#BecauseMiami: Miami Mamdani

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – #BecauseMiami: Miami Mamdani
Date: October 31, 2025
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Billy Corben, Roy Ramos
Featured Guests: (References to) Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Emilio Gonzalez, Ken Russell, Eileen Higgins, Joe Carollo, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Blaze Angolia

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Overview

This episode of #BecauseMiami comes live from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami—true to its tradition, the show blends sharp critiques, biting satire, and local political commentary. The main theme centers on the chaos of the Miami mayoral race, the fallout from city corruption scandals, political hypocrisy (especially regarding socialism vs. capitalism), and ongoing social welfare issues impacting Miami’s elderly. There’s also ample ridicule of the city’s eccentric political figures and a pointed discussion about government waste, hurricane fears, and the persistent contradictions of Miami’s political identity.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Alex Diaz de la Portilla: Indictment, Exoneration, and Election Absenteeism

• Scandal Recap & Charges Dropped
  • Diaz de la Portilla (DLP), former Miami commissioner charged with bribery and corruption, had all charges dropped after the state determined there was "no reasonable likelihood of conviction."
  • “He was accused of accepting money from the owners of a private school in Edgewater…$245,000 in exchange for voting to approve the construction of a local sports facility.” (Billy Corben, 01:36)
• Personal Anecdotes and Frustration
  • Billy recounts DLP’s past racism toward him and the irony of DLP avoiding accountability but now running for mayor.
  • “A man who 25 years ago screamed racial slurs at me in a drunken tirade… now he’s going to jail and I’m in national TV talking about you.” (Billy Corben, 00:35)
• No-Show Mayoral Candidate
  • DLP repeatedly cancels his planned appearance, to nobody’s actual surprise.

2. Miami’s Crowded and Confusing Mayoral Race

• A Circus of Candidates
  • 13 candidates, 40% of voters undecided.
  • Early voting underway; likely outcome is a December runoff between the top two finishers.
• False Endorsements and Party Lines
  • Joe Carollo circulates misleading mailers implying Trump endorsement (denied by the White House).
  • The campaign is described as a battle to "out-MAGA" each other.
  • “He sent out a flyer, a mailer entirely in Spanish… shows a litany of pictures… It is absolutely not the case.” (Billy Corben, 04:24)
• Best Choices for Miami?
  • “If you want what’s best for Miami… Emilio Gonzalez and Ken Russell.” (Billy Corben, 06:59)
  • Both praised for fighting local corruption. Eileen Higgins criticized as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” and Ken Russell called “more of a good faith actor.”
  • Races are nonpartisan but increasingly hijacked by party politics.

3. Socialism, Political Hypocrisy, and Miami’s Identity Crisis

• Francis Suarez’s Fox News Rhetoric
  • Suarez likens Zoran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral candidacy to “a young Fidel Castro,” blending concepts of communism and socialism.
    • “You just tell people that are down on their luck, I have the answer… and who wouldn’t vote for that? …The only problem is it never works.” (Francis Suarez, 15:23)
  • Billy and Roy mock Suarez’s ignorance and the right-wing tactic of demonizing socialism, despite Miami’s deep reliance on actual socialist policies like public housing, Medicare, SNAP, etc.
    • “They’re all getting food stamps. You know what that is, Roy? Socialism.” (Billy Corben, 18:24)
• Self-Reflection and Values
  • Billy advocates for voting to help those most in need, defending social programs as a crucial part of civilized society.
    • “A society should be judged on how we treat our most vulnerable… not socialism. That is capitalism creating opportunity.” (Billy Corben, 19:16, 20:05)

4. Food Assistance Crisis Facing Miami’s Elderly

• Government Shutdown Threatens SNAP Benefits
  • Nearly 3 million Floridians, including 700,000 seniors in Miami-Dade, could lose food aid if the shutdown persists.
    • “Three out of five have one or more elderly member over 60… nearly 3 million Floridians may lose access to SNAP…” (Billy Corben, 22:23)
  • Local food banks and Catholic charities struggling to meet demand.
• Absurd Contrasts in Spending
  • Sharp criticism of public funds spent on luxury projects (like ““the Epstein Ballroom””) while essentials like nutrition for the elderly are threatened.
    • “We are spending $350 million… to build the Epstein Ballroom, while a very serious conversation about Americans… going starving.” (Billy Corben, 23:53)

