Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 10:17 a.m. No.23004058   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4079 >>4126 >>4758 >>4850

Nolte: Biden Says He Didn’t Wait too Long to Drop out of 2024 Race

John Nolte7 May 2025

 

Former President Joe Biden told the far-left BBC waiting to drop out of the 2024 presidential race until just a few months before Election Day made no difference to the outcome.

 

“I don’t think it would’ve mattered,” Biden answered when asked if he’d waited too long to withdraw.“We left at a time when [trails off]we had a good candidate. She was fully funded. And what happened was, I had become—what we had set out to do, no one told me to do, we’d become so successful, our agenda was hard to say ‘I wanna stop now.’”

 

He rambled on, “I meant what I said when I started: I’m preparing to hand this to the next generation, a transitional government, but things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away to get—it was a, uh, it was a hard decision, but, uh [trails off].”

 

When asked about regrets, Biden said, “No, I think it was the right decision. I think that, uh, well, it was just a difficult decision.”

 

Biden still looks and sounds terrible, even though he’s had plenty of time to rest after leaving office.

 

For Biden to say his waiting to drop out made no difference is him basically saying, Nothing and no one could’ve defeated Trump. Such an admission will not make Democrats, the corporate media, and the organized left happy.

 

Nevertheless, even on Planet Memory Care, Biden must know how ridiculous that sounds. While I generally agree with the subtext of Biden’s answer, that after four years of a disastrous presidency, Trump would’ve been nearly impossible to beat, time is and will always be the most important asset for a presidential campaign.

 

Had Biden dropped out earlier, Democrats could’ve held a primary followed by a real convention that would’ve given their candidate time to find a better message than the one Biden stuck Kamala Harris with: Who wants more of the same for another four years!?

 

Democrats might have also nominated a candidate more appealing than Kamala, an objectively dumb woman who could not even put together a cohesive sentence —or— maybe Kamala would have had time to do the reps to learn how to speak clearly without the help of the corrupt activists at 60 Minutes.

 

But, hey, isn’t that the beauty of all this—Democrats torturing themselves over all these What ifs?

 

Never forget, though, that the same people upset over Biden’s late withdrawal are the very same people responsible for it.We all saw that the emperor had no clothes. It was Democrats, the corporate media, and activists who insisted our eyes and ears were lying.

 

Had they acknowledged reality instead of operating under the delusion it was still the pre-New Media era where they could fabricate a phony reality, Biden would’ve never run for re-election.

 

I don’t blame Biden. He hardly knows where he is. It’s his enablers who deserve the blame, and watching them stew in What if?as Trump dismantles their cherished institutions is freaken glorious.

 

(I can’t stand even reading his statements and his face is horrifyingly, dead corpse walking with worse dementia.)

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/05/07/nolte-biden-says-he-didnt-wait-too-long-to-drop-out-of-2024-race/

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 10:34 a.m. No.23004124   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4135

Inside DeSantis' "made-for-TV" fall in Florida

Marc Caputo

 

1/2

Not that long ago, Ron DeSantis looked like the future of MAGA, the iron-fisted ruler of Florida politics who was set up for a White House run.

• Now the Republican governor faces potential political obscurity, unable to control legislators in his own party who are calling for a federal investigation of his wife's charity.

 

Why it matters: Nothing exemplifiesDeSantis' striking loss of mojo in Tallahassee like the scandal surrounding Hope Florida, the state-backed charity of First Lady Casey DeSantis, who's been eyeing a bid to succeed her husband as governor.

• The charity received $10 million in secret settlement moneyfrom a Medicaid providerjust days before the charity sent that same amount to two political groups favored by the DeSantises.

• House Republicans and independent observers allege thatthe arrangement amounted to an illegal siphoning of Medicaid funds.

• The governor has denied wrongdoing and accused fellow Republicans of a "bogus" political smear.

 

The big picture:The high-level Republican drama, dysfunction, name-calling and accusations in Tallahassee are likely to reverberate in next year's state elections.

• Polling suggests the scandal has hurt Casey DeSantis, who's been weighing a 2026 campaign to follow her term-limited husband as governor.Hope Florida was supposed to be central to her political platform.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, up for reelection next year, also has been accused of wrongdoing by other Republicans. He was Ron DeSantis' chief of staff last year andran an anti-marijuana political group that may have benefited from the alleged Medicaid switcheroo.

