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Tara Palmieri
Welcome to the Tara Palmieri show. We've got Dave Briggs on the line. We're doing a collaboration. We've been talking about doing a show since we both launched around the same time. And of course he texted me and said, can we please talk about Sydney Sweeney? And I was like, dave, please don't make me, because I don't want to. I have been trying to ignore this story. As you've all heard from my show. I've been all over the Epstein stories. I'm like, this is a waste of time. This is. This is something, a culture war that the Republicans are going to hope or the MAGA base is hoping to, like, cause some sort of diversion. And I just can't get into it. But you know what? I did remember? Yes. Last week, scrolling through my Instagram and Megyn Kelly is always caught in my feed. And there she was telling me why it's a good thing that Sydney Sweeney is blowing up, that we need to bring hotness back in ads. And I was like, I actually felt sick when I heard her describe why. Because in Megan's version of hotness, by the way, a western version of hotness, you have to have symmetrical features, wide eyes, a thin nose. Says a woman who looks factory made, almost like Sydney Sweeney, but an older generation. And I just felt like, oh, God, Megan, please don't make me vomit right now. But I'm gonna scroll and I'm gonna stay focused. And here you are. You basically doom scrolled my mind. Okay, so thank you, Dave.
Dave Briggs
Well, it's good to be on. I really, I love your show. I did. I'm actually less inclined to talk about it now that it became a Trump story and something dividing the country. I was actually into it as a distraction from the round the clock, nonstop Trump talk. And now, of course, like everything else, gravity has pulled the Sydney Sweeney story. But you mentioned Megyn Kelly, and I'm glad you did, because I'm old enough to remember a month ago, a month ago when she was ripping on Sydney Sweeney for getting invited to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding, presumably because of her big boobs. She said she's the new toast of the town out there because she's got these enormous breasts that everybody's obsessed with. Then she went on to say, how does she wind up there at the wedding? So my, how times have changed in that month. But look, the story swept up President Trump for obvious reasons. He found out today that she is a registered Republican since 2024 in Florida. He did not know who Sydney Sweeney was over the weekend when asked about this ad by Rob Finnerty of Newsmax, he went straight to the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad and even said on camera to the press corps, oh, if she's a registered Republican, then I think her ad is fantastic. And then he went on. On Truth Social. I don't know if you've seen the Post.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised he doesn't know who she is because Donald Trump lives in another world. He likes cats and like Phantom of the Opera. And he's an old guy. He's 80 years old and six. Sydney Sweeney is not exactly some sort of acting legend. Like, I. I understand why he would know who Taylor Swift is. She's a billionaire who is a. Since, like, she's been a sensation. She's been around forever. But Sydney Sweeney, she's only really come into cultural relevance since this, like, chick flick summer film came out a few years ago that I don't even know the name of. And I've never seen the movie. I. I mean, I see pictures of her on the Internet on my feed. I guess people post it, but I was. I just never really thought she was that culturally relevant.
Dave Briggs
Oh, she's been culturally relevant for a while now. She really exploded with Euphoria a few years back. And then she did White Lotus in 2021. That is.
Tara Palmieri
Oh, I forgot that that was her in White Lotus.
Dave Briggs
Yeah. And that's a touch point right there. You're talking about, I think is called Anyone but you with the equally gorgeous Glenn Powell. And it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. My family hates that I say this. It was Mentos commercial. Bad that. I felt bad for both of them for having to repeat these awful lines. But she is. She is a bankable star, second to only Ryan Reynolds. I mean, she sold out bath water.
Tara Palmieri
Is that right?
Dave Briggs
Okay, here I am a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, she could sell anything, certainly.
Tara Palmieri
I'm just such a political nerd. And, like, when I get into a story like the Epstein story, I'm back on it. I'm just not in it. I don't. I've never. I didn't see. I haven't seen Euphoria. I haven't seen this. This show, this t. This movie that you're talking about with. I don't even know the name of the actor that you mentioned. God, I'm really revealing myself. But, yeah, I. I was not aware that she was that big of a deal. And I remember now that she was in White Lotus, but she wasn't one of the characters that like, was really gripped me from White Lotus Season 1. People who are hot in Hollywood, I'm not one to like, sit around and watch a lot of movies, and I'm not as into that cultural stuff. Like, I spent the weekend reading books, which is kind of corny, but, you know, but I do also like series. I'm not going to say I'm like that elevated. I, I watched all of White Lotus. I just finished Sirens. I like these TV shows, so I'm not pretending like, oh, I'm so elevated, blah, blah, blah, blah. Just for some reason, this genre, like, has not gripped me. The Sydney Sweeney genre, that is so hot right now.
Dave Briggs
Well, then let me play to your political side, because this story right away was extraordinarily politically divisive. Because of course MAGA and the Republicans jumped right in and said, this is the woke Democrats. That's why they lost the 2024 election. Let me be clear. I like the ad. I was never offended by it. I think the Nazi propaganda line is just ridiculous. It's gross. Stop. Shut up. And J.D. vance went on a podcast and said, I thought Democrats learned their lesson in the 24 election. He's right about that. And I said to myself, did a single Democrat touch this story? And the answer is no. Not a single elected Democrat official anywhere touched this story. So I don't know why it became right versus Left. That's just the world in which we live now. And that's what bums me out here. Can it be something that just grabs hold of the Internet instead of dividing the country? Like, unless Democrats jumped in and poured gasoline on this, they didn't.
