In short
Why it’s “not too early” to discuss the U.S. midterm elections, and how they’re already shaping Trump administration messaging and election rules.
Guests/backgrounds
Katie Simpson and Willie Lowry are CBC Washington correspondents (“Two Blocks from the White House”). Paul Hunter is also present as host/producer. Katie is reporting from CBC’s bureau in Doha.
Key claims
Midterms are a referendum on the party in power and can shift control of Congress (Republicans have a narrow House/Senate margin). Trump’s Iran war messaging and “whiplash” (threats then peace claims) is framed as politically motivated because polls are unfavorable and Trump needs his MAGA coalition to turn out. The episode highlights Trump’s “federalizing elections” ideas, rooted in his false 2020 “stolen election” claims, and the SAVE Act’s voter-ID/passport requirements as potentially disadvantaging lower-income and some communities of color. Democrats are struggling to move beyond anti-Trump messaging and define a positive agenda.
Notable examples
Trump pressuring Texas for mid-decade redistricting; California’s rebuttal redistricting; Georgia election-related investigations; Texas primary example (James Tallarico beating Jasmine Crockett); D.C. posters referencing “Epstein files” and “need a babysitter.”
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Importance of Discussing Midterms Early
0:45 to 2:06
Exploring why it's crucial to talk about the midterm elections now.
“Yes, and that's this week's episode of Two Blocks from the White House.”
Current Political Climate and Midterms
2:06 to 3:36
Analyzing the impact of current events on the upcoming midterm elections.
“We're CBC's Washington Correspondents, two blocks from the White House, although, of course, Katie is not.”
Understanding Midterm Elections
3:36 to 6:32
A deep dive into what midterm elections are and their significance.
“And Donald Trump, if Republicans want to maintain control of the House, that coalition that got behind Donald Trump in the presidential election in 2024, Trump needs those people to show up.”
The Stakes of Redistricting
6:32 to 10:50
Discussion on how redistricting affects the midterm elections and party dynamics.
“What are midterm elections, and why is everybody talking about it here in Washington?”
Redistricting Challenges and Cynicism
11:46 to 14:03
Exploring the implications of redistricting and public cynicism towards elections.
“Willie, a listener on Spotify left us a comment asking how, here's another one for you, how redistricting efforts could affect the midterms.”
Understanding the U.S. Election System
14:03 to 16:30
Learn about the differences in how elections are conducted in the U.S. versus Canada.
“It creates these maps that when you look at them, they don't necessarily make any sense.”
Trump's Election Claims and Their Impact
16:30 to 18:15
Explore Trump's repeated claims of election fraud and their consequences for public trust.
“And so Donald Trump has been musing publicly, talking openly about it in front of journalists, in front of reporters in the Oval Office about so-called federalizing elections.”
The Save America Act: Analyzing Voter ID Laws
18:15 to 20:35
Examine the implications of the Save America Act on voter participation and demographics.
“He said it so often and so frequently at this point that it almost feels there's no longer any pushback against it, which is really dangerous, right?”
Democratic Strategies for Midterm Elections
20:35 to 23:37
Discuss how Democrats are adapting their strategies as they prepare for the midterms.
“I auditioned for a job there many, many, many years ago.”
The Political Climate in Washington D.C.
23:37 to 26:00
Get insights into the current political tensions and public sentiment in D.C.
“with whoever the Republican candidate is going to be.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Paul Hunter:What are you thinking about right now? Hi there, it's Nala here, host of Ideas, a podcast with all kinds of stories for you to think about, from how the number zero changed the world to the secrets of the dark enlightenment movement. Every podcast has a new idea to get your brain thinking, and some surprises, like, did you know that horses inspired the invention of pants? You never know where ideas will take you. So find and follow ideas wherever you get your podcasts and find out what you're missing. Episodes drop every weekday.
0:33Willy Lowry:This is a CBC podcast. Katie, Willie, the big question. Is it too early to talk about the midterm elections? Quick thoughts, Katie?
0:45Paul Hunter:Yes, and that's this week's episode of Two Blocks from the White House. We'd like to thank you for listening to us and spending your time with us here. No, no, no. It is never too early, and that is because so many of the decisions being made by the most powerful people in Washington are shaped by the midterms. And the more we talk about it and the more we understand it, the better.
1:08Katie Simpson:Katie, actually, you had me fooled. I thought we were done. Yes, no, never, basically. I think Katie was pretty spot on. The midterms have the possibility of being so consequential that it's important to talk about them, even though we are still seven months and a week away.
