🔵 The Rubin Recap, Issue 7 | 6.27.25

SUMMER COMES IN HOT AND SO DOES A BIG BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

Welcome back to The Rubin Recap. We're officially one full week into summer, and the new season came in hot in all sorts of ways. First, we launched pre-orders for my new tequila, Copal, and bottles sold like hotcakes -- thank you to everyone who pre-ordered and made the launch a success, and stay up to date on all things Copal by following on Instagram.

Then, over the weekend, President Trump launched Operation Midnight Hammer, in which U.S. stealth bombers attacked three key nuke sites in Iran, possibly crippling the nuclear program of the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism for years to come. And summer literally came in hot by way of a historic heat wave that shattered temperature records all over the Northeast. You could tell the heat was really getting to people up in Maine, where they're not used to temps exceeding 90 degrees. Just look at this local TV weatherman or woman (good luck figuring it out) who was doing the forecasting there this week. Ya know, they said, "Keep Portland weird," -- but I don't think they meant it so literally." Finally, on Thursday, I celebrated my 49th birthday, and my crew surprised me with a glitter bomb that came in hot. Didn’t see that one coming until the last second — and glitter was everywhere in the studio. All right, let's get into the rest of the week's big news ...

HOT TRUMP SUMMER

Think back for a moment to just about a year ago and recall the messages the mainstream media were shoving down your throat at the time. What was one of the big catchphrases that became utterly inescapable? Remember "brat summer"? And the embodiment of “brat summer” was Kamala Harris, the unelected nominee who replaced Joe Biden at top of the presidential ticket. It makes me cringe to even think about the phrase "brat summer," but at the time, the media wrote article upon article and devoted cable news segment upon cable news segment to telling Americans about how "brat summer" was "propelling Kamala Harris to the American presidency." We were told this by everyone from big media companies like CNN to small ones you've never heard of. "Kamala IS brat," we were told over and over.

Now come back to the present and I'm sure you're struck by how thankful you are that Kamala didn't ride that supposed "brat summer" wave into the White House. Imagine Harris and Tim Walz trying navigate the Middle East turmoil of the last few weeks. That would've been the dictionary definition of the term shitshow.

Instead, what's developing is what I am calling Hot Trump Summer. President Trump is continuing to do what the naysayers said he could never do. The Left tried to destroy him, his businesses and eventually tried to assassinate him to ensure he'd never become president again. He's defied the naysayers, obstructionists and assassins over and over.

What the president accomplished over the weekend with Operation Midnight Hammer was yet another example of the hot streak he's been on. While many on the woke right -- I'm looking right at you, Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones -- tried to whip everyone into a frenzy that any strike on Iran instantly igniet World War III, Trump and his team put together and executed an effective plan that looks as though it has crippled Iran's nuclear weapon prospects for decades to come.

This was Trump at his best, as I've said many times before. He says it often: Peace through strength. And Operation Midnight Hammer was a critical phase of achieving that goal. Not only was World War III averted, but World Wars IV and V also have been delayed by the 12-day war, in which Israel shouldered much of the early work and the U.S. delivered the knockout punch before Iran launched perfunctory retaliation strikes on U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq, and a ceasefire deal was quickly reached. I'm by no means saying that nothing bad can happen from here on out. But the World War III fearmongering was unnecessary and unproductive. As he has been on many other issues, Trump has been remarkably consistent for almost 15 years now about not allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, and he saw that vision through.

And speaking of long-term consistency, Trump this week convinced 32 member nations of the U.N. to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDPs -- something Trump has talked about since he first ran in 2015 -- and really has talked about for many years prior. The secretary general of the U.N. literally called Trump ‘daddy’ for successfully persuading member nations to significantly increase defense spending. Trump even got Zelensky to put on a suit for the NATO summit! Another win in Trump's hot streak.