5. Miami’s Ongoing Problem with Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

• Florida State Audit: City Overspending
  • State CFO Blaze Angolia accuses Miami of blowing its budget by $94 million—part of a political effort to undermine property taxes.
    • “The city of Miami blew past that number by $94 million…” (Billy Corben quoting Angolia, 25:47)
    • “This feels like the meme with Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man… you have to immediately question why people are saying and doing what they’re saying and doing, even when you agree with it…” (Billy Corben, 26:25)
  • The panel explores the risk to essential services if property taxes are gutted, noting that even the state government is guilty of massive budget increases.

6. Weather Update & Reflection on Miami’s Vulnerability

• Hurricane Upgraded Live On-Air
  • Shoutout to weatherman John Morales as he reacts to a hurricane being upgraded to Category 5, coinciding with memories of Hurricane Andrew and the anxiety this causes Miamians.
    • “Pressure is now down to 896.” (Dan Le Batard, 31:26)
    • “Jesus Christ. Okay.” (Billy Corben, 31:33)
  • Sincere thoughts and well-wishes for Jamaica and those in the hurricane’s path; a rare earnest moment amid the usual satire.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Billy Corben on DLP’s exoneration:
  “He is now running for mayor of the city of Miami in this clown car of a race…” (02:14)
• Roy Ramos on crowded ballots:
  “It’s too many people. It’s like a Cheesecake Factory menu.” (06:56)
• Billy Corben on Eileen Higgins:
  “She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If you follow the money, you can predict her votes and how she will act.” (08:23)
• Francis Suarez on socialism:
  “He effectuated equality of misery, equality of repression, equality of poverty.” (16:00)
• Billy Corben on hypocrisy:
  “Socialism. They’re all getting food stamps… And then I gotta hear from these people that Mamdani is a communist and a socialist all at the same time.” (18:24)
• Billy Corben on society:
  “The richest country in the history of the world should be judged on how we treat our most vulnerable…” (19:16)
• On Miami’s financial chaos:
  “If this was a business, the city of Miami would go bankrupt.” (Billy Corben, 25:28)
• Weather anxiety:
  “Pressure is now down to 896.” / “Jesus Christ. Okay.” (Dan Le Batard & Billy Corben, 31:26-31:33)

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Important Timestamps

• [00:35] — Billy recounts past racist outburst by DLP
• [01:04] — Recap of legal charges being dropped for DLP
• [02:11] — DLP is a no-show for the show
• [04:24] — False Trump endorsement mailer discussion
• [06:44] — Breakdown of Miami mayoral race (candidates, process)
• [08:23] — Critique of Eileen Higgins and insight into Miami’s political landscape
• [15:23] — Francis Suarez compares Mamdani to Fidel Castro
• [18:24] — Satirical exchange on socialism in Miami
• [22:23] — Miami’s elderly at risk due to SNAP benefits crisis
• [25:47] — State-level criticism of Miami’s overspending
• [31:26] — Hurricane update, Category 5 pressure revealed

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Tone & Style

The episode is unapologetically irreverent, blending gallows humor, sarcasm, and occasional earnestness. Billy Corben’s exasperation and biting wit drive much of the show, with Roy Ramos providing deadpan one-liners and Dan occasionally steering the conversation, especially during serious weather moments. The recurring themes are skepticism, civic engagement, and calling out Miami’s endless political contradictions.

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Final Thoughts

This episode dives into the heart of Miami’s dysfunction—political circus, systemic hypocrisy about socialism, the struggle of the city’s elderly and poor, and government waste. If you care about Miami, politics, or the cultural collisions of capitalism and social welfare, this episode delivers both incisive commentary and the kind of absurd local color that only Miami can offer.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo, what are you doing here?

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.

[Billy Corben]

Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

So enjoy the tequila that started it all.

[Roy Ramos]

Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com Please drink responsibly.

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo.

[Alex Diaz de la Portilla]

Okay, wait. We have 45 seconds. I'm telling this story. So yesterday, the city of Miami commissioner got indicted. His name is Alex Diaz de la Portilla for bribery and corruption. Post about this. And that's A man who 25 years ago screamed racial slurs at me in a drunken tirade. He called me a arrow thrower and Indian, I guess, because I'm a Nicaraguan. And he was born. He's a white boy. And now he's going to jail. He's going to jail and I'm in national TV talking about you.