1:29Willy Lowry:We're in total agreement. It is never too early to talk about the midterms in this country. Look, here's the thing. As you note, Willie, they're not until November, but election season is already well underway. Millions of Americans have already voted in primaries in various states. So while we're keeping an eye on the war in Iran, in fact, Katie, once again, you're joining us all the way from our new bureau in Doha. I understand. Congratulations, Katie.
1:57Paul Hunter:Many blocks from the White House. Many blocks.
1:59Willy Lowry:Many, many blocks in the White House. Today, we're going to tell you why it's not too early to talk about the midterms. I'm Paul Hunter.
2:08Paul Hunter:I'm Katie Simpson.
2:10Katie Simpson:And I'm Willie Lowry. We're CBC's Washington Correspondents, two blocks from the White House, although, of course, Katie is not.
2:19Willy Lowry:Katie, it's Tuesday afternoon, and things could change quickly where you are. But after spending the weekend threatening to strike Iran's power plants, Donald Trump then touted peace talks with Iran for, in his words, all caps, of course, a complete and total resolution of our hostilities. What might the midterm elections have to do with all this whiplash messaging from the U.S. president?
2:47Paul Hunter:I suspect that people in the White House are aware that there aren't any polls right now that suggest the current war in the Middle East is popular with Americans. Cost of living is going up. Cost of gas is going up. Americans have come home in caskets. There is uncertainty, instability across the Middle East. And this is not something that American voters in this moment like. And another thing that Donald Trump really has to think about is that he promised his MAGA base that he would not be the president that would get American troops involved in foreign conflicts, these endless wars overseas.
3:26Paul Hunter:Donald Trump was able to win the 2024 vote because he was able to bring people out to the polls that don't necessarily participate on a regular basis. And Donald Trump, if Republicans want to maintain control of the House, that coalition that got behind Donald Trump in the presidential election in 2024, Trump needs those people to show up. And if they look at an ongoing conflict, a long term conflict with wide ranging consequences, those people who might have been attracted to Trump's mega policy saying no more forever wars, they might look at that and be cynical and say, well, he's just like everyone else.
4:02Paul Hunter:If I voted for change, what's the point of participating if the change agent didn't do what he said he was going to do?
4:09Willy Lowry:He needs an off ramp, though, doesn't he? I mean, he needs to be able to declare victory that he achieved what he set out to do because Trump never wants to be seen as not winning. And that's a challenge.
4:19Katie Simpson:But here's the thing. First of all, they did such a poor job of articulating what it was that they were trying to achieve that I think they almost created a situation, especially given that they've killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as so many levels of the regime. I think that any moment they can just kind of say, we won, we did this, war's over. I think that's the off-rap. I think there's also the question, Katie was right to point out, the polls are incredibly unfavorable of this conflict, at least at the moment, right? I think they're hovering around like 40 % approval for the conflict.
5:01Katie Simpson:That's pretty low, obviously. Also, that's right around what the president's approval ratings are at the moment. But there's seven months till the midterms. There's a lot of water that can go under the bridge, right? If he's able to wrap this war up or end it within the next week or weeks, a lot can happen. I think he's banking that the price of gas will fall, price of oil will fall, and it will kind of be an asterisk.
5:29Willy Lowry:If the war ends, if prices drop, if the economy is stronger as a result, I mean, this is if Americans buy things more. This is a very it's a very resilient economy. Right. It's a very consumer driven economy. But those those are some big ifs. But, you know, I'm on the fence about this. Right. I mean, it's like, yes, midterms are always bad for for sitting presidents. But, you know, what they used to Teflon Don was the original nickname for him back in the day when Stormy Daniels and Access Hollywood tape and Russia even through to bleach and sunshine as a as a covid treatment. But he he is resilient and he came back and he won again.
6:15Willy Lowry:So I don't know. It's tough. But it's those are big ifs. If the war ends, if prices drop, those are big things for Trump.
6:23Katie Simpson:And he doesn't necessarily get to decide when the war ends. Iran has a vote. Well, exactly. Willie, we're talking about the midterms, and this might seem a basic question, but it's, and I will admit, I didn't have my head wrapped around him when I came down to D.C., but it is very important.
6:40Willy Lowry:What are midterm elections, and why is everybody talking about it here in Washington?
