Morning Joe - Trump rallies for Paxton in third Texas trip in a month

Episode Date: October 8, 2026

October 8, 2026: 8am — Trump rallies for Paxton in third Texas trip in a month 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.

He said all of a sudden, he's a vegan. You know, my wife told me, sir, do me favor. You have to do me just a little bit of a favor. It's not vegan. It's vegan. I don't know about that stuff. I'm not into it. And he said, it's vegan.

Please pronounce that word properly. I called it vegan, vegan. I thought it was. How do hell would I know? I like steak. She says hello to everybody. Melania says hello. Oh, good morning.

President Trump last night in Texas. with a rare Melania Sur story. We'll have more from that rally in San Antonio. The president's third trip to the state in a month, he had some things to say that mirrored what he said a few days ago. Not cool about California cities. It comes as Republicans have spent

a half a billion dollars on competitive House and Senate races across the country. Polling is showing so far, though, all that money does not seem to be making a difference yet. Meanwhile, a top Republican is admitting that all the redistricting the party did ahead of the midterms isn't working out as well as they thought it would be. Good morning. And welcome to morning, Joe. It is Thursday, October 8th. With us, we have the co-host of our 8am hour staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, co-host of The Rest Is Politics Podcast,

the BBC's Caddy Kay. You're like on World Tour. We're like on World Tour. We're lucky to have you in the studio today. We're in Gramacy Theater tonight. Come on. In New York. We've been up in Toronto, Boston, another night in New York, and then we're heading down. Explains the autograph seekers out front on the way. The rest of the politics is literally. I wish there had been a merchandise thing. Look at what did I do? You and the mooch of all people are making waves. Look at these crowds that you're getting. I dressed in red and white for the land of the resistance. I was up there. It was great. The Canadians were so nice. They are so unified behind Mark Carney. Wow. That's impressive. Yeah. Well, thank you for doing that for keeping this conversation

going around the world. Also with us this morning contributing writer to the Atlantic. Eugene Robinson is with us and staff writer at the Atlantic. Mark Levevich is here. So we're going to start with Jonathan Lamere's new reporting. You and your colleague at the Atlantic, Nancy Yusuf, have exclusive reporting on the White House asking, the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iranian targets that could be exercised ahead of November's midterm elections. Tell us what you found, what it portends, and what analysts believe this could potentially say about some of his strategies politically. So President Trump, for a while now, has been considering and has even hinted at publicly striking Iran again

after the midterms. This is obviously a war that has not gone well. for the president. It is deeply unpopular in a bit of a stalemate now. More oil has gotten through the straight of rumors in recent weeks, but Iran has also stepped up the tax on tankers there. So there's more uncertainty. Gas prices remain really high. President Trump remains really frustrated. So what White House has done in recent days, we report, has asked the Pentagon also to draw up the possibility of striking Iran before the midterms, which would be a real surprise. And it is a divisive topic within his administration, within the Republican Party. Most strategies think that they want to don't do anything before the midterm because the war is so unpopular.

Attacking Iran again would put it on the front page, return it to the headlines. It would be deeply unpopular and hurt Republicans' chances in November, Mika. But there is some in the administration who believe that a strike now, even sort of a limited almost like for show strike would allow President Trump to look tough, also perhaps allow him some ability to claim of victory. even like a false one, just to try to change the narrative akin to the midterms. Now, we should be clear, no decision has been made. And there are some in the administration who believe, look, the Trump is getting his options, but won't follow through on this.

And they don't think he'll strike before the midterms. He may not even strike after the midterms, but that does seem more likely. But the fact that they're even talking about this, Mika, shows how desperate their political situation is, where they know they cannot shake the war, the burden of this war on the White House and the party. And they're trying in any way to change them. narrative. I don't see how a strike now, a limited strike, though, Jonathan would change the narrative very much because we've had this kind of this weird situation of a stop and start war,

pretty much nonstop for the last three or four months, where there have been strikes and then they stop and they have been strikes and then they stop. And that in and of itself wouldn't change the gas prices between now and November, right? One strike. In fact, one strike is more likely to send the gas prices short-term shooting up again. So how do they think this plays out? There's many the administration who agree with that train of thought, that those who are advocating the strike believe it could work this way. First of all, it would depend where they hit. And if they do escalate and, let's say, hit around Karg Island,

that would be a significant escalation, you know, in terms of, we haven't hit, you know, since months of that sort of degree. They also, they do look at the economic situation in Iran. And they're not wrong here, where they say that Iran's economy is really under strain right now. And there does seem to be increasing pressure within Tehran to take some sort of deal. So the thought is, a strike next. Now, might be a bit of a push to sort of emboldened, they believe, the more moderates to push

the hardliners into a deal. Like, hey, let's start taking, or at least start taking negotiations more seriously. So even if Trump can point to that and say, look, Iran's coming back to the table, maybe that's a step in the right direction. But none of these are good options. And that's, that is what underlines this entire situation, is that Trump has put himself in a mess of his own making. There is no easy way out.

