Heather Cox Richardson — Trump Won’t Promise to Accept the Midterms

[0:00] Live from the heart of the nation's capital, this is a Jim Acosta Show special report. [0:07] All right. Welcome to the Jim Acosta Show. Five days until Election Day. Thanks, everybody, [0:14] for joining us. Got the perfect guest to talk about this as we count down. And Heather Cox [0:18] Richardson, the acclaimed historian, is with us. And Heather, we were just chatting before we got [0:23] started here saying, we want November 3rd to be here now. We're ready now. Is anybody not exhausted [0:29] from this run up to the midterms? Actually, the midterms are already underway. The sheer amount [0:35] of news in every single different category is the sort of thing that before the Trump era would have [0:43] been the headline news for a month. And we're getting seven, eight, nine major stories a day. [0:50] And I don't know about you. I can't keep up. I can't keep up either. But fortunately, [0:54] we have Barack Obama out on the campaign trail roasting Donald Trump. And I guess he's kind [0:59] of trying to make Donald Trump as miserable as he makes everybody else. Maybe as Donald Trump [1:04] makes everybody else. I think that may be the intent of it. And Obama was, I guess he was in [1:09] Georgia with John Ossoff. And he was revisiting his troll of Trump with the Cheesecake Factory [1:14] and the Saddam Hussein. And let's play this. And I want to get your take on this, Heather, [1:18] because I know it's a great one. That was the interesting thing about how the administration [1:24] responded to the speech I gave the other day. They did not dispute what I said about them being [1:31] directly responsible for rising prices. They did not argue with that. They did not deny terrorists [1:39] were contributing to higher costs for families. They didn't say anything about that. I accused this [1:47] administration based on the facts that they were engaging in unprecedented levels of corruption. [1:54] They didn't say anything about that. The president wasn't even mad about the Saddam Hussein [2:03] comparison. That part didn't bother him. But he was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments. [2:14] He took great umbrage. I mean, Heather, it's so perfect. You know, I got to ask you, [2:24] what do you think about this? Because it is kind of rich that they had. I think Obama described it [2:29] as a whole of government response to the Cheesecake Factory line. Well, I would say we should talk about [2:35] that as well. But I would say what I think is really interesting here about what former President [2:40] Obama is doing is, first, look at how he looks. He's in great shape. He's dressed casually in a bright [2:47] white shirt that really contrasts dramatically with the current president who's dragging himself around [2:55] in a baggy blue rumpled jacket and who looks like hell, frankly. You can tell he's deteriorating. [3:02] Then also, if you listen to what Obama did there, it was basically a comedy routine. I mean, you could [3:09] think of somebody like Josh Johnson doing that routine exactly. It was fun. It was funny. It was [3:16] really painting Trump out to be a loser, basically. And if you're thinking about the vibes of this moment, [3:24] the political vibes of this moment, and what is a winning political message, it's, hey, we're the [3:30] winning team. And what Obama has been doing out there on the stump, if you will, supporting these [3:37] Democratic candidates is, in a way, acting as the anti-Trump, the person who is embodying, [3:46] I'm cool, I'm funny, I'm in great shape, and I'm not the loser here. I'm the winner, [3:52] and that guy's the loser. And you can tell it is setting Donald Trump's hair on fire. He cannot, [3:59] I mean, he is, Obama has taken up a perfect post inside Donald Trump's head these days, [4:05] and he's crumbling under it. It's so true. And then there's the issue of how much they freaked [4:10] out and tried to accuse Obama of elitism and so on because of the Cheesecake Factory reference. [4:15] Donald Trump has been out on the campaign trail saying lately, well, if you get the $5,000 that I give [4:19] you, you're not even, you can't even afford a cheeseburger at Mar-a-Lago. You know, he's been [4:24] making those kinds of wisecracks, sort of rubbing his wealth in the faces of his own supporters. I [4:29] don't get where this faux outrage, this, you know, cheesecake outrage comes from. [4:34] Oh, but you know, they've done that all along, that fake outrage, and they have been able to [4:39] marshal their base behind that kind of false outrage now for years. Remember the basket of [4:44] deplorables outrage, which if you took the whole quotation, she was dead right, right? And I'm [4:49] referring here, of course, to a comment that Hillary Clinton made at a fundraiser in 2016 that [4:55] got taken out of context, and they all, you know, were clutching their pearls over that. But that's [5:00] really sort of a classic domination technique to say, you know, I'm not going to pay attention to [5:05] any of the context, any of the reality. Instead, I'm going to take your words out of context [5:09] and go ballistic over them. But the real thing that jumps out to me about that in this moment [5:14] is that it's really not working terribly well, or so it seemed, find out on Tuesday. But, [5:20] you know, you look at the fact that what has happened under Trump 2.0 is that voters put [5:25] Donald Trump and his supporters in complete control of the US government. And what we have gotten [5:31] is a freaking disaster. And people are not, I think, going to look away from the cost of gasoline [5:37] and diesel and prices in general, and all the other things that they're upset about in our country and [5:42] say, oh, I really think he dissed the cheesecake factory. [5:47] Yeah, no, exactly. And it does look like, I mean, the Rose Garden has been paved over and he's got [5:53] the gold stuff everywhere. I mean, it does look like, I think it was Bill Clinton who said it was [5:56] like the entrance to Liberace's bathroom or something like that. And Obama had his own riff on all the [6:02] gold stuff everywhere. We should play that too, because I've been talking about, you know, people talk [6:06] about Trump's vanity projects. I call them insanity projects, because only an insane person would put [6:12] this gold stuff everywhere the way he has. It looks totally nuts. But let's listen to Obama, [6:17] because he does it better than me. This is a fact. I'm not making this up. He, the president of the [6:22] United States, is spending time supergluing gold medallions to the mantle in the Oval Office. [6:31] I am not making this up. He is literally doing arts and crafts while we are fighting a war and [6:41] trying to deal with out-of-control prices. Now, now, now, look, I heard. [6:52] You know, it does feel good to chuckle about this, I will say, at this stage. [6:58] So I have a little bit broader take on it, and that is one of the things about what Trump is doing, [7:06] and Obama, of course, is referring to a report from a journalist who was in the White House who [7:12] said that he, that Trump was spending his time actually supergluing that stuff on the walls. [7:17] The whole idea of the White House was that it was supposed to be modest, was supposed to look [7:23] very different than the palaces of Europe, for example, and there was a reason that it was kept [7:28] as simple as it was. And for Trump to be putting his mark on not simply the Oval Office, which [7:36] presidents do tend to decorate as they wish, not just the Oval Office, but onto so many different [7:42] pieces of Washington, D.C., I think shows a really profound misunderstanding of democracy in the sense [7:49] that what, if you think about all of our great presidents, they all wanted to be remembered. I mean, [7:54] there's