Welcome to the 80/20 Nation: Rob Carson vs. The Perpetually Wrong

Summary

The Rob Carson Show — January 6, 2026

Episode Title: Welcome to the 80/20 Nation: Rob Carson vs. The Perpetually Wrong
Host: Rob Carson (with Doug Burns)
Podcast: Newsmax Podcasts

---

Overview

This episode of The Rob Carson Show dives into recent political and cultural events, focusing heavily on the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by US forces under President Donald Trump, the reactions from Democrats and the media, and the resulting shifts in American society and politics. With Rob Carson’s signature humor and biting satire, the episode blends commentary, news analysis, and banter with guest Doug Burns (former federal prosecutor), critiquing what Carson calls the "perpetually wrong" left. The show positions itself as a celebration of American political victories and a takedown of progressive stances, particularly on law enforcement, crime, economics, and international affairs.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kicking Off 2026: Good News and Economic Highs

• Carson opens by sharing positive news and mocking the idea of a "slow news day," especially for Democrats, whom he accuses of facing relentless bad news.
• The Dow Jones soars near 50,000 points after Maduro’s arrest, exceeding expectations and defying predictions that tariffs or Trump’s policies would harm the economy.
  • “I guess oil prices also didn’t [drop] yesterday, too, even though Donald Trump went in and got Nicolás Maduro. Up 600 points. An intraday all-time high...” — Rob Carson [01:21]

2. Maduro's Capture and Its Fallout

• Carson and Doug Burns discuss the arrest and extradition of Nicolás Maduro, portraying it as a huge win for U.S. policy and international justice.

• The show ridicules claims from the left that this was an unjustified act of "regime change" or war for oil.

  • “This is not a regime change. This is a demand for a change of behavior by a regime.” — Rob Carson [13:36]
  • “If your first instinct when you get up in the morning is to be on the dictator terrorist’s side just so you can oppose Donald Trump, it's probably time to rethink your political views...” — Doug Burns [09:42]

• They argue that Democrats oppose anything Trump does, even if it means defending a dictator:

  • “[Democrats] have fallen in love with him like crazy cat ladies do death row inmates.” — Rob Carson [08:36]

3. The "80/20 Nation" and Leftist Marginalization

• Carson presents the idea that America is naturally an "80/20 nation"—80% opposed to current progressive directions, with only 20% backing far-left causes and protests.

  • “There are 20% of these jackasses... They're the 20. And guess what? They don't mean D word for Richard. They really don't. So that's why I'm here, to malign them and ridicule them...” — Rob Carson [10:56]

• Uses protest movements as examples, arguing that opposition to Maduro’s takedown is confined to a noisy, but marginal minority.

4. Public Safety, Crime, and Immigration

• Carson credits Trump with a drop in crime and car theft rates after a crackdown on illegal immigration:
  • “Car thefts are plummeting as President Donald Trump’s official crackdown on illegal immigration... Murder rate all time low. Crime plummeting…” — Rob Carson [04:51]
• Details federal indictments against car theft rings, many involving foreign nationals. Critiques law enforcement limitations under previous administrations.

5. Democratic Hypocrisy and Political Satire

• The show lampoons Democrats for now allegedly defending Maduro, comparing them to people who’d mourn Hitler’s death just to spite FDR.

  • “If the Democrat Party... were around in World War II, they would have been mourning the suicide of Adolf Hitler and blaming FDR for it.” — Rob Carson [09:51]

• Extensive satire about the left's shifting targets for outrage—first Elon Musk, then Palestine, now Maduro.

  • “It is, it has really become, it's a glorious time to be a political satirist. It really, really is. I've been doing this a long time... this is the golden age, people.” — Rob Carson [19:39]

6. Legal Analysis: Maduro's Trial

• Doug Burns explains the legalities:
  • The arrest is not "regime change" but a lawful apprehension due to a standing US indictment.
  • Supreme Court precedent allows for trial even after forcible seizure (US v. Alvarez-Machain).
  • Head-of-state immunity does not apply if the US doesn’t recognize a person as a legitimate leader.
  • Maduro will face a fair trial under Judge Alvin Hellerstein, with little chance for the defense to claim “kidnapping” as a violation.
    • “A forcible seizure, a kidnapping, even where the country has an extradition treaty, does not defeat jurisdiction in the US federal court and the case can go forward to trial.” — Doug Burns [23:27]

7. Media Critique & Public Perception

• The hosts ridicule media refusal to credit Trump or US military for the successful operation, contrasting with the Obama administration’s handling of bin Laden.
  • “They couldn't give themselves to not only admit that it was good to depose this SOB... but they couldn't give Donald Trump the credit for that.” — Rob Carson [28:49]
• Critiques the orchestration and funding of anti-Trump protests, suggesting links to outside organization and George Soros.
  • “These are well funded, well organized, planned in advance protests.” — Doug Burns [35:49]

8. Domestic Scandals and Democrat State Fraud

• Discussion shifts to COVID relief fraud in Democrat-run states, now under federal investigation. Predicts a coming wave of indictments and accountability.
  • “This has been going on for a decade in states around the country... The federal government cutting off $10 billion in funding to states like California and, and other Democrat states…” — Rob Carson [35:49]
  • “It’s just going to explode and explode and explode… I think you're going to see some accountability here big time.” — Doug Burns [36:33]

9. Geopolitics and the Oil Chessboard

• The hosts reference how loss of Iranian and Venezuelan oil undermines China’s ambitions and global influence.
  • “If Iran and Venezuela fall at the same time, China loses 70% of its non U.S. regulated oil supply…You certainly can't have a war with Taiwan. You can't have AI dominance. There's no BRICS reserve currency.” — Rob Carson [38:04]
• Venezuelans, says Carson, are eager to return home if freedom is restored—framed as evidence of US policy success.

