‘The Five’: The GOP’s secret weapon...

[0:00] Well, Democrats are already acting like the midterms are in the bag, [0:03] taking a victory lap months before a single vote is cast. Just listen to James Carville. [0:09] I'm going to tell you something. You're getting ready to get the living [0:14] crap kicked out of you. You don't know because they haven't really told you. [0:19] You're going to sit there and wonder what it feels like to be punched in the mouth by Mike [0:24] Tyson. And that's what's going to happen to you in November. I got news for you, dude. You're done, [0:31] and we're going to enjoy watching your downfall. [0:34] LISA DESJARDINS But Carville might want to slow his [0:38] roll after his Kamala prediction. The new poll showing that 74 percent of voters, [0:43] including a majority of Democrats, think the party doesn't have the right priorities. [0:47] But the party's leaders are insisting that everything is A-OK. [0:50] JAMES CARVILLE The bottom line is our caucus and our party is strong and united. [0:56] And we're going to have a great time. [0:57] JAMES CARVILLE We are fighting very hard. [0:58] JAMES CARVILLE The American people are rejecting [1:01] Republican extremism and embracing the fact that Democrats are authentically [1:07] making clear that we're going to work as hard as we can to make life better for the American people. [1:14] LISA DESJARDINS Just not the American people [1:16] that have an R in front of their names. All right. But not all Democrats are ignoring [1:19] the party's glaring issues. 2028 hopeful Rahm Emanuel [1:22] calling out the left for losing sight of what voters care about. [1:26] RAHM EMANUEL You are worried about bathroom [1:29] access and locker room access. Why don't you focus on classroom excellence? You have 50 percent of our [1:35] kids not reading at grade level. We lost the plot. We as Democrats nationally, from Latinx to defunding [1:42] the police to police organizations are all racist to bringing a set of cultural wars to our schools. [1:48] We are on the losing side of those cultural wars. Full stop. [1:51] LISA DESJARDINS You and I love talking about Rahm Emanuel. And he is now repeating himself [1:57] with this in a good way, where he's staying firm, saying the party has lost its values and directions. [2:01] And talking about the wasted time and the distraction that those issues have been for his party. [2:06] RAHM EMANUEL No doubt. I mean, when you find yourself on the losing side [2:10] of a myriad 80-20 issues, and you look and you're like, I'm in the 20 percent. [2:15] You don't double down on the 20 percent. You migrate over to the 80 percent. And very few [2:20] Democrats have done that. Axios asked 20 Democrats about transgender issues. Only three answered. Two [2:25] pointed back to, like, non-serious talking points. And only Rahm Emanuel answered very clearly the issue. [2:31] We saw Gavin Newsom act reasonable about this and then backpedal. Democrats are on the wrong side. [2:36] Look, it's still challenging for Republicans in the midterms. They're up against history. [2:39] The party in the White House typically does lose seats. So it's an uphill battle. [2:43] But James Carville, as hot he sounded there, he obviously has a beef with the president. [2:49] On this issue of transgenderism, he has been very clear. I mean, I asked him outright, [2:53] can a man become a woman? He said he's 81 years old. He's never taken birth control. [2:57] So perhaps at least on that issue, I would never advise Democrats to follow [3:01] his language with regard to President Trump. But on trans issues, you might [3:04] want to take a cue from Rahm or from James. And interestingly, Tyrus, it seems that as [3:08] soon as you put a Dem in front of the camera, they say everything's unified. [3:11] But there's a lot of fraction behind the scenes. We've seen this during a lot of these elections [3:15] and the primaries coming up. And what they say about each other seems to be a little vicious, [3:19] in addition to what they certainly say about Republicans and Trump. [3:21] CARVILLE CARVILLE, my sexy little chameleon. [3:32] If you watch the whole thing of that, first of all, that entire rant was brought to you by Jack [3:36] Daniels. He had a couple, I think, and decided to tell a lot how it was. But he forgets. He literally [3:44] said with his, well, I don't know if his face is straight because he's got that Gollum look kind [3:48] of going on, but whatever is left of the soggy mess that used to be a skull that had a brain in [3:52] it, he literally said, President, you're not going to be ready for this because we're coming after [3:56] you. I'm sorry. When are they not? Like he was, from the time he stepped on the escalator, [4:02] they've been after him. What, 17 impeachments, all these Trump fake cases, all the time, [4:09] assassination attempts. They're like, they don't conduct, they go in for and favor of it. [4:14] So at what point do you think the president is going to get caught slipping? He even went on [4:17] to say, which was probably my favorite part, was that it was going to be like getting punched in [4:21] the face by Mike Tyson. Again, poor choice of words, because Mike Tyson voted for President [4:26] Trump. And so I don't think he was going to punch him. I think he's going to hug him. [4:30] You, on the other hand, with that type of verbiage, [4:32] you might want to duck with what's left of that soggy bone of bitterness that it is you [4:37] and the Democratic Party. His precious is the Jack Daniels. All right. So brass tacks with [4:42] a detective from New York, Paul, because I don't think that Republicans can really sleep easily. [4:48] I think that there might be a grain of truth, however, with what Carville is warning us about, [4:52] because there's certainly a lot of fracture in our party, too. What do you think our vulnerable, [4:56] the GOP's vulnerabilities are moving into the midterms? Because there needs to be a cohesion [5:01] for them to maintain the lead. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [5:02] Well, first of all, obviously, as Kayleigh points out, you're fighting against history, [5:06] OK? In the midterms, almost always, whoever won the first time around, you're trying to hold the [5:11] House, trying to hold the Senate. Chances are they'll hold the Senate. And sometimes you'll [5:15] take half a loaf. The thing I think that's so significant here that we should be focusing on [5:19] is when we hear incessantly polls talking about how buried the GOP is and how there's just absolutely [5:26] no shot for them, the secret weapon for the GOP is the Democrats. Because then you look at the numbers [5:32] like we just got, and you say, my God, they're in worse shape than even we are. And I am saying [5:36] we, because it's no secret that that's how I'm going to vote. Now, the thing is, I have to make [5:41] this point. I made it earlier on the other show. This is the dissatisfaction with the Dems. The [5:48] received wisdom is that, OK, those are moderate Dems who don't like the fact that the party is [5:54] drifting so far left. They don't want to be embroiled in the DEI, in the border, [5:58] all of this other stuff. We lost, as Rahm Emanuel said, we've lost the plot. [6:02] And we've gone way too far left. I think what's being missed here is that the dissatisfaction [6:07] is coming from the left. And that's why when you see these people interviewed, [6:11] they're all ducking the question, ducking the question, because they're terrified [6:14] of being characterized as not on board with where the energy is. The small donors, the ambition, [6:21] the energy are the young AOC, the squat. Ironically, they're led by the OG socialist, [6:28] which is, you know, obviously Bernie Sanders, who's older than all of them put together. [6:31] But bottom line is, that is where the party is really devolved to. That's where the party's base [6:38] is. And so when you see dissatisfaction, the read is wrong, I think, by Emanuel and even Carville, [6:46] who needs to, by the way, take a nap, do something, double your meds, bro. I mean, [6:51] he's taking it way too personally. And actually, that's a tell, because he's acting like, you know [6:54] what, this is an affront to me. And by the way, not for nothing, guy, if you're going to telegraph [6:59] that you're going after Donald Trump, didn't you learn something? You're going to tell him, [7:01] the first time, because that's what undermines the cases. In fact, it gives legally, but also [7:06] in terms of public opinion, a great talking point for Donald Trump, which is all they want to do is [7:12] get me. And as he says online, look, they're not after me. They're after you. I'm just in the way. [7:18] So the Dems are in disarray here. But again, history is against the GOP. And you know what, [7:24] you can't count on that. So, you know, you lose one of the houses, you lose one of the houses. [7:27] While you were saying that real quick, you keep talking about 2080, [7:31] they're 20, they are in the 20, and then they're 20%, they're 100%. They live in a bubble. So [7:36] they're 20, their echo chamber is 100%. That's why they're on the wrong side of 80s and 20s, [7:40] because they're the 20s. Yep. Yeah. And a lot of the primaries and races of note, [7:44] especially coming up in the midterms, the sort of defining feature will be the independence. [7:48] Yep. Right. And so for them, the primary, look, a lot of people say, well, disregard the polls, [7:52] but poll after poll shows that their primary issue is the economy. And over and over again, [7:57] the GOP and President Trump is what is blowing out the Democrats and favorability, [8:01] on the economy. Historically, perhaps. I mean, currently right now, you nailed it. Over half of [8:08] millennials and Gen Z are independent. They look at both parties and they say, I'm not full, [8:14] such as myself, I'm included in that. Independent, don't fully align myself with either one of you. [8:20] I think it's very frustrating when you look at both and you see the things that they're arguing [8:24] about. When you see James Carville talking about, well, you know, we're going to get in charge and [8:29] we're going to put all of Trump's people and, you know, [8:32] we're just like, hey, I'd like to own a home. I'd like to own a home. None of us own homes. [8:37] And it is tough because it does feel like there isn't really any more focus on that. I think that [8:43] the Democrat solution is socialism by larger and larger. A lot of their most popular [8:49] politicians, be it AOC or be it Mamdani, are the ones saying, you know, hey, yeah, no, I got it. [8:55] It's full government control. That's a solution. But then a lot of times when it comes to the [8:59] affordability crisis, the GOP can just say, [9:02] well, you know what? You know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You know, don't buy avocado [9:07] toast. Don't get too much coffee. When really the numbers show that, you know, the number one [9:12] predictor of home ownership for a millennial is not how hard you work. It is how much money your [9:17] parents have. So I think that the GOP could have a huge win here if they would refocus on the [9:25] economy, because I think right now you're being asked to make sacrifices. Gas is expensive. OK, [9:30] there are some people who are, [9:32] you know, they're going to be fired up saying, all right, we'll deal with it. And I don't think [9:35] that's good messaging going into this for the GOP. It is going to depend on what independents want [9:40] to do. There is a lot of time before midterms. There's a lot of time for things to change. But [9:44] you're absolutely right, Emily. For independent voters, I mean, for myself particularly, neither [9:51] major party I don't think is ever going to do what I really want them to do, which is just to leave [9:55] me alone and let me live my life and for myself and let other people kind of do the same. But [10:01] refocusing on the economy, that's going to be a big deal. [10:02] That's absolutely the way to go, I think, for the GOP. Getting back to some of that [10:06] smaller government would be a huge win and affordability. [10:10] Yeah, it never gets smaller. It never does. But you can't blame a girl for dreaming. [10:15] Elon tried.