Latest on Trump's Gaza Peace Deal; Democrat Katie Porter's Campaign in Crisis After Meltdown Video

Summary

2WAY Morning Meeting – Episode Summary

Date: October 9, 2025
Title: Latest on Trump's Gaza Peace Deal; Democrat Katie Porter's Campaign in Crisis After Meltdown Video
Hosts: Mark Halperin, Sean Spicer, Dan Turrentine

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Overview

This episode of the “2WAY Morning Meeting” dives into the breaking news of a major breakthrough in the Middle East—the announced first phase of a Trump-brokered Gaza peace deal leading to hostage and prisoner releases. Alongside this, the episode closely scrutinizes the Democratic infighting set off by a viral meltdown video involving California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, and covers the ongoing federal government shutdown standoff. The show features analysis, real-time reactions, and candid commentary from all three hosts, with notable moments from viewer questions and hot takes on the political news cycle.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump’s Gaza Peace Deal: Details, Analysis & Political Implications

Timestamps: 08:41–17:25, 39:36–41:50

• Announcement: Trump declares the first phase of a Gaza peace agreement has been finalized, setting the stage for the release of hostages and prisoners.

• Involvement of Jared Kushner: Sky-high credit is given to Jared Kushner for his unique relationships with Netanyahu and Mideast leaders, and ability to act informally and quickly.

  "He [Jared] can say and do things that no one else can. He has a relationship with Netanyahu...and a lot more latitude than anybody else."
  (Sean Spicer, 01:14)

• Process and Verification: Ambassadors and analysts discuss practical next steps: Israeli parliament and cabinet approval, signature of documents, and a planned, non-dribbling release of all hostages within 72 hours.

• Reactions Worldwide: Even Hamas appears to be on board "in the main".

  “There is a great sigh of relief being heaved throughout Israel today because this is a day that everyone here has been praying to happen for two solid years.”
  (Ambassador, 09:35)

• Democratic Response Dilemma: Discussion about how Democrats and liberal groups struggle to voice praise for Trump—even when recognizing his achievements.

  “Even if someone with whom you disagree about 99 things does the 100th really well, you should say so, because that’s what intellectual honesty is.”
  (John Meacham via Morning Joe clip, 11:13)

• Assessment of Trump’s Tactics:

  • Trump’s ability to “seize the moment” and “get on offense” is praised, especially in leveraging diplomatic pressure and exploiting divisions for results.
  • Rare instance of Netanyahu being pressured (“cornered”) by an American president rather than dictating terms.

• Historic Context and Prognosis:

  “The next 48 hours is historic, and [Trump] deserves a ton of credit.”
  (Dan Turrentine, 12:36)

  • Emphasis on both skill and “luck,” but hosts agree this deal was primarily a product of planning and decisive action.

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2. Political Optics, Nobel Prize, and Trump’s Mideast Visit

Timestamps: 15:29–17:25, 39:36–41:50, 52:34–56:12

• Why is Trump Visiting Israel?
  • Trump is “a master producer” who understands the value of imagery and capitalizing on world events.

    “You have to capture the moment. And the eyes of the world will be on him.”
    (Sean Spicer, 16:31)

• Nobel Peace Prize Speculation:
  • Widespread expectation and debate over whether Trump will win the Nobel for the deal; discussion on the political fallout if he does not.
  • Candid discussion about the awards process and previous examples, such as Obama’s early Nobel win and historic snubs.
• Democratic Figures—Should Trump Bring Opponents to Israel?
  • Speculation on optics if Trump invited Democratic Senators (e.g., Ossoff, Fetterman) to accompany him, referencing the Clinton-Gingrich dynamic during a previous shutdown.

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3. Federal Government Shutdown: Stalemate, Strategy, and Human Impact

Timestamps: 18:25–29:31, 38:10–39:36

• Update on Negotiations:
  • House remains out; Senate continues; GOP leaders push White House to avoid inflicting shutdown pain on ordinary Americans.
• Republican Infighting & Analysis:

  “These guys are acting like they’re not in charge, for God’s sakes. Jam them.”
  (Sean Spicer, 26:51)

  • Frustrations run high as hosts debate Republican strategies and non-action, using the China spy balloon as a metaphor for GOP passivity.
• Personal Impact – Caller’s Story:
  • Emotional call from a military family underscores real consequences—missed paychecks, lost medication—due to the shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson delivers a scripted, unsatisfying response blamed on Democrats.
  • Hosts sharply criticize the lack of accountability and urgency from GOP leadership.

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4. Katie Porter Campaign in Crisis

Timestamps: 32:18–34:45, 46:26–51:46

• The Meltdown Video:
  • Porter’s public and private outbursts—allegations of temper with staff and an infamous “I don’t care about Trump voters” quote—spark debate on both substance and strategy.
  • Hosts question her electability, debate whether progressive allies (Warren, Sanders, AOC) will stand by her.
• Electoral Prognosis:

  "Progressives need to decide whether to rally around her... but the stories won't stop."
  (Mark Halperin, 33:45)

• Gender Double Standard:
  • Caution that female candidates, like Porter and Amy Klobuchar, face outsized scrutiny on “temperament” issues compared to male counterparts.
• Newsom’s Dilemma:
  • Open question on how current Governor Newsom should handle the controversy, given its implications for his own ambitions.

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5. Other Major Political Races & National Stories

Timestamps: 34:45–37:44

• 2025 Gubernatorial Races:
  • Commentary on New Jersey and Virginia contests—Republican momentum attributed to their opponents’ missteps.
• China and Rare Earths:
  • Brief note on China tightening restrictions on rare earth minerals—a consequential move ahead of an expected Trump-Xi meeting.

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6. Viewers’ Questions & Live Reactions

Timestamps: 38:10–56:12

• Deficit & Shutdown Solutions:
  • Both parties likely to emerge disappointed from any deal; deficit reduction termed “massively unfortunate” as not a real priority.
• Middle East Criticisms:
  • Nuanced clarification by Dan Turrentine: Cornering Netanyahu is not equated to treating him and Hamas the same—Trump’s leverage aided by the weakening of Hamas and ongoing Israeli military efforts.
• Nobel Prize & International Fallout:
  • Norwegian viewer asks about potential Norway-US rift if Trump is snubbed. Hosts banter about possible Trumpian retaliation, recall earlier controversies (Obama’s early Nobel, Norway-China fallout).
• Political Marketing & Dismissal of Voters:
  • General agreement that Porter's "I don’t care about Trump voters" attitude is both politically stupid and emblematic of wider Democratic blind spots.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s Diplomatic Approach:

  “He was able to get all the players in and find leverage over all of them… the first time in 30 years I’ve ever seen Netanyahu be cornered.”
  (Dan Turrentine, 13:05 – 14:24)

• Blunt Critique of GOP Leadership in Shutdown:

  “I am as political as they come, but these stories where it’s like, well, so and so might lose leverage… Screw leverage. People’s lives are at stake, guys. This is BS.”
  (Sean Spicer, 27:01)

• Politics as Product:

  “Politics at its core is marketing… she’s basically saying, I don’t need these customers.”
  (Sean Spicer on Katie Porter’s campaign, 50:12)

• On Nobel Peace Prize Optics:

  “I pity the person who wins it because Trump is just going to mutilate them on Truth Social.”
  (Mark Halperin, 41:19)

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Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• Trump’s Peace Deal Details and Analysis: 08:41–17:25
• Shutdown Standoff/Lawler-Jeffries Confrontation: 19:34–27:44
• Katie Porter Meltdown and Analysis: 32:18–34:45, 46:26–51:46
• Viewers’ Questions – Middle East, Nobel, Shutdown: 38:10–56:12
• Nobel Prize/International Fallout: 52:34–56:12

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Tone and Style

The conversation is rapid, candid, and insider-driven, with conversational analysis, quick wit, and a visible sense of engagement and urgency due to developing stories. Tough questions to power, frank assessments of both parties, and audience participation shape the episode’s energetic, accessible tone.

