Iran 'Playing Hardball,' Report Says, Amid Reports Trump Has 15 Point Peace Plan With Tough Demands

Summary

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The Morning Meeting: Iran 'Playing Hardball,' Trump’s 15-Point Peace Plan, and America's Political Pulse

Date: March 25, 2026
Host: Mark Halperin (2WAY)
Co-Hosts: Melissa DeRosa, Larry O’Connor
Episode Focus:
A deep dive into U.S.-Iran peace efforts amid war, Trump's tough demands, speculation over genuine negotiations, Congressional gridlock, U.S. economy fears, and media bias.

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the tense and opaque state of U.S.-Iran negotiations. Amid skepticism about genuine peace prospects, the panel weighs Trump’s aggressive 15-point plan, analyzes shifting positions in Congress, contemplates the likelihood and meaning of a forthcoming recession, and skewers examples of ongoing liberal media bias. The conversation is lively, direct, and occasionally sardonic, blending both hard analysis and lighter asides about the day’s news cycle.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of U.S.-Iran Peace Talks

• Discussion Context: Anticipation surrounds possible peace talks this week in Islamabad, with both sides doubting each other's sincerity and facing sharp internal demands—control of the Strait, halting attacks, reparations, and no U.S. bases in the region (07:04).
• Panel Skepticism:
  • Larry O’Connor: “I remain skeptical, sir.” (06:55)
  • Melissa DeRosa: “Yeah, I agree. Not direct peace talks anyway.” (07:01)
• Governing Reality:
  • Melissa: Iran’s government is “functioning” in terms of repression and regional action, but not in any typical sense. (07:31)
  • Larry: “They’ve clearly got enough functioning government to continue to keep an iron boot on the neck of the citizenry.” (08:07)
• Negotiation Dynamics:
  • The Iranians distrust the process, believing U.S. outreach is a setup for aggression. Trump’s posture is seen as both open to deal-making and arming for escalation if talks fail (11:58).

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2. Trump’s 15-Point Plan and Strategic Calculus

• Plan Details:
  • Trump’s demands are described as maximalist and likely untenable to Iran, such as “control of the strait and a promise never to be attacked again.” (07:04)
• Deal-Making vs. Escalation:
  • Mark Halperin: Cites insider views that efforts may simply set the stage for justifying escalation—“If these peace talks don't yield a capitulation... we’re going to see bombing that’s more extensive than we’ve seen. We're going to see an attempt to destabilize the regime.” (11:58, paraphrased)
  • Larry: Sees a “50/50” chance of escalation, with U.S. moves aimed not just at Iran but as a show of force to China (13:16–14:16).

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3. The Broader Regional & Global Chessboard

• Coalition Realities:
  • U.S. deployments of paratroopers (82nd Airborne)—raising stakes and prepping for possible military push (10:55).
  • Israel and Saudi buy-in viewed as essential; without them, any deal lacks teeth (11:07).
  • Panel consensus: The ultimate effectiveness of a deal hinges on regional cooperation, not just America’s desires.

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4. Economic Fallout and Recession Fears

• Recession Prognosis:
  • Historian Niall Ferguson warns: “Brace yourselves. A recession is coming. No hedging. A recession is coming. The war in Iraq is choking global energy supply.” (17:00)
• Larry Fink (BlackRock) on BBC:
  • “If there’s a cessation of war and yet Iran remains a threat… we could have years of… closer to $150 oil… we’ll have global recession.” (17:55)
• Panel Analysis:
  • Melissa: “We’re absolutely going to have stagnation for the foreseeable future… it’s a perfect storm.” (18:55)
  • Larry: The major "wild card" is the unpredictable effect of AI on employment, which complicates recession calls (19:41).
• Big Picture: Even a swift regional settlement may not offset structural economic headwinds from AI and prolonged labor disruptions.

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5. Domestic Politics: Palm Beach Upset & Congressional Battlegrounds

• Election Results:
  • Democrat wins a Palm Beach special seat that Trump carried by almost 10 points—a “coup for the party” (22:28–23:35).
  • Melissa: Foresees potential “landslide for Democrats in the fall,” with as many as 25+ House seats and difficult but possible Senate gains. (24:13)
  • Ongoing discussion about which states are in play (Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas) and caveats about recruitment and redistricting.
• Counterpoint (Larry):
  • Warns against over-reliance on national polling. The “insurmountable advantage” for the GOP: fundraising (27:28).

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6. Congressional Deadlock: Reconciliation & DHS Funding

• Save America Act Hopes:
  • Constitutional barriers to passing non-budgetary reforms (like voting and election security) via budget reconciliation process explained (31:40–34:18).
  • Sen. Mike Lee (quoted): “The Save America act isn’t one of those things. It can’t pass through budget reconciliation because it’s a policy. It is not budgetary.” (32:53)
• Political Theater:
  • GOP “trying” at base’s insistence, but risk raising impossible expectations and being blamed for inevitable failure (32:30–34:18).
  • Dems seen as emboldened, “just keeping their mouth shut and letting the Republicans continue to screw it up.” (35:04)

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7. Media Bias & Journalism’s Crisis

• Recent Example:
  • Scott McFarlane, former CBS Capitol Hill reporter, leaves for Midas Touch (a left-leaning PAC-owned news operation), insisting it will be “straight news” (40:01).
  • Mark Halperin: Ridicules Chris Cillizza’s denial that this proves liberal bias:
    • “It’s incredible… Every one of them becomes a liberal columnist.” (40:01–40:48)
  • Larry: “It's an undeniable trend…” referring to the “Democrat media complex.” (41:25)
  • Melissa: “The liberal media bias… trust in the media [has] never been lower since they have been polling it.” (42:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mark Halperin, on Iran peace talks:

  “I’ve got sources who say the peace talks are a charade. And I’ve got sources who say the president’s willing to go a long time to give peace a chance… The war is over, as he himself has said several times.” (00:58)

• On Iranian skepticism:

  "Iranian officials… say they’ve now been tricked twice by President Trump and… 'we don’t want to be fooled again.'" (10:04, quoting Axios)

• Melissa DeRosa, on economic prospects:

  “Even before the war you saw the elements that were present… It’s a perfect storm.” (18:55)

• Larry O’Connor, on peace talks and show of force:

  “A big part of the backdrop here is a demonstration of force… to demonstrate to China exactly what we’re capable of doing.” (13:16)

• Fiery media critique:

  “Until people in my profession do a true introspective look at the coverage of Joe Biden’s mental decline and the failure to cover it, very hard to have credibility with the American people… It’s incredible. Every one of them becomes a liberal columnist.” (38:45–40:01, condensed)

• On Congressional gridlock:

  “The Republicans spent three days this week trying to make a deal with the President to end the DHS shutdown… then they made a deal with the President and they forgot, oh, wait, the Democrats have to agree to this too.” (34:18)

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Important Timestamps

• [06:24] Iran’s negotiation risks and memory of prior U.S. pretexts for attacks.
• [10:04] Iranian distrust—“we don’t want to be fooled again.”
• [11:07] Can Trump cut a deal without Israeli and Saudi buy-in?
• [13:16] Larry O’Connor: U.S. moves double as signals to China.
• [17:00] Niall Ferguson’s economic forecast—global recession.
• [18:55] Melissa DeRosa on stagflation and the economic “perfect storm.”
• [22:28] Palm Beach election results and Democratic momentum discussion.
• [31:40] How reconciliation limits Congressional deal-making.
• [32:53] Sen. Mike Lee clarifies reconciliation limits on the Save America Act.
• [40:01] Media bias segment—Scott McFarlane and Chris Cillizza.
• [42:40] Melissa on the collapse of public trust in media.
• [51:16] Question from listener: “What are the most concerning things do you all think they might be lying about?” (re: Trump administration and Iran war)
• [53:00] Mark Halperin on lack of U.S. candor about war motives.

