Clinton Insider Larry Summers Is Latest VIP Casualty of Epstein Scandal After Trump Calls Him Out

Summary

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2WAY Morning Meeting

Episode: Clinton Insider Larry Summers Is Latest VIP Casualty of Epstein Scandal After Trump Calls Him Out

Date: November 18, 2025
Hosts: Mark Halperin (Mark), Sean Spicer (Sean), Dan Turrentine (Dan)
Theme:
A panoramic look at the day’s top news stories with a strong focus on the political and cultural implications of the Epstein case fallout, key DC meetings, ongoing legislative battles, and the shifting dynamics in 2028 Democratic presidential politics. Special attention is given to how the revelation of Epstein files is impacting high-profile individuals, including Larry Summers, and exposing new fissures across party and institutional lines.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on the latest fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal—specifically, the public disavowal and statement of contrition from Clinton insider and former Harvard President Larry Summers, triggered after being directly called out by Donald Trump. The hosts break down the accelerating push for total disclosure of the Epstein files in Congress, the political ramifications for both parties, and the wider contest for narrative and accountability. Core discussions also traverse US-Saudi foreign relations, the evolving 2028 Democratic primary race, shaky high-profile prosecutions, and the implications of emerging US policy in Latin America.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Epstein Files – Congressional and White House Fallout

• With Congress on the brink of voting unanimously to release the Epstein files, hosts highlight the shifting sands in both parties regarding transparency and accountability.
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene’s press conference (13:27): “Today you are going to see probably a unanimous vote in the House to release the Epstein files. But the fight, the real fight, will happen after that… Will the Department of Justice release the files or will it all remain tied up in investigations?”
  • The unique nature of bipartisan unity but skepticism remains over actual disclosure versus redaction and slow-walking.
• Trump’s Role
  • Trump is both championing and politicizing the release, using it to pressure Democrats and bolster his own anti-establishment narrative. The hosts question whether this signals weakening control over the GOP (11:43), but consensus is Trump’s grip remains ironclad.
  • Sean (11:43): “This is not the right issue to be trying to view a grip or not on anything else. This is not the right one.”
• Larry Summers as "VIP Casualty"
  • Sean and Mark spotlight the notable, public “statement of contrition” from Larry Summers (23:11–24:47). Sean praises its unusual sincerity for a public figure enmeshed in scandal:
    • Sean (23:29): “From a statement of contrition, I will give him an A… when you look at what we’ve said when people screw up… I felt like it was probably one of the better statements of contrition that I’ve seen from a public figure.”
  • They predict more such preemptive statements are coming as the files loom.
• Disclosure Realities
  • Debate over how much will truly be released, how the administration message-manages inevitable disappointment over redactions, and whether Trump could move for a pardon or commutation of Ghislaine Maxwell (21:38–23:29, 18:45–20:22).
  • Sean (18:45): “…There’ll be conspiracy theories. The president’s absolutely right on this. The more you release, the more people are gonna say, well, there’s more and you’re hiding it. Whatever—they need to just explain it… until you give context to this, people are going to start going off on wild goose chases.”

Timestamps:

• 13:27 – Marjorie Taylor Greene on pressure to release the files
• 23:16 – Sean on the PR challenge and categories of Epstein associates
• 18:45 – Sean’s media comms strategy for Team Trump

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2. US–Saudi Relations & MBS Visit

• President is hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) for bilateral meetings on AI, military sales, and regional stability.
• Surprisingly muted reaction to MBS's visit, even amid lingering Khashoggi controversy and strategic technology transfer concerns.
  • Dan (25:48): “Where there seems to be concern quietly is amongst the national security people in both parties because these fighter jets have our most advanced technology… We don’t have any guarantee that our technology isn’t going to be basically backdoored to the Chinese.”
  • Sean (27:14): “I think the problem is that too many times in America we forget things real quick and we’re ready to move on. And it’s unfortunate but true.”
• The hosts agree oil and influence are the sticking points, and Democratic and Republican pivots on Saudi Arabia have been politically expedient amid shifting priorities on Israel and the region.
• Listener Q&A (57:29): Nicole asks about whether Saudi is nearing the Abraham Accords—consensus: not imminent due to the volatile situation, ongoing negotiations tied to military sales, and regional stability factors.

Timestamps:

• 25:48 – Dan on backdoor risks with Saudi security agreements
• 27:14 – Sean on US political amnesia and Saudi leverage
• 57:29 – Listener Q: Prospects for Saudi joining Abraham Accords

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3. Democratic Primary 2028: Gavin Newsom’s Surge

• Echelon poll shows Newsom surging to 29% among Democratic voters, cementing his front-runner status (35:43–42:40).
  • Mark (36:31): “Gavin Newsom from Echelon’s last poll has jumped 14 points. He’s almost at 30… Kamala Harris, 17%, Buttigieg 12. No one else in double digits.”
  • Discussion: Newsom now has first-mover advantages in recruiting talent, fundraising, and shaping the race.
• Tension over Newsom’s appeal to both progressives and centrists; left wing still wary.
  • Dan (41:53): “If you think about the Mandani wing of the party right now, the AOC Bernie Sanders wing, are they going to rally around him or say like, hey, if he’s the nominee, we’re kosher? I don’t think so.”
  • Mark (40:08): Newsom can replicate Trump’s digital/flexible campaign model rather than physically flooding early states.
• Consensus: Newsom is the one to beat but is likely to face pressure from progressives as well as establishment scrutiny.

Timestamps:

• 35:43 – Mark announces new polling
• 41:53 – Dan on left-progressive skepticism of Newsom

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4. Prosecutions of Political Figures: Comey & Lisa Cook Cases

• Both the James Comey prosecution and Fed Governor Lisa Cook’s case are at legal risk due to perceived politicization and procedural issues.
  • Dan (33:50): “I think they’re both in danger. They’re both just so ridiculously political and redefining weaponization of government. It’s just, it’s comical.”
  • Sean (34:02): “What I’ve read on the Comey one sounds a little more troubling… with the Lisa Cook case, they have a much stronger… ground because of what the documents show.”
• The legal foundations and political climate are both casting doubt on the outcomes.

Timestamps:

• 33:50 – Dan on risks to Comey and Lisa Cook prosecutions
• 34:02 – Sean on the procedural vs factual arguments

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5. US Policy in Latin America and Global Rightward Tilt

• Listener Priscilla raises the rightward movement in Latin American governments and the Trump Administration’s tactical efforts to shore up these trends through economic and potential military measures (46:06–49:12).
  • Tariff strategy to punish leftist governments, notably Brazil.
  • Trump administration weighing military involvement in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela; hosts express skepticism about public support and question the end goals.
  • Dan (48:45): “I just can’t imagine that Americans would support our military going into multiple South American countries. I don’t know what the definition of victory would be.”

Timestamps:

• 46:06 – Priscilla outlines the trend and strategy in Latin America
• 48:45 – Dan on the military involvement scenario

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6. Healthcare Deal Prospects

• Bipartisan talks on building out ACA subsidies and market reforms.
  • Sean (29:57): “Politically… you want everyone to own this. So… you want to have someone on board so you can say it was a bipartisan thing. You do not want to own this by yourself heading into a midterm.”
  • Dan is more skeptical about bipartisan success but agrees picking off a few Democratic votes is possible.
• Both agree legislative strategy for a bipartisan package must start in the Senate due to the body’s smaller size and potential consensus (31:47, 31:56).

