The Matt Walsh Show – Ep. 1771

Title: The Worst People Imaginable are Building the Future
Date: April 30, 2026
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh denounces what he sees as the systematic displacement of competent, productive citizens from American cities and institutions by leftist political and corporate leaders. Using historical context (the Curley Effect), current political events, and tech industry controversies, Walsh argues that “the worst people imaginable” are shaping the future—namely, leftists, “predominantly women and foreigners,” who deliberately drive away more effective individuals in pursuit of ideological and demographic consolidation. He explores these claims through the lenses of urban policy, tech industry ethics, AI development, DEI, and high-profile legal, political, and corporate events.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Curley Effect: Driving Out Opponents to Retain Power (00:00–02:18)

• Historical Context:

  • James Michael Curley was a multi-term Boston mayor (1914–1950), loved by poor Irish constituents but notorious for corruption and city decline.
  • Curley Effect (as studied by Harvard economists): Raising taxes and awarding jobs to loyalists drove the wealthy, dissenting population out, increasing political control despite broader failure.

• Walsh’s Paraphrase:

  • “If you want to retain your grip on power even though you're doing a horrible job, then your best course of action is to drive all of your political opponents out of town.” (01:53)
  • Applies this to modern American cities under Democratic control: “...the future is going to be built by leftists, particularly women and foreigners, in many cases, who deliberately seek to drive away everyone who's competent, sane, and productive.” (02:35)

2. Contemporary Examples of the Curley Effect (02:18–06:16)

• Seattle: Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson

  • Video clip: “I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are super overblown. And if you know the ones that leave—like, bye.” (03:06; Katie Wilson)
  • Walsh’s criticism: She’s happy to lose productive citizens if her political base remains, prioritizing job security over city health.
  • “The more the city decays and the more the productive residents flee, the more job security she has. Of course, disastrous for the city in the long run.” (03:49)

• New York: Zoran Mamdani and Eric Adams

  • Cites New York’s budget crisis despite its wealth: "The only conceivable reason why New York would be broke is that the people leading New York are incompetent and or malicious and probably both." (05:19–05:28)
  • “The broke, unemployed Haitians who don't speak a word of English aren't bothered...They still think Mamdani is a hero. They're not going anywhere.” (05:53–06:04)

3. The Curley Strategy in Big Tech: Ideology Over Competence (06:16–07:31)

• Tech Companies Emulate Political Patterns:
  • Claims companies increasingly select leaders who consolidate ideological power even at the expense of alienating productive customers/users.
  • “They're putting leftists, predominantly women and foreigners, into positions of authority where they have the capacity to gain even more power by driving away some of their customers. Again, just like the Curley effect...” (06:21–06:26)

4. AI, Anthropic, and Amanda Askell: Ethics or Ideology? (07:31–19:55)

• Anthropic vs. Pentagon: AI Ethics Dispute

  • Anthropic demands limits on military AI use (no mass surveillance, no autonomous killing), leading to conflict.
  • Media praise Anthropic as ethical, but Walsh is skeptical: “The people who are running this AI...are no better than the mayor of Seattle. They're every bit as corrupt and dumb and they have the same intentions.” (09:42–09:49)

• Amanda Askell: Tech Philosopher as Power Center

  • Walsh repeatedly mocks Amanda Askell, “Scottish philosophy major…no technical knowledge...attempting to look like an Android.” (10:01–10:32)
  • Cites Wall Street Journal article:
    • “As the resident philosopher of the tech company Anthropic, Amanda Askell spends her days learning Claude's reasoning patterns and talking to the AI model, building its personality and addressing its misfires with prompts…” (11:10)
    • “The aim is to endow Claude with a sense of morality, a digital soul...”
    • Likens Askell’s approach to leftist “God complex,” drawing connections to broader ideological overreach.

• Critique of Anthropic’s Manual and Practices

  • Walsh claims that safety filters in Claude serve the authors’ own interests and restrict criticism or inquiry about themselves.
  • “Amanda Askel has programmed some very hard limits into what Claude will say about her own life in particular...she designed the product to serve the interests of a narrow class of people, namely herself...” (17:16–17:33)

• AI Discrimination & Moral Double Standards

  • Cites Anthropic paper co-authored by Askell: “Note that we do not assume all forms of discrimination are bad. Positive discrimination in favor of black students may be considered morally justified.” (19:09)
  • Walsh's charge: “The woman who wrote that footnote, according to Anthropic, is in charge of the ethics and morality of their artificial intelligence...” (19:33)

5. Anti-White Bias in AI and Tech Leadership (20:00–23:37)

• Google’s AI Gemini and Diversity Officers

  • Mentions Google’s AI system refusing to generate images of white people, even for requests like the Founding Fathers (20:36–21:17)
  • Plays clip of Google AI safety lead Jen Ganai espousing DEI hiring/mentoring (21:32–23:05)
  • “They're both spewing the exact same anti white rhetoric as explicitly as they possibly can.” (23:08)

