Will Cain Country - Somali Refugee EXPOSES Fraud Inside His Community (ft. Abdi Iftin & Chef Andrew Gruel)

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

Story 1: What happens when you go against the grain and expose fraud within your community? For Somali-American Refugee and Author Abdi Iftin, it meant harassment and death threats, not just towards him, but his family abroad as well. Abdi joins Will today to discuss his efforts to expose fraud within the Somali community, explaining the medieval style clan beef that has creeped into U.S. politics, corruption within his homeland’s government, the social pressure he faced to take advantage of the U.S. welfare system, and much, much more.Story 2: What is the ideal American Christmas meal? Co-Host of the ‘American Gravy’ podcast, Chef Andrew Gruel breaks down what the best Christmas meal is for you, sharing his cooking tips for Prime Rib, Goose, and more. Plus, Chef Andrew, Will, and Dan compare their picks for the best Christmas flicks of all time.Story 3: Will and The Crew take a look at what the Willitia had to say about his conversation with Abdi Iftin, before discussing the staggering levels of fraud within the Somali community. Plus, they see how AI graded their Christmas movie picks. 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

Welfare fraud, assimilation, tribal affiliations, what it's really like for a Somalian refugee in America. Two, Christmas movie Mount Rushmore, Christmas movie Draft with Chef Andrew Gruhl. Three, why doesn't Cam Newton get paid what Tony Romo or Tom Brady get paid to talk about football on TV? We'll hear from the expert, Jamel Hill. It is Will Kane Country on a Thursday heading into Christmas week. You can hear the music, you can see the lights. You can feel the energy as we wind down into the holidays. Merry Christmas, and we're glad we're hanging out with you here as we all wind down into the holidays.

Trivia. Question from Bill Himmer and Dana Perino. I was on America Newsroom. A conversation unfolded both on and off air. It resulted in a text chain, Dana Perino putting a quiz to me. I put that quiz now to you. Can you name the five schools that can claim both a Super Bowl champion and a United States president? I was capable of naming three and a half. still one remains a total mystery.

I'm going to give you a few moments and minutes to think about that. We'll reveal the answers a little bit later here on Wilcane Country. But I, about a week ago, on the Will Cain show on Fox News channel, interviewed a man, a man by the name of Abdi Iftan. Abdi Iftan is a Somali American refugee. And he had some things to tell me on Fox News about his experience in America, his experience within the refugee community from Somalia. Given the time constraints of television, I said what I often do, but it is always genuine when you hear it come out of my mouth. This deserves a much larger conversation.

This is fascinating. And as is the case right here, as given the opportunity on Will King. Country, today we have. For much deeper dive, Obdi Ifton. Let's get into it now with story number one. Obdi Ifton is a Somali American refugee. He's an author. He's also a senior communication specialist, and he joins us now on Will King Country. It's good to have you back. Thank you, Obdy. Will, it's an honor to be back, and thanks for having me. I heard through the grapevine, Obdi, that after your appearance with me on Fox News, You got some pushback.

You got maybe even a little hatred. What was the reaction in your community among Somalis? It was mostly threat. It was mostly unbelievable. I mean, I've received, it got to a point where I had to call the police chief in my town, which is where I live in Yara. You might be wondering why was there a backlash and pushback. the main accusation, believe it or not, is that it's a secret. Don't tell it. You know, and I didn't back down. I said, I will speak freely. I'm a free country. And so I've been called the American spy. I wish. That's a great title, but I'm not. I've been called spying on my own community. It's really been annoying. I mean, you know, I think this is,

It makes me happy to be one of. I also have received positive feedback from small members of the community who are tired of the clan rivalry, tired of this system of coercion where we just stick together wherever we are. Let's never leave Somalia or the name Somali, which is kind of ridiculous. You know, and nobody's living it, but it's okay to adopt. It's okay to grow, right? And that is not generally what I see in the community. So, yeah, it's really turned into a real-life-threatening moment. It went viral.

It has preached my mother, who is in Somalia, Swiss speak, that she had to flee from where she was to a different place and keep moving around. for the last week or so, which is terrifying. And I knew this was coming. I, you know, but it really just becomes sickening to me. And so I appreciate you having me on your show and speaking true. Well, I appreciate your willingness to speak the truth, especially given such personal cost.

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry to hear that your mother is having to move around in Somalia, that the segment we did together the conversation that we had on Fox News made its way back to Somalia and it's forced your mother to move around from village to village? Absolutely. Yeah. And not only my mother, my mother lives with my sister. You know, they're living on the outskirts. So they're, they've been locally displaced, what they call IDPs, internally displaced for a while. So they live together as a community, right? And everybody has a cell phone these days, so everybody has access to TikTok or anywhere else.

And when people found out that I was on your show and talking up, not exposing, talking truth about issues in my community, all the bad ones, all the ones who really wanted things to say the way they are, you know, I've purposefully spread the information and making me look like a spy in my own community, a espionage, you know, in my own community, attacking my own community. And, you know, as ridiculous as that is, it reached everywhere that they framed it as if I was attacking my own community, which is not new. I've faced this many, many years ago, and it has always made me stronger and got me a whole lot of people follow, you know, where we're going. And to me, I just see it as a way of change, changing this community. Because we can never, you know, we don't have to be stuck in this situation. I heard President Trump's words, garbage, and everything else, you know, it makes me think, and I think this is the way it should be. It makes me think, why don't we look at ourselves, right, and say, okay, whether the president

is right or wrong, it's that time that we have to think of welfare fraud, you know, Section A fraud, autism fraud that my community is heavily involved nobody's talking about it it's hush and for those who speak up are the same ones you know i get i get attacked and so anybody who speaks up also get attacked and not only an attack it becomes a threat and we know in somalia anybody can come up and bought a bullet in your head and walk away and there is literally no system at the most we speak right now that can go ahead and bring somebody to to justice so i speak up because i have a natural United States citizen right now, and I know they cannot mess with me at the moment, you know, physically. I live in a place where I feel like at least safe with commerce all around. But I,

you know, to the point where my mom had to flee and run around, it's just ridiculous and it makes my community even look worse. Are you concerned for your mother? I am. Absolutely. Really am. And I have been for a long time. Well, she asked me by, we have talked for talking. Go ahead. Sorry. She asked you if you could be quiet? Yeah.

She asked you if you could be quiet? Mm-hmm. What did you say? I said that's more like a betrayal. You know, I, imagine. I mean, am I, do I live in the United States or somewhere else, right? What, what do we define if someone gets silent? speaking truth, right?

And so I am, to me it's just doing justice, I guess. And I also understand why my mother would be concerned. And so I didn't back down, but I have had some advice for her. And she found a small circle of community that actually supports the way I think. And so as of now, nothing bad has happened and knocking the way. We were speaking to Abdi Ifton, a Somali American refugee, you spoke with me a little over a week ago on the Fox News Channel. The purpose of the conversation at that time was to explore the fraud, notably in Minnesota, but also now cropping up in states like Maine or Ohio tied to the Somali community, Somalian Americans, Somalian refugees, guilty of committing welfare fraud, autism fraud, feeding our families, fraud, housing fraud. And what's fascinating to me,

about your initial answer and the reaction that you got from your community was yes, in part about some of what you had to say about assimilation, some of what you had to say about the culture within your community,

but what's fascinating in your first answer to me here today is the first thing that you heard was be quiet, stop telling secrets. In short, protect the racket, protect the fraud. Correct.

Yeah. Seriously. I'll tell you of an interesting story. I grew up in Somali and I was a huge fun of American movies. That's literally where I learned my English. And it was around the time when the United States was in Iraq and Afghanistan. So there was obviously a massive narrative that was going against the United States. And my nickname at the time was American.

You know, I just thought it was fun, you know. you know and um and i i i came face to face less than feet away with a guy who's covered his face more like the isis al-qaeda style and i knew the gentleman because i grew up there and slimy movements just emerged and he comes up to me and he says i know you you know me i want you to drop that nickname america gone okay if not i'm going to come back tomorrow and we'll take your life literally that's what it's it like even wrote it in my, I wrote it in my memoir, called me American, which is also a book that I wrote.

