4/28/26: Trump Lashes Out At Iran, UAE Ditches OPEC, JD Thinks Hegseth Lying About War

23:58Then we're going to get the deal of our dreams that's going to be vastly superior to anything that anyone could have gotten before is pure fantasy. I mean, really what you're talking about here is the war continuing at some level until Trump realizes that some level of humiliating defeat is what is going to be required to end this thing and extricate ourselves and try to, you know, rebuild and restore the, you know, the baseline status quo that we had before. And the reality is that the real status quo with regard to the strait of Hormuz and the way that world power is distributed, et cetera, is gone and it's not coming back.

24:35But you know how this logic works, Sagar. I mean, this is how you end up staying in Afghanistan for a million years. It's how you end up staying in Iraq for a million years. Nobody wants to end the war because then you have to deal with reality. As long as the war continues to go on, you can have your victory narrative. You can just pretend that things are going great. and no one has to deal with the actual concrete facts of what the war wrought and what it meant for your country and for the world. Absolutely. This is the biggest, and this is the, you know, when we say America's addicted to war, this is why, is war is actually the easiest course for everybody.

25:09Already look now, gas is four bucks a gallon. Have the headlines really caught up with it? If I turn CNN on today, so in the middle of the war, absolutely, that's what the major headline is. What am I likely to see? Probably some more stuff about the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting. because they're all obsessed with that and their own feelings. Everybody's kind of moving on. We're doing ball. You can already see like little things. If you ask the average person, hey, what's going on? They're going to know a lot more about Diana Rossini and Mike Vrabel than they are necessarily about what's going on with the Iran negotiation.

25:40As long as nobody's dying, bombs, things are not blowing up. Four bucks a gallon, it's annoying. You know, people can move on. Now, I think it's a crisis, but that's generally how things work. Don't believe me. Go look at Iraq. 2005, we had$5 gas. I would say it was definitely a big story, but there were a lot of other stories. Hurricane Katrina, people go on with their life. Long the war goes on. KBR, Halliburton, everybody's still getting rich. It's definitely a political problem, but it's not really the most pressing problem. And that was even with US soldiers who were dying in the conflict, US soldiers and US Marines.

26:13This time around, we don't have that right now. So I could easily see situation where for Trump, they just keep pushing it. And then every once in a while, something will flare up. That's what a lot of the Iraq war coverage in the mid 2000s was like that. It would be a eight minute part of our long show, but you wouldn't spend the whole show on it. You would talk about Katrina and gas prices or the Bush tax cuts, right? Like everybody had to move on with their life. And this is the issue is that nobody at that time was like, oh my God, what have we done? The easiest thing to do was for the Congress, both Democrat and Republican, to keep rubber stamping 100 million a month, 200 million a month to be pumped into this country.

26:53And that's how you end up with the 20-year occupation. And I really do think that we are on a road to something like that. And it's only until another big thing happens that then we get to assess what the hell happened. Like we didn't fully come to terms with Afghanistan until the exit. You know, you and I, we've been reading Seaguar reports and talking about it here for years up to that point. So it wasn't a surprise at all to see the Afghan National Security Forces collapse. But for a lot of people, it was very shocking because, you know, a lot of people take in the propaganda. I'm not sure I expected them to collapse quite so quickly as they did.

27:28I'm not sure that I would have called like they just instantly collapsed. But was I surprised that, you know, over the some period of time we end up in that situation? And yeah, and then you have to reckon with the fact that we spent all these years in Afghanistan and now the Taliban's back in control after all this lives and treasure that was lost. It just ends, you know, with absolutely nothing having been accomplished and worse than nothing, obviously, because of the tremendous costs over that period. And if you're, you know, someone who cares a lot about America's position in the world, and I think this administration certainly does, I think a lot of their acts are sort of desperate attempts to hold on to American hegemony.

28:09So Iran is also, you know, in a position to make some significant moves here on the diplomacy front. We can put a four up on the screen. You had them in Russia meeting in Moscow with Putin to strengthen that relationship. Also going to Oman could put a six up on the screen. This is sort of, I don't know what you want to call this funny ironic whatever a super yacht linked to a sanctioned russian billionaire was able to sail through the strait of hormuz on saturday according to shipping data one of very few vessels to transit the blockaded shipping lane at the heart of the u.s iran conflict and then zagar is just seeing this morning that and this one's very significant a japanese tanker apparently has secured the ability to transit through the strait now why is that significant obviously because Japan is a key ally.

