Democrats Caught in Another Massive Lie + Gov Glenn Youngkin Joins the Progrum

Summary

Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Theme:
Democrats Caught in Another Massive Lie + Gov Glenn Youngkin Joins the Progrum
Release Date: October 28, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Guests: Governor Glenn Youngkin (Virginia), Caitlin Sutherland (Americans for Public Trust)

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Overview

This episode delivers the Ruthless crew’s trademark, irreverent conservative analysis on Democratic Party controversies, the upcoming pivotal Virginia election, intra-party Democratic divisions, and the influence of foreign money in American politics. Highlights include a deep-dive interview with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin as the state approaches a contentious off-year election, and an exposé with Caitlin Sutherland on liberal dark money. The hosts also ridicule recent Democratic messaging, dissect the ongoing government shutdown, and unpack the rift between union interests and the Democratic establishment.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Democratic Party "Shape-Shifting" and Lack of Leadership

00:00–12:25

• Hosts open with withering mockery of Gavin Newsom’s attempt to rebrand his privileged upbringing as one of hardship, only to be undercut by evidence of his wealth and social connections.
  • “Rich ass Gavin Newsom acting like 8 Mile is his life story... That is the most embarrassing shit I have seen in a very long time.” —Michael Duncan [03:35]
• Discussion turns to Newsom’s flip-flopping on “woke” issues, DEI, and attempts to position himself as both anti- and pro-woke depending on his audience.
  • “He is such, so... he is such like a lizard person, dude. Like, he has no feelings. He doesn't believe in anything.” —Michael Duncan [09:14]
• Broader critique that today's Democratic Party is defined by a lack of principles and core beliefs; leadership is subservient to the loudest activist factions.
  • “They believe in nothing.” —Josh Holmes [10:10]

2. Karine Jean-Pierre's Book and Lack of Introspection

12:25–16:00

• Segment lampoons Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s book “Independent,” ridiculing her inability to answer basic questions or reflect on the failures of the Biden administration.
  • “It all just goes back to the talking points on identity in order to paper over all of the failure.” —John Ashbrook [14:28]
• Hosts criticize Democratic identity politics as a replacement for substantive governance.

3. Democrats' Handling of Biden’s Frailty & Campaign Issues

16:00–18:50

• Examination of claims from Kamala Harris and others about Joe Biden’s age and capability to be president, arguing Democrats downplay or obscure major leadership concerns.
  • “It’s a lot tougher to be out there on the campaign trail. The auto pen works just fine.” —Michael Duncan [17:07]

4. Interview: Governor Glenn Youngkin on Virginia's Election & Policy Successes

21:05–48:05

Achievements as Governor

• Deregulation: Over 30% of state regulations eliminated, saving Virginians $1.2 billion per year.
• Jobs & Economy: $143 billion in company investment; 277,000 more jobs; business-friendly reforms and right-to-work defense.
  • “Virginia is for lovers. It’s also for jobs.” —John Ashbrook [24:29]
• Education: Reversal of pandemic learning loss, higher standards, protection of women’s sports and locker rooms from trans inclusion policies.
• Public safety: Reduction in crime through strong law enforcement collaboration; against sanctuary policies.

The Stakes in Virginia

• Upcoming election presented as pivotal for the nation, with Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger depicted as without moral compass.
  • “She doesn’t have a moral compass and so she doesn’t really know what she believes. She’s just going to say whatever she needs to say in order to try to get elected.” —Gov. Youngkin [28:04]
• Expressed alarm at Democratic refusal to disavow violent or extremist rhetoric from party members.
  • “How far lost is the Democrat Party? Just so lost.” —Gov. Youngkin [36:20]
• Warns of policy reversals if Democrats win: loss of right-to-work, retreat on school safety, sanctuary state policies, reversal of climate and economic reforms.

National Lessons and Messaging

• Emphasizes that Republican victories set narrative and policy agendas for the nation (e.g., education, energy, public safety).
• Democrats are accused of rallying around anger, division, and “preserve power in any way possible…”
• Hosts and Youngkin urge turnout: “Go vote, go vote, go vote.” —Gov. Youngkin [48:00]

5. Question of the Day & Listener Interaction

50:04 onwards

• Read and discuss listener submissions on what news stories deserve more coverage.
• Common themes: media bias, education system’s leftward shift, Democratic dishonesty on ICE/deportation, and lack of media fact-check accountability.
  • “The story that needs to be reported is the non story that Dems keep repeating about ice ... Their lies are not reported enough.” —Listener Cindy Brewer [53:03]

6. Government Shutdown: Democrat-Union Divide

55:12–61:10

• AFGE (federal workers’ union) calls publicly for Democrats to end the shutdown, opening a major rift.
• Hosts ridicule Democrats for risking their core government union constituency for the sake of the party’s activist/left bloc.
  • “There is a union entirely comprised of people who make their paycheck off of your tax dollar. And then this union is lobbying against you.” —Josh Holmes [57:25]
• Analysis that establishment Dems are at odds with the left-wing activist base and are acting against their own voters’ interests out of fear of primary challenges.
• Hosts predict Democrats will “cave” and reopen government as pressure mounts but mock media for neglecting coverage of the schism.

7. Theater vs. Policy in Democratic Politics

62:32–66:53

• Mocking of Rep. Eric Swalwell and Democrats for prioritizing symbolic gestures (“wrecking ball to Trump’s ballroom”) and social media clout over policy wins.
  • “You can either try to make a point, or you can try to make a difference.” —Michael Duncan [64:39]
• Trump is described as blending theater and real policy shifts, while Dems imitate only the showmanship.

8. Who Funds the Left? — Interview with Caitlin Sutherland

69:36–85:20

• Sutherland exposes massive, often foreign, funding of left-wing causes via “dark money”—from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss to newly uncovered British donor Sir Christopher Hohn.
  • “We were able to trace that over 500 million in foreign money has come from his UK based charity into US based organizations.” —Caitlin Sutherland [72:57]
• Foreign money funneled to groups such as Tides, Arabella Advisors, NRDC, EDF, driving aggressive climate and election activism.
• Issue advocacy, voter drives, and protests are legal entry points for foreign cash; only direct campaign donations are banned.
• Reform efforts underway at state and federal level to close these loopholes; efforts already dissuaded Hohn from further donations after exposure.
  • “They’re benefiting from the foreign money with their voter turnout operation and everything else that is bankrolling their unpopular and dangerous policies.” —Caitlin Sutherland [82:44]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gavin Newsom’s relatability act:
  “Rich ass Gavin Newsom acting like 8 Mile is his life story…bro, that is the most embarrassing shit I have seen in a long time.” —Michael Duncan [03:35]

• On Newsom’s ideological flexibility:
  “He is such like a lizard person, dude. Like, he has no feelings. He doesn’t believe in anything.” —Michael Duncan [09:14]

• On KJP’s book:
  “It’s the same thing as the Gavin Newsom stuff. There’s a vacancy to all of it. There’s no introspection.” —John Ashbrook [14:28]

• On government union revolt:
  “There is a union entirely comprised of people who make their paycheck off of your tax dollar. And then this union is lobbying against you.” —Josh Holmes [57:25]

• On Democrats ceding leadership:
  “Their whole party is based on one metric of success, and that’s not getting any policy wins. That’s attention.” —Michael Duncan [63:57]

• On foreign money and activism:
  “We were able to trace that over 500 million in foreign money has come from his UK based charity into US based organizations.” —Caitlin Sutherland [72:57]

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Important Timestamps

| Segment / Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Ruthless panel roasts Gavin Newsom’s “hard life” | 00:00–06:13 | | Democrats & “shape-shifting” leadership | 10:00–12:25 | | Karine Jean-Pierre’s non-answers | 12:25–16:00 | | Kamala Harris & Biden’s frailty | 16:00–18:50 | | Governor Youngkin Interview begins | 21:05 | | Youngkin: Economy, jobs, deregulation | 22:38–25:32 | | Youngkin: Education, women’s sports, public safety| 26:59–32:20 | | Youngkin: Debate, Spanberger, and violent rhetoric| 28:04–37:13 | | Youngkin: Shutdown, union, federal employees | 44:28–48:04 | | Listener Qs: media, education, ICE “lies” | 50:04–53:50 | | Government shutdown, Democrats–unions split | 55:12–61:10 | | Theatrical politics: Swalwell & Trump ballroom | 62:32–66:53 | | Guest Caitlin Sutherland, dark money exposé | 69:36–85:20 |

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Final Thoughts & Tone

This episode is sharp, highly critical, and sarcastic, with the hosts pulling no punches on Democratic failures, internal contradictions, and leadership gaps. Guests Glenn Youngkin and Caitlin Sutherland provide substance and reinforce the conservative critique of left-of-center politics, while the hosts intersperse comic relief and listener engagement, maintaining their signature “no shelter for anyone” irreverence.

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In sum:
The Ruthless crew eviscerates Democratic leadership, exposes the party’s alignment with activist donors (including foreign billionaires), and elevates Youngkin’s record as a contrast—urging listeners to “keep the faith, hold the line, own the libs,” and, most of all, vote.

Transcript

[Michael Duncan]

You know, it was just a bunch of wonder Bread. Me bouncing the ball in the backyard, trying to. He's just straight up hustling like what Gavin Newsom out on the corner, the.

[Josh Holmes]

Guy, you said it, he's a lizard person. He is the embodiment of what is today's Democratic Party. They believe in nothing.

[Michael Duncan]

Nothing.

[John Ashbrook]

Guys like Gavin Newsom, who entertained the common sense of a person like Charlie Kirk for about 30 seconds. And now fast forward to today and they're back on. You know, anti woke stuff. That's really just racism against black people.

[Josh Holmes]

Our nation is standing up for American workers. Restoring the pride of making products here at home.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

That's what we do every day.

[Josh Holmes]

We're America's beverage companies. Making American products with American workers in America's hometowns. Delivering brands that have been enjoyed for generations. Creating good paying jobs, the kind that require only a strong work ethic. Because we believe in the promise of America and the people who make it great.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[Michael Duncan]

Keep the faith, hold the line and own the lids.

[Producer/Host]

It's time for our main event.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Good Tuesday to you.

