The Joyce Kaufman Show 12/22/25 Joyce discusses Marco Rubio, Turning Point USA's Americafest, ending gender affirmation car for minors, and Elon Musk.

This is the Joyce Kaufman podcast, honest, straight, and unapologelic with your host, Joyce Kaufman. Thank you for being with me on this Monday holiday week. It's the week of Christmas, the week of Advent, and a really somber year. We've been through so much. You know, usually this time of year, I have all these, what was the best of. 2025, you know, best movies, the biggest news stories, the celebrity deaths, the marriages, all that stuff. I really don't feel the desire to do that this year at all. I could come up with a list of the worst things ever to happen, wouldn't even just be confined to 2025, and that just didn't feel very entertaining at all. So I'm not doing that. I may do a list or two, you know, after the new year because, I don't know, I guess because I'm just addicted to it. Maybe I'll do it like New Year's Eve because I always work on New Year's Eve. I'm one of those crazy people. I'm not going anywhere at that hour. So why wouldn't I spend it with you? You're my favorite people. I did want to, though, give some credit where credit is due. Everybody knows I have a horrid relationship with our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. We've had some really rough patches, almost all his fault. Actually all his fault. But I have learned in the last year, almost a year now. that he really is smarter than the average bear. And he's really doing a very good job. First and foremost, supporting the America First agenda that Donald Trump has. But he's also, he's amazingly good at communicating. And I think that's pretty important. When this administration is under fire so much, you better have leadership that can communicate. Because otherwise, the mainstream media just makes everything sound like the world is coming to an end. And the world is, by the way, coming to an end that we know. I don't need to feed into it, though. So anyway, he held an end-of-the-year press conference, which I decided I was going to watch. And it was at the, I think it was at the State Department. I'm unfamiliar with what the State Department press room looks like, but it was unfamiliar to me. So he was there in D.C. It was long. It was like over two hours. I drifted out after a while. But then I read the transcript, and I read two commentaries about what was said. And I have to say, he may go down in history as one of the finest secretaries of state. Ever, which would make me have to eat some crow, but that's okay, because if it helps my country, I'm willing to eat crow and, you know, any other manner of birds of feather.

So he opened his speech by explaining that the Trump administration had agreed that American foreign policy required a full recalibration because many of the institutions and many of the policies and almost all of the assumptions that our foreign policy was operating under were predicated on were built upon a world that no longer exists. So Marco Rubio argued that in the years leading up to the second Trump administration, the foreign policy of this country had drifted away from the idea that in the national interest is important, that nothing should be done in terms of our global political perspective that doesn't. reflect the interests of this country, which means that the State Department was going to have to do a significant course correction, and it fell to Marco Rubio to do that. In addition, he got tasked with other things because once the president sees you're competent, Donald Trump will just keep heaping responsibilities on you because he understands the dynamic. People who are really good at things are really good at things, and they're probably good at more than one thing. So Marco Rubio has been a very busy man in spite of not being the president. He said the core principle, this is a quote, the core principle behind our foreign policy needs to be our national interests. defining the U.S. national interests in the context of foreign policy as decisions that, quote, will make America safer or stronger or more prosperous, hopefully all three, but at least one of three. That's a different attitude, certainly than the Biden years or the Obama years. And when he was talking about Venezuela, because of course the media just loves that story, oh, we're starting a war with Maduro in Venezuela. Well, guess what? Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the single most serious threat to the United States from the Western Hemisphere is from transnational terrorist criminal groups primarily focused on narco-trafficking. He said that several nation states have expressed a willingness to cooperate with us on the issue of tracking narco trafficking. And then he said Mexico's cooperation is at the highest it's ever been in their history, along with Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama, and some others, actually. He said there's one place that doesn't cooperate, and it's the illegitimate regime in Venezuela. Not only do they not cooperate with us, they openly cooperate with terrorists and criminal elements. For example, they invite Hezbollah.

