Israel Methodically Picks Off Iran's Leaders One by One; Tulsi Gabbard Faces Tough Questions on War

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Morning Meeting — March 18, 2026

Main Theme

This episode dives deep into the escalating crisis between Israel and Iran, focusing on Israel's targeted assassinations of Iranian leaders and the broader strategic, political, and economic reverberations. The panel also discusses Tulsi Gabbard’s pivotal testimony before Congress about war intelligence, evolving rifts within both US political parties, and the day’s other key national political stories. Notable panelists: Mark Halperin (host), Melissa DeRosa, and Larry O’Connor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Capitol Hill Daybook

• [03:50] Congressional Focus: Today sees major testimony from top intelligence officials, including Tulsi Gabbard, John Radcliffe, and Kash Patel, before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
  • Tulsi Gabbard: Will be questioned about her views on Iran's nuclear capability, where she’s previously split with the White House.
• [04:14] Partial Government Shutdown: DHS funding remains unresolved, leading to TSA line worries and congressional brinkmanship. Hakeem Jeffries is attempting long-shot tactics to fund DHS without immigration enforcement provisions.
• [05:35] Key Economic Data: Producer price index is higher than expected; wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February. Dow is down pre-market, and oil is hovering near $100/barrel, adding inflationary concerns.

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2. Israel-Iran Escalation: Targeted Killings and Global Consequences

[10:00] Israel’s Assassinations:

• Breaking News: Israel has allegedly killed a third top Iranian official—the intelligence minister—in as many days, following similar attacks on other leaders.
  • “Who wants to be the next guy?... As they continue to discover and eliminate these people, they're going to have a serious vacuum at the top.” — Larry O’Connor [11:11]
• Iran’s Response: Multiple missile attacks on Israel, largely intercepted, with minimal Israeli casualties; the regional tension is mounting.

[13:21] Regime Change & Strategic Goals

• No Clear Plan for Strait of Hormuz: Panelists express frustration at the lack of a US/Israeli plan to reopen the strait or form a durable coalition.
  • “Trying to bully Europe and other allies...then saying ‘fairness in NATO’ after the president has shown such disdain...I don't think is a workable strategy.” — Melissa DeRosa [13:21]
• Economic Dominoes: Rising oil prices threaten to feed inflation, increasing costs for food, plastics, and potentially worsening economic woes.

[14:46] Military Pressure Points

• Degrading Iran’s Military: The current approach is to escalate targeted strikes, degrade Iranian military/drones/naval capacity, and squeeze commerce.
• Panel Speculates: Actions like seizing Iran’s Karg Island could further cripple Iranian oil but have unclear links to the strategic reopening of the Gulf’s choke point.

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3. US Politics: Party Fault Lines & Senate Races

[16:08] Joe Kent Saga

• Media Flare-Up: The rise and fall of Joe Kent is viewed as a Beltway story with little real-world impact, despite being a point for MAGA vs. MAGA influencer drama.
  • “No one knew who he was until yesterday...Beyond this week it’s not going to matter.” — Melissa DeRosa [17:02]

[17:41] War and Its Political Backdrop

• Only 6% of self-identified MAGA supporters reportedly oppose the Iran operation, reflecting overwhelming base approval.

[18:38] The Economy in Wartime

• Unstable Fundamentals: Panelists split on the US economy’s underlying strength, with concerns about government payroll cuts and sluggish private sector job growth.
  • “Could be better, could be worse.” — Larry O’Connor [19:01]
  • “I’m absolutely worried about stagflation...mass unemployment for 22 to 35 year olds because of AI, in combination with everything else.” — Melissa DeRosa [19:26]

[21:26] Congress and Shutdown Politics

• Confirmation Hearing Drama: Markwayne Mullin faces scrutiny over his personal wealth and alleged secret government work.
• TSA Funding: Both parties struggle to message partial shutdown consequences, especially regarding TSA lines.

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4. Campaigns and Messaging Battles

[27:39] Illinois & Pritzker’s Rising National Profile

• Governor Pritzker’s Victory Speech: Pritzker positions himself as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender.
  • “Friends, this is the fight of our lives. Everything we care about is under siege from Washington right now...” — J.B. Pritzker [27:39]
• AIPAC’s Mixed Night: Despite progressive losses, AIPAC is said to have “more stink on them” because of their aggressive campaign tactics—sparking debate over outcomes vs. methods.

[35:26] The Texas Senate Chessboard

• Cornyn vs. Paxton: Trump is likely to refrain from endorsing unless Paxton drops out, worried about backlash if the base's pick is thwarted.
  • “Trump ends up sitting this one out—I just feel bad for Cornyn...” — Melissa DeRosa [35:26]

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5. Iran War Narratives: New Media and Public Perception

[46:05] Listener Q&A – Is Israel “Behind” the War?

• A caller asks why key new-media voices, not considered antisemitic, are so convinced US actions against Iran are driven by Israel.
  • “This is what they truly believe...I just respectfully and vociferously disagree.” — Larry O’Connor [49:45]
  • “At the very beginning, after a briefing, they [congressional leaders] said we're going to war because Israel said they were going to attack...I think the administration flubbed the messaging.” — Melissa DeRosa [49:50]

[52:36] Regime Collapse in Iran – Does the US Care About ‘After’?

• Concern is raised over the risk of chaos if Iran’s government is toppled: will a power vacuum simply breed more extremism, or is there hope for positive change?
  • “There's a mindset that if there is that kind of chaos…they’re focused on themselves and each other instead of their innocent neighbors…let them fight it out.” — Larry O’Connor [59:18]
  • “If we don’t handle this the right way, we might live to regret having done this.” — Melissa DeRosa [59:57]

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6. Tulsi Gabbard Faces Questions on Intelligence

• Gabbard, now a key Senate figure, is pressed to reconcile hawkish Pentagon testimony with her long record of skepticism toward US intelligence about Iran.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Who wants to be the next guy?... As they continue to find ways to discover where these people are and then eliminate them, they're going to have a serious vacuum at the top here where nobody wants these gigs.” — Larry O’Connor on Israeli assassinations [11:11]
• “We still don't have a plan on the strait… just continues to reinforce to me that we have no plan, which is very troubling.” — Melissa DeRosa [13:21]
• “Trying to bully Europe and other allies… saying ‘fairness in NATO’ after the president has shown such disdain...I don't think is a workable strategy.” — Melissa DeRosa [13:21]
• “If Democrats win, it's not because we have a superior message right now… it's this life is options and people don't like the instability.” — Melissa DeRosa [21:07]
• “I don't think their intention is to take [Trump] down, but… this is what they truly believe, and I just respectfully and vociferously disagree.” — Larry O’Connor [49:45]
• “If we don’t handle this the right way... we might live to regret having done this.” — Melissa DeRosa on potential chaos in post-regime Iran [59:57]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment / Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 03:50 | Daybook overview, Hill events, Tulsi Gabbard hearing | | 10:00 | Israel-Iran assassinations and escalation | | 13:21 | Strategic objectives, Strait of Hormuz issues | | 16:08 | Joe Kent fallout and MAGA splits | | 18:38 | Economy check amid war, inflation, job losses | | 21:26 | Homeland/Senate confirmations, partial shutdown | | 27:39 | Pritzker’s victory speech and AIPAC’s election night | | 35:26 | TX Senate race: Cornyn, Paxton, Trump’s dilemma | | 46:05 | Audience Q: “Is Israel behind the Iran war?” | | 52:36 | Contingency planning for Iran post-regime | | 55:05 | Markwayne Mullin’s testy exchange with Rand Paul |

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, fast-moving, and slightly irreverent.
• Leans into skepticism and cynicism regarding official narratives and party politics.
• Mix of expert analysis and relatable, “inside the newsroom” banter.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Morning Meeting offers a rare, candid look inside US media and political establishment debates on the Israel-Iran escalation — blending intelligence briefings, economic anxieties, and electoral intrigue. It’s an essential listen for anyone tracking how sudden international crises ripple through Washington’s power corridors and shape America’s political messaging battles at home.

