Full Breakdown
Ruthless Podcast Provides Inside Access to RNC Midterm Convention
By Drooid · · How we work
Inside the Convention Floor
The “Ruthless” podcast team produced a special episode for Fox Nation that follows the Republican National Committee’s Midterm Convention in Dallas. The four-host lineup—Josh Holmes, Shashank Tripathi, Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook—walk the convention floor, interview top Republicans and Cabinet officials, and blend unscripted humor with discussion of the party’s strategy ahead of the November midterms. Viewers hear from figures such as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, political operative Chris LaCivita and former Texas Republican Party chair James Blair.
Podcast Background and Expansion
“Ruthless” launched in October 2020 as a conservative-politics podcast hosted by strategist Josh Holmes and Shashank Tripathi, known on-air as “Comfortably Smug.” In 2025 the show partnered with Fox News Media as part of the company’s New Media expansion, adding Duncan and Ashbrook—both former colleagues of Holmes at the public-affairs firm Cavalry—to the hosting roster. The partnership enables the program to stream full-length specials, such as the convention-floor coverage, on the Fox Nation platform.
Key Figures Featured
- Josh Holmes – podcast co-founder and host, Republican strategist.
- Shashank Tripathi – co-founder, “Comfortably Smug,” co-host.
- Michael Duncan – co-host, former public-affairs consultant.
- John Ashbrook – co-host, former public-affairs consultant.
- Sean Duffy – Transportation Secretary, Cabinet official.
- Linda McMahon – former U.S. Senator and WWE executive.
- Chris LaCivita – Republican political operative.
- James Blair – former Texas Republican Party chair.
Official Statements & Responses
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy discussed President Donald Trump’s role in shaping the convention format, describing the event as a novel effort to energize the party’s base. Duffy emphasized Trump’s “innovative” and “outside-the-box” approach to political events, framing the midterm convention as a first-of-its-kind initiative.
Verbatim Quotes
- “What I love about President Trump is like, he's so innovative. He's creative, he thinks differently. He thinks outside the box. So, for the first time, we're [going to] do a midterm convention,” — Sean Duffy, transportation secretary — Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary.