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You know those shows where you finish recording and just sit there thinking, “Holy hell, what did we just uncover?” Yeah—this was one of those.
David Shuster and I started off tonight’s Amped Up already in a mood. He’s been seething over Trump’s grotesque demolition of the White House East Wing—literally bulldozing a piece of American history to build a Versailles-style ballroom so he can throw himself parties while the country starves.
It hit him hard, personally; that East Wing was where he first walked into the People’s House as a young reporter. That sense of national violation—of something sacred being trashed for ego—set the tone.
🏛️💔Furious about the East Wing? We are too! Join us!🏛️💔 [ [link removed] ]
I jumped in, because I get it. When you destroy the people’s symbols—the things that represent us all—it cuts deep. Trump doesn’t build; he desecrates. Everything he touches—whether casinos, steaks, airlines, or now the White House—rots from the inside out.
And let’s not forget: David just dropped a blistering piece at Blue Amp Media about this ballroom fiasco, calling it exactly what it is—a gold-leaf monument to authoritarian vanity. If you haven’t read it yet, do it. It’s him at his best.
But then we shifted gears—from Trump’s marble monstrosity to the murky depths of Jeffrey Epstein and the corruption that never dies. We brought in the incomparable Nina Burleigh —investigative journalist, author of eight books, and the mind behind American Freak Show [ [link removed] ]. And wow.
Nina doesn’t just report stories; she dissects power. She laid out, piece by piece, how Epstein wasn’t just a predator—he was a connector, a pipeline between oligarchs, spies, tech billionaires, and politicians who wanted their appetites satisfied and their money laundered.
She traced his trail from Wexner’s millions to Les Gelb’s CIA lunches, to those unsettling ties between Trump, Melania’s mysterious early years, and the whole grotesque ecosystem that let monsters masquerade as moguls.
Listening to her, you can’t help but see how this all ties together—the money, the blackmail, the sex, the politics, the rot. And she’s fearless. While mainstream outlets shy away, Nina’s out there naming names and reminding us these people aren’t “colorful characters.” They’re predators with power.
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We talked Project 2025, the Vaught family’s scandal-soaked hypocrisy in Oklahoma, and how the same Republican zealots screaming about “Christian values” are the ones neck-deep in porn, pay-offs, and affairs. The cognitive dissonance would be funny if it weren’t so damn dangerous.
And through it all, Nina was brilliant—clear, funny, unflinching. She even gave us that perfect reminder: follow the money. Always. Because corruption leaves a trail, even when they try to burn the paper.
If you missed our recent conversations—with Fred Wellman, who broke down the dark machinery of Project 2025 from the inside [ [link removed] ], or Dana DuBois, who reminded us that resistance is as much cultural as political [ [link removed] ]—go back and catch those too. They all connect. This isn’t random chaos—it’s a coordinated rot.
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So, yeah—between Trump’s gaudy ballroom of ego, Epstein’s empire of exploitation, and the GOP’s parade of hypocrites, tonight was a masterclass in how power corrodes when left unchecked. Thanks to Nina Burleigh for shining light where it’s darkest—and to David Shuster for being my co-pilot through this madness.
And friends, if you want more shows like this—truth-telling, laughter through outrage, no BS—join us. Subscribe free at BlueAmp.co [ [link removed] ], or chip in for a paid membership and help us keep this fight alive. Because the only way to tear down that ballroom is together.
—Cliff
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