What's Next With Mamdani and the Shutdown w/Carley Shimkus

Summary

Ruthless Podcast: "What's Next With Mamdani and the Shutdown" w/Carley Shimkus

Date: November 7, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Guest: Carley Shimkus (Fox News)
Special Appearance: Will Kane

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Episode Overview

This energized "Fun Time Friday" episode of the Ruthless Podcast is recorded live from the Patriot Awards. The hosts welcome Carley Shimkus for a fast-paced conversation that hits political developments (notably 2025 local elections and the rise of leftist politics in New York), behind-the-scenes of early-morning TV, the cultural significance of Fox’s Patriot Awards, and the overblown influence of celebrity politics. The conversation is peppered with humor, playful anecdotes, and real talk about media, family, and American values.

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Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Carley Shimkus Joins the Show (01:12–02:22)

• Warm Welcome: Carley is introduced enthusiastically as a long-anticipated guest. There's banter about scheduling, mutual admiration, and her excitement to be part of the “family” at Fox.
  • Quote, Carley: “I was so excited to get the invite and we worked it out.” (01:44)

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2. New York Politics & Election Aftermath (02:23–05:53)

• Mamdani’s Win: Discussion centers on Zohran Mamdani’s election, signaling a sharp left turn for NYC.
  • Michael Duncan reiterates: “If Mamdani wins, New York gets what it's deserving. And I stand by that.” (02:23)
• Police and Policy Fallout: Carley foresees tangible impacts—police departures, rise in crime, and negative messaging about prostitution.
  • “It's going to send a signal to both police and the bad guys. And I'm not kidding about that.” (02:37)
• Culture Clash: Real concern about signals sent to young women and the city's future.
• Insider Insights: Carley shares a story about Mamdani being called a “communist” by a Republican colleague and referring to fellow legislators as “comrades.”
  • “During a speech, he called his colleagues comrades…” (04:41)
• Personal stakes: Carley notes, “...my innocent 2 year old son lives there. So I just want you to think about that.” (05:05)

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3. State Exodus, Regional Politics & Culture (05:09–06:36)

• Migration Jokes: Talk about people fleeing blue states for red, with a comedic back-and-forth about who wants whom moving where.
  • Michael: “Any Democrats fleeing New York do not come to North Carolina. You won’t enjoy it.” (05:22)
• Greg Abbott’s Comment: Discussion about Texas Governor Abbott's joke/proposal to tax new migrants from New York.

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4. Fun Anecdotes: “Are We Related?” (06:41–07:02)

• Shimkus’ Husband’s Mystery: Carley relays a humorous, unresolved story about whether her husband or his friend is related to Michael Duncan or another podcast host, leading to a riff about the “Indianapolis Duncans” and their imagined Rolls Royce and media empire.

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5. GOP Election Performance & Takeaways (07:02–08:06)

• Analysis: Carley downplays the importance of the 2025 off-year results—blue states stayed blue.
  • “They really aren’t [a big deal]. I mean, we’re talking about blue states who stayed blue.” (07:18)
• Noted concern: Gains in Democratic support among Hispanics and young voters in New Jersey.

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6. Carley’s Life as a Morning Anchor (08:06–10:53)

• Intense Schedule: Carley breaks down her grueling pre-dawn routine.
  • “I wake up at 1:30 in the morning.” (08:32)
  • 4 alarm clocks, irregular sleep cycles, occasional “nap” in the middle of the day.
  • Upside: More time with her son than a traditional 9-to-5, despite “turning black inside too. I’m losing my mind but ... everything’s fine.” (09:26)
• Early-Riser Life: The challenge (and freedom) of finishing work by 9am, seeing New Yorkers at happy hour midday.

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7. Behind the Scenes at Fox & The Patriot Awards (10:53–13:49)

• Patriot Awards Preview: Carley expresses genuine excitement for the Fox Patriot Awards, describing it as “the Oscars for people who love America.”
  • “It’s really humbling to be in a room with so many inspiring people. ... This one cuts out the middleman, because ... [we] just honor the hero.” (10:37)
• Culture Shift: Recounts heartwarming moments—like an Olympian being honored for patriotism—and remarks on how national sentiment has shifted positively since then.
  • “There’s been a real cultural change in our country right now and that’s something we should be proud of too.” (13:13)
• Fox Culture: Carley notes the familial relationship between Fox talent and its audience; everyone feels like they “get it.”

