Physician Guest (2:52)

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

Co-host 2 (2:56)

Keep the faith, hold the line, the lids.

Co-host 1 (2:59)

It's time for our main event,

Host Michael Duncan (3:07)

Fun Time Friday. I am Michael Duncan along with Comfortably Smug and John Ashbrook. No Josh Holmes today, so we're going to have some fun here later in the show, but we brought in a special guest for this moment, former Navy SEAL and current United States Senator Tim Sheehy. How are you doing?

Senator Tim Sheehy (3:26)

Great. Thanks for having me.

Host Michael Duncan (3:27)

This is awesome. So I know you're animated about this thing and I agree with you is that so much of the conversation around the war with Iran lacks the depth and history of the thing and the larger game that's at play. And I'm so glad that you came in here to talk about all of this because, I mean, look, you've been out there in the field and you've faced some of these people, the proxies of Iran. So let's start the conversation right there.

Senator Tim Sheehy (4:00)

Well, I think it's a, you know, the narrative right now, of course, that the Democrats are pushing is this is a war of choice that, you know, you can see it whenever they get their marching orders. War of choice. War of choice. Trump's war of choice. And the right. This is a war of choice, but it's a war of choice from the ayatollah who started this war with us in 1979. This is a 47 year old conflict between the US and the Iranian regime. And this regime has been the most murderous, barbarian, savage, absolute, disgusting regime in the world for the last 47 years. There's a lot of repressive regimes, a lot of juntas and dictators and all that. But I mean, no one in the world has promulgated as much terror and savagery as the Iranians. I mean, they hang their own people in the streets from cranes. They export terror through all their proxy groups all over the world. They started this regime, of course, by taking our embassy hostage and holding Americans hostage in our own embassy for over a year. They've continued that by murdering our troops and civilians all over the world. 1983, Beirut, Eric's bombings, the Kobar Towers, the Cole, dozens of events between those, the October 7th attacks in Israel, of course, where 43Americans were killed. And of course, the deaths of these Americans never rise to the level that the Democrats demand that we recognize these deaths. They conveniently ignore those. And I think for those of us who served during the gwat, when we all knew we were fighting Iran the whole time, I mean the destabilizing effects of Iran throughout the Middle east and then thus far globally are well known. Unfortunately, they're not as well known amongst the halls of everyday Americans. They think Iraq, Saddam and Al Qaeda and Afghanistan. And the truth is the IRGC and their splinter groups have thrived on a destabilized Middle east for a half century. And to keep it destabilized, they've used many tactics. This week there was a lot of criticism. Well, Rubio and Hegseth and the President, they're giving all these varied reasons for. Is the mission to take out the Iranian navy. Is the mission to take out the Iranian missiles or the Iranian rockets or the Iranian nuclear facility. Gotcha. You're changing your answer. It's like, no, the answer is all the above. Like, the reason there are various reasons is because there are so many threat vectors. They have an Iranian naval presence for one reason alone. To shut down the Straits of Hormuz and control global oil flow. They fund the Houthi rebels. Why do they fund the Houthi rebels in Yemen? Because they can shut down traffic in the Red Sea, another major shipping quarter, from the Suez Canal, of course, from Europe to the Indian Ocean. Why do they have Hezbollah and Hamas constantly being funded with rockets and small arms and disgusting savage terrorists? Because they can put pressure on Israel. And of course, why does China love having Iran being sanctioned? Because that's where China gets all their cheap oil. And sanctioned Iranian oil only has one customer.

Host Michael Duncan (6:47)

So explain that part of it to our audience, because I think everyone understands, I think at this point, the proxy fights that happen where Iran funds Hezbollah or Hamas or the Houthis, people get that the larger game at play with China behind Iran, I think is less well understood.

Senator Tim Sheehy (7:07)

And you're absolutely right. And it's not just Ron, it's also Venezuela. You know, the hit on Venezuela where we abducted Maduro was. Was not just taking out a narco terrorist leader. That was a bipartisan recognition of that, by the way Biden wanted him to. It was also recognizing that. That the Venezuelan oil industry was acting as a money laundering front and an oil laundering front for the Russian sanctioned oil industry. So the Ghost Fleet, the shadow fleet operating all over the world, was allowing Russia to dodge the sanctions that, of course, we placed on them as a result of the war in Ukraine. So China has a very similar relationship with Iran. And of course, I'd be remiss to point out that there's crossover there too. I mean, Iran has interest in Venezuela and Russia definitely has interest in Iran. So let's be clear. But Iran primarily is a huge beneficiary for Russia, for China. China loves having Iran out there stirring the pot. They love having them keep our military tied up in the region for the last 35 years, since the invasion of Kuwait to reject Saddam Hussein in 1990. They love having our carrier battle groups tied up there. They love having a captive oil market. When we sanction Iranian oil, that drives down the price of that oil for a captive customer or a singular customer, which is China. They say, great, yes, keep sanctioning around. We love it because that means oil gets cheaper for us every single day. We can power our economy with cheaper Iranian oil and not have to pay market rate. Just like Russia was saying with Venezuela

Co-host 2 (8:31)

and is like, you know, the interconnectedness of this is we essentially had these nations who hated America just working in unison for their own purposes. Like, China loves the cheap oil. So they love that Iran is belligerent. Iran has these terroristic ambitions. And they're like, well, fine, now we have China as a trading partner. We can send it to Venezuela to refine or whatever, however they want to do it. Venezuela is just Maduro wanting to just have his little puppet kingdom.

Senator Tim Sheehy (8:54)

And the methods and tools are complex, but the strategy is so simple. Keep us distracted here. So our carrier battle groups have been persistently tied down to the Middle east for years, as they have had to be. China loves that because guess what? They can literally build islands in the South China Sea. They can march barges out, build islands with runways on them in the middle of the ocean. And there's not a whole lot we can do to stop them. Because our carrier battle groups have been busy in the Middle east bombing Iranian proxy fights for years. And that's good for China. They like our navy not to be ready to go over there. They love that. The largest naval battle since 1945, Leyte Gulf, was in the Red Sea against the Houthi rebels who were launching rockets at our vessels. So there's more at play than just proxy fights. It's also important for folks to remember that there is a real threat here at home. I mean, we've had thousands of apparent IRGC affiliates, Islamic terrorist affiliates, people directly sent or directly controlled or affiliated with Middle Eastern terror groups, and oftentimes directly sent here by rdgc, cross our southern border during the crazy Biden open border years. And there were IRGC and Hezbollah elements operating in South America, within Venezuela, and with a lot of the cartels. So there's a very real cartel nexus as well. Because the most Profitable product. For cartels during the Biden years, coming across the border wasn't drugs, it was people. Moving people across the border was great because that same product, what product pays you to ship? It never. You have to pay to ship any product in the world, from toilet paper to iPhones to heroin and fentanyl, you have to incur costs to ship that product. But when the product says, hey, I will pay you 30 grand to get me into the U.S. i mean there's, I mean, it's a pretty fascinating business model for a, for a business that spent years. Their largest cost and risk was moving the product into its marketplace. Now the product was paying it, and if that product failed, it would pay to cross a second time and a third time and a fourth time. And under Biden, like 35 times they cross and they pay every time. So it was a very lucrative business for them. And these international terrorist organizations were very lucrative customers or very well paying customers for that. So it's all interconnected. And when you start laying in, and I don't go two hours on this, but you start talking about, you know, cyber warfare and financial fraud and all the online pig butchering and scams that happen. I mean, that is absolutely as a nexus to terrorism as well and organized crime. When you look at all the assets, Iranian proxies in the Iranian government had to dodge our sanctions. I mean, they owned a skyscraper in Manhattan, the Iranian government, literally, because they, their money was sanctioned, so they want to bring it back home. So they kept it overseas and they literally would buy real estate in America. So it's a complex problem solving this. And I commend the President for finally taking action because for 47 years, presidents of both administrations have understandably. So, man, this is a messy one. This is messy. And you know, it's, it's going to be hard to do it. And it's a complex story to tell, as I just told. And as you know, if you can't tell the story in two minutes, it's hard to tell to the American people.

Host Michael Duncan (11:55)

Yeah. If it's not a bumper sticker. Exactly stuff.

Senator Tim Sheehy (11:57)

And of course, let's be very honest, there are very serious elements within America. As you see on the Hill, we got the damn Hamas caucus on the House side, for Christ's sake. I mean, we've got elected leaders who have spent careers paying the Iranians. I mean, what they've done, you know, it's not comfortable to speak about, but people have to be aware of this. I mean, they captured one of our officers and Skinned him alive, literally tortured him to death. I mean, they would take Americans, Israelis. I mean, you saw on October 7, 43American citizens were killed there. That was directly Iranian planned and carried out. I mean, the most barbarian activity you can imagine, murdering families in front of each other, forcing families to rape each other, sending videos of this to their other family members, saying, look what we just did to your family and child. You know, Allahu Akbar. I mean, absolute disgusting behavior. And that is done with a very specific purpose, to spread terror. That's why it's called terrorism. And it's akin to being in a city and you have a serial killer who's going around killing people. And in response to all these terrible acts from the 83 barracks bombing of the Khobar Towers, USS Cole and all these, we've sanctioned Iran. We've never really hit them at all. We sanction them. And that's like a serial killer going around the city, torturing, killing people. And the city fines them $500. And then all they do to get, we're gonna five you $500 again. And then Obama, Biden, years, they said, you know what? This behavior's out of control. Let's try something new, right? How about we give you $50 billion? This is like a serial killer. Hey, dude, you've killed so many people, we fined you. It hasn't worked. Here's 50 grand in cash. Just please stop killing everyone and we'll all be happy. And that's what Obama and Biden and Ben Rhodes, Jake Sullivan, Susan Rice and all these jackasses did for decades while we were there fighting Iran in the Middle East.

