Did Journos Really Overlook Biden's Health Issues?

Summary

Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary: "Did Journos Really Overlook Biden's Health Issues?"

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug (Michael Duncan), John Ashbrook

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Introduction to the White House Correspondents Dinner

The episode opens with a critical examination of the White House Correspondents Dinner, where the hosts argue that the event fails to honor true "fearless journalism." Josh Holmes (00:00) sarcastically suggests that journalists from Fox News, such as Siobhan Hughes and Annie Lynske, deserve celebration for their unbiased reporting:

Josh Holmes [00:00]: "If the essence in the core of a White House correspondents dinner is to reward and celebrate fearless journalism... then Fox News, Siobhan Hughes, Annie Lynske and all of those people should have been having a ticker tape parade outside of the Hilton."

John Ashbrook (00:43) adds that fearless journalism should defy the prevailing narratives, emphasizing the importance of reporting truths that political action committees (PACs) might suppress.

Personal Anecdotes and Team Dynamics

Josh shares a personal story about his family's passion for NFL teams, highlighting the personal sacrifices and humorous tensions that come with differing sports loyalties (02:29):

Josh Holmes [02:33]: "You notice I'm in a suit, purple tie, I got some purple socks on underneath here. It's compensating... my oldest son just became an Eagles fan."

Comfortably Smug (Michael Duncan) and John Ashbrook discuss their unwavering commitment to the podcast, likening their teamwork to a "strike team" capable of handling any situation (02:12):

John Ashbrook [02:12]: "We just need grenades and ammo just like."

Critique of Media Performance at the Correspondents Dinner

The hosts recount their experiences attending the dinner, criticizing the media's insularity and lack of accountability. Comfortably Smug praises the first half of the event for honoring deserving journalists but condemns the later proceedings as sanctimonious and out of touch (07:33):

Comfortably Smug [07:33]: "They gave it to him for a photo of Joe Biden... They don't trust it because it's owned by Rupert Murdoch."

Josh Holmes (08:31) laments the selective recognition of journalists, arguing that true fearlessness is overlooked in favor of those who play by the media's internal rules.

Highlighting Failures in Journalism

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Alex Thompson's award acceptance speech at the dinner. The hosts dissect Thompson's remarks (15:35) and argue that his acknowledgment of missing key stories about President Biden's health issues was inadequate:

Alex Thompson [15:39]: "We, myself included, missed a lot of this story... We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows."

John Ashbrook (17:49) criticizes Thompson for attempting to maintain a non-partisan stance while selectively reporting issues that align with a particular narrative.

Listener Engagement and Critical Questions

The hosts pose a critical question to their audience: "What would a true reckoning for journalists look like?" They explore possibilities ranging from bankruptcy to formal truth and reconciliation processes, reflecting on the media's failure to hold the Biden administration accountable adequately.

Josh Holmes [37:33]: "...we recommend a truth and reconciliation, like South Africa after apartheid. What do you think?"

NFL Draft Commentary

Transitioning from media critique, the hosts delve into the NFL Draft, focusing on the unexpected fall of quarterback Cheder Sanders and the emerging talent of wide receiver-triple threat Travis Hunter. They discuss the implications for the Cleveland Browns and the broader NFL landscape (51:47):

Michael Duncan [52:06]: "He had a lot of question marks over his head based on the interviews."

Bill Belichick's Personal Life and Impact on Coaching

The conversation shifts to an awkward interview with NFL legend Bill Belichick, highlighting his relationship with a younger girlfriend and questioning its impact on his coaching performance at UNC Chapel Hill (57:51):

Comfortably Smug [59:35]: "Being on national television and sitting in that chair as a 24-year-old girlfriend... is embarrassing."

Listener Travel Stories and Transportation Suggestions

Listeners share their travel experiences, prompting the hosts to suggest improvements for family travel. They advocate for dedicated family concierge services at airports to ease the stress of traveling with children (61:28):

John Ashbrook [62:32]: "If you're a family, you get through this free... Make travel easier for your family."

Interview with Tim Murtaugh: Campaign Strategies and Legislative Priorities

The episode features an interview with Tim Murtaugh, a communications advisor for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign. Murtaugh discusses the administration's legislative priorities, including:

1. Extension of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (77:10): Emphasizing the need to make these tax cuts permanent to prevent automatic tax increases.
2. Border Security and Immigration (77:09): Highlighting significant reductions in illegal immigration and the administration's efforts to enact strict border policies.
3. Biden Pill Penalty (77:25): Criticizing the Inflation Reduction Act's impact on prescription drug innovation, arguing it has stifled the development of lifesaving pills by penalizing small molecule medicines.

Annie Lynskey [81:21]: "Joe Biden was going to do the cancer moonshot. He said he was gonna... But what he did was he made it more difficult."

Murtaugh underscores the administration's commitment to reversing policies that, in his view, hinder medical advancements and economic growth.

Closing Remarks and Audience Engagement

In their closing segment, the hosts reiterate their critique of mainstream journalism and encourage listeners to engage with the podcast by liking, subscribing, and sharing. They emphasize the importance of independent, partisan media in providing accurate interpretations of events, contrasting it with what they perceive as the media's failure to report significant issues accurately.

Josh Holmes [42:18]: "They don't know up from down. It's not that there's many of them are malicious, they're not. It's that they literally don't think you're true. The truth that is in the middle of this country exists because they've never seen it."

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Notable Quotes:

• Josh Holmes [00:00]: "Fox News, Siobhan Hughes, Annie Lynske and all of those people should have been having a ticker tape parade outside of the Hilton."

• John Ashbrook [02:12]: "We're like special Forces. You just drop us in the horn, some grenades and some ammo and we figure it out."

• Alex Thompson [15:39]: "We, myself included, missed a lot of this story... We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows."

• John Ashbrook [17:49]: "Why do you feel like you have to have it both ways and be like, you know, I don't wanna make my Journal buddies mad."

• Josh Holmes [37:33]: "What would a true reckoning for journalists look like?"

• Annie Lynskey [81:21]: "Joe Biden was going to do the cancer moonshot. He said he was gonna... But what he did was he made it more difficult."

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Conclusion:

This episode of the Ruthless Podcast offers a scathing critique of mainstream journalism, particularly focusing on the White House Correspondents Dinner and the media's handling of President Biden's health issues. Through personal anecdotes, listener engagement, and expert interviews, the hosts argue that the media has become insular, biased, and ineffective in fulfilling its role as the fourth estate. They advocate for more partisan, truth-oriented journalism and highlight specific legislative priorities aimed at reversing what they perceive as the administration's detrimental policies.

Transcript

[Josh Holmes]

If the essence in the core of a White House correspondents dinner is to reward and celebrate fearless journalism. Fearless meaning you're not concerned about what happens to you based on telling the American people the truth, then Fox News, Siobhan Hughes, Annie Lynske and all of those people should have been having a ticker tape parade outside of the Hinkley Hilton, right?

[Michael Duncan]

No, that's exactly right. Because you have to ask yourself what constitutes fearlessness? And I think in my book, fearlessness for journalists in Washington is writing what the PAC will not say.

[Tim Murtaugh]

The Biden pill penalty is crippling the development of life saving drugs for cancer, Alzheimer's and other deadly diseases. It's already slashed funding for pill based medicines by 70%. Thankfully, President Trump is leading the fight to end the Biden pill penalty. President Trump's plan will unleash innovation, lower costs and save American lives. Call Congress, tell them to stand with President Trump and include a repeal of the Biden pill penalty in the budget reconciliation bill.

[Michael Duncan]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[John Ashbrook]

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

[Michael Duncan]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Welcome back. Good Tuesday to you, the ruthless variety program. I'm Josh Holmes along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook, full cast and crew with you here today, very, very big things, fellas.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I mean, a lot of news, especially for us over the past weekend. Lot to discuss.

[Josh Holmes]

I don't even know where to start at some level. Look, we all had like, spring break things and different things. Smug, you held it down.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, me and Duncan, I'd say all.

[Michael Duncan]

Of us, to be honest.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, but you were there the week before with me. Well, these guys were gallivanting.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I mean, well, that's the thing is we're like, you know, a strike team that, like, if it's one of us, if it's all four of us, the job is gonna get done.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it's gonna get done.

[John Ashbrook]

It's a rare thing to have a cast that you're like, I know the job's gonna get done whether I'm there, whether I'm not there, whether I can be there, whatever.

[Comfortably Smug]

We're like special Forces. You just drop us in the horn, you know, some grenades and some ammo and we figure it out.

[Josh Holmes]

You figure it out. You're just like that.

[John Ashbrook]

We just need grenades and ammo just like.

[Josh Holmes]

Just like that.

[Michael Duncan]

Nobody wants to let down their pals.

[Josh Holmes]

Can I start with telling on myself?

[John Ashbrook]

Sure.

[Josh Holmes]

You notice I'm in a suit, purple tie, I got some purple socks on underneath here. It's compensating. What I'm doing is compensating because my wife is like, a 10 of 10 Philadelphia Eagles fan. 10 of 10.

[John Ashbrook]

So tough. That's tough.

[Josh Holmes]

Grew up in just a absolute Eagles family, her whole community, all of her friends, Eagles fans. And my first son was born. He was born in 2017 when the Eagles played the Vikings in the NFC championship. And we made a wager on this deal where, you know, whoever won went to the super bowl, and if they won the super bowl, our kid would.

[John Ashbrook]

No way have to be a fan. That's the source of it.

[Josh Holmes]

So I fought back again. I made the wage. We lost the game. The game they played the Super Bowl. Minnesota. To add insult to injury, Eagles won. My son, My oldest son just became an Eagles fan. He was aware of this thing, but he just became one because they were winning things. And I'm a Vikings guy through and through, hence the purple tie. But my younger son, I. I thought I had a good shot at. Yeah, you know, we had, like, competitive teams. We. Eagles win the super bowl again.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

Last year. I'm done.

[Comfortably Smug]

You're done. It's ironed in. It's fully ironed in. At this point, you've lost your sons forever.

[Josh Holmes]

I. And, like, the one thing that dads look forward to about being a dad is watching your team with your kids. Now, I still will watch it. They just have somewhat of a disinterest because their team is winning the super bowl on a frequent basis.

