The Ben Shapiro Show - F**k Around And Find Out | Ep. 1479

00:00:00.000 The left rushes to Disney's defense as Florida targets the massive corporation's tax breaks.

00:00:04.000 The CDC seeks to reinstate federal travel mask mandates with a legal appeal.

00:00:08.000 And the Biden administration tries to split the baby, as always, on drilling.

00:00:12.000 I'm Ben Shapiro.

00:00:12.000 This is the Ben Shapiro Show.

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00:01:33.000 Well, Florida is a state that is well-known for its association with Disney.

00:01:38.000 In the 1960s, Florida gave a special dispensation to Disney to build its theme parks.

00:01:44.000 And one of the reasons why I did this is the idea was that Disney needed that sort of dispensation, a sort of Vatican-like Carve out so that they could create their city of the future.

00:01:53.000 That never materialized.

00:01:53.000 Instead, it turned into Epcot Center.

00:01:55.000 But Disney has maintained its Reedy Creek Special Tax District for about 50 years in this country.

00:02:02.000 Well, now that seems like it may be on the verge of going away.

00:02:04.000 And the reason that it's on the verge of going away is because F around and find out.

00:02:09.000 This is the theme of what is going on with Disney right now.

00:02:12.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, the Republican-led Florida Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would eliminate a special tax district that allows Walt Disney to govern the land where its theme parks sit, as lawmakers target the company for opposing legislation restricting classroom instruction on gender and sexuality.

00:02:26.000 The GOP-led House will likely vote to approve the measure on Thursday.

00:02:29.000 Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who called for lawmakers to consider such a bill in special session he convened this week, has made clear he would sign it.

00:02:36.000 Losing the nearly 40-square-mile district near Orlando could be a major blow to Disney's Florida operations.

00:02:41.000 The special district created in 1967 known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District exempts Disney from a host of regulations and certain taxes and fees. It has allowed the entertainment company to manage its theme parks and resorts in the state with little red tape for more than 50 years. It saves Disney tens of millions of dollars a year according to a person familiar with the company's finances who studied the issue over a decade ago.

00:03:01.000 On Wednesday, Disney declined to comment on the bill, which is pretty significant given that Disney couldn't shut up about the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act.

00:03:11.000 So now they've decided that it's time to shut up.

00:03:13.000 And the reason they've decided to shut up is because they're realizing now that there are consequences to getting involved in political issues that do not involve you.

00:03:21.000 We expect corporations all over the spectrum to get involved in economic-based issues.

00:03:25.000 We understand that corporations are going to get involved in questions with regard to regulations of their industry, but there's sort of been a general understanding that corporations are not to get involved in things like educational issues.

00:03:37.000 Corporations are really not supposed to be involved in social issues.

00:03:40.000 Corporations are really not supposed to have a lot to say about a lot of these specific issues that are outside the purview of the corporation.

00:03:46.000 Now, people associated with the corporation can do whatever they want.

00:03:49.000 So, for example, Chick-fil-A never gave a corporate donation on behalf of traditional marriage.

00:03:55.000 That did not stop the cities of Boston and Chicago from attempting to ban Chick-fil-A when they found out that founder Nan Cathey was supportive of traditional marriage.

00:04:04.000 The left has never made this distinction, by the way.

00:04:05.000 The left doesn't care.

00:04:06.000 If you're an executive of a company and you, as an executive of that company, give money to something, the left is not like they will just punish the corporation.

00:04:13.000 The right has always basically said, we're not going to punish corporations as long as those corporations don't involve themselves in issues that are outside of their purview.

00:04:22.000 But here is the deal.

00:04:23.000 So I am the most free market person on the right.

00:04:26.000 I'm an extraordinarily pro-free market person.

00:04:29.000 I don't believe that generally the government should crack down on the operations of businesses.

00:04:33.000 I think more freedom for businesses are good.

00:04:35.000 I think that lower taxes for business are good for the economy of Florida, for the economy of the United States more broadly.

00:04:44.000 However, however, corporations have to stand up for their own free market bona fides.

00:04:50.000 And they have to not become tools of the people who wish to destroy freedom in this country on behalf of leftist groupthink.

00:04:57.000 If you decide to just become a woke corporation that does the bidding of your democratic taskmasters, don't be surprised when you get clocked with a legislative 2x4.

00:05:07.000 F around and find out.

00:05:08.000 Everyone, and that's what Disney did.

00:05:10.000 Disney decided that it was going to inject itself into social politics in the state of Florida.

00:05:14.000 It decided that it was going to try to use its massive corporate power in the state of Florida.

00:05:19.000 It employs tens of thousands of people here.

00:05:21.000 It was going to try to use that power in order to cudgel the state government of Florida to do the bidding of executives in New York and Burbank, California.

00:05:28.000 And instead, what it is finding out right now is that the people of Florida are not up for it.

00:05:32.000 And that's particularly true if you're getting special tax benefits, if you're getting a carve-out, if you're the recipient of the largesse of the state of Florida.

00:05:40.000 There are a few other corporations in the state of Florida who, by the way, are covered by this law that includes, for example, the villages, any place that sort of has its own special district that has been carved out for it.

00:05:50.000 They get a special carve-out.

00:05:51.000 It's not a carve-out specific to Disney, although it was in fact designed for Disney.

00:05:55.000 But don't expect to receive the largesse of the state of Florida if you're going to go directly up against the voters of the state of Florida on behalf of a non-Florida-based contingent of people who disagree with the policies pursued by the state of Florida.

00:06:08.000 If you do that, you should not be surprised if the state says, you know what?

00:06:11.000 Take a hike.

00:06:13.000 And again, the left has no ground to stand on here.

00:06:14.000 I'm amazed, truly amazed, to watch as the left suddenly swivels behind Disney.

00:06:20.000 All these people who say that corporations are bad.

00:06:21.000 They don't pay any taxes.

00:06:23.000 They don't do what they're supposed to do.

00:06:24.000 Why do corporations even... Why do we even need a choice between Hulu and Disney?

00:06:29.000 I'm amazed that all the people in California, who've spent years, by the way, trying to target Disney.

00:06:34.000 I mean, Gavin Newsom shut down the workings of Disneyland for two years because of COVID. 0.98

00:06:39.000 The state of California has attempted to decide the constituency of every publicly traded company in California, saying, you need a gay person, you need a black person.

00:06:48.000 We're going to decide exactly how your business runs, which is why businesses have been fleeing to more business-friendly states like Texas and more business-friendly states like Florida.

00:06:57.000 So Democrats have no leg to stand on when it comes to, you can't get involved politically with corporate, you're going to use your leverage to go up against corporate.

00:07:04.000 Listen, as I say, generally speaking, I'm very much in favor of people not using political leverage and legislation to go after corporations and businesses.

00:07:12.000 When corporations and businesses step outside their purview, the predictable result is that you are going to have an anvil dropped on your head by the legislature of the state of Florida.

00:07:21.000 And that's precisely what is happening right now.

00:07:24.000 Well, these major corporations, they're screwing around and finding out.

00:07:27.000 In your personal life, what you don't want is to screw around and find out.

00:07:27.000 But how about you?

00:07:30.000 Like you're just dancing in the middle of traffic or something.

00:07:32.000 God forbid you don't make it all the way across.

00:07:34.000 It's the end of Frogger.

00:07:36.000 Well, at this point, you need life insurance.

00:07:38.000 Don't screw around and find out.

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00:08:35.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney initially didn't comment on the legislation, but came under pressure from employees to oppose it.

00:08:41.000 This is the parental rights and education bill.

00:08:43.000 After it passed, the company pledged to push for its repeal and to fight similar bills in other states.

00:08:48.000 And so Florida is saying to them, listen, if you guys decide that you are now in the politicking business, welcome to politics, baby.

00:08:55.000 You want to play the game?