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Takeaways

• Trump’s Gaza peace deal is historic and complex, garnering rare bipartisan acknowledgment (if tempered), with deep political ramifications both domestically and internationally.
• The Democratic establishment faces renewed infighting and image problems, exemplified by Katie Porter’s meltdown.
• The ongoing shutdown stalemate is deeply personal for affected families, even as national party leaders play strategic blame games.
• Big upcoming stories: Nobel Peace Prize, Trump’s Middle East trip, and continued fallout in major gubernatorial races.

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For listeners wanting a fast-paced, inside-the-room update on the top stories shaping American politics, this episode is a must.

Transcript

[Caller/Viewer]

Foreign.

[Mark Halperin]

This is the morning meeting. This is the two way platform. And this is your opportunity to take the chance of a lifetime to talk to two of America's finest political analysts. The Sean Spicer, the Dan Turntine, thank you for joining. No smack in the chat. Raise your hand. Peace, love and understanding. You know it all. I barely need to say these things. What you don't know if you've just joined is this program is based on the network news divisions morning meetings where you get an opportunity to eavesdrop in on how people in the media and politics talk at the beginning of their day on calls just like this. Thank you for being part of it. Gentlemen, good morning and welcome in. Dan, you're a fan of peace Always. Absolutely, yes.

[Dan Turtine]

As a, as a middle child, I was raised to keep the peace.

[Sean Spicer]

Oh, this explains so much.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, right, Shaun, of all the things that are happening now as the media tries to deal with their disappointment that Donald Trump has done this. Because let's be honest, there's, there's, there's that just talk about Jared. Why is Jared involved? Is he an essential man because of those business relationships and his knowledge of the region? Like why is, why does some private citizen have to be involved?

[Sean Spicer]

In all honesty, I mean, I'm not.

[Mark Halperin]

Being critical of it.

[Sean Spicer]

I'm just saying, people, I alluded to this yesterday because Jared can say and do things that no one else can. He has a relationship with Netanyahu, obviously through the Arab Accords. He has relationships with MBS and a lot of the other regional folks. And he can go and say and do things that a lot of people that don't have the relationship with the president, United States on such a personal level could do. Even Witkoff, I think as much as Steve Witkoff has done, being the son in law and having the experience that Jared had in the first term gives you a lot more latitude to say and do and lean forward on things in a timely manner that normally would require an iterative process with the White House. Can we go this far? Can we say this? Are you willing to sign off on that? He has a lot more latitude than anybody else.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. All right. We're going to get to the Middle east, we're going to talk about the shutdown. Katie Porter, all sorts of things. But first, it's getting a little cooler here in New York. I run hot. So for me, a little. No, for me, I'm still, I'm still hot. I'm still sweating bullets and particularly if I work out before the show. But Dan, obviously you think it's cool down here.

[Dan Turtine]

I did. I actually ran this morning in long tights. That was when it goes below 50.

[Mark Halperin]

And. And you're not wearing a golf shirt from our friends at Fairway.

[Dan Turtine]

Oh, no, this is long sleeve. I'm. I'm. Hot coffee. Yep.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Sean, how about you? Cool. Cool. In Virginia.

[Dan Turtine]

Short tights or long tights today, Sean?

[Sean Spicer]

I. I don't that image. I love you, buddy. But please, just, just to be clear, say upper body.

[Mark Halperin]

Just to be clear. They're magenta tights too.

[Sean Spicer]

Okay.

[Dan Turtine]

I just.

[Sean Spicer]

Upper body.

[Dan Turtine]

Upper body.

[Mark Halperin]

Sean. Sean. Are you wearing fairway and green this morning, Mark?

[Sean Spicer]

I am. I'm wearing both, actually. I've got the beautiful golf shirt on and then I've got the Monterey wind sweater in a navy. It's actually, I can say this in all honesty, it is the most comfortable. I think if people Google me, they'll know that I am famous for quarter zips and sweaters. That's what I'm known for more than anything else. More.

[Mark Halperin]

More than. More than Dancing with the Stars, more than Trump's White House press secretary. Quarter zip guy.

[Sean Spicer]

Quarter zips. And this is, honest to God, hands down, the most comfortable. If you guys see me over and over again, I may have to buy several. I could wear this from now until late March. This is my favorite. It's got buttons if you can't see it. It's absolutely gorgeous.

[Mark Halperin]

I have that too. It's really nice. Either of you have catchphrases on your sleeves?

[Dan Turtine]

No, not my quarter zips do.

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, the catchphrase and don't want to do this. You don't catch phrase.

[Mark Halperin]

We now all hear from you nearly daily of someone who's purchased the product. Yesterday I was emailing back and forth someone who bought it. They had advice about the logos. They didn't love the logos, but everybody agrees. Extremely comfortable, extremely well made. Go to Two Way TV Fairway to find your link. To save 20% off, go to Fairway and green, use the promo code 2way20 for 20% off. 2way20, go to Fairway. 2way TV Fairway. You won't regret it. In fact, you'll be sending us thank you notes for recommending these holidays are coming early. Yeah, we'll get to, believe me, when we get the holidays. It's going to be like. It's going to be like overdrive. It's going to be like a Jerry Lewis telethon here. All right. The day book today, Two Way Tonight is live at 4pm on the Two Way platform. We'll stream at 6 o' clock regularly. The reason I tell you that is basically the entire show will likely be taken up by the President, United States talking because Today he's doing two events, 11 o', clock, a cabinet meeting. The last cabinet meeting, I'll remind you, lasted three hours all on camera. So we don't know how long that will go, but presumably it's not going to go more than four hours because of three o'. Clock. He's supposed to greet his friend, the President of the Republic of Finland with whom he has golfed and with whom he has pretty good rapport as we say in Europe. Here in the United States we call that report. And then they have a bilateral meeting also open to the pool where presumably any question the President didn't ask from the hours long cabinet meeting he'll get another crack at. And of course a lot of the topics will be about the Middle East. I don't know how to say victory lap and Finnish, but. Victory lap, victory lap. Anyway, tomorrow two things on the Trump agenda. There you see the pools for today, Reason magazine, the new media pool, the New York Post, the print pool. Tomorrow the President's getting his physical at Andrew. At. Sorry, at Walter Reed. Walter Reed. Thank you. And then everybody says he's going to the Middle East. They basically confirmed it. Don't know exactly when he's leaving, when he's coming back, what he's doing in Israel, widely reported. He'll speak to the Knesset and perhaps meet with the families of the released hostages or released hostages themselves. I'm talking fast because we have a lot to get to. Listen fast. And then the White House just announced that the first lady has an announcement tomorrow at the White House. I don't know what that is. You guys know what that is? I don't know. Anyway, it doesn't. She don't normally make announcements, our first lady, so we'll see what that's about.

[Dan Turtine]

Maybe she's having a busy week by her like public facing standards.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she is. Okay. Elsewhere besides the President's schedule and my iPhone just scrolled with a mind of its own. So give me a moment. Vice President presumably. Well he'll be at the cabinet meeting so we'll see him there. House somewhat controversially remains out, but as we saw yesterday, there's plenty of House members about, including Mike Lawler. We'll get to that. Mike Johnson was on C Span this morning. He's still on I think we'll taking calls. We'll show you a little Bit of that. The Senate continues to do what the Senate's doing. Johnson's going to have a press conference with the other leaders at 10, and then at 11:30, he's meeting with the conference by phone. Two court hearings today on the president's deployments. That's what I'm calling them now, the deployments. At noon Eastern. Noon Eastern. First in Chicago, District Court Judge April Perry hears arguments about the deployments in Illinois, Chicago in particular. And at the same time, the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals at west is hearing from. Sorry, got a distracting text just now. Oh, my goodness. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing Oregon versus Trump, the deployment to Portland. Again, as you all know, if you're court watchers, they could rule right then. They could just talk, talk through a ruling, particularly the district court judge. They could, they could rule in a day. They could ask for more arguments. They could sit on it for two months. I mean, this is the way the judiciary works. They pretend it's the 18th century and if you want to apply to go to Oxford, you write them a letter and you put it on a ship and it sails across the ocean and goes on a train and gets to Oxford and they read it and then they write a quill pen letter back. That's, that's how they operate at the, at the, in that coequal branch. Marine Corps and Navy leaders join Governor Shapiro, Governor Murphy and the Philadelphia Mayor Parker at the opening ceremony of the Navy and Marine Corps 250th birthday celebration in Philadelphia today at 10 o'. Clock. That'll be festive. Jerome Powell delivers remarks in theory. They're underway now at the Central Bank's community bank conference. And some 28ers potential 28ers doing things today. Gavin Newsom, 1230 Eastern, announces significant gains. They're calling them significant gains in statewide K through 12 test scores and science legislation to further boost literacy. He's been signing a lot of bills lately. And Kamala Harris has one of those book Tour double headers. Two events, one at 7, one at 9, 30 to fit everybody in. Last I checked, the book was still in the top 10 on Amazon, by the way, at the Warner Theater in D.C. sean, you going to that?

