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The Morning Meeting
Shutdown Showdown: Trump Prepares Budget Cuts He Says "Will Hurt Democrats"; AOC, Sanders Fire Back
01:03:40
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- [00:00]
Dan
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Mark
Everybody, welcome to Two Ways the morning meeting. Dan, Sean and I will take you through the day in the style of the Network News Division's morning meetings. If you're in the two way platform, get in on the conversation. Many people have already raised their hands. Join them. If you're watching on X or YouTube, don't do that. On this, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. A violent attack in England happened just a bit ago. Go ahead and take, take live coverage. Let's just check in on that story here at the top of the hour.
- [00:37]
Reporter
Hack at a synagogue in Manchester. A third person thought to be the attacker is shot dead by police. This image has emerged of a man who is believed to be the suspect. The incident took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar today. Like I said, being an auspicious high holy day. We've all fasted since 6:30 last night.
- [01:00]
Liz
You want to feel secure.
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Reporter
You want to be able to go to places and feel that you can just walk around and do what you can do. It's reported a car was driven towards members of the public. Three people remain in a serious condition.
- [01:15]
Dan
I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.
- [01:26]
Reporter
Prime Minister is to chair emergency COBRA meeting as he flies home early from an EU summit in Copenhagen. The king and Queen lead expressions of sympathy saying they are deeply shocked and saddened. Live and continuing coverage throughout the afternoon.
- [01:44]
Mark
Okay, well, you can kill that. We'll spend most of the program or a lot of the program talking about the shutdown and the politics of that. But just for starters, Sean, thoughts on that attack and timing of it and what do you think happens next in terms of England and the U.S. i.
- [02:02]
Sean
Don'T know in terms of England and the U.S. but I mean, it's obviously pretty grotesque and atrocious that people continue to use these opportunities. I mean, you think about what October 7th was, another holy day for the Jewish people. This has really got to stop. And I hope that more people speak out about it and that we don't just continue to roll through 48 hours later and forget what's going. So I think more than anything we continue to see tragedies. Everybody gets upset for a few days and then we move on. And I think we've seen a pattern here that needs to be seriously addressed.
- [02:36]
Mark
Dan, I'm a little surprised that neither CNN nor Fox is leading with it at the Top of the hour here. But your thoughts?
- [02:42]
Dan
Yeah, that is interesting. I think we'll need to obviously find out the motive and whether this person was part of a. Part of a larger group. My first thought really, in addition to what Sean just said, is will it impact Hamas's consideration of the peace deal? Because there are factions, you know, within Israel that don't really want to see a deal. There's certainly factions within Hamas that don't really want to see a deal. Is this somehow connected to that? We'll have to see.
- [03:11]
Mark
Okay, we'll talk a lot about the shutdown. If you've got questions on what's happened in Birmingham, of course you can ask them. And we'll keep following it during the hour. Manchester rather. So quick word from our sponsors, then we'll do the day book and then we'll get into. We'll get into it. Sponsor today. This morning, the good folks@takelean.com you get a 20% discount if you use the promo code Mark to avoid yo yo dieting, weight cycling. Go lean. Take lean allows you to lose weight the right way. Non prescription product produced by doctors created as an oral supplement. It's not a shot like a GLP1 injectable. The science behind it is based on again, the research doctors help maintain healthy blood sugar control your appetite and cravings burn fat by converting it to energy. So if you want to lose weight the right way, this has worked for many. Give it a try again. Go to takelean.com use the promo code mark20 off your full order initial order to be able to try to lose weight the right way. Again, promo code Mark go to take lean.com give it a try today. All right. President today. Is that the White House pool dance friends, the Huffington Post or the print pool. Sean's friend Sean's friends, the Blaze are the new media pool. And the president's at this point not doing much. Gets his intel briefing at 11 and that's it. He has no public events as of now but obviously will monitor the shutdown and presumably may take to social media to weigh in on things. Vice president very active yesterday. As of now, no public events. Right.
- [04:56]
Sean
Mark, can I just real quick on the schedule. He did truth out this morning. He's got a meeting with Russ vote. So I don't think it's officially on the schedule. But he made that clear.
- [05:05]
Mark
Yeah. And the two of them are amping up the pressure as we as they did yesterday threatening more layoffs and withholding of funds primarily to blue states. House Republican leadership Having a press conference at 10 o' clock and the Senate is in, but they're not going to vote today, according to John Thune. So the next possible, next possible vote to see if they can get more Senate Democrats to vote yesterday produced the same three votes, despite our speculation here. So no votes today. There continues to be murmurs of the possibility.
- [05:37]
Sean
Can I ask a question just out of curiosity? I obviously, today is a very holy day for the Jewish people. And I was trying to figure this out in my head because Thune had said because of the Jewish holiday, there aren't votes. Now. I didn't know if that was just deference to the religion in general. Okay. Because I, in my head and again, sometimes it's just I was like trying to think of obviously Schumer, like, but there's, there's, there are a number of Jewish members. Correct. That probably observe.
- [06:07]
Mark
Yeah, but. And then of course, typically don't vote on holidays.
- [06:11]
Dan
Yeah, right.
- [06:11]
Sean
No, no, I just, but we're typically not in a government shutdown. And so I just, I, again, more out of curiosity because I obviously just, I think in general, obviously it made sense because it is, there's probably a ton of staffers and support people that would observe. But I just, it was interesting because again, we're not normally in a situation where the government is shut down and.
- [06:33]
Dan
Yeah, no, they said earlier in the week, 11am on Friday is the next vote.
- [06:37]
Sean
Okay.
- [06:40]
Mark
I was about to make a joke, but I'm going to think better of it. All right.
- [06:45]
Sean
I need to do that more generally. I say it and then go, God, I should not have said that.
- [06:52]
Mark
And it's a bit of a shame because it was a very funny joke, but forget it. All right? A lot of polling out about a possible shutdown, about a blame for a shutdown, for the shutdown. Washington Post Poll 103A. Very negative to the Republicans. B. Go to B. Very weird way to frame their poll. According to the Post poll, overwhelming numbers are blaming Republicans for the shutdown as opposed to Democrats and independents. For instance, 50% blame Republicans. 30% or only 22% blame Democrats. New York Times poll 104A is different. Still more people are blaming Republicans. You go to the next one B. But the gap is. The gap is narrow. The government shutdown could offer a point of agreement. Asked which party should be blamed, 19% said Democrats, 26% said Trump. And the Republicans, 1/3 said both. So all the polls I've seen so far say people blaming Republicans more, but the gap in some is much more Narrow, as you see there. So let's start with the Democrats. They held served yesterday.
- [08:01]
Dan
And there's, there's one more poll. Yep.
- [08:03]
Mark
Yeah, there's another one again, similar, similar. That's the Marist poll. So they held served yesterday. Schumer didn't lose anybody. There's talk of a, of a nascent Senate gang to try to negotiate kind of a, you know, fig leaf for Schumer and others to say, yeah, we got something on health care, but Republicans are holding the line and increasing the pressure, as we said. Dan, if you were giving advice to the Democratic Senate caucus, what would your advice be?
