← The Morning Meeting
The Morning Meeting
Democrat Chuck Schumer Is Crowned "Loser of the Week" After Key Senators Break Ranks, End Shutdown
01:09:35
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- [00:01]
A
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon. And this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams.
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B
Yay.
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A
BJ Novak.
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B
Yay.
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A
Kathy Bates. Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive, compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [00:59]
B
This is it.
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C
The world as you know it is over. Completely done.
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D
It's not about to be over.
- [01:06]
C
It's over.
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D
Some of the scientists who helped build AI are now sounding the alarm. I was selling AI as a great thing for decades and I was wrong. I was wrong. There is a longer term existential threat.
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C
That will arise when we create digital.
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D
Beings that are more intelligent than ourselves. We have no idea whether we can stay in control. While others say that AI will usher in unfathomable abundance, I've always believed that it's going to be the most important.
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B
Invention that humanity will ever make. This really will be a world of abundance.
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D
And among these fears and these fantasies, we seek the story of our future. Listen to the last invention on Apple.
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B
Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Good Friday, everyone. This is the morning meeting. I'm Mark Halpern. This is Sean and Dan and myself. And the way we roll is we just talk about stuff and then we listen to you talk about stuff and then we respond to what you talked about. That's basically how it works. Oh, also, no smack in fairway and green. And fairway and green last night, a great show two way tonight from the showroom. And then sat down with. With two. Two greats. Two greats of the company. And we talked about how the company has grown and. And then made. Made available to folks the opportunity to purchase for your holiday gifts, fairway and green merchandise not unlike what Sean and Dan are wearing. And again, you don't need the. The morning meeting logo. You can get whatever logo you want. Or no logo at all. What's that email address? I gotta look it up. Somebody's gonna say URL, you mean. No, no. If people want to buy in bulk, if you weren't on last night. Go to what's the emojis? Sales if you have a big family sale. If big family or customer sales two way at summitgolfbrands.com so I'm gonna put it in the chat. Sales two way at summitgolfBrands.com or go to two way TV slash fairway and buy yourself some individual items. Sean, what are you wearing today?
- [03:12]
D
Well, Mark, I'm wearing a very soft and comfortable and yet warm on a cold fall day. Quarter zip with the morning meeting logo on the left sleeve.
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B
Love that piece. Dan. Dan.
- [03:27]
C
I got the nice turquoise one. I have no logos on the sleeve, but it's great.
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D
But you do have a chest, you know, you wouldn't double.
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C
Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, I got.
- [03:37]
B
I put this vest on this morning. I put this vest on this morning. It was like a magic cloak. I was like.
- [03:41]
D
I'm telling you that.
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B
I was like Mickey Mouse and Disneyland. And I got that one right here. It's nice. This one's super nice.
- [03:48]
A
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon, and this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams.
- [04:12]
B
Yay.
- [04:13]
A
BJ Novak.
- [04:14]
B
Yay.
- [04:15]
A
Kathy Bates. Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry Dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you, foreign.
- [04:45]
B
Thank you all for being here. We're going to talk about affordability. We're going to talk about healthcare. Going to talk about an interesting race, a special house race in Tennessee where the Democratic candidate seems to have a good message and a few other topics. And then, of course, Friday, winners and losers and what to look for this weekend. And I'm sure Sean's will be about the patriots. So that's a spoiler alert. Maybe.
- [05:09]
D
Oh, now I might have to change on the.
- [05:11]
B
Who knows? Who knows? I didn't peak, so I don't know. Anyway, if you want to get in.
- [05:14]
D
On last night, baby.
- [05:16]
B
Oh, my God, what a game that was. Poor Jets. Oh, my God. If you want to get in on the conversation and you're here on the two way platform, please raise your hand. And I just think I said earlier, if you're thinking of writing in the chat on X or YouTube, first say is what I'm about to type reflective of peace, love and understanding. The presumption of grace extended to all. And, and if not, maybe go ahead and put it in your journal. Put it in your journal. Don't put it in our, in our chat and we'll get to you before too long as, as we get to our topics. But first, a message from one of our great sponsors. And all, all the guys yesterday showed you they've already got theirs in the mail. 30% off. The good folks of Chef IQ. Chef IQ.com promo code two WMM gets you 30% off. And this is the way. You know the thing, that dog that saved Christmas, you seen that movie? My son loves that movie. There's the, there's the, there's the thermometer that saved Thanksgiving. Get the wireless cooking thermometer from Chef IQ sense. And your turkey, I wouldn't say it cooks itself, but you're not going to screw it up. It'll tell you exactly when to take it out and just sit back, relax and enjoy family time a little, you know, maybe steal a little stuffing off out of the pot before everybody sits down. This thing works on everything. Chicken, steak, fish. But we're focused on turkey. It makes the ultimate gift before Thanksgiving. Give it to somebody you love who might burn. Otherwise burn or undercook your turkey. 30% off site wide right now with code 2 WM@Chef IQ.com Chef IQ.com promo code 2 WM for some reason, I sometimes have trouble saying that promo code. Not a big fan of that promo code, I'll be honest. But I do am a big fan of Chef iq, as I've made clear. All right, let's run through the daybook today. The president. You guys are fine with profanity on the show, right? If the president were a British prime minister and I looked at his schedule, I would say he's doing all today. No public schedule, but he is flying at 6pm right when Two Way Tonight happens. By the way, I'll be doing Two Way Tonight from a mystery location in a different city than I'm in now. So stay tuned for that 6pm wheels up from Palm beach down to.
- [07:29]
C
Palm beach.
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B
Not yet. Not to Key Largo, but to Mar a Lago where he'll be spending the weekend. I'll be interested to see who's on the Patio. Maybe he'll talk on departure, which would be great for two way tonight assuming he leaves on time but no other public events. Don't know what the veep is doing today. House and Senate are of course out. So one event to tell you about it really too in Granite State Cory Booker who ran for president once and you know, as James Carville famously said running for president's like having sex. You don't do it once and then say that's fine, I'll never do it again. Maybe he'll run again. He's headed to New Hampshire. That's not by accident. Big dinner there. It's the Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner at the Sheridan and Nashua, one of the great hotels in political history. I could tell you so many stories that occurred at the New Hampshire Marriott or Nashua Sheridan including when Washington Times Ralph Hallow identified incorrectly by a member of the media, a member of the Pat Buchanan rally crowd as a member of the liberal media grabbed his Ralph's phone and threw it in the toilet not knowing that he basically thrown the phone of the only conservative reporter there in the toilet but he just saw he had a press pass on. Anyway, that may not be my Matthew.
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C
Bartlett says he'll be there tonight.
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B
Yeah, he will be. Matthew's on it. That may not be my best story about the Sheridan what used to be known as the Sheridan Terror. It's like a castle. It's the, the, the architecture. I have others but I just, that's when they occurred to me because I, I just always loved how Mad Ralph got. Anyway.
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D
Ralph, hello. That's the name I haven't heard.
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B
Yeah, I wonder how many people in the two way community have any idea who Ralph Z. Hollow is. That's his middle initial like Mark Z.
- [09:06]
D
Baron, honorary member of the168 as we like to say.
