Trump talks Iran in White House briefing, lawmakers return to Capitol Hill, more — The Takeout

[0:00] As you well know, the takeout would be beginning right now under normal circumstances, [0:04] but these are not. [0:05] President Trump is in the White House briefing room taking questions from reporters. [0:08] Let's stick with the president. [0:09] We just had, just in case, we had another aircraft carrier, we have many, [0:14] sailing over and just arriving in the Middle East, so we have three, [0:20] and they're all locked and loaded, and hopefully we don't have to use them. [0:24] Are you going to bring up the case of Jensen Wong with President Xi when you visit with him next week? [0:33] No, I don't think so. [0:34] I mean, maybe, I'm sure, President Xi will ask me about it. [0:38] I just know Jensen very well. [0:40] I just think he's a very honorable man. [0:42] I mean, he built a great company, American company, [0:46] and I think he's a very honorable guy, and I feel very confident that he'll be in good shape. [0:52] In sticking with Jensen Wang, when you went to China earlier this year in May, [0:57] did you know about these alleged ties with the Chinese spies then? [1:01] No, I didn't hear about it then, but a lot of people have heard about it, [1:05] and Jensen totally denies that. [1:08] I asked him today, because I did speak to him today, just to see if he's feeling all right, [1:11] how you doing, and I asked him about that, and he said he had absolutely no idea [1:18] that the person in question was a spy. [1:20] I asked him that question, did you have any idea that she was a spy? [1:24] He said, I had no idea that she was a spy, and I really believe him. [1:28] Yeah, please. [1:28] I just think that Ukraine and Russia are tired of fighting. [1:38] They're tired of seeing dead young soldiers, mostly soldiers. [1:42] Most of the people are soldiers. [1:44] Think of it, they're losing 25,000. [1:46] Danny, can you imagine 25,000? [1:47] That's like a stadium, Madison Square Garden. [1:50] You have your fights, 25,000, that's what it holds. [1:53] And they're losing that every single month, dead. [1:57] Young, beautiful people. [1:59] And it's got to stop. [2:01] You know, it doesn't affect us, [2:03] but I'm able to get them together, [2:06] and we're meeting now, right now as we speak, [2:09] and the meetings are going okay, [2:10] but we're trying to get it settled, [2:12] only because we want to say, [2:14] it doesn't affect us as a country, [2:16] but it affects me. [2:17] 25,000 people a month are being killed. [2:21] Mr. President, a number of Senate GOP members [2:26] are urging the conference to delay [2:28] their leadership votes tomorrow. [2:31] We know that John Thune is running on a post in the Senate. [2:33] Do you think that Mr. Thune has earned the right to lead Senate Republicans? [2:37] Well, look, he's a very fine man. [2:39] I know him very well, [2:40] but that's really up to the Senate, [2:42] and I like John Thune. [2:45] I wish they could get more produced. [2:48] You know, we've had Save America up there. [2:51] We've had, you know, voter ID and proof of citizenship [2:54] and many other things. [2:56] It's not easy. [2:57] He's got some people that, [2:59] first of all, you have 100% negative Democrats. [3:02] They never vote yes. [3:03] They always vote no. [3:04] That means yes, [3:05] they get almost 100% of the Republicans, [3:07] and you have some Republicans in there. [3:09] I can name them, but why should I? [3:10] That are very difficult. [3:13] And, you know, I said as leader, [3:15] you have to get those people, [3:17] but John's a good man. [3:18] I guess they're going to be voting tomorrow, [3:20] or maybe it's too late. [3:21] I don't know what the status, [3:22] but, you know, he's a friend of mine. [3:24] I wish the Senate could get more done. [3:28] You spoke about Venezuela. [3:32] Do you plan on having elections there before the end? [3:35] At some point, yeah. [3:36] At some point, yes. [3:37] Mr. President, earlier today, [3:39] you posted on social media [3:40] where you questioned [3:41] whether the midterm election results were honest. [3:44] Do you believe that the election was rigged? [3:46] And separately, [3:47] did you watch Senator Thomas Massey [3:51] lay out his articles of impeachment? [3:53] No, I don't watch Massey. [3:54] Look, Massey's a loser. [3:57] He shouldn't be taking up the time of Congress [4:01] or the Senate or anything that he's doing. [4:04] The guy's a stone-cold loser. [4:06] Would always, he's a Republican, [4:07] always he would vote against. [4:09] We could come up with the best bill. [4:12] We could come up with, [4:13] and he would always vote against. [4:15] There's something wrong with him. [4:16] And I said, look, I've got to challenge him. [4:19] And I challenged him, [4:20] and he lost in a landslide to a very good man. [4:23] We have a very good man, Ed Gilrain, [4:25] who took his place. [4:27] But, you know, I went and did something [4:29] that is very tough to do. [4:32] Now, I challenged others also. [4:33] I challenged Cornyn. [4:34] I challenged Tillis. [4:36] And I challenged, if you look at Louisiana, [4:40] Cassidy, three. [4:42] So that makes things a little bit harder [4:43] to get their votes [4:44] because I wouldn't say they like me. [4:47] But of all of them, [4:48] I would say there's something wrong with Thomas Massey. [4:51] He was an automatic no vote. [4:52] You could go in with the greatest bill. [4:55] Bills where even Democrats were voting. [4:58] And he'd be no. [4:59] And I said, what is wrong with this guy? [5:01] He's a sick guy. [5:02] There's something wrong with him, actually. [5:04] Now, he's after Pete Hexeth. [5:06] He doesn't like Hexeth. [5:07] But really, what has Hexeth done? [5:10] He won the war. [5:11] He was in charge. [5:12] He won the war in Venezuela. [5:15] As I said, 48 minutes. [5:17] It was flawless. [5:18] Nobody killed. [5:20] And he certainly, I think he's won the war in Iran, [5:23] but he's certainly winning the war. [5:24] Iran would love to make a deal. [5:27] And they've been obliterated. [5:28] They're Navy and their Air Force. [5:31] So he won the war in two places, two big places. [5:35] Very important, very impactful. [5:37] And they were won. [5:38] They're not like Vietnam when nothing was won, [5:41] or Afghanistan or Iraq or any of these wars [5:44] when nothing was won. [5:46] There was nothing won. [5:47] Just lots of death, and then let's leave. [5:49] In one case, they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. [5:52] In the other, we're making hundreds of billions of dollars [5:56] for this country. [5:58] So I say this. [6:00] Pete Hexeth won two wars. [6:02] Oh, let's impeach him. [6:04] What about impeaching the gentleman from Biden, [6:09] his person that disappeared for two weeks [6:12] and nobody had any idea where he was? [6:15] What about impeaching the people that ran the Vietnam War? [6:18] What about impeaching that ran Iraq and Afghanistan [6:22] and all of these other wars where thousands of lives have been? [6:28] You know, we lost 18 people, 18. [6:32] They lost 65,000 in Vietnam. [6:36] We're in there for seven months. [6:37] They're in there for 21 years. [6:39] He says he's very... [6:39] What about impeaching those people? [6:41] What about impeaching the leaders of these stupid wars [6:45] that were done when nothing was gained? [6:47] In Iran, they won't have a nuclear weapon. [6:50] That's a big thing. [6:52] Now, short-term, probably bad for me [6:54] because people want to have a little bit lower energy cost. [6:57] We'll get it back down. [6:58] I created the lowest cost. [7:00] You know, it's even lower now than it was with Biden and Obama, [7:03] but I've done something different. [7:06] They won't have a nuclear weapon. [7:07] That's a big thing. [7:08] And with the other, we're making a fortune [7:10] and we have tremendous amounts of oil. [7:12] We're going to have... [7:13] We have more oil, including Venezuela, [7:16] than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined, by far. [7:21] In fact, by two. [7:22] Yeah, please. [7:23] Do you believe the midterms were rich? [7:24] Sir, to follow up, do you believe the midterms were rich? [7:27] Well, I think the numbers were terrible [7:28] in terms of those early votes. [7:31] You look at all those early votes. [7:33] And look at another one. [7:34] I'm watching Alaska. [7:36] So you have a guy named Dan Sullivan [7:38] and another guy named Dan Sullivan runs. [7:41] And