Breaking News from Pod Save America - Political Experts React to Republicans BREAKING with Trump Before Midterms

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

As the midterms heat up, Republicans are struggling with Trump and some are starting to break with him. Alex Wagner joins Dan Pfeiffer to break down the latest midterm ads and what they say about the GOP’s growing problems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My rec league goalie says he plays for the love of the game. You gave up six goals last week, Steve? Maybe play to win, huh? Like with Bet365, I get paid the second my team goes up big with early payout and can cash out at any time before the game ends. Steve, Bet365, the home of winning early. Must be 19 and older, Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

If you were someone you know is concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.ca or call 1866-5-3-1-2-600. Terms and conditions apply. And this may be the first time that McBridepressure's been in a very long time. There is a looming shadow ahead, and all these issues are going to need to be actually tackled in a meaningful way ahead of 2028. Welcome to Political Experts React, the show where we look at campaign videos and ask to you whether they did a good job or not.

I'm Van Pfeiffer from a communications director to Barack Obama and co-hosts of Positive America, and joining me today, the one, the only, the host of Kirklandia's runaway country, a brilliant, brilliant person in and of herself. Alex, thanks for joining. be here on political experts react for the like umpteenth time you've done this. Oh, dude. I love the mutual glazing society that we've established. That's how we get each of, come on our podcast.

I'll say really nice things about you, make you feel good. And then like, uh, vampire suck you for insights. It is, uh, mutual respect in my eyes. So mutual respect. Mutual glazing, mutual respect. But all founded in like goodwill and admiration. Okay. Today we're going to look at a bunch of different ads.

But I want to start with a trend we're seeing among Republican candidates who are beginning to panic about Trump's poll numbers. They're beginning to try to distance themselves from Trump and his unpopular war. Here is a video from Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Michigan families are struggling with the price of everyday life. Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down. The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly. When it does, energy costs will plummet. But Michigan families can't afford to wait for that to happen. We need to do something now. I've previously called. for the suspension of the state and federal gas tax.

$0.70 a gallon. And another place we can start, diesel. Diesel fuels the trucks that bring groceries to this store. It fuels the tractors that grow our food. And when diesel costs more, it costs more to grow it, ship it, stock it, and ultimately buy it. So until this war is over, I'm calling for a temporary embargo on American diesel exports.

Keep more American diesel here at home. Increase the supply available to our farmers, our truckers and put downward pressure on diesel prices because lowering the cost of moving and producing our food can help bring down the everyday costs family C right here at the grocery store. American Energy should provide relief to American families first and I'll fight to make life more affordable. Michigan, let's get to work. Okay, the most noteworthy part of this other than this may be the first time that Mike Rogers has been in a grocery store very long time. our degree, is that he's calling for the Iran war to come to an end. We have seen Ashley Hinson,

the Republican candidate and Iowa say something similar. We've had some Republicans come out against Trump on immigration. What do you make of Rogers's play here? And do you think it can work? No and no. It's a hard no on this on every level. Like, just because you stand in front of a bunch of tomatoes with a vest on does not make you authentic. First of all, I don't think the vest has ever been worn. But anyway, setting grocery store fashion aside, it rings so hollow. First of all, the solution he's proposing is very much like up for debate, whether that's actually going to help anybody. There's like the oil industry is not happy about it, not just because it's, you know, a profit issue, but it's also a supply issue. And the reality is most Americans know why they're hurting. It's because Trump launched

the country into a disastrous war that has raised prices on everything from fertilizer to a diesel and had a cascade knock-on effect where goods are only getting more expensive over the course of the next several months. And like the idea that Mike Rogers has suddenly had a light bulb moment about restricting diesel imports is like it's all so laughable. And I think it's so pathetic and truly smacks of desperation. I don't think it's effective at all. And I think that there's part of me that's almost enraged that this is the solution this late in the game and the solution itself is so won. Yeah, I completely agree. I think that. they look ridiculous. Mike Rogers is a uniquely ridiculous case because he was anti-Trump before.

And then he became pro-Trump in order to win elections. And now he thinks that losing an election, because he's pro-Trump is a possibility. He's going to try to be a little bit less pro-Trump. He's just a weather vein, go blowing with the wind here. The challenge for all these Republicans is the voters they need to win over, the ones who are most angry at the Republicans, the ones who are most skeptical of politics or also the most cynical. Yeah. And so they see through this, right? They automatically distrust every politician.