this thing about presidents and their legacies. They want people to remember them. [7:59] But the ones that we remember, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Theodore Roosevelt, or [8:04] Abraham Lincoln, or Lyndon Baines Johnson, they carved their memories into the legislation that they [8:15] passed for the good of the American public. So they don't need a, I mean, some of them do have [8:20] monuments, but they don't need those monuments. People don't remember Abraham Lincoln because there's a [8:23] statue of him. And the idea that you can be remembered because you put up an arch shows, [8:30] I think, a profound misunderstanding of what commemoration means and what memory means. And [8:36] all I can think of are all those statues from the ancient world where some leader have his name, [8:43] his statue put up and his name carved underneath it. And, you know, within a generation or two, [8:47] somebody would come along with a chisel and cut that off. So you've got all these plinths that are much [8:53] narrower than they originally were because someone's like, ah, we're going to tip him off too. So I just [8:58] think he, this whole idea of making his mark through his interior decorating projects is just sort of a [9:04] profound misunderstanding of what this country is about. Yeah, you're so right. I mean, the founding [9:09] fathers, they did not want Washington to look like Rome or Paris that, you know, this was supposed to be [9:15] a democracy and not a monarchy. And the other thing though, Heather, there are all these races, [9:21] of course, to talk about the issues and, you know, where are we going to be on Tuesday night and so on. [9:26] But there's the other question of what Donald Trump is going to do after November 3rd. And is he going [9:30] to honor these election results? And they're pointing to the situation up in Alaska and saying, [9:35] oh, well, Mary Peltola, her people, you know, they put these other Dan Sullivans on the ballot. [9:41] And so therefore, you know, you can't trust these results. It was a boneheaded thing to do, [9:44] no question about it. But I mean, you compare this to the stuff Donald Trump has done, it's nuts. [9:49] And even today he's saying, I don't know if I'm going to honor the results of the election. [9:54] I'm going to push back on it being a boneheaded thing to do. And I'm sort of beside myself over [9:59] that story because I feel like we're getting the butter emails all over again. I don't know if you saw, [10:04] but the New York Times today published another story in which they took a look at all the many [10:09] spoiler candidates who are on the ballots. This election cycle in other states, and many of them [10:19] are Republican. I didn't actually count them. It looked like a majority of them. People have done [10:23] this since the very beginning. This is not a blockbuster story. And what a day that the Times ran [10:35] that story. We also got the story that it appears that Elon Musk funded Cornel West in 2024. That's [10:42] their campaign, which I think people would still care about. But even more important than that, [10:46] we got the story that there are at least 18 early voting or absentee in-person voting sites. Those [10:54] are slightly different in Alaska. Sites in Alaska that did not open the way they were supposed to. [11:00] And that, that is a real scandal. And it just hasn't gotten anywhere near the oxygen of the fact [11:08] that the Peltola campaign did this in a state that has ranked choice voting. So it doesn't matter the [11:14] way that works is that if you vote for a candidate who doesn't have a lot of support, your second [11:20] choice then goes, gets redistributed across the, the main vote getters. And so it doesn't actually [11:27] matter if somebody votes for the wrong Dan Sullivan, because it will automatically then go to their second [11:32] choice who would also, I assume be Dan, Dan Sullivan. So this was the biggest non-story ever. And everyone [11:40] seems to be really concerned about it. And, and I just look at it and think, how did the media fall [11:45] for this again? Yeah, I know. I I'm with you a hundred percent. I mean, I will, you know, somebody's [11:51] putting in the comments, Mr. Find Me 11,000 votes has a lot to say about scams. I mean, Donald Trump, [11:56] you look what he did in the run-up to January 6th. So I'm not even talking about inciting an [12:00] insurrection on January 6th, strong arming state officials like Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia [12:06] secretary of state. Remember he tried to call Doug Ducey, the governor of Arizona. They were pressuring [12:11] state lawmakers in places like Pennsylvania and so on. And then he tried to pressure Mike Pence [12:16] to overturn the election. Mike Pence wouldn't do it. And so, you know, and on and on and on. [12:23] And then the other thing you pointed out in your wonderful substack, Heather, is that there are a [12:28] couple of MAGA gadflies, conservative activists, James O'Keefe and Cam Higby, this according to the [12:34] Associated Press, were charged Wednesday with unlawful voting and identity theft after a Minnesota [12:39] prosecutor said they gave false names to poll workers during the state's primary election. [12:43] The men recorded the exchanges for a video to expose what they saw are vulnerabilities in the [12:48] state's voting laws, but then they were busted. So the system worked and our system does work. [12:54] You know, Trump talks about, well, I'll honor the results if these are honest elections. [12:57] We have honest elections. Well, you know, I think you put your finger on something and so did the [13:03] person who wrote in there. Trump, I think, is very clearly setting up the same sort of conditions he [13:09] set up in the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. He wants people to be willing to challenge [13:14] the results of an election that looks as if it will not go his way. And what the piece that I think we [13:21] need to be focused on is that since he has come into power the second time, he has in fact, and actually [13:27] before that, a lot of his allies in the states worked to put MAGA Republicans into crucial positions, [13:33] positions where they would oversee counting of votes, for example. But what I think what you are, [13:39] what we are watching, at least what I am watching very closely now, is that Trump can only get away [13:44] with that if Republicans agree with him, if Republicans go along with that. And one of the things I think [13:51] you are seeing now in Trump 2.0 is a number of people who were willing to go along with MAGA when [13:56] Trump was in power and looked as if he was a real force of nature, are starting to back away and [14:01] saying, you know, we just can't let this guy call all the shots because he's actually doing a really [14:06] poor job of it. So when you think about what happens from November 3rd on to January 3rd, January 4th, [14:14] the real question is, will you get Republicans kissing the ring the way people like Kevin McCarthy did, [14:22] the then Speaker of the House, after the 2021 insurrection? And, you know, my, I guess I shouldn't say [14:30] that. I'm a prophet of the past, not the future. But, you know, it does seem as if MAGA Trumpism is [14:41] in its waning days. And one of the big signs for me of that was somebody writing into the New York [14:47] Times to ask if the suit he was wearing made him look MAGA, and that was something he didn't want. [14:54] And that's the sort of thing that, that sort of cultural thing that says, you know, people are [15:00] thinking about this in a deep enough way that at least somebody who was working on that column [15:08] thought that people were concerned enough about the way they got dressed in the morning. [15:13] That, you know, to me, that that was much