Is Trump About To Hit Iran? Massive Flotilla of U.S. Warships Converges on Middle East Amid Tensions

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Morning Meeting – "Is Trump About To Hit Iran? Massive Flotilla of U.S. Warships Converges on Middle East Amid Tensions"
Host: Mark Halperin (with Hogan Gidley & Melissa) | Date: February 19, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode delves into several urgent news stories and political developments, with a special focus on the escalating military situation between the U.S. and Iran as a massive flotilla of U.S. warships gathers in the Middle East. Other major segments cover the arrest of Prince Andrew in connection with the Epstein investigation, debates around the political futures of top Democrats, and listener questions on global tensions and party leadership. The episode features Mark Halperin’s lively moderation, Hogan Gidley’s conservative insights, and Melissa’s Democratic perspective.

---

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. The Daybook & News Rundown

(Starts ~[01:03])

• Format Reminder: "We're going to kick around the news of the day, run through the daybook, and then... take your questions and comments." – Mark Halperin [01:03]
• Presidential Itinerary: President travels to Rome, Georgia, engaging in local business and interviews, addressing the economy with campaign undertones.
• Key Political Appearances: Sarah Sanders, Gov. Bashir, Wes Moore, and Gov. Polis active in the day's news cycle.

---

2. Breaking News: Prince Andrew Arrested (Epstein Investigation)

(Starts ~[06:58])

The Arrest & Royal Fallout

• News: Prince Andrew arrested in connection to the Epstein case—a bombshell moment in modern royal history.
• Piers Morgan's Reaction: “There has been no member of the Royal family arrested in my lifetime... this is a serious matter.” – Piers Morgan, quoted by Mark [08:05]

Implications and U.S. Angle

• Melissa’s Take:
  "If they're willing to arrest [Prince Andrew], then no one, except for people in the United States apparently, are off limits... Does this start to increase pressure on additional investigations into others?" [09:22]
• Mark: Suggests American authorities have not shown the same vigor, with legal consequences abroad more significant than just job losses.

Ripple Effects

• Hogan:
  "I think here in this country, it will become a rallying cry for those who want more justice... Where’s the accountability?" [10:32]

---

3. Epstein Saga: Les Wexner’s Testimony & Clinton’s Role

(Starts ~[11:41])

Les Wexner's Denial

• Mark: Delivers a detailed account of Wexner's relationship with Epstein and media coverage.
  “If the guy’s statement is true, he was conned by Jeffrey Epstein and lost a lot of money and a lot of friends... Why is this not being covered as a massive story?” [13:20]
• Hogan: Emphasizes distinction between associating with Epstein and criminal activity—“Just because you were around him isn’t evidence you did something illegal.” [14:19]

Democrats v. Republicans on Oversight

• Melissa: Skeptical of committee seriousness:
  “They let the guy do it from home. No member flew out. He’s a huge Republican donor. If the Democrats do their job, they can use this to reinforce the idea of the Epstein class and who’s getting a pass.” [17:25]

Upcoming Bill Clinton Testimony

• Melissa:
  “He flew on Epstein’s plane a number of times... nothing inappropriate, and that he is being dragged [into the story].” [19:52]
• Mark: Notes Clinton’s relationship may be deeper than publicly acknowledged.

---

4. Iran Showdown: Will the U.S. Strike?

(Starts ~[24:00])

Tensions & Military Buildup

• Headlines:
  “US gathers the most air power in the Mideast since the 2003 Iraq invasion.” [24:00]

Odds and Political Calculus

• Mark: Points to 28% odds (Polymarket) by Feb 28th; senses that’s low.
• Melissa:
  “These talks have gone on... doesn’t this give the other side time to harden the targets and prepare... 70% of the American public is firmly against invasion in Iran.” [25:19]
• Hogan: Sees signaling as possible brinksmanship, with Trump using military force for leverage:
  “I’m not exactly sure what the buildup is supposed to be... a big hand cocked, ready...” [26:32]

Listener Calls & The Olympics Factor

• Caller (Mike): Suggests the Olympics may delay strikes, considering the risk to European targets.
• Melissa: "It’s as good a theory as I’ve heard." [43:00]
• Hogan: Agrees planners would consider soft targets during the Olympics. [42:13]

---

5. 2028 Democratic Presidential Field & Party Identity

(Starts ~[28:26])

Speculation and Probabilities

• Polymarket: Gavin Newsom (27%), AOC (8.5%), Kamala Harris (6%), Jon Ossoff (4.5%) [31:41]
• Melissa: Critical of Newsom’s flawed candidacy:
  “Blue tents in San Francisco, outmigration, unemployment, violent crime. Too much to unpack... he has way too much to defend.” [33:09]
• Hogan: Predicts a brutal Democratic primary—"It will be Democrat on Democrat crime." [34:34]
• Mark: “No perfect candidates... we’re looking at the major candidates.” [35:07]

Leadership Crisis

• Listener (Colleen, from Europe):
  Expresses dismay over lack of party leadership and AOC’s “embarrassing” foreign exploits.
• Melissa:
  “Bernie and Elizabeth and AOC are much more focused on winning the soul of the Democratic Party... I like when AOC goes to Europe and embarrasses herself... I see that as a good thing for the Democratic Party.” [49:42]
• Hogan: Notes lack of party leader is normal when not holding the White House. [51:28]

---

6. Listener Questions & Notable Soundbites

(Throughout; see timestamps below)

• Prince Andrew Case: “Does this start to increase pressure on additional investigations into others?” – Melissa [09:22]
• On Wexner: “...either he’s an extraordinary victim, or his statement’s a complete lie and it’s a massive coverup by a Republican donor aided and embedded by Republicans on the committee.” – Mark [19:08]
• On Clinton/Epstein: “...they are going to try to exactly contradict the public narrative the Clintons have been peddling for years.” – Melissa [23:29]
• On Iran: “If the president does attack, he’s going to say, I protected you from a mushroom cloud. And that's going to win over most people." – Mark [43:50]
• On Epstein’s Death: "Oh, no. Absolutely not [suicide]. ...I think he was murdered. ...Where are the photos of him hanging himself?" – Melissa [53:21]

---

7. Other Political Notes

• State/Local Politics: Extensive banter on Texas races (T. Rico, Jasmine Crockett, Hunt, Cornyn, Paxton, etc.).
• Board of Peace: Trump claims, “We settled eight wars and I think a ninth to come... first year like probably no other ever in our country.” [36:50]
• Political Analysis: Discussion on media coverage, partisanship, and the lasting impact of social media-driven figures.

---

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

On Prince Andrew’s Arrest

• “There has been no member of the Royal family arrested in my lifetime... this is a serious matter.” – Piers Morgan (quoted) [08:05]
• "[It] will become a rallying cry for those who want more justice for these victims... Where's the accountability?" – Hogan [10:32]

On Wexner

• “Why is this not being covered as a massive story?... this is a massive character in the Jeffrey Epstein saga.” – Mark [13:20]

On Clinton/Epstein

• “I think they are going to try to exactly contradict the public narrative the Clintons have been peddling for years.” – Melissa [23:29]

On Iran

• “If past his prologue, he’s going to attack.” – Mark [24:00]
• “Doesn’t this just give the other side time to harden the targets and prepare?” – Melissa [25:19]
• “Maybe it could be ...a big hand cocked, ready, and we can have the conversation... and then you better come through or we’re going to do something.” – Hogan [26:32]

On Democratic Leadership/2028 Field

• “I think what’s most fascinating... Bernie Sanders going into Gavin’s backyard and campaigning for the billionaire’s tax... that puts him directly at odds with the far left flank of the party.” – Melissa [33:09]
• “All of the horrible things about Newsom... that’s going to come out in a Democrat primary... Democrat on Democrat crime. I think that sinks Gavin Newsom, not a Republican press.” – Hogan [34:34]