You know, to me, that was a moment that I could be bullied to back down from the United States or the appreciation that I have booked for the country in general. I mean, you could hate certain people, but the idea of America is a brilliant, beautiful idea. And I don't see that in my refugee community, my immigrant community. And surprisingly, when I came to the United States,

I came here immediately moonwalking, you know, lurks and all that, you know, the American culture that I have adopted, pop culture. Nobody here really appreciated that in my community, maybe one or two, but majority, they just looked at me and looked down in me and said, do it, you know, get over it.

And I said, what if I really want to thrive in this country? it's not Republican or Democrat to me. It's just the way I see this. It's such an exciting thrill, right? To really drive your own pickup track. It's an American thing, right? You know, go out, hike.

And honestly, one time I said, hey, I feel more safe here than where I was born. And that's true. And you could find, and I found some people who disagree with that, it's like, no, it's horrible. You know, if you go out in the wilderness of Maine, pretty wide, conservative. You could get kidnapped and you get killed.

And that hasn't happened. And I'm a huge hiker. You know, maybe there's one or two people who just generally hate Somali or anybody. I don't care. But predominantly, if you approach people with smile and appreciation and love, we have a lot of things in common.

And I think this idea of America should be the common idea that we will all appreciate. And I unfortunately, didn't see that in a lot of my community. It's just a circle where we feel like we're here temporarily. I'm not even making this up. You know, a lot of people who are naturalized citizens, you know, you see the idea of stealing money from the American taxpayer, invest in that money in Kenya or Somalia, the nearest place

in Somalia that most people from Somalia live is in Kenya. So you see that money going back there. And instead of, even if you steal money, hey, invest in your own community in this country, that maybe at least like you're doing some favor, I guess, right? If not then taking money and going all the way back there, this whole idea of we're here temporarily, not permanently, is not what I buy it.

And I was not born here. I did not grow up here. I arrived here at an older age, and I really like to thrive in this. idea of, I want to be here permanently, I will not be taken down or demoralized by white supremacist, right? How many white supremacists are there? There might be some. But I feel more welcome, honestly, here than anywhere else I've lived. So it seems to me that your attitude toward America is the type of attitude that America would

want that would be open to in the form of immigration, somebody that appreciates, that might even idolize, that aspires to, hopefully not just American culture, but American way of life, America's form of governance, America's culture and customs. But it's not what you suggest you're seeing in the Somali American community, that many see this as a temporary home. Tell me more about that. How does that manifest in their ideas, in their ways? of life. Do they still behave in the same way? Do they still live in the same way that they would have and did back in Somalia? Do they consider themselves at any level Americans? Do they truly mean it when they talk about being here temporarily? Will they go back to Somalia?

Well, let me begin with the last question. Will they go back to Somalia? Yes. In fact, to the local main media, as we speak, it's covering a Somali American who has been funding a militia in Somalia and going back to run for office in Somalia. And the elected officials of Somali Americans, including Ilhan Omar, so many people know, look when she goes back to Somalia, she's the queen, right, being received. And I have no, I mean, I don't know how much of her money is going back to some, you But I see, first of all, let's begin with Somalia itself. Somalia is one of the homogenous countries that you can see.

I mean, I grew up in Somalia. We're all black, except for some light-skinned, you know, people. There's not really much diversity, and you can look that up. Anybody watching this or listening to this podcast? We all speak the same language, practice the same faith, all right? you know, pretty much everything and predominantly black culture. And so there's this deeply rooted fear of, you know, things changing. And change is such a horrible idea.

And I'm not, you know, I'm just saying this from experience, right? I'll give you an example. If anybody in Somalia decides to convert, leave, say, hey, I think Judaism is good. So, you know, if someone says, I'll go there, that person is going to be stormed, right? Even if your own family will just own you, and that's a fight, or anything else, any other phase, any other culture and stuff like that. So there's this deeply rooted fear of change, and those members of my community who move all the way here or to Canada or in Australia or Europe, they bring the same fear of change, change, right? It's such a scary thing. And I have firsthand experience of, for example, been here, going to college and getting into things that are commonly seen as unacceptable, right?

I will give you one example. It could include downhill skiing and outdoor sports, you know, stuff like that that's a little bit outside of the culture that we. that we do, which I have been, I have received backlash on that. And then it comes down to accepting America the way it is. A lot of people fear that change because they think that it's going to take away things that they are and who they are, including the faith and the culture. And you can see that in Somalia Americans born in this country, who always are in conflict with the parents who don't speak that good English,

but the kids do it because they go to American school. And so there's this conflict where the parents are trying to restrain and tell the kids to do that, to practice or do things the way the parents did. And the kids are, you know, more, I'm not really, you know, I'm not interested in and they're going out of the culture, dating out of the culture, right? And that gets them into trouble. And I personally am dating outside of the culture. And nothing against my culture. And I love our woman, but I'm dating us out of our culture. and that itself has become an issue with my own community that sometimes it feels really hard bringing my foreign girlfriend, non-Somali girlfriend, to the community.

So it's just that scary part. And I think we're, you know, we, our community is scared of change. And that should not be the case. Okay, that's fascinating. And we're going to return to this concept of a community in a culture that is largely homogenous. resistant to change and wants to retain its own sense of identity. We're going to come back to that in just one moment. But one of the things that you said to me on television on this note that absolutely fascinated

to me is that when you move to America, and not just in your experience, but when Somalis move to America, they are pushed to retain their tribal connections, to stay with their clan. So explain and help me understand that. You just described Somalia as homogenous, largely the same. And yet within that homogen, within that sameness, you are pushed into your differences, your tribal differences. And it's still the same case here in America. It's sickening.

I want to remind the audience, anybody watching this or listening to this, Somalia, as we speak right now, has a system called 4.5. It's a formula that our government, current government, runs in Somalia. It's a very corrupt government, obviously. Everybody knows that. What does a 4.5 mean? So the four means there are four major clans, 0.5 minorities, right? So the four major clans have a way of their own. There's only two clans that can run for president in Somalia. The other two can only run for a speaker.

of parliament and the point five the minorities yeah citizens of somalis minorities they cannot run for office as we speak and it's a formula it's very incredible help me understand it give me the 4.5 tell me the names of these clans okay okay so the first one is how we it's spelled as h a w i y e and second is is Darot, D-A-A-A-R-O-O-D. The other one is slightly larger, Rahan-W-H-A-N, W-E-Y-N. Okay.

And then the point five is a collection of small groups. And the major one is the Somali Band-2 that so many Americans know. Somali Band-2, B-A-N-T-U. They are part of, and are they part of the point five, the band two? They are part of the point five, correct. So, which two tribes, which two clans, Abdi, can run for president, just out of curiosity? They have we and that they're wrong.

Okay. Those two can run for president. Another two you said can run for Speaker of the House. Now, let me just ask you a series of quick questions. Is most of the Somali-American diasore? Bantu, or do they come from some of these other clans? Ilhan, name any elected Somali official, and they are all in the Darot clan. The second one name I gave you, they belong predominantly.

So, so Ilan Omar, she's that clan? Yes, she's the Darok. Okay. She has a privilege. And what is the relationship among the clans? In America, what is the relationship among – what are you, by the way, Abdi? I'm Rahan Wayne. So I'm the one who cannot run for press in Somalia, as we speak.

In fact, I have more chance to run for speaker, if I remember correctly. Yeah. So, but now explain to me those clan differences in how they work in America. Is it the same as it is in Somalia? Did Omar, for example, is Ilan Omar advantaged in getting. Somali votes in Minnesota because she is dar-on-way. Did I say it right? Because she's one, because she's one of these two major clans. Certainly. Yep. Her clan predominantly lives in Minnesota and a Minneapolis-Sin-Paul area. That's a fact. Okay. And there are other

clans. That's her clan. Yep. Okay. Hold on. Minnesota is largely this clan. Is Omar Fata, the guy that ran for governor mayor in minneapolis would he also be of the same clan as ilan omar yep okay all right so what is the clan in maine where you live uh someone that that that the darrow same same same one yep they're growing to me it makes me feel like sometimes it's uh i don't know maybe the democrats know about that i have no idea but i want to remind you well um do you remember when Minneapolis had a mayoral election, this was a few weeks ago Jack of Frye was running against

Omar fat. And the Somalis split up between the Klan lines. Because anybody, his clan, was basically campaigning for him, for Omar. And the other Somalis who were not in the Darot clan were campaigning for Jaco Fry. And it was very

evident on all the people. Yeah. I guarantee Democrats no. I guarantee Jacob Frye, I guarantee Jacob Frye was playing to the other Somali clans. Definitely, I did. You can look that up. What about, what about this? Okay, you know about the fraud.

