The Culture War - Tim Pool - Iran Forms HUMAN SHIELDS Around Power Plants Amid Trump Threat To DESTROY Entire Country Aired: 2026-04-07 Duration: 34:19 === Trump Loses, Civilization Falls (08:09) === [00:00:00] So you're running out of closet space. [00:00:02] The good news? [00:00:03] You don't need to stop shopping. [00:00:05] You just need to start selling with the Real Real. [00:00:08] The Real Real is the world's largest and most trusted resource for authenticated luxury resale, whether it's that mini bag that can't even fit your phone or those boots you never fully broke in. [00:00:18] The Real Real handles everything from photography and copywriting to shipping and pricing. [00:00:22] So you can just sit back, get paid, and make room for things that actually feel like you. [00:00:27] And with 10,000 plus new arrivals every single day from top designers like Prada, Celine, Louis Vuitton, and Lueve, all for up to 90% off retail. [00:00:36] You're bound to find something perfectly on brand to fill that extra closet space with. [00:00:41] Plus, right now, you can get an extra $100 to shop when you sell for the first time. [00:00:46] Make room for what feels like you. [00:00:48] Go to TheRealReal.com to start selling and get your extra $100 to keep shopping at TheRealReal.com. [00:00:54] That's TheRealReal.com. [00:00:56] Terms apply. [00:00:59] Welcome, my friends, to World War III. [00:01:02] With many of you saying, hold on, Tim, it's not World War III. [00:01:06] It is not yet gotten that bad, and Trump is not going to nuke Iran. [00:01:10] And I agree with all of that sentiment. [00:01:13] However, World War III is trending as world leaders have repeatedly stated over the past several years that we are in World War III. [00:01:20] Why? [00:01:21] Well, Russia and Ukraine, then Venezuela, now Iran. [00:01:27] Iran has just brought in 20 nations into this conflict. [00:01:30] I suppose you could argue that the U.S. launching the conflict triggered this off. [00:01:34] Everybody's got a perspective, but all that really matters. [00:01:37] Is that we are now dealing with war all over the world. [00:01:42] The interesting thing here World War II, we look back on this and we say it kicked off with the Nazis invading Poland. [00:01:49] However, at the time, no one thought that. [00:01:53] There were a series of conflicts happening around the globe, which eventually bubbled up into this is a great war. [00:02:01] This is the second great war. [00:02:04] Right now, we are looking at conflicts across the planet. [00:02:07] And some have argued that these regional conflicts are what compose a world at war, that we don't need a definitive, we hereby declare World War III moment. [00:02:18] Now, you may say, Tim, a conflict with Iran is certainly not a World War III make, except speculation has already been swirling that Russia and China have been providing direct military aid in this war with the U.S., meaning they are absolutely involved. [00:02:35] Rumors speculate that Iran. [00:02:38] Does not have the capabilities to shoot down a US F 15E and that required technological assistance from Russia. [00:02:46] That is, some believe Russia intervened to help shoot down Americans in a fighter jet, resulting in a massive rescue operation. [00:02:56] Now, I'll tell you this. [00:02:58] I don't know. [00:02:58] You tell me. [00:02:59] Honestly, you tell me. [00:03:00] We've got this report from Axios that says we're very close to World War III. [00:03:05] 20 countries are involved in this conflict, and Iran's attacking everybody too, but it's not quite World War III. [00:03:12] This morning, World War III was trending because Donald Trump threatened to wipe out a whole civilization unless they bend the knee in Iran. [00:03:23] Now, of course, we have two views on this. [00:03:25] Some say Trump's bluffing, it's the art of the deal. [00:03:28] He threatens them with the most extreme case, and they're going to back down. [00:03:32] He's not actually going to nuke anybody. [00:03:33] Well, Trump has threatened to blow up power plants and bridges, and now we are seeing reports of Iranians forming human shields around these power plants and bridges. [00:03:46] Of course, many prominent Trump supporters are saying Iran is forcing them to do it, and that's a war crime. [00:03:52] While proponents, or I should say those who oppose Donald Trump, I say proponents of the anti war message, are arguing that these are people. [00:03:59] Valently standing up to an oppressive American war machine. [00:04:04] There's no easy way to cut it, my friends. [00:04:06] Pick your poison. [00:04:07] Do you stand with the United States' efforts or do you oppose them? [00:04:11] And I present to you the new wager. [00:04:14] And it's this. [00:04:16] If you are anti Trump and Trump wins, don't matter. [00:04:23] Trump's