March 16, 2025

JD Vance's Rise - America's Political Future Unveiled

Patrick Gutfield delivers sharp political commentary on Vice President JD Vance's provocative diplomatic style, analyzes the top GOP contenders for 2028, and exposes the staggering costs of President Trump's frequent Mar-a-Lago trips.

Show Notes
Transcript

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Callaroga Shark Media from Washington, d C. Where we can't

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stop thinking about twenty twenty eight. Either this is ballot.

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That's right, and the big question is is JD. Vance

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the future of the country. Let's hit this Hi, I'm

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Patrick Gutfield, and let's knock today's episode out so I

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can go hit the bars for Saint Patrick's day.

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JD.

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Vance is reinventing the role of vice president these days.

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He's not following the Dick Cheney model of pulling strings

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from a secure, undisclosed location. He's not channeling George hw

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Bush or Joe Biden as the steady foreign policy hand. No,

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our boy JD has taken a different approach altogether. He's

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essentially become the human embodiment of Trump's Twitter feed. Remember

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when Vance provoked Ukrainian President Zelenski right there in the

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Oval Office. That wasn't a diplomatic faux pa, that was

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performance art. Then he flew to Munich specifically to insult

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our European allies to their faces. It's like he walked

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into their house party, drank all their beer, and then

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criticized their taste in music. Vance even managed to offend

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the British by dismissing them as some random country that

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hasn't fought a war in thirty or forty years. When

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they got upset, he said it was absurdly dishonest to

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think he meant Britain and France, even though they were

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literally the only countries volunteering for a Ukraine peace force.

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It's the geopolitical equivalent of saying I wasn't talking about

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you unless the shoe fits. This is the same guy

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who reportedly wondered if Trump might be America's Hitler back

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in twenty sixteen. Now he's one of Trump's biggest fanboys.

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That's not a political evolution, that's a personality transplant. But

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here's the thing. Vance isn't just some random maga guy.

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He went from Appalachia to the Ivy League, served as

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a marine, got rich in Silicon Valley, and wrote a

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best selling memoir. The guy is wicked smart, which is

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why his provocation seemed calculated rather than accidental.

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He knows exactly what he's doing.

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At forty years old, Vance is clearly positioning himself as

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Trump's heir apparent. But when Fox News asked Trump about that,

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the President wouldn't endorse him. Trump wasn't ready to think

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about succession just twenty seven days into his term. It's

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like asking someone on a first date about their wedding colors.

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Europeans absolutely can't stand this guy. He's isolationist, Blunt, has

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that hint of smugness and supports Europe's far right parties.

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A day before the Zelenski incident, he even lectured British

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer about free speech, because nothing says

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I respect your sovereignty like telling another country's leader how

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to run their democracy. With his youth ambition and a

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parent chip on his shoulder about elites, Vance resembles another

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Vice president, Richard Nixon. Both barely warm their Senate seats

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before becoming VP, Both were ideologues, and both clearly had

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their eyes on the big prize. Nixon used his vice

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presidency to become a global statesman. Vance seems more interested

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in owning the Libs. But don't underestimate him. He's risen

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high and fast. The question is whether his ambition will

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lead him to fly too close to the sun. And

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we all know what happened to Ickris. He didn't get

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a second term. Donald Trump has recast our political landscape

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more dramatically than anyone since well Donald Trump. He's like

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that guest who shows up at a dinner party, rearranges

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all the furniture, and somehow everyone just goes with it.

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The Republican Party has basically become a one man show

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starring Donald J.

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Trump.

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It's kind of like how McDonald's eventually just gave up

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and started selling the McRib year round. The people demand

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what they demand. The GOP has this fascinating pattern. They

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win when Trump's on the ballot and lose when he isn't.

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His voters are like those friends who only show up

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to parties if their favorite person is there. Is Trump going, No,

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then I'm staying home to reorganize my Maga hat collection.

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But here's the million dollar question. What happens when the

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Trump era ends. He's term limited in twenty twenty eight,

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and Republicans will need to find someone else to be

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their human bullhorn. Trump has hinted it running for a

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third term, which is currently about as constitutional as designating

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pizza as a vegetable. Some suggest he could run as

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VP and basically run things from there. The all putin switcheroo,

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but let's set aside those totally normal, not at all

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concerning ideas, who could possibly grab the reins of this

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party In twenty twenty eight, The Washington Post recently broke

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down the top contenders from the Home Office in Washington,

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d C. At number ten, we've got Tucker Carlson, who

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claims he doesn't want to run, but has also says

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he would do whatever I could to help. That's the

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political equivalent of saying I don't want the last slice

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of pea pizza, but if nobody else wants it. His increasingly

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extreme views might be too much, even for the MAGA crowd,

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which is like being told your heavy metal is too

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loud at a Metallica concert.

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Number nine is Vivek Ramaswami, who.

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Was briefly in charge of government efficiency before he managed

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to offend both Elon Musk and American workers simultaneously. That's multitasking.