[Josh Holmes]

Welcome back to the Ruthless Variety Program. We are one week away from these critical off year elections in New Jersey and Virginia, which is why we have Glenn Youngkin on the program to talk an awful lot about that. We've noticed some splits in a coalition dealing with the Democrats government shutdown. We're gonna get to that and then we've got a whole lot more. I am Josh Holmes along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook. Left to right, across your radio dial. As always, fellas, this is gonna be a real banger. Got some great interviews, got some great stuff. The way we like to start when there's so much content available is just examining what it is the Democrats are sending us. Cuz this is just an embarrassment of riches. And I know we've talked about this a lot in the last couple of weeks, but if you just pay attention even tangentially to politics these days, the things that they say and do, if you can't laugh at them, you can't laugh at anything. I wanna start in some ways with Gavin Newsom.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Because boy oh boy, fellas. Boy oh boy, this guy. Let's just play clip one and get right into it.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

But also, you know, it was also about paying the bills, man. It was just like hustling. And so I was out there kind of raising myself, turning on the tv, started, you know, just getting obsessed, you know, sitting there with, you know, the Wonder Bread and five Stacks of, man, like the white stack, five stories. Come macaroni and cheese.

[Josh Holmes]

Are you talking about me? Yo, yg.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yg, man, every day, every day in the backyard, just bouncing the basketball, okay? Throwing the ball, I mean, until the ball is just like fraying, man, and you're retaining yourself. That's it.

[Producer/Host]

Whole thing. So just.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

And, and then, you know, then this student, that was shitty student is in the back with his head down, all of a sudden started throwing the baseball a little faster than everyone else and started, you know, make a few free throws. Because I was sitting there practicing 500 of them every damn night. And in high school, I look up in the stands, my dad's back up there.

[John Ashbrook]

Okay, dude, dude, there's pandering and then there's pandering.

[Michael Duncan]

Dude, that is the most embarrassing ever. Rich ass Gavin Newsom acting like 8 Mile is his life story. Like, you know, I was just hustling, I'm watching TV and having Wonder Bread and you know, bro, that is the most embarrassing shit I have seen in a very long time.

[Josh Holmes]

It was a combination of a bunch of things. Like one, ah, man, just like you, I was dirt poor, you know, all that. And then he was like, somehow fashioned himself into a professional athlete by the end of it. And like, what? So like, I don't know. It doesn't take much more than a Google search to be like, I don't know. So what was he? I don't know. Let's check out graphic one. Okay, well, Newsom was featured in a 1991 San Francisco Chronicle article entitled Children of the Rich. That was the actual title.

[Michael Duncan]

That was the actual title. Children of the Rich. Straight up, dude, Wonder Bread.

[Josh Holmes]

And for your audio only listeners, what you see him doing there is standing on some kind of an open doorway or a porch of such with a couple of WASPy. I would say four WASPy looking gentlemen in size.

[Michael Duncan]

It's from an article. It's not a Brooks Brothers catalog. You might be mistaken. Like, this is the most ridiculous thing this guy. So he has deep ties to the Getty family, which is essentially the old money family of California billionaire media family.

[John Ashbrook]

That's the guy.

[Michael Duncan]

So for him to act like he was like, you know, it was just a bunch of Wonder Bread, me bouncing the ball in the backyard, trying to. He's just straight up hustling, like, what? Gavin Newsom out on the corner shooting free throws. What is he talking about?

[John Ashbrook]

In reality? He's riding down a hill in the backyard on Rosebud with Citizen Kane.

[Josh Holmes]

He made it sound like, he was crossing over Stephon Marbury at the Rucker part, right?

[Michael Duncan]

He's like, you know, I'm playing midnight basketball, like, trying not to get shot. What are you talking about, dude?

[Josh Holmes]

You just can't make it up. All right, so look at graphic two.

[Michael Duncan]

Look at graphic two at this cat.

[Josh Holmes]

All right? This is a high school. This is a year photo.

[Producer/Host]

That's not a basketball anymore.

[Josh Holmes]

That's a Burberry scarf wrapped around a sport coat and shirt.

[Michael Duncan]

He won most stylish senior. I just like, dude, that's pathetic looking.

[Josh Holmes]

Very not poor.

[John Ashbrook]

On the contrary, it looks like he probably carried a briefcase to high school.

[Josh Holmes]

It's just. It's just incredible. But, like, that wasn't enough, fellas. It wasn't enough. Like, that would have been a great. Just shut it down, Gavin Newsom. We'll move on to another Democrat, but we can't leave this stuff out. Look at clip two.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

You got the Supreme Court talking about getting rid of the Voting Rights act, and that's very real. Yeah, that may likely happen in just a matter of months. I mean, they're rewriting history, censoring historical facts. It's a unbelievable moment. All this anti woke stuff is just anti black, period, full stop, period. All the crt, esg, DEI stuff. That's all this is. It's this great purge and it's happening in real time. And I'm just. I'm sitting here and I feel like, you know, luckily I'm governor, but, like, we're not doing enough. We're not calling this out. We're not drawing a line here. And again, it's not about Democrats or Republicans. It's about who we've. Right. Wrong, man.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Goddamn wrong. Daylight and darkness.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah, right. God damn wrong. Daylight and darkness.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yeah, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

So, like, if you look at the way that this guy is governed, there's some consistency there. It's the reinvention that's the problem. Remember, after the decisive results of the 2024 election, he decided to do. He launched his podcast. Right? And when he launched his podcast, he decided to invite a whole bunch of noteworthy conservatives on, to give him an external point of view on where the Democratic Party has gone wrong, perhaps where even things that he has said may have hit not the right notes with a center right constituency. So we invited people on, like Charlie Kirk, and like, this is what he had to say.

[Michael Duncan]

But then it was the extension of.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

All of the what we would call woke stuff. Right. Defund police. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, Minneapolis literally had to hold a special Vote saying like, should we.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Still have a police department? Yeah, that's. I mean, that was lunacy.

[Michael Duncan]

You asked the question, what did Wokeism look like?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Prop 16 in California that would have had legalized racial discrimination. That was not a major. There was a broader. No, no, no. I'm just bringing it home to you. There were hundreds of such ballot referendums, right? Yeah, there was, you know, city council meetings where they said the white people aren't allowed here. Right. And what Good. It's not good.

[Michael Duncan]

And so happening is a broader question.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Of sensible, not racist suburban moms that are like, wait a second, I have a 8 year old white son. Are you trying to say he's a racist? Yeah. And it creates a backlash that then bubbles up.

[Producer/Host]

Right.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

I appreciate the perspective. I appreciate. Not just the perspective. I totally appreciate what you just said. As an explicit statement of fact. To make an 8 year old feel like they're racist is absurd.

[Michael Duncan]

He is such, so. He is such like a lizard person, dude. Like, he has no feelings. He doesn't believe in anything. For him to instantly, like a chameleon, change his whole beliefs and everything, he's like, oh, I guess the story from this election result is the woke stuff is gone. He's like, no, but like, no, really, I appreciate what you're saying. And to make an 8 year old feel like they're a race, what do you think all your DEI policies were doing, dude? You like flip on a dime. He has no core. He's with the conservative beliefs.

[Josh Holmes]

He's with a serious conservative and he's filling in the blanks. He's saying like, oh, like defund the police. We're like, yeah, like that. And then you fast forward eight months and you're like, the woke stuff that we were talking about eight months ago. And he's like, yeah, well that's just anti black.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's remarkable.

[John Ashbrook]

And not for nothing, but Charlie Kirk in that interview with him was talking just basic common sense facts and he got assassinated for it.

[Josh Holmes]

Right, Right.

[John Ashbrook]

And now you got, you got guys like Gavin Newsom who entertained the common sense of a person like Charlie Kirk for about 30 seconds. And now fast forward to today and they're back on, you know, anti woke stuff. That's really just racism against black people. And also I love how he threw in ESG in there. Like black, black American really benefit a ton from, you know, hedge, you know, investing in green energy scams.

[Josh Holmes]

Unbelievable. Urban community has long felt as though we should have a lighter carbon footprint in corporate America in terms of Our investing decisions at a billion dollar rate. No question. I mean, dude, the guy, you said it. He's a lizard person. He is the embodiment of. Of what is today's Democratic Party. They believe in nothing.

[Michael Duncan]

Nothing.

[Josh Holmes]

They have to get out in front of movements that they don't understand and pretend like they're leading it. And then as soon as they're confronted by the reality of the American people, they are more than happy to double back and disavow all of that right up until they do an interview with some people who disagree with the previous position rather than the current one.

[Michael Duncan]

That's it, dude. That's why. That's why. Excuse me. That's why they're getting pulled around by this radicalized grassroots is because they have no leadership.

[Josh Holmes]

That's it. That's it. We've been talking about it here for like three months. And if there's one staple that we can just like inject into this, that is underpinning of all of the Democratic Party, it is the lack of leadership. A profound lack of imagination, A profound lack of interest in what helps the American people. They have no new ideas. It's about just outsourcing that to a bunch of like Ivy League professors that have somehow galvanized a bunch of people who are disaffected or young or idealistic and they don't know anything about how to live a successful American life and they try to get in front of it. And that is the basis of the Democratic Party and the spokesperson for all of that, Karine Jean Pierre, I think is what you had to say for many, many years.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. She has a new book out about her year in the years in the Biden administration. I think it's called Independent or something. And this is her brave way of talking about the future of the Democratic Party.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, well, she's left the Democratic Party made it very clear that it's basically just because they were mean to her boss.

[John Ashbrook]

To her boss.

[Producer/Host]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

Wasn't cuz they didn't have any ideas or like, I don't know, Biden H. Shit. Kamala H. Shit.

[Josh Holmes]

No, it wasn't like she was like, oh, you know, maybe we went too far left and we like bankrupt the American people with inflate. Infl and stuff like that. No, that was all good. The reason I'm an independent is because you were mean to my boss.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And by extension me.

[John Ashbrook]

But it's.

[Josh Holmes]

And I hate to answer questions.

[Michael Duncan]

And also because like his administration failed so hard. She had no exit opportunities. There's no corporate job for her.

[Josh Holmes]

Independent.

[Michael Duncan]

I am.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, but it's.

[Michael Duncan]

I guess it's a book.

[John Ashbrook]

It's led to, like, a kind of a hostile homecoming on the book tour circuit, you know, and that media expects to maybe, I don't know, answer some of those questions.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's take a look at clip 4 of Kareem. Do you have any regrets at all.