not going to do anything to you. [00:04:25] If you are pro Trump and Trump wins, you're good. [00:04:28] I mean, Trump will say thank you. [00:04:31] If you are anti, so if you are anti Trump and Trump loses, oh, we don't have that. [00:04:37] If you are pro Trump and Trump loses, you're in trouble. [00:04:39] There we go. [00:04:39] That's the quadrant. [00:04:40] It's four pieces, right? [00:04:41] To put it simply, let me try and capture that again. [00:04:44] The most dangerous position to hold is to be in support of Trump. [00:04:47] If Trump loses, because then you are going to have Trump's enemies coming after you for having supported him. [00:04:53] Whereas if you oppose him, you're safe no matter what. [00:04:57] And this includes the war with Iran. [00:04:59] We are seeing many prominent individuals, former Trump supporters, now coming out and saying Trump should be removed. [00:05:05] AOC and Candace Owens together at last. [00:05:09] Well, if you oppose Trump and Trump wins, he's not going to lock you up. [00:05:14] You're not going to go to jail. [00:05:15] Foreign adversaries won't come for you. [00:05:17] But if you are pro Trump and he loses, you will get Nuremberged, my friends. [00:05:21] Now, I mean, you know, in all seriousness, the most extreme case is like a communist revolution or otherwise. [00:05:26] But let's start here, and then we'll go through some of the videos and the latest updates. [00:05:29] The deadline is 8 p.m., my friends. [00:05:32] What will it be? [00:05:33] We don't know for sure, but CNBC's reporting Trump warns Iran's whole civilization will die tonight. [00:05:40] Unless a deal is struck. [00:05:42] Before we get started, head over to timcast.com and click join now to get in our Discord community. [00:05:49] My friends, it's not what you know, it is who you know. [00:05:52] If you're trying to find success, to build something, to better yourself, you need that network. [00:05:57] Maybe someone will teach you how to work out better, help you get on a diet plan. [00:06:01] Maybe you can teach them how to play music. [00:06:03] Maybe you guys can build bridges together and accomplish things you could never do alone. [00:06:08] Many hands make light work. [00:06:10] But as a member, Not only are you part of a great community, but you're supporting the work I do here. [00:06:15] If you believe these videos are great and important, please join us at timcast.com because we can't do this without you. [00:06:21] Let's start here. [00:06:22] Most of you already know this, so I'm not going to spend too much time reading over Trump's threat to wipe out a whole civilization. [00:06:29] It's an amazing statement A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. [00:06:36] I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. [00:06:39] However, now that we have complete and total regime change where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, Maybe something revolutionary, revolutionarily wonderful can happen. [00:06:49] Who knows? [00:06:50] We will find out tonight. [00:06:52] Well, my friends, we had this conflicted report, which matters a lot. [00:06:58] It was being reported that Iran had suspended all diplomatic and indirect lines of communication with the United States. [00:07:04] This coming from Iranian media and picked up by American media sources, indicating Iran is refusing to negotiate and Trump would be forced to make the ultimate play. [00:07:16] However, Tehran Times has deleted the report, and there are rumors they may actually be negotiating. [00:07:23] Now, we do have videos of these human shields forming around power plants. [00:07:28] That's going to stop Trump from being able to bomb them, which is a massive risk on the part of the Iranians. [00:07:33] But I think it's a very clever tactic. [00:07:37] Donald Trump, I will stress this people say it's a war crime to take out power plants and bridges. [00:07:44] I do not believe that is correct. [00:07:46] I believe there are certain, like if Trump were to bomb the desalination plant, That could be considered a war crime. [00:07:52] But I want to stress this to everybody define war crime in the philosophical sense. [00:07:57] Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me what a war crime is. [00:08:02] The idea of a war crime is basically saying we will conduct efforts to murder each other in a gentlemanly way. === Defining War Crimes in Europe (02:55) === [00:08:09] The concept of war crimes don't matter when war actually does. [00:08:15] If you are facing a true existential threat, survival is all anyone cares about. [00:08:20] No one. [00:08:21] No one's going to play these games. [00:08:22] If the US wants to crush Iran, your concept of war crimes are meaningless. [00:08:27] You can say it all day. [00:08:28] I'm not saying that