In short
New York City politics and immigration, framed as a critique of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s alleged prison reform/bail reform agenda, “condescending” Democrats, and anti-ICE rhetoric; plus debates on political violence and a gay cruise denied entry to Turkey/Egypt.
Guests
Ben Ferguson (host of The Ben Ferguson Show) and Link Lauren (host of Spot On with Link Lauren). Both present as right-leaning commentators.
Key claims
Mamdani’s Rikers Island World Cup visit is portrayed as a viral, political move tied to closing Rikers and releasing criminals; Democrats allegedly hate law enforcement and use rhetoric that fuels violence. Left elitism is said to alienate working-class voters. Deportation opponents are accused of ignoring that illegal presence is itself a law violation. ICE/ICE agents are defended as enforcing enacted laws; anti-ICE agitation is blamed for “bloodshed.” Alex Karp is cited arguing progressives flipped on illegal immigration for electoral reasons.
Notable examples
Vermont Woodchuck tweet; Anna Navarro vs Lydia Moynihan deportation exchange; Tom Homan comments on resistance; Caitlin Tracy (Canadian illegal detained after assaulting a teen); TikToker Matthew Garone’s fundraising video; gay cruise denied entry by Turkey/Egypt “moral standards.”
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VODiscussion on Zorhan Mamdani's Actions
0:45 to 1:40
The hosts discuss Zorhan Mamdani's visit to Rikers Island during the World Cup.
“We wanted to cover it yesterday, but it was so idiotic we couldn't even fit it into my show in a sensible way.”
Concerns About Crime and Policy
1:40 to 3:09
The hosts express concerns about crime in New York and Mamdani's policies.
“You know, there's nothing that says you're being punished for serious crimes like having the mayor come visit you and then watch the World Cup.”
Political Strategy and Performative Actions
3:09 to 4:35
The conversation shifts to Mamdani's political motivations and performative actions.
“So, Link, I want to read this tweet that I saw.”
Bill Maher's Commentary on Left vs. Right
4:35 to 5:28
The hosts discuss Bill Maher's insights on the left's condescending attitude towards the right.
“Like as a recovering theater kid myself, game knows game.”
The Left's Elitism and Its Consequences
5:28 to 7:21
Link and Ben talk about the left's elitism and how it affects their coalition.
“So I want to show you this video of Bill Maher.”
The Left's Elitism and Its Consequences
9:15 to 9:42
Link and Ben talk about the left's elitism and how it affects their coalition.
“Right now, you can become a premium Angel Guild member for just $15 a month with that price locked in for a full year.”
Critique of CNN and Media Bias
9:48 to 14:00
Hosts critique media figures and the bias in mainstream media discussions.
“They will not let me in that freaking building.”
The Hypocrisy of Law Enforcement Opinions
14:00 to 17:08
Discussing the inconsistencies in the views on law enforcement and immigration laws.
“They just refuse to acknowledge it exists.”
Violence and Rhetoric Surrounding ICE
17:08 to 19:39
Analyzing the dangerous rhetoric directed towards ICE and its consequences.
“People to evade him, tell people don't comply, tell people to resist, and tell people ICE isn't a real law enforcement agency.”
Shifting Progressive Views on Immigration
19:39 to 24:46
Examining how progressive views on immigration have changed and their implications.
“can show them where they're doing their jobs, putting their lives at risk, there will be more bloodshed.”
Show all 19 chapters
Elitism and Open Borders Discussion
24:46 to 28:00
Exploring the disconnect between elite opinions on immigration and the realities faced by everyday Americans.
“If you remember in Texas, there was a video, the federal government under the Biden administration using a forklift to raise up barbed wire in Texas and let people under.”
Critique of Michelle Obama
28:00 to 29:10
Discussion on Michelle Obama's perceived elitism and disconnect from the working class.
“He could give – there were only 30 of them.”
Incident Involving a Canadian Illegal
29:10 to 30:20
Details about a Canadian illegal immigrant's detention after an assault related to political clothing.
“there's something weird about the whole thing.”
Reaction to the Viral Video
30:20 to 33:20
Analysis of a TikTok video from the husband of the detained immigrant, discussing issues of accountability and financial claims.
“It's from her TikToker husband, Matthew Garone, begging for help.”
Political Violence and Public Perception
33:20 to 37:45
Examining the normalization of political violence and the societal implications of such beliefs.
“I'm assuming the bail is not too high, like just based on what they do out there.”
The Gay Cruise Incident
37:45 to 40:58
Discussion about a gay cruise denied entry in Turkey and Egypt, highlighting cultural and political challenges faced by the LGBTQ community.
“I wanted to hit this up all week because about 2 ,000 homosexuals got on a boat.”
The Impact of Global Attitudes on LGBTQ Rights
42:00 to 45:38
The discussion covers the influence of current US administration on global LGBTQ attitudes and personal experiences of prejudice.
“As a gay man, it's just, it's really hard to hear.”
The Perceived Victimhood on Gay Cruises
45:38 to 45:59
Exploration of the self-righteousness among those who feel persecuted during a gay cruise incident.
“No, I don't walk around feeling like a victim at all.”
Cultural Perspectives on Travel and Acceptance
46:00 to 46:54
Discussion on how cultural norms impact perceptions of LGBTQ travelers and their rights.
“I don't even vilify these other countries that are against homosexuality.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:07All right, humanoids of the interwebs, I'm Dave Rubin. This is the Rubin Report. It's time for another Friday roundtable extravaganza on this Friday, July 17th, 2026. And joining me is the host of the Ben Ferguson Show, Ben Ferguson, and the host of Spot On with Link Lauren. Link Lauren. Gentlemen, how are you on this fine Friday? Are you ready to deal with it? Happy Friday, my friend. Thanks for having me. Another week of insanity. It never ends, you know. Here we go. All right. I told you we're tight on time today, so we're just going to dive right in. There's a lot of good stuff for you guys today.
