00:00I'm embarrassed. Well, listen. Because we have to get it right in the end.
00:05And I know how my voice sounds. I know how I look. And it's, um, it's a really important time
00:11for the country. And I'm glad that you showed that clip. Because I'm not sure if I was the
00:17president, I would have said, I'm on the ballot. Will people pretend as he asked them to? If they
00:22do, it's not going to be good for him. Yeah. His numbers are the lowest they've been since
00:29he was elected president. That even some people on the Republican side are wondering if this
00:37is the direction that they want. And I look at the issues, the challenges of affordability,
00:43of national security, of where we are as a country and where we are going. And there's
00:50a lot of doubt, a lot of division, a lot of anger in America right now. And I'm not sure
00:56if I want to have people focused on me at that moment. Yeah. Wow. The last two weeks have
01:02been remarkable. And we've been trying to illuminate this over the course of the hour. It's been
01:07reflected in polls. It's been reflected in rhetoric and a feeling that something is changing.
01:13Have you ever seen an acceleration like this in the corrosion? In this case,
01:20of Republican polling, do you believe what we're seeing and hearing? I see it wherever
01:24I go. How's it been so fast? I hear it because the public at a certain point after Labor Day,
01:31this is something that we talked about. That's right. Here we are. That people don't take it
01:35seriously until Labor Day. And after Labor Day, they just start to make a decision, both do they want
01:42to reward the past and do they want a different future? And across America right now, the public
01:48is saying, can we get out of this affordability crisis? Can we afford our food or fuel if you're
01:56working class? Can we afford housing and health care if you're upper middle class? And the public
02:02is starting to wonder, our national security, are we getting any closer to solving the war between
02:09Russia and Ukraine to solving the dispute between us and Iran? And even our relationship with China?
02:17Is it productive? And it seems reasonably OK over the last 48 hours. But in the end, do I want
02:24four more
02:25years like this? Do I want to pursue the current politics and policy or do I want to change?
02:33And what I'm seeing in places like Alaska, Iowa, North Carolina, Kansas, these are places where
02:42Republicans usually do well. Yes. And the public in those states is saying, I may want to change.
02:49Are Republicans, as money is moved around and we're seeing super PACs move money around,
02:55the triage game can be very difficult. Are they giving up on a seat like Michael Watley
03:00in North Carolina? Will they give up on Ken Paxton or is that simply one that cannot be lost?
03:06Texas is a core of the Republican constituency. Yeah. But for Republicans, they're looking at a place
03:12like New Hampshire, which is an opportunity for them to bring one on the Democratic side over to them.
03:19And that's a significant decision. But you have to look at Texas and wonder if it's really worth
03:26investing not millions and not tens of millions, but potentially a hundred million to try to win that
03:35seat over. And that's a seat where Donald Trump got in the middle of it and said, do not support
03:39the
03:39incumbent support the Republican challenger. So he's going to be on the hot seat for that.
03:47And for him, Dallas was a success in that his own voters paid attention and he has to ensure that
03:56they vote. The challenge is how do you get your own voters and those swing voters that moved over to
04:02the Republicans in 2024 and gave them both the House and the Senate? If Republicans lose the Senate seat
04:09in Texas, knowing that Donald Trump chose not to endorse John Cornyn, knowing that Donald Trump started
04:16this war with Iran that sent diesel to 650 to an all time high. Yes, but he did so. Yeah.
04:24For a legitimate
04:24purpose. Okay. Which is to ensure that Iran does not get nuclear. Will voters be nuanced enough to
04:31make that call or will they say this was Donald Trump's fault? That's the best question of all.
04:36And we don't know the answer to that because we don't know what he's going to say. Yeah.
04:40I'll tell you as a language person that his communication over the last few weeks could have
04:45been better, that he could have drawn a better distinction, not to be anti Joe Biden because Joe Biden
04:51is gone. He's that's finished to be focused on the future. What is it about his policies that'll make
04:59food, fuel, housing and health care less expensive? That's what he needs to be talking about. Yeah.
05:06And in the end, this is a congressional vote, not a presidential vote. That's right.
05:11And that's I don't know if he's going to do that. Are you giving up on both the House and
05:16the Senate?