On AOC & Party Identity

• “I like when AOC goes to Europe and embarrasses herself... I see that as a good thing for the Democratic Party.” – Melissa [49:42]
• "If you're looking for a leader, chances are one will emerge... in the upcoming campaign." – Hogan [51:28]

On Epstein’s Death

• “Oh, no. Absolutely not [suicide]. I think he was murdered.” – Melissa [53:21]
• “Public officials should stop saying things they have no basis to say other than pure speculation... I thought that was pretty irresponsible.” – Melissa [55:45]

---

Segment Timestamps

• [01:03] Show opens, daybook and rundown
• [06:58] Prince Andrew arrest segment begins
• [11:41] Deep dive into Wexner/Epstein/Clinton saga
• [24:00] Iran military buildup—analysis and odds
• [28:26] Discussion of 2028 Democratic field & party dynamics
• [41:09] Listener Q&A (Iran, Olympics, Democratic leadership)
• [53:21] Epstein’s death theories—debate and assessment

---

Tone & Style

The tone is informal but intense, marked by spirited debate, probing analysis, and unsparing cynicism. Mark Halperin steers the conversation briskly; Hogan Gidley offers partisan, sometimes sardonic Republican commentary; Melissa provides critical but pragmatic Democratic counterpoints. Listener participation punctuates the episode with timely, pointed questions that prompt deeper dives.

---

Conclusion

This episode of The Morning Meeting covers urgent and controversial topics—ranging from royal scandal and possible U.S. strikes on Iran to the weaknesses of headline Democratic politicians—with in-depth, forward-looking analysis and lively banter. The hosts do not shy away from hard questions or conspiracy talk but stress the importance of evidence and responsible political leadership. The episode offers a comprehensive primer for anyone seeking clarity—and some unsparing honesty—on the biggest stories shaping the U.S. news day.

Transcript

[Melissa]

This is it.

[Hogan Gidley]

The world as you know it is over.

[Mark Halperin]

Completely done. It's not about to be over.

[Hogan Gidley]

It's over.

[Mark Halperin]

Some of the scientists who helped build

[Hogan Gidley]

AI are now sounding the alarm. I was selling AI as a great

[Mark Halperin]

thing for decades and I was wrong. I was wrong.

[Melissa]

There's a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings

[Mark Halperin]

that 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

[Hogan Gidley]

it's going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make.

[Mark Halperin]

This really will be a world of abundance. And among these fears and these fantasies, we seek the story of our future. Listen to the last invention on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Melissa]

Foreign.

[Mark Halperin]

Everybody, welcome to the morning meeting. Thank you for being here. A program based on the Network News Division's morning meetings. We're going to kick around the news of the day, run through the daybook, and then in a surprise twist worthy of O. Henry, we will take your questions and comments. If you're here on the two way platform, please raise your hand if you're watching on X or YouTube. No smack in the chat. Don't ask why. Hogan always has a different background. Don't ask why. Melissa appears to be in a in a Holiday Inn. Just put nice things in the chat. No smack. Peace, love and understanding for one and all as we explore the day ahead together. This program's forward looking and boy, there's a lot of stuff in front of us today to explore. Thank you for being here. I'll run through the daybook in a second. Hogan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, I read, is not going to be in her old district today when the President's there. And I read she was going to be out of state for the day. Can you tell me where she is?

[Hogan Gidley]

No. And Jimmy crack corn and I don't care.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, I hear you, Melissa. These are like my opening icebreaker questions. Prince Andrew was arrested like an hour ago. Most everybody on here knows that. What percentage of our one hour program would you advise we spend talking about Prince Andrew?

[Melissa]

10%. 5%?

[Mark Halperin]

5%. 3.5%. Okay. All right. In a moment we'll do the whole thing. Daybook, including the President's trip to Georgia. Melissa and Hogan here. And again, looking forward to your participation. But first, a quick word from one of our sponsors. If you don't have life insurance and you're the main breadwinner in your family, stop for a moment and think about the implications of that. If something happens to you, what happens to your family? Tuition, rent, mortgage payments. Right now, if you're someone responsible for your family's finances, stop what you're doing. Pick up your second screen and type this in ethos.com/ ethos.com? why am I asking you to do that? To get a free quote on life insurance. Up to $303 million in life insurance in a process that can take as little as 10 minutes and no health exam. Just some questions online. The whole process is online. The [e-mail], the online platform that makes getting lunch life insurance easy, you can do it right now to protect your family's future in minutes, not in months. Provide the financial security they need. Again, quote in as little as 10 minutes, go to ethos.commarkethos.com, thank you for your attention to that matter. Ethos.com, the President's got an interesting day today, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, if you look at the in town pool, it includes the new media front lines and they've print press, Washington Blade. Hogan, what's front lines? New media what? Front lines is the name of the news organization that's the new media pool for the president of the United States.

[Hogan Gidley]

I heard, I was like Frontline, like PBS or something.

[Mark Halperin]

You know what that is? Do you know what that is? Front lines. You don't? Okay, Melissa, what's the Washington Blade?

[Melissa]

I have no idea.

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, come on. You know what? The Washington Blade. The Washington Blade is the longtime gay.

[Melissa]

Yes, I did.

[Mark Halperin]

In Washington. Somebody Google and tell us what front lines is.

[Hogan Gidley]

I'll be curious who who by the way had a brief interaction with me and Kathy Griffin at the correspondence center several years ago. The Washington. Go on. This was document. This was documented in the New York Times because Kathy Griffin called me over to the her the table where she was sitting with the Blade. They were yelling at or excuse me, she started yelling at me about Trump. How can I sleep at night? And I said, are we really doing this here? She started yelling at me and by the grace of God, I had gotten the last beer from the kiosks outside of the dinner before they force you into the dinner. And it just so happened to be a Tecate. And I told her I need to go to my table and finish my Tecate Mexican beer before we built the wall and didn't let these come across into our country anymore.

[Mark Halperin]

And she lost somebody go on YouTube and try to find that video. The President.

[Hogan Gidley]

It's in the New York Times.

[Mark Halperin]

I know, but I want video. The president at this hour is meeting in theory. I'm sure it hadn't started yet. Meeting with his board of peace, his new Board of Peace. That's open press or so sorry, open to the travel pool. So we'll see if there's anything out of that during this hour we spend together. Then he's off to Rome, Georgia. The congressional district formerly represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene is part of the latest trip to talk about the economy and the midterm elections. And he's got a very full schedule on the grand in local business. At 1:52:30 he's doing a podcast interview. Hogan, do you know who that's with? Could be with me for all we know. 3:30, another local factory tour and then remarks on the economy at 4 o'. Clock. Ladies and gentlemen, the man is going to just steamroll right over two way tonight. So we'll see what happens. Full coverage of the president's trip to Rome, Georgia on the show tonight. Don't know what the vice president's doing. House and Senate remain out. Continue to be no progress as far as we can tell on negotiations over a new agreement on how ICE will function. Lots going on with potential Democratic presidential candidates today. Governor Bashir is at the center for American Progress today talking about Democratic messaging. Wes Moore is sitting down with a couple other governors with Politico right now. Later today, Governor Polis is speaking as part of an event as they're on. They're all in D.C. for the governor's meeting. He was on. Governor Polis was on Morning Joe this morning. All right. Mention Sarah Sanders, what was on Morning also around town.

[Hogan Gidley]

She was on Fox and Friends this

[Mark Halperin]

morning as well be news if she were on Morning Joe.

[Hogan Gidley]

She's been there before.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

Talk to Joe this weekend actually.

