Speaking Wrong At The Right Time

The marketing shift made by Cracker Barrel was motivated by the same reason the Democratic Party wanted to change their voter base target.

Both wanted to cater to a more affluent audience and were willing to gamble losing their traditionally working-class base for this gain.

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It was an active devaluing of the average working-class American as a consumer or voting class and an elevation of the wealthy suburbanite and college-educated urbanite hipster who is connected to an excess pool of money.

Over the past few decades, we have dissuaded people from working with their hands in favor of sitting in a cubicle getting paid for your supposed industry knowledge.

Now, people perceive you as a failure if you don’t have a degree attached to your resume. But even more so, you’re not of a particular status that is favorable.

See, all of this is about perceived class and status. Elite colleges are social networks and signifiers of a social circle you’ll permanently be attached to.

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Graduating from Harvard carries a prestige that tells the world your value, intelligence, and class. But even the non-Ivy League graduates have this same attitude.

Spending four years in school is a social status climb for many of them. It doesn’t even matter how much it costs them to get their degree because they care more about the social perception they’ll carry than the debt that holds them back.

The reason all of this matters is because these are the people who become the heads of marketing departments, human resources, and government. Most people see the faces of politicians, but these people are figureheads for the work done by their college-educated staff.

The Democratic political consultants they hire are of the same ilk, and the advice they give is fueled by the desire to cater to the niche they belong to. Everyone is attracted to “premium,” and no one wants what is common, including people.

The common man and woman are boring, and why would someone who has worked their entire life to stay away from that social status care to appeal to the majority of Americans?

In an 2016 interview with the Associated Press, Senator Chuck Schumer stated, “For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.”

The Democrats knew exactly what they were doing by shifting strategies and they didn’t care if they lost the blue-collar vote. Yet, today, they are scratching their heads wondering why they are sitting at a 63% unfavorability rating (the lowest rating in more than three decades).

While everyone was talking about Bud Light going “woke,” what they missed was the key motivator: appealing to a new and more sophisticated base.

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The former VP of Marketing at Bud Light, Alissa Heinerscheid, stated in an interview, “Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”

They don’t want the irreverent class of individual who says offensive things in a joking manner or enjoys watching football.

They want a consumer base that enjoys brunch, like they do, and enjoys a smooth alcoholic beverage while hosting dinner parties, like they do. When they talk about inclusivity, they’re including themselves. They want what their social circle wants.

When the CEO of Cracker Barrel, Julie Felss Masino, was asked what people thought about the logo and redesign, she confidently said that people around her loved the changes. Well, who do you think the people around her are?

Cracker Barrel is far from being alone in this ambition to cater to the niche. Stellantis, the automaker of brands like Jeep, Dodge, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and more, felt what happens when you forget about your loyal base.

Brands like Jeep and Dodge were always seen as working-class consumer vehicles that were affordable, and their buyers were loyal as well. Stellantis decided to keep their pandemic-inflated pricing to attract a more affluent buyer, but by doing this, they completely priced out their loyal buyers.

The cost was detrimental as Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigned, and their company is now in a tailspin, and Stellantis-partnered dealerships deal with trying to rid themselves of massively overpriced Jeeps, Rams, and Dodges.

They chose to make their Ram pickup trucks electric even though no consumer base exists for this type of vehicle.

But I’m willing to bet that many of the people making the decisions driver electric cars and love the idea of having an electric truck to possibly appeal to people like them.

What we are witnessing is a massive disconnect on a political and corporate scale. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why would they do that?” this should be a considered answer:

They aren’t thinking about you anymore. You’re not of their ilk.

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It’s been a while since I’ve written something for the NY Post but I’m back! This is a critique over Mamdani as NYC’s mayoral candidate and his connection to the DSA.

Enjoy!

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While at FreedomFest 2025 in Palm Springs, I sat down with to discuss my book “The Children We Left Behind” all things family.

If you have a chance, sit down and listen to our conversation.

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Twitter can sometimes be a wonderful place and it was how I initially got connected with Janice Dean, meteorologist at Fox News.

