3621 - Orban Down, JD Vance Fails and Trump's Blasphemous Social Media Weekend

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode: 3621 - "Orban Down, JD Vance Fails and Trump's Blasphemous Social Media Weekend"
Date: April 13, 2026

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Main Theme

This episode of The Majority Report centers on the political fallout from Viktor Orban’s election loss in Hungary, the U.S. administration’s misadventures with the Iran peace process and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic public behavior—especially his late-night social media tirades attacking global figures, including the Pope. The tone is irreverent, critical, and deeply skeptical of recent right-wing exploits both domestically and on the global stage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. International Crisis: Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

[00:09–03:27]

• Event: The U.S. Navy begins a blockade to counter Iran’s own blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
• Implications: The move isolates the U.S., with none of its allies joining. The panel ridicules the escalation:
  Sam: “There's no better way to end a blockade than to blockade the blockade.” ([03:18])
• Concerns: The hosts question whether this strategy can succeed or just lead to economic pain, especially for U.S. allies like South Korea and European nations, who rely on oil passing through the strait.

2. Viktor Orban’s Defeat in Hungary

[03:29–09:23]

• Context: Orban, Hungary’s “soft authoritarian” leader, loses after 16 years, with center-right Peter Magyar winning.
• Analysis: Magyar is more pro-EU and Ukraine—seen as a win for Western interests, but not a progressive victory.
• U.S. Right’s Investment: U.S. conservatives (Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Dave Rubin, JD Vance) had championed Orban as a model leader. Orban’s loss is painted as a blow to their global project.
  • Quote:
    Sam: “For the right in this country... they saw Hungary as a beachhead to spread this conservative/fascist movement. Bannon had invested incredibly in Orban.” ([07:25])
• Reaction: Trump refuses to comment, indicating embarrassment.
  • Sam: “There you go. That's it. He doesn't want to talk about it.” ([09:43])

3. JD Vance: Foreign Policy Flops and Political Fallout

[09:50–11:27]

• Vance’s Role: As Vice President, JD Vance fails at Iran peace talks; his public credibility as a negotiator is questioned.
  Emma: “Just L after L for him in his international relations foray. Weren't you guys the America first people?” ([09:50])
• Administration Snapshot: Much of Trump’s administration is portrayed as checked out—some, including Vance, are at UFC events during critical moments.

4. Trump’s Social Media Meltdowns

[18:28–23:03; 24:46–34:04]

• Late-night “Truths”: Trump posts a series of incoherent, aggressive “Truths” (his social media platform), targeting Biden, Eric Swalwell, and Pope Leo.
  • Trump on Pope Leo:
    “Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. I like his brother Louis much better because Louis is all MAGA, he gets it, and Leo doesn’t. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon...” ([21:26])
  • Panelists mock Trump’s weird blurring of political grievances and papal legitimacy.
• Memorable Visuals: Trump shares an image depicting himself as a resurrected Christ, which offends even his Christian base.
  Sam: “Apparently pretending that you’re Jesus literally, apparently has offended some of his Christian supporters.” ([33:12])
• Notable Parody:
  Sam (on Trump’s post): “He realize this is my second term. Right. Look, I’m gone. So it's just about how much graft and corruption can. I just think Iran should just do all Trump coins.” ([48:09])

5. Iran Negotiations: Missed Opportunities & Crypto Proposals

[26:09–44:03]

• Breakdown: Despite the U.S.’s hardline stance, Iran holds firm on its nuclear ambitions, and negotiations flounder, attributed to a mix of mismanagement and bad faith from the U.S. side, especially by Kushner and Witkoff.
• Trump’s Solutions: Outlandish ideas such as paying oil tolls via “Trump coin” are floated and ridiculed.
• Panel’s Take: The talks are symbolic of the administration’s ineptitude and corruption.

6. JD Vance’s Sinking Poll Numbers

[38:57–41:06]

• Polling Data:
  Harry Empton: “JD Vance started off his vice presidency in plus territory and now he is in negative territory... JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency.” ([40:08–41:06])
• Reason: The administration’s obsessive focus on foreign policy at the expense of domestic issues, compounded by Vance’s failed ventures abroad.

7. Domestic Consequences: Gas Prices & Public Perception

[44:11–53:31]

• Economic Impact: Trump’s policies and the Hormuz blockade drive up global gas prices; Americans—and especially Republicans—are increasingly frustrated.
• Republican Spin:
  Sen. John Barrasso: “Republicans are the party of energy dominance. Democrats like high gas prices because of their radical climate agenda.” ([51:35])
• Panel’s Sarcasm: The hosts mock the illogical argument that high gas prices are both a Democratic and Republican achievement.
  • Sam: “Just remember the Trump-caused high gasoline prices are being enjoyed by Democrats, even though Trump caused them.” ([53:04])

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Sam on U.S. Blockade: “There’s no better way to end a blockade than to blockade the blockade.” ([03:18])
• Panel on Orban’s Loss:
  “This is a big loss for Vance, Dave Rubin, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, the right, the sweeping fascist conservative movement...” ([08:28])
• Emma on JD Vance:
  “Just L after L for him in his international relations foray.” ([09:50])
• Trump on Pope Leo:
  “Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” ([21:26])
• Analysis of Trump’s Religious Post:
  Sam: “Apparently pretending that you’re Jesus literally, apparently has offended some of his Christian supporters.” ([33:12])
• JD Vance Poll Numbers:
  Harry Empton: “JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency.” ([41:06])
• GOP Gas Price Spin:
  Sen. John Barrasso: “Democrats like high gas prices because of their radical climate agenda.” ([51:35])
• Panel Satire:
  Sam: “Just remember the Trump-caused high gasoline prices are being enjoyed by Democrats, even though Trump caused them.” ([53:04])

