1/27/26: Trump Retreats In MN, Judge Showdown Over ICE, Trump Forgets Word Alzheimer's

27 Jan 2026 · 57 min · 22 chapters

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Breaking Points Episode Summary: 1/27/26 – Trump Retreats in MN, Judge Showdown Over ICE, Trump Forgets Word Alzheimer's

Podcast Overview Hosts: Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti Description: Breaking Points is an anti-establishment podcast that seeks to hold powerful figures accountable.

Main Themes of the Episode:

  • Trump's political retreat and legal challenges.
  • Developments in immigration enforcement and ICE operations.
  • Speculations on Trump's health.

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Episode Breakdown

  1. Trump’s Retreat in Minnesota
  2. Key Developments:
  3. Trump is seen backing down in Minneapolis amidst rising political pressure.
  4. Greg Bovino, a key figure in the Minneapolis occupation, is being removed from his position, leading to a change in strategy.
  5. Tom Homan is brought in as a replacement, indicating a shift in tactics regarding immigration enforcement.
  • Contextual Factors:
  • A turf war within the Trump administration is highlighted, particularly between ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
  • Trump is attempting to manage the fallout from recent violent incidents involving law enforcement.
  1. Legal Showdown Over ICE Operations
  2. Legal Developments:
  3. Minnesota officials are pursuing legal action against ICE, aiming to end Operation Metro Surge, which has led to increased federal presence and arrests in the state.
  4. A judge expresses alarm at the legal implications of the federal government's actions, suggesting coercion may be involved, particularly relating to funding and enforcement tactics.
  • Implications:
  • The court's rulings could redefine the limits of federal enforcement and state rights regarding immigration laws.
  • The state is leveraging past rulings against federal overreach, drawing parallels to earlier Supreme Court decisions regarding funding and state autonomy.
  1. ICE’s Compliance and Court Orders
  2. Judicial Accountability:
  3. The chief federal judge in Minnesota orders the head of ICE to appear in court due to repeated violations of court orders.
  4. Frustration mounts as the courts are inundated with cases involving illegal detentions by ICE.
  • Challenges Ahead:
  • The judge's ability to enforce rulings against a federal agency raises questions about the judicial system's capacity to check executive power.
  1. Speculations on Trump's Health
  2. Health Concerns Raised:
  3. Recent interviews raise questions about Trump's health, including a notable bruise on his hand and a forgetful moment where he could not recall the word "Alzheimer's."
  4. The episode critiques the narrative surrounding Trump's vitality as presented by his administration, suggesting a dissonance between image and reality.
  • Media Commentary:
  • Krystal and Saagar examine the absurdity of the PR efforts surrounding Trump's health, comparing it to North Korean propaganda.
  • The episode emphasizes the need for transparency and honesty regarding the health of political leaders.

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Key Takeaways

  • Political Dynamics:
  • Trump's recent decisions reflect an attempt to manage and mitigate political crises, showcasing internal conflict within his administration.
  • Judicial Power:
  • The ongoing legal battles highlight the tensions between state rights and federal authority, particularly concerning immigration enforcement.
  • Health Transparency:
  • The discussion about Trump's health serves as a reminder of the importance of accountability in political narratives, particularly concerning the capabilities of leaders.

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Final Thoughts This episode of Breaking Points provides a critical lens on current political dynamics, the legal landscape surrounding immigration, and the ongoing discourse about the health and competency of political leaders. Krystal and Saagar's analysis underscores the complexities and challenges facing the Trump administration as it navigates mounting pressures from various fronts.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Overview of Today's Topics

0:45 to 1:48

Discussion of various issues including Trump, economic news, and humanitarian topics.

“Big developments there that we'll break down for you.”

Trump's Retreat in Minneapolis

1:48 to 2:29

Analysis of Trump backing down in Minneapolis and the implications.

“As Ryan and I mentioned yesterday, covering very controversial things like we are right now is basically just demonetization.”

Significant Changes in Leadership

2:29 to 3:28

Discussion of the removal of Greg Bovino and the appointment of Tom Homan.

“Trump backing down, sidelining potentially Mr.”

Political Dynamics and Turf Wars

3:28 to 5:36

Examination of the turf battles within Trump's administration regarding immigration enforcement.

“And they were the ones who were in favor of, and Bovino in particular, these incredibly showy, aggressive, made-for-TV moments.”

Trump's Changing Rhetoric

5:36 to 9:18

Analysis of Trump's tone and communication regarding the Minneapolis situation.

“This was, I actually think, the most significant one because, as you said, there's been a big turf war inside of the administration between Kirsten Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and Tom Homan.”

Sidelining of Stephen Miller

9:18 to 10:53

Discussion on the isolation of Stephen Miller within the administration.

“Now, we will see whether there's a real tactical adjustment on the ground or whether it is just lip service and PR.”

Corruption and Controversy

10:53 to 14:00

A look at the allegations of corruption within the administration and its impact.

“because he's involved in so many facets of this administration that they actually call him the prime minister, including he's deeply involved in a bunch of these foreign policy decisions, which also have been terrible.”

Corruption and Power Dynamics in the Trump Administration

14:00 to 20:00

Discusses the alleged corrupt practices within the Trump administration and the shifting power dynamics among officials.

“Refused to back up that characterization of Alex Preddy.”

Legal Analysis of Immigration Operations in Minneapolis

20:00 to 21:40

Examines the legal challenges Minnesota authorities are posing against ICE operations and the implications for immigration policy.

“You know, we talked about the warrants, them just being like, yeah, we don't need warrants to bust into your home.”

Judicial Actions Against Federal Immigration Policies

21:40 to 27:20

Details the ongoing legal confrontations between the Minnesota courts and ICE over immigration enforcement methods.

“And it's not like you can just erase what the whole last year has looked like.”
Show all 22 chapters

Judicial Accountability in Immigration Law

28:00 to 28:50

Discussion on the difficulties judges face in enforcing accountability against federal officials regarding immigration.

“I mean, the judge can sort of decide the penalty, you know, and then that can include, you know, again, I don't think I don't think that happens on the spot.”

ICE's Illegal Detention Practices

28:50 to 31:30

Exploration of how ICE has been detaining individuals without due process and bond, highlighting the legal implications.

“But, you know, we've never seen an administration taken taking so far that the courts are actually saying we need to actually utilize this rarely used tool.”

Trump's Shifting Stance on Immigration

31:30 to 33:56

Analysis of Trump's evolving rhetoric on immigration and its potential legal ramifications.

“That's that's cases where there have been rulings agreeing that the detention was illegal.”

Judges and the Limits of Federal Authority

33:56 to 37:48

Discussion on how judges are challenged in their authority to regulate federal immigration enforcement tactics.

“So she seems – so I think if there's a way for her to say, well, it's over, it's moot, I think that might be her preferred outcome.”

Conditions in Detention Facilities

37:48 to 40:00

Describing the inhumane conditions faced by detainees and the legal challenges surrounding them.

“This memo leak that says, you know, we don't we can just violate your Fourth Amendment rights.”

