During a scheduled Pentagon press briefing earlier
this week, journalists were presented with a
new quote coverage agreement. Essentially, this
is a document outlining what information they
could and could not publish. The Pentagon claimed
that this was a move to clarity and consistency.
However, reporters saw this completely different.
They said this is a direct threat to editorial
independence, which it is. So instead of agreeing,
they all packed up all of their stuff, stood
up and walked out. And this is pretty insane
because like Alex said, both sides agreed. Even
Fox News walked out. Newsmax walked out. Newsmax
walked out. Everyone walked out. Newsmax, which
spends a good proportion of its coverage more
so than Fox News, filleting the administration
went. Yeah, too far. Too far. Yeah. Yeah. And
yeah, this is super important because this is
pretty much this is supposed to be a window into.
Like what the public has into what's happening
with our military or tax dollars, our national
defense. A one trillion dollar budget. I will
say that again. A one trillion dollar budget.
The public has the right to know where that money
is being spent. Yeah. And to put that in perspective,
that is way more than what Darth Vader's lightsaber
sold for. So that's a lot. And yeah. When these
windows start closing or worse, they're being
filtered. We risk stepping into dangerous territory.
We cannot have a democracy without a free and
independent press period. Our founding fathers
knew that. And this isn't just about like journalists
losing the right for access. This is about you
and me losing our right to know. If the government
decides what is safe to publish, where does that
end? This is some 1984 shit right here. Yeah.
Again, I was mildly surprised, but very proud
because again, the only agency that signed to
the agreement was one American News and like
they make Newsmax look lefty. OK. Newsmax walked
out, Fox News walked out, everybody, the journal.
Everybody. They were like, no, we're not. We're
not doing this. Somebody in the chat said somebody
should hand Hague said the copy of the Bill of
Rights. He's ready. He didn't care. This administration
doesn't give a shit about the Bill of Rights.
What are you talking about? They do not give
a crap. Now, here's the thing. OK. At this stage,
right? I am proud of the news agencies. With
one asterisk. You gave Hagseth exactly what he
wanted. He doesn't want you in the building.
They want to operate in the shadows. They want
to operate in darkness. Right. So now not only
did they did you sign the thing. Right. But.
Now you're not in the building anymore. And that's
precisely what he wants. He doesn't want you
in the building. So again, do I think they did
the right thing? Yes, but it's a double -edged
sword as is everything with this administration.
And the only reason I think they haven't gone
further into a full -blown like authoritarian,
you know, hullabaloo is that they're incompetent.
Because somebody competent would have already
achieved it by now. Okay. They keep doing stupid
things. Right. At least they get even bigger
now. Maybe. Maybe. He's purging anybody but loyalists.
That's what they're doing right now. You heard
him when he gave his speech. You don't want anybody
in there that's not loyal to the administration.
OK. They made that veiled threat three weeks
ago. You know. So take that for what it's worth.
Do you think? So, Jay, I'll pose this question
to you since your story. Do you think that the
administration backs down at any point now that
it's just OAN like parroting Pentagon talking
with like at any point do they go? Does Hanks
have to go? OK, fine. You can come back I I have
this really weird feeling I am So I'd like your
input on this I am I wonder Because the White
House is talking about coming out with their
own I don't know pharmacy website or some dumb
thing. I wonder if this is going to be their
way to release their own like news. Whatever
news dumpster fire of a platform. I have. I have
no idea. Honestly, I honestly don't know. I don't
know what they're thinking. Like legit, I don't
know what they're thinking. I just. I. I just
don't know. Yeah, that's the only thing I could
think of is like, oh, well, now we don't have
any platforms covering our stuff. So guess what?
We're coming out with Trump news where you can
find. News all day, every day about important
topics. Oh, you're talking about just straight
up state owned media. Yeah. Yep. I think it's
going to happen eventually. Yeah, I don't know
when, but I think it will. The funny thing is,
what's more, again, I'm trying to see the end
game here. This is. This is what I don't. Get
right. Trump's old, he's going to die eventually.
OK, also, these guys want power to write. J .D.
Vance wants to be president someday. He's not
going to let. Eric or Don Jr. Swoop in and take
the fucking seat from him. OK. My question is,
is how do you move on? Even within the Republican
Party, Trump is a once in a generation political
talent, much like Obama was. Right. He is. We
can hate everything about him. But if you're
going to fight your enemy, you have to give them
the fun. The guy is a political talent. He knows
how to speak to people who don't fucking vote
except for him. Okay, he activated an entire
swath of the country that normally just doesn't
even bother voting Right, okay so I Don't know
what happens to the MAGA movement when Trump
dies Right like what? What happens? Well, so
I don't see a person in the wings Ready to take
it over. Well, so there is the rule of two. So
the apprentice becomes the master. They're fucking
Sith Lords.