Dave Rubin

David Joshua "Dave" Rubin is a failed comedian and host of the unintentional comedy show The Rubin Report on YouTube. Once a member of The Young Turks network, his content since leaving TYT has mostly been steered towards criticism of what he considers the "regressive left", while promoting conservatism. On his show, he frequently/interminably discusses freedom of speech, feminism, religion, political correctness, and the mainstream media. 
Rubin's political stances have significantly changed over time, beginning with standard American progressive stances to his current Objectivist libertarian stances. When the Rubin Report was on TYT and at the beginning of his independent version of his show after it broke affiliation with TYT, his views were still generally progressive and criticizing decisions being made by big businesses, he publicly criticized National Rifle Association commercials trying to incite fear of the consequences of gun reform laws being planned to be passed by the United States Congress,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmRImLlA1YA&t=136s addressed a decision by McDonalds to remove healthier foods from its menu in a critical manner,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rycysbo6iM8 on a 2014 episode of TYT he rebuked self-regulation in the economy and claimed that it has never workedhttps://twitter.com/vadimnewquist/status/1012894241381634048 and he was supportive of single-payer health insurance (he still claims to be, but his definition of what that means is at odds with the conventional definition). At the start of the independent version of his show, he began to become critical of leftists who, he believed, were associated with political correctness and ran counter to progressive ideals. Rubin also abandoned TYT after the group accused atheist and anti-Islamist public figure Sam Harris of anti-Muslim bigotry, an accusation Rubin, as well as Harris himself and his supporters, have rejected. 
Over time, Rubin largely developed a more right-wing audience favorable to his anti-Social Justice Warrior stances and support for free speech of figures like Harris whose views had clashed with figures on the left. He then completely disassociated with the left and became an Objectivist libertarian (though he still calls himself a "classical liberal"), supporting Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson in the 2016 US Presidential Election and has invited several guests to talk about Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy. Rubin reversed his earlier stance on self-regulation in the economy, saying on a 2018 episode of the Joe Rogan Show that he wanted major de-regulation and greater self-regulation.https://twitter.com/vadimnewquist/status/1012894241381634048 In addition he's shown an ever-expanding devotion to bringing in controversial right-wing figures including those with sympathies to causes of Objectivist-style libertarianism and people with far right views on topics on his show in the name of free speech. One such figure is Stefan Molyneux, known for both Objectivist stances as well as reactionary attitudes to women's rights given his openly negative view of women as well as Molyneux's support of racialist perspectives on claims of racial differences in IQ. When he does invite guests on the left now, it is usually only to complain about "regressivism".
More recently, after a period of silence from the TYT show, Ana Kasparian — co-host of TYT — has addressed Dave Rubin claiming that he, who had once been her friend, was a 'lazy fraud'. She castigated him for allegedly 'want[ing] to make a six-figure salary to host a 30-minute a week show' despite herself and her colleagues working 12 hour days 'for far less'. She reiterates that he has sold outhttp://progressivearmy.com/2018/04/06/dave-rubins-sudden-political-change-receiving-money-koch-brothers to corporate America by pointing out that he has received money from the Koch Brothers and alleges that he has no true political identity and denouncing him as not an 'honest actor' nor an 'intellectual' and a 'fraud plain and simple'.
In September 2019, the Rubin Report found a new home on Glenn Beck's site TheBlaze,https://www.theblaze.com/news/dave-rubin-is-bringing-his-show-to-blaze-tv making his transition to the right unambiguously complete. Maybe working with a former Fox News star will make him stop pretending to be some weird variety of "liberal", but who knows.
In 2020, after many painful years in the political closet, Rubin seemed to finally come to terms with the fact that he is indeed a conservative.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRYsY9TszVo&t=2s During the 2020 United States presidential election, he endorsed Donald Trump for president.
As of January 2025, Rubin's YouTube channel has over 2.6 million subscribers and more than 1.7 billion views.YouTube's About page on The Rubin Report Rubin also made over $27,000 per month on Patreon from over 4300 patrons,Rubin Report's Patreon page (from Wayback Machine) and has over 1.6 million followers on Twitter.
==Career==
In the late 1990s, Rubin started performing "stand up comedy". His performance as a comedian was universally panned.
