Senator Gillibrand on Trump's Midterm Challenges

0:00Ben Meiselas:Republican leaders are panicking and they are panicking on live TV as the last remaining group supporting Donald Trump, non-college educated white voters, are no longer supporting him. Donald Trump is deeply underwater among non-college educated white voters. He's deeply underwater amongst all groups here in the United States. Inflation continues to rise. The never-ending wars continue. Donald Trump wakes up one day threatening more crimes against Iran, then wakes up another day and says, we're going to deescalate and we're just going to leave Iran. Can you please open the Strait of Hormuz? And Iran said, nope, you break it, you fix it.

0:39Ben Meiselas:You started this catastrophic war. You better pay us reparations. And then Donald Trump's like, I'm just going to low key it. Okay. I'm just going to do a semi negotiation. And people are like, what the heck are you even talking about. People are suffering here. They can't afford anything. And all Donald Trump is doing right now is trying to talk about the communism boogeyman. So let's take a look at what's going on. I want to show you the data, which shows Donald Trump losing among non-college educated white voters at this point. I mean, we are at the home stretch or at least getting to the home stretch right before the midterms.

1:18Ben Meiselas:But first, I want to show you the reaction. How are these Republican leaders responding? And as noted, they are panicking on live TV. Let's take a look at the chair of the RNC, Joe Grutters, and his response is kind of the typical MAGA response. It's kind of an A or B at this point, right? Either say communism, socialism, boogeyman, and maybe boogeyman, and then maybe say Hassan Piker, or put that in there. That's kind of one route that the MAGA Republicans do. And the other is blame Joe Biden and just say it's all Joe Biden's fault. Gas,$4 a gallon, inflation rising, GDP slow. Blame Joe Biden.

2:00Ben Meiselas:Watch the RNC chair here on live TV. Let's play it. But here's part of the record. Inflation, three and a half percent. That is now, according to government figures, higher than the 3.2 % for nationwide earnings. Gas, not$2 a gallon. As we all know, it's double that at four. Electricity prices haven't been cut in half, as the president talked about. They continue to go up and to the right. And GDP is at 1.5 percent. Why do Republicans deserve to keep power in Washington if that's part of the scorecard? People have short memories and they forget that Biden or Biden's economic disastrous reign led us to the much higher inflation, higher gas prices.

2:44Ben Meiselas:And this president from day one has been working on getting these things under control. If it wasn't for the inflation, inflation was three percent when he took office. Two point two percent by the time voters went to the polls in November 24. And now it's higher than that, Joe. Inflation was at 9 % under Biden, though. But then I think there was a delayed feeling of all that pent-up price increases. And now that we have to deal with it, this is certainly Biden's prices that we're still dealing with and we're still getting under control. So is it the Biden economy then? I mean, if it's Biden's prices.

3:22Ben Meiselas:It's Biden's disastrous economic record. This president, the working family tax cuts, no tax on tips and overtime, has had a big impact across this country. He's been working at$19 trillion worth of investments that you're not going to see right away. This president's gone to work for the American worker. That's what the Republican Party is. We are the working person's party now. He has a lot of empathy for people that are paying these high gas prices, and he is doing everything he can to get these prices down. Sometimes these national security issues come up. Listen, he's a peace through strength guy.

3:56Ben Meiselas:We've had eight different peace deals around the world. He's going to get this under control. We're going to get prices back down. But yes, people need to have faith that the Republican Party and this president cares about them and we're going to move this forward. More from RNC chair Joe Grutters right here. And he's like, look, the bottom line is we all know Donald Trump is super popular amongst the base, super popular among MAGA. And that's why we're going to win this, because of Donald, when all of the data shows the exact opposite play this clip. Does he need to look inward here a little bit?

4:32Ben Meiselas:No, I think that the president's beloved by the base. As a matter of fact, the reason why we're going to win in November is because the president's still super popular and probably the most popular president in the history of the country within our base. He's the one person that we know could deliver these low propensity voters. That's why we're having this midterm convention for the first time ever. It's going to be a Trumpapalooza. And then we're going to go out there and I talked to him. I was traveling with him. We're going to maybe do 30 rallies together in some of these districts to help try to drive turnout to make sure that people come out and vote.

