Charlie Kirk Murder: Democrats Called Hypocrites for Denouncing Firing of People Cheering His Death

Summary

2WAY Morning Meeting — Podcast Summary

Episode: Charlie Kirk Murder: Democrats Called Hypocrites for Denouncing Firing of People Cheering His Death
Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Mark Halperin
Co-hosts: Sean Spicer, Dan Turrentine
Notable Guests/Callers: Josh Shapiro (clip), Gavin Newsom (clip), various callers

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Brief Overview

This episode revolves around the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder and the political and media firestorm it triggered. The hosts dissect Democratic and Republican responses, the coming memorial service, and evolving divisions within U.S. society. They unpack criticisms of both right and left over rhetoric and policy, forecast upcoming political events, and field candid questions from listeners about polarization, perceptions of Charlie Kirk, and broader cultural changes.

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Episode Breakdown

1. Setting the News Agenda

[06:12–07:54]

• Mark opens with updates on global and domestic events: President Trump’s state visit to the UK and political meetings.
• Vice President's schedule includes industry visits and a speech highlighting mourning activities for Charlie Kirk.
• Mentioned speakers for Kirk’s Arizona service: President, VP, Secretary Rubio, National Security Advisor Scott Bessant, and others.

"Many of the 60,000 people, I think they're going to fill the stadium, are people of faith. ... This event will have a lot of elements that will be like a church service. But most church services aren't in football stadiums with 60,000 people."
— Mark [15:45]

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2. Media Coverage: Will the Networks Air the Service?

[11:40–11:54]

• Sean predicts CNN will cover the entirety of Kirk’s memorial, MSNBC only “dip in and out.”
• Dan believes both will provide segmented, not continuous, coverage due to the event’s length.

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3. Tone and Political Impact of Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

[13:10–15:45]

• Debate on whether major speakers will opt for unity or deliver partisan "red meat" statements.
• Dan compares the upcoming event to Paul Wellstone’s funeral, predicting that if it becomes too partisan, it could backfire on Republicans.

"The silent majority of this country doesn't like the politics of red or blue. Right. It's like, real lives are real people. What are you doing for me? And if the Republican Party comes across as just unhinged, I think it would be to their detriment."
— Dan [14:33]

• Sean sees an energized right, predicting the incident has “awoken a movement.”

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4. Reactions from Democratic Candidates and Leaders

[17:37–20:36]

• Clips of Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom:
  • Josh Shapiro [18:04]: Emphasizes a need for unity, healing, and toning down political attacks. Alludes to possible presidential ambitions.
  • Gavin Newsom [19:21]: Focuses on fundraising for redistricting, rallying Democrats to “hold the line” and defend democracy.

"We've got a lot of healing to do. And if I'm a candidate that can do that, then it’s something that we will take a close look at."
— Josh Shapiro [18:04]

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5. Strategizing the Democratic Response

[20:36–23:40]

• Mark observes that Republicans have coalesced around Kirk’s tragedy, leveraging it for political organizing.
• Dan argues the Democratic Party “has woken up,” now more intensely motivated, but worries about appearing hypocritical.
• Both sides accuse each other of hypocrisy, especially regarding reactions to violence and rhetoric.

"All of a sudden they saw what the administration was doing and saying and they just became kind of livid at the just outrageous hypocrisy of Republicans."
— Dan [21:51]

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6. How Should Democrats Talk About Violence and Tone?

[26:22–28:06]

• Sean claims Democrats have failed to call out left-wing violence forcefully.
• Dan adamantly rebutts: “Every single Democrat has said violence is unacceptable.” ([26:22])
• Discussion of best messaging for a 2028 Democratic candidate touches on the need for measured rhetoric and denouncing all forms of political violence.

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7. Media's Role in Political Division

[28:10–29:01]

• Sean and Dan briefly agree that both mainstream and conservative media have fueled polarization.
• Mark calls for a future episode focused entirely on media complicity.

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8. "Rapid Fire" Political Questions

[29:01–33:04]

• Analyses of the economic outlook and election impact:
  • Dan predicts an 8/10 chance the economy drags on Republicans; Sean says 4/10.
  • On U.S.-Israel relations: Both agree Trump will always support Netanyahu (“correct answer: negative one.” [31:09])
  • Shutdown probabilities: Both agree any shutdown will be short, but Mark is slightly less optimistic.

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9. Listener Call-In Segment

A. Charlie Kirk's Legacy and Charges of Bigotry

[37:03–44:07]

• Paul, Bradenton, FL: Asks about accusations that Kirk was hateful; says he’s only seen opposing viewpoints, not “real evidence.”
• Hosts respond:
  • Mark: “He wasn't a perfect person...But did he have a pattern of saying things that are on their face objectionable to everyone? He did not.” [39:55]
  • Sean: Criticizes reflexive social media-driven judgments; urges fact-checking.
  • Dan: Acknowledges Kirk offended many but insists that disagreement shouldn’t be conflated with bigotry.
  • Mark underlines the dangerously quick leap from disagreement to labels like “racist” and highlights "internet rumor vs. reality" problem.

B. The “New Right” Generation

[47:27–51:08]

• Cole, North Carolina: Former young Democrat, moved away from party over “wokeness.” Speaks to generational discontent and depoliticization.
• Hosts emphasize Kirk’s role in challenging campus orthodoxy and the rise of “common sense” arguments over party labels.

C. Political Violence and Democratic Reckoning

[52:59–58:16]

• Matt, Marin County, CA: Asks how to channel young men’s anger about Kirk’s death/rising violence, and which Democratic leaders are able to truly denounce left-wing militant groups like Antifa.
• Dan: Challenges premise, notes condemnation is routine among Dems unless “organized violence” is documented.
• Sean: Argues Dems rarely asked directly to denounce violence, sees a persistent “both sides” false equivalence in left-leaning rhetoric.

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10. Notable Quotes and Moments

• Political Violence Acceptance
  “Republicans, overwhelmed. I think it hit 60% like a year after January 6th that political violence was acceptable—Republicans.”
  — Dan [58:39]

• On Media’s Role
  “The view of the media … their role in getting us to this point is something that has not been discussed.”
  — Sean [28:10]
  "Both those topics should be a topic for a whole show."
  — Mark [29:01]

• On Generational Changes
  “I appreciated you coming on, Cole, and I think that there's a lot of people. There's a lot of Coles out there.”
  — Sean [50:22]

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Timestamps by Segment

• [06:12] — President’s UK Visit and Kirk Memorial Preview
• [09:59] — US Housing and Economic Update
• [11:40] — Will Memorial be covered live by networks?
• [13:10] — Tone of Memorial: Unifying or Partisan?
• [14:33] — Comparison to Paul Wellstone’s Funeral
• [15:45] — Mobilization and the rise of a right-wing “movement”
• [17:37] — Democrats' Positioning: Shapiro, Newsom, Obama
• [20:36] — How can Democrats talk about the Kirk incident?
• [26:22] — Debate: Has the Left Condemned Violence?
• [28:10] — Media Blame and Polarization
• [29:01] — Lightning Round: Economy, Israel, Shutdown
• [37:03] — Caller: Was Charlie Kirk Really Hateful?
• [47:27] — Caller: Are Young People Fleeing the Left?
• [52:59] — Caller: Political Violence and Generational Anger

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

The tone is combative but self-aware—hosts are frank about their biases. The show walks the line between thoughtful reflection and partisan banter, with an undercurrent of concern for civility and the country’s fraying social fabric. Several callers provide striking, real-world perspectives, pushing the hosts to wrestle with difficult questions about the limits of debate, the reality of polarization, and the challenge of honest discourse in a media-saturated moment.

