Who?

There are two types of "day one" people: the ones who come up and say, "Yo, I was with you from day one," and I’m like, "Well, where were you on January 7th?" Unlike Hunter Biden, we were actually business people before getting into politics; this is what we did. You can buy the stock now, and in a couple of months, we're going to merge it, and it's going to become "pew pew."

When we spoke yesterday, it had like, you know, three-quarters of a million dollars. It's a small business, but I was like, "What do you mean?" I think we have to have this episode of the podcast.

This episode of the War Podcast is brought to you by Veter Holsters. Welcome to another episode of Shot Show: War Podcast. Joining me right now is Mr. Dawn himself. What's going on, Bud? What's going on, Michael?

How's it going?

Doing pretty good, doing pretty good. So, we'll just jump into this because this is something that I've talked about at NZM. When I talk about how the anti-gun lobby is what I have to call the collective right, the collective of politicians—you mean like the Democrat Party? Yeah, pretty much.

Exactly. We're making it simple. One of the things they like to do in Iowa State is they go full circle. They don't just attack things legislatively; they attack things culturally, politically, and financially.

A lot of people don't really understand that, but thankfully, you do, especially considering what you have going on right now. So, I'm just going to jump into it because what a lot of people don't understand is there are a lot of businesses within this space that struggle because they can't get banking. They can't run their businesses because, by and large, a lot of these other institutions that they need to survive are essentially anti-gun—100%.

That's a big part of my focus: not just setting up a government to be successful but also addressing the private sector. By the way, it's not just the companies; individuals have been debanked or flagged, or they can't get insurance because they're a gun guy or whatever it may be.

So, we're not just tackling it from the government perspective but also from the private sector, making sure those guys know they have a home where they can invest and support us. I think my father did a great job opening the door for people to become unafraid, but our side has rightfully had a lot to fear for a long time.

I mean, 175 million Americans were left by the wayside, unsure. I said, "I don't know; it seems like a great business idea." Obviously, we had the financial sophistication. Unlike Hunter Biden, we were actually business people before getting into politics; this is what we did.

My whole world has been not just fighting that stuff politically but actually creating solutions. We did that when we took Public Square public a couple of years ago. Then they brought in Cordova, which is going to be the entire financing side of the gun space—buy now, pay later options.

We're also doing it now with GrabAGun, literally taking them public. That's going to be under CLBR, so it's like a SPAC structure where you can buy the stock now, and in a couple of months, we're going to merge that, and it's going to become "pew pew."

I saw that, and I smiled. I was like, "Hell yeah!" So again, we're trying to create these solutions for people to understand that there are people actually fighting for the things they believe in. They can get on board. You can do it by buying Public Square now; you can do it by buying CLBR.

A lot of great things are happening, and we've opened the door, but we need people to get behind it. That's the thing, too, because I know a lot of people like you and I understand it behind the scenes.

So just on a surface level, can you break down what Cordova does and what Public Square is so that people understand how this all fits into the grand scheme?

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So, we started a marketplace originally full of businesses that stand for liberty. These are businesses that had been canceled by other marketplaces in the past. They had real value for freedom of expression, for life, for family, and they had no options in the consumer space to reach their consumers, either because their advertising was restricted or they didn't have a real institutional backer to support their growth.

We started this marketplace to connect them with millions of consumers who value life, family, and liberty. We've created this marketplace, and what we learned in the process was that we've got over 880,000 merchants now. They don't just need to reach consumers; they need financial solutions. They need a tech stack to support their business growth.

We talk to businesses that have been canceled by more than three payment processors in a span of 24 months. I hear that a lot; it's absurd. If you're a business owner trying to grow your business but you can't even sleep well at night because financial institutions don't want your existence, we saw a need to create a solution where your checkout stack is protected.

So we launched a payment company and purchased an incredible buy now, pay later company called Cordova. You can actually finance firearms now. Anytime you check out on college—yeah, seriously!

I'd be racking up my college debt differently. When I got into guns, I was in law school, and I started buying guns. I don't know where the money came from to buy them. I came from a family that had money, but I wasn't brought up as a trust fund kid. No one else really shot; I was sort of the first one. My brother's a fanatic, and you know that as well.

But we were on our own, trying to figure this out as kids from New York City. It took a little while, but I'm glad it didn't exist at the time because I wouldn't have been able to invest in some of the deals I had. I'd probably be in jail somewhere.

So, we've got a marketplace to sell products, and we've got a payments company to facilitate transactions where you won't get canceled. If you want to help make the Second Amendment accessible to a broader range of Americans, we offer financing options. We do this so that you can have the entire consumer and merchant experience protected in a cancel-proof manner.

