Will Cain Country - From the Vault: Will Cain and Ruthless at the Patriot Awards!

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

In this “Best Of” edition of ‘Will Cain Country,’ Will and the boys from Ruthless join from this past year’s FOX Nation Patriot Awards with guests Brian Kilmeade and Sean Hannity to discuss President Donald Trump’s proposal to get rid of the filibuster, the fallout from Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the race for New York City Mayor, and the growing balkanization of American culture in a post-Trump world. You won't want to miss this! Subscribe to ‘Will Cain Country’ on YouTube here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch Will Cain Country!⁠⁠⁠ Follow ‘Will Cain Country’ on X (⁠⁠⁠@willcainshow⁠⁠⁠), Instagram (⁠⁠⁠@willcainshow⁠⁠⁠), TikTok (⁠⁠⁠@willcainshow⁠⁠⁠), and Facebook (⁠⁠⁠@willcainnews⁠⁠⁠) Follow Will on X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@WillCain⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year, I'm Will Kane, and this is Wilcane Country. To start the year, we're running a best-of edition. Discussions worth revisiting as we head over into whatever comes next. It's a strong lineup to open the year. Let's begin. will cane country and the ruthless podcast live from the patriot awards it is will cane country and the ruthless variety program together for the first time in person a simulcast a joint cast all here together we've got john ashbrook

michael duncan comfortably smug and josh holmes and yours truly will cane what's up fellas. How are you, buddy? This is kind of fun. I can't believe he allowed this. I never dated on the internet. I don't even remember if I ever went on any blind dates, but doing this for a living gives you the opportunity to get to know people without ever meeting people. Yesterday, I was at the Fox News headquarters in New York City, and I walked into the green room and said, Will, would you say hi to Ben? I looked over in there, Ben Shapiro. I was like, I've talked to Ben probably a dozen times in my life, but never in person.

And it's always a roll of the dice to meet your friends from the Internet. And that's what this is. I don't think I've met any four of you in person before 15 seconds ago. Well, we feel like we've known you for a long time. By the way, can I interest you in a Fox News Snow Globe? Thank you, yes. We've got a tasty selection of items behind us. You know, it's great merch.

I think we need to start moving some of this product. I'm going to get a hat. Yeah, do it. I'm going to get a hat. I'll go ahead and get yourself a hat. Well, it's very nice of you to have such chivalrous service here is about 10 seconds before we were live and you sashay on up here. It's a big star. That's how I like to do it.

Show up right before showtime. It gives, were you intimidated, smug? That's the point. Just a tiny bit of intimidation. Are one of those trailers out there are yours? Do they have you set up like? I asked about that. So we're live from the Patriot Awards on Long Island.

And outside the building right now are about three to four RVs. big, big concert bus RVs. And I said, which one's mine? And apparently none of them. And I don't, this part's not a secret. There's been a lot of, don't say this, do say that. But I think we can say, Jason Aldeen is here. That's got one of them have to be Jason Aldeans.

It's awesome. It has to be. Yeah. It's definitely not ours. I'm going to guess. How many of them more there? Four, I think. Four.

Let's just do it, guys. We can do it. Okay. One for Aldean. Got to be one for Hannity. Totally. Yeah. 100%.

Two for Brian Kilman. Meen gets a double bus. Do you think, is Melania, that's not a surprise you there, Melania Trump will be here tonight for the Patriot Awards. Is one of those for Melania? I don't think that she, I think she is in and out. You might still get a bus. You could just to sit there.

The 10 minutes before you go on. That's fair. She deserves a bus. If she wants one, could be. So first, how are we guys? Everybody good? This is your first Patriot Awards? This is wonderful.

Okay, first impressions. Ready? We're each going to do. We're each going to say this. One, smug is way taller than I thought. That is. How tall are you smoked? 6-2.

Six, yeah, I'm 6-2. Are you? And I'm taller, right? Come on. I think he's about... Well, your hair is a little tall. You also got a lift on a flush. That's height inflation.

6-2. I'm going to give you 6-1. That's 6-2. Everybody's saying it. It's the best... It's the best evidence you could ever offer. Everybody's saying it. He was the biggest Indian we could find.

And so that's what we've got here. And he does have sight. By the way, despite all the comments that we have on our channel. For the audience out there, like, people are always shocked. I say, you're not blind. Man, they're really being mean to the blind guy. I see it in my comments. When I have you guys on the Will Kane show,

The Blind Guy said this. Yeah, it happens every episode. So we were thinking about when we were walking in this main drag, having one of us hold our arm out for smug to grab just to, like, keep that way. Get that going to be great excuse if you don't want to talk to somebody. Well, he's not deaf. I just didn't see you, though. I didn't see you over there.

That's so good. All right. I have been a guest on the Ruthless Variety Program on a number of occasions. I know we can do this loose. We have several topics that we can work through together today. It would be a lot of fun. Let's do this. I'd love to start, if you guys wouldn't mind, with this. And I think this is simultaneously both a topic that exposes hypocrisy and one that has some intellectual death. And that's about the filibuster. It's interesting now that President Donald Trump was pushing for the filibuster for years, Republicans, have protected it as a tool to ensure. that we don't have simple majoritarian rule in this country. One of the many checks and balances

that come along with what we've enshrined in our Constitution. And the left has pushed to get rid of the filibuster. And that table has been flipped. President Donald Trump wants to get rid of the filibuster. Democrats now who have in the past, like Joe Biden said, it is a relic of Jim Crow

are now talking like they would, it's a foundational element of democracy to preserve the filibuster. A sacrosanct all of a sudden. Yeah. No, listen, there's never been a president. in the United States, it doesn't want to get rid of the filibuster, right? I mean, the Senate is just there to frustrate any administration, Republican, or Democrat, because, look, you can't just jam through an agenda when you have to build some consensus and get to a 60-vote threshold. By the

way, Republicans have never had it, never had a 60-vote majority in the Senate. Democrats have had it a handful of times, most recently in 2009, but every single time a new administration comes in, this is their thing, right? They want to get read. So, and I deeply, understand why Donald Trump wants to get rid of it, right? It'd be nice to not have a government shutdown, for example. The problem is, is the difference in the two parties and the way of the approach legislating in general, right? Most of the things that Republicans want to do are economic in nature.

It can be done on a simple majority through a reconciliation process. I don't need to get into all that. But the point is Republicans generally like America. We generally don't have these grand reforms of changing every instance. Constitution in America, throwing out the Constitution. Democrats do. They fundamentally think that this country is broken. So, therefore, most of what they want to do is legislative in nature.

And when I was in the Senate, I can't tell you what this country would have looked like if Barack Obama did not have a filibuster to work on. I mean, I just take people back in time through every single climate emergency discussion, every single— And amnesty? Yeah, yeah. we were both there. You name it, a list of horribles would have gotten done had that not happened. So I actually think there's an institutional advantage for Republicans by having a filibuster, not by not having it. Well, and then you also have to think about the structural change that Democrats would make to these institutions that far outstrip our ambitions.