[Michael Duncan]

You know, it is true when your team is winning, your kids latch onto that team. I remember the Bengals had a great run a few years ago, and my youngest daughter and I with my other girls, we were watching the game, and then after the Bengals lost that Super Bowl, I was like, where did she go? I was like, honey, I can't find her. Where is she? I walked into the other room, and she was crying on the couch by herself because she wanted the who days to win.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, that's how you know you're raising a. A quality kid. But it brings us to today, which the White House has graciously invited my family to go and celebrate the super bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

[Michael Duncan]

Amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

I have no interest in this. It pains me. I made a wager with myself. I've not been. I have many offers to go to a Super bowl over the course of the last 20 years. I've never gone because I'm like, I'm not going unless my Minnesota Vikings are in it. 40 years. They're not. They have not been in it. So now a White House thing. And it's like, I'm conflicted at some level because, like, first of all, greatest people at the Trump administration, they're, like, willing to. Okay. They're like, they know the situation. They're like, yeah, we'll make sure your kids can get up there and see everything. I'm eternally grateful for it. But the internal conflict of, like, am I doing this? Am I arranging this?

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, I say it's so wonderful, honestly, and good for your misses For. For getting your kids on the right track to support a team that actually can win something. I mean, imagine how disappointed they'd be if they're like, I guess we're waiting for the Vikings to win something. Like, okay, you're going to be taking your grandkids to the White House to hope for it.

[Josh Holmes]

You know what's sad? He's not wrong.

[Comfortably Smug]

Not wrong. I hope they put your wife and your kids front and center, first row, and they put you on the side in the cup chair.

[Josh Holmes]

I hope. I hope they don't allow me in a room. But listen, this is. This is. Hence the purple tie. I. This is my little silent protest to try to keep a little glimpse of my own humanity.

[John Ashbrook]

That's so awesome. I mean, good for the Eagles, too. Great team. Great.

[Comfortably Smug]

I know.

[John Ashbrook]

They really do.

[Josh Holmes]

Jaquan was out hanging out with the President playing golf yesterday, so.

[John Ashbrook]

Cool.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

So, I mean, hey, it's getting harder. Yeah, it's getting harder. Come on, JG McCarthy. I'm really counting on you, buddy. Really counting on. But speaking of, like, high profile events, you fellas, the two in the middle here, Smug and Duncan, you managed to go. I think it's both of your first White House correspondence dinner.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, not normally my. My sort of scene. We had some great friends invite us to. To join them, which we had a blast. An absolute blast, I would say, like the first half of the program I don't think you could really complain about. Yeah, you know, it was. It was fine. Yeah. You know, they honored a reporter from ABC News for her reporting during the Butler shooting, which I thought was great. Doug Mills won for best photography.

[Josh Holmes]

He should every year.

[Comfortably Smug]

Great shot.

[John Ashbrook]

Can I just real quick on that Doug Mills thing? They gave it to him for a photo of Joe Biden. They didn't. He's the guy. Yeah, so. So Doug Mills is the guy who took the photograph of the attempted assassination of President Trump where you could see.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no. The fist in the air was Vucci. That was time. That was time.

[John Ashbrook]

So Mills took the one where you could see the bullet whizzing by. Right. They didn't give him an award for that because it makes Trump look unstoppable. They gave it for a photo of Joe Biden.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Get out of here. So this is. Look, there's a reason why White House Correspondent's Dinner is not for people like you that are listening and not for people like us, in that it's a subversive little community that only talks to each other and gives each other awards and appreciation for things. And like much of what Ruthless was intended to try to combat was that cultural information flow problem.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. And that was the entire second half of the program. It was like, the first half I felt, you know, good about, you know, the people they were rewarding. They deserved it, you know, and then it just. It just devolved into some of the most sanctimonious fart sniffing I've ever had to witness. Thank God we were well lubricated with alcohol because I don't think I could have survived otherwise.

[John Ashbrook]

There was. I mean, there were so many moments. Excuse me. I remember your Mrs. Duncan started laughing at the face I was making, like, listening to, because I was in genuine shock because, like, you know, with our friends who had invited us, we had been having discussions throughout the evening of, like, are these people. Do you think, you know, these journos, these folks on the left are so, like, willfully unaware, or do they know how far to the left and biased?

[Josh Holmes]

No, they're willfully unaware. And that's the thing that becomes apparent during White House correspondents. Johnny And I, for 10 years, used to go to this thing. And you had an anniversary to celebrate. I was taking my kids down to see my parents in Florida, so we couldn't make it. But, like, the one takeaway that we've had for the last 10, 15 years is it's not like they're willfully liberal, it's that they just don't. The communication cylinder.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Which is our press is so. It's an uninhabited island filled with a small tribe that has never been contacted by the outside world.

[John Ashbrook]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

It's a good way to put it.

[John Ashbrook]

Genuinely is so accurate. Because that's the thing is after, like, a couple hours of this, I was like, my God, these people. A million times. 100%. It's like they're on their own deserted island where they only talk to each other.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

They are completely cut off from everyday Americans, from rational, normal thinking. They're just in the. Like I said to our buddy who had invited us. I was like, sitting in this room, it's clear that these people only talk to each other.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

That's why they give each other. That's it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

And then you get the rare person who spends like a day in a diner during the campaign every four years, and then they write up a story about it. And then everybody in D.C. is like, oh, we don't need another camp story about the dying.

[John Ashbrook]

You get mad when you people.

[Comfortably Smug]

They do.

[Michael Duncan]

They bully each other out of actually serving the audience who's hungry for information.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. The thing that's really funny about this year's White House Correspondents Dinner is, remember they had that comedian who they had to cancel.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Because she said that all Republicans are murderers or whatever. Yeah. It's classic because, again, this is the information silo they live in.

[Josh Holmes]

African American lesbian comedian with an anti Trump deal that they decided to book for the first Trump White House correspondent.

[Comfortably Smug]

Real smart.

[Michael Duncan]

Great idea.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, that's smart. I mean, that's.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's so, I guess, thoughtful. You know, a lot of Hollywood sort of stayed away from this, and obviously Donald Trump didn't attend. And so, like, the best star power they could bring to an event like this was. Show me your Hog. David Hogg.

[Josh Holmes]

David Hogg.

[Comfortably Smug]

And, you know, Smug and I were there basically, like, just to troll. Fuck shit up.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

So if I'm being honest. Yes.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Honestly. And so Smug was generous enough to start, like, walking around the room and getting pictures with these people.

[Josh Holmes]

Do you know what the best part about this part is for me is that for, like, I don't know, 70% of America that follows politics closely, when they would see you to walk in, they'd be like, oh, shit.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, left, right or center. People are like, oh, my God, these people are so insular to the point that we're making further, they probably didn't know who you were.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, Smug took his sunglasses off and he's like the opposite of Superman. You know, when Superman puts his cape on, everyone nobody knows he's Clark Kent. When he takes those sunglasses off, people don't know.

[John Ashbrook]

No one. It's the whole point of it.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, that's the best part of it, is that they live in such an insular society where you guys go walking in and they're like, oh, well, here's a fellow traveler here to celebrate my good works.

[John Ashbrook]

And then it's Duncan taking the photo.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm literally taking the photo. I'm taking the photo. Like the fan, like, the Fan of David Hogg.

[Josh Holmes]

Can we put this first one up? Graphic one, that's David Hogg. So show me your Hog was a guy that we, obviously, we've been covering and we're going to continue to cover. Who's the vice chair of the DNC that decided that his one mission in life is try to primary Democratic.

[Comfortably Smug]

Smug, dude. Smug is the best because he goes up to David Hogg and he's like, please do not stop holding these Democrats accountable.

[John Ashbrook]

And that's the thing is Hogg was like, are you kidding me?

[Comfortably Smug]

Are you kidding me?

[John Ashbrook]

I'm dead serious. I walked up, I was like, can I take a photo with you? And so then Duncan starts taking the photo. I was like, david, I just want to let you know, I want you to do not stop holding these elected Democrats accountable. The American people have had it with them. He's like, I won't stop.

[Comfortably Smug]

He's like, I'll do it for you, fan.

[Josh Holmes]

I will do it. And so that picture is uncovered. And then, like, the program commences. But before it does, you actually, I am told, got a picture with a potato.

[John Ashbrook]

That's right. He was in the House. Do we have that one? There you go.

[Michael Duncan]

That's priceless.

[Josh Holmes]

Perennial contender, one time champion for Hack Madness and comfortably smug. Taking a picture. He couldn't be happy.

[Comfortably Smug]

Brian Stelter. Brian Stelter looks so happy.

[John Ashbrook]

He got his job back. Like, CNN fired him. Then they're like, all right, I guess we'll let you back in. So he's having the time of his life. He's gainfully employed again, you know, happy guy. Good for him.

[Comfortably Smug]

If you're listening to this on audio, you gotta go to the YouTube just to look at that photo because Brian Stelter looks so happy.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Why are there like. And subscribe? Because that's the only way anybody can see anything. But if you can see these pictures, you genuinely understand what these two idiots were doing.

[John Ashbrook]

It was amazing. It was amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

I can't believe. I can't. I mean, just complete disruption.

[Siobhan Hughes]

He's Donald Trump's number one enemy in Congress. Chicago Senator Dick Durbin. And now Dick Durbin has a new scheme. A government takeover of your credit card. Today, consumers have thousands of choices in credit cards, all with equal strong security. But Durbin's plan is less competition and less security. And that means more risk for your credit and your identity. Tell Republicans in Congress, stop Dick Durbin's takeover of your credit card before it's too late.

[Comfortably Smug]

You got into the. The show itself and the one piece of like news, I think, that came out of the dinner was this Alex Thompson award acceptance. He got this award for his Biden coverage and sort of made waves by criticizing the media itself.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's play that clip. Clip one to my bones.

[Comfortably Smug]

I believe that reporting and the White House Correspondence association is as necessary as ever. President Biden's decline and its cover up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception. But being truth tellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it. We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay, so a couple things. First of all, Alex Thompson, both on social media and in the printed medium at Axios, was one of the first and the only to consistently point out that this man was sundowning.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, it's true. And he. Before he was at Axios, he was at Playbook, and he wrote this newsletter, West Wing Playbook, and he roasted Karine Jean Pierre out of the gate. He talked about Jen Rubin's tight relationship with the White House. He crushed Biden, and, like, how the staff wouldn't even want to listen to his answers to the questions. So he definitely was an instigator very early on in the Biden campaign.

