Swalwell Victim Reveals Dark Details of Assault & His Swalwell's Response Backfires

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Rubin Report

Host: Dave Rubin
Episode: Swalwell Victim Reveals Dark Details of Assault & His Swalwell's Response Backfires
Aired: April 13, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Dave Rubin delves into three major topics shaping the week’s news:

1. The Eric Swalwell Scandal: Explosive allegations against Congressman Eric Swalwell, including sexual assault, infidelity, and the rapid fallout within Democratic circles.
2. Middle East Crisis: Breakdown of failed US-Iran peace talks, the just-announced American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump’s evolving strategy towards Iran and China.
3. The Shift in Western Politics: Hungary’s dramatic election upset, liberal infighting in conservative media circles, and the troubling direction of American youth and socialist politics.

Rubin maintains his classic sardonic, unfiltered tone, blending news, analysis, and pointed criticism of hypocrisy in political and media narratives.

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Section 1: The Eric Swalwell Scandal

Key Discussion Points

• Allegations Surface:
  • Former staffer accuses Swalwell of rape and likely drugging ([05:33])
  • CNN interview clip: “I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off … I said no.”
• Swalwell’s Response:
  • Public video denial, insists claims are “categorically false” but admits to “mistakes in judgment” with his wife ([07:20]).
  • Criticized by Rubin for framing this as an election-eve smear (election itself is months away).
• Pattern of Behavior:
  • Years of rumors regarding affairs, including with a Chinese spy (which Rubin reminds, with emphasis: “F A C T. The fact that he had sex with a Chinese spy…” [04:18]).
  • Compilation of Swalwell’s public virtue signaling about sexual assault contrasted with current allegations ([09:27]).
• Swalwell Drops Out:
  • Announces suspension of his gubernatorial campaign amid mounting accusations: “If you did nothing, you would not step down, period.” ([11:28]).
  • His past tweets supporting “100% believe survivors” doctrine come back to bite.
• Democratic Fallout:
  • Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, and Katie Porter quickly withdraw endorsements ([10:19]); Rubin highlights the speed of abandonment as evidence “they’ve all known that something has been rotten in Stink Town with this guy for a long time.”
  • Schiff: “I have read the San Francisco Chronicle’s account and I am deeply distressed by its allegations. … I am withdrawing my endorsement immediately.” ([10:19])
• Swalwell’s Lawyer on CNN:
  • Dodges direct questions about illegality: “The congressman takes accountability for potential lapses in judgment, but again, categorically denies any wrongdoing.” ([15:51])
  • Rubin: “It’s probably in your situation, better to not have your lawyer go up there.”

Notable Quotes

• "Once you peel back that thin veneer, you usually find something pretty nasty underneath." – Dave Rubin ([08:01])
• “If you did nothing, you would not step down, period.” – Dave Rubin ([11:28])

Timestamps for Reference

• Alleged victim recounts assault: [05:33]
• Swalwell public denial: [07:20]
• Compilation of Swalwell’s virtue signaling: [09:27]
• Rubin commentary on political hypocrisy: [11:28]
• Political fallout: [10:19], [12:20]
• Swalwell’s lawyer on CNN: [15:46-16:03]

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Section 2: Middle East, Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz

Key Discussion Points

• Peace Talks Collapse:

  • Failed US-Iran negotiations in Pakistan; American delegation led by JD Vance and Jared Kushner ([17:32-22:57]).
  • Trust issues remain on guarantees that Iran will not pursue a nuclear weapon.
  • “We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon…” – JD Vance ([22:57])

• US Blockade of Hormuz Announced:

  • Trump declares immediate American naval blockade of the Strait.
  • Trump’s statement: “Any Iranian who fires at us or a peaceful vessel will be blown to hell.” ([27:42])
  • Blockade as leverage against Iran and, by extension, China (which gets 80-90% of its Iranian oil via Hormuz).

• Geopolitical Implications:

  • US controlling the strait is a strategic play to squeeze both Iran and China, redirecting oil flows and boosting American exports ([35:05]).
  • Venezuelan oil also part of the big picture.

• Iran’s Response:

  • Shortly after blockade begins, Iran signals willingness to return to negotiations, even potentially ending uranium enrichment ([38:43]).

• Media & Narrative:

  • Rubin criticizes mainstream media for downplaying US successes and mischaracterizing the operation as a failure ([25:48-26:36]).
  • Cites Bill Maher/Douglas Murray exchange: Maher says “it didn’t work,” Murray argues it’s “an amazingly strategic success” ([25:48]).

Notable Quotes

• “Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, Their anti aircraft is gone. The radar is useless. … The blockade will begin shortly.” – Donald Trump ([27:42])
• “If we now control the Strait of Hormuz via blockade, Iran itself can’t get that money for all that exported oil. … China will become more dependent on us instead of Iran.” – Dave Rubin ([35:05])

Timestamps for Reference

• Kushner/JD delegation in Pakistan: [17:32]
• JD Vance briefing: [22:57]
• Trump blockade announcement: [27:42], [34:28]
• Trump’s strategy with China & Venezuela: [35:05]
• Iran signals willingness to talk: [38:43]
• Media critique (Maher/Murray): [25:48-26:36]

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Section 3: Infighting in Conservative Media & The Narrative Wars

Key Discussion Points

• Conservative Influencer Split:
  • Trump launches a Truth Social rant attacking Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones for criticizing his Iran policy ([41:40]).
  • Tucker’s flip: 2012 he called for annihilating Iran; now critical of war, equates Trump with the Antichrist ([42:32-43:47]).
  • Megyn Kelly similarly reverses pro-Trump rhetoric ([45:22-47:07]).
  • Rubin’s take: Critique is fair, but “don’t be a five year old” and hyperbolic denouncements are counterproductive ([51:29]).
• Audience Reaction:
  • Polling shows GOP base overwhelmingly stays with Trump, Tucker’s popularity “in absolute freefall” with Republicans ([48:09]).
  • Shapiro: “The idea these folks are going to be able to undermine broad scale support for a war … is insane.” ([50:38])

Notable Quotes

• “What am I always interested in? I’m interested in narrative and optics more than anything else.” – Dave Rubin ([47:07])
• "Tucker’s drop of basically 50 points by Tucker shows you that the base ... completely supports Trump on Iran." – Harry Enten, CNN ([48:09])

Timestamps for Reference

• Trump’s influencer rant: [41:40]
• Tucker’s Iran flip-flop: [42:32]
• Megyn Kelly’s rhetoric reversal: [45:22]
• Shapiro on infighting: [50:38]
• CNN segment on Tucker’s popularity drop: [48:09]

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Section 4: Hungary’s Election & Western Civilization

Key Discussion Points

• Orban Defeated:
  • Viktor Orban loses after 16 years; pro-EU right-winger Peter Magar wins.
  • Orban’s legacy: Closed borders, no illegal migration (“0. Because we have a crystal clear system.” – Orban [57:28]), strong national sovereignty, defiance of EU migration quotas despite millions in annual financial penalties.
• Shift toward EU Integration:
  • Rubin predicts Hungary’s borders will open as a result, undermining the country’s safety and national identity.
  • Reaction from globalist figures: Alex Soros, Ursula von der Leyen celebrate Orban’s defeat ([57:55]).
  • Musk and Eva Vladingerbroeck raise alarm about Hungary’s fate ([57:56]).
• Bill Maher/Rubin on Western Civ:
  • Maher: “The civilization, civilizations are very different and ours is better … spend a week in a Muslim capital, you wouldn't last. Especially as a woman.” ([59:46])
  • Rubin: “If your number one issue is that Western civilization is better … You’ll need a guy like Orban … to defend that door.” ([59:55])

Notable Quotes

• “If you are for Western civilization, then sadly … conservatives have to come in and do it. Trump has to come in and do it.” – Dave Rubin ([60:28])
• “The people of Hungary have taken back their country.” – Alex Soros ([57:55])
• “Orban was the guy that was trying to stop foreign interference. He was making sure that Hungary was for Hungarians.” – Dave Rubin ([57:55])

Timestamps for Reference

• Orban’s zero migrant policy: [57:23]
• Soros and EU leadership celebrate Orban’s defeat: [57:55]
• Bill Maher/Rubin “Western civ” exchange: [59:46]

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Section 5: The American Left – Socialism and Youth Ignorance

Key Discussion Points

• NY’s New Socialist Mayor:
  • Zorn Zamboni’s 100th day speech: Openly touts socialism and trans activism ([62:30]).
• Campus Ignorance on Display:
  • Viral street interviews reveal astonishing lack of basic knowledge among American students on terrorism, Israel, the Middle East, and socialism ([64:16]).
  • Rubin: “They don’t know anything. And that is a problem. … Do you think America will be better or worse in 10 years?” ([65:45])

Notable Quotes

• “You have students at NYU and some of these other places. They think America's worse than Iran. They've got everything backwards.” – Dave Rubin ([65:03])
• “We will not be ashamed of using government to fight for the many, not simply the few. … or standing steadfast alongside our trans neighbors.” – Zorhan Zamboni, NY Mayor ([62:38])

Timestamps for Reference

• Zamboni’s socialist speech: [62:30]
• Student ignorance montage: [64:16]

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Section 6: Hopeful Ending – Artemis II & American Innovation

Key Discussion Points

• Artemis II Success:
  • US lunar mission returns safely; NASA astronaut Victor Glover expresses gratitude ([68:31]).
  • Rubin notes the blending of science and faith: “That’s a man of science and he’s thanking God. … Maybe we can keep aiming towards the stars.”
• Final Message:
  • Despite the chaos, America still achieves greatness; Rubin encourages optimism for the future ([68:59]).

