It’s worse than you think in Minnesota + Daniel Cameron joins the Progrum

Summary

Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: It’s worse than you think in Minnesota + Daniel Cameron joins the Progrum
Date: February 13, 2026
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook

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Overview

This episode of the Ruthless Podcast is a classic “Fun Time Friday”—an irreverent, high-energy romp through the week's most absurd, alarming, and hilarious political stories. The hosts hit on left-wing dysfunction in Minnesota, a bizarre STD outbreak, rampant blue-state fraud, and turn a comedic eye towards Irish and Italian stereotypes before featuring a substantive interview with Kentucky Senate candidate Daniel Cameron. The tone veers from laughter to outrage, blending lively banter with conservative critique.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Minnesota: Epicenter of Progressive Madness

• Fungal STD Outbreak:
  • Minnesota's been reported as having the “nation's largest known outbreak” of TMVII, a sexually transmitted fungal infection causing severe ringworm, per WCCO (06:03).
  • The hosts lampoon this as a consequence of “left wing psychopaths who don't like to take showers” (00:04; 09:49, Smug), drawing wild and comic parallels to "zombie apocalypse" themes and referencing the “Last of Us” cordyceps fungus (07:48–08:05).
• Link to Political Dysfunction:
  • The crew riff on how Minnesota seems to be the root of every national horror from money-laundering, DNC links, to importing “socialist activists” (09:37–09:58).
  • “Everything awful in this country is in Minnesota, is being done in Minnesota.” — Michael Duncan (11:22)

Notable Quote:

"This is essentially zombie apocalypse AIDS is what's happening here."
— Michael Duncan, 08:41

[06:03–12:13]: Minnesota STD Outbreak & Satirical Air Strikes Proposal

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2. Dark Comedy over Blue-State Absurdities

• Double Luge Segment:
  • The team moves from fungal infections to a video of Minnesota’s double luge team, both roasting and weirdly admiring Olympic athletes willing to “ride another man for [their] country” (15:01).
  • “If you do that for America, you're a fucking patriot.” — Comfortably Smug (14:41)
• Attacking Political Figures:
  • Focus on Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s federal testimony. The hosts mock Ellison’s comparing federal law enforcement presence to the Boston Massacre (16:25).
  • Senator Josh Hawley’s grilling of Ellison is celebrated as an overdue moment of accountability (19:25).

Notable Quote:

“That's what accountability looks like. Of which you've had none. You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government of $9 billion, and you got a fat campaign contribution out. You ought to be indicted.”
— Senator Josh Hawley (as quoted by Daniel Cameron), 19:28

[13:15–20:09]: Keith Ellison, Congressional Testimony, and Hawley’s Takedown

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3. Blue-State Fraud and Portland Horror Stories

• Oregon Medicaid & Drug Fraud Unveiled:
  • The Real Clear Investigations report by Mark Hemingway highlights an illegal Venezuelan gang member who both sells fentanyl and runs a Medicaid-funded “addiction recovery” LLC, receiving $2.1 million in government funds (29:10–30:57).
  • The racket is described as “vertically integrated crime” (30:07), emblematic of how easy it is to defraud blue-state systems.

Notable Quote:

“He's taken Medicaid money in under one year. He gives people the fentanyl, and then... gets money from the state as a recovery [provider].”
— Comfortably Smug, 29:46

[26:28–32:34]: Portland Drug Dealer/Recovery Provider Medicaid Scandal

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4. Lamenting Media Malfeasance & National Spread

• Failure of Local Journalism:
  • The episode calls out Oregon’s media for ignoring massive fraud stories, indicting the “left wing media complex” for protecting criminality (35:27).
• Nationalization of Scandals:
  • The hosts argue Minnesota and Portland are “the tip of the iceberg”—these schemes are widespread (33:59–34:23).

Notable Quote:

“These newsrooms that are full of left wingers have ruined this country. And until the media in this country starts to take some responsibility… it's only going to get worse.”
— Elliott, 36:06

[32:34–36:24]: Media Critique & Spreading Blue-State Catastrophe

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5. Irish and Italian Stereotypes: Olympic Medals & ICE Detention

• ICE Detains Irishman:
  • An Irishman, Seamus Culliton, in ICE custody for overstaying his visa becomes a cause célèbre in left-wing media, but the hosts debunk this as a fake-news narrative; Seamus actually refused deportation and faced criminal charges back in Ireland (40:23–45:20).
  • The left thought this would expose racism but were undermined as facts emerged.

Notable Quote:

“They genuinely thought that anybody who wants a secure border is just a racist… turns out Seamus has got a few things going on in Ireland.”
— Josh Holmes, 43:45

Italian Medal Engineering Fail:

• Ongoing Olympic coverage lampoons Italian engineering after several medals literally break when athletes celebrate (“Made from Italian garbage”) (61:12–65:02).

[36:31–48:41]: Irish ICE Saga and Media Exploitation

[60:09–65:10]: Italian-Made Olympic Medal Meltdown

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6. Olympic Absurdities, Norwegian Confessional, and Sports Psychology

• Norwegian Skier's Emotional Interview:
  • An Olympic bronze medalist from Norway uses his interview to publicly confess infidelity, sparking hilarious takes from the hosts about sports psychology and motivation (53:43–58:19).
• Philosophy of Motivation:
  • Hosts debate whether great athletes need internal turmoil or love to succeed.

Notable Quote:

“If you do that for America, you are a goddamn patriot.”
— Comfortably Smug on double luge, 13:44

[53:38–59:07]: Athletic Confessions, Cheating, and Olympic Follies

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7. Exclusive Interview: Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Senate Candidate

[65:13 to End of Episode (~87:14)]

Race Overview & Motivation

• Daniel Cameron, former Kentucky Attorney General, is running for the open U.S. Senate seat.
• “We need a country that's built on merit, excellence, intelligence, and integrity.”
  — Daniel Cameron (67:31)
• Emphasizes track record: reopening churches during COVID, fighting vaccine mandates, standing up for “common sense constitutional rights” (69:05–71:50).
• Grassroots focus: highlights importance of dedicated local volunteers (73:40–75:44).

Lessons Learned

• Cameron reflects on differences between his gubernatorial and Senate campaigns, emphasizing the importance of broad, grassroots engagement and learning from electoral setbacks (73:40).

Key Platform Issues

• Economic Policy: Putting more money in constituents' pockets; low-cost energy and Kentucky’s advantages in coal/natural gas.
• Immigration: Supports strong border enforcement and opposes policies fostering fentanyl trafficking.
• Political Approach:
  • Takes a positive, unity-focused stance, refusing to attack fellow Republicans personally (82:08–84:14).
  • Addresses the “McConnell question” with candor, noting all Kentucky GOP politics pass through McConnell’s orbit.

Notable Quotes:

“Money doesn’t vote, people do.”
— Daniel Cameron, 76:44

“There isn’t a damn person in Republican politics in Kentucky [who didn’t work for McConnell].”
— Josh Holmes, 81:58

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8. Listener Question of the Day

• Prompt:
  “What's the most obvious fake news story you've seen about illegal immigration in the last year?”
  Episode invites listeners to respond with stories from their local communities, emphasizing how national headlines often prove misleading upon scrutiny (49:04–50:23).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Everything awful in this country is in Minnesota, is being done in Minnesota.” — Michael Duncan (11:22)
• “This is essentially zombie apocalypse AIDS…” — Michael Duncan (08:41)
• “If you do that for America, you're a fucking patriot.” — Comfortably Smug (14:41)
• “That's what accountability looks like. ...You ought to be indicted.” — Senator Josh Hawley (as quoted, 19:28)
• “He gives people the fentanyl, and then... gets money from the state as a recovery [provider].” — Comfortably Smug (29:46)
• "Money doesn’t vote, people do." — Daniel Cameron (76:44)
• “They genuinely thought that anybody who wants a secure border is just a racist… turns out Seamus has got a few things going on in Ireland.” — Josh Holmes (43:45)

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Important Timestamps

• [06:03–12:13]: Minnesota’s fungal STD outbreak riff
• [13:15–20:09]: AG Ellison testimony & Josh Hawley accountability
• [26:28–32:34]: Portland Medicaid/drug fraud revelation
• [36:31–48:41]: Irishman in ICE custody and debunked news stories
• [53:38–59:07]: Olympic bronze medalist’s on-air infidelity confession
• [60:09–65:10]: Italian Olympic medals “falling apart”
• [65:13–87:14]: Daniel Cameron Senate campaign interview

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Tone & Style

The hosts maintain their trademark blend of sarcasm, pop-culture riffs, and “take no prisoners” conservative analysis. There’s a sharp edge to their takedowns—whether of blue-state policies, national media, or even Olympic medal craftsmanship—but it’s balanced by a comedic tone and frequent self-deprecation. The Daniel Cameron interview notably shifts to a more earnest, policy-driven discussion, while maintaining the collegial energy and candor of the rest of the show.

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Conclusion

This episode exemplifies the Ruthless Podcast’s brand of energetic, unvarnished conservative commentary: mixing humor, outrage, detailed accountings of political incompetence, and behind-the-scenes campaign insights. Listeners leave both informed and entertained, with plenty of ammunition to challenge “fake news” narratives and a clear sense of the candidates and crises shaping 2026 politics.

Transcript

[Michael Duncan]

It seems like every horror in this country comes from Minnesota.

[Comfortably Smug]

Minnesota has imported a lot of left wing psychopaths who don't like to take showers.

[Josh Holmes]

And you shouldn't be put in prison.

[Comfortably Smug]

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[Announcer]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[Michael Duncan]

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

[Elliott]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, we're gonna have a good time because it is fun time Friday. I'm Josh Holmes, along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook. Left to right, across your radio dial. We got a lot to talk about here, then we're gonna have some fun. This is. You know, there's been some serious stuff to talk about the last couple of. I just want to have fun. Let's just have some yucks.

[Michael Duncan]

100%. That's fun time Friday for you.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, we like to have fun with all of the topics that cross our radar, but there's some interesting stuff out there.

[Comfortably Smug]

Real gems. There's like, seriously, like these are serious topics. Yeah, but all of them are very fucking funny.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, they are. And the Irish are going to take some heat today.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, no.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. No, the Irish are the next up. In the queue. It's not. The Italians are not just taking the heat today. Irish are going to pay the price.