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For listeners or readers: This episode encapsulates how major flashpoints—like the death of a high-profile partisan—can supercharge political divisions, shape campaign strategy, and challenge the “moderate” majority. It’s also a revealing window into how media figures wrestle in real-time with those repercussions.

Transcript

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[Sean]

But we're all got the same logo I coordinated.

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[Sean]

Day three of sleeping in it. It's fantastic.

[Mark]

Doubles as golf apparel slash pajamas. Yes, Dan, Sean and I both were familiar with Fairway and Green merchandise before. You're new to it. So please, as a newbie, I'm new to it.

[Dan]

I mean, I knew of it, but I had not worn it before. It is awesome. It is great and the highest compliment that I can receive. When my wife saw this color, she said, that looks great on you. And I said, it's comfortable too.

[Mark]

So there you go. If you want to get this. And again, you can buy all sorts of stuff. You can get the morning meeting logo, the two way logo, lots of our catchphrases on the sleeves, including conversations like no other. Peace, love and understanding. And of course, Dan's favorite, no smack in the chat. All available, go to two way TV slash Fairway. Thank you, Two way tv Fairway. And Sean, is there any discount available?

[Sean]

Mark, thanks for asking. There is, in fact, you can get 20 off anything site wide if you use promo code two way. That's the numeral two way 20. Two way 20.

[Mark]

Yeah. And do me a favor, hit the all caps button on the way, even though you don't need to. I always prefer for branding, it's two way. One word, all caps, the number two and way. We're super grateful to be partnering with our friends at Fairway and Green. And if I have an interview with the president, can I wear this or do I need to put on a suit? That's a. It's a rhetorical question.

[Dan]

Or he wears a hat a lot.

[Sean]

And he knows where the interview is.

[Mark]

Like I'm going to at the golf club. I'm going to a fancy Manhattan dinner party tonight. Can I Wear this. Or do I need to put on a suit?

[Dan]

Yeah, suit, suit.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Well, you know what you could get is a pin. We could get a little morning meeting pin that you could put on your lapel.

[Mark]

All right again, Sean, what's that website? It's two way tv. Fairway. Fairway, yeah, Fairway. Anyway, what if we did those?

[Sean]

You know how like CBS broadcasters still.

[Mark]

Exactly.

[Sean]

I think that's, that's the next thing I'll say.

[Mark]

I'll say again, the stuff's super nice. You'll never wear more comfortable clothes. Golf apparel. Dan. Dan's got a quarter zip on. But do us a favor and buy something today so our friends at Fairway and Green don't regret this comical sponsorship we're engaged in.

[Dan]

Mark, you missed it before we, we. You got on. Sean, how many days until Christmas now?

[Sean]

99.

[Mark]

99. Wait till you see what we have for you for Christmas for the Fairway and Green stuff. Stand by for that.

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[Mark]

All right, the president, as I said, is in London. They're behind schedule. They're an hour behind schedule. But after the they were received this morning, Paul threw up some of that video. I, I, we don't need to hear anything. Here's the schedule anyway. All right, here's. They're arriving at Windsor Castle off of Marine One. There's a lot of protests going on, so you know, that'll get some coverage too. The substantive meetings are tomorrow. Today is all pomp and circumstance and dining. You can see there some of the pomp.

[Dan]

Is that John, how much does he love that?

[Mark]

Is that pomp or is that circumstance? I will tell you, this is no secret, but it is reporting. As everyone knows, this is only the second US President to get this kind of state visit. And believe me, the president's really into that. I've been told.

[Sean]

LinkedIn and first one to ever get two.

[Mark]

Yeah, that's what I mean. He's the first to get two and he's really into that. Anyway, they go into a luncheon at, well, supposed to have started at 8 Eastern, but it hasn't. After the luncheon they participate in a laying of the wreath, a wreath for at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth ii. Then they participate in a beating retreat musical performance. Does anybody know who the musical acts are at that thing? Anybody know? Anyway, at some point he's doing an interview with Martha McCallum. I think it airs at 3 Eastern. I don't believe it's live at 3 Eastern. I could be wrong. But you watch Fox at 3 Eastern. Of course, we'll have full coverage of Martha's interview on two way tonight. And then there's a big banquet tonight. Lots of US Execs are there. It's always a significant event if there's Someone. If the CEOs of both Blackstone and Blackrock, if they're both there, you know, something's happening. I believe they're both there. And, and then there's a big post dinner program. I don't know, like which British musical entertainers aren't so liberal that they would object to performing for Donald Trump.

[Sean]

Elton John, baby. Sir Elton.

[Mark]

Yeah, Sir Elton. Cause Donald Trump.

[Dan]

The Rolling Stones would be pretty awesome.

[Mark]

Yeah. Anyway, so we'll wait and see. We may get more live pictures out of that. So stand by for that while we're on the air here with you. Vice president is in Michigan today touring a precious metal stamping facility and delivering remarks. And I could just say about the vice president having just spent two days in Washington, this new focus of mourning Charlie Kirk and organizing around that. He was busy before, but this is at a whole new dimension to his life. They announced the speakers for Charlie's service on Sunday in Arizona. Lots of people from the administration, of course, the president, the vice president are speaking there, both Secretary Rubio, National Security Advisor Rubio and Scott Besson. I'm talking my New York speed this morning because we got to get to. Got a lot to get to. If you're listening on the podcast version, I recommend you not do the 1.5 speed. I'd go down to 1 because I'm talking to 1.5 speed. You don't need the artificial edition. Marco Rubio, Scott Besson are in London with the president and they're having substantive meetings. I'm not sure either of those guys are as interested in the pomp and circumstance. Secretary of education gave a speech earlier this morning. Kash Patel, second day on the Hill yesterday, raucous on the House. On the Senate side today, he's on the House side right after we go up the air. And the former CDC director testifies before the HELP committee. There are lots of Democrat Republicans on that committee. Are both Murkowski and Collins on help? I think they are. So Murkowski I think cons, I think Collins is too. And of course, chairman from Louisiana, Bill Cassidy. So expect some interesting and tough questions there from Republicans as well as, of course, from Democrats. Mike Waltz's nomination being considered in foreign relations today to be UN Ambassador. House is considering more legislation related to crime.

[Dan]

They're both on.

[Mark]

Yeah. So you got Murkowski, Collins and Cassidy. All will be asking very tough questions there. Housing numbers came out this morning, Paul, I think we have that. Not great. Housing starts came out half an hour ago. Paul, do we have that? I apologize, I don't have my list of numbers.

[Dan]

Down 8.5%.