10. Memorable Moments & Satire

• Exchange with a protester: A Venezuelan man asks Gen Z protesters why they oppose Maduro’s arrest; they cannot answer him, reinforcing Carson’s caricature of activist ignorance.
  • “So we have here a bunch of busy body Karens wanting to actually step up and talk for the people of Venezuela...” — Rob Carson [40:57]

---

Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “I must have been bad last year because I asked Santa for a slow news day. We haven’t had one yet.” — Rob Carson [00:20]
• “If your first instinct when you get up in the morning is to be on the dictator terrorist’s side just so you can oppose Donald Trump, it's probably time to rethink your political views…” — Doug Burns [09:42]
• “It has really become, it's a glorious time to be a political satirist. It really, really is. I've been doing this a long time... this is the golden age, people.” — Rob Carson [19:39]
• “A forcible seizure, a kidnapping, even where the country has an extradition treaty, does not defeat jurisdiction in the US federal court and the case can go forward to trial.” — Doug Burns [23:27]
• “If the Democrats and this leftist media were in charge of World War II, they would have lamented Hitler’s suicide and blamed FDR for it.” — Rob Carson [30:01]
• “If this really works, we will go back to our country. We want to really rebuild our country and our nation.” — Venezuelan caller via Rob Carson [39:15]

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:20 — Carson’s satirical news day prayer and opening shot at Democrats
• 01:15–01:58 — Discussion of the stock market’s record highs following Maduro’s arrest
• 04:51–08:00 — Crime stats, Trump’s impact, and Democrats leaving blue states
• 08:15–10:56 — Debating Democrat support for Maduro and the “80/20 country”
• 13:34–14:07 — Regime change vs. behavior change in Venezuela
• 23:27–25:26 — Doug Burns’ explanation of the legal case against Maduro
• 28:49–30:01 — Media hypocrisy, crediting the military, and what if things had gone wrong?
• 35:17–37:35 — Organized protests, Soros funding, and COVID relief fraud
• 38:04–39:13 — Geopolitics: Oil, China, and Venezuelan emigration
• 40:14–40:57 — Protest exchange with Venezuelan man confronting US protestors

---

Conclusion

This episode captures Rob Carson’s sharp, irreverent, and relentless conservative take on the week’s biggest stories: the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, the left’s reaction (and alleged hypocrisy), economic booms under Trump, and emerging political scandals in Democrat states. Carson and Burns provide legal, political, and cultural context, continually skewering their opponents—setting a jubilant, combative tone for the 2026 political landscape. The show is both rapid-fire and satirical, reinforcing a narrative that the left is isolated and increasingly indefensible, while celebrating what Carson calls a new age of “winning” for the 80%.

---

For those who haven’t listened, this summary covers all the major themes, arguments, and notable moments in Rob Carson's own energetic and sarcastic style, providing an informative yet entertaining overview of the episode.

Transcript

[Rob Carson]

Hold it. Now.

[Doug Burns]

You are about to hear the most interesting, informative, thought provoking and funny show in America on air and on the World Wide Web. This is the Rob Carson Show.

[Rob Carson]

This is the Rob Carson Show. It is the second show of the new year. It is the 6th of January, 2026. I must have been bad last year because I asked Santa for a slow news day. We haven't had one yet. And you know what? Actually I'm kind of loving it because the news is good. The news is good and the news is bad for the Democrat Party and the corrupt, intellectually and morally bankrupt left in this country. Remarkable, remarkable times we live in. And there is much to get to on the show today. But I sometimes like to start the show with good news. So I think that should go without exception today. We love to win, winning, winning. So much winning. It's lots of winning.

[Doug Burns]

Lots of winning.

[Rob Carson]

Lots of winning. Lots of win. Lots of winning. Lots of winning. It's also good. Yeah, here's some good news for all you guys who still clutch the Wall Street Journal under your armpit and then read it and then, you know, keep it in your bathroom.

[Doug Burns]

Stock soaring today following the arrest and capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

[Rob Carson]

Hold on, hold on. Stocks are soaring. Like it's almost $50,000. The Dow Jones is almost 50,000. Oh my God, are you kidding me? That's impossible because the tariffs are going to destroy the economy. Oh my God. And oh, oh, I guess oil prices also didn't yesterday too, even though Donald Trump went in and got Nicolas Maduro up 600 points. An intraday all time high, a record closing high, it looks like just shy of 49,000.

[Doug Burns]

And it was the first time that.

[Rob Carson]

It traded above 49,000 in the trading session. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ both up.

[Doug Burns]

7, 10 of a percent, a big.

[Rob Carson]

Gain for the Russell 2000, up one.

[Doug Burns]

And a half percent in this Monday trade.

