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Mike Pence, Donald Trump's former vice president, has called out his former boss over the war in Ukraine. Specifically, Mike Pence responded to Donald Trump's claim that Ukraine started the war by clarifying that Russia chose to launch an unprovoked and brutal invasion. Now, on the surface, this might sound like a basic acknowledgment of the facts, and of course it is. But that's actually newsworthy in and of itself. So let's first look at what Mike pence tweeted. Quote, Mr. President, Ukraine did not start this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The road to peace must be built on the truth. So let's take the step by step. Is Pence right on the facts? He is. Undoubtedly. Putin started this war. He chose to start it. That's who's responsible. If we zoom out a little bit, it's almost unheard of for a vice president to so openly and directly repudiate the president that they served under.
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Unknown A
Historically, you see vice presidents follow the administration's line even after they leave office. The bigger point here is the transformation of the Republican Party itself. A lot of people who used to despise, Despise the old Republican Party find themselves feeling a little bit nostalgic, right? They say, you know, I didn't like them back then, but I wish I could have them back, because at least they aren't as bad as this MAGA movement, which is more extreme and it's more detached from facts, and in some cases, it's just openly antagonistic to basic democratic values. There were Republicans who used to pride themselves on patriotism and. And supporting the troops and standing up to dictatorships. And it goes back to the Cold War. Did it go too far in many cases? Absolutely. Did I agree with their perspectives on what patriotism was at the time? Yes, I did.
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Unknown A
But what we see right now is significantly more depraved because you see prominent figures in the MAGA movement praising authoritarian strongmen, some dictators, downplaying Russian aggression, labeling anyone who says to them, you know, these aren't really democratic regimes that you're supporting. They say, you're disloyal, you're unpatriotic. And their definition of patriotism has shifted into something that embraces violence and sometimes treasonous rhetoric. They used to fear monger about communist dictators in the Soviet Union. They probably went too far with it. That was part of the Republican brand for decades. Now you have parts of the MAGA wing almost in this, where they worship Vladimir Putin in some way. They praise him as a strong leader. And that brings us back to Mike Pence. It shouldn't really be heroic what Mike Pence is doing. It shouldn't really come off as brave. He's stating the obvious. Ukraine didn't start the war.
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Unknown A
Russia invaded. That's what happened. And by MAGA standards today, it's almost considered a radical statement. How low have we fallen that Mike Pence, who, remember, is extremely conservative by older definitions. He's extremely religious. He has polity policies that I vehemently oppose. He has started to look slightly more sane in contrast to the belligerence of Trump that captures the state of the Republican Party. You take a step away from blind loyalty to Trump, you are in the crosshairs for the GOP where they were demanding he be hanged. I don't want to romanticize Mike Pence's politics. His record is extraordinarily disturbing. His points of view and policy positions are disgusting on so many issues. The point is he's choosing not to follow the MAGA gaslighting playbook on this specific issue. And what I'm wondering is, are there more Republicans ready to follow Mike Pence's lead in calling out the misinformation Putin started the war?
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Unknown A
That's it. I don't want to hear any more about Ukraine being responsible here. Or has the Republican Party permanently realigned under maga, making voices like Pence's the exception rather than the rule for the duration of Trump's second term? I lean towards the latter. I don't know that. Especially people in power still. I don't know that they're going to come forward and be willing to say the sort of stuff that Mike Pence is saying as basic and milquetoast as it really should be considered. We are rapidly approaching 3 million YouTube subscribers. As I told you about on the show yesterday, I spoke to a couple of lawyers who believe that there is an appetite in the Trump administration to antagonize left wing independent media. The way we can be most protected from that for the duration of this presidency is to have the largest platform possible.
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We are a little over 10000 subscribers away from 3 million on YouTube. I invite you with peace, love and humility to help us get to that 3 million number quickly. I appreciate the tens of thousands who have done it over the last week. You can go to David pakman.com actually does that. I think David pakman.com YouTube works. If not just search David Pakman YouTube hit the subscribe. Button. It is completely free and I will update you as to our progress on Monday. Let's take a quick break. It's this is a good enough show that I think we should record it and publish it. That's kind of the way I'm feeling about today's show. I've been sleeping on a Helix sleep mattress for years now. Couldn't love it more Before Helix, I just buy whatever generic mattress from a store thinking they're all basically the same.
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