GOP tariff woes, Musk's unforced error, Booker's speech

Summary

Post Reports Podcast Summary: April 4, 2025
Episode: GOP Tariff Woes, Musk's Unforced Error, Booker's Speech
Hosts: Aaron Blake, Liz Goodwin, Theo Meyer
Release Date: April 4, 2025

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1. President Trump's Tariff Announcement and GOP Fallout

The episode opens with a discussion on President Donald Trump's recent announcement of sweeping tariffs imposed on numerous countries and territories worldwide, including the notably peculiar inclusion of the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands. This move has stirred significant discourse within the Republican Party, historically a proponent of free trade.

Impact on the Economy and Markets:
Theo Meyer highlights the immediate economic repercussions, noting a "significant drop in the stock market" following the tariff announcement (02:32). This market volatility has placed additional pressure on Republican senators who face the challenge of reconciling traditional free-trade values with the current administration's protectionist policies.

Republican Division:
The tariffs have created a spectrum of reactions within the GOP:

• Supporters: Figure like Senator Josh Hawley advocate for even more aggressive tariff measures, emphasizing increased congressional control (02:50).
• Skeptics: A middle faction remains cautious, observing market reactions and holding a wait-and-see approach regarding the tariffs' effectiveness.
• Opponents: Some Republicans express genuine concern over the tariffs' alignment with party principles and their potential negative impact on the economy (04:13).

Historical Context and Policy Confusion:
Liz Goodwin explains that tariffs have long been opposed within the Republican ethos, citing a viral Ronald Reagan speech that underscores their historical aversion (05:10). The current tariffs exacerbate confusion, especially with economic sanctions inadvertently affecting U.S. allies like Israel, raising concerns about the coherence of the administration's foreign policy (06:27).

Legislative Responses and Challenges:
Senators Charles Grassley and Maria Cantwell have proposed legislation to reclaim congressional authority over tariffs. However, Theo Meyer doubts the viability of such measures, citing insufficient Republican support and anticipated presidential vetoes (08:21).

2. Elon Musk's Campaign Missteps in Florida Special Elections

The podcast transitions to analyze Elon Musk's involvement in recent Florida special elections, particularly focusing on his support for Republican-backed candidates.

Election Outcomes and Shifts:
The elections in Florida saw a "22-point shift towards Democrats" in one race and a "16-point shift" in another, marking the most significant Democratic overperformance in special elections during the Trump era (20:52). In Wisconsin, despite Musk's considerable financial backing and high-profile campaign efforts for Brad Schimmel, the Democratic candidate Susan Crawford secured a 10-point victory (22:17).

Musk's Public Image and Strategy:
Liz Goodwin criticizes Musk's public campaigning tactics, suggesting that his presence and unconventional approach, such as wearing a "giant cheese head," were "an embarrassment" and led to his political miscalculations (25:37). Theo Meyer draws parallels to Democrat overperformance in early Trump special elections, questioning the long-term impact of Musk's involvement (24:42).

Future Implications:
The hosts discuss the potential repercussions of Musk's failed political endeavors, noting a possible "turning point" in his political ambitions as his public support wanes and his Twitter activity shifts away from political engagement (25:37).

3. Cory Booker's Historic Senate Speech and Democratic Momentum

The final segment delves into Senator Cory Booker's unprecedented 25-hour Senate speech, aimed at energizing the Democratic base and countering Republican policies.

Speech Overview:
Theo Meyer recounts Booker's marathon speech, noting its "inspirational" effect on Democratic senators and the broader party base, despite its lack of direct legislative impact (27:34). The speech served more as a morale booster than a substantive policy debate.

Reception and Impact:
Liz Goodwin observes that Booker's effort "energized regular liberal voters," reflecting a deep-seated hunger within the Democratic base for proactive and innovative leadership (29:09). The speech has ignited discussions about Democratic leadership and the need for figures who can galvanize support both within Congress and among the electorate.