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Listener Engagement & Community

• Live Q&A:
  • Notable caller questions on media bias and administration credibility concerning Iran policy ([48:56]–[54:36]).
  • Discussion of JD Vance’s rumored role in negotiations (57:20).

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Tone & Style

The exchange is candid, at times critical, peppered with sarcasm, but grounded in up-to-the-minute reporting and deep experience. The banter is brisk; the hosts are unafraid to probe each other's logic or challenge the talking points often recycled in mainstream media and politics.

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Conclusion

This episode provides both a granular and panoramic look at the U.S.-Iran crisis, the domestic political ramifications, and the ongoing struggle for trust in American media. Panelists agree the situation—militarily, diplomatically, economically, and politically—remains highly fluid and fraught with both risk and spin.

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For deeper dives, reference the quoted timestamps for nuanced takes on each issue.

Transcript

[Mark Halperin]

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[Larry O'Connor]

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[Larry O'Connor]

Mold chopper excludes Alaska and Hawaii.

[Mark Halperin]

Foreign. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the morning meeting. Melissa DeRosa is here. Larry O', Connor, you're here. And war, peace, that will be one of our main topics today. I've got sources who say the peace talks are a charade. And I've got sources who say the president's willing to go a long time to give peace a chance because the war is over, as he himself has said several times. We'll talk about that. We'll also talk about weird stuff going on in Congress. I don't know. I don't know exactly what's going on, but we'll talk about that. We'll talk about the special election in Palm beach and. And we're going to talk about some liberal. Liberal media bias. That is so comical it's almost hard to enunciate. Larry is live from cpac. Larry, what is your CPAC agenda consist of? What are you doing down there?

[Larry O'Connor]

Today's. I'm on a panel tomorrow about how the new media is taking over.

[Mark Halperin]

Who's on? Who's on panel with legacy corporate media.

[Larry O'Connor]

I wish I could tell you right now.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. Is it a secret or you don't know?

[Larry O'Connor]

No, I just don't know. Off the top of my head, I just know that I'm supposed to show up. But I will have that information for you tomorrow.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. Do you know who's moderating the panel? I. I don't know.

[Larry O'Connor]

For all I know, I'm moderating the panel. I'll be.

[Mark Halperin]

I'll be honest.

[Larry O'Connor]

Some. Some things at CPAC just sort of happen on their own and.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Doesn't feel like this is well structured.

[Mark Halperin]

Melissa, you ever been to cpac?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No. I have not.

[Mark Halperin]

It's a shame you haven't. I have. I've had some great professional experiences.

[Melissa DeRosa]

It is absolutely on my bucket list for sure.

[Mark Halperin]

Me. Next year. We'll take everybody next year.

[Larry O'Connor]

Morning meeting live from cpac.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, don't, don't forget my interview with Donald Trump at CPAC from a few years ago. That has a million funny things in it, including his bringing, his bringing up Jeffrey Epstein. And this was. When was that? 20? I don't even remember. When was that? 2015 maybe.

[Larry O'Connor]

I think it was the year before. Yeah, I think, yeah, I think it's 2015.

[Mark Halperin]

Bible verse is not from CPAC. I, I don't read the chat. I glance. Anyway, in a moment we'll run through the daybook and well, let's run through the daybook now actually. And then, and then before long, too long, we're going to get to your questions, comments, concerns, recipes, product recommendations, whatever you want to use the time for. If you're here in the two way platform, please raise your hand if you'd like to be in on the conversation and if not, and you're watching on YouTube or X, just don't put smack in the chat. It's all I ask. I ask so little of you. Peace, love and understanding. I ask of you. Extending the presumption of grace to all I ask of you. No smack in the chat. Turns out I ask a lot of you, but please do those things. The President's at the White House today. Executive time at 8:00am and again, as we've told you before, that's code for watching the morning meeting. So good morning, Mr. President. Good to see you. Executive time at 8:11 o'. Clock. The first lady makes the President's schedule again today. Another turn in the East Room at the Fostering the Future Global Coalition Summit. One o'. Clock. The President gets his intelligence briefing a little later than many of his predecessors received it. 3 o', clock, participates in a policy meeting. 4:30, policy meeting. All closed. So in theory. In theory, we don't see the President till tonight when he goes to Union Station. No longer rat infested, still with one of the finest five guys I've ever been to, where he attends the NRCC annual fundraising dinner. 7:20pm makes remarks. That'll be if that occurs. And that's the only time he talks today. Whether or not that'll be a humdinger. He's going to say quite a few interesting things at that event. Don't know what the Vice President's doing today. Doug burgum is speaking 9:40am to this, this conference in Dallas, in Houston, this energy conference that's had a bunch of people from public and private sector. Sarah, week 2026. You guys ever heard of this event before this year? I don't remember this event, but I mean everybody, it's been a who's who. Now maybe it's gotten more attention because energy's much in the news, but man. All right, at this hour, House and Senate Republicans are having their separate meetings, caucus and conference meetings. Then the House Republicans will have a news conference at 10 lots to ask them. House Democrats have theirs at 1045 Ways and Means markup at 10 budget, Senate budget. It's holding a hearing on Social Security insolvency at 10 Senate then at noon comes back and starts dealing with the SAFE act again amidst no clear off ramp conclusion compromise. House Democrat Homeland Security members are holding a forum with think tank researchers and Kristi Noem, Mark Warner, Josh Hawley and some House members are at. The leaders from the National Archives are meeting at some tech summit that Axios is having. Officials from Meta, Lockheed Martin, Adobe and Anthropic cpac, where Larry is kicks off today with a cavalcade of speakers, although Donald Trump is not appearing in person for the first time in quite some time. And Peter Navarro earlier today was interviewed on the stage at POLITICO's Economy Summit in Washington. All right, we don't know if there'll be peace talks, but there might be tomorrow in Islamabad. They might feature the vice president, they might feature the president's two special negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. The Iranians might not come because they don't think the deal on the table is any good. They also might not come, according to Axio, something I thought of, although not based on reporting, it'd be a good time to kill them if you wanted, if you wanted to kill them.

[Melissa DeRosa]

They're like, we've done this before. We know what happens here.

[Mark Halperin]

And we also know that the Iranians quite rightly have observed past his prologue with Donald Trump in the last two times there were negotiations going on. They were, they were basically just a pretext to, to, to, to, to, to attack. Larry. Are we, are we going to have, let's forget whether there'll be a deal. Are we going to have peace talks this week and in Islamabad tomorrow or Friday or not? What do you think?

[Larry O'Connor]

I remain skeptical, sir.

[Mark Halperin]

Skeptical because the Iranians won't show.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Melissa.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah, I agree. Not, not direct peace talks anyway.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, I mean The Iranians are still asking for this cavalcade of things that they're never going to get, like control of the strait and a promise never to be attacked again and reparations and no US Military bases in the Middle East. Do you guys think Iran has a functioning government where whoever's in charge of the government is making these decisions, or is it more at hockery? Melissa?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I think that they look functioning government. Define functioning government.

[Mark Halperin]

There's like a bunch of people who have the authority to like people who

[Melissa DeRosa]

are clearly making decisions and are clearly still in control of the both the straight and continuing to fire into neighboring countries. And so there's a functioning something, you know, in the traditional sense, certainly not. But whatever they're doing, they're continuing to stand their ground.

[Mark Halperin]

Larry, do you agree with Melissa's characterization?

[Larry O'Connor]

Pretty much. I'm working on my levels here. By the way, tell me when I'm loud or quiet because I've got a traveling mixer.

[Mark Halperin]

Sounds good to me.

[Larry O'Connor]

I think they've clearly got enough functioning government to continue to keep an iron boot on the neck of the citizenry. We've seen public executions and arrests and they're still trying to maintain control there. But I don't know how functioning the government is with regard to their national security and communications and command and control for their military. That's remains to be seen. And I I so on a on a what we would term a federal level, I'm not sure what they've got, but certainly locally they seem to continue to clamp down on the street.

