Republican party are adding
their voices to the chorus of
criticism.
>> We can never let Donald Trump
let us get to this spot again.
We've got two years to get our
act together.
We've got to coalesce around the
fact we want to win the white
house in 2024 and it's going to
take a serious individual that
truly wants to be a leader.
Not just win a campaign and be a
hero on Twitter.
>> Manu Raju starts off our
coverage from capitol hill on
more details on the Republican
reckoning after another
disappointing loss.
>> Senate Republicans are
reeling after a disappointing
election cycle, leaving them
deeper in the minority.
And now trying to figure out
what went wrong.
>> It was frustrating.
I was optimistic that we would
get a majority.
>> Walker lost to Warnock in
Tuesday's Georgia runoff, giving
Democrats an additional seat and
a slim 51-49 majority in the
chamber.
It comes after Republicans also
fell short in Pennsylvania, new
Hampshire, Arizona, and Nevada.
All states they had hoped to
win.
At the heart of the GOP
criticism, the role of Donald
Trump, who hand picked walker
and several other candidates who
faltered in the general
election.
Stumping late on the campaign
trial for Republicans who
ultimately lost.
>> Was Donald Trump a problem
this year?
>> Democrats in many cases were
kind of able to turn it into a
choice election because of
trump's presence out there.
Because a lot of the candidates
that had problems in these
elections were running on the
2020 election being stolen.
And I don't think independent
voters were having it.
>> Utah GOP senator, Mitt
Romney, calling trump's
endorsement the kiss of death.
And pat Toomey saying walker's
loss is another example that
quote, the trump obsession is
very bad for Republicans.
Trump defenders pushing back.
>> No.
I think we're losing close
elections not because of Donald
Trump.
So if the answer to everything
in town is it's trump's problem,
you're missing the boat.
>> Some directing their anger at
Mitch Mcconnell for refusing to
embrace an election year agenda.
>> No agenda.
>> I believe we ought to have a
Republican agenda and give
people a real purpose for why to
vote for us.
>> Many blame Rick Scott's
senate campaign arm for staying
out of GOP primaries in 2022
with GOP leaders calling on the
party to intervene in primaries
in the 2024 cycle.
But Democrats are defepding 23
seats and Republicans just 11.
Should you have taken a more
active role and tried to prop up
the candidates who have been
more electable?
>> I think you've got to rely on
the voters and their states.
I trust the voters.
>> The additional seat now gives
senate Democrats more power to
issue subpoenas and breathe room
to confirm president Biden's
nominations.
>> Turn left, Republicans.
Or at least don't turn hard
right.
>> Now I just asked Rafael
Warnock as he came back to the
capitol, whether or not Donald
Trump had a role in helping him
by propping up a weak candidate.
He brushed that aside and said I
think the people of Georgia
deserve a great deal of credit.
Lindsey graham told me today
that it will be up to trump to
prove that he can win in order
to win over Republican voters
ahead of 2024.
>> Okay.
Manu Raju, thanks.
Joining us now to discuss,
congressman elect Maxwell frost
of Florida, the first member of
gen Z ever elected to congress.
Hopefully not the last.
Thank you so much for being
here.
I know you campaigned with
senator Warnock.
After his win, you tweeted
quote, what's that about
Progressive values not being
able to win the south again.
What do you say to critics who
say this wasn't an endorsement
of Progressive values.
It was that Herschel walker was
just a horrific candidate.
>> Yeah, well I'd tell them to
go out on the campaign trial
with someone like Warnock.
Being out there, feeling that
energy, especially from young
people.
A voting block that
traditionally has had trouble
going to vote.
The energy we saw, we had to do
one event that wasn't standing
room only.
Young folks are really excited
to hear the message from him.
So what we found, too, from a
lot of the research we did when
I was at March for our lives, is
that young people want someone
to vote for and not against.
Les concerned about people like
walker and who's going to be our
champion.
>> On the other hand, you could
argue that reverend, sorry,
senator reverend Warnock, he's
definitely a Progressive, but he
ran as somebody who was in the
center more.