[Mark]

Not great. And of course, housing remains a big focus of Scott Bessant, of the president, of everybody in the administration concerned about economic policy. Here are the numbers. Total US housing starts fell 8.5 in August. Annual rate down. Single family homes dropped 7% last month. Just not great. And the hope is segue. 2:30 today. At 2:00 today, we'll get the Open Market Committee announcement of a rate reduction. Overwhelming consensus outside of the Halperin consensus is there'll be a quarter basis point, 25 point basis points. I still think it's going to be 50. I don't really think that. Just as I didn't think that Putin would be arrested in Alaska. I'm just saying it for fun and to make a point, which is it could be 50, but everybody says it's going to be 25. We'll see what the market does after that. And Powell has his press conference at 230, at which I'm sure he'll get a lot of questions about who's going to be on the Fed tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. All right. Again, if you want to be in on the conversation, please raise your hand. I continue to have a lot of contact with members of the community outside the four walls of the programs. And I know a lot of you would just like to spend the hour talking about Charlie Kirk. And we'll spend a lot of time and I bet a lot of the hands up already are about that. But there are some other topics we're going to get to. Let's talk about again. Try to be forward looking here. Let's talk about Sunday for instance. Sean, prediction. Will CNN and MSNBC carry the ceremony featuring speeches from the President, United States, the Vice President, Bobby Kennedy, Erica Kirk. Will that be covered in whole or in part On CNN and MSNBC, yes or no?

[Sean]

CNN 100%. MSNBC will dip in and out.

[Mark]

But you think CNN will wire to wire. It's going to be a very long event. CNN wire to wireless.

[Sean]

I, I'm gonna say yes.

[Mark]

Okay. Dan.

[Dan]

No, I think they both dip in and out.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Because I think it is going to be, you know, three, three and a half, four hours by the time every speaker is done.

[Mark]

Yeah. Sean, do you start with the president, but just any of the other speakers you know about. Do you think anybody will give a speech, any of the political figures will give a speech that Governor Shapiro or Governor Bashir or MSNBC hosts would look at and say that's beautiful. They brought the country together. Everything they said was about how wonderful Charlie's life is and his kids and, and about unifying the country. Do you think anybody will give a speech like that?

[Sean]

Obviously there's two different issues there. I think there's going to be plenty of tributes to Charlie and his message. And so from that standpoint, yes, they can say they talked about. I mean Charlie's mantra is, is if we don't, once we stop talking, that's when violence starts. So I think the idea of that is going to go very well. I think they're going to note the lack of unity and saying no one called. I mean they'll pick up on that more than anything else. That what they didn't say, I don't think there'll be anything. I mean look, there's always a possibility especially. But I do think it's going to be more what they didn't say than what they did.

[Mark]

Maybe I didn't ask the question the right way. Most everybody from the administration who's spoken in this context, I'll say has said things that really are pissing off blue America, saying all the violence comes from.

[Dan]

The left, not just blue America. Some Republicans have written also.

[Mark]

You're right. But, but so I'm just saying, like if Bill Clinton or George Bush or, or, or Barack Obama or, or the first George Bush or Joe Biden was giving a speech at an occasion like this, I think the speech they would give could have been Given by someone from the other party. Well, anyone. Well, any of the significant people give a speech that word for word could be delivered by some of the other party. Are they all going to say the extreme radical left in this country needs to be destroyed or things like that? I'm just asking for your prediction.

[Sean]

I think that that's. Yes, there's going to be an element of their side in everyone's.

[Mark]

In everyone's okay. Dan, do you agree with that?

[Dan]

Yeah. And I think the challenge for Republicans is I think people will look to one up each other and I think, you know, you look at some of the names on there, Tucker, I can only imagine that some will go more intense than others. They're all aware of social media. They're all aware of the base. Mark, this reminds me to. It's not an apples to apples comparison, but Democrats, when Paul Wellstone died, had that funeral and it got out of control.

[Mark]

It did. Brilliant. How big was that arena? Was that like 20,000 people?

[Dan]

Yeah, it was like 15 or 10, I think. University of Minnesota, if I remember their basketball arena.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

But it got out of control. And a lot of people, because again, the silent majority of this country doesn't like the politics of red or blue. Right. It's like real lives are real people. What are you doing for me? And if the Republican Party comes across as just unhinged, I think it would be to their detriment.

[Sean]

I will tell you this. I have been out more than normal in the last three or four days and to a T. And I think because of what I do and what I've done, people feel like they can come up and say things. And some of the conversations have literally the, the, the, the number of people who have been involved or on the periphery maybe of politics who are now expressing a. Like, I'm, I'm all in. I'm gonna do like. I will tell you that I know that we all see to some degree some of the people through our own lens in terms of who we are associated with or in our friend group. But I will tell you, I think that this whole incident and what's happened has awoken a movement that I don't think people will fully appreciate for a while.

[Mark]

Yeah, I totally agree. And I think that'll be on vivid display on Sunday. I'm not going to try to taste two things that I don't necessarily feel articulate enough to say, but I'm going to try. And the second one will introduce our next topic, which is about the Democrats and the 2028 candidates. So, as you know, I had a professional connection to Charlie Kirk, and this has hit me very hard. And it's not a great place for journalists to be in. Right. Just not great for me to be this emotional about the whole thing. And I'm really interested in Sunday. It's Sunday morning. Many of the 60,000 people, I think they're going to fill the stadium are people of faith. And this event will have a lot of elements that will be like a church service. But most church services aren't in football stadiums with 60,000 people. And many of the speakers, like Tucker and the vice president and the president are going to be giving red meat speeches. I'm almost Stephen Miller. Right. So you try to think about. And Dan is brilliant in bringing up the Wellstone event. Those of you who aren't familiar with it. It was a memorial service, but it turned into a very intense red meat event, or blue meat, if you want to use the metaphor. But this is 60,000 people outdoors on a Sunday morning. The tone of that thing is going to be extraordinary. And I think it's going to toggle back and forth between spiritual and red meat. And to Sean's point, you people who don't see the political potential of this are missing something big. And I was in D.C. not in the grassroots, but. But people understand on the right what's happening here. Now, the second point I want to bring up, and again, it's still forming in my mind, talked about a little bit on two Way tonight. Last night, Governor Bashir was just on cnn. I don't know if we have a clip of that or not. If we do, you'll let me know. Governor Shapiro spoke yesterday. Gavin Newsom spoke yesterday.

[Dan]

Barack Obama.

[Mark]

Barack Obama. Not on camera, unfortunately. I'll make the point after we watch. Play Governor. If this is Bashir, play Bashir. But then play Newsom. And then, and then I want to make one more point and go to you guys. So go ahead. Play what? Play whatever it is you guys have, Bashir and Newsom, and then play the other one. And what are you, what are you weighing as you consider the question if.

[Sean]

You should run for president in 2028?

[Josh Shapiro]

Well, right now I'm trying to be a voice of reason in the chaos, especially after last week, to be a voice of humanity over partisanship next year. Head of the Democratic Governors Association. We've got a lot of races to run after that. We're going to sit down, my family and I, and we're going to look at whether or not I'm a candidate that could heal this country. Now, there's a lot that's going to need to be repaired after this administration. But the most important thing to the United States is that we're able to turn down the temperature to make sure that neighbors aren't yelling at neighbors anymore, to come back together as Americans to live out that Pledge of Allegiance where we pledge that we're not just one nation under God, but the next word is indivisible. We've got a lot of healing to do. And if I'm a candidate that can do that, then it's something that we will take a close look at. If it's someone else, I don't mind lining up behind them because I care about this country a lot more than I care about any title.

