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Nebraska Senate candidate seems to confirms audio claiming Trump supporters' lives 'suck so f---ing bad'

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Cite

Kornick, L. (2026, September 17). Nebraska Senate candidate seems to confirms audio claiming Trump supporters' lives 'suck so f---ing bad'. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/nebraska-senate-candidate-seems-confirms-audio-claiming-trump-supporters-lives-suck-so-f-ing-bad

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-17 · by Lindsay Kornick

Quick Summary

Dan Osborn, an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, appeared to confirm audio recordings where he criticizes Trump supporters' lives as "suck[ing] so f---ing bad." In the recordings obtained by the Omaha World-Herald, Osborn suggests that these individuals support Trump merely because they perceive him as part of the winning team due to their difficult circumstances. When questioned about this on CNN's "Inside Politics," Osborn acknowledged that it sounded like him but claimed it was out of character and not reflective of his true views. His Republican opponent, Senator Pete Ricketts, criticized Osborn for mocking hard-working Nebraskans who support Trump.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Dan Osborn, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Nebraska's Republican primary, appeared to confirm leaked audio where he mocked Trump supporters by saying their lives "probably suck so f---ing bad." The audio was obtained by the Omaha World-Herald and verified as authentic. In the recording, Osborn describes a typical Trump supporter as "Billy Bob in f---ing Red Cloud, Nebraska," who is happy because he feels like he's on the winning team despite difficult circumstances. Sen. Jim Ricketts, another candidate, criticized Osborn for looking down on hard-working Nebraskans. When questioned about the leaked audio by CNN, Osborn acknowledged it sounded like him but said it was out of character and expressed regret if anyone felt offended. The incident occurred during a campaign event in early summer 2023.

Written for “Nebraska Senate Candidate Controversy” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Nebraska Senate Candidate Controversy
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

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This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
33
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
3 of 33 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6059 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lindsay Kornick
52 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over their views on Israel Thursday, calling their positions "wrong" and saying they did not reflect congressional Democrats.
🔮 When asked whether he would support using troops or drones, El-Sayed rejected the idea and suggested that the U.S. bears some responsibility for their rise.
🔮 " "PPS has and will continue to comply with all laws that serve and protect children," the district's statement read.
🔮 And in this Senate race, Abdul is the candidate who understands that and is willing to fight for it."
🔮 With both chambers of Congress, Hochul said Democrats could halt the "corruption" she alleged was occurring under the Trump administration.
🔮 The MS NOW host showed a clip of himself asking Whitmer over the weekend about what she thought about the "ugly recent rhetoric" levied against El-Sayed by Rogers and Trump, suggesting the attacks could be motivated by "xenophobia.
🔮 "I know it would sound crazy if I say none of the critique was valid, but I’m like, what is the critique?" Hannah-Jones told The New York Times during an interview on Wednesday.
🔮 "The top story from the 2026 cycle will be the electoral opening Democrats seized — and will have to maintain," Emanuel wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
🔮 Border czar Tom Homan has said that if the allegations are proven, Omar could be denaturalized.
🔮 "The View" co-host Ana Navarro said Tuesday there was "no way in hell" that she would meet with President Donald Trump.
Also by Lindsay Kornick
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 52 articles by Lindsay Kornick →

Topics

Fox News Digital Nebraska Red Cloud Republicans U.S. Senate

Subjects

Osborn PERSON · 12× Trump PERSON · 7× Nebraska GPE · 5× Fox News Digital ORG · 4× Billy Bob PERSON · 2× Dan Osborn PERSON · 2× Red Cloud GPE · 2× Republicans NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× U.S. Senate ORG · 1×

Narrative

"Billy Bob in f---ing Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next door to the f---ing Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the Trump flag … all he knows is he’s like on the winning team," the person who appeared to be Osborn said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 "I’ve always lived by the golden rule, treat others like you want to be treated, and if somebody was offended by this, certainly I would apologize to those people that might be offended, but I got to tell them I feel their pain.