[Mark Halperin]

Really? Tell us more.

[Hogan Gidley]

No, I saw him in Palm Beach. We'll just leave it at that.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. Andrew Prince Andrew was arrested and connected to the Epstein matter. And here is, here is the statement from the police. 103, please. In Britain, they're not allowed to identify. They have weird rules about legal stuff. They just say they've opened a misconduct investigation. Here's a statement from the king, the Prince's brother. Number 105, please. I've learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew and suspicion of misconduct. What now follows is the full fair and proper process by which this issue is is investigated in the appropriate manner by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I've said before, they have Our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. Let me state clearly, the law must take its course. Here is a very, very breathless and poor cell covered. Piers Morgan reacting on fox and friends104, please. It is an absolute bombshell. I mean, to put this in context. There has been no member of the

[Hogan Gidley]

Royal family arrested in my lifetime.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm 60 years old.

[Hogan Gidley]

To go back centuries to the last

[Mark Halperin]

time that a member of the British royal family was arrested and this is a serious matter. If he is convicted of misconduct in public office, then the vast majority of people that receive that kind of conviction end up with a prison sentence and the maximum sentence is life imprisonment. And this is the King's brother who remains eighth in line to the throne. So this is, like I say, an absolute bombshell. Not completely surprising. I think the tone of the King's statement last week clearly opened the door for the police to make a move. All right, first of all, those of you concerned about my mic, I've just fixed it, so calm down and thank you for your help. Second, I'm more than America first. I'm jingoistic, so I don't really care about this. I want to get onto the people in the United States embroiled in the Epstein saga. Melissa, being forward looking, what are the implications for the overall Epstein story of the Prince now being arrested? Any. What are the implications for the. Just the global storyline.

[Melissa]

No, I think it shows that if they're willing to go after Prince and formerly Prince Andrew. Andrew Mountain bat.

[Mark Halperin]

Whatever, whatever, whatever.

[Melissa]

Yeah, if they're willing to arrest him, that no one, except for people in the United States apparently are off limits. I mean, what I find most interesting about this story and what we around the world is the global implications for the people that are being investigated in foreign countries. Whereas in the United States we don't really see any of that. Really. What we just see is a return to cancel culture and people losing their jobs. So that's what I find the most interesting about this. And does this start to increase pressure on additional investigations into others?

[Mark Halperin]

Right, well, I would just say, Hogan, just respond to Melissa and then jump in. It may be that this guy sold or traded government secrets to. To Epstein, which would be an actual crime as compared to a lot of people in America who are just losing their jobs, who just did things that were improper or embarrassing.

[Melissa]

I would just put an asterisk on that, which is. That's all we know at this point. Right. We all know that they've held back huge troughs of swaps documents and so it's just the lack of interest from the American legal system like DOJ and others around the world where they seem to be taking this much more seriously.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Hogan, Implications of Andrew being arrested for the story.

[Hogan Gidley]

I think there's a ripple effect around the globe, and I share Melissa's skepticism on just how far that goes. But I think here in this country, I think it will become a rallying cry for those who want more justice for these victims and more trials and investigations into the names that have been released via the Epstein files. I think you're going to see a. A much more significant pressure campaign to say, look, even they over across the pond are arresting members of the royal family. And here we just, you know, let. We expose it. There's transparency, but no accountability. Where's the accountability? I think it is another log on that fire here at home is where I think it really matters.

[Mark Halperin]

I like to communicate with the producers directly rather than by text. Could somebody make this room less than 200 degrees if you possible? That'd be excellent. Okay. Hogan Gidley loves the press. It puts him sometimes in bad favor with Team Trump because he likes reporters and he's very friendly. Maybe. Maybe Hogan's favorite reporter. Hogan, I think I'm right about this. I know you like me, but I think your favorite's Tara Palmeri. Am I right about that? No. She's your favorite. Now, here's what she says.

[Hogan Gidley]

Been nice enough to me.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, here's what she says. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's arrest raises a bigger question. What happens when elite protection finally cracks? The fallout. The power players. And what comes next? That's on her podcast. Here's what come next here. I'm pretty knowledgeable about the media, and I've covered this story quite closely. I do not understand the coverage in the last 24 hours of Les Wexner. Les Wexner was. There would no be a Jeffrey Epstein without Les Wexner, because Les Wexner made tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars available to this guy. And if you go back and read the coverage up until now, he's. He's issued tiny little denials. It's been going on for seven years. People have been. Or six years people have been writing about this guy. Seven years. He. He got him his house in New York. He paid him tens of millions of dollars. He gave him access to his world at Victoria's Secret. If you go back and read the stories that have been written about him over the years, though, there's no accusations of any specificity. Except for getting. Giving the guy his turning the guys, he turned his money over to him. He let. And all of Wexner's friends said, why did he do this? Why did he give Jeffrey Epstein so much control? But not in a single story that I have seen in the last seven years does it ever say Wexner went to the island once. Okay, but except for that, there's literally nothing that. That links him to any wrongdoing. Except. Except the suspicion people had is he must have been involved with Epstein's personal life and he must have been good friends with him because he cut ties to many people in his life previously and turned it all over to Epstein. Okay? So yesterday the Democrats on the committee went to Ohio to interview him. Don't know why he got a home visit, but he did. The Republicans only sent staff. Wexner is a massive Republican donor, okay? And he put out a three page statement, which if it's true, he is one of the greatest victims of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that doesn't involve attack or sexual misconduct. If the guy's statement is true, he was conned by Jeffrey Epstein and lost a lot of money and a lot of friends and feels hard about it. I'm not saying his statement's true or false. This is a massive character in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. This is a massive thing. This is his long denial. Why didn't he do this denial seven years ago? I don't know. I'm sorry to make this build up so long, but here's what I'm confused about. Why is this not being covered as a massive story? Why isn't this everywhere the Epstein story gets covered massively. Hogan, why is this not. I know the prints happened, but there's barely any coverage of this. Isn't this a massive story?

[Hogan Gidley]

It's a little weird considering, like you said, a Republican donor. And you'd think the liberal media would be all over just for a myriad of reasons. But I think there is something we need to be careful of that we've talked about on the show many times before, and that is there's a distinct difference between the evidence in the files that you knew or were around Jeffrey Epstein, as opposed to evidence that you did something wrong. And I think this, or something illegal. In addition, with. With less, for example, it beginning to shed some light on one of the really big unanswered questions of the Jeffrey Epstein saga, which is how he made his money. Like what was he right? And I think a lot of this is the con job. That was Jeffrey Epstein. The Trafficking, the human trafficking, the child trafficking. It looks as though right now the evidence suggests he trafficked him to himself. Right. Other. Other people got women that were over age. He got the underage women.

[Mark Halperin]

That's what the evidence currently shows.

[Hogan Gidley]

But the next question I have is where'd he get his money?

[Mark Halperin]

Wexner says in his statement that he tried to. He was. Somebody recommended he hired Epstein to manage his money. Epstein said, no, I don't do that. I'm too busy. I got other things going on. He begged him to do it. He declined. Other people said, you should do it. Epstein finally agreed. Wexner cast this as a long con where Epstein played hard to get. And then he just says, I trusted the guy to manage my money and I turned everything over to him. Melissa, the Democrats on the committee said, answered. He didn't take the Fifth. He answered the questions. He said, what's in his statement? I had no personal connection to the guy except I went to the island once. And is that possibly. Do you believe it's possibly true that he is a victim of Jeffrey Epstein rather than an annoying enabler and co conspirator? Is that possible?

[Melissa]

I think it is possible. But look, there have been rumors over the years about their relationship that I don't feel comfortable saying on the show because I don't want to start theories, but it is possible.

[Mark Halperin]

But rumors without any proof.

