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The Heir Apparent, Part Two: Can Trumpism Survive Without Donald Trump? · The Briefing Room

0:07
Speaker 1: What's going on? Good people, And welcome back to another
0:10
Speaker 1: edition of the Briefing Room, where we take the biggest
0:12
Speaker 1: stories in politics, power in public life. Lest we break
0:15
Speaker 1: that thing down with facts, context and the next question.
0:19
Speaker 1: This is a continuation of last week's JD. Vance story
0:24
Speaker 1: preparing for Life after Trump. But first, in the background,
0:27
Speaker 1: you are listening to the sweet sounds of one George
0:30
Speaker 1: Morgan the Third aka Buddy Love kicking that theme song
0:33
Speaker 1: to the Briefing Room. Sounds so good, don't you agree?
0:36
Speaker 1: We were talking about JD Vance preparing for life after
0:41
Speaker 1: Trump and how smooth jd Vance has been, how calculated
0:46
Speaker 1: jd Vance has been, And since we've spoke last JD's
0:50
Speaker 1: timing is just on point. Vice President JD. Vance and
0:55
Speaker 1: Second Lady Husha Vance are no longer expecting. They welcome
1:00
Speaker 1: their fourth child, a baby boy named Alec Neo Vance,
1:03
Speaker 1: on Sunday morning, July nineteenth, twenty twenty six, the same
1:07
Speaker 1: exact birthday as my son Miles. Come on, is that
1:12
Speaker 1: some copyright infringement or something that we can hit them with.
1:15
Speaker 1: I mean, I know they got the money, you know,
1:17
Speaker 1: something's got to give him, But that's my son's day.
1:19
Speaker 1: But in any event, JD is stocking up on some
1:22
Speaker 1: coin here man, some social capital, that stuff that you
1:25
Speaker 1: can spend during election season. This is good. And I
1:30
Speaker 1: know his campaign managers in the background like, yes, JD, Yes,
1:34
Speaker 1: this has not happened. Oh has it been one hundred years?
1:38
Speaker 1: I gotta check that for a minute. All right, you go, here,
1:41
Speaker 1: you go. The last time a sitting vice president or
1:44
Speaker 1: second lady had a baby while in office was in
1:47
Speaker 1: eighteen seventy. Eighteen seventy. That's more than one hundred and
1:52
Speaker 1: fifty years. JD. Van's boy, he's building the narrative, I
1:56
Speaker 1: gotta tell you. But let's get back to talking about
1:59
Speaker 1: how he has a calculatingly so been in the process
2:03
Speaker 1: of trying to distance himself from his orange crush, and
2:07
Speaker 1: just how that's going. I think the last time we
2:09
Speaker 1: left off, we were on Act five trump Ism without Trump,
2:13
Speaker 1: and we want to pick it right back up right there,
2:15
Speaker 1: because this has been the story. I've been scanning media
2:18
Speaker 1: and I got to tell you, everybody's picking up on this,
2:20
Speaker 1: which is why I said, this is going to be
2:21
Speaker 1: walking on eggshells because you are trying to make sure
2:25
Speaker 1: that you distance yourself from he who will not be named,
2:29
Speaker 1: and he who will not be named is in the background, like, JD,
2:31
Speaker 1: what are you doing? What are you doing, JD. I'm
2:34
Speaker 1: reading about it. I'm listening to all the pundits, JD.
2:36
Speaker 1: They're saying things, they're saying things. They're making it sound
2:40
Speaker 1: like you're treating me as a variot. JD. I know
2:43
Speaker 1: you're trying to stay loyal, but that's just surface. JD.
2:46
Speaker 1: You're just doing it on the surface. You're not being
2:50
Speaker 1: loyal in your heart. JD. This is what's happening, trump
2:53
Speaker 1: Ism without Trump Act five. The most consequential question is
2:58
Speaker 1: not whether JD. Vans wants to be president. Of course
3:00
Speaker 1: he does. People don't become vice president at forty and
3:03
Speaker 1: accidentally discover that the presidency looks interesting. You know while
3:07
Speaker 1: I'm here, Hell, I'm as well give that a try.
3:09
Speaker 1: That's not what this thing is. It is these stepping stone.
