Has Trump just written the campaign ad for every Democrat? | The News Agents USA

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Trump doesn't care about you or your economic play.

Because he loves the press.

It's a little kid on the playground.They lash out when the girl isn't nice to them because he so craves the affirmation, right?Trumpism is Trump winning.

situation.I don't think about anybody.I think about one thing.We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.That's all.

I don't think about Americans' financial situations at all.He's just made life really easy for the opposition because that's all they need to keep reminding Americans.Trump literally doesn't care how they're doing.

But he does care about one particular family in America and how they're doing financially.And that's the Trump family.Eric Trump is on the trip to China.And we've seen launched Trump Mobile, a $500 phone apparently made in America, but probably in China.Welcome to the News Agents USA.

The News Agents USA with Emily Maitlis and John Sopel.

It's Jon.It's Maitlis.And the headline, the pomp, the ceremony of this week all takes place in Newcastle.where Trump has been admiring the artillery, the military hardware of Xi Jinping's China, and he has been welcomed and feted as if China weren't actually America's numero uno enemy.And if you look just to the left of Trump metaphorically, you will find his son Eric.Now, Eric Trump is not part of the Trump administration.

He is not in government.He does not have a job.He co -leads family business and the Trump organization.And people are starting to say, sorry, is this a bring your kid to work trip?Or is there something going on with one of the most lucrative economies in the world and your own family interests?

Oh, it's been happening in all sorts of other countries, too, where, you know, there are trade talks going on with Vietnam and Eric Trump turns up in Hanoi to get a sweetheart deal for a golf course development, which was approved by the Vietnamese authorities in the hope that they would get a better trade deal.So the Trump organisation, the Trump family, is undoubtedly enriching itself massively off this presidency.But we need to, I think, just talk a bit about what Trump said as he was about to board Marine One, the chopper that was going to take him from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base before flying on to Beijing, when he just said, you know, I don't think about Americans' financial situation.I mean, that quote is going to be hung around his neck every day between now and the midterm elections, I am sure that the campaign ads from the Democratic Party are being made up now with just that quote again and again.And it comes at a really critical time.for Donald Trump because there has been some polling this week from CNN which said that 70 % of Americans think that Donald Trump is mishandling the economy and doing very badly with the economy and that 77 % of Americans think that the reason that inflation is going up is down to Trump's policies and That combined with the war in Iran, which is still unresolved, in case you've missed that, there has been no peace deal, the Strait of Hormuz is still shut, oil is not flowing freely around the world, there is an economic shock coming, and Donald Trump is saying, yeah, I don't give a damn.

It was such a bad look that immediately his minions in the form of JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson started scurrying around saying, oh, I think, favourite line, you've taken it out of context.I don't think he really meant that.I'm sure that wasn't actually what he was trying to say.And they said it so forcibly that journalists then went back to Trump to check if he still believed what he had said.And he doubled down.Just listen to some of those exchanges.

with the president's position that Americans' financial situations should not be a consideration in that decision -making process?

I think the president said that.I think that's a misrepresentation of what the president said.

I don't know the context in which he made that comment, but I can tell you the president thinks about Americans' financial situations.I talk to him on average twice a day, sometimes three or four times a day, and we talk about it constantly.He's laser focused on trying to resolve the conflict in Iran, because if we get the Strait of Hormuz, when we get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, that will alleviate a lot of pressure with gas prices and other things in the economy.

Yeah, so we misrepresented it.And he thinks about it all the time, even though, quote, I don't think about Americans financial situation, unquote.

Yeah.II mean, what I think he was trying to say, what he thought the takeaway would be was, I don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.Although ironically, Obama, I think, has also given an interview in the last 24 hours in which he said, we managed to get more of the enriched uranium out of Iran with my deal, the JCPOA, through a negotiation, you know, 10 years ago than Trump has managed to do by bombing the hell out of them.And this intervention from Obama is just being sort of waved in Trump's face as another example of how little, genuinely little, he has achieved with that military intervention.