And strikes whether they before the midterms or after the midterms aren't guaranteed to bring Iran back to the table. The economic pressure does seem to be working, but it's a very, very slow process. And probably this won't be anything they decide here, won't happen soon enough to save Republicans' chances, an election day, which is only a month away. So let's take your exclusive reporting on this and bring it with us into the next story. As we said, President Trump is back at the White House this morning after making his second visit to Texas in a week and his third trip to the state in a month. He held a rally last night. in San Antonio for Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton, who is trailing in several polls to the

Democratic nominee James Tullerico. The president praised Paxton as perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States, but spent most of his time criticizing Talariko. The president did not address recently leaked recordings of Paxton talking about the impact the war with Iran is having on fuel prices as well as complaints that his campaign was being run by operatives in Washington. The rally was interrupted at least a dozen times by demonstrators with some being led away by police. The president spoke about those disruptions and also referenced the comments that he made earlier this week, about Iran, about Iran possibly bombing to specific American cities.

You know, many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right? Because you come in, and you know, they'll have like this perfect shirt on made by the best printer money can buy, and they all have, I love where they all have the same exact signs, all beautiful pink and purple and blue

and all different colors. And they're perfect made by the same printer. Very expensive signs. They don't make these signs. They don't make these signs. These are paid protesters. They're paid by enemies of our nation. But you want to see trauma?

You want to see problems? And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego, Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit. You want to see a horror show? You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. And you want to see some bad things happen.

You want to see a country that would be in free fall. We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country. We're not letting that happen. So Eugene Robinson, I saw that last line, but at the same time, some historians and some who study the threat to democracy might look at that language and then also tie it together with the depravity that we have seen over the past years, January 6th, pardoning January 6th rioters, then them going to commit crimes again. And pardons all around for corruption, don't even start me on ice and the depravity there. And the what some call concentration camps, these detention centers, and people getting shot in the street and families being ripped apart.

And people being sent to countries that they don't even know anything about and didn't come from. So you look at the depravity that we have become used to. and you hear something like that. Some analysts, some historians who study the threats to democracy, might see this as a very dangerous provocation weeks before an election. Well, look, it is shocking to hear a president of the United States say, quote, let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles, whatever he's trying to say, that is a dangerous and shocking way to say.

say it. And what I'm waiting for are the apologies from all the Trump apologists who said, when he said this the first time, oh, he's taken out of context. That's not what he meant. That's not really what he said. And these convoluted explanations of how the president didn't actually say, let them get San Diego or in Los Angeles. And then he says it again. That's what he meant to say. It is absolutely. You touched on an interesting thing, though, Mika, which is that we almost become inured to this sort of thing. Every single day, Donald Trump says multiple things that would have been shocking, would have been weeks-long stories if said by any previous president in the history of the history of the

the United States. But they come out, you know, 10, 15, 20 a day, and people become somewhat numb to them. This one seems to happen. Can I have a question from the class? It's not just say. If you look at, you know, the two major events that I've mentioned, January 6th, we could do a long list. What's happening with ICE, this, this rogue force, that's being pumped with money and now has shock, I guess they're gloves to torture people. I mean, I'm not talking about just crazy things he's saying. He's following through.

He has done things that are beyond the norm, and that is the biggest understatement you will hear ever on Morning Joe. Because some of them are being questioned in court, and especially as it pertains to how people are being treated by eyes, unlawful. On American. Absolutely. Unlawful, un-American.