[Sean Spicer]

I, I have to check my schedule. There's actually. Well, there's a. Another event tonight that.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, let us know.

[Sean Spicer]

Competing events tonight.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm going, I'm going to an event tonight here in New York with one of your friends.

[Sean Spicer]

Well, I'm going to an event in D.C. with some of our friends.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. I look forward to comparing notes with you. All right, Middle East, Middle East. Here's the BBC headline 100 plus one.

[Sean Spicer]

Dan, if you want.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

104 BBC 104. Here's the BBC headline 104, Trump says first phase of Gaza peace deal agreed, paving way for hostage and prisoner releases. There's still a lot of unknowns about even in phase one and certainly in phase two and beyond. But Neri's heard a discouraging word. Even Hamas sort of said, yes, they're on board for the deal. And, and in the main, the remains of those who were killed in captivity will be released or died in captivity. And, and then the hostages will be released and Israel will withdraw to some unknown line and we'll see what else is involved here. Is Mike Huckabee talking about the deal on Fox and Friends early this morning. 108, please.

[Ambassador/Guest]

And it's really a remarkable day. And I'll tell you, there is a great sigh of relief being heaved throughout Israel today because this is a day that everyone here has been praying to happen for two solid years.

[Mark Halperin]

And praying here, too, Ambassador. As you know, Americans have been praying for this.

[Ambassador/Guest]

What happens next?

[Mark Halperin]

I understand Parliament has to meet.

[Sean Spicer]

The deal has to actually be signed.

[Ambassador/Guest]

The cabinet will meet today with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who also deserves a lot of credit for his tenacity and patience through this. Once they meet, they will sign their portion of the document and then things will start happening. The clock starts in 72 hours. Is that time frame we should be seeing hostages come out Sunday or Monday. Right now it's going to be according to the president's plan, not dribbled out, but all of the hostages coming out. That's how it was presented to Hamas. The president made it very clear that two things had to happen. Hamas had to deliver all the hostages and then they would have to recognize they don't have a future in Gaza.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. So we've talked here before about how Democrats have struggled to praise Donald Trump for the Abraham Accords, or as some call them, the Abraham Accords. And so now you're seeing in the press and amongst Democrats a challenge. I can't wait to see what Mr. Mamdani, for instance, says about the deal. Here is John Meacham, spokesman for the Democratic wing of the gang of 500 on Morning Joe. Very gracious.

[Sean Spicer]

Yes. I should ask you, how historic is this?

[Ambassador/Guest]

Well, as ever, depends on how the chapter ends. But the beginning of the chapter is remarkable. And one of the things about honesty and citizenship and a sense of I Would, I would say maturity about what people in a democracy should do is even if someone with whom you disagree about 99 things does the hundred really well, you should say so, because that's what intellectual honesty is.

[Dan Turtine]

And so, all credit to President Trump and his, as you say, unconventional team.

[Ambassador/Guest]

But I think an unconventional team, that's fine, right?

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, again, hats off to John because that's, you know, that's the right thing to do. We don't think the president's going to win the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow. Again, guys, forward looking. What happens next? What happens next, Sean?

[Sean Spicer]

I mean, I think what happens next is. I mean, one, he flies over, but two, I mean, hopefully all this falls into sequence, right? That the hostages are released, that Knesset approves it. I mean, that. I mean, I think what happens next is hopefully everything continues to fall in place and that there's no hiccups.

[Mark Halperin]

Dan, how do you think Mandami will react to this?

[Dan Turtine]

Well, I think it's interesting because it's not just Mandami, but also Jefferies and Schumer. Right. New York City is home to a lot of Jews. I mark, you probably have the same thing. You can't often go in Central park on the weekends without a peaceful march in support of release of the hostages occurring. It's been going on for two years. Every single weekend. The police protect them, they wave flags. I would imagine that Jeffries and Schumer should congratulate Trump and should applaud the release of the hostages. Even if the rest of this deal falls apart, which in the history. That region, that happens. What Trump has accomplished right now, assuming this is executed, as you say, SEAN, the next 48 hours is historic, and he deserves a ton of credit. I said this yesterday. He's the first US President that I've seen gain leverage over Netanyahu. And he had. He has the relationships with the Middle east, some of its business, some of it's whatever. But he was able to get all the players in and find leverage over all of them and squeeze them to get a deal. And he deserves credit. He really does.

[Mark Halperin]

And maybe this is saying the most obvious thing in the world, but sometimes when things like this happen, there's a lot of luck involved, and there's always some luck involved. But. But based on what we know about how this came together, this was skill. Yeah, this was. This was planned skill. Deploying Jared, deploying Witcoff, deploying others, Blair.

[Sean Spicer]

I mean, like, I. I look at this, and I was like, whoa, where did Tony.

[Dan Turtine]

I didn't even know I mean, well, and the other part of this is.

[Mark Halperin]

Sorry, I'm sorry. J. Just finished once. I apologize. It's also so difficult to. To appease and pressure and woo simultaneously Netanyahu, Saudi, the. The Gulf states, and Hamas all at the same time. That's. That's really hard. And again, it was done thoughtfully. Dan.

[Dan Turtine]

Well, what I. Not only was it done thoughtfully, but as you say about luck, one of the things Trump has always done throughout his career is when something. When there is an opportunity, he seizes it to get on offense. And it appears that when Israel bombed or seized or struck in Qatar, the Hamas people, Trump was so pissed off, and Netanyahu knew he had made a public relations error, that Trump jumped on it to squeeze him. And I think if there was a Democratic president, one of the things Netanyahu has been so skilled at is he's always trying to divide the Americans to gain maximum leverage, an outcome for Israel. And for the first time, Netanyahu had one thing standing between him and potentially losing the American people. Trump. And so he couldn't go to Fox News, he couldn't go to the Wall Street Journal to try to weaken Trump's hand, because they're in Trump's corner. So Trump took the hammer to Netanyahu, and he had nowhere to get out of it anymore. And it's the first time in 30 years I've ever seen Netanyahu be cornered.

[Mark Halperin]

Sean, I want to say something that. Yeah, I want to show you something. This is. Sorry, my list is so long here. This is number 109. Aviva Campus tweeted this. I assume it's legit and not AI. This is a farmer in giant message in Israel. Sean, Maybe. Maybe the answer is just Donald Trump loves credit, but why is he going to Israel? Would you say? What's his impulse to go?

[Sean Spicer]

Can I. Gentlemen, just go back real quick. Can I just touch on the Dem response? I'd love you guys to weigh in. I do think this is going to be massive, how they. How they respond today. Schumer, Jeffrey Jeffries in particular. And so I just want, like, I think there's a big difference between. We agree that the President deserves credit for this. I have a feeling that it's going to be more tepid, which is if the deal holds through, then, like, they are going to take their foot off the pedal and try to do this, which I think is a little weaselly.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, why does he want to go? I mean, is there a practical reason to go? Or he just wants.