Notable Quotes

• “We did it again. … We just went around [the moon]... But eventually we will start putting people on there again.” – Dave Rubin ([67:40])
• Glover: “I want to thank God again. Because even bigger than my challenge, trying to describe what we went through … it’s too big to just be in one body, man.” ([68:31])

Timestamps for Reference

• Artemis II crew celebration: [67:21]
• Victor Glover’s gratitude: [68:31]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• [05:33] Alleged victim: “I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off … I said no.”
• [07:20] Swalwell: “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false … and to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”
• [09:27] Swalwell (past quote): “Victims deserve justice. … You don't have to be a father of a little girl to care about the women who were exploited in this case.”
• [22:57] JD Vance: “We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon…”
• [27:42] Donald Trump: “Any Iranian who fires at us or a peaceful vessel will be blown to hell.”
• [35:05] Dave Rubin: “China can send their ships to us, China can send their ships to Venezuela. … do you think maybe there was a plan here, guys?”
• [51:29] Dave Rubin: “Don’t be a five year old.”
• [62:38] Zorhan Zamboni: “We will not be ashamed of using government to fight for the many, not simply the few. … standing steadfast alongside our trans neighbors.”
• [68:31] Victor Glover: “I want to thank God again. … it’s too big to just be in one body, man.”

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Conclusion

Rubin’s episode provides a whirlwind tour of the week’s political chaos, shining a glaring spotlight on media hypocrisy, institutional double standards, and the tectonic shifts remapping global order and American culture. With his trademark blend of cynicism, humor, and alarm, Rubin insists that beneath the political noise, American ingenuity and ordinary citizens remain the country’s true sources of hope.

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Timestamps

For quick reference to segment starts:

• Swalwell Scandal: [04:18]
• Iran Blockade: [17:32], [27:42]
• Conservative Infighting: [41:40]
• Hungary/EU: [57:23]
• NY Socialism/Youth: [62:30]
• Artemis II & Hopeful Close: [67:21]

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Transcript

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[Dave Rubin]

Previously on the Rubin Report.

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA.

[Eric Swalwell]

I thought she was giving away a password.

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

They were tested and they failed.

[Dave Rubin]

Oh my God. NATO. We love NATO. We love NATO. He went from being Biden's handler to being the Secretary of War. Or he, they mad. Or he she ma. All right everybody, how you doing? I'm Dave Rubin. This is the Reuben report. It is April 1st 13th, 2026. I know you've liked, subscribed and commented and guess what? You're gonna have more to like, more to subscribe to and more to comment on because as of this morning, every weekday. That's right, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday And Friday at 5:45am Eastern Time, we are offering you a first look at the news. It's a 10 minute audio only podcast. It's going to all your feeds. So whether you're watching right now on rumble locals, YouTube, if you're listening on Spotify or someone name another platform. MySpace, are we Apple Podcasts, et cetera, et cetera. It's just me giving you just like a low key, calm version of what's to come today. 10 minutes, it's all you need. So if you're just in the lunch conversation with the colleagues and you need to know a little bit about what's going on. Here's just a quick 15 second bite. Good morning, Everybody. It's Monday, April 13, 2026. I'm your host, Dave Rubin, and this is First. Look, it's calm, the vibe is right, and it'll just give you a little something to hopefully start your day with a little information and not be hysterical or apoplectic or psychotic or mental, et cetera, et cetera. Today's show, I gotta tell you guys, like, it's a Monday. You never know what happens on the weekend. A lot, a lot happened this weekend. First off, Swalwell is out in terms of whether he will be governor of California or not. Massive scandal finally broke. For years. Has anyone been sitting at this desk for years screaming that he banged the Chinese spy? And that's not even why he's stepping away. We'll get to that. The Iran peace talks in Pakistan, which was a weird place to hold them and a strange nation to be mediating all this, collapsed quite horrifically then. The Strait of Hormuz is now under American blockade. We'll get to that. Hungary had an election which obviously we've talked quite a bit about over the last month, because I spent a few days in Hungary and I've been there three times over the last three years. And Viktor Orban, who did everything possible to keep his country sovereign and keep his borders closed and quite literally not allow one illegal immigrant in, he lost. And we'll have a little bit more on who won. And the difference is, I just have a bad feeling for Hungary, unfortunately. And then we'll end Zorn. He celebrated, quote, unquote, his hundredth day in office. So we've got a lot to get to. Let's dive right in. First off, Eric Swalw, who, as I described last week, you know, I started just saying he's just a meathead. Like, he doesn't seem particularly bright. He's obviously not honest. I didn't think anyone really liked him. I guess he kind of looks okay or something like, I don't know what the appeal was to this guy, but he's been. He ran for president, let's not forget, that was in one debate, polled at zero, went out now, has been running for governor in California. And Cali is just so wacky. I mean, I think there's a chance that they could have elected the guy. Who the hell knows? But over the last couple years, there's been all sorts of Rumors about who he's been having sex with while he is married. The fact F A C T. The fact that he had sex with a Chinese spy who also helped staff people in his own office. And now it turns out that a former staffer is alleging that he raped her. Here is a bit from cnn.

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

I decided to ask him to meet me for a drink. After that bar closed, we went to another. I went to the bathroom, and I don't remember anything after that. You don't remember anything? I remember the next day, I can see flashes of that evening of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me. It was a lot more aggressive. It was aggressive. Did you say no? Yes, I said no. I said I. In my flash that I can recall, I was pushing him off of me, saying no. And what did he do? He didn't stop. He didn't stop.

[Dave Rubin]

All right, so there's a lot here. Now, remember, allegations are just allegations, and you do need proof. And we will see subsequently what comes of all of this. But there's a lot of other staffers that now are mentioning stories that have been rumored for years. Again, he did have sex with a Chinese spy. If what that woman said right there is true, it sounds like he probably drugged her, too. So not just potentially raped her, but then also drugged her. And then this video is only 6 seconds. If you got kids in the room, you may just want to skip over for the next eight or nine seconds, give it a little buffer. But here he is kissing an alleged sex worker, and there's several people in the room. Okay, it's a little early for this. He's also been married for nine years, so there's also the element that he is cheating on his wife. Here he is responding to some, not all, because there's so many to some of these sexual assault allegations.

[Eric Swalwell]

A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations. And I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have. They also come on the eve of an election where I have been the frontrunner candidate for governor in California. I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.

[Dave Rubin]

Something about what appears to be him in a hotel room doesn't really help with the imagery there. Also, when he's talking about the eve of an election, the election is in November, so he's trying to make it seem like he's the victim here. It's the night before the election. They're suddenly throwing the kitchen sink. No, where are we? We're in April. We're not in November. So I don't know what he means by that. Again, there's. Beyond the girl that you just saw on cnn, there's a whole bunch of other staffers that are now kind of leaking things out and what a lot of people are saying online. And obviously, the story isn't gonna go anywhere, so we'll cover it over the next couple weeks, I suppose. Although I'm gonna now jump to the good part. He is dropping out, so maybe the story will go away quickly. People have kind of known about this. Like, that's what everyone's saying. Everyone kind of knew he was a scumbag and a dirtbag. And as I was calling it, just a meathead. Just a meathead. And what is it about these people? Also, you know, one of the things that we always talk about about these lefties, it's. It's always virtue signaling with them, right? They're always telling you how great they are and how awful everybody else is. And then, as I always say, once you peel back that thin veneer, you usually find something pretty nasty underneath. And he may be one of the. I would say, the best example. But no, there's so many of. One of the best examples of that. So here's a little compilation of Eric Swalwell, virtue signaling about sexual assault. Oh, and going after Brett Kavanaugh, who there was absolutely no evidence had ever done anything.