Co-host 1 (13:38)

I mean, you. You have faced off against their proxies, you know, face to face in real life. You know, you were there. And you know that this is their strategy to fund these proxies everywhere. If they can fund them in the Middle east, they can fund them here within our own country, where people were let in by the thousands, as you mentioned, during the Biden administration. I. We're going to get to the DHS funding and everything else, you know, a little bit later in the show. But it just strikes me that that is potentially one of the most dangerous things that we're facing right now is the possibility of radicalized people in this country who are here with a mission to try to mess things up in America and terrorize our country in a way that we've not seen before.

Senator Tim Sheehy (14:26)

Well, it's already happened. I mean, the shooter in Texas, we've got lunatics running around Capitol Hill, you know, we're not paying TSA and DHS right now at a time when we have arguably the highest domestic terror threat we've had in decades. You know, irgc, the Iranian government, is the primary state sponsor of terror and they have every reason to go after us right now. Now, again, I continue to remind people we didn't start this war, but we are going to finish it. Because I credit the president, his cabinet saying we are not going to kick this can to another generation of Americans. This has been a three generation fight with these guys. And again, they started it by taking our people hostage, killing our people, maiming our people. And we're not going to kick that can to another generation. And we should have solved this problem a long time ago, but we have to solve it now. Because if we don't solve it now, if and when Iran succeeds their missile program and a rocket program, as you can see, they can send those regional, not global yet, but regional, they do succeed in pairing their nuclear program with those rockets. Now, like North Korea, you can't really touch them now you have a nuclear missile capable country, you're kind of stuck with them now. You're like, man, like North Korea, we can't really do anything about these guys. I mean, we can't bomb a campaign. We can't take out their Navy because they have the ability, as we see, to press those buttons and launch all those rockets. And now instead of taking out an apartment building and injuring or killing a few people, tragically, they can take out whole cities. And obviously that's bad. So if we don't do it now, it'll probably never happen, as we know. God forbid we lose in 28. Obviously we'll do everything. Can we? But we have to assume that there'll be a change in control whether it's congressional or White House in 28. And that means it's going to be a lot harder to carry out this policy. So we have to do it now.

Co-host 2 (16:09)

One thing you touched on earlier when you spoke about the global war on terror is I saw a statistic that it's estimated that 75% of American casualties in Iraq were Iranian proxies, Iranian roadside bombs. And it's anecdotal, but every one of my friends who served have been thrilled with this news and have so many stories of losing someone they served with, someone they served with, getting maimed because of the Iranians. And the whole time the frustration they felt knowing that it's these Iranians who are doing this.

Senator Tim Sheehy (16:40)

And the roes were insane. I mean, unacceptable I mean, the handcuffs we put on our forces. I mean, there was a period of time, you know, where. Where we were deployed, and we couldn't go out at nighttime as Navy SEALs, you know, you can't go on night raid because it was. It was unfair and it was destabilizing. And oh, yeah, These are bombers 100. No night raids. No can't go out at night. And I mean, to do so, you had to get such thorough approvals that it would take forever. So there's. But they basically said to all US Forces, you can't go out and fight at night because that's mean to those guys. And in Iraq, specifically, the ROEs around, you really had two. I mean, you have many threat vectors, but to boil it down, you had two threat vectors in Iraq during the war. You had the Sunni threats, Al Qaeda and Iraq, and lots of other splinter groups. Then you had the Sunni threat line, which we basically named counter malign Iranian influence cmii. So those were the two main threat lines that special Ops were focused on.

Host Michael Duncan (17:31)

The Shia threat.

Senator Tim Sheehy (17:32)

Exactly. So Shia threat, Iranian.

Co-host 1 (17:33)

Got it.

Senator Tim Sheehy (17:34)

And kind of organic foreign fighter networks piped in from all the other Arab states. At the end of the day, we were always cleared hot. I mean, Sunni was just much easier to go after as far as approvals. I mean, they were savage, terrible guys, too. But everyone was comfortable going after Al Qaeda because obviously CMI was always a more challenging threat. And it was also in Afghanistan, too. I mean, let's be clear. You got to remember it borders both. Afghanistan is on one side, Iraq's on the other. So Iran was in the middle, pushing bombs into stabilization both ways. But it's always been a challenge. And obviously, you see in the Obama and Biden administration, they were trying to negotiate with Iran, so no one ever wanted to negotiate with Al Qaeda, of course, like, kill the Sunni extremist groups, no question. But there was always a sensitivity around the Shiite extremists, around Iran, because, you know, that's. That's. We want to make a deal.

Co-host 2 (18:22)

And it's such a weird thing with the Obama administration, not only just giving pallets of cash to them, but then you see their advisors like Ben Rhodes. This entire past week has been like, please no one be mean to Iran. It's like the oddest.

Senator Tim Sheehy (18:34)

It's like the only reason we are here is because of you and your entire cabal of people who for some reason have spent the last decade and a half trying to prop up the most murderous, disgusting regime, a regime whose foreign policy is death To America, that's what they say. And the Obama, Biden, that whole crew of people spent their entire foreign policy framework supporting them, giving them cash, saying we're gonna make a deal with them so they don't make nukes. Hillary Clinton's up here postulating about, well they wouldn't have. This never would happen if we would have stuck with our deal. You know what I mean? Like Lex Grossman, we don't negotiate with terrorists. I mean it's ridiculous. You can't make a deal with terrorists and expect them to follow. And that's exactly what both those administrations did and led to this. So this had to happen. This should have been dealt with a long time ago. We did not start this war. They started this war and it was a one sided war. From 1979 to 1983, the Khobar Towers, the USS Cole and everything in between. They have been murdering our people ruthlessly and savagely and the only response America's had has been sanctions.

Host Michael Duncan (19:39)

Yeah, all right, I want to get to the domestic side of all of this, the DHS funding fight and all of that stuff. Let's do that right after this.

Senator Tim Sheehy (19:49)

America leads the world in medicine development. It matters we get new medicines first. Nearly three years faster 5 million Americans go to work because we make medicines here at home.

Senator John Husted (20:00)

And not relying on other countries keeps us safe. But China is racing to overtake us.

Senator Tim Sheehy (20:06)

Will we let them or will we choose to stay ahead? When America leads, America cures. Let's tell Washington to keep us in the lead. Learn how@americacures.com paid for by pharma.

Guest or Commentator H (20:19)

In America, parents call the shots for their families, not bureaucrats. But the so called App Store Accountability act puts your child at risk. This bill requires app stores to collect children's sensitive personal data while taking away power from parents over how their child's data is handled by tech companies. Parents should get to decide if their child's age is shared with apps, not politicians. Parents should attest to their kids ages, not turn over birth certificates to tech companies. Congress don't put kids at greater risk online and box parents out of making decisions for their families. Tell your lawmaker to put parents first. There are better ways to keep kids safe. NetChoice is dedicated to making the Internet safe for free expression and free enterprise. Learn more@netchoice.org keepappstores safe.

Co-host 1 (21:18)

We talked a little bit in the first segment about the domestic impact and the idea that if they're funding proxies in the Middle east, they can fund proxies. Within our own borders. And the Democrats right now have shut down the Department of Homeland Security, an organization that was stood up in the wake of September 11, simply to keep us safe at home. They are not allowing it to be funded. And it seems like John Fetterman is the only Democrat who will listen to reason on this. Do you think anybody else will come along? And how dangerous is this situation for us at home right now?

