💬 The One Sane Democrat on Iran War & Trump’s Obsession Question

In partnership with

It’s Friday the 13th — the second one of 2026 and we’ve got one more to go, I’m told. It’s the first time since 2015 we’ve had three Friday the 13ths in a calendar year. The big difference between now and then: in 2015 we had Barack Obama as president and in 2026 we’ve got Donald Trump in the White House, meaning we’re better positioned to weather any superstitious wackiness that may come about — ya know, from either the Friday the 13th stuff or, say, the terrorist sympathizers that have infiltrated the U.S. government. 👀 I’m looking directly at you, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaid and Moron Zamboni 👀

The more I think about this Friday the 13th nonsense, it occurs to me that we are in kind of strange times. There’s a little bit of volatility roiling the markets. Which is why I can’t emphasize enough that you should check out our sponsor today, and look into buying gold and silver. Nothing holds its value through the volatile times like precious metals and Patriot Gold is a great dealer to get you started, or enhance your investment if you’ve already got some gold or silver — or just get you educated on buying gold if you’re a first-timer.

Since it’s Friday the 13th, I’m going to tread carefully. I’m going to try to avoid black cats, stepping on cracks and breaking a mirror. I am going to do something that might sound a little crazy, a little backwards.

I’m going to praise a Democrat — the one sane Democrat that exists in 2026. And I’m also going to ask you the one question Trump can’t stop asking everyone around him. More on that below.

The one sane Democrat I want to praise is Senator John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania. He was the only Democrat who shook Trump’s hand at the State of the Union a couple weeks ago, and he’s the only Democrat who’s not fear-mongering about the war with Iran right now. In fact, he’s even calling out the liberal media for trying to sway public opinion about the war.

Fetterman was all over cable news this week, but the big confrontation was on CNN with Kaitlin Collins. It was a tense exchange. Fetterman reminded viewers, “the United States never ever targets targets civilians. Iran does — including their own citizens. And they massacred that 35,000 of them just a couple weeks ago.” Fetterman went on to blast the leftist media for painting the war as a failure.

“The New York Times — they're making it more and more trying to convince America that this has been a disaster, or things are out of control. And that's just categorically not true,” Fetterman told Collins. Pretty amazing stuff.

It takes real courage for a guy like Fetterman, who I’ve talked about before — having suffered from mental illness, going into the hospital for it, and coming out seeing things clearly — to do what no other Democrat right now will do. Even though for years, Democrats, including every Democrat president, has acknowledged what a global threat Iran is. Somehow when Trump is president, everyone immediately abandons their position on Iran.

So there it is — I praised a Democrat. And Fetterman gets a lot right, but not everything. He said he does not support the SAVE Act, which is going to be brought up for a vote in the Senate next week, in its current form. Although it sounds like he supports the idea of voter ID, so he might eventually get there on the SAVE Act. But for his position on Iran, I give John Fetterman a gold star.

As I mentioned above, if you’re looking to purchase some gold coins or a bar — make sure sure to visit Patriot Gold. See below for more. After that, more on CNN’s disastrous week, and the Trump question that I’m putting to you this week.

Not too late to go gold — or silver

If you think gold and silver have peaked, your retirement may be in more danger than you realize. JP Morgan has floated $8,500 gold if demand holds. BMO Bank sees a path to $8,650 gold and $220 silver by 2027! Expectations of the Fed's lower-rate plans and a weaker dollar environment can skyrocket assets like Gold, which is exactly the direction President Trump has pushed for. Get Patriot Gold Group’s FREE Gold IRA Investor Guide and ask about the No Fee for Life IRA. Call 888-673-1736. 888-673-1736.

I’m going to be watching CNN closely today. It’s Friday the 13th and they may experience some bad luck — and actually get something right in their news coverage today 😂 

Because all week, CNN had to apologize over and over for the nonsense they were spewing on TV and social media. Abby Phillip had to apologize for saying the attempted terror attack by two Muslim teenagers in NYC last weekend targeted Zohran Mamdani. The network allowed Democrat hack Paul Begala to promote the “lobstergate” hoax, and I don’t think they ever corrected or apologized for that one.

