Tucker Carlson Takes Heat as Debate Rages Over Ben Shapiro vs Nick Fuentes; Remembering Dick Cheney

Summary

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2WAY Morning Meeting – Detailed Episode Summary

Episode Title: Tucker Carlson Takes Heat as Debate Rages Over Ben Shapiro vs Nick Fuentes; Remembering Dick Cheney
Date: November 4, 2025
Podcast: 2WAY Morning Meeting
Hosts: Mark Halperin, Sean Spicer, Dan Turrentine
Notable Participants: Various listeners (featured in Q&A/discussion)

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Overview

This Election Day episode covers the breaking political news cycle: the Republican media infighting over Tucker Carlson's controversial interview with Nick Fuentes, the growing rift between MAGA influencers Ben Shapiro and Carlson, and the broader implications for the right. The hosts also devote time to reflecting on the legacy of former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose death was announced that morning, and discuss the intricacies of the day’s key midterm elections. The tone is brisk, conversational, and often irreverent, actively incorporating audience voices from the live platform.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Remembering Dick Cheney

[04:42–10:52]

• Death & Legacy: Mark reports Cheney’s death at age 84.

  • He’s remembered as a misunderstood but dignified "establishment" figure, revered for his service but disliked by both the left (for hawkishness) and MAGA populists (as a "neocon").
  • Mark stresses Cheney’s "imperviousness to criticism" and likens his media strategy to Trump's: “He just didn’t care.” [06:53]
  • Sean shares a quirky personal memory: Cheney, the former VP, was once caught watching Ellen on TV at home when Sean visited. [05:12]

• Funeral Speculation:

  • Hosts predict who may speak or attend (Bush, Liz Cheney, VP alumni), but doubt Trump will.
  • Discussion of Cheney allies and his role in LGBTQ military debates: Cheney privately moved to soften bans in the Pentagon, notably for his close aide Pete Williams.

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Election Day Midterms Coverage

[11:31–26:37]

• Election Landscape:

  • The hosts run through polling times, daybook events, and predictions for races in VA, NJ, NY, PA, CA.
  • Discussion about President Trump and J.D. Vance’s absence from in-person campaigning, despite expectations. Dan believes this is a calculated choice because both are “blue states.” [18:04]
  • Sean proposes RNC/RGA might have found their presence unhelpful, especially to avoid unfavorable images or internal party friction. [18:51]

• Outcome Framework:

  • Sean: "Tonight should be a win for Democrats by all accounts... The question is, does Mondami win big in New York?" [20:47]
  • Dan adds PA’s Supreme Court is a key hidden battleground, as its political leaning signals broader trends. [21:41]

• Money & Candidate Quality:

  • Mark and Sean agree that candidate recruitment and fundraising are deeply problematic for current Republicans, with less money flowing and weaker outreach:
    • “Not one of the candidates in Virginia ever reached out, asked for money.” (Sean) [23:52]
    • “Late money in a campaign is not good money.” (Sean) [24:26]
  • Democrats raise more, especially for competitive races, and the Republican infrastructure appears less robust since it’s “mostly for Trump’s accounts now” (Dan).
  • Discussion of Kevin McCarthy over-promising and under-delivering in CA, and implications for the GOP’s electoral machine.

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Key Candidate Soundbites & Campaign Moments

[26:37–28:17]

• Mondami, the progressive NY mayoral frontrunner, appears on Morning Joe advocating funding social programs by taxing the ultra-wealthy and corporations:
  • “I believe we should tax the top 1%, an additional 2%. That’s New Yorkers making a million dollars or more a year... These things together would pay for the entirety of our economic agenda and start to Trump-proof our city.”—Mondami [26:40]

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Government Funding Bill (CR) and Potential Shutdown Resolution

[28:17–32:45]

• The show tracks breaking news on a Congressional deal to resolve the government shutdown—expectations for negotiations and outcome timelines.
• Sean: Senate optimism often outpaces House realities:
  • “This is all great in theory in the Senate... 'We’ll do this and then the House will do exactly what we say.'” [29:54]
• Dan & Mark question whether deal timing actually aligns with political incentives; everyone agrees the ongoing back-and-forth is performative:
  • “This entire thing feels like a Saturday Night Live skit to me.” (Sean) [32:12]

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The MAGA Media Fight: Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and Nick Fuentes

[33:20–42:13]

• Background: Tucker Carlson faces backlash for interviewing white nationalist Nick Fuentes without significant pushback. Conservative influencers like Ben Shapiro vocally denounce both Fuentes and, by extension, Tucker’s choice.

• Why It Matters:

  • This controversy is framed as a battle for the post-Trump soul of the GOP and the MAGA media establishment.
  • Mark highlights the pressure on politicians (like JD Vance), forced to navigate between "young MAGA" (more online, radical, sometimes more sympathetic to figures like Fuentes) and the "pro-Israel crowd" in the GOP.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “This is not acceptable... We cannot elevate or tolerate people whose views...are disgusting.”—Mark, paraphrasing Ted Cruz’s stance [37:55]
  • “This, to me, is the first chapter of the post-Trump world, because if Trump were still going to be running...I don’t think, based on the evidence, [Cruz] would be saying ‘I’m drawing a line.’”—Mark [37:57]
  • “Nick Fuentes is as serious as a heart attack. He’s not joking around, and he is saying things that are disgusting. And Ted Cruz, to his credit, Ben Shapiro, to his credit, are saying, no, we do not tolerate that.” —Mark [38:44]
  • “I think it’s dominating...It’s what we’ve talked about for the last few months: Israel and Palestine is not just a Democratic problem.” (Dan) [35:31]

• Debate Over Impact:

  • Sean contends the controversy is mostly a “media” and “young people” issue, not dominating the wider right.
  • Dan insists it matters more and portends deeper battles over free speech, anti-Semitism, and who gets a platform.

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Audience Voices: The Tucker/Fuentes Divide Among the Rank-and-File

[42:13–59:51]

• Laura, a Jewish Ukrainian-American listener:

  • Flags the issue as a “line in the sand”—not simply about Israel, but about extremism and the mainstreaming of hate, and says the failure of GOP leaders to address Tucker’s behavior is a dealbreaker.
  • “Tucker is just too close to the people in charge. I don’t care about crazy ideas on podcasts. I care about, you know, what the people that I am considering voting for next time think about this.” [44:41]
  • Tells Mark: “Before last week, [if my 2028 choices are Newsom vs. JD Vance] it would be J.D., now it’s a question mark.” [44:54]
  • “I saw the left implode from the inside. I am afraid that if the right does not deal with this, it will implode from the inside because of the craziest.” [48:24]
  • “This is a line in the sand for disgusting things that the party that I would want to support needs to take a stand on.” [50:40]

• Sean asserts the mainstream GOP is still staunchly pro-Israel; Laura pushes back—her fear is not about Israel per se, but broader bigoted discourse and proximity to power, regardless of which fringe it comes from. [49:35–50:40]

• Joe (Madrid, Spain) critiques Mandami's shifting personal narrative and "phony" use of an Ugandan accent, exploring authenticity as a double-edged sword in politics. [51:57–54:17]

• Joe (Fort Smith, AR) brings the perspective of a Trump supporter:

  • “I definitely want them to denounce Nick Fuentes. I think they won’t denounce Tucker, but they should denounce what he is doing with his interviews because…” [57:01]
  • Explains that Tucker’s pattern is not actively provoking but passively enabling extremist rhetoric: “He just lets them talk but doesn’t ever push back against their crazy views. Even when Nick Fuentes brought up that Stalin was a good guy, he was like, oh well, we’ll talk about that later—and never brought it up again.” [56:49]
  • Notes that institutional reactions (e.g., Heritage Foundation’s support for Tucker) amplified the controversy.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Cheney's Impenetrability:

