Transcript

Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing

From Pod Save America · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 6 min · 12,050 words · 201 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing", an episode of Pod Save America published February 13, 2026 (1 h 6 min, about 12,050 words). It mentions 23 people, works and ideas, including Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Alex Epstein, Department of Homeland Security, John Favreau.

What this episode is about

The main topic revolves around a chaotic moment in a high-stakes hearing regarding Epstein, where a top Trump official displays erratic behavior, drawing attention to the ongoing political turmoil in the U.S. Key points highlight failed attempts by the president to arrest Congress members, a public meltdown from the attorney general concerning a child sex trafficking cover-up, and a looming shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security amid various controversies.

Key takeaways

  • In a week of chaos, the bizarre antics of cabinet members somehow overshadow the Congress arrest attempts.
  • RFK Jr.'s germ-test bravado proves that political charisma often borders on the the absurd—yet it's captivating.
  • Pam Bondi's refusal to answer crucial questions shows the art of dodging accountability is alive and well.
  • With stock markets hitting new highs, it's fascinating how economic success can mute cries for justice.
  • As serious crises unfold, the surreal moments of political theater offer a strange comfort—at least it's entertaining.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Alex Epstein, Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Congress
  2. – 20:00: Attorney General Pam Bondi, Donald Trump, Congress, Alex Epstein
  3. – 30:00: Donald Trump, Bombas, Congress, Simply Safe Home Security
  4. – 40:00: Australia, Acorns, Ziotics
  5. – 50:00: Department of Homeland Security, Congress, Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota
  6. – 1:00:00: Super Bowl, RFK Jr. / RK Jr., El Paso, New York, New York
  7. – 1:06:16: Super Bowl, Donald Trump, Australia

Notable quotes from "Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing"

  • Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm John Favro.
    about John Favreau · at
  • Clip was not the craziest performance of a Trump cabinet secretary this week. on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi tested Wow.
    about Attorney General Pam Bondi · at
  • Like there's no there is no effort to investigate the most famous maybe largest child sex trafficking ring in American history.
    about Alex Epstein · at
  • Pim Bundy's had a few other big L's this week. she and the president tried to indict six Democratic members of Congress for exercising their first amendment rights. In this case, reminding members of the US military.
    about Donald Trump · at
  • At around a dollar a day. 60-day satisfaction guarantee or your money back. Named best home security systems by US News and World Report 5 years in a row. ranked number one in…
    about Simply Safe Home Security · at
  • The Friday Sandal, the new squishy Saturday suede slip-on shoe for comfort on the go. And for every item you purchase, an essential clothing item is donated to someone facing…
    about Bombas · at
  • Your career can really make a difference in the long run. one way to do that is Acorns. Acorns is a smart way to give your money a chance to grow. Acorns is easy. You can sign…
    about Acorns · at
  • Democrats in Congress are standing strong in refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless Trump and Republicans agree to reign in ICE.
    about Department of Homeland Security · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Donald Trump — Person · Primary political subject (referenced) · 10 mentions · first at
    Central figure in the episode’s discussion of alleged DOJ politicization, the Epstein-files controversy, and broader authoritarian concerns attributed to his administration.
  • Attorney General Pam Bondi — Person · Key referenced official (Attorney General) / subject of critique · 6 mentions · first at
    Her House Judiciary testimony about the Epstein files is the main news hook; hosts argue her performance worsened political fallout for the administration.
  • Alex Epstein — Person · Referenced criminal case focal point · 6 mentions · first at
    The episode’s core scandal discussion centers on the “Epstein files,” alleged co-conspirators, and perceived government non-transparency.
  • John Favreau — Person · Host / co-host (speaker) · 3 mentions · first at
    Introduces segments, frames questions to co-hosts, and drives the episode’s analysis and comedic commentary.
  • RFK Jr. / RK Jr. — Person · Referenced cabinet official / comedic cold open subject · 3 mentions · first at
    Used as an opening example of erratic public behavior by a Trump administration official before pivoting to Bondi’s testimony.
    Clip was not the craziest performance of a Trump cabinet secretary this week. on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi tested Wow.
  • Governor Tim Walz — Person · Referenced governor / quoted speaker · 2 mentions · first at
    Quoted condemning federal immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota and announcing the end of “Operation Metro Surge,” used as an example of local pushback.
    Volunteer. We will help you get to the airport. We will clear the roads to get you to the airport. I will come over and pack your damn bags if that's what it takes.
  • Galain Maxwell — Person · Referenced associate in Epstein case (misspelled mention) · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed in relation to prison transfer details and Bondi’s claimed lack of knowledge, used to suggest possible perjury or implausible testimony.
    He'd seen in the files. Second, she said she claimed not to have known that Galain Maxwell was going to be moved to a minimum security prison, which seems impossible to believe in suggest to me she may have perjured herself.
  • Dan Goldman — Person · Referenced member of Congress (questioner in hearing) · 1 mention · first at
    Cited for a notable hearing moment highlighting that survivors present had not been interviewed by DOJ, reinforcing the hosts’ argument about investigative failure.
    There's also another moment in the hearing where Congressman Dan Goldman had that there were 10 of survivors who were in the audience and he asked them, How many of you have been interviewed by the Department of.
  • Steve Martin — Person · Referenced comedian (used for analogy/joke) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned for a joke used to illustrate the absurdity of the hearing dynamics and the hosts’ comedic framing.
    You say we go back to you cuz we're asking you questions. There's a there's a it's unbelievable great Steve Martin joke where he's at the Kennedy Center Honors for Paul Kenny…
  • Tim Cook — Person · Referenced business leader (example of elite compliance) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned briefly (“Tim Apple. Tim Cook.”) as shorthand for powerful elites who may avoid confrontation with the administration.
    Right. But there will be a whole host of other people who are far more willing to be silenced, to be intimidated. For every Mark Kelly, there's a Mark Zuckerberg who has…

Companies & orgs

  • Department of Homeland Security — Company · Key topic · 7 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of potential shutdown and controversies surrounding its operations.