05:17Well, it's not for me to give up because I gave up on my partisanship a decade ago.
05:21Understood. Are you giving up on this majority?
05:24No, but I'd say the majority is definitely in play. I think the House is more difficult than
05:30the Senate, but I can absolutely see a reason for Democrats to win both. And that is in a single
05:36word turnout. Yeah. Okay. In the end, the Democrats have a two percent advantage, which means more
05:43Democrats will vote than Republicans by two percent. And there'll be at least two seats,
05:47maybe three seats decided by that amount. And this is what should frighten Republicans right now,
05:55that their own base, even with that Dallas convention, their own base is not nearly as
06:01engaged as Democrats, that there are more people who want to send a message, a negative message
06:06to Donald Trump than want to go out, take the time, vote and send him an affirmation.
06:12It's remarkable that we're having this conversation now when two or three weeks ago,
06:15it was about Democrats being challenged within their own party by democratic socialists. They
06:20might lose Michigan because Haley Stevens didn't win. Not unlike what we saw in Texas on with with
06:28the the at the other extreme. But that's that's critical, please, which we see the parties on both
06:34sides. Yeah, breaking apart. And that's something that can either be a welcome change. You get a new
06:41chance to to cast new votes to affirm what you believe in. The democratic ideology is up for grabs.
06:49The democratic leadership is up for grabs. The same thing that happened with the Republicans
06:53and the MAGA voters. This could be a good thing. But if it is used negatively, if it's used to
07:00divide
07:01and to polarize and to tear people down rather than to build up something new, then that's a problem.
07:07You are a language expert, as you said a moment ago. And I want to ask you about it in
07:12plan to ask you
07:13this. The Republicans president's attempt to rebrand artificial intelligence. He wants to call it
07:19super intelligence or SI. I've even seen some of his surrogates stop interviewers and say, no,
07:25no, no, no. I think it was Seb Gorka said, no, no, no, no, no. There's no AI. It's SI.
07:30Why would you
07:31attempt to rebrand something like this? Or is it a smart effort? Well, the worst situation right now
07:37for the business communities, what's happened to these data centers? No one has presented the best
07:43argument for why they will result in jobs, opportunities, healthcare advances that could
07:49never have been conceived of five years ago. Changes to our economy that would benefit
07:55tens of millions of people if done properly. The data center issue has been determined
08:02as being a negative for the American economy, for opportunities in states.
08:08Can that be turned around? It has to be. And the challenge for AI, because I will call it what
08:15people call it, is whether we're going to see everything that could be done for science,
08:25for health, for the environment, for so many quality of life issues on a day-to-day basis,
08:31or whether we're going to be talking about doomsday. Yes, right.
08:35And I'm a pretty negative person. I acknowledge that. I don't see anything discussing what AI brings
08:43to us in a positive way. And most of the conversation is negative. So that's its own
08:48campaign. Who needs to lead it? That's a great question. Is it industry? Is it government?
08:56It has to be both. And it has to be people who are independent from both. The thing that I've
09:01realized in America today is we don't trust experts. People watching us right now don't necessarily
09:07trust us. We have to prove to them that we are independent and that we are focused on their
09:13advantages, not our own. And that has not happened. The media is at its all-time lowest level in
09:20credibility. But so is Congress. So are the courts. And these institutions, we need to believe in them.
09:28And this is the reason why I'm so blessed to work at West Point. The military is the one institution
09:34that still has universal support across Democrats, independents, and Republicans. And I'm telling
09:41people, and I'm proud to say this, there should be a West Point standard. As a cadet, you cannot lie,
09:47cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. Imagine an elected official actually saying,
09:54my parsonship doesn't matter. My character does. And I will produce and I will adhere to that West
10:02Point standard. I will not lie. I will not cheat. I will not steal. And I will not let members
10:07of my
10:08own party. Well, that's it. You will not tolerate those who do. And that might be the most important
10:12line in that statement. So how do we convince people at home who watch a show like this,
10:18that they should raise their standards, that we should ask of Democrats and Republicans alike,
10:25abide by that West Point standard? I think you've already explained why.
10:29But that's why we have you come by here.
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