This Memorial Day, as America approaches the 25th anniversary of 9-11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgages on 26 homes for Gold Star families and families of fallen first responders across 13 states. In tribute to the 343 FDNY firefighters lost on 9-11, Tunnel to Towers has committed to delivering 343 mortgage-free homes this year. Their courage will never be forgotten. Join us. Donate $11 a month at t2t.org.
And we're live on match day as Doug reaches for a buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. What a finish! There's no doubt about it.
It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Hi everyone, I'm Brian Kilmee. Welcome to One Nation on this Sunday. Thanks so much for watching.
Got a very important show coming your way. Andrew Colbert's going to be with us. Break down the Charlie Kirk pre-hearings and getting rid of all these conspiracy theories that are so damaging to the family and to this country, in my view. Andrew Culvert from Turning Point. Also, Brandon Gill here on the craziness going on in Maine, on the candidates that are gone socialists, and his DEI hearings that are coming up this week.
But first things first, some serious and some disturbing news. We begin with the sudden death. of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. He passed away last night, hours after landing in Washington from Ukraine, after talking to President Trump and looking forward to Sunday show appearances today. That wouldn't happen.
There's nothing about this. And his death, that isn't shocking. Why? Because for more than three decades, Lindsey Graham was one of the most consequential members of Congress as both a congressman and senator. He was at the center of nearly every major domestic and especially foreign policy decision surrounding this nation.
He wasn't just in the room. He helped shape the decisions. I would actually compare him in the Senate to what President Trump is to the executive branch because his job was his life. He was constantly looking to solve problems, shape legislation, working with people in power to make a difference. It was his mission to keep America safe, keep America strong and keep our enemies at bay.
How appropriate that his last stop on Earth was in the middle of a five year brutal war in Ukraine, where he spoke optimistically about the end to this conflict, and yes, with Ukraine coming out on top. You know, I personally enjoyed my countless on-air radio and TV interviews with Lindsey Graham over the last 20 years. What I'll also treasure most. About the many conversations we had away from the cameras. He was endlessly curious about what's happening on Fox and everything else.
He had an incredible depth of knowledge. He always was asking what I thought while telling me what he knew. He made me, I think, five times more informed as a host and anchor than I would have been without him, bringing me inside the halls of power everywhere. With us right now is a man who is with Senator Graham on that final trip to Ukraine. He joined us from Poland now, and he just received the Medal of Freedom from President Zelensky himself, a close personal friend to Senator Graham.
He was a ment Senator Graham mentored him in many ways. Chairman Mike McCall joined us of Texas from Warsaw.
Well, Congressman, how do you put in perspective what we now know about the passing of Senator Graham? It was shocking to me. I was on the train from Kiev to Warsaw when I found out about it. It's a sad day for America. Uh the Senate lost a giant.
Uh this morning. He was a mentor, as you mentioned, and a friend to me. We share the same world view as as you and I do, Brian. Believe that we're strongest at home. When we're strong abroad, Projecting strength around the world makes us safer here at home.
You know, Lindsay and I were both products of the Cold War. He was in the United States Air Force. You know, my father was Army Air Corps bombing the Nazis. But we shared that same view. That I think tempered by the Cold War.
The Soviet Union. The evil empire that Ronald Reagan talked about, peace through strength. That whole philosophy. I always knew where Graham, where Lindsay stood. On the issues, whether it be Iran, Will there be communist China in the Indo-Pacific?
Or when it stood to Russia. In its invasion of Ukraine, and how fitting. For him is the last day on earth. to be with the president of ukraine After meeting with the President of the United States, who gave his strong support Further efforts. To have Ukraine win this conflict.
The idea of the Patriot battery systems, Patriot interceptors being. innovated and built in Ukraine. The idea of the political support. President Trump gave him, and Lindsay had a lot to do with that, Brian. Lindsay was constantly in President Trump's ear.
Shaping his foreign policy. And I was right there behind him. I'll never forget being at the Munich Security Conference. And Lindsay invites me to a dinner. And it's John McCain.
And Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. You know, John McCain, his great mentor. I I view Lindsey Graham the same to me. As a mentor to me. That's a sad day for me personally.