3:12
Speaker 1: The real question is what Vance believes the Republican Party
3:16
Speaker 1: should become after Trump. That is several possibilities. One is
3:21
Speaker 1: permanent imitation, and that is not it at all. Canadas
3:25
Speaker 1: compete to reproduce Trump's insults, rhythms, grievances, and theatrical dominance,
3:30
Speaker 1: and if they do that, they do at their peril
3:32
Speaker 1: because the American people are tired. The party remains emotionally
3:36
Speaker 1: tied to one man, even after the constitutional limit removes
3:39
Speaker 1: him from the ballot. Another is restoration traditional Republicans, attempt
3:44
Speaker 1: to return to the party of free trade, business conservatism,
3:47
Speaker 1: interventionist foreign policy, and a less openly combative cultural posture that,
3:52
Speaker 1: when I like vance appears to be building a third option,
3:55
Speaker 1: though trump Ism organized into doctrine, in other words, to
4:00
Speaker 1: kind of codify trump Ism. Now, this is a hat trick,
4:03
Speaker 1: but many think he may have the slickness and the
4:07
Speaker 1: intellect to pull this off. Economic nationalism without the same
4:11
Speaker 1: chaotic presentation. Immigration restriction explained as social solidarity, religious conservatism
4:18
Speaker 1: framed through Catholic moral language. Foreign policy restraint described as
4:24
Speaker 1: protection of American values and families rather than withdrawal from
4:27
Speaker 1: the world. Populist attacks on institutions delivered by somebody with
4:31
Speaker 1: elite credentials who could explain the theory behind them and
4:35
Speaker 1: not just rail them through our calling names on the fly.
4:38
Speaker 1: That may be the meaning of communion as a political document.
4:42
Speaker 1: Trump's movement has always contained tension. He thrives on it.
4:47
Speaker 1: It opposes elites while elevating billionaires. It attacks government power
4:51
Speaker 1: while seeking aggressive executive authority. It promises isolation from foreign
4:55
Speaker 1: conflict while celebrating displays of military strength. I mean like
5:00
Speaker 1: Kim Jong. I mean it explains it claims to defend
5:03
Speaker 1: working people while maintaining a coalition with major corporate interests.
5:07
Speaker 1: I mean, this can all get very confusing. But Trump
5:09
Speaker 1: manages those contradictions through personality. Vance would have to manage
5:13
Speaker 1: them through argument. And I gotta tell you Trump has
5:17
Speaker 1: a style of confusion and chaos that is not who
5:23
Speaker 1: Vance is. He cannot imitate that style. These two, in
5:28
Speaker 1: so many ways. I said it in the last show
5:30
Speaker 1: remind me of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Because Bill
5:32
Speaker 1: Clinton was Bell, was the guy you want to have
5:34
Speaker 1: your I wanted to have a beer with you, I
5:36
Speaker 1: want to chase skirts with you. You know, he was that guy.
5:40
Speaker 1: But Al Gore was a straight up as straight up
5:42
Speaker 1: can get and hand me a Heineken and some of
5:45
Speaker 1: those peanuts over. Boy, these are great, aren't they. Knights
5:48
Speaker 1: and sudgy beer is your beer, sugy mine is nobody
5:53
Speaker 1: Nobody wanted to hang out with our Gore. Everybody wanted
5:56
Speaker 1: to kick it with Bill Clinton. Nobody wanted to hang
5:58
Speaker 1: out with our Gore. These two, they got that Felix
6:01
Speaker 1: an Oscar thing. I'm telling you mine. This is why
6:03
Speaker 1: his intellectual identity, Jade Vance. This is why it matters
6:06
Speaker 1: so much. He is attempting to become the person who
6:08
Speaker 1: can turn instinct into ideology, and that gives Democrats a
6:12
Speaker 1: strategic problem if he pulls it off. It's easy to
6:16
Speaker 1: campaign against Trump's personal chaos, then against a younger candidate
6:21
Speaker 1: who supports many of the same policies that they do
6:23
Speaker 1: while speaking in the language of family, faith, restraint, and reconciliation.
6:28
Speaker 1: And let me just say this, as a republicrat on
6:30
Speaker 1: the family tip, this country take it however you want
6:34
Speaker 1: to take it. On the family tip has gone to
6:36
Speaker 1: Helena in a handbasket. It is anything goes, It is
6:42
Speaker 1: no standards. It is whatever people wants to do should
6:46
Speaker 1: be acceptable. And I don't care how liberal you are.
