The Chris Cuomo Project - Why the Democrats’ Anti-Trump Strategy Isn’t Enough

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

With the 2024 election quickly approaching and polls tightening, Chris Cuomo takes a hard look at the Democrats’ strategy as they attempt to counter Donald Trump’s growing momentum. He critiques their reliance on attacking Trump’s character rather than presenting a clear, positive vision for the future, and questions whether they can adjust in time to sway undecided voters. As the clock ticks down, Cuomo explores what it will take for Democrats to break through and resonate with a frustrated electorate. Try AG1 today and get their special offer of TEN, yes ten, free travel packs, AND a bottle of Vitamin D3K2 with your first purchase at drinkAG1.com/CCP. That’s a $67 value for FREE if you go to drinkAG1.com/CCP today. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After decades of shaky hands caused by debilitating tremors, Sunnybrook was the only hospital in Canada who could provide Andy with something special. Three neurosurgeons, two scientists, one movement disorders coordinator, 58 answered questions, two focused ultrasound procedures, one specially developed helmet, thousands of high-intensity focused ultrasound waves, zero incisions, and that very same day, two steady hands. From innovation to action, Sunnybrook is special.

Learn more at sunnybrook.ca slash special. The Democrats are going crazy on social media about Donald Trump listening to a playlist as 30 minutes, as if it's proof of why they're going to beat him and he needs to be stopped. And they have it exactly wrong. Attacking him listening to a playlist, that's because people see him as a mascot and he is entertaining them because he is proof of the problem

and he just wants to destroy it and that's all they want. And as long as Democrats get this wrong, they are headed for defeat. But they don't have to be. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from AG1. Now, you know how I feel about AG1. Okay? 60 seconds. One and done. A scoop for me in warm water. Gluh, gluh, gluh, gluh, gluh. Vitamins, minerals, pre and probiotics, adaptogens, more. Why? Because I've been using it and it's working for me. Daily self-care.

I know that I'm starting the day off by doing at least one thing positive. Okay? I drink it right in the morning. You can do whatever you want to do. But look, you put it in warm water for me, I don't know. one thing positive. Okay? I drink it right in the morning. You can do whatever you want to do. But look, you put it in warm water. For me, I don't know. It's kind of like a good replacement for the coffee routine. Of course, I still have the coffee, but there's no caffeine. So there's no crash. Okay? And this isn't a drug. It's a supplement and it helps. Start with AG1. You'll notice the difference yourself. It is a great first step to investing in your health. That's why I am a proud partner and want to do more with them. Try AG1, get a free bottle of Vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs with your first

purchase at www.drinkag1.com. That's a $48 value, free. If you go to www.drinkag1.com. Please you care about your health check it out support for the Chris Cuomo project comes from Shopify Shopify matters from a business perspective because what you learn is a successful business is really about the business Behind the business that helps it deal with its own growth and success So when you think about businesses

that are selling through the roof, Aloe, Allbirds, Skims, okay? Oh, well those are just great businesses. They have a great product. Yeah, but what about what they're using to help them fill all the orders and grow the right way and deal with their customer satisfaction? Nobody does all those things for a business better than Shopify.

They are home of the number one checkout on the planet. And the not so secret secret with shop pay is that you can boost conversions up to 50 percent. Upgrade your business and get the same check out on Tuckit uses. Sign up for your one dollar per month trial. OK, how about that? That is some trial period. A dollar a month. Check out Untuck It Uses. Sign up for your $1 per month trial. Okay, how about that? That is some trial period, a dollar a month. Go to Shopify.com slash Chris C, or lower case.

Shopify.com slash Chris C. Upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com slash Chris C. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from GetMainLobster.com. And I gotta tell you, we're coming into the holidays. Now of course, if you're an extension of the Mishpoka, lobster is treif, but for the rest of us,

it's good eating at holiday time. Get Main Lobster, the number one lobster delivery service in America as recognized by good housekeeping and the woman who makes my house keeping good, my wife. And when you're talking lobster, let's be honest, Maine baby, it's Maine. I'm a New Yorker through and through.

I'm not messing with them when it comes to lobster, okay? When you go to getmainelobster.com, you can get it with a deal, with a deal. Promo code Cuomo, 15% off all orders store-wide. 15% off. Why wait? Treat yourself, let the people you love know that they are loved, make memories.

