Friday Mailbag!
Here we go.
Happy Friday!
We made it!
The best news this week? Jeff Bezos tripping as he went to greet fiancee Lauren Sanchez after she (sort of) went into space.
People falling over will never not be funny.
And, oh yeah, the fight over Kilmar Abrego Garcia shows no signs of slowing. And the Dow dropped more than 1,000 points in the last two days. And we are in the middle of a trade war with China.
Below I answered a bunch of your questions about the week that was in politics. If I didn’t get to your question, head over to my YouTube channel at 1 pm eastern where I am going to do a livestream and answer even more questions!
Everyone can read my first few answers. But only PAID subscribers get access to the full Mailbag every week. What else do you get as a paid subscriber? Glad you asked!
Exclusive access to my weekly Monday podcast with Chuck Todd.
An exclusive Sunday email with a list of recommendations from yours truly — a podcast, an article, a YouTube video, a Substack, a song, a book, a TV show — that I think you will dig.
Exclusive access to my nightly newsletter on everything you need to know from the day in politics
You can read more about paid (and founding) subscriptions here. It’s $6 a month or $60 for the year! Do it!
Q: Who will be be the first major GOP elected official to part ways with Trump?
A: Well, there have already been some major GOP elected officials who have broken with Trump! Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney immediately come to mind.
Of course, neither of them are in office anymore — and I guess that’s the point.
If the question is who will break in a major way with Trump in the future and potentially not pay the political price that Cheney and Romney did, I think the key things to watch are:
Trump’s approval ratings among Republicans. Right now it’s around 90%. If it drops to 80% or lower, it becomes far less disadvantageous for a Republican elected official to come out in opposition to Trump.
How far along Trump is in his term. The closer he gets to 2028, the more likely it is you will see a prominent Republican elected official be willing to start charting his or her own path.
Do I anticipate any of the 2028 presidential candidates on the Republican side positioning themselves as the anti Trump — or even as a sort of post- Trump? Eh…probably? Are any of those candidates truly relevant in the fight for the nomination? I am much more skeptical about that.
I continue to believe it’s Trumpism all the way down (or close to it) in the party at the moment. That obviously can change. But it hasn’t yet.
Q: I’m a parent of a five year old with moderately severe autism. How am I supposed to take anything this administration does on that subject as anything but an attack on my son after yesterday?
A: I thought RFK Jr.’s comments on autism this week were appalling and hugely misinformed. Embarrassing and hurtful. And, candidly, they should have drawn even more attention — and outrage. But, the political world was entirely focused on Abrego Garcia.
Q: To your recent comments that the average voter/person doesn't follow the day-to-day and definitely isn't concerned with "procedure", do you think the reaction or support for Trump's deportations (numbers, types of people & process) will largely follow the economy? By that I mean, if the economy struggles, I'd think the average voter is more supportive of deporting any/all illegal immigrants as they're competing for jobs while in a more prosperous economy people would be more likely to be sympathetic to their plight.
And, I give you credit for sticking to your principles of unbiased analysis (you get roasted by both sides on a regular basis) when the easy (and more profitable) lane is simply to pick a side & be a cheerleader. Keep it up - some of us truly appreciate it.
