you in our Friday Feedback segment. I'm so glad that you're here. Let's do a show today. Texas is supposed to be safe for Republicans. Democrats haven't won a Senate race in Texas since 1988. It is the Republican firewall, the state they never have to defend. And now all of a sudden it looks like they might have to defend Texas. So let me tell you what's going on. There's a Republican primary for Texas Senate between current Senator John Cornyn and the Attorney General Ken Paxton. And that has turned into a full scale intra party war. You've got Cornyn backed by Senate leadership and national Republican money. Paxton is the MAGA favorite. He's aggressive and combative and, you know, uninformed in a way that is very popular with the MAGA base. But he is being weighed down by years of corruption and investigations and impeachment drama and personal scandal. And listen to this. Republicans have already spent nearly $100 million trying to stop Ken Paxton. The allies of Senator Cornyn have aired ads calling Paxton corrupt and unfair fit. And it hasn't knocked Paxton out. The polling shows Paxton leading or tied heading into a likely runoff. We've heard from Senate Majority Leader John Thune that if Paxton is the nominee, the seat could end up being lost by Republicans and going to Democrats, depending on who wins the Democratic primary. So that gets us now to the Democratic primary. State Representative James Talarico and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett are among those whose names are being tested in general election polling. Talarico is a former teacher. He's got a big statewide profile. He's pretty competitive in early matchups. You've then got Jasmine Crockett, a high profile House member known for really sharp questioning and hearings. And she is also polling okay in general election poll polls. But it does seem as though Talarico right now is leading the primary. So internal Republican polling shows Cornyn ahead of both Talarico and Crockett and Paxton trailing Talarico and just barely ahead of Jasmine Crockett. Now, this is all in Texas. Here's my view on this. And yesterday we already talked a little Bit about the it seems that every election cycle now we hear Texas is in play. Democrats could take Texas. And I think at some point that very well could happen. Even if there hasn't been a senator from Texas for decades, if Republicans are forced to defend Texas in November, that shifts the national map because money that would normally go to North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan would have to be diverted just to hold Texas, which sometimes is considered just automatically. And even making Republicans spend money in Texas is very valuable strategically because every dollar you burn in Texas, you don't have somewhere else. The environment isn't a comfortable one for the Republican Party. Nationally, 79% of Democrats say they are definitely voting in November. Only 65% of Republicans say they are definitely voting in November. So that's a 14 point enthusiasm gap and that's the largest Democrats have had ahead of a midterm since at least 2006. Now look at 2018. In 2018, Democrats took back the House. They had a five point enthusiasm edge. This is now three times that, which is wild. Now here's another layer, and we talked about this a little bit yesterday. In Texas, the early midterm primary ballots so far are 53% Democratic, 47% Republican. At the same time in 2022, Democrats had made 38% of the votes and Republicans 62%. Okay, that is a massive 15 point shift in early ballots. Now this doesn't tell you who they're voting for, but it does tell you that Democrats seem way more motivated and way more interested. None of it guarantees a Democratic win. Texas is still red. Turnout in November is going to decide who ultimately wins. But if you're asking yourself, should Republicans be worried about this? The answer is absolutely. They're in the middle of a divisive primary. They, they're potentially going to select a very flawed nominee. In Ken Paxton, there are credible Democratic challengers. There is an enthusiasm edge for Democrats in general, and the turnout pattern or trajectory is 15 points different from what it was recently. Texas isn't supposed to be competitive. The fact that Republican leadership is talking about losing tells you how uneasy they are. And if Texas becomes a battleground, it's going to be much harder for Republicans to control the Senate. That's why they're nervous. Now there is a bigger story here as well, which is that if we think about 2028 and we think about is this going to be a Republican Party that doubles down on MAGA after Trump is gone, or will it be a Republican Party that goes in a different direction? Part of what happens in Texas could inform that if John Cornyn wins the primary and somehow lost the general, that would be one version of events. If Ken Paxton wins the primary and loses the general in Texas, that would be another sign about the direction. If Ken Paxton wins the primary and wins in November, that would be a very pro MAGA sentiment that would make Trump and others say we've got to go hardcore MAGA in 2028. These are all TBD. The point is let's make them spend money to defend Texas. And once that primary is sorted out, is it Talarico? It's looking Talarico. Is it going to be Jasmine Crockett? Let's do everything we can to try to win the seat and if it doesn't end up being won, let's just bleed them of money that would otherwise go to traditionally competitive races. Let's talk about Dr. Oz. Dr. Oz is a really tragic case of a political downfall led by naked aspiration to be adjacent to power. Dr. Oz was always a little wacky when it came. Well, not always. There was a point in time where Dr. Oz really stuck to medical recommendations that are evidence based. There was a period like that. Eventually Dr. Oz sort of went a little bit into the woo woo space. And then politically, Dr. Oz has gone completely off the rails to the point where now he is speaking in such hyperbolic terms about Donald Trump. Remember that Dr. Oz is the director of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Oz is now saying that Trump's speech on Tuesday, State of the Union, is the best speech ever by any president.
