← After Party with Emily Jashinsky
After Party with Emily Jashinsky
Crockett's Slim Senate Chances, Trump vs MTG and CBS, and Charlie Kirk's Singular Role, with Mark Halperin
01:03:16
Emily Jashinsky is joined by Mark Halperin, Editor-in-chief of 2WAY and host of “Next Up with Mark Halperin.” The show opens with a look at Texas Rep Jasmine Crockett’s video filled with attacks from President Trump to announce her U.S. Senate campaign, her Democratic and Republican rivals, whether she has a real chance to win, and if her candidacy actually hurts her party’s national image. They also discuss podcaster Jennifer Welch’s harsh rhetoric and attacks on Erika Kirk, and Tim Pool’s comment saying Charlie Kirk’s death may be the most effective political assassination in our history because of what it’s doing to the right, Turning Point USA, and Republican chances in the midterms. Then Emily and Mark take up the topic of Jimmy Kimmel’s new deal with ABC, Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s combative interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl, and President Trump’s takedown of CBS. Emily rounds out the show with a look at the viral confrontation between Tish Hyma...
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- [00:02]
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- [01:09]
Megyn Kelly
It's casual Monday here on AFTER PARTY because our guest, Mark Halperin is where else? At the gym. It's where he does his best work. And I decided not to do any hair or makeup and just put a baseball hat on. So with your permission, we will continue the show anyway. We will plow forward like the intrepid journalists that we are. We're going to get to Mark in just one moment before we do big, big, big show tonight. The news keeps rolling in because guess what, the midterm cycle is basically here. Jasmine Crockett. Jasmine Crockett has jumped into the Democratic primary race down in Texas where Democrats are hoping to unseat John Cornyn, who's hardly the most popular man in Texas, but I bet he'll be a little bit more popular than Jasmine Crockett. Just my hunch. New comments from Jennifer Welch of I've had it laying into Erica Kirk. She used the G word, called Erica Kirk a grifter. We'll have some reaction to that. Marjorie Taylor Greene was on 60 Minutes and Jimmy Kimmel actually has an extension. Show is not ending until 2027, according to news that just broke today. And a new Tish Hyman video, this time with Ro Khanna. So this is a really interesting video because Rokhanna is one of the Democrats who's trying to help the party and had a little bit of a rough go of it in this confrontation with Tish Hyman in California at a town hall first, before we get into the show, please make sure to subscribe. It helps us so much. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast. That's where we put all of our happy hour episodes, where I talk to you via the questions that you send in. So if you're not subscribed over on the podcast side, please do that. I'll also be debating with Ryan Grim, some of the libertarians over at Reason on Big Tech. So if you're in the D.C. area, come out and see us Wednesday night. You can get tickets there on my X feed or on the Reason website. Finally, just want to give a shout out to my friend Al's mom and her wonderful friend I met at Al's wedding over the weekend. They're, they're big viewers of the show and big, big, big fans of Megan, which is always fun to talk to people in the wild in the wilderness who watch the show. And you never miss a Megy Kelly show, so shout out to them. It was great to see you over the weekend. All right, without further ado, let's go ahead in. Mark Halperin, who is of course editor in chief of two Way and host of Next up with Mark Halperin on Where else? Megan Kelly's MK Media and Mark, where else is at the gym wearing Cubs gear. What are you doing?
- [03:41]
Mark Halperin
It's Cubs gear. And. But it's also.
- [03:45]
This is a Japanese artist, very famous Japanese artist on this side. You know this Murakami. Are you familiar with Murakami?
- [03:51]
Megyn Kelly
Yes, yes.
- [03:51]
Mark Halperin
Little Murakami Cubs. What do you call those things? Collab.
- [03:55]
Megyn Kelly
Mashup.
- [03:55]
Mark Halperin
Mashup. Collabs.
- [03:56]
Megyn Kelly
Collabs.
- [03:57]
Mark Halperin
So I got. It's a Japanese company and they do these things and like I overbuy. So I'm not even a Cubs fan, but I own a lot of. Or Dodgers fan, but a lot of Cubs and Dodgers Murakami gear. And I'm unveiling this one tonight for the first time. It's kind of a world exclusive premiere on the after party.
- [04:16]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, it's like being on the Runway, basically.
- [04:19]
Mark Halperin
Basically. Ask me who I'm wearing, I'll say Murakami and Ryan Sandberg time.
- [04:23]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. All right. I'm really glad we have you here tonight, Mark, because I'm fascinated by the dynamics this Texas Senate race is turning into. This is promising to be, I think, one of the most interesting political contests of maybe the entire decade, both the primary and the general election. And that sounds crazy, but today, Jasmine Crockett did what everyone expected her to do, at least in the last 48 or so hours and formally entered the Texas Center Rate. Push it race. Pushing out Colin Allred, people may remember from the cruise race just a couple of years ago. So I want to go ahead and start here with Jasmine Crockett's campaign announcement video. This is F4. How about this new one? They have their new star, Crockett. How about. If you're listening to this, it's just a video.
- [05:11]
Jasmine Crockett. They're in big trouble. But you have this woman, Crockett. She's a very low IQ person. I watched her speak the other day. She's definitely a low IQ person. Crockett. Oh, man. Oh, man. She's a very low IQ person.
- [05:30]
Somebody said the other day, she's one.
- [05:32]
Mark Halperin
Of the leaders of the party.
- [05:33]
Megyn Kelly
I said, you got to be kidding. Now they're going to rely on Crockett. Crockett's going to bring him back.
- [05:41]
So again, for the visual, the way that ended was with flashbulbs and Jasmine Crockett, Justin all black, crossing her arms. It was the same shot of Crockett the entire way through. Very artsy. Mark, what do you make of Jasmine Crockett entering this race?
- [05:55]
Mark Halperin
First of all, despite your extraordinary powers of description, you were not able to do that video justice. Because it's bizarre. Emily, a Democrat has non won a statewide office in Texas for over a quarter century. And if you're asking me if Jasmine Crockett will be the Democrat who breaks that streak, the answer is no. Maybe she'll be the nominee. And if she is, the Republicans will rejoice because any of the three Republicans in the Republican primary can beat her. Almost certainly because again, there's a profile that's been banned about for years of the kind of Democrat who could break this 35 or whatever it is. 30. 30, I guess, 31 year losing streak to win a statewide office in Texas. And that profile matches not at all with that of Jasmine Crumpet.
- [06:49]
Megyn Kelly
Well, in some ways, I feel like I'm more interested in this primary matchup than I even am in the general. For all of the reasons that you just laid out. And I actually found more video here of Crockett recently. This is just the last couple of hours, I think. Formal announcement videos. Let's take a listen. When Texas turns blue, she says, because of any one candidate, but because of each and every one of you doing your part. Turning Texas blue is what I want to talk to you all about today.
