Kind: captions
Language: en
only one week in and 2025 is already
getting crazy Trudeau resigns and Trump
says a whole host of crazy things
including Canadians would love to be the
51st state the Gulf of Mexico should be
rebranded to the Gulf of America
Greenland should be available for
American National Security and Panama
Canal should never have been given back
to Panama is this imperialism trolling
or something else entirely also Zuck is
aping musk and finally fighting for free
speech although not everyone including
my producer Drew are buying it Trump is
being accused of marching closer to
destroying his no new Wars legacy by
once again warning Hamas that all hell
will break loose if the hostages have
not been released by the 20th and will
the iconic image of a Tesla burning in
front of Trump Tower on New Year's Day
become a tragically prophetic meane
marking the split between musk and Trump
or are they going to prove the haters
wrong lot of drama on the world stage
everybody but I also think that 2025 is
poised to be an incredible year as long
as we can stay emotionally sober let's
talk about it about the house and the
wise welcome to the Tom Bilu show I am
joined today by my producer Drew what's
up Drew happy New Year man happy New
Year we are back at it it has not been
slow this break has been full
of crazy jumping right into it Trump had
a press conference and he had time today
um you covered it in the intro 51st
straight he wants Greenland he wants the
Panama Canal golf of Mexico and he has
some Choice words for Hamas what was
your first
impression I I really worry that Trump
is backing himself into a corner what he
he is doing the strongman routine I
think he has to do the strongman routine
in order to reestablish a balance on the
world stage it is very clear to me that
a lot of the problems that we're having
internationally are because America is
weak and when you don't have a policeman
you realize that the game that we're
playing internationally is true Anarchy
this is uh the might makes right world
that we live in and people are going to
get what they can get and that is the
way that the world works and I don't
think people are very honest about that
and we're being slapped in the face with
it and so America does have to reassert
itself as a dominant Force that's going
to help get people back in
line however it can't be a bluff and so
if he says it he's got to be prepared to
back it up and if he doesn't immediately
then people realize oh there really is
nobody because you put put your
strongest man supposedly in the white
house and we can still march all over
you so I don't think he's bluffing so
this becomes a he wants to use it as a
tactic he's going to go in he hopes he
doesn't have to wield the hammer but if
you show people the hammer and then
you're unwilling to bring it down when
they cross a red line they're going to
keep Crossing those red lines so that
worries me in terms of this sort of ever
escalating thing now the rhetoric about
Canada being the 51st state rebranding
the Gulf of mexic me the Gul of America
whatever it's that's how Trump talks I
find it this is not going to be a
popular take I find it amusing uh I get
it that you have this guy who talks like
a loose cannon on the world stage and
that's deeply problematic I actually
don't think it is um I think it is going
to be divisive internally I think that
it will make world leaders dislike him I
think that people think he's very UNC I
think he is very UNC and I think he
speaks in fractals uh but is somebody
that understands that there's a big
difference between the YouTube headline
and the actual content inside the
Youtube video um I think that's what
you're looking at is he's saying things
in a press conference to get people to
pay attention all eyes on me I'm taking
this thing very seriously you need to
take it very seriously too uh so I throw
the vast majority of the things that he
says out is just sort of WWE
rhetoric it's the threats directly to
Hamas it's the that part uh
the drama that we're absolutely going to
have with China it's the stuff with
Putin and what's going on in the Ukraine
that stuff's going to get real now I'm
not worried about the way that he talks
about it but I am worried that he's
going to back himself into a corner in
the
negotiations where he's made it clear
I'm holding a hammer and you need to act
because of that uh and I will be
surprised if somebody does doesn't call
that bluff I'm with you 100% I think the
Greenland thing it's funny there's
45,000 people there what is Greenland
going to do and even talking to China
tough it makes sense because we're in
bed with China they have our debt we
economically are in bed together but
what worries me is the Middle Eastern
reic and the and the Hamas reic because
they don't care like they they have
nothing to live for it it would be they
would get excited if they were able to
punch the America if they was able to
like leave a bruise in America like they
would celebrate that so I think it's one
thing to talk tough when you're talking
to China who's financially obligated to
mess with us it's another thing you're
talking tough to Canada who hasn't been
at war with anybody in 80 years but
Hamas just blew some people up talking
tough to them I think is a little bit of
a tricky thing do you think there's a
line there on on the tough guy act and
maybe he should kind of dial it back or
do you think he kind of made his b and
he has to double down on it now on on
this one it is really the friction
between him writing on the legacy of no
new Wars and the reality of getting what
is I think the right answer in that
conflict they have American hostages you
need to get them back and that should
have been The Stance from the beginning
so on that one I feel like he needs to
not only act tough but he needs to make
sure that we get the hostages back now
having said that now you've got this
Legacy problem of there are going to be
people who are like wait a second I
voted for you because you were the guy
that started no new Wars and I will be
shocked if I mean look there might be a
a way to spin this at the end where it's
like well it wasn't formally a war it'll
be some sort of rhetorical game like
that right but if he's it will almost
certainly play out like this we're going
to arm The Living Daylights out of
Israel we are going to give them
political cover to do whatever they want
and so if you don't give them back it's
not going to be American troops America
didn't start a war this was coming in I
was just a strong guy that came in and
stopped this but people won't be blind
to it and so if he does all of that it's
the asterisk next to your name and
that's where I think that is going to be
problematic for him politically from a
prediction standpoint in the next four
years do you think that we have soldiers
boots on the ground I'm not going to say
War but an increased deployment of boots
on the ground in one of these countries
around the world I don't think you will
in Israel I think that's going to be
arms money and political cover I don't
think he'll have to do it
um the Ukraine if that escalates out of
