Okay.

Um, and I think the reason is that among the, you know, Ba- Bannon's, uh, conservative constituency, as well as people all over America, as well as progressives all over America, there is in fact a very deep concern about the incredible impact that AI will have on every man, woman, and child in this country.

And let me just, just talk about it for a second, and I think Bannon's people understand this as well.

So if you are a conservative truck driver, uh, in Arizona, you know what? You're looking at the growth of driverless vehicles and understanding you may not have a job in a few years, all right? Uh, if you are a parent, uh, in Vermont, a progressive, uh, person, you are worried about the possibility of your kid getting hooked on some, uh, uh, chat box companion, uh, and not associating with other children, and what that does to your own mental health and your sense of isolation.

Uh, if you are an ordinary person who wants to retain a sense of privacy, I do not want a corporation or a government to know every damn thing that I do.

I don't care if you're a conservative or progressive, you worry about that.

Uh, and of course, with the meeting with, you know, that we had the other day that Bannon spoke at and I spoke at, uh, dealt with the existential threat that we've been talking about, the real likelihood that, uh, AI may escape human control.

Mm-hmm.

What is it about this issue that brings together folks from across the spectrum? I can't imagine that you and Steve Bannon agree on much.

That's true.

Uh, look, I think as you just indicated, AI is moving at an exponential rate.

Uh, it is in the process of transforming the lives of every man, woman, and child.

Uh, it will have a profound impact on the economy with the possible loss of millions of jobs.

It's gonna eviscerate privacy rights.

Parents are very worried about the impact of AI on the mental health of their kids, on the reading ability of their kids.

... do you think this call to be regulated federally is 100% genuine? Is it political? Is it economic? What do you make of Todd Blanche's comments?

Do you really think, though, that Congress would do that? 'Cause some people might hear you, Senator, and say, "I don't really have faith in Congress to be in charge of, of putting these safeguards in place here."

Well, I know people don't have faith in Congress.

They don't have faith in Democrats and Republicans.

They don't have faith in Mr. Musk and the AI industry.

They don't have faith in the media.

I, I...

That's the reality that we're living in.

Can you get the party that you caucus with even in line on this issue, Senator?

... and that the, the technology is developing?

Well, I'm worried about a lot of things.

Uh, I'm worried about the power of the AI industry, uh, which is owned by some of the wealthiest people on earth.

You talked a moment ago about the role of money in politics, and we've got a corrupt campaign finance system.

The AI industry is prepared to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to oppose any type of sensible legislation.

That concerns me.

Uh, and the other concern is that the political process moves very slowly under the best of circumstances.

It's gonna happen in the next few weeks.

What led to your action?

Well, there were a couple of fundamental reasons.

Number one, it was clear to us that these very large, big tech corporations owned by some of the wealthiest people in the world were just shoving their way through, uh, small communities and, uh, doing significant environmental damage, uh, raising electric rates, threatening scarce water supplies in some cases.

And, uh, I thought it was important to put out a...

To make it clear, uh, that that was unacceptable.

But in addition to that, uh, I was worried, and I think Alexandria i- is as well, uh, that this AI and robotics revolution is moving so, so quickly, it is so transformative, that we have got to slow it down.

It is going to impact every man, woman, and child.

How would, would that play a role in the effort you're describing?

What led to your action?

Well, there were a couple of fundamental reasons.

Number one, it was clear to us that these very large Big Tech corporations, owned by some of the wealthiest people in the world, were just shoving their way through, uh, small communities and, uh, doing significant environmental damage, uh, raising electric rates, threatening scarce water supplies in some cases.

And, uh, I thought it was important to put out a...

To make it clear, uh, that that was unacceptable.

But in addition to that, uh, I was worried, and I think Alexandria i- is as well, uh, that this AI and robotics revolution is moving so, so quickly, it is so transformative, that we have got to slow it down.

It is going to impact every man, woman, and child.

What, w- how would, would that play a role in the effort you're describing?

Um, can I have your reaction to what finally feels like a move away from just these, these de facto establishment candidates into candidates who are actually willing to fight for, for some progressive positions that enjoy the majority support, uh, across this country, positions like Medicare for All, positions, uh, uh, like expanding voting rights, you name it?

Brian, I think what we are seeing, uh, is that the American people, and by the way, it's not just within the Democratic base or the independent base.

Republicans, too.

They understand that the system is fundamentally broken, right? You look around you.

You have an economy in which working people are struggling.

The very rich are getting richer.

And then people say, "Well, i- if I can't afford my groceries, I can't afford healthcare, I can't afford a house, I can't afford to send my kid to college, why isn't Congress doing something about it?" And then you look at a campaign finance system which is corrupt, and that is as a result of Citizens United and super PACs.

in terms of priorities?

Yes.

You know? When people elect you, they don't want you just giving all these great speeches.

You know what they want you to do? Do your damn job.

That means when it snows, get the snow off the ground so kids can get to school, people can get to work.

When there are potholes, fix the potholes.

When playgrounds are dangerous for kids, get them repaired right away.