It's needed more than ever. That's PSQ, and now with GrabAGun, we're integrating all these systems. What we're doing is basically vertically integrating all these things left behind.

When I got into this, I was a hotel guy, right? I managed high-end buildings in cities, so I needed everyone to like me. But the second we put that "R" next to our name and got in the ring, I was like, "Oh my God, I just lost half my market."

Honestly, the reality is I realized that when you start fighting for something, you get a much better business concept. Having 175 million Americans who have been left by the wayside saying, "Thank you for fighting," is better than being agnostic to 300 million, you know what I mean?

So, we're the first people to have the guts to actually start doing this. We're taking a gun company public. You think about that. I'm not going to lie; I smiled and laughed at the same time because I was like, "Yeah, I like this."

It's a different world now. It took the last four years of hell for people to finally understand. When you look at the gun space, it also took that last four years and COVID for people to realize, "You know what? I may be pretty left on a lot of things, but I need a gun to protect myself."

So, as it relates to GrabAGun, the tech stack is letting people buy guns the way they're used to buying everything else. Obviously, you still go through your FFL process legally, but we're simplifying that.

Now we're able to go after that group of females or younger gun buyers who don't think about going to their local store to buy anything because they haven't done that ever.

Absolutely. The interesting thing is I had a guy on my podcast before, and we were talking about cars—trucks, Mopar, all that stuff. Towards the end of it, he said, "Yeah, I got debanked." I asked how, and he said, "I bought a gun on my credit card, and the bank was like, 'You purchased firearms? You're done. Get your cash out of our bank, and you're done.'"

Even trying to get a mortgage, I was like, "Well, we've got enough money in your bank to pay for it. We just want to finance some of it." And they said, "Well, we can't do that."

I was like, "This isn't risky; these are seven-figure people." They couldn't get a couple million-dollar loan when they had 10 times that in the bank. It was a real attack, and it wasn't just on guys who may not have an 800-plus credit score; it was across the board.

It didn't matter; it was just an attack on anyone who believed in these things and was willing to be vocal about it.

Which goes to show how deeply ingrained the anti-sentiment is, right? For someone of that stature to be denied just based on that ideology alone should tell a lot of people how serious they are about it.

I started a media business called MXM News, and it was the same thing. We literally just aggregate news from all over. If you want to see the New York Times, we'll show you, but we show you both sides.

I was at CPAC a couple of years ago, and my partner in the deal called me a small business strength. But again, guys like me are willing to fight this fight. They're willing to risk what seems like insurmountable odds at times just to make sure it's out there.

My partner called me and said, "The operating account has no money." I said, "Well, when we spoke yesterday, it had like three-quarters of a million dollars."

Again, it's a small business, but I was like, "What do you mean?" He said, "I think we got hacked." We called the bank, and they said, "Oh, we just don't want to do business with you anymore. There's a cashier's check in the mail."

I was like, "How do we make this work?" They broke up with us by email; they didn't even call. It was brutal.

I was like, "This has got to stop." That kind of stuff is what they throw at you to get you to stop and quit. For me, it made me fight harder. This can't happen in America at any time, but especially not now.

I absolutely love it. One of the things I know about you that a lot of people don't know is that you're a true gun guy. We've had discussions before, and the first time I spoke to you, I was like, "Yeah, this guy's a gun guy." My brother's the same way; we're full nerds.

For the people out there, what can they expect going forward in terms of the state of things with respect to the Second Amendment and what you may be in a position to do or not do?

You know, I'm out now, but I can be a loud voice. The reality is that for the last three months, I've been in the transition process, picking the right guys. What we didn't know in 2016 was who you could actually trust and who would be good.

People tell you what you want to hear, and you believe it. "Oh, this guy has an ARX to his name; he must be good." That's not the case.

Again, you needed the last four years to figure that out. There are two types of "day one" people: the ones who come up and say, "I was with you from day one," and I’m like, "Where were you on January 7th?"

If you weren't there then, it doesn't matter. The concentric circles of loyalty and competence are small. There are some great loyal people who may not necessarily be the best at getting things done, and some guys who can get things done but aren't loyal.

Now we know who those people are, and we've stacked that government. Whether it's the Justice Department or the ATF, we have a great roster of people who actually understand our people, care about it, and have the guts to fight.

I think you're going to see things around this time that we could have never imagined before. You made a great point: the first four years are like being thrown into a corporation where you're dealing with everyone, and you don't know who really likes you or supports you.

