The lesson Democrats could learn from MAGA

**Adam Wren** (0:00)
Presented by AHIP.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:02)
Health plans work every day to shield Americans from high and rising costs by negotiating lower prices from providers and drug makers and protecting consumers against unexpected medical bills. Learn more at ahip.org.

**Adam Wren** (0:15)
That is something that we're seeing on both sides of the aisle. Everything is getting scrambled.

**Dasha Burns** (0:22)
Hello, hello, and welcome to The Conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, and every week on this show, I talk to some of the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond.
And this week, I am actually on vacation, taking a little time away from Washington. So before I left town, I sat down with two of the best political minds in Washington, Adam Wren and Will Steakin. Election Day is just a little over two months away. I know, I can't believe it either. After months of primaries around the country, we've watched insurgents beat establishment favorites.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:57)
As bitter and as divisive and as cynical as the campaign against us might have been, I want us to realize that there is so much more that unites us now.

**Dasha Burns** (1:06)
Moderate sped-off challenges.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:08)
Today, I stand before the people of Wisconsin after we rose from the ashes.

**Dasha Burns** (1:12)
And Trump flex his political muscle and occasionally discover its limits.

**SPEAKER_6** (1:17)
The outcome wasn't what we wanted, but for me, I think for everybody in this room, God's got some awesome plans.

**Dasha Burns** (1:24)
But before everyone races ahead to November, I want to ask the question, what did we actually learn so far? We wanted to talk about where both parties currently stand, what we're expecting come November, and what it says for beyond. Yes, we're talking 2028 too. And this comes at a perfect time because actually, starting next week, Will, Adam, and I are officially taking over as co-authors of Playbook. We are going to get to cover these midterms, we're going to get to cover 2028, we're covering it all from every direction. So make sure that you're subscribed to this podcast, to the Playbook podcast, and of course, to the Playbook newsletter. And now here's my conversation with Adam Wren and Will Steakin.
Okay, guys, we are taking the reins of Playbook at a crazy time. This is just after the primaries are coming to an end and the general election is really beginning.
So let's start with this. And I want you both to answer this. What is the question that this election is going to answer for you?

**Adam Wren** (2:31)
Well, Dasha, I think I have two interconnected questions about the midterms that I'm reporting out. And the larger question is, does President Donald Trump really care about the midterm results? You know, we've heard for months now that he doesn't want to repeat of what happened to him in his first term in 2018, where he surrendered himself to the investigative power of congressional Democrats. And he's gone to great lengths to prevent that in a lot of ways. You know, you think about the way that he approached redistricting, the way that he sort of tried to strong arm Indiana lawmakers into getting a map that he wanted, that would be more friendly to him, potentially give him two seats, which is really the whole ballgame when it comes to flipping the house.
And then the way that he pursued lawmakers there when they didn't accede to his demands. And so you look at a point like that and you think, wow, he does care about the midterms. And then you step back more broadly and you look at the way that he seems to have this love-hate relationship with traveling, doesn't want to spend a lot of time in states overnight. He wants to sleep in his own bed, doesn't want to do long campaign swings, is kind of getting back into the rhythm of doing a stop, a week in battleground states. And you wonder, does he really care enough to try to protect his margins in the Senate and the House?

**Dasha Burns** (3:52)
I mean, it's so interesting, Adam, because you heard the same things I was hearing earlier this year and late last year when Susie Wiles, James Blair, all of the folks around the president were saying that he is going to basically be campaigning like his 2024 again. And that is just not what we've been seeing. I'm a little surprised by that because having followed Trump on the campaign trail, he did seem to really love it. But something has changed now that he is in the Oval Office for the last time. There are these other projects. I think it's less of a love-hate relationship with travel itself and more that he is preoccupied with other stuff. Namely, it's true, like the real real estate stuff, building the ballroom, doing the renovations around DC.