00:08:56.000 You buy the ticket, you take the ride. 1.00

00:08:58.000 Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. 0.99

00:09:02.000 Under the bill passed by the Senate 2316 on Wednesday, any special district established prior to the ratification of the Florida Constitution in 1968, not renewed since then, would be dissolved on June 1, 2023. 0.98

00:09:13.000 Disney could seek to re-establish a special district after its dissolution.

00:09:16.000 Reedy Creek has a permanent population of about 50, as well as its own Board of Supervisors and Fire Department.

00:09:22.000 It allows Disney to construct new buildings and expand its parks without having to adhere to state or county regulations related to construction, wastewater management, and drainage.

00:09:30.000 It encompasses four theme parks to water parks, a sports complex, and hotels, stores, and restaurants.

00:09:36.000 David Ramba is the executive director of the Florida Association of Special Districts.

00:09:39.000 He says, you'll notice you never see potholes when you drive up to Walt Disney World.

00:09:42.000 That's because Disney doesn't have to wait for the county to come fix them.

00:09:45.000 Reedy Creek is probably the most efficient local government in Florida because it's not a typical bureaucracy.

00:09:50.000 It's run like a business.

00:09:52.000 Right, but it also means they also don't have to pay for all of the red tape.

00:09:55.000 Disney currently pays property and other taxes to both counties that surround it.

00:09:59.000 That'd be Osceola County and Orange County.

00:10:01.000 In addition, the company, as the primary landowner at Reedy Creek, provided most of the $153 million in revenue from taxes and fees the district collected in fiscal 2021.

00:10:09.000 That money covers all of the district's governing expenses, including paying about 400 employee salaries and servicing about a billion bucks in long-term bond debt Reedy Creek has issued over the years.

00:10:18.000 If the district is dissolved, that debt would supposedly become the responsibility of taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties, although it is unclear exactly how the Reedy Creek district would be dissolved.

00:10:28.000 And the sort of going wisdom is that this legislation will not stand up in court because it will be seen as a punishment for speech, or that it won't stand up in court because it's just too complicated, or that they won't be able to iron out all the details.

00:10:41.000 Okay, but the bottom line is this.

00:10:43.000 This is a shot across the bow of woke capital.

00:10:45.000 That is what it's designed to be.

00:10:46.000 And again, I cannot get past, I cannot get past the irony of watching folks on the left demonstrate full scale their fealty to woke capitalism.

00:10:56.000 They're very into, it's not woke capitalism by the way, it's economic fascism.

00:11:00.000 When corporations work hand-in-glove with political taskmasters in order to achieve the goals of the political taskmasters in exchange for largesse, that is not capitalism.

00:11:08.000 Capitalism is free markets uninvolved with the question of which politicians you bribe or which politicians tell you to do what.

00:11:17.000 The notion that capitalism, which again is supposed to be about free markets and open competition, is about which politicians you get in your corner, It was never about this, but if you're going to engage in that game, you can't be surprised again when it comes back around for you, when it boomerangs on you.

00:11:30.000 MSNBC's Simone Sanders commented on this yesterday, and I can't get past this clip.

00:11:34.000 The reason I can't get past this clip is because Simone Sanders was the press secretary for Bernie Sanders.

00:11:38.000 Bernie Sanders is the same guy who believes that corporations are inherently evil.

00:11:43.000 And then she went on to be the press secretary for Kamala Harris, who talks about how corporations don't pay their fair share. 1.00

00:11:48.000 But weird, weird now that she's a big defender of Disney.

00:11:51.000 Almost as though the left is very much in favor of corporate oligarchy, so long as those corporate oligarchs do precisely what they want.

00:11:58.000 And this is my point.

00:11:59.000 Once those corporate oligarchs just decide to become tools in the left's arsenal, screw them. 0.68

00:12:08.000 I'm like Rorschach now.

00:12:09.000 You're calling on me for my defense as a free market capitalist?

00:12:12.000 My answer is no.

00:12:13.000 You guys have become a weapon on behalf of people who despise capitalism, who despise freedom, who despise local governance, who apparently want to inject nationalized leftism into the education of small children.

00:12:24.000 Ain't nothing bad enough for you at that point.

00:12:27.000 But here is Simone Sanders, enemy of capitalism, enemy of big corporations, defending Disney. 1.00

00:12:34.000 It's amazing to watch these folks, it really is.

00:12:37.000 I know fashion corporations is popular left and right these days.

00:12:40.000 I'd be careful going.

00:12:41.000 Oh, my money is on the Disney lobbyists, honey.

00:12:43.000 Would you bet against Disney?

00:12:44.000 My money is on the Disney lobbyists.

00:12:46.000 Do you think those state legislators down in Florida are going to bend to the will of the governor?

00:12:50.000 Did you see what Jared Polis said?

00:12:51.000 He'd love a Rocky Mountain Disney.

00:12:56.000 Except that that's never happening.

00:12:57.000 Because you know how much money has been sunk into Disney World down here?

00:13:01.000 A lot.

00:13:02.000 A lot of money.

00:13:02.000 By the way, that clip ends with... I love that Simone Sanders is like, I'm betting on Disney.

00:13:07.000 I'm betting on their lobbyists.

00:13:08.000 At the end of the clip, Chuck Todd has to announce to her that, by the way, it just passed the Florida State Senate.

00:13:13.000 So yeah, well done.

00:13:14.000 She knows corporate America about as well as she knows economics, generally speaking.

00:13:19.000 By the way, the Walt Disney Company took a serious...

00:13:21.000 Punched to the chin yesterday.

00:13:22.000 There's a combination of the fact that Netflix stock dropped about 30% on the basis that Netflix had dropped 200,000 subscribers.

00:13:29.000 A lot of the streaming companies took it on the chin yesterday.

00:13:31.000 But over the past year, Walt Disney has been taking it on the chin pretty dramatically.

00:13:36.000 And they seem to be wanting more of it, oddly enough.

00:13:40.000 So Walt Disney took about a 5% hit on Wednesday.

00:13:43.000 It recovered slightly on Thursday.

00:13:46.000 But according to Breitbart, this is correct.

00:13:47.000 The Walt Disney Company is the worst performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the past year, plummeting 31% in the last 12 months.

00:13:54.000 Of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow, Disney has seen its stock drop the most on a percentage basis, followed by 3M down 25% and Home Depot down 23%.

00:14:03.000 Disney shares were down more than 5% Wednesday as investors remained skittish on streaming entertainment companies following Netflix's disastrous first quarter results.

00:14:10.000 Disney Plus subscription results recently disappointed Wall Street when the company reported quarterly results in November, causing the stock to tumble.

00:14:17.000 And by the way, part of the reason that you are seeing the stock tumble is because if you decide to embrace wild leftism in children's programming, a bunch of parents like me will cancel our Disney Plus subscription.

00:14:27.000 And Disney apparently has intent to double down on all of this.

00:14:30.000 They continue to F around, and they're gonna continue to find out.

00:14:33.000 If you double down on all this, if you decide that Lightyear, which is a film directed at children who enjoy the toy story movies, is now going to be a story in which a main character is a lesbian, don't be surprised when I do not decide to show that to my six-year-old son.

00:14:46.000 Don't be surprised.

00:14:48.000 Because guess what?

00:14:48.000 I don't think it's appropriate for him to be viewing that sort of stuff at his age.

00:14:51.000 When he's an adult, he can pick what kind of entertainment he wants to watch.

00:14:54.000 When he's a child, I get to pick what sort of values I wish him to imbibe.

00:14:57.000 Don't be surprised when parents start to have questions about your entertainment and the choices they provide to their kids.

00:15:05.000 And the left is on the march on all this sort of stuff. 0.97

00:15:08.000 I mean, down to the dumbest rumors. 0.92

00:15:10.000 There was a rumor going around yesterday, I kid you not, that Thor, who's played by Chris Hemsworth, was going to come out as gay in the new movie. 0.98

00:15:19.000 I'm not kidding you.

