Advertise on podcast: The Tom Sullivan Show

Politics is a dirty business, but even pundits on the right were stunned by Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother calling her a “liar.” Her brother called it a “despicable low,” Nikki Haley blasted it, and Vance defended it. Is it fair game or a step too far? Then, if you think polls are fake, a firm called Wedgewood Polls just admitted it made up nearly all of its polls as a “social experiment,” and outlets like the New York Times and MS NOW had cited them. It’s the second fake pollster this fall, though reputable pollsters weren’t involved. The Wall Street Journal reports Elon Musk ordered Ukraine’s Starlink slowdown, and Trump denies knowing who was responsible. And there’s still no Russia-Ukraine peace deal. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Trump said he could end the Ukraine war in one day, so is he about to act like a boxing referee and call Russia the winner? He’s eased sanctions on Moscow, Putin has floated a Trump-Xi-Putin summit without Zelensky, and Zelensky says steps are being taken to make Ukraine “capitulate.” Rubio says no one is winning, and nothing is final. But if Ukraine is told Russia wins, will that bring peace? I doubt it, and would Americans feel okay backing Russia as the victor? Then Trump announced an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program for farmers at a Kansas rally, his second farm hand-out in 11 months after last December’s $12 billion, just two weeks before the midterms. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Medicare for All is at record polling highs. KFF found 66% in favor and Axios-Ipsos found 43% support with 32% unsure, but support swings depending on what people hear. It sounds great, nobody likes their insurance company, and I think it would be a disaster. I explain why, and I give you the best case from supporters too. Then, after Trump waived Russia sanctions to bipartisan backlash, the Wall Street Journal reports Putin proposed a summit with Trump and Xi next month to end the war in Ukraine, without Zelensky. Trump hasn’t agreed, but Rubio says he’s open to it. Can a deal made without Ukraine hold? All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Katie, we hardly knew you. Katie Zacharia is out as press secretary after five days, a modern record, following a shaky first briefing and questions about her legal credentials. No replacement has been named. The Starlink scandal isn’t going away, and Reuters reports, citing officials, that the slowdown instruction came from the White House. Trump denies it, and bipartisan senators want the Pentagon Inspector General to find out who ordered it. And in Bend, Oregon, a father named Kaylub Giamanco, who has two daughters at Silver Rail Elementary, grabbed a pistol from his car and shot the gunman who had killed three children and a teacher and critically injured two others. We honor the victims and the courage of a father who ran toward danger. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Did we purposely cut off Ukraine’s Starlink? Speed limits hit the military version overnight, and Ukraine says it disrupted drone missions and that it got no warning of Russian missile strikes for two nights. Musk says Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government and that limits are decided by the military “and ultimately POTUS.” The White House says it wasn’t involved. No deaths are confirmed as caused by the limits, but Ukraine warns lives are at risk. With 19 days to Election Day, the new Fox News Poll shows Trump at a record-low 36% approval, 77% disapproving on inflation, and Democrats up 54-45 on the generic ballot. Will voters follow their pocketbooks? And wholesale inflation surged 6.3% in September, the highest since 2022, and that cost is coming to a store near you. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Why is the President so friendly with Putin and Xi when reports say both are helping Iran and the Houthis? Bloomberg says Russia is sending Iran missiles, and the WSJ says Chinese intelligence helped plan an attack that killed three Americans in Jordan. The New York Times reports a Lukoil asset sale tied to investors connected to Witkoff and Kushner’s families is part of the Russia talks, and that the envoys warned Kyiv about cutting intel over refinery strikes. Ukraine says Starlink was throttled and it got no missile warning for two nights, though the link isn’t proven. And September CPI jumped to 3.7%, hotter than expected, with real wages down 0.7% from a year ago, the sixth straight month inflation outran paychecks. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Congress banned Russian oil imports in 2022 and added new sanctions just weeks ago, yet Trump is buying Russian diesel, and prices still haven’t come down. Lawmakers of both parties say it may be illegal. Should we join Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis after the deadly Riyadh airport attacks? Trump says “we may.” Kimberly Guilfoyle has resigned as ambassador to Greece after a donor accused her of seeking access-for-money, which she denies. Expect investigators to take a hard look if Democrats win the House. And good news from Rome: Pope Leo XIV’s lung surgery went well, though doctors confirmed an early-stage lung cancer with an excellent prognosis. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

I always said sanctions don’t work, but I never expected the President to break them. Trump announced a deal with Putin for 300,000 tons of Russian diesel and is waiving sanctions to let it flow, all to lower fuel prices before the midterms. Prices are still climbing, and senators from both parties say the deal may violate the law. Trump is furious at Zelensky for hitting Russian refineries, while Russia keeps hitting Ukraine. The DOJ is now investigating whether the networks’ pool boycott broke antitrust law. And will you watch the livestream of Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution on December 3? It would be the first U.S. public execution since 1936, and even Republicans are divided. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