[Melissa]

But rumors without any proof. But also, if we're gonna sit here and say is it possible? When the Democrats said it defied credulity and there's way what he was saying was true, it's like, okay, we'll prove it. What documents do you have or what proof do you have that what he's saying wasn't true? The thing I agree with you on is if this was the case all along, why didn't he just say it? I mean, it looks terrible. So much press and the Netflix series and all these different things. Why wouldn't he just forcely have said it or, you know, said he was going to sue for defamation or something right along the way as he sort of receded back. But that would suggest a little bit of credibility in some of, I think the rumors we've all heard about him just not wanting to be a player in this story. Not necessarily that he was part of a sex.

[Mark Halperin]

So, okay, so he testified yesterday behind closed doors. What happens next in this? The Democrats are skeptical. The Republicans didn't show up to. The staff did. But no member showed up to comer was getting dental surgery. But there Are other members of the committee. What happens next? Do they bring him in and testify on camera, or is that it? Wexner says he's innocent and that's it

[Melissa]

up to the majority. Right. And the majority.

[Mark Halperin]

What do you think they're going to. What do you think they're going to do?

[Melissa]

I think that they. They don't seem interested in going down this road. He's a huge donor, and it's clear that they have. You can tell with who the majority cares about and who they don't. And they let the guy do it from home. No member slew out there. He's a huge Republican donor. I think if the Democrats do their job, they can use this to reinforce this idea of the Epstein class and who's getting a pass.

[Mark Halperin]

Yes.

[Melissa]

And so I think it can continue to be a political headache. But, you know, I think the Republicans have botched every level of this from the start, so I think they will continue to botch it. The question is, can the Democrats effectively breathe life into it? But I think for Leslie Wexner, I think he's. He's done.

[Mark Halperin]

Hogan, Barr, leave aside what might happen if Democrats take the majority in the House, because then they can do whatever they want. If between now and November, in the media, in the Justice Department and in the House investigation. Are we done with Wexner?

[Hogan Gidley]

No.

[Mark Halperin]

No. What's. So what's the next beat on the Wexner story?

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't know, but it just seems like once, and this is what's so odd about it, once the media has that bone, they are like a dog with it. But I don't know that they've gotten this one yet. So, again, I think sooner or later, this is going to catch on in some areas of the media, and I think it continues for a while. But I do think House Republicans, you know, if. If I had to say, should in fact, begin some investigations. And some of these people, just for the very. At the very least, as my cynic, you know, mine works just to take it from Democrats, go ahead and do

[Mark Halperin]

it, because they're going to do it, including Wexner.

[Hogan Gidley]

I mean, again, if there's. If there's evidence of wrongdoing, yes, you're not just investigating people because they had dinner with the guy or they were in a room.

[Mark Halperin]

But there's. There's two possibilities. His statement is true, in which case it's an extraordinary story of a rich guy for seven years allowing all these rumors to percolate and that he was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein engaged in bad judgment or his statement's a complete lie and it's a massive cover up by a Republican donor aided and embedded by Republicans on the committee. Either of those is a massive story. I'm not sure, though it will continue. Here's someone the majority is interested in, Bill Clinton, who's coming in next week. Again, there's a lot of news going on, but I'm amazed there's not more buildup here. Melissa, if you were to summarize what Bill Clinton and his people say about the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, how would you summarize what the Clinton position is?

[Melissa]

That he was somebody who was helpful to the Clinton's charity, he flew on his plane a number of times and he raised money for him, but that he's never been on the island, there was nothing inappropriate, and that he is being dragged. And once, you know, he's cut off communication, you know he's part of that pre post.

[Mark Halperin]

Very well said. That's exactly correct in my view. Now, there's a couple things that are mitigating that go beyond the four corners of Melissa's accurate summary of what they say. One is the guy visited the White House during the Clinton years a lot. We don't know that he saw President Clinton. Maybe he was just bringing people in for tours. We don't know. But there's a question there. Here's another question. This was in the New York Post in December. I didn't see this at the time. Somebody sent it to me yesterday to say, in effect, the Clinton relationship is a little deeper than just we use this plane to fly to save babies in Africa. Bill Clinton, according to the New York Post exclusive story from December. Did you guys see this story in December? December 18th. I was on holiday. I think so. I didn't see it. This story says that Bill Clinton demanded that he bring as plus one and plus two Jeffrey Epstein and Julian Maxwell to the King of Morocco's wedding. You guys see this story? Yeah. You did? Okay. All right, I missed it. Here's the picture of the Clinton, Bill Clinton and Chelsea, who he brought as his plus one. And then I guess Jeffrey and Maxwell were two and three at the wedding. Again, Hogan, is your suspicion that at this hearing next week Bill Clinton's going to be compelled because he says he'll answer every question and not take the fifth. Compelled to explain the true contours of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?

[Hogan Gidley]

I mean, look, I think she laid out a pretty good case of what they're going to try and say. I Don't know how compelled they're going to be to go any further than that. In fact, you can see the PR campaign starting now because they do use the word. Most of you said that they're going to talk about. They worked with Jeffrey on their charities. They've used the word charities more in the last two weeks than they have in quite some time in describing their relationship with Epstein, trying to point out that they're so charitable as a family. I don't know if, in fact, Bill Clinton sitting down and having these conversations is going to do anything to placate Republican vitriol, if you will, toward the Clintons. Having had that build up for decades on our side of the aisle, I don't know that this yields anything. But for the fact, I hope that in between the Lewinsky scandal and now he has learned the definition of is, I don't know that we're going to learn any revelation from him. I think it looks really bad for the Clintons. I think it looks really bad for Bill Clinton. And the thing is, everyone kind of knows Bill Clinton's past and his history and his present with other women. So this is kind of part and parcel with the same narrative everyone already knows about him. So unless there's something illegal here, unless there's some underage something or other or something, he's just another person who liked to be around younger ladies with Jeffrey Epstein.

[Mark Halperin]

Melissa, agree or disagree, I think that

[Melissa]

the Republicans are going to try to set a perjury trap. I think that they're going to try to pull out those photos and say, who is the woman sitting on your lap on this plane? How old was she? Who is the woman in the hot tub? When was this photo taken? I think that they are going to try to exactly contradict the public narrative the Clintons have been peddling for years.

[Mark Halperin]

And what do you think President Clinton will say when he's asked, who's that in the hot tub and where was it taken?

[Melissa]

I have no idea. But if, you know, if he said that he is good, I don't recall. It was probably 20 years ago. I don't remember.

[Mark Halperin]

I have been in so many hot

[Hogan Gidley]

tubs, so many winners.

[Melissa]

But, you know, I think that he's. And I think that they are going to be very forceful and undermine the narrative that they put out because they feel like this is their one shot to move the story from Trump to Clinton. And so I think they're gonna be very aggressive.

[Mark Halperin]

All right, for those of you I don't read the chat, but I glance at those of you who think this show has become the National Enquirer. We bring you matters of grave international war and peace. Now, number 110, please. Wall Street Journal and New York Times. If you haven't read their stories on the Iran military buildup, you need to read them both. They're both very well reported, very accurate to my reporting about where things stand. US Military moves into place for possible strikes in Iran. President Trump has given no indication that he's made a decision about how to proceed as diplomatic talks continue. Here's, that's the New York Times. Here's the Journal headline 111. Also good. US gathers the most air power in the Mideast since the 2003 Iraq invasion. US is ready to strike Iran, but President Trump hasn't decided to do so. If past his prologue, the way President Trump is talking, the way the military buildup has occurred, if past his prologue, he's going to attack, he just hasn't done this before and not attacked. Here's our friends at polymarket have a polymarket on the question will the US Strike Iran by what is it? Put up the graphic and I'll be able to read it 112 by February 28th. So that's nine days from now. Will they strike Poly Market better is only 28%. Melissa, should I call my, my, my bookie and put money down here? Because 28% seems low based on my reporting and the, and the mood music of all this.

