Jimmy Kimmel's Audience Shocked at How Sick He Actually Is

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Rubin Report

Episode: "Jimmy Kimmel's Audience Shocked at How Sick He Actually Is"
Date: January 9, 2026
Guest Panel: Michael Knowles (The Michael Knowles Show), Batya Ungar-Sargon (NewsNation)
Host: Dave Rubin

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Overview

This Friday Roundtable features Dave Rubin, Michael Knowles, and first-time guest Batya Ungar-Sargon. The episode dives into recent current events, focusing on issues surrounding law enforcement, partisan reactions to high-profile incidents, mainstream media narratives, U.S. foreign policy—especially Venezuela—and a critical look at internal debates among conservatives. The tone is candid, at times sarcastic, and focused on the big themes of law, order, media distortion, and shifting political alliances.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Political Diversity of the Panel

• Rubin sets up the roundtable as representing a spectrum: Batya as an "FDR leftist" now Trump-curious, Rubin himself as a "definite former lefty," and Knowles as "a man of the right."
  • [02:05] Rubin: "We have someone that still associates with the left, a definite former lefty, and a man of the right. Can the three of us get along for the next 45 minutes. Let's find out."

2. Minneapolis ICE Shooting Incident

• Full breakdown of the video and reactions:
  • Knowles insists the agent's actions were justified—the woman drove her car into a federal agent, and the resultant shooting was tragic but due to "years of [Democratic] politicians telling citizens they can obstruct law enforcement."
    • [03:53] Knowles: "I think the officer, the federal agent, was entirely justified and in fact had a responsibility to stop a person who's about to run someone over, himself included... she really thought there would be no consequences."
  • Batya places blame on "affluent white progressives" who mislead people for ideological causes, notably defending laws broken in the name of activism.
    • [06:03] Batya: "The people who constructed the fantasy on which this woman died are out there watching the same video as us and just cannot see it. They are literally blinded to the fact."

3. Media Reaction and Narrative Manipulation

• Rubin and Knowles criticize Jimmy Kimmel and media figures for hypocrisy and dangerous rhetoric, particularly focusing on Kimmel's comments post-shooting and the tendency to "create unrest" by misrepresenting facts.
  • [09:37] Rubin: "Why is it okay that he wants people from Somalia to wander into Minnesota, bilk the system and then have brainwashed middle aged progressive women die in the name of that cause?"
• Supremacy Clause & State vs. Federal Authority:
  • Discussion around Minnesota officials allegedly calling for "insurrection" against federal law enforcement—in marked contrast to their condemnation of January 6.
    • [11:45] Rubin: "It is far more of an insurrection than anything that happened on January 6th."

4. Media, Protesters, and Asymmetric Narratives

• Clips played of mainstream coverage downplaying or misrepresenting law enforcement actions and protest violence.
  • [15:21] Rubin: "It's days like this that guys like us really appreciate leaving that Los Angeles shithole, isn't it?"
  • Knowles mocks coverage: [15:33] "They were peaceful flames, Dave. I mean we're trying to be fair here, right? Those were a totally non threatening peaceful rioters and assailants."
• Batya notes the difference in how protests treat CNN ("the good guys") vs. less left-aligned outlets.
  • [17:36] Batya: "CNN are the good guys because they know they're going to give them fair shakes... this understanding between the reporter and the protester."

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5. Venezuela—Foreign Policy Success

• Discussion shifts to Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela ("Maduroed"), the successful removal of Nicolás Maduro, and the three-step stabilization plan (stabilization, recovery, transition) as described by Marco Rubio.
  • [21:39] Rubio: "We are in the midst right now and in fact about to execute on a deal to take all the oil they have... we're going to sell it in the marketplace at market rates... that money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime."
• Batya lauds the "maturity" and competence of Rubio and the administration, calling the move pragmatic, beneficial for the U.S., and a departure from the failures of previous regime change efforts.
  • [22:04] Batya: "You are so right, Dave. The word maturity really comes to mind here because what they did was they went in and managed to get the leader out without destabilizing the country."
• Knowles highlights that even former critics have been mollified, with the operation satisfying most political factions and achieving U.S. strategic aims vis-à-vis China, Russia, and Iran.
  • [26:14] Knowles: "Trump managed to mollify both the hardcore neocons... and the restrictive isolationist types... Satisfied like everybody, including the Democrats, just not CNN."
• Batya: "You didn't even realize this was... possible, that you could have an administration that just every cabinet member was answering to the President and his one goal was to make America more prosperous and safer." [29:11]

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6. Updated Childhood Vaccine Schedule

• Announcement: Trump administration reduces recommended childhood vaccines from 72 shots to 11, offering parents more flexibility—praised as aligning the U.S. with other developed countries.
  • [37:31] Rubin: "America will no longer require 72 jabs for our beautiful, healthy children."
• Discussion diverges into class disconnects, the Kennedy family's privilege, and whether these health-focused measures address deep-rooted socioeconomic issues.
  • [39:35] Batya: "Americans are unhealthy because they are fat and they are fat because they are poor. And Bobby Kennedy doesn't know this cuz he doesn't know any poor people."
• Knowles and Rubin counter that changes to the food system and vaccine schedule are meaningful and that, despite increased prosperity, health has declined, suggesting systemic problems with food and health guidance needing regulation.
  • [41:21] Knowles: "A big part of that is we do have a bunch of unhealthy stuff and addictive kind of stuff in our foods, which probably requires a little bit more regulation, which is the exact kind of thing Bobby Kennedy campaigned on..."

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7. Working Class & Party Realignment

• Batya points out that the GOP is now "the party of the working class" while Democrats are the party of the rich, urging Republicans to stop giving tax breaks to Democrats, who then fund policies she says harm working class interests.
  • [43:31] Batya: "Now the Republicans are the party of the working class and the Democrats are the party of the rich."
• Extended discussion about housing costs, tax policy, and the impact of immigration on wages and rent.
• Praise for Trump's move to ban investment banks from buying single-family homes.
  • [46:07] Batya: "Trump did a big thing this week. He made it illegal for investment banks to buy single family homes. This is incredible, incredible news."

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8. Vaccine Skepticism & Anecdotal Evidence

• Rubin plays a Jenny McCarthy clip; Batya warns that anecdotes should not drive policy ("anecdotally feels true and isn't true"), expressing concern over the spread of anti-vaccine sentiment.
• Knowles shares his family's personal approach (some kids vaccinated, some not) and notes massive increase in recommended jabs since childhood, advocating for more parental choice and transparency.
  • [49:49] Knowles: "When the preeminent public health officials lie to you and get caught in multiple lies in a short period of time, then it's actually reasonable to at least entertain some of the alternative theories."

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9. Property Ownership, Identity Politics, and New York Governance

• Batya and Knowles mock a New York official’s (C. Weaver) comments about switching property from a private to collective good, with Knowles ridiculing the "euphemisms" of the left.
  • [54:45] Knowles: "All of liberalism boils down to screw you, dad."
• They discuss the hypocrisy of wealthy progressives pushing anti-property, anti-white rhetoric, and the shifting tolerance for such discourse.
  • [53:24] Batya: "Like, actually, no, it's not okay to say disgusting things about white people. You know, like, actually, no, you're not allowed to just act like they are the enemy and you're not allowed to take their property."

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10. Right-Wing Media Ecosystem, Intra-Conservative Debates & 'Content Creator' vs. Grassroots Gap

• Rubin and Knowles lament right-wing infighting, especially among content creators—a split that seems divorced from policies or candidates and more about personalities and clicks.
  • [58:54] Knowles: "I find the fighting on the right to be interesting in that it's not really about actual policies most of the time... It's all within the chattering class."
• Batya argues there’s a widening gap between the online right and the actual working-class Republican base; urges the “content class” to get back in touch with real voters.
  • [61:37] Batya: "You see this again and again and again. You know, the content creators were against The Venezuela thing, 99% of Republicans loved it... It's just so alien to how Americans sound."