- [07:20]
Now, there are those who say, ain't no way we didn't try it 50 kinds of ways. Let me put this on two times speed. My goodness.
- [07:31]
We, we used to telling us what I can't do. But they have no idea what Crockett's crew will do. So I just want to be clear for all the haters in the back, listen up real loud. That's for you, Mark. Don't get this thing done.
- [07:46]
Mark Halperin
I'm a lover, not a hater.
- [07:49]
Megyn Kelly
All right, so, you know, obviously cynicism on behalf of Democrats in Texas aside, what does it do for Democrats in 2026? You know, now that people feel like Trump sort of took Zoramdani off the table, he'll still be used in races and in red districts, red straits, purple states or purple areas as well. But Crockett, I wonder if that's an even more powerful person to tie different Democrats to the Mamdani.
- [08:15]
Mark Halperin
I mean, look, she'll be used by the president and by others whether she runs or not, whether she's the nominee or not. But she's very liberal. She's very undisciplined as a, as a campaign, you know, force. She's the one who famously said that Lee Zeldin had received a campaign contribution from Jeffrey Epstein. And when, when it was determined it was Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a totally different guy, she said, I didn't say he'd received a campaign donation from the Jeffrey Epstein. I said a Jeffrey Epstein. So, I mean, she's a, she's not a figure who Democrats want to see succeed for the nomination for most Democrats, because she's got no chance to win a general by the calculations of most people I know, on the other hand, should be used either way. And on the other hand, I don't think any of the Democrats who are talked about running or are still running are going to win this seat in this general election unless the Republicans nominate Attorney General Paxton. He might be vulnerable in general, but I don't believe he'd be vulnerable to her. And I had somebody send me an email today or text really said, best day of Ken Paxton's life in a long time because now he can't. His opponents can't use the electability argument to say he shouldn't be the nominee because his electability over Jasmine Crockett, most Republicans, Republicans think is preordained.
- [09:39]
Megyn Kelly
So actually, that's a good point because I've just sort of been assuming Paxton isn't. He's not going to cut it in this race, but that is a heavy assumption. So what is your sense of the GOP side Right now, I still think.
- [09:52]
Mark Halperin
The president's going to endorse the incumbent, John Cornyn. He's not a MAGA favorite, but he's done a lot to ingratiate himself with the president, including hiring as his consultants some of the president's top political advisors. And I think in the end, Republicans don't want to worry about this race. And if Paxton's the nominee, they'll have to worry about it. They probably won't lose it, but they'd have to worry about it. They just want to bank it. And if Paxton's the nominee, he's going to be reelected. So my spidey sense all along has been the President, despite his close ties with Paxton, Paxton will eventually endorse John Cornyn and he'll win the nomination and.
- [10:25]
Megyn Kelly
Win the general back to the Dem primary. I want to ask about. You might not like this. Mark James Tallarico, who I refer to as Timo. Timo Richie Cunningham, who this is a clip I want to play a sort of is a clip I think does a good job at capturing what Talarico his appeal. Democratic consultants want to frame as his appeal, I guess is a kind of clumsy way of putting it. But he people may remember when on Joe Rogan he had that back and forth about the Ten Commandments in the classroom. I think he went to seminary. And here's a little snippet from Talrico on a podcast recently.
- [11:04]
James Talarico
My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, and he told me when I was real little that we follow a barefoot rabbi. That's how he called it. And that barefoot rabbi gave us two commandments, love God and love neighbor. Because there is no love of God without love of neighbor, is how he put it. And my church, when I was growing up, always really emphasized our love for our neighbors, the need to take our faith from the sanctuary to the streets to act right in the same way that labor organizers put their faith into action, the way civil rights marchers put their faith into action, the way farm workers put their faith into action. That was always the emphasis, which it's no wonder I went into public service first as a public school teacher and then as a public official. It's all motivated by that commandment to love my neighbor. As myself. I try to love my neighbor through public policy.
- [11:57]
Megyn Kelly
All right, Mark, what do you make about?
- [11:59]
Mark Halperin
On the one hand, I get what all the fuss is about. On the other hand, I don't get what all the fuss is about.
- [12:06]
If you take him on paper, he's a very Compelling figure for the Democrats. A young, dynamic progressive of faith who can talk the owls down from the trees and looks pretty and seems to combine steel and softness. On the other hand, you know, it's a subjective thing. I just think his, his capacity to again break the Democrats 30 year losing streak in Texas, I just, I don't think it's quite there based on his, his appeal and, and what I think is a press corps that's fallen overly in love with him.
- [12:45]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. Yeah, he reminds me a bit of like MJ Hagar and some of those other candidates. His ads have been fantastic and they're taking stuff that works on paper and hoping that he's able to carry that message. But the reason I'm fascinated by this primary is that you have the Crockett figure who represents, you know, she's not an Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Democratic socialist. I mean, actually Talarico on policy stuff. I'll be curious to see how this shakes out because he might have a case for being more Bernie aligned than Crockett does when it comes out in the wash. She's the sort of Jennifer Welch candidate. We're going to talk about Welch in just one moment, but the anti norms Democratic candidate. He is the restore the norms Democratic candidate with a sort of Bernie policy flair. So it's a weird dynamic.
- [13:31]
Mark Halperin
Well said, well said. I mean, I want to see sort of how they do when they start to engage with each other, how they draw the contrast, how much attention is focused on them as combatants. It'll be interesting to see. But again, I think you're going to find for all the kind of bright, shiny object nature of the two of them that it's going to be hard for either of them to win the general election.
- [13:55]
Megyn Kelly
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- [15:04]
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- [15:32]
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- [16:03]
Megyn Kelly
Now with Mark Halpern, who's of course editor in chief of Two Way and host of NextUp with Mark Halpern. I'm Megyn Kelly's MK Media, our MK Media neighbors. So we have to get Mark Halpern's take on the New York Times. A splashy profile of Jennifer Welch, host of the I've had it podcast. We've talked about her a couple of times. You can put F2 up on the screen. This was a fairly uncritical profile that I think brought out some interesting notes in Jennifer Welch without devoting much skepticism or criticism at all to some of the obvious moral political flaws that Jennifer Welch brings to the table. Like this one. Let's go ahead and roll S2 Jennifer Welch talking about Charlie Kirk's grieving widow, Erica Kirk. She is a grifter. And just look at the Costume changes, look at the costume changes, look at the affect and how she does that. It's wild. This woman should be kicked to the curb. She is an absolute grifter, just like Donald Trump and just like her un repentant, racist, homophobic husband was. So Welch has, of course, also referred to Charlie Kirk after his assassination as a, quote, piece of shit. And those comments came after Erica Kirk was talking about her position on government entitlement programs at the New York Times Dealbook summit. Hardly controversial. Hardly the type of stuff that would make somebody of pure heart go after the grieving widow of a slain political target. Mark, what do you think?
