What do you think is a a statef the Republican Party after november 3 . Its frightening. Its an election we had the rare event of an incumbent president getting voted out and yet republicans seem pretty happy generally with the outcome not because he lost the because on ballot they did so well. Theres a lot ofal expectation that afterxp this election if te polls right and it would be a blowout for democrats, that the be a lot of grappling with in the party about what it stands for and what the future is and from here. Have seen that at all. In a lot of ways republicans feel like what the outcome particularly down ballot is justification of everything thee president has been doingic and that trumpism has worked. Q q had a situation where democrats were expected to take another ten to 12, t 15 feet and the fact have lost close to that in the house. Certainly democrats are very demoralized about not getting the senate. Everybody that was hoping for or expecting perhaps i conversation among the party about what we really stand for i think that is put off and for the time being despite the fact that he lost i think youre still going to be Donald Trumps party and is going to be the bigger voice. Ess for and had higher job losses. Ultimately this election was more about donald trump than joe biden or any other particular factor. This was a referendum on donald trump and i think a lot of people who came out were really just trying to send a message to the president. The biggest areas of the country, if youre looking for the story of the election, the biggest areas of the country that put joe biden over the top or the suburbs, with more educated, affluent white women who had had enough. They came out in droves. Thats ultimately what drove the outcome of the election. I think a lot of us expected that covid would have a bigger impact. And i think joe bidens mandate coming out of this is to address. Hat crisis but jobs, the economy, all secondary to donald trump, his peonality and a referendum on him as a person. Host if thats the case and, how can you say trumpism worked . Guest im not necessarily saying it does, im saying thats what a lot of republicans have internalized from this. I think if there was a blowout election you would see republicans saying we need to rethink this. But given the strong showing down ballot, the way republicans are still in office have taken this is to say that maybe the politics that drives grievance, that cells with Republican Voters and it shows we can turn voters. I dont know if thats a good longterm play. I dont know if you could have trumpism without trump. Theres going to be a lot of people are going to try to position themselves to be in the 2024 standardbearer. Whether or not they could do that with trump hanging out is an open question. I think a lot of people were , and people are trying to adopt populist policies that President Trump made famous. I dont think its necessarily a good longterm plan but it seems like theyre not moving away from it. Host what advice would you give to the party about ming adjustments, based on the outcomend theurnout that you saw in suburbs and other areas. Thet for me the story of election is that character matters. That was really what was on the ballot in these places. I dont think the suburban areas are necessarily progressive. I think thats why we saw down ballot races go so poorly for democrats. Its interesting, if you look at the polling over time, people ask who do you think is going to when, not who do you want to win. You saw people thinking donald trump going to win. And towards the end a number of voters woke up in the polling showed that more voters thought joe biden would win. When they thought joe biden would win they thought perhaps they should maybe put a check on a biden presidency. That tells me that voters in these areas are not necessarily signing up for a bold progressive agenda, tax increases, they just wted to end the donald trump presidency. Theres a lot of opportunities to win back those voters. But you need to show that you learned a lesson, that you are not just a trump party. That you have ideas, that you care about things, that you have character, and those things matter. Particularly in the margins we are talking about. Host who, in the party, represents the future . Guest certainly right now it is still donald trump. I think people are looking for whats next. We are not at that point yet. Its obviously been reported the president is talking about running again in 2024. I would be shocked if he does not at least present the appearance that he is gonna do that for the next two to three years. But hes going to have the largest voice. Theres always this recency bias, and does his light dim because he loses . Perhaps. Tohink its important appreciate that the party does not exist in the way that used to. Theres no real establishment. We have personalities these days. Donald trump is clearly the biggest personality. And the way he has taken hold over voters is the most important thing to appreciate. Its not that members of congress who go along with whatever he says are doing it because they like him, necessarily. Or respect them personally. Its because when they go home and they hear from their constituents number one thing their constituents want to know is are you with the president . I heard so many times when i was in the house. Trying to sell the bill, heres the reason you should vote for that. Members would say i am with you, i understand what i need to hear that trump is for because thats all my constituents care about. And the a lot of voters number one issue for them to support for the president or that hold up in congress and colors the entire party. Are there other people who may want to take the party in a different direction . Obviously theres mitt romney who has staked out his own ground i dont know if he has interest in running ever again. Ben sasse is not a Donald Trump Style republican. The