Emerging Democratic Leaders:
Theo Meyer points to rising stars like Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who continue to draw large crowds and maintain high visibility, complementing Booker's efforts (30:38). Additionally, Senator Chris Murphy and Congressman Maxwell Frost are noted for their active engagement with constituents and participation in high-profile events (31:00).

Internal Party Dynamics:
Liz Goodwin highlights the internal tensions within Congress, where effective outside presence doesn't always translate to inside legislative success. She references the late Senator Kyrsten Sinema as an example of this disconnect (32:04). Booker's speech, while externally inspiring, raises questions about its tangible legislative benefits, embodying the ongoing challenge Democrats face in balancing congressional effectiveness with public engagement (32:49).

Conclusion

The April 4th episode of Post Reports provides a comprehensive analysis of the current political climate, focusing on President Trump's tariff policies and their divisive impact within the GOP, Elon Musk's unsuccessful foray into political campaigning, and Cory Booker's efforts to reinvigorate the Democratic Party through an extraordinary Senate speech. The discussions underscore the complexities of contemporary American politics, highlighting shifting alliances, emerging leadership, and the intricate interplay between policy decisions and electoral outcomes.

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Notable Quotes:

• Senator Josh Hawley: "I wanted Congress to have more control over tariffs, but only so they could put on even more tariffs." (02:50)
• President Donald Trump: "This is not a negotiation, Jesse." (13:26)
• Cory Booker: "I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate." (27:47)

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Timestamp References:

• 02:32
• 02:50
• 04:13
• 05:10
• 06:27
• 08:21
• 20:52
• 22:17
• 24:42
• 25:37
• 27:34
• 29:09
• 30:38
• 31:00
• 32:04
• 32:49
• 33:11
• 13:26
• 27:47

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the main discussions and insights from the Post Reports podcast episode released on April 4, 2025.

Transcript

[Aaron Blake]

So, earlier this week, President Donald Trump finally announced his long awaited tariffs on most of the countries and territories around the world. But I think one territory caught the most people's attention, and that was a small group of islands called the Heard and McDonald Islands. These are way off the coast of Australia, actually closer to Antarctica. They are not home to humans, and yet they have been slapped with a 10% tariff. I don't believe, guys, that they are actually exporting things, although maybe the penguins there are producing something that's really important to American industry. I wondered if you guys have seen all these penguin memes that are floating around.

[Liz Goodwin]

They are amazing. Though I would say, Aaron, you're very quick to assume that these penguins do not produce an export.

[Aaron Blake]

I'm not going to rule that out, honestly.

[Theo Meyer]

I did see a social media post from an account, penguins Against Trump tweeting, what are you going to do, deport us? We've been dealing with ice for centuries.

[Liz Goodwin]

Oh, my goodness.

[Aaron Blake]

Oh, man. From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Aaron Blake, senior politics reporter and host of the Post Reports weekly Politics roundtable. It's Friday, April 4th. I'm joined this week by Liz Goodwin, the Post congressional correspondent. Hey, Liz. Hello. And we're also here with Theo Meyer, who covers the Senate for the Post. Hey, Theo.

[Theo Meyer]

Good morning, Aaron.

[Aaron Blake]

So, guys, we've got a couple of themes running through today's show. The first one is things President Donald Trump threatens to do and what happens if he actually follows through. And then we're going to talk about the Democrats signs of life in some recent elections. But to start, Trump is someone who says, well, lots of things and sometimes it's all talking. But at the very top of the list of things that Trump has long threatened to do and actually is now doing are large scale tariffs. We did a whole episode about this on Thursday, so if you haven't listened to that, make sure to check it out. But today I wanted to focus more on the political fallout from this sweeping economic policy. Now, Theo, you wrote about how tariffs put a lot of pressure on Trump's fellow Republicans and how they're reacting to this. Can you just talk a little bit about how, how they're dealing with this pressure and what the gist of that pressure is?