Yes, but I think this just does underlie the exquisitely painful position that Donald Trump finds himself in because what he was trying to say to the Iranians, the messaging there was to Iran, don't worry, I'm prepared to take any amount of economic pain that you're prepared to inflict on us because I'm not going to get you get a nuclear weapon.So you bring it on.I don't give a damn about American suffering.We're prepared to tough this one out as if somehow it is the siege of Stalingrad that Donald Trump is preparing the American people for.But of course, that then plays so badly in America.And this is the rock and the hard place that he sits between right now.

that if he goes in and tries to finish the job, then things are going to get an awful lot worse in the Strait of Hormuz.And if he doesn't do anything, then he's not going to be able to claim a victory.Meantime, Americans are suffering and are complaining about the cost of living.But he can't look like he's weak on that because that signals to Iran that just if we hang tough, then America will fold.And he has got no way out that is easy or elegant right now.And this is a crisis of his own making.

As you say, Emily, it was a war of choice that Donald Trump started without considering fully what the consequences would be for the Strait of Hormuz.He is in China now.Who knows what happens when he returns from China with some symbolic trade deals and the Chinese will buy more soya beans from American farmers or something like that.But then he's got the decision to make of what on earth is he going to do about Iran, because the status quo as it currently stands isn't working for Americans in any way, shape or form.

I think we should also discuss his really odd approach to the midterms, which are actually creeping up pretty quickly now.I think there has been all this speculation about whether he was going to gerrymander.I mean, obviously, we know he's trying to gerrymander the states to sort of create more opportunities for Republicans.But then there's all this stuff.about, you know, is he going to intimidate voters at the ballot?Is he going to send forces and troops onto the streets?

Is he going to, you know, make it so that it's much harder to vote, make it much harder for ethnic minorities or poorer people to vote?You know, the whole kind of question over the Voting Rights Act.And in the last few weeks, he's come off with these sort of really odd comments about the midterms, one of which was like, oh, I think we should cancel them altogether.One was, oh, I think we should nationalise them, the Republicans should nationalise them.The other was like, oh, I don't care about them, let's move on.And so we're trying to, as ever, trying to work out his mindset in terms of what he actually cares about here.

And back to the whole question of, you know, his family's remuneration, his family's finances, his family's very corrupt practices throughout various wings of his sons and son -in -law.I guess one of the questions is, does he not actually care, really, about the political legacy at all anymore?Has he just written that off and said, no, my legacy is the ballroom and the billions?That's it.

Well, I think there's something there.I think it's slightly more complicated than that in the sense that I think that Donald Trump loves the idea And bear with me on this.He loves the idea that when his name is not on the ballot paper, as it won't be in the midterms, they tank.They tank.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

When my name is on the ballot paper, we do really well.I win presidential elections.You Republicans lose midterm elections because my name isn't there.And I think there is almost a joy in that for him.Now, look, undoubtedly, Mike Johnson in the House, John Thune in the Senate, are saying to Trump, we need you.We need you to be out there campaigning for us, because you can help us mobilize the votes.

And he's sort of Alex Ferguson handing over to David Moyes.

I'd be terribly sad if he lost.Yeah, I'm really sorry, David, for our American listeners.And the Alex Ferguson handing over to David Moyes metaphor might be slightly lost.But I think that, yeah, Donald Trump loves it that they win with him.But, oh, it's such a shame.You can't do it without me, can you?

And I think there is an element of that in the way he's approaching the midterms.That said, you know, there was a feeling or there was a kind of, you know, people were looking at the way the maps of these different states were being redrawn or redistricted, to use the technical term.And there was a feeling that maybe this was backfiring on the Republicans.There was a really important judgment handed down by the Virginia Supreme Court last week, which struck down a democrat attempt to redistrict and that has worked really very much infavour of the Republicans.