[Melissa DeRosa]

But I don't know that I'm not sure people would say what we have right now is a functioning government standards.

[Larry O'Connor]

Don't go John Brennan on me this morning now.

[Mark Halperin]

John Brennan or, or Heather Cox Richardson.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Listen, man, I have to go to the airport in a few hours, so you're gonna get a sp salty version of me.

[Mark Halperin]

I look forward to hearing about that.

[Larry O'Connor]

All right, let's look at the US Agents. I had a beautiful dime yesterday.

[Mark Halperin]

Let's look at some headlines. 103Reuters Iran military says US is negotiating with itself. Put back up. I'll read the subhead when you put that back up or the pull quote, whatever it is. The United States is negotiating with itself. An Iran military spokesperson said according to state media on Wednesday there was a bunch of Iranian spokespeople at least two, I guess on on media and elsewhere and one did an interview with some Turkish publication saying very negative things about the prospect of negotiating. That doesn't mean they couldn't negotiate but if you took it at face value, they ain't showing up. And here's 104 the Axios headline I referred to a little bit earlier. Iran suspects peace talk Push is another trick. Quote, Iranian officials have told the countries trying to mediate peace talks with the US that they are now being tricked. They've now been tricked twice by President Trump and quote, we don't want to be fooled again. According to a source with direct knowledge of those discussions, the attacks continue. You know the President called for the halt until Friday, but as we know that was just on energy facilities. And so Israel continues to attack Iran. I assume America continues to attack too. Pete Haggs has said they are. Here's 105 times of Israel says that Iran targets major Israeli power plant in missile attack. No injuries or damage. So there Iran is not holding off on attacking energy facilities. And of course as we all know, the President continues to move assets to the region. 106 the Washington Post the 86 the 82nd Airborne army paratroopers ordered to Middle east as US waves next move the Pentagon Tuesday ordered a couple thousand paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East. Let's say there's a deal. Could the President say this deal is good enough for me if Bibi and MBS say no, we oppose this deal, can the President still sign a deal? And would the Iranians sign a deal if the Israelis haven't agreed to it? Because the Israelis, if not bound by a deal, could do all a lot of the things the Iranians don't want done, like have them continue to be bombed.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Melissa Look, Trump can do whatever he wants. He can sign the deal and pull out. But that doesn't mean that this war is over and that doesn't mean that there won't be continued economic global impacts and security impacts on the United States. So unless it's a deal that you can get the buy in of the Saudis and also Israel, I don't know what it's worth.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yeah, I tend to agree. Although the President cannot sign that. He knows and everyone around him knows and the American people know that he cannot sign a deal after the last four weeks that we've been through without being able to credibly convey to the Americans and the rest of the world how we have completely degraded any possibility that Iran will be a threat for the next decade. So unless that component is there in finally getting rid of the threat in that region, I don't see how he can sign any deal.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, one of the great things about having a show at 9am Eastern and 5pm Eastern is I get a lot of reaction from sources from one show to the next, and I don't have to wait long to unfurl my next bat of reporting. Last night on two Way tonight, I reported that there had been a bit of a false dichotomy set up in the minds of many people, including people in the financial world, that either Trump's about to fold and make a deal or Trump's determined to go to war. And the answer is both. If there's a deal on the table that he thinks is good, he'll take it. But the reaction I got from some sources who watched me last night was take seriously that this whole thing may just be an attempt to give the Iranians a few more chances to take a deal. And if they don't, the war is going to escalate. People who think, you know, it's winding down, it's going to escalate. And as I keep telling people past his prologue with Trump, almost always, he does not move Pentagon assets, including human beings, to a war zone and doesn't use them historically. So, Larry, how open are you to the notion that if these peace talks don't yield a capitulation from the Iranians, we're going to see card taken? We're going to see bombing that's more extensive than we've seen. We're going to see an attempt to destabilize the regime that goes beyond what's occurred so far.

[Larry O'Connor]

I think that's a very real possibility. And I think at this point, it's sort of a 50, 50. Consideration as to whether this is going to end up with a peaceful resolution or whether there's going to be a severe, significant, I should say, escalation and military force. And one thing that I keep hearing from people who are either currently engaged with this Department of War or in the military or people who are recently out of the military who have very good sources, is that a big part of the backdrop here is a demonstration of force, a demonstration to our critical enemies, most specifically China. A whole lot of what's been going on in Venezuela and in Iran, yes, Is to obtain the objective that is at hand at that moment. But in the background, the subtext is to demonstrate to China exactly what we're able to do and what we're capable of doing. And I. My understanding is there's a little bit more that we would like to demonstrate before all is said and done.

[Mark Halperin]

Well said, Melissa.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah, I think that if we're not able to get the peace talks done right now, I think that we have no other choice but to escalate because what we're doing right now, treading water, isn't working, and all it's continuing to do is further embolden the other side and cause economic issues worldwide as well as security risks. So I don't think he has an option other than to escalate if these peace talks don't resolve sooner than later.

[Mark Halperin]

I'll tell you the other thing, folks that may happen sooner than that is in the air, is the strait may be open. The strait may be open through some combination of Iranian accommodation and a coalition having finally been built and US Degradation of the Iranian ability to control the strait from the coast and from the water. So don't be surprised if in the next four days, five days, maybe not. But don't be surprised if the next five days there's an announcement of a plan to open the strait and that maybe the Iranians agree to. Don't be surprised. All right, quick word from a sponsor and then we'll go back to talking about the economy. Cozyearth will give you 20% off everything on the site. Why? Because they really like you and because you're a member of this community. Go to cozyearth.com use the promo code morning and get 20% off everything on the site. Comfort that carries you from the morning with the bedding and the sheets to nighttime towels and during your day with your socks, your pants, your shirts, everything, everything on the site. Now 20% off. Cozyearth.com Again, promo code morning and the bubble cuddle blanket comes. I get asked all the time. Well, I've become addicted to my bubble cuddle blanket. It's too big to travel with, and truly it is. But there is a mini version. I don't know exactly what they call it, but there is a smaller version. So buy yourself the mini and the full size and have it with you on the road right now. Discover how care in every detail transform simple routines into moments of true comfort and ease. Head to cozyearth.com use the promo code MORNING for 20% off, say in the post purchase survey. You heard about Cozy Earth here on the morning meeting. Fox News is now streaming live on Fox 1. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective at

[Melissa DeRosa]

home or on the go.

[Mark Halperin]

Stay connected when it counts. Stream Fox News on Fox one. Download today Recession. Neil Ferguson. You guys know Neil Ferguson. He's a friend of mine, I'm proud to say, and man, that guy's smart. And what Neil does is what's called applied history. Neil looks at what's happened in the past and tries to learn lessons from the past about what's going to happen. And Neil looked at past energy shocks and they don't always lead to recession, but they almost always do. Neal now writes for the Free Press. Brace yourselves. A recession is coming. No hedging. A recession is coming. The war in Iraq is choking global energy supply. History shows shocks like this are rarely end with that recession. So just to be clear, as everyone in journalism knows, Neil didn't write that headline. And he might say the subhead says rarely and of course the headline says it's definitive. But the piece is quite compelling and suggests there's going to be a recession. Here's someone else worried about the economy. Here's somebody, Melissa, you know Larry Fink, you know him? Yeah. Here's Larry Fink on the BBC talking about his worries about a recession. Number 108, please. If there's a cessation of war and yet Iran remains a threat, a threat to trade, a threat to the, to the Straits of Hormuz, then I would argue that we could have years, years of, you know, above 00, closer to $150 oil. What happens to the global economy if that happens? How do we see it? We'll have global recession. There's all sorts of articles every day in the Bloomberg Journal and all these places about how the disruption in the oil market, even if the war ended now you've got disruptions in supply, you've got disruptions in distribution. And of course, Scott Bessant, before the war, assured us that there'd be the second quarter and third quarter would just be boom, economic boom. And we'll never know what would have happened without the war. Melissa, with the war, what are the prospects of a strong economy rather than stagflation in Q2 and Q3?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, this is going to be stagflation. And I mean even before the war you saw the elements that were present. With the introduction of AI, you're seeing contracting and hiring. And now with the war, you're seeing the trickle down effects of inflation. And now we can't move on interest rates and it's a perfect storm. And so I think we're absolutely going to have stagnation for the foreseeable future. And I worry about what it could do in the longer range I'm not 100% sold on the recession because of the war. As you said, if the war ends in a couple of weeks, I think that that's a pretty big statement to make. But I think because of all the other factors, plus the war, we're headed for a rough road.