[Theo Meyer]

Yes, well, I think the gist of the pressure is that so far the most tangible effect that we have seen is the stock market dropping significantly on Thursday, likely to drop again. It just opened a few minutes ago here on Friday.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, we're talking Friday morning.

[Theo Meyer]

Yes, So I think there's really a wide spectrum of reaction here. You have Republicans who are cheering this announcement. There were four Republican senators with Trump in the Rose Garden when he announced these tariffs on Wednesday. Some of them have been very bullish about them. Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, said yesterday that he wanted Congress to have more control over tariffs, but only so they could put on even more tariffs. So you have certainly seen Republicans very excited about this, or at least acting very excited. Then there is a spectrum sort of in the middle where some Republicans are not necessarily thrilled about these tariffs. They see the stock market dropping. Maybe they're not big believers in tariffs to begin with. Tariffs are not typically associated with the Republican Party, at least traditionally. But they're willing to wait and see and give Trump a chance to prove that this is a viable strategy. Maybe they're waiting for him to take up negotiations with some of these countries, hoping that these tariffs are not going to stick around for too long. And then there are Republicans who have openly expressed concern, have openly said that they're sort of worried about where this is going.

[Aaron Blake]

Liz, Theo brings up something that I think is really important here. The Republican Party for many decades had defined itself with free, free trade, the idea that there should be no barriers to trading with other countries. There should be open markets. Of course, the Republican Party has also defined itself as being against any kinds of tax increases. And tariffs are, in effect, taxes on imports. Am I right that, like, in their heart of hearts, a lot of these Republicans who just aren't speaking out really are not comfortable with what the president is doing right now? Or is that oversimplifying things?

[Liz Goodwin]

Absolutely. I think that the majority of the Republican conference, at least in the Senate, is, like, dying on the inside right now, as you're saying. Tariffs have been, like, absolute enemy number one for the Republican Party for decades. You know, Ronald Reagan has this, like, speech he gave about it that's going viral on X right now.

[Donald Trump]

At first, when someone says, let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time.

[Liz Goodwin]

He's just laying out so clearly why he thinks tariffs are bad.

[Donald Trump]

Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.

[Liz Goodwin]

This was the orthodoxy. And even in the era of Trump, where a lot of things that are Republican orthodoxy get pushed aside, this is one that is pretty ingrained in most Republicans like minds and hearts. And then you layer on top of that. The way that these tariffs in particular are very incoherent on the foreign policy level. So you still have some Republicans who are hawks, right. And they want to, like, for example, be, you know, getting with our allies to counter China is one example. And then you have these huge tariffs being levied on other countries that are in the region that are, you know, allied with the US In a way that's, like, supposed to counter China's influence. And now, you know, our policy is essentially. Essentially punishing them. And then you have, like, a tariff on Israel that a lot of senators were raising their eyebrows at. You know.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah. Israel had actually canceled their tariffs on us before Trump's announcement and thought they would be spared.

[Liz Goodwin]

Right. Yeah. So I think the combination of this economic policy that they hate, aside from a few that are really more in this new populist MAGA mold, and then also layered onto that is this foreign policy peace where we're economically punishing our allies. It's almost like a sanction on our allies. So that is really making people nervous, and I think that's, like, looming over all of this.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, yeah. Theo, Liz mentioned something that I think is important here, and that's that a lot of this, I think, to a casual observer, might look a little bit haphazard. You know, we mentioned earlier the. The tariffs on, you know, an uninhabited territory. And there's also some other kind of curiosities here. One is that there are a handful of countries that escaped these tariffs. One of them is Russia, and it's very closely allied. Former Soviet Republic, Belarus, Canada, and Mexico were not included because they already have had tariffs put on them. A few African countries are not included for some reason. There's less than a dozen countries that have not been included in these tariffs, and Russia happens to be one of them, which I think is a really interesting part of this. Guys, I wanted to get into what happens next. There is an idea that Congress could potentially take back some of its power over the tariffs, which it has handed over to the executive over the years. This is a proposal from Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington State. Can you just talk about the prospects for any of these? I think we all assume that Republicans are not gonna do anything about these tariffs because they never wanna do anything that's gonna be seen as rebuking Trump. But is this a serious enough situation where they could potentially do something like that?

