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5 min readTrump’s Midterm Gamble, the Massachusetts Primary, and the West Bank’s Quiet Catastrophe
This week’s episode of Pod Save America covers a wide stretch of political terrain: Donald Trump’s awkward midterm plans, a Democratic primary that defied generational-change narratives, the growing political fight over AI and data centers, and a deeply reported segment on the accelerating violence in the occupied West Bank. The dominant through-line is that both parties are struggling with the same problem — how to talk about an unpopular president (or former president) whose name is on the ballot whether his party wants it there or not.
Trump’s Midterm Roadshow Meets a Skeptical Party
With 60 days until the midterms, Donald Trump has made clear he wants the election to be about himself. He summoned vulnerable House Republicans to the White House, announced plans to campaign for 35 candidates in the final month, and his super PAC — sitting on roughly $400 million — began airing a new ad that Dan Pfeiffer described as “one of the most useless ads I’ve ever seen.” The spot is a gauzy victory lap built around Trump’s State of the Union address, heavy on “courage” and “vision” but light on actual accomplishments. “This ad was made for one swing voter,” Pfeiffer said, “and that swing voter was Donald J. Trump.”
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:33) **Show Open & Topic Tease** - Fifer and Pfeiffer run down the episode's major stories: Trump's self-focused midterm ads, Republicans dodging his Dallas convention, the new Trump coin, the Massachusetts primary results, and a deep dive on the West Bank.
- 2 (03:55) **Trump's Self-Serving Midterm Strategy** - Trump summons vulnerable Republicans to the White House and announces he'll campaign for 35 candidates, while his super PAC hoards a $400 million war chest.
- 3 (09:25) **The GOP Cash Advantage and Its Limits** - Despite Trump's potential hoarding, Republicans still have a significant financial edge over Democrats, though candidate-bought ads are cheaper than super PAC ads.
- 4 (12:55) **Republicans Flee Trump's "Trumpalooza"** - A Politico survey finds that a majority of 70+ surveyed Republican candidates and members of Congress plan to skip Trump's midterm convention in Dallas next week.
- 5 (16:57) **The "Trump Coin" and the War in Iran** - The U.S. Mint begins selling a $1 coin featuring Donald Trump's face, which sells out quickly, while the administration struggles to manage the ongoing war with Iran.
- 6 (28:11) **Massachusetts Primary: Gerantocracy Prevails** - Incumbent Senator Ed Markey (80) easily defeats a primary challenge from Congressman Seth Moulton (47), who ran on a platform of generational change.
- 7 (33:18) **Kamala Harris's Unfair Test** - Democratic candidates in tough races are rejecting Kamala Harris's support, while she says she supports them doing "whatever they need to do to win."
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Dozens of Republican lawmakers tell the press that they won't be attending Trump's midterm convention next week, citing a variety of unconvincing excuses, but the president seems unfazed by his party's lack of enthusiasm for more Trump, announcing Trump midterm ads, Trump coins, and the possibility he may rename the Strait of Hormuz to the Trump Strait.
Dan and Jon preview the pity party and then react to Ed Markey's primary win over Seth Moulton, Kamala Harris brushing off red-state Democrats refusing her support, and the Democrats' new line of attack against the GOP — tying the construction of data centers to a tax provision in the Big Beautiful Bill. Then journalist Jasper Nathaniel stops by the studio to talk to Tommy about his reporting on violence in the West Bank.
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