Tara Palmieri
You know who poured gasoline on it? The right did. They created a culture war so that everybody would stop talking about Epstein. No one on the left really cared. They created this folk culture war, which is why I wasn't really paying attention to it. But if you let them like, rile you up and, and, and like, like, if you let them get like, think about it, you're like, well, obviously, like, what does Sydney, Sydney Sweeney represent as a woman? For example? Like Sydney Sweeney represents, like you said, a woman at the height of her career in, in Hollywood, probably at the height of her economic career, at the height of her sexual power. And what did she represent in society? I mean, she represents someone. What some would say, especially on the right, is when a woman is most valuable and what she is most valued for what she looks like, rather than this. Is that like what she can offer in terms of her, say, intellect or her power in a position in the boardroom or at a job. Like, this is. This is the most basic version of a woman is. She is a blonde bombshell, and she is an American eagle in blue jeans, Americana patriotism, staring back at you with this cool gaze. You know, she's just. Just a woman who's unperturbed and she's got no knees and she's just there. And she's just a sexy bombshell from the past. She's not these new Dove commercials with women who are a plus size and all different colors and talking about freedom and me too, and feminism. So what she represented in that picture is, like, a lot deeper. If you let it. If you let it, if you let yourself actually think about it, you will understand that she represents another time. She represents a time when pinup models would be all over a bar. Like, she represented a time when that was all that women were valued for. And really, frankly, like, it hasn't been that long, when you think about it, since women began able. The. Started becoming able to. To. To vote. I mean, 1920s, it has. It's been 100 years. I think she brings out a lot of angst and insecurity among women. And I think there's another subset of women who. She kind of fits the mold of who they are and what they represent, so they're happy to have her around. So she really divides people. And she didn't ask for this. She's just hot. And she's doing exactly what she should be doing at this phase in her career, which is getting as many ads as she can and making as much money as she can, because in 10, 15, 20 years, it's going to be a lot harder.
Dave Briggs
Sadly, she's essentially Pam Anderson of today. If you remember Baywatch, I know you don't watch much tv. Maybe you're not old enough.
Tara Palmieri
No, I was really young when. Yeah, I was super young. So this is another thing.
Dave Briggs
That's what she is. And people that are saying she's being exploited. No, no, no. Sydney, sweetie knows absolutely what she's doing here. But there are millions of women that are celebrating her. And this ad. Scroll through TikTok.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah.
Dave Briggs
Or X or Instagram. Women are now posing, doing selfies at American Eagle in front of her ads. So are women everywhere supporting her. And if you look at what happened.
Tara Palmieri
Listen, I'm sure everywhere women are, most women are. It's. It's when people like Megyn Kelly take it to another level. And that's why. I mean, like, the right wing instigators are literally throwing like, bricks on the flame. Like, they want you to get upset about this story. They want to provoke the libs. I really do think they want to. That's what they're trying to do.
Dave Briggs
But here's my question for you.
Tara Palmieri
Because I wasn't provoked by it. When I saw it, I was just like, whatever.
Dave Briggs
But because you follow politics so closely, the one critique I would have of Democrats is that, look, Elizabeth Warren was on CNBC this morning and Trump was yelling at her on Truth Social. You know what she should have done? She should have showed up in a pair of American Eagle jeans. That would have been brilliant. Listen, some woman in the Democrat Party should stand up and celebrate the ad and they lose the issue.
Tara Palmieri
But why do we have to celebrate?
Dave Briggs
Hang on. Because this is what happened with transgender, the sports issue. This is an easy one. Democrats, stand up and say, I don't want boys to compete against my girls. This is an easy one. Don't lose these stupid cultural issues. Don't give them away. Stand up for American Eagles. Right to free speech. They didn't.
Tara Palmieri
American Eagle has a right to free speech. But, like, let's also be honest about this, Dave. When American Eagle did this, they actually kind of pulled something out of, like, Abercrombie's old playbook. And if you. I remember when I was in high school, it was American Eagle and Abercrombie and American Eagle was the cheaper one. And everybody wanted to wear Abercrombie. And Abercrombie would drive people crazy because all the male models were. All the models were white. And to work in the store, you had to be gorgeous. And they discriminated against even just hiring people that worked in the store. Right. So that was the controversy around Abercrombie at the time. American Eagle was not as cool. Whatever. They're basically just like, tearing a sheet out of the playbook from Abercrombie. And they knew exactly what they were doing when they put out this ad. They knew for a fact that it would cause some backlash. And it's great press. Their stock has gone up for them. They have. They're being in the conversation. I haven't talked about American Eagle. I don't even know. I don't. I don't know anyone who wears American Eagle. And yet here we are talking about it. They are getting free press as we speak, so we should probably wrap it up soon. But this was all designed, like, this was all designed by these marketing execs who probably, by the way, did market research that said that the only people who might be triggered by this, we're never gonna buy American Eagle to begin with. Now there's a whole new audience that thinks American Eagle is patriotic. And think about them.
Dave Briggs
Before their stock didn't go up, it exploded 23% at close. You know how much that equates to? $440 million in market cap. And this is the only factor right now affecting their stock. As a guy who covered the economy for years, this is the only factor going on. American Eagles universe. Maybe it's been treated like a meme stock a little bit.
Tara Palmieri
Right.
Dave Briggs
$440 million. And I will say, on the flip side, what have we learned from woke ads? You do know the Dylan Mulvaney ad that Trump did talk about in that Newsmax interview? It destroyed the brand. The number one beer in the world will never retake that position.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah.
Dave Briggs
Because of one ad. The Jaguar ad. The car company that Trump also name checked on Truth Social. It was weird. I don't know if you've seen it.
Tara Palmieri
I think you just know your audience before you do that. And I think American Eagle made a bet. They took a calculated risk. They knew that their audience was, you know, suburban white kids or whatever. They knew exactly. This is a good market research. Before you put an ad out, you. When you spend that much money on an ad campaign, you put it. I know exactly where it is in soho. I used to live near there. That's the most expensive piece of real estate for an ad. Besides maybe the Calvin Klein ad across the street. They made a very calculated risk when they did this and it paid off. And so great for you, American Eagle. And we're talking about it now. And Sydney Sweeney is going to make even more money and she's going to be even in more. You know, she probably wasn't. This was going to happen. She was probably not even. I mean, maybe her manager or somebody was saying, is this a good idea? But then they probably decided, who cares? She's America's sweetheart. She looks like Americana. This is what, you know, there's half of America is going to love you. Half of America's going to love you. Half of America is going to hate you. And that was always going to be the case with her. And it's kind of the case of a lot of people. I mean, we're in such a divisive place right now in our country that it like takes energy to not care about things because they so desperately want you to care about things. They want you to care.
Dave Briggs
I do hope that American companies learn something from this episode though, that the woke marketing certainly does not work. The Jaguar CEO is now out. Bud Light will never come back.
