In short
The episode (7/15/25) argues that U.S. policy toward Russia and Israel is escalating while lacking a credible endgame. It claims Trump is losing leverage with Putin and is shifting toward hawkish steps: Oval Office remarks about possible 100% “secondary” tariffs on Russia if no deal in 50 days; a report that Trump privately asked Zelensky whether Ukraine could strike Moscow with U.S. long-range weapons; and discussion that this makes policy “indistinguishable” from Biden’s step-by-step escalation. Notable examples include Russia’s stock market rising after the tariff talk, and Fox’s Lisa Booth defending Trump’s foreign-policy track record. The Israel segment covers Netanyahu calling “disinformation” a major “front,” plus claims of double standards and examples like an American killed by Israeli settlers and attacks on CNN’s Jeremy Diamond. The episode also discusses an ICE tracking app controversy: IceBlock, a crowdsourced “inform not obstruct” app.
Guest
Joshua Aaron, a tech entrepreneur and developer of IceBlock, who says it alerts users within five miles of ICE sightings and is protected speech.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOTrump's Tariff Threats on Russia
1:53 to 2:58
Discussion about Trump's proposed 100% tariffs on Russia amidst the Ukraine conflict.
“We have some news from Donald Trump on tariffs related to Russia.”
Realities of Ending the Conflict
3:01 to 4:09
Exploration of the challenges Ukraine faces in negotiating with Russia.
“there will likely have to be significantly more concessions from Ukraine than the Trump administration right now is willing to entertain.”
Trump's Shift to Neocon Policies
4:10 to 5:00
Analysis of Trump’s change in stance towards a more aggressive foreign policy regarding Russia.
“to swallow for, you know, I think a lot of Americans would object to that.”
Encouragement of Strikes on Moscow
5:03 to 6:24
Trump's discussions about encouraging Ukraine to strike Moscow are revealed.
“between this, you know, the hawks like Lindsey Graham have been pushing additional aggressive sanctions on Russia, which, guys, we already have, Russia's already the most sanctioned country on the planet.”
Contradictions in Trump's Stance
6:27 to 7:50
Examination of Trump's previous anti-war rhetoric versus his current support for escalation.
“The conversation took place during the July 4th call between the U.S.”
Concerns Over Escalation Risks
7:57 to 11:39
Debate over the implications and risks of increased military actions in Ukraine and Russia.
“That's a really good point about how he was criticizing potential Harris administration.”
MAGA Disappointments and Trump’s Foreign Policy
11:41 to 14:01
Discussion on the contradictions and frustrations within the MAGA base regarding Trump’s foreign policy decisions.
“And there's really no plan or no feasible plan for effectuating any kind of a, you know, a positive or beneficial or least bad of all options sort of an outcome.”
The Shifting Dynamics of MAGA Support
14:01 to 17:12
Explore the MAGA base's discontent with Trump's foreign policy decisions.
“And then they turn to you and they're like, see, you were wrong.”
Netanyahu's Disinformation Campaign
18:05 to 24:10
Discuss the implications of Netanyahu's comments on disinformation in warfare.
“It was like a bomb had just been dropped in my life.”
The American Perspective on Israel
24:10 to 28:00
Analyzing the shifting American attitudes towards Israel and its implications.
“of a supposed commitment to human rights.”
Show all 17 chapters
Social Media's Impact on Political Narratives
28:00 to 30:56
Explore how social media has changed the way political narratives are constructed and consumed.
“his ability to keep a lid on things that are so obvious, like the fact that, you know, there's this blatant double standard when it comes to Palestinians versus versus Israelis is part of the loss of his control.”
Netanyahu's Political Maneuvering
30:56 to 34:20
Discuss the implications of Netanyahu's strategies regarding U.S. foreign policy and Iran.
“Last piece I definitely want to get to here because it ties back to the Iran conversation we were having, put D4 up on the screen.”
Farewell to Emily
34:20 to 34:39
A brief farewell conversation as a co-host prepares to leave the show.
Farewell to Emily
34:40 to 35:07
A brief farewell conversation as a co-host prepares to leave the show.
“I'm here at Grand Appliance where Katie just bought a new Samsung laundry pair.”
The Purpose of IceBlock App
36:48 to 41:59
Joshua explains the features and goals of the IceBlock app in informing the public.
“So we can put a little bit of a view up on the screen of what this app looks like so people can kind of get a sense of it.”
Tech Influences on Politics
42:02 to 43:50
Discussion on the involvement of significant tech figures in politics and their implications.
“Obviously, you have some major tech figures who Elon Musk previously as a major part of this government.”
Interview with Joshua
43:50 to 44:15
Joshua discusses the IceBlock app and its significance in tracking.
