The GOP is in trouble... because of Trump. With CNN's Ron Brownstein.
The Bill Press Pod
BP Pods
4.7 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 11 November 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode Bill interviews Ron Brownstein, senior political analyst at CNN and columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. They discuss the results of the November 4 elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City, and California, and the unmistakable warning signs these results hold for Republicans. Ron highlights the importance of voter attitudes toward the incumbent president, which have increasingly influenced election outcomes. Despite negative views of the Democratic Party, voters' disapproval of Trump played a decisive role in Democratic victories. The conversation also covers the impact of economic dissatisfaction on Trump's approval ratings and the challenges Republicans face in overcoming this negative sentiment. Additionally, they delve into the significance of the recent government shutdown battle and its implications for future elections. Finally, the discussion touches on the generational shift within the Democratic Party and the prospects for Democrats to regain control of the House and Senate in 2026.
Today Bill highlights the work of the Democratic Governors Association. There are some great Democratic Governors who might end up as the Democratic Presidential candidate. More information at DemocraticGovernors.org
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co. |
| 0:05.5 | com.uk-Uk.woundary. That's audible.combe.uk slash wondering. |
| 0:14.0 | Hello, good friends. Good to see you again and welcome back to the Bill Press Pod. |
| 0:22.7 | Well, it's been two weeks back to back of big political news with sometimes confusing results. |
| 0:30.3 | First, on November 4, Democrats scored big victories in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City, and California, which seemed to give Democrats |
| 0:39.5 | a lot more energy to fight Donald Trump, especially on the affordability issue, affordability of |
| 0:45.8 | groceries and health care. And then this week, suddenly, eight Senate Democrats caved and gave |
| 0:53.3 | Republicans enough votes to end the government shutdown without |
| 0:57.0 | getting a deal on extending Obamacare subsidies. Go figure. Democrats win one week, then turn around and |
| 1:05.0 | help Republicans win the next week. So where does this leave the Democratic Party heading into the midterms exactly one year away? |
| 1:13.4 | Did they give away the store? Or did they build a good case for 2026? Well, to sort it all out, |
| 1:20.9 | we figured it was time to check back in with one of America's smartest political commentators, |
| 1:26.0 | Bloomberg and CNN's Ron Brownstein. |
| 1:30.2 | Hello, Ron Brownstein. So good to reconnect with you. Thanks for rejoining us here on the Bill Press pod. |
| 1:35.8 | Bill, great to be with you. Ron, in your latest column I saw, you said about November 4, that November 4 sent us what happened in Virginia, of course, New Jersey, New York City, and California, sent an unmistakable message to Republicans. |
| 1:52.5 | What is it? |
| 1:53.6 | Yeah, I think it is a, and I'm pointing toward a very specific message, not just the broad outline that Democrats did very well in this election, but there was a specific |
| 2:02.5 | pattern in these results that I think are very ominous for Republicans if they can't turn it |
| 2:09.1 | around. And what I mean is this. In the 21st century, we have clearly moved in a direction where |
| 2:15.0 | attitudes toward the incumbent president have become an increasingly |
| 2:19.8 | dominant factor in what happens in pretty much every other election while he is in office. |
| 2:26.1 | And this has been consistent, whether it was under Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BP Pods, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BP Pods and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.