6:44Katie Simpson:Yeah, it is a really good question. Let me just open my history textbook. So midterms are half an hour. They happen. No. So they're important for a couple of reasons. First of all, they're all about Congress. Right. There's a big difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate. So representatives get elected every two years. They're like MPs. Yeah. But it's kind of insane. Every two years. Every two years. Very, very frequently where senators serve six year terms. But it's really, in many ways, a litmus test for the party in power. Historically, the party in power loses a few seats or obviously depends on the year.
7:24Katie Simpson:And this year, Republicans hold a very, very narrow majority, meaning that just a few seats, if just a few seats change hands, that could switch.
7:37Willy Lowry:It's always important to point out the president's name, any city is not on the ballot, right? It's just about congressmen and congresswomen. But it's always viewed through the prism of the president because it's the first chance voters have to respond to the first couple of years of any president's term, right? And so they may vote against the party of the president simply because they're kind of peeved at the president. So we had, what was it? Obama said it was, he got a shellacking, I think, in 2010. His first midterms, Bush got a thumping, as he put it.
8:07Katie Simpson:And very much designed by the founders to serve as a counterweight, a counterbalance to the president, right? If the people are upset with those first two years, they get an opportunity to hold them in check or hold that person in check.
8:24Willy Lowry:And one result of that is it's like it's perpetually election mode in this country. Because as soon as one election finishes, in this case it was the presidential cycle a year and a half ago, I guess, a year and a bit ago. Boom. Start all over again because the midterms, the next round is only two years away. It's like re-electing the House of Commons every two years. Every all 435 representatives, those are the people in the House of Representatives, as opposed to the Senate, as you say, come up for reelection every two years, presidential election years. Then two years later, the midterms. And then two years later, the next presidential cycle.
9:04Willy Lowry:It's kind of it's no wonder it's all about politics in this country, because it is it is always election season. Yeah.
9:11Paul Hunter:And it's also always about fundraising as well, because it's so expensive to try and run these campaigns. to try and stay relevant. If you want to hold onto that seat for more than two years, you've got to be constantly, constantly raising money because it is so expensive to carry out campaigns.
9:27Willy Lowry:And by the way, to expound on your Senate thing, just for the sake of my own clarity, it's one-third of the Senate every two years. And each time they're elected, they're in for six years. So you don't come up again for six years. Two years later, it's the next third. Two years later, it's the next third. And then two years after that, it's back to the first third again. Man, it's complicated.
9:51Katie Simpson:It's super complicated. For the record, 35 Senate seats at play in this upcoming midterm.
9:57Willy Lowry:I'm glad you brought that up, Willie, because, you know.
10:01Katie Simpson:I do love this map.
10:02Willy Lowry:This is my map. This is my hand-drawn map of the United States. And you can see it, and I can see it. I can see it.
10:06Katie Simpson:It feels like you're still thinking Christmas.
10:08Willy Lowry:When they talk, you know, we talk about the midterms, we often think about the House of Representatives, because that's always in play every two years. A year ago, who would have thought that we could have a conversation that maybe the Democrats who are expected to win back the House might find a way to win back the Senate? It's not easy. They talk about the path, right? Because what that means is which states are air quotes here in play, which are ones that could flip it. It's it's hard in this in as some politicians here might put it in these divided states of America. You know, Republican states tend to stay Republican.
10:43Willy Lowry:Democrat states tend to stay Democrat, except in times of real political turmoil, which arguably we're in right now. And so you've got, you know, people look at Maine possibly flipping from Republican to Democrat and North Carolina may well, very likely Texas. How many times have I done stories, all of us, on whether Texas could turn? But there's there's enough states maybe in play. Man, if if that were the case, these midterms, that Democrats win back the House and the Senate. Man, all bets would be off. That that changes the game, doesn't it?
11:28Paul Hunter:Floor crossers, separatist movements, Trump's tariff threats. struggling to keep up? Power & Politics has you covered with our weekly wrap. Every Saturday, we bring together our tuned-in political strategists. Get caught up on the week that was and what it means for what's next by following Power & Politics wherever you get your podcasts.
11:50Willy Lowry:Willie, a listener on Spotify left us a comment asking how, here's another one for you, how redistricting efforts could affect the midterms. You've got another 45 minutes? Take that one.
12:01Katie Simpson:All right, I'm on it. So redistricting, first of all, it is a completely legal, normal part of the American process, but usually done every 10 years after a census. Essentially, the redistricting is done to better reflect the current demographics of a place, which, of course, change over time. But what we're seeing play out right now is this mid-decade redistricting where it's essentially kind of become politicized. You have the parties in power in each state or in many states trying to reconfigure the electoral map to favor their parties. You had Trump really pressuring Texas to do that. They did that, essentially redrawing the map to give them potentially five more House seats.