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Rubin, on partisan division:

  "A death on camera, but it ain't surprising after we've been dealing with this." – [08:20]

• Knowles, on activist violence:

  "We used to know that, and we have to know it again." – [05:34]

• Batya, on left-wing elite activism:

  "The construction of myth upon myth upon myth with the sole purpose of demonizing half of the country and leading to tragedies like this." – [06:03]

• Batya, on GOP identity:

  "Now the Republicans are the party of the working class and the Democrats are the party of the rich." – [43:31]

• Knowles, on leftist hypocrisy:

  "All of liberalism boils down to screw you, dad." – [54:45]

• Rubin, on vaccine schedule changes:

  "America will no longer require 72 jabs for our beautiful, healthy children." – [37:31]

• Batya, on extraordinary government competence:

  "You didn't even realize this was... possible, that you could have an administration that just every cabinet member was answering to the President and his one goal was to make America more prosperous and safer." – [29:11]

• Knowles, on the conservative "all star cast":

  "This is the NBC 1984 sitcom lineup that we all wanted." – [31:16]

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Notable Segment Timestamps

• [02:05] Setting up the panel's political differences
• [03:53, 06:03] Detailed discussion of Minneapolis ICE shooting
• [09:37–11:45] Media narratives & Kimmel's comments analyzed
• [15:33–18:09] Mocking peaceful protest coverage and CNN’s reputational gymnastics
• [21:39] Marco Rubio lays out Venezuela plan
• [22:04–26:14] Panel praises Venezuela operation and discusses realignment in foreign policy
• [37:31–43:31] Childhood vaccination schedule overhaul; health policy and class divides
• [54:45–57:33] Satirizing New York leftist property rhetoric and personal anecdotes about leaving blue states
• [58:54–63:48] Intra-right infighting and Batya’s warning to conservatives about losing touch

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Tone & Style

The episode is marked by skepticism of mainstream media, a populist-conservative outlook, and sarcastic humor—often at the expense of left-wing elites and institutions. The discussion is rapid, unscripted, sometimes winding, and peppered with in-group jokes and jabs at well-known figures (Jimmy Kimmel, CNN, the Democratic Party, leftist activists).

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Takeaways for New Listeners

• The show showcases honest and sometimes combative debates between panelists of different backgrounds, though there is often consensus on broader conservative critiques of media, policy, and culture.
• Key stories covered include law enforcement controversies, the relationship between state and federal authority, media manipulation, and U.S. foreign policy victories.
• Recurring themes: The impact of media on public perception, the importance of enforcing law and order, skepticism toward both mainstream and online partisan narratives, and the need for authenticity and competence in government.
• Memorable moments: Candid admissions about privilege, humor about political realignment, and personal anecdotes highlight both the gravity of the news and the personalities that deliver it.

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For Full Context…

Those interested in law enforcement, the modern media landscape, American foreign policy, and the ongoing reshuffling of political tribes (and their internal infighting) will find the episode engaging and illuminating—even if they aren’t aligned with the panel's worldview.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

Previously on the Rubin.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

We've never been at war with our.

[Dave Rubin]

Federal government like this. Seems far more insurrectiony. Quit now. He bum rushed the state.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Get out of the way of the vehicle.

[Dave Rubin]

And the never ending morphing of the moron by Dave Rubin have some stake. It's just, it's just great. All right, everybody, according to the paperwork I've just been handed, I'm Dave Rubin, this is the Rubin Report. And it is a Friday, which means it's time for another Friday roundtable extravaganza. And joining me today is the host of the Michael Knowles show, my old friend Michael Knowles, and first time Rubin Report guest, the host of News Nation's Batya Peter. Exclamation point. Bhatya, Angry Sargon. Michael Bhatya, how are you?

[Michael Knowles]

So good to see you, sir.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Thank you.

[Michael Knowles]

Bhatya, this is your first time on the show?

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Sure is.

[Michael Knowles]

I didn't realize that. Oh, make it feisty, make it vulgar, bring it all.

[Dave Rubin]

It's Bhatia's first time and Knowles, I wasn't going to say this till the end, but it's your last time, so.

[Michael Knowles]

I always assume that.

[Dave Rubin]

Batya, before we do anything, for any of my audience that doesn't know you, I'd like to give you 30 seconds to tell these people who you are and why you put an exclamation point in the title of your show. Like Gutfeld, it's very exciting.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I think I'm a lot like you, kind of like from the left. I still consider myself to be like of the left or the left. I'm sort of an FDR leftist, which means I really love Trump because I think he is too. I did not put the exclamation point there. The wonderful, wonderful people at News Nation did. And I'm so glad they did because it gives people something to talk about every time they introduce me. And then we can have a little laugh about it because it is totally ridiculous and I just love it.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, you just basically laid out exactly why I wanted to have you guys on together because, yeah, Batya, you and I come from a similar position. You still sort of, you're a little more in, I would say, some leftist circles. Although I, we've discussed it publicly and privately. It's getting harder to do that. And as Michael has long pointed out to me over the years, I was going to end up the most hardcore right wing maniac of all of us. So we have someone that still associates with the left, a definite former lefty and a man of the right. Can the three of us get along for the next 45 minutes. Let's find out. Of course, the big story this week is, is this horrific incident out of Minneapolis, which falls to the backdrop of the ICE raids and I would say is deeply connected to all of the money laundering coming out of Somalia and the daycare center and just the overall temperature in that state and city, Minneapolis specifically. So I wanted to start just quickly with the slow mo version. Everyone has seen it already, but the slow mo version of the ICE agent shooting this woman who was not responding to their commands. Take a look. So, guys, the key part here, obviously is that you can see he does not take the gun out until she puts the car in forward. And we played it repeatedly on my show because I think it's worth noting. But in some sense, Michael, let me start with you on this. In some sense, even if the three of us could all come to the same conclusion on that, or if 90% could all come to the same conclusion, in a weird way, is that irrelevant? Because everything is now partisan. And the overall temperature of what these guys have to deal with out there is so crazy that whether, whether it was the second before or the second after, the idea that you're going to watch that video and get a conclusion that everyone can come to is pretty much impossible at this point.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah. And I, I think even, even if we get higher quality video, I mean, we have the slow mo video, we have the video from the front angle, which shows that she actually hit the federal agent, which you're not allowed to do. We have a photo of the bullet going through the windshield. The only way the bullet goes through the windshield is if he's in front of the car. You're not gonna get it from the back of the car or the side of the car. So even if we agree on the facts that she was driving at him, he was in front of the car, I think that we can still feel bad for her. You know, I think the officer, the federal agent, was entirely justified and in fact had a responsibility to stop a person who's about to run someone over, himself included. I think that this woman's death is entirely her own fault, and I feel sorry for her. And I guess the political conclusion that leads me to feel sorry for her is she really thought that it's okay to just park your car in the middle of the street, stop traffic and stop law enforcement. She really thought that it's okay to drive into a federal agent. She really thought there would be no consequences. And I bet after she hit him when he pulled out his gun and shot her through the windshield, I bet she was very, very surprised. And. And part of the reason for that is that Democrat politicians, especially in Minnesota, especially Minneapolis, have for years now told citizens that they're allowed to obstruct law enforcement, they're allowed to riot, they're allowed to hurt people, they're allowed to block traffic. So, you know, in a way, I'm sorry for her that she was scandalized by the political order that said that this thing was okay and you're not gonna have consequences. And unfortunately, the only way you're going to restore a normal political order is is there have to be consequences for these things, and federal agents are under no obligation to let people run them over. We used to know that, and we have to know it again.

[Dave Rubin]

You know, it's so interesting. I'm really glad you set it up that way, because the point is, the federal agent did not wake up that morning going, man, I hope I get to shoot somebody today. And I don't. And I totally agree with you. I don't think she woke up that morning thinking, I'm going to drive my car into a federal agent. But that then gets to the overall temperature situation. Batya, as someone maybe a little more on the left, are we being too sympathetic to law enforcement here?

