Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Is Mamdani a Midterm Curse for Democrats? - Election Debrief + Rep. Tom Emmer
Date: November 6, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Notable Guests: Rep. Tom Emmer, AG Mike Hilgers

Overview

This episode of Ruthless offers a sharp, irreverent, and deeply “inside baseball” breakdown of the recent midterm elections—with heated focus on Zoran Mamdani’s unexpected win in New York, Democrat and Republican turnout mechanics, coalition and demographic changes, and the panel’s trademark mockery of progressive politics. Special interviews with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Nebraska AG Mike Hilgers explore congressional and legal battles on topics from government shutdowns to foreign influence in state ballot initiatives.

Main Themes and Purpose

• Debrief on the 2025 elections: Dissecting surprising and notable results, especially Mamdani’s win in NYC and what it means for the Democratic Party going into future national contests.
• Coalition and turnout analysis: How Trump’s presence/absence shifts GOP fortunes, and what Dem GOTV (Get Out The Vote) now looks like.
• Mockery and satire: Relentless ridicule of left-wing talking points, progressive candidates, and the media’s election-night behavior.
• Special interviews: Rep. Tom Emmer on shutdown politics, Minnesota scandals, and House GOP prospects; AG Hilgers on foreign money in U.S. state politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Mamdani’s Win in NYC: A Blessing or “Curse” for Democrats?

• Radical victory: Mamdani barely clears 50% in an 8:1 Democrat city, with the party notably split (05:00).
  • “They voted de Blasio in and then they reelected him. And like, that's a city that does not want to learn any lessons.” – Smug (04:12)
• Speech highlights: Mamdani’s speech borrowing from socialist Eugene Debs drew laughter and alarm.
  • “I love how everyone knows Duncan's the guy who knows things…Eugene Debs, like the most radical socialist you could possibly name drop.” – Holmes & Duncan (03:38)
• Real vs. performative working-class appeal: Hosts mock Mamdani for LARPing as a tribune of manual labor.
  • “...this is for all those people who come home with their hands calloused—this guy's never had a real job in his life.” – Smug (07:12)
  • “Those people all voted for Cuomo, dude. To live with the consequences of your mismanagement.” – Smug (07:51)
• Democrats’ takeaway: National Dems, including Ben Rhodes, seem to misread the results as a green light for progressive candidates nationwide.
  • “Please run a Mamdani candidate for Congress in every one of these, like, Rust Belt states. Run them through the South. Let's see.” – Smug paraphrasing Dems (05:28)

Why Did Democrats Win? GOTV, Demographics, and GOP's Trump Problem

• Dem coalition: Higher-educated, female, urban voters were decisive. PhDs and young women “ran up the scoreboard” for Dems, while blue-collar and high school-educated voters leaned Republican but were outnumbered (06:03).
• GOTV via protest: The Dems' “new” missed turnout: protests, shutdowns, and local activism, not traditional field ops.
  • “Their GOTV now is protests, riots, this stuff...all these people with QR codes...I can take your ballot.” – Smug (23:49)
• Republican coalition struggles: Republicans can’t mobilize working-class, rural Trump voters during midterms/off-years; when Trump isn’t on the ballot, turnout collapses.
  • “Republicans have not been great in the last 10 years. If Donald J. Trump's name is not on the ballot, just haven't been.” – Holmes (16:02)
  • “This is Trump. He is one of one.” – Duncan (36:06)

Media and Establishment Democrat Spin (& Delusion)

• Van Jones' reaction mocked: The panel slams CNN’s Van Jones for being surprised at Mamdani’s hard-left speech.
  • “You just outed yourself as not knowing what you're talking about when your job is to be an analyst...I saw a couple of his TikTok videos.” – Smug (10:04)
  • “This feels like the Donald Trump ‘I didn’t hear that’ moment. ...Van Jones, I think, is a smart guy, but he knows he has to play this part.” – Duncan (10:59)
• Chuck Schumer’s discomfort: Schumer, knowing Mamdani would win, still avoids endorsing and even dodges publicly naming his own vote (12:12).
• Lesson for GOP: Radical urban Democratic victories can serve as “foil” for Republican campaigns elsewhere—if GOP figures out how.

Election Results Nationally: Blue States and the Midterms

• Don’t overread blue state wins: Panel stresses that Republicans always face an uphill climb in places like NJ/VA in off-years; keep perspective.
  • “Can we stop talking about New Jersey?...just look at what happened, right?” – Holmes (34:32)
  • “This is like pretending to be surprised that a Republican wins in Idaho.” – Duncan (35:25)
• Turnout and candidate quality: Key Republican failures are rooted in both turnout issues and lack of compelling candidates. Trump’s non-transferable appeal highlighted.
  • “Candidates matter, dude. ...Trump is a great, great candidate. And to your point, can anybody else be Trump? Nobody else can be Trump.” – Ashbrook (32:01)
  • “You throw your arm around MAGA and pretend you can lead it, you're gonna get your ass kicked 100%.” – Holmes (36:13)
• Women and Hispanics: Discussion on GOP struggles with women (especially younger women) and demographic shifts among Hispanics. Is the low turnout for these groups an issue or just a blip?