[Michael Duncan]

Long overdue.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. And of course they're going to have to throw a little bit of heat at the old Minnesotans, you know, which pains me personally. But there is some things that have cropped up. There was an incredibly unbelievable congressional testimony on Thursday that we would be derelict if we didn't report to you. But then there are some also developments in what happens when you are the epicenter of the resistance.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Some things have flared up.

[Josh Holmes]

That we're about to get to. We also are gonna continue.

[Comfortably Smug]

We call that foreshadowing. That's what that is, foreshadowing.

[Elliott]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Nobody listening to this or watching this knows why that's so funny.

[Elliott]

But now we know that the old man got an A in English Lit.

[Josh Holmes]

There's also some foreskin shadowing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Hold on, hold on. It wasn't. It wasn't lit. It was AP English is what it was.

[Elliott]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, either way you're gonna laugh. And then we also have our continuing discussion about all of the candidates that ultimately you're gonna have to cast the ballot for. And we're the only ones that are doing this. And so we take responsibility for all of that. You recall, we started with the Texas Senate race, last episode with Senator John Cornyn. We're moving into Kentucky. We've got Daniel Cameron today. We have Andy Barr on Tuesday. We've talked to Nate Morris folks about immediately thereafter to take care of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We're talking to Ken Paxton and Wesley about the finishing out the Texas thing. And we've got a whole bunch of other states that we're all in contact with. So listen, we're going to provide all this for you. We might roll out some extra special stuff next week for you to have kind of a one stop shop on some of them.

[Comfortably Smug]

And what a service.

[Josh Holmes]

What a service. It's the kind of thing that when I was in campaigns and elections, I wished somebody had done.

[Michael Duncan]

Seriously, because it used to be essentially, oh, if I want my candidate to get some attention, I have to go to NBC or cbs. And they will just basically do everything they can to destroy my candidate in the campaign. But that's the only option out there.

[Josh Holmes]

They're like, first question, did Donald Trump win the 2020 election? Second question, what do you think about January 6th? Third question is abortion. Please articulate your, you know, I mean, like stuff that you just don't. It's not on the radar of primary voters or anybody else. But that's the prism by which you would have to have a get to know you with the candidates that you're ultimately going to vote for. We take it a different direction. We try to get some personality involved and frankly that's for a lot of people a big deal. If it's some stiff, they don't like it. At least our listeners don't like it.

[Michael Duncan]

It's a whole thing that you've heard for so long of like can you imagine yourself having a beer with this candidate? And that makes a huge difference.

[Josh Holmes]

Makes a big difference. You're gonna see all that. But I want to start with Minnesota because there's a late breaking development. It's concerning.

[Elliott]

Oh.

[Josh Holmes]

According to wcco, it is the local CBS affiliate. They're reporting on something that they're very concerned about. Minnesota is in the midst of what state health officials call the nation's quote, largest known outbreak of tmvii. What is that?

[Elliott]

What is that?

[Josh Holmes]

It's a sexually transmitted fungal skin infection that can cause severe ringworm. Come on now, let me just get a little bit. There's more to it to it than they've provided in the. In the headline.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay.

[Josh Holmes]

This thing, TMVII trichophyton is apparently what they call. There's a bunch of words there. It's all scientific. I don't know. Is the only known fungal based sexually transmitted disease according to the Minnesota Department of Health. And it's treatable with an oral antifungus. The health department says that there is now more than 30 confirmed or suspected cases in the Twin Cities metro area. It's most prevalent among men who have sex with other men. Which occurred to us as. Interesting that this is now flaring up in this area.

[Daniel Cameron]

Flaring?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Where it has been literally the epicenter of imported socialists from across and left wing activists from across the country. And now the old Twin Cities is barren. The brunt of this situation, so to speak.

[Elliott]

Yeah. Should cub is no surprise.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So this is a fungus std.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Duncan, what was the name of in last of Us Zombie thing that. Wasn't there a name for the zombie fungus in last of Us? Like from the show that they give the zombies. If they bite you, you get that like fungus. What was it called? It was called something, wasn't it? It was called something.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's a cordycep. That's it. Is what you're talking about.

[Michael Duncan]

This sounds.

[Comfortably Smug]

You are so lucky that you are on a podcast with a co host that is the human Google machine.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Unbelievable. He just put me on the spot.

[Michael Duncan]

I thought he was. I thought, because I have faith, he always knows this stuff. He always know, like, I don't need Google.

[Elliott]

What do you mean by this stuff?

[Michael Duncan]

I don't need Google. I don't.

[Josh Holmes]

Transmitted diseases.

[Michael Duncan]

I can ask any question in the book and be like, dunk it.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

No, he's got what famous painter in the 1780s. Like, he'd kill it on Jeopardy. I'll tell you right now, I'd bet the house on him on Jeopardy. I love.

[Josh Holmes]

He's like, smug. That is a cordycep.

[Elliott]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

I mean.

[Daniel Cameron]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

That's why I asked. But the thing is, this is essentially zombie apocalypse. AIDS is what's happening here.

[Josh Holmes]

That's what's happening.

[Michael Duncan]

And it would not surprise me if this is no accident. Like, everyone's like, oh, no, you see, Covid was just a naturally occurring thing that jumped out of a wet market. Absolutely. Didn't leak from a lab when it was a good time for China to try to make a move. Their output for their manufacturing goods and everyone else's dependency on them grew after Covid. So Minnesota sees there's a lot of research into what all kinds of scandals are going on in Minnesota. We're learning day after day how it's essentially the money pipeline for the Democrat party in this country. Last two, DNC chairman, both from Minnesota. You're hearing all this money being shipped out of Minnesota, literally like suitcases full of hundreds going through Minneapolis airport out to Somalia to the terrorists. And then this mysterious virus.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Has appeared.

[Comfortably Smug]

Well, so I. I see what you're doing. I'm more of an Occam's Razor sort of guy.

[Elliott]

Sure.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like the most likely possibility is probably the thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that is Minnesota has imported a lot of left wing psychopaths who don't like to take showers.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes. You know, like jam dildos on their head.

[Elliott]

Bro.

[Comfortably Smug]

We're talking fungal. Fungal. Okay. We're not talking viral. No, it's fungal or bacterial.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, fungal.

[Comfortably Smug]

A fungal infection. And I'm not a scientist or a doctor.

[Josh Holmes]

Can I pause you for a minute?

[Comfortably Smug]

Yes.

[Josh Holmes]

When they're talking about a fungal infection, what I'm picturing in my head is like athlete's foot to the prick.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Kind of.

[Josh Holmes]

Okay.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, it's tough. Well, tough stuff. Well, it's the sort of thing. But is it you only sort of get if you just don't shower? You know, simply put.

[Josh Holmes]

Or have experiences.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, here, here's the thing. Is they said that that's downstream. They said there's no women who've caught it.

[Daniel Cameron]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, they very clearly. Even this very politically correct write up of this malady that is infected the Twin Cities area. They do very clearly say what is most prevalent among. I'm quoting them. It's the most prevalent among men who have sex with men.

[Comfortably Smug]

So you're telling me that these anti ice protests are basically fungal grindr? It's like they're all meeting up and giving each other fungal infection.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, I'm saying it's an interesting coincidence that this.

[Comfortably Smug]

You're not saying this. This was in the article there I'm reporting.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, it's like everything awful. Everything awful in this country is in Minnesota, is being done in Minnesota. And Minnesota is responsible, accountable.

[Comfortably Smug]

Hold them accountable.

[Michael Duncan]

This every, every episode will have a moment where it's just like another unimaginable horror from Minnesota. And Holmes, we like, gee, we never had this when I was growing up. Like, it seems like every horror in this country comes from Minnesota at some point. And I've called for air strikes on Minnesota. I'm kind of, what's it gonna take? How bad do we have to have the zombies?

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm kind of with smug on this. Like at some point it is your fault.

[Michael Duncan]

You know what I mean? Like at some point Hexat's gonna be like, I know what has to be done. Airstrikes, Minneapolis airstrikes. We have to cut them off. We tried the moderate option of like, you know, deploying troops and trying to find the criminals. But if it's a zombie infection, come on, at some point you gotta do the right thing. Minnesota's done for.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, listen, you've highlighted all of the negativity. Can I just get to a silver lining? Okay, the silver lining about all of this in graphic one, if you don't mind. Minnesota's fielding a hell of a double luge.

[Michael Duncan]

Are they from Minnesota?

[Josh Holmes]

I don't know if they are or not, but I saw this video.

[Michael Duncan]

They 100% are.

[Elliott]

What a juxtaposition.

[Michael Duncan]

They look unrelated.

[Josh Holmes]

We're going to do terrific winter sports in Minnesota. Sport. Have you seen this stuff? I saw this yesterday. It was on the screen as we were having lunch.

[Michael Duncan]

For audio only. Doubles losing. That's what it is.

[Josh Holmes]

Doubles loosing. So somehow like. And I've seen this for a number of years, but I haven't really delved into it, the idea that this is.

[Michael Duncan]

Actually a thing, this isn't a new thing.

[Josh Holmes]

No, it's been around for a While. So, you know, the luge where somebody lays on their back.

[Michael Duncan]

There's no reason for this on a.

[Josh Holmes]

Sled to go down. A bob sled, where people typically get.

[Michael Duncan]

Into a bobsled is like a vehicle. This is just like it's a sled. Why does this sport exist? But.

[Josh Holmes]

But the idea that you stack another man.

[Michael Duncan]

That's what I'm saying.

[Josh Holmes]

On top of somebody who's already taking up all of the room on said sled is a wild proposition. 100%.

[Michael Duncan]

There's no reason for this. It's just. It's not a real sport.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think all of you have this wrong. 100% wrong.

[Elliott]

Okay.

[Comfortably Smug]

100% wrong. You look at that photo and you're like, oh, that's tough. You know what I see when I.

[Josh Holmes]

Look at that photo opportunity?

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I.

[Michael Duncan]

You see the.

[Elliott]

You see the casual indifference of nature.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no, I'm saying if you're willing to do that for the United States of America, you are a goddamn patriot.

[Elliott]

You must love this country.

[Comfortably Smug]

You must love this country.

[Josh Holmes]

Someone needs to compete.

[Comfortably Smug]

Somebody does.

[Josh Holmes]

I'll do it.

[Comfortably Smug]

And here's the thing. Do we want to win? I want to win. I want to win. And that guy is going to be on top of another guy in a rickety little sled for America. Dude, look at this.

[Michael Duncan]

I thought you were going to say, like, back in the Olympic Village, too, Like, on and off the court. Oh, come on. I mean, everyone's heard stories about what goes down in the Olympic Village.

