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A
Hey, we're going live. Okay. I think we should be live. And when they catch up to us, I usually like to start the stream early. And I didn't do it today, guys. Sorry. Good morning. I see you guys there. Look who's here. Not only Marcella, she's back. And Owen, he's here. But Steve freaking Cortez. Can you stand everyone? I love it. Thank you, Steve, for coming back. Like, we love that you join us, and we get so much out of our shows when you're here with us. We so appreciate it.
B
Of course. No, listen, it's an honor to be here. You folks are fantastic. You produce terrific content. And it's also an honor anytime I can pay tribute to Scott Adams and. And to continuing his work and his legacy, which certainly does continue. And thankfully, you know, one of the things he did as an expert and, you know, particularly on communication, is he gave us so much content, right. So much writing, so many videos, so that he does effectively live on. Right. And I can tell you, for one, as somebody who communicates for a living, I learned so much from him. He made me such a better communicator, both from his public work, but then also privately. You know, he would at times critique me, you know, always in a very kind way, but, you know, he would critique my media appearances. And this is going all the way back to 2016, when I was new at politics and I wasn't new to tv, but I've been in financial tv, and it's a very different animal. And once I got into politics, he was just so, so helpful to me, both personally and as well as his public stuff. So I would encourage anybody out there who really. If communication is an important part of your life, and it is for many people, of course, right. If it's important part of your job or whatever it is you do philanthropically or your social life, pay attention. If you haven't already. Get Scott's work, read his stuff, watch his videos, because I think it'll make anybody, even somebody like me, who does it for a living. It'll make you a better communicator.
C
What do you think are the biggest lessons you picked up from Scott?
B
Yeah, you know, it's a. It's a great question. I think one of the biggest is learning to reframe things. Right. In other words, not accepting whatever, you know in an interview. Don't accept the framing that is presented to you by the interviewer, particularly if they're. You're not a person of real character, which so many folks in media are not right where they're propagandists effectively, but even not just in an interview setting, just in general, if they're sort of quote, you know, conventional wisdom about something, don't accept it, challenge it, reframe it. And he was so good at, to me, at pointing out when there are logical inconsistencies, if you are the logical one, you can be an effective communicator. And most of the time, by the way, conventional wisdom isn't terribly logical. Right. In other words, it's powerful interests pushing a narrative that is often at odds with facts and with correct thinking. So he was very. He's just. He was such a critical thinker and. And then reason through. Okay, now how do you take actual critical thinking and communicate it? Well, that was just super, super effective for me. And, you know, obviously he did it very well, as, you know, himself.
A
Yeah, for sure. That's so true. So, you guys, reframing is a big part of what Scott taught us. And if you haven't purchased free Frame youe Brain, get it anywhere you on Amazon. And if you want it on audible or however you read, just get it. It's so good. And we're going to do more reframing, actually next week. So that'll be great. And in the meantime, I think we're parched. And let's hope that this is not yesterday's sip. We'll see if Scott's here messing with me. Hang on one second. We're sipping away.
D
And now would you please, if you please join me now for the simultaneous sip. If you're not prepared, you've got a moment to get prepared. And all you need is a cup of mug or a glass of tanker, chalice or stein, a canteen jug or flask, a vessel of any kind, fill it with your favorite liquid. I like coffee. And join me now for the dopamine hit of the. No, what is it? The. Join me now for the unparalleled pleasure. How could I forget it? The dopamine hit of the day, the thing that makes everything better, including the coronavirus. It's coffee. And you're about to have it simultaneously with people all around the world. Go.
A
He's like, it's coffee. Yeah. How could I forget it? Okay, so note to everybody. I spoke with our. Our bestie, Jay Plemons yesterday. I said, jay, I love the sip clips, but can we get through the pandemic and just skip all the ones that say coronavirus? And he said, yes. So as soon as we've run out of these, you Guys, we'll be done with that. So listen, I found out that Steve has a new nickname. He was on Gutfeld the other night, and if you missed it, I have the little clip for you. Here you go.
B
He's Irish and Colombian, making him the original Jack and Coke. Former Trump advisor Steve Cortez.
A
I love that. Jack and Coke. Get it, you guys. Get it, get it.
B
Yeah, it was, it was a lot of fun. I mean, Greg's always funny, of course, but that was a new one and I loved it, of course. And I didn't say this on Fox because I wasn't sure if they would bleep it out, but. But there's a, there's a more crude version of that nickname. When I was in high school, my friends called me the Mix spick because I'm Irish and Latin and Colombian. But they said it in love. It was okay, I can take the pejorative. And we weren't exactly politically correct, especially back in the 80s, a bunch of high school guys on the south side of Chicago, you could probably guess we weren't terribly PC.
A
Nor should you be.
B
Yeah, exactly. So. But Jack and Coke was a really fun one and I was thrilled to be on Greg's show once again. He has me on about once a month and it's just, it's super fun. And I think it's one of the best, funniest shows on all of television. Not just in the news genre, but I just think, you know, in general. I mean, it's a legit funny show that does make some important cultural and political points, but does it through a heck of a lot of humor. And the rest of Late Night has become a scold session. And they don't even attempt to, you know, do humor. They just do left wing propaganda and from a pretty angry lecturing perspective. So I think that's why he's become the number one show. He's earned it and it's, it's great when I get to be on there. And of course he was, you know, just ma. He was and is a massive fan of Scott Adams and Scott's work.
A
Yeah. And similar to Scott with him. Yeah.
C
Steve, do you see news as entertainment?
B
I mean, sure, it can be. Right. I mean, it has to be to some degree. Right. I mean, there's a reason sets look great. There's a reason there's good looking people, you know, often in news. So I mean, of course there's an entertainment element. Even to sort of hard news. There's still an entertainment element. Right. There has to be. And then some shows, you know, are mostly entertainment. And I would say Gutfeld's roughly half. Half, I think, as a viewer, and I don't know if they're purposely going for that, but roughly half, you know, let's have fun and half, you know, hey, let's get real points across. But, you know, again, often through humor. And humor can be such a great vehicle to convince people. I think also for those of us on the right, you know, because we view the world really logically. Right. And we should, of course. Right. We shouldn't be captive to our emotions. But at the same time, when it comes to media and communications, I think sometimes we put emotion too far to the side. And we need to remember that most human beings are more emotional than they are logical. That's just reality. And they're. And they're more persuaded by an emotional appeal that conveys an underlying logical truth. Okay. Like, we're never going to be emotion for the sake of emotion, you know, or emotion for the sake of just sloganeering or narrative. But I think on the right, and I think we're getting better at this. But this is something that I've always kind of preached, you know, behind the scenes to my teams, like at Trump 2016 and 2020 and any race I'm involved in, to the candidate, to their team is whatever argument you're making, we have to find the emotional hook. It cannot just be pure, hey, look at my white paper. Look at these facts and figures. I'm right. You may be right, but that's not enough. You've got to figure out the emotional hook and how can we convey it really quickly and in the most effective, persuasive way. And so that's what I try to do always, is find the emotional hook to make a more important underlying point. And certainly, I think Scott Adams did that super well, and Greg Gutfeld does that super well.