control that's the only way that I see
boots on the ground like if you start
seeing NATO countries being invaded on
their territory and right now the one
card he's played is that you have to pay
your dues in NATO if everybody's up on
their dues you canot back your all you
absolutely cannot so that one I think is
more a question of can he help reach a
negotiated settlement on that I think
he's going to be um good I think that
that he understands that this is a game
of negotiation he has not said anything
escalatory about that that I've heard
anyway uh so on that one that's more
just like hey I want the killing to stop
these two need to come to the table I
think he's GNA push zinsky to make some
concessions uh he's going to push Putin
to make concessions if Putin doesn't
make the concessions I do think he would
send a metric ton of weaponry and I
think that will be his play that he's
going to back people financially he's
going to back them with weapon he's
going to give them political cover if
he's not getting what he wants out of
the negotiation that's my gut instinct I
think barring uh an escalatory move on
Europe he's not going to have boots on
the ground no way copy that copy that
and Justin TR trau just stepped down I
just realize this Canadia I say Canadia
Canada doesn't have term limits so he
was in power since 2015 which is crazy
to me um but he just stepped down
waiting for his replacement and he kind
of suspended Congress until March 15th
right after that Trump released the 51st
date tweet do you think that there's
something there he been talking about
that for a while so uh it is him that
one feels like a troll to me I don't
think he's serious when I was at
maralago he literally brought that up
and he brought it up as if other people
were saying it he thought it was funny
um so if he suddenly starts saying that
he thinks that's really serious I think
he so believes in himself and so
believes in America that he probably
does believe hey if you put it to a vote
Canadians my vote for it that to me is
beyond delusional they have their own
national identity they do not want to be
a part of America they probably want can
some people will want a different
version of Canada just like Americans
wanted a different version of America
but for all the talk that people were
spouting about I'm going to move to
Canada Nobody Does it so I cannot fathom
a universe in which Canadians don't feel
a tremendous sense of Canadian Pride
that they don't want to be a part of
Canada um I saw the interview that uh
POV I think that's how you say his name
did with um Jordan Peterson he's a very
proud Canadian who feels like he sees
the path forward for Canada I imagine
that the vast majority of people feel
that way uh so that one just feels like
a grand troll to me um but us having a
huge impact on their economy is very
real and if they have a bad relationship
with America that's going to be horrific
for their economy and so I think that
they are going to want to have a very
reckon um a very conciliatory
relationship with Trump with America uh
because that's going to matter a lot and
so they don't want to be hit with a
bunch of tariffs um but I don't think
it's real so we have Greenland
potentially we have Canada potentially
we have the Panama Canal potentially it
seems like Trump is trying to like make
imperialism great again like he's trying
to expand the territory what do you
think about it I think look if you were
to peer inside his soul you probably see
something like everybody be better if
they were American I have a feeling that
he really does believe that uh
it just isn't true so it isn't true in
the sense that people really need to
understand that cultural differences are
real and they matter a lot and this is
why you can't go into Afghanistan and
try to give them American culture it
just doesn't work man this stuff is so
deep-seated like your parents taught you
a thing about their parents who taught
them a thing about their parents this
stuff just goes back for generation and
generation and generation and so there's
a deep lore in every person's mind about
their country and so uh it just a
different angle on the world and I mean
down to the the thing I want this show
to be is I don't want people just
adopting my mindset what I want them to
do is say oh Tom is like an AI and I can
get him to look at any topic that the
community cares enough about that we get
in front of him and he'll give us his
strong take on that thing uh I don't
expect people to just go oh what Tom
says is true I'm just saying it's my
angle and people the only way to
triangulate the truth is to get a bunch
of strong sincere takes on what people
think the truth truth is and then you
yourself act as a synthesizer and you
look at that and say oh this is what I
make of all these different things so
anyway the whole world is like that I
think that one we should want those
different angles on the world just as I
like living in a system where the States
can be different from each other all
under this one umbrella but we can all
be very different so that we can test
things out and people can vote with
their feet I love that uh so at the
international stage you're never going
to get uh just blanket way of thinking
anyway so you should not be aiming for
one government I think that's a terrible
[ __ ] idea uh it's never going to
happen anyway so even if he wanted that
I think it's a terrible idea also
Empires are ruthlessly expensive so it'
be a terrible idea even if he wanted to
do it uh I I don't think Americans are
ever going to go for it first of all uh
I think it's wildly impractical and so
it's not going to happen but is there
that part of him that's like everybody
be a little bit better off yeah I think
he probably does believe that but I
don't think he's going to make any
serious play yeah um that kind of nativ
nativity kind of reminded me of the Lex
uh zalinsky interview that happened over
the weekend as well where it seemed like
Lex was his nephew who was talking to
his like grandpa I was like hey can we
just wrap up the war we love each other
and zeles was like there's dead kids
there's and he kind of gave him a more
sobering lens and I think that it's the
same kind of with Trump where how Trump
is looking at it like oh you guys will
be fine if you came over here but then
when you kind of look under the hood
that car it's like okay I got to take
your debt I got to take your protections
I got to deal with the things that you
guys don't want to deal with so it's not
necessarily just We'll erase this border
and everything is fine there's a lot
that comes with that acquired yeah the
The Lex interview is really interesting
so I for one am very glad that he did it
I love that so I look at Lex as an AI
that I can point at a given thing and he
will look at that thing and then report
back with his very strong very sincere
take Lex comes to the world with
everything is love and there there's a
way to reconcile all of this and I have
to admit I was impressed with the
Swagger this [ __ ] walked into an
interview with a world leader in the
