- 3 months ago
ADL Paying the Price with the FBI for Criticizing Charlie Kirk
Trump Adviser Says ICE Will be at Bad Bunny Super Bowl
Sponsored by SeatGeek
Poll Finds More Americans Support Political Violence
Trump Adviser Says ICE Will be at Bad Bunny Super Bowl
Sponsored by SeatGeek
Poll Finds More Americans Support Political Violence
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FunTranscript
00:00Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. You daily dive into the news. It's Thursday,
00:04and there's a lot to talk about today, starting with this. Two Jewish people were killed and
00:08four others severely injured in the UK this morning after a man drove a car into a Manchester
00:12synagogue. This guy got out and started stabbing people before being shot to death by the police
00:16shortly after the attack began. So given the nature of the attack and the fact that it happened
00:19on Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, police are calling this a terror
00:23attack. At least as I'm recording this, we're not seeing a lot of footage that you would normally
00:26see in an incident like this from the scene and prior to the attack. And that appears to be
00:30largely because of the demographics of the area, right? Manchester and this area in particular has
00:33the highest Jewish population in the UK. And generally speaking, observant Jews don't use
00:37devices on high holidays like Yom Kippur. And so for now, regarding a number of the details from
00:41this attack, we're waiting for that to come out. And I'm also saying attacker, and you're seeing
00:45attacker everywhere because right now we don't know the suspect's name. Or you've got London police
00:49saying they believe they know his identity, but they're quote, unable to confirm at this stage.
00:53Also, another hurdle in identifying the attacker was because suspicious items were found on the
00:56body, which required the bomb squad to come out. There it's being reported that the items weren't
01:00viable and not a threat. And then with all this, it looks like he may not have worked alone as two
01:04others have been arrested in connection with the crime. Also, as far as what we're seeing,
01:07you had Prime Minister Keir Starmer telling reporters,
01:09The attack in Manchester this morning is absolutely shocking. And all of our thoughts
01:14are with those affected. I'm on my way back to London. When I arrive, I will chair an emergency
01:19COBRA meeting. I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed
01:24to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.
01:29You also had the Israeli embassy condemning the attack and saying that such an act of violence
01:33should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar in a place of prayer and community
01:37is abhorrent and deeply distressing. And for Jewish people in the UK, this attack,
01:40it appears to be just another example of the rising wave of antisemitism, and here,
01:45a deadly one. In fact, according to the Community Security Trust, which is a charity that tracks
01:48antisemitic acts in the UK, 1,521 cases have been documented between January and June of this year.
01:54And that number includes a wide range of things, everything from graffiti and online abuse to
01:58assaults and other acts. But altogether, that means that this year has the second highest rate of
02:02antisemitic incidents since they've started tracking it in the country. And with all this, in general,
02:05there's a real fear from the UK's leadership that this could lead to even further increased
02:09tensions between sectarian groups across the UK. And we may already be starting to see that play
02:13out. I mean, just a quick search on social media, and you have people bringing up Israel and
02:16Palestine, the UK recently recognizing Palestine as a state, pro-Palestine marches in the country,
02:20though again, right now, we do not officially know any details about the attacker or his beliefs.
02:24But again, for now, we have eyes on this, and we're gonna have to wait to see what information
02:27comes from the investigations here. But then also, regarding the topic of antisemitism,
02:31we should talk about this news involving the ADL and FBI. Because Kash Patel, the director of the FBI,
02:35he just announced that the agency is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League, with them saying
02:38that they're an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization. And this notably after
02:42Elon Musk and other right-wing influencers went after the ADL for its work documenting alleged racism
02:46and antisemitism connected to Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA. Though technically, the ADL never
02:51actually labeled Turning Point an extremist or a hate group. Instead, it described it as a right-wing
02:55student organization that provided a platform for extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists.
02:59They then also claim that TPUSA's leadership and activists have made multiple racist or bigoted
03:03comments and have been linked to a variety of extremists, and they gave various examples there.
03:07And they then also argued that Kirk himself pushed numerous conspiracy theories about election fraud
03:11and COVID-19 and has demonized the transgender community as well as promoted Christian nationalism.