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Dr. Oz
I don't understand tactically what the thought process is, but I must say, and many have said this besides me, but it may have been the best State of the Union address ever by not just the US President, any president, because it's so beautifully captivated, what it means to take care of your people and just speaking.
- [10:17]
David Pakman
Sure. You know, the good news here is the country does not agree with Dr. Oz. There is a very good poll done by SSRS for CNN and it found that only 38% of those who watched the speech had a very positive reaction. That is one of the worst numbers in a really, really long time. You look at the the worst ones were Trump 2026 is the worst. You had Biden 2022, only 41% saw it very positively. Trump 2018 only 48%. Obama 2010 and Bush 2004. 74%, by the way, had a very positive reaction to that. So a historically unpopular speech for Donald Trump. But Dr. Oz, for whatever reason, is insisting that it was the best. The best. The best. The Dr. Oz story is kind of sad to me because I don't think Dr. Oz is a bad guy. He is the epitome. He's the prototype of what happens when aspirations to money or aspirations to power become the most important thing. What was just a regular doctor who made uncontroversial recommendations became a guy recommending all sorts of woo woo cures once it became profitable on a TV show. And you really hate to see that. And then a guy who at least theoretically could think for himself is all of a sudden saying things like, this is the best speech that any president has ever given. And he is in a position that, unfortunately, I think he is likely to be completely embarrassed by at some point in the future when it's all said and done. Here is Dr. Oz with more glazing of Donald Trump and how everyone respected him in Davos. And it's just like nothing we've ever seen before.
- [12:03]
Dr. Oz
When we went to Davos, which I joined that delegation, amazingly, watching European leaders for the first time actually listen to what the President was saying, and they started nodding their heads up and down. We. Which is easy to do. If you watch last night's speech, you'll understand that almost mesmerizing effect of reminding people you're elected to take care of the people who voted for you, not to dance around their issues, actually go after the problems, deal with them firsthand. And today we were able to announce, as a follow up to the President's commitment yesterday to deal with fraud, that we're going to defer. $259 million.
- [12:34]
David Pakman
Yeah. Which by the way, we already spoke about, it appears to be illegal. What Oz is describing right now appears to be against the law from Minnesota
- [12:41]
Dr. Oz
because they have not been acting in good faith to protect us tax dollars and protect the people, people of Minnesota from deadly fraud against Medicaid in that state.
- [12:49]
David Pakman
Yeah, they're describing something that's illegal. As I already pointed out to you yesterday, Congress appropriates money and then the only task of the executive branch is to disperse it. It is not evaluate whether the money coincides with our political opinions. It is not. Is there anyone we want to punish by not giving them the money? It's just disperse the damn money. And so it appears that what they are doing right now is. Is unconstitutional. And Dr. Oz, who at least at some point, I think used to care about facts and empiricism, is saying, look at us. You should be so proud that we are doing this thing. My question to you is how do you think it happens with someone like a Dr. Oz? Does it happen slowly over time? I'll endorse the liquid silver or whatever. I don't know that he did liquid silver, but he's endorsed some weird stuff. There's a nice paycheck attached. I'll endorse this, I'll endorse that.
- [13:38]
Ryan Schwank
Oh, sure.
- [13:38]
David Pakman
I'll. I'll like. I'll be willing to work with Trump. All right. I'll say Trump did. Okay, all right. I'll say Trump is absolutely the best. All right. I'll brag about something that is against the law. Is it slow? Or is there a point in time at which someone like a Dr. Oz goes, hey, you know what? I'm selling my soul to the devil. I am now at the point where the only thing that matters is what's going to get me money or what's going to get me adjacent to power. And I will just do it and that's it. Do you think it's gradual or do you think it is a proactive decision? I'm in for whatever. We have a great show for you today. We'll talk about the missing Epstein files. We'll by the way, this is a story almost no one's covering. ISIS stockpiling weapons in warehouses? What on earth for? And we're going to hear from an ICE whistleblower as well. Remember that we are now beyond 3.5 million YouTube subscribers, pushing to 4 million. Make sure you're subscribed at YouTube.com/the David Pakman show and we will keep building and we will keep going after this short break. Cold weather is sometimes when simple meals matter the most and during the winter there is nothing like pulling a warm bread out of the oven at home. It'll change the mood with the smell alone. Never mind the taste. Our sponsor Wild Grain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads on artisanal pastries and fresh pastas already in 25 minutes or less with no prep. Wild Grain uses simple ingredients and a slow fermentation process which will add flavor and can be easier on digestion. No preservatives, no shortcuts. Lately I've been reaching for the Wild Grain sourdough loaf for quick dinners. Their cranberry pecan rolls are great for the weekends. Everything comes out perfectly browned and fresh. Fragrant Wild Grains boxes are customizable. They include gluten free, vegan and protein box options so it fits whatever you've got going on. Delivery is reliable Baking is hands off perfect for cozy brunches or easy weeknights. Nothing like having an artisan bakery in your freezer to chase away that winter chill. Get $30 off your first box, plus free croissants for life at wildgrain.com/pacman when it was time for a new mattress, I didn't want to gamble on something generic. I had heard about Helix. I liked that they customize the mattress based on how you sleep. I'm mostly a stomach sleeper, so I took the quiz and ended up with a model that felt tailored to me. I've had it for years. What I notice is I don't wake up with back stiffness. I don't wake up with shoulder pain. I don't toss and turn looking for