His pitch was kind of look at
what I'm doing for veterans.
I work across the aisle.
I'm really into bipartisanship.
His general election pitch
wasn't about lgbtq rights,
although he did run a lot of ads
about roe V. Wade with that one
exception.
>> I think what we saw is that
he leaned into the values out of
our party and it wasn't about
red versus blue, Democrat versus
Republican.
It was about the people versus
the problem.
For me, that's what Progressive
values mean to me, ensuring
we're all coming together to
fight against these issues we're
up against.
Climate crisis.
Gun violence.
Protecting the right to safe and
legal access to abortion.
That's what I meant by
Progressive values.
It's really something that
brings people together.
>> You'll be in congress whether
Republicans have the majority.
You told vox this, quote, you
have to get buy in from your
colleagues and you have to
sometimes work with people
across the aisle as well.
I mean, you're definitely going
to have work with people across
the aisle to get anything done.
Have you reached out to
Republicans to talk about where
you might work together?
>> At or yepation, I had the
opportunity to make connections.
We have a lot of disagreements,
but agreed on offshore drilling
in Florida, public
transportation, which is a huge
issue in Florida and housing.
So I think there's room to work
together, but we saw that after
Republicans found out they were
going to take control of the
house, the first thing they
talked about was hunter Biden.
I don't think that's what the
American people want us to work
on.
I think they want us to focus on
these issues.
>> Your issues are medicare for
all, banning some versions of
semiautomatic weapons,
background checks for all gun
sales.
The green new deal.
Things your party couldn't get
passed when your party had the
majority.
Are there second or third
priority items that can get 218
votes?
>> Yeah.
The banning assault weapons is
under our platform of ending gun
violence.
There's a lot we can do there.
>> Like what?
>> I think we can work together
to get more money for community
violence intervention.
Programs on the ground level
that help end gun violence
before it happens.
Getting kids off the streets.
Teaching them arts, boxing.
In Orlando, we have a program,
these programs are shown to end
violence before it happens and
give resources to the community.
I think that's something we can
get bipartisan support on.
So I think there's creative ways
to work on all these issues
where look, we might not get our
north star.
We weren't going to get it in
the next two years, but we can
work towards that.
My thing is I never want to give
up on talking about the world
that I believe in.
If you're going to take a first
step on a journey, you've got to
know where you're going to end
up.
>> Layla Santiago did a piece on
the red flag laws in Florida and
did an interview with the
sheriff of Pasco county.
A sheriff talking about how
effective it was especially in
preventing self harm, but hasn't
been brought before national
legislators.
>> Definitely.
>> How will you counter concerns
from those who lock at you and
say wait a second, you're a
congressman?
You're 25 years old.
Wearing your new tie.
You don't have any government
experience.
You're going to be, some of your
fellow freshmen are going to be
like 70-year-old former judges
and that sort of thing.
How do you convince them hey,
man, I'm serious.
>> Yeah, look, we sit down and
talk about the issues.
We talk about where we want to
get to and every time I have
those conversations, people are
pleasantly surprised and excited
to work with me.
I know there's a stigma I had to
get over.
And I'm used to being the
youngest person in the room.
I really hope that me even being
in congress can help challenge
the caricature we have set for
our candidates.
I think we need more working
class people, nontraditional
candidates.
>> You're going to have to get
one of those congressional pins.
Might also want to talk to
senator ossoff because he looks
young, too.
You talk about the young vote.
I wonder as president Biden
considers what to do next,
whether or not he should run for
re-election.
He just turned 80 years old.
Do you think he's your party's
best candidate?
>> If he wants to run, he's
signalled he want to run.
I'm excited to support him.
The largest youth voter turnout
was in 2020 for Joe Biden.
It's important to keep that in
mine.
We see a lot of other leaders
coming up through the ranks in
local office, statewide office
and the congressional level that
are going to work with the
president to bring up the youth
vote.
>> Gen xers -- the first African
American to lead a political
party in the house or senate,
that must be kind of cool for
you.
>> No, it is really cool for me
and it's exciting and I think it
shows that yes, I'll be the
first in congress.