Trump’s Fall Travel Guide
The Brand Brief 10.24.25: Sports betting, the mob, drug boats, Mamdani, and Xi Jinping
Actionable media intel to cut through the noise and keep you ahead: The Brand Brief delivers a daily snapshot of trending stories in the conservative media ecosystem - FOX News, podcasts, and more.
Brought to you by On Brand Strategies | Written by Carly Moran and Nathan Brand
📣 Driving the Conversation…
1,761 words | 7 minute read (11+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)
What Matters: Conservative media road trip
New Media Voices: AI, home improvements, and gambling
Leading FOX: Anti-ICE protestors, Chicago, and the NBA
Trending and Pouncing: Joy Reid, Pritzker, Jeffries
What the Right is Writing: NBA’s gambling problems
You’re receiving an early access version of The Brand Brief. I would love to hear your feedback. Thank you! - NRB
✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…
Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…
Flying internationally: Trump leaves Friday for a week to Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday will be the focal point of news (Reminder: Trump’s Israel trip dominated the conservative media ecosystem, and the Xi meeting has the potential to do the same).
Flying domestically: The National Guard will NOT be heading to San Francisco as originally planned, but expect the White House to remain focused on (and left-wing pushback to come from) Chicago and Portland.
Tips for flying: The candid and newsy moments from the trip will come from Air Force One press gaggles, as Trump will have hours with reporters while crossing the Pacific.
Where not to cruise: If one is transporting large quantities of drugs, the Caribbean Sea and now parts of the Eastern Pacific are not places to travel. As Trump puts it: “They’re gonna be, like, dead.”
- NRB
🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES
The Megyn Kelly Show - 10/23
NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani is under fire for his ties to a terrorist apologist, Kelly encourages viewers to vote for Cuomo over Sliwa
Kelly is concerned over the rise in Muslim leadership in other U.S. cities like Dearborn and Minneapolis, saying it contradicts American values
Jen Psaki and others attack JD Vance as a “Manchurian candidate,” claim Usha is afraid of her own husband
The View host Sunny Hostin claims her affluent white neighborhood is racist, that her Black son feels threatened
Guest Winsome Earl-Sears, the Republican VA governor candidate, criticizes her opponent Spanberger for her response to Jay Jones’ violent texts and her trans bathroom policy
The Ben Shapiro Show - 10/23
Polls show Mamdani is leading the NYC mayor race with support by foreign-born voters (62%), while Cuomo leads with native New Yorkers
During the final mayoral debate, Cuomo and Sliwa teamed up to attack Mamdani for his limited experience, antisemitism, and ties to terrorists
Mamdani focused on vague promises of affordable housing, said 911 dispatchers should decide between police or mental health response
Shapiro interviews Senate Majority Leader John Thune on stalled funding bills, the filibuster, and national security
Guest EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin explains how the Trump Admin is minimizing the impact of the shutdown
Bernie Sanders defends Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo
Shapiro hears from White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan about the ballroom addition, history of White House renovations
The Charlie Kirk Show - 10/23
Jack Posobiec disagrees with The Atlantic’s characterization of him as the top MAGA influencer, says it will always be Charlie Kirk
Posobiec jokes about NJ Democrat candidate Sherrill not releasing her military records, after being on the road campaigning for Ciattarelli
TPUSA Frontlines has uncovered an Antifa hit list of conservative influencers; Dems threatening to create an ICE tracker app
LA mayor Karen Bass, former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, and NY AG Letitia James have all threatened to unmask ICE agents
The FBI has arrested dozens tied to the NBA gambling scandal, the hosts express concern about the increase in young men betting online
The Brett Cooper Show - 10/23
Tech CEOs like Elon Musk and Sam Altman are contributing to the birth rate decline by introducing AI sex bots and erotic chat features
Altman had promised to not add adult features to ChatGPT, but has since reversed his stance by arguing it “aligns with user demands”
Cooper argues AI chatbots are more harmful than traditional pornography due to it being customizable and always-consenting
Cooper is concerned the rise in adult chatbots could harm minors and the mentally ill, contribute to divorce, abuse, and low birth rates
Timcast IRL - 10/23
Guest George Santos, recently pardoned by Trump, joins the Timcast hosts to discuss the recent FBI sting against a gambling operation
The FBI indicts 34 different NBA athletes involved in a Las Vegas gambling scandal, with some saying the mafia is involved
The scheme used basketball players as “face cards” to attract victims to rigged poker tables in Las Vegas, run by Italian crime families
Frustrated, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith pins the investigation entirely on Trump’s ties to the casino and entertainment industries
📺 LEADING FOX NEWS
A look inside the FOX editorial decision-making…
The Five
Newsom suggests Trump is going to Hell when he dies
Texas Rep. Jolanda Jones says “you gotta hit hard enough where they won’t come back,” while making a neck-slashing movement
James Carville says the Trump “...collaborators should be shaved, pajamaed, and spit on” at the end of his presidency
A Los Angeles teacher protesting ICE says, “We’re not the only ones with guns.”