- [17:39]
Mark Halperin
I don't get that lady. First of all, I don't think it's a Dealbook summit unless you're invited. That's just my general attitude.
- [17:48]
You know, it's one of the main, I would say main. It's a big grievance of people on the right, as you know, that places like the New York Times write fawning profiles of people on the left. And in this case of a lady who even before her latest outburst about Erica Kirk, she's not very well mannered, she's not very polite. She's a big potty mouth. And you know, the New York Times wants politics to be more genteel, wants there to be less negativity. They don't like the president's use of negative stuff. And this lady is second to none in saying things about people that are mean spirited and gross. And she's entitled to her First Amendment rights, but I don't know that she's entitled to a New York Times profile that glosses over her rudeness.
- [18:36]
Megyn Kelly
And it really did. I mean, I have to say the New York Times surprised me a bit with this profile. And that may sound naive, but they have obviously been trying to prove that they're getting better. I put that in air quotes. They're obviously trying to make some inroads with the right again. And Ross Douthat is like their podcast star at this point. And Mark, as well as I do that Jennifer Welch would be treated as a Christine o' Donnell like figure if she were on the left. And that's a callback because I think Welch is popular. Let me test my theory out on you. I think she's popular because she gets that the Democrats are in a Tea Party moment. And so few other podcasters have understood that yet. So she has kind of sucked all the oxygen out of that hole in the market.
- [19:24]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [19:24]
Megyn Kelly
And they're left to put up with the rest of the baggage that comes with that.
- [19:28]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I think you're right. I think she's, I'll just say it a slightly different way, but I don't disagree with you. I think she's popular because she's part of that. We're not going to take it anymore. We're not going to sit back, let's imitate Trump. It's parallel to what Gavin Newsom has done right. On X and social media, which is to basically say we're going to simultaneously mimic Trump and parody Trump. We're going to say outrageously mean and personal things.
- [19:57]
Regarding the New York Times, if I may, they've written two stories that I think are part of what you said, which is they really do seem to be making a self conscious effort to on occasion act like they're not biased. They wrote a long story about the scandal in Minnesota over the stealing of tax dollars by groups largely run by Somali Americans. And, and then they had a story two and a half years too late about Joe Biden's failed policy on the border. These are stories that I suspect are being.
- [20:32]
Called up by the editors to demonstrate fairness. But then they go and write a profile of someone who, again, if they were Republican, they'd rip apart, but she's a Democrat, so they write something relatively soft and gauzy about her.
- [20:46]
Megyn Kelly
That's exactly what they did. And speaking of Charlie, Tim Pool, who's facing some security concerns at his home in West Virginia, spoke out a little bit about what effect the assassination of Charlie Kirk has had on the broader right. So let's go ahead and roll S3 here. This is just from the last couple of days.
- [21:11]
Tim Pool
Temple, the assassination of, of Charlie Kirk. This is from today, maybe the most effective political assassination in our history because of conversations from many prominent individuals. I'm not singling out any one person. There are many people doing this.
- [21:30]
Turning Point USA has become the perpetrator of the crime against themselves.
- [21:40]
Turning Point USA would have been the principal organization to help Republicans win the midterms.
- [21:52]
With Charlie Kirk's death.
- [21:55]
We are now seeing disarray. But the fact now that Turning Point is viewed as the villain by so many people, especially on the right, it's going to hinder their ability to, to win a midterm. Democrats might actually win. Trump will get impeached. And this means dark days indeed.
- [22:16]
Megyn Kelly
So Tim's studio and home, it's kind of a compound outside of Harper's Ferry. He said that a car, on December 5, a car drove onto the property and opened fire. This is all being investigated right now. But he referred to the assassination of Charlie as the most. He said it may end up being the most effective of assassination in history. In that clip, Mark, and I'm just curious if you've noticed any sense that or any ways in which there's been a chilling effect. Is that real? Is that yet to come? It's only been, you know, it's been such a short period of time since this happened.
- [22:52]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, look, there have been a lot of canceled events, quietly, privately canceled events. There's also people you and I both know who have kind of a fatalistic attitude, which Charlie, I think, to some extent, had, which is to say, you can only take so many precautions. If it's going to happen, unfortunately, it's going to happen. I talked to someone today by coincidence, who. I'm not going to be super specific here, but he had. His office was in a public office building, not a government building, but there was a government official who had a district office in that building right across the hallway. And he quit his job and went to work someplace else because he didn't want to be in that building because of what happened to Charlie. Kirk switched to a different office building.
- [23:38]
I will say this also in terms of the impact that the assassination had, which is a point that someone made to me. It's not my point originally, but I don't want to name the person who said it. Charlie was a genius and he was glue.
- [23:53]
And now you see all of these fights of, of, of Laura Loomer and Tucker and Bannon.
- [24:01]
Megyn Kelly
Candace.
- [24:02]
Mark Halperin
Candace, right.
- [24:02]
Megyn Kelly
Who I think Tim was alluding to in that clip. Yeah.
- [24:05]
Mark Halperin
So, I mean, you know, Candace and Charlie, I hear so many different things about sort of the status of things between them, you know, but, but, but Charlie, you know, you know, Donald Trump always says, you know, when I was president, Putin didn't invade. And then when Biden was President, Putin did, you know, is it a direct correlation? Who knows? But we can say this, just as Trump can say they didn't invade on his watch. When Charlie was alive, the controversies, the contentiousness with Candace was tamped down. When Charlie was alive, the contentiousness with Tucker and with Nick Fuentes was tamped down. So has this all broken out? At least on X maga, on MAGA action, has this broken out because Charlie's not here to keep the peace? I can't say for sure, but I can say the correlation seems pretty. Pretty exact.
- [24:57]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. All right, let's move on to Jimmy Kimmel, because Jimmy Kimmel, we can put the Variety headline up on the screen here. It was announced a deal that apparently happened in the summer. Variety broke the news today that Jimmy Kimmel live has a new deal with Disney that's going to keep him on air for another year, quote, according to three people familiar with the matter. Kimmel's current deal, everyone may remember with Disney was believed to expire in 2026. Now Kimmel announced it this afternoon. But what's odd is that Variety says the deal was inked over the summer, Mark. And over the summer that would be before Kimmel was caught up in that controversy with Brendan Carr over at the FCE over his comments about Charlie Kirk. Implying, heavily suggesting, implying as the predicate for a joke that his killer was on the right was a MAGA person joking of course that everybody remembers this, but basically that the right was trying to do everything to deflect away from the possibility that the shooter was maga. And now we see polling a lot of Democrats actually do believe, many Democrats actually do believe that the shooter of Charlie Kirk was maga. What's going on with this Mark?
