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- [00:00]
A
Welcome. Welcome to our special election coverage. My friend Olivia Troy is on the road right now, but we had to jump in because big news out of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Abigail Spanberger, the congresswoman from Northern Virginia, has been elected governor. She's the first woman governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. How about that, Olivia? What do you think? What do you make of what we're seeing tonight? This is. This is an early call.
- [00:26]
B
I'm so excited. Yeah, it is. And decisive, and I am. Yeah, look, I've been a resident of Virginia for, man, way too long now. Twenty years maybe, on and off in between deployments and everywhere else. So I am really excited and I am so proud of the campaign that she ran. I mean, she. She put in the work, you know, and she traveled. She actually traveled to a lot of, like, smaller. Like red. Very red suburbs as well, like, smaller counties like that. I mean, she really tried to reach everyone, and I think her hard work paid off. And, you know, this is a state where a lot of federal workers have been impacted. Right. That's a big thing here. As you know, the Doge effect was real. The shutdown continues. My family is part of that impact along the way. So it has been very hard. And I think the voters spoke, and so I'm really. I'm also really excited to have a woman as a governor.
- [01:26]
A
How about that?
- [01:26]
B
Yeah, it's pretty awesome.
- [01:28]
A
It is pretty awesome and long overdue. I mean, I grew up in Virginia, and I mean, you know, it's been pretty much the same kind of governor I was when. When I was in college at jmu. Doug Wilder was the first black governor in Virginia, and he made history in that regard. And I can't believe it's taken this long for a woman to become governor of Virginia. But the other thing about Abigail Spanberger that's interesting is she was in this national security mom, you know, vain and sort of like Mikey Sheryl in New Jersey. We're waiting to see. See what happens with Mikey Sherrill. But I mean, what do you think about that aspect of this? You have somebody who comes in with some gravitas. I mean, a former CIA officer.
- [02:10]
B
She does. And look, I think she is a representative of public service. Right. She comes from the community that I personally have so much respect for and worked in. And it's nice to see someone that is going to serve at a high office like that who really understand a lot of people in the state and in the area, because there are a lot of public servants who live in the dmv. Especially Right. And throughout the state of Virginia. And that was one of the things that we've seen throughout the year. And I hope also that this is, I would say, a positive and uplifting moment for people who've been impacted to see someone like her lead. And you know, here I am, I'm a Republican leaning, I would say voter who is someone who proudly voted for her. So I'm very, very excited to see her good work in the state.
- [03:07]
A
Right. And it was kind of hard for, I think a lot of Virginians to vote for winsome Earl Sears, whether you're Republican, a Democrat or an independent, because I mean, she was so extreme and she was sort of seen as the far right wing of the Republican Party in Virginia. And that I think really helped Abigail Spanberger to some extent. But I think, you know, this was just all in the Democrats direction. I mean, Donald Trump handed Virginia to the Democrats with Doge, with these layoffs, with a shutdown. He's shutting down the government in the middle of an election season. I mean, that is stupid. And it certainly helps the Democrats.
- [03:48]
B
Yeah, I think so. And look, I know plenty of Republican voters that I know in Virginia who voted for her first Van Burger because they did not, they could not support Sears in her candidacy and what she stood for. And I mean, she's just, you know, representative of a more extreme MAGA wing of the party. And I mean, here's the thing, like Trump didn't even endorse her.
- [04:13]
A
Right.
- [04:14]
B
I think that was kind of interesting.
- [04:17]
A
Yeah, he endorsed that, Jason Miara's guy who's running for Attorney General, who may win tonight, although it's not clear yet if he's going to win. He may win tonight only because Jay Jones, who ran as the Democrat really screwed up and sent these God awful texts back in a few years back.
- [04:33]
B
They were heinous.
- [04:34]
A
And Virginians, they just don't, I mean they will vote against that even if they're Democrats. I mean, I just know how Virginians are and they just will vote against that. And so Miyars May and Donald Trump endorsed him, but not winsome Earl Sears, which is wild.
- [04:52]
B
Speaks so many layers to that.
- [04:56]
A
So many layers.
- [04:57]
B
So many layers.
- [04:59]
A
We can unpack that one for the rest of the night, but let's not do that. But I mean it is a rebuke of Donald Trump and it's a big. And I mean for this race to be called this early, I mean, I don't know what the Glenn Youngkin thing was if it was called early or not. I don't think it was called this early, but, like, this is calling a Virginia governor's race extremely early. So that is telling me that there's a bit of a voter revolt going on. And, Olivia, I was down kind of in your neck of the woods. I was in Northern Virginia early in the day talking to voters, and I was talking to Latino voters, and a lot of them were really pissed off about ice. These ICE raids, the immigration tactics that have been going on, that's just got everybody completely furious across the country.
- [05:43]
B
Yeah. I mean, they have been hitting construction sites not far from where I live. And the community has been really shaken by that. And I can tell you that, you know, the community I live in does not support any of these measures by any means. And I think these are hardworking people that are just being terrorized on a daily basis, as we've seen. And so I'm glad you were out there in my home area and advocating. I have my little voter card. See, I brought it with me just for dinner.
- [06:13]
A
There you go.
- [06:15]
B
Spirit. I did vote yes. So I'm rushing back. Somebody said, olivia, the lighting on your face is lit. And I was like, yes. Welcome to my makeshift my car set. What do you all think about my studio scenario? My mobile studio?
- [06:28]
A
Literally, you're driving. Well, just truth and advertising. You're driving, but you're not behind the wheel. You're going down the road. Somebody else is behind the wheel. I don't know if we can identify that person, but somebody else is behind the wheel. And you're using the light in the visor to light yourself, which is ingenious, I have to say.
- [06:46]
B
I had to get creative because I was just so passionate and excited that the race had been called. And so, you know, and I know that this is where. Where you grew up, and it's definitely been home to me. And I've just been very anxiously awaiting the results of this. You know, I. I even, you know, I think I had expressed concern to my neighbors. I was like, you know, I don't know, this might mean that I might need to move depending on what happens in this, because that is. Retribution is very real in my world, as you know.
- [07:20]
A
I know.
- [07:21]
B
And in our circles.
- [07:22]
A
Yeah, I know. And it feels like a pressure valve is being released a little bit tonight for a lot of people, folks like yourself, who are worried about retribution coming from Donald Trump and this new far right extremist administration. And then also just, I think for, you know, regular, everyday voters who have been just. Just absolutely depressed and pissed and, you know, looking for a way to express themselves. Ever since Donald Trump won the presidency back now we have seen those no Kings protests and those have taken off and taken the country by storm, no question about it. But this feels, I think this for people to put democracy into action, to actually go cast a ballot and say, screw you, Donald Trump. And in California, where they're voting for Prop 50 and not, I mean, we can all have our misgivings about redistricting and what it means for our democracy and we go tit for tat and my God, it's not good for anything, but you gotta fight fire with fire. So I'm seeing a lot of Californians who are like, hell yeah, I'm gonna go vote for that thing, even if I don't believe in this stuff. And I think a pressure valve is getting kind of released tonight. People are letting some stuff out of their system.
- [08:38]
B
Yeah. And look, it's been quite the almost year. I feel like it feels like a decade since the Trump administration took office. And those were a lot of the conversations I was actually having while I was down on the border down in Texas and the surrounding areas was just sort of like how this just feels like it's this never ending nightmare that we've got going on. And we still have several more years to endure this, but tonight is a night of hopefully positive energy and in terms of what's happening in Virginia, and we'll continue to see how this plays out. I'm seeing some update from some of the comments of people that are tuned in that are talking about the New Jersey race. And they're very, hopefully, it's looking positive.