But you know what? The last thing I talked to him about. Was a Russian sanctions bill. That he had been working with the White House. to get basically the nod to introduce.
We agreed. But this week Coming back home, that we would introduce that tough Russian sanctions bill. And you know what? We In his honour. to preserve his legacy.
We are going to introduce this bill this week. And I can think of no greater honor to Lindsay's legacy. Than for the Congress to pass that bill. He would want nothing more than that. Congressman.
You know, he, I know, he really respected you, and President Zelensky really loved that Senator Lindsey Graham cared so much, as did you. And that's how you got that award. And we're seeing pictures of it now getting this award today. Because you're going to be leaving Congress in November. Sadly, Senator Graham is now gone.
But I want you to hear his last words publicly about what he thought was happening with that war. Listen to this. I've never been more optimistic than I am today. That we have the formula to end this war. Help Ukraine be more lethal.
Let those supporting Russia know It's going to be a price to be paid if you keep doing it. and to try to find the off-ramp. He doesn't just say off ramp, but he went on to say about Vladimir Putin giving off ramp so he can save face, but he wouldn't say that optimistically. If you guys aren't getting briefed about a change of what's happening in that war, And Vladimir Putin feared those sanctions. They got over 80 votes in the Senate.
They wouldn't put it to a vote unless President Trump would sign it. Is it your belief that President Trump will sign it this week? Not the hope. Is it your belief he will? Yes, I do.
The last communication I had with this team. was that they got the nod from the White House. And so it was our plan, and it still is, to introduce. This tough Russia sanctions bill. Uh this week.
Uh Senator Roger Wicker, the the chair of the armed services. Senate committee is on that bill. And we, it's our intention. Not only to introduce it this week, Brian. But to name it after Lindsey Graham in his honor.
Nothing would be more fitting for him. He's so articulate.
So courageous, such a patriot, such a visionary. I love talking to him because he was so creative. We would bounce ideas off each other. What would be a great security guarantee for Ukraine if Russia violated the agreement? Things like that.
And I know that this bill that we worked on the last year was really near and dear to his heart. Again, I can't think of anything more fitting than for Congress to Pass it it's it's painful for me to watch that video. Uh just because The the the hurt is so recent. Uh we have lost uh quite a talent and an American patriot. Uh at that.
And, Congressman, what I think people don't understand, they keep saying he was a hawk. He's not a hawk. He was concerned about our security and he was willing to. Confront our enemies. And whether it was President Obama, President Bush, or President Biden, not much so much Biden, but definitely President Trump twice.
He would work with that leader to achieve what he thought was in our nation's interest. And if he thought in our nation's interest confrontation was the only way, that's why he would go for it. Not that he liked war. That's exactly right. He was not a warmonger at all.
He believed in the doctrine of peace through strength, as Ronald Reagan. taught us in our generation. In fact, when he was looking at Ukraine, he would tell you the reason why he wanted the Patriot interceptors to go in to protect. Ukraine from ballistic missiles. The reason he wanted to pass his Russian sanctions bill was not for war, but rather for peace.
Because That pressure, maximum pressure campaign. Is what will get Putin to the table. Remember, Zelensky, as I talked to him yesterday. is ready for a ceasefire and to come to the table to negotiate. We talked about Lindsay, we talked about the Russian sanctions.
Bill, that was Lindsey Grand's vision. It's Putin that will not come to the table. It's Putin right now that is not going to agree to a ceasefire. And only by this threat of sanctions. and these interceptors, will we achieve that result?
I know, Congressman, you went out of your way to join our show tonight as a tribute to him, and I really appreciate it, so does our audience, to give a real close look at the impact he's made on you and the rest of the country and leaders around the world. Congressman Michael McCall, thanks so much. Thank you, Brian. And next, prosecutors lay out overwhelming evidence in a preliminary hearing for Charlie Kirk's accused assassin. Is it enough to silence the conspiracy theorist once and for all?
Turning point spokesperson Andrew Colbin joins me next. Also, be sure to catch me on Fox Nation this fall. Go to BrianKilmey.com or be on stage. United the States coming up in October. Back in a moment.
