Trump gets HUMILIATING NEWS ahead of this week’s midterm convention

If you've got your big first ever. midterm convention this week, as. Republicans do, this is probably not the. news that you want shared when it comes. to ticket sales. >> The NRCC did confirm to Fox more than. 2,000 tickets have been distributed. ahead of the convention. So, tell us. more about the convention and also about. this cash advantage for you and the RNC. The big question here, where are you. going to deploy the money? Well, listen. I think that people are giving us money. because they believe in the agenda that. we're selling to the American people.

And I think they believe in the. president. They believe in what Speaker. Johnson doing and leader Thun is doing. And uh we're ready to go. >> 2,000 tickets. This thing is days away. And Republicans have barely broken. triple digits when it comes to ticket. sales, which makes sense for three. reasons. So, let's start with the price. tag. First and foremost, House. Republicans are being asked to pony up a. minimum $25,000. suggested donation just to attend, not. to speak or headline, just for the.

distinct privilege of being able to walk. in the door. And for an idea as to how. that's landing, out of 70 Republican. candidates and sitting members who were. asked whether they're going, 45 of them. said no or said they're still quote. considering. That is nearly twothirds of. the people that Republicans actually. asked hedging or outright declining for. their own party's marquee midterm event. Representative Tim Burchett put it about. as bluntly as he could when he said, quote, "I just got a bill. I'm not. sure." And he separately called the. $25,000 ask pretty steep. Former New.

Hampshire Governor Chris Cenounu said. that Trump is supposed to be raising. money for the candidates, not the other. way around. Representative Jake Elie. said, quote, "Not everybody is a. fundraising juggernaut, and some of. those folks feel it's better spent on. themselves." And he's right that not. everybody is a fundraising juggernaut. And the leader of most political parties. would recognize that as well, and would. consider not charging $25,000 to your. own members during their re-election. campaigns to give to a guy who has $450.

million. But Trump isn't most leaders. And these Republicans have to remember. that at the end of the day, it is not. about them, it's about him. Remember, when you swear allegiance to the world's. biggest narcissist, that means you have. to pay the narcissism tax, too. Reason. number two, this pulls Republicans in. genuinely tough races off the campaign. trail at the exact moment that they can. least afford it. We are fewer than 60. days out from the midterms, and thanks. to Trump, Republicans are running in the.

least favorable national environment in. decades. Maybe leaving their states and. districts to go rub elbows with a bunch. of donors isn't the best use of their. time. Perhaps talking to the people. whose votes they're actually trying to. win might be a little bit more. productive. Then again, this isn't. exactly a Republican party known for. their allegiance to regular Americans. So maybe it's actually pretty apt. Which. leads directly into reason number three, which is really the whole ball game. This convention is shaping up to be one. big Trump celebration. It is literally.

being bu as Trump of Palooa. And it's. all happening as Trump's rock bottom. approval ratings drag the rest of his. party down. So, if you are a vulnerable. House Republican trying to convince. swing voters back home that you're your. own person, you're independent-minded, you're focused on their kitchen table. issues, perhaps the last thing that you. want is a viral photo of yourself on the. convention floor in Dallas, cowboy hat. included, courtesy of this $20,000. honorary delegate package, cheering for. a president whose numbers are cratering.

and who the voters are showing up to. vote against. you would be voluntarily. nationalizing your own race around the. most unpopular figure in it. And let's. be honest, it will be a Trump worship. fest. Trump's RNC is not going to put on. an event where it's anything other than. that. So, anybody who does go is. basically telling their voters, sending. a message to their voters, this is where. my allegiance lies. I am in Dallas, not. at home. I have to be here to genulect. at the altar of Trump instead of talking.

to you. You don't show up at Trump a. Palooa and then get to go to your own. district and distance yourself from that. very guy. Can't have it both ways. And. that tension explains basically. everything else uh uh that's weird about. how this event has been organized. It is. telling that Republicans haven't even. disclosed basic attendance projections. or state-by-state participation numbers. for what's supposed to be the largest. Republican gathering since 2016. When. you are proud of your turnout, you shout.

the numbers from the rooftops. When. you're worried about turnout, you go. quiet and vague, which is what's. happening here. It's also telling that. Texas Republicans have had to slash. their own premium ticket prices midsale. They've cut the top tier from 20,000. down to 10,000 and they've cut the next. tier from 15,000 to 7500. That is not. something you do when a fundraiser is. going well. You cut prices when the. demand isn't matching the hype. So, here's where that leaves us. Again, just. a few days out, Republicans built an. event explicitly designed to show off.

strength heading into a brutal midterm. environment. And instead, it is exposing. exactly the vulnerability that they were. hoping to paper over. The price tag is. scaring off rank and file members. The. politics of appearing on a Trump branded. stage is scaring off anybody in. competitive districts. And the people. who most need to be home doing the. actual work of winning the races are. choosing to do exactly that instead of. showing up in Dallas. So, you can slap. convention on a two-day rally, and. that's what it's going to be. It's going. to be a two-day rally. You can print up.

cowboy hats and book the American. Airlines Arena, but you can't fundra. your way out of the basic problem that. you're contending with as a Republican. in today's environment, that the guy who. you're building the whole event around. is dragging everybody standing next to. him down. You're watching the No Live. podcast. Next up are my interviews with. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the bull. work Sarah Longwell, and Brian Pointter, who's running against bleaguered and. battled Max Miller. No lie is brought to. you by Factor. It is genuinely tough to.