[Billy Corben]

That's how it started. In September of 2023 and 14 months later, this is how it went. Breaking news. Charges have been dropped against former Miami commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla. Former Miami commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla was facing charges connected to alleged bribery and money laundering, but all of those charges have been dropped. Prosecut concluded there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction in this case. Diaz de la Portilla was arrested in September of last year.

[Blaze Angolia]

He was accused of accepting money from the owners of a private school in Edgewater.

[Billy Corben]

$245,000 in exchange for voting to approve the construction of a local sports facility. Happy Halloween. Because Miamians, this year I got a trick instead of a treat because Alex DLP Diaz la Portilla, or degenerate lying prick, was supposed to be on this show last week and then again this week, and he is a no show.

[Roy Ramos]

That's great, Billy. Good job closing the deal on that.

[Billy Corben]

There he is sitting next to Roy. As you can see with his headphones on. Diaz Lobortilla was arrested for bribery and money laundering and corruption and campaign finance crimes and then exonerated by the same state attorney that arrested him. We've covered it on this show repeatedly. And he is now running for mayor of the city of Miami in this clown car of a. Of A race that is going on right now as we speak. Early voting is already underway and he was going to come on the show and take the tough questions and he was going to, he was never going to. What am I, what am I talking about?

[Roy Ramos]

I'm glad you finally realized.

[Billy Corben]

Never going to happen yet. Well, because you didn't introduce me to polymarket in time for me to see how low, how low the odds were on, on him showing up, could it could have consulted with DraftKings to find out that this was a losing bet for me all the way. What's amazing though, Roy, is that we actually have had three of the top contenders in this 13 candidate mayoral race on the show. We had, of course, Emilio Gonzalez, we had Miami Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, and we had former City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell. And of them, the only person who I think is polling to potentially make the runoff is Joe Carollo.

[Dan Le Batard]

So.

[Billy Corben]

Now to be fair, Diaz La Portillo was, is not going to break double digits, I think. So I think he's in a race for, I don't know, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth place probably. But it was going to be interesting to talk with him. And because he is quite the character, as you can discern from the, from the beginning of this program, I'm a little frustrated about this, although it was entirely, entirely predictable. Speaking of, of Joe Croyo.

[Roy Ramos]

He's a wife.

[Billy Corben]

He's a wife. Oh, wow. I was going to make a joke, though, right on the tip of my tongue. It was right on the tip of my tongue.

[Roy Ramos]

You have a governor.

[Billy Corben]

What I have is very. And it didn't, fortunately, it didn't escape my lips. But the headline this week is, no, Donald Trump hasn't endorsed Joe Carrillo for mayor of Miami. He sent out a flyer, a mailer entirely in Spanish, which is unusual because Donald Trump signed on March 1st of this year an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States. But this flyer shows a litany of pictures of Joe, some with his wife Marjorie and well then not even candidate Donald Trump because this was all back from Joe Carollyo, his days as the he was the city manager in Doral for about like 15 months before he got fired for trying to like hijack the entire city from the mayor and the government who, who hired him. Again, it was kind of like what did that mayor expect? Kind of like what did I expect inviting a coup DLP onto the, onto the program. I should have expected a coup. Oh, I expected nothing. And clearly Doralla should have expected a coup. He's got this flyer. It says more than 25 years with President Trump defending our Republican principles and values. He's really pandering to his base. A lot of these guys, Diaz La Portilla Carollo and Emilio Gonzalez, are running what appears to be a Republican primary and really cannibalizing the conservative vote here in the in the city of Miami, which. So it's an interesting tactic, but I will say that the New Times, their reporter, Alex DeLuca, spoke with someone at the White House who said that despite the fact that these mailers look like an endorsement of some sort from the president of Joe Carollo, it is absolutely not the case. He is not endorsed or engaged in this race, is what the White House spokesperson said in an email. But he sent these misleading flyers, of course, to Republican super voters all over the city of Miami. So, Roy, what is the state of the Miami mayor's race? Because, as you know, is on his way out. He's been term limited. He tried to steal an extra year and hold on to power without the people voting on it, and he was unsuccessful thanks to Emilio Gonzalez's lawsuit. But what do you do? Because there are 13 candidates running for Miami mayor and 40% of voters are undecided.

