Where is the president a liability? Where is he an asset?

Well, one place he's an asset is in eastern Ohio, where he is tonight, in Youngstown.

This was Democrat country.

The Ohio River Valley is where President Trump flips counties from Obama, longtime Democrat strongholds where Obama had won by 10 or 15 points, to places where he won by 10 or 15 points.

And so this is exactly the kind of place where our Republican voters like him more than they like the regular Republican Party brand.

So I think it's a very strategic stop for him.

And you know, in the end, all John Husted has to do is beat Sherrod Brown.

What and where and how will that help?

Why do you think Trump believes this is additive or helpful in the overall strategy of trying to secure Republican majorities?

I think it got bad advice.

I think it was a bad decision.

I think it's going to lose in court, too.

I think Cheryl B. Knight in the 1977 case is going to be pretty clear.

You know, to the extent his base wants him to fight with the press, that requires the press to be in the room for him to fight with them.

And so I do think his base likes that.

Fox,

Go ahead.

Oh, well, I'm sorry with the delay.

It was my fault.

I'm sorry, Alyssa.

Uh, you know, there's a lot of pressure happening.

Max's colleagues are urging him to drop out.

Uh, not, both his senators from his own state have urged him to drop out.

The, the, the idea to change the name-

Talk to us about the political role that Lindsey Graham played in Washington, and talk to us a little bit about the politics in South Carolina, uh, that will unfold in the weeks ahead.

Well, first off, Lindsey Graham is one of one.

Uh, you know, he, he was a unique character in that he had his feet in several camps, which is a true compliment to someone in the United States Senate.

Uh, you know, on the one hand, he worked with Democrats on a lot of issues, like, uh, he was a big advocate for the trial bar and for people's ability to, to file civil litigation.

On the other hand, he was a hawk who Democrats sort of did not get along with on a lot of foreign policy matters.

He was a, he was a social conservative, a very strong pro-lifer.

Uh, and yet on the same time, he believed presidents had a right to pick their own judicial nominees if they were qualified.

Brad, uh, what are your s- thoughts as you watch this funeral today? You've been involved in politics in the Republican Party for a long time, and, you know, Senator Graham, whether it was in his own races or campaigning for other people or hanging out with President Trump, uh, Lindsey Graham was involved in a, in a great many operations for the Republican Party for so long.

Talk to us about the political role that Lindsey Graham played in Washington and talk to us a little bit about the politics in South Carolina that will unfold in the weeks ahead.

Well, first off, Lindsey Graham is one of one.

He was a unique character in that he had his feet in several camps, which is a true compliment to someone in the United States Senate.

On the one hand, he worked with Democrats on a lot of issues like He was a big advocate for the trial bar and for people's ability to file civil litigation.

On the other hand, he was a hawk who Democrats sort of did not get along with on a lot of foreign policy matters.

He was a social conservative, a very strong pro-lifer.

And yet on the same time, he believed presidents had a right to pick their own judicial nominees if they were qualified.

Senator Graham, whether it was in his own races or campaigning for other people or hanging out with President Trump, Lindsey Graham was involved in a great many operations for the Republican Party for so long.

What's the strategy there? Is it planting a seed, or is it illuminating an issue with an eye towards a solution?

Well, the President's passionate about the issue, and frankly, tonight there are some things he said that we all should be able to agree with.

He said that they're gonna work with local jurisdictions to patch known vulnerabilities in the system.

As David points out, there are vulnerabilities.

This is technology.

That should be a good thing.

We should all, Democrats should be willing to work with him on that.

Of course

You think so?

I think, I think, I think the, uh, Janice Lewis George here in Washington's gonna be a gift, uh, to the Republican Party.

I th- Democrats Socialists of America have a view that is well outside the mainstream of the American political center, and we've-- elections are won in the center.

The- that's how you control Congress, how you win the presidency.

And so the more their brand is associated with the DSA, the more Republicans have room to occupy the middle.

I mean, politics is, in our country, is binary.