  • “[Cheney] was impervious to criticism from the press. He just didn’t care.” – Mark [06:53]

• On Republican Fundraising Weakness:

  • “Not one of the candidates in Virginia ever reached out, asked for money.” – Sean [23:52]

• On the Post-Trump Era and Acceptable Discourse:

  • “…if Trump were still going to be running Ted Cruz, I don’t think, based on the evidence, would be saying, ‘I’m drawing a line. This is disgusting.’” – Mark [37:57]

• On the Stakes of the Tucker Carlson Incident:

  • “This is the first chapter of the post-Trump world…” – Mark [37:57]
  • “This is a line in the sand for disgusting things that the party that I would want to support needs to take a stand on.” – Laura [50:40]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Dick Cheney Remembrance & Media Strategy – [04:42–10:52]
• Midterms Preview, Candidate/Donor Frustrations – [11:31–26:37]
• Mondami’s Morning Joe Clip / Economic Agenda – [26:37–28:17]
• Congressional CR/Shutdown Drama – [28:17–32:45]
• Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes/Ben Shapiro Split – [33:20–42:13]
• Listener Laura: MAGA’s Lines in the Sand – [42:27–51:02]
• Listener Joe: Tucker as Enabler / What GOP Should Do – [55:13–59:51]

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Conclusion

The hosts and audience wrestle with the big question of the day: as the old guard fades (embodied by Cheney’s passing) and midterms churn, which figures and boundaries will define the future of the right? The Tucker/Fuentes uproar is less about one personality, and more a watershed moment for what the party—and its supporters—will tolerate, enable, or repudiate in the post-Trump, post-mainstream media era. The inclusion of real audience perspectives gives emotional resonance to these high-level political fights, demonstrating the real risk for both parties: an implosion driven by the fringe if leadership hesitates at moments of moral clarity.

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Transcript

[James Patterson]

I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon. And this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams.

[Mark]

Yay.

[James Patterson]

BJ Novak.

[Mark]

Yay.

[James Patterson]

Kathy Bates. Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive, compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Sean]

This is it.

[Dan]

The world as you know it is over. Completely done.

[Sean]

It's not about to be over.

[Dan]

It's over.

[Mark]

Some of the scientists who helped build.

[Sean]

AI are now sounding the alarm. I was selling AI as a great thing for decades, and I was wrong.

[Dan]

I was wrong.

[Sean]

There is a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than ourselves. We have no idea whether we can stay in control. While others say that AI will usher.

[Mark]

In unfathomable abundance, I've always believed that it's going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make. This really will be a world of abundance.

[Sean]

And among these fears and these fantasies, we seek the story of our future.

[Mark]

Listen to the last invention on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everybody welcome. This is the morning meeting for election day 2025. Shondan and I will rapidly spin you through the whole thing and then eager to hear your thoughts. If you're here on the two way platform, please raise your hand. I see you both are wearing outstanding costumes. Not from Botany 500, not from Brooks Brothers, but from our friends at Fairway and Green. Sean, what do you got on today?

[Sean]

Oh, Mark, I've got the lovely vest. It's a windproof coating on the front, comfortable on the inside, perfect for a full day. We're just jamming out.

[Dan]

All right.

[Mark]

Dan, you're. You're wearing an outfit both handsome and healing because of your injury over the weekend.

[Dan]

Yeah, I hope so. But I got the Democratic blue on today. A nice quarter zip here with the morning meeting logo. So. Happy election day.

[Mark]

Always happy election day from the good folks of Fairway and Green, whose merchandise you can purchase with or without logos from the morning meeting and from Two Way. Go to Two Way TV and slash Fairway and save. What is Sean, 5%?

[Sean]

No, Mark, no. It's not even 10. It's not 15, Mark. It's 20% if you use the code Two Way 20.

[Mark]

Thanks to our friend at Fairway Green, by the way, Fairway Green sponsoring our special election night coverage tonight.

[Sean]

Mark, Mark, I've got breaking news. I have breaking News. It's not 20, it's 25% today.

[Mark]

It is 25% today special for election day. But if. Go to Two Way TV. Two Way TV. Fairway again also be sponsoring our programming tonight with the New York Post Live, 8 o' clock here on the morning meeting. We'll talk more about that.

[James Patterson]

I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon. And this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible, incredible people like Stacey Abrams.

[Mark]

Yay.

[James Patterson]

BJ Novak.

[Mark]

Yay.

[James Patterson]

Kathy Bates, Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive, compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Laura]

Foreign.

[Mark]

Let's. Before we get into business, let's talk about Vice President Cheney, who passed away, announced this morning. Badly misunderstood man, in my view. I've always enjoyed dealing with him during my career. Sean. And he. Here's the top of the statement from his family about his passing. 84 years old, two daughters, Liz and Mary, and of course, his wife Lynn. He died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. Sean, any memories you want to share of the Vice president?

[Sean]

Well, two things. One, I'll just say, regardless of what you thought about Dick Cheney, the man loved this country and he served it admirably. I mean, from his youngest days as a congressman and the White House Chief of Staff to Defense Secretary, vice President. I, I don't think. Regardless of where you think he was politically, his love for this country is unquestioned. I will tell you one funny story. I underwent this long project when I was at the RNC to collect every Republican sign of every living candidate. President, vice president, that was the Republican nominee. And I drove out to Cheney's house in McLean to give him the signs. And I thought, you know, it was. It was just one of these things where I go to the back door and they said, he's watching television right over there. And he was just sitting there watching Ellen. And he was. And it was just the most surreal thing. You think you're coming to meet the vice. You know, now the former vice president and I walk into the back door of his house, McLean, and. And he's just sitting there watching Ellen in his living room. And he's just like, good to see you, and put the signs there. And also. And I was. It was. I don't know, you have this buildup that this guy's gonna be watching CNN and on a computer doing something, and he's just in the living room watching. Alan.

[Mark]

Dan, did you know Vice President Cheney?

[Dan]

No, I never had the privilege of meeting him, but he just. To me, he embodied the establishment. And back in an era when people were proud to serve and kind of stayed in and out of Washington and worked in various administrations and council people. And it just definitely seems like a bygone era today. But he was a good person, everybody said, even though had differences.

[Mark]

Yeah. And was painted as Darth Vader by some. I'll just say a couple of things. I interviewed him many times. Not many, but more than a few. Once a quarter century ago on a show just like this, a streaming video show produced with the New York Times called Political Political Points. And we interviewed him in Florida while he was running for vice president in 2020and incredibly genial. And we talked a lot about fact. He was the youngest White House chief of staff in history. And then I interviewed him for a book I wrote. And, you know, he's a villain for the left and then certainly a villain for a lot of maga because he's seen as a neocon. He actually. People always say, like, who's like Trump? In some ways, he was more like Trump, particularly as it related to the media, than any. Almost anybody I know, in three ways. First of all, he saw how liberally biased the media was, and he really worked to put it out. He had no patience for the incompetence in the media. He famously would only do Tim Russert on Sundays because he said to Mary Madeline, his communications director, I'm just not going to get up early on Sunday to do a show where they can ask me a bunch of dumb questions. Only do Russert. And then when I interviewed him for my book, and this is this. Why is like Trump he was impervious to criticism from the press. He just, he just didn't care. Even more than Trump in some ways, just did not care. And so when I entered from the book, he said that he always would listen to Imus in the morning while he shaved. And one day he's listening to Imus and the water's running while he's still in the sink and he can't really hear. But Imus is making fun of somebody calling him Pork Chop over and over. He just keeps referring to Pork Chop and he's criticizing Pork Chop. And then Cheney says, suddenly I remember, I realized he's talking about me. I'm Pork Chop. But I laugh like hell. Cause I thought when you start your day watching Imus, there isn't anything that can be said about you during the day that's as bad as what you can hear first thing in the morning when you've got imus on at 6:00'. Clock. And that really empowered him, particularly during the Gulf War when he faced so much criticism. He just didn't care. And as we all know, there's so many politicians who care a lot. All right, forward looking. Who, who will speak at his funeral? Besides, I'm sure, I'm sure President Bush will, I'm sure his daughter will. Liz? Pretty sure, Sean. Who will, who will, who will appear? Who will speak? Will all the former presidents go? I don't think President Trump will go. Would be my guest. But who would you imagine would be there speaking?