blowing up power plants or desalination plants is a good thing. [00:08:32] I'm just saying those who want to win will win by any means necessary. [00:08:39] Let's take a look at this from Axios on March 10th, which is really fascinating. [00:08:42] A world at war, but not a world war, huh? [00:08:46] Iran conflict goes global, indeed. [00:08:50] 10 days, and this is, mind you, this is from March, into Trump's Iran campaign, at least 20 countries are now militarily involved, shooting, shielding, or quietly supplying, while a widening energy shock punishes nations far from the front lines. [00:09:04] This isn't World War III, but it may be the closest we've come in decades, drawing in more countries, more great powers. [00:09:10] And more overlapping conflicts than any crisis since the Cold War. [00:09:15] Iran has struck at least 10 countries since the war began, hitting U.S. and Israeli bases, Persian Gulf capitals, oil infrastructure, and civilian areas in an attempt to impose maximum pain on Washington and its allies. [00:09:28] They have cut off the Strait of Hormuz. [00:09:31] Israel is fighting on two fronts, pounding Iran while battling Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon. [00:09:37] The war has spread far beyond the Middle East, pulling European militaries into the conflict. [00:09:42] Forcing NATO to shoot down Iranian missiles over allied territory for the first time. [00:09:47] France has dispatched its nuclear powered aircraft. [00:09:49] Greece and Turkey, bitter rivals, also rushed forces to Cyprus. [00:09:54] Even Australia said Monday it's sending missiles and radar planes to help the UAE and other Gulf countries. [00:10:01] Absolutely fascinating, my friends. [00:10:03] Let me give you some context. [00:10:04] I asked our good friend Grok Was World War II started at once, or was it a slow encroaching of various global conflicts? [00:10:13] World War II is conventionally dated as beginning on September 1st, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. [00:10:19] Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany in fulfillment of their defense commitments to Poland. [00:10:25] This marked the formal start of the conflict in Europe. [00:10:28] However, historians widely view this as a culmination of a slow, encroaching buildup of tensions, aggressions, and regional conflicts rather than a sudden, isolated outbreak. [00:10:39] The war did not erupt at once in a vacuum, it grew from unresolved issues after World War I. Economic instability, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and a pattern of unchecked expansionism by the future Axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan. [00:10:56] The point here, my friends World War II and the Civil War, and say all wars, historically have a definitive starting point. === The Madman Strategy Explained (06:08) === [00:11:05] And if you watch my show, you're going, Tim, we get it. [00:11:07] You told us a million times. [00:11:08] We don't know when a war truly begins until well after that war. [00:11:12] The shot heard round the world. [00:11:14] Well, that was a full year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. [00:11:19] Fort Sumter. [00:11:20] After the battle at Fort Sumter in the American Civil War, where we say it started, people were picnicking at the battlefield at the First Battle of Bull Run because they did not believe war had actually started. [00:11:31] And of course, in Europe, with the invasion of Poland, no one was just saying, hey, boys, we just kicked off World War III. [00:11:38] But historically, we look back and we know this. [00:11:42] Now, this may be World War III. [00:11:44] It is trending. [00:11:44] And sooner or later, someone will decide maybe it was Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [00:11:49] I don't think so. [00:11:50] Maybe, but I don't know. [00:11:53] It could be the start of the war with Iran as Russia is rumored to be providing military tech. [00:11:58] This is not just a proxy war where Russia provides intel to their, or actually, I say Russia has forces in Ukraine fighting Ukrainians, and the U.S. provides intel to Ukraine to take out Russian assets. [00:12:09] This is now Russia directly providing assets for blowing up the United States, which would mean our infrastructure and our military capabilities. [00:12:18] If that is true, the U.S. and Russia are now fighting each other on various battlefields. [00:12:25] We've got this video from Eric Doherty. [00:12:27] He says, breaking Iran is now forming human chains in front of power plants in Khezuran in a bid to dissuade President Trump's strikes come 8 p.m. [00:12:35] They even invited children to attend. [00:12:38] This is evil and disgusting. [00:12:40] Iran views their people as meat shields. [00:12:44] Here's the video. [00:12:54] Looks like