So this is what
Donald Trump is waking up to tod
It is the second straight day
that Rupert Murdoch's
New York Post has taken aim at h
Trump says that he is not to bla
for the midterm performance,
but some high profile Republican
they simply don't see it that wa
Almost of these Trump endorse ca
that you see
in competitive states as have lo
And it's a huge loss for Trump.
I think it sends a message to th
along with some other states,
that this is truly a pivot point
for the Republican Party.
This is a time that Donald Trump
no doubt in the rearview mirror
and it's time to move on with th
It's time to move on
with candidate quality.
It's an opportunity to reassess
what Trump's role is inside
the Republican Party.
And are people willing to stand
rather than caving in on him?
The question is, does
the rest of the Republicans
have the courage
to stand up for Trump
or do they once again acquiesce
because we all know him?
He's not going to take the blame
for this, at least in his own mi
This is certainly
a rejection of the MAGA base.
The governor DeSantis
did it incredibly well in Florid
He just knocked
the cover off the ball there.
And I think people are now sayin
okay, we're moving forward.
And if you just look at the
the Trump
versus DeSantis stuff today,
it's a heck of a lot different
than it was just three months ag
and definitely a year ago.
You know,
I think Governor DeSantis
is the biggest single winner
of the night.
And he will almost certainly bec
the rallying point for everybody
in the Republican Party
who wants to move beyond Preside
Let's discuss now
CNN political analyst
and senior political corresponde
for The New York Times, Maggie
Haberman, is here.
She's also the author of the boo
Confidence Man
The Making of Donald Trump
in the Breaking of America.
Good morning.
I don't even have to say anythin
Just did you see what happened?
I did.
What I'm most struck by
in that montage
that we just saw is Newt
Gingrich and the lieutenant
governor of Georgia.
Because Newt Gingrich
is somebody
who has been
incredibly close to Donald Trump
has been talking up his strength
Lieutenant governor of Georgia
is not a voice
that we hear from repeatedly.
The others are generally people
who have been pretty critical of
We are at a real inflection poin
Clearly, the elites in the party
with Trump.
We only have to look at this to
just where the elites in the GOP
That doesn't necessarily
mean that translates to the base
And so I think we are going to s
I think Trump is
at his most vulnerable
than he has been since January s
But whether somebody moves forwa
against him, we'll see what
when will we know and how. Right
I'm not saying what month,
but what indicates to you
that we will know
if this time is different?
Well, among other things,
these races that are not settled
have to get settled.
So if Kerry wins for governor in
if Laxalt wins in Nevada,
if Blake Masters
somehow pulls it out,
although at the moment,
that looks harder to see.
What would ever happens
in the Senate race in Alaska,
because that was a key target
of his because of impeachment.
That will be telling if the
if his candidates pull it out,
then it's going to be that
he had a rough night in Pennsylv
and a few other specific spots.
If not,
then you are looking at a lot of
these candidates had tougher rac
than they should have given ever
we will know in the next few mon
If, among other things,
DOJ moves forward against him,
does Ron DeSantis start making m
than he's been doing?
And DeSantis is really
the one to watch, as we just hea
Trump is never going to acknowle
that something is wrong.
And folks around him
spent all day yesterday insistin
nothing bad really happened.
Something bad happened.
We're just not sure what it mean
What was he saying
yesterday behind the scenes?
Because I know he's
tweeting and reviews
posting on his website about
he personally believes
he was successful,
but Republicans
themselves were not on Tuesday n
Right? It was.
It was for some people,
it was disappointing.
But I did well was essentially h
And that's also not true by the
like he did well in some places.
Privately, according to multiple
I talked to, he was very angry.
The focal point of his anger
was the Oz race in particular
because that was not
a natural fit for him
and he was convinced to do it.
And of course,
he never takes responsibility
for any of his own decisions.
It's always that somebody
some staffer tricked him.
And I think Caitlin to your ques
this is something that I heard
a lot of complaining
about from people around him yes
You know, his his
his his aides who were in his wo
paid aides are all insisting
nothing's wrong.
Status quo, everything goes forw
Other people are saying,
how many years are we going
to spend blaming it on staff?
And so
and I think you were going to he
more of that as we go forward.
One big question
is, does it delay his announceme
I know there have been some peop
even on the record,
Kayleigh McEnany, Jason Miller
saying he should wait,
not not do it,
but wait until after December si
which is when that Georgia runof
They all in his world
think that he should do that.
