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Well... That Just Backfired BADLY

9m 44s

Well... That Just Backfired BADLY

A recent video showing Logan and Jake Paul touring the Pentagon and speaking to U.S. service members has sparked widespread criticism as a prime example of the Trump administration’s use of celebrities and influencers to promote political agendas. While the visit appears absurd and out of touch—given the brothers’ background as influencers and grifters—its significance lies in the broader strategy of the administration to amplify conservative messaging. The Pentagon has quietly hired retired military veterans with strong social media followings to serve as unofficial influencers, promoting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s views and attacking critics of the administration. These individuals, including Rob Menes and Kurt Schlitter, hold civilian government email addresses and are assigned to official offices without public disclosure of compensation. Additionally, high-profile figures like Nicki Minaj have publicly endorsed Trump, despite earlier criticism from MAGA allies like Charlie Kirk who dismissed her as a poor role model. This inconsistency underscores a coordinated, systematic campaign to influence public opinion through celebrity endorsements and social media messaging. Critics, including Ashley St. Clair, have confirmed that such influence operations are well-documented, involving group chats, paid promotion, and targeted messaging. The incident highlights not only the apparent absurdity of the event but also the deliberate use of pop culture to advance political objectives, revealing a troubling pattern of influence that contradicts claims of transparency.

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English
Just when you thought things couldn't get any dumber in Donald Trump's America, they do. What you're looking at on your screen right now is a video of Logan Paul and Jake Paul, these brothers who are boxers, influencers, wrestlers, and grifters, and doing whatever the hell else they're doing these days, visiting the Pentagon on behalf of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, being given a tour and speaking to our service members. What the hell do these guys know about service? Absolutely nothing. You might be saying, Harry, why are you talking about this? These are just a bunch of idiots. It doesn't matter. It actually does because what you're looking at right now is part of a broader plan by this administration to use influencers or just celebrities generally to hopefully win the midterms. And it's kind of happening right in front of our faces and this is part of it. So we're going to talk about all of this and more today. We're going to talk about this stupid video, but there is something that people should know about in regards to what's taking place behind the scenes and the very deliberate plans that Trump is making with these influencers and whatnot. So please make sure to subscribe down below, drop a like on the video, comment, let me know what you think about this and let's get into it. So first of all, I want to watch this video with you and he listened to what the commentary is in the background, the Department of War, which is really the Department of Defense in reality and fantasy land, it's the Department of War. Last Thursday, we welcomed Logan and Jake Paul to the Pentagon to meet with our warriors. And this is the commentary that was going on in the back. Check this out. We got the pleasure and the privilege of getting it toward the Pentagon and what a cool experience. We see all the men and women here who are serving this great nation. I don't think there is any greater commitment to sacrifice than those who are willing to live, die and fight for their country. So I think it's you guys who etched your names in history as you fight for and allow us in this country to have that freedom. We can prosper and be happy and be the great nation that we are. So a deep, personal thank you from myself, my brother and all of our fellow Americans. Each one of you matters. Take this moment and be proud of yourselves for what you do. This is the greatest country in the world, truly. Look, I have no problem with them hyping up our service members. That's perfectly fine by me. You kind of get the gist of what they're saying. I have no problem with them hyping up our service members, but why are they at the Pentagon? Why are they being given an exclusive tour of the Pentagon and speaking to our service members in the first place? It's just very, very weird, but it is very, very coordinated and it's all just stupid. I mean, if we're being honest, it's just stupid. And of course, people online are clowning it, making fun of it or are saying, holy, we're all going to die. This person saying, bro, what the F is the US even about? This looks like an SNL skit. It really does, I mean, having these, you know, grifter influencers at the Pentagon, speaking to our service members on behalf of Pete Heggseth, essentially cutting an ad for Pete Heggseth, it does look like an SNL skit. I thought this, you know, would be something that they'd be doing for a skit, but no, it is real life. This gentleman saying elect a clown, get the whole effing circus, which certainly seems like it is the case. Greg saying had the triple check to make sure this wasn't a parody account and no, unfortunately, it is not. It's actually the real Department of Defense account. They are actually hosting influencers to speak to our military members at the Pentagon. But look, as I mentioned, this is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration. That's kind of taking place in the shadows, but also very publicly the Pentagon has secretly hired conservative influencers to amplify Pete Heggseth's agenda. Now, the Paul Brothers were not hired by Pete Heggseth, but they're also leaning into celebrities, musicians, influencers, you name it, to try to boost Pete Heggseth to try to boost Donald Trump and ignore all the failures of this administration. The Pentagon has secretly hired military veterans with massive online followings to act as conservative influencers who can disseminate defense secretary Pete Heggseth warrior agenda to the masses. