Trump's Military Options: Is A Strike On Iran Necessary?

Summary

Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary
Title: Trump's Military Options: Is A Strike On Iran Necessary?
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, and John Ashbrook
Guest: Brian Hook, Former Assistant Secretary of State

---

1. Introduction and Context Setting

The episode delves into a pressing geopolitical issue: whether former President Donald Trump should initiate a military strike against Iran or pursue diplomatic avenues to secure peace. Michael Duncan opens the discussion by emphasizing the importance of historical context in understanding current tensions between the United States and Iran.

Notable Quote:

Michael Duncan [00:00]: "You can't have that conversation and leave out all the context of what's happened for the last 50 years."

---

2. Historical Context of U.S.-Iran Relations

The hosts provide a comprehensive overview of the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Iran, tracing back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution when the Ayatollah seized power and declared opposition to Western interests. This opposition has manifested through various proxy groups and violent actions against American interests globally.

Key Points:

• 1979 Islamic Revolution: Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its immediate antagonism towards the West.
• Proxy Warfare: Iran's support for groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and others responsible for numerous attacks on American personnel and interests worldwide.
• Major Incidents:
  • Iranian Hostage Crisis: 52 American hostages held for 444 days.
  • Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing [05:14]: 241 American service members killed by Hezbollah.
  • Khobar Towers Attack [05:56]: 19 lives lost in a bombing at a U.S. Air Force base in Saudi Arabia.

Notable Quote:

Michael Duncan [06:07]: "These are people that have been doing terror all over the world for the last 50 years."

---

3. Recent Developments and Military Actions

The discussion moves to recent military actions taken by Israel against Iranian targets, highlighting the rapid success Israel achieved in establishing aerial superiority and decimating Iran's missile launch capabilities within 72 hours— a feat unmatched by other nations, such as Russia in Ukraine.

Key Points:

• Israeli Strikes: Effective elimination of Iran's proxies and missile launchers, significantly reducing Iran's offensive capabilities.
• Nuclear Facility Targeting: Focus on the Fordo facility, a heavily fortified and subterranean site central to Iran's nuclear program.

Notable Quote:

Brian Hook [19:45]: "The Israelis did it in 72 hours. And this is something which its significance cannot be overlooked."

---

4. Public Opinion and Polling Data

The hosts cite polling data illustrating strong American support for Trump's hardline stance on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, with 75% of Americans backing the assertion that Iran must be stopped by any means necessary.

Notable Quote:

Michael Duncan [11:57]: "A whopping 75% of the American people agree with the president."

---

5. Expert Analysis with Brian Hook

Brian Hook provides an in-depth analysis of the current dynamics between Israel and Iran, discussing potential military and diplomatic strategies the U.S. could employ. He outlines a spectrum of options ranging from defensive support for Israel to more aggressive joint strikes aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Key Points:

• Options Spectrum: From defensive support (e.g., supplying additional weapons) to offensive actions (e.g., dropping bunker-busting bombs on nuclear facilities).
• Fordo Facility: Designed to be impregnable, but advancements in weaponry (e.g., 30,000-pound bombs) could breach its defenses.
• Strategic Leverage: Reducing Iran's missile and proxy capabilities forces the regime back to the bargaining table due to diminishing offensive options.

Notable Quotes:

Brian Hook [22:18]: "He's run. He's out of his defenses. He can't typically... What would he do?"

Brian Hook [25:12]: "You could do joint strikes. And then at the very end of that Spectrum is a B2 bomber that flies over Iranian airspace and drops the massive ordinance penetrator, the MOP on Fordo, to deal the decisive blow to Iran's clandestine nuclear facility."

---

6. Possible Strategic Outcomes

The conversation explores potential responses from Iran's leadership, particularly the Ayatollah, who may escalate tensions through drones, rockets, or leveraging remaining alliances with groups like the Houthis if cornered by diminishing military capabilities.

Key Points:

• Iran's Strategic Position: With its missile launchers being systematically destroyed, Iran faces limited options.
• Potential Escalations: Possibility of increased drone attacks or leveraging remaining proxies in regions like Yemen.
• Negotiation Prospects: As Iran's offensive capabilities wane, there remains a window for diplomatic negotiations to prevent further conflict.

Notable Quote:

Brian Hook [28:33]: "What are your options? Right. And so, like, what time does that provide Donald Trump to see if he can get the Ayatollah to the bargaining table?"

---

7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The hosts conclude by weighing the balance between military intervention and diplomatic negotiations. They emphasize Trump's unique position to achieve both nuclear non-proliferation and peace, highlighting his consistent stance against Iran's nuclear ambitions and his desire for global stability.

Notable Quotes:

Comfortably Smug [35:43]: "He has been very clear consistently over a number of years that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He's also been very clear consistently over a number of years that he wants world peace."

Michael Duncan [35:42]: "Does Trump strike Iran or does he buy time to negotiate peace?"

---

8. Noteworthy Exchanges and Clips

Throughout the episode, the hosts integrate clips and discussions that reinforce their points, including exchanges between political figures like Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, which underscore the urgency and polarized opinions surrounding Iran's nuclear threat.

Notable Clip Highlight:

Clip from 12:00:

Ted Cruz discusses the necessity of a military strike against Iran if they are perceived as a direct threat to the president, reflecting the intensity of the debate within conservative circles.

---

9. Final Remarks

The episode wraps up by reiterating the critical nature of informed discourse on U.S.-Iran relations, urging listeners to consider the historical context and expert insights when evaluating the potential paths forward. The absence of host Josh Holmes is noted, but the hosts ensure a comprehensive and engaging discussion remains intact.

Closing Quote:

John Ashbrook [62:34]: "Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen. Thank you so much, Brian Hook. And thank you to our listeners and viewers."

---

This episode of the Ruthless Podcast provides a thorough exploration of the complex dynamics between the United States, Iran, and Israel, offering listeners a nuanced perspective on potential military and diplomatic strategies. Through historical context, expert analysis, and engagement with public opinion, the hosts present a compelling case for the necessity of decisive action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions while remaining open to the possibilities of peace.

Transcript

[Michael Duncan]

Should Donald Trump strike Iran? Should he wait out the process in order to try to find peace? I don't want America to put boots on the ground anywhere in the Middle east ever again. But you can't have that conversation and leave out all the context of what's happened for the last 50 years. And not for nothing, but like, who do you think was killing all those American service members in Iraq? It was Qasem Soleimani who we turned into salsa, who was putting those IEDs with the Shia militias across Iraq. None of this is without that important context. America's beverage companies are investing in America. We're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometowns. We're local bottlers and manufacturers operating in all 50 states, employing more than 275,000Americans in good paying jobs, delivering for the.

[Comfortably Smug]

Nation because we believe in the promise.

[Michael Duncan]

Of America and the people who make it great. Learn [e-mail] paid for by the American Beverage Association.

[Comfortably Smug]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

[John Ashbrook]

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

[Comfortably Smug]

It's time for our main event.

[Michael Duncan]

Welcome back to the Ruthless Variety Program. I'm Michael Duncan, joined with me Comfortably Smug and John Ashbrook. No Josh Holmes again today, unfortunately, but we have a great show for you.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, there's a lot going on.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, there's a lot going on.

