Morning Joe - Trump: I know more about inflation than anyone

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

October 5, 2026: 8am — Trump: I know more about inflation than anyone To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I want to show you something. We will bring prices down. Yeah, I know all that. That's why I voted for it. Because he was saying all that stuff. And then now it's totally different. I think that's the way it is for all politicians. They say something getting elected.

And then once they're in office, they're totally different. You regret your vote at all? A little bit. I hoped that he would be able to. to live up to some of his hype, but he's hyperbolic. That's all he has ever been. His middle name ought to be hyperbole. He can't deliver on any promises.

He talks a lot, but I haven't seen anything to come to fruition yet, you know? Of course, I understand they don't need nukes, but, I mean, I need to live and not be able to spend all my money on gas. How does it make you feel watching all those campaign promises? Like he's just lying. That's a few very frustrated three-time Trump voters in Alaska, speaking with MS now last week.

Good morning and welcome to morning, Joe. It's Monday, October the 5th. And with us, we have co-hosts for our 8 a.m. hour staff writer for the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, opinion writer for the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, opinion columnist, and Bloomberg opinion columnist and contributing writer for the dispatch, David Drucker. Jonathan Lemire, what was happening while I was sleeping last night in that Lions Bryce Young game? Your boy, Bryce, continues to play well. The Detroit defense, not very good. But the Panthers, a lot of points last night, Panthers win. And not that anyone who cares, but enough to get my fancy team of victory as well. But yeah, the Panthers, the Lions are a competitive NFC South, with the Bears also 3 and 1.

The Vikings 4 and 0, surprisingly. But we see this last night. You know, Panthers hold a rare Sunday night game for them in Charlotte. They get the national stage and they get a win. And then the other sporting event last night, Joe, is that the Atlanta Braves beat the Dodgers last night in L.A. To tie that series up one to one. Yeah. So that series is one-one.

And they still have a start from our old friend Chris Sale to come. So suddenly the Dodgers dynasty in a little bit of trouble here. Yeah, but you know what everybody's talking about this weekend is everybody this week and the one sporting event, the moment that everybody's talking about is, Mr. Wells, trying to stretch a double into a triple. It was a sad thing to see. It is one of my favorite highlights of all time. For those who aren't sure what we're talking about in game one of the Yankees-Rays series, Drew Rasmussen of the race carried a no-hitter into the 8th, you know, Saturday in game one here.

They're up only one-nothing, though. And as Joe, as someone put it, it is rare when you're the guy, Austin Wells in this case, who's the only person on your whole team to manage a hit? Because he did. He ripped a double down the line. And yet, everyone is mad at you. Because inexplicably, even though he's a catcher, and he moves about as slow as species evolve around the bases,

he tried to go to third and was gunned out by about 15 feet. That was the Yankees' one chance to score. They lose the first game. How sad. How sad? I was going to say he may be a catcher, but he runs like a catcher. Jonathan Martin, a lot of polls flying at us this weekend. We're going to get to them in a minute, but the New York Times had governor's polls.

They had Senate polls. And I must say the two numbers that stood out and sort of counterintuitive here. I've always said Texas is fools gold. But if you look at the trend lines, Obama 13, Clinton, 9, Biden, 5, it wasn't until 2024 that it blew in the other direction. you had a two-point Senate race there, not so many years ago. Actually, as a politician, I always looked at trendlines. I always looked at trendlines and polls. I didn't care what the poll that day was.

Show me the last five polls. Texas is actually trending in a way that doesn't really surprise me, showing the Tala Rico's up right now. But I will say some of those other New York Times, well, in Alaska, you've got a candidate in Alaska who knows it statewide and just wanted to stay wide. But I will say a lot of those other New York Times, polls very, very close. And, you know, the hundreds of millions of dollars Republicans have

and the advantage of dumping money there could make the difference in Iowa, in Nebraska, in Kansas. I mean, we'll see. Yeah. Yeah, look, the smartest thing the Republicans did last week was cut bait on North Carolina. Roy Cooper is going to win that race. And move money to Kansas. That New York Times poll showed Kansas is tied in the Senate, which is extraordinary, but the conditions are just right. Democrats have a good candidate, and Roger Marshall's got some challenges. So, look, I think the money may be enough in Kansas, but it's not going to be easy. And there's a reason why they're doing triage now because they're just, they're not going to flip Georgia. They're not going to hold North Carolina, and they've got to now go to some places that demand money.