Trump's Health and Public Perception

40:00 to 42:00

Discussion on public concerns regarding Trump's health following his interview and the implications for his image.

“So for those of you who missed it, there were a lot of questions about the president's health.”

Trump's Health Discussion

42:00 to 43:40

Exploration of perceptions and claims about Trump's health during a recent interview.

“NSAIDs, but that big aspirin NSAIDs, that's a lot of aspirin.”

Comparing Trump and Obama

43:40 to 46:50

Discussion about the health comparisons between Trump and Obama based on quotes from a recent interview.

“Alzheimer's, Levitt said, like an Alzheimer's thing.”

Media Dynamics and Trump's Image

46:50 to 49:50

Analysis of the media portrayal of Trump’s health and how it affects public perception.

“You know, the doctors who tested his heart capacity, they said they don't even need to ever do it again because his heart is so healthy.”

Concerns Over Trump's Age and Health

49:50 to 53:20

Discussion on visible signs of aging and health concerns regarding Trump's capabilities.

“They really are, because you also can just see.”

The Role of Trump's Doctors and Care

53:20 to 56:00

Examination of the implications of Trump's health care and the doctors involved in his medical assessments.

“There are days when he gets up there behind the podium.”

Discussion on Bruises and Health Concerns

56:00 to 56:53

The hosts discuss the implications of bruising and health conditions, referencing public figures.

“Right now we're buried under inches of snow.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

0:31of Independent News Media, and we hope to see you at BreakingPoints.com.

0:37Good morning, everybody. Happy Tuesday. We have an amazing show for everybody today. What do we have, Crystal? Indeed we do. Trump retreating, somewhat at least in Minneapolis. Big developments there that we'll break down for you. We also have Kyle Cheney. He is a political analyst for Politico, who's been following all of the legal developments very closely. Some significant decisions that have been made that are pending as well, so he'll break that down for us. Plus, I got a little bit of Trump health speculation. Not a great moment for him in a recent interview. So we'll dig into that as well.

1:08We've got some economic news, dollar crashing, gold spiking, and then also crashing. Not sure what's going on there. A bunch of housing start cancellations. So some troubling signs there. TikTok going full censorship, although they are blaming it on a data outage. We will sort through fact and fiction on that one and see if we can figure out what is going on. And Amit Khan, the frontline humanitarian and philanthropist, also executive producer actually of the voice of Hindra Job, is going to join us to talk about the latest with regard to the Gaza Board of Peace and what the reality on the ground is there right now.

1:43So a bunch of stuff to get to this morning. Yes, that's right. Thank you to everybody who has been supporting the show. As Ryan and I mentioned yesterday, covering very controversial things like we are right now is basically just demonetization. monetization. Hell, we don't care because the vast majority of our revenue comes from you, our subscribers. So if you can support our show, breakingpoints.com, it enables our journalism. Ryan Grimm, obviously, being able to just break the news of that new angle on the shooting immediately here on our channel without having to worry about monetary concerns.

2:11Also, for our premium subscribers, we're aware that there is some sort of issue on Spotify video. We are working with the Spotify team and with locals and all of that to make sure that it is resolved as soon as possible. Just wanted to make sure, though, that you're not crazy. We're figuring it out. And so we will get there. But yes, Crystal, why don't we go ahead and jump into this huge developments in Minneapolis? Trump backing down, sidelining potentially Mr. Bovino. Yes. So Greg Bovino has been the aggressive face of the Minneapolis occupation, in particular Chicago, as well as the what do they call him commander at large of the Border Patrol.

2:51Yes. Let's go and put this up on the screen. This news broke yesterday. Bovino is being removed from that position. Now, they are not firing him entirely. He is going back to his old post in California. But Tom Homan, who is the quote unquote border czar, is being brought in as well. No, Tom Homan is not exactly like a shrinking violet, not exactly a dove on these matters. But interestingly, within the administration, there's been a bit of a turf battle, which we've talked about before, Sokka, between CBP, Customs and Border Patrol, and ICE. Contrary to the, I mean, public perception, CBP is actually more insane than ICE is.

3:30And they were the ones who were in favor of, and Bovino in particular, these incredibly showy, aggressive, made-for-TV moments. So, for example, that raid on the Chicago apartment, including the helicopters rappelling in, just complete insanity. That was CBP. Reportedly, it's a CBP agent or multiple agents who were the ones who killed Alex Pretty. So in any case, Bovino being removed, Tom Homan coming in, Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, according to this reporting, also their jobs are at least somewhat shaky, their position somewhat in doubt, as Trump clearly tries to, you know, tries to clean up what has become a massive political crisis for him.

4:12What is so striking to me about this is how this like how completely discordant Trump is for many of his defenders, including in his administration. So, for example, Mac, why don't we go and put the next one up on the screen? Trump describing his phone call with Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. I mean, in this one, you can just see so clearly that Trump is trying to strike a very, very different tone. He says Governor Tim Walz called me with request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call. We actually seem to be on similar wavelength. And, you know, talking about this as the governor, very respectfully understood that.

4:50And I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy with Tom Homan going to Minnesota. And so am I. Also, though, you see in Tim Walsh's statement something a bit similar. Governor Walsh had a productive call with President Trump today. The governor made the case that we need impartial investigations of the Minneapolis shooting, that we need to reduce the number of federal agents. The president agreed he would talk to the Department of Homeland Security about ensuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be in the case.

5:19The president also agreed to look into the reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals. So you can see very clearly in that. And the next one, Mac, if we can, Trump's announcement of Tom Homan. This was, I actually think, the most significant one because, as you said, there's been a big turf war inside of the administration between Kirsten Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and Tom Homan. So as you said, Tom Homan is not some shrinking violet, but fundamentally, and Ryan even talked about this yesterday when he noted Tom Homan's response to the Renee Good shooting, he didn't immediately come out and say anything.

6:02He's like, look, we need to wait for a process. And it's because at the end of the day, he's a cop. Like this is somebody who worked under the Obama administration, for example. And yes, he definitely has like strongly held political views, but is also somebody who at least reportedly has wanted to take a very different tactic whenever it comes to deportation and specifically trying to focus on criminals and people with violent history, existing detainers, which he has been arguing with Lewandowski and Kiersten Knoe is not only more efficient, but, you know, does not invite the same public backlash.

6:33So at the very least, you can say that this is a massive change of tactic because not only does Bovino lose his job, he's going back to San Diego reportedly, but many of the agents who are with him have been ordered out of the state of Minnesota. They even locked Bovino out of his own Twitter account. He's obviously been like the death penalty in this. Yeah, that's right. But, you know, Bovino is leaking to these like right wing journalists, people like Nick Sorter and others. I mean, he's clearly out of control. And he not only that, though, he completely lost any credibility he had in the immediate aftermath with that press conference that we talked about yesterday.