[Josh Holmes]

All right?

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, I would not be surprised if the Minnesota delegation has, like, a mysterious fungus.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Michael Duncan]

That's how it spreads, whether these people.

[Josh Holmes]

Are from Minnesota or not. But I did find it interesting.

[Michael Duncan]

Would not surprise me, bro.

[Comfortably Smug]

If you do that for America, you're a fucking patriot.

[Elliott]

They must love their country.

[Josh Holmes]

What will you do for your country? Ask not what your country could do for you.

[Comfortably Smug]

Get on the crotch of another man.

[Josh Holmes]

Ride another man for your country. So it's a good segue into Keith Ellison, this attorney general from Minnesota, who is like, well, this is the whole Minnesota segment, pal. You don't have to act surprised.

[Michael Duncan]

I want to make sure everyone doesn't fall prey to your whole, like, oh, it's just a coincidence. And this isn't just, like, an endless string of how Minnesota is a cancer on this country and society.

[Comfortably Smug]

Colton McCallum.

[Michael Duncan]

But just making sure everyone, again, to reiterate, Minnesota, I feel like you think.

[Josh Holmes]

You'Re doing more than you're doing with all of that, but Anyway, as we've talked about here on this program, it's like accountability is a big component to what we've seen in Minnesota. They wanna start riots, they wanna talk about ice, they wanna talk about all of the other things other than the fact that they just robbed the American taxpayer and had sanctuary states and city policies that had criminal impacts on the people who live there.

[Elliott]

And.

[Josh Holmes]

And nobody has ever been held accountable for all of it. Well, all of that started to begin to change when Keith Ellison showed up on the Hill. But first, what he'd like to do is give his characterization of what the state has been through. In clip one, it felt like our state was targeted, blanketed with paramilitaries everywhere. Who were paramilitaries, Citizens, non citizens, whoever.

[Daniel Cameron]

It felt like we were being occupied by the federal government. And I started returning, Senator, to reading about how the Boston Massacre.

[Josh Holmes]

How did those Bostonians feel when a.

[Daniel Cameron]

Common government in England had imperial troops.

[Josh Holmes]

Marching all over their city, harassing and abusing the citizenry?

[Daniel Cameron]

That's kind of how I felt.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, a real historian, huh? He wanted to go all the way back to the Boston Massacre to draw parallels to what it is that he was up to. What a fucking loser.

[Michael Duncan]

That's an insane take. And when he. And he straight up said it was a hostile foreign government, is that what you consider the federal government? Is that who you consider elected by the majority of Americans, not just electoral but popular vote? You're starting like the language that's being used by a lot of these left wing lunatics is just pushing further and further towards. They would support a civil war. They would support breaking away, having complete autonomy from the federal government. They think they should be allowed to run amok. Whether it was the thing is that like in 2020 when they had their like Chaz and stuff, it was just like, no, these are just some lunatics with some like garbage bins out there in Seattle. Now you're hearing this from the Attorney General.

[Comfortably Smug]

I don't think they actually want the Civil War. I just think it's a convenient talking point for the moment. I mean, like you look at their entire posture during the Biden administration and when they saw stuff that like Governor Ron DeSantis was doing or like Abbott in Texas, it was like, immigration is the role of the federal government. Yep, that's what they said the entire time. Remember, as everything that Abbott was doing in Texas and they filed lawsuits against him, right?

[Josh Holmes]

Yep.

[Comfortably Smug]

And now suddenly they're like, well, we actually love states rights, big states rights guys. And this Fed I mean, if you.

[Josh Holmes]

Follow the line of their discussion, it's hilarious. Like, you would have a brain bleed at the 180 that they've taken. You're entirely right. They had a border problem in Texas, obviously, and Governor Abbott decided, if you're not gonna do the job, I'm going to. And so he mobilized Texas Rangers and everybody else to go down and try to secure the border. And immediately every left winger in the country was like, that is not a state issue.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

Immigration is a federal issue. And like you fast forward, he's not.

[Michael Duncan]

Allowed to put up fencing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Nope, nope.

[Josh Holmes]

You fast forward 18 months and they're like, this is a state issue.

[Michael Duncan]

This is not a federal issue. Great catch, Duncan.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, it's so true. It's just an incredible. It's an incredible thing. Well, he doesn't get away with it. Right. Because if you're gonna show up in D.C. and try to plead a case that is that ignorant and dumb, and you're going to have one or two people to ask you some questions. Fortunately, Senator Hawley of Missouri was there and had something to say.

[Daniel Cameron]

In clip four, you took $10,000. That's a lot from people who were then indicted. It's in your reports.

[Michael Duncan]

Why did you do it, sir?

[Daniel Cameron]

This. Was it worth it?

[Josh Holmes]

You know what? This is a theatrical 10,000.

[Daniel Cameron]

This is the truth. What accountability looks like of which you've had none. You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government of $9 billion, and you got a fat campaign contribution out. You ought to be indicted. True.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, that's the truth.

[Daniel Cameron]

Don't talk over me. As early as 2019. It's my hearing, pal. As early as 2019.

[Josh Holmes]

Don't call me whistleblowers came.

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, I should call you a prisoner because you ought to be in jail.

[Josh Holmes]

Dude. That is exactly right.

[Michael Duncan]

He said it.

[Josh Holmes]

He said it. And it's also entirely true. Finally, I don't know if you guys missed the. This is accountability.

[Elliott]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

Of which you have had none. He has had none. He's lived in a state where the press treats this as like an incursion on their own rights. The people that are paying taxes and sending their fucking money into Minnesota so they can pay these fraudulent daycares have somehow no right to ask questions about the fact that it is shipped to Somalia to fund terrorist organizations.

[Comfortably Smug]

And we're finally getting to the point of the entire thing. Right. Like, we have spent months, you know, talking about, oh, well, you know, what is ICE exactly doing in Minnesota? A process argument that of Course is a fucking trap that the left trap and the media wants you to agree with.

[Elliott]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

We're finally to the point of accountability here where people like God bless him, Josh Hawley for doing this, where he's finally matching the indignation that the American people feel about this entire thing. And there's going to be accountability for the thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Ah, God, I couldn't agree anymore. Meanwhile, back in Minnesota, you've had Tim Walls talking out of two sides of his mouth. On one hand, he's talked about how great it is to have Tom Holman in Minnesota with somebody he can work with where the county and state people feel comfortable. They're trying to be cooperative and they're trying to draw down this situation after you get the violent, illegal criminals out of the state. It's taken him six weeks to get to a point where he's actually accepted the fact that violent, illegal criminals that he has harbored by his own policies, given driver's license and frankly, the right to vote by his own policies, in addition to a tampon if they happen to stop in the men's room in the high school. All of those things are. He's like, okay, you can take that. That's fine. We're good. On the other hand, he's got to come around back with some new interesting thing where he's basically demanding reparations.

[Elliott]

Oh, boy.

[Josh Holmes]

For Minnesota, based on his own policies that have defrauded the American taxpayer, not to mention the unbelievable tax, crime and everything that he subjected his own constituents to. Clip 2 the federal government needs to.

[Comfortably Smug]

Pay for what they broke here.

[Josh Holmes]

They're going to be accountability on the things that happen. But one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne.

[Daniel Cameron]

By the people of this state.

[Elliott]

The federal government needs to be responsible.

[Josh Holmes]

You don't get to break things and then just leave.

[Elliott]

So when he says the federal government, what that means is taxpayers who some of them live in our state, most of them do not. And I'm just like, bro, didn't we already send you $9 billion that you, like, put in suitcases and flew to Somalia?

[Josh Holmes]

You know what? Reparations are fine. You just go get it back from the guys that you gave it to.

[Elliott]

Yep.

[Michael Duncan]

Get us our 9 billion. Get us.

[Comfortably Smug]

Get us.

[Michael Duncan]

Get some money back.

[Josh Holmes]

This is like 9 billion will pay for it.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is like a mugger sticking you up and being like, you need to pay for the bullets.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes.

[Elliott]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. That I wasted trying to kill you.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, it is the most incredible thing of all time. To hear somebody like that who's literally.

[Michael Duncan]

Created the problem and ruined his own career because he had to end his campaign.

[Daniel Cameron]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

He can't run for governor because it became so obvious how horrible a job he did and how he was part of this machine of corruption. And now he's like, no, but actually we deserve reparations. Unbelievable.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, think about that. What a scumbag.

[Comfortably Smug]

Scum.

[Josh Holmes]

What a scumbag.

[Comfortably Smug]

Horrible.

[Josh Holmes]

Gotta pay for the. You broke it, you buy it. Okay, well, you broke it a long time. You know what?

[Michael Duncan]

You buy it. Bingo.

[Elliott]

Right?

[Josh Holmes]

You buy it. I should come out of your wallet. People should sue you for $9 billion.

[Michael Duncan]

He should be.

[Josh Holmes]

And you should put. Be put in prison for what you've done to the people of Minnesota and across this country on behalf of the policies that you have ushered in without any. Nobody had a problem with it until anybody shined a flashlight on it.

[Michael Duncan]

Exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

And then he tried to pretend like it was, oh, no, we've been on this all along. They haven't done a damn thing. If you listen to that hearing, by the way, Republicans got to the bottom of that. That state really didn't do a damn thing.

[Michael Duncan]

It's unbelievable. And they're not letting up is the thing. They are not letting up.

[Josh Holmes]

Nope, they are not. So next, it's not just Minnesota, a lot of blue cities, one of which you're gonna be very familiar with in a deeply unsettling story coming out of Portland, Oregon, that, frankly, you're gonna laugh at a little bit. It's fucking crazy, but you're gonna laugh at it right after this.

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[Josh Holmes]

Okay, so this particular story was surfaced by none other than the old man, Michael Duncan, who found out that Portland, Oregon, which we've all known is just a. Turned into a complete shithole yeah. And used to be the epicenter of what we've seen in Minnesota in the first term of the Trump administration. And like beyond, they've got an interesting sort of subset that has been reported out by Real Clear Investigations.

[Elliott]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is Mark Hemingway and God bless him for doing it. We don't talk enough, I think, about how great on independent media there are people who do investigations. We know, like Nick Shirley and people like that. But this sort of stuff, I think is the lifeblood of getting some of the change that we destined in a lot of these situations. Because no one in corporate media is going to cover this stuff.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Because it kind of reveals everything that they believe in. You know, places like Portland were like the epicenter, as you pointed out of like Portlandia.