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picky when it comes to food, but Factor. is legitimately delicious, healthy, and. I could not recommend it highly enough. So, let's eat real. Head to. factormeals.com/btc50. off and use code BTC50 off to get 50%. off and one free breakfast item per box. for one year while supplies last until. 103126. That's code BTC50 off atactormeals.com. btc50 offactormeals.com. We have some major news at the Maryland. Supreme Court. I am joined by the.

governor of Maryland, Wes Moore. Governor Moore, can you explain what. just happened at the state supreme. court? This is something that you and I. have been speaking about for years at. this point. So, can you tell us uh what. the big news is. >> and and been and have been fighting for. for years and and yesterday uh you know. yesterday's decision was just massive. where uh where where the sup the. Maryland Supreme Court and again by an. overwhelming 52 decision uh really gave. a victory to the people of our state. Uh. and what they did was they said that we.

can have on the ballot and we now we. will have on the ballot where people. have a chance to defend their own. democracy and decide whether or not we. can redistrict uh redistrict our. congressional our congressional lines. You know the thing that we have. continually said is that I believe in. national redistricing reform. Um but. what I also know is this. I'm not blind. And what is happening right now in. absence of national redistric reform, you're having the president of the. United States who's deciding to go. through his own process and where Donald.

Trump is then saying he wants to do. things like nationalize elections and he. wants to do things like put federal. agents around around uh voting booths. and he wants to do things like eliminate. mail and balloting and he wants to tell. Republican states that they should do. mid-decate redistricting. And so what. has now happened in the state of. Maryland, we've been pushing for over a. year now that Maryland cannot sit on our. hands while getting punched in the face. and while watching all this happening. all across the country and now we're. just very very grateful that after a lot. of work the uh the Maryland Supreme.

Court has ruled with us and and uh and. this will now be on the ballot in. November. >> Okay. So talk us through the procedural. aspects of this. What's the timeline. here? You just mentioned that this. question is going to be on the ballot in. November. So, walk us through between. now and the general election in 2028. >> Yes. So, what is going to happen now is. uh come come November 3rd, uh there will. be a question on the ballot about about. uh for Marylanders to be able to decide. whether or not the whether or not we can. have this freedom and flexibility to be.

able to make these adjustments on our. congressional lines. uh I will be going. around uh prior to November 3rd and you. know and as I've said I'm v I'm also on. the ballot for re-election come November. 3rd and we're going to urging urging our. people to uh to vote yes and vote west. uh come November 3rd if we are. successful come November 3rd what then. will happen is we will have the ability. to go back in front of our general. assembly and say that now we have this. authority that's been given to us by the. people of Maryland we now must act and.

so we will be able to turn around. quickly and uh we've already been having. conversations with members of the. general assembly already been having. conversations with our legislature. So. uh so we know that uh if the people of. the state give us the authority to be. able to do this, we will be able to make. these adjustments and and I and I do. want to highlight why this is important. too because for anyone who thinks that. this debate is over, they are deeply. mistaken because let's be clear next. year we know that Mississippi, we know. the potential of Georgia, we know that.

Indiana, we know that other states are. now going to go through and they're. going to follow through on Donald. Trump's will, which is go and rig a. system, weaken voting rights, and make. this pain permanent through this. aggressive mid decade redistricting. So. the state of Maryland, if the voters. give us the opportunity come November. 3rd, the state of Maryland will have an. opportunity to respond. >> Can you talk about the difference from. where we are right now versus just a few. months ago? I mean, you and I had spoken. at length about the prospect of Bill. Ferguson, the state senate president,

blocking this effort. And so how did we. get from that point where there was kind. of a refusal to acknowledge the broader. uh political environment to right now. where you know now we are in a place. where Maryland Democrats are willing to. see the broader environment and fight. fire with fire? >> Well, I I think unfortunately what what. happened was people saw that what we've. been predicting for the past, you know, over a year was happening, >> right? Wasn't it wasn't just alarmism. It was not alarmism that we were.

watching an election being stolen in. front of our faces that when when we're. talking about things like the, you know, him trying to eliminate mail and. balloting, which by the way, we sued him. over and beat him in court. When he was. talking about things like telling us to. turn over our voter roles, which he. knows is unconstitutional and there's no. reason for us to do that because it's a. violation of the 10th Amendment. And. then when he's turning around and then. you saw the fall of the Voting Rights. Act, which was the crown jewel of the. Civil Rights Movement. Yeah. >> And so we've been talking about this for.

a year and a half that this was not just. just some, you know, this was not just. some uh some overreaction. We were. literally watching an election being the. attempt of an election being stolen in. from us in broad daylight. And so we're. thankful now that we have uh you know. have a party that is ready to move, that. is ready to respond, that we're able to. work very hard to go get both the House. and the Senate uh on board and then post. November 3rd, if the people of Maryland. vote to be able to make these. adjustments, we will continue to working. with both the House and the Senate to.

ensure that we can present maps. Well, I. think uh you know before we move on, I. think you and the other Maryland. Democrats deserve a lot of credit for. moving this issue forward because you. know, as we've seen, it's easy to say. the right things. It's a little bit more. difficult to expend some political. capital and do the right thing and. that's exactly what's happening what's. what's happening right now in Maryland. So, again, a lot of credit to to to the. work that you uh and the rest of the. team have done in your state. To that. end, you did just mention um what Donald. Trump is trying to do which necessitated.

this kind of response. Right now, he is. engaged in this effort to appeal his. illegal executive order uh basically. ending mail and ballots except for a. narrow set of circumstances in all of. the states ahead of midterms. Uh even. though he's had, you know, been blocked. by temporary restraining orders in lower. courts, he's now seeking to appeal this. up to the US Supreme Court. What is your. job right now? What are you looking to. do to protect mail and voting in the. state in your state as he, you know, pulls out every stop he can to try and.

block basically an an enterprise that is. disproportionately used by Democratic. voters. I mean, let's just call it what. it is. He's he's doing this because he. knows he cannot win on the issues. He's. doing this because he knows he cannot. win when you're watching inflation at. threeear highs. He's doing this because. he knows what, you know, that you cannot. win when you're starting, you know, starting uh trade wars with Canada and. putting illegal tariffs on other. countries. He's doing it because he.