- [09:10]
B
Yeah, yeah, what a guy. Anyway, that's the second of two events Cory Booker is doing. First he's as earlier in the week juggernaut Chris Murphy spoke at the town hall at the Institute of politics at St. Anselm. That's at 3:30 where Cory Booker does that. And then at 8:00 clock he's the keynote speaker at the, at the party dinner. And the two senators will be there and we've talked, we previewed this earlier for you. Will they talk about Senator Schumer? Will they talk about the shutdown and how that ended? It'll be interesting to see. And of course Cory Booker astrides the world like an ambiguity in the sense of is he liberal, is he Conservative. He's got a little bit of both. All right, guys, let's talk affordability. That's the big thing right now, affordability and what the president's going to do about it. Talk of a health care plan, talk of giving money to people from the tariff revenue. Talk of 50 year mortgages, but also talk of today tariffs, taking some tariffs off. So, for instance, here's an interesting New York Times story. Where is this, guys? New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, 104. Thank you. Notice Maggie Haberman's byline here and Tyler Pager. These are not trade reporters. These are political reporters who cover the White House. The first byline you see there, if you're watching on YouTube. I'm helping out the people who are listening to the show as a podcast. By the way, the show is available as a podcast. Anna, Anna Swanson. I don't know her or how to say her name, but she's a trade reporter. She's very good. But this is a big political story, so Maggie and Tyler are on it. Headline Trump administration prepares tariff exemptions and bid to lower food prices. If the proposal goes into effect, it would be the latest rollback of one of President Trump's key economic policies over concerns about affordability. Scott Besson previewed this a couple days ago, but now it looks like they're trying to get yes, we have some bananas. Yes, we have some coffee and other products as part of including some trade deals. Here's the Wall Street Journal headline US to cut tariffs on bananas, coffee and other goods from the four countries as they conclude these deals. They're not final. Final. Dan will tell you they're not final. Final, but they're working there towards Ecuador, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Wall Street Journal not super impressed. 106. They say this is all politics. They're glad whenever tariffs come off because they don't like terrorists. But Paul Gigau and his pal say, yes, we want no banana tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson all but concedes that border taxes are raising consumer prices. Views of his handling of the economy. This is about the president started to slide in February when he launched his tariff barrage on Canada and Mexico. They've continued on a downward slope. Mr. Trump said this week that the polls are fake. Quote, we have the greatest economy we've ever had. That's what the Biden team says. Inflation rage. So those who celebrate all Taco Fridays are very happy to see some tariffs coming off. But they're not all coming off. And, and obviously there's still Lots of questions about the economy. So let's talk about, oh, one more thing. Here's Jameson Greer, the U. S. Trade rep, nonchalantly, basically saying, oh, forget about the whole tariff thing. That was just like, that could raise prices. So let's take some off. This is Jameson Greer, USTR rep on squawk box moments ago.
- [12:23]
C
You know, don't yada yada over the best part.
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E
The reality is at a macro level, the president's trade program has been incredibly successful. We've opened up markets for our exporters. We're, we're reining in the trade deficit. You know, are there, are there micro areas, you know, like, like bananas or coffee or cocoa or things like that where we don't need a tariff? I think that's right. The president appropriately used them as leverage to get these deals. I mean, Ecuador, that's a country, what do they export to us? A lot of bananas, coffee, things like that, some of these other countries. So it makes sense when you're making a deal and giving tariff relief, it's mutually beneficial for them and for us. So the timing is right.
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B
So let's leave health care aside for a moment. Charlie Gasparino says the President with his banker dinner at the White House patio the other night asked all the CEOs, the banking, finance CEOs, like, what should we do about cost and affordability and how can you help with cost and affordability? So Sean, again, leaving health care side, we'll deal with that separately in a minute. What's the White House up to going forward to try to deal both in substance and politics with this new word affordability?
- [13:28]
D
Well, obviously, I mean the tariff stuff is to directly go at stuff that household goods, I mean, coffee, bananas, all the things that we're reading about that aren't included. So he's, you know, price of eggs, price of gas, price of butter, price of loaf of bread have gone down. And in those areas where he's not, I think that you've got, I mean, Jameson's point about micro is to say let's figure out those areas that are visible to the American people. And then I think obviously they've got to look at a couple other things in terms of interest rates. Hassett gaggled a bunch of times yesterday, twice to be specific, where he really talked about the interest rate and concern frankly that the Fed is now not going to potentially do that second cut. So I think they're, they're going to, they're messaging it better. The question is what other policies are they going to try to tackle. And that's where there's not, I don't think, a ton of clarity yet.
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B
Dan. I know your name is Dan, and I see your Zoom label says Dan, but I want to call you Nostradamus for some reason. Dan, what's going on with the administration and these tariffs?
- [14:34]
C
Well, folks, you should be glad the fireman is putting out his own fire here. I mean, it's. It's comical. Like they're. You want two things. You want price stability and you want availability of goods and the tariffs. And the chaos went at both of these. Okay, bananas. What about the cost of clothing? What about the cost of housing? We have a labor shortage in some areas. Hello, Immigration. What do you do with the 15 million people here? Right. I mean, this is where. And I think we have another clip of JD Vance, and everyone's like it. We inherited the Biden problem. No, this is the Trump problem. You put on tariffs yourself. We're pulling them down from Ecuador. Who put them on Ecuador? You did. What did we get for pulling them down? Right. There's nothing.
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D
Well, I think that's also. That's the second part. Right. So what we ultimately get from these four Latin American countries is going to also be important. What did we get in terms of market access there or lower tariff rates going in?
- [15:38]
C
So what are we doing now? That part of this, too, is we're going to import beef, so we're going to bring in beef even though we put these tariffs on. We produce beef. Right. This isn't bananas.
- [15:48]
B
Although the quotas. It's getting a little confusing because the quota is apparently not coming off.
- [15:52]
C
Just the terrifying. Wait till Monday. I mean, it's just, It's. This is where they have a.
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B
He's not going to get. He's not going to get crosswise with South Dakota Rangers. All right, let's. Let's lay down some markers. First of all, this is the president's second term in some ways, but his first, by the way.
- [16:10]
D
I will say, just if I can. One of the things that they got to fix is they still have a soybean problem.
- [16:16]
B
Yes.
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D
And this is. I mean, I brought this up months ago. You know, this is going to be. You mentioned South Dakota farmers. You got Iowa soybean, Virginia soybean. And there's a lot of places that they, they were very clear on this Chinese deal.
- [16:32]
B
And, and where does Virginia rank in terms of soybean production? By state?
- [16:36]
D
I didn't realize this until I had Ben Klein on my show, who represents Southwest Virginia and He was.
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B
But are they in the top five?
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D
I don't know clearly enough that it matters to Ben.
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C
But you know why that soybean thing's a big deal. We talk about the fourth Senate seat, keep an eye on Iowa and all the anger on this trade war. That's one. That by next summer you find that the Republican could be. Jesus Christ. And he lose.
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B
Totally agree. Although. Although the President will work hard to paper.
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C
He might not be welcome in the state if this tariff regime's still there, which is going to become a problem in all these. Yeah.
- [17:10]
B
Let me ask for one clarifying question, and then we're going to move on to health care. So if the President were in his fifth consecutive year, this would be called the State of the Union. Right. But the first year of your presidency, called to address to a joint session of Congress. So is this a State of the Union because it's his fifth year? Yes. You're sure?
- [17:31]
D
So the joint address is. Is always the first, no matter whether. Because you're get. You're inheriting. Right.
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B
But if you're, if you're. Like when Clinton did his one after he was reelected, was that not a State of the Union?
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D
That's a state of the Union.
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B
Okay, so is it a State of the Union for Trump or not? Because it's his first.