A
I think with the. When President Trump emerged on the scene, everybody had to up their game because he's so entertaining and persuasive and just a master at everything he does. And I think everybody was like, oh, you know, we look like boring politics. Like, I think of, I, sorry, Mitt Romney, but I picture you, and I was just like, you know, like, falling asleep. Like, I don't. I don't even know what you're saying. I'm so tired, but I can sleep to hearing your voice. But then you have, like, Trump burst on the scene and everything changes. And yes, Greg is the same way, always has been. Like, I, I Like I scream when Greg's speaking like of joy because I'm like, yes, this is exactly how I feel. And he delivers it with anger, sarcasm and humor when appropriate, where appropriate. And it really, I think it really touches the emotions. And somebody was just talking about this on X yesterday, about how performative politicians have become in that, you know, especially the Democrats are, you know, like theater kids. And I think of Adam Schiff immediately because he wanted to be an actor, that's the actual fact. And everything he does, he's like, I'm Kevin Spacey coming to you with a camera, you know, like he's always performing and you're just like, you guys are so full of it and phony. So if it's not authentic, it's not a good look.
B
That's correct. And he can't pull it off. There are some Dems who do pull it off though. And so, for example, this new, you know, crop of communists who are winning, they won last night now in Colorado. So this isn't just a New York thing. Right? You know, an actual young communist beat a 15 term congresswoman. That's not easy to do to beat somebody who's spent decades in Congress in a very blue district. So she's going to win, she's going to be a congresswoman. I think her name, last name is Kiros with a K. And I mean she's dreadful. I mean, you know, hates the United States, blames us for 9 11, wants to abolish the police, abolish prisons, open borders, the whole deal. I mean, an all out communist, however, and I don't know about her specifically because I didn't watch her a lot, but she's part of this crop of young sort of influencer types on the hard left that are following Mandani. And Mandani himself I believe is a very effective communicator. Now he's evil. He hates America. Okay? We have to defeat him and his movement. However, I think we can't do it without also recognizing his talents. And he comes across as very authentic. Now I don't know if it's because he actually believes it or he's just a great actor, I'm not sure. But he doesn't have sort of that shift problem or that Mitt Romney problem. He's more like Trump, except instead of Trump who loves America, this guy hates America. He's trying to destroy us. But he's got some of Trump's media skills and some of that charisma. And again, it plays well on camera. So I think we need to just be aware of that. Like, always assess your opponent. Right. And be honest about them. And just because they're evil, don't dismiss them as untalented. No, evil people can have a lot of talents and I think Mamdani does. And we have to be very skilled in how we counter that.
E
Right.
B
And we need excitement, emotion, appeal on our side too, with the right ideas and with America loving patriotic populist ideas, not communist left ideas.
C
Mamdani definitely strikes me as an actor. I think I would say the same thing about aoc. And I know there are stories about her being recruited for the role and a bunch of these other people being recruited, but I think, you know, my question is like, what's really going on here? Like, I don't really believe that this is just an organic movement that everybody suddenly likes socialism. I mean, it seems more like an operation of some sort, probably well funded, where they're going after people in the primaries because most people aren't paying attention.
B
Yeah, well, listen, I mean, it is certainly well funded. I mean that, you know, without a doubt. And look, you know, I live in that world of. It's called, you know, ie, independent expenditure world. It's sometimes called dark money. I don't like that term because it makes it sound like something nefarious is going on. And it's certainly not in the operations I'm involved in is not nefarious, but it's dark money because it doesn't have to all be disclosed. In other words, it's not like an actual campaign. Right. They're parallel campaigns, which in many ways are bigger than the actual campaigns now. And the left does this and the right does it and it's legal and it's, you know, it's done on both sides. So but because I'm in that world, I have a really good idea of what's going on on the right in terms of outside groups. And I. And we have a decent idea what's going on on the left. And yes, these are absolutely being funded by very powerful outside groups, paradoxically, people, leftists, communists who've made fortunes, I mean, communists ideologically, but not personally. People who have made fortunes through capitalism. Right. People like Reed Hastings, people like George Soros, who effectively, you know, exploited American capitalism to make fortunes from it and are now seeking to destroy the very country, the very vehicle, the very system that allowed them to get so prosperous. It's sick and it's evil and tragic, but it's reality. And you know, again, we need to be aware of it. So there's plenty of money behind these folks, you know, who claim to be, oh, I own nothing, you know, I'm just a young bartender communist. No, there's lots and lots of money and organization behind this. And yeah, they absolutely are recruiting young, dynamic people, often good looking, good on camera and, and you know, who have that kind of charisma and appeal. So again, I'm not saying that I fear them. I mean, we're going to win. Okay? But I'm saying respect them, have, have the correct. And I don't mean respect their ideas. I'm saying respect the talent, the game. Right, Exactly. You can have an awful opponent who you despise, but you still need to recognize where are their strengths and how do we counter them. Right. And yes, and I'm saying this group, particularly with young voters, particularly with young women voters, they really have a lot of appeal. And I think we need to realize too, and I see this in all of my polling, that affordability is still inflation slash affordability. This is still the number one issue by far in America. Middle income folks are still struggling. They've been struggling really for about five years, really, you know, basically since the pandemic with prices that they can't afford. Initially got that, they got this wave of sort of charity money from the government. And so they were okay initially, that was quickly spent. And middle class folks are still struggling. And they now blame, they blame Joe Biden, which is why he effectively lost, Kamala lost in his stead. They now blame Republicans. And you might say that's not logical and maybe it isn't, and maybe it's not reasonable to blame Republicans for the inflation. But the point is they do. And as the governing party, the Republicans have a task in overcoming this. And these communists, these leftists like this Kiros who won last night, they are effectively exploiting that anxiety and saying, I'm going to make your whole life affordable and I'm going to do it through free everything. Which of course is an absurdity, but that's, that's the promise and it can be seductive.
A
I fear that the more we have these people getting elected, which I can't even believe Kiros could be, could even be qualified to run. I think we need to, you know, make some official changes through Congress about who actually can run and who can't because she's crazy. She's like a complete terrorist sympathizer, hates our country, yet wants to represent. And, and we don't have fair elections. We can't, we have no way of auditing them, as Scott would tell us. So how do we know they're even fair or right? But the more that these people get in and take over, the less chances we're going to have of making official laws to change and secure our country is what worries me. And I, you know, Marcela, I keep thinking like, you know, where you came from and you know, what your family escaped and then it's like, do you see the changes happening here in America and worry at all, or are you okay with it? Not okay with it.
F
But no, what I was going to add is that, and I'll answer that, but the Colorado situation and the situation in Los Angeles and the mayor race with Rahman and Karen Bass and in New York is that the Democrats they are pushing out are actually the Democrats themselves are like, like us. They're tired of their regular Democrats not doing anything like Nancy Pelosi, you know, the main names that are sort of know, leftist, but yet part of the swamp. So like Trump changed the Republican Party. The DSA is trying to change the Democratic Party. I'm sure that's obvious, but you know, I think it's not organic. I think China is very much involved in having this connection, as well as some of the Saudi south, some of the Arabian, some of the Middle Eastern countries. One of the people that is under investigation and this is all alleged is Neville Roy Singman and he's a maist and he's under investigation in the doj and he has adjacently supported the dsa. A lot of very popular, very rich people have supported the DSA that want to push the Democrats way over to the extreme. For example, for me, when I graduated law school, even before I was trying to be, they were trying to recruit me. Like, I literally, they went to my graduation different, different politicians, different people from like, you know, La Raza Mecha, all these people that are very proud, not only are they anti Republican, but they are also communist in their sense of belief. And I would even go to the point of saying races against white people and European and like the colonizer kind of thing. So this is all like they're right there. Like if you are a college student or, or you are a lawyer, you're going to be of any ethnicity, you're going to be hounded by these people to be part of their group.
A
And a lot of people want to be a part of the group. Like they want to belong to something.