5:02Ben Meiselas:You then have Republican Congress member Troy Downing, who says, look, we all know Iran is losing right now because time is on our side. MAGA Republican Congress member Downing says each day Iran gets weaker and weaker and soon they're just going to collapse and they're going to break. Do y 'all remember what was it? Was it in April, or it may have been May, but it may have been April or May, where Donald Trump said in exactly three days, he said, Iran's oil facilities are going to blow up because the blockade is working so great that they can't even hold the pressure anymore, whatever that means, within the oil production facility.

5:51Ben Meiselas:So they're going to just explode. Doesn't it kind of remind you of with COVID where Donald Trump's like, one day it's going to go in two days. There's only going to be one case. That's it. It's all going away. Dude lies about everything. But here's Republican Congress member Troy Downing. You can see for yourself. Play this clip. Eventually, they're just going to run out of resources and have no choice. You know, some of the positives, but again, take this with a grain of salt, is we've heard that Iran has been in talks with Oman about opening the strait. They're making some demands on the United States in terms of compensation for the cost of the war and some other things, which I think are non-starters.

6:36Ben Meiselas:I hope they're non-starters for this administration. And then on the other hand, we just heard from Vice President Vance very recently that Iran is saying that they have no plans on imposing tolls in the strait which is obviously good because that's something that i don't think anybody you know on this planet is is willing to do it's completely contrary to maritime and uh uh any kind of international law there so really the the thing is is we've got them against the ropes and they're going to continue to bleed out resources till they can't do this anymore. And I understand Americans are concerned.

7:14Ben Meiselas:We've got$4 gas at the pumps right now. I think that's about the average. And that will all come back to equilibrium. Then you have MAGA Republican Congress member Emmer, one of the leaders in Republican Congress. He says, look, the bottom line is that our enemy, China, is trying to stop us from beating them in the AI war by frustrating our ability to build data centers. We need to build data centers everywhere, but our enemy, China, is stopping us from what our goal is, what Trump's goal is, data centers in everybody's backyard. And on state regime media, Maria Bartiromo is like, this is industrial revolution part two.

8:01Ben Meiselas:All of the CEOs I speak to, all of these data centers, that's what's making us rich. These are like some sick people. This is their message though. Here, play this clip.

8:38Ben Meiselas:centers. Yeah. I mean, it is an industrial revolution part two with the amount of jobs and build out from these data centers. And it's certainly helping the economy as well. Yeah. We're not buying that. We're not, we don't, we don't want that. We don't want data centers in our backyard, Trump and MAGA, but that's what Trump's saying. So they got to go all in on it. And so now let me just share with you some of the data, as I promised I would. You have Harry Enten over on CNN showing that Donald Trump's approval with non-college white voters and non-college voters in general right now. Think of this number with non-college educated white voters.

9:17Ben Meiselas:He's net negative eight. Non-college educated voters in general, net negative 19. So net negative eight to net negative 19. and then in the 2024 election, he was plus 13 with that group. Here, watch what Enten says. Let's play this clip. Well, as the MAGA movement was built among the working class, non-college Americans, and take a look at this trend line that we're looking at in the data. Here we go. Okay, net favorability rating, the MAGA movement, non-college adults. Back in October of 2024, look at that. On the plus side of the ledger, positive, plus six points. Down we go into the Atlantic Ocean.

9:57Ben Meiselas:Now, look at this movement. now minus 22 points. That is a shift, Johnny B, of 28 points away from the MAGA movement, away with non-college Americans. So the bottom line is, it's the group at which the Trump movement was built upon. They are shifting away and saying, we don't like MAGA anymore. Same question, same poll here. This is really interesting to see these numbers move like that. Yes, exactly right. It's the same question, same poll. All right. So how about what the same group is saying about donald trump specifically yeah okay so you know what the idea being okay maybe they've soured on maga but they haven't saved soured on maga but maybe they haven't soured on me donald trump might be saying ain't the truth take a look here okay non-college voters on trump hello okay in the 2024 election he won him by 13 points right that was the reason he won he won among non-college voters a very strong performance amongst them and that of course was the reason he was able to win because college voters were against him.