Transcript

[Melissa DeRosa]

Foreign,

[Mark]

everybody, it's the morning meeting. Welcome in. Larry O', Connor, Melissa DeRosa here. Welcome to you both. Larry, what's, what's giving you the biggest sticker shock of something you buy regularly, currently.

[Larry O'Connor]

Oh, that's a great ground beef. Ground beef is still a little annoyingly high. Yeah. And I like my hamburger. I like my chili, I like my beef stew.

[Mark]

Yeah, Melissa, I assume it's the $28 martinis here in Manhattan that's a throwing

[Melissa DeRosa]

you $35 craft cocktail in Bushwick, obviously.

[Mark]

Is that true? Is that.

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, I'm not a mum dummy voter.

[Mark]

Anyway, Melissa and.

[Larry O'Connor]

And the martini Marxists, Larry, are here.

[Mark]

Thank you all for being part of the two way community. We'll be taking your questions and comments. You can't get that on other morning programs only here. So please, if you want to be in on the conversation, raise your hand whether you've raised your hand in the past or not. You're welcome to raise your hand whether you think beef costs too much or not. Welcome to raise your hand whether you think Joe Kent is a joke or a national hero. Welcome to raise your hand. Thank you for being part of two way. We'll run through the daybook in just a moment, then run through the news of the day. Bunch of topics to get to, some interesting sound bites to play for you and then we'll get to your questions. So please, as I said, raise your hand if you're watching on X or YouTube rather than not raise your hand, which you also shouldn't do. Please, no smack in the chat. Once again, I have to spend my evenings going through the smack and crossing it out and writing mean letters to people who send the smack in response. Smack on smack, if you will. I don't have time for that. So please, no smack in the chat. Peace, love and understanding. The presumption of grace to all. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I show you our latest photos we have of dogs with bubble cuddle blankets. Yes, the folks at Cozy Earth are making the planet warm and comfy for animals by their owners. Purchasing the bubble cuddle blanket. There's a great shot of a pooch with a bubble cuddle blanket. All the bubble cuddle blankets and all the various colors, including camouflaged, you can match it almost precisely with any dog. And then for those of you not watching but only listening, here's a dog watching the morning meeting with the bubble cuddle blanket in the foreground. Not staged, not AI, ladies and gentlemen, that occurred in the wilds of America. Bubble cuddle blankets. Everything else From Cozy earth. Available now. 20% off. Go to cozyearth.com use the promo code morning for 20% off. They crash course craft every piece and that includes every bubble cuddle blanket. With care, you can get sheets and towels. And if you haven't bought anything yet, just try one thing and you'll see there's something different about Cozy Earth products. Whether it's socks or sheets or blankets, whatever it is, they're really well made. They're really great price, particularly with the discount. Go to cozyearth.com use the promo code MORNING for 20% off. Thank you for your attention to that matter.

[Matt Ebert]

I started with one shop. No college degree, no big investors. It was just a willingness to work. Over time, that one shop turned into a multibillion dollar business called Crash Champions. All the lessons I learned along the way came from the grind. And that's what my show Pod Crash is all about. We have real conversations with people who've built things the hard way. We talk to founders, athletes and blue collar leaders who kept going when things got tough. You'll hear stories of grit, leadership and growth. Plus real world lessons you can take back to your team and your life tomorrow.

[Larry O'Connor]

When you get moment momentum, you step on the gas.

[Mark]

That's how you get separation from everybody else. I was at Harvard Law School. I was blah, blah, blah. I looked up, let me tell you something. There's kids in my neighborhood putting in sheetrock that is smarter than you. AI is going to disrupt a lot of stuff. It is never going to disrupt physical blue collar trade skill. And the guy just looked at me and he said it's bloody impossible. So I asked him this question. I said, it's impossible.

[Matt Ebert]

Unless that's Podcrash with me, Matt Ebert. Watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mark]

All right, to the Daybook. Lots going on on Capitol Hill today. The president new media pool is Semaphore. Today, our friends at Semaphore taking the honored position secondary TV correspondent is News Nation and Roll Call is the print pool and the secondary print pulse the Hill. So if the president does talk to the media, there'll probably be a lot of questions about the motion to recommit. Larry. Yes.

[Larry O'Connor]

Larry o', Connor, trivia. My wife used to work at Roll Call.

[Mark]

Really? What she do there?

[Larry O'Connor]

She was the video editor. Wait, editor of video and digital content.

[Mark]

Melissa, what's your great connection to Roll Call, if any?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I really don't have one.

[Mark]

Okay, never mind then. The president, a light public schedule today. He's traveling in the middle of the day. He starts with executive time at 8am you might wonder why every day now he's got executive time at 8am the answer is so he can be watching the morning meeting. Hello again, Mr. President. We welcome you to call in if you'd like. Got anything to say? He was up early on Truth Social again today. We debated whether he was up early in the morning or stayed up all night. Don't know. Intelligence briefing at 10. And then he heads to Dover, Delaware. Dignified transfer ceremony for six more fallen Americans who died in conjunction with the mission in the Middle East. There you can see pictures of the 6th. And not sure if he'll speak on the way, on the way back or during. But that's the only things on his schedule today. So we may not hear from the president. We'll see. The vice president has a schedule. He goes to what we call the battleground state of Michigan, to Auburn Hills where he's soaring a manufacturing facility and delivering remarks. People will be watching closely to see what he says about Iran, but also about the economy. And of course, Michigan's home to both the governor's race, a Senate race and some contested House races. So it's a big state for the midterms, not just in a presidential. Lots going on on Capitol Hill. If I told you everything that I'm interested that's going on on Capitol Hill, it would take the balance of the program. So I'll be selective and tell you about some highlights. The main thing a lot of people are watching is all the intelligence bigwigs and the head of the FBI are testifying at 10 o', clock, including Tulsi Gabbard, but also John Radcliffe and Cash Patel. And in front of Senate Intelligence Committee, Tulsi Gabbard will be asked about many, many things, including her views of the intelligence related to Iran. In the past, she has conflicted seemingly with the president about whether Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. Thirty minutes before that, while we're meeting here, 9:30 Eastern, Mark Wayne Mullen testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. We'll see what kind of questions he gets. We'll see what kind of no votes he might get. But the Senate is so confident that he's going to proceed that they've already scheduled the committee vote for tomorrow. Senator Schumer, Senator Padilla, press conference on the save act at 11. Even though public opinion polls continue to show the SAVE Act's provisions to be pretty popular not just with Republicans, the Democrats continue to message hard against it, leaving some in their party confused as to why they're spending so much time going after something that's pretty popular. The Senate is taking up the SAVE act again at noon and still no indication of how long Senator Thune plans to allow floor time to be eaten up by something that everybody believes is doomed. Hakeem Jeffries is doing two things simultaneously related to the partial government shutdown as there continues to be concerns, including in this household with a trip on Friday about long TSA lines. I don't know how you're supposed to know when to go to the airport if the line could be five hours. The White House put forward a new proposal that's got some give in it, not enough give currently for Democrats about what they would do regarding how ICE operates. But Hakeem Jeffries is considering the new White House proposal and he's going to try long shot attempt at another discharge position to see if DHS could be funded in full except for those portions of DHS related to immigration enforcement. And again, this is all a bit of a game because those departments are already funded through the big beautiful bill. Eric Schmidt, Senator Schmidt has a substitute amendment that he'll present at 12:15 to try to add the President's latest demands or requests about what should be in the SAVE act including on mail in voting and gender transition related surgeries for minors. A lot of Republicans don't like trying to get rid of mail in voting and so Senator Schmidt is trying to finesse that. 3:30 House members receive a classified briefing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act and 5:30 Pam Bondi and the deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche brief has oversight on Jeffrey Epstein investigation with Pam Bondi still under threat currently of a subpoena to come testify. Joe Kent is going to be a theory on Tucker's show. Tucker show is not normally streamed live but according to Tucker Tonight it will be 6pm Eastern Time. Tucker will be interviewing Joe Kent. Eric Erickson says that Joe Kent is also going to do an interview with Candace Owen at some point but we can't find confirmation of that. And this morning producer price index came out wasn't great higher than was expected. And our normal our daily check in the Dow is currently down 231 points ahead of the open in less than 30 minutes. Oil's at 96 and our our energy correspondent Larry O' Connor says overnight oil's been bouncing around between about 95 and 105. Is that about right Larry?