F
Yeah. And it pays well, you know, like, like they pay money to people, you know, for doing this type of. Yeah, but it's been a long transition. It hasn't just been from these politicians now the, the, the college system and the education system has, has created this individuals what they're being taught all the time. I had to get into quite a lot of arguments with professors about what, oh, being rich is evil, having money is evil and all these things. Like, so, yeah, so there was a lot. I was not a popular person, A.
A
But you were independent, individualistic, and you were right. So do you agree with that, Steve, what Marcel is saying?
B
I mean, you know, yeah, certainly. And particularly in terms of the ideological capture, unfortunately of so much of education, you know, and it's, it's probably most obvious and at its worst in higher education, but of course it's everywhere throughout the educational system. And unfortunately the left really effectively played a long game, right? They said, you know, we are going to take over education in this country, K to 12 as well as the colleges. And they did pretty successfully. And while a lot of right wingers, frankly were, or even just centrists were asleep at the wheel and uninvolved, they took over school boards, teachers unions, obviously the administrative post, the textbook companies, I mean, all of it, the entire ecosystem of education in America. And it made a huge, huge and very nefarious difference in this country. And they created a wave of very misled, misinformed, and in some cases America hating young people. And we certainly see that particularly with the Millennials. Now things are a bit better with Gen Z, particularly Gen Z men. Gen Z is by no means right wing. It's not a conservative demographic, but it's better than the Millennials were. So I think there is at least a reaction against it. And thankfully, since COVID one of the only actual blessings of all of the COVID panic and all the tyranny of COVID was that a lot of parents around the country got really aware of what was going on in schools because the school came into their home, right, via the laptop, effectively, and they said, wait a second, what are we teaching? And so thankfully, there is a revolt going on. So there is a movement now the other way in terms of education. Homeschooling has exploded. Public schools are getting a lot more scrutiny. Conservatives are running for school board all over the country. You know, the, the most ludicrous abuses of children like Loudoun County, Virginia are getting exposed, at least, even if it's not being changed in that really liberal locale. So I do think things are getting better. But yeah, I completely agree, of course with Marcelo that, you know, much of the problem flows from Our schools. And unfortunately, right now, you know, if you want to be a young person of character, of patriotism, of Christianity, you have to really. You have to have the personal resolve to stand up against the system, which isn't always easy for a young person. Right. For them to do. And they shouldn't be put in that position. But the reality is they are in too many of our institutions. I'll give you one example. I was talking to a very good doctor friend of mine, really renowned physician, and his daughter wants to be a doctor, and she just got into medical school, one of the best medical schools in America. And he's, of course, thrilled about that. It's really hard to get in med school, especially the one she got into. And he said, he's like, but I'm worried. Even though it's prestigious. He said, I can't tell you how woke this place is. Right? This is a school that's supposed to be teaching science. It shouldn't even matter what their philosophy is, but it does. Right? And I think people would be shocked at what's going on in med schools, both, by the way, in terms of the DEI nonsense. So in terms of who they're letting in, what kind of doctors are we going to end up with? Are they actually qualified, or were they just there because of some characteristic they couldn't even control? Right. They just had the right melanin or the right sexual preference. So that's alarming, of course. But then on top of that, the medical schools indoctrinating physicians who are supposed to be healing scientists, not propagandists, with all kinds of woke nonsense. And he. I mean, and he was even asking me, you know, should she go there? I said, well, look, you've got to be the judge of that. And she has to, of course, like, you know, if you. You formed her as a young woman of integrity and high principles. And in her case, I think she's also deeply faithful. So, I mean, I'm like, I think she'll be fine and have the. The perseverance to stand up against the nonsense and. But how ludicrous that we even have to think about it, right?
A
Like, med school is not hard enough. Now, you got to get through all that, right? It's like, I've got to figure this out.
B
Yeah.
F
You know what. What came to mind is Rush. Rush Limbo would always say, and this might be. Steve, you might. You might agree with this, is that they make it seem like there's a lot of them that they. The. The very left is the very Communist. This lady that won on Colorado yesterday, the people, the one in New York. Oh, you know, everybody is supporting them. They're popular. Erica mentioned, like, oh, when you have to stand up, like everybody else is going this other way, so you have to kind of be the person against the popular, the crowd. But what ended up happening with Rush is that they were trying to take him off air. And what they discovered, there was a lot of bots, not bots per se, back then, but he realized that there was like 20 people, not like the immense amount, but they made it look like there was all this huge amount of people that wanted to have his show end. And then he realized they discovered that, that, that the advertisers and all this, they were all connected. It was like. It was just smoke and mirrors. That goes back to the theater kids, you know, But I don't believe, I believe in New York that they figured it was one of those elections that many people don't show up to. And I think it was like 6% of the electorate that like actually supported these people. So do you think that there's this huge approval? I think it's just they're pretending that it's being approved by the fake news and all of that. It's like a hoax, sort of.
B
Yeah, yeah. No, Marcel, I think you're making a good point. Look, and because I do a ton of polling and so, you know, for example, if we just poll objectively and ask objective questions about issues, America is still a center right country. I mean, we are, you know, America's not as right wing as I am. All right, I'll be the first to admit that roughly 25% of America is. I mean, there's a significant minority that is, you know, what I would call, you know, pretty hardcore patriotic populace. America first, right wing, whatever you want to say. But. But on issues generally, America is a. At least a center right party when you ask the questions, you know, in an objective way and correctly or not, party, but country. So you're exactly correct. However, the leftists have been very skilled at accessing the levers of power and exaggerating their strength. And of course, in certain places they are very strong right, like New York City, like Denver, where we saw, you know, last night. And the other aspect is the left is always going to be better at organizing and at, for example, turning out the vote. Why? Because to them, politics is religion. I think that's really important to realize because they are so secular and the Democrat party of the 2020s is a thoroughly secular party. Now, right? Like there is no place for, you know, for religious people and not even just Christian religions. There's no place for religious people, period. But certainly not for tradition minded Christians who used to be Democrats. Right. Catholics, for example, overwhelmingly used to be Democrats in this country. That's changed dramatically. There's no home for them now in the Democratic Party. So because the Democratic Party is so secularist and because they worship politics and government as their God, I truly believe, you have to realize there is. The devotion of faith is actually real to them. It's a pagan religion. Right. It's false. But regardless, it's very motivating, right? Just as the faith of an authentic Christian is very motivating, the faith of the secular humanist leftist is really motivating. And so they're organized and they get out and they vote. Whereas our people generally who agree with us are harder to turn out. Now we can do it, right? We did it in 2024, of course, we had Trump on the ballot, which makes everything easier because he's got such amazing persuasion skills and it's just so dynamic. Although he also turns out the other side. So it also cuts both ways, right? He's a turnout machine in both directions. You know, let's be just honest about that. But this is one of the challenges we face. So for example, when I talk about Gen Z, I did a national Gen Z poll and the split between men and women among Gen Z is just profound and widening. And it's kind of scary to me, frankly, way, way wider than any other age group. You know, in general, men lean more to the right than women at any age group. But it's a massive split among young men and young women. But here's the deal. Young women vote at a far, far higher rate than young men. It's hard to get young men to vote, right? It just is. It's hard to even get them registered
A
because the men are working. Steve. I'm just kidding.