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D
Because he's been in for a year.
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C
So. Yeah, he did it in Mark in February. Yeah, yeah.
- [17:55]
B
Oh, so that was the joint address. But that was. So. Yeah. All right. I'm a knucklehead. All right, Quick, quick message from a sponsor. And then we're going to talk about health care. Cozy Earth. I, I just kid you not. I was walking down Fifth Avenue or. Yeah, down Fifth Avenue on my way to the Fairway and Green showroom, and. And a guy came up to me and it's New York City, so I thought he was going to kill me or mug me or lick my face. And he said, he said, he said, you're the Cozy Earth guy. So he said to me. Why did he say that? Because I'm a big fan of the Cozy Earth stuff. The bedding, the towels, the bubble cuddle blanket, all viscous, made from bamboo, extremely comfortable. There's also the shirts and of course, the pants that Sean and I can't talk to you enough about. All available now with the crazy discount. Crazy. 40% off site wide. Use my promo code, mark. To get 40% off, go to cozyearth.com these deals were not going to last forever. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. These Deals don't last. So go right now. Cozyearth.com 40% off. Wrap the ones you love in luxury with Cozy earth promo code. Mark 40 off towel sheets, everything on the site and everyone who who sees me now just you can call me.
- [19:02]
C
The come out and start rubbing your leg. I mean feeling your pants.
- [19:05]
B
Yeah, well that's happened too, but not yesterday.
- [19:09]
D
By the way, last, last question. According to Chat, GPT soybeans are one of the top crops in Virginia. While the state is not among the highest producers nationally, it still features meaningfully, meaningfully in the US soybean industry.
- [19:25]
B
I bet they're 11th. That would be my guess. All right. But still could be a big deal. All right, health care. I ask every Republican I talk to now, like, is your party going to have a position on health care? And if so, like, what are the elements of it? Right. Rich Larry has a great column. It's in the New York Post and elsewhere today saying here are some great Republican ideas, substantive ideas, but they'd have to be sold to the country. One of the people who'd be doing the selling would be the Republican whip, Tom Emmer, who I hosted on NextUp. You can watch or listen to that. Now here's Tom Emmer when I asked him about healthcare and what he saw is what he sees as the problems there in his constituency. 107, please. When you talk to your constituents, what are their three top complaints about their personal health care? Their personal health insurance, number one to.
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C
One, two and three, health insurance is too expensive. And we were restricted on choices of who we're going to see and when we're going to see them. I look, wait, hold on.
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B
I'm sorry, hold on. That's two too expensive, meaning premiums are too high, deductibles are too high, co pays are too high. Right. All three of those. And then, and then their ability to access certain providers is limited. What's the third besides those?
- [20:44]
C
Well, I don't know. I mean, health care is a mess, Mark. And what I say to you is this good for the Democrats, they're the ones who broke it, this idea that they won the shutdown because everybody's talking about health care. Everybody was going to be talking about health care anyway.
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B
All right. If you're doing healthcare, like any complex legislation, you have to know what the traffic will bear politically and you'd have to know sort of where the MAGA is and the party is. So Bill Cassidy knows a ton about healthcare policy. He's a doctor, he's chair of the applicable committee. Sean, in the constellation of the White House and Capitol Hill, who are like the leading lights who can understand the nexus between formulating a plan, selling a plan, getting the votes for a plan and, and, and, and on this issue of bipartisanship, Ammer suggested they might try to work with Democrats and other people I've talked to said that too. So are they going for a Republican only plan? And who are the architects of this strategy in the White House and on the Hill, would you say? Besides the leadership?
- [21:44]
D
Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately this is going to fall to James Blair, the political director to sort of Shepherd. I don't know.
- [21:50]
B
Is he a policy guy? Does James know?
- [21:51]
D
No. I mean he's a political guy. So he's going to be in charge.
- [21:54]
B
Of who are like, like the. Steve, is Stephen Miller super knowledgeable about health care? I just try to figure out who's like the, who's like the Gene Sperling, the IRA magazine or the Ted Kennedy who's like the person saying here's what we want and this can pass and here's how we're going to get the votes and here's how we're going to sell it and here's how we're building a constituency to lobby for it and here, here's how we're neutralizing pharma and the hospitals, the doctors. Like who's that?
- [22:15]
D
I just don't see that going through the various offices. So you have Vince Haley leading the Domestic Policy Council. That's not, I don't. You know, Vince is a brilliant guy.
- [22:26]
B
Yeah.
- [22:27]
D
I don't think healthcare has ever been his wheelhouse per se, although his work with Newt. I will say this is where someone like a Newt could come in and.
- [22:34]
B
Totally agree, totally agree.
- [22:36]
D
But I mean just off the top.
- [22:37]
B
Of my head, although, although Newt's is an ambassadorial spouse in Europe currently. So.
- [22:42]
D
Well, he flies back and forth.
- [22:43]
B
Yeah. And I'll just say it's not going to be Bobby Kennedy. Let's all agree he's not. He doesn't know anything about the legislative process so it's not going to be him. Now I'm saying could it be Oz? That's what I'm, that's my point of my question is I just don't see who the. Who the grand architect of policy politics, the press, constituency groups. Dan, do you?
- [23:03]
C
No, they don't because they've never taken this seriously. I mean that's the. For Emmer to say we were going to be talking about this anyway is ridiculous. No, you weren't. You were going to try to bury it as far down the list as humanly possible. So I mean, look, I will say this though, and Sean and I talked about this last night. The problem for the Democratic Party needs to be careful about is we don't want to defend the status quo. So, okay, we want to extend the subsidies. And I think even Republicans think you're going to have to do it as a transition. But what comes next? Our candidates in 26 are going to need to say here are the three things that we are going to do, you know, and then in 28 as well, to reform what is a system that is, you know, may not be broken but it's very, it's got a lot of problems and it needs to be fixed.
- [23:54]
D
So going back to the question you asked Mark, though on its face you would say normally someone would say why the heck would Republicans work with Democrats? Right. But this goes to the question that Dan and I were talking about which is the smart move right now is to make them to jointly own it. Because to say, oh, we're fixing it and like any buy in and then it looks like, hey, we were, we're, we're any there, therefore anything goes wrong, it's a joint screw up. But, but here's the thing. This gets back to like, I don't. The, the way that Emma answered your question to me, it doesn't take, you know, asking a constituent. Anybody who has gone to a doctor is frustrated. The wait times suck, the cost sucks, the delivery sucks, the choice sucks. Like you don't have to ask somebody, you just have to have gone to a doctor of like any magnitude to realize that this process is horrible. The way that you, I mean the interaction that you have, the time that you're allowed, the care that you get, their training, I mean like everything about the process is horrible. It's like dealing with the cable company. So I don't think that this is like, this should be like something that any party should run from. But realize like we politically we should all, you know, try to join hands and figure out how to solve this thing. And actually this is an area where getting some of these guys in a room and saying, hey, we should all agree because it's not a Republican or Democratic problem, that your choices are non existent, that the costs are too high and to find some way to get some agreement on that makes sense to me.
- [25:33]
B
Yeah. Watch closely everybody. This is a massive story between now and State of the Union. All right, one more on this affordability Issue, there's a woman running is a Democratic nominee in a special election for the US House seat in Tennessee's 7th congressional district vacated by Mr. Green, who retired, I think, to be, what, head of a college or something? I don't know.
- [25:54]
D
I thought it was a private sector company.