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:09–03:27: Show opens; headlines (Iran blockade, Orban loss, JD Vance failures)
• 03:29–09:23: Orban’s defeat and U.S. right-wing repercussions
• 09:50–11:27: JD Vance failures and American isolation
• 18:28–34:04: Trump’s late-night rants and religious imagery
• 26:09–44:03: Iran negotiation breakdown and economic implications
• 38:57–41:06: Polling: JD Vance and Trump’s unpopularity
• 44:11–53:31: Gas prices, Barrasso’s talking points, and public mood

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Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Irreverent, sarcastic, critical of both the Trump administration's blunders and the contemporary right’s international aspirations.
• Central Critique: The current administration’s foreign adventures are painted as catastrophic both on the world stage and for domestic politics, leaving the country’s leadership historically unpopular and increasingly isolated, while Trump’s personal behavior grows more outlandish and disconnected.
• Memorable Visual: The mockery surrounding Trump’s shared “resurrection” image—a literal and symbolic peak in the blending of religious iconography and personal cultism in Trump-world.

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Bottom Line:
This episode paints a picture of escalating right-wing failure—at home and abroad—with the Majority Report crew providing a mix of biting sarcasm and substantive critique. Trump’s erratic actions are a symbol of a broader strategic and political meltdown, with even his closest worshippers starting to bristle at the absurdity.

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Transcript

[A]

It is Monday, April 13, 2026. My name is Sam Seder. This is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, the United States Navy starts a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to supersede the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has initiated. None of our allies seem like they are going to be joining us. Meanwhile, JD Vance fails at peace talks as other key administration officials check out the ufc. Viktor Orban, authoritarian leader of Hungary for almost two decades, concedes election loss to center right Peter Magyar tears from Rob Schneider.

[B]

I mean what a successful foray. Vance over the past week into international politics.

[A]

And J.D. vance, yeah, notching another L. Judge toss's Trump defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal. Eric Swalwell accused of rape and multiple accusations of sexual harassment. Drops from the California governor's race now may face an expulsion vote in the House. Donald Trump, a late night truth binge attacks Pope Leo as soft on crime. 100 days in Mamdani launches fast if not yet free buses and the first of city owned groceries in Alaska. Mary Patola raises $9 million in the first quarter of her Senate bid, the highest fundraising total ever in Alaska. This as even supporters are thinking it may be time for Janet Mills to exit in Maine. Lastly, Brad Lander primary Dan Goldman calls for an end of US Funds for all Israel weap buys all this and more on today's Majority Report. Welcome ladies and gentlemen.

[B]

It is fun day Monday and Sam

[A]

is back and it's sort of Newsday Tues News day.

[B]

It's news day Monday.

[A]

Things are so messed up.

[B]

I know, I know. But we had to catch you up. There's just so much.

[A]

There's so much. But on some way we're sort of like back to where we, where we were when I left.

[B]

Right.

[A]

There's no better way to end a blockade than to blockade the blockade.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Therefore your blockade's not working because I've already blocked you people from being blocked by you.

[C]

How many Ds can we fit in this chest?

[A]

It is crazy, but we will get to that in a moment. In the Viktor Orban has been prime minister or president of, of Hungary for 18 years now. I think it's 18. And he has been what is, sorry, 16 years. He has been what is known as a soft authoritarian ruler. Just sort of like stacking the deck once in power to maintain that power in many respects. Donald Trump followed His roadmap in some ways, Donald Trump superseded it. Orban conceded his election, lost. And we should be clear that, you know, the winner of this election. This is not like you would not call this a progressive victory.

[B]

It's certainly a liberal victory though, if you're looking at it from the stance of the European Union and also, you know, Western interests in the war in Ukraine, because he's much cozier with those this new leader and is going to unfreeze this multi tens of billions of dollar loan that Orban had blocked that was supposed to be headed to Ukraine.

[A]

Yes, much more pro Europe. The winner of the election is Peter Magyar. Apparently Magya basically means very Hungarian or something like literally it would be like if Dan America won the Dan American won the presidency.

[B]

Can't wait to elect Bald Eagle 1776.

[A]

He is more understand there are three parties that are going to have seats in the Hungarian parliament. One is Fides, which is the. The party that, I'm sorry Tisa is the party that Magar is a part of. One is Fides and one is my homeland. My homeland is. Are pretty fascy and Fides is.

[B]

Or bonds party.

[A]

Exactly. And Orban had been moving away from NATO to the extent that he could as a member of NATO. The Peter Magyar gave a something like a two and a half, three hour speech. He called for the resignation of Orban's puppets. He made a commitment to protect minorities in the country. He made a commitment to guide Hungary back within the sort of Western alliance. He also made a commitment to rebuild the Vice Grad cooperation. That's the Czechoslovakian republic, excuse me, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. And that had sort of fallen apart under Orban. He called for accountability for the massive corruption that has gone on in the country. He said I'm going to be your prime minister to, you know, whether you're in Fides or whether you're older or younger or. And he said that Orban called him and said that they're going to unite the country. So but this has special resonance because of the incredible investment the right in this country made in Hungary. I think for the right in this country. They saw Hungary as a beachhead to spread this, you know, conservative slash fascist movement. Bannon had invested incredibly in Orban. I mean, remember when Tucker Carlson went over there and talked about how wonderful Hungary was. Dave Rubin recently came back from a trip from Hungary talking about how wonderful Orban was, ostensibly trying to help him

[B]

get reelected as a gay man, when Orban is notoriously anti lgbtq.

[A]

There's something you got to overlook.

