‘So Desperate’

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2:29Interest about two and a half hours Donald Trump is set to speak again at his so-called Trump up alooza. Is that what we call him? That's what we call him again. Midterm convention here in Dallas. Now he's scheduled to deliver closing marks after JD Vance. Now he's slated to speak for just 15 minutes, but we'll see about that because last night a man went on for nearly two hours, right? Two hours. And then he comes down to this. You know, as Trump's embarrassing approval rating is stuck in the low 30s, that's what's motivating what you're seeing. And polls show Democrats are more determined than Republicans to vote this fall. Trump's desperate solution to the mess that he created is to make the midterms a referendum on his presidency. Wait, I'm sure Democrats are quite happy to abide by. Last night the president told his maga base to quote, pretend I'm on the ballot. He's also pretending that his toxic political brand is more popular than the NFL season opener.

3:33This morning Trump posted his midterm convention was quote, bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible. And that the overall numbers beat the NFL. Yeah. We should note the official ratings for neither event have been released yet. Trump also claimed the convention was a quote, sold out hit. And yet there were rows of empty seats as last night's speech dragged on and on and on. And it did drag on with just 54 days until the midterms vulnerable Republican candidates. They are stuck defending all of this nonsense. While many are staying away from Trump's convention, there are some that are choosing to show up. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is speaking right now and any moment swing district Republican Mike Lawler of New York will take the stage in Dallas. Mike Lawler is in literally an district that Kamala Harris won. I don't understand it. Trump says he'll campaign for the 35 Republicans in competitive races leading up to the midterms. And if last night was any indication, here is the message the president plans to take on the road.

4:36I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot. These people are radical left communist. They use the word affordability, right? This is a fact. Paraphs of my favorite word is going to make America rich. You know, they say he's building a ballroom for himself. We'll call it the Trump straight. And I'm sure the Iranian leadership will be thrilled with that. New Mexico. We think it should be called New America. New America. And nobody knows that Dom has a bee at the end of it. Most people think it's DUM. And the crowd went wild. I still can't believe the president just learned how to spell it. Look, I think Luke, your point about the NFL and the crowd sizes. I am just really, really struck by the Republicans that are choosing to stand on this stage. John who's said last night, which is in a very tough race, I'm to keep his seat against Sherry Brown and Ohio. Michael Lawler is literally sitting in one of the districts that Kamala Harris won in 2024.

5:36What the hell is he doing in that? The years of question. Trump is sitting on $850 million. If you don't show up and kiss the ring, is he going to put the money into your race? I think they're trying to show that they're still want to be in good grades with the dear leader. Well, they'll show up and they'll kiss a ring or whatever else they need to do. And the reality is this. They won't see one damn dime of that $850 million. I mean, think about it. The man is a billion sitting on close to a billion dollars. And how much has he doled out up to this point? I think only 10 million. 10 million dollars. So I think that- The man was right here in Texas. I'm sorry. I didn't text you, I meant math. That's not very much. It's not a lot of money. So I think that is the reality that these Republicans are faced. They're caught between two very, very difficult spaces of their own making. One is giving Trump the power over them in the first place on all levels. And then secondly, being so beholden to him at a critical time like this,

6:38as you mentioned in a race like Lawyers in a district like his, then you've got to understand exactly what's going on. Let's go to Emma's now Senior White House reporter, Vaughn Hillier, who is at the convention. Vaughn, what do you see, man? Which I mean, take away so far on night two. Well, I hope you guys are sticking around Gillies long enough once I get out of here. And then when I show up, the close up is out on the door. So I see how the assignments are arranged around here. Look, guys, Mike Rogers is one of those Senate candidates out of Michigan. Somebody that was a deep critic back in 2020, an aftermath of the January 6th attack of Donald Trump in the state of the Republican party under MAGA. Well, look who was on the stage just a few minutes ago. It was Mike Rogers. And we should be very clear that there is sort of this pitch that has been made by Donald Trump to these candidates that there needs to be a unified message. And Donald Trump's own words last night. He just grived democratic socialism and his words communism as a dark little dirty cloud over the country.