[Rob Carson]

Good news to the Russell 2000, you know, I mean, because all of my stocks in the Russell 2000 certainly are. I don't even know what the hell the Russell 2000 is, to be quite honest. Is it a big deal? I know there's 2,000 of them. I don't know, whatever. Anyway, so there you go, wrong again, everybody. Wrong again. What did I predict last year? I said that the good news was going to be so loud and so overwhelming, the leftist media in this country could not even lie enough to cover it up. And, and look what's happening already. Where's affordability where's affordability? I don't know. Maybe it's another face plant because the Democrat Party has moved on to the next thing. What's the next thing? Donald Trump went in and illegally started a war for oil. It's not a war. There was a warrant out for the, for Nicolas Maduro's arrest, for God's sake. There was a 50,000, $50 million bounty on his head. There was a $25 million bounty on his head when Joe Bide was the president. But Joe Biden was. He had pudding for brains and he made poopies in his pants when he went to bed, right before he went to bed at like 10am and he was ineffectual as a leader, and so he wasn't able to get it done. And the only reason the Democrat Party hates that Donald Trump removed Nicolas Maduro from power was because they weren't able to do it because they're a bunch of meow meows. Little kiddies, just little kiddies. That's what they are. Here's some more good news. Here's some more good news. You know, you think with the, the, the victory with regard to socialism in cities like New York City and Seattle, Washington, which are already descending into the pits of hell, you would think that people would be, you know, just driving into New York City to become new residents and take advantage of the largess and the free buses which went up to $3 yesterday, and the rent controlled housing. I mean, something that all of us dream of. I mean, honestly, the American dream, isn't it about free buses and rent controlled housing and public housing? Isn't that what we all have always wanted? No, of course not. That's just absolutely ridiculous. That's why so many people are leaving all of the states that espouse this government large. Yes. The company U Haul, which I actually use to haul my studio, you're watching me on right now behind my Bronco Buck. Across the country, they report that more people are leaving California than any other state. What? It's eaten on earth. My God, there's wineries there. It's beautiful. You could drive along the, the ocean shore, whatever the hell that road is out there. Ventura Highway. I think the eagles did a song about it. It's a great place to live, right? No, no, because Democrats have made it into hell on earth. And Gavin Newsom is. They made it into hell on earth. Yeah. California has the highest income tax in America, 13.3%. They're blocking Trump's working family tax cuts, denying workers real money back in their pockets. Same thing's going on in New York. By the way, the tax on tips is not extending to taxes for, for people who are tipped. And I kind of wonder, well, you know, there's a lot of things you can tip. There's a lot of things you can get tipped on. And I'm wondering if Jim Gossett's Patreon page will be tax free for him because you're technically kind of tipping him. You're not really, it's not really a subscription. You're tipping him a lot of ways you can be tipped. Right? Seriously. Car thefts are plummeting as President Donald Trump's official crackdown on illegal immigration. And their intermittent theft rings. Murder rate all time low. Crime plummeting around the world or around the country, I should say in Washington D.C. i moved here about five months ago. Two weeks later, Donald Trump brought in the National Guard. And people in even bad neighborhoods, even Anacostia, can go out and sit on their stoop and let their kids play in the street and ride their bikes without getting shot. It's weird. It's just crazy how it works when you actually enforce the laws and stuff. Between January and October 2025, 324,000 cars were reported stolen. That's a 23% drop over the 421,791 stolen cars reported in 2024 when pudding for brains was the President. Yeah, apparently it's a lot of these international car theft rings done by illegal immigrants that came in the country when Joe Biden was the President. Yeah, yeah, yeah. ICE announced a 12 count indictment that took down a group of stealing, then packing them into shipping containers that were sent to outside countries. The Investigation recovered over 350 stolen vehicles. The eight charged. Listen to these names. They all sound like they could be, I don't know, Jewish or something. Haydar Alhaudani of Garden City, Michigan. Kayar Anushka. I don't think they're Jewish. Abbas Al Othman of Dearborn Heights. Dearborn, where they have a major radical Islam problem. Mohammed Al Hilo and Mustafa El Fatwallah, blah blah blah blah. And let me see Mohammed, Allah, Buddha, Badda Bida Badda Bada of Detroit. They were all, they were all indicted. A Mexican national in the US illegally was charged in McAllen, Texas for running a car theft ring. Angel David Sales Herrera or Salas Herrera was caught trying to export stolen cars out of the U.S. a similar investigation shut down a car theft ring in Arizona. Department of Public Safety announced the arrests of these foreign nationals. Recovery of 29 vehicles. Dallas, Texas citizen. Two migrants were arrested for running an auto theft ring. The three were caught operating a VIN number switching scheme in which they replaced VIN tags on stolen cars with tags recovered from a salvage yard. That's how they were doing. Isn't that crazy? Car thefts notoriously hard to prosecute because law enforcement resources are too thin to cover the labor intensive paperwork. But there's some more good news. I know, it's kind of crazy, right? It's amazing what happens when you have a president who doesn't. Doesn't have pudding for brains. It's kind of crazy, isn't it? But the Democrat party marches on. The Democrat party marches on spinning and twisting into hell.

[Doug Burns]

We now live in a country where one of the two major political parties in this country doesn't stand for anything. Think about that. Democrats don't stand for anything. And they are proving that once again tonight. Because Democrats all across the country are suddenly on Nicolas Maduro's side.

[Rob Carson]

Of all the things. Of all of the things. I mean listen, think about how bad guano crazy it is to support a man who increased the poverty rates. 90 plus percent poverty in Venezuela. 130,000% inflation. The second most corrupt country, the most dangerous country in the world. A place where 8 million residents fled, where people were eating their pets because they didn't have enough to eat. Their national currency is worth nothing. He puts people in prison political prisons and assassinates them. He is a communist dictator thug. And the Democrat Party like they always do, have fallen in love with him like crazy cat ladies do death row inmates.

[Doug Burns]

The dictator, narco, terrorist, cartel boss. And we just want.

[Rob Carson]

But other than that, he's great. He's a Virgo, he's a cat person, which is fantastic.

[Doug Burns]

But to point this out before we.

