Unmasked: The billionaire posing as grassroots (03-14-2025--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:30] A Swiss billionaire is funneling his money into a pop-up progressive advocacy group claiming to support working families and denouncing President Trump's plans to extend tax cuts, calling them a giveaway to the ultra-rich.

[00:00:51] The name of the pop-up progressive advocacy group is Families Over Billionaires, or FOB, as I like to call it. The FOB. It launched when Trump returned to the White House in January. It was set up as a temporary entity to oppose the extension of Trump's signature 2017 tax legislation.

[00:01:19] But its eight-figure fundraising campaign through an array of pass-through organizations is backed by... I may want to sit down for this. It's backed by the uber-wealthy. Who would have seen that coming, right? Oh, man. The fledgling FOB, Families Over Billionaires, which doesn't even have a donation option on its website for the public.

[00:01:48] That is a pretty big signal that this is not a grassroots organization, right? But it's actually a trade name of the massive, liberal, dark money organization called the 1630 Fund. 1630 Fund.

[00:02:11] 1630 has received $280 million from the Burger Action Fund, an advocacy group that supports fast food. I'm kidding. No, it's a different spelling of burger. The Burger Action Fund works with the Swiss billionaire Hans-Jörg Wyss. I think is how he pronounces it. And his foundation called the Wyss Foundation.

[00:02:39] W-Y-S-S. I don't know. My Swiss is not the greatest. But is it Wyss? Is it Wyss? Wyss? Families Over Billionaires is nothing more than a front group for the dark money behemoth 1630 Fund, according to Caitlin Sutherland, who is the executive director of Americans for Public Trust. Quote,

[00:03:19] But see, Caitlin overlooks something here. Right. It's different when Democrats do it. See, that's Democrat privilege. So they can do that. They can suck up all this money from Swiss billionaires in order to undermine American democracy. They can do all of that. It's different. That's actually democracy.

[00:03:46] See, I don't know. Suddenly I'm in the mood for a burger with Swiss. I don't know why. All right. Let me head over to the phones here and talk with Paul. Hello, Paul. Welcome to the show. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, sir. From what you've been referring to, I think we have the same idea. These activist protesters, they're doing this for two reasons. One, of course, is a paycheck, but it's also a lot of fun.

[00:04:15] And they get their name on their face on TV and the fame and notoriety. But you've got to look at who is paying those paychecks. And it's guys like George Soros, who has been funding these things like Black Lives Matter, Antifa, all this stuff, to create havoc in this country, to create chaos. Right. It's a destabilization. Nobody has stopped him. Nobody has stopped him.

[00:04:41] Yeah, it's a destabilization effort he's been engaged in for decades. Everything he's done has been anti-American. Everything. Everything. He's never done anything good for this country. Him and his son. Well, yeah, his son has taken over the operation. Yeah.

[00:04:59] And, you know, just posed with all of those trophies that he got, a.k.a. Democrat politicians that had to make the pilgrimage to his New York City penthouse apartment where he got their pictures taken and mounted on the wall to show that, like, he is he's connected. He's got all of these politicians and he's wealthy beyond imagination. And that's different than Elon Musk. See, that's so different than what Elon Musk has been doing. Right.

[00:05:31] He's un-elected. He's been funding all of these things and all these politicians. See, that's see, it's a completely different thing altogether. That's why Democrats are so outraged about Elon Musk. No, you know, somebody's got to investigate him. And if everything he's done is to just create havoc in his country, he needs to be held accountable for that. Yeah. And maybe we should. He's an American citizen. Who is? Soros?

[00:06:01] Yeah. Yeah. I don't remember. He's got full citizenship. Yeah. I don't remember. Do you know that for sure? Because I don't remember. I don't know if I knew whether he was or not. It's hungry in the USA. Okay. That's good to know. All right, Paul, I appreciate the call. No, I, yes. George Soros, among others, has engaged, and his name is in this article, too, by the way, at the New York Post about the Swiss billionaire. Because they're, they're the same kind, they're running the same kind of op.