[B]

I understood. Right. It's a big ten. It's a big ten that you're not in, Dave.

[A]

But it's Chechia, not the Czech Republic. Apologies, Rob Schneider. I mean, they brought out the heavy hitters for Orban. And J.D. vance went over there to campaign with a guy in the midst of a war that we're in. And again, Orban loss. This is a big loss for Vance. Dave Rubin, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, the right, the sweeping fascist conservative movement across ultra nationalist movements across the country. And I should say in Europe.

[B]

Yeah. Because they've tied themselves to. They are all like, we're the friends of Trump. And one of the biggest friends of Trump just got taken down in an election. Election.

[A]

And you know, it's a big loss for them because of the way that Donald Trump took it. Here is a clip of Donald Trump responding to the news that Orban had lost.

[D]

Serious examination.

[A]

Thank you very much.

[D]

All right.

[B]

And Michael Hanlon.

[A]

There you go. That's it. He doesn't want to talk about it.

[B]

No, no. It's a little embarrassing. It's a little embarrassing. I do think it's more embarrassing for JD Vance there because he actually showed up same with these Iran peace talks, just L after L for him in his international relations foray. Weren't you guys the America first people just pointing that out?

[A]

But he wanted to, I think Vance now, meanwhile. Oh, do we have the picture of where Everybody was when J.D. vance was basically failing in his peace talks with Iran? And he's a guy who is heavily motivated to end this war because, you know, he supposedly been leaking that he's been against it. Here he is. Here are. Here is the Trump brain trust while Secretary of State.

[B]

Secretary of State is looking sober.

[A]

Is that Joe Rogan? No, that's Dana. Oh, Jesus. Okay.

[B]

But there was a, there was a Rogan interaction that we'll play later in the show that was fascinating of Trump trying to bully Rogan into being nicer to him.

[A]

I feel like Marco Rubio has aged like 40 years in the past two years. He does not look good in that picture. No.

[B]

Well, I mean, but it is interesting

[A]

of State, incidentally, Trump likes Rubio because

[B]

Rubio delivered him Maduro. And that's like what also has sent this kind of cascading horror in Iran going. And that's mostly been Hegseth's beat. So Rubio, I feel like, is still close to the president. But we could see maybe Hegseth is the first man he tries to fire.

[A]

I'm not going to try. I'm not going to send you. I'm going to send jd and of course Jared and Witkoff will be there. I mean the. We'll get into the Iran stuff in a moment. First, couple words from our sponsors. As you know, I'm a busy man.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I have a lot of fresh back from vacation.

[B]

As you know. I'm, I'm very important.

[A]

A very busy man.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

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[B]

That's great.

[A]

Yes. Starting to go to the gym and starting to lift. It's crazy. But the problem is I come back from work, I'm exhausted. I don't want to have to cook something and frankly, I'm not that great of a cook. But I want something healthy. I don't want to just do take in all the time. And for me, the solution has been Factor. Factor deals with all my, like, you know, I don't need prep time. I got a wide choice of different foods that will satiate a somewhat finicky now teenage son. I want to thank Factor for supporting the majority report and for making it easy for me to make really good, delicious, healthy meals for my kid in about 4 minutes. Go to factor meals.com Majority 50 off. Majority 50 off. All no spaces and use code Majority50OFF to get 50% off and free daily greens per box. Prior to vacation, Saul and I had solid, like I say is into the, is into like steak now. He loves steak, red blood Americans and uh, and Mac and cheese. So there was like a beef shredded Mac and cheese, like a gouda Mac and cheese, which is sort of like a sophisticated Mac and cheese for a kid. Loved it, Loved it. We had a, like a taco, like a taco bowl without the bowl. It was like a taco salad. Sort of a shredded chicken thing was delicious. We had a creamy Dijon pork tenderloin thing like on cauliflower mash instead of potatoes. He's getting in his protein. That's all he cares about. Protein, protein, protein. But I want him to eat vegetables too. Every meal is crafted with functional ingredients. Lean proteins, colorful vegetables, whole foods and healthy fats. It is fresh, it is not frozen. There's over 100 rotating weekly meals, including globally inspired flavors like Mediterranean and Asian. There's always something new to look forward to takes two minutes. It's why I understand you know people have microwave ovens now head to Factor Meals.com Majority 50 off Majority 50 off and use code MAJORITY50OFF to get 50% off and free daily greens per box. This is with a new subscription only while supplies last until 9-27-2026. See website for more details. We'll put the that information in the podcast and YouTube descriptions. Also I have been, I have been really bonding with my cat lately. I don't. Well, I do know what it is. I figured out basically all my parents. It's all bribery. Yeah, it's all bribery. And the key element for my bribery has been Smalls. My cat and I just. It's weird. We get along big time now. Smalls fresh cat food is protein packed recipes. He also is into lifting now. So they are made with preservative free 100% human grade ingredients that you'd find in your fridge. It is delivered right to your door. Smalls. And this is the thing I've also noticed Smalls. I'm not saying that I spend a lot of time doing this, but his poop doesn't smell in the same way that it did before. It's less noxious and I think it's because it Smalls because he's eating like

[B]

healthy, more healthier food. Yeah.

[A]

You know my last cat had diabetes because I fed him a lot of like dry food with like preservatives and stuff like that. Smalls is fresh. It is gently cooked food. It is made without preservatives. A balanced diet leads to less shedding, fewer hairballs and his coat is like shinier. There are more of the nutrients as small as food are digestible so less junk comes out the other end. And that's why I think the poop stink less. But he loves it and he loves the broth. Sometimes I will put the broth on my fingers and he'll lick the fingers.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

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[C]

I'm not sure.