a comfortable position. It's just better than my old mattress. It's more supportive, but it's still comfortable. Another thing I like about Helix is that there's no one size fits all approach. It's really tailored to you in terms of firmness as well. It's made a difference for me and I'm thrilled to be partnering with them right now. Helix has a special offer only for my audience. Get 27% off everything on their site when you go to helix sleep.pacman. the link is in the description. Listen, I can't speak to what other shows do. I can only tell you what we do and as an independent progressive media show, we're primarily funded by our audience. That happens in two ways. Number one through the membership program on my website and number two through Substack Premium subscriptions. I want to say a specific thank you to our two newest members, Tim Cloud and Chrissy Sparling. Thanks to both of you, you can get the bonus show commercial, free audio feed commercial free video feed, members only, soundboard, and much more. When you sign up at, join pacman.com and you can use the coupon code if you want. If you'd like a discount, you can use the coupon code. Sad Trump, I'm going to have to start here with an uncomfortable truth, which is that from a purely legal standpoint, Trump is close to untouchable right now. I wish it were different, but I'm not going to blow smoke. I respect you too much to do that. Republicans control Congress. The Attorney General has zero appetite for appointing a special prosecutor. As long as DOJ leadership refuses to escalate, we are not going to see any kind of immediate criminal mechanism forcing accountability. With regard to the Epstein files, the contents themselves and the attempts to cover up the The Epstein files, that's the reality. Okay. However, politically and reputationally, there is a slow bleed that could take down far more than just Donald Trump. These newly released Epstein materials, combined with reporting from NPR about missing files, which we talked about on Wednesday, make three explosive suggestions. Number one, Trump models may have functioned as part of a pipeline supplying minors and adult women into Trump's orbit. Trump models, like Trump's modeling agency. Number two, Jeffrey Epstein allegedly supplied minors directly to Trump. And number three, the DOJ has additional documents referencing Trump that were not released publicly. This is a picture that's building. I am not saying every single one of these is true, but there appears to be a desire to cover up the possibility that that is exactly what has been going on. And that third element is a ticking clock. The COVID up of the files is a ticking clock. Congressman Robert Garcia says he's reviewed DOJ materials. He believes critical FBI interviews have been withheld. University of Michigan professor, law professor Leah Littman explains that withholding investigative summaries in a case like this is not routine, that it's a proactive decision that is being done. Now we add the politics to it. Speaker Mike Johnson kind of shrugs and goes, I don't know anything about that. The Attorney General, Pam Bondi, won't appoint a special prosecutor. Like I said, Republican committee chairs show no urgency or interest in even investigating this stuff. So legally, everything stalls. But voters are watching. The allegations here are not abstract ethics violations about reporting to the fec. They this is stuff with allegations that involve minors, they involve trafficking, they involve a convicted sex trafficker whose associate, Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a federal sentence, at least for now. And if the public begins to believe Trump wasn't just socially adjacent to Epstein, but he was implicated in the withheld FBI material, it reshapes everything into a proactive cover up to protect Donald Trump. Now, I'm not saying I know that to be the case. What I am saying is they're doing a lot of covering up so that we can't figure it out. Midterm elections, which are coming up historically, punish the sitting president's party, add a struggling economy, add chaos in document releases, add the perception of COVID ups, and you've got Republican members of Congress defending silence. But in the future, they may have to explain themselves to voters and explain why they defended that silence. And that can become a contagion that spreads kind of like a virus. If the story shifts from Epstein, new powerful people to the DOJ is hiding material tied to Trump that is going to spread damage to anyone seen as complicit. Now, here's the other strategic problem for Trump. He can attack prosecutors, he can attack judges, the Supreme Court, he can attack the media, he can attack Democrats. It is much harder to attack serial numbers of documents that have been disappeared. FBI interview logs, members of Congress saying the documents exist, but the public isn't being allowed to see them. As long as Republicans hold both chambers, that legal machinery probably remains frozen. Politics doesn't freeze. And this is why it's so important that Republicans do lose control of the House in November. Because if they do, the subpoenas fly. The internal polling shows that the Epstein issue is toxic. Cracks will form, documents may leak, and then the situation overnight is just going to escalate. So I have to acknowledge on the one hand that in the short term, nothing may happen. But the longer that this drags on, the more it looks like a governing party protecting a president from potentially devastating allegations involving minors. It is not a mere messaging problem. This is a political crisis in the making and a legitimacy problem. Of course, we can only speculate based on the desire to cover it up. We don't yet have proof that Donald Trump was implicated in this way. I've said from the beginning, I don't know that Trump really did the things we could imagine would be the worst of the worst. He may have just been adjacent, doesn't like it being in the news. It affects acquaintances of his or people that he needs political loyalty from. Who knows? Donors want him to cover it up. We don't know. But the fact that they are going so far and so extreme to prevent this stuff from coming out should make all of us wonder why. And there's only a few possible explanations. Something very disturbing is happening that almost nobody is talking about, but we're going to talk about it. You look at the headlines and you see Trump scandals, economic chaos. But there's