it's largely women in the cop. [00:13:03] Again, there's the video footage you can see. [00:13:06] What appears to show people standing outside of a power plant in Iran. [00:13:10] So they report. [00:13:10] We also have this footage from current report just in. [00:13:13] Iranians are gathering on bridges and around the plants, forming human chains after threats of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran's civilian infrastructure. [00:13:36] This footage that we're seeing for those of you listening looks like there are people holding a gigantic banner of the Iranian flag standing on various bridges to prevent the U.S. from striking them, as that would be massive collateral damage. [00:13:50] Trump absolutely cannot strike these targets with these people nearby. [00:13:55] Now, as for the power plant, it's a different story. [00:13:57] There may be people outside the power plant, but they're not inside the power plant. [00:14:01] So if Trump were to bomb that power plant, I don't know. [00:14:04] Now, my friends, many people have said it would be a war crime. [00:14:06] And as we went over this, The argument is that power plants and bridges are dual use. [00:14:10] They can be used for military advancement, so they're not necessarily civilian targets. [00:14:14] War crime, war crime, whatever. [00:14:16] Trump has threatened to take out desalination plants and water supplies. [00:14:19] And there was, I gotta be honest, there's a funny story where apparently Israel bombed a heavy water facility, and people who don't know anything about foreign policy but inject themselves into it because politics is pop culture said, oh no, they're taking out their water. [00:14:32] No, heavy water is not drinkable, potable water. [00:14:35] Heavy water is an industrial compound used in nuclear power plants and for weapons. [00:14:42] Now we have this. [00:14:43] Anthony Scaramucci warns Trump's push for European involvement in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger World War III. [00:14:50] Someone needs to find the exit ramp. [00:14:54] He's not wrong. [00:14:56] We are getting to a dangerous position with this massive threat from Trump. [00:15:00] But I want to stress, my friends, we call this deja vu, deja vu all over again. [00:15:05] I want to pull in some commentary for you guys. [00:15:08] We've got, let me see if I can find this one. [00:15:10] We've got Michael Malice here, who is countering these narratives. [00:15:15] And he says, North Korea spent decades acting crazy to get other nations to capitulate. [00:15:21] Boris Johnson admitted to doing the same with Brexit negotiations, pretending he was ready to do a no deal. [00:15:26] When Trump acts like a loon, it's the one time his opponents insist he's being honest. [00:15:31] To which he responds with this We are in rerun season. [00:15:34] Trump threatens North Korea with fire and fury, 2017. [00:15:38] And then Trump threatens death, fire, and fury if Iran disrupts Strait of Hormuz. [00:15:44] The argument here, my friends, is that Trump is pulling the madman strategy. [00:15:48] And he is both derisively and endearingly called the Madman. [00:15:53] Indeed. [00:15:54] Well, the idea is that Trump is making grand and insane sounding threats to force Iran to back down. [00:16:02] The only problem is, as Michael Males points out, it's the one time everyone acts like he's telling the truth. [00:16:08] This time, when we know it's his game plan, do you think the Iranians believe any of this? [00:16:14] I suppose, my friends, the challenge would be Iran may just think Trump's not going to do it. [00:16:21] He never will. [00:16:22] There was that famous leaked phone call where he said he was talking to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. [00:16:26] And he said, Putin, if you invade Ukraine, I will nuke Moscow. [00:16:29] He said to Xi Jinping, if you take Taiwan, I will nuke Beijing. [00:16:33] Really? [00:16:34] Well, Russia invaded Ukraine and Trump did not nuke Moscow. [00:16:38] In fact, Trump didn't do all that much. [00:16:40] So why would any of our adversaries believe the madman theory? [00:16:44] This is from RNZ. [00:16:47] They say an international law expert says the president appears to be employing what is known as the madman theory, an attempt to end the war in Iran. [00:16:54] In an expo-laden post overnight, Trump vowed to strike Iran's power plants and bridges if the country's leaders don't reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [00:17:01] The man man theory was a strategy brought to fame by Richard Nixon's unsuccessful attempt to end the Vietnam War. [00:17:06] The strategy involves behaving in an irrational, erratic manner and threatening to go to extreme lengths to end the war or conflict. === Why Adversaries Doubt the Threat (15:15) === [00:17:13] The