Uh Across the country, United Health Group is working with local partners to build healthier communities every day. That includes helping partners like the Good Acre provide 45,000 meals and lower A1C in the Twin Cities, and helping Hello Family Doulas deliver 44% fewer underweight births in Spartanburg. Because building healthier communities starts by giving people access to the care and services they need to live healthier lives. Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com/slash commitment. Far too long over the last few years, conspiracies have overtaken reality by a wide margin.
You may have noticed. I never really thought it was going to be possible. For example, I assume we all agreed we walked on the moon. Headlines like this: conspiracy theories keep coming, happen, keep coming up. Kim Kardashian, a little famous, talks about fake news on the 1969 moon landing.
NASA's acting chief begs to differ, but it becomes a debate at everyone's dinner table, at your barbecue, at your tailgate. What about the Sandy Hook slaughter of innocent children? Or are they actors? Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, founder of the website Infowars.com, is known here in Connecticut for calling the Sandy Hook tragedy a hoax. In his YouTube videos, critics say Jones mocked Newtown's grieving parents and questioned the validity of the school shooting.
I was not mocking, I was showing what people were questioning. Yeah, right. where in Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation. Hunter Biden, this laptop that intelligence officials have warned is likely Russian disinformation. Ongoing Russian disinformation effort looks like a classic.
Russian playbook disinformation campaign. Ongoing Russian disinformation effort. Yeah, they bought into it. It muddies the waters. They claim President Trump wasn't really shot in Butler, or the death of Corey Carpenter wasn't real.
He's got these magical doctors who claim that he was shot in the ear, but his ear, I guess, grew back. He had a duplo bandage on one minute, no bandage the next. We can't get a medical record from this alleged assassination. He was supposedly shot. We have nothing.
You believe this? And when they claimed the White House Correspondence Center, which I was at, you know, the assassination attempt. They said that was contrived. The entire White House correspondence dinner was weird, beginning to end. Even if you take these people at their word that this was a real threat, you still had Donald Trump, J.D.
Vance, Marko Rubio, Pete Hagseth, Mike Johnson, Cash Patel, and almost every member of the cabinet in the same room at the same time during an active war, and someone was still able to get in the building with a gun? This was not a real assassination attempt. You know, I could name 10 more, like 9-11 and inside job, that I didn't even mention here. Oftentimes, they go viral, and the next thing you know, they become conventional belief.
Now comes the latest, and arguably among the most disturbing conspiracy yet. The Charlie Kirk murder was an inside job. According to some online, the man charged with killing him, he didn't do it. Instead, they say his wife Erika was behind it. Israel did it.
Bibi Netanyahu called for it. Ben Shapiro was to blame. Or even members of Charlie's own staff. Baseless, bizarre, hurtful claims that are taken as true on face value. But we know now, and we knew then actually, they're insane.
According to testimony presented this week during the preliminary hearing, the case against Tyler Robinson is far more detailed than many people even realize. This past week, prosecutors presented videos tracing Tyler Robinson's movements. There's ballistics and firearms analysis pointing to him. There's a Dremel tool where he made notches into the shells matching ammo and firearms found in Robinson's home. DNA that links Robinson to the gun, an alleged handwriting confession note, and text messages.
And Tyler says, I'm still okay, my love, but I'm stuck in Orum for a little while longer yet.
Okay. Shouldn't be long until I can come home, but gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you. And then Lance replies, You weren't the one who did it right.
And Tyler says, I am, I'm sorry. It's called a confession.
So here's the question. Will this finally put the unsubstantiated, bizarre conspiracy theories to rest? Or will these influencers, the podcasters, keep spreading this crap online? Because outrage gets clicks, and clicks make money. And in the process, the people profiting from these theories aren't just misleading their audience.
They're actually making it harder for a grieving family to find peace, for the general public to know the truth, and for a Turning Point to move forward after a horrific murder that took down their founder, their leader. A husband, a father. Andrew Culvert has been at the hub of all this, and he's the spokesperson for Turning Point in the organization and joins us now. Andrew, when you were watching this hearing, I was wondering what you were thinking, because you've had for the past year deal with all those conspiracy theories I mentioned. Yeah.
A lot of thoughts, Brian, a lot of thoughts. And part of this is that Unfortunately, my dear friend Charlie Kirk was the first prominent political assassination. In the social media era.
So, and unfortunately for us, the justice system does not move at the speed of social media, right?
