Mike Murphy

The conversation was centered on Props 40 through 43 as the question of a tax revolt hung in the air.

Mike Murphy, a CPF co-director and influential Republican political consultant, honed in on Prop 40.

The contentious billionaire tax would require the 200 billionaires in California to pay a one-time 5% tax that would put money towards healthcare and education.

Murphy explained that the language of Prop 40 dilutes the intention, saying the tax will cut education down by 10%.

[footsteps thudding] [objects clanking] [people chattering] Hey, pull up a chair.

It's Hacks on Tap with David Axelrod, John Heilemann, and Mike Murphy from the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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And I don't do this with men very often.

[laughing]

...

but it, but, uh, but the return address was Mike Murphy Law [laughs] Suites, California.

We are gonna pay, unlike the president, we're gonna repay you by not assessing your physique, all right? So I just want you to-

The hacks on tap are here.

David Axelrod and Mike Murphy will join us.

What do they make of the president's pick?

What I want to say is President Trump has re-energized the base.

Betsy Klein for us at the White House.

Betsy, thank you very much.

Joining us now here in the arena to discuss, CNN chief political analyst, former Obama senior advisor David Axelrod, and Republican strategist Mike Murphy.

They are, of course, our hacks on tap.

I'm Bob Shrum, director of the center.

And I'm Republican Mike Murphy, co-director of the center.

Our podcast brings together America's leading politicians, strategists, journalists, and academics from across the political spectrum for in-depth discussions where we respect each other and we respect the truth.

We hope you enjoy these conversations.

Until we get to that point, all of the rest of this feels like kind of a kabuki dance.

Do you agree with Mike Murphy, who says that after the midterms, whoever is ascendant on the Republican side is going to immediately draw the ire of Donald Trump simply from taking the attention and then be sabotaged by

him? This is a deeply savvy point because the one thing that Donald Trump does not want to be is to be a lame duck.

And he does not want someone else to become the heir apparent, which becomes a rival center of power.

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Mike Murphy wears many hats and possesses many skills, but the one that may fit best is strategist.

He has advised some famous and admired Republicans, including John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Tommy Thompson, Chris Whitman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Born in Detroit, he attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Murphy is also co-host of the popular podcast Hacks on Tap with David Axelrod and John Heilemann.

With primaries choosing candidates for the midterm elections, it is an appropriate moment to ask: What do the politics of 2026 look like as the midterms approach? We'll consider many questions the political world is asking about Donald Trump, look at the primaries so far, and examine the fight between center and left as socialists do well in Democratic contests.

I'm very pleased to welcome Mike Murphy back with me.

Welcome.

Today, folks are scattered all over.

So all, you know, Republican poster out there, Murphy, Mike Murphy says that what matters more to you? If somebody drops one piano on your head, does it hurt as much as the second piano or the third piano? I think the damage may be done with the first piano.

And what I'm getting at is Does the money make that much different when you're just buying that much more TV? And then let me give you some really behind the curtains.

Is that when you're a super PAC coming in for the president or whatever super PAC, it could be the Democratic super PAC.

Hey, pull up a chair.

It's Hacks on Tap with David Axelrod, John Heilman and Mike Murphy from the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Meredith, you first.

What's your response to President Trump banning outlets from the White House grounds? Did you challenge him at all about this in your meeting with him? Historians and legal scholars have called it textbook authoritarianism.

The NPR Politics Podcast is the perfect solution for the first of those things, the ready IV drip of politics that you need to get you through and keep you up to date.

Listen now to the NPR Politics Podcast in the groovy NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

So let's go to the Murphy, Haxon, Tapp, Heilman theater of the mind here because we're old school.

We're audio only.