[Theo Meyer]

I think the answer is not yet. A handful of Republicans came out yesterday and said they were supporting Grassley's legislation or were at least open to supporting it. But others panned it and said they didn't think it would ever win the 13 Republican votes, that it would need to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. But Democrats are already talking about bringing up resolutions similar to the one that Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, introduced this week and which actually passed the Senate with the support of four Republicans to disallow Trump's previous tariffs on Canada. But that measure, House Speaker Mike Johnson has said, is not going anywhere in the House. Trump has vowed to veto it. So that's not going to have any practical impact on the Canada tariffs. And it's hard to imagine, at least in the short term, that any future resolutions that Kaine or other Democrats introduce, even if they pass the Senate, are actually going to strike down any of these tariffs.

[Aaron Blake]

But, Liz, we often see a handful of senators that are willing to criticize the things that Trump is doing. And the four people who voted against the Canada tariffs very much fit that profile. We're talking about Susan Collins from Maine, Lisa Murkowski From Alaska, Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, who has increasingly voted against Trump on certain things, and then Rand Paul, who's kind of a very libertarian minded, kind of Republican senator who doesn't like tariffs. But am I, am I wrong that it seems significant that Senator Grassley, who is not one of those senators, would so quickly come out with this proposal? Does this feel like a warning sign to Trump to maybe kind of slow his roll a little bit here or, you know, Republicans could, could potentially do something even if it's just a threat?

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, I think Grassley's involvement shows how broad the discomfort with tariffs is. Like, even people who aren't out there out front on the issue on tv, the way like Rand Paul has made that it his mission this week to sort of make this argument against tariffs. There's a lot of Republican senators who are not out front that really hate them, like truly, really do not like this policy. I think it's going to affect their state negatively, think it's a political disaster. So, you know, Grassley, I happen to know that he hates tariffs too, because I wrote a profile of him earlier this year and, you know, I asked him about his relationship with Trump and he said, well, the thing I like about him is he'll, he'll listen. You know, like one time I told him tariffs are really bad, blah, blah, blah, and like went through the history and then he said, but he, he'll listen. But he, it never changes his mind or something like that. So this is something he's been worried about with Trump for a long time. But he just, you know, he's been dealing with it privately. He's been telling him that he's been trying to influence the policy, and now it's past that point. Right. This is like a really sweeping policy move he did this week. Like, really, really big impact globally. So I think now you're just gonna have to see how these senators move forward on. On the issue, because it ended up being a lot more broad and like, you know, a bigger move than even they were expecting.

[Aaron Blake]

Liz, we've been talking about Grassley, and I think that points to something significant here, which is like, in addition to these lawmakers, maybe philosophical opposition to tariffs that they've expressed over the years have very localized impacts on their. Their constituents. You know, Grassley has been talking about the idea that fertilizer known as potash, would be more expensive for farmers. We've had Senator Thom Tillis, Republican from North Carolina, talking about how a lot of farmers in his state are, quote, one crop away from bankruptcy. This is also like a kind of an all politics as local thing, too, right?

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, exactly. A lot of these senators are worried about the impacts on their state of the tariffs.