[Mark]

Okay. Governor Newsom did it, did like a telethon last night to raise money for the redistricting effort. And he talked quite a bit. Some politico compared him to Jerry Lewis. That'll be lost on younger viewers, listeners here. But play if you would, Governor Newsom from last night.

[Gavin Newsom]

It was said by a number of people this was not the fight we chose. But I think what you just said was even more powerful. I don't think Trump for a second talking about redistricting here, act like we're fighting back. And that's why failure is not an option. It is not an option. I mean, I can't even conceive of the impact if we run short. We can't run the 90 yard dash on this. I mean, 2026, if we limp into 2026, we're in real trouble. So we can build the kind of momentum 2026 begins this November and it's November 6th. But as Pete and others just said, it's really October 6th because those ballots land in people's mailbox in just a few weeks. Early voting is October 6th. It ends on November 6th. And that's the opportunity for folks to remind everybody the power of early voting, the power of emulation, meaning emulate, kind of the things you heard here tonight and the kind of energy and the caring and daring that so many people shared tonight. And to make sure that we, we don't dream of regretting, we got to put everything out on the line because this is about holding the line and it's about holding up this democracy.

[Mark]

Okay, a few things. First of all, I just see that Vice President Vance did an interview with Jesse Waters that airs tonight. So mark that on your calendar. So again, talking about, for, for a lot of Americans, talking About redistricting now seems a little off key. Right. It's important speak to control the House, but it doesn't have the emotion and passion and resonance that the thing for Charlie does. And in listening to all these Democrats, here's the point I want to make. And again, it's not gonna be very articulate because I'm still thinking it through. But Dan, first you got the Republican Party now then MAGA very focused. We are going to take the tragedy of Charlie's death and we're gonna turn it into grassroots organizing and energy and government action. And what the Democrats are saying is you're going overboard. But unlike on abortion, where the Republicans say, well, we're going to change the subject, we're going to talk about late term abortion or we're going to whatever. Like, the Democrats really don't have anything to say about this except objection to what they consider to be Pam Bondi or the president. Like, they're trying to speak about this in a way that diffuses the Republican asymmetrical advantage. I just don't have my arms around that. Like, how do you talk about this if this is an issue if in the midterms and beyond, how do you talk about this if you're a Democratic leader in a way that's both good for the country and good politics for the Democratic Party?

[Dan]

Well, I think, look, on some level, Mark, I think that you do what you're doing. I think the Republicans, I think what's happened in the last 48 hours is the Democratic Party has woken up. I think they were so stunned and taken aback. Forget the far crazies on social media that were cheering the leadership of the party, the vast majority of Democrats were horrified and stunned at what happened to Charlie Kirk. And then they saw, you know, again, this is politics, big boy sport, and you don't let a crisis go to waste. And all of a sudden they saw what the administration was was doing and saying and they just became kind of livid at the just outrageous hypocrisy of Republicans. And so I agree, MAGA has woken up. They, they had an intensity problem going into the midterms. We didn't have an intensity problem at all. In fact, if anything, it was too intense. The party was a little out of control. I actually think now Democrats are getting even more motivated by what has been happening in the last few days from Republicans, from what they're saying, from the president's interview, even J.D. vance's filling in on the podcast, and what some administration officials said, who then started Walking stuff back. Even Republicans criticized what some of them said as just utterly out. Pam, Pam Bondi was outrageous. I mean, just, it was absurd. And so I think that what the, what Josh Shapiro did, I thought was phenomenal. I thought Barack Obama, you know, adding his voice was good. I thought Brashear was good. MARK I think we just say, look, everyone's got to tone it down. You speak in a more measured way. And I think by next November, this, the midterms are going to be more about the real lives of real people than this. It will fire up bases. But the middle that decides elections, I don't think that this is going to be what moves them.

[Mark]

Sean.

[Sean]

So two things. Let me start with advice that I'll, I would give to Gavin Newsom, but I think the problem is he can't take it. And what I mean by that is I don't think the Democratic base wants to hear what the smart, maybe general election phrase would be. Gavin Newsom, despite everything. And again, I'm trying to be analytical so everyone on the right, please don't attack me. But if I were Gavin Newsom, I would say, you know what, I actually did talk to Charlie Kirk. I do engage in those discussions. I'm the only one of the Democrats that actually will have people that I disagree with and have a civil discussion, because I think we need to have those. I've been doing it. I think we need to do more of it, which is why Charlie Kirk was one of the first guys on my podcast. So, so I am the only one who's actually shown.

[Mark]

He said a lot, he said that.

[Dan]

Earlier in the week here.

[Sean]

But, but, but I think it's very, the Democratic Party doesn't want to hear that right now. That's my take. Okay. So again, I, I don't mean to.

[Dan]

Oh, I don't know about that. I mean, okay, okay.

[Sean]

And then that's why I'm saying I, I will say you're, you're like, maybe you're right, maybe I'm wrong on that. I don't get the sense that's probably a better way to say, but the problem with this, and I say this respectfully, Dan, I'm not saying you, but like when, when the left says we all need to tone it down, the problem is, is that during the Black Lives Matter riots, the, the, the phrase silence is violence has, was prominent in, in the movement. There is a belief and, and prior to that clip where Bashir was on with media personality Kate Baldwin at cnn, they, they, she asked him whether or not he, you know, the, these polls that reveal there's more, more violence and, you know, she should say anything and refuse to answer the question. The bottom line is it's not, you know, we've talked about this the last couple days. I, this isn't a one time poll. That is a view of many people in, on the far left that they believe that they have a right to, to use violence as a means of getting to their ends. And we see that in the Texas, I mean, the Tesla dealerships where you're throwing rocks and we've seen the Charlotte incident down there where there's no sense of calling it out. And until the Democratic Party leaders are willing to say we condemn violence at any level, they won't do it because their base actually thinks it's the right thing to do.

[Dan]

No, no, Sean, every single Democrat, I mean, I just, this is where the blue blood is boiling in our party. To say that no one has called out violence in the Democratic Party is utterly outrageous. Every single Democrat has said violence is unacceptable.

[Mark]

Dan, if you were, Dan, if you, if you were advising a potential presidential candidate for 28, and the point of view in the room was we have to talk about this, but I want to. And the candidate said, I want to talk about this in a way that will increase my chances of winning the White House, both becoming the nominee and winning the general election. What are the three talking points you think would be on the note card for that person?

[Dan]

I thought Josh Shapiro hit that perfectly. You say everyone's got to tone it down. You talk about instances on that, to Sean's point that you say it's unacceptable to throw rocks at Teslas and it was unacceptable to firebomb the governor's mansion or when white nationalists killed people, as Barack Obama said in South Carolina. Right.

[Sean]

What do you think about the use of, when you tell someone that people are. How about this over and over again using the phrase threat to democracy, calling people Hitler timing. Is that acceptable?

[Dan]

No, I've said the same thing.

[Mark]

Forget your view. Would you tell a person, we'd say, would you say our party contributed to this by demonizing, even though the base of Democratic Party, if you asked them today, would say Trump's Hitler?

[Dan]

Yes, I would. And then what I would do is say, and you know what? They're not going to stop doing what they do, which is say that the Democrats are destroying the country. I mean, Trump has a version of the same thing. We're not going to have a country if they're elected. You know, our country is going to go to hell in a hand basket. I don't know how many times he says that. So what I would do is you say it and you flip it and what you say is this. They're not going to stop behaving like this. Trump can't help himself. Yeah, right. And that fires up the base because we know it's true.

