GOP grapples with future options after brutal collapse of power

[0:01] The beating Republicans took this week could reshape the 2028 GOP primaries. [0:06] Vice President J.D. Vance has been considered Trump's heir apparent, but [0:10] here was the president's assessment yesterday. [0:12] You're going to have people running. You're going to have a lot of people, [0:16] maybe a lot of people running. Maybe nobody's going to run. Maybe [0:19] he won't run. I don't know who's going to run. [0:21] Somebody's probably going to run. While Vance decides, [0:26] he and many other high-profile Republicans are already diagnosing what went wrong and [0:31] prescribing a fix. Here's some. Vance, quote, [0:35] the reason we lost is the war. Senator John Cornyn, [0:38] do what you promised. Senator Ted Cruz, a very real economic disconnect. [0:43] Nikki Haley, stop the distractions. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, heed the will of the voters and learn. [0:51] Mitt Romney, bad policy, bad character. Kristen? [0:56] I mean, here's what I'll say. We know that there is a slew of voters across the country [1:00] because we saw the turnout numbers in 2024. And this happened in 2022, even though he lost. [1:05] That said they were going to hold their nose and vote for Donald Trump because they liked [1:10] some of the policies. They liked some of what he was saying. [1:13] Well, they don't like what he's saying. [1:14] And they remembered the economy being good in the first term. [1:16] Yeah, and they did. But they don't like what he's saying anymore. [1:18] And so the bad character or any of that kind of, you know, Donald Trump, he is who he is. [1:24] I mean, I think it's very clear that they don't like the policies he put in place, [1:28] and they don't think he delivered on what it is that he did. [1:31] The distractions have always been there. [1:33] Yes, he is doing it this time in the form of this kind of beautification of DC, [1:37] and it seems more obvious to us. But if we look back on his first term, it was exhausting. [1:42] He was always over here, over there. Like, the distractions were there. [1:45] This is all about how people feel themselves. And they were able to put all those things aside. [1:52] I honestly think a lot of people would be able to put the corruption aside if they felt that [1:56] they were themselves getting some back, something back from this administration, [2:00] but instead they feel like they've been stripped. [2:02] Yeah. Let me read what Newt Gingrich, who is an ally of President Trump, of course, [2:08] way back in 1994, was the leader of the Republican revolution that brought in a big sweep. [2:15] Here's what he said. [2:16] If the administration had won a big victory, Vice President J.D. Vance would have had an enormous [2:21] argument to be the inevitable nominee. Now, with this go slow strategy blowing up in Iran, [2:27] and his defense of Vivek Ramaswamy's horrible, inhumane ad, this is Newt Gingrich here, [2:33] featuring his opponent's mother attacking her own daughter, a good bit of the luster has come off [2:39] the bloom. The number of people who want to draft Secretary of State Marco Rubio is staggering. [2:45] It was quite a statement from Newt Gingrich. And I think a lot of people would agree with [2:50] that assessment that J.D. Vance has lost a lot. He was seen perhaps as the prohibitive favorite [2:58] heading into 2028, but not so much anymore. And not just the way he handled himself late in the [3:04] campaign trail. You know, he really owns what happened in Iran in a lot of ways. He came out, [3:08] what was it now, what, three, four months ago, saying they're going to remake the Middle East. [3:12] And he was the architect of this MOU that they had put together. And he tried to sell it to the [3:20] American public. That obviously didn't materialize. Now he's saying that the Iran war is the reason [3:24] why we lost. He very much owns the Iran war and all the baggage that comes with it. There is clearly [3:30] an opening here. How much will he embrace Donald Trump heading into 2028? Will he continue to try [3:36] to figure out ways to distance himself? And can he actually distance himself from Trump? [3:39] I would just say, ask Al Gore and Kamala Harris how easy it is to separate from a president you serve [3:44] as vice president and not have it make your mission to become president harder. [3:49] So I know you're talking about the prohibitive favorite for the nomination. But given how [3:53] Donald Trump is more unpopular than Bill Clinton was in 2000 or than Joe Biden was in 2024, actually. [3:59] And I just think that