Is Trump's Crime Crackdown Working? Libs Clash w/ Cops + Trump & Zelensky, Is There A Deal?

Summary

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Ruthless Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Is Trump's Crime Crackdown Working? Libs Clash w/ Cops + Trump & Zelensky, Is There A Deal?
Date: August 19, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook

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Overview

In this lively episode, the Ruthless crew takes on two major developments: the effectiveness of President Trump's federal crime crackdown in D.C. (and how the Left is reacting), and the dramatic summits involving Trump, Putin, Zelensky, and European leaders on the future of the Ukraine war. With signature irreverence and pointed conservative commentary, the fellas dissect media narratives, highlight the gap between political elites and everyday Americans, and torch both ideological enemies and laughable public figures in politics, culture, and sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Crime Crackdown in D.C.: Real Relief or Manufactured Outrage?

• Video Deep Dives:
  • The hosts react to viral protest videos of D.C. liberals booing and heckling police, including jeers about “eating a salad,” and mock both protestors and “the Left’s” outrage.
  • “The left is losing their minds. They're like, how dare they talk back to Shamu.” (John Ashbrook, 04:20)
  • Discussion on how liberals supposedly oppose the crackdown simply because Trump supports it, dubbing the reaction classic "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
  • “Trump says, crime is bad. I must say, Trump is wrong. Crime is good.” (Michael Duncan, 05:09)
• Local vs. National Media Coverage:
  • The team compares MSNBC/left-wing national coverage (framing the crackdown as unpopular, unnecessary, or even criminal) to local D.C. news, which reports most residents, especially in high-crime areas, are relieved by increased police presence.
  • “The city has really went to hell. Some D.C. residents want police help.” (Comfortably Smug, citing WTOP, 09:11)
  • The difference between "on the record" residents (openly pro-safety/crime reduction) and anonymous quotes in the Washington Post (downplaying the problems).
  • Quotes from local business owners reveal intense frustration and fear over ongoing violence.
  • “He says, quote, I think that we need it. The city really went to hell.” (Michael Duncan, 11:12)
• Wider Policy Implications:
  • Trump's crackdowns and use of National Guard are described as a possible template for other crime-ridden US cities.
  • “Trump is going to show a model of we don't have to have our cities in decline.” (Michael Duncan, 13:08)

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2. Trump-Putin-Zelensky Summits: Real Diplomacy or Media Farce?

• Media Narrative vs. Reality:
  • The panel roasts establishment and media coverage of the highly anticipated summit in Alaska between Trump and Putin, followed by Zelensky and European leaders in D.C.
  • The mainstream press is depicted as ignorant of Trump’s negotiating style and obsessed with optics (“platforming Putin,” “body language experts”) rather than substance.
• Trump's Negotiating Philosophy:
  • Trump’s philosophy is reaffirmed: keep everything on the table, never pre-commit, let the other side worry, and only reveal concessions in the room.
  • “Everything is always on the table till he gets in the room and he makes you shake his fuckin’ hand.” (Comfortably Smug, 41:03)
• Rubio v. Margaret Brennan Highlights:
  • Senator Marco Rubio (as Secretary of State) is praised for shutting down “humiliation-fetish” questions from CBS’s Margaret Brennan.
  • “Secretary Rubio has outperformed by like every possible metric…He doesn't take any shit from any media.” (Michael Duncan, 18:45)
  • Rubio explains that the purpose of the summits is real negotiation—not TV drama or pre-arranged walkouts for the cameras.
  • “Our goal here is not to stage some production for the world to say, oh, how dramatic. He walked out. Our goal here is to have a peace agreement to end this war.” (JD, as Rubio, 20:17)
• Substance over Optics:
  • The team notes that European leaders are coming to D.C. not because Zelensky needs ‘babysitting,’ but because “daddy Trump” is the power broker.
  • Emphasize that movement toward a peace deal, even without a final agreement, is progress, and condemn the pretense that “nothing is happening.”
  • “If you look at the six needles [sic] that we made peace…all at war. I didn't do any ceasefires.” (Donald Trump, 36:37)
• Contrast to Biden-era Foreign Policy:
  • The hosts contrast Trump’s “adult negotiation” energy, willingness to work late, and face difficult situations with Biden’s perceived absenteeism and process-driven approach.
  • “Now all of a sudden…Putin got in a plane and flew to American soil to meet with an American president because he wanted to discuss what the American President wanted to discuss.” (Josh Holmes, 26:27)

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3. Culture War & Media: Mockery and Meltdown

• Comey and the Taylor Swift Obsession:
  • The crew ridicules Jim Comey reciting Taylor Swift lyrics in earnest as a sign of media main-character syndrome and liberal cringe.
  • “If you're an adult man and you're at a Taylor Swift concert…we probably gotta put you in jail. Your hard drive should be searched.” (Michael Duncan, 50:17)
• MSNBC Rebranding Fiasco:
  • The panel laughs at MSNBC’s rebrand as “MS Now” and the network’s separation from the NBC news division, noting this as evidence of the collapse of institutional media credibility.
  • “You could rebrand diarrhea all you want—it still looks and smells like diarrhea.” (Josh Holmes, 53:47)
• Sports Media DEI Flunks:
  • A viral ESPN segment in which a host confuses a Detroit Lions Barry Sanders jersey for a much-younger player (Shedeur Sanders) is lampooned as emblematic of “DEI hire” failures and the death of expertise in sports media.
  • “If you confuse Barry Sanders and Shedeur Sanders, you should go to jail.” (Michael Duncan, 66:01)

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4. The “Fat Acceptance” Debate and Ozempic

• Wall Street Journal piece on fat activism & Ozempic:
  • Discussion about “fat studies scholars” and the rise of the “national association to Advance Fat Acceptance.”
  • Hosts mock the idea that modern anti-obesity drugs are a “problem” for professional activists.
  • “Ozempic is 100% making things worse for us, said Tigris Osborne, executive director of the national association to Advance Fat Acceptance.” (Michael Duncan reading, 59:10)
  • “We are going to make mediocrity acceptance…because you yourself are unwilling to be held accountable…we’re gonna make ourselves bow to yourself.” (Michael Duncan, 60:08)
• Broader Critique:
  • The fellas riff on America’s supposed “culture of mediocrity,” the role of health trends, and how both fat acceptance activists and extreme health influencers are treated as identity warriors.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On crime protests:
  • “They're like, oh, boo, go back. Be something else. And it's like, I don't know, you're fat.” (Josh Holmes, 05:04)
• On Trump’s negotiation:
  • “Everything is always on the table till he gets in the room and he makes you shake his fuckin’ hand.” (Comfortably Smug, 41:03)
• On Rubio’s media defense:
  • “Secretary Rubio has outperformed...he doesn’t take any shit from any media.” (Michael Duncan, 18:45)
• On the state of the media:
  • “You could rebrand diarrhea all you want—it still looks and smells like diarrhea.” (Josh Holmes, 53:47)
• On culture:
  • “If you confuse Barry Sanders and Shedeur Sanders, you should go to jail. National Guard. Lock her up.” (Michael Duncan, 66:01)
• On fat acceptance:
  • “Ozempic is 100% making things worse for us, said Tigris Osborne, executive director of the national association to Advance Fat Acceptance.” (Michael Duncan reading, 59:10)
• On Biden vs. Trump schedule:
  • “If you give Joe a melatonin, he's going to be catatonic for 18 hours.” (Comfortably Smug, 33:00)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Opening banter/protest video breakdown: [00:00–07:00]
• Crime crackdown, media/local coverage, and model for other cities: [07:00–13:30]
• National Guard response and policy implications: [12:00–13:41]
• Putin/Trump/Zelensky summit—setup & media narratives: [15:24–18:07]
• Rubio dismantles CBS interview: [18:07–22:02]
• Nuanced take on negotiations & peace possibilities: [23:00–25:35]
• Levity in diplomacy—Zelensky’s suit joke: [30:13–31:54]
• Trump on ceasefire vs. peace deal: [35:37–37:11]
• Security guarantees/‘boots on the ground’ question: [39:30–41:21]
• Audience engagement: What’s the right US role? [41:53–43:02]
• Listener mailbag: prison meal jokes & Shawshank riff: [44:00–47:50]
• Cultural segments: Comey/Swift, MSNBC/MS Now, ESPN gaffes: [48:07–68:45]
• Fat acceptance and Ozempic, mediocrity culture: [55:25–63:07]
• Closing: sports media & legacy, Red Zone warning: [66:53–69:02]

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Conclusion & Listener Engagement

The hosts close by returning to the question of the day:
What is the right role for the U.S. in brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine?
They invite listeners to drop their takes in comments, promising feedback on the next show—true to their interactive, community-building approach.