B
Well, no, I mean, I think that's part of it. But yeah, it's just, it's not cool. It's whatever. There's a lot of reasons, you know, right, that they don't, that it's not easy to get them to vote. But like, so those are the challenges we face, you know. But hey, I'm also the belief as a campaign guy, like, you know, we don't, we don't complain about it. We don't whine and moan. We figure it out, right? Like, okay, well how do we win anyway? And we did it in 2020. 4. Now, you know, like, for example, I mentioned we've got challenges this election, okay? Affordability and inflation anxiety is real, all right? It is. And President Trump, you know, says the polling's fake. It's not fake, okay? I'm doing this polling. I don't do fake polling. Right. I don't put my thumb on the scale either way. I want accurate polling so that we can figure out what we need to do. People are. And again, you can say that's it's wrong, that they're blaming Republicans. Maybe it is. Maybe it's totally illogical. The point is, this is where we are right now. The people are very anxious about the economy. They can't afford their lives. And now they're just as mad at Republicans and Trump as they were at Democrats and Biden a couple of years ago. Now, I think if the war ends, I think truly ends, I think things are going to get much, much better. I think we were on a great economic trajectory pre war, and unfortunately, that improvement, that ascent was totally artificially halted by the Iran war. So I am confident that we're going to get back there to that positive trend of real wages growing, and that will improve sentiment, improve confidence, and improve the chances for Republicans into November. But I'll also be the first to admit I'm not sure how. I'm not sure if we have enough time. Even if the war truly ends this weekend, that's Fourth of July, sort of gift to America. Okay, we're done fighting. We have a reasonable deal with Iran. Is there enough time between now and November? I think there is, but admittedly, that's a subjective, you know, analysis. But regardless, you know, we, we, we need to know, like, what do we need to do from here? And so, for example, let me be specific. Like, my polling tells me that still by far our strongest issue is immigration. It's also the, the issue on which the Democrats remain just stubbornly radical. They are absolute extremists. And especially this new crop of Democrats, right, these DSA Democrats, I mean, they literally say open borders. I mean, they're, they are, they are overt about their opposition to any kind of immigration control, any kind of immigration enforcement. They are open borders radicals. Many of them, of course, are foreigners who came here and clearly didn't love America when they came and still don't love America now. Right? Including this Kiros. And so that, to me, is where both, number one, we have a strength that immigration control, immigration enforcement is popular in this country. It's by far the most popular issue for Trump for the gop and our opponents remain totally radicalized, like, they haven't normalized or gotten reasonable in any way. So to me, like, this is the issue that we. And by the way, I'm also a believer it relates right back to the anxiety over inflation. I think these are inextricably linked, meaning the more we control immigration and the more we get illegals out of this country, it relieves stress on the housing market. It means there are fewer illegals competing against Americans in the labor market. So wages rise, costs come down. So not only is it the right thing to do for our country, just for our sovereignty, for our cohesion as a nation, for our street safety, our national security, it's also, I think, an economic policy. It's an economic plan to get Americans more prosperous. So, you know, to me, that's the place for, you know, for us to work.
A
It's a tall order. I'm going to sort of pivot because there's a couple of things I really want to make sure we get to with you being here. Well, one, let's talk about your documentary that you made, Paradise Lost, right? Yes. I love that you've been doing these series of, of mini documentaries, because my attention span is perfect for your documentaries, I must say. But this one pertains to, just like we were saying, theater kids, which is Gavin Newsome. The man has. He is, he is that quintessential snake in the grass. He will change his opinion. And the way he speaks about things with whatever way the wind is blowing that guides him toward that White House. And it is so disgusting to watch. And the state of California itself is just. It's gone, you guys. It's gone. I, I don't even know how he can even show his face, let alone think that he wants to represent our country and the world. So I'm going to show you a trailer of Steve's latest documentary called Paradise Lost, and then we're going to talk about it on the other side. Just as two minutes.
B
Gavin Newsom destroyed paradise. He has brought suffering, failure and misery to the state of California, a place once so revered and admired that it was compared to the Garden of Eden. It's a great place to live if you're part of the feudal elite. If you're not, it's a nightmare. Our leadership has failed us. It's gotten really dangerous.
A
The crime is out of control.
B
The homelessness, it's scary these days. It's the highest rate of poverty.
A
The American dream in California, it's very, very difficult to Achieve.
B
His policies have failed in every possible way. Regardless. The rebuild of Pacific Palisades. As of November 2025, only one home has been rebuilt. Do not expect any rebuilding. You have no idea how much red tape there is in regulation. It is not going to happen. I haven't seen one construction worker.
A
No, not one.
B
What's going on? Why is this not happening? Why is this not the busiest construction site in America? Gavin Newsom says it's gone because of climate change.
C
We're on the tip of the sea.
B
You saw one of the most devastating wildfires in American history in the middle of winter. There is nothing at all unusual about this fire unleashing in January because that is right when the Santa Ana winds kick up. California fails to manage its many forests correctly. It does not clear brush and effectively thin forest as it needs to do. The nearby San Yanez reservoir was empty when the fires began. Actually, Gavin, it was arson and totally negligent. Initial fire response. Not so called climate change. Meanwhile, Newsom actively runs for president while the Palisades sits in ruins. It's truly paradise lost and it's gang Gavin Newsom's fault.
A
Amen. So, Steve, my question is. I, I don't, I, I believe this. Like, I just have like this like, feeling that I believe this, that. But, but my question is how, how could they time it and make it this way? But I do believe they wanted it to burn. I do believe they wanted the land and I do believe they want 15 minute cities. I don't know, like, you know, it was arson. I don't know if they, you know, knew this just would eventually happen. But, you know, having. I don't live there. I live on the East Coast. I'm here in New Jersey. I completely know about what happens in California every year with the fires. I know this. I know about the Santa Ana winds. I know that they have an issue putting fires out. There's like always a water problem. So what, you know, what's the conclusion? Because I feel like that they were like, yeah, screw it, let it burn and we'll rebuild the way we want. And one home is rebuilt. And like you said, I'm here on a Tuesday at 3 o' clock and there's no construction workers. What's happening?
B
Yeah, no, everything about it is appalling. You may be right, that it's intentional because the level of incompetence is so extreme that it's hard to believe that in America especially, and especially in a state like California, right, where there's so much talent, it's hard to believe that the cascade of failures that happened pre fire and now post fire, you know, could really just unfold organically. Right? So, yes, it's not. You have to be conspiracy theorists to think how purposeful was a lot of this. And the answer is, I don't know for sure. It could be, you know, but regardless, what we do know for certain, right, is that this fire, this tragedy, was 100% preventable. And that, to me, even worse, the failure to rebuild ever since is an example of the complete, complete failure of Gavin Newsom in California. And it's what he wants to bring to America. So in other words, he wants to bring misery and tragedy and then a total inability, an almost third world, like corrupt inability, to address the tragedy or failure that he created in the first place. Right? And that's just, you know, the reality. I mean, this fire, I mean, yes, it was set by an arsonist, but the point is, it was actually. That fire that he set was actually quickly put out. Yes, but it was allowed to smolder, right? Why was it allowed to smolder? Well, because there were. There were protected plants, okay? I'm not kidding. Because there were protected plants in the area. And they literally, we have the email, they said, quote, let it burn. So it burned for days. Smoldering, low level, burned for days. Then the winds pick up, which, again, 100% predictable.
A
Everybody knows they knew the wind was coming.
