Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - Brilyn Hollyhand on Charlie Kirk’s Legacy, Gen Z Conservatives & Making America Talk Again

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00:00:30.000 You know, Charlie, he always said that college is a scam. Of course, it's no shock to the people

00:00:35.080 listening here that he didn't go to college. And guess what? He ran circles around anyone,

00:00:41.100 virtually anyone.

00:00:46.520 Brylin, thank you for joining the Riley Gaines Show. You know, you probably actually hear this

00:00:51.140 often, but you might be my youngest guest on the Riley Gaines Show. For those who don't know you,

00:00:56.860 which probably most of my audience does, give a little background on you, who you are,

00:01:01.940 how you got involved in politics, and how right now you're sitting in New York at the Fox News

00:01:07.640 headquarters. Tell us about it. I got started in the fourth grade a little bit earlier than most

00:01:12.420 people probably pay attention to politics. If you do the math right, and I'm horrible at math,

00:01:17.080 that's why I'm in politics, not an economist. It was the 2016 election, and I just kind of

00:01:22.360 of became obsessed with getting the truth out there that was a time obviously there was a lot

00:01:26.940 of fake news being pushed online and i was like young people need to know this and what started

00:01:31.760 frustrating me was sitting in the lunchroom or the library or in class in elementary school and

00:01:37.300 having people say these like crazy things that they heard their parents say about trump or they

00:01:41.180 saw the internet say about trump and it just wasn't true in that race and so i started a podcast um

00:01:46.320 our mutual mentor and late friend charlie was the first guest on that podcast and i thought that it

00:01:51.960 be a one-time thing you know i had a great great experience testing out the microphones learning

00:01:56.140 how to work a camera and he ended up texting me later that night i was like hey man that was really

00:02:00.360 fun you should do more of those and so because of that i started a podcast that somehow lasted a

00:02:04.880 decade now um and i've lost some baby fat i've got a little more experience somehow we're in

00:02:09.540 the concrete jungle from alabama and we're on the riley gain show so i believe that we've

00:02:14.360 officially made it i think that's what that means so i'm just honored to be here it's so funny to

00:02:18.860 hear you say you've done anything for a decade. It's remarkable to think how what you say you were

00:02:27.060 in fourth grade in 2016 when President Trump was first running for president, when he first won

00:02:33.820 his presidential bid. You mentioned Charlie Kirk and the influence that he had on you.

00:02:40.340 It's been a hard 10 months now. Even more recently, it's been a hard past two weeks

00:02:47.020 with the pre-trial. Can you share a little more on the influence he had on you and maybe some of

00:02:55.340 your thoughts on the pre-trial? Do you feel any amount of closure seeing some of what I would

00:03:00.380 describe? Certainly no legal mind here, but with the overwhelming evidence that we saw in the

00:03:06.440 courtroom? Yeah, I'll start with the pre-trial. I don't know about you. I know we spoke about this

00:03:12.340 earlier, but I just kind of had a hard time sitting through a lot of it, brought up a lot

00:03:16.440 of emotions, a lot of memories from that horrible September day. And so some of the more horrific

00:03:24.800 things were played, I'd kind of have to step away and just remember the man outside of what's been

00:03:31.340 painted as this whole big entertainment frenzy. What I've been upset about is a lot of our

00:03:38.320 former friends or some of Charlie's supposed friends that have decided to turn a tragedy

00:03:43.880 and to click bait. They don't care about the truth, Riley, at all. They've had their chance

00:03:48.800 to present their evidence and present the truth. And what we saw last week presented in court was

00:03:52.680 not entertainment. The court doesn't give a crap about that. It was evidence. And we saw actual 0.98

00:03:57.120 video footage. We saw actual DNA evidence. We saw an actual autopsy. We didn't see social media

00:04:02.160 conspiracy theories. And, you know, it did bring some level of closure to kind of finally be able

00:04:09.580 to say, okay, we're not crazy. There is some proof behind this of this deranged psychopath, 0.96

00:04:14.580 the coward that did sit on the rooftop and did shoot our friend when he could have easily gotten 0.99

00:04:18.420 in line and debated him. And Charlie would have debated the guy and it would have been a robust 0.90

00:04:21.620 debate and it might have helped him. That's kind of what was going through my head last week.

00:04:25.640 And full transparency, the past two months definitely have not been easy. And I know

00:04:30.540 they haven't been for you either. And again, you've been some of this, been easy to text and

00:04:35.180 you know mourn with during this whole process at the beginning i was angry um i was angry at the

00:04:41.900 world i was angry at god i was angry that he took charlie i was angry that in my mind there was a

00:04:48.940 million different ways to have you know gods will be done uh then take charlie right but how dare

00:04:55.180 little old me try to tell the creator of the universe how to orchestrate his plan and so on

00:05:00.700 this side 10 months later it's not easier at all and it's definitely not less sad if any it's kind

00:05:06.700 of more sad as we sit in like the state of politics right now i wish charlie was here more

00:05:11.500 than ever before and i still miss him a lot and i still read through our texts and i still you know

00:05:16.620 get old memories pop up of him and i hanging out um i really really miss my friend and i really

00:05:21.820 wish he was here in this moment to provide some clarity um and conviction and a conservative

00:05:26.140 party that needs it more than ever. But at the end of the day, I have to be content that the

00:05:31.260 creator of the universe has a plan. And I might never know that plan. And I might wish there were

00:05:35.780 a million different ways for our friend to be the third person on this panel right now.