[Rob Carson]

Go any farther, but he likes Sonny walks on the beach before he puts bullets in the back of opponents heads on the beach and buries them in the sand.

[Doug Burns]

If your first instinct when you get up in the morning is to be on the dictator terrorist side.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. Just so you can oppose mentally ill.

[Doug Burns]

Post Donald Trump, it's probably time to.

[Rob Carson]

Rethink your political views a little bit. I said, I said this. If the Democrat Party of today and the leftist media of today were around in World War II, they would have been mourning the the suicide of Adolf Hitler and blaming the FDR for it. It's like fdr, he had a perf fine life and he had no choice and he had to kill his girlfriend and kill himself but that is the.

[Doug Burns]

Democrat Party of today. Democrats would rather leave a violent dictator.

[Rob Carson]

Who was flooding our country with drugs and killing his own people in power.

[Doug Burns]

Instead of supporting anything that this White House does.

[Rob Carson]

I know, I know. And this is, this is why you should celebrate every day. And I know it's hard. You get upset and you're like, oh, my God, they're out marching these on. By the way, all of these marches around the country, they have the same signs and everything. Now it's the buds off the roast. We knew it was happening when, you know, the big Elon Musk is a Nazi protest were happening. And then of course, he left Doge and suddenly he wasn't a Nazi anymore. I mean, it's so beyond stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. But now it's just transparently, incredibly stupid. And you should, instead of being all frustrated and angry about this, you should just laugh because everybody gets this. This is becoming an 8020 country. I told you before the election, 80% of us believe the country was headed in the wrong direction. 80% of us can come together to save her. Then, of course, all these 8020 issues started happening and now this is another 8020 issue. There are 20% of these jackasses, including the Democrat Party principles and these morons doing these marches. They're the 20. And guess what? They don't mean D word for Richard. They really don't. So that's why I'm here, to malign them and ridicule them and make fun of them. That's, that's what I'm going to do. And then also provide you with some, you know, cutting edge opinion and whatnot and great guests, which we'll tell you about very shortly. This, my friends, is the Rob Carson Show. Back in a few.

[Doug Burns]

The Rob Carson show podcast is everywhere. Go to newsmax.com listen for details. This was an illegal, unconstitutional regime change effort.

[Rob Carson]

This is about taking over and running another country. This is illegal.

[Doug Burns]

It's unjustified. Clearly.

[Rob Carson]

This is wildly illegal.

[Doug Burns]

This is the president who has been operating illegally since he was sworn into office, stealing from the American people. This is the worst form of gunboat.

[Rob Carson]

Diplomacy that proceeds to create a lot.

[Doug Burns]

Of problems for the United.

[Rob Carson]

Sucks to be you, Joe Biden could have done when he was the president, even though the Reward was still 25 million bucks. The reality is that, you know, to you just hate that when Donald Trump does stuff like this, it makes you look like complete morons. To fund these operations, to fund nation.

[Doug Burns]

Building, they need the approval of Congress.

[Rob Carson]

No. Right. And so they're. No, they don't have to come to.

[Doug Burns]

Us when it comes to funding all of these things or do more illegal.

[Rob Carson]

Now, let's come to a Congress that is absolutely, radically opposed to Donald Trump and wanted to put him in prison. Let's try to run him by them. Yeah, that's a really good idea. Here's Mike Johnson's speaker of the House saying that this isn't about regime change. You know why? Just let me explain it to you real quick. Maduro was a fugitive. There was a reward on his head for crimes against the United States of America. When we went and got him, which is what anyone would do if they were going to get a reward. They left his regime in place. His vice president is still in charge.

[Doug Burns]

This is not a regime change.

[Rob Carson]

This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.

[Doug Burns]

The interim government is stood up. Now.

[Rob Carson]

I would not bleep around with Donald Trump.

[Doug Burns]

And we are hopeful that they will be able to, to correct their action. They cannot participate with narco terrorists and, and very dangerous international criminal organizations that harm and target Americans.

[Rob Carson]

And if you do continue that, you will get a patriot colonoscopy, frankly, and.

[Doug Burns]

Traffic all of these dangerous drugs into our country that do all this great harm to our country. They cannot continue that activity.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, because they've been doing that crap for a long time. In fact, here's Pam Boddy talking about the many things that Maduro did that Democrats, you know, suddenly are supporting. By the way, they support this guy.

[Doug Burns]

That this monster released, countless defendants, prisons, insane asylums into our country. It's not just about drugs.

[Rob Carson]

Saving the president saved thousands, countless lives tonight. Countless lives win the drug trade.

[Doug Burns]

But he also protected Americans from the TDA members who Maduro let into our country.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, there were a lot of gang members who came in. That's why we know trend and now we know that, you know, apartment complexes in California and blocks in New York City were basically run by trend. They all came from Venezuela because Joe Biden let them in, forced into our.

[Doug Burns]

Country, opened his jails, opened the insane asylums to come into our country. Look at Lake and Riot. Look at Claritha Daniels, look at Jocelyn Nungray. All of them killed by TDA members. It's horrific and it is going to stop. Donald Trump said he will make America safe again and he stood by his word.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, and they were making America unsafe and they were causing the death of many Americans. But don't tell that to a bunch of losers on a CNN panel.

[Doug Burns]

Nothing that happened this past weekend is making the lives of Americans better.

[Rob Carson]

Right.

[Doug Burns]

And if you want to talk about drugs, which is a huge problem, by.

[Rob Carson]

The way, this is just. Okay, listen, this. He says drugs are a huge problem. Now listen to this huge problem.

[Doug Burns]

It's devastating and it's destroying our communities and our children.