- [09:28]
A
There, it's looking positive there. And I was saying kind of all day that she's outperforming. My producer Sam's with me and he is saying that the data that he's looking at right now is that Mikey Sherrill, the congresswoman running for governor of Virginia, or excuse me, New Jersey is outperforming in New Jersey. And so that's good news because, I mean, one of the concerns was, you know, this Jack Cittarelli guy who's running for governor of New Jersey, might he get some kind of boost from, you know, an animated Trump base? And, you know, I mean, obviously that's, you know, we saw that took take place in 2024, doesn't necessarily translate to governor's races. But I think Trump also saying, I'm going to go after these projects in the Tri State area, threatening the Gateway project, I believe it's called that was going to improve transportation between New Jersey and New York. I mean, again, you know, I mean, Donald Trump has this thing, I think he has a thing for. I mean, he says he has a thing for having, you know, pick the winners who win these races and so on. But I think there's a sadistic part of him that likes to see people lose on his side. You know what I mean? Is this something weird about him?
- [10:40]
B
Yeah, well, he's a narcissist. Yeah, he's a narcissist. Because it's not. Because he doesn't like the focus to shift off of him. Right, right. So I just, it's kind of a weird, you know, he's a walking contradiction of that, which is why I don't understand why Republicans continue to rally behind him. But that's, you know, same song every day. But I will say, like, you know, it's interesting watching Trump threaten, you know, I mean, doesn't that speak volumes, though, again, to the American population out there? Like, doesn't it speak volumes about who we have sitting in the Oval Office that his go to when it comes to locally based elections in different states right across the country is, I'm gonna put you through pain. I'm gonna take away funding for this. Like, I'm gonna do this instead of actually saying, you know what? I actually want to support the American people whether you voted for me or not, because I'm like the President of the United States. I should be a president, perhaps, maybe instead of constantly using his vindictive demeanor. That's not what we have. Right. I mean, just like he's threatening New York. Right? I mean, he threatened, he was threatening that if Mom Donnie wins, like, New York is going to pay for it. I'm like, well, New York's been paying for Donald Trump's shenanigans for decades.
- [11:56]
A
Well, it's interesting that Trump is saying that New York is going to pay when Trump never pays his contractors. So there is that. But anyway, I digress. Wait, Sam is saying. Have they called something?
- [12:11]
B
Have they called it?
- [12:13]
A
Do we think? Do we think. Mike from the Hill. Let's hold on. Let's. Let's take a look here. We're trying to figure out if they're already calling Mikey. No, really? Cheryl1 live up. Okay, this is according to the Hill. This is according to the Hill, folks. The Hill says Abigail Spamberger, Mikey, Sheryl, two former Democratic House members, will now leave Virginia and New Jersey according to decision desk hq. That's it. They're fairly reputable. Election social media site, I guess you would call it, social media, you know, group. And they are, they are now projecting that it will be Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spamberger winning both of those races. Wow. If that is the case, that's amazing. That's a huge deal already right now at before 9:00 o', clock, she outperforms.
- [13:10]
C
Harris by 12 points in certain county.
- [13:13]
A
My producer, Sam is saying that Mikey Sherrill apparently has outperformed Kamala Harris and a slew of counties in New Jersey. This will make Mikey Sheryl the second female governor in the state of New Jersey after former governor Christine Todd Whitman. Of course, we all remember Christine Todd Whitman, but that is an outspoken Trump.
- [13:32]
B
Critic, by the way.
- [13:34]
A
Another outspoken Trump critic, as a matter of fact. But there were a lot of concerns heading into election day that maybe Mikey Sheryl had run the best race, that they needed Obama to come in there to help close the deal and so on. And I mean, to me, before 9:00pm on an election night, these two national security moms winning in Virginia and New Jersey, that is a huge development. That is a rebuke of Donald Trump, it seems to me, for it to happen this quickly.
- [14:07]
B
Yeah, I think, most definitely. And I think it's powerful also, just because, you know, there's such disdain by Trump in his circle of people and some of these mega movement people right towards the national security community, and they're constantly trying to undermine it. So I think it's. I think it's amazing. I think it's awesome that we have these two women, they're gonna be leading these two states. And I hope that this is a trend to continue and going forward, especially when people say that, you know, women can't get elected to that Oval Office. So hopefully this is continuing to push the boundaries here and the barriers.
- [14:51]
A
All right, now, I don't know if I'm taking too big of a risk here. Did I see some people saying. Did I see some people saying Fanon at the bottom? Did Fanon jump on?
- [15:00]
B
I did. I think I did see Fanon's name. Are you here? Say something.
- [15:04]
A
Is Fanon here? Is Mike here? I gotta hear. Drop a comment if Fanon is there. Let's see. I'll put the invite out. We'll just see if he. We'll see if he connects. We'll see what we get here. But, you know, there was so much disappointment a year ago almost this night, when Kamala Harris came up short. And now you have two women leading the way in both Virginia and And New Jersey. There's Mike Fanone right there. Where are you, Mike?
- [15:32]
B
Are you in the car too?
- [15:34]
C
Yeah, I'm driving home from soccer practice.
- [15:36]
A
Oh, sorry, Mike. All right, I got to get you. What's your quick take then on all this? Big, big wins for the Democrats an hour into the results coming in. I mean, that's wild. A couple hours into the results coming in.
- [15:54]
C
Yeah, no, it's like the, at the reverse of presidential election where, you know, I, I thought we were going to be up all night long wondering if it was Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. And by 9 o' clock, it was Donald Trump. And I was already, you know, thinking about where I was going to, what country I was going to move to. So.
- [16:17]
A
Wait a minute. Okay, just real quick, Mike, Decision desk hq. Now I'm going to be really pissed at these guys if they fuck this up. They are now saying that Jay Jones may have won the Attorney General's race in Virginia. Now, if that is the case, that is a huge deal, folks, because Jay Jones, he kind of shit the bed a little bit. Sent out some terrible texts a few years ago. I talked to the speaker of the House of Delegates a few days ago and he was saying he knows Jay Jones's family knows Jay Jones swears up and down this is not who Jay Jones is. Anyway, it looks as though he may have won that race too, Mike. I mean, Trump's getting his ass handed to him tonight.
- [17:03]
C
Yeah, great, good. You know, America hates Donald Trump, at least the vast majority of us do. And you know, I'm. It's about damn time that people woke up to what a destructive, divisive, absolute corrupt piece of shit Donald Trump is. And I hope this trend continues through the midterms. Yeah, I hope Americans can continue to wake up and pay attention, stay alert, because we haven't. I mean, this is by no stretch of the imagination the end of this administration. This is literally just the beginning of, of what might possibly be the end of this administration.
- [17:58]
A
Yeah. And Trump, you know, I would go ahead.
- [18:02]
C
I, you know, my concern right now is what does this administration do in. And I'll just, you know, just how, how does the administration respond? And if, you know, if their, their past dictates the, you know, present and future actions, it's going to be to, to double down. And I think we have a less, there's a less likelihood that we end up with free and fair elections in the midterms.
- [18:40]
A
Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing, Mike, is how Donald Trump reacts to this, because he's staring a voter revolt in the face right now and he's going to say things were rigged and the mail in bag. He's going to throw in all the bullshit lies that he always does. But make no mistake, what we're seeing right now shape up in Virginia and in New Jersey is a full blown freakout for Donald Trump starting. I don't know, in a couple of hours from now.
- [19:07]
B
Yes.
- [19:07]
C
No, I, I look forward to reading his truth social posts when I wake up tomorrow.
- [19:13]
A
Yeah, I mean, Olivia, what were you going to say?