0:43I wanted to start with this thing. We wanted to cover it yesterday, but it was so idiotic we couldn't even fit it into my show in a sensible way. But New York, every day, it's just more and more nonsense. And this, I almost thought this was AI, but it is not. The commie jihadi running that place, Zorhan Mamdami, went to Rikers Island to watch the World Cup with a bunch of inmates. And we talked about 66. You have one star, man. You can see it there. And it doesn't take three. The same thing. And it's just. I'm trying to kill you. Who you guys were for? I hope that this shares with people who are incarcerated here on Rinkers that they too are a part of New York City.
1:28The World Cup has been a magical moment for the entire city. These are New Yorkers, and they will be New Yorkers when they get out of Rinkers. They're New Yorkers today, and I wanted to make sure that we can celebrate this moment together. Ben, I did not realize that the Dark Knight trilogy was a documentary, and yet here we are. Yeah. You know, there's nothing that says you're being punished for serious crimes like having the mayor come visit you and then watch the World Cup. The only thing that was missing was like a spread of like New York style pizza. Yeah. Maybe bring in some barbecue. Right.
2:01Like, I mean, might as well have a halftime show with this. This is this is the problem that that is going to end up being the undoing of New York City, I think, in the next three to four years. And I say undoing because if you are sane, forget being a Republican or Democrat. You're not going to want to pay the extra taxes. We saw that the luxury, quote unquote luxury, which is basically any type of housing in New York City, has completely dropped off because of the new taxes. We've seen the crime numbers. They're now starting to go back up. We're seeing the issues that they're going to have there with illegal immigrants because they're still a sanctuary city and the crime involved with that.
2:36And now this is the same guy. Let's be clear why he went to this jail. He is in favor of bail reform. He's in favor of prison reform. And what that means is letting people out of prison. He wants to shut down prisons. He's talked about that. It's the same guy also that said he wants to defund the police. When they tell you what they believe, I think we say this over and over again, Dave, now, but it's the truth. Believe them. They hate law enforcement. They hate law and order. This is how you destroy a city. And by default, this is how the communists of America's Democratic Party destroy America.
3:08Yeah. So, Link, I want to read this tweet that I saw. It's from a random guy on X, but it perfectly encapsulated what I thought when I saw that video. It's from a guy named Vermont Woodchuck. Okay. He says, I'm sure he's a great guy. You know, he says, Mayor Zorhan Mamdami wants to close down Rikers Island prison. This was purely a political move to make the prison inmates like him so they won't go after him when they're back on the streets of New York City. And here's the key part. He might even be planning to recruit them to be his brown shirt enforcers. I actually believe that. That is the first thing that I thought, that if he's able to close this thing down and you don't go to Rikers just for general white collar stuff and you let these people back out on the streets.
3:54And we already know, as Ben pointed out, you're not going to prosecute them properly, all the ways they're hampering the police. But then you also have a bunch of foot soldiers on the streets who might just be part of the general chaos that you want so you can push all the decent people out. Am I nuts? No, I don't think you're nuts at all. Is Woodchuck Bob nuts? That's what I'm asking. I think truth is always stranger than fiction. If he's going to shut down Rikers Island and put more criminals on the street, though, you're just going to have more businessmen fleeing New York City, like the people with money, the people who employ others.
4:24They're already fleeing and moving to Texas, moving to Florida, moving to Tennessee. So you're just going to run more people out of New York. But I also think there's another element to this. Yes, he wants to defund the police. He's also just a very performative person. Like as a recovering theater kid myself, game knows game. He's just going to go and take the cameras with him to get a viral moment, to get clicks. And he loves when people are attacking him. He loves when cable news is talking about him. And so I think he goes and he does some of these things because he knows they're absolutely insane, right?
4:54This is a performance kid who used to do music videos and whatever. He knows this is ridiculous, but he's just going to go take the camera crew because it's just a viral moment. Why not stir it up? Now, I know that the three of us are hardcore right-wing maniacs. So I want to shift. I want to shift to Bill Maher, who's a little bit of a softer right wing maniac these days, at least according to the lefties. By the time he fully retires, he's going to be you, Dave. That's like, let's just be honest. Like the last day before he retires, he will be one of us. Honestly, I will gladly take that win.
5:25You know what? That would be a good retirement for me, too. That would be just fine. So I want to show you this video of Bill Maher. He was making the rounds this week and he went on NPR and he kind of pushed on NPR that, You know, you're far lefty, crazy people. But here he got into a little bit of the psychology of actually why the right wing is so defensive, just sort of attitudinally against what the left is always pushing on us. What the right wing hates the most about the left is their condescending attitude. And I don't blame them. The left has this attitude like, and this is true of the Trump dinner.
5:58You are just too deplorable even to break bread with. That really gets them. And I don't blame the feeling. the feeling they have about that. You know, talk to them. As I always say, everybody's a monster till you talk to them. Link, let me start with you here because maybe Ben is, if just by looking at the two of you, a little more traditionally conservative, let's say. So, Link, in that you're not that exact thing, not that there's anything wrong with it, have you found that this condescending attitude from the lefties when you just break bread with people on the right, Is Bill just completely nailing it there?
6:37Well, I couldn't agree with Bill Maher more because I've said for years the left is all about diversity, but they hate diversity of thought. You have to go with them 100%. If you stray in any way, shape, or form, you are pushed out of the coalition, right? Like, I'm a gay guy. I lived in New York. I went to NYU. I'm on TikTok. I should be a shoo-in for the left. But they ran me out of their party because they're so ridiculous and they went so far from what they originally stood for, right? They used to be the party of working-class Americans. blue-collar Americans. Now, if you turn on MSNBC or whatever it's called, they look down on people who don't have university degrees.
7:11They look down on people who just have high school diplomas. We saw that with Mark Wayne Mullen, and there were comments by Jimmy Kimmel made about him being a plumber. And so when you talk like that, you're going to turn off a majority of the country, and 67 % of Trump voters did not go to university, right? They are considered working class. They don't have four-year college degrees. These are smart, critical thinkers who are the backbone of our country. And I think putting them down is just going to put the Democrats into more of a corner. Ben, I have no doubt that you agree with Bill's diagnosis right there.