Senator Tim Sheehy (21:52)

Well, thank God for Jon. I've gotten to know him and I love the guy. He's great. I mean, we don't have to grant every single policy position. I try to be a very bipartisan guy. I mean, most of my bills are bipartisan, from folks like Elizabeth Warren to Andy Kim to Tim Kaine. Like, I'm about finding issues of commonality to get things done. But this is an ideological barrier here that is just truly befuddling. And it's really angering because obviously their opposition to this is emanating from the deportation campaign, emanating from the mistakes in Minneapolis that we've owned that Trump's own, that, hey, listen, you're right. Bad leadership. I'm going to swap it out. We're going to fix that. You know, two Americans killed who were out actively inhibiting law enforcement operations, but they never shut down ICE or DHS when they were Americans being brutally murdered by illegal immigrants. Where was this Democrat opposition in the marching in the streets when Americans were dying? Jocelyn, where were the marches when that young girl was murdered and killed? Lake and Riley, where. Where were the marches and the demands for DHS accountability? Who let these people in, who were multiple arrests, serial killers, rapists, that there was no demand to defund or reform the department that let these evildoers into our country. It's crazy. So what they're doing now is a high risk, very huge political gamble. They're betting that their lunatic base, you know, at this point, the Democrat Party seems to stand for, you know, boys and girls, sports, you know, anybody can transition whenever they feel like it. Hamas and, you know, communism in New York City. I mean, like, it's far hard. And of course, open border. They want the border wide open so they can get more voters in, apparently. And so now they're defunding DHS at a time when we are at at the highest terrorist we've been at arguably since 9 11. And I think it's important to remember too, that, you know, no federal agency is perfect. DHS was formed in the wake of 911 to fight terrorism as we knew it then. But the social media aspect of terrorism has really transformed a threat where, like, they don't have to train a guy in a camp in Afghanistan and have them sneak into the US with fake passports all Jason Bourne style anymore. Like, all they have to do is put enough poison on the Internet and find, like, deranged idiots who live here in Dearborn, Michigan, like the city councilman there or whatever, who's calling to avenge the Ayatollah. Like that one Democrat campaign lady who's on stage calling for death to America. I mean, you can radicalize people here with the Internet and you don't need them to hopefully not hijack a plane. You just need them to buy a gun and show up to a bar and shoot a handful of people and that starts happening. You need to walk, walk into the U.S. capitol and act jackass and start tackling people. You need these things to happen because that's what injects terror. So hsi, DHS does a lot more than I think, what people realize. Yes, there's the Border Patrol, that secures the border. Yes, there's TSA at the airports, but they also have hsi. They have the ability to do homeland security investigations where they can actually follow these threat vectors and make the connection. Because obviously we're the seat, we're DHS came from. After 9, 11 was the recognition that we had so many seams between our federal agencies, Intelligence, CIA, nsa, dni, odni, all these different oni, all these different intelligence agencies, then law enforcement, we have FBI, dei, atf, local law enforcement. But then there were these organizational gaps that existed. They're like, hey, we gotta fill these.

Host Michael Duncan (25:06)

Right?

Senator Tim Sheehy (25:06)

Because people weren't. Terrorists don't. Yeah, people. Terrorists don't recognize our bureaucratic gaps.

Co-host 1 (25:11)

Right.

Senator Tim Sheehy (25:12)

So HSI was really developed to say, listen, we are going to follow those investigative threat vectors wherever they go, and we're going to try to be that connective tissue. We're going to create these fusion centers. And although HSI isn't always the driving force there, they're kind of that filler that helps us track those threat vectors coming into the country. The FBI has the mandate for domestic counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations, but DHS funds a lot of that. Secret Service is a key part of that. Secret Service people only think they protect the President. The Secret Service actually was founded in the post Civil War era for counterfeiting the Treasury.

Host Michael Duncan (25:48)

Exactly.

Senator Tim Sheehy (25:49)

Because all the fake money being printed after the war, they were like, we got to figure this out. And the only way we can figure it out is by trading counterfeit money ourselves. So we got to dress like civilians and be in secret. So that's where the Secret Service came from. And why they ended up protecting the President is because treasury is across the street from the White House and like, hey, can you give us a handful of guys? That's literally where it came from. And now everyone thinks the only reason Secret Service exists, the president. But counterfeit money and tracking fraud is a key part of terrorism.

Host Michael Duncan (26:13)

I gotta ask you about this because it's gone sort of viral on the Internet, and that is. No, but there was a protester at one of these hearings on Capitol Hill, and you were assisting Capitol Police with removing this gentleman who I believe was in his military blues. And I got to be honest, he sort of seemed a little unwell. The guy.

Senator Tim Sheehy (26:38)

Yeah, I mean, honestly, like, probably saw my statement, which is, listen, I hope he gets to helping eats. He's clearly got issues. Apparently, this guy has been a well documented disruptor. He goes out in his Marines, which you're not allowed to do that is, like, you are not by military regulation, supposed to go out and partake in any political activity in uniform at any. I don't care how decorated you are, what rank you are, you're not allowed to put uniform on and go partake in political activism. That's just not allowed. Obviously, he did it. And listen, I mean, we get these people all the time. This is not unusual for people to come into a hearing and, you know, the code Pink people and all that. What was different this time is he was a big dude. He was a Marine. And, you know, at least he was wearing the Marine uniform. I don't know if he actually was. And, I mean, the two Capitol Police were doing a great job, but, like, they weren't. They were not getting this guy under control. They were trying, but he was a big dude. He was bigger than both them. And unfortunately, the culture these days, as you always see, is when police are in trouble, people go like this.

Physician Guest (27:32)

Yeah.

Senator Tim Sheehy (27:32)

And they film it. I'm like, guys, help. Help them out. Like, why do I have to walk all the way from the dais? Like, I don't want to get involved in a stupid scuffle. But, like, the cops, three of them had to get taken to the hospital. Three of them were injured in the process because he was being a complete unhinged lunatic. And as I'm watching two cops there get, you know, elbowed in the face and punched and wrestled with, I'm like, well, I mean, no one else is clearly going to help. So certainly need to help out those cops and get them under control. So we did. And it's unfortunate that had to happen. I wish some of the bystanders would have helped our police officers out, but, you know, we can't have our cops getting beat up like that. So they did a great job.

Co-host 1 (28:09)

Well, I mean, there are a whole host of reasons why it is so great to have you in the Capitol building with your background. And I just, I hate to keep coming back to this, but what terrifies me is the domestic threat inside of our country. People who we have, you know, we always talk about on, on the show. Everybody, everybody is focused on Mexicans coming over the border. And they did. They just didn't look at the fighting age douzebecks who happened to just be in Mexico and walk across the border during the Biden administration. There are so many people, you know, obviously that was one incident, but there's so many people who could do so much more violence if Democrats just cannot get the. Get their head around at least extending DHS funding. How about a couple of months, you know, how about while this is going on? Like, I don't understand why they won't do it, but I mean, you have seen this sort of fighting up front, and I would hate for it to come here to our. Inside of our borders.

Senator Tim Sheehy (29:13)

Yeah, it is. It's already here, unfortunately. And the hope is we can contain as much of it as we can. And I think Americans have largely woken up, which is why 2024 was the success it was. And they've realized that open borders are not good for anything. They're not good for the economy, they're not good for the price of housing, they're not good for crime in the streets, and they're certainly not good for our national security. So listen, Iran, as I said, just to go back to home base again, 50 years they've been up to this. 50 years they've been murdering us. And if allow them to become nuclear, the nuclear deal, they were never going to follow. They weren't following. They were not going to continue to follow deal. They weren't following in the first place.

Senator John Husted (29:56)

Right.

Senator Tim Sheehy (29:56)

So like, why would they do it now?

Host Michael Duncan (29:59)

And the balls of these people to go to Wyckoff in those negotiations in Geneva and be like, we've got enriched uranium up to 60%. You know, we could build 11 bombs or whatever. Like who these people think they are.

Co-host 2 (30:11)

And this is after, I know, they'd had their bases blown up, right. They're like, we still have some Uranium. That's not how you negotiate. You can't negotiate with people like that.

Senator Tim Sheehy (30:20)

That's my point is, you know, you can't negotiate with terrorists. And it's not just a statement. It's a fact. I mean, they are mentally deranged. If they've chosen to go down this path, they have departed from. From the logical reality that western civilization is built on. They have become radicals. They truly believe they can. Anything is. Is safe. Anything's allowed to be done. There's no barriers to their action. You know, we do everything we can. Of course. War is a terrible, terrible thing. We don't want to kill innocents. We don't want to kill. And I can promise you, I don't care what any of these assholes on the Hill say. Like, during the war, we went. I mean, I know guys who were wounded, who were killed simply because we followed the ROEs that were so focused on protecting civilians. Absolutely. And you know what? I'm pretty sure we'd all do it again. But we were so focused on avoiding CivCast civilian casualties that these ROEs were so restrictive, we took the risk upon our forces completely disproportionately. You think the bad guys did that? No, of course not. You think they're like, oh, well, the Americans can't fight at night. They can't drop bombs. They can't do this. They can't do that. So we're not gonna do it either? Of course not. I mean, they took advantage of every single inch we gave them on the battlefield. They took advantage of it. And whenever we lost war in Iraq and Afghanistan. No, we did not. We won both those wars. You talked to anybody who actually was there. Like, we had both those countries on lock. And then we selectively. Obama pulled us out of Iraq, you know, yank the carpet out of there, because he wanted to be able to say, in 2012, I ended the war. Even though everyone knew the concrete wasn't dry yet. Hey, we're in a good spot. We've had, like, one combat casualty in 2011 in this country. Just. Let's let it coast. We need a couple more years, and we need to leave a residual force, and this place will be fine. And of course, didn't take that advice. ISIS sprouted up. Boom. Same thing in Afghanistan. I mean, Biden's Afghan, which is what got me into office. Biden's Afghan withdrawal. I mean, round two. You know what? Let's just get out, pull the plug. We'll be done. And we all saw what the disaster that was and that, of course, emboldened Iran to do what it did on October 7 and emboldened Russia and Ukraine. And it's been a disaster. So this is the right thing to do. It's the right time to do it. And we're not starting a war, we're ending one.

Co-host 2 (32:24)

And to real quick contrast that the Obama quote leadership and the Biden years to what we're seeing now, what really strikes me is, I mean, I know America has the greatest fighting force in the history of humanity, but this campaign so far against Iran has been like seeing just an invincible army on the field where, I mean, the Navy just torpedoed a ship. Like, we haven't seen something like that since World War II. And just the precision and almost like perfect combat mission.