knows we're in the middle of a war that. none of us asked for, that none of us. understand, another forever war that. he's wants to get out of as fast as. possible. But he's realizing that one. side can start a war, but one side. cannot finish it. Other people will have. an opinion as to when the war ends. And. so what does he do? He then tries to rig. the system and he tries to cheat. What. we're doing here in the state of. Maryland and what I've also been doing. is, you know, I I the other governors uh. uh selected me to be the chair of the. National Governor's Association. So,

we're working with governors uh across. the country, both Democrat and. Republicans, uh to basically say. remember your rights and remember your. powers because the truth is is that this. is a by if he by doing this, this is. actually taking away from state rights. Elections were given to the states, not. to the federal government. And that was. done by the constitution. And so what we. are urging all of our governors to do, all of our attorneys general, all of our. secretaries of states to do is do not.

give up your power because the only way. that Donald Trump can do this is if we. forfeit it. And so we're hopeful that as. other courts have as as other courts. have have shown that regardless of what. judge or what jurist that he puts this. in front of, they will they will go back. to their legal training and the legal. foundation which knows that him trying. to do this is a direct violation of the. 10th amendment and it's a direct. violation of state rights. >> So I completely hear you on the point. that this is, you know, in accordance.

with the plain text of the constitution. It's it's abundantly clear uh that. Donald Trump in the executive branch. should have no oversight in the. administration of election time, place, manner of election that belongs to the. states and to Congress. Full stop. In. the event that you have a Supreme Court. that is more differential to Donald. Trump than the plain text of the. Constitution, do the governors have a. plan in terms of what to do next? Okay. So, we we have been we've actually been. working for months collectively uh to be. able to ensure that this election goes.

off in accordance to what the law states. out. Uh and making sure that that. governors and states that we do not uh. give up our authority on something that. is so fundamental to the framework and. the foundation of this country that it. was uh amongst the you know it is. amongst the bill of rights. It was one. of the first things that they pulled. together when this country was even. founded. And so we have been working for. months in battleboarding and and and red. teaming uh a variety of different. scenarios. But we are going to ensure.

that we will have free and fair and safe. elections inside of this country. What. can regular people right now who are. watching all of this play out? What can. they do if they're looking to help. recognizing the barriers and and. anti-democratic behavior happening at. the hands of the Trump administration? I've been advocating for people to. become pole workers and they can go to. powerthepolls.org. But, you know, from. your advantage, how can people who are. looking to help be the most helpful? I I. would say I think the thing that you've. advised is is exactly right for people. to go be poll workers and for people to.

be part of the system. But, you know, the other thing I would tell people to. do is make sure no one in your life does. not understand this moment. Make sure. that nobody in your life does not. understand why their vote matters. that. no one in your life thinks that come. election day that they're just going to. be too busy or they're going to sit on. their hands or it does not matter. because everything is on the line right. now. We need to make sure that the. turnout is so overwhelming that the that. the voter that the voter response is so. enormous that it essentially becomes too.

big to rig. We need to make sure that. everyone has their voices heard and that. everyone goes out and is willing to go. out there and protect our basic. freedoms. Because I think about it this. way where I think about what people were. willing to do on behalf of us that there. were people who were willing to walk in. and walk into, you know, into into fire. hoses and face down police dogs in order. for us to have the right to vote. And I. think they're looking at us right now.

and they're saying, "This is what we're. willing to do to give you the right. Now, what are you willing to do to keep. it?" And so what we want is for. everybody to come out and to put. together the kind of numbers that we. have never seen before, especially when. it comes to midterm elections, that we. are not going to sit quiet and we are. not going to cowttow while Donald Trump. attempts to attempts to rig a system and. make the pain permanent that his. policies are causing us. Right? And I. would also echo that sentiment that you. know especially for those who are.

watching and you have to contend with. non-political or apolitical people in. your lives those people might not care. about politics but politics impacts. them. You know they might not care about. politics but healthcare employees uh uh. corporations care about politics. Utility companies care about politics. Grocery stores and farmers and and food. manufacturers those people care about. politics. So again, people around this. country might say that they don't care. about politics, but the things that they. impact in their daily lives, whether it. has to do with groceries or housing or.

food or healthcare or electricity or. utility bills, all of those things are. political. I mean, when when you're when. you're talking to, you know, just ear. earlier today, I had a chance to talk. with a whole series of of farmers, um, and ask them if this election didn't. matter when they're now dealing with the. fact that fertilizer is up over 35%. And we're talking family businesses that. have been around literally for. generations that are now trying to. figure out how they can pay for this.

increase in costs that have happened. because of these tariffs. as the people. who are getting kicked off of healthcare. or the children who are about to lose. SNAP if these elections don't matter. Your point is exactly right that. everything in our life right now is a. policy decision and these are bad. policies that are being pushed by a. federal administration right now. >> Okay. And I want to finish off with. something that you and I have been. speaking about for uh quite a while now. and that is that we are about a week. away from the official beginning of the. NFL season. And uh you know these last.

few years you've been able to have the. last laugh because your Baltimore Ravens. have been performing quite well and my. guys in blue the New York Giants have. been last place in the division and also. last place pretty much in the NFL. But. but this year is going to be different. And uh I would go so far as to say that. for the first time in a long time, the. New York Giants are on the ascent while. the Baltimore Ravens are looking to uh. to try and claw back what they can and. even go so far as to say that your guys. might have peaked. So I want your lay of.

the land right now in terms of how. things are looking with particular. respect to your Baltimore Ravens and my. New York Giants. >> Well, listen, I I love the fact that you. guys hired the coach that we hired. I I. think that's awesome. >> That's right. Nothing says confidence. like uh like gladly taking your sloppy. seconds. But you know what? With with. with all of that said, uh I have nothing. but confidence and and joy at the fact. that we now have Harbaugh. >> I agree. I agree. No, listen. Listen, I. got nothing but love for for for John. Harbaugh. Every single NFL coach would.

dream of having a career like John. Harbaugh has had. Um, and I just love. the fact that that it took y'all like. like 4 seconds to hire him after we. fired him. I just think that's awesome. Lot of respect for him. >> Yeah. Which is, by the way, which is. about 3 seconds too many. >> But you know what though, honestly, I. one of the reasons that I'm really. excited about what's going to happen. with Baltimore is actually the coaching. piece. You know, we picked up a lot of. we picked up Hendrickson, which is which. was a massive pickup uh for us. And when.

