I think Patel is all of the incompetence with none of the stature or bravado. I just think he looks stupid.
Let's get into today's news. Scott, FBI Director Kash Patel just filed a $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic over an article he called a quote hit piece. It was not a hit piece. The Atlantic is calling the suit meritless. The story is based on interviews with more than two dozen current and former officials about Patel's time at the FBI. It alleges excessive drinking, frequent absences, and erratic freakouts, including over computer sign-in. There were reportedly multiple times over the past year where Patel's security detail had trouble waking him because he appeared to be intoxicated. One incident involved a request for breaching equipment, the kind a SWAT team uses, after Patel was unreachable behind locked doors. This is all true, everybody. It's repulsive when you read it. So, what do you think's happening here? What's going on? And as to the lawsuit,
Look, I think The Atlantic, my sense is this is thoughtful reporting. It seems like his drinking is sort of an open secret. It's not about alcoholism in my view. It's incompetence. I don't doubt that the alcohol hurts him. But generally speaking, this is an incompetent person who lacks judgment, doesn't show up for work on time, panics, you know, he's so skittish. He thinks that he's being fired. I don't mind you drinking during the weeknight if you work for me, but be at work the next morning. And if you're not drinking and you don't show up at work, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter why you aren't showing up for work. This guy doesn't appear to be showing up.
Right. Right. Totally focused on this was alleging that drinking had a lot to do with it. He drinks so much, he drinks to excess, that he doesn't... it creates a national security risk, which is I think why all these people are leaking, right? It's not because they dislike him, but he also is a huge national security risk. He's also abusing his privileges very Christine Gnome here, right? This is the version of Kristi Noem, and obviously it's sort of who's going to take him down, right?
Well, I like the idea of him and Hegseth. They're now referred to as the liquor cabinet. That's a good one.
Yeah, there was a good one. They said a defense secretary, FBI head, and a lead prosecutor go into a bar. Oh, wait. That happens every day. It was for Jeanine Pirro is the other one they were talking about. This group is really kind of just like so not in control of themselves. Let me just say the one thing that really was the most disturbing in that entire story was that he then will try to do something to please Trump, like try to prosecute people who prosecuted January 6th people or do election denial. He's going to try to serve up like a little mouse to Trump in order to save his job. And the only thing that Trump hates is drinking because his brother was an alcoholic and died. But it'll be interesting if Trump will not fire him because of this piece, if that makes sense.
Yeah. My first girlfriend was Mexican and an alcoholic, and she used to order drinks called... and I asked her what her favorite book was and she said Tequila Mockingbird.
Oh my god. Okay. Well, anyway, do you think Trump will fire him?
I think Trump's going to fire... he's going to fire a couple of these people.
Three guys walking into a bar. An alcoholic, a priest, and a child molester.
And that's just the first guy.
All right. All right. I need your thoughts on whether Trump's going to fire him. All right, we're done with the drunk jokes. Go ahead.
Okay. According to... Okay.
What did you just... What did you just really...
Everything. I no longer think for myself. So, get this. According to Kelsey, there's now something like a 70 or 80% chance that Patel is fired by June 1st. The other one that just blew my mind, which I would take the over-under on or whatever you call it, that there's about a 70% chance that Trump is impeached by January 1st.
Oh, no. That Trump is impeached.
Oh, wow. So these markets are saying, these markets are predicting that the wheels are coming off the bus here, which you know I find really unlikely here.
What does Scott Galloway think? Not Cali.
