Why Does Comfortably Smug Wear Sunglasses? Here's What We Know About the 'Ruthless' Host

People want to know why Comfortably Smug wears sunglasses during the Ruthless podcast. The host of the conservative politics podcast often wears shades during the podcast and while appearing on television programs.

Comfortably Smug — whose real name is Shashank Tripathi — hosts Ruthless with Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, and John Ashbrook, and the podcast just struck a deal with Fox News.

Comfortably Smug has not publicly addressed why he wears sunglasses during his podcast or during his television appearances. During a contentious appearance on Inside Politics with Dana Bash, the news anchor teased the podcast host about his moniker and his sunglasses.

“Smug? That’s your — I’m guessing your parents didn’t give you that name,” said Dana.

“That’s what I’m known as, and it makes me and everyone else happy,” replied the Ruthless host.

“OK, and you have to come back, because we’re running out of time to get into a discussion about the sunglasses,” she replied.

While the podcast host didn't reveal why he wears sunglasses on TV, there has been speculation that he wears them to protect his real identity and bring mystique to his media personality.

While the Ruthless host didn't address the reasons for his sunglasses, the show did address their recent deal with Fox News during the July 15 episode. John Holmes delivered the news to the audience.

"Good day," he said. "We come to you today with breaking news out of New York. Fox News has announced a new media expansion that includes a licensing agreement with Ruthless Podcast."

He continued, "CEO of Fox News Media Suzanne Scott says, quote, 'The Ruthless Deal is a natural extension of our powerhouse brand as audiences reshape how they consume quality content. Since its launch as an alternative to progressive podcasts ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the fellow's irreverent variety of next generation conservative talk with a dry sense of humor has solidified it as the preeminent go-to podcast for political power players'."

Comfortably Smug added his two cents about the deal with Fox.

"Yeah, to me, I mean, it's it's an incredible day," he said. "I told everyone today was going to be an insane day, and this is what happened, each and every day. But honestly, this is I'm I'm so thrilled and grateful because of our audience. We have the best listeners and viewers on YouTube that anyone could ask for. And this is an opportunity with Fox where the only thing that changes is you get more episodes every week."

Ruthless was created in 2020 by Josh, a conservative strategist, and Comfortably Smug. The mission of the podcast was to bring "fun" to right-wing politics.

The podcast routinely attacks liberal politics, and Comfortably Smug often uses the phrase "own the libs" to express his conservative views. The podcast is popular among men between 18 and 45.