Getmainlobster.com. Visit the site and use the promo code Cuomo and you get 15% off at checkout storewide. GetMainLobster.com. GetMainLobster.com. That will bring you closer together. I'm Chris Cuomo. Thank you for subscribing through Substack to get the podcast ad free because I know

a lot of you want that. I love my advertisers. If you don't, you can get it five bucks a month. It's a great deal because you get this, you get my long COVID protocols, my longevity doctor who's working with me, all of her advice free for you there, and my walk-in talks about philosophy.

Now, News Nation, I'm doing what works every day. I'm doing it there. Thank you for watching and following there. But sometimes you need a closer look. And that's where we are right now. If the Democrats want to win this election, you have to stop doing what they're doing right now and shift energy away from what has gotten them almost here, certainly with Kamala Harris, but won't get them there in terms of winning. What is that? That Trump is bad. Trump is bad, won it for Biden, 100%. No reason to analyze further. Trump is bad.

Boosted Harris. When Biden was removed after legitimate questions about his competency, certainly over the long haul, now yes, there is a confusion there because isn't one of the reasons that Trump was gaining space on Biden because the idea of Biden's longevity included an analysis of Harris taking over for him that people didn't like. So why would Harris then be the candidate? I hear you. You're not wrong.

Okay. And that's why, or a reason why, Kamala Harris, the sitting vice president, is a knotted up in a race with one of the least popular politicians in history, Donald Trump. Now this confuses people, I among them. How can you be struggling to win in an election against somebody like Donald Trump? It's a good question.

Well, why is that a fair question to begin with? Well, because Donald Trump is one of the least popular politicians we've seen measured in modern history. And with good reason. He lies in a way that we are not used to policing. He has done bad things in a degree and over a duration that we are not used to seeing. He has destroyed norms of what leadership looks

and sounds like in a way that we are not used to. As a culture, he is a leader of a movement to which he does not identify in ways that we have never seen before. Within his own party, which he's not really a member of, he has historic negatives among his own. Okay, he also has historic positives. Why? Because he is a symbol.

He is a mascot. He is a mascot. He is an agent of animus. He is the Grinch of grievance. That's what Donald Trump is. And that motivation is not about the man. It's about the mentality that is desperate enough to see him as a vehicle for it. People are pissed off about how we do things,

who does it, when they do it, and why they do it. They are pissed off at government. They are pissed off at the players with power in government. They are pissed off at the culture around that dynamic, and they are pissed off about how each and all of those things reverberate into their own lives through culture and through everyday demonstrations. That is what this election is about. Broadly put, grievance.

This election is about what pisses people off most. The Democrats have made the bet, and I believe it is the wrong bet, That Trump is bad is enough. Here's why. One, empiricism. Trump is bad is not enough because you are knotted up in a race, even in the popular vote, with a guy who is bad. Okay, so the status quo, the state of play lets us know that it's not

getting it done the way it did with Biden. Why? Different time, coming out of the pandemic. He was a sitting president. He had screwed it up and his big mouth and his bombast and all the other drama that may tickle the media and impress a small slice of this country was not enough. And so he, yeah, of course, the electoral college is really close. Why? Because we become so divided in this country. But in terms of overall numbers, Biden beat the piss out of him. Okay? And that matters too. I know it's not functionally as important because of the electoral college, but it's still representative of the vibe in the country, right? You lose by 7 million votes. I mean, that means something. Now, Democrats

should be looking at this situation and saying, okay, people are enraged. They're afraid, they're angry, whatever. All of those emotions come from the same structure of feeling, okay, which is fear. All right, fear of what? Of not being able to take care of my family, of not being able to realize my dreams, of not being safe, of being taken advantage of,

of being lied to. Fear! I am afraid! Fear is real. Anxiety within politics is a real thing. Well, what's the difference? Well, fear is specific and known.

I'm afraid of your taxes, of your changes to gender, of your destruction of religion, whatever, whatever, whatever. What's anxiety? I know it's going to be bad. I just don't know how or why. That's a big deal in politics. Trump plays on it all the time. So Democrats have a harder lift than Trump to win,

even though he is a more flawed candidate. It's complicated. You want it simple, stick to social media. You rarely have simple explanations or simple solutions to complex problems and complex situations, okay? And that's why people are always looking for some desperate cheap fix or slogan or understanding. The Democrats are in a enragement versus engagement election. If they can get enough people who not only think that Trump is a buffoon

and beneath the level of qualification for leadership in this country, but, but, but, and this is why it's harder, if you're pissed off and I can make you pissed off, that's enough to vote for Trump. It is, why? Because everything that's wrong with Trump and what he can look like on paper and in substance kind of makes sense to people voting for him

to inject him into a situation they find equally ugly and objectionable. Think about it for a second. He is not an antidote. He is not medicine. He is a virus. That's the metaphor. It's not that he's the solution.