and Iran to operate from their territory. On top of that, we know that they're in cahoots. I love when he uses words that we use. They're in cahoots with drug trafficking organizations. It's not just that they don't work with us against these organizations, okay? It's that they openly cooperate with these guys and allow them to operate. Marco Rubio concluded by reminding the public, that Nicholas Maduro, the socialist leader of Venezuela, in addition to a bunch of people in his government, were indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York for narco trafficking further justifying all the ongoing efforts. Until President Trump's doing something about these narco-trafficking links, nobody disputed that Maduro and his regime were in cahoots with them, not to mention the fact that they unleashed Trend de Aragua. And that's what the president has been focused on. And then he went on to answer questions, to field questions about specific foreign policy decisions, specifically those on the... Russia-Ukraine war on the Israel-Gaza War and of course Venezuela. He said, speaking on the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Marco Rubio stated, it's not our war. But I think everybody would agree there's only one nation on earth. There is only one entity on earth that can actually talk to both sides and figure out whether there's a way to end this war peacefully. And that's the United States. He also said that he believes President Trump has held more meetings about the Ukraine-Russia war than he has on any other subject, including trade, suggesting that reporters need to get off the administration's back. What we're trying to figure out here is what can Ukraine live with and what can Russia live with? Sort of identify what both sides' positions are and see if we can drive them towards each other to some agreement. We don't see surrender any time in the near future by either side, so only a negotiated settlement will give us the opportunity to end this war. Shifting to the Israeli Hamas war, Marco Rubio said the second phase of the peace agreement proposed by President Trump, specifically focusing on the disarmament of Hamas. If Hamas, this is a quote from Marco Rubio, if Hamas is ever in a position in the future that they can threaten or attack Israel, you are not going to have peace. You're not going to convince anyone to invest money in Gaza if they believe another war is going to happen in two to three years. I would just ask everyone to focus on.

What are the kinds of weaponry and capabilities that Hamas would need in order to threaten or attack Israel as a baseline for what disarmament needs to look like, he said? Who is going to invest in a place that is going to get destroyed again in a future war? You see, it's the plain speak nature of his communication skills, which Donald Trump has as well. It's their ability to take these complex matters and speak about them in terms that somebody without a, you know, political, a geopolitical background or a military background can understand. That makes some sense to us. We're the ones not just financing these things with our dollars, but with the blood of our children. These things are very large and important to the American public. And in the past, we've had too many administrations that either don't tell you what's going on or lie about what's going on or presume that you're too ignorant. to be told what's going on, when in fact all they need are good communicators. And I have to give it to Mr. Marco Rubio, to Marco Rubio. He has done a... a terrific job in developing those communication skills. I don't know, you know, when it happened, because I was so angry at him for so long, haven't had a personal conversation with him in years, many years. So, you know, whenever it happened, or whether it was gradual or some sort of overnight miracle, I'm just grateful. Because I want what's best for the United States. I think that that's what you should want. That's what any American wants. Not what makes one party look better, not what makes the president look better. But what really serves our national interest? And if it doesn't serve our national interests, then let's not be participants in this stuff. Sounds a lot simpler, right? When I say it like that, I know it's not simple. But I do know that it's getting done. You know, we've got an amazing administration that I believe are doing amazing things. And they get absolutely no credit. It's true what Donald Trump always said. If he were to actually discover the cause of cancer and design the cure, he still wouldn't get any credit for it. And that's a shame because everybody should want what's best and not what serves their political ideology. Don't forget to download the 850 app. You can put it on your laptop, your cell phone, your Chromebook, wherever you want it. And that way you could listen to podcasts as soon as they are uploaded, downloaded, whatever it is we do with them. There is a new no-restraint podcast. It's in the whatever they call it. And eventually it'll be posted.