That is their natural inclination. And here, so now you have a politician who is clearly looks like they're losing trying to change their position. I cannot see a world in which this works. No. I think it might make things worse. Yeah, I think that's very possible. I think you're actually in the situation where you could deflate the base a little bit and

gain nothing from swing voters. If you've never been to a grocery store, don't start going with six weeks left in the campaign. It does not be, this would matter to anybody in Michigan, but it does feel, it looks a little bit like the Dr. Oz Crudite video from 2020. It smacks of like the worst rich guys in like a normal person place, like Mitt Romney doing a thing or Dave McCormick doing a thing or Memit Oz doing a thing. Like these guys, they have personal shoppers, probably their wives or, you know, employees. They should stick to wherever they normally hang out because it's so awkward and it's so transparent. You bring up the vest and the vest is important. And I don't really know why he's wearing a vest. I know it is chilly off in the produce section of a grocery store.

Mike Rogers isn't wearing the vest for warmth. He's looking approachable. Grocery store approachable in the vest, Dan. But the vest, he looks like, it looks like a private equity guy on the weekend. Right. It's the Glenn Youngkin look, which is what he was sort of leaning into. Yes. Although Youngkins would have been fleece. This looks like a vest that serves no purpose other than in terms of insulation, other than to suggest I am not wearing a jacket. I'm wearing something more casual because I am picking out zucchini. Nice try, Mike. It's so bizarre. Okay. Let's go to our next day. Republicans, some Republicans are breaking with Trump. But the strategy that most Republicans use to try to beat Democrats is to go after them paint them as radical particularly on trans issues. I want to show an exchange of ads happening in the Ohio Senate race. First of a Republican super PAC, add about Sherrod Brown and then the Brown campaign's response. Abused and exploited by an extremist agenda forcing childhood sex change surgery.

But Sherrod Brown stands with these extremists. Brown supports sex change surgery for kids, permanent surgical decisions with devastating consequences. The extremists demand it. Sherrod Brown complies. And Ohio's children pay the price. Sherrod Brown, after 50 years in politics, the extremes he goes are just too much. SLF PAC is responsible for the content on this advertising.

Here they go again, those same attacks again, shared brown. With everything going on, that's what they're talking about? In Ohio, it's against the law to perform transgender surgeries on kids. That's right, it's illegal. John Houston, why'd you vote to increase the cost of groceries? To do nothing about the cost of gas. To kick 490,000 Ohio on top their health care. And John Eustead wrote the law letting utility companies jack up our electric bills.

John Houston, why don't you start working for us? I'm Sherrod Brown and I approve this message. Okay. Let's start with the idea that Republicans can use this sort of anti-trans rhetoric to help him selection. Do you think it's going to work? No, absolutely not. Like, absolutely not. And also cut and paste pictures of brown and black women into the photos with him.

Like race baiting and transphobia all at the same time. It's one of those ads that I think makes a problem worse for him just because, to the Brown ad point, like the real problems facing the state and the country are so much more pointed and, like, I think clearly diagnosed. Americans know what's happening and they're angry about it. And it's not going to be solved by attacking trans teenagers. The Republicans are trying to rerun the same play of these in 2024. There was the infamous they them ad, which was obviously an incredibly effective ad, one of the more effective ads in recent political. history. But I think they misunderstand what that ad is actually about, which it is, yes, it is about not just being for trans rights or for any of these issues here. It's actually specifically about

taxpayer-funded, general assignment surgery for incarcerated individuals, which is a very specific issue. The ad is really about Kamala Harris being this radical liberal who was out of touch with mainstream American values. With the difference between Kamala Harris to the country in the 107-day campaign and Sherrod Brown in this race in Ohio is, Kamala Harris was a blank slate to 99% of voters, right? She had 100% name ID and basically no depth of knowledge about who she was, where she stood for. Sherrod Brown has been running, as that points out, in Ohio for 50 years. Yeah. People know him. They rejected him and tossed him out two years ago for a specific reason. They had to do with Joe Biden and inflation, but not because they thought he was some sort of

radical, you know, cultural, liberal, just all these other ways. With long hair. They have all those photos of him in the 70s with the long Harris of people are going to be duped into believing that's from recent history. Can I also say to your point, I think part of the reason the trans stuff worked with Harris is because the Trump administration or the Trump campaign was really skilled at otherizing her and Democrats as being, you know, this menace, this liberal menace, the brown wave that was soon to wash over the country and change. It's, you know, it's racial and ethnic identity. and that transphobia and the fear mongering around that fit into that portfolio. Well, we're living, you know, first of all, as you say, Sherry Brown's a known entity. He's a white man from the state with a very high profile. The otherization does not work in the same way that it did with Kamala Harris.

That's a very important point here, which is just it is, I mean, this is a depressing thing to say about the state of America, but it's much easier to otherize a woman of color than a white gruff old man. Yes. But it's also why it's why it worked, why those things did not work as well with Joe Biden in 2020, say with Kamala Harris in 2004. Beyond, I think, the very important fact that they will work better on any candidate who is less well known. Ultimately, every campaign is a race between being, defining yourself the other side defines you and the Trump folks define Kamala Harris who first can define herself. Sherrod Brown, there is very little white space on that campus, and so that makes this much harder.