And obviously, Kansas is the biggest one. But Joe, it's not a good sign a month from the election. When you get a raft of polls like this back and you're working on Republican campaigns and the best news besides Susan Collins, which continues to be a unicorn in American politics, the best news besides that is you're only tied in Kansas and Iowa. It could be worse in Kansas and Iowa. But it's just that bad of a cycle right now. It's just that ominous where they're trying to save whatever.

they can. And they're going to be able to save a few of these Senate races. And I read about this over the weekend, a lot of these Gov races because of money, but they can't save all of them. And some of these races are just going to go down with the cycle, because when the wind blows, Joe, it just, it takes down some places you wouldn't have otherwise expected. And the wind's blowing. It really does. And you, yeah, the wind does seem to be blowing pretty hard in the Democrat's direction. I will say, loved your article this weekend, because Because looking at the state of Florida, David Jolly's a guy that despite, spite the fact, everybody in this state, including me six months ago, was saying there's no way Democrats can ever win statewide here again for a very long time. David Jolly could win statewide in this race.

He just, I mean, every ad that's out there is an ad bashing him for some made-up hurricane tax or some other stupid thing. because they can't run against David as a radical because he's a former Republican congressman. He's as moderate as a day as a day as long. He fits Florida voters probably far better than the Republican nominee. And yet, Democrats, for some reason, they like the exciting races. They like the national races. They like the Senate races. They don't understand the importance of having a Florida governor and a Texas governor

changes political maps for years to come or at least stops Republicans from gerrymandering those maps in the biggest sunbelt states. Yeah, it's enormously important to win these governors' races. If you're a Democrat, especially as the census looms because a lot of House districts are moving south because of the redraw that's coming in 2030. And also, Joe, because of the presidential math. So you've got two of the three, you know, federal chambers, the House and the president. that really hang on the coming 2030 redraw after the census. Because guess what? Leading on the blue wall of the Midwest ain't going to do it anymore for Democrats. And if they can't be competitive in Florida and Texas every four years in the presidential, they're going to have a really time

getting to 270. A really hard time getting a 270. So you've got to get Florida and or Texas onto the map. But they have a shot this year, Joe. And you mentioned that the, the, the, top of your comments, which is that 24, there was a snapback to Trump of the Republicans in Texas and Florida, for that matter. And why was that? Well, that's because younger and non-white voters, and there's lots in both Florida and Texas came back to the Republican Party. Well, guess what? Because of ICE, because of the economy, because of the Iran War, a lot of those same non-white young voters are now up for grabs or leading Democrats. So Democrats do have a shot in Florida and Texas. but they're not going to win there if they don't have anywhere near the money.

And they're getting wildly outspent on the air in the Gov races in those two states because you just can't get Democratic donors nationally to engage in Gov races. They don't know who the candidates are. They can't understand why it matters to them. And they just see a straightforward question of, if we control the Senate, we can block Trump. And that's understandable. It is.

But if you look a couple of sort of chess moves down the board, Joe, Boy, these govern races really, really matter. And I think more than just the strange fact of, or we can have 51 or 53 seats in the U.S. Senate next year. Right. Well, again, especially in states like Texas and Florida. Totally. You can block Donald Trump for two years or you can control the future.

That's how Republicans think. That's it. From the governorships to school boards, Republicans invests in the future. That's why they've dominated local politics in so many areas for so long. I want to talk this morning, though, more about a mirage. And I'm probably alone here. But I think the Kamala, and I'm bringing this up because Democratic donors are so freaked out by what happened in 2024.

Oh, they're so left wing. They're such radicals. They can never win these races. I gave money in 24 and look what happened. There's a mirage here. They're so shattered by Donald Trump winning in 24. They didn't look at all the other races. I mean, I keep reminding people, go back and look what happened in all the swing state Senate races in 24.

And the governorships in 22, when Democrats were supposed to lose. In 24, a Jewish woman wins in Nevada, a swing state senator's race. In Arizona, a really, a real. progressive Hispanic man wins. This supposed to be the year of Joe Rogan, right? In Wisconsin, a lesbian gets reelected. In Michigan, a woman wins in Michigan. I can go on and on. You know, and even in Georgia in the preceding years, a black man wins in Georgia, a Jewish man wins in Georgia. You have Dave McCormick, who was a very good candidate for Pennsylvania, who had lost in 22, took great notes, knew exactly what he had to do to win in 24.

