Should the Democrats join forces with MAGA defectors? Debate with Aaron Rupar | Prove It!

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Hello and welcome to Prove It with Batia on News Nation. I'm Batiang Sargon and I'm so excited to be here with you. This is the show in which I bring on somebody that I really admire and respect but really don't agree with to have a friendly debate about one of the biggest stories in the headlines of the day.

[00:00:17]There's a lot of YouTube content thrown at you that just confirms what you already believe. But if you want to hear how the other half thinks, this is the show for you. Hit that subscribe button, like, and comment because we will be reading your comments on the show.

[00:00:32]Today, I am so excited to have Aaron Rupar on with me. Aaron is an independent journalist. He is the founder of Public Notice. I know him because I use his content every single day. Aaron, I'm sure you hear this all the time. Aaron does an enormous public service. He watches all of the news coverage and he clips it and puts the clips on Twitter so that if you miss something, if you miss something Trump said about something or somebody in the administration, you will see Aaron's clips. Now, Aaron, I think I'm not exaggerating when I say you're not a big fan of Trump and the administration. and he puts a gloss on the clips, but I have to say I still find it so useful. A to see what they're saying and b to see how Democrats and people on the left are metabolizing and internalizing it so you can just follow Aaron and understand how the news cycle is going to play out. All the journalists use his content. Aaron, thank you so much for being here.

[00:01:35]>> Yeah, Bacha, thank you for having me.

[00:01:37]And uh I try not to put too much of a gloss on the clips, but sometimes I can't help it. And uh it's very flattering. You know, I I do uh it's very gratifying when people tell me that, you know, they they value what I do and that they use it for either podcasts or their TV shows. And um so I was honored when you asked me to join and happy to be here today.

[00:01:55]>> I'm so happy to have you. So what we're talking about today is um something very interesting that's happening on the left. So you guys are probably used to thinking about the Democrats as having this kind of divide between the centrists and then the more far-left people. So the people like you know a just Shapiro um who you know or or even a Newsome who thinks that you know you should kind of try to stay as close to the center as possible in terms of policy and then somebody like an AOC an Ilhan Omar um or a Roana who think you should sort of do what the base wants go as far left as possible as a Mam Donnie might try out new things be more extreme but what we're actually talking about is a divide on that left hand side of things that's emerging and it's kind of embodied between AOC, congresswoman from New York, and then Roana, congresswoman from California. And the question on the table that's dividing them is should Democrats be finding common cause with the MAGA defectors. So people like um Marjgerie Taylor Green, people like Tucker Carlson, people like Thomas Massie, people traditionally associated with the right, but who have real problems with Donald Trump and are voicing those problems and are finding, you know, what online we call, you know, strange new respect among people on the left. So this question, should Democrats make common cause with MAGA defectors, is what Aaron and I are going to debate.

[00:03:23]You guys have a poll, so vote in the poll. And in the meantime, I'm just going to lay out a little bit more of this. So AOC is firmly in the no category and she had this to say about potentially finding common cause with Marjgery Taylor Green. Sher, let's play that.

[00:03:40]>> Results.

[00:03:41]I care about results. Now there are certain places where certain areas where I don't think that that we should ignore some folks record on some of these issues, right? It's about where we we trust intent, where we trust where those outcomes are going. I personally do not trust someone like Marjorie Taylor Green, a proven bigot and anti-semite on the issues of what is good for Gazins and Israelis.

[00:04:14]I don't I don't think that it benefits our movement in that instance to align the left with white nationalists.

[00:04:24]I don't think it serves us.

[00:04:27]Okay, so that's the AOC position, which is no, we should be purists about what we believe. We should not be making common cause with someone like Marjorie Taylor Green. On the other hand, you have Roana, Ilhan Omar, both of whom have said the opposite. No, of course, if somebody's willing to criticize Trump, they're welcome in the movement.

[00:04:46]Welcome. Come on in. We should have a bigger tent. So, Erin, where do you fall on this? Should Democrats make common cause with MAGA defectors?

