Phones and Blame Fly at the DNC

**Jon Lovett** (0:00)
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**Jon Favreau** (0:07)
That's why Sim...

**Jon Lovett** (0:08)
Yeah.

**Tommy Vietor** (0:10)
Sounds of affirmation.

**Ben Wikler** (0:12)
All right. Is that okay?

**Tommy Vietor** (0:13)
Yeah, no, it's really good.

**Jon Lovett** (0:14)
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**Tommy Vietor** (1:11)
This summer, America celebrated its 250th birthday. But if you actually sit down and read the Declaration of Independence, you'll notice something wild. Buried right near the end is a brutal rant about, and this is a direct quote, merciless Indian savages. As it turns out, relations with native nations weren't just a footnote in the American Revolution. They were central to it.
Think about the Boston Tea Party. The colonists literally disguise themselves as Native Americans. Later, the country's very first attempt at a government collapsed, largely because it couldn't handle the sheer power and sovereignty of native nations. First America is hosted by journalist Rebecca Nagel, who hosted Crooked's excellent This Land podcast, along with leading native historians. It completely reframes how our democracy was actually built, which feels pretty relevant in our current political moment. Find First America wherever you get your podcasts.

**Jon Favreau** (2:19)
Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Jon Favreau.

**Jon Lovett** (2:21)
I'm Jon Lovett.

**Tommy Vietor** (2:21)
Tommy Vietor.

**Jon Favreau** (2:22)
New studio.

**Tommy Vietor** (2:23)
Looking good, guys.

**Jon Favreau** (2:24)
If you're listening to this only, this is the moment that you're going to want to watch us on YouTube, and subscribe to the Pod Save America YouTube channel because we have a brand new studio here.

**Jon Lovett** (2:33)
It's awesome in here.

**Jon Favreau** (2:34)
All refurbished.

**Jon Lovett** (2:35)
Look at this.

**Ben Wikler** (2:36)
I know. It's exciting.

**Jon Favreau** (2:38)
All right. On today's show, we're going to talk about the Democrats' new 2028 primary calendar, which puts South Carolina first, and has already set off a debate about who that helps. We'll also talk about one Democratic leader who seems to be on help, DNC Chair Ken Martin. The subject of not one, not two, but three leak filled stories about the party's financial crisis. Then we'll cover Trump's trip to Michigan and the big Senate race there, as well as the latest with the Iran War and the biggest bombing of the weekend, the president's performance at the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner. Finally, Ben Wikler stopped by the studio to talk about the DNC drama, the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary drama and his brand new drama-free book, This Is the Plan.
All right, guys, let's start with the biggest news from over the weekend that will impact the outcome of the 2028 presidential election. We have a new primary calendar. It's here. On Friday, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to make South Carolina the first primary state on January 22nd, 2028 It will tentatively be followed by Nevada on February 1st, New Hampshire a week after that, New Mexico a week after that, Michigan the next week, and finally, Virginia on February 29th, before a bunch of other states vote in early March on Super Tuesday.
The new calendar still has to be approved by the full DNC, which will meet next month. But there's already one potential stumbling block. New Hampshire has a law that requires the state to go at least one week earlier than any other state primary. The DNC's proposed solution is for the New Hampshire Democratic Party to fund and hold its own primary that's separate from the official state primary.