1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: When your opponent is drowning, throw him a fucking bowling ball. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: And that's how you deal with Donald Trump. You attack him, 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: you hit him, you hurt him every chance, every day, 4 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: every hour, every minute, every second. This should be the 5 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: most aggressive political campaign that anybody has ever seen. This 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: is the warning. This will be and ask me anything 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: question where I answer your questions. Let me know if 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: you like this format, and we'll do more of it. 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: The first question is are you still working with and 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: why did you work with Dean Phillips. I am not 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: and have never been an employee of the Dean Phillips campaign. 12 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: I did encourage Dean Phillips to run for president because 13 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: Dean Phillips was the one guy who was saying the 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: quiet part out loud and the quiet part out loud, 15 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: which was something that Joe Scarborough talked about on Morning 16 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: Joe that every single Democrat who was going on television 17 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: was saying to the people at home, everything's okay, and 18 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: to each other in the green room, Joe Biden is 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: going to lose to Donald Trump. I believe in the 20 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: New Hampshire primary. I believe that democracy must be practiced 21 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: to be preserved, and what I think is Joe Biden 22 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: has crushed Dean Phillips in the New Hampshire primary, in 23 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: the South Carolina primary, and I do believe whether it's 24 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: Nicky Haley, whether it's Dean Phillips, if you don't have 25 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: a pathway to become the nominee, then the race becomes 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: a vanity project. It becomes an exercise in diletanteism attention getting. 27 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: The general election contest will be between Joe Biden and 28 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: Donald Trump, which is a result the two parties have 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: given the country, despite the fact that eighty percent of 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: the country doesn't like that choice. The question is what 31 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: will we do if Donald Trump wins the election. Well, 32 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: let me be clear, I think that if Donald Trump 33 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: wins the election one it will be a national catastrophe. 34 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: Donald Trump will create, at the moment of his inauguration 35 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: a series of constitutional crises. He will seek to deploy 36 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: the American military against the American people. He will seek 37 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: to subvert the Constitution at every turn, and it will 38 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:28,959 Speaker 1: be a moment where resistance, real resistance, is required. There 39 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 1: will have to be millions of Americans on the streets, protesting, 40 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: shutting the country down. When Donald Trump tries inevitably to 41 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: grab the power that he's going to try to grab 42 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: outside the constraints of the rule of law. Understand this. 43 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Donald Trump is a former president whose lawyers made a 44 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: legal argument that the presidency gives him the inherent power 45 00:02:55,200 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: to assassinate whomever he wants, whenever he wants, for whatever 46 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: reason he chooses. It's absurd, but it's the Trump viewpoint, 47 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: and it's very dangerous. The question is, if you were 48 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: running Joe Biden's campaign, what steps vis a vis strategy, messaging, 49 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,679 Speaker 1: turnout would you implement? How would you mitigate Biden's less 50 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: than strong appearance and delivery? So that is the heart 51 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: of the question, is Biden's communication challenges. Trump is the 52 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: stronger communicator, Biden is the better person. Trump is the 53 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: stronger communicator. Biden is the better president. Trump is the 54 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: better communicator, but he is insane. Joe Biden is perfectly 55 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: sane and perfectly competent. This election comes down to a 56 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: very very simple thing. Whoever the election is about is 57 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: going to lose. And that was the case in Trump 58 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: versus Hillary Clinton. The election had been about Trump all 59 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: the way through to the very very end, and then 60 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: it became about Hillary Clinton in the final week thanks 61 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: to James Comy. The Biden campaign must mock Trump, belittle him, 62 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: humiliate him, cut him in a thousand different ways, Provoke 63 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: him every day. Make Trump be the worst version of himself, 64 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: keep him off balance, keep him responding, trigger him. He 65 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: should be provoked hour after hour after hour, every day. 66 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: President Biden has to control the race. It will be 67 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: a brutal, loathsome affair. The Biden campaign needs to embrace that. 68 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: When