[Mark Halperin]

Larry, if you don't agree, what are the strongest indications that we might not be in far off economic times?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, I don't agree with the term inevitable. And, and also, by the way, are we using the traditional definition of recession or the new modified version that we adopted during the Biden administration when we were experiencing a recession?

[Mark Halperin]

I just, I just say a bad economy. How about that?

[Larry O'Connor]

Yeah. All right. I think that the, I agree with pretty much everything that's been said in terms of if the war ends, you know, by by mid May for all intents and purposes, or the end of April for all intents and purposes, then I think that that second quarter, third quarter boom that Besant and the whole team has been hoping for and predicting will in fact come to fruition. The big wild card is what, what Melissa just put her finger on. It's the, I don't think the employment situation and how it's affected by AI has really been properly quantified. And I don't think they are in a position to be able to predict that because it's such a moving target right now and it's changing almost literally on a weekly to monthly basis that will have a huge effect. And I don't think they have a plan right now for it.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I have to tell you, like, I have clients who have thousands of employees worldwide who on calls with the CEO are saying things like, I want to cut the workforce in half by the end of the year because of what I can do. And you layer that into the fact that right now you're already seeing the length of time that people are unemployed for has gone from two months to three months to four months. I think now it's on average something like five and a half months. And so you're seeing that happen in real time. And I just think that we're in this it's a perfect storm moment, let's say.

[Mark Halperin]

Just play this out with me. Let's say my spidey sense in reporting is correct and there's a massive attack on Iran, more massive than we've seen already. And in an effort to create regime change. And let's just say that it leads to stability in the region this year. Like, quickly somebody takes charge and they promise elections and and let's say the US Gets access to the oil. Again, I'm not predicting these things. I'm not saying they're super elected, but I don't think they're impossible. Would that lead to economic boom if that all happened in the next, you know, eight weeks?

[Larry O'Connor]

I mean, I mean, the pivot point of Ferguson's article there in the free press is that the war is causing this huge chokehold on oil. So, so I would suggest, I would think that based on your hypothesis there, it would reverse that. And yeah, that could be an explosion, frankly, in the economy. If it were to happen, Melissa, I

[Melissa DeRosa]

think it would be a big help, but I think that that's only one piece of the larger economic puzzle.

[Mark Halperin]

Right. Okay. Palm beach last night had an election for a state legislative seat, a special election. Ron DeSantis had appointed the incumbent to some judicial clerk job and the Democrat won. Washington Post 109. And this is, of course continues the extraordinary success of Democrats in the midterms, in the off year elections rather, and in the special elections we've had since Donald Trump took office. The Washington Post headline, democrat scores upset win in Trump's backyard for Florida State House seat. The Democratic victory is a coup for the party which has struggled for years in Florida as the state moved to the right since Trump's first win in 2016. Latest in a string of overperformance by Democrats in elections since the state. It's the start of Trump's second term. Here's the politico headline number 115Mar a lago flip Trump wins Dems win Trump's hometown Florida House district. I think Trump won the seat by. What do you win it by, like 8 point, 12 point something?

[Larry O'Connor]

I was saying 7 or 8. I thought it was.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. And then here's the Fox News headline, same story again. This is making headlines around the world as they say, ballot box upset Democrat flip floor to legislative seat in Trump's stomping ground. It's not just that Trump's from there, he carried it by nearly 10 points, according to Fox News. So again, the midterms are different. Different amount of money being spent, different dynamics. But Melissa, if you were, if you were staffing Ken Martin, the DNC chair today, what would you tell him? The true meaning of this is

[Melissa DeRosa]

you never want to count your chickens, right? And there's a long time between now and November and there's a lot of dynamics within the Democratic Party where we could steal defeat from the jaws of victory. That said, all of the arrows are pointing in the direction of we could get 25 plus seats in the House. And while the Senate math is hard, it is very much in play. And I don't know how you continue to ignore all of these signs if you're the Republicans and I and I have friends in the Republican Party who still say we're going to be fine, it's going to be better than everybody thinks. And because of redistricting and because of this and because of that and wait and see. And to your point, what Besson says, the economy is going to bounce back in Q2, Q3. I think they're living in la la land and I think with every passing day of what's going on at war in the airports with the economy, I just don't see any other outcome than a huge landslide for Democrats in the fall.

[Mark Halperin]

LARRY before you jump in, Melissa, I have to ask you what I ask all people who tell me Democrats have a good chance to win back the Senate. Name the four name I know, I know, I know. Just name them.

[Melissa DeRosa]

You could win if we could win that Palm beach seat by that margin. Texas is in play. Like I do believe Maine, depending on what happens in the primary, is in like you have.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, so, so you're so you're for our Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas and maybe Texas.

[Melissa DeRosa]

And I acknowledge that this is a rough road to hoe. I'm not saying it's a slam dunk, but I'm saying they're going to have to spend money in places they shouldn't have to.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Larry, what's the alternative case to what Melissa laid out and beyond? And honestly, most of my Republican sources working on congressional races say the environment's actually worse than the public polling suggests. Yeah.

[Larry O'Connor]

Listen, I've always said that a lot of the hysteria over Republicans chances in the midterm stem from, you know, party preference polls, which, you know, take the temperature of the entire nation, Republican versus Democrat, which still are surprisingly rather narrow right now. I think Democrats have a two point edge. You'd rather be on the upside of it. But really that's not how this election is going to take place. There's going to be how many do you, how many districts do you think are in play really? Realistically? 25 districts.

[Mark Halperin]

40 if it's a, if it's a way of 40.

[Larry O'Connor]

Okay.

[Melissa DeRosa]

So I would say in play, like 35 realistically in play.

[Larry O'Connor]

So let's say 35 are in play. Well, obviously, whoever the candidates are, we haven't even finished the primaries in a lot of those districts.

[Melissa DeRosa]

That is the caveat. And I agree with that matter. The candidates matter.

[Larry O'Connor]

Final redistricting still isn't done. You know, all of those caveats. All right, let's throw it out there. You know, that's how you have to focus on what the, what it's going to look like. That said, bad day yesterday, bad headlines yesterday. The momentum is on the Democrats side. The one, and here's where I think this is most critical for Republicans in midterms right now. And I think this is what they're most concerned about right now. The one advantage that seems insurmountable is their money advantage. I think they've got something like 5 to 1 right now. Republicans have the money.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, right. Yeah.

[Larry O'Connor]

And the fundraising has been really, really soft for Democrats. The fact that Melissa can come on here and credibly say, hey, this means we have a chance in the Senate. I don't believe that, Mark. I don't think you believe that. But they can now make the case that Melissa just made to their fundraisers when they get into the small smoke filled room and ask for big money to come in. Right. That money wasn't going to come in. Now it might. And that might be a major problem for Republicans.