Timestamps:

• 29:57 – Sean on political risk and the need for bipartisanship
• 31:47 – Mark/Sean on starting negotiations in the Senate

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7. Notable Listener Interactions, Community Moments

• Listener Isabel on the push to impeach Judge Boasberg: hosts say highly unlikely without egregious misconduct (50:51–52:24).
• Listener Nicole shares the impact of shutdown-driven local donations; asks about US-Saudi Abraham Accords (56:19–59:29).
• Listener Abby and family celebrate a family nuclear start-up splitting the atom at Los Alamos (53:22–55:32).
• Mayor shares a personal story comparing US and Cuban healthcare, expressing gratitude for the US system (59:34–61:26).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “To me, the best story is watch me while I hit this drive…” – Mark (04:07) sharing a memorable George W. Bush anecdote.
• “This is not the right issue to be trying to view a grip or not on anything else.” – Sean (11:43), casting doubt on Epstein as evidence of Trump’s waning power.
• “I just don’t think there’s enough people and enough voices that are banging the drum post 9/11.” – Sean (27:14), noting apathy toward ongoing US-Saudi ties.
• “From a statement of contrition, I will give him an A… I felt like [Larry Summers] was probably one of the better statements of contrition I’ve seen from a public figure.” – Sean (23:29) on new standards for public figures in scandal.
• “Gavin Newsom… almost at 30%… That’s pretty strong.” – Mark (36:31), highlighting Newsom’s front-runner leap.
• “If you think about the Mandani wing of the party… are they going to rally around him or say like, hey, if he’s the nominee, we’re kosher? I don’t think so.” – Dan (41:53), on Newsom’s challenge with progressives.
• “I just can’t imagine that Americans would support our military going into multiple South American countries.” – Dan (48:45), on the limits of US intervention.
• “We have to start [healthcare] in the Senate… you can jam the House a lot easier. The Senate will never be jammed on an issue like health care.” – Sean (31:57)

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Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------------|-----------| | George W. Bush Stories, Cold Open | 00:50–04:07 | | Epstein Case: Politics, Disclosure, Summers | 11:43–24:47 | | MBS Visit, US-Saudi Dynamics | 24:47–29:06 | | Health Care Deal Prospects | 29:06–32:12 | | Comey & Cook Prosecutions | 32:12–34:49 | | Democratic Primary 2028 Polls (Newsom, etc) | 35:43–42:40 | | Audience Q&A: Latin America, Impeachment, Energy| 46:06–55:32 | | Listener on US-Saudi-Abraham Accords | 56:19–59:29 | | Mayor’s US–Cuba Healthcare Story | 59:34–61:26 |

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Tone and Style

The episode is fast-paced, candid, and jokey-with-an-edge, featuring frank analysis, inside-baseball anecdotes, and open sparring between the ideologically diverse hosts, all leavened with dark political humor and an open channel for engaged listener participation.

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Summary Takeaway

The “Morning Meeting” pivots around the acceleration of institutional reckoning with Epstein’s legacy—catalyzed by Trump’s aggressive tactics and the public capitulation of Larry Summers. The episode underscores how the scandal’s spillover is reshaping battle lines in both parties, exposing new vulnerabilities, and altering leadership races for 2028. Meanwhile, the show tracks the persistent, paradoxical core of DC: fleeting accountability, old habits, and a culture where even monumental releases, like the Epstein files, are as much about shaping the political future as reckoning with the past.

Transcript

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[Dan]

Our first guest. We're very honored to have the 43rd President of the United States, President George W. Bush. Mr. President, when Presidents have important addresses to the nations like the State of the Union, they often prepare for weeks, if not months. So my question is, how long have you been preparing for this Manning cast appearance?

[Sean]

About 10 minutes.

[Dan]

Perfect.

[Mark]

That's two minutes.

[Sean]

I'm so pleased to see your faces not on a TV commercial. There's a lot of them out there and there's a few more on the way. I'm just going to apologize in advance. I filmed a couple last weeks.

[Mark]

Thank you.

[Dan]

I'm just going to warn you, it's.

[Mark]

Unbelievable at a time of national acrimony, negative feeling. In the absence of peace, love and understanding, literally nothing could warm the hearts of tens of millions across the fruited plain than George W. Bush on the Manning cast. Good morning. This is the morning meeting. Thank you for joining. We've got lots of news to get through. And then of course, your questions. If you want to get in on the conversation and you're here in the two way platform, please raise your hand. Sean, you know George W. Bush quite well. What's your favorite George W. Bush story? Not counting his appearance on the Manning cast.

[Sean]

I will just say real quick. The funny thing about that, about five days into being press secretary, there was an event at the Hay Adams, right across the street from Lafayette Park. I walk in and I hear, hey, Sean. And I'm looking around and then he said, how are you? And I look and it's Peyton Manning. And I'm like. And it was just. I must have looked like the biggest dumb dumb because I was like, you're Peyton Manning. I just, I was. The idea that Peyton Manning knew who the hell I was was kind of scary to me. But my favorite George W. Bush. I Forgot we were G7. A G. Something like that. And I was the Assistant U.S. trade Rep. My boss was in him is my boss, Susan Schwab, Condi Rice. And she had brought me into the meeting. And so there's three of us there, and Bush is telling this story about this gift that Putin had given him. And all of a sudden, like. And there's no one else in the room. So it's Secret Service, Condi and my boss. And he just, out of the corner of his eye, looks and he's like. Because you could tell. He was like, who the hell is this guy? And why is he in this room? And then finally just gave me one of those kind of like, nods. And it was because it was one of my first serious encounters with him. But it was just one of those things I'll never forget because he's intimately telling the story. I think it was a watch that Putin had given him or something. And he's having this who conversation. Then literally, I think looking up, going, why is that guy in the room with me? And should I be telling this story?

[Mark]

Dan, you got a good W story you'd like to share?

[Dan]

No. I mean, I not like Sean, not. Not a personal interaction. But the story that always stuck with me, with him, was the story of when he was pledging his fraternity. And they were. They would try to get the pledges pretty lubed up and then make them recount all the brothers names. And if you weren't able to do it, they would make you drink. And he, on one go round got. I think it was all 61 people's names. Correct. And it just. He's good with names and he was good with people. That story always stuck with me for some reason.

[Mark]

Yeah. To me, the best story is watch me while I hit this drive. But my two. My two favorite one involves when we were flying on a charter from New Hampshire back to Texas, and the flight attendant offers offered us some vegetables with our dinner. And he. He looked at her like it was like the craziest thing anybody had ever suggested. He's like, I don't need vegetables. And then, I'm saving this for my memoirs. But I sat next to him at a private screening for his full campaign team and gubernatorial staff at the Austin premiere a few weeks before the movie opened of Austin Powers 2. And I got to sit next to him while he was. He loved Austin Powers one. It was like his favorite movie, but sitting next to him, watching Austin Powers too. My favorite will read that in my memoirs. Thank you for joining. We're going to talk about the Epstein story. We're going to talk about the president's visit today from MBS Healthcare, Comey and Cook and a new poll of Democrats in 2028. The front runners lead might surprise you. Love the feet. I love the deep fake teases. Now you have to watch the whole program if you want to know what we're talking about. And in a moment we'll run through the daybook and then the three of us will kick things around. And if you're here on the platform and want to get in on the conversation, what a remarkable opportunity. Remarkable opportunity. What a great nation to be about Sean and Dan. Questions? All you have to do is raise your hand. Now, if you're watching on X or YouTube, you can't ask them questions. You can go in the chat and write things like, oh, isn't it don't put smack in there whatever you do. No smack in the chat. Peace, love and understanding to all. Presumption of grace to all. Super important, particularly on this day of all days. But first, a word from one of our sponsors, the good people at Cozy Earth with Bamboo. So much in the news today. What better time to buy products with hibiscus made from bamboo? So comfortable. Somebody sent me a or somebody tweeted at me yesterday and says, mark, the Cozy Earth clothes really do wick away moisture. Yes, they do. We couldn't say that if it weren't true. Keep you warm now when it's a little colder in parts of the country, but also keep you nice and cool. And the bedding does that too. It's Black Friday for Cozy Earth. It comes early. Right now use the code 2WMM for 40% off site wide on all the products of Cozy Earth, the bamboo pajama set. Again with bamboo. Much in the news. You may want to buy yourself that the bubble cuddle blanket. Dan loves the Bubble Cuddle blanket for its combination of comfort and style with its distinctively textured bubble design, intricately woven from ultra soft fibers. If there's somebody in your family hard to shop for, just go on the site. You'll find something for them. Perhaps inspired by Sean's example, you'll buy the joggers there couldn't be more comfortable. You just you put them on and all is right. The world wrap the ones you love in luxury with Cozy Earth. Again, go right now. Use the promo [e-mail] 2wmm for a site wide sale. 40% off.