middle of a war talking about like can't
you ultimately forgive this guy that
invaded your country drop bombs in you
guys I mean that that really takes some
balls that's impressive now it is very
true that that is
a unusably naive view on human
nature again I'm glad that I have the
Lex AI that gives me that view that I
can integrate into my life in some way
even if only like aspirationally
wouldn't it be nice if the world was
like this um there is a really important
book you know I've been hyping it inside
the company that people should read
called the Maki of Ellens mock of Ellens
uh and it is about man as political
animal man as political animal once you
understand that one they're we're all on
a spectrum right so the line between
good and evil runs through every human
heart uh and we're on a spectrum and
some people probably that line leaves a
lot of space for the evil and Mer maybe
very little space for the good uh and
other people you know leans way good and
very little room for the
bad but if you don't understand that the
nature of man as a political animal man
I don't know the people are going to
understand what I mean by that read the
book makes it very clear clear uh but
man as political animal like man as
economic in fact you're going to re me
in if this fractal yeah goes nowhere
give it to
me oh God okay have you ever talked
dirty to your girl yes okay you usually
do it like in a different Cadence a
different way of talking I for one when
I'm going like hard like that I'm
usually more quiet like just to [ __ ]
say it out loud so weird uh you're just
in a different gear yeah and sex is just
a different mode of being and so things
that are appropriate in that moment
would be wildly inappropriate outside of
that Contex I'm with you so that's man
as sexual creature Okay cool so if we
all get it it's a different gear you're
in a totally different mode a different
way of being it's like a a personality
unto itself in that moment in that
context man is political animal while
obviously very different is a gear like
that it is a different uh personality
it's a different mode it's a way of
operating and part of man as political
animal is you will always seek more
power okay period not oh maybe some
people don't so I'm saying uh Lincoln
wanted more power word why not just let
half the country go off it's not in man
as Political Animals nature also a very
just thing to fight for but once you
realize it isn't just him it's all
through human history all these no one
is ever the only person that I know of
that comes close is Washington which is
why people rever him so much because
people are like yo he's going to become
a king 100% nobody ever turns that down
and homeboy was like [ __ ] I just want to
go back to my [ __ ] house like this
[ __ ] is crazy I've been fighting for
however many years like out on the road
watching people die killing people I've
had enough I just want to [ __ ] retire
slave wife that's it go my bad I'm sorry
not you're bad like this is this is the
[ __ ] messiness of human nature this
is what I'm talking about how the [ __ ]
could you justify that but you can get
into that conversation of like it is a
system you're caught up in that [ __ ]
system yeah anyway obviously setting the
wild complexities aside but it is so
rare that man will give up power that
you might as well assume that they're
never going to right so even when you
look at slavery as an act of having
power over somebody else they [ __ ]
had to be murdered to give it up so that
that is man is political animal so if
you're Lex and you're walking into that
and you don't understand a zalinski is
not going to speak Russian cuz he wants
to establish power identity around we
are ukrainians we are drawing a border
[ __ ] all these guys we're going to kill
him we're going to give over like they
[ __ ] blew us up I'm not going to go
tell somebody whose kids were murdered
that oh you just need to forgive this
guy it's [ __ ] true and Lex is right
and they're never going to end the
conflict until they can at a minimum Let
It Go okay you don't have to re hug or
anything like you got to [ __ ] Let It
Go welcome to Israel Palestine if you
don't let it go it's just forever and
ever and ever and ever and ever murder
murder murder yeah so Lex isn't wrong it
just man doesn't work like that and so
now it's like you hope somebody like
Trump can come in and say okay there's
enough [ __ ] suffering going on that
you have enough pain that I'm going to
find the thing where you're like yeah
[ __ ] I will take that because I don't
want to deal with any more of the
suffering the bombing and all that [ __ ]
but it will be strength it will be Force
man is political animal is simply not
going to relent Putin is not going to
relent unless he's forced to zalinski is
not going to relent unless he's forced
to and the complexity of it is I am
boiling a very powerful book that is a
constellation of ideas into one overly
simplified notion but that notion alone
tells you that the thing that Lex was
trying to do it is never going to work
in reality in terms of zalinsky was
never going to go oh my God Lex I never
thought about that [ __ ] this is amazing
but again Lex I love you this is amazing
please keep doing it he
uh commented in that interview he's like
it's it's getting harder to be
vulnerable uh in public cuz he's just
taking so many [ __ ] punches Lex this
is me hugging you from afar [ __ ] yes I
love it more please go do your thing
maybe you planted a seed that will bear
fruit years to come maybe one person
listening it softened their heart a
little bit not the people whose kids
were blown up but like somebody else
[ __ ] like it is so worth putting if
you're doing it sincerely it is so worth
being that one guy who gives you that
one angle because you never know how
that's going to have knock on
effects but the reality of that moment
was never going to be that zalinsky was
like oh yeah [ __ ] that's amazing let me
hug it out with Putin all's well
everyone's going to be chill
um it is a very complex thing Lex did
not look at Putin as a political
animal uh but I'm still glad that Lex
has the Lex vibe yeah it's definitely
important and somebody who's a little
bit newer and Greener to the conflict I
at least appreciated zelinsky's
willingness to go to war for his country
talking about being on the front lines
talking about being in the community I'm
not doing interviews in a studio
somewhere in the island I'm on the front
lines doing it I'm stepping out I'm
holding things so people know that I'm
real and Ukraine we paid him too much
money like I don't care how you feel or
where you saw where like what side you
fall on but when a leader gets on the
front lines you get my respect because I
think it's way too easy to just throw a
couple drones throw a couple poor kids
to go die for you and you fought a war
no somebody else did your your bidding
and the fact that zalinski is at least
trying to be the at the front lines I
got to at least commend him for that
that's big he his response I don't need
a ride I need bullets gangster like that
that is amazing um so yeah anyway I love