[Mark]

We're going to get to your. We're going to get to your question in a second. We're going to do three topics as like multiple.

[Sean]

Can I just put a pin in something real quick? The one thing that we have not talked about, and if anyone wants to bring it up, I'm ready to go. I think the media complicity in all of this. Dan and I have done a good job of talking about our side and hit my side, his side. The view of the media has, like, their role in getting us to this point is something that has not been discussed.

[Mark]

Oh, yeah, it could be. Could be. Could be an entire episode.

[Sean]

Right, right, right. But I just want to make sure that I am on record saying how we got here is in large part to a lot of these media personalities. One, number two, how a lot of these guys have covered this is pretty pathetic.

[Mark]

Yeah. And continue to do so.

[Dan]

By the way, if you're going to do that, you got to put conservative media in the barrel as well. Yes, I agree with you. How conservative behaves every day. Paint Democrats every day.

[Mark]

I agree. Both those topics should be a topic for a whole show. All right, guys, real short answer today, Sean. Real short answers on three things. And then, and then we're going to get to community questions. I was struck in Washington by how many MAGA folks are very pessimistic about the economy. They're not predicting it'll be bad in the midterms, but, but they, they really don't know. They're holding open the possibility. It's a big change from just a few months ago. So, Dan, if 0 is a 0 chance and 10 is 100% chance, what number do you assign the probability that the economy for the midterms will be a drag on the Republican Party? A drag on the Republican Party? Zero. No drag. Zero. 100%. Zero percent chance. Ten hundred percent chance.

[Dan]

An eight. And, and I'll just add this because if he tries to get out of the tariffs, I think the base is going to be like, what are you doing?

[Mark]

Yeah. Okay.

[Dan]

So I think he's caught.

[Mark]

He's stuck with the terrorists. Sean dances 8. What do you say?

[Sean]

Tell me. I think it's all the economy could be the number one issue. So it'll be a 10.

[Mark]

But what's that? No but what's if, what's the percent? Is it 10? Definitely a drag on the Republicans. In other words, the economy will be bad.

[Sean]

Okay, but I guess what I'm trying to, the way I'm trying to answer this, say the Fed cuts rates once or twice, things start moving in the right direction.

[Mark]

But if it, as James Carville would say, ifs and buts were beer and nuts, we'd have a hell of a party. Zero means you think there's no chance the economy would be a bad and a drag. 10.

[Sean]

So if things aren't going well, then I think it's probably an 8.

[Mark]

That's not the question. Do you think things will be going well?

[Sean]

No, I think things will be fine.

[Mark]

So you think, you think like a two?

[Sean]

I think like a four.

[Mark]

A four. Okay. The correct answer is six. The correct answer. Six is what we were looking for. Yeah. Gaza zero is Trump is full green light for Bibi to go in, just full support even though he may not say it publicly. 10 is Trump is opposed. And if BB crosses some lines, Trump is going to speak out and tell him to stop. Sean.

[Sean]

5.

[Mark]

Dan 0.

[Dan]

He's never going to touch.

[Mark]

The correct answer is negative one. The answer we were looking for was negative one. All right. Lastly, we all, we all previously believed short shutdown, then a CR through the fall probably. What are the chances now? Zero. No chance. 10 happening, definite happening of a shutdown longer than a week, an initial shutdown longer than a week. Dan.

[Dan]

0. Schumer has snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I cannot believe how much they, how incredibly stupid they've been.0 because he's going to lose members Senate Democrats are going to break off.

[Mark]

Yeah, Sean, he can't hold them.

[Sean]

I'll go out 2.5, 2.5.

[Mark]

The correct answer surprisingly high. 4. I'm not sure there's anything right now that would pass the House and the Senate. Not sure.

[Dan]

So you think House Republicans will, will, will object?

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

To a 40 day CRM?

[Mark]

Maybe or maybe or I don't think they'll get 60 votes for what the House passes.

[Dan]

Well, hold on, Sean. I just want to add this because I find this is just so stunning and comical. All I heard from Democrats when I was down there was we're going to ask for the ACA extension. It splits the Republicans. We're going to have one ask. We're going to get victory and we're going to say to the base for the first time we broke Trump on something great.

[Mark]

Correct.

[Dan]

That Schumer could not help himself and had to put a menu of absurd. You know, we're going to undo the big beautiful bill. He lost the party.

[Mark]

Correct. Correct. It's inexplicable.

[Sean]

So one, one little math thing that's interesting. So we just sworn that new Dem in Virginia 11. Who took Jerry Connolly. Yeah.

[Dan]

James. Good friend of mine.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Oh, well, Chief of staff to Jerry Conley when I was Jared Polis.

[Sean]

Ah, okay. Yeah. But I believe you guys have another one getting sworn in in the next week or two. There's a. Another, I believe another safe Dem seat with the.

[Dan]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep, yep.

[Sean]

But. But I say that because they're down to a two seat majority and it's. I think the next one gets it to one. So you've got Massie and Victoria Sparks both saying they're voting no. I think you can probably pick up her, not him. But this is. Speaker Johnson's gonna have a math problem.

[Mark]

Yeah. All right, quick trivia question. Shortest name in Major League baseball history for a Hall of Fame player. The shortest number of letters, first name, last name combined. Anybody know Shortest name? Huh? Eight letters. You got to name the person. But it's not. It's six letters. Dan, six letters. Major League Baseball hall of Famer, shortest hall of Fame, I think maybe shortest in major league history. But whatever. Any idea? Mel Ott here. Why do I bring this up? Special election in Minnesota yesterday won by the Democrat replacing the former speaker who was killed. Won by the Democrats, which now puts the state house back 5050 into a power sharing agreement. But the person who won that race, I believe without fear of contradiction, but not having done it in ChatGPT, has the shortest name combined. First name, last name letters in. Yes. Ty Cobb is also six. Thank you. Is the shortest name in the history of American legislatures. Do you know the name of the guy who won? His last name is Lee. Three letters. His first name. Don't know how to say it. Is xp. First name xp. XP Lee. Five letters. You find me. Anybody find me a state legislator in American history with four letters or fewer. I'll buy you one of these in your choice of color and you can get whatever you want in the sleeve. But I recommend conversations like no other. All right, we're going to go to your question.

[Dan]

I also want to just clarify because some people are watching and texting. I think they will shut down for like three or four days.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

I say A Democratic party just breaks apart.

[Mark]

I say. I say a week.

[Dan]

Okay, my friend. Watching. That's what I meant.