And when you have the poll of one side, it polls the entirety of that party.

Well, Monica from Georgia asked this question, "Why are the Dems in New York making this primary campaign more about what's going on in the Middle East rather than about Trump and affordable healthcare, housing, democracy, education?" Take it.

Brad, do you think it's acceptable for the president to make a comment like that about a US ally if, if it's not true?

Uh, no.

First off, if it is true, uh, it, it, it is surprising and me and actually confusing.

You know, uh, Giorgia Meloni has been one of Donald Trump's best allies.

He called her a fantastic leader a year or so ago.

Uh, I would, I, uh, he said this about Friedrich Merz or Keir Starmer or Macron, I, I might understand it.

Uh, but you know, Giorgia Meloni's not always agreed with him.

If there aren't changes in upcoming talks or if these 60-day talks go nowhere, as most people seem to indicate there's no way such a complex deal could be done in 60 days, even if it's extended two or three times, how much of a political problem would that be for the president?

... say, say the party's turning to the left

...

I, I, I wish that, this is a place where, and Paul knows this, this is a place where I wish Paul was right that the Democratic moderates were on the march.

Uh, in fact, I think if you look in places, I'm watching congressional races and, and in the 45th District, for instance, the Democratic leadership in Washington has been trying to get what they perceive to be the more moderate candi- candidate, Yasmin Banes, through.

She's getting beat pretty bad by the far left candidate.

Uh, I look also at the sixth district, where Kevin Kiley left the Republican Party to run as an independent.

The other candidate that's gonna qualify for this race is a Republican right now, if trends hold, and that's a seat Democrats thought they were gonna steal in redistricting.

Do you think that is the main source of his appeal, Brad?

Mm.

And when Democrats told them that we need to have a high price of gas to get us further down the road towards green energy, and oh, by the way, you need to drive a battery car, I think swing voters are saying, "No, I wanna drive my truck or my van or my SUV, and quit trying to make gas prices high." Democrats were pushing gas prices high on purpose.

This, these gas prices are up 'cause we're trying to rid the world of its biggest terrorist threat, and I think that's a big difference.

Mm-hmm.

So the, the, the, it, Democrats are, again, these are, it's a binary choice in November.

You have to vote for the Democrats or the Republicans.

And you have to ask yourself, "Did the Democrats take too long to deal with Iran?" Yes, they did.

In fact, some Republican presidents do, took too long to deal with Iran.

Mm-hmm.

After the dinner his speech was, was very magnanimous and was, was a healing speech.

Uh, but there is a real problem.

The language that we're seeing coming from these nuts, like the guy who tried to come into the White House Correspondence Center, is exactly the language we're seeing from prominent Democrat officials.

Elizabeth Warren calls this administration fascist like every other hour.

Uh, they call them Nazis.

They call them despots.

What do you make of what he said there?

What do you think?

Well, this poll is an outlier.

A Fox poll is always kind of tough for Republicans, which might be a surprise to some of CNN's viewers, but at, that's, that, that's typically the way it is.

Republicans do have to have, be in better shape when we get to the elections in the fall on the economy if you're gonna retain the House of Representatives.

Now, luckily for us, we're running against House Democrats.

Uh, Harry Enten, CNN's polling an- analyst, yesterday said Democrats are lower than the Dead Sea.

Recent poll had Democratic congressional approval at only 13%.

Are you also running against the legacy of those tariffs?

How do they deal with it?

Well, they, the long memory they need to have is the fact that had Democrats gotten their way, and it only, by one vote was the decision on the tax bill last year.

Had Democrats gotten their way, the average household would've seen their taxes go up by seven and a half percent.

Every bracket would've gone up.

The, the standard deduction would've been cut in half, the child tax credit cut in half.

And so the memories the voters need to have when they get to election day is, "It's a good thing we had Republicans in charge of Congress and Donald Trump as president, or else everybody'd be paying higher taxes." April 15th's always the best recruitment day for Republicans, and this year's no different.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, and that's the, those are the lowest on the, on the priority list to be deported or dealt with or discouraged.