idea is that you don't know whether the person will or won't do it, and the opposition will be scared into making a deal. [00:17:19] The issue with Trump's use of the strategy in the case of Iran is that it relies upon rational opposition. [00:17:26] I'm going to tell you why I worry about this. [00:17:28] I'm going to tell you. [00:17:29] In a way that I would love to tell you, and that's poker. [00:17:34] So let me tell you a quick story. [00:17:36] I'll just make it quick for people who don't really care, but this is an age old game, and I'm a big fan, big player. [00:17:42] My friends, you all know what it means to bluff, but many people who don't understand the game of poker, many of them think it to be just little old gambling, believe bluff just means to make a big bet to scare off your opponent because you've got a great hand. [00:17:57] You're basically saying, you know what, my cards are so good, I'm all in. [00:18:01] The only problem is. [00:18:03] If I have a read on you, and if your story doesn't make sense, I'm going to call your bluff. [00:18:10] See, I once played a hand with a guy, and let's just say I'll keep the jargon at a minimum. [00:18:16] So I make a bet, he calls my bet, the cards come out. [00:18:21] I'm pretty happy, so I make a bet, he calls my bet. [00:18:24] Looking at the board, the structure of the cards that came out do not indicate that I was anything other than the best possible hand, meaning strong hands like a royal flush couldn't exist or four of a kind. [00:18:35] These things were not possible. [00:18:36] Right? [00:18:37] I know for people who play poker, I could get a little more detail, but I'm trying to keep it light. [00:18:41] So I knew while I didn't have the best possible hand, there's very little that would beat me in this circumstance. [00:18:46] And so this third gentleman called, and then finally, at the end, when I make a bet, he shoves all his chips in. [00:18:55] He shoved all his chips. [00:18:56] He says, I've got the best hand. [00:18:58] And I look at the board, and this is how the game is played. [00:19:02] Every step of the way, we're thinking about what you might do with a certain range of cards you might have. [00:19:09] How would you behave? [00:19:10] Well, I would argue that the structure of the board and the actions he took told a bad story. [00:19:16] It did not make sense. [00:19:19] The story he told indicated he had nothing, got scared, and was hoping I would fold, and I had a really great hand anyway. [00:19:26] So, unlucky for him, it was an easy call for me. [00:19:30] I didn't have to read that difficult. [00:19:32] I didn't miss, I made it. [00:19:34] Two pair, actually. [00:19:34] Top two. [00:19:35] Ace Jack, I call and he has absolutely nothing. [00:19:40] And so I ask this what story are you trying to tell with your lie that you think I would back down? [00:19:47] Let's translate this to the madman theory. [00:19:49] Now, by all means, I know there's a lot of people who support Trump and believe the madman theory is what he's doing, as Michael Mouse points out, but let me ask this what story has Trump been telling this whole time? [00:19:59] Not truth be told, we have had strikes on Carg Island overnight. [00:20:04] Donald Trump has bombed and wiped out a whole lot. [00:20:08] But is the story Trump telling over this whole, I should say, this past eight years, including Joe Biden, you know, we skipped over that, is the story being told one of blowing up civilian targets, killing people on bridges? [00:20:23] I'm sorry, it's not. [00:20:24] And that's why the Iranians are gathering on these bridges. [00:20:27] They're going to call Trump's bluff. [00:20:30] Mario Nuffel, I don't know if you're familiar, but he's a big personality on X and he covers the news, said he believes that Trump will find an off ramp tonight. [00:20:37] I agree. [00:20:39] I could be wrong, guys, but I would look at this like Trump may make some strikes to make it seem as though he kept his word he was going to bomb them. [00:20:49] But I don't believe, especially with human shields forming, Donald Trump has told a story that indicates he is willing to blow up power plants. [00:20:58] I just don't think so. [00:21:00] That being said, I could be wrong. [00:21:02] Every once in a while, you get a master of the craft at a poker table. [00:21:06] Ah, and sometimes you fall for traps. [00:21:08] Sometimes it happens. [00:21:10] And so I played against a guy who was very good. [00:21:13] And he knows that I'm not bad myself, though I'm not pretending to be a great player. [00:21:17] He knew that I had basic understanding. [00:21:18] So, what did he do? [00:21:19] He intentionally took a route that told a bad story. [00:21:24] Because he was hoping that finally, in the end, when he made that move, I would say, Your