this is an enormous problem for J.D. Vance. He is attached and inseparable [4:07] from a woefully unpopular president who just suffered historic losses. [4:11] I wonder how much these other 2028 candidates will be able to criticize Donald Trump [4:15] in the run-up to the election, because we know that's been so hard for Republicans to criticize [4:19] Trump. Will they do that now? I'm glad you brought that up, because we started to see [4:23] some of the toes go into the water on that. First, I just want to show our colleague Steve Contorno has [4:28] been talking to Republican primary voters already for 2028. Here's what he heard. It's all about the [4:35] economy, the economy, the economy. Marion, Iowa, retiree Rich Seidman said he's bullish, though, [4:41] on Vance. If the caucuses were today, that's who Seidman would vote for. Seidman thought for a moment, [4:45] then said, I wouldn't mind seeing DeSantis either. That, of course, is Ron DeSantis, the outgoing [4:52] governor of Florida, who was on CNN last night. Here's what he said. [4:57] You know, I haven't planned anything. I have a job to do. The midterms was an important marker, [5:02] because you need to see what the political environment's going to do. I got some more [5:06] things I got to do, and I'll be a free man come January 5th. Not that I'm counting down to that. [5:11] And then we'll look to see the landscape. Just take you a little bit behind [5:16] the curtain here. We were watching that on set last night and went, what was that? [5:21] Who was that? Yeah, it was fascinating. It was just an interesting, two things, that he wanted to [5:26] show up on CNN and do that interview, right? I mean, that was not how Ron DeSantis positioned himself [5:32] much during his last presidential run in the primary. And secondly, that he was sort of using [5:38] the midterms as a jumping off point to paint himself apart from what just happened to the [5:43] Republican Party. And before that interview, like that morning, I got a call from someone who does [5:48] a MAGA-aligned Trump person who does stuff in Florida. And I said, well, who do you think it's [5:53] going to be? You think it can't be Vance after all this, right? What do you think, you know, [5:57] in terms of popularity? And he said, you know, I never thought I'd say this, but what about Ron [6:03] DeSantis? He's like, I've been thinking about it a lot lately. And I'm not really sure he came up [6:07] with that on his own. Yeah. Let's quickly not forget about Ted Cruz for a second, because he's not [6:11] forgetting about his ambitions for the White House. Watch this. Listen, it's no secret that I want to be [6:20] president. I ran for president. Are you going to run again? Are you going to run again? Time will tell. [6:23] The very best political advice I ever got was from Heidi. She said, it's not about you. It's about [6:31] them. It's about their kids, their families, their hopes, their dreams, their futures. But it is always [6:38] darkest before the dawn. And morning is coming. I mean, it would be a shocker if he does not run [6:48] for president. He's clearly running for president. And, you know, I saw him on the campaign trail in [6:52] South Carolina when he was trying to boost Darlene Graham. He very much has his stump speech ready to go [6:58] about trying to return to conservative principles. He's got a lot of one-liners and quips. He tries [7:04] to rile up the crowd. He tries to fire up the crowd with really using a lot of inflection in his [7:08] voice, at times screaming at times and trying to get people riled up. He's running for in 2016. He's [7:14] learned what happened when things went wrong there. He's almost certainly going to do it again. [7:18] Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us. I do wonder how you're seeing the results. [7:22] Obviously, you are not in the position that so many of your fellow Republicans are. But [7:26] Ron DeSantis said that this is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans. How [7:32] do you see it? Do you see it that direly? Look, I think it was catastrophic. I think, [7:38] regardless of the fact that I won my election in a big blue city like New York, seeing what happened [7:43] across the country. And even in Republican ruby districts, ruby red districts, Republican states, [7:50] this was a huge message that the people of this country have sent to Republicans, that we need to, [7:56] we need to reset here and focus on what the American people have been asking for. I think we [8:00] had a lot of good wins over the last two years with the president. We did deliver record tax cuts. [8:05] We