Dave McCormick was the exception to the rule of weirdly enough in 2024, a huge Democratic night. If this is a blue tsunami in 26, we're going to look back and people are going to go, oh, wait, over the last two election cycles, Democrats have won 20, have won 90%. They could be saying this, 90% of every swing state Senate race. And yet, here you have Democratic donors sitting on their wallets because they're so freaked out that Kamala Harris lost. No, it's true, Joe. And I think we don't talk a lot about the process of how those Democratic donors are recruited and cultivated. But actually, you know, those conversations in my experience tend to be very insular. They tend to happen between just a handful of Democratic officials

who go out and cultivate these relationships. And in some ways, that works for the party, but in other ways, the donors don't get a full sense of the landscape that they need. And of course, you have really talented candidates across the party like Cooper, like Osaf, who kind of are independent in that and they make their own relationships. But I think the Democrats do have a problem. They have to get their donors to be a little bit more bullish on races outside the box. Yeah, and Mara, I mean, I wrote on this last week about the growing Republican anxiety that simply they don't feel like the president has given them anything to run on here. And now our closing argument this weekend appears to be about daylight savings time. And that there

are so many who are just scrambling to make sense. And they do said, Joe, you and I have been talking with this for a long time, of course, that when things tip, they tend to tip one way and one way hard. And there are Democrats who, despite their inherent pessimism, are starting to feel very optimistic and are looking to expand the map. And yes, win in places that six, eight months ago would have been unlikely. That's Iowa, Kansas, and the like. But David Drucker, there are a few states where they're taking a different tack. And let's be clear, Democrats are benefiting because Donald Trump and Republicans are so unpopular. Democrats have done a little better in rehabilitating their own image. They're more trustworthy on certain issues. But Democrats, as a

brand still pretty poll pretty poorly. And certainly part of the country in particular. And you've been looking at your latest piece for Bloomberg opinion, a couple of states, Nebraska, South Dakota, even Idaho, where the Democratic Party is backing more or less independence to try to win there because they know their own party can't. Yeah, I think it's indicative of the fact that in so much of what we like to think of as red America, right, these deep red states that are culturally and otherwise very conservative, but I'd emphasize the cultural issues in that regard. The party's brand continues to be weak, and it's one of the reasons why throughout the Trump era, we've seen Democrats have a tougher time with the Electoral College map.

But the point I made in the column was that where Democrats are running quality candidates, and actually where they're just running as Democrats, these are the conservative states, the red states where Democrats have, at this point, a better than fighting chance of winning on election day and flipping the Senate. And I think that's the key, right? When we get back to these comparisons about what happened in 2024 at the Senate level versus the presidential contest, and we look at what's happening now, Jonathan, you're right to point out, as in most midterm elections, the party that seems strong is in many ways just benefiting from the fact that the ruling party, the party that controls the White House is weak and voters are extremely

dissatisfied. But if Democrats win the Senate, it won't simply be because Republicans are weak. It's going to be because when you look at Texas, in Alaska, you look at Ohio and Iowa in particular, but obviously we talked about North Carolina, these are really good candidates, right? Look at Georgia. They're candidates who are fitting their states. They're responding to who these voters are. You can look at a Josh Turric at in Iowa where he says he'll work with President Trump on border security. You can look at Texas where James Tala Rico, is this avowed many of the sort of far-left, kooky things that he said when he was just a state senator from the Austin area, and that's what people wanted to hear.

So these are candidates that want to win that know what it takes to win. And it allows voters who normally vote Republican to say, hey, not so bad, considering that I'm unhappy, with the alternative, and that's the key. Yeah, you know, it's very interesting, John Nathan Martin. Yeah. I would come on the show every Monday morning last election cycle in 24 and say, hey, you know, they're having this trans, Democrats aren't even responding to it. It's about convicts, trans, and taxpayer money.

That's right. You've got the unholy trinity for politicians and for working white. man, black, Hispanic, and then you go down the line, right? And so you'd sit there and you go, okay, this is going to be trouble. I know it's going to be trouble for Democrats not to respond that time.