28:59So we already have, yesterday we talked about how the German chancellor was like, the entire nation of the U.S. is being humiliated by Iran. There is no exit in sight. You know, this is a complete disaster. So speaking in this very unvarnished way that they were not speaking in at the beginning of this war whatsoever. And now you increasingly see key U.S. allies going to Iran and saying, all right, we need the soil. Like, what do we need to do? Let's make a deal. And we know Iran's terms. Their terms are, we're going to direct you through this particular shipping lane. You're going to pay a toll.

29:31And that toll is going to be either in crypto or it's going to be in Chinese yuan. So apparently, those are the sorts of deals that already our key allies are beginning to strike because they have no choice. I mean, East Asia is just absolutely screwed by not only Iranian control and our blockade is really, really hurting them. I mean, as much as$4 a gallon gas at the pump hurts Americans, it's nothing compared to what they are already experiencing. So if you want to see what the future looks like, look at what's happening in East Asia right now. Yeah, we didn't. It's all in Japanese, so it wouldn't make any sense.

30:09But there was a television segment that happened in Japan a few days ago where they celebrated the arrival of a single oil tanker from the United States. And they were like, wow, look at this great. And it was like a big headline piece of news. One tanker from the United States, which had enough oil to supply Japan for half of one day of their entire consumption, just to be very clear about how bad things are over there. No, it's not a surprise at all. Remember, Korea is also scrambling for oil. It's interesting to this point. The Koreans and the Japanese are, you know, originally when the war was happening, they were really sounding the alarm.

30:46So I've been reading their press. They've been trying to tamp down. The Japanese prime minister actually is in a open conflict right now with the opposition over whether to do basically a bailout, a supplemental budget in order to purchase or flood the economy. Again, as I understand it, I'm a layman and I'm trying to read their Google translate of their news. But as I get it, they're in an argument over supplemental funding in a budget and over energy conservation because she's under fire right now And she keeps saying, I'm not going to tell the population yet to cut down on their energy consumption.

31:20There have been some voluntary efforts, but she's under at least some internal pressure and press questions to be like, hey, when are you going to institute some sort of quotas? When are you going to institute a mandatory reduction in the amount of energy that's used? I think all of them are really hoping and they're trying to quiet down panic signals. But, yeah, I mean, eventually oil stocks are going to be oil stocks. So you have to look at it clearly. I believe that they triggered another release of their strategic petroleum reserve. And remember, they do have a very, very large one, almost 200 days, because they're so, so reliant on Middle Eastern oil.

31:56I know Korea also struck a lot of deals with Kazakhstan and with others. But by and large, like the amount of oil that just continues to go that came from the Straits of Hormuz, it's just impossible to replace in the immediate terms with the numbers of their own consumption without genuine drastic effects on their overall economy. So you will see much, much more of this. Arachi was in Moscow. You know, clearly, I think that's maybe one of the reasons that Russian super tank or super yacht was able to go through. Maybe this is a gesture of goodwill to the Russian oligarchal class. So I think you could start to put some of these things together and you can really look at how the world is shifting.

32:35The Germans, you know, the German chancellor, the Japanese potentially paying the toll, the Russian super tanker. The control over this choke point is just so, so, so important. And I guess was apparently underestimated by the U.S., which is just incredible in retrospect.

32:542%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more, to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress.

33:32Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O percent on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, earners, what's up? Look, money is something we all deal with, but financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth. On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, we translate complex financial topics into real conversations everyone can understand.

34:15Because the truth is, most people were never taught how money really works. But once you understand a system, you can start to build within it. That means ownership, smarter investing, and creating opportunities not just for yourself, but for the next generation. If you want to learn how to build wealth, understand the markets, and think like an owner, Earn Your Leisure is the podcast for you. Listen to Earn Your Leisure on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, gorgeous. It's Lala Kent, host of Untraditionally Lala. My days of filling up cups at Sur may be over, but I'm still loving life in the valley.

34:53Life on the other side of the hill is giving grown-up vibes, but over here on my podcast, Untraditionally Lala, I'm still that Lala you either love or love to hate. I've been full on oversharing with fans, family, and former frenemies like Tom Schwartz. I had a little bone to pick with Schwartzy when he came on the pod. You don't feel bad that you told me I was a bootleg housewife? I almost flipped a pizza in your lap. I was so pissed. Oh my god, I literally forgot about that until just now. Sorry, I don't want to blame alcohol. I got to blame that one on the alcohol. This is about laughing and learning when life just keeps on lifin'.