[Mark Halperin]

We've got three more topics to get to. I need to tell you that Caroline Levitt just announced a one o' clock White House briefing. So that makes it maybe less likely we'll see the President. But Caroline will get a lot of questions. And of course, there's still all sorts of speculation and focus on whether there'll be a meeting to negotiate a peace deal tomorrow in Islamabad. That's where the focus continues to remain as tomorrow. And it's la, but it could, there could be something else. I don't know whether to just do a phone call, but whatever. And in terms of the money, Larry's absolutely right. But let's see how Democrats do once the primaries are over and these House candidates can be featured in online fundraising and they can say, I'm one of, I'm one of X. You know, people who can win this, give me a lot of money. Let's see.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I'll tell you, and I know you want to move on, Mark, but it's just worth noting.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Democrats in New York believe that the Stefanic seat could be in play.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Which is crazy. I mean, the only Democrat that's won that seat in the last 30 years was an older white veteran who was basically a Republican but with a D next to his name. And the idea that now the Stefano seat could potentially be in play. Just shows you what kind of trouble people are in, or even if they're not really the perception, and therefore the fact that Republicans are going to have to spend money on defense.

[Mark Halperin]

Are you thinking of running for that seat?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I'm making that announcement here today, Mark. I am running.

[Mark Halperin]

What's your campaign slogan?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I'm not running for Congress.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. There are two topics we could talk about. The two topics we could talk about for an hour. They're all a bunch of Washington gobbledygook. But there are real issues here. One is this continued stalemate over DHS funding and Republicans thinking that they could cut a, a dirty deal with themselves and get Democrats to agree to fund stuff only to allow Republicans go on and do something Democrats don't want in reconciliation by themselves. And then there's also this question of reconciliation where I really do think the Republican Party has lost its mind if they think the solutions to they need a housing bill, they need Pentagon funding, they need a dirty solution on dhs, they need something on health care. I mean, there continue to be all these different ideas. Here's the headline from POLITICO. GOP's reconciliation hopes are easier dreamt than done. And the biggest fantasy of all, the fantasies that are wrapped up in oh, reconciliation will save us is the notion that you can, in reconciliation pass the Save America Act. You cannot put things in. There are two things about reconciliation, folks. You cannot put things in that are not germane to the budget. And you have to offset spending with cuts and, and, or savings, whatever you want to call them. You're not going to, you're not going to find $200 billion in savings to pass a Pentagon funding bill. And as the Honorable Mike Lee, the gentleman from Utah would agree with me, you cannot do voting reform in a budget bill. Here is the aforementioned Honorable Mike Lee. 111, please. There are a lot of things that can be passed through a Senate procedure known as budget reconciliation, through which we can pass things with a simple majority vote. The Save America act isn't one of those things. It, it can't pass through budget reconciliation because it's a, it's a policy. It is not budgetary. And even if you attach money to it, there are things at the margins we could do to help facilitate compliance with it. But the restrictions themselves have basically zero chance of meeting the standard to pass through budget reconciliation. So look, regardless, there are other reasons out there to do budget reconciliation. Do not be fooled into thinking that we can set down the SAVE Act. The SAVE America act and just pick it up on budget reconciliation. That's not going to work. Thanks. You're welcome, Larry. I always say when I, when I, if I'm reincarnated and I come back, I want to come back as LeBron James or the Senate parliamentarian. Two most, the two most powerful people. Larry, if, if almost everyone I know who's got any sense says a Save America act is not going to pass. And almost everyone I know says you can't do it in reconciliation. And also almost everyone I know says the worst outcome for Republicans on the Save act is, would be for it not to pass. And instead of the blame being put on the Democrats, the base blames the Republicans. Why is the Republican Party getting the hopes up of the base that they can pass this in reconciliation when they cannot?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, part of the base's frustration leading up to this moment has been that it looked like Republicans weren't even trying. And at the very least for a week they've tried and they put a pretty good show on about it, by the way, Larry, I'm sorry to interrupt,

[Mark Halperin]

but I thought you were the party that didn't give medals for participating.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I was going to say that is,

[Larry O'Connor]

that is a very fair, that is a very fair point. But when it comes to politics, sometimes you at least have to show that you tried. Just ask Chuck Schumer. They've tried quite a bit as well and they haven't accomplished much, but it works for them. Right. Chuck Schumer shut down the government for,

[Melissa DeRosa]

I don't know, Chuck Schumer. I don't know if you've read the Wall Street Journal over the weekend. I don't know how well Chuck Schumer strategy is working for him these days.

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, I mean, they're, they're still in it to win it, I suppose, and they're, they're looking at, let me just, you're, you're right to lay it out the way that you did. And, and Senator Lee is making some smart points there and he should be applauded for being the single voice champion behind the Save America Act. He single handedly brought it to the point where it is right now. Part of why he's saying this can't go through reconciliation is because he wants to fight to continue the way it's going right now. I've heard from members who believe that if they attach funding for election integrity efforts and election security and expanding polling places in the states that that funding can then have terms and conditions applied to it that would have many of the provisions of the Save America act embedded into it. That's their thought process as to how they do it. Many people are skeptical of that. And as you know, Mark, you know, the parliamentarian can say, nope, this doesn't pass muster. And John Thune can do a Bob Dole, another great American hero, and just say thank you for your advice. We're going to go ahead and not going to happen.

[Mark Halperin]

Not going to happen. Melissa.

[Larry O'Connor]

Saying that's, that's the thought process.

[Mark Halperin]

But just, but it's just, but the more you talk about that, the more the base is going to be annoyed and disappointed and blame Republicans when he doesn't do it. He's not going to do it. He's not going to do it. Melissa, I don't understand this. The Republicans spent three days this week tried to make a deal with the president to end the DHS shutdown and then they made a deal with the president and they forgot, oh, wait, the Democrats have to agree to this too. And the Democrats aren't in the least bit interested in this deal. So how does, I still, I've never understood how this ended. And normally in shutdowns I could, I could write the thing on a napkin. How does this end?

[Melissa DeRosa]

But I'll tell you, my friends on the Hill, very senior up, really are feeling quite emboldened right now.

[Mark Halperin]

Yes. Democrats. Yes.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah. They feel like the Republicans are wearing this. They feel like the Republicans have completely botched it and they're just keeping their mouth shut and letting the Republicans continue to screw it up. So they have a list of things that they want. They want to know that if there's a use of force that there is going to be local jurisdiction to be able to investigate and hold people accountable. They want the warrants and they're not moving right now and they don't feel like they have to. So to your point, I mean, I feel like deadlines exist for a reason with recess coming up. I had hoped and there was a hope that by Friday they would hammer something out. But to your point, Republicans are just negotiating against themselves now. So I don't know.

[Mark Halperin]

Larry, do you know how this could possibly end?

[Larry O'Connor]

I, I, well, it looks like it's moving toward this whole little sort of bizarre little carve out for ICE and then they get the funding through.

[Mark Halperin]

But why the Democrats won't vote for that.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Aren't going to do that.

[Mark Halperin]

Democrats aren't doing it.

[Larry O'Connor]

I think that they just said, no, they're not. I understand, but they're not going to give them what they want on ice. That cannot happen. It will not happen. So the only impact, the only way you can get past this impasse is for them to do it. And Democrats claim that they didn't do what they just said they weren't going to do. How else, how else do you think it's going to happen?

[Mark Halperin]

I don't know.

[Larry O'Connor]

I don't understand.

[Mark Halperin]

I've given up. But I've known from the beginning on this one, this one's intractable because as Melissa said, The Democrats are 100% sure they're winning and they, and they're doing this for the two people who were killed in Minnesota and they're fine with it. Not.

[Larry O'Connor]

No doubt. And that's why I am frustrated with Republicans, why they aren't at the airports in front of the TSA lines handing out bottles of water with ICE agents saying this is all Democrats fault. I'm frustrated with Republicans that they're not in Chicago hugging the mother of that 18 year old that was just killed by an illegal alien that Governor Pritzker took a week to say anything about it. You're right. But they're not doing anything for the Americans that have been killed by illegal immigrants. And why Republicans don't say that like I'm saying it right now is driving me insane.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Well, and Larry, even worse than that, you saw the video footage out of California of that woman being detained and the. I know that, you know, there's a discrepancy around the details on it, but it almost doesn't matter. It's just more video of ICE agents.