[00:04:55]So I think first of all it's important for opponents of Trump to create a permission structure for people to defect and to criticize Trump. And so to that extent, I'm always kind of squeamish when someone uses someone doing something good and constructive like Marjgerie Taylor Green breaking from Trump as basically a news peg to bring up everything bad that they've ever done because I think that can discourage people from you know kind of taking a fresh think about things and you know maybe taking uh bold actions or making statements um you know that that uh reflect a divide in the movement or a fracturing. Now, you know, in some ways, this conversation kind of reminds me of the debate about Kla Harris and Liz Cheney in 2024 where obviously on the left that became very controversial uh when Kamla campaigned with Liz Cheney and I wasn't really bothered by that.

[00:05:47]you know, someone who supported >> Harris because I think that they were careful to highlight areas of agreement and not disagreement where certainly if you talked about like reproductive rights um there would have been some some key differences between Kla Harris and Liz Cheney, but that wasn't what they were campaigning about. They were campaigning on Trump being a threat to democracy and you know their their shared views on that score. And so that didn't particularly bother me even though obviously I was not a supporter of Liz Cheney uh when she was in Congress and certainly disagreed with her about more than I agreed with her on. So, you know, I kind of feel the same way about this conversation where, you know, Marjgerie Taylor Green played a very key role when she was in Congress with the Epstein files investigation.

[00:06:28]And so it makes sense to me that Roana would want to highlight, you know, the fact that they have some similarities and we're kind of on the same page with that investigation. And I think you can do that, you know, while stopping short of endorsing her views on, you know, LGBT rights or other issues where you disagree with her. So, you know, I think it's as long as you're not compromising your core principles, I don't really have any problem uh with Roana, you know, kind of making common cause with Marjgery Taylor Green. And I honestly am not sure that AOC would really disagree with much of what I just said. you know, that that one clip which I know made it into a piece that, you know, kind of framed this debate up a little bit in Axios, which talked about the split between sort of the the Kana faction and the AOC faction and how this has played out relative to the the two most recent Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns and how some of the 16 alumni are going with Row and and the 2020 ones, broadly speaking, are going more with AOC. Um, but the quote that they highlighted was that same one that you just played, you know, where AOC was talking about uh Israelis and Gazins and how she doesn't view Marie Taylor Green as being an authoritative voice on those issues. And I don't think saying that is inconsistent with also acknowledging that like on the Epstein files or on, you know, some of her complaints about Trump um kind of weaponizing his office against Republicans or uh you know, she talked about how her son had been her family in inundated with death threats and when she kind of brought that up to Trump um he was very callous about about it. You know, I think you can um kind of reinforce some of the things that she's saying on on issues like that while not endorsing her whole suite of policy views. So, you know, to me it's it's a little bit of a complex debate, but I I don't, you know, as a general proposition, have an issue with Democrats highlighting uh these defectors from Trumpism because I think by doing that, you're encouraging other people who may be having second thoughts to maybe follow suit.

[00:08:23]I think the thing that bothers me about it is it seems to me to um fall into the category of further proof that there's only one metric in American political life and it's Donald Trump and the the Democrats that's the only barrier for entry is like you could be you know I don't think in um Marie Tree is necessarily anti-LGBTQ she's probably very trans um anti trans, let's say, right? Um, so but that but that's not a barrier of entry, right? She's totally pro-life, right? That's not a barrier of entry. As long as you love Trump, you're in. Whereas, I feel like what they were doing on the right in 2024 to broaden the coalition was like there were a lot of issues that were like, well, we can't we can't mess with that, right? Um, abortion was not one of them. So, they allowed in a lot of maha people who are pro-choice, right? They were like, welcome, welcome. Right? They allowed in a lot of people um who had different views on foreign policy. Um but immigration, barrier of entry, right? If you're an open borders person, you're out. Um free trade, they're really not pro- free trade anymore on the right, right? Um they had a sense of the principles. It wasn't enough to love Trump. If you love Trump but wanted an open border, like that was going to that came to a head with Elon Musk over last Christmas and he never recovered from that because he was like, "We need more immigrants, right?" and Maga was like, "You're out."