something else that's happening. According to new data compiled by Senator Adam Schiff, ICE and CBP have approved over $414 million in weapons contracts in just a single year. This includes millions of dollars in precision long guns, essentially AR style rifles. Millions for more Glock handguns, 30 million for ammunition, 25 million for nonlethal weapons like tasers, pepper spray, and tear gas. One contract alone involves rifles that are described as military spec, AR style weapons. Now, you might say, all right, well, ICE has weapons, yeah, they do. But ICE is not the army. It's not fighting a foreign war. It's a domestic Immigration Enforcement agency. Why is it stockpiling weapons that make it look like they are about to deploy a war in the United States? Well, because it's kind of what they've been testing. Adam Schiff's report concludes that ICE and CBP are basically constructing a heavily armed domestic police force. And it is happening under Trump. With ICE expanding warrantless operations, ramping up surveillance, building these mass detention centers and infrastructure, and now they want to add firepower to that in a scale that we've never seen before. This is bureaucratic militarization. And when you look at history, once these security bureaucracies expand, they don't shrink. You know, look at DHS after 9, 11 and how it ballooned. The money just flowed like a waterfall to contractors. The weapons accumulated, the missions expanded overnight. We saw oversight destroyed. Right now, it's not about Afghanistan or Iraq. It's inside the United States. Trump says that mass deportations are his signature policy. But deporting millions of people would take decades at the current rates. Decades. So what exactly is the build up for? If the goal is just routine immigration enforcement, you don't really need warehouses full of AR style rifles and tens of millions of dollars in ammunition. You just don't need it. If the goal is controlling unrest, conducting mass sweeps in American cities, confronting large civilian populations, maybe that's why they are arming up in this way. National security experts are concerned this could end up as a poorly trained paramilitary force fueled by Trump's ideology all over the United States. And when you combine their ideological fervor, the expansion of this, the weapons stockpiles, it's not a stable situation. It's mission creepy. And the political risk for Trump is that his immigration approval numbers go down when ICE is in the news. Americans consistently don't like, on average, some, some like it. But on average, Americans don't like the chaos, the family separations, the crackdowns, or any of it. So if voters start to see ICE not as doing border enforcement, but just as a domestic armed force pointed inward, I don't think they're going to like it. Now the deeper question is, is an uncomfortable one, but it's unavoidable. Why is a federal immigration agency stockpiling military style weaponry at this scale? In this sense, is it about enforcing or is it about controlling? Because once you buy the weapons and you hire the people and the contracts are in place, if public opinion shifts, this entire apparatus doesn't go away. It becomes self sustaining. Trump built his brand attacking forever wars, but once you build up ICE with so many new people and the weapons stockpiles and the warehouses and the detention centers. You're going to use it. And the question isn't whether ICE has new weapons, it's what do they plan to do with them? And what happens if Trump loses the House, if Republicans lose the House in November? What happens once Trump is gone to this rapidly expanding domestic force? It's terrifying, and almost nobody is talking about it, but we should be. Most scammers rely on information that's already public. Your name, address, phone number, family connections. A lot of that is online and available to be scraped and abused. Our sponsor, Incogni, reduces the risk by removing you from the Internet wherever that personal data appears. 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They build advertising profiles around your activity and then they target you using that data. I recommend Start Mail. Our sponsor, Start Mail is a platform that functions just like the email services you're used to. No learning curve. But unlike the big tech email providers, Start Mail does not scan your email. It doesn't track you, it doesn't sell your data. And you also get privacy tools that the other email providers do not offer. You can create unlimited email aliases so you don't have to give anybody your real email address when you sign up for stuff. Super useful. You can also send PGP encrypted emails even if the recipient doesn't use encryption. Switching to Start Mail is really easy. You migrate your emails and contacts with a few clicks. Go to start mail.com/pacman to get 50% off your first use year. The link is in the description A former ICE agent is blowing the whistle. It is absolutely insane. Extraordinarily serious allegations from Ryan Schwenk, who says that the training program at ICE Academy is by design deficient, defective and broken. Now, one of the. I'm going to play his testimony in a moment. One of the issues or questions that's come up as we see ICE agents carry out this completely immoral and also just counterproductive in every way. To even call it a deportation program doesn't make sense because a lot of the people aren't even subject to deportation, but sort of goons, squad raids, whatever you want to call it, as we see them carry it out, one of the questions we've come up against is how could their instincts be so disastrous when they are out on the streets talking to people, interacting with people? Is it because the training has failed or is it because the training is the problem? And at least from what Ryan Schwank says, it seems that a lot of the problems are that this is how people are being trained. Now, of course, the training is too short and not comprehensive enough, but the point is, according to the whistleblower, on his first day training cadets, he was someone training them. He was given instructions to teach them to enter homes without warrants. That's against the law. He also claims 240 hours of instruction were cut, including classes on the legal system, firearms training, use of force, what constitutes a lawful arrest, what are the standards to detain someone, the limits of their authority. Well, that's going to be a problem. Take a listen to this.