[Elliott]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like, like, like this is liberal paradise.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

And of course, like in the last 10 years, Portland went from a place like where like you stayed at the Ace Hotel and you went to Voodoo Donuts to like a place of, of, of like, I don't know, fentanyl zombies, people shitting in the streets and people take over the city for things like CHOP or whatever. Right. This is left wing lunatics. Let me read a little bit from this story because this was sprawling. He covered the entire thing. It was sort of an indictment on liberal governance in Portland itself. But I thought the vignette inside of it that I found most interesting was this story of this guy, Kevin Daniel Sanabria Ojeda, who authorities say is a member of the violent Venezuelan Trendo Agua criminal syndicate. And he was arrested for an attempted murder. He apparently kidnapped a woman, this Maria Guadalupe Hernandez Velasquez, outside her Seattle home, drilled in her hands with a power drill to. Drilled, drilled, drilled into her hand. For her debit card. Dude, for her fucking debit.

[Josh Holmes]

Drilled her hand.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. And you would think to yourself, man, that's fucking sad.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is a horrible story. Yeah. But you know what? It gets so much worse and more depressing and it goes back to the whole thing of, like it says here.

[Michael Duncan]

So drills into her hands to get the pin number from her debit card, robbed her of golden cash. And then after all this, shot and wounded her and left her for dead.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yes. Left her for dead. And you're like, wow, that's a horrible tragedy and a terrible situation. But, like, what ties it back to all the stuff we're talking about with Minnesota and we've alluded to this, I think a lot of times on the show is like, man, Minnesota is like the tip of the fucking Iceberg with all of this stuff, right? And you look at this horrible crime in a place like, with liberal governance like Portland, and you're like, it's got to be there, too.

[Elliott]

Yep.

[Comfortably Smug]

Of course it is. This guy wasn't just drilling, you know, into the hand of this woman for her debit card. This is a guy who lives in a drug den selling drugs out of the place. And it's not just a drug den. This is a guy who has listed this address as the address of Uplifting Journey.

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[Comfortably Smug]

Llc.

[Josh Holmes]

Please tell me he's not a government contractor.

[Comfortably Smug]

An addiction recovery provider that has received $2.1 million in Medicaid. What?

[Josh Holmes]

Get.

[Michael Duncan]

He's taken Medicaid money in under one year. Wow.

[Comfortably Smug]

They get.

[Elliott]

They're giving it.

[Comfortably Smug]

Bro. It's like a. So flicking ice cream cone. He's like, I. I give people the fentanyl, and then I register with the state, and I get money from the state as a recovery.

[Daniel Cameron]

You gotta be kidding me.

[Josh Holmes]

Are you kidding me, dude?

[Comfortably Smug]

The brazen.

[Josh Holmes]

He sells drugs, and then this is.

[Michael Duncan]

Actually just a vertically integrated business. Yeah, but, like, I create the addiction, I treat the addiction, and you pay.

[Josh Holmes]

Me for it on both ends.

[Comfortably Smug]

The reason I wanted to. The reason I wanted to cover this. And again, thank you to Mark Hemingway for covering this is. Dude, like, the daycare fraud. That sucks. And that's horrible that people would defraud the government in that way. The brazenness of something. A scheme like this. Yes, I think, is so much. It tells us so much about, you know, how easy it is.

[Elliott]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

To go to the government and steal taxpayer money, that there are people who are literally gang bangers who are like, I can very easily get this money.

[Elliott]

But they try.

[Comfortably Smug]

It tells you how big the problem is.

[Elliott]

Well, they know they can get away with it. Yeah. They know that. They've heard from somebody else that if you just submit this paperwork, you're gonna get money from the government. Like, this guy doesn't. He's not Lee Iacocca. He's not coming up with a business plan on his own. You know, he's heard from somebody else who's had success stealing from the government.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, here's the thing is, let's say this guy had a dream of, I want to do something positive for my community. I want to fight drug addiction. But there's not drug addiction in your community. But you still have. You got to start somewhere, create the demand. You got to create the demand.

[Josh Holmes]

Got to get on that. I mean, there's something to be said Is it more surprising that the state of Oregon paid this man $2.1 million? Or there is a left wing illegal immigrant who was drilling women in Portland?

[Elliott]

Hmm, very good question. I think that's. It's.

[Comfortably Smug]

Might I suggest that the former creates a ladder.

[Michael Duncan]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is even crazier. You didn't even touch on this part.

[Comfortably Smug]

No.

[Michael Duncan]

So it has further. They further documented that the owners of Uplifting Journey, Julius Maximo and Espar Natasiambi have multiple ties to three men indicted in Arizona for setting up 60 million Medicare fraud rate that was laundering money by sending it to Rwanda.

[Elliott]

Like, to my point about, does any.

[Michael Duncan]

Taxpayer money in this country go to help taxpayers?

[Elliott]

No.

[Michael Duncan]

Does any of it.

[Josh Holmes]

This is insane.

[Michael Duncan]

You've got guys drilling people's hands, getting millions of dollars. Like, what does it take to get arrested and put in jail in America? What does it take to have my taxpayer money go to help an American?

[Elliott]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

Is that too much to ask? Dude, this is. This is just infuriating. Yeah, it's supposed to be a fun time Friday. Not infuriated Friday. This is insane.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I did this to us.

[Michael Duncan]

We're two months from tax day and it's like, okay, well, at least I know it's all getting shipped to Rwanda and drilled into in people's hands.

[Josh Holmes]

This is insane. No, I mean, it's brutal and this story is incredible. But it is indicative of this larger issue that unfortunately, because of the nature of what's happened in Minnesota, the federal government is not going to be able to tell the story in the same way that they have in Minnesota about just how terrible it is. Because as soon as it becomes a national discussion, all of a sudden you get all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases traveling there to put dildos on their faces and try to attack ICE officers and everything else. So you kind of just need to do the job without telling the story. But that's what's happening right now in all of these major urban epicenters, particularly in blue states. You are going to find precisely this.

[Comfortably Smug]

We've talked about this whole thing in Minnesota now for I think a month. Yeah, maybe a month, maybe six weeks. I mean, this is a criticism of the Trump administration, but like, it is national. It's already national. Yeah, everybody's talking about the thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

I think they have to broaden the aperture, stuff like this, and start telling this story and they're not telling that story.

[Daniel Cameron]

I agree.

[Comfortably Smug]

What it makes, it minimizes the thing into like well, these are just interactions with ICE agents in Minneapolis. And it's like, bro, it's so much.

[Josh Holmes]

More than that tactics. It's not about the underlying crime.

[Elliott]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that is the whole, the whole thing with the left is like you're. They get you involved in this process story because they don't want to actually talk about this.

[Michael Duncan]

They want to process quagmire the tps. They want it to be as small as possible and localized because that's easier for people to understand than to wrap their heads around like, no, we're talking about fraud on a scale that was unimaginable.

[Comfortably Smug]

I cut off Ashbrook.

[Elliott]

I think it is more insidious than that. And if you are sitting there listening to this and wondering why is it we didn't hear about the 9 billion in Minnesota before last month? Why is it that we're not. We haven't heard about this story out of Oregon until just now. Listen to this. The guy who wrote the story for this Oregon roundup substack, okay. He's a former mayor of one of Oregon's largest cities in Bend, right?

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Elliott]

He has been unable to get anyone else in the state's media outlets to pay attention. Under what circumstances would you as a journalist not say, oh, you have the paperwork, oh, it's somebody committing fraud against our government. Seems like a good story. Like, we've all been told off, it bleeds, it leads. If you got a good story, you want the conflict. That is not the case with the left wing media complex.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'm so glad you pointed out that.

[Elliott]

We'Re working overtime to protect this type of fraud. And that is the reason that it's grown, because left wing media in this country is corrosive. And anybody who tells you otherwise is wrong.

[Michael Duncan]

You're right.

[Elliott]

These newsrooms that are full of left wingers have ruined this country. And until the media in this country starts to take some responsibility for protecting the things that they claim themselves they care to protect, it's only going to get worse.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Well said. Well said. Anyway, that's sort of a. The low ebb of our fun time Friday. I want to bring us back up.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

For a minute. The Irish long been troubled here in the United States of America. Some of us with Irish ancestry, we like to look away at times like this.

[Elliott]

I'm not looking away. Well, I'm going to look for my end of the rainbow.

[Josh Holmes]

The New York, New York Post has highlighted an Irishman stuck in ICE custody 2,000 miles from his Boston home for overstaying a visa 16 years ago. Let me just read a little bit of this and then we're going to get into the whole comp. This is a complicated story in many ways, it's very easy in others, but this is very complicated in some ways. And that an Irishman who overstayed his 90 day tourist visa more than 15 years ago has been held in a Texas immigration detention facility for nearly five months rather than be deported despite calling it a form of quote, unquote torture. You're like, oh, that's an interesting lead. What is that? You know what's going on with that Seamus Culliton?

[Michael Duncan]

You had to do it.

[Josh Holmes]

You had to. Seamus. Seamus Cullinan, who is married to an American woman. You're like, oh, married to an American woman. That's interesting. Told the Irish media that he's a valid US Work permit and a pending green card application when he suddenly was picked up by agents in Boston where he runs a construction company. So hold on. This guy fit in like a thumb in a pot full of thumbs.

[Comfortably Smug]

Irish in Boston, you're telling me for the first time.

[Josh Holmes]

So he blended in. He was cuffed and eventually flown more than 2,000 miles from home to a camp facility in Fort Bliss Army Base in Texas, where he alleges he's been locked in the same quote, unquote filthy room. So immediately when this story surfaces itself, the left wing media pounces upon it because they think that our objection to unfettered border access is racism. Like they, they genuinely think that anybody who wants a secure border is just a racist. It's nothing to do with their country. Your economy, your workforce, safety, your safety, it is nothing. It's simply the color of your skin that matters. So of course, Seamus, what a perfect example of what we can out as the hypocrisy of conservative border policy. Well, Daily Beast dutifully shows up and writes an article in graphic2ice holds Irishman for five months despite valid work permit. Seamus Culleton has lived in the US for 16 years and has a valid work permit. Next up, the Guardian. Irish man with valid U.S. work permit held in ICE detention for five months. Seamus Coleton has lived in the U.S. for two decades. Married a U.S. citizen and runs a plastering business, but faces deportation.

[Michael Duncan]

Irish good at getting plastered, huh? That's an unexpected twist.