[Roy Ramos]

What's the maximum amount of the percentage that you have to win?

[Billy Corben]

So that's the thing, by the way, the 40% of voters that are undecided, understandably so. Esto Esso and Roscoe Mango.

[Roy Ramos]

It's too many people. It's like a Cheesecake Factory menu.

[Billy Corben]

Early voting is already underway, so it's time to make a tough decision. And to your point, Roy, it's most likely that no candidate will get the majority of the votes required to win outright on November 4th. And so the top two will face off in a December runoff election that will ultimately decide the mayor's race. So you got to vote now and you got to vote again in December if you want to help pick the next mayor of Miami. But who the hell do you vote for? Right now, we're really just choosing the two people that will wind up in the runoff. And if you want what's best for Miami in this race, these are the candidates that you should hope make it through, and that is Emilio Gonzalez and Ken Russell. Now, what are the odds of that happening? I Probably not Great. So to be clear, I'm not picking winners here. I'm just saying if you want the best choice out of these 13 candidates, we didn't get to pick the candidates. We now have to pick from the candidates from the Talent pool here, shallow though it may be, and this choice in December is what's probably best for the city of Miami. Now I've talked shit about both of these guys, but again, we're picking from the crop that we have. I will say that both of them have City hall experience and both of them have fought the corruption that has plagued this city. They testified in that corruption trial, the civil corruption trial against Joe Carollo. And that was the case, of course, that resulted in a 63 and a half million dollar judgment against Joe for weaponizing city government against business owners in Little Havana. Another thing we've talked about a lot. I also should say that these local races in Florida are nonpartisan, which means there's no R or D beside the candidates names. But unfortunately they're often hijacked by party politics. Irregardless. And I know some people will never vote for a Democrat and some will never vote for a Republican. And as a proud npa, I think that's unproductive. But the upside here in this race is there's something for everyone. If you lean Dem, Ken Russell is unfortunately your best choice in this race. If you care about the environment and affordable housing and climate change, he is certainly more legitimate than Eileen Higgins, who you saw come on this program and lie and be less than ingenuous. I would say, okay, there you go. I would say lie. I would say. And with Eileen Higgins, you'd be trading overt corruption for covert corruption. She is a wolf in sheep's clothing. If you follow the money, you can predict her votes and how she will act. Ken Russell is, believe it or not, a little bit more of a good faith actor. Eileen Higgins will sell you out with a smile. And if you lean Republican, then Emilio Gonzalez is certainly your guy. He has tried to out maga everybody else in this race touting endorsements from Ron DeSantis. Oh, that's BS. No, totally, totally BS from US Senator Rick Scott and from that Canadian, what's his name? Ted Cruz.

[Roy Ramos]

Yes.

[Billy Corben]

Is it Canuck or Canuck?

[Roy Ramos]

It's Canuck. What are you, Rose? It's not the Vancouver Canucks. No, it's the Vancouver Canucks.

[Billy Corben]

So that Canuck, Ted Cruz. Yes, Canuck. Cowboy from Texas. Yeah, Ted Cruz. So Emilio Gonzalez certainly has his conservative bona fides or Republican bona fides established. So setting aside partisan politics, if you want what's best for Miami, those are the two candidates you should want in the runoff. And if you want to know who to vote for in December, well, we'll burn that bridge when we get there, we'll be right back.

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[Billy Corben]

Time offer in what way does Mandami remind you of a young Fidel Castro?

[Francis Suarez]

You know, communism, socialism. It's the easiest sell in politics. You just tell people that are down on their listen, I have the answer. I'm going to use government to take more from these people and just give it to you. And who wouldn't vote for that I mean, if you're, if you're, you're down in your luck, you know, that sounds.

[Roy Ramos]

Like a great deal.

[Francis Suarez]

And the only problem is it never works. It never has worked, and it's never going to work. And that was the exact same promise that a young, charismatic, you know, sort of leader made in Cuba in the 1960s. And he did effectuate equality. He effectuated equality of misery, equality of repression, equality of poverty.

