Democratic, Republican strategists react to Trump's "60 Minutes" remarks after midterms

[0:00] In two years, someone else is going to be [0:02] the Republican nominee for president. [0:04] I assume you're going to endorse someone for that. [0:07] Probably. Not necessarily. [0:09] What would make you... [0:11] What are you thinking about when you decide [0:13] whether or not to endorse someone? [0:14] We have a tremendous bench. [0:15] I mean, I have so many people [0:18] that I have great relationships with. [0:20] That was President Trump sitting down with 60 Minutes [0:23] with the 2028 presidential election now, [0:25] two years away. [0:26] You've got Vice President J.D. Vance [0:29] and Secretary of State Marco Rubio [0:31] widely seen as potential heirs [0:32] to President Trump's political movement. [0:35] Our political panel, Harrison Fields and Cristiano Ramos [0:37] are in Washington to discuss this and more. [0:40] Harrison is the former White House principal deputy [0:42] press secretary under President Trump [0:44] and a CBS News political contributor. [0:46] Cristiano is the former communications director [0:48] of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus [0:50] and the founder of Autonomy Strategies. [0:53] Good Monday morning to you both. [0:54] Gentlemen, Harrison, let's start with you. [0:57] What do you make of the president's comments there [0:58] on who would inherit the MAGA base? [1:03] Well, first of all, to our colleague Ross, [1:05] that was an incredible interview for 60 Minutes yesterday. [1:08] And the president showed once again [1:10] something that we all know he has, [1:13] which is incredible political acumen [1:16] in discussing the future of the MAGA movement. [1:19] But really, what just happened to us last Tuesday? [1:22] I thought it was a very compelling interview. [1:24] He went through a number of issues [1:26] that he feels caused us Tuesday's election. [1:29] And when we figure out 2028, listen, [1:31] we really have got to do some soul searching. [1:33] We've got to do some digging [1:35] to figure out how exactly we lost the coalition [1:40] that awarded us seven swing states, [1:42] over 80 million voters, [1:44] and a decisive victory for President Trump [1:46] just two years ago, [1:47] winning the Electoral College and the popular vote. [1:50] The candidate, whoever it is, [1:52] obviously the vice president [1:53] is going to be the top of that list. [1:55] We need to figure out how to get these voters back. [1:57] And for Christian, I want to ask you [2:01] what we think might happen on the Democratic side. [2:03] You had this straw poll at Crooked Con, [2:06] a progressive gathering, [2:08] and it found that Georgia Senator John Ossoff [2:10] is comfortably in the lead [2:12] with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [2:15] in second place. [2:17] What do you make of that poll? [2:19] We have an embarrassment of riches [2:21] going into this 2028 fight. [2:24] We have a lot of candidates [2:25] who have shown true grit, [2:28] who have shown the ability [2:29] to go out there and make their case [2:31] to the American people. [2:33] And we're going to have a really healthy conversation [2:36] about the direction of the party [2:38] and what we can do [2:39] to help make this American people [2:41] better in their day-to-day lives. [2:45] And look, the contrast is clear, right? [2:47] You know what I didn't see [2:48] in that 60-minute interview with the president? [2:51] I didn't see a single instance [2:53] where he was going to course-correct [2:55] on his horrible leadership [2:58] over the last two years. [3:00] And you know what else? [3:01] In addition to not course-correcting [3:03] in that interview, [3:04] let's review what he's done [3:05] since he lost the election. [3:07] He held a press conference [3:08] about his ballroom. [3:09] After he held that press conference, [3:11] he appointed Stephen Miller, [3:12] the most xenophobic chief of staff [3:14] that we're ever going to have [3:15] in this country. [3:16] And then he tried to appoint Dana White [3:18] to be his press secretary. [3:19] You know what he hasn't talked about? [3:22] Lowering costs for the American people. [3:24] He hasn't put forward a single idea [3:26] about working with Democrats [3:28] to lower costs. [3:29] Over the next two years, [3:30] we're going to see more of the same, [3:31] and that's really going to help Democrats [3:33] take back the White House in 2028. [3:36] Yeah, and it was real economic discontent [3:38] that helped so many voters join [3:40] Donald Trump's MAGA Republican base [3:42] and get him back into office. [3:45] I want to play you some sound [3:46] from former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. [3:49] He's a Republican, [3:49] and he's saying, effectively, [3:52] his party is at a crossroads. [3:53] Let's listen to this. [3:55] They didn't like the status quo, [3:56] and they threw out all the Republicans. [3:57] The Democrats are now in charge. [3:59] They don't have the White House, [4:00] but they do have both houses of Congress, [4:01] and so now they have to actually [4:03] deliver on their promises. [4:05] It's going to be really interesting [4:05] to see what both parties do. [4:07] My party has to do a little bit [4:09] of soul-searching about where do we go from here. [4:12] So, Harrison, what do you make [4:13] of that crossroads [4:14] and the appointment of Stephen Miller? [4:17] Well, one thing we always have to remember [4:19] is that the electorate [4:20] is always going to choose [4:22] their livelihoods [4:23] over a loyalty [4:24] to any one particular party. [4:26] Loyalty to a political party [4:28] does not lower your mortgage, [4:29] does not lower grocery prices, [4:31] and does not lower rent. [4:33] And that's a reality [4:34] that we all have to face. [4:35] Listen, on the fundamentals, [4:36] conservative policies [4:38] still hold a lot of value [4:40] in this country. [4:41] I do believe [4:42] that we are more of a center-right country [4:44] than