[John Ashbrook]

Can I also say, though, you know, Alex, if you're listening, that was kind of pathetic how he tried to, like, have it both ways, where he was like, it's important to note that no matter which party they are, an administration can be dishonest. It's like, okay, you're saying only Republican administrations are dishonest, but this one instance of a Democrat, for the first time ever, being just like, get the hell out of here. Why do you feel like you have to kind of, like, have it both ways and be like, you know, I don't wanna make my Journal buddies mad. It's like, if you're gonna try to get up there and be a truth teller, just be a truth teller. Let him have it. Tell him the truth. Be like, listen, Biden lied. His people covered it up. Why did everyone in this room miss it? Yeah, well, let that hang in the air. You don't need to be like, you know, for the first time ever, a Democrat lied to me.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I think you're right. You're right. And here's, like, the subsequent evidence. First of all, can we plug graphic, too? We're talking about a palm card that was given to Joe Biden where they have both the face of the person going to ask the question and the question itself and then the answer and.

[John Ashbrook]

That says, this is going to be the first question. Says question one. They, like, square it for the folks who are just listening.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. And like, that is just one thing that was publicly available. It was everywhere that everybody knew about at the time. Now we, as a ruthless variety program, led every show for three weeks or three years with either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris sundowning or being an idiot. Like, this was not a story that you could have missed.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, so I would also point out that that palm card that had the prepackaged first question for Joe Biden, that reporter was Courtney Subrami. Man. Yeah, Subranian Subramanian, who is on the board of the White House Correspondents Association. Right. And so, like, the calls coming from inside the house, totally. Like, like, Alex Thompson is up there. And God bless him for being one of the people who would actually point this thing out. But to get up there and talk about how the COVID up within Joe Biden's administration, it's like you participated in that cover. People on that Daisy on Saturday night participated in the COVID up.

[John Ashbrook]

When one of the board members of the WHCA is up there, this guy's getting an award because he uncovered that it was a cover up. No one could have told that Joe Biden was sundowning. And then one of the board members is on a card that they have to set up and be like, he'll ask. Joe Biden is going to ask you the question first. Can you submit what question it is so that he knows it? And they're like, oh, yeah, totally normal. This is how a working press operates.

[Josh Holmes]

Like, two generations before this iteration of White House press corps, you were dealing with people who grew up idolizing, like, Pentagon Papers or, you know, Watergate with Deep Throat in a. In a parking garage in Roslyn. And like, real stuff that people were trying to keep secret. These people have no. They act as though what happened with a man publicly sundowning in our face was somehow something that they couldn't see with their very eyes. I mean, look. Clip two, please. Spaghetti power. It is noteworthy that the percentage of women who register to vote and cast a ballot is consistently higher than the percentage of the men who do so. End of quote, repeat the line. Women are not without electoral and. Or political. Or maybe precise not and.

[Comfortably Smug]

Or.

[Josh Holmes]

Or political power.

[Comfortably Smug]

He reads. End of quote. And repeat the line.

[Josh Holmes]

He's just reading Ron Burgundy, to be precise.

[Comfortably Smug]

The stage direction.

[Josh Holmes]

It just Ron Burgundy style Right down the thing. Let's put up clip three. Imagine what we can do next.

[Annie Lynskey]

Four more years.

[Comfortably Smug]

Pause.

[John Ashbrook]

Four more years.

[Josh Holmes]

Pause, pause, pause, pause. I mean, Ron Burgundy style, right? He just. He didn't. And this is not before somebody's like, oh, well, Joe Biden was just sort of a colloquial idiot. He didn't used to do that. Like, this was obvious. That's a stutter, anyone?

[John Ashbrook]

That's a stutter.

[Josh Holmes]

Let's clip for clip 4.

[Comfortably Smug]

Joe Biden wandering on stage, doesn't know where to leave.

[Josh Holmes]

Just standing there.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

All of a sudden, like, you got.

[John Ashbrook]

And there it is, right there. He's frozen.

[Michael Duncan]

There he is. Obama leading him.

[Josh Holmes]

He grabs.

[John Ashbrook]

Obama's got to grab Biden by the wrist, and then he's got to put his hand on his back and walk.

[Michael Duncan]

Him like a nurse who works at a place for mom.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, so, look, this isn't a story that you could have missed.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I'll give Alex Thompson credit. He had actually the balls to report a whole bunch of things that nobody else would win. His access to the White House mattered for his career. The rest of them did not. They worried more about the access to get into the White House to be able to report things out. Like the stupid fucking shit that they came up with on every Sunday night to roll out, you know, whatever week it was for the Biden administration. He actually had the balls to do that. But in that speech, he pretends as though we're dealing with the Pentagon Papers here. There's a man standing before you who, like, can't complete a sentence.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Pause for more.

[Josh Holmes]

And you're all like, no, he's great. Behind closed doors, like, that's just. It's a laughable proposition.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, yeah. And that's the thing that's sort of offensive about all of it, is, like, he gets an award for his colleagues, you know, for reporting on the obvious. Meanwhile, there were other people who reported this who just got dogpiled by the entire media. All those people that were in the room when the Wall Street Journal put out that article saying, behind closed doors, Biden is slipping. The media had an absolute freak out, flipped out.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And this was in early June, and it was Siobhan Hughes and, I think Annie Lipsky. Lipsky. Annie Lipsky. They. They put together a.

[Josh Holmes]

To be clear, they were the first.

[Comfortably Smug]

They were the first. They didn't get an award because they work for a Rupert Murdoch owned.

[Josh Holmes]

At the Wall Street Journal or at Fox News. You cannot get awards from the White House correspondents Association.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

That is absolute fact.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Because if you were looking for somebody to celebrate, somebody who is willing to speak truth to power at a particular moment in time, you would have said to Siobhan Hughes and Annie Lipsky that their article started a ball in motion that just a couple of weeks later resulted in a debate performance where the rest of the world could no longer deny what was happening.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And what happened to them? Siobhan Hughes and Annie Lynskey, I should say, what happened to them when the story was printed? They got so much blowback from the other people in the.

[John Ashbrook]

It was insane.

[Michael Duncan]

From the White House press office. I mean, the amount of pressure that was on them for printing the obvious. It was insane. It absolutely.

[John Ashbrook]

And like, it's horrifying because in America you should be terrified that journalists like, you know, these journals, especially in the room that night, they're like, oh, it's so dangerous. Such a dangerous time to be a journalist. What's dangerous is the way that they brutally bullied and tried to keep silent their supposed, you know, colleagues in this situation that the Journal had the truth to tell people in print. Hey, Biden has kind of lost his mind.

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean, Siobhan had to go on CNN and like they were tag teaming against her about how irresponsible her reporting was. Oliver Darcy did a whole media newsletter about how irresponsible the Wall Street Journal was. And to your point, three weeks before that debate, six weeks before, Joe Biden is no longer the candidate for President United States. I mean, they look like Nostradamus. And here it is, Alex Thompson getting the award, not them.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Well, also, like, look, if. If the premise of the award is uncovering an uncomfortable truth that nobody else could uncover, why isn't every single anchor of Fox News in the entirety of their digital department? Why isn't the ruthless variety program nominated for this award? Because we had been saying this over and over and a place for mom became like a colloquial hilarity on this show and on Fox News and amongst all of their commentators and their journalists over a several year period of time before, God bless him, Alex Thompson and even Siobhan was onto this stuff. And I love the fact that Alex Thompson, Siobhan Hughes, Annie Linsky ultimately reported on what was happening with Joe Biden. But there's a whole bunch of internal political calculus that you understand by attending a White House correspondents dinner as to why they didn't do it earlier. Right. But if the essence in the core of a White House Correspondent's Dinner is to reward and celebrate fearless journalism. Fearless, meaning you're not concerned about what happens to you based on telling the American people the truth, then Fox News, Siobhan Hughes, Annie Lynskey and all of those people should have been having a ticker tape parade outside of the Hinkley Hilton.

[Michael Duncan]

Right? No, that's exactly right. Because you have to ask yourself what constitutes fearlessness? And I think in my book, fearlessness for journalists in Washington is writing what the PAC will not say.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

You know what I mean? That's what takes fearlessness. Because you know that every left wing editor out there for every major paper and every major network does not like that you're saying the thing that the audience actually wants to hear. And unless you are willing to do that, I just. I just don't understand how you can. Where the. Where there's any fearlessness in Washington journalism. You know what I mean?

[Josh Holmes]

There's just not. Because truth is truth, untruth is untruth. And whether or not you're celebrating, in this case, they're celebrating truth. That it was uncovered at some point that Joe Biden was unfit for office. But they're doing so in a manner that rewards people who played the game every single step of the way to get to the point where they knew it was no longer viable with the American people.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. You can only get a job. You can only get that award if you're inside the club.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Not if you were first. You got to be blessed by the club to be the person who says the thing.

[John Ashbrook]

That's right.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's never the people who actually did the brave thing. Oliver Darcy. I just want to read this from his newsletter. This is after the Wall Street Journal story came out. The headline of it is, the Wall Street Journal story about Biden's mental acuity suffers from glaring problems. This is, of course, they're playing defense for the Biden administration. A spokesperson for the Journal told me that the Rupert Murdoch owned newspaper, which is under the stewardship of newish editor Emma Tucker. I love how they undermine the new editor.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Right there.

[Comfortably Smug]

Absolutely incredible.

[John Ashbrook]

They're trying to tell you two things. They're like, don't trust it because it's owned by Rupert Murdoch.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Also like Emma Tucker is kind of a newish editor. So that's already.

[Comfortably Smug]

Maybe she's been over her head. Yeah. You know, which sounds like a little sexist.

[Josh Holmes]

Some late misogyny to throw in there.

[Annie Lynskey]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Quote, stands by its reporting. If Tucker is comfortable with such shoddy journal journalism, it is worrisome. It is difficult to imagine that the newspaper or any outlet would run a similar story declaring that Trump is slipping behind the scenes. I mean, unbelievable.

[Josh Holmes]

Like literally every newspaper ever for the first four years of the presidency.

[Comfortably Smug]

And this is absolutely incredible. Despite the fact that Democratic leadership has demonstrated a much stronger relationship with the truth in recent years. Unbelievable.

[Josh Holmes]

Unbelievable.

[Comfortably Smug]

Do you think Oliver Darcy put out an apology to Siobhan Hughes or Emma Tucker?

