00:00:49.900We've got geomaxing bros who are advising foreign world leaders.
00:00:54.640The Scarlet Lady gay cruise ship drama.
00:00:57.720and CNBC declaring that Tennessee and other red states are the worst states to live in
00:01:02.800while millions of people keep moving here.
00:01:06.120The timeline we've got working here is broken.
00:01:09.400So what in the world is going on in pop culture right now?
00:01:18.680Well, Link, thanks for joining the Riley Gaines Show.
00:01:21.780We were just talking prior to clicking record that your voice is one of those that's rare,
00:01:28.460but I would say very timely and very necessary if the goal is to win, to persuade, to change
00:01:36.060hearts and minds, to call out the craziness that we're seeing all across the U.S., really all
00:01:41.140across the world. So thank you for doing what you're doing. I didn't really plan on asking you
00:01:45.500this, but again, prior to record, just can you mention the, the link that you've seen between
00:01:52.420pop culture and political news and why you feel like it's important to talk about
00:01:56.980some of the pop culture things? Absolutely. I'm so grateful and happy to be with you,
00:02:01.900Riley. And I'm so happy for your growing family and your success. Of course, I follow you and
00:02:05.800we've been internet friends for a while now. So it's nice to finally talk face to face over the
00:02:10.520internet. But what's interesting, I always think about how culture is upstream from politics and
00:02:15.640President Trump for decades, right? He was a media figure, he was a builder, he had a hit television
00:02:20.920show, he would call in and give, you know, discussion on pop culture topics. I remember
00:02:25.740President Trump would go on the Wendy Williams show. That was, you know, one of my favorite
00:02:29.620pastimes watching President Trump on the Wendy Williams show. And so I think sometimes in
00:02:33.680politics and news media, people forget, you got to give them something else. Sometimes you can't
00:02:38.220just drive home the same hard news every single day. And women, my audience, a majority of them
00:02:42.460are women. They're interested in other topics. They might be interested in what the royals have
00:02:46.780going on or an issue that pertains to them and their lives and their households. That's not
00:02:50.940necessarily a hard news topic. And so I never feel like I have to just sit here and give you
00:02:56.000a play by play of the war or what's going on because they're people much more qualified to
00:03:00.700do that. Thank you for that. I wanted to start with the craziness of the DSA, the Democrat
00:03:06.880socialists of america uh we just saw i just saw this morning when i was scrolling online
00:03:12.960a picture that was posted it was very quickly deleted which is kind of unsurprising
00:03:17.280this was the first denver dsa general meeting after i don't even know if i can pronounce
00:03:22.900that name a lot kiro's victory packed house line out of the door big things are happening
00:03:28.420okay tell me the first thing you notice though when you're looking at this photo
00:03:32.600Well, the one, okay, the first thing I see when I look at this picture, I see way too many COVID masks. Now, in 2026, when I see COVID masks, I think you either really better be immunocompromised, or there's some type of deeper issue going on here. I almost think when I see a COVID mask, I'm going to stay away from you. Like if I'm on a plane now, and I see a bunch of people with COVID masks, it's sort of the opposite. Stay away, don't come close. And so I have a hard time taking people seriously who are still doing this in 2026.
00:04:02.600riley do you think it's because they're scared of covid or whatever contractible disease it is or
00:04:09.920do you think it's you know maybe they're ashamed and they don't want to necessarily attach their
00:04:14.500face to the cause they're fighting for they don't want to like have that attached to their identity
00:04:18.860or do you think it's because they're ugly like i'm just throwing out suggestions here like do
00:04:23.740you think they're really scared of covid the people in that room no i don't think they're
00:04:27.160scared of covid i think it probably is you know the folks who are wearing masks in 2026 there's
00:04:31.340not much to see under the mask. And maybe it's sort of a bonding exercise for all of them. They
00:04:35.860can wear these masks. But this is a form of mental illness, these folks, right? These are the ones you
00:04:40.560see on the internet, the most ridiculous, the most deranged, the people who are out protesting all
00:04:45.080day. And my thing is this, do y'all not work? Do any of these people work? Why don't you have jobs?