Trump goes low, go lower. James Carville once said, 69 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: when your opponent is drowning, throw him a fucking bowling ball. 70 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: And that's how you deal with Donald Trump. You attack him, 71 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: you hit him, you hurt him every chance, every day, 72 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: every hour, every minute, every second. This should be the 73 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: most aggressive political campaign that anybody has ever seen. Any 74 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: idea that Donald Trump is entitled to dignity, to respect 75 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: is nonsense. It's a suckers bet, and Joe Biden his 76 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: team should stay far far away from it. The question 77 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: is if the twenty twenty four election yields to Biden win, 78 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: but even one GOP House or one GOP Senate majority, 79 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: could we not see another Trump control in Congress? Deja vous? 80 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: All over again, even if it's from a prison cell. Look, 81 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: if Joe Biden wins this election, the Trump fever will 82 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: eventually break, even if Republicans control one House of Congress. 83 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: At that point, Donald Trump will be almost eighty years old. 84 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: He will have been the losing nominee for two out 85 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: of the last three elections, and along the way, he 86 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: will have decimated the electoral prospects of the Republican Party 87 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: demographically and electorally for a generation. Now, if Donald Trump 88 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: loses this election, and it is a narrow loss, and 89 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: Republicans control one of those houses, they will obstruct Joe 90 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: Biden to the best that they can. The simple truth 91 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: of the matter is this this election, and I fall 92 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: in this category. I'm not happy about the choice, but 93 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: the choice is clear. Joe Biden is the only candidate 94 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: on the ballot who is in favor of the American 95 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: Constitution and the American way of life full stop. So 96 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: in the end, trump ISM's defeat, no matter how it comes, 97 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: no matter how thin the victory may be, the simple 98 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: fact that Joe Biden will have prevented Donald Trump from 99 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: ever setting foot in the White House again will be 100 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: enough to ultimately break this Trump fever that's gripped the 101 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: country for the last eight years. The question is, if 102 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,840 Speaker 1: Donald Trump's cases are pending, how can he run well. 103 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: This is a very important concept to understand. Donald Trump 104 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: has been accused of crimes. He has been charged with crimes, 105 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: but since this is the United States of America, you 106 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: are innocent until proven guilty. Donald Trump gets that constitutional protection. Also, 107 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: Donald Trump's criminal trials are going to be part of 108 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: the campaign he intends to and already is campaigning from 109 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: the courtroom. This is really important to understand. Maga trump Ism. 110 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: It runs on fuel, and the fuel is victimization and grievance. 111 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: These trials will let Donald Trump play the role of 112 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: the aggrieved. He gets to be the victim. A central 113 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: part of the Trump message is the man the system 114 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: is out to get you, and I'm the guy who's 115 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,119 Speaker 1: tough enough, strong enough to stand up to it, fight 116 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: for you. And so all of that is helped by 117 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: the fact that Donald Trump is ensnared in civil and 118 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: criminal litigation everywhere anyone looks, and there's a lot of 119 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: people in the country who look at that. It's say 120 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: they're out to get him because he's standing up for me. 121 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: Of course that's a con, but that's the con that's 122 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 1: worked for Trump. Thank you for listening to my political commentary. 123 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard today, please also consider 124 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: subscribing to The Warning daily newsletter on Substack. Our democracy 125 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: hangs in the balance. The twenty twenty four presidential election 126 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,239 Speaker 1: is the most consequential in America's history. It's not hyperbole, 127 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: it's a fact. That is why the mission of The 128 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: Warning with Steve Schmidt is to help readers orient to 129 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 1: the currents that are shaping our times and the unseen 130 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: forces driving politics that are very rarely discussed on cable news. 131 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: Please sign up at Steve Schmidt S T, E V E, 132 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: S C, H M I d T dot substack dot 133 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: com again Steve Schmidt dot substack dot com, or at 134 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: the link in the show notes section below. Thank you 135 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: to each and every one of you for listening and 136 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:34,199 Speaker 1: watching