- [19:17]
B
Well, and I, it's, and I think it's, it's a rebuke against certainly the Trump administration and their policies, especially in Virginia. Right. Where we, we just talked about that, where there's so many government people in public service, government contractors who have been hurt by the things that Doge did and a lot of their policies and a lot of the, you know, the firings that have happened across government. But I think it's also a rebuke against the Republican agenda overall. Right. I mean this is, they had that big beautiful bill monstrosity where people are really wondering what is going to happen to a lot of their benefits that they get like, you know, Social Security, Medicaid, like things like that. And then right now you're watching what's happening with SNAP benefits in the middle of this shutdown.
- [20:01]
A
That is right.
- [20:02]
B
These are very real everyday things that are impacting people. So people are responding to, you know, I mean while we can't really, hopefully it's a positive note and prediction for 2026 and what's to come later on. I think people are voting right now for survival under what's happening here. Right. And so I think that that is, that is what the voters are really reacting to and, and voting on right now and speaking to is just saying like, hey, like what is happening here? We're going to stand up for our communities in terms of like what we're seeing here and we've got to figure out how we, we write. Right. The ship, so to speak, in terms of what these, you know, agendas.
- [20:43]
C
Yeah, I voted, I voted in Virginia, Jim, the first day of, you know, the early elections back in September and there was actually like a line of people lined up at the polls for early elections. And I mean I talked to quite a few of them and listen, like not knocking Abigail Spamberger, but they weren't there because she was a awe inspiring candidate. They were all there because Donald Trump is a danger to democracy and they see how his policies are, you know, threatening the lives of and livelihoods of everyday, average Americans in Virginia. Virginia, where I'm at, you know, we've seen hundreds of thousands of federal workers doged and in one of the most inhumane manners in which they were demonized and vilified for being leftist, radical, communist, Marxist, whatever.
- [21:55]
A
Yeah.
- [21:55]
C
And these four year civil servants. The same thing with, you know, Trump's handling of these SNAP benefits. And you know, and then also the isolates, you know, Northern Virginia, people forget because it's not Chicago, it's not la, it's not New York City, but Virginia is actually number two when it comes to being targeted by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol for these inhumane and unconstitutional activities that are planted out on, you know, street corners and neighborhoods near you.
- [22:38]
A
Yeah. And I mean, Abigail Spamberger, by the way, about to speak in Virginia and obviously declare victory. The other thing, too, you mentioned those SNAP benefits. Trump is cutting off SNAP benefits right after he throws a Great Gatsby party in Mar a Lago. I mean, he has massive, I don't give a fuck energy and the voters are going to remind him that he is still, or at least his party is still being held accountable right now. And there's more accountability coming, it seems to me, Olivia. And I mean, he's acting like somebody doesn't care, but he, and maybe he does it, maybe he doesn't give a shit what happens next because he's won his second term or whatever, but I mean, it seems to me the voters are pissed. They are pissed off. Oh, Olivia. Froze there. I got you both driving. I got you both in the car. Mike, why don't you take that one, the great gas.
- [23:38]
C
I'm pissed off. Yeah, but I, you know, to be honest to you, like, I love it when he does this stupid. Like I, I love when Trump throws Great Gatsby parties and in the same breath tells Americans, there we are, okay, I'm gonna hold your stat benefits hostage until the Democrats reopen the government.
- [24:00]
A
Yeah.
- [24:02]
C
That to me is, first of all, that's authentic Donald Trump. That's who he is. And, and I love to see Donald Trump be Donald Trump and all over people that, that have supported him through not once, you know, not one, not two, but three election cycles. And now, you know, they get to see exactly what they voted for and, and the kind of despicable, vile human being that he is.
- [24:38]
A
And. Olivia, are you back? I think you were kind of going.
- [24:40]
B
In and out there. I was trying to, I was trying to signal that I was down to one bar. We went through a dead spot, but I think we're back.
- [24:47]
A
Somebody's saying Olivia as film noir, by the way. But that's a.
- [24:53]
B
Yeah, this is a new look I'm going for in terms of studios. What do y' all think?
- [24:58]
A
Maybe the noir is ending at least? Let's hope. You know.
- [25:04]
B
I. No, I think that what is really has always been very disturbing to me as someone who hurt him. Disparage his own followers repeatedly. And the way he would talk down about them is just always been like, the people that are getting hurt the most in many cases are the people who are his followers and supporters. And.
- [25:29]
A
Yeah.
- [25:30]
B
So, you know, I'll be really interested to see the breakdown in Virginia counties. I, you know, I'll definitely be digging into that later on. Like, you know, how they voted, what. What groups are really responding to. To this. And. And I do think it's a. It's a reflection of concern for, you know, what is really happening in terms of the policies that are being imposed by this Republican and Trump agenda. So, yeah, you know, we'll see. And, you know, the greater thing of that people don't talk about. It's like, it's not even just, you know. Yeah. And Virginia, certainly, it's. It's public servants. It's. It's government workers. But everyone is feeling the effects. Definitely businesses. Down to one bar.
- [26:17]
A
Oh, you're down to one bar. And Mike's getting out of his car. We got. We still got you, Mike. Olivia, if we.
- [26:23]
C
Oh, yeah, I'm here, Olivia.
- [26:25]
A
I'll let you go. I'll let you guys focus on driving, but thanks for joining. My phone's dying, too, buddy.
- [26:30]
C
All right, buddy.
- [26:33]
A
Mike, you hang in. If you can hang in there a second.
- [26:35]
C
I'll.
- [26:35]
A
I'll keep you. But I mean, you know, maybe folks are ready for, you know, a couple of moderate national security moms. You know, like you were saying earlier, they might not be the most dazzling, but maybe folks are ready for the adults to come back home. You know what I mean? Like, the kids trashed the house. They're throwing. They're throwing a big kegger right now, but Mom's coming home and she's pissed. Remember when. When Tucker Carlson said, daddy's coming home and he's. And he's pissed off. Maybe Mom's coming home and that's what we're saying.
- [27:11]
C
I mean, I'll be interested to get out and talk to some more folk in the days and weeks ahead. I know we have a rally coming up actually have a rally Tomorrow in Washington, D.C. the refused fascism rally that I'll be attending, and I'll talk to some fellow Virginians and see their thoughts. I mean, listen, like, pretty much anybody could have run in Abigail Spammer's place as far as I'm concerned. And I would have voted for the Democratic candidate because, you know, I'm a democracy absolutist, and I believe that under this administration and under the Republican leadership that democracy is. Is being threatened. So, you know, that's all. That's all it took for me. And I think that, you know, I'm sure that. I mean, listen, there were a lot of people that I spoke to that. That were. That was their issue as well. But then there was a lot of people, I think, that, you know, agreed with you. They were just, what you said. They were just looking for some return to normalcy when it came to rhetoric, demeanor, conduct, and, you know, Winston Salem Tears was like the female version of trump.
- [28:46]
A
Yes. The IMs and all that. Yeah, I am speaking.
- [28:52]
C
Yeah, yeah. She was a nut. And she. I. Correct me if I'm wrong, she didn't even garner Trump's endorsement.
- [29:02]
A
She did not. Trump did not endorse her. Now, apparently, she said a few years ago it was time for Trump to go away, and I guess he, of course, remembered that.
- [29:11]
C
But, yeah, you know, Trump's forgiven people for saying a hell of a whole lot more than that. I think it just comes down to Trump doesn't like to. If he sees a loser, if he thinks that she's going to lose, he's not going to endorse you.
- [29:27]
A
That's right. That's right.
- [29:29]
C
So you know that. That's all that came down to was he knew she was going to lose.