7:17I mean, he straight up lied. He talked about brandishing and then adopted this new like liberal gun control language about, oh, a semiotic. What did he say? He wanted to massacre law enforcement or, you know, very clear. It's just bullshit. And so, look, Trump, he has many things. He understands television at the very least. And so watching this, you know, everyone from Fox News to MSNBC, you know, there's I can't find a single national personality on cable television where Trump is liable to be watching. That is in any way supportive of the way that Bovino and Kirsten Noem have handled this entire situation.

7:57Fox News just mostly avoided talking about it and instead went straight to like the rioters. But, you know, there was some significant right wing dissent this time, different than after Renee Good was killed, where there was a real circling of the wagons. And so, you know, in terms of the rhetoric, the PR push after Alex Pretty was shot, you had Bovino, you had Kristi Noem and you had Stephen Miller. And you had, by the way, J.D. Vance, who were all sounding the same notes. This is a domestic terror terrorist. terrorists. This was a would-be assassin. He was planning a massacre. They went as hard in the paint on this one as they did with Rene Good because they thought, and understandably so, that that is what Trump would want to see and that that is what he would reward.

8:44But even if you go back to the Rene Good killing, look, I mean, just to be clear, this is not to absolve Trump of anything. This is his administration. Just like a little bit over a week ago, he was tweeting how there's going to be retribution paid to Minneapolis, et cetera. But even with Renee Good killing. Trump went hard in the paint at first, and then the New York Times actually showed him the video, and he had clearly not seen it yet, and he moderated his rhetorical stance. So here you have, you know, all of these crazy lackeys who go same, you know, just as hard in the paint. He's a domestic terrorist.

9:19He was asking for it. He's a would-be assassin. He was planning maximum damage. He was planning a massacre. Trump sees the video and critically, I think, sees the backlash from some Republicans because he doesn't really care what liberals think from some Republicans who are saying, I don't know about this one, realizes this has gotten out of control and starts to try to at least throw someone under the bus and make it look like he is tactically adjusting. Now, we will see whether there's a real tactical adjustment on the ground or whether it is just lip service and PR. But one other thing that you and I both noted from some of the reporting, there was apparently, I think New York Times had this, there was apparently a big meeting with Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski that Noem asked for.

10:02Susie Wiles was there. Other top aides were there. You know who was not there was Stephen Miller. And this is as much his baby as anything else. So the fact that he was iced out of that conversation, I guess, no pun intended, I think is also pretty significant. Stephen Miller is a deeply ideological figure. He truly, I think, sees himself waging this sort of ethno-nationalist war. Now, Trump is happy to do that as it serves him politically, but he is not as ideologically a zealot as Stephen Miller is on this. And he has even, you know, teased Stephen Miller about how obsessed he is with, like the ethnic characteristics of the country, etc.

10:42So that was noteworthy to me as well, that perhaps Stephen Miller is becoming somewhat isolated. Now, do I think that he's going to be on the outs? Do I think he's going to lose his? No, because he's been such a loyal soldier for Trump, because he's involved in so many facets of this administration that they actually call him the prime minister, including he's deeply involved in a bunch of these foreign policy decisions, which also have been terrible. So I don't think he's going to, like, lose his job. But perhaps he's lost a little bit of standing with regard to Trump since he has been the one like aggressively pushing this direction.

11:14Trump, remember, loyalty for him only works one way. And so he may not sideline you, but if you start to create problems for him, you're done. And he also, Trump, is non-ideological in many ways in that he will literally contradict himself on it like immediately if he wants to. So, for example, I mean, last week he was talking about how Tim Walsh and Jacob Frey are criminals. Look, a three. Let's put this one up here on the screen. He says, I just had a very good telephone conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis. Lots of progress is being made. Tom Homan will be meeting with him tomorrow to continue the discussion.

11:49Thank you for your attention to this matter, President Donald J. Trump. I mean, it is just completely different than we had seen. But then finally, Crystal, what was what was really the most remarkable to me? And this is the ultimate like shibbing is Caroline Levitt and the way that she handled the Bovino question by basically saying, look, he's a great guy. but Mr. Homan's going to be running point. I think if we could cue that sod up just so people can watch, like this is what it really looks like in Washington terms to be not only sidelined, but to be politely like stabbed in the front in many ways.

12:26Yeah. Yeah. Here, let's take a listen. Going to Minnesota, is Gregory Bovino also going to remain in Minnesota overseeing these operations? Mr. Bovino is a wonderful man and he's a great professional. He is going to very much continue to lead customs and border patrol throughout and across the country. Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis. And that was before we got the official news that he had actually been demoted. Now, Trisha McLaughlin came out and posted something that was kind of confusing, saying, no, he's not being demoted, etc. But I mean, the bottom line is he's being pulled from Minneapolis and Homan is being sent in.

13:03So that kind of tells you everything you need to know. And then there was there's one more, I think, moment from Caroline Levitt that's worth playing here, where she gets asked about Noam's rhetoric that this act was an act of domestic terrorism from Alex Pretty. And she says, well, I haven't heard the president characterize him that way. So refusing to sort of back up that rhetoric, which was also very noteworthy. And again, this was all before we got all of the news about, you know, about Bovino being demoted, et cetera. Let's take a listen to that. The secretary Noam said Alex Preddy committed an act of domestic terrorism.

13:39Stephen Miller labeled Preddy a domestic terrorist. Does the president agree with them? Look, as I've said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Preddy in that way. However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts and the investigation lead itself. Was he alarmed to hear his top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment? Danny, go ahead. Thanks, Caroline. So there you go. Refused to back up that characterization of Alex Preddy. Very different approach than Noam and Lewandowski. And, you know, Noam and Lewandowski, by the way, who are heavily rumored to have, you know, have an affair.

14:14Yeah, allegedly. It's been reported. Can't confirm. We can't personally confirm, but reporters have confirmed it. I mean, this has been reported out. In any case, they're in league together. And even outside of this completely insane and extremely dangerous approach, which has been utterly rejected by the American people across the board. They've also operated in a deeply corrupt manner. Now, that is nothing unusual in this administration. In fact, Tom Homan, what was his whole scandal? He took like a bag of cash to promise some contracts to some company, whatever. They're all deeply corrupt. But there has been an incredible amount of self-dealing there as well.

14:52Not to mention, you know, no one loves being in front of the camera. And that works for Trump until it doesn't. So I don't know. I'm a bit skeptical of the reporting that they may actually lose their jobs. I'm curious what you think about that saga. But certainly the fact that they had this long meeting that they are now being, in effect, overruled and Tom Homan put in instead certainly reflects a changing of power positions within the administration. I don't think they'll lose their jobs. What I've been told is that one of the things Trump hated the most about his first term was all the cycling through various cabinet officials.

15:26And he said it causes too much chaos. And so he's extremely real. Remember, even the Mike Waltz situation, Mike Waltz, literally an idiot and still was able to hang on his job for two months. And even then, it's not like he was fired. He was just, you know, semi demoted to UN ambassador, kind of the way that this went with Greg Bovino. I do not think that she will lose her job. But that's not the same thing as losing power in the administration. And that's basically what has happened here. So I do turn into Tulsi Gabbard where it's like, well, you still got your job. Yeah, you technically have a job, but, you know, you don't do anything anymore.