a center-left country. [4:46] When you look at the securing [4:48] of our border, [4:49] this is something that pulls very high. [4:51] Backing of law enforcement [4:52] still very high. [4:54] Capitalism and economic policy [4:55] that lowers taxes, [4:57] not raises taxes, [4:58] still very popular. [5:00] School choice, [5:01] another issue that the Republicans own [5:02] and is extremely popular. [5:04] We have to figure out [5:05] how to get the economy [5:07] working for all Americans. [5:09] It's working pretty well for some, [5:11] but there are many people [5:12] that are not feeling [5:12] the fruits of the president's labor. [5:14] We have to continue to go [5:16] to the drawing board [5:16] and make life easier [5:18] for working Americans. [5:20] And in terms of [5:20] Stephen Miller's appointment, [5:21] listen, Stephen is someone [5:22] that I've worked with [5:23] over two Trump administrations. [5:25] He's a very loyal advocate [5:27] to the president. [5:28] He is going to make sure [5:29] that we get back [5:30] to the priorities of the base, [5:31] and we'll see how it ultimately plays. [5:33] But I think it was a smart appointment [5:34] by the president [5:35] to have someone who's loyal [5:36] and understands the administration [5:37] and what the base wants, [5:39] and we'll see how it all plays out. [5:41] And so then, Christian, [5:41] where is the best shot [5:44] at overlap Democrats [5:45] can have with President Trump [5:47] and his lame duck years? [5:50] Listen, we have to start [5:52] rolling back cuts to health care [5:54] put into the big, ugly bill. [5:56] In January, you're going to see [5:57] a lot of people [5:58] thrown off their health insurance [5:59] because they're not going [6:00] to be able to afford it [6:01] after the cuts that are coming. [6:03] If the Republicans were smart, [6:05] they would join Democrats [6:07] on a war powers resolution [6:17] to limit Iran. [6:19] They should roll back the tariffs. [6:20] Those are all very smart things [6:22] for the Republicans to do [6:23] because they would lower costs [6:25] over the short term. [6:27] Will they do that? [6:28] I don't know. [6:29] But we're going to have [6:30] a series of votes [6:31] on all of those things, [6:32] and then the president [6:33] and Republicans get to decide, [6:34] do I want to vote [6:35] to continue to take away [6:38] health care from people, [6:39] to take away food benefits [6:40] from people, [6:40] to take away cost-saving things [6:43] like rolling back the tariffs? [6:46] That's all for the president [6:47] and the Republican Party [6:48] to decide. [6:49] But there are a lot of things [6:50] in the short term [6:51] that we can do [6:52] to help lower costs [6:54] for the American people. [6:55] And Republicans, again, [6:56] and the president [6:57] get to decide [6:57] whether or not [6:58] they want to help [6:58] actually lower costs. [7:00] Yeah, and Christian, [7:00] you mentioned the Dana White [7:02] appointment. [7:03] Before I let you both go, [7:04] I just want to kind of [7:04] walk through that. [7:05] The president has not yet [7:07] selected a new press secretary, [7:08] but he said it would be Dana White. [7:11] He then said he was actually [7:12] just joking about that appointment [7:14] and then posted a cartoonish [7:16] video online of Dana White [7:19] leading a press briefing, [7:21] beating up some of the press, [7:22] and that led to a bit of backlash. [7:24] What did you make of that? [7:27] Again, this guy is not serious [7:29] about changing course [7:30] and doing the hard work [7:33] of helping the American people. [7:35] I don't know what to make of this. [7:36] Nobody's ever done [7:37] anything like that before. [7:39] So, again, I just see it [7:41] as an indication of more [7:42] of the same from this president [7:43] and Republicans. [7:44] We need solutions. [7:45] We need him to actually [7:46] be working constructively [7:47] with Democrats in Congress [7:48] to help lower costs. [7:50] And quite frankly, [7:52] do something to rein in ice [7:53] and fix our broken [7:54] immigration system. [7:56] Harrison, [7:56] I'll give you the last word. [7:58] Well, Dana White [7:59] would be an interesting choice. [8:00] He would definitely garner [8:01] a lot of support of young men, [8:02] people that didn't show up [8:03] for us in the polls [8:04] or in the election. [8:06] Listen, the president's [8:07] going to make a serious choice. [8:08] I'm not sure who that is. [8:09] There are a number of people [8:10] that are obviously wanting the job. [8:12] And the key is, [8:13] we have to get our message across. [8:15] And that obviously did not happen. [8:17] The president spoke about that [8:18] yesterday in the 60 Minutes interview. [8:20] We have to make sure [8:22] that the message is getting [8:24] across to all voters. [8:26] And to Christiane's point, [8:27] the policy also has to match, too. [8:29] So I think you're going to have [8:30] a president and a Republican [8:31] party that's going to be willing [8:32] to work with the Democratic [8:34] Party when they're not [8:35] investigating. [8:36] Let's be honest, [8:37] hours after the election, [8:38] all they talked about was [8:40] subpoena, subpoena, subpoena, [8:41] impeach, impeach, impeach, [8:42] impeach, which last time I checked [8:43] doesn't even rhyme with [8:44] affordability. [8:45] So we have to see where [8:46] the Democrats' priorities truly are. [8:48] We'll see if Hakeem Jeffries and Schumer [8:51] can rein in their caucuses [8:52] to see if they want to [8:54] prioritize legislating [8:56] and not investigating. [8:57] Because the American people [8:58] are going to be waiting to see [8:59] what this Democratic majority does [9:01] when you probably have [9:02] a willing president to work with them. [9:03] Well, I heard you both agree [9:04] that the policy has to match [9:06] the promise. [9:07] So at least there's some overlap there. [9:08] Harrison Fields, Christiane Ramos, [9:10] great to have you both with us [9:11] this Monday.