[Eric Swalwell]

The consequences for everyone else, like women in their bodies, kids in their safety at school, you know, seniors in their health care. Like, to him, it's just. It's me, me, me. This person committed these horrific acts, or he is the single unluckiest person in the world for these people to conspire and make up lies against him. But the claims are serious. The witness yesterday was credible. And it is something that falls within the purview of what law enforcement can do and should do. And so I think they should let law enforcement do their job. You don't have to be a father of a little girl to care about the women who were exploited in this case. It's not about red team versus blue team. This is about sexual assault. Victims deserve justice. Chris, so far, the evidence is uncontradicted. That the president used taxpayer dollars to ask the Ukrainians to help him cheat an election.

[Dave Rubin]

All right, we. We threw the fart in there. Like, did you not see that coming? Guys, have you been watching the show for a while? The fart was going to get in there, but you can see it's just virtue signaling. He is apparently guilty of all of the things he was always accusing Donald Trump and Republicans of. But to the backdrop of hearing what that girl said about being drugged and raped by him and saying no. And there he is talking about protecting other people's daughters and kids. And also he's talking about protecting kids. Meanwhile, he's all for the trans stuff and everything else. Meanwhile, most of the story, I mean, it's been leaking, leaking, leaking. But it finally really broke in the San Francisco Chronicle over the last couple days, and now the Dems are. They're all jumping ship off. This guy here is Adam Schiff, who is. Who is not a good guy in any way whatsoever, is one of the leading liars about Donald Trump and the leading pushers of impeachment and everything else. I mean, this guy Schiff is an awful, awful human being, but he found someone that he can tell you is more awful than him, apparently. I have read the San Francisco Chronicles account and I am deeply distressed by its allegations. This woman was brave to come forward, and we should take her story seriously. I'm withdrawing my endorsement immediately and believe that she, he should withdraw from the race. So we're gonna read a couple more of these, and they're all from terrible, progressive, awful, hypocrites. But isn't this interesting right now? They're just allegations, right? And it does seem like there's a lot. And it seems like a dam is breaking here, but look how quickly they are throwing this guy under the bus. And that is what would lead you to believe that they've all known that something has been rotten in Stink Town with this guy for a long time. Here is Ted Lieu, who one of his main financial backers turned out to be a meth head who killed a couple black guys doing meth in West Hollywood. You can Google that yourself. But here's Ted. In light of the recent allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell, I'm withdrawing my endorsement for his campaign for governor. But, guys, why? I mean, at the end of the day, it's just an allegation. So why, if you think this guy is so great and you were just about to have him be the guy that was going to run Cali, what is it? The sixth Largest economy in the world, et cetera, et cetera. Why would you all be jumping ship unless you really did know that something was going on? Here is Katie Porter. In light of the allegations of sexual assault, Eric Swalwell should resign from Congress and end his campaign for public office. But those decisions do not absolve him of taking responsibility for his misconduct, especially when he has attempted to silence and retaliate against these victims. These allegations merit full investigations, and these women deserve the right to pursue justice. Too often, men escape any consequence for sexual misconduct by stepping out of power. That is a first and necessary step towards justice because it limits the ability for further harm. I stand with these women as they seek justice. Again, this is interesting. It's not interesting that he did this. It's not like I don't think anyone is watching this, but please tell me if you are. Is anyone watching this going, my God, I really thought he was a great guy. I am sure, sure, bang the Chinese spy. But otherwise, I really thought he was pretty stand up dude. No, nobody's surprised by any of this. But when you watch them jump ship like this on allegations, because allegations are just allegations. Anyone can allege anything about anybody. And if you're just ready to throw your friends and your colleagues under the bus because of an allegation, well, congratulations. It's gonna happen to you one day. Of course, Eric Swalwell, in some sense, does deserve all of this. Look at this tweet from him back in 2018 at the height of we've got to believe all the women 100% believesurvivor. So, okay, 100%. You know what's funny? I don't think you have to believe everybody 100%. I think you should be somewhat skeptical. You should ask for evidence, you should try to find a pattern of behavior, et cetera, et cetera. But you guys, when you thought it was a crudgel really to get Donald Trump and those mean Republicans, it was believe every woman, no matter what. And sometimes believe a man who thinks he's a woman. Well, where has this all led us? Last night, Eric Swalwell, I am suspending my campaign for governor. To my family, staff, friends and supporters, I am deeply sorry for the mistakes and judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious false allegations that have been made, but that's my fight, not a campaign's. And that's just such a wishy washy nothing statement. If you did nothing, you would not step down, like, period. So you've obviously done something here. You know, More is going to come. And, you know, it's an interesting. I don't know, like, we should have a psychiatrist come on to talk about this. It's an interesting psychological condition. I mean, imagine if you're Eric Swalwell or one of these guys. And let's. Who knows what he. Let's take that girl's word for it for a second. So maybe there was some drugs and forced himself on her, and now we're hearing some other things. And he banged the Chinese spy. Let's just say all of that's like, ballpark. There's something there, right? That's it. Not even saying all of it, but just something there. What made you think that this. You were gonna get away with it? And I would have got away with it if it wasn't for Scooby Doo and you kids or. What was the line from Scooby Doo if it wasn't for you, you darn. What did he say? You darn, you meddling kids. Right? Like, that's literally what he thought. Like, did you not think that you're running for governor, that this stuff is going to come out there? He didn't want to go on TV yesterday. However, he did send his lawyer to Alex Michelson's show on cnn. Roll the tape. Is he saying that he cheated on his wife but didn't do anything illegal?

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

I'm not going to get into the details of that. Our investigation is ongoing.

[Dave Rubin]

A lot of it is privileged. But I can tell you, based on the video that you just played, the

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

congressman takes accountability for potential lapses in judgment, but again, categorically denies any wrongdoing.

[Dave Rubin]

Right? So, you know, I gotta tell you, dude, it's probably in your situation, better to not have your lawyer go up there. He denies any wrongdoing. Like, okay, if he didn't do any wrong, well, then he wouldn't have stepped down. Like, politics is a nasty game. People say horrible, horrible things about everybody. In some sense. People always think it's worse now than it's ever been. But if you go back and listen to what the founders and first few, the first decade or two of America, what quite literally our founders used to say about each other and what Thomas Jefferson would say about this guy and this guy about, like, he's got syphilis. And this one, which I'm gonna guess Swalwell probably had syphilis at some point, too. That's total conjecture. Don't sue me. I know his lawyer is itchy to change the topic, but I thought this was an interesting this is a little bit of a jump, but I want to show you this clip from my friend Adam Carolla, sitting with my other friend, Dr. Drew. And they're talking about what's wrong with the left. And you'll see how we connect this. Watch. Look, I know I'm biased here, but I don't know what the they've been right about in the last decade. They've been wrong. I mean, there's Russian collusion. I mean, the biggest. You know, the biggest stuff is sort of climate, transgender, whatever. Russian collusion, Covid, Hunter Biden's laptop, Joe Biden's health. I mean, what's that? Somewhere in that order. Yeah. What is it? What part of that have they been right about? Yeah. Of any of it.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, they're just.

[Dave Rubin]