Respond to your constituents, and he has done that extraordinarily well.

... how do you calibrate that?

Um, can I have your reaction to what finally feels like a move away from just these, these de facto establishment candidates into candidates who are actually willing to fight for, for some progressive positions that enjoy the majority support, uh, across this country, positions like Medicare for All, positions, uh, uh, like expanding voting rights, you name it?

Brian, I think what we are seeing, uh, is that the American people...

And by the way, it's not just within the Democratic base or the independent base.

Republicans, too.

They understand that the system is fundamentally broken, right? You look around you.

You have an economy in which working people are struggling.

The very rich are getting richer.

in terms of priorities?

Why would the party disarm?

We're not talking about disarmament.

We're talking about within the Democratic primary, not in the general election.

The campaign finance system today is corrupt.

In Michigan, what you had is AIPAC spending $30 million in the Democratic primary trying to defeat Abdul.

They lost, and now they're saying, "We're gonna support this guy Rogers," who is a Republican.

So what you are seeing is it doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat or Republican, these special interests, and it's not just AIPAC, it's the AI people, it's crypto, they will take over the primaries and try to get their point of view through, get their special interests accomplished regardless of which party it is.

El-Sayed in particular.

How do you decide which progressive candidates get your endorsement and which don't?

Well, you know, we're not, you know, some kind of huge machine here, so we have to be, kind of have to pick and choose.

Uh, one of the things that people don't know is that we have also endorsed dozens and dozens and dozens of what we call down ballot, uh, candidates, people who are running for school boards, city council, state legislature, mayor in small towns.

And that in a sense becomes, if you like, the farm club, um, the future leaders of America.

Some great people in legislature right now that we've helped get elect.

And we have trained, by the way.

We have programs that say, "Hey, you want to run for office? This is how you send out a press release.

Yeah.

How do you decide which progressive candidates get your endorsement and which don't?

Well, you know, we're not, you know, some kind of huge machine here, so we have to be, kind of have to pick and choose.

Uh, one of the things that people don't know is that we have also endorsed dozens and dozens and dozens of what we call down ballot, uh, candidates, people who are running for school board, city council, state legislature, mayor in small towns.

And that, in a sense, becomes, if you like, the farm club, um, the future leaders of America, some great people in legislature right now that we've helped get elect and we have trained, by the way.

We have programs that say, "Hey, you wanna run for office? This is how you send out a press release.

This is how you do social media," et cetera, et cetera.

Um- But we have, you know, limited, limited resources.

Yeah.

I would say the most radical, extreme, nihilistic, anti-American movement that exists, to me, is what I'm seeing right now at 1600 Pennsylvania, where what I see outside the junkyard that that's become with whatever the hell he's doing, the asbestos-filled junkyard, that to me feels symbolic of what his regime is, radical, extreme, and broken.

Absolutely.

And I think, you know, look, uh, it's hard to-- You know, when you're in the middle of a political revolution, it's hard to get a sense of what's happening on a day-to-day basis.

But I think a few things are happening, as you've indicated.

I think more and more people, uh, including some of his supporters, understand, uh, that this guy in the White House, President Trump, is an authoritarian who does not believe in the Constitution or the rule of law.

And you got a lot of Republicans, they served in the military.

They swore an oath to defend the Constitution, and this guy doesn't believe in the Constitution.

Don't you wanna be rich like..." That's what they're saying.

How do you see the stakes in what happened in Michigan last night? Was this the most important test yet for where Democrats and the Democratic Party is headed?

I think maybe.

Uh, I think it's important to appreciate the extraordinary victory, uh, that Abdul won last night.

He took on, uh, the Michigan Democratic establishment, virtually all of them.

He took on the national Democratic establishment, and most importantly, he took on, in what I think is unprecedented, I've never heard of this, close to $70 million in one state, the state of Michigan, from super PAC money, half of which were, 30 million of which was from AIPAC.

Hmm.

It's, uh, out of touch with reality.

What you're seeing, again, from all over this country is people who have never run for office before, people who are trade unionists, um, ironworkers suddenly running and winning, uh, primaries, uh, in, uh, Montana or in Ohio and so forth.

I agree.

He lies all the time.

He's not stupid, though.

He's a good politician.

And he understands that there's rising resentment, uh, and anger and fear about AI and robotics.

So he says, "Oh, hey, wait.

We're all gonna benefit.

Mm-hmm.

So when we're talking about a state like Michigan, a key battleground state, a purple state, are you confident that he can win in the general election?

Yes, I am.

Uh, Abby, it's important to understand what's going on tonight in Michigan, which is kind of historical.

I cannot recall anything like it.

Uh, Abdul El-Sayed is taking on the entire Michigan Democratic establishment.

He is taking on the entire national Democratic establishment, and in an unprecedented way.

I've not heard about this ever.

Um, if El-Sayed does win tonight, what do you want Leader Schumer to take away? Um, do you think it is time for him to change his strategy around these primaries?

