Mr. Patriot's (Joseph Tran) statement about, "Commerce, education, and the... um..." is a reference to Governor Rick Perry's 'OOPS' moment when he forgot the third government agency he would cut during the 2012 Republican Presidential Debate in Texas.
The awkward smile made by Mr. Patriot (Tran) is a parody of Republican nominee candidate Hermann Cain's commercial on YouTube, where Cain slowly and awkwardly starts to smile at the camera at the end of the video.
The steadicam shot of Mr. Right Hand Man (George S. Nader) and Mr. Patriot (Tran) walking around the meeting room is an homage and parody of the 'walk-and-talk' technique often used in the works of Aaron Sorkin.
This short film was directly inspired by the often ridiculous antics during the 2012 Republican Presidential Debates, the popularity of 'reality' television, and, consequently, the short-lived, highly publicized wedding of Kim Kardashian.
Because of the complex dialogue (another homage to Aaron Sorkin) used during the 'walk-and-talk' scene, Nader had to read some of his lines under the guise of using his iPhone for additional info. Because of Tran's acting background, he did not need a similar guise.