one's a J and one's an S. [7:43] And the one with a J, which is the fake Dan Sullivan, [7:46] tries to have his initial change to S. [7:49] He never ran before. [7:51] He never was a political person before. [7:54] He was fraudulently put in the race. [7:57] And then they tried to change his middle name [7:59] so it was an S to confuse. [8:00] So Dan Sullivan and the woman, Peltola, [8:06] is, they're very close. [8:08] He's only, I guess she's 400, 500 votes. [8:11] But this fake Dan Sullivan, because of confusion, [8:15] only because they're meant to vote, [8:16] that's 2,500, almost 3,000 votes. [8:19] That means he wins the election. [8:21] But in addition, they have a second person they put in. [8:24] And they made a big issue with the second. [8:28] And that person does 4,000 or 5,000 votes. [8:30] Those votes should go also. [8:32] But even if you don't include that, [8:35] you have a Dan Sullivan and a Dan Sullivan. [8:39] And the Democrats put him up in order to confuse the voters. [8:43] So anybody that voted for that second Dan Sullivan, [8:46] the fake Dan Sullivan, [8:48] was supposed to be a vote for the real Dan Sullivan. [8:51] So they stole it. [8:53] And that election should be called right now [8:56] because Dan Sullivan won easily if you add up the numbers. [9:00] Now, if you add up the numbers for the second person they put in, [9:04] he's leading by 6,000, 7,000 votes. [9:09] Go ahead, please. [9:10] Can you stand by the next time if he's impeached? [9:13] Yeah, I'll stand by. [9:14] So even if he's impeached, you're going to keep him as your defense secretary? [9:17] He won two wars. [9:18] He was in charge. [9:19] We all won. [9:20] I had great people. [9:21] You what? [9:22] Massey says that he's carried out a lot. [9:24] Massey's a loser. [9:25] Just like you're a loser at CNN. [9:28] Just like your ratings are a loser. [9:31] Massey is a loser. [9:32] Stone-cold loser. [9:34] I ran. [9:36] I did something that nobody's done. [9:37] I took on a guy that was in his own way [9:39] sort of popular in his state. [9:42] And I beat him badly. [9:46] Beat him easily with a man that never ran before, [9:49] but a good man. [9:50] Massey has a lot of hatred in his heart. [9:54] I watched... [9:55] I heard what Massey did. [9:56] I don't want to watch. [9:57] I don't want to waste my time watching him. [9:59] We won two wars. [10:01] We won two wars, [10:03] and we've made the world a lot safer place, [10:06] and then we're supposed to impeach. [10:08] Why haven't we gone after all these other people [10:11] that ran wars that lost? [10:12] What about this? [10:13] What about... [10:14] What about... [10:15] What about... [10:15] What about good old Lloyd? [10:17] Why didn't we go after him? [10:18] Why didn't we go after the people that disappeared? [10:21] They're in charge of the military, [10:23] and they disappeared from... [10:26] Nobody knew... [10:26] Had any idea that nothing happened to him? [10:30] What about all these people that lost wars? [10:33] You don't go after... [10:33] All I can say is this. [10:35] We have the highest recruit... [10:37] The recruitment numbers of... [10:38] You know, when I came in, [10:40] when I was campaigning, [10:43] we had the worst recruitment people [10:46] wanting to join the military [10:47] in the history of our country. [10:49] We couldn't fill any of the spots. [10:51] It was a disaster. [10:53] Now we have the best numbers we've ever had. [10:55] More people want to be in the Army, Navy, Air Force, [10:58] Marines, Coast Guard, [10:59] even the police, Space Force, firemen, [11:03] anybody with a uniform. [11:05] So now we have the best numbers we've ever had. [11:08] And I will say this. [11:10] The soldiers, the actual soldiers, [11:12] the great people that do the work, [11:14] the great patriots, [11:15] they love Pete Hexeth. [11:19] So if you go back two years ago, [11:21] before I got into office, [11:23] two years ago, [11:24] we could not recruit people. [11:27] And you know that better. [11:28] The Army was way behind everybody. [11:30] Now we have waiting lists of people trying to get in. [11:34] He's done a very good job. [11:35] Mr. President, [11:41] go ahead. [11:45] You have given Vladimir Putin multiple deadlines [11:48] over the last 22 months [11:49] to enter into a ceasefire, [11:51] but also to meet directly with Vladimir Zelensky. [11:54] He has repeatedly ignored your demands, [11:57] yet you have provided... [11:58] Well, you know, you're saying he's a man. [12:00] Has he been fighting us in the war? [12:01] Well, I'm also... [12:02] Yeah, yeah. [12:02] Let me ask you this question. [12:04] At what point does appeasement... [12:05] Who are you with? [12:05] Who are you with? [12:06] With MSNOW. [12:07] At what point... [12:07] MSNOW, it's a fake... [12:08] That's a fake... [12:09] At what point does appeasement... [12:10] Go ahead. [12:11] Go ahead. [12:12] MSNOW gets the worst ratings in their history. [12:16] Used to be MSDNC. [12:18] It's one of the worst... [12:19] You're a fake network. [12:21] Go ahead. [12:21] Jennifer, Jennifer, go ahead. [12:24] We're going to continue to monitor President Trump [12:27] in the White House briefing room [12:28] as he takes questions from reporters, [12:30] but if you haven't been watching all of it, [12:31] let me try to briefly summarize a couple of things. [12:35] And they don't actually, in every respect, line up. [12:39] Here's what I mean. [12:40] About 20 minutes ago, [12:41] the president was asked why not declare victory [12:44] and say the war with Iran is over. [12:46] He said we can't because Iran is still, in his words, [12:50] a kind of bully in the region, in the Middle East, [12:52] and we want to make sure [12:53] neighboring countries are taken care of. [12:56] About 15 minutes later, he said the war was over [12:58] and the war had been won, [12:59] and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, [13:02] had won the war with Iran. [13:04] Those things don't exactly add up, [13:06] but they're what the president said [13:07] in the White House briefing room. [13:09] Also, he was asked about Jensen Wong, [13:11] the CEO of NVIDIA, [13:13] who was under investigation by the board of NVIDIA [13:16] because he had an extramarital affair [13:18] with a woman who U.S. intelligence believes [13:22] was an espionage agent for China. [13:26] President Trump said he called Jensen Wong today [13:29] and asked him, [13:30] did you know this woman with which you were having [13:33] an extramarital affair [13:34] was a Chinese espionage agent? [13:36] And he said Jensen Wong told him, [13:38] no, I had no idea about that at all. [13:41] And the president took that at face value, [13:43] said he believes Jensen Wong is an honorable person [13:45] and believes he will be fine, [13:47] even though it is the board of NVIDIA, [13:49] a $4.5 trillion company [13:52] that launched this internal investigation [13:53] with an outside law firm over the weekend. [13:58] Nancy Cordes is in the briefing room. [14:00] That's why she's not with us, [14:02] as she might typically be at this hour of the day [14:04] here on The Takeout. [14:05] But quite happily for us, [14:07] you're joined by one of our other [14:08] excellent White House reporters, Olivia Rinaldi. [14:10] You took lots of notes there, Olivia, [14:12] far more than I did. [14:13] I got to a couple of bullet points, [14:14] pick up other impressions you took. [14:16] I think you forgot about Pete Rose. [14:18] Oh, that's right. [14:18] I forgot about Pete Rose. [14:19] And not getting his pardoned. [14:20] How foolish of me. [14:21] Yes, yes. [14:21] I thought we'd talk about baseball here [14:22] on The Takeout, Major. [14:23] I thought that would have been number one. [14:25] Also in that briefing room was Dana White, [14:28] and I thought that was important [14:29] because this was an unannounced press briefing [14:31] that the president threw on today, [14:33] and Dana White is in that room with him. [14:35] And Trump had said, [14:36] as far as Dana White being in there, [14:37] he kind of ruminated on making him press secretary [14:40] during what he called a bad press day. [14:43] And when he said it, there was a reaction. [14:45] Quickly remind the audience who Dana White is. [14:47] Yes, he is the leader of UFC, [14:49] the big fighting championship organization, [14:51] whom the president is very close with, Dana White. [14:55] They hang out. [14:55] Put on a huge 4th of July. [14:56] Yes, on the White House, South