[Dan]

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[Sean]

It's not about to be over.

[Mark]

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[Sean]

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[Dan]

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[Sean]

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[Mark]

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[Sean]

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[Mark]

Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, gentlemen, the vote in the house. Oh, I got to run through the day book lately I've been forgetting right now on the Hill. If you look at your other screen, don't turn away from us. You'll see the press conference. Rona speaking with Mr. Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene with some of the accusers in the Epstein case who have been front and center now around this vote today expected at about 2 o' clock today. The President though, who dealing with the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or 11 o' clock arrival, 11:15 they he greets him and then 11:45 there's a bilateral meeting that's open pool press so there'll be words to the president and presumably he'll maybe take questions and they're having a closed lunch at 12:15, 2:00', clock, bids farewell. Big dinner tonight at the White House. Tough ticket. I know a lot of people who are going who promised to leak all the details to me. So stay tuned that for on tomorrow's show. And then, and then, and then tomorrow he's back. They're doing a big trade thing and he's going to the Hill. So lots of activities. I'm sure the vice president will be at all of this, although that hasn't been publicly announced. Lots going on on the Hill today. Lots and lots and lots.

[Dan]

Mark, by the way, you think in that open pool you think they call on the Washington Post and does the Post reporter ask about history or does everyone move past?

[Mark]

It is a great, great question. Dan, of course is referring to the US's view that this gentleman was involved in the murder of a Washington Post columnist. Brutal murder. So we'll see if that comes up the Hill. Very busy this press conference right now with Khan of Massey, Marjorie Taylor Greene and the accusers. The House is in this morning. Budget Committee is having a hearing. Democratic leadership in the House 10:45 press conference. Mike Johnson holds a press conference with the leadership at 11. John, is the speaker and the and the whip going to vote for this measure?

[Sean]

Well, the speaker doesn't generally vote, so.

[Mayor]

Yeah.

[Isaiah]

No.

[Mark]

Okay. What about the whip?

[Sean]

This is going to be an interesting one because Emmer did say that he wouldn't whip the vote.

[Mark]

I. Correct.

[Sean]

I don't know. Like, I feel like he might wait and see how the vote goes and then vote at the very end because you don't want to be the one guy that doesn't vote. Yes. But yeah, my guess is that he sits in the back of the chamber and waits.

[Mark]

Yeah. Doug Collins, the, the HH Veterans Affair Veterans Department Secretary and Bobby Kennedy much in the news today. Also holding a, holding a, doing an event this after today on caregivers. All right, guys, let's talk about, let's talk about Epstein. Lots in the news about Wall Street Journal piece, news piece. JIM garrity, washington Post A column suggests that this is a sign along with the president's failure to get rid of the filibuster and the Kansas or the Indiana legislators not doing the president's bidding so far on redistricting. Here's the Wall Street Journal headline. Trump's grip on Republicans shows first signs of slipping GOP support for releasing Epstein files his latest pushback against president from his own party. So we'll get to the Epstein vote in the House and then the Senate and then the disclosure. But let's start with this thematic which is lots of different places today and big on the left for, you know, what's her name, that lady on substack. Now the lady on substack, the liberal, the Marjorie, the professor, whatever her name is. Anyway, on the left, it's a big theme that's been around, OH for about 10 years. This is it. Trump's finally lost control of the party. Sean, how real is this? How real is this notion that this represents not a one off but a sign that the lame duckery is setting in?

[Sean]

See, I disagree with this. I explained this yesterday. I think the difference between this issue and so many others is that Trump and MAGA were all in on the release. They campaigned on it. So to say that like he released, I mean if anything it's a little bit of a they were for it and then against it and then for it. So to sort of claim that there was a grip, you got Mag all excited about it. So it, I just don't think this is the right issue to be trying to view a grip or not on anything else. This is not the right one.

[Mark]

That lady's name is Heather Cox Richardson. I always forget it, but she, you know, she's been predicting this is the end of Trump's hole in the party forever. Dan, if you were to make the opposite case to Sean, what would be like the single data point you'd go to, to say yes, in fact, the Wall Street Journal stories on the cutting edge of reality here?

[Dan]

Well, I don't know if it's on the cutting edge. I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, his grip is a 9.95. It might not be.

[Mark]

That's a tight. That's a tight grip.

[Dan]

It is. I mean, I, look, I think just because the state of Indiana pushed back for now, I mean, at the same time, Florida is going to go, I think, and, you know, provide them more seats. I. There was four members of the House. Those four members have been somewhat of a pain, you know, in his side here on a couple different issues. I want to see more before I say his grip is weakening.

[Mark]

Hold on, hold on, Paul, throw up cable because everybody, including the BBC, are now taking Marjorie Taylor Greene live. So I don't want to feel left out. So let's, let's listen to a little bit of this.

[Dan]

The real head of maga.

[Mark]

Yeah, go ahead, Sean.

[Sean]

I was just going to say the idea, I mean, this is such a small minority of folks. Patriot, I'll let her talk.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

Is an American that serves the United States of America. Americans like the women standing behind me. And I want to tell you that this only became possible today because the American people, whom we serve as representatives here in Congress, demanded that this vote happen. And they put more pressure on every single elected politician in this city than has ever been put on them. And today you are going to see probably a unanimous vote in the House to release the Epstein files. But the fight, the real fight, will happen after that while I want to see every single name released so that these women don't have to live in fear and intimidation, which is something I've had a small taste of in just the past few days. Just a small taste. They've been living it for years. But the real test will be will the Department of Justice release the files or will it all remain tied up in investigations? Will the CIA release the files? Will a federal. Will a judge in New York. Sorry, a judge in New York release the information that's information that needs to come out. And will the list of names that these women privately hold and they hold.

[Mark]

It.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

Because of their fear in their heart of what would happen to them if they release it on their own. Will that list of names come out? That's the real test. So I want to thank Thomas Massie and Rob.

[Dan]

That's one of the first times you hear Republican not thanking Donald Trump, but saying the American people kind of forced the hand.

[Mark]

So, yeah, let's run through some just some yes nos here. Will th take up the House bill? Not a bill, but will th take up the House bill? Dan, yes or no?

[Dan]

Yes and amend.

[Mark]

Yes and amend. Sean, do you agree with that?

[Sean]

I kind of do. Yeah. I, I think that the dynamic, once he tweet our truth, doubt things change.

[Mark]

Will, will th do that in the next 10 days, Dan?

[Dan]

No, because Thanksgiving is coming up. But before Christmas. Well, but before Christmas, like before they adjourn for the holiday. For the Christmas holiday. So sometime in December. Because they adjourn, I think Thursday and they don't come back until. Yeah, December 2nd.

[Mark]

Yep. Sean, do you agree that. And no one's going to filibuster and it'll pass.

[Sean]

I, I feel like if you're thune just go while you, I mean, I agree with Dan. The timing is not good, but I would get this hot potato off my plate as quick as possible. Over.