[Producer/Host]

For anything that you said while you were speaking on behalf of this administration?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

I'm. Look.

[Josh Holmes]

It'S a simple yes or no.

[Producer/Host]

You don't even know.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

No, no, no.

[Josh Holmes]

Because you're asking for a yes or no question. I want to put some context to it, too.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

I woke up every day.

[Josh Holmes]

I woke up every day very proud to be the White House press secretary. I woke up every day as a black woman who is queer, who had never. No one had ever seen someone like.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Me at that podium, standing behind that lectern.

[Josh Holmes]

It was an honor and a privilege to have that job, and I did it to the best of my abilities.

[Producer/Host]

You know, when I hear a response like that, I can't help but think to myself, independent, bro.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, what was even the question like? Cause she's got the same answer to every question. I was the first black woman who was queer. And they're like, okay, so what'd you have for breakfast this morning? So I was the first black woman. It's like, this is what you get when you turn a job that has qualifications and responsibilities into, well, let's see who's up next and who can we take the most boxes?

[John Ashbrook]

It's the same thing as the Gavin Newsom stuff. There's a vacancy to all of it. There's no introspection. Even now, after all of the failure in Biden and Kamala and everything, there's not a lick of introspection. It all just goes back to the talking points on identity in order to paper over all of the failure.

[Producer/Host]

And it's so vacant that she can't even answer a question to underlie the point of the book. The book is called Independent, and she can't even say, like, what she's actually independent of. There was somebody who was critical of her book over the weekend and talked about, like, tried to find where she declared her independence. And it was like, we need to do more outside of the box thinking.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it was all cliches.

[Producer/Host]

It was all cliched and, like, there is nothing about her that is remotely inspiring. But again, she lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.

[Josh Holmes]

Another data point in what is today's Democratic Party like the vacancy the shape shifting, the pretending as though there's not a report card on the four years that she was presiding over the front lines of the Biden administration. I don't know. You spent three years assuring the American people that your guy was up to the job. And the first time he had an hour on television, he shit the bed so bad you had to get the vice president in the bed.

[Producer/Host]

That's exactly right.

[John Ashbrook]

You know what I mean?

[Josh Holmes]

Like, that would have been top of mind for me as things that I would have been regretful about. Yeah. Not kjp.

[Producer/Host]

No.

[Josh Holmes]

No question. But not to be outdone, Kamala, clip five. You write that President Biden didn't raise.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

His frailty with you, and you write.

[Josh Holmes]

That you didn't really raise it with him.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

That's extraordinary to read in your account.

[Producer/Host]

Well, let's.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Let's be more precise.

[Josh Holmes]

There is a very serious difference between capacity to be President of the United States and the capacity to run for.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

President of the United States.

[Josh Holmes]

And so it is on that latter piece that I talk about in the book about my concern about his ability with the level of endurance energy that it requires, especially running against now the current president.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

But isn't it a strange message to.

[Josh Holmes]

The public to say, you know what, you need to be tougher and more.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Able to run a political campaign than.

[Josh Holmes]

Actually to be the person behind the.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Desk in the Oval Office, to be.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

The person making decisions in the Situation Room?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

So did you just not think it.

[Josh Holmes]

Was that bad or did you feel, oh my God, you just couldn't raise it? I was concerned about his ability to run for reelection.

[Michael Duncan]

She's just right back to the talking point would require. Dude, that's mind blowing. That's mind blowing. She put that out there. That's crazy. She said straight up. Well, you see, it's a lot tougher to be out there on the campaign trail. The auto pen works just fine. Like, we could have let the auto pen run and things were going great, but then the American people saw this dude as old and he's a zombie, bro. There's no two ways to it. He's a brain dead zombie.

[Producer/Host]

Once you're president, you just hire a bunch of people who used to work for Elizabeth Warren and they take care of everything for you.

[Josh Holmes]

You just show up at the photo.

[Producer/Host]

That's all you do. It's easy.

[Josh Holmes]

She. It's like a British lady was like.

[Michael Duncan]

I want to clarify, did you just say you could be just a zombie as a president? But it's when you have to Go on the campaign trail, it gets tough and people find out about this shit. And she's like, that's exactly what I said.

[Josh Holmes]

She like realized about two thirds into the cross examination that she lifted the hood a little further than she should. So she was like trying her best to get that sucker back down. But you're right, I mean, what her concludes you're like, oh, you don't understand. He wakes up, I don't know, between, between 10 and 11, we feed him some pudding. We get the other people that are doing some work, gotta take a picture of him sort of like slow walking. We'll say he got bit by the dog. And that's the day. That's what we do. It's not that hard running.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, boy, that's a trick.

[Michael Duncan]

Also, did you notice? She said, especially when he's running against the now current president. She is willing to admit nobody campaigns as hard as Trump. Yeah, because that dude has an insane scan. We're seeing it in real time right now where it's like, I think today he just hit three different countries. Yeah, like she admitted when she's like, especially when you're running against the now current president. Cause like no one else campaigns.

[Josh Holmes]

Don't you love that she can't say his name.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

She can't say.

[Michael Duncan]

They are that hurt. They are that hurt. They gave her a billion and a half and she still blew it.

[Producer/Host]

It's one of the greatest gifts he's given us.

[Michael Duncan]

It's amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

So we had to start with a little encapsulation of what is today's Democratic Party. We're gonna get to the shutdown dynamics. But we get to an incredible interview after the break with the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, on what is to be of next week's elections right after this.

[Producer/Host]

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[Caitlin Sutherland]

Alzheimer's doesn't start when the memory fades.

[Josh Holmes]

It can begin decades earlier, quietly, in the brain. Science is advancing to better fight this disease. New tools can help doctors detect Alzheimer's early, when we have the best chance to slow it down. Early detection means more time, more birthdays, more anniversaries, more moments that matter. Let's act sooner, not later. Learn [e-mail] paid for by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. It is an absolute privilege to welcome in my governor, Duncan's governor, and Ashbrook's governor, the great Governor Glenn Youngkin. How are you, sir?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

I'm doing great. It's awesome to be sitting here with the fellas, so thank you. I gotta tell you, when we were together in Milwaukee and had such a great time at the most unbelievable convention, that was just awesome. And I love the fact I get to be in your offices and in your studio. So thanks for making time for me. I just wanna say you guys are killing it. It's really fun to see everyone really appreciate what you do. You bring incredible insights. On top of that, you guys have fun, and I think that's what work's all about. Work's about doing something really important, but having fun while you're doing it.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. After that intro, I feel like I just wish I could vote for him again.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Right, of course you can vote for Winsome. Yeah, you got to get. We got to get out. Vote for Winsome and John Reed and Jason Mears and whoever your delegate is. And if there's anybody else on that, on that ballot that got an R next to the name, vote for it.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Producer/Host]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

No, we're going to get into all that because it's obviously we're in close proximity to an election that matters in awful, not only for the Commonwealth of Virginia, but then whole nation, everybody extrapolates out lessons, as they did with you in 2021, about a whole Republican resurgence, a rejection of far left code policies and Joe Biden and everything else. And so we're here again. But let's just start with the fact that Virginia's got this weird thing where you can only serve four years and you gotta leave, which is just like we're dying because we felt like you just got there. You've done such great things. Have a look at Virginia in and of itself and all the things that you were able to accomplish with your team over the first four years, like, where do you think things sit?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Well, first of all, we came in with huge aspirations, and I have to say we've Kind of blown through them all. And by the way, that's with divided government. And you know, I've never had a General assembly that was really with me. And most of the time they fight against me. And yet we started out saying, first of all, we gotta get this whole state moving from a jobs and economic standpoint. We just crossed over $143 billion of commitments from companies to expand and grow in Virginia. It's more than the last five governors combined. And I think it really reflects the basic building blocks. One, we've deregulated like crazy. And when I came in, I signed an executive order to eliminate 25% of the regs in Virginia. And everybody said, why 25? And I said, well, it's more than 15. I mean, I didn't know how we were going to do it, but I knew we could. And we're just cresting through 30% of the regulations in Virginia that have been streamlined or eliminated. And that saves Virginians $1.2 billion a year. And when you deregulate and you create a pro business environment, then businesses want to come. Because we got great talent. I mean, we've got 120 to 130,000 military heroes every year that that transition from active duty to build their lives in Virginia. It's the best workforce in the country. And then on top of that, we're business friendly. And by the way, you get to live in Virginia. I mean, it's really awesome. And so we've just seen huge investment, huge job growth. There's 277,000 more people working today than when we started. We've got over 200,000 open and available jobs. And the 140 billion underpins another 85,000 jobs. And by the way, 40,000 construction jobs.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, that's a lot of numbers.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

And so anybody, anybody wants a job, come to Virginia. In fact, you can go to Virginia has jobs.com and find one. We're recruiting folks from all over the country. Virginia is for lovers, for jobs.

[John Ashbrook]

Virginia's for lovers. It's also for jobs.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

It's for jobs. It's for jobs.

[Josh Holmes]

Smok. It's almost like this guy knows finances.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, that's the thing is I would say the main takeaway from your four years. And it's felt like four months. Honestly, I'm sorry.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Stunned to think about like four minutes. I mean, it seems like just yesterday.

[Michael Duncan]

It's because, like, you've been just like a locomotive of job creation. Your policies have created so many jobs, but also you've been like the Number one advocate for the state of Virginia. Like, even when we were at the convention, you're like, well, you know, this year we beat North Carolina. We're the number one state for business in the country. And that's clearly had an impact in the world.