that Lex is doing his thing uh it's very
interesting because he's not a
journalist and so this new era of
podcasters interviewing world leaders
being taken seriously on the world stage
um it's very interesting and I have
little tolerance for people that don't
want Lex to do that or don't want
politicians to do those interviews um
and there's plenty of push back on that
there's plenty of people that think it's
crazy but I think it it is pulling all
of these glob
conflicts into your living room in a
transformative way in the way that the
Vietnam War being broadcast on TV ended
that [ __ ] War yeah uh we're having a
similar moment now where it's like
you're getting to hear these leaders up
close and so it's like uh was Putin
manipulating me by doing the Tucker
interview was Tucker a useful idiot is
Lex a useful idiot you get to decide you
get to see these interviews you get to
see uh this guy go in Lex and ask the
kind of questions only he would ask from
the lens that only he would ask them
from and that to me is so powerful and I
really really you know I call this the
dumb voter problem I I at this point
just love it because it pisses people
off I have a weird thing in my
personality uh over that
but I think you have to want people you
have to trust people to be able to make
up their own mind and anybody that
doesn't think quote unquote dumb people
can make up their mind remember I say
that as a derogatory thing not to to the
quote unquote dumb people to the people
who think other people are dumb yeah and
I'm just saying stop thinking people are
dumb let people make up their own mind
yes it is going to be messy but this is
uh this is when you don't alter the
landscape of ideas and you let the ideas
compete freely I truly believe the best
ideas will rise to the top even if that
means and this was the whole thing I was
railing on with Eric Weinstein I was so
desperate for him to engage with
Terrence Howard shout out to him he did
it not not at my beckoning or anything
but um I thought that was important even
though I know really smart people
[ __ ] hate it they hate that they have
to address it but you got to let people
make up their own mind and they're never
going to be able to do that well if
you're like no no no let me let me just
control the conversation that's done
yeah I think it came to the head for me
over the holiday break with the Trump
Tower attack cuz yes I watched the news
and I found out about it but then seeing
Shawn Ryan talk to Sam shoemate for an
hour
unedited no cutaways they're reading
through the email they're they I
literally heard them deduce the
information while I talk to my FBI
contacts they don't have well I talked
to my guy and you can kind of see them
trying to work through the problem
versus telling me this is what happened
this is how you feel it was a terrorist
go back to sleep I'll tell you I'll talk
to you next week I can kind of see them
trying to work through the problem and I
felt more connected to it so I think the
podcast movement and this Independent
Media growing it's going to get bigger
before it gets quieter for sure like
world leaders elections now teror like
it's it's getting ingrained into Society
on a whole now and I really hope people
see one terrifying truth there's nobody
in
charge this is like two guys that both
have FBI contacts I was what uh it's
just a bunch of people bumping into each
other like my guy said this my guy said
that reading the email trying to figure
it out then the community doing all the
sleo thing looking at the email it's got
the spell check thing and everybody's
like a it's [ __ ] emails don't show
up like that uh so
I get the impulse to want to control the
communication because humans are
controllable and so if you can control
them and keep them in line then you're
going to want to do that and you think
you're doing the right thing and I
understand it uh but we're never going
backwards the only way to go backwards
is by force or just global scale
manipulation which don't get me started
in AI we're going to talk about that in
the next episode later this week um but
you you really have to let the
conversation play out you've got to let
people talk and what we're all getting a
chance to see is that um the Steve Jobs
quote the world is made by people no
smarter than you is is true in the
optimistic sense of like whoa I can
really matter it's also true in the
terrifying sense of oh my God like there
there are no parents it's just us it's
crazy yeah and then pivoting now to
those devastating attacks that happened
over the holiday break we sent our
thoughts and prayers condolences to all
the families affected but outside of
Trump Tower there were seven injured and
of course the gunman committed suicide
with one desert eagle shot um in New
Orleans is that confirmed now yeah that
was one shot the body had a buet hole in
the head okay um a oral like when you
put it in your mouth thing um in New
Orleans there were 15 dead um and that
toll just is kind of slowly tiing up
some people are still in critical
condition the interesting thing about
both these attacks though both of them
were American born citizens both of them
were military adjacent um one was a
reserve one was a Green Beret but it
kind of thinks that like it kind of
changed that archetype that used to of
like it's supposed to be the foreign
powers it's supposed to be the open
border it's supposed to be the Middle
East and these are two Americans causing
this Devastation how do you like Rectify
that uh how do I reconcile it um
reconcile it soof man this one is tough
so ideas are powerful and we have spent
a very long time um chastising America
for sure that we are um horrible whether
it's that we held slaves in the past
whether it's that we've been
imperialistic around the globe you have
architecture in your brain that craves
to kneel before something if you tear
down religion if you tear down the state
people will go in search of something
and I think it's very important to
separate these two people out so one
seems to have been early days we'll find
out if this is all true but seems to
have been radicalized so he found
religion now the question becomes did he
find a religion that is innate
leading to that kind of violence where
it's like you need to destroy people
that don't believe or just one where it
can be easy to radicalize people because
that lane is there I don't know uh Islam
well enough to speak on that but
certainly there's uh a history of
Christians being radicalized when you go
back to the Crusades and stuff like that
so I don't want to let anybody off the
hook here um so but for the New Orleans
guy he did have a Isis flag in the car
so he he's he has yes and he did a video
as far as I know I couldn't find the
direct video myself uh but I would love
to watch it to hear in his own words
what he said to his family because he
told his own family from what I've read
uh that he doesn't spare them either
like hey if you don't believe like this
is all coming for you as well uh so
anyway you people want to kneel before
something he found a new religion to
kneel before so we have this vacuum in