6:49
Speaker 1: This is why I call myself a republic crat. I
6:50
Speaker 1: don't care how liberal you are. I don't care how
6:52
Speaker 1: much you think everybody should be able to do whatever
6:54
Speaker 1: the hell they want to do. You cannot run a
6:56
Speaker 1: society that way, There needs to be ordered, There needs
6:58
Speaker 1: to be societal ord I know everybody wants to be
7:01
Speaker 1: everybody else. Everybody wants to be accepted like everybody else.
7:04
Speaker 1: That is bs and America is tired of it. And
7:07
Speaker 1: I'm telling you this as someone who leans towards you know,
7:11
Speaker 1: liberalism more often than not. But that is going to
7:16
Speaker 1: be the killer when he starts talking about family, faith
7:20
Speaker 1: and restraint and all that good stuff. You remember, you
7:22
Speaker 1: heard it right here on the briefing room. Do not
7:24
Speaker 1: hate just because you'll hear this from JD. Vance. I'm
7:27
Speaker 1: telling you that the value system in America has gone
7:31
Speaker 1: straight to hell and that is going to be his
7:34
Speaker 1: biggest battering ram when he runs for office. Let me
7:37
Speaker 1: get back to my story, but remember that you heard
7:39
Speaker 1: it from me. Clippenstein describes Vance's repositioning as a pitch
7:43
Speaker 1: toward the center, an attempt to present himself as the
7:46
Speaker 1: reasonable alternative to the apocalyptic atmosphere associated with Trump. That
7:51
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily mean Vance's politically moderate tone and policy two
7:54
Speaker 1: very different things. A candidate can sound calmer while pursuing
7:59
Speaker 1: sweeping changes, speak soft, and carry a big stick. He
8:02
Speaker 1: can apologize for one insult without a band and in
8:04
Speaker 1: a broader cultural agenda, he can say he doesn't hate
8:07
Speaker 1: political opponents while also supporting an administration accused of using
8:11
Speaker 1: federal power against those opponents. He can criticize communication failures
8:15
Speaker 1: without challenging the underlying concentration of authority. That may make
8:19
Speaker 1: the strategy more effective, not less. Voters often experience politics
8:24
Speaker 1: through personality before policy. Get with it. Now, understand that
8:27
Speaker 1: that is truth, truth, truth, true truth. A calmer message
8:31
Speaker 1: can make radical change feel less threatening. A family story
8:34
Speaker 1: can soften an institutional power grab. Religious sincerity can provide
8:39
Speaker 1: moral coherence to policies that otherwise may look punitive. So
8:43
Speaker 1: when Vance says he and Trump have different styles, he
8:46
Speaker 1: ain't lying. The public should ask how much of the
8:48
Speaker 1: difference ends with the styles.
8:52
Speaker 2: Act six the Epstein files as a succession test.
8:56
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, speaking of he who will not be named,
8:58
Speaker 1: this is the real Voldemort amongst rich folks they like.
9:01
Speaker 1: Don't even mention this dude's name. Let me return to
9:03
Speaker 1: that controversy. Why choose the issue for public admission because
9:08
Speaker 1: it allowed Vance to demonstrate several qualities a future candidate
9:11
Speaker 1: needs to demonstrate he could show honesty without accusing Trump
9:15
Speaker 1: of wrongdoing. He could criticize execution while defending intent. He
9:20
Speaker 1: could identify failed subordinate without attacking the president. He could
9:23
Speaker 1: validate the frustration of the magabase because they're talking about
9:26
Speaker 1: it all the time, but he can do it without
9:28
Speaker 1: embracing its most explosive theories, and he can present himself
9:32
Speaker 1: as the adult capable of repairing this trust. This is
9:36
Speaker 1: an almost perfect succession succession message. It may seem like
9:42
Speaker 1: a strange choice at the outset, but it's actually very smart.
9:46
Speaker 1: This episode also reveals how fragile Trump coalition can become
9:49
Speaker 1: when promises collide with governing reality. MACA politics is partly
9:54
Speaker 1: built on the belief that hidden systems will finally be exposed,
9:57
Speaker 1: and Trump played that up, and he played it up dramat.