7:43And it's what you just heard from Mike Rogers. What's a focus on his opponent of dual society, the Democratic nominee for the Senate. And I just want to let you hear what the folks that were listening to Mike Rogers said. He said, he wants to represent Palestine. I want to represent Michigan. And when the radical Islamic terrorists threaten Americans, we don't need a senator searching excuses. We need a senator hunting them. And in many ways, Mike Rogers, that message was echoed by Ted Cruz, who spoke right before him, calling his room, um, Donnie Comrade, Mem Donnie. Donald Trump is going to speak speaking again tonight. JD Vance is technically the keynote speaker here. But in so many ways, I think the loose point about that pot of money goes a long way, because Democrats, they're already tying these House and Senate candidates to them. And there seems to be a recognition among the folks, the activists that I've been talking to, throughout the afternoon, but also these candidates here that, at this point, they need to try out that nagga support if they've got a shot to make up what is, uh, now underwater polling numbers for them. MSNOW's Von Hill, you're from Dallas.

8:45Von, send up a flare. Let us know when you get done. And we might still be here. Let's bring into the conversation now, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlaugher, of California, and Jane Kleb, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. I welcome to you both. And Jane, I want to start with you, because I want to pick up on a little bit of what we were talking about coming, uh, uh, onto, uh, the state's year of Gillies. Um, where are things right now as, as you're looking at this and, and seeing more broadly? I know you guys have had some recent success in the courts. Help, update everybody on what the latest state of play is. You know, so Simone and I share a home state of Nebraska. We'll be great. Go big red. Uh, she is a hometown here on case folks don't know. Her face is in a, uh, North Omaha welcome center. If you're in Omaha, you're in. Oh, Simone, there's talent. Yeah. Yeah. Let's visit. Oh, tell us about the. So today we want to Supreme Court case.

9:45The Republican Party was trying to force us to put a Democratic candidate on the ballot line. We chose to leave that ballot line open because we are supporting Dan Osborne. He's a mechanic and maybe veteran. We think that he is a better suited to beat a billionaire Pete Ricketts. Uh, we won that Supreme Court case so the ballot is now set. Now that doesn't mean that it's a clear shot just between Osborne and Ricketts because they created a fake party called the working people party. Uh, that we sued to try to get off the ballot, but they are still on. It's totally funded by Ricketts and right wing billionaires. So this just shows you how desperate they are. The Republicans are so desperate because even in Nebraska, Trump is so unpopular that they are dragging all the Republicans down. Osborne has a shot. Denise Powell and second congressional district. The famous blue dot has a shot of winning a flipping that district. Even Lin-Walls has a shot of winning governors. So we are winning in places that you wouldn't normally think Democrats can because Ken Martin's strategy at the DNC of organizing everywhere to win anywhere is.

10:47Actually working. You mentioned desperation and the mark of desperation at least for me is someone who goes up on a stage and says, if you vote for me, I'll give you $5,000. And that's what the president did last night, which is so we see that tactic in some very undemocratic places around the world. Sometimes people who like a talk or see say, hey, go to the neighborhoods, give out money, juice the stats, if you will. It's commonplace there, but Congress, but I want to ask you. One thing that Donald Trump has been exceptionally good at is getting his message in front of low information voters. So if somebody doesn't follow politics and they're scrolling around, they're scrolling through shoes, who've through sports or whatever. And suddenly it pops up. Donald Trump wants to give you $5,000 for Republicans win the midterms. How do Democrats combat that and reach those low information voters because people watching this know that's not true. That $5,000 is not going to come anywhere. Okay, it's right around with Donald Trump's health care bill and where the full release of the U.S. file is is. But how do you get that message to low information voters?