[Josh Holmes]

We also like shit talking other governors, which is great. It's like, hey, you know what? You can get a better deal in Virginia. We watched it firsthand. It's fantastic.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Listen, it's competitive. Yeah, we, we're in the SEC of economic development. I mean, we just are. You know, I got to deal with Tennessee and North Carolina and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas. And now you see Oklahoma coming on strong and Arkansas and Louisiana, Mississippi. I mean, these places are competing like crazy. And you got to win.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

And if you don't win, then guess what? These big investments go someplace else. The jobs go with them and opportunity goes with them. And I think that's what, first and foremost, Virginia now is known for, is a great place to do business. You know, the big issue we've got, of course, is at the foundation of it is we're a right to work state, which means you're not forced to join a union and you don't have to join a union to get a job. And on top of that, then you can't be forced to take money out of your paycheck and give it to the union bosses. And that's been huge, you know, this election. We'll talk more about it. But Abigail Spamberger, who's the Democrat nominee, who refuses to disavow Jay Jones, and we'll talk about that as well. But she is a advocate for getting rid of right to work in Virginia. And let me just tell you, the huge success that we have had will go away. Businesses will stop coming and they'll just go to Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, other places because they can. And I think this is the big aha moment for I think a lot of Democrats when I say to them, hey, by the way, people don't have to live here. They can move away if they want. And businesses don't have to be here. They can move away if they want. And so we've got to recruit them and keep them. And if we're raising taxes and cities are violent and schools are teaching kids what to think as opposed to how to think, I mean, it drives people away. And if we create an environment that is great for people to live and work and raise a family and build a business, they'll come and it's Pretty that it's just that simple. How about that? More customers, better business, fewer customers, you go bankrupt.

[John Ashbrook]

So on Abigail Spamberger, I watched that debate and I mean it was one of the most cowardly debates I've ever seen and I've seen many. Yeah, but Abigail Spamberger is sort of playing like a prevent defense and all of her response to these things and I think the one thing that really enraged me was on the executive order that you passed protecting women's locker rooms and women's sports in the state of Virginia which thank you. She was asked directly this question about, I believe it was the Richard Cox case. And her mealy mouthed response was basically to not commit to anything and say well we're just going to local communities are going to figure this thing out. And I wonder what's your reaction to that as somebody who's had to be, you know, the governor for the last four years and try to protect women's places in Virginia that somebody who might come in to be governor next would, would undo all of that?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Well, it starts with I was not surprised because she doesn't have a moral compass and so she doesn't really know what she believes. She's just going to say whatever she needs to say in order to try to get elected. Let me tell you what she believes because I've gotten in an argument argument with her over it, which is she does believe that biological boys and men should be in locker rooms with girls. She believes they should be on their sports teams and she believes that parents should not be told when their children are starting to have discussions about, you know, am I a girl or a boy? That's what she believes and she doesn't want to say it because she knows that that's one of those Reagan like issues. Find an 8020 issue and stand next to it and smile and she's on the wrong side of it. And so she's just not going to tell you the truth which is that's what she believes. And one of the things she has already said she will do is undo my executive order which protects girls. And to parents in Virginia I keep saying if you believe in the safety and by the way, the dignity and the privacy of your daughter and your oftentimes your son because they've been pursuing these boys in Loudoun county who simply said I don't want a girl in the locker room with me, then you've got to vote for Winsome Sears and you got to vote against Abigail Spanberg. It's just that simple. I Mean, we've been battling this for four years. And as much as I wish, as a governor, I could just. I could literally issue a dictate that says this. There's a lot of authority at the local school level. And so we have to have a governor, an attorney general and a lieutenant governor, and by the way, a House of Delegates that works with us all the time in order to keep the pressure up on those localities. And we got a lot of pressure on them now because the President has been working directly with us. And let me tell you, we've got gotten more done with this White House in the last eight months than I did three years with the other guys. All they did was sue me. Yeah, right. And President Trump and the whole team have been amazing. And here we are working hard in order to protect girls, protect women's sports, to make sure we get DEI out of our universities. And they've been fabulous partners. But this is what we have to keep doing. Otherwise, if Abigail Spamberger's in, she's going to flip it right back to where we were. And all of a sudden, you're going to see more of these Richard Cox fellas running through the girls locker room rooms.

[Producer/Host]

So I want to ask you a little bit about the race, because, as you know, Virginia has been a difficult state for Republicans to win statewide over the last decade or so. You changed that trend. I mean, you are the guy who stood up and showed leadership and actually won in the state of Virginia. And I'm wondering two things. One, if you could handicap these races for us a little bit that we're going to be seeing decided on November 4th. And two, if you have any advice for these candidates who are running well.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

The bite size, they hear from me every day. We're talking and campaigning all the time. And, you know, the backdrop here is twofold. First, Virginia is very purple, if not purplish blue. And so in order to win, you've just got to lose Northern Virginia less badly. Bottom line, you got to break even in greater Richmond, you got to break even in Hampton Roads, and you got to blow it out in our red counties. And that's the formula. Now, what that means is that we've got to go grab issues that, of course, middle voters care about. And let me tell you, middle voters care deeply about their pocketbooks right now. And what we, of course, seen during the Biden administration was inflation go through the roof. I mean, literally the highest inflation since Ronald Reagan, and folks felt it. And so the President's been working hard to reduce Inflation. And I think, listen, I think gas prices are as low as they've been in literally years right now. And we're working hard to get grocery prices down. I think other than beef and bananas and avocados.

[Josh Holmes]

I love that he's got.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

At the end of the day, we're seeing inflation come down at the grocery store. Although, listen, prices are still high. And so that's why, as a governor, you've got to go to work and get taxes down on people. That is our big, big lever. And get electric bills down. And so we've had $9 billion of tax relief during the last four years. I'm going to say that again. $9 billion of tax relief. That's a big number. We got rid of the grocery tax. We doubled the standard deduction. Listen, we. For our vets, who we love, we said, hey, listen, up to 40 grand of your retirement benefits. We're just not going to tax it because we want you to stay here and not go to North Carolina and.

[Josh Holmes]

Other places in a big vet state.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yeah, it matters. But electric bills are a big deal. And the Democrat strategy here is to force everybody to love wind and solar, to put at risk the lights when they're going to come on and watch electric bills go through the roof. And that's exactly what they're going to do. She's going to put Virginia right back into this regional greenhouse gas initiative, which I took us out of, which immediately saved folks right off of their electricity bill about $100 a year. She's going to drive the Virginia Clean Economy act even further in which forces everything to be wind or solar. And let me tell you, that doesn't work. It just does not work. And it's one of our big challenges as the economy grows so fast. And so cost of living is a huge issue that we have been winning on. And we need to continue to talk about it. Second big issue is public safety. Abigail Spamberger wants to make Virginia a sanctuary state. She just does. She said it. I have an executive order that instructs our state police and our Department of Corrections and all localities to collaborate with the federal res. Federal authorities. This is critically important, and it's worked. I mean, we were basically the template for the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force. And we worked, and right out of the box, we started arresting these violent criminals here, here illegally. We found the number three guy at Ms. 13 living in Prince William county, just living there. I mean, this is what we got to do. And it's crazy that she wants to back us out of this and tell everybody we're going to be a sanctuary state. Come on, live here. And then finally, we've got to keep driving education. And the reality is the Democrats want to dumb it all down. And you know, the soft bigotry of low expectations is real. It hurts the students that can afford it the least, which is to let them skate by and pretend like they're proficient in reading and math and these things. And when they shut down all the schools during the pandemic, which I gotta tell you, the long lasting impact to that is still being felt as Virginia led the nation in learning loss. And I came in and we went to work, we raised expectations of excellence, we changed a lot of our standards, we put in intense tutoring, we led the nation in getting the kids back in the classrooms and reducing chronic absenteeism. And guess what? We made the test harder and then worked with the students and they did better. And so they want to undo all of this. And at the end of the day, that will undo Virginia. And that's why this election is so important. Now you ask where we stand. Listen, Miyares is up. And Jay Jones and his desire to put two bullets in our former speaker of the House's head and kill his kids and to watch cops die, it's not only disqualifying, it's bringing down the rest of their ticket while they're.

[Josh Holmes]

Can I just stop you on that? So look, before you won, I think even your senior critics took a look at your candidacy in 2021 and they said, I don't know, I'm a Democrat or whatever, but he's a profoundly decent human being. And there was a whole bunch of your message into that campaign before you sort of caught fire with the COVID component, the education component, the economic component, where people were like, reluctantly admitting the fact that if you're looking for a politics that best represents who we are, even if I'm not gonna vote for the guy, a guy like Glenn Youngkin is that person who's just talking about issues and trying to help people. When you fast forward to today and you see something like what Jay Jones has said, and this isn't just unearthing like high school texts that are objectionable. This is a political opponent as a grown adult that he's wishing death to the children of and murder help contextualize for me, like, how does this happen in today's politics? And I know you've been outspoken about this guy's gotta get the heck outta here. But when you see Abigail Spamberger not able to answer that question, like, what are we doing here?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

That's the question I keep asking myself, which is, just how far lost is the Democrat Party? Just so lost. I mean, you first see the assassination of Charlie Kirk and so many people on the left still celebrating it.

[Josh Holmes]

It's wild.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Have you talked to your parents about the way you're behaving? Where did you grow up?

[Producer/Host]

Right?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

I mean, how can you possibly, possibly believe that? And then you see the calls for violence. I mean, Abigail Spamberger has been marching around the state saying, let your rage fuel you. I mean, let your rage fuel you to do. What does that mean? And so you end up with this. You end up with this clear grounding in the Democrat Party. That violence, as long as it doesn't inconvenience them, they'll condemn. But if it inconvenience them, then they're just going to turn the. They're going to turn their cheek the other direction. And that's unbelievable.

[Josh Holmes]

It's a lack of leadership.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Oh, it's crazy, right? Where is your moral compass? And this is what I keep saying, she doesn't have one. It's just spinning whatever she needs to say. It'd be so easy for her to say, listen, I believe in what the Democrat attorney general should stand for. But you know what? This guy has disqualified himself, and I'm sorry, he can't run. I can't vote for him. Now. She's got all these people coming to town because they see this race really tighten it up. Obama, Jason's ahead and Winsome's closing the gap. And depending on the poll, she. She's still a bit behind, but the gap has closed substantially. And she's got to run hard here down the stretch, but we still have this strong momentum running into 10 days. I always think about it like a NASCAR race. And, you know, you see sometimes, well, Denny Hamlin, I'm going to be cheering for him on Sunday when we're. When we're down in Martinsville. But, you know, he often comes up the outside and you're like, is he going to get it? Is he going to get it? Is he going to get it? And that's kind of where Winsome is right now. John Reed is effectively tied, and we're seeing a lot of our House seats that really are starting to look even better for us, but we gotta finish. And this is what it's all about. And so, first of all, all of these folks are coming in to support Abigail because they know that the pendulum is swinging. And I think every single one of them should be asked a basic question. Do you support Jay Jones? Do you support his candidacy? And if you're not willing to say you don't, what are you doing here? What are you doing here? And that question should be asked of Governor Wes Moore, who's coming, and Josh Shapiro, who's coming from Pennsylvania, and of course, former President Obama. What do you think about Jay Jones? And my sense is that they just can't bring themselves to buck the deep left state that has demanded that they support this guy, notwithstanding the fact that everybody in America knows that this is an abomination of what moral character is all about.

