NATE CAST: The Nate McMurray Show Podcast

Will Schulmeister, a Democrat, Likes Jared Kushner? Yeah… We Get Into It.”

NATE CAST — The Curious Case of Will Schulmeister: A Good-Natured Democratic Official Who Voted for TrumpToday on Nate Cast, Will Schulmeister returns for a surprisingly thoughtful and entertaining conversation about political identity, party loyalty, and why so many Americans no longer fit neatly into either political camp.Will is a good-hearted guy, a Democratic official, and someone willing to openly explain why he voted for Trump — THREE TIMES, YIKES! I blast him a little during the episode, but to his credit, he takes it well and keeps the conversation honest.We also dive deep into Western New York’s economic struggles, Buffalo’s budget issues, bridge delays, and the staggering lack of investment across Niagara County despite generations of Republican control by the same political families and insider networks. At some point people have to ask: what exactly did all this one-party control produce besides connected insiders getting rich while young people leave and entire communities stagnate?Ironically, one of the brighter spots in the region right now is North Tonawanda, where Democratic leadership has helped push redevelopment, activity, and momentum in ways much of Niagara County has failed to match. You would think local Republicans might eventually learn something from that instead of recycling the same culture war talking points while infrastructure ages and investment disappears.And because it’s Nate Cast, we somehow also end up talking about the history of North Tonawanda and subjects as wonderfully specific and esoteric as Gemma Pizza and Submasters in NT.A candid conversation about politics, frustration, regional decline, local history, and whether Western New York still has the ability to reinvent itself.#NateCast #Politics #WesternNewYork #NorthTonawanda #Buffalo #NiagaraFalls #Podcast

NATE CAST — MAY 11We dive into one of the biggest questions in the region: why does Southern Ontario often feel like it’s moving forward while Western New York keeps struggling to hold itself together?We talk about bridge delays at the border, Buffalo’s growing budget problems, and the strange political story of Byron Brown and India Walton and what her rise revealed about frustration inside Buffalo itself. We also get into the lack of major investment in Niagara County despite generations of overwhelming Republican control through political families, insider networks, and entrenched local leadership.At some point, people have to stop blaming everyone else and ask: after decades in power, what exactly have these leaders built?A wide-ranging conversation about regional decline, cross-border comparisons, infrastructure, politics, and whether Western New York still has a path forward.#NateCast #WesternNewYork #SouthernOntario #Buffalo #NiagaraFalls #Politics #Economy #Podcast

PODCAST CLIP: Why are we cleaning the Reflecting Pool and releasing blurry “alien” videos while people can’t afford gas, groceries, or healthcare?Drones. Balloons. Flares. Noise. Spectacle. Distraction.Meanwhile real life keeps getting harder for ordinary Americans — and somehow we’re all supposed to stare at the sky instead of the economy.#Politics #UFOs #AlienFiles #Trump #Media #Distraction #Economy #Podcast #NateCast

MAY 9 NATE CAST: WAR, MEDIA COLLAPSE, AND POLITICAL EXHAUSTIONToday on the podcast, I talked about something I genuinely believe is happening right now: MAGA media is starting to fracture, weaken, and lose energy. The outrage machine that dominated politics for years is burning people out.We talked about Ben Shapiro, who attacked me repeatedly over the years. To me, he became part of an ecosystem that helped turn politics into entertainment and outrage into a business model. But now even parts of the MAGA base seem exhausted by constant conflict, endless war rhetoric, and nonstop chaos, especially when it comes to the Middle East.We also discussed Dana White’s appearance on The Breakfast Club, where he came across as strangely evasive and completely unable to answer straightforward questions directly. The mood in America feels different right now. People are tired. And I think a lot of these media empires built on Trump love are starting to crack.#Podcast #Politics #DailyWire #BenShapiro #DanaWhite #MiddleEast #Media #Trump #WesternNewYork #NateCast