Oh, Patel's out. But I've thought that for a while. I think he reflects poorly. I think Hegseth, the president likes because when Hegseth gets up on stage he is so strident. He's very handsome. I think that Trump really values aesthetics. He's indignant. He's back in their face. I think Trump really likes that. And he's very resolute. Trump doesn't like thoughtfulness. He likes someone who's resolute. And I think he kind of likes that sort of brazen, arrogant approach. I think Patel is all of the incompetence with none of the stature or bravado. I just think he looks stupid and he's making the Trump administration look stupid. And also it feels like, and I mean you know this better than me, but it feels like everyone at the FBI is dying to get on the phone with a reporter and post Patel. It just seems like the whole... I mean there's been such an... I think the two biggest brand erosions over the last 12 months have been number one the brand US, number two the brand AI. If you think about what's happened to that brand in the last 12 months, it's gone from 70 to 80% people being optimistic to like now it's one in 10 are optimistic. But the brand of the FBI, I would argue the G-men, you know, the X-Files, these were people that put on suits but knew how to handle a firearm. We're very measured. We're all about serving in the agency of others. We're optimized for security, not for performance, or not for attention. This was a great job with a ton of prestige and I think Kash Patel has literally trashed this brand.
He's turned it into a Joey bag of donuts.
Yeah. You know, two-for-one Coyote Ugly MMA meets, you know, it's like a bar fight minus the charm.
Yep. All right. All right. Well, he's out. I agree with you.
I think he's going... I think this was a beautiful piece of reporting and I think they're going to go through the cabinet with next is Lutnick and his corruption, right? That's going to... and his like thirsty attention-seeking. Anyway, we'll see. I think there's... it's a moment now, especially after Swalwell. It's a moment for all of them.
How does the head of the FBI have their email hacked by an Iranian group? Right. How does that happen?
Because he's drunk. Because he's drinking too much. Because he's an idiot. Well, idiot and drunk. He's stupid. You remember the line from Animal House? Don't... How can you... Although that was done by Dean Wormer, but going through life stupid and drunk is no way to live or something like that. Anyway, that's...
When someone asked me if I ever drink in the morning, I'm like, 'No, because I don't wake up till noon.'
Oh my god. Okay, enough with the drinking jokes. Iran is threatening to retaliate after the US military seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship trying to bypass the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is calling it an act of piracy. Meanwhile, JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner are headed back to Pakistan for more peace talks, though it's unclear if Iran will even show up. First JD wasn't going, then he was going, and Trump was saying all manner of things. Trump, of course, is once again threatening to take out Iran's power plants and bridges, which I know it feels like Groundhog Day, but he's doing it again. The ceasefire is due to end this week. I'll also note Energy Secretary Chris Wright thinks gas prices might stay above $3 until 2027, though Trump is saying that's totally wrong. California was six. It was crazy. It was six or in the mid-sixes, which is because they have more taxes there obviously. But, any thoughts what's happening here? Because it seems like again still they still haven't gotten their act together. This gang that can't shoot straight.
There's so many things that are bubbling up in terms of incompetence and institutions and a general approach to government that took immense resources that Americans have taken for granted. And one of those things is our incredible diplomatic corps. We gutted the diplomats. We gutted the anti-terrorist group. So when you have these summits or peace talks, 95 to 98% of the work is done before the person lands on the ground. And that's the problem is 0% has been done here. He might as well... This is the most... It is so easy to predict nothing is going to come out of this. And I was, you know, I've been saying that a decent proxy for masculinity is are you optimizing for attention versus service? If so, that's the opposite of masculinity. That defines this ridiculous trip to Pakistan. There's been no diplomatic work done. He's going to land. He's going to make an indignant speech. He's going to look for a TikTok moment that he attempts to make himself look presidential. He'll make further irresponsible, incendiary, unnecessary comments. He'll leave and nothing will have happened. And you know, the only other... what I've been thinking a lot about lately is kind of the winners and losers here. Initially, China is a loser because of the security threat around not having the free flow of energy. They are such a big winner long term because I was thinking about how does the world structurally change on the demand side. You got to think that in addition to the economic costs of the Straits of Hormuz being sequestered or blocked, every nation in the world must be thinking, you know, we don't want to be dependent upon straits that can be controlled by the IRGC or by Trump.
By the way, there's a couple... there's a really good online thing that was about... there's not just the Straits of Hormuz. There's an area near China that 40% of the shipping goes through. There's a number of places around the world where this happens. The Strait of Malacca or Singapore, the Suez Canal.