35:26Because I make mistakes so that you guys don't have to. We're growing, we're thriving, and yes, sometimes we're barely surviving, but we do it all with love. It's unruly, it's unafraid, it's untraditionally la-la. Listen to Untraditionally La-la on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sagar, I understand we have some significant breaking news this morning speaking to the economic damage and the way that's already reshaping the globe. Let's go ahead and put this up here on the screen. Just broke as we were recording. Full statement, the United Arab Emirates is saying that it will officially leave the OPEC cartel on May 1st, not just OPEC, but OPEC+.

36:05We're going to go and put their statement up here, and I will read from it. They say the UAE has today announced its decision to exit the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and plus effective May 1st. The decision reflects UAE's long-term strategic and economic vision, evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production. The decision follows a comprehensive review of UAE's production policy, and its current and future capacity is based on our national interest and our commitment to contributing effectively to meeting the market's pressing needs. Sovereign responsibility in a new energy age, they say, while near-term volatility, disruptions of the Arabian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz continue to affect supply dynamics, underlying trends point to sustained growth in global energy demand over the medium to long term.

36:54Yeah, I'm sure it does. A stable energy system depends on flexible, reliable, and affordable supply. And they say, following its exit, the UAE will continue to act responsibly, bringing additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner aligned with demand and with market conditions. Now, you can read this in whatever corporate speak that you want. This is a titanic move. The UAE, I have the numbers here in front of me, is roughly between 10 % to 13 % of total OPEC output. It is also one of the very few countries in OPEC that has spare capacity, which allows them to fluctuate the amount of production.

37:32It is pretty obvious, I think, from this statement. They want to pump a lot more oil than necessarily OPEC and them want to do to flood the market and to get as much dollars in their pockets as it were reals or whatever. Or, you know, dollars, real, yuan, crypto, I think they're probably taking it all at this time. But, I mean, the reason why this is so important is it is the biggest, I think, sign yet of what the inevitable 40th order consequences of war always wrought. A new world order, a new empire, and here a significant chink in the armor of one of the, you know, OPEC, one of the most successful oil cartels in the history, or one of the most successful cartels in the history of mankind in their ability to control energy production, oil production, the price of oil.

38:18It's geopolitically massively important. We learned all of that during the embargo back in the 1970s. So just looking at this in its face, the UAE is charting a very interesting course, which will dramatically change the entire way that things work in the Middle East. You have the UAE here, which accepted IDF soldiers on its own soil during the course of the war. Iron Dome systems, they're now leaving OPEC, maybe at the behest of the United States or not. I'm really not sure exactly how that is working. But they're charting their own type of course. They went all in really on the Iran war and I think they lost.

38:56And so now they have to really, probably just continue to go all in and maybe sell as much oil as humanly possible to try and salvage their image, Dubai airport, the city of Dubai. They need to restore some sense of normalcy, but they've also gone so hard against the Iranians that they need to finish the job. I don't know exactly everything that they're thinking. Obviously, I'm just reacting to this in real time, but all the oil analysts are reacting to this as like a major holy shit moment from what we can see. Yeah, well, there's a lot to think about and to speculate about here. One thing to say very clearly is we knew UAE was under a significant amount of financial pressure already because they'd already come to us and said, hey, we may need this currency swap line, which the, you know, Trump and Besant et al.

39:41have seemed to be willing to offer them. And the reason why is because they don't want them to start dumping treasuries into the market or dumping. I mean, these, you know, Gulf Arab nations, UAE in particular, they hold a lot of U.S. assets of all sorts. So if they start having to sell off their U.S.-held stock portfolio, well, that could crash the market. And God knows the rich people who support Donald Trump, and he's watching the markets very closely, they don't want that. So we knew that UAE was under this financial pressure. We've been talking since effectively day one of this war the way that the war is so devastating for them because so much of their attempt to diversify beyond being an oil-backed nation was this branding of Dubai, of Abu Dhabi.

40:28And that is something that once it's hit, it may be impossible to bring back. So I think it's a sign of the financial pressure. You're right. It could be that the U.S. told them, we want you to leave OPEC and produce as much oil as you possibly can. That is also, if that's the case, that's an indication of how much the U.S. is feeling the squeeze as capacity has been and a billion barrels of oil taken off the market because of the restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. So that would be an indication of how much pressure the U.S. is feeling. But if you think about it more broadly, look, this is very obvious, but what's the reason why anyone participates in a cartel?