Following work in stand-up comedy, Rubin began hosting The Six Pack podcast on SiriusXM and joined TYT in 2013. He first gained notoriety for tacitly defending Israel's conduct during the war in Gaza in 2014, coming in conflict with the entire TYT panel during a 40-minute-long debate.The Young Turks: "Heated Israel-Palestine Discussion Erupts Into Passion & Honesty" (August 1, 2014), YouTube He later repeated this same defense of Israeli war crimes and regurgitating of anti-Palestinian propaganda to Secular Talk.Secular Talk: "Kyle & Dave Rubin Debate Israel/Palestine & More!" (September 27, 2015), YouTube In hindsight, this was our first real look into just how reactionary he always was.
 
Rubin decided to leave TYT in 2015 following political disagreements with Cenk Uygur."ReasonTV: Dave Rubin's Political Awakening" (March 29, 2017), YouTube His show bounced between a series of formats and production companies (OraTV being one of them) before becoming an independent project in 2016. He now hosts his show from a "home studio" that looks like one of the fake living rooms in IKEA, and almost exclusively hosts guests with whom he agrees on the topic of "regressivism".
He used to be an atheist.LIVE: Dave is Back from 30 Days with No News, Internet, or Phone! 52:12 - 55:57, 58:18 - 59:25
In April, 2020 he released a book called Don't Burn this Book.Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason by Dave Rubin (2020) Sentinel. ISBN 0593084292. It was universally panned by critics (except for Jordan Peterson). In April, 2022, he released a sequel entitled Don't Burn This CountryDon't Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia by Dave Rubin (2022) Sentinel. ISBN 0593332148. It was also universally panned by critics.
==Views==
===Identity politics and free speech===
Rubin, who spends much of his time lamenting identity politics, claims to have worked as a stand-up comedian in New York from the late 90s. Little video evidence of this work is available online, besides one video from 'Hot Gay Comics' in which Rubin makes a series of jokes about gays and being gay.https://twitter.com/thejd800/status/842432717719445504 Rubin went on to host The Six Pack, a gay-themed podcast with topics such as National Coming Out Day, on SiriusXMThe Six Pack: "Gay is Awesome" (October 10, 2010), Vimeo and gay guests like Dustin Lance Black and Lance Bass (of NSync fame). But, remember - Rubin is completely against identity politics. Hrm.
Free speech advocate Rubin, who has commented on a culture of "Oppression Olympics"https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/817047831286423552 from minority groups and has dismissed numerous controversies as "outrage culture",The Rubin Report: "Outrage Culture is Becoming Mainstream Culture" (March 15, 2017), YouTube also posted a video criticising the "gay jokes" in Comedy Central's James Franco roast.The Rubin Report: "James Franco Roast: So Many Gay Jokes" (September 26, 2013), YouTube This hypocrisy was best surmised when Rubin criticised Hillary Clinton for addressing a tweet to "White America",https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/755088071817920512 in spite of the fact that he has previously posted numerous tweets ridiculing people based on their whiteness.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/139162121723322369https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/10853733828https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/233051817037139969https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/134451894977429506 Without a trace of self-awareness regarding his own light-hearted jests on the matter, he later lambasted the 'regressive left' and their alleged proclivity to "demonize white people collectively and endlessly".https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/817047612318629888
In spite of being critical of members of the "regressive left" that smear and name-call instead of debating ideas,The Rubin Report: "Dave Rubin: Am I a Secret Conservative?" (April 5,
 2017), YouTube Rubin reprimands his own opponents via Twitter (his favourite retorts include "loser" and "clown").https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=loser%20from%3Arubinreport&src=typdhttps://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=clown%20from%3Arubinreport&src=typd&lang=en He is also known to complain about the "regressive left" blocking and unfriending people for disagreeing with them, but is also really quick to block people on Twitter when somebody tries to point out his hypocrisy. 
Rubin threatened to sue Mother Jones author Josh Harkinson for libel over an article titled "Cashing in on the Rise of the Alt-Right", where he is mentioned among various alt-right figures, some of whom (like Mike Cernovich, Lauren Southern, and Milo Yiannopoulos) were featured guests on his show."Cashing in on the Rise of the Alt-Right" (June 26, 2017), Mother Jones Harkinson later updated the article to include Rubin's objection to the far/alt-right label, in which he says:
Further evidence of Rubin's lack of commitment to free speech has been highlighted through his siding with the NFL against its players kneeling to protest racism. In this instance he supported barring NFL players from kneeling. He had to be shown by neoconservative shill David Frum that indeed free speech extends to a general culture and not merely legal allowance.