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, it doesn't matter because it's being used deceitfully. I mean, I'm sorry.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Politics ain't beanbag, my friend. And this is where we are. So to your point, the Republicans can't message their way out of a paper bag right now. So the Democrats are so emboldened that they honestly think they can get them to capitulate because they feel like Republicans are so desperate now for a deal.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, correct. Correct. Raise your hand if you want in on the conversation. A couple of things. First. The other day I ate pancakes and chugged a 2 liter Diet Coke on camera. And some of you didn't like that. Ladies and gentlemen, the program's about versalimitude. Whatever I do on camera will be real. I was really hungry for some pancakes and I gotta wash them down with 2 liters of diet Coke. So apologies for those who are offended, but no, really not number two, media bias. You know, until people in my profession do a true introspective Introspective. Look at the coverage of Joe Biden's mental decline and the failure to cover it. Very hard to have credibility with the American people. It's also going now on five decades or so. Very hard to have credibility if you won't acknowledge liberal media bias. And there are people in my business who have been in jobs virtually identical to me who've covered politics, which is where most of the bias shows up for decades, who continue to deny this liberal media bias. It's incredible. You have all these people who are reporters covering things like the White House who then become columnists for the same news organizations that they were White House reporters for. And lo and behold, every one of them becomes a liberal columnist. Every one of them. Okay, so here's the latest example and it's so funny I almost can't even say it. This is a Chris Soliza, one of you tell everybody who Crystal is. Melissa.

[Melissa DeRosa]

He was at CNN a few years ago and then he was let go and now he has a substack.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, he was at the Washington Post for many years. He wrote the Fix column and he would say, along with his friend Chuck Todd, who he has on his show regularly now, there's no liberal media bias. It's all a hoax. It's not true. It's just a bunch of carping from Republicans and they tried it out to try to score political points. And Crystal is. This is still his position. So Scott McFarlane, longtime CBS News Capitol Hill reporter, was laid off. Here's the headline. Chris lizza, what Scott McFarlane's move really means. The guy quits. And like Terry Moran and Jim Shuto and Don Lemon and a couple others. I'm not thinking.

[Larry O'Connor]

You mean Jim Acosta. Shudo's still at cnn.

[Mark Halperin]

Sorry, Costa. Thank you. They leave like I thought of him because he was a Biden administration official

[Larry O'Connor]

or Obama and Obama, Obama State Department.

[Mark Halperin]

They, they leave. They leave so called fair organizations and all of a sudden they become, you know, radical Liberal reporters. Scott McFarlane went to Midas Touch, very successful left, far left wing, anti Trump organization. And he says he's going there just to cover the news.

[Larry O'Connor]

Do real journalism.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, do real journalism. And, and, and to not allow there to be lies. Whatever. I. Anyway, so what Chris Culiza says is this doesn't prove there's liberal media bias. This is a new model. This is an objective reporter who's gonna go to a place, it's like, if you're not familiar with it, it's like Huffington Post. It's far left Wing gonna go there

[Larry O'Connor]

and he's gonna do this in Huffington Post because it's literally owned by a political operation. It's a political operation, literally.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. But this guy's just gonna go there and do straight news and be indifferent to whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris is president. To be indifferent to whether the Democrats or the Republicans win the fight over the DHS funding. He's going to go there and just be purely an objective reporter. But he's going to do it within a far left wing political operation that produces content. And Chris Culiza says the White House will scream and yell about this, but it doesn't prove there's liberal media bias.

[Larry O'Connor]

That's correct.

[Mark Halperin]

Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yes.

[Mark Halperin]

Thoughts on this latest example of the shameless attempt to ruin the credibility of, of my business.

[Larry O'Connor]

It's an undeniable trend, isn't it, that every. I can only think of one journalist who has left a major network and gone out independent and was conservative. That Sage Steele, an ESPN reporter. Okay. I can't think of.

[Mark Halperin]

That's not politics.

[Larry O'Connor]

It's not news and politics. Well, sports has become politics. Yeah. But there's undeniable trend that they all end up going there. My friend and mentor Andrew Breitbart referred to this as the Democrat media complex. That there is this palpable handshake. And you mentioned Jim Sciuto. The real insidious thing is it goes in the other direction as well as so many people leave the government and then get a job as journalists too. The only person I can think of that ever did it that way was Tony Snow when he became the White House spokesperson after being a journalist news channel. But he was an opinion journalist. He was a columnist.

[Mark Halperin]

Correct. Like Ruth Marcus and Dana Milbank covered the White House for the Washington Post. Yeah, they were news reporters. So Washington Post. Then they both became columnists. And they're both left wing. Imagine that.

[Larry O'Connor]

They're all left wing. Mark, it's, it's Melissa. At least they're telling us who they are. I, I appreciate that.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Melissa, if Chris Eliza were joining us right now and I hope he calls in, what would you ask him? What would you ask, Crystal is about

[Melissa DeRosa]

his column, how he could write that. I mean, with a straight face. It's the whole. Listen, I think at this point it's well established, the liberal media bias. Right. That's the trust in the media. Never been lower since they have been polling it, you know, on record.

[Mark Halperin]

And there, and there are other, there are other reasons for it too, but

[Melissa DeRosa]

there are other reasons for it too. But look, aren't we all used to this point? I live in New York City. Every single day I see it in the coverage of Zoran Mum Dami and how they treat him and his wife versus if his wife. If Melania Trump and I'm not fan of the if Melania Trump did half the things that Zora Momdami, his wife did, it would be front page news in the New York Times on a daily basis. MSNBC would be screaming about it from the rooftops. And I'm not saying that's right, wrong or indifferent, but you have to treat everybody the same way. And the media doesn't, which is why nobody trusts the media, which is why it's great that you have this platform that brings together divergent views for honest.

[Mark Halperin]

Thank you, thank you. But do you know that if every time you say MSNBC, you have to put $40,000 in the.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Sorry, Ms. Now, Ms. Now, I haven't subscribed.

[Larry O'Connor]

I wrote about this in my I wrote a book last year about the media. It's called Shameless Liars, which I think is apt since you just used the term. Mark, I think, or at least shameless there. And I talk about how when I worked for Andrew Breitbart and we listen, we were who we were, we told everybody who we were. Perspective was that doesn't mean you can lie. It just means we're going to tell you the news through our perspective. And you, we respect you, the viewers enough to take that into account and then make your own determinations. And when I worked for him, my job was to curate videos and put them up at Breitbart tv. And everyone would go crazy because they showed bias and other things. And I was doing a whole lot of Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Al Sharpton and MSNBC stuff. And he called me, yelling at me, saying this is lazy. That's the easy stuff. They're not the problem. The problem is Anderson Cooper. The problem is Jake Tapper. The problem is George Stephanopoulos, who is now a senior respected. I mean, I know he used to work for him, but he's an operative. He's a Democrat. We know that, but they pretend otherwise. And that's the insidious thing that is destroying journalism or at least remaking journalism into something like this. Mark. Something that we're doing.

[Mark Halperin]

Did you say I used to work for George Stephano?

[Larry O'Connor]

No, Whip. Did I. I didn't mean to say.

[Melissa DeRosa]

How dare you.