[Sean]

I'm just, I'm racking my brain to see if there's a possible Democrat that would do it. I don't, I don't know.

[Mark]

If Joe Lieberman were alive, he would.

[Sean]

Lieberman might, yeah, obviously, but that's what I'm saying. There's some people that were in the orbit, obviously Rumsfeld's passed. I, I don't know. I mean, I think that the, the kind of, the, the orbit that Dan describes has left the building. And, and so I, I don't know. I, obviously former President Bush, I think his family and, and that might be Colin Powell.

[Mark]

Any guesses?

[Sean]

Colin Powell?

[Dan]

Pass.

[Mark]

Colin Powell has passed away. I'll tell you one person I think will speak who I just saw on cnn, Pete Williams, the longtime NBC News correspondent like Cheney from Wyoming, was his communications director, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public affairs when he was, when he was Pentagon secretary. They were extremely close. And, and part of why Cheney pushed to lay off the banning gays in the military was because of Pete Williams. And one of my Other memories of Cheney was the day he kind of leaned into saying gays. The military was not an issue he was going to pursue. He didn't really think it was an important thing. He said it was hugely controversial, and he. He'd done it at a hearing. And then he. He raced into an elevator to avoid the press with his security team. And I slipped onto the elevator, and I had four. Four floors on the elevator with a camera crew asking him about it. And he just stared straight ahead. He didn't. He didn't. He didn't respond. The camera is right in his face. And later, his. His team told me that he found it extremely uncomfortable to pretend I wasn't there, but that's basically what he did.

[Dan]

All right, I want to say in the chat, Condoleezza Rice may speak.

[Mark]

Yeah, that's a good guess.

[Joe]

That's a good guess.

[Sean]

Yeah. Beyond that, though, I wonder, to your point about not just speaking, but I think obviously President Bush would go. But I do wonder. Does. Does Clinton.

[Mark]

I think. I think Gore. I think Gore will go. I think Gore will go. I think Quail will go. I think Biden will go. I think all the VPs. All the VPs will go.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Mark]

I don't know. I don't know. The Clintons.

[Sean]

I don't know. I don't think Biden can make the trip. I mean, I honestly, I. I wonder if that's.

[Mark]

Oh, yeah, yeah, that's a good point. All right, in a moment, we'll get to the daybook and then all your questions after we run this.

[Dan]

Will J.D. vance go?

[Mark]

Yes. No. He's got a scheduling conflict that day. Raise your hand if you want to get in the conversation. Sponsor today, uh, friends of Cozy Earth. Uh, and Black Friday comes early. If you're interested in some Cozy Earth bedding, shirts, pants, now's the time. Because if you use the code mark on top of the site wide sale that's going on, you get 40% off. This won't last long, so act right now. Start your holiday shopping early. 40% off. Go to cozy earth.com promo code mark for 40% off. The bamboo sheets, the bubble cuddle blanket. Get two bubble cuddle blankets. Give one to your parents, one to your in laws, for example. And also buy yourself some pants. Now's the time. Wrap the ones you love in luxury.

[Sean]

Mark, you said it before. You brought up the joggers. I did it. I took your suggestion. Those bamboo joggers. I could possibly never take them off. And I did get the. If you're. If you get like a good sleep mask. The bamboo sleep mask. I'm telling you, loving it.

[Mark]

The other day I was wearing my joggers. I wore them all day and then I got home and it was time to go to sleep. I just left them on. No reason to change out of them. They're just that comfortable. I know, Dan. I wore them on the subway and then I slept in.

[Dan]

Yeah, okay, great.

[Mark]

But I changed that. I changed the sheets the next day. Anyway. Go to code.com promo code, mark 40% off. All right. In the daybook today, President's got no public events, but he's pretty interested in the midterm. So you can bet he'll be asking for the exit polls all day. By the way, there is an exit poll consortium. It's kind of. They kind of merged the two previous consortiums. So all the data you'll see for, for the marquee races, New York and New Jersey, Virginia, it's all one consortium. Don't call me all day and ask me for the exit polls. Just don't call me when I get them, I'll post them. Thank you very much for your attention to that matter. Caroline Levitt's briefing at 1:00'. Clock. Shawn, say you were Caroline Levitt and you got this question at the briefing today. What is the President's point of view about Ben Shapiro's criticism of Tucker Carlson?

[Sean]

Boys will be boys.

[Mark]

Boys will be boys. All right. Don't know what J.D. vance is doing today. Mike. Mike Johnson, usual 10 o' clock press conference. The House Republican conference is having a virtual meeting at 11:30. Don't know that they've gathered as a group in a while. That'll be interesting. Once again the Senate's going to vote on a CR at 11:30. Also that no one expects it to pass. It's the weekly lunches today for the.

[Dan]

Senate gonna get interesting today.

[Mark]

Democrat senators and then dueling press conferences at 2 o'. Clock right after the lunches have since Republican and Democratic Senate Supreme Court's hearing arguments at 10 and 11 today. Vice President Harris, 10 Eastern Time tonight, just as the returns are coming in, we'll be hosting another book event in Seattle, this time on stage at the Seattle's Benara Hall. I've not been there. Poll closings every. Virginia opened at 6, closes at 7. These are all Eastern time. Jersey opened at 6, closes at 8. Pennsylvania opened at 7, closes at 8. New York City opened at 6, closes at 9. Wisconsin opens, opened at 7, closes at 8 or 9, depending on the part of the State, I believe. Oh, no, I'm sorry. Opened at 8 Eastern, closes at 9 Eastern. California, opens at 10 Eastern, closes at 11 Eastern. All right. Election Day. Election day. Mondame continues to churn out quality content, ladies and gentlemen, even as we head to the very last moment of the race here. And I'm warning you, if you're easily spellbound, like when you watch Fantasia, if you feel like you've taken a gummy turn away, here's a compelling Mandami video. Number 108, please.

[Mandami]

Trump's billionaire donors support Andrew.

[Mark]

No surprise they're not. This one. He's promising to def the police. Take that down. Take that down. Take that down. That's the wrong one. 108, please. 108. No, don't have it. Don't have 108. Just play it again. It's so good.

[Laura]

Play it again.

[Mark]

108. All right. There are more negative ads on in New York City than has been reported. I've seen reported anywhere. But if you just watch tv, there's some negative Mandami ads that are quite good, that are of unknown province as best I can. Province. Others, I don't know who's running them, but they're quite good. But nobody expects. Everyone expects at this point, I would say Mondami to win and probably the Democrats win the governor's race. That's the conventional wisdom. That's where the polls are. Here's the president doing a telerally did one for New Jersey, one for Virginia last night. After this ends, I'll ask you to rate his performance on the lackadaisical scale. 0 being absolutely lackadaisical and 10 being on fire. Here's the President last night rallying the troops as only he can.

[Donald Trump]

Now, the 47th president of the United States, my good friend and the greatest.

[Mark]

President we've ever had, Donald J. Trump.

[Donald Trump]

Well, thank you very much, Jeff. And I want to thank you, maybe more importantly, for doing such a great job as a congressman. We fought together to stop all those hundreds of windmills they wanted to build off the Jersey Shore. And we stopped it, you and I and a couple of other people. There weren't too many that helped us. And I just want to congratulate you on that. It would have been a disaster, just an absolute disaster. Raise up the cost of energy more and would have been so bad. So I just want to thank Congressman Jeff Andrews, special man and hello to the incredible patriots of the great state of New Jersey. Tomorrow is election day in your state and you need to go out and vote for Jack Cittarelli, who's a great guy, a friend of mine, a great guy, a very successful man who wants to put all of his efforts now into really saving New Jersey.