- [25:55]
B
I don't know. Anyway, anyway, seats open and she. The early voting started. The election's not for like almost a month, but there's a long period of early voting. And it's interesting. If you go to her website, her name is Afton Ben, I think that pronounced it. We'll find out in a second because we're going to show you an ad her website has on the homepage has like her, you know, her mission statement about why she's running. And it's all this, it's all affordability, working class voters. It's like, it's like. It sounds very maga almost. She's not focused on, you know, the unfair treatment of Jim Comey. She's not focused on the East Wing ballroom being torn down, all that. Here's her ad in this race, or at least one of her ads. 109, please.
- [26:41]
F
I'm Afton Bain. We all know the system is rigged in Washington. Here's how it works. Politicians make it easy for their rich donors, tax cuts for billionaires and burying the Epstein files, while hardworking Tennesseans get a rough ride by cutting health care for Tennessee families, doubling health insurance premiums and tariffs that hurt our economy. I'm Afton Bain and I approve this message. Vote early to shake up Washington.
- [27:11]
B
So it's a very Trumpy district. Very trumpy. Republican nominee Dan is. She's not going to be the favorite to win, but the Democrats say it's close. How do you view the Afton Bain candidacy in Tennessee's 7th?
- [27:28]
C
That, I mean, first off, that is a great short ad. And I want to just say, I think what Sean said. I'm curious how long before someone runs an ad saying, wait, times suck, doctor access sucks like Sean, that was brilliant. It just, you could see it rolling off the tongue. Look, I think that this is a Trump 20 + 2020 district. If the Democrat, let's say loses or the Republican wins by 6, 7, it says to everybody who's in a Trump +20 district, I gotta look over my shoulder. I need to be a little careful. If I make a mistake or have, you know, get caught with a scandal, I could lose. And that's where momentum and psychology and does somebody retire potentially, because they don't really Want to have to run. If you're at the NRCC and you're doing budgets now, you got to stretch some money out. If you're in a plus 10 district, we need to reserve some money that's not going to, you know, to a frontliner who's in a plus two district. So it has a ripple effect. And if you're at the dccc, you're sending out fundraising appeals. Look at how competitive we are in ruby red Texas. And I will add, because we didn't talk about it with health care, the big beautiful bill, budget cuts, a lot of those hospital closures are in red states. That is supposed to come into play at the end of 26.
- [28:47]
B
Yeah.
- [28:47]
C
So if you're a Republican, this is something else you're going to have to talk about. We cut $1 billion out of Medicaid.
- [28:56]
B
Yeah. Sean, is your Spidey sense that this Tennessee race is going to have national money pour in as Democrats try to steal it. And Republicans know that a loss would be devastating symbolically.
- [29:07]
D
Well, that's what's going to be interesting about this. I mean, I was at the NRCC for two years. I handled incumbent retention. And so these were tricky races because it would be technically an open seat, but you were going to get handed it off. So I got to play in all these. And the, the problem is, and this is where Richard Hudson, the chairman's got to make a decision is. Is symbolically because the way the NRCC generally looks at a race. And again, it's been a while since I was there, so it was a different chairman. But generally the answer is, are we going to win or not? Right. So a win for five versus a win of 10. We're not going to put a million dollars in to get a point additional win. But Dan's right. Symbolically, it will matter, which is ridiculous. But at the end of the day, that's how it works. And so what's going to happen is. And special elections are. Special polling is very difficult. It's hard to motivate a base a couple weeks before Christmas. Whereas Democrats, I think, will be a lot more motivated. I can see them saying, let's steal this. We got a chance.
- [30:02]
B
Yeah.
- [30:03]
D
The motivation factor for Democrats is going to be a lot greater than. Than Republicans who are like, why would we go out and vote? You know, we got a Black Friday sale we can go to. And this is going to be a problem for the NRCC because they better.
- [30:16]
B
Most affected. Yeah. By the failure to extend the Affordable Care.
- [30:20]
C
By the way, we didn't talk about. But there was a poll out yesterday afternoon. It was either AP somebody about party enthusiasm and Democrats had I think a night overwhelming.
- [30:29]
B
Overwhelming, yeah.
- [30:30]
C
Which of course in 2024 it was Republicans who had the overwhelming. You know.
- [30:36]
B
Now here's another factor that always comes up in these specials or not always, but often people are already saying the Republican's not a great candidate. And she seems to be from her website and from that one ad, she seems to be a great candidate. So you know, if it's closer than expected or even if she wins, Republicans will go back to that old reliable chestnut. Our candidate was candidate quality. Had nothing to do with Donald Trump or the national environment.
- [30:57]
D
But, and look, like I said, I, I, this would be an embarrassment if, if, if she were to pull this off. But there's also a bigger issue for Speaker Johnson when you get you, I mean what, what does that put the number at? 1 vote then.
- [31:10]
B
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
- [31:11]
D
There you're now, I mean every vote.
- [31:13]
B
That's why, that's why they can't lose it. But, but I will say to me it's less about whether she's going to win because she probably won't. But we can't rule it out. Her messaging is really good and I urge everybody here, go to her website and read just on the homepage she's got like this long paragraph about what she's running on and it's just, it's.
- [31:28]
D
Really well donate when you go there.
- [31:30]
B
Don't, don't. Really well crafted. All right, again, if you want to get in on the conversation and you're here on the two way platform, please raise your hand. We'd love some new people if you never raised your hand before today, be a good day. Thank you for your attention to that.
- [31:41]
D
Matter Real, real quick because I went down this rabbit hole. Number one, Virginia's not in the top 15 of soybean. But do you know what the number one state for soybeans is?
- [31:52]
C
Hold on.
- [31:52]
B
South Dakota.
- [31:54]
C
Texas.
- [31:54]
D
Nope, nope, nope.
- [31:56]
B
California.
- [31:57]
D
Nope.
- [31:58]
B
Iowa?
- [31:59]
D
No.
- [32:00]
B
Okay.
- [32:01]
D
Nebraska by a lot. Illinois.
- [32:04]
B
Illinois, yeah.
- [32:06]
D
And the Number I was 2. Indiana, 3. Minnesota is 4. I would have not got.
- [32:11]
B
Yeah, it's, it's part of the, it's part of the Pritzker miracle. They're just, they're churning at the soybeans. All right, Cory Booker, we mentioned New Hampshire tonight to this afternoon and tonight and both parties are competing to say who can be more torn apart by Israel and the issue of America's support for Israel and Democrats have fallen A little bit behind thanks to Tucker and Nick Fuentes. And so this group, what's the name of the group? What's the name of this group? Paul, what's the name of this group? With this ad, they've done a in on the occasion of Cory Booker's trip to New Hampshire. This group, I forget who they're called. They spent a tiny little bit of money, really is what I call video press release. They just buy enough so they can say to Politico, hey, here's an exclusive ad.
- [32:56]
D
I am EU Policy Project.
- [32:59]
C
That's off the tongue.
- [33:00]
B
Rolls off the tongue. Here's the ad. They're spending a tiny bit of money. I doubt it's even on broadcast or cable. I bet it's just a digital. But we're talking about it because we're as hoodwinked as everybody else because it puts into sharp relief the reality as we've seen going back to Biden Harris, a lot of the energy in the party now is do not do anything to support Netanyahu or Israel. It's running, they claim, in both New Jersey and New Hampshire. Here's the end.