[Michael Duncan]

And that's the thing is, is it's across the board at all levels. Like, you used to have President Obama considered in this, like, rarefied air of, oh, he's just an incredibly dignified figure. And then you see, like on Pod, save his whole group of people, they had that guy with neo Nazi tattoos on. They won't disavow him. And then you saw Josh Stein coming. His governor's mansion was firebombed by a leftist. Shapiro.

[John Ashbrook]

Shapiro.

[Michael Duncan]

Shapiro. I'm sorry, Shapiro. His gunner's mansion was firebombed by a leftist. And none of them are willing to admit this is a horrendous problem in the Democrat Party. When Abigail says that, I want you to channel your rage, they're drawing on that violent rhetoric and that sentiment.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

That's it. Because they can't win on policy. Let's just be real. So let's talk about economic development, job creation. Well, listen, we've demonstrated that common sense conservatism wins and it delivers. Oh, let's talk about law enforcement. Wait a minute. We need more cops on the street. And we need to make sure we hold people accountable when they break the law. And by the way, if you're breaking the law and you're here illegally, you're going back to where you came from. And by the way, Virginia's had a 33% reduction in murders just in the last two years.

[Josh Holmes]

Amazing.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

We understand that in education, you've got to first stand with parents because it's their child, not the government's child. But on top of that, high expectations and multiple pathways and choices for parents lead to better outcomes. They can't win on any policy issues, and therefore they're running at this, running at this. Preserve power in any way possible and hang yourself out there supporting a guy like Jay Jones in order to try to squeak by. Well, listen, Virginia voters are waking up as I said these races have gotten a lot tighter. There's a lot of momentum and you can just feel it when you're campaigning. But we got a lot of work to do. We got to get everybody out to vote. Yes, well, the thing we did in 2021 is we had so many people come out to vote, many more than in 2017. And guess what? They voted for the Republican candidates. And we gotta do the exact same thing. And that's our big message right now. Everywhere I'm going, I'm saying, listen, folks, get out and vote, grab your neighbor. Because otherwise you can't complain because you sat on the sidelines.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, 100%. Well, I mean, look, these off year elections have a national import of some, you know, I mean, look, Democrats, if they win, it all of a sudden becomes the front page of every newspaper. If a Republican wins, like Mr. Yonkin over here, it's like, I don't know, just a local circumstance, just a flip, unique local circumstance. But as you look at this, I think this is such a bigger component to politics nationally in that you do have this moment in time where you've got a Democratic Party that has, if not embraced violence. They've certainly been unwilling to confront political violence. And you've got somebody like Jason Mears is a perfect example, right? He's done the job, good guy, he's smart, hard to just assail anything about.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Job that he's, he's been an amazing attorney general.

[Josh Holmes]

He really has. But you look at the message it would send if somebody like Jay Jones sang and doing the things that he had done. And Abigail Spanberger refusing to confront an of that. What is the message nationwide for center of the electorate voters to say, like, I don't know, I mean Democrats think that they can just be violent as hell and, and, and they don't have to do anything about it and win. I mean, you've got to feel that burden at some level.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Without a doubt. Yeah, without a doubt. And we feel that burden not only for the moral compass of Virginia and America, but also for the men and women that go to work every day to try to keep us safe. Think about it. I was yesterday with our big gang task force that runs across Virginia, but also in collaboration with a number of states. And there was 5, 600 of these heroes who were gathered to work on anti gang, anti drug, anti human trafficking efforts. And I was looking at him when I was speaking with him, just thinking, none of you, none of you will go work for an attorney general who wants to see a Few cops or wants to see children die or wants to put a bullet in somebody's head. And none of you will go work for a governor who doesn't have the backbone to disavow and to remove that kind of candidate. And listen to what these folks go through every day. They get up in the morning and they put on a bulletproof vest, they kiss their family goodbye, and they go to work, and they have no idea what's going to go on during the day. And they keep us safe. And that deserves such a level of respect and admiration, but also service on behalf of an elected official. And that's why this whole circumstance is just rotten to the core. It speaks to the worst of the Democrat Party and what they stand for. And that's why I've just been so adamant. Virginians, you got to get up off the sofa, you got to get out and vote, because this is what's at stake.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. I mean, I can tell how invested you are in this. And, you know, like, a lot of people who are walking on, like, we'll see what happens after this. You're just not. And it's because of what you built and what you ran on and the continuation of the progress. My last question. Awful lot of government workers in Northern Virginia. Obviously, anybody with any understanding in what's happening with this government shutdown will know that Chuck Schumer, gauging the same thing that Abigail Spanberger is doing, looking at an increasingly violent base, has decided to put all of those people in jeopardy to protect his own political.

[Michael Duncan]

Whatever that is, so he doesn't get primered by aoc.

[Josh Holmes]

He thinks, yeah, right. And so what is the message to those people? To understand that this is. You literally have just six Democrats in the United States Senate that are preventing you from going to work, putting your job into jeopardy. And that is a huge, huge number of people. When you look at the context of election turnout that we're about to have, it is.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

First of all, it is a incredibly sad statement that we find ourselves in a moment where one guy's political ambition, Chuck Schumer's, can be holding the entire nation, not just the federal workforce, but the entire nation hostage. And right now, we find ourselves in a position where not only do we not have air traffic controllers and TSA workers going to work every day, the military is getting paid right now because of the huge work from President Trump to make sure they get paid, but that can't go on forever. Law enforcement personnel, they're trying to work out how to get them paid. Because I was talking to the administration this week, but that's really tough. They figured out how to deal a little bit with WIC benefits. But, you know, SNAP benefits are basically the food source for 42 million Americans.

[Josh Holmes]

And you're twisting yourself into a pretzel trying to make sure this stuff works because one guy's worried about his primary chances.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

That's it. That's it. And yet we find ourselves now knowing exactly what they're doing because they're saying it. I mean, listen, you saw this congresswoman yesterday say, we know it hurts, but we have to use our leverage. Was leveraged American people being used as leverage? That's a hostage. That's the definition of a hostage. That's right. Hungry people in America who need food assistance aren't going to get it because Chuck Schumer and his band of married folks are trying to progress a political point. Listen, they got to get this government back open. You know, this morning I signed a declaration of emergency and in Virginia, in order to provide food assistance for Virginians who were suffering under the Democrat shutdown. And then I called on our entire congressional delegation and particularly our two senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and I called on them personally. Vote yes, Open up the government. You voted yes 13 times in the Biden administration. And now that you're sitting there playing political calculus with Chuck Schumer and you were using Virginians who are in need of food assistance as a hostage, I mean, you talk about where the moral compass is of the Democrat Party. I mean, they are so lost. And that's why Americans more and more and more are saying, wait a minute. I can't trust these people. I'm not like these folks. They believe in things that I couldn't begin to even contemplate. And that's why we do see Americans moving more and more and more to basic common sense leadership that we're trying to show as Republicans. And that is the future of the country. That's what we've proven over and over again.

[Josh Holmes]

Listen, it's well said. I gotta say, you're one of the best people in politics. You got into it for the right reasons. Lord knows you would have more fun on a golf course just for a.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Personal standpoint than you. Have you seen my golf game? It is not pretty. And I'm always worried about the people around, around me when I'm playing.

[Producer/Host]

Fair enough.

[Josh Holmes]

But you got into it for all the right reasons. You've done a hell of a job. I love that you're running through the tape like this come back and see us anytime. Everybody in Virginia gotta go vote.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Go vote. Go vote. Go vote.

[Josh Holmes]

Go vote. Glenn Youngkin, ladies and gentlemen.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Hey, fellas. Thanks.

[Michael Duncan]

Thank you.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Thank you.

[Josh Holmes]

He's Donald Trump's number one enemy in.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Congress, Chicago politician Dick Durbin. Now Durbin has a new scheme. He's doing the dirty work to benefit corporate megastores. Durbin's bill could cut corners on your.

[Josh Holmes]

Credit card security, putting your personal data at risk.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Big chain retailers and warehouse stores want.

[Josh Holmes]

To inflate their profits and liberal Dick.

[Michael Duncan]

Durbin would help them do it.

[Josh Holmes]

Tell senators say no to the megastores and Dick Durbin paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.

[Producer/Host]

What a treat to have the governor of Virginia on the show just one week out from the big election. I think he made some news in that interview and he went right after Jay Jones. He went right after Abigail Spamberger for refusing to condemn Jay Jones and all of his violent texts.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, you know, my observation was exactly that, in that you've got this hugely successful person in Glenn Youngkin. His resume speaks for itself. It was part of the reason why I was in the conversation for governor in the first place. Having no political footprint at all before this, but given his entire background and knowing he's term limited after four years, I was surprised at just how invested he is at protecting not only what it is that they were able to accomplish, but being a part of the campaign cycle. Like so many people with the profile of Glenn Youngkin are people who will look at this election in a blue state, in an off year election where your party controls everything, no real chance or good chance of winning, and try to distance themselves a little bit, be like, hey, I'm, you know, I'm proud of what we did and, you know, hopefully we can do all this, but, like, look at our record and whatnot. He didn't. And I think that look, that's a big feather in his cap as far as I'm concerned, of people who you want in that fight even when their own skin is not in the game. It's not like legacy mode.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, I think it also speaks to the momentum I think that Virginia Republicans see in the fallout of the J. Jones text scandal and everything like that. And everybody's committed to running through the tape. I mean, if you can go out and early vote. Early vote if you live in Virginia right now and again, Election day next Tuesday.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, no, it's well said. It's well said. Listen, we always do a question of the day when you like and subscribe to the ruthless variety program. Do that right now if you haven't already. And then you leave a comment. We read at absolutely every one of them, all four of us and the producers. And then we carefully cultivate a handful that we think are representative of some of the takes that you all have and we get back to the very next episode. Our question from last week was what do you think should get more coverage? This was a question that was proposed by Brett Baer when he joined us on Friday. Terrific that he opened the floor to it. We couldn't improve on it, so we left it up to you. And this is what you've come up with to do that. We always start with a voice.