[John Ashbrook]

Do you know what he was doing at WHCA first off?

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, he was there.

[John Ashbrook]

I saw that con. But before it, he. He has a new publication that he started. Yeah, they were having a little party.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, Celebrate, Celebrating.

[Annie Lynskey]

Celebrate.

[Comfortably Smug]

Just celebrate how right they've been and how non partisan they've been about everything, I'm sure.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my God. So this is what, like, this is what you guys were up to. There's so much more from all of this that we want to get to. Incredible, comical speeches, and one of them in particular blew my socks off when you guys texted me.

[Comfortably Smug]

We had fun.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my God, it was unbelievable. We're gonna get to all of it right after this.

[Tim Murtaugh]

For too long, weak politicians have sold out America's steel workers and allowed China to flood our country with cheap foreign steel. President Trump is fighting back for American manufacturing and American steel.

[Josh Holmes]

We're going to build our future with American hands, with American heart, American steel. And we're going to build it with.

[Annie Lynskey]

American pride, like we used to.

[Tim Murtaugh]

The U.S. steel and Nippon Steel Partnership advances Trump's agenda. This historic investment will pump billions into US Steel, modernize aging plants, protect steel workers jobs, and empower our country to compete against China. The US Steel and Nippon Steel Partnership will ensure more steel is made in America, strengthening our economic and national security. President Trump is fighting for our steel industry and to create more manufacturing jobs. The U.S. steel and Nippon Steel Partnership puts America first. Learn more at americafirststeel.org, paid for by the America First Steel Alliance.

[Michael Duncan]

Hardworking Americans know when it's time to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. Now is the time to unleash our nation's energy to create jobs, secure our future, and make life better, more affordable, and full of opportunity for all Americans. That's the power of America's oil and natural gas. Learn [e-mail] paid for by the American Petroleum Institute.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, so listen, fellas, when I saw your texts on Saturday night where you said, you will not believe what just happened and then you explained it, I actually didn't believe I thought it was like something you two clowns manufactured. No, because it couldn't be more perfect. Can you explain? Can you set this up?

[Comfortably Smug]

All right. So stunning. So Eugene Daniels, who of course spent so much of the show doing these. Just obnoxious.

[Josh Holmes]

A number one seed in hack Madison this year.

[Comfortably Smug]

He's just fart sniffing stem winders about, you know, how he's protecting democracy, all this sort of stuff. Truth to power, you know, he's the head of the White House Correspondents Association. They're nonpartisan. They want to get it accurate and fair. Although he's leaving in two weeks to go do primetime cable for MSNBC to fill in for Joy Reid. So I'm sure it'll be nonpartisan and fair. But he, he did this thing honoring April Ryan, you know, as being the longest serving White House correspondent who's an African American. African American woman. Good for her, right? Everyone in the ballroom, on all of the screens, the Jumbotrons, if you will, gets a photo of Yamiche Alcindor.

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[Comfortably Smug]

During the middle of this whole thing honoring April Ryan, which I found hilarious, because if, like somebody on the right did this, if Fox News did this, they'd be called racist for a month.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, it would be a never ending decision.

[John Ashbrook]

They put the camera on Yamiche, right, While he's talking, and then, you know, it goes back to Eugene while he's talking some more. And then they do it again. So this wasn't like, oh, you know, the cameraman actually didn't put. They do it again and they keep the camera on Yamiche while Eugene is talking about April Ryan. And Yamiche goes, what? That's. I'm not April Ryan.

[Michael Duncan]

Right?

[Comfortably Smug]

So you got, you got to see this clip of Eugene.

[Josh Holmes]

So it doesn't, it doesn't. C SPAN doesn't provide the full in house experience that you had, but they do provide his reaction so we get.

[Comfortably Smug]

To watch him squirm. So let's play that clip.

[Josh Holmes]

Five, please. Jeez.

[Comfortably Smug]

Dunnigan and Ethel Payne, the first two black women to serve in the White House press corps. Many of us are here because they kicked down some doors for us, including Black Press USA's April Ryan, who is with us tonight. This year, this year, he's shaking his head. Officially become the longest serving African American White House correspondent in history. That's not her.

[John Ashbrook]

That's not her.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's not her. So he just mouths, that's not her. Because he's looking down there at the monitor and it's showing Yamiche Alcindor.

[John Ashbrook]

It was amazing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Unbelievable.

[John Ashbrook]

I said to everyone, everyone at our table was like, what are they? What are they doing? I fire out that tweet instantly. Like, it gets picked up by a lot of folks on the right who are like correctly pointing out, man, if this had happened on Fox News, this would be like a month long national conversation. Where are we as a country? Is this racism? Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Zero.

[John Ashbrook]

Zero. Again, zero self awareness, dude.

[Comfortably Smug]

And I don't think it got any reporting. I saw one single sentence in like a Deadline Hollywood story after the White House correspondents associ that mentioned it briefly. But like, it's not in playbook, you know, it's not like, oh, you know, egg on the face of the White House corresponding. They would never do that because again, protecting their protection racket.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you can understand why they need a protection racket. When you see the outfit that you just wear. Can we pop that? Can you just pop that back up?

[Michael Duncan]

Let's.

[Josh Holmes]

Are you kidding me?

[Comfortably Smug]

Look at it.

[Josh Holmes]

What the hell is that?

[Comfortably Smug]

He's ready for Studio 54.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, literally.

[John Ashbrook]

Can I say one thing about. So, yes. I think he looked like an absolute clown. But one thing that he said, many things that he said really bugged me. But one line in particular just really, really pissed me off. He said, the truth is difficult.

[Josh Holmes]

It ain't.

[John Ashbrook]

The truth is not difficult. And that's one job where it absolutely should not be. The truth is black and white and it's your job to provide it to the American people. When you get in the mindset of thinking the truth is difficult, there's only one word for it. You're biased.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's difficult when you assume circumstances and environment that you think personally help you versus the truth. That's where it is. Like, that's why you come to the ruthless variety program. Tariffs. Am I wild about. Nope. I'm not. Am I concerned? Yep, I am. Taxes. Boy, they better get that stuff done. Doesn't feel like it's like on the path right now. I'm willing to say it. These people are not willing.

[Tim Murtaugh]

We're a part of something.

[John Ashbrook]

They were willing to be like, whoa, Biden's not all the way there. When he's like, pause four more years. That's how crazy it is.

[Josh Holmes]

That's how crazy it is, is that they insulate themselves to the point where their career advancement is entirely related to whether or not they think they're socially can get ahead in career. Get ahead as a result of that social relationship by basically Burying the truth, that's when the truth becomes difficult.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's like a celebration of the exact opposite of what journalism was supposed to be.

[Michael Duncan]

That's exactly right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's just. It's disgusting. It's completely ridiculous. We got more. Clip 6.

[John Ashbrook]

From the White House to the town of White House, Texas. It's a real place. Peoria to the Persian Gulf. We at AP remain committed as ever to accurate, independent, nonpartisan journalism, to carrying light the world over.

[Comfortably Smug]

Come on.

[John Ashbrook]

That's Ashbrooke's good friend Zeke J. Miller. But I mean, ap, the AP who has been on a heater of a streak of just lies, absolute lies. And they could possibly be as of late, I mean, especially with this whole, like, Maryland man thing that the AP's been pushing. They could be the most partisan outlet there out there.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm not sure what's been going on over there the last five years. I really am not. I have no explanation for it. They used to be pretty reliable, and now it's very, very reliable.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, they're a wire service. It's supposed to be, like I was saying, the truth is black and white. They used to be just like, here's the story, black and white, two sentences. And now they've turned into essentially, like, MSNBC's opinion page.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, you don't need a time machine. Let's just put up graphic three. This is for March 18th. We're talking like a month ago, AP was forced to withdraw a totally fake story revolving around Tulsi Gabbard. That was it.

[John Ashbrook]

Was just forced to retract a comment made in a story. It says right here, for the folks who are only listening, AP was forced to retract a comment made in a story about Tulsi Gabbard after claiming the National Intelligence director publicly said that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were, quote, very good friends. That was absolutely made up.

[Josh Holmes]

Just didn't say it. Just didn't say it. But they. I mean, this is the pinnacle of truth.

[Michael Duncan]

Right?

[Josh Holmes]

This is what they're celebrating now. I understand. Like company men. Right? We've all done it at some level. You're a company man. You represent your company. You know, you got to put on a good face. I get that. The problem is this event in particular is there to celebrate the ultimate pinnacle of political power in the world, not just America, in the world, which is covering the White House, the literal leader of the free world. And their whole goal is to try to reward excellence in communicating things that are difficult truths. At no point did I hear anything that revolved anywhere close to a difficult truth, like it was like an excuse for why they didn't get a story.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

There is a, you know, a company man point of view on why their publication stands for Acts Like a. Like it's a bumper sticker. Despite the fact that the mission statement of their organization is to inform the American people at a very fucking local basis of what's going on in Washington. And they refused to do it. So, like, this thing is broken. And I understand the Trump administration decided not to show up. God bless him. I appreciate it. Because it shouldn't show up. They should try to figure out how to, hopefully in the next year they can figure out how to rework this situation until it's something closer to truth telling, which it certainly is not. And then in the end, like.

[Comfortably Smug]

I.

[Josh Holmes]

Don'T mind people having big parties. You know, I don't mind, like, I like to have fun. I like to have people in the industry that are involved, but let's not pretend that it's something that it's not. And they've gotten to a point where they actually are so cylindered off that they don't know up from down. It's not that there's many of them are malicious, they're not. It's that they literally don't think you're true. The truth that is middle of this country exists because they've never seen it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, but what a gift. Like, here's the thing.

[John Ashbrook]

Seriously.

[Comfortably Smug]

Seriously, we've spent 20, 25 minutes talking about how insane and insular they are and naive they are and how they sniff their own farts. I hope they keep sniffing them. I mean. Cause honestly, it's good for us because it makes our job so easy.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Because we just gotta call balls and strikes and do our thing. And they can all give each other awards and pat each other on the back for a job well done, when obviously they failed the American people. Because the audience keeps shrinking and ours keeps growing. So I hope they keep doing it.

[Josh Holmes]

But if they were literally committed, if anyone, anyone, I don't care what award organization, if you were committed to journalism, you'd Mark Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace up to the front of that stage be like, you know what? You guys are the one people that got it right over the last year.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Why did you get it right and we got it wrong? We'd like to actually think about that.