12:57Katie Simpson:Then California essentially did a rebuttal doing the exact same thing, redrawing their map to give Democrats potentially five more seats. We have redistricting happening in several states, including Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, all potentially in the process as well of redistricting, not guaranteed, though. So it potentially could play an important role in November.
13:25Willy Lowry:I think it speaks to the stakes this time around. It's not they're within the rules, but it's unusual in this cycle.
Read the full transcript
13:33Paul Hunter:The other thing to mention is that it starts this never ending cycle. And we went to North Carolina about a month ago. We went and specifically did a story about redistricting, and we talked about what was going on with gerrymandering, which is when redistricting happens to give one party a political advantage over another. And you get different districts that look like, in North Carolina, there was a district drawn by Democrats that looked like a snake. There's a dog-shaped district right now in North Carolina. It creates these maps that when you look at them, they don't necessarily make any sense.
14:07Paul Hunter:You're like, what's going on here? But it creates this never ending cycle of who's going to one up the next person, who's going to one up the next person. And the thing is, Democrats in the past have done it, too. It is like it's I know that in this moment, Donald Trump, you know, is openly saying let's create more seats so that we can maintain control. He said that specifically about Texas. it plays into cynicism and people are like what's the point of going out and participating and exercising my democratic right when you know things are set up to have a certain outcome
14:38Katie Simpson:the the shape of the districts kind of remind me i mean it's important to note right for a canadian context it is very different from how we do things in canada obviously right the election
14:50Willy Lowry:the u.s elections canada federal a non-partisan federal body that looks at well what's the right way for everybody to determine the boundaries of where people vote. In the United States, it's on a state-by-state basis, and it is partisan, and it is a very different way of determining, you know, even the way elections are run on election day for the most part, which, speaking of, Katie, so here, now there's talk about federal, I made air quotes there, but I don't need to, federalizing the upcoming midterm elections. Katie, that, you know, Willie's taken two tough ones in a row. It's your turn now.
15:26Willy Lowry:What a thrill. You get to explain federalizing the upcoming midterms.
15:31Paul Hunter:So I think that...
15:33Willy Lowry:Did you hear the deep breath?
15:34Katie Simpson:She's sorry, that's a bad connection. Lucky me. I'm under a bridge. I was like, I gotta go.
15:40Paul Hunter:The alarms are going off. I gotta disconnect right away. No, it's... So I think for a Canadian audience, for Canadian context, Willie, you mentioned Elections Canada. You guys are talking about Elections Canada. You know, Canada has this body that sort of runs how things are going to go and is done in a nonpartisan way so that it doesn't erode trust and sort of undermine credibility of, you know, something that is so important, like a federal election. In the United States, these elections are run by the state. And there is some thought around it. It's actually it's thought to be something that's a positive because it's harder for foreign interference if that if that were to be an issue, if there was some sort of cyber attack or something like that.
16:22Paul Hunter:It's better for security when it's a patchwork of different states running elections versus one body doing it. And it's also in the Constitution. And so Donald Trump has been musing publicly, talking openly about it in front of journalists, in front of reporters in the Oval Office about so-called federalizing elections. And he called out specific states. He said that he thinks that people within his administration should control how elections are run in certain states. And it's come as he makes complaints about election results. And this essentially all gets back to a core point of Donald Trump's sort of political career, arguing falsely that elections are rigged and elections are stolen and that he still to this day claims the 2020 election was stolen from him, that he actually won that, that there was election fraud in a number of different states.
17:15Paul Hunter:He's particularly focused on the state of Georgia, even launching some kind of new investigation. There's something going on with federal authorities that's sort of been going on quietly in Georgia in recent weeks and months. And if you start talking about this now, if you start undermining credibility in the election process, it gets people to not necessarily believe the results and watch what happened in the weeks and months after the vote in 2020. I attended a number of Stop the Steal rallies where people believed what Donald Trump was saying about election fraud. And then, of course, we all saw, we all witnessed what happened on January 6th, where it was sort of the ultimate culmination of people who supported Donald Trump going to the Capitol.
17:57Paul Hunter:Many of them believing, believing truly they were doing, some of them have described it to me as they were doing their patriotic duty because they thought the election was stolen and the election was not stolen. So these are powerful things for Donald Trump to say, and it could, again, have very powerful consequences.