I will tell you this year and, you know, my son and I will watch the four NFL games and I just see a commercial pop up here, commercial pop up there. It's almost like their heart's not even in it. The ads are all, Republican ads are all over the place. When they bring up, like,

a problem with trans, you know, with trans athletes or something like that against Talarico and Tala Rico's already said, yeah, I'm against that. Then you're just sitting there going, yeah, I think they're fighting the last war. It's not going to work. On the Democratic side, though,

look at the people that, you got Tala RICO who actually knows the Bible far better than any Republican in Congress. I've heard talk about it. At least he applies the red letters. You look at Alaska. You've got a great

candidate in Alaska. You look at Kansas, you've got minister of the largest Methodist church, and he's a great campaigner. You look at Iowa. We've talked about Iowa. You look at Nebraska, an independent candidate there. At the end of the day, as David says, it is quality control. And right now, Democrats are running some really good candidates. Yeah, you throw in Roy Cooper in North Carolina, who's never lost a campaign statewide in this century.

I didn't misspeak. He's been on the ballot every year since 2000. first as AG, then as governor. He won twice with Trump on top of the ticket, 16 and 20, and he's poised to win again. Sherrod Brown, who has been in Ohio politics for over 50 years. Again, 5-0 and 1-1, obviously three statewide races as senator before falling getting clipped in 24. Presidential year, very tough cycle. Well, he's back and obviously has virtually 100% statewide name ID.

So, yeah, good recruits give Chuck Schumer credit for getting some of the candidates he wanted. And frankly, the candidates Joe that could win. You know, I'm not sure Democrats could win without Roy Cooper, Sharon Brown, Mary Pelotola, you know, in those states. And in Kansas, I'm not sure who else besides the biggest Methodist pastor in the entire state and a sort of pillar of Johnson County, the big KC suburban county. Who else could win? So, yeah, candidates do matter. No question about it. Right. And, you know, and it also, if you talk about the people, you bring up the people, whether you're talking about a Methodist minister in the largest Methodist church in America. You talk about Cala Rica, who's a seminarian, studying to be a preacher. You talk about a bronze star winner running, you know, in upstate New York.

We're talking about an Admiral running in South Carolina. We could go down the list. These are quality candidates that just completely undermine the stupid argument that the Democratic Party's been completely taken over by the DSA because four or five candidates that the mayor of New York elected are supported one. So we'll talk about that much more. Go ahead. Go ahead. No, I would just say it's such an echo of 2018 when the story was overwhelmingly about. the squad, some of these primaries. But the reality of the general election 2018, Joe, was a lot of

of folks who were new to politics, a lot of them women who got fired up about Donald Trump's win and who are now senators and governors, Cheryl, Slotkin, Spanberger, they all got inspired to run in 2018. They really are the biggest legacy from the 2018 classes, those kind of folks, and it's so similar this year. Coming up, how President Trump is falling into the same trap that doomed President Biden. Former White House press secretary, Corrine Jean-Pierre, joins us to explain straight ahead on Morning Joe. So when you look at $21 trillion coming in and we have $1 trillion very easily affordable, and I know more about inflation, I know more about everything than anybody in this room,

anybody anywhere in the world. Well, there's a woman sitting right over there that she's a housewife, but she's very good. She's got a natural instinct for business. She perhaps knows more than I do, but I actually don't think so. And they're laughing. He says that's Donald Trump in Ohio telling us, I don't think he gave us a view of like step, step, stare, ramp. I don't think he did the sort of tour around the staging, outdoor staging this time.

But it said a lot of things that were quite interesting that I suspect books will be written about later when it's safe to write books about such things. Um, not sure why it's not now. Uh, but, but I know more about everything than everyone. Um, Proverbs, pride cometh before the fall, but he doesn't really read the Bible. Um, blessed or the meek, Jesus says in the beatitudes. Uh, second chronicles of my people, uh, called by my name, humble themselves. They'll hear from heaven. Now, now that doesn't work either. Um, God opposes a proud, uh, That's from James and loves the humble. I mean, it's, again, this is, what's so interesting is you look at the immigration policies

and some of the other just absolutely hateful policies that have nothing to do with securing the southern border. I've always been for a secure southern border. I've always been critical of a poorest southern border. I've always been critical of the EU and they're short-sighted and just insane open borders policy for decades that actually led to a lot of the extremism. So, I mean, I'm for a strong southern border, but the abuse, the anti-Christlike abuse of these human beings that are here in American that have, according to Scalia, the same constitutional rights as you and me when they're on American soil, it's just absolutely insane that this is a guy that evangelicals decided to get behind over the past decade, because it is the antithesis of everything. Jesus says in in the Gospels.