It's in the bank? No, not the bank. But it has been done. So just hold on. You'll be getting an opportunity to listen to it, too. Plus, if you have that app, you can listen to all of the podcasts from 850, even the show podcast, which if you miss a show last week and you want to hear it, you can go ahead onto our website or onto your app and listen to it. Let me take a quick break. You stay right where you are. You know, sometimes I see these headlines, and I just, I'm inclined to say to myself, this is too ridiculous. I not only find it hard to believe, I don't want to give any air to this story, particularly not in the context with which I see it being reported. So one of the stories that really got to me was, This idea that Jasmine Crockett, who I find highly entertaining, I think she's a political outlier for the Democrats, and now she's running for a Senate seat. And the real issue is there are two ways to go to D.C. for the people. One of them is to be a member of the House of Representatives, which is where she is right now. This is where the legislating happens. This is where the fight takes place. The other place is the Senate. The Senate is a deliberative body. The Senate is tedious and it's drawn out and it's long and it's much more intellectual. And it's seldom that you get a fire. you know, a fiery person in the Senate. I will say that you have a handful, but by and large, you get the more sedate, the guys who like to study the legislation and form a commission or a committee. So Jasmine Crockett in the Senate is crazy. And JD Vance, who I'm pretty disenchanted with these days, did make a great column when he made a great comment, which then led to her reaction, which then led to a great column in today's Daily Caller News. The title was Jasmine Crockett triggered. by JD Vance saying she has street girl persona. Now, you know, I understand that everybody's looking for a reason to be offended. That's like the Democrats' only weapon because they cannot argue on ideas. So they're always accusing the conservatives or the Republican Party that they're either racist or they are sexist. They're always Islamophobics, whatever. They have a million little catchphrases that they like to apply. And so when...

When Vice President JD Vance was speaking at Turning Point USA's America Fest on Sunday, he said that Jasmine Crockett is running for Senate, but that her street girl persona is about as real as her nails. So she goes on to MS Now, that's I guess MSNBC, MSLSD, whatever, who cares what they call themselves, we know what they are. the DNC, she goes on the show the weekend primetime and argues that JD Vance was attempting to rile up his base and claiming Republicans feared her Texas Senate campaign before she actually refuted the accusation. I'm sorry, but anybody that you talk... to knows my credentials. They know that I've gone to school. They know that I'm educated. I never tried to put on some random story about where I came from. But at the end of the day, I am who I am and I am authentic. And that is actually what they are fearful of is my authenticity, because it rings true with every single American, whether they're a Texan or not. It rings true that I'm fighting for real everyday people. I bring this up. Because I just said in the previous segment that one of the great gifts that Marco Rubio has, that Secretary Sean Duffy has, that Secretary Pete Hegseth has, certainly that Secretary Kristi Noem has, is this ability to communicate with the people in ways that the people can relate and can understand. So. When Jasmine Crockett brings that up, she has a right to talk about that. And the Democrat Party is the ones who should be paying attention to what she said, that you don't just talk about policy. What you do is you work at policy while you're up in D.C. And then you let the results speak for you. What's your record? If you want to talk about qualifications, and she's absolutely right, you want to ask the most important question is who has actually been fighting for people the way this individual has, not just in office. but prior to being in office. Whether it was in the courtroom, as most of the lawyers, that's what you have to measure them by, or it was in the streets, making sure that those that were out there wanting to exercise their constitutional right to come together and protest injustices, that's what, you know, who stood up for those people? Because that's what we want to hear out here. Like, I got your back. I don't need, you know, erudite politicians who don't see me as their boss, who think they're doing me some kind of favor by making decisions on my behalf. How about fight for the things that we, the American people, have already decided? We've decided a lot of things that are still being debated in Washington.