problem for them is that the lane is very narrow for those many of people, because so republicans are donald trump republicans. Hes taken over. They could try to leave a movement but i dont think theres a lot of space. A lot of voters are not leading to a movement because there arent any there. Host we have what representative Kevin Mccartney just said after he was just elected to the minority leader position again. [video clip] ipresentative mccartney think the president , regardless of whether hes the president or citizen trump, he will play a part in this nation. I look at the number of members got elected, they got elected under President Trump, who helped them get elected in the process. We expanded the party, how will it look different . Water broader. It will reach more people. It will expand like we have not from new americans, to firstgeneration, to expansion without. You will continue to see and it a desire to put america on a path where the next century is ours. We have rebuilt the military to continue that, to make it stronger, despite what the progressives would want to do on the opposite side. We have looked forward to making the streets safe and secure despite what the other side wants to do about defunding the police. We have wash what we have been able to do with criminal justice, despite what joe biden had done as senator, locking people up based upon the color of their skin. We will continue to build on all of those things we believe in. Thosewhy is he making specific points . Guest is making a point that republicans had a really good Election Night down ballot. And expanded their numbers by electing women. By adding africanamericans and Asian Americans to the conference and away we have not been able to do in a while. He has a good story to tell from the election. And that the president seemed to minorities, with particularly hispanic voters, theres a story to tell. Whether thats enough to get you over the top, i dont know. Going ton mccarthy is be doing is really running hard against the joe Biden Administration. Kevin did an incredible job in bringing republicans right near the finish line. We are going to have a republican minority, you need 218 and they have 214. So close. To fromd to do now is just being a Donald Trump Party to being a good Opposition Party , running against that progressive agenda. Host how you do that, if you are in your role that you have been in, to the speakers office, what advice would you be giving Kevin Mccarthy right now about how he plays out the next two years . Onst he needs to be focused the democrats. Its much easier to be a Minority Party when you have an Administration Today gone to the Biden Administrations legislative agenda has probably taken a serious hit without having control of the senate but we dont know that for sure and it seems that way. That means theres no shortage of things that joe biden will end up doing through administered actions, executive orders that i think will fly in the face of what average americans were expecting from a joe Biden Administration. Joe biden ran as a centrist. I think he is naturally a centrist. But hes facing a lot of pressure from the left, the progressive wing of his party to do more, to go bigger and be bolder. I think youll end up doing a lot of those things. I dont think the Country Centerleft. I think the Country Center right. That will provide a lot of opportunities, to the extent that joe biden has to continue aocs of the world. And he will have to do that. Those are robert those are opportunities to remind people that who is in the house makes a difference. They can serve more as a check on the Biden Administration thas the most powerful message you have going into 2022, it will party can serve as a check. You always ask the question, would you rather have a congress that helps the president pass their agenda or one that serves as a check . Overwhelmingly, the American People like checks and balances. Thats the message im sure Kevin Mccarthy will run on. Host and he has promised, or edicted, that republicans will take back the house in 2022. Lets take calls, sabrina in north carolina, on the independent line. Caller im curious on the stimulus packages. Is notstand that biden for those but we desperately need them. Asheville has several businesses closed due to covid and theres hardly any work. So my question is, do you think that biden is going to pass any relief packages for the people . I think he wants to. One of the situation this is one of those situations, where Everyone Wants to do something. Im disappointed congress didnt get something done. From my perspective nancy pelosi got in the way of that, that she did not want to change the election. She was clearly running out the clock on the trump presidency, thinking she could potentially get a better deal with biden. I think thats a risky proposition. The idea that republicans who are hesitant to get there andre Donald Trump Administration are now going to come and be with a isen administration on covid im skeptical. Do i have confidence anything will happen now . All appearances are no. Does not even seen that there are conversations taking place. The president has not demonstrated a lot of interest in governing. But i think it will be a top priority of the Biden Administration. If there was a mandate beyond being a good guy, it was to resolve this crisis, not just the Public Health crisis must be but the economic crisis. He will have to find a way to do things. The problem is what Senate Republicans want and what he wants and what nancy pelosi wants are in are different in detail and scope. This is where joe bidens reputation will have to come into play. Hes known as somebody who can get along and has a track record of working with Mitch Mcconnell to get things done. But there a long Playing Field here before they can get to the finish line. In quincy, michan, a democratic caller. Caller good morning. Congress,licans in from what i remember, expressed their real opinions on donald ,rumbefore he was elected which is basically that hes a joke, a carniv barker, a con man, all supported by his Trump University lawsuits, whe he had to pay out what was it . Over 20 million for defrauding stents . 