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Tone: Fast-paced, sarcastic, irreverent, laced with biting humor and bro-to-bro references but underpinned by a consistent right-of-center political analysis.

For Ruthless first-timers: This episode masterfully blends political deconstruction, media mockery, and pop culture skewering for a thoroughly non-PC, inside-conservative perspective—perfect for listeners craving both policy arguments and punchlines.

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Transcript

[Michael Duncan]

There was an obese protester who was like, you can choose to be something else to like law enforcement. And one of them was like, you can choose to eat a salad.

[John Ashbrook]

And the left is losing their minds. They're like, how dare they talk back to Shamu.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I just don't understand how Donald again. Donald Trump's been on this stage for 10 years and you're still asking him questions like that. Like, Donald Trump is going to negotiate against himself in public and say, you know what? I might not do something. What do you know about Donald Trump? Everything is always on the table till he gets in the room and he makes you shake his flock.

[Michael Duncan]

That's it. America is back. Thanks to President Trump and Leader John Thune's working family tax cuts. We stopped the biggest tax hike in history, but that's only the beginning. The big beautiful bill also cuts taxes on tips and overtime, secures the border, finishes the wall, and protects Medicaid for Americans, not illegals. Leader Thune and Senate Republicans got President Trump's conservative agenda done, providing real relief for every hard working American that's up early and home late. We're bringing manufacturing jobs back home and making America great again. Tell Leader John Thune and Senate Republicans thank you for delivering President Trump's agenda. Learn [e-mail].

[Josh Holmes]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[Michael Duncan]

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

[John Ashbrook]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Good Tuesday to you. Welcome back to the Ruthless Variety Program. I'm Josh Holmes with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook, left to right across your radio dial. As always, we are here in the nation's capital. I hope you're vacationing somewhere. It's August, for crying out loud. But we're grinding it out. We're doing our thing. A lot of stories to talk about. You're gonna have a banger of a show here. Wanted to follow up on one thing that we talked about last week.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay.

[Josh Holmes]

And it was the whole D.C. crime thing.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And it has played out very predictably. Like, very predictably. In fact, if you listen to those shows, we pretty much told you how it was going to happen and then also how it was going to become sort of a model for the nation. We'll get into that in a minute, but we've got a lot of stuff for you. We're going to recap the whole Putin summit situation that happened on Friday along with this Lenski visit which happened yesterday. Put it in context for you, at least. Give the fellas point of view. On all that, because you're not going to get it in the mainstream media. I mean, Jesus. No, you. I mean, it's just awful. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, their coverage has been just egregious. Incredible.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, it's almost like you have, like a 1987 version of Foreign policy that they're explaining to you like, oh, don't platform like, dude, shut the up. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

You know what I mean?

[Josh Holmes]

Like, none of it makes sense anyway. You're going to get the fellas point of view on all of that. But I thought we would start may perhaps with a little bit of a crime. Because there's good vid.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yes, there's very good vid.

[Michael Duncan]

I like this. This is. I think Duncan found this.

[Josh Holmes]

Right. There's good vid. So my guess is that you, scattered across this country, took note, obviously, that the President of the United States was gonna do something about the nation's capital in terms of crime or whatever. You've listened to the program. We said, this is gonna be pretty significant. Which he didn't understand is like, what's happening in local news and what's happening, like, with all the interactions. Cause it's real and it's happening, and we've got the stuff. So you want to just start with videos and.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I think we should start with the video, because I think the people protesting that we're trying to stop crime in D.C. it's some of the best content we could ever find.

[Josh Holmes]

It's incredible. All right, clip one, please. This is in a D.C. metro.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

People booing law enforcement.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. On the Metro escalator.

[Josh Holmes]

Eat a salad.

[Michael Duncan]

For the folks who aren't on YouTube, there was an obese protester who was like, you can choose to be something else to, like, law enforcement. One of them was like, you can choose to eat a salad.

[John Ashbrook]

And the left is losing their minds. They're like, how dare they talk back to Shamu.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

You'Re not allowed to do that. You're simply supposed to throw them fish.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing. It's like. It's so typical. And for so long, these people were indulged their little temper tantrums. They're being whiny babies of telling everyone, no, this country has to be mediocre. For me, because I'm mediocre. I think that anything should go and I shouldn't have to have any consequences for my actions.

[John Ashbrook]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

It's also pretty incredible.

[Michael Duncan]

Put her in her spot right then and there.

[Josh Holmes]

It's also pretty incredible to think that there's anybody who lives Anywhere. Who's gonna have a problem with reducing crime?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Unless you're a criminal.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

You know what I mean? Like, it's just.

[Michael Duncan]

It makes no sense.

[Josh Holmes]

They're like, oh, boo, go back. Be something else. And it's like, I don't know, you're fat.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, that's like the. That's like. That's basically, literally, it's the textbook definition of Trump derangement syndrome, where it's like, Trump says, crime is bad. I must say, Trump is wrong. Crime is good. It's like every position he takes, no matter what it is, they're gonna take the opposite. That's why he's 80, 20 on so many issues. Because he can be like, guys, I think we should stop crime. And lives will be like, no, crime is good. Now he's a horn.

[Josh Holmes]

We love crime. Crime is unique to our neighborhood.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

It's what makes us us.

[Michael Duncan]

You can't make it up.

[Josh Holmes]

It's what makes us us. All right, clip two. We gotta play. We gotta play a second clip here, but just set the table on all of this.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, you guys are ruining this contract.

[Josh Holmes]

You know that, right? Liberal's already ruined it.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Hell yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, let me see some badge work, guys.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, yeah, get. Oh, some badge work.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, can I see some badge work?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, I'm.

[Josh Holmes]

I've. I'm. Now I'm a paid antagonist who's more interested in stopping the people stopping crime than anything. So I'm going to see some badge work.

[Michael Duncan]

Can we get. Can we get a medal of honor for that officer who said to him straight up, like, liv's already ruined it. Yeah, but done.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think, to Smug's point, and you see it there, it's really not about crime. It's like, maybe this looks good for Donald Trump that he's able to stop crime, Therefore they hate that. I hate that.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

I hate that.

[Josh Holmes]

Which is amazing.

[Michael Duncan]

It's. That is so nuts. They're willing to literally burn down this country, let people get murdered, robbed, raped, as long as they can be like, no, Trump is wrong. America's already great in this house. We believe that crime should be legal. Get the hell out of here, man.

[Josh Holmes]

It's so incredible.

[Comfortably Smug]

But if you gave truth serum to like 80, 85, maybe even 90% of Democrats, they would admit that this is good. Yeah, of course they would. Of course they would.

[John Ashbrook]

They would.

[Josh Holmes]

You notice those who actually want to serve the country. Country for sure.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

But increasingly, there's not a lot of them.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I think there are. I think in fairness, there are a lot of them. They're just very quiet.

[John Ashbrook]

I have.

[Comfortably Smug]

Because I think they're just held hostage by the 10% of their party who are out and out Communists and socialists who live up in fucking Maryland and boo police officers on the Metro. Like, yeah, they're not leaving. They're not living. They're not living in Anacostia.

[John Ashbrook]

It is my very interesting to see Mariel Bowser, mayor of D.C. reaction to all of this. And she has said, like, you know, I don't love it. I don't love Trump, blah, blah, blah. But she has been a little quieter than I maybe expected her to be, and I think that's kind of a great. She's hearing from people in the neighborhoods who are like, wait a minute, I can drive down the street and I'm not gonna get killed now.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, on that score, and I think, old man, you're the one that flagged this for us. I was watching some local newscast after a golf tournament on NBC.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Somehow Scotty Scheffler won again.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Weird.

[Comfortably Smug]

You're telling me. For the first time.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. Yeah. Couldn't have predicted that. He's down six shots on Saturday. Figured out how to win the thing. But anyway, I was totally glued into that, and the news came on afterwards, and I was surprised that, like, the take of the local. First of all, it's the biggest thing in D.C. ever, in that they're like, federal takeover. It's like new graphics and all kinds of.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

But I was surprised by the take on some of it because it's usually dogmatically pretty liberal, as you would imagine. A city that votes 92% for the Democratic Party, like, they. They reflect some of that back. Not necessarily the case here. And I think you flagged an interesting article.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, I think it's fascinating because the dichotomy you see from say, like an MSNBC and how they're covering this Trump federalization of Washington D.C. versus local news. It's night and day. It's frankly, it's night and day. This is from wtop. If you're familiar with the DC area, this will be familiar to you. The headline here, this is again, local news.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

The city has really went to hell. Some D.C. residents want police help. Oh, shocking, because I was told on MSNBC and CNN that this was unlawful. Nobody wanted it, and everybody's protesting it. That's crazy. More from the article. Shortly after President Donald Trump announced that the federal takeover of the D.C. police Department, WTOP spoke with shoppers at Heckinger Mall in Northeast dc. Northeast, yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, no, it's a place that has a lot of crime.