Tara Palmieri
Okay, but those were like, those were probably more male dominated ads. Those were more male dominated, you know, consumer bases. So that's probably why it didn't work. But I would probably argue that those Dove ads that showed women of all different shapes and colors were probably more appreciated by women. Different psychology, different consumer base. And you still like, with a lot of female products, you're still seeing more diversity. And I think there is for women. They appreciate that. So it depends on who your consumer is.
Dave Briggs
No, you said, I feel like you hated this ad.
Tara Palmieri
I don't, I don't care. But I. The more I hated, I hated more. Hearing from Megyn Kelly. We need to bring hotness back. And this is what hotness looks like.
Dave Briggs
Megan Kelly did a whole segment on how Republicans have brought hot back. She been to a Trump rally.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, I know.
Dave Briggs
Holy crap. Look, I'm not saying either party has beauty locked down, but have you been to a Trump rally?
Tara Palmieri
I don't like, first of all, like, beauty is so, like, I don't even want to bipartisan.
Dave Briggs
Can we agree?
Tara Palmieri
No, I don't think it is. I think beauty. Everybody has different standards for beauty and what they think is beautiful. And I don't agree with you there. Yeah, I don't think, I don't even want to talk about people being valued just by how they look because, I mean, it just, it just irks me in general and just, I just think that's where they want us to spend our time.
Dave Briggs
I'll have two questions as we move forward.
Tara Palmieri
I felt like this was all about trying to stoke rage and get people upset and make liberals seem more upset than they were. The Democrats didn't take the bait. There was perceived anger. For me, my only annoyance was over the idea that there was. They were trying to create faux outrage and rage over it.
Dave Briggs
Yes, it's like, but Democrats need to learn how to play dirty. They never learn how to play dirty.
Tara Palmieri
They should say, like, they would just say, oh, we, we love this ad. It's great.
Dave Briggs
They should step in and like I said, wear on Capitol Hill a pair of American jeans and the controversy is over. Look, if Democrats don't learn how to play the culture.
Tara Palmieri
There was no Democrats back in the White House. Who is the Democrats fighting? Yeah, okay. I was watching an ABC package, okay, about this. Like just one of their basic ABC News packages that goes out to all the networks. And you're looking at, like, who are the people that are fighting against this ad? And there was one, like, professor of history, I guess, someone that was very kind of random, and she was talking about the period of time of eugenics and when it was a really big issue in America. And there was a constant talk about eugenics from 1900 to 1940s. And I thought that was a relevant point. But following that, that, that point that was made, there was no member of Congress, there was no leader, there was no outrage. In fact, like, the rest of the package was just people being like, she looks up, like, that's it.
Dave Briggs
But don't you think Democrats need to learn how to play the culture war? No one has ever played it better than Donald Trump. Nobody ever will. And if they don't learn how to, it will be an issue in 2020, 28. Without a doubt. This is a concrete example.
Tara Palmieri
I mean, listen, I think culture wars are dumb. So I just, I agree with you.
Dave Briggs
But they're part of the culture now. They're part of elections now on all levels. And you know that.
Tara Palmieri
I don't, I don't like to give Democrats advice. I'm a journalist. I personally just think it's dumb. I'm just like, this is stupid. I don't want to. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear about it. And I'm sure they're probably looking at whatever data they get every day, and they're probably like, there's. This is stupid. No matter how you want to, you want to, like, wrestle with pigs, you're going to get dirty. And in this case, they were being goaded. They're like, come on in. Come on, fight with us. Come on, fight with us. And they were just like, nah, not this one.
Dave Briggs
Okay, which one? Because they sat out this one specifically.
Tara Palmieri
They said, nah, we're not going in this one. Like, why are we going to go. We don't need to defend Cindy Tweeney and we don't also need to address it because.
Dave Briggs
No. Defend American eagles. Right to free speech and right to run. Look, I, I just. I'll say this.
Tara Palmieri
It's like, it's an ad. Who cares?
Dave Briggs
Democrats, you need to learn how to fight a culture war. You need to get down in the mud sometimes or you're never going to win a match.
Tara Palmieri
I think this is.
Dave Briggs
In this Trump era.
Tara Palmieri
I just think this is.
Dave Briggs
I agree.
Tara Palmieri
It's so, it's so. It just. I. Okay, I'm. I feel I feel so much that it doesn't matter that I'm who you.
Dave Briggs
Think it'll distract from Epstein. Let's put it back.
Tara Palmieri
I think this is a one day thing between. I think this is a one day story where Trump weighs in on it and then maybe the right tries to keep it going. But I do think it's like if there's another update in the Epstein story, like for example, Glenn Maxwell is somehow moving on into house arrest or Trump gets sticks his foot in his mouth again or something like that, I think everyone forgets this. I think Trump probably was advised that it would be a good idea to weigh in on this. And by the way, he used to always do this. I remember even when I was at the New York Post, he would tweet about things like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Pattinson and their breakup. And if there was like someone died, you would always call him for a quote. Like Trump loves to kind of jump in on these things. I mean, he said Taylor Swift wasn't hot. Nobody cared. It was like a 24 hour story. He jumps into everything. This is just like what he does.
Dave Briggs
He piled on Taylor Swift today in the truth social about Sydney Sweeney, that she's over and she's not hot. She only put together the most successful concert tour in the history of the planet.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah. And she's only been around for like how many years has Taylor Swift around for since she was 16 years old.
Dave Briggs
And remains one of the two or three most influential people on the planet. I'm curious to get your take on what was said over the weekend on the Oddly enough, your burger is served. And this is our finest Pepsi Zero sugar. Its sweet profile perfectly balances the savory notes of your burger.
Tara Palmieri
That is one perfect combination. Burgers deserve Pepsi.
Dave Briggs
Laura Trump show on Fox News. Charlamagne, the God who's one of the most influential radio hosts out there. Millions of followers on Instagram and X and YouTube does the breakfast club out there in LA. This guy is not some dummy, by the way, not some lightweight. He's extraordinarily, I mean, I would say brilliant. I mean, if you listen to him talk, this guy has intellect for days. And he weighs in with Laura Trump and says, I think there's a coup going on inside the Republican Party that the Epstein files and how the Trump administration refuses to release them will allow traditional Republicans, traditional conservatives, I don't know who those are anymore.