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8. Fox, Work-Life & Hallmark Movies (13:49–14:47)

• Carley’s TV Habits: Joking about “watching Fox like a viewer” and a love of Hallmark movies.
  • Banter about live-streaming Hallmark movies “Mystery Science Theater” style.

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9. Daylight Saving, Schedules, and Senate Connections (14:47–16:13)

• Early Riser Humor: Jokes about the misery of daylight saving, with Carly pleading, “Just pick one.” (15:24)
• Mentions Senator Marco Rubio’s repeated (and so far unsuccessful) effort to “fix the time.”

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10. Guest Farewells & Reflections (16:13–16:57)

• Carley’s Send-Off: Both parties express mutual appreciation and intentions to collaborate again.
  • Josh: “Everybody should know in our audience, she is exactly what you think. Wonderful human.” (16:01)
  • Carley: “I’m so happy to be on here. I hope you have me back. I’m such a fan of you guys.” (16:03)

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11. Segment: Clooney, Celebrity Politics, and the Democratic Party (17:07–20:20)

• George Clooney & Biden/Kamala Op-Ed:
  • The panel lampoons George Clooney’s role as the messenger calling (via op-ed) for Biden’s replacement in the Democratic ticket.
  • Many jabs about Hollywood’s role in Dem politics and “fart sniffing” Oscar speeches.
  • John Ashbrook: “The idea that he was sitting at a workstation batting out an op ed ... He didn’t write that.” (18:27)
  • Michael Duncan: “You are, dude, you read lines off. That’s your job.” (20:04)
  • Josh Holmes: “If there was some actor ... in a Republican primary ... people would be like, go f--- yourself.” (20:21)
• Patriot Awards vs. Hollywood: The contrast between Fox’s culture and elite Hollywood is highlighted.

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12. Patriot Awards, Audience Connection, and Podcast Family (20:20–22:26)

• Fan Engagement: All agree the most meaningful part of their work is the genuine relationship with the Fox/Ruthless audience—“the audience is everything.”
  • “What you hear on the show is exactly who we are.” (21:37)
• Live Event Buzz: Excitement at bumping into network stars and “everyday heroes” at the Patriot Awards.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Carley Shimkus:
  • “I wake up at 1:30 in the morning.” (08:32)
  • “It’s really humbling to be in a room with so many inspiring people. ... This one cuts out the middleman, because ... [we] just honor the hero.” (10:37)
• Michael Duncan:
  • “If Mamdani wins, New York gets what it's deserving. And I stand by that.” (02:23)
  • “You are, dude, you read lines off. That's your job [to George Clooney].” (20:04)
• Josh Holmes:
  • “If there was some actor ... in a Republican primary ... people would be like, go f--- yourself.” (20:21)
  • “Everybody should know in our audience, she is exactly what you think. Wonderful human.” (16:01)

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Tone & Style

The episode is true to Ruthless form: irreverent, witty, fast-moving, and self-deprecating. The panel bounces between hard news, political philosophy, camaraderie, pop culture riffs, and personal stories—all with a light touch and occasional sarcasm. Carley Shimkus fits seamlessly, blending media insight with down-to-earth humor.

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Key Moments & Timestamps

• 01:12 — Carley Shimkus joins the show
• 02:23 — Mamdani’s NYC win, implications for law enforcement
• 04:40 — “Comrades” & the far-left shift in NYC politics
• 08:32 — Carley’s insane morning show routine
• 10:37 — The Patriot Awards: “Cut out the middleman…honor the hero”
• 13:13 — Cultural change in America regarding patriotism
• 17:07 — George Clooney, op-eds, and the parody of celebrity influence
• 20:32 — Contrasting the Fox/Patriot Awards world with Hollywood
• 21:10 — Reflections on audience relationships; podcast as a family

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Summary

This jam-packed, high-spirited episode offers listeners political analysis with a wink and a nod. Carley Shimkus provides inside perspective on TV life, New York politics, and Fox culture, all while perfectly matching the Ruthless crew’s tone. The show pivots effortlessly from mockery of celebrity political power (“You are, dude, you read lines off. That’s your job.”) to sincere appreciation of American heroes and their audience.