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Ryan Schwank
Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal, Representative Garcia, members of the committee, My name is Ryan Schwank. I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when I joined ICE on August 1, 2021, as an assistant Chief Counsel. I followed that oath for four and a half years working side by side with ICE officers. And I followed it when I resigned on February 13, 2026, a little over a week ago so that I could speak to you today. I am here because I am duty bound to report the legally required training program at the ICE Academy is deficient, defective and broken. Five months ago, I was asked to teach the law to new cadets at the ICE Academy in Glynco, Georgia, where ICE is training its new inexperienced recruits. I volunteered those without law enforcement training. I volunteered to take on this assignment based on my experience in law enforcement oversight, including at the state and local level. Prior to my work with ice, on my first day, I received secretive orders to teach. Teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.
- [32:33]
David Pakman
Uh oh.
- [32:34]
Ryan Schwank
By entering homes without a judicial warrant. For the last five months, I watched ICE dismantle the training program, cutting 240 hours of vital classes from a 584 hour program. Classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention and the limits of officers authority.
- [33:03]
David Pakman
Sort of like all of the critical stuff. These are not little details. This should really make up the core of their training.
- [33:08]
Ryan Schwank
In fact, for example, they ceased all of the legal instructions regarding use of force. This means that cadets are not taught what it means to be objectively reasonable. The very standard which the law requires them to meet when deciding whether or not to use deadly force.
- [33:28]
David Pakman
Why are they using deadly force in the way that they are? It seems that it's inappropriate. Well, they weren't trained as to what's appropriate, at least according to Ryan Schwenk.
- [33:37]
Ryan Schwank
Our jobs as instructors are to teach them so well that they can make split second decisions about what they can and cannot do in life or death situations. Yet in the name of churning out an endless stream of officers, DHS leadership has dismantled the academic and practical tests that we need to know if cadets can safely and lawfully perform their job. All to satisfy an administration demanding they train thousands of new officers before the end of the year. DHS told the public that new cadets receive all the training they need to perform their duties. That no critical material or standards have been cut. This is a.
- [34:24]
David Pakman
And it cuts off there where he says this is a lie. Let's break this down very carefully. And you know that's three minutes of video. It's relatively boring testimony. You really have to be able to, to think through what it is that Ryan Schwank is saying here. We have a fourth amendment in this country and it protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Entering a private home without a judicial warrant is a clear constitutional red line in American law with extraordinarily narrow exceptions. Law enforcement officers normally receive extensive training because if you violate it, you invalidate a case and you can even expose your agency to a lawsuit. If ICE cadets are being instructed to bypass warrant requirements as standard practice, that is not a gray area. That is a systemic protocol of violating rights. And the second part might be just as alarming. Cutting 240 hours of instruction from a federal law enforcement academy is not a small tweak. It is months of preparation. And if those hours include legal training, use of force doctrine, firearms training, you are creating officers with less knowledge of constitutional boundaries. And it is going to lead to exactly what we're seeing. It is illuminating. It is a radioactive combination. Reduced legal education plus increased Operational authority, at least as far as they believe, means you're going to be doing unlawful arrests, excessive force. And if we step back from this, ICE is operating in one of the most politically charged environments that any federal law enforcement agency has had to operate in. Its officers are conducting home visits, detentions, removals. You can't sort of be like, well, we don't really need the constitutional literacy. It is foundational to what they are doing. If the whistleblower is accurate. There are three implications here. Number one, civil liberties risk. If they're improperly entering homes or conducting arrests that go beyond legal threshold, you're eroding Fourth Amendment protections. Absolute tragedy. Number two, not that I care, but there is huge institutional liability. Unlawful entry or detention exposes them and taxpayers. This is why we would care to lawsuits and settlements and civil judgments. That's not what