Tara Palmieri
Maybe the Democrats, I thought. Right. He says they were the Lincoln project. Yeah.
Dave Briggs
I do think John Thune and a few Others are traditional conservatives. But. But Charlemagne says he thinks this will allow traditional conservatives to take back the Republican Party. He's brilliant. I think he's absolutely wrong on this. I think eventually Trump just will wait this thing out. And I don't think the MAGA influencers who are furious about the Epstein files really care what traditional conservatives think. How do you think this plays out?
Tara Palmieri
I mean, it seems like if they were. They're thinking that this is the one thing that will take down Trump. That's essentially what they're betting on. Because these traditional conservatives, I'm sure, have been trying to kill him forever. Remember, after the election, grab them six. They've been trying to do this forever, so they think he's, they think he's vulnerable here, and they're not wrong. Question is, do these traditional conservatives have access to FBI files, DOJ files, they have access to leaks. Can they get the story going? Can they keep the story going? And can they, you know, be perceived as not having a hand in it? Because it's gotta seem like it's a coup from the inside. It can't seem like it's been orchestrated by the elites, because that's the whole maga. Like, that is maga. You can't, it can't be run by elites. It has to be run by the base. These are anti establishment people. And I don't know, I think it's. I think it's a bit of a conspiracy to be. Not conspiracy. I think it's wishful thinking, maybe for him. I don't think that. I think MAG is sort of. They're, they're stepping away from the Epstein story. I think they're sort of lessening. They're. I don't, I don't think they're as angry anymore. I mean, what's your thinking?
Dave Briggs
I do think they are every bit as animated about the subject, but they too realize there's really nothing that can do here. Who can verify we know that Trump was all over the Epstein files, that he was on the plane seven or eight times according to the grand jury testimony. But they have to be suspicious of the fact that his former personal attorney, the Deputy Attorney General, goes down there, talks to Ghislaine Maxwell, apparently finds out what she knows about Trump, and then she gets a minimum security facility in Texas. Texas. Clearly a quid pro quo. But ultimately, what can force the files to be removed or whom? Nothing and no one. And eventually Trump can wait this one out, because Ghislaine Maxwell, to my knowledge, is the only one who can Confirm what Trump may have done with underage girls. Like, we need.
Tara Palmieri
Glenn Maxwell is the only person who can confirm it. I mean, you could also talk to.
Dave Briggs
The victim, Victims out there that know the.
Tara Palmieri
You could also talk to victims. You could also talk to the witnesses. There were a lot of people that were, you know, this was a full operation. You needed drivers, you needed wait staff, you needed a chef, you needed a pilot. You had landscapers, you had so many people around, plus you had other men that were on the island at the same time. You had, you know, you have so much evidence, plus, not to mention the fact that there was surveillance all over these. All over these properties, everywhere. Use the surveillance to try to, you know, blackmail people. So the idea that you only. The only person who can unlock the key to this Epstein mystery is Glenn Maxwell is false. That is false.
Dave Briggs
That's.
Tara Palmieri
The only person who can exonerate Trump is probably Glenn Maxwell. In his mind, at least.
Dave Briggs
She. She's the only one that can be compelled to testify because she is under control of the United States government and will be for another, I believe, 20 years. But ultimately, we know she's never going to testify and talk about Trump because he's clearly dangling a pardon because he won't really step into that. So the two people, three people I'd like to hear from Alex Acosta. What does he know? I'm pretty sure he knows far too much. What about Bill Barr? How has no one tracked down Bill Barr, who was the AG and who didn't like the circumstances surrounding what happened at the prison when Epstein committed suicide? I'd love to hear from him, but what we really need in the press.
Tara Palmieri
There aren't just them. There's a ton of people. Like, I'm sure Comey's daughter, Maureen Comey probably knows a lot more about it because she worked intimately on the case. Remember, Even in the 2009 case, they put together a huge investigation into him. Sorry, the 2008 case, the sweetheart deal, it was a huge investigation. They recommended 60 federal charges and it went down to zero. This has been. This has been investigated, like, every which way. There are so many people that know. And. And you have to. And you know, all those redactions in the FBI's vault, those are redactions that men fought for. They fought to have their names redacted from those documents.
Dave Briggs
Wouldn't you?
Tara Palmieri
Rich and powerful men.
Dave Briggs
Yes. Namely Bill Clinton. I would like cnn, a lot of.
Tara Palmieri
Others, believe me, not just Bill Clinton.
Dave Briggs
My frustration with the current cable news atmosphere. And we know Fox News is going to stay away from the story for the most part, but the MSNBC's and the CNN should be asking every bit as many questions about Prince Andrew, about Bill Clinton as they are about President Trump.
Tara Palmieri
And that's a lot more people than those three. That's the other thing.
Dave Briggs
Sure, sure. No question about that. But I would.
Tara Palmieri
This was probably one of the largest sex trafficking operations of our time. This is not that hard. There are so many moving parts and people. And this is not like a case closed situation. A lot of people are going to bed, sleeping a lot easier at night. Ever since Pambondi came out.
Dave Briggs
You say it's not case closed. How does this story end to you? Because to me, the only way this gets released is if a Democrat wins the White House in 2028. I don't see any other way.
Tara Palmieri
Okay. A Democrat wouldn't want this story out there either because it makes Democrats look really bad.
Dave Briggs
Absolutely. But they're under pressure as well and they couldn't come around if they took control and say, oh, we can't release them either.
Tara Palmieri
I mean, it makes, almost like. I don't. I think it would make the entire party look really bad. Really bad.
Dave Briggs
Do tell.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah.
Dave Briggs
So it goes beyond Clinton.
Tara Palmieri
Are you joking? Like, there were, there were so many.
Dave Briggs
Men involved in this in the Democrat Party.
