'You STILL have to deal with Trump!': The REALITY facing Senate Democrats in 2027

[0:00] Let's talk about the playbook here for Democrats. [0:02] I'm curious, you know, yes, they also have some leadership things they have to sort out. [0:07] We did hear yesterday that Charles Schumer is going to be challenged as Senate Majority Leader. [0:12] I don't think he's at much risk of losing that position. [0:18] But this is now, to your point about how massive these wins are, well, yeah, the numbers are big. [0:24] There's a lot of different agendas in the room now they're going to have to sort together [0:27] and figure out approach to how to deal with President Trump, including that mix of legislation versus investigation. [0:34] Yeah, they've gone off to kind of a, I don't want to overstate it. [0:38] It's like mildly rocky start for over the past days. [0:42] The impeachment vote in the House with respect to Hague, Seth, where they couldn't get everyone there. [0:47] That was, it wasn't going to change the outcome necessarily, but it's an embarrassment, right? [0:51] And then there was another veterans fair, veterans bill that the House wanted to pass [0:55] and kind of Republicans procedurally sneaked around them. [0:58] And now you have this leadership challenge to Schumer, which it was going to happen, right? [1:04] Like, it could have happened if the majority they won was minor. [1:09] It definitely would have happened if they hadn't gotten the majority in the Senate. [1:12] So there was some consideration that because they were likely to win 56 Senate seats, [1:17] that Schumer would have avoided this. [1:20] But in reality, look, a lot of these people ran for office saying we need new party leadership, [1:27] that the leadership was antiquated, that it didn't really reflect the interests of Democrats. [1:32] So it was going to happen. [1:34] That said, it's hard to imagine when you win 56 Senate seats and flip, what was it, nine? [1:41] I mean, if they do get there, that you can then turn around and say, you know what? [1:46] Schumer didn't do the job, right? [1:47] Like, the job is that. [1:49] So I have a, I mean, just from talking to a few folks about this and getting a sense of [1:55] just the Democratic Party, that ultimately they will rally around Schumer. [1:59] But it's a conversation that I think they shouldn't be scared of either, [2:02] because they do need to transition eventually to a new generation of leaders. [2:07] And Van Hollen has been primed for that task. [2:11] Yeah, Sam's right. [2:11] The net gain as of right now for Democrats in the Senate is eight, [2:14] but they hope it'll become nine when the Alaska vote all comes in. [2:17] Tim, you've got a new piece on your must-read substack, American Times. [2:22] It's titled 2026 in Context. [2:25] In it, you compare last week's midterms to previous elections going back to 1974. [2:29] And you write this, quote, [2:31] Democrats won the popular vote in the House by 13 to 14 points, [2:35] marking the largest margin since 1974, [2:38] when Democrats won by 16.8 points in the wake of Watergate [2:42] and President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. [2:44] Still, Democrats cannot get ahead of themselves. [2:47] President Trump remains the most unpredictable political force in the 21st century, [2:52] and an incredibly powerful one. [2:54] While he said he accepted the results and looked forward to working with Democrats, [2:58] uncertainty and a still angry electorate loom over the final two years of Trump's term. [3:04] The affordability crisis remains the top issue for voters, [3:07] with few solutions in sight, while the war in Iran also continues. [3:11] And Tim, you're right. [3:11] Voters' patience will be thin. [3:13] They'll say to Democrats, [3:14] we elected you to bring down the cost of living in this country. [3:18] And if Democrats don't do it, and soon, which is not an easy task, [3:22] they may pay for it sooner than they think. [3:25] Well, I think now we have a transactional electorate. [3:28] We may have entered into a new age of politics in 2026. [3:33] You see Democrats, people who voted for Democrats, [3:36] give a handshake, not a hug. [3:38] Take a look at young men who are talked about a lot, who voted 56% for Donald Trump in 2024. [3:45] 59% of them went for Democrats in 2026. [3:50] And I think the answer is, they look out at a country where they can't afford a mortgage, [3:55] they can't afford rent, they can't afford, you know, gas or groceries. [3:59] They have to decide between the two. [4:01] And meanwhile, you have Donald Trump calling everyone a jihadi communist who's coming across [4:06] the border to stick fentanyl in your neck and put a transsexual male playing sports against [4:12] your