You have to filter and learn about people very quickly, and some people are chameleons. Now, going forward, considering you guys have gone through that hardship, you see the cabinet is different minds, all working together.

They're trying to go after those guys because the swamp has teeth. But there's an understanding now that these people aren't just kicking the can down the road; they have a mission and are willing to fight. Those are the people we're putting in place, and that's really important.

That didn't exist the first time around. You needed the last four years of hell for not just us to learn who those people are but for America to wake up to understand what's at stake.

It's why it's so important because everyone's a tough guy on the internet, and everyone has a gripe. Not many people have solutions, and certainly not many people have solutions that are willing to put in the blood, sweat, tears, and capital behind fighting for these things.

If they can invest in Public Square or CLBR now, which will automatically turn into Pew, that's GrabAGun. You guys can actually help support this stuff so we can create that entire vertically integrated, let's call it, Red State economy behind all of these things.

That's what we're doing: creating solutions across the board. Next, we'll get into the banking side, and we can literally have a simultaneous parallel economy just in case it ever happens again. Hopefully, it doesn't, but in the event that it does, you guys can buy into that right now.

You can be part of that solution, not just complaining about it and then going back to support some leftist organization that would put you in the Goog next to me if they had their way.

It's crazy; I can hit one button, and I've been doing it for a while. But these people hate you. It's fine if you want to do that; I get it; it's America. But please don't complain about them trampling all over you. You have to pick a pony.

Absolutely. For the businesses and people out there who want to support, help, or become involved, where can I direct these people?

Right now, if you have some sort of E-Trade account, you can literally buy CLBR. That's what's going to turn into Pew; that's the GrabAGun deal. You can buy PSQ. Those are the two tickers.

They're separate companies, obviously, but integrated in terms of the technology, the payment ecosystem, and the same overarching team. I'm on the board of both.

The guys who helped public a couple of years ago were former Democrats who voted for Hillary in 2016 but watched and saw and came to the conclusion on their own that these people don't believe in these freedoms. They got sick of it and are now more red-pilled than anyone.

It's awesome to see, and you need a little bit of that understanding. I can't believe more people aren't jumping onto it, but everyone else is. You see everyone's a weakling. Everyone's a badass, but when it comes to putting up some money, that's a little different.

We're trying to make sure these things are going forward and will be there forever. If you're a business owner, you asked about the admin earlier. If you're an FFL, go build right now. You have air cover.

You've got an actual administration that loves the Second Amendment. You've got a whole movement of folks wanting to create this ecosystem and provide you wind in your sails. There's never been a better time as an American entrepreneur to go build.

We've got a golden age on our hands. That's how we feel. We're really grateful to be at the heart of it and be this central ecosystem with amazing companies like GrabAGun, Public Square, Cordova, and all the companies here at Shot Show.

The energy we feel here is different and unparalleled. I really feel like, especially as we celebrate 250 years of our nation's family, Trump is the guy overseeing those ceremonies.

They moved the thing indoors this week because I got off that plane after living in Florida, and I'm a little softer than I used to be in terms of temperature. I called his chief of staff and said, "Listen, can we keep his speech under 90 seconds? That's about as long as I'll be able to stay out there."

But him overseeing that is going to be incredible. More importantly, since election day, I've seen so many small businesses out there saying, "Hey man, we're building a new store. We're expanding."

These people were sitting on the sidelines, saying, "We can't do that because we're not sure how badly we're going to get taxed or over-regulated." Now, people are actually being entrepreneurs again and taking a chance in the economy.

That's what it's all about, and I'm super excited about what that means for our country, our future, and my children. I think it's just epic.

Absolutely. I watched as people started businesses and then hit a brick wall. They just stopped and shut down because there was no foundation to build on.

Now, the way I see things going is that there's a beautiful foundation to build pretty much anything you want within this space now, correct?

And do it with some level of confidence that you otherwise wouldn't have had, what, 10 years ago?

We have a lot of crap to fix after the disastrous four years and honestly, even for the last 100 years. But the only way we're going to do that is with actual growth and innovation.

To have someone in there who's actually pro-growth, pro-innovation, and not just pro-regulation or excessive nonsense that their buddies in D.C. are getting rich on because they make rules that small businesses or small gun manufacturers can't possibly comply with, I think everyone has a chance.

We want people to thrive, not barely survive. This is that window.

Absolutely. Thank you very much for everything you're doing. I love it, man. I look forward to seeing you soon.

So there you have it. Go ahead, invest, dude. Stop wasting time; get it out there.