[Melissa]

You know, I don't know. We talked about this two weeks ago on the show and I think I was on with Larry and Larry, like really thought that we were going to move in that weekend. And I said I didn't think we were going to talks. We're going to continue. I think we really just don't know. The thing that, that strikes me about this whole situation is these talks have gone on and on and on and we continue to move our military, you know, capacity around so that we can do various strikes. And I just, you know, as a layperson reading the same coverage, everyone else's like, doesn't this just give the other side time to harden the targets and prepare properly and own counter strikes? And also, you know, at the same time, the president's in Georgia today because he's very wary of the midterms and he wants to be out talking about the economy. The latest polling on this issue so shows 70% of the American public is firmly against military invasion in Iran. And I don't see the White House doing anything to change that narrative and make the affirmative case for why we should be doing this. So I think that there are a lot of landmines here, politically and otherwise, and I think they're going to keep talking a little bit longer and hope they get somewhere. But it just feels like we're going on and on and on with no end point.

[Mark Halperin]

When's the bombing start? Give us a time.

[Hogan Gidley]

And I don't know that it's going to happen, but the indications are, and people are trying to drum out like it is going to happen in the media. You can see that pretty, pretty readily. I do feel like the president who did a masterful job in the first administration navigating the Middle east when all the experts told him what he was doing was wrong. We had peace deals. I think this is kind of a similar situation, depending on what he actually wants to do. We'll see after the, the successful strike on the nuclear facilities. It is very clear before and after that that many people on the right and quite frankly in America, as Melissa just pointed out, do not want a prolonged situation in the region. For sure. I'm not exactly positive here what the buildup is supposed to be. You mentioned a strike is imminent. Maybe it could be kind of a big, a big hand cocked, ready, and we can have the conversation, have the conversation and then you better come through or we're going to do something with it. And so right now I'm not exactly sure where it is. I will say, though, Iran is just a much more different, problematic player actor on the global stage for a whole host of reasons. The president knows that. But at the same time, he doesn't like the death, the destruction, the images of bomb. He doesn't like that. But he also doesn't like having a deal fall through that he made in good faith with partners and players. And then all of a sudden, some of them aren't holding up their part of the bargain. It's clear Iran isn't. And so I think a lot of headlines showing military force could be imminent might be part of that pressure that Donald Trump is putting on them without having to bomb anybody or go into their country and take out a leader. Instead, he's saying, look, we're ready for this and you better come to the table. There's going to be a problem. I don't know that Iran responds to anything other than like everybody else in the region, force or might. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[Mark Halperin]

All right. We'll be talking about this the rest of the week. I assure you because believe we're on the precipice is my sense of things. All right. A bunch of 2028 potential Democratic presidential candidates, including many on my list of the top eight. Eight for 28 are out and about many of the governors in Washington and yesterday the governor of Illinois gave his State of the State address in which he talked about his vision of America and his vision of his state. Here is JB Pritzker. 115, please possible to tally the hours, days and weeks that our state government has spent chasing news of presidential executive orders, letters and edicts that read like proclamations from the Lollipop Guild. Here's just one glaring example. The Trump administration, out of the blue, asked the Illinois Department of Transportation to spend no crosswalks in Chicago. That was happening while victims of severe storms, flash floods and tornadoes were waiting months for a response to their requests for FEMA to help their devastated communities. Those requests for relief were then denied by the president at great cost and pain to the communities affected. But hey, I'm glad someone in Washington is focused on what color our crosswalks get painted. Hogan More likely or less likely to be the Democratic nominee than aoc Oh,

[Hogan Gidley]

I don't think both are. Is that an answer?

[Mark Halperin]

You think they're both close to zero? Is that what you're saying?

[Hogan Gidley]

I think they're both close to zero.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Melissa More likely or less likely to be the Democratic nominee than Kamala Harris?

[Melissa]

I think that neither of them will be, but I think less likely than Kamala Harris.

[Mark Halperin]

Less likely than Kamala Harris. Okay, here's Rahm Emanuel in Michigan asked about whether he might run for president. 120

[Melissa]

and Emanuel says he's now considering a run for president. I'm evaluating if whether what I got

[Mark Halperin]

what I offer actually addresses what I think ailes America.

[Hogan Gidley]

And we'll see.

[Melissa]

Though a presidential campaign is not set in stone, Emanuel says he plans to continue to show up and fight for the American people.

[Mark Halperin]

If I think something has to get done, I will go through a brick

[Hogan Gidley]

wall to get it done.

[Mark Halperin]

And to me, we are at that moment. Ladies and gentlemen, here is my new sleeper candidate for the Democratic presidential nominee nomination in 2028. 118 please. What Minnesota showed is that when people get organized and have courage and stand together, they can win struggles. And now that was Minnesota standing up to authoritarianism. And now the ball is in California's court. The people of California control the people of America and in fact, people throughout the world that when we stand together, we can take on the oligarchs and the billionaires. All right, he's not really my dark horse candidate. But my joke or my point is this is a wide open thing. Karl Rove's column in the Wall street journal today, this 117. And Carl is a great one of the few Republicans who's along with Hogan, of course, who's a good analyst of the Democrats. Most Republicans don't know anything about their Democratic Party nomination process. His headline can Newsom live down his record? He wouldn't be the only Democratic governor whose state is an economic mess. The headlines about Newsom, but he also talks about Pritzker and goes through the statistics about their particularly on the economy and housing and population. Those two guys have plenty to defend regarding their records. Finally, 2028, here's our friends at Polymarket. What they say are but the betters think it's going to be who the nominee is going to be. Why am I having trouble finding the number of that thing? Here it is. Who will the Democrats nominate for president in 2028? Gavin Newsom, 27% chance all the way down. Next AOC, 8.5%. Larry keeps telling me Kamala Harris is a shoe in. She's at 6%. Jon Ossoff, rising star. Maybe he'll be the nominee. For all we know, 4.5% names not on there. Emmanuel Pritzker, Moore, etc. Melissa Shapiro, also not on there. Thank you. Melissa. What do you make of the poly

[Melissa]

market wagers which is so far out right now? This is it's all like fantasy land, I think. And I've been saying that to you on and off camera for months. I mean, I think that Gavin Newsom would be a terrible general election candidate. I think that he has way too much to defend in his own record. I think that, you know, the blue tents in San Francisco and the number one state of out migration, number two state of unemployment, number six state and violent crime. There's just too much to unpack to say nothing of the personal baggage that I think would get a full and fair vetting from, you know, the right wing press. So I think that I don't see him making it even though I know that's against what everyone else seems to believe at this point. And I think that what's the most fascinating thing which continues, continues to play out is Bernie Sanders going into Gavin's backyard and campaigning for the billionaires tax, which Gavin is against. And so while Gavin Newsom seems to be somebody like, you know, chameleon who's happy to take any position for whatever audience he's in front of. He has staked out this position against raising taxes on the billionaires, which puts him directly at odds with the far left flank of the party. And so you've got now this dynamic where the civil war that's been brewing under the surface that continues to sort of come out into the open will also be a part of that. So I think that right now it's a total jump ball and any speculation at this point is way too early.

[Mark Halperin]

Hogan.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah, Melissa did something funny there. I do appreciate it. She mentioned all of the horrible things about Gavin Newsom and then said, and I think the right wing press is not going to let him get away with that. Oh, no, no, no. That's going to come out in a Democrat primary where people are stabbing each other trying to get ahead by stepping on their opponent. It will be Democrat on Democrat crime. I think that sinks Gavin Newsom, not a Republican press. The primary process will in fact be brutal, even though I argue that the bench is fairly thin, not deep on the Democrat side at this point.

