Ballot with Patrick Gutfield - Where Politics Meets Pop Culture

The Washington dating scene is on fire — and not in the fun way. We dig into new reporting on why pro-Trump singles are struggling to find partners in the bluest city in America, where 92% of voters went Democrat and MAGA staffers are now speed-dating each other at partisan mixers because they’re tired of being called fascists on Hinge. You’ll meet the women who moved to D.C. looking for “masculin...

Conservative host Glenn Beck says Trump personally told him the real reason he’s tearing down the East Wing and replacing it with a 90,000-square-foot, gold-soaked, bulletproof ballroom: foreign leaders only respect “power and wealth,” and Trump wants them to feel like they’re walking into a palace. We explain how Trump fast-tracked demolition, bypassed normal review, and greenlit a project that’s...

Zohran Mamdani makes history as New York’s first Muslim mayor, Tom Brady clones his dog because of course he does, and President Trump decides to celebrate his eightieth birthday with a UFC fight on the White House lawn. From politics to pets to the Octagon, it’s another totally normal week in America. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for the jokes that don’t land. Unlock...

It was a bad week to be Donald Trump and a great one for anyone who likes seeing him lose. Democrats swept major races nationwide—Zohran Mamdani made history as New York’s first Muslim mayor, Gavin Newsom outmaneuvered Trump’s redistricting games, and Abigail Spanberger flipped Virginia blue. As Trump raged in all caps on Truth Social, off-Broadway found hope and harmony in Forty-Four, a new music...

Democrats just handed Donald Trump the political beating of his second term. In New York, 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani toppled Andrew Cuomo’s comeback bid and made history as the city’s first Muslim mayor. Out west, Gavin Newsom passed Prop 50—the so-called “Election Rigging Response Act”—to out-maneuver Trump’s redistricting games. Meanwhile in Virginia and New Jersey, pragmati...

Donald Trump has officially endorsed Andrew Cuomo for New York City mayor — yes, the same Cuomo who resigned in disgrace. Patrick Gutfield breaks down how the president’s new political strategy seems to be “find the least likable guy in the room and back him.” Plus: Trump’s threats to defund cities that vote wrong, his bizarre 60 Minutes interview about running for a third term, his sympathy for P...

On Air Force One, President Donald Trump talked up Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as an “unstoppable” 2028 ticket — then immediately blurred the line on whether he’d still be in the mix himself, refusing to rule out trying for a third term even though the 22nd Amendment clearly bans it. We explain what Trump said, why he keeps teasing 2028, and why his own allies are al...

 California Governor Gavin Newsom is unloading on President Donald Trump’s 90,000-square-foot, bulletproof, $300 million White House ballroom — calling it a “knock-off Versailles” and blasting Trump for building a private palace on the ruins of the East Wing while millions lose federal food assistance during his shutdown. We lay out what this ballroom actually is (think mega-gilded state hall, cap...

President Donald Trump’s trip to Japan is raising real questions about his health and his power. We break down the footage of the 79-year-old president gingerly taking the stairs off Air Force One in Tokyo, gripping the rail with both hands and dragging his right leg after meeting Emperor Naruhito — all while the White House refuses to explain why he quietly had an MRI this month but still calls h...

Trump’s shutdown enters chaos mode: food assistance vanishes, flights are at risk, and Speaker Mike Johnson won’t call Congress back. Meanwhile, Trump’s turning the White House into his own Versailles, with a 90,000 sq ft expansion and a staircase to nowhere. Plus, his Asia tour features comedy, cognitive tests, and diplomatic shade. Patrick Gutfield takes you inside the wildest moments from D.C....

President Trump flirts with a third term, brushing off the Constitution like it’s optional. He gets an “exceptional” health report from Walter Reed—despite leg swelling—and even jokes about running as VP. Meanwhile, two U.S. Navy aircraft crash in the South China Sea in a bizarre double-incident. Patrick Gutfield breaks down the headlines, including the GOP group chat scandal and the ever-expandin...

From Charlotte, where we had the under—Patrick Gutfield breaks down the week’s wildest headlines: the FBI’s “Nothing But Bet” sting shaking the NBA, Trump blowing up trade talks with Canada over a Ronald Reagan ad, and a $300 million White House demolition to make room for a presidential ballroom. It’s corruption, chaos, and construction—all in one Ballot. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—an...

President Trump's shocking plan to demolish the historic East Wing reveals a dramatic transformation of America's most iconic building, leaving historians and citizens stunned. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for the jokes that don’t land. Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hi...