“Anything in particular you want to, you know, place where people can find you or more information about the app you want to put out there?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Waiting for your sign? Here it is. Shop Labor Day appliance deals at Lowe's before they're gone. Get up to 45 % off select major appliances. Plus, get free delivery, haul-away, installation and parts, and a two-year Lowe's protection plan on purchases of$999 or more. Labor Day deals are on now at Lowe's. In-store and online. Valid through 916 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. See Lowe's.com for more details. Thinking about selling your car? Get a real offer worth real money from CarMax. Then take seven days to think it over. That's it.
0:41No haggling, no hassles, no pressure. Get all the details and a real offer today at CarMax.com. Want to drive? CarMax. Hello, appliance fans. I'm here at Grand Appliance where Bill just bought a premium Bosch benchmark dishwasher. Talk about your experience, Bill. My salesperson was an appliance genius. She told me about their free install offer on Benchmark Appliances, and it was a done deal for me. Wow, free install from the pros at Grand? That's a no-brainer. Agreed. They make it so easy. There you have it. Grand for the win. Check out GrandAppliance.com for full details. Hey guys, Sagar and Crystal here.
1:21Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election, and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show. This is the only place where you can find honest perspectives from the left and the right that simply does not exist anywhere else. So if that is something that's important to you, please go to BreakingPoints.com, become a member today, and you'll get access to our full shows, unedited, ad-free, and all put together for you every morning in your inbox. We need your help to build the future of independent news media, and we hope to see you at BreakingPoints.com.
1:53Emily Jashinsky:We have some news from Donald Trump on tariffs related to Russia. Donald Trump's frustration with Vladimir Putin continues to boil over. He was in a meeting in the Oval Office yesterday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and made some comments about, get this, a 100 percent tariff potentially on Russia. We can go ahead here and roll C1. We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia, but we're very, very unhappy with them. And we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 percent, you'd call them secondary tariffs. As you know, we've spent$350 billion approximately on this war with Russia and Ukraine.
2:40I would like to see it end. It wasn't my war, it was Biden's war. We want to see it end. And I'm disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there. So based on that, we're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. It's very simple. And they'll be at 100 percent.
3:00Emily Jashinsky:OK, so that seems to be Donald Trump acknowledging or realizing, not acknowledging, but realizing, Crystal, that he is losing leverage. What did he say to Zelensky? You don't have the cards. It seems like Trump is walking headfirst into what many of his critics said earlier was just the reality that Putin is so determined to continue the war that for Donald Trump to come to the table on this and get a deal, not within 24 hours, but even within a month, two months, three months, four months, five months, six months is where we are right now. there will likely have to be significantly more concessions from Ukraine than the Trump administration right now is willing to entertain.
3:48Yeah, no, it would be a bitter pill to swallow. I mean, there's no doubt that ending this conflict will be difficult and would require really forcing Ukraine to accept significant annexing of their territory by Russia. And that is a bitter pill to swallow. There is no doubt about it. It may be an unacceptable pill to swallow for, you know, I think a lot of Americans would object to that. And that's part of why you have these words go on and on and on, because it's easier to sustain them and kick the can down the road than it is to actually bring them to a ugly, messy, which it would be, conclusion.
4:28And, you know, Trump came in incredibly arrogant, never was really pressed on how he would bring about this magical end of the conflict. Before he even was in office, in 24 hours, he would have this ended. And, you know, I think he was arrogant and foolish enough to believe that he had that kind of relationship with Putin where he could just call his buddy on the phone and be able to work something out and do a deal the way that he is accustomed to doing. And obviously reality has hit him in the face right now. And so he's swinging now in the other direction and going hard neocon. I mean, in some ways, now we're getting a preview of a policy that will be more hawkish than what the Biden administration did between this, you know, the hawks like Lindsey Graham have been pushing additional aggressive sanctions on Russia, which, guys, we already have, Russia's already the most sanctioned country on the planet.
5:12Like, the idea that additional sanctions are going to further do anything, I mean, I think it's far-fetched.
5:18Emily Jashinsky:We should skip to C4 then. Sorry to go out of order control room, but to your point, let's put C4 up on the screen, which is the Russian stock market actually went up 2.4 % yesterday, which goes to exactly the point that you were just making. Maybe actually what Trump could have said at this Oval Office presser yesterday with Mark Rutte could have even been worse. Maybe stocks went up because there was an anticipation that Trump could have done something that wasn't related to sanctions or that was in some ways worse than a 100%. I mean, like, they've been sanctioned to hell already. There's not much you can do on that front to make things worse.
6:02Well, in addition, we don't have an element for this because we're just seeing it. But Financial Times published a scoop that Trump asked Zelensky if Ukraine could hit Moscow, according to people who were briefed on the call. Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow if the U.S. provided long-range weapons, which we know now we are going to provide. Korn and People briefed on those discussions. The conversation took place during the July 4th call between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders marks a sharp departure from Trump's previous stance on Russia's war and his campaign promise to end U.S.