[Aaron Blake]

I think if there's one way that this might resolve itself, it would be that there's some kind of a negotiation that takes place and they cut a deal and then the tariffs go away. I think a lot of Republicans are kind of hinting and hoping that that's what's gonna happen with this. But we have seen some very conflicting signals from the White House about whether negotiation is even possible. And our colleagues Jeff Stein and Natalie Allison reported on this late Thursday. Basically, the White House had said that these tariffs are not a negotiating posture. These are. These are in place for the foreseeable future. And they weren't going to talk to these countries about relaxing them moving forward. And then we had President Trump come out on Thursday and basically completely undercut all of that. I think we've got some tape here. The first one is of White House adviser Peter Navarro on Wednesday on Fox News. And the second is Trump himself on Thursday.

[Donald Trump]

This is not a negotiation, Jesse.

[Aaron Blake]

This is a national emergency.

[Donald Trump]

The tariffs give us great power to negotiate, always have. I've used them very well in the first administration, as you saw. But now we're taking it to a.

[Aaron Blake]

Whole new level because how do you guys read this? This, you know, talk about negotiating or not negotiating?

[Theo Meyer]

I think Trump undercutting His own advisors is one of the most durable tendencies, you know, certainly of the first Trump term.

[Aaron Blake]

It does happen occasionally. Yes.

[Theo Meyer]

Of his second one as well. You know, the only person who speaks for Trump is Trump.

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, I mean, I wonder. I could be totally wrong, but I don't see the point of these tariffs as a grand negotiation with the whole world. So I see him talking about negotiation as, like, if he hears that something might actually really be bad for the economy, like, if people are willing to come and make the case for him that this, this one tariff is too high for XYZ reason, that he is willing to bring them down sort of as an off ramp. I don't think there's any way you can make it make sense that you need to negotiate with the whole world right now. Like, the point of the policy was that they think they're going to spark, like, an American renaissance of manufacturing, and they're hoping that that's going to happen.

[Aaron Blake]

Guys, I wanted to move on from tariffs and briefly consider another Trump hypothetical that we were talking about this week, and that's him talking about seeking a third term in office in 2028. That is, of course, unconstitutional, but he has talked about this many times. The difference now is that he assured in an interview this weekend with NBC's Kristen Welker that he was actually quite serious about it. He said that he was, quote, not joking and that, quote, there are methods which you could do it. What are you seeing from Republicans on the Hill and others reacting to this? Is this something that they're now taking more seriously?

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, it's funny because this now feels like it was a lifetime ago. But I guess this. He just made these comments on, like, Sunday, but this week.

[Aaron Blake]

Five days ago, Liz. Five days ago.

[Liz Goodwin]

It's truly been a journey. But, yeah, I think this is something that his allies try to sort of laugh off as. Like, he's trolling, y'all. Like, he likes to get the media all worked up in a lather. Ha, ha. And then, you know, a few Republicans will say, well, you know, that's not constitutional, but people aren't treating it as, like, a big deal at all. It's actually interesting. Like, no matter how many times Trump jokes about a third term, I don't feel like Republicans do take it seriously. Like, I don't think this is just something they're saying to us. Like, even in, like, off the record settings, like, no Republican lawmaker thinks that he's running for a third term. Whether or not that's, you know, the correct take I don't know, but that's definitely the sense I get.

[Theo Meyer]

Yeah, I think Liz is right in that people have laughed it off as a joke. You know, John Thune, the Senate Majority leader, went so far as to say, like, you know, I think he's trolling you guys, like, why are you taking this seriously? But I'm not sure if Trump is ever entirely joking.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, I think that's the message of a lot of things, is that, yes, he does troll people, but a lot of times he really likes the idea it might be impractical, it might not ever happen, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to try to do it. The idea that he would be president for life is something that seems to appeal to Trump. There were comments, I think the first really set off this talk back in 2018, where he was talking about Chinese President Xi Jinping being president from life and was basically like, yeah, I like the sound of that, actually.

