amna: After his state of the
union address, president Biden
is taking his message on the
road, making stops in
battleground states and
outlining his plans for the
upcoming political season.
For analysis on this and more of
the week's political news, it's
time for brooks and Capehart.
That's "New York Times"
columnist David brooks, and
Jonathan Capehart, associate
editor for "The Washington
post."
Good to see you both.
We spent some time together
watching the state of the union
on Tuesday.
We talked about this on the
night as well.
The president focused a lot on
the economy, and a lot of
specifics.
Things like junk fees, credit
card fees, bringing down the
cost of prescription drugs.
He is now working in a divided
congress.
He made a lot of pledges that
night.
How many can he see through?
Jonathan: That remains to be
seen.
We know why.
Speaker Mccarthy and his caucus
are not terribly interested in
accomplishments that will make
the president look good.
But what I think the president
was doing by looking at all
these seemingly narrow things
was communicating to the
American people, I see your
pain, I know what you're going
through.
You are being nickeled and
diamond, and I am on it.
The other thing about the
president focusing on the
economy, he has a record.
That last congress was
successful for him.
A lot of the things he passed
will come to fruition, or at
least start, this year and next
year.
He is setting things up to say,
I will be breaking a lot of
ground, cutting a lot of
ribbons, and in your faces for
the next two years to remind you
of all the things that we,
meaning the
administration, have done for
you.
I think that is what the state
of the union was all about.
Amna: He did carry out a
real-time negotiation, which is
interesting to see.
He drew out enough boos from
Republicans when he referred to
the handful of Republicans who
discussed entitlement reform.
The president seems to think he
secured a pledge that no one
will be touching social security
or medicare.
Was it a defective?
David: I think it was effective.
I like my democratic friends to
be happy.
Rick Scott is the senator from
Florida who said we should
sunset laws after five years,
and that was seized on as they
will cut your medicare and
social security.
Maybe, maybe not.
Whatever he was selling, Mitch
Mcconnell was not buying.
There was no shot the
Republicans would be against or
for cutting entitlement
spending.
There is a sign.
How much American politics has
moved.
2012, you had a lot of
Republicans saying we need to
root reform -- we need to reform
entitlements.
You had a lot of Republicans and
Democrats who were
pro-globalization.
Let's be partners with China.
On every Sigel one of these
issues, if you looked at that
Biden speech, it is clearly a
post trump speech.
Biden, a Democrat, speaking
during a different manner than
trump does, is secure the
border, we are taking on China,
no more off shoring.
It is a bunch of trumpy issues
done with more substance,
frankly.
But the whole focus of American
politics H shifted toward
the working class and the
heartland.
And trump really is somewhat
response will for that shift in
attention.
Amna: You are almost describing
america first, but with a
Biden lens.
Jonathan: With a heart and
empathy for the people who have
been left behind.
I want to pick up on one other
thing about this real-time
negotiation that happened before
our eyes.
Not bad for N 80-year-old
man.
A lot of people worry about, he
has lost his step, he is too
old.
That is the biggest platform he
will have this year to talk to
the American people, and in
real-time the American people
saw him corralled the
Republicans into a corner and
make them applied something that
they will soon regret.
[Applause]
-- [Laughter]
David: I think it made them feel
better about the campaign they
are entering into.
I have heard some disquiet,
especially about Sarah Huckabee
Sanders's remarks.
They mentioned two things, that
the two things Republicans
should be proud of our Donald
Trump -- she didn't mention his
name -- and the second is
abortion.
Like the big policy issue.
If you can't talk about your two
major successes, you are a party
with some holes in your agenda.
Amna: Let's talk abut that party
moving forward because I know
you have some poll numbers.
Republican voters were asked
about who they would support in
the 2024 contest of former
president.
Two names topped the field.
Florida governor Ron Desantis
and former president Donald
Trump.
About one third of all folks
named them.
Everyone else fell down in the
2% to 1% range.
A quarter of people said they
just didn't know.
A huge caveat, this is February
of 2023.
There are several political
lifetimes to go.
But what do you take away from
those numbers?
Jonathan: Ron Desantis is the
shiny object.
Donald Trump is dominating the
scene, as he has since he came
down that escalator in 2015.
Those numbers are going to
fluctuate as more people
actually get into the race, and
they get on this national stage
where it is a lot harder to run
for president than it is to be
speculated as someone who is
going to run for president, and
you roared to reelection as Ron
Desantis stated.
But once a gets on that national
stage, his whole world changes,
and I bet those poll numbers
change as well.
Amna: Nikki Haley is going to
Iowa.
Tim Scott is going to
Charleston, South Carolina, for
a dinner.
This field is going to get more
credit?
David: I think it will.
I am a little surprised if you
look back historically, that the
polls this far out are not
meaningless.
But I think Nikki Haley is
vastly undervalued, that the two
grumpy guys, trump and Desantis,
will wrestle each other to the
ground.
I think there will be a lane for
Republicans short of trump but
not all that chaos.
With a different demeanor.
Nikki Haley has a much more
sunshiney demeanor.
Tim Scott has a normal demeanor.
Governor Kemp in Georgia.
I've a feeling there is a lane
for one of those people.
I would say the non-culture war
Republican party itself in 2022.
I think a lot of those people
are looking for a candidate.
Some say it is Desantis.
I think it probably will not be
Desantis.
Amna: The crowded field last
time benefited Mr. Trump.
You don't think it will happen
this time?
David: If you look at the
crowded field last time.
The governor, Chris Christie,
they were nines and tens.
There were not too many twos.
They had real support.
The field really was divided.
This time, it might two be the
big guys and one other.
Once it begins, trump and some
of the else, the pressure for
everybody else will be immense.
Amna: We like to point out
bipartisanship whenever we can
on the show.
When it comes to China and the
spy balloon, there was
frustration from both Democrats
and Republicans this week when
they look at how president Biden
reacted, how the
department of defense reacted.
I am curious to get both of your
takes on how you think this has
been talked about, especially in
light of this new incident
today.
We don't know the origin of this
aircraft but we know they acted
quickly to shoot down whatever
it was over Alaska.
Jonathan: I don't know much
about this latest flying object
that was blown out of the sky,
but when it comes to the
balloon, I understand the
frustrations.
Particularly for the states
where the balloon sailed over.
But I also understand why the
administration did what it did,
by following the balloon,
shooting it down over shallow
waters off the South Carolina
coast, then collecting all the
material.
We don't know if the Pentagon
while the balloon was drifting
over the continental U.S., were
we pulling out information?
Were we jamming signals?
What was the United States doing
while that balloon was up there?
I think time will tell if we
actually got really good
intelligence and information,
not just about the balloon, but
about what China is up to.
Amna: David, I will give you the
last word.
David: The new object is a
toaster.
[Laughter]
There are two ways to see this.
I think both the Chinese and
Americans are realizing how
fraught the relationship has
become, so I thought both sides,
the Biden administration, they
said we are not taking this to
the mat, we are trying to tone
down the pressure.
For their part, the Chinese used
state media and not let the
nationalists whipped this up.
Both sides,. Pulled us back
relations are not what they
were.
But I think we learned this week
that even in the fraught
relationship that exists between
the two countries, there is
still an instinct of let's not
get carried away.
I think we can take some peace
from that.
Amna: You are not worried this
will increase tensions?
David: It totally could.
But it didn't happen this week.
Amna: And for that we are
grateful.
David brooks, Jonathan Capehart,
Izzo is good to see both.
Thank you.