- [29:36]
A
I think you're right. No, I think you're right. Well, you know, and I. We don't even know what's going to happen in New York City yet. It looks like Bomb Donnie is going to win there, and everybody thought that was going to be the big story tonight. But it seems to me the big story is, I mean, I'm looking at the results right now for New Jersey. Mikey Sherrill is 20 points ahead of Jack Cittarelli, who did have Trump's endorsement. I mean, that guy is getting smoked right now. And in Virginia, if. I mean, I know that there are folks who are calling Jay Jones to win the Attorney General's race. If that. If that guy who was really up against it because of these terrible texts he sent a couple years ago, whatever that was, you know, he can come back and, and win that race for Attorney General. Because I'm going to tell everybody something that maybe a lot of folks haven't thought about, and that is if Jason Miarz had become the Attorney General of Virginia, he was going to make life miserable for Abigail Spanberger as the governor. And one of the things that was going to take place next year is the Virginia Democrats are going to try to redistrict so they can bring some seats into the Democratic column because Texas and so on. And so this is a big deal if the Dems sweep the table. You know what I mean?
- [30:45]
C
Oh, yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, I, I was, it was just as important to me as a Virginian that, you know, that Jay Jones won the election, you know, almost as much as, as Abigail. Abigail Spamberger.
- [31:02]
A
Yeah.
- [31:04]
C
You know, I, I, I can't support any candidate, especially in, you know, an important role like the Attorney General, who's essentially the chief law enforcement officer for the state of Virginia, that supported January 6th insurrectionists and has had revisionist language that he's used about January 6th as being anything other than an insurrection incited by Donald Trump, perpetrated by his supporters, and was violent and included the assault of hundreds of police officers, including myself.
- [31:48]
A
That's right. No, and I mean, they showed the ads in Virginia, Trump saying, come on, Miares, come on, Jason, come up on stage. I mean, they look like they were buddies. And I think that this is a repudiation of Donald Trump in Virginia. I mean, you know, and I mean, he kind of shit the bed in Virginia months ago when Doge started. Mike, you and I did that town hall in D.C. remember, all the federal workers showed up and just talked about how they were getting absolutely hosed everywhere across the federal government, the Pentagon, you name it. Any, any area of the federal government, people are just getting screwed. And a lot of those people live in Northern Virginia, where you and I grew up.
- [32:32]
C
I mean, Northern Virginia, there's a lot of federal workers in Richmond. I mean, Richmond also houses like the, I mean, it's got the biggest VA facility in, in Virginia. And, you know, that was experiencing, you know, cuts under the administration. And so, I mean, they're just, you know, obviously Virginia is a big state. It's a, but the most populous areas, you know, Richmond, Norfolk, V. Beach, and then obviously Northern Virginia and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. trump's policies were devastating to those communities.
- [33:12]
A
Devastating.
- [33:13]
C
And, you know, you reproduce.
- [33:17]
A
That's right. And you mentioned the Tidewater area. The Tidewater area used to be kind of a purple area, almost a red area because of all the military jobs down there in Virginia beach and Norfolk and Newport News. I'm sure you grew up going down there. My mom used to take me to Busch Gardens and Virginia beach and all that stuff back in the day. That was some serious Republican country back in the day. And Trump and the Republicans have completely fucked that up and they only have themselves to blame. And I'm sure that area went big time for Abigail Spanberger in these election results.
- [33:52]
C
Yeah, no, I mean.
- [33:55]
A
See, we'll see.
- [33:56]
C
Trump did, Trump didn't do the Republican Party any favors in, in Virginia.
- [34:01]
A
Yeah.
- [34:03]
C
And you know it, at least at what we're seeing right now, the, the polls are reflecting that, but it seems like Trump hasn't done the Republican Party any favors anywhere this evening.
- [34:16]
A
Yeah, people were thinking, oh, this Jack Cittarelli, he's going to give Mikey Sheryl quite the scare. The now, I mean, I guess, you know, some freakish thing could happen and they'll count all the ballots and, and he'll, you know, I, I, I just, I don't see it at this point and it's already been called for Mikey Sherrill, so I just don't see him making any kind of a comeback at this point. But she's 19 points ahead right now with 31% of the vote coming in. That's an ass kicking. It's just a, just absolute ass kicking.
- [34:44]
C
Yeah, no, and I was watching, I, I mean, I, I heard your reporting and, and yeah, I was watching some of the reporting coming in about, you know, Cheryl winning districts by, you know, pretty significant numbers that, you know, even beating out Kamala Harris's numbers.
- [35:04]
A
Yeah.
- [35:04]
C
You know, literally just what, a year ago? Considerably. And so I don't know if it's, you know, I'll be interested to see, you know, the exit polls and what people are saying, if it's, if it was an awakening within the Democratic Party and what, what triggered that. But I would imagine, you know, just from the people that I've spoken to here, it has a lot to do with what, what they're seeing playing out every single day in the streets of la, Chicago, you know, New York City, people are not supportive of that level of inhumanity and this administration's willingness to weaponize law enforcement against its own people.
- [35:56]
A
Yeah, well, and I mean, Trump, I think he looked like an idiot on 60 Minutes. He was lying through his teeth. He was being a loudmouth jerk to Norah o'. Donnell and people don't like that, and people said, oh, 60 Minutes, I agree, was not 60 Minutes best night. There's no question about it.
- [36:14]
C
I think 60 Minutes is dead and buried. I think that's the end of the.
- [36:19]
A
They're in huge. And as I like to say it.
- [36:21]
C
With legacy, he was rolling over in his grave last night.
- [36:27]
A
Yeah. And then, but I mean, Trump does that and then he gets, he goes out and endorses Andrew Cuomo. I mean, he's not putting together a string of wins these days. You know what I mean? I mean, it's just, it's bad. And, and, and Trump looked like shit on 60 Minutes. Even with 60 Minutes in CBS doing all the editing that he used to whine and complain about. Remember he whined and complained that they did that.
- [36:53]
C
I mean, he got his, you know, what did he sue them for, like $2 billion. He got $16 million and he doesn't shut the fuck up about it. Every time that he talks, you know, it's, it's, he's like, you know, I mentioned this often, but, and, and she knows that I love her, but she's very similar to my ex wife in that this laundry list of things. We've been divorced since 2017.
- [37:21]
A
Yeah.
- [37:22]
C
And she still talks about things from, you know, 2009 to 2016 when we were married. Is very similar to Donald Trump. Trump continuously talks about, you know, these things that have happened. All of everything that is ever, you know, all of his, how he's been.
- [37:42]
A
Wronged in life, going back into it's non stop whining. He just, he whines nonstop and he's talking about California, you know, like there's fraudulent voting in California. He's going to get his ass kicked in California. It looks like they're gonna kick his ass there too. But the thing you said earlier is the thing that worries me, Mike, and that is this maybe makes him desperate and he wakes up to, I remember covering the midterms in 2018. He got his ass kicked in 2018. And the next day was when he and I got into it, I lost my press pass. He was so pissed off. He was such a jerk. He was being so rude and out of control that he can't help himself. And I wonder what's going to happen over the next 48 hours. You know, I mean, I, you know, I don't even want to think about Venezuela and Nigeria and everything else, but there's a part of me that wonders if Mike Johnson and the Republicans start to go, hmm, which way is the wind blowing? We're about to get screwed. We're about to get demolished in a landslide. And maybe they do release the damn Epstein files. I mean, I don't know.
- [38:49]
C
But you know, I, I can't even, you know, I can't. There's just no like analyzing any of these people. At least I, I can't seem to figure them out. But you know, part of me does think that, that Johnson was, you know, withholding the Epstein files and waiting to see which way the wind blows, like you said. And this is kind of like the, this is the Republican Party's lifeline. Like at the end of the day we can just, you know, drop all the files and you know, everyone will realize that Trump is either, you know, the most prolific pedophile in American history or he was, you know, the biggest cover up artist for pedophiles in American history. But either one of those optics is not good for an American President and I think would ultimately even spell Donald Trump's downfall. And then, you know, the, the party can shift to, to JD Vance where they seem to have already been putting a lot of support and at least trying to, you know, to clean him up and make him the new front runner for the future of, of MAGA in this country.