He's not the cure. He's going to make the political corpus sick. That's what he is, okay? And people who want to see it hope that the resulting fever, let's keep the metaphor going, Trump gets back in, fucks with everything you don't like and everyone you don't like, makes it sick. And the fever, the raising temperature, will allow it to disinfect itself and get us to a better place. Now to me, that is really far-fetched.

I get the first part, being pissed off, putting him in there to fuck around with who and what you don't like. But what makes you think it's gonna be any better? I know he keeps telling you it was better when he was there. That's because it was before the pandemic. Things were not better in this country when Trump was here, okay?

Yeah, there was less immigration of illegal people crossing the border under his watch. Okay, the idea that that is the sole criterion of national security in America is silly, okay? And I'm telling you, I agree, it was better under Trump. And the Democrats after Trump made it worse. And it may cost them the election. I'm with you.

But the idea that we were in a better place, he was constantly fomenting tension. He was constantly dividing us because it was working for him. The less people who are engaged in our dialogue, the better it is for a toxic populist. And that's what he is. He's a demagogue. I don't care if you like it or not, that's the truth.

He's using prejudice and outrage and your fears to galvanize you. And he's not going to make things so much better. First of all, he can't, okay? And second, the realities of the dynamic won't allow it. He's not gonna be able to get enough done. It's gonna be more talk than walk. And that's the truth.

But that doesn't mean you'll beat him by pointing that out. Because if people are still voting on the basis of being pissed off about the status quo, you're in the same situation as Democrats. Why will they vote for you? Kamala Harris is more easily connected to the problem than the solution.

Again, Kamala Harris is more easily connected to the problem than the solution. Why? Because she's part of the sitting administration. Because she's been in elected leadership for like a gazillion years. That's why. She's not an outsider. she's not a disruptor.

And that's what people want. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from Cozy Earth. Man, I was just thinking about this last night. So I'm in my bed with the Cozy Earth sheets and I literally thought to myself, God damn, this feels good. And that's what Cozy Earth is about. It actually makes you notice what we ordinarily

don't pay attention to. And what matters more than what's going on in bed? And I don't mean that in an untoured way. I'm saying you gotta get your rest. You can literally transform your space into an elevated haven. Why? Because Cozy Earth has put technology into the textile world and

you get breathable sheets. Help you stay cool when it's hot, help you stay warm when it's cold. Durable weave fabric does not pill. Guaranteed for 10 years. How can you lose, by the way? If you don't like it, give it back, they give you your money back, you get to sleep in their stuff for free. Peace of mind matters. Make a smart choice. One of the only ones this election season and choose Cozy Earth. Feel the difference. Go to CozyEarth.com slash Chris. Use the code Chris and you'll get an exclusive discount of up to 40% off. 40% CozyEarth.com slash Chris. Check it out and tell them you heard about them on the podcast.

Hook a brother up. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from Ground News. Now listen, I'm a news guy. Why am I pitching a different source? Because I don't play that game. That's why, if something can help you, I want you to know about it. And Ground News is very helpful.

Why? Because Ground news helps you curate information that you can trust. It's a website and app that helps you make sense of the news by gathering related articles from around the world in one place so you can compare coverage. It does the homework for you. Context about the source. Does it have a political bent? Is it reliable? Who owns them? Ground News gives you that information.

What details do people emphasize and why? Ground News lets you compare how outlets from the left, right, and just who's known to be reasonable, how they're all covering, and each is covering the same story. Go to groundnews.com slash Chris to get 40% off the ground news vantage plan, which will unlock access to all of their features. I think it's a genuinely cool essential tool in today's world. They're doing important work and I hope you'll check them out. Groundnews.com, G-R-O-U-N-D is ground slash Chris. And then you hook me up and I hook you up. Now this is pretty doom and gloom for you Democrats

and you independents who don't want Trump. Well, not necessarily. That's what adjustments are about. And remember, in an election, this is a close. You can make adjustments all the way up almost until election day that can make a big difference in the places that matter most, which is what? Democrats have to move off of the simple message that Trump is bad.