we lost Crosby, I was a little bit I. felt away. But Hendrickson, I actually. think in many ways was actually the. better deal. So that is really. solidified helped solidify our defense. Uh we're coming back healthy. But the. thing I'm most excited about honestly is. Mentor is Jesse Mentor, our new coach. This guy is a defensive mastermind. And. I think that he is going to be able to. bring that real like dog Ravens defense. back, which is exactly what we have been. missing because for the past couple. years, ironically, the Ravens have been.

known as an offensive team, which is so. weird. That is not what the Ravens are. ever known for. I think Mentor is going. to bring it back, >> right? Well, look, between Lamar. Jackson, who is a dog, I mean, the most. elite quarterback in the NFL, you've got. Z Flowers, one of the best. You've got. Derrick Henry, nobody can stop him. So, >> Yep. Yep. >> Mark Andrews. Like we're we're like if. we stay healthy and now that we have a. defensiveminded coach and someone who's. going to really come in and lock that.

defense down, I mean, I think we're I. think we're in good shape. Well, look, here is my case for the New York Giants. We've got a young team, scrappy team. We've got Jackson Dart, Scatteraboo is. back healthy. Malik Neighbors is back. and healthy. We've got Isaiah likely, one of your guys, Darnell Mooney. And of. course, I'm so partial to him because, you know, spent years watching him as. one of the elite Giants, but OBJ back on. the team. He wanted it more than. anybody. And I'm just waiting week one. versus Dallas for him to recreate that.

infamous catch with his hand over his. head. And uh so uh you know that that's. uh that's my case for these guys. >> Well, I ain't going to lie. You know, listen, I'm rooting for y'all because I. will never root for Dallas. So, I'm. definitely rooting for you on week one. The only thing I'll say about Harbaugh. is to be clear and and let me tell I I. like I like I like Dart. I I actually. think Dart is is is very talented and. you're right, he does have a good. combination of he's a he can be a good. running quarterback and he's shown his. arm. He's actually shown some real. accuracy. The only thing I will say. though is this is is.

Harbaugh couldn't get Lamar Jackson over. the hump. >> Well, look, we will uh come back just a. few months from now and I'll be able to. rub this all in your face. So, uh, yeah, but look, in in all honesty, um, you. know, especially on this redistricting. thing, thank you, uh, again for getting. this thing done. We're almost at the. finish line here, so we're close to. landing the plane. I know I have been a. bug up your ass, uh, along with other. governors about getting this thing done. So, I appreciate the work that you're. doing uh, on this issue. For those who. are watching right now, if you'd like to.

support Governor Moore uh, as he runs. for re-election this cycle, I'm going to. put that link right here on the screen. and also in the post description. For. those who are listening on the podcast, I'm going to throw that in the show. notes. Governor Moore, thanks so much. for taking the time. Appreciate you, brother. Thanks, man. >> I'm joined now by the Bull Works, Sarah. Longwell, also the author of the new. book, How to Eat an Elephant, One Voter. at a Time. Sarah, thanks for joining me. >> Hey, man. Thanks for having me. >> So, I want to get into the book in a. moment, but first I have to ask 30,000. foot view. As we are now two months out. from midterms, what is your outlook on.

midterms, the Senate specifically, as. we've seen Republicans continue to. scramble a little bit more, there is. obviously money problems with people. like Ken Paxton. Mike Johnson just. adjourned the House as he tries to. scramble and figure out how to contend. with the prospect of a new Epstein. discharge petition. So, a little bit. Republicans in disarray moment right now. as we look at midterms. What is your uh. top line here? Yeah, they're not showing. a lot of confidence, are they? Uh, look, this is all about the enthusiasm gap. right now. Um, and if you had told me,

if I had told you 18 months ago, a year. ago, >> hey BTC, guess what? Iowa's in play. Texas is in play. We would have been. like beside ourselves with joy and. optimism. We wouldn't have believed it. Um, and here we are. And look, am I. gonna put am I gonna bet the farm on. Texas? Never. Never. But if everything. that has to go right for to win a. federal election in Texas is going right. at the moment uh for Democrats, they got.

a good candidate on on the Dem side, they got a terrible candidate on the on. the Republican side, and they got an. environment in which enthusiasm among. Republicans, and look, I do the focus. groups all the time, and I can tell you. the main thing I'm hearing is the. depressed enthusiasm from Republicans. who are mad about a war, mad about high. costs, feeling betrayed. they never got. their Epstein files. Uh they think. Trump's spending all his time on the. ballroom in the arch or whatever. And. he's not paying attention to their. affordability, their material uh.

economic concerns. And so we got big. races in places we haven't had Democrats. with the potential to win in so long. So. look, I'm I'm bullish, but always with. the the the cautiousness that comes with. saying, could a Democrat really win. Iowa? Could a Democrat really really win. Texas? like it's got to be a big blue. wave for that to happen, but all the. markers are there, >> right? I I feel like at the end of the. day, all you really need as that caveat. is it's still Texas, it's still Iowa, and so you can't, you know, you can't uh.

just assume that anything is in the bag. You had mentioned enthusiasm, and I want. you to drill on that one point here. To. what extent does enthusiasm correlate to. people coming out to vote? Well, look, right now in midterm elections, Democrats because they've sort of traded. voters with Republicans and they now. have a lot of these college educated. suburban voters, they structurally do. better in off-year elections than. Republicans do because Republicans now. really need Trump to kind of juice those. lowinformation voters uh and and Trump.

brings them out uh in the general. election. But in midterms, Dem still. have a structural advantage. their. people want to crawl across broken glass. to get out there to vote. You tell them. ICE is going to be at the polls. They. say, "Well, we'll see ICE there, right?". While as Republicans, when I listen to. Republicans focus groups, man, I just. did one in Florida a couple weeks ago, and this was really stunning to me. because sometimes I I screen for Trump. disapprovers. So, we we're already. asking them, hey, how do you rate Trump? You know, and for people who say. somewhat bad or very bad, you know, we.