the US where we're not we don't have
that sense of pride of religion pride of
country uh and so that leaves people in
search of something something to stand
for something to believe in something to
fight for I think that's very important
we are not living in hard times and so
uh it's people that want to matter they
want to have a crusade a thing to
Believe In A Thing To Die For I think
that's very important so that's that
side and then you've got Matthew
livelsberger that I think is a different
thing uh we'll learn more about this as
it comes out but uh military sounds like
PTSD because one of the things he said
in the brief I don't know if I'd call it
a Manifesto but that's what people are
calling it in that brief thing he said I
needed relief from the lives that I've
taken that's a paraphrase but it's very
very close if not verbatim uh so here's
somebody who believes that the US
committed war crimes in Afghanistan that
he clearly feels like he was part of
that that's clearly Weighing on him uh
he had reached out to an ex-girlfriend
not long before and said hey I'm really
spiraling uh this is I think he said
something like I get so depressed
sometimes or feel so lost something like
that but very much the language of
somebody that's either in depression or
sliding towards depression so that one
may have just the mental illness of PTSD
and sliding into depression angled to it
now if he also believes that hey I can't
continue living and I can't continue
living because I believe that the US has
committed war crimes that I was a part
of and I see this opportunity for um a
symbolic statement in front of Trump
Tower um I'm going to do it I'm going to
draw attention to this thing I think he
said like this is not terrorism I'm not
doing this because somebody coaxed me to
do it but I know people will only
respond to spectacle and so those are
very different things so you've got one
guy who's trying to kneel before
something the architecture in the human
mind that's got to be fed by something
you've got another person just being
crushed by their own psyche that
believes that there is an injustice a
bad thing and that they have an
opportunity to um bring awareness to it
while ending their own suffering and so
man there's a lot there uh in terms of
just the way the human mind can be so
cruel to us and that's my own hobby
horse that I could certainly get up on
yeah but I think it's important to
differentiate between the two things um
so I think we are probably going to see
more terrorism in 2025 from the open
border because you're drawing people
that do have different IDE IES that do
have an ax to grind with America um and
you know as somebody who was uh
cognizant was old enough to be aware of
what was happening during 911 it was
like y they really have an A Grind with
America they feel that a great Injustice
has been done and they want to strike
back and so when you have a border as
open as we've had uh and you get so many
people pouring in some percentage of
them hopefully a very small percentage
but some percent of them are certainly
taking of that to strike back now will
they be successful I don't know but the
fact that in one week uh we've already
had a terrorist attack it's like that's
a bad sign of things to come uh so I
think we can expect more of that the
fact that this was to Americans I think
actually helps I think that you would
just exacerbate the drama over uh visas
and immigration and I think that's
already dialed to 11 I don't think we
need any more juice on that
um so I ideology I think is a thing to
focus on far more than where you were
born it's just that where you were born
is going to give you an ideology copy
that and that definitely makes sense
it's hopefully you're wrong on the more
terror attacks in 2025 but TR and I both
hope that yeah this was definitely not a
great way to start this year um and then
speaking of immigration uh some other
Sparks
flew uh Trump I'm sorry guys um there
were more fireworks I think would have
been a more horrific there you go more
reference there were more fireworks
between uh Elon and and Trump over this
H1B Visa program who people not familiar
H1B visas are typically to a lot of high
ranking tech jobs cyber security um kind
of that uh computer science uh field but
one of the stat that definitely jumped
out to me was that Tesla Headquarters in
Austin laid laid off 2688
people the same year that they issued
2639 h-1bs and I think people were kind
of trying to call elon's Bluff being so
hard immigration wanted to close the
borders but yet he allowed immigration
on this side and then it just kind of
spired out from there so what's your
take on the H1B Visa how do you feel
about that and let's let's set a line in
this okay so there's a couple things
going on here so number one uh I really
hope people are paying attention to Eric
Weinstein on this he is really trying to
get people to listen to him that H1 be
visas are actually designed to undermine
American workers that's my understanding
of his take uh he has asked for someone
to host a debate or to let him come on
and talk about it Eric knows he has a
standing invite here I assume he's done
one somewhere that'll be coming out
shortly if not Jesus Eric uh by all
means you know I'd kill to talk to him
about it um but I have a feeling that
that's going to be coming out soon where
he's really going to go into that so I
am very eager to his Deep dive on this
um Eric is just such a profound thinker
and really well researched on if he pops
off and says I know about a topic listen
trust he knows about the topic uh and
this one he's saying look I've been
thinking about this and trying to talk
about it for a long time and people will
not engage uh so it'll be very
interesting to hear his take on that
okay so setting that aside for a second
as somebody who has also done H1B visas
this is my take on it because I'm
definitely not trying to undermine
American workers
uh my thing is what does it mean to be
America First does America First and
that is going to be the debate and this
is the Divide like the left is loving
this moment because they would love to
drive a wedge between Elon and Trump and
I have to say again coming back to just
how quickly it happened that um you get
this pull between the mega base of okay
you've got on one hand America First
means American workers uh ideally born
here but at least a citizen hopefully
longterm longstanding like the whole
thing with shum that that kicked off uh
shiram is a good dude by the way I
happen to know him not well but I know
him lovely guy behind the scenes uh so
that he got caught in the middle of this
whole Kur fuffle was so bizarre to me uh
but I that's that's take one right is
that this is about people that were born
here and take two is America
on the world stage America is the
dominant economic superpower and because
we've been the dominant economic
superpower essentially for anybody's
life the entire life of anybody who's
alive they don't understand what it
means to be the country out there having
to fight for your place in the world and
it's not where you want to be man
everything gets worse for everybody in