- [08:31]
Dan
Well, I, look, I checked in last night around town, a lot of Democrats still feel comfortable to use Steve Elmendorf's, you know, when do people get uncomfortable idea. Democrats still feel pretty good. So I think it'll be interesting tomorrow because I think that'll be the last vote before and then members are going to go home for the weekend or at least be stay in Washington. But you're going to, you know, local ed boards and local constituents will kind of weigh in more as they gather over the weekend. I don't think they're going to lose any more tomorrow. But I think these conversations are going to intensify. And I think the off ramp is becoming apparent, which is there's going to be an extension probably to November, as is in the House bill, and there's going to be a deal on the Obamacare subsidies with some changes that Republicans can say to their base, we strengthen the program.
- [09:25]
Mark
So, Sean, Republicans clearly knew that they have a vulnerability on health care and turn the health care fight into a fight about illegal immigrants. I would say based on the totality of what I know now, Republicans are right in a technical sense, but they're obviously exaggerating it. I want to show you what people do in politics. I want to show you. It's long, but I think worth watching. This is AOC and Bernie. It's brilliant, buddy. Picture. Dan says it's brilliant. I'll be curious to see what John thinks. A lot of people think it's good. There's a video made by two progressives just out for a walk and luckily a video crew happened to be there talking about why this is a fight about health care. Please roll 115.
- [10:10]
Bernie Sanders
Hey, everybody. I was walking here in Washington, D.C. and who did I bump into? One of my favorite members of the United States Congress, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, one.
- [10:22]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Of my favorite senators.
- [10:23]
Mark
Right.
- [10:25]
Bernie Sanders
Anyhow, as everybody knows, we are now in a government Shutdown. Republicans are attacking Alexandria, attacking me. Why didn't you vote for this clean CR to keep the government open?
- [10:41]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Well, there's nothing clean about it. This is one of the dirtiest tricks that is being pulled on the American people right now. Starting today, October 1st, and throughout the rest of the month, Americans across this country are going to start getting notifications that their insurance premiums are up to doubling. We're talking about.
- [11:02]
Bernie Sanders
Say that again.
- [11:03]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Your insurance, your monthly insurance premiums are going to double for millions of people across the country at a time.
- [11:12]
Bernie Sanders
And we're already paying by far the highest prices in the world for health care at a time when people can't afford it right now.
- [11:20]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
So what happens that means people getting bankrupt over chemotherapy, people going to the pharmacy and not being able to get their insulin. And frankly, it means a lot of Americans are going to be in danger and Republicans want us to rubber stamp that. So what are we going to say to that, Bernie?
- [11:37]
Bernie Sanders
I'll tell you that. Suddenly be in danger. Let's be clear. And it doesn't make me happy to have to say this, but there have been studies out there that when you combine doubling premiums for the ACA and then throwing 15 million people off of Medicaid and the ACA, the result is, according to studies at Yale and University of Pennsylvania, 50,000 low income working class Americans will die every single year.
- [12:08]
Mark
All right?
- [12:10]
Bernie Sanders
If you don't have the money to go to a doctor and you're sick, you die. And that's what we're looking at. That's what this clean bill is about.
- [12:19]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
And so Republicans want us to rubber stamp that. And we're saying no, we need to stand up for the American people. We need to stand up for our healthcare system. And if they want our votes, they need to make sure that we're protecting every American and making sure that we can do what we can to continue to make health care accessible, affordable, as we work to make it a human right for all.
- [12:41]
Bernie Sanders
Right, so let me just back that up. Remember, right now, our healthcare system is broken. Right now we're the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people. And these guys want to make it even worse. We're not going to let that happen.
- [12:56]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
No, we're not.
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Bernie Sanders
Thank you.
- [12:57]
Sean
Onward, Sean.
- [13:00]
Mark
I thought she was going to end by saying, onward, comrades, but she didn't. Thoughts on the video and thoughts on the terrain that the Democrats are trying to fight this out on.
- [13:10]
Sean
So I would call that Bernie splaining. It was kind of funny. How he let her. He was like, alexandria, can you say something? And then I'm going to tell everyone what you really meant. It was. It was. I mean, I. So, one. I'll say. It's amazing.
- [13:22]
Dan
Unlike Donald Trump with his cabinet sitting behind.
- [13:25]
Sean
No, I'm just. Look, I'm critiquing. Look, look, here's the deal.
- [13:28]
Dan
1.
- [13:29]
Sean
First of all, I'm glad they can walk so safely in D.C. so thank goodness that that can happen.
- [13:33]
Dan
Well played, Trump.
- [13:35]
Sean
So, yeah, I'm so glad they can just walk so freely and safely through our nation's capital. Look, I give the quality of the video an A. I think the length was too long. Look, I just think that they. The pitch, when you're explaining, you're losing. And he's going in about studies and whatever. So the production quality. Good. I think the message needs to be tightened up. And frankly, this is where. If I were a Republican and Speaker Johnson should spend more time on conservative outlets as opposed to going on CNN and ABC over and over again. But the reality is, is that he actually had a decent message, which is. And this is where it needs to be tightened instead of going an equally long thing. It just needs to. Great, we will have that discussion. But we're going to get. We got to fund the government for, you know, in this case, seven weeks maybe. The negotiating point that I said earlier is to take the number down. Hey, we need four weeks to get this done. We agree it needs to happen. So let's keep the government open and then have the discussion. But they need to go to a sequencing fight as opposed to try to have that fight now.
- [14:39]
Dan
By the way, Mark, can I just say, if I were Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, how on earth. Like, look at what they just did. Clean cr. Dirty trick. Perfect slogan to throw back, right? They laid it out. I've watched I don't know how many Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer interviews where, my God, you want to pull your hair out listening to them. That was clean, crisp and concise. You could argue it should have been 60 seconds, not 90 seconds or two minutes. But you hear that as a Democrat, and you think, I got my marching orders, I got my messaging, I got my talking points. Okay, we're exaggerating. People will die. Well, guess what? It's not all illegal immigrants. It's actually mostly people in red states. Like, you take that and you can pivot right back, which is what I've said since August. And yet Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are so incompetent and out of their, you know, depth when it comes to the modern game that you just want to say, like, guys, what are you doing? Just use them well, or use.
- [15:40]
Sean
I'll be honest. Look, I hate to say this because as you know, this is not. She is the best messenger you guys have. She, she knows how to say stuff. Again, I would say among the four, this is a no brainer. And Chuck Schumer gets up there and goes on these random stem winders and stops talking about Washington jargon.
- [15:57]
Dan
It's like the Senate floor. I mean, he's a creature of it. Now, by the way, Mark, you still think she's not a top candidate in the primary? In the primary, not the general way.
- [16:06]
Sean
I do want to say this, and I will agree with Mark that yes, maybe it's taken a little too far, but the reality is, and Jake Tapper of all people, who is literally a former dnc, I mean, like he is a Democratic staffer, worked for Hillary Clinton's aside from working for Hooters and being their spokesman. Jake last night admitted, read the bill and said it actually does allow people in this country illegally to receive hospital benefits and other medical services. It's a fact.
- [16:35]
Dan
So at the end of the day, most of the people we're talking about are working class people in red states. That is a fact. Which is why Republicans know they have.
- [16:43]
Sean
To put a clean CR that we're having two separate discussions. The policy.