[Josh Holmes]

We'd actually like to hear it. We'd actually like to hear what it is that you guys do besides triple Our frickin audience, you know, but they don't. And they don't even reward the Wall Street Journal, two incredibly good reporters for getting the story first they gotta go to the follow on situation because they played the game. Yeah. It is what it is. Listen, what a great experience for you two to see this with your own eyes because Smash and I have had to deal with this.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

For quite some time.

[Comfortably Smug]

Again, we drank a lot.

[Josh Holmes]

Our question of the day is what would a true reckoning for this group look like? What would a true reckoning for journalists look like? Is it simply out of business? Because like information flow has to flow one way or another. We understand. Look, we're in a partisan business. We have a right leaning point of view, which you know. You know because you're listening to it. There's left leaning point of view stuff too. But they're supposed to be people who just figure out things and we interpret those things as to whether it's good for the country or not good for the country. There's no longer anyone who's doing the interpretation of those things. They're not. They're doing the interpretation off the left hand side of the map first and then feeding it back to us. And the question is, what's a reckoning look like? Is it bankruptcy? Is it gone?

[John Ashbrook]

Is it El Salvador? That's my opinion.

[Comfortably Smug]

Maybe like jail. Maybe you do like a post apartheid South Africa truth and reconciliation committee where you just like put them all on a panel and be like, why are you liars? Why are you lying?

[John Ashbrook]

I think it's simpler next year. You know, they have their little award show, they're all celebrating and then someone gets to the podium, says no one freak out. The doors are locked. Kristi Noem is going to be directing you folks onto vans and you're all going to El Salvador.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, coming up, your comments from last episode when we asked you, will Democrats correct their course? Of course. We were talking about them emphasizing things like El Salvador and not things like the economy are obvious, like 50 plus one situations. Will they?

[Annie Lynskey]

I don't know.

[Josh Holmes]

We get to your comments right after this.

[Comfortably Smug]

You did all the right things. You worked hard, you worked your way up and you invested your money in a 401k or other retirement plan. Your future is all set, right? Wrong. The retirement system as we know it is currently under attack from misguided policymakers in D.C. the Trump tax cuts are set to expire this year. Renewing them will be a big fight in Congress. Right now. The tax code protects 401ks, IRAs and other plans that help you save. Some people want to change that. Your representatives in Congress must protect the tax advantages that more than 100 million Americans rely on to save for retirement. You deserve policies that build on the current retirement system to secure your financial future, not jeopardize it. If Americans know one thing, it's resilience. To stay resilient, we need immediate action from our leaders. Head to helpusretire.org to take action and reach out to your representatives in Congress. Today Help Us Retire is sponsored by the Investment Company Institute, representing asset managers, serving individual investors.

[Tim Murtaugh]

For too long, weak politicians have sold out America's steelworkers and allowed China to to flood our country with cheap foreign steel. President Trump is fighting back for American manufacturing and American steel.

[Josh Holmes]

We're going to build our future with American hands, with American heart, American steel. And we're going to build it with.

[Annie Lynskey]

American pride like we used to.

[Tim Murtaugh]

The U.S. steel and Nippon Steel Partnership advances Trump's agenda. This historic investment will pump billions into US Steel, modernize aging plants, protect steel workers jobs, and empower our country to compete against China. The US Steel and Nippon Steel Partnership will ensure more steel is made in America, strengthening our economic and national security. President Trump is fighting for our steel industry and to create more manufacturing jobs. The U.S. steel and Nippon Steel Partnership puts America first. Learn more at americafirsteel.org, paid for by the America First Steel Alliance.

[Comfortably Smug]

And we're back. And I am not Josh Holmes. Unfortunately, we lost Josh to the Eagles celebration at the White House. Thoughts and prayers to him and his Minnesota Vikings.

[John Ashbrook]

No, I'm, I'm actually happy for him, you know, that he gets to celebrate this Eagles team which has done so much and President Trump is recognizing them. And I'm so happy that, that Josh is there to enjoy this moment.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, you know what? He's wearing his purple tie in protest, but I really hope somehow the Trump just sticks out.

[Comfortably Smug]

I really, I really do hope he's. He kind of looks like a lib at the State of the Union with his silent protest. Okay, so we got to get to these comments from our last episode. The last question was will Democrats course correct. We always go first to the voice.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, first comment comes from de Great Panguini. And Degreat writes, the Dems don't care. Or I'm sorry, the Dems don't dare. Course correct. By going back to the middle because their base is too comfortable with political violence which can be turned back on them on a whim. Their Most active constituents are proudly and aggressively the 20% of every 8020 issue in America and use the fear of the mob to enforce their will. Don't like a presidential candidate, they've got people willing to take care of the problem. Don't like Jewish governor's support of Israel, they'll throw his family a cocktail party while they sleep.

[John Ashbrook]

Molotov1.

[Comfortably Smug]

That is good writing.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, great writing from our audience. He goes on to say, think the kid who got a knife to the heart is the actual victim and not the stabber. They'll swat the victim's family to show them where they stand.

[John Ashbrook]

That's true.

[Michael Duncan]

The Dems don't ever go back to the middle, lest the golem they created to destroy the right turns its gaze back upon them.

[Comfortably Smug]

Poetic. Great writing. I love that comment.

[John Ashbrook]

That's dead on, dude.

[Comfortably Smug]

Our audience is the smartest, the great Penguini.

[Michael Duncan]

So maybe an Italian.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, one of the few well versed. Because that was just truth. Yeah. Spitting bars, shout out penguin.

[Comfortably Smug]

All right, Smug, what do we got?

[John Ashbrook]

This comment comes from Keith Morgenstern and Keith writes, question of the day. I think the Dems will buck conventional wisdom, stop being crazy and go deeper. And I think they will do it because they worked for djt. Let me explain. After the Romney autopsy, conventional wisdom for ours was to go soft on immigration to get Hispanic voters and a bunch of other policies. DJT bucked the conventional wisdom on most of that and he was right. I think Dems feel they are at the same crossroads. Witness AOC campaigning with Bernie. More and more crazy. But the million dollar question is if ours can can deliver value to voters before Dems can nitpick some quote, parentheses, legit, but petty errors and paint the narrative against it. And more parental advice for Smug strafe like an A10. I'm so lucky I wasn't taking a sip of coffee just then. Keep it up fellas. And, and shout out Duncan for the advice. Like, I got so many replies and comments being like, actually, Duncan is 100 nail on the head. The guy's got like what, two songs in as many years. I think you do know what you're talking about.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that was a great comment from Keith. Thank you, Keith for that. We love it. When we come back, a wild weekend from the NFL draft. Chudur Sanders. Also a super awkward interview with Bill Belichick that we got to cover. And also Smug has a a secret surprise he also wants to cover. You're not going to want to miss this.

[Annie Lynskey]

The next phase of our plan is.

[Tim Murtaugh]

To Pass tax cuts for everybody.

[Comfortably Smug]

President Trump won on a promise to cut taxes to keep American businesses competitive.

[Tim Murtaugh]

So why are some Republicans pushing to raise taxes? Our tax rate is already higher than Communist China.

[Michael Duncan]

The current basalt plan is a tax.

[Tim Murtaugh]

Hike on American business. And when business taxes go up, workers and families pay. Tell Congress, make the Trump tax cuts permanent. Stop the B salt assault.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay, so the NFL draft over the weekend. Fantastic content. It's always great to watch your team in the NFL draft because it's always hope, right? No one's disappointed you yet. You know, it's all good news. We're going to get somebody who's going to fill a gap that we have. We're going to get this offensive tackle to protect a quarterback. But the real story that came out of the draft was the unexpected fall of Cheder Sanders, like a mortgage backed security in 2008. And I'm curious thoughts on that.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, here's the thing. As much as it pains me to say as a Bengals fan, I think the Browns had the best draft out of anybody. You start with the best defensive tackle on the board and you end with one of the best quarterbacks. Now I know that shudder. Sanders had a lot of question marks over his head based on the interviews.

[Comfortably Smug]

He had with teams and terrible interviews, apparently.

[Michael Duncan]

Terrible interviews. But the guy is pure talent. You can't take that away from him. And what the Browns also got in this draft is a first round pick for next year. Yeah, everybody considers the 2026 draft is the quarterback draft. So if Shador Sanders doesn't work out, any of the other five quarterbacks they have on the roster don't work out. The Browns can pick another quarterback. So I think that Shador Sanders can do good things with Cleveland. He's a great athlete. And you know, there was a lot of controversy about the way he was treated during the draft and somebody called him with a prank during the process.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I think ultimately the issue there, obviously the interviews were a big issue in the draft that he apparently interviewed very terribly with all of these teams. But like the other thing I noticed, you know Travis Hunter, his teammate, the wide receiver, slash cornerback. Incredible, incredible player.

[Michael Duncan]

Generational talent.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, he could be an actual like a Deion Sanders, like two way player in the NFL. How much he plays on both sides of the ball, I don't know because the game plays a lot faster, the players hit a lot harder.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm being real, I think a ton. Like really, I know I am very like, I don't believe it's my unique opinion or it is a very unique opinion to think that he is. I think he will really, if a team is smart. He is that good. Yeah, he's crazy.

[Comfortably Smug]

He is very, very good. But you know what, you tackle a couple of Saquon Barclays at the edge and suddenly you don't want to go up and suit up to play wide receiver. I think he could, I don't know.

[John Ashbrook]

But he took 100 snaps. So there was a see you Boulder game two years ago when Travis Hunter was playing and it was like 95 degrees or something. He played over 100 snaps.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

On both sides of the ball.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I don't doubt his ability. I don't doubt his endurance. But I think like it stacks up in the NFL taking those hits and making those tackles. But the reason why I bring up Travis Hunter is you looked at Shadur Sanders tape, you know, ahead of the draft, and half the highlights, let's be honest, were him chucking the ball up to Travis.

[John Ashbrook]

It's a lot easier when he can just throw it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, you can just throw it to him. And he's going to win every 50, 50 ball in college. Right. And so I think people sort of doubted his ability to actually process the game and make the open throw when maybe that's not going to be an option in the NFL.