[Liz Goodwin]

So, yeah, remember when he was like, let's delay the election, kind of, and he sort of just floated it like, maybe we should delay the election. But that was a time when all the Republicans were like, no. Like, they took it. They weren't like, he's joking, like. So it is interesting how, like, if they don't come out and just say no, it has. It allows him to keep saying this thing, like, he had to stop saying the election thing because he got so much pushback.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah. One of the other things that. That seems like a joke and some people might not take seriously and. And maybe one day it becomes serious. A lot like these tariffs. After the break, we're going to talk about the Democrats and how they are viewing the results in some state and local elections this week. We'll be right back.

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[Aaron Blake]

So Liz and Theo, I wanted to turn to something that I always love to talk about. They're not my beloved polls, but about actual voters voting. We had some actual elections this week. They took place in Wisconsin and Florida. And to a casual viewer, this would look like a split decision. We had the Democratic backed candidate winning in Wisconsin. We had Republicans winning in a pair of congressional special elections in Florida. I think the big story here is the shifts that we've seen relative to the 2024 election in all three of these races. There were two special elections in Florida, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, we saw Democrats do a lot better than they did in 2024. Liz, can you just talk about how encouraged Democrats might dare to feel after these election results?

[Liz Goodwin]

I feel like some of the metrics that have really worried Democrats is how low their popularity has sunk. You know, when you just ask people what do you think of the Democratic Party, there's a very like a pretty worrisomely for them, small amount of people who are like, yeah, I like them. And that has been really worrying.

[Aaron Blake]

Even Democrats don't like Democrats right now.

[Liz Goodwin]

Exactly. I mean, that's part of why the number's so low is there's like fired up people within the party who are angry at them because they want them to be doing more, yada yada. And I think there was a lingering question of like, does that mean they aren't even going to show up and vote? You know, they're so mad at Trump, but maybe they're so mad at Democrats too that they just stay home. And I think these elections definitively answered no. Like, there are very pumped up Democrats who are going to show up who are very motivated by, you know, in Wisconsin you could argue, very motivated by Elon Musk's role in that race. So people were pumped up and they really showed up. And I think that sort of now retroactively explains a little bit Trump freaking out last week and saying, nope, Elise Stefanik, I know you were going to be in my cabinet, but instead I need you to stay in the House and run your special, which will be sometime this year. Because even though she's in a plus 20 Trump district, he's worried that even plus 20 districts could be in play if you have, you know, some unknown Republican trying to defend that seat.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, Elise Stefano, a Republican from New York, was of course Trump's pick for United Nations Ambassador. It was actually one of the first nominations that he announced when he was elected president. But yeah, Liz, as you mentioned, and I think this, this points to some of the stats that I wanted to get to, which is Elise Stefanik comes from a district that Trump won by 21 points. The shift towards Democrats in one of these Florida races was 22 points. It was actually the biggest over performance for Democrats in a special election in the Trump era out of about three dozen special elections. I did the math on this earlier this week. The other Florida race shifted towards Democrats by 16 points. And, and then we come to Wisconsin, which was the most high profile race that we saw this week. This race got tens of millions of dollars spent on it. Elon Musk spent a lot of that money. He was campaigning hard for the Republican backed candidate, Brad Schimmel. But Democrats, their candidate Susan Crawford won this race by 10 points. Theo, the thing that really struck me about this race was not so much the shift. Trump voters aren't as likely to turn out in special elections and that's been pretty steady throughout his tenure. But this was not a low turnout race. This was like a midterm level turnout race. What are you seeing from reactions to this and specifically what are you seeing in reactions to Elon Musk's role in this race?

[Theo Meyer]

This looks a lot like what was happening in some of the special elections in the first year of Trump's first term in 2017. You saw Democrats overperforming in these special elections, even if they weren't winning them. Famously, Jon Ossoff's narrow loss for a House seat in the Atlanta suburbs. That was the most expensive House race ever at the time.

[Aaron Blake]

And then they went out and had a good 2018. Democrats had a good 2018 midterm election. They won the presidency in 2020, of course.