11:47Well, he's also very successful at broken promises. And so what we have to continue to do is remind voters, low information and otherwise, about this guy is all about false hope. Because remember, he said, you were going to get a check after dose, you were going to get a tear of refund. Who got the tear of refund? Just big businesses. He was talking about air for us one and giving somebody some checks on that. And now all of a sudden, it's if you vote for us for both the House and the Senate to win, I will give you a check for $5,000. Now, if I said something like that, ethics would come up on me in a minute. The reality is, as president, he could give people $5,000 if he wanted to right now today. The other thing is he has made these empty promises before and he has not delivered. You all talked about the $10 million. And a piton said he has given to his candidates. Well, he is treating the American people just like he is treating these Republican candidates. And I will tell you this, the American people are exhausted when it comes to his lies.

12:47They are broke, which is why they are going to the polls. And they are tired of this president always talking about himself and not centering policies around them. As we are having this conversation, Mike Lawler is on the stage at the Republican Party. Party. We're going to call it a party, but it's not a cap rally. It's a cap rally. It is, or Trump a polluza. That's what the RICs care called it. We will be monitoring what Mike Lawler says. We'll bring you anything notable. He is in a district. He is in a fight for his life. This is one of the seats that Republicans say they need to keep their defending this seat. To the point that the Congresswoman just made, I just want to put up on the screen. These are Trump's rebate promises. Unpaid $5,000 stimulus checks via Doge dividend. Unpaid $2,000 stimulus checks via tariff dividend. Unpaid $1,000 checks via savings from expiring ACA subsidies. To be determined, $5,000 dividend air quotes. If Republicans win the midterms, here's a thing. I think that Donald Trump remembers what people said about him going into the last election.

13:49And there were a lot of Americans, even some people that maybe have voted for Joe Biden, that this time voted for Donald Trump, that said, I remember when Trump gave us the stimulus checks. Now, Donald Trump didn't get those stimulus checks out. I thought Congress Nancy Pelosi, Congress passed a bill, which is why the stimulus checks went out. But Donald Trump put his name on them. And it was effective. And I think he's hoping that the people will be lulled into believing that again. Yeah, well, what a surprise, a man taking credit for a woman's work. So, now, he did also send money to farmers when farmers were hurt because he was a big fan of the government. And he did not hurt her because he ended, he are all of our trade with China. Oh, the tear pours. Yeah. That's all remembered. Why are you having to send money to people is because he has tinked the economy. And that's what Democrats have to keep on reminding folks is he has to keep on making these false promises is because he tinked the economy. And farmers get so frustrated when Trump does this, because they don't want these bailouts. They want a good economy and good trading partners. They want to be able to provide a good living for their family.

14:51And that's what young people want to do. Young people want to be able to raise a family, own a home, start a family, and they can't do that under Trump's economy. What they can do is under Democrat economy, right? Cattle and corn prices are always better under Democrats. That message needs to be delivered by our candidates. And that is what's happening. Our candidates are so diverse this year. We have veterans, we have moms, we have nurses of all time sizes. It's most of all time sizes. It is happening. And the enthusiasm is off the charts. We won 90% of the races already in 25 and 26 so far. And that's the enthusiasm that's going into the polls in 26. I just wanted to just make sure we understand the record. That socialism that Donald Trump engaged in with farmers was because of his own policies. He hurt the farmers with his tears and then had to go make it up on the back end. And that speaks a lot to where we find ourselves now. Council with the president going into this cycle. In less than 50 days, recognizing and realizing, oh, I guess I need to be on the ballot if we're going to win.

15:55Right? And Republicans are they saying, no, you don't have to do that for us. You really, we're good. We're putting his face on mailers, Chairman. Don't worry. We're in the work your ballroom, you know. But Donald Trump insists on that for, you know, I want to share with you some reporting from NBC News. No, don't quote. Indeed, Trump was the star of the show referring to last night's Trump-Opah-Luzah. Speakers mentioned his name 155 times and Trump invoked his own name 16 times. I love it when he talks in the third person. It makes me feel all yummy inside. Bringing the total mentions to 171. The only other word mentioned more was variations of America. What does that say to you about this political environment going into the next few weeks? And what opportunity does it afford Democrats to have the conversation with Republicans like myself, independent voters and others to say, you know what, we can do better than this.