story makes no sense. [00:21:31] But it's like Ficini in The Princess Bride I switched glasses when your back was turned. [00:21:37] And so, this guy, he told a bad story on purpose. [00:21:43] And so there I am, staring down a board where I should have the best hand, where it wouldn't make sense for him to be able to beat me. [00:21:52] And so I made a bet. [00:21:54] And then he calls and he flips over pocket jacks. [00:21:57] And he had me. [00:21:59] I had a pair. [00:22:00] I had ace 10. [00:22:02] But the story he told was well done. [00:22:05] It was well done. [00:22:06] This guy was good. [00:22:07] He was a local grinder who played professionally, but not at the highest levels, just the low stakes games to make a living. [00:22:13] And it was a well played hand. [00:22:15] And he tricked me. [00:22:17] He led me to believe the whole time that we were at that table that he was not a regular, that he was a tourist, that he was unfamiliar. [00:22:25] And then finally, I decided I'm going to make a move because I think I'm going to be good here. [00:22:30] And he got me. [00:22:31] And the reason I bring this up is maybe that's the game Trump is willing to play. [00:22:36] He's going to pull off the grand move only when it matters most. [00:22:40] He makes the Iranians believe he is incapable or unwilling in every other circumstance, Ukraine being a great example. [00:22:47] And then they will be caught by surprise with their pants down and get taken for a ride. [00:22:53] You never know exactly how it's going to play out. [00:22:56] But what I will say is this. [00:22:57] I don't believe the grand finale here is that Trump really is willing to bomb these power plants. [00:23:02] Well, I'll put it this way he's willing to. [00:23:05] A madman could do anything, right? [00:23:07] But I do believe the greater probability will be with Trump finding some off ramp, which means limited strikes, Trump saying we did it, we'll come back at a later date if we need to. [00:23:19] He's been saying over and over again over the past month we're winding things down, we've basically won, it's over, yet here we are with the Strait of Hormuz still closed. [00:23:28] Now, I'll say it again. [00:23:29] I said it before. [00:23:30] I'll say it a million times. [00:23:31] Guys, you ask me what I'm doing, why I do it. [00:23:35] I want this country to stay together. [00:23:37] That means the wackaloon left and the right. [00:23:40] And that's why I often, you'll find me as a moderate, I'm trying to say let's not lose our heads on this one. [00:23:48] Well, we've got Candace Owens. [00:23:50] She says the Iranian president tweets that he's willing to sacrifice his own life for his people. [00:23:54] Donald Trump was willing to sacrifice Charlie Kirk and is willing to sacrifice every American life and livelihood for greater Israel. [00:24:01] Who is the animal again? [00:24:04] Okay. [00:24:04] Well, here's AOC. [00:24:07] This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. [00:24:09] To every individual in the president's chain of command, you have a duty to refuse illegal orders that includes carrying out this threat. [00:24:16] Ah, yes. [00:24:17] AOC and Candace Owens together at last. [00:24:20] Well, at least Trump is the great unifier, I suppose. [00:24:24] It seems like things might get bad. [00:24:26] We've got this one from Sager and Jetty. [00:24:28] It is now a time for choosing. [00:24:30] The era of trying to be the reasonable voice inside is over. [00:24:33] Anyone with an ounce of integrity should follow the lead of Joe Kent and resign with honor. [00:24:38] or take immediate public steps to forestall disaster. [00:24:42] If you do not, we will not forget. [00:24:46] Which brings me, my friends, to, let's just call it the American wager. [00:24:53] What we are seeing right now can be defined once again very simply. [00:24:58] If you are right wing and Trump wins, you are fine. [00:25:02] If you are left wing and Trump wins, you are fine. [00:25:04] If you are left wing and the left wins, you are fine. [00:25:06] But if you are right wing and the left wins, You will be crushed. [00:25:11] And it's worse now than ever before. [00:25:15] Trump's gambit on Iran is terrifying. [00:25:20] If he follows through with this bombing campaign but ultimately fails, he will not only be impeached, he will be imprisoned. [00:25:27] His administration will be figuratively Nuremberged. [00:25:32] If Trump fails, if China becomes the dominant global power, and to all the people who stand behind Donald Trump, should he lose, they're going to find themselves along for the ride. [00:25:46] Which means I wouldn't be surprised to see many Trump supporters breaking away and saying, Enough, I can't do this. [00:25:51] Why? [00:25:52] Well, there's a few red flags, I would say. [00:25:56] If