SPECIAL EPISODE: With Humble & Fred on Buffalo, Trump, and the Border We Still Share\Had a great time today on the Humble & Fred podcast with Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson — true legends of Canadian broadcasting whose voices helped define alternative radio culture across Southern Ontario and Western New York for decades.What’s remarkable about Humble & Fred is not just their longevity, but the way they evolved with the times. While so many radio personalities disappeared with the collapse of traditional media, they reinvented themselves early and built one of Canada’s most respected long-running independent podcasts — keeping a loyal audience through authenticity, curiosity, humor, and a genuine connection to the communities they talk about every day.One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was hearing their real affection for Buffalo and Western New York. Like so many Canadians in Southern Ontario, they grew up connected to this region — rooting for the Bills and Sabres, crossing the border for concerts, sports, shopping, and memories. Buffalo has always been part of the cultural fabric of Southern Ontario, and you can feel that in the way they talk about the city.We also talked about the complicated tension many Canadians feel right now: loving Buffalo, loving the people of Western New York, still rooting for the teams and the culture here — while at the same time feeling genuinely disturbed and conflicted by the politics of Donald Trump and the direction of American politics. It made for a really honest and thoughtful conversation about the border region we all share.Really grateful they had me on. It was a fantastic conversation.Here’s the full appearance:#HumbleAndFred #Buffalo #BillsMafia #Sabres #WesternNewYork #SouthernOntario #Canada #Podcast #Politics #Trump #CrossBorder #CFNY #Media #NateMcMurray

May 4, 2026 — North Tonawanda Power, Party Control & Local Accountability (with Will Schulmeister)In today’s episode, I sit down with local North Tonawanda councilman Will Schulmeister to talk about what’s happening right in our backyard—local power, local decisions, and the future of North Tonawanda and Niagara County.We break down the role of a councilman—what authority actually looks like on the ground—and how decisions at the local level shape neighborhoods like my hometown. This isn’t abstract politics. This is zoning, development, accountability, and who really has a say over the places we live.We also get into a deeper, more controversial question: how local party structures operate in Niagara County. We discuss claims of a system driven by loyalty and insider networks—where political alignment can influence access to jobs, contracts, and long-term opportunities—and whether that dynamic is holding the region back. The argument isn’t just about one issue. It’s about whether the broader system is working for the public—or for itself.If you care about Western New York, this is where it starts—not in Washington, but right here.#NateCast #May42026 #NorthTonawanda #NiagaraCounty #LocalPolitics #WesternNewYork #CommunityVoice #TownGovernment #PublicService #BuffaloRegion #CivicEngagement #WhoIsInCharge

PODCAST CLIP: April 30, 2026 — Looking Across the River: Canada Builds Hospitals While Ours Closen this clip, I talk about what it feels like to stand on the American side of the border and look north. Just across the water in Canada, they’re building a $3-billion public hospital while guaranteeing healthcare for everyone. Meanwhile, here in the United States, hospitals are closing, families are drowning in medical debt, and communities are being told there’s no money.It starts to feel less like a policy debate and more like a mirror. Like watching North Korea stare across the border at South Korea—same people, same geography, completely different outcomes. One system invests in stability. The other tells working families they’re on their own.#NateCast #April302026 #HealthcareCrisis #CanadaVsAmerica #HospitalClosures #PublicHealth #WesternNewYorkVoices #EconomicSecurity #MedicalDebt #BorderlandPerspective #WhoIsInCharge