10:00
Speaker 1: You remember that the deep state will be dismantled. You
10:02
Speaker 1: remember all that talk. Protected elites will be named, secret
10:06
Speaker 1: files will be opened, The public will learn what previous
10:09
Speaker 1: administrations kept from them. And all of y'all gonna get
10:12
Speaker 1: this information from me. And it was always a source
10:15
Speaker 1: of wonder to me, because I'm saying to myself, aren't
10:18
Speaker 1: these the same folks that you summer with that, your
10:21
Speaker 1: by buildings, with that, you do, but I'm not understanding
10:24
Speaker 1: your style here. Once you get into that seat, you're
10:27
Speaker 1: gonna run into all kinds of your homies' names. And
10:29
Speaker 1: that's exactly what went down, especially himself. He was in
10:33
Speaker 1: these files. Let's keep making this case though, governing forces
10:36
Speaker 1: those promises into contact with law, evidence, privacy concerns, court restrictions,
10:41
Speaker 1: victim protection, and the possibility that reality is less cinematic
10:45
Speaker 1: than the campaign narrative. I mean, Epstein file release became
10:49
Speaker 1: one of those collisions. Vance didn't solve it. He recognized
10:52
Speaker 1: the political damage, and that may be the role he
10:54
Speaker 1: wants to occupy in the Republican future, the person who
10:57
Speaker 1: inherits the promises after Trump and explains why some were
11:01
Speaker 1: mishandled and offers a more disciplined method for carrying the
11:05
Speaker 1: movement forward. That's not betrayal. It is succession planning. I'm
11:08
Speaker 1: telling y'all, JD is trying to think his way through
11:10
Speaker 1: this thing.
11:12
Speaker 2: Act seven, the danger in the balancing Act.
11:16
Speaker 1: But now, if you're friends with JD. Vance, just like
11:18
Speaker 1: t I said, you need to let him know there's
11:19
Speaker 1: no guarantee that this works Trump can tolerate differences when
11:23
Speaker 1: he believes the person expressing him remains loyal. Ruts reported
11:26
Speaker 1: that White House officials view Vance's skeptical position on foreign
11:29
Speaker 1: intervention as useful because it reflects part of Trump's base.
11:34
Speaker 1: But tolerance is very conditioning with this guy. If the
11:38
Speaker 1: Orange crush begins to believe the Advance is benefiting from
11:41
Speaker 1: administrative failures, the relationship can change and go south, very,
11:46
Speaker 1: very quickly. The Epstein comment could be interpreted as helpful
11:49
Speaker 1: damage control. It could also be remembered as the moment
11:52
Speaker 1: Vance placed himself on the correct side of a mistake
11:54
Speaker 1: after others absorbed the blame. The book tour could be
11:59
Speaker 1: seen as normal promotion could also look like an early campaign. Though,
12:03
Speaker 1: and it's true the apologies could broaden Vance's appeal, they
12:06
Speaker 1: could also irritate voters who value Trump precisely because he
12:09
Speaker 1: never apologizes. The effort to become more humane than Trump
12:13
Speaker 1: risks making Vance appear less authentic to the base and
12:16
Speaker 1: less transformed to everybody else. I mean, he's got to
12:20
Speaker 1: persuade Maga voters that he's loyal without looking weak. He's
12:23
Speaker 1: got to persuade swing voters that he's different without reminding
12:26
Speaker 1: them how completely he once changed himself to gain Trump's support.
12:31
Speaker 1: I mean, you talk about impretzlement. He has engaged in
12:34
Speaker 1: it at the highest levels, and he's got to do
12:37
Speaker 1: all of this while Marco Rubio bills his own case
12:40
Speaker 1: through foreign policy experience, and Trump continues to enjoy keeping
12:43
Speaker 1: both men uncertain JD and Lindu Marchio's he calls them
12:48
Speaker 1: LANDA Marco monicle quotes a vice presidential scholar comparing Trump
12:52
Speaker 1: to a whale and Vance to a small pilot fish
12:57
Speaker 1: that could be crushed in the wake. The metaphor forwards harsh.
13:01
Speaker 1: The risk though very real. We joke, but I know
13:04
Speaker 1: his people are in the backdrop, sitting around that big
13:06
Speaker 1: old desk as they plan and strategize, saying the exact
13:09
Speaker 1: same thing. JD. This issh is on point, The plan
13:14
Speaker 1: is on It's good, it makes sense, but ooh, it's
13:18
Speaker 1: risky because this man could end our political careers, and
13:22
Speaker 1: he's done it to more than a few. Trump's done
13:25
Speaker 1: that to Republicans who thought proximity would protect them. Vance's
13:30
Speaker 1: constitutional status prevents dismissal, but it doesn't prevent political destruction.
