REPORTER JEREMY PETERS. SO, WE’RE GOING TO GET TO ALL
THE RESULTS, BUT I JUST WANT TO
GIVE YOU A QUICK TAKE ON MY TAKE
FROM THE PRIMARIES LAST NIGHT.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE LAST
HOUR, BUT THE NUMBER ONE TAKE
AWAY IN REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES,
DONALD TRUMP IS THE KING MAKER.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT IN THE SHOW,
TALKED ABOUT IT FOR THE PAST
SEVERAL WEEKS.
SEVERAL WEEKS. ADAM PUTNAM SPENT 20 YEARS
PREPARING FOR LAST NIGHT.
DONALD TRUMP CAME IN WITH ONE
ENDORSEMENT, SIDETRACKED HIS
POLITICAL CAREER AND HELPED RON
DESANTES WIN THAT ELECTION IN A
LANDSLIDE.
LANDSLIDE. REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES, MAKE NO
DOUBT ABOUT IT, JUST LIKE SARAH
PALIN WAS THE KING MAKING IN
2010 FOR REPUBLICANS, DONALD
TRUMP IS THE KING MAKER IN 2018.
THE SECOND LESSON, DEMS HISTORIC
POSSIBILITIES THIS YEAR SHOULD
NOT MASK HOW FAR LEFT THEY’VE
GONE, AROUNDND THEY ARE GOING LE
THE KEY MARQUEE STATES, GEORGIA,
FLORIDA, THOSE ARE STATES IN THE
DEEP SOUTH.
DEEP SOUTH. BUT THEY HAVE CANDIDATES, THEY
HAVE BLACK CANDIDATES THAT ARE
TALKING ABOUT MEDICARE FOR ALL.
ALSO AGAIN, ADOPTING MORE OF A
BERNIE SANDERS APPROACH TO
POLITICS THAN SAY A BILL CLINTON
APPROACH.
APPROACH. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY COULD
ALSO BE THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS
NOT ONLY IN THEIR RACE FOR THE
SORT OF ELECTION TURNOUT WE SAW
IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA BUT ALSO
FOR PEOPLE LIKE BILL NELSON WHO
COULD REALLY BENEFIT BY THE
VICTORY LAST NIGHT.
NUMBER THREE, WE HAVE TO BE ON
GUARD.
GUARD. DONALD TRUMP WILL ALMOST
CERTAINLY USE THAT IN HIS
ATTACKS AGAINST THE MEDIA TO
MAKE THIS A RACIAL BATTLE, A
RACIAL, POLITICAL WAR.
AND AS MICHAEL STEELE SAID, HE
STARTED SCRATCHING AT THAT LAST
NIGHT.
NIGHT. NUMBER FOUR, WHICH 20/20
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATS WILL GO TO GEORGIA AND
FLORIDA AND WHAT WILL THEY SAY?
EITHER OF THOSE TWO DEMOCRATS IN
GEORGIA AND FLORIDA, IF THEY
WIN, THEN THEY BECOME KING
MAKERS IN 2020.
AND NUMBER FIVE, CAN A
COMBINATION OF THE
HILLARY/OBAMA/BERNIE SANDERS
HILLARY/OBAMA/BERNIE SANDERS COALITION BE CREATED AND BE
BROUGHT TOGETHER TO HELP
DEMOCRATS WIN?
DEMOCRATS WIN? THAT REMAINS THE BIG QUESTION.
MIKE BARNACLE, THAT’S A QUESTION
THAT’S GOING TO DETERMINE THE
FATE OF SO MANY OF THESE
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES. CAN YOU BRING TWO SIDES OF THIS
DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT SPLIT
APART, THE BERNIE SIDE AND THE
CLINTON SIDE, THAT SPLIT APART,
CAN YOU BRING THEM TOGETHER AND
IN 2018 CAN EVERYBODY WORK
TOGETHER TO HELP DEMOCRATS WIN
SOME PRETTY HISTORIC RACES THAT
ARE IN FRONT OF THEM IN
NOVEMBER?
NOVEMBER? >> JOE, THERE’S GOING TO BE A
LOT OF DIVISION IN THE CAMPAIGNS
THIS FALL.