The ancient question “Who watches the watchmen?” comes from the Roman poet Juvenal. It asks a simple but dangerous question: who holds the guardians of power accountable when they themselves fail? In a democracy, the “watchmen” are supposed to be the people trusted to protect freedom—military leaders, intelligence officials, members of Congress, and public figures who claim to defend the Constitution.But lately, the political center—the place where stability and credibility are supposed to live—doesn’t seem to be holding. Instead of reassurance, Americans are seeing confusion, performance, and spectacle. Moments like today’s Capitol Hill scrutiny of Pete Hegseth, and the public posture of figures like Kash Patel, raise a deeper concern: what happens when the people presenting themselves as defenders of freedom start looking unprepared for the responsibility?This isn’t just about personalities. It’s about confidence. A healthy republic depends on a serious center—leaders who project competence, restraint, and credibility. When that center weakens, politics becomes louder, more theatrical, and less trustworthy. And ordinary people, already facing high gas prices, rising electric bills, and global uncertainty, begin asking the oldest political question there is:If the watchmen aren’t steady, who’s actually watching the country?#NateCast #April302026 #WhoWatchesTheWatchmen #AmericanPolitics #PoliticalCenter #PublicTrust #CapitolHill #PeteHegseth #KashPatel #Democracy #LeadershipCrisis #WesternNewYorkVoices

Nate Cast Clip: Trump Didn’t Call Us Higher—He Told Us to Stay Smaller: Donald Trump is the first president in our lifetime who didn’t ask us to be better—morally or spiritually. He didn’t call us upward. He didn’t challenge us to grow. Instead, he told Americans that their worst instincts were fine just as they were.Presidents are supposed to inspire. They are supposed to remind us who we can become.Even Ronald Reagan—someone I often disagreed with—spoke about America as a “city on a hill,” a country meant to lead by example.Trump’s message was different. He told us greed is strength. He told us winning is everything—even if it means cheating. He told us that kindness is weakness and aspiration is naïve.That’s what disappoints me most.He didn’t inspire the best in us.He normalized the worst in us. 🇺🇸#NateCast #LeadershipMatters #CityOnAHill #AmericanValues #MoralLeadership #PresidentialCharacter #DemocracyMatters #HigherAngels #PoliticalCulture #WesternNewYorkVoices

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 — The King’s Speech, No Kings, and a Moment in Buffalo"No kings.” That’s what we believe as Americans. And I still believe it.I’m not a monarchist. I don’t like the idea of anyone being born into wealth and authority without earning it. But yesterday, something unusual happened. A king—Charles III—did what a diplomat is supposed to do. He reminded us who we are.He reminded us that since the Magna Carta, even kings have limits. That power answers to law. That no ruler stands above the people. That principle runs straight through history—from Magna Carta to our Constitution, through the courts, through the idea that democracy belongs to citizens, not strongmen.And it was striking—honestly striking—to watch members of the U.S. Congress, including Republicans, applaud references to diversity and climate responsibility. Where are those values the rest of the time? Do they disappear until someone from outside reminds us who we claim to be?Because that’s what happened yesterday. We were reminded.And something else happened—something just as important, maybe even more human.In Buffalo, the crowd sang the Canadian national anthem.Yes, it happens at all Sabres games. But not like this. Not the way it happened yesterday. The mic failed for the singer, and the crowd supported her efforts. It felt spontaneous. Emotional. Real. A reminder that no politician, no border rhetoric, no temporary anger can separate Western New York from Southern Ontario. I honestly think people will write books about what happened yesterday someday. It felt that significant.It felt like one of those flashes when a community (and a nation) remembers its better self. 🇺🇸🇨🇦What I’ve always missed most about Donald Trump is that he rejected the traditional role of a president as a moral voice. Presidents are supposed to call us upward—to challenge us to be better than we are. Instead, he told us being greedy, mean, and superficial was realism. He told us kindness was weakness. He told us moral aspiration was foolish.Even Ronald Reagan—who I often disagreed with—talked about America as a “city on a hill.” He believed the world watched us not just for power, but for example.Yesterday, I saw a glimpse of that example again.In a king’s speech.In a Congress that remembered how to applaud shared values.And in Buffalo Sabres fans singing O Canada together.#NateCast #KingsSpeech #NoKings #MagnaCarta #RuleOfLaw #DemocracyMatters #CityOnAHill #BuffaloSabres #BuffaloNY #SouthernOntario #USCanada #OCanada #WesternNewYork #HigherAngels #LeadershipMatters #AmericanTradition #ConstitutionalValues #PoliticalCulture #CivicIdentity #WesternNewYorkVoices

