This week Seena and Travis check-in on the Trump administration’s most recent foray into regional hegemony– the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro. They dig into the reasoning behind it (faulty at best), the plan to rebuild Venezuela (pie in the sky forecasting), and where it might lead us in terms of our relationship with China (basically like planting mines under an already rocky road). They also discuss the on-again / off-again ceasefire between Israel, the US, and Iran, Congress rebuking Trump with more aid to Ukraine, and Germany losing its seat on the UN Security Council. JD also gave a speech to graduating cadets in Colorado Springs that was the definition of mealy mouthed, so basically no surprises there.

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media/Links:

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/05/the-striking-way-jd-vances-message-to-military-graduates-changed-in-just-one-year.html

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/06/05/joint-chiefs-head-makes-first-official-visit-to-post-maduro-venezuela/

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/06/05/joint-chiefs-head-makes-first-official-visit-to-post-maduro-venezuela/

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/06/us-plan-venezuela-wont-work-without-rule-law-heres-how-make-progress

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/06/us-plan-venezuela-wont-work-without-rule-law-heres-how-make-progress/summary

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This week we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to do it. This war is such a shitshow a collective “we told you so” just needed to be said. From the reaction of the proxies to the swiftness with which Iran took control of the Strait of Hormuz to the continued and ever deepening suffering of the Iranian people, all of this was foreseeable. We looked into Trump’s recent change of heart on troops in Poland and the danger of China procuring our AI tech. Who woulda thought that could be a bad idea? We also checked in on why Vietnam is beefing up its maritime footprint and why JD gave Dems fighting fraud the cold shoulder. Apparently simply being inept wasn’t cutting it anymore.

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media/Links:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/05/iran-mass-arbitrary-arrests-and-political-executions-mark-intensifying-repression/

https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/congressional_testimony/ts161206_Dalton_Testimony.pdf

https://www.bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/20260316-Maritime%20Chokepoints.pdf

https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/31445/1/Stuck%20on%20a%20hostile%20path%20%20US%20policy%20towards%20Iran%20since%20the%20revolution.pdf

https://www.newsx.com/world/why-us-suddenly-blocked-nvidia-ai-chips-from-reaching-chinese-firms-worldwide-228667/

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/22/g-s1-123596/trump-sending-5-000-troops-to-poland

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-south-china-sea-tensions-vietnam/?embedded-checkout=true

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/27/repub/democratic-state-ags-say-their-staff-excluded-from-vance-anti-fraud-meeting/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-vance/vance-book-faith-journey-usha-central-role-rcna346453

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY3QecajUtr/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-q8MGoGG0/

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This week Seena and Travis talk through Trump and Netanyahu’s insane plot to return Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s loathsome former president, to power. The plot (thank all that is good) ultimately failed, but why it happened in the first place and how exactly it failed is a testament to how disconnected from reality the two men who started this war are.

JD Vance Corner Song: Kevin Flatt and SB

JD Vance Corner Animation: Bridgit Connell

Media:

https://youtu.be/OD1PnbJwfSw?t=2628

https://newrepublic.com/post/210395/jd-vance-donald-trump-never-said-care-even-little-bit-americans

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYkW3YFCum7/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYk1t12mhfw/

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/briefs/vance-praises-redistricting-touts-efforts-to-bring-manufacturing-back-to-u-s-at-kansas-city-stop/

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/20/as-jd-vance-and-donald-trump-try-to-gaslight-ohioans-about-the-economy-working-families-suffer/

https://www.ptinews.com/story/international/us-israel-planned-to-instal-ahmadinejad-as-iran-president-in-regime-change-op-report/3684381

https://www.specialeurasia.com/2026/05/20/us-israeli-ahmadinejad-iran/

https://knpr.org/npr/2026-05-20/new-york-times-report-says-u-s-and-israel-planned-to-install-former-hardline-president-in-iran

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nyt-israeli-developed-plan-sought-to-have-ahmadinejad-run-iran-after-khamenei-killed/

https://www.aninews.in/news/world/us/someone-from-within-report-reveals-alleged-us-israeli-plan-to-install-hardliner-former-iranian-president-after-khamenei-strike20260520075144/

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