[Billy Corben]

I don't even know where to begin with this underhanded man. Child fail, son. So this is outgoing Miami Mayor Francis Suarez reacting to the Poly Market report that in the New York mayor's race, Zoran Mamdani has like a 95% chance. 95% odds of, of winning this race. I don't know a lot about Mamdani. I don't follow the New York mayor's race that carefully because I, if it's not entirely clear, hashtag, because Miami. I don't live in New York. I live in Miami. I know that New York mayor's races tend to make more national news, but nonetheless, this is just crazy talk. First of all, the interchangeable way in which he uses terminology like communism and socialism as if they're exactly the same thing. There are certainly similarities, but they are not the same ideology, number one. Number two, the idea that.

[Roy Ramos]

This is called righteous anger.

[Billy Corben]

Is it righteous? Is it? I'm just, I'm just. I mean, only in the banana republic, baby. Only in Miami. Or maybe it's just anger, this idea that he's like Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro was a tyrant, a dictator, an authoritarian. He was a left wing dictator. Before him, Cuba had a right wing dictator. In Batista, what he's describing is one dictator being better than another dictator. How about no dictators? Or how about in the words of our founding Fathers, no kings? I don't even know that he understands what he's talking about. He's obviously just trying to get some hits on, on Fox News. But look at the way these guys operate down here in Miami right now. It's all socialism. In Miami Dade, I mean, we have these Robert King high towers, which is a 300 plus unit public housing for the elderly, where all of these guys go to campaign because they're super voters, these elderly voters. First and foremost, it's public housing. You know what that is? Socialism.

[Roy Ramos]

Socialism.

[Billy Corben]

They're all getting food stamps. You know what that is, Roy? Socialism.

[Roy Ramos]

Socialism.

[Billy Corben]

They're all, I got Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid. You know what that is?

[Roy Ramos]

Socialism.

[Billy Corben]

Socialism. They've all. They're all in Social Security. You know what that is?

[Roy Ramos]

That would be socialism.

[Billy Corben]

Socialism. And these guys like Francis Suarez, they'll go and they'll get gift cards for groceries or go buy food and things for some of these folks and with our money, with taxpayer money, public dollars, and then go and give them that. You know what that is, Roy?

[Roy Ramos]

I believe that. Socialism.

[Billy Corben]

Socialism. And then I gotta hear from these people that Mamdani is a communist and a socialist all at the same time. Yeah. I got to hear from some of these same folks that I'm looking for the. For the cart. Dude, this is always. This is always what happens.

[Roy Ramos]

You've got glasses on.

[Billy Corben]

Certainly. There you go. Yeah. I will say I do vote against my own best interest, which is to say I vote to raise my taxes so that I can help people who need help in this country have an opportunity to live the American dream and to create opportunity for themselves and their families. And certainly, I think a society should be a civilized society. The richest country in the history of the world should be judged on how we treat our most vulnerable and infirm, our children, our elderly, our sick, and.

[Roy Ramos]

How long you've been living here.

[Billy Corben]

I know, it's pretty twisted. I don't believe that that's socialism. I believe that that is capitalism creating opportunity. That is people paying their fair share to contribute to a society that has created these opportunities for us to succeed.

[Roy Ramos]

Oh, Bernie.

[Billy Corben]

That's what I think. No, he's a democratic socialist, which, to be fair, Mamdani says that he is not a communist. He's a democratic socialist. I'm not a democratic socialist. That is not my ideology. But the hypocrisy of someone of Miami. Mamdani. Okay, that is Francis Suarez. Francis Suarez is Miami Momdani. Not a bad name for the episode, by the way. That Ponzi Postalita. Miami Momdani. I'm really loving the cutaways to our guest. I should interview our guest. Anyone listening is really not going to get the benefit of this sight gag here. We do these radio sight gags that we do on the program, but I just find the hypocrisy really telling and really frustrating. Roy is now moving the mic over to what is a plastic Halloween decorative skeleton with cans on, with headphones on his head. And something tells me that he is more sober and engaging than DLP would have been. There we go. That was a. Wait. Who. Wait, who left? Roy? Was that. Was that the skeleton?

[Francis Suarez]

Hocus pocus.

[Billy Corben]

So I had that one. I had that one.

[Francis Suarez]

You're brilliant. You were super smart.

[Billy Corben]

So speaking of socialism in Miami, a lot of Miami Cuban Trump supporters are super scared, bro.

