Ruthless Podcast: “How Donald Trump Brought Israel and Gaza to a Ceasefire” w/ Eric Trump

Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Guest: Eric Trump

Episode Overview

This episode of the Ruthless Podcast features Eric Trump, fresh off the publication of his book Under Siege, for an extended discussion about the Trump family’s journey, culminating in the recent and historic Israel-Gaza ceasefire. The hosts and Eric Trump provide a raucous, humorous, and at times deeply personal dive into the political, international, and media landscape shaping this turning point. The episode balances serious reflection–including the Trump family’s legal and media battles–with the show’s trademark banter and biting political commentary.

Main Sections

1. Opening & Show Theme

• The hosts celebrate Eric Trump’s literary success and set the stage for a wide-ranging conversation on the Trump family, peace in the Middle East, political hypocrisy, and media narratives.
• Eric Trump jokes about his surprise at being a best-selling author, underscoring the day’s historical significance: "What the hell am I doing here? … As of this morning, number one on Amazon of all books. ... And it happened to be the day we get peace in the Middle East." (01:49)

2. The Israel-Gaza Ceasefire & Trump’s Role

Key Discussion (02:11–12:22):

• Eric discusses Donald Trump’s achievement in brokering the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza:
  • He frames it as a “crowning achievement,” impacting “hundreds of millions, potentially billions of people long term.”
  • Emphasizes the difficulty of the conflict: “2,000 years of culture, of two societies that fundamentally dislike each other...” (02:43)
  • States the entire journey—including enduring political and legal attacks—was “all worth it” on days like this. (04:07)

Host Commentary:

• Holmes notes that this is a “globally recognized achievement”—and “a universally accepted win for the world”—in contrast to previous ambiguous peace processes. (04:07, 12:22)
• The group underscores that, for once, world leaders across parties and even adversaries were calling for Trump to get a Nobel Peace Prize:
  • Eric Trump: “Every related party in this whole conflict is saying he deserves it.” (06:11)
  • Ashbrook: “Even that woman who recently won it … was like, you have to give this to him.” (06:11)

Memorable Quote:

“If you think about it... this is real transformational stuff. ...You’re transforming the lives of hundreds and hundreds of millions, potentially billions of people... Stopping death and destruction.” —Eric Trump (08:37)

3. Nobel Peace Prize & Media Double Standards

Key Discussion (05:03–08:36):

• Eric laments that despite “stopping the ruthless killing,” his father was repeatedly snubbed for the Nobel, while Obama received one “for spending $9 trillion in wars overseas. … They’d build a school, bomb the hell out of that school, rebuild that school, bomb the hell out of the school.” (05:03)
• Critiques how major awards “go to shit” once politicized: “Everything that goes woke goes to shit. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen with the Nobel Peace Prize…” (06:46)
• Anecdote about how he and his father turned around the Miss Universe pageant—emphasizing how “things can be fixed awfully quickly with the right leadership.” (07:21–08:03)

4. Personal Reflections on Sacrifice and Motivation

Key Points (08:37–11:56):

• Eric recounts personal anecdotes about the sacrifices made by his family and close allies, highlighting Steve Witkoff’s selflessness and his own taking over family business:
  • “My father came to me when I was 33 years old, ‘I need you to run the company. I want to go do this bigger thing.’ ...He walked away from it all. Spent a fortune. ...We spent $400 million in legal fees keeping the animals away.” (08:37)
• Explains that the motivation was “moments like this”—restoring respect, patriotism, and making a difference globally. (09:48–09:52)

Donald Trump’s Speech in Israel:
Eric shares humorous and memorable moments from Trump’s speech in Israeli Parliament:

• “At one point during the speech ... he looked at my sister ... at bibi [Netanyahu]: ‘Ivanka, she’s a proud Jew. She converted. ...This wasn’t exactly in the cards.’ Parliament was laughing. ...It was so real. ...It was so Donald Trump.” (09:52–10:44)

5. Domestic Reception and Political Enemies

Key Timestamps (12:22–17:48):

• The hosts play clips of domestic figures struggling to give Trump credit:
  • Eric reacts with frustration: “It’s so hard to watch this crap, honestly.” (13:45)
  • Jokes about Kamala Harris’s infamous “Space” event using child actors, lampooning her authenticity and political skills. (14:23)
  • The group plays and mocks Anthony Blinken’s declaration that the ceasefire was part of a “plan the Biden administration developed.” Eric: “He didn’t build anything… Blinken didn’t build anything.” (16:19)
• Emphasizes loss of American prestige under prior administrations and “restoring respect” under Trump:
  • “Obama would show up to China and they wouldn’t even bring a staircase out to Air Force One ... My father goes over there ... red carpet that’s about four miles long, ... 5,000 white horses...” (17:07)

6. Under Siege: Book Insights & The Trump Family Ordeal

Key Discussion (19:33–24:44):