Claims (33 extracted, 3 hedged)

Independent Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn appeared to confirm leaked audio on Wednesday in which he suggested people who supported President Donald Trump have lives that "suck so f---ing bad." uncertain
that → appear → lives
In audio obtained by the Omaha World-Herald, Osborn seemed to be heard demeaning Trump supporters in Nebraska, claiming they only support the president because he's "on the winning team." asserted
he → obtain → team
"Billy Bob in f---ing Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next door to the f---ing Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the Trump flag … all he knows is he’s like on the winning team," the person who appeared to be Osborn said. asserted
who → e → team
"He’s been so effective at taking Billy Bob and his wife Mary Jane or Mary Jo and telling them, look we’re winning. asserted
we → take → them
You’re on the winning team. asserted
You → ’re → team
And that’s all they care about, because their lives probably suck so f---ing bad." asserted
lives → ’ → ?
When asked about the audio on CNN's "Inside Politics with Dana Bash," Osborn said, "It sure sounds like me," but added that it sounded "out of character" for him. asserted
it → ask → him
"I talked to a tremendous amount of people and, again, I don’t remember the context of this one particular conversation, but it certainly does sound out of character for myself," Osborn said. asserted
Osborn → talk → myself
"I’ve always lived by the golden rule, treat others like you want to be treated, and if somebody was offended by this, certainly I would apologize to those people that might be offended, but I got to tell them I feel their pain. uncertain
I → live → pain
I absolutely feel the pain. asserted
I → feel → pain
We’re all angry right now and sometimes when you’re angry you say some things." asserted
you → ’re → things
During the interview, Osborn emphasized that the audio was not what he truly thought of Trump voters and instead a discussion on the "disenfranchised" voters. asserted
he → emphasize → voters
"I talked to a lot of Trump voters and … I’m talking about people are pissed off, people are disenfranchised, especially, and that’s what Trump captured in Nebraska. asserted
Trump → talk → Nebraska
He captured people who are angry about the political system and Trump ran outside of that as an outsider asserted
Trump → capture → outsider
," he said. asserted
he → say → ?
"That’s what people like about Trump. asserted
people → ’ → Trump
It’s why I’m running again as an independent running outside the political system, because I’m tired of the two-party doom loop." asserted
I → ’ → loop
Fox News Digital reached out to Osborn's campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response. asserted
Digital → reach → response
Osborn's opponent, incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebr., told Fox News Digital: "I've been to Red Cloud. asserted
I → tell → Cloud
The people Dan Osborn is mocking are the hardest working people in America. asserted
Osborn → mock → America
They don't need a candidate who looks down on them. asserted
who → need → them
They need a senator who fights for them. asserted
who → need → them
That's what I do every day." Earlier this month, Fox News Digital obtained audio of Osborn suggesting that he would appeal to Republican voters by distancing himself from progressive issues. " asserted
he → do → issues
The state is made up of 50% Republicans, 26% Democrat, 24% independents. asserted
state → make → Republicans
So my win numbers, mathematically, I have to get probably 10-15% of Republicans to win this race. asserted
I → have → race
How am I going to do that by f---ing saying, ‘Oh, I love trans people, and they should be able to play in sports?’" Osborn said. asserted
Osborn → go → sports
"F--- no, Jane, that’s not how I win. asserted
I → ’ → ?
I win by s---ing on the party." asserted
I → win → party
In another clip, he was heard saying, "I have people recording me, so I can’t say I want to abolish ICE. asserted
I → hear → ICE
I can’t say those words. asserted
I → say → words
I’ll be f--- asserted
I → f → ?
Though Osborn has insisted that he was "independent" of the two parties, Fox News Digital reported in May that Osborn's campaign was predominantly funded by left-wing donors and activist organizations like ActBlue. uncertain
campaign → insist → ActBlue
Osborn has also predominantly supported other Democrats' campaigns. asserted
Osborn → support → campaigns
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