But the American people aren't debating them anymore. The American people aren't debating whether men should play in women's sports. That debate took place and the overwhelming majority of American people don't think that men should participate in female sports. Shouldn't be allowed to go into women's restrooms. That's not a debate that the people on the street are having. So when politicians speak to that subject, then are they endorsing what we feel and fighting for what we want? I'll give you a perfect example. The endorsing what we feel and fighting for what we want. I'll give you a perfect example. The Trump administration has said that any hospital or any doctor that performs gender-affirming surgery on minors will have to forego federal Medicare and Medicaid funding because they put rules in place on Thursday, even in states where the procedures are legal. The plan that came down from the Department of Health and Human Services is a part of the administration's efforts to curtail this gender-affirming care. And if made final, it could literally ban this practice across the country. Because you see, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. said in a press conference that this administration is not going to stand by while ideology and misinformation and propaganda push vulnerable young people into decisions they cannot fully understand, and worse of all, that they cannot reverse. He said he referred to it as not medicine, it's malpractice. And that's why the president made ending gender-affirming care a big deal in the campaign. And the rules that he's put in place just reflect the efforts on the part of this administration to eliminate funding and programs that recognize gender dysphoria among children and that there are genders other than male or female. One rule would prohibit Medicaid from covering any medical care provided to transgender patients younger than age 18 and prohibit reimbursements through CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, for gender affirming care for patients under 19. The second rule would block all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care.

Virtually every hospital in the country relies on Medicare funding, so the rule would have a huge impact and could literally, well, actually, it could make gender affirming care inaccessible anywhere in this country. Medicare and Medicaid account for nearly 45% of spending on hospital care. That's according to all of the studies that have been done in the last. six to eight years so that's as far back as i've looked So approximately 17 state Medicaid programs cover gender affirming care procedures for kids while it is banned or restricted in 27 states. The rules don't prohibit states from using their own funds if they want to reimburse providers for transgender care, but the costs, they're astronomical. They'd be prohibitive. We believe protecting children, this comes directly from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., we believe protecting children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP from the harms of sex-rejecting procedures, including possible long-term and irreversible harms, outweighs the possible financial costs. Some states may experience if they begin to pay with state funds the full cost of sex-rejecture. rejecting procedures for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Now, of course, advocates say this is an effort to eliminate the necessary care for these young people. But these rules are still just proposals. They're not binding law. In another action that the FDA took on... I think it was Thursday, they are issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers of breast binders for illegal marketing to children. Those are the really tight straps that these young girls are putting on to make them look flat-chested. I mean, the antithesis of what young girls in my day and age were trying to do. We were looking for padded bras, not for binders. Breast binders are compression garments worn to help women recover from mastectomies and also used to masculinize. Is that a word, masculinize? Well, it is now a person's chest and reduced gender dysphoria. So think about that. They're going after. this gender affirming stuff. And what have you noticed happening? Far fewer people claiming to be transgendered. Certainly, kids are reconsidering this whole not so trendy transgender road.

And then, of course, the LGBTQ community has finally stood up to these, you know, gender-affirming monstrosities and said, wait a minute, after all the fighting we did to have people understand that some of us are just prefer same-sex relationships, now you make us all out to be in the wrong body. It was about time. They started to speak up, and they have. All right, let me take a quick time out. I have to take care of a little business here, and then we'll be right back. Stay right where you are. Does anybody really take comedians so seriously? Because just inherent in what they do for a living, it's a joke. Most of what they say, even when they're serious, deadly serious, I just brush it off. But some people can't do that. Now Dave Chappelle is under fire again because he made a joke about Turning Point USA. He made a joke. And it wasn't really a joke. And I understand why he would be terribly offended when the public was saying things like that Charlie Kirk was this generation's Martin Luther King Jr. I mean, come on, guys. Nobody thinks that, really. And anybody who was saying that opened themselves up for some ridicule, and they got it. And the only objection I have to Chappelle's commentary in the last couple of days, apparently he's got a new special out and he goes down this path, is he really, I... I dislike when it becomes about race, no matter what the subject matter really is. You know, he said, oh, and whites were quick to say that Charlie Kirk is this generation's Martin Luther King. No, he's not. That's a reach. I mean, the people who did say that aren't to be taken very seriously, and perhaps they were referring to the way he was assassinated. But. I don't know. Just the meanness of it all. Comedy's not that funny when it's that mean. And I happen to like Dave Chappelle, and I think he's been on the right side of a lot of issues, but this, I don't understand why this would be something he is going to be talking about at great length in comedy specials. I mean, what? Just, Dave, go back to... To the tihihaha stuff, you do that very well. But, you know, indicting all white people. And assuming that any other white person other than whoever made that comment thinks that is really demeaning. It's the same kind of racial stereotyping that we don't think is fair when it's done to any other group. It's only when you do it to white people. You know, if you say, oh, white people say and white people do, that's perfectly okay. No, it's really not, you know, because...