17:00We can all do better than this. And that's what the American people are realizing. That's why they've been so enraged and engaged as they've made their way to the polls. This is a guy who is divisive, he is deceitful, and he is delusional. And people are tired of all of that. Because like I said, they are broke. They're going to the grocery store. They're going to the gas station. And the $50 that they had is getting them half as much, half as much groceries and half as much gas. And you know what, he is on the ballot. His tariff policy is on the ballot. His economic policy is on the ballot. His ice dragnet behavior is on the ballot. The fact that he only wants to talk about himself and his ballroom and his reflecting pool and his arch all being paid for with our money. He said it was bullet proof. It's not idiot proof. All of that is on the ballot. And Republicans, my colleagues, quietly say, you know what? It is okay if you win in November because we are tired of this.

18:02Now, they can say that to me in private. They tell you, that is what they say privately. And they say, you know, I don't really want to hear his name. But you know what, they've also been asked to pay $25,000 to show up to this sad little pep rally. And hear him say his name multiple times. We know one is talking about the American people and the fact that it is getting more unaffordable for them. People are treading water. The motto now is surviving is the new thriving. And that is not what this country is about. Mr. Chairman, just real quick. How crazy is it that a candidate has to spend money to speak at a fundraiser? It is the dumbest thing in the world. That's not how it's supposed to be. How it works folks. Not how it works. You can call him like a dog and Jayne. Thank you both very much for kicking us off here in Texas. Stay with us folks when we come back. Simone's exclusive interview with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Tallerico, including what he thinks of Donald Trump's bizarre $5,000 promise last night.

19:07And a little bit later, the fight for control of the house is the president makes himself the focus of every single race, as we just mentioned. Former president Barack Obama is taking a much different approach. We're live here at Gillies and Dallas, Texas y'all. We're just getting started. You're watching. We're watching. I'll be back soon. Every unforgettable night deserves a fragrance that leaves a lasting impression. Introducing the new Ralph's Club New York Parphone by Ralph Lauren. A bold expression of modern sophistication. An unexpected burst of blackcurrant opens the same with intensity, while a witch cognac accord adds depth and sensuality. Capture the energy of Manhattan's Nightlife in Discover Ralph's Club New York Parphone. A powerful, indulgent and unforgettable scent that lasts long after the night has faded.

20:07Shop now. Welcome back to the weeknight live from Gillies and Dallas, Texas. Democrats, chances of retaking control of the Senate could very welcome down to the Lone Star State. In 54 days, Texas voters will choose between the state's scandal plagued Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. The state representative's James Tallerico. If elected, Tallerico would be the first Democrat in Texas to instate wide in more than three decades. Simone, you sat down with Tallerico today to discuss this maker break race. What did you find out? I found out a lot of things. Folks have already seen some of the sound today, but I want to start with, obviously we've talked a lot about black voters and the difference that they're going to make across the country, Latino voters as well.

21:11But here in Texas, they have really been a topical conversation in the Democratic primary and the kind of energy that is or is not there. So I asked the representative about his black voter outreach today. Take a listen. There has been a lot of chatter about black voters all across this country, but especially black voters in Texas. There was a TSU survey that recently came out and in that survey about 77% of black Texans say that Texas Democrats, they believe take their vote for granted. So why should black folks in Texas believe that you're different? And they're not wrong about that. You think Texas Democrats have taken black voters here for granted? I think the Democratic Party as a whole, including Texas Democrats have taken black voters for granted. The fastest way to lose an election is to take any voter or any community for granted. I hate the idea of a base because it assumes that people are going to show up them vote for you because you've got a letter by your name. And what that ends up looking like is elected officials and candidates don't actually show up and listen to the needs of a certain community.