more important than somebody like you or me saying, [15:17] oh, this is failing. I totally agree with you. And meanwhile, Donald Trump is campaigning in South [15:23] Carolina. He's campaigning in Mississippi. He's going to every ruby red state and district that he [15:29] can go to in these last days of the campaign to bail out these candidates who should be winning these [15:34] states handily. That to me is another indicator, a bright red light on the MAGA, you know, switchboard [15:41] that things are going horribly wrong. And meanwhile, Donald Trump is out. He's talking to reporters [15:46] today and he's saying, you know, how he gets screwed in California. I mean, he just sounds nuts. We should [15:51] play this because he just sounds totally, I, I, I, I, we found 20,000, but there are hundreds of [15:57] thousands of bad ballots, bad votes in California. Millions, in my opinion, millions. It's a corrupt [16:05] state and very, very corrupt elections. If that, if California were honest, if they had honest vote [16:13] count, I would have won it by a lot. It's almost a standup. It is. It's a standup comedy act now. [16:18] It's just ridiculous. Well, it's also so embarrassing in that, you know, Republicans are protecting this [16:24] man and never forget. He has his finger on the nuclear codes and, and the fact that they are [16:30] willing to put your life and my life and the lives of all other Americans and the rest of the world [16:36] in jeopardy, I guess, because they want power is absolutely a travesty. I will call out today because [16:43] it was important to me personally that Trump said that his uncle was, was voted the best professor ever [16:50] at MIT or at the top. And I used to teach at MIT. I have a very soft spot for MIT. And let me tell [16:56] you, the people who teach at MIT are freaking off the charts. Brilliant. Right. Yeah. But it's not a [17:04] thing where you're the best professor ever. That, that literally, like, like, they don't have a parking [17:08] spot for the best professor ever. Nothing like that. And I just, I'm like, how much do you not, I mean, [17:15] how, how delusional do you have to be to think that you, you, that there is even such a position [17:23] like that? And, and I was like, I said to my husband, no, no, the, the best professor at MIT [17:27] ever voted ever was me. You know, it's that, that random. And of course I was in history. This was a, [17:33] this was, I mean, and I just, I, I heard that and I thought, oh, for God's sake. [17:39] Well, and it's a symptom of his very fractured psyche that he feels he has to brag about his uncle at [17:44] MIT. The other thing that we should know too, and I, I think this was a big story this week, [17:48] and you were so right about how you were describing this at the beginning of the show, how it's just [17:52] been a fire hose and it's hard to sort these things out. The fact that Donald Trump has given haven, [17:57] safe haven to the Bolsonaro family again, this, this happened today. Flavio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian [18:05] presidential candidate faces multiple criminal investigations, is staying in Florida on a [18:10] temporary status that was given following orders by President Trump, escorting the New York [18:13] Times, and will likely be granted permanent residency later, U.S. officials said. He fled [18:18] Brazil after losing an election. Border agents allowed him and his family to enter the United [18:22] States on what is called parole, usually given for humanitarian reasons. And of course he's facing [18:28] corruption charges back in Brazil, Heather. And, you know, I remember Donald Trump saying that they [18:33] were not going to let immigrants into the country if they were criminals or had charges against them [18:38] and so on. But if they're his right-wing buddies, they get to come in. Yes. And I think that reflects [18:44] this attempt to divide the world up according to hemispheres. And he expects to have the Western [18:49] hemisphere. And this is the whole idea behind putting and supporting right-wing figures in, [18:54] in this case in Brazil, but also with Javier Malay in Argentina. And, you know, we've messed around in a [19:00] number of other elections since Trump 2.0 has been in office as well. And that's, you know, there's also [19:08] the attempt of the Brazilian courts to look into whether or not a donor fund that was organized in [19:17] part by J.D. Vance illegally supported Bolsonaro's election. And, you know, I think we have to think [19:23] about what this means when the U.S. becomes the country that right-wing dictators or right-wing [19:30] aspiring politicians run to. And whether or not Bolsonaro Jr., this is the San Flavio, whether or [19:37] not he is going to do, as it appears, try to run a government in exile out of the United States. I [19:42] don't think that that is the kind of foreign policy that anybody in America wants. No, no question. And [19:50] that Trump personally intervened, you know, I mean, that tells you something too. I mean, [19:55] the Bolsonaro's are darlings of the likes of Steve Bannon and so on. Those tentacles are very [20:02] disturbing indeed. And I guess, you know, Heather, I guess just to broaden out the conversation, [20:08] we are five days away. This country has been through so much since Donald Trump came back into [20:14] the Oval Office, January 20th, 2025. Elon Musk with his salute there on Inauguration Day with all the [20:20] tech bros. And we've seen key institutions of American society from the press to academia to big [20:27] law, big business, big tech, you know, all sort of line up behind Trump with this oligarchical [20:33] authoritarian drive that he's been on. And the voters may be on the verge of pushing back on it [20:39] in a really historic and amazing way. What have been your thoughts on this, on this moment that we're [20:45] getting very, very close to? I think we're seeing a reorientation of American politics that looks a [20:52] lot like the 1850s, the 1890s, and the 1930s. And what I mean by that is I do think MAGA is not a [20:58] political party. This is not a Republican political party right now. It's a movement. It's a movement [21:03] around Donald Trump, and they are fervently right-wing and authoritarian. And they're not popular. [21:10] That's really important to remember. For example, when we first learned about Project 2025 in the [21:15] summer of 2024, the people who actually knew what was in it, only 4% of Americans wanted it if they [21:22] knew that was in it. This is not a popular movement. So what they have done is by jumping [21:27] over the cliff, if you will, they've left everybody else behind them. And we're looking around at the [21:34] loss of our guardrails, the loss of the things that we thought were going to be permanent after World [21:38] War II, and recognizing that we want those things back, but even more, we want to go forward to a [21:44] system that does not privilege a very wealthy few. And one of the things that I have thought [21:49] is, first of all, surprising, and second of all, really interesting, is as I've talked to [21:54] people around the country, especially to people running for office around the country as Democrats [21:59] or independents, the word that I have heard repeatedly is urgent and urgency. They want to do [22:05] stuff, and they want to do stuff now. And they are also talking about issues that Americans are largely [22:13] agreed on. Like, one of the first things that comes up is universal health care. And we know [22:18] that about 57% of Republicans and even more of independents and Democrats want universal health [22:24] care now, in part because we are watching our hospitals close around us. And it's really hitting [22:30] home what the cuts from the one big, beautiful bill of July 2025 pushed through by Republicans have