All white people don't feel the same about anything. That's for sure. I saw another interesting commentary by Charles Gasparino, one of my favorite financial guys out there. And he was talking about the idea that Wall Street is really having a lot of fun talking about SpaceX, the IPO that Elon Musk is launching. The employees of SpaceX have been told to not talk about it. the possibility of there being a IPO coming up shortly. But that doesn't stop Wall Street. Wall Street's buzzing. And... If you think about it, this one could be the biggest payday yet. Not that Elon Musk needs another really big payday, but his rocket company has entered what is now known as regulatory quiet period, where it clamps down on the public comments that could be seen as sort of touting. the potential valuation of stock, the company could sell as much as $36 billion in stock in a 2026 deal that could value the company at $1.5 trillion. Now make no mistake about it, every major Wall Street firm and bank is expected to seek a piece of this monster deal. Bankers began meeting with the SpaceX executives earlier last week, and this would be a pretty long vetting process in picking the company's underwriters. But while the banker, Bakeoff, is expected to be led by SpaceX chief financial officer, this dude, Brett Johnson, Elon Musk is expected to be... doing more than just cheerleading or watching from the sidelines. Indeed, bankers are preparing for Elon Musk, who is known for his unpredictability and a pension for micromanagement to potentially pop his head into some of the meetings. So with this guy, all bets are off.

Bankers who spoke to On the Money, Gasparino's show, on the condition of anonymity, cautioned against getting too excited about any possible deal. Valuation will depend on market conditions which have been volatile for tech stocks and all things related to artificial intelligence of late. Anything Elon Musk touches, though, from his electric vehicle company, Tesla to SpaceX, has an AI and a tech. component. So bankers are saying they could see a scenario where Elon Musk postpones the offering indefinitely, whether it's market conditions or his mood, despite the frenzy that he ignited last week when the company alerted their employees about the IPO plans. Remember his on again, off again pursuit of Twitter? before he finally agreed to go through with a $44 billion purchase and rename the popular social media site X. It still comes up as Twitter on my cell phone, though. I never could understand that. But... He may ultimately decide that a public offering isn't worth the hassle. Companies that were once ripe for IPOs have increasingly remained private because there's a market for the trading of non-public shares and the lack of regulatory intervention. that it provides. That said, the public markets are seen as a key to raising the massive amounts of money that SpaceX would need to finance his grand ambition for this company, which include not just space exploration, but the colonization of Mars, potentially to build artificial intelligence plants. And Elon Musk owns 42% of SpaceX. He's already the world's richest man, mainly by building Tesla. That said, with SpaceX's valuation now soaring even as a private company, the world's richest man is even richer. He added a couple of hundred billion to his net worth in just the last few days. His fortune is now pegged at more than $680 billion. leaves the first individual to reach that milestone. And a SpaceX IPO could take that number higher. So don't be surprised if Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillion dollar man. He's also working on an AI product, XAI, which Yahoo Finance says could have a valuation of $230 billion. It's really hard. for people like you and I to wrap our minds around these billion dollars, multi-billion dollar companies. But it is fun. And he certainly does make it funny and enjoyable, which is like I said before, the American people want to be let in on everything that's going on, whether it's politics or business, industry, all of it. Tell us, we're big girls and boys. We can handle it.