[Mark]

Fired up and ready to go, Dan, I'm surprised at how little is being made of the president and J.D. vance failure to campaign in person in either state. What's the significance of that? And why wasn't that more covered?

[Dan]

Yeah, I don't, I mean, look, they're both blue states in the big picture, so you would just kind of assume to some extent that they would not necessarily help. But I am surprised about New Jersey because, you know, Trump did that, that rally there in 2024. I thought he might, or Vance might, because kind of the suburbs are where Vance, we all say is stronger than Trump. And when he thinks about 2028, Vance's ability to kind of go into those areas is what makes him, I think, pretty formidable. So I am surprised and I am assuming. And John, you would know better than me that the RNC tested both of them and it had strong enough that they are the RGA to say, guys, you just, you can't go in either of you.

[Sean]

I think a little might be shutdown oriented, that it just, they were concerned about imagery. I don't know that they care that much. I think, Dan, you're somewhat right where I thought it was more intriguing, where you could have been helpful is to parachute in either one and done a big fundraiser, right. Gotten a little bit of attention, but kept it, you know, a little less public, especially for JD and that, that's where I, he doesn't have the same, you know, footprint that a president does going in. So I was surprised that JD didn't do something in person for either one of them.

[Dan]

Like, I get Southern, like in Doge and everything.

[Mark]

Well, but how about in southwestern Virginia? Couldn't he have done some sort of rally?

[Joe]

Oh, my God, no.

[Sean]

Just go into, you go to. You go to. I mean, you could do the Trump Winery, for God's sakes. I mean, there's a ton of events there where people, it's accessible. I mean, you could still stay in Henrico county where you pull a lot of people from southwest. I mean, there's, there's a, plenty of places.

[Mark]

So, Sean, why wouldn't, why people are saying to me, well, does this mean Vance isn't going to be able to campaign in the midterms in blue and purple states? Like.

[Sean]

No. So, so Virginia was a little unique, as, you know, the President still hasn't endorsed Winsome Sears. There's a lot of baggage there. She made some comments after 20, after the 2020 election, and the president hasn't ever really forgiven her and that that kind of holds a lot back. I am surprised that there wasn't an effort via Youngkin to do something for the state party or the victory fund that would have benefited all or even if he'd really wanted to just screw her and say, hey, we'll do something for Miaris or for John Reed, the lieutenant governor candidate. But I still, that to me is going to be a mystery why there wasn't a little bit more done, at least on the financial front.

[Rudy]

Right.

[Mark]

It's very, very confusing. And again, I'm surprised not getting more comment. All right, either of you want to say anything about the midterms while we just wait for the votes?

[Sean]

I think to me, the takeaway tomorrow is all going to be about the margin. Right. So tonight should be a win for Democrats by all accounts. And so the question is, one, does Mondami win big in New York? Meaning is that really? Or is the combined vote between Sliwa and Cuomo enough that denies him a majority? So it says, hey, we're not we, he won, but he's not the majority view of where we are as a, as a city. And then in Virginia, New Jersey, I think it's going to be one does Virginia votes in threes. And so if I think Miaris is obviously the strongest one to hold back right now. But, you know, is the margin wide enough there and in New Jersey, is that, is it within, you know, a hair here and there? That's to me, the big story coming out tomorrow. Is this a big decisive win for Democrats or do they squeak something out potentially?

[Dan]

Yeah. I would just add the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. I think the Trump people have put energy behind the scenes into that. And, you know, some people think PA is drifting a little bit more towards Ohio type of an electorate if Democrats hold those seats. It's also good news for Josh Shapiro.

[Mark]

Yeah. I'll say respectfully, I couldn't care less about the margins because so much can affect him. Unless it's Mark.

[Sean]

I don't disagree. I just want to be clear. Like I've said this before, I'll say it again. Even if we Republicans sweep tonight. Right. Special elections. And I put off your elections in the same bucket are not every election has a lesson learned. How did your grand game work? What was your turnout? But candidates mattered. And the bottom line is in Virginia, our money was half the amount Winsome didn't raise what she should have raised. I mean, there's a lot of factors, but so, so should you learn lessons? Yes. But is there any big lesson for the midterms? Probably not.

[Mark]

Yeah, I agree with that. And in terms of candidate, candidate quality trumps everything. Right? So she was a bad candidate. But I do wonder, Sean Weather and then Dan, whether there's a caution for Republicans. To me, the caution for Democrats is as unpopular as Trump is. These races were, you know, competitive. I mean, we'll see what the final margins are. But it wasn't like a collapse. It wasn't like the, and the Democratic candidates didn't perform particularly well. But money, California Republicans didn't raise money. Virginia didn't raise money. They're being outspent in New Jersey too. They're the incumbent party. They want, they wanted to try to make these races competitive. If you look at the early fundraising in some of the competitive races, Democrats are doing quite well for the out party. So what explains that, John? Isn't that a worry for the Republicans going.

[Sean]

It's a huge worry in Virginia. We don't have limits. You can take corporate money.

[Mark]

So what explain what explains the incumbent party being so bad outraised?

[Sean]

I think two things. One, it just shows that Trump, both in terms of turnout and money, is people don't get as motivated if it's not him. And that's the, you know, number that's been the takeaway for the last eight years. But there's just not, they're not good. I mean, I'm not, I hate to say this on a public thing. Do you realize not one of the candidates in Virginia ever reached out, asked for money?

[Mark]

Not one ask you for money?

[Sean]

Not mine, no. And by the way, I've got a lot of buddies that are, that are legacy donors that are, you know, four digit check givers. Say the same exact thing.

[Mark]

But where's, but where's James Blair, the rga, the rnc? Like where's the machine that's supposed to be able to raise a lot of money? And I go back to California, not what they do.

[Sean]

I mean, but they're not going to do it for you. That's just not.

[Dan]

Well, I think what they're raising money for is Trump's accounts. I mean, that's the thing.

[Mark]

But what are they spending that on? He's not.

[Dan]

That's the library.

[Sean]

The RNC and others jumped 3 million in it last minute, 72 hours get out the vote efforts. But the bottom line is these warning signs you Can't. Late money in a campaign is not good money. I mean, you want that money in early fall so you can put it on the ground, put it up. The warning signs have been there the whole time.

[Dan]

Democrats, and I've said this for a while, like we don't have a huge money problem except on the soft side that I worry about in the long run is potentially a problem. But I mean, you look at Kamala Harris like she didn't have any trouble raising money. There was no trouble. And I think the candidates, I think Winston Sears is why people never thought she was going to win. So you didn't fear upsetting Glenn Youngkin by going and giving to the Democrat because you just thought she, the spam worker is going to win. And in California, I think, look, I think the Trump people probably think every single day we have to keep the House, we have to keep the Senate, everything else would be like a cherry on the top, but we don't care.

[Mark]

But then you got to raise money for the California ballot measure if they.

[Dan]

Because I think they feel like they're doing it elsewhere. I also need a one seat majority.

[Sean]

Mark, I got to tell you, I think there's a story there. And I mean, and I don't know the answer, but the problem, I wonder if the, the way I read California is McCarthy came out and said, I'm going to raise $100 million. And if you're James Blair, do you say, okay, cool, you got this. And then you find out by the way, he didn't do what he said he was going to do. And this to me, I mean, there's a part of which you can't do everything for everyone when someone comes in. And I think they were over promised and underdelivered in California.

[Dan]

But I think though, Sean, hold on.

