'You STILL have to deal with Trump!': The REALITY facing Senate Democrats in 2027

HERE FOR DEMOCRATS. I'M CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, YES, THEY ALSO HAVE SOME. LEADERSHIP. THINGS THEY HAVE TO. I DON'T THINK HE'S AT MUCH RISK. OF LOSING THAT POSITION. BUT THIS IS NOW, TO YOUR POINT I'M GOING TO. TELL YOU ABOUT. HOW MASSIVE THESE WINDS ARE. WELL, YEAH, THE NUMBERS ARE BIG. SO A LOT OF DIFFERENT AGENDAS IN. THE ROOM NOW THEY'RE GOING TO. HAVE TO SORT TOGETHER AND FIGURE. OUT APPROACH TO HOW TO DO. HAVE TO DO WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP.

INCLUDING THAT MIX OF LEGISLATION. VERSUS INVESTIGATION. THEY'VE GOTTEN OFF TO KIND OF A I DON'T WANT TO. OVERSTATE IT. IT'S LIKE MILDLY ROCKY. IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE OUTCOME NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S AN EMBARRASSMENT, RIGHT? AND THEN THERE WAS AN EMBARRASSMENT, YOU HAVE THIS LEADERSHIP A VETERANS BILL. THAT THE HOUSE WANTED TO PASS AND KIND OF. REPUBLICANS PROCEDURALLY. SNEAKED AROUND. NOW YOU HAVE THIS.

AND I THINK IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, RIGHT? LIKE, IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF. THE MAJORITY THEY WON WAS MINOR. IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THEY HADN'T GOTTEN THE. MAJORITY in the Senate. So there was some consideration that. because they were likely to win 56 Senate seats, that Schumer would have avoided this. But in reality, look, a lot of these people ran. for. BE IN THE COURT OFFICE SAYING WE. NEED NEW PARTY LEADERSHIP, THAT THE LEADERSHIP WAS ANTIQUATED, THAT IT IT DIDN'T REALLY REFLECT THE.

INTEREST OF DEMOCRATS. SO IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. THAT SAID, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHEN. YOU WIN. 56 SENATE SEATS AND FLIP, WHAT WAS IT, I MEAN, IF THEY DO GET THERE, THAT YOU CAN THEN TURN AROUND AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? SCHUMER DIDN'T DO THE JOB. THE JOB IS THAT. SO I HAVE A, I MEAN, JUST FROM TALKING TO A FEW. FOLKS ABOUT. THIS AND GETTING A SENSE OF JUST. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT ULTIMATELY. THEY WILL RALLY AROUND SCHUMER. BUT IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT I THINK THEY SHOULDN'T.

BE SCARED. OF EITHER BECAUSE THEY DO NEED. TO TRANSITION EVENTUALLY TO A NEW. GENERATION OF LEADERS, AND VAN HOLLEN HAS BEEN. PRIMED FOR THAT TASK. YEAH, SAM'S RIGHT, THE NET GAIN AS OF RIGHT. NOW FOR. DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE IS EIGHT, BUT. they hope it'll become nine when the Alaska vote. all comes in. Tim, you've got a new piece on your must-read substack. American Times. It's titled 2026 in Context. In it, you compare last week's. midterms to previous elections going. back to 1974. And you write this, quote, Democrats won the popular.

vote. in the House by 13 to 14 points, marking the largest margin. since 1974 when Democrats won. by 16 .8 points in the wake. of Watergate and President Ford's pardon. of Richard Nixon. Still, Democrats cannot get ahead of themselves. President Trump remains the most. unpredictable political force. in the 21st century, and an incredibly powerful. one. While he said he accepted the results. and looked forward to working with Democrats, uncertainty and a still angry electorate loom.

over the final two years of Trump's term. The affordability crisis remains the top issue. for voters, with few solutions in sight, while the war in Iran also continues. And Tim, you're right, voters' patience will be. thin. They'll say to Democrats, we elected you to bring. down the cost. of living IN THIS COUNTRY, IF DEMOCRATS DON'T DO IT. AND SOON, WHICH IS NOT AN EASY TASK, THEY MAY PAY FOR IT SOONER. THAN THEY THINK. WELL, I THINK NOW WE HAVE A TRANSACTIONAL. ELECTORATE. WE MAY HAVE ENTERED INTO A A NEW AGE OF.

POLITICS IN 2026. YOU SEE DEMOCRATS, PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR. DEMOCRATS GIVE A HANDSHAKE, NOT A HUG. TAKE A LOOK AT YOUNG MEN WHO WERE TALKED. ABOUT A LOT. I THINK THE ANSWER IS THEY LOOK OUT AT A COUNTRY WHERE. THEY CAN'T AFFORD A MORTGAGE, THEY CAN'T AFFORD RENT, THEY CAN'T AFFORD GAS OR GROCERIES. THEY HAVE TO DECIDE BETWEEN THE TWO.