B
They knew it was coming. The wind comes and then even, you know, like I said, it's just a cascade of failures, okay? Then the winds come, and then it start. Then it blows into Pacific Palisades. It's still, I mean, okay, bad at that point, dangerous, but it still could have easily been contained if they had freaking water. Okay? But no water. Why? Because the reservoirs are empty. Because what did Gavin Newsom do every five or six years? It's been this way in California for all of history. Okay? California goes through series of droughts that are followed by intense snowfall in the Sierra Nevadas or all of the snow melts. Tons of water comes down into all of California, really, but particularly Southern California in that area. It's one of the reasons California is such a wonderful place, because it's most of the time hot and dry. But they get the water when they need it from the snowfall. And they well know that's why they have these giant reservoirs that you need to collect that water because you need to use it then during the inevitable drought years, and you need to use it to fight fires. Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty. Why? Because Gavin Newsom said we are going to let all of the snowfall run into the ocean. Okay? So literally collected none of it. So the firemen show up, they have, they have no water. By the way, I document this in the film Private. Rick Caruso, who ran for, people might remember, ran for mayor there. Very wealthy land developer. He has an entire shopping and housing complex in the middle of Pacific Palisades. He knew of the ineptitude of the fire response of LA and California. And so he had his own private fire department, his own water, his own system. He saved his block. It's still fine. Okay? It's totally fine. It's untouched. He saved his block. So a private citizen proved this isn't rocket science. Okay? You can do this, right? Have water. That's, that's number one. You know, that didn't happen in Pacific Palisades. And 5,000, as many as 6,000, and
A
you're on the coast, which is another. It's like there's a whole ocean right there. Figure it out. Plan like, hello, the water is right there. And all of that Malibu burned down right there.
B
And I show the. And to me, though, the aftermath is even worse. As bad as those failures were and people died, it's not just homes, of course, but, but to me, the, the ensuing failures since the fire are even worse, I think, than, you know, those that, that allow this tragedy to unfold. Because to me, you know, and to your point, for folks who haven't been there, and of course I show this in the documentary, but to your point, Erica, this is some of the most beautiful land on planet Earth. And I'm not exaggerating, the Palisades are almost sort of a terrace, almost a stair step down to the Pacific Ocean with just, almost everyone has a view because of that, because it's so sloped, you know, perfect climate, this, you know, very high end, very expensive real estate. A lot of very powerful wealthy people live there. And that was fascinating to me, by the way. Like, look, if even powerful wealthy people in Pacific Palisades, most of whom are Democrats, by the way, many of whom are friends and supporters of Gavin Newsom, if even they can't get permits, even they can't get their homes rebuilt. And it was appalling. You know, I stood there in literally ashes, just a mess, almost nothing going on. No construction, no trucks, no hammers swinging, you know, no guys in hard hats. It should be the busiest construction site in America. It should be intense, right? There's plenty of money, there's plenty of will to get it done in a beautiful place. And it's not happening. So my point is, let's expose this, show it to America. This is who Gavin Newsom is. Because he's running for president. He's got a pretty good shot of being the Democrat nominee. According to the betting markets, it's either going to be him or Kamala Harris. Now we'll see. We've got a ways to go.
A
But what about Ro Khanna? Another snake.
B
Yeah, I mean, you know, and I think AOC is going to jump in. I mean, it'll be a crazy race on their side. But again, according to the betting markets, right now you have two Californians as the two favorites. And I'm going to do everything I can this year and next year to expose both of them through documentaries and other, you know, other work I do so that there's a record. Whoever that nominee is, we're going to show exactly what did they do? Particularly those two. What did they do in California? Because California, for so long in American history has been truly the golden land. Right. America has just always revered and admired California. And you shouldn't revere and admire California anymore. If you do, it's, you know, we pointed out there Susan Crabtree from RealClear Politics, who's fantastic and literally wrote the book on Gavin Newsom and his corruption. It's a great book. I used a lot of that in my documentary. She points out California has the highest poverty rate in America. And I think that will shock a lot of people. People don't believe me when I tell them, I said, go look it up. U.S. census Bureau puts out poverty rates and they do it the right way, which is adjusting for cost. So when you adjust for costs which are sky high in California, everything, housing, electricity, gasoline, everything costs are sky high in California. When you. When you do poverty rates the right way, the poorest state in America is California.
A
It's not. Also with school, too. The kids are some of the worst educated. And Goldie wants to know, is Gavin the favored candidate?
B
I think in the betting markets right now he is. Yeah, I believe. You know, personally, I think Kamala is, in my opinion, I would say Kamala is a favorite right now. Well, only because, listen, Gavin's got a of lot lot going for him, meaning he's gotten very radical, which you need to be, of course. And to your point, Erica, he's just a chameleon and a snake, and he goes wherever he thinks the votes and the money are. So he's gotten more radical over time. He's inching over to that dsm, excuse me, DSA side now, of the communists of the Democrat Party. And he's got a ton of money behind him. There is enormous wealth in California. It's very concentrated among a few, among an elite, but enormous tech and Hollywood wealth behind him. Of course, the Getty family, who has effectively made him his entire life. He's a created politician in very many ways because his father was an attorney for the Getty family, and he grew up almost as an adjacent Getty child. And so the Getty, very radical San Francisco oil family fortune has always been behind him. So he's gonna have a lot of money. He's radical, which you need to be in the Democratic side. And listen, we were talking about media skills before. He's good. He's good on air. He's slick as hell.
A
He's great at debating, too.
B
Yeah, I think he's a demon, all right? I do. But I respect this demon's media skills. He's a good looking, savvy, sharp guy, quick on his feet, throws tons of facts out, much of which most of which have no relevance to what he's actually claiming, you know, to be true. But regardless, he tr. He sort of snowballs you with facts. That's clearly his strategy, with facts and statistics. And he does have the kind of mind who can remember them, I'll give him that. So, you know, I take him seriously. But having said all of that about, you know, okay, why don't. I think he's going to win the demony, and he could. I mean, look, I don't pretend to know exactly what they're going to do on their side. My guess is, though, in the end, he still is a straight white man, and I just don't know that that can win the Dem primary. And Kamala, you know, checking several boxes, right? You know, Indian, black, daughter of immigrants, woman mentally handicapped. Equal. That too. I just. My guess is, in the end, she wins. But we'll see, you know? We'll see. I. Wow. You got to be ready for whomever it is. It could be aoc. I mean, don't.
A
Don't.
B
She's not out of it, all right? I mean, she's popular. If she can get young people out, I mean, who knows, right? But. But for Newsom, I just think it's important to. To expose who he is and to also show people, hey, California, which was maybe about the best place on planet Earth. I know it's been ruined by leftists.
A
Oh, and can you do it quickly? Because there's something we really have to get to. Go ahead.
B
Well, I just want to ask, like,
C
how in the face of all this, did Spencer Pratt not even get second place for the LA Mayor race?
A
Cheating.
B
Yeah.
C
It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, it seems like everything, like, the LA up to the state is just, like, hostile to its citizens. It's like they're doing the worst things possible for people, making it worse at every step. And no one seems. I mean, you know, if you believe the elections were legitimate, no one seems to care.
B
Right.
A
Yeah, I know. It's pretty sick. We're gonna, you know, you guys push that out. Let's. Let's embrace and amplify. As Scott would say, please share Steve's. Steve's documentary everywhere, you know, even to other platforms. Whatever you can do just to get it out there. And we'll. We'll stay on it and Steve will be back and we'll talk about the things. But I have to. Have to get to this because yesterday Sheridan Gorman's mom spoke in front of the horrendous politicians. It was for the angel families, and we were talking about illegal immigration, being killed by illegal immigrants, which just shouldn't even be a thing. And I want to play two clips for you. One was, I don't have the whole thing of J. Pal, but you'll. Is that her name? J. Pal? She's discussed Sting. She's a Democrat. And the way she spoke about, like, these angel families, like, I've already had to listen to four of these today. It's like, oh, I'm sorry. Four people here whose family had a family member killed by an illegal immigrant. You have to listen to it. Too bad. So here's Sheridan Gorman's mom. Steve can speak about this because he also did a documentary about this situation. Let's listen.