- [16:46]
Dan
I hear you. I hear you.
- [16:47]
Mark
Yeah. All right. We could talk if people want to talk about the health care fight. I think I now under. I think I now understand it after two days. But we all know why the. So, so what's a Democrat cave? A Democrat cave is they vote for a clean CR regardless of what, what they get regarding future conversations about these health care.
- [17:08]
Dan
No, no, don't get a guarantee. They'll get a guarantee.
- [17:10]
Sean
That's. That's the deal. Get the guarantee on the vote.
- [17:14]
Mark
But what's the guarantee? A specific vote or a conversation?
- [17:17]
Dan
Yes. Yeah. No, I think there is a. And I've said this for a while, there are a series of House Republicans, it's much smaller, but a legitimate number of Senate Republicans that desperately want to solve this ACA deal.
- [17:30]
Mark
If that happens, if that's the deal, will the Democratic base accuse Schumer and Senate Republicans of caving? Yes or no?
- [17:37]
Dan
You mean Senate Democrats, Senate Democrats.
- [17:39]
Mark
What? Will will.
- [17:40]
Dan
Yes.
- [17:41]
Sean
Yeah.
- [17:41]
Mark
And okay. And if that's the deal, will. Will Thune and Johnson and Trump gloat and say we won or will they say, you know, the government's back open, great for America.
- [17:54]
Dan
Yeah, they'll say that, that they won and that they solved the health care crisis. I mean, that they'll, they all, it's like Bill Clinton.
- [17:59]
Mark
Okay. Lastly, we've just laid out what we think will amount to the accusation of a Democratic cave, and largely a Democratic cave, if that's what it is. Can either of you think of anything that would cause the Republicans to give in if the poll numbers got worse? Or is there any, is there any scenario where it's not just a matter of time before the Democrats make a deal like that?
- [18:21]
Dan
Well, the one thing and I talking to someone in leadership last night, a senior staffer, is rate notices are going to start going out and they think that is their, their crudgel that when it hits in Republican, you know, constituents mailbox that their premiums have legitimately doubled, people are going to say wtf.
- [18:43]
Sean
By the way, I, and this, this is something that Bernie said in that video that I find so ironic. The whole goal of Obama. I mean, I know this is esoteric and this is not going to, this is not the fight now, but there is something ironic about the fact that, that all of these costs. I, you know, I have a bunch of employees, I have health care that I have to like, all of the costs are exploding because of Obamacare. The nut, the nuttiest part of this is the reason that these things are going up is because of the very program that they're fighting for. We are fighting for this. And secondly, President Trump made the greatest deal on prescription drugs two days ago in the Oval Office to take down actual prescription drug costs for, for every American that's on key drugs. And not one Democrat said a damn thing. You want to talk about fighting for people's health care costs. President Trump made a milestone achievement in that area two days ago and not one Democrat said one thing.
- [19:37]
Dan
I can't wait for the Trump health care bill. All right, I think that's the midterm should be.
- [19:40]
Mark
I have one more question related to the shutdown, then three more quick topics and then to your questions in the community. So please raise your hand. We had a day and a half of, of crocodile tears from Hakeem Jeffries, how outraged he was at an immature video from the president making fun of him, how this was beneath the office, blah, blah, blah.
- [20:00]
Dan
Please come to me first, please.
- [20:02]
Mark
Okay, then yesterday, do we have the, I don't know if this is the right video. Do we have the video that Hakeem Jeffries tweeted Is that. I. I don't see it on the list. Maybe I miss missing it. Do we have the video? Hakeem Jeffries tweeted making fun of J.D. vince. Is that. Is that one. Oh, is that 107?
- [20:18]
Dan
The president's been posting some images of.
- [20:20]
Sean
Leader Jeffries and Senator Schumer.
- [20:23]
Mark
Is that the right one? Anyway, Hakeem Jeffries posted a video of making. Maybe this is. What message does that send?
- [20:30]
Sean
Is it helpful to post pictures of Leader Jeffries and a sombrero if you're.
- [20:33]
Mark
Trying to have good faith talks with him? Oh, I think it's funny. The President's joking and we're having a good time. You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the. The Democrats positions and even, you know, poking some of some fun at the absurdity Democrats. I mean, I'll tell Hakeem. They're literally there. Literally some Democrats who said to me, well, it's wrong for the President of the United States to do that, but for anybody else, it's on good fun. Sean, can you explain to me why, like, the Jefferies change tactics? Did he go from saying, no, no funny memes to funny memes are okay if I do it? What. What happened there, Mark?
- [21:10]
Sean
It's simple. Hakeem Jeffries hired the marketing team from Cracker Barrel to help him.
- [21:17]
Dan
Come on.
- [21:17]
Sean
That was good. I saved that all night. I mean, look, this is so bad.
- [21:22]
Dan
It was.
- [21:23]
Sean
It was literally like, I hope that all the people that do his social media were furloughed and that, like, somebody has had cap cut because that was embarrassing. The idea that this is what you come back with was just really, really sad and pathetic. I mean, I. To Dan's point, yesterday, Gavin Newsom needs to get on the phone and say, hey, I'm sending you a couple of folks for a week. They'll be in your office. Just say thank you, Dan.
- [21:49]
Mark
Sean didn't like the execution, but I'm still focused on this question of, like, he was on the high, high horse, on the high road, and now he's doing something. You know, I mean, maybe if Trump's was, quote, unquote, racist and that was just mocking. I don't know. Did you see that as a. As a Jeffrey's decision to not can't beat him, join him? Like, what am I missing?
- [22:10]
Dan
Yeah, I mean, look, I. There's been so much attention on Schumer and his problems and how he's struggling to lead his caucus. Jeffries, time and again, kind of disappoints you. And I think the fact that Jeffries responded to that not only with a flash of anger, but he did it on the Capitol steps with members of Congress behind him. Like, nothing screams 80s and 70s and 90s like that. I still would say people who have done the best against Donald Trump, who get in his head, who set him off to be the worst of Trump, is when they mock him relentlessly with humor. And I don't know why Democrats do not follow what Gavin Newsom did. Like, I'd have pictures of, like, memes of Trump with fat, swollen ankles. He can't walk upstairs. He's drooling. Like, taunt him. Taunt him. That, like, his capture. Speak behind him, like, get in the game and smack him around instead of being, like, indignant. How dare somebody use the Internet to make fun of somebody?
- [23:12]
Sean
Well, then let's go to 106 and show what the geniuses over at the DNC did. Take a look at this.
- [23:17]
Dan
Oh, come on. There has to be a rule.
- [23:20]
Sean
You think Jeffries is bad? Here we go.
- [23:24]
Mark
Publican and Democrat kiddies cannot agree on what should be funded. Democrat kiddies want you to have health care. Republican kiddies do not. Republican kiddies control the Senate House and the White House. So they're using that to cut your health care and give money to billionaires. Democrat Kitty tries to negotiate, but Republican kitty keeps running away. He has a vacation to get to. Oh, suddenly the money you pay for your health insurance has tripled. Thanks, Republicans.
- [23:49]
Sean
Do you understand that's not a meme on the Internet. That's from the dnc.
