In the wake of Senator Chuck Schumer's decision to advance a Republican Government funding bill, guest host Michael Steele delves into new poll numbers that may come as a wakeup call to complicit Democrats in Congress. Tim Miller and Molly Jong Fast join to discuss the fallout over Schumer's approach and why Democratic voters want the party the fight back harder against Trump's drastic actions. As Republicans cower and hide from angry constituents, Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin joins to discuss how Democrats can capitalize on voter discontent. Meanwhile, MSNBC Legal Analyst reacts to Trump's decision to invoke an antiquated wartime power to deport migrants without due process, and whether he'll defy the courts in the process. And with a trade war looming, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell joins to discuss Trump's erratic trade policy, and why Wall Street seemed to underestimate their impact. Check out our social pages below:https://twitter.com/InsideWithPsakihttps://www.instagram.com/InsideWithPsaki/https://www.tiktok.com/@insidewithpsakihttps://www.msnbc.com/jen-psakihttps://bsky.app/profile/insidewithpsaki.msnbc.com
Chapter 1: What are the latest poll numbers showing about Trump?
Okay, folks, the reviews are in. A brand new poll out this morning is full of bad news, and not just for Donald Trump. Plus, as Republican lawmakers run and hide from their constituents, I'll talk to Congressman Mark Pocan about his decision to fill the void. And later, after a judge blocks Trump from using a wartime law for deportations, Andrew Weissman is going to tell us what happens next.
I'm going to bet a lot of you watching at home right now are just a little bit fed up with Donald Trump and his actions. I'm going to bet you want Democrats to do something about it. Now if that sounds like you, and I'm just guessing here, you're not alone. Just right now, some new polling out from NBC News shows that 54 percent of voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy.
That's the worst number he's ever seen, dating back to his first term. And a whopping 82 percent of voters say the state of the economy is either fair or poor. So, basically, most people aren't happy. But what do they want to do about it? That's always the question. Well, the poll also found that the majority of Democrats want their leaders to wake the hell up and fight back.
Just 32% of Democrats say they want their members of Congress to make compromises with Trump, while 65% say they want leaders to stick to their positions, even if it means not being able to get things done in Washington. Now, that's important to note. Why? Because it's the total opposite of where those numbers stood back in 2017. Because guess what, Toto? We're not in 2017 anymore.
Chapter 2: Why do Democrats feel the need to fight back?
Things have changed, but unfortunately, not every Democratic leader seems to have gotten that message. We saw that this week when Chuck Schumer and nine other Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a continuing resolution that keeps the government open through September. Schumer says a government shutdown would have been a worse option. Really? You really think that?
I mean, how much worse could it get? They're already closing down agencies and firing people. So, worse? At the end of the day, no matter what reason he may give, Schumer backed down from the fight. That's the bottom line. This wasn't about what happens on the other side of the shutdown. It was the fight regarding the shutdown. He waved the white flag. He handed Trump a win.
And Democrats are pissed. Just listen to this response from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday.
Chapter 3: Is Chuck Schumer losing support among Democrats?
Is it time for new leadership in the Senate?
Next question.
Have you lost confidence in him, the fact that you guys see this so differently?
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Trump's wartime powers?
Next question.
A bit of a sidestep, but then again, folks, not really. Schumer's former leadership partner, Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe, saying, quote, this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable. AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also went after Schumer, saying there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal and calling this a huge slap in the face.
And whispers of a primary challenge or leadership challenge, you know, as a matter of fact, are getting louder. So, folks, here is the deal. Bear with me for a second. I think I'm having a bit of a deja vu. I don't know about you. The year is 2009. Democrats are at the peak of their powers. Republicans are in retreat, in a tailspin, confused and not knowing what to do.
There are signs of voter backlash everywhere. The transformative agenda that's being pursued in Washington is not being accepted by the people on the ground. Sound familiar? We saw that backlash in the polls. We saw it at town halls. And we saw it in Congress. Sounding even more familiar? Back then, Republicans rode that wave of resistance to a historic midterm landslide.
I know a little bit about that. So today, the question for Democrats is this. Do they join the backlash, lean into the resistance and fight for the frustrated voters? Or do they keep waving the white flag? Joining me now is the host of the Bulwark podcast, Tim Miller, and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, Molly John Fast.
