GOP is ignoring Trump, and Trump is getting desperate
The David Pakman Show - February 20, 2026
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FBI Director Kash Patel appeared in a friendly interview with former deputy director Dan Bongino, which quickly turned into mutual praise and self-congratulation. They highlighted their work on public corruption but offered vague, contradictory explanations. Patel defended targeting people accused of inciting violence under protest, raising First Amendment concerns, and claimed Americans thank him for keeping communities safe.
Republicans are resisting Donald Trump’s push to ban mail-in voting. While Trump blames mail-in ballots for his 2020 loss, Congress passed the SAVE AMERICA Act, which focuses on voter ID and citizenship proof but leaves mail-in voting intact. Some GOP lawmakers defended mail-in voting, noting it helps their own voters, signaling a subtle erosion of Trump’s control over the party.
Tariffs are hitting Americans despite claims otherwise. A New York Fed study found about 90 percent of costs fall on U.S. businesses and consumers. Trump adviser Kevin Hassett dismissed the study instead of refuting it. Broad tariffs act as taxes on imports, raising prices for consumers.
Peter Navarro declared “the best year in modern economic history,” ignoring layoffs, rising prices, and debt struggles. This approach prioritizes affirming the leader over truth.
Finally, Trump is facing internal challenges from his own movement. Right-wing podcaster Shawn Ryan criticized the handling of the Epstein case, accusing Trump of protecting corruption. When supporters doubt Trump’s promises, this causes potential fractures that could impact the movement and future elections.
On today’s bonus show:
The Supreme Court rules against Trump's tariffs, The Epstein scandal causes a rift between Newsmax and Fox News, Jessica Tarlov destroys her Fox News co-hosts, and much more...
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Bud is full of shit, 💩, and has been conned by Trump’s over 35,000 fucking lies since 2015.
He’s a fucking malignant, narcissistic, psychopath who cheats in his taxes , who’s abused children , he’s raped 13 and 14 year-old girls, had mutilated puppies. , he’s a 34 count convicted felon, he’s a rapist.
He’s a woman abuser ,didn’t pay his contractors on a lot of of his hotel casinos in Atlantic City ,stiffed them all. He dragged out their suit so long that they couldn’t afford their Lawyer fees anymore and neither went bankrupt or really hurt their businesses so they had to stop the suit against Trump and that was his MO -screwed the little guy.
So Bud , and all his Republican cult members have been conned and lied to by Trump.
In Nazi Germany, in the 1930s , one of Hitler’s Nazi officer said “the longer and louder you tell lie, people will start to believe them as truth ,and you certainly have.
I think the reason the Nazis wanna stop mail in voting is because that’s the only way our soldiers overseas can vote. The military now understands that Trump is the enemy and that Republicans are the enemy so they want to prevent our men and women in the armed forces from voting. That’s probably part of it.