00:15:22.000 According to the New York Post, Remember, Marvel is owned by Disney. 0.96

00:15:26.000 A new trailer for Thor Love and Thunder dropped Monday, and some fans are now convinced the hammer-wielding Marvel hero will be gay as hell in the film.

00:15:33.000 In the new footage, which teases Chris Hemsworth's title character going into retirement, Thor is seen giving Star-Lord a lingering look, which many eagle-eyed tweeters took to be a tease of the God of Thunder's sexuality, which would be weird since Thor has had an ongoing thing with Natalie Portman in the past several movies.

00:15:47.000 The clip also shows Thor surrounded by the Guardians of the Galaxy.

00:15:51.000 Remember what I told you?

00:15:52.000 If you ever feel lost, 42-year-old Pratt's character says to the 38-year-old Hemsworth's character, just look into the eyes of the people that love you.

00:15:59.000 Thor comedically moves his head to lovingly gaze right into Star-Lord's eyes.

00:16:02.000 Not me, Star-Lord says.

00:16:03.000 In response, Thor awkwardly looks away while saying, what?

00:16:06.000 Just listening.

00:16:08.000 The moment led people to celebrate on Twitter what one fan called Thor's gay awakening.

00:16:11.000 Yeah, go for it, Disney. 0.71

00:16:13.000 Do it.

00:16:14.000 Do it.

00:16:15.000 Bow so much to the LGBT crowd that you actually... My guess is it's just a throwaway joke because that's what the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are. 1.00

00:16:21.000 They're just throwaway jokes.

00:16:22.000 But really, see how this goes for you.

00:16:27.000 See how this goes for you.

00:16:29.000 I'm amazed at how the entertainment bosses in Hollywood truly think that they can get away with pretty much anything.

00:16:37.000 So, for example, Fantastic Beasts, The Secrets of Dumbledore, has wildly underperformed at the box office.

00:16:45.000 Like, it's been doing terrible business at the box office.

00:16:48.000 And everybody's like, why?

00:16:49.000 Why would it do such bad box office?

00:16:52.000 Well, maybe it's because this is a series for children and preteens.

00:16:58.000 It's for like 11-year-olds.

00:17:00.000 And the entire Dumbledore is gay storyline was retconned in by J.K.

00:17:04.000 Rowling after people complained there weren't enough gay characters in Harry Potter.

00:17:07.000 And now they made that like a central part, apparently, of this film.

00:17:10.000 Maybe a lot of parents were like, we can skip this one.

00:17:15.000 Maybe that's a thing.

00:17:17.000 Again, keep effing around and keep finding out.

00:17:20.000 So, the way that the left is responding to this is not by recognizing that perhaps they should stop crossing their audience.

00:17:25.000 Perhaps they should stop injecting themselves in social politics where nobody wants them.

00:17:30.000 Perhaps they should stop this. 0.95

00:17:31.000 Instead, they've decided that they are going to fight back by basically saying that anybody who does not want small children indoctrinated into their social politics is basically the equivalent of Russian soldiers raping people. 0.91

00:17:42.000 Here's Nicole Wallace, that genius. 1.00

00:17:45.000 Yesterday she said the GOP attitude on LGBTQ is exactly the same thing as what causes Russians to rape other human beings.

00:17:52.000 So in other words, the view of most people in the United States, including Republican voters, which is, live your own lives, leave me alone. 0.97

00:18:01.000 That view is the equivalent of causing people to rape other people. 0.83

00:18:04.000 Good luck with this argument.

00:18:07.000 Dehumanization is a tactic that's being used right now. 0.97

00:18:12.000 The Russians get their soldiers to rape children by dehumanizing them. 0.94

00:18:17.000 Dehumanization, as a practice, is a tactic of war. 0.93

00:18:21.000 And Chastain Buttigieg made this point when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was introduced.

00:18:25.000 Kids will die.

00:18:26.000 Kids will die.

00:18:27.000 That's the point. 0.75

00:18:28.000 Kids will die. 0.99

00:18:29.000 First of all, that lie that unless you give small children puberty blockers and start chopping off their genitals at age 14, 13 years old, they're going to die. 0.99

00:18:38.000 It's an absurdity on its face.

00:18:39.000 But beyond it being completely absurd, if this is the argument that the left is going to use, honestly, embrace it, man.

00:18:44.000 Embrace the argument.

00:18:45.000 Go for it.

00:18:46.000 See how the American public takes this. 0.97

00:18:48.000 Now, the left is very high in its own supply because they've found a few heroes in this particular fight to indoctrinate small kids in their left-wing social values and gender identity garbage. 0.83

00:18:57.000 There's a Michigan Democrat. 0.60

00:18:59.000 Her name is Mallory McMorrow, and she did a rant on the floor of the state legislature in which she started saying that anybody who was upset with this sort of education is actually a bigot.

00:19:10.000 And the left is, like, thrilled by this sort of stuff.

00:19:13.000 Let me just tell you, in your echo chamber it works, and outside your echo chamber it ain't gonna do bleep.

00:19:16.000 Because it turns out that parents wish to keep their kids innocent, and they're not interested in anybody, including Mallory McMurrow, deciding that their kids need to learn about gender identity, and why their kids ought to be a member of the opposite sex, and that all forms of sexual behavior are morally equivalent.

00:19:32.000 Most parents are not into that.

00:19:33.000 But this is the sort of logic Democrats are using.

00:19:35.000 So, because they've been back-footed, because they stepped into the bear trap, and now the bear trap is clamped around their leg, they're now going to suggest that if they scream really, really loudly, that everybody will Give them what they want.

00:19:46.000 That's not the way this works.

00:19:47.000 But here is hero of the moment, Mallory McMorrow.

00:19:52.000 I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard, and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white, and Christian.

00:20:01.000 We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise, to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact people's lives.

00:20:13.000 And I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen.

00:20:21.000 Okay, so, this is another one of those Democrats love something, and then it turns out the rest of the nation's like, heh heh.

00:20:28.000 Example number one, like 1A, I give you Wendy Davis.

00:20:31.000 Remember, Wendy Davis did this 26-hour filibuster about abortion in Texas, and she was the hero of the moment, and they're like, Wendy Davis dolls, and she's wearing pink, and so pink shoes started selling, and then she ran for governor and she lost to Greg Abbott by all the points.

00:20:42.000 Like, there were no more points for her to lose to Greg Abbott by.

00:20:44.000 It's the same thing here.

00:20:45.000 So you got the Washington Post writing full pieces.

00:20:47.000 A young Democrat's viral takedown demands a wokeness rethink.

00:20:51.000 Does it?

00:20:52.000 By the way, embrace it.

00:20:54.000 F around and find out, man.

00:20:56.000 His basic take is the problem is not wokeness.

00:20:59.000 The problem is that people aren't speaking in the language of Mallory Monroe.

00:21:03.000 According to Greg Sargent, who, if anybody has their ear to the ground in terms of American politics, it is definitely this Washington Post columnist who believes wokeness is not the problem.

00:21:12.000 He says, McMorrow's description of herself as white, Christian, suburban mom, one who wants her children to respect and empathize with non-Christian, non-white, gay and trans kids and families, gets at all of this.

00:21:22.000 It turns the identity politics debate on its head.

00:21:24.000 It says, in effect, anti-woke warriors will not be permitted to sanctimoniously monopolize the moral and religious high ground for their identity group while simultaneously pretending to be above identity mongering and advancing a cruel and exclusionary agenda.

00:21:36.000 Fine, go up directly against the American parent. 0.61

00:21:38.000 Seriously.

00:21:38.000 Do it.

00:21:39.000 Suggest.

00:21:40.000 This is the sort of stuff that beltway elites eat up, but that the American people have no interest in it.

00:21:44.000 It's the same thing as the beltway elites loved it when Pete Buttigieg was telling people it was that you were a bad Christian if you opposed gay marriage.

00:21:51.000 He knows because he read the parts of the Bible that weren't about gay marriage. 0.55

00:21:55.000 Oh my god, Pete Buttigieg is speaking to Christians in a way no one ever has. 0.99

00:21:59.000 No, no one cares.