• Uthmeier also denies wrongdoing and has accused a critic of being a stooge for the marijuana industry.

 

Zoom in: Ron DeSantis' stumble began with his failed presidential primary bid against Donald Trump last year. DeSantis' vindictive and pugilistic style of politics left him further isolated in the Florida Capitol.

• "Be careful how you treat people on the way up because you may encounter the same people on the way down," said Curt Anderson, veteran consultant and top adviser to DeSantis' predecessor, Rick Scott, who's now a U.S. senator and has had a strained relationship with the governor.

• "This is an amazing story," Anderson said. "…You see falls in politics, but not like this. It's stark. It's fast. It's a made-for-TV movie. Let's not forget: He was ahead of Trump in polling in 2022and would've run against [President Biden or Vice President Harris] and won."

 

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/07/desantis-scandal-charity-florida

 

I love this article!

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 10:35 a.m. No.23004135   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>23004124

2/2

Whether DeSantis would have won the White House in 2024 is a question for the ages. Trump aside, the campaign exposed one of DeSantis's biggest weaknesses: his reluctance to build alliances and establish personal connections.

• "There was a time when every Republican in the nation wanted to have a beer with Ron DeSantis," said one Republican who still likes him. "The problem is that the governor didn't act like he wanted to have a beer with them, and it showed."

 

DeSantis had risen to Republican stardomwith his laissez-faire approach to COVID restrictions in 2020 and 2021. Florida's Legislature kowtowed to him repeatedly.

• That came to a screeching halt this year, when DeSantis dragged lawmakers into a special session on immigration that many felt was needless political peacocking by the governor.

• DeSantis didn't get his way, thwarted largely by new House Speaker Daniel Perez, whose chamber has led the way in investigating Hope Florida.

 

• The multiple special sessions and acrimony in the state Capitol played a role in the Legislature's regular 60-day session not ending on time last Friday, despite Republicans holding super majorities in both the House and Senate.

 

The intrigue: The Hope Florida scandal's damage to Casey DeSantis was evident in a voter survey shared with Axios by a business group that examined the state of play in Florida politics:

• In January —before her charity was targeted by the House investigation — Casey DeSantis led U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds by 4 percentage pointsin a hypothetical matchup for governor. A recent survey hadher trailing Donalds by 5 points — a 9-point swing.

• When voters were told that Donalds had been endorsed by President Trump, Donalds' lead jumped to 28 points in the survey.

 

Zoom out: Casey DeSantis still may run for governor, but people familiar with her thinking say the Hope Florida controversy has been a wake-up call.

• "She doesn't have the stomach or the temperament for this," said one Republican who has discussed a campaign with her.

• Another disagreed: "She has time. She's popular. The DeSantis brand is strong."

• "He's the most followed and accomplished governor in the country," DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said, criticizing media coverage of "bogus intrigue."

• Ron DeSantis fumed about "bogus narratives" when he was heckled about Hope Florida at a recent news conference on the snapper fishing season.

 

What's next:Political observers and insiders aren't sure about DeSantis' future as he heads into his lame-duck year without the clear prospect of an appointment in Trump's administration that some allies have hoped for.

• "Ron DeSantis went from Rupert Murdoch and every Republican billionaire telling him he could be president to sniping at hecklers at a fish shack in Destin," said former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a one-time DeSantis ally turned critic who now hosts a talk show on One America News Network.

"It's quite a fall."

 

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/07/desantis-scandal-charity-florida

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 10:40 a.m. No.23004161   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>23003141 George W. Bush Plans to Brutally Snub Melania Trump’s White House Event, Dorothy Bush KochPN

 

Wait until the truth comes out fully on 911, now those records I will read.Fuck the pussy Bush’s and Koch’s

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:07 a.m. No.23004318   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4340 >>4375

HASH PANDA Shocking moment raccoon with METH PIPE in its mouth is found in car during drug bust traffic stop

Watch as 'Chewy' the raccoon begins to chew on something not so harmless

 

Eliana NunesUpdated: 7:16 ET, May 7 2025

THIS is the moment police spotted a raccoon sitting with a meth pipe in its mouth during a routine traffic stop.

 

The discovery of "Chewy" the raccoon in Ohio led to the unearthing of a large drug supply linked to the driver.

