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Pivot

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel, Pam Bondi’s Free Speech Mess, and Trump Sues The New York Times

Podcast Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway 9/19/2025
  • Acknowledging Counterarguments
  • Citing Evidence
  • Admitting Uncertainty
  • Ad Hominem
  • Hasty Generalization
  • Appeal to Emotion
  • Us vs. Them
  • Dehumanization
  • Crisis Rhetoric
Overall summary: This podcast episode is characterized by highly emotional, often vulgar rhetoric mixed with substantive policy critiques. While the hosts raise legitimate concerns about free speech violations and government overreach, their arguments are frequently undermined by personal attacks, unsubstantiated claims, and inflammatory language. The discussion oscillates between insightful analysis (particularly regarding media consolidation and First Amendment issues) and crude ad hominem attacks. The hosts demonstrate some good faith by acknowledging opposing viewpoints and admitting uncertainty, but this is overshadowed by their tendency toward dehumanizing language and crisis rhetoric. The overall tone is one of outrage and frustration, which, while perhaps understandable given the subject matter, often detracts from the strength of their underlying arguments about press freedom and democratic norms.

Highlights

Good Faith: Acknowledging Counterarguments, Citing Evidence, Admitting Uncertainty
Fallacies: Ad Hominem, Hasty Generalization, Appeal to Emotion
Cultish Language: Us vs. Them, Dehumanization, Crisis Rhetoric
Fact Check Highlights: Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about the Charlie Kirk shooting — Misleading; Putin flew attack drones now into Romania — Unverified; The top 10% income earning households now are responsible for 50% of the spending — Unverified
🤝
3 Good Faith Indicators
⚠️
3 Logical Fallacies
🧠
3 Cultish / Manipulative Language
🔍
4 Fact Checks

🤝 Good Faith Indicators

3 findings

Acknowledging Counterarguments

Recognizing opposing viewpoints or potential criticisms

Examples:
  • Tucker Carlson was one of the ones on the far right who was pretty fired up about this. But in the way that's different.
  • To be fair, as you know, Tucker Carlson was one of the ones on the far right who was pretty fired up about this.
  • I realize I'm talking our own book here.

Why it matters: The speakers acknowledge when their ideological opponents make valid points or when they might have conflicts of interest, showing intellectual honesty.

Citing Evidence

Providing specific examples and sources to support arguments

Examples:
  • In 2023, Fox described cancel culture driven largely by woke ideology.
  • Tucker Carlson asked his audience, if you want to know how free your society is, just ask a really basic question.
  • Representative Jim Jordan claimed in 2021, that cancel culture is the most dangerous thing happening in our country today.

Why it matters: The speakers quote specific statements from various sources to demonstrate hypocrisy and support their arguments about free speech violations.

Admitting Uncertainty

Acknowledging when they don't have complete information

Examples:
  • I don't know where to fucking begin.
  • I don't think I'm thinking very straight.
  • The honest answers, I don't know

Why it matters: The speakers admit when they're uncertain or emotionally affected, showing they're not claiming omniscience.

⚠️ Logical Fallacies

3 findings

Ad Hominem

Attacking the person rather than addressing their arguments

Examples:
  • which gives me every indication his penis is very small
  • that alleged couch fucker says is always stupid
  • he's such an idiot. He's l he's such an idiot.
  • fucking Sinclair have it and do their shitty programming

Why it matters: The speakers frequently attack individuals' character, intelligence, or physical attributes rather than focusing solely on their actions or policies.

Hasty Generalization

Making broad conclusions from limited examples

Examples:
  • These people are so hypocritical that they just don't even care anymore to even hide it.
  • all these companies that have broadcast or just lop off a, B, C. Just say, just let it go.

Why it matters: The speakers make sweeping statements about entire groups or industries based on specific incidents.

Appeal to Emotion

Using emotional language to persuade rather than logical argument

Examples:
  • I'm embarrassed for his wife who runs a journalism school. I don't know what she's gonna say to her students today.
  • Bob Iger is gonna go down in history as Neville Chamberlain in a cashmere sweater Minus the dignity.

Why it matters: The speakers use emotionally charged comparisons and personal attacks to evoke feelings rather than present logical arguments.

🧠 Cultish / Manipulative Language

3 findings

Us vs. Them

Creating division between groups

Examples:
  • the MAGA gang
  • These people are incompetent.
  • they're coming for the straight white guys

Why it matters: The speakers frequently divide people into opposing camps, creating an adversarial dynamic.

Dehumanization

Reducing opponents to less than human

Examples:
  • They don't believe you have a soul
  • like pigs at the trough
  • Trump is not, Trump keeps blinking, blinking, blinking, blinking.

Why it matters: The speakers use language that reduces their opponents to animals or automatons, removing their humanity.

Crisis Rhetoric

Presenting situations as existential threats

Examples:
  • Democracy dies in darkness
  • This is full oligarchy
  • the most dangerous thing happening in our country today

Why it matters: The speakers frame current events as catastrophic threats to democracy and freedom, heightening fear and urgency.

🔍 Fact Checking

4 claims

Unverified

The top 10% income earning households now are responsible for 50% of the spending

Source: No source provided

Original source ↗