15:56And by the way, you know, to your point, one of the things that apparently Homan, you know, got some heat over is he was like, hey, Kirsten, you know, why are you spending a quarter billion dollars on an ad campaign for DHS, which heavily features yourself? I'm sure you have seen that as well. I think I was riding around on horses and stuff. I mean, yeah. Right. I was watching Fox News at some point and I saw this for work, not for pleasure. And I see this thing come up of DHS where it was Kirsten Noem encouraging self-deportation. And I was like, I'm pretty sure this is just an ad for yourself because what illegal immigrant is watching Fox News?

16:35I was like, who exactly is this intended to? And I was like, oh, but it is intended to a bunch of these boomers. Yes. And those contracts, not only are they very self-serving in terms of, you know, she gets to play dress up and ride around on a horse, which is something she loves to do. They also went to a connected entity, most of that money to connected consulting firm. And that's where the corruption, one of the corruption scandals comes in as well. You know, someone floated this, too. And listen, Trump is so obsessed with optics. It's really the only thing that he like fully cares about and understands.

17:07And Greg Bovino, like out there cosplaying like some SS warrior, you know, with his stupid coat and marching around, little short guy. And then he's got his glasses that make him look like a, you know, middle aged lesbian and gets up there and the press conference. I mean, I'm sorry. Trump cares about this shit. And so like I, you know, it wouldn't surprise me if he just didn't like the look of this guy, didn't like his his vibe and the way he handled the press and the way he presented. You know, I mean, that's not just something that Trump would really care about, whether that's, you know, however you feel about that.

17:40But the thing is, it's not just a look. He's an idiot. Like he's not even idiot. He's a liar. And it's like not only a liar, but, you know, took things to such an insane degree immediately afterwards that you're like, whoa, like the credibility of this is shot beyond shot, especially whenever it comes to the Alex Petty shooting. And that's what I think that he just cannot stomach is, you know, for Trump, you know, I'm not even really sure he doesn't care about the liberal stuff because it's not just that he doesn't look, he doesn't politically care. But there's a difference in the rhetoric and in the way that you talk.

18:16And fundamentally, I do think like this one, there's no defense. Zero. They killed this guy after they took his gun away and then they lied about it. And now their only defense is that they're like, oh, well, you know, you shouldn't have a gun on your person. Trump is not a moron. Like, at the very least, he can understand. You know, look, I'm sure the NRA, the GOA, the gun owners of America, all those other people, he's going to be aware of that because they're also all over. And they should be. They're the people out there like, hey, oh, hold on a second. And we're not talking about high capacity magazines from a Republican administration or the idea that just having a gun on your person makes you a domestic terrorist, you know, criminal threat.

18:57They like this is so completely insane the way that Greg Bovino handled it that, you know, look, in a normal time, like this guy doesn't just lose his job. Like there's a whole other set of things that are going to come with that. But I just think that for him, like when he's when Trump and all of them has watching this on cable TV. So, yes, Fox News immediately. Don't forget, like Trey Gowdy, Maria Bartriomo. If you watched her show on Sunday, she was very critical. A lot of these people actually have been. So I think that that was a big a big step. Now, look, I'm not saying things may change all that much.

19:36You never know with this administration. You generally know. That is the thing is I think Bovino is completely psychotic and the psychological profile of this man would be something to to consider. But and Noam and Lewandowski, Stephen Miller, like these are revolting characters. There's no doubt about it. But I think it's also true that Trump is looking for a scapegoat here because and this will be a good transition to our guest, Kyle Cheney, who's the legal analyst for Politico. If you look at the entire immigration operation, it is all about it is a systematic flouting of the law. You know, we talked about the warrants, them just being like, yeah, we don't need warrants to bust into your home.

20:14It's not a one off. Right. There has been a systematic approach that has been led by the Stephen Millers and Kristi Noem's and Corey Lewandowski's and Greg Bovino's of the world, completely signed off and sanctioned by Donald Trump to the extent that he's, you know, with it in order to pay attention to any of this. And so I think it's just important to keep things in perspective that clearly this is a retreat with regard to Minneapolis and with this particular situation on the ground. Does this does this indicate a broader shift overall in their immigration approach? I am skeptical of that. And we will definitely have to wait and see.

20:50I last word on this. I think it could be possible. The reason why is, you know what? They're all telling Trump, of course, it's not your fault, sir. But this is a distraction from all of your other great accomplishments like Venezuela or. And yeah, they're like, oh, well, we just got to go back to stealing Venezuelan oil and bombing Iran. This is literally this is literally what Lindsey Graham told him on the phone. Not joking. Yeah. As of as of 48 hours ago. But what that at the very least means is that I think that there is a vibe in the administration, not not just a policy vibe, but of like we should push the max.

21:26And what Trump is kind of saying is like, no, you're going to get me in trouble right now. And when that happens, you are going to immediately become the scapegoat and you're going to be fired. So I could see it having that type of effect in the government. Again, it is way, way too early to say. And it's not like you can just erase what the whole last year has looked like. And so that's a good transition to our guest, Kyle Cheney. Joining us now is Kyle Cheney. He is the senior legal affairs reporter for Politico. Good to see you, Kyle. Thank you so much for joining us. Good to be with you both.

21:58Kyle, so a lot of legal developments happening now with respect to Minneapolis and Minnesota. Let's go and put this first tear sheet up here on the screen. Trump and Bondi statements fuel the legal case against the Minnesota surge. At a hearing Monday, a judge focused on the letter the attorney general sent. Can you give us an update here on the legal arguments in the case as there's a new effort by Minnesota authorities to stop the ICE operations in their state? Yeah, this is the most significant and maybe the most extreme legal effort we're seeing, which is to basically by the state government to say we want to end Operation Metro Surge altogether.

22:38You know, you can't not entirely kick ICE out of the state, but kick this stepped up operation out. And what that means and how that works in a legal and constitutional sense is really complicated and kind of new territory. But what you saw there, what you flagged is that the judge who is considering this was kind of alarmed that, you know, you have this letter from Pam Bondi that says, you want the surge to end? Do these three things. And she lays out three policy demands, including things like, you know, giving us your snap data, giving us your voter roll information, things that have nothing to do with the immigration problem that that the administration is purporting to resolve here.

23:14And so the judges think you're kind of making it explicit that this surge may be about coercing policy, which that's a red line you can't cross. And so that's where the legal fight is. And I think the real issue is if the judge decides that it is illegal, what can she actually do about it as a single district judge? to say, oh, the administration can't enforce immigration law. Well, that's that's kind of an easier thing to say out loud than to actually do in practice. And then what's the line? So that's it's very complicated. Got it. Yeah. And so from your reporting, it seems like the two things that really gave the state something to work with here was that letter from Pam Bondi and also Trump posting that, you know, retribution was coming to to Minnesota or to Minneapolis.