 

Local Ohio police found a raccoon with meth pipe in its mouth during an arrestCredit: Springfield Township Police4

The owner of the car, raccoon and drugs, Victoria Vidal, was arrested at the sceneCredit: Springfield Township Police Department.

The raccoon appeared to be entirely unfazedCredit: Springfield Township Police Department

The bizarre scene was caught on police body cam footage, which shows the wide-eyed, unfazed raccoon, rummaging through the wrecked car and curiously taking a puff from the meth pipe.

 

Springfield police said: “Chewy had somehow gotten hold of a glass methamphetamine pipe, leading officers to further inspect the vehicle."

 

They added: “Thankfully, Chewy the raccoon was unharmed, and notification was made to the proper authorities to determine that [the owner] has the proper paperwork and documentation to own the raccoon.

 

“While our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, finding a raccoon holding a meth pipe is a first!

 

"No raccoons were hurt or injured in this incident.”

 

The police department revealed the owner of the car - along with the raccoon and drugs - is a 55-year-old woman named Victoria Vidal, who was arrested at the scene.

 

The Akron resident had an active warrant, police added.

 

The strange find led to a stash of methamphetamine, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, namely three used glass pipes.

 

Vidal was charged with drug possession, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license, while facing an active warrant.

 

Obtaining a permit to own a raccoon is legal in the state of Ohio, according Fox 8.

 

Police did not explain whether the raccoon will be returned to its owner.

 

https://www.the-sun.com/news/14181702/raccoon-meth-pipe-drug-bust-traffic-stop/

 

 

Video

 

https://youtu.be/RoOZP04Zku0

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:12 a.m. No.23004348   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4758 >>4850

OMB Director Russ Vought on President Trump's 2026 budget plan

 

OMB Director Russ Vought joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss President Trump's newly released 2026 budget plan, details of the plan, enacting Trump's policy agenda, and more.

 

8:39

 

https://youtu.be/qiwx6aAAAds

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:25 a.m. No.23004439   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Ex-LA sheriff ditches Dem Party after four decades: ‘Time to join the future’

 

2:16

 

https://youtu.be/y5co19HX5Gk

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:32 a.m. No.23004487   🗄️.is 🔗kun

BILLIONS TO TORTURE: Beagle lab 'gleaned nothing' for medical community, says GOP rep

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., weighs in on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's vow to end the politicization of IRS audits and the NIH's 'abuse' of beagles on 'The Bottom Line.'

 

5:59

 

https://youtu.be/VGZm8pDkG6Y

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:40 a.m. No.23004524   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4528

FEMA as it exists today ‘needs to end’: Rep. Byron DonaldsYES DO IT

(Trump promised this after he visited NC)

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., weighs in on the future of FEMA and comments on the University of Florida’s search for a new president on ‘The Bottom Line

 

4:32

 

https://youtu.be/SmZiU0iKi6U

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 11:47 a.m. No.23004565   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Sen. John Kennedy: China's economy is weak as rain water

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., unpacks tariff trade negotiations under President Donald Trump on 'Kudlow.'

 

9:12

 

https://youtu.be/4pLigehpEsg

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:02 p.m. No.23004624   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4631 >>4636 >>4758 >>4850

Kari Lake

@KariLake

🚨ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

 

"United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is excited to announce a partnership with One America News Network (OAN) to provide newsfeed services to USAGM networks, including Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America (VOA).

 

This idea came about after OCB suggested we explore OAN as a newsfeed option for the Miami-based, U.S. Government-funded news operation broadcasting to Cuba. At their suggestion,I reached out to OAN, and they offered to provide their newsfeed and video service free-of-charge.

 

This is an enormous benefit to the American taxpayer, who is the sole-source of funding for USAGM's news outlets, which broadcast only to international audiences.

 

In my current role as Senior Advisor to USAGM, I don't have editorial control over the content of VOA and OCB programming, but I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.

 

And every day I look for ways to save American taxpayers money. Bringing in OAN as a video/news source does both.

 

OAN is one of the few family-owned American media networks left in the United States. We are grateful for their generosity."

 

—Statement from Kari Lake, Senior Advisor at USAGM

10:44 PM · May 6, 2025

·

809.4K

Views

 

https://x.com/KariLake/status/1919946331818205610

 

It also helps OAN, can they be on others platforms or have their own channel. Weren’t they banned?