- [40:11]
A
Yeah, that's one hell of a sofa to power wash there to get J.D. vance up and running to run for President 2020.
- [40:20]
C
Yeah, yeah. I mean he's got a lot of money behind him, but I mean as far as like personality and authenticity, I mean he's probably the least authentic. If he is the presidential candidate, he's certainly one of the least authentic politicians I think I've ever experienced in my life. Like I, you know, he's a venture capitalist hillbilly who's changed his name four times. You know, he hated Donald Trump and called him America's Hitler. But now Donald Trump is America's Jesus. And you know, he loves his wife and, and you know, cares about diversity in this country, but he wishes that she would convert to Christianity and discovered, you know, Lord Jesus Christ and.
- [41:13]
A
Yeah, it's not a pretty picture. I know. And there's no way they're going to go for Marco Rubio. They're just not going to. It's the modern day Republican Party. Look what they've been doing to Latinos across this country and then they're going to go and make Marco Rubio the Republican nominee. Good luck with that. But, but Mike, I mean it's, it's a huge, this is a huge loss for Trump across the board. And the issue at this point is just how bad the numbers are going to be. But, man, it's great to see. I knew I had to reach out to you. Sorry I grabbed you when you were driving.
- [41:46]
C
I appreciate it. No, thank you. I was racing home as quickly as possible so I could jump on and talk shit about Trump, and hopefully, I knew I was. We'll clip this down, put it on Instagram, and hopefully it'll find its way into that assholes feed, and maybe it'll send him over the edge. Maybe would be too much for him for his weak, you know, physique and psyche to bear, and that'll just be the end of it. Do you think they let him lay in state?
- [42:20]
A
Oh, Jesus. I mean, my concern at this point is which part of the White House he knocks down next because he's so pissed off about what's happening tonight. But, I don't know. I mean, to me, you raise an interesting point, which is. And I've thought about the question about.
- [42:38]
C
Dick Cheney and whether they're going to let Dick Cheney lay in state because.
- [42:42]
A
You know, I was surprised they lowered the flags at the White House for Dick Cheney, but apparently they pulled that one past Trump. But no, my thing is, the question I have is, you know, Trump is a coward. At the end of the day, he's kind of a coward. And there's a little part of me that wonders, does he really want to tolerate this for three more years, getting pummeled and his ass kicked over? Like, if there's a race for dog catcher, somebody's gonna run out. I'm anti Trump. I wanna be your dog catcher. I wanna be your head of sanitation. I'm against Donald Trump. Every race, he's going to get his ass kicked. And does he just say, I can't take this?
- [43:27]
C
You think Trump releases the Epstein files? It's like, yeah, fuck all of you. I'm in them. I'm all over the Epstein files. I did all the things that you thought I did. Now I'm out. Fuck you, I'm out. I got my bitcoin and my cryptocurrency and I fucking. I'm done. I'm going to Saudi Arabia.
- [43:49]
A
It could be. Now, that. That is something I believe. I definitely think Riyadh, Moscow, Budapest, you know, beautiful spots.
- [44:00]
C
You know, you did that big thing for Argentina. And I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, like, I only made it through my freshman year of high school, but didn't, like, a bunch of Nazis go hide out in Argentina after World War II, they have, like, no extra tradition.
- [44:14]
A
With the U.S. there are certain villages where he'll feel right at home. I think. I think you're absolutely right about that. Yes. I remember when Sam Donaldson with ABC traveled to Argentina and found the Nazis hiding in the mountains in Argentina. Could be a future home. It's not a. I like that theory. I hadn't thought about that one. That's a good theory. Mm. Mm. All right, well, before we get in too much trouble, get thrown. The problem is he still is in control of Guantanamo between now and 2028, Mike. So we can't go too. Can't go too crazy.
- [44:48]
C
At least it's warm. It's warm weather. You gotta look on the bright side.
- [44:52]
A
It's my dad's homeland, so, you know, there is that. But who's lost? Oh, it sounds like J.D. vance's brother lost. I mean, this is just going down in flames across the board, but. All right, Mike, good to see you, man. Really appreciate you. All right, take care, buddy.
- [45:12]
C
Have a good night's.
- [45:12]
A
Gonna get us thrown in Guantanamo, but that's okay. All right, take care. See you later. I was just trying. I was just hearing a text from a couple of folks. Let's see here. There's some folks who want to hop on. I don't know. All right, listen, I'll try to tap dance a little bit here and let's see if I can find any other friends to jump on with us. I have one other option here. The one problem I have is my phone is going to die. Oh, the joys of substack here when my phone is not doing so good. Let's see here. I'll try to pull a couple of rabbits out of my hat between now and the end of the evening. But just to recap where we are right now, I'm looking@ABCNews.com they're showing Mikey Sherrill, 57, Jack Cittarelli, 43. I'm going to tell you right now, all the experts here in Washington, all the so called self described experts here in Washington, let's just caveat that in the corporate media, they've all been predicting all day long, all week long, that this was going to be a razor thin margin in New Jersey, that this was going to be tight as a ticket in New Jersey. I'll use all my Dan Rather isms here. Between Mikey Sherrill and Jack Cittarelli, she is now ahead by 14 percentage points in the state of New Jersey. And it has already been called that Mikey Sherrill is going to win that race by some outlets. We'll, of course, keep monitoring that. Of course. Abigail Spanberger, she won the governor's race in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That was called, what was that, 30 minutes ago? That was about 30, 40, 45 minutes ago. That was called. And I don't think anybody expect, I mean, she was expected to win. I don't think anybody was really expecting it to get called that early. And in those, in those state races in Virginia, they are saying that, that it looks as though this is according to decision desk, that, that J. Jones may win that attorney general's race if that comes, if that comes to fruition, if that indeed happens, that is a massive, massive loss for Donald Trump and the attorney general candidate, Gazala Hashbee, she did win in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices, 5 to 2 majority on the state Supreme Court, 5 to 2 majority on the state Supreme Court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, four for Democrats. Is that correct? So my, my producer, Sam, on the case here, saying that it looks as though Democrats will control the state Supreme Court and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Anybody who saw what Donald Trump tried to pull the last time around in the, no, it was in the, not last time around, the 2020 election, I should say, when he tried to steal the election. All of these state Supreme Court races, all of these states, secretary of state races, they're all important no matter where you're talking about. Now, I know it says right here, charge your phone, Jim, please. All right. Now, one thing I could do and it could cause a big burp for everybody technically. Let's see if I can do this. Hang on. I'm going to pull the phone receiver. I have a microphone. Hang on, everybody. I the microphone receiver on the bottom of my. So you would have good quality here. And the question becomes, can I get this charger in here for you so my phone doesn't die and we'll just tear the whole frigging thing down. It might tear the whole thing down if I hold it like that, just so it'll be okay. Now, the other thing we want to watch for, guys, is in obviously the state of