Are you more optimistic than you, than you were a week ago when we last talked to you?

Look, I...

Good to see you, Tricia.

Uh, look, I am still cautiously optimistic.

I, I, I think Tricia laid out a couple points that were, that go to the heart of where, why I've been concerned about sort of the big tsunami and people taking their hi- eye off the ball.

I mean, there are a certain amount of mechanics that are happening on the ground that we can't forget about.

And so, look, I am excited at the prospect.

How powerful an issue do you believe this is in the race? 'Cause the campaign obviously thinks it's very powerful.

Go ahead

... secondly, I, I, I did see Chairman Martin on Saturday in DC, and then we talked for about 30 minutes at the Congre- at the Congressional Black Caucus Gala.

And, and Marc, he said that just that, to be quite frank.

He thinks that, you know, we get through this, this race with a big blue tsunami, uh, in November, and then he and Jeffries and Schumer, whomever is in leadership, uh, will come together and start planning the, uh, the plot for, uh, 2028.

But look, I am cautious, and I've traveled a lot this, uh, summer, as I've mentioned to you, and I'm just not feeling the blue tsunami.

I think by science, by political science, the Democrats should do a good job of taking back the House.

I do not think, uh, we are going to, uh, take the Senate as it stands.

the opportunity to be president is just, is just a... it's palpable for, at least for a lot of people within the party.

Uh, are you looking at that, uh, with jealousy? Do you wish the Democrats were having one? You agree with your colleagues who say anything that puts Trump front and center is all good by you? How are you feeling about it?

Uh, l- I think a little bit all of the above, honestly.

I think it was actually s- pretty smart for the Republicans to do it.

I mean, I think the mo- the things you mentioned just now about the private meetings, the fact that they're gonna give some of their candidates, uh, an opportunity to make some good content.

It's gonna look good, good lighting, good cameras.

They're gonna slice it up and get it out there.

They're gonna have influencers there, uh, content building and, and informing.

Jaime, thoughts?

Do you have a sense of that thing?

Well, I mean, look, I was with some friends on the Republican side yesterday who, you know, obviously have friends like you and I do who are working on that race.

And I think about six months ago, they thought Vivek Ramaswamy would have, you know, run away with it.

But, you know, things have shifted vastly in that state.

And I think the Democrat in action who has been nominated.

is proven to to be someone who doesn't have any unforced errors.

She's a very clear communicator.

Hi, Mom.

Jaime, why is it so hard to just say, I denounce people who think America deserved 9-11?

Look, I don't know, but it's good to see you, and thanks for having me again.

And I think this is something that Dr.

El-Sayed is going to have to contend with, and I think pretty quickly, for a couple reasons.

One, because whatever Hassan has said in the past is quite disgusting.

And secondly, it's becoming a distraction in this campaign.

And obviously, Republicans are using this as a wedge issue, not only for Democrats, for independents and moderates who were thinking about voting for Democrats in this race.

Help our audience understand why that is.

I just, I just don't understand the point of view that says his platform's so valuable you can just say I don't agree with him on everything, and then you can, uh, you can bring him to election night.

Look, I'm not saying bring him to election night, Mark.

I think there's, there's specific nuance.

You know, let's not play too cute with this.

Like, we know there's nuance in how we engage people.

There is a difference in having him as your best friend sitting next to you, uh, on election night versus going on his platform and having a conversation about issues.

You know, and so I think we ought to be, uh, uh, thoughtful about that.

He's, uh, is he gonna keep talking about it or is Mike Rogers gonna talk about it? How much will Israel and his views of Israel be a factor in this race?

So how can Democrats not make this campaign not allow? How can Democrats keep Republicans from making the campaign about these issues that they don't want to talk about?

I mean, look, just because it's going to be hard and it's going to be a lot of money doesn't mean you have to shy away from it.

I mean, Democrats, I think and I think AOC did a decent job of answering the question.

Look, we Democrats are not communists, but we want to expand Medicare.

or we want to expand medicaid or we want whatever and so i think what democrats are going to have to do is we're going to drive home as often as possible and to ed's point yes i do right i think you're right i mean we just had this conversation about fascism for the last 10 years as it relates to donald trump and the republican party in the mega party and so i do think that there are a lot of individuals right now who do not understand historical perspective of those words and so i think democrats and republicans both have to be honest about about that The idea that these Democrats who are being elected around the country are going to turn this country into a communist country is absolutely false.

And so Democrats have to answer that as often as possible.

But the key point, they have to say, but this is what we want to do and this is why we want to do it.

They assume that no one will campaign in the New Hampshire primary.

Yeah.

Um, look, I...

There are a couple of things that are happening right now before I can give you a direct answer to that question.

They're...

The, the DSA, uh, the progressives, that sphere, we have to admit that they have, they have, they're better funded, they have better candidates, and they are going out in a much more organized fashion than they ever have before, and their message is, are, particularly around populism economics, are really resonating with people, and in some cases the same people that Donald Trump was able to touch just a few years ago, Marjorie Taylor Greene, et cetera, et cetera.

That's one.

The second piece is there's a huge generational sort of underlining message that we're not sort of striking in that they are really presenting candidates that are, that they see as the next generation.

Yeah, it's a good one.

As you think about the midterms, not beyond, what, what other issues do you think the party disagrees about on policy that are significant divisions?

Mark, I love that you caveat not to go beyond.

You know I love talking about presidential politics more than the midterms.

But I, look, I, I think there, there are three things that are sort of emerging right now as for...

And the, I'm gonna talk about the Democratic side for, for a second.

But the generational piece is something that we haven't given, I think, enough credence to.

And, and you look at states all across the union, and when they've had the opportunity to, uh, either unseat an incumbent who they feel like has been there too long or bring in someone with fresh blood, may not even be a younger person, but with fresh blood, they're taking that opportunity.

So a long way of asking you, am I missing this? Is Hakeem Jeffries tough enough to enforce discipline within the party like Nancy Pelosi did, or is he just basing it on being a genial guy?