Well, the president not stepping away from it in that same rally read his version of the snake, which he has turned into this nasty anti-immigration poem during that. Unclear, though, who the housewife was. That's still TBD. But yes, Joe, you are right. That is sad that he did not repeat. I really will go down to some of the great presidential rhetoric of a few nights before when he says, I can go stairs.

I can go ramp. I mean, let's just, we'll leave it there for that. I can go step. Step. No. I can go ramp. Let's hope he brings that back here for the stretch run, because that is a strong closing argument. I can go ramp.

Let's take a look now in some of the morning papers, being with the Times of Israel, that's reporting that the fly Dubai co-pilot accused of trying to crash a plane carrying nearly 174 passengers had reportedly been removed from training by Oman Air over concerns about his extremist views. the 29-year-old who has been identified as Hamam al-Hamami allegedly stabbed the pilot last Wednesday, sending the Boeing 737 into a rapid descent before passengers and other pilots intervened. The plane then made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Investigators are now examining whether al-Hamami intended to crash the aircraft in Israel. Fly Dubai says a full investigation is underway. Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, Director of National International, Director of National

J. Clayton has been tapped to lead a new federal artificial intelligence task force as public concern grows over the potentially destructive impact of the new technology. It comes after President Trump met with top AI executives last week at the White House and said they had all voluntarily agreed to self-regulate the development of AI. But Trump stopped short of proposing any legislative measures. The task force will have 120 days to report on the risks of AI. its charter states that it will develop plans for respond to any threats while preventing over-regulation of the industry. And it will review the government's current warning system for breaches and hacks

and recommend improvements. Trump also continuing to try to rename AI SI for superintelligence. And lastly, in USA Today, Tom Cruise's big budget political satire digger has turned out to be one of the biggest bombs of the year. The film, which is about an oil tycoon embracing an ecological disaster open to just $8 million domestically, despite costing $125 million to make. It marks the lowest opening for a film starring cruise since his political drama Lions for Lambs back in 2007. Meanwhile, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's book Verity drew in $32.6 million in its debut

weekend, which topped the box office. It was followed by the video game reboot Resident Evil, which racked up $12.5 million, and the Brad Pit-led Heart of the Beast, which had $11 million at the box office. Coming out, Veteran White House correspondent, April Ryan breaks down the assault on the free press, and the journalists doing the critical work to push back. That's when Morning Joe returns. Do you ever think about concrete? No.

No. No. What's the working title again? The history of concrete. Okay. Do you ever think about concrete? No, I didn't. Do you ever think there's too much concrete in the city?

Okay. Have you ever actually seen anyone spit out their gum? No. So we come and vaporize that gum. And that gum is busted. That gum is busted. You want to try? Me?

Yeah. Where did the gum go? It's busted. Oh, yeah. That's a look at the new documentary, The History of Concrete, which critics are calling an absurd triumph. Director and producer John Wilson got the idea for the film after attending a workshop on how to write a Hallmark movie.

He then tried to use that same formula to sell a documentary about concrete. John joins us now. We're happy to have him. Congratulations on this. So tell us a little bit more about this origin story. The class that you took about the Hallmark movies, it becomes sort of a shorthand-punctive. line, like a very formulaic, not to say not good, but a very formulaic setup for a movie.

And you decide, what made you think, hey, I'm going to take these principles and apply it to something completely different? Well, I think there's something about the Hallmark formula, you know, that's very reproducible by design. And I think the same could be said of concrete in certain ways. I think there's a certain flattening. But I think there's also a lot of interesting stuff in there. And, yeah, I just found that the hallmark formula was something that I needed because I needed structure, I think, as someone trying to make something from scratch. So how did you get this made? I just, just through this momentum, you know, just needing something to do.

I just would do little by little. And, you know, I started just by filming sidewalks, cracked sidewalks, but then ended up going to the oldest concrete street in America and, you know, which is from 1891. Where is that? It's in Belfont, Belfount in Ohio. And, you know, it's not in great condition. And I think that that really kind of raised an alarm for me just to investigate why concrete doesn't really hold up as long as. we think it does. So you jumped into this after the finale of your TV series, how to with John Wilson. Tell us about who are the characters in a film about concrete?