The Michigan Senate debate was the nastiest of the night. El-Sayed and Rogers traded insults, and El-Sayed was repeatedly asked whether Iran or Israel is the bigger threat and called it a “ridiculous question.” Another ICE shooting, this time in the Bronx. DHS says the man is in the country illegally with a long rap sheet and alleged gang ties. Mamdani is demanding his release, and the shooting is under investigation. And the DOJ is reportedly seeking a grand jury indictment of Cassidy Hutchinson, the January 6 star witness, for allegedly lying to Congress. No indictment yet, so will a grand jury go for it? All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Lone-wolf threats are out there, so keep calm but stay alert. The FBI arrested an 18-year-old Minnesota man accused of planning an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at the Mall of America. Prosecutors say he bought an AK-47 and 200 rounds from an undercover agent for $600, and that agents tried to speak with his parents last year and were turned away. Trump Accounts are a great benefit for kids, but the rules are changing, so we ask why the government can’t stick to the deal. The Cornell case gets thornier with questions about the accuser’s early sworn statement versus her later account, and we cover it carefully. And Maduro and his wife now face added torture charges, with a trial date of June 1, 2027. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Today is the third anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. We remember the 1,200 killed and the 251 taken hostage. NYC Mayor Mamdani acknowledged the "horrific war crimes" that day but also called Israel's response in Gaza "genocide," and the ADL, AIPAC, and Israel's U.N. ambassador all accused him of turning a day of mourning into a political statement. Cornell has hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to review how it handled its Jane Doe rape case, and the choice is already drawing partisan fire. Media outlets like CNN are calling the midterms a potential "bloodbath," and we ask whether that's reporting or discouragement. And happy 30th anniversary to Fox News Channel, where I spent ten wonderful years. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Four weeks until Election Day, and Michigan's Senate race may decide who controls the chamber — Democratic nominee El-Sayed is struggling with Black and Jewish voters, and a Detroit focus group was a real eye-opener. We break down why. President Trump told a Nebraska rally crowd "let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego" while talking about a nuclear Iran, sparking fierce backlash from Newsom and both cities' mayors. We give you the fuller context of what he was actually arguing and why the phrasing still landed so badly. A military firing squad has been approved for Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009. And permanent daylight saving time has Trump on one side, Senator Tom Cotton on the other — plus Trump gave out his own phone number and wants you to call. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Christa Pike remains unconscious on a ventilator, four days after surviving two full doses of lethal injection in what experts are calling unprecedented in American death penalty history. Her lawyers say her arms were left burned and blistered, and they're formally asking Tennessee's governor to commute her sentence to life in prison. We examine what happens legally from here. Then at Cornell, a woman alleges she was drugged and gang-raped by seven fraternity brothers in 2024 — but prosecutors initially refused to file any criminal charges because of New York's "voluntary intoxication loophole," a law that says if you choose to get drunk, you have almost no legal recourse if something happens to you while impaired. We break down exactly how that law works, why lawmakers have failed to close it for eight straight years, and why Governor Hochul just appointed the Attorney General to reopen the criminal investigation. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

A new taxpayer-funded ad called "God Made Trump" is airing with a messianic three-minute riff on "So God Made a Farmer" — part of at least 13 campaign-style ads costing $20 million in DHS and Customs and Border Protection money, funds that were supposed to go to border security. Democrats are calling it a corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars, and Trump's own officials reportedly called it "obviously illegal" privately. Why not just use his own campaign war chest? And better yet, why is a president who's not even on the ballot this year running self-promotional ads at all? Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the FlyDubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane had already been grounded for a full year by Oman Air after extremist materials were found during his training. He was still allowed to keep working, and somehow ended up flying one of the most sensitive routes in the world, a flight to Tel Aviv — a route Omani pilots weren't even supposed to be assigned to under FlyDubai's own agreement with Israel. How did this happen? All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed

Both pilots from this week's terrifying FlyDubai incident — the stabbed captain and the accused first officer — are reportedly being moved from Saudi Arabia to the UAE for Dubai's legal system to take over. We ask what that actually means, since Emirati justice moves very differently, and often faster but harsher, than what we're used to in the West. It's officially October, which means we've entered the ugliest stretch of election season — we talk through what to watch for. And a genuinely shocking story out of Tennessee — Christa Pike, who would have been the first woman executed there in over 200 years, survived two full doses of lethal injection Wednesday night. Witnesses say she was alive and snoring afterward. The governor has halted all remaining executions this year and ordered a full investigation. Experts are calling this unprecedented. All of it today. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tom-sullivan-show--6632619/support. Remember to call with your money and investing questions 855-295-6600 for the Financial Friday podcast. https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102919/episodes/feed