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Next Up with Mark Halperin

Dem Uniters and Dividers Shape the Party's Future, Dominant Media Hypocrisy, Lessons Kamala Missed

Next Up with Mark Halperin

MK Media

News, Daily News, Politics

4.61.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mark Halperin opens today’s episode with a sharp new reported monologue on the Democratic Party’s biggest challenge heading into 2028: how to unite enough of the country to appeal to a deeply divided America. He traces how recent presidents left office with more polarization than when they began and explains why Democrats must reconcile their instinctive opposition to Trump with the need to broaden their appeal. Within the party itself, Mark highlights the growing tension between “Uniters,” who seek to expand the tent, and “Dividers,” who double down on base-energizing strategies — a split personified in figures like Gavin Newsom and AOC, whose ambitions and tactics reveal where the party may be heading. Larry O’Connor then joins to unpack the fallout from Charlie Kirk’s memorial and what it reveals about America’s fractured political culture. Mark and Larry discuss the need for compassion and dialogue, and why both are essential if the country hopes to bridge divides, even as partisanship grows more toxic. Larry and Mark also examine the coverage of lawfare against Donald Trump and its ripple effects on cases involving James Comey and others, exposing how double standards in the legal system fuel distrust and deepen polarization. They also explore how the press continues to fail the public — and why independent media outlets are gaining traction as Americans seek alternatives to legacy coverage. Finally, veteran strategist Patti Solis Doyle sits down with Mark to take a critical look at Kamala Harris’s new book, explaining why it misses the mark if her goal was to launch another run for political office. Rather than offering real insights into political strategy, the book leans on petty anecdotes and overlooks the bigger picture of how Democrats can learn from their mistakes. Patti also weighs in on AOC’s rise, J.D. Vance’s Oval Office prospects, and the broader 2028 landscape, outlining why some candidates may struggle to build the skills and coalitions needed to compete. Chapter: For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial 262-454-0503 or go to https://askchapter.org/mark Disclaimer: Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and standalone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don't directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all your options. Delta Rescue: Visit https://DeltaRescue.org to learn more

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome in, everybody. It's Thursday, and you know what that means. It's another episode of the little program we call Next Up. Welcome into Nexter's old and new. My tone is light. My heart is heavy. I'll tell you why. I am Mark Cowper, editor-in-chief of Two-Way, the live interactive video platform host of this program. And I bring you my exclusive reporting and analysis of all the stories in the news.

0:24.3

What matters most right now and what says about what's coming up next?

0:28.2

Two great guests today to Smarties.

0:31.3

Larry O'Connor, host of the Larry podcast for Town Hall Media and the morning radio host in Washington Powerhouse radio station WMAL,

0:39.6

the station of my youth is where I learned to listen to Sports Talk Radio.

0:43.8

And returning Patty Solis Doyle, the Democratic strategist,

0:47.4

former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton and one of the smartest people I know about politics in general and about her party. Those two coming up next up,

0:56.2

but first up, my reported monologue. I am typically very optimistic about pretty much everything.

1:05.5

And coming back from Arizona on Sunday, having covered the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, and watching the

1:12.7

reaction and then rolling into the Jimmy Kimmel situation. Both of those things, both show

1:18.8

the red-blue divide, put it in sharp relief, but they also have both widened the red-blue

1:23.9

to divide. It's extraordinary where we are right now. After 10 years of Donald Trump and going back to the polarization we've seen from Clinton to Bush to Obama to Trump to Trump again, it's a very dark time. And part of that is, of course, the assassinations, the shooting in Dallas and other acts of violence, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and the debate over whether

1:45.7

the left or the right are a bigger cause of all these things. But there's more going on.

1:50.8

There's more going on in this country right now. And I don't remember a more fraught time,

1:56.1

a more tense time. Really struck by a new poll that came out this week. Ask the question, do you think there's a

2:03.2

political crisis in America, Quinnipiac poll? And take a look at the numbers. Overall, 79% of voters

2:11.2

say yes, there's a political crisis. 93% of Democrats say there's a political crisis in America.

2:18.5

Lower for independence, 84% and for Republicans only 60%.

2:23.8

I suspect if there were Democratic president, the number would be higher.

2:27.9

Political crisis.

2:29.3

This is the most stable country in the history of the world.

2:32.8

There's so much good goes on every day. There's so much

...

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