- [33:25]
F
This week, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is in New Hampshire auditioning to be president. Booker stands with Israeli officials wanted for war crimes. When a majority of Senate Democrats voted to block Trump's weapons giveaways to Israel, Senator Booker voted with Republicans to keep the weapons flowing. This is Gaza. Our tax dollars paid for the weapons. Israel used to do this. Senator Booker isn't fit to be the Democratic nominee for president.
- [33:56]
B
So Dan, the Booker's spokesperson in Politico playbook that broke the news of this video, has a very well crafted statement about how, you know, he supports the peace process and a two state solution, blah, blah, blah. How confident are you that this is going to be a sustained issue into next year and beyond? Is it possible it'll be diffused?
- [34:17]
C
It's going to be a huge issue. And I think I keep going back to that Michigan Senate primary where you have Haley Stevens and you have a progressive endorsed by Sanders who's who's Muslim background. I think that question of will you support aid to Israel is going to become something that you're going to see the hands, you know, raise your hand if you would vote or vote against. I think it's going to be the same thing in the Republican Party. So I think it'll be huge in the primaries. Look, even if they're not, it's not a real buy in 27. Could I see real buys? Absolutely. Can I see Candidates getting questionnaires and look in a 16 person race, someone's going to jump out and see if they can be the most anti Israel, which just then puts the others in the box. So it is going to torment the party, it's going to torment our candidates from now through 2028.
- [35:16]
D
I agree with that. Yeah, I mean the ad sucks, the bias sucks, but the message is absolutely right. This is going to be a defining issue in the primary for Democrats. And, and I think just that's, that's a preview of what you're going to see. Just it'll be better production quality and more refined. But, but this is going to be an ad and an issue that every one of them has to address.
- [35:38]
C
Would J.D. vance answer that? Yes, I would fund, unquestionably continue aid to Israel.
- [35:44]
D
He might not say unequivocally, but I think he'll say Israel continues to be our strongest ally in the Middle East. They continue to be important. We need to support them. We, you know, we will, you know, find ways in which, I mean like you can be a little mealy mouth on the commitment, but I think standing with Israel is still a tenet of the Republican Party.
- [36:07]
B
Okay, last topic. And then winners and losers and what to look for and then your questions. New York Times has a story about Epstein today that focuses on the question of very good history. I recommend it to you. Of how Republicans got to this point. Here's the headline. Michael Gold is the reporter. Republicans tried to squelch the Epstein furor. Instead they fed it subhead. A House investigation that the GOP has tried to use to deflect calls for more transparency has yielded striking revelations that only fueled the Epstein saga. One of the points the story makes, which I think we discussed here yesterday, I think may have been on two way tonight, is that it's not really known, at least not by us, whether what the Justice Department still has that the committee doesn't have is significant because the committee has a lot of stuff from the Epstein family office or whatever it is, but they don't have everything necessary from the investigation. And that's what's at issue here is will there be more disclosure or handing over to Congress of documents. Still don't know why Maxwell was moved to a nicer prison. Still don't know why the White House has worked so hard to squelch. I still don't know how many House Republicans will vote on the discharge petition legislation on the floor. Still don't know if what John Thune would do. Still don't know if Thune brought it on the floor, what the vote would be? All these things remain mysterious.
- [37:23]
D
Dan, I asked, by the way, I asked, I asked my panel yesterday on the show, which included Erica Donalds future first lady of Florida and obviously wife of Congressman Donald. Every one of them, Mark and I posited where I said, hey, on the morning meeting, I guess 50 plus, every one of them said that the rate that the vote would be north of 100 Republicans.
- [37:45]
B
Yeah, that's what more people say that.
- [37:47]
D
Than I, which I was shocked.
- [37:49]
B
Yeah, that's, that's, that's what most people, people I know are saying north of 100. The leadership is not saying that, by the way, House leadership is not saying north of 100.
- [37:56]
D
Well, Erica had a really interesting point which convinced me, I think, which was Speaker Johnson doesn't want to look like he didn't control this process or the floor. And so if he looks like he's whipping against it, then it looks like he failed.
- [38:10]
B
Emmer said he wouldn't whip it and he wouldn't vote for it. But it'll be interesting to see if 100 vote yes and the leadership all votes no. And I still believe, even though you guys said yesterday you didn't think Thune would put it on the floor, I still think if 100 House Republicans vote for it, be a lot of pressure.
- [38:25]
D
On if Thune puts it on the floor. I think he is, that's he's going to see a different side of Donald Trump.
- [38:33]
B
Well, I understand, but, but again, the press will be, the press will be relentless about this and we'll see what MAGA does. We'll see what Maga does if 100 House Republicans vote for it. They're going to be some MAGA people in that because, you know, just by the math, Dan, what do you, what do you, what shoe are you waiting for? Are you looking at potentially dropping shoe, which is where's your focus on that story?
- [38:52]
C
I don't know what the shoe is, but it goes to what you just said, which is once this is voted on, let's say it's 100 or 75 or whatever, if another shoe drops, then the pressure on Thune and Senate Republicans starts to go up a little bit because it's just this continued drip, drip of what else do they have? And the public kind of clamoring to know more. And I think the harder the White House leans in against it, the more it makes people just the average person say why are they leaning in so hard against this? I think it's going to put more pressure on thune, Sean.
- [39:29]
D
I mean, again, I don't think that, I think th is going to be in a hard place. There's no question about it. You're right on the analysis, but I don't see how he can possibly vote. I mean, how he could put this on the floor.
- [39:41]
B
Yeah.
- [39:42]
D
Knowing where the white. That puts President Trump in a horrible position.
- [39:46]
B
Are there any Senate Republican senators who are strong Trump allies who will demand a vote like Ron John or, or, or what's his name from Oklahoma. Oklahoma. Mark Wayne Mullen.
- [39:57]
D
No, I, I don't.
- [39:58]
C
Let's check who's up.
- [40:01]
D
Yeah, I don't, I don't see that.
- [40:03]
B
Ha.
- [40:03]
D
I, I don't, I mean, I don't think there's anyone. Yeah, I don't know. Dan's right. Maybe someone in cycle, but I don't think that that's going to be.
- [40:12]
C
All right.
- [40:13]
B
All right, we'll watch it, Sean.
- [40:14]
D
Winner of the week on both categories. We had a bunch of choices. I will just say the real winner of the week are the essential workers. But I thought I would go second and somebody would steal that. So my winner of the week. You're right. Rob Gronkowski retired as a Patriot this week, signed a one day contract. Mr. Kraft tried to get him to sign a two day contract so he'd play in the jets game, which Rob brilliantly said, what's my signing bonus? So the American people won the week. The federal essential federal workers definitely were the winners. But I'm glad to see Gronk officially retire as a New England Patriot.
- [40:52]
B
Okay, Dan. Winner of the week.
- [40:54]
C
My winner of the week is Mike Johnson. I the fact that he kept them out of town, he kept a kind of public circular firing squad within his own party, kind of out of sight. Got this through. He didn't have any kind of thin moments, losing his cool. He stayed, you know, calm and as we always joked every day at 10am but if you look at his predecessors who all got tossed out, I didn't think he would be a particularly strong leader. But he is showing he's got his own style and it works.
- [41:24]
B
Mike Johnson is the correct answer, Sean. Loser of the week.
- [41:28]
D
This one. I mean, look, I think that I felt bad for the penny this week, the BBC.
- [41:32]
C
I almost did that. What? I almost did the penny.
