What do you think is the most significant one?

Well, I still think it has to do with the nationalization of our politics, Joe.

And the reason that we care about the Wisconsin governor's race or the Minnesota Senate race or races that otherwise probably wouldn't have a whole lot of impact for people who don't live in those states is because of what it means for our national politics.

And I think particularly on the left is If you look at the energy behind a lot of the progressive democratic socialist candidates and I get it, not all of them self-identify as democratic socialists.

But in my book, if you're in favor of the government takeover of health care, you know, you're pretty much a socialist.

And I think that that's what we've seen from people like Abdullah Saeed in Michigan or Francesca Hong in Wisconsin or others around those various Midwestern states.

And again, the reason we care is because of what it says about where the energy is in the progressive movement and what these races tell us about national Democratic Party politics.

Pandering always ends badly, although it'll always be a part of politics.

What do you think is the most significant one?

Well, I still think it has to do with the nationalization of our politics, Joe.

And the reason that we care about the Wisconsin governor's race or the Minnesota Senate race or races that otherwise probably wouldn't have a whole lot of impact for people who don't live in those states is because of what it means for our national politics.

And I think particularly on the left is If you look at the energy behind a lot of the progressive democratic socialist candidates and I get it, not all of them self-identify as democratic socialists.

But in my book, if you're in favor of the government takeover of health care, you know, you're pretty much a socialist.

And I think that that's what we've seen from people like Abdullah Saeed in Michigan or Francesca Hong in Wisconsin or others around those various Midwestern states.

And again, the reason we care is because of what it says about where the energy is in the progressive movement and what these races tell us about national Democratic Party politics.

Pandering always ends badly, although it'll always be a part of politics.

Mm-hmm.

And the reason that we care about the Wisconsin governor's race or the Minnesota Senate race, or races that otherwise probably wouldn't have a whole lot of impact for people who don't live in those states, is because of what it means for our national politics.

And I think particularly on the left, if you look at the energy behind a lot of the progressive Democratic Socialist candidates...

A- and I, I get it, not all of them self-identify as Democratic Socialists, but in, in my book, if you're in favor of the government takeover of healthcare, you know, you're, you're pretty much a socialist.

And, and I think that that's what we've seen from people like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan or Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, or others around those various Midwestern states.

And a- again, the reason we care is because of what it says about where the energy is in the progressive movement, and what these races tell us about national Democratic Party politics.

So right now, it does appear to be with the far progressive left, and I think that's the lesson.

Pandering always ends badly, although it'll always be a part of politics.

What does this all say, though, about the relationship between the president and Republicans in Congress?

Well, it hasn't been a complicated relationship to date.

I mean, it's been fairly straightforward, which is that Republicans in Congress have executed on whatever the president wants.

I think the change dynamic is that you see, indeed, elections have consequences.

And when you participate in an election to oust a sitting United States senator from your own party, there are implications to that.

And I think, you know, look, Tom Tillis and, you know, to the degree that John Cornyn and Tom Tillis are making the decisions they're making, I think they have real substantive concerns.

I don't think this is entirely about politics, but I also think it's the case that what you're seeing is Two senators who are exercising the power that they have to get an outcome they believe is the right outcome, which is a written assurance regarding certain promises that the administration has made relating to this anti-weaponization fund or the lack thereof.

Lonnie, what does Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate in the race, want to see

... how big a deal is that?

I, I do, Jack.

This has become the new litmus test in progressive politics, and it has moved from...

I, I, I mean, we've seen the progression of this, uh, o- o- over the years, right? From issues of, uh, gender identity to race and ethnicity questions.

And now I do think it's a question that a lot of Democratic progressive activists are asking, which is, has a candidate received money from AIPAC, which is the, uh, the political action committee that supports causes aligned with, uh, w- with, with, uh, you know, Israeli, uh, Jewish issues.

And I think that has become the, the litmus test now for a lot of, a lot of Democrats out there.

And the question is, have you taken that money? And the, the funny part of this, Jack, is if you look back in Democratic Party politics, there was a time back in the 1990s and 2000s, not to date myself, but there, there was a time when, uh, that was worn as a badge of honor, that a lot of Democrats wanted to be perceived as being pro-Israel.

Uh, whether or not you think America is exceptional, and why, pushing back against some of those detractors in the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

Do you think that's accurate? And how big a deal is that?

i do jack this has become the new litmus test in progressive politics and it has moved from i mean we've seen the progression of this uh over the years right from issues of gender identity to race and ethnicity questions and now i do think it's a question that a lot of democratic progressive activists are asking which is has a candidate received money from aipac which is the uh the political action committee that supports causes aligned with uh with uh you know israeli jewish issues and i think that has become the the litmus test now for a lot of a lot of democrats out there and the question is have you taken that money and the funny part of this jack is if you look back in democratic party politics there was a time back in the 1990s and 2000s Not to date myself, but there was a time when that was worn as a badge of honor, that a lot of Democrats wanted to be perceived as being pro-Israel, certainly pro-Jewish issues in the U.S., and that was something that they wore proudly.