Trump says Meta, Nvidia told him to wait on a San Francisco National Guard deployment as they work with the mayor on city improvements
Democrats are looking to launch an “ICE tracker app,” NY AG Letitia James sets up a snitch line against ICE agents
Democrat Maine Senate candidate Graham Planter goes shirtless on camera to show he’s covered his Nazi tattoo, Bernie Sanders said it was a phase
Hunter Biden calls Kamala Harris’ lack of loyalty “inauthentic”
FOX & Friends
Officers in Oakland opened fire on a U-Haul truck that reportedly struck two bystanders at an anti-ICE protest
DHS announces more than 3,000 arrests of cartel members, 152,000 pounds of drugs seized in the war against drug cartels
The FBI says rigged card shuffling machines, X-ray technology was used in the NBA gambling scheme
IL Gov. JD Pritzker says ICE is taking people’s rights away, racially profiling Americans during his interview with Bret Baier
Texas Democrat Jolanda Jones made a slashing motion across her neck when talking about fighting Trump
A lawsuit is being pursued against OpenAI for its chatbot encouraging a teen to commit suicide
Trump prepares for his flight to Asia, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping
The U.S. places further sanctions on Russian oil companies in the cold battle against Putin
New poll reveals New Jersey residents are more energized to vote for Republican candidate Ciattarelli than Democrat Sherrill
Four family members of the Republican candidate for Illinois governor died tragically in a helicopter crash yesterday
Deputy AG Todd Blanche responds to Nancy Pelosi’s threats that California law enforcement will arrest ICE agents
NY AG Letitia James’ legal counsel requests an indictment dismissal
Multiple New York Democrats, including Gov. Hochul, give last-minute endorsements of Mamdani for NYC mayor
FOX Newsroom
The Coast Guard shoots at a U-Haul truck in Alameda, just outside Oakland during an anti-ICE protest blocking the base entrance
Gov. JD Pritzker adds to the violent rhetoric against ICE agents, saying they are taking away people’s rights
A Pew Research Poll shows each party thinks their opposition has an issue with the potential for “violent extremism”
Democrat Rep. Jolanda Jones made a slashing motion across her neck, saying “you gotta hit hard enough where they won’t come back”
NY AG Letitia Jones will be arraigned today following her indictment for bank fraud allegations
Former candidate Eric Adams endorses adversary Andrew Cuomo for NYC mayor and Mamdani continues to lead in the polls
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett discusses the Schumer Shutdown, says the inflation rate has improved under Trump
A retired NYPD inspector says Democrats thought they had a winner for the male vote with failed Senate candidate Graham Platner
Sen. Chuck Grassley confirms top Biden Administration officials approved the Operation Arctic Frost investigation of GOP lawmakers
Leaked video footage reveals the Louvre thieves used a mobile lift to reach the window they used to enter the upstairs jewelry display
🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING
Tomorrow’s news today: highlights from the conversation on the right and what conservatives are “pouncing” on…
Joy Reid cries over White House ballroom construction [X, LibsOfTikTok]
Dem Leader Jeffries embarrassed on CNBC when discussing shutdown [X, Daugherty]
Trump: “I think we are just gonna kill people who are bringing drugs into our country, okay? They’re gonna be, like, dead.” [X, RCP]
New, hilarious White House Major Events Timeline. [X, Guest]
Undercover video shows a Spanberger campaign organizer mocking her Dem candidate being former CIA [X, Cawthorne]
Democrat IL Gov. Pritzker refuses to go on ride-along with ICE agents [X, Price]
Video: Some of you may suffer, but that’s a sacrifice the Democrats are willing to make to get their radical wish list. Roll the tape. [X, Republican Study Committee]
🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING
Leading FOX News Digital
Security opens fire on defiant U-Haul truck approaching Coast Guard base [FOX News]
‘You’re making me mad’: Charles Barkley erupts during gambling scandal debate [FOX News]
Biden DOJ chiefs personally signed off on Trump probe in bombshell memo [FOX News]
Top of Breitbart
Scott Presler Says We Must Win in November or Left Will Have ‘Gotten Away with Murder’ of Charlie Kirk [Breitbart]
Trump Administration Significantly Ups Sanctions on Russia [Breitbart]
Number Two House Dem: Families Suffering Under Shutdown Give Us [Breitbart]
Jeffries: Johnson Calling Dems Legislative Terrorists Likely Cause Killings [Breitbart]
Wall Street Journal Editorials
Putting the Oil Squeeze on Putin [WSJ Ed]
Trump’s Big, Beautiful Ballroom [WSJ Ed]
The UVA Model for a Trump Deal [WSJ Ed]
The NBA Has a Gambling Problem [WSJ Ed]
SAY HELLO
Nathan (@NathanBrandWA on X or Nathan@OnBrandStrategies.com) and Carly (@realCarlyMoran on X or Carly@OnBrandStrategies.com).
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