00:22:00.000 No person who goes to church on a regular basis takes Pete Buttigieg's biblical analysis at face value.

00:22:06.000 Like, they're so disconnected from the rest of America.

00:22:09.000 And if corporations start mirroring this stuff, they're going to get exactly what they got in the state of Florida.

00:22:14.000 Or, you guys could just back off.

00:22:16.000 You could just go back to what you used to do.

00:22:18.000 You know, businesses that appeal to All people, gay, straight, everyone, without mirroring the political priorities of the left in order to win woke points from a media that is just begging for you to mirror.

00:22:29.000 Remember, this Disney fight did not start with the right.

00:22:31.000 This Disney fight started with members of the media yelling at Disney, because Disney is a major employer in the state of Florida, and saying, if you don't oppose this bill, then we are going to spend every waking moment targeting you and harassing you.

00:22:42.000 And then, it was about the cowards at Disney deciding to cave to that.

00:22:46.000 Well, here's the deal. 0.85

00:22:47.000 You decide to cave to that, there are consequences and they are coming.

00:22:51.000 This is no longer a game where only one side is going to play.

00:22:55.000 If you decide to cave to the wokest people on the left, prepare yourselves for the incoming uppercut that is going to be directed your way by Republican state legislatures and members of the media like me, because you deserve every bit of it.

00:23:09.000 Well, there are some who think that Governor Ron DeSantis in targeting Disney is just offering red meat to his bays.

00:23:13.000 But let me tell you, you should be offering red meat to your base with goodranchers.com.

00:23:19.000 These people make the best beef on planet Earth.

00:23:23.000 They actually got me a kosher steak.

00:23:23.000 It is so good.

00:23:24.000 And let me tell you, this is maybe the best steak I have ever had.

00:23:27.000 It is certainly the best steak that I've prepared myself.

00:23:29.000 That I've ever had.

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00:23:32.000 And it is juicy, and it is fresh, and it is delicious.

00:23:35.000 The great people at Good Ranchers actually flew in a kosher ribeye just for me, because I'm special, to enjoy at our daily wire grill out, and it was the best.

00:23:41.000 It was like art that you could eat.

00:23:43.000 It was unreal.

00:23:44.000 They also told me about something called the spinalis, or the rib cap of the steak.

00:23:47.000 I didn't really understand what they were talking about.

00:23:49.000 All I can say is it tasted very good in my face.

00:23:52.000 Fortunately for you, you do not have to wait for your next Good Ranchers grill out to get your hands on a Good Ranchers steak.

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00:24:26.000 GoodRanchers.com slash Ben.

00:24:29.000 Okay, meanwhile, speaking of the wild disconnect between the left and the rest of America, most Americans are not super happy about masking up on planes.

00:24:40.000 Now, there are polls and they will say that a lot of people are in favor of mask mandates.

00:24:42.000 Oh yes, we love mask mandates.

00:24:44.000 Okay, this is called social desirability bias.

00:24:46.000 It happens in polls all the time, where people answer questions the way they think the pollsters want the questions answered.

00:24:52.000 And so what you would see routinely in the polling data throughout COVID was a huge number of Americans would say that they wear masks all the time, and then actual on-the-ground studies would show that Americans wear masks way less than they do.

00:25:03.000 It's like when you ask your high school student how much they're studying every night.

00:25:07.000 They're like, oh, four hours a night.

00:25:08.000 What they actually mean is that they're on TikTok three and a half hours a night, and they're studying for half an hour a night.

00:25:13.000 Social desirability bias.

00:25:15.000 And so if you ask people, do you like mask mandates?

00:25:17.000 People know that the media are treating those who love masks as the greatest humans among us.

00:25:22.000 And so they answer the question, oh yes, I love mask mandates.

00:25:25.000 We love mask mandates.

00:25:28.000 People pulled on this issue will tell you more often that they are pro-mask than they actually are.

00:25:32.000 That's number one.

00:25:33.000 Number two, I think all polls should come with a caveat.

00:25:37.000 How much do you care about this issue?

00:25:39.000 I really think that that should be one of the caveats in nearly every poll.

00:25:42.000 The reason being, we take every poll as equivalent in the United States.

00:25:45.000 It's just a piece of poll analysis.

00:25:47.000 We take every poll as equivalent.

00:25:48.000 So you'll get a question like, Parental Rights and Education Bill.

00:25:51.000 How do you feel about it?

00:25:51.000 And it'll be like, well, you know, nationally, it's split like 60-40.

00:25:56.000 And then you'll read into the bill, and what you will see is that the vast majority of people who are against the Parental Rights and Education Act in Florida are non-parents.

00:26:05.000 And so if you would ask people in this group, who among you is really passionate about this issue?

00:26:10.000 Like the passionate core group of people who are gonna go vote based on the issue, the answer is parents.

00:26:14.000 So what do I care whether some uninvolved single person living in LA thinks about the Florida Rights and Education Act?

00:26:22.000 What do I care what they think?

00:26:23.000 They're not gonna vote based on that.

00:26:24.000 They're not motivated by that.

00:26:26.000 None of that makes any difference.

00:26:27.000 Same thing with masks.

00:26:28.000 So you'll ask people, how do you feel about masks?

00:26:30.000 And people are like, well, generally okay.

00:26:31.000 But the people who are the most passionate about masks break down into two groups.

00:26:34.000 People who want to wear a plastic bag over their head and duct tape their neck to make sure they never die of COVID.

00:26:40.000 And people who are like, I don't want to wear a mask anymore because it's annoying to my child.

00:26:43.000 There's like two passionate groups of people.

00:26:44.000 And then there are a bunch of people in the middle who are like, eh, I'm not wearing a mask anyway.

00:26:47.000 What do I care?

00:26:48.000 So all of these polls should be taken with a grain of salt.

00:26:50.000 Bottom line is this.

00:26:51.000 Most Americans are not up for forever masking.

00:26:54.000 Most members of the media are 100% up for forever masking.

00:26:59.000 So the CDC yesterday announced that they are now going to appeal this Florida judicial ruling striking down the CDC mask mandate. 0.99

00:27:07.000 This is just the stupidest thing in politics. 0.99

00:27:09.000 And Democrats, believe you me, are doing many stupid things in politics, ranging from turning parents into an interest group. 1.00

00:27:15.000 There are 63.1 million adults in the United States with a child under 18 in the house. 1.00

00:27:20.000 Turning that group of people into an interest group by saying, we want to tell your kids that they can be trans is totally insane.

00:27:27.000 Not that they can be trans. 1.00

00:27:28.000 We're going to indoctrinate them in the idea that they can actually be a member of the opposite sex. 0.97

00:27:32.000 That's insane.

00:27:33.000 Just as insane as saying to Americans, after we're already, everyone's done, guys.

00:27:37.000 We're all back at the office.

00:27:39.000 Many of us have been back at work for well over a year.

00:27:42.000 I started doing my show in person again back in like June of 2021.

00:27:45.000 And like, this is, it's just sheer nonsense.

00:27:50.000 Now the CDC is saying, well, we do have to appeal.

00:27:53.000 They put out a statement, quote, By the way, notice the caveat there.

00:28:00.000 So the ruling from the federal judge did two things.

00:28:02.000 It said, one, this CDC regulation about mask mandates was badly promulgated, so that's out.

00:28:07.000 Two, the CDC did not have the inherent authority to promulgate the mask mandate.

00:28:12.000 So theoretically, you could argue with Proposition No.

00:28:14.000 2 and not with Proposition No.

00:28:15.000 1.

00:28:15.000 You could say, you're right, the mask mandate was bad, but we still have the power to do the mask mandate.

00:28:19.000 The CDC seems to be making that argument.

00:28:23.000 And the reason they're making that argument is because even the CDC does not want to be thrown under the bus.

