Dan Osborn, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, was recorded at a campaign event earlier this summer mocking Trump supporters with derogatory language, suggesting their lives are miserable because they feel part of the winning team under Trump’s influence. The Omaha World-Herald obtained and verified the leaked audio, which Osborn acknowledged as sounding like him but argued does not reflect his true feelings about Trump voters. Incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts has criticized Osborn for disparaging Trump supporters, while conservative commentator Hasan Piker praised Osborn’s comments.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but none of the 2 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 17568: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-18
“Billy Bob in f—king Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next to the f—king Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the flag, all he knows is that he’s on the winning team,” Osborn sneered in the recording.
asserted
Osborn → live → recording
“It’s really that simple.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
“That’s why [Trump’s] been so effective,” the red state Senate hopeful continued.
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hopeful → ’ → ?
“He’s been so effective at taking Billy Bob and his wife Mary Jane or Mary Jo and telling them, ‘Look, we’re winning, you’re on the winning team.’
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you → take → team
“And that’s all they care about, because their lives probably suck so f—king bad.”
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lives → ’ → ?
The recording is from a campaign-related event that took place early this summer, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
uncertain
that → relate → Herald
The outlet obtained the audio on Wednesday and said it verified its authenticity with a person who participated in the conversation.
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who → obtain → conversation
Osborn acknowledged the audio “sure sounds like me,” in an interview with CNN.
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audio → acknowledge → CNN
“I talk to a lot of Trump voters, and that’s not it,” he said, when asked if the recorded comments reflect how he actually feels about the president’s supporters.
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he → talk → supporters
“What I’m talking about, I’m talking about people are pissed off, people are disenfranchised, especially, and that’s what Trump captured in Nebraska,” Osborn continued.
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Osborn → talk → Nebraska
“He captured people who are angry about the political system, and Trump ran outside of that as an outsider.
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Trump → capture → outsider
“That’s what people like about Trump.
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people → ’ → Trump
It’s why I’m running again as an independent, running outside the political system.”
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I → ’ → system
Osborn said the leaked audio sounds “out of character,” and he apologized “to those people that might be offended.”
uncertain
that → say → people
On Thursday, incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) slammed Osborn, arguing that his comments demonstrate he “looks down” on Trump supporters in the state the president has carried in all three of his campaigns.
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president → slam → campaigns
The people Dan Osborn is mocking — calling them ‘Billy Bob’ and ‘Mary Jane,’ saying their lives ‘probably suck so f—— bad’ — are the hardest-working people in America,” Ricketts wrote on X.
“They don’t need a candidate who looks down on them,” the senator added.
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senator → mock → them
“They need a senator who fights for them every single day.”
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who → need → them
“He f—king cooked,” Piker said of the independent candidate’s leaked remarks.
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Piker → cook → remarks
A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee quipped that the group would love to see Piker hit the campaign trail with Osborn.
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Piker → quip → Osborn
“Hasan Piker clearly loves Democrat Dan, so we’re happy to arrange travel to Nebraska where Piker can campaign with his new best friend,” NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia told The Post.
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Puglia → love → Post
Osborn, an industrial mechanic, union leader and Navy veteran, has been endorsed by the Nebraska Democratic Party.
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Osborn → endorse → Party
Cindy Burbank, who won the state’s Democratic Senate primary, withdrew from the race in July to make way for Osborn.
asserted
who → win → Osborn
The Aporia