Here's another reason why. Look, you want to flood social media with Donald Trump listening to a playlist for 30 minutes and think that people are gonna think he's nuts and therefore not vote for him? Independence in swing counties? You're the one who's nuts. But he just sat there and listened to music for 30 minutes. It's a cult of personality. He is a cartoon for these people that amuses them. That's all the rally is about.

And remember, you're getting the value proposition wrong. The value proposition wrong. The value proposition with Trump is he will break it. It doesn't matter what a jackass or how bombastic or how much of a liar or how angry or how unhinged or how colored his face is or how weird his hair is. To them, it is all a demonstration of how screwed up the reality is. Remember when we used to watch Batman?

Why were the villains and the heroes all so cartoonish? Because it was a cartoon. It was an exaggeration of reality for dramatic effect, and that's what our politics is, and that's what it has become. And Trump is like the Joker. Why did they paint Cesar Romero's face? Why did Joaquin Phoenix play it as such a crazed lunatic?

Because that is the anthropomorphization. That is the metaphor. That is the translation of thing into being. And that's what it is the metaphor. That is the translation of thing into being. And that's what it is with Trump. He looks like what politics is. I know they say he's not a politician. Of course he is. And they believe it so much so that the same people say,

I like him because he's not a politician, are enthralled with him because of what he does politically. He is our reality. He is the bloated, obvious, ugly, obnoxious demonstrations of everything that pissed people off. Well, then why would you pick him? Because he hates it too. And he seems to get it.

And he seems to want to destroy it because it was mean to him. And that's enough. Think about it. Just think about it. There is a system or a thing. You ever see Fight Club, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton? They're the same guy in the movie? You get all of these guys who are like displaced males,

a lot of whom are kind of low rent, and they wind up blowing up what everybody hates. And it's all in cartoonish fashion. They're all punching each other in the face and all this other stuff. Why? Because the crude was instructive of how raw and ugly and obvious what they were against was.

That's the same thing with Trump and people following him. They don't see him. They see the same person you do. They see the same person you do. They see the same things you do. They're just looking at it through a different lens. You're looking at it as if the system and the institutions and the culture are all better than he is. They're looking at it as if, no,

this is exactly what it is. And that's why he's the right guy to go in there and bust it up, because he's the kind of guy that you hire to stop a scary gun wielding drug dealer who's haunting your school playground. You're not gonna to pick the clean-cut guy who's a teacher at the school. You're going to cut a badass mofo who seems like he's willing to do what it takes to take out someone who's dirty and deceptive and dangerous.

Now is it starting to make sense? So how do you beat Trump? Not by saying he's bad. They're okay with him being bad. Why? Because you, by not acknowledging how scary and horrible it all is, you're worse. Because you're part of what they want to destroy.

So what is the key to beating Trump? Sure, you show what he isn't. But more importantly, you got you show what he isn't, but more importantly, you got to show what you are. I know it's harder. I know. That's why it's Trump's election to lose. Because if we are stuck and steeped in grievance

and how bad everything is and how scary it is and how corrupt everything is, there is this nonsensical thinking that therefore someone who wants to do it better will win. It's not that easy because they don't have faith in better. They have faith in worse because they see it all the time

because it's reinforced to them all the time. So how do you beat them? By showing that you're willing to engage with what we all see is wrong. Now that's hard to do as somebody who's been sitting on watch in power. Now, if Harris had pitched herself as not someone who's been working on the solutions

with Biden, because she hasn't been, they hid her in that administration. It's just bad luck that the one thing they gave to her was their biggest weakness, which was the border. Now, some say it's not bad luck that Biden never liked Harris, didn't like that Obama forced her on him and set her up. I think that's given Biden a little bit too much credit for his political savvy and acumen, but interesting.