[Mark]

So I keep talking, but dip into Morning Joe, please. Go ahead.

[Dan]

I think the thing is, if you look at what the White House did once California got rolling, they immediately started going to other states, right? So they clearly made a decision, do we invest in trying to stop California or do we try to go and get Ohio and Florida and Missouri and Indiana and North Carolina and all these states and they made the decision that they would rather go and just go on offense elsewhere. And I think it will end up probably working for them. So, I mean, I think every dollar for them is protecting Trump for that second half of his term.

[Mark]

All right, let's listen to Mondami on the set of morning Joe at 30.

[Mandami]

Breaks that he gave Elon Musk years ago when he was the governor of this state. That's actually more money than it would cost to make every bus free in New York City. So I've said clearly that I believe we should tax the top 1%, an additional 2%. That's New Yorkers making a million dollars or more a year and have the most profitable corporations pay the same tax rate they do at the top tier in New Jersey, what they would actually pay here in New York. These things together would pay for the entirety of our economic agenda and start to Trump proof our city because, as you've said, the endorsements that Andrew Cuomo has got, and this morning he started it by going on Fox and Friends. We're talking about Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Stephen Miller. These are the architects in many ways of the crisis of authoritarianism next to him. And Andrew Cuomo is so unwilling to tax Donald Trump's billionaire donors because he knows those are the same ones whose checks that he's busy cashing trying to get back to City Hall.

[Mark]

So what do you say, though, on the question of affordability? Let's just take the $30 minimum wage to the guy who owns the dry cleaner, the woman who owns the Nair, the head, the nail or hair salon, all these small businesses that you've grown.

[Sean]

Up around, and that's just a willie.

[Mark]

Say I can't afford to pay people $30. I'm going to have to either lay people off or close my business. How do you explain that?

[Mandami]

Well, this would be phased in over a longer period of time for small businesses, as is typically done when you're increasing the minimum wage. And what we've heard in terms of concerns are similar ones we heard when we increased the minimum wage here in New York City before. What it comes back to is the fact that today to live in this city, you have to already be earning 30 bucks an hour, pretty much. And so if we don't want to pay people that we're going to lose New Yorkers. I met a man who was working for a little monitoring that outside of Elmhurst Hospital.

[Mark]

He told me shut down. I made a list this morning of reasons to think the shutdown could end this week. Concerns over the snap payments, which even though the administration said they'll provide half, the secretary of Agriculture says it'll take a long time to get those up and running. The travel industry, according to Wall Street Journal, sent a letter to the White House saying you got to get travel back going because it's costing us business. Both sides claim the other side will cave because of election day, which I find kind of humorous because I see no connection between the election and ending it. And then of course there's this bipartisan group of senators who are talking to try to get it done. Reasons why it may not be over. It's still complex. There can be a desire for a deal, but trying to figure out how to get a deal is tough. There's still divisions within both parties. Healthcare is involved. That's always complicated. And both sides continue to see reason to keep going. And nothing's decided until everything's decided. But breaking news this morning, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma says this thing's about to end on cnbc and is.

[Dan]

That Becky, we're going to probably start negotiations tomorrow with the Democrats claiming victory or claiming the high road. I don't know what they're going to say. I can't, I can't discuss what or can't predict what they're going to say. But either way we'll probably have the vote in the Senate either tomorrow night or Thursday. Then the House has got to come back because we're going to make some changes to it. We've got to change the date and there's discussions about maybe putting three appropriation bills on the CR2.

[Mark]

You think it's possible we could reopen the government this week then?

[Dan]

Yes, I think we'll be open by Sunday.

[Mark]

Sean. Open by Sunday?

[Sean]

Yeah, just a little technicality. That would technically be next week. So he's, you know, not to be picky, but no, it's not possible. The House gets, it has a 48 hour notice. So if you just start doing the timeline and look, you've brought this up before. This is all great in theory in the Senate where they're like high flute and then they're like we'll just do this and then we'll send it over the House. They'll do exactly what we say they'll do and then that will be it. And then we'll all go and have.

[Mark]

A House of Lords has spoken.

[Sean]

Yes, we have. Thank you. I appreciate you coming back into town to do what we tell you to do. I think this is the first fit of the fits and starts that we will see. But the contours of the deal that I read that I think we've all seen now in the press. I just, I think maybe that's the jumping off point. But I think even Susan Collins was like, yeah, how long the CR goes because the appropriators don't want, they don't like the idea of usurping their power so they don't want a longer cr, which I think most of the folks on the right are like, let's take the longer deal and lock in current spending. So I think, yes, jumping off.

[Mark]

But there's not agreement on that, as you know. Okay, Dan, there's not agreement at the point you just suggested is true. There's just not agreement among Republicans about how long the CR should be and whether it should include appropriations or not. Dan?

[Dan]

Yeah, I don't know what to think because the leadership still of the Democratic Party, as I said yesterday, like we have public opinion on our side. They think they're winning, they're silent. The idea that the, the deal is there will be a vote in the Senate at some point, but no guarantee in the House. What I'm trying to think about is how does Chuck Schumer go back to the base and Hakeem Jeffries and what do they, I mean, you basically then you lost. Like you, you, you. So you did all of this, right? And which is what we always said, which is how do they get out of this?

[Mark]

And they'll try to convince the base that it was a big victory, but the base is too smart.

[Dan]

Well, and by the way, Chuck Schumer did not endorse Mandani, right. So there's going to be Ajita on his left locally here and now. He's going to have this of like, I got a bunch of moderates, which we've talked about, we always thought would happen, are starting to have these conversations to get out. I don't see it.

[Sean]

This entire thing feels like a Saturday Night Live skit to me. Right. We are literally sitting here saying after 35 days, you know what we could do? I have an idea. What if we reopen the government, we do a short term deal, we give you a vote on health care and then we'll pass a, you know, Milcon Transportation, veterans and get some bills going. And one goes, that's a great idea. Why didn't we have come up with that 31 day. I mean, this is the same. We've been saying the same damn thing for 35 days and suddenly somebody went, hey, I have an idea. Why don't we just do that?

[Mark]

Yeah, it's kind of nuts. Raise your hand if you want to end the conversation. I don't, you know, I don't read the chat. I also don't really listen to the show, even when I'm talking. Did we say the promo code for fairway and green was election 25 I don't think we did.

[Sean]

No, no, no, you're right.

[Mark]

Promo code is election25 for 25% off. Again if you want a great looking gear like Dan's wearing, like Sean's wearing vests, polos, headquarters, zips go to fairway and green. I go to Two Way TV Fairway and use the promo code Election25 for 25% off. And again you'll have that same opportunity tonight during our election coverage. Join us at 8 o'. Clock. More on that in a moment. We're not going to get to Teen Vogue firing its political team. Incredible sound bites from Nancy Pelosi and the first partner of California attacking Donald Trump in stark personal terms or Scott Bessens flip flop about whether he's attending the Supreme Court. But there is one other top arguments tomorrow on the, on the tariff case. But there is one other thing I want to get to Tucker. Okay. All these articles about what's going on with Tucker, what's going on with Ben Shapiro, they mostly leave out the president, the vice president who have been largely silent on this question of Tucker being criticized for interviewing Nick Fuentes and not pushing back, which is roiling. Here's a reminder. This is a year ago, a little over a year. This is Tucker at the Republican convention. Pretty good seat. He's sitting next to the President and in the box with the President, J.D. vance and the speaker of the House, Tucker Carlson, ladies and gentlemen, very senior, very close. There's Byron Donald's also there. Sorry, he was sitting back but Byron Donald's there too. Sean, I asked you earlier what this, what Caroline would say at the briefing or might say at the briefing. But, but where do you think the president, the vice president are on this fight in their heads because presumably eventually they'll be asked about it.