bring them into a group to hear, are. they persuadable? Are they staying home? What are they doing? This was just a. straightup group of Trump Florida voters. and we asked him to give him a letter. grade that he couldn't get above a C. from anybody like and it was mostly D's. and a couple people were like I can give. him an F, right? Um and it's the war. It's the war when the the the Iran war. has multiple implications for voters, but obviously high gas prices is one of. them that has a negative personal. consequence for people. But also, it's.

like another lie that Trump told them, one that was very, we weren't supposed. to be doing this. This was literally you. said you weren't going to be do doing. this. This is how you were supposed to. be different. And so, it's a betrayal. And so, that when people are like, what. agenda am I protecting? What am I. turning out to defend? And that. diminishes the enthusiasm. What about. something like Tarant County, Texas, the. third biggest county in Texas, where uh. the commissioners in Tarant County, 3. to2 along party lines, voted to close. down 92 polling places uh in that.

county. To what extent does these like. you had mentioned before there are. voters who who are going to come out and. say that they're going to crawl through. glass. This is kind of the equivalent to. that. when you when you shut down a. third of all polling places in the. entire county, you kind of do need to in. a way crawl through glass to actually be. able to cast a ballot. And so to what. extent do you think that something like. that is going to be effective versus. that's going to be, you know, something. that that almost backfires in the sense. that now you have these voters who are. going to see that their votes are being.

suppressed and they're going to be kind. of even more uh um inspired. They're. they're going to redouble their efforts. to make sure that they can get their. ballot cast even in the face of such. blatant voter suppression. >> Yeah. I mean, look, I I don't if you. listen to black voters right now, black. voters are very aware that their voting. rights have been under threat by this. administration. Like there is more u and. like the the black community has done a. lot. people who are um you know leaders. in that community have done a lot to. make sure their voters understand uh.

that these guys are coming for their. voting rights in ways uh and and. stripping people of their rights and so. uh I do think it it backfires in that it. creates more enthusiasm. I think the. problem becomes just like a real. logistical problem is like do they have. to wait eight hours to vote and anytime. you do that um you know you are putting. a friction and a real barrier between. people and their ability to vote um and. so it's hard to game out exactly how. that works. One thing I can say and you.

know this right we both have lots of. friends who are in the voting rights. community who are out there doing this. work and they are prepared like there is. money there is uh there's been lots of. scenario planning like they are trying. to make sure that they can figure out. how to make it possible for everybody to. vote like there's people on this. So the. book is called How to Eat an Elephant. One Voter at a Time. In in writing this. book, which which you you basically um. lay out a playbook for building a. coalition big enough to permanently.

defeat this kind of magistile. authoritarian, you know, fake populism, whatever it may be. What What was the. most surprising thing that you came. across uh while you were writing this. book? >> Well, this is, you know, eight years of. focus group data. And I started the. focus groups when we were trying to. primary Trump in the early days and I. was trying to figure out if that was. something we could do. Answer was no, by. the way. Um, and it's it in the early. days I really realized how deep Trump's. relationship was with voters. Um, how. much they had watched the apprentice,

how much that had contributed to the. carefully the carefully curated image of. this businessman. You know, he was. firing Gilbert Godfrieded on a sound. stage and American voters said that. guy's a good businessman. uh and that. good businessman thing and it also like. Oprah he spent a million years with. Larry King he spent a million years with. like you know uh uh Howard Stern like he. was so much a part of the firmament that. the thing that I would say is at the. center of this book as a thesis is that.

Donald Trump really is a unique. individual with a unique communications. talent and a unique parasocial. relationship with voters. He broke a. bunch of things that are now permanent. parts of the communications. infrastructure. Number one being I'm. going to talk directly to the voters. I'm not going to be mediated through the. media or through anything else like my. tweets, my bleets over on Truth Social. Like I'm going to talk directly to. people. Um, and so at that core though. is I as a former Republican have watched.

as Trump has basically not just taken. over the Republican party, but like it's. a cult of personality and there's. nothing after him. And so the point is. is that if you look two years, everybody's so like, will he leave? What. will he do? What happens when Donald. Trump is gone? But like actuarily and. constitutionally, this guy is gone. uh from the presidency. and then the Republican party has to. decide is it force something? What does.

it stand for? Does do these voters still. turn out without Trump on the ballot? He. brought an entirely new group of people. into the voting population and drove a. whole bunch of different people away. So. my point is, what if the Republican. party is nothing without Trump, a hollow. shell, and that the Democrats, if they. could just get it together in a few. places, recalibrate in a few areas, that. they could be on offense for the next. decade and dominate it because Trump.

will have left the party in shambles. And so it's a it's a playbook for how to. build that sort of hey guys, let's get. our together and all go hard and. and uh push right now. It's a. generational opportunity. >> which which kind of underscores how how. clownish the JD Vances and Marco Rubios. of the world are when they when they do. this like this poor imitation of Donald. Trump because they don't have the same. charisma and and I say that as somebody.

obviously who doesn't like him but but. still uh um uh acknowledges the charisma. that he has for his audience and how. effective he is at communicating with. his audience. But when you've got JD. Vance and Marco Rubio doing their like. their like teeu version of Donald Trump. kind of like underscores how how lame. all of that is because they don't have. what he has to their audience. But I I. was I was going to ask, you know, you. had mentioned what Democrats need to do. to pull it together. What does that look. like if Democrats are going to basically. in in in your version of events run.

things for a decade in the aftermath of. Trump after he's hollowed out that party. and kind of exposed the truth that this. GOP doesn't stand for anything? I mean, they claim to stand for family values, lined up behind a guy who is a serial. sexual predator, claim to stand for. fiscal responsibility, the debt is now. past $40 trillion. I mean, the list goes. on and on. What do the Democrats need to. do to get their together? Yeah, look, the book's 330 pages, although it's a fast read. Um, so I I. I'm not going to be able to do all of it. now, but let me try this uh as like the.