[Comfortably Smug]

It could be a rough area.

[Josh Holmes]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Something needs to be done. Was said by nearly every person who agreed to be interviewed on the record and by those who just wanted to share their opinion over the next 90 minutes.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, wild.

[Comfortably Smug]

These people aren't booing police officers on the metro.

[John Ashbrook]

Here's the thing. I think that the key line there is on the record. People wanted to say on the record that crime is a problem and we would like safety. Remember last week, the Washington Post, they had a quote on background. The person would not reveal their name. And that person said, no, the city is fine.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, of course.

[John Ashbrook]

So the dichotomy there between local news covering the. The conversation of people on the record and the Washington Post covering the conversation of libs off the record, I think should be noted.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, here's a vignette here. More from the article from wtop, because this will. This tells you everything you need to know. A lot of residents shared stories on how crime in D.C. has affected their lives, from their son's murder during a carjacking to a group of teenagers slitting the throat of a friend.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, that's what DCs like.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm told crime's down in this city, though.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, no. If you listen to the MSNBC pundits, they're like, oh, the whole town is just like a big country.

[Josh Holmes]

And this is a reporter going to a mall. Right. It's not like seeking out victims of crime. I mean, the last one was a guy, a manager of 24, seven best tobacco and wireless tells you about the part of town that they operate in. Like, Craig, you need some. Need some smokes and a burner. You know where to go.

[Michael Duncan]

It's horrible. Like, they talked to the guy who works there who. And he said between 30 and 40 teenagers trashed the store last week. He no longer feels safe working there. He says, quote, I think that we need it. The city really went to hell. It's like, man, there's no one who works at a tobacco and wireless store, I think, who feels safe at work. I don't think there's ever been a case. If you're at a tobacco and wireless store, you never feel safe.

[Comfortably Smug]

But it shows you.

[Josh Holmes]

But it won't be on the front lines.

[Michael Duncan]

Seriously.

[Comfortably Smug]

But it shows you. And Holmes, you talked about this last week on the episode. But, like, it shows you why this federalization of law enforcement in D.C. is so important for Donald Trump. Because what he's doing is he's serving these low income communities who have a lot of crime that the Democratic establishment has been ignoring. And it's not just D.C. it's all around the country.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. So we talked about this a lot last week about how this was going to end up in one form or fashion as a demonstration project to states and localities across the country and that have crime problems in their major metropolitan areas. To that score, the Washington Post writes up what to know as GOP governors plan to send National Guard units to D.C. right. So they're starting to be a part of this D.C. story. And if you think it's just about trying to curry some favor with Donald Trump or whatever, like that's what the libs will tell you is happening. It's not. What it is is about trying to figure out and get some real time info from people that are stationed across this country about whether this is working or not, whether this is a way that you can actually make a lot of cities that have been uninhabitable because of crime habitable again. And that's what's happened. So national guard troops in D.C. may soon be armed. Separately, GOP governors say they'll send their own troops to the city. And I think. Smug you flagged this article. It seems like it's a, it's a pretty significant development.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. And I think this is the thing, is what the left really fears, as always, is that Trump is going to succeed and that what we're going to see is decline in major US Cities is a choice. It's one that the left has made over the past decade. It's the one Americans have had to suffer with. And Trump is going to show a model of we don't have to have our cities in decline.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

It's that simple.

[Josh Holmes]

It's totally true. And we're going to find out how this works itself out. But my guess is it's going to be a lot more adoption of this kind of thing than the libs would prefer.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh no.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh no. We come back, we're going to set our viewpoint on the Putin Trump meeting last Friday, the Zelensky meeting on Monday with European leaders. Try to give you a better context for everything that it is that you're seeing because, you know, frankly, you're not going to get it anywhere else right after this. 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. Okay, so look, there's a lot of people out there. The news is omnipresent about this big summit that happened in Alaska between President Putin, President Trump. It was everywhere. Everybody had hot takes, which it is what it is. And then on Monday, the entire European Union and Vladimir zelensky in Washington, D.C. and people are like, they're trying to figure out, one, why they give a shit. But two, like, what's. What is this? And I don't know, we've got. So we got some takes that I think if you listen to last Thursday's episode, was it Thursday or Friday where we did the full breakdown of the.

[John Ashbrook]

Friday.

[Josh Holmes]

It was Friday, Friday's episode where we kind of explained what it was. That is the Trump doctrine, I think, in a way that you're not going to hear anywhere else, because, look, there's a lot of people who don't kind of understand this. Hasn't. Haven't watched the way that foreign policy has been conducted in this country for an awful lot of years. And we have.

[Comfortably Smug]

And I think it's important for you, dear listener and viewer, I don't know how this is possible. We are now like, what, 10 years into Trump being on the scene and people still get it wrong.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, they totally get it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Time and time again, they get his doctrine of foreign policy wrong.

[Josh Holmes]

And it's not just ideologically left. No, it's. You get the libertarian side that doesn't get it wrong.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

At all, but then also manifests that this is his vision, which he got for the better part of the campaign, that he was like a. Somehow a libertarian leftist when it came to foreign policy. And that's of course not true. So we helped sort of reset that on Friday. But I think now, in the wake of two major events, we can probably help box this in a little bit. And the best way to start on this, honestly, is the quarterly tradition of humiliating Margaret Brennan on cbs. I have no idea. I guess it must be a fetish humiliation.

[Michael Duncan]

It's 100%. She has a humiliation.

[Josh Holmes]

It has to be something. Because Face the Nation pretends as though it's like this, you know, very serious. We're going to ask the very difficult questions and whatever, and some administration. It's either Rubio or it's JD that show up on this thing. And quarterly. It's. It's like, it's devastating.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, it's like, I don't know, It's. Dude, it's 100% humiliation fetish. She has to walk around the halls of CBS all day long and it's all just like live dudes who are like, yes, girl boss, go get em. And she's like, I hate these dudes so much. And then like JD Or Rubio show up and body bagger. And she's like, finally, I feel good.

[Josh Holmes]

And then they get a bunch of clicks because people are like, oh my God, watch this humiliation. They're like, look, it worked.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, that's right. I mean, there was a time in this town and in this media when Sunday shows set the tone for the entire week. And we've always said that Sunday shows have fallen off, but maybe they haven't fallen off quite yet.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, it's just a different genre.

[John Ashbrook]

Different genre.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah. It's more like the old school Daily Show Colbert, where it was all just a bit right. To get yourself completely humiliated.

[John Ashbrook]

Right. They're setting, setting the tone, but in a little bit of a different way.

[Josh Holmes]

I think that's right. I want to start with the Marco clip and then we're going to get to the flyover and all that other stuff. And if we can start with clip three, please.

[Marco Rubio]

You know, there is concern from the Europeans that President Zelensky is going to be bullied into signing something away. That's why you have these European leaders coming as backup tomorrow. Can you.

[JD]

No, it isn't. That's not what. No, but that's not why. That's not true. They're not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelensky from being bullied. This is such a stupid media. They're coming here tomorrow because Trump is going to bully Zelensky into a bad deal. We've been working with these people for weeks, for weeks on this stuff. They're coming here tomorrow cuz they chose to come here tomorrow. We invited them to come. We invited them to come. The President invited them to come.

[Josh Holmes]

What a legend.

[Michael Duncan]

I love that so much. Like, I have to say, like, Secretary Rubio has outperformed by like every possible metric, but the one I love the most is like, he doesn't take any shit from any media. He is unapologetic about how successful they are, about what a great job they are doing. And like he, I think when he rolled up, he knew. He was like, I know Margaret Brennan's into the fucking humiliation. I'm gonna roll up, I'm gonna humiliate her if she gives me a chance. And he did it right there and then.

[Comfortably Smug]

Also the idea that these European leaders have to come to D.C. so they can babysit Zelensky and make sure he doesn't get a bad deal from Donald Trump. Like, if you think for a second if Europe could solve this problem itself, it would try, and instead they have to come like children to D.C. and have daddy Trump solve their problems for them. I mean, that's the reality.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the truth.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like the idea that this somehow diminishes the United States. What? That everybody has to come to fucking Trump and he solves the world's problems.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, weird. Yeah. Oh, that's. What a terrible thing. America is leader of the free world again. My gosh, what a horror. Yeah, but it doesn't stop there. He's got another clip. Clip four, please.

[Marco Rubio]

But the President told those European leaders last week that he wanted a ceasefire. The President went on television, said he would walk out of the meeting if Vladimir Putin didn't agree with one. He said there would be severe consequences if he didn't agree to one. He said he'd walk out in two minutes. He spent three hours talking to Vladimir Putin and he did not get one.