41:10Because it's guaranteed over the long run to be more profitable. So it's an indication that they have decided they're in a desperate enough situation. they need to deal with the short term and try to pump out as much oil as possible and try to get as much as they can right now versus prioritizing the long run profitability. Because in the long run, like obviously that sort of cartel collaboration, the reason, whole reason you do it is to increase the profitability, control the market in a way that is beneficial to all of the participants in the cartel. Reading here, just a more immediate analysis from the Financial Times.

41:49This move by the Gulf state underlines long-running frustration with the group of oil exporters over production quotas and specifically tensions with Saudi Arabia. It comes as the world is grappling with the biggest energy crisis in decades. The UAE has for several years expressed its frustration with OPEC as it has been annoyed by the cartel's production quotas and prevented it from exporting greater quantities of oil. So pump it if you got it, I guess, is the mantra. The problem is export it where? There's no oil. that's leaving. So I don't know. I mean, it's a desperate move. Very likely, again, pure speculation on my part.

42:25If they're probably mad, they're mad at Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia, at the end of the day, they've got the east-west pipeline and they can still export through the Red Sea. So they're hurting, but they're not hurting nearly as bad. They don't have a total shut-in. They also didn't get hit nearly as hard as the UAE, which is part of the reason why the UAE was going so hard. But now, as you said, the UAE was already looking for a bailout. They're looking for a dollar swap line or something akin to a semi-bailout. I know it's a little bit more complicated than that, but it definitely works out more in their favor.

42:54And now here you have them leaving OPEC. The initial report is they didn't even call Saudi Arabia or any of the other big powers inside of OPEC. And like I said in the beginning, 10 % to 13 % of total OPEC production. And really, I mean, what I think it is more than anything is just a sign of desperation. They have been in OPEC for over 50 years. So the rewriting here of our energy markets, it's just, I mean, incredible, honestly. Because now you have the – I'm not going to say the end of OPEC. At the end of the day, it's 10 % to 13%. We have a member organization leaving. You have the Iranian control over the Straits of Hormuz.

43:33Maybe they will end up in charge of charging tolls for traffic in and out of the strait. Saudi Arabia itself, like their control over the GCC and, you know, where it's always been all these rival problems between Qatar and the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Like all of that is now broken out into the open. So, yeah, you can really see things are changing. That's really all. That's the big takeaway. And U.S. allies going to Iran, making deals. Iran, you know, Iranian leaders traveling around the world to, you know, strengthen diplomatic ties with other countries now recognizing that they have more power in the global system than was previously understood.

44:14So, you know, and I mean, this really gets to the heart of U.S. power and global hegemony. All, you know, a lot centered around U.S. as the reserve currency, U.S. dollars as the reserve currency, the petrodollar being a very important part of that. So yeah, very hard to predict what things will look like at the end of this. But one thing that's for sure, the world is not going to be the same. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world.

44:54I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts. and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%, that's T-W-O-percent on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, earners, what's up?

45:37Look, money is something we all deal with, but financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth. On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, we translate complex financial topics into real conversations everyone can understand. Because the truth is, most people were never taught how money really works. But once you understand a system, you can start to build within it. That means ownership, smarter investing, and creating opportunities not just for yourself, but for the next generation.

46:13If you want to learn how to build wealth, understand the markets, and think like an owner, Earn Your Leisure is the podcast for you. Listen to Earn Your Leisure on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, gorgeous. It's Lala Kent, host of Untraditionally Lala. My days of filling up cups at Sur may be over, but I'm still loving life in the valley. Life on the other side of the hill is giving grown-up vibes, but over here on my podcast, Untraditionally Lala, I'm still that Lala you either love or love to hate. I've been full on oversharing with fans, family, and former frenemies like Tom Schwartz.

46:51I had a little bone to pick with Schwartzy when he came on the pod. You don't feel bad that you told me I was a bootleg housewife? I almost flipped a pizza in your lap. I was so pissed. Oh my God, I literally forgot about that until just now. Sorry, I don't wanna blame alcohol. I gotta blame that one on the alcohol. This is about laughing and learning when life just keeps on lifin'. Because I make mistakes so that you guys don't have to. We're growing, we're thriving, and yes, sometimes we're barely surviving, but we do it all with love. It's unruly, it's unafraid, it's untraditionally la-la. Listen to Untraditionally La-la on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

47:29We talked earlier about factional conflicts breaking within the Iranian government. Well, the very same thing happening in our government. Let's put this up here on the screen. From The Atlantic. Multiple reporters here on the byline. The two I will draw your attention to are Vivian Salama and Nancy Youssef. These are very, very good Pentagon correspondents. I followed them both for years at various different outlets. They decamped to the Atlantic. So their two bylines here definitely makes me pay a lot of attention. And they say the Pentagon may not be telling Trump the full picture about the war.