Senator Tim Sheehy (33:02)

That seems like so far, it's the Rome allegiance. I mean, and it's. I was just speaking to a group of West Point cadets right before I came here in my office, and I'm a Naval Academy grad. As my wife, we met there. But in part, this is so personal is like, my wife was a combat veteran Marine of Afghanistan. Like, all of our best friends are. So, like, this was our childhood. You know, most people take their 20s and go skiing or ski bombing or surf bombing. Like us and all of our best friends, we're all fighting wars. I mean, at her best friend's wedding, she was a cardboard cutout because her best friend, also a Marine, she was deployed for her wedding and vice versa. So. But the point being is, you're absolutely right. This is what happens when leadership clarifies the mission, reinforces that mission. And it's not enough to just say the mission. You then have to empower every level in the chain of command of any organization. Business, politics, podcasting, military. When the mission is put on the wall and then the leaders embody that mission and say, listen, my job is to make sure you see that mission statement. You understand it. Yes. My job is to make sure you have everything you need to accomplish that mission statement. And that clarity flows down through any organization. You listen to old podcast with Steve Jobs. He's like, I was obsessed with customer experience, and everything I did at Apple was based on the mission that I wanted. When every time my customer touched this product, it was an amazing experience, and I was obsessed with it. And that's why everyone still got an iPhone and it took over the world. Elon Musk is obsessed, sleeps under his desk to make sure Tesla and SpaceX and Pete Hexseth and Dan Cain and the President are like, this is the mission. Nothing else matters. I don't care what gender, I don't care what sexual orientation. I don't know if you're gay, straight, trans, whatever the hell you are. If you can shoot straight and kill bad guys, go do your job. How much ammo do you need? Good. I'm going to find a way to reform the defense acquisition process to get you all the ammo, all the bombs, all the planes, all the ships you need. And when you have that clarity of mission and, you know, it's like, you know, grabbing a bed sheet when you don't have it caught on all these other distractions and you simply grab one piece of it and pull it forward, like the whole thing forms behind it. And for years we've had distractions of dei. Well, we want the same number of women in the cockpit as men. Oh, no, no, you can't call it a cockpit. It's a person pit. Like, oh, submarines. We're going to integrate those. It's like, guys, at the end of the day, that's all it is. How? You have one job in the military. And I was just telling these West Point kiddists that when you put the uniform on, they can't put this on. Recruiting slogans. They should, but they can't. Maybe they can, I don't know. But you have one job, and it's very simple and it's not pleasant to say, but your job, no matter what it is, is to kill other human beings. We hope you don't have to. You probably don't want to, but regardless of what you're doing, you're driving a submarine. That submarine's job is to launch torpedoes and sink bad guy ships. That submarine's job is to launch a missile and take out a nuclear compound. You drive a ship, that ship's job is to launch a fighter jet to go drop a bomb on a terrorist compound. You know, you're flying a plane. The role of that plane is not to fly in the sky and look at things, or if it is, look at things. A spy plane is so you can figure out where to drop the next bomb.

Host Michael Duncan (36:05)

Right.

Senator Tim Sheehy (36:05)

You know, if you're in the army, your job is to close with and kill the enemy. So that, unfortunately, is the role of the military that always has been, always will be. And folks say, well, the nature of war is changing. AI and robots and quantum computing and peloton bikes and all this shit. Actually, war's not changing. War will always be the same. And what war means is when the battle's over, Whoever's boots are standing on top of the hill with their nation's flag is who want. I mean, that's still what it's about is real estate and boots on real estate. And no amount of technology will ever change that. And we are reminding our force structure in the Dow. That's why we renamed it the Dow. Renamed it. It was called the war department for 200 years, 170 years, and then we changed it to DOD after World War II. We renamed that to ensure the mission was clear that your job is to go fight and win wars. And the last time we carried out an operation like this was really the first Gulf War. And Colin Powell, I love Colin Powell. I know become political, but I think he was a great leader. And you look at his principles of leadership and he had three conditions to go to war. He's like, if we're going to go to war, three things have to be met. Number one, are the American people supportive? Number two, is the objective clear and attainable? The objective might be clear, like, hey, I want the whole army to get soda straws and suck the ocean dry. Okay, that's an objective, but we can't do it. So it's got to be clear and attainable. And number three, once conditions one and two are met, overwhelming and unrelenting force. We don't go in halfway. We don't do a Vietnam where we kind of come in halfway. He's like, right. He learned that lesson in Vietnam. And I think we have Hegseth and Dan Kane in charge now. And the service chiefs, all of us are veterans of the gwat where we recognize an unclear mission. Mission Creek impartial commitment led to 25 years of forever war, as they called it. We're not doing that anymore. This was a absolutely overwhelming strike. We're going to continue with this level of precision and force. And the most important thing is the Iranian people need to be ready, which I think they are, to rise up and form their own government, which there's a number of options there. Everyone always likes to say, you know, every, like, pundit loves to sound smart, like, well, what comes next? You know? Yeah, it's like that makes them feel smart. Like, well, you never know what's going to come next. But what can be worse than a nation that's murdered thousands of Americans, has been firing rockets at our navy for three years, has been murdering, launching rockets and missiles at Israel, Qatar, uae, Saudi Arabia. They tried to take out the Saudi king in 2017, let's not forget. I mean, their entire mission is to destabilize the world. So what comes next is better than whatever we have now. So let's finish the job.

Co-host 1 (38:36)

Yeah.

Host Michael Duncan (38:37)

Fellas, I feel like I just got a PhD in war fighting. Yeah, dude. Thank you so much for coming in.

Senator Tim Sheehy (38:44)

Yeah, of course.

Host Michael Duncan (38:45)

And doing this. This has been so much fun. Everyone. Senator Tim Sheehy.

Senator Tim Sheehy (38:51)

Thanks, guys. Good to see you. Thanks for having me.

Co-host 2 (38:53)

Thanks so much.

Co-host 1 (38:53)

Thank you.

Senator Tim Sheehy (38:56)

They closed President Trump's accounts. Now the big banks want to destroy Trump's economy affordability agenda by putting tolls on your data. I have no higher priority than making America affordable again.

Senator John Husted (39:09)

That's what we're going to do.

Senator Tim Sheehy (39:11)

The banks that went after Trump now want hidden fees on every transaction, making everything more expensive.

Physician Guest (39:18)

But President Trump can stop them.

Host Michael Duncan (39:20)

Tell President Trump, keep big bank fees

Senator Tim Sheehy (39:23)

out of the open banking rule.

Co-host 1 (39:28)

I mean, very interesting conversation. And when you want to talk about conflicts overseas, you want to talk with a man who has actually seen it with his own eyes, who has actually put his life on the line on our behalf. And I feel like we should have spent more time thanking Tim Sheehy, quite honestly, for what he did for us and what his friends have done for us. You know, what Wolf and Eddie P. Have done for us. These are the kind of guys who every one of our sons and daughters should look up to. And I just feel so grateful that he spent some time with us.

Co-host 2 (40:03)

I mean, he was awesome, great. Always a great guest. Very, very great information. Awesome addition for our Funtime Friday. But we had talked to him about dhs, especially in light of the threats we face, how Democrats have essentially cut funding for it. And there's even more breaking DHS news now.

Host Michael Duncan (40:22)

Yeah, I mean, Mark Wayne Mullen now is going to be the new DHS secretary. Kristi Noem out him in. He's obviously a great ally of the President. He's a great friend of the program. And so I'm excited for that. And, you know, I think we probably have to have him come in here.

Co-host 1 (40:41)

Without a doubt, buddy. I mean, this guy is very well regarded in the Senate. It's a. It's a rare thing to have the kind of reputation that he's earned in such a short period of time inside the chamber. You've already seen, seen Democrats like John Fetterman tweet out that he would support Mark Wayne Mullen as the DHS secretary. And I mean, look, he is a no nonsense kind of guy. We've had him on the show multiple times. This is somebody who wants to solve the greatest problems that are presented at our border and within our country that were, you know, problems created by the Biden administration over four years of just absolute terrible management of our border. And I can't think of a better guy to have in that job. Yeah.

Host Michael Duncan (41:29)

I'm curious what the listeners and viewers of the ruthless variety program think about all of this. I mean, put that in the comments. When you like and subscribe, what is it that you always say?

Senator John Husted (41:39)

Ashbrook?

Co-host 1 (41:40)

Like and subscribe. Like and subscribe. If you wish to opine. We read all of your comments. There it is. But the ones that are the funniest and the most poignant are often relayed here on the program.

Host Michael Duncan (41:52)

Well, especially on Funtime Friday. And our question for you guys in our last episode was what does Jazzy Jazz do now? She lost the Dem primary in Texas to Talarico and she's a woman of many talents and you guys delivered. I gotta say thank you so much for all your comments. And we always get to those first with a voice.

Co-host 1 (42:16)

Okay, first one comes from Lynn Gillis. And Lynn writes Jazzy Jazz should inquire about having her voice be an option to give me directions or better yet, some snappy comebacks for when people cut me off in traffic if they wanted to make it really fun. It could be like a choose your own adventure and you could pick from all of her different Personas that would actually work. Lynn Gillis, that is very, very funny.