03:16Right? And then connected to that, you had a fair share of people sharing screenshots of an ADL
03:19webpage talking about what's known as the Christian Identity Movement, right? Which is,
03:23it's not just about identifying as Christian. Instead, it's described as an extremist ideology dating
03:26back to the 19th century, which believes that white people are God's chosen ones and advocates
03:30for a holy war against Jews and other minority groups. And so with all that in mind, you had
03:34Musk pointing to the ADL and saying that they're a hate group against Christians, right? And claiming
03:37that the ADL using what he called false and defamatory labels about people and organizations,
03:41including calling them extremist, hate, or terror groups, encourages murder. And Musk then going
03:45on to say that they're a far-left hate propaganda machine, which I will say is also a little bit funny,
03:49just because, you know, a lot of the criticism of the ADL has actually come from people that are
03:53considered more far-left, right? And specifically, Palestine supporters or Netanyahu critics,
03:57they've slammed the organization for equating anti-Zionism and even general criticism of Israel
04:02with anti-Semitism. I mean, you've even had ADL employees speaking out against the ADL's defense
04:06of the Israeli government. Though also, notably, a lot of backlash came in response to the ADL's
04:10past defense of Elon Musk. Or you might remember when Elon Musk did this, the ADL called it an awkward
04:15gesture and a moment of enthusiasm. And actually now, in response to all this, you've had the ADL accused
04:20of folding to Musk again by taking down its so-called glossary of extremism, reportedly removing over
04:25a thousand pages of related research from its website. Though there, you had the ADL defending
04:28itself in a statement saying that an increasing number of entries in the glossary were outdated
04:32and noting, you also saw a number of entries intentionally misrepresented and misused. But
04:36again, another big aspect of this backlash we're seeing it has to do with the ADL's ties to the
04:40FBI and other law enforcement. Because if you didn't know, the ADL's partnered with law enforcement
04:44agencies for decades to educate them on extremism and anti-Semitism. And actually, in the case of
04:48the FBI, it's mandatory for new agents to complete the ADL's Law Enforcement and Society
04:52Workshop, which, according to the description, examines the history of the Holocaust, the role
04:56of police under the Nazis, and the implications of the Holocaust for law enforcement today.
04:59I mean, he even had in 2014, former FBI director and I guess now recently indicted James Comey
05:04delivering a speech praising the ADL for its work, saying, if this sounds a bit like a love letter
05:08to the ADL, it is, and rightly so. But now you've got Cash Patel telling Fox News, James Comey disgraced
05:13the FBI by writing love letters to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning
05:18like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans. That was
05:22not law enforcement. It was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger.
05:27And saying that era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey's policies in any partnership with
05:32the ADL. But then next up in the news, let's talk about Trump gearing up to send ICE to Bad Money's
05:36Super Bowl performance. Because in case you missed it, the NFL and Apple Music, they announced that Bad
05:40Money is going to be the halftime headliner this year. And that's not like the most surprising news.
05:43He's one of the biggest artists in the world. But still, because everything is stupid, that sparked a
05:47controversy. Because even though Bad Money is from Puerto Rico, which is an American territory,
05:51many on the right believe that this was an un-American choice. With some outrage that his
05:54music is primarily in Spanish, not English, you had people like Megyn Kelly even calling this
05:58election an active middle finger to the right. And then others posting things like Roger Goodell
06:02and the NFL just decided to make the Super Bowl political. This is not a pick designed to unite
06:06football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans, and no doubt
06:10Bad Money will find some way to push a woke message. Does this guy really scream American football to
06:15anyone? Right? And then with all that, you had people pointing to Bad Money actually opting to
06:18not do any shows in the 50 states for his recent tour, because he has a huge Latino fan base, and
06:22he was concerned about ICE. With him explaining, there were many reasons why I didn't show up in
06:25the U.S., and none of them were out of hate. But there was the issue of, like, fucking ICE could be
06:29outside my concert. And well, now it's not just randoms and commentators online. This has reached the
06:33Trump administration. Because you had Corey Lewandowski, a senior advisor in the Department of
06:37Homeland Security, going on a podcast and getting asked if there would be ICE enforcement at the
06:40Super Bowl. And there, he said, There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are
06:45in this country illegally, not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you, we will apprehend
06:49you, we will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you. So know that that is a very real
06:55situation under this administration. It's so shameful that they've decided to pick somebody who
07:00just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game. And so that clip, it's taken
07:05off, and you had ICE backing up those comments to TMZ, confirming that ICE's presence will be at
07:09the event. And that ended up sparking its own wave of responses with some think that it's ridiculous
07:13to threaten an ICE raid over a Puerto Rican and therefore American artist. Right, some saying
07:16this just proves Bad Bunny's point about not touring here. But there's also, as some have said,
07:20this feels like a pretty empty threat. Right, arguing that the crowds attending the Super Bowl and those
07:23attending a regular Bad Bunny concert, they're just not the same group. So people saying it's less
07:27likely that fans would be putting themselves at risk or be in risk in the same way with his own
07:31world tour. Though also, the fact that this even turned into a big controversy at all, for many, it proves
07:35why it's such a big deal that Bad Bunny is doing the halftime show.