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I find this to be tragic as well. That a woman would leave her own child to go protest on behalf of Somali children who don't exist, okay? Because that's what happened here. She went to protest to protect these illegals who were being rounded up by ice, who were focusing on a community that had committed massive fraud, including lying about the existence of hundreds of children to bilk the American people out of billions of dollars. And in the name of this noble, noble action, this woman has been bamboozled into literally abandoning her own child and getting herself killed. It's horrific and unforgivable. Where is the blame here? I mean, it's in an entire narrative that has captured the minds of affluent white progressives into destroying their actual children's lives. It is utterly, utterly outrageous. Of course, this was an entirely justified killing. You could see the. The car driving right at the guy, accelerating and hitting him. And it's amazing to me that the people who constructed the fantasy on which this woman died are out there watching the same video as us and just cannot see it. They are literally blinded to the fact. And then, of course, there are some who are lying about it. So my mentions are full of people post a still image of the car in reverse with the red reverse light on. The second officer, not the one who shot, but the other one at the side with his gun pulled and saying, look, he shot her in the side while she was reversing. And some truly believe this, I think many don't. But this is exactly how this happened, is the construction of myth upon myth upon myth upon myth with the sole purpose of demonizing half of the country and leading to tragedies like this.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, that's, you know, the great Scott Adams who unfortunately is not going to be with us much longer. You know, one of the things that he's popularized is the idea that we're all watching the same movie and having two very different reactions to it. However, I think we're all agreed that the, the temperature has been ramped up by the media and the Democrats. So when I saw this happened, it was the same thing I had. In a weird way, I had almost the same reaction as when Charlie was killed, which was. It's shocking, but it's not surprising, right? Like it's horrific and you're shocked. A death on camera, but it ain't surprising after we've been dealing with this. This is Jimmy Kimmel. This is Jimmy Kimmel. Last night after the shooting.

[Michael Knowles]

I know what they're doing.

[Dave Rubin]

They're trying out a new slogan. Donald J. Trump is gonna kill you. It's pretty good, right? This maniac, he isn't just killing people overseas. An ICE agent today shot and killed an unarmed 37 year old woman during an ICE operation in Minneapolis.

[Michael Knowles]

To ICE. Get the out of Minneapolis.

[Dave Rubin]

That is the shirt I want to see. To ice, get the out of Minneapolis.

[Michael Knowles]

Get the out of all of these for me.

[Dave Rubin]

Michael. Jimmy does his show somewhere in Los Angeles and undoubtedly has a 20 plus million dollar house. I'm gonna guess he has a gate at the front of house and a lock on his door so that people can't just wander into his house. Why is it okay that he wants people from Somalia to wander into Minnesota, bilk the system and then have brainwashed middle aged progressive women die in the name of that cause?

[Michael Knowles]

Was that a legal. Not only does Jimmy Kimmel certainly have a house and certainly have a gate, I'm sure he also drives around in a lot of SUVs, which is why it's so strange that he doesn't understand that an SUV is a deadly weapon when you drive it at somebody. The notion that this woman was unarmed is ridiculous. She probably didn't have a gun or a knife on her. But guess what? An SUV is a lot deadlier than a gun and a knife in the right circumstances.

[Dave Rubin]

And by the way, when he's traveling in his suv, he also has armed guards with him, undoubtedly just as a side mark.

[Michael Knowles]

Right, right, of course. And then he played that clip of Jacob Fry, which, to me, this is the cringiest millennial rhetoric you've ever heard. I hate it. I'm a millennial myself. I know, but I have to be honest about my generation. They think that when you whine, that makes your rhetoric powerful. And when you drop the F word, that that somehow means you're really serious. So Fry comes out, he says, you get the F out of here. I'm glad to hear he speaks English. I'm not so sure of that, but apparently he speaks a little bit. Not very well, but he speaks English. And then he comes out, he says, you, federal government, get out of here and stop enforcing federal law. The answer to which is, of course, no, we're not gonna do that. Cuz we have the Constitution. There's a supremacy clause of the Constitution. It's not just Fry, it's Tim Walls. The governor, who has literally called for an insurrection, called up Minnesota National Guard to oppose federal agents. Truly delightful and ironic. After we continue to hear about January 6th, the worst insurrection ever, because some grannies took selfies, you now have a governor of a state calling for insurrection. Truly, at this point, the federal government would be justified in arresting Tim Walls. The irresponsibility of their rhetoric is. Knows no bounds.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, I mean, he literally is asking the Minnesota National Guard to fight ice. Quite literally. It is far more of an insurrection than anything that happened on January 6th. But I'm glad you brought up the supremacy clause because that means I'm not the only dork around here, because I repeatedly read it on air this week. Batya, I'm a simple guy, but I do know that the federal government, at the end of the day, takes precedent over the states on things that are delineated to the federal government. We can put up the text. I don't have to read the entire thing again, but people can read it. As you're talking, Democrats just don't care very much about that, do they? I mean, at this point, they don't really care what is in the Constitution or what the laws say. Right?

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Well, you have to understand, the Democrats believe that only Democratic Presidents have Article 2 powers. That. That's the first thing you have to understand about that. You know, everything kind of goes down there. All of the powers that they believe they have, they Think that Republicans should be denied. I don't know that I would go to the like, the S word so quickly. I think that they, you know, obviously they have free speech rights. But what, it really bothers me that both Walls and Fry lied about what happened in the video. They had both clearly only seen the one video that very helpfully obscures the actual shooter in the moment of the shooting, which is where all the fake footage came from. All the stills that were wrong. Either they hadn't seen the, you know, frontal video where you can see the officer getting hit, or they were pretending not to have, but they went out there and just lied about the situation immediately with the goal, of course, of, you know, creating this unrest. You know, unfortunately for them, fortunately for the nation, I don't think we're going to see George Floyd style riots here. For starters, the victim was white, which is going to have a huge impact. Also she was, she was killed not on the altar of civil rights, but on the altar of illegal immigrants, which most Americans understand the difference. So I think it's really important to keep in mind that the people we're criticizing is not actually the mainstream Democratic voter, it's the sort of mainstream progressive activist. And this is really a class that was in complete control of the nation from like let's say 2014 until 2021 and now is very much in retreat. Which is why, Michael, you can have so much compassion for this woman. That's what happens when you get control back, both of the government, of the political power and of the cultural power is you're free to have compassion for the other side because they are in the grips of a psychosis, but we no longer are subjected to it.

[Dave Rubin]

So, so to that point, what do we do about the grips of that psychosis? Because here's a little compilation of mainstream media covering anti de ice protesters over the last few months.

[CNN Reporter]

The LA county police say that they have it under control. Carrying a flag is, is not illegal. As you know, what did happen in 1992 was so different from what we're seeing now. I mean, that was, that was a, a real, a real riot.

[Dave Rubin]

Video after video has shown that these agents are the ones provoking protesters and.

[Michael Knowles]

Also making up, you know, aggression by.

[Dave Rubin]

These protesters that later video shows people were not aggressive.

[CNN Reporter]

We are having an administration that's targeting.

[Zorhan Mamdani]

Peaceful protests, people that are there to protest.

[CNN Reporter]

The President is sending the National Guard because he doesn't like the scenes. He doesn't like the scenes of people peacefully protesting.

[Michael Knowles]

Unrest is isolated. LA is home to millions of people, most of whom are having a normal day here on Sunday.

[Dave Rubin]

Michael, it's days like this that guys like us really appreciate leaving that Los Angeles shithole, isn't it? I mean, there's nothing better than a juxtaposition of the absurd rhetoric while they tell us not to see what you can see in the pan right next to them. Right?

[Michael Knowles]

Well, they were peaceful flames, Dave. I mean we're trying to be fair here, right? Those were a totally non threatening peaceful rioters and assailants. Yeah, no one buys it though. And they obviously had a little bit of cachet during the Summer of Love and BLM and all of that. But I think at this point the very fact that Trump won the popular vote in 2024 shows you that something really has shifted. The fact that those establishment news outlets on the left collapsed in the ratings after the 2024 election is not because we tuned out. Right. It's because their own viewers tuned out because they had been lied to. So I'm not saying they don't have any persuasive ability left, but it's been greatly diminished. So I agree with Bhatia. I don't think that this is going to lead necessarily to some widespread riots. The other reason that it's probably not going to read to widespread riots is that the federal government is extremely proactive here and so they will restore order. It was very successful when they did it in D.C. and some other C cities. And so, you know, a little bit of order goes a long way. And really part of the reason that this incident even happened, this, this poor woman was psychotically persuaded to go out there and run over an ICE agent is because the law had not been enforced before. So, you know, you look at this issue, immigration enforcement was one of the top issues in 2024. Most people voted for Trump. This is gonna be a loser for Dems.

[Dave Rubin]

So I wanna jump by you before I have you check in here. I wanna show you this video. Cause I just showed you it was a compilation of mainstream media stuff. So now CNN to the street. I think this is in Portland, if I'm not mistaken. But take a look at this.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

We are here at Portland avenue and.