- [26:14]
Mark Halperin
Well, first of all, I like the fact that you use the classic variety word, inked.
- [26:18]
Megyn Kelly
Yes, yes, yes.
- [26:21]
Mark Halperin
Let me ask you this. Is Char, is Kimmel back on all the ABC affiliates? Is he back on the Sinclair stations?
- [26:28]
Megyn Kelly
My memory is that they did put him back on within a couple of weeks.
- [26:31]
Mark Halperin
Yeah. I mean.
- [26:34]
You know, he's late night ratings are down but Kimmel's still makes money, I believe, I believe for Disney and in Hollywood, box office is boffo. Box office is supreme. So if the stations are clearing the show, they're airing the show and if he's making money, you know they're going to put him back on. Let's see what the President says and let's see if you know, if he, if he says stuff that's beyond the pale again. But I'm not surprised because that piece of real estate is very hard to program and the networks don't want to give it back to the affiliates and give up the revenue. So if Kimmel's got some following and he does not surprise they're trying to salvage him.
- [27:17]
Megyn Kelly
Do you think in any way this is good news for Stephen Colbert? Is there any hope that the Colbert reversal, which by the way, people forget that was his, that was the entire show. It wasn't just Colbert getting axed, they axed the Late Show.
- [27:29]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I don't think Colbert makes money. Again, this is my impression from talking to people. I don't have like rock solid Reporting. But I think Puck reported this.
- [27:37]
Megyn Kelly
Reported his show is losing.
- [27:38]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, yeah, it's been reported a few places. It sounds right to me. And Kimmel makes money. So again, Hollywood cares about very little, but one thing they care about is money.
- [27:50]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, well, that's. That's a non controversial point, Mark, to be sure. Did you catch the president's comments about CBS slash Paramount? I suppose, but he was on the Kennedy center red carpet. He hosted the Kennedy Center Honor, which is just like peak Trump. I say that about everything, but the man host the Kennedy center honor.
- [28:10]
Mark Halperin
It's peakiest Trump.
- [28:11]
Megyn Kelly
It is. I mean, he's 79. He's the president United States, and he couldn't resist hosting the Kennedy Center Honors, which is. He's, he's clearly the best host for that job. I can't think of anybody who would be more entertaining to watch hosting the Kennedy Center Honors. But he said on the red carpet that he was. He was asked about merging Merger News and all of that, but he was also talking just. He kind of went off on cbs. And I think he posted on Truth Social. He's posted a lot today. I'm on his true Social right now. There are a lot of posts. But I think he posted that he thinks at this point CBS may actually be worse than before the Ellison ownership transfer. Did you see that, Mark? What do you make of that?
- [28:54]
Mark Halperin
I wonder how real it is, right? Because.
- [28:59]
I think it's pretty clear. I mean, look, I'm sure he was annoyed by 60 Minutes because they gave his now frenemy Marjorie Taylor Greene a glowing profile. But there's also an incentive for him. Now that it was revealed that Jared Kushner is involved in the Paramount bid for Warner, he's got an incentive to not let people say he's all pro Ellison. So by attacking cbs, by saying Ellison's not change cbs, I think it takes the edge off of the notion that he's simply trying to rig this for the Ellisons. That's a theory that lots of people are positing. But, you know, he doesn't like negative coverage and he doesn't understand why people who like him give him negative coverage sometimes. And he associates that both with individual reporters. If they seem to get along with him, he thinks they should just do positive stories stories. And he does it within organizations like Paramount, too.
- [29:50]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. So here's the post. He said, my real problem with the show not was not Marjorie Taylor Greene. He says, my real problem with the show, however, wasn't the low IQ trader. It was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount would allow a show like this to air. They are no better than the old ownership who just paid me millions of dollars for fake reporting about your favorite president, comma, me. Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten worse. I like your theory, Mark, that there's something performative about this that could potentially shield him. Because when I was thinking about his comments on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors, he was asked about the proposed Netflix Warner Brothers merger, which now could also be a hostile. Could also involve this hostile purchase from the Ellison. It's like an insane mess right now. And Trump said that he will be involved in the deal as it goes through the ftc, of course. So is that, I mean, is that, is that the kind of bigger picture? Is that Trump right now is almost playing the godfather in the big media deal, wheeling and dealing.
- [30:56]
Mark Halperin
Right. I mean, you know, he's interested in it. On Squawk Box this morning, Joe Kernan and Andrew Ross Sorkin kind of thought about this, because Joe's view is he was only saying what everybody already knew. So what the big deal, of course he's going to be involved, very interested in the outcome. This is an incredible story. You know, it's a story about Hollywood brands and a story about, you know, technological consolidation and the streaming wars, but it's also a big political story. You know, how many times do you see Donald Trump and Elizabeth Warren potentially on the same side, opposing Netflix, consolidating all the streaming dominance? But that's where we are right now. We don't, we don't know exactly where the President will end up, but he seems to have been favorable towards Netflix, towards Fairmont, and yet he's also spent very nice things the last couple days about the guy who runs Netflix, who has been courting him assiduously. So my guess is that, again, it's not my theory, it's the theory of some of my sources who are close Trump watchers. My guess is he wants Paramount to win this thing, but that he's, as always with Trump, he's playing the angles, keeping his options open, surveying the terrain and waiting to see what happens.
- [32:05]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, the Supreme Court, obviously, today was considering the FTC firing ability of the president, which is the, maybe the hinge case in the Trump administration's effort to implement what's called unitary executive theory. But actually, this is testing precedent, setback. And the Roosevelt administration, hero of the Democratic Party, fdr, who did want to consolidate a lot of power in the executive and sort of streamline the bureaucracy Rather than having these quote unquote, like independent agencies as we think of them now, like the ftc, Trump is essentially saying, I mean, it's, I guess it's kind of soft power to say I'll be involved in the deal. But if the Supreme Court overturns Humphreys executive executor, which a lot of people read into the oral arguments today, Mark, then he might have even more wheeling and dealing power going forward.