done [22:36] to us. And they're talking about different ways to make Americans' lives better. And so I'm looking at this, [22:42] and it looks so much to me like, say, the 1890s, when people suddenly said, we cannot support the [22:48] robber barons anymore. We're going to support alternatives to that, Grover Cleveland first, [22:54] and then the progressive Republicans. It looks like the 1930s, when in 2020, I'm sorry, 1928, [23:01] there was a landslide for Herbert Hoover and the Republican plan to turn government over to business. [23:07] And then, of course, we got the crash. Actually, look at the date. Today is the anniversary of the crash. [23:11] We got the great crash. And by 1930, you had a big move toward the Democrats. They still didn't get [23:19] control of Congress, although between the vote and the time Congress sat was about nine months in those [23:26] days, and 14 legislators died in that period. And they were replaced in special elections by Democrats, [23:31] mostly. And then we got 32. And we got Franklin Delano Roosevelt and ushering in of the New Deal. [23:38] And from that, the complete reworking of the Republican Party, which becomes the party of [23:43] Eisenhower. And we get a new liberal consensus coming out of that. I feel like we're living that. [23:49] And as a historian, it's just this bizarre thing to sort of have the overlay of history [23:53] on the fire hose of news that's coming at us now. [23:58] Yeah. And I so agree with you with national health care. I've been talking about that on my show. [24:03] And when I speak with all these candidates and they come on, one of the number one issues they [24:08] always hear from people is health care and affordability of health care and the nightmare [24:13] that it is to deal with insurance companies and the system, the broken system that we have in this [24:18] country. And but I do wonder how much political reform is needed, how much constitutional reform is [24:25] needed. And every time that that subject comes up, the far right MAGA people go crazy. [24:29] They put the clips on Fox and they see, aha, they're talking about expanding the Supreme Court [24:33] or term limits or doing all these different things. But I do wonder if structural changes [24:38] are needed. That's just me. I don't know if the Democrats will have the capital to do that [24:42] or even the numbers to do that. Probably won't have the numbers to do it. But I do think that [24:46] how do we fix, how do we have national health care without political reform and constitutional reform? [24:52] So I'm going to chide you, Jim. I think you're looking too small. [24:55] That is, you talk about reforms. First of all, yes. Whenever anything like that is introduced, [25:02] people in places like the Fox News Channel go ballistic. But the Fox News Channel has dropped [25:08] 27% of its viewership this October and last October, according to Oliver Darcy of Status, [25:15] who studies that. That story came out yesterday, I guess it was. And if you think about the reforms [25:21] that we need, one of the first one, get rid of Citizens United. You know what percentage of [25:26] Americans want to get rid of Citizens United? It's around 90%, isn't it? Yes. [25:31] Yeah. I was going to say it was in the 80s. But yeah, this is not a heavy lift. I mean, [25:36] this is not we've got 50.1% and we're trying to eke out the rest of it. It almost seems like not [25:42] fixing that would be the bad position to take. Similarly, I actually think that there's a lot of [25:50] work to do on the Supreme Court. But expanding the Supreme Court is a no-brainer. It hasn't been [25:56] expanded since 1869 under Ulysses S. Grant. And we're a little bit bigger now than we were then. [26:04] So instead of sort of being held back by reactionaries who are like, oh my God, we can't [26:10] do that. I would take the other position and say, if we don't make our democracy fit the American [26:17] people in the 21st century, we will lose it. And I think we have seen under Trump just how close we [26:24] are coming to that kind of a loss. I totally agree with you. And I think we're at that moment right [26:30] now. And I think five days from now is going to, they're going to tell us a lot about where we are [26:35] as a country and can we recover and can we reclaim this democracy? Because I do think, you know, [26:40] we've got a trillionaire now and the trillionaire is dumping $250 million or something like that. [26:45] And the Texas Senate race just behind one candidate in Ken Paxton. And that is unsustainable. That [26:52] kind of scenario is not sustainable for our democracy. And the Republicans may like it because [26:57] it's on their side, but they're not going to like it so much if there's a really, you know, [27:01] if there's a Democratic trillionaire who wants to do it on the other side. And I just don't, [27:05] that kind of arms race is not going to be good for representative government, it seems to me. [27:11] A hundred percent. And the thing is, if we permit it to go on, there never will be a Democratic [27:17] billionaire who does the same thing on the other side. And what we will see is quite what we've [27:24] already had illustrated in front of us in place like Russia. You get the rise of a one-party state [27:29] that is overseen by an autocrat and then treats the economy and the people in that place as tools [27:36] for their own enrichment. That's quite the same way that we're talking about putting our tax dollars [27:41] behind the contracts that people like Elon Musk are getting, that people, that the people who run [27:46] the private prisons, for example, are getting with the contracts from the Department of Homeland [27:50] Security. But one of the things that I think we don't talk enough about when we talk about democracy [27:56] is that it certainly protects the people, but it also protects the leaders. I mean, you think about [28:02] somebody like Vladimir Putin, he can't leave office. He can't like, like walk away at this point. [28:09] And one of the things about a system that permits you to transfer power freely and without any kind [28:16] of a conflict is that enables people to go on and retire and get out of the fight in a way that they [28:23] can't otherwise. And I feel like that's something that would be very important for people currently [28:29] supporting Trump to realize that while it's good for the people to have a democratic system, [28:35] it's also good for the leaders to have a democratic system so you can walk away and, you know, go retire [28:41] and kayak. [28:42] Not end up like Mussolini or something like that. [28:45] I wasn't going to go there. PM a wire on my mind. [28:48] There you go. Heather, thank you for taking a break from your kayaking in the wonderful state of Maine [28:55] and always appreciate our conversations. Thank you so much. And we'll talk to you on the other side of [29:00] this and we'll see where we are and hopefully we'll be okay. Thank you, Heather. [29:03] Nice to talk to you, Jim. Nice to talk to you. Really appreciate it. [29:07] The great Heather Cox Richardson. I mean, she is a national treasure and every time we have these [29:13] conversations, I just think, well, can I just get one more question out of her? Can I just ask another [29:18] question? How much longer can I get this? Because it's just terrific to have these talks and I really [29:23] appreciate it. And the viewers always just geek out and love it every time she comes on. So we really [29:28] appreciate it. Getting back to those bread and butter affordability issues. I mean, that is going to drive [29:33] what happens on Tuesday. Obviously, Donald Trump is trying to wage all of these culture war fights. [29:39] He was apparently in South Carolina earlier today talking about Dr. Annie Andrews, who was in a tough [29:45] battle with Darlene Graham. And