[Theo Meyer]

Yeah. So this certainly fits with that. The race in Wisconsin. I think it is unclear how much of a role Elon Musk played here. How much of this was sort of backlash to his involvement and how much of this just looks like a typical election, special election, you know, relatively low turnout election, when Trump is in the White House.

[Liz Goodwin]

I mean, I feel like Musk, people around him say that he knew this was like a really hard race in Wisconsin because of the political environment, the fact that Dems have actually done well in those court races in general, and he just wanted to sort of like, make a stand there anyway and see. See what could happen, essentially. But I do think, like, it's been just kind of a stunning thing to watch to have Musk, who's been, you know, looming so large in Washington with Doge and just this huge, like, super figure here. Then, you know, try to take that on the road and on the campaign trail and, you know, wear the giant cheese head and all of that, and then just see, you know, having that be so resoundly rejected. There's just no question that is an embarrassment. I feel like he's really kept a low profile this week for the first time since he came to Washington. Like, his Twitter feed is all like, AI Robots.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah. Did something happen last night? No. Let's talk about robots.

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah. So I think that's very interesting, coupled with all the things he's been saying about, like, this has been really hard for him. His businesses are taking a hit. It does feel like a little bit of a turning point to me this week. Even though his pack that spent all that money, millions and millions of doll, is still going to be active in races, just he himself as the leading figure, the front man of this. I do wonder about the future of that.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, I got to say, I think this was a real unforced error. We have seen Elon Musk, as he's been shutting down federal government services and laying off workers, you know, participating in that, he's become pretty unpopular with the broader American electorate. Like, the numbers that he has in the polls are the numbers that in a bygone era, if a president had those numbers, you'd see these members in swing districts being like, no, I don't want that guy to come campaign for me. And yet, like you said, Liz, he was right there with the cheese hat on. Being maybe the most prominent person late in that race, I think was a. Was a miscalculation at the very least. Guys, before we go, I wanted to touch on one more story that people might have heard about this week. It Also has to do with Democrats and kind of their efforts to decide how to combat Donald Trump and climb out of their funk. And that's a long speech in the Senate by Cory Booker, who's a Democratic senator from New Jersey. Booker actually broke the modern record for the longest speech on the Senate floor. He started at 7pm on Monday and kept it going for more than 25 hours. Guys, I'll admit, I didn't actually watch any of this. Can you guys fill me in on, like, what happened here, what he was talking about, and how this is being received?

[Theo Meyer]

Yes, I was in the chamber, the Senate chamber, when Booker started his speech, and it was.

[Aaron Blake]

You stayed for the whole thing, Right.

[Theo Meyer]

And I stayed for the whole thing because I am a reporter committed to the Washington Post. No, I was there for at least the first few minutes. And, you know, it started off, you know, very inauspiciously.

[Donald Trump]

I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate.

[Theo Meyer]

There was almost nobody in the Senate chamber for as long as I am physically able. But it really picked up momentum after he made it through the night. Senators showed up early in the morning and asked him questions and cheered him on to the extent that they were allowed to under Senate rules. And, you know, by the time he finished, more than 24 hours later, it sort of gave Democrats perhaps a shot in the arm.

[Aaron Blake]

Let's get in good trouble, my friend.

[Donald Trump]

Madam President.

[Aaron Blake]

I yield the floor.

[Theo Meyer]

Even if it didn't actually accomplish anything other than consuming Senate floor time, which is a precious commodity, for more than 24 hours.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah. Now, to be clear, this was not a filibuster. Right. Like, usually when we talk about these long speeches, members are fighting against a particular piece of legislation. Liz, I think a lot of people are looking at this kind of skeptically, like, oh, it's interesting that he gave this long speech, and it's impressive that he was able to stand there like, you can't go to the bathroom during that time. I think he said he dehydrated himself. Are people looking at Cory Booker and being like, yeah, this guy is showing us how to do it, or is it kind of less than that?

