Friday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth discuss whether anyone is in a position to challenge Vice President Vance for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, the role increasing energy prices played in this week’s elections, and whether encouraging Ozempic really lines up with President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. They also discussed the acquittal of the guy who admitted to throwing a sandwich at a federal officer in protest of Trump’s takeover of policing in Washington, D.C. Plus, the weekly “You Cannot Be Serious?!” roundup of wild headlines. You can listen to the show live each day at 11:00 a.m. on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opened with some 2028 presidential speculation, sparked by a new report from Politico that even Secretary of State Marco Rubio concedes that Vice President JD Vance is the frontrunner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. Also, a conversation about who California Gov. Gavin Newsom might pick as a running mate to go up against Rubio and Vance. “Are their sources from the vice president’s office?” Tom Bevan joked. “The alternative is Rubio running against Vance and trying to have a bloody primary in 2028. I think the Republican Party would be better off if those two guys agreed to team up and move on.” “This is a tradition in the GOP. Trump has thrown out most of the old traditions, but that one kind of remains,” Carl Cannon added. “So when Marco Rubio says this to friends, if he did, he’s just acknowledging what’s pretty obvious.” “Is JD Vance going to say, ‘Sure, I’ll serve another term as vice president. Marco, you take the top slot?’ That ain’t going to happen!” Bevan said. “Well, there’s an Emerson poll out this morning that shows Vance at 54% among Republicans for 2028-up from 30% a year ago. Rubio is at 6%. And you know who’s number two? Donald Trump Jr. at 7%.” *** After that, around minute 19, the group discusses the role skyrocketing energy prices played in Democratic victories in elections this week. New Jersey governor-elect Mikie Sherrill won by promising a day-one utilities rate freeze, and Virginia –remarkably– is home to the largest concentration of the power-hungry data centers in the world. Virginia resident Carl Cannon said the candidates talked about energy prices, “but the candidates were too busy accusing each other of being unfit for office to spend much time on the issues.” “But New Jersey was a state where Trump made inroads last year. A growing energy bill in a low-turnout election gets people to vote against the incumbent administration,” Cannon explained. “These data centers are interesting, building all these massive facilities,” Tom Bevan commented. “These things take up an extraordinary amount of energy, and they’re getting tax breaks to come build there, and the argument is they’re raising everybody’s electricity bills in the process.” *** Next, 27 minutes into the show, the panel considers the White House announcement yesterday that weight-loss drugs like Ozempic will be sold much more cheaply by the TrumpRx government website. Is what President Trump called the “fat drug” what they meant when they said “Make America Healthy Again”? “They’re injections now, $ 1,000 per month; the pill version will be here next year, to make people thin again. Make America thin again. Who knew?” Cannon marveled. “But if these pharmaceutical companies can still make money after cutting the price by 500%, that brings out the Bernie Sanders in you, doesn’t it?” “Apparently, one-third of the U.S. population is obese,” Tom Bevan said. “But the idea that we solve problems by taking pills-whatever they are. Mental illness, weight, whatever. This mentality that you can eat whatever you want and then take a pill to lose weight can’t be good.” “If this is in fact preventative medicine-if losing weight is better for your joints, better for your heart-it may save money long term and prevent human suffering,” Walworth added. *** Finally, 38 minutes into the show, the trial of the year in Washington, D.C., ended yesterday, with a D.C. jury finding Shawn Dunn not guilty of misdemeanor assault for throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The defense argued, in part, that throwing the sandwich was an act of political speech, protected under the First Amendment. “It amounted to jury nullification,” Cannon said. “The problem is this: now you have a city where, as a matter of law, people can go around throwing sandwiches at people they disagree with politically and call them fascists. I don’t think that’s what the jury intended-but that’s the problem with these charges being brought in very politically charged cities against police on behalf of progressives.” “It is a little disquieting when you think about the implications,” Bevan added. “What if he’d hit him in the face instead of the chest? Would that have qualified as assault? What if it’s a pie? This opens a lot of doors. That’s a slippery slope you don’t want to be on. He should have been held accountable, even if it was community service.” From there, the panel moved into their weekly “You Cannot Be Serious?!” roundup of the week’s most absurd headlines. *** Don’t miss a single episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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