I want law enforcement agencies involved in. And finally, you are also degrading your own mission. If you have an enforcement agency that cuts the core training, that doesn't make them stronger, that makes them fragile. And when you lower training standards, you're not going to produce better outcomes. You know, we learned a couple of months ago that they were so desperate for new hires that they were bringing in people who couldn't even read by reports a guy who weighed almost 500 pounds. And that's, I'm not saying that, oh my God, it's a fat guy. He wasn't cleared medically to do anything. This was someone who was so obese and somehow he was advancing through the training process because they're so desperate. So on the one hand they're desperate to bring in anyone and then they're not even getting the training that they should be get. Betty. That they should be getting. That is a major problem. Now finally, there is a governance issues here issue here. Whistleblowers usually don't speak out publicly unless they believe that the internal channels aren't working. And so when you hear from Ryan Schwenk, we have to guess, at least potentially he's doing it because the internal channels for saying, hey, this isn't ok, this isn't ok aren't working, or his complaints were completely ignored. Now, I think that the final part of this is will this testimony even lead to an investigation? Or does Kristi Noem, quite frankly, not give a damn? Because it seems as though this is the protocol. Like if you go to Kristi no and you go, hey, did you know they cut out 240 hours of training and they're explaining to people how to get, get beyond the lack of a judicial warrant, you've got to investigate. Kristi Noem would probably go, no, yeah, that's, that's what we want them to do. They're doing what we want them to do. And so then where do you go? And just a reminder, this is another reason why taking back control of the House from Republicans in November is important. We might not be able to get Kristi Noem fired. We might not be able to get the policy changed. But congressional investigative authority can make a lot of these people's lives a living hell and they certainly deserve it. Let's talk about what happened on Fox News. Every once in a while, reality slips through the cracks on Fox News. And part of it is because we've got Jessica Tarlov sitting there doing what she does. She brings receipts and, and she tries to deprogram her cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs right wing hosts. This time the topic was Cash Patel, the FBI director jetting around the world on taxpayer dime. And this matters because just last year Cash Patel said the following. We're not the guys running around on private jets. And somebody maybe in Congress should ask for how many flights on a private jet Director Comey took or my predecessor Director Wray took. Right. That is Cash Patel attacking his predecessors James Comey and Christopher Wray for supposedly abusing private air travel. The clear implication is Cash would never do that. He's different. He's clean. He's not the swamp. Now fast forward. Cash Patel is flying his girlfriend around on taxpayer dollars. Cash Patel is going to the Olympics to shotgun beers with Olympians in Italy. And when it gets brought up, they deflect and they spin and they go, what about this other thing? And that is when Jessica Tarlov steps in. She doesn't scream, she doesn't grandstand. She points out the obvious. If you attack someone for private jet travel and then you do the same thing, you don't get to pretend that it's different because your team is the one in power.
- [40:46]
Fox News Panelist
Take a listen on the Cash Patel front. It is not normal for the FBI director to be pounding beers in the locker room like that. Also, a person who has been out there criticizing, oh no fear, just hear me out. There are people who have problems with how much people in this administration are flying all over the place on government funded jets. That is on our dying like Hunter Biden. Nice try. It's honestly the deflection on this Castro tell went after Christopher Wray saying he doesn't need to go on a G5 jet to go on vacation. It's 15k every time that he goes, goes. He's been under scrutiny for going to visit his girlfriend. He goes to Vegas, I think nine times. And the taxpayer angle thing matters. And then also that he said, we're gonna focus on Nancy.
- [41:32]
David Pakman
$100 trillion, it doesn't matter. I don't care about the taxpayer.
- [41:36]
Fox News Panelist
Every day now you just say you don't care. Nancy Guthrie is missing. A guy was arrested trying to shoot up Mar a Lago.
- [41:42]
David Pakman
He literally just bagged six of the 10 FBI most wanted. And crime is down to levels not seen since 1900.
- [41:50]
Fox News Panelist
Regular deserves a beer, including shot. The Sean Ryan's of the world. If they think that Cash Patel is doing a good job executing the things he said he was going to do, just ask them. I know you love him. I'm.