[Rob Carson]

And it's fentanyl. That's largely driving.

[Doug Burns]

Not, you know, not. Cocaine.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, largely.

[Doug Burns]

But fentanyl.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. And fentanyl does not. Cocaine. What the hell? What's wrong with cocaine? They ought to make it illegal, for God's sake. Heroin. I mean, why not? Why not? I mean, honestly, was that making America any safer? Tell that to Lincoln Riley's family.

[Doug Burns]

From the time Trump's been in office.

[Rob Carson]

Deaths by overdose have dropped off a cliff. Look at that.

[Doug Burns]

Look at 2024 and leading into 2020.

[Rob Carson]

How's that possible? 5. Look at these are all. That's bad. He's putting drug dealers out of business.

[Doug Burns]

Deaths from overdoses. I mean, that's kind of crazy.

[Rob Carson]

Like, look at that. From all drugs, which is the top one.

[Doug Burns]

Look at that drop.

[Rob Carson]

Wow. I mean, that's crazy. Only, honestly, only fentanyl is bad. Cocaine and heroin are perfectly fine.

[Doug Burns]

Easy.

[Rob Carson]

So you see, the peak in. Was in 2022. Yeah. Or Joe Biden didn't open the southern border. It looks like actually 2023. They didn't say a damn thing. A damn thing about any of that nonsense between 2023 and 2024. That's the peak where people are dying.

[Doug Burns]

And then from the time Trump's in.

[Rob Carson]

Office, it's taking a sharp downturn. And why is that as well? Part of it's because they're blowing up these boats that are bringing in all the drugs. Yeah, yeah. But other than that, it's not safer to be in America. And people on the, on the chat are saying, hey, what's that? The thing in the corner there on the, on the live stream. That's a video clip I'm going to play here right now. Because it's kind of weird. All these protests have been showing up all over the country, and suddenly the Democrat Party on the left love them. Some dictators and they love them some, some Nicolas Mad. But they also loved Free Palestine, hated Elon Musk, and were convinced that Donald Trump was a king. Back to the developing story involving the detaining of the Venezuelan president. All across the country, and right here in Grand Rapids, protesters gathered. Yeah, Grand Rapids. It's a big thing in Grand Rapids to be. For Nijolas Maduro to oppose the military action In Venezuela, one of those protests took place right here. Here in Rosa Park Circle this afternoon. Rosa Park Circle in Grand Rapids. Thirteen on your sides. Peter Elliott joins us now. Peter. Peter, what was the scene like? What was it like there? Peter? Lauren, there were dozens of protesters. Oh, my God. Dozens of people at Grand Rapids in attendance this afternoon. It was organized. They all had the same sides that the people in Seattle had and the people in Chicago had and the people in New York had and the people in San Francisco had. Response to the attack by Grand Rapids opponents of war. Many brought flags and signs. Grand Rapids opponents of war. That's a big, that's a big anti war movement in Grand Rapids that no one has heard of before. Anti war message was loud and clear. It wasn't war. There's no, we're not in a war. After the United States attacked Venezuela and captured the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, the message from dozens of. He's a newscaster. He didn't say. In downtown Grand Rapids was clear. The demonstrators gathering near Rosa Park Circle on Saturday afternoon. No. 14 oil. Oh, this is just getting tedious. I mean, it really is. It's just getting tedious. And this, this will be happening for a few weeks and then they're going to find the next thing that Donald Trump does that they hate and he's making America safer and better and all of that. It is, it has really become, this is, it's a glorious time to be a political satirist. It really, really is. I've been doing this a long time. Damn. This is the golden age, people. Doug Burns is going to join us, former federal prosecutor, to talk about Nijo Los Maduro and the trial that is coming. Stick around. My nightly ritual now is a little ice, a little vanilla yogurt, banana, a little milk and a scoop of chocolate brownie beans. Dream Powder in the blender. A little while later, I hit the sack and I sleep until sunrise. It's amazing. These days everything moves so fast and it certainly can mess with your sleep schedule. That's why I'm here to tell you about Beam's Dream Powder. It's a healthy nighttime blend packed with science backed ingredients shown to improve sleep so you can wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day. Dream is made with a powerful blend of all natural ingredients, including reishi, magnesium, L theanine, apigenin and melatonin. I've been using Beam's Dream Powder for a year now and I can honestly say I feel sharper, calmer and more focused. And I'm not alone. Beam has improved over 28 million nights of sleep for people across the country. So if you've been waiting for the right time to try Dream, this is it. Go to shopbeam.com newsmax use code newsmax and take advantage of my exclusive offer. For 40% off, you can get their best selling Dream powder for just $39. So seriously, think about it. Go to shopbeam.com newsmax today, The rest.

[Doug Burns]

Was thrilled when the United States under Barack Obama went after Osama bin Laden and killed him.

[Rob Carson]

Remember, they could easily have captured him.

[Doug Burns]

And brought him to the United States.

[Rob Carson]

And put him on trial, but they killed him. This was a kill operation and it was not because he was dangerous. Osama bin Laden was killed for revenge because what he did was a horrible, horrible thing, killing all of those people. If that was lawful.

[Doug Burns]

This is can go after anybody, anywhere in the world who has been indicted.

[Rob Carson]

When the country won't bring them up for extradition. What Israel has done is the same thing.

[Doug Burns]

If you have people endangering your country.

[Rob Carson]

From abroad, they don't have sanctuary, whether.

[Doug Burns]

They'Re the president of the country or.

[Rob Carson]

The head of a terrorist, terrorist group or in this case, both the apprehension.