- [23:55]
Mark
I don't hate it as much as you do. I don't hate it as much as you do. It's as they say in the business. As they say in the business. Sean, we're talking about it. Hey, Sean, could you back your shot up a little bit? Are you. Are you wearing fairway and green?
- [24:12]
Sean
Well, Mark, not only am I wearing fairway and green, it's a little chilly here in Alexandria, so I'm wearing the Dale pullover in a shadow Heather.
- [24:19]
Dan
Gray shadow Heather.
- [24:20]
Mark
Okay, that's what I wanted to know. And, Dan, your fairway and green quarter zip.
- [24:24]
Dan
What is it?
- [24:25]
Mark
Yeah, what color is that?
- [24:27]
Dan
I don't know the technical one, but it's purple.
- [24:28]
Mark
Really? Is it a mauve? It's not purple. Someone go. Someone go. Someone go on the website and put in the chat, please.
- [24:37]
Sean
Yeah, I mean, this isn't Just Heather Gray.
- [24:40]
Mark
This is Shadow Dan. Dan. Our colleagues, our colleagues at Fairway Green spend lots of time coming up with the precise color names and for you to just.
- [24:48]
Dan
Yeah, okay, fair enough.
- [24:49]
Sean
By the way. All right. This has got the morning meeting in a very subtle white. So again, it doesn't scream at you. And on these chilly mornings. And Mark, the beautiful thing is if you go to 2way TV Fairway and use code 2way20, you can save 20% site wide off any of the amazing products.
- [25:08]
Mark
All right, Diane will look at the color.
- [25:10]
Dan
The color may be Olympia. Heather.
- [25:12]
Mark
I think that's what it is. Olympia. Thank you for that. Okay. 112, please. 112. Wall Street Journal exclusive. Not a huge surprise, but the Journal reports the Trump administration now says to Ukrainians, we will help you with intelligence to allow you to target Russian energy assets. US to provide Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes deep inside Russia. And again, you read into the story, it's about these energy targets, which is a key thing that the Biden administration thought would start World War Three. Just quickly, guys, because this is somewhat incremental. Dan, do you think if this happens changes the complexions of the war dramatically or if it happens, it's incremental?
- [25:54]
Dan
If it happens, you know, it's incremental. But it also does change it because if you start to hit Russian targets in Russia and inflict more damage, that gets Putin's attention, Sean?
- [26:04]
Sean
Oh, I think it sends a very clear signal to Putin. We're. We're getting notching it and taking it up one more notch. This is a big deal. It allows strikes inside Russia at key assets in their info on their infrastructure. So I, I think to your point, though, the key is if. Right? So this is a signal we're going to do this. It's kind of like the Hamas thing. If you have three days or we will. But once they actually do, I think that'll be huge.
- [26:29]
Mark
Okay. Howard Lutnick, one of the most interesting members of the administration. It's so crazy how news works. Howard Lutnick did an interview with Miranda Miranda for Podfoss One podcast. And he said stuff about Jeffrey Epstein that had he said it two months ago, this would have been the biggest story ever. Even during his shutdown, Howard Lutnick tells Pod Force One ex neighbor Jeffrey Epstein showed off massage rooms made creepy comment during townhouse tour. Let's play a bit of what Howard said.
- [27:03]
Dan
The guy's gross, right? With my wife is grow. The guy's gross. This was not. Howard was his neighbor. Howard Lutnick Yeah. This guy's gross.
- [27:13]
Mark
Right. Howard and his wife went over to the house.
- [27:15]
Reporter
These other people could hang around him and not see what you saw or did they see it and ignore it or.
- [27:22]
Dan
No, they participated.
- [27:23]
Mark
Right.
- [27:24]
Dan
That's what his M.O. was. You know, get a massage. Get a massage. And what happened in that massage room, I assume was on video. This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever. Blackmailed people. That's how we had money.
- [27:38]
Mark
So again, Howard moved.
- [27:39]
Dan
Howard's. On my message. Howard.
- [27:41]
Mark
Howard and his wife moved into the neighborhood, went over next door. Yeah. Epstein showed them a massage room, and he said, like, I get special massages here. And here is a member of Donald Trump's cabinet in counter to what. What the FBI says and, and the available evidence back to this narrative of he, He, He. He had men come in, say, get a massage, he videotaped them, then he blackmailed them, and he said Bill Gates was amongst those who did it. Sean, what do you say about Mr. Lutnick as a, As a. As a historian?
- [28:16]
Sean
Back when I used to do media training for military flag officers, we used to be very clear that you should stay in your lane. So if a particular secretary.
- [28:27]
Mark
Secretary of Commerce and Epstein.
- [28:29]
Sean
Yeah, so. So I would just advise everyone to stay in your lane. If it's not pertinent to what you are doing, you might not want to discuss it or enter into evidence that which you are not being asked.
- [28:42]
Mark
Dan, I know Epstein's not, like, front and center today, and I know the shutdown, etc, but shouldn't more people being. Be paying attention to this? Or they just think he's making it up? Like, why isn't this getting. I bet most people listening to us now, this is the first they're hearing of it unless they read the New York Post, as they should. But why. Why is this not getting more attention?
- [29:02]
Dan
By the way, shout out to Miranda Devine. That podcast has made news almost every time they interview somebody.
- [29:07]
Mark
Yes.
- [29:08]
Dan
I mean, Sean, look, stay in your lane. He was his neighbor. He ran. Howard Lutnick ran in the same circles. He knows a lot of the same people who were friends with Epstein. Like, it's consistent with everything I've heard.
- [29:22]
Mark
But you think Howard really believes that, or he's just.
- [29:24]
Dan
Oh, 100%. And I've said it since this whole thing erupted. It has always my understanding that that was how he monetized his relationship.
- [29:31]
Mark
But there's no but. There's no evidence of it, Dan.
- [29:34]
Dan
Well, there are a lot of journalists working on this, and there are a Lot of journalists that have. Not a lot, but there are prominent journalists who have seen the sealed evidence, don't ask me how that they got it, who claim they have seen the names of the people. Now, the reason they don't come forward is these are very powerful people. And if you, you're going to face millions of dollars in legal costs if you go on record because it is sealed. So I think the question is, does Maxwell get pardoned? We've always said this. The story comes back if something new is added to the mix. And there's a lot of rich, powerful people who are still praying that their names never see the light of day.
- [30:16]
Sean
Let's go back to the premise of your question. If the reason it's not getting attention is because it's speculative. If there was a. I saw a camera in the corner, that's factual.
- [30:27]
Dan
The New York Times has the photos of his house with the cameras in there, which they ran back, I think it was over the summer. And that whole thing that was like bonkers of the naked artwork and the massage tables. And you can.
- [30:39]
Sean
Well, no, I guess. And again, I will say this for a lot of personal. I don't, I really don't try to follow this because I find it, you know, I find I follow it on the political side because we talk about it. But like the nuances of what he had in his apartment are nothing, frankly, disgust me. And so I, My, my point is more. If we knew there were tapes of individuals that had been recorded doing bad things. I think that's true. I've never heard that that exists. Is that. Do you.
- [31:07]
Bernie Sanders
Do.
- [31:07]
Sean
I mean, it's one thing that no.