00:05:39.500 But let the Lord's will be done. And if we say that we trust, and if we say that we put faith

00:05:43.700 in him, it means even in these hard moments. And this is one of those hard moments.

00:05:48.660 I've had to remind myself that I'm a Christian several times over the past 10 months,

00:05:54.040 watching, whether it's watching people celebrate his assassination online, which I think has been

00:06:00.040 gravely concerning when I think you, you, you look at the groups that are celebrating, it's like

00:06:04.900 healthcare workers and school teachers and government employees. Like I've had to remind

00:06:10.000 myself not to have like these, these angry, like wishing ill will on someone thoughts, reminding

00:06:17.360 myself I'm a Christian. But all that to say, I guess it's easy to say those things. It's harder

00:06:24.620 to live by those things. And I think that's why there's been so much pushback and vitriol aimed

00:06:30.500 towards his widow, his beautiful bride, the mother of his children, Erica. Because if you look at her,

00:06:37.240 not just the things that she's saying, but how she conducts herself, how she lives her life,

00:06:41.560 how she continues on, uh, you know, carrying forward Charlie's legacy. It really is in a

00:06:47.900 Christ-like manner that is unnatural. Like it is not natural. And I try and put myself in her shoes

00:06:54.460 again, it's impossible to do, but what was it at the memorial service? Like 10 or 11 days after,

00:06:59.780 you know, the assassin took Charlie's life prematurely. She stood up there and she forgave

00:07:05.020 her husband's assassin. Only through God can that strength and serenity and forgiveness be

00:07:13.080 provided to a grieving widow. That's not a natural thing. And I think when human beings who are

00:07:20.020 sinners, all of us are, when you see someone living that unnaturally, you want to be angry

00:07:25.600 at her for it. But I think she has really done a fantastic job of embodying Christ and his love for

00:07:32.340 us and how she's conducted herself following Charlie's assassination. You've been on a ton

00:07:38.960 of campuses representing Turning Point. Will that continue going into the future? It will. And I

00:07:45.820 think Erica's, you know, MO, her entire, you know, posture in the past 10 months is why I'm inspired

00:07:52.480 to do that. Why, you know, those of us that get threats like you and I, why the students on these

00:07:56.760 campuses that get pushed back are inspired to keep going. What I think we need to learn from

00:08:01.740 the way that Erica has carried herself is that you can be a bold conservative without being a 1.00

00:08:06.700 bitter one. You can be fierce and you can be tough without saying the most extreme rhetoric that you

00:08:13.760 can think of to get clicks and likes. There's enough good content that you and I can tweet

00:08:19.340 and say on TV without saying that we love Hitler or that we think that another country killed our

00:08:24.960 friend or without going off of some, you know, far off conspiracy theory. We can say really

00:08:30.540 biblical truths that are important to fight for. And we can absolutely be passionate about that

00:08:35.200 without worrying about some of these things that, you know, rabbit holes that our party's gone down.

00:08:40.840 Yes, I'm going to keep going. Yes, I'm going to keep speaking out. There was this particular

00:08:45.020 moment, and I know you remember this, was I remember texting you right afterwards and just

00:08:48.620 how like terrifying it was for me. And you've, and I've, you know, prayed for you and her husband,

00:08:52.640 and you've shared with me in the past of, you know, just how crazy, you know, adding security

00:08:56.320 on campuses for you has been. And some of the incidents you've had, you know, having to hold

00:08:59.860 in place on campuses. There was one particular time right after Charlie, right after the funeral,

00:09:05.660 I was back in Auburn and I'm trying to get back into going to classes and trying to pick up some

00:09:12.660 sense of normalcy. Keep in mind, I'm a month into college. I'm completely by myself in a brand new

00:09:18.460 town, no family, just making friends. My mentor gets publicly executed. The whole world's watching

00:09:23.940 and now there's this new security team. And so we're sitting down in a meeting with this brand

00:09:28.320 new security team who I barely even know their names yet. And we're looking at comparing different

00:09:32.600 campuses to go debate on. And so we were going to pick 10 and we're trying to figure out how you

00:09:36.840 pick 10 around this class schedule and how you fit these around this. And I've got this exam then.