[A]

Let me check. But Trump went on some type of, like, insane rant. I. I don't know what I would call it. It's not even a rant. It's series of rants on a diary entry on truth media, though, like, until like 4 or 5 in the morning, putting up stuff about. Can't figure it out. Whatever it was in the middle of the night, you can see that. So let's go to. I mean, this is.

[C]

It was Saturday night, Sunday morning.

[A]

Okay, so this is about going in after the UFC stuff. He must have been jacked. Yeah, put. Get to that thread that you had. Yes. And just to give you a sense, before we start talking about what he said about the blockade, this is what's going on. This shadows him.

[B]

And

[A]

this was. He go. You see, in this, I go slow. Like, he does one about. About a Swalwell, but he does one about Biden. And then he goes on, he keeps doing the Biden thing over and over again. And then at like, I don't know, like midnight, he says the U.S. is going to blockade ships on April 13 at 10am that has already begun. And then look at it. He just keeps going. Trump's. Putin is afraid of us. He goes on to like, talk about people who've been in office for so long, like Biden.

[C]

And I think that's what he's trying to say. He looks good as hell.

[A]

Oh, I. Yeah, I can't quite tell. And then he's got like a Trump tower on the moon. This is all in the middle of the night. Then a Swalwell, another one, another Swalwell. And then here he is talking about. Show more here on this. Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. I don't know what that means. I love that he talks about fear of the Trump administration, but doesn't mention the fear that the Catholic Church and all the other Christian organizations had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else for holding church services, even when going outside and being 10 and even 20ft apart. TRUMP was president during that also. What.

[B]

What mass arrest is he talking about? I just love the idea of Pope Leo being weak on crime.

[A]

Wait, wait, wait. Keep, keep. I wouldn't read this because it's completely bat crap insane.

[B]

I mean, in Vatican City, you know, they're just looting and rioting everywhere.

[A]

I like his brother Louis much better than I like him because Louis is all maga. He gets it, and Leo doesn't. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending massive amounts of drugs into the United States and even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers and killers into our country. Wait, so we have no more drugs in the United States? We've been reading about drug shortages. I don't want a Pope who criticizes the president, United States, because I'm doing exactly what I was elected in a landslide to do. Setting record low numbers in crime and creating the greatest stock market in history. Leo should be thankful because as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn't on any list to be Pope and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.

[B]

Who's they?

[A]

All the other Catholics. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo's weak on crime, weak on nuclear weapons. Does not sit well with me. Nor does the fact that he meets with Obama sympathizers like David Axelrod, a loser from the left who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to. To be arrested. Clerics. Leo should get his act together as pope, use common sense, catering to the radical left, and focus on being a great pope, not a politician. It's hurting him very badly. And more importantly, it's hurting the Catholic Church.

[B]

Wait, wait. So he. Should he be a great Pope and not a politician by, I guess, agreeing to everything that Trump says in the realm of politics? It's quite bizarre.

[A]

The argument is only put in as Pope because he would deal with me, presumably the stuff that he doesn't like me doing. So it's sort of a catch 22 that the Pope is. Because he'll.

[B]

Yeah, so he was. I'm shocked that a religious leader is weak on nuclear weapons, weak on or against his invasion of Venezuela, against his war in Iran.

[A]

What about kill thy neighbor as I would with himself or something?

[B]

Yeah, it's a little weird.

[C]

Sit on the face of your enemies with your other cheek or something.

[B]

And I also do enjoy. I wasn't expecting David Axelrod to appear in this Truth, but I do think that, you know, part of Maybe why Pope Leo is weak on crime is because he's from Chicago, just like David Axelrod. We know what Chicago style politics means here within the Republican Party.

[A]

Now, he wrote this after, I guess the 60 minutes segment on like some Cardinals were talking about how they're a little concerned with Trump because this was Sunday night at 9:03pm but pop up. Do we have the image that Trump was putting out? I guess you got to go earlier. So that's further back. Here's Trump promoting a golfer. Keep scrolling down. That's an ad. This is the after the UFC thing.

[C]

Him telling a UFC fighter that he's an attractive man as he rubs his thighs.

[A]

Oh, let's see this.

[B]

He's getting so horny and gay at the end.

[A]

Wait,

[C]

70.

[A]

You're an attractive man.

[B]

He said he could be a model, not a fighter.

[A]

Let me still hold your hand. Please let me still hold your hand. I'm going to still hold your hand. I'm gonna hold your hand.

[B]

Ooh, look at tricep.

[A]

Oh, look at. Oh, you got.

[B]

Oh, my God. Touch his thigh.

[A]

Can I touch your thigh? Can I touch your thigh? You're very, very hot. You're very, very hot. I'm gonna hold your hand again.

[B]

That's what men know.

[A]

Keep scrolling down.

[B]

He, Rory McElroy won the Masters.

[A]

And there he is. Bruce Springsteen is bad. Some picture of Bruce Springsteen. And this is where he starts getting into Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz and they knowing failed to do so. It's caused anxiety, dislocation and pain to the many people and countries throughout the world.

[B]

It's caused anxiety.

[A]

They say they put mines in the water even though all of their navy and most of their mine droppers have been completely blown up.

[B]

You're giving me so much anxiety by using your drones to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

[A]

They have done so. But what ship owner want to take the chance? There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Ron and what's left of their leaders in quotes. But we are beyond all that. As they promised, they better begin with the process of getting this international waterway open and fast. Every law and book is being violated. I have been fully debriefed By Vice President J.D. vance, Special Envoy Steve Witchkoff and Jared Kushner on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very competent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munya here and the Prime Minister Shabazzarif of Pakistan. I don't think he wrote this one.

[C]

Well, the next line is for him.