Surprisingly, many right-wing news outlets quickly came to Rubin's defense, including National Review,"Mother Jones Smears Liberal Talk-Show Host Dave Rubin for Daring to Interview ‘Alt-Right’ Figures" (June 20, 2017),
National Review Heat Street,"Liberal Pundit Dave Rubin Accuses Mother Jones of ‘Libel’ for Falsely Labeling Him ‘Far Right’" (June 17,
 2017), Heat Street and American Thinker."Mother Jones vs. Dave Rubin" (June 20,
 2017), American Thinker
In December, 2021, he decided to move from the "woke dystopia" and sold his Koch-funded mansion in Encino, California for $5.8 million and moved to a Blaze-funded studio in Miami, Florida. https://www.dirt.com/gallery/entertainers/influencers/dave-rubin-house-encino-1203444311/ https://floridapolitics.com/archives/479966-see-you-soon-gov-ron-desantis-youtuber-dave-rubin-moving-to-florida/ Reasons for the move include frustration with seeing people wearing masks, wanting to sidle up closer to the residences of Trump and Ron DeSantis, and wanting to show that global warming isn't real by moving to the a city that floods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsXzc5TgoVshttps://www.reddit.com/r/daverubin/comments/s2evjx/dave_rubin_mocks_a_man_who_wore_a_mask_to_the_gym/https://twitter.com/daveclips/status/1458157589846388738?s=21 He wanted to move to promote his upcoming book that bashes California as a "woke dystopia" and which glorifies pandemic-ridden Florida as a conservative paradise.
===Fake news, outrage culture, and boycotts===
Rubin has referred to organisations like the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, and USA Today as "fake news",https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/856898988389187584https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/806550232783724544https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/846523974800621568 even claiming that he "won't watch" CNN as long as it employs Reza Aslan.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/838597644775800833 However, Rubin has claimed that Rebel Media is "doing a pretty good job from everything I've seen",https://twitter.com/ViniKako/status/859515107575050241 appeared on The Alex Jones Show to talk about the "Cult of the Left"The Alex Jones Channel: "Dave Rubin Joins Infowars LIVE To Talk About The Cult Of The Left" (March 9, 2017), YouTube and has featured with Tucker Carlson and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News."Political commentator: Why I'm no longer a progressive" (February 15, 2017), Fox NewsDave Rubin Talks ‘Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day’ With Bill O’Reilly (VIDEO) (August 2, 2012), HuffPo Following O'Reilly's firing from the network amidst a series of sexual harassment allegations, Rubin claimed that "the rejoicing of the destruction of public people is becoming increasingly dangerous".https://twitter.com/rubinreport/status/854767764019589122
 
In an uncharacteristic display of double standards, he had previously joked about progressives Keith Olbermann and Alec Baldwin being fired or suspended from TV networks,https://twitter.com/Swiftie_Longliv/status/854780148280897545https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/401519854353526784 even going as far as to record himself calling the Capital One customer service line regarding Baldwin's "homophobic" commentshttp://www.whosay.com/status/daverubin/638626?wsref=tw&code=HRu6aDf and claiming that he had "a discussion with five gay people who all agree to never use [the company's] services again" because of its association with the actor.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/351513948245327873 Free speech, y'know? Quelle surprise - Rubin has been critical of boycotts elsewhere.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/526756688313843713
===Political identity and fiscal policy===
Rubin identified as Republican-leaning on his blog as early as July of 2006,"Rubinville: Tuesday, July 18, 2006""Rubinville: Wednesday, July 19, 2006" but said he voted a straight Democratic ticket for the 2006 midterm election, except for John Spencer over Hillary Clinton."Rubinville: Thursday November 07, 2006 It's unknown if his views changed from then until he signed on with The Young Turks in 2013.
