How should Democrats be fighting the right in the age of Trump? Richard Ojeda, Dem candidate for NC-09, tells us what it’s like to take that fight to the ballot box as a champion for labor rights and advocate for a working-class agenda. We talk about Richard’s path to Congress and how it fits into the wave of Democrats trying to break into Republican strongholds. And we cover other major news items in the discourse this week, especially Joe Rogan’s comments on Trump’s abandonment of his campaign “promises” and the start of Russell Brand’s rape trial. Watch below:

As we near Election Day, Richard is on the ground campaigning 24/7, doing multiple events a day, but he’s been doing the work in his community for a long time. His Republican opponent is feeling the heat, because Richard has made serious headway in “deep red” country that the right would normally take for granted. Richard would be flipping a seat that’s been red since the mid-twentieth century. But what’s seemed impossible for many other Democrats to accomplish over the past decades has turned out to be a matter of meeting folks where they’re at, talking to them face-to-face about bread-and-butter issues, and acknowledging the financial squeeze working families in the region are facing. Farmers in Randolph County are willing to hear out a Democrat and to believe in the political agenda for economic stability that Richard has put forward. That broad appeal could well push Richard over the finish line and give him a seat in the House this November, and win or lose, his campaign will offer an important lesson for Democrats: Write off “deep red” country at your own risk. Voters there want to feel heard, and they, too, are sick of Trump’s lies. But they need a viable alternative.

Speaking of Trump’s lies, Joe Rogan, whose massive platform made his turn from Bernie to Trump a topic of national conversation, is now turning away from Trump for Trump’s perceived betrayal of his agenda. He spoke this week to Michael Douglas on The Joe Rogan Experience about how Trump’s war in Iran has contradicted his image as the “no more war” president, an image supposedly meaningful to many of Trump’s voter base. Rogan takes issue with Trump’s pursuit of senseless warfare and his deployment of violent gangs of ICE members to track down and murder immigrants. But we’re left wondering whether Trump ever actually committed to those promises in the first place. Rogan has endorsed Trump, attended White House events, and generally felt the support of the most powerful man in the world — the need for that support is mutual. He should know better, and we point to Trump’s record to prove it. Trump began his reputation as a warmongering president in his first term, his war on immigrants at home is nothing new, and his funding of genocides in Yemen and in Israel are cornerstones of his international policy. So, confronting more bloodthirsty BS from Trump two years into his second term, is any of this really a surprise?

Thanks for listening to KK&F. You can listen to this episode as a podcast tomorrow on major streaming platforms.