Tara Palmieri
A lot of the people that Epstein spent time with, most of them were Democrats. Yes, he spent a lot of time with Democrats. If you look even at Jeff, if you look at Virginia Giuffre's files, I mean, she talks about being with politicians. I mean, she has like openly. I mean, in her testimony put deposed, she said that under oath. I mean, this is not something, this is a big story. This isn't like, oh, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew and, and Trump all hung out in an island together. I mean, just Stanley, the head of Chase bank was involved. Like, this is big. This is like the, this is like the powers that be. I mean, this is. Yeah, this would have huge, huge implications if everyone actually saw all the files.
Dave Briggs
I'm actually shocked at how few victims we've heard from for anyone that.
Tara Palmieri
Why so at all. I'm not shocked having, having worked with them, I know exactly why not. They're terrified. You're up against some of the most powerful people in the world who, by the way, in this climate where President Trump can just slap a $10 billion suit on a, on a, on a newspaper like the Wall Street Journal, you think these victims want to go out there and speak up and then face lawsuits Defamation suits or whatever from these very wealthy men, powerful men.
Dave Briggs
If we were talking about 10 or 12, I would. I would agree. But we're talking about, in all likelihood, hundreds, if not thousands of victims. For anyone that hasn't dove deep into the story, at least just watch a few of the documentaries out there and they'll talk about the few schools in the Palm beach area in which a girl.
Tara Palmieri
I did it on my show. You can listen to my podcast.
Dave Briggs
I mean, and then they recruited five other girls, and they'd recruit five other girls.
Tara Palmieri
I went deep into this on.
Dave Briggs
Yeah, I am shocked, quite frankly, that we're talking minimum hundreds of victims that someone doesn't want to come out and clear up the truth. And what we need is. You're probably not old enough to remember this one either, but we need Daniel Caffey at the moment. Did you see. Do you know we. We. A Few Good Men? Do you know the movie A Few Good. Okay, so we need Daniel Caffey, who sat there with this bat one night, and then he went after Jessup. The next day he went after Jack Nichols. And he said, did you order the code Red?
Tara Palmieri
Yeah. Yeah.
Dave Briggs
We need someone to really just do that with Trump, because in some part.
Tara Palmieri
Of him, I don't know that he can be shook like that. I don't know. You don't think he's a different type of animal?
Dave Briggs
Because it's the dumbest. Yeah, it's the dumbest cover up in the history of politics. We all know that he slept with several women connected to Jeffrey Epstein. That is fair.
Tara Palmieri
I don't. I wouldn't say that. I don't know for a fact.
Dave Briggs
Okay. Yeah. I don't know it for a fact, but it seems impossible that that's not the case. We're never going to know if they were teenage victims unless one of them comes out.
Tara Palmieri
That's not true. If the. If the DOJ does an actual investigation, they would be able to find that.
Dave Briggs
Out, which they will not unless a Democrat takes back the White House and allows the DOJ to be independent once again.
Tara Palmieri
Or if the. Or if all this gets leaked to the press that is willing to publish.
Dave Briggs
It without fear and the likelihood of that happening.
Tara Palmieri
I think it could happen.
Dave Briggs
Really?
Tara Palmieri
Yeah. Why not? A lot of people. A lot of people have had a lot of hands on this story. I mean, even when I was, like, checking in before Pam Bondi and case closed, I was asking senior law enforcement sources, like, what's the latest? And I'm just saying, like, you know, I know you guys have a tranche of, of, of documents, of pictures of video, and all of this, like, what are you doing with it all? And they said, we're still working on it. We know we're going to be up against some of the most powerful defense attorneys in the world. So they're working at it. But it's a very politically fraught story. You're dealing with really wealthy people. I don't know if they were just telling me that to placate me, as I kept asking, but yeah, this is, this, this covers so many different sectors and it covers so many different people who are very highly connected. And if they are going to prosecute and bring anyone else forward, it's going to be difficult. And you know, prosecutors don't like to take cases that they can't win. It's political always. And yeah, and then case closed. And I reached out and I was like, what's this all about? And they were like, they said they were furious that they had to hand over their, they had to hand over the documents to Bondi. And I don't know, is it dead? Probably. I mean, I do think that the only thing that keeps it alive is public outrage and continuing reporting, breaking news, breaking ground. And if people do want a primer, they don't have to go to the documentaries. You can go to my podcast, Broken. Jeffrey Epstein did another one on Ghislaine Maxwell Power, the Maxwells. And I was in one of the docs on Netflix, the you were rich one. But I do think, like, this was a very sophisticated operation that required a lot of players and the victims note had the answers and if they really wanted to, they could. But I don't, I don't know that there's the appetite for the story.
Dave Briggs
Yeah. I just would not bet on any of this ever seeing the light of day. And maybe Dan Bongino decides to be that guy because maybe he can escape and make more money because the MAGA base would actually reward him for that, honestly.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, he could end up being a star for that. He could leave a whistleblower and blow it all up. What does he care? He's the new establishment. Right? Burn down the Democratic establishment, burn down any Trump ties. And really like anyone who wants to be the future of the MAGA party or the Republican Party, and they have access to that, they could use it to their advantage as a way to like, torch. It's a risky move. If you're going to go for the king, you better not miss. Right. But it would be a way to Take down not only the Republican Party, but also to take down the Democratic Party too, probably.
Dave Briggs
But how many people have we seen leave the Trump orbit under those circumstances and rise to relevance? I can't think of a single one. You could argue Anthony Scaramucci, my good friend, but I think he's escaped it because he's brilliant and wealthy and done well with crypto and he actually has a very good podcast as well. He might be the only one who else has really escaped the Trump orbit that way and risen to prominence. No, I mean, Kinzinger has done okay on Substack, I suppose, but Liz Cheney. No, she was looking for that.
Tara Palmieri
She's probably personally pretty wealthy and probably a bit freaked out knowing that she needs personal security for the rest of her life and.
Dave Briggs
Oh, right. But. But my point is no one has escaped in that regard.
Tara Palmieri
Have anyone escaped wanting to run for office and building their own political movement behind them? I don't know.
Dave Briggs
I don't think anyone.
Tara Palmieri
Oh, yeah, Pence. But he. That didn't work out.
Dave Briggs
Like who?