"My positions basically haven't changed but I've watched as my team has gone off the deep end", says Rubin on his political ideas.The Rubin Report: "The Left is No Longer Liberal." (January 25, 2017), YouTube If this is indeed the case, it appears that Rubin has been a conservative the whole time. Case in point, since 2016, Rubin has partnered with Learn Liberty, a project from George Mason University's Institute of Humane Studies, a libertarian think tank that receives part of its funding from the Koch brothers."The Rubin Report and Learn Liberty Fight for Free Speech" (September 21, 2016), Learn Liberty
This is particularly true regarding "Rubinomics". In news that will shock nobody, Rubin has frequently espoused conservative positions in regards to taxation and claims that limited government is an issue about which he cares most. He has argued against raises to the minimum wage, claiming that it will force McDonalds to replace workers with iPads, and has been a critic of the estate tax.The Rubin Report: "Live with Dave After the Presidential Debate" (September 26, 2016), YouTube He has advocated for flat income taxes due to his belief in "real equality", with "some level" of progressive tax.The Rubin Report: "Mark Pellegrino and Dave Rubin discuss Capitalism and the Role of Government (full episode)" (May 27, 2016), YouTube When interviewing Andrew Yang and discussing Yang's Freedom Dividend basic income proposal, Rubin called for "blow[ing] apart the social safety net as is", claiming it to be "just a boondoggle of middle management."The Rubin Report: "Andrew Yang LIVE: UBI, 2020 Election, TRUMP" (June 7, 2019), YouTube None of these are progressive positions that the Left has suddenly abandoned.
In chastising the "regressive left", Rubin claims that "if you don't evolve the day they evolve, you're a bigot". However, when confronted with evidence of his previous progressive views on Twitter and accused of hypocrisy, Rubin defended himself by stating that "my feelings have changed as time has gone on", asserting that "[p]eople evolve, it's called being human. But some would rather attack" without a hint of irony.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/854784879493599233https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/854801601223176192 So it seems that the real rule is "if you don't evolve the day Dave Rubin evolves, you're a regressive".
Rubin also thinks he supports single-payer health care. We say "think" because Rubin thinks single-payer is a combination of public and private.https://twitter.com/rubinreport/status/839898055725875200?lang=en He has doubled-down on this misunderstanding/ignorance of what single-payer actually is."Hey this is Dave Rubin, let's talk about Classical Liberalism." (June 22, 2017), Reddit
In an interview with David Pakman, he said he agreed with Trump's tax policy, and also didn't seem to know that corporate taxes are levied on profits, not capital expenses."How and Why I Fell for the Dave Rubin Grift and How I OutGrew It."
However recently it seems he's given up on claiming he's for single-payer, judging by a twitter post in which he bemoaned the Canadian healthcare system and asking "Why do you need the government to force you to do it?"https://twitter.com/rubinreport/status/951642155830792192
==Guests==
In recent years, Rubin's show has become a platform for relatively obscure individuals from far-flung corners of the Internet to espouse bizarre or downright extreme opinions with little to no recourse or push-back from the host. For instance, claims from guests that the Canadian Nazi Party was "backed up and egged on" by Jewish groups to increase hate crimes and suggestions that Barack Obama is a communist have gone unchallenged by Rubin.Tom Bloke's post: The Rubin Report: "David Horowitz and Dave Rubin: Communism, Trump, and Leaving the Left (Full Interview)" (March 17, 2017), YouTube While claiming to be (or have been) liberal, he rarely seems able to explain his positions. For example, he mistakenly believed that Bernie Sanders wanted to raise taxes to 90% and yet still claimed to intend to vote for him (despite being fiscally libertarian). When interviewing Milo Yiannopoulos, his reasoning for supporting Sanders was "he seems like a nice person."Huxley C: "Dave Rubin: Fake Liberal, De Facto Republican/Conservative & Trump Supporter" (February 5, 2017), Medium
Rubin is notorious for asking a series of big names onto his show through direct tweets. Many individuals ranging from the political sphere – Donald Trump,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/818137053821042688 Hillary Clinton,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/783834579467722752 Ivanka Trump,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/812035116633468928 Kellyanne Conway,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/818137053821042688 Bernie Sanders,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/653584346545156096 James Comey,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/989694070837530624 Elizabeth Warren,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1123359260211945473 Cory Booker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, David Hogg,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/980840411802386432 Tom Perez, Gavin Newsom — to the celebrity world - Cher,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/758360092131459072 Carrie Fisher (RIP),https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/715030271763079171 Betty White (RIP),https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/669569322226876416 