13:36
Speaker 1: Let us not forget that JD like it said T
13:38
Speaker 1: I said, let him.
13:39
Speaker 2: Know Act eight, what history may be introducing.
13:44
Speaker 1: Let me tell you what history has a tendency of
13:45
Speaker 1: not doing. History rarely announces that one political era is ending.
13:50
Speaker 1: There's no official ceremony mark in the moment a movement
13:53
Speaker 1: begins looking beyond its founder. Instead, the transition appears through
13:57
Speaker 1: small signals. A book that sounds like a camp argument,
14:01
Speaker 1: an apology designed for broader electorate, a vice president saying
14:05
Speaker 1: the administration made a mistake, and administrators and administration that
14:09
Speaker 1: never admits mistakes, a distinction between two political styles. A
14:12
Speaker 1: poll showing activists already choosing a favorite for the next race.
14:17
Speaker 1: A president casually asking advisors which successor they prefer. None
14:22
Speaker 1: of those things prove that Trumpism has moved past Trump.
14:26
Speaker 1: What they show, though, is that important people inside the
14:29
Speaker 1: movement understand the constitutional clock. Donald Trump can't appear on
14:33
Speaker 1: the presidential ballot in twenty eight. No matter how much
14:35
Speaker 1: big talk he engages in. He cannot find a workaround
14:39
Speaker 1: for my beloved number forty foe, Barack Hussein Obama, because
14:43
Speaker 1: he knows that if he tries to push a third term,
14:46
Speaker 1: every lever he pushes every handle he yanks on is
14:50
Speaker 1: going to give way to folks say we want Obama back.
14:53
Speaker 1: Now what our weight? Damn? They do this every time.
14:58
Speaker 1: They love him, so they love him, so they hate me,
15:01
Speaker 1: but they love him. So he knows he can't get
15:04
Speaker 1: around Barack Hussein Obama. So he has given up the
15:07
Speaker 1: ghost in terms of trying to get a third term.
15:10
Speaker 1: And so JD knows that you're in the corner. He's
15:12
Speaker 1: got you in checkmate. You may as we go ahead
15:14
Speaker 1: and lay your king down. We all know what the
15:17
Speaker 1: situation is. Somebody's gonna have to answer the question of inheritance. JD.
15:21
Speaker 1: Vance is positioning himself to say that he can protect
15:24
Speaker 1: what Trump built, preserve the coalition, and remove enough of
15:27
Speaker 1: the instability to make the movement sustainable. Marco Rubio may
15:31
Speaker 1: argue that experience, competence, and foreign policy leadership make him
15:35
Speaker 1: the safer successor of the candidates will emerge as well.
15:38
Speaker 1: But here's what we know for a fact. Trump may
15:40
Speaker 1: resist choosing until the last possible moment because the competition
15:43
Speaker 1: keeps him powerful. He's holding onto every semblance of influence
15:48
Speaker 1: and power he can to the bitter end. But Vance
15:50
Speaker 1: has an advantage, and none of them can reproduce. He
15:52
Speaker 1: already occupies the office designed to stand on one heartbeat
15:55
Speaker 1: from the presidency, and he is beginning to use that
15:58
Speaker 1: position not simply to echo Trump, but to introduce the
16:02
Speaker 1: public to Jdvans as a separate political product.
16:06
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16:51
Speaker 1: In Ovenobs Today, we've spent the better part of the
16:53
Speaker 1: episode examining one man and one question. If JD Vans
16:57
Speaker 1: beginning to carve out an identity that's distinct enough to
17:00
Speaker 1: lead the Republican Party after Donald J. Trump. Now, whether
17:03
Speaker 1: you read with that conclusion or not, one thing is
17:05
Speaker 1: for certain. Politics does not stop while we're analyzing one story.