the country if we're not number one if
you think things are bad now like if
you're in uh the low class and you're
scraping to get by dude now imagine that
you're in a country that can't print its
own currency that can't borrow borrow
borrow borrow borrow and just print its
way out of all that now they print by
stealing from all of you uh but at least
they're stealing not just from you
they're stealing from globally they're
stealing from everybody and so if you're
in a country where when they print the
money they're only stealing from you
that's a far worse place to be so only
one country gets to be the country that
steals from everybody and that's America
so so uh we're also the only one that
can run around wielding that hammer and
saying we want Greenland for our own
defense and you're going to give it to
us or we're going to um tear off the
life out of Denmark which has the claims
to Greenland
so I would really like people to put
these in priority order both matter both
matter okay America First should mean
taking care of the citizens of this
country personally I don't think being
born here should buy a [ __ ] thing
more than being a citizen that's my take
light me up in the comments if you want
to uh man you got to stand by hey if you
want to make becoming a citizen harder
cool I haven't thought about it so I
don't know if I love that or hate it but
that debate seems very worthwhile but
once you tell somebody you're in the
family you can't [ __ ] treat them like
the reddad stepchild because they
weren't born here that that to me is 10
pounds of ass doesn't make sense yeah so
rank order number one stay dominant on
the world stage stay dominant on the f
[ __ ] world stage stay dominant on the
world stage Drew that's priority number
one and then very important but things
have to be done in priority order it's
you hire as many Americans as you can
now Dear Americans if you want to be mad
about something be mad about your
education system because we should be
turning out the greatest Minds in the
world because the greatest Minds in the
world come here to get [ __ ] educated
in the ivy league and then they bounce M
so from the time we are little kids we
should be trained in a way that doesn't
just make dumb Factory workers that is
I'm not saying Factory workers are dumb
I'm saying that's what the education
system is training you to be we need
Factory workers but we want the
brightest Factory workers that we can
make everybody has an upper bound on
their intelligence I get it I have an
upper bound on mine and I'm very sad
about my upper bound we all have an
upper bound but you can train all you're
you're never going to train long enough
and hard enough to reach your upper
bound nobody is so you want everybody to
have that opportunity to be optimized
for the absolute maximum that you can be
so we're not doing that right now and we
have an education system that if you're
poor you are [ __ ] and the reason you
are [ __ ] is you will be a wash in
terrible ideas from the time you're born
until the time you die but it's the
ideas that are the problem I could go
into my whole thing the number of words
that you hear by the age of five changes
how the language centers of your brain
develop and so if you grow up in in a
middle class household your parents are
told hey read to your kids all the time
they're putting headphones on the belly
while they're pregnant and they're
playing things for their kids and
they're talking to their belly I mean
they're just like going hard from the
jump if you're in survival mode and no
one's ever taught you hey the language
centers of their brain are impacted by
how much you talk to them you're not
going to talk you're not even going to
think about it you're in survival mode
you you're working three [ __ ] jobs
you're a single parent you're trying to
make [ __ ] ends
meet and on and on and on it goes C yeah
like it's brutal so that's where I would
love to see like if people want to get
mad be mad about that don't be mad that
we are like hey we have a today problem
which is there are smart people that are
not here that I would rather have here
fighting against China which is we are
getting ready for that cold war I want
that battle to be intellectual I don't
want it to be kinetic I want that battle
to be intellectual I don't want people
shooting each other okay so to make sure
that that battle remains at the
intellectual level I want to get the
best and the brightest I don't care
where they were born I want to get them
here I want to assimilate them to
American values I want him fighting for
freedom of speech and just making this
an amazing place to be that would be
incredible and hiring Americans I love
it the most but we got to get the best
and the brightest no matter where find
them in America if you can if you can't
go wherever the hell you have to go but
we should be the place that relentlessly
collects Brilliant Minds I'm going push
back on this a little bit so you don't
think it's necessarily A undermine
Americans thing but it's more so uh
these are I just want the most talented
talent pool and it I don't care if it's
50% H1s 50% citizens as long as I have
the best coders the best whatever the
bad news is what I'm saying is it is
entirely possible that the H1B Visa was
designed to undermine American workers
it's entirely Eric I'm waiting on Eric I
have no doubt he's GNA lay some gnarly
[ __ ] at our feet yeah and be like hey
back when this was created we were
really trying to [ __ ] Americans over
that's really really terrifyingly
possible all I'm saying is it doesn't
have to be that and we want to keep
America at the Forefront and one of the
ways that we do that is by getting the
best and the brightest so the best and
the brightest first of all is going to
be a way smaller number than the
millions of people of all kinds of
horrifying backgrounds that we let come
into this country criminal records uh
[ __ ] rapists and all kinds of crazy
[ __ ] that's coming to the Forefront now
but in addition to making sure that we
are finding the best and the brightest
here in America uh given that we have a
today problem because I think we have to
fix the education system so let me be
very clear very possible H1B Visa meant
to [ __ ] up Americans doesn't have to be
used like that like guns were invented
to kill people but you don't have to use
it to kill people cool so then number
two is we need to stay number one on the
global stage and because it takes 18
years to make an 18-year-old and it
takes whatever 12 years to educate them
well uh you got a problem in the
immediate term because you are in a cold
war with China hey everybody later this
week we're going to be showing you uh a
video of a Chinese car that can [ __ ]
jump okay not off ramps it can just jump
not an American car a Chinese car uh go
freak yourself out and watch Chinese
drones okay World War III is going to be
fought with Chinese drones so
uh kids so this is where I I going back
to the idea
of at the international stage this is
anarchy there there is only
Power diplomacy rides on the back of
power it's the only thing that we have