- [32:53]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I mean, I'm not usually a fan of reading into the oral arguments where the justices are going to end up, but in this case it was so overwhelming. You had the six Republican picked justices pretty clearly on the side of saying, yeah, the old law that said the old precedent that said presidents can't fire agency leaders, it's just outdated because things have changed so much. So I'd be pretty surprised after the oral arguments if that position got fewer than the five votes needed and probably will get six. And it will give the President quite a bit of power to remake these agencies which historically have kind of. There's been a lag. You know, a Republican comes in and the Democratic appointees get to stick around and that dilutes the power of the new president to. Supreme Court looks to be on the verge of saying no. If the new president comes in and wants to remake these agencies, he or she can do it.
- [33:49]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. Could be on the cusp of that. All right, we have more with Mark Halperin coming up in just a minute. First, remember, a fresh start is possible. Debt can feel like it's getting worse every month, but that only continues if nothing changes. PDS debt has already helped hundreds of thousands of people rewrite their financial story and take back control. And your turn can start right now. If you're struggling with credit cards, personal loans or medical bills, PDS debt creates creates personalized options to help you get out of debt. They look beyond the numbers to understand your situation and build a plan that's designed specifically for you. There's no minimum credit score and their entire mission is to help you save more, pay off debt faster and finally put money back where it belongs in your pocket. They're A plus rated by the Better Business Bureau, have thousands of five star Google reviews and hold a five star rating on trustpilot because their approach works and the longer you wait, the more interest and fees pile up. So the best time to start was yesterday and the next best time is right now. If I needed this product, it is definitely what I would use. So don't wait another month. Change your story in 30 seconds. Get your free personalized assessment and the best option for you@PDS that.com Emily that's PDS that.com Emily PDS.com Emily hey, Ryan.
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- [36:02]
Megyn Kelly
Right, we are back now with Mark Halperin, who is host of two Way, editor in chief of two Way, and host of Next up with Mark Halpern on Megyn Kelly's MK Media, also host of two Way. You're an editor slash host, right, Mark?
- [36:15]
Mark Halperin
I do a little editing, a little hosting, then a little more editing than a little more hosting.
- [36:19]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. That's all you could ask. That's all you could ask. All right, I want to Speaking of fresh starts, to talk to you about Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is not off to a fresh start because Donald Trump is referring to her as Marjorie Trader Brown. Because when grass is no longer fresh, it goes brown. This is his reasoning, not mine. But MTG was on with Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes last night. We were talking earlier in the show about how Donald Trump reacted to that by saying CBS is not even where it was before the merger. And what might explain all of that? This seemed to have really set him off, even though MTG kind of understood her appearance would probably set Trump off and was still very MTG. Let's go ahead and take a look at S1. It's the most talk toxic political culture and it's not helping the American people. But you contributed to that. You, you, you were out there pounding, insulting people. Leslie, you've contributed to it as well with your own. Yes, you're accusatory, just like you did just then. I know you're accusing me, but I'm smiling. You're accusing me. I am accusing, but we don't have to accuse one another. I want you to respond to what you have done in terms of insulting people, yelling at people and then saying. I'd like for you to respond for that. I don't know. You can respond. I don't insult people. You do in the way you question. And you are. You're accusing me right now.
- [37:46]
I was thinking about this. Mark, I'm curious for your take, Marjorie Taylor Greene is stylistically a very post Trump type politician. Leslie Greene is Leslie Greene. Leslie Stahl is very much a pre Trump style journalist. Leslie Stahl casts a lot of doubt on the ability to verify the Hunter Biden laptop. She has said all kinds of things in the past about Trump that his supporters, I'm sure, interpreted as digs at them as. Well, it's more polite, but I don't know that it's necessarily been more helpful to, like, healing the divides in the country. Mark, but what did you think of that?
- [38:23]
Mark Halperin
No, I mean, look, I'm very polite, forgiving person. And just because Leslie Stahl's done some things that I look at as wrong doesn't mean I'm not open to her, you know, doing her job and doing some great interviews. But I just don't understand the choice to have her interviewing Marjorie Taylor Greene because of just that exact dynamic. I just, it just, it's not right. Doesn't sit right with me to listen to that conversation of two people just talking past each other on what are really critical issues related to how they've each conducted themselves in the past. Mm.
- [38:59]
Megyn Kelly
And Leslie Stahl, this is a really deep cut, but I found it while I was just prepping for the show today, Mark. I went back to some of the things she said during the Reagan administration and shortly after the Reagan administration, that woman predicted one day we would look back at Ronald Reagan and be baffled as to why he was so popular and paraphrased the quote, but I think she said that on Bob Costa show in 1988, somewhere around there. She has not had the best crystal ball.
- [39:27]
Mark Halperin
No, I mean, she's just a classic, you know, liberal television correspondent masquerading as an objective journalist. And you just. It's just, it's just obvious to so tens of millions of Americans who, again, wonder why the most fabled and highest rated TV news show in the history of North America is populated by correspondents who just are hostile to conservatives. It's just a. It's just kind of baffling for a lot of people in America.
- [39:57]
Megyn Kelly
She also. I saw another quote she was on with like, Bill Moyer. And again, this is someone who's seen as a straight, neutral journalist. This was right after the Reagan administration. I think someone asked Moyer, asked if she was. She missed. She missed Ronald Reagan. And I think she said, as a television journalist, yes. As an American citizen, no. And then went on to, you know, keep covering politics for decades afterwards, and nobody's supposed to bat an eye. But what grates me is her talking to somebody who's very much a product of the environment that Leslie Stahl helped create, which is people feeling like they're being lied to straight to the. Straight to the camera year after year by people who purported to be neutral but were bringing their own values that are not neutral to the table. And that, to me, I'm not asking you necessarily to weigh on. On this, Mark, but I'm just saying, to me, that feels more insidious.
- [40:44]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, no, I'll weigh in on it again. I think there's. It's. It's in the view of many people whose views I value, it's the biggest reason Donald Trump won both in 2016 and 2024. This just masquerade ball of allegedly objective journalists doing things like covering up for Joe Biden would have been a great success. 60 Minutes piece to do in 2022 about the fact that Joe Biden never talked to the media and never had Cabinet meetings and never was, you know, doing event. Rarely doing events late at night. That would have been a great investigative piece by 60 Minutes, but they didn't do it.
- [41:18]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. Mm. And Leslie Saw has instead been, you know, at events, talking about how worried she is about the press and all of that under Trump. So, Mark, what is your take on whether CBS has changed or how CBS has changed, whether it's changed since the Ellison Free Press, Barry Weiss takeover? How do you think it's.
- [41:38]
Mark Halperin
It's been too soon to say.
- [41:40]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, okay.