And yes, he not only says things that are beyond the pale, but he does things that are clearly illegal and unconstitutional and un-American in the most fundamental ways. These ice shock gloves are, again, absolutely stunning. You cannot imagine a government of the U.S. of the United States, resorting to that sort of cruelty and, you know, certainly bordering on torture, if not torturous, to be in this sort of way. But hey, ICE feels it has the right just to shoot people. It certainly feels it has the right to detain and hold U.S. citizens, whom ICE thinks look like

potential immigrants. It's, look, here's where we are. We've got to get ourselves out of this somehow, but this is a departure from 250 years of American tradition. Now, that's exactly right. And meek to underscore report, Timothy Snyder, is one of the historians who's really warned about this. He wrote on tyranny, on freedom.

On tyranny, on freedom, including how President Trump sort of adores the various dictators around the world. Yesterday he was very excited to call Vladimir Putin, which is a happy birthday. He said so in the Oval Office yesterday. So Mark Leavich, certainly, yes, one of our favorites of the genre is when President Trump says something outrageous. Everyone around him rushes to say, no, no, no, you're wrong, fake news. You take it out of context.

You're twisting it. And then Trump says it again, which is what happened yesterday. But my question to you is, how is this helping Republicans? Yes, he's trying to justify this is why we have to stop Iran because we can't let them have a weapon that could terrorize a West Coast city. Okay. But this war has not gone well, as we've been talking about this morning. the U.S. is at least considering ramping it back up, at least for potentially political purposes.

Yet this is something that poll after poll after poll show that Americans do not want. And frankly, a lot of Republicans don't want voters who went for Trump in 2024 want no part of his party this time around because of decisions he's made just like this. Yeah, I mean, obviously it's not helping, right? I mean, I think what this is all part of is that Donald Trump is very much living within a very, very singular bubble. just his own sort of news feed, his own brain, and so forth. I mean, on one hand, I mean, the larger context of the San Diego Los Angeles comments are, this happened a few days ago, as you mentioned. It obviously triggered a lot of people rightfully, and he kind of got off on that,

and he just wanted to repeat it. I will say, in fairness, the context of what he was saying just now, you know, there is a charitable view here, which is that he was talking, He was using San Diego in Los Angeles to cities in a very, very blue state, sort of his most favorite foil, which is California, as an example here. But you could also read that as him saying, let them try, let them try to hit the United States of America as if to say, we will retaliate, there will be hell to pay, and so forth. So maybe he was saying that, you know, obviously irresponsibly, loose talk. I mean, that's his MO. But he was saying it in a way that was sort of underscoring a kind of chest thumping,

you know, how dare you kind of thing. As for Paxton and the Texas thing, this is only happening because Donald Trump endorsed Ken Paxton. It's pretty likely that John Cornyn, a far more electable, probably much better candidate, would be the nominee right now if Donald Trump hadn't sort of gone against the advice of a lot of people and endorsed Paxton, who he feels personally loyal to, loyal to. And this is obviously not going very well. And it's costing Republicans and the assorted PACs around it hundreds of millions of dollars. I mean, they are just devoting so much time of the president's time, so many resources to Texas to somehow try to save Ken Paxton doesn't seem to be working.

So this is all because of Trump. Coming up, a look at the morning papers, including a stunning development in the botched execution of a death row inmate in Tennessee. those details straight ahead on Morning Joan. Time now for a look at the morning paper, starting with USA Today. Convicted Killer Krista Pike is conscious talking and making an unprecedented recovery following last week's botched execution attempt in Tennessee. The 50-year-old inmate survived two doses of a lethal injection and was rushed to a hospital. It's not clear how the state will proceed with three.

death sentence, one thought, maybe you get one chance at this, and now you don't kill her. That's crazy. They haven't ruled out. That's crazy. It's grotesque. It's grotesque. From the Miami Herald, federal agents seized more than $2.8 million worth of fuel headed to Cuba. The Department of Homeland Security says the shipments of biodiesel were in violation of U.S.

export laws. And the Philadelphia Inquirer features reporting on how Ukraine is clawing back territory in the Donbass region. It comes despite furious assaults by the Kremlin. As the article notes, Russian gains across Ukraine have slowed this year from their already glacial pace. Coming up, my conversation with Grammy-winning singer Winnie Judd will talk about the inspiration behind her brand-new album, her first in more than a decade. That discussion is straight ahead on Morning Joan. That was five time. That was five-time Grammy-a-ward-winning artist Winona Judd's girl who could sing from her new album, The Hard Truth.