[Sean]

So I actually don't think that that's true. I mean I asked after our show yesterday, I reached out to a couple of people that are pretty movement guys and asked the same question. Who is this a big deal among? What's the thing? And the two answers that I got back consistently were people who really care about Israel and younger people. And I said okay, because I literally, I think that there is a, almost a small segment of MAGA that's having this and then the media. It's, I don't think that it's the comment that I saw from Shapiro was a tweet that said no, no, no, no, no on this, this and that. Like I gotta be honest with you, I don't this is not. But if this didn't come up on, if you didn't bring it up. All right, Haley saying no in the chat. I do read it. I just, I've talked to a lot of people and I think it depends on who you are, whether it matters.

[Dan]

Dan, I think it's a big deal and I think it's dominating stuff. And I think it's what we've talked about for the last few months, which is Israel and Palestine is not just a democratic problem. I mean, I've said this for months. Where is JD Vance going to come down on this? I would imagine Trump will have a press conference in the next few usually after the election, the president says something and Trump usually tries to go set the narrative. So he'll call into Fox and Friends tomorrow morning. So, you know, he's going to do something to try to especially if Democrats win, either Hammerman, Donnie or whatever, he is going to get asked about this. And I think JD Vance will get asked about this. And I don't think it's black and white. I don't Sean, you know this. JD doesn't want to offend young maga and he doesn't want to offend the pro Israel crowd of the party. They're both influential for their own reasons. So how do you finesse this?

[Sean]

So let me ask you this, Dan. Do you think from where you read this that this is a fight over Israel or is it an issue about Tucker platforming Fuentes or something else?

[Dan]

I think it's all of the above. I think it is the fact that the young part, the young voters, first off, there's always been a portion of the anti Israel that's kind of swirled out there. And Trump at times has been again, good politicians want a big ten. And you find ways to send signals to different people, some of which you want under the radar and some of which you want very much on the radar. I think that it is a challenge with support for Israel and should the US Be involved with money, with treasury, with focus. And then there's the issue of free speech, of platforming, of not pushing back.

[Mark]

I think, yeah, I think the last thing you said, the Israel thing is important. But, but just as you know, you see, I think you said yesterday, you know, you've got a socialist mayor versus A, versus a pundit or a podcast as well. Tucker's more than that. As Dan and I said yesterday, you saw he sat with the president, the vice president, the speaker of the House at the convention. And to me, when, when I talk to People. And I hear prominent people like Ted Cruz. It's the party's drawing a line and saying, we cannot elevate or tolerate people whose views are not just controversial, are not just out of the mainstream. They're disgusting views of people.

[Sean]

See, that's what I think it's more about.

[Dan]

But.

[Mark]

But Donald Trump has for 10 years tolerated people whose views are disgusting. Okay? And I, to me, this is the first chapter of the post Trump world, because if Trump were still going to be running Ted Cruz, I don't think, based on the evidence, would be saying, I'm drawing a line. This is disgusting. This is. This is not acceptable. But he is now. And that's why it's so much pressure on J.D. because J.D. is friends with everybody. J.D. is friends with Everybody. Does Jade and J.D. previously, when those adult men had disgusting comments that were jokes that I draw, I make a distinction between the jokes. So still don't love it, obviously. And that's what JD Said. These guys were joking around. He tried to pretend they were kids, they were adults. This is different. Nick Fuente is as serious as a heart attack. He's not joking around, and he is saying things that are disgusting. And Ted Cruz, to his credit, Ben Shapiro, to his credit, are saying, no, we do not tolerate that disgusting, not controversial, disgusting commentary. And that's, to me, why they're going to have to eventually speak to it.

[Dan]

But as you say, though, Trump's kind of political athlete mastery was, you know, he. I go back to David Duke, right, When Trump was like, sorry, I can't hear you.

[Mark]

I can't hear you. My earpiece.

[Sean]

Oh, that's not.

[Joe]

That's not.

[Mark]

Well, no, but Sean and John, he didn't repudiate him. He did.

[Rudy]

He did.

[Sean]

He repudiated him over and over and over again.

[Mark]

Over and over again.

[Dan]

Oh, I didn't know he was coming to dinner. Right. So Trump, again. It's good politics, Sean. It worked for Trump to dog whistle and then kind of duck. So everyone who needed to heard what they needed to hear is J.D. vance. That slick, right?

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

This is going to be the issue. And Trump bullies people.

[Mark]

Let me just clarify. David Duke, you can find your. Correct. You can find moments where Donald Trump offhandedly condemns David Duke and disavows David Duke, but he didn't do it every time, and he didn't do it in a way that was commensurate with what was required. But. But there's other difference, and this is where I am agreeing with you. Trump didn't Appear with David Duke. He didn't court David Duke support. That's different than what Tucker's doing. Tucker's putting the guy on and celebrating him. And that's what Ted Cruz and others cannot.

[Sean]

This is where I will say this politically, to your point about when Trump or JD Gets asked and to my response about what Caroline, I do think that there's a big difference. They're not invoking Trump. Right. In the sense that the conversation isn't Tucker saying, where do you think Trump stands on Israel? Where do you think they're having a discussion about Nick Fuentes views and comments on history, on Stalin, on the Jews, on Israel. Right. I don't think if I were advising the president or J.D. that I would say, hey, you should wait. And I'd say, you guys should say, look, that's. Those guys are having their own discussion. We got the business of the country to solve. I'm not. I mean, they should not.

[Dan]

So Mandani's friends that he was photographed with once, should Democrats in Congress just say, well, it's just the mayor of one city of this country.

[Sean]

Wait, there's a difference. Mandami is actually the guy. So Trump can and should have to answer for himself and Mandami has to answer for who he's hanging around.

[Mark]

Should Democratic members, sure.

[Sean]

But there's a difference. You're asking, should Trump weigh in on Fuentes and Tucker versus Gami actually getting photographed with a guy.

[Mark]

Tucker did it. Tucker did a three hour interview with Fuentes or two hour interview with Fuentes. He's more powerful than the mayor of New York. He's friends with the president.

[Sean]

Okay, so now it's a one off of everybody. There's a different. Mandami's with a guy who is a answer conspirator of.

[Mark]

Tucker's with the. Tucker's with the guy saying vile things and affecting the minds of our young men.

[Sean]

Okay, so.

[Mark]

So Madame's not the president.

[Sean]

Anybody that's been in his world.

[Dan]

Well, I will.

[Mark]

He doesn't have to, but he should.

[Dan]

Phrase that the chair that. That the board of directors of maga. Right. God rest us all. Charlie Kirk. We said Tucker Carlson. Right. Don Jr. Not just anyone, it's a member of the board.

[Mark]

Yeah. And that's official, by the way. All right, welcome in, everybody. As you come in, you unmute, tell us where you are and what's on your mind. Laura, today is. Is your big debut, I believe, on the program, Is that correct?

[Laura]

Hi, everybody. Thank you.

[Mark]

Is this your debut on the morning.

[Laura]

Meeting it is the view. Although I've been listening since probably before the election.

[Mark]

Well, we're delighted to, we're delighted to have you here. Tell us where you are and what's on your mind and thank you for being part of, part of two way.

[Laura]

Thank you so much. Actually, yes, I signed up for the two way platform yesterday to discuss the Tucker situation. So I'm in California and I am an immigrant from Ukraine. I hit a whole bunch of your boxes. I am Jewish. I am a purple person. I voted for Trump the first time, did not vote for him the last two times. I voted for Clinton and for Bush and for Obama the first time.

[Dan]

Wow.

[Laura]

So I can answer a lot of questions if you're interested in what is the purple, you know, opinion of a purple person.

[Mark]

Laura, if you could pick the next president, who would you pick?