And the Indiana that we were talking about last week, where Trump did put his finger on the scales and it did make a difference.He basically got his guys into the primaries and the people who'd stood against the gerrymandering of Indiana were nowhere to be seen.

Yeah, and so it's perfectly possible that the Republicans will do better, not because the American people have gone out and voted for Republicans again, with or without Donald Trump's name on the ballot, they will, Republicans might hold the house, just down to the fact that they have redistricted the hell out of all these different electoral districts and it's very much in their favour now and makes it much easier to hold on to the House of Representatives.Which, you know, I suppose the other thing about if Trump loses, and this will weigh on Trump, it will make life much more difficult for him and can you imagine the investigations that would start if it's a democrat -controlled house into the Trump family, its finances, Eric Trump on the trip to China, all the other things where they have cashed in on the Trump name.And that brings us to Trump Mobile, the latest venture from the Trump organization, where you can buy this sort of apparently gold Android mobile phone for $499, which is a fraction of the price that you would pay for an Apple phone.And we're sort of being told, the initial advertising said, made in America.That has now disappeared.And all the tech experts are saying, no way.

There is no way in the world that American manufacturers would be able to afford to create, produce a phone in America for that price point.So it looks like it is a Chinese Android phone that has been rebadged on the, surprisingly, Chinese market.no one available for comment.

Yeah, funny that.It is funny this whole China -America thing at the moment though, isn't it?Because, I mean, I can't think of an example where a foreign war or foreign policy has so directly impacted Americans at home, right?I mean, they were upset by the Ukraine war because they didn't want to see American tax dollars going to support Ukrainians.There was that whole question over how much they want to spend on helping a foreign war.OK, this one is literally stopping anything from getting through that will actually make their lives more affordable.

And it is ironic that as Trump was sort of meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese just let it be known that one of their ships had managed to get through the Hormuz Strait the Iranian way.It had been allowed access by Iran and the American blockade, whatever that currently looks like, whatever that is. maybe not anyway.The Americans didn't stop it.The Iranians did help it.And that is basically a bit of a flag wave by China saying... we're not having any problems here.You're coming to us for help now.

You're coming to us because you want us to play a card for you with Iran, the Iranian regime, the Iran government.And Trump is actually in their hands.

Well, look, I think that, you know, you go back a decade and Trump's last visit and there was a feeling then that America was so much more in a powerful position that America could throw its weight around.It had the threat of tariffs.China has seen what tariffs have done.They found alternative markets for their goods.They haven't impacted that directly.They are being impacted.

the flow of oil, that 30 % of their oil comes from Iran, and it's not flowing that freely.They're still getting some tankers through, but there are problems.But it's America that now looks like the weak country that is the supplicant going to Beijing.And, you know, Donald Trump wants to project this idea that America has never been more respected, America has never been more powerful, and it's got itself tangled into this war with Iran, and in some ways, it's never looked weaker.more end of empire than it is right now, where it can't just get the job done of getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened, it can't get rid of the nuclear material, and it's costing Americans at home dear.And that is a bad situation.

In a moment, we'll be speaking to Jonathan Martin.He's the senior political columnist at Politico.He has Donald Trump on speed dial.And we'll be asking what it's like to be inside that White House press call at a time like this.

The News Agents USA.

We're joined in the studio now by Jonathan Martin.a .k .a.J -Mart, senior political columnist at Politico and host of On the Road podcast, and Jack Kerouac -like.He is on the road and brought to London.

So welcome to London.shame you could have come at a busier time you know if only there was some politics going on here right now not much happening here just you know having some fish and chips and strolling around yeah no it's quiet like you do so let's talk look we've been endlessly talking about the madness of the politics here but i want to talk aboutwhat's happening in the US right now.

Speaking of madness.

Speaking of madness.And that kind of interview that Donald Trump did before getting onto Marine One on the North Lawn of the White House, saying that, you know, the consideration is not, he doesn't consider Americans' kind of income when he's thinking about the Iran war.And that quote is going to be hung around his neck, isn't it?