[Michael Duncan]

Here's my quick case on him. What he didn't have going into this draft was a chip on his shoulder. What seven rounds of him not being selected gave him was something he did not have. He's got a chip. He's got something to prove in his career in the NFL. He needs to be able to show people that he can throw the ball to somebody other than Travis Hunter. And that's why I think, that's why I think it's an opportunity.

[Comfortably Smug]

It is healthy. You know what? It is healthy because I think the guy needed to be humbled a little bit.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know, I mean, can we play that? Can we show the clip of his draft room? This is the draft room he had. I mean, look at this. With all the hats. Legendary. This. And look at this.

[John Ashbrook]

That's it. Man. That has to hurt. Were you like, I am going to prep a draft room.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's like a huge building.

[Michael Duncan]

Right, right. It was, it was nothing but embarrassment for him. Nothing but embarrassment for him. And so now he has to prove himself. You know, there was a video, we were talking about this earlier, him and Cam Ward talking about, like, what do you care about? Cam Ward's like, I just care about playing football. Shudder Sanders is talking about other things, but the reality is if he wants to recover from the embarrassment that happened over the weekend, he has to do it on the field. And the only team that benefits is the Cleveland Browns.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, no, I 100% agree. And honestly, I think Shedeur handled it really well. Not the front end, where he had that draft room and all that bullshit.

[Michael Duncan]

Dumb.

[Comfortably Smug]

But like, actually when he slipped past the first round and the second round and he's doing these interviews, he handled himself really well. Honestly, I think he had a lot of maturity. I don't think he got the best advice from his father, frankly.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, it's tough. It's tough because I think that was clearly, you know, this is your own child.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[John Ashbrook]

Kind of thing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like you want to be a good dad, support your kid and get the best for him. Absolutely.

[Michael Duncan]

But, but if, if you want to get out of the shadow of Deion Sanders, you have to do it on your own. And this guy has the athletic ability to do it. It's just, it's a mental thing. He's.

[John Ashbrook]

He.

[Michael Duncan]

He literally is going to have to put his head down and produce over and over and over again if he can do that. The guy's.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that QB room right now has DeShawn Watson, has Joe Flacco, has Kenny.

[John Ashbrook]

Pickett already in elite QB with Joe Flacco.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, right.

[Comfortably Smug]

And it's got Shadur Sanders and Dylan Gabriel, who the Browns selected before they took Shadur. Yeah, Tough, tough deal.

[John Ashbrook]

It's gonna be tough.

[Michael Duncan]

It is tough.

[Comfortably Smug]

All right, so next we have a very interesting story. I don't know if you guys saw this interview with Bill Belichick where he's. He's wearing the shirt with the holes in it and he's got his girlfriend who's 24 years old. Good for him, back behind doing calm support. Can we play clip number nine, please? The other change for Belichick is 24 year old Jordan Hudson. His creative museum Jordan was a constant presence during our interview. You have Jordan right over there. Everybody in the world seems to be following this relationship. They've got an opinion about your private life. It's got nothing to do with them, but they're invested in it. How do you deal with that?

[Michael Duncan]

Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks. Just try to do what I feel.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like is best for me and what's right. How did you guys meet?

[Siobhan Hughes]

Not talking about this.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's a topic neither one of them is comfortable commenting on.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, my God, I support that so much. So here's the thing. So he's going to be the coach of UNC Chapel Hill. And that's tough because I'm an NC State guy. I'm not like a lot of folks here and that you see that are, you know, blue bloods.

[Comfortably Smug]

What do you mean? Here?

[John Ashbrook]

I went to a state school and I fought my way.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay.

[John Ashbrook]

But still I have to support. Even though he's at unc, I have to support him so much that is good for him. Good for him. He put in the work, he won the championships. Now he has this wonderful, supportive girlfriend who's like on the fly, running comms on the fly.

[Michael Duncan]

I will say that I respect absolutely everything that you just laid out about Bill Belichick. But what I remember is an interview that we did here on the Ruthless Variety program recently with Senator Tommy Tuberville. I asked him whether he thinks that Belichick will succeed at unc and he said no. And one of the things that stuck out to me about that interview, Bill Belichick in a navy sweatshirt, he's the coach at unc.

[John Ashbrook]

You gotta wear the baby blue, not the Duke.

[Michael Duncan]

Exactly. He's the coach. Yeah, he's the coach at unc. And also, by the way, I don't remember Nick Saban doing CBS Morning interviews. I don't remember Jim Harbaugh doing interviews where his, you know, some girlfriend is in the, on the side doing like cover for him. I really wonder whether UNC is going to benefit in the way they were hoping when they signed Bill Belichick as the coach.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I hate it, honestly. I think for all the reasons why you pointed out. But like, Bill Belichick is the best NFL coach probably in history.

[John Ashbrook]

No, no.

[Comfortably Smug]

Probably in history.

[John Ashbrook]

It's all Tom Brady. None of it was really belt.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no, no. What he was able to draft the, the veterans he was able to bring in. And because of Tom Brady, because Tom.

[John Ashbrook]

Brady's putting up W's.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay, fine.

[John Ashbrook]

Let's be real. It was all Tom Brady.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, okay, fine.

[John Ashbrook]

It was all Tom Brady.

[Comfortably Smug]

Fine. But all I'm saying is, but that's.

[John Ashbrook]

Why I say like shout out Belichick. Get yourself a 24 year old girlfriend. Because now, like, you know, it doesn't matter anymore.

[Comfortably Smug]

But you know what? Being on national television and sitting in that chair as a 24 year old Rasputin cucks you and tells you what you're allowed to talk about is embarrassing. I think it's embarrassing. You're a.

[John Ashbrook]

You think so?

[Comfortably Smug]

Staple of football. That is. I would be, I'd Be embarrassed to have somebody off camera, tell me what I'm allowed to talk about.

[John Ashbrook]

If I'm some old dude who has tricked uncle into giving me millions of dollars. And didn't they find like some job for his girlfriend too? Like, unc's also having to pay for, like, good for. Do it, unc. Run yourselves into the ground.

[Michael Duncan]

There's no question he's living the dream of a guy who is in his age bracket. And I will not go as far as agreeing with Duncan that he's the best coach ever. But what made him one of the best coaches ever was that his head was always in the game. I mean, everybody said he wore the sweatshirt. He wasn't dressed to the nines like every other coach because he was focused on winning. And I wonder if you're doing CBS interviews and you got a 24 year old girlfriend, is your head really in the game?

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, no, it's a good point. I just want to point out that I say he's the best coach ever. As an Indianapolis Colts fan, you know how. How much it pains me to say that. So you know, it comes from the heart.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

One more thing I want to cover here. Smuggler.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

I saw some interesting transportation news which I know is near and dear to your heart.

[John Ashbrook]

Can we get that tweet on the screen? This is from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He says, tell me how we can make traveling with family great again. There's no better place to start a family than the United States of America. So I want to make it easier for you to travel with your kids. Here's your chance to tell me, your transportation secretary, what I can do to make travel easier for your family. Send me your best ideas. I had maybe 2 to 300 people tag me in this tweet, and it had to be on the show. So first off, from. From the folks who do travel with family, I want to hear your thoughts.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, well, I'll tell you, there are a lot of ways that you could improve the transportation sector in this country. And not for nothing, but the guy asking that question on a key weekend, of course, is going to just like in. Invite the type of comments that you were getting over and over and over again.

[John Ashbrook]

I think Duffy's got. Duffy has like nine children.

[Michael Duncan]

He does.

[John Ashbrook]

This is a guy who travels with family.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Nobody knows how to travel with kids quite like him. And to show the sort of humility to ask people and say, hey, what would make it better? You know, that he's gonna try to follow through on that stuff.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I would say. Okay, so coming back from the Bahamas, you know, I was there for that water park, Spring break for our kids and we had a layover in Newark on the way back.

[John Ashbrook]

Brutal place for layover.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay, fine. Yeah. But they redid the A terminal there and I really, really shout out to the, the people at the New York Newark airport. They remodeled the A terminal there and they put a playground in and our flight was delayed by four and a half hours. Oh, four and a half hours at the Newark airport.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh.

[Comfortably Smug]

And if we did not have that playground there in the A terminal, I, I don't know, I would have put a, a gun in my mouth. It was horrible. It was horrible. Nobody wants to be an airport that long, especially with a five year old and a two year old. But you know what? Like having that, having that playground there made it go by, you know, so fast.

[John Ashbrook]

Semi related. You know what I really loved? So as we discussed earlier, Duncan and I and our Mrs. Were at the dinner over the weekend and I tell everyone the same story about how like Duncan's oldest son is Joey. Such an angel. Joey is such a well behaved angel and it's just the most kind hearted. Yeah, he is person ever. And so I would always tell people, like, it's not tough for you, Duncan travel like Joey could babysit, just babysit his brother. Like this is no big deal. And your Mrs. Is like, you don't understand. He's only nice in front of you, in front of guests. He's the kindest, most well behaved child which, which was just us.

[Comfortably Smug]

I appreciate, I appreciate the fact that Joey is very kind to everyone he meets. But when he's with us alone, it's like the Thunderdome.

[John Ashbrook]

I still don't believe. Because he is truly like the best behaved child I've seen in my life.

[Comfortably Smug]

And he is. And he's the best kid dude. And he's like, he's really, really smart and really inquisitive. But like when it's just us alone and it was a long day at the Newark airport. It was a nightmare. Yeah, it was a nightmare. The other thing I would say, if you know Sean Duffy, if you're listening, there are a lot of people at tsa. A lot of people looking at my bag. Yes, A lot of people. As it goes through the scanner. And also if there was just like one person who was sort of like a family concierge who waits for you on the other side, that'd be super, super helpful because half the time, you.

[Michael Duncan]

Know how Sam with the Kids.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Stand with the kids.

[Josh Holmes]

Because.

[Michael Duncan]

Because, like, you're trying to. You're trying to corral for the bag.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, you're trying to corral. You're trying to corral. And. And half the time, they're like, oh, well, you know, there's. There's too many liquids in this bag. Or, like, you got this, like, a diaper bag, and there's some food in there, and we got to check it. We got to wipe your hands, all this sort of stuff. And it's tough. It's tough for you as a young parent because you don't want to. Like, you don't want your kids to be in the way of other people, but your kids are inquisitive about the process, and they. They like watching the bags and all this sort of stuff. But, like, you're stuck on the other side, trying to get through, you know, the metal detector and everything. And your kid. You push them through first, and it just be nice.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

If it'd be nice if there weren't nine people there who are wiping your hands and one person was interested in, like, helping you with your kids.