[Melissa]

One thing I will say about that is that a lot of the others either have no record to run on or similarly bad records to run on. So that's the place where I feel

[Hogan Gidley]

like, so there could be the chance for someone to emerge that has little or no record.

[Melissa]

Yes.

[Hogan Gidley]

You know what I mean? Like an aoc, for example. But I think Newsom, the only thing he's missing from a presidential run, is an exclamation point at the end of his name. It is so Jeb ish at this point. It's not on paper, but I don't think so.

[Mark Halperin]

I will, I will say, make the three following three points. Number one, I really don't like people coming on the show and saying it's too early. This is what I do for a living, folks. And it's not too early. It is not. The Board of Peace is convening, so we'll keep an eye on. There you see Secretary Rubio, the vice president's there, Jared Kushner, Mr. Witkoff. They're all, of course, heavily involved in the conversations about what the Board of Peace's first focus is, which is Phase two of the Gaza. And here you see the President coming in. Those of you watching listening on the podcast, you're missing out on some good visuals here. So it's a kind of answer. It's kind of an interesting array. We'll dip into this in a second. Anyway, on the Democrat stuff. Second, there are no perfect candidates. I keep telling you. I can tell you what's wrong with everybody who eventually won their party's nomination. Over my entire career. No one can be nominated if all you do is focus on their negatives. And lastly, people who keep saying there's someone else who's going to come in the race. There'll be some surprises. But I think we're looking at the major candidates. Let's listen to. Yeah, go ahead.

[Hogan Gidley]

They all have fatal flaws. The question is which one's fatal? Yeah, that's the real issue.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Donald Trump, Donald Trump in 2015 had a lot of fatal flaws and he became the Republican nominee. Here's the flaws. I don't know how many of them were fatal at the time. I'm saying you thought they were fatal. Many people thought they were fatal and they turned out not to be. Here's Donald Trump talking to the Board of Peace this morning.

[Hogan Gidley]

Peace. But we're going to produce it and we've been doing a really good job. And some of these leaders that are with us have helped me very much during just this first year. We have a first year like probably no other ever in our country because we settled eight wars and I think

[Mark Halperin]

a ninth to come.

[Hogan Gidley]

It turned out to be a tougher one.

[Mark Halperin]

I thought that was going to be the easiest one.

[Hogan Gidley]

But with war, you never know what's easy and what's not so easy. But we've had a great relationship and I've become friendly with so many of the people and I appreciate you being here. These are great people. These are great leaders. And the people that are watching by closed circuit and open circuit in many cases, they're so proud of it. They want it to be open. But they've become incredible friends of mine.

[Mark Halperin]

And you know, we built our country

[Hogan Gidley]

in my first term and now we're at a point that the United States has never seen before. We broke 50,000 on the Dow. They said that would take four years. We broke.

[Mark Halperin]

We'll monitor this. I want to get to your questions in just a moment. We were take that down. We'll keep monitoring.

[Hogan Gidley]

When I came in, they were all

[Mark Halperin]

saying anywhere close to 40 of stories

[Hogan Gidley]

that start with someone coming to him and saying, sir, what do you think it is?

[Mark Halperin]

How often they're true?

[Hogan Gidley]

No, how many you think he's going to give in this speech?

[Mark Halperin]

Oh, there'll be a lot. Those kind of speeches. A lot. Probably for four. Is the over is the is the line to your questions in a minute. If you've never raised your hand on the program before and you want to get in the conversation, please do. We had hope to hear from our special Mondami correspondent, Melissa derosa. Melissa Dina derosa, but we'll save that for next time she's back because there'll be more fodder then and we want to get to your questions. So please raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation. Okay, quick word from a couple sponsors then to your questions. Factor Meals It's a service, subscription service that deliver fresh meals to your home. Imagine not having to worry about shopping for food, cutting the food, preparing the food, cleaning up after you eat. Imagine not having to worry about calorie counting. Imagine not to worry about portion size. Imagine not having to worry about pretty much anything once you place your order. And imagine having all that at a discount because you're part of the two way community. Go to FactorMeals.com two way 50 off 50% off your first box of Factor Meals plus free breakfast for a year. These meals are healthy. They're designed by dietitians. You can specify what you want. Real food, real vegetables, real proteins, no refined sugars, no artificial feeder sweeteners, no refined seed oil. And they come fresh. They take like two minutes either in the oven or in the microwave. Try it. Just try it for once with the discount and see if it works for you. It's been incredible for me. 50% off your first Factor box plus free breakfast for a year. Go to FactorMeals.com two way 50 off right now. Now, finally, Cozy Earth. Cozy Earth will give you 20 off on everything on the site with the promo code morning. That's 20 off the bubble cuddle blanket. 20 off the sheets and the towels. 20 off the famous famous pants. All available to you. 20 off go to cozyearth.com is cozy earth good for humans? Well, of course it is. But is it good for animals? Yes, it is. Those of you watching here on the program not listening are about to have a visual feast. Here's a nice pop on the Bubble Cuddle blanket. You can see that dog loves its Bubble Cuddle blanket. And you will too, for yourself, your family or your pups. Go right now to cozyearth.com use the promo code morning for 20% off. The cozy earth Exclusive Products Deluxe Bath Towel Set, the Bubble Cuddle blanket, the pants, the T shirts also quite nice. And the Baja bedding set. All 20% off. Go to curseyearth.com right now. Use the promo code morning for 20% off. Refresh your routines with comfort. That makes Every day. Every day feel like a new year. Thank you for your attention to that matter. Mike, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind for Melissa and for Hogan. One more time. There you go. Okay. This morning I would like to ask a question about Iran.

[Hogan Gidley]

You have been talking quite a bit

[Mark Halperin]

about what the reason for the delay

[Hogan Gidley]

is and it seems to me somewhat

[Mark Halperin]

obvious what part of the problem is. And since it hasn't come up on here, I'm assuming I'm wrong. So I need you to explain to me what I'm missing. I would think that part of the reason this hasn't happened is related to the Olympics.

[Hogan Gidley]

You've got all of those people in

[Mark Halperin]

Europe that are going to need to fly, are going to need to get on trains. You've got a lot of soft targets over there. And if we did something now, it seems to me that I would be surprised if Iran hasn't already moved whatever assets they would need to move from Paris or Amsterdam or whatever there. Mike, when did the Olympics end next? Next Sunday, I think next Sunday. All right, Hogan. And the two. And so the two week thing would actually fit perfectly with Hogan. Would that be something the administration would take into account that that's just a big sitting duck?

[Hogan Gidley]

I think they would take it into account because that would be intel they'd receive from all of the various agencies explaining the risks of any type of operation like that. It's a good assessment, Mike, and I don't know if that's the answer, but I think that's part of it. I would just argue writ large. You need Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, UAE getting involved more to put pressure on Iran. And right now it seems like they're a little unwilling to do some of that. And if they get in there and start pushing them, I think that's going to, that's going to make this thing move a lot faster one way or the other. And all of those people that you mentioned have teams at the Olympics that

[Mark Halperin]

could be at some kind of risk.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah, sure.

[Mark Halperin]

Melissa, what do you think? Is that something government planners would take into account?

[Melissa]

I think it's certainly something they could take into account. I mean it says good a theory as I've heard. So maybe you've got a new career in your future.

[Mark Halperin]

You know, the be a hell of a start to the state of the union to say ladies and gentlemen, moments ago just bombed around my, on my order I had that exact 70% of

[Melissa]

the country is opposed to.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yeah, look, I don't know what they're opposed to as it relates to when you start digging down. That's like, I love. I want government cuts. 180 of people want government cuts. Then you ask them what the cuts are and it's like 10. Not my stuff, of course.