00:28:26.000 The Biden administration tried to throw Rochelle Walensky, the head of the CDC, under the bus. 0.99

00:28:29.000 They said, we will appeal the decision via the DOJ if the CDC tells us that this regulation is vital.

00:28:36.000 That's what they said.

00:28:37.000 And Rochelle Walensky and the CDC are like, well, we're not going to say the regulation is super vital, but you should still appeal because we want to maintain our rulemaking authority.

00:28:43.000 So here's what they say.

00:28:44.000 To protect CDC's public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund Inc.

00:28:53.000 et al.

00:28:53.000 versus Biden.

00:28:54.000 It is CDC's continuing assessment that at this time, an order requiring masking in indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.

00:29:03.000 So that undercuts the logic I said before.

00:29:05.000 So now they actually say, no, no, our regulation is necessary.

00:29:08.000 We need mask mandates. 0.94

00:29:10.000 CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary.

00:29:15.000 CDC believes this is a lawful order well within CDC's legal authority to protect public health.

00:29:20.000 CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings.

00:29:25.000 CDC's number one priority is protecting the public health of our nation, which is why they have failed to do so to the tune of a million dead people.

00:29:30.000 As we have said before, wearing masks is most beneficial in crowded or poorly ventilated locations, such as the transportation corridor.

00:29:38.000 Question.

00:29:40.000 Are planes poorly ventilated?

00:29:41.000 Answer.

00:29:42.000 No.

00:29:42.000 Planes are some of the best ventilated places on planet Earth.

00:29:45.000 They have HEPA filters and they are constantly cycling their air.

00:29:48.000 There's been no evidence throughout the pandemic that planes are a main vector or even a minor vector of transmission.

00:29:54.000 Because the HEPA filters used on planes are surgical grade.

00:29:57.000 And then CDC says when people wear a well-fitting mask or respirator over their nose and mouth in indoor travel or public transportation systems, they protect themselves and those around them, including those who are immunocompromised or not yet vaccine eligible, and help keep travel and public transportation safe for everyone.

00:30:11.000 Okay, there's only one problem.

00:30:12.000 The CDC mask mandate does not require that the mask be well-fitting or a respirator.

00:30:19.000 Remember?

00:30:19.000 You can use cloth masks.

00:30:21.000 You can use surgical masks that barely fit you.

00:30:23.000 You can wear an N95 that doesn't fit you at all. 1.00

00:30:26.000 So the CDC continues to promulgate this, and this is just, they are suicidal man, they are so stupid, and they are creating a mess. 0.94

00:30:31.000 Because now, after this federal judge struck down the regulation, basically a bunch of places in left-wing jurisdictions have suggested that they are going to continue the mask mandate. 0.98

00:30:41.000 So for example, Every major carrier in the United States is like, fine, you can take off the mask because they understand it's onerous and annoying.

00:30:47.000 But there are several airports where you still have to mask up.

00:30:50.000 So let's say that you are flying from Fort Lauderdale Airport in the area where I reside and where my business is.

00:30:57.000 Let's say that you fly from Fort Lauderdale over to, say, John F. Kennedy in New York.

00:31:02.000 Here's the way it's going to work.

00:31:03.000 You're going to go to Fort Lauderdale.

00:31:04.000 There's going to be a sign that's going to say, recommend you do wear a mask.

00:31:06.000 You'll be like, nah.

00:31:07.000 You're not going to wear a mask.

00:31:08.000 Then you're going to get on United Airlines, and you're not going to wear a mask.

00:31:11.000 Then, you're going to have to carry a mask so that when you get off the plane at Kennedy, you don't get arrested.

00:31:18.000 Seriously.

00:31:19.000 LaGuardia too.

00:31:20.000 Philadelphia International Airport.

00:31:23.000 And by the way, if you take, let's say, a bus into New York, so New York City still has a mask or vax mandate.

00:31:32.000 So, let's say you take an Uber.

00:31:33.000 If you take an Uber from New Jersey into New York, theoretically, the New York mask mandate still applies to the Uber driver in the city of New York.

00:31:40.000 So you have to carry a mask with you, and the minute you cross that bridge, you have to put on the mask.

00:31:43.000 Like, all of this is insane. 0.53

00:31:44.000 You guys want to make people crazy?

00:31:46.000 Great job.

00:31:47.000 Really, really great job.

00:31:48.000 Even Chuck Todd is looking at this, and he's like, guys, what happened to declaring COVID independence and just saying this is over?

00:31:54.000 Why are we still doing this?

00:31:57.000 When I keep thinking about, why isn't the president out there sort of explaining, look, here's the deal with masks.

00:32:01.000 We know some of you, we know it's necessary.

00:32:03.000 We know some of you don't like it.

00:32:05.000 Look, we've given you all the tools to protect yourself from this virus.

00:32:08.000 And he said that a few times.

00:32:10.000 And on masks, look, I'm still going to wear one on public transportation.

00:32:13.000 I hope if you decide not to wear one, you don't pick on people, whatever it is.

00:32:17.000 But they don't even want to get in front of this.

00:32:18.000 And I can't help but wonder, is it because of the snake fitness of what happened when they declared independence too quick?

00:32:24.000 Um, so, that's correct.

00:32:26.000 They did declare independence too quickly.

00:32:28.000 But the big problem is, they didn't have to.

00:32:30.000 Joe Biden could have said, last June, even with Delta, he could have said, listen, the vaccines are available, you're on your own.

00:32:36.000 He could have said that.

00:32:36.000 And all of his haranguing people and telling them that there'd be a winter of death and disconcern, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr And when Joe Biden says that sort of stuff, it didn't do anything.

00:32:47.000 They could have declared independence, but they can't.

00:32:48.000 So now they are locked down into this.

00:32:50.000 You have Jen Psaki yesterday saying, yeah, sure, you're seeing videos of people celebrating in airports now that they no longer have to wear a mask and mask up their three-year-old.

00:32:57.000 Really, honestly, this was, to me, the biggest issue.

00:32:59.000 So I have a child who's now two.

00:33:01.000 The masking, like, I was fine with masking up until I got the vaccine.

00:33:05.000 Then I got the vaccine, and now, then I was pissed at masking.

00:33:07.000 But I would still do it if forced to do it, because after all, I'm, You know, a conservative, I believe, in institutions and didn't want to violate the law.

00:33:16.000 Where it really began to irk me is when you're talking about my tiny two-year-old baby wearing a mask.

00:33:22.000 Okay, so those are the people who are pissed.

00:33:24.000 Jen Psaki's like, it's just anecdotal, guys.

00:33:26.000 Nobody's really mad about wearing a mask.

00:33:27.000 We love our masks.

00:33:28.000 Our masks are our best friends.

00:33:29.000 Our masks keep us safe.

00:33:31.000 They're like face condoms.

00:33:32.000 They just make sure that nothing bad happens just in case.

00:33:35.000 Here's Jen Psaki. 1.00

00:33:37.000 I would note, I know this is often said and maybe some of it is because there was the video of people on planes, on the plane, on one plane taking off their masks.

00:33:46.000 Public polling does not actually show that there is a universal view of people getting rid of masks.

00:33:51.000 That's not actually what public polling shows.

00:33:54.000 Now, it doesn't matter to us because we are making our decisions based on public health and data and what the CDC is recommending, but that is not the universal view of the public.

00:34:07.000 Um, well, I mean, fine.

00:34:09.000 Do it.

00:34:10.000 Find out if this is the universal view of the public.

00:34:12.000 The thing about this administration is that they are just, it's really amazing.

00:34:16.000 They're always tacking in a leftward direction, but they're incapable of actually just deciding to do it publicly, and so they're sort of always back and forth. 0.92

00:34:22.000 So the left is pissed with them for vacillating, and the right is saying, why are you guys so crazy?

00:34:27.000 It's particularly true when it comes to drilling.

00:34:28.000 Coming up, we'll get to the massive gas prices thanks to Joe Biden, but here's the thing.