For anyone who missed the episode, this is an unfiltered, comedic, and surprisingly heartfelt discussion blending news, culture, and personality—emblematic of the distinct Ruthless style.

Transcript

[Carly Shimkus]

As long as in life you have a job where you could set your alarm for an a.m. time, even if it's 12:01.

[Josh Holmes]

Right?

[Carly Shimkus]

I've set my alarm for 12:01 before. And it's like, mentally like it's better than 11:55.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Carly Shimkus]

Pee. You know, I shouldn't say anything because.

[Josh Holmes]

No, no, please, just risk it all.

[Carly Shimkus]

No, no. I don't want mouths to feed in a city where I will be increasingly taxed. So.

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[Michael Duncan]

Ladies and.

[Carly Shimkus]

Gentlemen, your attention please.

[Michael Duncan]

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

[John Ashbrook]

It's time for our main event.

[Josh Holmes]

Fun Time Friday. Welcome back to the ruthless variety program. We're here at the Patriot Awards line in person. I'm Josh Holmes, along with comfortably smug Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook, left to right across your radio dial. And we have actually added one of the most special guests in all of the Patriot Awards, Carly Shipkins. How are you?

[Carly Shimkus]

It's an honor to be here.

[Josh Holmes]

We have wanted to do this for so long.

[Carly Shimkus]

And so have I.

[Josh Holmes]

We're a huge admirer.

[Carly Shimkus]

Well, oh, my gosh. I am, too, when you're. I told you before, but I'll say it again. When your booker reached out to me, I said, I wrote an email.

[Josh Holmes]

Thank you.

[Carly Shimkus]

No, well, I had a little bit of a scheduling issue, but I wrote an email and then I reread it and I said I need to delete about 75% of those exclamation points because I look insane. But. But I was so excited to get the invite and we worked it out.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, we worked it out. We worked it out. You are doing terrific, by the way. I remember when I first started doing Fox, like 10 years ago and first met you, and now seeing what your career has become, I mean, you're really doing this.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah. And no, seriously, I was so happy to meet you guys when you came to Fox and Friends. Right. When you signed with Fox. And now we're one big happy family.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, that's right.

[Carly Shimkus]

Do you want a hug? You want to bring it in for the real thing?

[John Ashbrook]

Come on.

[Michael Duncan]

So I first want to come Clean. The last time we were talking about. And I said that if Mamdani wins, New York gets what it's deserving. And I stand by that.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, you broke her heart.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, you did.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, the truth is, is the people get what they vote for, and New York has voted for Mom.

[Carly Shimkus]

Donnie, what are you thinking about that they. They did. And I remember that comment, and I've reflected on it more times than you would think, because I was thinking, they get what they deserve. Police officers are going to leave. It's going to send a signal to both police and the bad guys. And I'm not kidding about that. And when I said that to you, you're like, yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right.

[Josh Holmes]

He's a bit dark.

[Carly Shimkus]

I mean, I'm just. Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

Red states where they're respected and paid well and treated with respect, they deserve.

[Carly Shimkus]

I mean, I'm. I guess I should say I'm proud of a mayor who is apparently individually apologizing to every single police officer in a way that cannot be vetted or fact checked. Shaking hands left and right. Right. Also while simultaneously calling for the decriminalization of prostitution. Yeah. What a message to say to the young women out there.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, yeah. I mean, sex work, it's real work. Right, fellas?

[Carly Shimkus]

That's something to aspire to.

[Josh Holmes]

It's incredible. I think you're in for a real culture change.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, I know. What do you think is going to happen?

[Josh Holmes]

This guy's got the best.

[Michael Duncan]

So there's two schools of thought. There's essentially like, yes, he will bring in a glorious communist, you know, transition. And the other is that, well, he still has, like, a city council, and he's. This is his first real job. He's going to be just ineffective.