She graciously allowed for me to send her a copy of my first book “Black Victim To Black Victor” and when my new book “The Children We Left Behind” released April 1st, I sent her a copy to review then.

This book hit home for her as she also dealt with family separation but learned to forgive so she could move forward in life.

I highly recommend listening to this interview. I hope you enjoy it.

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If I've made a mistake since becoming public with my political opinions, it has been that I didn't set a strict boundary about discussing politics with close friends and family.

Personally, I'd rather not talk to anyone around me about politics because there are more interesting topics to discuss than who they voted for and why they hate or love a particular politician.

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The last thing I want to know about someone I've grown up with my entire life is the nuances of the party they support because it's irrelevant to why I love them.

Politics is incredibly personal for most people, and too many treat their political opinions like their children, causing them to get borderline violent, as if you insulted one of their kids.

I'm a rarity in that I don't take politics personally in that way, and I can talk about it like we're discussing how the Knicks or Mets lost another game the night before. Just like when they go on a losing streak, I don't lose sleep over either.

Whether you like my team doesn't matter to me either: That's your prerogative.

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Recently, someone close to me started sending me unsolicited videos with messages attached. At first, I thought they were just viral videos of random stuff, so I didn't watch them. Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to them until they continuously sent me stuff over several days, which was abnormal.

I finally looked at the messages, and they were all political nonsense with messages about "losing rights" and what I supposedly support. When someone does this, they've already assumed what you think and hold you to blame.

When I responded to this person, they brought up how, since political commentary is my job, they wanted to hear my opinion. But inserting what you claim I believe isn't a statement of curiosity: You've already decided what I believe without asking me.

While I don't care if people agree with my politics or not, what bothers me is when they don't even bother to ask me. I've found that most people have no real clue about the nuances of my politics. They have no idea how much information I have or the people I have access to in order to formulate my opinions.

It doesn't mean that I'm always right, but it means that my assessment is based on more than some random propaganda video they saw on Instagram or TikTok.

For example, when the debate was happening about the alleged "Don't Say Gay" bill, I talked directly to the Florida Press Secretary for details on the bill, and he showed me exactly what the bill says (of course, nothing about being gay).

Most people don't have this capability or privilege. This is not a statement of bragging; it's just to say that when you assert my beliefs, you're always going to miss the mark.

All they know is that I voted for Trump, so I must support and like everything he does. They have no clue that I didn't even decide to vote for Trump until a few months prior and considered sitting out this election.

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They have no idea that my decision to vote for him was more pragmatic than out of outright love for him. They don't know what my real political interests are or what motivates me.

This is the biggest problem I have with political discussions with people: They aren't curious. They just want to argue about nonsense that doesn't matter. They want to yell at the archetype of what they hate, and since they can't voice their displeasure with them directly, you'll become the avatar to direct their animosity.

For years, I've had to put up with people saying, "I don't always agree with you," but never telling me what they actually disagree with me on. They never want to talk to me, but they'll talk about me with everyone around me.

But you know what? I'm at the point where I don't want them to tell me what they disagree about. The days of me being open to dialogue are gone, and there is a good reason for this.

When I responded to this person, I was angry, and I don't want to feel that way about anyone I care about. I wasn't angry that they had political differences; I was angry that they were using me as an outlet for their political frustrations.

Just because I do this for work doesn't mean I want it infused into all of my relationships. My wife and I never discuss politics because there are far more interesting things to talk about. Politics muddies the waters of relationships, and it doesn't need to.

This was partially my fault for not standing firm on a boundary about discussing politics with people close to me. I never liked doing it, even if they agreed with me. Our relationships were never dependent on it, and they don't need to be today.

So, moving forward, if someone wants to talk about it, I'm just going to end the conversation and tell them that I don't discuss these things anymore. I care more about my relationships with people than I do about who they vote for and why.

If they can't handle this, then that's their problem, not mine. I no longer care if they misinterpret me or not. This boundary isn't to punish them; it's to save what we have from being unnecessarily corrupted.