48:05Now, I don't think you really need a reporter to tell you that part, but the rest of it is interesting. They say Vice President Vance is worried about what the U.S. is running low on weapons. In closed-door meetings, J.D. Vance has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department's depiction of the war in Iran and whether the Pentagon has understated what appears to be the drastic depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles. Two senior administration officials told us the Vice President has queried the accuracy of the information the Pentagon has provided about the war, has expressed concern about the availability of certain missile systems in discussion with President Trump, The consequences of a dramatic drawdown in its reserves are potentially dire.

48:44U.S. forces would have to draw from these same stockpiles to defend Taiwan against China, South Korea against North Korea, and Europe against Russia. Both Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, and General Cain have publicly said U.S. weapon stockpiles are robust and portrayed the damage to Iranian forces as drastic. Vance's advisors, who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity, told us the vice president has presented his concerns as his own rather than accusing Hegsteth or Cain of misleading the president. Vance is trying, they said, to avoid making this personal or to create divisions in Trump's war cabinet.

49:18Some of his confidants believe, however, that Hegsteth's portrayal has been so positive as to be misleading. In a statement, he said that the Pentagon chief is doing a great job and cited his work with Trump to ensure a wearier ethos. White House officials said he asked a lot of probing questions about strategic planning, as do all members of the president's national security team. I think that about sums up the whole thing, don't you? Is you've got somebody who's got a concern here about the war, but you can't say, hey, sir, they're lying to you because they are. That's very obvious. So, you know, you got to play the game and you got to do, oh, well, actually he's a great guy, but you know, maybe he's got bad information, right?

49:57It's like, no, like the information, the information's just bad. The part, the problem, them, and I already know this, this is based on no inside info, but this is just my own theory, is Trump loves Hegseth. That's why Hegseth is out on the, why do you think he does these bullshit press conferences about how we're taking it to the enemy and, you know, warrior ethos and everybody loves President Trump and decisive leadership and we're winning. Why do you think that they do that, right? They do it for his consumption. Trump loves it and he berates the press. What did he say? Compare them. Again, I don't know anything about the Bible, something about Pharisees.

50:33He's like, you people are Pharisees, like some biblical curse or something on the members of the press corps. Like that's what it was all. It's all designed for one audience so that whenever he goes to him and tells him how much we're winning, he's going to believe it. And then same with the munition stuff. Like remember those early truths from Trump? We have all the weapons we could ever need. Where do you think it's coming from? Right? Does anybody put in a spreadsheet in front of the man and being like, here's what you use and here's what we got left. Or they're saying, don't worry, there's plenty more to pull from, but they're not explaining necessarily the consequences.

51:07At the end of the day, let's just be clear, this is all Trump's fault. He's the one who wanted to do this. He's not a complete idiot. He reads the same Wall Street Journal pieces that you or I do about munition stockpiles. So he knows if he wants to, but he's also being told something very, very different from a lot of the people who are directly in charge of running the war. Well, and Trump decides to believe the things that he wants to believe. That's why when our own military officials were maybe way too meekly being, you know, I see some problems here, right? There could be some issues here, sir.

51:39But of course, we're behind you if you want to do it. What he wanted to hear was the Israelis going, oh, it'll be a cakewalk. Don't worry about it. You'll take out the Ayatollah. You'll be in and out of there three to four days because that's the narrative he wanted to hear. That's what he chose to believe. So he may be reading the same Wall Street Journal pieces about, oh, the munitions are diminished in this way and that way, and 50 percent of that used, and 60 percent of this used, and we barely have any interceptors left, and Israel's down to double digits of interceptors, et cetera. But if you've got someone else coming in with a happier narrative, he'll just go, oh, well, those people are just fake news, and they hate America, and I'm going to go with what Hegseth is showing me in my two-minute hype reel of all the ways that we're bombing and destroying the Iranian military.