Not ideal if you're a Republican to have that quote out there in circulation.Yeah, look, Trump says a lot of things.Most of them fall into the ether.This one will stick around for a while.It'll stick around for a while because A, it's on camera so they can play it over and over again, the video clip, but B, because it's a simple, concise way of Democrats driving what is their core message this midterm election.And the message is Donald Trump doesn't care about you or your economic plight.

and this gets to the heart of it.He said it himself.Now what he was talking about was he's focused on stopping the Iranians from getting nukes and that's his long -term goal, not any short -term challenge with the American economy.But even that's not true because he's obsessed with the stock market and he's very much consumed with what this war is doing to the markets and the gas prices.He thinks about it all the time.That's why he hasn't restarted the war and we're sort of living through this cold, this cold peace of a ceasefire because he's desperately desperately concerned about hostilities restarting in the market, tanking back in the states.

But this is the situation he now seems to be in, where he's damned if he does and he's damned if he doesn't.If he looks weak and concerned endlessly about American consumers, then Iran's going to think, OK, we just wait him out.We're going to hang tough and he's going to surrender.And if he sounds like he doesn't care about the American consumer and looks tough to the Iranians, then the American public say, what the hell are you doing?Gas is, you know, five dollars a gallon.in a way.

it is.

That's the problem.Wars are easy to start, hard to finish.And especially in the Middle East, and especially against a country of 80 million people with a deeply embedded regime.He was emboldened by what happened in Venezuela.It was extraordinarily successful.It was almost too clean of an extraction.

And he wanted to go bigger and he wanted to create a big legacy for himself and be a historic figure.And the way you do that is you topple the regime in Iran.And that was the hope.It didn't work out.So they've had to find alternative rationales for why we're there.They're still working through those.

But in the meantime, Donald Trump has found the one thing in his life that he can't totally bullshit, which is the streets are open or they're closed, man. the boats are moving or they're not and you can't spin that and they're closed right now which means that the price of gas is going up and up and up and as long as they're closed and gas is going up the Republican party has a massive problem on its hands.

And there was a CNN poll this week kind of you know roughly three quarters of Americans think that the you know the problems of the economy are down to Donald Trump and that he's handling it badly and inflation is because of him.So those are hardly optimal figures, you know, I mean, I know the midterms are still a few months away, but they're getting closer.

The reason why Donald Trump came back to power, at least the main reason is because he had the easiest message in the world.They claimed that they were going to improve the economy.Costs have only gotten higher.Inflation's gotten worse.Dump them.Hire me. I'll make the economy roar.

And he's now facing the exact same case against him that he made two years ago against Biden and Kamala Harris, which is this guy didn't fix inflation.In fact, it got worse.And what's even easier for Democrats is prosecuting that message is they can point directly to what happened and the reason why gas prices are high.which is the war in Iran, which Donald Trump chose to prosecute.So it's, again, it's elementary.If Democrats screw this up, they should turn in their cards because this is the easiest damn messaging you could ever come up with.

He started a war in the Middle East.He doesn't know how to finish it.And because of that, your gas prices are soaring.

So I suppose, look, yeah, on the face of it, it does seem as though that would be the easiest piece of messaging possible for the Democratic Party.On the other hand, you've had this massive redistricting battle going on, playing out in various different states and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and the like.Can we yet assess it across the piece, across the 50 states, of whether the Republicans, with the redistricting and with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, will manage to create enough safe seats that they hold onto the House?

It's a classic story of structural advantages versus the environment.Democrats have the environment.Republicans have the structural advantages.They have more money.They've been able, in a lot of states, to redraw the lines that are more favorable for them for the House.But the environment's hard to overcome.

Look, there's category 3 hurricanes and there's category 5 hurricanes.This thing's a 4 right now and it's headed toward a 5.If gas prices don't come down by Labor Day, which for us is the first Monday in September, This is going to get locked in and it's just difficult to overcome gas prices being that high.Every American understands the price of gas because it affects almost all of them.So it's very difficult.You add in the cost of fertilizer, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, plus all the other inflation on groceries that hadn't been tamed, that was still going up.