[Sean Spicer]

I mean, look, this is. But look, Trump, you've said it before, the guy's a master producer. Like, he understands the imagery. You seize the moment. You go in, you do this. All the eyes of the world, not just the country, will be on President Trump when he goes and addresses the Knesset, when he meets with these hostages. I've watched this guy in private moments when the cameras weren't on and then when they were on, he, he knows how to cap, to make a moment. And he will embrace these hostages and their families in a very moving way and an authentic. Not this, I'm not trying to make it sound ungenuine, but he will take this and he knows how to seize a moment. Whereas other people would say, next Tuesday, fly them over. We'll have a ceremony in the Oval Office or the East Room. And so I think he understands you have to strike while the iron's hot. You have to capture the moment. And the eyes of the world will be on him.

[Mark Halperin]

You can compare it to East Palestine, if you'll pardon the reference of Palestine. Palestine. He just, he, he, he has a sense of being where the action is. He just wants to be there. And, and I'll be so curious. We all talked about the Democrat reaction. I'll be so curious to see how quickly we move to phase two. That's something I'm just so interested in. Is, are we talking about phase two in a month, in three days? I don't know, but there's a lot of phase two activity that needs to take place. All right, obviously, we welcome your questions on this topic. It is topic of the day. We'll move to some other things, but raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation there. The shutdown, another morning of. After a day of extraordinary activity, including confrontation between Mike Lawler and Hakeem Jeffries, another morning and into the day of lots of appearances on media, press conferences of the leaders all still trying to frame things. Everybody continues to say, perhaps something will change with the paychecks being cut off and with air traffic control. Issues report in the Wall Street Journal that Thune and Johnson have said to the White House, stop talking about firing people, stop talking about not paying people. And the White House seems to have reacted to that. So while those stories can be cast as divisions within the Republican side, here's the Wall Street Journal headline on this. They're exclusive. It really was advancing other people's reporting. But if they want to slap exclusive on it, I won't object. Republicans caution White House on inflicting shutdown pain. Some GOP lawmakers have warned the president's aides against mass layoffs and sharp cuts to government assistance. Again, you could do this from the Republican point of view at half full or half empty? Half full is they're coordinating. And when the president freelances a little bit and they ask him to dial back, he does. I don't get the sense that either side is ready to cave or are dealing with divisions that are, that are causing them to feel threatened from their current positions. Here is the speaker now. Let's start with, let's start with John Thune on Squawk Box talking about conversations with Democrats, which is again Senate Democrats, which is the way if this is settled, it'll eventually be settled, almost certainly. 118, please.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Well, I talked to a number of Democrats on a regular basis, including Senator Fetterman. And Senator Fetterman has done what I think is the courageous thing and the right thing for the country and that is voted consistently to open the government back up. But you know, I'm hoping there is a, there are a number of Democrats there, Joe. There are conversations going on all the time. But if this is going to get solved, it's probably going to get solved organically by rank and file Democrats because their leadership has no interest in a solution. When Chuck Schumer is saying this is getting better for us every day, that's not somebody who to wants wants to see this get resolved. And they are pandering to the left wing special interest groups out there who have demanded this and demanded this showdown with the president of the United States. And so we've got a bill, as I've said, that's passed the House that's sitting at the desk in the Senate that we could pass today, put it on the president's desk, he would sign it into law and this shutdown whole fiasco ends and people can get back to work and we can start paying the federal employee who are starting to.

[Mark Halperin]

Miss paychecks every pretty good analysis including there's a Politico story saying the left groups, the so called groups, are very happy with Schumer because he's not caved yet, which again suggests they don't have a lot of running room to make any adjustments. If you didn't see the confrontation four minutes or so between Mike Lawler and Hakeem Jeffries from yesterday, I recommend it to you if you like good political theater. Here is Jeffries this morning on CNN commenting on the confrontation. This is 117, please.

[Caller/Viewer]

Well, Maga Mike Lawler is An irrelevant individual. He doesn't even have the support of the House Republican leadership who have refused to address the issue of extending the Affordable Care act tax credits. The Democratic position has been clear. We will sit down with anyone, anytime, any place, one to reopen the government, negotiate a bipartisan agreement that has to, to actually make life better for the American people, not hurt everyday Americans. And a meaningful part of that is to address the Republican health care crisis, which includes, but is not limited to the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, the failure of Republicans to address the Affordable Care act tax credits that are expiring hospitals, nursing homes and community based health clinics, closes all across America, including in rural parts of the country because of the one big ugly bill. These are real issues affecting everyday Americans, working class Americans. And our view is that we need a meaningful response to addressing the Republican healthcare crisis, not simply a band aid solution that Republican leadership in the House and the Senate don't even support right now.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. Lastly, C Span, often known as two way with that video, is Speaker Johnson on his press tour. He's on FOX in a couple minutes. Again, took questions this morning and here's a question he got from a Republican caller about the shutdown.

[Speaker Johnson]

Hi, Mr. Johnson. So my question or comments are related to what you said yesterday about not being, being open to pass any legislation to ensure that military gets paid. I'm sure you can tell by my voice I'm very shaky. Just want you to hear a little bit about my family. I have two medically fragile children. I have a husband who actively serves this country. He suffers from PTSD from his two chores in Afghanistan. If we see a lapse in pay come the 15th, my children do not get to get the medication that's needed for them to live their life because we live paycheck to paycheck. I heard you earlier say that you side with President Trump on anything that he says. Well, I just read an article this morning that said he absolutely, wholeheartedly believes that there needs to be legislation put in so that we do not miss a paycheck. You have the power to do that. And as a Republican, I am very disappointed in my party and I'm very disappointed in you because you do have the power to call the House back. You did that or you refuse to do that just for show? I am begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die. We don't have the credit because of the medical bills that I have to pay regularly. You could stop this and you could be the one that could say military is getting paid. And I think that it is awful and the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families.

[Sean Spicer]

All right, Samantha.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Samantha, I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. The reason I've been so angry this week and they've been calling me out on media. Johnson's angry. I am angry because of situations just like yours. I have a big military district, and my district is the home of the Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk, the Joint Readiness Training Center. I have one of the biggest military districts and military families in America. I have a lot of airmen and soldiers who are deployed right now. And they have young families at home and they have children and in health situations like yours. This is what keeps me up at night. I want you to hear something very clearly. The Republicans are the ones delivering for you. We had a vote to pay the troops. It was the continuing resolution three weeks ago. Every single Republican but two voted to keep the government open so that your paycheck can flow. Every Democrat in the House, except for one, voted to close it. The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check. If we did another a vote on the floor. Pay troops. It's not a lawmaking exercise because Chuck Schumer is going to hold that up in the Senate. He is demonstrating by voting now six times to keep the government closed that he does not want the troops to be paid. And you should listen to his comments last night as reported this morning. He is enjoying this. He said, every day gets better for us, quote, unquote. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are preventing your family from getting the care they need, not Republicans. And my heart goes out to you.

[Mark Halperin]

And I'm not a political strategist, but I can tell you that answer sucked. So, Sean, you've said the House should come back. That lady says they should come back. A lot of Republican House members, at least some are saying they should come back. So, first question, because none of us know how the shutdown is going to. Do you think Johnson's going to have to bring the House back next week?

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, I think enough members are pissed. Enough members want to show that they're doing something. I get what he's trying to do, but there's enough of these members, rank and file folks, that are like, I can't just sit at home and say that I'm ready. They need. They feel like they need to be in town. So at the very least, they're going to. I think they'll Come back and there's going to be enough pressure to do this. I get what the speaker saying, and he's technically right. Right. They did pass the bill. They put it on the Senate. But that's not. When you stop. Whether it's. It's reality or perception, they need to show that they are on the side of. Especially not just obviously border patrol, FBI. I know the military is always the easiest one to be on the side of for. For the right reasons. But there's a lot of great Americans that are serving this country as well, not in uniform. And I think that like to jam the Democrats put. This is what I don't get about our strategy. Thune yesterday, according to some of the reports, is saying we could go jam the military bill, but then we'd have to get consent from the Senate. You control the floor.