[Josh Holmes]

Experts on all of this now, what you have come to find out that we're about to get to is none of that is true. He has no valid work permit. He has overstayed a 90 day visa by 16 years. He only got married when Trump got elected and figured he needed a, like.

[Comfortably Smug]

A green card situation.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. He's like, I gotta get it. I gotta get a hold of this situation. So poor Seamus is now in a situation where he's had to defend the indefensible and they can't stand it. So he calls into an Irish radio station. You might ask yourself if he's being held in something that he calls a quote unquote concentration camp, how it is that he is calling into anything? Because I don't remember, like Auschwitz or Daco having cell coverage.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I don't remember prisoners that are unduly harassed by anyone being able to communicate with the outside world. But Seamus has that capability. So he calls into an Irish radio station. Get a load of this clip 5. The best way I could describe it is probably like a modern day concentration camp. It's a bunch of temporary tents. There's probably room for a thousand detainees in each tent. I believe there's like five tents. I've been locked in the same room now for four and a half months. Four and a half months. Barely any outside time. No fresh air, no sunshine. No sunshine.

[Michael Duncan]

Is he at least allowed to have his lucky charms? Yeah. Like, do they allow him that one? Dignity as an Irishman.

[Josh Holmes]

There's no pot of gold down here at all.

[Elliott]

Why didn't the guy go to Ireland?

[Josh Holmes]

Well, so here's the thing.

[Elliott]

I've always wanted to go there. Like, why in the world wouldn't he just go there?

[Josh Holmes]

So this is in the Guardian piece. He was offered the chance to instantly be removed to Ireland. In other words, they would pay for a flight to put this guy on right back to Ireland where he came from.

[Elliott]

They would pay for a flight, means we would pay for the flight.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Elliott]

Meaning you, the taxpayer, we submit our taxes, the money goes to the government. The government. So we pay for him to fly.

[Josh Holmes]

That we have been willing to pay to get people to self deport out of this country. So they went to him and said, we're gonna pay for your flight, just get on it and leave. And he chose to stay in ICE custody. In fact, he took affirmative steps, as I'm quoting the Guardian, to remain in detention. So he wanted to be in this place that he was.

[Comfortably Smug]

He chose it.

[Josh Holmes]

He chose it.

[Elliott]

Yep.

[Josh Holmes]

He was offered the chance to go home. And everybody was like, huh, okay, so this Guy overstayed a 90 day visa by roughly 16 years.

[Comfortably Smug]

Try doing that in another country.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, try doing that.

[Michael Duncan]

Fucking try, right?

[Josh Holmes]

And then they came up to him and was like, hey, you've done the thing. It's time for you to leave. And he's like, go fuck yourself. You can take me into a concentration camp if you want to, but I'm not. I'm not doing it.

[Michael Duncan]

Why would, why would he be, like, so reticent against being sent back to Ireland? What is it that he's like? I will not under any circumstance return. I can't go back to Ireland. I'd rather live in what he describes as a concentration camp. What's keeping him from going to Ireland?

[Josh Holmes]

It's crazy, right? Because all the left wing media seized upon this guy thinking that everybody who supports a closed border is just going to come rushing to the defense that the Trump administration has stepped over bounds because in fact, a white man is being shipped back to Ireland, right? Which is completely like, they are so dumb.

[Elliott]

They are so dumb.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, it turns out that Seamus has got a few things going on in Ireland.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, no.

[Elliott]

Okay.

[Josh Holmes]

Turns out there's a reason why he came to the United States of America. According to the Irish Times, Seamus Clinton was facing drug charges at the time he moved to the United States. Irishman Seamus, who was being held in a detention camp in Texas pending deportation, had a warrant issued for his arrest by an Irish court soon after he entered the United States as a tourist. In 2009. The district court in New Ross, and this is Wexford. I'm unfamiliar with the geography, but it's right there in Ireland somewhere.

[Elliott]

Sure it's green issue.

[Josh Holmes]

Sure it is. Guinness flowing, all those things. Potatoes, babies, golf courses. Golf courses, what they do. Issued a warrant in April of 2009 in respect to Culliton of Kilbride, Glenmore, Killney county, over the alleged possession of drugs and the possession of drugs for sale or supply. Interesting. He was also facing charges of allegedly obstructing the police there by throwing 25 ecstasy tablets on the ground trying to get rid of it when he was arrested. A further warrant was issued in the same court in September 2009 in relation to an alleged criminal damage charge from September 2007 in a different place of Weathertown, Glenmore. So he basically fled Ireland.

[Michael Duncan]

When you commit so many crimes as an Irishman that you're like, I can't even stay in Ireland. Like, you've really gone over the top with that, you know, and there's one place for you, it's Boston.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I mean, if you're gonna get anything similar to, like, you can punch somebody in the face and get away.

[Michael Duncan]

With it, like the Irish police are like, you can't just be like a drunk, out of control Mick at this level. There's only one place for you, it's Boston. They'll put up with that for 16 years.

[Josh Holmes]

But this is the funniest part about the whole thing to me is that the left wing media surfaced this story because they genuinely thought that conservatives who were with Donald Trump on his efforts to make sure that illegal immigrants got the hell out of this country were doing so because they were racist. And they thought by surfacing a guy from Ireland, they would all undermine the Trump administration. Still be like, oh, you don't have to kick the white guy out. Right. I mean, that's generally what they thought. So they surface all these stories without doing any background about why he showed up here in the first place. There's months of coverage about this poor Seamus. He said, seamus has done this. He's now in Texas. He's calling into radio stations in Ireland, which I find hilarious by the way, that, like, Ireland is taking calls. He's like, the guy fled to the United States. Right. And then you find out the reason he's in the United States in the first place is precisely what Donald Trump talked about on the campaign trail in 2024. They're not sending their fucking best.

[Elliott]

No. And it's a little bit wild that he's more afraid of the authorities in Ireland than he is of the authorities in our own country.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Elliott]

I mean, why in the world we. I mean, why is it a choice? Why is it, hey, here's your choice. I'm going to pay for you to get a ticket back to Ireland. Why isn't it just, like, walk this way to the boat, the boat leaves now and you're gone. You know what I mean? Like, why is this guy, who's broken our laws, given a choice when the Irish aren't giving him a choice? No, the Irish are like, we need to get after this guy. Why is it, like, they take advantage of our country and they are trying to tear us apart at the seams. And you said it yourself, buddy. The left thinks that it is a race issue. The left thinks that Americans are like, oh, this person looks, has the same skin tone as me. Therefore, Americans are gonna be like, we should give him leniency, get the fuck out of here.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Elliott]

We have so many problems in our country as it exists. And like, through the 90s, through the early 2000s, you have black people and white people trying their best to figure out how to reconcile generations of differences. And the left takes People from all over the world and injects all of their problems into our society. That was already complicated from the beginning. And they're like, no, you figure it out. Because we made money on shipping them over here. It is the worst thing that has happened. It's happened in Europe. We all saw it happen in Europe. We cannot let it continue to happen in our country. And that is why it is so important that we continue to not just keep the border closed, but deport people who are here to do us wrong.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, dude, just well said. Nice little soliloquy there, Smash.

[Elliott]

Yeah, it's true, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

They pulled the old man here. He got himself, you know, worked up.

[Michael Duncan]

He feels like he has to prove himself because sometimes he's a drunk out of control Mick. I've seen it.

[Elliott]

Yeah, hey, I've never been there, but I'd like to go, I'm sorry. Seen it.

[Josh Holmes]

I've seen it. Well, it leads to our question of the day because look, the fake news stories about what's happening with illegal immigration, with deportations. It started with the Maryland man, that was like the first one. And then we had a whole bunch of stories about widows and orphans. And then you saw one in Minneapolis about, oh, there's a five year old that they separated from. As it turned out, the parents ran.

[Michael Duncan]

From, abandoned, the child refused to take the.

[Josh Holmes]

And the stories are everywhere about what's a headline in the American news about what's happening. And then a couple of days later, if you pay attention to it, if you have the wherewithal to actually read the follow up, you find out the real story. So our question of the day, when you like and subscribe to the ruthless variety program, we read all of your responses and this question is, what's the most obvious fake news story you've seen about illegal immigration in the last year? There is so many and I imagine in your community, like we don't see them all. We know what becomes national, like the Maryland man and like the kid in Minneapolis and Seamus, now we're making him a national story here for the first time.

[Comfortably Smug]

Or remember Border Patrol was whipping people.

[Michael Duncan]

Biden did.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, Entirely, Totally.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally. So you tell us in your communities around this country, what is the most obvious fake news story that has come around after garnering all the headlines and ginning up the dildo head to go out and protest, which has been proven false, like and subscribe. And we get to you on all of that. Once again, it makes you want to drink. And when you do, you gonna want zbiotics Fellas, we have been long subscribers to the Zbiotics idea, and we tried it out for ourselves over many, many different events over the years. It works. It's a pre alcohol drink. You drink it before you go out and have a big night. It mitigates the effects the next day in a meaningful, positive way. Scientists have actually figured out it's not just dehydration. Right, Smuggler.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing is, for so long, people have thought, oh, you know, if I go out and I have a few drinks, I just need to come home and I need to just chug a Gatorade and I'm gonna be okay. Or I need to drink three glasses of water before I go to sleep and I'm okay. And you end up still feeling terrible in the morning. And the reason is, it's not a dehydration thing. It's that when you have alcohol, there's these toxic byproducts that get broken down in your stomach. That's what's causing the problem.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's true. There are two things that make me irate the day after a big night, okay? One is if I had too much and I didn't have a Zbiotics. The other is being berated by Comfortably Smug.

[Josh Holmes]

Now, Smug will give you a headache faster than anything.

[Comfortably Smug]

Smug is the greatest hangover in the world. But it is true, dude. It's the great thing about Zbiotics is it rounds off the edges of that whole thing. And if you have a big night, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Michael Duncan]

And I always feel foolish if I do feel terrible the day after because I was like, why didn't I just have a Zebiot first? Now I know it works. Now I know I could have just popped one of these before I drink and I feel perfect the next day.

[Elliott]

That's because you know that there is no tomorrow without Zebiotics today.

[Comfortably Smug]

There it is.

[Josh Holmes]

Only get that from the voice. Go to zbiotics.com ruthless to learn more. You get 15% off of your first order when you use Ruthless at the checkout. Zebiotics is backed by 100% money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason at all, the refund your money, no questions asked. So you got to go to ZBiotics.com Ruthless use the code Ruthless at the checkout for 15% off. You guys want some variety?