F
Unfortunately, it's the fourth time in this committee that we've had a hearing on sanctuary cities. There's many other things that we could be doing other than this.
E
Get so upset with your butts and you don't want to talk about this. This is the fourth hearing. Do you know what I'm thankful for? This is so messed up. I'm going to say I'm thankful after hearing I didn't even know what an angel family was. Had no idea, never even heard about it. There are so many out here. You know what I'm thankful for? I'm thankful that my daughter was just shot in the back of the head. Not raped, murdered, dismembered, put in a Garbage can like Megan Boss with bleach poured on her, and they didn't fire or fight her for 50 days. And you can actually dismiss the angel families. You can say, but you don't want to hear four sessions on angel families. I'm sorry. You need to. You need to. I'm actually thankful that my daughter wasn't raped. How messed up is that? That I'm thankful every day that she was just murdered, not raped and dismembered. Like, think about that. Like, how messed up is that? Do you know what I thought of this morning when I got up? What? The joy of anyone have a baby here. The joy of picking out their first outfit that they're going to wear on their ride home from the hospital. I had to pick up my daughter's last outfit, and she was a fabulous dresser. We had 100 people come to our home. 100 friends and family came to her home. We had her cremated, actually, after. And they all decorated her urn with rhinestones. All of them put it on there. She's fabulous, even in death. But the first time, all the excitement of having a child and then having people make excuses and butts. I'm sorry. This is unacceptable. You know, there are so many angel families out here. And the day that I have to wake up and be thankful that my daughter was only shot and not raped should tell you something. It's crazy.
A
She's incredible. And, you know, to any angel family, man, I am so effing sorry that our country has been failed. All of you, like, you have no idea. It's a disgusting travesty. And this shouldn't happen to anybody. And I hope, Mrs. Gorman, that you can keep being a voice because she is so effective and you just feel it from her heart. And she's so right. Like, that comparison of, like, she was just shot in the back of the head and not dismembered and raped and put in a garbage can with bleach on her. I mean, what do we do doing in this country? And any politician that just can't get out of their own freaking way and start caring about American people. America. And Americans should be thrown the hell out of here. And I'm like, I was so upset watching her. I feel so terrible. And Steve, you met her, right?
B
I did not meet her.
A
No, I didn't meet her. Okay.
B
But I. But I did do a documentary at the scene of the crime right there at the. At Loyola beach, right next to Loyola University on the north side of Chicago, which, by the way, is a seemingly very Very safe neighborhood, especially compared to a lot of Chicago, because generally the lakefront, the waterfront, you know, in most places is. Is higher income. By the way, the creep who killed her lived right there. Okay. Lived in an expensive lakefront neighborhood. We were paying his rent.
A
Wow.
B
I point this out in my documentary. That's really a short one, by the way. I think it's about a 10 minute. You can find all of my docs @cortez investor investigates.com, but that one is up there. The Sheridan Gorman. I know this area very well. I live in Chicago for most of my life until the crazies chase me out of there. But know the area very well. Love Loyal University, or at least what it used to be. It's become a crazy, you know, wokeatorium, like so many of these schools. But they have a magnificent piece of real estate on the lake on the north side of Chicago. And she was at an area. They were out trying to see the northern lights, you know, late at night, but doing nothing wrong. A group of friends sitting on a pier in a seemingly safe neighborhood. And without any provocation, without anything preceding it, this crazy creep whose rent we paid. Illegal alien, broke into this country illegally. Biden, instead of deporting him, sent him to Chicago. We paid to get him to Chicago. He then commits additional crimes, get picked. Gets picked up by the Chicago PD instead of being turned over to ICE for deportation. And none of this ever happens. He is released because the Chicago pd, and I don't blame the cops, the Chicago PD is unable to cooperate with federal law enforcement because of Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker and a bunch of other cruel communist radicals in Illinois and a lot of these states in America. And then this, you know, this Cretan, for whatever reason, decided to go buy gun. And without provocation, just, you know, in cold blood, murder a precious young American woman. And for Jayapal, by the way, to sit there and disrespect this tragedy and this grief. You know, Jayapel should be deported. All right? Not only does she not belong in Congress, she doesn't belong in the United States. This Kiros we've been talking about came here from Ethiopia. Rashida Talib came from overseas. Unfortunately, we can go on and on. Yeah. Ilhan Omar, these people didn't. Do not belong in our country. Forget about in Mandani, of course, himself. Forget about in high office, you know, or in the U.S. congress. But yeah, gosh, I mean, watching Mrs. Gorman, you know, I both wanted to cry and punch something, right? Because I'm so angry at the same time. But what a wonderful woman. It's heart wrenching what she's going through. Any. Any person with a heart, of course, has such compassion for her. But especially those of us who are blessed with children, you know, especially the children of roughly that age, you know, college age or so. It's just an unimaginable tragedy that she's enduring. But God bless her that she is trying to take that unbelievable grief and. And she's trying to turn it into something positive and to prevent it from happening to other families. And it has to be so hard for her, right, to get in front of the camera, to get in front of the microphone, to be in front of people like Jay Appel and. But God bless her for doing it because I think it's really, really important and it's gotta be so, so difficult to do that. But yeah, I went there to the scene of the crime to honor her. Let me just tell you this too quickly. Cause I think this is instructive. That neighborhood in Chicago, Rogers park, is a lot of sort of older. They call it the Lakefront liberals. It's sort of older, kind of aging hippies, right? So boomer left wingers. That's. That's that neighborhood in Rogers Park. As we were filming, I took more grief from the neighborhood for filming. I'm like, okay, you're more upset about me telling the story than about what happened here. And now think of me. They were mostly, you know, sort of, like I said, sort of, sort of hippie Karens. So I wasn't. I wasn't fearful that the crew or I were in danger.
G
But.
B
But boy, were they messing with our filming. Were they screaming at me? Were they getting involved? Like, I really kind of needed security. I mean, this had just happened. I'm like, why don't you direct your anger at the murder right here, you know, within steps of where you live, of a precious young American woman who had her whole life to look forward to, you know, but that's not the anger. You're mad at me for telling the story and for reporting on this, but it's just. It's indicative, unfortunately, of where the hardcore left voters are. So it's not just the office holders. They're terrible. But there is a hardcore left communist constituency, unfortunately, in this country. And they dominate in places, in urban places generally, like Rogers park in Illinois. And I experienced that firsthand.
A
And Steve, I'm really glad that you called out some politicians by name. And I feel like people are doing that more now because we're fed up and like we're not trying to be polite anymore because that was the suicidal empathy, you know? Gad. Sad came on here and we talked all about it. And I am all for. For calling people out by name. Taking a stand for the people who are dead now or can't take a stand now. You know, like it's up to us. And we're watching our country being systematically taken over by really vile and disgusting people who hate our country. That woman, I don't even care to learn her name. That one last night, she said she uses the American flag as a napkin. You know what, bitch? Get out of here. How about that? How about get out of our country? So I appreciate you doing that. I have one other question. Quick clip. I know we only have five minutes, but I just. I want to highlight these things. One second.
G
Ms. Pierce, I don't think you're going to do. I have a request, but I don't think you'll do it. I'd really love you to look to your right because they'll look to you and look to your left and tell them about all your numbers and your. All your grants and all your bs and why we shouldn't arrest and deport people who are here illegally and commit crimes. Do you want to do that? Explain to them. And also explain to the sheriff why you are correct and he's wrong, even though he's been on the ground and in the street. Have you served in law enforcement? Have you been a law enforcement official?
A
No, sir.
