So returning from a “hit” (as we say in the biz) (add eye roll), yours truly ended up in the middle of the “No Kings” march threading through Times Square today (images below). My key takeaway?
No wonder the Dems are obsessed with Medicare and Social Security.
First, my thanks and congratulations to the ebullient Kayleigh McEnany on her new Saturday morning show, which is already required viewing. It’s where I was returning from when I ran into what I thought was an AARP event.
Now, were there some younger people there? Of course. But what I had not expected was an average age that mirrored New York’s average July temperature. Seriously — it was striking.
To be clear — and perhaps it’s because of the age factor — it was entirely peaceful, from everything I saw. The vibe was Woodstock-revisited; gray-hairs (look, I have plenty also), banging drums, chanting, and mostly homemade signs about how Trump is a Nazi. Distasteful? Sure. Silly? In many instances, yes. But not violent. Not Portland or Chicago.
What was disturbing, however, is how “normalized” some fringe groups are at these things. The American Communist Party, the eliminate-Israel crowd (see below), and the support for “revolution” were elements always nearby in any photo.
And of course, the Zohranistas had a heavy presence. Which tracks.
But here’s the point: the Democrat base is seriously aging. These 1960’s hippies that gave us Jimmy Carter and Clinton and Obama are done. And while there are of course younger demographics that skew left, it does not look to me like they are at replacement levels.
So: to Charlie Kirk. We’ve written plenty about him here, but it bears repeating how significant he was. Charlie is perhaps the principal reason that it is suddenly okay for the young not to be knee-jerk left. As I’ve written before: his efficacy is what made him a target.
As the Dems track ever-more radical — from the Squad to Mamdani to Jasmine Crockett to anti-ICE riots and declining blue cities — the Democratic party is drifting towards irrelevance. They’re a facsimile of their previous stature — a tribute band.
Add to that the pending SCOTUS decision which looks likely to strike down racially based gerrymandering, coupled with an approval rating in the teens, and Donald Trump becomes nearly irrelevant to the Dems’ election hopes. He’s a distraction, an obsession. Their problems are much deeper than any “king.”
And if they don’t stop obsessing on Trump and get their own house in order, kings or no kings, they’re on their way to serfdom.
What I Saw At The Devolution
This was not a crowd that inspired visions of a Dem resurgence. Here’s a few salient shots, starting with a terrible person, and my post that seems to have gotten all the attention on X:
And finally, my favorite (it’s at least witty) (and acknowledges the state of New York City these days):
No, He’s Not A King — Enough Already
Re-stacking here my 3-minute recap from last night — seems pertinent:
The Soros Army
Readers, in the coming months you will be hearing a lot about George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, and how its funding is going to all sorts of unsavory (or worse) groups.
Recently, Ryan Mauro (no relation) published a report at the Capital Research Center that (finally) begins to shine the light on the dark web of money and influence that the Soros empire wields. It’s a light long overdue.
We know more is coming, because as a result of Ryan’s report, the DOJ has opened a case on Open Society. Trust me when I tell you, that’s not good news for them. Senator Ted Cruz, in fact, is suggesting a RICO could be in the works. The discovery process alone boggles the mind.
So we’re very pleased to have with us on the pod this week Ryan Mauro, to discuss his seminal work on this. To be clear, this is no hatchet job; Ryan’s source for all his reporting was the Open Society’s own expense disclosures.
Click HERE for the entire thing, or below for a preview.
(And recall that we have also interviewed the Soros biographer, Matt Palumbo, on HIS two books: one on daddy George, and the other on nepo baby Alex. For those, see here and here).
As noted: brace for impact on this. Expect major movement going forward on the front of investigating the enormous, shady, progressive dark-money ecosystem. It’s going to be a signature of Trump 47, mark our words.
How Bad is Mamdani? It’s Looking Like He’s Worse
As readers of this space know, we have posited that potential NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda tracks closer to Beijing than Washington. And one must question how it is that he went overnight — using mostly TikTok, a Chinese platform — from being a nobody to the leading candidate for NYC mayor.
But because he was so unknown, we’re only now starting to get a clearer picture of the guy — and it’s not good. Here, for instance, is a NY Post piece in which one of his top staffers tells someone, “who gives a shit what the cops think” and that officers “get told what to do, shut up.” And you can guess what he’ll be telling them to do.… (nothing, in most cases).
He’s also been keeping some questionable company….
Now comes this video, from one of his interns at the NYS Assembly. Note that this woman is rather infamous, was suspended from the (radical itself) City University of New York, and has made social media here and here. Her behavior is that of someone radicalized or on her way; yet Mamdani apparently hired her anyway.
Will anyone even ask him about this? We know The NY Times won’t.
Curtis wins the debate - Mike Quill Style!
Curtis Sliwa won the New York City mayoral debate by any unbiased observer. A nice showing by this longshot contender.
Curtis is…. unique. He is not your typical politician - he is bombastic, says what’s on his mind, and generally comes off as truthful. And he won this debate on several levels. He had the most rational ideas, had the most energy, and embarrassed his opponents.
In the debate Curtis stole a page from legendary Transit Workers Union boss Mike Quill, who led a 12-day strike on January 1, 1966, Mayor Lindsay’s first day in office. Quill spent the strike speaking out against Mayor Lindsay - whose name he always mispronounced as Lindlsey (who he also called “a juvenile” and “a pipsqueak”) - until he was jailed for calling the strike. The intentional error undermined public opinion of Lindsey and added to Quill’s legendary status as a union leader.