Like, without a filibuster, they put six more justice in the United States Supreme Court. Like, immediately. They would make D.C. a state, get two more liberal senators in there to be their best. buddies and vote for everything that they want. It's just, it's fundamentally asymmetrical for Republicans to get rid of a filibuster. It is. And there's one final point, which is the last time anybody made a major change to it, Democrats said it as it pertained to judicial nominees. They're frustrated because they couldn't get five circuit court judges. At the same time, they were at the doorstep of a majority on the Supreme Court, and ultimately with the death of Antonin and Scalia,

they could have had it. But because they blew up that filibuster, Republicans just took a no-prisoners approach to all of it, and like two and a half years later, six-three majority for Republicans. So, like, these things backfire in a major way. I'm incredibly sensitive to the fact that there are words, words like redistricting, government shutdown and filibuster that are white noise and turnoffs to viewers and listeners. They are, by their very nature, boring. But I think that the filibuster, which smug I was talking about, it's like it's one of the checks and balances that ensures we don't live in simple, majority rule. That's what the Constitution was designed to do. The Constitution is a document designed to protect the rights of the minority, and the minority, meaning the people with a

less popular opinion. But I do think the fact that Donald Trump now wants to get rid of the filibuster puts us into this place where, and I think this is the right debate that we should be having every step of the way, of how do we balance what I think is a very, very good move towards populism against the limited government that we have, that has made us who we are, that is core to the United States of America. So I have a bit of a different perspective on this from my co-host, from Ruthless. I would support getting rid of the filibuster. I think we are now in extraordinary times.

We are in unprecedented times. You saw what Gavin Newsom is willing to do. He's willing, the people of California voted to have that many Republicans there. 40% of the population of California is Republicans, and he's essentially, passed a bill to wipe them out. He put that up to a vote, majority rule. So if that's how they want to play, there have to be consequences for actions. We can't always worry about, well, we can't do something because the left with it. The left has shown us. They're willing to do anything at this point. So you're echoing the line we heard from J.D. Vance, Vice President at the

Turning Point USA event. He says the right shouldn't be afraid of doing things because of what the left will do in the future. They're going to do those things anyway in the future. And I I like that line, and I like what you're suggesting. I think there's a realism to what you're talking about. But it does reduce us to political warfare, pure political warfare, pure game of power. There are no principles. There is simply power. Well, here's the thing is I would argue that you can't be worried about principles when what

was it? Two days ago, the people of Virginia elected a man, Jay Jones, who advocated for the murder of his opponents and their children. Now he's the attorney general, incoming attorney general of Virginia. these are extraordinary times. Yeah, I know. I think that's right. Look, I don't think it's a pretty good argument at all to be afraid of what something is going to happen in the future

or if Democrats get rid of the future. I fully expect them to. But I think there's a political price to be paid. I don't particularly want to pay it. But more importantly, from my standpoint, it's the scale of the legislative ambition, right? We are talking about what Trump and his truth socially was talking about voter ID, very admirable goal.

We should definitely get that done. question about it. They're talking about breaking the Supreme Court, adding D.C. and Puerto Rico, single-payer health care, amnesty for all illegal immigrants. Like the scale of voter ID versus like a fundamental remake of your country to me, I just don't want to make it any easier for them to get down that path. Yeah, I'm not so sure Democrats would get rid of the filibuster, to be honest with you. I mean, the hard left will push for it. They will raise money on that issue. But I really don't think that they will get enough. votes to overrule a philippa i just i fundamentally don't don't believe they would let me just

let me just play a counterfactual ashbrook so you today it was announced that nancy pelosi will not seek re-election at the age of 85 and we should laugh about nancy Pelosi we should point out you know that's by the way pretty good not the way you guys want to interpret what i'm suggesting but pretty good pretty solid pretty sharp for 85 um i mean if she wants to focus on running her hedge fund full-time. She doesn't need to, smug. She hasn't needed to. Why start now? She has some serious medical procedures that need attention. It's going to take some time away from Congress. But it is, it does represent a changing of the guard. And it won't be long now until Chuck Schumer is gone. And your party will be run, if not by Mamdani, people in the vein of Mondani. And it will be

AOC. It will be, I don't know if it will be Elon Omar, but I do believe that that wing will have an increasingly prominent voice, and that wing would do away with the filibuster. Well, they would try, but in order to do away with the filibuster, you have to have to have to have enough votes to get rid of it. And there are Democrats who run in states that would never elect people like Omar statewide, AOC statewide, or Mamdani statewide. You say that, but I would think they'd be voting to reopen the government today. I keep asking where those five reasonable, pragmatic Democrats are. Well, if they were to get rid of the filibuster, they reduced their leverage against even

their own president or against our president. Any senator who gets rid of the filibuster is basically turning themselves into a member of the house. Which into a senator. There's an insults and then there are insults. Because any one senator can control the entire chamber if they want to. And I mean, there's a lot of power in that. You know, you hear a lot about these deals that go on behind the scenes. These guys don't want to give up their leverage to be able to do a deal. Quick break. More of our New Year's Day. Best of coming up. Get you and your crew to the big shows with Go Transit. Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

And Go makes it affordable with special e-ticket fairs. A one-day weekend pass offers unlimited travel across the network on any weekend day or holiday for just $10. And a weekday group pass offers the same weekday travel flexibility from $30 for two people and up to $60 for five. Buy yours at gotransit.com slash tickets. This is Ainsley Earhart. Thank you for joining me for the 52 episode podcast series, The Life of Jesus. A listening experience that will provide hope, comfort, and understanding of the greatest story ever told. Listen and follow now at Fox News Podcasts.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome back to this New Year's Day, best-of edition of Will Kane Country. So if we walked out onto the golf course right now, which one of the four of Ruthless is going to win? It's Holmes. It's Holmes. That's Holmes. That's Holmes. It's Holmes. Who's last?

Me. I'm the only one who doesn't golf. You don't golf? I don't golf. Neither do I. He looks great. Really? I heard you're pretty good.

You heard you're pretty good? Are you good? Are people saying that? It's spreading rumors. No way. People are saying that. Who is saying that? It must be true. Do you really not golf at all?

Once a year. And it's not golf like you golf. It's public course. It's embarrassing. I'm surprised that you allow people to see that if it's only once a year. It's handles, not cans. Handles, not cans. Hold on, you're knocking my game, which you do not know, and you play once a year.

I'm not knocking your game. I'm knocking that you look the least like a golfer. Which, by the way, you could take as a knock or a compliment. I don't know which way you want to take me. Well, look, I hit the ball. I hit the ball very, very far. That is true. He does do that.

The problem is it's unclear on the direction sometimes. So Holmes is, Holmes gets the least strokes, and I guess smug gets the most. Yeah, that's fair. I would actually. I'm in the cart with the beers. These are the ones golf. I would love to see a swing of a club, though. I'd be awful.

For the record. Let's talk about, it's been some time since you guys did this, but talk to me about your fishing trip with the vice president. Oh, man, it was so fun. You know, we scheduled it when we didn't know what the full presidential debate schedule was going to look like, and then we had it scheduled in Michigan. And at Kalamazoo River, beautiful that time of year, early October of 24, and they announced the vice presidential debate was the day before.

And we're like, oh, you know, this thing's coming down. There's no way, JD's going to make it. make it to some fishing hole while he's, you know, 63 million people watching him debate Tim Walts. Well, sure enough, like he shows up. And I got to tell you, the first reaction that I had, and I think all of us did, we were going down this dark road. And it was like middle of the night. I mean, it was five in the morning or something like a pitch black. All of a sudden there's like 50 Secret Service people, like weapons out and there's helicopters about.