[Carly Shimkus]

Right.

[Michael Duncan]

Which one do you think?

[Carly Shimkus]

I think it. I think it could be a little bit of both. In terms of what he wants to do, what he's promising, he's not going to be able to do it all. But I said it before in terms of sending a signal, and I really do think that that's going to happen. It's already starting with the fire chief, already saying, I'm out of here starting in December. He wasn't even. I mean, he was elected two days ago, and look where we are right now. And the other thing that I've been thinking a lot about is, like, just how much does he want to accomplish and is he a true ideologue? And, yeah, the answer is absolutely. I mean, he wants to do exactly what he's saying. I was talking, Yes, I was talking to an assemblyman who serves with him and he says that I was like, give me the inside scoop. What is he really like? He's like, well, you know, he's personally a nice guy, but he did say to me once, you know, he's a Republican. The guy who I was talking to, he said, we're both red, just different kinds.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah, Literally.

[Carly Shimkus]

I was like, do you think that he's. He in that was saying that he is a communist? He's like, absolutely. That's how I read it. And during a speech, he called his colleagues comrades on the, on the, on the assembly floor.

[Josh Holmes]

Caught that.

[Carly Shimkus]

So this is what we're dealing with now. The financial capital of the not just country world has elected a socialist. So smug. You are right. That New York City gets what it deserves. But also my innocent 2 year old son lives there. So I just want you to think about that.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, look at that.

[Michael Duncan]

I can't wish a man. Great state, North Carolina. Enough. It's a wonderful place for families. That's where I live.

[Carly Shimkus]

You live in North Carolina? Not D.C. nope.

[Michael Duncan]

I hop up when we record our shows, but I live in North Carolina.

[Carly Shimkus]

It does seem like, it seems like.

[Michael Duncan]

Any Democrats fleeing New York do not come to North Carolina. You won't enjoy it.

[Carly Shimkus]

Did you see what Greg Abbott said about like taxing New Yorkers? Oh, yeah, I didn't. I was a little unclear on taxing people who like, want to, you know, move to his state, but that, well.

[Josh Holmes]

He doesn't want them to bring their voting behavior with.

[Carly Shimkus]

So, yeah, that's what he was saying.

[Josh Holmes]

Can we talk for a second about how somehow your husband or your husband's friend is related? Michael Duncan.

[Michael Duncan]

What'S the origin of the story?

[Carly Shimkus]

Okay, so I, I was telling you a story before and when I started it, I was like, I'm going to tell you a story, but it's not going to land because I have very few details. But my husband texted me recently and said, do you know the ruthless podcast guys? And I was like, yes. And then he, he said, and this is where it becomes fuzzy to me.

[Michael Duncan]

Okay.

[Carly Shimkus]

He told me he's like, XYZ is related to one of them, but I can't remember who he. I can't remember who he said. And he never clarified which person he was related to. So I surmised.

[Michael Duncan]

It's got to be Duncan. 100%. It's gotta be.

[Carly Shimkus]

Should I find out or should we just live in a world where we think It's Duncan the mystery should we live in?

[Josh Holmes]

What were the reasons why you think it's Duncan?

[Michael Duncan]

So first off, the Indianapolis Duncans are a famous family. Okay.

[Will Kane]

Come on.

[Michael Duncan]

They're extremely well known.

[Will Kane]

Come on.

[Michael Duncan]

Like, like his, his father, you know, owned the paper, was a rival of the Hearst family. So this is like, this is remarkable. It's a dynasty more than a family.

[Josh Holmes]

And what was the car that he went to school in again?

[Michael Duncan]

It was a Rolls Royce.

[Josh Holmes]

That's right.

[Michael Duncan]

With the mink floor.

[Josh Holmes]

That's exactly, that's exactly right.

[Will Kane]

Every time he tells this story he adds one more new fake detail.

