Dive deep into the heart of American politics with this gripping episode as we explore the relentless influence of Trumpism on the Republican party. Our hosts break down recent election outcomes, shedding light on key strategies and why certain candidates fell short despite their seemingly strong credentials. Listen in to uncover how political calculations could shape the future, from local elections all the way to potential presidential aspirations.
00:00:30 Discussion on Trumpism and Republican Strategy
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SPEAKER 04 :
Mark, we’ve got to run Republicans who are 1,000% MAGA. I’m sorry. You’ve got to run people who are totally on board. Because Trump wasn’t on the ballot last night. And with Winsome Sears, he certainly wasn’t on the ballot. You’ve got to win.
SPEAKER 03 :
She wouldn’t have won anyway. I mean, first of all, you’re totally right. But she wouldn’t have won anyway. Probably not. She wasn’t a great candidate. I think she kind of was a pretty good candidate. Her biography is good. She’s well-spoken. Her positions were right on virtually all things.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, maybe she just fell short. Look, the Republican Party is Trumpism. You’re going to have to understand that. MAGA is MAGA. And that’s why we better pay attention to this guy. I have not been a big fan of ending the filibuster. I worry a little bit about if they get control. That’s the conventional reaction. But I don’t know, Mark. I’m starting to reconsider this. Here’s what Trump posted on Truth Social after the election. First of all, he said, and so it begins. Mm-hmm. All in caps. You know, again, Batman, Gotham, the Joker. Let’s get Commissioner Gordon in here. I’m coming for you. He’s the Christian Bale, Ben. I’m coming for you. Well, some would say that Curtis Sliwa was the Christian Bale character or maybe even the Commissioner Gordon character. Did you see the numbers? Even if Curtis had dropped out, there wasn’t enough to overtake him.
SPEAKER 03 :
So can we get off his back? Thank you. And I know that the math looked that way, but you and I came to the realization or came to the conclusion that we weren’t going to call on the conservatives to leave the battlefield, put it in God’s hands. Well, we did put it in God’s hands, and they delivered to Mamdani an actual majority, 50-point-something percent, meaning that even if Curtis had gotten out and all those votes had gone to Cuomo, Mamdani would have won anyway.
SPEAKER 04 :
Over a million people in New York voted for the Muslim from Uganda. So that’s where we are. Here we are. So here’s what Trump said. Pass voter reform. Pass voter ID. No mail-in ballots. Save the Supreme Court from packing. No two-state addition, etc. Terminate the filibuster. Here’s his thinking. Here’s his long-game thinking. Now, I get the conventional wisdom. This is why I’ve been nervous about it. And this is why a lot of Republicans like John Kennedy and others are nervous about it. All right, if the Democrats take control, then they get to do all these horrific things to the country. Trump’s thinking is, get rid of the filibuster, give me a 51-vote majority, enact my legislation, get my agenda passed, watch how soon the country turns around for the better, and they’ll never win another election. Because they’re going to do everything they can to get rid of the filibuster anyway.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 04 :
So why not do it? Pull the trigger.
SPEAKER 03 :
Here’s the answer to that. It’s funny, because you have been semi-comfortable in the world of the filibuster, saying, be careful what you wish for, let’s not change it. My last few weeks, because I’ve been sitting there going, get rid of it, 51, let’s go. That 60-vote thing is a ridiculous artificial margin, and I find myself… sort of traveling in a little bit in the opposite direction because the good news is and there is no bad answer there is no totally wrong answer here it’s a great debate people can have uh the the argument for it is it would clear the decks and republicans would be able to do all these things that we want to do the blockade would not be there in front of the agenda that trump wants to have and that would be a good thing but the success of our the momentary frustration over that Maybe that’s not worth getting rid of a filibuster that would protect us, thank God in heaven, from the horrific 11-member Supreme Court statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C. that Democrats would do if that filibuster did not exist. it may be a guardrail, a backstop worth keeping.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s rolling the dice. There’s no question. It’s a roll of the dice, and it could blow up in our faces, or it could be one of the most successful maneuvers in all of political history. And, Mark, I’ve got to go back to the old mantra, trust Trump. Exactly, because I think the logic you brought…
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
that if we did get rid of it, the things we’d be able to do are the kinds of things that are objectively good, the kind of things that would win over independents and the kinds of things that would bring success in the midterms.