Again, see above, things we've taken for granted. Freedom of navigation was something that had been embraced by the entire world that said everyone's going to pay more. Everyone's going to have insecure energy policy if we don't enforce freedom of navigation around the world. But you got to think that every nation is thinking not only economically, but from a defense standpoint, we need to have energy security. What is all roads and energy security lead to one place? Renewables. And let's talk about renewables. The advanced manufacturing and long-term thinking of China. Get this. What is the global share that China controls of windmill production? Any guesses?
No, probably a lot. All of it.
The percentage of EVs sold globally?
China. The percentage of solar panels produced in the world?
80% in China.
So while we're sending diplomatic missions and Canada's announcing they're divorcing from us because we're an absentee irresponsible player in the marriage, China is using advanced manufacturing to say, 'Okay, long-term everyone's going to start investing in renewables and we're going to be the place they come to buy it all.' And they're not only offering the manufacturing and the products, they're offering safe distribution. They're offering financing for these things and they're saying you can count on us. So if you don't want to be subject to the IRGC or President Trump's whims that day, enter into an economic relationship with China.
Yeah, I agree. I agree. Anyway, it's a real... it's just this is not good from a political point of view, from a world point of view. And a lot of... like there's a lot of very high-level people predicting a real collapse of lots of countries in terms of because of the slowdowns and the problems that they're just on the edge. I mean the UAE was asking for some money. This is... they have to solve this yesterday. They shouldn't have done it in the first place but now they have to solve it yesterday because there's a lot of other... all these countries are interconnected. Whether you like it or not MAGA folks, this is how it works. And you're going to see collapses all around if the UAE is asking for... what do they want? They need money is really because of the situation. All these luxury brands throughout the Middle East and that's just small ball. It's like all these countries are dependent on this. And so he is reordering the world for sure, but not in the way that favors the United States. And of course they're sending this team of Witkoff. Steve Witkoff. Honestly, this is not our best and brightest with Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and JD Vance.
If you want to understand what's going to happen to negotiate with Witkoff, just ask how is he going to get his kids rich? Like what? That's essentially what is driving such negotiations. But you brought up something really important and that it's the UAE and something that really shocked me. I was looking at analysis of projectiles that have come out of Iran. Do you realize that Iran has shot more projectiles at the UAE than Israel? And you know, the UAE really is a model of what it means to not be the IRGC. They have built an unbelievable modern economy. They respect alliances. They in many ways are trying to be more progressive around civil rights. They have made real progress around women's rights. They are everything that the IRGC is not. And it's interesting that of all the nations the IRGC has decided to go after the UAE most aggressively. That really surprised me. More projectiles into the UAE than Israel.
But they're asking... they said they're going to be forced to use Chinese money or other currencies if they don't get a financial lifeline. This is just... and that's just one country. There's so many that are just going to be affected. And then let me just say lots and lots of people live day-to-day in this country and cannot afford these prices, these gas prices. And so with Chris Wright just haphazardly saying, 'I'll stay above three' and it's even above three. It's above four in DC. It's above... like give me a break. It was six in... this is just these cavalier... And then that smiling idiot Kevin Hassett gets on and acts like it's no big deal. There's something really broken about these people that just doesn't understand the implications of anything they do. Anyway, we have to go on a quick break. When we come back, we'll talk about Joe Rogan's influence on executive orders.
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Scott, we're back with more news. Trump signed an executive order fast-tracking FDA review of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and I think it's ibogaine for mental health treatment all thanks to a text from Joe Rogan. Rogan texted Trump about ibogaine research in reducing opioid addiction. And the president immediately replied, 'Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let's do it.' The order directs the FDA to expedite review of the breakthrough therapy and encourage data sharing between the health and veterans affairs department. You know, honestly, this... look, Rogan's been turning on Trump and this was a gimme to Joe Rogan. I, as you know, I talk about the use of psychedelics in this series. It's very promising, but certainly shouldn't be expedited because some podcaster who has very not the best information... because they need to do the safety checks if these things are going to be good for people. But if... I mean, what would you text Trump for? What would you like if you could? But this is how it's done in this country. He texts him, he wants him back. It's the most thirsty way to get Rogan's approval. And Rogan is dumb enough to take it and then shift on these things that he cared about allegedly, war and the Epstein things. So the whole thing is just demented. I thought this was the most demented thing given how important this psychedelic research should be taken throughout this country. Your thoughts?