17:09
Speaker 1: Oh no, no, no. The White House keeps moving, Congress
17:12
Speaker 1: keeps moving, the campaign trail keeps moving, and we, my friends,
17:15
Speaker 1: must keep moving along with it. Before we get out
17:18
Speaker 1: of here, there are three more developments coming out of
17:20
Speaker 1: Washington that deserve your attention because they help paint an
17:23
Speaker 1: even bigger picture of where the administration stands today. Right now,
17:27
Speaker 1: as we speak, let's go around the White House with
17:29
Speaker 1: tonight's political wick hits quick hit number one. Trump's poll
17:34
Speaker 1: numbers continue to slide. Let's close tonight with something that
17:38
Speaker 1: may wind up becoming the biggest political story of the
17:41
Speaker 1: entire summer, and that's President Trump's approval rating, or shall
17:45
Speaker 1: we say, his disapproval rating. Multiple national polls are telling
17:50
Speaker 1: a very similar story. A June Ruters IPSO survey found
17:54
Speaker 1: Trump's approval rating hovering around thirty five percent, only a
17:57
Speaker 1: point above the low point of his current Even more
18:01
Speaker 1: concerning for the White House, support has softened not only
18:04
Speaker 1: among independence but also among some Republicans as well. Uugh.
18:10
Speaker 1: The poll also found widespread dissatisfaction with the cost of living,
18:13
Speaker 1: and growing concern over the economic effects of the Iran conflict.
18:17
Speaker 1: More recently, a Washington Post IPSOS poll found Trump's approval
18:21
Speaker 1: still stuck in the thirties, with pessimism over both the
18:25
Speaker 1: economy and the stop and start Iran negotiations. Perhaps most notable,
18:29
Speaker 1: the polls suggested enthusiasm among some Republican voters has begun
18:33
Speaker 1: to cool off, which is a warning sign heading into
18:36
Speaker 1: the midterms. Now here's why this matters. Presidents don't vote
18:40
Speaker 1: in the midterms. Members of Congress do, though congressional candidates
18:44
Speaker 1: almost always inherit the political environment created by the person
18:47
Speaker 1: sitting in the over office. If Trump's approval remains in
18:50
Speaker 1: the mid thirties, every Republican running in a swing district
18:53
Speaker 1: will have to answer for White House decisions, whether they
18:56
Speaker 1: like it or not. History tells us that when an
18:58
Speaker 1: incumbent president's approval for below forty percent, the party in
19:02
Speaker 1: power usually starts playing defense instead of offense, and that
19:06
Speaker 1: ain't destiny as political gravity quick kid number two. Trump
19:12
Speaker 1: puts election security back at the center of the conversation.
19:17
Speaker 1: The White House is making another strategic pivot instead of
19:21
Speaker 1: leading with inflation of the economy. President Trump recently delivered
19:24
Speaker 1: a primetime address focused almost entirely on election security. I mean,
19:29
Speaker 1: he actually started reviving claims about vulnerabilities in the twenty
19:32
Speaker 1: twenty election and calling for Congress to pass stricter voter
19:36
Speaker 1: identification and citizenship verification measures. RUT has reported that intelligence
19:41
Speaker 1: documents cited during the speech didn't establish that foreign actors
19:45
Speaker 1: change vote totals in twenty twenty, despite Trump's claims. Imagine
19:49
Speaker 1: that politically this is fascinating. Election integrity remains one of
19:53
Speaker 1: Trump's strongest motivational issues with his base, But polling consistently
19:58
Speaker 1: and i'm inconsistently shows an independent voter's rank inflation, housing, costs,
20:03
Speaker 1: health care, and wages much higher than election administration. So
20:06
Speaker 1: the question becomes, and hear this clearly, mister Orange President,
20:11
Speaker 1: is Trump talking about what energizes Republicans? Are you, mister president,
20:15
Speaker 1: talking about what energizes Republicans or what persuades undecided voters?
20:19
Speaker 1: Those aren't always the same thing, mister president. And with
20:22
Speaker 1: only months into the midterms, that's a gamble worth watching,
20:26
Speaker 1: mister President. I'm encouraging you, no matter of fact, I'm
20:29
Speaker 1: not encouraging you to let it go. Keep running it,
20:31
Speaker 1: turn your folk off, make room for somebody else running
20:34
Speaker 1: into the ground. I gotta keep in a thousand quick
20:39
Speaker 1: hit number three. In harmony with today's story about JD. Vance,
20:43
Speaker 1: the White House is already thinking beyond twenty twenty six.
20:46
Speaker 1: One final observation, watch you gets the microphone. I'm gonna
20:50
Speaker 1: want you to think about it. Over the last several weeks,
20:53
Speaker 1: the White House has increasingly relied on President JD. Van's
20:56
Speaker 1: Secretary of State Marco Rubil and other senior officials to
20:59
Speaker 1: explain policy decisions ranging from Iran to immigration to the
21:03
Speaker 1: Epstein controversy. That's not unusual, folks. What is unusual is
21:07
Speaker 1: how often those appearances also double as opportunities for those
21:10
Speaker 1: officials to introduce themselves to the country as future national leaders.