[Mark Halperin]

Exactly.

[Hogan Gidley]

I'm saying a top line. We don't want to be involved in Iran. Sure, I get that. But how it looks and what they do could actually be a positive political thing for, for Republicans and the president.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, Mike, thank you for that. I will say if the president does attack, he's going to say, I protected you from a mushroom cloud. And that's going to win over most people. Dip into Morning Joe. State senator, a state representative from Texas happens to be live on Morning Joe. We haven't talked much about the co Bear thing here because I find it boring and a little confusing. But here is, here is Representative T. Rico on Morning Joe right now. Live up against the, the peace. The peace board meeting. We take that. It's coming right now. Okay, thank you. Against this extremism and this corruption.

[Hogan Gidley]

And if folks want to continue to join what we're doing here in Texas, they can go to our website, they get signed to donate, they can sign up to volunteer.

[Mark Halperin]

I know you mentioned the fundraising number, but maybe what I'm most proud of

[Hogan Gidley]

is that we had 2,000 people sign

[Mark Halperin]

up to volunteer for our campaign in the 24 hours after the Colbert interview. And so people are ready to fight back. They're ready to stand up against this,

[Hogan Gidley]

this corruption and this extremism.

[Mark Halperin]

Representative Texas has long been considered political

[Hogan Gidley]

fools gold for Democrats.

[Mark Halperin]

Why.

[Hogan Gidley]

Why do you think your campaign this year be different?

[Mark Halperin]

All right, we can cut out this. The graphic says generation text raised my 2 1/2 million dollars in 24 hours after the Colbert thing. Melissa, is this, do you view this guy as. How much do you view this guy as a rising star, as people keep saying he is?

[Melissa]

I don't know that he's a rising star. I think that if you're trying to look at who would be best positioned to win in the Democratic lane in Texas, he certainly is much better than Jasmine Crockett. And so this was a real, this whole back and forth, which I agree, I think was sort of much ado about nothing, but Colbert brilliantly blew it up and Talarico took advantage of it. I think it ultimately backfired and helped the guy that moderate Democrats want to win. But that's, you know, I think that that was like right place, right time. It's Better to be lucky than good. I don't know that it speaks to the fact that he's a rising star.

[Mark Halperin]

If you guys thought. Thank you for that. If you guys thought it was too early to talk about who the Democratic nominee is going to be, wait till you see the new poll out of New Hampshire we're about to share. Hogan, go ahead. And then Colleen is here. Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

Real quickly. Far be it for me to try and produce your show, Mark. However, we need to do a segment at some point on Barry Weiss and cbs because that is another whole issue. I think it's important. Little known fact as we go down the rabbit hole here. Stephen Colbert day long bid on me one time. It was about five, eight minutes long. It was pretty funny. But he waved bye bye to funny a long time ago. This particular guy is interesting to me. I heard a political commentator on the right say he looked like. He seems like a straight Pete Buttigieg. Like there's not much there. He talks good, but like, what does he have to offer? And as Melissa said, I think is correct. When you're trying to win races like this, candidates do matter. And if you can pick someone that can pull in, not just the base, but a few of those folks that are kind of in the middle, you have a really good shot. And on the right in Texas, my goodness, the field there is so odd and the infighting is so brutal. Like I said before, a lot of times the death knells come from your own primary fights that make it impossible for you to win. If Cornyn was a nominee, I think it's a really good shot. I like Ken Paxton. I don't know. I like Wesley Hunt. I don't know. We'll see.

[Mark Halperin]

Hogan, who. Is it possible Cornyn's not going to make the runoff?

[Hogan Gidley]

Oh, I don't know.

[Mark Halperin]

I mean, they're running. They're running all these negative. Running all these negative ads against Hunt. They obviously worried about him, at least a little bit.

[Hogan Gidley]

I think he's surging at the right time. And look, having done some work with him in Congress, being around him on some panels and myself being on panels with him in different forums, he's pretty good. I just don't know what happens in the general.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Hogan Gidley]

With either one of those guys.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. I can tell you this. I don't know much about politics, but if you don't make the runoff, you can't make the general. Colleen, welcome.

[Hogan Gidley]

Unless it's ranked choice voting, then you're fine.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. One minute thing. Welcome and tell folks who don't know where you are. What's on your mind?

[Melissa]

I'm Mark. Thanks for having me. I'm currently in Europe, but I'm from Long Island. So quickly about Iran, I think Mike is right because I'm scheduled to fly back tomorrow. And I was thinking, I hope they don't attack tonight because I might get stuck here or who knows what will happen with attacks against us or something like that. But since I'm here in Europe, I've been speaking to a lot of French and other Europeans. And it's really interesting how when I told them, for example, that Kamal is thinking of running again, most Europeans are shocked. They're like, oh, no. But what was so embarrassing about AOC and Gretchen Whitmer? And I'm a Democrat, and I'm losing faith. Is AOC commenting, criticizing Rubio? And when she spoke, she obviously had zero idea about the geopolitics. She didn't even know where Taiwan. Taiwan is. And she also, like, when she was criticizing his attacks on Venezuela, she didn't understand the geopolitics of Russia and China and the threat. And it's just, they go up and criticize Trump and Rubio every day, and they don't even have an understanding of what they're talking about. And it's so confusing to, you know, it's just divisive and unproductive. And I guess this is more to Melissa. I'm just. I'm more like in the Rahm Emanuel lane. That's where I fit. And I would love if he ran, but I'm not hopeful that the rest of the party would accept him. But I just think what AOC did here, I. I liked her. I like her spunk. But I just, I'm losing hope in the party because there's no. People ask me here, what do the Democrats stand for? Who's the leader of the Democrats? Like, I know a lot and I can't tell you. So, Melissa.

[Mark Halperin]

Thank you, Colleen.

[Melissa]

I couldn't agree with you more, Colleen, across the board. And that's why I said before, like, what I actually found interesting about Bernie and the Gavin thing is Bernie and Elizabeth and AOC are much more focused right now on winning the soul of the Democratic Party and filling the vacuum and moving the party far away from the American public and to the left. And I like when AOC goes to Europe and embarrasses herself the way that she did on such a big stage, because I think it's a big setback for them and it makes everyday people think twice. Okay? They're fine on TikTok. Fine saying buzzwords like oligarch and, you know, going after the Epstein class and these things, but it makes them more of a joke. And not to digress, and I could do a whole segment on this separately another day, but watching Mamdani sort of fail so epically so quickly in New York City is another thing. It's like these people are fine in sound bites, but when they're actually forced to govern or dig deep, they can't do it. And I see that as a good thing for the Democratic Party because I think then we can find our way back to the center, more substantive people with real accomplishments and away from what works on social media for the younger generation, but just doesn't actually work. Governing. I hope so.

[Hogan Gidley]

Colleen, A couple I, I do. Melissa, you hit on that. I love the Bernie Sanders speech. We just, the clip we just played, the oligarchs and the billionaires. I'm gonna go get on my private plane and go back to one of my houses. Sure, whatever. You're so poor. But Colleen, interesting. I think you just volunteered yourself, maybe wittingly or not, to the, to be the executive director of the draft ROM movement, which I'm sure many people would be on board with. So thank you for that. But the, the, the AOC piece and the over the, the blunder. And like you said, there have been a lot of reports that she was preparing for that, like, that she had been ready for this for, like months. They've been preparing for this and to fail so spectacularly. These bumper sticker slogans on both sides don't get your results when you get to office if you don't know how to govern and you don't know how to navigate political realities that exist in both chambers of Congress in the executive branch, they're hard to do and it's easy to campaign hard to govern. And so I appreciate you bringing that to the fore. But one, one more point, Colleen. When you say you don't know the leader of the Democrat Party is, that's fair, but that's kind of common when you're not, when you don't hold the White House. We didn't know who the leader of the party was for four years. It was still kind of Trump because he was the last one to be president. But we didn't, you know, there was some soul searching on the Republican side as well until Trump reemerged. So I don't want to, I don't ever want a Democrat to win again. However, take heart because if you. If you're looking for a leader, chances are one will emerge one way or the other in the upcoming campaign.