7:39I think part of it is that just the elitism that has come from the universities and the elitist that they are creating, where they come out and they're much like Mondami, they're much like AOC. And they also, by the way, they have disdain for their elder statesman. Look at Chuck Schumer. Like, I mean, the guy's doing yoga every day, just trying to stay in charge of the Democratic party because he's afraid that AOC is going to primary him and that will be the end of his career. Look at how fast they will get rid of any Democrat if they don't like you because you're not up to their radical extremist standards.
8:13If you just look back a couple days ago, the communists of America came out with their new agenda and they put it out online of the Democratic, Communist, Socialists of America, whatever they want to call themselves today, they're Marxists. They want to get rid of the Supreme Court. They want to get rid of the Senate. They want to expand the house they want to get rid of the electoral college what are they saying they're saying we want to destroy america and they believe that anyone that is in their way including in their own party you are beneath them and so that type of condescension that we're witnessing right now and the infighting within the democratic party i actually think it'll be the undoing of them i don't know how you have a coalition if that's what you're doing to your own party link is a great example of that what he said they kicked him out in essence because he wouldn't raise his right hand and just say, I agree with every radical Marxist socialist thing that you're saying.
9:03That is the problem right now. And you add that with elitists coming from Harvard and Yale and Princeton, MIT, they've been indoctrinated that they are always right and everyone else is wrong. As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Angel is offering a great deal. Right now, you can become a premium Angel Guild member for just $15 a month with that price locked in for a full year. You'll get two free tickets to see Young Washington in theaters this Independence Day, plus access to Angel's entire streaming library and tickets to every future Angel theatrical release. Young Washington tells the story of George Washington before he became America's first president, showing the challenges, failures, and determination that shaped one of history's greatest leaders.
9:42To claim the offer, go to angel.com slash Ruben and become a premium Angel Guild member today. Well, speaking of condescension, Ben, you know, you go on these CNN shows every day and again. They will not let me in that freaking building. At this point, I don't care to go in there. But you do go on there. We play the clips. Basically, Scott, obviously, Jennings, is kind of the all-star over there every day just knocking down these ding-dongs. And then there's you and Shermichael Singleton, a couple other people. And it's sort of an easy lift in a way. And I mean that with respect because the lefties are just so unprepared.
10:15And they just keep getting stuff thrown back in their face and exposed that they don't know what they're talking about. But I thought this was an interesting moment. And I do want to have this girl on because we've played a bunch of clips of her lately. Lydia Moynihan from The New York Post was on and she gets in it with Anna Navarro of The View, who how this woman is on two television shows, I don't understand. But here we are. Go. He was elected to do this. He was elected because people wanted deportations. And I think it's important when we talk about this issue to provide the context because they see every day that passes.
10:44if we aren't deporting potentially unvetted illegal criminals, that there's an opportunity to cost them. There's an opportunity to cost them. No, no, no. Every single day. First of all, these people were vetted. Last week there was somebody. He had a legal permit to be in the country. And he was not a criminal. And over 70 % of the people that are getting deported and detained do not have criminal records. So be careful with your words and be accurate on national TV. My point is that you're lying. I'm not lying. You're lying. My point is if the man had a permanent, had a legal status here, he was not unbedded.
11:23So we don't know. Do you understand how immigration works? Let me just clear this up. Well, you know, if it wasn't for Sonny Hassan, I would think Anna's the worst. But Sonny really just has a way of taking the cake. She wasn't even in that clip, obviously. But when Anna says over 70 % deported don't have criminal records, Link, does she not understand that being here illegally is, well, the word legal and ill? It kind of matters. They simply don't care, do they, Link? Well, you know what's so funny is whenever I see clips of these women on The View, I feel like I'm being verbally waterboarded.
12:01Like, you never feel gayer than when you hear these shrill women, like these histrionic women talking on The View. And it's like, can they not find any women who are qualified to discuss these issues, to discuss these topics? Oh, that's funny. So that's what gay pride is. When you're watching like five hysterical women, you're suddenly like, you know, I am proud to be gay. It's like, actually, that is the case. But no, when I look at Anna Navarro and she's talking about deportations, there was a New York Times Ipsos poll. There were many polls during the election. Batya Unger-Sargon talked about this a lot.
12:2960 % of Americans supported mass deportations, deporting criminals. It's tough to get 60 % of the country to agree on anything. So the fact that that was the case during the election, it's the Democrats' fault for not listening to the pollsters, for not listening to the American people, for not listening to the focus groups. And I want to circle back to something from earlier. When we talk about the Democrats looking down on the American people, Joe Biden, there were times where he said, if you don't vote for me, then you ain't black. What a slap in the face to black people. You have to just vote some way and have a myopic way of thinking because of the color of your skin.
13:00We don't care about identity politics. Joe Biden, near the end of the election, he called, I think, half the country garbage. Hillary said basket of deplorables. So there's always this language and this rhetoric looking down on the American people and putting you down if you don't have a college degree, putting you down if you went to a trade school. And so I'm not shocked to see that Anna Navarro is out of lockstep with the American people because she sits around on an air-conditioned television set every single day. She's not someone who's like hustling and breaking her back. Ben, I wouldn't want you to poison her coffee.
13:29Let's say that might be a bit much over there. But is there something that you could do? Maybe a small, like a little salt in the water or something. It's pure survival when you get over there. It's like five against one. They're all yelling at you. And I always smile and grin because those are those moments where I'm just like, I feel like we're winning. Look, I look at this moment in this clip and this goes back to what terrifies me about socialist, democratic American and their party. They have decided that there's any law they don't like. They just refuse to acknowledge it exists. If they don't like a purpose of law enforcement and what they're doing, ICE is a great example of that.
14:10They then just say, we refuse to accept the premise of what ICE is doing when they're stopping criminals. So you look at this idea that they go, well, the majority of them are not breaking the law that are getting deported. Yes, they are. If you're in this country illegally, you're breaking the law into discussion. Just because you don't like that law doesn't mean that you get to decide that you're going to not abide by that law. And if someone breaks into Anavaro's house, I promise you, if that person looked at the police and said, I don't believe in that law. I believe I can come in and squat in her home.