[A]

They are extraordinary, very extraordinary men and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives. What would have been a horrendous war with India. I always appreciate hearing that. The amount of humanity spoken of is incomprehensible. I don't know what that means. The meeting with Iran began early in the morning. Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions. In many ways, the points we agreed to are better than us continuing our military operations to continue. This is all. My three representatives became, not surprisingly, very respectful and friendly of Iran's representatives. Magdar Bal Gal. I think he actually, that guy. I think there's a tweet in there that said, like, they kept moving the goal posts.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran has continually said they have gotten into agreements, they have offered agreements. I'm talking over the course of the past 25 years that they. They had a. The late Ayatollah Khamenei was. Had issued a decree that there was not going to be any nuclear weapons, but they want the ability to enrich uranium and have control over their own capacity, have nuclear reactors for civilian purposes. And we don't want them to do that because we don't want them to be able to control their own energy future. That. Now, I think this is a different guy who is part of the.

[C]

He is mentioned in Trump's tweet.

[A]

Oh, he was. Okay. He is one of the negotiators in intensive talks at the Highest level in 47 years. Iran engaged the US with good faith. The end of the war. But just when, just inches away from Islamabad, Memorandum of understanding, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts and blockade. Zero lessons learned. Goodwill begets goodwill. Enmity begets enmity. Look, we know that the Prime Minister of Oman had said that Iran had offered to give up all of their. Their enriched uranium. They had offered to enrich no further or minimal amounts of uranium. And Witkoff and Jared Kushner apparently, supposedly didn't understand what the offer was. It's also possible that Witkoff and Kushner are working their own agenda, which is tied into the enormous amount of money that both of them are getting from other players in the Middle east. And. And obviously support from Israel. So they're not necessarily looking to forge a peace deal. Now, the other thing is, is that Iran at one point was talking about a toll on ships coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, a $1 per barrel toll, which is worth hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. I mean, over the course of, who knows how long? I mean, chicken. The amount of money that Obama unfroze during as part of the JPCA was is a fraction of what they can make in the course of a year on tolling $1 a barrel. But they were going to take crypto and there were reports that Trump was trying to negotiate that they would take Trump box or whatever it is from the Trump coin. Trump coin, but tied to like a. The. The usdc. Is that what they call it? Or something like that. But let's just go follow more of Trump's tweets. Yes. This came in the middle of the

[B]

night and apparently he just deleted this because it caused such a stir.

[A]

It caused a lot of problems where. And I don't know why, because Trump

[B]

is

[A]

put himself in the position of Jesus. We got to look at this carefully. Can we zoom in a little bit?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

I don't know who the dude is on the bed.

[B]

I did see some jokes that he's not that dissimilar looking from Jeffrey Epstein, which is hilarious.

[A]

I will resurrect Jeffrey Epstein putting the erected resident. Also, you should know that this Jesus looks a lot like the Mormon Jesus is my understanding,

[C]

like whiter than the,

[A]

the, the, the red robe, the white smock, the. He's chunkier than a lot of Jesuses. And then look at all the people around him. It's very American. And then can you look up above his head?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who is. What the f. Is that?

[C]

Whoa.

[A]

What is that? A demon?

[B]

It does look like a demon.

[A]

It looks like a demon and then also looks like some type of like ninjas.

[B]

Well, they're supposed to be soldiers for sure.

[C]

Flanking the demon.

[B]

But I am curious about the central soldier who also appears to be wearing some sort of these military fatigues, but has a helmet on.

[A]

What's that? Is it a helmet?

[C]

The Statue of Liberty head crown thing maybe.

[B]

But it's like a five pointed helmet

[A]

or a three pointed helmet and he's got wings on. It's from a different planet.

[B]

This is. These are the aliens.

[A]

Well, anyway, this apparently, apparently pretending that you're Jesus literally, apparently has offended some of his Christian supporters.

[C]

It's a commandment.

[A]

Going after the Pope. I don't know if that's offended any of his Catholic supporters.

[C]

Including J.D. vance.

[A]

Including J.D. well, I get the feeling J.D. vance is, you know, part of a different Catholic church. Frank.

[C]

Mel Gibson wing.

[A]

Very, very different wing. Here is more of Trump tweeting the world is a safer place because of President Trump. Don't you know, I mean, it's just

[C]

such a psychotic scroll going through.

[A]

He's really losing it here now. I've lost my. See, I've lost my sound sheet.

[B]

Okay, well,

[C]

what is that in Clockwork Orange? Ultra violence. Is that what it is? Where they, like, glue his eyes open and force him to watch, like, just to turn him into a monster. That's what's strolling through, scrolling through true social.

[A]

It's insane.

[C]

Ultra violence.

[A]

So, all right, so J.D. vance is sent to Iran to. Excuse me. To Pakistan to try and negotiate some type of way out of this.

[B]

Yeah, because Wyckoff and Kushner have lost all credibility as negotiators. Because what we've seen since Trump has launched this war with Iran is him using the negotiation process as a way to lull the Iranians into a false sense of security before he bombs them. And so Wyckoff and Kushner have no credibility for the Iranians as negotiators.

[A]

Let me.

[B]

It's achieved nothing except trying to get them on their heels.

[A]

Let me, let me make a prediction. We are going to see within the next 24 hours, maybe 36, some leak from somewhere that suggests that Vance had almost closed the deal and Witkoff or Kushner ended up screwing it up. I mean, Vance wants to go. First of all, why is the Secretary of State not going? Why is the Vice President going? Well, I, I suspect it's because Vance sees his political future completely tied to the end of this conflict.