I don't know if you know about the specific characters in Minneapolis, which I'm going to do a deeper dive on, on the television channel. What clan are most of the people, not just accused, because we now have had people charged and sentenced in some of these fraud schemes, do you know what clan a lot of these guys are these these criminals are coming from yes actually same clan as elhan omar predominantly is that right predominantly the same clan as omar okay now talk to me about the relationships within the clan and between the clans well what if i tell you that in most cases, the Somali clans, even here in the U.S., cannot intermarried.

I'll give you an easy example. Really? The Salaan in Bantu, who are part of the point of five, are actually not, you know, the clan from Ilhan Omar, folks from her clan, would not really want to marry among the other clan, right? the band twos. They're considered less, not as brilliant as they are, not as rich as they are. You know, there's all those factors that you can go through. So it's an evident, it's very, I know a lot of Somalis will be watching this. So I'm not saying anything that's not correct here, because anybody can fact check me, I'm 100% sure of that, but the Somalis in a marriage,

interclan marriage is still actually a problem. And some parents might not be okay. I'll give you an example. a clan that, as we speak right now, with their 4.5 formula, can't run for president in Somalia. I mean, a Somali citizen, 100%, but at the moment, I don't have any right to run for president in Somalia. And with that, because I'm seeing less, right? Ilhan's clan, I'll give you an example, may have a, say, a parent or a father may have a hard time accepting me as a son-in-law. just because really don't see the power you know

aspect of it I've got my curiosity is now running out of control so I have a lot of questions I'm going to fire so if I go back to Somalia the hawe or hawi

and I'm going to butcher the pronunciations you know that to be the case and the the two main clans that maintain the ability to run for presidency are they also the clans in

Somalia that have most political power. So they are an elite class with, okay, so in Somalia, they are an elite class that maintain political power. Yes? You got. Yep. Okay. What about, and I'm sure is, okay, I'm sure, as is the case in most societies, that's, I would guess they also then have outsized economic status inside of Somalia. So they would be wealthier, have better career opportunities than say the Bantu, or, other clans is that true that's true okay a couple more questions oh a couple more questions i know that somalia is i believe i have the stats right ranked 179 out of 100 countries 180 countries in the world in terms of corruption it's one of the most corrupt countries in the

world so i want to ask you about that for a moment let's just talk about that broadly and culturally is that true? Talk to me about how that manifests. Is it, you know, famously in Greece, Obdi, people don't pay taxes. They just don't. Like a low percentage of people actually pay their taxes. They might get a tax bill, but there's very little enforcement. But more important than that, there's not a huge cultural expectation that you've done something wrong if you have avoided completely taxation. Talk to me about the attitudes in Somalia. towards corruption and fraud? Corruption is widespread.

I will never dispute the numbers that you just gave me. It is widespread because the person who's coming to power in Somalia is not, first of all, elected by the people, right? He comes through because he's got the power and backing of his clan. And Ilhan Omar publicly supported the current president, obviously, and the previous president, and it's all about the power and connection. Now, I also want everybody to understand we, Somalis, in the United States or other countries, we're the one supporting the country, where most of the money, billions now,

going back to Somalia is the money that we send. And it's not actually used properly. We all understand that. It's going to the politicians, or maybe it might be going to some radical Islamist, even though I don't have an evidence, but I think there's not a political. By the way, and we've seen that, we've seen that, Abdi, right? I think I have my numbers correct on this, but I think 40% of the Somali economy is remittances from not just America, but Europe as well, other countries. And I believe the amount of money coming into Somalia as remittances is larger than the budget of the government of Somalia.

I believe it's like 1.7 billion, something like that, which is bigger than the government budget. And there is reporting that suggests that some of that is making its way into the hands of al-Shabaab, which is a radical Islam. ISIS-affiliated terror organization. So you're telling me, corruption and fraud. Before we even get at the political side of it, I want to know if I walk down the streets in Somalia and I talk to someone and I say, did you know that this person is stealing from this government program or doing this? What would be the reaction?

Is there a lack of outrage? Is there a sense of expectation? Is it even culturally like, yeah, of course, that's what you do when you have power? I don't think you will find any reaction that's anger or frustration. Maybe the person that you're talking to will on the streets of Somalia, he might tell you, oh, did he steal? Can I get some money from him? You know, people are just so poor, right? Nobody really pays attention to, I mean, Somalia is being stolen as we speak.

It could be predominantly Somalis. I will tell you one example, now a major corruption scandal going on in Somalia is the accusation of the current president, you know, kicking people out of parties of Mogadishu so that Turkish companies can come in and build some sort of, you know, factories and stuff like that. So kicking people out and you can see anger of people, but you can also see a counter anger, you know, people who are the client of the president or support. the president, could you just be saying, yeah, it's okay. It's okay to kick you out because we're getting more power, right? And so, you know, growing up, I don't think, you know, you know, the culture of a fraud and say like being a bad guy, like, you know, having so many arms or pick up tracks or armed men or

you know, so many bullets, it was actually quite a thing. It's like a manly thing. You know, it's the more, but I'll give you an example. Members of Parliament, as we speak now, like we can, we can name them. I don't have to. Came in because they used to be former warlords. Former warlords now join the government. That just tells you.

Right. Imagine what if that was in the United States? What if some bad guy, a drag dealer, actually showed joining the government. You could see angering the American and he could be taken with justice and has to go through, you know, I guess the court system, but in Somalia, as we speak, a former warlord probably killed thousands, and people still there whose parents were killed, is in the government being paid $6,000 a month. By the way, I don't know how much the Congress is paid, but I know that Somalia Parliament, corrupt country, probably, makes more money than the United States

Congress, members of Congress. That tells you all. I'm so endlessly fascinated. Don't go anywhere. I want to continue this conversation with Somali-American refugee on the crisis of fraud and assimilation. Obdi Ifton, when we come back on Will Kane Country. 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 foxnewspodcasts.com or wherever you listen to podcasts. Okay. I've got more I want to get to you with. you have, and I'm not going to, I'm going to go ahead and ask my producers because

this is building towards something that I, that I'm very curious about. So I know I have another guest, and I'm hoping that he'll hang out a little longer, because I'm not going to wind this up, because I have to get, I have to get to the bottom of this. But, okay, so, so, so you, what you told me when you came to America, and we're going to return to your story in a minute, but you, there was a cultural push, a push within your community, to immediately start taking advantage, not criminally necessarily, but pushing you toward the social welfare system in America. In other words, hey man, get into Section 8 housing, figure out what you can get on when it comes to the public dole. Like it was a cultural

expectation when you moved here within your community. Correct. Yes. And I was shocked. You might be wondering who said that. People who actually said to to me, five, six, more than that. They have been in the country for over 10 years. Didn't buy their own house, have lived that kind of life for a while, didn't make any progress. I was shocked, and I felt it was a trap. I didn't want to really, I didn't want to get into that.

You know, I wanted to look for the right person to advise, the right person who would tell me, if you really want to go to college, consider this subject, you know, it's good for you, or, you know, or other good advice, maybe join sports and things like that. I did not see that. The advice was horrifying, scary, and clearly a trap that so many people fell into. And what I'm describing here is the Section 8 housing, which they state and the federal government helped out with refugees who can speak English, you know, who went through PTSD.