[Producer/Host]

Okay, first comment comes from Cole Garrett. Cole writes, can we get a deportation clock like the national debt clock? This is. I love this.

[Michael Duncan]

That's a great idea.

[Josh Holmes]

That is a great idea.

[Producer/Host]

Cole continues. Just ticks up as we continue to unwind the Biden era disaster. Just a terrific idea from Cole Garrett.

[Josh Holmes]

I like that. All right, comment 2. Dunks are on.

[John Ashbrook]

Comment number 2. This is from John Button. John writes, I think the story of our time is the vast educational institutional complex designed to turn our country into a socialist nation. The young adults of NYC are poised to elect a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. It starts in grade school and goes through college. I think an expose on how much pro socialism material the average student is exposed to would be very useful for this country.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the truth.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally true. And look, I think that there's been a number like Rufo and others in recent years who've used social media platforms and a growing audience outside of mainstream media to make this an issue. Everything coming out of COVID and I think they've made this top of mind for most conservatives. It would be terrific if like your average boomer lib that watches broadcast news was just reminded in some way of what the rest of us know by consuming content outside of the major nets in that space. Be like, hey, by the way, I know you're a lib and nothing that Donald Trump can be doing is something of satisfaction, but did you know that your kindergarten grandchildren are being.

[Michael Duncan]

I don't think they care, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

Really?

[Michael Duncan]

I don't think. I don't think they care. I think the even I'm talking about your like quote, garden variety lib who's watching the like NBC Nightly News. I think they're down with it all, really. 100%.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yeah.

[Producer/Host]

So depressing.

[Michael Duncan]

It is.

[Josh Holmes]

It'S depressing. But we soldier on here on the ruthless variety program. Comment 3.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Smug.

[Josh Holmes]

What do we have?

[Michael Duncan]

Comment 3 is from Cindy Brewer. Cindy writes, the story that needs to be reported is the non story that Dems keep repeating about ice. They're talking points about innocent Americans getting deported and kids getting zip tied is belied by their lack of evidence. In a world where everybody videos through phones, ring cams and dashboard cams, they tried to put the Maryland dad out as a poster child and that failed miserably. Their lies are not reported enough. And that's a great point because they put out these, like, Maryland dad lies and they are so invested in the lie, they never do the like, oh, editor's note, we were wrong. This guy was actually like a gang member. You know what I mean? Like, the media feels zero need to go back, correct their mistakes and apologize. And that's, I think, 100% of why we're in the media environment.

[Josh Holmes]

Dude, it's actually a good point. It just got me thinking. Like, it would be really nice. And I don't know if this is a broadcast thing or if it's whatever it is, but there's people treating fact checks. In the main, they're notoriously horrible, but, like, the way that they've treated them are much like they treat breaking news like the quicker the better. And that's not the way that facts work because it does take time to show. Like Russia Gate, good example, right? All the allegations are out there, splashed all you got senators, you got Adam Schiff, you got all these people alleging all kinds. It takes an unwinding of several years to show what a lie it had all become. But there should be an impetus once you find out what the absolute fact is, given the amount of time that you dedicated to the initial story, to have as much time allotted to how wrong it is.

[Michael Duncan]

Like an equal time in politics rule. That would be so. And the thing is that. That's such a good point because we saw how much that essentially poisoned half this country thinking that Donald Trump works for Putin and that shit. That's. It's still today. Like, they've done zero effort and trying to be like, turns out all the Russia shit was fake.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, but don't fix it. Mainstream media do not fix it. Because that's why ruthless variety program is so successful.

[Josh Holmes]

It's our bread and butter. That's why you come here.

[Producer/Host]

Don't worry, Michael. They never will. They never will.

[Josh Holmes]

They know they won't. And even under penalty of law, these people are too far. There's no question about it. So when we Come back. We're gonna give you how a major Democratic ally in all of politics has broken with Senate Democrats on this shutdown fight. Will it change things or not? You may have even forgotten there was a shutdown. We haven't. We're watching it for you so you don't have to right after this. So there's a guy who runs Punchbowl named Jake Sherman who's notorious at being able to decipher important information on Capitol Hill from all the noise. And they created an entire publication around it. And so amongst the first things that pop up for me in the morning are, like, what he's saying about stuff and as it relates to Capitol Hill. And I saw a big sort of breaking tweet from him. Big news from NBC News. American Federation of Government Employees says it's time to pass a clean CR and open the government. So afge, which is this union, says both sides have made their point, but Democrats have said they're not trying to make a point when they want to enact change. I guess the. The point that they're trying to make is this has gone on long enough.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, come on. Everyone knows this simple fact. They've voted for this same thing countless times. This is 12 times. This is them just being obstinate of trying to show their grassroots. Please don't. Literally, please don't guillotine us. We reported that last week. It's over. It's done.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. And this is a union with major swat in Democratic politics. They donate millions of dollars to Democratic campaigns. They lobby millions of dollars on Capitol Hill. They represent, I think, over 800,000 federal employees.

[Josh Holmes]

Also. Just wrap your mind around the fact that is.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, that's brain warping.

[Josh Holmes]

That there is a union entirely comprised of people who make their paycheck off of your tax dollar. And then this union is lobbying against you.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Which is the union that lobbies against you.

[Producer/Host]

It's the most significant crack in the Democrat armor since this shutdown began. And Jake Sherman is the only one who is reporting this and spreading.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, nc.

[Producer/Host]

Okay, well, NBC mentioned it, but Jake Sherman, who's basically the Adam Schefter of Capitol Hill News. That's right. Is the only one who's pushing. The Washington Post is kind of burying it. In fact, the Washington Post, which is the paper of record for the city of Washington, D.C. where the United States Capitol lives, I don't think can be salvaged unless they hire a brand new executive editor. And the man to do the job is Dale Duncan. I think that Michael's dad is the only guy living who can save that paper.

[Michael Duncan]

He's not wrong. And honestly, I'm surprised that the Washington Post even exists. Exists at this point. Like at the end of last year, basically everyone left. Like Dossey left. Like all their heavy hitters are gone. Dude, there's no one working there anymore.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, I noticed they had a whole bunch of stories about how like, well, House Republicans messaging is not working for them. It was like, what the hell are you talking about?

[Producer/Host]

What does that have to do with anything?

[Josh Holmes]

No, I mean, like, what are you talking about? Like, this is now a three week long standoff on Capitol Hill where one party is representing the thing that both parties have done for the last 50 years when they can't come to an agreement on a budget and the other party is like, no other things.

[Producer/Host]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

And the polling has gone from an obvious Democratic advantage when people just knew that Republicans control government and it was shut down to like examining facts. And you can see this shrinking on a day to day basis of people being like, what you mean that they could just reopen it with the same budget that Biden wrote?

[John Ashbrook]

We talked about this the last few weeks on the Variety program about how the coalition on the left is fraying. And Ashbrook had previously mentioned that there's these two things in tension, which is like the radical left wing activist grassroots base. Right. He wants to burn it all down because Trump bad.

[Josh Holmes]

Right, Right.

[John Ashbrook]

And then there's an establishment, a permanent establishment in Washington D.C. that works for the federal government, that votes blue no matter who, but they also want to be paid.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah, right. The power of the federal employees union should not be overlooked here. And I think so. There's six votes away in the Senate to be able to reopen the government. Just six Democrats need to vote to reopen the government. You got to think that the two Democrats in Virginia who represent a lot of federal employees, the two Democrats in Maryland who also represent a lot of federal employees, that gets you four more votes. So I can't understand for the life of me why the two of them. Why the four. I'm sorry, the four of them wouldn't vote to reopen the government on the 13th iteration of this CR. And then you just need two more Democrats. Maybe Jon Ossoff, who is in a race in Georgia for his life and is.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, you saw some cracks in the armor when they tried to do the individual pay thing where Ossoff and Warnock are trying to protect Ossoff's political viability. Cause he's got his Ass hanging out in Georgia.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

And people are ready to throw him out of. Out of office. Like, there is a bunch of things that are starting to. You won't read that in the paper, though. No, you won't read that in the paper. That's why you got to tune into the Ruthless Variety program.

[Producer/Host]

Exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

We're doing some math for you.

[Producer/Host]

You might read it in the paper if Dale Duncan is giving the exact.

[Josh Holmes]

Editor role, because he would.

[John Ashbrook]

Why would you do that to him? He lives a wonderful life. He does.

[Josh Holmes]

He would no longer. He would never consider.

[John Ashbrook]

No, I don't think so.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I don't think so. Think so. So it leads us to our question of the day. When you like and subscribe to the Ruthless Variety Program and you leave a comment. We read absolutely all of them. And this question of the day is, will the Democrats finally cave? Like, is this it? Will they cave? We have maintained that there will be a cave at some point because there's no other way. And they're the only ones that represent a constituency of government. Like, literally of government. Like, a key constituency of the Democratic Party is just government. And if you shut it down, like, you're neglecting a pretty big constituency. It's not our. It's not a Republican constituency. Will it cave? Give us your best thoughts on all of that. And what would it take if it's not the government union like you give us, that's an addendum to this. Who has to come out in favor of a clean cr, do you think, before this is where you get funny, for the Democrats to reopen this thing?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

So get to all of that. While you mentioned the two constituencies, the establishment component, which is now, like, just open this thing up. It's over. And then you have like, the Kayfabe crew who is like, no, we shall fight. We do things and we don't care about stuff, but we care about. And that is represented perfectly by Eric Swalwell.

[John Ashbrook]

Yes.

[Josh Holmes]

Here he is in graphic four. Don't even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on day one.

[Producer/Host]

Oh, my goodness. Dude, I saw this tweet. I know you guys have some hilarious takes, but I couldn't help myself but think maybe Fang Fang's influence over Swalwell has not concluded because nobody wants to tear down a part of the White House more than China. And Eric Swalwell is still channeling his ex girlfriend in a way that I don't think any of us really expected.

[Josh Holmes]

Maybe she Allegedly slipped back into the covers.

[Producer/Host]

She could have.