22:19In this case, black communities across the state of Texas because they assume they've got their votes in the back. And we've seen in recent election cycles what that leads to. And so I am treating black voters in the state of Texas like swing voters. I have been shown up in black neighborhoods have been visiting black churches and black businesses. Been meeting with black community leaders and elected officials all over the state holding town halls in black communities and engaging. And sometimes, did I have a bit of a suggestion? That's okay. That's okay. Yeah, but that's, when you stand up to do this, you have to decide do you want a real relationship with the people you seek to represent? I mean, you can show up and do like a photo op and wave and leave, right? But I don't want that kind of superficial relationship with the people that I'm going to fight for in Washington. Can I just write off the top, say that this is a gentleman. And I'll go back and say when I first heard of Mr. Toleriko, you know, the sort of chairman's side of my brain kicked in because I was curious about what was it about him that seemed to be so attractive in a state like Texas given.

23:29The political makeup of Texas and what I discovered and discerned about him is this is a man who's read the room. And he's read it honestly and for him to say to you and on national television that he sees black voters as swing voters, that is honesty because that's what they are. And black voters themselves have over the last 20 to 30 years realized, hey, we are a little bit swingy. We do have a lot more say and a little bit more influence than we may be given credit for him as a candidate to be honest because I know what I know what the folks in the room were saying about those types of thoughts. And he's standing his ground on that. I think that's an important, important conversation to have in a state like Texas. Very important. I mean, honestly, we will have to, I think he said the right things in July and now it's a $25 million investment in black outreach and black voters. The question is how much of that money has been spent, where has it been spent.

24:32And I will say people like to do the Beto comparisons, Luke and during Beto's race when he ran for Senate, his black voter outreach program started about 29 days before I had someone check. It was on the inside. So this is a little early. The money is something we've all been discussing and he talked a little campaign money today and saying he's relying on regular people and I was struck by what he had to say. Take a listen to this. Talk about money. That's right. Elon Musk is spending millions of dollars trying to buy this election. The only way to stop him is with people power. Up until this week, you were out, you were outspending Democrats were outspending Republicans on the airwaves here. And then this week has been the first week as of September 5th that Republicans outspent you like 13 million to 14 million. That's right. Are you concerned that you're going to have the resources to compete and not just you. I mean, there's a governor's race here, Gina Hinoho's, the Democratic nominee.

25:32There's a number of House races. That's right. Are y'all going to have to cash? It really depends on whether or not the people are going to have our backs. I don't take corporate pack money. I never have, never will. I don't have Elon Musk dumping millions of dollars into my campaign. I don't have dark money groups that are putting ads on the airwaves. And so I'm relying on regular people giving five, ten, fifteen dollars at a time. We've been able to shatter grassroots fundraising records that way. But we have to keep our foot on the gas. We cannot get complacent. I know that we're leading in a lot of these polls against compaction. But we are the underdogs in this race. We are going up against entrenched power and entrenched money. That power and money is powerful. I don't want to lie about that. But it is nothing compared to people power. It's a lot of money to go up against Elon Musk. And you look at the state of Texas, a lot of expensive media markets.

26:33Not to mention the ground game you have to do in a state of this size and this magnitude. I think Tariqo, he does have an advantage that people like him, as you mentioned, chairman. He's of the Democratic candidates. I think the one that has gotten the most covered so far in terms of can the Democrats finally slay this, this Marlon they've been trying to get for all these years here in Texas and go statewide. But it's uphill. One of the things that he wanted to do to get his name out there more and raise money was to go on Jimmy Kimmel tonight and Los Angeles. Jimmy Kimmel, national TV show, millions upon millions of people. It was going to be a big interview. And what happened, Simone? Jimmy Kimmel got a call from the FCC saying, we don't want you to do that. That is very scary from a government citizenship. I mean, let Jimmy Kimmel tell it and we didn't know obviously we had this interview with Tariqo plan today. I had no idea Jimmy Kimmel was going to say that last night. So obviously we started our interview talking about that particular, I mean,

27:35one could call his censorship and I asked that. I would call his name. I asked the representative about it. Let's take a listen. I think you've got a busy day today. You're going to California. You're doing a couple things. Jimmy Kimmel's show is one of those things. He announced last night that he's interviewing you tonight. But ABC won't broadcast the interview. Now he says that it's because of pressure from the FCC. What did your campaign know about this? When did you find out? We found out about this very recently and I guess we'll see what happens tonight. But government censorship should be concerned to all of us regardless of our political party. You know, our team at MSNOW asked a White House this morning specifically about this for comment and the FCC, honestly, because there are a lot of people like yourself who have said this feels like censorship I would also agree. They have yet to get back to us. But if the broadcast is not air on television, would you essentially say that you've been censored?