G
Okay. He has. He's seen it. He's been on the street. Street. He's seen the blood and the guts. This isn't some philosophical thing out in space we're talking about. These are real people who are really getting hurt because of bad politics. I. I have a quite time, I think, for one question. In your testimony you listed, Ms. Pierce, to you four practical concerns that you said drive the needs for sanctuary policies. We should have sanctuary policies because of your complicated formula here. Community trust, local control, legal liability and staffing. And can you look at them and say that those four pillars of your thesis, of your idea, of your think tank are worth the lives of their children? I'm just asking you a question. Please answer.
A
Yeah, I would love to answer it. The children of Mr. Abraham and Mrs. Gorman should be alive. The fact that they are not is a travesty. And I'm extremely apologetic.
G
But it's because of your policies. You're the one doing it. No offense, but you are.
A
I'm here today to testify to The American people, and to Congress about how federal policy should operate. I'm an expert on federal policy.
G
I'm out of time. Thank you. I yield back.
A
I just, you know, we're trying. We're trying. I appreciate. Jeff. Jeff, Andrew. Trying to highlight. It's. You're the cause. Like, you're the cause of allowing this to go on. And they just don't want to take accountability. So what's the answer, Steve? You know, what are we to do? Yeah, what can we do?
B
Yes, well. Well, we can pressure Congress to completely defund these NGOs who are doing this on awful work. Right. In favor of illegal migrants all over the world, unfortunately. And a lot of it was done by getting rid of usaid. That was amazing. Or at least defanging usaid. But there's more to do. There's a lot more to do. And for example, listen, I'm a committed Catholic. I love the church, but Catholic Charities is one of the worst offenders in this realm in terms of taking massive amounts of government money to facilitate mass invasion of our country. And that is just simply reality. It has become in some ways a racket. Rather than a charity or a religion, it's really a leftist racket that we are funding, that we ourselves are paying for. Those funds need to be cut off by the Congress, and they can do it. And again, there's been some work here, but not enough. And these NGOs are really. They are the main vehicle through which the mass invasion of America has been occurring for decades. And we need to realize that because they get paid handsomely to get people across the border to house them once they're here. And when I talked about the murderer of Sheridan Gorman being taxpayers paying for the funding, it's via an ngo. So it's not direct. It's not just State of Illinois just directly pays his rent. It's all filtered through these leftist NGOs under the guise of doing something charitable or doing something philanthropic or community based. In reality, they're paying the rent of a heartless invader killer who ends up murdering an American citizen. That's the reality. So we need to. We need to continue to. To choke off the financing. You know, starve the beast, right? Starve the fuel effectively. Because we shouldn't be paying for our own destruction via leftist NGOs that facilitate a mass invasion of our country.
A
So let's say we call our congresspeople. That's who we should call. And what do we say? Like, what's our message?
B
Yes, no more funding of leftist NGOs and full transparency. Transparency from these NGOs, because often they are able to operate, you know, relatively with. With opacity. In other words, they're not. I mean, yes, they have to be generally transparent about their finances, but not specifically. So we should have. If the government is paying these NGOs, they should effectively be treated like government entities themselves. Meaning that we have full access to every. Just like we do as taxpayers with government entities to, to every expenditure they're making. So that would also help absolute full transparency, open the books entirely on the NGOs who do receive government money, but I think even more importantly, cut off the money in the first place. And specifically, again, I say this is a committed Catholic. Let's start with Catholic Charities. Just say, hey, guess what? All of your border and refugee and immigrant operations, they're done. We're not funding them anymore.
A
So we need to put them on the chopping block. Is called Catholic Charities. He's not saying Catholic Charities as a general statement. It's called Catholic Charity. So, yeah, so call, call, call all the Congress people if you want, and you can call every single morning, write down their phone numbers, call every single day. They have to take your message. You can either leave a voicemail or you can speak to someone. If you, if you're nervous to speak to somebody, call after hours and leave a voicemail. Every message has to be handed over. So make a stink. We can be useful that way. Owen, anything you want to say about this?
C
Well, I think that's a good plan. I mean, I think we should be defunding all these things at every step and trying to drive more visibility, more transparency. And I think just to me, it's a big impetus to just keep cracking down on the border, keep deporting illegal aliens, keep getting rid of the people that are not supposed to be here. And I think to Steve's earlier point, it helps with the economy, it helps with our safety, it helps with everything, really. And I think we just went way, way too far, especially under the Biden administration. And we need correct this because it's just eroding. All of our systems, medical systems, education systems, welfare systems, everything we depend on is being torn apart by all these mass illegal immigrants.
A
I agree. Marcela, anything in closing?
F
Just that the, the desiring or wanting the laws to apply and enforcing the immigration laws of this country is not racist. Racist. I'm an immigrant. But it. You went through the immigration process. So what we're asking is enforcement of the laws. So that's not anything. Because what they Try to pinpoint it is as oh, racist or oh, you're not understanding the plight of these people. No, this. Not about that. Open borders leads to people like this killer that killed this 18 year old and it leads to all of this, you know, so they don't have a right to be here and especially if you already are. Like Steve was explaining he was already caught by the Chicago police and he was already had criminal past. So it's not like they tried to portray this as racism or always that's.
A
They always. Everything's racist to them.
F
Whoever it is, it doesn't matter your. Your skin color.
A
Steve, what? Where is it that everybody wanted to know where they can watch all your documentaries?
B
Yes, please. Cortez investigates dot com. Cortez with an S at the end. Cortez investigates dot com also it's pinned to the top of my Twitter, which is at Cortez Steve. So two S's together at Cortez Steve. So no, I'd appreciate it. There's no paywall. We don't try to make money off these. We just want the word out there. So please watch them, share them. It's important.
D
Please.
A
Yeah, please, you guys. And they're, you know, and the thing that's nice is they're short enough that you can tell someone like, listen, I'm not asking you to spend two hours watching a movie. It's, you know, it's just here's the meat. So that's pretty perfect, Steve. And we thank you so much for coming on and we can't wait till you come back. You know, we, we all, we all really want to be useful, as Scott said, and affect change and whatever we can do, you guys. So get uncomfortable for five minutes a day, maybe make a couple of phone calls again, if it makes you nervous and it really makes you uncomfortable, do it in the evening when the offices are closed. And you could just leave a voicemail. And don't be afraid to speak up because that's what got us where we're at now was being afraid to speak up when. When we knew in our gut that what was happening was wrong. So, Steve, thanks a million you guys that want to stick around. I will play an Akira the Dawn song when we leave. And if any of the hosts need to bail after we say goodbye, please feel free. And we'll be back tomorrow. And we, we've got to cover the MK Ultra stuff. Oh my God, it's going to be amazing. So as always, we like to thank you, Scott and Shelly, for allowing this show to continue. And for you guys for showing up and being so freaking amazing, you are absolutely the smartest, most fun group of people ever. And let's be useful today. Call your Congress people and let's, you know, let's get the word out there. Let's take our country back, okay? And no matter what country you live in, call your representatives also, like, this is not America exclusive. We're all having the same problems. So don't be afraid to call your representatives either. Okay? So let's have a closing sip to Scott, and then we'll do Akira to Scott.
C
To Scott.
A
Thank you, Steve. All right, you guys, I think what should we do today? How about Happy Canada Day, by the way. Oh, Happy Canada Day. Okay, let's do this. I think we just did this. But. But I think it's important. Let's do. Do something. Sounds appropriate. Here we go, Steve. Thanks again.
D
Have you heard the phrase freedom is just another word for nothing left to live?
G
No.
A
We just did this. But we need it.