It's a song about a father when Nona never got the chance to know. And the questions that remained after she learned the truth about her biological father, decades into her life. It's a gut-wrenching story. But the hard truth goes much deeper than just one family secret. It is Winona's most personal record yet about her mother Naomi, about loss, addiction, forgiveness, and what it means to finally tell your own story in your own voice. Whenona Judd, it's really nice to meet you. And I've been listening to your record. I can call it a record.

We still say record. We do? Okay. And it's beautiful. Thank you. And as a mother of two daughters, and I also had quite a, quite a relationship with my own mother. Okay. Really, this hit home in so many ways.

It's your most personal album yet? Was I right about that? I co-wrote nine of the ten songs. Yeah. And I've never written before, but after mother died, I went into such a hellish existence that I had to do something. Yeah. And you were talking about earlier, about mentoring. I have a couple of mentors, and they said, write it down, and I started to write.

And here I am. What was the hardest truth that you wrote about? My daughter's addiction and being a mother of an addict and in and out of prison and going to visit her. and just as a mom wondering what's next? I want to ask, since you mentioned that being your hardest struggle, you have been so open about your struggles of your daughter, and to the point Mika was making about being a mother to two daughters, what do you say to mothers who feel like they have failed their daughters

who might be struggling? I think it starts with yourself. I didn't know that. I was an enabler, and I bought her cars and, you know, paid for things. And I realized now that it paid for drugs. So I was literally loving her to death. And I had to stop. And I had to say no, which is the most painful thing.

And mother can say when your daughter's in need. And I just had to start working on myself. And the light shines from within. And I had to go to work. I had to go to work on myself. Getting myself detached and letting her live her life and her destiny is, you know, She's still alive. There's hope.

Yeah. When one of your daughters is hurting, it just wrecks you. It's devastating. It's, it, right. I'm, I have two daughters if either of them is, is in a place that it makes you almost non-functional. Well, I would get a phone call right before going on stage, and it would not be a good conversation about her being arrested or something happened, and I would have to go on stage. And I just remember.

were thinking, do the next right thing. And that's all I can do. And before I knew it, the show was over, and I made it through. So you just have to breathe, do the next right thing, and realize that there is hope and that there is an answer somewhere in there. God, please. And these songs allowed me to, it was very cathartic, obviously, for me to write these things down and to let go.

Well, speaking of catharsis, the song, Girl Who Could Sing, which we just listened to, It's so beautiful. Thank you. But it's also, it's so, it's almost, it gives you goosebumps when you learn, as the receiver, that this is a song that you wrote learning that your father, you didn't know your biological father. I did not know. What was that journey like hearing the truth and then turning that into a song? Well, as a woman who's had a lot of success, it was, here I have everything, but in that moment, I had nothing.

How do you go from everything to nothing? You just have to work the process. And I just was devastated. I actually ended up telling me because mom was unable to speak. And it just was one of those moments that you just think happens to someone else. It doesn't happen to you. That's for somebody else's story. Right.

That's not the way the Judd dynasty is supposed to go. You're human. Yes. people have to realize that. There's so much love for your mother in this record. And so much pain too. Welcome to the mother-daughter relationship. I know.

I mean, I really, I have a moment I'll share. My mother and I had a very explosive relationship up until the age of about 32. And I was having this huge battle with her loud and nasty and I was horrid. And I look up on the staircase and there are my. two little daughters, age five and three, watching. Okay. And my older daughter goes, mom, you need to be nice to Bamba. Some day she's not going to be here, and you're going to be so sad.

That's unbelievable. I stopped cold turkey. Oh, wow. I grew up in five seconds. That's crazy. But that feeling of what you wrote here, I love you, I need you. I hate you some days. I hate the disease of mental illness.

I don't know that I ever hated her. I hated what she did. And that is such a separate issue. And we don't have time to go into it. But I watched my mother's struggle so much that I loved her without condition. I just, I took care of her. I shared a bus with her for 10 years. I won an award for that.

And I did it. I made it work. And I love her so much and I miss her terribly. Well, you've previously said. I mean, it is so beautiful the way you talk about the relationship with your mother and having that empathy and that's what it is. Empathy, absolutely. But you've said I'm not a victim. I'm a victor.