They're just wrong about everything. Okay, so the reason I wanted to show you that there is. He's right. And right. I run off that list. I rattle that list off all the time. He mentions climate. So they've been wrong on climate. They have lied and lied and lied, and now virtually no one in America at a national level, even cares about it anymore because they lied. And AOC eight years ago said, we have 12 years to live, and she's just fine. And Barack Obama's got 35 acres in Martha's Vineyard on the water, and he's not too worried about it. Although his chef did die mysteriously in the water. But whatever. The trans stuff, the COVID stuff, the Hunter Biden, the Joe Biden, all that. Okay, fine. How's that connected to this? Well, remember when Brett Kavanaugh was trying to be confirmed as Supreme Court justice, and suddenly everybody on the left, the machine at the highest level, tried to destroy him, and there was no evidence that he did anything. Do you remember this headline from Time magazine Report details new Justice Brett Kavanaugh's sexual misconduct claims. Except none of them turned out to be true. And back then, and fortunately, I think a lot of us have learned about the media's lies, he got pretty damn close to withdrawing that nomination. Right. And there were all sorts of Republicans that were starting to jump ship. I remember it was around 2018, 19. I was on tour with Jordan Peterson and the amount of pressure that he was under because we were reading about it in Europe, and during our Q&As in Europe, everyone was asking if Brett Kavanaugh should step down because of the allegations in Europe, and it all turned out to be false. By every account. He's in an upstanding guy. And now you flash forward six. No, you flash forward eight years right into 2026. And Eric Swalwell, a guy who was telling you to believe all the women, well, now the women are coming out and saying that quite literally he drugged and raped them. So we shall see. All right, we got a lot to get to today. Let me talk about Pesti for just a second, guys. You ever see a bug in your house and instantly feel it? You spot one, then another, and now you're checking every corner before bed. And if you've got a partner, they're probably asking when you're going to fix it. That's why you need Pesti. It's a do it yourself pest control. That's easy and actually works. You get a kit with everything, a sprayer, mixing bag, gloves, pro grade pesticide, the same stuff the pros use. It's customized to your location, weather and bugs. So it's way better than store bought strays. No appointments, no strangers in your house. It handles over 100 bugs and it's kid and pet friendly when used as directed. Don't drink it. Plus there's 100% bug free guarantee or your money back. Bugs. Hate to see you coming with Pesti. Go to Pesti.com Rubin for an extra 10% off your order. That's P-E-S-T-I-E.com Rubin for an extra 10 percent off. Okay, so the Middle east, what's the deal with that place? Yes, we have a. We are in the midst of a, what you would say is the shakiest ceasefire probably ever. The fighting has subsided at the moment. And then we, the Americans, sent J.D. vance and Jared Kushner and a couple other people over to Pakistan. The Iranians sent their fourth tier people because we've taken out all, you know, a huge swath of their leadership to meet in Pakistan. I don't know how Pakistan, you know, Pakistan, I guess it's thought of as a little friendlier in that Pakistan's kind of sort of evil and with the jihadis and all the bad stuff, but they do play ball with America to some extent. They're kept in check by India. I guess Iran kind of likes them. So you needed to give somebody, you needed to give Iran a little something to come and show up and actually show up and think they weren't going to get killed or something like that. In any event, the peace talks did not go well. We've got some video here. This is Kushner meeting with President of Pakistan Shabazz Sharif. And there's JD and Everybody's shaking hands. And you can see there's. There's Witkoff, there's. Oh, Jared goes in for the hug. That guy's like, I don't want to hug at you. Okay, look at you. Look at you. And then, you know, they're all smiles, and then, okay, here they are hugging the Iranian delegation. And this seems a bit warmer. Let's say you can come back to me. This did remind me of something. When you see these cold hellos and then you see the warm hellos. This is John O'.

[Donald Trump]

Rourke.

[Ben Shapiro]

Nice to meet you.

[Eric Swalwell]

John.

[Dave Rubin]

Mr. Ian Roberts.

[Eric Swalwell]

Nice to meet you.

[Dave Rubin]

Peter Tensio. All right.

[Eric Swalwell]

Nice to meet you.

[Dave Rubin]

Jerome Smith.

[Eric Swalwell]

Come on, brother.

[Dave Rubin]

What's up, fam?

[Eric Swalwell]

You know this?

[Dave Rubin]

Keith Williamson.

[Eric Swalwell]

Nice to meet you.

[Dave Rubin]

Mary Woodbury.

[Eric Swalwell]

Nice to meet you.

[Dave Rubin]

Jay Martell.

[Eric Swalwell]

Nice to meet you, sir.

[Dave Rubin]

Tasha Robbins. Come on, come on, come on. Nice to meet you. All right. Oh, great. Bring it in, bring it in.

[Eric Swalwell]

Starting from the bottom. Now we're here.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, nice to meet you. That's funny. It's just funny. That was a Phoenix call this morning. Anyway, the peace talks did not go well. Now, remember, when the ceasefire was announced, we had 15 demands. They came back with 10. It was unclear how many of them even matched, but even if 10 out of the 10 matched, you still had five outstanding things. Then there was some confusion because of translation as to whether Lebanon was involved. The whole thing was a freaking mess. But I would argue that it is at least good that there is some level of talking around some of this. However, here is J.D. vance, who's, you know, he's the highest representative, obviously, for the Americans right now, saying that the regime, the Iranian regime stupidly walked away, and this is going to change the equation.

[J.D. Vance]

The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America. So. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on. And we've made that as clear as we possibly could. And they have chosen not to accept our terms. I won't go into all the details because I don't want to negotiate in public after we negotiated for 21 hours in private. But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative, affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.

[Dave Rubin]

All right, so the interesting part of this is the last line right there that he's basically saying, I don't want to tell you everything. The main issue is still the nuclear issue. And they won't even come to the table and say, we just won't get a nuke. Like, think about it. They've been. Their navy is underwater, their air force is gone. They lost completely complete control of their country. The amount of destruction is incredible. On top of the fact that so many of the leaders are gone and all of this stuff, you would think that they would come to the negotiations and be like, okay, Americans, what do you need? Like, we'll give up the nuke. This thing isn't really working. And they won't even do that. So putting aside the 10 or 15 other bullet points and what are you gonna, you know, are you gonna try to rebuild your ballistic missile program? Are you still gonna fund terror throughout the world? Blah, blah, blah. But there is something else interesting happening which is a pure. You guys know I like narrative stuff, right? So you can always talk about all the granular stuff, but what is the narrative? And sometimes narrative and reality often don't match each other, right? So the reality of the situation, I think you can say empirically, is this war has been an extraordinary success, right? In 30 something days, we demolished the entire leadership of the country, the military, all of the stuff. Now, they didn't come crawling to us and begging for a deal. So I think you have to acknowledge both of those things. But in terms of a military success, we did lose 14 servicemen. And that is horrific and awful, and we should all think about that for sure. But in terms of a military success, it has been a smashing military success. However, the narrative from certain people is that somehow this hasn't been a. And I would say, well, ask the ayatollah if it was a success. Ask Ayatollah, too. Ask the entire Supreme Council. Ask the entire military's option. Oh, you can't ask any of them because they're all gone. So interestingly, on Friday night on Real Time with Bill Maher, they had my friend Douglas Murray on and Marr, who, you know, I'm dragging, I'm dragging, I'm dragging. Here he is talking about how the operation wasn't a success. And Douglas pushes back,

[Bill Maher]

We did it and it didn't work. Now what, do we cut and run or do we stay the course? I hope Donald Trump is the abandoner he's always been.

[Douglas Murray]

I disagree, because I think once started, you have to finish this. I don't agree that it's failed. It's been an incredibly successful operation in lots of ways. Supreme leader dead. Iranian air force destroyed. Nuclear sites attacked again. The navy of the Iranian revolutionary government at the bottom of the ocean. These are not small things. It's not the case that the Iranian revolutionary government has come out of this. Well, I know some people are wanting to say that after four, six weeks of war, this is some kind of loss for America. It isn't. It's been an amazing strategic success. But everyone wants to know what the Out.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, that's what the mature answer is. Militarily, this has been a huge, huge success. Now, if you go back, I welcome you to do it. If you have a little extra time this afternoon, go back to the first few days of the war. And what was I saying on the show? The military part wasn't going to be the complex part. Right. I think people maybe thought they were going to push back a little harder than they did. And it's somewhat shocking, I suppose, that they attacked 13 countries and that they were using cluster munitions over Israel. There was some stuff there. But the military part, we basically knew we were gonna blow them apart. We did it. And to get rid of all, you know, the ayatollah that quickly and everybody else, that was super impressive. Eliminate so much so quickly. That was impressive. The real issue here always was, would the people of Iran then stand up against the regime? That has yet to happen now, maybe it will happen in the future, who knows? But to say what Maher says was, it didn't work. Is Iran closer or further from getting a bomb right now? Obviously further. Do they have that, what Marco Rubio referred to, that sort of nuclear umbrella, meaning do they have enough defenses so they could keep going for the nuke right now? Of course not. Their ballistic missile program been destroyed, the drone program has been destroyed, all those things. Doesn't mean they can't randomly shoot things. So to say it didn't work, I don't know exactly what that means. But we may be at a point right now where a negotiated settlement is not going to work and Donald Trump has a plan for it. Listen to this from Trump on truth. So there you have it. The meeting went well. Most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, nuclear, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, point we will reach an all being allowed to go in, all being allowed to go out basis. But Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying there may be a mine out there somewhere that nobody knows about but them. This is world extortion. And leaders of countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our navy to seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays in a legal toll. We'll have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid out in the straits. Any Iranian who fires at us or a peaceful vessel will be blown to hell. Iran knows better than anyone how to end this situation which has already devastated their country. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, Their anti aircraft is gone. The radar is useless. Khomeini and most of their leaders are dead, all because of their nuclear ambition. The blockade will begin shortly. Other countries will, will be involved with this blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this illegal act of extortion. They want money and more importantly, they want nuclear. Additionally, at an appropriate moment, we are fully locked and loaded and our military will finish up the little that is left of Iran. President Donald J. Trump. So, again, one of the reasons I didn't go crazy over the last five, six weeks, and a lot of people did, is that I know how Trump negotiates and he says things, he leads a little bit, sometimes says some crazy things, then comes in with something else. And you have to kind of understand that that's been his pattern for quite literally 40 years. So we went, remember, he had the crazy, we're gonna destroy the civil. A civilization might die tonight. He had that and he had the F word on Easter and everyone went bananas. And what did that do? It got Iran to the negotiations. He sends JD To Pakistan. They have the negotiations. It doesn't go well. Trump does not get what he wants. So now we are going to have a navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We are going to do it. We're going to control who's going in and out. And Iran won't be able to do anything about that. And they will have to decide. Boy, you know, if the Americans now control the Strait of Hormuz and that's where we send all of our oil out of, we're not going to get that revenue. So it's just another lever that he's pulling. This is not a bomb lever. This is an economic lever. Here's a bit more from the fake news media has lost total credibility. Not that they had any to begin with because of their massive Trump derangement syndrome, sometimes referred to as tds. They love saying that Iran is winning when in fact everyone knows they are losing and losing big. Their navy's gone, their air force is gone, Their anti aircraft apparatus is non existent, radar is dead. Their missile and drone factories have been largely obliterated along with missiles and drones themselves. And most importantly, their longtime leaders are no longer with them. Us, praise be to Allah. The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may bunk into one of their sea mines, which by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea. We are now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to countries all over the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and many others. Incredibly, they don't have the courage or will to do the work themselves. Very interestingly, however, empty or oil carrying ships from many nations are all heading to the United States of America to load up with oil. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President Donald Trump. Did you catch that, guys? Did you catch that? So we are going to clean up the strait and it could be a little bit messy. It sounds like there are mines there that could be a little bit messy, but we are going to control it. And guess what? 80 to 90% of Iran's oil exports, exports go to China. So the Strait of Hormuz being closed would not really affect the United States. It could affect global oil prices for sure. And we saw a bump in gas, no doubt about it. But in a weird way, us taking control of the Strait of Hormuz, If China gets 80 to 90% of their oil, that is a massive leverage that we now have have over China. That Iranian oil, that 80 to 90% of Iranian oil that goes to China, it's basically 13 to 14% of China's oil imports. We just checked that before the show. That's a huge percentage. We import essentially zero percent of oil from Iran. You understand that? Phoenix, you got to roll up for me. So here is Trump, last night, gets off the plane and as always, he just answers questions and answers, answers them off the cuff. And here he is talking about where the negotiations are and this impending blockade.

