I guess one question is if it is going to be this military complex, would you want to disclose that publicly, that it's going to house ammunition?

Yeah, it seems counterproductive to say the least, like just give the roadmap to any potential enemies.

But beyond that, the amazing thing is that Donald Trump loves to talk about Washington DC.

His entire brain is inside the beltway.

And that's not why he won in 2024.

He won because he actually seemed to be connected to the American people.

He was out there with the rallies and sounded like he cared about people's day-to-day lives.

I mean, can they really make that argument now that he's banned three outlets? And

So how significant is a presidential visit to New York City during, you know, to meet with the mayor during this time? Tell us about this.

Pamela, it's almost never happened.

I mean, you're talking about a handful of times in history that a president of the United States has actually gone to Gracie Mansion, you know, the official residence of the mayor, and sat down with the mayor to talk about the needs of New York City.

It's quite striking.

And what's fascinating, of course, we're all fascinated by this personal relationship between these two, but I think what's even more powerful is what's motivating Donald Trump to go out of his way to do this.

I think he recognizes that Mamdani has been extraordinarily effective with a message of affordability.

Really, part of the main reason why the Democrats are talking about affordability all over the country was the example that Mamdani set last year in his election.

What's behind this? Do you think there is anything else besides just that?

Mm-hmm.

What's Donald Trump thinking about on that helicopter? The Kennedy Center.

Two, the American people have never believed in the war in Iran.

It is destructive in every way.

It's hurting people at their, [chuckles] in their homes, in the gas pump.

It's visceral.

What's he thinking about? The Kennedy Center.

Ridiculous.

But he did say it on Fox News.

News.Presumably, he sees the problem in the failure, and so do a lot of Republican primary voters who I just showed you are often now just rejecting the Trump-endorsed candidates.

Now we're gonna turn to our midterms outlook to start the show tonight with two guests who know this terrain very well.

PoliticsNation host Reverend Sharpton has actually been hosting top Democrats at his National A- uh, Action Network Convention, uh, really chopping it up and learning where people stand, and two-term New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, who squared off against Trump and worked with then President Obama on police reform.

[laughs]

So I'm happy to say [laughs] I hope she does great.

You know? Um, no, look, I think your thesis is right.

I think the reality in Florida, that idea of the resistance hero being yesterday's news, yes, and people don't wanna hear anti-Trump.

Why do you think right now there is so much energy in that part of the party, the real left part of the Democratic Party?

First of all, Jonathan, that part of the party cannot be blamed for the status quo in this country, and this is really, really important.

I think mainstream Democrats, um, unfortunately, were identified with elitism in many ways.

They were identified with complacency.

They were seen as out of touch.

That's the story of 2024.

Uh, we, if we in 2024 had had a vigorous message of change and separating from some of the things that didn't go so well for Joe Biden, I think we win that election, honestly.

... and to have some sort of positive message too.

What do you think about that argument?

Dana, you, you know more than anyone about political messaging and government messaging.

It's, it's amazing to me that he even continues to talk about it.

It is the last thing the American people wanna talk about.

I mean, think about it, a literally gilded ballroom [laughs] in the White House.

And people do not wanna know about the quality of the White House, how nice it is, how wonderful it would be to have a party there, when they cannot pay their bills, when they can't afford gas, or they're choosing between rent and food.

I mean, this is...

Mayor de Blasio?

That's not what I did, but-

And the voters of Michigan made a decision after a very, very prominent hard-fought campaign.

He put his issues on the table.

He won.

And I think this is the point.

People are upset with the status quo in this country.

It's not working for the middle class.

Why don't Democrats, uh, have to be held to the same standard?

But how did New York change everything?

I think it all comes down to having a vision that you can improve and you can overcome your problems.

New York used to be synonymous with crime.

And then we had leaders, most notably our police commissioner, Bill Bratton, who had a very audacious vision for how we could reduce crime systematically.

And it got bought into by the people.

Real resources were put behind it, and the change happened, and it continues to happen.

Mayor Mamdani just announced we've had the lowest crime levels in terms of shootings and murders in the first half of a year that we've ever had since the statistics were kept.