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Dave Briggs
He is the concrete example of what happens when you leave this orbit. And I think a lot of people have learned from that. And I think everyone from the administration also got a new lesson over the weekend when, by the way, one last issue. He fires the BLS director and essentially says, you lie to make me look good or you are fired. Plain and simple. That is the message to everyone that works for him. Clearly a move of a dictator, of a banana republic, of China, of Russia, Greece, years ago. I think everyone has learned you lie to cover up or to make Donald Trump look good or you're fired. Look at Kevin Hassett. That guy should no longer be a candidate to run the Federal Reserve. He has embarrassed himself over supporting the firing of a. Essentially a data director. So I think the lesson learned. Everyone's scared and I don't think anyone rolls on the.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, yeah, that was pretty. That's insane what happened over the weekend. And it's going to be terrible for the financial markets because they're not going to be able to trust the. Any information that comes out of the government. And I mean, this obviously creates a situation. You would know this better than me since you've covered the markets. But I can't imagine that this is confidence inducing in anything that comes from, you know, U.S. markets.
Dave Briggs
Trust in our data is one of the bedrocks of the global economy. Not the US Economy. The global economy needs to trust the numbers that coming out of the United States. No one trusts what comes out of Russia or China at all, not one bit. They need to have trust in ours because there's already worry that we cannot pay our debts. But now these jobs numbers will not be trusted. And that is a terrifying precedent for investors out there that look to the United States for primarily one thing, certainty and transparency and a clear path of where the economy is going. And now we're just, just not gonna know. It is one of the scariest things he's done through all the years in the past decade and is really under the radar because who wants to talk about the BLS chief? Like, no one really cares, right? No one.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, I guess it's not as it's. It. There's no visual behind it, like stealing children from their parents in an immigration raid.
Dave Briggs
Right.
Tara Palmieri
Which is also terrifying, by the way, to be clear. And yeah, sure, it's definitely up there.
Dave Briggs
So let me get your thoughts real quick before we wrap this up. Like, what are your thoughts on where the independent media goes versus? I know you do a lot of CNN as well, like five years from now at MSNBC and cnn. Do they still exist as we know it today, or does the independent media become the cable news ecosphere?
Tara Palmieri
I think what they'll probably end up doing is licensing podcasts, really popular podcasts, and playing them on their channels. I mean, you see this already on some basic cable channels. You're seeing podcasts. Like, you can watch Charlie Kirk on some channels, you can watch Steve Bannon. You can watch podcasts on your TV if you want to. They're on there already. So I would think that what they would do is just like, license a show in the same way that, like, HBO licenses from Bill Maher, for example, and the podcast maybe plays simultaneously on YouTube and on CNN or, you know, because that audience isn't going to YouTube and. And then maybe they start to just realize that, hey, all of our programming is going to be Internet, and it's going to be Internet first and. Or TV first. Like, they'll figure out a way to do it, but they'll have to figure that out. I do think they'll probably realize their talent's a bit expensive, but they've already started doing that and cutting down. But the podcasting talent now, I mean, they're able to draw a lot of money, so that'll be hard for them to try to attract them. So I think that's why they're going to have to license them if they want that material. And that'll just be. So they won't be able to get it exclusively, essentially, because to, to get that kind of material exclusively from someone like a Joe Rogan who's already making a hundred million or so a year, that would cost them, like, they probably. They couldn't afford it. So maybe they get Joe Rogan show, like, one day a week for like 30 minutes or something. I don't know. It's. It's. I, I don't know because I'm not an executive, a cable news executive, but I have talked to people who were like, you know, this is. This is what they think the future will be. And they've even said, you know, asked, you know, I, I wouldn't do it now because I think whatever channel I would go on wouldn't be like, the type of channel I'd want to go on, because you could just put your show on TV right now if you wanted to. Yeah.
Dave Briggs
I actually floated in a recent interview that I thought CNN should pick up your podcast and just run it. I think they should do that with, with Michael Smerconish and, and put his radio show on in the morning because it's informative, it's entertaining, it's really smart and thoughtful. And that's if you know who Pat McAfee is. I think the biggest star, at least in sports media, maybe the most talented person in media today. It's what's going on with espn and in like, he still owns his show, he basically just licenses it back to ESPN and just a massive financial.
Tara Palmieri
They fire him. Isn't that the story behind it?
Dave Briggs
Pat McAfee?
Tara Palmieri
Yeah.
Dave Briggs
Oh, no. Oh, no. He is. He is one of two people that is keeping that network where they are.
Tara Palmieri
Oh, I thought at one point they fired him, so he left, created his own thing, and then they had to rehire him. And again.
Dave Briggs
Oh, oh, so you're talking way before that I'm not aware of.
Tara Palmieri
I could be wrong, but I saw that that could have. That was what happened. Someone said that to me. But yeah, no, I think you're right. I just think there's, like, it's hard to. It's hard to bring this sort of authenticity you're going to get from a. A podcast, which feels a little bit more unscripted. There's no producers in our ear or whatever on television, especially in the format that so many of the news anchors and the talent have been, like, groomed to be in, because this is, this is what they have been taught. And so it's going to be hard to break that mold to begin with. And, you know, there's this Veneer. There's this polish. And actually the audience that is watching them right now expects that from them. So you're really going to have to introduce like new characters, I think, and a new format to really change that because, you know, the news anchor is not going to be there anymore. Like, it's just not, I think. And I, and frankly, like, one of my girlfriends goes to me and she was like, tara, you could be the next Diane Sawyer. I'm like, I don't want to be, though. That's not who. I don't think she exists anymore. And that's not who I would want to be because that's if I was looking into 20 years from now. Like, I got to think outside of what even exists right now. But that's not, you know, that's not who I see as even, not the future of news, but even the present. I don't have any friends that watch network or cable, really. I mean, some of my friends watch cable because they work in, in politics and it's on all day long, but it's just not.
Dave Briggs
Do you watch cable news?
Tara Palmieri
Not really. Honestly. I mean, I watch it sometimes, but like, when there's breaking news, I turn it on and that's, that's pretty much it.