Well, ibogaine is... there's real potential here. A Stanford study found a single ibogaine dose reduced veterans' disability ratings from 30.2 to 5.1 with effects sustained at least a month out. Almost nine in 10 participants experienced a reduction in PTSD symptoms. Nine in 10 decrease in depression. Eight in 10 reducing anxiety. So, this has real potential. This is a great move, but here's the problem. This is...
They've been running this for a year. They could have done this a year ago, but go ahead. Go ahead.
Well, okay. So, I'm a big believer in prison reform. I think we're the most incarcerated nation in the world. And I think that a hugely accretive move would be early prison release and a review of people who are currently incarcerated. And when the Trump administration decides that it would be great to have the Kardashians on boards and she takes this on as an issue, they then get a pardon. He does these things, but he doesn't for political reasons and they're not systemic in nature. And when it comes to taking something from a class two or class one drug, I want someone who has domain expertise. I want correct double-blind tests. I think again another thing we have taken for granted here is the good people at the CDC, our FDA, double-blind studies, doctors with actual credentials. I mean, they do a really good job. It's been a huge benefit to us economically. The drugs you take are, you know, they do mistakes, but you can feel fairly certain that if you take something that's FDA approved, it's approved for...
It's also too slow. Absolutely too slow on these therapies, but they're still early. And the fact that this very not smart podcaster who's very lovely in some ways and nutty in some ways and but doesn't operate in a factual environment all the time is getting to get this because he was mean to Trump and was turning on him and then for the next couple of months he'll be nice to Trump, right? The whole thing is just grotesque in the... This is not how we need...
This is not health policy. That's correct. It's not legal policy. It's purely political. And for Rogan to get used like this on an important issue, maybe if it's important to him, he should demand that Trump not just because he can go to the Oval Office and hug Trump, but it's just... oh god, it could hurt veterans if it's not done correctly. The whole... yay. Just... And it's, by the way, it's also going to take this...
It's also going to take forever anyway.
Let's play the game. Let's be increasingly mean and grow our platform 10x. And then what is the one thing you want from Trump? What is the one policy you would want from Trump?
Child care. Universal child care. All those things. Any of those.
Mhm. What about you? Besides... besides like a missile... I would want mandatory national service.
Distribution of GLP-1 to any household with less than $50,000 in household income with good medical stuff attached to it, nutritional.
That's right. And incremental like you said, single-payer health coverage and oh gosh, I could... I mean...
I could go on and lower the estate tax exemption to 1 million. There's going to be $72 trillion in wealth passed on. We're not a dynastic population. We're a meritocratic population and we need to tax inherited wealth.
Anyways, I got about another 15.
Okay. Well, there we go. We're not... we don't have his... I know. Actually, I could probably get Trump's cell phone.
Let's get on it. Let's be a pain in the ass.
I'm serious. Why don't we do an experiment? Say, 'This is Scott Galloway. I would like you to do an executive order on young men or whatever the... you want. I'm going to get his cell phone. You're going to text him.' Okay, you're doing it.
I think it's getting the wiring information of someone in his family and sending a few million dollars. I'm serious. I think there's a direct pipeline. I've heard from credible resources around specific things around pardons and trying to get funding for certain things that there's an entire infrastructure of consultants who launder the money, get it to the Trump administration, and you get... passed. This is... and to be clear what they would say is this has always been going on. We're just more transparent about it.
No, not like this. I'm going to get his number. You're going to text him. Okay. That's what we're doing this week. Okay.
I was invited to the UFC fight at the White House.
You need to go. You need to go. You need to say yes. I just...
You need to sidle up to him and like...