21:14
Speaker 1: Whether the White House intends this or not, every high
21:17
Speaker 1: profile interview, overseas trip and Sunday Show appearance becomes part
21:20
Speaker 1: of an informal audition for the Republican Party's future. It
21:25
Speaker 1: is what it is, and that reminds us of something
21:27
Speaker 1: that we talked about today. Presidential succession rarely begins with
21:31
Speaker 1: a campaign announcement. It usually begins with visibility. Who gets interviewed,
21:35
Speaker 1: who's defending the policy, who's building relationship with voters, Who's
21:39
Speaker 1: becoming familiar enough that Americans can imagine them sitting behind
21:43
Speaker 1: the resolute desk. Hey, the campaign may not officially begin
21:45
Speaker 1: for quite some time from now, but the positioning, Oh
21:49
Speaker 1: that's already started. It's all I got for your folks.
21:51
Speaker 1: Those are today's quick hits. And while each one of
21:53
Speaker 1: those stories may seem unrelated on the surface, they all
21:56
Speaker 1: point to the same underlying reality. Washington is already thinking
22:00
Speaker 1: about tomorrow. Whole numbers are shaping strategy, election messaging is
22:04
Speaker 1: shaping the midterms. Rising political figures are shaping the next
22:07
Speaker 1: generation of leadership. And that brings us right back to
22:10
Speaker 1: where we started today. Because this episode was never really
22:13
Speaker 1: about one podcast interview, one book, or even one comment
22:17
Speaker 1: about the Epstein file. Oh no, no, no, no, those
22:19
Speaker 1: who are simply the clues. The bigger story is what
22:22
Speaker 1: those clues may be telling us about the future of
22:25
Speaker 1: the Republican Party and the man who appears determined to
22:28
Speaker 1: be standing at the front of the line when the
22:30
Speaker 1: future arrives. So here's my final thought. Jd Vance isn't
22:34
Speaker 1: openly breaking up with Donald Trump. He's doing something a
22:37
Speaker 1: lot more politically intelligent. This takes a lot of savvy.
22:41
Speaker 1: He's creating enough distinction to prepare for a future in
22:44
Speaker 1: which Republican voters still want Trump's movement, but may be
22:47
Speaker 1: ready for a different messenger. The Epstein admission showed the
22:51
Speaker 1: vice president willing to acknowledge failure without accusing the president
22:55
Speaker 1: of corruption. Communion represents a moral, religious, and domestic identity
23:00
Speaker 1: that doesn't depend entirely on Trump's personality. The media tour
23:04
Speaker 1: has introduced apology, empathy, and stylistic difference into a political
23:09
Speaker 1: brand previously defined by attack. There is a distinct difference.
23:14
Speaker 1: The succession polling tells us that this is not premature speculation.
23:18
Speaker 1: Vance and Rubio are already the central figures in the
23:21
Speaker 1: Republican conversation about twenty twenty eight. The unresolved question is
23:25
Speaker 1: whether a movement built around Donald Trump can actually be inherited.
23:30
Speaker 1: Trumps may be transferable as policy, it may be teachable
23:33
Speaker 1: as ideology, it may be marketable through a younger candidate.
23:36
Speaker 1: But Trump's personal bond with his supporters has never been
23:40
Speaker 1: merely intellectual. It's been emotional, theatrical, and deeply individual. And
23:45
Speaker 1: dare I say, in some circles very bonded by racism
23:50
Speaker 1: and racist thoughts in ideology. I'm sorry, it's got to
23:52
Speaker 1: keep it A thousand. Vance believes he may be able
23:55
Speaker 1: to convert that bond into a durable political program. Now,
23:58
Speaker 1: the next two years will test whether he is the
24:01
Speaker 1: heir to a movement or simply the most ambitious person
24:04
Speaker 1: standing near a leader who's never enjoyed being replaced. History
24:09
Speaker 1: doesn't usually announce when one political era is ending. I
24:12
Speaker 1: said that earlier. It simply begins introducing the people who
24:16
Speaker 1: want to define this next generation, in this next era.