Did you always feel that way? What was the pivot point in your life? I'm raising my four-year-old granddaughter. And I think when I adopted her, I realized I have to break the cycle. Whatever I do is this next generation. I'm literally teaching this next generation about her self-worth. And I'm going to have to realize that I'm not a victim and I'm going to do the work. And I went to everything from retreats and rehabs and everything I could find to just go,

okay, this happened to me. It doesn't define me. So I went through a lot to do the hard work. That's why the record's called The Hard Truth. Because it's hard. It really is. Women, you know, struggle everywhere with this self-worth thing, and I did too. I'm writing a book, and I'm talking to the next generation of women, hoping that I can help in some way.

Oh, I want to talk about self-worth because, uh, whom and I talk to women all the time about knowing your value and getting value back in every relationship in your life. So what does knowing your value mean to you maybe compared to when you were 20 years old? Oh, wow. How is it evolved? Wow. Well, my self-worth came from the approval of my mother. So until she died, I did struggle with codependency and things that were, obviously, she was such a hard, you know what, on me because she wanted to raise a champion.

And she did so with Ashley and me. But I did struggle with it for a long time because it got down to how much do I get per show? How much did I make this year? You know, do I have a savings account? And I had to really struggle through all that. And I did once I got my granddaughter, I realized, I can do anything. I can do anything. It's amazing.

And I don't have to struggle anymore. So I let it go. And on my 60th birthday, I literally made a pact with God that I would wake up every morning and say to thine own self be true. And I work so hard at that. I want to just thank you for sharing your story because I think, especially younger women, to Mika's point about mentoring, young women look at you and think her life is perfect. She's achieved this massive success. So when a young woman says to you, I don't feel worthy, what do you say to them?

I tell my story. I try not to give advice because that doesn't work. I've tried that with my daughter and other people. It just doesn't work, does it? It doesn't work. People don't listen. No. They have to be ready for it.

for it. So I just tell my story and if they can identify, it's called cross talk. You're not supposed to cross talk. You're supposed to just say, well, in my experience, my self-worth doesn't come from money or fame. My self-worth comes from knowing that I'm a child of God, not just a chick singer. And then I can tell something personal and then they can either gravitate towards it or, you know, let it go. Wow. The new album, The Hard Truth, is out now. When No Judd, thank you so much. It is such an honor to meet you, such a blessing. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you for letting you know this story. Oh, my gosh, you have so much to offer to help so many others. We'll be right back with much more, Morning Joe. Welcome back. The USS Lincoln is set to finally return home today after enduring a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea, mainly in the Middle East, amid the Iran War. The carrier's extended deployment drew attention and criticism amid reports of supply shortages, including food and hygiene products, and poor mental health among many crew members,

with eight sailors reportedly attempting suicide. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Lincoln yesterday, giving the crew the presidential unit citation, the highest honor a unit can receive typically reserved for significant achievement in combat. Hegseth acknowledged the carrier is long time at sea while praising the crew, telling them the deployment, in his words, wasn't easy. Meanwhile, World Mental Health Day is this Saturday, and our next guests are helping raise awareness with an annual gala and festival right here in New York City.

Hosted by the tech nonprofit Project Healthy Minds, this weekend's free public festival features movement classes, interactive workshops, and some engaging conversations with speakers, including multi-platinum singer, songwriter, actress, and activist Becky G., and NBA champion New York Nickstar, Carl Anthony Towns. And in a private fundraising gala tonight, Project Healthy Minds will honor award-winning TV creator Bill Lawrence with its Storyteller of the Year Award, recognizing his work on shows, including Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking, which explore mental health with nuance

and authenticity. And Bill joins us now, along with the founder and CEO of Project Healthy Minds, Phil Trimmer. Thank you guys for being here. Bill, we'll start with you. I mean, certainly, you know, all the shows I just mentioned have their fair share of laughs and they're great and heartwarming. But it's right.

There is a common theme here about the need for sort of mental health and to be honest with yourself and others about how you're doing. Talk to us about why that's so important. for you, I guess, to inject it in your art. Well, thanks for calling it art. And apologies to your audience for not being Carl Anthony Towns. You are a little shorter. The, go next though.