6:38involvement in foreign conflicts. Remains unclear whether Washington will deliver such weapons, but it appears that we are. Their sort of cope is like, oh, well, NATO is going to pay for it, But first, we're shipping the weapons, and we'll see if we get reimbursed on the back end, I guess. The discussion underscores Trump's deepening frustration with Putin's refusal to engage in ceasefire talks. So you remember how he talked on the campaign trail, and I think justifiably so. You know, his desire to end this conflict, as articulated, you know, at times during his campaign, I think was one of the appeals, certainly with the Republican base, but I think more broadly with the American people as well, was part of a key to him creating this impression that he would be an anti-war president.
7:18And he talked about how we were flirting with World War III, that under Kamala Harris, we would get World War III because of this conflict with another nuclear-armed superpower. And so now here you are, fast forward to July 15th, and he's encouraging Ukraine to strike Moscow and strike St. Petersburg as well with weapons provided by us. I mean, look, I get that we've gotten this far and there hasn't been a nuclear blowup. That's good. But that doesn't mean that a catastrophic escalation isn't still something that we have to concern ourselves with.
7:57Emily Jashinsky:That's a really good point about how he was criticizing potential Harris administration. And when we look back on the Biden administration, the bluster was so dangerous. The attack comes. It really, really was dangerous, and Republicans capitalized on that. And one of Donald Trump's most important arguments from his perspective about how he approaches Vladimir Putin is that he doesn't needlessly antagonize Putin. And this is what neocons, critics said all along was foolish about Trump's strategy towards Putin. How many American presidents have gone in and said they saw Putin's soul? I think that was George W.
8:35Emily Jashinsky:Bush. in his eyes, and they have trusted Putin. And the neocons said, it always happens. You always get the rug pulled out from under you by Vladimir Putin, et cetera, et cetera. Well, it doesn't undermine Trump's point that it's better not to be antagonistic towards Putin, but it does start to make it look like Trump had carried with that some genuine naivete about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, to your point, Crystal, that is not panning out the way that he thought it would, where essentially he was like, well, we can just pick up the phone. I'll send Steve Wyckoff and we'll make a deal.
9:14Emily Jashinsky:Did not go quite that way. And we can sense his frustration. I'm going to play this moment that Trump had with a reporter in that meeting with the NATO secretary general yesterday. This is C2. I want to get the war settled. They're not Americans that are dying in it. And, you know, I have a problem. And J.D. has a problem. It's a stance that he's had for a long time. They're not Americans dying. But there are a lot of people dying on something that should be able to be settled. And we all agree with that. But I am very disappointed with President Putin. I thought he was somebody that meant what he said.
9:52And he'll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night. We don't like that. Thank you, everybody.
9:58Emily Jashinsky:So, Crystal, I know that Trump, and this actually I do understand, doesn't like to telegraph exactly how far he might go. But now we pretty honestly have to ask ourselves a question if it's as far as the Biden administration was willing to go in ways that really were gambling with potential nuclear escalation. Yeah, I mean, at this point, the policy is pretty indistinguishable from the Biden administration, and he seems prepared to push it, continue pushing it forward, which was the effective trajectory of the Biden administration because it was, you know, we sort of drew lines around, OK, well, we consider these defensive weapons.
10:36And then, OK, we want these longer range things. And over time, you give more and more and more and more. And there were always these, you know, operations that were occurring pretty quickly. We got to operations that were quite inflammatory that were occurring within Russia. And we just sort of, you know, turned a blind eye to that, even though we had said originally that we wanted to keep the conflict within Ukraine and not have these attacks within Russia. And so that trajectory of continued step by step by step escalation at this point appears to be followed by the Trump administration as well.
11:10And, you know, the thing that frustrated me under the Biden administration, the thing that frustrates me now is I just don't think anyone could explain or really has a plan for how this is brought to an end. Like, OK, so they and then they strike within Moscow. What then? Like, there's no sign that Russia is just one Moscow or St. Petersburg strike away from South. You know what? You're right. We we capitulate. We want to come to the table. We want to strike a deal that's going to be acceptable for Zelensky. There's no sign of that. So, you know, I just it's one of these incredibly foolish and idiotic, but very typical American foreign policy situations where there's just sort of like it takes on a logic of its own.
11:53And there's really no plan or no feasible plan for effectuating any kind of a, you know, a positive or beneficial or least bad of all options sort of an outcome. It's just, I guess we're going to do this now and see what happens.