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that although these influencers have been placed in government and some civilian roles, the Pentagon refuses to give details on their assignments. Despite the Trump administration's claims that they are running the most transparent defense department ever. But the report made very clear that the goal was, quote, "to amplify defense secretary Pete Heggseth's viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration according to people familiar with the matter and corroborating material." The Post's sources said the influencers include Rob Menes, a retired Air Force colonel, and Kurt Schlitter, a retired Army colonel, quote, "Pentagon records reviewed by the Washington Post show that both have active government email addresses as of this past week and are assigned to the Office of Anthony Tata, the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. The email addresses include a CIV suffix, meaning that they are labeled as civilian employees, rather than as a military personnel or contractors." It continued, both served for decades in uniform and since retiring have turned from the military to conservative commentary. Menes has more than 135,000 followers. The other one on this is on Twitter, has 620,000. Another retired Army colonel and influencer, Tom Sanderson, was listed in the Pentagon records earlier this year with a CIV email address and assigned to Tata's office according to people familiar with the matter and records reviewed by the Washington Post. And the Pentagon will not say if these people are being paid, are they making money with taxpayer dollars to essentially boost Pete Heggseth and talk well about him? And they're making money from taxpayer dollars, they will not answer that question, which is incredibly suspicious. But this is not the only route they're taking. They're not just meeting with Logan and Jake Paul and making a video and posting it online. They're not just hiring these conservative veterans on Twitter and X and whatever you want to call it these days. Who knows? But they're also reaching people like Nicki Minaj, who is a rapper that suddenly had an epiphany and decided to support Donald Trump. She was recently on Fox News talking about her support for Trump. I'm sure you've seen her with him or at an event with him over the past couple of years because she's turned full blown mega, but this is an interview she did with Fox News just the other day. Nikki, when you get some grief for partnering or working with President Trump, whether it's on your appeals for Nigerian Christians or other issues at home, but you've kept your politics off the stage. You don't go on stage and lecture people about politics when you perform. That's about performance. What do you say to the critics of you for working with the sitting U.S. President? Absolutely nothing. I am honored to be able to have an opportunity to work with this administration and to work with President Trump. He has inspired many people, not just me, and he's fun. He's not just smart and he's not just the president, but he's also someone that I can relate to, someone that I see him or every time I see him speaking to other people. He's just himself, he's very grounded. It's easy to connect with him. It's easy to feel like he heard you, he understands you, and I just love him and I'm not. Oh my God. Is that not just the most cringeworthy thing you've ever heard in your entire life? What's interesting is that Donald Trump and Maggie is sucking up to Nicki Minaj now saying that she's so great, she's so wonderful, but it's quite at odds with the words of their want to be Lord and Savior, Charlie Kirk, who has previously said that Nicki Minaj is not a good role model. He said this during one of his many debate stops, that Nicki Minaj is not a good role model. People should not be looking up to her. People should not be speaking about her positively, according to Charlie Kirk. And now the entire White House, the Maggie base is saying, "I'll have her on Fox News. Talk about, yeah, come on, let's talk about Donald Trump and how great he is on Fox News." It's just interesting how quick they've switched up, despite the fact that many of them previously were like, "This is not a good situation," and the thing is, we know how this MAGA influence campaign works, not only because we've gotten reports on it, not only because it's pretty easy to see with the Logan and Jake Paul visit that that's exactly what's taking place, but Ashley St. Clair, who is the mother of one of Elon Musk's many different children with different women. She used to be a MAGA influencer, has now turned to the left, the Democratic Party, she's on the left side. She has come out and talked about her experiences in these MAGA circles, saying that, "Yeah, these are very active campaigns. People make a lot of money doing them. There are group chats where the White House is sending messaging for people to post and they do it," or they're getting paid by, you know, outside MAGA forces to push certain talking points. It's like, "This is a very well-known thing. MAGA wants to pretend like it's not real, but it absolutely is." And I think it's always a good reminder that when we see stuff like this, the Logan Paul, Jake Paul video, which is number one incredibly stupid. Number two, I have no idea why these idiots are talking to our service members. Number three, they're grifters. But also number four, they're being used by this administration to pump up Trump and Pete Hegseth. It's essentially cutting a campaign at for them. That's what it is. So anyway, I just wanted to cover this story. I am just like, I'm so sick of this stupidity in this country. I've said that on the show before, like one of the main things that bothers me about Trump is all the many bad things he does, but it's all just so stupid. It's illogical and that's frustrating. But I will leave it there. Thank you so much for watching. Please make sure to subscribe down below, drop a like on the video, comment, let me know what you think about this story and everything we talked about. Have an amazing rest of your day and we will talk soon.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Logan and Jake Paul, known as influencers and grifters, were given an official tour of the Pentagon and spoke to U.S. service members on behalf of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, raising questions about their qualifications and the purpose of the visit.
  2. The Pentagon has secretly hired retired military veterans with large online followings—such as Rob Menes and Kurt Schlitter—to serve as conservative influencers and amplify Pete Hegseth’s agenda, despite refusing to disclose their pay or assignments.
  3. The Trump administration is systematically using celebrities and influencers—including Nicki Minaj and Ashley St. Clair—to promote Donald Trump’s image, generate political momentum, and disseminate specific messaging, often contradicting prior criticisms, which reveals a coordinated, behind-the-scenes influence campaign.