So how does Harris do that? Not easy. What Harris would need to say is, look, I've been sitting and watching what has been done to try to fix these things and why they haven't gotten fixed for three years now. And I get it. And I get what needs to be done that hasn't been able to be done here. No disrespect to Biden, but he's up against certain obstacles, personal and within the

dynamic of the politics of Congress. But I've seen what it is, and I know that there are things that we can do better. And I've seen it from the inside, so I understand it better. And I know I can do it better than Trump can, because I know he doesn't really want to do it. So the adjustment is to move the needle

from enragement to engagement. And I know I've talked about this before, but you've got to see it in real time. The Democrats seizing, going after him for listening, is getting it all wrong. Okay? You ignore that because that's what he is, and you will never change people being amused by him. You will never change people seeing him as the agent of their animus. You will never change people from believing that they are wrong about being angry

and about wanting to attack what they believe is attacking them. The adjustment that Democrats need to make is to say that they get it and that they can fix it. Well, Trump is saying that, not really, not really. What Trump is saying is they're the one who's breaking it. I'm going to stop them from breaking it. Haven't you wondered why in our politics opposition has become a feasible position?

That you vote for people for Congress who are telling you that you're just gonna stop the other people from doing anything. That never used to work. Does now, why? Binary battle to the bottom. As long as we're in this zero sum existence, that isn't just in our politics,

but in our governance now. So wait, so all you're gonna do is not let the other side do anything? Not get anything passed except what you absolutely have to just to keep us all from going bankrupt and getting destroyed? Yeah, that's all I'm going to do. Okay. So that's where we are.

If that's where we are, then pointing out what's wrong with Trump is not going to be enough. It'll be enough to get you close because he is such an easily contemptible character. That's not a surprise. And if you don't like that I'm saying that, I don't give a shit. That's the truth. Look at the polls. Within party, you have more people saying thinking he's a liar than I've ever seen

within a party. And yes, he has high positives as well. That's why it's so close. The way to beat Trump is to move the needle from enragement to engagement. There are things that can be done that can make this better. And I will explain to you what they are and why I wanna do them that way. Is that easy for Harris?

Nope, but it can be done. It can be done. Why? Well, look, the exact same reason that pointing out that Trump being what Trump is isn't enough is also a big reason that people will be desperate for more and better than him. Trump's MAGA base will not win this election.

There are not enough of those people. I know it seems like that on social media, but that's because idiots like me magnify minorities on social media and pretend they're Vox Populi. We pretend that's what's happening on Twitter or on Instagram or on all of them or TikTok is reality. And they're not. We're being duped. We're being duped.

We're being packaged and fed things to promote platforms. And that's why more and more people in this country don't identify with what the hell seems to be going on. You probably are one of them. That's why you're seeking out independent outlets. I don't know what the hell these people are talking about. They all sound crazy. They are.

They're playing to the provocativeness and the provocation of extremes. But that is not the reality in the country. So the Democrats have a harder lift until you get out on the hustings, until you get out into the country where people are not living through social media. They're living real lives, three-dimensional lives, not on a screen, okay? In reality, real dynamics, real economics, real household problems, real fears and concerns, and they want them better.

Fear is a majority in this country that does not want to just burn it all down. They want to buh-buh-buh, build back better. That was a great slogan. Problem is, you didn't deliver on it. But it's a great slogan. Can't use it now because you used it before? And they'll say you didn't deliver on it. But it's a great slogan. Can't use it now because you used it before. And they'll say you didn't act on it. Fair criticism.

If you move the needle away from just why you're pissed off and do you want me to do something about it, nobody will believe Trump is gonna make it better. Not really. Not independent thinkers, not critical thinkers. No way. Especially not people with education. Especially not people with more sophisticated understanding

of what to believe and what not to believe. And that, I believe, is as big a cut of our country as anything else. And they are not as determined to vote for Trump. Now, Harris, Democrats playing the same game. Look, it's one of the reasons I go after AOC. AOC sounds like a Trumper to me. What's happening in Gaza is a genocide.

There should be an investigation. No, flip it, investigate. Show me what the criteria on or show me why this is a genocide, meaning somebody doing everything they can to kill as many innocent people as possible. Because it does not look like that to me. It's terrible, I want it to stop.

There are too many innocent people dying, no question about it, but I don't see it as genocide. So make the case, she doesn't wanna do that. She wants to just throw labels around and piss people off. That's what she wants to do. And I think that that's proof of the problem. Oh, but Trump is worse. That's fine.

It's not a game I want to play. I think they're both beneath the level of what we should have as discourse and leadership in this country. I think we're better than that. And I think that they only exist as popularized animals because of social media. Am I wrong? Forget about Trump. All right. And I think that they only exist as popularized animals because of social media. Am I wrong? Forget about Trump, all right? I've been bashing him, you know.