Thieves pull off a cinematic jewel heist at the Louvre in just 7 minutes—complete with motorbikes. At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV faces conservative backlash over the Latin Mass. And in infrastructure news, Trump tries to axe the $16B Gateway tunnel project, infuriating New York and New Jersey alike. Patrick Gutfield reports from Paris to the Pope to Penn Station. Come for the sass, stay for the san...

Vice President J.D. Vance brushes off a vile GOP group chat as “boys being boys,” Trump pitches a $250M White House makeover complete with a giant golden arch, and Joe Rogan suddenly notices Trump’s immigration policies are… intense. Patrick Gutfield breaks it all down, from political tone-deafness to literal architectural ego. Plus: Korean scientists invent a new kind of ice. No, seriously. It’s...

President Trump drops an absurd AI video showing himself as “King Trump,” just as protests erupt nationwide with 2,600 “No Kings” rallies across all 50 states. Celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Kerry Washington, and Bill Nye join the democracy-themed resistance. Meanwhile, freshly released George Santos rebrands himself as a prison reformer—because of course he does. Ballot’s Patrick Gutfield breaks...

From Washington DC where apparently nobody in the military is gay, Patrick Gutfield takes you inside the latest moral panic — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is furious about Netflix’s new gay Marine series Boots . Meanwhile, Trump’s busy scheduling imaginary peace summits with Putin, a woman at a Brewers game calls ICE on a Navy vet, and NASA discovers an asteroid just in time to tell us it almost...

Fresh off a peace summit in Egypt, Trump’s caught on a hot mic discussing real estate deals with Indonesia’s president, then pivots to threatening to yank Boston’s World Cup games because he doesn’t like the mayor. International diplomacy, meet condo development and sports revenge. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for the jokes that don’t land. Unlock an ad-free podcast ex...

At a joint press event with Argentina’s president, Trump pauses to tell a female reporter how much he likes watching her speak, threatens to “violently disarm” Hamas, and compares his body to Joe Biden’s — all while handing Argentina twenty billion dollars. Because nothing says “statesman” like flirting, flexing, and foreign aid. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for the jo...

President Trump declares the Gaza war over with a document nobody read that neither side signed. Marc Maron ends his sixteen-year podcast run with Obama dropping by to discuss partial victories and not annoying people into fascism. And John Legend tries positive reinforcement on Trump, promising him a Nobel Prize if he'll just stop with all the dictator stuff. Come for the sass, stay for the sanit...

From Washington, where “I don’t know him” is the new foreign policy, Patrick Gutfield unpacks Trump’s hilarious denial of knowing who global megastar Bad Bunny is—right before calling his Super Bowl halftime show “absolutely ridiculous.” Meanwhile, ICE and Kristi Noem threaten to turn the big game into Operation Tailgate, the Treasury plans to mint an actual Trump coin that may or may not be illeg...

 Forget candles — President Trump’s celebrating his 80th with chokeholds on the White House lawn. Patrick Gutfield unpacks the plan to turn the South Lawn into the Octagon, Dana White’s grass repair bill, Conor McGregor’s confusion, and why this might be the most violent birthday party in presidential history. Oh, and, Sex Chatbots.   Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for t...

From Miami, where we’re getting jiggy with it, Patrick Gutfield covers Trump’s upcming tour stop—a star-studded business summit featuring Will Smith, Lionel Messi, and more billionaires than sense. Plus, Chicago Marathon runners prepare for a new kind of race-day stress—ICE raids—and Trump “reinterprets” the back-pay law he signed himself. Portions of today’s program were made with the help of A.I...

From Washington, D.C., where Dolly Parton is fine and Mike Johnson is totally not hiding anything, Patrick Gutfield breaks down why the Speaker refuses to swear in Arizona’s newest congresswoman—who just happens to hold the deciding signature to release the Epstein files. Plus, Attorney General Pam Bondi turns her Senate testimony into a masterclass in dodging questions, and Dolly’s sister acciden...

Nothing says “Commander in Chief” like showing up late to a military party you can’t afford. Patrick Gutfield dives into Trump’s wild Norfolk Navy spectacle — complete with unpaid sailors, a fighter jet branded “Trump 45–47,” and a 45-minute speech about stairs. Oh, and the First Lady napped through it. America’s back, baby. Come for the sass, stay for the sanity—and blame the A.I. for the jokes t...