July 15, 2025 • 24 mins
Another week, another avalanche of headlines that make you question whether anyone’s steering the ship.
In this full-throttle episode of:
A WORLD GONE MAD, Jeff Alan Wolf dives headfirst into the strange theater of American politics, peeling back the polished surfaces to expose what’s really being presented to the public — and what’s quietly being hidden.
From carefully curated narratives to the quiet exodus of those once tasked with defending them, Jeff connects the dots between spin, silence, and the uncomfortable truths hiding in plain sight. It’s a ride through the absurd, the manipulative, and the downright insulting — all filtered through the lens of someone who’s seen enough to know better, but still hasn’t stopped hoping for more.
If you’ve ever looked at a press conference, a late-breaking headline, or a political performance and thought:
“Wait Is This Real Life?”
This episode is for you.
So grab your coffee, punch a pillow hard in advance, and prepare for a breakdown of the week’s most infuriating stagecraft — told with wit, clarity, and zero patience for nonsense.
Oh — and if you’re still listening by the end, you might just hear something worth acting on.
Been doing A World Gone Mad 3 times a week - 144 episodes a year - with zero ads, just truth.
I’ve launched my Ko-fi page to help grow it even further.
5 dollars makes a difference. 50 makes a dent. 500 makes history.
https://ko-fi.com/aworldgonemad
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad, mad,mad, mad, mad.
It's another day in a worldgone mad and once again, the
people who should be in chargearen't.
But don't worry, they've gotpress releases, talking points
(00:21):
and a brand new excuse.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe, yoursardonic observer, semi-retired
optimist and full-time explainerof things that shouldn't need
explaining anymore.
Thanks for joining me.
You could be outside in naturetouching grass, but instead
you're here, which means youstill care enough to feel
(00:44):
something, or you're just toolazy to scroll past.
Either way, let's look atwhat's broken today.
It's after the weekend, so youknow it's going to be a full
episode.
And try, please just try, toget through this without
screaming into a sock.
(01:04):
Let's start with a story so raw,so unfiltered, so transparent.
The Justice Department had toedit it, splice it and clean it
up, like a car salesman buffingout dents on a vehicle.
That's a lemon, because nothingsays we're not hiding anything
like handing the public apolished highlight reel and
(01:26):
calling it nothing to see here.
So here's what slid under theradar.
The DOJ just releasedsurveillance footage video of
Jeffrey Epstein's final hoursand they stamped it with the
label full raw footage.
Sounds serious, soundstransparent, but there's a small
(01:47):
problem.
It's edited, chopped up,missing time.
This thing has more cuts than areal Housewives episode.
A forensic analysis by Wiredconfirmed it Multiple camera
angles spliced together, missingchunks, and definitely not the
(02:08):
kind of video you'd hand acourtroom.
So what do we actually get?
A curated, cleaned up packagebranded as the truth.
This isn't oversight, it'soptics.
They didn't give us facts, theygave us footage with a blowout
and makeup.
And listen, I don't have todive into the Epstein rabbit
(02:31):
hole to say this stinks.
This is about trust.
When a major federal agencyhands the public something they
call raw and it's clearly beenrun through the rinse cycle,
what they're really saying ishere's what we want you to see
Now be quiet.
And at a time when people aredesperate for real answers,
(02:54):
giving them redacted videomontages is like handling
someone.
A jigsaw puzzle with half thepieces missing and the rest of
the pieces belonging to adifferent puzzle entirely.
And if you thought the rawfootage story was bad, wait
until you hear what Pam Bondisaid was on her desk.
(03:15):
Spoiler alert it's not a clientlist, it's a pile of spin
stacked so high it needs its ownscaffolding.
Let's get into it.
So here's what happened.
Stick with me because it getsweirder the closer you look.
Pam Bondi, former FloridaAttorney General, trump loyalist
(03:38):
and walking press release, wenton Fox and claimed she had tens
of thousands of Jeffrey Epsteinvideos on her desk.
Let's break that down.
According to Bondi, there's atreasure trove of video implying
bombshells, implicating thepowerful feeding that
(03:59):
ever-hungry base waiting for thelist.
And where is it waiting for thelist?
And where is it On her deskjust hanging out Next to a mug
and maybe a post-it note thatsays lunch with Rudy.
But here's the twist there's nolist, there's no binder of
names, there's not even newevidence.
