Where this was said
Air Force One and the Attack on Press Freedom
At 29:30 · chapter starts 26:20
The decision to leave the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747 behind was publicly attributed by Trump to letting troops tour it, but the New York Times reported the real reason: the new plane lacks missile defense countermeasures. Trump was reportedly furious at the story. What followed was extraordinary: FBI Director Kash Patel canceled a personal trip to sit in the White House for eight hours, then served subpoenas on Times journalists with five days to comply. The Pentagon and DOJ simultaneously announced a joint task force to prosecute leakers. Ben draws a sharp distinction between normal leak investigations — years-long, cast-wide nets focused on government employees, run by independent US attorneys — and this: the president directly ordering his FBI chief to immediately target journalists from the White House. He calls it 'a total new Rubicon' and 'fucking Putin-esque behavior.' The key detail that crystalizes the story: Kash Patel canceled his girlfriend's country concert to spend eight hours at the White House running this political operation.
Trump was furious the New York Times reported that the Qatari-gifted Air Force One lacked missile defenses. Within 48 hours, FBI Director Kash Patel — who had been working out of the White House — served subpoenas on reporters demanding testimony in five days. Ben Rhodes calls it a new Rubicon and 'Putin-esque behavior.'
Canada paid $4.7 billion for the Gordie Howe Bridge entirely on its own. Then Matthew Moroun, heir to the competing Ambassador Bridge, donated $1M to a Trump super PAC, met Commerce Secretary Lutnick, and hours later Trump posted a rant blocking the bridge's opening — demanding US ownership of 'at least one half.' The corruption is textbook.