52:24So, you know, he his own mental like he has his own sort of landscape that he's created an information bubble that he himself enforces, even when counter information is easily readily available in terms of the headset Vance thing here, too. I mean, I think that J.D. Vance, based on this and based on other reports that have seemingly come from his camp, I think he wants to have distance from this war because he recognizes it's disastrous. He recognizes it's politically extremely unpopular. He still wants to be president in the future and thinks that one way that he can help position himself is if there's this track record relayed through the media of all the objections he had and all the concerns he had behind the scenes, et cetera, et cetera.

53:16Now, I think that's foolish. I think, you know, you're vice president. You're going to own whatever happens at this administration. But there also is that political game that is being played. And this article also indicates that Hexeth fancies himself a future presidential contender. So he's playing the same game at the same time. His calculus is, you know, the way for me to get ahead is to be the most sycophantic devotee of Donald Trump, which is why I'm going to do my press briefings at 10 a.m. I know that's a time when Trump is watching Fox News. That's why he's doing all this performative victory narrative more aggressively than literally anyone else, because he knows that it's what Trump wants to hear.

53:54And Pete, whose primary background is in television and Fox News cable production, probably has a better lane to understand the mentality of Donald Trump than basically anyone else. I also heard I again, this is just from a few people. I heard Pete wants to be the governor of Tennessee. That would be something that he has his eye on. And that's where he used to live previously. Again, that's just my own personal. I think he should resign and pursue that dream. You know, I think there's no time like the president. Carpe diem. Pete, go for it. Yeah, right. You know, I mean, it's Tennessee. How much damage can you really do, right?

54:31I'm sorry, Tennessee. All right, I'm sorry. No offense to Tennessee, which I actually do love as a state, but I don't even know who the governor of Tennessee is. That's how important they are to the rest of the nation. So if the residents of Tennessee want Pete Hexer to be their governor, I say they should have that right. Yeah, I agree. Put them in charge. Don't they have great smokey mountains, isn't that, in Tennessee? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tennessee's beautiful. He could go. There's beautiful lakes there, mountains. It's Nashville, obviously. There's a lot of great cities. Yeah. Okay, let's continue here.

54:59B2, let's put this up here on the screen. Again, just to this point. This is from the New York Times. I mean, at a certain point, this is almost repetitive. But having it on the record is really important. So let's read all the numbers. The United States has burned 1 ,100 long-range stealth cruise missiles built for a war with China. This is for a person close to the total number of remaining in the U.S. stockpile. The military fired off more than 1 ,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 10 times the number that it currently buys each year. The Pentagon used more than 1 ,200 Patriot interceptors in the war at more than$4 million a pop and more than 1 ,000 precision strike and ATACAM ground-based missiles, leaving inventories worrisomely low.

55:44The Iran war has significantly drained much of the U.S. military's global supply of munitions and it forced the Pentagon to rush bombs, missiles, and other hardware to the Middle East from commands in Asia and Europe. The drawdowns have left these regional commands less ready to confront potential adversaries like Russia and China. The Defense Department has not disclosed how many munitions it used in the 38 days of the war. The Pentagon says it now hit more than 13 ,000 targets. Now, again, if these numbers were bullshit, they would say that they were bullshit. Let's just be very clear about that.

56:15So the truth is very clearly that in the first two days alone, two days of war, they fired 6 billion in munitions. Let's do some quick math here for the Patriots. 1 ,200 times 4 million. Let's see how much that is. So 1 ,200 times 4 million is what? That's like 4.8 billion. Is that right? Yeah, that sounds right. I might be totally wrong. It's either 48 billion or 4.8 billion. Either way, I'm using the Google back here. But the point remains, that's an insane number, no matter what, that it actually is. And it's almost unfathomable because we're not just talking about it in terms of dollars. What we're talking about is in terms of how long would it be to replace said interceptors.

57:01And you and I know the answer. Ten years. At a minimum. At a minimum ten years. Which leaves you really, really unsafe. And also, what? China doesn't read the news. Russia doesn't read the news. North Korea doesn't read the news. I think that they all can. They all have New York Times subscriptions. And again, these numbers, the most consistent pushback I get when I talk about this is, you idiot, you think that they would just tell you the exact number? And I'm like, no, I don't. But we live in actually a much more open society that people just seem to forget. Pentagon has got to go to Congress.

57:40All you got to do is read these boring ass reports for production timelines. And deep within the spreadsheet are all of the numbers for the last 10 years. Not the exact number, but a general ballpark because, again, they have to justify each weapon system and what they're buying it for. So you have a pretty good idea of what the exact total number is. Now, in terms of what's being used, you're really going off of ballparks, but same. I mean, these think tanks and all these people, they are scarily accurate whenever it comes to their overall projection. And it's been tested time and time again.