Long. [14:58] South Long fight. [14:59] Major fight there. [14:59] To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country. [15:01] Yeah, and Trump trusts his opinion. [15:03] He calls him often, asks him about what he thinks. [15:06] He's kind of in that Joe Rogan bro-sphere, [15:09] man-o-sphere that Trump likes to check in on [15:11] every once in a while. [15:12] Dana White took about two questions from the podium, [15:13] and backed away rapidly, like, [15:15] I'm not really ready for this. [15:16] He said, I'm shocked you guys are asking me questions, [15:19] but did not say whether or not [15:21] he's actually the press secretary. [15:23] And Trump said, I said it jokingly, but maybe. [15:25] So, you know, kind of leaving the door open there [15:27] kind of in an interesting way. [15:29] One more note on Jensen-Hwan. [15:30] The president also said that the FBI [15:31] is investigating him. [15:33] I believe that's the first time we've heard that today. [15:36] That's a good note. [15:36] That one escaped me. [15:37] That's, I mean, on the Jensen-Hwan story, [15:40] ladies and gentlemen, just stay tuned. [15:42] This story is far from over. [15:45] It hasn't run its course in any respect, [15:47] though the president keeps trying to sort of wrap [15:50] Jensen-Hwan in this cocoon of presidential acceptance. [15:53] Honorable person, he'll give it to this fine. [15:57] Not necessarily prejudging things, [16:00] but certainly giving the board [16:01] and everyone else who's looking into this [16:03] kind of a presidential suggestion [16:04] that Jensen-Hwan is just fine, [16:06] as far as President Trump is concerned. [16:07] Almost an off-ramp, [16:08] and I thought what was also interesting [16:09] was Jensen-Hwan went with the president [16:11] in May to China on that big state visit, [16:16] that big state trip that they have. [16:17] And when the Chinese president came here [16:19] about a month ago or so, [16:21] or two months ago, rather, in September, [16:23] he was also at a lot of meetings with Xi Jinping. [16:27] And so the president was asked, [16:29] were you aware of these allegations [16:32] that he was having an affair [16:33] with an alleged Chinese spy [16:35] when he came with you to China in May? [16:37] And the president said, [16:38] nope, I was not aware of that at that point. [16:40] And next week, [16:41] the president will be heading back to China [16:43] for another visit. [16:44] And it's expressed at least some general openness [16:47] to taking Jensen-Hwan with him. [16:49] And now, the reason this matters, [16:50] ladies and gentlemen, [16:51] is if in fact Jensen-Hwan, [16:53] he had an affair with this woman, [16:54] if she in fact is an espionage agent [16:57] for the Chinese government, [16:58] anything that Jensen-Hwan and Xi talked about [17:01] in private could be relevant to NVIDIA, [17:04] it could be relevant to national security, [17:06] it could be relevant to the things [17:07] that President Trump has on his mind [17:08] that are China-related or regional-related, [17:11] we don't know. [17:13] But this is what hostile foreign governments do. [17:15] It's called a honeypot. [17:16] You try to create a scenario [17:18] in which you can get compromising information [17:20] by setting up someone [17:21] to have a romantic relationship [17:23] with someone who is either in government [17:24] or in a very high position in the private sector. [17:27] And Jensen-Hwan is near the very top in America [17:29] in the private sector, [17:30] interacts with President Trump on a regular basis. [17:32] Almost one of the most important people in America. [17:34] And it's interesting for two more reasons. [17:36] One, NVIDIA has a very robust internal security system. [17:40] So the fact that this perhaps slipped, [17:42] that is concerning. [17:43] But also, just for chips in general, [17:46] part of the entire conversation [17:47] that's happening in Washington at a level [17:49] is about artificial intelligence [17:51] and will we beat China in that. [17:53] The reason why this is so astounding [17:55] is because NVIDIA makes the chips [17:57] that are necessary for the U.S. [17:59] to be ahead in that race. [18:01] So the fact that he could have been having this affair [18:04] or allegedly having this affair with this spy [18:06] and she may have access to some of that information [18:09] and the allegations underneath it [18:11] are that he softened a little bit [18:13] on wanting to sell those chips to China [18:15] could be a problem [18:17] for U.S. artificial intelligence developers, [18:20] for the military, for the government, [18:22] for a whole host of reasons. [18:23] This is just bigger than an affair. [18:25] Olivia, stay here. [18:26] Don't go away. [18:26] And if you have a question for our next guest, [18:29] you go ahead and lob a question in. [18:30] But I want to bring in Ian Duncan [18:31] who joins us from The Washington Post. [18:33] He's a tech policy reporter there. [18:34] Ian, you've been listening to our conversation. [18:36] I imagine you heard a fair amount [18:38] of what the President Trump said, [18:39] as I suggested, [18:40] sort of wrapping a rhetorical life raft [18:44] around Jensen Wong, [18:45] basically saying he's honorable [18:46] and everything looks okay to him. [18:48] Help my audience understand where this story is [18:50] and the biggest outstanding questions [18:52] that are being asked. [18:53] Yeah, I think the biggest outstanding question [18:57] really is going to be [18:58] what did Jensen Wong and this woman discuss? [19:03] What might she have learned [19:04] that could have been sensitive about the company? [19:07] You know, I think he and his note [19:10] to employees yesterday [19:11] and some of his allies [19:12] tried to frame this very much [19:14] as a kind of a personal matter and affair [19:16] that was about him and his wife. [19:18] I don't think that's going to satisfy [19:20] a lot of people in Washington [19:21] who are going to have much broader questions [19:24] about what happened here. [19:26] And when we convey to our audience, [19:28] as we have, [19:29] that U.S. intelligence suspects [19:30] that this woman with whom he had [19:32] this extramarital affair [19:34] could be an espionage agent [19:36] for the Chinese government, [19:38] that's a pretty big deal, right? [19:41] Yeah, absolutely. [19:42] This is a company that is incredibly important [19:45] to the whole kind of AI economy. [19:48] It's all kinds of reasons [19:50] why the Chinese are trying to catch up with the U.S. [19:54] Any kind of edge that they can gain, [19:56] they seem to have, you know, [19:58] launched an operation to try and gain an edge [20:01] and had what seems to be some success in that. [20:04] So it just touches on a lot of questions [20:08] about the national security of the country [20:10] and the economy [20:11] and the future of this technology. [20:14] And Olivia Rinaldi mentioned [20:15] that she heard the president [20:16] say the FBI is involved. [20:18] That was new news to us. [20:19] Was it new news to you? [20:21] Yeah, and it wasn't exactly clear, [20:23] as it often is [20:24] when he's sort of speaking off the cuff like this, [20:27] what they might be looking into. [20:28] I mean, I think if it was [20:29] a counterintelligence thing, [20:30] you would expect the FBI [20:31] to be looking into it. [20:34] So there's definitely going to be more questions [20:36] about what their role might be here. [20:39] Excellent. [20:39] Ian Duncan, The Washington Post. [20:41] I appreciate it very much. [20:42] I want to turn now to CBS News [20:43] congressional reporter Torian Small. [20:45] Torian, a lot going on in Capitol Hill today. [20:48] Lots of incoming members arriving. [20:50] It's going to be interesting to see [20:51] how many Republicans [20:52] who were just defeated [20:53] actually show up for work this week. [20:55] But let's start with a topic [20:57] that was also on the president's mind [20:59] because he got several questions about it. [21:01] The future of Pete Hegseth, [21:02] the defense secretary. [21:03] The impeachment question [21:04] is going to reach the House floor [21:05] sometime later this week, correct? [21:07] Correct. [21:08] And I just want to tie up that thread [21:09] since you guys were on NVIDIA. [21:11] A number of lawmakers, [21:12] including a speaker, [21:14] or soon to be potentially speaker, [21:16] Hakeem Jeffries, [21:16] now Minority Leader, [21:18] and Representative Jim