I was like, well, it's been good knowing you, fellas. This is it It was all a trick It was all a trick But it was very, very fun And until Smug tried to steal the thing No, so we decided to be a contest Over who could be the best fisher

But the problem is When you have 50 Secret Service helicopters and boats No fish is going to bite anything Yeah So I got a frozen fish from the store I put it on a hook and I won the contest That's 100% the way that way that way did What did you buy at the store

That you over in the corner of the boat worked the hook through its frozen mouth. I mean, who grabbed that thing? It was like a trout that we got. It looked real at the time. Yeah. It was pancaking on top of the water as he was reeling it in. It was like the most frozen of the frozen fish.

That's just because Smug is so strong. He reeled it up from the depths and it was still very cold. It was a cold because it was down so low. J.D. wasn't having it. He saw that thing coming a mile away. All right, since there's not enough people here with us at the table, let's do this. Let's bring in a fifth, sixth voice to the program. is the host of the Brian Kilmead show, the host of Fox and Friends.

Brian Kilmey joins us now on the Wilcane Country, ruthless variety program simulcast. What's up, Kilmead? I've never seen so much talent in one place. This is like a full fraternity. Thank you. Put your microphone on. He was just complimenting the talent that is on stage right now. Right.

I didn't want to include myself. That's why I was delayed my headset. I'm just saying I'm just here to listen. Go ahead. This park, I pretend I'm not here. I saw the five of you this morning together on Fox and Friends. And how to go from your perspective, as a viewer. I heard them call you the oldest fraternity brother.

That hurt my feeling. I could tell. It was rude. Right. And who said that? It was an aspect. But you know what? I'll wash your car right after this.

If you don't mind. I did drive here myself. This is my college. Yeah. That's right. Right. I can't believe they let you back in here. Right.

Which is a shame. Yeah. But a little bit later, I'll give a tour of my old dorm room. It's fascinating. Oh, yeah. I don't want to be part of that. I am in the Sports Hall of Fame here. I played soccer here.

It's not right. Yeah, a little bit later, I'll show you at all. You have any free time? Because every time I ask people if they have free time, they always say no. You're going to walk us through your trophies and nights. No one comes. I send out the emails. Nobody really wants to see it.

Is the traffic at the Long Island University Hall of Fame, Sports Hall of Fame? Is it a lot during the year? Wow. They get a lot of visitors? They complain. You know, and I say, listen, it's not my fault. It's not my fault. And, you know, if you're going to put it here,

I told you to put it to, like, North Dakota or South Dakota, the people that need the tourist attraction. Yes. But this just adds to it. It was like Mount Vernon and then here is number two. It means the same amount to America, although he was president and a general. Now, I was neither. You were honored at the Hall of Fame. Was that for your playing career or your post-playing career?

Probably post. I think that's probably post-playing career. He drills right down on it. I mean, how dare you? How dare you get into performance? I know how this works. Right, absolutely. Did you know Brian played soccer here?

No. Right. Big time. We should put him in the Hall of Fame. Can I just say, does this happen to happen to you before, Will? No. I'm not in the Pepperdine. I'm not in the Pepperdine.

Eventually it's going to happen. And it won't be from my one career goal. Waterpola. Did you think, when you were doing water polo, did you say I can use this in my career, I can do anything with this? Oh, my God. This is fantastic. No. Well, no.

I mean, I knew as it was happening that what I was. getting out of it was humility. I knew that this is good for me. Somehow, some way. But you have to be in really good shape. Like, right? I mean, you were in really good shape. I saw you with the Navy SEAL.

There was a past tense involved. I know that at home. Yeah, just a mistake. No, you are, but do you feel pressure? Like, I want to improve my game. And also, I want to look good compared to the other men. Doing the Navy SEAL swim? Yeah.

Well, no. Yeah. Waterfall. Oh, that's when you're 18 to 22, and you practice enough. and you practice enough that most of that is effortless. It's effortless. As for the Navy Seal Swim, vanity is a major driving force in the months that lead up to that. We notice.

Not performance. We noticed. It's not performance. It was like a full day on Fox where I didn't see anything other than Will without a shirt. Well, but you know that's going to happen to you, so you're like, I better work out. This is going to happen. Josh, where you think of yourself, is that me? No, no, it's Will.

Yeah. Do you have very similar built? Yeah, totally. And I like to take my shirt. off around the office. Well, why don't we all do it next year? Why don't we all do it? I don't think I could. I'm not a strong swimmer. So that's the problem. I might die. If we did it, okay, so now you're talking about six shirtless television and digital hosts. How many tattoos would be revealed on television? I might get one for it.

Yeah, we have to add so. I mean, right now, before you answer, before anyone answers, what's the over under on tats with six of us right here? Is it, is it, and like, the over-on I'm going to go is like three. There's, and I would probably take the under. I'm taking the under on that. Yeah, I'm definitely taking it. I'm way under. You don't know.

I'm taking the over. You're taking the over. It's a safe bed if someone knows. All right, so how many tattoos do you have, kill me? None. And I'm never going to get a tattoo. I'm not convinced that my tastes are going to stay the same the rest of my life. Right?

I'm like, I don't want to be looking down at my bicep, which is huge. I'm thinking of myself, what was I thinking in 2025? And I'm certainly not the same person from 1996. So who would make that type of commitment? Okay. And then they start blurring. Do you ever see that? Oh, it's terrible.

Yeah. Zero for kill me. Ashbrook? I have six. Do you really? But it's not the kind you think. I had cancer like 20 years ago, and so they gave me dots to be able to give the radiation. Oh, wow.

So that's how I knew we'd be over. There goes the fun time. Yeah. There you go. You asked an honest question. I have to give an odd as day. I mean, I was. Will, you're really good at this.

I was going to accuse him of cheating, and then he brought cancer into it, so now I can't. You're right, smuggle. What do we talk about now? Let's get the fun of the guys, and we'll just have a conversation about cancer. I really wish you would have got last on the answer. Zero? Zero. Zero.

Zero. It's all you, Ashbrook. And it would be zero but for cancer. That's right. And the Patriot Awards tattoo I'm going to get tonight. Nice. Yeah, I was thinking about just getting a big Will Kane country right here. Love it.

You talk about a long line. There's a long line for that tattoo. The Wilcane country. They're on back order. Right. Let me ask you. How many does Pete have? I don't know.

He's like one big tattoo. And what's the over under on that? Would it be 25? I would say over. And they start to blend into each other, right? So I think at some point, is it one or is it one big one? I don't know. I think it becomes an addiction.

After a while, you just don't want to see yourself. You just blend them all together. I wish I was something different. All right, just a few moments ago on the Brian Kielmead radio show, I was talking with Brian about immigration. And I pushed the conversation in the direction of not just talking about illegal immigration, but legal immigration and H-1B visas and the necessity that we have a common culture here in America. And the reason I bring that up again is because right before you joined us,

Brian, we were talking about the vice president. The fellows went fishing with the vice president one year ago, right before the vice presidential debate. I don't know if it was deep sea, but offshore fishing. It didn't look like a lake. Yeah, it was Kalamazoo River. Oh, it was river fishing. Right off the lake, Michigan.

And this has been an issue that's been championed by the vice president. And if he takes the mantle in 2028, I feel very confident it would be a big part of his platform, making sure that whatever path we move forward in America that we have some way of preserving our common culture. And I think that every single issue we talk about. We just got done talking about the filibuster. We talk about the Constitution. we talk about populism, is downstream from this debate. Downstream from who are we moving forward?