28:39Absolutely. I think it's the most dangerous form of cancel culture. People at the top, powerful politicians, powerful media executives, censoring what we watch, what we read, what we say. And that again should be a concern to everyone who believes in the first amendment and believes in the freedom of speech. So what do you think ABC should do? You think they should air it anyway? I'm still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. He is hopeful we have yet to get an announcement from Jimmy Kimmel or ABC that they will be airing it. After this interview concluded, we actually did get a statement from the White House. And part of it reads Jimmy Kimmel is play acting as he often does to create a false narrative about this administration's policies. Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Salarico or any other candidate. Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel's eaglesintric delusion should insist on proof of which they will find none. White House spokesman David Engel. So if the White House is saying the chairman didn't threaten anybody, ABC then prantively took themselves off the board.

29:41My perspective here is that people all day have been praising ABC saying, oh, you know, they have started to fight back. They're stilling the FCC. No one told them they had to not put him on television. Make them call the White House's blood. Call the President. Make them call your wife. I know we're going to go to break. Number one, everyone needs to see the entire interview. That's the moment. You're going to talk about that. But the bottom line is this. You are absolutely right. If I'm Kimmel, if I'm ABC, if I'm any of these players, I run this. And I force the administration's hand to show which one of us is lying. Do not obey in advance. That's all I'm saying. A quick reminder folks about our MSNOW membership, our brand new experience that lets you connect with your favorite host and reporters, including the three of us here at the weeknight. It allows you to participate in real time daily discussions and also be part of a community that cares about democracy as much as you do.

30:47Go ahead and get that phone out, scan the QR code on your screen. You can also head to ms.nowslashmembership to join us, okay? You can DM with Chairman Steve. There you go. There we go. After the break folks as Donald Trump takes the stage for the second night in a road to lavish praise on himself, former President Barack Obama is doing the work to support Democrats up and down the ballot. This is the weeknight live from Gillies and Dallas Texas. Hey! Hey! Every unforgettable night deserves a fragrance that leaves a lasting impression, introducing the new Raff's Club New York Parphone by Ralph Lauren, a bold expression of modern sophistication. An unexpected burst of blackcurrant opens the same with intensity, while a witch cognac accord adds depth and sensuality. Capture the energy of Manhattan's nightlife in Discover Ralph's Club New York Parphone, a powerful, indulgent and unforgettable scent that lasts long after the night has faded.

31:48Shop now. Welcome back everyone. We are live tonight from Gillies and Dallas, Texas. Not far from where Donald Trump will take the stage for night two of what the Republicans are calling Trump a loser. At the same time, former President Barack Obama will be headlining a fundraising event in New York City. According to the New York Times, he'll be joined by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries for a reception and a dinner with proceeds going to the Democratic Congressional Camp A&C committee. Very important, as Democrats try to shore up their war chest, and Donald Trump is making desperate promises. If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic tremendous economic success, like in history, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.

32:56Joining us now is our colleague Eugene Daniels, co-host of the Weekend MSNOW Senior Washington Correspondent, and he is also co-host of Clockhead. Eugene, welcome, sir. Thank you so much for coming. I have a theory. You were in the room last night with the president, and today. So I have a theory. My theory is this, that when the Epstein files didn't come out, the air started to come out of the balloon for MAGA. And then as the prices went up, people looked around and said, my God, this guy is not delivered. He is not promised to do the things that he said he was going to do regarding Epstein, Epstein regarding bringing the prices down. And on top of that, he's enriched himself. It's a classic grifter, snake oil salesman, whatever, or as I say here in Texas, all hat no cattle, right? So you were in the room last night. Do you think that people now who were on this train are looking at, especially for Beacon's, I've been in some Trump rooms where there's a lot of enthusiasm.