2 million for defrauding charities . Anyway. They gave their real opini. Jettisoned jet all integrity, except for perhaps mitt romney who has a to thehat doesnt hinder to the base,r which is a cult of personality. Is, ive twoon questions. Happened to the republicans that cared about deficits . Host lets take that question. Guest youre starting to see them do that now. That was one of the biggest hangups on the covid relief package. Nancy pelosi was talking about deal in herrillion first offered. One of the things that really setback negotiations early on with you had a lot of republican senators who strayed out the gate said we are not interested in spending that much money. The first timele. He cares act passed trillions of dollars that has to in days with big republican support. That was unthinkable a few years ago. But it is starting to catch up with them a little bit, certainly deficits have been going up. This was a president that never really cared about them. Mild boss try to convince him of the importance of that and he made very clear early on that that was not something that motivated him. Theres only so much you can ask out of republicans who keep voting for trillions of dollars in spending. Early on that was one of the hangups. I think donald trump had leaned into this early on, it was not until september or october he woke up to the fact that this was not getting done. I think it was too late at that point. If you had come out earlier in the summer and set republicans you need to do this and get behind this, there might have been a different story. But his absence left many republicans coming out saying we are not spending this much money. Thats why the bill that Senate Republicans have come up with this only in the level of 500 million. Far less. Republicans had enough spending. Joanne, in nevada, a republican. Delegate incame a 2008 because i did not like the centrist mccain. To electingent centrists and there was no area for them to go to to bargain on the deal. Everybody met in the middle, everybody was happy. Everyone collected their salary. I worked for mccain to bring in votes for him. We could not get people out to vote for him. Mitt romney, we cannot gather 20 meete in a carwash to because nobody liked him. He did not bring the party together. Trump has brought the party together. Right, let the Democratic Party go to the left and lets make the deal and meet in the middle. You people have let us down a bad road let us down about road for 30 years. Im tired of centrists. . Ost is that what happened when republicans held the majority in the house, when you were there serving speaker paul ryan, is that the strategy and did it work . Guest that caller is a great example of the state of our politics. There is very little center. I would argue that theres very little dealmaking going on. We are very divided and both parties have largely taken the approach that you stick with each other and bring out your base and fire up your run voters and that the path ahead. Volatile type of politics. But i would disagree little bit, does not lead to a lot of deals being made. What ends up happening is you have a breakdown in the legislative process because theres no compromise at any stage. You have to govern by crisis. I mean government funding aadlines, the fiscal cliff is great example where we are running up against a deadline because there was no ability for lawmakers to do their job before that because nobody was willing to compromise before that. Sase leaders come together at the last minute to try to stave off crisis and avert disaster and pass a deal at the last minute. Its a terrible way to legislate but its what we are left with. I understand why people are frustrated seeing that. Reflectionhat its a that the polarization has not allowed us to come together as a functioning legislative system. , in newts go to fred york, an independent. Caller thank you for taking my call. I wanted to say that both local parties are puppets. You get a guy like trump, not controlled by either political party, i thought he would get assassinated. Theyught wont happen if had a nondemocrat or nonrepublican president. I figured democrats and republicans would get together and assassinate him. I think donald trump didnt get a assassinated because he was under the republican banner. Host lets go to john, in new jersey. Caller on the next republican republican. X i liked john mccain, im a vietnam veteran. I went to war for men like donald trump to say hey listen, i have bone spurs, and take golf lessons instead of taking care of this pandemic. Guilty party and him are of spreading this nasty disease around the country and the gentleman on the panel, i care about your party i quicker party because it has nothing to offer me. I only care about me like donald trump tears about him. Cares about him. He has not admitted to the president elect that he has won the election is because he wants to hold onto something that he aint got. He stole the apprentice from mark buffet a and did no good that were building his buildings atlantic city. In, dom going to jump you think its time for President Trump to concede the race . Guest oh certainly. Issensical it nonsensical. One of the things i have learned with this president is that you have to demonstrate that you have to do things because its in his best interest. Hes not interested in helping the party or anyone else. I think what he can appreciate is that hes hurting is our legacy by doing this. Also the potential to hold the senate majority, which i think would hurt his legacy by doing this. There is no basis for this. Time is running out and you will have state starting to certify results sh