10:55Ben Meiselas:But look at this now. Minus 19 points. Minus 19 points. We're talking about an even bigger shift here. We're talking about, what is this? This is a 32-point shift away from the president of the United States when it comes to his key core political group. This is why he's in so much trouble. It's not just that college voters are against Trump now. It turns out that non-college voters, the ones that he built his presidential bid on, have waved adios, goodbye, see you later, Mr. Trump. We don't like you anymore. So what impact might this have on Republican House members? OK, Johnny B is asking the key question here because maybe they're abandoning President Trump.

11:30Ben Meiselas:But you know what? The midterm elections, they may not like Democrats either. Well, if you're a congressional Republican, you wish that to be true. I have bad bad news for you because it turns out that the non-college voters are turning on you, too. And it may, in fact, turn you out of power in the congressional elections coming up in the midterms. Choice for the House, non-college voters. 2024 election. Look at this. Republicans plus 13 points. now Democrats, Democrats actually lead among non-college voters in an average of polls. It's just a point. But you know, when it comes to a point and given how well the Democrats are doing among college voters, these are the types of numbers in which blue waves are built.

12:05Ben Meiselas:And therefore, we can say that the key group that put Donald Trump in the White House, the key group that he built the MAGA movement upon is leaving him and it's leaving congressional Republicans too. Harold Denton. And as you see Donald Trump's polling crash like that, I'm reminded by the incredible cross-examination of a very sweaty Pete Hegseth and a very equally disoriented Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Secretary. Hegseth is the Defense Secretary, unfortunately. Both, unfortunately, have cabinet-level positions. The cross-examination that was done to them by Democratic Senator Gillibrand. It was one of the best cross-exams I've seen in a while.

12:45Ben Meiselas:Now, mind you, with everything we know that just is taking place right now, as Donald Trump's just saying, I'm just going to low key my negotiations with Iran. We're just going to do semi negotiations and we're just going to walk out. And Iran's like, you ain't going to walk out until you pay us reparations. You lost the war. You think you're just going to walk away and declare victory. We're not even going to give you that. I'm reminded by what took place three weeks ago when you had Hegseth and Rollins being cross-examined by New York Senator Gillibrand. Watch this, especially now with everything we know.

13:19Ben Meiselas:In the past three weeks, we've learned more about how the Trump regime has depleted all of our weapons. We don't have interceptors. We don't have attackums. Our military bases have been abandoned in the Middle East. So this cross-exam from three weeks ago takes on a new meaning right now. Here, watch this. And what would you say to them who are seeing their healthcare bills rise because massive cuts to Medicaid. They've seen their grocery and gas bills rise. And this unpopular and unauthorized war abroad is a higher priority to this administration than their ability to feed their families and provide health care to their loved ones who are sick.

14:04Ben Meiselas:Well, Senator, you're talking about political trade-offs and our job is to deliver for the the United States military and the president of the United States. And we look at the cost of a nuclear Iran and we want to prevent that for future generations. And that requires funding and supplementals and this budget and next generation capabilities. And that's why we're here today to request some of that to ensure we can ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear. So you're essentially saying you're asking for literally one point five trillion dollars for a war that President Trump said he already won. You're asking for one point five trillion dollars, unlimited money for bombs, but insufficient money in the American for the American people, for their health care, their food, their housing.

14:44And our farmers. Secretary Rollins, who we have cut SNAP program, we are not funding the losses from emergencies that have happened in blue states, particularly when we had cross. That's not true. False. You're not funding it. But back to you, Secretary Hegseth. And I would like to respond to the fertilizer and gas. Secretary Haig, Seth, you are asking for unlimited money for bombs when people can't feed their families. And I don't know how this administration intends to defend those decisions to the American people.