[Laura]

I don't know. Interesting you bring this up because for me, this is a line in the sand. I am worried about what's going on on the left. The Mandami thing. Given the fact that I come from former Soviet Union and again playing around in the sand of socialism, communism, it is scary. But the racism, anti seminism, misogyny things that Nick talks about, it is scarier. I'm a big fan of Bill Maher and he has been saying this, I'm like Bill bullshit. Sorry about the fact that he could never be able to move to the right. Although people have talked him, you know, based on his changing views about moving to the right. He said because he is more scared of the, you know, the fringe. Right. And I didn't believe it until I started seeing this. Tucker is just too close to the people in charge. I don't care about crazy ideas on, you know, on podcasts. I care about, you know, what the people that I am considering voting for next time think about this.

[Mark]

Yeah. Laura, you speak for tens of millions and I know Sean and Dan both have questions for you. I'll just ask one more if your choices next year for president or not next year, but in 2028 were Gavin Newsom and J.D. vance.

[Dan]

Here's my question.

[Laura]

Yeah, no, great question. I would say before last week it would be J.D. now it's a question mark. Yeah. I will tell you another reason why, Mark. You're actually the one who inspired me. And I watch you guys every morning. I tell my husband I'm getting my coffee and I'm going to spend my morning with the boys. Although I'm usually on YouTube. I'm in California 6am I actually woke up at 5:30 this morning to get on the call with y' all today.

[Mark]

So the other thing that's happened, you were about to say that.

[Laura]

Sorry, sorry about that.

[Mark]

That's okay. All good?

[Laura]

Yeah. No, I listened to the Turning Point event. It actually worried me too. And then this happened. As a Jewish person and I recognized that we were an Ole Miss and, you know, very Christian constituency and all of that. But between that things that he said and he had an opportunity, he had. There were a number of questions about, you know, Christianity and one of them, and I hope he just missed it sort of again, implied that the Jews killed Jesus. And he did not take an opportunity to say anything about that. And I know it's tricky, I recognize it's very tricky. But the point is they need to have a talking points about this. If they did not think about this before, they need to think about it now. So now I'm not sure. I actually sent the link of that Turning Point event to my friends who are just like me and said, listen and weep. I don't know. I'm homeless again. So.

[Mark]

Laura, you speak for tens of millions and I couldn't be more grateful to you. We couldn't be more grateful to you for getting up and coming on because everything you said, so interesting. So thank you for that, Dan.

[Dan]

Yeah. So what is your thought about all the talk after Charlie Kirk about the radical left? Right. And now. And now you're talking about the radical right, which is something that Democrats for 30 years like pulled their hair out over. So when you, you, you say now you're kind of reevaluating. You feel like you don't have a home. You're, you're, you're open to kind of hearing anew the Democratic Party or you're still pretty turned off by them.

[Laura]

Right? So I am even more interesting than that. I, as an 18 year old, my dad marched me to the post office or DMV and actually registered me for vote. So so as an immigrant, legal immigrant, it was very important to us. And I was actually registered Democrat even though voted both ends of the aisle. I was just too lazy to switch until the Kavanaugh hearing that again, it was like purges in the Soviet Union in 1950s. Somebody said something and then it was true. So I actually came back. My husband wore knees during that time, came back and marched myself and changed my registration. When we came back to the U.S. i was that flabbergasted. And then the left went even more crazy. And so what I, and I put this in the Chat. And I think I've heard maybe Jillian Michael say this. I saw the left implode from the inside. I am afraid that if the right does not deal with this, it will implode from the inside because of the craziest. There has to be a good way to sort of navigate this.

[Mark]

Thank you, Laura.

[Sean]

Sean, I guess what I'm a little confused by, and I just want you to expand on this is that, and I'm not trying to like my current view is there are people on the fringe of the right, I wouldn't say the Republican Party, I'd say on the right, who are questioning our relationship with Israel. But I think that the 80% view of the Republican view is that Israel, for national security reasons, etcetera, we must support and we continue to support. This president has probably been the most pro Israel president in modern history, as acknowledged by the current prime minister. And then you have a very mainstream view in the Democratic Party that they are sympathetic to the Palestinian position. I would argue a lot to the Hamas position. I don't know how that's if that's a top issue for you. To me, I get the concern about some in the right, but that's definitely not the mainstream view at all. Whereas in the Democratic Party, they don't condemn. I mean, they literally are endorsing Mondami. I mean, that to me tells you that this isn't even an apples and oranges discussion.

[Laura]

Yeah, no, great question. And I thought about this. So yes, of course, of course, I don't know. Not every Jewish person is pro Israel. I am pro Israel. But this is not about Israel. And I know a lot of folks like yourself and others think that it is. And I think genuinely think that it is. This is about America. I am America first. I was also terrified about what happened was bombing Iran. Although I am glad at the end the president knew something I didn't and I'm glad he did it. But I was terrified because I thought it was going to pull us in into World War Three for a lot of even I think Jewish people. This is not about Israel at all. And I appreciate the president's support. This is a line in the sand for disgusting things that the party that I would want to support needs to take a stand on. I am fine. Tucker is just too close and too powerful to the leadership.

[Mark]

Laura, do you still have relatives in Ukraine?

[Laura]

I don't, but my husband's first cousin, his wife is Ukrainian, not Jewish. Ukrainian. She has family under bombs. It's horrible. It's horrible. Yeah.

[Mark]

Thank you for coming on. Very grateful to you. I hope you'll come back regularly. Appreciate it.

[Laura]

Thank you so much.

[Mark]

Thank you. Very grateful to you. Thank you.

[Dan]

John, I got a question. You said 80% of the Republicans support Israel. I think philosophically, yes. Do you think 80% of the Republican Party would support money and arms to Israel for the next five years?

[Sean]

Money in arms, Yeah. I don't think boots on the ground, but money in arms, sure.

[Laura]

Okay.

[Mark]

Really?

[Sean]

Well, and it might be a little less. I mean, the further that you push it, I think you lose support. So, you know, you might start to get into the 70s as you send more money. And it's probably a demographically older group, the younger, I think folks on the right, the younger maga. The turning point, sort of, if we want to put that into a bucket, I would say is probably, you know, maybe down in the 40s or something. It gets less.

[Dan]

So that's why I asked.

[Mark]

Yeah. Rudy, welcome in. Thanks for being part of two way Tell folks where you are and what's on your mind. For Sean and for Dan.

[Rudy]

Hi, I'm in Madrid, Spain. Mark, thank you for the platform. I found you because I was a subscriber to Sean's channel, but gotta say, my favorite is Dan. Sometimes you have me screaming at my tablet, but my favorite is Dan. Something I'd like to point out. I was. My family and I, we came to the US when we. When I was seven years old. As you can hear, I have a perfect American accent, as does Zoran Mandani. And then the other day I heard him speak in this Ugandan accent. And where did that come from? Just this weird little thing. I'd like to point out that controversy that when he was eating rice with his hands, that's actually very common in the Philippines, but it's only poor Filipinos who do it. A well to do Filipino would not be caught dead eating rice with his hands. Upper class Zoran Mandani eating with his hands. And that fake Ugandan accent is the phoniest thing I've ever seen. And it just makes my head explode. Even more than the free buses and free this and free that. What makes my head explode is the guy is so phony and nobody cares.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Damn, you sound like Democrats talking about Donald Trump. You know, a guy who hangs out at Mar A Lago getting on a garbage truck, you know, with an orange jacket on, turns around and goes to his clubs, you know, I mean, I get it.

[Rudy]

Can I say something about that, though?

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Rudy]

When he did the McDonald's thing. And of course, it was totally staged, every, every single detail of it. But there was one man who went through the drive through and he said, thank you for dealing with ordinary people.

[Dan]

What do you think, New Yorkers? But all the people who love Mandani say thank you for focusing on us.

[Rudy]

And instantly, Donald Trump said, you're not ordinary. And he meant it. I don't know if Zoramdani means a single thing he says.

