💬 The Rubin Recap, Issue 12

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I’m out, and AI Dave is in for August 🫡

We wrapped up the 13th season of The Rubin Report on Thursday, and by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be off the grid for the entire month of August. Take a good look at that split image above. One of those Daves is me and the other is AI Dave, who will be hosting the show while I’m off the grid this month. It’s almost impossible to tell who’s who. 🤷‍♂️

We introduced him on Thursday’s show and, man, it’s a little freaky. AI Dave can actually “see” and answer questions about what he’s looking at. It’s wild. And starting Monday, he’s in control and will be behind the desk for abbreviated shows each day while I’m gone. If you want to talk with AI Dave, you can do that, too — right here, absolutely free.

Now, don’t go falling in love with AI Dave. I keep reading all these crazy stories about people falling for AI chatbots, which then destroys their marriage. Refrain from doing that. I realize he’s handsome and he’s pretty witty — but I’ll be back on September 2, and I can’t have him just taking over my job for good, or your personal life getting blown up. You know how AI can be.

And speaking of AI craziness, check out our sponsor today, Incogni, which is offering a great deal for readers of my newsletter to help you clean up your personal info from the AI and search giants. You’d be stunned what they know about you — Incogni will help you scrub it all. Even AI Dave thinks that’s a good move.

Hard to believe this is the ninth straight year I’ve gone off the grid for August — no internet, no paying attention to the news cycle. What I will be doing is spending a solid amount of time just staring into the ocean, and letting my brain reset. For those who asked, we don’t have a major vacation planned for this year — will be doing some fishing with the kids, a few projects around the house and, most importantly, some good quality family time.

And what a week it was to go end the season. We had the huge Sydney Sweeney controversy, with liberals completely losing their shit over a commercial in which a hot white girl talks about having “great jeans.” Look, prior to this, I wasn’t all that familiar with Syndey Sweeney — I know I saw her in The White Lotus. Apparently, she’s been selling her bathwater online, so we bought some and I downed a whole jar of it on Monday’s episode. Dee-lish, Sydney. 🛀

How about Kamala Harris bursting back on the scene this week? First, she announced that California won’t have the opportunity to be unburdened by what has been as she won’t be running for governor to replace the evil lizard man Gavin Newsom.

And then a day later, she came out with a social media video about her new book coming out in September — which I’ll be back to make fun of — that talks about her 107-day run for president last year. That’s right — and for the hardcore fans, the audiobook comes with free cackling sound effects that you can use as the ringtone on your phone. Such a brat move by Kamala! 😂

I got an advanced copy of the memoir, and I have to tell you — reading Kamala’s word salads is a whole different experience than listening to them on video. She has a real talent.

Chapter four on the selection of Tim Walz as her running mate is revealing. Harris talks candidly about recognizing her own ability to say dumb things and the need for a running mate who could outdo her when needed. Kamala revealed that she knew she chose wisely after Walz said he was friends with school shooters during the VP debate against JD Vance. Precisely the “Midwestern authenticity” she was looking for.

I know you are stunned Kamala could even write something as long as a 320-page book. Well, when you’re still trying to pay off your failed presidential campaign’s $20 million in debt, you goddamn learn to write your word salads down on paper instead of speaking them.

All right, I should save a few jokes for September when the book actually comes out. 😅

Then there was my boy Bill Maher coming out on his podcast saying straight up that he was wrong about Trump and the tariffs. I’ve been working on Bill for a while now, and I’m always gentle with him about it. And now, he’s really starting to see things clearly. Maher talked about how he bought into the idea just a few months ago that by the Fourth of July, the economy was going to be tanked. “But that didn’t happen,” Bill said. “I don’t see a country in a depression at all.”

In fact, quite the opposite has happened. The stock markets have been at or near all-time highs in recent weeks, and Trump announced new trade deals with the E.U. and South Korea this week, which the U.S. is on the winning end of. Credit where credit is due — good for Bill that he’s admitting he was wrong about the hysteria all the “experts” fomented about Trump’s tariffs.

Tulsi Gabbard runs away with the ‘Top 10 Trump peeps’ poll — get your vote in for next week

Hot damn! Look at the results of last week’s poll. Tulsi Gabbard scored more than 67% of the votes, far outpacing Karoline Leavitt, who came in a distant second. Clearly, Tulsi’s release of documents showing how Obama intel officials fabricated the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax is resonating. And the revelations from Tulsi kept coming this week. Don’t forget to take part in this week’s poll as we roll into August. ⬇️

Tweet of the week

What to know

•  A couple weeks ago, I paid a visit to Nashville to appear on Michael Knowles’ game show Yes or No. Fun times, people. I poured myself a glass of Copal, smoked one of Knowles’ cigars and let the questions fly. The episode just dropped this week — be sure to check out it out here.

• A new episode of Actual Friends went live Friday at 3 p.m., and Dr. Drew joined Sage Steele and me for a conversation that touched on all sorts of topics driving the zeitgeist as well as Trump being joined at the White House this week to officially reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test for American schoolkids. Check out the new episode here, and make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss any episodes.

• Like I alluded to above, AI is basically like the wild west right now. Your info is out there, and AI is using it or can find it for someone else in a matter of seconds. This week’s sponsor, Incogni, can help prevent your personal info from being exploited. Click here to take advantage of the exclusive offer.

• Did you catch me on Will Cain’s Fox News show this week? In case you missed it, one of the things I talked about was fake eyebrow lady Jasmine Crockett and her rise on the progressive left, and what’s really going on when they say “progress.” Here’s a clip of that part of the conversation.

• Be sure to check out Thursday’s full episode — we recapped all the top moments from the last year on The Rubin Report. 

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Until next week … — Dave