[JD]

Our goal here is not to stage some production for the world to say, oh, how dramatic. He walked out. Our goal here is to have a peace agreement to end this war, okay? And obviously we felt, and I agreed to that. There was enough progress, not a lot of progress, but enough progress made in those talks to allow us to move to the next phase. If not, we wouldn't be having Zelensky flying all the way over here. We wouldn't be having all the Europeans coming all the way over here. Now, understand? And take with a grain of salt. I'm not saying we're on the verge of a peace deal, but I am saying that we saw movement, enough movement to justify a follow up meeting with Zelenskyy and the Europeans. Enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this. You talk about the sanctions. Look, at the end of the day, if peace is not going to be possible here, and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands. The President has that option to then come in and impose new sanctions. But if he did this now, the moment the President puts those additional sanctions, that's the end of the talks. You've basically locked in at least another year to year and a half of war and death and destruction. We may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there. We want to wind up with a peace deal that ends this war so Ukraine can go on with the rest of their lives and rebuild their country and be assured that this is never going to happen again. And that's the goal here. We're going to do everything possible to make that happen. If it's doable, it will require both sides to make concessions. It will require both sides to get things they're asking for. That's how these deals are made, whether we like it or not.

[John Ashbrook]

You know, traditionally, traditionally, I'll tell you, fellas, traditionally, slam dunk competitions have been won by JR writer Vince Carter, the Sean Kemps of the world. But this week it's won by a Cuban from Florida. Marco Rubio did a, a 360 tomahawk jam over her time after time in that interview. And I didn't know to watch him do it again.

[Comfortably Smug]

I didn't know he had that sort of vertical, but he pulls it off. I think the thing, I saw some other clips that went around from this whole interview that I thought were fascinating, and it's. Yeah, we previewed this on Friday. The way that the media sort of sets this narrative of what Donald Trump is doing, right? Like you're platforming Vladimir Putin, right? Like if there is any sort of concession to Russia as part of this peace negotiation, like, you have given, you're an asset, you're a Russian asset. And, and Rubio also disabused her of that notion entirely, where it's like he invaded a country, like he's on the world stage. I don't know. I'm not platforming, you know, Vladimir Putin. You know, he's been president of that country forever.

[Josh Holmes]

The rest of the world is fucking asking for it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

You know what I mean? Like, they pretend as though this is some kind of, like a narcissistic showdown that Trump has somehow taken upon himself. I give him a lot of credit for giving a shit, frankly. He gives a lot more shits than I do. Like the idea that you've got this faraway war one way or another. I understand there's an awful lot of American commitment that has gone into it. But you look at it and you're like, okay, well, Russia's paid a heavy price here. No matter what you think about where this is going and whether they're making inroads in Ukraine, whether, like, you know, they need peace more than the Ukrainians do or not, they're paying a heavy. This is Russia's Vietnam. Like, this is happening in real time. The fact that we give any shits about it, I think is a great credit to Donald Trump. There's some integrity involved in that. He told people he wanted to bring this to an end and that's what he's trying to do. And so the whole idea that you just sort of like reset this thing into this State Department bullshit where people are like platforming. Oh, you've, you have brought him to a level on the world stage. Right? Or like I was on Bret Baer on Tuesday and I think I told you last show where there was a Democrat that was making the argument that you never have a meeting with a world leader without an agreed to memorandum of what comes out of it.

[Michael Duncan]

Because that's worked super well.

[Josh Holmes]

But that's the perfect example of how foreign policy has gone wrong for so many years. And you see the euro still sort of do this. And we saw this in on Monday where every single one of them starts their remarks with like, I just want you to all know that our main goal is peace. We got. We fucking got it. Okay, I got it. Peace.

[Michael Duncan]

I got it.

[Josh Holmes]

You don't need to say it. What moves the ball a little further towards that. The only person who's talking about that are people like Marco Rubio and Donald Trump where they're going to and be willing to go meet with Vladimir Putin. They don't know what he's gonna say. They don't know. But perhaps they can move him just a little bit one way or another. Where the ultimate goal is peace here.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I don't remember the mainstream media talking about platforming when Hillary Clinton had her reset button with the Russians. I don't remember that. Did they talk about platforming in that context? Because I don't remember it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Or when Obama told Medvedev he has more flexibility after his election with Russian policy. Yes, yeah, right, exactly.

[Michael Duncan]

Or the current MSNBC host wearing a pink Russian hat.

[Josh Holmes]

This whole thing's a farce, but that's what it's designed to do. And that's what I think, like the core of what we're trying to communicate to you all is so much of foreign policy is a kayfabe. It is professional wrestling where they design things to appear as though they are whatever they are. Each constituency from the country that they represent have like one piece that they pre check with everybody that they're like, look, I need to tell my people I said this. And they're like, okay, that's cool, that's cool, that's cool. And then they Start with we all want peace. And you're like, okay, well, that's cool too. Like, none of it moves the ball any further down the road.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, because all of those people who are saying that they want peace on the left or in the legacy media, their version of peace is Vladimir Putin goes home and they have an unconditional surrender.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

And we've been.

[Josh Holmes]

Which is never gonna happen.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right. We've been supplying weapons to this war for what, three years or more and it has not happened.

[Josh Holmes]

Right. How about the fact that the guy he wanted to go meet in American soil? What does that tell you? Where are the thought pieces about the fact that the president of Russia got in a plane and flew to American soil to meet with an American president because he wanted to discuss what the American President wanted to discuss, which is peace in Ukraine? How about that being something that is, like, worthwhile of global attention? Like, it is, it just simply is.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's not true, Holmes. America was back when Joe Biden was president and we had endless war and no peace.

[Josh Holmes]

But I mean, just contrast the two.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, right.

[Josh Holmes]

Where you've got Joe Biden stumbling around the European Union, he's taking a shit on things he's doing, falling asleep in summits and, like, can't make his meetings because it's like afternoon, you know what I mean? Like, that's basically where we were. And now all of a sudden you get to a situation where you've got a President of the United States who' he's like, I don't know, I can't dictate the outcome. And they said this for 72 hours leading up to that meeting. I don't know what he's gonna say. Here's what I'd like him to say. White House said it, Carolyn Levitt said it, President Trump said it. They didn't know, but it was a worthwhile endeavor and one that their European allies were saying, please do it, please do it, because we're nowhere near it. And then all of a sudden they have a meeting on Monday, which after the Putin meeting, everybody's like, oh, the body language. Oh, it looked like Putin got what he wanted. Dude, it fel.

[Comfortably Smug]

First term Trump stuff I saw on cnn, I was like, at breakfast with my kids on Saturday, and CNN had a body language expert to dissect the Putin Trump meeting. It was hilarious.

[Josh Holmes]

It's unbelievable.

[Michael Duncan]

I don't wanna cause you problems, but, you know, as a body language expert, I wanna, I, I just want to bring this up. So if you look at the way Margaret Brandon is behaving. I think she undid a button on her blouse. Talking to her.

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[Comfortably Smug]

Come on.

[Michael Duncan]

I notice, folks, you can go look at that. I think it's a thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Absolutely hammered.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, people can get mad, but I. I think there was.

[Comfortably Smug]

How long were you saving this comment?

[Michael Duncan]

I was thinking about it. You guys were making, like, good points and I was like, I don't want to step on all these, like, good points and ruin it.

[Josh Holmes]

I noticed you were laughing. You were laughing under your.

[Michael Duncan]

Because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was like, dude, she, like, unbuttoned a button on the balls.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no.

[Josh Holmes]

Come on. Boom.

[Michael Duncan]

There's the proof.

[Comfortably Smug]

Come on, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

Come on.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm just saying, dude, I just.

[Josh Holmes]

I gotta.

[Michael Duncan]

Don't hide it with a picture in picture. I was right. Jesus. It's okay, Margaret. You gotta deal with all the lame ass MSNBC people and a real man shows up.

[Josh Holmes]

What a wow. We were trying to have a serious discussion here.

[Michael Duncan]

I just had to be honest.

[Comfortably Smug]

Thank you. Thank you, Smug for your leadership and derailing the segment.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my God, what an.

[Michael Duncan]

Tell me I'm wrong. I gotta be honest. I. I don't even know proofs in the pudding. The photo's right there. I see you, Margaret, but I mean, look.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, so hold on. There is things that happened after you get what you were saying the morning after. Body language experts in the New York Times filled with like, oh, a platforming. And like, did the US get what it needed? Maybe it was a failure. That's my favorite failure. Maybe it's a failure. Okay, well, I guess trying to bring peace is. That's a failure. Like, there is no such thing as failure. It's either like a continued war or an attempt to bring it to an end. And if it brings you a little bit closer, you know, who knows where it ends? But it's certainly not a failure. But that's the way it was dubbed. Listen to clip five. President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, look, you look good. I said the same thing. Yeah, I said, you're one that attacked you last time. See, that was it.