[Larry O'Connor]

Actually over the past week it's been bouncing but I don't think it went higher than 103 last night.

[Mark]

Yeah, 103. Candace is interviewing. Michael tells me Candace is interviewing. Joe Kent's doing this event. We can put up the graphic for this at 1:09. So today he's an interview with Tucker. Tomorrow he's doing this Catholics for Catholics event. And apparently Candace Owen will interview him on stage at that event. All right. That's our daybook. Let's talk now stuff Iran. Overnight, the Iranians hit a bunch of targets, including in Israel. This is 107 times of Israel. No injuries reported in latest Iranian missile attack that targeted southern Israel. I think about 15 people have died during this whole thing in Israel. And also according to Al Jazeera, Israel has killed another top Iranian after the two yesterday, the 103. Al Jazeera says Israel killed the Iranian intelligence minister. Third assassination in two days. If it's confirmed, it would be number three in successive days. Still no sign that the president's built any coalition to open the strait, although indications are that the Pentagon is working on that. So we'll talk about Iran in various ways. But Larry, just overall, what are you looking for now? If we talk about the strait, we talk about regime change, we talk about the Iranian counterattacks, where's your interest currently?

[Larry O'Connor]

A little more on that intel chief who apparently has been left unalived here by the latest strike. He was in charge of all of the international terrorist activity, it appears. That's what we were told. And he also engineered a lot of the violent threats against officials here in the US including the assassination attempts or certain assassination attempts that have were reported against President Trump. He has a lot of American blood on his hand. And so a continuing theme that we picked up on yesterday, Mark, is that who wants to be the next guy who, who wants to replace him? Who as they continue to find ways to to discover where these people are and then eliminate them, they're going to have a serious vacuum at the top here where nobody wants these gigs. Nobody wants to be the next guy in charge. And I think I. Yeah, hold on

[Mark]

just a second, Larry, keep talking. Please put up FOX News. Let's listen to a bit of Caroline Levitt, but go ahead, Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

I continue to believe that that power vacuum and the lack of, you know, candidates who wanted to step up and take the job will lead us hopefully to some sort of negotiated settlement or surrender.

[Mark]

All right. Let's listen to this briefly. And then, Melissa, you will overview for us.

[Caroline Levitt]

You know, one of President Trump's guiding principles is fairness and he has long called out NATO for what? For being what he, he believes an unfair alliance for the American people, the American taxpayer and our U.S. armed forces. You look at some of the trade deals with our NATO allies, the president has worked to renegotiate and reset those to make them more fair for the American people and American workers. You look at the fact that the United States has thousands of troops on our allies in NATO's soil. We're paying these countries billions of dollars and our troops on their soil serves as a deterrent for, for them. And the President wants the American taxpayer and our American military to be treated fairly. He feels sometimes with NATO they are not. And he's right to call that out and he's right to call on them to step up and do more, especially when reopening the strait benefits them even more than it does the United States of America.

[Mark]

There are troubles here at home as well. The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down. And Melissa, where, where, where are you looking today? Regime change. Cargill military operations where you look?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Well, in general, obviously the regime change thing but piece but reading the New York Post editorial today, Trump's tweet in the middle of the night, listening to Caroline Levitt right now, it continues to reinforce to me that we have no plan, which is very troubling on the street because trying to bully Europe and other allies into helping us after we unilaterally did this and then saying to hear Caroline Levitt say fairness in NATO after the governor, after the president has showed such disdain towards Europe when he was, you know, engaging with the Greenland situation and many other things I don't think is a workable strategy. So it just continues to reinforce to me that we still don't have a plan on the strait. And the other thing I'm watching very closely is we've all been very focused on oil, but we haven't really been focused on the trickle down effects of what higher oil prices can mean vis a vis food prices, vis a vis polyester, plastics and a lot of other things that could create greater inflation, further exacerbating the economic woes going into the midterms. So those are the two things I'm looking at.

[Mark]

I think the plan, with respect, I think the plan for the strait is to is to have the military start degrading, continue to degrade their military, their drones and their water capacity and then on the coast to try to degrade there. I think that's the plan, at least in the short term. Do you guys know how far car

[Larry O'Connor]

the only that's the only possible plan, isn't it? That's the only.

[Mark]

Well, until yesterday. Until yesterday was to build a coalition of the willing to have ships to go through. Do you guys have Far card?

[Larry O'Connor]

Two are exclusive. I think that happens while you've got coalition to escort ships.

[Mark]

Yeah. Do you guys know how far Karg is from the Strait of Hormuz? How many miles?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Give it to me in miles.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'll do miles. Larry, do you know how many miles it is? Don't Google Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

I saw. No, I'm not, I'm not.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Larry's asking Chad.

[Mark]

It's, it's, it's at least 250 miles. It's at least 250 miles. So you guys, you guys are an Admiral Stravidi, so maybe you don't know, but is there a connection between taking carg and opening the straight? Are they totally unconnected?

[Larry O'Connor]

I think taking cargo affects their, their oil production and their oil.

[Mark]

But does that affect, does that affect, does that give us. If we took Cargill, and I'm not saying we are, but if we took carg, would it, would it make it easier to open the straight in any way? Is there some bank shot there?

[Larry O'Connor]

I don't know, other than just debilitating Iran's ability to have any set of commerce.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I think it's just a pressure point.

[Rand Paul]

Right?

[Mark]

Yeah. Yeah. All right. Joe Kent. I'm reluctant to even talk about Joe Kent because I think it's done. He'll be on tv. He'll replace Conway. What's his name? Conway.

[Melissa DeRosa]

George Conway.

[Mark]

He'll replace George Conway.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Posing Tish James on Twitter yesterday and running for the Democratic.

[Mark]

Yeah, yeah, that guy. He'll replace George Conway as the most popular guest on cnn.

[Larry O'Connor]

But to me, Margie Taylor Greene, that.

[Mark]

Yeah, or Adam Kinzinger, Melissa's friend Adam Kinzinger. But, but I just, I think that the lessons to me are, number one, the White House will come down hard and their team, their outside allies will come down hard on anybody who tries to pull a stunt the way this guy did by putting out all the opposition research. They had it like that. But I also think the fact that it's been inadequately explained why he was meeting with J.D. vance on Monday. Why did Tulsi Gabbard and Kent go see JD Vance on Monday? To talk about his resignation. So he'll be on Tucker. That'll get a lot of attention. He'll be at this thing tomorrow. But Melissa, is the Kent story a story that lingers or is it pretty much just an idiosyncratic inside the Beltway story about one guy who Quinta.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I mean I think obviously exposes further fault lines within the MAGA influencer group. But I say the MAGA influencer group. Right. We don't know yet what the actual impact is on MAGA in general. And Trump continues to appear like he has a stranglehold. So I think no one knows knew who he was until yesterday. I don't know that beyond this week it's going to matter.

[Mark]

Larry, will it sustain? Well, this is story that real people, if I go to a Green Bay diner, will they be talking about Joe Kent?

[Larry O'Connor]

No, they won't. It's a media story. And we do know the last poll, I think through March 16, an Economist YouGov poll showed only 6% of self identified MAGA supporters oppose the operation in Iran.

[Mark]

Right?

[Rand Paul]

Yeah.