- [41:37]
D
But you know what, But I, I am pro getting rid of the penny. My loser of the week, hands down, no question about it, if Mike Johnson's everyone's winner, Chuck Schumer is.
- [41:47]
B
We're all going to say Schumer, right? It's got to be.
- [41:48]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [41:50]
B
All right. Short circuit that. Sean, what are you looking for this weekend?
- [41:52]
C
Wait, can I just add, though, because I, Sean mentioned this somewhere yesterday. The fact, the story that Schumer tried to get these governors to, to, to not speak out against him, and they all basically said, you know, demurred, and then went out and spoke out against him. That's a terrible.
- [42:09]
B
But he tried to get them to not speak out against the deal, not against him.
- [42:12]
D
Yeah, but I mean, that's, that's the.
- [42:14]
C
Idea of a, of, of a leader asking them and then they didn't listen. Yeah, right. Yeah.
- [42:20]
D
Yeah, Sean, that actually plays right into what I'm going to look for this weekend. You got three senators out on Sunday shows, Murphy, Kane and Shaheen. How they answer the questions this weekend, I mean, whether or not they'll get real questions is of course always a concern for someone like me, because I think they're basically going on DNC television. But how they respond to what the plan will be, what they're fighting for, how pissed they are at Schumer, whether there's an internal civil war, firing squad type of thing, that's where I want to see how they come out of this weekend, Dan?
- [42:56]
C
Well, from my side of the aisle, I want to see what Donald Trump does to try to change the subject. He's had a rough kind of end to the week here, whether it was the H1B visa, the Epstein stuff, all this stuff about affordability. He's pretty good at trying to get, you know, the conversation rolling Monday morning on something else, something that plays to his strength. So I'm looking to see what does he or the administration do so that Monday morning we're not talking about these same issues.
- [43:25]
B
Yeah. I want to see if the debate over the weekend, not just on the Sunday shows, but in conversations I have with folks, is there a coalesce? Is there going to be a real health care conversation? Is there an urgency to it? Because there's not many shopping days left to the state of the union. And if they are serious about health care, people are going to start having to have a process in place and people who can actually run the process. And as we discussed earlier, I just don't see that yet. Yes, Tim.
- [43:46]
C
Mark, can I say one thing that says I don't think that's going to happen? One of the barometers I always do is K Street. Are K Street people who represent insurance companies and Dr. Are they scrambling to Be.
- [43:58]
B
Not yet. Because they don't take it. Because they don't take it seriously. They don't take it seriously. So I want to see if they can, if they can start to incite that.
- [44:05]
D
I will tell you, one of my favorite quotes of all time is a former commandant of the Marine Corps, General Krulok, who said, in the absence of leadership, take charge. And so to your point, Mark, the question is, do any of these people like a Bill Cassidy, in the absence of this, rise up and say, I've got an outline, the contours of a plan.
- [44:23]
B
Yeah.
- [44:23]
D
And because right now no one is playing that role. You asked about the White House staff, but it's not just the White House staff. It's who is that person that has the authority, the leadership, the background.
- [44:34]
B
And, and again, for whether you're Bill Cassidy or somebody in the White House, are you devising a plan that you think can attract Democratic votes or not? That's a huge binary choice.
- [44:43]
C
Well, and what you tend to do for people out there when you're going to do a big bill like this is you call around to all the interests that are going to be affected and you shop it. And the reason you do this is you don't want everyone out against you. They put money behind it. They get constituents behind, come shooting at you. So see Hillary care in 1994 when they had no allies because they did it behind closed doors. Whereas in 2009, you go and you cut deals with people to say, if you publicly support this, if everyone in your industry and the CEOs will say this is the right thing to do, then, okay, let's play ball. That takes time. And the way then that people like us find out is lobbyists will say, we're reviewing this. Will they make a change? None of that is happening. So to your point, Shawn, somebody's got to get out there and start doing this. And nobody.
- [45:35]
D
The window is not huge that Mark pointed out. There's a lot of shop. There's not a lot of shopping days between now and the State of the Union. And so the question is, is somebody going to say, I've got something, I'm going to start socializing it.
- [45:46]
B
But so far, so far, only Rich Larry. All right, raise your hand. One more sponsor before we get to you. So please raise your hand if you want to get in. The good folks at Poncho Outdoors want to help dress you. And if you'd like some comfortable clothes that look great, denim, flannels and all sorts of new styles, you want Those go to ponchooutdoors.com 2wwm $10 off your first order plus free shipping for clothes that fit great right out of the box. They they good weight, comfortable all day. You can wear them, you know, while you're doing chores, outdoor work or wear them to to an event. Premium Pima cotton. Soft, strong and breathable wrinkle resistant collars with comfortable stretch. Looks as good at work as it does in the field where Dan spends most of his time. And here's the great thing about this. Free shipping, free returns, free exchanges to make sure you get the right size. If the first one isn't quite right, Poncho stands by every shirt and they'll make it right. If it's not your favorite right now, gear up for the fall with it. Every piece built for comfort, performance, lasting style. Go to ponchooutdoors.com 2wmm Enter your email, get $10 off your first order and free shipping and tell them the morning meeting sent you. All right, here we go everybody. Time for your participation here. We start with Marianne Nichols. Welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind after you unmute.
- [47:12]
F
I'm from Dillon, Montana. Well, so we have more cows in South Dakota. Just, just so you know.
- [47:18]
B
Yeah.
- [47:19]
F
So my question is maybe this is for Sean or maybe for you. You talking about talking about healthcare? Probably back in 2019, Marty Macary was on a Peter Attia podcast and he had a fabulous podcast on healthcare reform which is going to cause pain on probably a lot of those invested in the system the way it is. But what are the chances? I mean he's in the administration, Sean. Is he going to be a player? And I don't know if Dan has a someone that he feels like might have similar solutions, but he had these terrific solutions. Painful, but they were practical. And it's frustrating six years later that my party, the gop hasn't come up with an alternative.
- [48:07]
B
Nicholas, thank you for that, Sean.
- [48:08]
D
Yeah, so here's what I'll say. I Marty is definitely someone that would be part of it that solution. I think one of the challenges that he has had at FDA is FDA is one of those agencies where there's a handful of politicals and the rest is careers. And so he has faced some challenges, I think fair like to, to get into the FDA and, and deal with a lot of the, the frustration that I think a lot of the Maha movement has felt and the, the reforms that the conservative side wants to and to mark's earlier point. I think Marty has got the background, the expertise to definitely be one of the players from the administration's side. I think Dr. Oz, on the flip side, has the profile. So you've got to kind of start to put together some of the pieces because you get profile, you get some background, but you still don't. Anyone who really has the legislative chops to come in and say, okay, how do I kind of deal with the House and the Senate? There's ways to fix that to some degree. But I, I think there's no question Marty would be a key player in this. I just don't think he would be the leading voice.
- [49:21]
F
Yeah, that makes sense. I'm, I'm just hoping that he's surely. I mean, that's part of his career as I understood it when he was on the podcast was public policy. And I'm sure.
- [49:32]
D
Oh, yeah, and, and like, brilliant guy. So, like, you know, there's a reason that you have, have Marty there, Jay Bhattachary at the NIH, Dr. Oz at CMS, because I think they had all, like, they had all earned it, if you will, in terms of credit within, within the Maha movement with the Trump team. So those three guys in particular, I think will all play a role. The question is, who will be the driver of the train?