18:14Katie Simpson:You know, allegations that the elections were stolen. He said it so often and so frequently at this point that it almost feels there's no longer any pushback against it, which is really dangerous, right? He's creating his own narrative, and it's a narrative that a significant amount of the country believes at this point.
18:36Willy Lowry:All of this was born out of the false allegation that there was fraud to begin with. How do end? It's as if Trump is trying to say we've got to end the fraud that never happened. But hence as well now, Donald Trump pushing hard for what's known as what Trump calls the Save America Act, but is technically the Save Act, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Here's Trump on that.
19:01Katie Simpson:The most important thing we can have is what's called the Save America Act. don't make any deal in anything unless you include voter ID and you have to be a citizen to vote. You have to show citizenship to vote. Very easy to do.
19:17Willy Lowry:There's a lot in the SAVE Act, but to pick up on the last thing that Trump said there, it's very easy to do, and that's the point that Democrats make in opposing it, that it's not for many, many, many Americans, is it comes down to voter ID when you're casting that ballot, And what the SAVE Act is all about is you've got to prove who you are. It's reverse onus. You've got to walk in there and say, this is really me. And the way you do that per the SAVE Act is with a passport. And the problem is half of the country doesn't have a passport and they're expensive.
19:49Paul Hunter:It leads to a whole range of questions about who does this affect and who is going to have a harder time if they want to show up and vote. And are there questions from Democrats to say, well, look, this could disproportionately hurt lower income voters, particularly could this hurt communities of color, those kinds of things. And those are some of the questions we're hearing in this moment.
20:12Willy Lowry:And as Democrats would also underline, historically, a lot of the people affected, in their view, by the SAVE Act are people who historically have voted Democrat. So the supposition here from the Democratic perspective is that there's something nefarious going on here, that this is, in fact, a way to shrink the votes going toward Democrats and grow them for Republicans. Let's move on to Democrats. Carol D. Decker in Tilsonburg, Ontario. Fun fact, Willie? Tilsonburg, CKOT Radio. I auditioned for a job there many, many, many years ago. I fear you say audition. They didn't give it to you? They didn't give it to me.
20:51Willy Lowry:What were they thinking? I'm still bitter. As you should be. I didn't get the job. I think you should cancel the question because you need to cancel the job. Tilsonburg's loss is our gain.
21:00Paul Hunter:No questions.
21:01Willy Lowry:Well, I love Tilsonburg, though. Gateway to Simcoe. Carol D. Decker from Tilsonburg asked us what the Democrats are doing to prepare for the midterm elections. Willie, back to you. What are Dems up to and how big a deal is this for them as a party?
21:17Katie Simpson:Well, I think it's a huge deal for them as a party, right? They are trying to find an identity. There's this push and pull between the more progressive wing, which also happens to be, of course, both the younger and the older wings and the more conservative or centrist wing. And I think if you look at what happened just earlier this month in Texas with the primary that saw James Tallarico pretty handily beat Jasmine Crockett, it would suggest that they're leaning into candidates who have more broader appeal trying to win that kind of moderate vote into some of the Republicans. but it's kind of the eternal internal question among Democrats that push and pull between moderate and progressive wings.
22:04Willy Lowry:I think the challenge for Democrats is that they have kind of been banking on the anti-Trump vote, not the pro-Democrat vote. And that's never a recipe for success. No, it's not. It's not. It's the rage vote, right? And you might, you know, midterms are the place where rage vote can come into play. You know, let's be honest, right? But I think if there's a criticism for Democrats broadly, it's that what are you going to do? It's like it's like seven up the on cola, right? Don't tell me what you're not. Tell me what you are and then maybe I'll vote for you. Katie?
22:34Paul Hunter:Yeah, the Democrats have had a really significant challenge sort of laying out a vision for what they will do for the average voter in order to sort of win them back. And Donald Trump did such a much better job in terms of whether he was going to make good on his promises or not. what he said to Americans was enough to motivate a massive coalition of voters to get him back into the White House. And we saw in 2024 that the argument that I'm not Trump and democracy's in jeopardy, those were not arguments strong enough to win back voters. Democrats appear to still be trying to learn from their losses.
23:11Paul Hunter:And if they can do well in the midterm elections, it will largely sort of be another fact-finding exercise. Okay, what candidates were able to, you know, win back seats? What kind of campaigns did they run? And what does that tell us about what voters want to see? And they need to take that information and then shape it into something to get them to a spot for 2028 where they're competitive with whoever the Republican candidate is going to be.