[Dan Turtine]

Do it.

[Sean Spicer]

I just don't get it.

[Dan Turtine]

Just going to say this.

[Sean Spicer]

I literally. These guys are acting like they're not in charge, for God's sakes. Jam them.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Jam them.

[Dan Turtine]

I actually think Democrats would vote for it.

[Mark Halperin]

I agree.

[Sean Spicer]

This is insane. And I got to be honest with you, like, I am as political as they come, but these stories where it's like, well, so and so might lose leverage. Screw leverage. People's lives are at stake, guys. This is bs.

[Mark Halperin]

Jam them.

[Sean Spicer]

If they want to vote against a military standalone bill, put it on them. But don't sit around here and have these hypothetical conversations about Robert's rules of orders and, oh, I don't know what they might do on the second recommend.

[Dan Turtine]

Screw it.

[Mark Halperin]

Just say, of course I support the military. My heart breaks for you. I commit to you. We will get you paid. Right.

[Ambassador/Guest]

That's it.

[Mark Halperin]

This is.

[Dan Turtine]

Look, I mean it.

[Mark Halperin]

Damn.

[Dan Turtine]

And I think I, you know, Chuck Schumer's not wrong. I wouldn't have said this out loud, but Democrats actually. I can't believe this. I've gone from thinking like you're going to get rolled to you're hanging in there. And Republicans are starting to sweat a little bit for every reason we just discussed. Yeah, maybe it may end a different way. But I do agree because I've always said this. Republicans know they have to deal with this health care issue. So the farce of, well, we're going to open the government and then deal with it, but you don't want to. I do think that they're going to bring up an appropriations bill for the military. I do think at least a dozen Democrats are going to break in the Senate. So then the House has to Come back. And once you come back and vote, then the Republican strategy starts to collapse.

[Sean Spicer]

No, I don't think so. No, I don't.

[Mark Halperin]

I don't think it collapses.

[Dan Turtine]

So why does it hold then?

[Sean Spicer]

Oh, I think that you.

[Dan Turtine]

Because your talking point is. Your talking point is we have one bill, we've done our job, you do yours, Right.

[Sean Spicer]

And I think that what you do is you start to sort of take my piece and jam them even more. Fine, let's take veterans off the table.

[Dan Turtine]

They're going to keep voting for it. Democrats will. And they're going to say, what is your plan to deal with the health care and your bills?

[Sean Spicer]

You got 12 probe spills. You start going down one at a time. I actually think that's beautiful for the Republicans. But here's my analogy.

[Dan Turtine]

It increases our.

[Sean Spicer]

Whatever it was. And my timeline is probably off on this, but it was like two years ago, China floats a spy balloon over the United States. And I think even in China, they're like, why are these guys not shooting it down? Like, at some point they were like, this is insane. You're letting us float the damn balloon right now. I'm sitting here staring, going, guys, we as Republicans control the House. And I think the Democrats, Dan, to your point, Chuck Schumer is like, why aren't they jamming us? Why aren't they jamming us? And I'm like, I feel like that's like the China scenario where, like, you guys are letting the balloon just float.

[Mark Halperin]

Yes. All right, lots of hands up. So raise your hand if you'd like to be in on the conversation. We'd love more people, particularly some new people. I'll just tell you about two stories, then we'll do political potpourri, then we'll get to your questions. Two great stories in the Wall Street Journal, one you can see in other places, but the Journal piece is the best. China put more restrictions on the rare earth minerals that they have. I've said before, inexplicable to try to negotiate with these people. Coming up at the. On the sidelines of the summit in Korea, Wall Street Journal headline, china tightens grip on rare earths ahead of expected Trump Xi meeting. Beijing also expands controls on lithium batteries, flexing dominance in crucial sectors. I do not know how the United States goes into these negotiations and wins with Xi having this. We have stuff they want, too, but this is the, the ultimate trump card on trump. So read that story because it's, it's, it's literally, with everything going on, it's as important as anything else happening on earth currently. And then, second story in the Journal, they go deep into President Trump's relationship with the Justice Department. Lots of little details in the story. Here's the headline inside the Justice Department where the President calls the shots with an accidental social media post. Trump showed how much has changed since his first term. Lots of details in there, but they say this thing that's been bandied about on MSNBC and elsewhere, that. That post on Truth Social where Trump said, pam, you know, we got to start indicting these people was not intended to be a public post, but was intended to be a private communication. Sean, I would like to believe the President does not DM people, does he?

[Sean Spicer]

I. You know, his evolving technological use always amazes me. I did not know that that was an occurrence.

[Mark Halperin]

If he's. If He's. If he's DMing Pam Bondi.

[Sean Spicer]

But here's the bigger question.

[Mark Halperin]

No, hold on, hold on. I'm sorry. If he. If that's. If the Journal's reporting. True. Is true, and he's DMing people, that opens up, as I wrote my newsletter this morning, a can of worms bigger than the Ritz. Is he firing off? Is he dictating DMS, or is he literally typing DMs?

[Dan Turtine]

So.

[Sean Spicer]

So here's why I don't buy that one. It was. If you read it, it re. I mean, you don't go Pam in all caps. I mean, like, that's.

[Mark Halperin]

I agree. I agree. But the Journal. But the Journal is reporting it as fact.

[Sean Spicer]

I.

[Dan Turtine]

Okay, wow.

[Sean Spicer]

They're taking their second point in fairness.

[Dan Turtine]

Yes, sir.

[Sean Spicer]

Hold on.

[Ambassador/Guest]

But.

[Sean Spicer]

But here's the bigger point to your question about whether he DMS or not. He does text, and he's definitely got Pam's number. And. And so what I would say is you don't. I mean, it just is so. It's. So it would be so on him. Is it possible? Sure. Or could he have asked Dan or somebody else on the social team? But why? He can call her. He can text her. It just seems to me that it doesn't. It doesn't fit.

[Mark Halperin]

It does not fit the pattern. All right, lastly, political potpourri, you guys.

[Dan Turtine]

We have to add, it was an utterly bonkers statement. Now move on.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. California redistricting, the gubernatorial. I'm looking at the wrong list here. Okay. Anyway, just quickly, on California governor's race. Porter, is she. What are. What are the odds that she is one of the two candidates that make it into the runoff in the California governor's race. What are the odds that she's one of the two candidates? Dan?

[Dan Turtine]

They're decreasing. And what I'm watching is do progressives rally to her support Court. And how does Gavin Newsom, who wants to run for president, handle this? Because he doesn't want to get on the wrong side of the base. But the problem for Katie Porter is this is who she is.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Dan, I'm looking for a number. What's the percentage chance that she's one of the two candidates, regardless of party?

[Dan Turtine]

I'd say, I'd say set 60%, but I want to see what happens with progressives.

[Mark Halperin]

Whoa, Sean.

[Sean Spicer]

I was at 62. I would. By the way, I think that the DNC should spend some money between Jay Jones and Katie porter on anger management.

[Mark Halperin]

20, 20, 25%.

[Dan Turtine]

So who are the two candidates?

[Sean Spicer]

I was going to say, who takes number one?

[Mark Halperin]

Caruso. And whoever the progressives rally around is the alternative.

[Dan Turtine]

Well, so then you think progressives abandoned her?

[Mark Halperin]

Yes.

[Dan Turtine]

So I'm watching Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. She is like this with them.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. I don't think they'll rally to her.

[Dan Turtine]

Defense and AOC rallies.

[Sean Spicer]

Let's stay out of her video shots.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, Yeah. I, I, I, I just, if this were the only things, I think she could survive them. But as you have said, Dan and others have bombarded me with this is who she is.