- [31:08]
Dan
One'S ever said about the tapes. I mean, I, you know, and so.
- [31:11]
Sean
That'S what I assume they were videoed or whatever the phraseology was there that matters because it's, it's the reason it's not getting attention. Is someone saying that's purely speculative?
- [31:22]
Mark
I mean, Yes, I agree with Sean. All right, just quickly, there's a, there's a double header of ROM 28 on the wall Street Journal editorial page today. Rom himself has an op ed piece, even though he writes, I think he's a columnist for the Washington Post. He's got an op ed piece in the Journal about education, hits the teacher's unions a little bit. Just a lot. It's a lot of. It's a very Clinton esque piece about, you know, we need to, he uses, even uses the term seed corn, which is something Bill Clinton always said. So Rahm is Basically self consciously trying to be Clinton 28 and Bill Clinton 28. And Karl Rove has a piece about the Democratic Party with some very favorable.
- [32:08]
Dan
At the end there.
- [32:08]
Mark
Yeah, a very favorable summary of what Rahm said in Iowa. I think this next screen. Right. Or maybe not.
- [32:16]
Sean
He.
- [32:17]
Mark
I don't know how he got so many quotes from Rom's speech. I went and looked for himself, but I saw more quotes from Rahm's remarks at the fish fry in Iowa in Carl's column than I did anywhere else. And then, and then Hugh Hewitt had a tweet very favorable to Rom. Rahm seems to be shaping up to be like the Gang of 500 bipartisan Gang of 500 consensus candidate choice. So my question to you is Dan first and John is support. And again, Carl's not endorsing him. He's just saying that smart to be more centrist. Is. Is the support of people like Karl Rove and Hugh Hewitt, is that good for Rahm? Because Democratic donors will say great, like, yes, if, if they think Rahm can win. You know, we'll be. We'll give money to Rahm. Or is it bad for Rahm because the base will say, see, this guy is the candidate of Hugh Hewitt.
- [33:06]
Dan
Look, I think it's both because just like with Gavin Newsom, you got to break out of the pack. So one of the reasons Rahm's getting all this press is he's he first off, he's not in office right now. He's the only one really out there doing stuff every single day, trying to get into the conversation people to judge at times has. But then he kind of recedes. So I think you need to be taken seriously. You need to be in the mix. You need to have your name bannered. About Rahm's. We've always said this. Rahm's Achilles remains the base. And I wrote about this earlier in the week. At some point, he needs to do something to show them some love, to give them a reason to say, all right, let me look at you. Because the irony for Rahm is his personality is made for this moment. He is intense. He's competitive. He really likes to win. He's unafraid to rough people up. He's excellent at the dark arts for a party that is desperate for that. But he's got to find an issue to latch onto where the base is like, amen, you're our champion on this. But Rom continues to be someone that I think could move into that first tier by next spring if he keeps doing this.
- [34:18]
Mark
Does he need to. Need to do the base thing before the midterms?
- [34:21]
Dan
No. No. Well, you need to start laying the groundwork for it because otherwise it's going to look a little inauthentic. And I think my worry for Ron would be if you don't do it now and someone else does it, then you've lost out. So Shapiro, like, if you look at that moderate wing, there's nobody in it right now. We talk about Whitmer, we talk about Shapiro. Brashear is trying, but he's not. He doesn't have the personality of Rahm. So there's an opportunity for Rahm to get into that first tier by next summer in the moderate lane.
- [34:56]
Mark
Rom. Sean, I continue to think that Rahm could surprise people with how much money he raises and that he could win the money primary, not counting Pritzker's own money. That Rom could literally, if you count super packet, he really could. And winning the money primary in 2026 into 2027 would be a big deal, right?
- [35:15]
Dan
It was.
- [35:15]
Sean
He's. I mean, look, first of all, I think Dan's absolutely right analysis wise of where he stands and not my party. But I would, from my, my perspective, I think Dan's put his finger on this. I think Rahm has somewhat of a buttigieg problem with the black constituency in the Democratic party, and that's a problem. I would take it up one notch, which is writing op EDS in the Wall Street Journal is probably not the audience of the base. But I just want people to listen to two lines. The latest education data is devastating. This is Rom in the Wall Street Journal. American students are performing worse in math and reading than they were a generation ago. Instead of confronting the crisis, Washington is silent. We've let the national debate get hijacked by distractions, bathrooms, pronouns, and school names, while ignoring the fact that too many kids don't know what a pronoun even is. We've lost the plot. If Rahm took that, jacked it up and said, guys, we can't have these fights because we're losing the next generation. They're going to the Republicans and da, da, da. He's got to twist it from policy also to politics. And to say we're losing young men because we're not focused on the priorities, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh. And get sort of indignant and pissed off, which he can do very easily. And I think that Rahm could not just own that lane, but actually expand that lane. And if he takes it from just Being professorial to pissed.
- [36:38]
Mark
I'll tell you, I'll tell you the difference between Rahm and Pete on, on black support. Rahm can draw on black people in Chicago. He can draw on members of the Black Caucus that he served with. He can draw members of the black professional class who he's known for 30 years to, to, to get validators that are, that are. Be significant. And I don't, I don't. I just don't.
- [37:00]
Sean
Oh, no, I agree with you, by the way.
- [37:01]
Dan
I think he's got a certain former black president.
- [37:04]
Mark
Yeah, yes, yes, maybe.
- [37:07]
Sean
But I think my point is, is that he faced a problem, a little bit of a problem in Chicago with it, with crime.
- [37:13]
Mark
Yeah.
- [37:14]
Sean
But I agree with you 100%. I think he can get it back a lot easier. And again, I think what he's saying right now, going into black communities, if he started talking about education as the way forward and our focus is on the opportunities that exist, blah, blah, blah, he could own that.
- [37:29]
Mark
What's hilarious for me, as someone whose first campaign that I covered was Clinton 92. What's hilarious is just in that op ed, not just to use the word seed corn, but the whole way he's going about this is exactly, exactly the way Bill Clinton did it. Again, I think the problem is Bill Clinton should have had a problem with the base, but the base was not as powerful, although it seemed really powerful. That base was not as powerful, wasn't as far to the left. And Bill Clinton had a really sophisticated way to appeal to the base. And Rahm just doesn't have that. As you said, Danny's gonna have to find it. But he, but if, even if he finds one thing, it's gonna be a one off. He doesn't have the consistent. As Bill Clinton used to say, I'm a Democrat by heritage, conviction and birth. And.
- [38:13]
Dan
Well, I mean. And look, the challenge that he's gonna have and everyone's gonna have is go back to what we started with that AOC video. Bernie Sanders is gonna be right by her side. She's gonna start with 20% of the vote. She will win the hard money primary by 5 or 6, maybe 10x. She'll raise so much money online, it will be bonkers.
- [38:37]
Mark
Can you, can you imagine if there's actually debate that includes Rom?
- [38:40]
Dan
And I mean, that's the thing that'd be. But that's where you start to say to yourself, newsom's trying to go down the middle. She's going to have the left. Rahm and Brashear Are staking out the right. And this goes to people like Shapiro. How long do you sit there and let these contours all fill.
- [38:58]
Mark
Yeah.