he's throwing out all kinds of names and stuff. Just ridiculous trash [29:53] stuff. I'll play it in a second. But over in the state of Michigan, those bread and butter affordability [29:59] issues, they're going to decide this race. And I had a chance to speak with Jocelyn Benson, [30:05] the Secretary of State of Michigan, who is running for governor of Michigan. And she and I spoke about [30:11] how all of these driving issues of the tariffs and gas prices and so on are really going to decide what [30:17] happens on Tuesday. So let's take a listen to that conversation from earlier today. All right. [30:26] And joining us now is the Michigan Secretary of State and candidate for governor, Jocelyn Benson. [30:31] Madam Secretary, great to see you as always. Yeah, thanks for having me. [30:35] You're welcome. Five days left. We were just chatting a little bit before we got started here. [30:40] How are things feeling? I know the polls show that you're doing quite well right now, [30:45] you're favored to win, but I'm sure you're not campaigning that way at this point. [30:49] You know, I'm a marathoner, so I always just keep running, keep the pace. It does feel like we're at [30:54] mile 25 after a 26-mile race. So nearing the end, but we've still got some time ahead of us. [31:01] And some road to run. So yeah, we're knocking doors, making calls. Until that polls close at [31:08] 8 o'clock on November 3rd, I'm going to do everything I can to help as many Democrats as [31:12] I can cross the finish line successfully so that we can get a lot of good work done together, [31:17] hopefully. [31:17] Yeah. And what are you hearing from the voters as you're in this final stretch? I know because, [31:24] I mean, we heard Barack Obama talking about this out on the campaign trail, [31:28] needling Donald Trump over these tariffs and going after Canada the way he has. I mean, [31:32] that's your next door neighbor. And I have to think that that is more than a lot of other states that [31:37] are having hotly contested races. You must be feeling that big time. [31:40] Yeah. I mean, the tariffs on Canada and with Canada, we call it the John James tax after my [31:47] opponent's support for them, have raised prices on Michiganders more than any other state in this [31:52] nation. Every household in Michigan is paid over $6,000 more as a result of this tax on us. And [31:59] when you couple that with a reckless war in Iran that has driven up gas prices close to, if not [32:03] exceeding $5 a gallon, it's a mess. And I hear that all the time on the trail. People who are [32:10] struggling to make ends meet, adding additional jobs so that they can pay for childcare, trying to [32:15] choose between whether to pay for medicine or their electricity bill every month, those struggles [32:19] are real. And even in the midst of this growing momentum, as we head into election day, which I [32:24] also feel out there, a lot of enthusiasm. It's coupled with a recognition that we've got to do a [32:29] lot of work to really drive down costs and increase well-paying jobs in the state and a recognition that [32:34] Trump's failed economic policies and my opponent's support of them are what got us in this mess. And we [32:40] need to elect leaders with a plan to reduce costs and get us out of it. [32:43] Yeah. What can you do at the state level? I mean, people are really hurting with fuel prices, [32:47] this energy crisis that Trump created with the war with Iran. You know, folks are just getting [32:52] slammed every time they go to the gas station. Is there anything you can do as governor to help [32:57] bring costs down? Well, we want to reduce the cost of healthcare by making it easier for folks to [33:02] get access to coverage and appeal unfair insurance denials. I want to negotiate subnational agreements [33:08] with Canada. Those are basically agreements between Michigan and Canada that would help us [33:12] protect our jobs and get around some of the worst parts of the tariffs and also find ways to alleviate [33:18] the burden at the gas pump. I've called on the federal government to stop collecting the federal [33:24] gas tax. And we want to look at ways in which we can do that at the state level as well. But I'm [33:28] determined. Look, if I'm fortunate enough to win this election, I'm going to Lansing with one job to reduce [33:35] costs for the people of Michigan and increase while paying jobs for the folks in the state. And that's [33:40] not lost on me, that I've got to get to work right away to relieve the struggles that they're feeling. [33:46] And I'm eager to do it because I know it's making life harder for everyone. [33:51] Yeah. And Jocelyn, I mean, you've got one eye on your gubernatorial race. You've got another eye [33:56] on elections that are going to be happening and are happening, I guess, right now in the state of [34:01] Michigan. And, you know, I know you have a proven track record in this regard, and you've got a lot [34:07] of experience dealing with Donald Trump attempting to overturn election results and so on. But, you [34:12] know, here we are, we're a week out, less than a week out. And he's already starting to sound like [34:16] he was sounding in 2020. He was talking to reporters and reporters were asking him and they've been [34:22] asking for days, will you honor the election results? And now he says, well, only if we have [34:25] honest elections. Let's play that and get your take on that. [34:28] And you'll respect the results, whatever happens? I will, if they're honest elections. [34:32] So, I mean, I was talking about this yesterday with Ruth Ben-Gui. We have honest elections in [34:40] this country. We just don't have an honest president. I mean, that's part of the problem here. [34:44] I guess, what's the game plan? What's the playbook for Tuesday night, counting these votes, [34:51] dealing with all of this? Well, part of it is reminding folks of just that. We have secure [34:55] elections in Michigan. The results will be an accurate reflection of the will of the people. [34:59] And we have layers of protections in place and post-election audits and 1,500 professional [35:04] bipartisan clerks who actually administer the process at the local level, all ensuring that [35:09] happens. And we welcome observers. Transparency is our friend when the facts and the truth are on [35:14] your side. So we welcome folks to see just how secure our elections are. And we'll have people in [35:19] place as well in the lead up to election day and on election day itself to ensure any disruptions are [35:24] handled and that we don't allow anyone to interfere with our elections. Because that's really the [35:29] impact of these words that Trump is putting out there, these frivolous lawsuits or all these seeds [35:34] of doubt he tries to sow. It's to dampen citizens' faith and confidence in their vote and make folks [35:39] want to stay home instead of participating. And it's secondly, to potentially embolden either his own [35:44] people or others to interfere with our election results, neither of which we want to see happen in [35:48] Michigan. So we're making sure folks are protected at the polls and make sure people know the power of [35:53] their vote and their voice and the importance of exercising it in this moment. Close to 2 million [35:57] people already have in Michigan voted in early voting, which is extraordinary. So my hope and [36:03] optimism is that we'll continue to see high turnout. We'll continue to see safe and secure elections [36:07] this fall in Michigan. And then also recognize that, you know, he's setting the stage for 28. [36:12] The path of the presidency runs through Michigan in 28. And it's important we have state leaders, [36:17] myself as governor, who's ready to protect our democracy, as secretary of state as well, [36:21] like Garland Gilchrist, who's running and