Former GOP staffers offer Dems friendly advice on how to handle hostile media: 'You may not be used to this'

The former GOP staffers who host the popular "Ruthless" podcast offered a "boot camp" for their Democratic counterparts on Capitol Hill who are suddenly facing a hostile media questioning President Biden's acuity. 

"Let me just start with a couple of truths in American politics that we all know and are very familiar with," Ruthless co-host John Ashbrook began the tongue-in-cheek lesson on Tuesday's episode. "The first one is that the easiest job in town is Democrat press secretary. The second is that Democrat hearts are notoriously cold and power hungry. Republican hearts are big and giving. That's just the way it is." 

"And here, as a display of bipartisanship, we know that these Democrat press secretaries have never in their careers had to do their job a single day. So we thought as Republicans we could provide a few tips for them to keep in mind as they are fielding questions from reporters they've never before fielded," Ashbrook said.

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Ruthless podcast co-hosts Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook offer Democratic press secretaries "boot camp" on how to handle unusually hostile reporters during the ongoing Biden saga. (Screenshot/Ruthless)

Co-host Michael Duncan provided the first tip, which involves how Democratic press secretaries should handle reporters when confronted on Capitol Hill. 

"You may not be used to this when you're walking around the Capitol with your boss, but when you're in an elevator and it gets to the floor and the doors open, you're gonna see reporters there," Duncan said. "This may be new to you, but they're gonna have questions that you have to answer. And so what you're gonna want to do is huddle with your boss before that door opens and figure out what his statement or her statement will be."

"You mean something other than like, ‘How’s your day? Or what's your favorite color?'" co-host Josh Holmes chimed in. 

"Well, there's no Donald Trump tweet for them to read for you to react to," Duncan quipped. 

Holmes, Duncan and Ashbrook previously served as top aides and campaign strategists to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

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Democrats are facing intense heat from the press as the drama surrounding President Biden continues to unfold. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Fellow co-host Comfortably Smug floated a "cheat code" for the Dem staffers, telling them "you can just hold your phone up to your ear" and "have your member act like they're on the phone."

Holmes warned his colleagues across the aisle that they're "gonna get more than one request" from the media "on a question that you're not going to like."

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"And they're not going to pre-vet your answer," Holmes continued. "You can't send them an email back and be like, ‘How does this sound?’ and have them send you something back being like ‘Well, maybe you should edit this, that and the other because it would sound better in my write up.'"

"Even worse, Josh, they might provide you a deadline in which you have to respond, and you have to answer, or they're gonna publish it," Duncan responded.

"My God!" Holmes exclaimed before warning Democrats they "may not be able to read the story before it goes to print."

Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook of the "Ruthless" podcast declared that the job of a Democratic press secretary is "the easiest job in town." (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

Ashbrook's final tip for the liberal press secretaries on Capitol Hill was to "not lie."

"The press won't let you get away with it," Ashbrook said. "This week, one week only, do not lie this week."

"It will come back. It will come back," Holmes followed, with the expectation that things will return to normal soon.

The Ruthless podcast will be broadcasting live in Milwaukee outside the RNC convention next week.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.