And that has completely flipped on its head.

And I think it's a really disgusting part of progressive politics, in my view, the degree to which some of this anti-Semitism has been not just tolerated but encouraged by elements of the progressive left.

And I think that's going to be a big challenge for them going forward and could signal – the last thing I'll say about this is it could signal a realignment, I think, of a lot of Jewish voters in the U.S. away from the Democratic Party.

Maybe I'm putting words in your mouth, whether or not you think America is exceptional and why pushing back against some of those detractors in the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

Well, America is exceptional.

There's just no question about it.

And how big a deal is that?

I, I do, Jack.

This has become the new litmus test in progressive politics, and it has moved from...

I, I, I mean, we've seen the progression of this, uh, o- o- over the years, right? From issues of, uh, gender identity to race and ethnicity questions.

And now I do think it's a question that a lot of Democratic progressive activists are asking, which is, has a candidate received money from AIPAC, which is the, uh, the political action committee that supports causes aligned with, uh, w- w- with, uh, y- you know, Israeli, uh, Jewish issues.

And I think that has become the, the litmus test now for a lot of, a lot of Democrats out there.

And the question is, have you taken that money? And the, the funny part of this, Jack, is if you look back in Democratic Party politics, there was a time back in the 1990s and 2000s, not to date myself, but there, there was a time when, uh, uh, that was worn as a badge of honor, that a lot of Democrats wanted to be perceived as being pro-Israel.

I'm, maybe I'm putting words in your mouth, uh, whether or not you think America is exceptional, and why, pushing back against some of those detractors in the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

So Lanhee Chen, California candidate, California policy guru, where do you stand on initiatives? Is it Vox Populi or is it the playground of special interests?

I think it's both, actually.

I think if you look at the initiative process, surely it doesn't look exactly now the way that Hiram Johnson and reformers intended in 1911.

But I do think that there are strong arguments for a initiative process that allows people members of the public, voters in California to see their will expressed on important public policy matters, particularly where there isn't responsiveness from Sacramento.

And I think about it in terms of the fact that we have a largely one party establishment in Sacramento.

They've got certain policy priorities.

They are beholden to certain interests, what the initiative process potentially allows for.

What's wrong with giving to the cause?

But apparently we do.

Well, I think it kind of is a little bit consistent with some of the populist sentiment that we have right now.

You know, I think that there are these ideas that socialist candidates promote that, you know, the siren song that was Brit Hume, who you had on earlier, that really is the right way to describe it, because you've got all these policies that people just sort of say, well, gosh, that sounds pretty good.

I mean, why don't we take from one group that has a lot? Why don't we give that to everybody else? Why don't we think about increasing the size of government so that government can do more.

All of these ideas to those probably who have a slightly more populist streak might at first glance seem attractive.

And I think there's a consistency to the success of socialist candidates, particularly in urban areas like New York.

And we didn't even talk about L.A., but in L.A., you're going to have a socialist running against someone who's incompetent.

This one woman, she demanded the total eradication of Western civilization at one point.

But apparently we do.

Well, I think it kind of is a little bit consistent with some of the populist sentiment that we have right now.

You know, I think that there are these ideas that socialist candidates promote that, you know, the siren song that was Brit Hume, who you had on earlier, that really is the right way to describe it, because you've got all these policies that people just sort of say, well, gosh, that sounds pretty good.

I mean, why don't we take from one group that has a lot? Why don't we give that to everybody else? Why don't we think about Increasing the size of government so that government can do more.

All of these ideas to those probably who have a slightly more populist streak might at first glance seem attractive.

And I think there's a consistency to the success of socialist candidates, particularly in urban areas like New York.

And we didn't even talk about L.A., but in L.A., you're going to have a socialist running against someone who's incompetent.

This one woman, she demanded the total eradication of Western civilization at one point.

This one woman, she demanded the total eradication of Western civilization at one point.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, look, w- the- the more that, um, we dig in to the records of various people who have been successful, who are part of this Democratic Socialist movement, the- the more we're gonna discover things that are not just out of step with where most Americans are, but that are truly odious policy positions.

I mean, truly offensive policy positions.

Uh, ones that, uh, that people look at and, and, and remind them of why Democratic Socialists are out of step with, frankly, most voters in this country.

So it- it will be very interesting as we go on.

A- a- again, I thought, you know, Brit made the right point there, which is that these people can win elections in the middle of New York City or the middle of LA, but the problem you're gonna have is that the image of these people, what they stand for, who they are, is going to pollute the broader image of the Democratic Party, which, by the way, isn't great right now.

Is this a real story? Does this have legs?