Host Michael Duncan (42:42)

Very good.

Co-host 2 (42:44)

So comment 2 is from Bausgroves and they write jazzy is going to open a school in Texas, the Authenticity Leering center, where she will teach how to code switch for your audience. That's pretty good. That's pretty good.

Host Michael Duncan (42:58)

That is really good. Here's the third one from Kyber. Kyber writes Jasmine Crockett will pursue an investigation of Jeff Epstein to finally hold this dentist accountable to the American people.

Co-host 2 (43:10)

That is an old timer.

Host Michael Duncan (43:12)

That's also deep lore. I appreciate a comment. That's deep lore from a previous episode. You know, listeners and viewers, if you don't remember, she basically accused some random dentist of donating to some Republicans campaign. And it was Jeff Epstein, but not the Jeff Epstein. Hilarious. Are you guys ready for some variety?

Co-host 2 (43:32)

Always.

Host Michael Duncan (43:33)

I think this might be. It's tough to know. We've had many, many great ones. Many people are saying this might be our greatest variety selection in recent memory. The first one being from the Daily Mail. Favorite for supreme leader of Iran spent months being treated for impotency in private UK hospital. US Intelligence reveals. Can we get that graphic up of this guy.

Co-host 2 (44:03)

That's brutal. If he's, like, next in line to be the Supreme Leader, there's, like, a 99% chance he's gonna get hit with, like, a cruise missile. And then before you go, US Intelligence is like, we want to make sure everyone knows this. Right?

Co-host 1 (44:19)

Right. But here's the thing. If you're an Iranian with an impotency problem, you go to the experts. The Brits. The Brits know how to manage this situation. They've been dealing with it for generations. And so maybe he's not able to act on it, maybe he doesn't. He's not around long enough.

Co-host 2 (44:36)

However, also, that reinforces that Britain will let just, like, any Islamic radical into the country if he's like. Like the son of the Ayatollah is rolling up there.

Host Michael Duncan (44:46)

I mean, I gotta say, I tweeted about this. We obviously took out the Ayatollah. We took out the meeting of the leaders of Iran, you know, trying to elect another Ayatollah. They finally announced the guy, and we're just like, his dick doesn't work. I guess what I'm saying is, like, it must suck to be against the United States of America because, like, we'll kill you or we'll say you're impotent.

Physician Guest (45:13)

Right?

Host Michael Duncan (45:15)

Like, we'll either prove you impotent or we'll just say you're impotent. It's unbelievable. All right, this one was flagged by smug. And I know this is near and dear to your heart, so I'm just gonna let you take the floor.

Co-host 2 (45:29)

So recall, our longtime listeners will remember when Britney Spears was let go of that. Was it family conservatorship or whatever they called it, where, like, essentially her parents were. Had legal authority over her. There was a whole, like, free Britney movement. You could say.

Host Michael Duncan (45:46)

Yeah.

Co-host 2 (45:47)

And people got mad at me and mad at me because I opposed it. I was like, this woman is a menace. She should never be let out in public. She's got a lot of problems. Keep her locked up. I thought she should be in prison, not just, like, a conservatorship. So TMZ broke the news, and we have the graphic. It says, Britney Spears arrested in California for dui. Britney Spears was arrested in Ventura County, California, Wednesday night for a dui. Law enforcement sources tell tmz the pop superstar was handcuffed by the California highway patrol around 9:30pm last night, and she was booked by the Sheriff's Department around 3:00am she was released from jail around 6:00am to Amazing. Hold on. Hold on. Happier times. Goodwill production team.

Host Michael Duncan (46:31)

I'm just now seeing the photo and

Co-host 2 (46:34)

I gotta say, I mean, she is definitely. That's 100% a memory of what was.

Guest or Commentator H (46:41)

That is.

Co-host 2 (46:42)

And also, you know, good work, production team. And also congratulations to our listeners who also subscribe to the YouTube. If you're just listening, you're missing out.

Host Michael Duncan (46:49)

You're missing out because our production team has picked a photo, a particular photo of Britney Spears that I think a lot of young men in America did a lot of growing up to. Am I wrong?

Co-host 2 (47:02)

Amazing. And here's the thing is it says that they transport.

Host Michael Duncan (47:06)

Why is Ashbrook so quiet now?

Co-host 1 (47:08)

They just think, I'm very grateful for the routine Britney check in. You know, she was such a great part of our culture for a very long time. And every time we get an update, it's never disappointing.

Co-host 2 (47:19)

It's always bad because, like, everyone has seen, like, you know, that's a Britney of memory right there. But, like, these days, you know, anytime you'd hear about her in an article, it'd be like, you know, she's dancing with knives and looking like a wreck. You know, like someone who probably should be institutionalized. I called it. This story was essentially just for me to take a victory lap.

Co-host 1 (47:37)

Oh, you knew this was gonna happen. Yeah.

Co-host 2 (47:39)

I mean, how many times does she have to have, like, an article written up of, like, brittany, new Instagram video dances with knives? Looks like she's in, like, tough times. Things are going very badly. I'm shocked that she was driving in the first place, you know?

Host Michael Duncan (47:52)

Yeah.

Co-host 2 (47:53)

So sad. I'd say we wish her well, but we actually just called it. I knew this would happen.

Guest or Commentator H (47:58)

Yeah.

Co-host 1 (47:58)

You see? Thanks.

Host Michael Duncan (48:00)

We have one more piece of variety that we have to get to here. It's almost like it was created just for us here at the Ruthless Variety Program. And that is this new. This Italian wrestler.

Co-host 1 (48:11)

Oh, I did see this online. It's really great.

Host Michael Duncan (48:14)

Can we just play that video?

Co-host 1 (48:17)

Look at him spinning the pizza.

Host Michael Duncan (48:20)

He got the pizza piece.

Co-host 2 (48:23)

That's the finisher. Amazing.

Co-host 1 (48:25)

Perfectly timed punch. I mean, have you ever seen anybody with that sort of dexterity to spin that dough? Spin it, spin it, spin it. And then hideuking right into the G.

Co-host 2 (48:36)

So, I mean, this is actually pretty awesome. I have to admit. This is pretty awesome. So it says here, indie professional wrestling match between. His name is Luigi Primo.

Co-host 1 (48:45)

Of course it is.

Co-host 2 (48:46)

And Mikey.

Co-host 1 (48:47)

I don't think that's a stage name. I think that's given.

Co-host 2 (48:49)

That's like the best finisher the Most apt finisher for an Italian wrestler you could imagine. He rolls up with the dough, and for audio only, he's basically just, like, spinning the pizza and then punches it into his opponent. Outstanding. No notes.

Host Michael Duncan (49:02)

Okay, so the finisher. Let's just throw this out to the group. You know, if you had to name a finisher for an Italian wrestler, like. Like I can think of, like, the gabagool grip. You know, like the. The salami slammer.

Co-host 1 (49:16)

Supreme squeeze.

Host Michael Duncan (49:17)

There we go.

Co-host 1 (49:18)

What.

Host Michael Duncan (49:19)

What would be your smug pizza cutter? The pizza cutter.

Co-host 1 (49:23)

Wow. Fettuccine finisher. The bucatini. Bam.

Senator Tim Sheehy (49:30)

Bam.

Host Michael Duncan (49:33)

Oh, that's great.

Co-host 1 (49:34)

Cavatelli.

Senator Tim Sheehy (49:35)

Come to Jesus.

Host Michael Duncan (49:40)

Wow, this is a hard transition, but we got to get back to politics here. All right, so if you haven't been there yet, and you should go there, because we have interviews from many, and we will have from most or all of the candidates are going to be running in, you know, important elections in this midterm. This is the ruthless map.

Co-host 2 (49:59)

Yep.

Host Michael Duncan (49:59)

Right. So RuthlessPodcast.com map. Go there, check it out. You know, if you voted in Texas in that primary, you saw all the interviews of all the candidates who were running in that senate primary. We have Whatley up there in North Carolina. Congratulations again to him for winning that election. We have some. And we're going to have many more up there. Continuing in that series, we have our next guest, senator from the great state of Ohio. Ashbrook obviously has his love.

Co-host 2 (50:30)

It's Ohio bias.

Co-host 1 (50:33)

Don't need to say anything more. I love it.

Host Michael Duncan (50:34)

Yeah, he's a great guy. It's a great get. So let's go to that interview.

H (50:42)

Well, in our ongoing effort to provide you a little bit of content, we'll get to know you with all the people you're going to be casting a ballot for. We enter the great state of Ohio. I'm reluctant, Duncan, just to give our friend.

Host Michael Duncan (50:56)

I'm always nervous when he has backup on the program from this great state of Ohio.

Co-host 1 (51:00)

I am, too.

H (51:00)

We overdo it, but this guy is worth it. He's a good guy. So we got to put it out there. Senator John Husted. How are you, sir?

Senator John Husted (51:08)

Great to be with you guys.

Senator Tim Sheehy (51:09)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (51:10)

And we're doing wonderful. Yeah.

H (51:13)

So the upside is you do have an Ohioan.

Senator John Husted (51:15)

I know here it's the greatest state in the nation.