[Mark Halperin]

I just say. I'll just say Chuck Todd worked at NBC and And Chris listen to work at the Washington Post at cnn and they are two longtime proponents of saying there's no liberal media bias. It's all sour grapes from Republicans. When I saw this crystal as a headline because this McFarland thing is so outrageous, it's so rich because Larry's right, it's not, it's not Huffington Post. This was the guy who asked Republicans on Capitol Hill to trust him as being a fair minded reporter. And less than a fortnight after he leaves cbs, he goes to work for a left wing place. And even if Chris Eliza's right that he's not going to be left wing, the symbolism of it is just, it's just so hard, it's just so hard for me to see. When I saw the headline, I thought finally, after decades of denying the bias, Soliz is going to this example is so blistering, he's finally going to admit it. And instead he bends, he does calisthenics and cartwheels and pretzel logic to say no, even this doesn't prove that Mark.

[Larry O'Connor]

And Mark and I'm sorry for me, I just not to belabor the point, but it's not because Midas Touch is liberal. It goes beyond that, the ownership of Midas Touch. It is literally a political action committee. It is a political operation. It's not a journalistic endeavor. And by the way, we've got one of those on our side. The Washington Free Beacon was started as a political operation. It has turned into a pretty good journalistic endeavor. But it's still, it is what it is. But you're not seeing Katie Couric leave her job at NBC and come and work at Washington Free Beacon. You know that's just not gonna happen.

[Mark Halperin]

All right, quick word from a sponsor and then to your questions, please raise your hand if you'd like to get in on the conversation. And if you'd like to save some money, get some free money, download the Upside app. The Upside app works at when you buy things at restaurants, buy things at supermarkets or gas stations, you get cash back. You use your credit card like you normally would. You get all the points you already get from your credit card and just get additional cash back. The app will show you when you download it and open it up, it'll show you places around you, restaurants to take, take it, supermarkets and gas stations and save money by getting free money back. And when you first download the app, save 25 cents per gallon of gas on your first fill up using the promo code Mark. So right now, grab your phone Download the Upside app and go to it. They give out over a million dollars a week. And again, folks, there's no gimmick. The app is free. Using the app is free. There's no you don't have to cash in points, you just get cash back. Go right now to your phone and download the Upside app. Over the course of the Upside app, they've given away a billion dollars. Get some for yourself. Download the Upside app, Use the promo code Mark on your first fill up and enjoy the extra money. Maybe buy me some Diet Coke with the money you save.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Thanks to me, I get so many headaches every month. It could be chronic migraine. Fifteen or more headache days a month,

[Larry O'Connor]

each lasting four hours or more.

[Mark Halperin]

Botox prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for Those who have 14 or fewer headache days a month. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection, sight pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions including als, Lou Gehrig's disease, Myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Why wait?

[Mark Halperin]

Ask your doctor, visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844botox to learn more. All right, here we go. Bob, welcome in. Thank you for being here. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind for Larry and for Melissa.

[Larry O'Connor]

Hey, good morning, y'.

[Mark Halperin]

All. Thanks for having me on.

[Larry O'Connor]

Remember to roof to the Illini tomorrow

[Mark Halperin]

night in a pretty big basketball game. What's the point spread, Bob?

[Larry O'Connor]

You know, I haven't got around to looking looking for that yet, Mark, but let me tell you why, because I

[Mark Halperin]

was busy digesting and watching a clip

[Larry O'Connor]

of you at Hillsdale College that somebody on here recommended the other day and

[Mark Halperin]

put in the chat and that's really the reason I came on. It has its roots in some of

[Larry O'Connor]

what you were just talking about with

[Mark Halperin]

media bias, but rather than try to take up time and rephrase your words, I'm going to put a link to it here in the Chat. And I just wanted to compliment you. I thought that was an excellent talk you gave at Hillsdale with some great audience response. And my hat is off to you, sir. Thank you, Bob. I appreciate it. Did you watch the whole event? I did. All right, well, thank you.

[Larry O'Connor]

I watched an hour, I guess it was an hour long talk on YouTube.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, well, thank you, Bob. If you want to watch, it's in the chat. It talks about liberal meal bias, also talks about the vision for two way. So if you're interested in learning more about how sort of how we found that fascinating how we see two way of revolutionizing not just political media, but all media, I, I urge you to watch it. You can get the link in the chat and if you're not here in the chat, just go Google or YouTube, search Halperin Hillsdale and it'll come up. And they were great hosts and I love being there and Larry has been there as well. It's a great, incredible place. Bob, thank you very.

[Larry O'Connor]

Study that for my panel on the media tomorrow.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, maybe, maybe, just maybe. Just ask, you know, sometimes you're on a panel and they ask, do you have any AV stuff? Just say, well, I brought a clip and just play a clip from that. Melissa, you haven't watched my speech.

[Larry O'Connor]

You think that when you're, when your face is on the big screen at cpac, what kind of reaction do you think you would get? Mark, who's that?

[Mark Halperin]

Probably a lot of. Who's that? Oh, no, Ellen, Ellen's here. Ellen, welcome in.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Oh, how are you guys? Thank you so much.

[Mark Halperin]

Tell everybody where you are and what's on your mind. For Melissa and for Larry, I am

[Melissa DeRosa]

in Scottsdale, Arizona and I wanted to go back to Iran. As you've talked about how during war governments, you know, always lie about things. What, what do you think are the most concerning things that our administration is either lying about or very severely misleading the country about the world?

[Mark Halperin]

What is the Trump administration?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah, like what are the most concerning things do you all think they might be lying about?

[Mark Halperin]

Great question, Melissa.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I don't know that it's lying per se. And I wouldn't want to presume to accuse them of lying when I know it for sure. But I think that the messaging around it has, has been a total disaster. And I still don't really understand why we went in, when we went in and what our ultimate goal was. And I think that that continues to be incredibly problematic. Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Larry. Larry, do you see anything you'd say they're lying about that troubles you?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, I don't see. I will modify the premise of your question. I don't see that they're lying about anything. They may be, but I don't see anything that's glaring. But to sort of entertain the notion, I guess the thing that could be would be most disconcerting if they were lying was the, the overstating the success that we're having. But I've tried to cross check it with people and it does appear that militarily we are experiencing great success or if they're understating the casualties to our, to our troops, those would be the two greatest things I think that I would be concerned about. There's no indication they are at this time.

[Mark Halperin]

I mean, again, I'd. Same caveats as my colleagues. I will say I don't, I don't think if you're going to go to war without hearings in Congress with the co. Equal branch, if you're going to go to war without an authorization to be this loosey goosey about why you went to war, I think is it's maybe not a lie, but it's certainly not the full truth because honestly, there's no one on here who can tell you really why. No one on here can tell you why. What's the specific.

[Melissa DeRosa]

One of my biggest concerns, you know, I think I can. I think I know why.

[Mark Halperin]

But yeah, these are the Israelis. The nuclear.

[Melissa DeRosa]

October 7th. Yeah, October 7th.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, but they haven't said.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Funded by Iran and.

[Mark Halperin]

But they haven't. But they never said that.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Right, Exactly. That's my assumption.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, right. So Larry, Larry thinks it's the nuclear weapons Rubio said it was Israel was going to attack.

[Larry O'Connor]

First of all, we have 47 years of history to know exactly why Iran is a threat to.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, my God, Larry, you're making me interrupt you.

[Larry O'Connor]

And to our neighbors.

[Melissa DeRosa]

But that's, but that's been the case every day for 47 years and we didn't. And there's so many other countries that are also a threat.

[Larry O'Connor]

Okay.

[Mark Halperin]

All right, Larry. Sorry, go ahead.

[Larry O'Connor]

So again, is the question why or why now, right now, what was the

[Mark Halperin]

justification for attacking another country and killing their leaders?

[Larry O'Connor]

Oh, well, that's a different question.

[Mark Halperin]

Well, that's a question that I don't think they've answered.

[Larry O'Connor]

The legal justification or the war justification? The.

[Mark Halperin]

I think if you were, if you were, if you were president, I was White House Chief of staff, you're President Bartlett and I'm. What's his name? I'll be C.J. craig. And you said, I'm going to bomb C.J.