[Mark]

Under Senate, 85 votes. Over. Under Dan, over. Sean.

[Sean]

Over.

[Mark]

Okay, so now disclosure over.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Mark]

Disclosure. The, the, the, the, you, the, the piece of legislation says. Well, let me ask you this. If you agree that it's going to be amended, will the House pass it in December 2nd.

[Dan]

Yes.

[Mark]

Yes. Yeah.

[Sean]

But I got to be honest with you, these guys better be careful what they amend it with because anything let anything that looks like it's trying to create less transparency is going to be a major. This is again, this hot potato. Be very careful.

[Mark]

But it is, but it is less transparency in the sense that they want more protection for whistleblowers and they want more protection for accusers. Trump could release it all tomorrow. He doesn't need to wait for the vote. So do either of you think there's any chance that the president would just start to say we're releasing it? One report this morning says they're already sending stuff to the Hill.

[Dan]

To the Hill. I saw that. So, so I think the question is too, if they're redacting. I mean, so this is where the idea that they, Pam Bondi, started investigations into Democrats. One of the Things that there that is in the legislation is any ongoing investigation, that information that could be used in that case or pertaining to it would be withheld. On top of the redactions. If there's so much stuff then that's blacked out, just start, as you say, start dripping it out and put it out on Friday night. Like just kind of try to bury it and get ahead with the idea that Thanksgiving week people, you know, disperse.

[Mark]

Well, but what do they, what do they. Why bury it? If the president trade it's all about Democrats, why bury it?

[Dan]

Oh, it's not, of course. That's just a talking point.

[Mark]

Well, here's the thing. I mean, there's lots we could say about this. We can't spend the whole show on it. Politico has a blind quote from a Trump person who says everybody in the conspiracy world on the left and the right thinks there's some secret list of a pedophile ring with blackmail and names and dates and all that. And this person says there isn't. Now, I suspect that if there was the. What if there was the Biden Justice Department would have prosecuted it, but they didn't. So if, if you're, Sean, if you're doing comms for Team Trump here, how do they avoid people being disappointed and just claiming that the redactions are a cover up?

[Sean]

See, this is again, I had a fascinating conversation with Dershowitz yesterday on my show about this because his view is the real information is in the FBI 302. So it's investigative things and the judges. And so the problem, and the president brought this up yesterday, I think he's right, is that you're never going to release enough. So to answer your question, I've been saying this from the jump. If I were him, I'd get Bondi, Patel, Bongino, Todd, Blanche all in the briefing room and walk through what's there. Here's what we have, here's what we don't. Here's what we're releasing because you're gonna, there'll be conspiracy theories. The president's absolutely right on this. You're just, the more you release, the more people are gonna say, well, there's more and you're hiding it. Whatever they need to just explain it. Here's what exists and here's what we can release. Here's what we can't. Here's what the witness statements look like. Here's what. But until you give context to this, people are going to start going off on wild, wild goose chases about what's really out there and what's not happening and why something was redacted and what else isn't being released, I would just pull the band aid off on this thing.

[Mark]

And just to be clear, what you're proposing is unprecedented. There's never been something quite like what you're describing, right?

[Sean]

Correct. But there's never been an instance in which you handed out binders.

[Mark]

100. I'm not being, I'm not being critical of it. I just want to put it in sharp relief.

[Sean]

No, no, I know, but I'm saying that, like, once you, you fed this beast and now you've got, you know, you've got to say, how do we, how do we silence it? Because you got a bunch of people jacked up early in the administration saying that they were being given binders that had all this information. You told people you'd pursue it, so now you got to follow through on it.

[Mark]

Dan, Democrats, again, it's hard for them to explain why they didn't pursue this when, when Joe Bide president, they weren't demanding, they didn't care Documents. Right. So there's obviously, it's not a cheap shot to say there's some politics involved.

[Dan]

Of course, there's times.

[Mark]

What's, what's their line once the Senate votes? Their line is full disclosure, no holds barred. And then they start putting out names of people who had associations with Jeffrey Epstein. And then what, what's their, what's their criticism of Donald Trump going to be at that point that their redactions?

[Dan]

I don't know. I mean, it depends what is put out. I mean, I think it is. I go to what Sean said, which is I would just flood the zone with transparency. Sunshine is your best anecdote. And the problem is it was like a couple weeks ago or months ago that they were like, there's nothing to see here. Why do you keep asking me about. Like, Trump was dismissive in trying to attack. Now he's trying to get back on the other side of it. So on our side, you're right, it's total politics because again, we didn't care about this story. We thought it was ridiculous when we were being accused of being a pedophile. Full deep state. So, yeah, we're having fun with this. Like, Trump made the party, so we went to it.

[Mark]

Right.

[Dan]

And now we're just going to bang the pinata.

[Mark]

Last question about this, and then we'll move on to mbs. If you believe, as I do, that the president's looking for an excuse to pardon Maxwell how does this latest turn intersect with that storyline? Dan.

[Dan]

Oof. Sean's point. Rip the band aid off. Just do it all at once and take the hit.

[Sean]

So again, I will say this. I brought this up yesterday with Dershowitz and I said, tell me why she was moved to a prison. What should the President do? And he said two things that were interesting. Again, I'm not a lawyer. This is not my world. Which is why I asked him. He said, number one, when you look at why what prison, you put something in, in terms of the guidelines it's about. It's not. You put them where they're, you know, where. Where it matters. And so she is not a violent criminal. The idea of her being in a maximum security prison never made sense. His view is she's being punished for Epstein's crimes because he died. And he said that if you look at the traditional what someone that she did, it would have been a five to ten year sentence. So he said to me, he said, I would agree that her sentence is too heavy for the crimes that she. I, again, this isn't my expertise, so I'm not saying yes or no, but I do think that there's a big difference between a pardon and a commutation or a reduction in sentence. Again, I, I'm not sympathetic to what this whole group of people did to young women, so I'm not really sure that I'm feeling like that there's a lot of contrition and a need for her to have a reduced sentence. But I understand.

[Mark]

But does the disclosure of the documents make it somehow easier or harder for the President to pardon or commute?

[Sean]

But to me, there's no reason like, no, if you're me or you're anyone who's watching.

[Mark]

But, but, except, but except my premise, the President wants to do it. Does releasing the documents make it harder, easier, or no difference?

[Sean]

I guess what I'm trying to get at is there's got. He's got to have a reason. So if he could say these documents, she, she enabled us to do something. There's got to be a connection to her. Is the answer I'm trying to get to. Okay, I will say this the one thing, and I know if just we saw over the overnight Larry Summers making very public. And I will say this from a statement of contrition. I will give him an A. It was an unbelievable, heartfelt, in my opinion, statement of contrition. I don't condone what he may or may not have done, but when you look PR wise at what we've said when people screw up, you know, a lot of, if people are offended by. And I felt like he was probably one of the better statements of contrition that I've seen from a public figure. But this idea that like, I think we're going to see more and more individuals like Larry Summers who are gonna, who are trying to get ahead of the curve when it comes to their association with Epstein because this gets back to what I said yesterday. There's a big difference. There's, there's sort of categories of people. There's people who deserve to be prosecuted and to be held accountable for what they did. There's groups of people who can pretty much say I didn't know anything. And then there are people who I think are in the middle, which is you kind of knew what was happening and you didn't do anything.

[Mark]

Yes. Okay. MBS before 9 11Americans and, and the extent they had views of Saudi were pretty neutral or positive. And members of Congress were overwhelmingly positive for Saudi after 9 11. That changed dramatically today. The president in his meeting with MBS is all sorts of talk about AI deals, nuclear power deals, selling weapons to and training the Saudi air force and a little bit about Gaza and about Israel, but no indication that the Saudis are going to make big progress with Israel today. Dan, I don't get, I don't sense in leaving aside the, the, the, the. His alleged role in the murder of a Washington Post columnist, I don't get the sense there's uproar over this visit on the Sanders left or the MAGA right. And I'm curious if you think, if you agree with me, that that surprisingly little protest about this, why that is.