07:38Bad Bunny is performing at the biggest stage on the biggest night in the United States when Latinos
07:45are being scapegoated, persecuted, and being talked about like we don't belong here. Bad Bunny champions
07:51his island, okay? He's constantly wearing his culture on his sleeve. It's representation. It's defiance.
07:59It is joy in the face of people who try to shrink us.
08:07And then there's more news we got to talk about. But first, let me say, you know, fall is here and
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09:09news, 30% of the people who responded agreed that Americans may need to resort to violence to get
09:13the country back on course. But that is what we're seeing from this new survey. And the details of it
09:17are very interesting because that 30% is up 11 points from just a year and a half ago. And while you saw
09:22increases for all party identifications, they did not rise equally. Republicans went up three points,
09:27independents went up seven points, and Democrats shot up 16 points, going from 12 to 28%.
09:32Though with that, while the Democrats had the biggest increase, that's only because Republicans
09:35were already so high. Right a year and a half ago, Republicans were where Democrats are now in terms of
09:40support for potential violence. And today, they're even higher, showing 31% support. And so basically
09:44what you have are the Dems catching up. And as for why you're seeing all this, you had NPR senior
09:48political editor, Domenico Montanaro, whose outlet was involved in the survey, giving his interpretation.
09:52And I think that it really speaks a lot to people who feel under threat in the country,
09:57whether they're targeted for hiring practices or feel like they don't have upper mobility or feeling
10:01like that the country's not going in the direction they want. In some senses, though, I feel like there's
10:05a failure of politics here overall. Because if you feel that politics, which is the only way to really
10:11create change in the country, is the way to make that change, then you don't feel this way. But when
10:16politics people feel has let them down, then you start to see these kinds of openings.
10:20And that actually brings us to another poll that just came out, because it seems to demonstrate
10:23what he just said. Because it found that 64% of registered voters believe the nation is too
10:27politically divided to solve its problems. And that's up 22 points from 42% in the fall of 2020,
10:32which was when the U.S. was dealing with COVID lockdowns and BLM protests. Right, and we're seeing
10:36all of this is now a third of people said that America's problems are so bad that it's in danger of
10:41failing as a nation. And that, including well over a half of Democrats and only around 6%
10:45of Republicans. Right, and with all of this, I also think it's important to note the timing,
10:49because these polls, they happened after the Kirk assassination, but before the government
10:52shut down. So it's very possible that some of these numbers may have shifted. Now, with all that
10:55said, you know, there are things that Americans seem to agree on. Right, so for example, despite a
10:59third thinking that political violence may be necessary, 95% of Americans still say that it's a
11:03problem. But then with that, when you ask about what kind of violence they're worried about,
11:06you get very different answers. Right, so for Republicans, you saw more concern about violence against
11:10public officials, whereas Democrats, they had more concern for violence against protesters. And then for
11:14many other issues, the broad surface level agreement, it also turned out to conceal kind of
11:18a deeper disagreement when you break it down further. So like, for example, only 12% of
11:22registered voters support revoking the licenses of TV stations that air programs criticizing Donald
11:26Trump. But when you narrow it down to just Republicans, that number jumps up to 26% or around
11:31one in four. Right, and that is 64% of Republicans here added that Trump's actions pressuring media
11:35organizations, which cover him unfavorably, have been about right or haven't gone far enough. And then
11:40even on Jeffrey Epstein, although 61% of Americans disapprove of the Trump administration's handling
11:44of the case, that number is only 25% for Republicans. Or with nearly half of Republicans
11:49approving of it, and 9% saying they don't want any of the files released, whether the victims' names
11:53are redacted or not. But I will say, despite all this, I was able to find at least one question from
11:57the second survey on which it appears that both sides seem to genuinely agree. Right, and that is
12:00whether they would call each other the enemy or fellow Americans whom they merely disagree with
12:04politically. Right, which is 10% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans opting for the harsher description
12:08and the overwhelming majority liking the kinder one. Which, you know, does give some hope, given
12:12the kind of venomous rhetoric we've heard from many, including from the president.