What does it mean to be an American? That's a good point. I just don't know how you do it. How do you prove that somebody really wants to be an American? Is it a test? Like we have citizenship tests now? Is it a background check where people have to say he never stops talking about America? I do want to preserve our culture.

And I think it's always great. I remember in grammar school every year, everyone had to bring in something that represents their heritage. Totally. We weren't anti-American, but I had to bring something Irish and something Italian. Oh, you're a German. What do they eat? We used to be open to it. But now you have people, especially happening seemingly in Europe, even though Pierce Morgan denies this, where people are coming over to England. They have no interest in being British. So I just don't know. Do you know, Will, like, how would you do it? Here's Morgan denies that? Yeah, he thinks that I'm, I was exaggerating it.

No, your point about England, UK in general, Ireland is very well taken. Today, there's news that the German government is now. asking Syrian refugees to leave. And they're going to begin deportation efforts in Syria. So the civil war is over in Syria. So there's 1.3 million Syrians in Germany. And they're now pushing to say, time to go back home. One of the ways, practical ways that you can control that, Brian, is by sheer numbers.

You don't have people immigrate, even legally, in large enough numbers where they can sequester themselves off into. You brought up little Italy. It's nice and it's fun as a tourist attraction, but it also prevents full assimilation. So when you're coming over in numbers where you live amongst people who are adoptees of the American culture, you become a member of the American culture. Yeah, well, there's also used to be pressure not from any sort of establishment or government entity, but from immigrant communities themselves. I mean, assimilation was a good thing, and it was like, man, you've got to figure out how to blend in around here. Absolutely.

You know what I mean? And I think just culturally speaking, we've obviously lost some of that. But then you get a political party that decides to just absolutely break open any form of border security and any, you know, just making the whole thing a mess. Now you've got a real polarized situation. I think also, like, I think this problem can solve itself if the American dream is possible for everyone and they believe in it. Well, you see that multi-generational. Right. Right.

And that's how people assimilate and become Americans. They buy into an American dream. There's plenty of people who come here, like with that in mind. I think the difference we have now is I look at somebody like Zora Mamdani's dad, right, who is a anti-colonialist professor at some Ivy League school. Colombia. Colombia. Tons of money, right? And these people believe that America's settler colonialism in a horrible place,

but I notice they're not doing that from Uganda. They do it here, and then they try to destroy this country in our way of life. Illinois. Right? And so that is the thing that is fundamental. different. I don't know how we beat back on that because it seems like so many of the young people have bought into that. I think, you know, Holmes dropped a really great point is you look at the way that parties have approached this. And the Republican Party and Conservatives

historically believed in opportunity. You come here, you make a better life. You become an American. My grandparents, when they came here, the first thing your grandmother did is sign up for English lessons. She learned to read and write in English because when you're in America, that's the language that people speak. And then I was struck by the other night when I saw the Mamdani victory speech where he was like, oh, and we celebrate our, you know, people from Ghana and a bus driver from here. And it's like, I thought we're all New Yorkers. Is there is there no effort to believe in assimilating and becoming part of something as opposed to everyone's just sticking out your own territory? Is this just like some kind of balkanization?

Do you think? And when J.D. spoke on this in the convention specifically of how he was like, this is where my great grandparents are buried. I'm tied to this country. This is a part of me in America's not an idea, you know? And Brian and I were just talking about this again on the Brian Kilmead show. It goes a step further in that for some reason she's now famous Jennifer Welch, who was a Bravo celebrity, who turned political comedic. I thought it was the housewife show.

I don't think it was. It was like a home makeover deal. And now she's on MSNBC and she's a big podcaster. So the night that Mom Donnie won, she's sitting there with Mehdi Hassan and the guy, Hassan Piker. Was he with her, too? The dude that looks like he's from the Incredibles with the hair that goes up. Also, Mahmood Khalil, who was running those anti-Semitic protests on Columbia's campus

and was supposed to be deported. Apparently now he was celebrating a Mamondani's victory party. Is that right? Yes, he was there. Well, Welch said the problem with America's old crusty white people and that there's no such thing as American culture. The only real element that exists of culture in America is multiculturalism. So it's not just a lack of assimilation. it's a denial or revulsion to American culture.

I was struck by that when I saw the video clip of it is what are you trying to convey here? You're trying to make a mockery first off the existence of American culture because she was trying to elicit a laugh from, what's the name of Mehdi Hassan, the TV host, by denigrating yourself and the country. That's a really pathetic place. It's the modern left. This is the modern left. Like, if we're being really honest about it, it's that American. is fundamentally flawed. That lady you're talking about, she's from Oklahoma.

Yeah. She is? Yeah. What she's doing is reflecting back what she thinks is going to be a hit podcast and an MSNBC gig where she can just go out and say what is the core of the modern left and have it repeated back to her and, oh, my gosh, you're so smart. Like, she's from Oklahoma. Like you listen to this lady talk.

Of course. Oki's. She's making it up. I love Oklahoma, and you wouldn't expect that coming out of Oklahoma. Brian, did you see this? James Carville, did you play this on Fox and Friends? No. Have you not heard this sound? No. We don't have the technology to play it today. Thanks, two a days.

But I'll read it for you. This is what James Carvel had to say. He said, I'm personally going to find a convicted pedophile and run him in a race just to see if we could beat a Republican. James Carvel said laughing. I'm not sure. I'm not going to say that a convicted pedophile could win. What is the point of that drunk statement? It's after Jay Jones's win for Attorney General in Virginia. He is obviously suggesting. the Republican brand is so bad that you can run a man who fantasized about the murder of his political opponents and beat a Republican. He thinks this statement says something about the current brand of republicanism. I think this statement says everything about Democrats.

Yeah, absolutely, because they should have stepped in and pulled this guy back at the very least guy. I can't endorse this. And then I actually, I want to see the forensics on that election out of everything. Chittarelli is the biggest surprise to me, the distance, not that he lost me, the distance. That's the, that's one big. I don't understand that because Jason Menoris was popular enough to get elected, did a really good job, and now you have somebody out there who everyone was afraid to even mention his name, and he wins handling. Yeah.

So, and also the speeding thing, he's going over 100 miles an hour and gets away with almost nothing to slap on the wrist. The community service at his own campaign. Yeah. That's how he served the sentence. It's absolutely incredible. By the way, what does James Carville talking about? The Republicans just won the House, the Senate, and the White House. So if a brand is having a little bit of identity problems, it's his brand.

And by the way, he has to acknowledge that now the post-election talk is going to be about the Democratic Civil War. And that's going to be it. And by the way, Bernie Sanders staked the ground. He hopped up and just said, yeah, they won without the Democratic establishment. They never got behind him. Sanders Schumer still hasn't gotten behind him. He knew that that was beginning the Democratic Civil War. This is like the Tea Party and traditional Republicans.

Only I think it's going to be bigger. Yeah. Well, I think, I mean, people like Chuck Schumer don't have any courage at convictions at all. I mean, I think what we've seen with this government shutdown is a perfect example of where the establishment of the Democratic Party is that are more than willing to be led around by their tie to whatever it is that AOC and Bernie Sanders and the left wants them to do. And when they know better, right? I mean, we just went through this last March when this exact same bill, Chuck Schumer worked to get all of his colleagues to. make sure they support because he can't have a government shutdown. Six months later, what changed?