Well, you have contractors. You have sand experts because most concrete, sand is a major component of concrete as it is with glass or, you know, porcelain or anything else. But I also talk to people that preserve tattoos after you die, you know. They, they, they, it's almost like, uh, uh, taxidermy in a way, you know, but, you know, the connection is tenuous, but it's there. The history of concrete is now playing in theaters nationwide, an absurd triumph. Director and producer John Wilson. Thank you very much. Congratulations. Go ahead, please. Thank you, Mr. President.

I'm not, I'm not responding. I'm responding to, excuse me, I'm not responding to you. I'm talking to this gentleman. Would you please sit down? Excuse me. Excuse me. Would you please sit down? Please go ahead. Thank you, Mr. President. That moment her President Trump during his first term dismissed veteran White House reporter April Ryan by telling her to sit down, gain national attention back in 2018. Now, in a new book titled Notes on a Blacklash. when a black woman goes viral, April's revealing what happened next as she faced a wave of harassment following the incident, which she says taught her tough lessons about race, gender, and politics.

April joins us now. Also with us, former White House Secretary and former senior advisor of President Biden, Korean John Pierre, greens out with a new Peace in New York Times, titled, This Mistake, Doomed Biden. Trump is falling into the same trap. We're going to find out what she means by that in June. Just a moment, MS now contributor to Politori, also back with us.

So, April, let's start with your book. Congratulations. Certainly that moment, your right, certainly did go viral. You know, and you've been doing this for a long time, but certainly that puts you at a new level of stardom, if you will. But more than that, you know, it was a revealing moment you write for your life and for sort of the state of, you know, how black women are perceived in this industry and in Washington. So tell us some more, please. So first of all, Jonathan, when you have a viral moment, it's about authenticity.

And that moment that you just played, I was asking the president about the midterms in voter suppression. And the president responded to me from the podium. So as a journalist who understands the decorum in the White House, I stood because he responded. And then he moves on to tell me sit down, but he responded to me. But nonetheless, it was through authenticity that made it go viral, made that moment go viral. And that's what I talk about in this book. But then comes the black lash. The black lash is because I'm put on the spotlight. The black lash is because you have like people like Angie Nixon. She's in the spotlight with her pink bullhorn. And J.D. Vance tells her to leave and go to another country. It's also the authentic moment with people like

La Monica McIvor when she is trying to do her job and her job is weaponized against her, she goes viral. This is what this book is about, particularly when it comes to black women in this white male dominated industry of politics and Washington, D.C., particularly also in this business, in this industry, the black lash comes. You know, I was also thinking just about the quote that you start the book with, you quote, To Timothy 1-7. And God doesn't give us a spirit of fear, but rather,

one of power, love, and a sound mind. I'm wondering why you decided to start the book with that. And also, if you could speak to the costume of religion, perhaps, being warned by this administration as you're navigating all sorts of performances that are happening that you were reporting on. So I was born in the church. My family is very much in the church. Faith has been what sustained me through all these crazy moments from bomb squad being

in my house, the FBI having to come to my house because of these viral moments that snap back at me, the blacklash. And then to see, as you brought up, to see this administration who tries to put intimidation and fear and reporters and others, and to use religion as the backdrop, it's interesting. The religion that I see as I see it as a reporter who's covered this place for over 29 years, the way they're using religion is for the people that they want in that religious space. Maybe not people who are me or some of the other panel that's seated here today. But at the end of the day, the God that I serve has protected me.

And he, as he says, God does not give us a power of fear, but of love and a sound mind. Sure, April officer, we have seen this time around President Trump's insults toward reporters only grow more frequent, particularly women, particularly women of color. But let's get your thoughts on, well, what you were asking about back in 2018, the midterms. We are now just about a month away. You know, polls certainly look good for Democrats in the House. And, you know, there's growing optimism in the Senate as well. What's the latest you're hearing as you talk to strategists in both parties? Yes.

What I'm hearing and what I'm seeing on the ground is that the face of hurt is not just the marginalized. It is the white farmer. It is the white truck driver who Donald Trump championed in the first term being the forgotten man and now hurting in the second term. The question is now what I'm hearing from different states from Georgia to Mississippi to Texas, will these people who are hurting these white people that Donald Trump supported in the first term but forgot this term, will he, will they decide to not vote or will they sit it out? Will they cross the line? We don't know. We have to see. And Democrats are really trying to take advantage of this moment of pain and trying to galvanize as many people as they can to go to the polls. But we have to see what happens, November 3rd, that last day of voting. And this is going to be historic for a midterm election that really has Donald John Trump on the ballot.

