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The Michael Knowles Show

Friendly Fire: Gavin for President, Greenland for Sale

16 Jan 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 2.155 Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom just tweeted something out about me that's hilarious.

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2.335 - 11.871 Matt Walsh

Really? You think JD would mog Gavin Newsom? Yes, I do think he would mog him. I'm really enjoying neocon Matt Walsh. I have also been lusting after Greenland my whole life. I don't buy that.

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12.132 - 12.713 Gavin Newsom

Oh, come on.

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Chapter 2: Why is there a desire to own Greenland?

12.733 - 14.796 Matt Walsh

I know it's uncouth to say it, but like, am I wrong?

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14.816 - 20.245 Gavin Newsom

For Media Matters, he's joking. It's not true. He's not joking.

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21.247 - 25.414 Unknown

Friends like these, who needs enemies? Friends like these, who needs enemies?

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25.883 - 41.53 Ben Shapiro

Matt, first time that Matt wants to talk foreign policy. So I'm like, I'm all ears, man. Let's do it. I mean, no, don't put it all on me. It's more for you guys to talk about. Normally we mention any place that is outside the United States and I can see Matt's eyes glaze over.

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41.51 - 44.935 Matt Walsh

Greenland is the only country outside the U.S. that I care about.

46.357 - 51.425 Ben Shapiro

And it's meant to be inside the U.S. Yeah, exactly. I just love that we have as a listed topic the slave trade.

51.445 - 54.47 Drew

Yeah, no, I'm hoping we can all invest.

54.49 - 56.453 Ben Shapiro

Matt is going to take the Aristotelian pro position.

57.574 - 60.399 Drew

That's funny because you said that. I was thinking about Aristotle, too.

Chapter 3: Will Gavin Newsom be the next president?

162.731 - 179.979 Ben Shapiro

And we all know a bunch of politicians. And I think that this is the general rule about literally all of them. So off camera, he's very friendly. He's very garrulous. He will kind of get a little more honest with you than he might in terms of his positions on camera. And then I was out there because he had invited me to come on his podcast.

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180.099 - 189.253 Ben Shapiro

That's a podcast where he has, I guess, once every couple weeks, I believe. Usually it's somebody of the left. Occasionally he'll have somebody of the right. Famously, he had Charlie Kirk on the show.

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Chapter 4: What civil rights movement is Matt Walsh calling for?

189.574 - 196.324 Ben Shapiro

This is back during last summer. And it was about a two-hour show. It was a little bit under two hours. We covered a lot of ground.

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196.304 - 215.922 Michael Knowles

Before I get to your epic, sit down with him, because I want to know if he's going to be the next president. I really hope he's not. I want to get to an even more epic topic, which is, of course, the Pendragon Cycle, Rise of the Merlin, which is coming out. It's coming to Daily Wire+. This is the latest reason that you have to subscribe. Become a Daily Wire Plus member right now.

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216.142 - 238.234 Michael Knowles

This just amazing, elaborate, multi-continental journey. If only we had waited a little longer to make it, we could have shot it in Greenland. Just a beautiful, beautiful series. And, by the way, if you go check it out right now, you can go to dailywire.com slash shop and get the Pendragon Cycle Rise of the Merlin board game, which is very, very cool.

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238.274 - 244.124 Michael Knowles

Depending on how long this goes, maybe we can all play it together, guys. I love board games. Send me one of those. Wow.

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Chapter 5: What are the implications of Greenland's potential sale?

244.144 - 261.74 Michael Knowles

It's good. This is looking, I don't know, we spent some money on this. This is a nice looking board game. Anyway, go check it out right now. Become a Daily Wire Plus member January 22nd. It all happens. And then possibly in January of 2029, our whole country falls apart if Gavin Newsom becomes president.

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261.82 - 267.905 Ben Shapiro

It turns out that that series is the only thing more ambitious than Gavin Newsom. We have a trailer. We have a trailer, right? Play the trailer.

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269.066 - 290.648 Unknown

What was it like, Merlin, to be alone with God? Is that who you think I was alone with? There is a new power at work in the world. I've seen it. A god who sacrifices what he loves for us. I learned of Yezu the Christ. And I have become his follower. Trust in Yezu. Great light. Great darkness. Such things mattered to me then. What matters to you now, mistress of lies?

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291.069 - 298.08 Matt Walsh

The Pendragon Cycle. Rise of the Merlin. A seven-part series. Premieres January 22nd. Only on Daily Wire+.

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299.512 - 313.197 Ben Shapiro

I mean, it is as good or better than anything that you will see on HBO, and you won't get the gratuitous sex and the insane nihilism. Oh, then I'm out. I'm sorry. I know it's a massive disincentive for... Oh, wow.

314.359 - 333.837 Matt Walsh

Well, no, because they said we were going to play the Pendragon trailer, and they came in and gave me this fake sword. I said, what is this for? So this is a bit where I'm supposed to pull this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this, but they gave me the sword and said, well, you could do a bit where you have a sword. What's the bit? Like, I have a sword. What am I supposed to do?