15:22Ben Meiselas:Not unlimited bombs, Senator. I'm asking for the right bombs at the right time to ensure we can deter our adversaries into the future. And that's why this is a generational investment. And it was the previous administration that didn't fund this department. They're upset. The reason why they are so upset with you and this administration is because the words you have used in the past don't add up about Iran specifically. You said that we had obliterated, quote unquote, Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons. The president made the same claim. Yet eight months later, in February of 2026, the president launched an active war claiming Iran was within two weeks of having a weapon.

15:59So when you say two very different things, the American people don't know who to believe or what to believe. They just know they can't afford their health care. They can't afford their food. They can't afford housing. And our farmers are continuing to suffer. So which is true. Was it obliterated or wasn't it? What's the status?

16:18Ben Meiselas:The nuclear sites under Midnight Hammer were obliterated. But Iranians foolishly continued to attempt to pursue nuclear capabilities, which is why we destroyed their defense industrial base and so many of the other capabilities to ensure they can't get to a nuclear weapon. So we're staying laser focused on the objective and you're trying to make campaign commercials. No, we're not. So listen to this. You also say that you made the missile program, quote, destroyed and made combat ineffective. Quote, Iran's entire ballistic missile production capacity. Every company that builds every component of those missiles has been functionally defeated and destroyed.

16:54and that the missile program, existing stockpiles were depleted and decimated, almost completely ineffective. So why are there missiles left to hit Jordan and result in the loss of life of our brave men and women?

17:06Ben Meiselas:As we stated from the beginning, the Iranian defense industrial base is effectively gone, but they do have underground facilities because they're the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, and they've spent 47 years trying to hide their missiles under mountains, just like their nuclear capabilities, because they would like to get a nuclear weapon to wield it against us. We just don't know what version of the war to believe because it's either over or it's not over. It's within two weeks or it's not two weeks. We have no missiles or we have missiles. And that consternation is why so many New Yorkers are perplexed, stressed out, and find this war to be incredibly unpopular because they don't understand the choices that the president's making.

17:44They don't agree with those choices. Secretary Rollins. So you have cut over 160 ,000 New Yorkers have been kicked off SNAP. What do you have against hardworking New Yorkers, children who need SNAP and seniors who need SNAP?

17:58Ben Meiselas:Well, first of all, diesel is down under Biden versus today, 581 versus 480. Gas is down from Biden today from 484 to 386 today. Fertilizer is down 56 % from Biden highs. So this narrative that you You took office. All of those prices are higher than when you took office. So you are not making life better for New York farmers. That is not true, Senator. And let me tell you what New York is stressed out about. It's the fact that your state is taking prime farmland and turning it into a solar farms. That is absolutely inexcusable. I have visited the New York farmers two times. Two times in upstate New York.

18:39Ben Meiselas:You know, I want to bring in my interview with Senator Gillibrand from New York. Let's bring in that interview. Senator Gillibrand, great to see you. We were showing before your cross-examination of Defense Secretary of Pete Hegsett, that was back on July 21st, where you were calling him out, where he showed up. He wanted$1.5 trillion after claiming they won the war four months. And now we're learning even more alarming information about the interceptor stocks being depleted. The Navy destroyers don't have the anti-ballistics. Our attackums have been depleted. Donald Trump announces fake negotiations with Iran.

19:16Ben Meiselas:They're just mocking us now. I mean, as an American to see Iran mock these fake negotiations and I'm watching the fake negotiations and I'm like, we're getting mocked by Iran. Like what is going on? It's, it's, it's all very embarrassing, but just as Trump bankrupted casinos, it seems like he's bankrupted our military now also. We're, we're, we're out of weapons and Iran knows it. Everyone knows it. What, what do you make of this? Well, Trump has brought this country into a deeply unpopular unauthorized and illegal war and he has literally unlimited money a blank check for bombs and he is unwilling to pay for health care unwilling to pay for our seniors to get their prescription drugs unwilling to pay for medicaid unwilling to pay for food stamps it's disgraceful and so he's making choices for the american people that they have no say in and i think that's what's making these elections as game-changing as they are because people want a different type of leadership.