I did. I did go through PTSD. but I immediately found a therapist and took off as fast as I could, right? And that's the way it should be. I mean, I'm not saying, like, if, you know, the Somali mothers who come here in their 60s, they probably will never learn English. So it's understandable to help them out. I can understand that. But when young men come in, when young women come in, or the kids that they have at home,

they should be allowed to think freely and get out of this system and find other opportunities. You should just let them do that. You know, you can't force. So I've been asked to stay in that bubble, go to the mosque together, come back from the mosque together, have roommates, eat Somali food, right? Just do things that way. And if you ever drive through Minneapolis,

as we speak, or St. Paul, where a lot of Somalis live, you will see this kind of community living. It's very common. There's a market where the Somalis actually go to, the Sabadi Barbershop. It's fine. I'm not against that. There's Chinatown and all that we understand that. But my, you know, my thinking is it hasn't really helped a lot of people come out of that. I think we should be thinking beyond that. I think we should be letting people know that there are more opportunities, give them the freedom to think more. If I bring a Nigerian girlfriend or a white American, you know,

girlfriend, just accept that. Don't just don't think that it will waste the way, right? Right. So, yeah, I will. What you described a moment ago about this strong sense of cultural identity that's resistant to change among Somalians. To me, that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing in Somalia. It's perfectly fine. It's good for a community to have a sense of identity and a way of life and to hold dearly and strongly to something that you love. every community should look within itself and ask, can we do better? Are there practices that we can adopt from some other culture that has proven to advance that culture? And every community should be able to do that. But I begrudge no one, a love of the way they were raised, of their way of life.

However, when you come to a new country, you've made a conscious choice. You have made a choice to embrace change. To moonwalk, to drive a pickup truck, to adopt the culture, of the place that you have moved. And that would be the concerning thing for me on the assimilation front. And I think Obdi is part of that part of our conversation. I think for me and the audience,

you should describe for us the conditions under which you move to America and for much of the Somali community. Because if I do have it correctly as a broad scope, it does start, it is the major wave in the 1990s, right? It is on the heels of a civil war. And it is under the banner, not really of immigration assimilation,

but of refugee. Yeah, correct. Yeah, it started in the 90s when Somali Civil War broke out. There was a huge influx from Somalia into Kenya. And I think within months, Kenya was perceiving have a million Somalia refugees in what used to be the largest refugee camp in Kenya called Dada. So, yeah, Somalis moved in there. It could just cross the border.

And Kenya has received. I think the United States was paying for it. The audience might remember that through the United Nations funding programs, that millions of dollars went into that. And then usually people are supposed to register as a refugee before they even arrived in the United States. And so that involves extensive, you know, system of including interviews and biometrics and stuff like that.

And immediately, I think within a few years, the Somalis found a way to... to honestly cheat the system, right? Become a Kenyan national, because Kenya could give you an ID somehow. Some Somalis found that. And then at the same time, become refugees. And in fact, if you don't mind me mentioning this,

I think CNN did a documentary of Somalis who cheated the system, become refugees, but also became Kenyan residents, green cars, which reject each other. You cannot be a refugee, but also have an ID in the same country. of anybody who knows something about the refugee system, because I was one at one point. And then some of those people migrated into the United States by using either, right,

their Kenyan ID or the refugee ID, which is an immigration fraud. It has happened. I'm not sure if anybody has been charged for it, but there's a documentary available on that where people have cheated the system. So anyways, you know, the corruption system has just spread up. And I think a lot of the people are honestly seeking refuge, honestly seeking a better life. But what does that even mean? What does that include, by the way? So I appreciate at one point what you know, what I wonder, what I'm wondering, Obdi, is do you think there's a difference in mindset of someone who sees themselves, not incorrectly, but sees themselves as a refugee? who might be temporarily away from home while it's dangerous,

versus someone who is an immigrant, who chooses a new life. You know what I mean? Like, if someone says, I am leaving this country because I like this other country more. And even though you are a refugee, a lot of the characteristics of your situation, kind of check those boxes, that's a different mindset, a willingness to assimilate, an aspirational view of what you might be in a new. world versus someone who says, I'm fleeing something temporarily. I am a refugee. So when I am, wherever I go, I'm going to stay what I am. I am going to stay Somali. I'm going to

stay 100% within my culture. And I'm wondering if you think that's a mindset difference based upon the conditions of your entry. Great question. It is unfortunately a mindset where For example, you know, people leave. I think most of the Somalis, as far as I know, like to stay the way they are, the way they left Somalia in terms of thinking, faith practice, things that they eat, which is fine. I know you mentioned that earlier,

but if you really cross-ocean and continents and go into England or in the United States and Canada, first of all, I think integration is not a bad idea. Simulation is not a bad, it doesn't mean you're abandoning you culture. I did not abandon my culture. I know my culture in my language more than anybody else, pretty much for those in the United States, right? But I also really enjoy this new adoption, new understanding, new ways of thinking. It just improves the person.

So in some ways, it could be good if you're in Somalia to have that mentality to keep the people together. That's fine. I'm not against that. But once you move into other places, you should not be imposing anything on anybody. That's one thing. And then the other thing is, if you really want to thrive and survive in a new culture, you're going to learn. You know, I drive the pickup truck if you want or not. Okay, drive Mini Cooper. It's still fine.

But actually, accept the fact that life here is unlike Somalia in every way. You know, the justice system, you just can't steal. like you could do in Somalia, which is basically what's happening to members of my community, as we speak right now, because theft has been widespread until recently that they got caught, right? And I think that could have been avoided if we actually accepted the fact that we could work hard, you know, instead of thinking that mentality of, yeah, nobody can catch me. I got the power. my clan is the elected official.

It's not going to work that way. So, and to me, I'm doing a favor for my community. I guess if they're really listening, it's okay. I mean, I lost nothing. On that note, I'm taking you beyond the Somali community. Do you, on that note, are you concerned for other refugee communities and their success and their clash inside the boundaries of the United States with the culture of the United States? For example, Afghans.

we have taken in a lot of Afghans from a terrible situation in Afghanistan, returning power to the Taliban. But that doesn't mean that there's going to be an easy transition into the United States when they come here under that very same mindset that we just described when it comes to Somalis. Are you concerned about others like Afghans? I am, definitely. And this is way beyond the Somalis. By the way, I actually want to mention, see, you and I were talking earlier, how I recently, after I was on U.S. show. Those huge backlash. It has reached Somalia. I think it's a tactic to scare people. So maybe a lot of the Somalis can't come forward, knowing that they could be targeted, that their families could be targeted, knowing that, you know, Afghans might be doing that.

I actually personally know a few refugees. I'm friends with in the United States. They're so cool. They're amazing. We watch American movies obsessively. We're into music. Everything about America. We actually love that. But a lot of them can't publicly come forward and say things that they really do that because they're so American, mostly because someone is watching in Afghanistan, right? They don't want to get into that. And then it's, you know, it's partly why a lot of people get radicalized, I guess, with this fear of oppressing you, even in the United States,

because you come from a community that's tightly connected back home now that there's technology. And I don't know. could investigate how much of those who actually attack others who come forward, speak up publicly, and say America, it's good. It's good to be here. I don't want to talk about racism all the time. I just want to talk about all the other good stuff, right? And I know this interview as well will go viral.

A lot of people will not like some of the things I'm saying, even though they cannot dispute the fives, right? So, you know, so I think a lot of the refugees and immigrant communities, are actually shut down if they wanted to say something. I'm sure that to be true, just like you're dealing with, just like you're dealing with your mom. I'm sure that's true. Okay, Abdi, I want to ask you a couple specifics. Okay, what do you make of the accusations, and I don't know if you've done any of your

own research on this, I've done some, that Ilan Omar married her brother to gain him immigration status. Now, she's rejected that concept. although I don't know that she's directly ever refuted it. She always just kind of says it's right-wing crazy talk, right? The White House, by the way, has put out, you know, some documentation on it. They have certainly made the accusation. Now, I don't know if you know, but I think there's two things I feel confident in asking you this.

One, you would know if that's sort of a cultural thing that is done, that is not unheard of. And two, I'm sure there's a Somali, you know, rumor mill. I'm sure not that you and I should traffic in rumors, but I do have a feeling that you might have more insight than I. So what do you have to say, if anything, about this idea that Omar's second marriage was immigration fraud? While I do not have the evidence on that, it's a huge chat and conversation in my community as well. One thing I can tell you is marriage fraud or marriage immigration fraud is very common. It's actually very common that someone applies for a visa, some American naturalized American citizen, wants to bring over someone, but because under the American immigration system, you cannot bring over your sibling over 21 years old. That's a fact.

That's in the American immigration system, it wouldn't let you to bring on your own siblings. So in that case, someone might say, how about I say you are my husband or fiancé, and then that way people bring those siblings over in the name of marriage, right? It's common. I'm not surprised. I'm not shocked. I'm not scratching my head. I'm just saying, yeah, maybe one of them, right? That's my answer.