[Carly Shimkus]

Now I'm realizing that maybe I married into the wrong family. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Fun little tidbit. Listen, what did you think about the election results? Obviously disappointing for Republicans across the board. You know, in some ways we've been talking about not all that surprising. Giving an off year election party out of power traditionally. But beyond New York.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, I don't really think they are that big of a deal. They really aren't. I mean we're talking about blue states who stayed blue. And we knew that what was going to happen in Virginia did. The most surprising part of it is by just how much Jack Ciattorelli lost. And there was a real sense in New Jersey that he would do better. But the state stays how it does. When you break down what happens, the one detail that I thought was interesting and Republicans do have a year to fix it is that in New Jersey the Hispanic vote went way up for Democrats and the youth vote did as well. So that's something that Republicans are going to have to contend with. They have a year to do it. But overall the election results really didn't move the needle for me that much.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah. I've got a non political question. Okay, here we are in the middle of the afternoon. Your job starts very, very early every single day. And I, I really think our audience would like to know one, how do you do it? And two, what time does it start for you?

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, so my, I have four alarm clocks. Yeah. So my husband is like sleeping through multiple iterations of my sleep cycle but I wake up at 1:30 in the morning.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh my God. Are you serious?

[Carly Shimkus]

Yes. I do 1:30 in the morning. Yeah. So you know, I try and get in before three and then the show starts at five and honestly sometimes it's not enough time, you know.

[Michael Duncan]

And what's bedtime if you're getting up?

[Carly Shimkus]

You know what, it's way too late. I hate seeing 10pm but I do pretty regularly. But I sleep in cycles, so I usually, if I don't have an extremely long work day, like, the good thing is, is that if I do friends, you know, first and friends, I could be done with work at 9. I like when I'm not. I love when I do other things, but then I can like conk out for a good three hours in the middle of the day and then sleep for like three hours at night. And one of the. Before my son was born, I was really worried about the schedule. Yeah. But I, it's worked out in a great way because I think I, I, you know, get to see him more than a 9 to 5 because, you know, I'm working when he's sleeping. So. Yeah, I mean, I'm turning black inside too. I'm losing my mind. But no, everything's fine.

[Josh Holmes]

Gotta be kind of tough to blow off steam when your Morning starts at 1:30am People look at you differently when you have Happy hour at 11:00am Oh, I know, right?

[Carly Shimkus]

Oh, every now and then. Oh, when. If I take a day off and I'm walking down the streets of New York City and I see people on like a Thursday having a drink, I'm like, oh, they could do that. Whoa. What? That's amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

Look at this. Fun to be at.

[Carly Shimkus]

And it's like totally standard. But I, I've been doing the schedule my whole career. I started working on Imus in the Morning. That was my first job at Fox. Yeah, I was his assistant, so. And even I interned at Fox when I was in college and they put me on a shift that I didn't even know they would offer to a college student. It like started at like 4 o' clock in the morning. So you've always done always? Always. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

That's strange. I don't think I could do that.

[John Ashbrook]

I don't think so either.

[Carly Shimkus]

You can, honestly, if it is every day because then it just becomes your grind, your thing. Yeah, yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Well.

[Josh Holmes]

And you get to see family, like you said. Yeah, that's. That's the cool part.

[Carly Shimkus]

No traffic.

[John Ashbrook]

Well, that's, that's a motivator.

[Michael Duncan]

Especially in New York. That's a seller.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yes, exactly.

[Josh Holmes]

It is a motivator. So Patriot Awards. This is obviously very fun. You've done it a number.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah. Is this your first Patreon Awards? Get ready. It's my, it's one of my favorite things that Fox does and my. One of the reasons why I love working at a company that does something like this. It's, it's really humbling to be in A room with so many inspiring people. And a lot of what I did when I started at Fox was cover award shows like the regular ones, where they were honoring the celebrities. And this one cuts out the middleman, because they're right. Those actors are playing the heroes. Yeah, cut out the middleman. Just. Just honor the. The hero, which is what you're going to see. And I don't know. I shouldn't say anything because, oh, no.

[Josh Holmes]

Please risk it all.

[Carly Shimkus]

No, no. I don't want mouths to feed in a city where I will be increasingly taxed.

[Michael Duncan]

Fair enough.