Places & events

  • Congress — Event · Key topic · 11 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of political actions and controversies involving its members.
    Democrats in Congress are standing strong in refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless Trump and Republicans agree to reign in ICE.
  • Super Bowl — Event · Cultural reference · 10 mentions · first at
    Referenced in a discussion about cultural events and performances, highlighting its significance in American culture.
    Anyway, this week a lot of American conservatives, including Megan Kelly, watch Bad Bunny, arguably the most popular musician in the world, perform the halftime show during the Super Bowl.
  • Australia — Place · Setting · 9 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as the location where the podcast episode is being recorded, with cultural references.
    Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm John Favro.
  • Minnesota — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of ending a controversial operation that affected its residents.
    Thousands of immigrants constitutional rights by locking them up without access to lawyers. And in Minnesota, borders our Tom Hman and Governor Tim Walls announced that…
  • El Paso — Place · Setting · 4 mentions · first at
    Specific location mentioned in a story about airspace closure due to a party balloon incident.
    Without giving aviation officials a head up, forcing them to ground all traffic air traffic over El Paso.
  • Texas — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of a story about a party balloon being shot down over El Paso.
    Without giving aviation officials a head up, forcing them to ground all traffic air traffic over El Paso.
  • New York, New York — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in a story about RFK Jr. and a dead bear carcass.
    This is a man who saw a dead bear carcass on the side of the road in upstate New York and thought, Let's give it a ride to Manhattan. That's his vibe.
  • Culver City — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing during a discussion about a congressional hearing.
    Her district includes Culver City and she's not talking about any crime in her district. But we're going to move back to you. I bet we are. Yes, of course.

Sponsors

  • Simply Safe Home Security — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Promoted as a home security solution during the podcast, emphasizing its proactive protection features.
  • Acorns — Product · Sponsor · 4 mentions · first at
    Advertised as an investment platform that simplifies saving and investing for users.
  • Bombas — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Featured as a sponsor offering comfortable socks and slippers, with a mention of their donation model.
  • Ziotics — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Promoted as a probiotic drink designed to mitigate the effects of alcohol consumption.
    Too. All right, we've that's that's the news for now. Pods of America is brought to you by blinds.com.

Full transcript with timestamps

What's up, Melvin? Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm John Favro. I'm John Love. I'm Tommy Bizor. I'm Dan Fiper.

What a city. We We're such fans. We love this city. Now, we do this for other cities.

I'm not gonna name any names. You know what I'm talking about. All right. So, we got a big show tonight. Um, in the in the five days since we've been gone from the US, uh, the president has tried and failed to arrest several members of Congress, uh, the attorney general had a public meltdown, uh, over the administration's continued cover up of a child sex trafficking ring. Uh, and the Department of Homeland Security uh, is headed for a shutdown, but not because they used an experimental laser to accidentally shoot down a party balloon over Texas.

uh without giving aviation officials a head up, forcing them to ground all traffic uh air traffic over El Paso. That's not why the department's closing down, but we'll get to why it is. Um but let's start with an very important uh public health announcement from the top US official uh in charge of our nation's well-being.

I'm not scared of a germ. You know, I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats. Another Kennedy winning winning hearts all over America.

That is the most I've ever believed. RFK Jr. This is a man who saw a dead bear carcass on the side of the road in upstate New York and thought, "Let's give it a ride to Manhattan." That that's his vibe.

We think that the cocaine fell and he just didn't want to waste any of it. Like there's no reason he was like trying like what was the purpose of

Listen, I'm not like a I'm not like a cool guy. I know he's a conservationist. I've not been offered cocaine often in my life. People just don't look at me and think he'll do cocaine. But I'm pretty sure the toilet seat is never the best option for doing cocaine.

Yeah. Was he in a bathroom? He has to be the bathroom. I don't think he's at I don't think he's at Home Depot. like a public.

Is it IKEA? Where were the follow-up questions in this interview? That's a I mean, I think it was with Theo Von, so who knows?

Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay, let's get to the actual news. Uh, believe it or not, uh, the RFK Jr. clip was not the craziest performance of a Trump cabinet secretary this week. Uh, on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi tested

Wow. Sorry Bondi Playbook did title the story about this Bondi Beach. She testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee uh where she was asked to provide uh candid answers uh about the government's handling of the Epstein files. That's what this hearing was about. Let's take a listen.

How many of Epstein's co-conspirators have you indicted? How many perpetrators are you even investigating? First,

you showed it. You I I find it. How many have you Excuse me. I'm gonna answer the question.

I answer my question. No, I'm gonna answer the question the way I want to answer the question. You don't tell me.

Oh, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate. Not a lawyer. Not even a lawyer. Have you apologized to President Trump? The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000 and the NASDAQ smashing records. That's what we should be talking about. This guy has Trump derangement syndrome. Don't you ever accuse me of a crime.

I believe you just lied under oath. Her district includes Culver City and she's not talking about any crime in her district. But we're going to move back to you. I bet we are. Yes, of course. Because you're here to testify.

That's That's the idea. You come here, you say we go back to you cuz we're asking you questions. There's a there's a it's unbelievable great Steve Martin joke where he's at the Kennedy Center Honors for Paul Kenny Center was a building we used to have before Donald Trump blew it up and uh Steve Martin says you know I could sing the praises of Paul Simon but this is neither the time nor the place. If you were Pam Bondi's communications director,

and you almost were, and you almost were, um, and and she walks out of the hearing room, she hasn't looked at social media yet, and she says, "John, how'd I do?"

I think I'd say, "Wow, you did your best out there and you really gave as good as you got, boss. Hey, late at night you can't hear God anymore either, right? Like you used to be able to hear something that felt like connection to like an ever loving presence and now it's silent, right? That's true for you too, not just me. Are we all? Because at night when it's really quiet, it's getting quieter than it was and you're like, what's missing? What's the quiet in the quiet? And it's like, is that is that me or you feel that? You feel that, too. Great job out there, boss. The boss the boss is going to love it. I'm really happy.

Has the president called? Has the president called? Has the president called yet?

No. Tommy, aside from the uh the crash out uh that we just witnessed, uh were there any answers or revelations uh from the hearing that you think uh will keep the story going or cause the administration some problems?

Yeah, there so there are a few like factual things. One, she was repeatedly pressed if they were going to indict anyone based on what's in the Epste files. And I think she said something like, "We have uh pending investigations in our office." which seemed like news and seemingly contradicts what the FBI director Cash Patel said when he said there was no one to indict based on what he'd seen in the files. Second, she said she claimed not to have known that Galain Maxwell was going to be moved to a minimum security prison, which seems impossible to believe in suggest to me she may have perjured herself.

Um, bigger picture, and she said it wasn't actually a minimum security prison, which is Um, bigger picture,

what is a minimum anyway? Yeah. saying we shouldn't be talking about prosecuting uh child predators because the DAO is at 50,000 is one of the most insane things I've ever heard anyone say in politics in my life.

And that is the line though. It is the like 49,000. Yeah, you guess where guess where it ended today. 49,000.