What do you think about the specific tactic? Because this has been some Democrats in red states have come out, it's sort of very aggressively, you know, come out against trans-fidish fishing sports, that sort of stuff. Sheard Brown takes a different tactic here where he basically deals with the factual issue about the law in Ohio,

and they quickly pivots to groceries and costs of living, et cetera. I mean, I think it's a cold calculation, right? I think it's probably the necessary one in a state like Ohio. But I do think it is to Democrats' peril, to not directly address what's happening here at its root. And I think you see a similar thing happening on immigration

where it's like the left understands that's talking about secure borders is important. But at the same time, the thing that's missing from that platform is a robust defense of immigrants and a robust defense of an inclusive, like, multi-hued, multiracial, multi-ethnic society. Because when you just avoid talking about the essence of the root cause of this anxiety or concern,

then you let it fester. And I think that makes it easier in future years to vilify or castigate subgroups of people in the United States. And that is like not in it, that is not in the interest of democracy. So like, yes, I understand that going at this from a factual, rebutting it from a factual standpoint saying, well, we don't actually do that is maybe the way you need to sort of cross your teas and dot your eyes ahead of a contested midterm. But at some point, the Democrats are going to have to figure out how to talk about trans youth with a bit of empathy and a bit of truth. because otherwise we end up in a situation as we are now with immigrants where it's like, yeah, we're doing depraved things to immigrants in this country. And I don't know, like Republicans might pay a cost for it.

But overall, like we need to redouble our, we need to double down on our belief and understanding that immigrants make this country stronger and they're an essential part of our American fabric. You know, it's really interesting because Sher Brown does not go as far as some other Democratic candidates like Rob Sand in a red state have gone to specifically. go out and announce opposition to transport participation. He sort of tries to say what you're saying is not true. And here's why it's not true in this case. But what the real issue is, which is the point you're getting to, which is they're off the main thing. And the main thing is cost of living. And because they're so bad on the main thing, they're trying to talk about these other things.

And so we're going to try to give it back and forth. The immigration thing is really interesting because it is, I 100% agree with you that the mistake Democrats made throughout the entire Biden era was they allowed the Republicans to say, immigration is about border security and border security. So the way we're going to talk about this is we're going to go to the exact part of the issue where Republicans have an advantage. We're just going to try to play there in the most offensive way possible. Like, I am a prosecutor. I got rid of, you know, I took on transnational gangs and trafficking and all that as opposed to dealing with, the implications of Trump's mass deportation policy.

Right. Where we have an advantage which is voters actually agree with us that the people who have been in this country for a long time, people who have been working, raising families part of the community, deserve a path of citizenship, requires paying back taxes, requires going to the back of the line. But like that we could have been talking about that instead of waiting for the people to see what Trump actually meant.

Yeah, destroying black and brown lives. Right, and to see what it's like. And I think in the long, and this is going to be a big test in 2020. is how Democrats navigate these issues in a way that is not just, it's playing the long game. Yeah. Well, if you want real reform and if you want real rights, you have to convince you have to make an argument to the American public. And right now we're just playing at the far right end of the field.

And there needs to be a fulsome discussion about what actually, like, what protecting these groups of people or at least, you know, giving them a pathway to citizenship in terms of immigration, like what that actually would look like. Yeah. It requires a level of deafness. It doesn't lend itself to a 30-second ad per se, but over the course of the campaign. Which is why this makes sense for an ad. It makes sense in the last six weeks of this race.

But like, there is a looming shadow ahead. And all these issues are going to need to be actually tackled in a meaningful way ahead of 2028. Pod Save America Breaking News is brought to you by ZipRecruiter with everyday interactions, with everyday interactions becoming increasingly impersonal. Someone going just one extra step can be huge. Like when my doctor takes the time to call me with test results instead of sending them electronically. They came back positive. for gay. It makes me feel like a human being again. If you're hiring, great candidates can also go

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know if it's more cheerful, but it may be more entertaining. That's another something we're talking about today. Ken Paxton loves making false claims like this. James Talarico's Seoul, Texas, South China. But guess which one of these candidates took a secretive all expenses paid luxury trip to China to meet with Communist Party officials? Not James Tala Rico. Ken Paxton's own staffers advised him against the trip, but he went anyway. He visited Beijing, Hongzhou, Shanghai, and Macau. Literally all over the place.

The trip included lavish accommodations and meetings with Communist Party leaders. He then took tens of thousands of dollars from China-linked real estate developers. In other words, Ken Paxton... Sold Texas South China. Vote for James Tala Rico. He's never been to China. All right, what do you think of this spot? I mean, I've been to China, and it's a wonderful place to visit.