[Mark]

All right. The economy, I told you the consumer. Wholesale prices number 116 up more than had been expected. You got 116. Here we go. Wholesale prices rose 7th of percent in February, much more than expected. The Fed has their press conference today. The chairman second to last meeting as chair and he's expected to keep rates steady. Everybody's curious to see what he says about the economy and connection to the war. And the economic data continues to be mixed. We could run through a bunch of stuff related to bonds and housing rates and sales and consumer spending. It's a question I like to ask on a regular basis here. Larry, are the fundamentals of the American economy strong even in the midst of this war or is it unknowable? Where do we stand with the US Economy so far?

[Larry O'Connor]

I think that they like better job numbers right now. But understand, I just saw a stat from Steve Moore, conservative economist who said that the federal payrolls have been reduced by 10% in one year. That's going to leave an impact on jobs numbers. And I think that you're seeing that they'd like to see better private sector job numbers and I think that they would like to continue to see inflation steady, but could be better, could be worse. How's that for an answer?

[Mark]

Could be better, could be worse. Melissa, you want to just endorse that could be better, could be worse, or do you want to be more bullish or bearish than that?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, I'm more bearish. I continue to think that the combination of AI's effect on the market and also inflation and I think that I'm very deeply concerned about where the economy is going to go in the next 12 to eight months.

[Mark]

Yeah. You're known around town as a stagflation gal. Is that true? You're worried about stagflation or not?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Absolutely worried about stagflation. I'm worried that we're going to have mass unemployment, but for 22 to 35 year olds because of AI in combination with everything else. And so that's what I continue to keep my eye on.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'm super curious to see if the economy is not good by the summer. What Scott Bessett and Kevin Hassett say, will they just blame the war? Will they say, well, things aren't as good as we thought they were going to be because we had to go to war? I don't know.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yeah. Q2 is the measure. That's everyone that I know in the administration or connected to the Treasury Department, they all think it's Q2. If it stays this way for Q2, they're worried. But that's when they, they expect Q2 is where everything's going to jump up, especially when tax rebates come in and all that jazz.

[Mark]

That's why I said summer, Larry.

[Melissa DeRosa]

But if they, if they.

[Larry O'Connor]

I'm affirming your prognostication and reporting, Mark.

[Mark]

Yes, sir.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yes, sir.

[Melissa DeRosa]

But if they blame the war, won't they just be blaming themselves? Is that a good messaging.

[Mark]

Well, yes, yes and no. It's better than saying, you know, we screwed the whole thing up. But you're right, you're right. They won't be able to say it was Joe Biden. But yeah, they won't be able to say it's Joe Biden's war. All right.

[Larry O'Connor]

I just don't think Democrats, if this all becomes about oil and about gas prices, Democrats don't have many legs to stand on can, considering all of their green energy policies are the things that have driven up gas prices up until Trump came in. Trump's the one who brought gas prices low. So, I mean, I don't see what their solutions are, but it doesn't matter.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Right. Because elections are a referendum on people in power and the Republicans are in control right now. And so even if they want to say, but Democrats don't have a better answer, under your watch, gas prices were going down and now they're going up because you decided to pick a war in the Middle East. And that's a really easy messaging point. This, I've said this many times.

[Larry O'Connor]

If Democrats are going to come in and say drill, baby, drill, and we'll bring gas, gas prices down, I'd love to see that.

[Melissa DeRosa]

But I don't think about that. And I've said this many times, if Democrats win, it's not because we have a superior message right now. I think we have a real messaging problem, in fact. But it's this life is options and people don't like the instability and they don't like the lack of predictability and its influence on our day. So.

[Mark]

All right, Mark Wayne Mullen goes before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, say he's going to be confirmed. So I'm not quite sure why people get all excited about these confirmation hearings. It'd be interesting to see what he says about how he's going to run the department, be interesting to see what he says about his personal wealth. There's some questions the media is raising about his privately, allegedly privately, saying he worked in some secret missions overseas for the government before he was in Congress. Here are the lists of the members of the committee, 110, both Republicans, Democrats. It's being chaired by Rand Paul, who's had his share of public spats with his colleague in the past. And he has said Rand Paul said to me and others in the run up to hearing that he's really not going to comment on what's going to happen. So I suspect he might ask some tough questions and maybe he'd vote no. He said he hasn't promised to vote yes, but he's moving this through expeditiously. Ron Johnson, James Langford, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Bernie Moreno, Joni Ernst, Ashley Moody, are the Republican senators and then the Democrats on the committee questioning their colleague. Gary Peters, Margaret. Margaret Hassan, Richard Blumenthal, John Fetterman, Andy Kim, Ruben Gallego, Alyssa Slotkin. Larry, if you could only watch one colloquy, which one would you most look forward to here?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, after, after your interview of Rand Paul, I'm looking forward to see what the chairman has to say and how he votes. If he does vote against him, look for John Fetterman to offset that vote and he'll get out, still get out of committee.

[Mark]

Yeah. Melissa, of the Democrats, who do you think will do the most damage to the nominee? They're not going to stop him, probably. But who's, who's the one who's got probably most equipped asking tough, substantive questions?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I honestly could care less. And like this is another one, as you said, it's definitely going to go through. So no one is paying attention to this and it's not going to have any lasting impact. And so I think it's totally irrelevant. I like Elise Block and perspective.

[Mark]

But yeah, okay, real bunch. Tsa, as I mentioned, I need this settled by Friday because I don't want to wait in line for five hours. Now, let me ask you guys a question.

[Larry O'Connor]

I'm good till Tuesday, by the way, in case anyone cares.

[Mark]

Thank you. When people talk about these lines are both screwed. When people talk about these lines. Well, let me ask you though, when they talk about the lines being three or five hours, is that for people with pre check or is that just people without pre check? It's the pre check line. Three hours.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I don't know. Because Mark, and this may be good news too, I don't know where you're flying out of, but last week I flew in and out of JFK and I was flew through pre check.

[Mark]

Yeah, see, that's what I think. I think I'm not going to have any problem. I think I'm going to get to the airport four hours early. I'm just going to walk through normal. I've got that. I got the touch.

[Larry O'Connor]

Problem solved.

[Mark]

Yeah. Anyway, is this going to be solved? Can either of you enunciate a way that the partial government shutdown ends? I still can't. But can either of you explain a process?

[Larry O'Connor]

I sort of took an indication this weekend most of the Democrats on the Sunday shows all said, hey, we want to fund tsa. We want, you know, they're trying to do the Chinese menu, a little column A, column B, column C thing that showed me that they had numbers suggesting that this is starting to hurt them.

[Mark]

I agree.

[Larry O'Connor]

If Republic, if Republicans can press it more and say, no, you don't get to do it that way. Fund all of DHS or nothing. I think that they could win the day if they can press it. Especially if they make the argument that, you know, you got your Christian gnome, you got your Tom Homan in charge, you got a reduction in Minneapolis, you know, let's be realistic.

[Mark]

That guy's retiring also. What's up? His name's retiring.

[Larry O'Connor]

Oh, the CBP guy.

[Mark]

Yeah. Yeah. Melissa with the wardrobe is a solution that Democrats cave and get a fig leaf. Pavino, thank you.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Well, first of all, I think that the Democrats have. Should have been saying all along, to Larry's point, declaring victory as these things have been happening. If it weren't for us, Christina, you know, declare victory. We wanted body cams their hand and so they haven't been doing a good job messaging on that. I think the biggest question is going to come down to the warrants or the, you know, being able to judicial warrants versus the not gonna happen. No, I know, but that's where Democrats are stuck. And what I hear is that's a sticking point for Hakeem. I think Schumer is just gonna move along and, and do whatever Hakeem does. He can't afford to blink twice after what he did last time. He's already in enough trouble with this conference. But I hear that's the sticking point. And so if that continues to be, I don't, I agree with Larry. I don't see how it happened until the political pressure becomes so great. But neither side is messaging this as well as they could be.

[Mark]

I think I agree.