[Enrique Gonzalez]

At Little Havana's Domino park, fear. Among those we spoke with about the possibility that in just days, those who benefit from snap, a federal assistance program, might not get the benefits in November because of the government shut down. Enrique Gonzalez, who's 79 years old, says he benefits from SNAP. $128 a month helps him a lot. He'll be greatly affected, he says, asking the President for help, reminding us Mr. Trump likely won the presidency because of Cubans. Here in South Florida, the senior citizens.

[Billy Corben]

Are almost kind of starved.

[Enrique Gonzalez]

Almost 3 million Floridians could suddenly be without vital food assistance. This number includes over a million children, over 700,000 seniors, and over over a quarter of a million Floridians with disabilities.

[Billy Corben]

So I think it's important to note, Roy, that Miami Dade has the nation's highest share of elderly food assistance beneficiaries. Of the more than 215,000 households in the county, three out of five have one or more elderly member over 60. This is according to Miami Herald's analysis of data from the U.S. agriculture Department. And as you heard, nearly 3 million Floridians may lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, as soon as tomorrow. So we're just minutes away here from a lot of people going hungry. You have a lot of, you know, you have the local Catholic charities, A lot of the food banks are working overtime. These are folks who already serve upwards of 600 seniors every month. And of those, I think, you know, 40, 50, 60% of them already receive SNAP benefits. So to hear people talking about the possibility of going starving in again, the richest country in the world, where we are spending $350 million, the price of, like the Staples center, okay. To build the Epstein Ballroom. While a very serious conversation about Americans.

[Roy Ramos]

It's crypto.com arena going starving.

[Billy Corben]

Is it really? It'll always be.

[Roy Ramos]

Yeah, they changed.

[Billy Corben]

It'll always be Staples Center.

[Roy Ramos]

Yes.

[Billy Corben]

It will always be Joe Robbie to me. It'll always be FTX arena to me. Speaking of which, are you going to Francis Suarez's American Business Forum next week?

[Roy Ramos]

Next week? No.

[Billy Corben]

Why not? It's right across the street due to the FTX Arena.

[Roy Ramos]

Because I don't want to.

[Billy Corben]

You're going to have the Argentinean president. Malay is going to be there. You're going to have Lionel Messi is steakhouse. Donald Trump, Rafael Nadal. You're going to have Jamie Dimon. You have. Who Else. There's all. It's a.

[Roy Ramos]

It's quite a. Nadal is going to be there.

[Shopify Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, now if I have. I sold your ticket. I think you can get some diamond tickets for $10,000. This is not an event for Miamians. This is like. This is like some late stage capitalism kind of oligarch festival or something like. Oh, it's of. It's the oligarch festival. Now, for everybody else in Miami, that's only fans because we are also, Roy, entrepreneurial and capitalist as we are. We are the only fans capital of the United States of America as well. And Bang Brothers could also be why we're the snap capital of the. The Bang Brothers. Can we get BBC Bang Brothers Center?

[Roy Ramos]

They tried.

[Billy Corben]

They tried. They offered like 10 million bucks, I think, didn't they?

[Roy Ramos]

Yeah. And they didn't take it.

[Billy Corben]

They did not. The county did not take it. The BBC. I just like saying that over and over again. I'm sure the British love that brother's center. Roy, you're not going to believe this.

[Roy Ramos]

What's that, Billy?

[Billy Corben]

Turns out Miami has some waste, fraud, and abuse. Yeah.

[Roy Ramos]

Be kidding me.

[Billy Corben]

Florida Doge came to town. If this was a business, the city of Miami would go bankrupt.

[Blaze Angolia]

Florida's chief financial officer says the city of Miami is burning through tax dollars. Blaze Ngoglia says the city's general fund skyrocketed past what it should be. Even with taking population growth and inflation.

[Billy Corben]

Into account, the city of Miami blew past that number by $94 million.

[Blaze Angolia]

Angolia says his mission is to root out wasteful spending in local governments across the state as part of an effort for property tax reform, floating the idea of eliminating them altogether. And the city of Miami is the latest target, with its general fund increasing more than $358 million since fiscal year 2019.

[Billy Corben]

The government is taking your money and squandering it.