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24:00And so that gave them more of a case to work with. And you also mentioned that this kind of harkens back to some of the Obamacare rulings where a part of it, the Medicaid expansion piece, the mandatory Medicaid expansion piece was struck down under the same theory that you're basically compelling states. You're using threats of pulling funding and compelling states to push forward policy. So could you lay that on a little bit, that connection there and, you know, how strong you think the state's case is at this point? Yeah, I started at Politico 14 years ago to cover that exact case. Oh, wow. Full circle moment.

24:39But, yeah, it you know, that's that's sort of the centerpiece here is that the Supreme Court ruled very clearly that the federal government cannot use the sort of cudgel of funding, you know, pulling funding to force states to adopt policies that those states don't want to adopt. And so the federal government does have a role in sort of, you know, incentivizing things that it prefers, policies it prefers. But it can't, you know, if the Supreme Court says you can't use funding as a cudgel, what the state is saying is you definitely can't use like a militarized force of federal agents and, you know, wreaking havoc on the streets to cause the same result.

25:16That's worse. That's much further over the line than a funding threat in the state's view. And so, you know, again, if the judge decides, yeah, I agree with you, then the question is, how do you what's the remedy? And that's a bigger problem. But but I think that's where the judge is at least deciding now. Does she agree with the state's view on that? Got it. Can we put the next one? I just set you up, Mac, on the screen. Kyle, you were reporting this morning that the judge, the chief federal judge in Minnesota has ordered the head of ICE to appeal personally in court Friday and threatened him with contempt for the agency's repeated violation of court orders.

25:54The court's patience is at an end. Kyle, can you just break that down for us? Yeah, this is sort of a big moment. You know, Judge Schiltz, he's the chief judge, George W. Bush appointed judge, and has already had this clash with the administration over this attempt to arrest Don Lemon and the church protesters. And, you know, so he's clearly at a boiling point with the administration already over the over this. But what he's saying is we've our courts have been inundated, been flooded with these immigration cases, emergency petitions, people who've been arrested by ICE during this surge. And we're finding over and over again that their arrests and detentions have been illegal using a sort of new interpretation of the law the administration has adopted in recent months.

26:38And what he's saying here is, we keep ordering you to release people, and you're not doing it. We're getting emergency secondary petitions saying you haven't released this person, or you shipped them to Texas, despite our order saying keep them here in Minnesota. And that's sort of the tipping point now, is it's happened so many times, and our courts are flooded with these cases right now. And so he's ordering Todd Lyons, head of ICE, to come in directly, personally in court, and saying, if you can't answer questions to my satisfaction, I might hold you in contempt. And that's sort of the, I guess, the most confrontational we've seen, you know, I guess, really anywhere.

27:17These petitions are flooding the courts all over the country, but they're particularly acute in Minnesota now because of the surge. I mean, what does that mean? Like, what does it precisely mean if they did hold him in contempt? Because we've also seen, you know, during the Kilmar Abrego Garcia situation, during the Seacott situation, there was a possibility of the various government officials being held in contempt. We had in Chicago, Greg Bovino specifically was called out for any number of lies. I mean, this is incredibly systematic. So do you think even if this guy is held in contempt, do you think that would make a difference to them?

27:57Do you think that would change their behavior? Is it any sort of severe penalty? It's a great question. I mean, the judge can sort of decide the penalty, you know, and then that can include, you know, again, I don't think I don't think that happens on the spot. And I think you're to your point, you know, there's a lot of frustration out there that that, you know, judges are keep saying our orders are being violated. We need to have accountability here. And that accountability takes forever. And then it usually fizzles in some way. Or, you know, in the case of the Alien Enemies Act that you mentioned, the Seacott situation, the appeals court stops Judge Bozberg from continuing his contempt proceedings.

28:30And, you know, for months. And then when they allowed him to continue it, he started it again. He started down the path again and they stopped him again. And so it does feel like there is it's a sort of imperfect and clunky method because it never it almost never gets used against federal government officials. That it's sort of there as a as a last resort for the courts. But, you know, we've never seen an administration taken taking so far that the courts are actually saying we need to actually utilize this rarely used tool. And now they're seeing all the sort of rust or the challenges with actually making that happen.

29:07But they can make things very uncomfortable, at least for the administration by hauling people in. And again, the threat is a pretty big deal on its own. And yeah, if the judge is motivated, he can say unless some higher court stops him, he can say, you know, yeah, we can, you know, whether again, the punishment is tricky. You can't can you throw someone in jail? Can you find them as a government official? It's you know, they have to cross that bridge when it's right. Well, in that systematic nature of what you're talking about is something that you have been tracking. It's what I just had up on the screen.

29:38And you said you've you've tracked at least twenty three hundred cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process. And then you flag one there specifically. I mean, take us through the details of when you say there, you know, these individuals have been detained without bond or due process, that this has been done illegally. Just walk us through what that means and what this looks like for these individuals. So it's really complicated and it's something that but it traces back to a very specific moment, which is that in July, Director Lyons, who we just talked about, adopted a new interpretation of old immigration laws to things that date back to the mid 90s.

30:16In which case, you know, it used to be that when the federal government would encounter someone at the border, they could quickly put them into deportation proceedings and hold them in detention and essentially lock them up while those proceedings were pending. What the Trump administration has done is reinterpret that to say anyone we encounter anywhere in the country, essentially, even people who have been here for decades, we can we actually not only can we lock them up, we must lock them up under our new interpretation of the law. It's mandatory and they don't get a chance for bond at all.

30:49And the courts across the country writ large have reacted sort of with horror at this because they're you know, they're starting to get all these people filing emergency petitions saying I've been I've lived here for 30 years, no criminal record, a job, a community. My kids are citizens. I've done nothing wrong. And I just I went to my ICE check in that I do, you know, a few times a year. And they arrested me. And judges are saying that. And they're not only arresting me, they're saying I can't even ask for bond. I can't even go to court and show a show an immigration judge. I'm not a danger to the community.

31:19I'm not going to I'm not a flight risk, which is normally what the opportunity you have. They're just saying I'm held indefinitely. And so the judges. is so the 2300 number you mentioned is how many cases I've been tracking, you know, all over the country. That's that's cases where there have been rulings agreeing that the detention was illegal. These people should either be released immediately or get a bond hearing at a minimum. And there's thousands more that are pending. And again, Minnesota has become sort of the hotbed of these. We're seeing dozens filed every day of these cases and rulings, again, finding them illegal, these detentions.

31:53But it is really a national story. Kyle, I do want to ask about this chances of that lawsuit on Minnesota that we began with. And then also we began our show kind of talking about Trump backing off, you know, at least in Minnesota, rhetorically at a legal level. What are the things you look for to back that up, to see a change in posture under Donald Trump? Like, what should we all keep an eye on? Well, what was interesting was Trump seemed to start backing off in the middle of that hearing. So we're hearing the government argue, you know, the state officials are being, you know, recalcitrant.