What else? How about summer gas prices in the U.S. hitting their lowest levels since 2021, just after Trump's first term ended. Gas prices are so low right now, even The New York Times had to report on it. And how about the U.S. stock markets, which the media repeatedly and hysterically told you were going to crash because of Trump's tariffs? The S&P on Friday rallied to a new all-time high, and the Dow is within 2,000 points of shattering its all-time record high, which, incidentally, was set in the weeks after Trump won re-election.

The man has been directionally right on almost everything for at least a decade now. So, welcome to Hot Trump Summer. This is what's possible when Trump is given space to govern. Hopefully, he’ll keep putting points on the board. As Trump himself would say, thank you for your attention to this matter.

ENDLESS CLOWN CAR OF RIDICULOUSNESS AT CNN

Does the name Natasha Bertrand ring a bell? If not, it should. She’s the notorious reporter behind the Politico article in 2020 that claimed dozens of former U.S. intelligence officials said the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation. Turned out, her story was entirely debunked when it was revealed that all 50 of those intel officials were lying. The Hunter Biden laptop story was all true, and Bertrand essentially did the bidding of members of the deep state who wanted to see Biden defeat Trump in the 2020 election.

This week, Bertrand, who now works for CNN, was one of the reporters behind a story about a leaked preliminary intel report that questioned the effectiveness of the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes in Iran and suggested the strikes set back Iran's nuclear program "maybe a few months, tops."

Before I get to the White House response to this story, I want you to remember a couple of things: Namely, Natasha Bertrand's record on these types of stories, and CNN's record in recent years. It's hard to believe Bertrand is still working in journalism after her 2020 story attempting to debunk the Hunter Biden laptop story was itself debunked. And CNN's recent record isn't much better. Just a year ago, its anchors were shaming anyone who suggested Biden was suffering any kind of cognitive decline and accused anyone who did point out Biden's condition using video evidence of creating "cheap fakes." So, it is Natasha Bertrand and CNN who should be met with a heavy dose of skepticism when they bring forward this type of reporting on major issues and attribute it to anonymous sources. Why should we trust CNN?

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unpacked the mechanics of how people inside of government try to undermine Trump, and all but collude with willing participants in the mainstream media to do so. And as Trump and Pete Hegseth pointed out, Bertrand and CNN conveniently left out of the story that the report said there was low confidence in its assessment of the outcome and also allowed for the possibility that the nuclear sites were indeed obliterated. CNN is just an endless clown car of ridiculousness -- and it took only another day or so for that CNN report to crumble like the nuclear facility at Fordo when the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran's nuclear centrifuges were no longer operational, based on an assessment of satellite imagery. Again, even The New York Times had to report on it. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the nuclear sites suffered "enormous damage" from the strikes and could be incapacitated for "perhaps decades."

You know how much I love the throwback videos to expose people's inconvenient lies. Sometimes the videos are dug up from years past -- more on that in a second -- and sometimes you have to go back only a few days. Check this one out from CNN anchor Erin Burnett changed her story ... after just 5 days. 

THROWBACK CLIP NANCY PELOSI SHOULD REGRET -- BUT PROBABLY DOESN'T

I love the throwback clips, so here's another good one. There might be no better genre of internet videos. This is an example of one from years ago that was resurfaced and exposes a conniving politician for exactly who she is. After Trump authorized Operation Midnight Hammer over the weekend, Democrats predictably convulsed into their usual performative overreactions. Al Green and AOC tried to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, an effort that went nowhere fast. And Nancy Pelosi tweeted that Trump "ignored the Constitution by unilaterally engaging our military without Congressional authorization." As the great New York sports broadcaster Warner Wolf used to say, "Let's go to the videotape!"

Well, how about that? There's Nancy Pelosi in 2011 saying President Obama did not need authorization from Congress to launch military action in Libya. Amazing how things change depending on who's president. This is a clip Nancy Pelosi should regret is out there because it completely undermines her criticism of Trump, but, interestingly, she doesn't have time to reflect or regret, you see, because she had to get right back to managing her stock portfolio, which outperformed every large hedge fund last year. I know that sounds like a punchline -- but it's not. Sometimes the jokes right themselves, people.