So it's a real problem.That said, because of the voting rights decision and because of the redraw in a lot of red states, Republicans do have more favorable terrain to play on in the house.And I would add one more thing.The nature of the polarization of our country just means that there's fewer competitive seats to begin with.This is not 2018, it's not 2010, where it's possible for one party to win dozens and dozens of seats.Democrats were not going to win more than 20, 25 seats in the first place.

That was going to be the high end.Now it's lower.They don't have to win that many because the current majority in the House for the Republicans is like 0 .5 seats.I mean, it's that it's that narrow.The more interesting question is the Senate, because that very much is in play now.And a year ago, nobody would have guessed that that be in play.

So is Trump mad about this?Is he kind of jumping up and down about the way that the politics of this is playing itself out?Or is he?He's such a curious character that I've noticed that too.Psychologically, is he thinking, well, you see, you win when I'm on the ballot paper, but when I'm not on the ballot paper, you Republicans struggle.

He knows that.And I think he understands the challenge of getting out his voters when he's not on top of the ticket.Obama, by the way, same issue.Democrats had the same problem with Obama when he wasn't on the ballot in 2010, 2014.They suffered huge losses.And I think that's part of the problem now.

The Trump voter, the MAGA voter, or it's hard for them to get out when Trump isn't on top of the ticket.As far as Trump personally, he's not a party guy.It wouldn't break his heart if they lost power.Here's where he cares.He cares about what's in it for him.And he doesn't want to be harangued and harassed by a bunch of inquiries from the Congress that has subpoena power for the final two years of his presidency, where he's constantly having to answer questions or his staff is being hauled before Congress, corruption questions, all of the above.

And also, he doesn't want to be impeached for a third time.He views that as a real stain on his record.And he almost certainly would be if he were impeached.Democrats take back the House.So I think he cares about control of the Congress as it affects his final two years more than anything else.

Sure.And you know, he's out in China at the moment.Eric Trump is part of the delegation.What is Eric Trump doing there?Now, Eric represents the Trump Organization, which is not the same as the United States of America.

You just answered your own question.

Yeah, but that would be the subject of investigations given...

Oh my gosh, the stack of possible inquiries that the Democrats can commence if they ever get back in power on the pardons, on the Trump Inc. business, on the dealings with the the Trump kids, Jared Kushner's role in running American foreign policy effectively in a lot of parts of the world while he's making millions or billions off the Middle East.It's a long list.And this is what Trump doesn't want to deal with.He wants to do big historic stuff.He wants to acquire land.Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland.

He wants to do big deals and be a big sweeping figure in history.He doesn't want to be constantly dealing with House Democrats or Senate Democrats demanding papers and documents and calling his son before committee hearings.But that's in the offing if Democrats take back the majority.

So just describe to us what it's like covering the Trump White House in this second term.

Very accessible.

You can call him right now if you want.

You want to call him?Let's call him.He's in China right now.

He'll be in bed now.

But if we were in Washington, it'd be like, yeah, the morning in Washington.Look, he cares primarily about two things, the stock market and the press coverage.You know, most presidents, they are there.They're driven by the judicial system.the legislative branch.You know, Americans have our constitution, we have three branches of government, right?

And most presidents, they're held accountable by the judiciary, by the legislative branch, federalism, norms, history, tradition.Trump doesn't care.Trump wants to run the country like Trump.a king effect, that's why he likes the royals so much.And what he does care about them more than anything else, and what does check him, is the markets and the media.And that's why he takes the phone calls from all of us.

He constantly wants to be driving the news.He wants to be in the news.Trumpism is not nationalism.It's not populism.Trumpism is Trump winning.The means don't matter as much as the ends.

The ends are Trump gets big, beautiful wins.The definition of what that looks like ideologically, all that's up for grabs.He just wants to win.And he does winning by getting good press and the markets doing well.