32:29They're not helping us on immigration policy. And in the middle of that hearing, you have Trump saying, well, I just talked to Governor Walz. We're on the same page now. Everything's getting better. Tom Homan's going out. And so that didn't come up in court. I was curious if someone was going to read it out loud to the judge. Right. But but I suspect that, you know, if that's true and if the if Operation Metro surge sort of recedes, you know, if they start pulling back, it may moot all of these legal cases. You know, in some cases, in some senses, what everybody wants is is rather than get a ruling that might create bad law for one side or the other.

33:03Let's maybe pull back from the brink and end this in a in a way that doesn't force in court. So you would think the judge would be paying attention to those developments as well and considering that as she deliberates here. So she's not supposed to consider things that happen outside of the record in court. So someone will have to bring it to her and say, hey, this changes things. I mean, she's but judges are people and they see these things in the news. She might ask them, say, hey, does this does this change my equation for me? She does seem a little hesitant about weighing into this new terrain of more information or something from the government.

33:40She wanted to know how many agents were on the ground, and they told her about 3 ,000. And she is – but she was very reluctant to say I, the district judge, can tell the federal government how to enforce immigration law. What's too much? How many agents is too many? You know, should I be the person telling them that? I don't know. So she seems – so I think if there's a way for her to say, well, it's over, it's moot, I think that might be her preferred outcome. But it depends on how true the rhetoric really is. Right. Yeah, that seems to make sense. And then importantly, you know, you were talking there.

34:11One of the things that we have seen in previous cases is judges order, let's say ICE or any of that on specific tactics. I saw that the administration had just won a case regarding tactics and protesters. I'm still very a bit unclear on how that works. So wondering if you could explain that. So same judge, Kate Menendez, the one who's considering the entire, the big piece. She also ruled that certain ICE tactics that it had used against demonstrators, you know, retaliatory tactics, essentially, she barred them from doing that. So it's how they deploy chemical munitions, how they can draw their service weapons, how they can, when they can arrest motorists who aren't breaking any laws, but maybe trailing ICE vehicles.

34:55And so her ruling on that was previously held up by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals when the administration went above her. But then they issued a second ruling yesterday that just said, you know, we're going to stick by that. After the shooting of Alex Priddy, the protesters went back to court and said, hey, maybe you could let this judge's order take effect now. And the Eighth Circuit still said, no, we're going to keep it on hold. I see. OK, that makes sense. One more thing for you here. There was some leaked video from a detention facility in Baltimore. So Brian Allen here says Baltimore media has reported ISIS keeping detainees here for days, even though these cells are supposed to be short term processing only.

35:45You can see, you know, migrants who are crowded in no beds, just those silver like, you know, mass distributed blankets. And so very miserable conditions. We've heard about miserable conditions in these facilities as well. So put that in context here to for us, Kyle, because I think this also speaks to the sort of systematic nature of the approach here where it's not, you know, it's not a few bad apples. It's not, you know, just in Minneapolis. There is across the board a very aggressive and I would say inhumane approach that flouts the existing law. Well, it sort of tells you why some of these detention cases I mentioned are so conscience shocking is when you're pulling people who have been living here for 30 years, doing everything the way they're supposed to and litigating their immigration cases in court.

36:32Then they're being scooped up and thrown into a facility like this, you know, in these overcrowded facilities. Now, there have been legal cases against, you know, detention facilities and the conditions. There's a big one in New York where the judge just lit into the administration about these unconstitutional violations of people's, you know, and just inhumane violations. And so they have popped up around the country. You know, I think that it's just part of, you know, this larger landscape of, you know, the real, I guess, the horrors that we're seeing in some of these cases. And I think that, you know, that's one of the things that Judge Schiltz was so frustrated about is you're inundating us.

37:13But not only that, you're defying our orders in ways that keep these people locked up beyond when they're legally supposed to be. We're telling you to release them and you're not, and they're stuck in these kinds of facilities. And also, I should mention, members of Congress have been trying to get access to these facilities to see exactly what you just showed in that video, and they've been blocked repeatedly. They're supposed to be able to visit without any advance notice so they can see the conditions as they are. And ICE and DHS has blocked that, and that's kind of a fight that's proceeding in court right now.

37:41Go ahead. It was just one last question for you, Kyle. You know, I mean, I look at this and I'm a layperson in terms of the law. I see you're tracking twenty three hundred cases where they violated the law. This memo leak that says, you know, we don't we can just violate your Fourth Amendment rights. It's fine. We don't need a warrant like all of this, you know, hundreds of years of precedent saying, no, you need a judge to sign off before you bust into some violently bust into someone's house. We're just throwing that out. Like, what is the check for that? What is the remedy for that? Or can they just do it and, you know, case by case gets litigated and then they just ignore the judge's ruling?

38:15Like, how does this get reined in? Is the court system capable, in a sense, of really checking this administration when they are very determined to make their own rules? I mean, you've hit on, I think, the larger, the sort of meta question of this entire administration, which is that they have taken a tactic, not just in immigration context, but in every context of we are going to plow through the boundaries, the limits that previous presidents sort of self-imposed or believed applied to them and dare the courts to stop us. and where they can and where the courts push back, they have. And the administration either continues pushing forward, again, in the immigration context that you mentioned, or in some cases they've been restrained, you know, especially.

39:00The administration has made clear, at least for now, that the Supreme Court is where they put all their eggs. If the Supreme Court says no, I guess they will reluctantly, you know, accept defeat on something. But for now, they're testing the lines with district courts and even appeals courts. And as you said, at some point, an administration just has to faithfully uphold and execute the laws. There isn't really a check for that beyond politics. And if you have a problem with that, the way to resolve that is with elections. And that's kind of what Judge Menendez said yesterday is there are other checks beyond me for an administration that you think is considering flagrant lawlessness.

39:34It's not just me here in my little courtroom saying stop doing that. There's bigger things that have to happen, other branches of government that need to step in. Yeah, kind of calling out Congress. I like that. But Kyle, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you. Yeah, thank you, Kyle. I know you've been busy and your Twitter feed has been invaluable along with your reporting. Give him a follow. Thank you so much for joining us, Kyle. Thank you. All right. It's time now to turn to Donald Trump's health, an issue which was raised a bit at Davos, but has burst back onto the scene after he sat down for an extraordinary interview with New York Magazine, trying to defend his health, which gave some quotes which are truly unbelievable.

40:19So for those of you who missed it, there were a lot of questions about the president's health. After these images from Davos were released, let's go and put this up here on the screen, where we saw a large bruise on his hand, a bruise which appeared to kind of come out of nowhere because the previous day it hadn't happened. Trump had given a response, actually, that the bruise itself was a result of aspirin. But yeah, I mean, for those of you who are watching, like you could see here, this is pretty serious bruise. He said he bumped it on a table. Let's go ahead and play. Some people pointed out the bruise was roughly shaped like Greenland.

40:57Did you see that? Is that true? The comparison, yeah. Wow, okay. All right, just like when people would see like Jesus in a birth marker or something like that. A pancake or something. And a pancake. That's right. Let's go ahead then and play Hicks' explanation. We saw the bruising on your hand. Are you okay? Very good. You good? I clipped it on the table. So I put a little, what do they call it, cream on it. But I clipped it. I would say take aspirin if you like your heart. But don't take aspirin if you don't want to have a little bruising. You know, if you take the big, I take the big aspirin.