- [49:59]
B
Dan, then you want to weigh in? Yeah.
- [50:02]
C
Marianne, I am going to ask this weekend who in on our side of the aisle, like in Congress, is, Is going to take the lead on this? You know, I know there are a lot of interest groups, center for American Progress and others that have teams devoted to healthcare. This is all they do is think of, you know, think of ways to change the system. I think on our side, the issue is going to be, you're going to have one side saying Medicare for all. It's going to be basically nationalizing it. And then you're going to have others that say, let's reform the current system but not replace it. So let me get back to you on that. It's a good question.
- [50:39]
B
Thanks so much. Grateful to you. Thank you for being. Thank you for being part of Two Way. Christopher, you know how to unmute? I've given you two tries. One more try. Oh, can we unmute him? Maybe I can do it. Let's see if I have the capacity now. Christopher, one more try and then we'll come back to you while Christopher works.
- [51:04]
C
Oh, he's got a Red Sox hat on.
- [51:05]
B
Yeah, Nick. Nick knows how to unmute. Nick, unmute. Tell folks where you are. What's on your mind.
- [51:13]
C
Very unmuted. Again.
- [51:17]
B
Go ahead. Go ahead, Nick. Yes.
- [51:19]
C
No, no, Christopher. Sorry.
- [51:21]
B
Oh, Nick, you're up.
- [51:23]
G
You want me to chat?
- [51:24]
B
Yes, sir. You're up, Nick.
- [51:25]
G
Oh, hey, what's going on? Love you guys. I've only been watching for probably the last like six months when I found out, but I love the show and I'm sad to see a couple of.
- [51:33]
B
You guys go very, very, very much. Very much. Speaking for tens of millions. Nick, are you Remember how you found two way?
- [51:45]
G
I probably just YouTube. I feel like I went. I go through phases, but I went from very heavy podcasting to now I just like to watch my content and watch people watch.
- [51:55]
B
Yeah.
- [51:55]
G
You know, talk about things and I just, I feel better seeing reactions and stuff like that. Where do you.
- [52:01]
C
Where do you live?
- [52:01]
B
Where do you live, Nick?
- [52:03]
G
I'm right outside Philly.
- [52:04]
B
Great.
- [52:05]
C
Outside Philly.
- [52:08]
G
Montco.
- [52:08]
C
Okay.
- [52:09]
B
Welcome from down there. Yeah. Thank you for being part of. Thank you for being part of it. Thank you for telling. Telling all your friends and Are you, you. No, that's not.
- [52:18]
C
North face.
- [52:19]
B
North face. Welcome. Nick, what's on your mind for Sean?
- [52:22]
G
I will get the fairway and green, though, and I'll show you.
- [52:24]
B
Okay.
- [52:25]
G
I. I'm increasingly becoming. I mean, not that I haven't been concerned for a number of reasons in our, our climate today, but the, like, with social media and with the way that things are going online and stuff, nobody actually cares about the facts anymore and they care more about the fact that you're in the headlines, so that means you're guilty. So with what I'm seeing on social, and I try to stay off because it just bums me out, like, depresses me, is people are already like Democrat friends and people who are not over the top, just like friends who are Democrats or liberals, which I previously saw myself as posting things like, if you voted for a pedophile, just know you support pedophiles. And it's crazy because, like, if you go to a person on the street and you say to them, like, it's almost a dumb question in person to say to somebody, hey, do you support pedophiles or not? Like, obviously people don't support this, but now it's becoming from the left, like, the same thing where they said you voted for a racist, you voted for this. That, like, because you voted for Trump, like, it hurts me because I have a lot of friends and family members that I know, like, are good people. And now it's turned to, you have two options. You can say that you've been conned by a guy or you support a pedophile. And even though, like, yeah, this looks, this looks pretty sketchy, but it's not like the facts are the facts. Like, they're not out yet. And it just concerns me to see this stuff. And that's not saying that the right doesn't do it. Like, oh, all on the left are like, support children getting mutilated. Like, they did that too. But now I'm seeing, like, people posting it on timelines and it is stressing me out that I can't even say things to people. Like, now I worry about saying who I voted.
- [54:20]
B
All right, Nick, hold on, because I want to let Dan and Sean react. But I want to tell you CNN is reporting. That's okay. All good. Thank you. Very, very, very well phrased. CNN's reporting that the case against the president and his allies in Georgia that Fannie Willis was kicked off of is now going to be allowed to go forward with a new prosecutor rather than thrown out. We'll see about that. But that's what CNN is saying. Sean, thoughts on what Nick said?
- [54:42]
D
Yeah, I guess I'm still trying to pull back a little of what you're saying, but I agree. I mean, like some of the stuff that people post that seems to be unequivocal even today, this sounds petty, but this, like, this is the kind of stuff that equally irritates me. The New York Times said unequivocally in one of their stories, the president claims grocery prices are down without evidence. And I'm like, actually, you can claim that some things are not down, but bread is down, butter is down, eggs are down. Like, those are grocery prices. They are down. And yet there seems to be like, I was like to say that unequivocally is just not true. CNN does this. Politico does it, where they want to resist the president so bad that whatever he says, they reflexively say it wasn't true. And I'm like, you can again, there's a lot of nuance and things and that's, that's the thing that I think is more of where I look at this. Nick and I, in my first book, I had this example where Mike Pence made some comment and I don't have it offhand, but it was like jobs. More people in America are working than ever before. Which is factually true. And it was either CNN or the Washington Post fact checked him and said Pence refused. Failed to keep that in context with the size of the population, it's like, okay, like, are you just trying to find a reason? Because what he said was a factual, you know, is factually true. But now you're arguing that he should have provided additional context and therefore you're saying it's false. So I get it. It's a total pet peeve of mine. I have this big issue these days, which I get probably is the only thing that I'm probably the only one in America that cares about it. People call Nancy Pelosi speaker emerita. That is a title conferred by the House of Representatives. She is not the Speaker Emerita just because Dems want to call her something. And yet the media who love to complain about misinformation, claim that it's, you know, we'll be like, well, she earned the title. Like, that's not true. Okay, it's not a fact. So everybody gets to decide now what they think is a fact and not. And I find it personally irritating when it seems to go in one direction.
- [56:49]
C
Dan. Well, it definitely does not go in one direction. I mean, this is part of the challenge of today. Go back to the idea of alternative facts. I mean, part of the problem with social media is you can start thinking that's the real world. I go back to the Charlie Kirk stuff. Most Democrats didn't even know who he was. But if you turned on certain channels, you think every single Democrat was throwing a party that he died, which is just absolutely not true. You go back to during the election, certain networks and certain places said inflation was out of control and skyrocketing in 2024. It was coming down. It come way down now. Still there. Right. But it was the alternative facts. It was just you say something and it becomes true in your tribe. And on our side, people rip their hair out because of Donald Trump and even go to Epstein. What was the original when JD Vance was on X in 2021 posting about this, what was the insinuation that Democrats and the deep State were hiding pedophiles, therefore all Democrats were pedophiles.
- [57:58]
B
Yeah, Nick, thank you for raising it.
- [58:00]
C
Really, Democrats sit there and say, let me hold the mirror up.
- [58:04]
G
Yeah. And really just one quick thing like that. That totally makes sense. I do have a bone to pick, at least just. And I'll be quick with this. Like somebody said in the chat, and this is not against them, they said, you know, have tougher skin. I get that when it comes to like people that you don't know. But I think there is a growing problem with the fact that people spiel Things like on or, sorry, spew things online. But you're gonna see them in public. Like that is your. That is your friend, family member. Like we gotta figure out like, like.