And like watch out co-conspirators. And I I do think it's like permanently damaging. it just not just because of the insanity of the comment, but the degree to which it broke through. Like my Tik Tok and Instagram were full of people commenting on this. Like the the Gen Z reporter Bar Stool Sports was talking about how insane this was. And then there was also this moment where she was asked if she would apologize to victims of Epstein's crimes who were in the back based on how badly DOJ had bungled the release of the files and put out names and graphic images of people.

And she would not look at them. She would not apologize to them. she would not give an inch. And I think like this performance drew so much more attention to Donald Trump's worst issue that I know she was performing for an audience of one, but I think she made it exponentially worse by acting like a crazy person.

I mean, there's also another moment in the hearing where Congressman Dan Goldman had that there were 10 uh of survivors who were in the audience and he asked them, "How many of you have been interviewed by the Department of Justice?" and none of them raised their hands. He asked you how many of you would be willing to share your story at the Department of Justice, they all raised their hands. And so, you just have to think about this is they have a bunch of emails with people on record admitting to or very seriously implying being involved in child sex trafficking.

Talking about torture videos, talking about incredibly young girls. And they have not even asked the women who were involved about this. Like there's no there is no effort to investigate the most famous maybe largest child sex trafficking ring in American history. And the reason that is is because they don't want to know the names of the people that they're they're going to say.

Yeah. Because once they start pulling on the strings, a lot of people who may be friends with this administration, friends with this president in this administration, their names may come out.

And you do think that like as we go forward, that is something that reporters can keep pressing them on. Like they are willing to be interviewed. You were at the hearing. Have you interviewed them yet? Like that that's something that it's going to be hard to just keep running away from. And it because she was flipping around her briefing book so much, it was revealed that DOJ has surveiled members of Congress and knew what terms they were searching for when they were looking through I assume the unredacted epsene files, which is an insane thing to do.

It's a that would be a massive scandal in any other administration. Yeah. This is by some measures perhaps the largest or most consequential political scandal in American history. You have the federal government of the United States from the top from its absolute highest level covering up and protecting people involved in child sex trafficking because those people may be friends with donors to or colleagues of the president of United States.

Yeah. Like like the commerce secretary who we found out uh went to the island with his family because

he brought his children to pedophile island. You want to take your kids to Epstein Island uh as a trip after you said that you broke off relations with him years before.

Got to get the fast pass though. You It's a Disney joke. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

Do you think they didn't understand? Do you think that's why they reacted? They were told not to dumb it down.

Yeah. Specifically. So Dan, here's a Politico headline from uh a story about the hearing. House Dems think Pam Bondi just helped them in the midterms. What do you think?

That's putting a lot of weight on a congressional hearing that happened midday Wednesday in early February.

We do have nine months. Is that right? I think there are there are two bigger questions here that come from this hearing and the entire thing. The first is what impact will the Epstein files and cover up have on politics? And the second question is how should Democrats use to talk about the Epstein files in the midterm campaign? So let's start with the first question. It's obviously going to have an impact. This is a rare monocultural event in American politics. It has been the honestly the biggest story in American politics for nine months now.

Yeah. It dominates everything. It is everyone talks about it. Even it it's broken out the political media bubble. It is your non-political podcasters are talking about it. influencers on social on Tik Tok and in YouTube are talking about it is it is broken through it away and there there's so in our politics there are so few moments like that that it's impossible for not to have an impact. So then the question is like how do Democrats talk about it? And it absolutely should be part of our message. But I think it needs to be a data point about a larger story. And that larger story is that in America there are two sets of rules. One for elites and one for everyone else. And that dynamic is why rich people get tax cuts and Americans get kicked off their healthcare. It's why politically connected fraudsters get pardons from the president and hardworking, law-abiding people in America get thrown

into vans because of the color of their skin or their accent. And it's why and it's why the Department of Justice will not even talk to the victims because they're so worried that the elites will get in trouble because of it. And that and that that is the story that is an absolutely true, believable story of America. It's actually the story that got Donald Trump elected twice. And the fact that he is now on the wrong side of that, that he is not someone breaking up that cabal as he tried. He is one of the elites protecting other elites. That is a mortal political wound for him. But we have to tell that story. We have to tell it aggressively because we get too wrapped up in the specifics.

I think you lose it. It's got to be it's not just the Epstein files. Even though the country believes that he's covering something up, even though the country believes that there should be transparent, there should be more investigations, it has to be part of this larger story. I also think her conduct at the hearing is like a perfect example that illustrates that story because people who are tuning in and you know like Tommy was saying this like broke beyond the political bubble and everyone's just people are watching the attorney general of the United States sit at a hearing and just refuse to answer a single question scream at people at members of Congress and midterms are about you know a referendum on the party in power and they're about like whether whether you want to have checks and balances and whether you want to hold an administration accountable and you want to have some balance of

power in the country and having Pam Bondi up there scream for a half hour and refuse to answer questions and talk about the DAO when we're talking about child sex trafficking is just going to strike most people who don't even pay attention to politics is like what the hell why shouldn't she have to answer questions she works for us she's the attorney general of the United States

I understand from her own personal politics why she acted like this because this is apparently what people think Trump wants but this is the last thing that Trump want Trump should want attention being drawn to. It's like having robbing a bank and having your getaway driver light herself on fire outside the bank. It's it's not a good plan. Yeah, you won't get away. It's also, I think, worth saying like why is she doing this in this way right now? And I think it's because she's on her heels, right? Lots of stories about Trump being pretty upset with her and rightly so. This began with Pam Bondi saying that the list was on her desk and and that and she sent a bunch of people with binders out called phase one before Cash Patel said there is no list, right?

And so she and that was when the doubt was at 45,000. Yeah. And so I I think like ironically her filty to the president and constant fear of losing a news cycle and then like earning his wrath has put her in an even like a kind of an impossible situation because everyone knows she's just a vassel for Trump and that she's performing for an audience of one that actually makes it impossible for her to do anything to help him with the scandal because everyone knows she's not a independent arbiter of justice. She works for him and so there's really nothing she could do. And by the way, their decision to like redact these things has allowed the story to continue rolling out. Now there's all these news cycles about day after day of like, oh, who was this email from? We want to unredact this. We want to fix this. Like she is stuck in a loop where because she is so devoted to Donald Trump, she can't

solve the problem for him. Uh Pim Bundy's had a few other uh big L's this week. uh she and the president tried to indict six Democratic members of Congress uh for exercising their first amendment rights. In this case, reminding members of the US military uh that the law does not require them to obey illegal orders. Um thankfully, not a single American serving on a DC grand jury voted to indict. Um, was it because criminalizing free speech uh is a nightmare that our founders probably had? Um, or was it because the prosecutor assigned to the case um runs an active dance photography studio and has zero experience uh being a federal prosecutor. We'll never know.