34:04But it feels like people look around and go, I just don't think that he's really about it anymore. One of the ways I've described it, guys, is you know when you're a kid and your mom makes you go to your uncle's house, and this is a birthday party, and no one wants to go, but you have to respect your uncle, you have to smile and wear the shirt. And when he wants to give you a hug and you go, my hug, that's what it feels like, a little bit forced festive in a lot of the places and the folks I was talking to. But there obviously is a lot of enthusiasm. Don't get me wrong. These are like as magas you get, right? Because you have to spend money or spend time on a weekday to go out and sit in the heat. One guy told me he was sitting in line for five hours in order to get inside. So these are folks who are obsessed with that on Trump. But even when I was talking to them about these 5K dividends, for example, one of the things I heard for every single person I talk to is like, well, he's just doing that as an incentive to get people to vote. They don't even believe him. And it is fascinating to have a president who, of course, the folks here never believed I don't jump when he talks, I assume. We often don't, but the folks that are in the room with him who paid money to see him and who awang, Trump all over their outfits.

35:09Also don't believe the ways in which he makes promises to them. They know that he's not going to keep them, which is a kind of a weird place to be politically, I think. So the bottom line is Trump playing them for fools. And they've kind of figured out the math on that part of it. And they realize they're not going to get the $5,000 because they didn't get the $2,000 from Doge or the 5th from Doge. They didn't get the two from COVID. They didn't get the other two that was promised. And Pookie Ramakorn have promised them some money too. So the two of them in the same bucket, right? That's the reality. And so how does that then eat into the narrative to the degree that Democratic candidates have been able to translate that for the American people, leveling up three things. One, the fact that their wallets are empty, two, Epstein, and three, the war. The thing that is really interesting is I think during the first term, and even as we got up until this point, you had a lot of even Maga voters who were like, it's going to be worth it.

36:17Like if someone's grifting that's okay because, my money's all right, you know what I mean? I think people are willing to accept corruption if their money's okay. Not everybody, I think they already hear people hear that. But when you have a president who they hear made $2.2 billion in the first year while he's working for them, when they watch how much money his kids are making using the same last name. When is that real job? Exactly. On boards and things. And that's when they have an issue is because their gas is too expensive. Their groceries are too expensive. I was talking to one, he was 21 years old, he was from Utah. And I asked him, he was talking about affordability, how expensive things are. Because you know, we were like, I was, you never going to be able to buy a house. He was like, no, I'm not. And you know, I'm glad that we're talking about it. I said, we know Donald Trump called affordability a hoax. And he said, he said, what? And so some of the things don't break through in the way that we think they do. And so I could see, as I was talking to him, for the first time in realizing that maybe Donald Trump isn't always telling them the truth.

37:18Maybe Donald Trump isn't always working on the things that he promised them he would work on, which I think is interesting. I find it very interesting that tonight, President Obama is fundraising for House Democratic candidates. Everything we've said here tonight would have you believe that the Democrats just going to run away with the House. And all they need to do is close to it over. No, no. But that's not true, Eugene. And it's clearly not true because President Obama is using his time and his energy out there to raise precious funds that frankly, House Democrats are going to need if they're going to be competitive. President Obama, just like all presidents wanted to leave the White House, pop up every four years at a convention and kind of threw it out of way to live his own life, build, write his memoirs, build the library that we all saw. But because of how dangerous Democrats feel this time is, he said to keep popping up. And there is no one other than Michelle Obama, who has higher ratings with Democrats than with Barack Obama. And so him coming out, especially for House Democrats, to me and Hacking Jeffries with all the talk about Hacking Jeffries and whether or not folks are going to support him is putting in some juice for Democrats.