centerpiece. Donald Trump promised people economic. populism, right? He came in as a he. doesn't he doesn't even remotely look. like the Republican party that I knew 15. years ago. And he pitched a kind of. populism that he never delivered on, not. even remotely. Right. He he he he talked. like an economic populist, but he just. gave tax cuts to the rich and did all. these corrupt deals with like the tech. oligarchs and everybody else. So, Democrats now, they lost their.

workingass coalition. They lost their. multi-racial working-class coalition. And how do they rebuild it? Voters are. very clear on this. Please talk almost. exclusively about my material. well-being. Now, people will say kitchen. table issues. They'll say affordability. they become buzzwords. I need Democrats. to say, "Okay, 70% of the time in every. speech I give, and I'm going to give. more of them. I got to communicate about. this all day long. I need to lower pe. the cost of people's healthcare." And. the fact is, you know what voters are.

ready for? And I think that Democrats. need to get their first on. And it might. feel weird to hear a former Republican. say this. Universal healthcare of some. kind is like it's it's like it is where. people are. It's what they want. for all. the good uh that the ACA tried to do. ultimately it made a lot of people's. health care costs too expensive. that, you know, tethers them to a job. Like. universal health care would uh reset. both our economy. Uh it would mean that. people could have healthcare without, you know, having to stay at a job for. healthare. Like it would do so many.

things. Voters want that. But it's also. about education, upward mobility. It's. about jobs. Are we hiring more nurses? Are we hiring more home healthcare aids? Um, and I think for a Democrat, they. need to kind of just get their heads on. straight and say, "I'm going to talk. about the issues that are close to. people's sense of how they live their. lives, and I'm going to," because this. is the other thing voters say. They're. like, "It's not that I don't like I I'm. not mad about trans people. This is like. especially Democrats and swing voters, they're like, I want trans people, but I. don't want to talk about it so much.". Like, why is this what we're focused on?

What they And so Democrats should and I. don't think it has to be like Mum. Donnie, for example. So, I don't think. that Mumdani's ideas on policy, his his. prescriptions, whether it was the. grocery stores or or the free. transportation, like I don't actually. think that those are particularly good. economic policies. However, the particulars of the policies matter a. little bit less, especially to voters, than making it clear you care about the. thing that they care about, which is. making their lives more affordable and. making New York City a place that they.

can live in. And actually, as Mum. Donny's actually governing, he's just. doing like good government things. He's. doing like licensing reform. And so me, the the former libertarian Republican, is going, "Okay, Mum Donnie, are we. doing licensing reform? I love this.". And so I think that there's a world. where Democrats could really say, "We're. going to focus on people and what they. need, the ma the top level thing, and. not all these niche concerns, and we're. going to build a bigger coalition that. way.". >> I think what you said about universal. healthcare, I completely agree. I think. I think Trump has been instructive here.

because he's shown that our institutions. and and the way that things used to be. is not sacrianked. Like he's come in and. barreled through everything. He's broken. everything. All of these things that we. were told can never change. He's just. changed them. And so if he can do that. but for self-enrichment, uh then we. could do it to make sure that everybody. at a bare minimum in the wealthiest. country in the entire world has. healthcare. Um last question here on. this. You know, in large part, the. reason that Republicans were able to be. so successful is because they've had a.

right-wing media infrastructure at their. disposal for, you know, since since the. mid90s really at this point. I mean, Fox. came about, I think, in 1996. And since. then, you know, Fox's and I' I've told. this before, but like Fox's motto was. fair and balanced, not because Fox. itself was fair and balanced, but. because Fox viewed itself, Roger Als. viewed Fox as a balance to what was. otherwise a liberal media ecosystem. And. so they've always been overtly. right-wing. And of course now with. independent media, um you know, you've.

got Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, Megan. Kelly, Daily Wire, uh uh Candace Owens, you name it, there are so many avowed. right-wing propaganda outlets. And so. given the fact that they have had, you. know, a a 40-year head start on on. building up their right-wing. infrastructure, um and I think you're. the perfect person to talk to about this. because of the excellent work that you. and your team have done at the Bull. Work. uh you're the publisher and CEO of. the bull work. How do we contend in. upcoming elections 2026 and 2028 uh on.

the media space with a right-wing. machine that's just been humming along. for my entire life? >> Yeah. So, here's the great news about. this. Uh I do have a chapter called. Build Baby Build, and it's really about. this building a new media ecosystem. The. thing is, yes, they had a 40-year head. start, but also it was much harder for. them to build that back then. the it the. the cost of entry or the barrier to. entry now is so much lower. And so uh. part of what I am asking people across. the political spectrum to do is like get.

out there and go on offense and you. cannot rely on the mainstream media. anymore. The mainstream media is bound. by rules that cannot work in an. authoritarian age. Right? That that that. that they're they're trying to I'm not. even judging them exactly because like. they're trying to be these neutral. arbiters. They think that's what's. required and it defaults then to the. benefit of the authoritarians. And so I. need Democrats to basically and this is. my my one real sort of kick in the pants.

is like I come from the Republican side. I'm I'm a I'm in a unique space where. I've seen the operative side on both the. right and the left. And on the right. they are straight up mercenaries. They. are fighting every day for dollars, attention, eyeballs. And I need. Democrats to do a little more a little. less nonprofit C3. Hey, we're going to. unionize RC3 and we need Fridays off and. no one's going into the office. And a. little more like, hey, if democracy is. really at stake, put on pants, go into. the office, grab a microphone, like get. on offense. Like, do some narrative.

dominance. And you know, I I bring the. affect of a of a of a softball coach. here. I'm just like a lesbian Republican. who's like, "Come on, guys. We can do. this. Stop saying America's lost. If you. say Americans are too stupid, you know, uh, uh, and and and America's too. corrupt and whatever, that we're lost, then we surely will be because you've. already given up. Don't give up. This. book is a optimistic pitch for what we. could do if we pull ourselves together. and say, uh, let's all go on offense. Let's talk about Epstein. Let's talk.