00:09:40.880 And I'm only thinking about that. And all of a sudden the security team plops down a three ring

00:09:45.060 binder in front of me. And my gullible and naive self was like, Hey, like this must be the homework

00:09:50.180 that I've missed for the past few days. Right. And they go, no, this is the death threat you've

00:09:54.300 gotten in the last 12 hours. We just want to make you aware of what's being said. And I kind of

00:09:58.200 froze for a moment and I was like, this is it. I can step away. Like everybody will completely

00:10:03.760 understand. Nobody will blame me. If I walk away from politics right now, I have every reason.

00:10:08.140 Here's a binder full of reasons to stop, to go be a normal kid, to hang up my hat,

00:10:12.100 to go play in a sandbox with my buddies, to go enjoy a college experience, leave politics with

00:10:16.600 somebody else, somebody with thicker skin, somebody that's braver, somebody that's older,

00:10:19.860 they've got this fight. I'm going to sit back and watch and grow up in a country that they fought

00:10:24.160 for. And so I stepped into the hallway and I'm like shaking. Like I've never seen this many

00:10:29.040 death threats to the point I don't know what to do. And this is all brand new to me. And I'm just

00:10:32.540 ready to quit everything. And thankfully somewhere in VBS years and years ago, one of those Bible 1.00

00:10:38.100 drills, the verse Isaiah 6, 8 was hidden in my heart. And you know, the story as you know,

00:10:43.200 the story of Isaiah, but it's, you know, this, this young Pharisee who's not very old, not very

00:10:49.440 wise and a very experienced, Isaiah comes into a temple and the voice of the Lord comes in and

00:10:55.400 this big rush of angels distracts him and says, whom shall I send? No, Riley, I don't know about

00:11:01.260 you and I, but if I was Isaiah, I would have looked behind me and been like, surely God is

00:11:05.820 not talking to me. Like, surely there is some really old and wise guy with a beard and scrolls

00:11:11.740 and a robe that God is talking to. And I just got in the way and I'm super sorry, Lord, but like,

00:11:15.360 y'all got this, I'm going to head out. And that's not what Isaiah said. He said, here I am, send me.

00:11:21.120 He didn't say, here I am, send me if you make sure nobody shoots me. He didn't say, here I am,

00:11:24.920 send me if you make the path protected, if you make sure I don't lose any friends, if you make

00:11:28.120 sure I pass every class, I ever turn all my homework in. He just said, here I am, send me,

00:11:33.020 and held no conditions to the Lord. And so I'm sitting there and I'm like, how dare I close a

00:11:38.360 door in the Lord's face that he's opening? And I prayed that I'm going to trust him. And here I am

00:11:43.380 saying, nah, God, like I tap out, I'm good. And so I walked back in the room. I was like, we're

00:11:47.460 going to do it. Protect us as much as you can. We're going to pray the whole way. And it wasn't

00:11:51.700 easy. We talked the entire tour. We had countless incidents. We had countless times we had to do a

00:11:56.660 holding pattern. We had countless times we had to change locations, but we did it because it's

00:12:00.180 what the Lord's calling us to do. So are we going to keep going? Yes, because it's what the Lord's

00:12:04.400 calling you and I to do. And if debating and sharing the truth is that, well, you'll keep

00:12:07.940 see me out there. You think it's getting easier for closeted conservatives on college campuses,

00:12:16.200 or do you think, you know, now 10 months post assassination, it's just as scary as ever, 0.64

00:12:22.020 if not even more scary to be a conservative, or I think maybe more to the point to be a Christian

00:12:27.440 on a college campus? Good question. I think currently being a Christian is scarier than 0.83

00:12:33.160 being a conservative on college campus for a lot of the students that you and I interact with.

00:12:36.280 I specifically remember a moment at the University of Arkansas, I was doing a debate, and we're talking with a few students afterwards, and this girl is whispering in the meet-and-greet line, and I cannot figure out why she's whispering.

00:12:50.000 I'm like, can't hear, it's really loud, there's a lot of commotion, and I'm like, I'm sorry, like, is something wrong?

00:12:54.440 And she's whispering her name, and I just can't, and she's in a witness protection program, like, what's going on here?

00:12:59.260 I cannot figure out what the situation is, and she's like, I don't want my sorority to know I'm here.

00:13:03.560 I'll get kicked out of SGA. I'll get kicked out of my sorority. I'll be blacklisted from a job

00:13:07.220 all because I came to a Christian event and I have a cross on. And I'm like, you're in Arkansas. 0.87

00:13:13.020 Like you're in America on like a very Christian SEC campus. And she's like, that doesn't mean

00:13:18.460 the SGA is. That doesn't mean my friends and my sorority are. That doesn't mean that the people

00:13:22.280 I sit with at lunch are. And I'm sitting here like realizing like this girl's terrified at the point

00:13:26.540 that she's whispering in public to somebody, but she doesn't want to get caught. And so that's what

00:13:30.900 her fear was about. We've seen, you know, people that you and I have defended that have, you know,

00:13:36.100 written two versions of every essay, one that they believe in and then one that they tuck their tail

00:13:39.800 and pretend to be a liberal and, you know, be an atheist just to get a good grade. We've seen people

00:13:44.700 who, you know, take off their hat or take off the cross necklace or take off the patch on their bag

00:13:49.200 to sit in a class without being bothered by the activist and teacher's clothing. It's happened

00:13:52.920 time and time again, but every single time one person raises their hand and speaks against the

00:13:57.420 professor. Every time one more person comes to a chapter meeting or comes to a debate or says

00:14:02.020 something at lunch that typically would have gone quiet and they would have clenched their tongue,

00:14:06.500 I think that is moving in the right direction. Is it scary? Yes. Is it going to get scarier?