Maybe you want to want to. Right. Okay. Let's stick with Omar for a moment, and I want to go back to corruption. You have talked to us about the cultural acceptance of some level of corruption, your exact words where you can't steal here like you did back home. So there is some cultural acceptance of that type of fraud back in Somalia. You also told me that the tribe, the clan that Il-An Omar belongs to, is the tribe of power.

back in Somalia and that those clan affiliations play a role in electoral politics as well back here in America. You also told me that, of course, political powers in Somalia are corrupt often. It's not just the cultural expectation that you can live this way, but it's a reality of politics and economics back in Somalia. So it's not hard for me to connect dots here. Okay? It's not hard for me to see this. And I told you I was kind of I'm building towards this, but I'm not building an argument. I'm listening to you in connecting dots. Is it, I just see here, I have, in Minneapolis, widespread corruption and fraud through several welfare programs, fake food tickets, fake autism claims, fake housing disability

claims, okay? You told me that most of the characters involved in this fraud are from the same clan as Omar. You told me that Omar is of the clan that achieves political power both at home and here in America. So is it, I don't feel like from what you've given me here, although I don't have the direct evidence, no big reach to say this fraud at the very least goes under the willful ignorance of the clan leader, in this case Ilan Omar in America, perhaps with the complicity, and I don't know about the participation. But I can't help but see the parallels between this is the way it's done in Somalia. And by the way, this is the exact same way it's playing out in Minneapolis. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess it's really sad. I mean,

I think if there was, if there was accountability within the Somali clan system, which there isn't, there's no accountability, you know, the fraud is there's a king. That's the way I see it. And I haven't actually seen Ilhan come forward and say, hey, community, let's change this. Because if they busted us now, we don't want them. You know, I mean, I don't see, I don't see, this is the thing that scares me. I don't, I don't see anybody speaking honestly about this. Yes, there's fraud.

Yes, there's, what is it now, 70 plus, Somalis predominantly from the same clan, are now basically busted. and the investigation is still going, we understand that, and a lot of them, some of them have already been arrested and are behind bars, and a lot more. I think it's about time where we could come together. I mean, not me, I'm probably having a hard time now sitting down and having a chat of this, but I think it's about time to say there's another way to do this. It's called working hard.

It's called working hard. You know, go to school, become a truck driver. I mean, do whatever you can. I know some honest Somalis do that. They're working hard and feeding their family. But I think their corrupt system, which is the clan corrupt system, has unfortunately literally migrated and came all the way here without any change. And because of lack of that change and because of empowering the clan system,

the same way we empowered it in Somalia is also playing, literally, same here, which means, you know, the corruption was, you gave me the number earlier, you said one out of 80 countries, Somalis went 79, something like that. You know, and I think we should take that into consideration and say, first of all, clan system, clan rivalry in Somalia literally means corruption. Because you're corrupt, you're, you know, people are giving money to each other and bringing more weapons into that and bringing more corrupt leaders into power. And it's sound to have that conversation. So it's at play. Yeah.

Just as a, I'm starting to wind this up, Abdi, but I hope the audience is as interested in this as I am. I'm just endlessly fascinated by which the, you said to me that in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota, that is the, I'm going to butcher, Darwood clan, which is Illinois-Marz clan. Where else is the, in America, where else is the Somali community and which clans it? You're in Maine. You said that's also Darud in Maine, even though you're not that clan. And then where else is the Somali diaspora in America and what clans are where? Okay. So, first of all, in the United States, Ilhan's clan is actually considered predominant, large. I have no idea. Someone could investigate how they ended up here as refugees more than other Somalis, even though the Civil War in Somalia,

obviously someone started the Civil War in Somalia, someone is firing the bullets, an Ilhan's clan, and the two clans who now can compete for power precedent, those are the ones that are raging the war in Somalia, and then at the same time, the refugees are themselves, right? So do the connection here. So real quick.

So you're telling me that that clan wasn't the persecuted minority in the Civil War who had to flee at the, end of it. And you're also, was that clan the one that fought, you know, in any way alongside or with the support of the United States military? You're referring to Black Hawk Down, I assume, in 1993. Yeah, in our presence there for, we were there, you know, before Black Hawk Down, we were there politically, you know, with some level of influence, I'm sure, among, like we do in a lot of countries, which warlord is the best warlord for Somalia in our estimation. I'm wondering if the reason that that clan is here is because that clan was more tied to the United States of America back in Somalia.

No, I don't think so. You know, if you look, Somalia's got independence from Italy and Britain, 1960. And on day one, someone became a president of Somalia, and that was pretty much the same clan as Ilhan. And it went on and on and on. So, no, it's actually the most persecuted people in Somalia are still in Somalia. The band two community, who some of them are here in the United States, but they lost their lands. They're the ones getting killed and other minorities in Somalia as well. So they're still in Somalia, getting persecuted.

The war is raging. It hasn't changed. And Ilhan's got the power in Somalia. And now it's building up here. Now, back to the question. We Somalis actually say Minnesota has got the largest Somali community. The second is Ohio, another cold place, and third is considered Seattle, Washington, and then I think Alana, Georgia, and now Maine, and a little bit of New York, actually near Buffalo, New York, and Rochester, New York, in that area. And they're all there mostly because of the Catholic charities or other nonprofits that have supported and resettled refugees and grouped them together, and so Somalis like to live closer together.

And real quick, are they all Darwut? Are some of them, you know, predominantly, majority, another clans. Majority, yes. Okay. But there are other clans. One clan majority. Okay.

Last question. Is there anything else that you should tell me that I haven't asked? Anything else important that I just did overlook? Because I am fascinated by this. And I truly think I can interview for two hours and still think I left some meat on the bone for my understanding of this. So let me just ask you that openly. Is there anything I should have asked you

or anything that you feel like you need to tell me? No, I think I'm going to say it's sad that someone like me who speaks up openly and honestly, you know, that we have Somalis in the United States that just basically create a narrative that could endanger our family members back home. And I honestly think that this should be stopped. I think that the government needs to look deeper and closer

into these clan ties that are connected to groups in Somalia and the money that's connected to all of that. I mean, there's a bigger issue here that I personally as a Somali can see. And so I think it's about time to dig deeper and clean up and leave the real honest Somalis. Will other Somalis, Abdi, will other Somalis say to you that, I can't say the name of your clan? I can't say the name of it.

It starts with an R. Yeah, Brian. Will they say to you that what you're doing is just simple tribal rivalries that you're talking about the Darwu clan and that this is all what's motivating you? Absolutely. Yep. I've been accused of that. Yeah. And is it true? No, it's not. It's absolutely not. There's two things that they use. The clan says the name, Rahan, you know, you're wrong wins or you're coming up. That's one thing. Honestly, it's not true, because evidence is out there.

And then the other thing is that I, you know, the one thing that I, that they, the guys on in the US who have been coming after me have used is that, that I am not a practice in Muslim, right? That's dangerous narrative. And in the United States, you should not be bullying someone based on their faith or whatever they, their practice. on. And I think that's just ridiculous. But yeah, honest, honest truth is that I don't care what Klan you are. If there's corruption, if there's a system that I think is dishonest, I will call it up. And I think everybody should do that as well. So Klan loyalty is very, very good. I'm so glad. Well, first of all, I'm so glad that you've spent more time with me today. I really appreciate the amount of time and the indulgence of my curiosities here today.

I appreciate that. I appreciate the full hour that you gave me in this conversation. I appreciate the bravery because I do imagine this comes at a real personal cost and I wish you the best of luck in that. Abdi, I mean, I would hate to think in any conversation you had with me has any personal cost like that to you or your mother or your siblings back in Somalia. And I'll just say lastly, I appreciate your embrace of something that I do hold so dear. And that is this culture of the United States of America, which I do want accessible to anyone who is willing to adopt the cultural practices and the appreciation of something that I think has. has been one of the greatest experiments in a way of life on the face of this planet. And I appreciate your common love of that, of that way of life. Thanks, Will, for having me. It's always an honor. Okay. Abdi Yifton. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you as well. Everyone for sticking in. I mean, I hope that was as fascinating for you as it was for me. I've got a ton of comments. You guys have sent in a ton of comments.

