The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (12/18/2023):

3:05pm- While campaigning in Wilmington, Delaware over the weekend, an SUV in President Joe Biden’s motorcade was struck by a sedan. Neither President Biden nor First Lady Jill Biden were traveling in the vehicle.

3:10pm- Annie Linskey of The Wall Street Journal notes that even former President Barack Obama is concerned about President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects. Linskey writes, “a round of dismal polls is increasing jitters among Democrats, including some in the West Wing, who are worried that voters’ negative views on the president are going unchallenged. Those Democrats are growing impatient for a full-fledged campaign to start. Those with concerns include former President Barack Obama, who knows this is going to be a close race’ and ‘feels that Democrats very well could lose’ the 2024 election, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Obama worries that ‘the alternative is pretty dangerous for democracy,’ the person said.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/bidens-agenda-hangs-in-balance-as-tough-election-year-approaches-43d24633

3:30pm- Reporting from the U.S. Southern border, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin revealed that authorities in Eagle Pass, Texas are “suspending railway operations…they’re shutting down international commerce in order to help speed up processing of migrants.”

3:40pm- While speaking with NBC News, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) said, “I’m not a progressive…I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.” You can read a recap of his interview with NBC News here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/-not-progressive-fetterman-breaks-left-israel-immigration-rcna129747

3:50pm- Adam Sabes of Fox News writes: “An alleged congressional staffer who filmed an explicit sex tape inside a Senate hearing room could face criminal charges, one lawyer argues. The U.S. Capitol Police told Fox News they were aware of an amateur pornographic video published by the Daily Caller on Friday, which shows someone identified as a congressional staffer, engaging in sex with another man in Hart Senate Office Building room 216… Posts on social media claimed the alleged staffer worked for Sen. Ben Cardin's office. Hours after the story broke, Cardin's office announced that a legislative aide had been dismissed but did not address reports linking a member of his staff to the sex tape.” You can read more here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-sex-tape-congressional-staffer-allegedly-seen-leaked-video-could-face-charges-lawyer-says

4:05pm- Judicial Watch has announced that according to heavily redacted documents it has attained, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s surveilling and targeting of Catholics—baselessly categorizing Catholics as extremists—was more wide-spread than was initially claimed. FBI Director Christopher Wray had indicated that the unlawful targeting was limited to a single field office. You can read more here: https://www.judicialwatch.org/targeting-of-catholics/

4:30pm- Rich, Matt, and Henry debate the best and worst Christmas songs. Plus, Rich reveals he has never seen Home Alone or Home Alone 2—how is this possible?

4:45pm- In an impossibly outrageous editorial featured by The Atlantic, Caitlan Flanagan argues that you should NEVER watch Rudolph. She claims, “Santa presides over a nonunion shop where underproducing elves are deprived of breaks and humiliated”—and refers to Santa’s workshop as a “little forced-labor camp.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/rankin-bass-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/616932/

5:05pm- Republicans and Democrats continue to negotiate over enhanced border security policies designed to crack down on the thousands of migrants crossing the U.S. Southern border unlawfully each day. Speaking from outside of the U.S. Capitol, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) bizarrely claimed that discouraging illegal migration is similar to “racial quota laws” enacted during the 1920s.

5:10pm- While speaking with NBC News, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) said, “I’m not a progressive…I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.” You can read a recap of his interview with NBC News here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/-not-progressive-fetterman-breaks-left-israel-immigration-rcna129747

5:15pm- New York Times columnist David Brooks suggested Chris Christie should drop out of the Republican presidential race in order to clear a path for Nikki Haley to directly challenge Donald Trump in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

5:20pm- Reporting from the U.S. Southern border, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin revealed that authorities in Eagle Pass, Texas are “suspending railway operations…they’re shutting down international commerce in order to help speed up processing of migrants.”

5:25pm- While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans and Democrats are “not anywhere close to a deal” on legislation that tethers Ukraine aid, Israel aid, and funds for additional security at the U.S. Southern border.

5:30pm- On this weekend’s episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, journalist Walter Kirn said that the flood of students going directly from Ivy League universities to become writers at The New York Times is creating a progressive bubble and, consequently, damaging journalism.

5:40pm- Has baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani figured out an ingenious way to avoid California’s outlandish state income? Lindsey Adler and Richard Rubin write: “Ohtani will take home just $2 million per season over the 10-year span of his contract, which was made official Monday night. In an unprecedented structure, Ohtani will defer $68 million per season until the end of his contract, meaning the Dodgers will pay him $680 million between 2034 and 2043…But by the time he starts receiving the $68 million payments, he may be able to avoid state income taxes by living someplace like Florida without an income tax, or by moving back to Japan.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/shohei-ohtani-700-million-contract-deferral-067a345f

5:45pm- Adam Sabes of Fox News writes: “An alleged congressional staffer who filmed an explicit sex tape inside a Senate hearing room could face criminal charges, one lawyer argues. The U.S. Capitol Police told Fox News they were aware of an amateur pornographic video published by the Daily Caller on Friday, which shows someone identified as a congressional staffer, engaging in sex with another man in Hart Senate Office Building room 216… Posts on social media claimed the alleged staffer worked for Sen. Ben Cardin's office. Hours after the story broke, Cardin's office announced that a legislative aide had been dismissed but did not address reports linking a member of his staff to the sex tape.” You can read more here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-sex-tape-congressional-staffer-allegedly-seen-leaked-video-could-face-charges-lawyer-says

6:05pm- Annie Linskey of The Wall Street Journal notes that even former President Barack Obama is concerned about President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects. Linskey writes, “a round of dismal polls is increasing jitters among Democrats, including some in the West Wing, who are worried that voters’ negative views on the president are going unchallenged. Those Democrats are growing impatient for a full-fledged campaign to start. Those with concerns include former President Barack Obama, who knows this is going to be a close race’ and ‘feels that Democrats very well could lose’ the 2024 election, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Obama worries that ‘the alternative is pretty dangerous for democracy,’ the person said.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/bidens-agenda-hangs-in-balance-as-tough-election-year-approaches-43d24633

6:10pm- According to new polling data from Morning Consult, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump now leads President Joe Biden in all seven swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the 2024 presidential election. You can read more here: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trump-now-leads-biden-in-all-seven-swing-states-poll/

6:15pm- According to a report from Michael Kranish of The Washington Post, James Biden—the younger brother of President Joe Biden—was secretly recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after his consulting firm, Lion Hall, received a $100,000 payment from a Mississippi-based attorney, Richard Scruggs, for advice on passing tobacco legislation. Though James Biden was never accused of any wrongdoing or of selling influence, Scruggs conceded: “I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother.” Scruggs was eventually sent to prison on bribery charges in an unrelated incident. You can read Kranish’s article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/17/james-bidens-dealmaking-caught-fbi-tapes-unrelated-bribery-probe/

6:35pm- While speaking at a campaign rally in Durham, New Hampshire, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said: “If you want to see a bird cemetery, go under a windmill.”

6:45pm- Reporting from the U.S. Southern border, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin revealed that authorities in Eagle Pass, Texas are “suspending railway operations…they’re shutting down international commerce in order to help speed up processing of migrants.”