And I'm curious, obviously you agree with Abdul El-Sayed on, on the merits, right? But I'm curious your response to the argument that there's a risk here on the electability front, uh, in a state that is very close and that Donald Trump carried against a pretty strong candidate in Mike Rogers.

All right.

Here's my response, and it's twofold.

Uh, number one, I believe that when you have a candidate like Abdul El-Sayed talking about the issues that are relevant to working class people, whether they're Democrats, Independents, or Republicans, you will win over people who previously voted for Trump.

Independents and Republicans in Michigan cannot afford healthcare.

They know the current system is broken.

They support concepts like universal healthcare and Medicare for all.

And I wonder if you think, if you wanna say to Michael, wherever he may be now, if he was u- on the right side of that argument.

But are you confident that Democratic socialists can win in general elections in purple states?

Well, I am, but I'm mostly confident that the American people know that our country today is moving in a very, very bad direction.

Uh, at a time when we have more income and wealth inequality than we've ever had in the history of America.

What's going on now makes the Gilded Age of Rockefeller, uh, look like a, uh, egalitarian utopia.

What's going on now is that millions of our people, right now, in the richest country on Earth, they're struggling to put food on the table, pay for healthcare, pay for their rent, pay for their mortgage.

You got half of older workers who have nothing in savings as they face retirement.

Uh, you're facing seeing kids unable to afford to go to college, in the richest country in the history of the world.

How confident are you that he's gonna win on Tuesday? Can he pull out a victory?

If he wins on Tuesday, what's the message, what's the singular takeaway, in your view?

Well, it will be the continuation of a message that we've seen over the last year, and that message is that working people, most Americans understand that our economy is rigged.

The very rich are becoming much richer while 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck.

They can't afford groceries, can't afford healthcare, uh, can't afford childcare, can't afford to retire with dignity.

So people are seeing that, and they're looking at the Democratic estab- they're looking at the Republican Party, and they're saying, "You got a president who's mentally unbalanced, is an authoritarian.

But what are the Democrats gonna do for me? Are they gonna stand up? Are they gonna really deal with healthcare?" And what we have seen, you know, from Mondale's victory in New York City to congressional victories in New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, California, Montana, uh, and elsewhere, that people are saying, "You know what? Status quo policies no longer are good enough.

We want a government that works for all of us." So what's going on in Michigan right now, and here's what's important, it's not just the race between, uh, Abdul and Congresswoman Stevens.

Are Democrats prepared for that in your view?

Let's go with own goal

... okay.

I-I...

This is what I think.

I think fighting to make sure that women can control their own bodies and are not second-class citizens, enormously important.

The need to end all forms of bigotry in this country, enormously, uh, important.

But you can, you know, chew bubblegum and walk at the same time.

A thousand hours of someone talking, they're gonna slip up every so often.

Uh, why have the left tended to not talk about men's issues, do you think?

That's a good question.

And I think-- I mean, we saw it with-- I, I think the underlying issue is that for a very long time, women were second-class citizens in this country.

And people were saying, "Does it make sense that you have women who cannot become police officers, soldiers, carpenters, governors, presidents of the United States?" And that's wrong.

If we believe in equality, we want to give everybody an equal opportunity.

So I think there was that focus on that.

I think the issue you're raising is getting more discussion, and it needs far more, is that what we have seen right now, and it-- I, I was on a plane coming from Washington back to Vermont, sitting next to a woman, and, uh, she was visiting her daughter at the University of Vermont.

In the other direction

How do you respond?

That is what, that is what Rahm Emanuel is saying, who no doubt has the support of millions of working class people.

Look, uh, this is an argument.

There's no, no, uh, debate.

There is a strong division within the Democratic Party.

You have an establishment like Rahm Emanuel, uh, who are dependent on billionaire campaign, uh, contributors and wanna maintain the status quo.

Uh, then you have a progressive movement, which by the way, what is getting these guys nervous is we are winning all over this country.

the ingredients? I mean-

Do you think the Trump jinx is real?

I remember why.

I will tell you, I did grow up in Brooklyn and we used to get way up in Madison, the old Madison Square Garden.

Watch the Knicks play.

See, I am.

I wish the Knicks the very, very best.

And on a serious tone, you know, Trump going there, what Mandani has done, which was really great, is have these viewing parties, you know, around the city.

So if Democrats, when Democrats retake Congress, what specific actions do you think we should take to hold administration officials accountable for the alleged corruption that seems to be taking place every single day?

Well, I think that's exactly what we have to do.

Talk about ICE.

You are aware that just yesterday somebody in Maine was shot again.

It is not normal to have a federal military running all over this country shooting people.

All right? So we gotta get a handle on ICE, among other things.

Uh, and we do have to hold him accountable in terms of the kleptocracy, making billions of dollars, uh, in terms of using his influence to make sure his friends own media.

Yep.

question.

What do demagogues always do? Them and us.

That's right.

All right.

So here you have a country.

We have massive income and wealth inequality.

We've got 60% of people struggling to put food on the table.

Do you agree with the activists calling to abolish ICE?