Brad, the economy booming? [laughs]

Well, the stock market's up 32%, the NASDAQ is, since, uh, he- that day, since before, before he imposed the tariffs.

Uh, the trade deficit with China's down about 25%, uh, so both those things are as President Trump said.

You know, I was on TV here that day wearing a bull tie saying, "Today is the day to buy stocks," and in fact, it was a good day to buy stocks.

Uh, this is a new adjustment.

We didn't get into this situation overnight, and, you know, it's gonna take a little while to get it right.

[laughs]

I think it's a, a lesson for the administration that if they just lock in on a few things and do the same things every day, uh, that are popular, a lot of what Donald Trump's policies are, have are popular, the shift will, focus will shift back to Democrats who've not moderated one bit since the 2024 election.

You see it happening?

But, uh, we're gonna bring it to you.

Brad, what are the Republicans listening tonight? The president's base, what do they want to hear?

Well, I, I think they want to hear that every line of effort that was in this war plan is proceeding ahead of schedule or on schedule, and I think that's what the president's gonna tell us.

You know, they're also gonna want to hear the president put this in terms of historic measures.

You know, it is a little unconventional that he didn't give that speech Bret's talking about early on in the ca-campaign.

A more conventional president would have.

But a more conventional president would have never done this, and he's in, and I'm glad he's unconventional in this way.

Mm-hmm.

It includes TSA, it includes the Coast Guard, it includes several different things.

It's time to pass that bill.

In fact, if you go back to the shutdown we had in 2013, Chuck Schumer said, "It doesn't matter how strongly you feel about a particular policy, whether you want changes to that policy, you can't hold millions of Americans hostage for it." That's what Democrats are doing.

They're trying to force Americans to wait in line until they scream at TSA long enough to try to get what they want on other Homeland Security items.

Why won't they do that?

That's, that's not the way the appropriations process works.

You fund the entire department at one time.

Brad, do you think it's much comfort to Americans facing higher prices at, at the pump that the president says he's surprised the cost of oil hasn't spiked higher?

Uh, no, but I do think the American public, they're, they're not stupid, and they understand that Iran poses a serious threat to the United States and to all our allies.

Uh, I think the president was pretty clear today.

He said, you know, "It's gonna cost a little bit more for a short period of time.

Then we're gonna be a lot safer for a long time after that." Uh, I think the public can grasp that, and I think this is seven presidents too late.

We should have dealt with the Iranian regime a long time ago.

Brad, do you think he needs to be, w- have that consistent narrative?

I, I do.

What do you make of this? Do you see any reason to investigate either of them?

I've already said on CNN previously that the investigations onto Mark Kelly and others were a mistake, and I think these are a mistake as well.

But I do want to correct something that Senator Blumenzahl said earlier.

He said Tim Walz has been trying to de-escalate the situation.

That is not true.

He said that there was an occupation by federal forces.

He said that, in fact, that he would put the National Guard on alert.

Do you think that this is an exchange for that in terms of the kind of response the president wants to see on the ground in Minneapolis?

Brad, do you believe the Justice Department is not being weaponized?

Well, I, I don't, I don't love the wo- the what, that term and all, but I also don't love the fact that, uh, if in fact, that, uh, this has anything to do with, with, with interest rates, I don't, I don't love that at all either.

And I also think the proper place to check on the overspending on the Fed's building is in the House and Senate.

The House and Senate had oversight committees, and if President Trump would- w- wants to investigate that, which I think he should, because this, this building spending is, is way out of control, I think the House and Senate are the place to do it.

But let's go back one thing.

Jerome Powell says that he thinks that Donald Trump's doing this because he won't cut interest rates.

Um, Jerome Powell should cut interest rates.

But do you believe that the Department of Justice is as independent as it has been in prior administrations, Republican and Democrat?

Do you think it's what the president wants?