58:13They would come out with an estimate from the April 2024 conflict where we shot down all those Iranian missiles and drones headed towards Israel, then a year later, it would all get confirmed in an open source. So you really should trust a lot of the stuff because this is not just from leaks, this is also from estimates that have come out from a lot of these think tanks. And the real reason why any of this would matter in the first place, let's put B3 up here on the screen, is as they pointed to some of those missiles, They were literally designed for a potential conflict with China. And now, you know, the same war planners and others are openly just leaking this stuff.

58:49The Iran war complicates contingency plans to defend Taiwan. Fully replacing stockpiles of weapons fired in the Middle East could take up to six years. That's an accelerated timeline. Let's keep that in mind. And they have burned through so many munitions that some administration officials increasingly assess that the U.S. couldn't fully execute these contingency plans from a Chinese invasion if it occurred in the near term. Wholly replacing would take up to six years, kicking off discussion in the administration about adjusting operational plans in preparation for any order by the military to defend Taiwan.

59:23Xi Jinping is now preparing to hold this high-stakes summit in Beijing, and China's military is still reeling from a purge of generals. What they say, though, specifically inside of it, is that the people familiar with the munition status didn't detail the precise impact that the depletions would have on the Chinese-Russian-related talks, but it means that it would potentially increase on the agenda item for where they would discuss Taiwan in some sort of potential summit. I would also note ahead of the Taiwan summit, something very interesting happened yesterday, which very few people paid attention to.

59:57Facebook and or Meta tried to acquire this new Chinese AI company. It was a$2 billion acquisition, and they're actually going through it right now. China, out of nowhere, just came out, barred the founders of the company from leaving the country. and their equivalent of the FTC just came out and like, yeah, no, that deal, it's not gonna go through. Now, practically the deal probably will still go through because it was already happening and there's some offshore stuff. I don't fully understand it. It's a signal though to the United States and others. All this financial entanglement, that's over.

1:00:34We don't want much more of that. We want it totally on our terms. So I view all of these things as interconnected. Their economic leverage is their smartest play. They've used it time and time again, not just us, Korea, Japan, any country that they're having problems with. So I put these two things together. They're feeling a little bit more bold. They're building a long game for any potential problems. And they can do math in the same way that we can, except their math looks a hell of a lot better than our math. Yeah, I mean, listen, this is the goal of every administration, both Republican and Democrat, as the idea that our military needs to be of a sufficient size and scope to be able to counter China, whether you agree with that approach or not.

1:01:19That certainly has been what the US empire has done. And I think there's an argument for it. You don't want to be left vulnerable. I personally think, look, I feel for the Taiwanese people, I personally think it would be insane to go to war with China over Taiwan, but we do need to get our semiconductor act together. And we have not done that. We have not gotten our act together on any number of the critical supply lines that China has significant control over, which is why when Trump tried to implement a massive terror regime against China, China was like, great, let me show you some of the cards that we hold.

1:01:52And Trump immediately folded to use the analogy that he prefers. So, you know, the other way you can tell that this reporting about munitions is relatively spot on is the fact that the administration is desperately trying to get more funds from Congress to rearm both for the short and the longer term. You know, they keep making these announcements that like, oh, we went to Ford and the automakers so that we can invoke the Defense Production Act and get them to start making, helping us with weapons production. And oh, we have this agreement with all of the military industrial complex providers that they're going to quintuple production or whatever the number was.

1:02:29Oh, they met with us. And oh, my God, turns out they're happy to make more money. Isn't that crazy? But none of those things are going to be built out until they actually have secured the cash from Congress, which has not happened. So as of now, there is no increased ramped up production. We're still on the same slow timeline and burning through. I mean, we burned through so many different types of munitions during the period of this war. And again, I think it looks increasingly likely, certainly possible, if not likely, that we will go back into some level of hot conflict because you've got Rubio and Trump both signaling that they do not find this limbo to be satisfactory.