Co-host 1 (51:17)

It's incredible.

Senator John Husted (51:18)

Full of normal people.

Host Michael Duncan (51:19)

Here we go.

H (51:20)

Well, we'll see. The downside of having an Ohioan is he's got old, old footage.

Co-host 1 (51:26)

He's.

H (51:27)

This is a guy.

Senator Tim Sheehy (51:28)

Who is he's?

Senator John Husted (51:29)

Got the old. The dirt. Yeah, all of it.

H (51:31)

Yeah. So he's gonna unearth some video.

Co-host 1 (51:34)

Yeah. I mean, listen, if you're from Ohio, you love your state and you love the sports people in your state play. And everybody talks about the Ohio State University winning all these national championships. It's not the only championship college football program in the state. John Hustead, you played at the University of Dayton in the late 80s, and you won a national championship.

Senator John Husted (51:55)

I won a national championship, yeah. So, yeah, we did the Dayton Flyers, and I played defensive back and return kickoffs and intercepted the last pass of the game to win the national championship in 1989. So, yes, we have the Buckeyes, the Youngstown State Penguins have won some national championship, too, and the Dayton Flyers. So, you know, yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was the best. It was the most fun, you know, part of my life. When I was a little kid, I grew up in, like, this tiny little town out on County Road J in the middle of nowhere. And you're an Ohio kid, you want to play college football. Like, it's not like we were a big recruiting stop there in Montpelier, Ohio. The big schools weren't exactly rolling through to find the talent. And so I ended up at the University of Dayton. But it was a great, great experience for me in winning national championships. You know, the very last play I played in, intercepted the last pass to end the game. Like, that's walk off. Yeah, it's a good way to. I'm not going to the NFL. I'm like, this is it.

Senator Tim Sheehy (52:58)

I'm out.

H (52:59)

That's a good way to do.

Co-host 1 (53:00)

It's incredible. And all the OG college football fans listening to this will remember that the D3 national championship used to be called the stag ball. I think we actually have footage from that game. Wolf, can you put that up? Yeah, here we go.

Senator John Husted (53:16)

They're trying to make a comeback, and they're throwing deep or cover three. And I picked it off.

Senator Tim Sheehy (53:21)

And then.

Senator John Husted (53:21)

And then the stupid thing is, like, why didn't you keep the ball, John? Like, you just throw it. You throw it. You're celebrating. It's like, keep the ball. Like, what are you doing? You know, you pick it off. You should do that. But I, you know, no composure in the moment for me.

H (53:37)

I see they also put stag bowl on the back of your. Your uni instead. You could use some name id.

Senator John Husted (53:42)

I know it would have been career in politics. I love that.

H (53:49)

All right, so listen, you, like anybody who's got their name On a ballot in a midterm, going to have a race. Ohio, I'll always in the middle of the discussion in terms of control, United States Senate, hugely important. Your race, how's it going?

Senator John Husted (54:06)

Yeah, it's going great. Well, first of all, I don't have a primary. I mean, I can't believe I'm running for the U.S. senate. I get appointed, but President Trump endorsed me. J.D. vance endorsed me. Governor DeWine obviously appointed me. But we don't have a primary, not even a name on the ballot kind of primary. So we're full focused on the November election and things are going great. We're getting endorsed by business groups, we're getting endorsed by labor groups, all of the things that you need. And we have an 88 county strategy. Because I'm like, I'm an Ohio guy. I've been one year in office here in Washington representing the state of Ohio, but. But I've been, you know, like in all 88 counties, like all the time. So I've got operations in all 80.

H (54:48)

You grow up on County Road, Jay.

Senator Tim Sheehy (54:50)

You do you value that?

Senator John Husted (54:51)

Yeah. We couldn't even afford a name. We just had a letter. I love it.

Co-host 1 (54:56)

It's incredible. And I think, look, not to, you know, you, you talked about these groups that are endorsing you, but some of these unions once endorsed Sherrod Brown. Am I wrong about that?

Senator Tim Sheehy (55:09)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (55:10)

These unions, many of them have endorsed Sherrod Brown in the past. They're endorsing me this time. It's because I had a working relationship with business and labor in Ohio because they understand you gotta grow the pie. This is actually a fundamental difference between Sherrod Brown and me. He sees the world as like the Hunger Games. It's a static pie.

Physician Guest (55:26)

Yeah.

Host Michael Duncan (55:27)

Zero sum.

Senator John Husted (55:27)

Zero sum. We all have to fight over the crumbs. But I see it as a world where you have to grow it. You have to grow the pie. And when you do, business can win, labor can win, consumers can win. You gotta have prosperity. And that comes with innovation, talent, all the things to grow. And a lot of these union folks have seen me in action and they're like, yeah, John knows how to grow jobs. We're gonna support him.

Co-host 1 (55:49)

Yeah, I think part of that, and you know, you've done so many different things, but I think part of that comes from, and I just know this from reading about it, your commitment to career and technical education, which I think is huge. You know, so many people overlook it. They're like, ah, I don't, you know, we need to do a four year college. And that's for some people. But to be honest with you, and I think all these other guys would agree, the guys we know who are the ones with lake houses are the guys who actually did career in technical education.

Senator John Husted (56:17)

They're the electricians.

Senator Tim Sheehy (56:17)

Build the lake houses.

Co-host 1 (56:19)

Exactly. They're the ones who are doing the best. And there's so much of a great future for, you know, people going into that sort of a career path. And you've done a lot to open those doors.

Senator John Husted (56:30)

Well, I, you know, I'm a national champion, but I'm also the three time public official of the year for the Career Tech Association.

Senator Tim Sheehy (56:36)

Oh, there you go.

Senator John Husted (56:36)

You know, that's great. Three time. Yeah.

Senator Tim Sheehy (56:39)

And why?

Senator John Husted (56:40)

Because we did everything possible to try to load up career tech to help more students graduate career ready right out of high school. So if you want to be a welder, you want to work in the trades, you want to work in manufacturing, you want to be a nurse, whatever it is, help you get those skills, those certifications. So when you graduate high school, you're career ready and off you go. And a lot of times, like I was at one high school, the graduating class had earned over $2 million before they graduated.

Senator Tim Sheehy (57:08)

Wow.

Senator John Husted (57:09)

And this was in rural Ohio. So you guys a lot of new pickup trucks out in the student parking lot. Right. Because you got, you got guys that and young ladies who are working at Honda, working in construction, doing things. And it's just such a great pathway. No college debt. Earn and learn, like I can't tell you. And we've done that in the state and I've let it. And that's another thing.

Senator Tim Sheehy (57:32)

It's all about seeing around the corner. Right.

H (57:34)

And making sure that whatever you're doing to represent your people is to try to make it easier to prepare them for jobs that are going to exist, jobs that are, have huge value, huge upside. We always talk about this because I, you know, when I spent time in the Senate, I had a lot of opportunity to engage in this sort of thing. And it was always surprising to me, every time I went to a technical school, they were like, yeah, we have a hundred percent placement. Our only, our only challenge is to try to figure out how we can get more kids into the program.

Co-host 1 (58:05)

Yep.

H (58:05)

Because those jobs are always available. And you saw that early on.

Senator John Husted (58:09)

We've grown it by almost 30% in the last five years.

H (58:11)

It's incredible.

Guest or Commentator H (58:12)

It's great.

H (58:13)

So that's incredible.

Host Michael Duncan (58:15)

I want to talk about Sherrod Brown first.

H (58:17)

Oh, yes. I can't wait.

Host Michael Duncan (58:19)

So, I mean, here in Ohio guy. So you know this more than anyone, but there's this sort of mythos around Sherrod Brown and that is he shows up and he's not wearing a coat and he's rolled up his sleeves. And so his. He cuts a profile of a working class guy, but he's a left wing radical. You know, how is it that he has survived and like a phoenix rose from the ashes in Ohio politics again and again on a profile that is fundamentally not true.

Senator John Husted (58:48)

He lost.

Host Michael Duncan (58:49)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (58:50)

Yes, he lost by over 200, 000 votes. Yeah. Not exactly a Phoenix.

Senator Tim Sheehy (58:55)

The gig was up.

Senator John Husted (58:56)

Yeah, I guess. And look, I've actually, this is the great thing about this. I've actually worked in a factory. I've actually cut steel bars for machine tools. Like that was my job. I worked third shift my senior year in high school to help pay for college. So I'll put my qualifications up against his any day on actually doing something that required real work. He's never had a job in the private sector in his entire life. And it's not once for 52 years. He started running for office when he was in college and he's been either running or in public office since then. And he's like, what, 73, 74 years old. So he may still live down on

H (59:35)

4th and Mass here in D.C. when I, when I was a staffer on Capitol Hill, he lived, he literally lived in my building.

Co-host 1 (59:42)

I see him getting mail out of

H (59:44)

the mailbox every once in a while. Didn't seem like he spent a whole lot of time in Ohio at that point.