to keep the peace MH and we are going
into a really weird moment in
time you have a rising China you have a
weakening us maybe the US is about to
come back maybe we really are going to
go into the golden age that Trump is
talking about but boy do we have a lot
of problems to fix first so again it
this is just rank order now if my life
as an entrepreneur has taught me
anything people are really [ __ ] bad
at rank ordering things like really bad
so I know that people are going to have
a seizure on this one they're not going
to be happy uh deal with the world the
way that it is not the way you wish it
were and to elon's credit he definitely
he tweeted um right after this is that
the system is broken it needs reform and
it should be materially more expensive
to Offshore so I give him his credit for
saying the right things in that moment
but on paper it does look like CEO guy
could pay American guy 200,000 or he can
pay International guy 100,000 I'm going
go with the 100,000 and save the cause
and I think that's where this vit rule
is coming from got it full like well in
in the sense that cool so here you have
a problem that Eric Weinstein's going to
drag into the public Consciousness and
we're all going to be like oh word Okay
cool so this really can be done in a way
that messes with American workers we're
going to stop doing that immediately but
I think Tom is right and we really do
want to remain number one on the
international stage so we are going to
make sure that you're not doing it
because they're cheaper and you're only
doing it because this was the only way
that you could find somebody that had
that skill because think about it the
talent pool is global going back to rank
ordering you can quite literally rank
order coders you can rank order teachers
everyone's going to say the [ __ ] is an
art no you can rank order people by the
the effect that they have what what is
the outcome of the thing that they do
pick the metric by which you're going to
judge it and then rank order the world
and look are there going to be ties sure
great but you're going to find that some
massive percentage of these talented
people in ranked order are not in
America and so all I'm saying is make it
cost the same no be with that
whatsoever but get the best and the
brightest here so that we can stay
number one and then for the love of God
please educate your [ __ ] people yeah
so and look uh I will tell you having
worked in the inner cities that
intelligence is evenly distributed but
good ideas are not and so uh I saw
people that I'm like holy [ __ ] now to be
clear I Define intelligence as the speed
at which you process raw data so how
quickly can you par through through
something and make sense of it in a way
that you can deploy in your life I met
people that could do that way faster
than me and I was just like what the
[ __ ] why are you here working for like
next to nothing and the reason was they
had dysfunctional ideas like wildly
dysfunctional ideas uh reading is
selling out I actually know two people
that got in a fist fight because one of
them started reading and the other one
said that you're a sell out what what
the [ __ ] what like that's so dumb yeah
so anyway I think America has a moral
obligation to the people of this country
to educate them and we are not doing
that well when we haven't been doing it
for a very very long time and I think I
overestimated how important public
education was I was a public school kid
I got a scholarship to Ruckers like I
had a one two 3 four five no problem I
didn't have to think about paying for
school my daughter now that school is
[ __ ] like I have to like you can't go
here you can't go here like we had to
it's a 30 minute commute to get her to
school I had to like move closer to it
but it was one of those things that like
I had to consciously bring it to the
front of my mind that like oh the school
that the government pays for is not
going to be good enough for my child and
I feel like it was at least there was a
higher Baseline maybe in the back I
don't know what happened maybe China and
their overnight school system is a
better approach and we just need to go
there I don't know but I agree that if
we really want to be competitive we
can't just be bombastic we can't just
threaten with military action we have to
innovate we have to have education we
have to hit them on different sides we
can't just be the biggest spear anymore
and and and we got to get hungry
again was it good times we're making
weak men but well for sure but like uh
this is this is the one where I
legitimately I can articulate the
Counterpoint to what I'm about to say
but I cannot make it make sense like I I
get where it's coming from but it will
manifest in your life so poorly that I
can't wrap my head around what people
are steering by uh so
so goals make
demands if you want to be the best
you're going to have to work harder
smarter and longer
hours if you want to make people mad
tell them they have to work harder
smarter and longer hours every time I
say it people freak out Tom if I'm
working hard and smart why do I have to
work long hours because you're going to
go up against China and they're doing
all three it it's just so [ __ ] simple
so if we know uh that people are going
to strive to be the best because being
the best means that you're dominant
being dominant means you get things your
way and that everybody clamors for that
then uh what are we talking about so to
get to that point you were going to have
to do those things someone in the world
is going to do that and if it's not you
then your lunch is going to get eaten by
that guy oh God there's a great quote I
don't remember who it's buying I'm going
to paraphrase it but it goes something
like this uh every moment that you take
off somebody else is working and when
you meet they will beat you and I was
just like yeah that's true and like
everybody gets it at the level of sports
but somehow people tap out when you get
to business or when you get to uh global
conflict bro like that's just how it
goes yeah I think the glal conflict
thing hits home too because you do have
to think like there's people sleeping in
trenches there's people who want it and
we're like yeah I don't feel like it and
it's like that's not a winning like
attitude long term correct we'll stop
man um in lighter news uh Zuckerberg
continues his Rebrand he's going full uh
Joe Rogan at this point um he's talking
about implementing Community notes like
X and he's moving the trust and Safety
Division the the section of meta that
moderate content from California to
Texas um I call BS on it but I want to
hear your take on it okay so one I the
visual and the MMA thing may be Rogan
but I think he's going full Elon Musk at
this point oh yeah uh so I think it's
the right play so I think Zuckerberg is
probably very I think two things are
happening he was very young when he
first got approached by the government
and they started putting pressure on him
and all that uh and then over time has
realized I was unwilling to stand up for
my ideas and I have a feeling that does
not feel good and so in watching Elon