You know, it's interesting is, I've been writing TV for a long time. I've banged so people think I'm young, but I'm a thousand years old. But one of the things that you'll find in writers' rooms is when you bring up any topic relating to mental health, dealing with grief, panic attacks, anxiety. Normally, you might have some hesitance about writing about it, but the second you open it up to 12 different writers and different ages, different backgrounds, you'd be blown away by how many are either directly connected to it, dealing with themselves, or dealing with it in their family. So as a writer, I found myself, you know, early on in my career shocked by, A, you know, how universal these things were and

And B, you know, I got into TV to write jokes and it's fun being part of that world, but to actually put stories out there that might people make people feel like they're a little less alone. Has it changed at all over the course of your career? Because certainly I think in the popular consciousness, there was much more of a stigma about talking about mental health issues some years ago. It does feel like people feel a little more free and willing and able to do it. Yeah, you know, it's reached the public dialogue in a way that, you know, you know,

You're almost an aberration if you aren't telling stories about it, you know, in kind of modern television. And that's why it's not just my shows. I mean, you'll see it on a bunch. So, Phil, tell us about the importance of putting mental health at the forefront of an event like this. And what should people expect during this weekend? Yeah.

Well, look, you know, one of the things that's important is we're making progress. You're right on the stigma around mental health. But the average American who does access mental health care services in this country, it takes on average 11 years between symptom onset and when people get help for the first time, which is like never the last time. So the whole World Mental Health Day, the festival and the gala, is organized around bringing together leaders, whether they're Bill, whether they're Carl Anthony Towns, Becky G, so that people in the community see people that they look up to shining a light on this issue. And Phil tells us more about, you know, though I think it's a good thing, as we just discussed with Bill here.

It's a good thing that people are more willing to feel open and able to talk about it. But do you feel like in some ways your job and your mission of this is harder because of, well, frankly, these, because of phones and the fact that whether it's the pressures from social media or whatever, or just the isolation that comes with it? Yeah. Look, I think that there's no doubt that that is exacerbating the challenge. And the focus for me is how do we use technology to advance the public good? And so the whole idea for the work that we do is sort of an open table or expedia, but for finding mental health services. So that whether you need a therapist, a psychiatrist, an eating disorder clinic, a substance use service, or a crisis hotline, the whole idea is there should be a front door on the internet for finding mental health services and it should be free for the public. And so to me, it's how to use technology to make it easier to find care.

And Bill, a quick last word to you. What makes this weekend so important? You know, just any opportunity to get a platform out there to let people know that it's normal, you know, to be dealing with this stuff and that there's options for them. And for me, just dropping myself in Phil's world and being surrounded by people that do things that are much more important than what I do. I'm very grateful to be a part of it. All right. For more information about this week's events, or if you or someone you know needs help finding mental health care resources, please visit project. ProjectHealthyminds.com. Bill Lawrence, Phil Tremer, thank you both for being here.

We really appreciate it. Thanks, man. I'm keeping the mug. You're all yours. Up next here on Morning Joe, we'll take a look at last night's debate in the closely watched Iowa Senate race. Morning Joe will return in just a moment. Welcome back. In Iowa's closely watched race for the U.S. Senate, Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Torrick faced off in their first debate last night. The two candidates clashed over the war in Iran.

tariffs, Medicaid, as well as congressional ethics, with, as you might imagine, the conflict in the Middle East emerging as the dominant issue. I'll tell you everywhere that I'm going, whether it's from folks in the urban areas talking about gas prices, or certainly when I'm out there with farmers, and especially at harvest time, talking about an all-time high of diesel. This is because of this war in Iran and a war that Ashley Hinson has voted in favor of seven times. It is hurting Iowans and it's hurting Iowans in a unique way. And we need to provide some relief to Iowans. Both candidates tried to appeal to voters in the political middle by emphasizing their willingness to work across the aisle.

I'll be President Trump's ally when it is important for Iowa, but I will push back on him. He knows this because I talk to him regularly on things that are wrong for our state. And that's true no matter who's in the White House. That's true, no matter. who is governing and who has the gavel. So hopefully it's not Chuck Schumer, but if it's Chuck Schumer, I'll work with him. I got things across the line with Nancy Pelosi as speaker, so I think that shows that I can work with anyone.

Iowa last night, tonight, Michigan, where Abdul El-Said and Mike Rogers will debate each other for the first time in that state's key Senate contest. And before we go, some breaking news just into me here. The Yankees are done. You thought we'd go the whole episode without mentioning it? No, sir. Yankees are out.

We've got the Razor in the ALCS. They'll face the winner of the Guardian's White Sox series, game four tomorrow night. And we're set over in the NLCS Brewers Dodgers and which should be a great, great matchup. That does it for us this morning. We, of course, we'll see you tomorrow at 6 a.m. Eastern for another morning. Joe, money, power, politics with Stephanie Rule is up next after a short final break. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.