[00:09:49]And he was out pretty soon after that.

[00:09:51]On the on the left, it seems like I mean, AOC's the reason that clip I think had so much traction was because she was basically saying um to Roana the the the Roana camp like how could you let somebody in who's like against all of the things that we believe in? Um and the answer of course is well because she hates Trump now. Is that really enough to overcome being pro-life, to overcome being anti-trans, to become to overcome being anti-immigrant? Um, what do you say?

[00:10:21]>> Well, what I say is that, you know, I think it's kind of natural that our politics are being dominated by Trump right now. Um, I mean, Congress is not really doing much. Uh, you the Republican leadership seems fine with kind of just letting Trump have his way.

[00:10:36]And so, um, you know, obviously when it comes time to actually sort of hit the campaign trail, you know, Roana obviously has ambitions in that area and it seems like AOC increasingly does as well. And, you know, it's going to be incumbent on them obviously to articulate a message that goes beyond Trump is bad because, you know, we've seen um, you even in the 2024 campaign that that wasn't maybe as motivating as as Democrats thought um or or as it was in previous cycles like the 2020 cycle.

[00:11:01]Um, so yeah, I mean I I don't I don't think that's going to be sufficient.

[00:11:06]However, um, you know, again, I think that the key thing for Democrats right now and for any opponent of Trump is trying to dislodge him and his movement from power, you know, as soon as obviously the midterms with um, you know, possibly both chambers of Congress potentially flipping if it's a huge wave here for Democrats. And so, you know, on that score again, I I think the most constructive way to do that is to encourage people who have been very committed to Trumpism, you know, in some cases now going back all the way a decade of time, like it's very hard to admit that you were wrong, um, if you've been committed to someone or to a particular political ideology for that long. And so to the extent that fractures can be created or you know divisions can be highlighted um I you know I think that there are constructive ways to do that that again fall short of endorsing the whole suite of policy views and and I would you know with with Roana and Marjgerie Taylor Green you know I I don't think he really I I don't think anything I am saying um Roana would take issue with or AOC would take issue with I mean I think there is kind of a a middle ground and now you know the interesting thing will be to see as the primary comes together, which you know I think will happen more once we get through this November. You know how these different factions where you have AOC and Roana who are kind of aligned in the way that they're both um they both kind of come from the Bernie Sanders tree of politics in a way and like you know does that end up being more of a cordial uh primary campaign or do they really highlight differences uh with respect to each other? And I think that that remains to be seen. But, you know, I think if we're thinking of this as a ven diagram, there's kind of a a sweet spot in the middle, which is, you know, we can agree with Marjgery Taylor Green on Trump being bad and maybe, you know, the need for transparency in the Epstein files and things like that, while stopping short of, you know, the the Jewish Jewish space lasers and, you know, some of the other kooky stuff that that she has talked about, which she hasn't really fully, you know, um, kind of denounced or admitted that she was wrong about. You know, I feel that way even with like a person like Thomas Massie who was on one of the Sunday shows yesterday, I believe on ABC. And it was actually for me kind of a it was a tough interview to clip because with his primary coming up tomorrow, you know, he seemed to want to be kind of highlighting some of his conservative bonafides more than really attacking Trump. Even though George Stephanopoulos, who was conducting the interview, was kind of baiting him with some of the things that Trump posted yesterday denouncing him. And obviously Trump has been on a huge herang going back days now about Thomas Massie, but uh you know Massie wasn't really taking the bait because he had an election to win. Um so you know to me it's just it's going to be a little bit case by case but you know I wasn't one you know again to go back to the Liz Cheney example where you had a lot of people on the left who were very upset you know Kla Harris would campaign with her because they view that as somehow endorsing her views. And you know I think as long as you kind of highlight the the ones that you share in common that's okay.