00:04:50.140Why aren't you going to a nine to five? Why aren't you striving for something in your life? You're
00:04:53.320sitting around in a meeting with a COVID mask on, and you want more government control and more
00:04:57.900government outreach and you want the government to coddle you and take care of your housing and
00:05:01.620everything in between why don't you grow up that's what yeah we've seen videos circulating online
00:05:08.620from some of these dsa activist people with with influence i guess amongst this this democrat
00:05:16.080socialists of america party if that's what you want to call it talking about how they want to
00:05:20.300destroy america destroy it from within how big of a threat do you think the rise of of dsa influences
00:05:26.840in the US, but I think especially in Democrat politics. And do you even think they're really
00:05:32.800that much different? Well, it's interesting. I do think the Democrat party and the base,
00:05:38.180they sort of capitulated to this more socialist progressive wing. We've seen that with Chuck
00:05:42.520Schumer and he's capitulated. Everybody's scared to call out this ultra progressive
00:05:46.420socialist wing, but I do think it is something to take seriously. And I did a video on this over
00:05:51.120the weekend. I worry about my Republican and conservative friends and colleagues who just
00:05:55.700dismiss the socialist as radicals and lunatics because of course millions of them are but there
00:06:01.600are some folks out there young people who are working multiple jobs earnestly trying to own a
00:06:06.840home pay for health care and everything in between and they feel like they can't get ahead so when a
00:06:11.480socialist candidate like mom donnie comes along for example and he says we're going to get you
00:06:15.620free housing free health care government-run grocery stores you're so desperate treading
00:06:20.820water it's almost like a life raft and i think it's our job as conservatives and people with
00:06:25.360common sense to say socialism has never worked let's show you a history book and let's show you
00:06:30.560what we can actually do to help you with your top concerns and issues and so i think there are a few
00:06:35.360different cohorts right there are the latte liberals who will spend ten dollars on a starbucks
00:06:40.620they probably went to ivy league schools and they just like socialism because it's hip then you have
00:06:45.420these deranged lunatics who are sitting around in the covid masks you're never going to reach them
00:06:49.400probably they're absolutely insane but this third group the young people who really are struggling
00:06:54.840and working to get ahead and they feel like socialism is their only way out i think we can
00:07:00.040reach those people and talk with them and maybe it's more deportations helping housing it's the
00:07:04.600interest rates coming down maybe it's the new housing bill there could be some positives there
00:07:08.740but i think we have to try and reach them and have some meeting of the minds i worry moving into
00:07:14.0402028 if we just dismiss them riley and i know i'm filibustering here but it's just something that
00:07:18.920concerns me because young people were never a bellwether voting group we always thought baby
00:07:24.120boomers and older folks always go to the polls. These young socialists have shown us they will
00:07:29.260get their asses up and vote. And so that is very, very concerning moving into 2028. And we should
00:07:35.120try to bring some folks into our coalition who are just struggling and looking for a life raft.
00:07:40.200No, 100%. I agree with you. I saw actually something this morning. I think it was from
00:07:46.840CBS News. It said the average US home is less affordable to the average American than at any
00:07:53.080point in recent history. And so, I mean, I think that speaks to the desperation that young people
00:07:59.880feel. We want to be able to own something, at least I do, which kind of goes against everything
00:08:04.040that socialism really stands for, if you know what socialism is about. But nonetheless, that
00:08:08.620is appealing to young people. They want to be able to afford things. How big of an issue do
00:08:13.060you think affordability will be for young people or maybe first-time voters in November?
00:08:18.100I think it's a big issue. Home ownership was the biggest issue for young people in 2024. I think it's going to be an even bigger issue moving into 2028. And obviously, we know socialism is a mirage. It's like, you know, seeing a Dasani water bottle in the middle of the Sahara Desert, right? We know it's a mirage. We know it's not going to work out. But I don't want to dismiss all these young people out of school, because they really are trying to get ahead.
00:08:41.780there are some who are totally lazy brats and entitled and i call them out all the time you
00:08:46.100know they cry if you call them the wrong pronouns but then there are young people really trying to
00:08:50.660hustle and work and pay for their health care and even if it's a marketplace health care it's still
00:08:55.100expensive to them with their jobs and the way things are so i think we can reach those people
00:08:59.520and bring them in and i just don't want to dismiss them because home ownership affordability cost of
00:09:05.180living these are still their top concerns and republicans did such a good job at reaching young
00:09:10.120people in 2024 on podcast and social media. And I think we're going to have to hone back in on that
00:09:15.940coming up here in 2028. A hundred percent. And just speaking to like healthcare prices,
00:09:22.960specifically health insurance, I pay for, I guess my husband and I, for our family,
00:09:28.820granted, we have a little baby. We have maternity care on there because we want to have more babies.