(04:20):
What she actually meant, if youdig past the Fox News phrasing
and the MAGA performance art,was she has files, images,
unreleased child porn, evidencethat the DOJ says is too graphic
to ever show publicly, which isnot a scandal reveal.
(04:40):
That's just evidence management.
So the phrase tens of thousandsof videos was essentially a
bait and switch.
You know, it's like saying yougot a full box of gold bars,
then handing someone a box ofbroken flash drives and saying
trust me, the truth is on there.
(05:01):
But it gets worse becauseBondi's announcement came right
after the DOJ edited the rawfootage drop and instead of
delivering clarity, it createdmaximum confusion.
Even Dan Bongino you know thehuman stress ball of
conservative media.
He nearly blew a fuse.
He publicly slammed the release, threatened to quit his own
(05:24):
platform and accused the DOJ ofairbrushing reality.
Let me repeat that when DanBongino is accusing you of
manipulating the truth, you haveofficially hit the bottom of
the integrity barrel.
That's like getting fashionadvice from someone who thinks
Crocs are formal wear.
(05:46):
And what does Trump do?
He tries to mop up the mess bydismissing it.
He tells his own base quotenobody cares about Epstein,
right after Bondi turned Epsteininto MAGA's new Rosetta Stone.
But people do care because whatthey're seeing is a pattern
Promise big, deliver nothing,then backpedal when the facts
(06:09):
don't cooperate.
So what do we actually havehere?
No names, no list, no justice,just another segment of reality
TV dressed up as truth and adesk that somehow keeps getting
emptier the more we're told it'sfull.
And just when you thought theJustice Department couldn't
(06:30):
twist itself into a tighterpretzel, turns out the people
working inside it are walkingout the front door.
This isn't Twitter outrage.
This is DOJ lawyers saying yeah, no, thanks, I'd rather not
defend this circus.
Let's talk about it.
So here's one that somehowisn't leading every headline,
(06:53):
but should be.
Over the last few weeks, a massexodus has been happening inside
the Department of Justice.
Not interns, not low-levelassistants.
Doj lawyers, the actual peopletasked with defending Trump
error policies in court, arewalking off the job.
(07:14):
About two-thirds of them Offthe job.
About two-thirds of them gone.
Why?
Some say the workload wasunmanageable.
Others say they couldn'tstomach the ethical swamp they
were being asked to defendTranslation.
This case is so full of garbageI'd rather quit my career than
be the guy who stands behind it.
(07:35):
Let's just sit with that for asecond.
The very people whose job it isto defend the government looked
at what they were being askedto do and said nope, I'll take
unemployment instead of whateverthis is.
Imagine you're on a footballteam and, right before the big
(07:55):
game, half the defense walks upthe field holding their helmets
and yelling we're not playingfor this coach.
We've seen the playbook.
It's illegal.
And here's the kicker themainstream media barely noticed
because they're too busycovering Trump rallies like it's
2016 again or waiting for someviral moment they can clip and
(08:20):
monetize.
But this, this is an actual redflag.
These lawyers aren't politicalpundits, they're not screaming
into tick-tock, they'reprofessionals whose literal job
is to defend federal policy andthey're telling us in the
clearest way possible this isn'tdefensible.
(08:41):
And if that's not news, what iswhen the people on the inside
start backing away slowly withtheir hands up?
Maybe the rest of us shouldstop treating this to like just
another episode of politicalreality TV, because the credits
are rolling and half the legalcast just left the set.
(09:04):
So the lawyers are leaving.
And now the guy running thecountry is trying to strong arm
the one institution that'ssupposed to stay above politics
the Federal Reserve.
That's supposed to stay abovepolitics the Federal Reserve.
Because when in doubt, why notshake the economy like an
(09:24):
etch-a-sketch and hope thenumbers come out in your favor?
Let's break it down.
So here we are.
Trump is back in office andapparently bored with merely
running the country, because nowhe wants to run the Fed too.
Last week he demanded a full 1%interest rate cut, not because
(09:48):
it's good policy, not becauseinflation is under control, but
because he thinks it'll juicethe economy and make them look
good on cable news.
It's not strategy, it'scosmetic economics.
It's like slapping a coat ofpaint on a burning building and
calling it a home makeover.
And when Jerome Powell, thecurrent Fed chair, didn't
(10:10):
immediately salute and jump,trump didn't just criticize him,
he threatened to fire him.
But not for monetary policy, no, no.
Trump's angry over therenovation costs of the Fed's
main building.
I'm not making that up.