Dave Briggs
I watch smatterings of it, obviously. I watched McConnish on the weekend morning. I turn on a few minutes here or there during the day to see how a story is being spun and not to really learn anything, just to see how the three networks are spinning different things. It's kind of an amusing game as I do some things for media. I think you and a decent looking older man should do kind of a daily show that spreads out, touches on politics, a little pop culture. You love Sydney Sweeney today, I think. I think your friend is right in that you could expand this into a like daily news program. Covers a lot of bases.
Tara Palmieri
I, I loved that. I hated it so much. I, it made it just. I didn't want to care. I, that's the thing with me. I like go through my life trying not to care about these things, whereas a lot of other podcast hosts, they use that fuel to, to, to report on it. But I'm like, I feel like I only have so much and I like, I actually care about things. So I'm not just like making it up like JD Vance in a room with Vladimir Zielinski and he's like, let's just blow him up, right? This is the moment, this is the cue. I appreciate you saying that's very kind. You could Obviously do the same. You've already done it. You've been a. An anchor on cnn. But I don't know, I feel like what we're doing right now is where people are going, and I feel good about it, and I'm just building. I just started. You. You've. You started about the same time as I did, right?
Dave Briggs
Same time. Yeah.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, exactly. We're just building. And I just know that the destination isn't what it was before, and I know that even the present is not where it was before. So I'm going to exist where people are looking right now. And who knows? I mean, in a year from now, we might have to all be, like, holograms and, like, show up in people's houses and actually be acting it out.
Dave Briggs
The pop culture side of. You must hate that I'm wearing this shirt or are unaware of it.
Tara Palmieri
No, I know about that because it's on my Instagram feed. This, like, astrologer was making out with this guy who was a president of astrology app was making out. Sometimes you guys suck. Me. And it's mostly the New York Post, because I used to work there. I have them as they're on my Instagram feed. But if it wasn't on my Instagram feed, I wouldn't be getting it, because I go, I read Politico in the morning. I read Punchbowl. I read Axios. I'm reading all these, like, nerdy political. This nerdy political stuff. And then I spend my time making calls and reporting on other things. Like, right now, I've been so into the Epstein story, so sometimes this stuff, it just falls through the cracks through Instagram for me. Or my girlfriend will call me and be like, oh, my God, did you know about this? And I'm like, oh, God, no, I didn't. Because I can't keep up with everything you have to choose in life. You can't. You can't choose everything.
Dave Briggs
I. I'm just gonna poke you now with little cultural tidbits.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, well, Megan Kelly, she just, like.
Dave Briggs
Gets you to take the bait.
Tara Palmieri
Megyn Kelly, just, like, she riled me up last week because I was just like, of course you would be the one. And I'm looking at her, and I'm like, isn't it so obvious? You look exactly like the person you are describing as beautiful, wide eyes, a thin nose. But she was like, just as a caveat, Whitney Houston was gorgeous. She had the exact same face. But, like, yes, but that is a Western standard of beauty. What about Asians? What about, you know what about anyone who doesn't fit into that standard that she has specifically said it's just not fair. And not all Asians look the same and not all Westerners look the same. But it's very Eurocentric, that's for sure.
Dave Briggs
I really struggle with Megyn Kelly, who was someone I respected incredibly from working with her at Fox, from when I left. She was so nice, went out of her way to say how talented she thought I was. And she was always nice and always gracious. I think she's as talented, as smart, as tough as in any medium, but she stands for absolutely nothing. And she supports the man that attacked her very core. I just, I guess power and money is not important enough to me to just flat out sell my soul and stand for nothing. She's incredibly talented and I'm sure she'd say dave who? But hey, man, at least I'm original. To quote.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, I, I agree that she is very talented, but we all, all of us have talents. Do you use them for good? And that's the question. I try to. I hold myself to that standard so.
Dave Briggs
Well, I appreciate.
Tara Palmieri
I don't want to use my talents to make other people feel bad about themselves. No, that's a fact. And I also don't want to use my talents to be a bully or a mean girl. That's not how I want to live my life.
Dave Briggs
And that was, that was honestly my take to take us back to the beginning on this Sydney Sweeney story. Why does a story like this have to divide the country instead of just consume the Internet? I'm not a natural divider either. That's why I didn't work out at either CNN or Fox. And I'm naturally kind of a seek out, middle ground type of person, which isn't hugely popular.
Tara Palmieri
Well, it's actually just not very hugely popular among a lot of people right now where they really want to hate. They want to figure out a place to channel their rage and they want to hate. And so they want to find people who also hate. But I do think there are a lot of really good people out there too, who want positive things that want justice, that want truth, that want information and, and don't want to make us hate each other more, want to make us understand each other a little bit more. That's what I'm hopeful for. That's what I'm trying to build a channel for. I don't want to build a channel against something. I don't want to build a channel for somebody or party or something. But I want to build a channel that people actually feel like they're learning. They feel better about themselves, they know more about the world, and they're hopeful, or at least they're trying to. They feel empowered, at the very least.
Dave Briggs
Well, that's why I enjoy your channel. That's why I reached out soon after you went on the air and made sure I told you that. So big fan of you.
Tara Palmieri
And I love the content you're doing with Alison, too. She's great. She's. I've always been.
Dave Briggs
Check us out on sanity and let's do this again, my friend. I really enjoyed it.
Tara Palmieri
Yeah, for sure. Sorry to scream at about. About. About Sydney. It's not about you. Sydney.
Dave Briggs
It'll be interesting to see if she comes out and embraces the MAGA movement. I don't think she will. I don't think she'll touch it.
Tara Palmieri
No, that'd be silly. To go. To go political would be silly. I mean, she probably wasn't happy that it came out that she was a registered Republican.
Dave Briggs
She probably forgot about it. Although, I don't know, I've seen some videos that make it pretty clear. I don't know. I guess I'm jumping to a typical stereotype, and I don't think it's because.
Tara Palmieri
And I don't think she would be happy if she showed that she was a registered Democrat either. I don't think that's what her brand represents.
Dave Briggs
I would agree with you. I would agree with you.