[Comfortably Smug]

May have noticed, but we do miss our friend.

[Michael Duncan]

We do.

[Comfortably Smug]

And we can't wait till next Tuesday when he comes right back here to you.

[Michael Duncan]

Tuesday, you know, to. To quote our good friend, Tuesday. But we have a great Thursday for you here. Obviously the big news. Should Donald Trump strike Iran? Should he wait out the process in order to try to find peace? There's a lot of things that is being discussed, particularly on the right in our political discourse right now and a lot on Twitter. Right. I think my complaint with all of it, though, is that it's really decontextualized from the history of what Iran has become, what they've done and what the stakes of all of this is.

[Comfortably Smug]

You're saying sometimes Twitter fights can lack context?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, unfortunately, there's a character limit. Right. We have a great show for you. I'm not going to spoil everything here at the top because what I first want to get to is sort of that history. The thing I think is sort of lost that context for all of us, in particular for our younger listeners and viewers, you know, those zoomers and millennials who maybe don't remember a lot of this stuff. So Iran 1979, the Islamic Revolution. The Ayatollah takes power. And they're very clear from the front end that they're in opposition to the west into the United States. And Iran has, through its proxies, made war on the west over the period of all of those years. But let's take a step back and go down memory lane. Let's go to clip number one, please. Spaghetts.

[Brian Hook]

The special report that we planned to bring you tonight was about domestic politics, the battle among the Democrats. But we think the crisis in Iran is more urgent right now than the campaign here at home. Some 60Americans, including our fellow citizen, whom you just saw bound and blindfolded, are now beginning their sixth day of captivity.

[Michael Duncan]

Inside the US Embassy in Tehran.

[Brian Hook]

It's Friday morning there now, but throughout this night in Washington, officials will continue.

[Michael Duncan]

Their search for some way to negotiate the hostages freedom. Yeah, so that was the hostages being taken from the US embassy in Iran. They were there for 444 days, I think 52 of them that entire period of time. And so you saw the escalation from the beginnings of, of the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by the Ayatollah, that they had an opposition view to the West.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. And that's something that happened just a few years after the mullahs, this sort of like radical religious regime took over in Iran.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, but it didn't stop stop there. Obviously, Iran, you know, basically projects power in the world through these proxies, whether that's Hezbollah or Hamas or all these sorts of people. Let's go to clip number two, please. Baguettes. The gruesome search for bodies continued today. Rescue workers did in fact find more bodies.

[Comfortably Smug]

And with each discovery, the task became more painful. The official toll now tops 160 dead and more than 180 wounded, not counting one body that was pulled from the debris while News 4 was on the scene this afternoon. Rescue crews work quickly today, clearing tons of rubble, but much remains to be done. Marine officials expect to find even more.

[Brian Hook]

Bodies and they have all but given.

[Comfortably Smug]

Up hope of finding anyone else alive.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, so that is the, that is the Beirut Marine barrack bombing carried out by Hezbollah on behalf of Iran killed 241American service members.

[Comfortably Smug]

And so your point here is that there is a long history of the Iranians activating and attacking Americans and there's context that's worth knowing.

[Michael Duncan]

Right, Right. It's important, doesn't end there. Let's go to clip number three. Police baguettes at the White House. The American flag flies at half Staff, as the nation mourns the loss of 19 lives in a bombing at a US Air Force base in Saudi Arabia. Good evening, everyone. I'm Nadine Woodward.

[Comfortably Smug]

And I'm Charles Rowe.

[John Ashbrook]

Tonight, crem2 team coverage of the truck.

[Comfortably Smug]

Bomb in Saudi Arabia.

[John Ashbrook]

That powerful blast left a 30 foot.

[Comfortably Smug]

Crater as it ripped through base housing.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, so ten US Airmen were killed in the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia. It doesn't really even end there. I mean, look, we're really just talking about a few of the attacks carried out by Iranian proxies. Iran funds Hezbollah, Palestinian, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, the Houthi rebels in Yemen. You're talking about terrorist groups that have conducted bombings, hijackings from everywhere from Argentina to Athens. I mean, Hezbollah alone bombing in Argentina. They hijacked AirAfriq, they hijacked Air France, they hijacked a Kuwaiti airline. I mean, these are people that have been doing terror all over the world for the last 50 years.

[Comfortably Smug]

A legacy of state sponsored terror.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. It's important to say that, you know, when people talk about, oh well, what is America's interests here in the Middle East? Well, they brought the war to us for the last 50 years. It's about whether America gets involved in this. I want peace. I don't want America to put boots on the ground anywhere in the Middle east ever again. But you can't have that conversation and leave out all the context of what's happened for the last 50 years. And not for nothing, but like, who do you think was killing all those American service members in Iraq? It was Qasem Soleimani who we turned into Salsa, who was putting those IEDs with the Shia militias across Iraq. None of this is without that important context, I don't think.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, no, I think it's really important to understand history. You know, you need to know the facts that led up to the situation that we're at right now. And there's so much like if you look across the country at schools, these teachers, these teachers unions, these public schools refuse to teach actual history to kids so that they can know and they can make decisions based on actual facts and actual knowledge. And there is nobody who wants another 20 year boots on the ground mission where American service members are sent to just on something that they don't necessarily even understand. Right. And I don't think that President Trump is even considering something like that.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's what. Well, for me, I'll say that colors my opinion tremendously is looking at the American foreign policy experience of the past 20 plus years, you know, right. We'd been told before that, well, listen, you know, these countries yearn for democracy and, you know, we can start building bridges and there'll be a verdant society waiting for us on the other side of this. And it didn't work out. And it took, you know, a cost of blood and treasure and time and heartache. And I think any kind of foreign policy interaction for the United States, that instantly is the first thought that comes to people's minds is because that's what we have lived for the past 20 years. And just as recently as you see Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, I remember I was rewatching at the same time the Ken Burns Vietnam documentary. It's like I see helicopters flying, carrying people fleeing from rooftops, and I'm like, am I watching the Vietnam doc or am I watching live footage of Kabul? You know, it's like, at some point we gotta learn from history. So that fear of let's not do this again, folks, is what's driving a lot of opinions. It's certainly something that I am extremely concerned with. I think when you bring up the example of custom soleimani, to me, that is flawless, flawless foreign policy where it's like, can this problem be solved using intelligence? I guess, you know, that some came, I guess from our allies or something. Can we use intelligence and then American weaponry, right?

[Comfortably Smug]

And it's not like there's no American in harm's way. There's somebody flying the plane, there's somebody gathering the intelligence. So like, let's not pretend like there isn't an American who is putting their life on the line. But there's a difference between that and sending thousands and thousands of people from the Midwest to the Middle East.

[Michael Duncan]

But we should be clear eyed on the opposite side of what they've done to us. I mean, after that Beirut bombing, you were talking about the intelligence on the ground that there are Americans over there in the Middle east that are gathering that intelligence in order to do things like turn Soleimani into salsa. After that Beirut bombing, Hezbollah kidnapped the CIA station chief, tortured him.