- [42:01]
David Pakman
What was striking in this exchange is not just the hypocrisy, it's the complete and total incoherence. The MAGA defense isn't. It didn't happen because obviously it did. It's not even really, here's why. It's justified. Although, you know, they go, oh, a beer. It's more like, you know, everyone kind of does it. Comey was worse. It's necessary now the media is biased and Cash Patel is otherwise doing a good job. It's like five different arguments and none of them actually make sense. The argument keeps shifting because there's no consistent principle underneath. When your principles are consistent, I write about this in the Echo machine. When your principles are consistent, it doesn't matter who's doing it. You shouldn't do private jet travel to personal events. That's the principle. Oh, ok. So I don't care who's doing it. You just shouldn't do it. Oh, it's Cash Patel. Well, you shouldn't do it. Oh, it's James Comey. You shouldn't do it. Their principles are like a sandcastle. When the tide comes in and they just crumble and then there's nothing there. And the simple rule they follow is it was wrong when the other team did it, but it doesn't matter when we do it. That's really the underlying principle and it's about a raw thirst for power. And the pattern is that Cash Patel built up his brand attacking the deep state and the insiders and the jet setting bureaucrats, wasting taxpayer money. And now he is one of the people who is adopting all of the same perks, the privileges, the same behavior. But he wants you to believe that he's still the one who drains the swamp and doesn't do any of the stuff that he used to criticize others for doing. The Fox panel isn't really ready in the sense that because the principles don't matter, they all just start throwing a bunch of crap at the wall or at Jessica Tarlov to see what sticks because of course she's the one liberal on the panel, but she's expressing something much deeper, which is that this selective outrage from maga. Private jets are corruption when James Comey, but private jets are not corruption when Cash Patel. They're just logistics. When listen, he's the FBI director. How do you security risk. How do you expect him to get his girlfriend back from a concert or to go shotgun beers in Italy with Olympians? He's got to use the private jet. And when someone points out on live TV that this doesn't make any sense, they scramble and they go, well, Comey did it worse and it's justified and he's got top 10 most wanted. And because the hypocrisy gets laid out and there are two options. You admit it, you go, yes, we're hypocrites, or you just abandon it completely and justify it for any reason you can come up with. So I think moments like this really matter. We all understand the hypocrisy, but we're not Fox News viewers. The whole point is interject some of this stuff into Fox News. If your political movement depends on constant outrage at the other side, you can't survive your own side doing the same thing unless you decide we don't really care about our principles. And that's the real incoherence here. One jet, whatever, 15 flights, whatever 30 flights. What it's about whether drain the swamp was really a standard or a slogan. And it wasn't a standard, it's just something they say. The quick pause. Something useful for you. Love fishing. TikTok isn't just for young people. It's full of real tips. Better knots, better baits, better catches, quick videos from people who actually fish. Download TikTok now. David Pakman show is an audience supported program and the best, most direct way to support the show is by becoming a member. @join pacman.com you'll get the daily bonus show, the daily commercial free show and plenty of other great membership perks. Get the full experience by signing up@join pacman.com let's get into Friday feedback for the week. You can always write to me info@david pakman.com you can also comment on YouTube, Tik Tok, Spotify substack wherever. We'll feature all sorts of stuff. And we start with Craig Mills, who says, love the make truth Great again, but don't use the red cap. Craig doesn't like. Oh, I actually have it here. Craig doesn't like my satirical MAGA hat that says make truth great again because it's in red. Listen, we have hats in all of the colors. If you want the MAGA style hat that says make truth great again in red. So people think it's a MAGA hat, but then they read it and they see that's available. If you want it in blue or some other color to make it more obvious that it is not an actual Trump MAGA hat, we have that available as well. So. So if you don't like a particular color, certainly you don't have to get one. But a lot of people do like it, and they are flying off the shelves. Acrobatic Farmer wrote two comments about the show on the subreddit and says they pertain to his interviews. David never says, thanks for being here. It's like a deliberate rule not to actually thank guests for coming on. Instead, he says, appreciate your time, which is fine, but everyone says, thanks for having me. It's a normal thing to say. David, why can't you thank your guests for being on the show? I'm so sorry. This is one of the most ridiculous criticisms I have ever heard of the show. You know, criticize me for sometimes getting things wrong. Criticize me because you don't like the cadence or pacing or story selection or schedule or whatever. Okay? I only say to the guests that I appreciate their time, but not thank you for being here. Give me a break, guys. Give me a break. And then one other critique. His interview questions are too long and complicated. It's like he's trying to demonstrate his intellectual prowess by making a very complicated question. He'll set his question up for a full minute. You get lost in the question. They make little sense. His questions are too long. Too long and complicated. You know, maybe that happens sometimes. The guests mostly tell me they really like how I conduct interviews and they really like my questions. So I'm so sorry that it's not working for you, but I don't know about these critiques. I don't know. Like, I appreciate all of them. Especially the first one, though. I don't know. It's sounding a little. Little soft. Tasty Dactyl wrote on the subreddit. Daily reminder. Dear liberals and progressives, please remember to take the time today to hate each other and become apathetic to voting. Please, Bros, please remember, have you done your part in this subreddit today? Please don't forget to be divisive to each other as much as possible, please. Thank you for listening. Yeah, listen, we're talking about this a lot. There is deliberate division being stoked in the left right now. Examples are people already getting into crazy arguments over people