The president of the UnitedStates is threatening to remove
(10:31):
the central bank chair becausethe lobby in the building looks
too fancy.
This is what banana republics dothey politicize the currency,
weaponize the interest rate andstart treating economists like
PR interns.
You don't bend the Fed to yourego unless you plan to use it as
(10:54):
a campaign tool or, worse, ashield for when your economic
promises crash into the wall ofreality.
The Fed is supposed to beindependent, so when inflation
hits or markets swing or abanking crisis brews, they don't
have to check with someone whospells GDP in crayon.
But now that independence ishanging by a thread because
(11:19):
we've got a guy in charge whothinks rate hike is a personal
insult and quantitative easingis just another episode of the
Apprentice.
This isn't policy.
This is tantrum-based economics.
It's financial gas lightingwith a PowerPoint, and while the
headlines will focus on bondyields and the Dow, the real
(11:42):
damage is deeper.
When you turn the central bankinto a puppet, you don't just
break markets, you break trust,because when the numbers can be
bullied, nobody believes thenumbers anymore.
And that, my friends, is howyou turn a financial system into
a slot machine with apresidential fingerprint on the
(12:06):
lever.
So, after gutting the Fed andturning the economy into a slot
machine, what's next for Trump?
How about holding $6 billion inafter-school funding hostage
like a playground bully shakingdown the lunch line?
It's public policy by ransomnote, and the kids are the ones
(12:28):
getting mugged.
Let's rip this wide open.
Let's talk about what happenswhen government stops pretending
to govern and starts holdingchildren hostage for sport.
The Trump administration hasquietly withheld $6 billion in
after-school funding money thatsupports programs in low-income
(12:50):
communities, working-classdistricts and places where
parents are already juggling twojobs and a prayer.
There was no press conference,no explanation, just a
bureaucratic shrug and afinancial black hole where kids'
futures used to be.
Over 300 students in ClevelandHeights alone gone without
(13:15):
answers.
Multiply that by districtsacross the country and you've
got a national vanishing actwith children as the
disappearing act.
And here's the absurd partthere's no policy dispute, no
budget resolution blocking therelease.
It's just frozen like someoneforgot the pin code to the
(13:39):
country's conscience.
This isn't belt tightening.
This isn't fiscal discipline.
This is ideological vandalismdisguised as a spreadsheet.
It's saying we can afford taxcuts for billionaires, defense
contracts that go nowhere and apresidential motorcade longer
than a CVS receipt.
(13:59):
But your kid's math tutor?
Yeah.
That's where we draw the line.
And while the headlines focuson court drama, celebrity trials
and whether someone coughedduring a debate, this is the
story getting buried, thousandsof families left scrambling
while the people responsiblestare into cameras and talk
(14:22):
about protecting American values.
What values are those exactly?
Because from where I'm sitting,it looks like we're gutting
public education, starvingsupport programs and then
wondering why the nextgeneration thinks the system is
a joke.
This isn't just budget cruelty.
Its message sending a veryclear one if you're poor,
(14:47):
working-class, are notpolitically useful, you're
expendable and so are your kids.
And that that's the kind ofsilence that echoes louder and
than any campaign rally evercould.
Now, while everyone's arguingover border walls and school
(15:07):
boards, the US quietly found aclever new way to stick it to
China by pretending we're notstill buying from them.
It's a geopolitical shell gamewith minerals, middlemen and
just enough plausibledeniability to make it smell
like independence.
Let's unpack this illusion.
(15:28):
So here's a little trick the USis pulling right now and it's
the geopolitical equivalent ofhiding junk food in a salad
container.
So your physical trainer thinksyou've turned your life around.
We're bypassing China's exportban on critical minerals, things
like antimony, gallium andgermanium, which, yes, sound
(15:52):
like characters from a Marvelmovie spin-off but are actually
essential ingredients forsemiconductors, defense tech,
evs and basically everythingthat makes a modern economy hum.
China said you want those ToughExport ban and the US said fine
, we'll just buy them from.
(16:15):
Oh, thailand and Mexico Problemsolved.
Right Wrong, but here's thekicker A lot of the suppliers in
Thailand and Mexico still ownedor quietly controlled by
Chinese companies.
So we're not actually cuttingties, we're just laundering the
relationship through friendlierzip codes.
(16:37):
It's like breaking up withsomeone, but you still Venmoing
them.
You know Venmoing their mom forrent because technically she
owns the apartment.
Now, on paper it looks likesupply chain diversification.