So when you bring him up.Yes.Does he know it's you or does he just pick up?

No, you have to introduce yourself.Yeah.

Yeah.Yeah.So just take me through how that goes.

Any cell phone?would ring, couple of rings, he answers the phone, it's his voice, hello.He doesn't say, this is President Donald Trump, hello.Hey, this is Jonathan Martin with Politico, I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about whatever.And you know, it's most folks that call him, you get a couple of questions and then he gets off the phone.But he was always like this.

He's always been a media guy.He's more of a media figure than he is a businessman.And that's been the case for 30 plus years.

Sure, but do you ever feel that you're your coverage is compromised because you've spoken to him and you're part of that inner circle?

Yeah, no, that's a good question.I mean, because it's not, he's not a reliable narrator, to put it mildly.So the insights he's offering, oh, we're going to have a great deal, you know, any day now.Okay.That's like cotton candy for dinner, right?It's

It's not very fulfilling, you know?What does that get you?What does that get your reader?There's other times where, depending upon the news, he can make some news.But a lot of it, you're right, a lot of it is just commentary on the passing scene and not very relevant commentary because he's just, you know, selling, selling, selling.He's a salesman.

What's it going to take to put you in this car?We're going to do a great deal.Me and Xi Jinping in China, we get along so well.We're great friends.We're going to do great deals.The best deals ever.

You know, it's just sell, sell, sell.Of course.

But I just look, I was, you know, there throughout the first term in D .C.and Watching it now, it feels even more exaggerated.

Yes, no question.Than it seemed there.He tried playing traditional.He was intimidated to some degree the first time around.He didn't know Washington.He didn't know the office.

He didn't know politics.And I think he was more chastened by the folks around him and by the circumstances.Now, that wasn't always the case.He still was Donald Trump saying and doing stuff that was outlandish at times.This time around, he's much more confident.He doesn't need minders or staff.

He doesn't want them.And it does feel more like free range Trump, if you will.I mean, he's just bopping all around, doing whatever he wants.And what he wants is to have a lasting legacy.So he names he names buildings after himself.He craves statues.

He craves land.He craves Nobel Peace Prizes.He wants to be on Mount Rushmore.It's all a legacy play.It's all I want to be acknowledged and affirmed as a big historic figure.

I want to play the clip where Donald Trump is once again being rude to a reporter and once again it is a female reporter asking about the ballroom.

Let's just play that.So what happened is we have a ballroom that's under budget.It's going up right here.I've doubled the size of it because we obviously need that.And we're right now on budget, under budget and ahead of schedule.I doubled the size of it, you dumb person.

You are not a smart person.

Yeah.And, you know, there's kind of what was it he called the reporter on the Air Force One, Piggy.Yeah.Does anyone ever stand up to him?

I wish that other folks in the press corps would say that's totally inappropriate.Don't talk to her like that.And the next question should be a version of that.I really wish they wouldn't just move on.The people would say that's not acceptable.Why do you think they don't?

Just want to use the opportunity to get their own question in.It's you get fleeting moments, you get seconds, you want to throw a question in.And he would just go back and forth anyways, and it would create a scene.He'd put you in a tough spot and you get in a tit for tat.And then it's just why are you doing this?And it is deeply challenging because.

he is entirely consumed by the media.He's never going to not talk to the press because that's the whole point of this endeavor for him is being covered and being famous.That's what he craves is the attention.The attention is oxygen for him.So he's always going to have the press there, but he gets mad at them when they're not nice to him.People always say he hates the press.

He doesn't hate the press.He lashes out at the press when the press isn't good to him because he loves the press.It's a little kid on the playground.They lash out when the girl isn't nice to them because he so craves the affirmation, right?So he says and does totally inappropriate things because they're not being nice to him.He just wants to be covered well.