12:09Emily Jashinsky:Well, let's and that frustrates to no end. Obviously, people like Elbridge Colby, who caught all kinds of strays in the press last week for trying to pause some of these weapons because the United States at any given moment, whether or not you or I agree with the policy, could find itself in a kinetic conflict over Taiwan. and Trump overruled that. So those frustrations are just going to be, I think, stronger and stronger among the people who were, I don't know that anyone has the ability to do anything about it. I mean, this is clearly, Trump is driving the show on this. It doesn't matter to some extent that there were people brought in who disagree with the hawkishness here.
12:51Emily Jashinsky:But that frustration from hawks and just from regular people, like that's a pretty significant concern. I wanna roll this clip. from Fox News. This is Lisa Booth reacting to Trump's comments. Let's go ahead and roll this as C3. See the business guy in President Trump. Look, I have concerns similar to what Paul expressed about, you know, is this war never ending with Russia and Ukraine? Will it ever end? You know, Russia has a larger military. They have more people to sacrifice at the altar of this war. However, I think President Trump deserves her deference. He's always right. When has he been wrong about foreign policy as naysayers are the one.
13:31Everyone said there was going to be a World War three after, you know, sending those bombs to Iran and taking out some of their nuclear facilities or at least badly damaging them. That didn't come to fruition. Right. So he's repeatedly been or, you know, moving the embassy to Jerusalem. Everyone was worried about that. Right. So everyone has been wrong. He's always been right. So he deserves her deference.
13:49Emily Jashinsky:Crystal, I was thinking about this. It reminds me of like if you have a friend who's playing blackjack and like hit me, Hit me. And they make the most irrational call. And they end up winning. And then they turn to you and they're like, see, you were wrong. You're getting down to me. And I'm like, no, I wasn't. You shouldn't have done that. I'm glad it worked out really well. But you shouldn't have done that. This is not the right strategy. Right. Well, and I mean, with the Iran thing that presumes that that's all over and done, which we're about to talk about Israel, is not a good assumption whatsoever.
14:25So, yeah, but, I mean, you know, it speaks to this broader conversation about MAGA disappointments with Trump. And certainly the most upset I've seen any portion of the MAGA base is over Jeffrey Epstein, although already in real time you see the influencers trying to gather everybody. You know what? We're going to trust Trump. We're going to move on. But, you know, you would think that on a matter of war and peace, this really was a central promise of how he would be different than a potential Kamala Harris administration. And now you've got a complete 180 where it's just an embrace effectively of the Biden policy and, you know, the line here, at least from this individual on Fox News.
15:00But I think, you know, I don't think we'll see much upset over this from the MAGA influencer world or the MAGA faithful as well. He knows what he's doing. So we'll just trust Trump. That's what it always kind of comes back to. Yeah.
15:11Emily Jashinsky:And, you know, I think that sounds rather naive to put it nicely, I suppose, or charitably. I don't think you should trust anybody. That's what I was just going to say. Yeah. I mean, I don't care how much you like the guy or feel like whatever. Like, no. And, you know, I think there were a lot of people on the Democratic side who fell into this trap under the Obama administration where it was like, well, we love this guy. So, sure, he's like upping the drone war and doing these, you know, like getting a list of people to assassinate and going forward with it and committing all these. But, you know, it's Obama.
15:44So he must be doing it in a responsible way. And, you know, it's I think it's even more so under the Trump with Trump because he has such a strong force and cult of personality that this this idea of just like, well, he must know better. So we're just going to trust him on this. We're just going to trust him on Iran. We're just going to trust him on Epstein and whatever. That is a place where I think it is always safe for mega influencers to land.
16:13Emily Jashinsky:Yeah, like, I know we're both in the same boat on this, but however this war, like, this war is a meat grinder. It is a tragedy every single day. So if Trump pulls this off, if he says hit me, and it works, then I think that would be wonderful. But we are six months in and he's he's even testing the patience of Fox News on the Ukraine question. So not a time for optimism as it relates to finally getting an end to this. Hello, appliance fans. I'm here at Grand Appliance where Katie just bought a new Samsung laundry pair. Talk about your experience, Katie. My salesperson was amazing. He knew everything about appliances and was even able to get it on a delivery and install route for tomorrow.
17:03Wow, next day delivery? Yes, my laundry is piling up, so this is a lifesaver. There you have it, grand for the win. Check out grandappliance.com for full details. Hey, this is Kevin. This is Joe. And this is Nick from Hey Jonas. You know, I recently learned that every 36 minutes another child in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer. Think about that for a second. Some of the bravest warriors you'll ever meet aren't professional athletes or superheroes. They're kids in this fight. And every day, these young warriors face challenges most adults couldn't imagine. Yet they continue to show up with incredible courage, determination, and hope.
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18:15They immediately were like, Rosa, take what time you need. You can come back when you're ready. We are cancer-free today, and I'm just so grateful for Rasmussen for all of their support throughout my journey and for my own village. Rasmussen University. Find your seat and start now at rasmussen.edu. All right, well, let's talk about our great ally in all of this, Israel. Bibi Netanyahu making some pretty interesting comments on his reflections about the various fronts of this war, saying that actually the eighth front in his many wars that he started is disinformation. Let's take a listen to that.