So we sort of have to win on indoor pursuits, dining, theatre, that sort of thing.

it all comes down to having

a vision that you can improve and you can overcome your problems.

New York used to be synonymous with crime.

And then we had leaders, most notably our police commissioner, Bill Bratton, who had a very audacious vision for how we could reduce crime systematically.

And, you know, it got bought into by the people.

real resources were put behind it.

And the change happened.

But, you know... we don't really compete with other australian cities in terms of weather you know melbourne's freezing cold you'll discover that when you come in october although it can also be hot but it doesn't have the you know the beaches like sydney and queensland does we can't win on that so we sort of have to win on indoor pursuits dining you know theater that sort of thing

Hmm.

One day or one hour you get one message, it flips, and the world's watching.

Uh, uh, there's a growing understanding he's absolutely and totally unreliable to deal with.

And so if you're Iran, that's had almost a half century, you know, that regime to consolidate their power and to prepare for something like this, and they see, honestly, a joker like that, they see a guy who just, like, can't stay on the same vision or message for more than a day, uh, to them it's a signal they can get their way.

And, you know, there's a reason that both Republican and Democratic presidents over these last 30, 40 years decided it was not such a great idea to militarily attack Iran, because I agree with Molly that that regime, even though I think it's a reprehensible regime, they've got a lot of support on the ground, but more than that, they were preparing for something like this, and they actually took the f- rather impressive American military and showed that a much smaller force could hold them off in some ways.

We've been to that movie before.

We saw that in Vietnam and other places.

Yeah.

Not like this.

But I want you, Sean, for you and your many, many viewers, this is what's going on in the Democratic Party.

A lot of people who vote Democrat are saying, "We wanna see Democrats take on Trump, not wimp, you know, cower before him." They think ICE is totally broken.

I believe in secure borders.

I don't believe in ICE.

They think what we're doing in the Middle East is wrong.

They think that nothing's being done to address the cost of living.

Sean

If Republicans lose the House, let's say, maybe the Senate too, um, you're gonna hear them refuse to accept the results, and that puts us back, our democracy back in a dangerous place.

It does.

Jonathan, I remember 10 days after the 2016 election, I met with Trump at Trump Tower trying to see if we could in any way work together, and a big part of that conversation was him telling me that millions of votes had been stolen, millions of undocumented people had voted, all sorts of fantasies.

It's been a decade since I had that conversation, and he can s- not stop saying this, and the American people don't buy it.

There's never been evidence.

So I think this fits with the White House ballroom, [laughs] and it fits with so many other things where Trump's talking about Trump talk- Trump's talking about his own view of the world that doesn't conform with what everyday Americans are experiencing.

Everyday Americans are hurting.

And Jennifer, b- before you do, briefly talk about this obviously was a central theme of, of your time in office, trying to battle affordability and income stratification.

though? Are people feeling that, though?

I don't know if they are, honestly, but I think it gets to your point.

The candidates who are succeeding are the ones who are tapping into the legitimate anger that people feel.

Most Americans feel economically they're stuck.

Inflation has been horrible.

They don't feel particularly very hopeful for the next generation.

And honestly, that should be a strong suit for Democrats all over the country to embrace that economic populism, to speak about how the wealthy are getting away with a lot, not paying their fair share in taxes, how we have to do something very different to get people affordable housing and health care.

You are seeing people leaving.

What do you say?

He sure is.

And you know I have a soft spot for Kevin, but when he's dead wrong we have to call him out.

New York City? Give me a break, Kevin.

New York City has the finest police department in the country, the finest fire department in the country, the strongest public health apparatus in the country.

We saw during COVID when we were the epicenter how our public health community brought us back and made us one of the safest places in the entire nation.

We are the ultimate city of immigrants.

So why is policy just for the rich?

wellMayor de Blasio, I mean, as you watch all this play out, from the president getting asked about it in the Oval Office, Thom Tillis getting asked about it on Capitol Hill, Republican senators, what's your view on this?

Three quick thoughts, Kaitlan.

First of all, as mayor of New York City, I received many death threats.

That's the reality.

And the NYPD investigated when it was serious.

If the NYPD was presented with seashells on a beach with the number 86, they would've laughed at it.

