Aug. 7, 2025

Trump on the Roof, Nukes on the Moon, and 2028 Hats: Just Another Day in 2025

Show Notes
Transcript

Donald Trump takes a bizarre rooftop stroll at the White House while talking about “missiles” and ballrooms. Meanwhile, the government casually announces plans for a nuclear reactor on the moon, and Trump teases a third term with “probably not.” From lunar fission to constitutional fiction, Ballot breaks down the week’s strangest headlines—plus, a reminder: release the Epstein files, you cowards. Hosted by Patrick Gutfield.

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Callaroga Shark Media.

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From Washington, DC, where there's a weird man on the roof.

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This is valid. Hopefully the weird man will release the

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Epstein files. Let's hit this.

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I'm Patrick Gutfield and this first story sounds like a

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bit but frankly.

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My AI writers, aren't this clever?

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Donald Trump decided to take a casual stroll on the

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White House roof because apparently being president wasn't enough. Now

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he's also the building inspector. Reporters were pushed way down

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the driveway when suddenly they saw the President of the

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United States wandering around on top of the West Wing

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like he's checking for loose shingles. When they shouted up

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asking what he was doing, Trump's response was peak Trump,

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just taking a little walk, a little walk on the

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roof of the White House while accompanied by an architect

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and Secret Service agents. The press naturally wanted to know

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what he was building up there. Trump's first answer, it

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goes with the ballroom, which is on the other side.

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Then he started doing.

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Hand gestures to demonstrate whatever architectural vision was happening in

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his head. Picture the President of the United States playing

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charades with the White House press corps from a rooftop.

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When pressed for more details, Trump said he was building

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something beautiful, which is either the most vague construction plan

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in history or exactly the kind of answer you'd expect

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from someone who once put his name in giant gold

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letters on every building he owned. The best part, Trump

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kept insisting he's paying for all this himself. Just more

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ways to spend my money for the country, He said,

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anything I do is financed by me.

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Right.

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Trump was up there with architect Jim McCrary, who's apparently

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been commissioned to add a ballroom to the White House.

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The two of them were having what looked like an

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intense conversation with lots of animated pointing. You know that

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conversation every homeowner has with contras, except this is happening

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on top of the most famous house in America. At

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one point, Trump disappeared from view, presumably to check out

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the south lawn situation. When he came back, reporters tried

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again to get specifics about his construction plans. What are

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you trying to build? Someone shouted. Trump's response, missiles, nuclear missiles,

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while making rocket launch gestures. Now he was presumably joking,

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But this is twenty twenty five, and nothing feels impossible anymore.

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You know, they don't want us talking about the Epstein

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files when they trot this nonsense out. Transportation Secretary Sean

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Duffy just announced that NASA is fast tracking plans to

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build a nuclear reactor on the Moon. Duffy, who's pulling

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double duty as interim NASA administrator, laid out the plan

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during a Department of Transportation press conference. We're in a

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race to the Moon, in a race with China to

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the moon, he said, And to have a base on

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the Moon, we need energy.

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Now.

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When most people think about powering a moon base, they

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probably picture solar panels and maybe some really long extension chords.

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But NASA is thinking bigger. They want to split atoms

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on the lunar surface, which sounds like the kind of

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thing that either makes us a spacefaring civilization or creates

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the plot for the worst disaster movie ever made. The

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reactor they're planning will generate one hundred kilowatts of power,

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Duffy helpfully explained. That's the same amount of energy a

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two thousand square foot home uses every three and a

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half days. So we're not talking about powering las Vegas

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here more like keeping the lights on at a really

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expensive lunar cabin. Duffy emphasize that we're not launching this live,

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which is reassuring. Nobody wants to find out what happens

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when you try to transport an active nuclear reactor through space.

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That's the kind of mission where you really hope NASA

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double checked their math and aren't using cardboard and duct

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tape like those Apollo thirteen guys. The timing is interesting

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considering NASA just announce that nearly four thousand of its

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eighteen thousand employees would be leaving through resignations. The timing

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is also interesting because people keep asking about the Epstein files.

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The administration plans to designate a phission Surface Power Program Executive,

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which is definitely going on someone's LinkedIn profile as the

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coolest job title ever. A memo from Duffy explains that

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phission's surface power is essential and sustainable for future lunar

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and Mars missions. It also mentioned strengthening national security in space,

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which raises the question, are we planning to defend the

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Moon from what space pirates? If the space pirates can

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steal and release the Epstein files, I might be on

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their side. Donald Trump said Tuesday he would probably not

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run for a third term, which is the kind of

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answer that makes constitutional scholars reach for their blood pressure medication.

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When asked about twenty twenty eight on CNBC's Squawkbox, Trump said,

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I'd like to run. I have the best pull numbers

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I've ever had. So his reasoning for not running a

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third time isn't the twenty second Amendment that explicitly prohibits it.

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It's just that he's probably not feeling it right now now.

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Most people would answer this question with no, because it's

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unconstitutional and impossible, but Trump went with probably not, which

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is like saying you probably won't rob a bank. The

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word probably is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

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The twenty second Amendment is pretty clear. Nobody gets elected

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president more than twice period. It doesn't matter that Trump's

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terms weren't consecutive. It doesn't matter if he has great

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poll numbers. The Constitution isn't a multiple choice test where

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you get to pick your favorite answer. But Trump and

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his allies have been floating ways around this little constitutional

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speed bump. They've suggested repealing the amendment or having Trump

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run for vice president and then somehow ascend to the presidency,

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which is like planning to become a professional athlete by

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changing all the rules of sports. Trump previously told NBC

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there are methods to assume office again if you wanted to.

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That's the kind of statement that makes civics teachers weep.

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There are no.

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Methods, Donald, that's what constitutional amendment means. White House Communications

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director Stephen Ching tried to clean this up by saying

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it's far too early to think about it, and Trump

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is focused on.

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His current term. But here's the thing.

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If it's constitutionally impossible, it's never too early to rule

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it out completely. The best part Trump's official merchandise store

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is already selling Trump twenty twenty eight gear. One product

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description reads the future looks bright. Rewrite the rules with

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the Trump twenty twenty eight high Crown hat.

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Rewrite the rules.

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They're not even being subtle about it anymore. They're literally

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selling merchandise about ignoring the constitution. That hat should come

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with a free pocket constitution so people can read what

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they're planning to rewrite. This is like selling tickets to

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a concert that's scheduled for a venue that doesn't exist. Sure,

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you can print the ticket, But the fundamental problem remains

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the thing you're selling isn't actually possible. But in twenty

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twenty five America, we're having serious conversations about whether probably

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not constitutes a definitive answer about following the Constitution. And

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somewhere the Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves fast

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enough to power a small city or at least a

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moon base. Portions of today's show were made with the

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help of AI release the Epstein Files.

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