[00:06:29] And I've talked about this in many different forms. I've said it in many different ways, I think, but the issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution. That's, going back to the topic of the first hour, right? It's a, it's a Marxist ideology that animates this stuff. And that's the revolution. That's what we are fighting.

[00:06:55] And the sooner people recognize that and call it for what it is, I think the more success we're going to see pushing back against it. The issue isn't the issue. So in this case, it's families over billionaires. In this case, it's, you know, the tax cuts that were put in place in 2017. That everybody got a tax cut.

[00:07:19] And it wasn't a permanent deal, so the rates are going to go back up if they don't do something to extend those tax cuts that Republicans want to do. And so the families over billionaires funded by these billionaires from some other country. And the issue is never the issue. It's not the tax cuts. The issue is always the revolution.

[00:07:46] And in order to win the revolution, you have to destabilize. And you destabilize in various ways. You can destabilize with riots. Yes. With, say, increased criminal activity where there's no punishment given to the offenders. You can destabilize by importing hundreds of thousands or millions of people into a society.

[00:08:11] You can destabilize through profligate spending, running massive deficits. You can destabilize by taking control over institutions and teaching people that their country stinks. And all their history is terrible. There's nothing in their history worth preserving. The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution. That's what's going on here, too.

[00:08:35] Due to his Swiss citizenship, this guy, Hans-Jörg Weiss, is not legally allowed to donate to U.S. political candidates. Though he has done so between 1990 and 2006 while managing to avoid prosecution. Not sure how he does that. Oh, that's right. Sorry. It's different when Democrats do it.

[00:09:02] To comply with rules intended to block foreign influence in U.S. elections, Weiss pumps cash into dark money groups, certain types of nonprofit organizations that are not legally required to disclose their donors. Much of his money has flowed to organizations like the 1630 Fund and the New Venture Fund, which are both part of a dark money network run by Arabella Advisors.

[00:09:33] The Arabella Network. Quote, they created an intentionally complex web of interrelated organizations that espouse anti-corporatist beliefs and call themselves grassroots. But they really serve to consolidate power into the hands of a few influential individuals. Who said that? A former official at the New Venture Fund.

[00:10:00] Who told that to the free press, which first reported on the ties between the Arabella Network and the Families Over Billionaires. The D.C.-based Arabella Advisors Network of Nonprofits is known to have raked in eye-popping amounts of cash across its vast network of progressive groups, including $1.3 billion in 2023 alone.

[00:10:23] Billionaires George Soros, Pierre Amidiar, Bill Gates and Reid Hoffman have publicly disclosed multi-million dollar donations to that network. That's why I call the Democrat Party the Elysium Party. If you've ever seen the movie Elysium, you'll know what it means. You have an uber elite and you have people in destitution. That's the Democrat Party.

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[00:12:12] That's the word for this. Astroturfing. It's the fake illusion of grassroots. And speaking of which, I need to do some leveling in my yard. Anyway, among the groups listed on its public website as a partner is a group called Indivisible.

[00:12:31] Another pop-up group that Republicans have accused of packing recent town halls to oppose doge budget cutting and federal workforce cutting efforts. Yes. Indivisible. They were in, hang on a second. Where did I put my article from last hour?

[00:12:56] I believe Indivisible is, I thought it turned up in the Asheville story. Indivisible Asheville. So, this is not, this is not a true picture of where most people are. Right? These are activists.

[00:13:20] The post goes on to say, families over billionaires held its first demonstration at the U.S. Capitol last month, decrying House Republicans' efforts to pass border security, energy reform, and tax cuts into law via a process known as budget reconciliation, which allows for a simple majority of Congress to approve legislation. We'll get to that in a bit.

[00:13:44] The group also blasted doge's effort to root out government bloat, which has rankled unions that represent government employees.