00:14:12.300 Absolutely. We're over the target, but keep pushing forward. I understand, and I'm not going

00:14:16.640 to sugarcoat this and say this is a safe business that you're not going to lose any friends. Riley,

00:14:20.440 you and I know we both lost a lot of friends growing up just because we decided to speak

00:14:24.140 out boldly and speak truth, but that means it's worth it because you're fighting for something

00:14:28.200 bigger than yourself. And if you're wanting to make friends and not enemies, you're in the wrong

00:14:32.920 business. You know, you talk about that in your new book, which actually, congratulations, by the

00:14:39.600 way, it's called Make America Talk Again. I love this. Again, it's relevant all the time, but I

00:14:45.980 think especially now post-Charlie, one of the most, actually, if not the most effective intellectual

00:14:52.040 voices that we had, but you also describe some of your peers or just our generation in general

00:14:58.260 as the loneliest generation with the loudest voices. What do you mean by that?

00:15:04.380 Yeah, I think the reason this book hit the bestsellers list today is because there's this

00:15:08.220 12-time All-American swimmer that endorsed it, which was just so kind.

00:15:11.680 That's it, isn't it?

00:15:12.660 Definitely helped it hit the bestsellers list. So it was totally just that endorsement alone

00:15:16.080 and not any of the other words in the book. So we give you credit for that.

00:15:19.300 Oh, please.

00:15:19.820 I definitely think that that's true.

00:15:23.700 We're the most connected generation, but we're the most divided generation.

00:15:26.420 We have everything at the touch of our fingertips, yet we also result to rant posting, to screaming, to doxing, to swatting, to assassinating the second we disagree with somebody.

00:15:38.560 Why is that?

00:15:39.480 Because, Riley, you and I were raised in a generation where we were told that faith and politics were taboo topics, that you couldn't talk about faith or politics at the dinner table.

00:15:47.620 You couldn't talk about faith or politics in the classroom or in your church.

00:15:51.340 And I think a lot of these people grew up saying, okay, I don't know how to disagree

00:15:55.240 about faith and politics.

00:15:56.300 I'm going to run to what I see online.

00:15:58.100 And that's screaming, that's ranting, that's posting, that's assassinating, that's whatever

00:16:01.180 it may be.

00:16:01.820 They don't know how to look at each other eye to eye as we are and just talk, have a

00:16:05.380 conversation.

00:16:06.260 And so just like you said, as people continue to roll over and self-censor and say, oh,

00:16:10.700 well, to get a good grade, I'm going to be a liberal today.

00:16:12.780 And to get another good grade, I'm going to be a liberal tomorrow.

00:16:14.920 and because I don't want to rock the boat, I'm not going to say anything, even though this

00:16:19.020 activist in professor's clothing is doing this whole indoctrination campaign and the other 100

00:16:23.560 students in this lecture hall are totally being brought into this and they're going to raise up

00:16:28.100 thinking that capitalism's evil and socialism's good. I'm not going to say anything because I

00:16:31.480 don't want to rock the boat. And Riley, you've heard me speak about this a lot and I've heard

00:16:35.480 you really rant on it as well. This is the biggest concern for me. You know the number one group of

00:16:40.540 people that didn't get out and vote in the 24 election was Christians. The same group of people

00:16:45.720 that you and I have, all of our friend groups in, sit and say that they're so concerned about the

00:16:51.040 future of this country. And we all absolutely are. But they said, politics is too dirty. I'm not

00:16:55.280 going to touch it. And most importantly, I'm not going to rock the boat. Well, Christians didn't

00:16:59.840 get involved in politics. Therefore, one day we're going to have non-Christians getting elected to 1.00

00:17:03.540 office because not enough Christians voted. And so time and time again, self-censorship turns into

00:17:08.040 the country that we have today, where it just become easy enough to roll over and let the other

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00:19:20.160 riley gains at cowboy classroom.com slash riley gains you recently had an op-ed i was reading

00:19:27.300 uh in the new york post and the title is never mind socialism the rebellious kids are all

00:19:32.120 conservative and love america um expand on this i would encourage everyone to go read it but

00:19:37.680 i and just kind of my initial thoughts here kids especially gen z we like to go against the status

00:19:44.760 quo. We like to push back. We like to challenge authority. We like to walk the line. That's maybe

00:19:51.240 not even just a Gen Z thing. I think that's a younger generation, whatever generation it might

00:19:55.660 be type of thing. Some of the status quo things used to be hating President Trump, going against

00:20:03.480 getting married and having kids and capitalism and all the things that make America great,

00:20:07.880 mocking patriotism. But now the status quo has changed a little bit. Expand on this.