[Dan]

Yeah, I mean I think on the, on the left the fact that the party is not so pro Israel anymore makes, you know, Saudi, our involvement with Saudi Arabia less of an issue now to some in the environmental community, they may have a problem with it. Where there seems to be concern quietly is amongst the national security people in both parties because these fighter jets have our most advanced technology on them. Saudi Arabia has a security pact with China which is also an issue with the AI chips that we're supposedly going to send to them. We don't have any guarantee that our technology isn't going to be basically backdoored to the Chinese because the Saudis are friends with everyone. And I also just think it has to be said that the family's business dealings with Saudi Arabia, it's bonkers. If that were the Clintons and Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton and the cousin Clintons were all in bed with the Saudis like this, it would be wall to wall hearings about it.

[Mark]

I agree with everything you said, Sean. Why are we just accepting all this Saudi love?

[Sean]

I don't know.

[Mark]

Because of, I mean look, because of oil. What do we get out? What do we get out of this?

[Dan]

Sure. When prices went up under Biden, he freaked out and went there and kissed the ring to drop oil prices.

[Sean]

Yeah, I mean that's, that's, I mean that's the President.

[Mark]

Why, why is Congress and the American people just all good with this?

[Sean]

I don't know that we're all good. First of all, I agree with Dan. There's certain realities about being President that are unfortunate and that's one of them, which is that when these guys have that much control over, over oil and the price of oil and obviously they invest a lot via their sovereign wealth funds, there's a lot that can be overlooked. And again I sort of am one of these people that, you know, look at 911 and go, I can't believe that we're willing to overlook a lot of this without making them, you know, held accountable for this. So I think the problem is that too many times in America we forget things real quick and we're ready to move on. And it's unfortunate but true. And so I just don't think there's enough people and enough voices that are banging the drum post 9 11.

[Dan]

I also just think I go back to 2019 when Biden and other Democrats ran their mouths about Saudi Arabia, that he's a thug. MBS and others, we then got power. Saudi has leverage. Suddenly oil prices mysteriously started going up. Democrats freaked out and had to go make amends. So I think the party has learned that if congressional leaders and others turn the temperature up and we get the power back and they screw with us, it hurts us. So you might as well be friends.

[Mark]

Full coverage of the President's meeting with MBS on 2A tonight, 6:00pm Eastern Time this evening. Healthcare. Still lots of bicameral and bipartisan talks about building around the extension of the Affordable Care Act. Subsidies, other things, some market oriented approaches that the Republicans would like or perhaps even a wider health care deal that extends beyond the subsidies. Here is leader Jeffries talking about potential outreach on the Morning Joe program on Ms. Now 112 please.

[Sean]

So how will these conversations go with the President?

[Isaiah]

Well, good morning.

[Mark]

It's great to be with you.

[Isaiah]

It's not clear who Donald Trump is talking about. I've spoken to no House Democrat, no.

[Mark]

Senate Democrat who has had a conversation with him.

[Isaiah]

We've made clear that what needs to happen is to extend the Affordable Care.

[Mark]

Act tax credits prior to the expiration.

[Isaiah]

That's going to occur on December 31st of next month. Because if we don't do that, tens of millions of Americans are about to.

[Mark]

Experience dramatically increased health care premiums such that it will be unaffordable for them to be able to go see a doctor when they need one. Sean, what's the argument that would say the president, it's in his interest and he will pursue a bipartisan bicameral health care agreement between now and the State of the Union?

[Sean]

Well, the reason is because we he want when we all politically you ever, you want everyone to own this. So you don't want to have one party have their flank out there. So I mean he, he needs to have somebody on board if it's, even if it's two Dems to say that they're on board on the solution so that when he goes out and does it, he can say it was a bipartisan thing. Like, you do not want to own this by yourself heading into a midterm. And, and I don't know that it's that hard to pick off one or twosies.

[Mark]

Dan, you think we're headed towards a bipartisan deal or just a big fight that they take into the midterms?

[Dan]

I don't think we're heading toward a bipartisan deal, but I totally agree with Sean that you would want to at least do and make the other side look unreasonable or try to take some of their best ideas and make them your own and try to make it like we're all trying to solve what is a super thorny issue. But I just don't see the mood right now for bipartisanship on anything.

[Sean]

But I will say that where again, remember how you, you almost do this like you did on, on the shutdown, which is you grab a Fetterman and.

[Mark]

Say that's not enough to break a filibuster.

[Sean]

No, but it's, I think you work it almost like you do again, if you're not trying to blow up Obamacare and you throw a little bit in for the subsidies and then say in return for that we do this expansion of health savings accounts. You know, I don't know that it's going to be that hard to get there.

[Dan]

I think if it's both, you will get some bipartisanship.

[Sean]

Right.

[Dan]

It's an either or. I'm not even sure fetterman will go for that. I really. Health care.

[Sean]

But that's why and, but, but I don't think my part like, I don't think Republicans will go for it if it's an I think that's if, if.

[Mark]

You'Re, if your legislative strategy is to get a bipartisan bill, you're the White House. Do you start in the Senate or do you start in the House?

[Sean]

You have to start Senate.

[Dan]

Yeah. You know, Fetterman and, and you know, maybe us like I this is where.

[Mark]

Open to it.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Sean]

But also it's not even just a, it's an open you're dealing with a smaller universe. You know, the people. You can get more easier consensus and to be honest with you, let's, I mean, I hate it, but you can jam the House a lot easier. The Senate will never be jammed on an issue like health care.

[Mark]

All correct. All right. These prosecutions, indictments of the president's political enemies are in two cases at least hitting some rough spots. I don't know that it's dispositive what these district court judges are saying, but here's here's two headlines. Mr. Comey, the prosecution of Comey, the judge yesterday scathing blistering in in accusing the government of potential misconduct. Here's the Washington Post headline federal Judge Blast Potential Government Misconduct in Comey Case. A US Magistrate judge ordered the Justice Department to release all grand jury material to the former FBI director, citing possible government misconduct that could lead to a dismissal of charges. We've talked here at some length about the prospect of this case being dismissed for various reasons. And these are some new ones. And then the attorneys for Fed Governor Cook have responded for the first time in some detail, explaining her Michigan and Georgia mortgages. This is the ABC News headline. Lisa Cook's attorneys call Mortgage fraud Allegations, quote, Baseless say investigation into Fed Governor should be Dropped. The Fed governor's attorneys push back on the criminal referral to the doj. They say to the extent that anything was any boxes were checked wrong, it was inadvertent. And that's proven by the fact that elsewhere she said something different about the nature of the houses and how she was using them. So we're not lawyers, as Sean has said, and we don't know all the facts. But Dan, are those either of those two prosecutions in danger or both, in your view?

[Dan]

I think they're both in danger. They're both just so ridiculously political and redefining weaponization of government. It's just, it's comical, Sean.

[Mark]

Comical.

[Sean]

I the What I've read on the Comey one sounds a little bit more troubling, like in terms of their. Their case and how they went about it and issues that the judge brought up in terms of the grand jury testimony and the use of it. I still think that based on what I've seen on the Lisa Cook case, they have a much stronger. They're on much stronger ground because of the. The just what the documents show. So I think the interesting thing about Comey is that what they're arguing is procedural. Right. They're not saying, I didn't do anything wrong. They're saying the way you went about this was wrong.

[Dan]

So that's not necessarily true.

