💬 I saw 80,000 people fall silent at Charlie Kirk's memorial

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Talk about a week full of highs and lows

It all started Sunday at the funeral in Arizona for Charlie Kirk. Believe it or not, it was the first time I've ever stepped foot inside an NFL stadium, and the place was absolutely packed. There were plenty of memorable moments, but here are the two that hit home the most with me.

Erika Kirk somehow finding the grace to publicly forgive her husband's assassin. Some 75,000 or 80,000 people went silent when she told them, "That young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do." That photo above is one I took while she was in the midst of that powerful speech.

It was, by far, the most meaningful moment of the memorial service. Trump's speech was an easy second simply because he kept it real and honest, and even brought a little comic relief like only he can.

Trump talked about how Charlie didn’t hate his opponents, and wanted the best for them. "That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I HATE my opponents. And I DON'T want the best for them!" 😂 

It was brutally honest, but Trump just isn't capable of being anything but brutally honest. He's able to make something funny out of something horrifically tragic. The full clip is amazing -- check it here.

After attending the funeral, I traveled to Rumble headquarters in Longboat Key, Florida, where we did a few episodes of The Rubin Report. Chris Pavlovski is the CEO of Rumble and he joined me for a Charlie Kirk story that I'd never heard before. More on that below.

As surreal as that experience was, some of what happened in the news this week was painfully usual and included a predictable cast of annoying characters, like Gavin Newsom, Ilhan Omar, Jasmine Crockett, and others.

One of those annoying characters was Kamala Harris kicking off her book tour. It could not have gone worse for someone who is trying to convince people to buy her silly book. The book is called 107 Days, and I heard they settled on that after the publisher rejected the working titles 107 Excuses and 107 Grievances. All she really did this week was remind everyone why Trump won the election last year.

Kamala started off the week by explaining to noted misinformation specialist Rachel Maddow why she discriminated against Pete Buttigieg when choosing a running mate last year. She said she was "very sad" about it, but just couldn't have a gay man on the ticket. Can you imagine the uproar if a Republican said something like that about someone?

She finished up the appearance on Maddow by calling Trump a "tyrant" and a "communist dictator." Total 🤡 show.

I have no idea how this book is going to sell, but even if it does well, she seems to be burning so many bridges, I can't imagine she has any future in politics whatsoever, or any prospects for being gainfully employed. Maybe she's going to want to explore being an investor? All I'm saying is our sponsor today, Mode Mobile, has an opportunity she should probably check out.

Harris then went over to The View where she continued her misinformation tour and dropped such a flagrant lie that even the live studio audience gasped.

The other big story that everybody was talking about this week was Jimmy Kimmel, a man who's paid $16 million a year to tell half the country that they're racists, returning to his late-night show on ABC after the network gave him a slap on the wrist for smearing Trump supporters.

You probably saw the fake apology, with the over-the-top crocodile tears. But did you notice the blatant lie that was in his return monologue? He said it was "not my intention to blame anyone." Oh, really? Well, let's go to the videotape. Also, did you notice he basically ripped off Trump's joke about being interrupted that he told when he returned to Butler last year, weeks after he was shot in an assassination attempt?

Kimmel is a bad hombré, people. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

As I said on the first episode of the new season, one thing I'm going to try to do this year on The Rubin Report is find the positive angles on the news as much as possible and highlight people who are saying smart things, and showing that the good in America still overcomes the bad.

Found a clip this week that is a perfect encapsulation of that. Whenever you're bombarded with messages that you're a racist or are overwhelmed by people screaming about identity politics, give this clip a watch — and a share. It's one that no doubt would've made Charlie Kirk proud.

Kash Patel picks up first win in Trump administration power rankings

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination two weeks ago, and the sniper attack this week at an ICE facility in Dallas, FBI director Kash Patel surged in our Top Trump Peeps poll, taking first place. JD Vance came in a distant second. A lot happened this week — from Trump’s autism announcement, to JD Vance calling out Gavin Newsom and other Democrats for their violent rhetoric, to James Comey being indicted for lying to Congress. Get your vote for next week’s ranking in ⬇️

Tweet of the week

What to know

• Copal is back! I’m stoked to let you know that the second batch of Copal is on sale now — and bottles are selling fast. It’s also turning up in interesting places, like on the set of Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, and some choice restaurants in the Miami area. Call it the official tequila of free speech. If you want to snag a bottle, click here. And if you want to snag three bottles, we’ll ship them to you for free.

• The Australia leg of the Don’t Burn This World is fast approaching! In just a few weeks, I’ll be appearing at the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne on October, 18, and then at the Concourse in Sydney on October 21. And I’ll be wrapping up the tour at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on October 27. For more info and to get tickets, click here. It’s been seven years since I was last in Australia, and I can’t wait to get back there.

• Did you catch my appearance on Ask Dr. Drew this week? Had a great conversation with my good friend about some of the absurd and extreme reactions from the far left to the killing of Charlie Kirk. If you didn’t hear what Hassan Piker said about Kirk’s assassination, you’ll want to check it out — and what we had to say about it. Watch the full appearance here.

• And if you want more Dr. Drew, all you have to do is watch this week’s episode of Actual Friends. Dr. Drew joined Sage Steele and me to talk about a host of topics, including the Trump administration linking Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism. You don’t want to miss what Dr. Drew had to say about that. Check out the new episode here, and make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss any episodes.

• Be sure to check out our sponsor Mode Mobile, which is giving investors a great opportunity to get in early on a fast-emerging software company.

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Until next week … — Dave