Well, I, that's a question we'll see.

I mean, again, they have the, depending on what the Department of Justice wants as well, and the Southern District of, or Eastern District of Virginia, and the prosecutors who are in that office.

Uh, Letitia James, you know, when you, when a grand jury doesn't return a bill, it doesn't mean she's innocent.

It doesn't mean that there's been any judgment of that at all.

It just means that the prosecution did not make the case to satisfy this group of grand jurors.

But this is one more time when Letitia James is spending a whole lot of time doing something besides fighting crime in New York.

It was publicly sent.

Brad, do you think this is only gonna get bleaker?

No.

I think you're gonna see tomorrow that Afton Bain is gonna be a precursor for what's gonna happen to Democrats in congressional races all over the country.

You know, she is perhaps the most liberal elected official in Tennessee.

She says she hates Nashville.

She hates country music.

C- prayer makes her uncomfortable.

... with voters?

Brad, do you think Republicans should look at last week's election as, you know, as a flashing red light, a warning?

Well you, you should lose, every time you lose you need to figure out what did you do wrong that caused you to lose or made it worse than it would've been if you hadn't made mistakes.

That's just responsible politics.

Uh, so yes, I would.

If I were Democrats I'd be worried about Zoran Mandani in New York and all the things that that's gonna bring negatively to them.

Winning was a bad idea there.

Uh, but for sure, Republicans need to look deep at the election results and say, "What did we do wrong?" You know, we have to win on criminal justice, immigration, and the economy.

I mean, obviously President Trump, you know, we've seen him strike deals with drug companies to lower the prices of certain medications, what do you think more broadly he could do with, like, farmers and ranchers, for example?

Brad, the best guy to be the special counsel at the Justice Department, Paul Ingrassia?

No, and he's not gonna be confirmed.

In fact, I don't even expect him to make it to the hearing on Thursday.

Rick Scott and Ron Johnson, two members of that committee who are highly respective, have al- have already said that they're against his nomination.

And I think before you get to Thursday, everybody on the committee will be against his nomination.

I mean, this guy's a punk and doesn't belong in government.

Unless he can convince Verizon to demonstrate that those are fabricated, uh, then he's not gonna get anywhere close to the Justice Department.

How do you think he got this far in ingratiating himself this much into the Trump orbit, then, Brad?

What does it tell you that even Fox News is refusing to sign on here?

Well, you know, John, there's a continuum in the federal government of how- how transparency's conducted.

For instance, as- as John Kirby pointed out, the State Department is a much tighter environment for reporters.

CIA at Langley is completely off-limits to reporters, and you- you know, I grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee around a nuclear weapons plant, and there's no reporters allowed within a mile of that place.

Uh, so we tolerate a lot of restrictions when it comes to national security, and- and- and as Jeffrey points out, the- the courts will let us have a lot of restrictions on that.

I think you'll see some ebb and flow here.

You know, this policy by Secretary Hegseth outlines that it relies on an executive order from 2010 that was signed by Barack Obama that- that gave the department some ability to regulate classified information in what's called controlled unclassified information.

You see, it's, it's just, it's not like Republicans don't leak, right? I mean, it's a bipartisan affliction.

Brad, if, if 4,000 people were laid off today, uh, h- how do you think the White House is going a- going around determining w- that they're all Democrat-oriented?

Well, first off, let's put it in perspective, Anderson.

4,000 employees, we have three million government employees, and in fact, a ma- the Gallup is out with a poll today that says a majority of Americans think that the federal government's doing too much.

Even a third of Democrats think the federal government's doing too much.

So I think defending that we need every one of those three million employees is a loser for Democrats politically.

Uh, I think where the president's getting his, his rhetoric about what, they're all Democrats is because the two federal employee unions for that repre- the two unions that represent federal employees gave 100% of their money, uh, to Democrats in the last election.

Now, that's very unusual.

And the fact that the president basically discusses it as a democratic purge tells you all you need to, to know.