24:19
Speaker 1: And Marcus Zakison, this has been the briefing room. I
24:22
Speaker 1: need you to stay sharp, stay skeptical, and pay attention
24:25
Speaker 1: whenever a loyal vice president begins explaining how he is
24:29
Speaker 1: different from the guy sitting in that chair. But now
24:32
Speaker 1: before I go, I gotta call my man back in.
24:35
Speaker 1: Buddy Love aka George Morgan, the third to kick that
24:38
Speaker 1: theme song. Tell the briefing room sounds so good, don't
24:41
Speaker 1: you agree, Buddy Love, Come on back in and kick
24:43
Speaker 1: that funky joint. Get us up out of here. We
24:45
Speaker 1: will see you all next time. On the briefing room, they.
24:48
Speaker 2: Report a live and direct.
24:50
Speaker 5: It's the brief and Room. I got a nice firm
24:52
Speaker 5: grip on a sweeping room. We're filling dirt from under
24:55
Speaker 5: the map. I entertain questions later. Now on to the facts.
24:58
Speaker 5: The truth is hard to wallow reading and wheat. They
25:01
Speaker 5: chose Bozo the Cloud as racist in chief. He's so
25:04
Speaker 5: above the law. Will leave tight man pushy, stabstructed the dresses,
25:08
Speaker 5: grabbing women body. Profound church devotion is needed to get sanctified.
25:12
Speaker 1: Obama rocked the tan suit. They screamed crucified.
25:15
Speaker 5: Want to excavate Mexican grounds to build a ball or
25:18
Speaker 5: rubbish floats and flint's water who dropped the ball? Other
25:21
Speaker 5: facts to escape Quicker than not, Sauna intelligent for sauna attack,
25:25
Speaker 5: quickers up for Rhana.
25:26
Speaker 1: Chuck deduced twice.
25:27
Speaker 5: Then it's Austin Mayanna distribute heat like conventional ovens, pure Nirvana,
25:32
Speaker 5: Report and live in direct. This is the brief of room,
25:34
Speaker 5: Report and live in direct. This the brief of room.
25:37
Speaker 5: He got tied to tweet for bomp denounce the plan
25:39
Speaker 5: on the low girl wiz It. David Duke probably is
25:41
Speaker 5: man bring washed the masses to or form. It's drastic.
25:45
Speaker 5: How can prison reform stay slow with the molasses? Then
25:47
Speaker 5: trivial issues get resolved with the quickness. It's twenty four
25:51
Speaker 5: hours in a day.
25:52
Speaker 2: Can I get a.
25:52
Speaker 5: Witness who orchestrated exams? Administer thelittmus These bars are goal
25:56
Speaker 5: over your head to flow relentless. In regards to thirteen
26:00
Speaker 5: study the Amendment, indignant and humane, insane infringement of all
26:04
Speaker 5: the slavery except as a punishment for crime who slaves
26:07
Speaker 5: use that state front but.
26:08
Speaker 1: Se doing time.
26:09
Speaker 5: The systems designing lead the brown come behind craps into.
26:12
Speaker 1: Bucking urban poverties.
26:14
Speaker 5: De mans report and live in direct this the brief
26:17
Speaker 5: for rout report and live in direct this the brief
26:19
Speaker 5: Boom can't do the right thing. He and Pinola e
26:23
Speaker 5: racist demagogue against black SI latinos with them, tax returns
26:26
Speaker 5: in them, bankrupt casinos. The truth or country too shorten
26:29
Speaker 5: Danny DeVito. Back then they taped black panther phones of
26:32
Speaker 5: the bosses, but turned the blind eyed of white hoods
26:35
Speaker 5: and burn across.
26:36
Speaker 1: And that's my word. The other be so absurd.
26:38
Speaker 5: But when thing's for show, you can't Paulish turn and
26:41
Speaker 5: people kiss.
26:42
Speaker 1: His white brown nose.
26:43
Speaker 5: Boing and denial every day, but they really were aluing
26:46
Speaker 5: by vision Claire as the lens through a telescope twenty
26:49
Speaker 5: twenties around the corner.
26:51
Speaker 1: Please cash your vote, book them a one way.
26:53
Speaker 5: Flight to a whole town Amara Largo to golf infinite Browns.
26:57
Speaker 5: Let's go report and live in direct. This the brief
27:00
Speaker 5: of Room, reported live indirect. This the brief of Room,
27:03
Speaker 5: the brief roomm