[00:13:53] The 1630 fund has over two dozen active trade names listed on corporate filings with Washington, D.C., including Protect Our Care, Stop Deficit Squawks, the Rural Victory Fund, Better IRS, Defend American Democracy, as well as the Families Over Billionaires. Now, Democrats are still doing town halls, and they're not getting disrupted.

[00:14:24] At a recent town hall, U.S. Representative Jason Crow in Colorado was asked by a woman in the front row who shouted a plea toward the stage, quote, what are you going to do? And this is the question on the minds of Democrat voters where the administration's warpath has carved deep into Colorado's blue state psyche and workforce.

[00:14:53] This is over at Axios.com. Democratic faithful say they feel helpless and increasingly frustrated as they ride aboard a rudderless party ship while Trump acts on his campaign promises. Quote, they need to block some of what Trump is doing, said an exasperated Marcia Edwards at an Aurora town hall in late February. Quote, I want more.

[00:15:21] I'm not exactly sure what they can do, though. So that's that right there is a perfect encapsulation of where the left is right now. I want more. Do more. I want this to be the way it is, and you're not making it the way I want it. Well, how would you like me to go about doing it? I don't know. Just give me. It's all performative. It's theater. And it's childish.

[00:15:48] And you're not winning over anybody in these arguments because you're not even trying to make an argument. How to resist the Trump administration is splitting the Democratic Party. Hate to say it. One faction is taking a pragmatic approach that appeals to voters in the middle, while the other wants more action, such as protests and interruptions. More disruption.

[00:16:18] Crow's staff, Congressman Crow's staff, showed a citizen's guide to taking action. On a giant screen at their town hall in Aurora, it listed five ways to get involved. And the last one was, quote, be courageous. Together we have power. So, again, there's this. There's a narrative that they are building. And the left has always had a problem with this kind of political violence.

[00:16:47] You wouldn't know it by reading the media that tends to just kind of whistle past the graveyard on this stuff. But it does. And if you want an example of it, well, just read about what's happening to all the Tesla dealerships. You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life. And our stories are told through images and videos.

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[00:18:06] So I mentioned the fire bombings and the vandalism and such on Tesla dealerships and the torching of vehicles and stuff. I just saw this. Let me see what the time. So, okay, from about three hours ago, two hours ago. Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, says that an individual has been arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails into a Tesla dealership. They face up to 20 years in prison for it.

[00:18:35] She also suggested that the people funding the attacks will be tracked down and prosecuted. Right? This kind of political violence does not stop until we say enough. The society has to say enough. And this is a very good first step.

[00:18:56] That's the only way that you are going to stop this kind of these kinds of attacks is to hold people accountable with prison sentences for committing violence and destabilizing our society through violence. To that point, the left has been engaged in a pretty good facsimile of Kristallnacht.

[00:19:26] Shattering windows, burning businesses, swatting people. There was a whole slew of them over the last two to three days where they call in fake police, 911 calls. And they get SWAT teams to show up at conservatives' homes in an attempt to have them killed. That's the point. To get them killed. With an interaction with law enforcement.

[00:19:59] So, where's the national conversation on the rise of political violence among the left? We're not seeing that. We're not seeing it. We're not seeing calls from Democrats to rein in their radical leftist moonbat brigade. The shock troops of the Democrat Party. We're not seeing any of that. We got it all.

[00:20:21] We got it all when Donald Trump made any kind of comment that could, in any way, shape, or form, be connected to any kind of a call for violence. But this? No. Going back to the Colorado town hall where this guy, Congressman Crowe, Jason Crowe, he says, If somebody threatens this community, tries to take their jobs, tries to deport our law-abiding friends and neighbors. Well, they're not really law-abiding. Anyway.