[Dan Turtine]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

And, and the stories won't stop. And you saw this with Amy Klobuchar, and again, it's a sexist thing because men don't take heed on the, on this kind of temperament with staff issues nearly as much. But you saw it with Klobuchar. The minute she started to have success, the aides came out of the woodwork and said, absolutely not. We're going to start telling our stories. And because she can't be our nominee, because it's not a good idea, I think you're going to see the same thing with Porter. If she, if she continues to have success, you're going to see more stories. And the statement she put out yesterday to try to diffuse this was a piece of work.

[Dan Turtine]

And Mark, it won't just be report staff. There are a lot of members of Congress who had very rough interaction.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Dan Turtine]

Talk to other members of Congress like they were stupid sometimes in rooms, and they would love nothing less than to stick the knife in her.

[Mark Halperin]

All right. There was a debate, the last debate in the New Jersey governor's race. There's a debate tonight in the new, in the, in the Virginia governor's race there continues to be swirling things around the attorney general candidate for the Democrats Beshear Governor Beshear was asked about it wasn't full throated in his support but he still hasn't lost anything. So Sean, I turn to you to comment on any of those races New York City mayors race to whatever whatever you want to comment on in those in those three areas. Yeah.

[Sean Spicer]

One Mondami SENIOR MAYOR two in New Jersey I feel Citarelli I mean look I've never been a big fan of debates in their impact un there's a monumental moment. I thought look he scored some points last night but it was largely on his talking points. I actually was I thought she was her her attacks were rather lame about some pharmaceutical I mean it just it didn't it was too too tough. I think he continues to surge and then on the Virginia race I said this before all three are benefiting from Jay Jones because it's not one thing. It's he continues to have a cascade of negative of press his i64 speeding incident with his PAC, his other cop comments. The MIARI that just came out is beautiful. Well done, totally on point. I think that this is they you know, in a race in the final few weeks you want to be like riding the wave, not pushing back against it. The Republicans are riding the wave. All three of them are on it. I feel this is a great place for Republicans to be and you saw some investment. The RGA continues to come in for winsome especially in northern Virginia. If we can hold the tide here. I think this is big for them. Jay Jones is going to go down as the Terry McAuliffe of this cycle.

[Dan Turtine]

Dan really interesting if you haven't seen it in Axio story that Mandani ally is thinking of primarying Jeffries talk about the part. I mean that is such an interesting dynamic. And how does Jeffries respond in the middle of this shutdown with his left flank coming at him Still I think in New Jersey I you know I agree with Sean debates don't mean too much. I did to your point yesterday Mark think some of Cheryl's attacks where have the ads been on this stuff? Like why are you raising it three weeks out? You know it's like oh shoot, I better start like hitting this guy. And as far as Virginia goes 119 there was a story about about the Republican gubernatorial nominee and some expense disclosure. I read this two ways. Either you're kind of desperate and you're trying to find something to shift the conversation or like is there More to come for her and they're going to try to just hold on to the gubernatorial, you know, I'm not sure, but interesting that Democrats are pushing out now opposition research on, on Sears, but also.

[Sean Spicer]

Like if that's what you got on Wednesday, agree. I feel like you're right. It's like that small potatoes. And the tax against Mikey Sher, I was like, dude, this is like, wow. Like, I mean, as a guy who grew up, you know, doing oppo is my first gig. Like I would have gotten fired if they came back and said, this is all you got.

[Mark Halperin]

Yes. All right, now time for your questions, comments, concerns, recipes, or tell us how grateful you are for recommending Fairway and Green to you. Whatever you wish. You'll come in, you'll unmute, you'll tell us where you are, what's on your mind, and Dan and Sean will do their best to make you feel whole as that. Anyway, Jonathan, thank you for being part of the two way community. Unmute. Follow the instructions. There you go.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Hello.

[Mark Halperin]

I, I'm from Tennessee.

[Dan Turtine]

Nice.

[Caller/Viewer]

I, I wanted to ask specifically for.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Dan and Sean, with the budget, with.

[Caller/Viewer]

The shutdown and stuff, what would it take to get both sides happy and also to perhaps focus on maybe getting us reducing the deficit?

[Ambassador/Guest]

Is there an option to that gets.

[Caller/Viewer]

All of that or will someone have to sacrifice something?

[Dan Turtine]

Dan, I don't know about the budget deficit. I don't think that's going to be touched in the next few years. I think what makes everybody happy, I think the deal to get us out of this is apparent to everyone. It's just a sequencing issue. You know, are we going to do it together or are we going to do them separately? But I do think.

[Mark Halperin]

I'm sorry, switch over to Fox, Dan, keep talking. Switch over to Fox, please.

[Dan Turtine]

Yeah, so, I mean, I think both sides will ultimately be disappointed and ultimately be somewhat happy.

[Mark Halperin]

Sean.

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, I mean, look, I think Dan's right. This is a sequencing thing. And then I think Republicans are not going to ever agree to just an extension of the aca. It's ripe with fraud. So I think there's a secondary issue on that, the deficit. I think there are. I am a believer that there might be some benefit of the big beautiful bill on deficit reduction. I hold out hope for that, but I think that it's still not an issue that anyone's willing to fight for, which is massively unfortunate, especially for my own party.

[Mark Halperin]

Let's see what Fetterman saying about the deal, please.

[Dan Turtine]

Mark, I have a question. Do you think Trump brings anybody with him to Israel fully supported that.

[Caller/Viewer]

Now Syria is free. Now think what's accomplished here. So that's why we could have true peace in the region.

[Sean Spicer]

Now, do you think the president deserves.

[Mark Halperin]

A Nobel Peace Prize?

[Caller/Viewer]

Well, I mean, if this sticks, I think the whole point of having a Nobel Peace Prize is for ending wars and promoting peace. And I'm going to make a direct appeal to the president. You know, I hope he chooses to provide the tomahawks to the Ukrainians, too, and give them the tools that they need to push back against the Russia. And if he brings the Ukrainian war to its end, I'll be the Democrat leading the committee for his Nobel Prize piece for ending both of these terrible wars.

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, we'll see what happens.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay. Dump out of that. Thank you.

[Dan Turtine]

But like, this is an interesting point. If you're Trump, would you consider inviting, like, Ossoff and Fetterman and others to join you on the plane to go over one. It looks big. Two, just like Clinton with. With Gingrich during the shutdown. And I think it was 93 or 95. Work on them.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Dan Turtine]

Do we have something?

[Mark Halperin]

He would. Dan. He would. Dan. On one condition. When monkeys fly out of my butt.

[Sean Spicer]

Okay, real quick. By the way, we didn't touch on this.

[Dan Turtine]

But remember.

[Sean Spicer]

Remember, the Nobel Prize committee will announce its. Its award on Friday. But as you and I, we've all discussed privately like that that decision was made. That being said, I think there will be outrage because. Because this is insane.

[Mark Halperin]

I said on. On two way tonight last night. I pity the person who wins it because Trump is just going to mutilate them. On True social.

[Sean Spicer]

But not only that, but I mean, like, look, he should have gotten it for the first seven wars that he has been involved in stopping.

[Mark Halperin]

If they were. If they were smart, they just vote next year's now.

[Sean Spicer]

Or just saying we're amending. I mean, like you're. Yeah, I agree. This is stupid. By the way, I'm just voting now. I want to welcome in De Cruz, but Ken Lammy, whatever you're. I. He's got to get called on. That background is amazing.

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, Decruz, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind for Dan and Sean.

[Caller/Viewer]

Yeah. Hi. I'm in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Originally from the Pacific Northwest. I've been here for two months now. So getting used to Atlanta.

[Mark Halperin]

Awesome.

