1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: This is the warning week two of the Trump presidency. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Chuck Schumer has enunciated a strategy to The New York Times. 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: It is the lay down on the railroad tracks strategy 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: in front of the Trump locomotive. Let's go to the 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: videotape of winning. 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 2: We will win, we will win. We will win, we 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 2: will win. 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 3: We won't we won't rest, we won't rest, we won't rest, 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 3: we won't rest. 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: Yes, winning, I like the cane on the left. It's 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: very nice. It's a good effect. Now, what Democrats need 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: to do in this moment is fight back. And so 13 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: John Stewart posed a fundamental question, and it goes to 14 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: the decision making process. Let me show you. 15 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 3: What is the decision making process here? Hey, who should 16 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 3: we get out there to effectively battle one of the 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 3: most savvy presidential media manipulators in history. 18 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: I don't know how about Schumer. 19 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 2: He's uninteresting, but at least he's monotone. 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: So two weeks in, with almost two years to go 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: until the next midterm election, what can be done? Many 22 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: people ask what should the strategy be? Now Politico, which 23 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: has some explaining to do, regardless of how insane it 24 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: is that Elon Musk and six teenagers have taken control 25 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: of USAID. That doesn't change the fact that Politico is 26 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: getting eight million dollars plus from government. It's unacceptable, it's corruption, 27 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: and it's part of the reason that there's such a 28 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: collapse of trust in the media. Let's listen to Jim VandeHei, 29 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: who is the founder of Politico left many years ago, 30 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: talk about journalism. 31 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: Be the reporters hard, really hard. You have to care, 32 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 2: you have to do the hard work. You have to 33 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 2: skit up every single day and say I want to 34 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 2: get to the closest approximation of the truth without any fear, 35 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 2: without any favoritism. You don't do that by popping off 36 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 2: on Twitter. You don't do that by having an opinion. 37 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 2: You'd do it by doing the hard work. 38 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: What Politico under John Harris has become there's an information 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: pipeline between the Politico and lobbying community that has turned 40 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: the average congressional staffer into a quasi celebrity with their 41 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: look at Me feature at the bottom of the morning playbook, 42 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: which is like catnap at our age of political narcissism. 43 00:02:52,639 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: And this transactional politics and transactional journalism combine to make 44 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: trivia the news, to make celebrities out of politicians, and 45 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: turn Washington at some level into a reality show landscape. 46 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: And it's a business model. Politico debased journalism, didn't elevate, 47 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: it didn't make anything better. All it did was make 48 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: journalism worse. Now, how to fight back against Elon Musk 49 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: is not a concern of journalism. It's not a concern 50 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: for a fair media. The story right now politically in America, 51 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: when it comes to Democrats through the access media, is 52 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: fundamentally about what might Kamala Harris do next, or who 53 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: might have power next, as opposed to what the obvious 54 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: is staring everybody in the face, which is why is 55 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: there no ability for Democrats in Washington to effectively fight back? 56 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: Why is there no ability to stop any of the 57 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: worst Trump nominees despite the thinness of the majorities. Why 58 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: is there a total inability to use procedure, to use process, 59 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: to use Senate rules, to use House rules. Why wasn't 60 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: the House Democrats even in Washington to oppose Donald Trump? 61 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: Why isn't there a plan? Why isn't there an opposition vision? 62 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: Why has there been no major speech coherent at least 63 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: from the floor of the House, from the floor of 64 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: the Senate. Why has there not been a single Democratic 65 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: governor who has risen to the occasion. JB. Pritzker is 66 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: the governor of Illinois, and he is a billionaire. He 67 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: wants to run for president. JB. Pritsker needs to open 68 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 1: up a political account and JB. Pritzker, who The Nation 69 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 1: magazine has rightfully declared maybe the best governor in the country, 70 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: needs to say stand with me right here on this 71 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: spot and fight. There should be an effort for advertising 72 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: in Washington, DC that is aimed at the Trump White 73 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: House and at Trump directly to destabilize him, to cause 74 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: infighting and friction amongst those that compete full time for 75 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: his affection and his attention. Winning means putting Donald Trump 76 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: on his heels, which means attacking him where he lives, 77 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: which is the conversation inside his head. This is a 78 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: big deal here when Donald Trump makes up a story 79 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: about a conversation around Patrick Mahomes with Tommy Tuberville and 80 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: then articulates it out loud. Because Tuberville never coached. 