They would've said, "This is not a serious threat." 86 is like a diner term.

What does it tell us about the Roberts Court? What's your interpretation?

What is your response? And do you think this will lead to a mass exodus or help New York's working class?

Oh, I absolutely think it'll help the working class.

Look, there's a reason that video got 50 million hits, because people are looking for fairness and justice.

The, the wealthy have not been taxed at the level they should have for years and years now.

In fact, Donald Trump has given them a massive tax break.

So let's be clear.

Wealthy folks continue to do better and better, and get less and less tax put on them.

... may- Mayor Bill de Blasio, go ahead.

I agree.

The NYPD did a great job.

We also did a lot of work to try and re-bond the NYPD and communities, and that helped.

Bratton would always say, you know, cops can do a lot, but they can't do it all.

There has to be a true partnership with the community.

We proved it could happen.The pandemic screwed up everything, obviously, for everyone around the country.

But I wanna push back in this way and say, New York City has proven over now 30 years that we could consistently drive down crime.

I'm trying to understand it though.

It's not a law that's been put on the books.

Mm-hmm.

Look, I think on terms of affordability, his speech yesterday was a clarion call for addressing the, the pain, the challenges that people are facing in this city and well beyond.

And, and I think that I give him a great deal of credit for continuing so clearly to say that the status quo is broken and we have to do things very differently, including taxing the rich to make sure we can provide actual support for working people.

I thought that was a beautiful, powerful part of what he did with his inauguration.

But in terms of these executive orders, look, I understand exactly the situation he was in.

I was in that situation too, coming in as a new government.

Go ahead, and then, and then ask, and answer my question.

What are gonna be the biggest obstacles for him? And can he get this done?

Yeah, I have a lot of faith he can get it done because I'll tell you, I, I was in the exact same situation 12 years ago.

Uh, my big vision was pre-K for all, universal pre-K for New York City, and I had to get that through a Republican state senate in Albany and a very antagonistic governor, then Governor Cuomo.

Uh, he actually...

Mamdani has a better situation in our state capital by far, a relatively friendly governor who endorsed him in the general election, and a Democratic Assembly and Senate.

Plus, he has really built up a lot of grassroots energy, a lot of public support, uh, for his vision on free buses and universal childcare.

So, I think he's got wind in his sails, and I think it's gonna help him succeed in getting the state support he needs.

Yup.

Mm.

And I brought my dad.

I d- I had the tickets for my dad, my son, and, uh, we get to Citi Field, and, you know, we go, we go there a lot, so I know my way around.

And the main lot, the production trucks were all there 'cause it's the All-Star Game, so they had the whole lot shut down.

So they were diverting all the, all the vehicles to the tennis center.

And my dad at the time, he's 85 now, so he was 74, 73.

There's no way he could walk half a mile from the tennis centers or more, you know, from the tennis center with, uh, you know, in that heat.

[laughs]

All right, turn it up.

And what we had, what we had for years was young men of color, overwhelmingly they were the ones singled out, treated as suspects even if they hadn't done anything wrong.

Stop and frisk in its heyday, we had almost 700,000 stops in a single year.

Almost 90% of them were innocent people, in every way, shape, or form.

No summons, no charge, nothing.

That's not how you proceed in a democratic society.

I, I argue that, uh, public safety and civil liberties have to march hand in hand.

Mm-hmm.

... socialist gets into power.

I am not gonna start learning Korean.

Sorry, Piers.

(laughs) It's not coming our way.

Here's the deal.

Since the pandemic, you'll remember we were the epicenter of the pandemic in, uh, the United States.

Uh, right before the pandemic, I'm proud to say as mayor, we got to our highest job total ever in our history, 4.5 million jobs.

Bill?

Everyone but Vladimir Putin.

Massive shakeup, uh, in the government.

A massive shakeup possibly also in the power structure here as well.

But of course, Vladimir Putin still very much in the driver seat.

You know, I go to the region, check things out, um, record, uh, dialog and this sort of thing, just trying to make it as accurate so the reader feels that it's really happening.

Yeah.

And so your fallback in the news is about Gaza.

What, what were you thinking about that?