The “No Kings” rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 18, 2025 (Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty)
In a 45-minute deep dive, I joined CEO Retort’s Tim El-Sheikh to evaluate if Democrats can prevent the Trump camp’s destruction of the US system.
I consider how media and commentators too often fall into the trap of amplifying Donald Trump’s rhetoric about “culture wars” and the “Left” taking over the Democratic Party. I call on them to refocus on issues and policies.
But I also emphasize the necessity of Democrats making the transition from an “old guard” after a generation of the Clintons and Joe Biden. And I discuss the advantage of a “big tent” encompassing the fundamental beyond ideology: a pragmatic, effective politics.
- 0:00: Introduction
- 2:18: Reassessing the 2024 election and what Democrats got wrong
- 9:39: Trump’s high disapproval ratings and the importance of policies over theatrics in upcoming elections
- 10:45: Pragmatic Democrats to watch at Governor and Senate level
- 16:46 – How the media, commentators, and analysts failing the public by echoing Trump’s caricatures
- 23:25: Why political analysts must focus on issues personalities
- 26:58: AOC, “Woke 2.0,” and the need to reclaim language and meaning from Trump and MAGA
- 30:30: A Democratic transition away from the old guard
- 36:03: A priority on grassroots politics
- 40:42: Learning from George Orwell