[Josh Holmes]

Interesting.

[Producer/Host]

She might still be there.

[Josh Holmes]

Interesting.

[John Ashbrook]

I think what I find most interesting about this tweet is it is sort of like Lincoln Project brain politics.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[John Ashbrook]

Like, Democrats in the Trump era, instead of actually trying to deliver on policy victories for their various representative constituencies, would just invent these new fantastical litmus tests to try to mobilize their activist base. I remember in 2020, on the debate stage, Kamala Harris, like, proudly proclaiming, like, I'm calling on Twitter to ban Donald Trump, who's with me? And it's like, boy, man, that is just delivering for the American people right there. Way to go. But that is really most of their politics now. It's just this fantastical stuff. None of it is real.

[Michael Duncan]

That's it. 100%. That's a perfect diagnosis of the problem with the Democrats is because there's no leadership, they're being led around by a bunch of, like, lunatic grassroots activists. Their whole party is based on one metric of success, and that's not getting any policy wins. That's attention. So that's why their side is essentially just like. Not legislators, it's influencers. Yeah. It's like a whole soc. It's like, who can get the highest TikTok numbers, not who can actually deliver policy wins to my constituents. I've said this a million times. You can either try to make a point, or you can try to make a difference. You definitely, right now, the Democrats are like, I want to make a point. I want to make a TikTok video. And this is what you end up with.

[John Ashbrook]

One other thing on the Trump Ballroom. And if you're not read into this story, I don't blame you. But, you know, the Democrats are very angry that Donald Trump wants to build a beautiful ballroom in the White House. So when you have events, you don't have to be intense on the.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, on the ball, which is the current case.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah, right.

[John Ashbrook]

And Holmes and I were talking about this the other day. It's like, the funniest part of all this is, like, this is, like, one of the most selfless things Donald Trump's ever done.

[Josh Holmes]

100%.

[John Ashbrook]

He doesn't even get to enjoy it. Like, maybe this thing gets built in 2028 and he gets to enjoy it a little bit, but, like, literally, he's taking all the slings and arrows on this thing that, like, every other future president gets to enjoy.

[Josh Holmes]

And they all called for all wanted, like, some part of the complex to be able to have a state dinner. He's one doing it. But he's also living through the construction. I mean, for those of you who've done like a renovation on a house, not fun. That is not a fun thing. But that's what he's living through right up into the point where he has to exit the office and he doesn't get to enjoy it all.

[John Ashbrook]

Poor guy's gonna be in the oval and it's like, beep, beep, beep, you know, backing up excavators in his backyard.

[Producer/Host]

And Eric Swalwell, 100%. Whenever some Democrat is elected down the road, we'll take a selfie inside of that ballroom.

[John Ashbrook]

Yes, 100%.

[Producer/Host]

100%.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, completely. One last observation on this, which is I think today's Democratic Party has been beaten down so badly by Donald Trump and they're so aloof and indifferent to the American people that they just learn all the wrong lessons at some level. And like the genius of Donald Trump, Trump is having this entire theater that goes along with who he is and what he says and the things that he does. The flamboyant stuff that no other president or politician before him has done that attracts attention away from policy victory. Policy victory, policy victory. Like those things are happening in real time. So the Democrats look at his political success and they adopt. Adopt the former without the latter.

[Producer/Host]

That's right.

[Josh Holmes]

Right. Where they just adopt the circus, not knowing that the circus is in service to the policy which is getting done that they aren't paying attention to. Cuz they're talking about the fucking ballroom.

[Producer/Host]

Right? That's exactly right. Trump's theater is on such a different level. He is Broadway every single time. And Democrats are just down here waiting for.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah, sad.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Totally.

[Producer/Host]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

One last thing. We got to get to graphic five, please.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes. This was such an insane thing to do for our audio only listeners. Again, you're missing out. You should go to the YouTube hit the subscribe because this is just deranged. So this was a tweet that was sent out by the Cincinnati Bengals because they were playing the jets. And it's. And it's a photo that they've created of Joe Flacco piloting a plane aimed at New York City.

[John Ashbrook]

I actually think it's aimed at Paycor, their own stadium.

[Michael Duncan]

But is it? I think it's aimed at New York City, dude. No, I think it's aimed at New York City. They're trying to send a message. This is a threat.

[Josh Holmes]

Whatever.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, before we knew that the Bengals were failed, failed enterprise and a failed sports team. But now maybe they're terrorists and should be jailed. I think this is something we should take a look at. This isn't normal behavior. This is weird behavior. And that can't be the Cincinnati skyline, because those are, like, buildings. There's, like, nothing in Cincinnati.

[John Ashbrook]

Ashbrook, what do you have to say for yourself?

[Producer/Host]

You guys are coming at your friend at his weakest. My poor bangles. I've got an eye on free agency and then next year's draft.

[Josh Holmes]

I think it's a good rule of thumb for any NFL franchise, if you're playing the New York jets, not to pilot a jet into a city.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, don't, don't. That's not a good shot.

[Josh Holmes]

I feel like that's a tough look, no matter what.

[Michael Duncan]

My God.

[Josh Holmes]

And then.

[John Ashbrook]

And then the toughest look of all is actually losing.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

To the winless, hapless New York Jets. Yeah.

[Producer/Host]

It was a difficult Sunday afternoon for me.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, man.

[Producer/Host]

But I'm glad your guys teamed up, are doing well.

[Josh Holmes]

Listen, we have an awful lot to discuss on the issue of funding and who is funding this insane Democratic Party, because that goes a lot into the Swell Will versus the government employees debate and why some of the more illogical decisions that today's Democrats make make more sense to do that. We always talk to Caitlin Sutherland. So you've heard us talk a lot about no Kings, and you've talked. We've had discussions about the funding mechanisms in the modern Democrat Party, which is nefarious to say the least. But in order to put a fine point on that, we always bring in one woman. Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of America's Republic Trust.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Thank you.

[Josh Holmes]

How are you?

[Michael Duncan]

Good.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Thank you for having me back.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, of course.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

All things money and politics.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you know, we read what's reported. We, you know, we do our own research on a bunch of things, but when we need to dive underneath and actually find out who's funding these things, you're the only person we know.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. I mean, I know every day you wake up, you're like, who's funding Gays for Gaza? Who are all these? You know, how does everybody have a matching tent for these pro Hamas protests on these college campuses?

[Josh Holmes]

An amazing coincidence.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Well, look at that. Who funded these so called, these organic protests over the weekend? And so when it comes to all things follow the money, that's what we love unveiling at Americans for Public Trust. And what we've determined, it's quite a bit of foreign money behind all these liberal dark money groups that are all.

[Josh Holmes]

Around D.C. that's unbelievable.

[Producer/Host]

It is.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, genuinely incredible. Masquerading is this sort of domestic uprising. Foreign money has gotten into this.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yes, it's a huge problem and it fills these dark money network coffers. And the fact that foreign money can come, you know, we've talked about it before. It can come into ballot issues. It's coming into these advocacy campaigns, it's coming into climate litigation, it's coming into voter education efforts. It's a huge rampant problem on the local, state and federal level. And more reforms are needed because it's so bad when. And you're seeing how the foreign money can come in and affect our politics here in America.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah. And you know, we covered the no Kings rally and the sources of some of their funding through George Soros and we've obviously talked a lot about Hans Borg Vice on this show, which they did.

[Josh Holmes]

We would not have known about that if not for the good work.

[Producer/Host]

But it's our understanding that you have a new name that's emerged in funding these left wings organizations. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about this new guy.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yeah. So we've talked about our smug favorite Swiss billionaire, Hans or V. Sorry he can't join us today. About the hundreds of millions that he has poured into the Arabella Advisors Network, all these environmental groups around town. And we've gotten some questions like, well, what else do you have? Yeah, he's a Swiss billionaire. In fact, one time I had a reporter, I won't say the outlet, it rhymes with Schlumberg, but they said, well, he's from Switzerland. Is that so bad?

[Josh Holmes]

No way.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Unbelievable.

[Producer/Host]

Are you kidding?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. And I didn't know what to say. And you know, it was that almost, you know, that J.D. vance, like I don't really care, Margaret.

[Josh Holmes]

Like I don't really care.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

I don't really care that this guy is from Switzerland. And what I said, I was like, I don't care if they're the Canadians, our friendly neighbors to the north. Foreign money has no, no place in our politics.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

But you know, I was like, okay, fine. Yes, we have Hans UG Wiess. He's from Switzerland. He is the floor, not the ceiling of the problem that we have. So we were able to determine that there is a British billionaire. His name is Sir Christopher Hone. Oh, he's a sir. Yes, he is a sir. He's a gentleman. Yes, yes, he is knighted. He is a British billionaire, a foreign national and an activist hedge fund manager. And he runs a little known a completely unknown charity Called the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. What a great name. It must be helping the children.

[Producer/Host]

Right?

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

You think? Oh, children. Well, it's British.

[Josh Holmes]

Can't argue with children. It's about children.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Maybe orphans, I don't know. Clean water. No, absolutely not. Whatever. The opposite of whatever he's funding, it's coming in to, you know, US based organizations and 501 C3s and C4s. We were able to trace that. Over 500 million in foreign money has come from his UK based charity into US based organization. $550 million we've been able to, and only in the last 10 years. So that is just a small sample size of the problem that we have of foreign money coming in and undermining our democracy.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, to contextualize that, that is a third of the entirety of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.

[John Ashbrook]

Right. You're talking about a dark, dark money ecosystem that can far dwarf actual political campaigns themselves.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

What sort of organizations are we talking about that he's funding?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yeah, they're very well known organizations to all of us here. Tides.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

No surprise. There's Shocker, the Arabella Advisors Network. No surprise there. NRDC, the Environmental Defense Fund. Very well known organizations around D.C. and you might be listening. Think. I've literally never heard of any of those organizations. You may not know those organizations, but you know the policies the foreign money is bankrolling these extremist policies in the United States. I mentioned climate litigation. They want to ban gas stoves. I mean, these disruptive protests, it's coming in and it's using foreign money to fund all of these activist policies, ideas and actions in the United States.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, we talked about this a little bit in terms of no King, in that it became obvious the Tides foundation played a role in that. And the organization of it was significant for those of us who do this for a living. You saw that there was organization, to say the least. And it wasn't just about obtaining permits. It was driving turnout, making sure that you had all the requisite bells and whistles of a protest that they attempted to do. You're telling me that at some level the money that came into these organizations was likely foreign?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. And again, we know it from Hans Jorg Wyss, who is a top donor into Indivisible. He's given millions of dollars to Indivisible. They were the ones, you know, mostly the source of funding behind the no Kings rally. So it's not just Soros, it's foreign money as well. And a lot of Those other, you know, sponsors of the no Kings rally have been funded by not just Christopher Hohn, but other foreign charities. So they are using money to fund these protests. And what's interesting about our laws is, as you know, foreign money is only illegal when it comes to our elections.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Really only limited to candidates and super PACs. Guess what's not regulated by the FEC issue advocacy campaigns? Voter education protests. So there's these huge loopholes on the state and federal level that actually allow foreign money to bankroll all of these activities.