00:09:33.040We're both technically self-employed. We pay $1,900 a month for health insurance.
00:09:39.360that is absurd. And I recognize that most people with mortgages and other fees and bills that you
00:09:45.660may have, most people can't pay $1,900 a month for health insurance. That is absurd. So I'm
00:09:51.980right there with you. Back to the DSA influence and the Democratic Party. I see a lot of parallels
00:09:59.520there. I actually saw a young woman, she was on Gutfield of all shows, explaining this pretty
00:10:04.480brilliantly. She says, look, the DSA, the Democrat Socialists of America, they really just
00:10:09.360lead the Democrat policies to their logical conclusion. So Democrats will say, look,
00:10:16.140you know, no human is illegal. That sounds right. Like warm and fuzzy and like compassion doesn't
00:10:22.020sound overly destructive. So they say, if no human is illegal, let's abolish ICE. That sounds a lot
00:10:27.260more harmful, a lot more daunting, a lot more, you know, negative, I guess. And it's, it's
00:10:31.480connotation. I got a video here of Rashida Tlaib. Let's play it really quickly.
00:10:38.000Look at this room's mother f***ers. We ain't going anywhere.
00:10:44.160Political structures that I have to work in, that we all are surrounded by,
00:10:49.420was built on slavery and genocide and rape and oppression. Real change doesn't come from the
00:10:56.120cowards and warmongers in Congress. It comes from the streets. It comes from all of us
00:11:01.560mobilizing and seizing the power to resist and fight back. Gaza is the compass in this country.
00:11:12.280Now we're in Congress and we're every corner of the United States.
00:11:18.020Now we're in Congress in every corner of the United States. They almost like
00:11:21.700brag openly brag about viewing themselves as this like hostile invading force is it time we probably
00:11:29.700should start treating them as one no we absolutely should but we should also offer a positive
00:11:35.880alternative i'm worried right now we're not offering a vision of hope or positivity on our
00:11:41.020side we got to give them something that's positive as an alternative but there are folks like rashida
00:11:45.200to leave and some of these socialists who do just want to destroy our country from within right they
00:11:49.900hate America. They're not patriotic. I don't know why you guys want to stay here. But they want to
00:11:54.760make America into these countries that they fled, right? You flee socialism. And then you come here
00:11:59.780and you want to make America into a socialist country. And so they absolutely hate America. I
00:12:03.900think most of them are lost causes. But I think we can still reach some of them. Maybe not the
00:12:08.100Rashida Tlaib people, maybe not the folks wearing keffees around on the street. But I think there's
00:12:12.220some folks we can reach. But we should definitely take them seriously as a threat. But we can't just
00:12:17.300run against them we have to do that in tandem with offering a positive vision who on the
00:12:23.380republican side do you look at and feel very hopeful about the future the future of our party
00:12:29.860it's interesting i like marco rubio i think he has a great sense of humor i think he's funny
00:12:35.800avuncular he seems really competent in his job and if you're competent i will probably like you
00:12:40.960so i like marco rubio i think brandon gill is also such a rising star in the republican party
00:12:45.640He knows how to do social media, but he can also walk the walk and talk the talk in real life, right?
00:12:51.240There are a lot of folks in Washington, D.C. who are influencers these days.
00:12:54.620They do viral videos, and they try to get viral moments, and they really don't pass a lot of legislation.
00:12:59.500Brandon Gill is one of those folks from my home state who really knows how to do both things, garner attention and reach people, and then also deliver on what people voted for him.
00:15:05.340Why don't you look at some of these states where they're spending gazillions of dollars on Somali daycares with no children and think maybe that should be number one worst state to live in?
00:15:14.420But this is like Kamala Harris in 2024.
00:15:16.800She thought she could just run on abortion being her number one issue and it would galvanize enough people to go to the polls.
00:15:22.840She was so bird brain, brain dead, she didn't realize that Dobbs' decision already settled that.
00:15:27.580It was already sent back to the states.
00:15:29.040Whether you like it or not, whether you agree or not, it's already settled.
00:15:32.940So you've got to find something else to run on.
00:15:34.680but if that's what their criteria is for the worst state, Hey, that's fine with me. I will say as a
00:15:39.240gay person, I feel pretty good living in Texas and seeing my family and going around Dallas.