[Josh Holmes]

I remember that.

[John Ashbrook]

I apologize to you.

[Josh Holmes]

Look, you look wonderful. No, my first question for you.

[Michael Duncan]

President Zelensky in the same suit.

[Josh Holmes]

Dude. So, I mean, all of a sudden, like, other. The actual people who matter in this discussion are sort of getting it.

[Comfortably Smug]

There's a levity to it, and there's.

[Josh Holmes]

A levity and people know how to handle it. I mean, this was a meeting that looks stylistically identical to the fallout that we covered here on the program last spring, where Zelensky gets dressed down by JD and by the President and it, like, it goes poorly. The world community is like, oh, my God, this guy is falling. He's like, not looking totally prepared. He shows up in this suit. The guy that asks the question last time around comes back and says, hey, you look pretty good in the suit. And he's prepared for it. Like he knows the whole thing was prepared for it. Like he. But, but there, there, there's a graduation here in this conversation that I don't think can be ignored. And that's like a superfluous issue to the grand things of war and peace. But it's.

[Comfortably Smug]

I, I like Zelensky more now because he attacked the Journal.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, that's what I'm.

[Michael Duncan]

That's a great way to get people.

[John Ashbrook]

That's what I was gonna say. How about world peace breaks out because everybody wants to dunk on the journo.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

What do you say?

[Comfortably Smug]

You're in the same suit as you were last time. That's fucking hilarious.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, it's. Dude, there's just stuff here. And now if you listen to Trump here in clip six, a little bit more flavor.

[Donald Trump]

I just spoke to President Putin indirectly and we're going to have a phone call right after these meetings today and we may or may not have a try that if we don't have a trilat, then the fighting continues. And if we do, we have a good chance. I think if we have a trilat, there's a good chance of maybe ending it. But he's, he's expecting my call when we're finished with this meeting. Thank you very much.

[Josh Holmes]

So, I mean, look, it's a real, this is, this is what real things are. It's not about an op ed in New York Times or some fuckwads theory on Russian politics or whatever. It's that the president of Russia came to US soil to meet with this guy 72 hours later. Which, by the way, incredible schedule that President Trump is keeping. Got home at 3am in the morning. Yeah, that's the reset. And go back Monday morning with this cat.

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean, think of the dichotomy between Donald Trump and his schedule and Joe Biden. We had, we have Hunter Biden talking about, well, if you, if you give Joe a melatonin, he's going to be catatonic for 18 hours.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, dates.

[Comfortably Smug]

It was 18 hours. Right. And like, and Donald Trump is out there doing all of this stuff and like this is the price of peace. Right. Is like having a commander in chief who can actually do all of these things in a short period of time and spin plates. Right? I mean like this is what it takes to actually do it. You can't have a guy like Joe Biden who's barely awake for six hours and Elizabeth Warren's staff is running the administration.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, and you mentioned Joe Biden. And what I don't remember seeing over the weekend are extensive Washington Post and New York Times think pieces about what Vladimir Putin said, that war would have never happened without Joe Biden in the White House. I don't remember seeing an analysis from them on that.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, no, I thought that was a.

[John Ashbrook]

Pretty big news item and they just blew right past it.

[Josh Holmes]

And I just think that there's such a, like when your foreign policy establishment that's like pre memo clearance and whatever is controlling a narrative of something, it just misses something entirely. I mean I remember when I was a kid and I was too young to actually appreciate the significance of all of this, but like Bill Clinton was doing the Kane camp, David Arafat, Arafat and, and all of those, Ariel Sharon, like the, the big negotiation in the Middle east at the time and it was very unpredictable about how that whole thing was going to play out. But everybody was just over the moon about the process of it all. Right. There was no pre cleared memos. There was no, they were just like people are sitting down and that's the most important certain part. Now we're in an era where it's like, oh, we're back to a pre cleared memo. And like that thing didn't work out in the 90s in large part because the pre cleared memo didn't matter once all of them went back home and they were like, nah, we're actually professional revolutionaries. We don't have a job if we can't actually try to kill Jews every day. You know what I mean? Like that's, that's the way that that thing ended. This thing is real in that it's a real discussion. It's, it's something that these two parties have to try to come to grips with in order to make some kind of a deal. Would a deal get made? I don't know. Trump doesn't know, Zelensky doesn't know, Putin doesn't know. But they're trying and that is so much different than Joe Biden, the rest of these morons.

[Michael Duncan]

There's no more like zombies and a bunch of fail suns surrounding a zombie. This is real.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes. It just I think that all of the rest of this stuff, it starts to fill in a little bit more. Can we go to the next clip? Clip seven, please.

[Donald Trump]

I don't think you need a ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn't do any ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have. But I can also understand strategically we're. Well, you know, one country or the other wouldn't want it. You have a ceasefire and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild and, you know, maybe they don't want that, but if you look at the six needles that we made peace, you know, long term, long running wars, I didn't do any ceasefires. Would. I like, I like the concept, you know, I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you'd stop killing people immediately as opposed to in two weeks, weeks or one week or whatever it takes. But we can work a deal where we're working on a peace deal while they're fighting. They have to fight. I wish they could stop. I'd like them to stop. But strategically that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other. But all of these deals I made without even the mention of the words cease fire.

[Josh Holmes]

What it shows is an adult conception over a dynamic situation that he. And look, you can make an argument that we shouldn't be giving this much of a shit about any. It's not our problem. In a lot of different ways you can make that argument. The reality is that Donald Trump doesn't like war. He doesn't like, he's more than willing to take action on something in American interests that keep us safe. We've seen that with Iran twice. We've seen it throughout the Middle East.

[Michael Duncan]

Turn Solomon into salsa. Like the guy does it.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, you see that? But he really goes out of his way to try to broker peace. Where one could argue like, is this really America's role or not. But he feels like as long as he has the capability of doing that, because he has restored America's role as leader of the free world, that it is worth the trouble. And that is what puzzles me so deeply about where this foreign policy establishment or the, you know, the professional left has found these are people who, like, you know, came to power 50 years ago as like the peaceniks, people who are like, disapproved of every foreign involvement after Vietnam that the United States has ever made. And yet you've got the first president here sitting before us who's actually exercised what their claimed ideology is, and they're.

[John Ashbrook]

Finding problems with it because they claimed to be peaceniks because there were so many people in the country who wanted peace. But what they really were was leftists who wanted America to be a communist country. And those people have not gone away. They've only gotten burrowed into our own government. They're throwing sandwiches at cops and they're going on TV to talk about how much they like Taylor Swift. This president is rooting that out of this government. And that's, I mean, we could do a whole show on that. And that's not our topic for right now, but I'm telling you, it is insidious. And the left is trying to ruin our country. And thank God for Donald Trump.

[Michael Duncan]

And also, I mean, the proof's in the pudding, man. Like he said, straight up, I've done six peace deals. He's doing like a peace deal a month. Yeah, he is a busy guy.

[Josh Holmes]

Did everybody forget about the India, Pakistan situation?

[Michael Duncan]

He hasn't. And it's good he brings it up because this, the Trump doctrine has a record of success. We're seeing a peace deal a month. The guy wants wars to stop. Yeah, it's clear. And he knows.

[Josh Holmes]

He cares about it. I mean. All right, so one last clip, because I think this goes to, you know, what a lot of Americans are thinking about. Like, does this involve us directly? Clip A, your team has talked about security guarantees. Could that involve U.S. troops? Would you rule that out in the future?

[Donald Trump]

We'll let you know that maybe later today we're meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we'll be talking about that. They'll all be involved, but there'll be a lot of. There will be a lot of help when it comes to security. There's going to be a lot of help. It's going to be good. They are first line of defense because they're there. They're Europe. But we're going to help them out also. We'll be involved.

[Josh Holmes]

Let me tell you why this matters. So he's in the middle of the negotiation with Russia. 99.9% of presidents understand that there is no politics in America for United States troops being involved. It's the reason why Biden didn't commit any American resources despite his everlasting love for this war. It's the reason why every single politician on TV is like, well, but no boots on the ground, yada, yada, yada. He's not saying what you need him to say there. Only because this is a negotiation that he understands America. It has to broker. Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And how are you going to walk in a negotiation deciding that some things are off the table? That's not how Donald Trump operates. I mean, read the art of the deal.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like, it's not that Donald Trump is saying, we're going to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. He's saying, I'm about to walk and do a room with a bunch of the leaders of Europe and I want them to do something. Also, I gotta call Vladimir Putin later. So I'm not gonna go ahead and take an arrow out of my quiver to you in the media. So you feel good.

[Josh Holmes]

That's exactly right.

