Power and Principle with Mark Lee Greenblatt
Oct 5, 2026 · 41 min · 11 segments
In the debut episode of Power and Principle with Mark Lee Greenblatt on Federal News Network, Mark sits down with media executive, legal analyst, and commentator Dan Abrams for a wide-ranging…
Dan AbramsGuest
Mark Lee GreenblattHost
Well, uh, y- you know, to, [clears throat] to some degree, I feel that almost every day, um, in the sense that being a political moderate is bad business, right? I mean, meaning if, if I wanna make money from, you know, my own personal opinions, et cetera, you gotta kinda pick a lane.
Um, and there's pressure, right? I mean, if I ne- if that was the only source of income for me, as it is for many, there's an enormous amount of pressure.
Now, the good news for me [laughs] is I have a lot of other businesses, so I don't have to pick a lane.
But I can tell you that, that I know what I would need to do to increase my following.
I know what works, and I know that political moderation as a brand isn't profitable, generally.
What's interesting is I see former friends and colleagues who have picked lanes, and boy, they're doing really well, um, by having done it, and so I get it.
Look, and I felt that, uh, you know, uh, uh, more specifically when I was at MSNBC, and I had helped navigate, as the head of MSNBC, the programming and saw that left-leaning programming was working, and we should lean into it.
And when I went back on the air, I couldn't do it, right? Like, y- you know, as a, as an executive, I'm like, "Let's do left-leaning programming.
Great." But then for me on my personal brand, I knew that if I went left, that it would work better.
Look, as someone who's, uh, dipping my toe in, in this commentary space, uh, you know, you, you and I have talked about this, uh, in the past, and, and it's hard.
Um, what first sparked your interest in the law? And I imagine you grew up, you know, immersed in, in the law, observing your father, the legendary First Amendment lawyer, uh, Floyd Abrams.
Um, you know, for those who for some reason don't know, uh, he shaped some of the nation's most important F- First Amendment battles, from the Pentagon Papers to landmark free speak- free speech cases.
Um, did that make a career in law for you, like, almost inevitable, or did you find your own path there to law and journalism?
Well, uh, y- you know, to, [clears throat] to some degree, I feel that almost every day, um, in the sense that being a political moderate is bad business, right? I mean, meaning if, if I wanna make money from, you know, my own personal opinions, et cetera, you gotta kinda pick a lane.
Um, and there's pressure, right? I mean, if I ne- if that was the only source of income for me, as it is for many, there's an enormous amount of pressure.
Now, the good news for me [laughs] is I have a lot of other businesses, so I don't have to pick a lane.
But I can tell you that, that I know what I would need to do to increase my following.
I know what works, and I know that political moderation as a brand isn't profitable, generally.
What's interesting is I see former friends and colleagues who have picked lanes, and boy, they're doing really well, um, by having done it, and so I get it.
Look, and I felt that, uh, you know, uh, uh, more specifically when I was at MSNBC, and I had helped navigate, as the head of MSNBC, the programming and saw that left-leaning programming was working, and we should lean into it.
And when I went back on the air, I couldn't do it, right? Like, y- you know, as a, as an executive, I'm like, "Let's do left-leaning programming.
Great." But then for me on my personal brand, I knew that if I went left, that it would work better.
Look, as someone who's, uh, dipping my toe in, in this commentary space, uh, you know, you, you and I have talked about this, uh, in the past, and, and it's hard.
Um, what first sparked your interest in the law? And I imagine you grew up, you know, immersed in, in the law, observing your father, the legendary First Amendment lawyer, uh, Floyd Abrams.
Um, you know, for those who for some reason don't know, uh, he shaped some of the nation's most important F- First Amendment battles, from the Pentagon Papers to landmark free speak- free speech cases.
Um, did that make a career in law for you, like, almost inevitable, or did you find your own path there to law and journalism?
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