- [38:58]
Dan
Before you're like, what is my plan to get in here?
- [39:01]
Mark
Yeah, Liz, what's your plan to get in? Raise your hand.
- [39:04]
Dan
I've unmuted your hand.
- [39:05]
Mark
Welcome. Welcome in. Thank you for being part of Two Way. Tell folks who don't know where you are, who makes that chandelier and what's on your mind.
- [39:12]
Liz
No idea. Who made the chandelier.
- [39:14]
Sean
We live Pottery Barn.
- [39:16]
Liz
Probably live in Minnesota when we moved in. Yeah, we're in Minnesota.
- [39:21]
Mark
Yeah. Where do you.
- [39:21]
Liz
Cities.
- [39:22]
Mark
Great. Well, welcome and thank you for being part of two Way.
- [39:25]
Liz
Thank you. It's the second time that I've mustered the nerve to do it, but I. So I wanted to thank you guys because I came on, I don't know when it was, maybe last spring, talking about education and those of us in the middle of the population, whether it's kind of center left or center right, it's just so frustrating. It's so frustrating because it doesn't feel like there's intellectual honesty about, you know, can we. If you have a principle, can you just uphold it? Whatever side is breaking that principle? So out of that frustration and after watching you guys for a long time, I decided I would run for school board. So I'm.
- [40:08]
Dan
Good for you, Wes. That's all.
- [40:10]
Sean
Which party?
- [40:12]
Liz
Nonpartisan. Sean.
- [40:13]
Sean
Care.
- [40:13]
Dan
Sean. She's running.
- [40:15]
Mark
She's.
- [40:15]
Sean
I know American in me is happy the part.
- [40:19]
Mark
Do you have. You have kids in the school system?
- [40:22]
Liz
I do not. We are empty nesters.
- [40:24]
Mark
Okay. You did. And. And have you already run or you're in the process of running?
- [40:28]
Liz
I'm in the process. And it's so interesting. I mean, it's at such a small scale. I understand it, but tell.
- [40:35]
Mark
Tell us your platform, and if. If the community likes it, we'll. We'll raise some money for you.
- [40:39]
Liz
Thank you.
- [40:40]
Dan
What do you.
- [40:41]
Mark
What are you. What are you running on?
- [40:42]
Liz
I am running on reading. I'm a reading specialist, and I tutor kids from the district, and our district is actually doing really well. I mean, I commend them. They have implemented the science of reading and they've done really well. Except that there are still more things that need to happen so that these kids can really learn to read properly. So implementing the Reed act, which was passed in Minnesota in 2023, but then also really. And I'm not a Luddite, but really trying to marginalize the technology in the classroom. Because one of the things I see is that parents pay me to teach their kids how to spell and how to read. And then they go back to school and they get on their Chromebook and their Chromebook checks their spelling and checks their grammar. So they are turning off their brain when they're doing this. And I feel like kids know more about this than we do. I don't feel like this is something they need to be taught at school. They're probably ahead of us. So teaching reading properly and minimizing the negative aspects of technology.
- [41:53]
Mark
Are you raising money for your campaign?
- [41:57]
Liz
No.
- [41:57]
Mark
No. All right. We taking.
- [41:59]
Liz
Spending money. Spending money on my campaign.
- [42:01]
Mark
Okay. Will you take an in kind contribution of a, of a slogan? Sure. Lives for kids.
- [42:08]
Liz
I like it. My husband came up with, so, my husband's an attorney. He's very good at strategizing and all that. And he came up with an acronym, Assess, Communicate, Teach, Act.
- [42:21]
Mark
All right, Liz, we could raise you, we could raise you five grand right now if, if you, if you told us a URL or a Venmo. Sean, question for Liz.
- [42:33]
Sean
No, I will say I'm glad you're. It's amazing what you're touching on. I mean, Rahm obviously wrote a little bit about the general topic in the Wall Street Journal, but I see the same. I've got two kids, obviously, and so it's amazing to me what our priorities have changed in terms of. I asked my daughter the other day, can you write in cursive? And she was like, some things. And it was just amazing to realize that. When did we lose basic fundamental things? Math, Learning how to multiply, subtract basic structure of a sentence, things I should have done more of. And, and so it's, it's. We're teaching kids how to use the technology to do stuff that their brain should know how to do. And I'm glad to hear you're getting back to basics because I think we need more of that.
- [43:22]
Dan
Dan, first of, Liz, it's fantastic you're running for office. If you're frustrated or you think that you can make a difference, do it. This is how the system works. Regular people raise their hand and say, I shall run and put myself forward. And so I think it's just fantastic. Kudos and I wish you luck. I hope you win. Are you enjoying running for office or do you not like. I mean, some people love to campaign. They hate to govern. And some people love to govern and they hate to campaign.
- [43:54]
Liz
I think I would prefer to govern. But I have to say, do I Enjoy running. It's extremely informative to me to be in that because it's, you know, my whole life I've been. You look at people that are running, you look at people in office and you have all sorts of opinions. It's so bizarre to be the person about whom people could have opinions.
- [44:13]
Dan
You're in the arena. Yep.
- [44:15]
Mark
Liz. Liz, are there debates?
- [44:17]
Liz
We did not have a debate, but this. So this is the most terrifying thing I've done in my adult life. There was a. The League of Women Voters puts on a candidate forum.
- [44:26]
Dan
Yeah.
- [44:27]
Liz
And so we sit, you know, as a panel in front of a small audience and it's live streamed and they ask you questions and you don't have the questions in advance.
- [44:35]
Sean
Oh, that's what ABC would give them to you if you had an ABC debate.
- [44:40]
Liz
Well, they didn't this time. And honest to goodness, that is like I developed tmj. I was so stressed out the two weeks before that event, but having done it, I was really glad I did it because I thought it's doable like normal people.
- [44:53]
Dan
That's it.
- [44:54]
Liz
Can't do this.
- [44:55]
Dan
Yeah.
- [44:56]
Mark
Liz, if there were debate, I was gonna offer to have Dan and Sean do debate prep for you, but.
- [45:00]
Liz
Well, now I want it to be next time.
- [45:02]
Dan
How many?
- [45:03]
Sean
What's the race look like? Give me the challenge.
- [45:04]
Dan
Your opponent.
- [45:06]
Sean
Do you guys run by district or at large? Like what? Is there an incumbent? Is it an open seat? What do we need to do? Can we do a 527 and take out the other people?
- [45:16]
Liz
That's the spirit.
- [45:17]
Mark
Yeah. All right, Liz, keep us posted. Thank you. Great.
- [45:21]
Sean
You have T shirts. Do you have anything like, you know, any merch?
- [45:24]
Mark
Is there swag?
- [45:26]
Dan
Fairway and green. Yeah. Okay.
- [45:27]
Mark
Yeah. All right, Liz, thank you. Good luck. Break a leg. Stephen, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind for Dan and Sean.
- [45:37]
Stephen
Hey, good morning. Coming in from Dallas, Texas. I'm a longtime listener. I love you guys. Sean, I hate you when you were in the, in the White House secretary and I have become a die hard maga, so I appreciate you guys. I voted for Hillary in the first place and then for Trump twice and would do 2028, by the way. But just a quick question. Would Dan and Sean be willing to steal man the other man's argument? So Dan, what's the most compelling argument? To be a member of the MAGA movement or a Republican? And Sean, what if any, compelling steel man argument could you make to. For being a Democrat?