[Comfortably Smug]

I just don't understand how Donald, again, Donald Trump's been on this stage for 10 years and you're still asking him questions like that. Like Donald Trump is going to negotiate against himself in public and say, you know what? I might not do something. What do you know about Donald Trump? Everything is always on the table till he gets in the room and he makes you shake his fucking hand.

[Michael Duncan]

That's perfectly.

[Josh Holmes]

It's really, really well said. Yeah. No, that look, that's exactly what it is. So I guess our question of the day to all of you and we just laid out sort of our view of how this whole thing has gone. I don't know where it's going to go from here, but I do know that all of the European leaders that were here who are not pre programmed to say nice things about Donald Trump. I think the president of Finland said, boy, we're in a very different place thanks to your leadership than we've ever been. I think he said we've made more progress in the last two weeks than we've made since these inception of this war.

[Michael Duncan]

Straight up just said that.

[Josh Holmes]

Right? I mean, he just cut to the chase. That should be the headline, by the way, that you're reading as you're listening to this show. That's the headline because that was. That summarized the whole uptake of what happened yesterday. I doubt that you're reading it because platforming, it's so true, dude. You know what I mean?

[Michael Duncan]

100% right.

[Josh Holmes]

But we're in a very, very different, different situation. So our question of the day to all of you is what is the right role? Are we at it? Is. Is what you saw over the last 72 hours the right role for the US in terms of this Ukraine, Russia deal? Should there be more, should there be less? I understand all points of view, but kick it off, man. Throw it in the comments when you like and subscribe to the ruthless Friday program. We read all of them and we learn a little something from you. And we'll get back to you on Thursday with what it is that you had to say. When we come back, we have your comments from last episode which. Not as high minded, not quite as high minded as a elite foreign policy.

[John Ashbrook]

Discussion, but lovable nonetheless.

[Josh Holmes]

Candy and vegetables, as you recall, can we tease? Was all about the. It was, yeah. It was all about the DOJ employ you through the sandwich.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

And so here's the clip. There's the dog, he's got the pink shirt, throws it at the cop and off he goes. Right. So our question of the day was if his last meal was a sandwich. What do you think the next meal in prison is going to be? Your responses right after this.

[Comfortably Smug]

Our nation is standing up for American.

[Josh Holmes]

Workers, restoring the pride of making products here at home. That's what we do every day. We're America's beverage companies, making American products with American workers in America's hometowns, delivering brands that have been enjoyed for generations, creating good paying jobs, the kind that.

[Comfortably Smug]

Require only a strong work ethic because we believe in the promise of America.

[Josh Holmes]

And the people who make it great. All right, so you saw the video. This clown who formerly worked at doj who was in a pink shirt and way too tight khaki shorts and decided to throw a sandwich.

[Comfortably Smug]

Kind of a short inseam on those shorts.

[Josh Holmes]

I thought so too.

[John Ashbrook]

That's what they do.

[Josh Holmes]

Not good. Well, anyway, he threw a sandwich at a. At a cop and that didn't end well for him. And we asked you simply as the listener, if his last meal before being detained was a Subway sandwich. What do you imagine his next meal is? Boy, oh my. It produced exactly what we wanted it to. Thank you for the listeners. When you like and subscribe, we read all of your stuff and we start with the voice.

[John Ashbrook]

Okay, first comment comes from Daniel Friedrich. And Daniel writes, okay, please do your best Morgan Freeman impression.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes, do it.

[John Ashbrook]

Ash fucking Daniel. I gotta tell you, I'm not very good at Morgan Freeman. I've read a lot of comments before. I never read anything like this.

[Josh Holmes]

He's already nailed it.

[Michael Duncan]

Do it.

[John Ashbrook]

I must admit, I think much of Sean. I didn't think much of Sean Charles. Done. First time I laid eyes on him. But he might have been important on the outside, but here he was just a little turd in prison grave. Looked like a stiff breeze could blow him over. That was my first impression of the man. Sisters have taken a real Shine to Sean. Especially Bogs. Later, in the laundry room, they will generously serve him a full bag of little smokies, condiments included.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, my God.

[John Ashbrook]

Stay ruthless.

[Michael Duncan]

This is why we have the greatest holidays.

[Josh Holmes]

This is just awesome. Admirable work. Admirable work.

[John Ashbrook]

It's my best effort. You can't replicate the great Morgan Freeman.

[Comfortably Smug]

I really thought I was watching a montage from Shawshank.

[Michael Duncan]

Dude, that was better than Morgan Freeman.

[John Ashbrook]

His feathers are just too bright.

[Josh Holmes]

Sometimes I just miss my just.

[John Ashbrook]

Andy Dufresne crawled through a river of and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne headed for the Pacific.

[Michael Duncan]

This is so good.

[Josh Holmes]

This is why you listen to Ruthlessly. You don't know what you're gonna get.

[John Ashbrook]

Morgan Freeman's guys' legend.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally. All right. Comet. Who dunks? Run.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is from Liberty or Death. Quite the quip here.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, my God.

[Comfortably Smug]

His next meal is being upgraded from the 6 inch sub to the foot long.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my God. Just absolutely aggressive.

[Comfortably Smug]

I heard. Well, you know, I heard that there's been some debate on whether the footlong in subway is actually a true foot long.

[Josh Holmes]

This is where you're going with this.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, my God.

[Josh Holmes]

But do you have.

[Comfortably Smug]

I don't. I don't think his is gonna be short.

[Josh Holmes]

If it is, it'll be welcomed news. Comment 3 smugs.

[Michael Duncan]

This is from Ballast Groves and they write Pink Polo will have his choice of ethnic cuisine. Beer and brats. Frank and beans. Kiel, Boston Krot, pigs in a blanket. And he will likely become an unwitting participant in his own version of the Nathan's competition without the benefit of a poop hole loophole. Greatest audience ever.

[Josh Holmes]

We do have the best audience. Behold what greater fortune have we.

[Comfortably Smug]

Real different vibe than our previous segment.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yay. Wow. Listen. And we give you the candy and the vegetables here in the Ruthless variety program. That was some candy. Are you guys ready for more?

[Michael Duncan]

Always.

[Josh Holmes]

All right, so lightning round here. Clip 10, if you don't mind.

[Jim Comey]

You see, Taylor Swift and I go way back. I went to my first concert of hers 15 years ago. She's made clear that she sees Donald Trump for what he is. Last year, she urged Americans not to make the serious mistake of electing him. While our elderly makeup covered president is posting about whether Taylor Swift is still hot and declaring that he can't stand her. What's she doing? Living her best life. I bet you got pushed around. Somebody made you cold.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, he's doing lyrics.

[Jim Comey]

But the cycle ends right now because you can't lead Me down that road. You'll be glad I didn't sing that.

[Josh Holmes]

That's right.

[Jim Comey]

Because down that road is unhappiness thing I've ever seen. Nobody should have that power over us.

[Michael Duncan]

I think it's just really sad, man.

[Josh Holmes]

I actually really believe like this was somebody who at one point in time, to be honest with you, was considered a serious person.

[Michael Duncan]

So that individual, he just heard reciting like Taylor Swift lyrics. First off, I had to check. That wasn't AI that he actually posted.

[Josh Holmes]

This was for real.

[Michael Duncan]

And like that was the like Wyatt Earp for America. That was the head of law enforcement for America and bros. Like my first Swifty concert was 15 years ago. Now I'm gonna read you lyrics.

[Josh Holmes]

It's like as if Taylor Swift is like his friend. Like I.

[Comfortably Smug]

There's like he posted that on the official Jim Comey substack.

[Josh Holmes]

It's like a full. I guess it's a full somebody that he's hired.

[Michael Duncan]

What a weird dude.

[Josh Holmes]

Has tried to like SEO him into believing that like if you mentioned Taylor Swift, you get some kind of an audience.

[Comfortably Smug]

Ashbrook and I did America's Newsroom on Monday morning and they played this clip and my comment to Dana was that it has what the kids would call main character energy where it's like you try to insert yourself as the main character into everything that's happening in the quote.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that's just been him since 2016, you know.

[John Ashbrook]

And I, I have no proof of this, but I would be interested in your guys take. I think he was actually reading a script. No, dude, no.

[Michael Duncan]

I think you're being charitable. I think he's a weirdo. I think he's a really strange dude. Oh, you don't think he's got a lot of problems? I bet he's got a really like. You don't think he was reading the FBI director because he doesn't want people to go through his hard drive. If you're an adult man and you're at a Taylor Swift concert and you're not there taking your daughter and her friends, you know, we probably got to put you in jail. Your hard drive should be searched charges. That's so weird, man. That's so weird.

[Comfortably Smug]

But to Holmes's whole point, like why dude like, you were director of the FBI, I'm sure you got a pretty fat pension. You had that book, you know, that MSNBC pumped for you.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean people at one point thought he was a serious. Now we've. He's been disabusing of us of that notion for the last eight years.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right?