daughter. [4:13] And they say, well, that's just not the reality I'm in. [4:16] And so what we saw in this election is seven states, seven, that went for Donald Trump three [4:22] times in a row in 16, 20 and 24 go for Democrats this year in the United States Senate. [4:28] This is a wipeout of historic proportions. [4:32] But again, the message is clear. [4:34] And that's for elected officials to deliver or to disappear. [4:37] So let me ask you a question. [4:39] One of the big things about people's lives, especially at your age, people your age, is [4:44] uncertainty, uncertainty about tomorrow, uncertainty about the near future. [4:50] What's the impact of so much uncertainty among people in your age group? [4:54] Well, if you just go back and look at young men, the things that are available to young [4:59] men in this country immediately are gambling, are pornography, are marijuana, Bud Light, [5:06] anything at your corner store. [5:08] The things that aren't available to you are a secure job, are a mortgage, are a future that [5:14] you can depend on. [5:15] The things that we're told growing up the American dream is all about. [5:19] Those are the things that aren't available to you anymore. [5:21] And people notice and they notice that Donald Trump was lining his pockets while theirs were [5:27] going empty. [5:27] And that applies to all generations. [5:29] But for young people, the most. [5:32] So, Sam, both Tim and Ann Applebaum earlier were saying that the electorate is kind of ready [5:37] for a big change, that there's a huge amount of dissatisfaction, particularly among young [5:40] people, but across the country generally. [5:42] You and I were just talking. [5:43] If you ran through the things that the Democrats could actually change, could have an impact on, [5:48] let's take health care, cost of living and wages. [5:53] Is there somewhere where after two years, Democrats would be able to say to the electorate, [5:58] actually, we did deliver something for you? [6:01] No. [6:02] Wait, come on. [6:03] Every one of those requires Trump's signature, right? [6:07] Is there one on that list that doesn't require Trump's signature? [6:10] Are there things they could do around the margins? [6:13] You can give Trump a bill. [6:14] You can give Trump a bill that says we're going to raise the minimum wage, right at $7.25 [6:19] an hour right now, federal minimum wage. [6:22] You could say, let's get it up to $15, which is not even close to what most Democrats want [6:27] anyway. [6:28] And you could say, hey, you have to sign this, right? [6:30] Maybe he does. [6:31] Maybe he doesn't. [6:32] He's kind of flirted with the idea. [6:34] But my guess is he would say, again, because we know past his prologue, he'll say, I'm not [6:39] signing a piece of legislation unless you drop your investigations into me. [6:43] Anything you want comes with a price. [6:44] So then you can say, OK, well, maybe we can demand certain things in exchange for funding [6:50] the government. [6:50] There's a government funding bill that comes up in December. [6:52] They're going to try to kick it into the next year when they have more power. [6:56] We'll fund the government, but you have to reform ICE. [6:58] You have to take the money that you set aside for ICE and, you know, repair the Medicaid [7:03] cuts. [7:04] Trump will maybe sign something like that, but he's going to demand something in exchange. [7:08] I think for the next two years, Democrats have to probably force a lot of these issues [7:12] to the forefront. [7:13] Make Trump uncomfortable about it. [7:15] Conduct aggressive oversight on areas where they can and take incremental wins and then [7:20] set the stage for what might happen after the 2028 elections, because fundamentally the [7:25] reality is the same. [7:27] You might have the Senate, you might have the House, but you still have to deal with Trump. [7:29] You still have to get a signature on a lot of this stuff. [7:32] And it's impossible to predict how he's going to react to any of this. [7:35] Could be a wild two years. [7:38] Sam Stein, thanks. [7:39] And do bring a parent or guardian with you next time. [7:41] We're going to make that new policy on this show. [7:43] I wish I had been warned. [7:47] I would have brought my dad. [7:48] Hey, it's Rachel. [7:49] I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip, because this is where I get to tell [7:53] you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything on MSNOW [7:59] on your phone or your tablet or your laptop. [8:01] You can watch things live or recorded. [8:03] Plus, you can ask me and all the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. [8:09] You can go to MSNOW membership or just click below. [8:15] Thanks.