D
You've heard that, right? Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. How about that college class you were going to sign up for? How about that sport you wanted to get involved in? How about that motorcycle you wanted? Too dangerous, right? You're free. You're free. Every one of you who is depressed and anxious, you're free. You're free. Because nothing you do will be worse
B
than the way you feel right now.
D
Do something. Do something. Dangerous. Psychologically dangerous. Take a chance. Put yourself out there. Flame out. Get killed. Just get smashed. Just go do it. You're. Freedom's just another word. Enough and left to lose. You're free. Do something.
G
Do something.
D
Just be just another word. Nothing left to lose. You're free. Do something.
E
Do something.
D
Do something. If you want to meet people, here's the best way to do it. You have to join activities. There is no other way to meet people and form lasting friendships. Hear this clearly. There's no other way to do it. You have to join an activity. A club, a sport, a gym, an organization, a political movement. Nothing else. You can't just make a friend, like good luck. You could try. Well, I don't think I've ever seen it work. Hi. You know, Bob, hearing good things about you, I think we could be friends. Doesn't work. Do something. Do something. Join a thing. Make a sport. Form a club of your own. Just go. Do it. You're free. Freedom's just another word. But nothing left to lose. You're free. Do something.
G
Do something.
D
Just freedom's just another word. Nothing left to lose. You're free. Do something. Why would you not form a club of your own? Because you're afraid nobody would come right? What's the difference? You're as good as dead. Dead. You're depressed. You're anxious. You hate your life. You're thinking about putting a. I can't say that here, but you're thinking about maybe life isn't worth it. You're free. You're absolutely free. Go have some fun. Freedom's just another word. There's nothing left. You're afraid. Do something.
B
Do something.
D
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. You're free. Do something. Do something.
G
Do something.
D
Now, I gotta tell you, I've used this technique a number of times, and, man, does it work. It really works. You're free. Just remember that people criticizing you are narcissists. They are broken. Don't let it break you. You've got some techniques now, and I think you're gonna be a lot better. Go get yourself some friends and you'll find your mental health problems feel a lot better. Go get involved in something. Join a group. Form a group. Be the boss. That is your advice for the day, and I will talk to you.
A
We're a group. We're friends. We're a club. We're a cult. Just kidding. We're not a cult.
E
Not yet.
A
Not yet. Not yet. After the spring break weekend, maybe, but you guys, we're all here for each other. Thank you, Metal Seer. So we'll be back tomorrow, and I don't know what we'll be doing, but I want it to be MK Ultra. Don't you, Marcella?
F
Oh, yes. Like MK Ultra. Like week, month.
A
I know, I know, I know. There's so much juicy news out there. All right, guys, I love Steve Cortez. Such a good soul. Please share his message for the sake of our very handsome. He is very handsome, isn't he? And he's got that voice. I'm Steve Cortez.
F
I love that.
A
I know I'm gonna talk like that from now on. Oh, my gosh. All right, you guys say your goodbyes. We don't want to cut you off, and we love you and we will see you all tomorrow. Bye, guys. Bye, Marcella. Love you.
F
By.
Episode: The Scott Adams School – STEVE CORTES Returns. Newsom. SCOTUS. & More
Date: July 1, 2026
Theme: Analyzing current events—politics, media, and culture—through a persuasion and communication lens, featuring recurring guest Steve Cortes.
This episode features political commentator and former Trump advisor Steve Cortes in a spirited roundtable discussing the power of framing and communication, the rise of new political influencers, problems in education, the failures in California under Gavin Newsom, and the tragedy of angel families affected by illegal immigration. The conversation is steered through the persuasion principles championed by Scott Adams, with repeated calls to action for audience engagement.
Timestamps: 00:39–03:02
Steve Cortes pays tribute to Scott Adams' influence on his own media career, particularly Adams’ lessons in reframing, critical thinking, and logical analysis in communication:
“One of the biggest [lessons] is learning to reframe things. … Don’t accept the framing that is presented to you by the interviewer … challenge it, reframe it.” – Steve (01:55)
Adams’ persuasion tools are highlighted as being universally applicable, with hosts encouraging listeners to read his books, especially Reframe Your Brain.
Emphasis on the emotional hook: Communication is more effective when appealing to emotion—not just logic—because "most human beings are more emotional than they are logical."
Timestamps: 06:34–11:48
Media, entertainment, and emotion: Both news and late-night TV blend information and performance, with figures like Trump and Gutfeld praised for leveraging humor and emotion for persuasion.
Emerging left-wing influencers: Discussion centers on young, charismatic candidates (e.g., the recent primary winner Kiros in Colorado, Mandani, AOC) and their effectiveness as communicators—even if the hosts vehemently disagree with their politics.
“He comes across as very authentic. Now I don’t know if it’s because he actually believes it or he’s just a great actor, I’m not sure.” – Steve (09:42)
Noting the well-funded machinery behind such candidates: The rise of “influencer” Democrats is viewed as not organic, but the result of targeted recruiting and funding by major donors like Soros and tech billionaires.
Timestamps: 15:52–23:07
Timestamps: 23:08–30:58
Timestamps: 30:58–44:07
Preview of Steve’s documentary “Paradise Lost”: Chronicling California’s decay under Newsom—rising crime, homelessness, wildfires, and regulatory failures.
Failures during and after the Pacific Palisades wildfire: Bureaucratic ineptitude and environmentalist overreach allowed arson to devastate the area, followed by virtually no rebuilding.
Newsom as national cautionary tale: The guest and hosts argue that Newsom’s policies could be exported to the nation if he becomes president.
On Newsom’s presidential prospects: Newsom is framed as well-funded, radical, media-savvy, but possibly unelectable in the end due to identity politics within the Democratic Party.
“He’s a good looking, savvy, sharp guy, quick on his feet, throws tons of facts out—most of which have no relevance … He sort of snowballs you with facts.” – Steve (42:48)
Timestamps: 44:07–59:06
Angel families in Congress: Powerful testimony from Sheridan Gorman’s mom about family members murdered by illegal immigrants, frustration at politicians’ indifference.
"I'm thankful that my daughter was just shot in the back of the head. Not raped, murdered, dismembered... Do you know what I thought of this morning?... I had to pick out my daughter's last outfit." – Mrs. Gorman (46:06)
Sanctuary cities and accountability: Steve traces specific failures that led to tragedy (illegal immigrant repeatedly released, taxpayer-funded housing).
Confrontations with left-leaning locals: While filming his documentary in Chicago, Steve says he faced more neighborhood hostility for reporting than for the crime itself, emblematic of urban leftism’s priorities.
"I took more grief from the neighborhood for filming. You're more upset about me telling the story than about what happened here." – Steve (52:33)
Action steps: Defund NGOs (notably Catholic Charities) that, through government contracts, facilitate the mass migration crisis. Demand full transparency in NGO funding and operations.
“We shouldn’t be paying for our own destruction via leftist NGOs that facilitate a mass invasion of our country.” – Steve (58:13)
Timestamps: 64:28–68:48
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. You’re free. Do something.” (Recurring from 64:33 onward)
“If you haven’t already, get Scott’s work … I think it’ll make anybody…a better communicator.” (00:39–01:52)
“No, evil people can have a lot of talents…” (09:42)
“Find the emotional hook to make a more important underlying point.” (07:22)
“Unfortunately the left really effectively played a long game…They took over school boards, teachers unions, obviously the administrative post, the textbook companies, I mean, all of it…” (19:29)
“I’m thankful that my daughter was just shot…not raped and dismembered.” – Mrs. Gorman (46:06)
“Defund these NGOs … full transparency … But I think even more importantly, cut off the money in the first place.” (58:13–59:06)