There's no secret about what I think about the guy. AOC, without her social media following, what has she done? Has she really moved the bar in terms of our level of dialogue? What ideas she's introduced? What she's gotten done? What leadership roles she has within her party? No, she's introduced, what she's gotten done, what leadership roles she has within her party. No, she's completely a creature of social media.

That's her strength. That's her base. That's why people listen to her. Yeah, those are the people. No, they're not. No, they're by and large magnified minorities of people with extreme ideas. Oh, you think it's extreme that I want everybody to make a living wage? No, it's about how you want to achieve that.

That I think is an extreme idea, which hasn't found a lot of popularity, which is why Bernie really never had a chance of getting the Democratic ticket. Calling himself socialist didn't help, by the way. And I see that as an identifiable ill within our politics. It's always existed. We've always had people like that. They just have way bigger platforms. And I see that as an identifiable ill within our politics. It's always existed.

We've always had people like that. They just have way bigger platforms. The AOCs never had the kind of reach that she has because of social media. But over time, you've seen how little she's done with her platform, right? So, and again, I don't dislike her. I actually am impressed by her success

and her continued ability to make herself relevant. I am, I would have no problem having her on the show. She won't come on my show, why? Because she only preaches to the converted. She wants to play to the left and the far left. That's what she wants to do. So she'll go on MSNBC once in a while, maybe CNN who I don't believe is a left wing outfit,

but whatever you think, whatever you want. But she preaches to the converted. That's what she does. But she's also representative of the problem the Democrats find themselves in right now, just a few weeks out from the election. Trump sucks. Trump is dangerous. Trump is a danger to the democracy.

Trump is a desperate and waiting. All of these things are not true enough to overwhelm people's feelings about what's wrong and how they want what's wrong attacked more than fixed. No one sees a house on fire and wants somebody who says they're going to patch it up. No, I wanna burn it down and we're gonna build something different.

Now that's not gonna happen here, okay? And the idea of the revolution, I don't see it, okay? And I don't think Trump wants that either. I'm telling you, if this guy gets in, not only is he gonna be automatically a lame duck, but he is not going to be very impressed with anything other than his own victory. Because that's what this is about for him, redemption. I get it.

And if he wins, he'll deserve it to feel that way. And what he'll do with the mandate, I think very little. And I think that party's gonna run away from him pretty quick early on. But we'll see, right? That's why we live it out. No reason to get ahead of where you are. We got enough to deal with in present.

And in present, Democrats have to shift from just pointing out that he's listening to music for 30 minutes and saying he's the old man, he's crazy. It's not gonna win it. Getting people who are independent, critical thinkers, who are worried about what's obvious and wanna know how it gets better, they're not gonna pick Trump.

If they believe somebody has a chance of getting something done that moves the needle from enragement to engagement, they're gonna go for it. And now you see it in real time. The polls are showing you reproductive rights should be enough to get women, even married women, to move away from Trump. Do Democrats represent what they'll do differently

in a way enough to motivate that? Not seeing it in polls yet. Immigration, they're dead in the water. The economy, they have a chance to talk about doing things that will help workers. It's not what Trump is talking about. And there are critical thinking, independent people making under 150 grand, maybe even under 100 grand in this country, who are a real base of voters who want things to get

better. How will you make it better? How will you make it better? That's the Democrat space. I know it's harder than scaring people about how bad it is. I know. I'm just talking to you about how you win.

Not about what's easy. What's easy is to demonize and to divide. That is Trump's lane, not yours. Why? Because you're in power right now. And because Democrats for better and worse say that you're in power right now. And because Democrats, for better and worse, say that you're better than he is. That's been the biggest problem you've had.

You keep saying you're better than he is and you keep not showing it. You screwed up the border, you attacked him relentlessly with investigations that made it very hard for you to say he's the one attacking democratic institutions. Yeah, he fucked up royally with how he handled January 6th and what he allowed that to become. No question about it.