Well, their political fortunes change. The fundraising report came out, and he's pretty getting primary. That's exactly right. Quick break. More of our New Year's Day, Best of, coming up. Welcome back to this New Year's Day, best-of edition of Will Kane country. I've been stunned by the fact that, granted, it's an NBC poll, but shows the vast majority of Americans blame Republicans still for this government shutdown.

Now, today, we have the news that, obviously, outside of Fox and it, news, that the overwhelming, I believe, is 85% of coverage of the government shutdown from mainstream media has essentially placed the blame on Republicans. So there's a reason the American people don't understand, back to those boring words, the filibuster, the 60-boat requirement. They don't understand how is it you have the presidency of the House and the Senate, and you can't stop a government shutdown. So they blame Republicans. Well, Ashbrook talks about this a lot, but the dishonesty by the media on this is incredible. They're so dishonest. But you know what, Brian, you asked about how does Jason Mierrez lose after J. Jones says these ridiculous things?

In what world did Democrats actually vote for this lunatic? And the world where they vote for this lunatic is when federal employees who are out of work are so pissed off. And they are, you know, they're by and large Democrats. They're so angry about the shutdown that they don't even care. They think it's just a shirts and skins exercise. So they just vote straight ticket. And there was some, there was some crossover. but there wasn't enough crossover

between those Spamberger voters and the... So do you blame a weak gubernatorial candidate for that that there weren't enough people giving her Winston Sears a look? I mean, you can definitely point a finger at that, but Winston Sears actually got more votes than Ralph Northam got, the former Democrat governor in 2017.

So it's not like Republicans didn't have people turning out. It's just that in northern Virginia, these counties right around D.C., they are so angry and they were so motivated to both. And two weeks before Election Day, you guys saw what happened with the No King's Rally. Everybody thought it was angry Libs holding signs. But to us, we've worked in politics for 20 years, it looked a lot like a get-out-the-vote rally, like a voter registration, because while they were showing on camera, people with signs, off-camera,

there was a kid with a clipboard, have you signed up to vote? Let me help you sign up to vote. Or maybe I can help you early vote. So it's all strategic for them. And essentially, like, you see things like these protests, riots. They are now what the Democrat Party uses to goose turnout, to register voters. It's now just an election mechanism for them. All right. As the oldest fraternity brother, and I would like to think that I'm now in the fraternity, the Fox fraternity, these are your pledges. You're kind of forcing

them into it. They are your pledges. They are your pledges. They're new. They're working through pledgeship. When you're not spanking them, when you're not spanking them, I would suggest as part of their initiation, part of what you're putting them through today, take them to the Long Island University Hall of Fame. Great idea. I always ask, I guess, I'm going. I think there's a one, there's a bus leaving at one. There's another one leaving at two-thirds.

Smug, we expect you there at $12.50. 100%. Can't we just, like, eat cat food or something? You know what? I'll take a picture of it. And I'll send it to you. I want to go. I want to see the tally of how many goals scored.

I want to see the big black and white photo. Could I tell you a story that you'll like? Maybe. A year ago. I met Pete Hegeseth in here and he was We did a whole shoot Where he was going to be on the campus

And he's lost And I walk into him and I go Pete What's wrong? And he's like Brian, I got to be on the stage He's in his tux Jimmy Failor drops him off in his taxi He's in his tux he goes I got to get to the stage

He goes I went to college here I'll bring you here But I don't bring him directly there I bring him to my dorm And he's like Brian seriously This is great We just take a picture in mind We did this great shoot

the next day the president calls and said, do you want to be Secretary of Defense? No way. America will never see this. They may not see it on the big screen, but these guys can see it in person. You can take them today to the Long Island Sports Hall fame. Brian Kill Me, check them out at the Brian Kill Me show at Fox News Radio.

And, of course, at Fox News Radio. I could stay longer. It's all right. You're short? Bye, Brian. There you goes. Brian Kill Me, the one and only. Brian Kill Me.

Hey, I do want to ask you guys, because you know so much about politics. And Ashbrook, you started to lead us down the path of talking about sort of inside the Beltway politics. This was an off-year election. Virginia, New York, you got city election in the city of New York. Democrats are running with this as though this is a big precursor, a big tell about where we are as a country,

just 10 months after the election of Donald Trump. This is where we are today. As Carville points out, this is where their brand is. It is obviously the historical fact that the sitting, Party in power loses the midterms. But does off your election, like what we just saw this week, tell us anything about where we're headed in the midterms? You know, it's really hard to say because both of these state, the major states,

they're blue states. They eight more, 850,000 more registered Democrats in New Jersey. At this point, is Virginia a blue state? It is. It's not a whole percent. They've got 1.3 million more registered Democrats and Republicans in that state. So the idea that it was even in a conversation means that things are more competitive than what they're saying. I got, I mean, like, it is going to be very,

very difficult for Republicans in the midterm. That's just history, that's atmospherics. There's nothing they can do. You know, they have to have good, you know, Republicans have to have good candidates. They have to run good campaigns if they want to overcome this historical problem. Well, they've also got to overcome what is a recent problem for Republicans running anytime when Donald J. Trump's name's not on the ballot. I mean, you look at 2018, lost the House, right?

2020, you lost both. 2022 is a historic underperformance for Republicans based on, you know, the last hundred years of how many seats you usually pick up when you're out of power. And then we get 2024 where everything kind of snaps back because Donald J. Trump's once again on the ballot. And I think that Republicans do need to figure out that problem because what we're relying on in midterms is a lower propensity voter in off your elections. They're going to have to figure out how to crack that code if they're going to keep House and Senate majorities. Well, I mean, then there's other structural things that were at the disadvantage of Republicans.

You've got the right track, wrong track, right? That's like 15 points underwater. You never want to see that as a political consultant if you're, you know, the party in power. And then, you know, these are states that have trended, bluer. And I think you combine all of those things. And I think the result made sense, right? But we do have to change it. I don't know.

I don't know the exact answer to that. I mean, you've got to spend more money. We've got to get more boots. on the ground. The left has a huge dark money network that does GOTV voter reg and hires on the ground grassroots organizers in these swing states.

And like we need a more organized approach to that ahead of the midterms. And if you wanted any more evidence of that, it's as soon as Mumdani's declared the winner, you have the son of George Soros, Alex Soros, post with his photo, his arm around him, Donnie, being like, hey, look at this. I've got him in my collection too. Which gets to why they have

so much more organization that Duncan was talking about. They have so much more money. There is so much money flowing into their party and all the nonprofits. And Fox has done some great reporting on this and how some of it may be coming from foreign sources and big investigations ongoing into all of that. But they have a lot of money. Well, the president said in the wake of that election that one of the problems was that Donald Trump wasn't on the ticket. Theoretically, he will never be on the ticket again.

Steve Bannon says we're looking into that. There might be some opportunities for a third Donald Trump term. Take it. Yeah, Ashbrook, tell me your path. Tell me how we're working on it. But for the moment, let's presume that we can't find the path, like that the Constitution stands in the way. And there will not be another moment for Donald Trump to be on the ticket.