41:36And when you take the big aspirin, they tell you you're bruised. The doctor said, you don't have to take that, sir. You're very healthy. I said, I'm not taking any chances. So anyway, that's one of the side effects of taking aspirin. So it's all the big aspirin. I still am unclear as to what the big aspirin is. Doesn't sound great for your gut microbiome, but that's just me. Might be something I'm a little worried about. I guess it doesn't matter. RFK Jr. would not approve. Not RFK Jr. approved. I can tell you that. NSAIDs, but that big aspirin NSAIDs, that's a lot of aspirin. But I guess it doesn't matter when you're eating a bunch of Big Macs and burgers.

42:13However, look, that was just more of a lead into this where I had to get this in the show. Let's put this up here on the screen. New York Magazine gets it, Oval Office sit down because they decided they wanted to write about Trump's health. So we got a couple of quotes that we wanted to say for all of you. The superhuman president, a good faith attempt to ascertain the truth about Donald Trump's health. Quote, Quote, when the president rests his eyes, Levitt chimed in. He's actively listening. His energy levels are so good that even elite members of the military cannot keep up with his work schedule.

42:46Quote, the Marine sentries who stand outside of the Oval Office, they had to request more staff and bring up more Marines because the president is in the Oval Office so much. They've never had to do that before. They had to request more guys to stand by the door because they are running out of men to fill the shifts. quote, he's working harder now than he did in his entire life, even in real estate when he was on the top of the world in New York. But here's the question. Is he working harder now than he did in his first term? Because he would hope that he'd work just as hard in his first term.

43:16However, those are not the craziest, actually, moments from this interview. Let's go to the next one, shall we? My personal favorite here. He is asked at one point. He's talking about his father. His father apparently had Alzheimer's. I'm going to read this directly. Quote, he had one problem, Trump said at a certain age, about 86, 87. He started getting what do you call it? He pointed to his forehead, looked at the press secretary for the word that escaped him. Alzheimer's, Levitt said, like an Alzheimer's thing. Trump said, well, I don't have it. OK, not the best. Not exactly the interaction I would want when we're talking about Alzheimer's.

44:00Just me in order to disprove some memory. And then finally, this is so funny. At one point, Trump drags in the White House doctor. And sorry, the press secretary drags in the White House doctor. Levitt says to the doctor, you worked for the Obamas, didn't you? He says, yes, I did. Jones had, in fact, worked from 2009 to 2018 as a senior medical leader in the White House. At the end of his presidency, Barack Obama, a fitness fanatic who rumored to allow himself seven almonds a night, was 55. Who is healthier, Obama or Trump, I asked. Trump stared across the desk, making eye contact with Jones. Jones did not hesitate.

44:40President Trump, he said. Trump nodded. There was no sign of a smile as if there could not have been any other answer to the question. Write that, he said, turning to me. Oh, my God. So that's what he demands of his doctors. You know, I will say I remember I kind of fell for this Dr. Syop in the first administration because you remember who the doctor was? It was Ronnie Jackson. Ronnie Jackson. Yeah, right. And also, I think, gets quoted in this piece, by the way. Right. Of course. But here's the thing. Everyone was like, oh, he was Obama's doctor. So, like, he must be fine. And then he left and he became a Republican congressman.

45:14And I was like, well, that's kind of weird. You know, you have a Republican congressman who's a former doctor. And so what's going on with these doctors? Like, how can you have such partisan doctors who are in the White House? It's a bit strange. I've never met a doctor in my life who would talk like that ever. Right. These are the most cautious people in the world who will never definitively say any. And then directly compare to people. Again, I know a lot of doctors. I'm Indian. It's cliche. I literally cannot think of a single doctor who would ever talk that way. So, I mean, and it's not like he handpicked this guy.

45:45It's Obama's doctor. Like Obama was much, much younger. Right. When he was in the White House. Yeah. He was constantly working out. Obama defender. But yeah, he was thin. He was thin. He was fit. He was playing basketball. He was very regimented about his diet, whatever. The only thing is that he had smoked in the past, even that he quit, apparently, when he was in the White House. Like the idea that Trump is healthier than Obama was in the way. And that's the two things that come out of this are number one, that quote about Alzheimer's, which is just that is the most unfortunate word to forget that you could possibly imagine.

46:24Frankly, it's I relate to it a little bit because I do have those moments now at times where I'm like, what is that freaking word again? I can relate to it a bit. But then again, I'm not president of the United States, nor should I be. So there's that. But the other part is you read some of the quotes from his staff, not just the doctors from Caroline Levitt, Marco Rubio, everyone they talked to. I mean, truly North Korea level propaganda. He's the most active. He's the most fit. You know, the doctors who tested his heart capacity, they said they don't even need to ever do it again because his heart is so healthy.

47:01If he if he ever dies, it certainly won't be because of his heart. It's unbelievable the embarrassing, humiliating quotes that were given by his staff in the context of this piece. But, of course, they know that that's what he wants to hear. Right. It's the you know, the president's health version of these cabinet meetings that he has where they're all like, oh, my God, not even Abraham Lincoln could imagine the greatness that you embody, Mr. President. Sir, you are so healthy. There has never been anyone healthier in the entire history of the world, etc. I mean, that's the other part is just like the dynamics in that White House are so creepy and disturbing.

47:45And the bubble that he has created for himself is wild. Yeah, I'm having ChatGPT poll some North Korean state media quotes that were about Kim Jong-il. General Secretary Kim Jong-il is in good health. He is energetically defending the overall affairs of the country. The respected general secretary is full of vigor and energy, devoting himself day and night to the sacred leadership of the revolution. Despite the heavy, despite the heavy burden of work for the country and the people, General Kim Jong Il remains strong in body and mind. The Supreme Commander enjoys robust health and continues his tireless on the spot guidance.

48:27These are all direct quotes. To be honest with you, some of the things that were said in this piece go even further than that. Yeah, that's right. I mean, to call him superhuman and be like, he doesn't even need to test his heart anymore. That's how good it is at, you know, almost 80 years old. Like, what? Well, I mean, what's fascinating to me is also the media angle on this. So for those who don't know, getting a sit down in the Oval is not that easy. Everybody wants one. OK, so I've had to do this a couple of times. It's a game and you kind of got to sell it. And it is stunning to me that Trump and his press secretary, that the way that this guy got in, because remember, you know, the New York Times just went in there.

49:06The only reason they got in there is because Trump is obsessed with The New York Times. The Oval Office, every once in a while, you know, The Wall Street Journal or somebody like that will be able to get a sit down. But it's not all that common in this administration. So the fact is, is that the way this guy got in there is he was like, I want to talk to the president about his health. And of course, to Trump, this is the opportunity for him to flex with the doctors and with the press secretary and to talk about how phenomenal he is in the midst of all these questions about, you know, his hand, his health and his aspirin.