did secure the border. We did make America's city safer. We are attracting new investment. But [8:10] the bottom line here is, on messaging, I don't think that we did enough of a job to explain to the [8:15] American people those wins and then cut out the rhetoric that simply was just not helpful going into [8:21] this election cycle. I think what the American people have told us is that they want a centrist [8:26] government. The pendulum went so far to the left under Joe Biden and one-party rule and they fought [8:31] back against that and sent in a Republican majority, Republican president. But now the pendulum swung the [8:36] other way on things like, you know, doge cuts and immigration and certain other issues where it was [8:42] too fast, too fast, too far for the American people. And what they want is really, I believe, [8:48] a centrist government. And hopefully we'll see that kind of reset coming. But it'll be hard now [8:55] with such a stark majority, with the Democrats taking so many seats to try to get anything done [9:01] or any type of balance. And the Iran war, the vice president is blaming that for sweeping Republican [9:09] losses. You're on foreign affairs. How do you see it? So I'm actually on the Ways and Means Committee [9:15] where we focused on the tax cuts. However, with the Iran war, I do believe that that is a huge issue. [9:21] The gas prices, it was affecting people here at home every day in their lives. Now, yes, there was [9:27] a national security reason to do what was done. But many people thought that this was going to be over [9:33] much quicker. And it just dragged on and dragged on and dragged on. Those gas prices did not come down. [9:39] So that is a major thing. Look, we had $5 gas prices under Joe Biden as well. But by the time [9:45] the election had rolled around, those had come down. It didn't help them either, right? We did see [9:52] Republicans take control of everything. But in this case, particularly with affordability on the minds [9:57] of everyday Americans, the gas prices and the Iran war is an issue. That was another big thing. But I [10:03] think, look, I think we just need to focus on what Republicans stand for. We respect the taxpayers. [10:09] We want them to keep more of their hard-earned money. We support freedoms and liberties that we [10:14] would see, quite frankly, erased, I believe, under socialism, as has been in other countries. [10:19] OK, but let's talk about what's driving. We believe in public safety and national security. [10:22] We've got to get back to that. Let's talk about what's driving. You're [10:24] formerly on foreign affairs, though. Am I correct on that? Were you formerly on the foreign, [10:28] you were on the foreign affairs committee? Four years ago, yes. [10:30] OK, that's right. That's what I think I'm remembering there. So I want to ask you about [10:35] this. Because the Iran war has been driving these costs and you're seeing a lot of Republicans point [10:41] to it. Back in March, you said the military operation Iran was moving ahead of schedule, [10:46] that it was being executed as it should be. You were really reflecting a lot of what many [10:52] Republicans were saying. Here's more of what you said at the time. [10:56] I believe this is a limited campaign. It should be a limited campaign. And we'll have to see how [11:04] it unfolds. Right now, they are ahead of schedule and meeting all their targets. And we are hopeful [11:12] that this can be done in a timely manner without having boots on the ground and without this being [11:18] a long term conflict. That reflects what we heard a lot of Republicans say. You're not unique in that. [11:26] But in mid-September, you, as so many Republicans did, voted against the War Powers Resolution to end [11:32] the war. There were seven Republicans who joined Democrats and voted for the War Powers Resolution. [11:39] If you look at those seven, two were already leaving Congress. Four lost their seats on Tuesday. There [11:44] was only one of those seven who is returning. I mean, do you look at that now? Is them sounding the alarm? [11:51] Did Republicans ignore that sentiment at their peril on Tuesday? [11:57] Well, first of all, I think, I think Iran, the Iran war was a small part of this. I don't think it [12:03] was the real big piece of this. What I think is the bigger piece of this is the rhetoric that was, [12:08] you know, taking center stage, sometimes coming. Well, exit polls show something differently. [12:13] Exit polls is showing that I think about three quarters of people say it was a big deal for them. [12:18] So I hear what you're