Pod Save America

Trump campaigns in South Carolina as the polls show Democrat Annie Andrews tied with Senator Darline Graham. Jon and Dan react to the president's incoherent case for the nepo senator, and the White House's "grim" mood heading into the midterms, before discussing the latest batch of Senate polls, Trump's decision to cancel his upcoming rally in Kansas, and Barack Obama's response to the administration's freakout over his Cheesecake Factory joke. 

Then, the guys discuss the situation with the Peltola campaign’s “ballot-stacking” in Alaska and whether the right might use it justify meddling in the election, before answering listener questions about how we should be feeling about Tuesday.

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Campaigning in Michigan, Barack Obama says Donald Trump's White House renovations look like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory" — touching off many rounds of fake conservative outrage. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss Trump's reaction to the comparison and other news from the campaign trail, including Trump's public praise for Nicki Minaj's ass, Obama's response the anti-Muslim rhetoric targeting Abdul El-Sayed, and Mike Rogers's evasive performance on Meet the Press. Then the guys turn to the Department of Justice's preemptive attempt to invalidate the results of the Alaska Senate race, Democrats making the midterm election a referendum on the administration's handling of the Epstein files, and Trump's record-breaking Truth Social post — a 1,300-word tirade against Bill Maher.

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Former Attorney General Eric Holder joins Alex Wagner to game out the ways Trump might try to steal the midterms, from weaponizing the Department of Justice, to sending Homeland Security after suspected noncitizen voters, to straight-up misinformation and intimidation. They talk about how Democrats are preparing to fight back, what Holder has learned running election war games with Hillary Clinton, and why listeners need to lock in their voting plan. Then, Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, explains why GOP gerrymandering efforts ahead of the midterms have—hopefully—fallen flat, and why the battle against partisan maps will continue into 2028 and beyond.

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Polling's gold standard, the New York Times/Siena poll, releases new data showing Democrats surging far ahead of Republicans with an 11-point lead on the generic ballot, while another popular pollster is exposed for falsifying its data. Jon and Dan react to the polls, both good and fake, and then turn to Donald Trump's campaign stop in South Carolina, where the president expanded on his love of men. They discuss Vivek Ramaswamy's disgusting ad in the Ohio gubernatorial race, JD Vance getting a cold welcome from his hometown NFL franchise, this week's Senate debates in Michigan and Kansas, and another administration scandal featuring Trump's former attorney Alina Habba. Then Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, stops by the studio to talk to Lovett about her return to politics and her race against a MAGA billionaire.

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Vice President JD Vance tries and fails to act normal during a CBS town hall in Michigan — but struggles even harder to explain away his boss's policies. Donald Trump sells out Ukraine to Vladimir Putin, a complex scandal involving two Trump advisors engulfs the White House, new details emerge about the firing of Katie Zacharia, and Republicans try to make an issue out of the riots in France. 

Jon, Lovett, and Tommy react to all the latest, including new lines of attack in the Senate races in Michigan and Maine, and Trump telling his followers not watch Fox News anymore. Then, Mayor Paige Cognetti talks to Jon about fighting corruption in Pennsylvania and flipping a critical House seat blue.

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With two weeks until the midterms, Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, sits down with Dan to break down what she calls the most brutal political environment Republicans have faced in twenty years. 

They discuss whether the numbers indicate a "blue wave" or a "red undertow," whether the polls can be trusted, and why massive Republican spending can't outrun Trump's cost-of-living crisis and his war in Iran. They also dig into the strategy—or lack thereof—behind Trump's rally blitz, whether gerrymandering has backfired on the GOP, and why Democrats may actually perform better in red states than in blue ones this November.

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Trump makes the case for Jon Husted in Ohio, praising the Republican senator's greatest asset: his athletic behind. Jon and Dan react to Trump's Ohio rally and his other messages to voters on the campaign trail, Politico reporting that Trump is considering replacing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles with an MLB executive, and new press secretary Katie Zacharia's brutal debut briefing. 

They discuss the president canceling the Department of Defense's plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, the administration's deeply troubling attempt to strip Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of her citizenship, and another pathetic attempt at humor from Vice President JD Vance. Then, Sherrod Brown talks to Dan about his bid to retake his old Senate seat in the Buckeye State.

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A right-wing conspiracy theory claiming that James Talarico, who has been off the campaign trail with the flu, was actually at a mental institution in Ohio is immediately debunked in humiliating fashion. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy react to the idiocy and all the other developments in the race to flip the Senate, including Trump calling Abdul El-Sayed a "jihadist," Darline Graham insisting the war with Iran must go on, and Trump's super PAC announcing that it's "trimming the map" to focus on fewer races. Then they react to federal agents raiding Rep. Ilhan Omar's DC home, Pete Hegseth's announcement that the Department of Defense will livestream an execution, and reports that Trump may now be considering firing the scandal-ridden ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle. Finally, Chris Pappas, the Democratic nominee for Senate in New Hampshire, talks to Lovett about his campaign in the Granite State and his family inventing the chicken tender.

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As Democrats in competitive races across the country try to thread the needle on a closing argument, Jon and legendary political consultant David Axelrod discuss the most memorable exchanges from this week's Senate debates, the best messages of the cycle, and what candidates in frontline races should do to finish strong. Then they look ahead to 2028 and whether promising candidates like AOC and Jon Ossoff will run, and why Axelrod thinks the exact traits that Trump lacks will be in high demand.

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The Wall Street Journal reveals brazen corruption by Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host (and Don Jr. fiancée) now serving as ambassador to Greece — and the Daily Mail piles on with eye-popping reports about misbehavior on the job. Jon and Dan react to the brewing scandal and take a look at Trump's closing message: medals for himself and his tech billionaire friends, an empty promise to hand out $5,000 checks and pretending that James Talarico has meat poisoning. 

Then they turn to the latest in the key Senate races: Mike Rogers's attempt to break with Trump on Canada tariffs, Susan Collins's embarrassing remarks about healthcare coverage, and Ken Paxton telling donors that he wants to cut funding to Social Security and Medicare. Finally, Lovett sits down with Angie Nixon, the Democratic Senate nominee in Florida, to talk about how she can win in a state Trump calls home.

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To watch this episode with subtitles, click here and turn on closed captions (CC).

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.