[Comfortably Smug]

He's an American, killed him.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. You know, so it's, it's not without precedent that Iran has declared war on the West. They've done it for the last 50 years. I just wanted all that context out there for when people are talking about shooting from the hip. Like, oh, well, you know, I don't know if this is really in America's interest. And fine, if you don't want to do anything about Iran. Okay, okay.

[Comfortably Smug]

No, no, it's, it's. But it's very important to know the history. And it's one thing to say, oh, I know how many people live in the country, and it's quite another thing to understand what they've actually done to us.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And I think it's very clear that, you know, the American people don't want a regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the revolutionary country in the Middle east, who says, death to the great Satan, America, to have a nuclear weapon. And I think we have polling on that spaghetti. Can we put that up? And tonight, the American people overwhelmingly agree the country's most accurate pollsters. That would be Trafalgar Insider advantage.

[Brian Hook]

They nailed the 2016, 20, 20, 2024 presidential elections.

[Michael Duncan]

They posed the following question, and it is right to the heart of the issue here. What is your opinion of President Trump's position that Iran must be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon? Adding by any means necessary. Take a look at your screen. A whopping 75% of the American people agree with the president. Right. So that's where the American people are. And they're probably there because a lot of them know the history of what we all just discussed here on the Ruthless Variety Program. But far too often our conversation, especially on the right, is devoid of any of that sort of context. I want to play a clip from Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson's exchange. They had this wide ranging interview about this whole conflict. Let's play that clip. And if it's true that Iran is trying to murder Trump, we need to move militarily against Iran immediately. That's not isolationism. That's the most. That's a call to violence, which I am calling for. If we believe that Iran is trying to murder our president, we need to strike Iran. Okay. But Islamist say things like, well, then just nuke them. Which is what you just kind of upset because I'm taking you seriously. You don't take your own statement.

[Comfortably Smug]

I take my statements very seriously.

[Michael Duncan]

So I've asked you, where's the evidence this is true. And you said they're trying to assassinate Brian Hook or something. Which I'm against, by the way. And I'm against hurting any American, period. No matter. So you dispute that they're trying to murder. Not disputing it. Bolton. I'm not disputing. They literally arrested the hitman with Bolton. I don't know why that's even relevant. I'm asking about the president. United States. It's not relevant that Iran hired hitmen to murder cabinet members in Trump's administration. That doesn't go to I've already incredible. Is it that they're willing to spend money to do that? Opposed to that. Okay, so I guess my complaint with the Tucker thing here in this line of questioning is it, it seems like it's always a moving target. Like there's always this pedantic thing that Tucker does where he changes the question in the middle of the question to not actually say whether he thinks that's bad or not.

[Comfortably Smug]

Right. But the point of view he's expressing is something that's shared by not insignificant.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Group of people on the right. People are concerned like smug was going into this. You've gone into this over and over again. People are worried that we might be on the precipice of sending another group of Americans, another generation of Americans into a 20 year land war against Iran. Of course, that is not what President Trump is talking about at all. These guys name checked someone that was familiar to us here at the Ruthless Variety Program, a guy named Brian Hook, who because of everything that he did in service of our country, the Iranians are trying to kill.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Comfortably Smug]

So maybe we should ask Brian Hook what he thinks about this situation.

[Michael Duncan]

That's right. Our interview today is with Brian Hook himself, who's going to give you a rundown of the state of play currently in the Israel Iran conflict. Let's go to that. President Trump knows that farmers are the engine of our economy. He's always had their back and now Congress can too. Tax provisions like duty drawback ensure American farmers win in a competitive global marketplace. And duty drawback drives investment in American farming communities, helping farmers and their families. Special interests want to get rid of duty drawback.

[Brian Hook]

Congress must stop them.

[Michael Duncan]

Because when American farmers win, America wins. Congress protect the duty drawback provision for American farmers. Well, with all the news out of this conflict between Iran in Israel, we thought it was only fair to the listeners and viewers of the Ruthless Variety Program that we get somebody actually smart about this stuff, way smarter than us. So welcome to the show. Former Assistant Secretary of State Brian Hook. How are you?

[Brian Hook]

Thank you. Good to be back on the variety show.

[Michael Duncan]

Yes. You are a repeat guest here on the show and given your cv, I can't think of anybody better to come here to educate us about how we got here. Right. Because, you know, we've heard about the Iranian nuclear threat for a long time. Why this moment? Why did Israel pick this time to take it out?

[Brian Hook]

I think it starts on October 7th and even though the Iran nuclear program predates that, right after October 7, Prime Minister Netanyahu said never again. And the only time in Israel's history they said that was after the Holocaust. And so when I heard that, like around whatever it was shortly after October 7th, I realized this was not going to be a mow the lawn operation in Gaza, that when Israel says never again, the last time they said it, they built a country. And so my conclusion at that time was there is going to be a new security architecture in the Middle East. It's going to start in Gaza, it's then going to work north up to Hezbollah, and then it's going to work its way ultimately to what Israel calls the head of the snake. And now the bill has come due from October 7, and Israel has prepared the theater in a way that Iran is, is, doesn't have anywhere near the capabilities that it did. Iran's defense and its power projection rests on two pillars, proxies and missiles. You don't hear about the Iranian army and you don't hear about an Iranian air force because all of their capabilities rest on those two things. Israel took out the proxies, with the exception of the Houthis, I would say is the last functioning that has throw weight and then they're taking out all the missiles. And so now Israel is in a position where it is ready to take that last step, which is the nuclear program. And you know, you can do it from the air or you can do it on the ground. And it's unclear how it's going to be settled at this point. The options set here is quite, it's quite a spectrum.

[Comfortably Smug]

So when you talk about the nuclear program, a lot of people I've heard this term about the Fordo facility underground in Iran, and it's 300 meters underground.

[Brian Hook]

About 30 stories deep.

[Michael Duncan]

30 stories deep.

[Comfortably Smug]

Is that that's likely where all of their nuclear enrichment is taking place. And it's not easy to get to. I mean, I wonder if you describe.

[Brian Hook]

By design, Fordo is like the Fort Knox of Iran's nuclear program. It's where all of the most sensitive nuclear research is done. And they decided to do all of this 30 stories below ground because at the time of its design, it's not something which Israel has the capabilities to penetrate. But with the weapon set that we have, the 30,000 pound bomb, you can penetrate 30 stories down and take it out.

[Michael Duncan]

And so that would be sort of the last component to this, you know, all these strikes that were happening in Iran. I'm curious from Your perspective, as somebody who's obviously studied Iran and the region, you know, for your whole career, did the first 72 hours of all of this surprise you at all? Like how tactical Israel was in taking out the leadership of the Iranian military and the targets they did take out in that first 72 hours.