More than anything in his life, that's what he wants.And when he's not, he gets angry.Here's one more thing.He's surrounded by folks blowing sunshine and puppy dogs to him all day, right?This is the one time reality intrudes when you have people saying, why are you spending all this money of taxpayer dollars on a puppy dog?here at a time of economic challenge for the country?

He doesn't want to hear that because nobody else is saying that to him, you know?

And do you think the press is doing a good job?of holding this in this second term, the president to account, talking, you know, speaking truth to power.

It's deeply challenging.And I think there's no lack of stories about what he says and does and what the folks around him do and how they conduct themselves, especially on the on the corruption and self -dealing front.I mean, there's not a lack of stories.The American voter is not eyes wide shut.Like, if you want to know who Donald Trump is and how he conducts himself in his presidency, it's all there for you to see.You can't plead ignorance.

The stories are all in front of you.Now, if you want to rationalize them or avert your gaze, you can do that, but it's not for lack of coverage.I reject the fact that he's not being covered aggressively.There is tons of coverage.The challenge is we're in a polarized country and social media consumes our lives and we get fed algorithms that push us into our silos, red and blue.That's an hour long chat for a different day, though.

Do you think that any there are any signs that where we started was about the economy and the price of gas and the price of fertilizer and everything else that you, you know, you listed for us?Is there any sign?that among the MAGA faithful, there is a loss of faith.

At the margins, but the margins matter in elections, especially in midterm elections, because turnout's everything.So he loses 10 % of his vote share, not because they become Democrats, they just don't show up.Boy, that's devastating for Republican candidates this fall.You take a 10 % haircut off of the MAGA base and they don't show up?That's really hard to overcome.So I don't think it's they're becoming Democrats.

They're just becoming more disillusioned and maybe not showing up more apathetic.Right.The challenge, especially with younger voters, they don't like the foreign entanglements.I think that's created the challenge for himself.But we are so polarized, so tribal right now.Most of the Republicans just rationalize what he says and does and says the other side's worse.

So he's not losing much altitude with Republicans.Some of them won't show up and that matters.The deeper challenge is he's collapsed among independents.And what inroads he made among Democrats two years ago is totally gone.Younger voters, Black, Hispanic, Asian, all those demographics where he made inroads, that's all gone now.And that's why his approval now is in the 30s, which is abysmal.

Because he's got a floor, actually, of really strong support.The following the 30s are not easy.

Jonathan Martin, great to have you with us.Thank you very much indeed.

It's so boring here.So next time I have to come back and talk about something in the UK besides finding the best chippy.You come back.You'll be very welcome.Thanks so much.Look forward to it.

The News Agents USA.

So we got a lot of a lot of beauties out there, JD.I envy you and other people.I don't know.Who's it going to be?Is it going to be JD?Is it going to be somebody else?

I don't know.Who does anybody have?OK, let's go.You ready?Who likes J .D.

Vance?Who likes Marco Rubio?All right.Sounds like a good ticket.J .D.

is a perfect.That was a perfect ticket.By the way, I do believe that's a dream team, but these are minor details.That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance.

This goes back to what we were talking about, the midterm elections.Trump loves the idea.that he is all -powerful, it's all about him, and that he can, with a wave of his finger, decide whether it's going to be Rubio or whether it's going to be Vance, who will be the presidential nominee in 2028.

I think it's even simpler than that.I'm proud to say that I have stood on stage with Donald Trump when he was the host and owner of the beauty pageant Miss USA.He had women, I guess he would call them girls, from every state, and they paraded in front of him, and they would say, hello, boss, at the microphone.And here we are, some 15 years on, where he is still holding beauty pageants with people who grab a microphone and say, hello, boss, purring into it.Only this time, it is the actual vice president of the United States, with the supplication, dare I say, the bended knee, of any of those women who so desperately wanted to win a beauty pageant.And here you have him still wanting to play people off against each other because that is his power kick.

Not humiliating or demeaning at all.Very good way of doing business.We'll see you next week.Bye bye.Bye for now.

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