THIS FALL. THERE’S GOING TO BE DIVISIONS
WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AS
YOU JUST POINTED OUT.
THE SANDERS WRING, THE
SANDERS/ELIZABETH WARREN WING
FROM THE MORE CENTRIST WING OF
THE DEMOCRATS.
THE DEMOCRATS. THERE’S GOING TO BE THAT
DIVISION THAT’S ALREADY
UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US.
AND THERE IS CERTAINLY GOING TO
BE, AGAIN, AS YOU POINTED OUT
AND AS MICHAEL STEELE POINTED
OUT EARLIER, RACE IS GOING TO BE
A FACTOR, A BIG FACTOR IN THESE
CAMPAIGNS, ESPECIALLY I THINK IN
FLORIDA WHERE THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES WILL
ABSOLUTELY ENGAGE IN A RACIAL
WAY TO TRY TO DIVIDE THE STATE
AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR
THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE.
>> MICHAEL STEELE, DEPENDING ON
WHICH WAY THE RACES GO, IF
REPUBLICANS WIN IN GEORGIA AND
FLORIDA, IF REPUBLICANS HOLD ON
TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE, IF
REPUBLICANS DO FAIRLY WELL IN
THE HOUSE AND DON’T BLEED AS
MANY SEATS AS THEY CURRENTLY
EXPECT, IT WILL BE SEEN AS A
MASSIVE VICTORY FOR DONALD
TRUMP, BUT THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> IF DEMOCRATS WIN THE GEORGIA
GUBERNATORIAL RACE, IF DEMOCRATS
WIN THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC RACE,
THIS IS NOT ME ROOTING FOR
DEMOCRATS IN THESE TWO STATES,
IT’S JUST STATING THE TRUTH,
THAT IS A REVOLUTION.
THAT IS NOT JUST A POLITICAL
REVOLUTION, THAT IS A SOCIETAL
REVOLUTION.
REVOLUTION. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT
THE NEW SOUTH FOR 30 YEARS.
THAT WOULD USHER IN THE NEW
SOUTH BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
EXTREMISM AND THE RACISM OF
DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. WELL, YOUR FIFTH POINT WAS FOR
ME REALLY ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT POINTS TO WHAT YOU’VE
JUST SAID BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES
TALK ABOUT HOW DEMOCRATS ARE
ABLE TO COALESCE AROUND THIS
IDEA OF, YES, WE’RE DESPERATE
AND WE HAVE THESE DIFFERENT
PARTS OF THE PARTY, BUT THIS IS
ABOUT PULLING TOGETHER WHAT WE
NEED TO WIN AND HOW DISCIPLINED
THEY WILL BE TO DO THAT.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FLORIDA
RACE, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT NOT
REALLY TOUTED THAT MUCH, BUT THE
IMPACT OF TOM STYER, GEN-X, THE
PARKLAND STUDENTS OUT THERE
ENGAGING POLITICALLY, THOSE
FORCES HAVE A RIPPLE EFFECT
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
YOU’LL SEE IT COME INTO PLAY IN
GEORGIA.
GEORGIA. YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
HOW THE DEMOCRATS WILL PULL
TOGETHER THIS COALITION WITH
DONALD TRUMP SORT OF PUTTING
THIS POISON OF RACE AND SORT OF
FEEDING THIS WHITE NATIONALIST
MEME AND ALL OF THAT IN STATES
LIKE FLORIDA WILL BE VERY, VERY
IMPORTANT TO THE OUTCOME COME
NOVEMBER.
NOVEMBER. >> AND I JUST WONDER IF
REPUBLICANS ARE SMART ENOUGH TO
UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THAT
RACE BAITING AND SOME OF THAT
HATRED MAY WORK IN PRIMARY
RACES, BUT BOY, IT BACKFIRES IN
THE GENERAL ELECTION.
>> OH, YEAH.
>> AND I JUST DON’T KNOW IF
THEY’LL BE ABLE TO SHIFT GEARS.
DONALD TRUMP HASN’T BEEN ABLE TO
FOR 18 MONTHS AND HE’S NOT GOING