[Larry O'Connor]

I interviewed this morning on my DC Radio station the mother of a woman who was just murdered in Fairfax County. She was murdered by a man who was an illegal immigrant and had been arrested over 40 times. The policies that the Democrats are pushing nationwide are in place right now in Fairfax County. If Republicans were smart, if they, if they could play this game politically, they would be embracing the angel mothers like the one I just interviewed, make that the story and say what happened in this Fairfax county will happen nationwide if Democrats have their way and they're refusing to fund DHS so they can make it happen that you can win this politically. I just don't see them trying.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Well, and also Democrats should be saying, like Kathy Hochul went out and said that she met with Tom Homan and that she spoke to Donald Trump and that Donald Trump said to her, we're only sending in ice if that's what Kathy asks for that to me, they should say, look, we got them to roll over on one of the biggest things they said they were going to do. And their victory, it's like to Larry's, neither side doing this the right way.

[Mark]

Yeah. The base of the Democratic Party doesn't want to hear that. They want total victory, just as the base on the Republican Party wants total victory on, on Save America. 3. Three quick topics and then to your questions again, please raise your hand if you want in on the conversation. The results in Illinois last night, not a great night for apac, not a great night for super progressives. But they're mixed overall. But everybody's saying one thing definitively. Great night for Governor Pritzker. He won unopposed reelection, nominated to run for a third term. But his candidate, his lieutenant governor won pretty easily a primary to be the next senator from Illinois. So she will be. Here's Governor Pritzker, I would say, just auditioning for Larry and Melissa to be the Democrats nominee for President in 2020, 28 with his victory speech last night. Please roll that 111.

[Governor Pritzker]

Friends, this is the fight of our lives. Everything we care about is under siege from Washington right now. Grifters of corruption and selfishness, purveyors of bigotry and hatred have taken control of the White House and the Congress. Their purpose is to make themselves and their dear leader richer and to do it at the expense of the powerless and the most vulnerable. The carnival barker in chief.

[Larry O'Connor]

Oh,

[Governor Pritzker]

sorry. I meant the commander in Thief says there is no federal money for health care and food assistance for families in need. We have challenges and opportunities ahead, but we will have to fight for our future. So I have just one question for you, Illinois.

[Mark]

Are you ready?

[Governor Pritzker]

Are you ready for the fight? Are you ready for the fight?

[Mark]

I am, too.

[Governor Pritzker]

Let's go get him. Thank you all very much.

[Mark]

All right. I have nothing. I have nothing against the guy. I am embarrassed that he's number three on my latest March rankings. Eight for 28, because I just. I said for being a billionaire so he could write checks. I do not get why this guy. My sources think this guy can be the nominee. I just don't get it. What am I missing, Melissa?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I mean, I don't think that he's going to be the nominee, but I take issue with something you said before, so I want to circle back on this.

[Mark]

Sure.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I don't think it was a bad night for aipac. I think that there was but six wannabe squad members were running between the four races and none of them won.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Melissa DeRosa]

And given the polling and Democratic primaries on Israel and where AIPAC is, I think it was a great night for them that you can arguably say they won too clean and one of them, because of their work, they were elevated.

[Mark]

Yeah. Yeah, okay, fair point. You're right. But I'll just say this as an asterisk and then you'll tell me about this governor. This short, Jewish heavy governor with no record of success in his state.

[Larry O'Connor]

I thought he was standing in a hole. Is that really how short he is?

[Mark]

He's not tall. The short candidates are mostly. The three Jewish perspective candidates are all also short Jews. They're not tall Jews. They're short Jews. Melissa. All I say about AIPAC is, you know, they're on the outs now. Right. They got some stink on them. Right. In the party and in the media. Even in the media. And so they had a good night in terms of the outcomes of these races. But I feel like what made me feel more negative about them from, from just from their political point of view is they kind of put more stink on themselves in this. Like the way they're doing that, spending the money. The kind of ads they're running, they're not, they're not running clean, they're running dirty. And so even when they have a little bit of success, it's still their death spiral.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Everybody runs Dirty Markets 2020.

[Mark]

Of course everybody does. But if you're dirty, if you start out dirty and you run dirty.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Look, I'm an outcomes based person at the end of the day, so. And I could think they could argue three out of four and they kept all potential.

[Larry O'Connor]

You're right.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Democrat who thinks anti Semitism is a problem in our party. I thought they didn't have a bad night.

[Mark]

Yeah. Okay.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Should not. He's. He's not compelling. He doesn't have a real record to point to in Illinois. I'm not sure why he continues to be on everybody's list except he's a billionaire who you know is a governor of a big state.

[Mark]

Yeah. Larry, can you make the case? I know you. I know you don't have super positive things, but what are. Most of my sources want him high on the list. That's why I put him in number three. But I'm not putting him in number three next month. I can tell you that now.

[Larry O'Connor]

Five chat.

[Mark]

GPT says five nine.

[Larry O'Connor]

So everyone was really tall standing on the. On this list.

[Mark]

Melissa, how tall are you? Melissa?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I'm five' eight and a half and I think I'm taller.

[Mark]

We're going to get you in a room with them in both of you in flats. Larry. What make the case. What is it. What is it that makes people say this guy's got a good chance to be the nominee?

[Larry O'Connor]

All right, so I'll make the case. It's money. He's got a lot of money. Unlimited funds. And that goes somewhere. Although it didn't go very far for. For your former illustrious governor, Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg and. And your former boss, if I remember right, you were at Bloomberg for a while there.

[Mark]

Yes, sir.

[Larry O'Connor]

Yes. There you go. So I don't know how far that'll take him. I think also, I guess he could position himself as less radical than Gavin Newsom.

[Mark]

Or he could. But that's not. But that's not what he does. He's not.

[Larry O'Connor]

But he's not.

[Mark]

He. I mean, I think the. I think the opposite. If I was to make the case for the guy, I'd say if AOC doesn't run the far. The Bernie wing is wide open. Maybe he just takes that win.

[Larry O'Connor]

Maybe.

[Kerry]

You know what?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Bernie, he's never going to be a Bernie win candidate. And also I thought that this lieutenant governor that he propped up and I, I say that, and I don't mean to be demeaning, but my God, reading all the press off of this, you would think he was the one, right?

[Mark]

I know. She wouldn't, she wouldn't want to just showed.

[Larry O'Connor]

I don't know how indicative that clip is of the full speech, but I was struck by the fact that he didn't pretend that he's running for another term in Chicago, in Illinois. He was, he was obviously running for president. That entire.

[Mark]

What's going on? What's going on with Melissa?

[Melissa DeRosa]

You're have to own her.

[Mark]

Yeah, Melissa, you gotta, you gotta, you have to log off again. Yeah, that's a deep.

[Melissa DeRosa]

You guys, for some reason. Sorry about that.

[Mark]

No, no, you froze.

[Larry O'Connor]

No, it was you.

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, you might look like. It looked like.

[Mark]

That's all right. All right, let's just talk two more topics real quick. Texas Senate last night was the deadline for Cornyn or Paxton to get off the ballot. Neither of them did. So they'll both be on the ballot. But typically if you're on the ballot but you quit, you know, you don't. You're not going to win. The president still hasn't endorsed. The negativity is starting. They're spending money. Right. The whole point of trying to clear the field. Here's the New York Times headline, no Trump pick his Deadline locks in Texas. Deadline locks in Texas Senate race. President decided not to weigh in before the deadline. There's a school of thought looking at the polling and at the opposition research that's already raining down on Telorico that Paxton could be Talarico. So why should the President piss off the base and MAGA by endorsing Cornyn when they keep the seat? Anyway, that's a school of thought and there's some evidence of that. And then there's a school of thought that says just get the incumbent in there and find something for Paxton to do. Find some excuse for him to quit the race. Larry, how's this going to end?

[Larry O'Connor]

I think if that was going to happen, it would have happened. And so at this point, I think, I don't think that endorsement is coming. And I've been an outlier here. I've been one of the people who have been an outlier since the day after the primary.