[Mark]

Axios. Sorry. Sorry to interrupt. Axios reporting that Mike Johnson is going to support the discharge petition.

[Dan]

So does anyone vote against it, you think, today? Yeah, I know. I agree. So 430, whatever it is, three to nothing. That's crazy.

[Mark]

Unless there are people not there.

[Sean]

It'll be interesting to see whether he actually casts a vote because, you know.

[Mark]

Like, I bet he does. I bet he does.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Mark]

All right, last topic again. If you've never raised your hand before, today's the day. Imagine being able to tell your kids, your grandkids, family reunions. I was able to speak to Dan and Sean on the morning meeting. Please raise your hand if you'd like to get in the conversation. If you've never raised your hand, today's a good day to do it. All right. We've talked here about Gavin Newsom, front runner, and how by many metrics, he's vaulted ahead of the field in a way that's, I would say, unprecedented but quite striking. And Dan has frequently raised the point, well, he's not moved up in the polls. He's still second or third and pretty far down. And Dan was right until now. Yeah.

[Dan]

And I think I said 30% number.

[Mark]

To watch a poll from Echelon. Put it up on the screen, asking Democratic nomination voters, who do you like for 2028? And those listening to the podcast. And don't forget the morning meeting, available now as a podcast. We'll see. Gavin Newsom from Echelon's last poll has jumped 14 points. He's almost at 30. 29% margin of error on this poll would mean he could be above 30. Kamala Harris, 17%, Buddha Judge 12. No one else in double digits, including fan favorite AOC, Booker Shapiro, Cuban Pritzker, Bashir, Crockett, Waltz, all. All 6% and below. And a lot of twos and threes in there. So that's pretty strong.

[Sean]

I mean, Whitner didn't even get on the radar.

[Mark]

Well, they may not have included her. You know, they can't include everybody. They make choices. So Dan and I were involved in an email exchange yesterday about this question of, of the front runner in the party. And Dan said, it's not good to be the front runner. And the reality is, when there's been a front runner, and Newsom is now the front runner, with one exception, Hillary Clinton, 2016, when there's been a front runner, the Democrats have nominated the front runner. Going all the way back to 1984. Every year since 1984, when there's been a front runner, the front runner twists and turns, bumps and bruises, existential scares. But every time there's been a front runner, the front runner has been eventually.

[Dan]

In 08, Hillary was the front runner to start. She, she, she was. People were enamored with Obama, but he was not the front runner.

[Mark]

Yeah, I said every, every year but 08.

[Dan]

Oh, I thought you said 60.

[Mark]

You said I mix up 1608 all the time. I misspoke. Yes, except for oh, eight, when Hillary was the front runner and not the nominee. Every time there's been a front runner, that person's been the nominee. It's true. In the Republican Party, too, frontrunners tend to be nominated. So, Dan, how significant is this poll? And I'll ask again, is anybody going to try to slow Newsom down?

[Dan]

All right, so I revise and amend my remarks from yesterday now, because he, he, he is starting to pull away. And, and where this matters is, what's going to start happening now is you're trying to recruit staff, you're trying to recruit bundlers and others so that when you flip the switch next year or whatever, early 27th, you have the infrastructure and everything is built. You know, people will start traveling with you as you go to these states to campaign for people. It's a whole cycle. And he is now going to be, if you're a top talent, if he calls, you are going to want to take that call versus anybody else right now because he is in the pole position. The one thing he doesn't have yet now is I want to see if those national numbers turn into state numbers. Meaning, you know, does he start to move up now in New Hampshire, in Nevada and places like that? But if I'm a Democrat now, you do have to start thinking about, I think, do you want to start trying to box him in? He's trying to straddle the left and the middle divide of the party to say I am both. Don't pigeonhole me in one of those categories. I think AOC and others now you want to start seeing if you can push him towards one side or the other, because if he can straddle that and start bridging the party. Look out, Sean.

[Sean]

Look, I think this is, if you're him right now. I mean, I agree with almost everything that Dan said on this. I think this is now nuisance to lose. And so there's two things that are happening. One is if you're Rahm Emanuel or anyone else, you're saying, all right, now, this is basically the target that I need to focus on. This is what I'm going to have to be up against. And so how much money do I have to raise? Why am I going to be different from them? What staff can I bring to the table? What infrastructure? And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Meaning that, do you look at that and say, this is a pretty sizable early lead. He's going to definitely raise some money. Like, he's got a lot because he's run for governor and he's run for, you know, everything else in California. The guy has a lot of people that he can bring to the table. He's got a lot of fundraising that he can bring to the table. He's got a huge network. He's obviously shown his social media prowess. So I, I just think that, like, you've got a lot.

[Mark]

I still need to do the sheets. Do the sheets on your own time.

[Sean]

Yeah, do the sheets later. Are you talking about that?

[Mark]

Here's, here's what, here's what I'd say something I'm amending. It's hard to run for, for president as governor of California or living in California because of the time difference in the distance. I think the newsome people see what Trump did. Trump didn't spend a lot of time in the early states. He, he went occasionally, he did digital stuff. He had surrogates on the ground. He had staff on the ground. And so I see now, because of the consolidated advantages Newsom has, he can do video town halls. He can, he can stay with his kids in Sacramento. He can, he cannot have to go these places. And the voters in those places, who are, who are the early states, whether it's the traditional early states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina or the new ones like, like Michigan, they'll be happy. They'll be happy with a few visits. They're not going to be as demanding as they used to be about days on the ground. And that's another advantage he has because a celebrity candidate like he is can get by with a video. Town hall Dan.

[Dan]

Hey, Mark, here's the one thing, though, where I disagree about that. And I think the one thing to watch now is progressives don't trust him fully.

[Mark]

Correct.

[Dan]

So if you think about the Mandani wing of the party right now, the AOC Bernie Sanders wing, are they going to rally around him or say like, hey, if he's the nominee, we're kosher? I don't think so. So the issue I would watch now is what does the left do where all the energy is? They're all angry with Schumer right now. Do they say there is no way we're going to let this train leave the station without a real fight for the future soul of the party. And I disagree that he is so well known that he could not show up. I think some of those states they are going to want because the party is itching for a primary. He's itching for it.

[Mark]

He can't never show up. He just.

[Dan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mark]

But he doesn't have to be like 50. You don't have to go to every Iowa county.

[Dan]

Yeah, yeah, I agree about that.

[Mark]

That I will say this, by the.

[Sean]

Way, this goes back to this. The elephant in the room that we're talking about is where, where are you going? What are they.

[Mark]

Yeah, we don't know. That's. And that's to his advantage, too, because now nobody's, nobody's going to beat him to the early states because no one knows what they are. Look, Dan, the left doesn't have a candidate nearly as strong as Burn as Bernie, even though the left is overall stronger. And, and a lot of people in the party wanted to tell the left we can't lose by we need to nominate a Cheryl Spanberger type. And the other thing is, wait till Gavin starts on unveiling his left wing supporters. He's got a lot of left wings and that's what Bill Clinton did. Bill Clinton had Maxine Waters and all these other people on the left. And that, that buys you some cover. But you're right, he'll face a showdown with them at some point.

[Dan]

If he runs, they want a primary. They want a final question, but they.