[Brian Hook]

Think about this Russia. President Putin, over three and a half years of war against Ukraine, has not established aerial superiority. The Israelis did it in 72 hours. And this is something which its significance cannot be overlooked. So I think the success of that was compelling because the Iranian regime was responsible for the Deaths of like,603Americans in Iraq alone. Then when you look at how Iran has funded its proxies like Hezbollah, Hezbollah is responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any terrorist organization, pre Al Qaeda. So America has had interests around in this space, plus the nuclear peace. So now that Iran has largely been, I mean, amazingly over the last. Its proxies have been wiped out. It doesn't have an air force. Its missile launchers are being taken out by the dozens.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brian Hook]

And so now you have this option that has presented itself to the, to President Trump that I don't think, like, to your question, I don't think 70, you know, the first 72 hours. I don't think anybody would have ever thought that that could be the state of play. Israel, I think, because it's got great capabilities through its air force, through the Mossad, through other channels, cyber everything. Plus America, President Trump helping on the defensive side. Right. Our engagement to date has been defensive. And now there is this option set that has revealed itself as a consequence of the success that Israel has had.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay, so I want to talk about that option. Options set. And I saw you on Fox News this morning and you were talking about, you know, obviously they have a lot of missile production in Iran, but there's a disproportionate number of actual launchers to launch the things. And every time that, you know, Iran launches these missiles, they're identifying new targets for Israel to then go and strike and take out more of their capability. How much Runway does Iran have here to continue at this pace with the degradation that's already happened before? Like, by necessity, they're forced back to the bargaining table.

[Brian Hook]

This is, this is the question I was asking myself just an hour ago, reading the tweet, Storm of the Ayatollah.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

He's run. He's. All of his options are bad. He, he's, he's out of, he's out of his defenses. He doesn't have the, he can't typically. What would he do? You unleash. You unleash Hamas.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Drones from Hezbollah, you know, drones from.

[Brian Hook]

Hezbollah, rockets from the north.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

You've got Syria with Assad. Right. Gone.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brian Hook]

You've got these proxies running around Iraq. Yeah. I mean, there's just, there's not much left.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

So if you're, if you are the supreme, you know, if you're the Ayatollah, you're looking at this. And by the way, all of your generals are dead. And so I'm, I was, I was surprised that he is not taking the off ramp that President Trump has offered. And it's just, it's bewildering. It's, it's starting to look like it's, it's not a rational response to just the box that he's in. He's in the corner. And so right now you've got various military options that I think are available to the President now, which include. Now it's the offensive peace. We've done the defensive piece by helping Israel intercept the missiles. Right. Which is Iron Dome has historically dealt with rockets, but now they're having to deal with Iranian missiles coming in hundreds. And they've intercepted most of them, but not all. And you're having every day in Israel anywhere between like five and 15 people dying. So, but as you said this, they're running out of missile launchers.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

The, the, the vulnerability of the Iranian regime is they didn't match their missile production with their missile launch capability. And so now, as you look at the statistics on the number of missiles coming over, they're declining dramatically every day because as you said. Yeah. Every time they launch something from a fixed or mobile launcher, they've now notified the Israelis where to hit, which is what they're doing. They've taken out at least, I mean, last time I checked, like a third. And I think what the Israelis want to do is they want the Runway in the coming weeks to destroy all of it. And if they can take out all of them, there aren't going to be any missiles or rockets coming in from anywhere. They're not coming from Hezbollah or Hamas or Syria or Iran. The risk is around the Houthis, but they're already bombing. You know, they're bringing the fight to the Houthis. So I think the option set for President Trump is you could do, you can help Israel more offensively. You can, you can help them logistically, materially. Right. You can help them by. You could give them weapons, maybe that they don't have. Which could include that bomb. This is the bunker busting, the bunker busting bomb.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay.

[Brian Hook]

You can help with refueling. There's a lot of stuff that you can help on the offensive side. The Ayatollah already thinks that it's there, but you can move this up by degrees. You could do joint strikes. And then at the very end of that Spectrum is a B2 bomber that flies over Iranian airspace and drops the massive ordinance penetrator, the MOP on Fordo, to deal the decisive blow to Iran's clandestine nuclear facility.

[Michael Duncan]

So we were talking about this before we recorded Ashbrook and I about this. You know, this facility. I have to imagine that Israel or us or some combination of the two has to have some sort of high altitude drone surveillance of this facility to know are they moving material out of it or. I'm just curious. It's like the threat has been made that, like, we might engage offensively and drop this bunker buster bomb. What's to stop Iran from moving material out of that facility? I guess it's the only one that's deep enough that it would then be protected. So maybe they wouldn't do that. But I'm sort of curious what that, what happens there.

[Brian Hook]

It's clear now that, that, that the Mossad has penetrated deep into Iran. And they even did that before when they took out the political leader of Hamas in Tehran inside an IRGC compound. That was proof, I don't know how long ago that was. That's now been some time ago. So they had already penetrated it. You have a massive population in Iran that is deeply dissatisfied with the Iranian regime. And those people can be recruits for Israel to conduct operations against the regime. And this is something which Israel is now talking about fairly openly, that they have achieved that kind of penetration. And so they did that in Lebanon and now they're doing it in Iran where they decapitated the leadership of Hezbollah. They did it in Gaza. Now they did it with the IDF in Gaza. They did it with airstrikes in Lebanon, and they're now doing it in Tehran and in Iran and taking out the sort of the leadership. And so there are, as I said earlier, I think there are ways, I'm sure that Israel has mapped out every inch of Fordo just like they've mapped out Bashir, Natanz, Isfahan. The Iranian nuclear infrastructure is not centrally located. It is by design dispersed. But Israel has now demonstrated an ability to know exactly how to hit, where to hit, when to hit. And they're doing it with impunity the iaea, the UN Nuclear agency, confirmed that Israel has penetrated than a Tanz nuclear facility and got below ground. And if they just keep landing ordinance on the same spot over and over again, you're going to get to the basement. Now, Fordo is a different story because, as we talked about, it's so deep.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

To really get to it, you're either going to have to get inside the building with human assets that destroy it, or you do it from the air. And I would not rule out either option.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's just. It's wild. And to think about the intelligence that the Israelis have. And, I mean, you know, the Iranians have always talked big. You mentioned the tweet storm from the Ayatollah, and there was something on Iranian television promising, like it was two nights ago, promising a giant surprise that's coming soon. And, you know, my mind automatically goes to, well, maybe they're trying to move nukes out of. Out of Fordo and somewhere else in the Middle east. And they're going to. I mean, what do you. What sort of thing do you think they're capable of doing when they make a threat like that?

[Brian Hook]

It's a lot of bluster. It's starting to sound a little bit like Baghdad Bob. And that there is a fair amount of hyperbole, you know, and propaganda.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brian Hook]

That's kind of the stock and trade of this regime. The Israelis are just the reverse. It's like very quiet until the patriots go off.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, yeah. They don't. They don't brag about it till it's already done.

[Brian Hook]

No, no, it's all after. Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And Iran's all about putting out the hype video before they launch the missiles. And then everyone's like, okay, well, you remember.

[Brian Hook]

You remember when. When President Trump was out of office during the Biden administration, they were putting. There are videos on the Ayatollah's website of them assassinating President Trump on a golf course. And this is the weird sort of propaganda machine of the Iranian regime. And this is kind of how they operate. I don't know if they can back this up, but it kind of surprises. I don't know if they. If they actually have. In light of the Israeli strikes, I don't know if they have the surprise capability that they're advertising.

[Michael Duncan]

Is that more domestic politics than it is actually projecting strength to the rest of the world?