14:39I believe I can steal Anavaro's clothes. I believe that I can steal her jewelry. I believe that I can sleep in her bed. She would immediately say, you're breaking the law. I'm pressing charges. You're going to arrest him and throw the book at him for stalking or any other thing. so it is a little rich from her that she can go on tv and decide which laws she wants to agree or disagree with and then they just disappear like it's a magic liberal wand that's not the real world if you want to change the laws then fine change them fight to change them but you don't get to pick and choose in this country which laws you agree or disagree with on a tuesday or and by the way right and by the way it's worth mentioning she lives here in miami where we are encouraged literally by law enforcement if someone breaks into your house shoot them it will make their job easier.
15:24That is quite literally what they tell us. And if protesters are in the street and you're trying to get home, now I know why you live there. I wondered why you picked Miami. I understand it now. It is all you already told me you're going to be in Orlando for the weekend. So you do what you got to do. But I will see. I mean, on top of that, I'm thinking it's always the rules for the not for me with these kinds of people. If you look at even Kamala Harris, right, she wants open borders. She doesn't want mass deportations. Didn't she just purchase a home in a gated community. All these people have security, armed guards.
15:55They live in gated communities, but they just want the border to be open. It's like even with Taylor Swift's wedding, right? All these liberals going to Taylor Swift's wedding. She endorsed Kamala Harris. She was, you know, stumping for her. Weren't there armed guards around Madison Square Garden? Everywhere. The whole city was shut down, by the way. I was there that day doing CNN, funny enough, the day of the wedding. You couldn't get anywhere around Madison Square Garden because it was so locked down. And guess what? They built walls around the entire thing. You're right. Yes. So it's like the Democrats, they have walls around the Academy Awards, walls around the Emmys, Taylor Swift's wedding, but we're not supposed to have a secure border.
16:28So these people are just absolute fools and hypocrites. And also speaking of The View, Sonny Hostin also wants special treatment. Her son was just caught trespassing. Her 24-year-old son was caught trespassing. Now Sonny Hostin wants him to be let off the hook because she's on The View. He's a Harvard graduate. He's a junior Olympian. He went to Harvard, but he can't read a no trespassing sign. That's a problem for you, mama. You might want to go back to the drawing board. Also, just one last thing, as long as we're giving gratuitous shots to Sonny Huston, she's starting to morph into Michael Jackson.
16:56Have you noticed that? Yep. That's a little bit of a sidebar. Michael Jackson knows. Let's jump over to Tom Homan, because he's obviously in charge of deportations, and he's trying to do an awful lot while a bunch of people are demonizing the high hell out of ICE, and here he is on that. People to evade him, tell people don't comply, tell people to resist, and tell people ICE isn't a real law enforcement agency. You and I talked about this year and a half ago, Laura. I said, if the hateful rhetoric didn't stop, there will be bloodshed. And I'm saying it right now. There's still going to be more bloodshed unless they shut their mouth and let ICE enforce the laws that they enacted.
17:30So I know we're all on board. OK, the average lefty that just hates ICE. But then there's another version. What I'm seeing is sort of the more moderate version seems to be I'm OK with ICE and deportations. I just don't like the way they are doing it. Yeah. And even that, when you think I can accept that they are not perfect. Nothing. Nobody is perfect. No system is perfect. Right. But when you think these guys are going into dangerous areas, there are people in cars that, as Renee Good tried to drive over an ICE agent. They're going they're having there's language issues. There are protesters there.
18:04There are people are throwing things at them like this is going to end in a bad way, one way or another. and I think to Link's point, Trump has to keep going with this. This was his number one promise. There's a mandate. And let's be clear. If you look at the number of police officers that have been killed in the line of duty, did you know one of the top ways that police officers are killed is actually being run over by a car? A lot of people don't know that. That is one of the top ways that police officers get killed. People use their car. They will hit police officers. Why? Because they're trying to get away from them.
18:35This is not a new thing. Now, what's interesting is if a police officer stops an American citizen and there's a gunfight because of this happening, no one cares. There is no media attention. And that happens a lot more than it happens with ICE. Like Americans are killed at a higher rate than illegal immigrants interacting with police. No one cares because that fits a narrative of like, oh, well, you're an American citizen. You try to run over a cop. They shot you. We don't care. The only reason why we care is because we have decided, or I should say the left has decided that public enemy number one is ICE.
19:09And they say anytime that someone dies in the hands of ICE, we are on the side of the person who died regardless of their actions because we are going to push a propaganda campaign that ICE agents are evil, they are the Gestapo, and they are Donald Trump, who is Hitler's hit men. That is the narrative. We've witnessed it for years now. And so when you demonize, as Tom said there, and he's absolutely right, ICE the way they are and you tell people to run from them and you have these ICE apps where you can show them where they're doing their jobs, putting their lives at risk, there will be more bloodshed.
19:45I hate it. But if you actually comply, none of this would happen. I mean, Link, is that the crazy part that in a weird way, the more bloodshed there is, the better this looks for the left and the more they will get Trump to scale back. So we're really between a rock and a hard place here. Well, I feel like the left loves to agitate. I mean, I don't know if these people are employed, but they always go out and they have the same signs and they're very coordinated. You guys mentioned Renee Goode. She was stalking that guy all day, at least to my knowledge, and trying to hit him with her Honda Pilot, right?
20:15What did she think was going to happen when you're following them around all day long? But if you villainize and you demonize law enforcement and you say they're fascist, Hitler, threats to democracy, they need to be eradicated time and time again, and you push this out over the airways, there are going to be kooky, crazy people out there who take that to heart. We saw it in Butler, Pennsylvania with President Trump. We see it time and time again, an increase in political violence. And so I think we just need to tone down the rhetoric on the left, but they say it's all coming from the right. I think they need to look on their own side of the street.
20:43By the way, the money he mentioned a moment ago is a really important part of this. The people that are funding these activists that go out there and expose ICE and dox ICE and surround ICE, those individuals are being paid for by rich rich multi-million and billionaires of the democratic party who would never have the guts to go out there and do this themselves they are they look at their own supporters as expendable if they die it's actually good for their campaign if if another woman gets shot by ice that is a good thing for their campaign because if your campaign is what it is right and we can clearly see what that is which is to to dehumanize ice to attack them, to defund them, to shut them down, then the easiest way to get there is to get people to die.