So it was a terrible week. It was heartbreaking.
Some of these text messages, some of the confessions, some of the testimony from Lance Twiggs, where he said that. Yeah. Tyler Robinson came back and he was in tears and he said he wished he wouldn't have done it. I mean, it's heartbreaking for me to hear things like that because it's like. Then, why did you even do it?
Was this some passing whim that you had? It just makes it all the more senseless. But, you know, it's also good because we've been living in this vacuum, this void of true evidence, of facts. And that's always where these social media influencers fall down, Brian, is when you confront them with where's the proof, where's the evidence?
So oftentimes they don't have any. It's just a feeling, it's a hunch, it's a speculation. And too often, when that happens, it becomes reckless. And innocent people get hurt. Innocent people get harassed.
They get death threats. We've seen this with Erica. There's been a massive raft of these things. And so we want to make sure that we're being evidence first, fact-first. And I think, you know, just to be very clear, Brian, I'm not advocating for any type of censorship here.
And what we've seen, though, this week is that a lot of voices found their courage, started speaking into this void when they saw the facts. The evidence is winning the day, and I'm really encouraged by it. A couple of things. I included the Russia investigation there because that's a time in which questioning was right. You know, they were telling us it was Russian disinformation.
Was it? That laptop was real.
So it's okay to question. But this case was overwhelming, and because the prosecution wasn't speaking out, they said, Well, that means the case has fallen apart. No, the prosecution can't present their case outside the courtroom, right? Yeah, no, there was actually a gag order here, and there was an instance where the Daily Mail took a headline. I was on this network complaining about it actually because the bullet was so badly damaged that they couldn't exclude or include the fact that the bullet for sure was connected to the gun based on tool mark analysis, right?
So it's just an inconclusive. But it's a 30-caliber round, there's DNA, there's lots of other ways to link Tyler Robinson to that weapon, but the news media and this online social chatter went crazy with it. And so actually, one of the prosecutors tried to correct the record and he got slapped on the wrist for that.
So it's just another example of how there's been a void, a vacuum, where the conspiracy theorists could flood in and unfortunately convince a lot of people of a lot of garbage.
So, Andrew, do you believe the people that are doing this are doing it for money, or do they really believe that this? uh loser could pull off this type of Uh assassination. You know, I think it's different for all of them, Brian. I think some of them truly believe this stuff and have been convinced. I think others, it's far more cynical and malicious.
And they're doing it to either, you know, hurt Erica or make money, whatever their motivation is. I think a lot of them actually are in league with left-leaning groups in our instance because Turning Point is conservative. But whatever the rationale is, I think it's different for everybody. And we have to, and what we're seeing now, Brian, is that a lot of people are going on social media saying, hey, I was wrong, I was duped by this. And I want to be welcoming to those people.
I want to say that's okay. You learned your lesson and you can help lead other people back from this stuff because it really is intoxicated. It really is enticing. And it can draw a lot of people the wrong direction if you're not being rooted and disciplined in facts. Exactly.
We're about to come up in election season, and it's important people get the true story or believe the true story or do your own research.
So, how is Turning Point doing? I'm seeing some pretty impressive numbers. Yeah, over 3,500 Club America chapters, yeah.
Well over 1,500 college chapters, as you see there. And actually, it's more than that because there's a bunch more that are in process as well. And, you know, just this weekend, right in D.C., we brought over 2,500 of our top student leaders from all over the country for our chapter leadership summit. That's over 2x, the largest in our history.
So we're doing great there as well. And on the Turning Point action side, we just opened field offices in New Hampshire and Nevada, Arizona, obviously, where we're based, and we're hiring hundreds of ballot chasers, fulfilling the vision that Charlie had for building the machine, building the red wall for conservatives. And so there's so much great momentum going on, and I hope. That now that the public has seen some of this evidence, that we can refocus on what's important, focus on the things Charlie wanted to focus on, which is winning the next generation and winning elections.
So, Andrew Charlie was on our show February of 2025, and he talked about his role after President Trump won the election. and we know it was prominent. And it's going to have to be a big role if the Republicans are going to do well in the midterms and, of course, in 28. Here's what he said. What we saw this last election cycle, especially with the work that we were doing on college campuses, was one of the most sizable demographic realignments in history.