OK, folks, this is a one-two punch on this subject, so I just, I actually could just sit back and just let Tim Riff and Molly, you know, just, you know, clean up on aisle nine here. But I'll get a little bit specific with you, Tim. Trump said he appreciates Schumer and that he did the right thing. Does that tell you everything you need to know about this situation right now?
That does tell you everything you need to know. My congressman down here, Troy Carter, is a Democrat from New Orleans, sent a picture that tells you everything you need to know, which was Schumer angrily pointing at Trump while Trump just smiled from the Oval Office last week. That's where they were at. are at right now. Schumer folded.
He made a little bit of a stink, but didn't actually get anything, didn't force Trump to the negotiating table. You can bet Trump was smiling when he was sending that bleat. If you're the Democratic leader in the Senate and you're making Trump smile like that, and you're having him congratulate you, then you made some mistakes. Here's the thing, Michael.
You were talking about that Tea Party wave in 2010. I think about that. I was on the other side of this token back then. There were times where I was in the more establishment on the Republican side saying, come on, you guys, you Tea Party guys are going too far. This is too crazy. You've pushed us too far to the brink with these government shutdown threats. I understand the logic of that, that
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Chapter 5: How are Republicans responding to voter discontent?
So, Molly, it makes me think of an interesting aspect of the politics here, because while it seems like the advantage on the politics is in the Republican court, you do have Republican leaders out there telling its members now, y'all, don't go to town hall meetings. No, baby, don't hold a town hall meeting now because y'all don't need to bring that heat. We don't need to disrupt our politics.
What say you, sir?
Yeah, well, I've got some good news for the Democrats is that they get to have a little bit of training wheels here starting pretty soon because the politics of opposition is a lot simpler than the politics of, you know, putting forth complicated policies, doing what Joe Biden had to do, communicating, you know, passing an agenda, communicating it. That's challenging.
Saying these guys are screwing stuff up.
That's pretty easy and they're screwing stuff up right now And so I do think that's like the best thing that the Democrats have going for him and you did see Trump Increase some in this NBC poll this morning, but underneath that top line like you see a lot of unhappiness already brewing particularly with the economy and And so if they don't turn that ship around I think the Democrats can really kind of focus on a negative partisanship message for the you know next 18 months and figure out the more complicated parts
after that.
It's always the complicated parts. It's always the complicated parts. Tim Miller, Molly Jungfest, thanks for starting me off this morning. Appreciate you. Coming up, some Republicans are facing angry constituents back home and others are choosing to run and hide. Congressman Mark Pocan has been telling Republicans in Wisconsin that if their congressman won't hold town halls, he will instead.
The congressman joins me after a very quick break. Republican leadership recently warned their members not to hold in-person town halls because, well, too many of them were getting embarrassed by their own voters. But apparently Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards didn't get the memo.
And when you see what happened at his town hall this week, well, you kind of see why they're telling everybody to lay low.
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Chapter 6: What strategies can Democrats use to capitalize on frustration?
Michael, thanks for inviting me. I mean, we have two jobs as a member of Congress. One, to represent your constituents' views in Washington, D.C. And two, explain Washington, D.C., as hard as that may be, to your constituents. And the only way you can do either of those is to actually meet face-to-face with the people you represent.
Republicans don't want to have town halls for all the reasons you just showed on TV. But, you know, they need to talk to their constituents. If you're going to cut Medicaid for 1.3 million people in So I've offered every Republican in Wisconsin, I'll go to their district and do a town hall with them. I've done some on the border of the district to the Midwest.
I'm actually going to be in his district on Tuesday doing a town hall in Viroqua, Wisconsin. And I'm not done. I'm going to keep doing this because at least people should be able to talk to their member face to face and say, look, don't cut my Medicaid. Don't cut food assistance. Don't cut education. Don't cut the subsidies anymore.
for the Affordable Care Act, all so that you can have a tax cut of $4.5 trillion go to Elon Musk and Donald Trump. That's what people are saying, and members of Congress just need to listen to their constituents.
So after your town hall, many of his constituents for Republican Congressman Derek Van Orden, right? I think that's what he had said. He continued to avoid in-person town halls because a group of, quote, George Soros funded agitators have been disrupting them. You know, poor George Soros. Yeah. You know, one billionaire is just like all other billionaires, as far as I know.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of town halls in current politics?
But, you know, Democrats got one that everyone, all the Republicans like to pick on and blame for everything. Republicans seem to have about seven or eight. So there's that. But the fact of the matter is we've also heard from President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson.