00:34:33.000 You don't have to pay those massive gas prices, at least in part.

00:34:36.000 This is why you should go get that free GetUpside app I've been telling you about.

00:34:38.000 I was telling you about that like months ago when gas was a lot cheaper.

00:34:41.000 Now it's way more expensive, and so it's more important for you to save money on your gas.

00:34:45.000 My listeners are earning cash back for every gallon of gas every time they fill up.

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00:35:22.000 Right now you're paying way too much for gas.

00:35:24.000 It's not just because of Putin.

00:35:25.000 It's not just because of COVID.

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00:35:36.000 So go get started.

00:35:37.000 Alrighty, we're gonna get some more in just one second.

00:35:41.000 First, I've got good news, and I've got bad news.

00:35:43.000 The bad news is, no book club tonight.

00:35:45.000 It's the third Thursday book club, and I know it's the third Thursday in April, but tonight is, again, Passover.

00:35:50.000 So, this month only, I will be hosting a fourth Thursday book club.

00:35:54.000 Yeah, you see what we did there?

00:35:55.000 The good news is, if you haven't signed up yet, you have an extra week to do so, and read the book we will be discussing, The Once and Future King by T.H.

00:36:01.000 White. 0.81

00:36:02.000 That book actually got mentioned, I believe, on this week's show, out of context.

00:36:05.000 Join me on April 28th, 8 p.m.

00:36:07.000 Eastern, where we will talk through my notes, I will answer all of your questions, and if you've already finished reading this month's book, you can get a head start on next month, because I'm excited to announce, next month, we are reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

00:36:17.000 We only do the greats over here.

00:36:18.000 So if you're not a part of my book club, head on over to thirdthursdaybookclub.com, sign up, join me next week for the once and future king, and next month, for Moby Dick by Herman Melville, check out the trailer.

00:36:29.000 I want to tell you about my third Thursday Book Club.

00:36:31.000 This is not your average book club.

00:36:33.000 These are the greatest books in the history of Western literature.

00:36:38.000 We're going to dive into the greatest works of all time.

00:36:40.000 These are the books that helped form the key pillars of Western civilization and helped define America.

00:36:44.000 And we're going to do it live with thousands of you, our Daily Wire members.

00:36:48.000 I'm going to be your personal guide.

00:36:49.000 I've read every one of these books.

00:36:51.000 I'm going to draw out the important lessons and themes from every book.

00:36:53.000 Plus, I'm going to be answering your questions along the way.

00:36:56.000 So we actually do read the book together.

00:37:00.000 You join the book club, you are going to get smarter.

00:37:02.000 You're going to get more knowledgeable.

00:37:03.000 Because this is an investment in your most valuable asset.

00:37:07.000 Your mind.

00:37:08.000 The Third Thursday Book Club.

00:37:09.000 It's going to change the way you think.

00:37:13.000 The book club is awesome.

00:37:14.000 You are going to love it.

00:37:15.000 I love doing it.

00:37:16.000 It's one of my favorite things we do and it's maybe the most informative thing we do.

00:37:19.000 If you got junior high students, high school students, we're reading books that matter and we're doing it in a detailed and sophisticated way.

00:37:25.000 Plus you get to interact with me.

00:37:26.000 We actually answer video questions from people who are members of the book club and written questions from you.

00:37:31.000 So you get to interact with me on all of the greatest works of literature.

00:37:34.000 So sign up right now at thirdthursdaybookclub.com to get my notes sent straight to your inbox for The Once and Future King by T.H.

00:37:40.000 White right now, and for next month, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

00:37:43.000 You're listening to the largest, fastest growing conservative podcast and radio show in the nation.

00:37:46.000 Meanwhile, the Biden administration is trying to figure out its energy policy.

00:37:55.000 It turns out that outsourcing your energy policy to a 19-year-old Swedish Weird person is a really bad policy, and I can make fun of Greta Thunberg as much as I want. 0.85

00:38:06.000 She's no longer a minor.

00:38:08.000 I understand that's the rule in politics, so I didn't make fun of her.

00:38:11.000 Studiously avoided mocking Greta Thunberg.

00:38:13.000 She's very disappointed in you.

00:38:14.000 Disappointed, how dare you?

00:38:16.000 I didn't mock her until she was 18.

00:38:18.000 Now I can mock her as much as I want, and you guys can't do anything about it. 1.00

00:38:21.000 Because she's terrible, and you morons decided. 1.00

00:38:23.000 What if we took this ignorant schoolchild, and we decide to make her the face of the environmental movement? 1.00

00:38:28.000 Geniuses. 0.92

00:38:28.000 Okay, well now it turns out that there are actual impacts to this, such as being reliant on Russian oil. 0.92

00:38:34.000 So now Joe Biden has had to expand oil drilling on public land, but of course in the stupidest possible way, he's not expanding oil drilling dramatically enough that it will impact anything, and he's raising the fees.

00:38:43.000 So he's pissed off the environmentalists, and he's pissed off the people who drill. 1.00

00:38:46.000 Because Joe Biden is a fool. 0.97

00:38:49.000 According to ABC News, in a move that could help temper high gasoline prices, President Joe Biden is bringing back leases for oil and gas drilling on federal land, but the reversal of a 2020 campaign promise has angered climate activists ahead of midterms that will determine Biden's ability to get his agenda through Congress. 0.99

00:39:05.000 The administration was set to start selling leases for drilling on public lands, putting 144,000 acres of lands up for lease in nine states as soon as Monday, as Biden faces massive pressure to boost oil production in the United States amid soaring prices, partly from the war in Ukraine, what Biden calls Putin's price hike.

00:39:20.000 I love that ABC News can't just like report the news.

00:39:23.000 They could have ended that sentence After soaring prices?

00:39:27.000 But then just add in Joe Biden's propaganda that it's all because of Vladimir Putin and Ukraine.

00:39:32.000 Because this is what they do.

00:39:33.000 They're just the PR wing for the Democratic Party.

00:39:36.000 For far too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries above local communities.

00:39:42.000 The natural environment, the impact on air and water, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in release today, will begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of America's resources for the benefit of all current and future generations.

00:39:55.000 So, what exactly are they doing?

00:39:57.000 So, the land offered for auction is 80% less than the 733,000 acres nominated.

00:40:03.000 Also, the lease sales will be subject to tribal consultation and community input.

00:40:07.000 Also, they're going to increase the fees pretty dramatically on oil and natural gas companies. 0.98

00:40:11.000 They split the baby in the dumbest possible way.

00:40:14.000 So they're not actually going to get massively ramped up production, and also they pissed off the environmentalists. 1.00

00:40:18.000 So just slow clap for the morons over at the White House. 1.00

00:40:20.000 They are really, really bad at this. 0.99

00:40:24.000 According to another activist, Kyle Tisdell, a climate and energy program director with the Western Environmental Law Center, quote, we've heard a lot of rhetoric from President Biden and his administration about the need to take action on climate.

00:40:34.000 But not only is the administration not doing everything it could, it is not really doing anything.

00:40:37.000 Climate action was a pillar of President Biden's campaign.

00:40:40.000 His promises on this existential issue were a major reason the public elected him.

00:40:43.000 The White House argues it has no choice but to continue drilling on public lands after a federal judge in Louisiana struck down Biden's executive order in June 2021, temporarily suspending such drilling.

00:40:55.000 So, yeah, the White House is kind of stuck in the middle.

00:40:58.000 Meanwhile, Biden's climate advisor, Gina McCarthy, she says, you know, Joe Biden remains committed to no drilling on public lands.

00:41:05.000 So on the one hand, we're supposed to be believing that he wants to lower gas prices through drilling.

00:41:10.000 And on the other hand, his own climate advisor is like, yeah, don't worry, not a lot of drilling is going to take place.

00:41:13.000 Genius stuff here.

00:41:15.000 Let me answer your question very directly.

00:41:17.000 President Biden remains absolutely committed to not moving forward with additional drilling on public lands.