[John Ashbrook]

So that was part of my suggestion when so many people tagged me in this. So I know, especially now that Republicans have control and especially with, like, Elon, and a lot of the folks in the right have been mentioning how we need to be more pro family, wouldn't it be great if, beyond just having, like, TSA PreCheck and clear and like, all this, there was a line that was like, family. Like a family concierge line. As a country, if America wants to truly say that, like, oh, we want to encourage families. We believe in families, because everyone knows this. You can't even argue. The best unit for economic growth and prosperity in a country is families. If there was a line specifically for families where it was like, okay, families go through here. They have their stuff screened and baby bottles. Because, like, all the horror stories you hear of how families have been mistreated over baby bottles.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Get a family concierge line where it's free. First off, it has to be free. If you've got kids, you get through this free. And it's the concierge service level that you get of, like, TSA preacher dude.

[Comfortably Smug]

I would love that so much more. So much more than, like, when you get to the gate and they're like, you know. You know, families can board early, and I don't care about board. Yeah. Early. You know, we're here. Like, we can be in line with everybody else. And my Kids need to learn to wait.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know, but, like, the security line can be.

[John Ashbrook]

TSA is the only point of pressure. Like, the one thing that people are like, I really hate this about traveling by an airplane is the tsa. And it's like, let's be real, man. The war on terror is over.

[Comfortably Smug]

We won. We won.

[John Ashbrook]

Osama's dead. Stop having people get their, like, breast milk X ray three times. Give it. Get out of here, man. Like, it's over.

[Michael Duncan]

Listen, I do not disagree with you on fixing the bottle situation. I do not disagree with you on a lot of things, but the one area where I will deport from most conservatives right now is on tsa because we had so many illegal immigrants coming into this country over the last four years from North Africa and Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and everywhere else. And I do not want to get on a plane with those people if they are not searched beforehand. I really don't.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I mean, I think there's got to be a way to search them before they get to the term.

[Michael Duncan]

And until this administration moves them all out of this country, I'm not ready to give up tsa. There was. There were a ton of conservatives, all of whom I respect, talking about eliminating TSA and changing TSA and everything else, but there were so many people who.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I think if you're a non US Citizen, if you're non US Citizen, there should be a thing that, like, if you have a driver's license or a U.S. passport, that, yeah, you enter the terminal, whatever. If you are a non US Citizen, then you have to deal with the bullshit.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And I.

[John Ashbrook]

Because as an American, it's over, man. Like, get out of here.

[Michael Duncan]

I do not think the war on terror is over. I think that we, unfortunately, have brought it across the Rio Grande over the last four years.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's probably right.

[John Ashbrook]

Should have. As a US Citizen, you should have carte blanche, quick fly through the terminal. If you're a non US Citizen, that's who TSA should deal with. Like, the whole TSA thing should exist only for non citizens. If you're an American. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

One more thing I will say is. So my wife and I were in LaGuardia. We went up for an anniversary weekend to Manhattan, and I was sitting down and a lady with her husband was next to me. Fans of the ruthless Variety Program. Really? Yep.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's awesome.

[Michael Duncan]

Big fans of the Variety Program. And they asked, what travel stories do you have that smug will tee off on in your next episode? It was so funny.

[John Ashbrook]

Amazing.

[Michael Duncan]

They could not have been Nicer. They're from Atlanta. Very, very nice people. And I was just hoping that we could talk, travel and.

[John Ashbrook]

You can't ask for anything more.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, that's awesome, dude. Like, the minions are legion. They're everywhere.

[John Ashbrook]

They are.

[Comfortably Smug]

All right, we got to get to this interview. Tim Murtaugh, I want to welcome to the program a great friend of the program, a communications Advisor, Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, and senior advisor of the 2020 campaign. Campaign, Tim Murtaugh. How are you doing?

[John Ashbrook]

Well.

[Annie Lynskey]

Great to be with you guys. Happy to be with you, as always. Thanks for having me.

[Michael Duncan]

It's so great to have you back. I remember the last time we were talking was right before the election. Everybody was so hyped up, and you mentioned that you felt a little bit worried that you got a little too enthusiastic, but you were exactly right.

[Annie Lynskey]

Well, I remember that. I don't know, what is it, a week or 10 days before the election, maybe that I was here and we talked about it. We went through all the battleground stuff and the messaging and the polling and all that. And I remember when we were done, I said to you off camera, like, boy, I hope I didn't sound too confident, because I was really, really trying to keep it at, you know, quiet confidence or not cautiously optimistic, whatever, however you put it. But. Yeah, but it all worked out pretty well. All seven battleground states went in the president's column, and it was great. Hardly. Hardly could have seen it anything better.

[Michael Duncan]

You can't beat that.

[Annie Lynskey]

No.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. And you're wearing your. Your green.

[Annie Lynskey]

I am, Yeah. I heard when you guys were doing the first segment talking about the Eagles being at the White House, I am gonna go. I'm a huge Eagles fan, born and raised outside of Philadelphia in Delaware county, and I've managed to convince my two little boys, ages 6 and 8, that to also be Eagles fans. And so. And my wife is grudgingly going along, so we're all going to go see the Eagles today.

[Comfortably Smug]

So what's her team?

[Annie Lynskey]

She doesn't really have one.

[Comfortably Smug]

She doesn't really have one. Well, you know, Holmes is a huge Vikings guy.

[Annie Lynskey]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. And he. He's lost.

[Annie Lynskey]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

So he's in the opposite situation as you. He's lost his two boys to the Eagles.

[Annie Lynskey]

Is that right?

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, there you go.

[Annie Lynskey]

That's funny. You know, my favorite Eagle of all time was a guy named Randall Cunningham.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Annie Lynskey]

He was the. Really the quarterback. When I. I mean, I go back as far as Ron Jaworski as quarterback, but Randall Cunningham was really my quarterback when I was becoming a real football fan, and he also played for the Vikings, so. So there's a little crossover.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. Eagles have had a lot of greats. This guy I love Vice Sikahama, you.

[Annie Lynskey]

Remember, been a sportscaster in Philadelphia for years.

[Michael Duncan]

Has he really? I didn't know that.

[Comfortably Smug]

So Saquon Barkley's getting a whole rash of shit for playing golf with Donald Trump. Can you believe this?

[Annie Lynskey]

Yeah. No, no. I mean, yes, I can believe it, but no, I mean, it shouldn't be happening. I mean, it's. It's insane. And only, look, we. This is the same kind of thing that Bill Maher just went through, right? And then. And Larry David writes a really ridiculously titled column where he likens him, you know, my dinner with Adolph.

[Comfortably Smug]

He says, yeah, right.

[Annie Lynskey]

It's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. And they still have not learned a single lesson. I talked about this for a while. Since 2015, when Donald Trump came down the escalator for the very first time, the Democrats have wakened every single day, every day since then with their central message of, this guy is a bad person. He needs to be driven out of public life. No one should ever associate with him. They did that endlessly, every single day for most of a decade. And the result was he was resoundingly reelected.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Annie Lynskey]

Sent back to the White House for a second time, with, of course, an unfortunate gap in between, of course. And so this has to be regarded as the greatest single failure of political communications in world history. They spent every day doing this, and they were completely repudiated, completely rejected, and some of them are still at it right now. You can't even play golf with a guy. Give me a break. Give me a break.

[Comfortably Smug]

And in attacking Donald Trump, he's moved beyond political space into more cultural space. You look at the UFC and the podcast election and Saquon Barkley playing golf with him, it's like as the libs have lit their own hair on fire complaining about Donald Trump existing, he's not just dominated politics, but now he's predominant in culture itself.

[Annie Lynskey]

Yeah, yeah. And you know, the moment that I think I probably talked about this the last time I was here, the moment that I really saw that it was breaking through, that they had failed, and that he has really crossed over into lots of areas of life is the day everyone probably remembers the day he went and worked the drive thru window at McDonald's.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, right.

[Annie Lynskey]

That was great. Yeah, that was fantastic. Retail politics and all that. But what. What really stood out to me was on his approach to that McDonald's. A local newspaper had published earlier in the week that he was going to be there at that particular McDonald's. The campaign didn't grow that crowd. There were 10,000 people lining the streets just to see the guy arrive to go inside the place to make french fries. 10,000 people organically showing up. To me, that meant their messaging, their attempt to try to make the guy something shameful to even support has completely failed. And I bet a lot of the Eagles players voted for him. And if they had a team meeting and said, who wants to go visit the White House, a better like, yeah, because last time they canceled at the last minute. So now we're talking about multiple super bowl victories for the Eagles.

[Comfortably Smug]

He has the point.

[Michael Duncan]

Of course they want to go because he's cool, because he's funny, because he's interesting.

[Annie Lynskey]

The guy's legit funny.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. And even if. Even if you are maybe aren't totally on board with his politics, he is very entertaining, and you want to be around his magnetic personality. But I think you're right. I think a lot more Eagles players, a lot more people voted for him than anybody on the left would care to admit. And part of it is because they knew that he would follow through on the things that he was promising when he was campaigning and taxes, everything else. He's already working on it.

[Annie Lynskey]

Yeah, he is. And again, in another case of them not learning any lessons, the Democrats are continuously running the same campaign over again that they just lost every single sitting on the Capitol step speaking on the senate floor for 25 hours. In case anybody gives a rip about that. Right. Especially on the issue of illegal immigration. They are fighting the same fights that the country just told them. Unmistakable message from the entire country to the Democratic Party. We agree with Trump on illegal immigration. And they still don't get it. And the media doesn't get it. None of them get it. They don't understand when. When the nation looks at them and says, you know, guys, he's not really from Maryland.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Right.

[Annie Lynskey]

We all understand that. You don't have to keep telling us that he's some Maryland guy who got snatched off the street on his way to Starbucks. That's not what happened and that's not who he was. And I don't know how long it'll take for them to really understand, but they haven't learned any lessons yet.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. So the next big fight we have here in Congress, and I assume we'll see a Lot of those stunts from the Democrats is this reconciliation bill. And you know, this is the big kahuna. This is like getting the President's agenda through Congress in a major, major way. What are the things you're looking at in this reconciliation bill? What do you want to see?