[Carly Shimkus]

But there are some surprises tonight, and it's going to be fantastic.

[Josh Holmes]

I can't wait. I mean, the vibe is great.

[Carly Shimkus]

Oh, my gosh, it's so good. And the people who come are. The people who we honor are real Americans. It's like, oh, this is America. This is it. This is why this country is so great. And the attendees who come, too are the nicest people. And, you know, they come to. They're going to come to see you. They come to see all the people that they see on Fox. And I love it so much, personally. Like, they're at the end, they're, like, walking away from me. I'm like, oh, no, wait, I have more.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally. That's been our experience, too.

[Will Kane]

I feel like it's the most fulfilling part of the whole thing. Like when we join, you know, with the Fox family back in July, just getting to meet all of y' all and stuff and come up to New York and I'll be. It's like, it's nice to just be around other people that also get it right, you know? And that's what I love about this. It's. It's like the Oscars for people who love America.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yes. You know, that's the perfect way of saying it. That is exactly what it is. It's. It seems like such a simple idea, but it took. It took us to figure it out. Right. And it wasn't being done before, and now it is in such a big way. I think that this is the first. First Patriot Awards, where, you know, the award show celebrates the country, the people in it. But I think that this one is important because it also celebrates how far we've come. I remember in 2021, we gave out an award to a wrestler who won Olympic gold, and she got a Patriot Award because she, during the national anthem, became emotional, honored the national anthem, put her hand over her heart. Do you remember that story? And she got a Patriot Award for something as simple as that. Because at that time, you weren't doing those things. Now that is something that more and more people are doing in a way that it's not even thought about anymore. So I think there's been a real cultural change in our country right now and that's something that we should be proud of too.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, totally, totally true. And you're right. I mean, look, there's been a lot of progress that has been made on that front. But what you guys do on a day to day basis with the audience and that's the thing that I think is the biggest reflection that we've had both in our experience since we've been at Fox. But then also this event really like brings it to you in that the relationship with the Fox audience is quite literal relationship. Right. It's not, you're not talking at anybody.

[Carly Shimkus]

And I understand that. I watch Fox News like a viewer too. Yeah. Like I should get rid of all my other. I watch that and gosh, it's so like typical. I watch that Company Woman channel.

[Josh Holmes]

You watch the homework?

[Carly Shimkus]

Yes.

[Michael Duncan]

Well, it's almost Christmas time.

[Josh Holmes]

So this is what, this is the, the small town woman down on her luck.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

The guy comes from the big city.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, they're the best. You don't watch them. You guys should come over. We should do it all together.

[Josh Holmes]

You know what? That'll be a good live stream.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yes, I do it. I would love to do that.

[Will Kane]

A little mystery Science theater, just a.

[Josh Holmes]

Few tip toppers and a Hallmark movie. That sounds fantastic.

[Carly Shimkus]

No, but what I wanted to say is I watch Fox like a, a, like a, like a viewer, like I don't work there and it becomes just comfortable. And you, you know, I, I trust all the people, all my colleagues.

[Michael Duncan]

Totally.

[Carly Shimkus]

And it's, you know, how much work.

[Josh Holmes]

Goes into the product.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, yeah, yes. All the people behind the scenes.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. They're not making it up as they go.

[Carly Shimkus]

They are not. So, yeah, it's a lot of work. Like I wake up at 1:30. The producers for First Wake up at 8:00pm they're, you know. Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, waking up at 8:00pm yeah, yeah.

[Carly Shimkus]

Or I'm sorry, they get into work at 8pm so that's a. Have you guys ever done any.

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[Carly Shimkus]

Shifts. Really?

[Josh Holmes]

Not like that.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah, I know. That's a real strange one. Yeah. As long as in life you have a job where you could set your alarm for an a.m. time, even if it's 12:01.

[Josh Holmes]

Right.

[Carly Shimkus]

I've set my alarm for 12:01 before. And it's like mentally like it's better than 11:55.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Carly Shimkus]

P. You know, I can see.

[Josh Holmes]

I'm glad we got to the bottom.