1:03:09You've got continued pressure on the U.S. economy and all of the logic pushes in the direction of some sort of heightened conflict. You know, at the same time, just to get back to the like Vance Hegseth thing, like Hegseth is such an incredible client. This is just such a ridiculous country we live in at this point. We put B-4 up on the screen. Ryan is the first to report this. And then the Pentagon actually confirmed it. They did some whole presser with Kid Rock. But he had this first. He said Kid Rock flew to Fort Belvoir this morning on his private jet, took Joyride on two Apache helicopters with War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

1:03:43According to multiple Army sources, Apaches typically have two pilots. They went up with one. So the boys could each ride shotgun, I'm told. Apache helicopters are not stationed at Fort Belvoir. so unclear where they came from. Spokesperson at the base referred questions to the secretary's office. So we're in the middle of a war and Hegseth, the secretary of war, is spending his time taking Kid Rock on joy rides in military assets. So that's kind of the state of the country right now. Yeah, it's almost like two, it's like a skit. It's like an SNL skit, you know, that they're hanging out with Kid Rock and Kid Rock even did a brief, Look, whatever, all right?

1:04:22I got nothing against Kid Rock, I guess. I like the Born Free song. That's about it. But beyond, you know, why is the Secretary of Defense hanging out with Kid Rock and then giving him joy rides on military helicopters and then letting him do like a briefing or whatever with the troops? Maybe the troops wanted it. Okay, fine. But, you know, just this is where your attention is, dude. Really? And remember, you know, we talked about his press conferences earlier. He actually gave one on Friday, which is really important. for the same victory narrative. Remember, this is the stuff that's going into Trump's brain.

1:04:55Let's take a listen. Operation Epic Fury has delivered a decisive military result in just weeks. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. As the president has pointed out, all took years, decades. Vague missions, shifting sands, little to show for it. Operation Epic Fury has been laser focused from the very start, as I've said to all of you. Clear mission objectives and ultimately Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. It's a bold and dangerous mission, a gift to the world. The War Department stands ready for what comes next, locked and loaded. May God continue to bless our warriors each and every day and on each and every mission.

1:05:45Okay. Yeah, this is Korea and Vietnam. They were declaring victory all in the middle. It's so ridiculous. There are a few important things that we did want to flag. Let's put the next one up here on the screen. The House is now voting on Josh Gottheimer's Iran War Powers Resolution. And the only Democrat, Jared Golden, to join the Republicans defeating it is an original co-sponsor now of the Gottheimer Resolution. So nine members had introduced that new War Powers Resolution actually on the Iran War. It would still direct the U.S. president to end U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days.

1:06:22So signs of some movement inside of Congress, Crystal, but still none of the requisite amount of pushback needed, I think, in the Senate and in the House. This one is really interesting and kind of funny because so when the original War Powers Resolution push was being made by Ro Khanna and Thomas Massey and others, Gottheimer and Jared Golden and some others introduced this alternative War Powers Resolution to which had like, you know, a time frame on it and was much weaker to undercut support for the more fulsome War Powers Resolution be offered by Ro Khanna and Thomas Massey. So now that original and that thing had like, you know, a date set of like, OK, this is, you know, the timeline and here's how we're going to vote on it, etc.

1:07:08And so now that one is coming up. Jared Golden, who had originally sponsored this War Powers Resolution as a way to undercut Ro Khanna's War Powers Resolution. Now he is in the position of, OK, so you were originally co-sponsor of this thing when you thought that this was going to undercut a vote on a War Powers Resolution. Now that it's actually coming up for a vote, what are you going to do? And, of course, Julian with DropSite News caught up with Josh Gottheimer, who was another one who obviously spearheaded this original War Powers resolution, and asked him, hey, did you talk to Jared Golden?

1:07:46What's he going to do? How's he going to vote? Which seems like kind of the first thing you would want to know here in terms of whether it will be successful or not. And he's like, oh, I haven't talked to him. I don't know. So we'll see how all of this goes down, whether Golden votes against his own war powers resolution because he actually appears to be pro war. He's also retiring. So it doesn't really matter to him politically how he appears or, you know, how much the base hates him appearing as like a, you know, a warmonger monger siding with the Trump administration on their disastrous war.

1:08:18So we'll see how this all goes. Maybe they'll find another rotating villain to fill in that spot to make sure that this one fails as well. But right now, the outcome is pretty uncertain. So definitely something to watch.

1:08:54See Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Shabuzi, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Gretchen Wilson, Chase Matthew, Lauren Alaina. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com. It's Financial Literacy Month and the podcast Eating While Broke is bringing real conversations about money growth and building your future This month hear from top streamer Zoe Spencer and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum-Pierre as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up There's an economic component to community thriving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities they fail.

1:09:42Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. And then there's your body having its own program. Listen to A Slight Change of Plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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