21:29Then you can then push that narrative that, oh my gosh, ICE is out there killing innocent, illegal immigrants who are just trying to get a better life. So you look at how sick the leadership is. The people that are funding this, they don't care that the people that are supporting them are dying. In fact, the more the merrier. Right. You might argue, someone might hear that and say it's a cynical way of looking at things, but I actually don't think there's any other way to do it. Yeah, go ahead, Link. No, it's interesting. It's like the people finding this are very ultra elite white liberals who probably live in their ivory towers somewhere.
22:02But if you actually look at the polls and focus groups, Hispanic Americans poll and say they want tougher immigration laws, they want immigration reform, they want deportations. People who came to this country and immigrated the right way and waited and put their hand up and said the Pledge of Allegiance, they're actually saying, we want this to happen. So it's actually just these elitist white liberals who go on MSNBC who hate ICE. Right, and now imagine, to link this to the top story, it's like, so now you got all this craziness, all the rhetoric is being ramped up, all the violence that you just referenced, Ben, and then you also throw some, I don't know, guys who've been in Rikers for the last 20 years who show allegiance to Mamdani, who probably have converted to Islam while in jail.
22:42You think you got a problem there? But let's shift to a saner person, because I think this guy's fantastic. This is CEO of Palantir, Alex Karp, And he makes a really interesting point on how the whole progressive worldview has actually shifted over the years as it comes to immigration. I'm sure you realize that the economic effects of illegal migration are disastrous for poor people in this country. Disastrous. Bernie Sanders used to talk about this. This was the classically progressive position. position. And by the way, it's particularly bad for anybody who is unlikely to be hired for whatever reason.
Read the full transcript
23:23And so classic progressives when I grew up were the most against illegal migration of any group. And I remember at my dinner table, the evil chamber of commerce, One of the ways they were evil is they were in favor of tacit illegal migration to America, and that was going to be bad for workers. That was a card-carrying talking point at every progressive table when I grew up. Right. So, Ben, it makes sense. If you really care about the lower-end workers, you would want to make sure they're not being replaced by migrant labor. Of course, also with AI, that's going to put those people out of jobs either way because you can pick tomatoes with robots and your housekeeper is going to be a robot in five years, too.
24:18You might not want to artificially raise minimum wage and all that other stuff. But this flip that the progressives have taken, I mean, is it just, hey, we don't have principles 101 or just replacing voters 101? If you want to fundamentally change this country, you're going to have to import voters. and their fundamental changes to communism or socialism or Marxism, depending on who you talk to in the Democratic Party. You don't have enough voters that want that in America, so you have to import them by the millions. It goes back to that perfect example. If you remember in Texas, there was a video, the federal government under the Biden administration using a forklift to raise up barbed wire in Texas and let people under.
24:57That is why you do that, because you want them to flood into America, and then most of them, by the way, come from socialist or communist countries. They're used to that. They like our country and it's going to be a lot nicer version at the beginning of socialism. Free stuff, healthcare, food, schooling. Way better than the failure they came from in the same exact government situation. But we're starting at a much higher level and then it'll slowly come back down. So this is part of their plan. They don't care. There's an interesting study that came out recently. I would encourage everybody watching your show to go look at it.
25:31It talked about how much more you paid for a house over the last, I think it was like eight years, depending on where you lived because of illegal immigrants who were buying up homes at the, at an extremely high rate, it was costing in some areas of the country, 15 to 18 % more than what you would have normally paid. So if you think that illegal immigrants are not hurting you, not only are they taking jobs, they're undercutting wages. They're also taking resources in the public school system where your kids are getting a failing education in public schools and they're making rent prices skyrocket for hardworking Americans, especially minorities, and especially single mothers who are trying to survive.
26:09So if that's what you want, you want to make your life harder, go with the Democratic Party because they're going to import them forever with an open border strategy. Link, Bernie has three houses. I'm going to guess there's at least that we know of. There's got to be at least two free bedrooms there. Why does he not rent them or in his world, give them for free to some illegals to hang out and maybe some meth dealers or rapists? Well, these progressives like Bernie Sanders are all fake in general, right? They want open borders. They say, let all the criminals in, but you guys have multiple homes.
26:41You're not taking them in. I also remember Bernie Sanders and AOC on their Fight the Oligarchy tour, flying around on big private jets and staying in fancy hotels. Once again, the rules for the, not for me. And I'll never forget Selena Gomez posted this video. Selena Gomez, who I guess got her GED at Disney Channel University. She posted this video where she was like, all my people are getting attacked. And she was really upset over the deportations. Selena Gomez, I think she had 35 rooms in her house. Is she taking in MS-13? Is she taking in Trende Aragua? No, you just want everybody else to have to deal with it while you live behind gates.
27:16It's like Chelsea Handler saying, we have to vote for Nithya Rahman in Los Angeles. You can't vote for Spencer Pratt. He's like a MAGA fascist. Doesn't this woman live in Bel Air and a nice, fancy community with armed guards and security, you're not speaking on behalf of regular working class Americans. And in fact, you never even rub shoulders with them or come in contact with them because you live in such enclaves. Don't forget Martha's Vineyard. Like that was like, that was, if you go back and watch those videos of Martha's Vineyard, they're like, a bunch of illegals come off a bus. They're like, Hey, this is awesome.
27:46We love you. We're going to get you right back on a bus and adios. Like that is elitism of the liberal party. Do you remember There was that great video of the one woman there who's like, you know, we just don't have the room. We don't have the room. It's like Barack Obama has a 30-acre house there. He could give – there were only 30 of them. There were 30 illegals that came on the bus. He could have given them each half an acre. They would have been okay. Yeah, and this was their response. Not here. Go somewhere else. Yeah, NIMBY, go ahead. Well, it's almost like the Democrats thought for a hot second Michelle Obama could be the nominee.
28:17Michelle Obama, she's going to be relatable. She's going to speak to the working class. she's going to speak to young women and single moms. Michelle Obama has spent the last three years sitting in her mansion in Martha's Vineyard on a podcast complaining about her hair, her makeup. She had to pay for food in the White House. She had to fly on a smaller private jet with her kids. Their Netflix deal is done, by the way. Don't forget that. Yeah, the Netflix deal is done. They lost their Netflix deal. There's some liberal tears for you right there. No, and so Michelle Obama, she's supposed to be this relatable one who they thought was going to save the Democratic Party.