[CNN Reporter]

East 35th, but it goes at least two or three blocks.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Thank you.

[Marco Rubio]

Hold on.

[CNN Reporter]

I'm sorry, we're with CNN. It's okay. Thank you, thank you for your help. I'm sorry, I think people are getting upset.

[Dave Rubin]

So I'm not above fact checking myself. That was Portland Avenue in Minneapolis. However, the point that CNN sends people out there no matter how much sort of COVID they run for the bad guys, and yet they themselves are still under threat. These people. I guess this is called justice.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

What? But, but, but note how she said, it's okay. We're cnn. And the protest accepted that. Right, right. She accepted that CNN would be friendly to them. Not so with News Nation, by the way, we're very down the middle of the road, certainly during the daytime. Certainly our reporters are all very, you know, kind of what CNN used to be. And they got. They had to leave the protest because it was not safe for them to be there. So again, from the protesters point of view, CNN are the good guys because they know they're going to give them fair shakes. It was like this. This understanding between the reporter and the protester.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, that's a great point. And it just goes to show that perhaps CNN is not as even keeled as they would, as Wolf would like us to believe. Guys, let's talk about Dave.

[Michael Knowles]

I just love that they send the reporters out there, because when you get these little glimpses when the mask starts to fall and say, hey, hi there. We'd love to. Dookie, dicky, doky, han solo, ooga, ooga. You know, they say, no, no, we're with cnn. Don't shoot, Brito, don't shoot. And you just think, great. All right, now the CNN audience is gonna see that, too.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Love it.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just all of it. It's the online media rising while the mainstream media collapses. And there's a whole series of problems with what's going on with online media. But all of these asymmetries are just making everybody crazy. Let's put that aside for a moment. I don't know if you guys heard, there's something happened in Venezuela this week. We'll get to that in a moment. But first, Tax Network usa, do you owe back taxes or haven't even filed in years? Now's the time to resolve your tax issues. With the national debate around abolishing the income tax system, the IRS is pushing back by becoming more aggressive than ever. They're sending more collection notices, filing more tax liens, and collecting billions more than in recent years. If you owe or you haven't filed. It's not a matter of if the IRS will act. Its when. Right now, Tax Network USA is offering a completely free IRS research and discovery call to show you exactly where you stand. Their programs and strategies can save you thousands or even eliminate your debt entirely if you qualify. Don't make the mistake of trying to handle the IRS on your own. Representing yourself or calling them directly can waive your rights and cost you significantly more. The IRS is not on your side, but Tax Network USA is. Get the protection you need and start resolving your tax matters once and for all. Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit tnusa.com Dave for your free discovery, call. Don't let the IRS be the first to act. All right, guys, as you know, we snagged Nicolas Maduro took 90 minutes and not one American soldier even twisted an ankle. I think we have a picture. This was the famous picture of Maduro on board that Trump put up on Truth Social. And I thought we would start with this because regardless of what anyone thinks of any of this, the real question at this point is what is going to happen with Venezuela going forward? Well, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was born for this job, he laid out a threefold plan.

[Marco Rubio]

As we move forward, we'll describe our process, which is a threefold process in Venezuela. I've described it to them. Now, step one is the stabilization of the country. We don't want it descending into chaos. Part of that stabilization and the reason why we understand and believe that we have the strongest leverage possible is our quarantine. As you've seen today, two more ships were seized. We are in the midst right now and in fact about to execute on a deal to take all the oil they have, oil that is stuck in Venezuela. They can't move it because of our quarantine and because, because it's sanctioned. We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We're going to sell it in the marketplace at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime. So we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front. The second phase will be a phase that we call recovery, and that is ensuring that American, Western and other countries companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a way that's fair. Also, at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela so that the opposition forces can be amnestied and released from prisons or brought back to the country and begin to rebuild civil society. And then the third phase, of course, will be one of transition guys.

[Dave Rubin]

First off, generally, Baya, are you with me that this guy was just born for this job? It seems so clear to me that he is just so highly Competent doesn't mean you have to agree with everything he's saying or doing. But he was just ready for this job. And I think that that's great. But look, stabilize, recovery, transition. I mean, they're maturely laying out what we have to do. They're not saying it's going to be easy, but they're laying out a plan. I think this is all good.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

What was so amazing was watching the Democrats spin their wheels. So first they were angry that they were doing regime change, right? Oh, regime change. Terrible. Then they were angry that they didn't do regime change. Oh, Delsey Rodriguez is the same regime. First they were ang that we were spending all this money on it, on this. Right. Why is he out there in Venezuela instead of here in the US Investing in America and health care? Then they were angry that he was making money off of it. How dare you seize the oil. Right. It was just so amazing. They couldn't even get their talking points straight because, of course, what he was doing was dead center on all of these things. They didn't do regime change, but also they signaled to the regime, you're gonna play ball with us or you're gonna get Maduro'd. Right? They didn't steal the oil. What they said was, your oil now is under our rubric. You're going to sell that to our satisfaction because we have a blockade on you, and that's how blockades work. You are so right, Dave. The word maturity really comes to mind here because what they did was they went in and managed to get the leader out without destabilizing the country. Of course, you couldn't bring Maria Machado in there without there being a civil war. Who knows how the generals are gonna react. They are, are very carefully plotting a delicate, delicate maneuver here that will be probably very good for the Venezuelan people, but much more importantly, it will be very good for the American people, both in terms of oil and the cost of energy and getting the gangs out, getting 500,000 Venezuelans to go home. And then, of course, the drugs aspect of this. So it just, it was a perfect encapsulation of how Donald Trump foreign policy, domestic policy, and immigration policy are all sort of three sides of the same coin. Every action that is taken, just like Marco Rubio said in his confirmation hearings, is going to make us safer and more prosperous or they're not gonna do it. So you can look and see the tracks that are leading to this. And again, of course, the military, how amazingly they pulled it off.

[Dave Rubin]

And also, you know, look, we're used to like a disconnect from people on the left with reality. Like we're watching all these crazy lefties, you know, hands off Venezuela and all this stuff. Meanwhile, my Venezuel housekeeper, who is really like a member of the family here, was had tears of joy when I saw her the next morning and literally said to me, thank God for Donald Trump because she may see her family again. Like, it's just absolutely insane. But Knowles, I'm curious. You know this phrase regime change and obviously we're all somewhat old enough to remember some of our misadventures in the Middle East. To me, this is. I'm seeing some of the more libertarian minded people on the right saying this is just another regime change war and is going to become this crazy quagmire. Rubio also point out that this has nothing to do with the Middle East. There's like, there isn't religious sectarian warfare. It's our hemisphere, like a series of other things. What do you make of that type of reaction from some people on the right? And I do have a sympathy to the aversion for regime change. I just think this is something else altogether.

[Michael Knowles]

The negative reaction is from about three people on Twitter. What's so stunning about this is that.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, Tucker, Tucker did say that we're doing this so that there will be gay marriage in Venezuela.

[Michael Knowles]

Notice though. Well, one, Tucker's on Twitter, but two, notice Tucker said that I think before the action. So since the action, I haven't really heard even Tucker criticize it. He's been very critical of a more muscular foreign policy. And I think this is the genius of Trump here is Trump managed to mollify both the hardcore neocons who want to bomb every country on earth and the restrictive isolationist types who don't want to get stuck in quagmires. What's even crazier is Trump managed to mollify the Democrats as well as the Republicans. Cuz you remember Kamala came out right away and Kamala said this action is unlawful. And it was very awkward for her because her own administration called for precisely the arrest of Maduro. In fact, they offered less than 125 million bucks. Yeah, they offered it. The only difference between her policy and Trump's policy is Trump actually did it and save 25 million bucks. He should go call Kamala right now and try to get the money. He did it.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

He did it.