In reality it's supply chaintheater.
We're still paying the samepeople.
We're just adding a few scenicstops along the way to make it
(16:59):
look ethical.
This is the global economy nowA bunch of countries pretending
to take bold stances while doingbusiness behind tinted glass
with a burner phone.
And it matters because theseminerals aren't optional.
They're the guts of everythingfrom solar panels to missile
(17:20):
systems.
And every time we tellourselves we're becoming
independent, what we're reallydoing is adding a middleman and
hoping no one checks thereceipts.
The illusion of decoupling isconvenient, but it's also
(17:41):
dangerous, because you can'tbuild a resilient future on
denial, denial, third-partyshipping labels.
So the next time a senator sayswe've taken control of our
supply chain, just know whatthat really means.
And what it means is we're nowimporting Chinese minerals with
a side of guacamole.
And if all this feels liketheater so far, just wait till
(18:05):
you see Congress pretend to careabout the border Cameras,
rolling voices, raised flagswaving proudly all over the
stage, stage lights on fullblast.
Let's pull back the curtains.
And absolutely nothing behindthe curtains.
So here we are.
(18:31):
Congress held a border crisishearing this week which sounds
serious, until you realize ithad the emotional depth of a
high school dress rehearsal.
They trotted out the usualbuzzwords Sovereignty,
Lawlessness, illegals pouring inbecause the Democrats want open
borders and sprinkle justenough panic in their voices to
goose donations before lunch.
(18:53):
Let's be real.
This wasn't about fixinganything.
It was about looking concernedon camera and booking a spot on
Hannity later that night, and ifyou were hoping for actual
legislation seriously, that'slike watching the Bachelor and
expecting a healthy marriage atthe end.
(19:13):
These hearings weren't designedto solve the border crisis.
They were designed to look likesomeone cared in front of flags
, lights, cameras and enoughAmerican lapel pins to armor
plate Trump's Air Force One.
One Republican representativegave a speech so fiery you'd
(19:34):
think he was about to personallylasso migrants at the Rio
Grande and then immediately cutto the b-roll of him voting
against the bipartisanimmigration deal just a few
weeks ago, because, of course,he did.
That bill, the one they nowscream, should have passed
months ago.
Yeah, they're the ones whotorched it then turned around
(19:58):
and screamed why isn't this fireout?
You want to talk theater?
They brought witnesses witnessesnot to testify but to confirm a
narrative.
Border Patrol, mayors, ranchersall lined up like supporting
actors at a casting call for aHomeland Security horror flick.
(20:18):
And after hours of chestthumping and speechifying and
after hours of chest-thumpingand speechifying, the result no
solutions, no movement, nocompromise, just a highlight
reel for campaign ads and afresh stack of sound bites for
cable news.
But here's the best part whenit was all over, when the lights
(20:43):
dimmed, the cameras shut offand the flags were packed away,
the same border they screamedabout still there, still broken,
still being used as a politicalpinata, not a real problem to
(21:19):
solve.
So next time you see a borderhearing, just remember you're
not watching governance, you'rewatching Kabuki theater for
C-SPAN.
And the only thing crossingborders these days down the Fed,
like it owes him rent.
School kids used as bargainingchips, a mineral supply chain
dressed in a sombrero, andborder hearings that couldn't
(21:43):
legislate a paperclip.
This is where we stand, not ina country that's broken, but one
that's been carefullyrepackaged to look like it's
working, while quietly bleedingout behind the curtain.
It's all theater and we're theunwilly audience watching the
(22:06):
same tired act, wondering if thenext scene finally includes the
adults.
Okay, before I let you go,before I close the episode, I've
got a little something for thefolks who actually made it to
the end of the show.
I'm doing a $50 Amazon giftcard giveaway.
No gimmicks, no signups, nononsense, just a straight up.
(22:29):
Thank you for paying attention.
So here's how it works.
I dropped a lot in this episodeof A World Gone Mad, but there's
one metaphor I use just one todescribe Trump's handling of the
Federal Reserve.
If you caught it, I want toknow.
All you have to do is email theanswer.
(22:50):
Just that metaphor to mad worldtalk at gmailcom.
That's a new email.
I wanted to condense it, makeit shorter, make it easier.
A lot of people complain theother emails weren't getting
through or they were too long.
So so it's madworldtalk atgmailcom.
So I asked you what's themetaphor that Trump used to
(23:14):
describe Trump's handling of theFederal Reserve in this episode
?