about corruption. Let's demand wartime. generals from our leaders and stop. having these peacetime diplomats who. think that we're still they're dealing. with John McCain. They're not. this. these these are not that's not who these. people are. And so it's sort of a. desperate plea as well as um look here's. a bunch of concrete steps and here's a. here's a posture I need you guys what if. your life depended on it what would you. do how would you do things differently. because you say democracy depends on it. how about we act like it perfect place. to leave off again the book is uh how to.

eat an elephant one voter at a time I'm. going to put that link right here on the. screen and also in the post description. look there is nobody in this ecosystem. right or left who has spoken to more. actual voters than Sarah Longwell. So, uh, I would highly recommend taking this. advice. Highly recommend grabbing this. book. Uh, again, I'm going to put it. right here on the screen, also in the. post description. If you're listening on. the podcast, I'm going to throw it in. the show notes. Take the time right now, click that link, support the invaluable. work that Sarah does. Sarah, as always, thanks so much for taking the time. I.

appreciate it, >> my man. Thanks. >> One Republican congressman who is. embroiled in a scandal, domestic abuse. scandal with his ex-wife just had a. disaster encounter with TMZ. Here's that. clip. >> I just want to know about your opponent. Brian Po Dexter. He put out an ad called. Daughters with his three daughters. taking center stage saying that he's for. everyone's daughters. That's why he. wants to be in DC. What do you make of. that campaign? >> Yeah. So once again, absolutely. Did you. know that we returned over I think $50. million to our district?

>> So once again, did you know what do you. think? Did you know that throughout our. time here in just the last this term in. Congress 18.8 million we brought back to. the district. fantastic critical infrastructure index. this campaign. >> Thank you very much. >> Why is that un you're answering? It's. already got your question. >> Is he buying an effective campaign or. not? >> I'm not worried about my opponent. I'm. worried about the work that we're doing.

for our district. These are all trap. questions. If you want to know if you. want to contraven. you guys don't want to have a serious. you supported the first one right you. guys don't want to have a serious. conversation but once again real things. that matter to our district are. incredible but thank you dude for your. time thank you for your time. >> so I'm joined now by Brian Po Dexter who. is running against Max Miller in Ohio's. seventh congressional district Brian I. got to ask first and foremost do you. think that was an effective strategy by. Max Miller to diffuse some of the bad.

press bad attention away from him as he. remains embroiled in this domestic abuse. scandal. >> Um well, I don't I don't know what he. was thinking there. Uh I know he doesn't. want to talk about the ad because it's a. really good ad. Uh you know, really. highlights the fact that um you know, I. am a good dad. I am just somebody coming. out of the uh workforce uh to fight for. people in this district. And um you. know, uh the ad really shows uh who I. am, which you know, by default shows who.

Max Miller is too. and the fact he. doesn't want to talk about it. Um, you. know, I can see why he doesn't want to. >> To that end, I'm going to play that ad. right here. >> Our dad, Brian Po Dexter, has been. working since he was 15. Every night. after school, he never stopped. Factories and kitchens, 20 years as a. union hour worker, building our. community. And he always shows up for. family dinner, for our games, to help. with homework. Even when he's not. helpful, he shows up for everyone.

co-workers, neighbors, and our whole. community for anyone who's getting hurt. or needs a hand. And he keeps his phone. clipped to his hip. It's like it's 2003. The second it starts running, he like. grabs it so fast and he answers it. He's. like trying to point next to her. >> Who would never ask him to floss? >> Oh no. >> Like a Fortnite. >> I bet he will do it right here. What a. >> I still don't know how he did it all. He. said that's just what you do for your. family. Our dad is running for Congress. because he knows every family here. deserves that. It's not a campaign.

thing. That's just dad. >> I'm not going to DC for me. I'm going. for my daughters and yours. I'm Brian. Poexter and I approve this ad. >> All right. So, that was an ad that you. put together with your daughters. I I I. understand and I think it's pretty. obvious to everybody watching the the. contrast that that sets between uh not. just your families, but but you and Max. Miller himself. And I think that, you. know, we are in a moment where character. does and should matter. Um, even if the.

broader environment sometimes makes it. feel like like that isn't a a condition. or a qualification at all anymore. What. did your daughters have to say about. putting this ad together? >> Uh, you know, they were good sports. Uh, they uh, you know, we have a really good. relationship, my daughters and I, and. uh, they we roast each other all the. time. You know, um, it's part of, uh, how we show our love for each other. uh. you know they called me a dork you know. so uh so they definitely had fun with it. but you know when you get down to the. meat and potatoes of what the ad was.

expressing is that you know they love. their dad and their dad loves them and. and that's why I got in this race cuz. you know I want to fight for a future uh. where they can you know buy a house. where they can um you know live. comfortably and where they can have more. opportunities than we had and uh you. know we used to do that in this country. pay it forward to the next generation. and I think we need to get back to that. Yeah. To to that end, I mean, look, my. generation and your daughter's. generation is the first that's going to. be less prosperous, less wealthy, less.

healthy, um have lower rates of home. ownership and and poorer health care and. uh food security. I mean, the list goes. on and on than previous generations. You. know, that was in large part, I think, part of the pitch that Republicans had. for voters. I mean, this was this was a. populist uh pitch that they made in 2024. where they promised they were going to. focus on on the little guy, the. forgotten American. And yet, of course, right on Q, we have an administration. and a broader political party that is so.

in bed with millionaires and. billionaires, their only legislative. accomplishment, passing a tax cut that. disproportionately benefited those. people. You've got Trump out here uh. advocating for data centers because uh. those are part of the interest of the. billionaire class. And so what are you. hearing from voters out there who. believed Trump and Republicans cast. votes for Trump and Republicans uh. including Max Miller on the back of this. promise? >> Yeah. The folks I'm talking to in the. district uh they're tired of the lip. service of Washington, you know. Um it's.

they see it all the time, you know, the. legislation with a catchy name uh that. doesn't do what it's intended to do, you. know, like right to work. We know that. right to work laws make it harder on. working families. The Save America Act, which we know is going to make it harder. on Americans to vote, you know, um and. and you know, they were they were. promised all these things. Uh you know, the one big beautiful bill was supposed. to be prosperous for Americans. And. really what it is, it's just. highlighting the fact that we have a. group of politicians who just want to.