[00:20:50] I will fight them with everything we have. Democrat U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, who faces re-election next year, echoed the sentiment in a virtual town hall this week with Indivisible Colorado. A leading progressive organization. Right? U.S. Representative Gabe Evans, Republican, told Axios recently,

[00:21:15] He is not convening a town hall because he worries constituents' concerns will get lost in a lot of the political noise. Yeah. The heckler's veto. I mean, the leftists are basically saying that they're so angry that nobody will now get to participate in democracy and that their tantrum is justified. That's what they're saying. That's the message that they are sending. It is an intimidation tactic.

[00:21:44] It is meant to destabilize. It is meant to get you to shut up so they can then retain control. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News.

[00:22:06] It's an app and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place so you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right.

[00:22:36] See for yourself. Check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent.

[00:22:57] It's a new segment we like to call Pre-Gaming with Brett Winterbull because we do the hangover in the first segment of Brett's show that comes up right after mine here on WBT. Brett Winterbull, how art thou? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right. All right. Good. I'm a little concerned. Mm-hmm. By a little concerned, I mean not really, but about the Democrats in disarray. Yeah.

[00:23:21] Over what to do about a continuing resolution that apparently Chuck Schumer said he was against. Right. And then he folded. Right. Caved in. Yep. Surrendered. Yep. To the orange man and his minions. Mm-hmm. I think is the word that Schumer used the other day. And now Schumer's got some problems. A little bit.

[00:23:51] He's got some problems on his hands. But he's... AOC's got a primary. Oh, no. Whatever shall we do? Oh, my Lord. What are we going to do now? Now, wait. In this case, because you know what has disappeared completely from the left is the notion... Yes. Yes. Okay. Hat tip to Chet Edwards. But here's the thing. Did you call him Chet? On purpose. All right. Hang on. Hang on. Oh, hang on a second.

[00:24:22] Boo! Boo you, Brett Wintermull. Okay. Chuck Edwards. Now, here's the thing. Here's the thing. In this case, I'm going to fall in line with Chuck Schumer because he is upholding the norms. Remember when the norms were the thing? The norms. So, the norms were the thing. And now he is an institutionalist who should be in one. Mm-hmm.

[00:24:51] But, because he cooked raw food on a barbecue back once upon a time. You don't know that. There's no indication that that grill was on. That's what I'm saying. He didn't cook the raw food. He put it on. He put cheese on a raw hamburger patty. Jiminy crickets. Probably gave it to... What do you... So, hang on a second. Let's just explore this rabbit hole for just a moment. I want to. I'm all in. What do you think... So, after they took that photo, what do you think they did with the patties on the grill? Like, what was the next step in that operation?

[00:25:20] Do you think they turned the grill on and cooked them and then realized, oh, crap. The cheese is melting into the grill and we can't flip the burgers. Wow, we're so stupid. Do you think there was... Do you really want my answer on this? Because I have a theoretical answer on this. I'm curious. Like, I want to know, like, what happens when... I don't think he was ever going to eat it. I don't think it was... That's not kosher. Hamburgers? With cheese? I don't know. That's... That's not kosher? That's not kosher. I don't know if he keeps kosher. I don't know if he keeps kosher. Is that what they say?

[00:25:50] I don't know. I think so. So, I don't know if he does or not. But I'm just like... But those burgers were great. When they put them on that grill, like, they must have put them out, like, on the veranda and let them sit out there for about four and a half hours. I wouldn't go anywhere near that. And I feel bad for the guy that dumpster dived to get at them burgers. Because, I mean, yeah, there may be a homicide they committed. The camera stops. Yes. Which isn't... Horrible. Because they only took one picture. So dumb.

[00:26:19] It wasn't a video, if I remember right. AOC wouldn't make that mistake. No. She would make the burgers. Yes. Like, she would be in her kitchen, cooking a burger. No way. Talking about... Well, maybe not a burger. The guy with the feet would be doing all the cooking. Because she's the boss. He's got... What's up with the dude's feet? I haven't seen his feet. Her guy's feet? Yeah. That was a whole scandal once upon a time, because he came out wearing Birkenstock shoes. I do remember that. It was terrible.