who haven't even declared that they are running. You wouldn't support Gavin Newsom, would you? You would support Gavin Newsom if he's the nominee, right? And the left is as usual, ripping, ripping, ripping itself apart. I am going to make a two part pledge to you. Number one, I am not going to try to divide the left in ways that would only damage our chances of getting fascists out of power. I wouldn't feel good if I did that. That's number one. And number two, I am going to avoid the gossipy sort of terminally online nonsense that a lot of people are getting sucked into. And I'm going to avoid it for two reasons. Number well, actually three reasons. Number one, I don't enjoy the gossipy intra left sniping and attacks. I just don't. It's not fun for me to do those segments. I'd rather talk about things that are kind of going on in the world. Number two, I don't think my audience likes it. And the reason I suspect that is sometimes when these rifts within the left have gotten to such a big place that I feel like I should say something about him, they perform terribly and my audience writes to me and goes, david, I don't care about that crap. I don't care about content creators. I don't even follow. Just do the show. And number three, I think it's not helpful to getting fascists out of power, which has to be our priority. So this is not going to be the show for gossip attacks as we get into the 2026 and 2028 election cycles. Okay, Salty Portuguese says, love that you are uploading episodes earlier in the day and another viewer says it's awesome. Yeah, you know, we've tried a lot of stuff in terms of when we upload and I've gotten criticisms from people who say, you know, David, if you recorded the show in the afternoon instead of in the morning, then it would feel more up to date. And the thing that I've explained many times is first of all, we're not doing breaking news on the show, we're doing analysis. So sometimes it's not like if six hours have gone by, it's kind of okay. And number two, if the show is produced on a 24 hour cycle, no matter when it's produced, there will always be part of the day where it feels like we're catching up or delayed or whatever. It's just going to be the nature of it. It'll just shift when in the day that is. But we are testing publishing the full YouTube episodes earlier. Some people seem to like it, which is, which is great. We'll, we'll keep keep going. Marcy says about the podcast five stars. My go to podcast several times a day. Thank you David for keeping me informed. Well, thank you Marcy. And just remember that at zero cost to you, zero cost. Go on Apple Podcasts, follow our podcast and leave a five star rating. Even if you never like if you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you have Apple podcasts, even if you never listen to the podcast you watch on YouTube or whatever. It helps us so much when people follow and leave a rating. And if you could do the same thing on Spotify as well. So helpful. So helpful. Okay. A user named Skeleton Francis Joshi Deal says, part of me wants to become Maga so I don't have to face reality. You know what's so kind of funny and interesting about that comment? For a really long time I have felt with like deeply religious people that there would be something appealing of going, hey, you know what? All the difficult questions of how and why did we come to be here, if there is even a why and purpose and what happens when we die and all this stuff, it would be really soothing in some sense to just be told, this book's got the answers. You don't have to think about those difficult questions anymore. Just we've got it. Here it is. And in some sense I have long. I don't know if jealousy or envy are the right word, but it seems as though it would be a nice thing if you genuinely believed I have the answers because this book gives them to me. It's not in my nature, as many of you know. And similarly, I remember back when George W. Bush was president and he was doing so many horrible things, the Patriot act and the war in Iraq and so many different things. And there would be people out there who would go, I stand with this president. This president is a patriot. Iraq is bad and we've got to go after them and we've got to keep America safe. And I remember thinking at the time, wow, I don't believe any of that shit. But there seems to be something nice, sort of like an ignorance Is bliss kind of thing about just going, president's a patriot. I know he's got our best interests in mind. I'm standing behind him and so I get what this person says. Part of me wants to become MAGA so I don't have to face reality. That one hits. It hits home. All right. Michael Edwardson wrote on Spotify, David, you said Marjorie Taylor Greene's name without her notorious moniker radical and repugnant. It was hard to be sure if you were even referring to the same Marjorie Taylor Greene. We count on your consistency in much the same way that we always count on the ex Congress monster to be vile. Yeah, you know, lately I haven't been saying radical and repugnant. Reactionary Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. She now would be former, all of that stuff. But I have not been including that, that, that introduction. That's true. J Sack says. David, when did you get back in the country and how was the process? Yeah, so I got back from Portugal mid February and it was completely, completely uneventful. Just I got in and literally nothing happened. And there was a sense of relief and also, damn, I wonder if I'm making enough of an impact. They didn't take my global entry, but my family was very happy, very, very happy that we were able to get in without a problem. And I will be heading out again soon and we'll see what happens. By the way, I am going to be visiting my birth country of Argentina. If there are people in the audience who I should meet with while I'm in Argentina, I'm meeting with media people. While I'm there, I'm meeting with business people, professors. If you are an expat, AKA immigrant to Argentina from the United States or wherever, you're doing something interesting, it somehow intersects with my work. Please let me know info@david pakman.com Fellow Argentinians, if you are in interesting industries that interact with what I'm doing and we should get together, please email info@david pakman.com and then also I might do a meetup in Argentina and so if you're just in Buenos Aires and you might come to a meet up, if I did one, maybe at the great pizza place El Guardito or somewhere else, let me know infoavidpakman.com depending on interest, I might organize a meetup and this would be in April. What a show. What a show. We've got a great bonus show for you and so much more coming up next week.