[Mark]

Yeah, Rudy, I don't know if you speak for tens of millions, but you speak for a lot of people in New York City who are super worried about what you just raised. And yet his supporters think he's the most authentic guy in the world. So he's a bit of a puzzle, but I agree with you. There are reasons to be concerned about. He's, he's, he's a little slick.

[Rudy]

Authenticity.

[Mark]

He's a little slick. Well, again, again, think about, think about what you're saying. Your biggest criticism is what his supporters say is his biggest strength. Authenticity. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see what, what he turns out to be. I, I find him to be hauntingly slick. Like, he's so good, it's almost unsettling to me how good he is. But again, that, that's why a lot of people like him. And that's why a lot of people who aren't his supporters but who are fans of his com. Of his skills say he's really good because he can, he can come off as natural in any situation. And in my household, we eat rice with our hands. Makes me a little class. I know, but it's just, it's just faster, you know, don't have to pick anything up. Just right, right in there. Rudy, thank you. Grateful to you. Appreciate you being here. All right, Joe Rubik's cube puzzle solver bought a baby. Joe, welcome in on you. Tell us about that little, little kid.

[Joe]

This is Charlie. She just turned 1 years old.

[Mark]

Guys, Charlie. Happy birthday, man. Charlie's cute. Hi, Charlie.

[Joe]

Charlie, I want to show you this book. This is Good Night Red Sox.

[Sean]

Ah, that's wicked good.

[Joe]

Family's from Boston, but I'm from Fort Smith, Arkansas.

[Mark]

Welcome in.

[Dan]

It looks like Charlie's room behind you there. Looks like she owns that room.

[Joe]

I know. We're in the living room. It's chaotic. So many toys.

[Mark]

Yeah. What's on your mind with Charlie today?

[Joe]

Well, so I want to talk about the Tucker stuff. I've been paying a lot of attention to it over the past two years of what Tucker does. Yeah, girl. And it's, I, I agree with you, Mark. I agree with you, Mark, about what it is. I don't think it's much as much about Israel as people think. I don't think it's platforming. I think that's kind of a straw man. It's, it's more what Tucker does during the podcast. And he's had a history of this bringing on the pro Hitler historian, bringing on different people in the past where he just lets them talk but doesn't ever push back against their crazy views. Even when Nick Fuentes brought up that Stalin was a good guy, he was like, oh well, we'll talk about that later and never brought it up again. So I, I think that's my main issue with that. He kind of, and so I think that's why a lot of Republicans are so frustrated because that interview showed exactly who and what Tucker does on a wide variety of situations.

[Mark]

Joe, are you, are you a Trump supporter?

[Joe]

Yes, would be a three time, but a one time because of my age.

[Mark]

Would you like to see the President and the Vice president speak out on this issue or it doesn't matter to you?

[Joe]

I, that's a great question. I, I, I definitely want them to denounce Nick Fuentes. I think they won't denounce Tucker, but they should denounce what he is doing with his interviews because it's, it's Candace Owens does that the same kind of thing where she just says, well, I'm just asking questions. Yeah.

[Sean]

How did, Joe, can I ask this? How did you, how did you hear about what I'm trying to figure out. Did you listen to the Tucker Fuentes interview? Did someone tell you about it? Did you see clips of it? How did it come into your orbit?

[Joe]

So I, I heard about it from, I think I heard about it from Twitter first where I was looking at some clips, specifically the clip where he said Christian Zionists. I, I don't like them more than anyone else. I heard about that and, and then I decided to look more into it. However, I've, I've watched a lot of Tucker's interviews in the past with controversial people and so kind of that's how I heard about the Fuentes stuff. And then I think it wouldn't have been as big of an issue if Heritage foundation did not mention anything as soon as they mentioned that we stand by Tucker no matter what kind of a vibe. That's whenever it really blew up. And, and I think also you have the, the vision of him interviewing Nick Fuentes hardly ever pushed back. Meanwhile, he interviewed Ted Cruz, and he pushed back in an incredible way.

[Mark]

You speak for tens of millions. I'm surprised you didn't criticize Tucker for not pushing back against me when I was on Dan.

[Dan]

Yeah. By the way, that's still one of the great interviews that you did that I think was October there or September. I mean, I just find this so fascinating because I feel like part of the key to Trump's success was going into these places and friending people to have this huge tent. And it's like you live by it, you die by it. And, and now I just find it so fascinating that now is the time to draw the line when there have been so many people on some of these podcasts, because, look, the way you get followers is to say something, you know, different and to be, you know, a shock jock, so to speak. And now this is where the line's getting drawn. I just find it remarkable.

[Mark]

Joe, is Charlie's name Charlie or something else?

[Joe]

It's Charlie.

[Mark]

Yeah, Charlie.

[Joe]

But she's a girl. Even without any hair. Yeah, it's very, very difficult.

[Mark]

Yeah. Joe, grateful to you for coming on. And again, you speak for a lot of people. And I just so enjoyed how, how well reasoned, calm about it, even though you're obviously passionate about what's at issue here. Charlie, have a great day. Happy birthday.

[Joe]

Bye.

[Mark]

All right, it's election Day. I want to fill the end on our plans here. Sean, what do you have today?

[Sean]

Well, two things on the show at 6, we've got Congressman Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. We're going to talk to him both about some new information that's come out about Jim Comey's indictment. And then obviously, the Jack Smith and Arctic Frost updates will be huge. And then Brent Buchanan, the president of Signal Polling, will join us to give us the latest on that. And then we will be live tonight on the channel at 8, breaking it all down and crossing our fingers for everyone here in Virginia.

[Mark]

All right, six o' clock tonight on two way tonight, two great guests, both deep New York roots. Also Elizabeth Pipko, Republican strategist, Democratic strategist Naomi Kunst will join me at six o' clock to tee up the evening. All the events of the day covered and looking forward to PrimeTime. Then at 7, Michael Moynihan on Moynihan Report, joined by Don Calloway, the CEO and founder of Pine Street Advisors. We'll talk about the future of the Democratic Party in the context of midterms, and then join us at 8 o' clock live from the New York Post newsroom. Teaming up with our colleagues at the New York post live coverage, 8 o' clock onward, we'll have lots of great guests and of course, conversation like no other. Election night like no other, an opportunity for you to be part of the night. Bring us what you're seeing, where you live, what you're seeing online. We'll be flipping around on cable as we do and checking X and other social media platforms and of course, including you in the conversation. If you want to be part of it, go to Twoway tv. You'll see a place to sign up there, opportunity to log on to the platform. You can also watch it live or on demand on our platforms, on two ways YouTube channel, in the New York Post channel, as well as our websites. And as I said, great guest throughout the evening. But most importantly, we want to hear from you and we'll be bringing you the exit polls, we'll bring you the live coverage of all the the victory and concession speeches and look forward to your participation. So please join us then. Dan, what are you up to?

[Dan]

I was just going to ask you to speak. If Nandani were to win, Hochul Schumer Jeffries show up at the as in, in Queens.

[Mark]

Great question.

[Sean]

No way I can't show up. No way.

[Mark]

Schumer. Schumer. No. But maybe, maybe. I bet. I bet.

[Dan]

And endorse.

[Mark]

I mean, I bet Jeffries does. I don't know.

[Dan]

I'm joining both of you guys tonight. I'm going to join Sean for appearance and I'm going to join Mark two way in the New York Post tonight.

[Mark]

So awesome. And of course, we'll be back tomorrow morning, 9:00am Eastern Time with a full wrap up of everything that happened. And of course we'll also preview the Supreme Court hearing on the President's tariff policy. Also a super important day for that. So thank you all for watching. Thanks for being part of the two way community. We'll see you later today. I'll see you at 6 and 8 and Sean at 8. Look forward to it. Have a great day everybody.