Then you overplayed it and said it was an insurrection and that they want to overthrow the government. It was scary enough. The truth was enough. It was a riot. And he did not do enough to make it stop. And he seemed to enjoy it. That should be enough on that topic. The idea that therefore he wants to become a despot and get rid of the Constitution, all this other shit, you're not gonna get the critical thinkers with that. They're not impressed with Trump enough to believe he has that kind of strategic notion or ambition

or sense of history or anything else. I'm not saying that despots are enviable characters. I'm saying that they're more than big mouths. Okay? It takes maneuvering to overthrow. I don't think he has it. And I don't think that you should go there in terms of winning this election. I think the place to go to win the election is we can do better than just what's bad. That's the lane for Democrats, and they better figure it out and fast, because the idea of which is worse and who is worse and why it's bad, that is playing to grievance, and grievance is Trump's lane. And if it stays a grievance election, it is Trump's to lose.

Will Democrats make the adjustment? How do you do that? She's gotta be everywhere all the time. You hid her for too long. And now the numbers have slid. Good, have her on all the podcasts. She should be going on News Nation. We have an overweighted independent audience.

You gotta throw caution to the wind. Allow yourself to bleed. You're not going to get through it unscathed. This is a war of attrition. And you should be everywhere making the case that I can do something about it. I can do something about it. He won't.

I will. Here's what I'll do. Here's what I'll do. Here's what I'll do. I know it's easier to scare you. I know you don't want to come out from under the bed. I know you want somebody to kill the boogeyman. I know it's easier to scare you. I know you don't wanna come out from under the bed. I know you want somebody to kill the boogeyman. I know, I know, but that's not as simple as that.

And we gotta work together and we gotta get shit done and we gotta compromise. And it's not enough to just scare you about the other side. I gotta work with them. That's what could win this election. And the idea of why I'm right is what we saw in the vice presidential debate. J.D. Vance knows I'm right. And that's why in that debate, he was a totally different animal than he was every second of every day before it.

Since he made the shift of exaggerating Trump as the next Hitler to now thinking he's the next Jesus. He just made that shift out of opportunism, as far as I can tell. That's politics. Well played, Senator, well played. He just made that shift out of opportunism, as far as I can tell. That's politics. Well played, Senator, well played. But in that debate, what did you see?

That anger's not enough. That you got to see it with an eye towards how do you make it better? And that everything is not 100-0. It's not that the other people all suck. It's not that they don't have any ideas. It's about how do you motivate action off of those ideas? How do we actually do things that get us to a source of common concern?

That's the way he was in that VP debate. Why isn't he like that all the time? Because they're just courting division most of the time and working their base. But that was an audience that he wouldn't ordinarily have at a rally or on Fox News. So he did what he needed to do, which is exactly what I'm pointing out to the Democrats right now.

The idea that is this a saleable notion? You know it is because you saw it play out on the vice presidential debate stage. Democrats are not doing that. They're not doing it enough. They're not doing it in fulsome fashion enough, full-throated fashion, and they're not having their proxies do it enough. There's still too much Project 2025, scare you, scare you, scare you. That's not enough to win. What got you here will not get you across the finish line. Will the Democrats figure it out? Because it's pretty obvious. So then why wouldn't they be doing it? People are afraid

to change and in campaigns I've seen it play out many times over and it's playing out right now. Do I know who's going to win? No. Then why do you say it's his to lose? Well, it's very tight and things can change up until the last second when it's that tight. A lot of it's baked in, a lot of it isn't. You don't need much to shift when it's this tight, especially when it's going to be maybe three dozen counties and four states going to determine this election. Sad, but that's the Electoral College. So there is a chance, if Democrats do what they need to do

to create the distinction with a difference, which is we all see what's wrong. It's about who's going to do anything about it that has a chance of getting us to a better place as a consensus might see it. Democrats can do that, but they have to be doing it all over the place all the time. So they got to step it up. They have enough time. Do they have the will? Do they have the direction? And do they have the guts? We'll see and we'll see together.

I'm Chris Cuomo. Thank you for subscribing to the Chris Cuomo project on Substack. So you get this ad free, you get long COVID advice that I've been using to get to a better place, longevity stuff from my doctor, Dr. Robin Rose, whose practice is exploding in this space because of what they know and what they're able to achieve.

I will do the walk and talk series that gives you my take in education, 30 years of understanding of philosophy and how to put it to play in your own life, better than I do, hopefully, because man do I suck. And I'll see you on News Nation, 8P and 11P, every weekday night. Thank you very much. Appreciate having you here. Oh, I know you want the free agent merch. You can get it. There are links all over the place.

You can wear your independence. Now is the time with the election upon us. My friends, my brothers and sisters, the problems are real, so let's get after it.