[Josh Holmes]

But at least there's a coalition of left wing lunatics that still think he's a serious person.

[Comfortably Smug]

What does it tell you about left wing politics that a guy like that still has to do that?

[Michael Duncan]

You know what? Like, I know there's like a lot of rumors about like J. Edgar Hoover, but I bet Jagger Hoover makes comey like, like J. Edgar Hoover looks like Conan compared to what Kony probably like, dude, I bet there's so much weird stuff there. I guarantee it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Dude, Parody, parody. We're laughing.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, that's so weird. It's so weird because, like, if you're doing that publicly, like in front of camera and widely distributing, it'd be like, yeah, you know, I'm a swifty, guys. If you have like no friend group of males to be like, bro, you gotta stop. God knows what you're doing.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I kind of agree. I mean, I would rather. I would rather smear on lipstick and wear a dress in front of camera than I would do something like, yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

That'S really messed up.

[Josh Holmes]

Rageous.

[Michael Duncan]

That's really messed up.

[Josh Holmes]

Not great. Not a great look anyway, thought you guys would enjoy that. Along the same vein, msnbc, boys, it hasn't been going, going well and there's a lot of discussion. I mean, if you look at the ratings there, it's like there are far more people listening to this right now than listen to all of msnbc.

[Michael Duncan]

It's incredible.

[Josh Holmes]

It's really gone down. And they have like a thousand people who work there and it's been a part of NBC and NBC and Comcast and everybody else is like, how about we just sort of like not do that anymore? So what they did is separate out MSNBC from NBC News. One is an institution. It's all the same.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, like, just for a second think about that. NBC News was like, you guys are too embarrassing. We have to separate. When NBC News is like, you guys are way too trash.

[Josh Holmes]

It's so bad.

[Michael Duncan]

Y' all are embarrassing.

[Josh Holmes]

So now they've formed Graphic one Ms. Now, okay? Which, believe it or not, is not a trade association representing multiple sclerosis. It is actually what they say is a news organization. As a cable news channel. MSNBC splits with NBC News. And this is according to CNN dutifully reporting because they're like, jesus, thank God.

[Michael Duncan]

They're hoping for an opportunity.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes, thank God. It dropped NBC from its name. And later this year, the channel will become Ms. Now, which stands for my source for news opinion in the world. That Workshop went badly. Yeah, that was.

[Michael Duncan]

But it is such a lib move. Like, this is your source for opinions. Because, like, thank you. Like, libs are like, give me my source for opinions. Like, I need a software update.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you could, you could rebrand diarrhea all you want. It still looks and smells like diarrhea. And I think that's the problem is a content situation. No one has discussed a change in their editorial content one way or another. In fact, they've been gobbling up apparently a whole bunch of journos that. I mean, you can see them right now. They're on there on Prime. No, you've never seen them, but they're on primetime right now. These are people that they've just hired over the last year and a half, two years. It's the same. It's just. It's the same thing.

[Michael Duncan]

So this news made me, like, super happy. Is the reporting that, like. Because Ms. Now, formerly msnbc, has separated from NBC, which means they have no access to the NBC Newsroom anymore. They have to fully hire, like a newsroom of like, you know, wire reporters and all of that from scratch. And so they're going to hire like all these people and in six months when this is all fucked, they're all getting fired. Like, that's going to be a great Christmas present.

[Josh Holmes]

It's going to be like cnn.

[Michael Duncan]

Plus, I'm going to celebrate so hard when all these people are leaving. They'll be like, this is because, like, Donald Trump killed democracy or whatever. I can't wait, man, this Christmas is going to be so good.

[Comfortably Smug]

I just love that NBC corporate basically pushed MSNBC out like a college shacker, you know. Here's your T shirt for the road, Mississippi.

[Josh Holmes]

Now enjoy. Funny. That's now funny.

[Michael Duncan]

That's funny.

[Josh Holmes]

And it's not advocacy for multiple sclerosis, just to be clear. Anyway, that is what it is. There's some fat news, fellas.

[Michael Duncan]

Let's hear it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Really?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. The Wall Street Journal's got in on this. In Ozempic world, fat acceptance activists question whether or not obesity is even the problem.

[Comfortably Smug]

Come on.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, it's a real thing piece.

[Michael Duncan]

It's incredible.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, we've gotten deep on this. In the world of fat activism, the O words, overweight and obesity are expressly verboten.

[Michael Duncan]

They can't even say that.

[Josh Holmes]

That's because advocates in fat studies scholar. Fat. There's a fat study scholar, by the way.

[Comfortably Smug]

Is that a tenured position?

[Josh Holmes]

Well, I don't know. The according. It's a paper of Records.

[Comfortably Smug]

Does it come with a meal plan?

[Michael Duncan]

Wow.

[Josh Holmes]

They want to destigmatize and accommodate fatness, their preferred term. Fatness, I guess, is their preferred term, which is unbelievable if that's what they've chosen anyway. And push back against the view that overweight or obese people should somehow be abnormal or deceased. Now a third problematic. Okay, word has emerged. Ozempic. From the perspective of these activists and scholars, the hype around GLP1 agonists, for which Ozempic has become the catch all term only dials up the pressure to lose weight. So these people go on to explain that their whole identity and what they do for a living is to just, just sort of like, represent the fats.

[Michael Duncan]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

And like Ozempic, which has made a bunch of fat people not fat, is caused a real problem.

[Michael Duncan]

And you know what? Like, they need to get the memo, America's done with mediocrity. Like, we have to be honest, like, we're done with this. Like, because here's the thing is this whole culture of like, fat shaming and fat acceptance, it's extremely, extremely unhealthy. All this is saying is, like, listen, you know, we don't want to use the O word, obesity, because we think it's fine if you get diabetes, you're getting your foot cut off. And we're going to create a culture where like, yeah, it's fine not to be healthy and you can go to Disney and we're going to tell you where you can eat like more sugar and more butter and things that can make you in a worse and worse situation. And like, we're going to accept as American because the whole world's conception of America is, wow, that's the country where everyone just is super fat and unhealthy and, and accepting that mediocrity, not only is it horrible spiritually for a country to be like, yeah, we're fine with, with mediocrity, but also our health care system is buckling under the amount of every. You say buckling is under the. Under the weight?

[Comfortably Smug]

Thought they were unbuckling of all this.

[Josh Holmes]

They're buckling under the weight, under the weight. I just think it goes back to the eternal, like, reoccurring theme here on the Ruthless Friday program, which is that there is an organization for everything.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, an organization for everything, but also specifically a nonprofit industrial complex that exists to persist itself. Right. Like, this would be like the same as the American Medical association being like, I, I hate this cure for cancer.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know what I mean?

[Michael Duncan]

That's what scares? Because, like, the medical establishment's been somewhat captured by this.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

For years.

[Comfortably Smug]

And the Institute for Peace, like, they need some wars happening in order to get.

[Josh Holmes]

And we cut. Yeah. And we covered that great length. Big tree. Christmas tree.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

And how upset they were about artificial treats.

[Comfortably Smug]

Exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

This big tree would be out of work if you just all had artificial trees.

[John Ashbrook]

Organization for everything.

[Josh Holmes]

So. So here it is. Yeah. I think we've got a quote here. I don't know which one of you guys wants to use this one.

[Michael Duncan]

I want to read it. I want to read it because this is so pathetic. This is quote. Ozempic is 100% making things worse for us, said Tigris Osborne.

[Comfortably Smug]

Tigris.

[John Ashbrook]

Is that a given name?

[Michael Duncan]

Seriously? Like executive director of the national association to Advance Fat Acceptance. That is like probably the number one group that should be disbanded. Like, think about, like, why are you trying to increase fat acceptance? Like, that is just straight up telling people, we want you to get diabetes. We want you to get your foot cut off. We want you to have worse health outcomes. We want every American taxpayer to pay for you to have worse health outcomes. That is horrible. How do you have like that era, by the grace of God is done. We are over that. We are so done with that. America doesn't have to be like, everyone. We are going to make mediocrity acceptance. And because you yourself are unwilling to be held accountable to any sort of standards, we're gonna make ourselves bow to yourself.

[John Ashbrook]

I don't know. Smug. I really don't know. Unless every one of your major organs is wrapped in visceral fat, you are not living your best life.

[Josh Holmes]

Unless you have a broken wrapped midsection. It's not going to work. Well, I mean, the point. I guess the point of all of this is that they can't. They simply can't go on with no fads.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

So that this is a problem.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, it's crazy because, like, you know, we're seeing these wonderful things happening with rfk. I mean, getting like artificial food coloring out of like kids food and stuff. Like, this country's headed in a terrific direction. We're all my friend groups, like, are headed towards, you know what I'm thinking? Healthier. I went to a restaurant with some friends the other week where it was named, like, the most healthy restaurant in town because nothing was cooked in like seed oils. Everything was. It tasted phenomenal.