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, I think you're right that within Congress, a lot of reporters and maybe lawmakers are sort of like, okay. Like, it's a little bit, you know, okay, you're gonna give a really long speech. Whoop dee doo. That's not legislation. That's not policy. But I think that, like, as his speech started to pick up more and more steam and attention online and, you know, there's so many comments from Democrats being like, thank you for doing something. And, like, it seemed to really energize sort of regular liberal voters. I think that kind of. It sort of shows that there's just a hunger for, like, anything at all in the Democratic base. There's a hunger to see people doing something different, trying something new. They're sick of hearing Democrats be like, oh, well, you know, we can only do XYZ thing like this how it works here. Like, they just don't want to hear that. They don't like that. And so anything that kind of shows you trying to do something different, I think is getting, like, a really warm reception. And I think other senators, like, saw that and took note.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah, guys, it got me thinking, like, who are the Democrats who have filled this vacuum right now? You know, the party is searching for leadership. There's been talk about, you know, whether Democrats need to move on from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Like, are there members who are taking advantage of this situation and kind of making a name for themselves, aside from Cory Booker? And who would you point to?

[Theo Meyer]

I would point. I think the most obvious example is, you know, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who have been touring the country and drawing really enormous crowds, more than 30,000 people in Denver. You've also seen others trying to do this as well. Senator Chris Murphy, who was with Booker on the floor.

[Aaron Blake]

Murphy is, of course, a Democrat from.

[Theo Meyer]

Connecticut, did his own sort of town hall event with a House Democrat, Congressman Maxwell Frost, who is a Gen Z member from Florida. So you've seen Democrats trying to get out there like this, but it seems like Booker broke through in a way that most others have not.

[Liz Goodwin]

Yeah, I would agree with that. I think also, like, the tension of Congress is a lot of the stuff that plays well outside doesn't play well inside. And a lot of stuff that plays well inside does not play well outside. So there's people like, for example, Kyrsten Sinema, Senator from Arizona, recently retired. She actually was able to just like, broker these huge deals in her time in the Senate. And her reputation on, like, X or social media among liberals was like, the most useless, annoying lady who didn't do anything, who just hated liberals or whatever. And you could not get those two realities to converge in any. In any sense of the word.

[Aaron Blake]

Right.

[Liz Goodwin]

So there's just like, there's this weird inside, outside tension in Congress that's always been there. It's not new. And so the people who are best at seizing on this moment and energizing. People on the outside are often the most hated inside and also sometimes in effective inside, too. Like Elizabeth Warren used to have this reputation back in the day before she was going to run for president. She no longer does, but people felt like she was always pandering to the outside audience and not really doing things inside. And I think Booker's very well liked internally. And I don't think anyone's like, rolling their eyes at this, but the sense internally is kind of like, what did this really accomplish? And there's always that tension between, between those two kind of like realities.

[Aaron Blake]

Yeah. The idea of giving a long speech on the Senate floor is not a totally novel idea. Like, this is something that happens from time to time. But I think it does speak to the fact that the Democrats are just looking for something, like, try something, give us something. And this week, Cory Booker at least gave them something. That's it for today's episode. Thank you so much, Liz and Theo.

[Liz Goodwin]

Thanks.

[Theo Meyer]

Thanks, Aaron.

[Aaron Blake]

Theo Meyer covers the Senate for the Post and Liz Goodwin is our congressional correspondent. Today's episode was produced by Laura Benshoff and mixed by Shawn Carter. It was edited by Rena Flores. And thanks also to Emily Rahala. Our team also includes Maggie Penman, Lucy Perkins, Ted Muldoon, Alana Gordon, Ariel Plotnik, Rennie Srinovsky, Sabi Robinson, Emma Talkov, Peter Bresnan, Alison Michaels, Renita Jablonski, Colby Itkowicz, Alahia Ezadi and Martine Powers. I'm Aaron Blake. Have a great weekend.

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