you're someone like Alex Jones, he recently came and said, How do we 25th Amendment this guy with Robert Barnes? [00:26:03] I'm not going to impugn their honor or imply anything, but I will say this. [00:26:06] For people in the media space to notice, the top global podcasts are anti Israel, anti Iran war, and anti Trump. [00:26:13] Holy. [00:26:15] Well, you're taking notice of where public sentiment is. [00:26:18] These individuals are basically saying, I don't want to be on the back end of this. [00:26:22] Now, with Donald Trump winning the presidency in 2016, we saw this divergence. [00:26:26] There was the woke element, the neocons joined the Democrats. [00:26:30] However, a strong core of Trump supporters survived because it was Effectively 50 50. [00:26:38] People were able to live and work and be safe if they were Trump supporters, despite the challenges, because there was enough support for Trump. [00:26:47] But as this podcast machine breaks down, as people begin to see that if you want the clicks anti Israel, well, then the narrative shift is here. [00:26:59] Trump is wrong. [00:27:00] Greater Israel is wrong. [00:27:01] The war is wrong. [00:27:02] I won't stand with Trump, they say. [00:27:05] Me, I'm not going to play those games. [00:27:07] I don't care if it means that they will call me all the names in the book, accuse me of being Israeli, accuse me of being Russian, accuse me of being pro Iran or anti America or pro America, whatever it might be. [00:27:18] I'm going to tell you what I think is happening and why I think it's happening. [00:27:21] I'm going to tell you why I support Donald Trump and the things that he does are good and the policies he's enacted that I support. [00:27:29] And as I've said from the beginning, I do not support the intervention in Iran. [00:27:33] But I believe the most effective means of communication and control will be to keep one hand on that steering wheel, not to throw it away and spit in his face. [00:27:41] But I do believe there are many prominent individuals that fear Trump is about to lose everything. [00:27:46] The Iran war is not popular. [00:27:48] Gas is way high. [00:27:50] Democrats are going to win in the midterms and they are going to subpoena people and they're going to ban on you. [00:27:56] They're going to Peter Navarro you. [00:27:58] What's the safest thing to do before the midterms? [00:28:01] Break from Trump. [00:28:03] That way, you won't be falsely accused of being a Russian or subpoenaed to testify and put into a trap, a perjury trap, where they put you in prison. [00:28:13] Indeed. [00:28:15] You see, I stand up for what I believe is right. [00:28:18] And for this, my reward was the Biden administration with Merrick Garland falsely accusing me of taking money from Russia, which resulted in threats of death because they want me to be scared. [00:28:31] They want to say, Tim, we will lie and we will use the weight of government and destroy you. [00:28:37] And truth be damned, you will be crushed. [00:28:41] Okay, I guess. [00:28:43] You guys can screw yourselves. [00:28:45] You can lie all day and night. [00:28:48] But I do believe the fear campaign works. [00:28:50] Think about what they did with that false accusation of Russia, Russia, Russia. [00:28:54] They did it to Trump. [00:28:56] They did it to me and several other prominent conservative personalities. [00:29:00] And now the Democrats are lining up to take back the House and wield that power once again. [00:29:06] And then what about 2028? [00:29:08] What they're basically saying to me and everybody else is they are willing to put a knife in our backs. [00:29:14] To lie and destroy everything that we hold dear in the most devious and dirtiest of ways. [00:29:20] Yeah, I opposed U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine. [00:29:25] And for this, the machine state came after me. [00:29:28] The funny thing is now, while I still oppose this interventionist policies, I am not a big fan of U.S. world police. [00:29:35] I do believe it's in the best interest of the American people that we win this conflict in Iran. [00:29:40] It ends in a way beneficial to us. [00:29:43] Now we're seeing people break, breaking ranks. [00:29:46] Trump must be removed. [00:29:48] You got Tucker Carlson making the case that Trump is the Antichrist. [00:29:52] Lord have mercy. [00:29:54] Trump firing back saying Tucker Carlson's low IQ. [00:29:57] Low IQ. [00:30:00] Wow. [00:30:02] I don't know where the chips will fall. [00:30:04] I'm not going to advocate that Donald Trump be 25th Amendmented. [00:30:08] I think that's silly. [00:30:09] I think that every president we've had of my lifetime has started some war, except for Trump in his first term. [00:30:14] Now, Trump in a second term, he has. [00:30:16] I am critical of those decisions. [00:30:18] It's