And just to be clear, it has tobe an email.
Do not text me the answer.
To officially enter the $50Amazon gift card giveaway, it
needs to come through email.
It's easier for me to track itthat way, with an email.
So the deadline to enter isnext Monday at 3 pm Eastern Time
(23:37):
, and I'll announce the winnerfor the $50 Amazon gift card on
next Monday's episode.
That's it.
No hoops to jump through.
Just show me you were reallylistening.
Let's see who catches this.
You know where to reach me.
I'll be back again Wednesday.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe.
This is A World Gone Mad.
(23:58):
Stay sharp, stay vocal, staysane, but most of all, stay
hopeful.
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad, mad,mad, mad, mad.
It's another day in a worldgone mad and once again, the
people who should be in chargearen't.
But don't worry, they've gotpress releases, talking points
(00:21):
and a brand new excuse.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe, yoursardonic observer, semi-retired
optimist and full-time explainerof things that shouldn't need
explaining anymore.
Thanks for joining me.
You could be outside in naturetouching grass, but instead
you're here, which means youstill care enough to feel
(00:44):
something, or you're just toolazy to scroll past.
Either way, let's look atwhat's broken today.
It's after the weekend, so youknow it's going to be a full
episode.
And try, please just try, toget through this without
screaming into a sock.
(01:04):
Let's start with a story so raw,so unfiltered, so transparent.
The Justice Department had toedit it, splice it and clean it
up, like a car salesman buffingout dents on a vehicle.
That's a lemon, because nothingsays we're not hiding anything
like handing the public apolished highlight reel and
(01:26):
calling it nothing to see here.
So here's what slid under theradar.
The DOJ just releasedsurveillance footage video of
Jeffrey Epstein's final hoursand they stamped it with the
label full raw footage.
Sounds serious, soundstransparent, but there's a small
(01:47):
problem.
It's edited, chopped up,missing time.
This thing has more cuts than areal Housewives episode.
A forensic analysis by Wiredconfirmed it Multiple camera
angles spliced together, missingchunks, and definitely not the
(02:08):
kind of video you'd hand acourtroom.
So what do we actually get?
A curated, cleaned up packagebranded as the truth.
This isn't oversight, it'soptics.
They didn't give us facts, theygave us footage with a blowout
and makeup.
And listen, I don't have todive into the Epstein rabbit
(02:31):
hole to say this stinks.
This is about trust.
When a major federal agencyhands the public something they
call raw and it's clearly beenrun through the rinse cycle,
what they're really saying ishere's what we want you to see
Now be quiet.
And at a time when people aredesperate for real answers,
(02:54):
giving them redacted videomontages is like handling
someone.
A jigsaw puzzle with half thepieces missing and the rest of
the pieces belonging to adifferent puzzle entirely.
And if you thought the rawfootage story was bad, wait
until you hear what Pam Bondisaid was on her desk.
(03:15):
Spoiler alert it's not a clientlist, it's a pile of spin
stacked so high it needs its ownscaffolding.
Let's get into it.
So here's what happened.
Stick with me because it getsweirder the closer you look.
Pam Bondi, former FloridaAttorney General, trump loyalist
(03:38):
and walking press release, wenton Fox and claimed she had tens
of thousands of Jeffrey Epsteinvideos on her desk.
Let's break that down.
According to Bondi, there's atreasure trove of video implying
bombshells, implicating thepowerful feeding that
(03:59):
ever-hungry base waiting for thelist.
And where is it waiting for thelist?
And where is it On her deskjust hanging out Next to a mug
and maybe a post-it note thatsays lunch with Rudy.
But here's the twist there's nolist, there's no binder of
names, there's not even newevidence.
(04:20):
What she actually meant, if youdig past the Fox News phrasing
and the MAGA performance art,was she has files, images,
unreleased child porn, evidencethat the DOJ says is too graphic
to ever show publicly, which isnot a scandal reveal.
(04:40):
That's just evidence management.
So the phrase tens of thousandsof videos was essentially a
bait and switch.
You know, it's like saying yougot a full box of gold bars,
then handing someone a box ofbroken flash drives and saying
trust me, the truth is on there.
(05:01):
But it gets worse becauseBondi's announcement came right
after the DOJ edited the rawfootage drop and instead of
delivering clarity, it createdmaximum confusion.
Even Dan Bongino you know thehuman stress ball of
conservative media.
He nearly blew a fuse.