Himes, [21:20] the House ranking member [21:22] on the Intel Committee, [21:23] today confirmed [21:24] that they had received no intel [21:26] before this Gang of Eight meeting [21:28] that they had with Ratcliffe [21:30] and others from the Intel community, [21:32] from the Trump administration, [21:33] on that situation. [21:35] It was puzzling to Himes, [21:36] especially, who said [21:37] it was unbelievable [21:38] that he heard absolutely nothing, [21:40] and he's the top Democrat [21:41] on that respective panel. [21:43] To pivot to Hakestuff [21:44] like you brought up [21:45] and which the president [21:46] also mentioned, [21:47] Thomas Massey, [21:48] the Republican from Kentucky, [21:50] led the charge on this, [21:51] and this comes [21:52] after he attempted [21:53] a similar effort [21:54] in September [21:55] that was ultimately defeated [21:57] because House Speaker [21:59] Mike Johnson [22:00] recessed Congress. [22:02] Now he's introducing it today [22:04] because it creates [22:05] a two-day window [22:06] for the speaker [22:07] to act, Major. [22:09] And, Torian, [22:11] what can you tell us [22:12] about leadership races [22:14] and where they stand [22:15] this afternoon? [22:17] Yeah, it's likely [22:17] that Democrats [22:19] will go forward [22:19] with their leadership election, [22:22] at least in the House. [22:23] When it comes to the Senate, [22:24] that's where it gets a bit murky. [22:26] At least on the Democrat side, [22:27] we know that there's [22:28] a number of Democrats [22:30] who are uncommittable [22:31] on going with Schumer again [22:34] for majority leader. [22:36] When it comes to Republicans, [22:37] there's been a growing surge [22:40] or a number of Republicans [22:41] who said, [22:41] we need to hold off [22:42] before we hold an election [22:43] because we need to really assess [22:46] what went wrong in November [22:47] that caused us to lose [22:49] as majorly as we did. [22:50] Senator Jim Banks, [22:51] Senator Kennedy, [22:52] Senator Ron Johnson, [22:54] a number of them saying, [22:55] let's hold off [22:55] and wait a bit [22:56] before we elect [22:57] our next leader. [22:59] Torian Small, Capitol Hill. [23:00] Thank you very much. [23:01] As you might gather, [23:02] ladies and gentlemen, [23:03] when the president [23:03] has a press conference [23:04] and it sort of knocks us [23:06] off schedule here [23:06] at the takeout, [23:07] we're juggling things [23:08] as we go on, [23:09] but as we juggle real time, [23:10] I want to bring in [23:11] our national security analyst, [23:12] Aaron McClain. [23:12] He's also the host [23:13] of the Most Excellent [23:14] School of War podcast. [23:16] Did you hear what the president [23:17] was saying in the briefing room? [23:18] Major, I was listening [23:19] right along with you. [23:20] Okay. [23:22] You heard the part [23:22] where he said, [23:23] it's not over, [23:25] Ron's still a bully, [23:26] and then you heard [23:26] 50 minutes later [23:27] he said it's over [23:28] and Pete Hexeth won. [23:29] That's right. [23:30] That's right. [23:30] Can I be confused? [23:32] You can be confused. [23:33] In that latter context, [23:34] it definitely did not sound [23:35] like a president [23:36] who's about to throw [23:36] Pete Hexeth over the war. [23:38] Not in the slightest. [23:38] A very robust defense. [23:40] On the war itself, [23:41] look, I mean, [23:41] we're not in major [23:42] combat operations anymore [23:43] like we were in the spring, [23:44] but there's a naval blockade. [23:45] That's an active war. [23:46] There's an effort [23:46] to escort oil out of the strait. [23:48] That involves a lot of violence [23:49] on a day-to-day basis. [23:50] So there is a war. [23:51] Prices are elevated. [23:52] That's an uncomfortable fact [23:53] for the president [23:54] and for the secretary. [23:55] But for the president [23:56] to support the impeachment [23:57] of Pete Hexeth [23:58] because he got Iran wrong [23:59] would involve the president [24:00] confessing that Iran [24:01] has gone wrong, [24:02] and he's not going to do that. [24:03] So in his conversation [24:05] with 60 Minutes, [24:06] the president said, [24:09] declared emphatically [24:10] that Iran was two weeks away [24:12] from a nuclear weapon. [24:14] I think this is [24:14] a very important topic [24:16] because if in fact that's true, [24:18] but, and I may have missed it, [24:19] I've tried to read [24:20] a lot of things about this. [24:21] I've never read [24:22] anything definitive [24:23] that they were two weeks [24:24] from a bomb. [24:25] Secondly, [24:26] I've always believed [24:27] that in this context, [24:28] however close they are, [24:30] there was another stage, [24:31] ballistic missile delivery [24:32] and the like. [24:33] But the president makes it sound [24:35] like they were two weeks away [24:36] from basically wiping Israel [24:38] off the face of the map. [24:40] Is any of that true? [24:41] Two weeks, [24:42] it's hard to say [24:43] and I share your level [24:45] of skepticism, [24:46] but before Operation [24:47] Midnight Hammer in 2025, [24:49] look, [24:49] the Iranian nuclear program [24:50] was pretty advanced. [24:51] And that operation [24:53] combined with the damage done [24:54] this spring. [24:54] But that was a year ago. [24:55] That was a year ago. [24:56] That operation did meaningful [24:57] damage to the program [24:58] as did operations this spring. [25:00] But people can rebuild. [25:01] The Iranians can rebuild. [25:02] They have the facilities [25:02] and resources to rebuild. [25:04] So it's an ongoing issue [25:05] that's not been resolved [25:05] even if a lot of damage [25:07] has been done. [25:07] Right. [25:08] And I guess [25:08] the question I struggle with [25:11] relentlessly in this space, [25:13] Aaron, [25:13] is if it was, [25:15] to use the president's word, [25:17] from the summer of 2025, [25:18] decimated, [25:20] what materially was gained [25:21] in terms of degrading [25:23] their nuclear program [25:24] in February? [25:26] Right. [25:27] Do we have an answer to that? [25:28] Well, [25:29] we could go through [25:29] and total up the more, [25:31] the additional damage [25:32] that was done at places [25:32] like Natanz and Isfahan, [25:34] which indeed happened. [25:35] But it's very clear [25:36] in retrospect [25:37] that the president [25:37] and his team [25:38] believed that they were [25:39] going to have another [25:40] Venezuela-style operation, [25:41] which the president [25:41] also referred to [25:42] in these remarks [25:43] as a huge success. [25:44] That was Hexas' other win. [25:45] And that's a complicated win [25:46] as well, [25:46] which we could talk about. [25:47] But it was, in fact, [25:48] a quick military operation [25:49] that had a sort of [25:50] distinctive end [25:51] in fewer lingering military issues. [25:53] There were some [25:53] lingering political issues. [25:55] That's not what they got. [25:55] They got something [25:56] very different in Iran. [25:57] And we sat here in March, Major, [25:58] and said that they were [25:59] signing up for protracted [26:00] escort operations [26:01] in the Strait of Hormuz. [26:02] And here we are. [26:02] Here we are. [26:03] Aaron McClain, as always. [26:04] I appreciate it very much. [26:05] Thanks, Major. [26:05] Coming up is [26:06] President Biden's book [26:07] nears release. [26:08] It's a memoir. [26:09] New details on his mental [26:10] and physical state [26:11] toward the end of his presidency. [26:12] Jake Tapper [26:13] and Alex Thompson [26:14] with their extensive reporting [26:16] on that topic. [26:16] Join me next. [26:17] Takeout returns [26:18] in 90 seconds. [26:27] Welcome back to Takeout. [26:28] Former President Joe Biden [26:29] is releasing his book [26:30] Promise Me America [26:32] next week. [26:33] He said today [26:34] his prostate cancer [26:35] and related treatments [26:36] have forced him [26:37] to cut back promotion [26:38] of this presidential memoir. [26:40] On X, Biden said [26:41] treatment, quote, [26:43] sometimes slows me down. [26:45] What that means is, [26:46] unfortunately, [26:47] I won't be able [26:47] to do as many conversations [26:49] about my book [26:50] as I had hoped. [26:51] Unquote. [26:51] Earlier today, [26:53] I spoke with CNN anchor [26:54] Jake Tapper [26:55] and Axios national correspondent [26:56] Alex Thompson [26:57] about Original Sin, [26:59] their book-length reporting [27:01] on Biden's mental [27:02] and physical decline [27:03] while in office. [27:04] The paperback releases [27:05] this week. [27:06] Here is part [27:07] of our conversation. [27:08] Jake, Alex, [27:11] the new reporting [27:12] involves an anecdote [27:13] with Joe Biden [27:14] and his memory [27:15] of Beau and Bob Dole. [27:17] Jake, what did you find? [27:18] According to a source [27:20] that spoke with [27:21] then-President Biden [27:23] in 2024, [27:24] there were times, [27:25] especially in the evening, [27:26] when his memory [27:30] would evade him [27:32] and he would think [27:33] that Bob Dole [27:34] was still alive. [27:35] Bob Dole died in 2021. [27:38] President Biden spoke [27:39] at his memorial service. [27:40] And there was even a time [27:42] when he thought [27:43] that Beau, [27:44] his beloved son, [27:45] who had died in 2015, [27:47] was still alive. [27:49] And I think for a lot of us [27:51] who have had aging parents [27:53] or aging grandparents, [27:54] it's not an unfamiliar [27:56] situation. [27:59] It's not a pleasant thing [28:00] to report, [28:01] but it's a pretty [28:03] impeccable source [28:04] and this happened [28:05] and it kind of- [28:06] You have no doubt [28:07] in the authenticity [28:08] of that story? [28:10] None. [28:12] None. [28:12] And also just, [28:15] I know how hard it was [28:17] to get that source [28:17] to even allow me [28:20] to tell the story. [28:22] But yeah, no, [28:23] it's- [28:24] And I don't- [28:26] Again, [28:26] I don't even think [28:27] it's that hard to believe [28:28] for those of us [28:28] who have experienced people [28:29] who have gone through [28:30] the aging process. [28:31] Yep. [28:32] So, [28:33] an unnamed Biden spokesperson [28:34] said today, [28:35] I'm sure you're both familiar [28:36] with the quote, [28:37] that you are profiting [28:39] off a lie [28:39] and it calls into question [28:41] the character [28:42] and credibility [28:42] of the authors. [28:45] Want to address that? [28:48] They said [28:49] very much the same [28:50] when the book [28:51] came out [28:52] a year and a half ago? [28:53] Yes. [28:54] The hardcover came out, [28:55] first came out [28:55] a year and a half ago. [28:56] We have then since [28:57] gotten more reporting [28:58] for this paperback. [29:01] And other books [29:02] written by people [29:03] central to this [29:04] confirmed what was [29:05] in your book first. [29:07] Yes. [29:07] Kamala Harris has written- [29:09] Vice President Kamala Harris [29:10] has basically said [29:11] the decision to run [29:11] for re-election [29:12] was reckless, [29:13] that he would get fatigued [29:14] late at night. [29:16] I am not surprised [29:18] that the Biden people, [29:20] you know, [29:20] basically said that thing, [29:22] but we stand by [29:23] every single word [29:24] of the reporting. [29:25] And as Jake said, [29:26] this is a painful story. [29:28] It is a sad story. [29:29] And you are having, [29:30] you know, [29:31] a man in President Biden [29:32] who lived, you know, [29:34] sort of a gigantic [29:35] American life. [29:37] You know, [29:37] one of the longest [29:38] serving senators. [29:39] One of the earliest, [29:40] you know, [29:40] at a young age, [29:41] winning the Senate seat [29:42] at 29, [29:43] just before his 30th birthday. [29:45] You know, [29:45] his wife and daughter [29:46] dying very soon after. [29:49] Then, you know, [29:49] Hunter and Beau. [29:51] And then, you know, [29:52] basically being denied [29:53] the presidency [29:54] by his boss in 2016. [29:55] And then coming back [29:57] and, like, winning, [29:58] you know, [29:58] beating Trump [29:59] and winning the presidency. [30:00] And this is a very sad end [30:03] to that huge American story. [30:06] It is ultimately [30:06] a tragedy [30:08] of Shakespearean proportions. [30:11] It's part of the reason [30:11] why, you know, [30:13] we quote King Lear [30:14] at the very beginning [30:15] of the book. [30:17] because there are some parallels [30:19] of, you know, [30:20] as he gets older, [30:22] you know, [30:22] basically pushing aside, [30:23] you know, [30:25] people that are critics [30:26] and only being surrounded [30:27] by flatterers. [30:28] And, Jake, [30:29] the criticism that came [30:31] when the book [30:31] originally was published [30:32] was you were out [30:33] to get Joe Biden. [30:34] And from my reading [30:35] of the book, [30:36] the hardback [30:37] and the paperback, [30:38] the essence I get from it [30:39] is this did not have to be. [30:41] Yeah. [30:41] This was a solvable problem [30:43] to preserve [30:44] what you just talked about, [30:45] this grand American [30:46] political life. [30:47] One of the things [30:49] I always ask, [30:49] because, look, [30:50] this was not, [30:53] this was a difficult story [30:55] to tell [30:56] because we're talking [30:57] about the most sensitive topic [31:01] and the most undiscussed topic, [31:04] which is mortality. [31:06] And, [31:07] but one thing I always say [31:09] whenever I talk [31:10] to anybody about the book [31:11] who might be upset [31:12] about the book [31:13] or whatever, [31:13] I say, [31:13] did you read the book? [31:14] If they read the book, [31:15] I say, [31:15] do you think [31:16] we were unsympathetic? [31:18] Do you think [31:18] that we were mean to him? [31:20] And I've never met anybody [31:21] who thought we were [31:22] because we are sympathetic. [31:24] This is somebody [31:25] who had a great life [31:26] in public service. [31:28] But our reporting indicates [31:30] around the time [31:33] of Beau's death [31:33] in 2015, [31:34] he started [31:36] to deteriorate a bit [31:38] and it got worse [31:39] and worse and worse. [31:39] And then, [31:41] I really don't think, [31:42] and I think Alex would agree, [31:44] that it was until 2023, [31:45] 2024, [31:45] where the, [31:48] whatever was happening [31:48] to him [31:49] made it so he couldn't [31:50] really do the job [31:51] the way that you would [31:53] want a president [31:54] to be able to do the job. [31:55] There is nothing personal [31:57] I have [31:58] against President Biden, [32:00] First Lady Biden, [32:01] or anybody in that family. [32:02] I have nothing but sympathy. [32:03] This was, [32:04] we went at this [32:05] as journalists. [32:06] And our sources [32:07] were more than 200, [32:09] not only Democrats, [32:10] but 200 people, [32:11] many of whom, [32:12] you know, [32:12] obviously told their stories [32:13] on the record. [32:14] Right. [32:15] Who told their stories [32:16] loving Joe Biden, [32:19] but wishing he had not [32:20] run for re-election. [32:21] You're not someone [32:22] who can diagnose. [32:23] I'm not someone [32:23] who can diagnose. [32:24] But based on your reporting, [32:25] do you think the infirmities [32:26] were larger on the physical side [32:28] or the mental side? [32:30] I think there are [32:31] two different timelines there. [32:33] I think the physical infirmities, [32:35] you know, [32:36] really began starting in 2021, [32:39] 2022. [32:41] I mean, [32:41] you could see it just in, [32:41] like, how he would walk. [32:42] The rigidity of his gait. [32:44] Yes, exactly. [32:45] And, you know, [32:45] it was because, [32:46] you know, [32:47] the Biden people said, [32:48] well, it's because he, [32:49] you know, [32:50] broke his foot [32:52] in late 2020. [32:54] And then, you know, [32:55] he was so vigorous, [32:56] he didn't want to wear the boot. [32:58] But that was not really true. [33:00] The fact is that [33:01] he had significant arthritis [33:02] throughout his spine [33:02] and it was getting worse and worse. [33:04] By all accounts, [33:06] the mental decline, [33:08] the not being able [33:10] to consistently perform [33:12] at the level you'd want [33:13] a president to form. [33:15] That really starts shifting [33:17] according to all of our sources. [33:19] Basically, late, [33:21] like, late 2023. [33:23] It does sort of coincide [33:25] with the timeline [33:26] of Hunter Biden's plea deal [33:28] unraveling. [33:29] I think that's May or June, [33:30] though. [33:31] I think in 2023, [33:32] I think is when [33:33] the plea deal unravels. [33:34] The plea deal unravels in July [33:35] and the special counsels [33:36] announced in August. [33:38] And you start seeing [33:39] some of these anecdotes [33:40] come out, [33:40] him going to a fundraiser [33:42] and repeating the same story, [33:43] you know, [33:44] just like a few minutes apart. [33:46] And, you know, [33:47] I think that is when [33:48] people