[00:13:51]Although, you know, we have to also be mindful of the politics here and if there are political ramifications like there were for Kla Harris in 2024 where it seemed like that did, you know, in some way kind of backfire where she thought that the, you know, there was this pool of uh voters who were conservative, maybe not fans of Trump, and she viewed Liz Cheney as a way to kind of maybe persuade them or create a permission structure for former Republicans to vote for her. It seemed like maybe she ended up losing more people on the left than she gained kind of in the middle. So, you know, you have to be mindful of just, you know, what my opinion is isn't necessarily what the opinion of the voter who is decisive is going to be. So, you know, we have to be kind of open-minded and and open to feedback that we get from people out in the community because um I think a lot of punetry is ultimately people kind of projecting their own preferences onto others. And uh the longer I've been doing this, you know, this will be kind of my third primary cycle on the Democratic side covering this. The first one being 2016 and then 2020. and you know become more humble where um I'm making more of an effort this time around to try to kind of stay out of it because I I do think the threat of Trumpism in my view is so um it's so dangerous and scary that you know I think we really have to try to hang together a little bit better than we have in past cycles as opponents of Trump to make sure we don't kind of fracture our own movement because I think when that happens that's a way that Republicans win. Um and and so I just, you know, I want to be mindful that um my own view doesn't represent everybody. Yeah. To >> that's how they won me. Like I I was I still consider myself a leftist. Like all of my views are views that like I I think FDR was like the greatest president, you know, like Samuel Gumpers like the head of the labor the guy who started the AFL CIO. Like he was felt that restricting immigration was extremely important for labor. That's where I got that from. But if you said that on the left like in 2020, they kicked you out. they called you a white supremacist for saying like actually we can't have an open border. That was considered racism on the left. And I was like, well, okay, I guess you know, you don't want me, you know, like and and I and so now to see someone like Marjorie Taylor Green who has actually offensive views on so many issues like being welcomed in because she hates Trump and hates Israel. Like it makes me feel some type of way. Like there's a lot of normies, like you know, normal people who felt like I got kicked out for saying things that are like total just saying like working-class people feel like their kids are getting left behind um so so illegal immigrants can can have access to the American dream. Like that's a that's a view that the left should absolutely care about and represent. But if you said that it was curtains for you, you were like deemed like the worst than um All right. The other thing I want to ask you about I want you to respond to that, but also I wanted to ask you about this. Um um so the other thing is like to me it seems like a lot of these people who are like disaffected with MAGA, newly embraced by the left, like it's not just that they hate Trump, they're also very virulently anti-Israel. And some of them are even like veering into outright anti-semitism. So I think Tucker Carlson is in that category. I think Thomas Massie is certainly the pack that's backing him has been putting out like ragingly anti-semitic ads with Jewish stars blah blah blah. Um you know Marjorie Taylor Green her whole split with Trump happened over Israel. What's going on there? Like what from in your mind is like so to me the what it looks like is like anti-ionism is basically a gateway drug to the left. So, if you're on the right and you start following the algorithms, which are very anti-Israel, you're going to start posting anti-Israel stuff. The right is going to get pissed because they don't like that.

[00:17:32]And it pushes people to the left and then the left has these open arms for that. Like, that's what it looks like to me. Like, what why is that wrong? And by the way, just one last piece of it.

[00:17:40]>> I have to say I have never heard AOC say an anti-semitic thing. Like, I think she >> weirdly gets this. Like, she's not on the Epstein thing. She's not obsessed with it. She talks about it, but she's not talking about the Epstein class as if there's this like, you know, Jewish cabal of of pedophiles or whatever. The fact that she said in that clip, I don't want Marjorie Taylor Green talking about. She said Gazans, what's best for Gazins and Israelis. You there's very few people on the left who would have who would have added that who actually care what's best for Israelis in my view. Yeah. What's your opinion about all that?

[00:18:15]>> Yeah. Well, there's a lot there. So, let me first say on the AOC point that um I have going back years now been very impressed with her as kind of like a political tactician in the sense that she's very good at not alienating kind of core constituencies. And I think what you just said is a good example of that.