We'll never know. It's maybe some combination. It's a weird combo. weird combo.

It's like uh members and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, position one, position one, position two, position two,

pa pa and spin. Honestly, if you go to the Instagram feed, some good work. Yeah, the photography is not bad.

Is she dancing while taking photos? Is that the deal? Uh no, I think she takes photos of dancers. Maybe it was a confusion because she by the way

because because uh because Piro had thought he had taken the bar. Tommy. Yeah. Should we feel um relieved that our legal guard rails held or should we be uh terrified that Trump and Bondi tried this in the first place?

DC grand jurors have become a surprising bull work against creeping fascism. Whether you are a member of Congress or just a dude drunk hucking a sandwich at an ice guy. Shout out to DC Grand Jurors. I I do not think I do not think um that can hold. Like as we've all seen, there are judges and jurisdictions that are far more likely to do Donald Trump's bidding. And I assume that at some point DOJ or somebody will find ways to route these cases there. Um I earlier today though I also I spoke with one of the six uh elected officials who they were trying to prosecute and this person told me that um they thought that Trump was going to try again maybe as soon as tomorrow.

So which is yesterday in America. So it's already no okay with another grand jury. And so maybe it won't work again maybe it will fail. But look I mean these people you have to hire a lawyer. It takes time. It takes money. It is intimidating. And like, you know, in this case, it seems like they with the wrong six people. Um, right. But there will be a whole host of other people who are far more willing um to be silenced, to be intimidated. For every Mark Kelly, there's a Mark Zuckerberg who has tremendous money in power and just turtles or a Jeff Bezos or a you know, Peter Tim Tim Apple. Tim Cook.

Yeah. went to the Melania documentary premiere for Amazon. So, I I don't think we should feel good about this.

Uh, love it. A federal judge speaking of Mark Kelly just blocked um Pete Higse from retroactively demoting Mark Kelly, uh, Senator Mark Kelly, his military rank and reducing his pension. Um, also because of the illegal orders video. Um, Hegseph then responded to say he's appealing like

and he's not stop it. Not anyone gets to be the understudy on the weekend Fox show. Um, why do you think they don't seem to care that they just keep losing these fights? Like they just they're not worried.

So, I think it's a couple things. I think to Tommy's point, the process is the punishment. They just want to make their lives miserable. They want to make them feel afraid of the process and what the worst case scenario could be. This could go to a grand jury and that could go beyond it. Uh this could cause your pension to be reduced. I think there's a reason that Janine Piro is now stuck going to dance instructor to kind of do this thing. Like this is they're not sending their best. Uh like Pete Seth uh like Pam Bondi is just trying to keep his head above water. He is just grossly unqualified to do this job. You can see it on his face. I'm sure he feels it in every meeting he is with serious people where he's pretending to be in charge and pretending to be on top of it and pretending to have earned the respect of of generals who can barely stare him in the face. Uh they're all just trying to

stay one news cycle ahead, right? they they they get a defeat. So he says, "We're going to appeal it." Why does he have to say that? So it doesn't look like they lost, right? They're always just trying to stay one step ahead. And I think it's important just to like I think sometimes like these people, we don't have to imbue them with magical powers or sort of kind of prognostication abilities. They're trying to figure this out one day at a time. And I think Pete Hexath is just trying to stay ahead of the weather. Like I I really do think that that's a lot of what's going on.

So Dan, like I I could see that most Americans um first of all if they have heard about this story um and and probably many haven't but uh those who have heard about it, you know, it's like oh Donald Trump is you know trying to indict people and politicians and does it but like this to me is a genuine like if not constitutional crisis like democratic crisis right now that we are that the president is just because he didn't like a video trying to use the Justice Department to arrest sitting members of Congress. Do you think that like this is something that might might break through that maybe Democrats should talk about this? And you know, what do you think?

What do you want me to say, John? You know what I want you to say? This is it. You're right. This is an absolute crisis. the president of United States is criminalizing opposition to the regime like that. It is as authoritarian as it can be. The only thing standing in the way is our American citizens serving on grand juries. It is what's kept Jim Comey, Leticia James, Lisa Cook, and a bunch of other people from actually being prosecuted, right? being indicted by their government and then brought up on criminal charges for what is essentially anchoring the mad king.

Now the way to talk about this I think is like we and we know that people do care about this in polling after polling majorities think Trump is going too far. Majorities think including strong majorities of independents and even a swath of Republicans think Trump is a threat to democracy. There are, you know, huge majorities, particularly of independents, but the country as a whole, who think that the government under Trump is a threat to free speech, like they're aware of this. What is really bothers people the most, and maybe this isn't say the most the say the best things about the voters who will decide our election, is it's not just that Trump is doing this, it's that he's he's doing this instead of the other stuff they elected him for. Right?

There's a whole bunch of people who elected Trump. They knew they knew this risk, right? They heard him say these things. Maybe they thought we were being a bit hyperbolic in how we described it. We weren't. Um maybe they they didn't really like him policies, but they really believed given the choices they had that he would do a better job of making their life a little bit easier by lowering prices. And then since he's been in office, he's done everything but that. And that's where this really hurts them, right? Like we just people care about democracy, but what they really care about, like I said, maybe this doesn't speak incredibly well of our citizenry, but what they really care about is because like if you're in a position where you are not making ends meet, that's what's in front of you because you're trying to feed your family, you're trying to save money for retirement, you're trying to put your

kids through college, and that is always going to be first and foremost. And that's where he's failing. But in part, he's failing because he's doing all this other instead of that.