81 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 3: Mahomes and Tommy Tupperville a great coach. You know, his 82 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 3: quarterback was named Mahomes. He was a great college coach, 83 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 3: and I said, how good was He said, you don't 84 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 3: want to know how good he made me into a 85 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 3: great coach. It's pretty good quarterback. Right. 86 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: Ultimately, the political target, of course is Donald Trump. But 87 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: right now, the way to get at Donald Trump is 88 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: by lassoing the rock of Elon Musk to his leg 89 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: and drowning him politically, proverbially, Elon Musk is a target 90 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: rich environment. The Democratic Party should use his Hitler salute 91 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: and his South African accent and every weird thing he 92 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: ever said, and put it on television and make sure 93 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: Trump sees it, and make sure Trump sees every day 94 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,719 Speaker 1: the impact of Trump's polling and what Elon is doing 95 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: to it, how unpopular he is. This is how you 96 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: fight back. It's not about the data or the polling. 97 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: It's about the instinct to be in the moment, to 98 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: be present, to understand what's happening. You don't need to 99 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: give people dial tests to appreciate the assault. The words 100 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: that you need to fight back or there there are history, 101 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: there are American Canyon, there are story, and so what 102 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: there must be is aggressiveness. What democratic governor is going 103 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: to be the first to stand up and remind the 104 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: American people what the country's about. Right now, Donald Trump 105 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: is past apogey. These two weeks have been shambalacked. Laughing 106 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: at Trump is how he will be undone. Donald Trump's 107 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: narcissism is how they will be undone. There is only 108 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: one thing that matters to Donald Trump. That's Donald Trump. 109 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: Watch his cabinet secretaries compete for his attention and affection. 110 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 2: Transportation Secretary Presidence leadership has been remarkable during this crisis. 111 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: Defense Secretary. 112 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 3: This is an outside the box thinker who understands Laura 113 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 3: the definition of insanity, which is trying to do the 114 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 3: same thing and hoping for a different result. 115 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: The advertising should be built around how they are failing him, 116 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: spotlighting their mistakes, how unpopular they are, because when that 117 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: happens inside, their enemies will seek to take advantage by 118 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: tearing them down, and by tearing them down, they in 119 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: the end tear Trump down because it's a vicious hyena 120 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: pack feeding on each other. That is how you fight Trump. 121 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: By putting a stake in the heart of his relationship 122 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: with his number one sugar daddy, Elon Musk, who's going 123 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: for broke and going for the gold. What Trump loves 124 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: is having the richest man in the world work for him. 125 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: What Trump cannot abide is the notion that he serves 126 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: the richest man in the world as his presidential puppet. 127 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: And there's nobody making the argument that can make it 128 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,959 Speaker 1: hit home. And by the time we reach the end 129 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: of the Trump four years will be an urgent national crisis. 130 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: That's the strategy. That's how you fight back. That's what 131 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 1: you do. You make every hour of every day difficult. 132 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: You appoint a shadow cabinet, and every day there's content 133 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: created by it that highlights the idiocies of these people, 134 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: the smallness of these people, the corruption of these people, 135 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: and delivers a message to the right places, through the 136 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: right portals, to the right people that will get to 137 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: the right places on its own because Democrats, for for 138 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: some reason, don't understand that politics lies below culture in 139 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: the great River of America that defines our times and 140 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: lives as it flows like the Mississippi, from the headwaters 141 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: into the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, Donald, it's the Gulf 142 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: of Mexico. And with that, this is the warning. I'm 143 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: Steve Schmidt, this is the warning, and I invite you 144 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: to join. Subscribe on our substack, on our YouTube channel, 145 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: follow us, Welcome to the community.