[1-800-Flowers Advertiser]

How long are you waiting for them to come back?

[Donald Trump]

Oh, I don't know. I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine. Their military is gone, their Missiles are largely depleted. The manufacturing capability for missiles and drones is largely defeated. You know, at 10:00 clock tomorrow, we have a blockade going into effect. That'll be 10 o' clock tomorrow. Other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil, and that will be very effective. But there are many boats heading toward our country to fill up with oil and then go and take it. So they're not going to go through the Hormuz Strait.

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[Dave Rubin]

Okay, so Trump promised and he delivered. As of 10:00am this morning, we just double checked it. The blockade has begun. And it is also true that now countries have are sending more oil tankers towards the United States to fill up because we have plenty of oil, because Trump decided to open that up again. Right. This has been a huge thing for many, many years. We also have access to Venezuelan oil, et cetera. And here's Trump with a bit more on whether Iran will eventually blink or not.

[Donald Trump]

That statement got them to the bargaining table and they haven't left. They haven't left the bargaining table. I predict they come back and they give us everything we want. And I told my people, I want everything. I don't want 90%. I don't want 95%. I told them I want everything. As far as China is concerned, China can send their ships to us, China can send their ships to Venezuela. We told them, buy from Venezuela. We have a lot of overcapacity, would sell them, and we'll probably sell it for even less money. I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China and we work together very well.

[Dave Rubin]

So do you get what's going on here? And again, you can go back and check. Five, six weeks ago, I kept saying, I think this has more to do with China than we think. But think about this. If we now control the Strait of Hormuz via blockade, Iran itself can't get that money for all that exported oil. That's one thing. China, that 13% of oil that they get there, they need to figure out where they can get it from, right? They're important. They're a massive, massive country. They have huge energy needs. And now Trump saying, you could get it from the us you could get it from Venezuela, which, oh, my God, how did we end up in partnership with Venezuela right before this whole Iran thing, do you think? Maybe there was a plan here, guys? And take a look at this. This is from Dean Gambardello, who's a crypto commentator on X. This is interesting. This is the Gulf of America packed with supertankers. Look at that image right there. Racing to load up on US Oil record exports. Global energy demand is shifting directly to the usa. Economic boom. Incoming paying attention. So this is interesting. Like, was there actually a plan here? Is it possible that Donald Trump, after all these years, really did have a plan and that's why we did Venezuela right before this. He went to the negotiating table, they didn't give him what he wants. And now there's a play on making quite literally China, who is our really the only sort of global competitor with us, that China will become more dependent on us instead of Iran. And wouldn't that be good? Do you think any of that is actually possible? Or is it just that Trump wakes up every morning and writes crazy things and has no idea what he's doing after all these years? Which do you think you let me know? Here is Cuban President Cuz the next main. The next thing Trump may move on. Trump may move on is Cuba. Here is Cuban President Diaz Canel on whether he's scared of what the US Might do. We're willing to give our lives for the revolution and for the cause that we defend. So for me, that is not a matter of concern. If the time comes, I don't think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba or for the US to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping of a president. If that happens, there will be fighting and there will be a struggle and we'll defend ourselves. And if we need to die, we'll die. Because as our national anthem says, dying for the homeland. That guy seems worried to me. That's a guy that's been crying himself to sleep. Now, we can have any discussion about whether the US should do any of these things or not, but Trump's got a pretty good track record. Went into Venezuela, got Maduro. None of our guys get killed. In and out two hours. And I think that that's what he is looking at right there. Byron Donalds, who is likely the next governor of California. No, likely the next governor of Florida. When Ron DeSantis is done with his second term, here he is asked by Kirsten Welker what Trump's position on Cuba is.

[Megyn Kelly]

Let me ask you, Congressman, would you in fact, support military action in Cuba if that were the way to lead to regime change?

[Eric Swalwell]

I'm not going to stand and step in front of what the President and any decisions that he or Secretary Ruby are going to make on this front. But I think it's important for everybody to listen to his words. He would rather continue to suppress the people of Cuba to the point where they have to ration food, to the point where political opposition is jailed, where there is no free press, no ability to communicate. And he believes that that's worth dying for. I think that says all that needs to be said.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah. And my guess is he's not gonna die, but my guess is he's gonna end up in handcuffs, kinda like Maduro. And by the way, that's a pretty mature answer right there by Byron. Basically saying, I'm not gonna contradict or jump in front of what Trump is doing. Like, give the guy a chance here. Interestingly, we're just getting this from Polymarket. Iran has just announced it's willing to continue. Continue discussions with the US Says the Iranian envoy. And Iran is reportedly weighing a proposal to end the conflict that would require abandoning uranium enrichment. So do you think, guys, once again, do you think, once again, Trump saying some things, we're taking our team out, we're done with the negotiations, we're going to have a blockade, and what happens? Once again, we get them to the table. So he is playing a game that he has consistently played for 40 years. I'm also being told right now that although JD did leave Pakistan, Kushner and Witkoff are now staying there. And clearly, I mean, the blockade started literally an hour and 40 minutes ago. And suddenly you have Iran saying, let's talk again. Because they're realizing, oh, if we can't export that oil, it's literally useless for us. We're gonna be sitting on a whole bunch of oil that we have no purpose for. So now I want to connect this to something that I've sort of begrudgingly been talking about a bit, and I'm trying not to focus on that much. But that's a little bit of the influencer wars on the right, because so many people who I think whether you agree with every Trump decision or not, whether you agree with this war or not, you should broadly still be supporting Trump, because again, even if you think the Iran war is A disaster, an utter disaster, which I think we've empirically showing you here. It isn't. But even if you thought that the thing that the Democrats are trying to usher in, say, communism, socialism, a little Islamism, et cetera, that is way worse. So you might want to temper some of your critique. We did cover this on our Thursday Tequila show. I read it live because it had just happened. But I want to recap for just a moment. Donald Trump went after a bunch of influencers on the right, and we've got some fallout from that. But first, the statement truth from Trump. I know I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but I know why. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think this is wonderful for Iran, the number one state sponsor of terror, to have a nuclear weapon, because they have one thing in common, low IQs. They're stupid people. They know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too. Look at their past, look at their record. They don't have what it takes, and they never did. Yada, yada, yada. He goes on and on and on. And clearly this was. Was his way of saying, hey, you guys, Tucker, you've been supporting me for years, even though Tucker said privately that he hated Trump. And Megan, you've been supporting me for years, even though she went after him in the early days, these were people in some sense, who came around to his position, who have been going at him in really the worst ways. So here's a couple videos here. This one I just saw this morning. Here's Tucker in 2012 talking about Iran. Take a look.