We talked about the vice president. There will also be Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I'm not sure that Governor Ron DeSantis will put his hat in the ring again, but I think you could be assured that Senator Ted Cruz will put his hat. in the ring? Is there someone who can turn out people? It's hard to ever say it the way I'm about to say it because after Michael Jordan there was no Michael Jordan, no matter how much we looked for a Michael Jordan. And Donald Trump is without a doubt the Michael Jordan of American politics, the most consequential American politician in a century. Maybe more. But that will be incumbent upon somebody. J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, to try to tap into that energy so that there remains some combination of popular. conservative politics moving forward that can win yeah so there's one thing that i always say which is no one ever won skating off of someone else's movement you know you can't just be like i'm going to be maga i'm going to steal trump's movement that doesn't work because people believe

in someone who starts their own thing you all said it's well said from their homes yeah that's well said you have a second paragraph i want to leave you on that you got look the point i get the point that i make is there is no shortage of center right and conservative voters in this country to elect a president from the Republican Party not named Donald Trump. But there's never been anybody who wins a nomination and goes on to be president within the Republican Party who tries to surf off somebody else's

moment, right? They have to have their own identity. They need to capture the imagination of those voters in a different way than somebody else, or they just look like they're making it up and trying to do what somebody else did. Now, all the names that you mentioned I think have that capacity. There is a tendency, and this is the consultant

class component of the Republican party, and it happens in the Democrat Party too, is that it's safe to just do what worked before, right? The imagination component of running for president is hard for an awful lot of candidates to do because they look back and they're like, hey, that guy did it successfully. And they look at the poll and they look at the three top performing things and they're polling matrix and they're like, well, there's the campaign right there. And it's like, first of all, Donald Trump didn't run that way. He's never been that way. He was about the art of politics and winning over people's heart.

hearts. And that's how you become president of the United States. You give people a vision that they can believe in. It's not a poll-tested message that ends up in a 30-second ad. And the lack of imagination is what hampers people in that effort. It's a difficult, but that is a difficult position to be in. That's a difficult art to pull off. It's why it's hard to be president. Vance definitely is a man of his own ideas. He definitely has his own vision. But the pressure on him to be a continuation of Donald Trump would be overwhelming to force him into the position, not just by the consultant class, but probably from the base, from the audience, to continue, to your point, to do the thing that might undo him, which is continue Donald Trump.

You know, the truth is, if there is a continuation of Michael Jordan, it isn't right at the tail end. You go through years of fallow period before whether or not it's LeBron James. And now, by the way, it's Victor Wimbunyama. Might be right about that. He's a space alien. Yeah, totally. He's a space alien that I have to watch.

He's like 8 foot 6. His arms are like a 30-foot wide space. An 8-foot-6 point guard. Looks like he could play on the monster. They can shoot, yes. But it takes years to get to Womenyama. So I don't know what the period is between Donald Trump and this next vision. And if J.D. Vance could pull it off and be his own man.

Directly on the heels of Trump, man, that's unique and special. I'll say one thing about J.D. Vance that kind of not just future proofs him, but you look at what kind of issues and anxieties that young voters have now, who made their voices very clear in New York and across this country. They are now far more politically engaged in the have been before. But when they're thinking about, is there going to be a job for me in the future, all the jobs outsource, might be able to afford a house? Is AI taking my job?

And you have someone who has actually lived an experience of where they grew up, where every factory packed up and left town, and there was nothing. And they still found a way through believing this country and the opportunity that it affords each individual. So he's not giving a stump speech. He's telling a live story. He's got a unique authenticity component beyond just. his personal story of, you know, when you interact with him, you get the sense that this guy is exactly who you think he is. You know what I mean? He's the same guy talking to you as he is behind the scenes. And that is, it matches our generation, too. I mean, it's generationally appropriate.

He's not trying to pretend like he's speaking like Ronald Reagan or something like that. With a lot of Lear, marching around the state. Yeah. Yeah, he is what he is. And I feel like in the future in politics, the same thing in the future in media, it's authenticity is everything. And if you don't have that, it's going to stand out. And I think Democrats are going to have a hard time figuring out who's their authentic counterbalance

to JD. You don't think that's at least in part, in spirit, or in character, Zoroamam Dani? It might be. I mean, it could be. I just don't see how he gets out of. If we don't care of the filibuster, they will, and they'll let him run for president, even though he's born in Uganda. I got

to say, it's gracious of Fox to do the Patriot Awards here. in the Soviet Republic of New York City. I feel like we're on like a... You're on Long Island. Well, I know, but we're on a humanitarian mission. We did see some U-Haul trucks going the other direction when we were coming up. Yeah, they might be heading down to Texas to see you.

I have mixed feelings about that. Yeah, totally. But you guys, Smug was telling me earlier that Texas just passed a bunch of tax, constitutional tax protections. It's like a welcome mat for all the finance. No state tax, no capital gains tax, enthrining the Constitution to go along with no income tax. I think that this takes us full circle on a conversation we had earlier, but I am concerned. Everyone is talking about Yall Street or Wall Street South, which is in Florida, and it's a real thing that is happening. I can see the Tower of Goldman Sachs going up every day on my way to work to the Will Cane Show Studios in downtown Dallas.

I know that J.P. Morgan now has more employees in Dallas than they do in New York City, despite having built a brand-new tower right next to the Fox News headquarters in Midtown. And I love that economic growth. and I love becoming the, if not the secondary financial capital of America, soon to be perhaps the first. We're launching the Texas Stock Exchange. But I do believe there has to be a cultural assimilation and buy-in. I don't just want the high-paying jobs, and I don't even want everybody that just votes red.

I want the cultural buy-in that got us to this moment. Well, here's the thing is, so you saw the results of Mumdani's victory, is he got like 50.1. He barely cleared that 50% threshold, and Cuomel was pretty close. So if you're talking about like 40% of these, you know, Center left voters, if they're, they have anxieties, what should they do next? I think just move to Dallas and just keep voting blue. Oh, thank you.

It's a wonderful place. Governor Abbott said he's going to slap a tariff on it. Across the Red River tariff. He's going to make Oklahoma pay for the wall. Who do you want to meet, Duncan, at the Patriot Awards? Melania. Yeah. Got to go with that.

I feel like that's a classic answer. Huge get. Huge get. That is amazing. Have you met the first lady? No. I've met President Trump a couple of times, but not Malian. She's been doing a ton of good.

I mean, what's the number? I think it's like 750 children who are kidnapped by Russia. She's gotten brought back to Ukraine by writing that letter to Putin, which is just like, that's playing big game on the world stage. That's huge. I met the first lady, children are her issue. She cares a lot about children. I met her in Kerrville, Texas after the floods where so many camp kids and young ladies died.

died and she she certainly doesn't seek the limelight she stepped aside which i appreciate to come meet me she did not want it to be on camera she just wanted to say hi because she was in a back room with all the families and the parents who had lost their kids and it's interesting you know for somebody that was a supermodel and grace the cover of magazines now what she's doing this stuff that she truly cares about is actually happening behind the scenes totally totally yeah i've had a good fortune of meeting her a couple of occasions people don't understand because she doesn't seek that limelight what just a good human being she is. She cares so

deeply. And she's not particularly political other than supporting her husband but her missions have always been successful. Cares deeply about kids. It's a great mom in the White House. That can't be easy. You imagine? Raising barren in that first term.

Like that's difficult. By all accounts, terrific young man as the rest of the family is. Like that says something in and of itself. Quick break. More of our New Year's Day. Best of coming up. Reason number 37, why Nissan is built for our winter. Because winter getaways should be cozy, not cold.