Mr. Sliwa repeatedly referred frontrunner Zohran Mamdani as Mam Danny, ZorHan, and even Zorro! Mamdani was clearly annoyed - speaking up to correct Curtis on several occasions and making him seem petty. Sliwa was dismissive, adding to Mamdani’s frustration.
Sliwa knows the city better than anyone. He has seen bad ideas come and go. He seems to have learned from these mistakes and takes a rational approach to problems. Mamdani blathers the socialist pie-in-the-sky ideas -- ideas that we can’t afford and wouldn’t work if we could implement them. Cuomo panders and evades - trying to be all things to all people - and coming off as a man with no new thoughts, no solutions, and frankly, little interest. He seems like he just wants to head off to Florida, like most New Yorkers these days (he has said that’s where he’ll go if he loses).
Curtis has common sense ideas and vocalizes them clearly on topics such as schooling, economics, dealing with President Trump, transit issues, and especially policing.
To us that is where Curtis Sliwa rises above the other two candidates. Ironically, the candidate who has been arrested several times is the strongest on crime and policing. He wants to increase pay, increase staffing, and increase quality-of-life enforcement to make a cleaner, livable, and safe city.
Mamdani has said truly horrible things about the NYPD. From his own X account, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.” and “no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt… Defund it. Dismantle it.” Legalizing prostitution, decriminalizing fare evasion, empowering the biased Civilian Complaint Review Board, and releasing even more criminals are on his “public safety” agenda.
As for Cuomo, fuhgeddaboudit! This power-hungry dolt destroyed the New York State Criminal Justice system with his unilateral reforms that he forced into a budget bill. Cops and prosecutors were universally against these terrible ideas, but Cuomo is not one to listen to anyone but the man in the mirror. Even Kathy Hochul saw these reforms as asinine and pulled back on many of them.
Cuomo also made public baseless allegations against individual cops — even when these allegations were proven to be lies -- a half step above doxxing. Naturally in 2020 he joined the rest of the political class in attacking cops, stating, “Police reform is long overdue, and Mr. Floyd’s murder is only the most recent murder.” Cuomo’s parole board has released 43 cop killers. And we can’t disregard the multiple allegations of sex abuse against Cuomo. Cops must pass on this tired career politician who will sell them out for a vote or two.
Sliwa is a long shot, but keep your fingers crossed. New York is the City of Dreams. We need this one to come true.
How Do They Always Fail Upward?
Olivia Nuzzi has a book coming out in a few months. The topic -– her own journalistic misconduct with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Nuzzi famously was sent by New York Magazine to cover the underdog campaign of RFK, Jr. for the Democrat nomination for president. The two became involved in a relationship that –- at a minimum— involved texting. We are not moral arbiters here at The Ops Desk. Two adults can do what they want, but in this case it wasn’t good practice for either party.
New York Magazine (surprisingly) saw the clear journalistic ethics violation and fired Nuzzi as soon as the scandal became public. RFK Jr’s campaign wasn’t helped by the scandal either -- his run for president was headed for an ignominious end.
RFK then, in a last-ditch effort to stay relevant, offered his support to either nominee who would give him a role in public service. Trump bit, promising Kennedy the Secretary of Health and Human Services job.
That was the end for Kennedy in Democrat circles -– a deal with the devil in their eyes. Not to mention his opinions on vaccines and health care that go against “the science.” The long knives were out -– the media and Dem politicians attacked him at every turn.
Now it is publishing’s turn to go after Kennedy. First, Vanity Fair gave Olivia Nuzzi a high-end job as West Coast Editor. Her former ethics violations and indiscretions have been forgiven –- in fact, she got a promotion of sorts.
Then she got a deal with Simon and Schuster for a book titled American Canto, coming in December (we won’t be reviewing it). A nice payday for the wayward correspondent. It seems Simon and Schuster will pay anyone willing to attack the Trump Administration.
Simon and Schuster has spent the last 10 years publishing books from Democrats and any Republican who is willing to attack Trump. Chris Cristie, who attacks Trump at every turn, penned Republican Rescue with Simon and Schuster. Indictee John Bolton’s book, The Room Where it Happened?, also from S&S. Mike Pence got a deal - post January 6th. Conservative journalist Tim Alberta worked with S&S to publish American Carnage, which was an attack on Trump, and Republican strategist Rick Wilson wrote Everything Trump Touches Dies with S&S (sounds a bit biased, right?)
On the other side of the aisle, Simon and Schuster seems to print anything that Hillary Clinton puts to paper, publishing 4 books, including a children’s book. John Kerry, Susan Rice, Kamala Harris, and Jen Psaki all got deals.
This is no surprise for anyone paying attention. Democrat castoffs and attackers of Trump are often rewarded with book deals, professorships, and jobs at MSNBC. It’s a poorly hidden kickback scheme to do the bidding of Democrat Party. Oliva Nuzzi is simply the next undeserving bagman in this corrupt scheme. Perhaps this was the plan all along?
Publishing has always been the PR firm of the Deep State (yes, however you define it, it’s there). Thankfully, there are alternatives these days (you’re reading one!).
And finally….
We’ll have more on this pending SCOTUS Voting Rights decision soon gang, breaking it all down. But trust us: this one is, as someone we all know says….
Keep spewing the truth Paul. I admire your enthusiam after all those years "on the job."
Be safe my brother.
Absolutely agreed. The magnitude of No Kings really underscores how much of a bad job Trump is doing, and it really begs the question how this doofus managed to get elected in the first place. I wrote about it here:
https://kainesianmacro.substack.com/p/if-not-dictator-why-dictator-shaped