[Comfortably Smug]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Always.

[Josh Holmes]

Boys, I saw this one and it was just like, custom made for the variety program. We've covered the Olympics, you know, stuff going on there with the American athletes, a couple of them just going. Coloring outside the line, so to speak. Well, there's an alpine skier who won a big event and what he did in his interview afterwards has to be seen to believed. Now there's a language barrier here. So we're going to play you the clip and then we're going to tell you what happened for those audio only listeners. Clip 3.

[Michael Duncan]

Congratulations on your Olympic bronze medal. How do you feel?

[Josh Holmes]

Six months ago I met the love of my life, the most beautiful, wonderful person in the world. And three months ago I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her. And that's all I've been thinking about for a week. It's been the worst week of my life. But I only have eyes for her. I'm not quite sure what to say here now.

[Elliott]

Wait, what country is this guy from?

[Josh Holmes]

So. So this dude is from.

[Michael Duncan]

Is that Sweden? He sounds like the Swedish chef from what was the Muppets.

[Josh Holmes]

Wolf, can we look real quick? Where is this calf from? I mean Cheeto.

[Michael Duncan]

My girlfriend sounds like a fucking chef guy.

[Josh Holmes]

Like in the. In the cross country or the mixed discipline stuff. It's not like a downhill deal. The Swedes and the Scandinavians, they just hate the hell out of this.

[Michael Duncan]

Guess what guy want gold? No, but this is the bronze crowns.

[Josh Holmes]

Hold on. This guy has worked Norway.

[Elliott]

He's from Norwegian.

[Josh Holmes]

He's from Norway. He has worked his entire life, trained endlessly. Worked his ass off to try to get to a point where he can defeat literally every other person in the world at one discipline, at one moment in time. This is what makes the Olympics so great. Is that like the amount of commitment that it takes to get there is unrivaled. Everyone is.

[Michael Duncan]

He.

[Josh Holmes]

This guy does all of that. A full lifetime dedicated. A full lifetime of it. And they're asked how does it feel? And he's like, I cheated on my girlfriend and I'm fucking devastated. What an amazing self owned that is.

[Michael Duncan]

Is this his first time winning a medal?

[Josh Holmes]

I think so.

[Michael Duncan]

Wikipedia. Quick, quick.

[Josh Holmes]

No, I think, I think it is. I think this is.

[Michael Duncan]

You think this is the first time he's ever gotten a medal?

[Comfortably Smug]

I don't think it's a cell phone. I don't.

[Michael Duncan]

Here's the thing is.

[Daniel Cameron]

Oh, hold on.

[Josh Holmes]

I'd like to hear a counter perspective.

[Michael Duncan]

Every time this guy cheats, he gets an Olympic medal.

[Josh Holmes]

Wait, you tell. It's like his medicine.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing is like you know how there's like agony defeat or thrill of victory he's the, like, dead in the middle. He has to create the crisis in order to get. Cause he was like, this is the only thing I've been thinking about for the past week when he competed and won the medal. He has to push himself to the brink. You know what I mean?

[Josh Holmes]

Like, it's like Tiger racking up majors when he had the Denny's waitresses.

[Michael Duncan]

That was Tiger's medicine. Yeah, Tiger needed that medicine. His wife took it away, and he stopped winning.

[Josh Holmes]

There goes her.

[Michael Duncan]

She did that to him.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay, so my kids.

[Josh Holmes]

There goes our chance at every getting at Tiger Woods.

[Michael Duncan]

She did it to him.

[Comfortably Smug]

My take is a little bit.

[Michael Duncan]

His wife's the bad guy. Tiger's wife's the bad guy. I don't think. I think he. It's how he inspired himself. And, you know, artists have lots of different ways. You know, there's that one artist who would cut his ear off, and then he could paint beautiful things. Picasso. So it's not always like, you know.

[Josh Holmes]

One guy, he would just cut his.

[Elliott]

Ear off and then do a painting.

[Michael Duncan]

Because, like, it's different things sometimes. You know, where they find different things sometimes where they find inspiration. And you gotta push yourself to that place. Like, Jordan had to invent the slights. This guy had to, like, burn it all. Burn it all down, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

It's different things Sometimes. Might be one of the best quotes.

[Michael Duncan]

We'Ve ever had of this program.

[Elliott]

So this is so before Michael gets into his thing, just to set the record straight here. This Norwegian has two medals. One from 20, 22, and one now.

[Michael Duncan]

He cheated then, too. I guarantee it. It's never like a one and done.

[Comfortably Smug]

So smug. I don't think smug's wrong. I just think his framing of the whole thing is wrong. And that is like, if when you get to the top of the mountain, nothing means anything unless you have somebody, like, to share it with. I think that is true.

[Michael Duncan]

You think so?

[Comfortably Smug]

100% true.

[Josh Holmes]

Sentimentality. Poignant sentimentality.

[Elliott]

Right on the. Right before Valentine's Day.

[Comfortably Smug]

What I'm going to say is, like, I think it's. I think it's like, in our DNA as men. Since we were coming out of the cave and we were like, we gotta go kill something today.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

Why did we kill that thing today?

[Elliott]

To bring it back to our Valentine.

[Comfortably Smug]

To bring it back.

[Josh Holmes]

Sometimes it's a significant other that you've cheated upon. Other times it's a Danny, wait. Denny's waitress. But, but, but.

[Comfortably Smug]

But without that, any victory is ashes in your mouth. It doesn't feel good, dude.

[Josh Holmes]

The polar. That's why you love the ruthless variety program. The polar opposite takes of, like, he needs this. He should keep cheating. And then Duncan being like, you can't have victory without having a significant other.

[Michael Duncan]

To share it with, which is an insane take, because.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's not an insane take.

[Michael Duncan]

It's an insane take. Either way. That's really not true.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know you're married, right? I'm talking about for this guy. I really hope your wife listens to this.

[Michael Duncan]

She does.

[Comfortably Smug]

Because that is. She does an insane.

[Michael Duncan]

She does. But here's the reason is I do.

[Comfortably Smug]

This for my family. Do you not do this for your family?

[Michael Duncan]

I'm talking about people like this. I'm talking about the Tiger Woods.

[Comfortably Smug]

Do you think you are?

[Michael Duncan]

I'm talking about the Tiger woods and the skiers, you know, and the Michael Jordans and the Van Gos. Those kind of people. They're a bit on edge. They're different kinds of Jordans.

[Josh Holmes]

He's not wrong.

[Michael Duncan]

He's not wrong. They're not. They're not like the kind of people who are concerned about, like, I want to build like a family and be stable. You're talking about flying down a mountain on skis. You're not stable, but you're talking as fast as possible. We said that Lindsey Vaughn.

[Comfortably Smug]

You're like, I've got. I've got great evidence. I'm going to list a bunch of sociopaths.

[Michael Duncan]

And then also the Lindsey Vaughn. She did it for the Tiger woods thing. Like, there's a whole. There's connections of all of this stuff happening. It's just like the most outrageous allegation of all time. Totally baseless and completely wild escape for Tiger Wood.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, God bless you. Smug. We'd have to invent you if it didn't exist.

[Michael Duncan]

It's the truth. It's all connected.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, it turns out we do have some Italian hate in here, too. It's not just the Irish that are gonna take the bath. It turns out that the Italians, well, they don't assemble Olympic medals particularly well.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, no.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, my gosh, dude. Out of nowhere, he has board action.

[Josh Holmes]

Board action.

[Comfortably Smug]

I retract everything I've said about your terrible board work because that was perfect. Mama mi.

[Josh Holmes]

Yes. So according to the Wall Street Journal, the Olympics have just begun. Olympic medals are already falling apart. I've seen this in press conferences already. So alpine skier Breezy Johnson had been an Olympic champion for 15 minutes before realizing she had a problem. Her newly awarded gold medal couldn't handle the Intensity of her celebration. In her excitement after winning Sunday's downhill event in the mountains, Johnson couldn't help but jump for joy. Then the unthinkable happened. The gold disc hanging around her neck separated from the ribbon hold, holding it in place, leaving the prize that she had been dreaming about for her entire life into pieces. I don't know that Italians are known for their engineering. Johnson said.

[Michael Duncan]

Oh, amazing.

[Daniel Cameron]

It is.

[Elliott]

It's so funny. But we all know the truth. They cook everything to one temperature, al dente. And when it comes to metals, it is no different.

[Comfortably Smug]

So hold on, hold on, hold on. We're just gonna let that go? Like the Italians don't know engineering.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, they did make Ferrari.

[Comfortably Smug]

They built the aqueducts, the Roman Empire.

[Elliott]

Are they still there? Are.

[Comfortably Smug]

I love attacking the Italians, don't get me wrong, but they've done a lot of.

[Josh Holmes]

Rebuttal. Please.

[Michael Duncan]

No, Don can have this little take. Let him have his little take.

[Comfortably Smug]

That's not a little.

[Elliott]

Go for it.

[Comfortably Smug]

What do you mean? Nope.

[Elliott]

Mario and Luigi were great plumbers. You're right.

[Josh Holmes]

Mario and Luigi were great plumbers. But hold on, let me just give you a little bit of a taste of the rest of the Wall Street Journal article and I'll let you react to that. Just a few days into the Games, it's become clear that the medals weren't crafted with quite the same care as a pair of Ferragamos. Johnson isn't the only athlete wondering why the people who spent nearly six centuries building Duomo couldn't figure out a better way to attach a medal to a ribbon. Ebba Anderson wasn't so lucky. The Swedish media reported that her silver medal for the triathlon fell off its strap and disappeared under the snow, prompting a frantic search. The metal was recovered, but she gave up trying to find the clasp that had failed to keep it connected to the ribbon.

[Elliott]

Turns out she had to wrap it around her fork.

[Josh Holmes]

Did this spin. She had to do the spin with a spoon underneath, I think is the right way to do. What's up with the metals is this. They were created by IPZs, which the state Mint and Polygraph Institute, a government owned company that produces Italian coin stamps and passports. The prizes have a diameter of just around 3 inches and are less than a half inch thick. The gold medal weighs around 1 pound, so they declined to comment. But apparently their calculations are off. In that if you're wearing a medal of any kind awarded to you in this very Olympics, if there's any jumping or moving, suddenly, well, your medal is no Longer.