18:53This is the eighth front. The disinformation campaign is humongous. It takes a second for a lie to circulate the world, and then you have to battle it with the only weapon you have, which is the truth. And truth is slower than lies and more difficult to ascertain, because you have to get the facts. You have to, when you lie, you can say anything. And it's instantaneous. When you tell the truth, you have to ascertain the facts. And until you do that, in the electronic age, boy, that lie can encircle the earth, you know, a thousand times. So it's a handicap. But we'll fight the information war, too.
19:31And, you know, basically, as the weapon of truth, we just have to be more efficient at the disclaimer. I mean, listen, I think we have to shame the media that does this. I have to think that this is a reaction to, I mean, first of all, there's just a sense that they've lost control of the narrative. And, yeah, after now we're coming up not too long from now on two years of all of us seeing, like, bombed and, you know, obliterated babies and bombed tents and hospitals and schools and mosques and churches and everything else in our timelines, that guess what? Some of that is going to break through despite your best efforts.
20:06It's interesting, of course, that he thinks in these explicit terms. It's interesting that this front of the war, like all of the other fronts of this war, this, you know, assault, requires the assistance of the United States of America, where I'm sure he would love to see even more censorship than has already been put in place on the domestic population in service of his atrocities. So, you know, I think it's very interesting and revealing comments. And I think it betrays, Emily, a sense that, you know, of a loss of control of the narrative and, you know, the Democratic base is basically gone.
20:41I mean, there's some 80 percent that are disgusted with what Israel has been doing and our support of Israel on the Democratic side. But you had a turning point USA on display, especially among young Republicans, increasing disgust there as well. that in the sense that this is not America first, it is not in America's interest to constantly be catering to this one client state. So it seems to me that he has some concerns about the way that American attitudes on both sides of the aisle have really shifted against them.
21:15Emily Jashinsky:Yeah, I mean, I imagine, and I think you're right, that we can sense this creeping into public view. There is something close to panic in Likud when they look at American polling and when they look at on the American right, and it manifests in the grossest way of just trying to weaponize anti-Semitism, charges of anti-Semitism very bluntly, rather than actually, I mean, a much more constructive way, if you're Netanyahu, to deal with all of this would not be to accuse people of believing false information or peddling disinformation or anti-Semitism or Netanyahu's allies like a Mike Huckabee. The constructive way is to deal with the substance of people's questions and concerns.
22:05Emily Jashinsky:But the, I think, fear and panic is just inducing this impulse to lump people into awful categories and to dismiss things as disinformation. It goes without saying, of course, but it is very rich to hear a lecture on disinformation from Netanyahu. I mean, it's incredible stuff. To say the least. Yeah, it's just incredible stuff. And that's part of what has, I think, shifted opinion on the right is people sort of looking around and realizing that their beliefs about Israel were sort of a house of cards to some extent, or their beliefs about, you know, sort of deference to Netanyahu, not about Israel itself.
22:50Emily Jashinsky:You know, I think broadly you would probably still have support for the concept of Zionism on the American right. But for American, continued American support and for Netanyahu's ongoing war, no, you have like cratering support, especially among young Republicans, which bodes very poorly for their ability to keep America in Israel's corner decades into the future. Yeah. I mean, if you look at the polling, basically the one group that is still firmly in the Zionist, yes, we support Israel no matter what camp, are like boomer Republicans. Young Republicans are pretty evenly divided. And so I think, you know, for Bibi, he was probably, because he's part of making it a more partisan, like making it more partisan when he came to Washington under Obama and he was advocating against the JCPOA, whatever.
Read the full transcript
23:40I think he's probably kind of okay with the Democratic Party shifting away from Israel as long as he's still got the Republicans and as long as he still has, you know, obviously at the elite Democratic level, they still have plenty of influence there. But to see the bubbling discontent on the Republican side as well, and Israel becoming a real fault line within the Republican Party in the same way it's a huge schism between like the base and the elites in the Democratic Party. But it's become a real schism in the Republican Party as well. I was talking to Sagar about this yesterday, because in the same way on the Democratic side, Israel exposes the hypocrisy of a supposed commitment to human rights.
24:16On the Republican side, it exposes a hypocrisy of a supposed commitment to America first. So it really has become this sort of central dividing line. And, you know, at the same time, also, you have, and this also speaks to that America first orientation, put D2 up on the screen. You had an American from Florida who was just murdered by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. He's visiting family. in this village when settlers beat him unconscious and then blocked an ambulance from reaching him for hours. So they beat him nearly to death. And then when medics attempted to respond, they blocked those ambulants from being able to come and provide medical assistance to this, again, American citizen who was their visiting family and he died.
