Republicans 'were WRONG on every major issue': Joe on lessons GOP should learn from midterm losses

even a week after this election, are they still going to be to. frightened to stand up to the worst. excesses of President Trump? It sure seems like it. I mean, just look at that impeachment vote. for Pete Hegseth, where at the end of the day, there was a lot of public and a lot. of private criticism from Republicans. of Pete Hegseth. They couldn't get over the line to push Hegseth. out or even to get the next vote out of it. But it is, as you.

know, they're sort of the armchair quarterbacks. You know, they're the analysts sitting. on a TV show talking about what happened and why. And they sort of knew this all along, beginning, Joe, with the vice president of the United States who. made. that long post about the Iran. and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and everyone who may have presidential ambitions. trying to. separate themselves in some way. In the case of Chip Roy in Texas,

he just ran and lost a pretty ugly primary. campaign for attorney general in the state. of Texas, where he was painted by his opponent. as not sufficiently maggot, despite the fact he was. talking. about keeping Sharia law from coming to Texas. and all this stuff that had nothing to do. with the cost of gas and groceries, and he lost that race. So whether they knew it in real time or not, I think most of them did. They were too afraid to say that Republicans were. headed for this disaster,

and now only THEY WERE ABLE, SOME OF THEM, NOT ALL OF THEM, TO SAY IT OUT LOUD. SOME OF THEM CAN SAY IT OUT LOUD. THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING. ONE, THEY WERE AFRAID TO PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO. CROSS PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE SECOND THING WAS THEY LIVED IN A BUBBLE. IT WAS A LOT LIKE MITT ROMNEY'S. 2012 CAMPAIGN WHERE YOU YOU HAD. MITT AND ANN ROMNEY, TWO PEOPLE I'VE KNOWN AND. REALLY. LIKED FOR A VERY LONG TIME. BUT GOING INTO THAT EVENING, THEY WERE SURE THEY WERE GOING TO WIN.

THEY LIVED IN THE FOX THEY WERE TALKING. ABOUT IT. THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT IT. MITT WAS SOMEBODY WHO WOULD COME ON OUR SHOW ALL. THE TIME. THEN HE STARTED RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. HE STOPPED COMING HE JUST STARTED GOING ON FOX, HE STARTED LIVING IN A BUBBLE. AND SO THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE. REST OF AMERICA KNEW. FOX NEWS ANCHORS WERE SHOCKED. EVEN HAD CORAL ROVE LOOK AT THEIR PEOPLE OF JUST. SAYING THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT. CORAL IS ALWAYS PLUGGED IN. BUT THEY BUILT THIS THEY WERE IN THIS. INFORMATION BUBBLE THAT ACTUALLY CAPTURED THEM.

AND IT MADE THEM BLIND TO THE. Tsunami THAT WAS COMING. LET'S BRING IN JONATHAN ATLANTIC AND JONATHAN, OF COURSE, CO-HOST OF OUR 8 A .M. HOUR AND STAFF WRITER AT THE ATLANTIC. AND JONATHAN, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW EVERYTHING YOU. WRITE IN. I THINK IT MAKES WESTERN CIVILIZATION A. LITTLE WISER. EVEN READING YOUR BYLINE.

BUT THERE'S SOMEBODY ELSE WHO WROTE SOMETHING. I WOULD ASK EVERYBODY AFTER THEY FINISHED READING EVERY. PIECE YOU'VE EVER WRITTEN FOR THE ATLANTIC, FOR THEM TO READ ADAM'S PIECE. BECAUSE IT'S AS BRILLIANT AS ALL. OF YOUR PIECES. BUT WHAT ADAM SAID IS THERE WAS A. LOT OF CONCERN WHEN ELON MUSK TOOK OVER X. THAT HE WAS GOING TO DO ALL THE THINGS. ACTUALLY THAT HE DID. AND THAT THAT SOMEHOW THAT WOULD. INFLUENCE INDEPENDENT VOTERS, THAT WOULD INFLUENCE SWING VOTERS. BUT WHAT HE SAID WAS A FASTING THING HAPPENED.

ELON MUSK AND X CREATED THEY HAD AN INFORMATION. BUBBLE THAT ACTUALLY CAPTURED REPUBLICANS, THAT ACTUALLY KEPT THEM AGAIN BLIND TO ALL ALL. OF THE THINGS THAT WERE. COMING LAST TUESDAY, THEY THOUGHT THE POLLS WERE. WRONG. AND THE POLLS WERE WRONG. WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING THE DEMOCRATIC. LANDSLIDE WAS GOING TO BE. HE SAID THAT POLLS ACTUALLY TRENDED IN A NEW. DIRECTION. THEY ACTUALLY UNDERSOLD JUST JUST HOW BIG THE.