[B]

Well, it's interesting you say that because we remarked on this last week with that very extensively reported Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman New York Times piece. And there are two people who are consistently framed as being more skeptical of this war. And you want to guess who they are. And there's direct quotes, it's very well sourced, J.D.

[A]

vance.

[B]

And then the other one is Marco Rubio. Both of them who want. Rubio is distancing himself from it. He wants to be more in the Western hemisphere area. And it appears that that's actually true, that Hegseth was the one most enthusiastic about this war with Iran. But they want to set themselves up for a presidential run in 2028. So. But, but in the spirit of Joe Biden, as you know, we have another president in a row who's getting dog walked by Benjamin Netanyahu, all floating the least popular parts of your presidency onto the vice president, like sending Kamala Harris down to the border. And now JD Vance is doing Trump's Scott work for him. So what is old is new again.

[A]

And here is J.D. vance announcing his failure at the end of the talks.

[E]

We've had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That's the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on. And we've made that as clear as we possibly could. And they have chosen not to accept

[B]

our terms, which is funny, because apparently the terms you were negotiating on, all 10 of them, were Iran's, based on what Trump initially said. So the whole framework for your negotiations were. It was not in your favor. So now you're pretending like it was your terms that. That were the basis of negotiations. It's, it's hilarious. They're just, they're wishing for a time machine. They wish they could go back and do this differently. But it's. There's no putting this genie back in the bottle. Iran has strengthened itself in the global, on the global stage in, in just less than two months with just using the leverage that they kind of were a lot more conservative and less willing to use because they understood what it would mean militarily, their geographic leverage with the Strait. And additionally, they have the ability, via the Caspian Sea, where there is no NATO presence, to trade in an unfettered manner, essentially, with Russia. So that's in part why they're able to resupply and have armaments. And, and the armaments continue to be more sophisticated than the US Anticipates because they're, they have a trade route that circumvents Western channels. This was all known by everybody prior to this. But Trump was sold on this war by Netanyahu. Hegseth and his own arrogance.

[A]

Here is just a taste of what JD Vance is looking at. This is Harry Empton. Which number is this? I'm sorry, it's number two. Trump administration and J.D. vance not looking so good in the polling right now. Take a look here.

[F]

And look at this. Trump Admin is focusing too much on foreign matters. 58%. 58% of Americans believe that the Trump administration is too focused on things abroad. What they believe also is there's been too little focus on domestic matters. Look at this. 60% of Americans believe there's been too little focus on domestic matters. Now, of course, the Iran war is part of this. Right. But this is just part of a larger picture. The belief that the presidency and the administration of Donald Trump in his second term, they have taken their eye off the ball. They are looking abroad when Americans want them looking at home. And of course, JD Vance going and campaigning for the prime minister of another country that is pretty far away from here is just part of a larger picture that the American people dislike.

[A]

So, vice president, how's he doing? How popular? Yeah, he.

[F]

J.D. vance is not doing too hot to trot at this point. Look at this. Okay. J.D. vance is. Net popularity should actually be a plus. There we go, plus three points. Then we go to minus 18 points. At this point, that is a 21 point swing in the wrong direction. J.D. vance started off his vice presidency in plus territory and now he is in negative territory. Down he goes. JD Vance getting dragged down along with the President, United States.

[A]

Where does he run? Maybe along with, maybe because of that, that we don't, we don't know that. But, but where does he rank among other vice presidents?

[F]

Yeah, you look at other vice presidents. Look at this. At this point in their vice presidency, historically the worst, worst at this point in a vice presidency, Kamala Harris was at minus 13. Mike Pence was at minus 7. Joe Biden was at plus 4. Dick Cheney was at plus 37. This might be part of a longer trend of vice presidents becoming unpopular, but we can say JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency.

[A]

Yeah, that is notable. It may just be a thing where Americans over time, we just hate everything.

[F]

Yeah, that's increasingly.

[A]

But I wonder why.

[B]

It's because everything's really bad.

[C]

Trump's like, we need another 9, 11.

[B]

I mean, sometimes John Berman has like these live moments, but it's like perhaps read the writing on the wall. Our political system is failing. That's why every time there's a new person in power, they hit historic levels of unpopularity over and over again.

[A]

I'd be curious to look at question. It's tough because Vance is a. You can't do apples to apples because we've never had a situation where, you know, the second term is misses one term for president and whatnot. But minus 18 is not where you want to be, you know, a year out from when you would theoretically declare that you're going to run for president. Right. I mean, we are around the time where people are going to start jumping into or start announcing that maybe soft announcements, quiet announcements that I'm going to be looking for the presidency. Now, we all know he's going to be, but that's not good for him. Meanwhile, let's just do this. This last note a week ago, maybe a little bit less five days ago. And I think this is what Trump, Trump basically thought that he was going to get. Jonathan Karl from abc. Is he still at abc? Tweeted this morning, I asked President Trump if he's okay with the Iranians charging a toll for ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz. He told me there may be a joint US Iran venture to charge tolls. We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It's a way of securing it, also securing it from a lots of other people. It's a beautiful thing. Now, first of all, like, who else, who else are we securing it from? We're securing it from lots of other

[B]

people saying basically the, the Iran is going to charge a toll. They're going to charge a toll, which puts the US In a worse situation at like base level, but maybe we will get a cut out of it. That is what he's hoping for. And I don't even think Iran's going to agree to those terms. Why would they?

[A]

Well, that, that's the thing is that I think he went into these negotiations thinking like, okay, we're going to need a vague on this. You're only going to take Trump bucks. How about that? Bitcoin? No Bitcoin, just Trump crypto.

[B]

It's amazing. His blockade is just intercepting ships. Right? That, that's the plan is to intercept the ships after they've already paid the toll to Iran.