has done extraordinary work to make sure we're protecting [36:25] the vote in 28 and beyond because we're in the middle of a battle over our democracy. And this [36:30] election is an opportunity for us to win a win a piece of that. But 28 is coming and we need to be [36:34] prepared for that, too. Yeah. And I mean, I guess Reuters is reporting the Justice Department has said [36:39] that FBI and ICE agents will not serve as poll monitors in the midterms. Gee, it's nice of them to offer [36:45] that. Thank you so much. But I guess, is that a good enough assurance for you? What kind of [36:50] meddling are you worried about? I have to assume there have been war room or, you know, gaming these [36:56] things out. I have heard this from other election officials. They're planning for these kinds of [37:00] disruptions. What can you tell us? Yeah, we've been scenario planning with local clerks, local law [37:05] enforcement and local first responders for everything. And, you know, the local clerks in [37:10] Michigan have been extraordinary. We've been at this now since 2020, where we saw just how far [37:15] people would go to try to undermine the will of the people to ensure we never get that close again [37:19] by preparing for everything ahead of time. So I have a lot of faith in the election officials and [37:24] folks working on the local level to ensure there are no disruptions, no one's breaking the law and no [37:29] interference in our elections and that voters are protected. And we're also equipping voters as well [37:35] with knowledge of what to do. If you see something, a hotline you can call is 1-866-R-VOTE. [37:40] And we'll have folks ready to protect the vote. So we're ready. We're prepared. And the people of [37:46] Michigan now have been going through this enough with these threats to our elections that they're [37:49] getting smarter and more focused every time. And I'm hopeful that, again, these tactics won't [37:53] work in Michigan or anywhere else. They're tried. And at the end of the day, democracy will, as it [37:58] always has done, prevail. Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with you. And Jocelyn, you know, I know you're [38:05] running for governor, but there are other races. Obviously, Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed is in this very [38:10] hard-fought campaign against Mike Rogers. And I'm sure you've seen this, and I'm sure you've been [38:15] appalled by it, too, just the way that Mike Rogers has resorted to just flat-out Islamophobia and racist [38:22] attacks on Abdul El-Sayed. And so is Donald Trump. I mean, Donald Trump does this almost every day now. [38:27] And he's all but accusing, I mean, he's basically accusing Abdul El-Sayed of being a security threat [38:33] to this country, which is, I mean, it's just, it's not so stuff. But we can listen to Trump [38:39] talking about this and get your comment. I'd appreciate it. [38:42] I call him Mohammed. He goes by Abdul, Abdul Ramadan. I called him Mohammed. Then I found out his name was [38:55] actually, his middle name is Mohammed. No, he's, I would say he's changed, I would think, equally as [39:04] much. These are people, we can't have these people in the United States. And with, with, with him, I [39:10] don't know if we have to do it with Telefrico. But with the guy up in Michigan, we're going to have [39:14] to do the, you know, the test, the metal detector test before he's allowed to sit every day. He's [39:19] going to have to go through a metal detector in the United States Congress. We have people that [39:26] should not be running for politics in this country. [39:29] I know you're, you're running to represent all of the people of Michigan. What's the [39:33] message in response to that? [39:34] I mean, anything to not talk about the rising costs of gas and the healthcare premiums and [39:41] a war in Iran and the tariffs with Canada, anything to distract from the real economic [39:46] challenges that people are facing. I mean, that's what I, this clearly is a distraction from [39:50] him being afraid of being held accountable for his bad economic policies. And more than that, [39:55] it's just appalling that the president of the United States would use such divisive, [40:00] offensive rhetoric. I mean, obviously we've been seeing this for the better part of a decade [40:03] now, but it is a mom and also just is embarrassing. And I think what I've seen more from the people [40:10] of Michigan is a rejection of this type of division, this type of hateful rhetoric. And I think that's [40:17] what you also ultimately see on election day. We know we're better than this. We know we are [40:21] an inclusive state full of many different perspectives, backgrounds, demographics. [40:26] That's actually a strength. It's one of the things that makes us a truly great state. And I'll be [40:31] proud to fight for every person in Michigan. And I know everyone working to win this fall with a clear [40:37] plan to reduce costs and increase well-paying jobs as Democrats up and down the ticket do have [40:42] are going to squarely focus on that because we know that's what's on people's minds. And we're going to [40:46] reject this divisive, hateful rhetoric, call it for what it is and show up as Americans proud of who [40:52] we are and proud to represent a diverse state like Michigan. [40:56] And Secretary Benson, how do we get through this moment? I mean, Donald Trump, you know, [41:00] challenging the integrity of our elections the way he has, you know, campaigning with these racist [41:05] appeals the way he has, you know, just injecting this divisionism and animosity into our political [41:11] life. You've been on the front lines of this. You've dealt with death threats and all kinds of hate [41:16] mail. I mean, you've been, you've been dealing with, do you have any perspective on how we get [41:20] through this in these next several years? Yeah. I mean, that's what this election is about. It's [41:26] our opportunity to say enough. We're tired of this, the failed economic policies, the, the reckless [41:31] tariffs, the war in Iran, the everything that's driving up the cost and taking jobs away from [41:37] Americans and this divisive rhetoric and leadership that is embarrassing on the national level and the [41:44] international level enough already. I mean, we're ready to not just hold this president [41:48] accountable, but reject all of those policies and instead start electing leaders who can turn the page [41:54] on this divisive, hateful, bad economy era and instead launch a way forward that's rooted in [42:01] collectivity and unity and in recognizing that what truly makes America great is our diversity, that is our [42:09] strength and a strong economy enables everyone to thrive and that we have a responsibility collectively [42:15] to making that real here in Michigan and in every other state. So that's what I'm looking forward to [42:20] in the future, defining the next era, the post Trump era as one rooted in respect, accountability, [42:26] transparency, truth, and above all, making sure that every American has an opportunity to thrive in a way [42:33] that is safe and that values the uniqueness that we bring to the table. Yeah. I mean, and finally, [42:38] I think Democrats just have to deliver, you know, if Democrats are given this opportunity to the [42:43] public trust them and say, Hey, we're going to go with you guys for a while and all these different [42:46] races, I mean, they could win in South Carolina and Texas and Kansas, all these different places, [42:50] I think, and you're running to be a governor, so you'll be engaging with other governors, but I think [42:55] Democrats just have to deliver. They can't squander this, this moment. It seems to me. [43:00] Well, I totally agree. And that's what I've done as secretary of state. We've reduced wait times