May 12, 2025

Judge Jeanine Takes DC, Qatar's Flying Palace Gift & Trump's Middle East Money Tour

Show Notes
Transcript

Patrick Gutfield breaks down Trump's shocking appointment of Fox News' Judge Jeanine Pirro as interim US Attorney for Washington DC after Ed Martin's nomination flops. Plus: Qatar gifts Trump a $400 million Boeing 747-8 'flying palace' that's totally, definitely not bugged. And Trump kicks off his second term with a business-focused Middle East tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE - skipping traditional allies and Israel. All the political drama with trademark Gutfield snark.

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Callaroga Shark media from the Middle East, where we're giving

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you a plane. It's totally not a trick.

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This is ballid. Yeah, who wouldn't accept a new air

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force one from a foreign power.

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You'd be crazy not to. Hi.

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I'm Patrick Gutfield, the runner up in the twenty twenty

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five of Pope elections and the guy who gets paid

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to read halfway funny jokes written by an AI. We've

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got the hot new legal drama coming to DC. And

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no it's not Chicago, Pope. It's the Judge is back.

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But this time it's not on Fox. It's in federal court.

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Trump just name dropped Jeanine Piro as the interim US

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Attorney for Washington, DC, because apparently the first guy couldn't

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even get Republicans to swipe right on his nomination. Now,

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Ed Martin remember him, Yeah, neither does anyone else.

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Apparently he was supposed to get this gig.

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But when even your own party starts treating you like

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that one cousin at Thanksgiving, nobody wants to sit next

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to you, know it's time to update your LinkedIn.

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Trump basically said he's a terrific.

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Person, but and we all know what comes after butt

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in politics the exit music. So in comes Judge Janine,

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trading her seat on the five for the fifth most

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powerful prosecutor's office in America. She's leaving Fox News faster

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than you can say dominion lawsuit. Trump's truth social announcement

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reads like a TV guide listing. Previously hosted her own

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show for ten years, currently co host of one of

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the highest rated shows on television. It's like he's nominating

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her for an Emmy instead of a federal prosecutor position.

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The most interesting detail Piro once dedicated a book to

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Trump called Don't Lie to Me. Given her new job

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involves prosecuting federal crimes in DC, that title might come

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in handy during cross examinations. And folks, sorry, I mean people.

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This is how Washington works. One day you're hosting a

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cable news show, the next you're deciding whether to prosecute

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federal cases. It's career advancement DC style, where your TV

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ratings matter more than your conviction rate. The President announced

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Monday he's embarking on a four day tour of Saudi Arabia, Katar,

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and the United Arab Emirates.

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And apparently this isn't about solving world peace or regional security.

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It's about business deals and investments, because when you think

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Middle East, you think, let's make a deal right now. Traditionally,

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new presidents visit our closest allies first, you know, the UK, Canada,

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maybe swing by NATO headquarters. But Trump's going straight for

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the oil money. It's a bold strategy. Skip the old friends,

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go straight to the folks with the deepest pockets. This

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trip comes at an interesting time Gaza's and chaos, Iran's

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nuclear program is still a thing, and there's this whole

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Saudi Israel normalization deal floating around. But White House aids say,

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those security issues not really on the agenda. We're here

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for business, baby. And here's the kicker. Despite being right

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there in the neighborhood, Trump's not stopping by Israel. That's

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got a sting for net and Yahoo. It's the diplomatic

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equivalent of driving past your friend's house without stopping to

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say hi. The trip follows in the footsteps of Eric Trump,

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who is justin Katar and the UAE making deals for

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the Trump Organization's real estate and cryptocurrency ventures. Nothing to

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see here, just the president's son making business deals with

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government tied investors in countries his father's about to visit.

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Totally normal stuff. Remember Trump's first Middle East trip back

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in twenty seventeen. That's when we got that amazing photo

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of him, the Saudi King, and Egypt's president all touching

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that glowing orb together. Looked like they were summoning a

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genie or starting a boy band. Then they did a

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sword dance, classic diplomacy. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt

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says Trump will return to reemphasize his continued vision for

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a proud pross for US and successful Middle East translation.

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Let's talk money.

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So while other administrations might use this moment, with Iran's

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proxies weakened and power balances shifting to reshape regional dynamics,

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Trump's keeping it simple. Show up, make deals, maybe touch

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another glowing orb, and head home with some investment pledges.

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It's international relations Trump style. Well, apparently Christmas came early

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for President Trump, and by early, I mean in the

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form of a four hundred million dollar airplane from Qatar.

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That's right, the.

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Royal Family of Qatar is gifting Trump a Boeing seven

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forty seven eight jumbo jet.

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That's so fancy.

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They call it a flying palace, because when you're already president,

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what else do you need your own personal airborne castle. Apparently, Now,

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before you start thinking this is just a normal day

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in Washington, let me break down this comp completely unprecedented arrangement.

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The Air Force gets the plane first, spends who knows

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how much taxpayer money upgrading it with all the secret

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squirrel communications equipment. Then Trump gets to use it as

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Air Force one until January first, twenty twenty nine. After

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that it goes straight to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.

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It's like the world's most expensive game of hot potato.

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The White House lawyers and Attorney General Pam Bondi have

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apparently decided this is all perfectly legal. They're saying it

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doesn't violate bribery laws because the gift isn't conditioned on

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any official act, right because when foreign governments give you

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flying palaces worth nearly half a billion dollars, they're just

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being neighborly. They're also claiming it doesn't violate the Constitution's

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Emoluments Clause, you know that pesky rule about not accepting

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gifts from foreign states, because technically the plane is being

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given to the Air Force, not Trump. Personally, it's the

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legal equivalent of saying, I'm not eating this cake.

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My mouth is just temporary, rarely storing it for my stomach.

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Trump toured this flying taj Mahal back in February when

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it was parked at West Palm Beach International Airport. He's

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been complaining about delays with the new Air Force one

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planes that Boeing was supposed to deliver. The original contract

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from twenty eighteen has been pushed back so many times

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they weren't expecting delivery until twenty twenty nine.

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But now problem solved.

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Katar just happens to have a spare jumbo jet lying around.

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The timing of this announcement is perfect too. It's expected

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to be revealed when Trump visits Katar on his first

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foreign trip of his second term. Now thing says diplomatic

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relations quite like, Hey, thanks for the plane. Even Elon

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Musk got dragged into this. Trump tasked him with speeding

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up Boeing's delivery of the new Air Force one planes.

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Boeing's latest estimate moved the delivery up to twenty twenty seven,

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but apparently that wasn't fast enough for Trump, who wants

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a new plane this year. So Katar stepped in like

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that friend who shows up to the party with way

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too expensive wine. The current Air Force one planes are

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Boeing seven forty seven two hundreds that have been flying

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since nineteen ninety.

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They're older than most TikTok users.

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But instead of waiting for the contracted replacements, we're now

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accepting hand me down luxury jets from Middle Eastern monarchies.

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The best part the plane will be modified by a

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company called L three Harris to meet presidential aircraft requirements.

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So we're taking a thirteen year old plane, spending millions

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to upgrade it, using it for four years, then handing

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it over to Trump's library. It's like buying a used car,

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putting in a new engine, driving it for a bit,

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then giving it to your kid for their sixteenth birthday.

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This whole arrangement raises more red flags than a communist parade.

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But hey, at least Trump won't have to suffer through

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delays anymore. I mean, there's zero chance this is a

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trojan horse, right. There won't be any bugs or listening

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devices on board. It's just a nice gift of a

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plane to be cool. Portions of today's program were made

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with the help of a totally not bugged plane, Fox News,

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and good old American AI