Yeah. Is that the answer you wanted or you wanted me to say? Well, no. Yes, of course. I I I also think that like you think he's going to stop at members of Congress. Like he could do this to you. He could do this to anyone. And what happens when he starts doing it to people who are not wellknown, who can't hire attorneys who are not going to get like the public behind them because no one's going to know that it happened to them. you know, like at some point you have to make the argument that like this is not about Trump fighting with other politicians or or or Democratic activists or organizers, but like everyone is at risk if the president of the United States can just go try to arrest people, throw them in jail for exercising their rights. And I mean, look, and this is why we'll talk about it, but like this is why ICE and immigration, this is why he's so unpopular on that, too, because

it is people are starting to realize because they're seeing in their communities that no one is if if if some people aren't safe from this president and the law doesn't work anymore and the law is not upheld, then no one's safe. I mean that is that's why the killings of Renee Good and Alex Prey broke through in the way they did because it is evidence everyone's worst fears came to fruition which is at any point the government can do anything they want to any American and takes no accountability for it. Yeah, I do think there's like a there's like a a virtuous feedback loop in which what stands in the way of it is yes, it's a group of grand jurors, but it's bigger than that, right? The fact that there is not some mass movement behind Donald Trump. He's not the the the the the leader of a popular front that wants to criminalize being a Democrat and and that is sort of that that erupted to to to help him

execute the day he was elected that they don't have enough lawyers to do the kind of uh uh uh uh prosecution of their enemies. They don't have the they don't have the kind of uh uh like expert group. They don't have the popular will behind them. It means that yes, grand juries are going to stop them, but so are jurors. So are judges. Um it means that when Trump tries to go after uh the head of the Fed, there's push back from Republicans as well. Like he doesn't have Democratic legitimacy for this, which is why it's important to make the argument that you're making to make the case because even if that doesn't result in them, that will be felt inside of the legal process because the law is what we say it is and it is what judges say it is. And if they feel empowered by the public, it will allow them to do more and be another check as we go through it.

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And we're back. Melbourne, you're all here because you follow American politics. And we're here because you follow American politics, and we appreciate that. But do we appreciate it enough to learn even a tiny bit about you? Let's find out. Tonight, we're going to test our knowledge of each other. I'm going to ask members of the audience. I'm gonna come out there now. questions from the American citizenship test.

And I'm going to ask my best boys up here questions from the Australian citizenship test.

No. All right. So, here's how this is going to work. I have some questions here about what it takes to become an American citizen. A little bit like buying Bitcoin now. But when I Here's the thing. The motto of Pod Save America, buy the dip. Uh, all right. Who would like to go first? Oh, and by the way, I love our Americans who are here and our expats who are here. We're so grateful. I'd like Australians to help. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. What's your name?

Chancy. Okay. Hi. Not going to try. I'm sorry. All right. Now, I will one one note about this. The American citizenship test, you just have to know the answer. But we publish the full test. The Australians, you have to read a book. But the questions are multiple choice.

Interesting. All right. The idea of self-government is the first three words of the Constitution. What are the first three words of the US Constitution?

We the people. You got it. All right, John, Tommy, and Dan, what do we remember on Anzac Day? Is it A, the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli, Turkey? B, the arrival of the first free settlers from Great Britain, or C, the landing of the first fleet at Sydney Cove.

What's the day called? Anzac Day. Anzac. Anzac. what we all know. Come on, fellas.

First World War is what we were told. I'll give it to you. The That's correct. The landing of the Australian New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. It's a bit like Memorial Day or Veterans Day. How many How many years does a US senator serve?

Uh, way too many. I'm going to need a number. I'm going to need a number. The right answer. Four.

Wrong. It's wrong. It's how many? Six. All right. What is represented by the Commonwealth star on the Australian National Flag? Is it A the Six States and one point for the territories? Is it B the the British heritage or C the Southern Cross?

C. C. That's wrong. OBVIOUSLY. OH, BOO. AUDIENCE. What was it? It is the six states and one point for the territories

which we all learn from reading the book that teaches us all this. The common bond. What is Australia's national flower?

Is it A the tulip, B the rose, or C the golden waddle? Got to be C. It's got to be C, right?

C. It is. It's the golden waddle. A beautiful A beautiful yellow flower. Here we go. Points on the board.

Okay. Hi. Hi. Hi. What's your name? Francis. Francis. Hi. Are you from Melbourne?

Yes. What a city. You live outside? An hour. About an hour and a half. Oh, but in in of doors. Uh, if both the pre if the president and the vice president can no longer serve, who becomes the American president?

There's a half. You got it. Well done. All right, boys. What is the national anthem of Australia? Is it A Walt Matilda, B a song we all love out here? Is it B God Save the Queen? Or is it C Advance Australia Fair?

Come on, Tommy. What is the world you've been saving? It's not a trivia show. Ben would know. Did you think it's God saved the queen?

No. No. That's That's I don't know. I thought they see how could it be God save the queen when you think about it. She dead.

See, you got it. It's a advance Australia fair. Name two cabinet level positions in uh the the the US government. Two cabinet level positions. Stop helping kind Australians, mouthy nice people.

Uh, secretary. That is uh, okay. Of what? Of what? Secretary of War and Secretary of State.

Wrong. That is There is no Secretary of War. That's Trump talk. I was going to say there is now.

Wrong. Not by law. All right. When did the first fleet of convict ships arrive in Australia? Was it July 4th 1776 the 1st of January 1800, or the 26th of January 1788?

C, right? C, right? C. That's correct. One of Australia's proudest moments. I guess some weird history you guys got. Love it. Here. When was the US Constitution written?

It was in the olden days. Hit the nail on the head there. You're so cocky. Now we're talking and you don't have a answer. But you know what? Oh, I'm getting punched.

Get his ass. John Tommy Dan, when was the US Constitution written? Come on, boys.

1783. Oh, you're getting so close to it. The Australians know it's 1787. So close.

So close. So close. So close. Well done. Who is Australia's head of state? All right. A. Is it the prime minister? Is it B the governor general? Or is it C the king of Australia? His majesty King Charles III.

C. That's Yeah. No, it is. It is King Charles. It is King Charles. You You Oh, I read the book today. Why don't you all take your test again? The Governor General is his representative. You are all still subjects of that inbredad LONDON. YOU can pretend all you want otherwise, but until you change your constitution, you work for Charles.

Why does our flag have 13 stripes? Uh, it's a 13 original color. You got it. Thank you. See, we're coming back. What is the role of the Governor General in Australia?

Is it a get boxed by Charles? A, make all the government decisions. B, lead the parliament. Or C, act as the king's representative and perform ceremonial and constitutional duties.

Sounds like C on this one. You got it. Nice. Let's do one more question out here amongst all these love. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. What's your name?

Ash. Ash. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States. Mississippi.

You got it. The other is the Missouri. And as I come back, um, Melbourne, you've won the game.

And as I come back, run. As I come back, I just want to say that in learning a lot about your country, I came to find out that in 1975, your supposedly ceremonial governor general committed a coup. There was a coup in Australia in 1975. Boo me all you want. You know I'm right. And then in 1975, the king of England had a coup in your country and you all just ate it. The CIA did it. You know what? There's a lot you can blame on us. There's a lot you can blame on us, but not the 1975 Governor General thing. You did that. You know what? You lose the game. My boys won the game.

And we'll be right back. Positive America is brought to you by Ziotics pre-alcohol. Let's face it, after a night with drinks, uh, I don't bounce back the next day like I used to or at all. I'm too old. Too too old. I have a I have to make a choice. I either have a great night or a great night's stay. That is until I found pre-alcohol. Ziotics pre-alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works.