[Doug Burns]

And bringing him to New York was entirely legal, number one.

[Rob Carson]

Number two, even if it was illegal, the Supreme Court has held repeatedly that doesn't impact the jurisdiction of the court.

[Doug Burns]

To try him and hold him accountable for crimes he committed against the United States.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. And then also if it's a war, then there would be a war. And if they were a regime change, then the regime would have changed. The vice president's in charge. She's the next person in charge, you see. So the regime hasn't changed. But I will tell you, they better change or they're going to get a patriot colonoscopy. Joining us on the Newsmax online for the first time in 2026, one of our favorite guests, former federal prosecutor Doug Burns. Doug Burns, welcome to the Rob Carson Show. How are you, brother?

[Doug Burns]

Good, thank you.

[Rob Carson]

Well, here we go. We got a trial coming up here with Maduro on trial in New York. He is pleading, not guil, of course. What are your thoughts on the trial upcoming, the charges and the caterwauling by the left that Donald Trump is doing a war for oil and regime change.

[Doug Burns]

Yeah, it's remarkable. Time and time and time again, they just come right out over their ski tips criticizing him. I mean, if you were teaching a logic course, think about it in a university, and you would say, here's the anecdotal study we're going to do, Mr. X is going to make 100 different moves. Well, if some sample group is going to criticize every single one of the hundred just willy nilly, you know, there's no validity to it. Now, I want to work off Professor Dershowitz because there's a really key legal principle here, and I think the listeners will find it interesting. Mark Rich was a big, big international fugitive. We all know the name, primarily because President Clinton, in a very, very controversial pardon, pardoned him. But he was in Switzerland living somewhat openly, but he was a fugitive from US Justice. There was an indictment pending and in. And I know this because some lawyers I know were involved. Mark Rich wanted to meet with those lawyers, and he was worried about being kidnapped. Why was he worried about being kidnapped? Very simple. Because of a case by the name of US versus Alvarez Machine. And that's what Professor Dershowitz was referring to in Alvarez Mechane. He was a physician who kept Kiki Camarena alive brutally so they could torture him more. He was the DEA agent who was murdered Kiki Camarena. And the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a forcible seizure, a kidnapping, even where the country has an extradition treaty, does not defeat jurisdiction in the U.S. federal court and the case can go forward to trial. That case is squarely on point on this situation with Maduro, and they're going to get no relief, zero, claiming that he was kidnapped. Okay. The other claim they're going to make real quick, and I know you know, this is head of state immunity, but you've heard a lot of experts, and I read about two law professors, which was interesting. And both of those professors calmly explained that where the US Government doesn't recognize the individual as a valid leader of the country, that doctrine is not going to apply. Now, let me go a little inside baseball. I know Judge Alvin Hellerstein. How do I know him? I tried the case in front of him. It was a very interesting trial. Don't need to get into what it was. But he's a good judge. He's straightforward. You know the stuff about, oh, he's left leaning and he was appointed by Democrats. That's fair. And the other point about he's 92 years old is also fair. But all of my friends and colleagues say he's still, you know, quite sharp. And I think it'll be a fair trial. He's not going to give any big, huge, you know, favors or dispensations to the defense, is my point.

[Rob Carson]

Rob? Well, he's going to get a fair trial, which is more than he's given many of the people who have spoken out against him, for God's sake. I mean, he's going to go to prison for the rest of his life, no question. Question. Okay. And, and I was just curious, you know, immediately people were saying, why didn't he go to get Mo? But you want to look at a, A, an administration that is going by the book on these prosecutions. I don't think there's any doubt that this was by the book. They had their, their eyes dotted and their T's crossed on this one.

[Doug Burns]

Well, here's the thing which it also, you know, I'm very pleased to be able to sort this out for everybody, you know, right away. They characterize it as a military action, a war action. That's very convenient for their narrative that, oh, he needs congressional approval. Take all of that and throw it right out the window. It's not a military action. The man was indicted again, I think some of the listeners will be surprised to hear he was indicted in 2020 in the Southern District of New York, York, six years ago. There was a warrant out for his arrest. You know, you saw just the unbelievable manifestation of hypocrisy when conservative cable, to their credit, last night showed Biden, you know, saying, this guy's a horrible terrorist and we're putting a $25 million bounty on him. Now they have the audacity, Chuck Schumer, to look in a camera and object to it, Would you?

[Rob Carson]

Kidding me?

[Doug Burns]

And by the way, the American public knows this. Come on, they're not fooling anybody.

[Rob Carson]

Okay?

[Doug Burns]

So you can take Hakeem Jeffries and all these people. The reality is they were very much against Maduro. He was a vicious, violent dictator, Vicious, violent drug dealer. And I'm smiling amid all this chaos in the sense that they are now like the Brego Garcia that you and I discussed so many times. They're going to climb up on this hill now, Rob, and they're going to die on this hill in favor of Maduro. That's a good one, right?

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. Here is Mark Warner talking about the Biden administration failing when it came to Neil as Maduro. I've said repeatedly the Maduro regime has been brutal to the Venezuelan people. And I think the Biden administration made a huge error when a couple of years back, the Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly to get rid of Maduro, and they didn't put enough pressure on getting him out. But that still begs the question, is.

[Doug Burns]

What Is President Trump's theory of the case? Is it regime change we've got, you.

[Rob Carson]

Know, and he knows better too, doesn't he? You can't be that ignorant as a senator in the United States Senate.