[Josh Holmes]

So you can organize a protest that is ostensibly a public issue of concern under this rubric where everybody shows up and they're like, the hell with Trump. Vote Republicans out. And you're like, oh, it's just, you know, this is what our organization did. People are going to do what they're going to do. And that's all under current law. Fine.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. You know, by and large, yes. Because, you know, we've all worked on campaigns that it's not just the candidate and the super PAC that allows you to win on election day. You cannot win without all these outside groups that are the 501s and the 501c4s. You cannot tell me you can win today without. And C4s on the outside between voter registration, voter education, all the GOTV campaigns and that can be funded by foreign money. It's a huge loophole that we're working to close.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, and you've had some success. I mean, it sounds like once you uncovered this cat.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yes. They got a little nervous about it immediately. The Brits scare easily, apparently. So there was just a, you know, a few, you know, a few negative articles about him. And Christopher Hohn was like, okay, we're done. We're not funding. After bankrolling, like I said, over, you know, half a billion dollars, he says we are ceasing funding of these liberal nonprofit groups, mostly focused on climate in the United States. So he has announced that they are pausing the funding almost assuredly forever because of the scrutiny from the foreign funding and where we are able to uncovered the money was ending up.

[Josh Holmes]

What a dub.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, yeah. It's incredible. And just to think that, like, when you talk about an issue like climate. Right. That you could have foreign nationals in places like Europe or heaven forbid, a place like China, trying to control domestic American energy production.

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

Yes.

[Josh Holmes]

In this country.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yes.

[John Ashbrook]

And you, you see everything that's gone over, you know, with Europe, up with, you know, the energy crisis that they had there, and then with the Ukraine, Russia, war, relying upon Your adversary for natural gas. The idea that these same foreign nationals could influence our domestic energy policy is a terrifying thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, 100%. But it seems to me like you've uncovered what is the best deterrent for an awful lot of these people and that you have got an organization, the one that you, you run, that is bringing this to light and immediately they're uncomfortable with that.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yeah. Well, it's so important to have this dialogue to shine a light on who's actually funding all of these groups. And when it comes to foreign sources of funding, you can regulate the foreign money that you can say, no more foreign money into ballot issues. Let's shine a light on the foreign money coming into our colleges and universities. And the next step is, what about the foreign money coming into these liberal, dark money nonprofits around town that are turning around and engaging in all these issue advocacy and voter education campaigns? Because it offends your senses when you realize that foreign money, by and large, can fund everything that we're talking about.

[John Ashbrook]

Are we getting to any sort of these reforms on the state level with things like foreign funding of ballot initiatives and stuff? I know we talked about this a lot in the run up to the 2024 election. Is there progress being made there?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Yeah, you know, we've talked about this before. There's huge progress when it comes to cutting off foreign funding to ballot issues. Almost 10 states in the last year have said absolutely not. Which is so crucial because right now in a lot of these competitive states, they're gathering the signatures to qualify for the ballot in 2026. And the fact that in a lot of the states you can't use foreign funding is so great for our democracy. And just recently, Senator Jim Banks of Indiana introduced legislation on the federal level that would say no foreign funding of ballot issues, but more needs to be done. That's why we're so encouraged by this report and more reports coming out about the problem that is the foreign funding of our politics and policies. We really hope to work with. Well, I'll work with everybody but, you know, the local, state and federal level to, you know, turn off some of these sources of foreign funding.

[Josh Holmes]

I want to see a debate on that.

[Producer/Host]

Yeah, I would too. I would too. It's such an important topic. And I mean, you mentioned some of these ballot initiatives in the early stages of signing people up to vote. We all know what they used the no Kings rallies for. They used them for giant voter registration, vote gathering, and GOTV efforts. It was, it was a guise. We know what the activists were doing underneath the headline and lead of every story. And so I wonder if you think what you're doing can actually stop this.

[Josh Holmes]

Foreign influence in what was supposed to be, at least by the spirit of the law, something that's not allowed, which is foreign funded.

[Producer/Host]

Probably why they weren't talking about it publicly.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Well, you talk a lot, you know, these 80, 20 issues and how much Trump just, you know, picks, you know, an 80 issue and is like, I'm gonna take the 20%. Let's talk about foreign interference in our elections. That's not even an 8020 issue. That's like a 9010 issue. And public polling has actually showed that how popular it is. And time and time again the left is like, mm, nope, I'm actually going to. Well, Mark Elias, the, you know, the left's number one attorney, has actually sued us in multiple states trying to object to these laws that are prohibiting the foreign funding. So you put a popular issue, you put a common sense issue about like, let's not have any foreign funding in our elections, in our politics. Someone's going to be on that wrong side of the issue, working to stop it, because as you said, they're benefiting from this foreign money. Take a Look. We examined 10 years worth of Christopher Hones giving in the United States about a half a billion dollars. Not a single center right organization was on that list. It is all the liberal groups. And I got asked about that. Someone said, hey, what about any conservative groups that are getting foreign money? I said, well, I looked at hundreds of groups, hundreds of groups. And it's not just Christopher Hohn, it's not just Hong Zorwis, it's other foreign charities. And I told them, you know who's not on it? Right to life. They're not on it. There's no center right groups that are on this list receiving the foreign money. Now, if they were, they also shouldn't get foreign money. But they're not. It is a problem that almost exclusively happens on the left because they're benefiting from it. They're benefiting from the foreign money with their voter turnout operation and everything else that is bankrolling they're unpopular and dangerous policies.

[John Ashbrook]

Very funny, though, for a British national to be funding a no Kings, right?

[Governor Glenn Youngkin]

The king.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

It was called the no Title protest. Yes, yes. There was an important caveat.

[Josh Holmes]

I noticed that they had notes. Yes, yes, there were notes on that. Kings.

[Michael Duncan]

We're okay with those. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

So listen, you guys have made an enormous impact in what it is that you're doing. By bringing these things to light. People like this who decide, like, I don't want the heat. I gotta get out of the kitchen. There's legislation now. You're doing stuff on the state base level, like, what's next? What are you guys focused on next?

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Always following the money and always showing who is the one that's influencing our politics and policy, whether or not it's domestic sources or foreign. Right now, we're really focused on the foreign because some good regulation can come from it. And we'll actually be putting out a report soon showing that We've identified almost $2 billion in foreign. $2 billion billion with a B coming into liberal nonprofits in the United States from just five foreign charities. So think about that. Just a very small sample. Just five foreign charities, $2 billion. And again, the center right organizations are not on that. It's the left that is benefiting from the foreign money, and it's the left that does not want it to stop.

[Josh Holmes]

See, this is. This is what it is. Such a perfect encapsulator because it hits all my buttons about, you know, you hear people talk about there's too much money in politics, and, like, I can't disagree with that. But then you look at presidential elections. Kamala Harris had the biggest cash bonfire in history with a billion and a half bucks spent in 107 days. Far out spending what Donald Trump did. But then you hear about what's actually going for the infrastructure of the Democrat left.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

And what they are doing to the tune of $2 billion for climate stuff for no kings rallies and all these other things that wrap into the larger argument that they try to make to the American people. And it's like, dude, the problem is not campaign contributions. This is the problem.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. And that's why we're gonna see some really, really smart, narrowly tailored reforms to get rid of the foreign money that is coming into the United States.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it's really well done. You've done such great work on this stuff. Caitlin Sutherland, I can't thank you enough for your work and what it is that you guys are doing. When you come out with that report, come on back and give us a summary of all that.

[Caitlin Sutherland]

Absolutely. Thank you.

[Josh Holmes]

Thank you so much.

[Producer/Host]

Thank you. I mean, she is on top of absolutely every thread of foreign money that's coming into this country. And it seems like she has a path to actually stop it from happening in the future.

[Josh Holmes]

It is interesting.

[John Ashbrook]

And it's interesting that, like, it seems like every six months we learn the name of new. Some new Obscure foreign billionaire who's funding the Democratic Party.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, how does this keep happening?

[Josh Holmes]

It would be one thing.

[Michael Duncan]

They got a hell of a farm system. They're like, all right, we hit the Swiss. Let's get another guy up to bat. Like, what?

[Josh Holmes]

The funny thing is the ROI on those dollars. I mean, the money is.

[Michael Duncan]

Dude, it's legit. Like in Batman, they're just setting money on fire because they want to see the world burn.

[Producer/Host]

But Democrats look at Euros and they're like, hey, if they're going to flun. If they're going to fund Greta's flotilla into Gaza, they're going to fund anything.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, Easy marks.

[Michael Duncan]

That's hilarious. That's hilarious.

[Josh Holmes]

Everything is just counterintuitive, insane. And these people fund it all. It never really works, thank God. But I do appreciate the effort because it does make a difference, and it does tell you a little bit about why Democrats act the way that they do. Remember our question of the day. Will Democrats finally cave? Add a little color on that when you like. And subscribe to what would it take as a constituency to come out for a clean CR in order for them to cave? If it's not government employees, what is it? I know you've got some great ideas on that when you leave a comment. We read absolutely all of them. And we'll get back to on Thursday with all of that, like. And subscribe to the ruthless variety program with that. Fellas, I think we did it.

[Michael Duncan]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much. Governor Youngkin, thank you so much to Kaitlin Sutherland. And like Holmes said, go to the YouTube hit that. Subscribe because it's more fun in video. So until next time, minions, keep the faith, hold the line, and own the libs. We'll see you on Thursday. Stay ruthless.