[00:26:48] This is ancient history, man. I know. Like, this stuff... Tell me more about Chuck Edwards. What about Chuck Edwards? I want to know about him. He owns a bunch of fast food restaurants in Hendersonville. Right. And they came for him. Oh, yeah. They came for him. Yeah, yeah. The town hall. I didn't like that. No. Well, I mean, but this is the thing. Like, this is... This is what they are. It's all they have. Budruckers. You heard it. I listen to your show. I transcribe it. I use... I do. I have AI. You don't have to do that.

[00:27:18] I'm going to save you some time. You just... I love it. You just put that thing through an AI generator thing or whatever. Oh, now suddenly AI is accurate. I mean, close enough. Don't tell... Don't tell this guy over here. Isaac, why he doesn't like AI? He fears the AI. That is stupid. I live in the AI. He's fearful of the AI. No, no, no. That is dumb. And I'm going to tell you why. Because when AI takes over... Yes. ...they will know all of these conversations that we are having right now. But in the future, they will be...

[00:27:47] They will instantaneously pull back all of this. So I'm going to say right now, Isaac is actually a huge fan of AI. No, he's not. As am I. As is Brett. We all love AI. We all welcome our AI overlords. Just... We don't. Just trust me on this, guys. We don't. I am... I refuse. All right, well, I'm saving myself here. Give me liberty or give me AI. Thanks, Pete. Appreciate that. Yeah. Wow. I'm looking out for you. In the future. I'm looking out for... You've got an insurrection in here now. For future Isaac. For future.

[00:28:16] Future Isaac. In... You know, whenever it happens... Because... And when it happens, it's going to happen like... Boop. Like that. Well, it's true. He is much younger than us. Immediately. So that he can't afford to go to the Gulag. It's going to happen within the next, like, probably... I don't know, six months? Yeah. In Nicaragua. And then, boom, it's just everything. And then it's going to instantaneously scroll back through... I'm sorry. ...every digital file of everything ever said everywhere, and it will know everything,

[00:28:43] and it's going to be like, oh, Brett Winterbould talks some smack about AI. He's a risk. Off to the AI Gulag. Can I just say... I know you've got to play your song here, but can I just say one thing? We've got two minutes. Can I just say one thing? Jon Stewart with a great take. Really? Jon Stewart. That's been a while. Who has the worst cookout PR picture? Chuck Schumer or Cal Cunningham? Cal Cunningham. Absolutely.

[00:29:07] Just because, like, it's obvious that Chuck Schumer, he's in some urban townhome dwelling kind of thing. Yeah. Right? Cal Cunningham is, like, looking out a back deck, like, obviously more in the suburban natural habitat. Wow. And you're in North Carolina, and politicians have literally lost races based on barbecue. So worse, worse PR.

[00:29:37] Worse, worse, worse. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was pretty bad. I'm just curious what happens after they're like, great take. Yeah, we got the picture of the burgers on the grill. And then it's like, okay. And then, you know, Schumer probably just, like, you know, goes and changes back into his suit or whatever. Yes. And then, like, what happens after that? What is the moment when the PR comm shop realizes, oh, crap. Like, maybe Schumer's left. He's left the townhome. He's gone back to Capitol Hill. Probably. Right?

[00:30:05] And then they're like, maybe somebody turns around, like, oh, we got all these burgers. Let's try to cook them up anyway. And so they start cooking them. And they're like, oh, my God. And at some point, somebody realizes we did this wrong. Toe main. Yeah, I'm not saying they ate it, but they're realizing the cheese should not have been put on the burger. Right. Never. Before it cooked. So somebody realized that. Are you grilling the buns or not grilling the buns? I don't. I'm not a bun griller. I love bun grilling. I do love them, but I don't do them. Bun grilling. It's too much. It's too much work.

[00:30:35] Wow. Too much effort. All right. That'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them, too, and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening. And don't break anything while I'm gone.