DEMOCRATIC LANDSLIDE WAS GOING TO BE. BUT HE SAID THAT X AND A LOT OF. SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE RIGHT. COMPLETELY MADE THESE REPUBLICAN. CANDIDATES BLIND TO WHAT WAS. ABOUT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT TO HIT. THEM, THE TSUNAMI THAT WAS COMING. AND HE WENT BACK TO A JONATHON SHADE ARTICLE. FROM 2019 WHEN JONATHON SHADE PREDICTED JOE. BIDEN WOULD WIN THE HE WAS THE LEAST ONLINE, SO HIS VIEWS OF WHAT AMERICANS WANTED.

WOULD BE THE LEAST TWISTED AND THE LEAST DISTORTED. OF ALL THOSE CANDIDATES THAT WERE ONLINE. AND I SAID TIME AND AGAIN, PEOPLE LIKE KAMALA HARRIS. AND OTHERS IN. THAT 2020 CAMPAIGN, YOU COULD TELL THAT THEIR. CAMPAIGN WAS. OVERLY INFLUENCED BY TWITTER AND IT. THE RACE AND WE HAVE THE SAME THING HAPPENING. HERE IN 2026. MAKING WESTERN CIVILIZATION A LITTLE BIT BETTER. JEFFREY GOLDBERG IS GOING TO GRAB THAT.

A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE ABOUT THIS, AND I THINK YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. TWITTER IS NOT REAL LIFE. WE KEEP HAVING TO SAY THAT. AND CAMPAIGNS WHO UNDERSTAND. THAT TEND TO DO BETTER. NOW, WHERE TWITTER DOES IMPACT. THE POLITICS SOMETIMES IS, YOU KNOW WHO DOESN'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND. SAY TWITTER IS NOT REAL LIFE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MEDIA. I DO THINK JOURNALISTS SOMETIMES. CHASE STUFF ON TWITTER AND AMPLIFY IT. AND THEN IT IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE RIGHT. HERE AS TO THE BIDEN CASE CERTAINLY IN 2020,

HE WAS THE. LEAST ONLINE CANDIDATE AND NOW. NOW THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN PARTICULAR, SINCE 2024, OBVIOUSLY THEY WON THAT YEAR, BUT SINCE THEN WITH MUSK TAKING. IT'S BECOME A PRETTY RIGHT-WING PLACE. IT'S BECOME AN ECOSPHERE FOR THAT. PARTICULAR IDEOLOGY. AND IF YOU'RE A REPUBLICAN OPERATIVE, IF YOU'RE A MAGA PERSON, IF YOU'RE WORKING IN THE WHITE HOUSE, AND I I KNOW PUNTY OF THEM WHO ARE ON. TWITTER ALL THE TIME, GO INTO. THEIR OFFICE AND TWITTER IS CONSTANTLY UP ON.

THE SCREEN OR X, THE EVERYTHING APP. THEREFORE, AND THEY GET A. I THINK WE SAW THIS TIME AROUND DEEPLY, DEEPLY OUT OF TOUCH FOR WHAT PEOPLE. ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT ON THE GROUND. I THINK TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. LET'S BRING IN KATTY KAY, WHO IS THE CO-HOST OF THE. ACTUAL. OFFICIAL PODCAST OF I LOVE WESTERN CIVILIZATION. SURVIVAL, THE REST IS POLITICS PODCAST, CATTY. I'VE ACTUALLY WARNED, WARNED PEOPLE INSIDE THE.

WHITE HOUSE ON. ISSUES THAT I THOUGHT WERE DAMAGING TO AMERICA, THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS FAR TOO FOCUSED. ON X. I MAY HAVE EVEN SAID THAT TO HIM. ONCE OR TWICE OVER THE PAST DECADE OR SO, THAT THAT WAS NOT REALITY. AND IF HE WAS MORE CONCERNED. ABOUT KEEPING PEOPLE ON.

HE WAS GOING TO RUN AFOUL OF THE AMERICAN ELECTORATE. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. BUT, OF COURSE, IT WORKS FOR DONALD TRUMP. IN 2016. THEM IN 2016. E, KATTY, AND NOT JUST X, WHY DON'T WE EXPAND THIS CONVERSATION A. LITTLE BIT AND JUST TALK. TALKING ABOUT CAMPAIGNING IN GENERAL. REPUBLICANS HAVE MADE THE MISTAKE TIME AND AGAIN THAT. WHAT. WORKS FOR DONALD TRUMP IS GOING. TO WORK IN THEIR campaign. And let me just say, it never ever does.