28:48She's the most elitist. She's on yachts and Saint-Tropez and gallivanting the globe. She doesn't speak for working class Americans at all. She wouldn't even let them come up to her property. She had a private chef, emphasis on had, you know? Right. The private chef who magically died in like two feet of water. I mean, okay. There's a lot of weird stuff there. Let's stick with the overall theme related to immigration. But I want to switch the story for a second because this one's kind of bubbling up and there's something weird about the whole thing. So listen to this from the New York Post. A lefty Canadian illegal.
29:18So she's a Canadian illegal and the United States immigrant was thrown into an immigration detention center after she illegally slapped a teen on the boardwalk because she was wearing pro-Trump and ICE clothing, according to cops and sources. Now her TikToker husband, who previously posted disturbing videos wishing for President Trump's assassination and praying for the president's family to get cancer, is trying to raise money for her legal defense and slamming the horrible conditions inside the Delaney Hall ice lockup where she's being held. Her name is Caitlin Tracy. We have a quick, I think it's like a five second video of her hitting this person.
29:56Okay. Now this is interesting. There's a couple interesting things here because first off, she's white and they're always telling us that we're racist because they're all brown. That's one part. Another part, she's illegal from Canada, which I know it's a third world hellhole now, but nonetheless, we usually don't think of this within sort of Canadian terms. And now, before I have you guys chime in, let's get a little video from her TikToker husband, Matthew Garone. Oh, no. Yeah. It's from her TikToker husband, Matthew Garone, begging for help. I need help. I don't know what to do. My wife is being detained by ICE.
30:32She's in Ocean County Jail right now, and I can't get a hold of her. She keeps trying to call me, but they won't let me put money on her card. The kiosk in the Tom's River jail is broken. And all the numbers and stuff they gave me wasn't right or wouldn't allow me to put money on her card. And ICE is coming there to pick her up. I need an immigration lawyer. I need help. I don't know what to do. I don't have any money. I'm so f***ing broke. But I've got to figure something out. I've got to save her. I love. I need help. I need you to figure out. I don't know. I don't know. This just happened.
31:15I need help. Ben, those are liberal tears, Ben. That is a perfect video to show your kids and don't raise them to become that weak man. Okay? Like, that is not a man. That is a crybaby who probably still lives in his mom's basement. And a second point, maybe you just learned something, kids. TikTok is not really a very good way to make a living because the dude on TikTok is telling you how broke he is. Third thing is he could just be lying because those seats, those are pretty good seats for a Yankees game and I'm sure they had to pay something for them. And finally, if he needs help, I want him to get his wife back and get the hell out of my country.
31:56I know who you should call. You should call Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry and I'm sure they can fix it all for you. So call those two people and you should be fine. So I'm not worried about him. go back to the Yankees game and cry with your mom in your basement. Well, isn't that putting aside that she assaulted somebody, she was illegal. We don't hear a lot of stories of illegals from Canada. But if he's so concerned about her, OK, all that Tom Homan, all that scary Tom Homan's going to do is now send her back to Canada. Free! Free! Don't forget free! And I bet you the government's so stupid, we'd probably throw him on the plane too.
32:29So government, throw them both on the plane to Canada and go be a TikToker in Canada. It can't be that bad, can it? Yeah. Yeah. Well, what's interesting is he says he has no money. He's sitting in a car with an iPhone. He owns a car. Like you said, he went to a Yankees game. So these people, they say they have no money, but it's like, you have a thousand dollar iPhone. You're sitting in a vehicle. But how come the first thing isn't just don't do crime? How come that's not the basis of the whole situation? Don't assault somebody on a boardwalk. Don't assault people. Don't do crime. I walk around all day.
32:57I don't steal. I don't punch people in the street. I don't commit crimes, right? So maybe you need to take some culpability for your own life. And by the way, Dave, like being being poor one on one, you're not poor if you still have a car. Sell the car, then you're poor. And if you're driving that car, talking about how poor you are on TikTok, you should probably turn off your cell phone, sell your car and go get your wife out of jail. I'm assuming the bail is not too high, like just based on what they do out there. I'm going to guess that your car, you could probably go take your car and hawk it for a couple of days.
33:30This guy just wants a bailout from the other liberal crazies out there and GoFundMe. He'd probably make money off of it. If he takes a Subway sandwich, he'll probably let her out. You know what I'm saying? Right. That's the thing. Like, okay, she'll be there for a couple days, and then they're going to send her out. That's it. But I want to show you one because he is a TikToker. It's a very honorable profession. Here is one of Matthew Garone's TikToks. This is actually, I mean, sadly, this is after the assassination of our friend Charlie Kirk. And just watch this guy. First one, boys and girls.
33:58Now, I'm going to use this one as an example. Now, over the next few days, you're going to hear a lot of people say it's wrong to celebrate someone's death. It's wrong to laugh when someone gets hurt that you politically disagree with. And what I have to say to that is they have no problem laughing at us. They have no problem laughing when people are ripped from their families by ICE. They have no problem laughing when people are denied medical care, housing, food, clothing, basic human decency. They laugh when people are denied their actual even existence. people these people laugh when cops shoot down black kids or murder a black person by standing on his neck they laugh when some kid chokes out a black guy on the subway and they and the president brings him to like a football game they're always laughing at us so why wouldn't i laugh when one of them takes it to the neck and is no more the world is a lighter place now that he's gone and i say ha ha ha i mean i actually can't especially right at the end there like i can't even begin But, Link, you know, I said at the top of the show what they're doing in New York City is Dark Knight Trilogy.
35:00And here we have a guy pretending he's the Joker celebrating all of the evil. No, there's actually a poll that showed 25 percent of Democrats, I believe, thought political violence was really justified. If you have to kill someone, assassinate them, take them out, they think it's perfectly fine. They think the ends justify the means and they'll actually celebrate this on social media. I mean, these people are really sick. They're indoctrinated either in universities or they're indoctrinated with propaganda on social media to go out there and celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk or the potential assassination of President Trump.