Summary:

S. service members has sparked widespread criticism as a prime example of the Trump administration’s use of celebrities and influencers to promote political agendas. While the visit appears absurd and out of touch—given the brothers’ background as influencers and grifters—its significance lies in the broader strategy of the administration to amplify conservative messaging.

The Pentagon has quietly hired retired military veterans with strong social media followings to serve as unofficial influencers, promoting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s views and attacking critics of the administration. These individuals, including Rob Menes and Kurt Schlitter, hold civilian government email addresses and are assigned to official offices without public disclosure of compensation. Additionally, high-profile figures like Nicki Minaj have publicly endorsed Trump, despite earlier criticism from MAGA allies like Charlie Kirk who dismissed her as a poor role model.

This inconsistency underscores a coordinated, systematic campaign to influence public opinion through celebrity endorsements and social media messaging. Critics, including Ashley St. Clair, have confirmed that such influence operations are well-documented, involving group chats, paid promotion, and targeted messaging.

The incident highlights not only the apparent absurdity of the event but also the deliberate use of pop culture to advance political objectives, revealing a troubling pattern of influence that contradicts claims of transparency.

FAQs

Logan and Jake Paul were invited to the Pentagon to speak with service members, which appears to be part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to use influencers to promote conservative messaging and boost support for Pete Hegseth.

The video is real, not a parody. It features the actual Department of Defense account and includes genuine commentary from service members, though it has been widely criticized as resembling an SNL skit due to its tone and content.

The Pentagon has secretly hired conservative veterans with large online followings to amplify Pete Hegseth's agenda, promote the Trump administration's views, and discredit critics, often using social media to spread specific messaging.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether these influencers are being paid with taxpayer dollars, but their assignment to government email accounts and roles suggests they may be receiving compensation from public funds.

Retired Air Force Colonel Rob Menes (135,000 followers) and retired Army Colonel Kurt Schlitter (620,000 followers) have been identified as Pentagon employees with active CIV email accounts assigned to personnel offices.

Nicki Minaj has publicly expressed support for Donald Trump, and recently appeared on Fox News endorsing him, despite previous criticism from MAGA figures like Charlie Kirk who had called her a poor role model.

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