00:20:14.700 More than a little bit, a lot, thankfully.

00:20:16.480 And we had a whole tide change with an election from that, just to show the proof of that.

00:20:20.940 No, I mean, I think my concern here is the dirty little secret with socialism that doesn't

00:20:26.500 fit on the bumper sticker is that the big arc of this, the big goal of this is not to

00:20:32.100 win a mayoral seat in New York City.

00:20:34.340 It's not to win a few state Senate seats.

00:20:36.700 It's to replace government as the God in your life.

00:20:40.380 That's what they want at the end of this.

00:20:41.820 And so they're going to do that through little increments. The first is going to be to convince you that religion is dangerous, that you should not trust anything other than the government, that you should put your hands out. You should accept everything you need from the government. It's your best friend. Trust it blindly and definitely don't ask questions rightly. 0.93

00:20:58.860 And the next thing is that patriotism is somehow insane, that you shouldn't be patriotic for your country, just completely throw that in the trash.

00:21:07.780 Remember, we were told that the family structure, the nuclear family, is also complicit in this as well.

00:21:14.180 As we unpack all of this, we were also finally told in high school all across the country, red states and blue states, that capitalism has become not just dangerous, but actually evil.

00:21:25.260 And so we were told to swap our gratitude for America with guilt because we were taught about the horrors of capitalism and the horrors of America and how we're at this evil, oppressive society, when in all reality, they didn't teach us and certainly don't put with hashtag socialism on TikTok that capitalism is the number one economic society to be anti-poverty, that there's no other community building structure that's more effective than the church because the government program certainly can't do that.

00:21:52.160 And what better to invest in than building a family as opposed to paying more taxes?

00:21:58.960 When you pick it apart, it's very easy to see through, but they don't want you to pick

00:22:02.260 it apart because you can't ask questions.

00:22:03.740 I think it boils down to this.

00:22:05.300 You remember, Riley, that Reagan said the scariest words in the English language are

00:22:09.160 I'm from the government.

00:22:10.120 I'm here to help.

00:22:11.040 Well, right now, all you're supposed to look past is what you see on TikTok and what you

00:22:15.420 see Mom Donnie say and not question it further.

00:22:17.560 Maybe, just maybe, think of COVID and how when questioning the government unraveled

00:22:22.140 this big onion of destruction in this country, maybe question socialism and you might find some

00:22:27.400 stuff there too. Well, it's increasingly concerning given the fact that there is

00:22:33.100 the democratic socialists of America. It's on the rise in states like Colorado, Michigan,

00:22:40.100 et cetera, et cetera. I think, well, I know for certain they have plans to expand beyond

00:22:44.640 even that. We've got a thought of president Trump. I'm going to play really quick. Let's play it.

00:22:50.420 you can be loyal to Karl Marx or you can be loyal to America you can be a communist or you can be a

00:22:59.780 patriot you cannot be both as for those who peddle Marx's lies about our heritage tell our children

00:23:08.160 that we live on stolen land or that our heroes were oppressors they're doing something much

00:23:15.240 worse than slandering our past. They are slandering and attacking our future. Not going to let that

00:23:21.540 happen. Republicans, we can't just simply campaign against socialism and the DSA. We have to have a

00:23:30.260 positive message or we have to have positive candidates. What do you think that looks like

00:23:34.920 going into 2026 and, of course, beyond? You've been looking forward to this all week. And with

00:23:43.460 Cutwater's Cocktails, this took only seconds because tonight's about catching up, not catching

00:23:51.060 the server. Whether it's our Cutwater Lime Margarita, Lemon Drop Martini, or Rum Mai Tai,

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00:24:08.760 Oh, it's easiest going on offense, not just defense.

00:24:11.620 I think for far too long, Republicans have said, oh, we're anti-socialist and we're proud of it.

00:24:18.160 And we're going to run away and don't ask us a plan for it.

00:24:20.620 We don't actually defend it.

00:24:22.140 And we certainly don't stand our ground when attacked.

00:24:24.300 We have to go on offense.

00:24:25.840 That means calling out, investigating the structure of the DSA, how they got their rise to power, where their funding networks come from, how these paid protesters appear in big city after big city on both sides of the coast.

00:24:37.280 back-to-back days, how this whole structure started, how they got into the school system

00:24:41.700 through the hippie network and say, you know, the sixties and seventies, how they got into

00:24:45.240 the mayor's office, not through the back door, but through the front door. It starts by asking

00:24:48.560 questions and going on offense, but it's bigger than that. President Trump's right. He's the man

00:24:52.420 for this moment. The statement was spot on that this isn't something we just need to like tiptoe

00:24:56.760 around and like casually call out, but we need to hit head on. We're being attacked. We're invaded

00:25:02.220 from our Southern border, uh, legally and illegally through immigration with people

00:25:06.300 chanting death to America. And at the same time, the next generation is being indoctrinated

00:25:10.620 with America's evil propaganda. So the people that are supposed to save us from the horrors

00:25:15.260 of socialism, the next generation are also being attacked. And so it's from both sides.