[00:18:32]And then I want to I want to back up to the the previous conversation about open borders and just acknowledge that that was one issue that I think I had a big blind spot on where to me it just never was really that galvanizing, you know, and I think maybe that's just kind of like life situation where um the open border just never registered or like the the idea that there was kind of like a border crisis in some way. you know, obviously that was Trump's signature issue in 2024 and, you know, for all the things that I think he's, you know, been a a nightmare on since he's become president. I mean, he did secure the border one way or the other. And like that is something that he can at least tout to his voters as a victory. Um, so you know that that's one that had it kind of as I processed that that sort of humbled me where it's like again I don't want to project my own views onto others and you know if someone says you know my my top issue is immigration or the border like you know instead of kind of instinctually being like what are you why you know what are you talking about that's silly um to actually try to listen to people and understand that that does motivate a lot of voters. Um, on the the right-wing anti-semitism piece, I mean, yeah, that it's really scary where it seems like there is this rising faction on the far right that's very anti-semit very anti-semitic and you know, it is all the people that you mentioned and to circle back to the the Massie interview yesterday on ABC that was one of the things that made it difficult to clip was like his big talking point is that Mirian adding to buy the seat from him and you know there were a lot of dog whistles in this interview that made me kind of uncomfortable where it's like >> I don't really want to clip this because it's you know I mean he's he's putting out some dog whistles here that weren't really being um that Stephanopoulos wasn't really like pressing him on and that you know made me a little bit squeamish. So that is really worrisome and you know I think that is unfortunately you know I think Trump in some ways kind of poured fuel on this fire with some of the talking points right after you know the attack on Iran where he was talking it was Rubio I guess who had the initial comment about you know we were doing this because Israel was under threat and we had to act or they were going to be you know they were going to strike Israel and then we had to defend them sort of thing. And um you know it played into kind of the tropes of you know Netanyahu being kind of like a puppet master who's controlling Trump and um and that is very anti-semitic and it makes me uncomfortable as well. And I think it is very concerning that as we look to what the Republican party and what kind of the America first movement looks like post Trump. um you know again like it is good that there's some fracturing there because um you know I mean I think that's part of the weakness of Trump at this point is that even some of his u you know most devoted voters and supporters in the past now are having second thoughts about that but you know if it if it creates kind of this vacuum for anti-semitism and if like you know the if the 2028 nominee by some stroke of fortune ends up being Tucker Carlson like yeah we're going to have like a you know a very big anti-semitic threat on the right. So I I don't fully know how to explain that. that I mean, you know, I pay attention to those movements and I and I cover them in some form or fashion, but I I couldn't really unpack for you the the origins of that. I guess I'm kind of curious if you have any thoughts on that, like where this comes from because it kind of snuck up on me, but you know, especially since the Iran war and how that kind of created, you know, Tucker kind of split off at that point and Candace has split off and that's a big part of their brands. Um, you know, it was it was percolating before then, but um it's something that snuck up on me and then I think is very noticeable at this point. Yeah, I think it's all about um uh audience capture.

[00:21:49]Um Megan Kelly the other day said Tucker's audience is he's had huge huge audience growth among Muslims like globally. So he's getting 40 million downloads, you know, from you know Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, like those people love anti-semitic content, let me tell you, you know, like I don't think American Muslims do. I don't think American Muslims are anti-Semitic, but there's only three million of them, right? when you get past that, you're you're talking about like, you know, a a global audience that has an endless appetite for this. So, I I think it's all about um audience capture. But what I really hate to see is to see like I've seen a lot of people I mean on my own show on NewsNation, I've had, you know, senators, member after member of the president's cabinet, Republican congressmen just saying Tucker's done.

[00:22:33]We're done with him. Like we don't that that does not belong in the party. like massive denouncement of anti-semitism whereas it seems like the floodgates have opened for them on the left like it's like you all I have to do is say Israel sucks and it's like right you're in you know Tucker Carlson welcome like our bet noir for you know decades and so I I find the opposite like it seems like on the left there's a huge appetite and support for this whereas on the on the left and on the right they're they're really trying very hard to say like well you which is why all of these figures like Marjorie Taylor Green Thomas Massie Tucker Carlson And um Candace Owens are finding themselves suddenly like very interested in Graham Platner, the guy with the Nazi tattoo, you know. Um let me let me read you a few comments because I want you to react to some of this. All right. Um so, all right. Um Oceaniana says, "This is frustrating.