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All right, let's let's get back to talking about America. uh clearly a superior country because as most of you know well that was some heavy sarcasm there because I was about to say as most of you know our

they haven't gotten sarcasm here yet. Our our government has been sending uh roving paramilitary squads uh into our cities and towns to round up immigrants and citizens alike. So that's what we're dealing with. Um but there's been some promising news on that front this week. Uh, Democrats in Congress are standing strong in refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless Trump and Republicans agree to reign in ICE. Uh, a Trump appointed judge of all judges uh just ruled that the administration must no longer violate thousands of immigrants constitutional rights by locking them up without access to lawyers. And uh in Minnesota, borders our Tom Hman and Governor Tim Walls announced that Operation Metro Surge, which has terrorized the people of Minneapolis, has finally ended.

And uh here's what Tim Walls had to say at his press conference. The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. We've got children that a core memory for them will be their classmate being taken away and that will stick with them the rest of their lives. And my hope is what sticks with them is human decency wins out. Rule of law matters, all the surge is going and they're going immediately. So as soon as they can pack their stuff, book a plane, move on. I would volunteer. We will help you get to the airport. We will clear the roads to get you to the airport. I will come over and pack your damn bags if that's what it takes.

Minnesota nice right there. Yeah, that's that's Tim Walls. Love that. That's a Tim Walls we loved right there.

Great. Tim Waltz packing the bags, the Under Arour shirts, the photos of the kids they're not allowed to see.

Love it. Uh you were in Minneapolis uh a couple weeks after the killing of Alex Prey. Um

what are some lessons you think we can take away from what happened here? So, I think something that will always stick with me, something I've never seen in an American city are just parents standing on street corners all throughout the city in vests with whistles, kind of these sentinels standing guard of the schools, preschools, middle schools, high schools, uh, in case I shows up. That is an organic uh uh outpouring of empathy, compassion of people standing up for their neighbors in their community. And that group of unarmed people were strong enough to force the Trump administration into retreat when someone I've said before tyrant, you know, dictators look stronger than they are, democracy looks weaker than it is, but uh it is very powerful. We are very powerful. The American people are powerful. And they underestimate that because I think they equate being kind with being weak, but

you can be kind and tough. And I think that's what the people of the Twin Cities showed. And I think that's what we have to show as Americans. And I and I just think we can. And that is why I think when we like worry about what they're going to do to take over our elections, worry about what they're going to do to throw members of Congress in jail, we have to remember that we are still stronger than them. And we should not give them power that they haven't taken because we will hold them back as like we will set how far they go. They will not decide how far they go.

So Dan, another two polls came out this week uh one from NBC, one from the Associated Press that show Trump's approval on immigration uh at record lows. I think in the AP poll, his approval on immigration is even lower than his economic approval.

House's economic approval, which is what's that? House's economic approval. Not great either. Not great either, though. immigration being lower. I was I've been reliably told that only economic issues are what people care about. So, it's nice to see that. I am sure that that's one reason uh Democrats in Congress feel like very confident heading into this um mini shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which will probably take effect by the time people listen to this podcast. Um how do you think once the Department of Homeland Security shuts down, Democrats win this fight? And what does a win look like? So whenever you were dealing with a budget or government funding shutdown, there are there's a political win, a substantive win. They're not always the same thing. So let's talk about the political win first.

What Democrats, as you point out in this point, they have the high ground here. And this is really going to require Democrats in Congress to change their mentality because our natural assumption since the day Trump came down the escalator is if the conversation is about immigration, it's bad for Democrats. And that is no longer the case. immigration. It went from Trump's greatest strength to a glaring weakness. And the so we have the political ones that are back here. We should be strong. And it's positive to know that talking to senators, they believe the Democrats will stand strong here. The way I think they carry the message here is they stand strong. They are very loud and clear about what it is they're asking for and be very specific that all that they are asking for is for people to stop wearing masks, for ICE agents to have to use judicial warrants like our constitution says before they arrest

people. That ICE and CBP agents adopt the same standards for use of force as every other federal law enforcement officer in the country. That's all we're asking for. And then the other thing here is we care about ICE and CBP, the Customs and Border Patrol, and Democrats are willing to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security tomorrow if Republicans will agree to it. We will we will fund the Transportation Security Administration. We'll fund everything other than that. And so they and force Republicans to vote against that or to say they will not do that to put them in a position of being unreasonable.

And the only thing the Democrats cannot do here is to do what they did at the end of the last shutdown, which is to quit with nothing, to fold their cards before getting anything else. If the govern if the DHS has to be shut down through the election, through the swearing in of the Democratic majority in the House and maybe the Senate, then that's what has to happen here. Because honestly, the good ICE has the ICE has money. Like we should be very clear, ICE has $125 billion dollar like there like they are not going to suffer here. There is a principle here and that we will not vote to give a single penny to this agency that has killed American citizens, that has terrorized American communities without the most basic guard rails you could possibly ask for. And we have to stand by that because if we're not going to do that, then then this is going to be end up that will be tremendously damaging if we fold our

cards here. And we should be clear too like like the in within the department of homeland security like transport the TSA right those are the people at the airports um who you know make sure when you go through security and if you know TSA will will work without pay they'll have to work without pay for a while but you know last time we had a shutdown the airports you get a lot of delays and then travel

that's the FAA which is funded at some point the TSA thing starts getting a little funky but I do think and they're the Coast Guard who and uh FEMA, right, which is emergency management like

we'd fund them, right? And so I think at some point the Republicans will say, "Oh, look, the Democrats are are hurting people by doing all this." And I think, you know, Democrats have to say, "No, no, we'll fund this immediately." And if you want to leave the Department of Homeland Security, the rest of it, ICE and Customs and Border Patrol, like unfunded for the rest of the year, great. We don't care. Like I don't I don't think and I think there's less pressure on Democrats over DHS than there was when the whole government was shut down over the Affordable Care Act.

ICE is approval rating is down 30 points in the last year. Yeah. So if they want to if the Republicans want to make it hard for people to go through airports. They want to keep the Coast Guard unfunded. They want to keep the rest of our homeland security unfunded to pay for the massed paramilitary groups terrorizing American communities that Americans including even 24% of Republicans disapprove of. That's their choice and they should pay a price for it.

Yeah, agree. Um Tommy, while we're on the subject of uh the Department of Homeland Security, uh we should talk about Lasergate uh which I briefly mentioned at the top of the show. So again, the headline here is that uh Customs and Border Patrol reportedly used uh an anti- drone laser on loan from the Pentagon to shoot down a party balloon uh flying over El Paso.