00:41:26.000 Mm-hmm.

00:41:26.000 So it's going great.

00:41:28.000 Part of this is because the Biden administration is absolutely delusional on energy policy.

00:41:32.000 I mean, they're delusional on pretty much every policy, but energy policy particularly.

00:41:35.000 So they've deployed John Kerry out to the world to discuss climate change.

00:41:42.000 Because what you need when you discuss climate change is a ketchup heiress's husband trotting around the globe in a private jet talking about how we need to cut carbon emissions.

00:41:53.000 He also needs to look like an Easter Island head.

00:41:55.000 These are the requirements for the job.

00:41:57.000 Easter Island head face looks like it's a San Fernando Valley mudslide during El Nino.

00:42:03.000 That face is just collapsing internally.

00:42:05.000 And you need that guy.

00:42:07.000 That's the one.

00:42:07.000 Because Joe Biden had to tap maybe the only person more off-putting than Joe Biden is.

00:42:12.000 How old is John Kerry at this point?

00:42:14.000 Isn't it kind of incredible, by the way, that the only people who run this country are at least 173 years old?

00:42:19.000 John Kerry is heading our climate change outfit.

00:42:22.000 That dude ain't gonna be around for climate change.

00:42:23.000 He's 78.

00:42:23.000 It is fairly incredible to me that the entire ruling class of this country is aged 78 and older.

00:42:30.000 Like, all of them.

00:42:32.000 At some point you might think that we might get some fresh blood in here.

00:42:35.000 Anyway, John Kerry is going around the world and he has never said a correct thing on anything.

00:42:40.000 And here he goes again.

00:42:41.000 He cited Europe as a success on energy policy.

00:42:46.000 Europe, which is currently having its energy prices doubled because it turns out that all of their environmental claptrap and all these subsidies that they threw toward green energy couldn't make up for the fact that they needed carbon-based energy and so they were just taking in Russian gas.

00:42:58.000 So they're like, yes, we are doing environmentalism.

00:43:00.000 And then secretly, in the back door, like, yeah, you know that guy down the street?

00:43:04.000 The one with the trench coat?

00:43:05.000 And then Vladimir Putin, he opens up his trench coat and there's a bunch of pipelines there.

00:43:09.000 Like, yeah, man, that guy deals some great natural gas and oil.

00:43:13.000 And then John Kerry's like, that's a great success!

00:43:16.000 Here's John Kerry.

00:43:18.000 No government in the world has enough money to be able to affect the transition we need to affect, to move us much more rapidly into sustainable energy postures within our nations.

00:43:33.000 Europe is probably the lead on the planet in terms of the efforts it's making, and that's partly because of Russia, Ukraine.

00:43:41.000 Europe has had no choice but to understand they've got to move off of Russian fossil fuel as fast as they possibly can.

00:43:50.000 You know why they realized that is because they were on Russian fossil fuels.

00:43:53.000 That would be the reason, John.

00:43:56.000 Also, worth noting, it was Joe Biden who allowed Nord Stream 2 to open up under Vladimir Putin.

00:44:03.000 This is always the way that it works for the environmentalists.

00:44:05.000 It's just nimbyism.

00:44:07.000 We will pretend that we don't like carbon-based energy.

00:44:10.000 And then as long as they're developing it in much dirtier ways in Russia, then we're apparently totally fine with it. 0.92

00:44:14.000 There's something else to point out here with regard to climate change and the Biden administration and the entire left.

00:44:19.000 And that is, they claim that they're very pro-human rights, but they have higher priorities.

00:44:24.000 So John Kerry is going around the world and he's complaining.

00:44:27.000 Why is it?

00:44:28.000 Why do we care about China imprisoning Millions of Chinese Uyghurs, if they're going to make an empty promise about climate change. 1.00

00:44:39.000 Here's John Kerry whining that, you know, we just can't get a deal done with China because we keep complaining about human rights.

00:44:43.000 It's a problem.

00:44:45.000 We're hoping to do this, is work with China very directly in a cooperative fashion that can help to move faster on the transition away from coal and onto new technologies.

00:44:59.000 It's harder now because Some of the differences of opinion between our countries have been hardened and sharpened, and that makes the diplomacy more complicated.

00:45:11.000 But if climate becomes one of the tools, one of the weapons in the bilateral back and forth, we're cooked.

00:45:19.000 We're in serious trouble.

00:45:21.000 Well, you know that we can't let climate change, we can't get human rights get in the way of climate change.

00:45:25.000 It is truly impressive that John Kerry and this administration are saying we need to overlook the human rights violations of China in order so we can get an empty deal on climate change. 0.99

00:45:33.000 Meanwhile, The Biden administration performed a signal feat of foreign policy botchery.

00:45:39.000 I think it's on purpose.

00:45:40.000 I got to tell you, I think it's on purpose.

00:45:41.000 There's a big article over the Wall Street Journal about the Biden administration and the Saudi government.

00:45:45.000 Now, the Saudi government has long been a massive human rights violator.

00:45:48.000 I mean, there's no secret about this. 0.65

00:45:49.000 They chop off people's hands. 0.55

00:45:50.000 They execute people publicly. 0.99

00:45:52.000 It is a dictatorship.

00:45:53.000 Free speech is not really the way that things go there.

00:45:55.000 There are all sorts of laws that apply to women that are extraordinarily sexist. 1.00

00:45:58.000 All of that's been true for literally ever.

00:46:03.000 1400 years over there like not in that region of the world.

00:46:06.000 But now the Biden administration is really really really mad.

00:46:10.000 At the Saudis. 0.64

00:46:11.000 Now the real reason they're really mad at the Saudis is because they want to sign a deal with the Iranians. 0.88

00:46:14.000 In other words, they are very, very upset about Saudi human rights violations.

00:46:17.000 So what we truly have to do is sign an agreement with the worst human rights violator in the region by far, Iran. 0.99

00:46:24.000 That's what we need to do.

00:46:25.000 And we need to blow up our relations with the Saudis in order to do this. 1.00

00:46:27.000 So in the middle of a gas crunch where we require Saudi to actually pump more oil to help us out, we went to direct war diplomatically with Saudi Arabia. 1.00

00:46:36.000 This is just stupid policy. 1.00

00:46:37.000 It's just dumb. 1.00

00:46:39.000 I would say that it's like usually what I always say is a tribute to stupidity rather than malevolence. 1.00

00:46:44.000 This is malevolence. 1.00

00:46:44.000 They want an Iran deal. 1.00

00:46:45.000 The only way they get to an Iran deal is to alienate Saudi Arabia.

00:46:48.000 And so they are actively doing it and then pretending it's really about Saudi Arabia's human rights violations.

00:46:51.000 It is not.

00:46:52.000 Joe Biden does not care about Saudi Arabia's human rights violations any more than Bill Clinton or George W. Bush or Barack Obama did.

00:46:58.000 They don't care.

00:46:59.000 If they cared, they wouldn't be making a deal with Iran, which is by far a worse human rights violator than Saudi Arabia, projecting its human rights violations into Lebanon, projecting them into Syria, projecting them into Yemen with the Houthis, projecting them into Hamasistan in the Gaza Strip. 0.75

00:47:12.000 It's truly insane.

00:47:15.000 It's not even incompetence.

00:47:16.000 This is actual malevolence.

00:47:18.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wearing shorts at his seaside palace, sought a relaxed tone for his first meeting with President Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, last September.

00:47:28.000 The 36-year-old crown prince ended up shouting at Mr. Sullivan after he raised the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

00:47:34.000 The prince told Sullivan he never wanted to discuss the matter again, said people familiar with the exchange, and the U.S.

00:47:39.000 could forget about its request to boost oil production.

00:47:41.000 The relationship between the U.S.

00:47:43.000 and Saudi Arabia has hit its lowest point in decades, with Biden saying in 2019 the kingdom should be treated like a pariah over human rights issues, like Khashoggi's murder.