- [58:34]
B
Take it down on them. I can tell you the solution, Nick, if you're interested. Little thing we called two way. Thank you, Nick. Thanks for being part of it. Come back. Come back with your fairway and green stuff. All right, another quick ad and then we'll sneak one more person in. Takelean.com is having a big sale too. 20% off the entire site. If you're looking to avoid trying to lose weight with a fad diet, but want to lose weight a safe way rather than weight cycling where you eat cabbage soup for two months, lose the weight and then gain it right back. Try the products from Lean created by doctors. It's not a GLP1 injectable. It's based on science. Help you maintain control appetite and cravings, maintain healthy blood sugar and help burn fat by converting it to energy. If you want to lose weight in a meaningful and safe way, try what so many have tried. The products from Take lean. Go to takelean.com, use the promo code 2WMM for 20% off everything on the site. Again, chance to try something to lose weight a healthy way. No juice cleanses, cabbage soup, raw food, no all Dorito diet. Just go to takelean.com 20% off when you enter the promo code 2 WMM. Thank you for your attention to this matter. And here's who we're going to now.
- [59:49]
D
We got Chris back.
- [59:50]
H
Or did he?
- [59:52]
B
Here's. Sorry. Trying to follow the instructions here. Give me a moment. Where. Craig. Craig, welcome in. Thank you for being part of two Way. I'm like Joe Biden. I just call on the list. Craig, unmute if you can. There you go. That's excellent. I like your guitars. Oh, yeah? You have a Cadillac, too.
- [60:13]
H
Oh, I got a few of them.
- [60:17]
B
Is it. You do that for a living, sir?
- [60:19]
H
No, I'm retired. I do it.
- [60:20]
B
Yeah. Amazing. What's your. What's your.
- [60:24]
C
What's your pride and joy or just collect?
- [60:27]
H
I do a little bit of both.
- [60:28]
B
I build. Yeah. Which one's your. Which one's your pride and joy?
- [60:34]
H
I don't know if you can see it. It's a David Gilmore Strat.
- [60:37]
B
Yeah. Can you grab one and play and play for us? Is that asking too much?
- [60:43]
H
What do you want to hear?
- [60:46]
B
What do you want to play, Craig? Where do you live, Craig?
- [60:49]
H
Coco, Florida.
- [60:50]
B
Yeah, play something for us. Whatever you want. Just a Little bit. Just give us 45 seconds. Peaceful, easy feeling by the Eagles. I bet that. Yeah, there's a problem with Zoom. Yeah. Craig. Craig, I led you down a primrose path. Zoom, for some reason, doesn't like music. It's ridiculous. Welcome in, Craig. Tell everybody what's on your mind for Sean and Dan, and thank you for being part of two way.
- [61:13]
C
Great.
- [61:15]
H
First of all, we're gonna miss you, Sean and Dan.
- [61:19]
C
Amen. Thank you, Craig. We will miss you.
- [61:22]
H
Goes good with your life and I'll be looking out for you and all that. I love the show. We've been. My wife and I have been watching it over a year now. It was before the election. And want to thank you, Mark, on that.
- [61:41]
B
Thank you, sir.
- [61:42]
H
And I wanted to talk or just ask Sean. He came up, I'd say about six months ago. He had said that what Trump should do is make DC Just a small DC an area of Maryland. And give back the land.
- [62:07]
B
Yeah.
- [62:07]
H
To Maryland.
- [62:08]
B
And.
- [62:09]
H
And that. I think that's a great idea. And I heard. Haven't heard any other, you know, pundits talking about that. And I just wanted to know what that would all entail. I mean, would it be something easy to do?
- [62:23]
C
Yeah.
- [62:24]
B
Great question, Craig. Before Sean answers, I warn our affiliates we're going to run just a little bit over Sean.
- [62:30]
D
So just as a reminder, and I will say this because some people will point this out, it's a little bit more complicated. But the bottom line is Maryland and D.C. gave land to create a federal district according to the Constitution. Virginia's part, actually where I am right now in Alexandria was. Was part of D.C. when you land at Reagan National Airport, that was D.C. it was given back to Virginia for a bunch of reasons. There's some slavery issues, there's some trade issues, there's some commerce issues. But the bottom line is D.C. is not a perfect square anymore. It looks like kind of like that because they gave that back. My point is to the. Instead of making D.C. a state, which is what Democrats want to do, which would result in two different. Take the part, carve out the federal district consistent with the Constitution, which would be like the Supreme Court, the Smithsonians, the Supreme Court, you know, the people.
- [63:21]
B
The people at the Capitol Grill might be disenfranchised.
- [63:24]
D
Yes, exactly. There you go. And then give the rest back to Maryland. So they would get probably another congressional district, more federal funding. They'd love that. And then you. They'd obviously have a right to vote. So that to me. And like I said, the flip side is President Trump said it the other day. Democrats will try to make D.C. a state and they will try to pack the court and they will do all these things. Those aren't random things. They've suggested them. So why are we not on offense? Why we have a Republican House and Senate? I wish they would do more offensive stuff like that. I will continue to bang the drum on it, but no, it has not gotten any. That's, it's again, that's one of my personal pet peeves.
- [64:07]
B
Craig, thank you. Grateful to you for being part of today. And Dan and I had the same thought, which is that's one thing you can't say about the Trump administration. They're not being aggressive enough. John, what do you have?
- [64:17]
D
Tonight I was able to secure a top notch booking. Dan Turntine will be joining the show. Talk about the Democrat woes. And then Terry Kilgore is the House Republican leader in the House of Delegates in Virginia. What went wrong? Who's to blame? Winston Sears? Glenn Youngkin? I'm going to ask Terry because Democrats now control 64 seats in the House of Delegates and we used to have a super majority.
- [64:43]
B
Dan, anything else besides what Sean already teased?
- [64:47]
C
No, not today. Just.
- [64:49]
B
All right, couple two ways left to close out the week. Our great colleague and friend Ethan Strauss. Two o' clock random offense. Join Ethan again, two o' clock here on two way and then I'll be with you at six again from an undisclosed location. Although when you see me you'll know where I am. Six o' clock tonight, Katie Balls, the Washington editor of the Times of London and Rob Louie of the Daily Signal and Larry Sanger, the co founder of Wikipedia, all joining me.
- [65:18]
D
I hope you asked Larry Sanger what he thinks about conservative bias in Wikipedia. Conservative bias or liberal Liberal bias against conservancy?
- [65:26]
B
I'm going to read them your entry and we're going to go line by line.
- [65:29]
C
No, no, no, no.
- [65:31]
D
Please stay away from that. By the way. Hey Chris, I know you didn't get in but you have Red Sox hat on so it's Fairway Friday for me. If you email contact at Sean Spicer I will send you a fairway and green quarter zip.
- [65:47]
B
Make sure you share your size because.
- [65:50]
D
Oh no, he, he doesn't. There's no sharing. It's one size fits all.
- [65:54]
B
Okay. One size fits all. All right. Thank you all for being part of two way. Grateful to you. Have a great weekend and the three of us will see you Monday morning at 9aM Eastern time. Because Dan, if it's Monday morning at 9aM Eastern time.
- [66:05]
C
It's the morning meeting.
- [66:06]
B
Have a great weekend, everybody. I'll see you at six.