[Michael Duncan]

This is hilarious. From the journal, it says that company ipzs, the government agency or whoever, they declined to comment, but they made the metals using recycled materials recovered from its own production waste. Literally. Like, here's some Italian garbage we slapped together. Like, who would expect that, right? A no show job. A bunch of Italians with a no show job on some shoddy work. I guarantee it's probably not even real gold. That's back at Mario's house. You know, Tony Spaghetti's got your real metal.

[Josh Holmes]

I fully anticipated this episode to be an Irish problem. It has now turned into a Natalia problem.

[Elliott]

Oh, my gosh, Michael, what were you saying on. On their behalf?

[Comfortably Smug]

I already made the point.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, he did. Grandpa fell asleep, but it's okay.

[Elliott]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Wake up.

[Comfortably Smug]

Wake up, Grandpa.

[Elliott]

What? No, I did. You know, it didn't. It didn't register.

[Josh Holmes]

Wake up, Grandpa.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, I. I don't disagree with what Smug said. All I was suggesting is that maybe at some point in the Italian history, they did respect engineering. From the aqueduct to the Ferrari. They lost it, but they lost all of that. And smug has made this point numerous times on the show.

[Elliott]

You look.

[Comfortably Smug]

Look at Greece. You go to the Parthenon and stuff. And the way that they preserve their history. And the Italians have entirely raided the thing and they're doing that now to the gold medal. Exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

Now we make it with waste.

[Michael Duncan]

Literally. Their own words. Just junk.

[Josh Holmes]

I love it. Well, that's our variety for the day. I hope everyone is offended. You probably should be. We're going to get to another episode of our primary candidate series here. Going to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron. Well, as we promised, we are going to get into all of the midterms, including all the Republican primaries. There's a big one happening in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and we are happy to welcome our good friend, guy we've known for an awful long time, the former Attorney General Daniel Cameron. How are you, sir?

[Daniel Cameron]

I'm doing well, man. Thanks for having me in for person. I think this is actually first time I've been in the studio.

[Michael Duncan]

I feel like.

[Daniel Cameron]

Like I'm making it now. Like I moved up another level in life. This was, you know, Nintendo or Super Mario Brothers or something. I've gotten to the next level. So this is it.

[Elliott]

Well, I think.

[Josh Holmes]

I think you were kind enough to risk your career early on on a zoom with us before we even had a studio at that point.

[Daniel Cameron]

Honestly, anytime I saw Josh Holmes number on my phone pick up. You pick up. And you do what Josh in me at this point.

[Josh Holmes]

So Listen, you're in a. You're in a hell of a race. It's to.

[Daniel Cameron]

Why do you say that? I've never.

[Josh Holmes]

Kentucky Senate openings, which don't come along all that often. You've thrown your hat in the ring. You've been in for quite some time. By all indications, from a polling standpoint, you're leading the race at this point. Tell us a little bit about it.

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, yeah, I jumped in the race. I guess it was about the March or February time frame of last year. So literally almost a year into the race, I tell people it's kind of like being on a hamster wheel. Like you're moving a lot, but you're not really going. But right now, because, you know, we're In January of 26, people are starting to pay attention. And what I've shared with people is, you know, we got in this race because of our two boys, Theodore and Bennett. You know, we want to see them have a country that lives up to the ideals of its founding, a country that's based on merit and opportunity, not one that's driven with the divisions of diversity, equity, inclusion. I tell people all the time, we don't need a country that's built on diversity, equity and inclusion. We need a country that's built on merit, excellence, intelligence, and integrity. So I jumped into this race and feel very strongly about my ability to stand firm for the values of the men, women and children of our 120 counties. And I've got a track record of having done that as the attorney general and standing up for constitutional rights. When we had a governor that wanted to shut down our churches for. For a period of time, we went to federal court and got those churches reopened after nine days. When Joe Biden tried to force the vaccine mandate on our state during the COVID time, went into federal court and got that vaccine mandate stopped in Kentucky. So, again, I've had a track record of standing up for the values of the folks at home and would be honored to have an opportunity to serve in Washington. And, you know, to your point about the polling, it's been good for us. Every poll, I think, at this juncture show me in the high 30s or low 40s. And I think that's just a measure of people have gotten to know me and gotten to know my wife Mackenzie, and our family and trust us to do what's right by them here in Washington.

[Josh Holmes]

So, yeah, one of the reasons why people have sort of sided with you at this point in the race is they have gotten to know you ran Statewide as attorney general, did a hell of a job on that. And you also ran for governor. That one came up a little bit short to a total fraud in Governor Bashir. But again, you get a chance, an opportunity during that process to get out and get to know people a little bit. Imagine that's a benefit. You're not doing this for the first time, not introducing yourself.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

For the first time in all parts of the state.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah. Joshua somebody a couple weeks ago said, you know, Daniel has got a gas station name id, Meaning that if I walk into a gas station, you know, sometimes, by and large, somebody's going to know who I am. And I think it's, to your point, a testament of having run, having built relationships across the state and just tried to, to the extent I can show people who I am, and I'm probably not the most polished politician you're ever going to find.

[Josh Holmes]

I don't know how about that.

[Daniel Cameron]

But I certainly tried as hard as I possibly can to work for the folks of Kentucky. And the issues that I've talked about, whether it's on putting more money in people's pockets or living up to the ideals of our founding or standing firm for border security, because when I was attorney general, we saw fentanyl come across that southern border and hurt people in Kentucky. I think people recognize that if I have the chance to serve up here, I'm going to do it in a way that reflects the values of folks at home.

[Comfortably Smug]

So one thing you mentioned on it, touched on it briefly with the COVID vaccine mandates during Biden and everything. And I think it's worth taking a trip down memory lane for a lot of people who we've quickly forgotten all about this period of time where the world went crazy.

[Daniel Cameron]

Memory hold. All right.

[Comfortably Smug]

But as I recall, like, in those early days when they're trying to stop people in Kentucky from going to church, Bashir had, you know, officers out there recording license plates of people from the congregations. Can you tell a little bit. Just remind the people of how crazy it actually was, was. And even red states like Kentucky, we.

[Daniel Cameron]

Literally had a governor that got on television and said that if you go to church, we're going to have law enforcement agencies record your license plates. And then you were in jeopardy, potentially, of having to go to jail or pay some significant fine. I mean, that's where we were just five, roughly six short years ago. And it's crazy. I mean, to the point that, like, folks don't want to talk about it anymore. It's. It like, brings up all These thoughts of like, just how crazy the stripping of our constitutional rights were. And I remember standing on the steps of our capitol and saying, governor Bashir cannot shut down our churches. And he shut them down the next day. Now we went into court and got them reopened after nine days, but you lost like three services during that because it was like a, you know, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday sort of deal. And I remember just the, just the amount of people that were upset by that. But that wasn't the only absurd decision that he made during that period of time. I mean, you had a governor that said that, say, if you lived in Northern Kentucky and you guys know the geography of the state and, you know, kind of where things are, you lived in northern Kentucky, wanted to go into Ohio and wanted to go to Montgomery and barbecue. You make that trip and then come back. 20 minute ride got you a 14 day quarantine, meaning you had to stay home. Nonsense, nonsense. If you lived in Northern Kentucky but wanted to go to Old Hickory or Moonlight in West Kentucky, in Davis county, you could make that trip. Now that's three, three and a half hours, like depending on where you live in Northern Kentucky, you could make that trip, go home. If the idea that it was what you wanted to limit exposure to Covid. How's that 20 minute trip, like, more dangerous than the three and a half hour trip? It didn't make any sense.

[Josh Holmes]

Like the six foot rule.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah, it was like. And it was unconstitutional. Yeah. Like, you know, if you cough, just make stuff up. Yeah. Just make arbitrary. It was found unconstitutional. But the idea that we had to actually go into court and have to fight for the common sense constitutional rights of our people was absurd. But yeah, that was just a period of time in which there were just these egregious rules that were made by our governor. I mean, I remember I went into federal court and into state court to fight these Covid restrictions, just the entire sort of apparatus of them. And the Courier Journal called me the angel of death. I was like, yeah. And so there was like all this craziness around, like just going in to stand up for the Constitution. And I'm glad we're over that period. And, you know, there's certainly a lot of lessons learned out of that that we're, you know, frankly, still, still learning about, you know, how do we proceed in the midst of these challenges. It's not to shut things down. It's not to close businesses down. We got a lot of small businesses and Kentucky that were hurt by that period. We got a lot of kids that were hurt by that period. I mean, you. You remember, you know, Scott Jennings when he had the opportunity to confront Randy Weingartner about it. I mean, we have a lot of kids in Kentucky that were really hurt by that decision to shut down our schools, and it was unfortunate.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah.

[Daniel Cameron]

Yeah.

[Elliott]

So, Daniel, you in a tightly contested primary right now. I mean, I know that you're ahead in the middle. If the election were today, you'd probably come out on top.

[Daniel Cameron]

Let's get that. Let's just end this right now.

[Comfortably Smug]

There you go.

[Daniel Cameron]

Ashbrook has said it, gentlemen. That's it.

[Josh Holmes]

Stop the count.

[Elliott]

But. And it's not the first tightly contested primary you've been in. You ran for governor, and you were in a tightly contested primary. You came out on top in that primary, but came up a little bit short in the general. I'm wondering what you learned in that governor's race that you're applying to the Senate race so that you don't repeat the same thing.

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, what I learned is it's really critical to get to as many places as you can, and grassroots are essential. And what I mean by that is that there are. For instance, I talk about this a lot. There's a small group of folks, probably maybe 50 or 60 people, small group of strong, conservative men and women who are the door knockers. I had an opportunity to talk to them. This was maybe four or five months ago. This was in Jeffersontown, in J Town, right outside of Louisville. And at the end of the meeting, they took a plate around and we raised like, maybe $300. I tell you that because, you know, they didn't come with, like, $14,000 checks and all that stuff. They came with what they had. And what that means to me is that there are a lot of folks just like this group of people that care deeply about this race, want somebody that's going to talk to them and listen to them, be responsive to them and ask for their help. And that's something that we've leaned in on. This, you know, race. Look, it's no secret. We've got a lean team. Right. We don't have the millions and millions of dollars that other candidates have in this race. We've got a lean team, but we also have a strong, committed group of supporters. I mean, if my mom was here right now, she'd be running back and forth behind you all right now with her Daniel Cameron T shirt, telling everybody.

[Josh Holmes]

I met your mom. Yeah, I know about that.