[Michael Duncan]

I mean, I have a hard time adjusting to when the sun sets at like, 5pm in the fall. I might pull that off.

[Carly Shimkus]

What about that? Can you get your Senate connection. Yeah. To do the daylight saving.

[Josh Holmes]

You're not a fan?

[Carly Shimkus]

No. Just pick one.

[Josh Holmes]

It's hilarious.

[Carly Shimkus]

One.

[Michael Duncan]

I think it was Secretary Rubio who was.

[Carly Shimkus]

Who he was.

[Michael Duncan]

Right.

[Carly Shimkus]

Yeah. He's doing a couple other important things right now.

[Michael Duncan]

There's another job for him now. Can he fix the time now?

[Josh Holmes]

He's a time guy. You meet the time guy.

[Carly Shimkus]

He really championed that, like, several times. He tried to bring that bill up on the Senate floor to get rid of daylight saving or keep daylight saving as the full thing. I can't remember the summer one I like better.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I love that it's a political issue. It's very funny to be.

[John Ashbrook]

But it doesn't make a difference to Smug because I think he wakes up at like 9 or 10 in the morning.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, he hangs upside down.

[Michael Duncan]

When the wolf band says, I've gotten 100 the sleep I need, that's when I wake up.

[Josh Holmes]

Listen, you are such a pleasure. Everybody should know in our audience, she is exactly what you think.

[Carly Shimkus]

Oh, thank you.

[Josh Holmes]

Wonderful human.

[Carly Shimkus]

I'm so happy to be on here. I hope you have me back. I'm such a fan of you guys.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, yeah. Next time you're down in dc, come on by.

[Carly Shimkus]

I would love that.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, we'll threaten your hours a little bit.

[Carly Shimkus]

Sounds good. I'm down. Down for the challenge.

[Josh Holmes]

You're the best. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Carly Shimkus]

Bye.

[Josh Holmes]

How about that Carly Shimkus, huh? Isn't she great?

[Michael Duncan]

Awesome to make that work, too. I mean, everyone's got a crazy schedule here. Everyone's trying to pitch in, make the Patriot Awards a huge success. Great for her to drop by.

[John Ashbrook]

I'm amazed she's still standing and it's the middle of the afternoon and she's going to be gone until the. You know what? I don't know what time this thing is over. Like 10pm or something like that. She's going to get like an hour and a half of sleep.

[Josh Holmes]

Totally. I mean, it's. It's amazing that you just hear a day in a life of somebody who has to wake up at 1:30am yeah. Oh, yeah.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

It's amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

But she's always just a breath of fresh air. Just fantastic. Well, we wanted to give you a little bit of variety it's fun time Friday.

[Michael Duncan]

Fun time Friday.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, fun time Friday. We do a little of this. This one caught our eye earlier in the week, and we've been waiting to get to it because I think it's one of the most hilarious things that I've seen in a long time. You'll get it immediately.

[George Clooney]

If we can play that audio, we had a chance. I wanted there to be, as I wrote in the op ed, a primary battle test this quickly and get it up and going. I think the mistake with it being Kamala is that she had to run against her own record. And it's very hard to do if the point of running is to say, I'm not that person, you know, it's hard to do. And so she was given a very tough task. I think it was a mistake, quite honestly, but we are where we are. We were going to lose more House seats, they say, so, you know, I don't know. To not do it would be to say, I'm not going to tell the truth.

[Josh Holmes]

Oh, so that was George Clooney. And if you just want to go back in time just a touch. He was the tool that the establishment Democrat, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and everybody else used in that now famous New York Times opinion piece calling for basically the removal of Joe Biden now. A mistake. A mistake, fellas.

[Will Kane]

Arsonist regrets lighting masks 100%.

[John Ashbrook]

What caught my attention, guys, and we've talked about this before, was what he said at the end about the truth. Because the idea that he was sitting at a workstation batting out an op ed and slaving over what I'm going to put in the third graph. He didn't write that.

[Josh Holmes]

No.

[John Ashbrook]

Like some Obama guy wrote that.

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah. It was also manufactured.