333.857 - 337.181 Drew

I don't know. If you're looking for the lady in the lake, that'll be exciting.

337.201 - 341.987 Matt Walsh

Does anyone in my ear want to tell me what the bit is with the sword? Is there a thing I'm supposed to be doing with it?

342.468 - 342.969 Drew

No.

Chapter 6: How does Gavin Newsom handle California's policies?

1367.491 - 1377.429 Drew

On that subject, though, I have to say, last time we were here, which is not that long ago, I would have... bet money, and I'm not a betting man, but I would have bet money on J.D. Vance being the nominee right this minute.

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1377.769 - 1397.774 Drew

I'm a little uncertain if we're actually talking about the next nominee because he's not, you know, every time, I mean, Trump has been going very hard on foreign policy and he has people around him in the press conferences, mostly Rubio, and Vance is nowhere to be seen because Vance is one of these guys who's trying to take MAGA and turn it into isolationism, which it never was.

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1397.814 - 1399.056 Michael Knowles

I don't buy that.

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1399.036 - 1402.804 Drew

Oh, come on. Where is he? Where is he? Why isn't he in these meetings?

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1402.904 - 1421.524 Michael Knowles

Well, I'll give you an example. So this was very interesting. I don't know if you guys caught this interview with Saurabh Amari. Right after the Venezuela strike, Saurabh posted it again. And he said, wow, these comments the vice president made a couple weeks ago really hit differently now. And he was being asked, you know, his involvement in the admin. And he said, I'm getting it a little off.

1421.745 - 1432.131 Michael Knowles

It's not verbatim, but this is the thrust of it. He said, look, let's say hypothetically there were an action to be taken by the administration that would look really good for Marco.

1432.111 - 1455.975 Michael Knowles

that i would not be all that publicly involved in in part because you don't have the president vice president the same place often outside of the white house where you know marco would be center stage and i i would seem to be more in the background if i were optimizing for 2028 i would try to kill that action but if i were optimizing for the good of the country and just to be a good person i would encourage that action and you know it's kind of unclear what he was talking about there

1455.955 - 1464.091 Michael Knowles

After the Venezuela strike, it seems clear as day to me, that's what he's talking about. I think the idea that J.D. is some isolationist, I don't buy it.

1464.432 - 1478.238 Drew

He's positioning himself that way. He's been very close with Tucker Carlson, who I don't know if Tucker Carlson believes anything at this point. I have no idea. But I mean, he's actually kind of on the phone, remember, on that signal call that was bugged. He was the guy. who is calling for restraint.

Chapter 7: What strategies does Gavin Newsom use in political debates?

1509.587 - 1523.07 Ben Shapiro

No one's underestimating that he's incredibly talented. He for sure is. I think that there are a couple of systemic factors that are running against him because I sort of did a bit of a deep dive into this. I mean, the reality, he's the vice president who currently has a 40 percent approval rating.

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1523.05 - 1540.688 Ben Shapiro

Vice presidents who have a 40% approval rating running after presidents who have a 40% approval rating don't typically do amazing in general elections. And so, you know, maybe that changes. Maybe that changes radically. But I think that the sort of core assumption that a lot of Republicans are making, that there's sort of a cakewalk into the presidency for the vice president, that I don't see.

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1540.928 - 1552.361 Ben Shapiro

And I will say that I do think that the memery, if you do care about the very online, every meme of Marco Rubio, the big meme of Marco Rubio, obviously, is Marco having a different job every day, right? Yeah. is the Secretary of State. Now he's like a gladiator.

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1552.401 - 1569.986 Ben Shapiro

Now it's just him in that pose, being annoyed that he's been given a new job as King of Venezuela, or now the new governor of Greenland, or whatever it's going to be today. And then all the memes are, J.D. is fat with weird hair. And that's not kind of where you want to be, just in sort of meme land. I disagree.

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1570.447 - 1573.933 Michael Knowles

You should talk to your guest, Klovicki. Okay, like you're just clavicular.

1573.953 - 1575.495 Gavin Newsom

No, but I don't think clavicular.

1575.595 - 1593.085 Michael Knowles

Which is hilarious. I don't think the looks-maxing, you know, meth-addicted 19-year-old is representative of the American voter. I certainly hope not. This is why I disagree, though, and it gets to my point on Newsom, is I think it was so smart of the VP to lean into the goofy meme, and the reason I think it was so smart is...

1593.065 - 1610.787 Michael Knowles

You want to be underestimated so that the reality can surpass expectations. So even down to the physicality, the fact that the meme is he's like this big fat guy, but then you see him, he's not a big fat guy. He's actually a relatively thin guy. The meme is that he's kind of like short. He's actually very tall. The meme is that he's kind of dumb. He's extremely intelligent.

1610.807 - 1629.53 Michael Knowles

So I think all of those things play really well. Even to the point ideologically, some people try to pin him down on he's an isolationist or he's this or he's that, but he's defended the administration's actions in Iran, in Venezuela, quite vociferously. And so I don't know, to me, if I were in this position, I would not want the memes to be making me out to be the really cool guy.

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