What President Donald Trump was able to do was win the youth vote in the state of Michigan, almost win it in Wisconsin, almost win it in Pennsylvania. We're talking about 30 and 40-point movements over the last couple years in President Trump's direction. We were able to play a small role and be a vessel for a greater purpose. And you can make the argument that if the youth did not vote the way they did, President Trump would not have won back in November. Your thoughts about what Charlie said about the last election and what about the impact in this midterm election?
Yeah, I mean, Brian, I don't want to sugarcoat it. We've lost ground with the youth vote. Part of that is what, you know, the Iran conflict. Young people are not excited about that. They're confused about why we did it.
So there needs to be some education there. There needs to be some understanding, also, I think, from political leaders to reach out to them and understand where they're coming from. The Epstein files is another issue that has pushed young people away. But I think what you're seeing with this case, Brian, why I'm encouraged, is that when the facts come in, You're actually getting some of these skeptical voices in the podcast space and in the independent media space. They're saying, hey, you know what?
Okay, Tyler Robinson did it. You're seeing surprising voices going, okay, I'm convinced. And I think you're going to start seeing that with a lot of these conspiracy theories. This could be the first domino to fall. And listen, I happen to think it's really important that we entertain some conspiracy theories and poke holes in them.
Like you said, Hunter Biden's laptop, COVID. We have been lied to a lot, and it's important to do that. Andrew, great job. Appreciate it. Look forward to talking to you again.
Thanks, Brian. Honor to be here.
Alright, don't move.
Next, only on One Nation, Lydia Moynihan is here with the media moments that matter most to her. Oh, and by the way, check out my YouTube channel, youtube.com/slash at the Brian Kill Me Show. Let's get it Cause that's life and that's why. Myself to spend more time talking to the Hi, everyone. It's Brian Kilmead here.
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This is a Fox News Alert on Marianne Rafferty in Los Angeles. Longtime Senator Mitch McConnell is breaking his silence about his health, the Kentucky Republican, releasing a statement saying he fell at his home in Washington a few weeks ago and then later developed a mild case of pneumonia. He was also briefly knocked unconscious. Rumors have been swirling about his condition, doctors confirming he did not break any bones or suffer any other serious medical issues. And a dangerous heat wave hammering the Rockies and Northern Plains, putting about 40 million people at risk.
Some places could see high temperatures between 105 and 115 degrees, breaking numerous records. Forecasters are warning of a heightened risk of heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke. The extreme heat also adds to growing wildfire threats across the drought-stricken West. The scorching temps will spread into the Midwest and Northeast over the coming days. I'm Marianne Rafferty, now back to One Nation.
Yeah. Is it racist for a government official to identify fraud? No. No, is is it Islamophobic? Do I identify fraud?
Do I identify fraud? No, I don't believe it would be. Do you think that white people should pay reparations? I have never said that, sir. Yes, you did.
You said it in January of 2020. You tweeted. You asked me if tax dollars should be used to pay for sodas. Taxpayers' money should be utilized to ensure that individuals have access to the food that they need to survive. Do the American people need Coca-Cola to survive?
So, that's one of Congress's youngest members and rising stars on the right, Brandon Gill, who's already making a name for himself by, well, he pointed out. To high to high profile people, very intense, well-researched questions. Maybe that's why the Daily Beast decided to take him on. Look at this headline: quote: MAGA REP blasted for cutting Indian American wife. Out of his ad, whitewashing.
But critics of Gill left out one key detail. On the same day, he also posted photos featuring his entire family, including his wife. Johnny, now for reaction is Texas Congressman Brandon Gill. Brandon, you knew if you started scoring in these hearings, they're going to come after you. What was the reaction from your wife and family when they did that?
You know, it's one of those things you recognize that if you go after the left, they're going to come back at you and they're going to attack you and they're going to slander you. And, you know, we get called racist and Islamophobic and every other kind of phobia or slander the left can come up with every single day. And the way I see it is that if the left isn't attacking you, you're probably not being very effective in Congress.
So it's an honor to see the Daily Beast come after me. What it does show, though, I think it really highlights how dishonest these people are, though. It highlights really how, in many ways, just despicable they are. As you pointed out, I post families, pictures with my family all the time, including my wife, whom I deeply, deeply love. And to suggest based on no evidence at all that I cut her out is pretty disgusting.