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:05 p.m. No.23004635   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4650 >>4689

Judge blocks Trump effort to take back pandemic-era relief funds for schools

Wed, May 7, 2025 at 12:10 AM EDT

 

A U.S. District Court judge in New York on Tuesdaytemporarily blocked the Trump administration’s planto cancel more than $1 billion of previously approved pandemic-era relief funding to schools across the country.

 

The preliminary injunction issued by District Judge Edgardo Ramosprevents the U.S. Department of Education and its secretary, Linda McMahon, from recovering money “during the pendency of this litigation or until further order of the Court.”

 

Maryland had joined 15 states and the District of Columbia in the suit against the department and McMahon last month. The suit, filed April 10, followed a letter from McMahon that arrived in email inboxes at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 28, advising state sch0ol officials that any unspent COVID-19 federal recovery funds were being reclaimed immediately.

 

Most of the money in Maryland comes from the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ARP ESSER, program. McMahon wrote that it didn’t make sense for the federal goverment to be awarding COVID-19 grants “years after the COVID pandemic ended.”

 

Maryland, other states, take more legal actions against Trump administration

 

Maryland officials initially estimated that as much as $418 million could be at stake, the most of any state in the lawsuit. School officials announced last week, before the state Board of Education meeting, that the number is actuallly closer to $232.1 million, but the injunction was still welcome.

 

“COVID-19 may be over, but its impact is still being felt in schools across our State and nation, as reading and math scores remain lower than pre-pandemic levels and students continue to struggle with behavioral health issues since schools reopened,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) said in a statement Tuesday.

 

“This ruling preserves hundreds of millions of dollars for Maryland schools, allowing our educational leaders to continue giving their students the support they need and deserve,” Brown said.

 

A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday night.

 

The money is being used for various educational programs and school construction projects, ranging from tutoring and reading materials to the installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

 

The lawsuit highlighted several affected projects, such as Baltimore City Public Schools’ cancellation of tutoring and after-school programs. The school system hasn’t been reimbursed $48 million.

 

Besides D.C. and Maryland, others in the suit were Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-blocks-trump-effort-back-041037163.html

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:07 p.m. No.23004650   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4656 >>4706 >>4758 >>4850

>>23004635

Natalie Winters@nataliegwinters

 

A federal judge just blocked the Trump administration from canceling more than $1.1 billion worth of COVID aid for schools.

 

This Judge is a Democrat fundraiser Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Andrew Cuomo.

 

https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/1920184326689378589

 

I thought judges were banned to give political donations? If not pass a law today.

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:18 p.m. No.23004693   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4700

Fetterman vows to stay in Senate, dismissing questions over fitness to serve(The Zelensky of the Senate with his dress)

Manu Raju

Sen. John Fetterman roundly dismissed allegations that he’s unfit to serve in the Senate, attacking a recent report detailing claims of erratic behavior as a “hit piece” and vowing to serve out his term.

 

In an exclusive sit-down interview with CNN in his Senate office, the Pennsylvania Democrat discussed his treatment for depression and insisted that he is following a strict protocol laid out by his doctors. He pushed back on assertions from former and current staffers recently published in New York Magazine that he had been exhibiting reckless and volatile behavior.

 

“It’s a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things,” he said.

 

Fetterman has before been open about receiving treatment for clinical depression and how his tough Senate race in 2022 worsened his mental health. According to New York Magazine, former Fetterman chief of staff Adam Jentleson and former staffers described Fetterman as a senator “who has become almost impossible to work for” and who had a mental health situation more complicated than previously disclosed.

 

There is already intense interest in primarying Fetterman, and questions over his fitness to serve could amplify that effort. The allegations Fetterman faces also come as some in the Democratic Party have shown increased interest in medical transparency after former President Joe Biden left the last campaign cycle amid questions over his mental acuity and fitness for office.

 

Fetterman denied he had other mental health issues beyond what he has publicly disclosed, calling it “outrageous” to suggest otherwise.

 

“My doctors have confirmed that that is not the case,” he said.

 

“I’ve been very front and center about my … depression, absolutely none of these other things, and it’s like so someone that was trying to accumulate my medical records and leak those things that’s part of this weird grudge for this hit piece,” he said.

 

In 2023, Fetterman voluntarily checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. In 2022, Fetterman had a stroke while running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat he now holds.

