Nothing to see here, just chaos everywhere
The David Pakman Show - February 18, 2026
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Prices are still rising in 2026, and this was entirely predictable. Unless inflation turns negative, prices do not fall. Lower inflation just means prices rise more slowly. Companies like Levi’s and McCormick, along with more than half of small businesses, are raising prices, citing higher wages, health care costs, and tariffs. Tariffs are taxes on imports, and those costs get passed to consumers. You cannot promise lower prices while pursuing policies that raise them and voters are trusting the price tag more than political spin.
At the Pentagon, a monthly worship service organized within the military command structure has triggered constitutional concerns. Individual prayer is protected but government-led religious activity is not. The First Amendment requires state neutrality on religion. When senior military leadership promotes organized worship, that crosses a line into government endorsement of religion, which the Constitution prohibits.
Republicans often call themselves constitutional conservatives, but that commitment is selective. When Congressman Buddy Carter says ICE cannot get a warrant every time, he is brushing aside the Fourth Amendment. Warrants based on probable cause are required. They are not optional. The Constitution was designed to restrain power, not make enforcement more efficient.
JD Vance’s Fox News appearance raised fresh doubts about his political appeal. Asked if he wants to be president, he deflected awkwardly. At the same time, there are signs that he may not be the clear heir to Trump, with other names circulating. He dismissed unfavorable polling and defended aggressive ICE operations while sidestepping constitutional concerns. It reflects a broader defensiveness as midterm numbers weaken.
Newly revealed 2018 texts show Steve Bannon privately telling Jeffrey Epstein that Trump was “beyond borderline” and suggesting the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Publicly, Bannon was one of Trump’s loudest defenders but privately, he was questioning Trump’s stability while advising Epstein on image repair. The gap between public loyalty and private doubt exposes how political narratives are managed behind closed doors.
Now some longtime Trump supporters are openly questioning him over the Epstein files. Figures who once amplified his anti-elite message are asking why promised transparency never came. When friendly voices start talking about cover-ups and contradictions, that is more impactful than outside criticism.
Finally, Dr. Frank George, psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, joins us to discuss why he believes Donald Trump likely has Frontotemporal dementia, citing his disinhibition, confabulations, and changes in speech and gait.
On today’s bonus show:
Russia-Ukraine peace talks end with no breakthrough, food companies are rebranding due to changing demand, daycare centers in California struggle to compete due to free preschool, and much more...
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When it comes to the filthy Rich billionaires criminals, billionaire pedophiles corporate billionaire pedophiles, and the people who serve the corporate criminal billionaire pedophiles, justice will not be done.
The Epstein victims/Trump victims/corporate victims and rape I’m not going to see justice done unless it’s some sort of do it yourself justice. If for instance a group of patriots were to grab some scumbag like Bill Gates raped kids and pedophile is and hold him hostage until all of the pedophiles/corporate criminals are locked up, that rapist will be castrated with a croquet mallet.
People Have better wake up to the fact that courts of law are not courts of justice. The wicked should be punished and put some place where they can never harm anybody again. They should be put in a jail cell or grave.
Wake up folks, if you hate these billionaire bastards, you don’t hate them enough.
The real reason they're raising prices has nothing to do with wages or any of that garbage, except the tariffs. Wages have been stagnant for years, so they're not rising nearly by the percentage the prices are. To be fair, though, if they add in those CEO outrageous wages of 500% higher than the lowest paid employee. Also, the profit margins hit records almost every quarter. No. These prices could still be a lot less.