[Caller/Viewer]

The Atlanta region. My question is more for Dan, maybe for the rest of you. Dan, I kind of. I love you, but I Have a bone to pick with you. For the last couple of days, you've been talk. Talking about Bibi and just how Trump has cornered BB and sometimes when you say that, and I think I've heard it from the other two as well, Mark, it's Sean, like, you sometimes have this sort of. Like, you put Hamas, maybe not intentionally, but it feels like you're putting Hamas and Bibi on equal ground when it comes to negotiation. And I don't think it's equal ground. Like, I feel like Hamas is a terrorist organization. Bibi is trying to do what's right for his country. I would also disagree with you about, you know, the way that Trump has approached Bibi. Trump let Bibi do whatever he wanted. In fact, I would say that Bibi was hesitant to use all the force that's necessary. And Trump for the last few weeks has been like, go in. Destroy what you need to destroy to get this thing going. He's put pressure on Bibi to be more active, more violent, actually, than Bibi wanted to be. And in fact, the Doha attack may have seemed like a mistake on the surface, but I feel like it brought everybody to the table because it put, you know, it put everything on the table. Like, you can't be safe in Qatar. You have to be like, you can't be safe anywhere. That's what he was telling Hamas with. With the strike that happened there. So I think. I think there's a tendency on the left and on Democrat side to criticize Bibi, and there's very good reasons, too. But I don't think this was it. I don't think the Doha attack was.

[Dan Turtine]

The reason to do it well, so thank you. I kind of agree with everything you've said, and it was not my intent to say Netanyahu and Hamas are equal. I think Trump has masterfully used his relations and Jared and Witkoff with the Middle east to use the banks, the people provide the funding for Hamas, to squeeze Hamas to say, you need to kind of end this. I also think Israel has weakened Hamas so badly that Israel deserves credit. I mean, whether it's Iran or what happened in Syria or with Gaza, Israel's overwhelming force and success despite all the casualties, I think played a big role in this. But when I say he cornered Netanyahu, I mean this with the utmost respect. Traditionally, Netanyahu navigated American politics by always trying to get more. And I don't think Netanyahu wanted a peace deal right now, because I think he really would like to completely finish this job. And I Think Trump said, Look, you've won 90% of this, right? I got a deal. You're losing world opinion, you're losing American opinion. And what you did in Qatar weakened your hand even more. Now the world hates you, and I am what's standing between you and the rest of the world turning on Israel. Now, I'm with you. I've let you do everything you've wanted to some extent, but you need to take this deal. And I got Hamas funders willing to cut the funds off to help with this. I give Trump credit for that. That's masterful. And I don't think Kamala Harris would have done it.

[Mark Halperin]

To Cruz. Thank you. Grateful to you. Thank you so much. Okay, John, anything you want to say about that?

[Sean Spicer]

No, I agree. I think there's part of, again, what we're trying to do is always give analysis. Right. It's not saying that I. So part of this is to explain. Right. And so I think to some extent, making sure that everyone understands what Dan and I do is not necessarily saying we agree with everything, but it's try to give you the analysis of why it's happening or what we think is playing out. So I think there's a difference between what we want and what we think is happening.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Melissa, welcome and thanks for being part of two way with your pup. Pup's name, location, and what's on your mind?

[Melissa]

South Carolina. And this is Matt Stafford Moore. Yes.

[Mark Halperin]

Beautiful, beautiful.

[Dan Turtine]

Wait, Matt Stafford More. Are you, Are you a Matt Stafford football fan?

[Melissa]

Yeah, we are. We are Bulldog fans all the way. So this is from his. Yeah, so he goes by Stafford, but Dad agreed we could get not a bulldog if we gave it a bulldog name. So anyway, I, but I knew how to get on 2A was to put a dog on the screen, so.

[Dan Turtine]

Or well done football. One or the other. Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Melissa]

So anyway, I actually had a quick comment about the Katie Porter thing. I, I saw some of the clips about, like the staff stuff and maybe she dumped a boiling pot of mashed potatoes on her husband or something.

[Sean Spicer]

Happens all the time.

[Melissa]

Yeah. You know, but, but what bothers me is that is not those things. Like, you know, everybody has their private versus public appearance. It's the fact that she went to a news reporter and said, I don't care about the people that don't vote for me. If you voted for Trump, I don't care about you. Like, you're not good enough to be.

[Mark Halperin]

A constituent or totally, totally agree.

[Melissa]

That was the part that bothered me. And my. So my question about this. Marcus, you said that this doesn't seem that bad to you. Is this a common thing for people to say, that we just don't get to look at it very much or like, I don't understand, like how you thought this was not that bad?

[Mark Halperin]

I think the Democratic Party in general, and I've, I've been On this for 11 years, the Democratic Party, not everybody, but most too many in elective office and strategists are intellectually and politically uninterested in why Donald Trump won his elections. Why MAGA is a movement that got Trump elected twice and almost a third time. They're uninterested in it and they're, they're hostile about it. And, and you know, the, the, the high point or low point of this was when Hillary Clinton said deplorables to look down on people and people on this platform. One of the things I'm proudest about at this platform is we've had people come on now since we started who, who are not, you know, loving, in love with everything about Donald Trump, but they explain why they supported him because of the press, because the extreme positions of the Democratic Party on a lot of issues and the mindset reflected in that answer. And again, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt in the sense that maybe she did misunderstand the question or maybe she was interpreting it literally as she can win mathematically without winning the support of Trump voters. Which is, which is true. You know, give her the benefit of the doubt. But that sneering attitude of I don't need MAGA support is, is all too common. And it's, and it's so self defeating. And again, it applies almost as much, maybe as much to the media as it does to Democrats. Dan?

[Dan Turtine]

I totally agree with Mark. It's always my first thing I say to Democrats who always say, I don't understand why someone would vote for Donald Trump is you need to understand why people support Donald Trump and only then can you try to win people back versus the idea of you'll realize your mistake. To me, one of the things that was so. That just made my blood boil and reminded me of who Katie Porter is, is in that interview. Mark is right. Factually, she's probably correct. Right. I can win without getting. But it's the way she turned her, I think it was probably her staff off camera and was like, that is such a stupid question, essentially, like, why are you asking me such a. And that, like condescending, patronizing, looking down, like, I do think when people Think about how the party has evolved and our attitude toward Trump voters, our attitude to so many. Katie Porter is like, at the top of the list of just this high brow. I'm right, you're wrong. I know better than you she was in Congress. I would say this in the last couple years. And that answer and that whole interview and her facial expressions, and if you haven't read the statement she put out about how she needs to treat her staff, that sounds like it was written by a Harvard law professor, not a human being, so to speak. Says everything about her.

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, look, politics at its core is marketing. Right? You're trying to get somebody to volunteer, donate, activate, vote. That's politics. Truly in the product is either a policy, a ballot initiative, a candidate that, that's what you're selling. And so if you think about it in that terms, she's trying to sell herself. Here's why I want to be your governor. And she's basically saying, I don't need these customers. I don't need them. And, and that's, that's, to me, to. It just shows how you don't get it. At the very least, you should pretend, at the very, at the, in the, in the, in the most real sense want that. I, I, anytime I meet somebody, I genuinely want them to, to, to understand why they're not conservative, to why they think and hopefully bring them over at some point. Right. Whether it's a social issue on life or on, even on guns. And like, I honestly believe that, that my side is right and I want to engage with people to say, hey, tell me why you believe what you believe. So for her to be so dismissive really says a lot about her approach to the entire job. And that's just fundamentally, you go, do you really want somebody that. That's who they are.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah. Melissa, thank you for the question. Grateful to you. Thanks.

[Dan Turtine]

I do want to keep saying this. I'm really curious how Gavin Newsom handles this, because if she's the governor and he's running for president, I think she's a thorn in his side. I don't think she's a good partner for him if he's running.

[Sean Spicer]

Yeah, she's not a good partner. She poured scalding water over her husband's head. You think she's going to be a good partner to Gavin?

[Dan Turtine]

I just think she's going to want to be super progressive. She's going to, like, be super confrontational within the party, and that's a headache. If your hometown governor, the person who followed you, is Constantly causing headlines that you don't want to talk about.

[Sean Spicer]

Cruz. You're right, I'm sorry. You noted in the chat she's put scalding potatoes on his head, not water.