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Now he's running for Ohio governor in twenty twenty six,

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presumably because running for president didn't quite scratch his please

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pay attention to me itch. At number eight, we've got

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Christy Nome, who overcame the minor political setback of Che's notes,

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admitting she shot her own dog. She's now Homeland Security Secretary,

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where she reportedly taunted Canada about becoming the fifty first

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state because nothing says responsible border policy like trash talking

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the country known globally for being polite. Number seven is

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Glenn Youngkin, whose political stock has fallen faster than Crypto.

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The Trump years go poorly, and Republicans suddenly decide they

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want a normal human being again. Young can checks many boxes,

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including can wear a vest without looking like he's cosplaying

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as a lumberjack. In sixth place is Nicky Haley, the

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twenty twenty four runner up, who feels like she belongs

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in a completely different Republican party, specifically one from nineteen

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eighty eight. Her attempts to fit into today's GOP are

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like watching your dad try to use TikTok, well intentioned,

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but deeply uncomfortable for everyone involved. Number five is Marco Rubio,

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our current Secretary of State, who's navigating the tricky waters

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of having actual foreign policy principles while serving in an

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administration that considers vibes a legitimate diplomatic strategy. Good luck

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with that balancing act, Marco. At number four is Ron DeSantis,

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whose twenty twenty four campaign proved that being Trump like

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without being Trump is like being diet soda, technically similar

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but ultimately unsatisfy. His future might depend on whether his wife, Casey,

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can win the Florida governorship in twenty twenty six against

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Trump backed Byron Donald's nothing says functional democracy like political dynasties.

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Number three is Brian Kemp, the Georgia governor who committed

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the cardinal sin of acknowledging reality in twenty twenty but

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somehow survive politically. He's the rare Republican who can appeal

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to all sides of the party, at least until he

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has to actually say things on a national stage. Runner

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up is Donald Trump Junior, who seems more comfortable tweeting

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provocative memes than actually governing. But if he did run,

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he'd be formidable because nothing says healthy democracy like political dynasties.

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Wait did I already use that joke?

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And the number one contender is JD Vance, who's in

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a tear by himself. He's gone from being a Trump

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critic to being more Trump than Trump. It's like when

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the tribute band somehow becomes more popular than the original.

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He's provocative, unapologetic and laser focused on the base.

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His political transformation.

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Has been so dramatic it makes Madonna's reinventions look consistent.

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So there's your GOP future forecast, with a one hundred

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chance of MAGA and occasional thunderstorms of reality democracy.

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What a concept.

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President Trump's weekend golf trips to mar A Lago are

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becoming so routine that palm beat Sheriff Rick Bradshaw could

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probably set his watch by them. Oh look it's Tuesday,

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time for another FAA. Notice that the boss is coming

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back to Florida. At this point, he's spending more time

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in Florida than a retiree with a timeshare and a

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love of early bird specials.

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The security demands are.

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What Sheriff Bradshaw diplomatically calls substantial.

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Translation.

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This is costing us a fortune, But what are we

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going to do?

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Tell the pre no. The sheriff recently.

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Asked county commissioners for forty five million dollars to cover

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Trump's security through November.

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And that's just the local bill.

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The sheriff told commissioners, we've already heard some information where

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he may be spending more time here than in Washington.

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Imagine being elected president and then deciding, you know what,

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I think I'll work remotely. It's like getting hired at

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Google and then telling them you'd rather just work from Starbucks.

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But the real money is in the federal costs.

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Air Force one runs about two hundred thousand dollars per

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hour to operate.

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That's right.

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The presidential plane costs more per hour than most Americans

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make in a year. Each round trip to Palm Beach

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sets taxpayers back about a million dollars once you factor

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in the additional cargo flight for the presidential motorcade and

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marine won shuttling him from the White House to Andrews

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Air Force Base. The Government Accountability Office calculated that during

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Trump's first term, each mar a lago trip cost federal

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agencies an average of thirteen point six million dollars, and

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a chunk of that money goes straight into Trump's pocket

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since he owns the place. It's like if your boss

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made you pay to attend mandatory work events at his house.

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Noah Bookbinder from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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points out this is not a question of going to

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the president's house. It's going to the president's business where

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payment is made directly to a business that benefits the president.

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It's the perfect business model.

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Force people who are required to protect you to stay

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at your hotel. Robert Weisman from Public Citizen added, Trump

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famously ran the first time complaining about the amount of

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golf that Barack Obama playd which was more or less

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local and didn't require plane travel. He then added, our

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strong preference is that Trump flies to Florida and stays there.

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For full time retirement. Ouch. I think we call that

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a political burn.

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A local CBS reporter summed it up by suggesting that

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maybe he could spend the weekend in the real White

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House a little more often. Meanwhile, Palm Beach residents are

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dealing with road closures and traffic nightmares every weekend while

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fronting the bill until federal reimbursement comes through. Nothing says

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thanks for your votes, Florida, quite like making them pay

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millions upfront while.

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Blocking their beach access.

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Portions of today's program were made with the help of

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a bar tab Ai parody laws and a button that

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says kiss me, I'm irish.