Party pew pew pewers. Unfuck. You guys, is my mic on? Can someone Can someone turn it off? Um, so they shoot down the party balloon with the laser on loan from the DoD.

Yeah. Uh, without giving the Federal Aviation Administration a heads up. So the FAA then briefly closes uh the airspace over El Paso in Texas, which is a city of about a million people. Um, why would they do that? Why are we shooting defense department lasers in a situation where we're not at war? Like

can I add one more question to this? Yeah. What's a party balloon? Right. That we cannot answer. We We are all searching for this today. We don't know. We think it's just a Myar balloon.

Yeah, we need better reporting on this. Hey, we need better balloon. Is it Myar? Is it just helium?

Who's on the balloon beast? It's got to be helium 99 red balloon. What's going on?

Yeah. So, the the weapon system itself is actually pretty cool, but it's um shocking how bad they this up. So, the the system itself is called Locust or the palletized high energy laser pel. Great name. So, it's like it's like a seven by seven box. You can slap it on the back of a truck. There's one like optic is a is a laser, one is a guidance system, and I think it's sort of like bolts into whatever radar you have around. And what it does is provide sort of a mini air defense bubble for deployed troops. And anyone who has seen footage of what it is like on the front line in Ukraine knows that like war these days is drones that you could often buy at Best Buy or whatever that you strap a grenade to. Sometimes they use uh AI guidance um and they're unmanned systems that are autonomous that are just, you know, absolutely lethal. And so what this system does is it provides a way to defend against

those. Like it's it's a 20 kilowatt laser that which is actually not that much. It's kind of like the low end of the spectrum. I read it was like 350 light bulbs basically, but you direct it the size of a dime and over time it's a shitload of energy. So I watched um a promotional video this company did about their weapon system on YouTube and they melted a 2in metal coin from half a mile away in 1.5 seconds. And the reason this is important is because it basically costs like the normal missile defense systems, the interceptor missiles cost hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars. This is basically like a dollar or two $3 per kill. So a good system

per kill is what you said per fire. So there's a good thing. It's like Tommy, have you purchased one of these lasers?

We cannot. I don't think so. He's like the laser. Oh, we should tell you Tommy's on the board of Rathon. Do we not mention that? Are you is that are you going to check the box when we go through customs that you cannot be bringing the laser? Okay.

But it's like so the balloon costs more than the laser. Yeah. Well, it's like unlimited ammo. Yes. You can take out a balloon for less than the price of the balloon. And so that's why laser was such a good weapon in Contra.

What? So apparently apparently the cartels are flying drones like these over the border. They're tracking CBP so they know where they are and like they'll see the customs officials move one way and they'll send whatever drugs over the border the other. So what it seems like happened was the army acquired some of these systems. They loaned them to DHS who gave them to CBP and these cowboy just started firing these things at balloons without telling anyone. And the FAA was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We got to ground all the planes." But then they announced that we had to ground all the planes for 10 days, which I don't understand. It's like a

And they lied, right? And they said they didn't say it was a balloon at first. They said it was a it was like drugs, right?

Yeah. Well, there Yeah, there are multiple stories coming out. First, it was a Yes. It didn't make any sense. And so what this story to me suggests that this is what happens when you have a national security adviser who is also the secretary of state who until recently was the chief archavist and is like seemingly the president of Venezuela.

What did he lose the archavist? Yes, he did. He did. He's also running Venezuela. And so that guy is the person, Marco Rubio, should be coordinating the inter agency to be like, "All right, we got this problem of like cartels on the border. They're flying drones. They're tracking our agents so they can traffic things across the border. Here's the solution. Here's how we're going to work together to make sure that we don't shoot US or Mexican commercial planes by accident." Uh, but no one told the FAA. So they just like did this. Everyone freaked out understandably and it was a complete disaster.

And it sounds like no one told RFK Jr. because his shipment was in that balloon.

Just a floating toilet across the border. You guys got to go find another toilet.

Unbelievable. Transportation secretary was a former cast member on the real world. He's

And honestly, he's one of the better ones. He's doing okay. Yeah. Well, he up, too.

I don't think this is on him, is it? The balloon thing. I didn't He's He's in charge of the FAA.

Didn't it seem like the 10day shutdown thing was kind of like inter like a way of being like we weren't told this was happening. We're going to be kind of like we're going to be like pissy about it.

Yeah, for sure. But it's like what's the endgame there? It's also like a serious thing. Like in the in the El Paso airport, there were like medevacs that needed to get out of there. They like they were like people, it's not just like people traveling into El Paso. Like people need to get out of there. And there was like the airspace was shut down because they shot a laser at a

I don't think they told the Mexican government either. Yeah, there's a lot of problems.

No. No. It's like the like the 10th story uh that on the New York Times because everything else is up, too. All right, we've that's that's the news for now. Pods of America is brought to you by blinds.com. If you've ever thought about upgrading your window treatments but didn't want the hassle, blinds.com is here to change the game. They're the only company that lets you shop custom blinds and shades online, then backs it up with professional inhome measure and installation services. At blinds.com, you can skip the stress and get expert design advice through their convenient virtual consultations on your schedule.

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Here's how it works. We'll roll a clip and we want to stop to talk about it. We'll say okay, stop. In America, we call it Super Bowl Sunday. Here in Melbourne, we suppose it would be Super Bowl Monday. And that raised a lot of questions for us. Franklin President Franklin Roosevelt described December 7th, 1941, the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor as a day that would live in infamy. But here that was December 8th. So what day lives in infamy? We refer to the terrible events of September 11th, 2001 as 9/11. But here it was 129.

Anyway, this week a lot of American conservatives, including Megan Kelly, watch Bad Bunny, arguably the most popular musician in the world, perform the halftime show during the Super Bowl. But for people like Megan Kelly, it was like a cultural 129.

And so let us all watch and wonder as Megan Kelly in conversation with Piers Morgan abs.

Oh yeah. Yes. Honestly, he's the hero here. Watch his face. It's so funny. as Megan absolutely crashes out.

I'm sorry, Piers, but to get up there and perform the whole the whole show in Spanish is a middle finger to the rest of America. Who gives a damn that we have 40 40 million Spanish speakers in the United States. We have 310 million who don't speak a lick of Spanish. This is supposed to be a unifying event for the country, not for the Latinos, not for one small group, but for the country.