It is. By the way, you're lucky. My family says do not post anything ever.
So I got to work on that. They want their privacy, can totally understand it. All eyes on Maine last week and this week because the Dems faced the July 27th deadline to replace their disgraced Senate candidate who got 70 plus percent of the vote in Maine after months of ignoring warning signs about his personal behavior and we know about his tattoos and everything else. Do you think Democrats are going to do the same thing they did with Kamal and just put someone in there?
Well, you know, it's interesting that the party who likes to talk about democracy is the party that's forcing this guy off the ballot. And you know what's really interesting about it is that almost all of the things that Democrats are focused on right now with Graham Plattner, that he's a scumbag, that he has abused women, that he's done all the said really insane things, almost all of that was known on June 9th whenever the Democrats had their primary, and yet Maine Democrat voters chose him anyways. The clear reality is that at this point, Democrats are rejecting Graham Plattner, not because he's a scumbag, but because they don't think he can win the election this fall. That's why they're going against him. I don't think that they have it.
They clearly didn't have a real problem with him having a Nazi tattoo on his chest or the things that he had done to women. I think that's a problem, and it shows a rot in the Democrat Party today. Yeah, he was trailing by four points already to Susan Collins, who loses polls and wins elections.
So what about in Texas? I think it's too close. to call Paxon up by a percentage points over Tallarico, who's got a lot more money. But Paxson also has his personal problems over in your state. Where do you stand on that?
Well, it's a close race right now, but we've got a long ways to go. And I think that we've got plenty of time to really define who James Tallarico is. And the reality is that James Tallarico is a radical, radical leftist who is far out of step with almost any voter in the state of Texas. A guy who's talked about God being non-binary, how there are six different sexes, who has daydreamed about transgender children, who, as a matter of policy, wants to put a welcome mat on our southern border, who wants to kill Texas's energy industry. I mean, these are things, not only is James Tallarico a weird guy, but he is somebody who will promote policies that will make life materially worse for the people of Texas.
And I think that they're going to realize that. They're going to realize we cannot have a Democrat senator in that state, and they're going to vote red. Why haven't they? And I know Ted Cruz, who only won by 2.5 percent of his points. Is Texas changing?
Why are they so close and why were they so close in the last cycle?
Well, you see this every cycle, you know, where Democrats come in and they raise a lot of money just like Tallarico is, and they're going to spend a lot of money in Texas. And they have this big narrative that they're going to flip Texas blue, and this is going to be the election season where Texas becomes Democratic, and it has never played out. And Ted Cruz won his election last cycle by, I believe, 11 points. The cycle before that, when he was up, he won as well. And I think that Ken Paxton is going to win this cycle too, no matter what the fundraising numbers look like and no matter what kind of Democrat narrative they want to create right now is.
Congressman, I look forward to your hearings this week on DEI. And the one thing about you, the reason why you're turning so many heads, is you prepare. You know where you're going, and it's just so obvious. Congressman, thanks so much. Media moments that matter.
All right, time for everyone's favorite segment. This week, I gave my only VCR, my TV guide, which is weekly and delivered, and all my cords in my tape stock, too. New York Post-owned Lydia Moynihan. Lydia, great to see you. It's great to be here with you.
I did have to tape over a couple of your VHSs. Which is a problem. Baby's first steps. Yes. I hope that's not a problem.
It's okay, as long as you rewind.
Okay, that's all I have.
Okay. All right, the first thing you picked up on was how Plattner, Graham Plattner, suddenly is too scandalous to run for office. But we could have gotten this story a lot earlier if the New York Times did a real story. Isn't it amazing? Yeah, so after many months of glazing and pushing Graham Plattner on us, at least one New York Times journalist, 51-year-old, very impressionable woman evidently, is finally asking some questions and taking a little bit of blame here.
Michelle Goldberg wrote this week in an opinion piece the lessons she learned from this, and she says, while I'm assuming I'm assigning blame, I shouldn't lead out myself. Impressed by Plattner's political charisma, I wrote that he was nothing like the edgelord caricature I encountered online. If anything, he seems to be significantly worse. Brian, I appreciate her taking responsibility, but is this too little, too late? Lyddy, the same thing is if you look at the story, the one woman that ended up coming forward on her own said is because they said they couldn't corroborate my story.
