Citizen McCain with Meghan McCain
Citizen McCain with Meghan McCain

The Democrats' Biggest Fight Isn't Against Republicans

July 28, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

During a White House correspondents’ dinner, Donald Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to “smile” and then posted a photo of her face superimposed onto a Bud Light ad featuring Dylan Mulvaney. That moment crystallized a broader theme of this episode: the Democratic Party is locked in an internal war between its establishment and its Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) wing, and the fight is getting ugly enough that neither side can pretend otherwise.

The DSA vs. the Establishment: A Party Split

The central argument of the episode is that the Democratic Party is no longer a coalition that can paper over its differences. Guest Amy Parnes, senior political correspondent at The Hill and co-author of the number one New York Times bestseller Fight and Shattered, explains that the DSA wing, energized by figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and campaign manager Morris Katz (who managed the Mom Donny campaign), is explicitly trying to burn down the existing party structure. Katz, a DSA member from a wealthy Tribeca background, told Ezra Klein that Democrats made a mistake by elevating “the right’s rejects”—Liz Cheney and other never-Trump Republicans—as voices to trust.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:01) **Show Open & Housekeeping** - Meghan McCain welcomes listeners, explains the late taping due to her son's doctor appointment, and announces schedule changes for the show after a summer break.
  • 2 (06:56) **The Democratic Civil War: DSA vs. Establishment** - Amy Parnes, senior political correspondent at The Hill, joins to discuss the escalating internal battle within the Democratic Party between the progressive DSA wing and the moderate establishment.
  • 3 (12:54) **Can the DSA Win Nationally?** - The conversation pivots to the electoral viability of the DSA, with Parnes arguing they are "winning" the internal fight but may not be able to win general elections in swing states.
  • 4 (17:58) **Reporting on AOC & The 2028 Presidency** - The discussion focuses on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's presidential ambitions, her media strategy, and the personal and political hurdles she would face.
  • 5 (26:57) **The Kamala Harris 2028 Question** - The panel briefly discusses the prospect of Kamala Harris running for president again in 2028, which Meghan calls "ridiculous."
  • 6 (35:08) **The GOP's MAGA-on-MAGA Violence: Vance vs. Rubio** - The conversation shifts to the Republican side, focusing on the emerging primary battle between JD Vance and Marco Rubio for the 2028 nomination.
  • 7 (44:14) **Trump's WHCD Performance & The Caitlin Collins Joke** - The panel reviews Donald Trump's performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, specifically a distasteful joke about CNN's Caitlin Collins.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Meghan McCain

Show Notes

Is the Democratic Party moving toward the center, or further to the left?

Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins react to President Trump's White House Correspondents' Dinner, his continuing feud with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, and how the night was a huge flop before diving into one of the biggest questions facing Democrats ahead of 2028.

Then bestselling political journalist Amie Parnes, senior political correspondent at The Hill and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Fight and Shattered, joins the show to discuss Haley Stevens' Senate campaign, the Democratic Party's decision to make South Carolina its first presidential primary, the growing influence of democratic socialism, and what the early 2028 presidential landscape could look like.

Plus:

  • Trump's White House Correspondents' Dinner performance
  • The continuing Trump and Kaitlan Collins feud
  • Haley Stevens embraces her viral moment
  • Is socialism helping or hurting Democrats?
  • The Democratic Socialists' most controversial platform positions
  • Marco Rubio closing the gap on JD Vance
  • The incredible story of a passenger who survived being partially sucked out of an airplane window
  • Miranda's big move into her new home

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