Today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was asked if the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dog walks President Donald Trump. Now we here at the Young Turks are fully aware that Trump gets dog walked on a daily basis, thus humiliating himself and the American people. [00:00:16] But how did Hegseth handle that question? Let's take a look. In recent weeks, both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's head of Mossad have stated their intent not to cease combat with the Iranians. Netanyahu put this on Twitter, Israel's head of Mossad [00:00:33] said Israel's goals are not finished until the Iranian government collapses. And so they're referring to the government that President Trump has brokered a ceasefire with and is working on a lasting peace uh in the region with. And so that's something many Americans, especially American farmers, are hoping he does get to a lasting peace. And uh so if President Trump [00:00:51] is successful in that and the Israelis are explicitly stating their intent to continue fighting at a later date. How can you ensure America doesn't get roped back into a war if that comes in? Secondly, uh with Netanyahu comfortable tweeting something like that out, and also [00:01:06] Netanyahu has continued bombing Lebanon despite President Trump-. would say your question is based on the false premise that somehow President Trump is being pulled in by Prime Minister Netanyahu to any of these actions. That's where you're going. Just to be clear, President Trump has led at every step of this based on his view of American interest in America first. [00:01:25] And we're grateful that Israelis have been very capable partners at many steps of this. And they may have some objectives at times that are slightly different than ours. But there's only one hand on the wheel ultimately directing this, whether it's Project Freedom or previously Operation Epic Fury and as President Trump. sure buddy, whatever you need to tell yourself [00:01:44] to get through the day and be able to sleep at night, sure. You guys are the only ones with the hands on the wheels, we totally got it. Cenk, back to you. The most important part of that was what the reporter said. The Israeli government is saying that no, we must continue the war until the Iranian government collapses. Which not only would be an extension [00:02:03] of the war for years, but it would involve tens of thousands of American troops and certain disaster. So, Well, we're going to find out who's in charge soon, back to you. And by the way, complete destruction of the global economy given the importance of the Strait of Hormuz and the very real situation on the ground, which is that only diplomatic [00:02:25] means could end that blockade. There is no military option available to the United States. We don't have the production capacity, domestically speaking, to build enough weaponry to compete with Iran's incredibly cheap drones. And we're already dealing with a situation where we've [00:02:44] depleted 80 % upward of 80 % at this point of our missile interceptors. What are we doing? What are we even doing right now? But okay, yeah, I'm sure that the US is in charge and Trump isn't getting dog walked by Israel, even as his approval ratings are tanking, even as [00:03:02] the economy is suffering. mean, total clown show here. What's amazing though, Cenk, is ironically an ever so slight majority of Israelis think that Trump is the one pulling Netanyahu strings. Of course, because they've been taught that they're the victims and they're powerless. [00:03:19] I know. Totally powerless. But even so- they control nothing at all. They barely can control themselves. But even so, I think it's telling that the number is 51%. So 51 % of Israelis believe that the Trump administration has more influence over Israel's defense decisions than [00:03:35] the government, with Israeli Jews having a similar view, 56%. While Arab Israelis think both the government and the US administration have equal decision making power. so-. And the Arabs are also wrong. That's not even close. I agree, I agree, yeah. But still, 49 % of Israelis [00:03:53] are like, yeah, we're spanking the US, we're the ones in control. Think about that. Well, that's a good point. Well, to be fair, 44 % of Israeli Jews, so a little lower number, think, yeah, we obviously own America. their foreign policy and their government. But if [00:04:11] you say it, we'll destroy your life. Okay, I'm allowed to say it, I'm allowed to think it if I'm an Israeli Jew. But if you say it, I'll send my dogs after you, the ones that I know I control. That's called American media, let alone American government. thing, speaking of what the Israelis think, 82 % were in favor of going further in Gaza. The genocide was [00:04:32] not enough for them. 79 % are in favor of attacking Lebanon and taking their land. So we've lost the country. It's become a fully fascist state. Well, let me just say that over the last two and half years, a lot of the Israelis who don't agree with what's been going on have left Israel. [00:04:52] I was on a flight recently and there was a couple sitting in front of me. The man and the couple turned around and said, thank you for what you're doing. I really, really appreciate it. And I said, thank you. And then he's like, my wife is Israeli. And she turned around and [00:05:08] was like, yeah, I watch your show. I was like, what? I was a little bit scared. But no, there are definitely Israelis who don't agree with it and a lot of them have left Israel. Yeah, I talked to a former Israeli couple of weeks ago. He's in London now because he's a great [00:05:23] guy and he can't stomach the genocide. But what's more important in their personal lives is how they get bullied inside of Israel. Of course. Right, because fascists will not abide by any dissent. And so once the country becomes fascist, they're going to try to drive out [00:05:40] all the good people in the country. and they're succeeding in that. And what you have left is an extremist society that is cheering on more genocide, more bloodshed, more land theft, and it's terrible. So I'm going to remind you guys of this one more time. uh Israel is the size of Papua New Guinea in terms of population. Imagine if our entire foreign policy was structured [00:06:00] around Papua New Guinea. And then the media told us no. Papua New Guinea has no extra influence over the US. And then imagine we spent $8 trillion attacking the seven islands around Papua New Guinea. And then the press said no, you're a Papua New Guinea-ist. I mean, this [00:06:20] is-. To be fair-. They're comical, man. You could make a better argument for Papua New Guinea than you can for Israel, at least with Papua New Guinea, their coffee is lit. You know what I'm saying? What do we get from Israel other than bad intel, intentionally bad intel to drag us into wars? We get wars, we get a robbery, etc. But we are not allowed to say [00:06:39] any of that. But if you want, can say anything you want about Papua New Guinea, because no one in the press cares about them or is bullied by them or works for them. And they haven't bribed all of our government officials. But hey, we're so sorry for noticing. I know that the genocide is no problem at all. People noticing the genocide is the real problem, according [00:06:56] to American news media. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true, but it does keep you updated on our live shows.