[Michael Knowles]

And so you think, all right, this has been broadly US policy for 25 years now, really, since Chavez got elected. And over that time no one's been able to do it. Trump did it. But it's not like the Bush era neocons. It's not an abstract ideological war. Unlike the Bush era neocons, it's not on the other side of the world where we're much less familiar with the culture. This is grounded in over 200 years of American foreign policy in the Monroe, now Donroe doctrine. It's very material in its aims. It's very restrained, as Bhati points out, not shifting the regime exactly, just telling them to get in line. And the kind of irony of it all is Trump is really focusing on the oil and the material needs here. But there actually are some ideals and some geopolitical moves in play because, one, the guy was a communist dictator. We don't like that. But two, and this appeases the neocons more by weakening Maduro, taking out Maduro, weakening the regime, you're also weakening China, the diplomats of which arrived the day before and are still waiting on their meeting with Maduro. You weaken Iran, you weaken Russia, which is already substantially weakened. So it's unbelievable about Trump's action. One, it was carried out flawlessly. It took an hour and a half. But two, he seems to have satisfied like everybody, including the Democrats, just not cnn.

[Dave Rubin]

Here's Pete Hexag.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I want to emphasize that question from cnn. The question's never asked how much does it cost when they're in the Mediterranean or the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean or the Pacific, but now that they're in our hemisphere on a counter cartel mission or ensuring that indicted individual comes to justice. Now you're asking the question of cost. It's a disingenuous question to begin with. You're trying to find any angle possible to under undermine the success of one of the most historic military missions the world has ever seen. The level of sophistication that Senate just was briefed on and the House was briefed on a classified level is something only the United States of America can accomplish. The world is taking notice of that. Certainly Venezuela is taking notice of that. And it continues because two oil tankers, two overnight, were seized by the United States of America. Stateless or sanctioned. Because the oil blockade, the, the quarantine of oil out of unsanctioned or stateless, sanctioned or stateless vessels continues. That leverage will continue.

[Dave Rubin]

But the reason I wanted to show that clip, we don't have to go after CNN again, but it's just like, it's just more competence from people that are in this administration like it's just clear and it's competent. I don't know if you saw, but now the President of Colombia called up Trump and he's like, what can I do for you? Because a signal has been sent to the world. Stop sending drugs our way. Stop working with gangs. Like, we might, I don't know, show up in the middle of the night and bring you here.

[Michael Knowles]

Like.

[Dave Rubin]

And to me, it's just, again, it's just all good. It's sort of what Michael pointed out. It's not to say nothing bad could happen in any of the transition, but that basically we're reasserting ourselves again as the. As the one world superpower. And I think that's good, definitely.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

And, you know, like Michael said, you know, hardest hit China and Russia and Iran, you know, it's like, who's howling? It's China, Russia, Iran and cnn. You know what I mean? Like, there's like, a lesson there for anybody who's, like, watching really closely here. The Chinese are outraged. The Russians are completely in retreat. We seize their tanker, and they're not gonna do anything about it. And I think it's just amazing to see them firing on all cylinders. And at the bottom of everything is just benefit to the United States and our enemies. Absolutely. You didn't even realize this was. I did not realize that this was possible, that you could have an administration that just every cabinet member was answering to the President and his one goal was to make America more prosperous and safer. It's like a very, very unique time. And I kind of feel like we're never going to have this again. Like, I remember when I went to vote for mayor in New York and I came out, I was, like, so depressed and I was like. I mean, it wasn't just because, like, the candidates were such shit, you know, it was also because, like, it was the first time I was voting since 2024. And it's like, even. Even then, we couldn't have known, like, how much of what on, like, I didn't even realize I could have this on my wish list, you know, arrest Maduro, you know, it's like. And not lose a single troop, you know what I mean? And it'd be over before I even knew it was happening.

[Dave Rubin]

Michael, real quick, before I get to the next clip, what do you think about what she just said there about, like, sort of the all star cast of. Of people around Trump right now? To me, it's like, I agree this may be as good as it ever gets in government ever again. So. So when I see some of the people on the right going after the administration or some things. I'm like, guys, first off, he's only been president now, you know, it's. It's barely a year that he's been president again the second time. But also like, give it, give it a chance. Like, do you not trust these people? Like, how, how. What all star cast than this, right? Like, this is the night. This is the NBC 1984 sitcom lineup that we all wanted.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

This.

[Michael Knowles]

It reminds you that success papers over a lot of problems. The right is always fighting. It's been true since the 50s, it's been true before the 50s. And all these people, because it's a second term, all these big figures in Republican politics might be aiming to be the next president or, I don't know, get some kind of position. So this is a moment when they should all be at each other's throats, but they're not, because Trump has established, established very strong leadership. And even down to the Rubio of it all. You know, Rubio, I think it was President Trump pointed out, said, you know, I kind of hope Rubio never runs for office again because I want him to be Secretary of State basically forever. Rubio himself said that. Rubio, who's definitely a presidential contender, has come out multiple times now and said, no, I think J.D. vance should be the president. Maybe Rubio would be VP. Maybe Rubio just stick on as Secretary of State. That'd be pretty amazing, too. Hegseth is working so well with all of them. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, obviously, extreme competence. It's just all working together.

[Dave Rubin]

Bobby Kennedy told us we can eat steak this week. I mean, it's just not gonna get better than this.

[Michael Knowles]

It's unbelievable. Bobby Kennedy just got rid of 80% of the food pyramid. Just eat steak and milk and you're good forever. But, you know, actually, the Bobby Kennedy of it all is important too. This guy is not only a Democrat, a Democrat presidential candidate. Not only a Democrat presidential candidate, but a freaking Kennedy, you know, one of the most important Democrat families in the country. He's working marvelously well in the administration. And it reminds you that politics and government involve two things. One is ideology, sure thoughts, views, ideas, policies. Yeah, that's all important. But the other one is competence. You need to get smart, skilled, competent people if you want any of that policy to come to anything. And at the very least in the second term, Trump has clearly done it.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I have to say, I. I'm not a big fan of, of Bobby Kennedy. I think he's just like an elite entitled Nepo baby. I, I hate everything that he does, but I love Dr. Oz and I especially love that this week he told us we can drink as much as we want.

[Michael Knowles]

Some like the milk and some like the booze. So you got Kennedy and you got Oz.

[Dave Rubin]

Okay, as a guy with a great tequila on the market, I'm not going to argue with Dr. Oz, but I, I'm gonna have to punt the J the RFK stuff for another time. Bayo, we should discuss that further, but I want to show you this I last CNN clip of the day, I promise you. But watch how they're trying to like shift the narrative here because the drugs that they were sending over, it wasn't fentanyl, it was mostly cocaine. So everybody calm down.

[CNN Analyst]

The Venezuelan government facilitated the transport of up to 250 tons of cocaine annually. Experts believe that most of that cocaine though, is bound for Europe, not the United States. And also for context, that total falls far, far short of what we see in many other countries. For instance, according to US data, Guatemala, a much smaller nation, saw 1,400 plus metric tons pass through 2018 alone, which we know did wind up flowing into the United States. Cocaine is obviously dangerous and lethal. It is not, though, the drug causing most overdose deaths in the United States. That dubious distinction belongs of course, to Fentanyl Knowles.

[Dave Rubin]

I'm not sure if that man realized what he just did, but I'm pretty sure he just told Trump to invade Guatemala.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, and a number of other countries frankly too. This is the way, you know, the Democrats had absolutely nothing to criticize about the cause. Now they're defending a communist dictator and cocaine. And I loved. Actually the Vice President had a great reaction to this. Cuz he said, look guys, you know, this invasion was predicated on a five year standing arrest warrant for Maduro, who is not the legitimate president of Venezuela. Over 50 countries don't recognize him as the legitimate president. He stole the election. It's predicated on Venezuela stealing our stuff and cozying up to our enemies. And this, that and the other thing, he goes, also cocaine is also bad. Like, we don't need to defend cocaine. Okay, that's bad too. Little icing on top.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

There was a really funny New York Times or Washington Post article that seemed to suggest that the reason Trump ultimately arrested Maduro was because he was dancing and making fun of Donald Trump. And they thought that made Trump look bad. Like, like, yeah, that's right. There's a five year arrest warrant out for you. Don't stand there, make fun of me and dance because, you know, I'm just looking for an excuse. It is so funny to me. And also, the whole thing about the cocaine, fentanyl comes from China. Guess what they need in order to get it here? Oil. Guess what they just have 10% less of now. Oil. You know, the other thing the Democrats were saying this week was, oh, this is going to give China permission to invade Taiwan. Yeah. Because China was sitting there waiting for our permission. Right. They were like, we can't invade Taiwan because Trump didn't arrest Maduro, but now that he has, we can invade Taiwan. It's so ridiculous. And again, by the way, 10% less oil in order to do that.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah. You're making a great point, by the way, on the China, Taiwan thing. I've heard a lot of people saying this, like, oh, this. We just gave them permission to do whatever they want because we can do whatever we want. And it's like, oh, yes, that's what they were waiting for. Like, we were just going to. You guys are good to go now. Now take Taiwan and all the chips and everything.