[Doug Burns]

Well, you make a great point, which is really worth cementing home, and that is that in so many contexts, it's not that they really believe the stuff that you're saying, and they're not that wildly naive and ignorant. It is just, again, we've talked about this so many times. You know, this Trump derangement syndrome thing is real. It's not a joke. It's a subspecies, honestly, of like mental illness, in my opinion, although I'm not a doctor. And the fact of the matter is they just come right away out over and over. They immediately characterized this as, you know, a wartime action. The fact of the matter is not to be corny, what an absolutely incredible, brilliant thing they did the other night. It was incredible.

[Rob Carson]

And they couldn't give. They couldn't bring themselves to not only admit that it was good to depose this SOB who has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans trafficking children and women. I can go on and on about the damage he did to the people of his country and starvation and et cetera. Eight million people fled the damn country. They couldn't give Donald Trump the credit for that. And then they couldn't give our military credit for the razor sharp precision action that, I mean, remember the Noriega extraction? It was like three and a half weeks and lives lost. This was two and a half hours. I mean, you could have not ubered out faster than they truly, this was.

[Doug Burns]

Truly remarkable what went on. And then the other corollary point, you have to is with their hair trigger Trump negativity, can you only imagine, like a little rhetorical question. Can you only imagine if, you know, things had gone wrong? Oh, yeah, problems with it. They'd be all over them. And I myself, I'm not a military expert, but I am absolutely stunned, positively stunned that they went in there and got this guy out of his heavily, you know, armed, defended fortress. It's in.

[Rob Carson]

I know, I know. If, if the Democrats in this leftist media were in charge of World War II, they would have lamented Hitler's suicide and blamed FDR for it. That's how bad it is. We got more. I want to cover with Doug Burns on the other side of the break. Let's take a break. This is the Rob Carson Show. Hey, guys, it's Carson for Relief Factor. You know, I saw an AD for relief factor a while back and I saw a guy literally in tears when with how he talked about the pain that he was experienced was gone. It happened to me too. I started taking a few months ago. My hip was really bothering me and I wondered because I'm the age of, you know, replacement of joints and whatnot, if it could be better. And I started taking relief factor and it healed. It's a 100% drug free research based formula created to help your body's natural inflammatory response. The same one that cause every day aches and pains from aging, exercise over exertion and just normal living. It helped me with my hip, my neck, my shoulders. All the places that remind you you're not 25 anymore. Relief Factor supports a healthy response to inflammation, helping you stay active and keep those joints and muscles feeling good. It's made with four key ingredients. Omega 3 fatty acids, resveratrol, curcumin and Ikarian. Each one helping from a different angle. You can start with a three week quick start for this 1995. That's less than a cup of coffee a day. So if you're tired of creaking like an old floorboard every time you move, give relief factor a try. Go to relieffactor.com that's relieffactor.com and feel the difference. Relief factor because getting out of bed shouldn't count as a workout. More with Doug Burns coming up in a second. Silver. Remember when silver was like 10 bucks announcement? It wasn't that long ago. It was within the last decade or so, right? Well, it's at 8145 today. 8,145. The price of oil has dropped around. It's about what, 50 now? I think something like that. Silver is 81 45. Gold is at just shy a dollar shy of $4,500 an ounce. 20, 24, it was at 26. You're thinking about buying gold, Investing in gold and silver. Maybe you should. Because right now, Burch Gold, if you're a first time gold buyer, they'll be gentle. It's your first time. It's okay. It's okay. Play some music. Birch Gold is offering a rebate up to $10,000 on qualifying purchases to claim eligibility. To start the process, just text my name. Rob 298-9898. Burt's cold can help. You roll an existing IRA or 401K into an IRA in gold and you're still eligible for a rent rebate of up to $10,000. Crypto wasn't around when King Tut was alive, but gold was. Yeah. So maybe, maybe you should look at a metal that has staying power and one that is growing. I mean incredibly. Again, $4,500 on gold and 81.45 for silver. First time gold buyers text Rob to 989-898 rebate up to $10,000 on qualifying purchases from Birch Gold. He sees the leader of Venezuela. Damn straight we did. And I'm saying we're not going to let bigger so is the have new elections, that we're not going to let t Communist dictators send rapists into our country, send drugs into our country, send weapons into our country. Okay. Wow. That is Jake Tapper and Stephen Miller. Last night Stephen Miller bit his rear end so hard he had to floss at the end of the interview. It was remarkable. But Tapper, of course, well, what about elections? That's not. We're not changing the regime. We just made the VP in charge. And then we will kind of monitor what they're doing and we will make sure that they allow American companies who had all their riches, all their infrastructure stolen from them by the previous regime before Maduro, the Chavez regime, to rebuild the oil infrastructure, get that back and our tax money back and benefit the people of Venezuela. That's what's going on. Doug Burns, what do you think about that?

[Doug Burns]

Yeah, I watched the interview last night, I think both on CNN and then later when conservative cable was having a field day with it. And the fact of the matter is I always tell my, my wife if you watch these journalists on the liberal cable networks, the minute somebody says something, it doesn't have to be Stephen Miller, it could be anybody that doesn't fit their narrative. They have like a frozen, horrified look on their faces.

[Rob Carson]

I know, I know.

[Doug Burns]

Which to me is the definition of not being a journalist.

[Rob Carson]

100. Hey, I want to ask you about these organized protests around the country that sprung up 12 hours later and they are bought and paid for by various groups. Yesterday, Azrani wrote a terrific piece on the Fox News website website about all of them popping up. This being reported, Jeanine Pirro is moving to block George Soros from allegedly secretly bankrolling protests across America by introducing a new proposal that could classify such funding as organized crime under a RICO act of enacted Soros linked accounts could be reportedly frozen overnight, triggering a massive political shockwave nationwide, igniting fierce debate over protests, financing free speech, national security. And Soros has funded violent protests around the country. Country. What are your thoughts on this?