we've talked to [33:50] found that his mental acuity [33:51] was more unpredictable. [33:53] You can listen to my full interview [33:56] with Jake Tapper [33:57] and Alex Thompson. [33:58] It runs about 35 minutes [33:59] on your favorite podcast platform. [34:02] We're going to keep rolling here [34:03] at the Takeout, [34:04] juggling as we are. [34:05] It was history-making victory, [34:06] but it wasn't a given. [34:07] Last week, [34:08] Byron Donalds won [34:08] Florida's race for governor, [34:10] making him soon to be [34:11] the state's first-ever [34:12] black governor. [34:13] But the race was pretty close, [34:14] with about 100,000 votes [34:16] separating Donalds [34:17] from Democratic nominee [34:18] former Republican Congressman [34:20] David Jolly. [34:21] Still, [34:21] wins a win. [34:23] The same could not be said [34:24] for Republicans [34:24] who ran for governor in, [34:26] well, [34:26] let's name check, [34:27] Texas, Georgia, [34:28] Iowa, [34:28] just to name a few. [34:29] I'm joined now by Brad Herold, [34:31] senior advisor [34:32] to the Donalds campaign [34:33] and partner at [34:34] Something Else Strategies. [34:36] Okay. [34:37] Too close for comfort, [34:38] I think you would admit. [34:39] But a win is a win. [34:40] How did you do it? [34:41] And what lessons would you say [34:43] Republicans ought to take [34:44] from your, [34:45] not near-death experience, [34:47] but very close shave experience [34:48] in this very difficult climate? [34:50] You know, [34:50] that's a great question, Major. [34:52] And I would tell you, [34:52] I was the campaign manager [34:54] for Ron DeSantis' campaign [34:55] in 2018, [34:56] and I think people forget [34:57] in that race, [34:58] it was so close, [34:59] it was a recount. [35:00] Andrew Gillum. [35:00] It was Andrew Gillum. [35:01] This close. [35:01] We went to a recount. [35:02] That's right. [35:03] Nobody remembers that [35:04] because of how Ron has governed [35:05] over the last eight years. [35:07] And so I told Byron [35:08] on election night, [35:09] nobody's going to remember [35:09] the margin [35:10] if you're a good governor. [35:11] And I think the way [35:12] that we did it [35:12] is we made the race [35:14] about Florida, [35:14] not about Washington. [35:16] And then governor races- [35:16] Not about Trump. [35:17] Not about Trump. [35:18] We love the president. [35:19] The president's very popular. [35:20] We talked about the president. [35:21] We had him down for rallies. [35:23] But we made the race [35:24] about Florida. [35:25] And affordability [35:25] was the number one issue. [35:27] We weren't going to win [35:27] the campaign [35:28] on talking about [35:29] national affordability issues. [35:30] We were going to win [35:31] the campaign talking [35:31] about Florida affordability issues. [35:33] And speaking of [35:34] soon-to-be [35:35] former Governor DeSantis, [35:36] he said Republicans, [35:37] one of the reasons [35:38] they lost [35:38] is they were gaslighting [35:39] the country [35:40] about gas prices, [35:41] saying they were all [35:42] blaming Biden. [35:44] Is that how you read it? [35:45] I don't know [35:46] that I read it [35:46] exactly like that, [35:47] but I think that [35:48] when on campaigns [35:50] I tell people all the time [35:51] we're essentially [35:51] remora fish. [35:52] We're swimming [35:53] in the tide [35:54] of the national environment. [35:56] We can't fight against that. [35:57] We can't convince people [35:58] that water isn't wet. [35:59] It's our job to go out. [36:00] Or the gas isn't expensive. [36:02] Or the gas isn't expensive. [36:03] And I think our job [36:03] was to tell people [36:04] a story of how [36:05] if Byron Donalds [36:06] became governor, [36:07] how he was going to make [36:08] things more affordable [36:08] for them. [36:09] And if David Jolly was elected, [36:10] how things would be [36:11] less affordable [36:12] and more unaffordable. [36:13] And I think that's [36:13] what we did [36:14] and that's really [36:14] what carried the day [36:15] for Florida. [36:16] And yet several [36:17] Republicans lost [36:18] House races. [36:18] A couple still [36:19] haven't been called [36:20] in Florida. [36:21] So down ballot, [36:22] it was a little rocky [36:22] for Republicans. [36:23] Yeah, it's definitely [36:24] one of the more, [36:26] I would say, [36:27] tougher cycles [36:28] we've had in Florida [36:28] since I've been there. [36:31] But Florida [36:31] has solidified itself [36:33] as a red state now. [36:34] Do you think [36:34] it's a red state, [36:35] bankable red state, [36:36] meaning Republicans [36:37] can rely on it [36:38] in 2028? [36:39] I think as long [36:40] as there's good [36:41] Republican leadership [36:42] on the statewide [36:43] level, [36:43] and I think Byron's [36:44] going to provide that. [36:44] I think people in Florida [36:45] like what Governor DeSantis [36:47] has done over the last [36:47] eight years. [36:48] His legacy was something [36:49] that helped Byron [36:50] in his campaign. [36:52] And telling people [36:52] that David Jolly [36:53] was going to ruin [36:54] that legacy [36:54] also helped Byron. [36:56] And I think that [36:56] as long as Byron does that, [36:58] people like the leadership [36:59] they're having in Florida. [37:00] Something also happened [37:01] in this midterm election [37:02] in Florida. [37:03] Amendment 3 passed, [37:04] which creates [37:05] more of a shield [37:07] for property taxpayers [37:08] in Florida [37:09] from property taxes. [37:11] And there's outside [37:13] financial auditing estimates [37:15] that this is going [37:16] to cost the state [37:16] billions upon billions [37:17] of dollars in revenue [37:18] and all sorts of headlines [37:20] that it could lead [37:22] to defunding, [37:23] if not defunding, [37:24] but reductions, [37:25] demonstrative reductions [37:26] in police, [37:27] firefighter, [37:28] and EMS, [37:28] particularly in small towns [37:29] in Florida. [37:31] Byron Donalds was for [37:32] passage of Amendment 3. [37:34] How does he fix this? [37:35] How does he be a good governor [37:37] to use your words [37:38] with much less revenue? [37:40] Well, I think that's [37:40] a big part of what he [37:41] and the legislature [37:42] are going to have to figure out [37:43] in the first part of the year. [37:44] But I think the Florida voters, [37:46] property taxes in Florida [37:47] are too high. [37:48] Byron was very clear [37:49] about this. [37:50] They want relief. [37:51] And I think it's now up [37:52] to Byron and the legislature. [37:52] Was that part of [37:53] the affordability conversation? [37:54] Absolutely. [37:54] I think Byron was out there [37:56] talking about it [37:56] the same way the governor was, [37:57] that this was something [37:58] that was going to be good [37:58] for the state. [37:59] We're going to protect teachers. [38:01] We're going to protect firefighters. [38:02] We're going to protect police. [38:03] Things are going to be more affordable. [38:04] With billions less in revenue. [38:05] Oh, I think that they'll be able [38:06] to figure this out. [38:07] Florida is the budget [38:08] in Florida has grown every year [38:09] because of the people [38:10] who are moving in [38:11] for conservative policies [38:12] and want the freedom [38:13] that Florida provides. [38:14] And that's going to continue [38:15] to grow the tax base. [38:16] They'll find a way [38:17] to make it work. [38:17] And I trust Byron. [38:18] I know the voters do too. [38:19] How much of an advisor, [38:21] formal or informal, [38:22] will Governor DeSantis be [38:23] for Byron Donalds [38:24] as the new governor? [38:25] You know, that's a good question. [38:26] I know they've spoken [38:27] since the election. [38:28] They spoke before the election. [38:29] Byron has been very adamant [38:31] that Ron DeSantis [38:32] is the best governor [38:32] Florida has ever had. [38:33] And I think if as much help [38:35] as the governor wants to give, [38:36] Byron will take it. [38:36] And I think we're looking forward [38:37] to a smooth transition. [38:39] And if Byron can continue [38:41] that legacy that we've had [38:42] for the last eight years, [38:43] he would consider that [38:43] a huge success. [38:44] Based on his assessment [38:45] of Ron DeSantis, [38:47] does Byron Donalds [38:48] believe he will once again [38:50] seek the Republican nomination [38:51] for president? [38:52] You know, I think Byron's [38:53] been asked that a few times [38:54] over the last couple of days. [38:55] I'll echo him [38:56] that he's going to wait [38:57] and see. [38:57] He's wholly focused [38:58] on transitioning the government [39:00] over to his administration. [39:01] Brad, very quickly, [39:02] how damaging do you think [39:03] the midterm election result [39:04] it was for people [39:05] in the Trump cabinet [39:07] or like the vice president, [39:09] J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio? [39:11] Well, I don't know how to do it. [39:12] Does it cast a pall [39:12] over their ambitions? [39:13] I don't know that it does. [39:14] What I would say is that [39:15] what Republicans [39:17] are looking for now, [39:18] we spent a week [39:18] licking our wounds, [39:19] but I think we're coming [39:20] out of that now [39:21] and we're looking for [39:21] who's going to lead us [39:22] out of this. [39:23] And I think there's [39:23] an opportunity for a lot [39:24] of people, the president, [39:26] the vice president, [39:27] secretary of state, [39:28] Marco Rubio, [39:28] Governor DeSantis, [39:29] there's a lot of people [39:30] who can lead us out of this. [39:31] Brad Harreld, [39:31] I appreciate the time [39:32] very much, thank you. [39:33] Coming up, [39:34] we've come up for air [39:35] after the blue, [39:36] no, no, we don't use [39:37] Blue Nami here, [39:37] we use Bluezilla. [39:39] Okay, Bluezilla writers, [39:40] not Blue Nami. [39:42] Now it's time to inspect [39:43] all that happened [39:44] and we're going to focus [39:45] on North Carolina [39:46] when we come back. [39:47] I'll tell you why [39:47] when we come back. [39:58] Welcome back to the takeout, [39:59] still hanging out here [39:59] in the conversation corner. [40:00] Okay, everyone has [40:01] their own terminology. [40:03] Wipeout, [40:03] that's what Sabato's [40:04] Cristobal is calling [40:05] last week's midterm elections [40:06] for Republicans. [40:07] Vote still coming in, [40:08] some Republicans [40:09] are barely hanging on [40:10] in districts that voted [40:11] for President Trump [40:12] in 2024 by 10 to 12 points. [40:15] Joining me now, [40:16] CBS News contributor [40:17] Kyle Kondak. [40:17] He's also managing editor [40:19] of Sabato's Crystal Ball, [40:21] that's Larry Sabato, [40:22] at the University of Virginia's [40:24] Center for Politics. [40:25] All right, [40:27] ladies and gentlemen, [40:27] when we talk about districts [40:29] in the House, [40:30] there's what's called [40:31] a partisan vote index [40:32] or in the presidential campaign, [40:34] a plus rating numerically. [40:37] And Kyle, [40:38] you have some information [40:39] to share about [40:40] if you were in a plus nine [40:42] Trump district [40:43] and you were a Republican, [40:45] did you survive? [40:46] Yes or no? [40:46] If you were under plus nine, [40:48] you lost. [40:49] Straight out, [40:50] everybody lost. [40:51] All of the great [40:52] Republican electoral performers, [40:53] Brian Fitzpatrick [40:54] in the Philadelphia area, [40:55] Mike Turner in Dayton, Ohio, [40:57] Brian Stile in southeast Wisconsin, [40:59] that's the old Paul Ryan seat. [41:01] You know, [41:01] a lot of these places [41:02] were districts [41:03] that weren't even competitive [41:05] in 2018, [41:06] you know, [41:06] for the most part. [41:07] But you've, [41:08] and this, [41:09] so this is the first time [41:09] really in any history [41:11] that I can find [41:11] that there are going [41:12] to be no Republicans [41:13] in what we call [41:14] crossover districts, [41:15] meaning that [41:15] there are no Republicans [41:16] in districts [41:17] that Kamala Harris [41:18] carried for president. [41:19] You go back through history, [41:20] even when, [41:21] you know, [41:22] Walter Mondale [41:22] was getting blown out [41:23] in 1984, [41:24] there was still [41:25] at least one Republican [41:26] in a district [41:26] that Mondale [41:27] had actually won. [41:28] Right. [41:28] Same thing with, [41:29] you know, [41:29] there was a McGovern district [41:31] Republican in the 70s. [41:32] Right. [41:33] They're all gone. [41:34] They're all gone. [41:35] They're all gone. [41:35] And it's, [41:36] I can't say [41:37] it's never happened before, [41:38] but never in modern times. [41:39] The only safe space [41:40] was 10 points [41:42] or higher, [41:43] Trump 2024. [41:44] And even then, [41:45] just barely. [41:46] And then you still [41:47] had a bunch of Republicans [41:48] in Trump [41:49] double-digit districts [41:50] losing. [41:51] I mean, [41:51] we're still figuring out [41:52] the exact numbers. [41:53] A lot of these races [41:53] remain formally uncalled, [41:56] but it's wild. [41:57] I mean, [41:57] I told you this stat [41:58] before, [41:59] let me just repeat it. [42:00] So this is, [42:00] I think this is just crazy. [42:01] So in 2024, [42:03] the reddest House seat [42:05] won by any Democrat [42:07] was Jared Golden [42:08] in Maine's 2nd District. [42:09] Okay? [42:10] Paul LePage, [42:10] a Republican, [42:11] flipped that district. [42:12] Now, [42:13] Paul LePage [42:13] is the Republican [42:14] in the bluest House district, [42:16] Trump plus nine. [42:17] Of course, [42:18] Trump plus nine [42:18] is not very blue, [42:19] but Paul LePage [42:20] won that seat, [42:21] and it's just, [42:22] it's wild how much it turned. [42:23] Tell me about North Carolina, [42:25] because I'm fascinated [42:25] by what happened there [42:26] and the totality [42:28] of Republican House losses [42:29] in that state. [42:31] Yeah, [42:31] so that's also a place [42:32] where there are [42:33] a few uncalled races. [42:34] Two, I think. [42:35] But that's a, [42:36] you know, [42:36] that was a Republican gerrymander [42:38] and they went [42:39] a little bit further. [42:39] That was a gerrymander [42:40] that predated the sort of [42:42] 2025 gerrymander. [42:44] That happened earlier. [42:45] They did two iterations of it. [42:46] There was the, [42:47] so there was a court-drawn map [42:48] in 2022 [42:49] that was fairly balanced. [42:50] 7-7. [42:51] Yeah, [42:51] Republicans took control [42:52] of the state Supreme Court. [42:53] Changed it to 10-4. [42:54] That's right. [42:55] What's it going to be now? [42:57] I think- [42:57] At least. [42:58] At least 10-4 Democratic, [42:59] I think, [43:00] yeah. [43:01] And it just goes to show [43:02] that, I mean, [43:02] there were gradations [43:03] of how bad it was [43:05] for Republicans [43:05] in a certain place. [43:06] You're just talking [43:06] about Florida. [43:07] You know, [43:07] Florida Republicans [43:08] held on okay there, [43:10] but North Carolina, [43:11] man, [43:11] the bottom just dropped out. [43:12] And it was, [43:12] there was some evidence [43:13] from the early vote [43:14] that that was the case. [43:15] You know, [43:15] Roy Cooper won the Senate race [43:16] by almost 20 points. [43:17] Almost 20 points. [43:18] And so it was just, [43:19] you know, [43:20] usually we think [43:21] of North Carolina [43:21] as being this, [43:22] like, [43:22] trench warfare state [43:23] that Republicans [43:24] have a tiny advantage in, [43:26] and the Republicans [43:27] just gave up. [43:27] And yet, [43:28] in North Carolina, [43:29] I believe it was [43:30] three amendments [43:31] or referenda [43:32] on the conservative side [43:33] all passed, [43:34] but Republicans lost. [43:37] Yeah. [43:37] And it goes, [43:38] you know, [43:38] you see this in ballot. [43:39] That's a Trump effect. [43:40] Yeah. [43:40] And there's, [43:40] and also, [43:41] you know, [43:42] there have been times [43:43] when like the minimum wage [43:44] will pass. [43:44] Like I remember in, [43:45] when Claire McCaskill [43:46] lost in 2018 [43:46] in Missouri, [43:48] you know, [43:48] she lost going away, [43:50] but minimum wage [43:51] passed in Missouri. [43:51] Sometimes those things [43:52] diverge. [43:53] Kyle Kondik, [43:53] always with the great numbers. [43:54] I appreciate your time, [43:55] expertise so much. [43:56] Next up, [43:57] progressive straw poll [43:58] this weekend here [43:59] in Washington, [43:59] crowned for whatever [44:01] it's worth. [44:01] John Assa, [44:02] first choice [44:03] for the 2028 [44:04] Democratic nominee [44:05] for president [44:05] for whatever that's worth. [44:07] Seriously, [44:08] our panel will try [44:08] to tell us [44:09] when we come back. [44:09] This is The Takeout. [44:15] Welcome back to The Takeout [44:17] here at The Takeout Tavern. [44:18] Yes, [44:18] my