[Brian Hook]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brian Hook]

I think that the Iranian regime is always trying to figure out its domestic survival.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

And. And if at any point they look like they are losing to the great twin Satan of Israel and the United States. It's. It's an existential moment for them because the whole apparatus, the whole revolution, the whole thing is premised on Israel and the United States. And if they admit any defeat, you undercut the purpose, the entire reason for it's the 79 revolution.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Brian Hook]

So I think they don't have any choice but to say, you know, we're still winning and the Zionist entity is going to lose. And this is the sort of the. You see it in all of the tweets at the ayatollah sent out. He's doubling down. We'll see if he takes the off ramp. Just based on the outside looking at this and my experience in the first term, President Trump very much wants to get to a deal with the Iranian regime. He much prefers that to war. There is a path where all of this can be avoided, but the Iranian regime needs to recognize that the nuclear program is going away and you can probably have a peaceful nuclear power. The United Arab Emirates, right across the Gulf has a nuclear program. They don't enrich. Over half of the nations in the world that have nuclear power don't enrich. So you can have a nuclear. You can have a nuclear program, but you can't enrich. You can have Russia do it. You can have a consortium. Right. Of where the fuel bank comes to countries in the region. Then you take away this question. If you can't enrich, you remove the question. Well, how close is Iran to a nuclear weapon?

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

But for as long as they can enrich, like the Obama nuclear deal, left intact the entire nuclear infrastructure. So what does it say about the strength of the Iran nuclear deal that as soon as we're out of it, they can race to a bomb?

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Brian Hook]

The deal should be structured in a way that prevents Iran from racing to a nuclear weapon. And that's the infirmity. For as long as you allow Iran to enrich up to a level to get a nuclear bomb, it's going to incentivize an arms race in the region. Where are there, it's Saudi Arabia or it's anybody. We're like, well, we need to enrich if they're going to enrich.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. Well, it's terrifying. It is terrifying stuff, existential for the Iranian regime and really the whole Middle East. Hopefully we can get to peace because I know we all want that. Brian Hook, every time I talk to you, I get smarter. Thank you so much for coming in here.

[Brian Hook]

Yeah, enjoyed it. Thanks. Thanks for having me on. You bet.

[Comfortably Smug]

Man, that guy is so smart. You always learn something when he stops by. The ruthless variety program. And there is a lot of context that he provided about the region and everything that the Israelis are doing right now that I thought was very interesting.

[Michael Duncan]

It's very interesting. I mean, where do you get this?

[John Ashbrook]

Where do you get this?

[Michael Duncan]

Immediate secure that right in. In 18 minutes. Brian Hook covered a vast array of potential outcomes here. And it seems like to me, like the ball's kind of in the Ayatollah's hands right now for how he wants to play this. They're degrading his capacity to launch these missiles. The strike over the first 72 hours that Israel conducted, taking out the military leadership of Iran, it's incredible.

[Comfortably Smug]

And you know, and he knows he is facing against an American president who is as strong as any president we've had in a very long time. And he is no bullshit. You know, like, he's been unequivocal about his statements. And the Ayatollah has to know that he's in a corner. I thought. I thought those were some pretty good points.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, I guess what I love about it from our perspective, at the end of the day, my interest is what's best for America is every night when Iran wants to fire more missiles into Israel, they're painting more targets for Israel to take out from these surface to air launchers, you know, which they're losing capacity of.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And so at that point, what are you going to do? You've lost all of your proxies, you've lost Hamas, you've lost Hezbollah, and now you're losing your capacity to actually fire missiles into Israel. So that where are your options? Right. And so, like, what time does that provide Donald Trump to see if he can get the Ayatollah to the bargaining table? That's our question of the day. Does Trump strike Iran or does he buy time to negotiate peace? Maybe it's peace after a strike. Maybe it's you buy time into next week and see if you can get the Ayatollah to the bargaining table. I don't know.

[John Ashbrook]

He.

[Comfortably Smug]

I'll tell you my take. He has been very clear consistently over a number of years that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He's also been very clear consistently over a number of years that he wants world peace. Right. And so I think that of anybody living and breathing in this entire country, there is one person who's capable of achieving both goals, and that's Donald Trump.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Couldn't say it better myself, dude. 100%.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah. So that's the heavy stuff, fellas, right?

[Comfortably Smug]

The vegetables.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the vegetables. We have a lot of other great stuff here in the ruthless variety program today. We got Senator Padilla crying. We got some great clips from the wnba, just a lot of great content. And we're also going to be reading your comments from the question from last episode on Tuesday. On Tuesday.

[Comfortably Smug]

Great.

[Michael Duncan]

We're going to get to all that right after this. America is built on hard work and powered by American energy.

[Brian Hook]

Chevron has spent $44 billion with local businesses across all 50 states since 2022, fueling infrastructure and communities, all while strengthening local economies. Last year, Chevron increased U.S. production nearly 20%, powering communities and businesses from the heartlands to the coasts. We're helping to fuel America's energy advantage, building a brighter future right here at home.

[Michael Duncan]

Visit chevron.comamera to discover more. All right, and we're back. All right, so we got to get to our question of the day from last episode. Will no Kings revitalize the left? It seemed like everybody in Democratic politics was really spun up about this thing and how successful it was. They were really happy about it and they haven't had a lot to cheer for, so who can blame them, really? But that's sort of our question and we want to know what you think. And to do that, we always start with a voice.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay. First comment comes from Jimmy Major. And Jimmy writes, social media was lighting up after the no Kings protests with participants celebrating how they stuck it to Trump and boasting how they had many more numbers than attended the fascist parade. What America saw was a gathering of hate filled leftists deep in denial that they lost the election and who collectively lifted their leg and peed on the 250th celebration of the United States Army. All they accomplished was to label themselves anti military, anti patriotism, and anti American. Rumors are they will mount another protest on July 4th. I say keep digging that hole. And fellas, keep pumping out those banger shows. Love you guys. Oh, I love the Jimmy major and.

[Michael Duncan]

I love how he illustrated that juxtaposition. You got like us celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army. You got guys like in Revolutionary War garb. And then, you know, you got World War II guard. We're just celebrating the Army.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

And they're like, fascist parade. You love it. All right, smug, what do we have for comment 2?

[John Ashbrook]

Comment 2 comes from Michael Dius. Michael writes, the no Kings protests can't revitalize the left as they are horribly condemned to jump from crisis to crisis with the intelligence and attention span of a squirrel.

[Michael Duncan]

That is very true.

[John Ashbrook]

That's a great point. Because that is part of their problem. It's like voters, like, I remember seeing all these after election polls, and they were like, what issues does Trump stand for? Boom. They could be like, well, deported. Deportation of illegals, economy, boom, boom, boom. Fighting crime. What do Democrats stand for? There are like, 70 issues each at, like, 3, 4%.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the problem with intersectionality. Like, they just have to run to the next fire, you know, in order to complain. I love it.

[Comfortably Smug]

I love me, too.

[Michael Duncan]

Comment number three here. This is from Bill SMB. Bill writes listener from the St. Louis area. Enjoyed the show. My wife encouraged me to start listening to your podcast. My thought is that I find it remarkable that Trump has now been elevated from Hitler, Nazi scum, rapist, convicted felon to a king. I guess his approval rating is on an upward trajectory.

[John Ashbrook]

That's good.