25:11In addition, Emily, I don't I think you probably saw this. CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who is their like Jerusalem based correspondent, was traveling out with the team to try to cover this story. And their vehicle was attacked by violent, illegal settlers as well. So, you know, in what way is it America first? I guarantee you won't hear from any Republican, but Donald Trump isn't going to be concerned about this American who was beaten to death by settlers who are enabled and supported by our great allies, the Israelis. You won't hear about it from this Republican administration that is supposedly, quote unquote, America first.
25:54Emily Jashinsky:This conflict is obviously and always has been a swirl of disinformation. That's hard if you're on the other side of the world to know immediately what's true and what's false. But for Netanyahu in this case, or actually, let's just take the Jeremy Diamond post. He says that their car was attacked by settlers. What was CNN doing, just getting to the disinformation claims that often come up here, and have in the case of the American who was killed? And I don't know the truth of that, but I can look at the case of CNN and say, I don't think CNN was throwing rocks at the settlers. I don't think CNN did anything to warrant this attack.
26:38Emily Jashinsky:And so often we are told that there are not unprovoked attacks, that the attack was any attack that we're considering must have been provoked in some way or another. But that's obviously not the case with the CNN crew who was just trying to do their jobs. So it's just like, here you go. An example right there to refute any claims that, you know, say the CNN crew had just been Palestinians. You know, you would probably hear all kinds of things about provocations and other things like that. You wouldn't even hear about it, Emily. Well, if you did, you would hear that they were throwing rocks or something.
27:23Yeah. No, they're Hamas. They would be Hamas for sure. But hard to say Jeremy Diamond is Hamas in this instance. You know, the other thing I think about is like imagine it was a Jewish American who was visiting family in Israel and was beaten to death by Palestinians. How do you think that that would be treated by the news media? How do you think it would be treated by this administration? I mean, just the absolute blatant double standard is so glaring and so grotesque at this point that, you know, to take it back to Bibi, they're concerned about the disinformation front in his eight front, apparently, you know, war that he is committing here.
28:05his ability to keep a lid on things that are so obvious, like the fact that, you know, there's this blatant double standard when it comes to Palestinians versus versus Israelis is part of the loss of his control. Like he can no longer keep all these things together in the age of social media and just with how brazen it all is at this point. So, you know, it doesn't surprise me that part of what he and his allies in the U.S. and the Trump administration has been happy to go along with is this intense censorship campaign against Americans and against foreign students as well who have come here.
28:44Emily Jashinsky:Christy, I just wanted to say you made such an important point about social media and them losing their grip, because if we go back to the Shereen Abu Akhla case, also an American, and in that case, the Israeli government put out statements that I think they thought would hold. But because the media had access, CNN, I think, initially did a long and thorough investigation into this. They had access to all of these different social media posts or people had taken videos with their smartphones and all of that. And because of Google Maps and their ability to sort of piece these things together, they were able to have audio experts listen to different snippets that had been recorded.
29:21Emily Jashinsky:And everything sort of fell apart when you were able to kind of, with free information, string or put different pieces of the puzzle together. And so you can't just put out a statement and expect the American government to swallow it whole cloth anymore because the American media is not always going to swallow it whole cloth. Now, American media is obviously going to be more concerned about deaths of journalists than people who are visiting family. So that's sadly true in the case of Sreen Abu Akhla. But it's much, much harder to just say, this is our story. This is the story. And then get the United States and the U.S.
30:02Emily Jashinsky:media to go along with it. Let's go and put D3 up on the screen because this is just this picture says so much. So this is when Netanyahu was in town and you've got a bipartisan group of senators there and members there who are meeting with him. And that's Cory Booker trying to hide. So, and it's just so perfect. And I think it speaks to the moment so much where it's like Cory Booker is still all the way in with Israel, but he's smart enough to realize it's not a great look at this point. So he tries to have it both ways by being at the photo up with Netanyahu, but also trying to hide Gretchen Whitmer style during the picture.
30:43It's just, to me, it's a perfect encapsulation of the cowardice of Democratic Party elites, the culpability of Democratic Party elites, and of Cory Booker himself.
30:52Emily Jashinsky:I mean, that picture for Cory Booker is brutal. Yeah, Cory Booker. Cory Booker is brutal. And you asked Congressman Kanna about this a little bit earlier in the show at Crystal, but the sentiments of Democratic voters have shifted so significantly that it's very possible this is a picture that follows Cory Booker throughout his political career and is a problem for him. Oh, yeah, I would say so. Last piece I definitely want to get to here because it ties back to the Iran conversation we were having, put D4 up on the screen. Bibi has apparently told Trump that Israel will go back to war with Iran if the, quote, nuclear threat resumes.