[Mark Halperin]

Don't read this chat. I. I know a bad idea. Hanning, welcome in. Thank you for being part of two. I tell folks who don't know where you are, what's on your mind and when you last shaved.

[Caller/Viewer]

Good morning, gentlemen. On the ground here in Oslo, Norway.

[Mark Halperin]

Awesome.

[Sean Spicer]

That's what I was gonna guess. That was my guess.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah.

[Caller/Viewer]

How was your guess? You guessed from the name.

[Sean Spicer]

No, I'm kidding.

[Mark Halperin]

It was the K and J combo. That exactly.

[Caller/Viewer]

Yeah. I am originally Norwegian. Yes. I have lived in the States for six years, but now I'm living back in, in Norway with my American wife. So big, big fan of the show. Been watching it for over a year.

[Mark Halperin]

Thank you.

[Caller/Viewer]

You're doing awesome, awesome idea and, and platform.

[Mark Halperin]

Grateful to you.

[Caller/Viewer]

I have a question pertaining to the Nobel Peace Prize, of course. In 2010, the price was awarded to a Chinese regime critic and that created a huge diplomatic controversy between Norway and China. Lasted I think for like eight years. We didn't have any high level talks and it had real world implications for trade and a bunch of stuff.

[Mark Halperin]

Chinese are sensitive lot.

[Caller/Viewer]

They are, but Trump is not.

[Mark Halperin]

You think he's going to impose 80% tariffs if you don't get the peace price?

[Caller/Viewer]

Oh, I hope not. But yeah, a lot of my fellow countrymen, I think you touched on it initially that Norwegians are, you know, maybe a little bit nervous and they might.

[Mark Halperin]

Be, I think to some extent it will depend on three things. Assuming he doesn't win it. One is, who does win it again, if it's, if it's like some left wing peacenik organization that nobody's ever heard of? Yeah, I think that could be a problem. Two is how do, how do you, how do people in the country who aren't on the committee, you know, what did they say? Do they just blame the committee or, or, you know, I mean, I don't know what the current status is. Your current government have anybody in it who's pro Trump?

[Caller/Viewer]

Not technically. The committee is appointed by the parliament.

[Mark Halperin]

The committee, not the committee. I'm talking about the parliament and the prime minister. Like anybody pro Trump at this point at all?

[Caller/Viewer]

Not, not in the government per se. I know that there's one guy that's on the committee that's positive towards Trump, but they need to, you know, have a consensus agreement. And I read there was published an interview with the chairman of the committee yesterday, Norwegian media said that they reached this final decision on Monday.

[Mark Halperin]

On Monday. All right, well, then they're in trouble because that was too soon. I was going to say my third thing was going to be if they say they made the decision like two months ago, then maybe they could get away with it. So based on the totality of what you said, you might want to move. Sean.

[Sean Spicer]

Well, let's just also recall you mentioned, I think he mentioned the 2010 Nobel Prize. The 2009 went to President Barack Obama for extraordinary efforts to strengthen international cooperation, diplomacy between peoples. A few months in, it was sort of future projection, projecting, saying, like, he'll do great things. So I think you're gonna see a lot of Trump bringing that up as well. Like, hey, you gave it to Obama based on the idea, the prospect that he might do something good. I actually have solved eight wars and I didn't get it. I mean, to me, the unfortunate part about this is the timing of it will probably occur prior to him leaving for Israel and that's another news cycle. That's not helpful. Yep.

[Mark Halperin]

Dan.

[Dan Turtine]

I'm really, I mean, I could see why he would get it. And I, you know, does the pressure campaign that Trump is running backfire? Like, a lot of people don't like to be put in a corner and he's tried to put them in a corner. And I think, you know, I know Trump likes to say he solved all these wars, but like, it doesn't help his cause when the Indian prime minister is like, you had, had nothing to do with this. Stop saying it. And I could see the committee being like, okay, this is Trump being Trump and we will not be bullied. But today, if you had the vote, how would you not give it to.

[Mark Halperin]

Right, Dan, you know who really doesn't like being in a corner? Baby, baby, baby. Thank you, Henning. Thank you for coming on. Very grateful to you.

[Dan Turtine]

You don't have to.

[Caller/Viewer]

Maybe I'll see you guys here December 10th. Should he get it?

[Mark Halperin]

Okay, we'll take some herring recommendations or.

[Sean Spicer]

Media seat on plane.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, I think they give us all the new media seat or we'd have to sit on laps.

[Sean Spicer]

I, I can at least the backup plane. We could, we could probably get on that.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, I'll check if Delta flies there. All right, thank you all for being here. Let's talk about what's coming up because there's a lot coming up. Sean, what do you have tonight?

[Sean Spicer]

Well, it's Thursday, so we're going to talk Nobel priests shut down the whole thing with the panel. We got a great panel coming your way tonight. In fact, my old colleague Lindsay Keith will be joining us. Rob Bluey from the Daily Signal Heritage foundation will be there as well. And then Aaron Wexler who always has a hot take.

[Mark Halperin]

All right, remember, the president's going to talk up a storm today at the cabinet meeting and then and then at the photo op. So that means you need two options. At four o' clock on two way. The first, Dan will tell you about. Dan, what do you have?

[Dan Turtine]

At 4 we have the group chat. Emma Jo, Nina, Robby and I will be talking about the peace deal in Israel today and what it means and just all, you know, many facets of the peace deal today.

[Mark Halperin]

I'll be doing the Same also at 4. If you want to join live to have the conversation pre taping in effect at 4 on the two way platform. We'll stream live at 6. Amongst our guests will be Brian Wolf, Democratic strategist and making his two way debut, Republican strategist Jeff Rowe, one of the smartest people I know in Republican politics will join us and we'll talk all about everything in the news, including what the President says is photo op. Moynihan reported seven Michael's guest Danny Polishchuk, author of the Boys Cast chats. That's at 7 o' clock Eastern. And then new episode of Next up drops later today and my reported monologue is going to be on funny stuff. You stay tuned for that. There's a teaser if you if you'd like to join me and David bonson. Next Tuesday, October 14, 4pm we're going to talk about the economy of special emphasis on AI and how that's impacting the current economy and the economy of the future. October 14th, 4:00pm Eastern Time. Go to Two Way TV TBG. Sign up for the event. Again, not available on YouTube, only on the Two Way platform. And you can also subscribe there to David's newsletter. Finally, we offer you this every so often if you're if you're an accredited investor and you have serious money, we're talking like tear and time money. Not spice or Halperin money but serious money to invest in two way. You'd like to be part of consideration for our next round. Not it says series A there. Let's update that graphic. This would be the series B. We've closed our A. Go to invest at 2way TV. Invest at 2way TV. Send us an email. Not go to send us an email. Invested 2 way TV. Again if you got, like, pocket change to invest. Thank you for considering it, but we're talking about big investors.

[Sean Spicer]

Venmo me on that. Just Venmo me.

[Mark Halperin]

Just Venmo shot. And the three of us will be back tomorrow, 9:00 o' clock Eastern Time. Dan, what do you predict we'll lead with tomorrow?

[Dan Turtine]

The peace deal.

[Mark Halperin]

Still, Sean, hard to talk.

[Sean Spicer]

100 peace deal, by the way, I.

[Mark Halperin]

Will say it'll be. It'll be. No, it'll be the Nobel Prize and Melania's announcement.

[Dan Turtine]

Oh, wait, there's the noble. Oh, that's right, because it comes out at like 5:00am or 4:00am yeah, yeah.

[Sean Spicer]

I'm in a tough spot because I already got my winners and losers. This piece. This is going to complicate things.

[Mark Halperin]

Yeah, you feel free to call an audible, like Tom.

[Sean Spicer]

I may have to. I just.

[Dan Turtine]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Tom Brady. All right, thank you all again for watching. We'll see you in 23 and I'll get you tomorrow.

[Sean Spicer]

Keep the Patriots up there, brother.

[Ambassador/Guest]

Yeah.

[Mark Halperin]

Have a good day, everybody. I'll see. I'll see you later.