20:11They want someone who cares about the challenges we have here at home, who cares about the cost of groceries or cost of housing or the cost of health care, which continues to rise under Trump.

20:22Ben Meiselas:A lot of people talk about, oh, he's doing the golden ballroom. He's doing the heliport. He's gilding the statues gold. He's doing the reflecting. When you talk about what Hegseth was asking for with$1.5 trillion, they're reporting that now they're building out these Trump class battleships because Trump likes the way World War I battleships look like. And so they wanted to put 200 billion and then it's 300 billion. And then the numbers just keep on going up to do nuclear battleships because he likes the way they look. And, you know, and it's like, what, what, then they're lying all the time. And to your point, it's like, that's where the trillions of dollars are, are going.

20:58Ben Meiselas:And while the American Americans are having their health care ripped away because dude like battleships the way they looked in World War One, when we know that right now, drone warfare, unmanned submersives can knock out a Trump class battleship, you know, very easily. Battleships, ballrooms and bombs. That is what Trump is fixated on, not the cost of groceries or housing or our health care. And it's a disgrace. Let's talk about also, you know, Trump's also plan. I guess we can add a V there, voting and trying to take away people's vote. Talk about your campaign finance bill. It's a big deal. It needs to be getting more attention.

21:35There's too much money in politics and the people who have the money get to control everything. And so we need money out of politics. When in America today, 100 billionaire families are responsible for one in every six dollars, that's an outrage. It means that they have an outsized voice in our democracy, and it means they set an agenda that doesn't respond to the needs of the American people. We need the American people's voice to be heard. And I think if you get rid of money in politics, people will campaign differently. Instead of going to those fancy living rooms and asking for money, they will be going to subway stops.

22:11They will be going to corner stores. They'll be going to community centers and talking to voters directly about what they care about. And if their campaigns are funded through these democracy dollars of everyday voters, investments by everyday voters, as opposed to the wealthiest among us, it changes everything. And the communities that have had this done where they've actually used democracy dollars or other really good, innovative campaign finance systems, it changes who votes, it changes who runs, and it changes who wins. And I think that's meaningful.

22:46Ben Meiselas:I mean, you see the contrast between in our system, Trump propped up by the oligarchs. And on the other hand, in Canada, you got someone like a prime minister Carney, someone with his experienced and diligent and articulate, you know, and who has now kind of taken the mantle, it seems, of fighting for values and principles that I once thought, you know, the United States president would focus on internationally. But I want to talk about that for a second as well, because Canada, obviously very close to New York, both in geographic location and economically and relationship wise. And I think one of the most damaging things Trump has done amongst many is constant attacks on Canada.

23:27Ben Meiselas:Canada, just the other day, he said, they're nasty, they're nasty people, you know, and the tariffs for the wildfires versus normally we would help and they help us out. We have Midas Canada, a whole Canadian division, you know, and the people there are just livid. They've gone elbows up after what they've seen Trump do, you know, to Canada. Talk about that from your perspective, you know, being a senator from New York, given the proximity. Well, we have a lot of businesses that work cross-border. We have a lot of communities that benefit from Canadians coming down to go shopping, to come to Lake Placid, to tour the Olympic Center.

24:03We have a lot of businesses in Buffalo that people come from Canada to come see Niagara Falls. So we have a lot of tourism and economic engagement and entanglement. And Trump's reckless tariffs have resulted in a lot of those businesses suffering. Businesses' costs have gone up. People have not been able to go across the border in the way they used to go because of these tariffs. A lot of Canadians have just stopped coming to America because Trump has been so rude towards them. And it's very hard for these border communities where they rely on visitors and they rely on tourism. On top of that, the tariffs on Canada affect our everyday spending.