35:29They do this time and time again. So I think these people need some serious psychological help, Dave. Yeah. Ben, how do you think we pull some of these people back? Because we've covered that poll repeatedly on my show. Yeah, you won't. We know they celebrated it with Brian Thompson, the health care CEO, Luigi Mangione. A certain portion celebrated it with Charlie. They celebrated it when they almost took out Trump. I mean, the list goes on. Yeah, you won't. The Democratic Party is dead. There used to be a day when Democrats and Republicans could get along. Ronald Reagan did it great with Tip O 'Neill.
35:56You had Newt Gingrich that actually worked with Democrats for a long time. Bob Dole did it for a long time. Dan Quill did it. The vice president and the president, George Bush, did it like they used to work together. Bill Clinton, by the way, did it when he lost power. He worked with Republicans. The Democratic Party is dead. They are Marxist, socialists, and communists. They want you dead if they disagree with you. They have made it clear they will not stop trying to kill our president ever. I believe even after he's out of office, I don't think they'll ever stop trying to assassinate him because of their rhetoric.
36:29And it comes from the top. I go back to the minion aspect. We mentioned this earlier. The most elite people that hate Republicans And they install this trash in their brain That justifies you being a domestic terrorist And killing a Charlie Kirk They would never pull the trigger themselves Because they're not going to risk going to jail They want to count their millions And live in their ivory towers But they're hoping to find a radical out there That will do it for them And that is how they control their environment That's what they believe in this country What it should look like If I disagree with you, I can get someone to kill you.
37:03That is now where we are. And I don't think we come back from it, unfortunately. I really don't. Well, I also think, Ben, you know, that guy, he referenced George Floyd. I know I'm going to get canceled for saying this. Are we still referencing George Floyd? Have we not all come around to that by now? I mean, we're still talking about George Floyd and building him up like he's some hero of the black community. Every black person I talk to knows Black Lives Matter was a scam. George Floyd was a lie. Are we still doing this in 2026? We're still invoking George Floyd as if it means anything. Guys, can I get that list of college kids that Black Lives Matter sent to school for free with all their money?
37:37Yeah. Is it zero? Oh, we don't know such list exists. We tried. We tried. All right, guys, we got one more story for you. I think you guys are going to like this. I wanted to hit this up all week because about 2 ,000 homosexuals got on a boat. And they're taking this boat and they start going to the Middle East. And I've been trying to explain to these people that queers for Palestine is very different than Palestine for queers. They tried to get to Turkey, didn't work out. They tried to get to Egypt, didn't work out. Here's NBC. For the second time this week, a gay cruise in the Mediterranean was denied entry.
38:08The Turkish government banned travelers from docking because of, quote, moral standards. At least a thousand Americans are on board, including passengers from South Florida. Thomas Barker is from Miami. The 10-day trip was a gift to him from his husband. And so there are thousands of men who come to the ship to celebrate and to feel free to be who we are without any fear of homophobia or to be able to be ourselves in a public space. But that freedom of expression was challenged when the ship tried docking in Turkey. The government unexpectedly denied the ship entry because of what they call moral standards.
38:45All right. Now, I know one of our panelists here is gay, so I want to give you a chance first. Ben, talk to me about this. yeah uh let me just say google it's a really awesome thing you can google get the joke there you just ran right through it come on sorry sorry sorry unless i just outed you did i just out ben ferguson yeah yeah no no man i i was so excited to tell you to use google we i get your joke you want to redo that or are you just going to live in this moment dave you're going to live in this we don't edit yeah yeah we don't edit no i will i will defer to link right now and then i will come back strong with the heterosexual point on this.
39:20No, no, no, please. I would love to hear your take. It's called Google. Just freaking Google it, guys. If you're gay in the Middle East, they will throw you off of buildings in many countries. This is not hard to find out. If you're dumb enough to go on a cruise and go to these parts of the world and think they're going to let you in, well, then you're dumb enough to go on a cruise to go to this part of the world and they won't let you in. And then when you are feeling like you are somehow unfulfilled, I will tell you you're an idiot. And well, Link, and then because I don't need to make it about the guy specifically in that thing, but when he talks about how he wants to be free of homophobia, so he has to get on a boat to go to the Middle East instead of just hanging out in America, nobody's coming for the gays here.
40:02He probably lives in West Hollywood. Right. I don't think these people are in Mensa because they bitch and moan and complain about gay rights here in the United States of America when you guys have had gay marriage since the summer of 2015 with the Obergefell Supreme Court decision. So now you're going over there to try to go to Turkey. You're trying to go to Egypt. And now you're stranded on a cruise ship, 2000 Gays and Patti LuPone. This is like a Final Destination horror film. This would be my worst nightmare. I think we need to do a horror film. It's like Purgatory, 2000 Gays, stranded, rations are dwindling, alcohol is dwindling, the DJ has jumped ship.
40:37It's like floating monkey pox. It's like, Survivor, I'm a celebrity, get me out of here. But if you guys signed up to go on this cruise, you should have asked Chachi PT. Like Ben said, you could have asked Google. You could have done a modicum of research. And I've been saying all week, I'm not holding my breath for it, my hope is by the time these gays come home, they will have a sense of appreciation for the rights and liberties and freedoms we have in the United States of America. Because Gay Inc. and all of these folks like to cosplay like they're oppressed and cosplay like they're victims every single day.
41:08So maybe you'll come home like Brittany Griner when she was in that Russian prison, and now you'll stand for the national anthem and sing Yankee Doodle Dandy after being stranded on that cruise ship. Also, to be on Trapped with Patti LuPone, who's such a miserable shrew. You remember during COVID when she stopped a Broadway show in the middle to start screaming at people about wearing masks while she wasn't wearing them? Anyway, here's one of the cruise attendees, and, well, he just got his hair plugs. He feels great about life despite the homophobia. you. Gay cruise update. Okay, so I'm on the gay cruise that was denied entry into Turkey, and it's like, so what?