 

The New York Magazine report detailed on the record allegations from a former staffer and anonymous allegations from current staffers that Fetterman might be off his medication.

 

The senator denied any suggestion that he may not be taking his medication, saying his doctors think he is “great,” and that he has been attending regular check ups and following his wellness regimen.

 

“It’s incredibly invasive. And why are people talking about anyone’s personal medical things? It’s that, you know, I think most people would agree that’s really, really invasive,” he said.

 

In the New York Magazine piece, Jentleson said he was going public with his concerns out of fear for the senator’s health and staff around him.

 

But Fetterman on Tuesday accused Jentleson of holding a “weird grudge.”

 

“If you’re really concerned about someone, you could say, hey, let’s sit down. Can we talk? It’s not … like going to the media,” he said.

 

Jentleson is standing by his allegations, telling CNN: “I stand by what I said, and I hope he gets the help he needs.”

 

Fetterman is eager to put the story behind him.

 

“Of course” he plans on serving out the remaining four years of his Senate term, he said, adding, “Obviously, everybody understands I was treated for depression.”

 

Pressed on whether he plans on running for reelection for his competitive seat in 2028, he said, “We’re not talking about ‘28,” and, “Who knows what’s going to happen in ‘28.”

 

The senator is known to have had notable staff turnover since taking office and some members of his staff have been personally targeted because of his pro-Israel stance. The senator, himself, has faced pushback from the left wing of the party over his position on Israel.

 

Fetterman on Tuesday alluded to reported concerns about his positions on Israel, as well as how he broke from many of his fellow Democrats over a vote to avert a government shutdown.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/politics/fetterman-mental-health-senate

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:28 p.m. No.23004729   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4733 >>4770 >>4786 >>4819

How smart people fall for conspiracy theories(CNN won’t let it go of propaganda , you should just listen to us!)

Zachary B. Wolf CNN —1/2

Who falls into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and how can you reach them? That’s the topic of a three-episode season of CNN’s new narrative podcast series “The Account.”

 

Donie O’Sullivan covers politics and technology for CNN and that intersection frequently leads him to stories about how misinformation spreads online.

 

What I found most compelling about this new series is the idea that it’s frequently very smart people who fall for crazy-seeming conspiracy theories.

 

I talked to O’Sullivan about the podcast, how to have empathy for people who fall down rabbit holes and how conspiracy theories are influencing people at the top of government. Our conversation, edited for length, is below.

 

What is this about?

 

Wolf: This is a multi-part podcast about how people, including yourself, can fall for misinformation. What made you decide to pursue this?

 

O’Sullivan: We do a lot of these stories on conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists, and I can’t tell you how many hundreds, thousands of messages I’ve got from viewers saying, “I have a loved one – friend, brother, sister, mom, dad – who is sort of falling down this rabbit hole, and I have no idea what to do.”

 

I never really had much of a solution for them. What I wanted to do with this was to try to come up with something that could help.

 

Psychologists and people who’ve gotten out of conspiracy theory rabbit holes themselves – they all talk about how empathy plays such an important role.

 

That way, when someone is ready to or wants to come out of it, that they know they have a loved one to come back to and that they can come out of the rabbit hole with dignity and not be told they’re stupid, etc.

 

Smart people may believe outlandish things

 

Wolf: In fact, some of the experts tell you people who can fall into conspiracy theories are frequently pretty smart people. Explain that.

 

O’Sullivan: I think we have this idea – and in some ways it might be comforting to think –that it’s only quote-unquote “crazy” people that can find themselves in this situation. But it really isn’t, and I know that from meeting many people over the years.

 

These are your moms and dads, brothers, sisters. A lot of times, it is people who have had some life event, a big change in their life, or a trauma, and whatever has happened, they are searching for meaning, purpose, answers; searching for community.

 

That is why 2020, with the lockdowns and the uncertainty about COVID and all of us just isolating and spending more time just with our screens, we saw conspiracy theories really flourish.

 

Wolf: It was like a collective life event.

 

O’Sullivan: Conspiracy theories can offer very easy answers to very difficult questions.

 

The edge of a rabbit hole

 

Wolf: You talk about yourself kind of teetering on the edge of rabbit holes. Was there a particular thing that you found yourself talking yourself out of?