And I want to get to that. I want to break down that interview because there's some things that really stuck out to me that deserve further exploration. I will explore that today and in the future. I am also going to take a quick break to talk to Chef Andrew Gruhl about the way you should set your dinner plate at Christmas and a Mount Rushmore draft of the best Christmas music. Don't go anywhere. Movies. Mount Rushmore of movies, not music. Don't go anywhere because we're going to do all that fun and deep dive when we come back on Wheel Can Country.

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hey, you're not the guy trying to be the most stylish guy in the room. So you can get the jackets, you know, with the shearling thing that I wear. I love that one or the puffy leather jacket. And I get the, where'd you get the jacket? Where'd you get the jacket? Buffalo Jackson. Okay?

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support zan support a good man and a good company with good awesome goods that was kind of cute yeah go to buffalo jackson.com use code will 10 for 10% off will 10 and you get 10% off chef andrew when we come back on will cane country now we're in and we're just done with segment one here today on Wilcane Country streaming live at the Wilcane Country YouTube channel, the Wilcane Facebook page, but always here at Spotify and Apple. That was absolutely fascinating with Obdi Ifton, a Somali American refugee. Ray Picking says over on Facebook, what a brave soul, Will, you're a modern-day maverick in your profession. Heather Marie says that Obdi is a brave man. Becky Weir says thank you to Obdiifton for coming forward. Two days, Dan also tells me to some people that have

some criticism of Obdi. So we're going to get into all of that when we come just in a little while here because that deserves a deeper dive. And we're going to be doing that in just a moment here on Wilkins Country. But we are joined by Chef Andrew Grull. He's co-host of the American Gravy podcast. He's also written the family cookbook. He's a celebrity chef. And first of all, we always appreciate having you. And thank you for hanging out because I kept you on wait. I kept you waiting way too long. And I apologize, chef. Now, well, that was awesome to listen to. So I kind of feel like I got a behind-the-scenes view, even though it was the normal view. That was amazing. Isn't it interesting, the clans of Somalia and how they've been imported into the United States,

their connections to historic corruption, and now we see the corruption in the United States manifesting in the same way? We just paint things with a broad brush, like, oh, Somalis, well, there's divides within Somalis and different roles and political power and acceptance of corruption. I don't know. I think we want to understand what's happening in America. Maybe we should understand something about the way it was done in Somalia. And especially which clans made it to America and ultimately took a,

over and then embedded themselves in this fraud, right? Was it the clan that was really the one that was needed to, needed to help, needed the refuge? It's interesting. Yeah, and the one that, for example, claims Ilan Omar. So it's worthy of much, much more. You and I are going to do something a little less serious, but everyone knows, chef, what you do for Thanksgiving, okay?

It's a turkey, it's stuffing, it's mashed potatoes. I do think this is interesting. And I don't know if you know I've talked about this in the past, but what is the right traditional meal for Christmas? And I think the guys and I have had this debate a couple times. Is it Beef Wellington? Is it Prime Rib? Like, what is the traditional American Christmas meal?

Man, that is the toughest question I get every year. I would say that the commonplace or somewhat cliche regular meal would be the prime rib, right? just the big old prime rib roast but if you want to kind of move up in that culinary aptitude the beef Wellington falls I think into that same category that's kind of like the she she version of the prime rib love the beef Wellington however in in past years like I've been seeing some amazing crown roasts pork roasts right that's the one where you get the the big crown roast the pork bones are sticking out and then you stuff the inside with like sausage and apples, especially with the price of pork

this year. I mean, it's like, you know, $4.99 a pound versus $29.99 a pound. So I think the landscape is pretty open. I think there's options. You can do a pork cheta. That's also another really popular one. And then the Christmas goose. I actually, just last night, I was at an event and people started asking me about the Christmas goose, which I was not expecting. I've done it a couple times myself, but that's pretty elegant, high in the cholesterol. So I was going to ask you about poultry, duck, goose. Why do we always think of that? Is that the Christmas Carol, Christmas Carol, where they have the goose? Is that like the British version of Christmas? Yeah. Who does the British version and, you know, some people just like birds?

How do you do a goose well? The key with the goose is that you got to pre-salt it, right? You got to get that salt in there through the fat for about 48 hours. and you want to dry it out in your refrigerator because you gotta get crispy skin on there. I was telling someone last night with the goose, there is so much fat on there. I don't think Americans are used to that, right? Because now everything has become so lean

in this anti-fat world that we've been living in for 20 or 30 years. So when you're roasting the goose, you go slow roasted, but you want to catch that fat as it cooks so you can subsequently use that goose fat for sauteing potatoes or spinach or just using the deep fry like goose or duck fat, roasted potatoes are unbelievable. Then after you slow roast the goose and that skin starts to

get crispy, you blast it at the end of the cooking to make sure that that skin gets super crispy. Because you did that air dry in the refrigerator, which is almost like a dry age or a rapid dry age, you can get a much crisper exterior on the goose or the duck. You kind can do it the same way. Get that beautiful crispy skin. Have you ever done this? I'm doing this at Christmas, New Year's, it's my first time. I'm going sandhill crane hunting. I don't if you've ever done that, or if you hunt, but we're not going to talk about the hunting part of it. I'm going to West Texas. My wife's from Lubbock. I'm getting to go back to her, treeless, featureless, flat homeland that I love, which is great for sandhill cranes.

And you know, do you know the chef? They're called the rib eye of the sky. And I did see Steve Vernella doing a deal on this. He did like a blind taste test with rib eye and rib eye of the sky Sand Hill Crane. And he and a couple guys, and they actually had trouble distinguishing the two a little bit. So apparently it is actually really good. And I only say that because we're talking about goose and poultry and, you know, I don't know. You ever had Sand Hill Crane? I never have. However, I've had birds that are, you know, kind of higher in that myoglobin. and it's like bluefin tuna right they say that's rib eye of the sea so i guess you could say maybe sandhill crane is bluefin of the sky too uh i can only imagine that it's really rich and

delicious so uh send send me your pictures i want to see what this is all about okay all right i will okay so i'm not going to make any promises but i think it would be fun to do a goose i think it would be fun to do the oh mister whatever i don't i can't remember the lines from a christmas carroll but uh whatever i think it'd be kind of fun to try i'm no culinary expert, so I need you to send me one, chef. All right, we decided we're going to do this. Let's bring in two a days, Dan, you and join us here. So I think let's do this.

We were going to talk about the best Christmas movies, but we've got to have fun with it. So what do you think, Dan? Like a snake draft of Christmas movies, you, me, and the chef, four each, who comes up with the best slate of Christmas movies, okay? And I think we have to start with the guest. So, once you hit a little under music, Dan? and let chef andrewill pick the first christmas music movie okay who got all right this is this is a tough one uh i'm gonna if i have to go overarching i say it's a wonderful life i mean that's got family heart you know kind of a little freedom undertone there hardworking family that's my number

one okay okay first round pick big one my mom would be happy with that she'd be happy go over the chef's house watches it every christmas day all right dan you can go second you know um i'm I'm going to have to go a little off the board and not chalk. I'm going to go the Grinch. Jim Carries the Grinch. I think that's really high up there for me. Yeah, number one, Jim Carries the Grinch. It always gets me in the Christmas spirit.

I think it's great. Okay. All right. Snake draft, so I got two back-to-back picks. I'm going to take this one first because it deserves to be a first-round draft pick. I've already watched it this season once, but Christmas vacation. It's the best Christmas movie. I don't think it can be beat.

Everybody loves Elf and these things, and Elf's great and all. But there's nothing. like Christmas vacation. I'm going to back it up. I'm going to back it up to a childhood classic. And I'm older. I don't know what you are. Chef. You look like a millennial in the range of a millennial. I'm Gen X. So back in the day, you had to wait for it to come on TV, you know, once in this month before Christmas. And honestly, when Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer came on, that was a big event. Had to see it, you know, the abominable snowman and the venture through the forest. Don't you dare steal it for me? Is it claymation, Ed? Was it

Claymation? Yeah, it's great. So I'm taking Rudolph as my second pick. Back to you, Dan. All right, that was actually going to be one of my picks. But I'll go a little off the board again. I'm going to go Home Alone 2. I like the New York City backdrop. Two, not one. I'm going number 2. I just like it. The New York City backdrop just makes it feel like so much more like Christmas, especially me being in the city every day. So Home Alone 2 is my second one. all right now you get back to back pick chef all right well then i'm going to go a little bit off the beaten beaten path as well i'm going to say gremlins christmas gremlins i like it's good that's good yeah and i plan on i plan on inundating the kids this year with with gremlins because they're not familiar with the legacy of the gremlins so uh what better time than christmas time and then probably for my next one i'm going to have to say who boy this is a tough one You know, let's get, let's get warm and fuzzy here.