It's filled with a very rich history. I don't think there's anything wrong with visiting Shanghai and Huangzhou and Beijing. What about Macau? Macau's another to gambling. It's a hot spot for gambling. There's a latent, like, yellow scare element to this that I don't love. Yeah. Right?

Like, but if the essence of it is really to focus on the corruption of Ken Paxton, there's fertile ground there, right? There's gold in there hills. And I like the kind of Ken Paxton is a bozzi. aspect to the sort of wimsy here is good because if you think about Ken Paxson, again, a known quantity in Texas politics, he is a bozo. Like it's, I think, a better way of getting the message home than sort of dark, foreboding, nefarious pitch. This is kind of like, look at this what, look at what this asshole's been up to. And in that way, maybe it's more resonant. Yeah, the Paxon campaign and the Republic of Cax had made this big issue that

I don't even understand the merits of the argument, which I expect to be complete bullshit, but that somehow James Telerico is pro-China and sold out, sold Texas out the Chinese interest. Yeah. It doesn't make a less sense. I'm not sure it's entirely believable that a state rep can sell out a state to China, if that people can even think that's possible. But I was interested. I want to play this ad because even though I generally don't love the, my opponent said this,

So I'm going to repeat the attack in my own ad, and then I'm going to rebut it ad. I do think that this is one of the first well done versions of that very, very tired form of response ad, which is, and what you said, it's not dark and foreboding. It doesn't use the same voice every one uses. Then it uses cleverly Paxon's own voice to be sort of the VO of the ad. And it's memorable in a way most of these ads are. Yes, totally. And yeah, the visuals are good.

I mean, it drills at home and you could believe that Ken Paxton would be taking tens of thousand dollars in Chinese donations because he's crooked because that's kind of how Ken Paxton do. Yeah. It's like Trump is the Kempaxon at the national level of this incredibly corrupt figure. But just because he's Trump, he's able to accuse others of being corrupt and have it not being able to him leading with his chin. Right.

He's able to do it with Hillary, who was a, you know, sort of uniquely vulnerable to that attack for reasons that are not entirely her own fault. He did it with Joe Biden. It didn't really work with Joe Biden. But Ken Paxton's not Donald Trump. He doesn't have the charisma. He doesn't have the charm. And he doesn't have the billions of dollars that Trump had to sort of say, like,

I can't be bought. Like people sort of didn't really think Trump could be bought. That seems insane because he's being bought. You know, he's being purchased and sold every single day. Literally. Both in cash and crypto. But like Paxton, just by calling Tala Rico corrupt wants to make the campaign about corruption, which seems to be a mistake for Paxton in my deal.

Yeah. And also, anytime you can show Ken Paxton speaking, the least electric public speaker ever, the least compelling public speaker ever. I think that's a good thing. I just also like an ad for the Talarico campaign that is predicated on Ken Paxon's terrible record, right? Because that's probably the most winning hand they have to play. He's just an abominable candidate. This is not for this video, but it really is worth exploring one day how Ken Paxson got to be where he is. Because there's like... He doesn't even read Texas. Yes, but there's like this long history of these like corrupt politicians who were filled with charisma.

Donald Trump obviously being one of them, not our brand of charisma, but it is charisma. Oh, yeah. You know, like Huey Long, just like Berlusconi across the world, they're all of a type. And Paxton is corrupt with zero personality, zero fame, and yet he kept getting elected for it's just, it's. He's the kind of guy you would expect to wear a vest to a grocery store. I bet he and Mike Rogers can spend a lot of time hanging out at some sort of Senate loser support club one day. Can't wait. It'll be right over by the asparagus section to the left.

of the cereal. Yes, excellent. Alex Wagner, thanks for joining us, as always. And before everyone goes, very important, very important mandatory requirement for having watched this video. Go by Alex's incredible book. The Steel. Tell people what's about real fast. It is about the, speaking of corruption, yeah. It's about the shadowy secret conservative plan to seize the judiciary as a partisan weapon. And it's a secret plot on the part of four Republican operatives. takes place in the Reagan 80s. It's true, but it reads like fiction. And it's called the steel.

Four Republican hardliners, one Republican presidency, and the raid on America's courts. Here's how I was describing. Informative, fascinating, and propulsive. Whoop! All right, Alex, thank you so much. Thanks, Dan.

Thank you. My rec league goalie says he plays for the love of the game. You gave up six goals last week, Steve? Maybe play to win, huh? Like with Bet365, I get paid the second my team goes up big with early payout and can cash out at any time before the game ends.

Steve, Bet365, the home of winning early. Must be 19 and older, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you were someone you know is concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.ca or call 18665 through 1,2,600. Terms and conditions apply. In communities across Canada, hourly Amazon employees earn an average of over $26 an hour. Employees also have the opportunity to grow their skills and their paycheck.

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