Senator John Husted (59:49)

Well, yeah, and, and look, I just, you know, like I, I live and breathe Buckeyes, you know, Buckeye State in, in Ohio. And like, there isn't any place I can go in the state. I can't tell you what the town is and what the businesses are in that town. And I really understand the economy and the people that live there. And he spent 32 years here. Anytime he says something to me, it's like, well, why didn't you fix it? Over the last 32 years, I've been here one year. I'm trying to clean up your mess. What did you do 32 years here? It seems like if you had any talent, you would have solved it by now. Right? But we've been here for one year and we've already had the largest tax cut for working families in the history of the country there.

Senator Tim Sheehy (60:30)

How about that?

Senator John Husted (60:31)

For one year of work?

H (60:32)

Yeah, totally. So I wonder, you know, as you like you say, one year of work. You've had a career. We've dedicated a large part of your life to public service. But now you're in D.C. and there's an awful lot of people that I talk to, they come here for the first time and they're like, no, thanks. But you see it as opportunity. And I got to imagine a lot of that is what you were able to accomplish in year one. But you seem to believe that this is a real opportunity to do something significant for the state of Ohio.

Senator John Husted (61:05)

Yeah, well, serve your state, serve your country. They only get two people to do it. You know, I got Senator Moreno and me, and we get along great. And look, the part that I love about public service is when you get a call from somebody that nobody else can help. And you're a US Senator, you can help help them. You can help them get their. Their veterans benefits or their Social Security benefits, and you help people navigate this labyrinth that is the federal government. And then when, you know, companies call and they say, hey, we're having a trouble with you with a tariff issue. Or you just. You help them. You're helping people solve problems. And my wife and I. I have the best wife ever. My wife Tina.

H (61:46)

It helps in this line of work.

Senator John Husted (61:48)

My kids. My kids. My kids are fantastic and they're supportive. But look, we're very faithful people and we believe in service. You have the gift of service. You serve other people, you help others. And we feel good about that. It makes us feel good to help other people. It gives us purpose and worth in life to help other people.

Co-host 1 (62:06)

I gotta imagine it's pretty gratifying for you here as a US Senator to be able to pick up the phone and help people. Because I know when you started your career, it was right on the heels of your dad losing his job. He was working manufacturing, and he got laid off. And I just wonder if you can talk about that, because so many people in Ohio work for companies whose names you will never see on a commercial in a football game. You know what I mean?

Senator John Husted (62:31)

Yeah. They're not name brands. They're the companies that make the tools and the parts and the things like that that are part of. That's what I say about Ohio. I said, you can't do Made in America without Made in Ohio, because from the food you eat, the cars you drive, the trucks that deliver it, the airplanes, the steel.

H (62:46)

Steel.

Senator John Husted (62:47)

The chips, like, we make it. Like we make all those things. That's what the people of our state do. And, yeah, my dad Lost his job about the time I graduated high school. He worked for a machine tool factory, and it closed. Like, it was. I lived in a town of 4,000 people, and it employed about 400 at its peak. And it was just shutting down. And so, like, I had two uncles that lost job, an aunt that lost a job, my dad, and they had to move. And so it's not just about the economy. It's about your family. Like, your family's just gone. When something like that happens, and the things that no one thinks, like, who do you sell your house to? Like, when you live in a town that small. Because the unemployment rate was like 8 or 9% at the time. There's no place to go to work.

Host Michael Duncan (63:32)

10% of the town just lost their job. Yeah.

H (63:34)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (63:34)

I mean, and it's just. It's just devastating. So that always stuck with me. And then, by the way, I go off to Dayton. I play football. Like, I'm living my best life in college, playing football. And I graduate, graduate, and. And then. And I turned down, by the way, I turned down a job working for Nick Saban.

Senator Tim Sheehy (63:51)

Did you really?

Senator John Husted (63:52)

At the University of.

H (63:53)

Get out of here.

Senator John Husted (63:54)

I was going to be hired a coach there. I didn't know he was going to be that Nick Saban. Maybe. Maybe I would have. Maybe I would have been better off.

Senator Tim Sheehy (64:02)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (64:03)

So I would have. Should have done that. But. But I end up working in economic development in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1990s. Okay. The good times, right?

Physician Guest (64:11)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (64:12)

We had five GM Delphi plants closed during that time. 30,000 people lost their job. And I mean, like, I'm this, you know, in my mid-20s. I'm like, I really got this good job. I'm like, you know, Dayton was the big city to me because I'm from, like, a little small town. I'm like, this is. And I realized many years later, like, nobody wanted that job. Like, no one wanted to work in economic development. Dayton in the 1990s. But it's like those tough times make me feel like I'm just not gonna quit. I'm not gonna give up. I'm gonna believe you gotta fight for your state. You gotta fight. And then when I got to the legislature, we were the 37th worst state in the country to do business, and we're now the fifth best. And we've got a lot of companies moving into our state, and we're Made in America policies. This is why I care about it, because it matters to people like that in those places that make things that we all use like, everything you look in this, any room you're in, you look at this. Everything in here was somebody's job to make it. It was somebody's job. That's like where I go. I'm like, there's a screw. I know where they make those. It's like you go. And you just see these amazing people that go to work every day and make America great. Gives you inspiration. Yeah, it does. Fighting for those people. That's why I do this.

Co-host 1 (65:22)

I know you brought a few things in here. Oh, I do, fellas. Just so they can appreciate the alti. What do we have of our wonderful state?

Senator John Husted (65:31)

Skyline Chili.

Senator Tim Sheehy (65:33)

I knew it.

Senator John Husted (65:35)

And some whiskey.

Host Michael Duncan (65:36)

Oh, I love it.

Senator John Husted (65:37)

Some whiskey war. This is, this is from Columbus and you know, it has a connection to prohibition and Whiskey Blow, you know. Oh, I love it. But you can drink that or Skyline Chili.

Senator Tim Sheehy (65:49)

Yeah, you can.

Senator John Husted (65:50)

We can have either one.

Senator Tim Sheehy (65:51)

We're gonna.

Senator John Husted (65:52)

Best order. Best order. Three cheese Coneys.

Co-host 1 (65:55)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (65:55)

Onions and mustard.

Co-host 1 (65:56)

Yeah, Just the best. You can't beat that. I mean, I can't wait for these guys to try it because you can absolutely beat that. They. You cannot beat it.

Senator John Husted (66:04)

You can't. Or, or, or you can just, just drink whiskey. One of the two.

H (66:07)

I'm going to take the whiskey. I think we should force feed Smug. This bad boy, though.

Host Michael Duncan (66:11)

Yeah.

Co-host 1 (66:12)

Smug is actually going to love Skyline. This is the, this is the secret. He's going to love it.

H (66:16)

I'd be willing to.

Co-host 1 (66:17)

Smug likes flavors.

Host Michael Duncan (66:18)

He likes good flavor. He likes good flavors.

Senator John Husted (66:21)

I love it.

H (66:22)

Well, listen, quite a race in front of you. It's going to be an expensive one.

Senator John Husted (66:27)

Yes.

H (66:28)

You're digging in. I mean, this is, this is the world that you live in now. In the United States Senate, you got to raise the resources. Big state like Ohio, a lot of media markets, and you're going to have a well funded opponent.

Senator Tim Sheehy (66:38)

Opponent.

H (66:38)

He's dedicated his entire career to special interests, Left wing psychopaths that are just going to send money, hand over.

Senator John Husted (66:45)

Get a lot of money from the coast, Sam.

Senator Tim Sheehy (66:46)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (66:47)

Not me, but him.

Senator Tim Sheehy (66:48)

Yeah. Yeah.

H (66:48)

I mean, that's the thing, is that they, that's where they raise their money and they're going to all pour it into Ohio. Your kids are going to hear some terrible things about you. None of which are true.

Senator John Husted (66:59)

Watch tv. It's like, you know, seriously, he'll be fine. Bernie. Bernie Moreno tells a funny story. He's like, by the end of the race, I didn't even like myself.

H (67:09)

I know it's got to be.

Senator John Husted (67:10)

I mean, It's.

H (67:11)

Charlie, I know you've been in politics, and you're not new to this line of work in terms of its negativity or whatnot, but this is a different scale.

Senator John Husted (67:18)

Yeah, Right.

H (67:19)

And. And I assume everybody's eyes wide open about that.

Senator John Husted (67:22)

Oh, yeah. Well, you know, we've. We've. My kids sort of grew up in this a little bit, and. And we know, like, we're. We're. We know what the truth is, and we know that we just care about Ohioans. We're here trying to fight for them. And. And look, I. I know, like, we're faithful people. Like, we just. We just. You know, we just have. We believe that there's a purpose for us, and this is our purpose.

Senator Tim Sheehy (67:46)

Yeah. Yeah.

H (67:47)

What I love to hear about the way you describe your job is the national media and all the punditry all focus on these, like, big ticket bumper sticker pieces of legislation. And occasionally you get some that are impactful, like the big beautiful bill and things like that. But it's always such a secondary component to representation of just picking up the phone when somebody calls with a problem.

Senator John Husted (68:12)

The veteran, the.

H (68:14)

The way that you would describe that. Every time I hear that from somebody, I'm like, oh, that. They get it. That's why they're here.

Senator John Husted (68:20)

Yeah.

Co-host 1 (68:21)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (68:21)

We're just trying to solve problems for people. And. And, yeah, it's great when you can give them a tax cut and they can have more money to keep and say save them or keep and spend for their priorities, that. That matters. You know, like, there's ways to make things affordable, help people earn more, let them keep more of what they earn, and try to drive down the prices for the things they need to live and thrive. And that's pretty simple.