[Larry O'Connor]

craig.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. I'm going to get a Bob. Okay. I'm going to be that president. I'm going to bomb. You say, I'm going to bomb Fredonia and kill its leaders. And I say, well, you need to tell the American people why you're doing that. Yeah. Yeah. And the answer, I'd like you to give one. One reason back with a bunch of charts.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yeah. Well, I think that the, the reason that we've heard, and I think that it's a legitimate reason, is first of all, it's premised by the established, the foundation that we've had 47 years of outrageous threats from this country, unlike any other threat we've had on the planet. And they have the black Americans on their hands going over those years, number one. And then number two, we attempted to continue the negotiations over their nuclear program. It had reached a standstill. And I think the President has said, and the negotiators have said that they entered those negotiations by saying, we have every right to enrich uranium and create a weapon, and we're going to continue to do it the second we have the opportunity. They weren't going anywhere. We had a very slim window of opportunity to actually have an effective military strike once and for all that could, in fact, end this regime. And so we took that opportunity. It was a bold move, but we had the right opportunity and we've had years of futility with these people and they will not be a threat to our neighbors anymore.

[Mark Halperin]

Ellen, do you have an answer to your own question or no?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, I think about the Vietnam War and, and of course, it's Monday night quarterbacking. But how years later we come to find out that so many presidents felt that it was an unwinnable war, and then they turned around and sent in more troops. And so it just makes me start thinking like, okay, what are we being told now that you know, that they know is not accurate, but they are wanting to escalate for one reason or another, money, oil, whatever.

[Larry O'Connor]

Ellen, instead of Vietnam. Let me ask you a different question, because everything I just said, and by the way, the one thing that is unverifiable is what happened in those negotiations and what Iran said. But everything else, I think is what the administration has said in terms of the background for this military strike. Now, how does that compare to the presentation Colin Powell gave to the United Nations Security Council?

[Melissa DeRosa]

That's right.

[Larry O'Connor]

Weapons of mass destruction.

[Melissa DeRosa]

That are what I was going to say. I mean, I feel like there are instant, I Almost feel like the information void is they're not lying because they're not telling us concrete. Whereas back under Bush. Exactly. As Larry just said, they did that presentation and it turned out, you know, that they were lying. Right.

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, and I think that's the point I'm making. It's like, it's like, oh, you should have done what Bush did and Colin Powell did with the big presentation.

[Melissa DeRosa]

There's a middle, Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

Right.

[Melissa DeRosa]

You don't have to lie. Right. You can present a case to the American public and tell.

[Mark Halperin]

Go with the truth. Yeah. Alan, thank you. Grateful to you. Nicole, if you can be brief, come on in. Got to be brief that we're up against the clock here.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Okay. Good morning, everyone. I am curious about JD's Vance, JD Vance's role maybe in continuing negotiations. I'm curious on why you guys think they're requesting him, why he hasn't been in the limelight, and now it seems like he might be coming in as the finisher if this actually. If this negotiate negotiation actually pans out.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, great question, Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

I think it's a bit of a troll. I think that they're. They're believing the rumors that J.D. vance is at odds with this and he wasn't in favor of it, and that they don't really want J.D. vance at the table as much as they want the headline out there. That they want J.D. vance because it undermines and shows some light about some supposed divisions within the administration. That's. That's my. That was my immediate take on it. I could be wrong. Mark.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, Melissa, thoughts?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, I agree with Larry. I think that's right.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. It also elevates the conversation. Right. To. To higher above. Although obviously Witkoff and Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have the full trust of the President. It obviously elevates things to.

[Larry O'Connor]

And it's insulting, by the way, to the president. It's a way to insult the president because Jared Kushner is his son in law.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Larry O'Connor]

And, Mark, if I. This is a great opportunity. And Nicole, you look fabulous, by the way, whatever the look you're going for on the. Are you starting a podcast? Do you want to be part of.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah, I do. I do have one. Today we're talking about the fiscal issue in our country. So this is my red panic.

[Larry O'Connor]

But, Mark, somebody from the community asked me two weeks ago if I thought if J.D. vance were president, if he would have given the green light on this. And at the time, I said, I think he eventually probably would. And you said, never. I'm starting to come over to your side of that. I think that Vice President Vance's reluctance to use our military and things like this is very much, there is a very real conversation going on behind closed doors. Thank God it is behind closed doors.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Larry O'Connor]

But I think maybe I spoke too quickly when I said that eventually Vice President Vance would that said you never, when you're sitting in that chair and you have to make those decisions, you never know what you're going to do.

[Mark Halperin]

Totally. And I'll just say I think the way I would use language is, however justified this was. This was a war choice. It just was. Didn't have to do it. Might have thought it was the right thing to do, but didn't have to do it. Nicole, thank you. Grateful to you. I'm going to leave you in the capable hands of Melissa and Larry as I head over to Sirius XM for my Wednesday SiriusXM doubleheader, which means roll into the second hour of the morning meeting and then 11 o', clock, I'm on with Michael Sparkonish. And I haven't really been emphasizing this enough. I was on with Michael for literally years, every Wednesday at 10 Eastern Time. And because of the second hour of the morning meeting, I'm now on at 11. So some of you have been sending me emails this week saying so sad you're no longer on with Michael. Well, I am. It just moved to the 11 east hour every Wednesday. So I'll see you on SiriusXM first on the Megan Kelly channel 10 to 11 and then over on POTUS with Michael at 11. Larry, thank you. I look forward to hearing all about cpac. Sorry I'm not there. And, and Melissa, next year we're all going. So you may want to, you may want to start think, thinking about what you're going to wear to that because CPAC fashion is a thing. I'll, I'll see everybody in just a little bit over at Series six. And Larry, Melissa, thank you both.

[Larry O'Connor]

Today's a light day at cpac. We'll have a full report on. Tomorrow will be a busy day, as will Friday. Melissa, do you have anything that you'd like to plug at this time about your upcoming adventures? You already have denied running for office,

[Melissa DeRosa]

but nobody believes I'm absolutely never running for Congress. No, but I will be senate today at 6:40 with Brett Baer talking about the day's news.

[Larry O'Connor]

There you go, special report. That's the revolving door from Two Way and Fox News Channel that has become so prevalent. So that's fantastic. Melissa we'll look. We'll look for you. Then I'll be live at noon on my streaming show every day that I do at noon at town hall. So make sure you check that out later today, Citizen McCain will be live. Miranda is welcoming former chief of staff and advisor to the Biden press office, Yemassi Egbawali. Did I do that right? Because, you know, it took me about a year to get Hans von Spakoski right, and I think I got it right. So Yemassi will be on with Miranda for the Meghan McCain show and also a host of Fraudsters and the Foreign Report, Sina Ghaznavi. Crying out loud, you guys. Why are you pushing me like this? So that's today at noon and then two way tonight live at 5pm Eastern where Mark will welcome some amazing guests. They're so amazing, I can't even tell you who they are. Moynihan Report is live at 7pm and then the morning meeting will be back tomorrow with myself, yours truly here from Dallas, and the effervescent Kevin Walling. And that will pretty much do it for us today on this edition of the morning meeting. Thank you so much. And for those of you who are watching on YouTube or X or other platforms, reach out. Go to Twoway tv. Sign up for the zoom link so you can be part of the community. You can chime in, you can tell me that I'm full of it. You can tell Melissa that she's brilliant. And even better, you get to see everybody's puppy dog bubble cuddle AI videos that they have created as their avatars. They are incredible. And. And you can watch Mike Colby on his treadmill during our entire show, making me feel like a fat slob. All that and more by joining the two way community. Melissa, it's always a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you for joining us today.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Always a pleasure, Larry. Enjoy.

[Larry O'Connor]

We're not going to lose the Elisa Devonic seat.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I don't think so either, but anything could happen.

[Larry O'Connor]

We'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for watching. Have a great day.

[Melissa DeRosa]

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