[A]

The.

[B]

Which means that he wants to take some. And then probably in his mind he's like, let's just take the oil, double block it. Yeah.

[A]

The idea is that no one, no one's going to cooperate with Iran, but the whole point is to get the Strait of Hormuz open.

[B]

Right. This is going to destroy gas price, gas and oil prices, which it seems like he doesn't really care that much about at this point.

[A]

But this is so, it's so bizarre of a strategy because the idea is that like, like, does he think that we can outlast Iran in terms of shutting down the Strait of Hormuz?

[B]

He doesn't seem to. Maybe because the United States can, if, because we have more domestic global supply. But what who is really hurting right now is like South Korea, our traditional allies. South Korea is in really bad shape right now. They can't rely on like China or something because they're allied with the United States. And Asia is overall way more dependent on oil that comes through the strait. But Trump's like, I don't care about the South Koreans. I'm going to dismantle your missile interceptors for my war and I'm going to make sure that the country is in like, dire straits from their energy systems.

[C]

North Korea they say nice things about.

[B]

And Europe screw to Europe as well. And, and Ukraine, I mean, like, because Russia is getting more and more emboldened as well. And it's going to, just by nature, of necessity, European countries are going to start to talk to both Iran and

[A]

the Russians in the heels, on the heels, I should say, of, of Trump basically saying, like, you know, maybe we'll get into a joint venture about this and we'll see. Here he is on with Maria Bartolomo. And what time was this at was that Sunday morning? Sunday morning.

[B]

And

[A]

oh, I should say also on the heels of that poll that show some huge percentage of Americans, majority of American thinks he's spending too much time in on foreign things, not domestic things. There's probably also a segment of the population just wish he wouldn't spend time on anything. Here is Trump calling and going like they'll get over it.

[D]

They all said louder.

[B]

So do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

[D]

I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be, it could be, or the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same. I think this won't be that much longer.

[B]

Look at her face.

[D]

They're wiped out. And you don't get a fair shake. You don't get, you know, we need, we need a free and fair press in this country. And I don't even know why people would do that. Why would they say how wonderful they're doing militarily. They're doing so well. They totally, the country is wiped out. We lost one airplane and we, I

[A]

just want to get, you go back, just go back a little bit because I just want to make this clear as, as he's talking about. They're getting wiped out. Fox News business is putting up images of how much gas has gone up. All right. Turn up the clips because apparently they're, they're not, for whatever reason, I got

[C]

it fixed halfway through.

[A]

Okay. Okay.

[D]

And you don't get the, you don't get a fair shake. You don't get, you know, we need, we need a free and fair press in this country. And I don't even know why People would do that. Why would they say how wonderful they're doing militarily? They're doing so well. They totally. The country is wiped out. We lost one airplane and we captured the two.

[B]

No, they lost in, in that mission, we lost more military aircrafts than we had since the Vietnam War. That. He's just straight up lying about that. That's not true. And Maria Bartiromo's jaw almost drops when he says that the oil prices could be lower or could be higher for the midterms.

[A]

It doesn't matter. It'll be fine. Don't worry. The big. I mean, I really do feel like right now Trump is realizes, like it doesn't matter. He's just looking for cash deals. Yeah, that is basically it. He realize this is my second term. Right. Look, I'm gone. So it's just about how much graft and corruption can. I just think Iran should just do all Trump coins.

[B]

Iran also still has another card to play that, that is not getting much attention because the Strait of Hormuz is not the only strait that can be closed. There's the Iran is ally allied with the Houthis in Yemen. And in Yemen there's another trade route. I forget exactly. I wrote it down.

[A]

It's really the Red Sea.

[B]

Yeah, in the Red Sea. But the strai is called the Babel Mandeb. If I wrote I can't read my own handwriting ever straight. I think that's what it is. They, they can, they can choke off oil from there as well. And Iran has still not played that card at this point. So Trump wants to intercept oil after they already pay a toll to Iran. Go for it, buddy. We can cause more pain. And it's eventually like it's going to impact all of these, like, Republicans in their races. And Trump just doesn't seem to care.

[A]

Yes. And it's also, I mean, to the extent that even without this whole Iran excursion, our economy was sort of like teetering, it really does feel like we could be moving into a sort of stagflation mode. This has been in the offing for some time. It's unclear, you know, what it is exactly that is keeping things afloat. We just seem to. There just seems to be this sort of like, volatility in the markets where it's just sort of, Trump throws some chum into the water and it raises the markets. I mean, who knows who's making huge bucks off of this.

[B]

But the remark, the markets have also started just not listening to what he says.

[A]

It's all taco Yeah.

[B]

I mean, and his market manipulation too. They've gotten used to when he makes these announcements and when he does it. And so, yeah, this was supposedly some sort of ceasefire framework, but we're literally back to where we were just prior to that announcement. So they're not moving on this. Do you want to play this really quickly? Because this just fits in pretty nicely with what we're talking about. I found this to be amazing. This is Senator John Barrasso, who is one of the top senators in leadership in the Republican Party. Obviously he's from a very populous state, Wyoming. So Barrasso. And John Thune is from North Dakota. God, the Senate is such an undemocratic institution. Okay, so Barrasso was asked about high gas prices and I found this to be an amazing explanation as to why. It's the Democrats who love the high gas prices, people. Triple A has these as gas prices right now. We'll put it up on the board for everyone to see. At $4.13, you said still below 4 in Wyoming, but it's on people's minds.