[Tucker Carlson]

Lone voice in saying this, I think Iran deserves to be annihilated. I think they're lunatics. I think they're evil.

[Dave Rubin]

Tucker, aren't we the only country allowed to make preemptive strikes? Who the hell does Iran think it is?

[Tucker Carlson]

Actually, I know you're sort of kidding, but I agree with that. I think we are the only.

[Dave Rubin]

No, I'm not kidding at all.

[Tucker Carlson]

We are. That's absolutely right. The only country with the moral authority sufficient to do that. The only country that doesn't seek hegemony in the world.

[Dave Rubin]

Isn't that interesting? So in 2012, Tucker thought we had moral authority. Like, that's like beginning of Barack Obama. And he thought that America had moral authority, and he thought the regime should die. And let's not forget, he told. He quite literally told Ted Cruz that if Iran was trying to assassinate Trump, which we know they were that we should nuke Tehran. So he's had a very strange shift here. This, I think, is pretty freaking damning. Take a look.

[Tucker Carlson]

When he stood up after being shot in the face, bloodied, and put his hand up, I thought at that moment, that was a transformation. This was no longer a man. Well, I think that. I think it was divine intervention, but the effect that it had on Donald Trump. He was no longer just a political party's nominee or a former president or a future president. This was the leader of a nation. There's been only one sustained effort to exterminate a faith, and that's the Christian faith. Could that be part of it? And is it possible that the president sees this not just in geostrategic terms, in military terms, in economic terms, got open in the strait? Okay. Is it possible the president sees this in bigger terms, sees this as the fulfillment of something or the elevation to some higher office beyond President of the United States? Because at every turn since the inauguration last January, there have been religious leaders on the scene telling us. Telling us out loud. Most of us ignored it because we're just so secular to sort of ignore it. We've ignored that this could actually be real. There's something going on.

[Dave Rubin]

All right, so did you catch what he's doing there? He's basically calling Trump the Antichrist now. So in less than two years, he went from saying it's divine intervention that Trump, Trump survived and became president, and then is basically saying he's the Antichrist. Also, this idea that Christianity is the most persecuted religion. You know, I can tell you, as a Jewish person who grew up around Holocaust survivors and knows the history of my people, and it's not that fun of a history. It's a very rich history that people should be very proud of to survive pogroms and holocausts and inquisitions and all of these things. But it's not like you want to run around being like. Like, we're the most persecuted. His desire to be persecuted is rather extraordinary. Right? Like, I'm pretty sure most Jews and certainly most Israelis would just be like, if you just leave us alone, everything will be fine. Like, just stop trying to kill us. That aside, so what? So what, Tucker, is what I would say to you. You have a difference of opinion on Trump on this Iran thing. Now, you used to be a hawk on Iran. You've completely flipped. Is it for Qatari money or whatever it is? I don't know. I don't know. Is your brain broken because of the nicotine? I don't know what's going on there. But the idea that he went from divine intervention to the Antichrist. What if Trump is just a man who you have a political disagreement with? Right. If tomorrow Trump says something that I really disagree with, do you think I'm going to tell you he's bought and sold out and compromised and the Antichrist and everything else? Or I'll be like, I just personally disagree with Trump on this one and I'm going to try to push him on that. But you guys created this character in your head and now you're upset that the character isn't behaving the way you wish it would. But of course, it's not just Tucker. Watch Megan flipping on Trump.

[Megyn Kelly]

Donald Trump, who when a reporter asked him at a presidential debate in 2015 about some of the language he used, responded by saying, what I say is what I say, and if you don't like it, too bad. That was more than just a quick combat. That was a reminder of what America is. In America, we have the right of free speech. We have the right to offend, to provoke, to annoy, and to stand up for what we believe in. Even if you find it controversial, we are reminded of that daily by President Trump, who would never bow to the woke mob. Now, as you can imagine, that post did not go over well with the Iranians or with many Americans. I mean, I don't know about you, but I am sick of this shit. I'm just. I'm. I'm sick of it. Can he just behave like a normal human? I mean, honestly, like the President? 3D. Yes. Shut up. Shut up about that. But he's gonna need all of you every step of the way. We're gonna have to be patient. We're gonna have to steal our spines. Do not bend. Never bow. What I say is what I say. Gotta. He's gotta say this. He can't be a dignified, strong leader. This is completely irresponsible and disgusting. This is wrong.

[Dave Rubin]

It's wrong.

[Megyn Kelly]

What I say is what I say. And if you don't like it.

[Dave Rubin]

All right, first off, I apologize for her choice language there. You know, we added that right before the show. It was literally a last second thing. And I'm really trying to avoid the cursing and all that, but you see the point there, that when the first speech that she's given there, it's right before the election and she's going on about how important it is that Donald Trump offends, provokes, annoys people, never apologizes. Now she's turned on him. And she's done it in the most cynical way because she's doing it purely for clicks. I don't think anyone really thinks Meghan's saying anything that she believes anymore. And she's upset that Donald Trump's saying that language, and she's just sick of it. Meanwhile, she'll curse and she'll be nasty and whatever. The reason I am showing you all of this is because what am I always interested in? I'm interested in narrative and optics more than anything else. And actually, if you look into reality over narrative, in this case, Trump is doing quite well, and Tucker and these other guys are not. Here is the dorkiest dork in Dorktown. It's Harry Entin over on CNN talking about Tucker's drop in favorability.

[Harry Enten]

Let's start off with Tucker Carlson, who has been an absolute freefall with Republicans. I mean, just take a look at this. Look at this trend line. Tucker Carlson's net favorable back in March of 2024 when he and Donald Trump were very close friends. Look at this. He was at plus 54 points. Look at where he is today at only plus 7 points among Republicans. And that includes GOP leaning independents. I mean, that is a drop of what, 47 percentage points? My goodness gracious. When you go up against Donald Trump and you want to appeal to the Republican base to quote the movie Good Burger, you go on the grinder. And that is exactly what has happened.

[Dave Rubin]

Man. If they reboot Revenge of the Nerds, get that guy like a leading role for sure. But the point there is a drop of basically 50 points by Tucker shows you that the base, which, to quote ENTEN Again from two weeks ago, basically, it's almost statistically impossible that 100% of MAGA completely supports Trump on Iran. Now, I keep saying it over and over. You can have your quote unquote principled libertarian position. You can say that Donald Trump never said all of the things he said about Iran for the last 40 years and all of those things, that would be fine to be nudging him, right? If Tucker and Megyn Kelly and Alex Jones, who's lost whatever has been left to his mind for a long time. If all these guys were just like, Mr. President, we're just not into this and we don't, you know, could you explain a little bit more? You said no forever wars and we're doing this and we're afraid of a forever war, there would be a way to calmly critique him about this. That would be sensible and would add a little something to what's going on here. But instead you've got Tucker basically calling him the Antichrist. Megan pretending she has no idea what his rhetoric has done, even though she was all about his rhetoric before. Just because they have a political disagreement. Alex Jones quite literally a week ago said he has dementia. Then when Trump did, does something he likes, tells you that he's back in business. It's all just brain numbing and stupid. And I have to say, as someone that was, I guess, an early pioneer in the online space, it's a little disappointing because I thought we were blazing a trail to something much better than mainstream media and so much isn't. I guess maybe I hold myself to a higher standard. I don't know. Here's Ben Shapiro on Fox News talking about how this infighting and this sort of seventh grade libertarian mindset is actually not that important to the Republican base and that basically everyone does support Trump.

[Megyn Kelly]

How big of an issue do you

[1-800-Flowers Advertiser]

take this to be for the Republican base?

[Ben Shapiro]

I don't think it's a major issue for the Republican base. I think the president is exactly right to call this out for what it is, which is people who have fringe audiences. They have large numbers, but fringe audiences in terms of the broader overall Republican audience, multiple polls have shown over the course of the last month and a half that the president has 80 to 90% support inside the Republican Party for his actions in Iran. There was a poll maybe two weeks ago that showed that the support for people like Tucker Carlson And Megyn Kelly versus the president is 6%. So I think that the idea that these folks are going to be able to undermine broad scale support for a war that will reach its terminus sometime in the next couple of months, I think that's insane. And the attempt to turn this into a referendum on the midterm elections, number one, ignores the fact there are a lot of other factors in a midterm election. And number two, we will go through about a thousand news cycles between now and November when the election actually takes place.