31:37And apparently, Emily, we are in the business of just taking Israel's word for what is going on in Iran. So if Netanyahu down the road tells Trump, hey, they restarted the nuclear program, now they may well. In fact, what we've done has made it much more likely that they actually pursue a nuclear weapon that created a logic that would make it much more likely that they would pursue a nuclear weapon. But, you know, I think it's very likely, I would say, possible to likely, that we come down the road a little bit and Netanyahu says, sorry, look, they restarted their nuclear program. You can trust our intel.
32:15It doesn't really matter what the U.S. intel community says, apparently. And we're going to be right back in the situation that we saw unfold before.
32:23Emily Jashinsky:So Netanyahu's in town last week. We mentioned this earlier in the show. And the New New York Times publishes a single anonymous Israeli source saying that not all of the enriched uranium was moved, which, Crystal, we talked about this on Friday's show. I think we all believe that sounds very plausible. That may well be true. But the reason that you put it out that way is you're trying to plant the seeds for escalation once again. And that was never, I mean, I think that was never out of the question at all as soon as the 12-day war. And that's where there's a lot of victory laps being taken. Like, oh, you guys were wrong that World War III would start.
33:07Emily Jashinsky:It's like, well, it's been a month or what? It's been like 10 days. I hope to goodness that we were wrong. I don't know that that's the case yet. And examples like this are why. Well, and I don't think any of us ever said it will lead you World War III. Right. It's a gamble. You're playing with fire. And they were and continue to play with fire. And Bibi knows what he wants and is going to continue to plant those seeds and push in this direction. And so, you know, one step was that article saying, hey, they kept their enriched uranium. And the next step is him informing Trump, like, oh, look, you know, we don't want to do it.
33:45But if they go back to if they restart the nuclear program, we're going to have no choice. And it also ties into the Epstein thing, because, hey, if there's there there with regard to Trump, then we all know he's going to go along with whatever the Israelis ultimately want him to do.
33:59Emily Jashinsky:Right. Yeah. What choice would he have? Now, obviously, you always have a choice not to get blackmailed, but it's if that's what's happening. But, yeah, there's significant sway in all likelihood. good all right Emily I'm going to let you go for the day because I know you have some other things to tend to but um thank you as always and is it you and Ryan tomorrow I think Ryan's in Ireland yeah that's you and me tomorrow I don't know I guess I do like when we uh have to do this on air I think it's good all right well I'll message you later and we'll work it out maybe I'll make Sagar be in for me we can have all all maggot show again people people may enjoy that all right See you later, lady.
34:39Emily Jashinsky:See ya. Hello, appliance fans. I'm here at Grand Appliance where Katie just bought a new Samsung laundry pair. Talk about your experience, Katie. My salesperson was amazing. He knew everything about appliances and was even able to get it on a delivery and install route for tomorrow. Wow. Next day delivery? Yes. My laundry is piling up, so this is a lifesaver. There you have it. Grand for the win. Check out GrandAppliance.com for full details. Hey, this is Kevin. This is Joe. And this is Nick from Hey Jonas. You know, I recently learned that every 36 minutes, another child in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer.
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36:31Really excited to be joined this morning by Joshua Aaron. He is a tech entrepreneur, and he is the developer of an app called IceBlock that allows users to report where they've seen ice in the vicinity. Joshua, it is great to have you. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me, Crystal. Yeah, of course. So we can put a little bit of a view up on the screen of what this app looks like so people can kind of get a sense of it. You can see, you know, maps showing location that has been reported of ice agents. Just talk to us a little bit about why you decided to develop this app and what you hope that it accomplishes.
37:09Sure. So, you know, when I saw what was going on with the first Trump administration and then, of course, his rhetoric on the campaign trail for his second, you know, reading Project 2025 and just kind of seeing the forest through the trees, I guess, I knew what was coming down the pike and I wanted to do something to help fight back. So, you know, growing up in a Jewish household and being a member of that community, I had the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors and learn all about the history of Hitler's rise to power in Nazi Germany. And so when we see five-year-olds in courtrooms without representation, when we see college students being disappeared for their political beliefs, and even worse, when we see babies being ripped from their mother's arms where they're screaming for their children in the name of patriotism, you know, we're kind of seeing history repeat itself.
37:57And this was the best way that I could use my talents to help fight back. Tell people just specifically how the app works and what it actually does. Sure. So it's a crowdsourced app. And basically what it does is akin to something like Waze or Apple Maps, where when you're driving down the road and you get an alert that says, hey, there's a speed trap reported ahead. What do you do? You slow down, you avoid the situation. Sort of the same concept with IceBlock, where users can report sightings of ice that they see in public. You know, so they see an ice raid going on or they see trucks pulling up.