41:42Who cares? If you want a great hair transplant, go to South Korea. So we redirect, we're going to Egypt now instead. Amazing. What an upgrade. Never been to Egypt. Booked my tour to see the pyramids. Wake up this morning. Denied entry into Egyptian waters as well. Now, this doesn't say explicitly because we're gay, but it's because we're gay. And I think it's just blowing my mind. As a gay man, it's just, it's really hard to hear. I know that this kind of prejudice is not new to these kind of countries. And obviously, I don't want to go anywhere that shares those kind of views. But you just can't help but feel that with this current administration, people around the world feel more emboldened to do these kinds of things.
42:24And it's just really awful. I would like to hope that the world is moving forward, but just kind of feels like we're moving backwards. But we will still be having a fabulous day time wherever we are. Trust and believe. Ben, Ben, did I hear that right? Did Freddie Mercury there blame the Trump administration for Turkey and Egypt not liking homos? Yeah, for Turkey and Egypt and everybody in the Middle East that says, yeah, we don't allow a massive gay crew to come into our country. This is what borders looks like, folks, whether you like it or not. Like this is, you know, you don't get to go and change the laws of another country because your feelings got hurt, even because you're gay.
43:02Well, can I just say, I am so tired of these liberal gays trying to paint President Trump as anti-gay. They try to paint President Trump as homophobic. The guy has hosted gay weddings at his properties. He has the highest ranking gay cabinet official in American history. He travels with an opera singer. He had the village people perform the YMCA at the inauguration. This is not someone who is anti-gay. He likes cats. He likes Broadway. He likes musical theater. He is a New York culture guy. Wait, he travels with an opera singer? That one's a new one for me. Does he not have an opera singer at every major event?
43:36That guy who comes out and sings? So he has the opera singer come again. Dave's like, I need to meet this person. Who is this person? Marco Rubio, does he sing opera too? That guy does everything. All right, well, to the point of the ridiculousness of these people, my friend Sheila Nazarian, who is now on Netflix's Skin Decision, apparently, She gave a great speech at a KUFI event about the absurdity of these people constantly screaming death to America. I want to ask the students screaming death to America. Do you have any idea what happens when American values die? Because I do. My family fled a country where freedom died.
44:18You don't know what you have until it's gone. You think America is oppressive because you have never experienced real oppression. You think silence is violence because you've never been silenced. You think words are dangerous because you have never watched a government drag someone away for speaking them. You think capitalism is evil because you have never stood in a bread line. You think borders are immoral because you have never had to flee across one. And you think revolution is romantic because you have never had a revolution take everything from you. I have. And that's why I refuse to be quiet.
45:03Most of the 2000 guys on that boat, they are not going to come back with some come to Jesus, mea culpa moment and be like, boy, maybe we've been thinking about things wrong, are they? No, not at all. Not even a chance. They're going to say that their cruise is amazing, but somehow they have been persecuted. And that is now going to be a part of their story to anyone that will listen to them, probably for the rest of their lives. That they went on a gay cruise and they were persecuted in the Middle East, but they're not going to stop fighting for their gay rights. That will be their story because this is part of that like self-righteousness.
45:35I think they were kind of hoping and exciting it would happen. They can frame the letter and they can put it up in their apartment and they can claim somehow they were a victim of being gay in the world. Link, are you a victim? him. No, I don't walk around feeling like a victim at all. And I actually don't blame Turkey and Egypt if they don't want, you know, 2000 gays running off the dock like Pamplona running of the bulls. That's their discretion. You know what I'm saying? Like, countries are allowed to govern themselves. I don't even vilify these other countries that are against homosexuality.
46:05I know I'm going to get burned at the stake for saying that, but I live here in America. I care about the laws and rights I have here. Anytime I travel to another country, I want to come running back to my home and be in my own bed. So I'm not going to vilify Turkey and Egypt for not wanting these 2 ,000 dudes running in. I hope they come back and they appreciate America. That's what I would say. Well, also, it's like this guy paints this narrative that they were going to go and really stimulate the economy of Turkey and Egypt. I don't know, maybe at the gift shop next to the pyramids or something.
46:31Gays are so cheap when they travel. Like, you know you're not going to drink on the mainland or buy food because you can drink all you want on the ship. You're going to eat all your meals on the ship. It's all included in the package. You guys are acting like you're going to go keep the economy afloat in Turkey. Nobody needs you. We're good. I honestly think Erdogan should have just written a thing like, we're just banning Patti LuPone. The rest of you can come and it would be just fine. Gentlemen, that is our show for today. Have a good weekend. Ben, I know you'll be in the free state of Florida.
46:59Link, what do you do on a weekend like this? Cruises or just hiding in bed? I'm going to sit at home and watch this movie, Contact, with Jodie Foster. Wait, why are you saying that? It's basically my favorite movie of all time. How did that come up? I won my list, and we've been trying to watch it for days, and I need to watch it. It is a wonderful, brilliant, thoughtful movie written by the great Carl Sagan. You're going to enjoy it. All right. Thank you. That's our program for today. And Ben, you better get the jokes next time you talk about that. I will pay closer attention when you're setting me up for that.
47:34I got it. That's a one-time learning curve, Dave. One-time learning curve. All right. See you guys. Have a good weekend. Thank you guys. Thank you so much. See you.
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From the publisher
Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" talks to Ben Ferguson and Link Lauren about the backlash over Zohran Mamdani's bizarre viral World Cup viewing party at Rikers Island prison and why it may be a sneak peek of his prison reform agenda and his plans to close Rikers; Bill Maher putting NPR's Steve Inskeep in his place with his brutally honest take on the self-righteous elitism of liberals and Democrats; CNN's Abby Phillip having to break up an argument over illegal immigrants being deported by ICE between "The View's" Ana Navarro and Lydia Moynihan; Border Czar Tom Homan telling Fox News' Laura Ingraham why he fears that ICE deportations will get far more violent and deadly as long as Democratic rhetoric keeps encouraging people to fight back and resist ICE raids; Palantir CEO Alex Karp telling The Free Press' Bari Weiss how progressives used to be against illegal immigration because it lowered the wages of the poor and lower middle class, and how Democrats reversing course on this major issue may be the death of their party; gay cruise attendees being surprised when the Muslim country of Turkey refused to let them dock at its port; and much more.
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