[Mark Halperin]

Colleen, thank you. Very grateful to get home safely. A couple things. First of all, the president continues to speak at the Board of Peace meeting, and we're monitoring that. Like to also monitor reaction to the show. And of course, whenever Melissa and Hogan are on, we get great feedback in the chat on social media. People love them both. But this is a particularly good reaction to Hogan's appearance today. Hogan, I read to you from your friend Elon Musk's Platform X. This is a tweet that just came in. Hogan Gidley is my favorite contributor. Plus, he's a dreamboat. Oh, the people have spoken. Here's someone else speaking out. My friend Rob Finnerty hosted a leading member of Congress yesterday, someone who Hogan Gidley always takes seriously on the Epstein matter. Ladies and gentlemen, the gentlelady from South Carolina. Okay, let me just move on. Do you think Jeffrey Epstein killed himself?

[Melissa]

I'm sorry? Did he kill himself?

[Mark Halperin]

Do you think he killed himself?

[Melissa]

Oh, no. Absolutely not.

[Mark Halperin]

What do you think happened?

[Melissa]

I think he was murdered. And I don't know if it was an intel agency or, you know, what it was. I don't have that information. But I was looking at the photos of his jail cell last week on my flight home from session. The. The thin sheet that was like, you know, an inch wide, two inches wide. It was like three times the width of his. Of somebody's neck. I don't know how you hang yourself on your knees. I just. And where are the photos of him hanging himself? Those did not exist in the files either. And, you know, the data from the video cameras was erased. And all of a sudden, just a few days ago, a week or two ago, there's all of a sudden video of something orange going up the stairs toward his jail cell that we didn't know about. It's all too suspicious. I don't believe he killed himself.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, do you think that he was a foreign asset, or do you think perhaps even a domestic asset and that could be why he was taken out in prison?

[Melissa]

I think if it's possible he was a dual agent, and I think it's possible he was an agent. Dual agent of Israel and also the CIA. I wrote a letter to the CIA.

[Mark Halperin]

All right?

[Melissa]

It was yesterday. Hogan, I believe that the CIA.

[Mark Halperin]

Hogan, you've worked closely with Representative Mace, if I'm not mistaken.

[Hogan Gidley]

You're mistaken, but I know I've given speeches around her.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, all right. I thought yeah, Chris La Civitas worked closely with her and you've worked closely with Chris. So by the Kevin Bacon theory of life, she. You're practically her press secretary. What do you think of the representation she made there?

[Hogan Gidley]

You know, it's funny because even I found myself in that, in that answer going, all right, the Epstein stuff about did he kill himself? You know, it's gone so many ways. You got all the video? No, there was. Now that we've pieced together video, but there's a missing minute. But that's normal. That's a glitch. Turns out it wasn't a glitch. We have it. And also there's no news. No one found anything. They did hang them. Like all that stuff is a little bit odd. And I think whatever you want to ask those questions, fine. But then she turned to. What was the next part she was talking about being an asset that I have a problem with. And I don't know why, but it just seems like more people would know that if that were the case. So I don't know, it's just something. Stuff comes out with this all the time and it's kind of fun to watch, but I don't know.

[Mark Halperin]

Melissa, you're often referred to as the Nancy Mace of the Democratic Party. Thoughts?

[Melissa]

I mean, what about do I think that he killed himself or that he.

[Mark Halperin]

Or that he was an asset? These things are constantly discussed online.

[Melissa]

I think that public officials should stop saying things that they have no basis to say other than pure speculation. In an era where conspiracy theories are at an all time high and when people read something on the Internet, they take it as fact. I thought that was pretty irresponsible to say without any proof.

[Mark Halperin]

Well said, Melissa. Thank you for that. All right. Might have been irresponsible for me to play it, but whatever. All right, let me tell you about some stuff coming up. First of all on two way later today, 4 o' clock Eastern Time time, the group chat, 4 o' clock Eastern time. Nina Turner, Robbie Suave, Emma Morris and Robert Patilla, all will join you take questions, your comments, join them at 4 o' clock today Eastern Time. Two way tonight, 5 o' clock Eastern Time, right after the group chat. Fantastic guests, Elizabeth Pipco Hogan. Did you already send Elizabeth a birthday gift? A baby. Baby. Okay, let's. Let's do that together. I'm going with the Tiffany rattle. You pay two thirds and I'll do order.

[Hogan Gidley]

Okay, sounds.

[Mark Halperin]

Because I'm doing, I'm doing the ordering. Elizabeth, new mom and great Republican Strategist. And Stephen Alakara will join me at 5:00 tonight. Reminder that now, now meaning in five minutes, 10:00 clock Eastern Time. Remember, our second hour of the morning meeting commences on Sirius XM. Our partners there, Sirius XM channel 111, Megan Kelly channel every Monday through Friday. Now, second hour of the morning meeting. Please join us there. Some of you tuned over and joined yesterday. I was reading the phone number wrong because I'm a doofus. If you want to join the conversation on SiriusXM, you can call me 833-446-3496. This is every day now folks, with second hour of the program. Tomorrow on this program in about 23 hours, Melissa goes away. Hogan's here again.

[Hogan Gidley]

Yes.

[Mark Halperin]

And Hogan's gonna be joined by Jaime Moore. So we'll close out the week. It's winners and losers of the week. What to look for over the weekend. Hogan, we'll probably say something about the Olympics, but I'll remind them it can't be anything about the Olympics. Gotta be something else. And nobody can say we're looking to see if we bomb Iran because that's too obvious. So join Jaime Hogan and myself, Halpern Hyman Hogan, the so called three H's tomorrow on the morning meeting. Melissa, thank you for being here. Many people are saying that. Many people are saying, I'll see a SiriusXM in a moment. Melissa, thank you for being here. Hogan, thank you for being here and I'll see you tomorrow. And thank you all for being part of the two way community. We say conversations like no other. And I couldn't be more proud of the conversations we've already had this week. If you didn't see two Way tonight last night you missed a great conversation about the Senate races. Two total pros, one Republican, one Democrat. It's online. Go, go listen to it now on YouTube or as a podcast. Great conversation. If you want to understand the dynamics and the overall Senate battlefield as well as the individual races, you won't hear a better conversation. I was honored to be part of it. And, and this conversation was fantastic too, particularly on this Wexner thing, which I'm going to be talking about all day later today on Next up will Drop. My reported monologue is on how you should use AI. Been talking to a lot of experts about this and, and I really do think it's a, it's a potential hinge in American history, world history, if you're not using AI aggressively, including practicing an hour a day, not using it, an hour a day practicing an hour a day. You're in danger of falling behind. I'll explain why. I'll see you on Next Up. I'll see you on two way tonight and I'll see you here tomorrow 9am and on SiriusXM in three minutes. Hogan, thank you. Melissa, thank you. Have a great day, everybody. Thanks. Foreign. It's tax season, and at Lifelock, we know you're tired of numbers, but here's a big one you need to hear. Billions. That's the amount of money and refunds the IRS has flagged for possible identity fraud. Now here's another big number. 100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed. One last big number. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast for the threats you can't control. Terms apply.