- [41:41]
Mark Halperin
There's some limited data, but I think we know it. But I'm a big fan of Barry's, and I think it will change. I think it will become less liberally biased, but I think it's. It's hard to make that judgment now. You know, Barry doesn't want a network that is pro Trump or pro Republican or pro Maga. She wants a network that's fair and we're all points of view of represented. So that means there will be stories on the Barry White CBS News that the president doesn't like. She's not, she's not going to be a propaganda network. She's going to her fair network.
- [42:11]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. It looks like status just broke that Tony de Coppel is going to be the next anchor of CBS Evening News. Obviously, Norah o' Donnell stepped down from that. Sounds like maybe o' Donnell wanted to go back into that role. What do you make of decopping, taking a taking or getting this role? He very prominently and people will immediately remember this in the context of the very wise conversation, stepped in and slammed Ta Nehisi Coates. I would say very did an appropriately critical interview with Ta Nehisi Coates, though it was one that you definitely felt where decopol stood on it coming through. What do you make of it?
- [42:51]
Mark Halperin
I mean, he's a relatively young guy for that job. If you, if you look at history, he's been doing the morning show. And that one interview set him apart from most people because as you said, it wasn't some like, you know.
- [43:07]
Revolutionary or.
- [43:10]
What'S the word, revelatory moment. He just, he just asked the guy some tough questions. But in the context of liberal morning shows, it stood out. And I wish him luck because it's been a long time since anyone's had that job for CBS in the evening and been able to get significant ratings. So he's going to have to break the jinx if he's going to do well.
- [43:30]
Megyn Kelly
All right, back to the Marjorie Taylor Greene of it all. So in this interview, Stahl is basically grilling her on what changed what the president has said to her. Marjorie Taylor Greene refused actually to share the message that she got from President Trump because she said it was so nasty. She said J.D. vance, when she sent J.D. vance the same message she sent Trump about threats towards her son since she had this divorce with Donald TRUMP Politically, J.D. vance said that they would look into it. Trump sent her back something that she said was so nasty, she didn't even want to share it. So now that we are approaching, I guess roughly the last month here of Marjorie Taylor Greene's tenure in Congress, where does she stand? Mark?
- [44:09]
Mark Halperin
Well, I think it's as open now as it was to Friday night. A few, you know, last week, week before last, when she announced she was going. This could range anywhere from we never hear from her again, unless we happen to take a CrossFit class in Georgia or she could, you know, try to become a key player in national politics or at least in statewide Georgia politics. I lean my instinct. My spidey sense says it's going to be more the former, that she enjoyed a pretty good ride as being close to the president but sheared from his force field. I think it's going to be difficult for her to enjoy the kind of recognition and power and influence that she had.
- [44:45]
Megyn Kelly
What do you think this has done, if anything, to the MTG wing of maga? Because she's not alone. I don't know exactly how big the numbers are, but she's not alone. Of people in MAGA who from the populist right are concerned about the Trump administration. Now, the way she's handled it by going on 60 Minutes and the View and CNN to take shots at the president was quite obviously ill advised. I don't think in her case that it reflects some desire to be loved by the liberal media. I don't think if she wanted to be loved by the liberal media, she would be taking those, the shots at Leslie Stahl or the ladies on the View. I mean, she's, she's gotten some really good digs in the View and at Leslie Stahl there in that last clip. But that is what a lot of Trump people are saying. They're looking at this. They're very similar, suspicious of her motives and I guess I don't blame them.
- [45:36]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I mean, she's never going to be a favorite of people on the left. I don't think it really does much for MAGA grassroots. I think elite people, like people in public life and elective office, I think will take from this that if you cross the president, it could cost you your job. And so there was never much enthusiasm for going after Donald Trump or to stand up to him in public. But I think the extent there had been kind of burblings on things like Epstein and some of the other issues, I think it's going to be less likely but not impossible, particularly for more established Republicans who are more likely to be standing up to him now in things like what's going on at the Pentagon. I think MAGA Republicans will see this as a warning that your power, if you're a MAGA Republican, emanates from His Majesty as opposed to your own connection to the grassroots.
- [46:25]
Megyn Kelly
Right. And it's not, it doesn't matter if you are, are kind of grassroots maga, which is different than, of course, as you were Just saying that's different than in the past when it's been a kind of establishment Republican breaking with Trump. It's different when it's, it's maga. And I guess the answer that we're getting here is it doesn't matter. He's in charge. He is maga. He sets the terms.
- [46:45]
Mark Halperin
Yep. That's why I called him His Majesty.
- [46:47]
Megyn Kelly
His Majesty. Okay, before I let you go, mark.
- [46:53]
That. So. So the Marjorie Taylor Greene of it all. Yeah, she.
- [47:00]
Do you think she could have a lot of success? I mean, you mentioned potentially wanting to go into Georgia politics. Do you think there's something down the road for Marjorie Taylor Greene that's viable, or has she kind of burned the bridges? What does it look like going forward?
- [47:15]
Mark Halperin
I think she's burned them again. I think she could run an outstanding CrossFit outlet in the right city in Georgia. But I just, I'm skeptical that she's going to have the capacity without the support of the president. And I doubt she'd ever have it again to build what she would need to build to have a successful, really powerful independent career. But she could try. But I'm just, I'm skeptical of it because so much of her prominence, her energy, her mojo derived from her association with the president and the movement.
- [47:43]
Megyn Kelly
Now, Nancy Mace penned a scathing op ed in the New York Times today, taking on House Speaker Mike Johnson. We've heard Elise Stefanik go after Mike Johnson. We've heard Marjorie Taylor Greene go after Mike Johnson. Not the best look for the ladies of the House GOP conference, I will say that. But I've heard people who share substantive criticisms. I was surprised at actually, the level of substance in the Nancy Mace New York Times up there, to be honest. So that that dovetailed with the Jake Sherman report that some 20 Republicans could be sitting considering retirement in the midterm. I'm curious, Mark, if you've heard the same rumblings?
- [48:19]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I mean, we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks, which is when we typically see retirements. Now, if it's a Republican retiring in a Ruby red district, then they'll be replaced by another Republican. But it does show the mindset that they think they're going to be in the minority, which is no fun. And so for a lot of members who may well retire, whether they serve at their term or not, the thought of coming back to being in the minority rather than go and spend time with grandkids or getting one last burst of private sector activity and just, you know, the Mismatch in terms of what's appealing and what's not is pretty clear.
- [48:53]
Megyn Kelly
Hmm. And do you think there was a demoralization or is there a demoralization happening? Because I do think with Stefanik, there's a lot more going on. She's salty about what happened with her in leadership after the UN Ambassador gig was pulled out from under her. And then with Nancy Mace, there's just so much going on that we can't even begin to scratch the surface of what is going on. And Marjorie Taylor Greene has these, these populous kind of critiques of Trump. Are you hearing this outside of those three?