38:24He wants to make sure that Democrats get what they need. And more importantly, he's a part of that. And I think when you look at Democrats and they say to me, like we have to win, right, they feel like they're going to win. That you know, you talk to every Democrat, you talk to every Republican and they feel like the House is a wash. But that doesn't mean they can take their foot off the pedal. There's still 54 days, I think, until we get there, people are starting to vote already ballots have gone out. And so the ways in which this party figures out how to use the Donald Trump as a cudgel. And he's helping them because he wants to make this about himself and all of them are like, game on, please do that. One important thing we should say, though, for all the enthusiasm that Democrats have right now, not only do you have to vote, but the elections have to be free and fair. And we see here in Texas a lot of pulling sites of clothes. So if you're here in this room, know what your pulling site is. And keep an eye on mail-in ballots because there's a lot of games being played with mail-in ballots right now. And we still don't have full clarity on that.

39:24Eugene Daniels, thank you so much for cheering. Thank you. A reminder to check out a brand new episode of Clock It. The new episode is out today. After the break, we're going to check in on night two of Trumpapolusa as Donald Trump and JD Vance prepare to dazzle their super fans. We're coming to you live from Gilles and Dallas, Texas. Keep it here for the week. Hello. Welcome back, everybody, to this very special edition of the weeknight live from Gilles in Dallas, Texas. Just across town, like two of Trumpapolusa. So folks, you're looking at a live shot of the convention floor where Trump is expected to speak again after his rambling, bumbling speech last night clocked in at nearly two hours.

40:34Two. I don't. Two. What do you say for two hours? A lot of nothing. It was so crazy that it was up for two hours. I thought people, I thought maybe I was my YouTube TV. I thought it was delayed. And then I turned around and I was like, oh, this is live. You kept on trying to play the greatest hits, but the audience is, it's just not the same anymore. He's lost his fastball. And I think what's interesting is, is twofold is JD Vance tonight. If you're JD Vance, right? And you're the parent, Arab parent. Donald Trump has not made you the Arab parent, right? You're competing with Marco Rubio. Does he hand off this movement? And let's go back to where we started in the beginning, $850 million. He doesn't want to spend it, right? And he doesn't want to hand it away. He doesn't want to give away that money. He doesn't want to give away his movement. So I'll be very interested to see tonight what JD Vance says, what the reception is for JD Vance, but JD Vance doesn't have the juice the Donald Trump hasn't if Donald Trump's lost the juice, they're in trouble. Well, I think that Donald Trump is like some other political leaders that we know in the sense that that popularity has never transferred over to anybody else.

41:42Donald Trump has never been able to transfer his popularity. He'll go out there, he'll say, but that's why I got to say, we're on a ballot. American politics does not work that way. I don't get to hand off to you the office. I don't get to hand off to you the approval and appreciation of the people you represent. Or do you want to represent you have to work every cycle. JD Vance is not done the work with the base of the party. Why? Because Donald Trump has suffocated the base with himself. He outdid enough. And that's what this is a suffocation. So good luck JD. Hope you have fun. Well, you will be on TV tonight while he's speaking, I think you're going to be with our audience. I will be with Jim Saki. So I'll do whatever you want. I got some comments. Folks, we'll be right back right after this. Thank you so much for joining us here at the first MSNOW members lounge live from Dallas, Texas. There is, yeah, there is nothing better than being able to meet them connect with the weeknight viewers.

43:00Just like we've done here tonight, we've been taking selfies. It's been great, which is why we are so excited for the launch of the MSNOW membership. It's a new way for you to connect directly with us and all the other MSNOW hosts and journalists. We are building a community that is filled with people who care about democracy and who show up at great events like these. And the fun is out over yet, folks. Go ahead, scan that QR code on your screen or you can go to MS.now slash membership because we are heading that way right now to answer member questions a lot. Live. We cannot wait to see you live. We'll have a cocktail maybe 30 seconds. So give red now for the rest of y'all. Don't go anywhere because that does it for the weeknight. Every unforgettable night deserves a fragrance that leaves a lasting impression introducing the new Ralph's Club New York Parphone by Ralph Lauren, a bold expression of modern sophistication.

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