1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: One of the scariest and most inexcusable aspects of this 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: era is the degree to it. So many opponents of 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Donald Trump use him as a prompt to better position themselves. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: The Biden presidential campaign is a perfect example. Make no mistake, 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,759 Speaker 1: Joe Biden's presidential campaign wants Donald Trump to be the 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Republican nominee. They are hoping that will happen. What that 7 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: means is the Democrats around President Biden are hoping Donald 8 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: Trump wins elections that he moves closer, not further away, 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: from the presidency. The theory goes that Donald Trump is 10 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: the easiest Republican candidate, the easiest extremist candidate for the 11 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: president to be. This is a normal line of thinking 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: in a presidential campaign, for example, in two thousand and 13 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: four or the Bush campaign feared Dick Geppart is a 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: candidate more than any other. I've always believed had he 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: been the Democratic nominee, it's likely he would have been 16 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: elected president in that year. But at any rate, this 17 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: isn't that year. This is twenty twenty four, and the 18 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: stakes of the coming election are existential. The Biden campaign 19 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: has made it clear they're not worried about the president's 20 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: age as a political liability. In fact, they view it 21 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: as an asset. In fact, they intend to run on 22 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: President Biden's wisdom. That's how they see it. Now. There's 23 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: an important consideration in the construction of a presidential campaign. 24 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: There is the way the world is, and there is 25 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: the way we wish it to be. It is essentially 26 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: in the business of presidential politics to know where the 27 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: boundary lines between those two worlds are, because it is 28 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: essential for the person who seeks to be commander in chief, 29 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: head of state, president to be fully in touch with 30 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: the country, with the American people. Apparently, the most articulate 31 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 1: and effective spokesperson in the Democratic Party, in the eyes 32 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: of many Biden staffers, is a nuisance, not an asset. 33 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: And even more disturbing, there is deep unhappiness apparently on 34 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: Vice President Kamala Harris's team. They're worried that Gavin Newsom, 35 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: governor of the fifth largest economy in the world, the 36 00:02:55,720 --> 00:03:01,559 Speaker 1: mega state of California, the chief driver of America's economy, 37 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: America's agricultural breadbasket, is a little ahead of himself, that 38 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: he's being disrespectful and that he's out of line and 39 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: out of position. Apparently, Team Harris has their eye on 40 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: the twenty twenty eight primary, according to the NBC news story. 41 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: And if that doesn't make you want to scream out 42 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: loud and swear at the top of your lungs, I 43 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: don't know what could possibly make you do so, then 44 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: it is outrageous. The election right now, in a proposed 45 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: general election matchup between Trump and Biden, is very very close, 46 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: very close. Too close. Considering that Donald Trump is the 47 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: worst president in American history. He led a coup and 48 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: an insurrection and faces ninety one felony counts, the race 49 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: is too close. And anybody who says that Donald Trump 50 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: cannot be elected on any given day is a fool. 51 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to my political commentary. If you 52 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: like what you've heard today, please also consider subscribing to 53 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: The Warning daily newsletter on substack. Our democracy hangs in 54 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: the balance. The twenty twenty four presidential election is the 55 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: most consequential in America's history. It's not hyperbole, it's a fact. 56 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: That is why the mission of The Warning with Steve 57 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: Schmidt is to help readers orient to the currents that 58 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: are shaping our times and the unseen forces driving politics 59 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: that are very rarely discussed on cable news. Please sign 60 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: up at Steve s T E Ve E, S C, 61 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: H M I d T dot substack dot com again 62 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: Steve Schmidt dot substack dot com, or at the link 63 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: in the show notes section below. Thank you to each 64 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: and every one of you for listening and watching. Gavin Newsom, 65 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: the governor of California, has agreed to a debate challenge 66 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: offered to him by Sean Hannity, the primetime Fox News 67 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: propagandist who has stewarded the fascist age in the United States. 68 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: He asked the California governor if he would debate Ron DeSantis, 69 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: and the California governor said yes, just like Mark Zuckerberg 70 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: said yes to Elon Musk's fight challenge. But it seems 71 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: that DeSantis, like Musk, is a bully who runs from 72 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 1: his fights. Again, DeSantis got Sean Hannity to pick the fight, 73 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: ask for the challenge, and now DeSantis is the one 74 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: who is hiding. Because what will happen when Governor Knewsom 75 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: and Ron de Santis sit down with Sean Hannity is 76 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: for the time that that is on the air, those 77 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: viewers will be exposed to reality, and they will be 78 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:32,799 Speaker 1: exposed to a world class communicator who can explain the stakes, 79 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: who can explain that we are one nation, that the 80 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: American people should not wish for civil war, that our 81 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: leaders should be faithful to our people, to our democracy, 82 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: and to the constitutional oath that they take. By the 83 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: time Ron DeSantis gets to the end of the debate 84 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: with Gavin Newsom, his career will be shattered. There is 85 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: no risk for the Biden campaign. There is no risk 86 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: for anyone except Ron de Santas in the debate. But 87 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: the Biden campaign is worried for some reason that's unclear. 88 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: The simple fact is it will be a hard campaign, 89 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: and there is a dichotomy of voices within the NBC 90 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: News story. Within the campaign, there are voices that seem 91 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: completely checked out from the reality of what is happening. 92 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: And if those voices are the dominant voices within the 93 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: Biden campaign, and we don't know because the sourcing is anonymous. 94 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: Within the stories, the whole country is in a lot 95 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: of trouble because the people who are running the effort 96 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: that will be at the tip of the spear defending 97 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: American democracy don't understand what's happening. Donald Trump is the 98 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: gravest threat this country's democracy has faced since the Confederate 99 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: States of America. What he did, should our democracy survive, 100 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: will be judged as the greatest act of treachery in 101 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: betrayal in American history by our descendants. But what will 102 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: they say about us, this generation of Americans who will 103 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: decide the fate of the country. Will we measure up? 104 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 1: The months ahead will give an important series of clues 105 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: to that answer. Is the political contest for twenty twenty 106 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: four set will know by the time we get to 107 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: the new year, good new candidates enter, We'll see. But 108 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: the truth is, at this moment, at the end of 109 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: the summer, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are heading to 110 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 1: their party's respective nominations. This is, with no hyperbole, the 111 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: most important election ever. It's existential. Both sides are all in. 112 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 1: Losing means likely that Donald Trump will return to the 113 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: White House, and within an ear the two hundred and 114 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: fifty year old American Republic will be gone. It will 115 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: exist in name only. Our country will be down the road, 116 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: down the path, will become like a far right version 117 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: of Hungary on the North American continent, will be led 118 00:09:55,080 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: by a nationalist, nativist, racist, extremist faction that has no 119 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: interest in the protection of minority rights, natural rights, and 120 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: sees no limits whatsoever to its power on any issue. Ever, 121 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 1: it will abuse its power. It will prosecute and persecute 122 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: its political opponents, it will eradicate dissent everywhere it can. 123 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: That's what's at stake, That's what the fight is about, 124 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: and the ability to articulate those stakes is essential to 125 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:43,079 Speaker 1: winning that fight. That's why whomever on the Biden campaign 126 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: thinks it's a good idea to sideline the most articulate 127 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: democratic governor in the country isn't ready for prime time 128 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: and shouldn't be working on a presidential campaign, not one 129 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: where the stakes are this high.