VOTE FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POWER RANKINGS

The results of the first installment of The Rubin Report’s "Top 10 Trump Peeps" power rankings for members of Trump's Cabinet and other key players in his administration decided by newsletter readers are in. Marco Rubio edged out Tom Homan by a single vote to claim the top spot, and press secretary Caroline Leavitt finished a close third.

Want to have a say in next week’s rankings? Make your voice heard and vote below in the poll to determine the power rankings, and vote carefully. We heard from many of you in the comments last week and swapped in a few different names for this week’s edition of the poll. Choose the member of Team Trump who you think is crushing it the most right now.

RUBIO TAKES CBS NEWS ANCHOR TO SUMMER SCHOOL

I don't know if there's anyone in the Trump administration better suited for their job than Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, and I have a feeling this clip is one reason Rubio topped the "Top 10 Trump Peeps" power rankings. The guy is doing two jobs, people. Rubio over the weekend took CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan to school about Iran's capacity to produce a nuclear weapon, and why the U.S. struck when it did. As you watch this clip, pay attention to Brennan's condescending tone and gestures as she thinks she's asking a gotcha question, and watch her expression change as she realizes she's being taken to school by Rubio and by the end of the clip is basically agreeing with him. Golf clap, Marco Rubio.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ZOHRAN MAMDANI FOR WINNING D-BAG OF THE WEEK!

Congratulations to Zohran Mamdani! Not only did he win the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, he’s now won The Rubin Report’s “Douchebag of the Week Award.” What a week! Mamdani gets this win for being an anti-American socialist who really embodies everything the award stands for. In fact, he was the lead topic of the Rubin Report roundtable with Karol Markowit on Friday as we talked about how his nakedly anti-capitalist and anti-American agenda is a whole lot worse than Eric Adams’ incompetence. Adams is running for re-election as an independent and Mamdani this week soundly defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who finished a rather distant second. Yes, it was only a primary — but the reason it sent a chill through so much of the country is because Cuomo and Adams are the two best candidates the city has been able to muster, and they inspire little faith in anyone that they would be able to beat Mamdani. Need evidence? Watch this video.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Rubin Report is hiring! Know someone who knows how to navigate the socials? Or is that you, perhaps? We’re officially hiring for a new Social Media Manager role here in Rubinville. Click here for the full job posting or scan the QR code above.

• I’ve got two new interviews with former prime ministers coming out this weekend. On Saturday morning, my interview with former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss debuts. Click here to watch when it goes live. We touched on the decline of free speech in the U.K. and a host of other issues facing the country. And then on Sunday, my interview with Tony Abbott, the former P.M. of Australia, debuts. We talked about a number of issues including government overreach during the pandemic and Abbott’s concerns that his country might make the same mistake that’s been devastating Europe. Click here to tune in when it goes live.

• Copal, my new tequila, is officially out — and it’s sold out already. We had an amazing launch and sold thousands of bottles in just the first few days since we opened up pre-orders — and I can’t thank all of you enough for making the launch such a success. If you didn’t get one, do not fret. We are bottling more as I write this, and pre-ordering will reopen in July and if you’re subscribed to the newsletter you will be notified as soon as pre-orders are open again. You can also follow Copal on Instagram here to stay up to date. And stay tuned for a tequila taste test coming up soon on the show.

• A new episode of Actual Friends came out at 3 p.m. on Friday and discussed numerous topics, including the other bomb Trump dropped this week, meeting Sylvester Stallone and Florida jokes — subscribe here and tap that notification bell so you don’t miss any episodes.

• During this week’s Community Q&A, Mitchell asked who the one or two people I’d like to interview in the year ahead are. My answer is acclaimed economist Thomas Sowell — whom I interviewed in 2018 (remember his answer when I asked what changed his mind about being a Marxist?) — and Star Wars creator George Lucas.

• Have a question that you want featured in a Community Q&A? Get in touch here.

• Don’t forget — the Don’t Burn This World Tour continues later this year. Get all the details here.

• Get all your Rubin Report merch at our online store here.

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Until next week … — Dave