He publicly slammed the release, threatened to quit his own
(05:24):
platform and accused the DOJ ofairbrushing reality.
Let me repeat that when DanBongino is accusing you of
manipulating the truth, you haveofficially hit the bottom of
the integrity barrel.
That's like getting fashionadvice from someone who thinks
Crocs are formal wear.
(05:46):
And what does Trump do?
He tries to mop up the mess bydismissing it.
He tells his own base quotenobody cares about Epstein,
right after Bondi turned Epsteininto MAGA's new Rosetta Stone.
But people do care because whatthey're seeing is a pattern
Promise big, deliver nothing,then backpedal when the facts
(06:09):
don't cooperate.
So what do we actually havehere?
No names, no list, no justice,just another segment of reality
TV dressed up as truth and adesk that somehow keeps getting
emptier the more we're told it'sfull.
And just when you thought theJustice Department couldn't
(06:30):
twist itself into a tighterpretzel, turns out the people
working inside it are walkingout the front door.
This isn't Twitter outrage.
This is DOJ lawyers saying yeah, no, thanks, I'd rather not
defend this circus.
Let's talk about it.
So here's one that somehowisn't leading every headline,
(06:53):
but should be.
Over the last few weeks, a massexodus has been happening inside
the Department of Justice.
Not interns, not low-levelassistants.
Doj lawyers, the actual peopletasked with defending Trump
error policies in court, arewalking off the job.
(07:14):
About two-thirds of them Offthe job.
About two-thirds of them gone.
Why?
Some say the workload wasunmanageable.
Others say they couldn'tstomach the ethical swamp they
were being asked to defendTranslation.
This case is so full of garbageI'd rather quit my career than
be the guy who stands behind it.
(07:35):
Let's just sit with that for asecond.
The very people whose job it isto defend the government looked
at what they were being askedto do and said nope, I'll take
unemployment instead of whateverthis is.
Imagine you're on a footballteam and, right before the big
(07:55):
game, half the defense walks upthe field holding their helmets
and yelling we're not playingfor this coach.
We've seen the playbook.
It's illegal.
And here's the kicker themainstream media barely noticed
because they're too busycovering Trump rallies like it's
2016 again or waiting for someviral moment they can clip and
(08:20):
monetize.
But this, this is an actual redflag.
These lawyers aren't politicalpundits, they're not screaming
into tick-tock, they'reprofessionals whose literal job
is to defend federal policy andthey're telling us in the
clearest way possible this isn'tdefensible.
(08:41):
And if that's not news, what iswhen the people on the inside
start backing away slowly withtheir hands up?
Maybe the rest of us shouldstop treating this to like just
another episode of politicalreality TV, because the credits
are rolling and half the legalcast just left the set.
(09:04):
So the lawyers are leaving.
And now the guy running thecountry is trying to strong arm
the one institution that'ssupposed to stay above politics
the Federal Reserve.
That's supposed to stay abovepolitics the Federal Reserve.
Because when in doubt, why notshake the economy like an
(09:24):
etch-a-sketch and hope thenumbers come out in your favor?
Let's break it down.
So here we are.
Trump is back in office andapparently bored with merely
running the country, because nowhe wants to run the Fed too.
Last week he demanded a full 1%interest rate cut, not because
(09:48):
it's good policy, not becauseinflation is under control, but
because he thinks it'll juicethe economy and make them look
good on cable news.
It's not strategy, it'scosmetic economics.
It's like slapping a coat ofpaint on a burning building and
calling it a home makeover.
And when Jerome Powell, thecurrent Fed chair, didn't
(10:10):
immediately salute and jump,trump didn't just criticize him,
he threatened to fire him.
But not for monetary policy, no, no.
Trump's angry over therenovation costs of the Fed's
main building.
I'm not making that up.
The president of the UnitedStates is threatening to remove
(10:31):
the central bank chair becausethe lobby in the building looks
too fancy.
This is what banana republics dothey politicize the currency,
weaponize the interest rate andstart treating economists like
PR interns.
You don't bend the Fed to yourego unless you plan to use it as
(10:54):
a campaign tool or, worse, ashield for when your economic
promises crash into the wall ofreality.
The Fed is supposed to beindependent, so when inflation
hits or markets swing or abanking crisis brews, they don't
have to check with someone whospells GDP in crayon.
But now that independence ishanging by a thread because
(11:19):
we've got a guy in charge whothinks rate hike is a personal
insult and quantitative easingis just another episode of the
Apprentice.