[Blaze Angolia]

Ngoglia says he's done similar audits in eight local governments, uncovering more than $1.1 billion in wasteful spending this year alone.

[Monarch Advertiser]

Alone.

[Billy Corben]

This feels like the meme with Spider man pointing at Spider Man. These are not exactly. I mean, Blaze Angolia is not exactly a good name. It's also my drag name. Blaze and Broglia, whatever. Angola is. How you pronounce it. Angola, Angola and Angola Angola. This guy has been going on this Florida Doge tour. The problem is he's talking about saving when he says that Miami has overspent my $94 million and that Miami's budget growth is not consistent with inflation and cost. Of living and all this. Okay. But he didn't actually point to any particular line items. I could be more specific about it. The guy is using a formula that, I don't know applies to the city of Miami as it would to a more rural community. And not to mention that this is all a scheme so that the governor, Ron DeSantis, can introduce legislation next year in the legislative session to get rid of property taxes, which, on its face, sounds really compelling. And then when you think about where do our taxes go, it's a little frightening because they go to first responders, fire, police, they go to public hospitals, they go to transit, they go to making the lights go red and green. They go to schools, they go to trash. They go to all of the essential services that impact all of us every second of every minute of every hour of every day. And eliminating those would, I mean, just be an absolute, not even a cannon blast, but a nuclear explosion in the budget of these municipalities. Have they all been responsible? No. Is the city of Miami been responsible? Obviously not. I talk about that all the time. But it's hard when you have a state government who themselves, their budget has grown from $92 billion fiscal year 2020 to 2021 to 117 billion in fiscal year 2526, a $25 billion increase. And they're like. They're talking about what kind of amounts to, like, rounding errors in some of these municipalities. And yes, there is waste, there is fraud, there is abuse. But when you don't have responsible, good faith actors who are legitimately examining it and not coming to the table with their own baggage and their own hypocrisy and their own agenda, it's really, really hard. And that's kind of the challenge of this moment, too, in this world, is that, like, you have to immediately question why people are saying and doing what they're saying and doing, even when you agree with it, even when it sounds like a good idea or it seems to be well meaning, you have to be quintuply skeptical than ever before. Well, you look like you have something to say. Or maybe it's. Our guest would like to contribute something. Thank you. So certainly said more than dlp.

[Monarch Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

Degenerate loser prick. Is that what we. Degenerate lying?

[Roy Ramos]

No. You want me to change the title?

[Billy Corben]

He'll be a loser after this election.

[Roy Ramos]

Yeah. Yeah, we have to worry about, you know, potential defamation lawsuits from.

[Billy Corben]

From the word loser. I don't think loser is defamatory. I'm not saying it's. It's Factual. But. But you have to look at his, at his record. What he did win was an exoneration from the Broward County State Attorney's office. And I wanted to congratulate him for that and talk about how he was railroaded on that, but. Dlp. What do you. What do you think? What do you think about that? I cannot sanction your buffooner.

[Roy Ramos]

Oh, there you go.

[Billy Corben]

So we're thinking about our friends in Jamaica and all throughout the Caribbean today. And for this Miami moment, we're going to share a friend of the show, John Morales, the meteorologist for Miami's NBC 6 at the moment, he was live on television and found out about the storm being upgraded not only to a Category 5, but the absolutely petrifying pressure of the storm being updated in real time. And those of us who have experienced hurricanes of this magnitude, like the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, that fortunately, fortunately I say was a fast moving storm, whereas this one has just been stewing in the Caribbean. The eye directly over Jamaica. And I hope everybody is well and has survived the storm and that we will have a Jamaica to. To visit once again. Cocaine's. So I've gone for about 10 minutes here and 180 now.

[Dan Le Batard]

180.

[Billy Corben]

What's the pressure?

[Dan Le Batard]

Pressure? This is Air Force flying into that.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah, this is Attenborough.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's giving me this.

[Billy Corben]

Pressure is now down to 896.

[Monarch Advertiser]

Oh, my.

[Billy Corben]

Jesus Christ. Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now is a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo, what are you doing here?

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out especially for one of our great partners.

[Billy Corben]

Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

So enjoy the tequila that started it all.

[Roy Ramos]

Cuervo.

[Dan Le Batard]

Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Roximo, Cuervo.com, please drink responsibly.

[Billy Corben]

Cuervo.