[Mark]

Better find a candidate. And if they think they're candidates, if they think their candidates. Chris Van Hollen, good luck in your senior year. All right, quick message from a sponsor then to your questions. Get ready. Raise your hand if you've never done it before. Nights when you just can't sleep, they'll be feeling a little bit sore, dragging, exhausted, everything seems a little bit harder. Here's a solution that's worked for over 2 million people. The products from CB Distillery that can make a real difference in not just about sleep, it's about solutions that work with your body. The highest quality, clean ingredients, just premium cbd, no fillers. Imagine waking up, starting your day fresh, feeling good. If you're ready for better sleep, less stress, right now, go to cbdistillery.com use the promo code 2WMM and save an extraordinary 25 off your entire order. Again, cbdistillery.com promo code 2WMM. You can save 25%. These are products, as I say, work for over 2 million people. A chance to sleep better, feel better, be more relaxed, better in your skin, eased, having stress. Try it. CBDistillery.com promo code 2 WMM all right, ladies and gentlemen. So my high honor and rare privilege to bring some of you in to get an opportunity to talk to these two great Americans. We start with Priscilla. Priscilla, Unmute. Tell folks where you are, what's on your mind for Sean and Dan.

[Priscilla]

Can you hear me?

[Mark]

Yes, ma'. Am.

[Dan]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Priscilla]

I'm in Rye, New York.

[Dan]

Oh, very nice.

[Priscilla]

Yeah. So I wanted to bring up Venezuela, which you talked about yesterday, and the whole Latin American thing. I continue to think that what Trump is doing in Venezuela is not isolated. I think he's really trying to strengthen the right all over Latin America and weaken the left. And you saw like just this past week when Trump removed the tariffs, he did not remove the political tariff in Brazil. So coffee, you know, Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee into the United States. He did remove the reciprocal tariffs of 10% from a bunch of countries on beef also. But he didn't remove the 40% tariff on Brazil, which is driving the government, the leftist government. They're crazy. But it does have a cost to consumers in the US you saw in Chile, the right win big in the elections. They won the majority on this is this past Sunday. They won the majority in the Senate, the lower house, and they're going to the right. Most candidate is going to the runoff on December 14th and is well poised to win the presidency. You already saw in Bolivia the right winning a month ago. So now you have a whole section of South America that has gone right within the past year. And next year you have elections in Colombia and Brazil. I think Rubio and The Trump administration are trying to pressure against the lawfare that's going on. You know, the left, all these leftist, leftist leaders in Latin America are very connected. They pass money around to each other through the state oiled owned companies, through their narco traffic operations. So I think they're trying to crack down. And if Rubio succeeds within one year, you could have the right dominating all.

[Mark]

Of South America, which would be, Priscilla, really, really well laid out. Can I let Sean and Dade comment or did you want to ask a question?

[Priscilla]

My question is because it has a cost to the U.S. you have this massive amount of ships. Venezuela, you still have the tariffs of 40% against coffee and beef from Brazil. Do you think Rubio has enough of a pull within the administration to keep this going or do you think like the JD Vance, more isolationist will kind of win the day? And how do you see that playing out? Do you think they can keep putting pressure against the left in Latin America or do you see more like the domestic price pressures winning the day?

[Sean]

Sean, fascinating dynamic and question you're asking about. I would say first and foremost on the Rubio Vance thing. My understanding is that they're talking enough that strategically they're probably going to move as one, you're not going to see a break. But I do think that the latter part of what you're bringing up, the domestic issues, the prices that we're paying, is probably the one pressure point that is going to determine how long this stays in place. So if the taking the tariffs off helps get some of the pressure down on coffee and bananas and things like that, then I think it will continue for quite some while. But you're absolutely right. I mean, this seems to me like Marco Rubio's got a plan and he's implementing it and I think it will hold as long as the latter part of what you brought up. The domestic piece of this doesn't get too out of whack.

[Dan]

It's possible. First off, thanks for all of that. I was not aware of kind of what was happening on a more granular level in each of those countries politically. One of the things that caught my eye yesterday was Trump floated the or the administration floated the idea of military involvement in Mexico and Colombia on top of Venezuela. I just can't imagine that Americans would support our military going into multiple South American countries. I don't know what the definition of victory would be. Is this just an open ended, like we're taking on the drug lords throughout South America for the next decade? I'll be curious and do the Chinese take advantage of what's left of leftist governments down there where they already have built relationships? I mean, there's Chinese military installations in Patagonia throughout Argentina. Chinese have mineral deals throughout South America. What do they do? Fascinating.

[Sean]

I will say this the one other thing that we didn't really touch on, but Marjorie Taylor Greene's been beating the drum on this, not focusing on America first issues and the international focus. And I get all the points that you brought up and well presented, but I think that there's going to be a little bit of concern in MAGA universe about forever wars and getting into other countries businesses without being very clear as to how it benefits the United States.

[Mark]

Priscilla, thank you. Very grateful to you. Love having you on. Okay, Carson. Welcome in Unmute. Tell folks where you are, who your special guest is and what's on your mind.

[Isabel]

This is Isabel.

[Mark]

Hi, Isabel. Hi, Isabel. Approximately how old are you guys?

[Isabel]

I'm. And I woke up early to actually. Thank you guys.

[Dan]

You.

[Isabel]

You kind of restored my belief in politics and in, in journalism.

[Mark]

So.

[Isabel]

Dan, I used to be a Democrat like you. I was essentially excommunicated from the party and unfortunately the Republicans were just kind of nicer.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Isabel]

And Mark, thank you for bringing up real analysis of real events and not having a bias. I love how you piss everybody off, which means you're doing the right thing. So keep it up. The question I had for you guys was in regards to Judge Boasberg. I have been hearing that Eric Schmidt is pushing for an impeachment of him, but it looks like he got a little bit of an endorsement from the courts yesterday. There's a three judge panel and it looks like they remanded the, the criminal contempt case back to him over the Alien Enemies Act. So do you guys still think that. That impeachment has any real legs to it or is this all bluster from the Republicans?

[Dan]

I. I'm embarrassed to admit I'm not even fully sure what you're talking about. Judge. Judge. There's a impeachment of a judge that was involved in. In what? I. I don't know the full.

[Isabel]

Yeah, he. He was one of the first deportation cases where he told the administration to turn the planes back around and there was a discrepancy between his oral order and his minute orders that were written. And then he was holding the DOJ in contempt.

[Dan]

And so he would be impeached. For what?

[Isabel]

Well, for overstepping his bounds on a variety of issues. Again, I don't know.

[Dan]

Look, I don't know. So obviously, as I just admitted, I don't know the full details, but I will just say this. If every judge who supposedly oversteps and you don't like his or her opinion is now impeached, you are going down a road where, I mean, ask Obama, Clinton, how many judges ruled against them that they disagreed with. And we would be here all afternoon. So I would hope, unless there is something really, really egregious that is so obvious and so blatant that it would be that stunning to me, this is. This is politics, Sean.

[Sean]

Yeah, I mean, I've heard just some rumor. I don't think it's clearly not at a place where it's. It's going before the Senate at this point that I'm aware of.

[Mark]

Yeah. Carson, thank you. Grateful to you.

[Sean]

Hi, Isabel.

[Mark]

Isabel, have a great day. Thank you for joining us. Okay, Abby, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind.

[Dan]

For Sean and Dan, it's breakfast time.

[Nicole]

Hello. I am in Illinois right now. I came on a couple months ago to talk about the Philippines, where I was at the time. My dad is. Has his hand raised as well right now.

[Dan]

Hello, dad.

[Nicole]

Yeah, there's dad. This is a little bit off topic, but we just had kind of an exciting announcement for our family. My brother's nuclear energy startup that he's been working on for a while, finally, it split the atom yesterday.

[Mark]

You got any video of that?

[Nicole]

I don't think there's a video, obviously, but they were in Los Alamos and they are the first nuclear startup and they've only been around for two years. And it's really incredible.

[Mark]

Amazing. Well, congratulations to the Taylor family.

[Dan]

Hello.

[Sean]

That we could get in on.

[Dan]

Yeah, exactly.

[Mark]

Dad, what are your thoughts?

[Isaiah]

I mean, it is pretty amazing.

[Dan]

We.