[Josh Holmes]

Can I be honest?

[Michael Duncan]

Wow. Healthy food. Who would have known?

[Josh Holmes]

Can I be honest?

[Comfortably Smug]

Hold them accountable.

[Josh Holmes]

That annoys the out of me.

[Michael Duncan]

Look, at this. Someone's on the payroll of Big Fat.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I mean, look, Big Fat's powerful lobby, they haven't gotten to me yet. But. But I. I will say I'm also equally annoyed by this.

[Michael Duncan]

Did you and your missus come with us? The food was terrific.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, my wife.

[Michael Duncan]

It was so good.

[Josh Holmes]

Into the Mahas stuff, dude. Yeah, she's all into it. But I'm just saying, like, though I.

[John Ashbrook]

That's it, you'd like a chicken wing here and there.

[Michael Duncan]

The vanguard of this, similar as my wife, the vanguard of Maha, is the conservative women who are going to save this country and make all of us healthy. Because, like, if it was up to me, like, when my wife's out of town, bro, I'll be honest. I'm eating pizza and Taco Bell. Like, I'll be real. I'm not going to lie. It's like, when she's in town and she's making, like, you know, lean food and protein, everything. Yeah, we eat healthy and she likes that. But thank God we have that because on the other side, they've got the national association of Fats.

[Josh Holmes]

I guess, look. I guess look, I totally appreciate the idea that we are all thinking healthier and that we've got some insight into shit that everybody's just consumed that may not be good for you. Love it. I think that's a great thing. You can make your choices. Can you stop talking about it? Like, I don't need. No, I don't need 8,000 Instagram feeds about, like, the, you know, the. The wood chips outside of your house that are somehow gonna give you fucking stage.

[Michael Duncan]

I like it, dudes, dude, you know.

[Josh Holmes]

Like, I just can't.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm so deep in the tunnel. Like, I point. I'm so crazy, bro. No, like, I'm super crazy.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, no, you've always been this way.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm kind of. I'm kind of with you, Holmes.

[Michael Duncan]

I don't want it, like, when it comes here, bro. No, it's super crazy.

[Comfortably Smug]

Look, we should all make healthier choices and we're not gonna be stigmatizing anybody. But I like to treat my, like, diet or what I'm gonna eat sort of like a Catholic, you know, like, if I've been bad, I have to go to confessional.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And eat a salad. But I don't, like, post it on Instagram and talk about how great of a person I am, because I have.

[Josh Holmes]

I see. If it becomes an identity, it becomes an identity.

[Michael Duncan]

You don't need to transmit it.

[Josh Holmes]

It is the Same. And I guess the roundabout thing is it's the same thing as the national association of Fats. Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

Like that.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, God. Well, today I've done X win, by the way, take your air pods out, because they're gonna give you all kinds of, like, shut the fuck up. Like, you can tell me about.

[Michael Duncan]

I'll say one thing is I like. I like some of the, like, really crazy shit out there because I like doing crazy shit just for the sake of being crazy. Like, someone posted this thing. They're, like, off council plane, like, injected, like, methylene blue into his water. And I don't know what methyl and blue does, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

Why?

[Comfortably Smug]

Over that shit? No, don't do that. No, I'm cutting out the seed oils.

[Michael Duncan]

My wife's worried. But I like doing the crazy shit. I advise everyone just do the crazy shit.

[Comfortably Smug]

Smug's gonna end up like one of those pigs with blue insides.

[Josh Holmes]

The Secretary of Health and Human Services here on the roof is Friday program comfortably smuggler. Another thing that caught our eye. This thing is perfect. We've been critical of ESPN over the years, rightfully so. And they made a change at some point four years ago where they decided not to just do cultural commentary was like, Jamel Hill and all that stuff or whatever. They made the greatest show in all of sports, NFL primetime unwatchable for a period of time.

[Michael Duncan]

How tough is it to do that?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, it's very hard. They moved off of it and, like, they've gone back the other way still. I still like the show, but there's still elements of what we're talking about that persist throughout there that I find completely hilarious. Can we watch clip 11? All right, so the jersey. Let's get into it. Because obviously this ties to one Shador Sanders, who balled out in his first. No, no, no, no. This is. I'm sorry about that. The guy is wearing a blue and silver number 20 with Sanders on it. And she's like, well, so obviously this is a Shadour Sanders jersey, right? This is a sports show. Anybody who's watching this is a sports fan. First of all, if you're watching this, you're really a sports fanatic. Cause this show looks fucking terrible, right? But if you're watching it, you're like, oh, no, I know exactly what this is. And she's like, ah, it's obviously I should do it, because that happened six minutes ago. And that's all my frame of reference.

[Comfortably Smug]

In the jersey of a team. He doesn't play for me. Sports expert on television.

[Michael Duncan]

I hate espn. So much. But, like, the one benefit of this is, let's put the nail in the coffin of dei. There is no reason you need this woman who doesn't know a Barry Sanders jersey to be put on a sports show, an NFL show, to talk about football. What insight are you offering me? You don't know who Barry Sanders is. I don't think you should be off NFL. I think you should be in jail. Get the hell out of here.

[Josh Holmes]

Come here.

[Michael Duncan]

How the hell are you, an adult in this country, trying to talk about the NFL and you don't know who Barry Sanders is? If you confuse Barry Sanders and Shadur Sanders, you should go to jail. National Guard. Lock her up. That's the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in my life, man. Dude, if you said that around your friend group, you'd never come back. You're kicked out of the fantasy team.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, and in the spirit of dei, the erasure of Barry Sanders, arguably the greatest running back in the history of the NFL. Yes. I mean, you look at the. Just the shiftiness and everything, but the fact that he had to play for a terrible franchise for all those years and just get beaten up, carrying the ball 40, 45 times a game in an offensive line that was put together with band aids, you know, like, this guy was a magician. And the idea that you could be on television to talk about football and not know who Barry Sanders is, I mean, it's. This is a travesty.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing is it's. It's so tragic because, like, he never got a Super bowl ring. It was like he was an NFL player on a pee wee league, bro.

[Comfortably Smug]

Just straight up gave up. Like, he still had, like four or five years in him, and he's like.

[Josh Holmes]

Nah, nah, I'm good.

[Michael Duncan]

I'm good. He deserves so much better. She doesn't even know who he is. It's just a upsetting.

[Josh Holmes]

You put a quarter in your back.

[Michael Duncan]

And it made me so mad when I saw that. It made me so mad. I was like, oh, this is everything wrong, but dial her.

[Josh Holmes]

But honestly, it's a. It's sports, so it's more obvious and there's more people that can relate. This is what you've seen. This is why it's Ms. Now.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, that dude. That is 100% right.

[Josh Holmes]

Because time didn't exist before 2017 to these people.

[John Ashbrook]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

It's. It's like there's no historical. There was a time and place where if in order to give commentary, like the ones that we're Giving here right now. You needed not only live it, you needed to have historical reverence for it. You needed to appreciate the historical backdrop of which you are commentating on to provide some insight into what you're currently seeing. It's politics, it's news, it's sports. And this is a perfect example. Like, how do you not. How do you not know?

[Michael Duncan]

I think, you know, I think ESPN recognizes what a mess that they are in because of garbage like this, where, like, news just broke that, like, Rich Eisen is now on the, like, new ESPN streaming platform or whatever.

[Josh Holmes]

Rich Eisenhower, they bought the NFL Network.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So, like, Rich. We put a better numbers in. Rich Eisen's use YouTube and they're like, still, bring him in. I love Rich Eisen, but, like, man, they need a lot of help.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, Rich Eisen's talented.

[JD]

He is.

[Josh Holmes]

He's very talented. I actually, if.

[Michael Duncan]

Because hopefully this is a recognition of espn. Like, we're in such a bad place.

[Josh Holmes]

We gotta go back, gotta do something. But if they ruin Red Zone. Oh, we riot.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

We're gonna make January 6th look like a tea party.

[Josh Holmes]

They cannot Just a warning. Do not.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's not a warning. It's a promise.

[Michael Duncan]

It's a promise, bro.

[John Ashbrook]

Don't ruin it.

[Josh Holmes]

Do not ruin it. All right, so remember our question of the day. What is the right role for the US in the Ukrainian Russian deal in a peace deal with Europe? You like and subscribe and you can give us your comments. We read all of them, we learn a little bit about it, and then we'll give them back to you. Cultivated on Thursday. With that, folks, I think we did it.

[Michael Duncan]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much to the Minions. Remember, if you have not yet subscribe to the YouTube, it is more fun in video. So until next time, Minions, keep the faith, hold the line, and own the libs. We'll see you on Thursday. Stay ruthless.