Don't Take the Bait - How Libs Trap Conservatives in Pointless Arguments

Jan 15, 2026

Austin Knudsen, Attorney General of Montana, dives deep into the murky waters of foreign influence and dark money in U.S. politics. He reveals how climate litigation aims to choke energy states by stifling permits and discusses the tactics behind sanctuary city pressure campaigns. Knudsen also addresses Second Amendment rights and the pursuit of accountability from platforms like TikTok. His insights shine a light on how narratives can distract from real issues, calling for a more substantive public debate.

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INSIGHT

News Cycle Trumps Public Debate

Rapid-fire news cycles let process drama replace substantive public debate about policy choices.
Josh Holmes argues this prevents civilians from understanding why enforcement or foreign actions matter long-term.

INSIGHT

Focus On Confrontation, Not Root Causes

The hosts say focus shifts to confrontations (camera angles, footage) instead of root causes like state policy choices.
They stress Minnesota's local leaders and funding decisions explain why ICE is operating there.

ADVICE

Make The Public Case On Policy

Make the public case repeatedly and clearly about law and order and policy effects.
Advocate to lawmakers and media to litigate why enforcement matters, not just camera angles.

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🎙️ Why does it feel like we’re bouncing from one high-stakes fight to the next without ever forcing the real public debate? Because liberals and the media use this as a tactic. The fellas explain how narratives and process drama help the bigger questions get ignored: like why federal law enforcement is in Minneapolis in the first place, and what elected leaders did to set the whole mess in motion.

⚡️ Then, we get into the sanctuary city pressure campaign and the Feb 1 payment cutoff that Trump has planned. Then, how the loudest voices on the left treat “oppose Trump” as a full personality. How do libs expect that if laws are on the books, that it won’t be enforced? We explain how these fights get reframed into “Gestapo” language, and why that reframing is the point.

👑 It’s Thursday, so we play our signature game: King of the Hill. It’s a truly deranged week featuring Joe Scarborough and champion Steve Schmidt. ️

🐘 Montana AG Austin Knudsen on how foreign influence and dark money can end up behind pressure campaigns and litigation. He walks us through how funding trails get buried through layers of orgs and intermediaries. Knudsen also explained how climate lawsuits can be used to choke an energy state one permit at a time. Then: China-linked consumer platforms, Second Amendment fights, and what it takes to keep states from getting steamrolled by activist-law tactics.

00:00 - Why the real debate gets dodged

02:02 - Rapid-fire fights and the missing public case

05:33 - Minnesota confrontation narrative shifts

07:06 - Process arguments vs the underlying problem

09:52 - “Gestapo” framing and the sanctuary-state contrast

13:51 - Trump announces Feb 1 sanctuary-city payment cutoff

16:03 - Progressive push to block immigration enforcement funding

18:56 - Lawsuits to block federal enforcement inside states

22:13 - Trump and Eric Adams have deuling f-bombs

25:42 - The media fever dream

31:42 - King of the Hill: Joe Scarborough vs champion Steve Schmidt

37:41 - Montana AG Austin Knudsen joins the Progrum

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