[Mark]

Okay, quick word from our sponsor and then to your questions. Please raise your hand if you want the conversation. Lots of hands up. Looking forward to hearing from you. This is another discount. 25%@cb distillery.com to help sleep better, deal with pains from exercise exhaustion. Products from CB Distillery can make a real difference in the lives. Over 2 million people trust the products from CB Distillery. It has solutions that work with your body, help with stress, again, pain after exercise and sleeping. Highest quality, clean ingredients, no fillers, just premium cbd. Imagine waking up feeling refreshed. If this works for you, it'll change your life. Recommend you try it. If you're interested in trying to a solution for better sleep, less stress, feeling good. Try the products again. 25% off your entire purchase. CB Distillery. Use the promo code MARK. CBdistillery.com Use the promo code Mark again. Type it in now. Don't forget cbdistillery.com give it a try today. All right, to your questions. Lots of hands up as always. Maybe you're new here. No smack in the chat. Did I mention that? Raise your hand or rather unmute yourself. Tell us where you're from. If you'd like to list your county, that's fine too. But where you're from and what's on your mind for the hosts of the morning meeting, Dan and Sean or someone I was going to call on and they've disappeared from my screen. Let me see here if I can find them. All right, here we go. Paul, welcome in. Thank you for being part of the two way experience. Unmute, city, county, postal code, whatever you'd like. And what's on your mind for Dan.

[Dan]

And hell of a tree behind you.

[Paul (Caller)]

That's our backyard.

[Mark]

That's beautiful. Thank you.

[Paul (Caller)]

So we're in Bradenton, Florida and thank you guys.

[Mark]

Appreciate everything you do.

[Paul (Caller)]

Mark, regarding your absence that you commented on earlier, I would say it's great to be wanted but not needed. Better to be wanted.

[Mark]

Okay, that's good. That's. Well, well said. And sometimes you go through life and you're neither and you just deal with that.

[Paul (Caller)]

Wow, that's optimism.

[Mark]

Realism. What's on your mind, sir? Thank you for being part of two way.

[Paul (Caller)]

I wanted to get your thoughts, the three of you, regarding what I've been running into repeatedly with people with whom I'm close and not so close since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which is I've been watching reels and shorts and videos of Charlie. And I have not seen what some of my friends and relatives have.

[Mark]

Said.

[Paul (Caller)]

About him, calling him a racist, calling him a misogynist, saying he's full of hate. And I've posted some things. I feel as though, as some of you have said, this has energized people, and it's energized me to a degree to say I should be more forthcoming about some of my thoughts and. And not be silent about what I believe.

[Mark]

So I've.

[Paul (Caller)]

I've posted things saying to people, if there's is real evidence, not a little snippet where something's taken out of context, but the full breadth of something that Charlie has said that fits that, that would paint him that way. I'd like to see it. And I haven't had anybody respond with that. But it's as though people aren't willing to look at something that would maybe enlighten them because they've already made up their mind and they don't want any additional information. And I don't know how to break through that, that bubble or, or as they say, or say to me, okay, if the data's there that, that says Charlie was this horrible person, let me see it, because I haven't been able to find it.

[Mark]

Okay, so let me go real quick. And then Sean and then Dan. First of all, if there were lots of things that Charlie said that were on their face objectionable, you'd see the list every day in the Washington Post, the New York Times. There's not. There's some things he said that. That I think even in context are not the greatest things he's ever said. I'll give you one example. Shortly after October 7, he raised the question of whether the Israeli government allowed it to happen for political purposes. Okay. He never said it again. And he's very good friend of Israel. That's one. There's a few. A lot of the things that people say, he's misogynist, he's hateful, he's anti gay. Were things he said informed by his faith and the teachings of his Bible. They're certainly objectionable to a lot of Americans, but they're not objectionable to tens of millions of others. And then finally there's a bunch of stuff that's either made up or taken out of context. So he wasn't a perfect person. He appeared live on programs. I can tell you from personal experience, everyone here can you appear live on programs. Sometimes you'll say stuff you wish you hadn't said. But did he have a pattern of saying things that are on their face objectionable to everyone. Not to the far left, objectionable to everyone. He did not. And lastly, I'll say he had a great heart. He had a great heart. So this was a guy who loved people and was an extraordinary person and was very nice to everybody, not just to people who agreed with him politically. So I tend to think of someone like that. Show me 20 things they said, objectionable, I'm happy to look through them. But he's not defined by those things that he said. And again, there's no list. There's no such list of things. Now again, the Nation magazine could produce a list cuz they don't like his view on abortion or, or women's rights or gay rights. He said some things about traditional marriage that even some people on the right object to, but they're not bigoted, they're informed by his faith.

[Sean]

Sean, I largely agree. I mean, I think that when you talk about what the Bible says and what your faith is, you don't have to agree with it or anyone does. But that doesn't make you. That in my opinion, makes you a great person. But, but I think to your point, Paul, and this is the fundamental. There's two things. One, so much of when I have these discussions with people, it's the same thing. I'll say, so tell me what the problem is. And I'll be like, well, I heard. So we've now become a country on the right and the left where people have an impression of somebody or something or a policy because somebody told them something or they read something on X or Reddit or Twitter or whatever and that's it. I mean, when you challenge them. So I think you're doing the right thing. Not just on this issue with respect to Charlie, because I think you're right, but on a whole host of things when we have an issue. People tell me all the time this legislation sucks. Okay, well what part of it don't you like? Well, I heard that it kills dogs and kitties. And you're like, but that's not true. It's not in there. We have become so reflexive to say we like something or don't like something based on what social media deems appropriate or not. And I will say this with respect to Charlie, again, same thing. I, I love all of these people that are making comments about positions that he's had and when challenged on them, they can't find it. In fact, I will say with, he had very clear on his position on trans, but on Gays. He was actually very open. There's a great clip of him where some young student gets up and starts bashing it and he says, you cannot be a Trump supporter if you're anti gay. So, you know, again, I just think there's so many things that we've become very reflexive on. And, and that's the. You're doing the right thing, though, by asking people, show me the clip. Tell me what exactly he said, because in many cases, it's just not there.

[Nate (Caller)]

So.

[Mark]

Thank you.

[Dan]

Well, look, I'll disagree a little bit, which is. And Paul, this is the thing about social media. It depends what circles you go in. Mark said it. Some of his statements on marriage, some of his statements on women to some people were highly offensive. Now, I agree the idea of calling him a racist or a bigot, you know, these titles that people use, but there are people. And we heard, Mark, I don't know if you were able to watch yesterday, the last caller who found his views highly objectionable. And they, it really upset them. And I think that unfortunately, just as some people on the right hear that and it go, go nuts and say, no, it's not. What people on the left aren't kind of seeing is the other side, which is. He was, by all accounts, I didn't know him, but my two colleagues did, a good person. Right. And what he was trying to do was get people to talk to each other, right? Now, when he engaged, he was in a great, like he, he was, he got the modern media environment, right. He got that you say, use humor and be on a front. Good. Right. It's why he was effective and people loved it. And he was able to, to, to break through. But to tens of millions of people, some of the stuff he said they found highly objectionable. And this is kind of our divided.

[Sean]

Actually, Dan, you're making a great point, which is this. There is a difference between disagreeing with somebody's positions and you saying, I don't like his position on marriage, I don't like his position on trans, I don't like his position on the federal budget. But that's, to Paul's point, the difference, and this is the, the distinction here, not agreeing with somebody is healthy. That's what makes America so great, is that you can take a different position. But to jump to the conclusion that because you don't believe in, you know, affirmative action, you're a racist or you don't need reparations, you're a race. And that's the difference, is that the moniker doesn't hold.