00:15:44.080I have no problem with it. It's a good point, you know? Um, and it, it kind of leads us to the next
00:15:49.300thing I wanted to ask you about. We've, we've got to talk about the gay cruise ship, right? Uh, a
00:15:54.740chartered LGBTQ cruise ship. It's called the scarlet lady, very feminine, very dainty was,
00:16:01.380i think it was organized by like atlantis events whatever it was carrying around 2 000 gay
00:16:05.960passengers they were ultimately denied permission to dock in turkey during their like mediterranean
00:16:12.220voyage turkish turkish officials said the cruise was chartered by groups whose activities were not
00:16:18.300aligned with the structure of our society and our moral values and said that there was no
00:16:23.500possibility of allowing the planned port call after it generated public concern so
00:16:29.100this episode is brought to you by fifa world cup launch edition on netflix it's a fast fluid game
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00:16:50.060in your netflix membership with zero extra costs go to the games tab and play fifa world cup launch
00:16:56.400edition now only on netflix what's your message for folks i think here in the u.s who go out on
00:17:03.820the streets and they march for pride month which that that's one of the beauties of america you
00:17:08.760get to do that uh gay folks who can get married they have every right all the things that straight
00:17:13.640couples can do they can also do yet still claim to be oppressed what's your message well it's
00:17:18.800interesting is millions of gay people here in the united states they cosplay like they're oppressed
00:17:23.320They cosplay like they're victims. To my recollection, in the summer of 2015, June 2015,
00:17:29.160we had the Obergefell Supreme Court decision. We got gay marriage. That's what y'all were fighting
00:17:33.680for for decades and decades and decades. But now gays have to find new ways to play the victim card
00:17:39.060because it's a currency. It's a way to fundraise. Gay Inc. is very powerful. So now they're on this
00:17:43.960cruise ship. They try to go to Turkey. Turkey says, we're good. We don't really want 2,000 gay
00:17:49.180men running off the dock right now. They try to go to Egypt. Egypt says, we're good. Thank you.
00:17:54.580Come back another time. And now these gays are acting like they're victims of some horrific hate
00:17:59.720crime. Maybe y'all will come back to the United States where you bash President Trump every day
00:18:04.340and you say he's anti-gay, which he's not. He has the highest ranking gay cabinet official in
00:18:08.420American history. But y'all complain all the time while you're here on American soil. Maybe you'll
00:18:13.160come back with a sense of patriotism, gratitude, appreciation for the liberties and freedoms we
00:18:19.100have in the United States. And I will say this as someone who is gay. When I travel, I do a quick
00:18:24.300Google search to see where they are on gay rights. You know what I'm saying? I like to make sure when
00:18:28.640I'm going to a country, what's going on and what's going down. But I don't vilify these countries for
00:18:33.720governing themselves the way they want to govern. Who are we to tell Turkey and Egypt what they
00:18:37.740should be doing? I mean, this ship, we don't know what's on this ship. It could be like floating
00:18:41.360monkeypox. You know, you're not going to catch me on that ship. They're having about as bad a time
00:18:46.720as the Titanic. I also think Patti LuPone, she's on the ship and she's this big Broadway legend.
00:18:52.260You know, her voice is like a foghorn. She's ultra liberal. During COVID, she would stop her
00:18:56.660shows to scream at the audience to put their masks on. And so this is just sort of karmic
00:19:01.740retribution in a way. It's so beautiful that Patti LuPone is stranded. And the last thing I'll say,
00:19:06.240I was thinking last night, I almost want to write a horror film, like a Final Destination style
00:19:11.920horror film it's like 2000 gays stranded at sea it's like tom hanks castaway but with like glitter
00:19:17.820and spirit fingers so they're stranded at sea rations are dwindling alcohol is running out
00:19:24.200drugs are running dry pad of the pones run out of songs to sing the dj jump ship in a dinghy he's
00:19:30.700gone to shore i feel like only the strong will survive like lord of the flies i just think a
00:19:35.340few gays will be left they're almost like a white lotus but we need a horror film 2000 gays on a
00:19:40.920a limited amount of food. They've run out of the playlist. They've gone through every Gaga song
00:19:46.600and Whitney Houston and Donna Summer. They're now really getting desperate. I think they're
00:19:50.880going to come home like Brittany Griner when she was stuck in that Russian prison. And Brittany
00:19:56.100Griner, she didn't like the national anthem. She complained. She didn't like America. And then that
00:20:01.720black obnoxious American hating lesbian came running back from Russia singing Yankee Doodle
00:20:06.760dandy and now what does she do she stands for the national anthem she's happy so maybe these