[Mark]

So the President will engage the president will engage in a rare flip flop and say, and say I said I was going to endorse, but I'm not. I left out one thing that the PAX and people argue. Which is, which is the base will be so demoralized if, if Cornyn gets a nomination through Trump's endorsement that they won't turn out and that will allow Talarico to win so that they argue that Paxton's actually stronger generation. Yeah, the establishment doesn't end that.

[Larry O'Connor]

And most importantly, President Trump takes great pride in his endorsements in primaries. Great pride in it. He talks about it all the time. It would be horrible if he were to endorse Cornyn and then have Paxton beat Corny.

[Mark]

That would just be for that reason. At this point I've said this, I've sort of leaned into this a little bit. But now based on my reporting, I feel strongly, I don't think he'll endorse unless they've got a way to get Paxton out of the race. I don't think he's going to endorse and then hope his candidate wins. Melissa, how do you see this ending and where do you see Talarico's ability to beat one or both Republicans?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Look, it's an uphill battle for Democrats, one statewide there in 30 years. So I think that the win for Democrats is making Republicans spend time and money there, which they're going to have to likely do in either scenario. But I think that Trump ends up sitting this one out and I just feel bad for Cornyn that he had to write an op ed flip flopping himself when he doesn't like to do that and then he's not going to get.

[Mark]

So you both are saying, I believe, at least for the first time to my ears, that he's not going to endorse.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Correct, Correct. And I don't think that's the first time that when the op ed came out, we didn't think it was going to really move the needle.

[Mark]

Yeah. All right, I'm going to just going to for the sake of bragging rights. I don't really believe it. But he's going to endorse. He's going to endorse Cornyn. Paxton's going to get out of the race and endorse and Pat Cornyn will win easily. That's my prediction. Even though I don't believe. I don't believe it. All right, last topic. Mandami. Everybody said Mandami wins. He's going to dominate the news. He's going to be talked about. Republicans are going to talk about him all the time. Then a couple of things happen. First of all, the president and Mandami became best friends. So it took a little bit of the edge off Republicans attacking Mondami. And second, the national media found other things to cover here in Gotham City, though. This guy's covered every day. And I will tell you. And you know my view on liberal media bias. The New York Times coverage of Mondami is one of the top, I don't know, 25 outrages of media bias I've ever seen. I just. It's phenomenal the way they cover him. They cover him, they go. They bend over backwards every day to paper over not just the outrageous affiliations and statements he has connected not only to, but to Jews, but they also. They're not covering the fact that the city is not running very well. So we could talk about this for two hours. But, Melissa, what are the three things that should be getting more scrutiny that Mayor Mondami has done or is doing that the New York Times is just ignoring?

[Melissa DeRosa]

I think that his budget games, which have now caused for there to be credit rating downgrades in New York City, where he blatantly has gone out and lied about the budget deficit and how to close it. And the fact that he's clearly doing everything he can just to back into tax cuts is a big story that shows that he.

[Mark]

Tax increases.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Yeah. Tax increases. I'm sorry, is that he is a big story that shows that he's disingenuous, that he thinks the economy is a game. All of these things that also expose larger things.

[Mark]

Taxes, budgets, antisemitism.

[Melissa DeRosa]

And his wife. And I think that he went out and lied a few days ago when he claimed his wife didn't know the author that she illustrated for. And they've completely kept their eyes closed on that. And even in the story that they did two days ago, and they were like, oh, he's actually tougher behind the smile. They just regurgitated things that were already in the public sphere and didn't do any real reporting.

[Mark]

That story was crazy.

[Melissa DeRosa]

It was so ridiculous. I'll tell you guys, when we were running in the. In the campaign, when Governor Cuomo would go to a mosque and speak at a mosque after we left, people from his campaign would call and scream at and threaten the imams. Like, this guy is not the smiley guy that you think he is, but there's so much more than, oh, he got involved in Nydia Velasquez's congressional seat. So I feel like when they do even try to say, oh, we're being tough on him, it's just to check a box. And the story itself is bs.

[Mark]

Totally, totally agree, Larry. Will this have national implications, either the press failure or his governance. Will it have national implications or no?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, not the press failure because we've grown accustomed to it at this point. But I do think that Republicans are going to use Mamdani as a representation of where the intellectual and financial momentum is for the national Democratic Party. And too many top Democrats have either stayed silent or actually endorsed him. So you own him now. And I agree with everything that Melissa just said. I know you don't personally own him,

[Mark]

Melissa, but I agree with you last

[Larry O'Connor]

I actually the one other thing I would add to that list is the people he's put in place that his appointees are terrifying when you look into them and look in. And that's something that the New York press should be doing more of.

[Mark]

Okay, mandatory prediction three years out, will Mayor Mondami speak at the Democratic national convention in 2028?

[Larry O'Connor]

Larry O' Connor yes, at noon.

[Mark]

Melissa DeRosa Nope.

[Melissa DeRosa]

He's going to flame out.

[Mark]

Yeah. All right, we'll see. Mayor of New York City thinking we'll see. All right. A quick word from a sponsored into your questions. Please raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation.

[Larry O'Connor]

The Republicans might invite him for a private speech about it.

[Mark]

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[Kerry]

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[Mark]

screen here we go, ladies and gentlemen, come on in. Tell us where you are, what's on your mind. We start with Bob. Bob, thank you for being part of Two Way. Is that your bracket behind you or just some random bracket?

[Bob]

No, that's my bracket because it's blank. I haven't filled it out yet, but yeah, it's pretty much go blue. Yeah, getting, getting, getting ready to start. I actually covered a lot of high school basketball. We did 43 games on the radio. So I just kind of got into the shifted to NCAA here this week.

[Larry O'Connor]

Nice. Hey Mark, we need a two way bracket. We need, we need two way marks.

[Mark]

No, I oppose. I pose. Just watch, just watch the games. No, you don't need to gamble. Just watch the games.

[Bob]

No AI cheating either. Do you do your homework people.

[Mark]

Anybody, anybody who does a bracket without AI cheating is silly. Although someone the other day said, I can't remember who it was. Just, just look at Obama's bracket and do that. Just take Obama's.

[Bob]

That's probably good. That's probably good advice.

[Mark]

That man spends. That man spends hours on his bracket. Bob, what's up?

[Bob]

Two, two things. One, I live in Illinois and not that this surprises me but I saw that the lady that ran the f Trump ads basically won last night and are bid for the Senate seat. You would think watching TV around here that the number one problem Illinois have. And again, I live in northern Illinois and have basically lived in Illinois most of my life. You know, you think the number one problem that Illinois Illinoisans have to face is Trump and believe me, seeing all the ads, it's ridiculous. Now I understand that they fundraise off that but I, I want to pivot now and tie this to the Oscars who I read the ratings of this morning and they fell a little bit further and I asked people in my, my group and I'm a movie guy going way back about the Oscars and so many of my friends have said that they won't watch it anymore and I wonder if, if, and maybe this is a question from Melissa above everybody else. Because I'm to the point where I won't vote for a Democrat in Illinois ever again, probably in my life. Not unless they pivot 180 degrees. You know, I'm getting to the point where I see people that won't stand up for, you know, for American citizens over illegals at the State of the Union that start calling a military action when they supported Obama in Libya, but Trump's war is illegal right from the jump. I mean, is there any concern on the, you know, and I voted for a Democratic president two times in my life, by the way, so I'm not, I'm not just some crazy right winger who always hates on the Ds. Is there any concern amongst Democrats at all that they're basically burying themselves and that there's millions of people like me that will never give them a chance again just because of observed behavior?

[Mark]

Thank you, Bob. Melissa?