Kick standard heated front seats and side mirrors help keep you warm and your view clear. That's winter ready. Now, lease at 2026 Kix S front wheel drive for 349 monthly at 3.9%. Or get $2,000 cash purchase bonus on remaining 2025 models. Visit your local Nissan dealer today or nisone.ca for more details. Least turned for 48 months with 1,249 down conditions apply. Welcome back to this New Year's Day, best-of edition of Will Kane Country. All right, before we wind up this program today, we've got about 10 minutes together,

the five of us and you watching at home as well, we do need to talk about, and I'll fall on the sword. I'll be honest and tell everybody I'm horrific at fantasy football this year. Smug, I see the trash talk. I just want you know that I've seen it. You haven't got the response that you wanted, and I did that because I knew that's the meanest insult I could give. Like, if I responded, I was playing into your hands. I was like, I'm going to ignore it. I'm going to give him nothing.

Let's just take a look at the standage. But I'm not good. And the Wilcane Country Routy Programme Fantasy Football League. Yeah, it's an amazing league. It's a Cupcake League because there's only 10 teams. So it's super easy to actually, if you know what you're doing. But the problem is whoever you have administering the league, let it, like, it's turned on that people can see, it gives a notification if they've seen messages. So I'll put up like, Will, your team's terrible.

and it'll show me that you've seen it. That's all I wanted. I mean, the smack talk was the whole point. Yeah, that's all he needed. He just needs to know you're... You're not especially good homes, nor are you smug. I've seen the standings. I'm in third.

You're in third? Yeah. One of us... I think I'm in fourth. I knew one of the five of us was in good place. Yeah. I think I'm playing you this weekend. Or is that right?

Yeah. I also just want it noted in terms of points scored, top, top team. Over here, I am. Who's the Dallas Cry Boys? Me. You like that? Yeah. I created my name just to troll you.

That's why we have so much fun at 440 on Thursdays, that way, right? You never know what you're going to get. That's right. Well, it's been a tough year for the Dallas Cowboys, only compounded by you, Duncan, and me having to look at the standings every week and see Dallas Cryboys. But I know there's bingles at the table. Both of you are bingles? Colts.

Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I know. That actually is internal pain. that we've been dealing with you too i'm a viking guy okay so broncos broncos yep so pretty good there for you yeah decent what do you you you this is unfamiliar feeling for you you're on top of the world you've got a franchise quarterback you traded away the future for a cornerback you raped the new york jets because you believe in danny jones first of all first of all i don't believe we have a future

i'm just living for today sauce gardener's incredible cornerback i think you know they paid a lot for You know, two draft picks and whatnot, that's tough. But, like, this might be our only shot, Will. This season's all found money for me, so I'm trying to not have any expectations and just enjoy the ride. I love it. I actually love your story. I hope Danny Dimes turns into a top five quarterback in the NFL. I love redemption stories, reclamation projects, value buys.

I don't want to have to draft a quarterback in the top 10 every year or pay $70 million a year for a quarterback. You found it on the junk heap, and he was on the junk heap. And you reach down into the trash can and go, hey, look, a dime. Statistically, drafting a QB is like the worst move you can do, especially if you're like a coach of a team. Anytime, I want to say in the past four seasons, 75% of coaches who've drafted a quarterback first lose their job within two seasons. It's a lot of pressure for a kid. When you can get a gift of having someone who's already developed. And there's a bunch of them out there.

There's a bunch of them out there. Mack Jones is having success in San Francisco. So I would be looking at who people are throwing on the junkie. right now. All you need to do. I'm sorry, hold on. All you need to do. Holmes, we're talking about sports.

Oh, my God. We'll get to, we'll get back to the minute. Can I get to a beer, Will? I heard you don't drink those. I will never forget. Okay, I will never forget NIL. I will never forget it. I stand by it.

Who was it, the college commissioners? Yeah. Yeah, they said NIL. I don't want to hear. They did it because they were like, do these political guys know something I don't know? They kept calling it NIL. These guys worked for them.

For senators. I mean, all of a sudden you had these commissioners going, I guess he knows better than us. It's nil, not NIL. Unbelievable. I will say, back to your quarterback discussion, the best way to find the next new quarterback is basically look at the depth chart of Minnesota Vikings. We have reclamation projects cast all throughout the NFL. Yeah. And it seems to work out.

Are you guys trade for, the trade deadline is passed, so the answer is no, but you should have traded for your old, your boyfriend back. You should have got Kurt Cousins. Yeah. Well, I think we're okay. J.J. He's trying to move on. He's trying to move on. He's time.

Well, before we move on from QBs, I want to say, was it two weeks ago that you said DAC is going to be an MVP? Oh, I do remember panning out. That was a good prediction. I still feel good, someone. Everybody's allowed to have a down day. And speaking of reclamation projects, there's a great one in Arizona, Jacoby Berset. Oh, gee. You know, so maybe that's an option in the future.

That is tough. It's subtle, but I got it. I picked it up. That blade was serrated. I got it. But it's bad. I was there. I was there.

Cardinals game. And you just kept waiting like a college game. Okay, we're down 10-0. We'll pick it up any minute now. Hey, man, we're going to start playing. We're spotting them a little bit. That's what my kids' high school did. We spotted them 28.

And then we played in the second half and lost by 14. Oh, yeah. But as I kept telling myself, no. No. How long did you stay? Just not as good as the Arizona Cardinals. I left at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Yeah, he couldn't be there at the end.

No. Have you guys been to AT&T? No. Oh, you've got to come to Dallas. You got to come on to the Will Cain Show Studios in person. I'll stand by this. AT&T Stadium. I haven't been to Minnesota.

Yeah, it's good. And I haven't been to SoFi in Los Angeles. But I would say AT&T, if those are the only two that I'm willing to accept, might be better than that stadium. It's incredible. It's a great experience. Everything is amazing. The video board, the stadium, the concessions, the food, the sound system. Everything except what's on the field.

Everything is wonderful. Except right there, this black hole in the middle of the whole Death Star Stadium where you play football. So when you're seeing it there, you're in Jerry Jones box, right? You're up there? Of course. I will come see the Cowboys with that setup. Are you kidding me? That documentary, amazing.

Yeah, was. Did it make you like Jerry? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did. I mean, he's such a cool guy. Like, in the first 30 seconds when they're like, he hits oil and he's like, I'm going to buy the Dallas Cowboys. I was like, I'm here.

I'm staying up all the night and watching every episode. It's quintessentially American. His attitude, his life story, the way he's run things. I think the criticism is that he stopped being that guy. He stopped being the wildcatter, the risk taker. And he's trying to go back in on it. That's why they made the trade with the Jets as well. He's trying to become Jerry the gambler.

I think his impact on the sport of football, the business side of football, is even larger than his impact on the game itself. I was shocked. There was so much of that I didn't know how critical he was with, like, the Fox deal for the NFL and to make the sport what it is. For the sponsorships. I think it's bigger than winning any Super Bowl. You know, what he did, he revolutionized the sport.

One of the thing about the Cowboys. and Jerry Jones. The reason I was there on Monday night was it was their salute to service night. And they had, I believe it was about 10 Medal of Honor winners on the field at halftime. They had World War II vets who were pushing 100 out there. And the Cowboys understand that. And they're a part of the NFL. They're corporate America. And I think we all know what that means and the requirements and the handcuffs and maybe even the the gags that will put on someone when they want to do what they want to do or say what they want to say. But they, and they're not alone on this, did a tribute to Charlie Kirk. They have done a lot of great thing.