[G]

Well, absolutely. Dane, I was in your hometown of Newcastle, Wyoming. People still love you there. No surprise. They also love the President, support the President, what he's doing and specifically with Iran. And yeah, gas prices are on their minds, as they always are for our producers, our farmers and ranchers and people that drive long distances in Wyoming. They also understand that what the President is doing in an effort to provide stability in that part of the world will have good long term impacts in terms of energy prices. They also understand that Republicans are the party of energy dominance. Democrats like high gas prices because of their radical climate agenda. So people understand what the President's doing, agree with him, and know that we need peace and stability, need to protect America long term from the threat of Iran, which has been there and they've been at war with us for 47 years.

[B]

Wait, so. But he says the people like it. But you just said it was the Democrats that like high gas prices. So why is Donald Trump delivering the radical climate agenda to the Democrats? So both Democrats. So the explanation here is that. That everyone likes high gas prices. Everyone. The Democrats like it because it serves their radical climate agenda and the Republicans like it because they know that it's short term pain for long term gain, which means defeating Iran and energy dominance. So really, when we're all paying more at the pump, it's the most bipartisan thing we could be doing in supporting America.

[C]

It's the most patriotic thing.

[B]

Exactly. It's a two broke at the pump. It's a twofer.

[A]

I can't make head nor tail of what he was saying other than just remember the Trump caused high gasoline prices are being enjoyed by Democrats.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Even though Trump caused them.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. He is a rhino. Trump is a fake Republican.

[A]

He's working for the Democrats. He's trying to please a radical climate agenda.

[B]

Agenda. We always knew that when he was from New York. And like with all these liberal he

[A]

tries to shut down the windmills but it's really he's. He's trying to push hydro. That's what it is.

[B]

You're right. That's a good point.

[A]

Folks. That's it for us. We're going to head into the fun half. You can join us there by becoming a [e-mail] you can become a member and then you can write a really annoyingly long name that ends up breaking our IM thing.

[B]

How dare people do that?

[A]

Yes, I am a software engineer, large tech company with 16. You put that into the.

[B]

We need to put a limit on

[A]

the length of a username. I completely broke the our IMs. But you can do that by becoming a member [e-mail] when you do, you not only get the free show free of commercials, but you also get to IMs in the fun half. And we have a special bonus for members right now. Check your email from a week ago or what was it Thursday? Yes, Thursday. Check your spam. It will come from the Majority Report. If you are a member of the program, you got a link to a free book. Where we live is our home. The Molly Crabapple book we interviewed her two weeks ago about is available to you for free. We will even cover the shipping. If you live in the United States. If you live in Canada or Europe, you can get the book for free. But you got to cover the shipping. So check for that email. We'll send out another email blast to members in a day or two, but for the time being, check your email, see if it's in spam. Click on not spam. It would have come Thursday morning at 9am Eastern. So check it now. Get your free book. Also just coffee, co op, fair trade coffee, hot chocolate, coupon code majority get 10 off. It's a co op and it's coffee and it's great. Matt, Where's Matt?

[C]

I got, I got on Friday or it was actually two days ago. I guess Saturday. The Jacobin show had Tierra Gaddy Mora on to talk about girl boss feminism and why socialist feminism. Feminism is a stronger alternative. And then they had Andrew Cockburn to talk about his book, Washington is Burning.

[B]

Very cool. All right,

[D]

quick break.

[A]

Head into the fun half. Three months from now, six months from now, nine months from now, and I don't think it's going to be the same as it looks like in six months from now. And I don't know if it's necessarily going to be better six months from now than it is three months from now, but I think around 18 months out, we're gonna look back and go like, wow. What? What is that going on? It's nuts. Wait a second. Hold on. Hold on for a second. Emma. Welcome to the program. What is up, everyone? Fun Pass. No, McKean, you did it. Fun half.

[B]

Let's go, Brandon.

[A]

Let's go, Brandon. Bradley, you want to say hello? Sorry to disappoint everyone. I'm just a random guy. It's all the boys today.

[B]

Fundamentally false. No. I'm sorry.

[A]

Women. Stop talking for a second. Let me finish.

[B]

Where is this coming from? Dude?

[D]

But.

[A]

Dude, you want to smoke this? 7A.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Hi. Me is me. Yes. Is this me? Is it me? It is you. Is this me?

[E]

Hello?

[A]

Is this me? I think it is you. Who is you? No sound. Every single freaking day. What's on your mind?

[G]

We can discuss free markets and we can discuss capitalism.

[A]

I'm gonna go Skyline Libertarians. They're so stupid. Though common sense says, of course.

[B]

Gobbledygook.

[A]

We nailed him.

[B]

So what's 79 plus 21?

[A]

Challenge. Man, I'm positively quivering. I believe 96. I want to say. 8, 5, 7, 2, 1, 0, 35. 5, 0, 11 half. 3, 8, 9, 11. For instance.

[B]

$3,400. $1900.

[A]

5 for $3 trillion. Sold. It's a zero sum game, actually.

[B]

You're making me think less.

[A]

But. But let me say this. You call it satire. Sam goes satire on top of it all.

[D]

My favorite part about you is just

[B]

like every day, all day, like, everything you do.

[A]

Without a doubt. Hey, buddy. We see you. All right, folks, folks, folks.

[B]

It's just the week being weeded out, obviously.

[A]

Yeah. Sun's out, guns out. I. I don't know, but you should know, people just don't like to entertain ideas anymore. I have a question. Who cares? Our chat is enabled. Folks. I love it.

[B]

I do love that.

[A]

Gotta jump. Gotta be quick. I gotta jump.

[G]

I'm losing it, bro.

[A]

Two o', clock, we're already late, and the guy's being a dick. So screw him. Sent to a gulag.

[B]

Outrageous.

[A]

Like, what is wrong with you?

[D]

Love you.

[A]

Bye. Love you.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

Bye.