[Michael Knowles]

You know the other irony of that, too, though, to reconcile both the idea of, look, retrenchment in the Western Hemisphere, which now some people are saying, well, that means we're abandoning the rest of the world and we're letting our enemies run roughshod. Forget about even the, you know, we've given them moral permission, the Chinese communists.

[Dave Rubin]

Right.

[Michael Knowles]

Even just in terms of hardcore geopolitics, is it easier or harder for China to invade Taiwan when you just cut off a bunch of their oil? It doesn't take an international relations genius to know it makes it harder for. For them. Is it easier or harder for Iran to wreak havoc in the region and around the world when we just cut off a nice ally of theirs? Is it easier or harder for Russia to win its war in Ukraine, which is a proxy war with us in Europe, when we boot out one of their partners? You know, these things, these kinds of actions have cascading downstream geopolitical effects that ironically end up accomplishing the goals of even the most interventionist neocons, frankly, probably better than their own policies do.

[Dave Rubin]

Exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly. Thank you for saying that. I said I was gonna talk to you next time about some RFK stuff. However, we're gonna talk about the vaccine schedule, so we'll see what we can get into. But first, Rumble Premium. Guys, if you want the best experience on Rumble, you need a Rumble Premium. It's ad free distraction free and built entirely around creators who actually stand for something. You'll get exclusive access to a whole lineup of voices that aren't afraid of to think differently. Rumble Premium is how you support a platform that's genuinely built on free speech, not just talking about it. Go to rumble.com premium rubin. That's rumble.com premium rubin for 10% off annually for Rumble Premium. Join the movement today. All right, here's Donald Trump on truth. This is a condensed version. Today, the Trump administration is proud to announce the United States of America's updated childhood vaccine vaccination schedule. The schedule is rooted in the gold standard of science and widely agreed upon by by scientists and experts all over the world. Effective today, America will no longer require 72 jabs for our beautiful, healthy children. We are moving to a far more reasonable schedule where all children will only be recommended to receive vaccinations for 11 of the most serious and dangerous diseases. Parents can still choose to give their children all of the vaccinations if they wish, and they will still be covered by insurance. However, this updated schedule finally aligns itself with the United States. United finally aligns the United States with other developed nations around the world. Congratulations to HHS Secretary Bobby Kennedy, CDC Acting Director Jim O', Neill, FDA Commissioner Marty McCary, CMS Administrator Dr. Oz Nah, Dr. Jay Batari, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So Batya, I mean this just seems good to me. We'll get into some of the autism stuff in just a second. But we know that our schedule has been rapidly escalated for the last 30, 40 years, way more than in Europe. We've seen at least some corollary evidence that this is connected to some behavioral things and other issues. But you don't seem to like Bobby. I'm shocked. Help me here.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I don't have a problem with the administration doing this. This is obviously patronage, right? So Bobby brought in the MAHA moms. They were probably decisive in Arizona and other places where they tend to congregate and they like this. And so this is a kind of very sort of give it. It's this classic patronage. And that's totally fine, like democratically, politically, whatever. My problem is is that Americans are unhealthy because they are fat and they are fat because they are poor. And Bobby Kennedy doesn't know this cuz he doesn't know any poor people. He's extremely privileged. Nepo baby, entitled rich person who has the problems of that demographic which are all these like, you know, like for example, I'm sure he's Done keto or whatever. Like, this is what a rich person would tell a poor person who is struggling to be healthier is like, oh, just to eat more steak. You know, like, great. You know, what's next? Like, eat more caviar. Like, why don't you recommend more truffle mushrooms? Right. It's just so out of touch with the actual problems, which is food deserts and people working three jobs and the fact that today fast food is cheaper than cooking at home. That's horrible. And now I think the President is doing everything he can to fix that. He's been great on healthcare. He got down the cost of drugs. This is really important to seniors. But to me, the Kennedy stuff is just so offensive because it suggests that the things that rich people obsess over when they obsess over their health are at the root of the problem. And the problem is actually, I think, much more systemic and deeper and out of reach for someone like a Kennedy.

[CNN Reporter]

Sure.

[Dave Rubin]

But I don't know that you can blame him just because he grew up as a Kennedy. I mean, he still cares about getting poisons out of cereals, which a lot of poorer people are eating, and the rest of it. But Knowles, go ahead.

[Michael Knowles]

No, listen, I'm all for blaming people for growing up as Kennedys. I like Bobby Kennedy, but I don't have any special affection for the Kennedy family. However, part of your thesis, Bhatia, I think, is difficult to argue, because even with wealth inequality or economic problems that we have today, affordability, or any of the slogans or any of the real economic problems, Americans today, including poor Americans, are still objectively, materially much richer than they were 50 years ago or 100 years ago by virtually every measure. And people are fatter today than they were then. So I grant you, it's true. It's more expensive to eat in a healthy way, usually depending on where you live. But also a big part of that is we do have a bunch of unhealthy stuff and addictive kind of stuff in our foods, which probably requires a little bit more regulation, which is the exact kind of thing Bobby Kennedy campaigned on and that he's actually brought to the fore. So not only on the vaccine point, which I think he's quite salient on, but also when it comes to Dave's point, getting the dyes out of foods, you know, minimizing sugars and trying to discourage that kind of stuff, I don't know. To me, it seems like he's bringing a political solution to pretty much the problem you're describing.

[Dave Rubin]

Also everyone says that somehow poor people don't have access to good food. And obviously there's edge cases where you could be in hyper poverty or homeless or drug addicted and you can't figure out what to do. But a pound of beef, which is, let's say 6.99, 5.99 now, not organic regenerative, but just a pound of beef, you could get ground beef, you can get broccoli, you can get eggs. And for $20 for a full day' and I get it. Not everyone has that. But for 20 bucks you could eat pretty damn healthy every day.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I think it's a lot of it has to do with first of all the frame of mind. I mean, I'm sure the three of us who are extremely privileged, right, we're not kind of single parents working two jobs trying to make it work. We probably have nights where we're just too tired to cook, right? And so what do we do? We order in something probably pretty healthy, you know, like sushi, right? Like that bachi.

[Michael Knowles]

I have to stop you right there. I never eat anything healthy. I order in, but I never eat anything healthy.

[Dave Rubin]

And there are parasites. I also hate sushi.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

My husband forces me to eat it. It's disgusting. It's disgusting. But anyway, you know, the average like working class person, like just picture their life. This is a person who's working maybe one very physically demanding job, maybe two. A lot of people are raising kids by themselves. They are exhausted, they just don't have that space to. You have to go to the supermarket to get fresh vegetables. You have. There's a lot of like time and planning invol. And also Michael, you're right, a lot of stuff has gotten cheaper. You know, we can all get a new flat screen TV or whatever every year. But the hallmarks of the American dream, housing, healthcare and education and a retirement have skyrocketed by thousands of percents in the last 60 years while working class wages have stagnated. And so yeah, they can afford things, but a lot of people are driving, you know, broken down cars, cars for hours just to get to work. Like these aren't people whose. And I feel like there's just a radical disconnect between like the way that the people who set policy are living and thinking and the way that a lot of. And by the way, these are Republicans now. I'm just gonna make this point. Cuz I have to make this point whenever I have a captive Republican audience. You know, it used to be that Republicans were the party of the rich. And the Democrats represented labor. So it made sense for the Republicans to try to get tax cuts for rich people. People, patronage. But now the Republicans are the party of the working class and the Democrats are the party of the rich. Every tax break you guys give to a rich person, you're giving to a rich Democrat who's gonna use that money cuz they don't need it cuz they're rich. To fund a Democratic politician like Mamdani to screw you guys over and screw over your voters. And you're taking that money from people who are probably Republicans. Like I feel like there's this muscle memory and this is the thing that I want Republicans to most understand. If you don't get this, you're gonna lose and then they're gonna put Donald Trump in jail and I'm gonna be very upset.