MEANWHILE YOU HAVE DONALD TRUMP. CALLING EVERYONE A Jihadi COMMUNIST WHO. IS COMING. AND THEY SAY THAT'S NOT THE REALITY I'M IN. SO WHAT WE SAW IN THIS ELECTION IS SEVEN. UNITED STATES, SEVEN, THAT WENT FOR DONALD TRUMP THREE TIMES IN. A ROW IN 16, 20 AND 24 GO FOR DEMOCRATS THIS YEAR IN THE. UNITED STATES THIS IS A WIPEOUT OF HISTORIC.

PROPORTIONS BUT AGAIN, THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR AND THAT'S FOR ELECTED. OFFICIALS TO DELIVER OR TO DISAPPEAR. SO LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS about people's lives, especially at your age, people your age, is uncertainty. Uncertainty about tomorrow, uncertainty about the near. future. What's the impact of so much uncertainty. AMONG PEOPLE IN YOUR AGE GROUP? WELL, IF YOU JUST GO BACK AND LOOK AT YOUNG MEN, THE THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOUNG MEN. IN THIS COUNTRY IMMEDIATELY ARE GAMBLING,

ARE PORNOGRAPHY, THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU. ARE A SECURE JOB, A MORTGAGE, A FUTURE THAT YOU CAN DEPEND ON. THE THINGS THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE TO YOU. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS ALL ABOUT. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE TO YOU. ANYMORE. AND PEOPLE NOTICE AND THEY NOTICE THAT DONALD TRUMP WAS. LINING HIS POCKETS WHILE THEIRS WERE GOING EMPTY. THAT APPLIES TO TO ALL GENERATIONS, BUT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE THE MOST?

SO SAM, BOTH TIM AND ANN APPLEBAUM EARLIER WERE. SAYING. THAT THE ELECTORATE IS KIND OF. READY FOR A BIG CHANGE. THERE'S A HUGE AMOUNT OF DISSATISFACTION, PARTICULARLY AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE BUT ACROSS. THE COUNTRY GENERALLY, YOU AND I WERE TALKING, IF YOU RAN THROUGH THE THINGS. THAT THE DEMOCRATS COULD ACTUALLY CHANGE, COULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON, LET'S TAKE HEALTHCARE, COST OF LIVING AND DEMOCRATS COULD ACTUALLY BE. ABLE TO SAY TO THE ELECTORATE, IS THERE SOMEWHERE WHERE AFTER. TWO YEARS DEMOCRATS WOULD BE ABLE. TO SAY TO THE ELECTORATE, ACTUALLY WE DID DELIVER. SOMETHING FOR.

TALK ABOUT IT FOR YOU. NO. COME ON, EVERY ONE OF THOSE REQUIRES TRUMP SIGNATURE, RIGHT? IS THERE ONE ON THAT LIST THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE. TRUMP SIGNATURE? ARE THERE THINGS THEY COULD WHAT IS GOING TO DO. AROUND THE MARGINS? YOU CAN GIVE TRUMP A BILL. YOU CAN GIVE TRUMP A BILL THAT SAYS WE'RE GOING. TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE, 725 AN HOUR RIGHT NOW, FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE. YOU COULD SAY LET'S GET IT. YOU CAN SAY, HEY, YOU HAVE TO SIGN THIS, RIGHT?

MAYBE HE DOES, MAYBE HE DOESN'T. HE'S KIND OF FLIRTED WITH THE IDEA. BUT MY GUESS IS HE WOULD SAY AGAIN, because we know it passes prologue, he'll say, I'm not signing a piece of. legislation. unless you drop your investigations into me. Anything you want comes with a price. So then you can say, okay, well, maybe we can demand certain things. in exchange for FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT. THERE IS A GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL THAT COMES UP. IN DECEMBER. THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO KICK IT INTO THE NEXT. YEAR WHEN THEY HAVE MORE POWER. WE'LL FUND THE GOVERNMENT BUT YOU. HAVE TO REFORM ICE. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE MONEY THAT. YOU SET ASIDE FOR ICE AND,

YOU KNOW, REPAIR THE MEDICAID. I THINK FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. DEMOCRATS HAVE TO PROBABLY FORCE A LOT. OF THESE ISSUES TO THE FOREFRONT, MAKE TRUMP UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT IT, CONDUCT AGGRESSIVE. THEY HAVE TO TAKE INCREMENTAL. WINDS AND SET THE STAGE FOR WHAT. MIGHT HAPPEN AFTER THE 2028 ELECTIONS BECAUSE. FUNDAMENTALLY. THE REALITY IS THE SAME. YOU MIGHT HAVE THE SENATE, YOU MIGHT HAVE THE HOUSE but you still have to deal. with Trump. You still have to get his signature.

on a lot of this stuff, and it's impossible to predict how he's. going to react to any of this. Could be a wild two years. Sam Stein, thanks, and do bring a parent or. guardian. with you next WE'LL MAKE THAT NEW POLICY ON THIS. SHOW. WHERE'S GEORGE? I WISH I HAD BEEN WARNED, I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT MY DAD.