- [46:19]
Dan
I Mean, the best argument that I would make for being MAGA is that Trump is challenging the system and challenging the status quo and does not accept the answer that it's always been done this way and that things cannot change. He will charge the Hill with absolute conviction to change things and he is always fighting for you. I've got thoughts about, you know, whether that's always true, but he definitely makes you think I am on your side.
- [46:49]
Mark
Sean.
- [46:50]
Sean
I think the most compelling argument that a Democrat could make is we need to be the check on this chaos. I mean, to Dan's point, I, I actually agree with Dan. I like Dan's argument, but I would say that.
- [47:05]
Dan
Because you're winning.
- [47:06]
Stephen
Yeah.
- [47:07]
Sean
If I were a Democrat, I think this.
- [47:09]
Stephen
Because we're right. Right.
- [47:11]
Sean
I think that the only thing that might be compelling is to say we, we want to be the check on this. Again, I, I, I'm not sure that that would be the most that would go over well, but I don't know any other way that, you know, you could get people to buy in on that.
- [47:29]
Stephen
So, Sean, just a quick follow up. Like, I mean, isn't that what they're arguing? Right. We are the check on this, we're the fight against that. And it's still not compelling reason to become a member of that party, if that makes sense. Right. I mean, that's, I mean, first of.
- [47:44]
Mark
All.
- [47:47]
Sean
I would defer to Dan. I don't hear that a lot from Democrats, meaning that they're overriding. They talk about health care. If I were them, I'd say, guys, the number one thing we need to do is just to say there's so much chaos in the world right now on tariffs, on business, this and that, and we need to be at the table. We need to be a check on this. We'll buy, you know, we're willing to be partners when it makes sense. But he needs to have a check on him because he's out of control. I don't, I don't hear that from them. I don't know.
- [48:17]
Mark
So I, so I have found a couple Democrats who I think speak for Sean. Okay. A couple Democrats whose platform Sean Spicer could endorse in full. Ladies and gentlemen, the Spicer Democrats. Roll.
- [48:34]
Bill Clinton/Al Gore Narrator
They're a new generation of Democrats, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and they don't think the way the old Democratic Party did. They've called for an end to welfare as we know it. So welfare can be a second chance, not a way of life. They've sent a strong signal to criminals by supporting the death penalty. And they've rejected the old tax and spend politics, balanced 12 budgets, and they proposed a new plan investing in people detailing $140 billion in spending cuts they'd make right now. Check Clinton Gore for People for a Change.
- [49:04]
Mark
Sean Spicer, endorse.
- [49:08]
Sean
I think endorse the commercial.
- [49:10]
Mark
Okay. Stephen, thank you. Thanks to Matthew Bartlett. We've been texting back and forth about that ad.
- [49:16]
Dan
Well, can I just ask you because you're so fascinating.
- [49:18]
Mark
Go ahead, Hillary. Yeah. Stephen, Unbeaten.
- [49:23]
Dan
What, what is it that made you make that, that jump to try is, is there if you had to say, like, what, what is the one thing that Trump got you to come to his side, away from her?
- [49:37]
Stephen
Yeah. So I'll be, I'll be honest. It wasn't Trump. It was, I was red pilled, really, by the media and I was red pilled by the things that I was, you know, blatantly being lied to about day after day after day after day, you know, good people, both sides. I mean, this, this kind of thing just led me to believe, like, there is a system against this man. And it makes me really curious as to why that the machine, whatever for, you know, conspiratorial talk is so against this human being speaking out and running for office, especially when he was the darling of the world or, you know, whatever. Oprah loved him, Barbara loved him. I mean, everybody loved his Clinton's best friend. And now he's the worst human being on the planet. That shouldn't even exist in human history. But they're all lying about what he said. And I was like, why are, what could be so awful about this? And as you dove in and you got past the media blurbs and you're like, oh, he didn't say that. Like, oh, wait, what's he saying? And then you start looking around and you're like, oh, no, these things actually are serious problems. How do we solve that? I'm in the automotive industry. And so I've been in sales most of my life. I've been in the car business 33 years. And we got a wonderful fire truck. Thanks for our great service leaders leaving. But, and I noticed, I noticed, I hope everybody's okay. And I noticed just a vast shift in like, where people have, I've interviewed people about their incomes for the last 33 years. Right. I mean, if you told me what's a plumber make, I can tell you. What's an accountant make, I can tell you. I mean, I understand these things on a real level and I watch their spending because I'm the one that's responsible for helping them find their vehicles or whatever. Right. And so I've watched car payments rise and the price of vehicles have risen almost 45% in the last 10 years. Like, what are the things that are causing these things? And why does nobody talk about them? And Trump seemed to be talking about them and it was just like, what's going on here? And socially, it's moved me. Right.
- [51:34]
Dan
Too. Right.
- [51:35]
Stephen
I mean, it's moved me even socially. Sorry.
- [51:36]
Mark
That's okay.
- [51:38]
Dan
You're answering my question. I'm loving it.
- [51:40]
Mark
Stephen, what's. What's your rough estimate for how many people you're speaking for?
- [51:43]
Stephen
Tens of millions, my friend.
- [51:45]
Mark
Thank you very much, my friend. Thank you for being part of Two Way every day, brother. Does it. Does a dealership have a slogan?
- [51:51]
Stephen
So I'm not a dealer anymore, but I work for a. We sell things to dealers. I left the stores after 30 years, so.
- [51:59]
Mark
Got it. I'm retired. Thank you very much. Thanks for being part of Two Way.
- [52:03]
Dan
So fascinating.
- [52:04]
Mark
Yeah. Jason, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind for Sean and Dan. And please guarantee a victory tonight.
- [52:11]
Dan
Oh, he's got the hat on.
- [52:13]
Jason
All right. Can you guys hear me?
- [52:15]
Mark
Jason, I'm not even going to be able to watch tonight. That's how. That's how upset I am about the whole thing. Yeah.
- [52:20]
Jason
It was stressful last night, so very Fingers crossed.
- [52:22]
Mark
Yeah.
- [52:23]
Jason
But thank you. This is my first time.
- [52:25]
Mark
Yeah. Welcome in. Are you. Are you a New Englander?
- [52:28]
Jason
Yes. I'm in Brookline, Mass.
- [52:33]
Mark
Dude, how far do you. How far do you live from a Starbucks?
- [52:36]
Jason
They're closing all of them.
- [52:37]
Dan
Yeah, I was gonna say. Yeah.
- [52:38]
Mark
How close do you live to a Duncan?
- [52:40]
Stephen
Like two minutes.
- [52:41]
Jason
Duncan's close enough.
- [52:42]
Mark
Yeah. Yeah.
- [52:43]
Sean
You gotta drive through or just a regular and.
- [52:45]
Jason
No regular.
- [52:46]
Mark
They're all. Do you have a Whole Foods?
- [52:49]
Jason
Have a Whole Foods. A lot of walking.
- [52:51]
Dan
Very well.
