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Joe Rogan Experience #2064 - Mike Baker

Mike Baker is a former CIA covert operations officer and current CEO of Portman Square Group, a global intelligence firm. He's also the host of "Black Files Declassified" on Discovery+ and the Science Channel, author of "Company Rules, Or Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the CIA," and host of "The President's Daily Brief" podcast. http://www.portmansquaregroup.com/https://www.thefirsttv.com/pdb/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe RoganhostMike BakerguestGuestguest
Jun 26, 20242h 23mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Mike Baker Dissects Hamas, Iran, Ukraine, China, And U.S. Decline

  1. Joe Rogan and former CIA officer Mike Baker unpack the October 7 Hamas attacks, Israel’s response, and how quickly global attention shifted away from Ukraine. Baker argues Hamas and Iran deliberately weaponize civilian casualties and information warfare, while Western media and activists often amplify their narratives, intentionally or not.
  2. They criticize U.S. policy toward Iran—particularly sanctions relief and frozen-asset waivers—while Tehran’s proxies attack American forces, and contrast this with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach and killing of Soleimani. The conversation broadens to Chinese influence and disinformation operations, U.S. border insecurity, and how environmental and social movements can be co‑opted by hostile states.
  3. Domestically, they discuss Trump’s legal battles, Biden’s visible cognitive decline, and the 2024 election dynamics, arguing that lawfare against Trump is backfiring by energizing his base and alienating swing voters. Baker repeatedly returns to the theme that U.S. leadership is misreading adversaries, prioritizing optics and domestic politics over hard security realities.
  4. The episode closes on a sober note: Baker sees no near‑term “happy ending” in the Middle East or Ukraine and believes long‑term stability in the region ultimately depends on confronting the Iranian regime, while America remains internally polarized and strategically distracted.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Hamas strategically embeds within civilian infrastructure to weaponize Palestinian deaths.

Baker argues Hamas places command centers, tunnels, and weapons under hospitals and schools (e.g., Al‑Shifa, Rantisi) knowing Israeli strikes will create civilian casualties that fuel global outrage and turn narratives against Israel.

Iran is the central driver of regional instability and proxy violence.

He describes the IRGC’s role in training, funding, and directing Hamas, Hezbollah, and Yemeni proxies, stressing that any long‑term Middle East stability ultimately “runs through” confronting the Iranian regime, not just its proxies.

U.S. sanctions relief and weak deterrence encourage more Iranian aggression.

While Iranian proxies have launched ~60 attacks on U.S. forces in a month, Washington extended a $10B sanctions waiver and previously unfroze $6B, which Baker calls strategically incoherent given money’s fungibility and Iran’s behavior.

The Ukraine war is grinding toward stalemate while Western attention and will erode.

UK estimates of ~300,000 Russian casualties (with ~120,000 dead) show Moscow’s willingness to expend lives, and Baker says Putin is betting he can outlast Western support while Russia adapts to sanctions, especially in energy exports.

China runs large‑scale disinformation and influence operations inside the U.S.

Campaigns like “spamouflage/Dragon Bridge” target dissidents, amplify domestic discord (e.g., George Floyd protests), and quietly oppose U.S. rare‑earth mining by boosting environmental opposition, helping preserve China’s resource dominance.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Hamas doesn’t give a shit about Palestinians. Gaza shows you that.

— Mike Baker

Any serious road to long‑term stability in the Middle East runs through the Iranian regime.

— Mike Baker

We have a million‑and‑a‑half got‑aways. We don’t know who they are. That’s a self‑inflicted wound.

— Mike Baker

Every time they go after him, he rises in the polls.

— Joe Rogan

We’re living in a very pragmatic world. You can’t rule this thing by feelings and hope and positivity.

— Mike Baker

Hamas October 7 attack, Israel’s military response, and civilian casualtiesIran’s role as Hamas/Hezbollah patron and U.S. sanctions/waiver policyUkraine war status, Russian casualties, sanctions efficacy, and Nord StreamChinese disinformation, influence operations, and rare-earth/energy strategyU.S. domestic politics: Trump trials, Biden’s condition, and 2024 electionBorder security, terrorism risk, and mail‑in voting vulnerabilitiesMedia failures, campus protests, and Western information warfare weaknesses

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