Ep. 537 - Delusional Democrats’ Failing Foreign Policy

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode argues that Trump’s foreign-policy wins—leaving the Iran deal and securing North Korea’s release of American detainees—show Democrats and media elites misreading power, leverage, and public opinion. It also criticizes left-wing “experts” on war, gender, parenting, and culture, while answering listener mail on debt, Social Security, the Fed, and family-life tradeoffs.

Main Topics: Trump foreign policy and media skepticism (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro says Trump’s Iran-deal withdrawal and North Korea detainee release demonstrate effective hard-power diplomacy that the media and Democrats misunderstand or dismiss as mere theatrics. Media double standards and photo-op criticism (Priority: 5/5): He contrasts NBC’s framing of Trump’s tarmac event with how Obama’s release of Bowe Bergdahl was treated, arguing the press selectively condemns ‘photo ops’ when Trump is involved. Waterboarding, CIA, and the war on terror (Priority: 4/5): The show defends Gina Haspel and waterboarding as a necessary intelligence tool, arguing Democrats’ opposition reflects selective outrage and post-hoc moralizing. Mueller investigation and Trump administration frustration (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro says the Russia probe has produced little publicly relevant evidence against Trump and should be concluded, while conceding Trump is damaged by figures like Michael Cohen. Left-wing expertise on gender and parenting (Priority: 4/5): He criticizes commentators claiming men and women have identical athletic capacity and mocks advice that parents ask babies’ permission before changing diapers. Mailbag on policy, culture, and family (Priority: 4/5): Listener questions cover entitlement reform, Trump’s accomplishments, memory techniques, Obamacare’s funding, the Federal Reserve, negative income tax, Judeo-Christian roots, the soul, and balancing career with motherhood. Cultural commentary and media hypocrisy (Priority: 3/5): The episode closes with praise for the film ‘Last Flag Flying’ and criticism of media figures like April Ryan and George Stephanopoulos for perceived bias and double standards.

Key Arguments: Trump’s foreign policy is succeeding because he uses leverage and pressure rather than idealistic diplomacy. The media calls Trump’s actions ‘staged’ while treating similar Obama optics as normal or noble. Democrats are inconsistent on torture and intelligence; they condemned Haspel despite tolerating similar practices under Obama-era officials. The Mueller probe has not yet produced public evidence of Trump-Russia collusion and should be wrapped up. Michael Cohen exemplifies Trump’s self-inflicted personnel problems and undermines the ‘drain the swamp’ message. Men and women are not physically identical; ignoring biological differences distorts sports and policy debates. Parenting and consent rhetoric can become absurd when applied to infants and everyday child care. The national debt and entitlement spending are major threats to future generations and require politically difficult reform. A negative income tax could be a cheaper alternative to the welfare state, but Shapiro prefers private charity. Western civilization and Judeo-Christian values are foundational to modern liberal institutions, even when critics deny it.

Data Points: North Korea detainees released: 3 American citizens - Trump brought home Americans held in North Korea, which Shapiro cites as a foreign-policy win. Iran deal approval in Senate: Did not reach 60 votes - Shapiro notes the Iran deal was not ratified as a treaty and was instead an executive agreement. Iran deal public approval: 21% - He says the deal had very low public support when enacted. U.S. Treasury-backed deposit insurance limit: First $200,000 - Shapiro describes FDIC-style protection in his explanation of the banking system. Serena Williams serve speed: 129 mph - Used to argue women’s tennis performance differs from men’s. Men’s serve benchmark: 163 mph - Fastest recorded men’s serve mentioned in the tennis comparison. 2015 Grand Slam average serve speed, Serena: 109 mph - Compared with male pros to illustrate physical differences. 2015 Grand Slam average serve speed, Novak Djokovic: 117 mph - Shown as higher than Serena’s average serve speed. 2015 Grand Slam average serve speed, Andy Murray: 114 mph - Used in the same athletic comparison. Universal Tennis Rating, Djokovic: 16.39 - Presented as the top rating and used to contextualize Serena’s ranking. Universal Tennis Rating, Serena Williams: 13.36 - Shapiro says this is comparable to a mid-ranked male college player. AT&T payment to Michael Cohen: About $200,000 - Mentioned in discussion of lobbying and corruption concerns. Time frame of Mueller probe at the time: About 1 year - Shapiro and Pence argue the investigation should be concluded. Duration of McCain captivity: 7 years - Used to explain why McCain’s view on torture receives more sympathy. Age of law firm question asker: Starting law school next year - In the mailbag, a listener asks about balancing corporate law and family life.

Pivotal Quotes: "Donald Trump has had a very good week on foreign policy, a very good week on foreign policy." — Ben Shapiro: Opening the foreign-policy segment praising Trump’s Iran and North Korea moves. "The techniques we used were not torture. ... if it were my call, I'd do it again." — Dick Cheney: Clip used to defend waterboarding as an intelligence tool during the war on terror. "You can have a lot of good things, but to pretend that there are no trade-offs among those things is to be foolish." — Ben Shapiro: Answering a listener on whether women can balance a corporate-law career and family life.

Implications: The episode reinforces a conservative frame: strong borders, leverage-based diplomacy, skepticism of elite media, biological realism, and limited-government reform. It suggests Trump’s success will keep reshaping foreign-policy debates and culture-war arguments.