What's your reaction to that, to these folks now sort of leaning into this idea of just avoiding it in conversation with the American people while we deconstruct the federal government?
Look, we know when Donald Trump talks with his mouth is open, he's lying, right? So he's saying a lie that these are crowds that are paid for somehow. Look, the one we had last Saturday in Belmont, Wisconsin, population 1,000. We had several hundred people and turned people away at the door. We had people looking through the windows, trying to watch the town hall through open windows.
This was farmers. This is people who have kids who are getting Medicaid and are afraid it's going to be cut from them. This is People who go to the Veterans Hospital here in Madison, Wisconsin and other parts of the state and are afraid they're not going to get their care. There's a lot that people are concerned about. And these are not paid George Soros folks.
That's an excuse that if you're afraid of your constituents and you'd rather sit in your basement, you can do that. But, you know, if you really are a member of Congress who cares to listen to your constituents, you have to have a open public town hall. And if you're afraid to, well, maybe you should find another occupation.
Yeah, exactly. So, you know, because on that point, it looks like, you know, Tim Walz is going to be headed to Congressman Van Orden's district in Wisconsin on Tuesday. So what type of reception do you think he's going to get there?
I think people are very much wanting to be heard. I was knocking on doors yesterday. We have a very important state Supreme Court race coming up on April 1st. Susan Crawford is one of the candidates. She's a judge here in Wisconsin. And the conservative candidate is a former Republican attorney general who never tested rape kits while he was in office. And it's going to decide our Supreme Court.
So it's probably the biggest race ever. to determine what the future of the country is as people are looking at all these things happening. So $10 million at least has been put in by Elon Musk trying to buy this candidate like he's used to buying Donald Trump and other Republicans. So people are real frustrated.
So I think part of this is about, you know, being able to turn out on April 1st for the right candidates that are going to be fair and impartial, not bought by Elon Musk. But part of it is the concerns about the cuts on Medicaid. You know, also the other thing, Michael, if I didn't say it, I'd be remiss.
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Chapter 8: How are Democrats planning to address the Medicaid cuts?
Social Security, you know, when the president talked that long with those lies about Social Security and the State of the Union speech, that tells you they're going after Social Security. Elon Musk said it's a Ponzi scheme. You had Donald Trump repeating multiple times disproved lies about people getting payments and Social Security up to 360 years old. It's ridiculous. But.
That's what they're looking at, too. So people are concerned about their Social Security, their Medicare. They're concerned about the VA benefits. They're concerned if you're a farmer about some of the grants you get and food that we are able to sell and help people overseas. People are just really nervous. And I think that's what he's going to get an earful of.
All right, Congressman Mark Pocan, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Coming up, just when you think you've seen it all, well, Donald Trump tries to invoke a wartime authority from more than two centuries ago. The great Andrew Wiseman, standing by. You'll join me next.
Yesterday, Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of, wait for it, 1798, a rarely used authority that's only supposed to apply in times of war or invasion by a foreign country. Now, of course, neither of those things are happening at the moment. But Trump is trying to use the law to immediately deport without the usual due process.
Non-citizens suspected, and that's important, of being members of a Venezuelan gang he accused of unlawfully infiltrating the country. Within hours of that proclamation, a federal judge overseeing a case brought on behalf of five Venezuelan migrants expanded a temporary restraining order. His order bars the administration from deporting all non-citizens in U.S.
custody that are subject to Trump's proclamation for 14 days. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. So to help us kind of unpack all of this 1789 nonsense is the one and only Andrew Weissman, the former general counsel for the FBI. He joins me now. Andrew, I want to take a quick moment to read to you a portion of what the DOJ. offers in its appeal to the judge's order.
They cite Donald Trump's Article 2 authority as a justification to remove members of this Venezuelan gang, explaining to us that, you know, it's inherent in Article 2 authority to protect the nation. The president may determine that this Venezuelan gang represents a significant risk to the United States and that its members should be summarily removed from this country.
Help us understand what that means.
Sure. So this is an incredibly fast moving story where you have the district judge, as you noted, issuing a temporary restraining order, finding that the Alien Enemies Act from over two centuries ago. I try not to do math in public, but I can do that to say this is over 200 years ago. It has been rarely invoked. And as you noted, there are all sorts of problems with invoking the statute.
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