NATE CAST CLIP: Sabres Fans in Canada Prove the Buffalo–Southern Ontario Bond Can’t Be Broken 🇺🇸🇨🇦Watch what happens when the Buffalo Sabres win and fans celebrate across the river in St. Catharines. The connection between Buffalo and Southern Ontario isn’t political—it’s cultural, historic, and personal.For generations, families, fans, workers, and neighbors have crossed this border every day. No politician—not Donald Trump or anyone else—can undo that relationship.This region has always been one community in two countries. And it still is. Subscribe for full episodes of NateCast.#NateCast#BuffaloSabres#StCatharines#SouthernOntario#BuffaloNY#CrossBorderCommunity#SabresFans#WesternNewYork#CanadaUS#HockeyCulture 🏒

NATECAST CLIP: Trump and the Conspiracy Era He CreatedFor years, Donald Trump helped normalize conspiracy thinking in American politics. Now, after the Correspondents’ Dinner scare and the reaction around it, he’s facing the same distrust-driven environment he helped create. The assassination attempt wasn’t staged—but when leaders blur truth and fiction long enough, people stop knowing what to believe.Subscribe for full episodes of NateCast.#NateCast#DonaldTrump#PoliticalRhetoric#ConspiracyCulture#MediaAndPolitics#AmericanPolitics#Accountability#TruthMatters#Democracy#PodcastClips

NATE CAST: Tuesday, April 28, 2026We live in the age of conspiracy. Was the assassination attempt on Trump staged or faked? No. But is it any wonder people ask that question?We have a president who lies constantly, creates his own version of reality, and uses conspiracy theories almost every day to manipulate the public. When trust disappears, speculation fills the gap.And what about his attacks on Jimmy Kimmel? Is he really blaming a comedian for “dangerous rhetoric” while he spends years calling people disgusting and vermin?Where is the personal accountability?#Accountability#TruthMatters#PoliticalRhetoric#ConspiracyCulture#MediaAndPolitics#Democracy#JimmyKimmel#DonaldTrump

Today I sat down with my friend Daniel Greer, who’s spent years living in Asia, to talk about how America looks from the outside right now. But the conversation quickly turned into something deeper—and honestly more urgent.We ended up talking about FDR's Economic Bill of Rights, one of the most powerful political ideas the Democratic Party ever produced—and one it has mostly forgotten.FDR believed political freedom meant very little without economic freedom. He argued Americans should have the right to a job that pays enough to live on, the right to healthcare, the right to education, the right to housing, the right to security in old age, and the right to protection from monopolies that squeeze working people. He called these not luxuries, but rights—the foundation of a stable democracy.And here’s the truth: when Democrats speak this language clearly, they win. Not just in cities. Not just with one group. With everyone.Because working people don’t wake up thinking about ideological labels. They wake up thinking about rent, groceries, childcare, healthcare bills, and whether their kids will have a better future than they did.That’s where MAGA identity politics has failed working people. It promised dignity, but delivered division. It promised strength, but gave culture wars instead of economic security. It told people who to blame—but not how to build anything better.FDR offered something different. He said freedom meant freedom from fear and freedom from want. He said democracy only survives if ordinary people feel it working in their lives.That idea still has power today. Maybe more than ever.We also talked about what this means for the future of the Democratic Party—and for Buffalo itself. Because the cities that built America still matter. And they still deserve a politics that fights for them.This turned into one of the most thoughtful conversations we’ve had in a while. Give it a listen.#NateCast #FDR #EconomicBillOfRights #WorkingPeople #FreedomFromWant #DemocraticParty #EconomicJustice #BuffaloNY #WesternNewYork #LaborRights #MiddleClass #AmericanHistory #FutureOfAmerica #BelieveInChange