[Michael Duncan]

That's very, very, very funny. All right, so for a little bit of the lighter side of the news, now, we got to get to our lightning round. Donald Trump, he would like to install two huge flagpoles at the White House, and he did that on Wednesday. Let's go to that clip. Clip number five, please. Spaghettz, what gave you the idea to do this? I've had it for a long time. The first time I had it beginning, guys were after me.

[Brian Hook]

I said I had a focus.

[Michael Duncan]

I was.

[Brian Hook]

I was the hunted, and now I'm the hunter. It's a big difference.

[John Ashbrook]

That's like the hardest line of the.

[Michael Duncan]

It's the hardest. You know what? I love when Trump sometimes keeps things super vague, you know, where he's like, I was, you know, I was the hunt, and now I'm the hunter. And you don't know if he's talking sick, dude. You don't know if he's talking about Iran. You don't know if he's talking about, like, oh, well, you know, I came into office last time, and it was Russiagate and all this bullshit from the beginning. And I was in defensive posture, like, he doesn't elaborate. He's just like, I was the hunted, now I'm the hunter.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I mean, it's in so many ways because, like, the vindication he has of being elected after they tried to kill him, after they tried to jail him.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And it's like, all the American people were with him. He's here now. Now he's on the Offense.

[Michael Duncan]

Just living his best life.

[Comfortably Smug]

So cool. And you know what? For too long, throughout history, the North Pole and the South Pole of our planet have been. Their location has been mislabeled.

[Michael Duncan]

That's right.

[Comfortably Smug]

Okay. It's been Antarctica, and it's been up in the Arctic Circle. All right.

[Michael Duncan]

I love this take.

[Comfortably Smug]

And right now, the North Pole and the South Pole are exactly where they belong, in the north side and the south side of our White House surrounding our great president. And he paid for them himself.

[Michael Duncan]

That's great. I love it. All right, so you remember, I think it was last week, Senator Padilla from. From California.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

He did his best LeBron James flop where he went into a press conference that Kristi Noem was having and basically tried to make a scene and get detained so he could get attention. He has now recounted that harrowing experience. Let's go to clip number six, please. Baguettes. You've seen the video.

[Comfortably Smug]

I was pushed and pulled.

[Michael Duncan]

Struggled to maintain my balance. Come on. I was forced to the ground. Oh. Oh, no. First on my knees.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, okay.

[Michael Duncan]

And then flat on my chest. And as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway repeatedly asking, why am I being detained? I disrupted an event. Not once. I'm shocked did they tell me why, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions.

[John Ashbrook]

A huge problem is that for the longest time, the left has been allowed to run amok.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

You've seen it in cities across this country where crime was essentially made legal, and it turns the city into a shithole where you don't want to be. They were like, well, we can just run amok and do whatever. And anytime you go into a drugstore or Target or something, every single thing is going to be in plastic cases. You're going to have to get someone to run over with keys if you want to buy some toothpaste. We're back to consequences, folks. Like, welcome to the world of where you are held accountable. Thank God. And like, another part of the problem with this clown is, and you've seen it before, California is the bluest of blue states where clowns like that get appointed and they get put up by the party bosses. They fail their way up, and they fail their way up. And the most ultimate, like, order of failures is Kamala Harris essentially gets handed that Senate seat, right? Then she gets appointed to be VP for Joe Biden because he made a promise to cut the deal so that he would get the nomination. And then this guy gets promoted to his job. Like, they're not good at winning elections.

[Michael Duncan]

It's not, not, not much of a farm system.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's such a good point.

[Michael Duncan]

It's such a good point. And you're right.

[John Ashbrook]

Like, the talent atrophies when you're left with this.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, especially when you're in a state like California where it's one party rule and like, they have no actual competition of ideas. Their media is completely subservient to the Democratic Party. So you don't actually have to be talented to get elected.

[John Ashbrook]

Nope.

[Michael Duncan]

No, you're absolutely right. But the talentless Democrats are not without competition. It isn't just Padilla here. We got Ilhan Omar. He's decided to talk a little bit about these ICE arrests.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, boy.

[Michael Duncan]

Let's go to that clip, please. Spaghettz.

[Brian Hook]

To be coming out of our country.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, I grew up in a dictatorship and I don't even remember ever witnessing anything like that. To have a democracy, a beacon of.

[Brian Hook]

Hope for the world to now be turned into one of the, you know, one of the worst countries where the.

[Michael Duncan]

Military are in our streets without any regard for people's constitutional rights, while our.

[Brian Hook]

President is spending more millions of dollars prompting himself up like a failed dictator.

[Michael Duncan]

With a military parade. Unbelievable.

[John Ashbrook]

That makes my blood boil. I mean, that really made me irate when I saw that. Because for her to say we're turning into one of the worst countries on earth. There are so many videos of her at rallies where she's saying that I want folks to think of me as the congresswoman from Somalia and I'm going to do everything to support Somalia and use my role in Congress to support Somalia. And it's like, okay, wait a minute. All we're hearing is you're saying America's one of the worst countries on earth. You're doing everything you can to try to get taxpayers to support Somalia. And you're like, when I was in Somalia, I never saw anything this bad. You gotta go back. You gotta go back.

[Michael Duncan]

It's a failed state. Like, there's literally pirates.

[John Ashbrook]

What a like.

[Michael Duncan]

And America is one of the worst countries. I mean, this is a place where you immigrated and you became a member of the United States States House of Representatives.

[John Ashbrook]

What insults.

[Michael Duncan]

And you think this is a bad country.

[John Ashbrook]

What an insult that she was allowed into this country and is allowed to stay, let alone elected. That's an insult to every American. She should be sent right back. It's unbelievable. It's outrageous. It's outrageous that people say that. Have some gratitude for this country.

[Michael Duncan]

Right?

[John Ashbrook]

It didn't Just like save your life. Now for some reason, some foolish voters have put you in office. Unless you get say in Congress. And that's your take.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[John Ashbrook]

Get her, Chris. You know, put her on the plane.

[Michael Duncan]

You know, on a related topic here, smug. I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger was on the View recently and they basically asked his opinion of these ICE arrests happening in California. And this is a guy obviously who immigrated to the United States and they were very disappointed by his response where he basically was like, I owe everything to the United States of America. I was embraced by the American people like that. I mean, imagine they came over here with the age of 21 with absolutely nothing and then to create a career like that. I mean, in no other country in the world could you do that. I just think the world of the great kind of history that we have with immigrants in America. But the key thing also is at the same time that we got to do things legal. That is the important thing, you know, so you got to do things legal. And those people that are doing illegal things in America and that are foreigners, they are not smart. Because when you come to America, you're a guest and you have to behave like a guest. Like when I go to someone's house and I'm a guest, then I would do everything I can, keep things clean and to make my bed and to do everything that is the right thing to do rather than committing a crime or being abusive or something like that.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, I'm shocked. I didn't expect that from him.

[Michael Duncan]

Isn't that unbelievable?