[Michael Duncan]

That's the thing. The entire thing is so fake, where he was like, oh, you know, I. I decided to take a brave stand and tell the truth. What about the previous three years when everyone across this country with their own two eyes could see that Joe Biden is not all there? And then he's like, well, you know, I had the pod Bros and Obama use me to get rid of Biden and bring in Kamala. And that was a huge mistake. Just wiping my hands from that.

[Josh Holmes]

No, but that's the best part of it to me is that, like, he was somehow unbeknownst to him that he was like, the primary vehicle by which Biden was off and Kamala's. And he's like, oh, that's a huge mistake. Shouldn't have done that. If you read my op ed very carefully, I had a line about a primary in there with like what, three weeks before the Democratic convention. Oh yeah, Folsom primary. No question about it.

[Michael Duncan]

Also, what does this say about a party where they're like, we have an issue with our candidate, Are we going to have a primary? Are we going to have an open convention? Here's what we do. We get a Hollywood star to write an op ed in the New York Times and that's how they decide what to do.

[Josh Holmes]

That's it.

[Will Kane]

Well, I think it's also funny given that we are the backdrop of this is the Patriot Awards, right? And we've been talking about how the Patriot Awards is like the Oscars for people like America. And you think about those Oscars speeches, you know what I'm talking about, the Chablis drinking, fart sniffing speeches about how much they know better than all of us and they, and they all think they know everything about politics.

[Josh Holmes]

That's my favorite part.

[Will Kane]

And doesn't this just reveal that theater.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, so true. As if George Clooney, whether or not he recommends a primary or not, as if that has any bearing credible.

[Michael Duncan]

You are, dude, you read lines off. That's your job.

[Josh Holmes]

From all my time on er, I can safely tell you that the Democrats should have a primary. And he says it earnestly as though like, well, I was just wondering what George Clooney had to say about the process, the political process.

[Michael Duncan]

It's mind blowing.

[Josh Holmes]

It is just a perfect encapsulation of the difference between the left and right. If there was some actor that showed up in a Republican primary, it was like, hey, we ought to do this. People will be like, go fuck yourself.

[Carly Shimkus]

Amazing.

[Josh Holmes]

It's just, it's very, very funny that this whole thing is. But I gotta tell you fellas, this has been a tremendous experience and it has to be seen to be believed. You know, that public's here. You know, the tickets were available for people to purchase. The lucky people that got them got in and you're walking around with Everyday Heroes and then, oh, it's Sean Hannity.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah, right.

[Josh Holmes]

You know, which is so fun to have him on. Oh yeah, that was just awesome. But I'm struck by that at some level and it is indicative of this larger, I guess, relationship that we've now been in with doing business with Fox and that it really is kind of a family.

[John Ashbrook]

It is. And you said this a few times, you know, earlier on Will Kane and with Carly, but the audience is everything and you know, our audience is what drives our show, like, literally. I mean, we get our topics, we get everything directly from our audience, and you have a conversation with them, and then when you get a chance to meet people in real life, it's like. It's like you actually know them and they actually know you. Because what you hear on the show is exactly who we are.

[Josh Holmes]

Yep. It's just a special, special deal. Glad everybody could tune in for it. I think we're gonna have some fun.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, it's fun time Friday.

[Will Kane]

Yeah.

[Josh Holmes]

Look out. Got those zebiotics, Andy.

[Carly Shimkus]

Fellas.

[Michael Duncan]

Yeah, and I've been passing them out. He has will enjoy that one.

[Josh Holmes]

No, he did. Yeah. He got Will Kane on this. He looks skeptical, but he won't be tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, he won't be tomorrow. That's the thing about those deals.

[John Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Michael Duncan]

They work.

[Josh Holmes]

Everybody's skeptical. They'll put it all together. Listen, thank you all for joining us. Thank. Thank you for joining us yesterday on that live stream. We don't do a lot of them, but maybe we'll do more because it's a lot of fun, and there's a bunch of people around here that we're going to have all kinds of different guests in the future because every. Everybody wants to be a little part of the fellas deal, which I love. I love him. We love being here. So thank you so much with that. I think we did it.

[Michael Duncan]

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