Practical Political/Electioneering Advice and Questions

• What’s the GOP’s ‘bumper sticker’ message?
  • “As cynical as it is, bumper stickers work. What's our bumper sticker? We gotta figure that out next year.” – Duncan (43:16)
• Suburban women and health issues: Suggestions that focusing on issues like school food quality and healthcare choices could help broaden GOP appeal.
  • “If you give these people concrete examples of what you will do...you show that you care. That's how you do it.” – Smug (27:28)
• Beware over-interpretation:
  • “Anybody who's telling you that right now is actually kind of lying to you.” – Duncan (37:44)
  • “We respect our audience enough to be like, we're not going to be like one of these talking heads who's like, I'll say anything to get three minutes of airtime.” – Smug (37:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Mamdani & NYC

• “This is such a theater kid communist revolution…” – Smug (07:12)
• “People with high school or below...tried desperately to save their city...and then you had, like, the PhDs...it's like 31% of the electorate has, like, a doctorate.” – Holmes (06:04)

On Democrat Coalition and GOTV

• “Their GEO TV now is protests, riots, this stuff...you go out there and then there's all these people with QR codes—have you registered to vote here?” – Smug (23:49)
• “You gotta show them that you care. And you gotta have something to address their clothes, or else they'll stay home.” – Smug (27:28)

On Trump’s Unique Appeal

• “Donald Trump is a one of one. ...There is nobody else in the Republican Party...that can carry the issue matrix that Donald Trump does into an election and execute it…” – Holmes (24:28)
• “You just throw your arm around MAGA...you're gonna get your ass kicked. ...You need uniqueness.” – Holmes (36:13)

On Democrats' “Takeaways”

• “Please run a Mamdani candidate for Congress in every one of these, like, Rust Belt states. Run them through the South. Let's see.” – Smug (05:30)
• “Chuck Schumer...famously didn't endorse Mamdani...was asked on election day who he voted for. Walks away.” – Holmes (12:18)

On False Media Analysis

• “Van Jones...he was using the microphone in a way that he was almost yelling. And that's not the Mamdani that we've seen on TikTok...” – Van Jones, quoted and mocked by hosts (09:40)

On Republican Messaging

• “Bumper stickers work. As cynical as it is, bumper stickers work. What's our bumper sticker?” – Duncan (43:16)
• “2022. Abortion. 2020. George Floyd. ...the modern day turnout mechanism that Democrats use to amp up enthusiasm for these elections.” – Holmes (43:21)

[Timestamps for Key Segments]

Mamdani & NYC Results (00:00–12:29)

• Open and main topic intro, Mamdani’s victory breakdown, speech, and implications.

Election Analysis & GOTV strategies (16:01–37:05)

• Macro view of Virginia/NJ/Georgia races, turnout differentials, Trump’s coalition, and Democrat energy.

Special Guest Interview: Rep. Tom Emmer (45:06–71:47)

Highlights:

• On Schumer & the government shutdown:
  “This is a scared old man. ...Desperately afraid of losing his leadership position before he announces he is not running in another election.” (48:01)
• On Minnesota’s SNAP fraud scandals and state problems:
  “Tim Walls is a very corrupt, fraudulent human being. ...Feeding Our Future scandal was the largest. $250 million. It was the largest pandemic scam in the country.” (55:14)
• On House GOP 2026 prospects:
  “Donald Trump did something that no one has ever done in our party...He broke the unholy alliance between Democrats and labor...He moved the needle with traditional Democrat voters…” (68:28)
• On candidate quality and redistricting’s impact:
  “A swing seat in the House is defined as something that can move five points either way every two years. Well, now we've got a whole bunch, depending on a charismatic candidate, a local issue.” (70:49)

Special Guest Interview: AG Mike Hilgers (84:17–96:51)

• Nebraska AG explains lawsuit against foreign funding in state ballot initiatives; Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss spotlighted; dangers of loopholes in 501(c)4 funding, and the need for more states to pass explicit bans.
  “We have a bipartisan law in the state of Nebraska that says foreign actors, foreign nationals, cannot fund ballot initiatives directly or indirectly. And we've got a guy in Switzerland...driving hundreds of millions of dollars into elections in the United States.” (85:20)

King of the Hill Game (73:36–83:50)

• Hosts compete with outlandish tweets (“ammo” for mocking former Republicans and deranged left-wing takes).

Tone and Language

• Entertaining, irreverent, fast-paced.
• Mocks both progressives and the GOP's failures in highly sarcastic and playful language.
• Emphasizes authenticity, skepticism of easy answers and talking points.
• Not shy with explicit language and personal/profane asides.

Conclusion & Call to Action

• Call for audience input: Encourages listeners to share what lessons Republicans should draw from Tuesday’s results.
• Reminder to join for the next live show at the Patriot Awards.

Lessons & Takeaways for Those Who Missed the Episode

• Big urban socialist wins split Dems and provide GOP with a “foil”—but only if the GOP learns how to capitalize.
• The Dem shift to protest-based activism and coalition with highly educated urbanites has changed the turnout game.
• Trump’s turnout (and appeal) is non-transferable: thinking other Republicans can “hold” the same coalition is wishful.
• Republicans must devise clear, resonant messages and find truly compelling candidates to compete, especially in midterms/off-years.
• Foreign funding in elections is a real and growing threat—vigilance and legislative action is needed at the state level.
• Never trust anyone (media or pundit) who claims to know “the one reason” for an electoral outcome right after Election Night.