What works for Donald Trump, works for Donald Trump. And that doesn't even work for Donald Trump right now. with an approval rating in the low 30s. So I think J .D. Vance as he goes to bed every night. and says his prayers needs to repeat a little. mantra to himself which is what works. for Donald Trump does not work for J .D. Vance because he's clearly trying to emulate. the president and he just can't pull it off. I mean, it's so interesting to see how.

many Republicans now after the election. people like Josh Hawley, Chip Roy are coming out and. saying we. WE MISSED THE WHOLE MOOD OF THE ELECTORATE. WE WERE, JOSH HAWLEY SAYING WE. HAVE BEEN THE CONGRESS FOR AI. AND DATA CENTERS AND BIG WE HAVE NOT BEEN THE. CONGRESS. WE HAVEN'T BEEN THE CONGRESS. FOR ORDINARY AMERICAN VOTERS. AND IF YOU GET INTO AN ECHO CHAMBER WHICH YOUR ECHO. CHAMBER. IS EITHER ON THE RIGHT OR ON THE LEFT, BUT ON THE RIGHT AS WELL, IF IT IS INFECTED AS WELL BY VOICES FROM BIG TECH WHO.

HAVE. HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SWAY OVER. THIS ADMINISTRATION, YOU CAN SEE HOW YOU START THINKING. AS THE PRESIDENT SAID IN TO SAY IN THAT. 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW, WELL, EVERYONE'S MADE MONEY. EVERYONE'S MADE 3 BILLION. IF YOU HAVE STOCKS, YOU'VE MADE MONEY BUT ONLY. ABOUT A THIRD. WHAT IS IS IT A THIRD TO HALF OF. AMERICANS ACTUALLY HAVE MONEY IN. THE STOCK MARKET? THE DISCONNECT HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY. IT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR THESE REPUBLICANS NOW. COME OUT after the election, post-facto,

and say, oh yeah, we were out of touch. Yeah, but how out of touch they were? John Heilman is historic. It was shocking. They were wrong on every AND THAT IS. A MAJOR ISSUE. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON THE WAR. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON TARIFFS. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON DATA CENTERS. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG THEY WERE COMPLETELY. WRONG ON AI AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE. REPUBLICAN PARTY TAKEN AS A WHOLE. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON. AFFORDABILITY.

THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON. SLASHING HEALTHCARE FOR RURAL AMERICANS. THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ON. PARTICULAR PARTICULAR ON MORNING JOE EVERY MORNING. AND. KEPT SHOWING POLLS FROM FOX NEWS. TO THE ECONOMIST, TO YOU NAMED THE POLLS, WE WERE SHOWING IT THAT AMERICANS. WERE SAYING OVERWHELMINGLY, WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON THE WAR. WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON AFFORDABILITY.

WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON TARIFFS. WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON DATA CENTERS. WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON A .I., AND YES, WE DISAGREE WITH YOU ON A .I., AND YES, WE. DISAGREE WITH YOU, ESPECIALLY ON. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. SO MY QUESTION TODAY IS, HOW COULD ANY REPUBLICAN. THEY WERE LOCKED IN THIS BUBBLE, THIS ECHO CHAMBER BETWEEN X AND WHATEVER.

TO WATCH THEIR TV STATIONS THEY. WANTED TO WATCH THAT WOULD. REGURGITATE WHAT THEY WANTED. BACK TO THEM. I WILL SAY, I WILL JUST SAY IT, YOU WATCH FOX NEWS RIGHT NOW. HISTORIC WIN IN MISSISSIPPI, WHILE THE OTHER NETWORKS ARE TALKING. ABOUT A HISTORIC WIN AND I THINK THEY. WERE TALKING ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OR. TRANS ATHLETES OR SOME OTHER ISSUE THAT. KEPT REPUBLICANS. LOCKED AWAY FROM THE THESE CANDIDATES AND MADE.

THEM. LOSE THE MOST HISTORIC LANDSLIDE. I WOULD SAY SINCE 1966. SO THIS ANALYSIS IS COMPLETELY CORRECT. BUT I I'd like to take it one step further, Joe, which is that you pointed out. the Jonathan Chate article, right? So first of all, this notion of what the. linguists. call epistemic closure, where you're locked in this. bubble. and all you get is hearing confirmation bias,

hearing back what you already believe. There's a problem that has afflicted. at different times in different ways, the left and the right. Right now it's much worse on the right. But I would go take this a little. IT'S NOT THAT THEY'RE JUST. LOCKED IN THOSE INFORMATION BUBBLES. IT'S LIKE THEY LOCK THEMSELVES. IN THOSE INFORMATION BUBBLES.