Trump's J6 Grift Fund

On tonight’s show, I talk about Trump’s price shock -- because that’s what this is. Grocery prices are exploding, tomatoes are up, coffee is up, beef is up, vegetables are up, and farmers are getting crushed on fertilizer. And a lot of this comes back to Trump’s own choices: tariffs, the Iran war, higher energy costs, diesel costs, and the basic reality that when you jack up the price of moving food around the country, guess what happens? Food gets more expensive. Shocking, I know. And while Americans are looking at their grocery bills, Trump is flying around the world praising Xi Jinping as a “great leader.” Because apparently that’s the priority.I also get into the Iran war polling, and it’s brutal. A majority of Americans oppose the war, only 30% support it, and even among Republicans the support isn’t exactly overwhelming. That matters because Trump sold himself as the guy who was going to fix everything -- prices, wars, the economy, the whole mess. Instead, we’re getting higher prices, a new war, farmers who can’t afford fertilizer, and a president obsessed with vanity projects, gold statues, golf courses, and triumphal arches. The man is literally trying to build himself an arch while people are getting crushed by prices.And then we get into the corruption file, because somehow it keeps getting worse. Kash Patel appears to be gaming the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for headlines, and then we learn his Hawaii trip included a “VIP snorkel” session at Pearl Harbor. The Trump Justice Department is dropping charges against billionaire Gautam Adani after one of Trump’s personal lawyers gets involved. Paramount is talking to Katie Miller about a podcast deal while its Warner Bros. merger needs Trump’s approval. More than 100 ambassador posts are sitting empty, troops are being pulled from Europe, and then in the back half of the show we get into the truly disgusting possible settlement scheme to hand taxpayer money to January 6 people. It’s corruption, incompetence, authoritarianism, and grift -- all wrapped into one very expensive disaster.YouTube timestamps0:00 -- Opening the show and setting up the night’s topics2:30 -- Trump in China while prices explode back home4:57 -- Trump praises Xi Jinping as a “great leader”6:12 -- Trump’s bizarre Chinese restaurants comment9:33 -- Grocery prices are exploding under Trump11:05 -- Fruits and vegetables spike hard in April12:00 -- Tomatoes, coffee, beef, diesel, and the food supply chain13:54 -- Farmers can’t afford fertilizer for 202615:00 -- Why Trump’s economic mess is starting to look politically dangerous16:12 -- New Iran war polling shows Americans oppose Trump’s war17:38 -- Trump’s proposed triumphal arch and the contract end-run21:50 -- Trump’s DC golf course renovation while people get crushed by prices24:20 -- Kash Patel and the FBI Ten Most Wanted list stunt26:36 -- The Adani case and Trump’s Justice Department reversal28:22 -- Paramount, Katie Miller, and the Warner Bros. merger politics30:50 -- A UN corruption anecdote and how influence really works37:24 -- More than 100 US ambassador posts are empty37:47 -- Pentagon cancels troop deployment to Poland39:00 -- Why Trump keeps making moves that help Russia41:02 -- Generic ballot polling shows independents swinging hard toward Democrats43:41 -- Kash Patel’s Pearl Harbor “VIP snorkel” trip46:50 -- The possible Trump IRS settlement scheme49:56 -- A proposed $1.7 billion fund for Trump allies50:57 -- Taxpayer money for January 6 extremists55:00 -- Trump’s corruption, inflation, fertilizer, and the broader economic damage60:03 -- Egg prices ease, but the larger grocery problem remains61:00 -- Trump, retribution, Comey, and the collapse of rule-of-law norms62:00 -- The larger Trump grift machine65:00 -- Closing chat, dog cameo, and lighter end-of-show conversation73:19 -- Wrapping up and preparing a TikTok follow-up on Trump corruption This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aravosis.substack.com/subscribe