You know, they tried to negotiate some type of middle ground, not kneel during the National Anthem, kneeled and I know that the spirit is right with them. There are a lot of corporate pressures, and we want to see corporate bravery. That's what we all want to see. But I know that the spirit is right with that franchise in terms of loving America, not about. They're not about managing a football team, but I will say that they earn the title of America's team because they are, you can talk. No, no, but, I mean, keep on. He found out about the box.

I don't play golf, but I like a luxury box. The first 90 seconds of that documentary, I mean, it was about American success. It was about a guy who loved his country. You had George W. Bush being like, this guy did amazing things. When you have presidents willing to say that, you've accomplished an incredible thing. And that is a patriotic organization. It's very clear. All right.

So, last thing, the 7th annual Patriot Awards here on Long Island, the Tillis Center. Duncan's excited to meet the First Lady. There will be a lot of people here. I think I'm allowed to say some of them and are not allowed to say others, and hopefully I will thread that needle just right. Good luck. Thank you. We expect to see Eric Kirk tonight.

That's cool. I'm getting nods behind the cameras. I can say that one. I will say this. How about this? The person I'm most excited about seeing tonight, I can't say. How about that? I can't reveal the person that I'm most excited about seeing tonight.

If he accidentally tells us, we're going to leak that immediately. So, just word of the wise. Well, I'm glad you guys are here. I'm glad you're part of the family. It's very fun to see you guys here at the Patriot Award. You're going to meet a lot of great fans. That's going to be really fun out here and around. You'll meet fans of the Ruthless Variety Program.

That's the best when you meet the people that you actually talk with, you know, every day. They're real people, and it's a two-way conversation. My answer to who I most want to meet, the everyday heroes, the whole purpose of this in the first place. These are the folks, you know, you get so used to award. shows with Hollywood. You have to watch the douche actors coming up and giving you a political speed. Like, these are the people that make this country run. That's what I'm excited about. Yeah. All right. Good to see you guys in person. Let's all on a secret ballot write down what we thought, not when we heard each other. This is what we thought we looked at each other. Like,

you know, smug, tall, you know. Homes, not tall. Yeah. Okay. Well, this is good to come on with handsome. And then we'll just kind of just, it'll be a fun game of truth. Not there. Just true. The one thing is when you were on on your show and you said, 50 years old i didn't believe it but now now now now dude i was literally just going to do that you look older now that i get to meet you thank you smog let's go that's the great john hannity right there he is there he comes here comes keep the music play and that's all right two a day's john hannity yeah put it on there he is the legend by the way i've this thing is a piece of junk that's what we get i've only been in radio for you know since 1987

What do I know? How you all doing? You guys are kicking ass. I love it. Is this on the podcast or on the channel? This is a simulcast of Will Kane Country and the Ruthless Variety program on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, Apple. Not on the channel. You guys are kicking ass, as I said.

Oh, that perfect. Thank you. Will, you're doing great. Great to see you all. Yeah, great to see you. I'm so glad you hear. Love the shades, dude. It just, it crushes it.

You got a good pair yourself. You're never confused? You never think he's blind? No. We get that a lot. Not at all. How did rehearsals go? It's a great show, man.

Yeah? Yeah, I mean, I just love this. For me, it's an honor to be able to do it. I love the family here at Fox. I love working with everybody here. Do you tell everybody who's coming tonight? No, well, not all of them, and I've had to thread the needle. I think I've got it right on who I can say.

I've said it. Oh, you said it? On air? Who are we to doubt Sean Hannity's jurisdiction on this? Look at the faces behind it. What? You don't want me to say it? Don't you telling me? I mean, you know, I am a talk show host, and I do have a big mouth. I've been doing this for a little while, but how are you guys doing with Mom Donnie? You're all living in New York, loving Mom Nani? You're not. No, no, no. We saw U-Haul trucks headed the other direction.

You got the hell out. One of the greatest stories of all time, you take a U-Haul from California to Texas, where Willis. from, and you take that U-Haul, maybe $25,000, $3,000. I've looked at the numbers at a lot of different times. If you're in Texas, you're doing them a favor if you take that U-Haul back. You'll pay $300, $350. You could probably negotiate it down to free because they want the truck back where people are getting the hell out. It's fair.

Which is, I think, what would hurt Chittarelli. Do you know, in New Jersey, nearly a quarter of a million people left in the last three years, Yeah. People say, well, why didn't he do better? Well, because everyone that would have voted for him got the hell out. Yeah. I heard you talking about that on election night. You mentioned that. It was a great point.

And it's a death spiral. It'll be the death spiral, if not of New Jersey, of New York City. All the people that would save New York are going to leave New York and headed down with you to Florida. Well, they're 49th out of 50 in terms of tax burden. I mean, when Gavin Newsom's better than you, you are really messing up. Tough deal. So it's going to be New York 2.0. Yeah, it's a shame.

So I wrote, I'm really torn about whether I'm going to do this tonight. I'll bring you on this secret. Oh, let's risk it all. Wait a minute, where's tip? Should I tell the story? Let's risk it all. I saw Mom Dani winning two weeks ago. Which one do you use?

I use Wintergreen. I have it in my pocket somewhere. Everybody pull out their ammunition. Yeah, exactly. You're welcome, too. So I knew two weeks ago, you know, I call them affectionately Kami marks with Moundani. And I mean that with great affection, was going to win. It was no doubt in my mind, even the last poll that's had a final Atlas poll was 5%.

I'm like, no way. With all the early vote that had been in and all the young people, all the enthusiasm was behind him, combined Cuomo and Curtis, who I would have liked to have win, there's no chance. They weren't going to win. I felt bad. I feel bad for my friends in New York, but I still felt I'm going hard in the paint because I have too many friends, and I should not look at this selfishly as greatly improving my financial position. because the value of Florida property is going to go through the route as well in Texas.

So, no, I wanted to look out for my friends. And anyway, so I wrote, we all know New York, New York, Frank Sinatra, that classic song. Let's just say I rewrote the whole song. Oh, yeah. Not only that. Well, this is where I'm torn. Whether to sing it or not? Well, it's not.

I can't sing to save my life. So it wasn't, but I had a friend of mine, you know Joe Peggs, right? Yeah, Joe Pegg, good buddy a month, down by you. Sounds, and he has that bass. Oh, man, he can, he has pipes, he can sink. And so I had him cut it. Oh. And it's so good.

But here's the problem. If I play it, it is so raw for people here. I'm like basically saying, throwing up two middle fingers. Sorry, you know. People here will love it. They'll love it. Well, the good news is for Nassau County, Bruce Blakeman's a rock star. He's killing it here.

They had a great, great election Tuesday in Nassau County, you know. Listen, I'm not taking your time. You guys are rocking, killing it, you're killing it, you're killing it. Kind of sick. Just take off the glasses. I've never seen it without the glass. They've got to pay extra for that. Here, here's some of my mind.

Help yourself. How dare you, he's blind. Welcome to the Fox family guys. Will you crush it? We're very proud of you, so happy, and laugh at my stupid jokes. Good luck tonight. The great Sean Hannity joining us here on the Wilcane Country and the Ruthless Variety Program. With that, it's the perfect way to end the program.

Thank you, fellas. It's been fun hanging out. Thank you as well at home for watching us. Make sure you subscribe to the Ruthless Variety Program. It's Spotify and on Apple. Follow the Wilcane Country Show on YouTube, and we'll see you again next time. Listen to ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple. podcast and Amazon Prime members. You can listen to this show, ad-free on the Amazon music app.