step to the Forefront and be like come
at me like sue me uh try to kill me
literally that man is a lunatic as far
as I can tell I don't know what he's
thinking
uh to make yourself that kind of Target
where governments want you dead that's
nuts uh but if you're Zuck you're
looking at that going yeah that's ballsy
I'm impressed and I think Zuck even said
something when Trump got shot was like
all right that was gangster
and I think he's stepping into his own
now so the Rebrand is seeing where the
wind is blowing realizing that you look
weird with the super bizarre haircut and
all he just wearing the gray shirt all
the time well that like when he was
testifying before Congress he just
looked weird and now he looks normal and
so by growing his hair out uh adding a
little bit of muscle dressing down it's
really smart man it's really smart and
so I'm not going to throw shade at that
I think it's Super Wise that he's
rebranding if I'm right that this is
somebody who's like oh I don't like that
that guy just out he musk was willing to
face the firing squad and he wasn't yeah
and yeah it's just more impressive and
so that he's stepping up now it's way
easier now but I'm certainly glad is
doing it now if he holds if the winds
change again then I'll be really
impressed I'll be like all right this is
a guy that that found his balls and is
ready to stand up um if he's just going
with where the winds are blowing and he
backs off again then it will be less
impressive but uh I think he's making
the Right Moves I think it's the right
play and to somebody who is still in
California it hurt when he said B he
didn't say these words but he's moved I
don't know if it's the trust and safety
team but it's that kind of thing he's
moved them out of California into Texas
and he said that for a reason and it's
basically going back to ideology
California just has a a toxic ideology
and the fact that you can't build a team
here because the people that you would
naturally find are going to have this
ideology that's all about censorship and
wanting to control the conversation that
stings man yeah that stings I don't love
that it's tough um there was a wired
interview that a wired article that I
read years ago about Zuck in that exact
point that you brought up that he was at
the bill Camp somewhere in the Hills or
whatever one where everybody wears a
Patagonia vest and like I think uh fo
the Fox News dude like Murdoch that's so
accurate like Murdoch cornered him and
was like Hey like Facebook needs to
chill on like like the content posting
or something like that he was like yeah
I'm not listening to you whatever like
that and then like that following week
it was like a slew of like local news
networks Facebook is hurting your kids
take your kids off of Facebook and it
was just like he got insulted and then
Murdoch came back and was like you ready
to talk now and then he kind of like
Kiss the Ring in that way and I think
that now to your point seeing Elon
Double Down triple down put on a black
Maga hat go to Rally like that it it has
to eat away at your soul and I feel like
when you have the whole world when you
own an island when you are MMA fighting
when you married you got kids you did
all the things all you have left is that
soul and that's probably why he's like
you know what let's actually stay in t
toes down and do this I'm telling you
right now the only thing that matters I
don't care how much money you have the
only thing that matters is how you feel
about yourself when you bu yourself
yourself and if you can knock somebody
there you can get them to do the right
thing or crazy [ __ ] yeah and if you can
uh make somebody insecure they'll lash
out they'll play the fool this is how
people get in fights that they should
just not get in because someone got
inside their head that they're a [ __ ]
and they'll just do the dumbest [ __ ] on
planet Earth to make that feeling go
away uh this is why you have to know who
you are and not let other people control
that but to do that you have to Define
your belief system you have to Define
your value system you have to live in
accordance with it and then if somebody
says something to you you're like look
that violates my values I'm not going to
violate my values because I want to
respect myself um yeah it's uh the mind
is a fascinating thing uh it's a good
initial move but to your point I'll
highlight you in four years if we swing
back blue and things go different will
his tune change too and I think that's
what that's what gets me with this whole
kind of hey guys I know we did it wrong
but we're going to do it right this time
and it's like we've heard this six times
already with meta specifically but like
so I I don't know I'm just Zuckerberg
you did it social media social network
was a great movie shout out to Erin
sorin but I just don't I don't believe
it I feel like it's it's a it's he's
going where he's blowing going where the
winds are blown I'm certainly not going
to um go to bat I I would like to see it
over time here is an interesting
thing one of the things you have to take
into consideration is he has a fiduciary
responsibility to his shareholders to do
what's right to make them value M and if
I'm a shareholder which I'm not but if I
were a shareholder I'd be like yeah
[ __ ] like you better uh
recognize that if you're getting
attacked and they're absolutely
destroying the value you better do
something to get that value up now
admittedly I much prefer musk's move of
like I'm gonna out big dog everybody
ever but you better deliver that is a
highrisk game man a highrisk game so h i
I don't know how many people would be
able to pull that off so he has that he
can't just be a tough guy like he really
does have to pay attention to what's
going on with the stock price but I will
say that if if he has just been blowing
With the Wind all the time he's done a
phenomenal job of returning shareholder
value it's impressive like that kid's
taken Dives only to build back up only
to dive to build back up to dive to
build back up like it's publicly traded
CEOs are just a different breed man it's
really interesting and to your point he
did it young he's been doing it so long
for so like doing it well for so long
over different Generations at this point
what Facebook's like 20 years old at
this point like it's yeah it's not it's
it's your mom's social network now so
the fact that he spanned a generation
like I I got to give him credit where
credits to um cool that's all I got all
right everybody if you haven't already
be sure to subscribe and remember we are
a community now so I am in the comments
all the time get in there let me know
what you think let me know what you guys
are wanting to see more of and we'll do
it uh and until next time my friends be
legendary pece if you like this
conversation check out this episode to
learn more if you think you've seen it
all think again did Elon and V just use
x to back down the government are
billionaires blatantly rewriting the
rules of politics or are we the people
simply making the government afraid of
us again Trump says the government knows
about the drones and ex