23:40Willy Lowry:Katie, I was walking to work this morning. One of the things about D.C. is these, I'm sure both of you have seen, The sticker and poster wars, the anti-Trump stuff gets up all over the place. And I saw one this morning, and it was in the style of those old Uncle Sam, I want you for the U.S. Army posters. And, of course, it was Trump's face under the top hat of Stars and Stripes. And it said, I want you to die protecting the Epstein files. Epstein, Katie, is a word that we haven't said too many times yet on this podcast. What could that name mean for the midterms, Katie?
24:13Paul Hunter:All over buildings up in my neighborhood, there are also some posters put up showing Donald Trump, a photo of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. And then it says at the bottom, need a babysitter. And then it has a link to a website. So that that is just if you want to know what the tone is like in Washington, it gets even worse, doesn't it? People that live there. Oh, yeah, there's there's plenty of those kinds of things around the city and you see them all the time. um donald trump did not get out there and sell this war to tell americans this is this is what we need to do and here's why he he has not done that in the way that we've seen other administrations sell wars to the american public to try and build sentiment around it and when there's no sort of narrative and the narrative is all over the map it really creates a vacuum and so people are asking questions about well why is this necessary and one of the things that's sort of filling that vacuum are conversations and questions from whether they're people running for office, whether it's everyday Americans, they're asking, you know, is this something meant to be a distraction?
25:15Paul Hunter:And one of the things that had been causing so much trouble for Donald Trump is the Epstein files. And it was a different kind of trouble that Donald Trump has ever faced because it deeply divided his MAGA base. Again, same with what we're seeing with what's going with the ongoing conflict. These are two things that have really caused backlash among key members of his coalition of supporters. These are things that are upsetting the MAGA base that Donald Trump is going to need to rely on for the midterm elections. But again, people are legitimately asking the question, you know what we're talking about right now?
25:51Paul Hunter:We're talking about what's going on in the Middle East, this massive conflict that has huge implications for people who live in the region and all over the world. And you know what we're not talking about? We're not talking about this massive, horrific scandal directly linked to the U.S. president in terms of all of his time as being a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has been very adamant about that, saying that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club or his private club because he found him to be a creep. But still, there are so many references to Donald Trump and the Epstein files.
26:29Paul Hunter:It leads to all of this speculation because there isn't a narrative about the war that Americans are necessarily buying into. And so it naturally leads to speculation. And this is one of the things that people are speculating about.
26:43Katie Simpson:This is going to sound a little crass, but I think it's important. And I think it's probably part of the administration's calculus. Right now, the American death toll is still relatively low. If that were to change, I think that's when you would have serious political ramifications. So I think the administration thinks if they can wrap this up while the death toll remains low, they again, they have a chance of kind of moving on. But if it rises, that will really, really eat away and potentially divide the MAGA base even more.
27:20Willy Lowry:So as we head toward the midterms, Donald Trump, who promised no war and the U.S. is in a war, who promised low gas prices and gas prices have gone through the roof, who had talked about all the stuff that Katie just did regarding the Epstein files and they're still not completely out there. Seven months to go. Normally this time we answer one of your questions on another subject that someone has written into us, but this week the whole episode was driven by questions from listeners, even if we didn't read all of them out. So it's been fantastic. Keep them coming. And thanks to listeners for all those questions.
28:00Willy Lowry:If you do have a question for us or feedback about what you're hearing, shoot us an email, WashingtonPod, all one word, at cbc.ca. That's WashingtonPod at cbc.ca. Or leave a comment for us on Spotify.
28:14Paul Hunter:And make sure you listen to us and follow us on your favorite podcast app.
28:18Willy Lowry:Thanks, Katie. Thanks, Willie. We'll do it all again next week. Sounds good. Thanks, Paul. We miss you, Katie.
28:22Paul Hunter:Hopefully I'm back in studio next week, so we're all two blocks from the White House together.
28:27Willy Lowry:Bye-bye.
28:31Willy Lowry:For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.
From the publisher
Winning is a word U.S. President Donald Trump likes to hear, and while midterm elections are months away, the November vote is definitely driving his decisions today.
With the cost of living and gas prices continuing to soar, the midterms are a chance for voters to weigh in on whether Trump has delivered on his promise to put America first, considering his administration's war with Iran and other operations stretching beyond the U.S. borders.
CBC's Washington correspondents Paul Hunter, Willy Lowry and Katie Simpson bring us up to speed on how the midterms are influencing the political calculus, what they're watching for and why the outcome of this vote is so crucial to Republicans and Democrats alike.