00:47:51.000 Now, is it really bad that the Saudi kingdom murdered Jamal Khashoggi, who is a sort of Muslim Brotherhood advocate?

00:47:58.000 And the attempt to turn him into sort of like an objective journalist is not true.

00:48:01.000 That doesn't mean that he should have been chopped up at a Turkish embassy. 0.83

00:48:04.000 That's evil.

00:48:05.000 But the kind of propaganda attempt here is wrong.

00:48:09.000 That said, are we surprised that Saudi is a human rights violator? 1.00

00:48:12.000 Like, they've been doing this for a while.

00:48:14.000 And the alternative is Iran. 0.92

00:48:16.000 Foreign policy is a place where you're going to have to get your hands dirty somewhere here.

00:48:20.000 I mean, this is what's amazing.

00:48:21.000 They're willing to get their hands dirty with Iran. 1.00

00:48:23.000 They're willing to get their hands dirty with China over empty climate change policies.

00:48:26.000 But we have to bring up Jamal Khashoggi at every point, which is why I say this is purposeful. 1.00

00:48:29.000 This is an attempt to destroy U.S.-Saudi relations because Joe Biden and Team Jake Sullivan are angry at the Saudis for trying to make peace with Israel.

00:48:38.000 They want Iran to be a regional power, which is totally crazy.

00:48:41.000 It's insane.

00:48:43.000 The political fissures have deepened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

00:48:46.000 Senior Saudi and U.S.

00:48:47.000 officials said, again, this is totally crazy because guess who's standing behind Iran in the Iran deal?

00:48:51.000 Russia. 0.99

00:48:52.000 So in order, so other words, we're angry, damn you Saudis, you and your unwillingness to get involved against Russia on behalf of Ukraine. 1.00

00:48:59.000 Can't believe it. 0.99

00:49:00.000 Let's make a deal with Iran, who's directly involved with Russia. 0.88

00:49:05.000 Russia's building their nuclear plant.

00:49:08.000 It's just a lie.

00:49:08.000 It's all a lie.

00:49:09.000 They want Iran. 0.99

00:49:10.000 They want an Iran deal.

00:49:11.000 And they're willing to destroy any relationship we have to get there.

00:49:15.000 Prince Mohammed wants foremost to be recognized as the de facto Saudi ruler and future king.

00:49:19.000 The crown prince runs the country's day-to-day affairs for his ailing father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Biden hasn't met yet or spoken directly with the prince.

00:49:27.000 Last summer, the president told Americans to blame low Saudi oil output for rising gas prices, because he's a garbage president who doesn't pretend that he cares about American oil prices, really. After publication of this article online, Adrienne Watson, a White House National Security Council spokeswoman reiterated President Biden's stated commitment that the U.S.

00:49:45.000 would support the kingdom's territorial defense.

00:49:47.000 She cited diplomatic achievements in recent weeks, such as the condemnation by Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

00:49:54.000 She said Sullivan didn't discuss oil production with Mohammed and that there was no shouting.

00:49:58.000 However, however, that is not what people who are at the meeting say.

00:50:02.000 They say that essentially the White House has now directly alienated the Saudis.

00:50:08.000 And the reason that they're alienating the Saudis is perfectly clear. 0.88

00:50:10.000 This is on purpose.

00:50:11.000 This is not a mistake.

00:50:12.000 They're alienating the Saudis because they want the Iranians. 1.00

00:50:15.000 They want the Iranians. 1.00

00:50:16.000 And that is totally... By the way, how do you know this?

00:50:19.000 Because according to the Washington Free Beacon, the Biden administration is looking to relieve sanctions on about 80,000 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the terrorist group that has killed hundreds of Americans, maybe thousands in Iraq.

00:50:31.000 That is the military wing of the Iranian government.

00:50:34.000 The proposal by the Biden administration in that Iranian negotiation is to remove the IRGC's terror designation, making it easier for foreign fighters to enter the United States.

00:50:43.000 Just incredible, incredible stuff here from the Biden administration.

00:50:47.000 Truly breathtaking stuff.

00:50:49.000 Meanwhile, the good news is that the Biden administration, as always, is on top of things.

00:50:53.000 Joe Biden, sharp, incisive, brilliant even.

00:50:59.000 Here he was yesterday struggling to say the words highly qualified.

00:51:04.000 We not only have a highly qualified woman as Vice President, but as Deputy Secretary of Defense and two women combatant commanders. 0.99

00:51:15.000 By the way, how bad are things getting for Joe Biden?

00:51:17.000 How bad are things deteriorating inside that empty attic up there?

00:51:20.000 I mean, it's just cobwebs and rats up there now.

00:51:25.000 This is the end of this particular press conference.

00:51:26.000 You can hear the staff shouting at journalists to get out.

00:51:30.000 They're afraid that Joe is going to faceplant directly in the middle of the table.

00:51:33.000 He's just grinning like a crazy person as the staff shouts at journalists to get out.

00:51:36.000 Well, the good news is that waiting in the wings for this That bleep old fellow is a Kamala Harris, who is truly one of the great orators of our generation.

00:52:03.000 I've never seen someone as smooth as this.

00:52:06.000 She's basically an adult who is a third grader who didn't read the book for the book report.

00:52:12.000 And so everything she says is designed to get to one page.

00:52:15.000 Everything has to be one page double-spaced.

00:52:17.000 It's a five paragraph essay that needs to be one page double-spaced.

00:52:19.000 And so what we're going to do if you're Kamala Harris is you increase the size of the font to 13 and you shrink the margins just about 0.25 inches.

00:52:26.000 You shrink the margins this much, Space is exciting.

00:52:28.000 It spurs our imaginations.

00:52:29.000 And it forces us to ask big questions.

00:52:30.000 one space and you increase the size of the font to 13.

00:52:33.000 Kids, this is how you do it.

00:52:34.000 Then you get to one page.

00:52:35.000 This is Kamala Harris on every topic.

00:52:37.000 So here she was yesterday on space and its myriad wonders.

00:52:40.000 Space is exciting.

00:52:44.000 It spurs our imaginations and it forces us to ask big questions.

00:52:52.000 Space, it affects us all.

00:52:59.000 And it connects us all.

00:53:00.000 By the way, that's how she ends that clip. 1.00

00:53:02.000 It affects us all and it connects us all.

00:53:05.000 Yeah, lady. 1.00

00:53:06.000 She didn't read the term paper.

00:53:08.000 She didn't do any of the research.

00:53:09.000 She didn't bother with the Googles. 0.99

00:53:11.000 So things are going great, is I think, in sum, the message of today's show.

00:53:16.000 Well, we will be back here later today with an additional hour of programming.

00:53:18.000 Coming up soon is the Matt Walsh Show.

00:53:20.000 It airs 1.30 p.m.

00:53:20.000 Eastern.

00:53:21.000 Be sure to check it out over at dailywire.com.

00:53:22.000 I'm Ben Shapiro.

00:53:23.000 This is the Ben Shapiro Show.

00:53:25.000 The Ben Shapiro Show is produced by Elliot Belt.

00:53:32.000 Executive producer, Jeremy Boring.

00:53:34.000 Our supervising producer is Mathis Glover.

00:53:36.000 And our production manager is Pavel Lydowsky.

00:53:39.000 Associate producer, Bradford Carrington.

00:53:41.000 Editing is by Adam Saievitz.

00:53:42.000 Audio is mixed by Mike Koromina.

00:53:44.000 Hair and makeup is by Fabiola Christina.

00:53:46.000 Production assistant, Jessica Crand.

00:53:48.000 The Ben Shapiro Show is a Daily Wire production.

00:53:50.000 Copyright Daily Wire 2022.

00:53:53.000 On the Matt Wall Show, we talk about the things that matter.

00:53:56.000 Real issues that affect you, your family, our country, not just politics, but culture, faith, current events, all the fundamentals.

The Ben Shapiro Show - April 21, 2022

F**k Around And Find Out | Ep. 1479

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