New York in New York, New York, the city's so nice, they named it twice. Zoran Mamdani, who was just an assemblyman, and forgive me for saying that, Mayor Mamdani, because he's going to win this race. We're waiting to see the election returns in New York City. Now, Zoran Mamdani, the question becomes, I think in that race, how large of a margin are we talking about here? Are we talking about, you know, and also, where does Andrew Cuomo place in all of this? Because remember, Donald Trump endorsed Andrew Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo went on Fox and Friends, I believe it was this morning, and was getting the Fox and Friends treatment, which is similar to a fluffer in the art of pornography, if you catch my drift. And Fox was asking him all these softball questions and Andrew Cuomo was, was eating it up. And the question becomes, with Donald Trump endorsing Andrew Cuomo, where does Andrew Cuomo place in all of this? If he finishes in third behind Sliwa, which I don't, I don't expect him to finish behind Curtis Sliwa, but if he finishes behind Curtis Lewa, again, Donald Trump, where do you, how do you spin this? In what way do you spin any, any of this as a win? You can't. You can't. So when your second reign of terror began at the beginning of this year, January 20th, earlier this year, and you decided to come in like a bull in a china shop on meth, and you're parting the January 6th rioters, you're, you're doing all of these horrific things across the country. You're, you're initiating this awful, God awful immigration roundup that we're seeing across the country. You know, a lot of folks in America got, and I think rightfully so, very concerned about the future of our country. But what we all have to keep in mind is that elections do matter. Elections do still happen in this country. And yes, we can all look at these as state. They're just state elections, Jim. They're state races. Don't read too much into it, Jim. Remember, Virginia always goes against the party in power. That's how it goes down in Virginia. I get all of that. But look at the margins, folks. Look at where these margins are. When Mikey Sherrill is that far ahead in New Jersey, when Abigail Spanberger is that far ahead in Virginia, that, that, that's. That's big doings, folks. That is big doings. Sorry. So it's past the 9 o' clock hour. So forgive me if my language, if the Vegas act acosta comes into play here. And forgive me for speaking myself in the third person. I don't do that often. But if the Vegas act comes out, that means we're, it's just, just go with it, folks. As long as you'll say in the comments whether I go too far. As I used to tell my producers, just tell me if I'm going too far. Texas ballot measures passed Texas ballot measure is passed, which means requiring citizenship. All right, so Texas is Texas. All right, here's some. Here are some mayoral results in New York right now. Zoron. Mom. Donnie. This is according to the latest results coming in. Zoran Momdani, 52% Andrew Cuomo, 40% Curtis Lewal. Okay, so maybe Andrew Cuomo will finish second in New York City, but Zora Mamdani, I think, already has a very comfortable lead at this point. We'll, of course, see how that develops. But this is all. I mean, this is all very interesting. I mean, Curtis Lewis. I mean, people are saying, oh, if Curtis just gets out. Okay, even if that had happened, it's not happening. All right, so the Hill just called it. They are. They are using Decision Desk hq, which is the great social media Internet polling unit. They're saying Zoran Mamdani is projected to win the race for New York City mayor, according to this. According to Decision Desk hq, and as the Hill describes it, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party's future. That's all according to the Hill. I don't know if I just. I don't know if I agree with that framing. But here's the thing you gotta think about now with zoran Mamdani. He's 34 years old. 34 years old in the city of New York, that. How many times did Mike Bloomberg get elected in New York City? This is a city that sometimes votes for Republicans. This is a city that sometimes votes for moderates. Would like to have a business guy run the city. That's New York City. I'm not trying to make any grand, sweeping statements here, but for Zoran Mamdani to win as mayor of New York City, to me, is a massive, massive development. What it says to me is a couple of things. I think it says that, yes, young voters in New York City, they've had enough of Donald Trump. Voters of color in New York City, they've had enough of Donald Trump. And they wanted to show out in force to send a message not only to the Democratic Party, I think they're sending a message to the Democratic Party. I think what they're doing is sending a message to the entire country, and that is that there are lots of young progressives in America who are ready for new leadership. There are lots of young progressives in America who want to see the torch passed, as JFK once said, to a new generation of leaders in this country. They're tired of the old. They Want the new. And yes, there are lots of questions as to whether Zoran Mamdani can run the city of New York. It's a famously awful place to try to run. There's no question about it. You have unions to deal with and city employees and all kinds of stuff, but at the same time, you have a lot of progressive people in those boroughs. You're talking about Queens, you're talking about Brooklyn, and of course, Manhattan. And they were ready for a change. And the issue of affordability, folks, is no joke. You know, try taking your family up for a weekend in Manhattan. Go to Times Square. How much money you're dropping as a family. It's extremely expensive. And try living in New York. You're spending thousands of dollars to live in a small one bedroom apartment. You're getting on the, the, the bus or the subway. The price of the bus or the subway goes up every time you jump on the subway or get on the bus. The supermarket's expensive. It's in a very, it's a very expensive place to live. Zoran Mamdani, very wisely, and I think this is the message for the Democratic Party, three times the Bloomberg.
- [56:05]
C
That's right.
- [56:08]
A
Very wisely focused on this issue of affordability. Now, the issue of affordability is not a necessarily progressive issue. It's not an issue that screams I'm a progressive. It screams I'm an American. And every. I mean, I was talking about this with Don Lemon earlier today. How much money do we all shell out for Halloween candy this year? My God, Halloween candy was extremely expensive this year. People are tired of this shit. They're just tired of it. And Zoran Momdani is a vehicle for that. And I, and I know he's not a Barack Obama. I'm not saying he's Barack Obama, but it does remind me of what we saw when Barack Obama rose and took the Democratic Party by storm back in 2008. And there were a lot of young progressives who said, I want, I want something different. Sorry. So there, there you have it. Zoran Mamdani, projected to win in New York City, 34 years old. He's going to be the mayor of New York city. Good luck, Mr. Mayor. That, it's extraordinary. And you know, again, Decision desk HQ has already called Mikey Sher winning in New Jersey. They've already called Abigail Spanberger in Virginia. And let's just see here, my pal Norm Eisen says he might be able to jump on. Should we get Norm on here in a, in a second or two. Let me Just go ahead and send the, the old request out for Norm and see if. Can my, can my. Let's see, can my phone hold out? Can my comms hold out? Here is the question. We got all these people tuning in right now. I don't want to bail and then we all have to jump back on again. But. And Duke is very sad. He wants to be let into the room, but if Duke comes in, he will knock everything over. So I might do it at the very end, but I can't do it right now. Listen, this is, and as I was talking about with Mike Fanon just a short time ago, let's. I'll tell Norm that we're ready for him. We are ready.
- [58:24]
C
For.