Okay, stop. I just want to say obviously this is shocking. I will It's funny cuz in the context of the rant because when she she does a lot of like

Avita like gestures for someone who's railing against Latin culture, she's up there being like arms up on the balcony. Also, the the Super Bowl is not a unifying event. It is it is an opportunity for the NFL to make as much money as humanly possible for a group of billionaire owners. As the United States, we all pick one side or the other and we watch them concuss each other to death on the fields.

Yeah. As a as a Patriots fan, didn't feel very unified Super Bowl. Well, the rest of us were unified about that result, so that's fine. But anyway, it really is 22 grown men beating living out of each other while we eat a 6ft sub and have some wings.

Yes, it is a great event. But I love it. But 15 minutes of Spanish didn't seem like that was a an issue.

What is that character she did? Like like she's so angry like what? Yeah, she did accent work.

Yeah, it's really work is generous. All right, let's continue. Don't need a black national anthem. We don't need a Spanishspeaking non-English performing uh performer and we don't need an ICE or America hater featured as our prime time entertainment.

Okay. What is the national language officially the national language of the United States of America?

I mean English and and there's been a push for many many years to make it to make it an official

documented thing. You don't have one. If you would have let me finish my comment,

I would have pointed that out. You don't actually have an official to make it official.

Okay. So, you're trying to make official this attitude that you have in Great Britain have lost your culture. You seated your culture to

Okay, sir. Look, now the now the Muslims are c catching strays. That attitude by Piers Morgan is why the British have lost their culture. If only we were so lucky. I can't get everywhere I look is British culture. I feel like Shakespeare's hanging on. All of our all the American roles go to British actors. Yeah. She thinks she thinks Shakespeare joined ISIS and she's screaming at him. Also, most many Americans can't speak English if we're just being honest. A lot of us don't understand our own language particularly well. So,

has a has a faint grasp on the language to begin with. She's so mad, too. It was very funny. It's like and we don't need a Spanishspeaking non-English performing.

Just like No, we got you. Like our last several halftime shows were Kendrick Lamar. Artfully calling Drake a pedophile.

Yeah. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg doing a 19 1990s hip hop revival. The Weekend. Like, were those nationally unifying events?

I guess the catcher thing was an Attack on Canada, which was cool, but Yeah, it was fun. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like that did unify the country against Drake. I guess

no one has honestly seen him in public since. So, yeah, that was the end of him. It's funny that like every year the Super Bowl is in some sense about pedophile pedophilia. Let's continue.

We're not allowing that here. Whether it's Hispanic, whether it's Muslim, it's not happening in the United States of America. That's why President Trump was elected. And whether it's Bad Bunny, who is American but refuses to speak English in his performances, uh, or anybody else, we have to keep the Super Bowl, which is a quintessential American event. Football, that kind of football is ours. They call it American football. And the halftime show and everything around it needs to stay quintessentially American, not Spanish, not Muslim, not anything other than good old-fashioned American apple pie. There should be a meatloaf, maybe some fried chicken, and an English-speaking performer.

Okay, stop. meatloaf. It's a classic Super Bowl food. The Super Bowl is about long simmering oven dishes. It's about It's about what you're pulling out of the hearth. What the is she talking about? truly

the so angry. What are you angry about? You're so rich. You just sit in a studio and you yell all day.

Like she sits in front of this specific background hour after hour, day after day.

You live You just you live in Connecticut with your family and you're just sitting there yelling on a microphone. What's your problem? I think as a rule, everyone should have to to show the full context of where they're doing their content making. Like I think that like this shot should have to go wide, show us in the room like the studio in her beautiful home, then have watch it go through the like the I'm sure hideously appointed beige soulless interiors that she paid for that that looks like a just a joyless gray expanse of what life could be or should be if you were a person who knew how to be happy.

Uh, but we should have to see that. I think we should get to see that because what are you so mad about? What are you so mad about? By the way, it was a it was an there was American flag. It was cool. It was cool.

It was fun in the moment to watch a lot of MAGA discover that Puerto Rico is part of America.

Yes. Yes, it was. But it's also like it's 15 minutes muted. For 15 minutes, someone who disagrees with you sang a couple songs. That's it. You could have gone pee. You could have gone to get some extra meatloaf. A lot of options.

There's like wait a a a a huge mix of cultures and languages. That is quintessentially American. That is the whole country.

That's the that's the honestly that is the whole point of our politics right now is the disagreement with that idea.

Like read the all the documents. All of them. Read them. I I just I just can't overstate how little you will see meatloaf at a Super Bowl party. I've never ever in my life seen meatloaf at a Super Bowl. It's chips and dips and wings and more dips.

All the Spanish speaking Muslim ones. Also, I would I would leave a Super Bowl party if I saw me. I'd be out of there.

Also, also we stole meatloaf from the Germans. It was a traditional minced meat dish that they stole from the Romans. That's how culture works. You steal things from the new guy.

Did you Google the origins of meatloaf? I googled it. Yes. Jack GBT, help me out with that.

Yeah, I just um Milo better than better in the original German. I think it would be very fun to have a Super Bowl party, invite Megan Kelly over, never say a word about it, and then just be like, um, Megan, care for uh Panang Curry. Uh,

Megan estas, oh, Megan, welcome to our You must try the sashimi. We have a wonderful spread. All of our favorites.

I'll be over here on my prayer mat. We actually like to watch the Super Bowl facing East.

Now, when you make Pierce Morgan look like the reasonable one. Jesus Christ. I told you he was the hero here.

Let's Let's not Let's not let Pierce Morgan off the hook because all you can see in Pierce Morgan's eatating grin is I'm viral again, baby Pierce.

Let Keep it going, Megan. It's another great day for peers. Attention. That's my Super Bowl. That's my Super Bowl food. Nosh nosh nosh. Attention. And that's okay. Stop. You did it. Australia. You saved America. That's our show for tonight. Melbourne, we love you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

with

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing"?

John Favreau (Host), Jon Lovett (Guest), Tommy Vietor (Host), Dan Pfeiffer (Host), Pam Bondi (Guest).

What is "Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing" about?

The main topic revolves around a chaotic moment in a high-stakes hearing regarding Epstein, where a top Trump official displays erratic behavior, drawing attention to the ongoing political turmoil in the U.S. Key points highlight failed attempts by the president to arrest Congress members, a public meltdown from the attorney general concerning a child sex trafficking cover-up, and a looming…

What is mentioned in this Pod Save America episode?

23 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Alex Epstein, Department of Homeland Security, John Favreau, Congress. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Top Trump Official MELTS DOWN in UNHINGED Epstein Hearing"?

The episode runs 1 h 6 min; the transcript is about 12,050 words in 201 timestamped sections.

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About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 14, 2026.