already shown itself to be bad. [00:30:21] Gas prices are way up. [00:30:23] The economy is in trouble. [00:30:24] Diesel is at six bucks by me. [00:30:26] Guys, this is really bad. [00:30:27] Trump needs to win. [00:30:29] I don't know how he does. [00:30:32] But I will say this. [00:30:34] You know, the people that want to 25th Amendment Donald Trump, by all means, you're allowed to have that opinion. [00:30:41] I'm not going to question whether Alex Jones is serious about it or not. [00:30:45] What I do think is there are many prominent people in media that don't know which direction to go and are scared of being booted, I guess. [00:30:53] In quarter four of 2025, Timcast IRL was the 122nd biggest podcast in the world. [00:31:00] Wow, we just notched right above Real Time with Bill Maher. [00:31:04] Of course, there are many other much more prominent, larger shows than us. [00:31:08] Over the past several months, I would say Timcast IRL concurrent viewership has gone from an average of 50,000 per night to now around 35. [00:31:18] On YouTube, we do around like 20K. [00:31:20] On Rumble, we do about 15 or so, and viewership is down. [00:31:25] It's been reported that for right wing personalities, conservative, moderate, pro America, et cetera, they've seen a general decline of around 27 or so percent, which tracks, I guess. [00:31:34] This show has done the same as it always has. [00:31:38] My morning show, Tim Cass News, has done the same as it always has, but I can see there's a general decline. [00:31:42] I just think it's seasonal, I guess. [00:31:43] I'm not going to cry about it. [00:31:45] But I've had conversations with prominent people in media on the right, and they've been freaking out because their revenue is way down, and revenue is way down for everybody. [00:31:54] And they're starting to panic. [00:31:56] What do we do? [00:31:57] I'm not surprised then to see so many people chasing Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson. [00:32:04] I take a look at the podcast rankings and they're on top. [00:32:06] Not on every platform, mind you, but on Spotify, they're doing very well. [00:32:10] Look at Candace Owens' viewership on YouTube 120,000 concurrent viewers, massive female audience, money to be made. [00:32:17] Your CPMs, your RPMs remain high when you go that route. [00:32:21] I'm not surprised to see people going this direction. [00:32:24] They are chasing after what they think is the people want. === Critics Chase Conservative Voices (01:50) === [00:32:29] Me, I'm going to tell you what I think is real, what I think is important. [00:32:32] And even if that means people are going to put me on the outs, this means I've been critical of Trump wherever I think he's needed to be criticized. [00:32:38] It means I've supported him tremendously on the things I think he should be supported on. [00:32:42] I've defended Roe Khanna and other Democrats, but largely remained very, very critical of the Democratic Party and Joe Biden. [00:32:48] I'll tell you what I think is true. [00:32:49] I'm not going to run, I'm not going to hide. [00:32:51] And no one is going to threaten me with death or false accusations to make me lie. [00:32:57] It's just not going to happen. [00:33:00] Recently, Angel Studios offered us a good sponsorship for their new film, Animal Farm, and I rejected it because it was the right thing to do. [00:33:07] And that's dumb for a business that is in the ad sales business, right? [00:33:14] An advertiser might say that don't go to Tim Pool if he doesn't like your product. [00:33:17] He's going to come and cause you problems. [00:33:20] So don't even bother with him. [00:33:21] Could cost us money in the long run. [00:33:23] So be it. [00:33:24] If I am but a humble man in a boat on the river fishing, and that is all that becomes of me, at least I know that I held my honor and my dignity. [00:33:34] I am not suggesting any of the individuals criticizing Trump have none. [00:33:37] In fact, this may be one of the most honorable things they can do if they genuinely believe that Trump has crossed that line. [00:33:43] To break from their own audiences is a scary thing. [00:33:46] I am not suggesting anyone who criticizes Trump is doing so out of fear. [00:33:51] I do believe many are. [00:33:53] So we shall see tonight. [00:33:55] Smash the like button if you so choose. [00:33:57] Subscribe, share the show, become a member at TimCast.com to make this work possible because, again, we cannot do it without you. [00:34:05] I'm grateful to all of you who watch and share these videos. [00:34:08] It really does mean the world to me. [00:34:10] And it has been the honor and a privilege of a lifetime. [00:34:13] Tonight, we'll see how hot things really get. [00:34:16] Thanks for hanging out, and we'll see you all at 8 p.m. for TimCast IRL.