[Dave Rubin]

Yeah, that's a Ben Shapiro sort of classic facts. Don't care about your feelings. Right. He's just laying out some facts there. First off, the news cycle is going to change a million times. So for people that are like, I'm abandoning Trump and I'm never going to, I'm never going to vote for Trump again and I supported him and that's it. And I love Tucker and I love Megyn Kelly. It's like, okay, so you're telling me in the first week of November when the midterms come, you're gonna either vote for Democrats or not vote at all. You are gonna help usher in socialism and Islamism and communism and you're gonna destroy the Republican Party. You're gonna have Trump impeached. You're gonna basically end the American experiment. Because you're upset about this war. You can be upset about this war, right? That's just fine. But if, like, I don't. Don't be a five year old. How about that? Just don't be a five year old. And is it possible that Donald Trump just thinks different things than you do on certain issues and that's just okay? But again, you can noodle him and you can critique him and you can write a substack article about it and everything else. But the point is, if we lose Donald Trump, guess what? Guess what, guys? We get all of the things that he has reversed. I was going to say the R word. Well, yeah, in this case, I can say it without it being absurd. He retarded the onslaught of our borders and all those things. They will usher it all back in. And if you want an example of that, well, the Hungarian elections, which I know quite a bit about. We've been to Hungary three times in the last three years, including just a month ago. We were there for a few days and I got to spend some time with Viktor Orban. While he lost. He is no longer the prime minister of hungary. After a 16 year run where he closed his borders, fought the EU, they quite literally had no Islamic terrorist attacks. In 16 years. Not one illegal came through their borders. The people of Hungary apparently have decided to go in a different direction. Listen to this from Fox. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban conceded defeat Sunday in the country's parliamentary election, calling the result clear and painful as partial vote counts showed a decisive win for opposition leader Peter Magar. Magar said Orban phoned him to concede, according to a post on social media. With roughly 53% of the votes counted, projections showed Magar's Tisa party on track for a landslide victory that could give it two thirds of a parliamentary supermajority. The result could mark a dramatic political shift in Hungary, where Orban has led the country for more than a decade. Orban, who has led Hungary for 16 years, has drawn scrutiny from the European Union over his positions on migration, Russia's war against Ukraine and his government's policies, while maintaining strong support among many rural and older voters. His strained relationship with the EU stems in part from his stance on the Russian war against Ukraine. His firm support of Israel and his hardline position on migration, which has led to financial penalties from the bloc. Magar, meanwhile, framed the election as a turning point for the country's future, warning that Hungary's direction in recent years had drifted from its Western alliances. So it should be noted that Magar is not some crazy lefty in this case. In many ways, he's actually on the right. And some people were arguing he might even be a little further to the right than Orban on certain things. The issue is he wants to play ball with the European Union. Right. So that really is the problem that he likely by playing ball with if the European Union on things like immigration, most likely ends up opening their borders. Right. And Orban was the guy keeping their country, keeping their country safe and sovereign and everything else. And, yeah, I mean, well, here, you know what? Alex Soros. Alex Soros. The fact that this guy has anything to do with anything. The son, obviously, of George Soros. He. He wrote this. The people of Hungary have taken back their country. A resounding rejection of entrenched corruption and foreign interference. Just leave that up for a second. The people of Hungary have taken back their country. Well, they voted Orban in and voted Orban out, and he left. So what do you mean taken back? Some people voted him in, some people vote him out. So that's an interesting little linguistic trick. A resounding rejection of entrenched corruption and foreign interference. Orban was the guy that was trying to stop foreign interference. He was making sure that Hungary was for Hungarians. Elon Musk saw that tweet and he responded with this. Soros organization has taken over Hungary. Then the leader of the European Commission. And this woman is just absolutely awful. I mean, all the bad guys were excited yesterday. Ursula von de Leyen, great name for a bad guy, too. Europe's heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight. And what they mean by that is we are going to turn Hungary into what we've done with much of Western Europe. And how sad. I mean, we were all just two and a half weeks ago, we were in Budapest at night. It was so clean, it was so safe. And here I am. I did a talk at the Danube Institute, and that is Eva Vladingerbroeck, who is Dutch, but she has been one of the biggest, most outspoken supporters of what Hungary has done, because she doesn't like what has happened to Hungary, her country, the Netherlands. She put this up on Twitter about the election. The fact this woman talking about Ursula is celebrating tonight should tell you everything you need to know about the future of Hungary and the rest of Europe. And so what is it that Viktor Orban did? Look, I can't. Even though I've become quite knowledgeable about Hungarian life and politics and the people and the food and all those things, I will not pretend that I'm an expert. Expert in absolutely every bit of Hungarian politics. The main thing that this man did was stand against the EU and say we will be a sovereign nation. That is what he did. And they paid 1 million euros a day, 365 million euro penalty a year so that they could just remain in the EU while keeping their borders closed. It's absolutely crazy. Here's Orban talking about that on migration.

[O]

Just for clarification, in Hungary, the number of illegal migration is like that.

[Donald Trump]

0.

[J.D. Vance]

0.

[O]

Because we have a crystal clear system. If somebody would like to come to Hungary first, he should ask for that. If he gives the permission, they can step in. Nobody can step on the territory of Hungary without having a permission from the Hungarian authorities. This is the regulation. Simple.

[Donald Trump]

While we're.

[O]

What is the consequence of that? We are under sanctions, financial sanctions of European Union, because we don't let the illegal migrations to come to Hungary and to the European Union as well. So we have to pay, just to inform you, we have to pay every day 1 million euro as a punishment to the Brazilian budget because they stopped the migrants. This is the absurd world we are living now.

[Dave Rubin]

So think about the extortion racket, like quite literally a mafia racket. That's a nice country you got there. It would be a shame if something happens to it. And that's what they were pushing on this guy. So pay us so you can keep your country. And now we will see. And I suspect that this is not going to go well for Hungary. Again, I am not telling you that their new leader is some crazy leftist. He's not. He's largely on the right and agrees with Orban on a lot of things. But he wants to cozy up to the eu. And the only thing the EU really cares about is that countries will not have sovereign borders. So when they start flooding Hungary with immigrants, which likely they will do, because they'll want to make a statement. See, we have the power. Again, I feel bad for all of those people that we spent so much time with in Hungary. I want to jump back to real time with Bill Maher, because then they got into it with a bit about Orban and the Hungarian elections. And here again, I think sort of like Maher has had a little bit of a blind spot on saying that the war did not go well. Here he is a little bit confused in about Orban. Watch.

[Bill Maher]

Another thing JD Ban said is we will stand with you for Western civilization. Now he goes too far. Victor Orban, I think in some of his standing for Western civilization. But I think you and I both believe there is such a thing as Western civilization. Remember after 9, 11, if you said clash of civilizations, it was the beginning of sort of that wokeness where. Oh, don't say that. That's Islamophobia. No, it was a clash of civilizations. The civilization, civilizations are very different and ours is better.

[Dave Rubin]

And if you're not clapping, spend a

[Bill Maher]

week in a Muslim capital, you wouldn't last. Especially as a woman.

[J.D. Vance]

One guy.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you.

[Dave Rubin]

I agree with that. All right, so Bill, I'm not trying to smack you around today and we can discuss this over some copal soon enough, but yeah, you defend Western civilization and. What do you mean? What do you mean? Orban went too far defending Western civilization? He defended his country. Now, I'm not telling you he's a perfect human being. And again, I'm not pretending I'm an expert in all Hungarian politics. But notice that you didn't give any examples of what Orban did. That was too far. What I know from being there and talking to people is that it was a safe country that people were proud of. And if your number one issue, I mean, this is the irony of the liberals, if your number one issue is that Western civilization is better, individual rights and free speech and respect of minorities and all those things, and that seems to be what Bill puts at the top of his hierarchy of importance. And I agree with that. Well, then every now and again you're gonna have to have a guy like Orban, ironically, a scary conservative who's gonna defend that door. He's gonna hold that door. Because liberals aren't very good at holding the door. It did remind me this kind of a funny throwaway, but when I was on Real Time a couple of years years ago, he asked me a bit about Orban. Take a look. Most of these people are not far right by any way that we would think of far right in that they're racist. I actually met with Orban in Budapest and I talked to him for a little while and all he kept saying was, you know, I love Hungary. That's all. I love my people, I love my country. That's it. I don't know what accent that was, but that basically dead on impression of him can you do is walk. Yeah. And that is the point, like, if you are for Western civilization, well, then sadly, I say this with, like, in a. In a sanguine way. It's sad that the liberals can't defend Western civilization or refuse to. You know, they refuse to do the hard things. So conservatives have to come in and do it. Trump has to come in and do it. Which is why, Bill, you don't hate Trump anymore, right? Because he's defending. Defending the things that you want defended. So when you say Orban went too far or we lost in Iran, it's like, no. And you might want to see that in a more holistic way, because otherwise we are going to usher in something much worse. That is the overriding point. And where can we look to where things are much worse? Well, Moron Zamboni over in New York, the half socialist, half communist, half jihadist, you might say that's three halves. But there's a lot going on with this guy. He celebrated his 100th day in office, and he's very excited about being a trans socialist. Something, something, something, something.