And certainly Elon Musk makes it way more fun than most of these big guys like Jeff Bezos isn't fun. Or at least I've never had any fun covering Jeff Bezos. Don't forget coming up after me is Guy Benson, followed by Will Kane, then it's Joe Pags, Lars Larson, the overnight guys until 6 a.m. when Jennifer Ross and Stephen Deiner, they'll be back with the South Florida Morning Show, followed by Brian Kilmeade at 9 o'clock, Eric Erickson, at noon, and I get to come back at 3 p.m. And that's a good thing, because... I've always got plenty left to say. I'll be back at three. But I still have one segment left today. So please don't touch that dial. You know, you've got to give it to Nikki Minaj, this rapper, because it can't be easy for her living in her world to have come out so openly. as a Christian conservative, because that's basically what we're talking about. It's not that she's a Republican. I doubt she's ever going to be a Republican, but she is a Christian defending Nigerian Christians, and she is a fairly conservative rapper. If, you know, if you can believe that, they had her there at America Fest being interviewed by Erika Kirk and talk about an interesting duo. That was definitely not something that I was expecting, and I'm sure most of the people who were in attendance weren't expecting it either. But maybe this is the beginning of something that... that will bring another generation to the table to have open and honest discussions. It seems to be too late for boomers. My people are the most messed up of all. Every time I watch a protest, you know, I saw the last protest I saw in Coconut Creek right across the street from where my, you know, my condo is located, a senior citizen, you know, condo. You got to be 55 and older to live in there. And those are the people who are there with a no kings rally, a bunch of old people, you know, people 70 years old. I don't know that they can be reached. But young people, people who really don't understand why the American dream is so out of reach for them that, you know, their hopes of buying their first home have to be pushed off until they're 40 years old or maybe never to be realized. That's an audience that needs to be spoken to. And I think Nikki Minaj picked up on that and said that's why.

You're seeing an allegiance to politicians that they would normally not have anything to do with, especially when it comes to Donald Trump or JD Vance. I mean, she practically endorsed JD Vance, and she has already said she works with this administration, and she will continue to work with them. Mike Waltz just saw a post that she had put online on X. And the next thing you know, she's standing in front of the United Nations, speaking on behalf of Christian Nigerians who were being slaughtered. Listen, thoughtful. Her comments on this America first were very thoughtful. I have to say, I didn't know, I didn't really know that much about her. I still don't. But it seemed like she knew what she was talking about. The Federation of American Immigration Reform Fair, which I've been very close to all these years, has filed a brief in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals defending enforcement. in places like hospitals, schools, and rallies, protest rallies, religious services, and a number of religious groups have sued over the policy, which they claim makes illegal aliens fear going to them for services. And that that burdens these groups' religious freedoms. And they're claiming it's a violation of both the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. You know, this policy is just a modification of the Biden policy of barring all immigration law enforcement in and around so-called protected areas, including religious services. And Trump has rescinded this extreme policy, which was consistent with the Biden White House's general aversion to enforcing immigration laws anywhere and has directed agents to use common sense when doing their jobs in sensitive areas. So in their brief, Fair takes issue with the claim that this is a change in policy. Rather, churches should not be shutting down immigration law enforcement just because it may reduce the size of their congregations. I'm sorry, but I am not accepting that premise at all. I think the case that they're dealing with is the Mennonite Church. versus DHS in the D.C. Circuit. So I may be parting ways temporarily with the Federation of American Immigration Reform. Who knew? And guess who is running for office? Yeah. Never Trumper. George Conway.

Kelly Ann's husband, or ex-husband, one of the most well-known never-Trump former Republicans, is running for Congress in Manhattan. and he is running in a Democrat field in a primary. So I thank you for your time this time until next time. I have a plan and that plan is to be back here tomorrow at 3 p.m. if it be his will and he delays his coming. What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. So wherever you are, just be yourself. Everybody else is taken. And then give credit to Marco Rubio and Nikki Minaj, even if you never would have in the past. God bless you. God bless Israel and God bless the USA. This has been the Joyce Kaufman podcast. Available everywhere you get your podcasts.