[Mark]

Yeah, Paul, you raised so many important issues. I'm going to make two more points. We're spending a lot of time on your question, but. But it just opened up all the right things. I can't tell you the number of people, including in this community, serious, smart consumers of news, who emailed me over the weekend to say either it's clear Charlie wasn't MAGA enough for him, or it's clear he was part of a trans conspiracy to kill Charlie. Right, the alleged killer. Neither of those things is proven to be true, as far as we know. But smart, smart, serious people emailing me saying I know decisively what happened because I've read it on the Internet, I've seen it on social, I've seen it on cable news. It's really depressing to me. I know that's not a super original point, but this is a case study. These are not nuts on the Internet or social media. These are you all, lots of you, all people I know who are serious, professional people telling me, mark, why are you not saying this is a trans murder ring. Mark, why are you not saying that he killed him because he's a man of the Reich. His parents were Republicans. Relax, wait for information and don't try to make points based on no information that is gonna prove some political agenda that you have. Second, I spend a lot of time on all my platforms trying to explain to the left why the right so upset, not just about Charlie, but about decades of things. I do more of that than explaining the other way, in part because the establishment media does plenty to try to explain the other direction. Okay? For people on the right, they hear Charlie being called a bigot, Charlie being called someone hateful, someone deserves to die. I'll give you just two examples I hear all the time. People on the right say you're, you're adults and you're allowing kids to have sex surgery. Okay? You're adults and you allowed people to be debunked and have their lives ruined by because of their political views. Those two things, I've just given two examples that came to my head because other reasons, those two things, people on the right say, that's real world stuff, that's objectionable. Real world stuff that's irresponsible, hateful, evil. Charlie talked. Charlie didn't go out and ruin anyone's life. Charlie didn't debank anyone. Charlie didn't allow a child to say, I'm going to change my gender and have surgery. Okay? So that's why people on the right find it particularly objectionable, besides the fact that he had a good heart to say, you all are going to denounce this guy and look at what you've done and you pretend there's nothing wrong. Paul, thank you. Really great question. And, and we all say again, extraordinary tree. Do you know what kind of tree that is? It's an oak tree.

[Paul (Caller)]

And we moved here recently, Caddy and I, because of that. By the way, one final point.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Paul (Caller)]

I had foot surgery so I couldn't attend. But Patty went to a vigil last night for Charlie here in Bradenton. Really well attended and no violence, no protests.

[Mark]

Yes. And. And these, these vigils are still massive and not covered at all by, by the media, by the establishment media. Paul, thank you. Very grateful to you for being part of the community. I hope you recover well and keep sending us pictures of the tree. Cole, welcome in. Thank you for being part of two way question or comment after you tell us where you are. Hello.

[Nate (Caller)]

This is a first time, I guess, ever using this. And I'm joined. Nate. I'm from North Carolina and I guess I'm kind of nervous because like I didn't expect, get caught on, but no.

[Mark]

Need, no need to be, no need to be nervous. The only one who might mock you is Dan.

[Nate (Caller)]

Well, I guess I wanted to say is like it's. I grew up Democratic my whole life. Like, I supported the traditional, what I thought at the time were traditional, kind of a mixture of 90s liberalism with the Obama progressive, I suppose. And I kind of supported, you know, abortion and gay marriage because I thought it was just the right thing to do in terms of just moral standards and maybe society. Unless maybe I'm wording it wrong, but over the last eight years, I guess 10, I just have just, you know, saying how much the other side has changed. And, and really I, I prided myself not being into politics because I'm just young and I just don't. I, it's all toxic to me. But I kind of, I've, I always said that if you put politics into just people's everyday lives when they're not trying to seek it, it just gets them into politics. And you know, I, I mind my own business by, you know, playing video games or watching movies. And I, I notice, I don't like to use the term woke, but I notice, you know, what woke stuff in my stuff I enjoy, I guess. And I feel like that's what happens with a lot of young men that have maybe left or left or were centered. And I've Always kind of looked at the box office comes movies that feature message, I suppose. And every time a quote unquote woke movie or whatever flops, it's like hundreds of them. And I've always. I'm basically looking at like, how much value does wokeness have on the market? And I feel like it's just not.

[Mark]

You know, Cole, Cole, let me stop you. Just because you've raised a ton of really good stuff. I want to get. Let the guys respond, Sean.

[Sean]

And then Dan, I think Cole's, you know, we always say. But I think Cole speaks for a lot of people. There's a story the other day about this continued migration. If you think about what Donald Trump has done, bringing new younger voters, black voters, Hispanic voters into a party, a lot of it was, you know what I think, frankly, he points out when he says it's not Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, but common sense. And that's where I think he has helped really get a lot of people like you, Cole, who weren't political, had traditionally thought certain things were supposed to be a certain way and recognized that there's another way. So I appreciate you coming on. And I think that there's a lot of people. There's a lot of Coles out there.

[Mark]

Yeah, Dan.

[Dan]

Yeah, Cole, great job. You make great points. And I think one of the things that Charlie Kirk's death has really highlighted for people is the role he played in helping to try to knock down, you know, these barriers where you couldn't say you were mag on a college campus. The way the media and movies and everything kind of the. The Democratic ideals and values are in all of this, and the other side is not. And if you even attempt to do it, you were canceled. Right. Movies that would talk about, you know, MAGA issues would. People would boycott them. And Charlie Kirk played a leading role in trying to change that in the way that we would hope one would do it, which is to win the marketplace of ideas.

[Mark]

Cole, thank you. Really great for you. Thank you for being part of the community. We hope you'll come back. Wallace, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's in your mind. For Dan and Sean, everybody, thanks for. Thanks for calling on me. Started watching your show last year. I think I stumbled across it on YouTube. I really enjoy it.

[Paul (Caller)]

That's valuable.

[Mark]

It's a valuable place, I think, for the simple discourse. I know this is kind of a trivia question if I wanted to ask Dan a trivial question. What's that? Mail. Odd. No, Sorry. Oh, no, no, go ahead. Let me turn up so I can hear you guys better. But you know, Dan, I see you all the time sitting in front of your bookcase there. I just wanted to ask you a trivial question. Do you have one favorite book on that shelf behind you? It's a tie.

[Dan]

Yeah. Other than the books authored by my two colleagues, which of course are in a hall of fame class all to themselves, Teddy Roosevelt I find to be just an unbelievably fascinating figure. And the views he took. His background kind of growing up in an incredibly wealthy family and yet wanting to fight wealthy, powerful interests. His views of America, exceptionalism and his impact on history.

[Mark]

Okay, very good. I'll look that up. Thank you very much.

[Josh Shapiro]

I just see that all the time.

[Mark]

And I raised my hand the other.

[Josh Shapiro]

Day when you weren't there and I.

[Mark]

Thought, oh, gee whiz, don't call on me today. I think I lowered it because I wanted to wait till I had the chance to ask you that.

[Dan]

You know, one of the things that we've discussed within the two way team is potentially someday starting a book club where we'll read a political book together and then talk about it for those who are interested.

[Mark]

Yeah, well, it's trying to find one.

[Sean]

That has a picture so I can read it too.

[Mark]

Yeah, I recommend, I recommend Harold and the Purple Crown. Matt, welcome back. Thank you for joining with. Let folks know where you are today and what's on your mind.