[Michael Knowles]

No, but let's somehow.

[Dave Rubin]

Wait, wait, wait. Somehow. This was a segment on vaccinations. However, Knowles, I do want you to respond to that.

[Michael Knowles]

So I agree with a fair bit of what you said. Bhatia not listen, I haven't sold enough Mayflower cigars yet to be a super rich person. But I'm aspiring, I'm doing my best. So I might get some of those tax. But, but one of the issues is, yeah, the cost of a lot of these things has gone up, including housing. Now one of the drivers of housing costs going up is that the houses are just way bigger and nicer than our grandparents houses. But the other big driver is mass migration, which is why ever since we've gotten the Trump deportations, rents have gone down.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

And by the way, Trump did a big thing this week. He made it illegal for investment banks to buy single family homes. This is incredible, incredible news. Sorry.

[Michael Knowles]

So you get it on the deportations, you get it on the rentals going down, you get it on the large institutional investors not buying single family homes. Homes. You're seeing a lot of focus on that in other areas of the administration. In terms of the tax breaks, yes, Trump doubled down on the tax cuts generally, which I think was good because the economy would have really suffered otherwise. But he also added new tax breaks for people who work in service. You know, no tax on tips and no tax on Social Security, whatever. People are working on fixed incomes. However, I guess my only question is why is that Bobby Kennedy's fault? You know, the things we're focusing on here, you just don't like Bobby Kennedy.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

It's spiritual.

[Dave Rubin]

The segment started about vaccinations. We somehow got it there. I saw what you did. There. But you know what? Actually just to bring this back. Well, you know, let's do this. How about I have you guys on again, the two of you again, in six months from now, once we have six months of the big beautiful bill results where a lot of these tax cuts and some of the other things Trump has done. And we'll see if some of the things that Bhatia brought up are addressed. I think that might be an interesting thing to do. And we can throw back to this video. But just quickly on the vaccinations again, I want to show you this because you know Jenny McCarthy, Dorothy, who's of our young. My producers had no idea who she was, but she was cool back in the day on mtv. But she's become a real anti vaccine advocate because of one of her children. She went on Katie Miller's podcast and listened to this.

[CNN Reporter]

I haven't talked about this, but my oldest child is fully vaccinated. My youngest child is not vaccinated at all. My oldest child had milk soy protein allergy.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Right.

[CNN Reporter]

And we had struggles breastfeeding. My third child was fully breastfed until age one. He is my healthiest child who never, ever gets sick. He's never been on antibiotics. He is like every day could put food like dirt in his mouth and.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

He will not get ill.

[CNN Reporter]

Honestly, this is what I've heard and I did talks over the country over the past 15 years, talking to moms face to face who had a vaccine, injured child or just woke up and did not do that. And they said my child that is not vaccinated hasn't been to the doctor in like eight years, doesn't get sick. The strongest immune system doesn't have allergies.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Right. It's unbelievable.

[Dave Rubin]

So the reason I want to show you that clip is the three of us are all parents of young kids. I'm not gonna ask you a vaccine status of all of your children, but I also hear a lot of what she just described right there when we talk to parents at the playground or wherever it might be. I'm curious what your take on that is, but by you.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I don't have kids, so I probably shouldn't opine on this. But why did I think you.

[Dave Rubin]

I think I just described you some kids.

[Michael Knowles]

You want one of mine? Yeah, okay, I got it.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I got extras, but I just. There's a lot of stuff that anecdotally feels true and isn't true. And I just think that this is the kind of thing that hurts. I mean, kids are dying of whooping Cough kids are dying of measles. These are diseases we licked. And I just, you know, like, there's a lot of stuff that feels truthy because, you know, she has a sample size of 3. Like, everybody knows the third kid is the one who eats dirt, right? The first one is the one you overprotect. And by the third one you're like, ah, it'll be fine, right? So I just feel, I worry that the downstreaming of this, this happens a lot where elites come up with some cockamamie idea, and by the time it gets downstream to people over TikTok, children are dying.

[Dave Rubin]

So Knowles, to whatever extent what she said there is, right? I mean, do we just blame this on Fauci and everybody else? Like, you guys lied to us about so much shit that someone listening to Jenny McCarthy give an anecdotal story sounds better.

[Michael Knowles]

Well, that's a great point. When the preeminent public health officials lie to you and get caught in multiple lies in a short period of time, then it's actually reasonable to at least entertain some of the alternative theories. I have three boys, and we started out, we got like one or two of the vaccines for one. Then we said, I don't know, we're a little, you know, Covid Fauci's lying, maybe we won't do as much. And we kind of didn't. I think the second one we. I don't know if we gave any to maybe one or two. And then the third. Now all of that, I say all of that because it means I don't have a strong ideological position or scientific opinion on vaccines. I have much more of a practical, prudential opinion. The vaccine schedule as it was as of two weeks I ago, was so much more abundant and faster than it was when we were kids. So there has been a massive change. And clearly there is some correlation with health consequences here because there's always a risk to any medical intervention. So, you know, what the Trump administration has done here is not to say you can't have these vaccines or to totally wipe them off the schedule. Bhati, I know you don't like Bobby Kennedy, but the number two at hhs, Jim o', Neill, acting head of the cdc, who coincidentally, is a friend of mine of a very, very long time, very intelligent person, very serious person, totally supportive of what the department's doing, helping to roll out a lot of this. He was on my show the other day. He comes out and he says, look, we're just trying to give parents a little more transparency here. And a little more choice. So they're not told that their kid's not even allowed to join a medical office if they don't stick them with 72 shots right at once. And I'll just give you the anecdotal practical summation for me, some of my kids have some vaccines. Some have none or barely any, or this or that. They all get sick all the time. They're all super sick. Right now, my house is like a hospital. You know, it's that time of year. I don't know. But also, speaking of the hhs, it is worth pointing out anecdotally, you hear one thing, but in terms of actual influenza cases, whooping cough, whatever, these numbers are not really different than all that. Different than they have been in years past. I think some of it is just the media ginnic it up to make the vaccines more of an issue.

[Dave Rubin]

B, I got it wrong that you have children. However, I will get this right. You live in New York, and we're going to have to talk about New York because you people elected an Islamist socialist communist jihadist. Who's one of her. His housing people is this lady. Enjoy.

[Zorhan Mamdani]

I think the reality is, is that for centuries, we've really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good. And we are going to transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently. And it will mean that families, especially white families, but some POC families who are homeowners as well, are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Have.

[Dave Rubin]

So that lady is Mamdomi's tenant advocate now. Baya, you are in New York. I don't know if you knew this, but the bookshelf behind you is now a public library. Congratulations.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

This is how everybody in that cast speaks. You know, like, it's impossible to get, you know, a liberal arts education and not think that way and talk that way, pretty much. And I love how she allowed that, like, in the, you know, that there are some PoC Kulaks too, who are gonna have to go, you know, gonna have to face the firing line. Like, you know, rare moment of honesty from one of these people. It's. It's just ridiculous, you know, it's just. It's just ridiculous. And I. But not surprising, like you said, you know, it's like shocking, but not surprising. Like, they all think this way. But I am very heartened to see a big pushback against this. Like, I think for a long Time, you were not allowed to say the fundamental truth that anti white racism is racism. And there is this feeling now like, you in 2020, there would have been no pushback to that because everybody was saying that, which is probably when she was saying it the most. And now there is this understanding. I think there's been a real shift in the culture. Like, actually, no, it's not okay to say disgusting things about white people. You know, like, actually, no, you're not allowed to just act like they are the enemy and you're not allowed to take their property. And I think that this is a very actually healthy moment because these people who were, like, running the show are now being kind of chased down the street and made to cry.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, Knowles, I know there's nothing that you people at the Daily Wire like more than liberal tears, so this one's gonna bring a smile to your face. From the New York Post, Zorhan Mamdami's woke privileged tenet advocate C. Weaver, that's the lady we just showed you. Breaks down crying when asked about hypocritical gentrification comments because it turns out that her parents live in a $1.4 million home. This is what liberal tears are all about. You people have sold a lot of freaking mugs.