[00:23:20]MTG never once said Jewish space lasers.

[00:23:22]How can she apologize for something she never said?" I'm reading you this because I freaking defended her. I She said Rothschild um space lasers. And I happen to know like there like you got you go deep enough in the south people don't know that the Rothschilds were Jewish. Like they're so not anti-Semitic that and when they read her that when they said to her you said Jewish space lasers she was like I don't she had no idea what they were talking about. So I freaking defended her and now I feel like an idiot because it's like obvious now that she like has a problem. What did you make of it?

[00:23:55]>> Yeah. Yeah, I'd have to go back because I believe she said that like in a Facebook comment, right, from um it was before it was before she had run for office. So, I'd have to revisit that.

[00:24:03]But, um but I mean that is kind of the insidiousness in some ways of anti-semitic tropes, right? Where it's not that everybody who invokes them is anti-semitic, but um you know, when you kind of unpack the the real meaning of what's being said, um you know, and that is a difficult thing. that you describe that doesn't necessarily mean that she's anti-Semitic, but I guess you should just be careful about kind of the tropes that you that you amplify. And in her case, obviously there was some sort of there there. It wasn't just, you know, where there's smoke, there's fire. In that case, there was actually fire there. Um, so but you know, I mean, this is obviously kind of like a it's a very common statement people make and I do think we need to acknowledge it that you can criticize Israel and not be anti-semitic. Like those things aren't exactly the same. And the other thing I would just point out as you were talking about this rise of anti-semitism on the right like you know it is interesting to reflect on the 20 the 2024 campaign where you know Biden because of his support for the Israeli government in the wake of October 7 like that did create a huge rift on the left where you had kind of the anti-Israel faction which really turned on Biden I think was you know one of the reasons that Trump won >> and then you know you fast forward not even what like it's 18 months out from that and that the right now seems to have kind of this rising anti-semitism problem and and you just talked about AOC who's obviously like I think really emerging as a strong contender in 2028 who you know was very careful not to invoke some of those tropes or you know use language that can be construed as anti-Semitic. So, you know, it's funny how those things can kind of like seesaw back and forth, but it was a huge problem for Biden last cycle and Trump was able to kind of, you know, steer clear of of of trouble with that. And now it seems like, you know, Trump won't be on the ballot, but um it seems like that's going to be a big issue for Republicans in whatever sort of primary there is, you know, leading up to 2028.

[00:25:43]>> Yeah, absolutely. Um on that note, Marisol says, "Please don't hate Israel.

[00:25:48]People don't agree with Netanyahu's politics." I think that is true. Um I think but at the same time, I I hate to say this. I hate to be the one to say this, but the person who succeeds Netanyahu in Israel is going to be a lot more right-wing than Netanyahu was. He's seen as this like far-right extremist, but he's actually quite moderate. I I'm not saying that he waged the war in Gaza perfectly. I have a lot of criticism of it, but I think people don't realize how uh besieged Israelis feel. And I I think Natanyao is actually holding stemming a lot because he's absorbing so much of the hate and the criticism. He's actually stemming a lot of what is going to become even worse anti-Israel sentiment going forward. All right, let me read you one more. Um, uh, wishful thinking by shro wishful thinking by Dems that Republicans are fracturing. No one is defecting to the Dems. Sorry. The thing thing I like about that is I think that's so true.

[00:26:42]Like I would love it if you had a Democrat who was saying, "Look, a lot of our getable voters are voting for the right. Let's get them back. Let's get the working class back. Let's understand what they want. Um, let's talk to people who have a big constituency, maybe even Trump, and find what Trump's economic agenda is pretty left. Like, it's tariffs, you know, buying 10% of intel, you know, like he's kind of socialist.

[00:27:06]>> It's all the way left to uh, you know, like Stalinism at a certain >> Right. Right. Right. Right. Right.