[John Ashbrook]

They probably didn't either left lately, but.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, wow, clearly they didn't. That's why they asked the question. Oh man, it's great stuff. There's just great content out there. But we have even more, even more. We have two incredible clips, including one from the WNBA which you're really going to want to see right after this. American Strength starts with American Energy. As a leading pipeline and energy infrastructure company, Williams is leading the way, delivering low cost natural gas to power American energy dominance. Here's the truth. AI tech, innovation, manufacturing and America as a global leader require a lot of energy. And there is no better way to meet growing energy demand than reliable, abundant natural gas. For over 100 years, Williams has led the charge to safely deliver that energy. But now outdated permitting laws slow American innovation and economic development, blocking access to the abundant resources we have and need to stay ahead. Expedited permitting is critical to meet growing energy demand, drive economic growth, lower prices and fully unlock America's energy potential. Williams is ready to get back to building the pipeline infrastructure that will keep our economy growing strong and secure. Learn [e-mail] youm've heard us talk before.

[John Ashbrook]

About the effort by legacy media to stop you from accessing shows like this one.

[Michael Duncan]

They do it by eliminating spectrum available to consumers like you. To access shows like this one. They say it's a national defense issue, absurdly enough.

[Brian Hook]

Well, Trump isn't buying it.

[Michael Duncan]

Neither is Senator Ted Cruz. In the big, beautiful bill, Republicans have.

[John Ashbrook]

Heard your voice and they're providing more spectrum.

[Michael Duncan]

So what does that mean for you?

[John Ashbrook]

It can reduce your monthly broadband bill.

[Michael Duncan]

And preserve your ability to watch, listen.

[John Ashbrook]

And stream all the content that you.

[Michael Duncan]

Choose, not what's chosen for you by some big cable provider.

[John Ashbrook]

The sale of spectrum will also generate.

[Michael Duncan]

Tens of billions of dollars to reduce our national debt.

[John Ashbrook]

What's not to love about that?

[Michael Duncan]

Don't let the giant cable providers and legacy media continue to filter your information. Tell your senator and your member of Congress to work with Senator Cruz and President Trump to expand spectrum and end the legacy media monopoly for good. You can learn [e-mail] all right, we gotta go to this clip. I don't know if you guys saw this going around social media, but, like, there has been a lot of targeted violence on Caitlin Clark in the wnba.

[Comfortably Smug]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, we saw some sort of stuff with, like, Angel Reese and this back and forth. And I think to some extent, the WNBA or sort of like sports journalism writ large is sort of amping all this up because conflict is good. Conflict gets attention, and attention means ratings. Good for the wnba. But it seems like it's sort of systemic now. Like, anytime Caitlin Clark is in a game, she's, like, targeted for harassment from players on the opposite team. It's crazy.

[Comfortably Smug]

It is crazy.

[Michael Duncan]

All right, let's play this clip. Clip number eight, please. Spaghettz. Okay. She gets hit in the face and then hit again and then knocked over by another chick.

[John Ashbrook]

So she. So it was kind of fast. Can we play it one more time?

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, let's play it again.

[John Ashbrook]

So you got to notice. So she. She goes after a player, Clayton Clark. You saw the. The blonde. She goes at her face, and that's when the other player came to defend her teammate.

[Michael Duncan]

Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. You're against Caitlin Clark here.

[John Ashbrook]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

She got. But she got hit in the eye. She gets. Look at that.

[John Ashbrook]

Oh, someone. She gets. If it's a sport.

[Michael Duncan]

She's targeting her.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, the ball just bumped into her.

[Michael Duncan]

The Ball wasn't in her face.

[John Ashbrook]

And then intentionally, you see Caitlin Clark hits the other player right after this.

[Michael Duncan]

She just turned around.

[John Ashbrook]

So she wants beef. Well, there's beef.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay. Well, no.

[John Ashbrook]

No consequences now.

[Michael Duncan]

Now that smug wants to make it this a brooder film. Let's go ahead and play that again. Because what I see is Caitlin Clark gets hit in the eye and then turns around to see who hit her there. And. And then. Yep, a line.

[John Ashbrook]

Then Clark Hayer.

[Michael Duncan]

And then a linebacker comes from the paint and knocks her to the ground.

[John Ashbrook]

After Caitlin Clark hit the linebacker. So here's the thing.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah. Okay.

[John Ashbrook]

If you want to see a woman run fast, offer consequences. Right. And that's what's happened to Caitlin Clark. So she decides, I think it was a few months ago at this point to go woke.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, no, I remember. You remember that?

[John Ashbrook]

I remember that clearly.

[Michael Duncan]

I remember we did a whole segment on Megyn Kelly show about it.

[John Ashbrook]

And Caitlin Clark was like, I would owe everything. I owe everything I have. And the WNBA owes everything that we have to black women players. And the WNBA would not be here without them. I owe everything to them. The WNBA wouldn't be here without the NBA. Okay. That's who's subsidizing that whole league.

[Michael Duncan]

Right. And doesn't actually make money when you.

[John Ashbrook]

Throw in with like the woke mob that wants to destroy you. You get what you asked for. She deserves all of this. These are the friends that you wanted to make. There they are. They're all there. Look at your friends, how they treat you. So take their side. I delight seeing that. I want that blonde to clock her some more. That's who I'm rooting for.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay. I'm not going to cheer on violence here.

[John Ashbrook]

I will. It's consequences. Sometimes you got to learn from them.

[Comfortably Smug]

It's. It's interesting, you know, Women are terrible to each other. And like, what we just saw happen on the court is nothing like. I mean, it makes Ron Artest look like patty cake.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[Comfortably Smug]

You know what I like? It's like he got a bad rap.

[Michael Duncan]

The malice in the palace was a little more than that.

[Comfortably Smug]

I don't think so. Because this is every national league that was fans.

[John Ashbrook]

The fans caused that.

[Michael Duncan]

The fans did.

[John Ashbrook]

I feel bad for Jermaine o' Neal.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, man.

[John Ashbrook]

They didn't deserve that. But Kayla Clark deserved that.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is every night in that league and it's on the court. And it is just like good Caitlin Clark.

[John Ashbrook]

Keep it up.

[Comfortably Smug]

Women are terrible to each other. And I don't understand what that.

[John Ashbrook]

What drives that it's not go woke go broke anymore. It's go woke get broke. Look at that. Catch that beating you deserve.

[Michael Duncan]

That she does not deserve.

[John Ashbrook]

She wanted to be woke, have fun.

[Comfortably Smug]

She's a great player.

[Michael Duncan]

Who is a great.

[John Ashbrook]

Who's the blonde that got her on the Sun?

[Michael Duncan]

I. I don't know.

[John Ashbrook]

That's the one I'm rooting for. I need to find out who that is.

[Michael Duncan]

Although what I. I've also noticed is that on the Indiana Fever, that's Caitlin Clark's team, she has a little bit of muscle now that I saw later in the game. There was a flagrant settling the score. Settling the score. It's sort of like Sid Sidney Crosby out there, you know, playing in the NHL and he's got force her out there on the ice to basically settle any scores, which I kind of like. It makes it interesting.

[Comfortably Smug]

I will tell you, I went to an Indiana Fever game when they came to play the Washington Mystics and it.

[Michael Duncan]

You took your girls there?

