Judy: Republicans will be
closely watching Ohio's primary
election tomorrow and there are
reports that Democrats are
considering revamping their
midterm strategy to draw a
stronger contrast between
themselves and the trump-wing of
the GOP.
To discuss that and more it's a
good time to check in with our
politics Monday team.
That is Amy Walter of the cook
political report with Amy Walter
and Annie linskey of the
Washington post, who is sitting
in tonight for Tamara Keith.
Hello to both of you.
Good to see you this Monday.
Time to talk about politics.
Amy, let's start with what we
just heard, this three-part mega
report on tucker Carlson.
Clarify for us, what is tucker
Carlson's role in the Republican
party, American politics?
Amy: Nick put it well when he
said he is filling the void left
by Donald Trump's voice being
off social media.
He is not in the white house, so
he is not there every minute in
the way he used to be.
He is also being talked about as
a potential 2024 candidate for
president and that is not idle
discussion.
I think his name will be
seriously floated and we may see
more to calm on a tucker Carlson
balloon.
Judy: I wonder if president
trump is aware of that.
We suspected that he is.
How do you see this tucker
Carlson phenomenon?
Annie: One of the parts of
Nick's reporting that resonated
for me, is this idea Carlson is
at the nexus of media influence,
but also a quieter influence
with candidates in particular.
He has been a promoter of jd
Vance in Ohio, which I will talk
about later.
I find that to be a role of
using his voice, his platform to
put out new ideas, but also to
bolster candidates.
You don't want to say he could
make a role, but his influence
is up there.
Judy: It is significant.
Amy, is it a matter of saying,
if you don't get tucker
Carlson's blessing, it is a
problem for you as a Republican?
Amy: We will see.
He has gone after, much like
trump has, people he sees as out
of step or out of line with his
overall philosophy, or have done
things that have gone against
whatever tucker does not like.
Many of them were still
successful.
One person he has been
consistently against, at least
recently, has been Kevin
Mccarthy.
I don't think anyone expects to
see if Republicans take the
house that he is not going to be
the speaker, but his influence,
the conversation about it, is
important.
Judy: And the darker side of
this about race and the role,
the threat that many white
Americans feel.
What does that say about our
politics right now?
Annie: That was one of the most
stunning takeaways from that
reporting, which is so
incredible.
The extent to which they really
documented in which Carlson is
normalizing discussions of race
that are not considered
appropriate in many parts of the
country, but Carlson's show is
moving the window before --
where they are becoming more
appropriate.
That is what many groups on the
left worry about.
The times reporting is showing
the danger tucker Carlson and
his show presents, making it
more ok to have those kinds of
grievances voiced out loud.
That to me is what the worry is.
Judy: That brings us to Ohio.
We had John yang's report.
There you have Donald Trump's
enormous influence with a
candidate he has blessed who
seems to be doing well.
Annie: I was watching all the
ads candidates were putting on
air.
It was basically a noun, a verb,
and Donald Trump.
Everything had to involve Donald
Trump.
What is more remarkable that
John alluded to, the diminished
role of the senator who is
leaving, rob portman, a senator
who has been there since 2010.
He also endorsed a candidate,
but his candidate has gotten no
traction.
It is also remarkable to think
it was not long ago in 2016 that
John Kasich easily won the
primary in Ohio over Donald
Trump.
That somebody like a rob portman
could win.
He ran seven points ahead of
Donald Trump in 2016 in the
general election.
Those folks no longer exist in
Ohio.
Judy: We will see what happens
in Ohio.
People are saying, will this
happen in every Republican
primary?
No way to know that right now,
but Donald Trump is still a
factor.
Annie: Jd Vance was lagging
behind in this campaign until
Donald Trump went in and
endorsed him.
You saw a Fox News poll that
came out shortly after the
endorsement.
It was practically doubled, and
incredible jump.
None of us have a crystal ball,
we don't know what will happen.
The polling has been difficult
to follow, but you saw that
trump had an impact and really
pushed jd Vance, at least into a
poll position where he could
win.
Judy: We are also watching
Pennsylvania and others,
Georgia.
I want to quickly turn both of
you to a story in politico
today, inside reporting that the
white house is looking at
structuring their midterm
strategy around going against,
who else, Donald Trump, and his
wing of the Republican party
what does that say to you?
Amy: They do not want this to be
what midterms traditionally are,
a referendum on the party in
charge.
Not when the president is under
water in terms of his rating,
people worried about the state
of the economy.
They want to turn it to a
choice.
This is not new.
Republicans tried the same thing
in 2018.
They ran more ads about Nancy
Pelosi than Democrats ran about
Donald Trump.
Judy: We remember that.
Amy: She was the centerpiece.
We lost 40 seats in the house
that year.
It is change -- tough to change
the trajectory away from the
referendum.
Democrats are hoping in
individual races, whether it is
Pennsylvania, Arizona, those
candidates who have the trump
support have embraced trump,
many of his policies, that will
be a bigger liability than the
big picture conversation.
Judy: We don't know they are
going to do this, but it would
be shocking.
Annie: Absolutely.
Democrats just tried to do this
in Virginia and make Glenn
Youngkin into Donald Trump.
That was not a winning strategy.
Joe Biden had gone away from
that strategy and presented
himself as a unifier in the
state of the union, but now we
are talking again to be more
Democrats versus Republicans.
The white house is scrambling
for a message that will work
area -- work.
Judy: Thank you both.
Politics Monday, thank you.