So she came out by herself. You would never do that. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting that it's both the opinion arm of the New York Times, which Michelle Goldberg is part of, but also the newsroom that really dropped the ball on this. Exactly, to your point. They had the opportunity to expose the scandal of him raping this woman, and they said, oh, she was off the record.
You know, we didn't decide to move forward with that story. It's the same thing over and over again.
Now, I know you're on that other network CNN often, sometimes, but we were talking about Mitch Mikado's health because we know he had an incident. We don't know much about it. We wanted to find out if there's any first-hand knowledge of how he's doing. And somehow CNN got duped. Yeah, you can't believe everything you read on the internet.
And I think CNN learned that lesson this week. It wasn't a deep fake, it was literally just fake news. They aired a tweet. from an account that isn't real. It was a complete Parody account.
They picked it up. put it on the full screen. The tweet itself was claiming that he had spoken to Senator Mitch McConnell, and he was claiming in it that he was a representative from California's 54th district, which does not exist. Nor does the congressman. Congressman Jack Kimball doesn't exist, but it made CNN as somebody who would give a first-hand account on Mitch McConnell's health at the age of 84.
Sad. Yeah. This was a whole satire as well. There were several people after this who claimed that they had spoken with Mitch McConnell. Claims like, I saw him riding a unicorn at Taylor and Travis' wedding.
So it really kind of sparked a viral meme online with lots of interesting allegations about Mitch McConnell. None of which seemed to be true. Serious stuff, but a true parody, and they got him.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ramdani continues to create some controversy. His office put out an interesting map with something missing when it comes to ethnic neighborhoods. Yeah, so this map, I think we need to have a mamdale. Donnie moment each week, as well as a media moment.
So you'll notice, great map there. They highlight lots of immigrant communities: little Palestine, little Pakistan, little Senegal. There were a few communities missing from that map. Little Italy. Little Italy.
For one. It makes up 11% of the population. Italians are livid. We have some very notable Italians here in New York City.
So, yeah, here is, of course, if they existed in real life like they did on television and HBO, this is how you would imagine they would feel about it. Don't know what it is? Can I tell you what it is? It's anti-Italian discrimination. Columbus Day is a day of Italian pride.
It's our holiday. And they want to take it away. It's true. How did he want to take them off the map?
So, do you think this was just an oversight, or was there something maybe a bit more nefarious? No, he missed the Puerto Rican Day parade, he missed the March for Israel. He seems he remembers he didn't show up for the installation of the new Cardinal at St. Patrick's. This is a very interesting mayor we have.
It is. And I've never heard of some of these communities they're highlighting. But maybe we can go grab a bite in Little Senegal. Or if not, if that's crowded, we'll go to Yemen. It'll be fantastic.
Thanks so much, Lydia. Great to see you. Continue to watch your column and read your column. Is that okay? Please.
Please, please do. And all I ask is. Return the VCR.
Okay, I'll try.
Next, the impact of this year's World Cup with one of the architects of modern-day U.S.
soccer, Alan Rothenberg. Don't move. I woke up on the wrong side of the trip and dismissed. Nearly home. Isn't home where we all want to be?
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Over 500,000 new listings every month based on average new for-sale and rental listings, February 2024 through January 2025. Americans do soccer in their own unique way and the American way of life. Like, go on side quests to the gas stations. Get the ice, fill your cups with ice. We just don't do chicken like this in the UK, chef's kiss.
Now, I love me are waffle fries, obviously, got those. I mean, who is getting a side salad? If you get that, you are clinically insane. Hot dog, packet of crisps, and a drink bigger than me had for $3. Not bad.
We are currently at the Museum Costco. How can they even run out of stock? This is just too much. This is too much. It is too much.
Most of the world has really enjoyed their trip to America. The U.S. men's national team out of the World Cup, but it still stings a little bit, but they played well. This tournament was about more than just a game. On home soil, soccer captured America's attention.