[Michael Knowles]

This is what liberalism's all about. I've said this for years, and I love to say, I told you so. All of liberalism boils down to screw you, dad. And the fact that this girl, this girl, she's like 37 years old, this woman who's in political office is now being asked by members of the media. I thought we liked transparency. I thought we liked gas. Just being asked about this irony here that her parents are the exact kind of people that she is arguing viciously to dispossess. She's asked and she starts to cry. Yeah, it's all about it, man. These are really emotionally and intellectually unregulated people. They have very serious problems. And the euphemisms somehow make it even more annoying. Like that line you heard her say. She goes, we're gonna change your relationship with property. Just like I'm gonna. To like you're. Hey, what's your relationship with that shirt? It's mine now. Give me that. I do have relationship is, you don't have it.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I do have to make a little point. It's not fair because he's not here. But Ben Shapiro is always saying, if people can't make it where they live, they should move. This is. They did that. Okay? This is what happens this girl comes from Tennessee. Okay. She was like a wealthy, over educated elite in Tennessee, couldn't make it there and moved here. Like that Is everybody who like best Ben's theory of the case, they did that. They moved to cities and they vote for Mamdani. It's not a good prescription.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, I would say, you know, having done it myself actually with Ben that we went to, we went to different places because I went to Nashville, where this lady's from, and he went to the promised land of Boca Raton, Florida. So look, I did it and I abandoned Dave. And it was. It's a whole thing. However, I think basically Ben is right. Like he's 10% right in that. Like we all do. And sometimes you need a tactical retreat. But 90% of what I want to see is no, you dig into your community and keep the mom. Donnie's out, man. If people didn't move so much, we wouldn't have Mamdani. He'd still be in Uganda.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Yeah, because of course the data shows that he lost with native New Yorkers. And what. And the less time you lived in New York, the more likely you were to vote for mom Donnie. Ben Shapiro.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, I won't bludgeon my audience with the whole story, cuz they've heard it every time Knowles comes on. But the night before, the Daily Wire announced that they were leaving to move to Tennessee. Knowles and his wife were at our house. We have a great dinner and him and I are like, we're gonna fight for Cali. We're never leaving. We're gonna take out Newsom, blah, blah, blah. And then he leaves. And I wake up the next morning, Daily Wire leaves. Noel's outta here, like.

[Michael Knowles]

And I'll never forget the next morning I walk in, DW says, hey, we think we're gonna move. What do you think about? And then there was just a Michael shaped hole in the way. Boom. See ya. Here we go, Tennessee.

[Dave Rubin]

I wanna finish up with one other thing with you guys because we're all, we are creatures of the Internet, we're creatures of the online space. And part of what has happened is we all must criticize and critique each other all the time. And Megyn Kelly, who seems to be, I would say, wavering from the steady Megyn Kelly that we once all knew. She Jo Tucker this week. And they talked a bit about Candace. I'm ready to barf. Where's my barf bucket play.

[CNN Reporter]

And then came Candace Owens. And that she really drives people crazy. She drives them crazy. They were very angry, but I didn't call her out for what she said about Israel possibly being involved with Charlie Kirk. Well, I didn't call her out because I was totally fine with those questions being raised and still am. Like, I'm sorry, but I am. I'm sick of this bull. I am allowed to have questions about what, if anyone, aligned with Israel or from Israel might have had to do with Charlie's death.

[Dave Rubin]

Well, first off, Knowles, I'll go to you first on this. I mean, not only is there no evidence of it, I don't think most people were criticizing her about Candace's positions on Israel. I think most people were criticizing her for going after Erica Kirk and Turning Point usa. So you're welcome to comment on that. And then I'd love to just hear your thoughts on just sort of the general state of some of what's going on on the the right ecosystem right now.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, I'll take it in reverse order because I gave a speech about this at Turning Point, actually, and I was slotted in between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson, which is kind of like being in between India and Pakistan. You know, it's really Indian Kashmir. You make a good point. So I find the fighting on the right to be interesting in that it's not not really about actual policies most of the time. It's certainly not about candidates. Basically everyone supports Trump. Basically everyone thinks JD Is going to be the nominee next time. And so weirdly, we all kind of agree on that. It's all within the chattering class. And I think there can be perfectly principled moral reasons for that. But there's an incentive to it also, which is that for politicians, they have to get policies done and win elections. For the chattering class, we get clicks and views and it's good for clicks and views. And that's kind of how the interview networks. So I have made a very conscious effort to avoid doing that and the same thing specifically when it comes to Candace. I am the godfather to Candace Owens daughter. I am probably the last person on the Internet who is not inveighed against or white knighted for everything that Candace has ever said. For my political views and because of my sacramental role, I try not to do that. But can't one simply say, yeah, look, I think Erica Kirk is a wonderful woman. I think she's done a great job running tpsa. I think they're all heroic people. I don't really entertain lots of conspiracy theories. Some people entertain conspiracy theories because we got lied to by public officials like five years ago. So I kind of get it. But can't we just say, hey, guys. Chattering class, enough. Knock it off. Keep your mouth shut. Let's keep our eyes on the prize and win the midterms and win 28am I. Am I the last man in America who wants to do that?

[Dave Rubin]

No, because you're on this show and that's what I've been trying to do every day. I try to stay above the fight. I sometimes fail at that, for sure. And to your point, like, you know, we end up becoming friends with these people or your God father to her, with Candace's son, it's like it becomes very, very complex. Batya, you're new in this strange pond of lunacy. What do you make of all of this?

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

I know I feel a little bit like the Lorax. Like I speak for the swing voters who really love the mag movement and got you guys in power. Like, I wouldn't be so sure. J.D. vance is a done deal, nor should you want him as a candidate. I don't think he's electable. So I, you know, from what I can see right now, talking to working class people who love to Trump all the time, I just don't feel that he is, he can win a general election. So I, you know, I, when you say we're all on the same page about that, I'm not, but I may not be in the club. You know, people are like, yeah, she joined the movement five minutes ago. Who cares?

[Michael Knowles]

You're new. You're new to the team.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

Exactly. And if, if that, and that's a totally fair thing.

[Dave Rubin]

No, still isn't sure about me. So what are you going to do?

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, it's been like a decade with Dave now.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

On the Megyn Kelly front. I love Megyn Kelly. She's been very, very good to me. And, and I just very much disagree with where she's landed on this issue. And I think a lot of us feel a little bit gaslit. Just it's obviously not about Israel. Even the problems with Tucker started with when he had the first Holocaust denier on and then the second Holocaust denier. So it's just not about Israel at all. And when people try to pretend that it is, like, that does not feel good. But I think Megyn Kelly was a very good friend to the Jews at a time when we really needed one. And I'm just never gonna forget that she did that and everything she's done for me personally. So it's, you know, hopefully everybody will move past this. I think that this is all Just online drama. I just think there's a huge divide between conservatives and content creators. And you see this again and again and again. You know, the content creators were against The Venezuela thing, 99% of Republicans loved it. The content creators were against The Iran thing, 87% of Republicans loved it. You know, the content creators are turning on Israel. You know, 90% of Republicans, 85% of Republicans still support Israel. So it's just, to me, me, it's just so divorced. And you're seeing on the right the exact thing that destroyed the left, a bunch of very loud people who are in the elites, in this case, who make a lot of money off of content, are getting money because the Internet is global and they've totally lost sight of who the American working class is. Who is the Republican base now? It's just a very different party now. And I would really urge people who wanna see Republicans win to take that into consideration and to remember that and to keep their, you know, one foot in the ground, in that ground. Because the majority of this engagement is not American, it's global. And you can see that from the tenor it's taking. It's just so alien to how Americans sound. Even, even the people who listen to Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson are by and large pro Israel. Like it goes in one ear and out the other. They're listening to it for entertainment or for legacy. I think in Tucker's case, they're not convinced by anything they hear and they don't agree with it. They think it's a good show and a good time and, and, and the.

[Dave Rubin]

Algorithmic trip tricks and just a generation that's grown up on trolling. It's very hard to figure out, you know, where the touch points are between the digital world and the real world. Bhatia, I would like to say you can come back. Knowles, it's been nice knowing you.

[Michael Knowles]

He is on shaky ground. That's fair. I had good, a good run.

[Dave Rubin]

It's fine guys. Have a great weekend. It's Friday, so no post game show. We'll see everybody on Monday. Thanks for watching.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon]

God bless.