[00:27:10]Exactly. Yeah. So, but but these people have no constituency. I mean, somebody who's anti-Trump who's on the right like Liz Cheney, right? like she's she you know basically like the she's she's closer to a Democrat now because she's anti-Trump, right? So So what do you say to that? Like why aren't they making inroads among people with a big constituency on the right?

[00:27:30]>> Well, I mean if you look at every election that's happened since November 2024, they've been very very good for Dems. I mean there's been what like a true >> 12 to 12 or 13 point swing you know from 2024 and um you know Trump won't be on the ballot this year. And I think the other thing, I mean, as we're talking, you know, there's new polling out today showing him at Trump at like negative 22 net, you know, like if he if this is really where he's at and to, you know, the upward mobility seems pretty limited for his numbers, like that's going to create strong incentives for, you know, people. It won't necessarily be Republicans because we're seeing this primary cycle that, you know, you still really can't cross Trump on the right.

[00:28:04]he's gonna, you know, he and tomorrow will be very interesting in that respect, too, because I mean, again, he's posting post after post going after Massie and, you know, he'll probably lose tomorrow and that'll be another kind of notch on the belt for Trump.

[00:28:16]>> Um, but, you know, again, he's, you know, he's not going to be on the ballot ever again, right? So, we've seen that he has kind of this like, you know, magic power to turn out low engagement voters and that's been his secret sauce, you know, since the very beginning. Does that transfer to a JD Vance or Marco Rubio? I I kind of doubt it. So, you know, it might be kind of an academic discussion at this point. Um, it obviously helped him win twice, but um, he's not going to be on the ballot and this year looks like it's going to be pretty grim despite all of the gerrymandering for Republicans. Um, so, you know, I think it'll be this will be an interesting conversation to have a year from now as we kind of look forward to future elections. Um, but I do think there is some evidence that Dems have made real gains. You know, maybe not necessarily among Republican voters, but Republican voters might be staying home to the point where the effect is kind of the same. Yeah, I definitely don't think that uh JD Vance can grow Trump's coalition. I say that all the time. They don't want to hear it, which is fine, you know. Um, all right, guys. We always like to throw up a poll at the end.

[00:29:11]Please vote. Did you hear something here that helped you understand the other side? I certainly did. Erin, I don't know, something about you, your vibe.

[00:29:18]Like, you post things and I get mad, but I'm like, no, you like this guy. Like, there's something about him. like >> well you and I we were trying to kind of come up with a a topic and it turns out you know there are a lot of points of agreement so that that makes it difficult for like a debate style but you know trying to be um you know transparent where I've reassessed my views you know and trying to be more humble and so I really appreciate you having me on and I'd be happy to to get down the line too.

[00:29:41]>> Oh my gosh. Please yeah come back soon.

[00:29:43]Yeah, you guys we wanted to debate initially Trump um creating this $1.8 8 billion fund so that people could like sue if they felt that they were the victims of the weaponized justice department and Aaron's like let's debate that and I'm like I can't I don't want to defend that. I think that sucks.

[00:30:00]>> I kind of threw that out there because I was geared up to talk about that. If you really wanted to go on a limb, you know, that would have made for some explosive YouTubing. But uh right, >> you know, next time, you know, we'll maybe find uh an area of disagreement on Trumpism because that's kind of my my bread and butter. Awesome. Uh because again I'm trying to kind of keep my head down on the on the Democratic side. I I want to let the voters kind of decide and and then let the chips fall where they may.

[00:30:20]>> Great. Aaron, God bless and protect you.

[00:30:22]Come back very soon and thank you so much for joining me.

[00:30:25]>> Thanks for having me on.

[00:30:26]>> And the rest of you can find me here tomorrow with somebody else who I really like and really really don't agree with.

[00:30:33]Please join me for BAT Monday through Thursday 400 PM here on YouTube. And please subscribe. It helps us a lot.

[00:30:40]There's a lot of YouTube content feeding you what you already know. and we're trying to do the opposite. Help you understand how your fellow Americans think about things. All right, God bless and I'll see you tomorrow.