[Daniel Cameron]

So we've got a lot of folks like that that are eager to help. And we're leaning into that this time in a way, frankly, that we didn't last time and we should have. And so the grassroots are so incredibly important. And I think the endorsements I've had are a testament to our efforts to. Wherever you are in the Republican Party, you can find a home within the Team Cameron campaign. And so that's, that's been our focus. We feel really good about where things sit right now, regardless of what part of the state you're in. We've got committed Team Cameron county captains that are working their tails off for us this time around.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I mean, look, I think you hit on a point. We spent better part of 10, 15 years doing the analysis on races across the country and trying to figure out what candidates we didn't have to worry about. If you're looking at this from a national map, you would say, man, if I have to spend a second thinking about Kentucky, I'm in a bad spot because I got Michigan, New Hampshire, Georgia, North Carolina, all these other places to deal with. And I know that's your goal to try to take this off the map, but one of the metrics is fundraising. Right. And I know you just addressed how you all view all that, but again, you're up against two well heeled opponents at this point. We're raising a significant amount of money. And from an analytic standpoint at national committees, they look at that and they're like, are we really not going to have to worry about this guy? And if he's our general election nominee, when you've got, you know, an Amy McGrath or somebody who's had a history of raising tens of millions of dollars, could this be problematic? What's your answer to all that?

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, I'm working my tail off to raise as much money as we possibly can. And some folks, frankly, in Kentucky are just starting to get engaged in the race. I mean, I've had meetings, you know, today with folks that are starting to get engaged in the race in a way that they hadn't previously. But I'm, you know, making the calls and I'm going to continue to do that. I'm going to have enough money to win this race. And I'm convinced of it. I know it based on the conversations that I have with people across the state, based on, you know, frankly, the numbers that I have related to my favorability in the state. We have got a strong ground game as well. And I tell people all the time, money doesn't vote, people do. And I am again committed to working my tail off to raise as much money as we possibly can. And more people are starting to pay attention to this race. And frankly, doing this, being able to come on here and say, go to Cameron4Kentucky.com There you go.

[Josh Holmes]

Figured that out.

[Daniel Cameron]

I've learned a few things. I've learned a few things along the way. So, you know, if that's Cameron4ky, CameronForKentucky.com go there and you can give some money to the campaign. But look, at the end of the day, folks want to know and they care deeply about your values and your heart. And I tried to show that over the course of my short time in political life. And I'm going to continue to do that and go to as many places as I can and have conversations, whether it's this podcast, whether it's in debates, whether it is in town forums. I had an event over in Shelbyville. I spoke for probably 10 minutes. Shelbyville's right outside of Louisville as well for folks outside of Kentucky, and spoke for 10 minutes and answered questions for about an hour. And I think that's meaningful to people. And we're going to keep doing that through the May 19 primary and into November.

[Josh Holmes]

What do you think the most important things that you can do prospectively as a United States senator, you say you win this election. What do you think the most important things that we can accomplish here in the second two years of a Trump administration would be?

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, I think one is to ensure that we're setting the conditions in Washington to make sure we're putting more money in people's pockets back home. I think, you know, that is, at the end of the day, the responsibility of folks in the United States Senate and in the House of Representatives. How are we going to put more money in people's pocket? I mean, I look, we live this daily. I mean, again, we've got two. We've got another one coming in the middle of February. We're looking at the budget.

[Josh Holmes]

You spend it. It's an interesting time for family planning activity.

[Daniel Cameron]

It's God's timing, not always ours.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Daniel Cameron]

And so we are, we are constantly thinking through our budget. I mean, Mackenzie and I had a conversation last night about our budget for January. Like, all right, what do we need to do this week or this week?

[Josh Holmes]

These are fun conversations, especially when dad's out gallivanting looking for votes.

[Daniel Cameron]

Never get a good excuse. Just one cheeseburger, not two. And so that, you know, so we have, we have those conversations at home. And what I want voters at home to know is that the decisions that are going to be made in Washington are going to impact my family just like they're going to impact yours. And I think that's got to be a priority and focus for us. I think we've got to be very strong, particularly if you're from Kentucky, on what has given us our competitive advantage. Historically, that's been coal and natural gas. And when you think of some of these technologies that are coming online, whether it's candidly not even coming online, are here presently. AI technology, blockchain technology, some of these others that are going to consume a ton of energy. Kentucky has low cost and reliable energy, and we can lead the nation on energy generation and consumption and make sure that there are great economic opportunities for our people at home. And so that is what I'm focused on, energy, putting more money in people's pockets, immigration, ensuring. Look, as I talked about earlier as Attorney General, it's really important to me that folks weren't bringing fentanyl illegally over our southern border here. So we gotta secure that southern border. We gotta make sure we fund our respective agencies as it relates to immigration enforcement. Those are gonna be priorities for me in the United States Senate.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, that's good. Listen, I totally agree with that. I. You know, a big part of a lot of these primaries, particularly in recent years, have been about the audience of one in the White House. Yeah, right. And the impact the president, President Trump, has via endorsement or not endorsement, on the impact of this race, his relationship, or lack thereof, with the senior senator whose seat you're attempting to fill at this point, has sort of colored this race in an awful lot of ways. And I noticed, you know, your team, it started with Morris's team, a little bit of Barr's team seems to make McConnell as a part of that. You can understand how this is uncomfortable for us.

[Michael Duncan]

No, I don't get that at all.

[Daniel Cameron]

So.

[Josh Holmes]

So, you know, I mean, did any.

[Daniel Cameron]

Of you all work for him?

[Josh Holmes]

Well, it turns out everybody did. And that's why we find this thing so hilarious, is that we're having a national discussion about McConnell, this who's most beholden to McConnell one way or another. You know, we know because we grew up in it. There isn't a damn person in Republican politics in Kentucky.

[Daniel Cameron]

That's right.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you work for McConnell. Barr worked for McConnell. Morris worked for both McConnell and Elaine Chao. I mean, everybody. So, like, what is, what's the merit of that conversation?

[Daniel Cameron]

Well, what I've told people is that we have got most Kentucky voters, I would say, the majority of them want a conversation about what you, as a candidate, are going to bring to the table as the next senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And that's what I've tried to do. Now, what I have said is that if I have a disagreement on policy, whether it's with Senator Paul or Senator McConnell or, frankly, others, then the voter needs to know that. And that should be shared broadly because that's a part of this assessment and judgment that a voter has to make. But what you will not find from me is disparaging anybody in this race. That's just not how I'm built as a person. And I don't think that's necessary to win this race now, otherwise, candidates might take a different view of that. You might, you might talk to them at some point. You can broach that subject when it comes to it. You might want to bring up the Elaine Chow thing, that he worked for both of them. But anyways. But you all, you all make the judgment decision when you all want to do that.

[Josh Holmes]

We've come to the ship.

[Daniel Cameron]

I'll come back if you want me to have that conversation. But, you know, I think people can either make their campaign on disparaging somebody or creating a positive vision for what they want to do in the job. And what I've endeavored to do, whether when I was attorney General or my other campaigns, is talk about the future and how it will impact the kids and the grandkids of our commonwealth. And what are we going to do to ensure that the commonwealth in this country is the. The best and brightest version of itself? That's what I'm focused on. And, you know, some folks might not like that. And some folks might want to see the, you know, you know, punching or beating down folks. And some people love it, and some people love that. But that's. That's not what. That's not what I'm going to do. I'm going to, you know, talk about the issues, talk about things that, you know, frankly, we talk about at home, my wife and I, or what I know other families are talking about, about as they, you know, try to pay for groceries and gas or summer leagues for their kids and that sort of thing.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, well, this race is a tough one for us to handicap because we spent most of our adult lives worrying about all of this stuff. And we've gotten to know all of you very well. What I can say, you're a good man. You're doing it for the right reason. We appreciate that you've come on shared all your views about this. We're going to stay very close.

[Daniel Cameron]

Let's do it.

[Josh Holmes]

And touch on this one.

[Daniel Cameron]

I'll come back. Whenever you, you want me, I'll come back. And if you do have those other candidates on and you want me as a guest.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, I'm your man. I'm your man.

[Daniel Cameron]

I'm just saying we just have a.

[Josh Holmes]

Little chair in front.

[Michael Duncan]

He's got C cards.

[Daniel Cameron]

No, I just raised my hand. Excuse me, man.

[Comfortably Smug]

We have a live audience.

[Josh Holmes]

You, sir, right there may recognize him as your opponent. No, listen, can't thank you enough for coming on and. Yeah, thank you. They want to do a debate on here. Yeah, we be probably the only group that would be respectful to all these guys.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

We kind of know them. Anyway, thanks for what you're doing. Keep up the good work and we'll talk soon.

[Elliott]

All right, babe.

[Josh Holmes]

Daniel Cameron.

[Daniel Cameron]

Thanks, guys. Thanks, everybody.

[Elliott]

I mean, just an incredible interview. This guy is running a very aggressive race and it's a very tight field. I feel like this is going to be a close one down to the end. We're going to talk to all the candidates to in Kentucky, but we've known Daniel for a long time and I feel like the guy is really, you know, hustling out there.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, he certainly has a built in constituency. He's been leading up until recent polls that have shown Andy Barr taking a lead. So he's. But he's clearly built a constituency out there. A lot of questions about fundraising, a lot of questions about, you know, whether he can close the door on it. But as you can hear for yourself, I mean, the guy is, he's an incredibly smart, interesting dude. And like what you get with almost all these primaries, unless you have a dog in the fight at the very beginning and you're just like hitched on, you're gonna find something to like about everybody that we interview. It just, it's just true.

[Comfortably Smug]

And that's why you listen to Ruthless Variety Program. Exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, exactly. So with all that being said, remember our question of the day. What's the most obvious fake news story you've seen about illegal immigration? Immigration. When you like it. Subscribe to the Ruthless Variety Program. We read all of your answers and get back to the very next episode. In this case, it's gonna be on Tuesday. No days off for President's Day for the Variety Program. We're gonna get right back to it and serve you on your way to work on Tuesday morning with a brand new episode. And I think Andy Bohr is our guest on that one. So you get another side of a three way primary in Kentucky that you just heard from Daniel. With that, fellas, I think we did it.

[Michael Duncan]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen, thank you so much, Daniel and Cameron, and thank you to listeners. Remember, if you have not yet, go to the YouTube and hit that subscribe because it's more fun in video. So until next time, minions, keep the faith, hold the line and own the lids. We'll see you on Tuesday. Stay ruthless.

[Josh Holmes]

Sam.