So if, um, if Pratt and Hilton both make the final two, does that say anything about the progressive movement in the country? Is that, like, a real blow, I'm hoping, to [laughs] the wackadoo fringe of the Democratic Party?

Um, I, I, I think it's a message.

I mean, I think we have to be careful not to, not to draw conclusions that are too broad.

I mean, one of the things certainly in the city of LA, uh, there, there is, I think, a backlash to what the progressive politics have done to, uh, to our major cities, and I think we, we saw it in San Francisco, by the way, a couple years ago, guys, when, you know, San Francisco elected a relatively more moderate mayor, uh, going against several very progressive candidates.

And that more moderate mayor, by a lot of accounts, has produced positive change in San Francisco.

I think in LA it's a similar dynamic.

Karen Bass has been a complete failure.

How much has that changed the landscape of running for office?

How do you diagram the Jensen Huang, NVIDIA, AI part of this summit and conversations either cooperatively, maybe, or far more likely, in a hostile context with China and the future of artificial intelligence?

Well, there's just no question that a lot of the innovation in this area is still happening right here in America.

And for China to do what it needs to do, I mean, they talk a lot about the native technology available there, and there's no question that they have managed to grow that sector tremendously.

But the reality is that to, for China to get to where it wants to go, it still needs access to American technology.

It needs access to the kinds of things that NVIDIA and other American companies are producing.

So this is actually quite an existential issue, uh, I think for the Chinese.

The big question on our part is, how much of that infrastructure is gonna be built on the backbone of American in, i- innovation and American technology versus technology from somewhere else? So I think that there are mutual benefits to be had.

President Trump's not doing that.

Spying on Americans.

One of, one of the most controversial, um, uh, uh, things is whether the government can compel, uh, tech providers, US tech providers, to basically turn over communications data of foreigners, that's at least what the law provides for, uh, who they believe have information related to terrorism or other national security threats.

So this was actually a post-9/11, uh, kind of creation along with, with a few other things, and the concept was, look, we need to figure out a way to beef up our surveillance and our intelligence of, uh, uh, of particularly of foreign nationals in the US.

And so there, there's been some debate, for example, about, you guys have, have alluded to it, has the law been abused to actually spy or surveil US c-Persons, and that could be US citizens, it could be people with a permanent residency status, it could be other US persons under the law, or, uh, you know, have tech companies, for example, been forced to turn over information, uh, on citizens or on others who technically don't fall under the ambit of the law.

So there is a lot of controversy over whether the law should be extended or whether it should be reformed.

I tend to think broadly speaking, there are a couple of areas, particularly around what tech providers need to turn over.

Do they need a warrant? This is one example, for example, of, of a question of a reform that we might look at for the law is, do we need to have stricter requirements around when warrants are required in order to, to get access to, uh, to this kind of information? So I personally think that FISA is an important law.

We barely got like two minutes, but, uh, what's your take on that?

... just that sort of thing.

Yeah.

And, and, you know, people shouldn't have to feel and think that way i- in, in a place like America where I think we've always valued our, our ability to disagree civilly, but, but vociferously, right? And, um, I don't know.

So I'm...

Jack, I'm, I'm a little, uh, concerned about where we are.

But obviously, you know, there are a lot of bright spots.

I mean, if, if, if you look at just, um...

So yeah, of course this is gonna be that.

... just that sort of thing.

Yeah.

And, and, you know, people shouldn't have to feel and think that way, in, in a place like America where w- I think we've always valued our, our ability to disagree civilly but, but vociferously, right? And, um, I don't know.

So I'm...

Jack, I'm a little, uh, concerned about where we are, but obviously, you know, there are a lot of bright spots.

I mean if, if, if you look at just, um, uh, I think a lot of people have been truly compassionate in the wake of what happened.

I think you've seen a lot of people who have decided that they want to be more involved in our political system and not less, and I think that's all good.

So yeah, of course this is gonna be that.

Sure.

...

in a state like Texas or a state like California where it's- it's very different concepts.

And I think the challenge is that the party in charge never really gets, uh, asked to justify what they're doing.

They never really get examined in the way that they need to.

And so what you end up with is a lot of things like fiscal mismanagement, which is what we see in, uh, California in- in- in droves.

Uh, you see policies that go unquestioned, and so there's just no question that we gotta keep lurching left, we gotta keep financing high-speed rail, we've gotta keep, uh, on the books all of these laws that make it difficult for us to grow and invest businesses in California.

We want something different," is there anything that can be done about all of this, including the, uh, alleged, uh, gerrymandering?

It's hard to remember now.

...

Donald in 2020.

Hard to remember.

I mean, it's like ancient history, right? Uh, y- it was just five years ago.

Uh, I, you know, I, I, I don't know.

I think some of it's gonna depend on, on how, uh, the midterms go in '26 and the degree to which there continues to be this overarching...

Um, where does that leave her?