- [58:25]
A
Yeah, I just told Norm we're ready for him when he's ready. As I was talking about with Mike Fanon, this is a massive, massive repudiation for Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been acting as though elections don't matter. Donald Trump has been acting as though democracy doesn't matter, that your vote doesn't matter. He's been doing things as ridiculous as shutting down the government right before a governor's race in Virginia. He's been doing things like cutting off SNAP benefits and throwing a Great Gatsby party at Mar a Lago right before there are elections across the country. He is acting as though, as we've all said time and again, he thinks he's a king. And the no kings protests, of course, reminded him that he's not a king. But protests are one thing. Elections are quite another. And what these elections have said loud and clear. I mean, I toyed with the idea of not doing this election thing tonight with you guys because I was concerned we were just going to be up until midnight or one in the morning waiting for all these election results. I mean, I thought Spanberger would win. I thought she was going to win. Mikey Sherl, I was not expecting that call to happen at all. And so. But as we've been seeing in the last several minutes, the race has been called in New Jersey. The race has been called in Virginia. The race has been called in New York City. It's 9:13pm It's 9:13. And these races have already been called. And I'll tell you, New Jersey, people say, oh, New Jersey, it's a blue state. Forget about it. Forget about it, folks. I've talked to Trump advisors who have said, we're gonna put New Jersey in the Republican column. We're gonna turn New Jersey red. This is something that they have been wanting to do for years, folks, remember when Donald Trump did that big rally in New Jersey, he loves to have those events at Bedminster. They have all been salivating over the idea of turning New Jersey red. And I think what tonight demonstrates is that Mikey Shirley, you know, very respected candidate, no question about it, national security, mom, people like that. But this is a voter revolt. This is the electorate speaking loudly and clearly saying, no, sir, no, sir. Rebob, you've taken this thing about as far as you're going to take it and no further. And, you know, we'll have to wait and see what the reaction is. That's the concern. I mean, it's one of the reasons why I'm hoping I can get Norm on here in just a second. Apparently he's doing another thing they're asking him, can you stand by and all this stuff. So, you know, we're all fighting over Norm tonight. But I could always try to bring back. Let's see, could we bring back. Is Olivia back in a, in an area where she can join us again? Let's just see here. Let's just see here. For those of you just tuning in, let's see here. Wanna try a again? All right, I'm trying, I'm trying to bring Olivia back too. She's driving and is in kind of a far flung place. So I don't want to risk things too much. She's not driving. I, I should point out, she's not driving. Somebody else is driving. She's riding in the car. But, you know, the issue to me is how does he react? And if I can get normal, we'll get normal, we'll ask him that question. But how does, how is, how is Donald Trump going to react in this moment? I mean, in just the last, what, 72 hours? He's talked about Venezuela, he's talked about Nigeria. He has threatened to not provide SNAP benefits, even though a judge said you had to. And then the White House came back and said, oh, no, no, you have, you know, we're going to pay out the SNAP benefits. Don't worry, we're paying out the snap benefits. And, you know, he's sounding unhinged as it is. And the question becomes, how much more unhinged does he sound? How much worse does it get? That to me is the concern here. You know, he's not going to do the gracious thing and invite Abigail Spanberger and Mikey Sherrill over to the White House. He's not going to do that. He's just not wired that way. What he's going to look for is a distraction, ladies and gentlemen. And the question becomes, what is that distraction? What does it look like? And how much of a threat does he become? Does the Supreme Court start to see the writing on the wall? The MAGA Supreme Court, Remember, tomorrow, the MAGA Supreme Court is supposed to hear arguments over Donald Trump's tariffs. And as I was saying with Joyce Vance on my show earlier in the day, Joyce Vance joined me, and she said the law is very clear. Despite what people think, despite Donald Trump's best efforts to brainwash people, you cannot just unilaterally impose tariffs across the world. Well, he's been breaking the law. The law does not allow for that. And I'll be very curious to see what the MAGA Supreme Court, the MAGA members of the Supreme Court say in response to these arguments that they're going to hear from the Trump administration that, oh, yeah, Donald Trump, he can do whatever he wants. He's the president. He can just, you know, the President, he's like a dictator. He's like a king, right? He can just do whatever he wants. The question becomes, does the MAGA Supreme Court start to sense that things are. The pendulum is swinging back, that things are starting to come back into balance just a little bit? Not saying we're out of the woods, still got midterm elections next year, but, but a good day and a good night for democracy has just happened in America. And what does that mean for the people on the Supreme Court in the long run? You know, what is, what is. What happens to, to the John Roberts Supreme Court in the long run? We'll have to wait and see on that. All right, I am going to do one more thing here, folks. It is possible that my good friend Olivia Troy is not reachable because she has been driving through the state of Virginia this evening. And my friend Norm Eisen may just be held up on other matters. He. He was doing another thing, and I think he. He might not be able to break away. So if he can't break away, I might break away and call it a night. But I do appreciate everybody tuning in. Oh, wait a minute. There's Norm right there. Norm. He's there. Hey, Norm.
- [65:49]
D
Jim. I'm just setting up my camera. The pleasure of live tv. Hold on one second.
- [65:55]
A
That's okay. It's not live tv. It's substack, so that's okay.
- [65:59]
D
Okay. It's like we're the future.
- [66:03]
A
Remember, the future is always a little. It's a little something different.
- [66:07]
D
Oh, my God, Jim. When I was with you last week I was like in a parking lot at the airport. I had so big, I had a big legal victory. Oh, Protecting workers in the shutdown. That was it.
- [66:21]
A
Yes. So, and, and now, I mean, and as I was just talking with the viewers. Norm, we lost your picture. I can still hear you sound great. Is.
- [66:31]
D
How about now? Now?
- [66:33]
A
Now.
- [66:33]
D
You're looking good.
- [66:34]
A
Oh, you look great. There you go. Norm's looking great. We're getting close to a big birthday for you. Is that correct? I see something about that.
- [66:41]
D
My goodness. Jim is going to come to my birthday party. Maybe we'll do a sub Sack Live. My 65th birthday party. It's hot as Jim. My family got me tickets to the World Series in Los Angeles. That was my birthday. Amazing birthday present. Isn't that amazing? But I'm going to tell you something. And they won. I'm gonna tell you something that was even nicer than going to Dodger Stadium for one of the LA games. I got together. My family gave me the hotel and the plane tickets. I got together with my high school best friends.
- [67:21]
A
That's great.
- [67:23]
D
We watched the game together and that was such a highlight. It was so wonderful.
- [67:27]
A
Oh, that's a wonderful moment. I'm so happy for you, Norm. We don't get many moments like that, especially when we're as busy as you and me. And especially as busy as you.
- [67:36]
D
So true.
- [67:37]
A
What's your assessment of what we're seeing tonight? Because to me it looks like a voter revolt and a repudiation of Trumpism.
- [67:44]
D
Massive repudiation of Trumpery. If there's one thing the American people hate, it's corruption. And if that is the theme of what Donald Trump has done, he promised that he would take office to help them to lower their costs. Costs have gone up to protect their health care. The health care is now endangered. That's what the shutdown is about. And to make the country safer. Instead, he's driving public insecurity by deploying our federal troops, our brave men and women to patrol our streets needlessly, on and on. It's corrupt while people are starving. He's built building a 300 million dollar plus ballroom and having elaborate parties at Mar a Lago. It's like it's worse than Marie Antoinette. It's let them eat guilt.
- [68:51]
A
Yeah.
- [68:52]
D
And so the American people did not sign up for that. And in New Jersey, the Republican candidate, Jack Citarelli. In Virginia, the Republican candidate wins some Sears. They embraced Trump. And boy, the repudiation was loud. Of course there's other Factors, Sheryl and Spanberger were good candidates. Then you have, we'll see what happens in California. I think it's going to be a resounding rejection of Donald Trump's attempt to steal five congressional seats in Texas. They're like, if you do that, we're going to bring a bazooka to a knife fight.
- [69:43]
A
Yeah.
- [69:44]
D
And that's going to trigger the loss of Republican seats. Quite right. In California. And so tonight, punctures. And then Pennsylvania, the retention election, very important. Trump allies engaged in a disinformation campaign, Jim. They want to take control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. So when you get back to 2020, where I litigated on behalf of Pennsylvania, Trump's effort to illegitimately declare he won the Pennsylvania election when he did no such thing. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court race, it looks like those justices are going to be retained. So we'll have a pro democracy, pro rule of law court in Pennsylvania. So all these reasons, I would say that tonight, while it has other dimensions, certainly profound rejection of Donald Trump and his brand of authoritarianism.
- [70:45]
A
And for once, I mean, ever since, you know, Trump came back into the White House and started this, you know, retribution campaign that has just been far and wide across the country, the voters have not had a chance to have their say. And NBC, I should just note, NBC News has just said that Mikey Sherrill will win the New Jersey governor's race. So now we have multiple outlets saying that Mikey, Sheryl and Norm, remember all heading into this, into this election day, into tonight, the experts were saying, oh goodness, that Mikey Sheryl raise it might not work out for her. Calling this stuff before 10:00pm yeah, landslide. These are, these are big wins for the Democrats tonight.
- [71:26]
D
Landslide.
- [71:27]
A
And could be 14 points. But this is a chance that the voters finally got their chance to say something, not a protest.
- [71:34]
D
Will you accept a friendly amendment?
- [71:37]
A
I will, absolutely.