voice is a little stressed. [44:19] It was a long week [44:21] last week, [44:21] and I'm still dealing [44:22] with it. [44:23] So political panel time, [44:24] Democratic strategist, [44:25] Sawyer Hackett, [44:26] and CBS News [44:27] political director, [44:28] Finn Gomez, [44:29] Sawyer Finn. [44:30] You can do the [44:30] Mark Twain name game [44:31] all to your heart's content. [44:33] We will not dwell [44:33] on that here. [44:34] You were at Crooked Con [44:36] this weekend. [44:37] Yes. [44:37] Explain briefly [44:38] what that is [44:39] and what you learned [44:40] about John Ossoff there. [44:42] Yeah, [44:43] it's an annual gathering [44:44] of progressives [44:45] held by the Crooked Media, [44:47] the same guys [44:47] that you said [44:47] in Kupati of America. [44:49] John Ossoff, [44:50] who obviously won [44:51] his re-election bid. [44:53] Comfortably in Georgia. [44:54] By a lot, [44:55] by 15 points. [44:56] He won the straw poll [44:59] on Saturday, [45:01] also by a lot, [45:02] but a little bit surprising [45:02] because he's more [45:03] of a centrist, [45:04] I think, [45:05] but he did win. [45:07] AOC was second, [45:09] and third was Pete Buttigieg. [45:10] What do you make [45:11] of that, Sawyer, [45:11] if anything? [45:12] I think, you know, [45:14] Ossoff is having [45:14] a moment, number one, [45:15] because he was already [45:16] speculated to run [45:17] for president [45:17] before this cycle. [45:19] He's a good-looking, [45:20] charismatic... [45:21] Super powerhouse fundraiser. [45:23] Super powerhouse fundraiser, [45:24] young, [45:25] from a red state. [45:26] From a red state. [45:27] We're running one twice now, [45:29] under difficult circumstances. [45:30] First time, [45:30] really difficult. [45:31] Second time, [45:32] looked initially difficult. [45:33] Blew out. [45:34] Mike Collins, [45:34] the Republican senatorial nominee. [45:36] Right. [45:36] And he's shown [45:37] that he can also win [45:37] over some of the key [45:38] constituencies [45:39] that Democrats need to win, [45:40] like black voters [45:40] in the South. [45:41] And I think, [45:42] more so than any... [45:43] And some white rural voters. [45:44] And white rural voters. [45:45] Exactly. [45:45] In Georgia. [45:45] Yeah, swing voters. [45:46] I think no other candidate [45:47] this cycle has done [45:48] a better job, [45:49] I think, [45:49] of eviscerating Trump [45:50] on the question of corruption [45:51] and also affordability. [45:53] Being able to merge [45:54] those two things, [45:55] I think, [45:55] is what we need in a nominee. [45:56] So I think that's why [45:57] he's having a moment. [45:58] Very strong social media [45:58] presence also. [45:59] Finn also mentioned [46:00] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. [46:02] The New York Times reports [46:03] there is a draft AOC [46:05] for president group [46:06] already forming. [46:08] Does that signal [46:08] anything of note to you? [46:10] She would be [46:11] a tremendous candidate. [46:12] I mean, [46:12] she, I think... [46:13] Why? [46:13] Would clear the field [46:14] in a lot of ways [46:15] of the progressive lane, [46:16] I think. [46:17] I think. [46:18] I mean, [46:18] maybe not. [46:19] I could be wrong about that. [46:20] But I think she would have [46:21] that progressive lane [46:22] largely to herself. [46:23] She would be the frontrunner [46:24] in that specific lane [46:25] if there is one. [46:26] Also, [46:26] she's just, [46:27] I think, [46:28] speculated to have [46:28] a very bright future, [46:29] whether that's in the Senate [46:30] or running for president. [46:32] Not sure whether [46:32] it's her time yet, [46:33] but she'll decide [46:34] that for herself. [46:35] Well, she did say [46:35] during that, [46:36] there was reporting [46:37] that during a fundraiser [46:40] in the cycle, [46:41] she said that she was [46:42] looking at Michigan. [46:43] And if Al-Sayed won, [46:44] which he did, [46:45] that she basically said... [46:46] That would sort of [46:47] validate the idea [46:48] that a progressive candidacy [46:49] in Michigan [46:50] might create [46:51] an opening for one [46:52] nationally. [46:53] That's right. [46:54] And I think more so [46:55] than progressivism [46:56] having a moment right now, [46:57] it's populism having a moment. [46:58] And I think AOC [46:59] has been kind of a steward [47:00] of the populist agenda. [47:00] Well, I would argue [47:02] that populism's been [47:03] having a moment [47:03] on the Trumpian side [47:04] of the ledger [47:05] since 2016. [47:06] What you're saying, [47:07] I think, [47:07] is on the Democratic side, [47:09] it's getting a little bit [47:09] more definitional [47:10] and a little bit more popular. [47:12] Right. [47:12] And I think in some ways [47:13] that's a horseshoe version [47:15] of politics [47:15] where you can reach [47:16] as few voters... [47:16] As it was with Bernie [47:17] and Trump back in 2015, 2016. [47:19] You know, Bernie Sanders, [47:20] Bernie Sanders won [47:21] the Rio Grande Valley [47:21] in Texas, [47:22] an area that's viewed [47:23] as very centrist [47:24] and moderate [47:25] and, you know, [47:26] Latino, obviously, [47:27] heavily Latino districts. [47:28] But, you know, [47:30] it's... [47:30] I think that populist agenda [47:31] can speak to a lot [47:32] of different constituencies. [47:32] All right. [47:33] I want to play for you [47:33] something that Adam Hamilton, [47:34] the senator-elect from Kansas, [47:36] said on Meet the Press, [47:37] because I think it goes [47:37] to the heart [47:38] of this Democratic conversation. [47:41] How heavy to be [47:41] on investigations? [47:42] How heavy to be [47:43] on affordability? [47:44] Please listen. [47:45] We're going to start there. [47:46] If I spent the next two years, [47:48] my first two years [47:49] in the Senate, [47:49] in investigations, [47:50] I'd be deeply disappointed. [47:51] I want to get to work [47:52] helping the people in my state [47:54] and helping the people [47:54] across the country. [47:55] So what I'm interested in is, [47:57] yes, let's get guardrails [47:58] put in place [47:59] so that we don't see [47:59] these kinds of things [48:00] happen again, [48:01] but let's focus on [48:02] helping the American people. [48:03] And I'll tell you, [48:04] the Democrats, [48:04] if they don't... [48:05] if we don't figure that out [48:07] and get to work [48:08] on helping people, [48:09] this is going to be [48:10] a one-and-done [48:11] kind of, you know, [48:13] kind of blue wave. [48:14] A one-and-done [48:15] kind of blue wave. [48:16] Sawyer? [48:17] Affordability is certainly [48:18] the number one focus [48:19] of voters right now. [48:20] I think it's the... [48:20] But isn't there a tension [48:21] internally that Democrats [48:23] don't want to say, [48:23] no, we're not going to let them [48:24] get it away with it [48:25] and just stop it in the future? [48:26] Right. [48:27] And I think there's a risk [48:28] for Democrats [48:28] of underselling the mandate [48:30] that voters just gave us. [48:31] I don't think we won Texas [48:32] and Mississippi [48:33] and South Carolina [48:34] solely because of gas [48:36] and groceries. [48:36] That was the primary reason. [48:37] But voters showed up [48:39] on the issue of corruption. [48:40] They showed up [48:40] on the issue of immigration. [48:42] It would be a mistake, [48:42] I think, for Democrats [48:43] not to take that mandate [48:44] to address the issue [48:46] of affordability [48:46] and also accountability. [48:47] Finn, you get the last 20 seconds. [48:49] Conversely, though, [48:49] it also gave Donald Trump [48:51] an opportunity [48:51] to make his big political comeback [48:53] in 24 [48:53] when these investigations [48:54] started on him. [48:56] And this could give an opening [48:57] to potentially to conservatives. [48:59] Well, you need the facts. [49:00] You need the law. [49:01] You need to put them together [49:02] so the American public understands them. [49:03] Maybe that was a problem in 2024. [49:05] It might not be in 2024. [49:06] Maybe 20, 20, 27. [49:08] Who said it? [49:08] Sorry, Hackett. [49:09] Finn Gomez, [49:10] do the Mark Twain thing on your own. [49:11] I'm not going to bother you, people. [49:12] Happy Monday, everyone. [49:13] This is The Takeout. [49:14] Relentlessly curious, [49:15] reliably civil, [49:16] occasionally clever, [49:17] even with my strained voice. [49:18] The Daily Report, [49:19] coming your way next.