[Melissa DeRosa]

No, because right now it's working. I mean, we saw in 2025 in the major special elections and in New Jersey and in Virginia and even what's been going on in 2026, that it's working. And you know, again, I think that people like balance and I think the country feels so unstable right now that people are just, you know, going for the opposite party, not necessarily because of the affirmative message, but what you just experienced in Illinois was a primary. So, I mean, of course, in a primary, it's who can run for this left and who can be most anti Trump in the most compelling way. So I'm sorry you had to suffer through all those ads, but it's just the reality of politics right now, unfortunately. I wish we would have a more affirmative message about what we stand for and how we would actually lower prices and how we would govern differently. And right now, we saw Pritzker just now on stage. I mean, that's what's resonating. We see Gavin Newsom embarrassing himself, I'm sorry, in my opinion, on a near weekly basis on the Trump stuff. And right now it's just working with the base.

[Mark]

Yeah. Three quick updates. Go ahead, Larry. Real quick.

[Larry O'Connor]

I was just going to say, cynically, Bob, I don't think demographically you're the main focus for growing the Democrat Party right now. And I think that we've seen that reflected in a lot of their policies over the years. And sadly, that's where we are.

[Mark]

Yeah, three quick updates. Sirens in Israel as they await worry about some attacks from Iran. Second, the vice president's about to leave Andrews for Michigan, accompanied by the second lady and the EPA administrator. And accompanying Mark Wayne Mullen, whose hearing is underway at his nomination hearing. Sitting right behind him is Mr. O', Brien, who famously almost got into a fistfight at a Bernie Sanders hearing. So their rapprochement is well known, but he's with them at the hearing today. All right, Kerry, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind for Larry and for Melissa. And thank you for being part of Two Way.

[Kerry]

Good morning, everybody. Mark, thanks for having me back. Larry, great to see you. And Melissa, happy to meet you for the first time and get to be on with you. So I've really enjoyed watching you over the last last couple of months. My question is Iran related and it's new media related. So I thought this was the perfect platform because I know I'm going to get a fair shake from you guys. And, and so just so you know, sort of where my question is coming from, my stance on Iran is I'm neither for it or against it. Right. Like, I, I don't love the incursion. I'm really happy we don't have boots on the ground. But I think Trump has earned my trust. So I'm willing to give him a little bit more time at this point to prove to me that we're on the right path here.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Okay.

[Kerry]

So with that is the background. We've all been watching Trump for the better part of 10 years at this point, Right. And we've seen everything thrown into him that you could possibly throw at Trump to try to degrade him, to try to take him out. Right. From the media. The hoaxes, the investigations, impeachments, the raid on Mar a Lago, the civil suits, the criminal suits, the de platforming, the debanking, the list goes on and on. Right. And so I think what we've learned watching Trump over the last 10 plus years is he's kind of a mud monster, right. The more you throw at him, the bigger he gets. The normal rules just don't apply to him. He's not really beholden to anyone. So with that said, I am so perplexed at voices that I'm hearing in the new media space who I really trust and I really rely on as fair arbiters of the truth who've come out and so vociferously stated that we are in this war only because of Israel. And I just don't totally understand that. And I don't think that the people who are perpetuating those lines of reasoning are anti semitic. I don't think it's an anti Semitic thing and I'm not talking about Tucker, but Megan, for example. Right. I love Megan, but I've been really surprised at the tone she's taken.

[Mark]

Right. So, Carrie, quite do you have a button question or do you want Larry and Melissa?

[Kerry]

Yeah, No, I mean, how, like what is this about? What am I missing? And why are there so many people who so confidently think that after all these years of people trying to take Trump down that suddenly Israel is the one who, who's got something on him, that if he doesn't do what they want, they're going to take him down? I just don't understand that.

[Mark]

I don't know if their intention is to take him down. But Larry, why is, why are people like Kentucky so confident that Israel is behind this? What's driving that?

[Larry O'Connor]

It's a great question, especially on the Iran thing, Kerry, because it's not like President Trump isn't on the record for even before his political career suggesting military action against Iran. We've all seen those video clips of him saying it. I don't get, I guess maybe the most reasonable explanation, at least when it comes to Tucker, is that this is what he truly believes, despite the fact that he believed something else when he was writing for National Review or Weekly Standard or was a host of Crossfire. Now he believes something else and you just gotta take him from at his word. Meghan's a little different because she's only recently sort of entered the opinion journalism sphere. So I don't know if she has a long track record one way or the other. Maybe her news instincts tells her that this is, you know, what's behind the policy decision. I don't get it. I'm in the same sphere. I'm a new media personality, too, and I can only say what I believe. It's very hard to, to bullshit your way through what we do. Frankly, if you can excuse the French, your audience smells it a mile away. And so I take them at their word, this is what they believe. And I just respectfully and vociferously disagree.

[Mark]

Melissa, what do you, what do you think the impact of people making the accusation is, if any?

[Melissa DeRosa]

Well, not the impact, but the diagnosis. I mean, is it. I think it's much simpler than that. I think that in the very beginning of this, and we've talked at length on this platform about the lack of communication and steady and consistent communication throughout this war and predating it and lacking making the case and the clear what victory looks like, etcetera but at the very beginning, after a briefing, they walked out Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson and said we're going to war because Israel said they were going to attack. And if they attacked, then Iran was going to hit us. And so we had to. And I think at the very beginning when people were still forming their opinions about the war that came out and people latched onto it. And so again, I think that this was an avoidable thing that the administration flubbed on the messaging that I think has created more problems for them.

[Mark]

Yeah. Kerry, thank you. Great, great answers from both.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Good to meet you, Kerry.

[Mark]

Erin, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind. For Larry and for Melissa, thank you for being here.

[Aaron]

Hey, I'm calling in from Houston where we're very excited about the high fuel prices. Larry, I am very impressed with your optimism about the potential for a power vacuum in Iran leading to peace. I hope you're right, because the way I see it, a country is about to be up for grabs. And I don't not, not presenting myself as an expert on Iran, but I know they have a lot of oil that seems worth fighting for. And the other thing I know for sure because my country has said it, and if my country says something to justify a war in the Middle east, you can take that to the bank. It's 100 true, is that they are the number one state sponsor of terrorism and they're just a, they're just a terrorism factor, turning out terrorist after terrorist after terrorists. So that seems like an unfortunate ingredient. And I don't think we're gonna, we've learned our lesson. We're not gonna send an infantry Italian to today. Ron so that's, you know, my question is, you know, you put all these ingredients into a stew, you add some heat, and it, it seems to me like a recipe for mayhem. And so do we, do we care what comes out? This is my question really is do we even care what comes after? I mean, assume total military victory, we kick ass, another win for the United States. We take out every nuke that doesn't exist, every missile that can't reach us is gone. And do we even care what comes after that?

[Larry O'Connor]

I think we care, Aaron. And I'll say this. First of all, I appreciate your cynicism and your sarcasm. I do. Although I don't think it's completely sarcastic. They are the leading sponsor of terror over the last several decades. There's whether they're churning them out or whether they're just funding Them, encouraging them. But we know that Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis and other terrorist organizations are directly connected to Iran. That is without a doubt. And we do know that they've got American blood on their hands from the Iraq war and the IEDs and the incursions across the border into that conflict. So, I mean, that is a righteous reason for this military action. I do believe, I think, that the calculation was, whatever replaces this regime can't possibly be worse than what we've endured and what the region has endured for the last 47 years, number one. But number two, there's a real possibility for whatever replaces them to be very positive and actually a partner for us and for our neighbors or their neighbors in the Middle East. I'll just finish with a quick question. When you say you're concerned that this is a country up for grabs. Up for grabs from within and from bad elements or potentially worse elements within the country, or you mean up for grabs from a. A foreign entity?

[Aaron]

All the above. All the above. I think anybody with an interest in who would like access to a massive amount of natural resources could be China, could be Russia, could be Saudi Arabia. I mean, I think everybody's gonna fight for this.