38:30They can report that location and all users within a five mile radius get an alert. And it comes up in the list on their on their device within the app. And the idea is inform, not obstruct. So let's have them avoid that situation. Turn left, turn around, go home, protect themselves and their families. It will not come as a surprise to you that this is very controversial. Can put E3 up on the screen. In fact, you've come under fire directly from the administration. CNN wrote an article about ICE block and the response here from the ICE acting director, Todd Lyons, said CNN's promotion of an ice spotting app is reckless and irresponsible.
39:08Advertising an app that basically paints a target on law enforcement officers' backs is sickening. My officers and agents are already facing a 500 percent increase in assaults and going on live television to announce an app that it goes on from there. But basically, you get the sense of their position here. I mean, what's your response to this allegation that you're painting a target on law enforcement's backs? Well, let me say this. First of all, Crystal, welcome to the party, because now you're helping, you know, kind of get the word out as well. And I do appreciate that. As far as painting a target on ICE's back, that's not what this is at all.
39:46And just, you know, to my point that I just explained, this is informed, not obstruct. No one is doxing agents. No one is obstructing justice as far as like what we're purporting to do. Right. This app just simply says, hey, this is where ICE has been seen. Avoid the situation. So, you know, as far as their 500 percent rhetoric with assaults, it was 400 the week before. Now it's you know, it was 500 then. Now it's 700 to tomorrow to be 5000. And the reality is these assaults are ridiculous for the most part. I mean, it's as innocuous as brushing your arm up against an ICE agent or patting them on the back.
40:26And now what we're seeing is if a U.S. citizen gets rounded up in these raids, they figure out they're a U.S. citizen and then they charge them with assault so that they don't look bad. So, you know, it's just all fear mongering and hate rhetoric. I recall earlier in this administration, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez was doing informational sessions just for immigrants to know their basic rights. And she came under fire from this administration and has been threatened with being charged and arrested. I know Tom Homan went after her directly. Are you concerned of similar legal jeopardy because of your development of the IceBlock app?
41:08You know, I got to be honest, I'm not really concerned about it because this is protected speech under the First Amendment. It's very clear. And I had multiple constitutional and criminal attorneys look at this before the app was launched and all of them agreed that this is protected speech. So much like any authoritarian regime spreading fascism throughout their nation, anytime anybody opposes their mission to basically hurt people and take control, they're going to push back and they're going to demonize that person. They're going to come after what they're doing. And that's exactly what they're doing.
41:44So as I've said before, they can continue to come after me. They can continue to demonize me. They can continue to demonize the app all they want. But none of their arguments hold any water. And all it serves to do is energize their base. Joshua, what have you thought about the alliance between many of the large tech companies and this administration? Obviously, you have some major tech figures who Elon Musk previously as a major part of this government. Peter Thiel was significant influence. Mark Andreessen, David Sachs, an active part of this government. J.D. Vance seems to have been handpicked by these tech right figures.
42:17What do you make of this alliance? I think it's terrible. I mean, I guess that's the best way to put it. But, you know, these are people who have their priorities mixed up. You know, I would say, look, we understand that you have employees to take care of. We understand that you have stockholders to report to. But at what point do you say enough is enough? Like, when are you going to grow a backbone and start going, I don't think this is the right thing to do. And hurting people may not be the best path to longevity for my corporation. You know, people have said, well, you released it on the Apple platform.
42:57Well, Tim Cook donated a million dollars to Trump's campaign. And I've countered that by saying, you know, I think what he did was donate that money to avoid tariffs on his products, because if those tariffs went into effect, people would be paying $4 ,000 or something for an iPhone. I don't think Tim supports this at all. I don't think Apple supports this. They are very much a, for lack of a better way to say it, a DEI company. They support the LGBTQ plus community. They support all walks of life. And those are the people that we want to align ourselves with. And to the people like Elon Musk, really, dude, that's all I'm going to say.
43:35Well, and I would also say to the Apple point, like, I don't know what's in Tim Cook's heart, but you sort of have to exist in the world as it exists. And so if you were going to not put this app out on the Apple platform, I'm not sure how people would be able to find it and utilize it. Joshua, thank you so much for joining us. Anything in particular you want to, you know, place where people can find you or more information about the app you want to put out there? Sure. So the official website is iceblock.app. And you can find me on Blue Sky. I'm Joshua at Joshua.StealingHeather.com. And of course, the official IceBlock account is on Blue Sky, and it's at iceblock.app.
44:11All right, Joshua, thank you so much. Great to meet you. Thanks, Crystal. Bye-bye. All right, guys, that does it for us here today. Hope you have a fantastic day, and we will see you back here tomorrow.
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Krystal and Emily discuss Trump pressures Zelensky to bomb Moscow, Bibi tells Trump Iran war on again, ICE tracking app developer freaks Trump admin.
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