Let's touch the soft spot and say love actually. Wow. All right. All right. You know what? You're in the right room right now, Chef, because I think Dan's like this, too. I consider Love Actually a guilty pleasure. I know it's cool to hate it.

I do know that. Everybody, like, we all just went down from our alpha rankings. We're all more beta. That just happened. But it's okay. It's all right. I'm going to be honest. Vulnerability is the key.

I will not turn off love actually. And I'm going to watch it. I'll watch it this season. Can't help it. I like it too. All right. You're up, Dan. All right.

I'm going to go with the controversial pick. I'm going to go die hard for my third one. It is a Christmas movie. There's no debating it. It's fantastic. All right. This is, so, see, this is, do I be honest? Like, I wish, I'm now.

seeing how my Mount Rushmore is taking shape. I've got two back-to-back picks and I've got nothing like, it's a wonderful life on there and you're going to put it on Instagram and everybody's going to be like Will's a Grinch because I don't have the, you know, warm, heartfelt movie, but I can't help it. Like, I'm sitting here debating whether or not I need to pick

Bad Santa. Okay, I'm debating whether or not I'm going to pick. It's so bad. You know, Bad Santa gets on the list almost for one scene. The negotiation scene with Bernie Mac is the best scene ever. I love that. That scene.

It's peak Billy Bob. And it almost begins But I'm not I don't think I can do it. I just like do I want to do Scrooge. I'm doing bad Santa. I'm doing bad Santa.

Give me bad Santa. I'll watch that scene over and over. And now I'm going to go soft. By the way, Elf is sitting out there still. We're going to get crushed for not picking Elf. I'm a little worn out on Elf. That's the only, that's the truth. I'm just a little worn out on it.

Like you, Chef. I'm a little bit of a sucker for the, the softies. So like the love actually's. So here's my category. I've got the family stone in that bucket. I've got the holiday. I've got four Christmases, all in that

bucket. There's a newer one. Do you ever see the holdovers about the kid that's left at boarding school? That's great. Paul Giamati. Oh, good one. But the one I'm going to take, I'm going to take, and this is probably, now I'm not only a beta, but now I'm a lib, because

I think I'm going to take a family stone. The family stone. I like it. It's a movie that makes me want to have more kids. Wish I had like five kids. And I think that's pretty heartwarming in and of itself. So give me the family stone. I like it. All right. Who's up? Mearer chef. You. All right. You, Dan. Okay, I'm going to go way back in the day. This is just one I loved watching with my grandparents. Miracle on 34th Street. It's a classic. Can't go wrong. Feels good. now he's got it's a wonderful life you've got mericon 34th street and i'm the heathen i didn't i don't have anything on my rushmore like that all right chef you can bring us home i'm gonna grade

these on i i mean by the way you know this one is tough because we we didn't even talk about a christmas story and that's the best right i mean i can watch that with my kids over and over and over against. And I'm drawing a blank right now. God, it was, it was, my God, it was the, it was Al Bundy was in it. It was a great Christmas movie and he lights off a bunch of fireworks with the kid that he picks up. Oh my gosh, I'm drawing a blank on this one.

But what is that? I'll wake up at like three in the morning and remember that one. But, yeah, I'm going to go to the Christmas story for the final. Okay, well, you saved us from about 100 comments whenever this is on Instagram. We're already going to get, we're already going to get crushed for no elf. Nobody picked elf. Love actually and the family stoner on there, not elf. So we're done.

We're crushed. This is over. Scrooge would have been a nice dark horse pick. Everybody loves Bill Murray. So you'd done well. We all would have done well if somebody to pick Scrooge. I was thinking that. It turns out.

I got ratings on our picks. Turns out we're all a bunch of. We got draft rates. Turns out we're all a bunch of beta lives. We've got draft grades if you want. Yeah, okay, drop into the comments, give us draft grades. You'd be the Mel Kuiper of our Christmas snake draft Mount Rushmore. Chef, thanks for hanging out.

Thanks for listening to the interview before you and just having a good time with us here today. I always love having you on, Chef Andrew Gruhl. Thank you so much. Great to see you. Have a good one, guys. All right, check him out, by the way. Check out the chef's podcast, American Gravy. Get you set up.

Or there's book, Family Cookbook, Get You Set Up. Maybe I'm going to figure out how to cook a goose. That's where you go to find out. Okay, one more quick break than you, the Willisha, on Facebook and YouTube, on Christmas movies, but also on that fascinating interview in the comments of Abdi Ifton, Somali American Refugee, coming up on Wilcane Country. Let's do it. It is Wilcane Country streaming live at the Wilcane Country YouTube channel. The Wilcane Facebook page, Spotify, and Apple.

Let's bring it into a day's Dan, tinfoil Pat. We got Eduardo Edgar, Ed. Hang out with us well in the control room. You got a mic now, Ed, by the way. You have a mic. Turn your mic on, Ed. Introduce yourself. Get on.

Come on. We got it. Is he on the air yet? Nope. I didn't hear it. Nope. Come on, Ed. Got nothing.

This is his literal job, by the way. Yeah. His job is tech. His job isn't content. And he can't figure out tech. I can hear him talking to himself in there in the control room. All right, whenever you're ready, Ed, bring yourself into the show. By the way, I just want to share some of the Wilicia, since Ed won't join the show.

You folks out there in America have joined the show. Corrine says, thank you so much for talking about the Somali. culture. Very interesting. I wonder if Obdi is in danger for revealing such cultural secrets. Well, he is in danger. He told us about that. He said there's a threat to his mom back in Somalia that she's moved a couple of times, various villages, because some of our previous interview had gone, quote, unquote, viral, whatever that means anymore. You guys know that's my new thing, right? There's no such thing as viral. But that doesn't mean content can't be spread around. With the algorithm, go into the right.

go into the right channels what just am i saying something everybody already knows yeah a little bit oh then well that's how you do it dan yeah um carmella canali says i uh i'm so mind blown freedom q nine l says this is a great interview however there is some pushback as well out there on this interview as i have mentioned sasata one two 2.3 says, I feel sorry for whoever believes this guy. And then A2K football, 683, this is on YouTube, says, it's true. Why do you think he is on the panel? To damage the image of Somalis in America, who are majority, Darud, his long-term rival clan. On that note, those two same guys, those two same accounts communicating back and forth, A2K football says, I promise

there is no chat in the community. Nobody doubts Elon's marriage or visa. I'm presuming A2K that you come from the Somali community. Why don't you do this? Why don't you, Dan, reach out to this guy somehow. Tinfoil, you're in the comment section. A2K. I would like, Patrick, reach out to this guy.

If you are from the Somali community, I am willing to hear your point of view. Okay? You come on the show. I want to hear your rebuttal to Obdi if. That'd be good. You've become part of this show as well. This is what we do, okay? I mean, I've got to find out you're not a Fugazi, but, you know, if I can figure out that you're real, a real person, come on in, a real Somali.

Come on in. Tell me where Abdi Ifton got it wrong. Same invitation to Sassada 1, 2, 3. This is not true at all, he says, of that interview. So you're welcome to come on and give me that rebuttal. to an interview that quite honestly, I sit here and I think, okay, I'm pretty confident that we have been doing this story on this show and on the Wilcane show on television at a deeper level than anyone else in media. What I mean by that is exploring it, explaining it, and understanding it at a deeper level. And coming away from my conversation with Obdi, we've barely scratched the surface.