This isn't policy.
This is tantrum-based economics.
It's financial gas lightingwith a PowerPoint, and while the
headlines will focus on bondyields and the Dow, the real
(11:42):
damage is deeper.
When you turn the central bankinto a puppet, you don't just
break markets, you break trust,because when the numbers can be
bullied, nobody believes thenumbers anymore.
And that, my friends, is howyou turn a financial system into
a slot machine with apresidential fingerprint on the
(12:06):
lever.
So, after gutting the Fed andturning the economy into a slot
machine, what's next for Trump?
How about holding $6 billion inafter-school funding hostage
like a playground bully shakingdown the lunch line?
It's public policy by ransomnote, and the kids are the ones
(12:28):
getting mugged.
Let's rip this wide open.
Let's talk about what happenswhen government stops pretending
to govern and starts holdingchildren hostage for sport.
The Trump administration hasquietly withheld $6 billion in
after-school funding money thatsupports programs in low-income
(12:50):
communities, working-classdistricts and places where
parents are already juggling twojobs and a prayer.
There was no press conference,no explanation, just a
bureaucratic shrug and afinancial black hole where kids'
futures used to be.
Over 300 students in ClevelandHeights alone gone without
(13:15):
answers.
Multiply that by districtsacross the country and you've
got a national vanishing actwith children as the
disappearing act.
And here's the absurd partthere's no policy dispute, no
budget resolution blocking therelease.
It's just frozen like someoneforgot the pin code to the
(13:39):
country's conscience.
This isn't belt tightening.
This isn't fiscal discipline.
This is ideological vandalismdisguised as a spreadsheet.
It's saying we can afford taxcuts for billionaires, defense
contracts that go nowhere and apresidential motorcade longer
than a CVS receipt.
(13:59):
But your kid's math tutor?
Yeah.
That's where we draw the line.
And while the headlines focuson court drama, celebrity trials
and whether someone coughedduring a debate, this is the
story getting buried, thousandsof families left scrambling
while the people responsiblestare into cameras and talk
(14:22):
about protecting American values.
What values are those exactly?
Because from where I'm sitting,it looks like we're gutting
public education, starvingsupport programs and then
wondering why the nextgeneration thinks the system is
a joke.
This isn't just budget cruelty.
Its message sending a veryclear one if you're poor,
(14:47):
working-class, are notpolitically useful, you're
expendable and so are your kids.
And that that's the kind ofsilence that echoes louder and
than any campaign rally evercould.
Now, while everyone's arguingover border walls and school
(15:07):
boards, the US quietly found aclever new way to stick it to
China by pretending we're notstill buying from them.
It's a geopolitical shell gamewith minerals, middlemen and
just enough plausibledeniability to make it smell
like independence.
Let's unpack this illusion.
(15:28):
So here's a little trick the USis pulling right now and it's
the geopolitical equivalent ofhiding junk food in a salad
container.
So your physical trainer thinksyou've turned your life around.
We're bypassing China's exportban on critical minerals, things
like antimony, gallium andgermanium, which, yes, sound
(15:52):
like characters from a Marvelmovie spin-off but are actually
essential ingredients forsemiconductors, defense tech,
evs and basically everythingthat makes a modern economy hum.
China said you want those ToughExport ban and the US said fine
, we'll just buy them from.
(16:15):
Oh, thailand and Mexico Problemsolved.
Right Wrong, but here's thekicker A lot of the suppliers in
Thailand and Mexico still ownedor quietly controlled by
Chinese companies.
So we're not actually cuttingties, we're just laundering the
relationship through friendlierzip codes.
(16:37):
It's like breaking up withsomeone, but you still Venmoing
them.
You know Venmoing their mom forrent because technically she
owns the apartment.
Now, on paper it looks likesupply chain diversification.
In reality it's supply chaintheater.
We're still paying the samepeople.
We're just adding a few scenicstops along the way to make it
(16:59):
look ethical.
This is the global economy nowA bunch of countries pretending
to take bold stances while doingbusiness behind tinted glass
with a burner phone.
And it matters because theseminerals aren't optional.
They're the guts of everythingfrom solar panels to missile
(17:20):
systems.
And every time we tellourselves we're becoming
independent, what we're reallydoing is adding a middleman and
hoping no one checks thereceipts.
The illusion of decoupling isconvenient, but it's also
(17:41):
dangerous, because you can'tbuild a resilient future on
denial, denial, third-partyshipping labels.