00:25:20.460 They're filling the country and they're taking our current citizens hostage. It's talking about 0.89

00:25:24.820 literally bringing back some of this conversation to parents in the living room. We hear time and

00:25:31.000 time again, Riley's stories from parents that are concerned about, oh, indoctrination this,

00:25:34.840 indoctrination that it's horrible it's crazy we're working on it trust us but at the same time

00:25:40.060 if you raise your children right in the living room before they're indoctrinated in the classroom

00:25:44.500 it would solve half of these problems and socialism would be the laughing stock not a

00:25:48.840 tiktok trend we've alluded to your book obviously several times make america talk again um it feels

00:25:55.900 hard sometimes you know i feel like we live in this culture where you know you ask yourself the

00:26:02.420 question, how do I even coexist with someone who, I mean, as Charlie's assassination proved,

00:26:09.060 like literally wants me dead for having the viewpoints that I do. Your book, Make America

00:26:13.800 Talk Again, is like a playbook on how to encourage dialogue. Tell us about it.

00:26:20.520 Yeah, it's a 10-step guide on how to debate the left better. It's not from somebody that

00:26:25.220 sat on this high perch and watched it and analyzed it and did all these studies. I debated on 10

00:26:29.800 campuses and each night on the way back before doing my homework would jot down what could go

00:26:34.620 better and what we could improve on and turn it into a book. Here's the problem. I vividly remember

00:26:41.960 sitting with Charlie after one of his debates and this, you know, very sweet college girl coming up

00:26:48.820 and saying that wouldn't America just be better if we just let California, you know, drift away

00:26:54.480 and we just gave up. Like there's no way we could ever find common ground with them. So just give up.

00:26:59.140 And he looked at her and said, we can never give up.

00:27:02.260 We never can.

00:27:03.140 And he was right.

00:27:04.260 And making excuses for it is going to get us nowhere.

00:27:07.540 And fighting for it every day is what's important.

00:27:10.940 And I think that's what this is about.

00:27:13.140 The idea of the title came specifically from a meeting that I was sitting in before the convention for the RNC that you were at two years ago.

00:27:21.140 We were planning around, is it going to be make America wealthy again, make America safe again.

00:27:25.000 And it got to my turn on the Zoom call.

00:27:27.680 And I'm like, Brylon, what do you think?

00:27:29.140 And I said, make America talk again.

00:27:31.120 And they all laughed.

00:27:32.060 And they thought it was funny, like a joke.

00:27:33.580 And I was like, no, like in my mind,

00:27:35.320 like that's how we heal the divide in this country.

00:27:36.960 Like they just shot President Trump.

00:27:38.440 If we talk more and decide that we can have common discourse,

00:27:42.080 then there's no reason to shoot somebody.

00:27:43.940 It ended up not getting named for one of the convention nights.

00:27:46.220 So I turned it into a book because you've done debates

00:27:48.940 and you understand what I try to do every single time.

00:27:52.080 Somebody comes and gets the debate line,

00:27:53.800 regardless of how many expletives they're screaming,

00:27:56.100 regardless of what they're throwing at me,

00:27:57.500 what they're saying about me or my family.

00:27:59.140 The first thing I try to do every time is humanize them, to look at them and say, hey,

00:28:03.920 man, I love that hat.

00:28:04.940 Oh, that's a cool tie.

00:28:06.100 That's a great shirt.

00:28:07.260 Something that can connect us to a sports team, a music artist, a movie, anything that

00:28:11.660 makes them see me as a human and them as a human.

00:28:13.940 And then it's a lot harder to shoot me. 0.75

00:28:15.280 It's a lot harder to scream at me and tear me apart. 0.99

00:28:18.020 We can just talk.

00:28:19.660 So that's the point of this book.

00:28:20.840 It's for both sides to understand how to talk, which I didn't realize was so controversial

00:28:24.980 until we started this.

00:28:26.720 you're um obviously still young is there a part of you that wonders if people will dismiss

00:28:34.380 you and your message or the book because of your age oh absolutely it's happened multiple times

00:28:40.780 today uh we appreciate you come back when you're older uh get some more gray hairs and then check

00:28:46.100 us out lose the baby fat and call us back it's happened multiple times today and it's like what

00:28:50.800 two o'clock. So we're getting used to it at this point. I'll say this. The gray hairs have had

00:28:57.200 their chance. And just look at Congress. It's a hospice center right now, Riley. And it's sad.