49:34So even from a media angle, it's amazing because no seasoned comms person would ever tell you to do this. This is purely Trump himself who is obsessed with the questions of his health and painting this picture around it. And the fact is, is not only did it work, you know, on behalf of New York magazine, but the quotes from this are I mean, they're just amazing. They really are, because you also can just see. I encourage you guys to go read it because we can't read it all to you. But, you know, listen to this from Marco Rubio. The guy is too healthy. Rubio said in the White House. Yeah, he's too active.

50:07Rubio said, by the way, Rubio's son is a actually a very good football player. Just to give you all just to give you all some contact. Rubio, in addition, maybe one of the busiest men in Washington. Still, he took time out of his day to regale me with story about the president's unparalleled memory and attention to detail. Once Trump noticed, Rubio's size looked shitty. So at a later meeting, the president presented him with a gift, a signed shoebox containing a pair of size 12s. I have them on and they're perfect, he said, pointing to his shiny black trash shoes. Another time, Trump perceived that the chandeliers in the State Department were missing medallions, the ornamental disks that are installed on the ceiling.

50:45A few days later, Trump called Rubio into his office with dozens of medallion samples. I don't even know how many I need, Rubio recalled. He said, I think you need 12. Sure enough, I try to match it as much as I can. It's just not as natural to me. There's one place in particular Trump Rubio is unable to keep up with the president, Air Force One. Rubio said he needs to get rest on overseas flights, but Trump never naps on the plane. So the Secretary of State, a man tasked with instilling fears in the hearts of our enemies, blah, blah, blah, spends parts of most flights hiding from the 80-year-old man.

51:18There is an office with two couches, and I usually want to sleep on one of those couches. What I do is I cocoon myself in a blanket. I cover my head, and I look like a mummy. I do that because I know that at some point he's going to emerge from the cabin and start prowling the hallways to see who is awake, And I want him to think it is a staffer. And I don't want him to see the secretary of state on the couch and think, oh, this guy is so weak. Can we just talk about dysfunctional workplaces? This is not a normal. Yeah, can we talk? A toxic workplace. Not to be a woke Gen Z employee. This is a toxic work environment.

51:53This is a toxic work environment. I mean, I didn't honestly get that much out of this piece in terms of his actual health. No, of course. Yeah, that's not the point. genuine question. I mean, the blotches on the hands, which are constant at this point, which he clearly is self-conscious about, you know, in a bunch of press conference, whatever, he'll cover his hand to try to cover it up. He slathers on some kind of poorly conceived makeup that doesn't do anything to hide it. I mean, those things are on there like all the time. And first we were told it was from shaking hands. It was on the right hand.

52:23Now it's on the left hand, too. Like, what is going on with that? We see the facial droop. We see him, you know, just being an old man and falling asleep in meetings where I'm sorry, We can't say his response. Actively listening. No, but remember his response. He said it was three and a half hours. It's boring. It's boring. I mean, OK, fair. Fair enough. He's right. You know, sir, you do have the ability to control those meetings. In fact, he holds some of the longest meetings on record for a cab. Like there's literally no cabinet meetings are bullshit. They're a formality. You're supposed to meet for 20 minutes, do a camera thing.

53:01You get the photo of everybody sitting in the White House cabinet room with their fancy chairs. And then everybody just leaves. You're not supposed to sit in there for three and a half hours. It's never happened before. It's extremely uncommon in the history of the White House. Yeah. So I don't know. I don't know what his health is like. I, you know, some days he looks I mean, he does. He definitely is showing his age a lot more now than he has in the past. There's no doubt about that. There are days when he gets up there behind the podium. He looks like shit. The speech is like slow. Certainly his hearing is not what it used to be.

53:33You know, the splotches on the hands. There's been times when his walk has been sort of shuffly and not to me. He seems tired. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that seems much again. Yeah. His his age. So I'm agreeing with you. I'm saying like, for his one year press conference. It was very low energy. I don't know if you watched it. I unfortunately watched the entire thing. He spoke for over an hour. Fifteen. His heart was not in it. It was weird. And he was speaking understated. He's had a couple of these moments where you're like, man, like, again, look, I covered this guy for years. I've seen him speak in every single different type of environment from low energy to other.

54:10And he had a certain way of talking when he was bored. But he never usually came off like this, like meandering and very, very, yeah, just low energy. And, you know, I covered him four straight years in the White House, you know, three feet away in many of these cases. He definitely looks different. There's no there's no doubt about it. And then there's the obsession with like the physical legacy that he's going to leave, you know, as he clearly he's thinking about end of life. You know, he's wanting to leave his ballroom. He's wanting to leave his arc to Trump. You know, he's wanting to leave like a physical imprint there.

54:43So he's thinking about his what's going to be there after he's gone. So there's that. And, you know, some of these things like remember when he kept mixing up Greenland and Iceland. Yes. Yeah, I do. These are the sort of things that we were gaslit under Biden that like, no, it's just his stutter or whatever. I mean, I feel like we're being gaslit with him as well of just like, oh, yeah, I mean, he meant ice space land. He didn't mean Iceland. He meant a land of ice. And clearly, like as you age, things start getting jumbled in your head. And he did it repeatedly. It wasn't just like a, you know, one off where if you're talking a lot, you and I both experience this.

55:25if you're talking a lot, you're going to insert the wrong word or say the opposite of what you mean or whatever. Like that happens sometimes. But it does seem to be happening more and more frequently that the word is not he's not able to grab the word he wants. He's using the wrong word. He's mixing things up, etc. So there are some Biden-esque. There are some Brandon moments that we have certainly witnessed from this president in this term. Yeah, for sure. Again, keep an eye on it because Trump wanted to do this. It was very, some of the quotes on this are all a bit crazy. The hand thing, look, it's undeniable.

56:00It's weird. You know, people don't just bruise. I don't know about you. I don't bruise, you know, very often. Like, it's got to be bad. Very recently. Right now we're buried under inches of snow. Like it needs to be one of those scenarios where you literally like fall over and hurt yourself really badly for something like that. It's always in the same place. And it is always on the hand. It does give credence to the idea that he's getting routinely getting some sort of an IV there. Right. That's a good point. Right. Because everybody remembers about the condition. Remember the remember the queen's hand right before she died.

56:30Yeah. That's what a lot of people. And yeah. I mean, I've gotten IVs in my hands before it hurts. It always leaves a huge bruise. So, yeah, look, who knows? And that's another thing. You got a doctor like this who is I'm like, bro, I'm not gonna believe a damn word that you say. If you're gonna talk about no matter who this is just a Trump thing. I'm like, bro, you need to get out of there. Like whoever becomes The next president, you need to get a new doctor. You can't be having doctor stock like this. Maybe I'm – I don't know. I believed a little bit more in impartiality personally of doctors.

56:59But my confidence has been shaken.

57:15this is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human

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Krystal and Saagar discuss Trump retreats in Minnesota, judge showdown over ICE, Trump forgets the word Alzheimer's.

 

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