So the next time a senator sayswe've taken control of our
supply chain, just know whatthat really means.
And what it means is we're nowimporting Chinese minerals with
a side of guacamole.
And if all this feels liketheater so far, just wait till
(18:05):
you see Congress pretend to careabout the border Cameras,
rolling voices, raised flagswaving proudly all over the
stage, stage lights on fullblast.
Let's pull back the curtains.
And absolutely nothing behindthe curtains.
So here we are.
(18:31):
Congress held a border crisishearing this week which sounds
serious, until you realize ithad the emotional depth of a
high school dress rehearsal.
They trotted out the usualbuzzwords Sovereignty,
Lawlessness, illegals pouring inbecause the Democrats want open
borders and sprinkle justenough panic in their voices to
goose donations before lunch.
(18:53):
Let's be real.
This wasn't about fixinganything.
It was about looking concernedon camera and booking a spot on
Hannity later that night, and ifyou were hoping for actual
legislation seriously, that'slike watching the Bachelor and
expecting a healthy marriage atthe end.
(19:13):
These hearings weren't designedto solve the border crisis.
They were designed to look likesomeone cared in front of flags
, lights, cameras and enoughAmerican lapel pins to armor
plate Trump's Air Force One.
One Republican representativegave a speech so fiery you'd
(19:34):
think he was about to personallylasso migrants at the Rio
Grande and then immediately cutto the b-roll of him voting
against the bipartisanimmigration deal just a few
weeks ago, because, of course,he did.
That bill, the one they nowscream, should have passed
months ago.
Yeah, they're the ones whotorched it then turned around
(19:58):
and screamed why isn't this fireout?
You want to talk theater?
They brought witnesses witnessesnot to testify but to confirm a
narrative.
Border Patrol, mayors, ranchersall lined up like supporting
actors at a casting call for aHomeland Security horror flick.
(20:18):
And after hours of chestthumping and speechifying and
after hours of chest-thumpingand speechifying, the result no
solutions, no movement, nocompromise, just a highlight
reel for campaign ads and afresh stack of sound bites for
cable news.
But here's the best part whenit was all over, when the lights
(20:43):
dimmed, the cameras shut offand the flags were packed away,
the same border they screamedabout still there, still broken,
still being used as a politicalpinata, not a real problem to
(21:19):
solve.
So next time you see a borderhearing, just remember you're
not watching governance, you'rewatching Kabuki theater for
C-SPAN.
And the only thing crossingborders these days down the Fed,
like it owes him rent.
School kids used as bargainingchips, a mineral supply chain
dressed in a sombrero, andborder hearings that couldn't
(21:43):
legislate a paperclip.
This is where we stand, not ina country that's broken, but one
that's been carefullyrepackaged to look like it's
working, while quietly bleedingout behind the curtain.
It's all theater and we're theunwilly audience watching the
(22:06):
same tired act, wondering if thenext scene finally includes the
adults.
Okay, before I let you go,before I close the episode, I've
got a little something for thefolks who actually made it to
the end of the show.
I'm doing a $50 Amazon giftcard giveaway.
No gimmicks, no signups, nononsense, just a straight up.
(22:29):
Thank you for paying attention.
So here's how it works.
I dropped a lot in this episodeof A World Gone Mad, but there's
one metaphor I use just one todescribe Trump's handling of the
Federal Reserve.
If you caught it, I want toknow.
All you have to do is email theanswer.
(22:50):
Just that metaphor to mad worldtalk at gmailcom.
That's a new email.
I wanted to condense it, makeit shorter, make it easier.
A lot of people complain theother emails weren't getting
through or they were too long.
So so it's madworldtalk atgmailcom.
So I asked you what's themetaphor that Trump used to
(23:14):
describe Trump's handling of theFederal Reserve in this episode
?
And just to be clear, it has tobe an email.
Do not text me the answer.
To officially enter the $50Amazon gift card giveaway, it
needs to come through email.
It's easier for me to track itthat way, with an email.
So the deadline to enter isnext Monday at 3 pm Eastern Time
(23:37):
, and I'll announce the winnerfor the $50 Amazon gift card on
next Monday's episode.
That's it.
No hoops to jump through.
Just show me you were reallylistening.
Let's see who catches this.
You know where to reach me.
I'll be back again Wednesday.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe.
This is A World Gone Mad.
(23:58):
Stay sharp, stay vocal, staysane, but most of all, stay
hopeful.
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad.
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