SPEAKER 04 :
He believes that getting actual legislation passed and voter reform achieved will prevent them from ever winning again. Look, they got to own Mamdani. I watched, who was it yesterday? Oh, Harold Ford was just Oh, Mom Donnie won’t be the national face of the Democrat Party.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, he is.
SPEAKER 04 :
Nice try, Harold. That’s wishful thinking on your part, Harold. You don’t want Mom Donnie to be the face of the party. And incidentally, somebody said this was an election last night. Decency was on the ballot. It’s really true. I mean, look at what they did. Kayleigh McEnany pointed out that Jay Jones, the new AG of Virginia. That wasn’t close either. Wasn’t even close. And we’re in uncharted waters here because this is a guy who bragged about killing the children of his political opponents. And he’s now the chief law enforcement officer of Virginia. How do you think he’s going to treat conservatives? He wants us dead. Mark, am I overstating this to tell you that many of these prominent Democrats actually, literally want us dead?
SPEAKER 03 :
They want us killed, Mark. They’re cavalier and inattentive about the level of rhetoric and the level of hate that is in their own camp. I’m going to throw a name at you from something that happened. We’ve obviously been thick with election news. You’ve been paying attention to Marjorie Taylor Greene over the last three, four days. Did you see her on Bill Maher on Friday night? Did you force yourself to watch a little bit of her on The View yesterday? I did. So the book on Marge, she is right about most things. She’s a wonderful conservative. I think she’s been over-criticized. Has there been the occasional nutty QAnon Jewish space lasers kind of thing? Yes. But I think she’s been over-criticized on that. She’s a Georgia conservative, and I like her, and I tend to like her a lot. Me too. There’s been some observation that maybe she hasn’t been at times the sharpest knife in the drawer. And we’d like all our people to be razor sharp and wise philosopher kings and queens. On Bill Maher on Friday night, on The View yesterday, she was superb. I mean superb. With poise, with sort of distancing a little from the things she needs to distance from just in terms of some of the excesses and some of the rhetorical stuff. But but but it was and was thus welcomed on the Bill Maher audience and by those heritants on The View. That coven was was was charmed by her. And they had a little back and forth. It was exactly the kind of conversation and goodwill that you and I talk about. I think she wants to run for president. I think she totally wants to run for president. And she will occupy a fascinating lane. She’s totally MAGA. She’s totally pro-Trump. But she will blister Congress in a way that J.D. Vance might not. Or that anybody else might not.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which is appealing to the people who hate Trump and MAGA. You know, that’s the secret sauce here, Mark. I mean, because in order to win in 2028, you’re going to have to, just like Trump… Got a whole lot of crossover votes. The Marjorie Taylor Greene’s or somebody like her or her will have to do the very same thing. Hey, let’s not get out of here without telling you my quick brush with fame at the airport in Israel. I’m in the lounge when we’re flying home the other day. Guess who walked in? Deborah Messing. Oh, the actor from Will and Grace, right? That’s right, who is pro-Israel to the hilt.
SPEAKER 03 :
And in the last day or so said something. I think she kind of sort of said, hey, New York Democrats like me vote for Cuomo. You bet.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah. And, of course, the left is furious at her. And they were given a reward in Israel. I kind of quickly Googled. And I’m still somebody. I love seeing famous people, of course. Sure. Spotting them in the wild. So I went up and thanked her. I didn’t mean to bother her, but I said, hey, thanks for your voice. Because she is. And she was as kind. And I told her, I worked with Charlie Kirk. And her face just dropped. She said, that poor guy. She’s like, I can’t believe that happened. It’s so horrifying, her poor. And she just said a lot of nice things. So I just wanted to share my experience with Grace. Which is awesome.