[Mark]

Aaron, let me stop you, because I just. I just want to. I'm sorry to interrupt, but Senator Paul, we were wondering how he was going to question the witness, Mark Wayne Mullen. And, and. And he questioned him about his. Accused him of having anger issues. And he said, Mullen had previously said that he. That he understood why Rand Paul's neighbor attacked him. Rand Paul's neighbor physically attacked Senator Paul a few years ago. And he said, I. Mark Wayne Mullen had previously said, I understand why he did that kind of a sarcastic, jokey thing. Aaron, don't take this the wrong way. The kind of thing Aaron might say. Just kidding. And Senator Paul said, tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And here's the answer. Take this live, please. Mark Wayne Mullen is being pretty humble and. And trying to play down the notion that he's got anger management issues. We take this live now. It's on all three cable networks. They've all jumped to it because it's pretty dramatic.

[Rand Paul]

But at 18 years old, and I was 19, she agreed to marry me. I didn't have anything. I was on a wrestling scholarship, living in a dorm. She was cheering at Northeastern State University. I think she fell in love with my trucks. My truck was pretty cool. But the truth is, we didn't know what we didn't know but we did know we loved each other. And I haven't been perfect. I apologize to her quite often and send her flowers all the time. But I still am humbled by the fact that we've got to enjoy this walk together. We've had God on our side and her right beside me. And to our six children who's been on this adventure with me, what an adventure it's been. We have a saying in our family. You're never going to change anything you're willing to tolerate. That's how we live our life and that's how we move forward. And regardless of, regardless of what's in front of us, we always take it on as a family. I'm not scared of a challenge. I am scared of failure. And so I will work hard each day. I'll work hard to make the 280,000 employees at DHS with the 22 agencies that's underneath me proud. I'll show them somebody that no one will outwork. I work beside them every single day to not just secure a homeland, to bring peace of mind and confidence to the Agency. My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day.

[Mark]

Okay, take it down. Understand for now. So Rand Paul was quite intense in his opening statement and framing the questions he plans to raise about anger management and about whether the senator, his colleague, is someone who tells the truth. And Mark Wayne Mullen said moments before we join there, everybody in this room knows I'm very blunt and direct to the point and if I have something to say, I'll say it directly to your face. So we've seen now they're talking to each other in their opening statements. But in a little bit we'll hear the questioning. And I suspect this is why Senator Paul didn't want to talk about it in advance because he wants to let it all play out here in, in real time. So we'll have full coverage of this, of course on the two way tonight. And I may, may decide to take this live in the next hour on Sirius xm, which is where I'm headed. I'll be on Sirius XM from 10 to 11 for the second hour of the morning meeting and then I'll be on with my friend Michael Smarkonish at 11 o' clock and then later tonight back on Two Way Tonight and great guests which Larry will tell you about in a minute. I'm going to excuse myself. Let Larry and Melissa finish up. Grateful to you both for being here. Tomorrow morning meeting. We can't announce it yet, but we may have some great, equally great, I should say, co hosts. So stay tuned for that. Hopefully we'll have that announcement before too long. Larry, Melissa, thank you both. I'll see you, I'll see you soon. Have a good, have a good end of the program.

[Larry O'Connor]

We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll take it from here. And by the way, I just want to add that the accusation that Mark Wayne Mullen has anger management issues may be true. I've never met the man, but I do know that he never shot his puppy in the face.

[Melissa DeRosa]

So that's a very good point, Larry.

[Larry O'Connor]

I'm just saying, I'm just saying.

[Melissa DeRosa]

I would also like to know how he pivoted into talking about his wife and sending flowers and not being perfect. But go back and watch that later.

[Larry O'Connor]

If it has something to do with Rand Paul, I gotta again, I want to look at the whole statement. But if Rand Paul is, sorry, Aaron, you're still here. Do you want to, do you want more answers to your questions that you asked? I hope, I hope I answered it satisfactorily.

[Aaron]

Well, I mean, just, it's, you know, it's also a really diverse country. My sense is we're going to pick one of these ethnicities to empower and maybe it's the right one, maybe it's wrong, but others will feel locked out and it just, if this thing descends into some version of Libya or Syria, does anybody even care?

[Larry O'Connor]

Well, okay, let me and I'll. Sorry, Melissa, I don't mean to jump in again, but I can tell you that I have heard people who are either in the administration or influential to the administration speak about this sort of thing. And I think that there is a mindset that if there is that kind of chaos and sort of a civil war and a struggle for power within the country, cynically speaking, and I hate to say it, but you know, they're focused on themselves and each other instead of their innocent neighbors. And so let that, sure. Let them fight it out. At least they're not bothering, you know, us and our allies in the region. Melissa, do you know any different there

[Melissa DeRosa]

in terms of I care deeply about what happens next because as a student of history and you think about what happened with al Qaeda and Afghanistan, I mean, that grew out of us walking away after we had their assistance in fighting Russia and then the absence of leadership and a population that is young, male dominated and who have no options or no hope then turn to terrorism. And so I think if we don't do this the right way, now that we're there and we have kicked this hornet's nest that we will then be dealing with another version of it in however many years down the road. So, I mean, I personally very much, for my nieces and nephews, care about what happens next because I think if we don't handle this the right way, we might really, really live to regret having done this.

[Larry O'Connor]

Thank you, Aaron. I appreciate it. And my friend Kurt Schlichter now has a house in the Houston area. He's there half the time. So I'm going to visit him. We'll, we'll get some barbecue and enjoy the results of those oil prices that you are enjoying. The only man in America enjoying that right now. Thanks, Aaron. Appreciate you, Melissa. This was fabulous as always. And may I compliment you on your necklace. That is a beautiful necklace you're wearing today.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Thank you.

[Larry O'Connor]

I dressed down today. I usually dress a little nicer. Today I dress down and you look like you're getting one of those aforementioned $25 craft cocktails as soon as the show is over.

[Melissa DeRosa]

$35 in Bushwick. Get it right.

[Larry O'Connor]

Oh, I apologize. Thank you, Bushwick. Later today, Citizen McCain will be live at noon. Miranda's gonna welcome reason reporter Billy Binion and New York Post financial correspondent Lydia Moynihan. Lydia's been doing some great work recently and making a lot of noise on social media with her strong opinions and she does a great job on that CNN Abby Phillips show. So take a look at that exchange today at noon live and then two way tonight. We'll be back at 5pm live with former RNC finance chair Todd Ricketts and Democrat strategist Steve Elmendorf. That will be at 5pm morning meetings. Back tomorrow live at 9am with Kevin Walling and a mystery person in my seat that we're still waiting to hammer out. Also, the Moynihan Report. Let me remind you of this very cool Automation Nation, AI Jobs and the Case for UBI Live and in person on Wednesday, March 18th at the Village Underground in Gotham. It's airing on YouTube as well from 6 to 7:30pm but come on out live for it. That'll be fun. Automation Nation is going to focus on AI's impact on our workforce and whether or not this impact will renew the conversation about a universal basic income. Tickets can be reserved on the Village Underground website or on 2way TV. Automation. Melissa, you were just talking about your concerns over automation and what that means. Elon Musk keeps talking about it. If you notice Elon Musk will, you know, tweet out. Can we still say tweet? He puts out on it. He says, yeah, in 10 years, none of us will have jobs, and we'll just let AI work. Work for us. I don't know if I want that. Although I do drive his car, or more specifically, let his car drive me around. And I do like that. But. And it's a grave concern. It really is.

[Melissa DeRosa]

It truly is. So everyone should watch that later.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Larry O'Connor]

I worry about AI displacing people, not just for the economic purposes of it, but for the humanity of it. I think it. We were called to have a job. We were created to work, to work the land and to work for us.

[Melissa DeRosa]

Literally wakes me up at night thinking about what could happen to the country, to the world, with AI's intervention.

[Larry O'Connor]

Thank you, Melissa. Thank you to our community. Thank you, everybody on every platform watching us. And we will be back. Well, you just heard one. We'll be back. And certainly the morning meeting will be back right here, right where you're watching us. Same time, same place. Until then, have a peaceful day.