[Isaiah]

So Isaiah was on here, I think about 10 months ago. You guys talked to him about like, how is he getting into Mar a Lago, how is he making all this headway? Obviously, as a young guy now 27. I think it was 26 when he first.

[Nicole]

He's still 26.

[Isaiah]

Okay. He's too young. I don't know. Anyway, moving so fast. This has been just remarkable. So not only splitting the atom per se, but also, I guess the way they say is going critical. In other words, it was a nuke, a full nuclear reaction. Atom upon atom upon atom.

[Mark]

It's.

[Isaiah]

It's pretty crazy.

[Mark]

What's the next step for them after that? Success.

[Isaiah]

Well, so what they. I didn't. Haven't told you at all yet, but Last week, they announced a series a raise of $130 million. What that does is that they're.

[Mark]

They've raised it, or they're now trying to raise it.

[Isaiah]

They raised it. They closed the round. They launched their clothes.

[Mark]

Who are the big investors?

[Isaiah]

Oh, man.

[Nicole]

Oh, Palmer. Lucky. Who else?

[Isaiah]

The guy who's the CEO of Palantir.

[Dan]

Alex Carp.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Isaiah]

Oh, sorry. It must be his technical officer.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Isaiah]

Obviously we're not big on that, on who all these people are.

[Mark]

All right, well, congratulations on that.

[Isaiah]

So just a quick note. So what they're doing is with that 130 million, they're building a. A Triso fuel factory in Utah. And they are. Are then going to also do their.

[Mark]

Full.

[Isaiah]

First word, 250 reactor.

[Dan]

So it's.

[Mark]

It.

[Isaiah]

It from here, it just goes kind of big.

[Mark]

All right, we'll see if he'll come back on. Not that we don't love having YouTube.

[Isaiah]

But I. I tried to. He was getting out of the shower this morning.

[Mark]

Yeah. All right, well, congratulations.

[Dan]

Very exciting.

[Mark]

What are the Taylors doing for Thanksgiving?

[Isaiah]

They're all coming here.

[Nicole]

Everybody.

[Mark]

Yeah. And what are the. What are the proteins that will be on offer?

[Nicole]

Turkey.

[Mark]

Just turkey.

[Nicole]

Turkey. I'm making rolls.

[Mark]

Okay, well, great. Great to see you. Great to see you all and thank you for sharing that. Really exciting.

[Nicole]

Thanks.

[Mark]

Amazing. All right.

[Dan]

You don't hear that every day. They split it out. Adam. At Los Alamos.

[Mark]

Okay, Nicole, welcome back. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind.

[Nicole]

Hi, guys. Good morning. I just wanted to say I love you guys so much. Thank you for everything you guys do. Seriously. You make a difference in the world. After the shutdown happened, I just wanted to come in and, like, give you guys a little bit of a update. We had, like, over $10,000 worth of donations to local, within my area of people who filled up their trunk or, you know, sent donations monetarily to food pantries. So I think that's amazing and I really appreciate you guys providing the platform. Secondarily, I just wanted to kind of talk about the Saudi Arabia crown prince visit today. And I'm curious if you guys think that whether or not we are moving closer to them getting in the Abraham Accords. I think that the whole F35 sale was kind of interesting and leads me to believe, like, there's a deeper negotiation. And I'm just wondering where you think this, you know, whether. Whether it's a real possibility they will join in and, like, timeline.

[Mark]

Great question, Dan.

[Dan]

I mean, I'm surprised that he's coming here and we're giving him all of this. Usually when somebody comes, there's a joint, you know, you get A and we get B. And I'm not really. I mean, I know they're going to say that the money that, that Saudi Arabia pledged in the beginning of the year, I think they're going to kind of repackage that. But I thought they probably were hoping for some announcement on the Abraham Accords. Mark, you've teased this issue since. And Sean, you too, since, you know, January.

[Mark]

Yeah. I mean, we didn't mention, we didn't mention the UN Basically approved the Trump plan yesterday. And the Saudis are obviously super concerned with that. And I think, I don't think you're going to see an expansion of the Abraham Accords with Saudi at least until that situation is resolved. Until whose boots are going on the ground? What role is Saudi playing? What role is the US Playing and see if that peace holds because it's still pretty combustible, unstable situation. But I could see that bridging. And I know there are people working on the peace process in the administration who would like to see, you know, doing what every president tries to do, which is turning crisis into opportunity in the region and try to build on stability in Gaza to get the Saudis and the Israelis to the next stage of the Abraham Accords. Sean?

[Sean]

Yeah, I generally agree with that. I think that this is one of those issues where the Saudis will say that we're continuing to have discussions. Can we have the F35, please? Can we get them sooner? The one thing I'll say is that those things take a while to train on. And so there's a little bit of a. You might get the hardware and the infrastructure, and then the training is contingent on. But I, I don't see it happening anytime soon. I, I feel like they'll string everybody along and say that we will, we'll have this conversation and we look forward to the next conversation.

[Mark]

And.

[Sean]

But I, I just, I don't know, maybe I'm just not optimistic enough on this issue, but I think there's too much it. That's probably a bridge too far for those guys.

[Mark]

Nicole. Sorry. Nicole, thank you very much. Grateful to you.

[Dan]

What is that?

[Mark]

Mr. Mayor, we have only, only a minute for you. We apologize.

[Mayor]

Well, this is the key to the city, and I'm still waiting on you guys to come to Live Oak.

[Mark]

All right. Beautiful thing. You got three of them. You got three of them. Or we'd have to pass it around. Well, this like the Stanley Cup.

[Mayor]

This is the ceremonial one. I'll have a small one for you.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Mayor]

I wanted to talk. I know I only got a minute. So. I spent a night in a Havana, Cuba hospital, the Armanas Amahatos. I probably didn't spell pronounce that correctly. It was the hospital that Michael Moore made the documentary movie Sicko. I'd gotten sick down there on a missions trip that I had made. And I just wanted to say that the contrast between, you know, American health care and Cuban health care, there is no comparison. I spent one night in a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, and it was night and day. The people were great. They treated me fine. I was on the 24th floor. They call that the VIP section. When I left the next morning, the elevator didn't work. We had to walk 24. 24 flights down the stairs. A friend of mine got me in. He was a cardiac surgeon. He made $30 a month as a doctor. This is about 20 years ago. And so, you know, you hear a lot about. They do have a lot of doctors down there, but they don't have the supplies. They just don't have what we have. And I'm grateful for American medical system and it may be costly, but I'd rather pay and get top flight service and medicines.

[Mark]

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We'll do a field trip to Cuba maybe, but we'll stay out of the hospital. Thank you for joining us. Save those keys for us. Thank you. Grateful to you. Sorry about that. Cut him off. I apologize for that too. Sean, what do you have?

[Sean]

Tonight we're gonna pick up on a lot of the conversation we had today about Comey. The prosecution's Epstein. Wilt Chamberlain of the Article 3 project will join us to write down all things legal.

[Mark]

All right, two way. Tonight we'll have full coverage of the Saudi visit and Scott Jennings, whose new book A Revolution for Common Sense will join me at six o'. Clock. Scott Jennings, you might know him from CNN or Troy was with the president.

[Dan]

The other day, right?

[Mark]

I was with the president, yeah. He came out of the Oval with the book. And then right after 6pm that program Moynihan report. Michael Moynihan joined by Tom Freston, the great media entrepreneur and author of the new book Unplugged and Dropping. Later today on nextup, Steve Israel, former congressman, will join me and we'll have a conversation about my report and monologue. Also about the Epstein matter and the stories, the substories that people aren't paying enough attention to. We will be back in 23 hours with the full coverage of pretty much everything. Thank you for being part of the two way community. We'll see you tomorrow at 9am Have a great day.