Howard Stern,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/775706090050772993 Azealia Banks,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/717219305650319360 Ben Affleck,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/684941496412291072 Kevin Hart,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1070926198543409152 Elon Musk,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/824147833821466624 Sarah Silverman,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1002529438167429121 Joss Whedon,https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1002923128467611648 Rob Reiner, Chelsea Handler Stephen King, Mark Ruffalo Michael Moore, Rachel Maddow Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, Seth MacFarlane, Ana Navarro, Jimmy Kimmel, - have been invited in this manner. Shockingly, none of these high profile people have taken up the invitation to appear on a low-rent YouTube show recorded at someone's house and, despite Rubin's best efforts, the vast majority of his guests are fringe characters from niche corners of the internet (or even - in possibly his most narcissistic move yet - the show's own fans).The Rubin Report: "The Rubin Report Fan Show! (All 20 Interviews)" (May 20, 2016), YouTubeThe Rubin Report: "Rubin Report Fan Show: South Carolina, Sweden, Cambodia, Hungary, New Zealand (1)" (May 1, 2017), YouTubeThe Rubin Report: "Rubin Report Fan Show: Jordan, NYC, UK, Germany, California (2)" (May 2, 2017), YouTubeThe Rubin Report: "Rubin Report Fan Show: Tennessee, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Kyrgyzstan (3)" (May 3, 2017), YouTubeThe Rubin Report: "Rubin Report Fan Show: Czech Republic, Texas, Gulf Region, Russia, Australia (4)" (May 4, 2017), YouTube
Despite claims from Rubin that he wants left-wingers on his show but they are too chicken to debate him, many left-wing YouTubers like Sam Seder, Ana Kasparian, ContraPoints, David Pakman, and Hbomberguy have all said that they would love to go on his show to talk about the marketplace of ideas. Rubin, however, has stated he will not have them on his show because they are dishonest and have told lies about him. Dish it out but can't take it, eh Dave?
 
===Notable guests from the New Center™===
===White Nationalist Guests===
Whilst decrying the so-called "regressive left" at every turn, Rubin has described guest Tommy Robinson, the former head of the far-right English Defence League with a string of violent and non-violent criminal convictions to his name, as "extremely moderate".Another post from Bloke's Twitter: Rubin has taken to Twitter to complain about YouTube demonetization;https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/859887739562360834 it's almost as if advertisers and corporations want nothing to do with a show that allows ideologues to spout egregious views and get away with it scot-free. 
His interview with the 'race realist' Stefan Molyneux on the subjects of 'race and IQ' is one of the most popular videos on his channel with over 1 million views.Stefan Molyneux on Race and IQ (Pt. 2) In the video Rubin does not challenge Molyneux's claim that black people have smaller brains, and laughs at the idea that as an Ashkenazi Jew he might have a higher IQ than other races. Molyneux has no scientific background and believes, amongst other absurd things, that people of different races cannot successfully transplant organs.The unwelcome return of British race science, Ruairi Wood
==Useful idiot==
In 2024, Rubin was mentioned in a US Justice Department indictment against a Russian front company Tenet Media. He was one of six right-wing commentators, along with Lauren Southern, Tim Pool, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen and who received contracts to produce content for the company.DOJ alleges Russia funded US media company linked to right-wing social media stars by Zachary Cohen et al. (September 5, 2024) CNN.Well-known right-wing influencers duped to work for covert Russian operation, U.S. prosecutors say (Sep 5, 2024 10:24 AM EDT) PBS. Tenet Media is purportedly a project of YouTube blogger Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Chen was fired by her other employer, Blaze TV, shortly after the revelation of her connection to Tenet.
==See also==
* Sargon of Akkad — His (slightly crazier) British counterpart.
* Milo Yiannopoulos — His occasional partner-in-crime. Rubin has teamed up with the former on his "Dangerous Faggot" tour and was even featured in an episode of his webshow when he was still at Breitbart.
* Sam Harris — Rubin was a fan but now they're no longer on talking terms.
* Jimmy Dore — Another embarrassing former TYT contributor
==External links==
* YouTube channel
* Facebook page
* Twitter feed
* Reddit (Note: The subreddit is not a fansub, but is actually dedicated to making fun of Rubin and his ilk.)
*Dave shilling for a better studio (2 hours long)
==References==
Category:Alt-lite
Category:Antifeminism
Category:Anti-intellectualism
Category:Anti-LGBT bigots
Category:California
Category:Comedians
Category:Culture wars
Category:Florida
Category:Gamergate
Category:Global warming denialists
Category:Homophobes
Category:Intellectual Dark Web
Category:Internalized discrimination
Category:Internet kooks
Category:Islamophobes
Category:Jews
Category:Kochsphere
Category:Leftists who turned right with age
Category:LGBTQ people
Category:Libertarians
Category:Living people
Category:Men's rights movement
Category:Political pundits
Category:Racists
Category:Radio
Category:Shysters
Category:Sexists
Category:Transphobes
Category:Vatniks
Category:YouTube