- [49:18]
Mark Halperin
There are some others, but I think, you know, in looking at them case by case, they're a little bit idiosyncratic. There's some overlap, but it's mostly each of them has their own complaints, their own grievances, and. And Speaker Johnson is done a miraculous job so far. But at some point, you run out of rope with some. Some of these issues and some of these people. And for him, unfortunately for him, it's happened with a lot of high profile people in a very short period of time.
- [49:45]
Megyn Kelly
Mark, I thought this is where we were going with the interview. I don't know if you saw this video at Reagan Airport. I'm Sorry, National Airport. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Today.
- [49:57]
Mark Halperin
Played this on my show today. It's very compelling. Compelling. Although I prefer the Sean Duffy.
- [50:05]
Megyn Kelly
So who do you think did it better? Who did it best?
- [50:07]
Mark Halperin
Duffy. I mean, Kennedy's head barely got to the bar. Duffy's sort of of the bar. And Duffy, I think Duffy wears a like a 31 waist. Guy's guy's just tiny.
- [50:20]
Megyn Kelly
Someone in the chat is asking how much you bench. You don't have to tell us, Mark, but let it be known that people are wondering.
- [50:26]
Mark Halperin
I'm more of a curl guy.
- [50:27]
Megyn Kelly
More of a curl guy. All right, well, we'll let you get back to the girls, Mark. Mark is editor in chief of two Way. I was up next up with Mark Halpern on the MK Media Network from Megan Kelly. Thank you so much for taking time tonight, Mark. Really appreciate it.
- [50:42]
Mark Halperin
Ho, ho, ho. Happy holidays. Thank you for hosting me.
- [50:44]
Megyn Kelly
Yes, anytime. All right, quick break and then we'll be right back with more. If you've ever noticed those creepy ads that pop up on your phone and they seem to know exactly where you've been, what you've bought, even what you've been talking about, you've prob asked yourself, is my phone monitoring me? Yes. Is the answer to that. Your instinct is correct. The truth is your smartphone is constantly collecting and leaking data without your knowledge or your consent. Every day it builds a detailed profile of your life. Your information, your location, your habits, your interests, even the people you communicate with. That information is then funneled into an invisible marketplace where it's tracked, analyzed and sold to the highest bidder, which, by the way, sometimes is the government itself. Keep that in mind. And it's not just annoying, it's invasive. It's happening all the time. But the upphone, by unplugged, I have it right here in my hand, you can see what it looks like is different. It's designed to protect your privacy from the ground up. No hidden trackers, no data mining. Just a secure, streamlined smartphone experience that puts you back in control whether you're texting, browsing, or using apps. The up phone ensures your personal information stays. Personal is the phone for people who are done being watched. And I have to say, when you start using this thing is so slick. So if you're ready to take back your digital privacy, visit unplugged.com emily and get 25 off a phone case with the purchase of a phone. Learn more and order your up phone today. And again, this is my up phone right here in my hands and it's unplugged.com Emily. That's where you can learn more. That's the link. You can order your up phone there. Unplugged.com Emily because your life should be yours and not theirs.
- [52:23]
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- [52:52]
Megyn Kelly
All right. As you probably gleaned from the last segment. I am in the chat. I decided to just pull it up tonight. So I'm looking at what all of you are saying. Let it be known, I'm looking at what all of you are saying. Of course I'm not able to track every every every comment, but someone says here that's the first time I've seen Emily acknowledge the chat anytime we have a pre recorded interview. I'm always in the chat. I'm always hanging out with you guys, because I have nothing else to do, frankly. Well, we have a pre recorded interview and you guys are going to hang. So thanks for being in the chat. Appreciate it. I'll maybe see. I'll, I'll take questions if we have time. I did want to get to this clip of Tish Hyman, who you probably remember, I mean, Megan covered this story a lot and with good reason because Tish Hyman is a singer and made a lot of news recently. She's been asking Eric Swalwell questions. She just asked, it was yesterday, Rokana questions. And you probably remember Tish Hyman from the the big gym controversy. Hyman is the Gold's Gym in Beverly Hills. You remember this? This was just like it was last month and the month before. Time has no meaning anymore. But there's a convicted domestic abuser transitioning in the locker room with Tish Hyman. Tish Hyman has filed complaints against this convicted abuser in the women's locker room locker room, accused the abuser of exposing himself, harassing her in the locker room. Just a crazy story. And Hyman has clearly just been overwhelmed with the emotions that come along with this type of experience. Especially, you know, Tish Hyman is not your typical like GOP voter and had this experience, has been refusing to stay silent about it and went to a town hall, a Rokhanna town hall. And I have to say I know Ro Khanna, I like Ro Khanna. And the reason I find the story to be so interesting is that Ro Khanna has tried to bring the Democratic Party kind of to, to help the Democratic Party transcend the culture war, no pun intended, with the transcend language. But really that's what Roe has tried to do is said if Democrats talk about populist affordability, meat and potatoes type issues. He did that before, of course, the Zoran campaign. He's Bernie aligned. And comes to it from that vantage point after 2024, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez went on their Fighting Oligarchy tour in red states, red areas.
- [55:50]
At some of the stops and they were bringing out pretty big crow and they were not talking about the culture war. That won't surprise you at all, but it's very different than the Sanders campaign in 26, 2020 or the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. The language that she was using, the sort of faculty lounge language that she was using all the time. Now, I'm not talking about whether their beliefs have changed, but I am saying that Roe congressman, obviously from Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest districts in the entire country, talks about that all of the time and is, you know, not afraid to tell his donors basically where to shove it. He's tried to be kind of a voice of reason on culture war issues and to have the. To lead with affordability, meat potatoes kind of populist issues, fighting oligarchy, all that type of stuff. Here's what happened when yesterday Tish Hyman confronted Ro Khanna on the the trans question at a town hall. If you're going to vote for anyone, make sure that they're standing up for women's rights, because they're not. And if you are not aware we are unprotected, go in the bathroom right now. There could be a man in there. He says, I'm a woman, and that's okay. Now, I know none of you think that's okay. Thank you so much.
- [57:05]
Believe in safety. And I also believe that in this country, we recognize the dignity and rights of every person to pursue happiness.