[Comfortably Smug]

Packed. I took my girls. It was packed, like all the way to the ceiling, every seat filled. And the second that Caitlin Clark hit the floor, whenever she hit a shot, it was like the crowd got to their feet. Everybody went nuts. So there is something about what she's bringing to the sport, the attention that she's bringing to the WNBA that they never had before.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, well, all is not well with liberal white women in this country. And that comes. Brings us, excuse me, to our final clip here of the show. Something that I have never seen before. Katie and I, my wife, we like watching some crazy stuff, you know, sci fi stuff and things like that. We love Ancient Aliens, right? Which is an insane show where they're.

[John Ashbrook]

Basically like History Channel, right?

[Michael Duncan]

It's on History Channel. It's not history, but it's on History Channel. I like, like one episode we watched recently was like, what if Thor's hammer was real and it was given to the Norsemen by aliens, you know, and each one of their premises always has this dependent clause where it's like ancient alien theorists say the answer is yes.

[Comfortably Smug]

And the thing I love is that you saw the show description and you read it and you were like, yeah, click.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, click.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm gonna. I wanna see this episode now. Are you for real?

[Michael Duncan]

That's like, no, that.

[John Ashbrook]

Dude, I'm watching that.

[Michael Duncan]

Every single episode of Ancient Aliens has a banger just like that.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm watching it.

[Michael Duncan]

It's incredible. But I preface this clip we're about to play because nothing that is described on Ancient Aliens is as crazy as what you're about to see. So let's go to that clip. Clip nine, please. Spaghettz. Okay, so the 4:00am Club is a term coined in a club founded by Gia Prism. I've tagged her and linked one of her pinned videos that explains. But basically, on November 6, thousands of.

[Comfortably Smug]

People were woken up around 4am and.

[Michael Duncan]

Those people were called to anchor in the higher timeline where Kamala was the winner.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is not a small club.

[Michael Duncan]

This is thousands of people. And I was one of them. My specific experience was, was that I Woke up at 4am on Nov. 6 and I had a knowing without looking at my phone that he had won. But everything in my body, in my mind, in my soul, in my energy.

[Comfortably Smug]

Felt like that was not true.

[Michael Duncan]

It felt like she had won and I was somehow being made to watch a parallel timeline where he won. And I have existed in that alternate timeline since 4am on November 6th, just.

[Comfortably Smug]

As thousands of other 4amerson have.

[Michael Duncan]

I have been so steadfast, so rock solid in my belief that she won. And it was only a matter of time until we all got onto that timeline. That my friends have looked at me.

[Comfortably Smug]

Like I'm crazy and told me I'm delusional.

[Michael Duncan]

But those of us in the 4am club viscerally experienced that timeline split on November 6th.

[Comfortably Smug]

We have been existing this whole time.

[Michael Duncan]

On a completely different timeline. And we have been holding the light, we have been holding the vision anchoring that timeline while the rest of this country has been going through the necessary steps to merge with that timeline. And I believe if I am interpreting my meditation downloads correctly, that we will begin collapsing those timelines tomorrow, June 14th. I mean, maybe Donald Trump is a dictator if he's powerful enough that he's putting people in other dimensions.

[John Ashbrook]

I mean, I've heard he could put people in crystals. Like that's wildly widely believed that like, you know, he can put people in crystals.

[Michael Duncan]

He can.

[John Ashbrook]

That's been known. That's been known for a while.

[Michael Duncan]

But that was a super.

[John Ashbrook]

Claims are like loony. Like. Like what is happening that not only can a person be having a psychotic breakdown, but they're compelled to videotape themselves because like there was a time where like, what is that term? Where like you can be held at an asylum without your Baker act? It was like a 5050 or something.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, yeah. Involuntary hold.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. Like if someone saw that there was a time that that's. That's it. You're getting locked up like you're not safe.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And they are now videoing themselves and putting it out there.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, it's helpful though, you know, at least we know where the crazies are. Exactly. I just. I don't know. You know, we. On Tuesday, we played that clip of that elderly woman at the no Kings protest. And it's painful to watch somebody be that psychologically broken. Then you see stuff like this, and this is somehow funnier where it's like, like the cope is so real. Like the opposition to Donald Trump is so strong in her brain that she could literally invent an alternative dimension in which Kamala Harris is still. This is crazier than like, QAnon stuff.

[Comfortably Smug]

Dude. It's absolutely crazy. After 2020, there were some conservatives who were like, maybe the foreigners were stuffing ballot boxes. Can we please get to the bottom of it and check to see if ballot boxes were stuffed? The left right now is like, no, there's an alternate dimension. I swear to you. At 4am I had a feeling come over me and Kamala Harris is actually the president. On June 14, it will be revealed.

[Michael Duncan]

Get outta here.

[Comfortably Smug]

This is the most outer space type space cadet thing I've ever heard in my entire life. And this is on the Internet. I'm telling you, if you are not on Twitter, if you are not following all of the people who are sharing this sort of thing, you're missing out on the greatest comedy that ever walked the face of the earth.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I'll tell you what this is in all seriousness. There is a very deep level of mental derangement in the left in plain sight we just had. You know, by God's grace, the supreme court ruled hospitals cannot perform gender surgeries on children.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

And that. That was controversial. And that the Washington Post and the New York Times wrote the headline as soon as the news broke is like, conservative supreme court is going to deny health care to child. Transgender children. This is so the performing surgeries on children is the most psychotic and deranged behavior I think a human could possibly engage in. And that had been mainstream to the point that the major publications in this country are like, wow, how dare this be stopped. So, like, that's a hop skipping away from a kooky lady being like, I'm in an alternate timeline where Kamala's president.

[Michael Duncan]

It's basically heaven's gate without the Nikes.

[Comfortably Smug]

Yeah, right.

[John Ashbrook]

They're already there.

[Comfortably Smug]

Exactly. And how would the AP write it? Republican podcast pounces on women expressing concern about the election outcome.

[Michael Duncan]

There you go. It's absolutely crazy. What an incredible clip. What an incredible segment what an incredible show. Yeah, this has been a lot of fun. We've given people the vegetables. We're giving them candy. Unfortunately, we missed King of the Hill this week. Holmes is out, unfortunately. But we'll be back with that next week. And a lot more shenanigans that, you know, given the content we're seeing on Twitter every single day, we'll have plenty to cover here next week. Thank you for listening. Thank you for voting for viewing. If you'd like to advertise with us, we have a new email account. Ads Ruthless Podcast.com. a lot of interest in reaching the listeners and viewers of the Ruthless variety program. Subscribe to the YouTube. It's important. We love seeing that subscriber number go up. We love when you like and you share and you comment because that helps it get seen by more people across the country. And that's really, really important, especially for a show like this. We went through a lot of really important stuff. Had a great guest, Brian Hook. Thank you again, Brian, for coming in. I know the Iranians are trying to kill you, but I appreciate you spending 18 minutes with the Ruthless variety program. And with that, I think we did it.

[John Ashbrook]

I think so. Absolute banger of an episode. Gentlemen. Thank you so much, Brian Hook. And thank you to our listeners and viewers. Just like Duncan said, if you have not yet go to the YouTube, hit that subscribe button. It's more fun and video. So until next time, minions, keep the faith, hold the line. And on the libs, we'll see you Tuesday. Stay Ruthless.