 

O’Sullivan: Oh God, that’s tricky. Less than me flirting with conspiracy theories and more that I can fall in a rabbit hole in my own mind – of depression and anxiety and believing irrational thoughts about myself that many people who struggle with depression would recognize… believing I’m a terrible person, or dwelling on things, beating yourself up irrationally.

 

The strange comfort of conspiracy theories

 

Wolf: I thought that was an interesting moment where you and one of the experts wonder if there’s a sort of comfort in an evil conspiracy – because it places order on things, whereas reality, which can be very random, can make anyone feel powerless.

 

O’Sullivan: I think we want to find order, right? We want to think there’s a reason why things are happening, and at least someone is in charge, even if that someone is evil. I think it’s hard for us as human beings to really believe that things are random.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/07/politics/conspiracy-theories-covid-sandy-hook-podcast

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:29 p.m. No.23004733   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>23004729

2/2

 

Going back to Covid. One of the big Covid conspiracy theories was that this was a man-made virus that was deliberately spread, right? There’s somebody controlling it. It’s not random. It’s not an accident.

 

I think Covid is also a lesson for all of us, too, that just because people who normally are repeating conspiracy theories say something doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Looking at the Covid lab leak theory and the discourse around that, it’s obviously changed a lot over the years. So this stuff, it’s really, really tricky.

 

If you’re just a regular person, you’re up against it, right? It’s a multimillion if not multibillion-dollar industry, disinformation, right? There’s just so many people online, grifting and making a lot of money out of spreading misinformation. There’s people thriving in this uncertainty and relying on it.

 

The business of pushing conspiracy theories

 

Wolf: That’s almost a conspiracy theory in itself, the idea that misinformation is this organized business.

 

O’Sullivan: That’s something I’ve been tracking for years. You only have to look at what Alex Jones’ enterprise was valued at during the Sandy Hook parents trial a year or two ago. There’s a lot of money in this. There’s a lot of money in selling fear. If you listen to a lot of the you know, quote, unquote, “independent, alternative” podcasts. They are telling you the world’s about to end and telling you about all these evil forces, and then they’re selling you doomsday type products that will help quell the fears that they are stoking, whether that be freeze-dried food or emergency kits. There’s an enormous grift in this.

 

What about the conspiracy theorists at the top of government?

 

Wolf: The entire time I was listening to this, I was thinking about Elon Musk, for instance, who pushes a version of replacement theory that fuels things he’s doing to cut the US government. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. actively believes that Anthony Fauci was involved in a conspiracy around coronavirus vaccines. Kennedy wrote a book about it. Conspiracy theories are arguably pushing national policy at this point.

 

How do you apply empathy to a policy that you disagree with, that’s being fueled by something that you know is factually inaccurate?

 

O’Sullivan: It sort of feels like we’re through the looking glass in that way. Conspiracy theories are informing decisions, seemingly at the highest level of government. We even saw Trump talking about the photoshopped image on a man’s hands.

 

For years, editors would always annoyingly ask me, as I’m doing these stories, “Can we put something in at the end that’s maybe a solution that could help people?”

 

And I was always very much of the opinion that, one, I don’t have a solution because there’s no easy solutions here. And two, it’s not really my job, or the job of a journalist, to come up with solutions. I view my job as reporting on the phenomenon of misinformation, how people consume it and why they believe it.

 

So with that in mind, what we’re putting forth in this series is not going to work for everybody. It might be helpful. But I think what we are trying to do is at least provoke people into thinking about, “Okay, what is it that people are getting out of these conspiracy theories, or what are they lacking in their life that has led them down this path?”

 

But to the other question – there’s a lot of conspiracy theories that are antisemitic or are targeting migrants or are homophobic. If you’re part of those communities, I mean, how could you even imagine being empathetic to somebody who believes something that threatens your whole existence?

 

I don’t want this to come off as a preachy type thing, telling people, “Oh, have empathy.”

 

The series is about how you could have conversations at a family level and try to get in the headspace of a loved one who’s gone down a rabbit hole.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/07/politics/conspiracy-theories-covid-sandy-hook-podcast

 

A Stelter acolyte!

Anonymous ID: dab953 May 7, 2025, 12:46 p.m. No.23004806   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>23004797 very doubtful, if they are destroyed, he didn’t do it. Trump gave the order, that’s it. I don’t even know why I’m commenting on such a silly thought