[Doug Burns]

Yeah, my thoughts are while I generally don't like cliches that go thrown around. I do like this one, which is follow the money. So you know, because there really is a lot of accuracy in that. So the point is, I'm sure good investigators, you know, can track money and payments. And the other thing is, the beauty of this is that again, the average person, the American public, the public at large, they know full well that these weren't spontaneous protests. And thank God for people like you who are calmly explaining that these are well funded, well organized, planned and advanced protests.

[Rob Carson]

Let's move on to Tim V in Minnesota. We are, we are discovering that the, the, this has been going on for a decade in states around the country. We discovered the COVID funding was a. They looted it. They looted the increase in the size of government for Democrat states around the country to pay for large s for illegals, get their votes. There's no doubt about it. It's all coming down, dude. It's all coming down now. The federal government cutting off $10 billion in funding to states like California and, and other Democrat states. What's going to happen in Minnesota now that 2,000 DHS agents, FBI agents are there and Kristi Noma's on the ground, what do you predict is going to happen in Minnesota?

[Doug Burns]

No, it's going to be a huge expansion of the criminal case that is already underway. A lot of defendants have already been arrested and it's just going to explode and explode and explode. Covid at the time, again, not to be a modest, I'm sitting there saying to myself, this is just to complete disaster, disastrous invitation for fraud. I knew that right away. Program fraud's a huge problem. You know, I was in the U.S. attorney's office nine years. We did a lot of program fraud cases and this was just that on steroids. But to answer your question, no, I think you're going to see, you're going to see some accountability here big time. And I was watching Walsh and his face, you know, as a trial lawyer yesterday and you know, he looks pretty shook up.

[Rob Carson]

He had a shame storm yesterday, man. He was trying to lash out at everybody. But there's no way that if a 23 year old journalist can go out on one day and find $110 million worth of fraud in one building that, that Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar and Tim Wiltz didn't know about this bull crap. And it's about time people got perp walked and put on trial.

[Doug Burns]

I couldn't agree more. And let's just see where it goes, you know, especially that Ellison I mean, you know, he's. He's disgraceful as a law enforcement figure, but, you know, Walt, he's getting what he deserves. You know, I did see some pundits saying that he's trying to now step out of the way and then maybe try to come back later. But I doubt that he's done.

[Rob Carson]

I think he's done like a Thanksgiving turkey. Hey, brother, I appreciate you. Thank you so much for being on the show. Happy New Year, Doug.

[Doug Burns]

Happy New Year. Great being on in the new year.

[Rob Carson]

All right, let's take a break and come back. This is the Rob Carson Show. Okay. If Iran and Venezuela falls at the same time, China loses 70% of its non U.S. regulated oil supply. What? 70%? Really? What else does that mean besides AI? You lose 70% of your oil from the. That's non U.S. you lose 70%. What else can't you do? Well, you can't go into Taiwan. You certainly can't have a war with Taiwan. You can't have AI dominance. There's no brics reserve currency. So just on the oil front. Absolutely. It's about oil. There you go. Glenn Beckman. Right on, man. Right on. This is. This is Donald Trump once again playing 3D chess like you would not believe. Just. Just doing a brilliant, brilliant job. And by the way, listen to this. Venezuelans actually want to go back to their home country when freedom is finally established.

[Doug Burns]

This people from Venezuela, many of them.

[Rob Carson]

Have told me, if, if this really.

[Doug Burns]

Works, we will go back to our country.

[Rob Carson]

We want to really rebuild our country and our nation. Yeah, it's glorious. It's an amazing thing. And there's protests going on in Iran. Hopefully the people of Persia will walk free, which I think is amazing. Ana Navarro, who's normally bet Guano crazy on the View, she even supported it.

[Doug Burns]

Your question, who voted for this? The people in South Florida. The Venezuelan community, the Cuban American community, the Nicaragua.

[Rob Carson]

Me too, gringo.

[Doug Burns]

I voted for it when American community voted for them.

[Rob Carson]

I like freedom, too.

[Doug Burns]

For us, this is a very, very happy day when we see a dictator.

[Rob Carson]

Who has been part of oppressing and.

[Doug Burns]

Abusing the Venezuelan people for 25 years. When we see him in handcuffs and held to some sort of account.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, it's a good thing and you can't deny it. So there you go. Here is a Venezuelan man confronting a bunch of Gen Z white whiteies, spoiled, entitled children about their protest against us arresting Maduro.

[Doug Burns]

How are you guys? Where are you from, guys? No hi.

[Rob Carson]

My mom's basement. No more war. Where are you from and why are.

[Doug Burns]

You protesting right now today? No more words in Venezuela. And you know about the situation in Venezuela, rebel.

[Rob Carson]

And Elon Musk is a Nazi. Yes.

[Doug Burns]

What do you know about the situation in Venezuela? So you want to give me an answer? Because we can talk. I'm not aggressive or anything. I just want to talk actually.

[Rob Carson]

So we have here a bunch of busy body Karens wanting to actually step up and talk for the people of Venezuela. Just like they've been done with, you know, getting rid of the Redskins. They suddenly, they're concerned about the Native Americans. They don't know what the hell they're doing. They are liberal busy bodies and, and communists and, and they're going to get their rear ends handed to them. Okay, we move on to Tim Boots and massive fraud in Democrat states. It's, it's coming. Hell is coming for Democrats. Don't go any.