extract as much value out of out of our. communities and out of out of our. country to enrich themselves when and. they're already rich. like they're. trying to get richer and richer and. richer and and we're paying for it. You. know, we see the Dow going up every. single day. Um you know, but at the same. time, food lines are getting longer and. longer every day. It there's no clearer. indication of what's happening in real. time uh than to see that dynamic play. out. >> And yet we have uh you know, a gold coin. now with uh with Trump's face on it. and. and yet despite all of these, you know,

vanity projects or or ways to, as you. said, extract money from workingclass. Americans, uh, at the hands of this. president, nobody in his party lifts a. finger. I mean, you have Max Miller who. hasn't said a single word against Donald. Trump as he continues to push forward. this war that's sending gas prices. higher, that's sending inflation higher, that's sending fertilizer costs higher, uh that that continues to suppress the. Epstein Files, even though it's been 9. months since the Epstein Files. Transparency Act was actually signed. We.

have the trade war that continues to to. to rage that's sending the cost of. everyday goods, consumer goods, even. higher. I is Max Miller doing his job as. a member of a co-equal branch of. government? No, that's and and and Max. Miller isn't doing his job and there's a. lot of politicians who aren't doing. their jobs. Uh I I think you know some. members of Congress think that they are. uh the offensive line and the president. is the quarterback and they're there to. protect him uh no matter what. And. that's not the case. Uh you know, Congress should be standing up for the.

rights of Congress. It is a co-equal. branch of government. And you know, me. as a I I've had to do it on a city. council where I've had to stand up to. the mayor even though like I'll agree. with the mayor on some things, but um my. job is to stand up for the people, stand. up for uh you know, the residents of. Brook Park and and I want to get into. Congress to stand up for the American. people who um are being hurt by these. policies. Yeah. Uh we shouldn't, you. know, I I don't care if it's a Democrat. president. You know, if they're doing.

something wrong that's going to harm the. working families of Ohio 7, I'm going to. stand up to him and um that's the job of. the congressman. And Max Miller has. absolutely sherked his duties at every. opportunity. And you know, probably. because he he benefits from those. things. You know, he he's wealthy and. well-connected and the wealthy and. well-connected in this country are doing. just fine. It's everybody else who's. paying the tab. and um you know, we need. to make real change in Washington. >> Number one priority that you'd like to. see uh if and when you win your race for.

Congress, >> uh number one priority is is to bring. relief to working families. Um you know, I I'll sign on to the PRO Act right. away. Um you know, uh and and work to. getting that passed. Um you know, but um. my my main goal is to try to be a voice. for working families, and I will do. that. I'll work with anybody who wants. to help me in that cause. um you know uh. I don't care if they're Republican, Democrat, or independent. I am going. there to fight for working families and. I'm that's that's my mission.

>> As you've been on the campaign trail, has there been any conversation or. moment with any Republican or. independent voter that's uh that's stuck. out to you? >> Well, yeah. I mean, it happens almost. daily. Um but you know uh you know one. of the best mo moments I um you know I. was out canvasing in Parma, Ohio and uh. you know I this was early on in the. cycle and I was I was knocking on. Democrats doors um and you know there. was people out there moving uh some.

furniture into their house and they. weren't on my list but I was in their. neighborhood so I wanted to introduce. myself and I said hey I'm Brian Point. running for Congress and um clearly the. dude was Republican because he you know. he crossed his arms he had the 1776. shirt on and the the blacked out flag. >> I'm like, "Hey, man. You know, I want I. just want to introduce myself. I'm. running for Congress. I'm in your. neighborhood." He's like, he asked me. point blank, "Are you Democrat or. Republican?" I said, "I'm a Democrat.". And he and he and he scoffs and I was. like, "Look, I'm the old school Democrat. who who's a union iron worker who's.

going to fight for working families, and. I'm not going to get into all the the. bipartisan b or nonpartisan BS." Um, and. he he's like, "Oh, my buddy who's. helping me move is a union electrician.". and and I was like, "So, he knows what. I'm talking about. He knows what I'm. fighting for." And and and he gave me. that opportunity to to talk to him. And. after after about five minute. conversation, he's like, "You know what? I'm gonna vote for you." And and that's. that told me then and there that we're. on the right track. We're bringing. people together. And um you know, people. are tired of the the partisan divide.

And if I can help bridge that gap, you. know, I'm I'm going to do it. And as an. iron worker, I build bridges. So, I. think I have opportunity to to do that. To that end, what does the latest. polling in your district look like? >> Um, you know, I'm not really focusing. too much on polling. We we are, you. know, we are slightly up in the polls, but um polls don't vote and and I'm. going to keep on doing everything that I. can to to engage with as many people in. our district as we can before uh. November 3rd. And you know, I hope they.

um they see that I am somebody. different, somebody who is going to go. to Washington and fight for them. Well, on that point, how can folks who are. watching and listening right now help. your campaign? >> Um, well, easy. Just go to point dextter. for Congress.com. Uh, you can, you know, read about my bio, you can watch our, uh, new ads. Um, and, uh, you know, you. can sign up to help. And obviously, uh, you can donate to help us get that ad up. on air. >> And I would highly recommend for. everybody who's watching and listening. right now, this is an opportunity to.

get, uh, somebody who actually. represents the working class into the US. Congress. And by the way, uh, get. somebody who is not just dangerous for. Congress, but just unto himself, dangerous as a person out of the halls. of Congress, out of power right now. So, I'm going to put a link to Brian's. website right here on the screen and. also in the post description. If you're. listening on the podcast, I'm going to. put it in the show notes. Brian, as. always, thanks for taking the time. today. Best luck in the campaign trail. >> Thanks, Brian. And I appreciate all the. work that you do. Uh, you know, been a. fan of yours for a long time and I want.

to say thank you again. >> Thank you. To listen to the audio. version of this episode, click the link. right here on the screen and make sure. to subscribe. And of course, to see more. video content, that subscribe button's. on the screen as well.