H (68:39)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (68:39)

Whatever you can do to do that.

H (68:41)

Keep the main thing. The main thing.

Senator Tim Sheehy (68:42)

Yeah, absolutely. All right.

H (68:44)

We have three questions that we ask.

Co-host 1 (68:45)

Okay.

H (68:46)

Absolutely. Everybody. I'm kind of hoping this isn't the answer to the first one.

Co-host 1 (68:50)

I know what my answer would be.

H (68:52)

We've already made yourself plain on the.

Co-host 1 (68:54)

This.

H (68:55)

If you can plan your last meal on Earth.

Senator John Husted (68:57)

Yeah.

H (68:58)

What would it be?

Senator John Husted (68:59)

I'm going to the Jolly Roger in Port Clinton, Ohio. Perch basket. Oh, yeah. I love the fish. I love fishing on Lake Erie. My dad and I do that. He's still hanging in there with me. He's 88 years old, and we fish. And going to the Jolly Roger for a perch basket is like. Because, you know, like, food is good, but the memory, you know, the memory and the world that you are is like, right there on the shores of Lake Erie. It's an experience after you get off the lake. Going fishing, that's just. That's my thing.

Senator Tim Sheehy (69:27)

Yeah.

H (69:28)

Meals are always.

Senator John Husted (69:28)

Maybe they let me go fishing and eat my first meal or my last meal, like, get that off.

H (69:34)

We may need to go fishing with you. Oh, yeah.

Senator John Husted (69:38)

I can put you on the fish. I guide my own stuff.

H (69:40)

Oh, you got it.

Senator John Husted (69:40)

I got it.

H (69:41)

Well, that's more than we can say for JD Fans. He did not put us on the fish in Michigan when we went up there.

Senator Tim Sheehy (69:48)

That was.

H (69:49)

That was a tough deal. Although, you know, you pulled one out of the frozen foods aisle at Kroger.

Co-host 1 (69:54)

Yeah, we got to get one.

Host Michael Duncan (69:55)

Okay. But we had choppers overhead. It wasn't like we were catching anything.

Co-host 1 (69:58)

That's fair. That's fair.

Senator John Husted (69:59)

We'll be spotters.

Co-host 2 (70:00)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (70:02)

We'll be more discreet this time.

H (70:04)

All right, so listen, it could be very well be football because we covered it. But you've had a lot of experiences. Everybody goes through life and you pick a path and you succeed and do you know what it is that you want to do? But there was always like one or two things. Things that you experience. You're like, you know what? I was really good at that. A different life.

Senator John Husted (70:23)

I would have loved to have pursued

H (70:25)

that instead of this. Do you have one of those? And what would that be?

Senator John Husted (70:31)

Yeah, well, I guess it would have been, you know, maybe I should have been a college, I think, saving job. I could really, you know, I. I was not. I was so close. I mean, I was like, literally, I coached one year at the University of Day, and I was literally. I think. I think maybe it's just because I didn't want to pack my car up. I don't know, like, why? Like, who knows? Like, when you're 20, whatever. I was like, who knows why you make the decisions you make? And. But. But I also say this, like, coaching football and playing football are not the same thing. They're very different. Because my teammate, Jon Gruden, he played. He coached for a Super bowl winning championship at Tampa. Tampa. Tampa Bay. And dude, still keep in touch with crude every once in a while. Yeah.

H (71:18)

Seems like a whale of a guy.

Senator John Husted (71:20)

He. Well, he. He would be a great guest.

Senator Tim Sheehy (71:22)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (71:22)

Talk about it.

Co-host 1 (71:22)

Fun.

H (71:23)

Yeah, we should have him on there. You guys had some personality on those Flyers teams.

Senator John Husted (71:27)

He was a big personality. He was. You know, a lot of times people, like, are they different in person, private in there? They say that about the president or they Say to like, no, they're always, they're always the same person.

Co-host 2 (71:37)

What you see is what you get.

Senator John Husted (71:38)

Yeah, I love that. Yeah. Great, great guy. But yeah, coach coaching probably, probably would do that. You know, it's not too late.

H (71:44)

Right.

Senator John Husted (71:44)

You know, I could, I could wrap this thing up, you know, maybe I could go out there and do it again.

H (71:49)

So in another life, Houston would have been the head coach of the Clemson Tigers right now. Saving assistance. I love it. All right, so the third and final question is. Our view is almost every successful person is motivated by one of two things. The thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. And it's not that anybody doesn't like to win or people enjoy losing. Of course that's not the case. It's what motivates you to dig in, take that next step, to do the extraordinary, to make yourself better and everything else around you. Our agony of defeat. The prototypical is Michael Jordan. He had to invent slights in order to take his game to the next level. Our thrill of victory and keep with the sports analogy has always been like, Phil Mickelson, really. He'll be up a couple of strokes and it's 280 over water and he pulls the four iron just because he has hit that shot before. It's like the dumbest play that you can make. But he's like, nope, I can do it. And so I'm going to do it. Where do you think you find yourself on.

Senator John Husted (72:45)

I am clearly on the I hate to lose side.

Host Michael Duncan (72:50)

There is a.

Senator John Husted (72:51)

It's not even close.

H (72:54)

There is a sports continuum. Anybody with a sports background.

Senator John Husted (72:57)

I feel like the agony it over indexes. Do you know how many times I have fought to the death basically not to lose for some stupid reason? Like, you know, like I'm playing a. I, I was playing pickup basketball in my early 50s and I'm like diving on the floor, like getting the. Stealing the ball away. I'm like, what are you doing?

Co-host 1 (73:18)

Stop this.

Senator John Husted (73:18)

You're going to hurt yourself. You go out like Doug.

Physician Guest (73:21)

Yeah.

Host Michael Duncan (73:22)

Blowing the Achilles night before the debate.

Senator Tim Sheehy (73:25)

Yeah, yeah, don't do that.

Co-host 2 (73:28)

Yes.

Senator John Husted (73:28)

You know, so, yeah, like, if there's, if there's someone's keeping score. I'm playing. I'm playing to win, man. I don't like to lose.

H (73:34)

That's so good.

Co-host 2 (73:35)

Good.

H (73:36)

I absolutely love it. So for all the people in Ohio and across the country that want to help you out, where do they go?

Senator John Husted (73:41)

Well, you go to john husted4senate.com that's j o n h u s t e d4senate.com and you can contribute as much as you're legally allowed. I love it. And we'll need every penny. You will need every penny because you're

H (73:57)

going to throw everything they've got at you. But listen, I think you're well prepared for that. It's been a pleasure to chat with you and you're welcome back any question time.

Senator John Husted (74:04)

Well, enjoy your bourbon and skyline chili.

H (74:07)

Yeah. Thank you for this.

Senator John Husted (74:08)

It's. It's probably shouldn't mix them.

Host Michael Duncan (74:10)

No, no. Maybe the skyline's like a chaser.

Co-host 1 (74:13)

Yeah.

Senator John Husted (74:15)

So, so good. Well, thanks for having me on and I really enjoyed being with you.

H (74:20)

All right, Senator Houston, thank you so much for.

Co-host 1 (74:25)

You know, the one thing I love about John Husted is he lived what he now represents. You know, this is a state that is full of families that were wrecked by the destruction of industrial parts businesses all over the state. And it's not just in the more Rust belt area in the northern part of the state, but in the southern part of the state, too, where people moved up from Kentucky and Appalachia to get jobs at different companies in the southwestern part of the state. And it is a cultural issue in the state of Ohio. And for a very long time, Ohio has lacked the sort of representation that comes from that sort of background. And you heard it from John Husted himself. His father lost his job, as a fact, at a factory. And he has built his entire career based on how can I help people in this situation to recover from what they were handed. And like, you know, like everybody, when they think of Ohio, they think of the big cities or they think of Ohio State Buckeyes football. Ohio is a state of smaller towns where people have a culture that is built on those smaller towns. And a guy like John Husted growing up outside of Dayton, going to high school outside of Dayton is a. Or, I'm sorry, going to college in Daytona, is the kind of guy who understands that. And I think that's what's required in representation in that state. Wow. That's right.

Host Michael Duncan (75:55)

Did you hear that from Ashbrook?

Co-host 2 (75:56)

That's wonderful.

Host Michael Duncan (75:57)

Can you believe that he brought in skyline chili and Ashbrook didn't drink it on camera.

Co-host 2 (76:01)

Amazing.

Host Michael Duncan (76:02)

After that whole run up of how much he loves Ohio, he didn't have the courage.

Co-host 1 (76:05)

You know what? I'm going to turn in my Cincinnati badge right now.

Host Michael Duncan (76:09)

Well, it's a great interview. And yeah, he is a great guy. We're lucky to have him in the United States Senate.

Guest or Commentator H (76:14)

It.

Host Michael Duncan (76:15)

What a great show.

Co-host 2 (76:16)

Great show.

Host Michael Duncan (76:17)

Great fun, incredible stuff like. And subscribe. Check out the merch store. We got lot. Lots of good stuff on there. We're gonna have a lot more stuff on there, but I think we did it.

Co-host 2 (76:29)

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