[Matt (Caller)]

Hey, good morning guys. Calling in from the the People's Republic of Marin County, California. Couple questions for you. First off, there's a lot of young men, probably millions of them out there, who've been told they're toxic. Lost a lot of formative high school and college years from COVID shutdowns and lockdowns. And they love Charlie and lost him now too, I guess. What do you tell them so that their anger about all of it doesn't turn to potentially violent retaliation? Second thing, Antifa and a lot of violent left wing groups online have been protected by Democrats in the media for a long time, specifically kind of by name. Are there any Democratic leaders out there you think will find the courage to really take on the radical left behind the lip service kind of likely to the detriment of their own political careers?

[Mark]

To two great questions, Dan.

[Dan]

Yeah, I respectfully, Matt, I'll be curious to see if the administration shows that these groups outright advocate or fund in organized way violence. I know it's alleged. I have not seen it. So if that emerges, boy, amen. I hope people will condemn it if it exists. It is not, you know, to talk about, like, the far left. I don't believe that would be more than 1 or 2% of the party. So, I mean, I don't think you would be risking yourself because every Dem leader is condemning violence. So, boy, you'd be a complete hypocrite if you didn't.

[Sean]

First. Can I just ask, before I forget, Matt, have you voted on Prop 50 out there yet?

[Matt (Caller)]

No, not yet.

[Sean]

And do you intend to.

[Matt (Caller)]

I intend to vote against it.

[Sean]

Yeah. Something I know it's a low propensity kind of year. I mean, do you do among your friend and family group, are people actually aware and voting or are you just because you're more like, involved? So is this when you talk to your colleagues, friends, neighborhood?

[Matt (Caller)]

Yeah, I'd say awareness on it generally is still pretty low, but the, the avalanche and cavalcade of, you know, TV advertising hasn't necessarily hit yet either. And there's a lot of, I think, outside money coming in the state, you know, on the no side, and probably a lot of outside money coming in on the pro side, too.

[Sean]

But one last piece of this.

[Mark]

Among.

[Sean]

The people that, you know, is it. Is there a particular message that's resonating for or against it? Like, I, and I know it's early, but I mean, like, do you think that among the. Obviously one, you know, Gavin Newsom and his side is trying to say, hey, we got to even the score, we got to get some seats to save the. The House. Is. Is that. Does that message seem to resonate with folks that, you know.

[Matt (Caller)]

Yeah, I think it's. It's resonating with people who are probably already, you know, predisposed to, you know, heavily support Democrats. When you sort of look at the Bay Area demographics in general, I think when you start to get into other areas of the state where there may be people who are more purple and of course, the red parts of the state, I think there is a bit of a backlash against it. More along the lines of we have an independent commission. We all voted for that. We should be keeping that and allow that to be the mechanism rather than, I think part of the backlash to it a bit is because it's only temporary. It's so, I guess, nakedly partisan in terms of what's being done to say we'll suspend the commission until like 20, 30 or whatever the number is year, and then we'll bring it back. That part of it, I think, does rub people the wrong way because it's very Nakedly just apparent as to what's going on.

[Sean]

Okay, thank you for that. Two things. One, on the violence, violent retaliation, I would just say to anybody that you want to prevent that from happening to or has thoughts of that, just tell them to watch Charlie's videos, what he actually advocates. He talks about dialogue, fact. He says when we stop talking, that's when the violence begins. So I would, I would say that it's antithetical to everything that Charlie stood for. And the more that people actually watch the videos, talk about what he's championing and how to resolve differences that would avoid it. And I'm sorry you had a second piece. Oh, and I would just, I don't think you're going to see many folks say anything because I, I, I just don't think that they, they agree with it. There's a fundamental belief on the, on the left that there, that this isn't a problem. This is a both sides issue. And I, I tried to write this, I wrote a column, Sean Spicer.com about this because I do think that there is a fundamental difference between how we on the right clearly see this as not just what the left advocates for, but, but how it's manifested itself and how leaders have been silent. And I would disagree. I, part of the problem is I, I, I don't think the media is asking Democrats to, to do this. I mean, go. When they're not walking around saying Congress. I mean, I don't know. I haven't seen many of them condemn it because I don't think they're being asked to.

[Dan]

And I think that's condemn, condemn violence. They're all condemning violence.

[Sean]

But I, again, I'll admit.

[Dan]

Or not.

[Sean]

No, but Dan, my point is who's, I don't see anyone even asking them.

[Mark]

Can you, they're all, they're, they're all, I mean, not 100, 100%. It's done everything that they should. But almost every Democrat has condemned violence.

[Dan]

Every specifically, literally.

[Mark]

I'm not explicitly and specifically condemned, condemned Charlie's murder.

[Matt (Caller)]

Well, I guess part, part of my question too is driven by the, a lot of the polling out there which shows that there's a greater acceptance of violence when you poll those on the left than those on the right. So it seems like in some ways there's a greater responsibility among, Although I.

[Mark]

Think, although I think the numbers were different when there was a Democratic president.

[Dan]

I mean, that's the thing. And I keep pointing it out, and I'm just gonna have to keep pointing it out. Republicans Overwhelmed. I think it hit 60% like a year after January 6th that political violence was acceptable Republicans.

[Mark]

Yeah. That's just the nature of our society currently. Matt, thank you. Very grateful to you.

[Dan]

I mean, you just have to say it.

[Mark]

Yeah. Sean, what do you have tonight?

[Sean]

Obviously, talk a lot about the events coming up this weekend, but Tom Homan will join us to talk about Memphis, the next city, what the agenda and the criteria is going to be going forward. But so we'll talk a lot about immigration today.

[Mark]

Okay, number two ways to tab. First of all, Megan's on tomorrow, not today. So we'll preview her show in the morning. Two way tonight, six o'. Clock. So grateful to my colleague Laurie who's been bringing on extraordinary voices to talk about Charlie and everything else in the news every night since his murder. Brian Wolf and Elizabeth Pipko on tonight, two people. I'm eager to hear what they have to say about what's been going on. And we'll have lots to cover. The Fed announcement, Cash Patel on the House side, all the president's events today that are still pending, and a bunch of other stuff. And I say this only on occasion, when I mean it. We may have a little breaking news. So I'll see you at six and then seven o'. Clock. Bridget, great show about coping in the wake of tragedy. Here's a preview from Bridget.

[Gavin Newsom]

It was said by a number of people this was not the fight.

[Bridget Fedesy]

It's been a rough, tragic week, America, and so we're gonna be talking about how to cope in the wake of tragedy and what keeps us grounded during dark times, what helps you feel better when the news cycle is particularly horrific and it feels feels like the country is tearing itself apart? Do you turn to cooking like I do? Sourdough, gardening, Family God, all of the above? What are some of your tips and tricks for keeping your sanity when it feels like the world is going mad and it's just too sad to bear? Join me, Bridget Fedesy on Real America, Wednesday, September 17th at 7pm Eastern, 6pm Central. We will be live definitely discussing this. You can register to join the conversation at 2way TV, Bridget Zoom. Or you can simply watch the episode at Real America FY on YouTube.

[Mark]

Again tonight, tonight, tonight on Two Way, right after Two Way tonight. Please join Bridget Albion with Michael's Marconish in just a moment. And three of us will be back in 23 hours. Very grateful to you for being part of this community. And remember, you can listen to this program as a podcast and recommend it to your friends as well. As watching it on YouTube. Thank you for being here. We'll see you 23 hours. Have a good day.