00:29:03.560 You have half of our elected officials being wheeled around by their staff, the same staff

00:29:08.160 that's voting for them when they get wheeled onto the floor. We have the utmost respect for them

00:29:12.780 and absolutely appreciate their service. Those are the same people, though, that look at me and say

00:29:16.480 that there's no room for Gen Z to have a seat at the table because they will not give up their seat 0.98

00:29:20.460 of the table. And to the same people that are saying, wait your turn, come back in a few years, 0.97

00:29:24.680 get this, get that, get some gray hairs. I just kind of laugh off because I've seen what they did

00:29:30.160 to our nation and I'm not going to give up. And there's nobody that will make me, that could hate

00:29:36.800 me more than I love America. It's just not going to happen. So you can throw whatever you want at

00:29:41.480 me. You can say whatever you want. You can laugh me off as much as you want. This book got turned

00:29:46.820 down several times, several publishing houses that just thought, oh, you know, this little kid

00:29:50.960 is going to write a little notebook and it's going to go nowhere. And here we are on the best sellers

00:29:54.960 list. So it's just the grit of our generation not giving up goes to what you said, that we've been

00:30:02.320 written off as kind of this lazy generation that has no hope. And actually, I think it's the opposite

00:30:08.820 because we weren't handed a silver spoon because we know it's going to be harder to buy that first

00:30:13.140 house, to start that family, to achieve the American dream, that we're getting started a

00:30:16.540 little bit earlier than most and and i don't know how they could attack that 100 tell me about your

00:30:22.120 college plans now so some some news here on the riley gang show uh because we got to break it here

00:30:29.060 this is you get the exclusive right uh i you know i love auburn university and i will always be

00:30:34.980 saying we're eagle and i'm definitely going to stay in that neck of the woods because you know

00:30:39.600 i'm a sweet home alabama boy and i love me love me some alabama not just band but also the state

00:30:46.180 But college, I don't think, is going to stay in the cards.

00:30:49.680 I don't necessarily think that when we're looking at a schedule and we have all these

00:30:53.680 interviews today and we got 20-something more tomorrow, that it's necessarily beneficial

00:30:58.200 to sit in an algebra class when we could be out here saving the future of this country.

00:31:02.820 And so I did it my entire freshman year.

00:31:04.720 It was not easy.

00:31:05.860 There were multiple chances to step away.

00:31:08.080 I wanted to finish out and I wanted to say I did that.

00:31:10.340 And I'm proud of that.

00:31:11.320 And I don't regret it at all.

00:31:12.860 The reason that I went to college, and I remember you actually asking me this around the time

00:31:16.480 that I announced where I was going, and one of the last conversations Charlie and I had,

00:31:21.280 he was like, you're going to drop out.

00:31:23.140 You're going to realize that schedule-wise, it's not going to make sense for you because

00:31:26.620 you can get more done in a workday starting at your first meeting at 4 or 5 a.m. and

00:31:31.740 not having to stop for class at 8.

00:31:33.080 It just doesn't make sense.

00:31:34.420 So when I decided not to come back, I was like, this is Charlie's last little he was

00:31:38.380 right moment for me.

00:31:39.220 But it kind of got to the point where we can be here doing this, getting a lot more done than we could in class.

00:31:46.240 And I think that needs to be an option for a lot more people.

00:31:48.700 I think more guidance counselors need to look at kids and say trade schools and, you know, short term colleges are a lot more beneficial than these four years, spend an arm and a leg degrees.

00:31:58.280 And you're going to get a piece of paper for gender studies and underwater basket weaving, Riley.

00:32:01.840 It makes no sense.

00:32:02.820 So I'm proud of what we're doing.

00:32:04.040 It's going to be scary though, right?

00:32:05.180 I do feel like we're fed this lie that in order to be successful by whatever metric that might be, whether that's monetary value, whether that's your career, whatever metric you define success by, you have to have a college degree, even if that college degree is underwater basket weaving, which, again, makes no sense.

00:32:28.780 It's got to be like you're taking a pretty big risk here, though.

00:32:32.840 Recently, our company's softball team lost the big game by one run.

00:32:37.120 Then Dale tried to console us with the quote, winning isn't everything.

00:32:41.460 Well, Dale and I are very different.

00:32:45.120 I get early payout from Bet365.

00:32:47.200 If my team goes up big, I get paid out instantly, even if they blow the lead later.

00:32:51.860 Sound familiar, Dale?

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00:33:02.740 I am, and it was not taken lightly.

00:33:05.420 I'll say this.

00:33:06.860 When I sat in a political science class this semester

00:33:10.520 and one of my speeches was quoted

00:33:14.480 as something for us to go home and see as homework,

00:33:17.220 I decided that it might not be

00:33:18.560 the most beneficial use of my time

00:33:20.280 for me to sit in the class and study myself

00:33:23.120 because I wasn't sure if that was beneficial

00:33:25.260 when I could go out and give more speeches

00:33:27.280 or write more books or do more.