And then there was the tweet. The tweet CNN posted might be the most insane thing I’ve ever read on The Rubin Report. Having said that, I’m sure something even more bonkers will emerge next week. But I’m going to put the words here for you to read yourself.

“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could've been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather," the since-deleted tweet began. "But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest.”

Yeah, they were just kids having fun, out enjoying the warm weather. I think we can all relate. When I was a teen growing up in Long Island, my friends and I would get on the Long Island Railroad, ride into the city and bring bombs, IEDs, Molotov cocktails. We did it all the time — we were just having fun!

You know that sort of framing by CNN comes from a little thing called Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS. I’ve said many, many times TDS is a very real thing. And this week a famous Democrat proved it was a real thing. James Carville, the strategist who worked for Bill Clinton in the 1990s and coined the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid,” unleashed a totally unhinged, profanity-laced tirade in which he said, "I got Trump Derangement Syndrome. I hate the motherf**ker! "And you know what? I don't want to get rid of it. I don't want to get better! I want to get worse! I want to hate him more!"

Not even a joke, that was a total direct quote. Someday I believe TDS will be studied by scientists, and Carville just gave those future scientists a great sample to examine. All right, enough crazy talk. Now the question Trump keeps asking …

Rubio runs away with another Top Trump Peeps poll, and the question Trump can’t stop asking people close to him

The latest Trump administration power rankings are in and it’s the man formerly known as Little Marco with another big win. He basically lapped the field this week, with Hegseth coming in a strong but distant second. There was a lot of love for Hegseth in the comments, but even more for Marco. Take a look at these two comments from readers jandel46 and cdlowe:

One Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, may be interested to see those comments. This week, one of the big stories was that Trump has been asking everyone in his inner circle who should lead the GOP presidential ticket in 2028: Marco or JD? Trump can’t stop asking the question, according to some reports. He even asked a crowd of donors during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. As I said on the show this week, my prediction is that Trump will sit this out for a while and then eventually run it like an episode of The Apprentice.

I asked you guys back in November what you thought about this so, even though it’s really too early to speculate, it seemed like a good time to see where things stand now. Remember how the poll in November turned out? JD won it pretty easily with 64.47% of the vote. So, I ask you what Trump has been asking everyone around him lately — JD or Marco? ⬇️

• I’m heading to Budapest next week for an appearance at CPAC Hungary. Was there last year, too, you might remember. More on the visit later, but interestingly in this week’s Community Q&A, a viewer named Eurasian asked this about visiting Budapest: “If I only have a day or two, what do you recommend I see or do there?" If you don’t have a lot of time in Budapest, which is a magnificent city, I say pay a quick visit to the Sir Roger Scruton Cafe, in honor of conservative author and philosopher Roger Scruton. We did a couple episodes of The Rubin Report there last year in Budapest. The mission of the cafe is to share and pass on Scruton's spirit, which honors Hungarian conservative tradition and values, to a wider audience. It’s also great place to grab a pastry or a cup of coffee. It was Scruton who once said, “I drink therefore I am.”

• Be sure to tune into this week’s episode of Actual Friends, which dropped on Friday afternoon. We had a true comedy legend join the conversation, my old friend Roseanne Barr. Don’t forget to subscribe here and tap the notification button so you don’t miss a new episode or the highlights that we post.

• Had a great Rubin Report roundtable on Friday with DeVory Darkins and Gates Garcia. We also did a new installment of “This Week on The Internet,” the segment where I just rattle of some jokes about this week’s news and pop culture. Make sure you check it out here.

• We can send some of the official tequila of free speech directly to you. I’m talking about Copal, of course. All you need to do is place an order here and tell us how many bottles to send. If you buy three, we’ll send them for free.

• You did it! You’ve reached the end of the newsletter. Don’t forget — if you’re looking to make an investment in gold or silver, don’t buy without doing some research first. Our sponsor today, Patriot Gold Group, is offering a free investment guide to readers of The Rubin Recap.

• Was this email forwarded to you? Get on the list and sign up here.

Until Sunday … — Dave