Now, how forcefully
they make that case to him
versus say it to each other
is always the open question.
But that is
that is the key date
to watch for next week.
He, I think, does not want
to a bunch of people close to hi
also are worried
it will show some sign of weakne
he's going to get blamed
if he continues to go
ahead and Walker loses.
What do you make of Mike Pence
out with this op ed today?
His book comes out Tuesday
the same day Trump
is going to make this big
announcement from Mar a Lago.
What do you make of him?
He's I mean, as Don,
some pointed out, he's selling a
He could have said all this stuf
to the public,
put it on the record in the days
following January 6th and he did
or to the House Select Committee
Yes. There you go.
This is
there's an alternate universe
where this is his house
select committee testimony.
But that said,
I think it's an important part
of the historical record.
I think that he and
his folks have voiced
issues with the select committee
that they consider
to be the process
in how things were conducted.
It's pretty striking, Poppy,
hearing Pence talking about this
in his own words.
I mean, he is talking about
he confirms
much of the reporting
that's been out there already.
So, yes,
there are people
who are going to read this and s
we knew this, except we didn't k
In first person from Mike Pence,
he explains why he didn't
want to leave the building.
And it's not because he thought
that he was going
to be essentially kidnaped
by the Secret Service as part of
It's that he didn't
want the image of his caravan fl
the or,
you know,
his motorcade fleeing the Capito
He confirms conversations
that he had with Trump.
He describes
this lengthy pressure campaign.
And then a really interesting mo
after January six
and his first conversation with
I think it's five days
later orchestrated by Trump's
son in law and order.
Trump has a moment where he says
what if,
what basically
what if that rally didn't happen
Then it's too terrible to end th
That's the only time I have hear
of any real reflection from Trum
And it was fascinating.
It's interesting
that you read it that way
with the whole motorcade
leaving the Capitol, because I
you know, for me,
I thought, well, was this about
for Mike Pence?
Because he could have left the C
and still with his dignity
and still did what he had to do
his constitutional his oath
to the Constitution.
But he could have also stood up
faster and stronger
to the former president.
And it may not have gotten that
He said, you know,
I had compassion for the people
when I drove up and I saw,
you know,
the people at the rally
as I was on my way to the Capito
I had compassion for them.
Perhaps if he had been more hone
with the former president
and with those people,
then it would not have gotten to
that moment. I don't.
So I read him staying there, as
not the way that you had.
I feel that this is reputation r
Mike Pence,
this book.
And I don't ascribe to the belie
that Mike Pence is a hero
because he did his job.
We have to have higher standards
especially for elected officials
Especially if you are the person
second in power.
You have to be able
to stand up to the boss
when you know that
you're on the right side of hist
The law is with you and it's you
So don't
I think there are a lot of peopl
who feel the way you do.
And we've heard that criticism
not just about Pence,
but a number of former Trump aid
The way that I have come to look
looking at everything that happe
and just given the intensity
of everything that was happening
during that
three month
period of time,
people in the administration,
those of us covering it,
it's sort of shocking to look ba
and look at how much was taking
I am not sure.
I think Pence is in a different
so I agree with you
that I think that if he had said
something publicly, it might hav
been different.
I actually am no
longer convinced that much of
what any one person could have d
Bill Barr
did come out in December
and say there was no widespread
fraud and Trump just rolled
right over that
and look to find other people
who were going to do the job
in Pence's case.
And Pence said, I'm not going to
and they would have just proceed
without him.
I wonder a lot
about what would have happened
at the end of the final two week
Had the riot not happened.
Would Trump
have walked out of that door wil
Would. So there are so many unkn
I hear what you're saying,
and I think that there are peopl
as I said, who do feel that way.
I just don't know that
I think that one person saying
I agree with you matter
just if you look at
and again, he says in his book
and in this, you know,
the clip that this op ed or what
is basically it's an excerpt,
an excerpt from. That's right.
But when you
when you look at
what he says, when he says,
you know,
I wanted to give people the oppo
to discuss legal
challenges, there were no legiti
or legitimate challenges to the
There were no legitimate challen
And when and what ended. Right.
So that's where people believe
he should have just cut it off t
instead of giving oxygen
to the election deniers in offic
That's all I'm saying.
And I think it's a very valid ar
but I also understand,
you know,
where he is coming from in terms
you can make the broader argumen
that this is what happens when y
to sign up for working for Trump
And I think that that's
sort of part of the problem.
But I also personally, as a
as a journalist,
I am interested in what the form
president has to say. Yeah, very