00:33:29.080 and now I can go to more campuses because I told you previously I could only do 10 debates last

00:33:33.060 year because we're scheduling Iran exams and when an exam got moved we had to move a debate and now

00:33:38.620 it's just more easier to be here in the concrete jungle or be in Tennessee doing this or doing that

00:33:43.280 at this debate because we have more time and so maybe Charlie was on to something that college

00:33:48.720 could be more of a scam than it is a benefit and I do hope that a lot more degrees get moved to two

00:33:53.580 years than four years because you know better than anybody half of these degrees aren't worth

00:33:58.180 one, the money, two, the four years. So I get the best of both worlds. I still get to be in a

00:34:02.460 college town around people my age, still get to have a college experience, but you're not going

00:34:05.740 to see me in an 8 a.m. algebra class anytime soon. Maybe we'll see him in an 8 a.m. Fox show, but.

00:34:09.760 Heck yeah. You know, Charlie, he always said that college is a scam. Of course, it's no shock to

00:34:15.300 the people listening here that he didn't go to college. And guess what? He ran circles around

00:34:21.780 anyone, virtually anyone who interacted with him in any sort of debate format. Um, I think if

00:34:29.360 Charlie were still here, which I hate speculating, I hate speaking for him. We've seen a lot of that

00:34:34.580 online over the past 10 months, but I really do think that he would encourage all of us to talk

00:34:39.600 more. That was like his whole mantra, right? Was prove me wrong. Like he invited people to the

00:34:44.660 table because he wanted to have a discussion. And with that, um, I think he would encourage

00:34:51.160 people to go and read your book make america talk again where can people get it yeah it's available

00:34:57.400 on amazon right now you can grab your copy there if you want to sign copy brylonbook.com again it's

00:35:02.200 endorsed by this 12-time all-american swimmer named riley games who's a pretty cool girl so you

00:35:05.880 should check it out i really do think that you know charlie would still be alive today if he sat

00:35:10.680 in the comfort of a podcast studio and just talked all day it's because he went out it's because he

00:35:14.840 said prove me wrong it's because he debated knowing the risk that you know his life was

00:35:19.160 taken he went out and did the hard things because he wanted to talk he didn't have to do that and

00:35:23.800 so if if talking again can be the legacy from this it's worth it every single day thousands

00:35:30.360 of women hear the same devastating lie that abortion is their only option that they're alone

00:35:35.560 or that there's no hope but everything changes the moment they walk into a pre-born network clinic and

00:35:40.600 that woman sees her baby on an ultrasound that one moment it doubles her chance of choosing life

00:35:46.600 Because at that point, it's not just an image on a screen anymore.

00:35:50.360 It's hearing her baby's heartbeat, sometimes for the very first time.

00:35:53.840 And in that moment, that woman realizes that the life growing inside of her

00:35:58.280 isn't a problem to be solved, but instead it's a life to be protected.

00:36:02.540 Let's be there for that woman in that beautiful moment.

00:36:05.740 Let's be there for her with love and support and prayer.

00:36:09.220 One pre-born partner put it this way,

00:36:11.080 knowing my gift could save a life was the most meaningful act of love that I could give.

00:36:14.360 So for just $28, you can provide one life-saving ultrasound by partnering with my friends at Preborn.

00:36:20.420 For $140 a month, you can provide five ultrasounds.

00:36:24.760 That is five chances for life.

00:36:26.700 Actually, and being totally transparent and honest here, I do that.

00:36:31.020 I provide $140 a month because you're making a fantastic investment in life this year.

00:36:36.500 Let's make it the biggest baby-saving year in history.

00:36:39.540 Take a stand, be bold, be a voice for those who don't yet have a voice of their own.

00:36:43.460 Call pound two 50 and say baby. That is pound two five zero say baby, or you can visit preborn.com

00:36:50.040 slash Riley preborn.com slash Riley. Uh, I didn't just endorse the book. I read the book. It's

00:36:56.940 incredible. And it's really special to, um, the book is dedicated to Charlie and it was, it's

00:37:02.480 just beautiful. It's beautifully done. And I learned a lot that I I'm, I'm certainly taking

00:37:08.280 with me on my day-to-day, not just in debating, but how I frame issues in my mind, the perspective

00:37:13.860 that I have, how to humanize people, really, really all important things. And so Brylin,

00:37:18.260 thank you for what you do. I know you're slammed. Happy launch day and congratulations to you.

00:37:24.520 Thank you. This is the most fun one of the day. So we'll see you debating on a campus

00:37:27.940 together soon. It'll be fun. We'll collab. You're the best. I'm there. Thank you.

00:37:33.600 Thank you guys for watching the Riley Gaines show. You can subscribe right here. We have

00:37:37.720 new episodes every single tuesday and friday at 10 a.m eastern time and we are covering everything

00:37:42.540 from pop culture to politics to deep dives to motherhood and sports all of that and more we

00:37:47.580 want to hear from you though what is it that you want to hear comment down below we can't wait to

00:37:50.880 see you next time

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Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - July 17, 2026

Brilyn Hollyhand on Charlie Kirk’s Legacy, Gen Z Conservatives & Making America Talk Again

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