- [52:52]
Mark
I love, I love, I love, I love Brookline. Yeah.
- [52:56]
Jason
It's the best.
- [52:57]
Mark
Yeah. Well, congratulations on finding. It's no Newton, but it's still very nice.
- [53:02]
Jason
That's true.
- [53:03]
Mark
Yeah. So welcome in what's on your mind for New England's finest, Sean Spicer and Minnesota.
- [53:10]
Dan
Texas. Massachusetts.
- [53:11]
Mark
Yeah. What's up? What's up, dude? Besides the game? Sports. Just turn this into sports talk radio and ask us about chorus decision in the seventh inning and.
- [53:23]
Jason
Yeah, no, I was going to talk about the shutdown, but.
- [53:25]
Mark
Okay, let's talk the show okay, whatever. Whatever you want.
- [53:29]
Dan
Okay.
- [53:30]
Jason
So I'm in between. But, yeah, just in terms of the shutdown, I watched cable news all day yesterday trying to get some more information, I guess, about the shutdown, and I feel like I know less than I did before watching it. So I just wanted to ask you guys what this fight is really over. And, yeah, it was a little frustrating. You know, the government shut down. I've never seen so much of Hakeem Jeffries, Mike Johnson on every channel, you know, saying the same thing.
- [54:01]
Mark
Yeah.
- [54:01]
Jason
Jake Tapper, to his credit, pushed back a bit on Jeffries.
- [54:05]
Mark
Yeah.
- [54:06]
Jason
Pointed out some of the fine print about illegal immigrants receiving money for health care from the government. But other than that, it's just people accusing the other of lying and obfuscating the issue. So I was just curious how real this problem is, and that's really the crux of the argument and why everything's shut down because it does affect my job, have a government adjacent job. So just trying to get some more information.
- [54:32]
Mark
Great question. I. I'd say you'd be better off playing Fortnite than watching cable news, but that's just my. My opinion.
- [54:38]
Jason
Well, that's why I'm here every day.
- [54:39]
Mark
Understood. Appreciate that. Sean and Dan, let's Schoolhouse Rock this. Why is there a government shutdown? Free your. Free your answer from any partisan thing.
- [54:47]
Sean
Look, I will say if we back up a second, I do think it's a problem that we continue to, like, these guys don't own a calendar. The government shuts down, or the government fiscal year ends September 30th, and they get. They're like, oh, my God, Christmas is December 25th. Holy smokes. I don't know. Like, I think there's a fundamental problem in the process, and I cannot believe that, you know, they take August off and go home to their district, which is fine, but back and talk about.
- [55:17]
Dan
How we're going to have a shutdown.
- [55:18]
Sean
Right. I mean, there is a process problem with this.
- [55:23]
Mark
Excuse me.
- [55:24]
Sean
Anyway, so I think there's a. There's the. How did we get here and why are we here? Because the process is broken and it's stupid and it sucks. And then there's a. Is this real question that you're asking? And the answer is, yeah, it's real. I mean, I think Republicans view is we. There's a difference between negotiating on the policies and the principles of the next fiscal year and what it takes just to keep the government open. And they're literally getting everything. Like, this is the cleanest deal going. So I think that it is, you could argue that we should only be four weeks or two weeks and maybe do it more incrementally. I will tell you people that don't have to, I mean, you obviously said that you've got a government adjacent job. There are so many things that happen for the month of like America's 250. The Navy's 250 is in 12 days. There are people that just can't support it anymore because we don't have government funding. Now that may not be the biggest thing in the world, but for a lot of people, that's how they've spent the last couple of years, is getting ready for a series of events. And, and now they're paralyzed. And, and so there are a lot of things that this does. And so even if you piecemeal at two weeks, four weeks, whatever. So I think the process is ridiculous, but I do think that what the Republicans are fighting for makes sense, which is we're trying to get time to finish the process that we should have done a while ago. But this is continuingly, continuously a problem year after year where everyone's shocked at when the end of the fiscal year is.
- [56:53]
Dan
Yeah, I mean, just, we're running out of time here a little bit. I think for the Democratic Party, they just, they hate all the change that Trump has made. They hated Doge. And so the idea of signing off on kind of his budget and I know it's a continuing resolution, but the party's just like, hell no. We have lost almost every battle. And this is one opportunity where you need us, right? You need 7 of our votes. So what you say is, if you want my vote, what can I ask you for? And to Sean's point, the other side is saying, look, we're not going to be held hostage by this. But it is true. Republicans that control the, you know, the House and the Senate, they've had a year to put a budget together working with Democrats and nobody does it. And I believe Republicans see an upside to a shutdown too. They say Democrats are insane.
- [57:45]
Mark
Jason, thank you. Grateful to you for being part of two ways. Break the leg tonight. Dan, what are you doing at 4 o' clock today?
- [57:51]
Dan
I will be with my colleagues on the group chat. We will be back discussing all the latest news. Once again, we will not lack for content. Robbie Emma Jo will not be here because of the holiday, but we will have the great Amber Duke back. A lot of people loved her and then obviously Nina as well. So tune in at 4 o' clock or if you can't make it, stream us at your convenience.
- [58:13]
Mark
All right, six o'. Clock. I'll be on two Way tonight. Beverly Hallberg will be amongst our guests. We'll talk about everything going on with the shutdown, etc. Moynihan reported seven Richard B. Frank, military, a historian, joins John Michael Moynihan on the Moynihan Report use of atomic weapons in Japan and why it was unavoidable. Sean, what do you have?
- [58:36]
Sean
It's Thursday. It's the panel. We're going to talk about all this kind of all the shutdown and Dem's reaction to it. Chris de Gaulle, our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania correspondent talk show host will be there. Carolyn Downey of the National Review and Mary Margaret Olahan of the Daily Wire.
- [58:51]
Mark
Yeah, tomorrow, we'll be back in 23 hours. And don't forget tomorrow's special episode for two way community members. 2:00pm Eastern time. David Bonds, the Bondson Group will talk about the tariffs and about the economy, the effect of the shutdown on the economy. And David will be taking your questions. So Again, join us 2 o' clock tomorrow. Sign up now. It's only available on the 2way platform. This will not stream on YouTube live, so go to 2way TV TBG to sign up to join me and David Bonson to take your questions on tariffs, the shutdown and everything else economic. And of course, tomorrow's Friday, so we will have our winners and losers of the week. I'm hoping and praying that our loser of the week will be the New York Yankees. But we shall see. And then what to look for this weekend. Thank you for watching. Thank you.
- [59:35]
Dan
Yeah, next up, what, what do you have on next up?
- [59:38]
Mark
Oh, thank you for asking, Dan. Next up, which I'll be, I'll be doing in just a moment, which is why I'm rushing off. Three young people who were part of Turning Point are part of Turning Point USA and were inspired to be part of it by Charlie Kirk. We'll talk about why they're part of Turning Point, how they, how they're dealing with grieving over assassination of Charlie Kirk and what their hopes are for the future in the wake of his assassination. So great conversation with three young people and that'll post later today on YouTube as well as podcast platform. So stay tuned.
- [60:11]
Dan
All right, now go do it. Okay.
- [60:13]
Mark
Okay. Thank you all for being part of it. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day.