Trump Dominates the Narrative, Plus CBS vs. Bari Weiss, and Struggling Dems, with Meghan McCain and Ben Ferguson

Next Up with Mark Halperin

MK Media

News, Daily News, Politics

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mark opens today’s episode with a reported monologue on why President Trump’s presidency continues to dominate headlines and shape America’s political mood. He breaks down the forces — in media, politics, and public opinion — that keep Trump at the center of every national conversation. Then Meghan McCain and Ben Ferguson join for a wide-ranging conversation on Trump’s foreign policy agenda, Bari Weiss’s effort to reform CBS News, and the Democratic Party’s ongoing struggles with leadership and messaging. The discussion cuts across politics and media, examining how power, influence, and credibility are being redefined in real time. Forward Mobile: Help protect the American vaping industry before it’s too late! Visit https://vaportechnology.org Home Title Lock: Go to https://hometitlelock.com/mark and use promo code MARK to get a FREE title history report and a FREE TRIAL of their Triple Lock Protection! For details visit https://hometitlelock.com/warranty 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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome in Nexters. Check of the sundial and the calendar suggests it's Tuesday, and that means another chance for us to catch up together. Find out what's next up. I'm Mark Cowpern, editor-in-chief of the live interactive video platform two-way, and the host of this program where we get together. We talk about what's in the news and where we think things are headed.
0:22.8	Very grateful to being part of the program.
0:24.7	Two great guests today, close personal friends of each other.
0:28.1	I'm proud to call them my friends too.
0:30.0	Megan McCain, host of Citizen McCain, my colleague on the two-way network.
0:34.0	And then Ben Ferguson, he, the host of the eponymous Ben Ferguson podcast and the
0:39.2	co-host with Ted Cruz, Senator from Texas, of The Verdict. They're coming next up and we're going to
0:45.7	have a great conversation about politics, the media, foreign policy, and a whole lot more.
0:51.4	But stay tuned because just a minute, you're going to hear my reported monologue
0:56.0	on Donald Trump and its impact on the news and on our brains. That monologue is next up.
1:04.7	I want to tell you about a group called the Vapor Technology Association. It's an organization
1:09.0	started about a decade ago to protect the rights of
1:11.7	Americans who choose alternatives to smoking and about the small businesses who have made a living
1:17.4	using this technology. They support science-based policies and the rights of adults to make
1:22.9	healthier choices. Did you know that many family-owned vape shops and manufacturers across the country are now
1:28.2	under attack thanks to what are outdated Biden-era regulations that threaten to wipe out an entire
1:34.4	industry? The Vapor Technology Association, also known as VTA, says businesses are being destroyed
1:41.0	and people are losing their jobs here in America. But the VTA says President Trump
1:46.2	has a clear opportunity now to change all this and to protect Americans' rights to make their own
1:51.3	choices and to defend small businesses and restore a free and fair marketplace. Head over now to
1:58.5	VaporTechnology.org to learn more about the organization and why
2:02.6	they are leading the charge to support American innovation in this field. And if their mission
	...

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