saying. I don't know if it was different in your district, but writ large, [12:22] this was a big issue for voters. Well, I think it was different in my [12:25] district simply because we had the 25th anniversary of 9-11. My constituents know what's at stake if we [12:31] do not secure our border and stop the number one funder of terrorism in the world. That is the reality. [12:37] I think my district may be a little bit different of an opinion. With that said, people were not happy [12:43] that this was still going on for so long. And what I said in those words in that clip that you played [12:47] was absolutely the truth. I thought it was going to be a shorter campaign. We were led to believe [12:51] that it was going to be a shorter campaign and it seemed to drag on and drag on, but not to the [12:56] extent where it's a full war with boots on the ground. That never happened. I think they've been [13:00] trying to end this in a diplomatic way. And I think honestly, Iran, quite frankly, has been trying to [13:06] buy time because they saw what was happening here. They saw that this would put political pressure [13:10] on Republicans, on the president, that they could probably tilt the scale, give it to Democrats who have been [13:15] much more soft on Iran, the number one sponsor of terrorism. And so look, I think that we need to [13:22] reset as of today. I think that we have to meet next week and see how we're going to move forward. [13:27] But I think the reason why I was successful in my district was because I was caring and talking [13:32] about the issues that my constituents care about. And that is public safety, that is affordability, [13:38] and that we delivered the largest tax cut in middle class history. And not just that, I think each [13:43] different district is different. Constituent services matter. I'm proud of my record. We've [13:48] helped thousands of people. Okay, but I don't think constituent services isn't [13:53] Each district is different. No, no, no doubt. No doubt. And I'm sure that that's something that [13:58] really mattered for some people in this race. Obviously, that was not the prevailing issue here. [14:03] Does the U.S. need to get out of the Iran war? And I hear what you're saying about Iran. [14:09] But of course, Iran is going to exercise its ability to have a vote in this. I mean, [14:14] that's obvious, right? You can't rely on Iran to sort of take pity on the U.S. for the situation [14:21] that it's in. It is certainly going to use its leverage to do what it can do against the U.S. [14:27] There is no doubt about that. But getting into this situation is something that put them in the [14:31] position to do that. Does the U.S. now need to get out of this war? And how does that look? [14:38] Well, and I've been saying that they need to finish this as quick as possible. We were hoping [14:44] that this would have been done months ago. And we did pay the price for this war being dragged out. [14:52] Yeah, I understand that. And my constituents, quite frankly, reelected me because I had an [14:57] explanation for that. And they understood my position. What I would simply say is, yes, [15:03] the war needs to end. But there's so much more that the Republicans need to focus on as well. [15:07] And this is not this is one issue in many issues. And I truly believe that, you know, [15:13] we had to do a better job of communicating the victories. The fact that we were able to go after [15:19] PBMs to drive down prescription drug prices. The fact that Trump Rx has 88 percent lower rates for [15:26] prescription drugs today. The fact that we delivered middle class tax cuts. My waitresses in my district [15:32] were celebrating me when I walked into a diner simply because we delivered on that promise. [15:36] Our seniors gave me a standing ovation because we delivered on that promise. So I think we had to do [15:41] a better job of pointing out the successes. Yes, there is this conflict. Yes, gas prices went up. They [15:47] have come down 69 cents. But there's a lot more to this picture that I think Republicans failed to [15:52] communicate with the electorate on what we have delivered over the last two years. And quite frankly, [15:57] they're going to have a rude awakening over the next two years. I don't think they're going to be [16:00] happy. I think they were simply trying to send us a message that they want a centrist government. [16:04] They don't want an extreme of the radical left and they don't want an extreme of the far right. [16:09] They want centrist governing. And hopefully all lawmakers will get that message from both sides of the aisle.