12:16I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best of them. I'm sorry.
12:21I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are.
12:24It is the enemy from within, and they're very dangerous. They're Marxists and communists and
12:29fascists, and they're sick. These people, they're so sick, and they're so evil.
12:34But then next up in the news, we should talk about why these 20 states are suing the Trump
12:37administration. Because they say that Trump's barred them from using federal funds to help
12:40survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who can't immediately prove their immigration
12:44status. And the AGs who brought this case, they're saying that even lawful residents and
12:47U.S. citizens could be shut out from these urgently needed services, and adding,
12:51people fleeing abusive households often do not physically have the legal documents needed to
12:54demonstrate immigration status. And adding, abusers will frequently restrict a victim's access to
12:58important legal documents as a means of control and as a tactic to prevent them from escaping
13:02the dangerous situation. And then with that, they also pointed to Trump's recent statements that
13:06appear to minimize the seriousness of domestic violence.
13:08Things that take place in the home they call crime. You know, they'll do anything they can
13:11to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime, see?
13:16So now I can't claim 100%. But also with this, to zoom out a bit, this has to do with funding
13:21that's awarded by way of two laws. The Victims of Crime Act and the Violence Against Women's Act,
13:25as well as something called the Byrne Memorial Assistance Grant Program. Right, and the Justice
13:28Department's new rules restricting the use of this funding to provide legal services to
13:32undocumented immigrants is scheduled to go into effect on October 31st. Though also with this,
13:36I'll say, you know, this isn't the first time that the White House has gone after money meant
13:38for the victims of crimes. Back in August, the Trump administration actually threatened to withhold
13:42Victims of Crime Act funding to states that don't assist with immigration enforcement. With that,
13:46also prompting 20 states, as well as D.C., to sue the Trump administration, right? Because that
13:49funding, it reportedly covers the cost of about 75% of state-run victims' compensation programs.
13:54Right, and those programs, they help victims with medical expenses, counseling, and even funeral costs
13:58in the case of homicides. Right, and these funds, they also pay for services, including testing rape
14:02kits and going toward grants for organizations helping people recover from domestic violence
14:06and other trauma. And also, a very big thing is that this funding, it doesn't actually come from
14:09tax dollars. It comes from fines and penalties in federal court cases. And so with all that,
14:13you've got people like New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Placken saying, you know,
14:15the administration's threat to withhold funds was the most heinous act that he's seen in politics,
14:20and adding, these people did not ask for this status as a crime victim. They don't break down neatly
14:24across partisan lines, but they share one common trait, which is that they've suffered an
14:28unimaginable trauma. You know, what's really crazy is there's just a lot of stories like this.
14:33Every single day when we look to the news, it's kind of like one to three things that suck up all
14:36the oxygen, and it becomes very easy to forget or miss so many things that are actively happening.
14:41And with that, it brings us to the end of this video. You've got even more just a click away,
14:44or even the first episode of my brand new podcast, Crashing Out with myself and Alex Perlman.
14:48We promised each other that we'd do this for three to six months, no matter what. Very happy to see
14:52y'all loving it. Also, for the newest Philip DeFranco show that you might not have seen,
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15:01get filled in. No matter what, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love your faces,
15:05and I'll see you right back here on Monday.
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