[Annie Lynskey]

This is a way to really get into the budget and ingrain the actual America first agenda. This, this is the way to institute the, the MAGA agenda in, in a way that really didn't happen the first time around. I think I just mentioned illegal immigration. I think border security and the administration is doing big things on illegal aliens, both deporting the ones who are here and preventing new ones from coming in. I mean, 99.995 percentage reduction. That's insane.

[Comfortably Smug]

That is insane.

[Annie Lynskey]

Just about perfect reduction in the amount of catch and release people. 9. Since he became president, nine people have been let go and pending their, their upcoming immigration hearing as compared to 184,000 under Joe Biden.

[Josh Holmes]

9.

[Annie Lynskey]

Yeah, that's insane progress.

[Comfortably Smug]

I also, I also saw outside the White House today, they had all of these signs of all the illegal immigrants that have been captured.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Which I thought was a great messaging.

[Michael Duncan]

Coup connected to a crime.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

Murder. A lot of it's, a lot of it's violent crime.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And I thought he had 100 of them. Does that, did you say? I think they had 100 for 100 days because this is the 100.

[Annie Lynskey]

Yeah, that's, yeah. White House Comms is doing a great job, great job with stuff like that. So that I think there's, there's going to be a lot of stuff that involved with the assistance to, to fight illegal immigration in budget reconciliation. And I think very key to the President's economic plans would be the extension and the making permanent of the Trump Tax Cuts and jobs act from 2017. Those, of course, come with an expiration date, which is rapidly approaching. And unless it gets memorialized again, they will in fact expire, which means an automatic tax increase on everybody who pays taxes. Again, contrary to what the Democrats talk about, these weren't tax cuts for billionaires. These were tax cuts for everyone who pays taxes. Even, even the Washington Post was forced to do an analysis of this back when it passed the first time, 2017. And they kind of said, yeah, it turns out if you pay taxes, you got a tax cut. Sorry to, you know, have to report it that way, everybody. But that's, you know, that's the fact of the matter. So I think that's very important. That extension of the, the Tax cuts and jobs act because, you know, we, the, the economy is set with all these businesses returning and on shoring of jobs. And the jobs numbers are unexpectedly high again. Of course, economists are always surprised, if you ever notice that. They're always shocked by whatever the jobs numbers are. And so the tax, getting tax cuts, keeping taxes low. And I think Congress will probably, probably add some tax cuts to the mix as well. And that's key for economic growth. And then there's a third thing that I'll be looking for which has really started to get a lot of attention and I started paying to paying attention to it too because I have elderly family members. And it's something called the Biden Pill penalty. Have you heard that this was, it was.

[Comfortably Smug]

I saw the executive order that Trump put out on this.

[Annie Lynskey]

Right. So Trump issued an executive order about a lot of things about prescription drug pricing. And one of them was he instructed Secretary Kennedy at HHS to work with Congress to get rid of the Biden Pill penalty, which was something that was included in the Inflation Reduction act with the poorly named liberals are the kings of naming legislation exactly what it is not. Yeah, right, the inflation Reduction act, which of course didn't do anything about. But what it did do, what it did inflate was the cost of the potential cost of prescription drug medicine. Because actually it punished innovation in pill form medicine. It treated different categories of medicine differently. You have something called, this is a little bit technical, but they had something, you have something called large molecule medicines. These are things that are more inconvenient. You have to go to the hospital or the doctor to get them. They're more expensive. Think of things that you have to get injected, injections, infusions, IVs, those kinds of things. He Biden favored those types of medicines and discriminated against what are called small molecule medicines or pills. Way everybody thinks of medicines as pills discriminated against them and actually discouraged investment in research and development. And that makes no sense at all because pills are 71% cheaper on average than those other forms of medicine medicine. But by discriminating against those cheaper, more convenient, heck, you can get pills through the mail by doing that exactly what everyone predicted happened. 70% of the research and development dollars went away from pill form medicine either to the other more inconvenient, more expensive medicines or out of medicines entirely. And people are investing their money somewhere else like AI or something like that.

[Michael Duncan]

And if you, if you read the press at the time, of course, they were never dialing in on Biden's Discrimination between one version or the other. They were just saying, oh, Biden believes in science.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Democrats believe in science. They would never tell the real story.

[Comfortably Smug]

You remember, you know, Joe Biden was going to do the cancer moonshot.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Cure cancer.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, right. Was it cured?

[Annie Lynskey]

He said he was. I don't know. I don't think it's cured. But I'll tell you what he did. He said he was gonna, he said he was gonna. But. But what he did was he made it more difficult. Difficult because these, they're called pills, they're called small molecule drugs because they can pass through the blood brain barrier. Right. So you're talking about. This is things that attack mental health problems, things that, that treat Alzheimer's disease and also in other forms of pills. Talking about cancer drugs. Right. Joe Biden made it more unlikely that a cure for cancer is going to be found because of the Biden pill penalty and because of all this. What's. What the University of Chicago is, you know, not some fly by night night school there. They did a study. 188 different cures or applications of existing medicines have not been discovered because of the Biden pill penalty. And that means 116, according again to the University of Chicago, 116 million life years lost off of the life expectancy of American citizens who are living today. 116 million years off everybody's life combined. That's you, that's me, that's my kids. You know, who, you know, who are we talking about? So if Congress, Congress can fix this, there's legislation that would do it, but most likely in budget reconciliation. If and when they do that, it would kick off the golden age of innovation in medicine. Because pills are cheaper to make. They're cheaper for patients, they're cheaper for the entire health care system. And if you're not forcing people to go to the hospital to get their injections, you're not instituting those costs in the theme. There's going to be greater innovation, there's going to be more cures, and maybe that moonshot cure for cancer would actually finally happen now that Joe Biden from outside the White House would no longer be standing in the way. Because that's what the Biden pill penalty is doing.

[Michael Duncan]

Man, oh man. It just. There's so. There's so much that happened that people didn't even realize during the last administration and there is so much progress that the President is making here in his first hundred days and that Congress can make with this reconciliation process that's coming up that Nobody really knows. I mean, there's so much that's happening in Washington. Everybody pays attention to the big stuff. But stuff like this, too, can have a huge impact, even if you don't know it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right? Yeah. People always think about, you know, taxes or illegal immigration. All the things, the EOs that Donald Trump was doing early on, you forget, like, how much has to be unwound from the damage that Joe Biden did over the last four years.

[Annie Lynskey]

Sure, yeah. And a lot of it is tucked into this legislation. And, you know, people are voting on it who. Who didn't read it. And I would point out that when the Inflation Reduction act passed with the Biden pill penalty in it, zero Republicans voted for it in either the House or the Senate. So this was entirely a creation of the Democrats and Joe Biden. And they were told upfront, they were told you had patients groups, doctors groups, you know, pharma, pharmaceutical companies, business organizations, conservative groups. They all said, you know, if you do this, you're going to drive research dollars away from pills, and that's the kind of medicine that everyone uses. And they went ahead and they went ahead and did it everywhere. They're also killing generics through this. You know, think about, like, Lipitor, which is a cholesterol drug. Because of generics in that market, people can get your cholesterol medicine for pennies per dose. Right. With the Biden pill penalty, there's no incentive for companies to go in and become the generic provider of certain medicines. So that method of bringing prices down has also gone away. So the whole thing is an increaser of costs in the entire health care system because people are not getting treated for things on the front end. And then years down the road, treatment for that is wildly expensive. And that upsets the whole system.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, the more you learn about the Inflation Reduction act, the more you're convinced that it is the worst piece of legislation that ever passed Congress. Because. Because they even what they set it out as like the Green New Deal that somehow was supposed to reduce inflation. At the same time they're paying off all of the green energy buddies. It's also a Christmas tree for other friends of theirs that they didn't really talk about as much.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Annie Lynskey]

Think about what they did with the Green New Deal when they did write that. They're trying to drive everybody away from fossil fuels. Right. Because fossil fuels are the big bad enemy. And you want solar and you want wind, and we're also going to require that you drive an electric vehicle. We're going to mandate you Drive an electric vehicle.

[John Ashbrook]

Right.

[Annie Lynskey]

Well, windmills can't charge your electric car, so how are you going to get the electricity? Well, through fossil fuels. None of that makes any sense. The logic doesn't exist. There is no logic in the way that they do things. Just like how they name legislation.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right, yeah. Inflation Reduction Act. That raises inflation. It doesn't usually have to make sense.

[Annie Lynskey]

I mean, because Joe Biden called it the Inflation Reduction Act. That might have been a clue.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Annie Lynskey]

That is precisely not what it was going to do. Precisely not.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, well, Tim, thanks so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Hopefully we can. We can have you back in soon.

[Annie Lynskey]

I got. I do a lot of interviews here and there about politics and stuff, and nothing gets mentioned as much as the time that I appeared on Ruthless. Happy to be back.

[Michael Duncan]

Just a pleasure to have you, buddy.

[Annie Lynskey]

Thanks, guys.

[Comfortably Smug]

Thank you.

[Michael Duncan]

Every time the guy's on, he is just so good. And, you know, we had him right before the election. We have him again now. We're going to have him again, you know, in the future.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, Murtaugh's great. He's great. And he gets a. It's a great perspective of a guy who's seen Trump through both the 2020 campaign, the 2024 campaign. I think we were talking about priorities for the Trump administration. A guy like that's got a great insight into all of it. Again, our question of the day is what would a true reckoning look like for the journalists? We did all the stuff on the White House Correspondents association dinner and then patting themselves on the back, how great they did. They are the beacons of truth, these people. Impartiality, justice, people, you know, what does a reckoning look like? Like, I recommend a truth and reconciliation, like South Africa after apartheid. What do you think? I'm very, very curious. You gotta like and subscribe. Like and subscribe. I see the number one comment and I see this every episode. How don't these guys have a million? How you have a million? You should. Million subs on YouTube and all this sort of stuff. You are a part of that process. Tell your friends, tell your family. Share this episode. Get them to like and subscribe. And we're gonna get there. I think we're gonna get there, folks. And this was a banger. It was a great episode. I think we did it.

[John Ashbrook]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much to Tim Murtaugh. Thank you so much to the minions. Just like Duncan said. Send it to your friends, like and subscribe to the YouTube because it's more fun in video. So until next time, minions, keep the faith, hold the line and own gliding. We'll see you Thursday. Stay ruthless.

[H]

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