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For my second appearance on Sky News Australia this week, I was given the opportunity to criticize the state of the American media.

Enjoy!

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Once again, I’m thankful to be invited back onto Rita’s show to give my commentary about the top news stories happening in America. Enjoy.

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I want to introduce you to someone I respect—not just because of where he’s been, but because of what he’s become. He’s been through the same struggles of fatherlessness as I have, and he’s also the one who gave me the push to get into video. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

was raised by a single alcoholic mother in Pittsburgh's public housing projects. Because of the toll his environment and home life took on his psyche, he didn’t graduate from high school and struggled with alcohol in his late teens and most of his 20s.

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It would have been easy for Ed to throw in the towel and become another statistic, be he took a different route. He chose to take full ownership of his life and it started when he walked into a boxing gym at 22.

Boxing not only taught him how discipline and structure, but it also restored his confidence and gave him the courage to return to college at 30 to earn a degree in physics. He’s since built a writing career helping others break free from the lies of victimhood and embrace the power of personal responsibility.

His new book, Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business: Boxing and the Art of Life, was just released, and I believe it belongs in the hands of every man who’s trying to break generational cycles and become something better than what the world expects of him.

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Ed’s story isn’t about being a perfect role model. It’s about the moves he made and the steps he took to avoid ending up like the people he grew up around. He doesn’t teach or lecture. Rather, Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business tells his story—complete with the good, the bad, and the ugly—and let’s the reader learn from his life.

He writes about:

• What it’s like to grow up without a father—and how he found his way anyway.

• How addiction hijacked his identity—and how he got it back.

• Why peer pressure can either destroy you or save your life—depending on who’s applying it.

• The role of masculinity, shame, and struggle in building character.

• And why discipline—not therapy, not blame—is what truly changes lives.

At no point in the book do you ever get the feeling that Ed is asking for pity or wants you to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t coddle you or pull punches either. The stories are vivid, painful, and real. And that’s why they’re so powerful, but as learning and entertainment. Reading it feels like talking to one of your uncles who is trying to teach you the game of life so you don’t have to lose the way he did. Except Ed didn’t lose the game, although he definitely fell behind at some points.

“Everything takes longer than you plan, never happens the way you want, and always gets worse before it gets better. This is not a bug. It's a feature to weed out people who are just playing lip service to the idea of self-improvement and who don't want to do the work.”
— Ed Latimore, Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business: Boxing And The Art of Life

Ed also delivers an insight into how he’s dealt with his parents' mistakes, shortcomings, abuse, and neglect, without letting it destroy him.

“One of the hardest life lessons to learn is that you have to forgive your parents because if you don’t, you’re the only one who suffers. It’s not for them to be absolved but for you to be released.”

— Ed Latimore, Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business: Boxing And The Art of Life

This book is especially for:

• Men who grew up without fathers want to make sure their sons never feel that same void.

• Young men trapped in addiction, shame, or confusion about who they’re supposed to be.

• Anyone who’s been counted out and needs a reason to keep showing up.

• And everyone tired of hearing that your pain defines you.

I’m honored to support this book because Ed has created something powerful, authentic, useful, and entertaining. He has also been a great supporter and encourager of my endeavors and career.

Ed doesn’t just talk about rising above your circumstances. He did it. And this book is the blueprint.

Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business: Boxing And The Art of Life is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold

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Whenever you use the word "communist", people think you're being hyperbolic.

However, there are organizations, like The Party for Socialism & Liberation, who are overtly communist that are directly involved in advocating for change in predominately black communities that further their agenda and doesn't benefit the Black residents.

In this video, I use Milwaukee's grocery store closures as an example of the outcome of years of communist demoralization.

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A lot has happened over the past year or so, from being baptized to writing a new book. I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel throughout the U.S. and to London to promote my book and meet wonderful people.

I made this video to reflect on the past year and give thanks for what I have and the people I've been able to impact.

If you want to give me a gift, subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wrong_speak

And/Or purchase a copy of my book “The Children We Left Behind” from Wrong Speak’s website.

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