Tara Palmieri
I think she would rather stay in the state, the safe space of like, you know, bomb, blonde shell. I said that wrong. Blonde bombshell. I just said rather stay in the safe space that she's in, which is representing hot, hot sexuality, cool youth, energy, and not, oh, I don't like her anymore because she doesn't represent my values. I don't think she is a person who wants you to think too much about your values when you look at her. I think she wants you to be someone who just thinks she's hot and cool and dominating right now. And maybe you want to aspire to be her. And maybe seeing her makes you feel not so great about yourself. But I think at the end of the day, hopefully we've come to a place in our lives where, like, we all know that Sydney Sweeney's. They move throughout life just like the rest of us do. So everyone has their moment. Everyone's the it girl for a minute.
Dave Briggs
And as Michael Jordan famously said, although no one has it on tape, Republicans buy sneakers too. So no one really wants to be viewed political spectrum. I think you need to talk a little more culture. I think it's in there.
Tara Palmieri
Okay, fine. We'll do it. Let's do a culture show once in a while, okay? Just to let this. Just. Just to let the steam out.
Dave Briggs
We'll find the time that they intersect, like today, and that's when we'll do it.
Tara Palmieri
Okay? Sounds.
Dave Briggs
Good to see you.
Tara Palmieri
Good to see you, Dave. Thanks. I want to thank my producer, Eric Abenate, and my awesome team at the Tara Palmieri Show. Adam Stewart on the Thumbnails, Sarah Carney handling social media, and my researchers, Abby Baker and Luke Radle. See you again soon.
Podcast Summary: The Tara Palmeri Show – "Sydney Sweeney and the Insecurity Industrial Complex"
Host: Tara Palmeri
Guest: Dave Briggs
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Duration: Approximately 50 minutes
Tara Palmeri welcomes listeners to her show and introduces Dave Briggs, highlighting their collaboration due to launching their respective platforms around the same time. The primary topic centers on Sydney Sweeney, a rising Hollywood star, which Dave requested despite Tara's initial reluctance to engage with the story.
Notable Quote:
Tara Palmeri (00:00): "I have been trying to ignore this story... it's something, a culture war that the Republicans are going to hope or the MAGA base is hoping to, like, cause some sort of diversion."
Dave expresses enthusiasm for the show but notes his intention to discuss Sydney Sweeney as a distraction from constant Trump-related news. He references Megyn Kelly's critiques of Sweeney's appearance, emphasizing the Western standards of beauty Kelly advocates. Tara responds with frustration over Kelly's narrow beauty standards, likening Sweeney to a "factory-made" blonde bombshell.
Notable Quotes:
Dave Briggs (01:31): "Megyn Kelly... how does she wind up there at the wedding?"
Tara Palmeri (05:37): "Sydney Sweeney, she really divides people. And she didn't ask for this. She's just hot."
The conversation shifts to American Eagle's advertising campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. Dave highlights the significant impact on the company's stock, noting a 23% increase and attributing the success to strategic marketing despite potential backlash. Tara discusses American Eagle's deliberate approach, drawing parallels to Abercrombie's past controversies, and underscores the calculated risk the brand took by embracing a divisive ad.
Notable Quotes:
Dave Briggs (12:11): "Before their stock didn't go up, it exploded 23% at close."
Tara Palmeri (12:34): "American Eagle made a bet. They took a calculated risk... and it paid off."
Dave and Tara delve into the political ramifications of the Sydney Sweeney narrative, discussing how it has become a polarizing topic manipulated by right-wing factions to incite cultural wars. They critique both Republican attempts to provoke and Democratic inaction, with Tara emphasizing the superficiality of valuing women solely based on appearance.
Notable Quotes:
Tara Palmeri (09:46): "The right wing instigators are literally throwing bricks on the flame."
Dave Briggs (16:14): "Democrats need to learn how to play a culture war."
The discussion intensifies as Tara and Dave explore the ongoing Epstein investigation's political impact. They express frustration over the lack of substantial Democratic engagement and the broader implications for both major parties. Tara critiques the limited scope of official investigations, arguing that more individuals linked to Epstein need to be scrutinized to uncover the full extent of the scandal.
Notable Quotes:
Dave Briggs (24:43): "The only person who can unlock the key to this Epstein mystery is Glenn Maxwell is false."
Tara Palmeri (27:05): "This was probably one of the largest sex trafficking operations of our time."
Shifting focus, Tara and Dave discuss the evolving media landscape, contemplating whether independent media will merge with traditional cable news. Tara envisions a future where podcasts are licensed and integrated into mainstream media platforms, maintaining authenticity while adapting to changing audience preferences.
Notable Quotes:
Tara Palmeri (37:47): "They’re going to have to figure out a way... but it's hard to bring that sort of authenticity."
Dave Briggs (40:15): "I would love for CNN to pick up your podcast and run it."
In their final segment, Tara and Dave reflect on their respective roles in media, emphasizing the importance of positive, informative content over divisive narratives. They express mutual respect and discuss potential future collaborations, balancing political discourse with cultural topics to foster understanding and empowerment among their audiences.
Notable Quotes:
Tara Palmeri (47:23): "I want to build a channel where people feel like they're learning and feel empowered."
Dave Briggs (50:32): "Good to see you, Dave."
Cultural Standards of Beauty: The episode critiques Western-centric standards, using Sydney Sweeney's portrayal to highlight societal pressures and insecurities imposed on women.
Marketing and Stock Impact: American Eagle's strategic use of Sweeney in their ads demonstrates the potent intersection of celebrity culture and corporate success, despite potential political backlash.
Political Manipulation: The manipulation of Sydney Sweeney's narrative by right-wing factions underscores the persistent use of culture wars to divert attention from more substantive issues.
Epstein Scandal's Lingering Effects: The discussion reveals deep-seated frustrations with the lack of comprehensive investigations into the Epstein case, pointing to broader systemic issues within political and legal institutions.
Evolving Media Dynamics: The future of media likely lies in the integration of independent podcasting with traditional news platforms, balancing authenticity with broader reach.
"The Tara Palmeri Show" episode featuring Dave Briggs offers a multifaceted exploration of Sydney Sweeney's cultural impact, the interplay between media and politics, and the enduring complexities surrounding the Epstein scandal. Through insightful dialogue, Tara and Dave provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of how celebrity narratives can influence political discourse and corporate dynamics, all while contemplating the future trajectory of media in an increasingly polarized landscape.