at our [43:04] secretary of state branch offices. We've overseen the highest turnout elections in our state's [43:08] history, even in the midst of these attacks on our democracy. So Democrats can and do deliver. [43:13] And I think governments, governors, and particularly democratic governors will be at the forefront of [43:18] demonstrating that in the years ahead. And I hope being a part of and doing that, defining the future [43:22] of our country through the lens of, you know, at a time where Trump represents a government that shows [43:27] up everywhere you don't want it and nowhere where you actually need it. I intend, along with other [43:31] democratic governors to show that government actually can just show up for you, save you [43:35] time, save you money, and then get out of your way. That, I think, is what government should be [43:40] doing and our leaders should be supporting in the years ahead. And I think when you see successful [43:43] Democrats elected this November, it'll be ones that not only have a plan to deliver, but will [43:49] deliver as well. All right. Well, Jocelyn Benson, thank you for taking a pit stop during your marathon [43:54] sprint to the finish here, five days to go. Really appreciate your time. Best of luck. Thanks so much. [43:59] Good to talk to you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. And folks can go to jocelynbenson.com [44:04] to read more about our plans to reduce costs and grow our economy and get things done. [44:08] And call that fraud line too, or call that election hotline too, if there's any problem. [44:12] 866-R-VOTE. Yeah. If you see any problems on election day, it's 866-R-VOTE. It's a nonpartisan [44:17] election protection hotline staff with folks ready to protect our vote. [44:21] Very good. Thank you, Jocelyn. Really appreciate it. Best of luck. [44:24] Thanks. Thanks for having me. All right. And November 3rd is coming up, but it's fast approaching [44:29] in five days from now. And Donald Trump is scraping the bottom of the barrel. He is scraping [44:34] the bottom of the barrel in the hopes of scraping out some kind of victory in places like South [44:40] Carolina. He was in South Carolina today saying just some god-awful stuff about Annie Andrews. [44:47] I think we have a little bit of that sound. We can play it. The candidate, Democratic candidate [44:52] there in South Carolina. They're dumb. But Trani Annie is a mutilizer, a rabid advocate [44:59] for taxpayer-funded child sexual mutilization. [45:04] I mean, just completely insane, crazy, ugly, toxic stuff coming out of the mouth of the [45:12] president of the United States. But that was not, as much as he tries to own the libs and throw out [45:18] the red meat to the MAGA base. That was not the soundbite of the day. The soundbite of the day [45:24] came from a guy named Tom, who showed up at the same rally in South Carolina and was asked why he [45:32] was there. And he gave this very interesting response over at Fox. We should play this because [45:37] this was the soundbite of the day. [45:38] Why are you here this morning? [45:41] Well, in the late 70s, I was a little too young to get involved and go to South America for the [45:48] Jonestown Massacre. But this is as close as I'll ever get. So that's why I'm here. [45:51] Wait, the Jonestown Massacre? [45:52] That's right. [45:53] See, it's nothing like being a cult right up front, man. [45:56] All right. So maybe this is not a Trump supporter right now. [46:00] We'll find over it. I appreciate that. [46:03] Yeah, he's not a Trump supporter. What tipped you off there? Maybe it was the Jonestown reference. [46:07] Maybe it was when he said, I like when the reporter says Jonestown. [46:12] It was like Abbott and Costello. Who's on first? What's on second? [46:16] He teed him up perfectly. I don't think he was involved in the bit. [46:19] He was an unwitting participant in that bit. But kudos to Tom or whatever your name is out there. [46:25] Just doing an amazing job trolling Fox News, trolling Trump State TV and trolling Donald Trump. [46:32] It is a cult if you are applauding things like Donald Trump saying what he said about Dr. [46:40] Annie Andrews in South Carolina, what he's been saying about Abdul Al-Sayed all around the country. [46:45] You are in a cult and you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself. [46:50] And Donald Trump is about to wreck himself and wreck a lot of things coming up on Tuesday. [46:54] And I will say that the protesters, you know, it's not just the gentleman who ambushes Fox, which I just absolutely am delighted by. [47:05] It's the protesters, too. [47:06] And one of our acquaintances that we see out there at the rallies and at No Kings protests, Robbie Roadsteamer, he showed up at one of these rallies. [47:18] I believe it was in Ohio. And do we have that? I think we have that one. [47:23] He he brought up the Epstein files. [47:26] They did. Trump went on the Jeffrey Epstein plane. [47:30] Trump went on the Jeffrey Schindler. [47:48] Oh, boy. [47:51] So that. [47:52] No political violence. [47:53] You see Robbie at a lot of these events. [47:55] No political violence. [47:56] He is absolutely hysterical. [47:58] Apparently he put put this on his Instagram. [48:00] This was his, I guess, his own perspective of the video of of of himself getting kicked out of this Trump rally. [48:08] And I think he explains how he he shaved his beard and everything so he could get this event incognito because he said with the gold sunglasses and the MAGA hat, he does look like he's part of that that Jonestown cult. [48:22] But I mean, just an amazing thing. [48:25] And and we need to keep in mind the point that Robbie made there as part of that stunt that other protesters have made there as part of that, as part of what they've been doing, demonstrating against Donald Trump at these rallies. [48:40] I was contacted by one of the Epstein survivors, Jess Michaels, yesterday, and she and I put this out on all my socials that she and the other survivors are calling for a special counsel, an independent special counsel to get to the bottom of the Epstein files and why we haven't had any prosecutions. [48:58] They prosecuted the Davey Hearn, the canoeist, you know, falsely accused him of damaging the reflecting pool. [49:07] No prosecutions in the Epstein files have not happened yet. [49:12] And Todd Blanche was made the attorney general of the United States to continue covering up the Epstein files. [49:18] We have not seen all the files. [49:21] There's a lot still that that needs to be released. [49:23] Donald Trump is not in compliance with the law. [49:25] The United States Justice Department is not in compliance with the law that was passed and signed by the president of the United States that says that they're supposed to release those friggin files. [49:36] It just hasn't been done. [49:38] So kudos to Robbie Roadsteamer. [49:41] Kudos to the other protesters who keep showing up at these rallies to to mention to the Jonestown cult. [49:49] Oh, by the way, the guy that you thought was going to release the Epstein files, he said he was going to release the Epstein files before becoming president again. [49:56] Cash Patel said it. [49:58] J.D. Vance said it. [49:59] They all said it. [50:01] They all said that he was going to release the Epstein files. [50:04] And then they had to be dragged kicking and screaming into releasing the Epstein files. [50:09] And then they didn't release them all. [50:12] They didn't release them all. [50:13] And so Donald Trump can go out there. [50:15] We know he doesn't give a rat's ass about how people are coping with this economy, how they're getting just completely screwed every time they go to the gas pump or go to the grocery store. [50:24] Have you tried to buy a box of cereal these days and it's like eight dollars for a box of cereal? [50:30] It's