• The conversation pivots to Eric's book and the decade-long political, legal, and media 'siege' upon his family.
• Eric details the onslaught: FBI raids, false accusations, social media bans, “de-banking,” legal indictments, efforts to block them from ballots, and even assassination attempts:
  • “They wanted us voiceless… gagged… broke... bankrupt… They took my father off the ballots in Maine... Colorado... I was the most subpoenaed person in American history for doing nothing.” (20:12–21:25)
• Reflects on perseverance: “That victory and that perseverance and that tenacity and not giving up led to… something that people are gonna be reading about in textbooks.” (22:56)
• On the motivation to keep going: “...if not us, who? … You needed two things in this fight. You need a deep pocketbook ... and you needed a damn loud voice.” (28:58)
• Recounts his grandmother’s wisdom: “Eric, how many steaks can you eat?”—a lesson about using fortune to help humanity. (29:32)

7. Reflections on 2020, Election Contest, and Political Battles

Key Discussion (24:49–26:58):

• Eric describes feeling in 2020: “We had the thing won, and then all of a sudden, all those returns started dropping at whatever it was, 1:30 in the morning. … We knew we’d won.” (25:47)
• Discusses the family’s resolve never to back down, even after immense personal and professional cost.
• Contrasts the conduct and scrutiny of the Trump family with the Bidens, expressing incredulity at double standards regarding Hunter Biden. (27:40–28:21)

8. The 'Dirty Dossier', FBI, and Political Weaponization

Key Points (31:01–37:23):

• Eric recounts being dragged into endless “games” by investigations, recounts being called to FBI headquarters over a supposed Iran cyberthreat, only to find out reporters knew before he left the building—citing it as “the politics that was happening at the time” and a “dark moment in American history.” (33:35–34:25)
• Rips the Russia hoax and its consequences for global security:
  • “Think about two nuclear superpowers who couldn’t talk to each other for effectively three years … because some greedy woman wanted, you know, three extra votes, want to make up stories like true. No one ever actually puts it in perspective...” (32:16)
• The entire segment is laced with incredulity and dark humor about the legal absurdity, bureaucracy, and media.

9. Final Reflections & Book Promotion

Key Points (37:40–38:23):

• Holmes hails Under Siege: “An absolute must-read story that you’re not gonna hear anywhere else.” (37:48)
• Eric congratulates the Ruthless team on their own success, celebrating the genre of honest conservative commentary and pledging to return often. (38:10)

Notable Quotes & Moments

Eric Trump:

• "[Trump] was so real. … It was so Donald Trump." (10:42)
• “Every day that he stops a conflict, every day that daddy comes home and gives somebody a little spanking—like, you know, honestly—that’s what he’s doing. … If America is strong, the entire world is strong. If America is weak, the world goes to hell.” (24:16–24:45)
• On media amnesia: “They wanted Trump dead… I had my two kids on my lap when I watched his hair almost come off, you know, and they wanted him again dead in, in Florida.” (21:25)

Josh Holmes:

• “He’s a storyteller, and he was crying.” (11:12)
• “A universally accepted win for the world.” (12:22)

Michael Duncan:

• “The only thing worse than radiation therapy is talking to Kamala.” (55:23)

Humorous Highlights

• Hosts lampoon Kamala Harris for awkwardness, referencing her “Space” event and inability to connect with people. (14:23, 51:14)
• Extended riff on “Veep or Veep” game, matching Kamala quotes with the show Veep. (14:34)
• Hosts and Eric joke about which Democrat “could have done what he did? No one.” (30:22)
• Succinct, sharp rebuke of left-wing city/state leaders in listener feedback. (44:47–46:55)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Israel-Gaza Ceasefire/Trump role: 02:11–12:22
• Nobel Peace Prize/Media Narrative: 05:03–08:36
• Eric Trump Personal Reflections: 08:37–11:56
• Domestic & Media Response: 12:22–17:48
• Family Ordeal / Under Siege Book Content: 19:33–24:44
• Election Contest/Estate of American Politics: 24:49–30:22
• 'Dirty Dossier'/Political Weaponization: 31:01–37:23
• Book promo/Closing: 37:40–38:23

Tone & Language

• The episode swings between earnest, proud reflection and irreverent, biting humor. Eric Trump and the hosts are candid, often using colorful and colloquial language (“shit,” “crap,” “lunatics,” etc.), and are unfiltered in their criticisms of political opponents and the media.
• Frequent inside-baseball jokes and asides (e.g., running gags about Kamala, the “Veep or Veep” game, hockey fights, and Katy Perry’s dating life).

Closing Thoughts

This episode captures a right-of-center, populist-conservative perspective on a historic foreign policy achievement, blending sincere pride with sharp humor and media skepticism. Eric Trump’s involvement (and book) provide behind-the-scenes context to the Trump family’s political and personal motivations, and the episode is both a celebration of a perceived world-changing moment and a playful roasting of political adversaries.

For listeners interested in:

• How Trump insiders view the Israel-Gaza peace process
• The Trump family’s motivations and reflections on their public persecution
• Conservative media’s critique of political and media double standards
• High-energy, candid, and often comedic right-leaning podcasting