- [57:17]
Stop making excuses for grown men going to women's restaurants. I had it up to him. You're constantly lying and saying that it's okay. That's what you're saying when you say that, you're saying it's okay. And I need you to say it's not okay for men to be in a women's locker room. All right, so this clip is really instructive because it tests one of my central political theories, which is that the trans issue, when it comes up, is a litmus test for swing voters on the credibility integrity of a candidate in question. Because the vast majority of Americans do not believe, and I mean, we're talking. The vast majority of Americans do not believe that Tish Hyman should have to share a locker room with a domestic abuser man exposing himself and the like. Definitely nobody believes that a Gold's Gym should make life hard for Tish Hyman when she talks about what happened to her and tries to prevent it from happening again or to other people. But more importantly, your average swing voter, and certainly your average Republican voter, does not believe that men and women are interchangeable and that a man who transitions literally becomes a woman because he has literally aligned himself as they will argue with his.
- [58:38]
Biological mental sex. Right. Again, I'm, I'm. This is, this is the argument that you hear. Most Americans do not buy it, and that's because it's. It's logically ridiculous. It's not true. And I'm happy to talk to people who believe that it's true. I think they have you know, interesting theories about sex and gender. I think they're pretty clearly wrong. I think this is politically toxic. I think it's, you know, an esoteric, like faculty lounge conversation that, that used to be gripp because it kind of tested what we thought we knew about sex and gender. And it's, I was going to say fun to read Judith Butler, but it's absolute hell to read Judith Butler. So I'm glad I caught myself before misspeaking. But, you know, going back to De Beauvoir and reading Foucault and gender performativity from Butler and all of those people, that used to be where this was confined to and then it escaped the lab setting and everybody saw it for what it was. And when elected, Democrats are unable to just say a simple thing. Even though this issue is not what most people are voting on. I think it's almost an insurmountable hurdle with. It's not true in every race. But I'm just saying this as a kind of general rule. I really think it's almost an insurmountable hurdle with many swing voters in tight races where Republicans play up this issue and make voters think about the issue that, you know, and I don't mean play up in a Republican's pounce or seize type of way, because I think it should be an issue because I think women are going to be affected by these policies that the Democrats, in my opinion, are very much on the wrong side of. So I don't begrudge. I'm not saying Republicans are exploiting it, but when they, I think, rather cleverly force Democrats to confront this, like with the Kamalas for they them ad. But this has happened in, in states around the country when they. And races around the country, when they force Democrats to confront that issue and talk about it, I think it does really become a litmus test for a lot swing voters because it looks like people are lying. It looks like Democrats are lying, like they're telling you something that they don't fully believe that doesn't reflect their deeply held beliefs. And it just feels like they're, like they're, they're lying or dancing around the truth for the sake of special interest groups. So it's not just that everyone is going out to vote on trans issues. And it's not just that, you know, this is a, A, an issue because Americans actually have complicated views on, you know, whether adults should be able to transition and the reality of gender dysphoria and all of that. But when you're talking about men and Women's locker rooms, boys and girls, sports. These are roughly 80, 20 issues. And if the, if the, if a Democrat's not willing to say this stuff is wrong full stop because men cannot become women, that is, I really think, a litmus test. And I don't know. I haven't talked to Roe about whether he's thinking about running in 2028.
- [61:46]
I think this would be, I'm sure there are people in conference rooms like over at, in, in Democratic campaigns as they're building right now, trying to figure out, and maybe James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett are among them, but trying to figure out how to talk about this issue in a way that doesn't alienate voters and doesn't become a sort of central litmus test, believability issue. Because this, again, I just think it's so powerful because you can bet Republicans, maybe some dumb primaries, we'll see, but you can bet Republicans are going to play this up with every Democrat who doesn't commit to ending the madness of putting men in women's prisons. That's something that happens at a fairly large scale in California. Putting men in women's shelters, as has happened in Alaska and other places, putting men in women's locker rooms, boys and girls, sports, which has happened virtually every, everywhere. Democrats need a sense of moral clarity on this issue, and it has to be based on what they actually believe. Otherwise it will be a litmus test for many, many voters, probably too many voters. Now, Roe isn't really in a swing district, so he's not at risk. But I'm, I, I just think that that interaction with Tish Hyman, again, who is far from a your average GOP voter, where Tish Hyman's, like, bubbling over the top, boiling over with anger because of what she experienced. I think that really resonates, and I think it's better for the country to be honest if Democrats from Roe to James Talarico to Seth Moulton and Gavin Newsom can just come down with some moral clarity and say men cannot become biological, literal women. And we are not going to encourage laws that treat sex in that way because it sets women back and it puts women in danger. And it's just wrong. It's just wrong. So some thoughts on Tish Hyman's interesting confrontation with Ro Khanna in that clip, because I do find it to be something that is going to be confronted now that the midterm cycle is. Oh, man, I keep saying we're, we're like a month away. All right, so I am looking at this, the chat right now, by the way. Looking at the chat right now. A lot of, a lot of nice things. It's okay if they're not nice. But just before we go, I'll take a, a question or two in here. This is. Some of these are funny. Did the brim of her hat get caught in bicycle spokes? This is from Ride Share. Beware. No, I don't know. Actually, shortly after I got this hat, I noticed that it had been ripped and torn up. And I actually don't know how that happened. This is the most expensive hat I own. It's like a completely ridiculous purchase. But I.
- [64:41]
I found myself in Aspen over the summer with no baseball hat. And yeah, that's, that's how I ended up with a baseball hat that. I'm so ashamed. It costs as much money. But anyway, 15 years ago, a man would be registered, Barry says, as a sex offender for undressing in a woman's locker room. Yeah, that's true, that's true. Let's see what else we got here.
- [65:08]
Can that lady run for Congress, please? Says Glenn about Tish Hyman. If Tish Hyman wanted a political future, Tish Hyman could definitely have a political future. I mean, just the, the. I think one of the reasons Hyman has been so viral is that the emotion is so obviously authentic and the story is so powerful that to see the rage bubbling over the surface to the point where Hymen actually is clearly having a, to, to muster some discipline to restrain herself and, and doing it, that's the other thing. Right? Like Hyman actually is restraining herself. That's, I think pretty, that's pretty powerful. So if she wanted to do something, she probably could do something politically. It could do something in media.
- [66:00]
Yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot could come from Tish Hyman. All right, all right, all right. So that's enough. Thanks for getting in the, the comments tonight. That was fun. We had a, a little time, so I had fun with it. All right, we will be back with more after party on Wednesday. Make sure to subscribe on YouTube wherever you get your podcasts. Check out that Reason debate on Big Tech that Ryan Grim and I are going to be doing on Wednesday day in the D.C. area. You can get tickets on the Reason website to that and have a great evening everyone. Look forward to being back here with the great Marine Callahan. Oh, that's going to be so exciting. I have built up list of questions for Marine on Wednesday, so we will see you then. Have a great night everyone.
- [66:48]
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