totally crazy. [50:32] He distracts everybody or at least his people from the issues that matter by talking about by going after trans people, going after Muslims, going after immigrants, going after the press, going after everything other than solving the problems he was elected to solve. [50:52] And he's been abusing his Justice Department, going after Jim Comey and Cassidy Hutchinson and Ilhan Omar. [51:03] And they come up with somebody at the end of this midterm cycle. [51:07] They're going after Louise Lucas, the state senator in Virginia. [51:11] They're going after somebody every day. [51:15] One of Donald Trump's perceived political enemies. [51:17] But, oh, by the way, if wannabe dictators from Brazil have to flee the country and live in exile, we'll take you here in the United States. [51:26] And Donald Trump will personally arrange for you to take a plane into this country and find safe haven. [51:33] That is what Donald Trump has done during the second term. [51:37] It's not all he's done during the second term, but that's what he's been doing lately. [51:40] But he won't release those Epstein files. [51:43] He will not release all of those Epstein files. [51:45] And he put Todd Blanche in as attorney general to prevent that exact scenario from occurring. [51:52] And so kudos to the protesters when they show up and say this stuff because something has to penetrate that bubble. [51:58] Something has to penetrate that Fox News, conservative media cocoon of bullshit that MAGA supporters are insulated inside of each and every day. [52:10] They don't get to hear the truth unless a Robbie Rhodes steamer or unless a protester shows up at one of these rallies and says, what happened to the Epstein files? [52:20] You know, people will ask me, why do you go on X? [52:23] I go on X because I go on X and do this show live on X because I will say, why haven't they released the Epstein files? [52:31] And maybe there's some MAGA supporter who will click on this and hear me saying that and maybe think, oh, yeah, he hasn't released the Epstein files. [52:40] Why was he on Jeffrey Epstein's plane? [52:42] Why is he mentioned tens of thousands of times in the Epstein files? [52:47] Are we ever going to find out the truth about that? [52:51] And yet he has the gall to talk about Abdul Al-Sayed and Annie Andrews in the most despicable, disgraceful terms, the most ridiculous gutter rhetoric coming from the president of the United States. [53:07] Talk about class. [53:08] No class whatsoever. [53:10] Forget about the gold in the Oval Office or the tacky patios and helipads and reflecting pools and what he's done to the Kennedy Center and painting horses asses gold over by the Potomac River and on and on and on. [53:23] The most classless thing he has done is the way he has disgraced himself as the president of this country in the waning days of this disastrous midterm cycle for him and the Republicans. [53:37] The way he has campaigned has been nothing short of a national and global and galactic disgrace. [53:46] It is not just beneath the office of the presidency, it obliterates any sense of normalcy and decency that any human being should ever have. [54:01] He has done that. [54:04] He has done that each and every day, calling into question the sanctity of our elections, the honesty of our elections. [54:11] We have honest elections. [54:12] We don't have an honest president. [54:14] That's the truth. [54:17] That's the reality. [54:19] And you may not hear the truth if you're trapped in the Jonestown cult, but you need to hear it. [54:29] You desperately need to hear it. [54:32] So kudos to Tom. [54:35] Kudos to Robbie. [54:37] Kudos to those Epstein survivors who keep fighting each and every day for justice. [54:44] We're five days away from the midterms, folks. [54:46] What choice are you going to make? [54:50] Are you going to fall for it again? [54:52] Are you going to fall for Donald Trump playing culture wars and pushing your buttons instead of solving your problems? [55:01] Choose wisely. [55:04] I want to thank the great Heather Cox Richardson for coming on today. [55:07] I want to thank Jocelyn Benson as well. [55:09] Thank all of you for supporting us each and every day when you become a paid subscriber. [55:14] You support independent media. [55:15] It helps us bring you all of these stories like this. [55:18] You get to hear comments like this that you will not hear on the national legacy media. [55:23] You know, they don't go for that over there. [55:27] But you can hear it here. [55:29] And when you become a paid subscriber, you get access to our daily newsletter, our daily jam updates. [55:36] Helps pay for everything that we do each and every day. [55:38] It's going to help us keep the lights on for our big special election coverage that's coming up on November 3rd. [55:44] We're going to be live from the University of Virginia with our friend Katie Couric. [55:49] Lots of special guests. [55:51] Larry Sabato and the UVA Center for Politics. [55:54] It's going to be terrific. [55:54] It's going to be starting at 7 p.m. live from the campus of the University of Virginia. [55:59] We're going to be going all night long, bringing you constant updates. [56:03] We have our handy-dandy election battleground map. [56:07] I forgot to show the map today, but lots of great, terrific updates coming out every day. [56:13] You can now go on the map if you want, and you can fill out the Senate races. [56:19] You can pick your own balance of power, and you can now share it. [56:22] You can tweet that out. [56:22] We were showing this on yesterday's show. [56:24] Very cool feature on the map, and we're updating that every day. [56:28] The latest update, I believe, on the map from our friend Tommy Christopher on the show, he tells us that the David Jolly, the Florida gubernatorial race, has again become a toss-up race. [56:41] It has become a too-close-to-call race. [56:44] David Jolly, according to the latest poll, is now trailing Byron Donalds by 4.5 percentage points in the average. [56:53] That puts it now in the no-call zone. [56:57] And so David Jolly closing in on Byron Donalds in the state of Florida. [57:00] Lots of other updates, the Annie Andrews race in South Carolina, that Senate race where Donald Trump desperately went to help Darlene Graham, that race is too close to call. [57:12] South Carolina folks, and the candidate's name is Graham. [57:16] It's Lindsey Graham's sister. [57:17] And they're having trouble holding on to that seat. [57:21] What does that tell you what's happening with the rest of the races? [57:24] And so you can do all kinds of stuff in there. [57:26] You can create your own scenarios, share them, and tweet them out, post them on your socials, put it on Substack, put it on Threads, put it on Blue Sky. [57:36] You can do all that stuff, and it's a really cool tool. [57:39] So check it out at jibacosta.com. [57:41] And we'll see you on Tuesday night. [57:43] I'll be talking with Katie Couric on her show in about an hour from now to start promoting this. [57:48] And we want you guys to tune in. [57:50] It's going to be a lot of fun. [57:51] And I heard something about there could be some kind of open bar or something like that. [57:57] I don't know. [57:58] It won't be open like, you know, nonstop flowing of alcohol or anything like that. [58:04] But I probably will be able to get a glass of wine at one point or another during the show or a beer or something like that. [58:10] But check it out coming up on November 3rd, live from the campus, the grounds, I should say, of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. [58:19] But everybody, thank you so much for tuning in each and every day. [58:21] We appreciate it. [58:22] See you next time. [58:23] Still reporting from Washington. [58:25] I'm Jim Acosta. [58:26] Thanks for tuning in. [58:27] See you next time.