With all of that, there is so much more, okay? And he said that in my interview. He said the thing about being pushed towards your clan or tribal allegiances, and it caught my attention that day. And I didn't have time in a television interview. You go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, tell me more about these tribes. Because we were focused largely on both cultural assimilation and the fraud that is taking place. and I'm in that minute in that moment I'm like book him I think I texted you Patrick get him I want a deeper conversation about this right now and it is so fascinating to me that that is a way of life in Somalia okay and I hope let's presume for a moment that A2K football and Sasata are real Somalis I hope you heard me because I mean it because you'll you'll you'll you I don't know your politics you'll begrudge you me of it, but I don't begrudge you of it. I have a great amount of pride in the place that I come

from and the culture that I'm a part of. I believe, I'm sorry, this is true. I believe in cultural superiority. I believe the American way of life and the American culture is the best that has graced the face of this planet. That doesn't make it perfect, utopic, or incapable of learning from other cultures. I live in Texas. We are an amalgamation of several cultures, but it's about some of which are represented right here in this control room. He doesn't look it. You wouldn't know it, but at his Mexican. I'd love to hear him. My TV staff, I was like, why do you point that out? Why do you always got to point that out? Because it's true. But the point is, if you feel that way about your way of life and your culture in Somalia, I don't begrudge you that. I think you're

wrong, but that's okay. I mean, you may think I'm wrong. That's okay. So pride in where you came from and continuance of the cultural way of life, that's good. That's fine. When you're there, if I move to Italy, I do feel like there is a cultural obligation for me to adopt the ways of life in Italy. I do think that's on me. I accept that burden. It doesn't mean I'm still not American, But, you know, if they observe Christmas a certain way, maybe I need to consider observing it. If they interact at the store in a certain way, I need to understand that culture and honestly assimilate to it. If I've chosen to make that my home. But this is my home.

This is the American home. And I feel like people that come here have that same burden. You don't forget who you are. None of that. But you adopt the way of life of the place that you've chosen to call home. and if you're not considering this home, if it's like he said, it's temporary, we're going back, we're sending our money back, we're involved in politics back there, then I don't understand the fit. This isn't simply an economic transaction. That's not what this is. This isn't

a business. It isn't a job. You're not just here to get paid. That's not the promise of America. I don't believe it is. The promise of America is not simply I came here to make money to improve the financial conditions of my life. It is something greater and much more, and it is fragile, and it has to be protected. And that's why I talk about it in the way that I do, because it is truly, in my mind, and I think I'm objectively backed up by history and facts,

it is the greatest experiment that humans have yet created. Again, imperfect and all those things. But because of that, it has to be protected. And I think you're seeing the fall of that in Europe. like this isn't theoretical to me you're seeing it fall they were never as dedicated to the concept of free speech as we are but they're quickly abandoning even the cultural embrace of free speech that they might have had not to mention a whole host of other things that they're doing in europe that is the abandonment of western civilization so that's my point of view

I respect that you have that pride in Somalia but here you can't continue the same way of life, especially if that involves some tolerance or acceptance of fraud. It's just not acceptable. And I think this dive into the politics of Somalia, the clan affiliations, the acceptance of corruption, and then the importation of that very same acceptance, tolerance here into Minneapolis or Ohio or Seattle, Washington is worthy of much, much, much, much more understanding. And I can imagine the way that conversation is going to go. I can imagine it. You know, first it's you're xenophobic or racist because you're talking about Somalians at large. Then you start talking about the clans within it. What are, what am I now? Like, what's the identity ad hominem

attack on it now? Understanding? I don't, I don't, I don't know. I don't get it. But I'm determined to dive deeper into understanding this. And I would imagine, by the way, you know, Ed, like, I've always been fascinated. You know, we always paint with a broad brush. Oh, one of the first businesses I did was a business in Kinsenegeras. We've laughed about it. Well, one of the first things I learned is the quote unquote, the term Hispanic. Well, that's a bullshit term.

That is a government census created term that glosses over the differences of, for example, someone from Cuba versus someone from Argentina. They're not, they don't have, they speak a common language of different, you know, dialects and so forth, but it doesn't mean they live the same way. They don't have, you know, Cubans love baseball, Argentinians love soccer. There's cultural differences. And even when you drill down, you go further, like Mexican, Mexican American. That's not all the same.

And you live in a certain place, say Dallas, although Dallas is huge now, pick another community. And it's Mexicans who immigrated from certain areas of Mexico, right? not just northern, southern, O'Haka, and you have different ways of life and cuisine and understanding. So the point is we paint with this broad brush in America and you're losing so much of what is

actually happening by understanding something beneath the surface that is very real. And that's what I feel like we just did with Smalley. Tinfoil, two days. I want to let you guys jump in as well. What did you think? I thought it was great. It was very interesting. The clan stuff was fascinating. I mean,

That's something you just won't hear most of the time. I don't know. You know, I've never learned much about Somalia. But, I mean, I just feel bad for the guy. I mean, just getting so much hate in his own community for just saying something to standing out against corruption is wild. I mean, it's great. Well, you heard me ask at the end, and you heard the accusations in the comment section that what he's doing, it did occur to me. Yeah.

And I hope that those who are the critics of Abdi, like, it did occur to me. Oh, but you're in a different clan. Right. So is any of this motivated by your? clan rival with the Darud clan. I mean, he says to me no, but I think it's a, it's a worthy level of, of criticism or question to find out exactly what it is that is guiding someone's point of view. Of some of the stuff. So I mean, on the fraud, right, on the fraud, like how you say, right, right, it is literally happening. Yeah. So what's the defense to that? Exactly.

Sarah Jordan says over in the wish to protect this man and Jay Elliott says the fact that she must hide says tons talking about Obdyeifton's mother Tiggy Cam says he should have worn a mask I don't know what that would have really Like the cartel guy

He doesn't think Yeah like the cartel guy Yeah I think that's a little different I hope that's a little different We hope yeah But he also says that he doesn't feel like he's under it. If people don't know who he is and they can't come back on his mom. Yeah.

And then Anne Breitrich says, Governor Walts is setting up an anti-fraud commission. Wanted posters with his face now nailed up on telephone post across Minnesota. Well, these politicians are part of this story. Jacob Fry, Tim Walts, Keith, Ellison, the Attorney General of Minnesota, and obviously, Ilan Omar. And as we continue to dive into this, this is going to be something to focus on this way that has at least been tolerated, overlooked, ignored. I don't know about embraced.

I don't know about taking advantage of, but we intend to find out. Okay, before we go, you ran our Mount Rushmore Christmas Music through a draft grade on ChatGPT. Tell me the results, Dan. So just to preface this, it is my ChatGPT. that works for me, just so there's a little bias there. Will's lineup was Christmas vacation, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,

Bad Santa, the Family Stone, gave him a B-plus grade, draft grade for Will. Okay. Andrew, Chef Andrew Gruhl did, it's a wonderful life. Gremlins love actually a Christmas story. He got an A-minus rating.

He said it was a very balanced draft for Andrew. And then two days, Dan, myself, picked The Grinch, Home Alone 2, die hard miracle on 34th street i got the grade of an a so i turned out to be the winner because i checked every box in chat i think that's cool says that's probably right all these rankings are probably right the family stone that's what i bet you that's going to it did i should have gone with like a miracle on 34th street there are a lot of a lot of movies you can be done better if i just picked a black and white movie from the 60s i would have boosted my draft

great but you could have done so many things you don't like the family stone i love that movie it's fine but it's not it's for a christmas movie i don't know i don't know i would have gone with the original home alone or you know you had you had the christmas story you had you had the the santa claus you had uh there's so many movies so many movies that's what i meant to pick what i wouldn't have picked any of those over the movies that i got i wouldn't have I could have just manipulated the Vikings by picking. That's why you're B-plus. So.

What is, by the way, what's another black and white movie I could have picked? If Miracle on 34th Street had already been gone and it's a wonderful life was gone, what's the other black and white movie, another one I could have picked? Wait, are we not talking about the 94 version of Miracle on 34th Street? No, I'm talking about 1937. Oh, you should have lost then. Forget that. The original, baby.

What are you talking about? No, no. The other one's much better. It's got the guy from Dressick Park. All right. Hour and a half. Hour and 36 minutes today. Is the mic working? I'm spent.

I got to go do this. Now we get it? Now we get it. Oh, Ed's working now? Super low there, pal. Nice. I figured it out. Y'all have a great Christmas.

I can't hear him myself. We must be mixed by us out. We have a Canaan Sports Edition. Actually, are we doing two shows tomorrow? Are we doing a live show, too? No. We're just the one for now. What are you nuts?

Ten shows in one week. But it is Roger Clemens on tomorrow. Will Cain Country. We'll see you again next time. Listen ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. And Amazon Prime members, you can listen to this show, ad-free on the Amazon Music app. I don't know.