00:20:12.540gays will come home with an appreciation and that is my monologue thank you you know what i love that
00:20:19.160like it's like a an all-gay survivor yes survivor i don't know if i'd watch it but i think i enjoy
00:20:27.740the concept of it definitely survivor i'm a celebrity get me out of here it's just such a
00:20:33.220concoction of everything I would not want to be a part of. And I have friends who go on gay cruises
00:20:37.360and I'm sure they have a fun time. I just love my peace and I love my privacy. And I couldn't
00:20:41.860imagine being on a boat like the germs and everything or just any cruise. Even when I see
00:20:46.720the videos from the carnival cruises this summer and people are like getting into fistfights over
00:20:50.560chicken fingers at the buffet. I'm like, I like to be at peace in my home. You couldn't pay me
00:20:56.000to do that. You get it. You get it. We are in peak summer, which means you're probably in a
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00:23:05.220at cowboycolostrum.com slash Riley Gaines. I, I, the idea of any cruise, gay cruise or not a gay
00:23:12.960cruise does not sound that like appetizing to me especially cruise i go on i make a gay cruise
00:23:19.620anyway so i'm kidding you're so funny and it's true what you said about looking up some of these
00:23:24.400laws i was curious i think especially in recognizing like the crossover that we have
00:23:29.640here on the u.s especially like on college campuses with the lgbtq activists and those
00:23:35.940who march for that and protest for that but also those it's kind of like the same people who march
00:23:40.520protest for you know the free palestine movement i was looking up some of the laws in some of these
00:23:46.920middle eastern countries uh egypt it doesn't have a law against being gay but they will just jail you
00:23:52.200for debauchery instead syria is up to three years in prison for being gay lebanon up to a year in
00:23:57.660prison for being gay iraq up to 15 years in prison for being gay under a law passed in 2024 iran
00:24:03.240death penalty for being gay saudi arabia death penalty for being gay same thing with yemen
00:24:07.340Qatar is up to seven years in prison for being gay Gaza up to 10 years in prison for being gay
00:24:11.740like come on the crossover there do you think people in the U.S. that they just don't realize
00:24:18.860it do you think they just don't care do you think they just want to get rowdy for whatever
00:24:22.640the like anti-administration anti-Trump thing really is I think it's just that being a victim
00:24:32.180is such a currency right now to get attention on the internet it's a way to get clicks it's a way
00:24:36.760to get views. And we see this with other celebrities like Meghan Markle, right? Every
00:24:40.360time she opens her mouth, she's a victim, right? She's a woman. She's a woman of color. She was
00:24:44.640oppressed. It's like always the same old, same old, same old. And those of us who live in reality
00:24:48.960and have common sense, we don't play into those games anymore. We saw it years and years ago. We
00:24:53.800saw it with the Me Too movement. And then there was the backlash to the Me Too movement. And then
00:24:57.420we saw it with Black Lives Matter. And then we realized that was a whole scam. And so I just
00:25:01.380think playing the victim card, they haven't caught on to the fact no one cares anymore.
00:25:05.420And I just think it's so laughable. You're now upset with President Trump. And some of these gays are saying it's the administration's fault that they're being denied entry. Like, if I'm sitting right, let's say I'm at the pyramids in Egypt, I'm having a nice tour with my family. It's peaceful. You know, we're sitting eating hummus or whatever they eat over there. And you can hear 2000 gays running down the dock, like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, that would just ruin your vacation.
00:25:31.060So I can understand Egypt being like, we really don't want 2000 gays covered in glitter and leather harnesses sprinting down the dock.
00:26:23.580I feel like our society, I mean, just as you said, like we've put people in one of two boxes where you are either an oppressor or you are oppressed.
00:26:33.180And if you're like a straight white man, you're automatically in the oppressor box.
00:26:38.440And when you are, yeah, like the king colonizer or the oppressor, you owe someone something.
00:26:44.360But if you are oppressed, you are owed something.
00:26:47.900So like if you have to pick if you owe someone or you're owed, most people are going to want to be owed something.
00:26:52.940You know, so I get it. But there is a faction of society that wants to be marginalized. They want to be the victim, which I think is a really weird mindset to have.
00:27:03.980Well, I also feel like there are folks, and we see this with some black folks as it pertains to Black Lives Matter, and we see with LGBTQ folks where they think of that identity as number one on their list, right?
00:27:16.980As a gay guy, I don't walk around thinking about the fact that I'm gay all day long.
00:27:21.120I think about the fact that I'm an American.