- [71:38]
D
At the Democracy Defenders Fund, my nonprofit group, where among others, our common friend Katie Fang does some litigation with me.
- [71:50]
A
You love Katie.
- [71:52]
D
We often talk about it on our YouTube show. It's still in the soft launch, but hundreds of thousands of folks are tuning in. Norm and Katie's Legal fight club on YouTube. On the contrarian channel on YouTube. Check it out, friends. So we have over 200 legal cases and matters. We were in court all over the country. And for that reason, we've been watching some of the smaller elections this year. And Jim, Democrats and pro democracy candidates won or outperformed in 46 out of 47 races before tonight. So tonight makes it so far 49 out of 50, and we're still counting by an average of 15 points. One are outperformed by an average of 15 points. So the American people were speaking. But tonight, that rumble has become a roar, a pro democracy roar. And, Jim, you and I kind of were on the cutting edge of that by coming to independent media. I was a half step ahead of Jim. I did talk. I love to reminisce about it because.
- [73:14]
A
You talked me into doing this.
- [73:16]
D
I was one of those. But Jim said to me, you know, Norm, I want to be truthful, not neutral. The great Christiane Amanpour coined that phrase. And, Jim, you have been so terrific and may I say, such a smashing success in every dimension. Calling it. We call it like we see it. And that is, you know, doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that there won't be very tough times ahead. Donald Trump is wreaking tremendous death and destruction on our country and around the world, and he's doing it illegally. But I feel better knowing that you are out here to call it. To call it like it is, Jim.
- [74:04]
A
We have to, Norm. I mean, we absolutely have to. And the reason why you're flourishing, the reason why I'm doing okay over here, is because the American people have said enough is enough, with both sides ing the demolition not only of the east wing of the White House, but of democracy itself. And they want us to give it to them straight. And, Norm, you always do that. I try to do that here. And you just have to say it like it is. Donald Trump poses a threat to American democracy. He made that crystal clear on day one of this new administration when he pardoned all those January 6th rioters. And he's been doing it every day since. And I'm just so glad that people are getting a little injection of hope tonight because you finally are seeing in real time, physically, tangibly, that one person, one vote still makes a difference in America.
- [74:56]
D
Yeah. And there were people, and you and I talked about this on the air, who said, oh, Donald Trump will not allow a vote. And maybe he would like to forbid voting, but he doesn't have the power, Jim. Our guardrails of democracy are still too strong. We were in court today at Democracy Defenders Fund in New Jersey, for example, where there was a dispute about hundreds and hundreds of ballots and whether they could be counted or not. And we went right to that court on behalf of lulac, the nation's oldest and largest Latino civil rights groups, to say every vote must be counted. And the judge ordered it. The Judge ordered. The court ordered the New Jersey elections officials to take steps to allow those ballots to be counted. Katie and I talked about it on Norm and Katie's Legal Fight Club on the contrarian YouTube channel today in real time. We get on there and do that. So when you ask me, hey, Norm, do you want to come on and assist assess. What does this mean for our democracy? Let me tell you what it means, friends. The state of our democracy is resilient. Yes, Donald Trump, tremendous death and destruction. But there's a lot of pushback going on. And tonight, an enormous blow to the solar plexus of authoritarianism.
- [76:41]
A
Absolutely. No. Democracy is a team sport. We're all on the field together. And Norm, you've been the quarterback, I have to say, you've been the Tom Brady of legal eagles, fighting the good fight in the courtrooms to stop this authoritarian blitz that we've all been experiencing. So forgive me for. I mean, we started talking about baseball.
- [77:02]
D
We'Re ending on football, but it's okay, because we've. We've landed in the height of football season. And I'm a shameless Los Angeles partisan. And my LA Rams, I grew up with the LA Rams, and then they left for decades, Jim. But when they got back in the Super Bowl, I went to Los Angeles to see my LA Rams play and win the Super Bowl. France, we are in the super bowl of democracy. And tonight, you can think of it like the first round of the playoffs, and then the midterms will be the second round of the playoffs. Oh, I dare not say who, Jim, but one of our CNN colleagues just is watching and just texted me that he loves the beard. This. My.
- [77:51]
A
The beard is looking great. I gotta tell you. The beard.
- [77:53]
D
It's my wartime beard. It's my wartime beard. I didn't have time to. I didn't have time to turn on my lights here in my home studio. My button flew off my collar.
- [78:08]
A
Norm. It's very Vikings Valhalla. I have to say, I hope not.
- [78:12]
D
To end up in Valhalla just yet.
- [78:15]
C
Good point.
- [78:17]
A
But if you do, it will be glorious.
- [78:18]
C
That's true.
- [78:20]
D
So, you know, we're. This. The. The sports. One of the reasons we love sports are because they're a living metaphor for so many things. And we are now in the playoffs for our democracy, and we're headed for the Super Bowl. Second round of the playoffs will be the midterm elections. I think you're going to see an additional. I don't want to be overconfident. We've got Over a year of hard work. But I think we have all the ingredients for a blue tsunami in 2026. And then that in turn will set up the super bowl, which is 2028. But, Jim, I don't want to be. I don't want to take any of that for granted, of course, the tremendous devastation that Donald Trump will do along the way. But don't forget maybe the most important part, the after party, when you get. I'm just back from a trip talking to. I travel once a month, just back from a trip, talking to the polls. They won, they secured democracy. But then they. They let it slip away a little bit. They weren't planning for after the Super Bowl. So we need to be looking ahead. How do we strengthen our country? Do we put term limits on the Supreme Court? Do we add Supreme Court justices? Shouldn't we have a law that presidents cannot take cash? It's in the Constitution. But we need an implementing law. It's called Emoluments and Rule.
- [79:52]
A
Sounds like a Project 2029 to me, Norm. Is what it sounds like.
- [79:54]
D
No, I would not. I hated Project 2029. It was an exe. I call it good old fashioned American democracy. It's constantly renewing, and we need to plan for the renewal of our democracy.
- [80:11]
A
It will be a new era indeed. And Norm, I know you'll be leading the way. The battle continues, but the dream never dies. The great Norm Isaac. Norm, great to catch up with you and happy early birthday. I'll see you next week.
- [80:24]
D
All right, Jim, thank you for inviting me back on the show and thank you for being. Being out here in independent media. We just love it.
- [80:33]
A
Thank you. And I won't see you in Valhalla. I'll see you on the. On the battlefield. Thanks.
- [80:38]
D
After many, many decades, I hope to have the condo next to yours involved.
- [80:45]
A
I love it.
- [80:45]
D
It's probably a lot like Miami beach works for me.
- [80:49]
A
If it's like Miami Beach, I'm there. No question about it.
- [80:52]
D
Like Miami Beach.
- [80:53]
A
Mojito in hand. No. No doubt. See you, Norm.
- [80:58]
D
See you, Jim.
- [80:59]
A
Thanks. All right. That's the great Norm Eisen. We all needed a little Norm tonight, didn't we? All right, folks, my phone's gonna die. Duke is begging me to take him for a walk. Mikey. Cheryl, big winner, New Jersey. Abigail Spanberger, a big winner in Virginia. Zoran Mamdani, a big winner in New York City. Proposition 50 probably on its way to passage out in California. A resounding huge night for the Democrats. A resounding huge L for Donald Trump. Of course, we'll be covering all the ins and outs of this tomorrow, but in the meantime, still reporting from Washington. Thanks for tuning into this special election coverage. Thanks for putting up with the Vegas act a little bit tonight. I got. It was a little bit. It was a little over the top at times, but I hope you enjoyed it. My thanks to Fanon. My thanks to Norm. My thanks to Olivia as well. I'll see you guys. See you guys next time. Take care.
- [81:50]
C
Bye.
- [81:50]
A
Bye.