[Donald Trump]

I know there are many who use socialists as a dirty word, something to be ashamed of. They can try all they want, but

[Dave Rubin]

we will not be ashamed of using

[Donald Trump]

government to fight for the many, not simply the few. We will not be ashamed of adding more heat pumps to NYCHA buildings in the Rockaways, or building more supportive housing in Harlem, or standing steadfast alongside our trans neighbors.

[Dave Rubin]

How did he. Like, how did he throw the trans thing in there? He's like, we're gonna make sure people in Harlem get heat and trans people everywhere. You know, Ronald Reagan famously said that when socialism comes, it'll come with a smile. And that's what that guy is. And the fact that it's here now, right? Like, we really have to acknowledge it. If this was 20 years ago and people said, I'm a socialist, everyone would be like, you're completely insane, and I'm gonna push you over that way. Right? You're not gonna really be thought of as a serious person. You're just a ridiculous person who's trying to usher in all of the bad ideas of the past. But now you have the mayor of the most, what was once the most important city, quite literally in the world, who is openly talking about how great it is to be a socialist. He's also for trans rights while he goes to a mosque that would never have a trans or gay or bi or two spirit furry wedding. What's the deal with that? I thought this was great. There's this guy Zack Sage. We haven't had him on the show yet. We will have him. He's another one of these guys that just gets out there with the crazy people on the street and he talks to them. He does it in the kind of intention usually most of these guys, you know, I played Nate Friedman or Nick Shirley does it. They kind of do it straight. He does it in a little bit more of an over the top way. Here is Zach asking college graduates about Iran, terrorism, socialism, et cetera. Enjoy.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Hello, and welcome to Iranian graduation. But first, a message from the terrorist proxies they sponsor.

[O]

Did you guys see that?

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Al Qaeda just thanked you guys. They thanked all the college protesters and everything. Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas.

[Dave Rubin]

You happy? Uhhuh. Yeah, of course we're supported. It makes me feel like there's actually

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

some kind of hope for 100 bucks. Who was the terrorist group behind 911?

[Donald Trump]

No clue.

[Eric Swalwell]

ISIS?

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Al Qaeda? You think that 911 had some justification?

[Dave Rubin]

Good.

[O]

In some ways.

[Dave Rubin]

Wow.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Can you guys find Gaza on a map?

[Dave Rubin]

I think we need a better map.

[Donald Trump]

Can't find it.

[Douglas Murray]

No.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Who is the number one sponsor of global terrorists?

[Dave Rubin]

America, I think the U.S. new York.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

New York's a state.

[Dave Rubin]

What? Wait.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

The answer was Iran.

[Dave Rubin]

Oh.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

They give $1 billion a year to all of their terrorist proxies, and there's not good. Where is slavery legal in the Middle East?

[Dave Rubin]

Israel.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

You know, in Yemen. The Houthis brought it back.

[Dave Rubin]

Oh, my God.

[Megyn Kelly]

Wow.

[Dave Rubin]

What's a Houthi?

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Where is the only country where it's legal to be gay in the Middle East?

[Dave Rubin]

I would say Asia.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

I don't know. Do you know it's Israel?

[Dave Rubin]

I don't consider it a country.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

I would go to Palestine. If you went to Palestine, you'd be thrown off of a building. Calvi is, like, the gayest city on earth.

[Dave Rubin]

I doubt it's the gayest city on earth.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

It's really gay. You know what the number one slogan the Iranian government chances death to?

[Ben Shapiro]

America.

[Dave Rubin]

Honestly, like, I kind of don't blame them, really.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Do you think Iran trying to spread Islamic Jihad, is that the same as America trying to spread democracy?

[Dave Rubin]

Arguably, yeah.

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

Women won't be able to show their hair. Gay people get thrown off buildings in these places.

[Dave Rubin]

We have to respect that and also be supportive.

[Ben Shapiro]

Once again, students don't seem to know

[Eric Swalwell's Lawyer]

what they stand for, especially when they're the supreme leader. Thanks.

[Dave Rubin]

You all right, Zach? That's a great job right there. But my main takeaway was that are young people not showering anymore? Is that a Thing now on TikTok, is there a new thing like, don't shower if you're a young person, don't comb your hair. Why do they all look so greasy and slimy? They're on TikTok all day and they just start, ugh. They all seem gross, but they don't know anything. And that is a problem. And try to imagine now, extrapolate it. You've got Zorhan. Socialism is wonderful. We're gonna trans everybody. And they're all applauding him. And now you have students at NYU and some of these other places. They think America's worse than Iran. They've got everything backwards. They know nothing about history, of course, can't figure out where Gaza is on a map, all of the stuff. And then what do you think will happen over time? Do you think America will be better or worse in 10 years? So for those of you that are hysterically claiming that Donald Trump is the Antichrist, or you're upset because of a mean tweet or something else, you may want to get back on the Trump train and quick. Because when those people are in power, just see how that's going to work out for your free speech and all the rest of your whatever the hell your ideas are at this point. So how do we end a show? I don't want to end it that way. What I want to end it with is contrasting it with the best of America. We can still do things, guys. We really can. And if we focus on that with the AI revolution and robotics, as I like, the world could be so freaking bright and unbelievably inspiring in the future. So first, let's show you what happened just over the last couple days. As you know, we sent Artemis all the way around the moon and back pretty quick. Nice and smooth. Here is the Artemis II crew safely emerging out of the capsule.

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

Going according to plan.

[Megyn Kelly]

This mission has been flawless thus far.

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

I know that Administrator Bridenstine just mentioned

[Dave Rubin]

that it's taken us a little while

[Various Interviewees/Reporters]

to get them out of the water.

[Dave Rubin]

All four crew members have left the capsule.

[Tucker Carlson]

They are now in that raft adjacent to the capsule. All four crew members have been extracted, it looks like, safely.

[Dave Rubin]

You know, I guess we could live in a time where we're all so cynical and we all see AI and nothing's new to us anymore and, you know, whatever. But, like, we did it again. You know, it's pretty cool, right? Like, we didn't put a man on the moon this time. We just went around it. But eventually we will start Putting people on there again. Even. Even Elon's talking about that now. And we will start putting robots on there, and the robots will build robots, and the robots will build 3D printers, and that will be a base, and that will move us further into the cosmos. And it's absolutely incredible. Victor Glover, who is one of the Artemis II astronauts, got a beautiful welcome at home. We've just got an image of that. Yes. We sent a black man into space. It's incredible. It's incredible because from my position, black people are just as qualified as white people. It's. If you're qualified, you can have the job. I know I'm old school. Here is Victor Glover talking about, well, who is he thanking that this all went down?

[Donald Trump]

When this started on April 3rd,

[Tucker Carlson]

I

[Donald Trump]

wanted to thank God in public, and I want to thank God again. Because even bigger than my challenge, trying to describe what we went through the grass attitude of seeing what we saw, doing what we did, and being with who I was with, it's too big to just be in one body, man.

[Dave Rubin]

How cool. Like, you can. You can feel that. You can feel it that he's coming back with gratitude of seeing what we saw because he went thousands of miles away from the Earth and got to look at our pale blue dot and go, man, we're a pretty insignificant nothing. Maybe there is something bigger. And by the way, I've never felt this, but, you know, I think a lot of people find that science and God are somehow in conflict. I've never really felt that, but that's a man of science and he's thanking God. And if we can combine those two things, you know, belief with the human mind, like a little heart and brain, we can do a little of those together. Maybe we can keep aiming towards the stars. Here, just take a look at this image. I just thought this was nice. Like, this is just, just. That's our hockey team. That's the rocket taking off. The Artemis II astronauts, like, there are good things happening, guys. There really are. And get on board them and let's quiet down the crazies and we'll see where things shape out. All right, I think that was a fine show for Monday. I have a lot to do today. I thank you for watching. We are a show for normal people. That's what it said right beneath me. Reminder, first look, every day going forward, 5:45am It'll be in your feed. It's 10 minutes, usually three or four stories. We're not trying to bludgeon you. We're not trying to enrage you, quite literally. I listened to it this morning when I was walking the dog. Like walk the dog, have a cup of coffee, get a little bit of info. So you have something during the day and it's straight news. I think you'll dig it. Thank you for watching. Post game show 30 seconds rubinreport.locals.com See ya.