The ratings proved it. U.S.-Belgium game, the most watched telecast in American history. 42 million people watched. Host cities have seen consumer spending jump over 6%, driven by 16.7% surge from visiting fans. More than 5.5 million people have packed FIFA fan fests across the country, having a good time, and the tournament is on pace to become the biggest financial success in FIFA history.
So, yes. The U.S. lost. But this World Cup may have created something even bigger: a new generation of fans and a brighter future for U.S.
soccer, and maybe the next generation we can compete in the finals. Joining us now to discuss this all and more is the founder of Major League Soccer, former president of U.S.
soccer, author of the big bounce, Alan Rothenberg. Alan, great to see you. We worried about how this was going to come off as good as the World Cup you ran in 94, but this has been, from my perspective, unbelievable. What about you? You're a dollars and cents guy.
What do you think?
Well, it's off the charts. This tournament has been absolutely spectacular, and it's going to be great for soccer in the United States going forward. Uh so uh from a financial standpoint Obviously, FIFA is getting all the benefit they hope for. I think our local communities, based on the expenditures by consumers, are going to do just fine.
So financially, it's doing great. But I'm more interested in what it means for the sport going forward, and I think it's a huge, huge, huge success and a huge step forward for that. We have Landon Donovan, Alexei Lalis, we're getting to know them as Tim Howard, them as commentators. You knew them as they were this they were the backbone of the U.S. national team when you were running things.
How do you compare this generation to that generation In terms of quality of play. And you date back to pre-NASL, Alan. You've seen a lot of soccer. Yeah. Yes, yes.
Well, I think we have more talent now than we had before. One of the problems that we have is the fact that. Um These 11 players that started I think had not ever started as a unit together before that last friendly game with Germany and in this tournament. You know, it's great to have the World Cup in our country. On the other hand, it meant that we didn't have to qualify to get in.
So we had no competitive matches, really, with this. Group of 11 players, and it I think it really showed when we came up against Belgium. I think that in the next four years it's going to be a lot different. We have a number of mid-20 year olds and even lower than that that played on this squad. Uh we've got some really good young MLS players coming up.
And the fact is, we're going to have to qualify. We're also going to compete in the COCACAF Gold Cup and the Nations Cup, and so there will be a lot of. Greater preparation, and so I think we're going to really see another step forward on the field.
Now, you mentioned Landon Donovan. I think the other thing that people have to remember, in one of his broadcasts, he said. He went to the World Cup. In 1994, as an 11-year-old, and that's what turned him on to wanting to be a great soccer player.
Well, now we have 40 million Americans out there, and I think that there's going to be more than one Landon Donovans watching that who are going to get inspired and end up being superstars in the future. Yeah, I saw a picture of an eight-year-old Weston McKinney with Landon Donovan when he was in Germany as a child, and now he's one of the stars of the team.
So that builds up your point. Alan, we saw the controversy with FIFA reversing the red card that never should have been issued, in my view, and most people's view. But do you believe overall? When you talk about VAR and instant replay, it's helped baseball, it's helped football. I'm not sure it's helping soccer.
What do you think?
I think it's being overused. Originally, it was to make sure on a goal that the ball was completely over the goal line. uh and uh for offsides uh and Clearly, if there is a penalty. Oh. And I think that's all it should be doing, to overrule uh on their own Referees' decisions during the course of play, I think is absolutely wrong.
The Baling case, the referee never even pulled a yellow. I know. I didn't even know if he had called it for a free kick. Uh the the call against uh Egypt uh was preposterous. The referee was right there 100 yards further down the field.
He saw it. He never even stopped playing. And then BIR calls them over and says there was this foul.
So I just think if they would stick to. easily measurable and not judgmental. Issues, it's fine. But once they get into judgmental, that's the referee on the field. And you're talking about Egypt scored a goal and they called it back.
It was ridiculous against Argentina. They probably would have won that game and one of the big upsets ever. But, Alan, you have to take so much pride because the foundation you laid in 94 and prior and beyond laid the foundation for 2026.
So I hope people realize how important a role you have played. Alan Rothenberg, thanks so much, and pick up his book, The Big Bounce. It tells the whole story. Thanks, Alan. Thank you, Brian.
You got it. I lead with two messages. Keep it here on Fox and stay within yourself. I gotta go. My life is like Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.
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