Certainly very, very high stakes. The new book, Notes on a Blacklash, what a black woman goes viral. It's out tomorrow. April, I, congratulations, and thank you for joining us. Thank you, Jonathan. Thank you. Creen, let's turn to you now. Your new column from the New York Times, the headline, this mistake, doomed Biden. Trump is falling into the same trap, and I'll read a little bit from it now. Part of the challenge is that Americans no longer share a single information space. Media fragmentation has created separate realities. And when a government cannot establish shared facts, democratic decision-making becomes harder. In some ways, Mr. Trump's style, direct, emotional, repetitive, and unmas mediated fits the incentives of the current environment, but it has limits. A decade ago, his bluster, so unlike traditional politicians, grabbed ears and eyeballs. Now, even many of his fans can see that he's frequently just seeking attention. That tension, the ability to dominate the conversation while struggling to earn trust defines this moment. Once people believe their government is not speaking to their reality, it becomes incredibly difficult to earn that trust back. And certainly, you're right about that, about the separate media ecosystems, but also how we

have seen in polls, even those who cast their lot with Trump in 2024, including some for the first time, have really grown disenchanted because it does seem like he doesn't see their reality, he doesn't feel their struggle, and he's not trying. Right. And he's not one of them. He just is not. Look, people, voters are not stupid. They are tired of the Trump show. And what he is doing is, instead of doing something to fight the economy and make the economy better, he's focusing on a

ballroom, right? Instead of making sure that the American people are getting what they need and making sure the prices and the grocery stores are going down, he is instead telling lies and not even using facts and figures, right? And so he is constantly, constantly doing the opposite of what he said he was going to do on day one, which is take care of the economy. And so you have a president who is woefully unpopular, does not have his finger on the pulse, doesn't care to have his finger on the pulse, is not putting forward policy to change what the American people are feeling. And then there's this stench of corruption that he leaves behind.

And, you know, he is going to feel it. You know, he is going to feel it in less than 30 days in this mid-term. election, and they are turning their backs on him. They're saying enough is enough. So let's be clear. There are very few similarities between this Trump term and the Biden administration, certainly. And the Biden team had a robust legislative record to run on for his party in those midterms. But one similarity that some even who worked for President Biden have said they've noted is that there was admission that President Biden and his team at times, you know, sort of struggled to articulate what they had accomplished in terms of the economy. And there was some frustration and say,

Look, by the numbers, the economy's doing well. And there was a disconnect sometimes because Americans weren't necessarily feeling it. Trump is repeating that mistake on steroids. On steroids. And not using facts and figures, right. He's making it all up. And look, you're right. Look, facts and figures, and I say this in my piece, has lost its weight.

Because if you're not meeting where the American people are, right, if they don't feel that we are speaking to their lived experiences, then they are not going to pay attention to the models you're using, to the facts and whatever it is that we're trying to put out there to message directly to them. And so that is the problem that we saw, even when the economic numbers were strong. And so we learned the hard way. And Trump is doing the opposite of that and is going to learn the hard way. And voters, again, are not stupid.

They are feeling, feeling this moment. And he is not fixed it on day one. He's just not. I am curious when it occurred to you that the tools of reaching and speaking directly to voters were also the same tools that could be used to manipulate them. We see that with this administration, of course, using influencers all of the time. But the idea of being a press secretary in this era, when you can't control information in the way that your predecessors used to, that must have been profound. And that's one of the things that I talk about.

Like, how is the briefing room supposed to be used now? Because by the time you get to the briefing room by 1 o'clock, I mean, what you're trying to message has already lived through many lives before you get there. And you have people their own content creators. You have memes. You have the social media that's just constantly moving around faster than we can. I assume you're haunted by memes still today. Definitely. And it just makes it really hard to break through in this kind of media environment that we're in.

And again, it is, it is, if you are not meeting where the voters are, there is that piece of it. If you're not saying exactly what they are feeling, then they're going to turn away. And that's just the bed is what's difficult about messaging at that level. And it's worth noting there isn't a White House press secretary now. Trump has not even filled that role, still believing perhaps to his political detriment that he is his own best messenger. The new piece online for the New York Times, check it out. Cream John Pierre.

Great to see you. Thank you for being with us this morning. We really appreciate it. And that does it for us on this Monday morning, but fear not. We're back tomorrow. 6 a.m. Eastern for another morning, Joe. Money, power, politics with Stephanie Rule. next here on MS now after a short final break.