• NPR CEO Catherine Marr’s Truth-Relativism

  • Clip: “I think our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done.” (23:42; Catherine Marr)
  • Walsh: “I really can't think of anything that summarizes leftism more than that...‘The truth is a distraction.’” (24:29)

6. DEI Failures in Government and the Justice System (24:44–27:47)

• New Orleans Jailbreak & Indictment

  • Plays sheriff Susan Hudson’s defensive statement, then outlines charges related to the jailbreak cover-up and malfeasance.
    • “Parish Sheriff Hudson was just indicted for attempting to cover up the lapses that led to this escape. The charges include facing malfeasance in office, conspiracy to commit malfeasance in office...” (25:26)

• Supreme Court Hearing: Race and Immigration

  • Audio of Justice Sotomayor: “Now we have a president saying at one point that Haiti is a...disgusting s---hole country...” (26:05)
  • Walsh claims her logic makes any policy with disparate racial impact “automatically racist,” making the selection of higher-quality migrants “illegal under civil rights law.” (28:04–28:25)

7. Corporate America: DEI Over Merit (28:36–31:38)

• Anthropic Hiring as Lawsuit Avoidance

  • “The reason Anthropic has a deranged philosopher running their AI division most likely is that they want to avoid getting sued...But if they only hired competent engineers, then they probably wouldn't have many women on the team in high level roles. And in 2026 that's basically illegal.” (28:36–28:58)

• Activision Blizzard Case Study

  • Outlines the DEI lawsuit: “One of the main points in the lawsuit was that Activision's employees were 80% male and the leadership was mostly white men.” (29:20)
  • Quotes legal complaint: “Leadership is also exclusively male and white. The CEO and President roles are now and have always been held by white men.” (30:08)
  • Charges discrimination narrative is built on statistical and legal fiction.
  • “You will ditch the white men and...focus on DEI hiring or the state will destroy you.” (31:31–31:33)

8. Summary & Closing Points (33:36–34:51)

• “White men are demonized and punished because of their skin color. Competent leaders are being muzzled, forced out...so that vapid women can pose for photo shoots with the Wall Street Journal.” (33:36–34:09)
• Preview for upcoming documentary on the “real history” of the civil rights movement, promising an examination of the decline of American institutions and how to reverse it.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Your best course of action is to drive all of your political opponents out of town.” (01:53, Matt Walsh)
• “This is a 40-something year old woman who didn’t hold a real job throughout her entire adult life...now she's elated by the fact that she's driving away the most productive people in her city.” (03:22, Matt Walsh on Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson)
• “They're putting leftists, predominantly women and foreigners, into positions of authority where they have the capacity to gain even more power by driving away some of their customers. Again, just like the Curley effect...” (06:21, Matt Walsh)
• “Her job, simply put, is to teach Claude how to be good.” (11:59, Matt Walsh on Amanda Askell)
• “She's training Claude to detect the difference between right and wrong while imbuing it with unique personality traits.” (11:38, Matt Walsh)
• “Note that we do not assume all forms of discrimination are bad. Positive discrimination in favor of black students may be considered morally justified.” (19:09, Amanda Askell paper, as quoted by Matt Walsh)
• “The truth is a distraction. I mean, I really can't think of anything that summarizes leftism more than that...” (24:29, Matt Walsh on Catherine Marr at NPR)
• “White men are demonized and punished because of their skin color. Competent leaders are being muzzled, forced out...” (33:36, Matt Walsh)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–02:18: Curley Effect and historical context
• 02:18–06:16: Modern examples – Seattle, New York
• 06:16–07:31: Tech companies and Curley Effect
• 07:31–19:55: AI ethics, Anthropic/Askell critique, positive discrimination in AI
• 20:00–23:37: Anti-white bias in AI—Google, NPR
• 24:44–27:47: Government DEI failures; Supreme Court on “disparate impact”
• 28:36–31:38: Corporate DEI, Activision Blizzard lawsuit
• 33:36–34:51: Summary and preview of documentary

Tone and Language

• Unapologetically confrontational, frequently mocking and caustic—especially in describing female and minority leaders.
• Language brimming with skepticism toward DEI, female tech leaders, and left-leaning oversight of technology and government institutions.
• Recurrent themes of decline, displacement, and betrayal by “the worst people imaginable,” with the future at stake.

For listeners seeking further detail: The episode weaves together vivid historical accounts, present-day political events, and a polemical look at technology and corporate practices to argue that contemporary America is being run by leaders hostile to merit and tradition, and that urgent pushback is required.