Thursday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Andrew Walworth, Carl Cannon, and Tom Bevan discussed the political battle lines forming over the ongoing government shutdown and how “meme culture” is impacting political discourse. After that, they discuss the mayoral election in New York City, including what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said about Zohran Mamdani in this week’s Vanity Fair and Andrew Cuomo’s new AI-generated campaign ad. Finally, RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann joins the guys to discuss his latest article on Donald Trump’s agreement with Harvard University: ‘Their Sins Are Forgiven’: Trump Claims He Has Deal With Harvard You can listen to the show weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** First, Andrew Walworth, Carl Cannon, and Tom Bevan break down the key issue that triggered this year’s government shutdown: to what extent the federal government should reimburse hospitals for the unpaid bills of illegal aliens. Democrats flatly deny this occurs, while Republicans refuse to budge on cuts made in the most recent spending bill. Carl Cannon pointed out that during the 2020 presidential primary, every Democrat said they supported it: “But the debate should be that policy. I would argue that they have a strong case to make-these people are here; however they got here, and they need medical care.” “The argument that we should be providing billions for healthcare for people who are here illegally is a political loser-and the Democrats know it,” Bevan said. “If the Democrats would talk about this honestly, I think they would have a better chance of changing minds,” Cannon added. “Americans are much more charitable than that.” *** After that, starting around minute 12, sombreros and cat memes are taking center stage in the debate over government funding this week. “The memes are really not a side story anymore, they are how we, as a society, are debating,” Walworth said, mentioning a new article by Dan Baldino: “Memes Are the New Manifestos and Legacy Media Is Missing the Story “ “When this happened to JD Vance, he leaned into it. He posted it and laughed,” Bevan said. “Meanwhile, what Hakeem Jeffries did, instead of letting it roll off his back, was say it’s racist. And they took the clip of him saying how awful and racist it was, and the Trump folks put a sombrero and a mustache on that.” “For a meme to be effective, political humor depends on pointing out the absurdity of the other person’s position or hypocrisy in an irreverent, lighthearted way. That’s what political humor is. The Democrats either pretend they don’t get the joke or are so wrapped around the axle on identity politics that they can’t allow themselves to engage,” Cannon said. *** In the next segment, around minute 22:30, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Vanity Fair that he “kind of likes” the idea of Democratic-socialist Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral election because he’ll be a “shock to the system” that “there’s a chance to come back from.” “I understand the premise: Cuomo represents managed decline-slow decline-versus dropping off a cliff, and only when you hit rock bottom can you start rebuilding and bring the city back,” Bevan commented. “Let’s say he’s very popular, and his dumber ideas he either doesn’t do or he’s thwarted, and people like him because he stands for the little guy. What does that mean?” Cannon suggested. “Maybe the Democratic Party is about to go very hard left and become the Democratic Socialist Party and win in these big cities all over the country.” *** After that, at minute 27, the gang discusses whether Andrew Cuomo’s new AI-generated campaign ad is enough to breathe life into his campaign. “Doesn’t seem inspiring,” Bevan said. “If his argument is, ‘I’m ready to be your mayor on day one,’ I just don’t think that gets it done. He has to absolutely obliterate Mamdani. He has to scare people. Just saying he’s a friendly face who can be mayor on day one-the moment requires way more than that.” “Mamdani went after him for using AI to generate this video. He’s talking about hiring people, and there are a lot of unemployed or underemployed television people in New York who would have liked to work on that ad. Instead, he used AI,” Walworth said. Cannon added: “I think Andrew Cuomo has baggage that makes it harder to go negative.” *** Finally, starting at minute 34, RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann joins the guys to discuss his latest article on Donald Trump’s agreement with Harvard University: ‘Their Sins Are Forgiven’: Trump Claims He Has Deal With Harvard “The sketch they delivered of a potential deal is very simple: Harvard pays the federal government $ 500 million, and Harvard agrees to operate a chain of trade schools to teach people everything from artificial intelligence to automotive engineering,” Wegmann reported. “This is the defining fight they’ve had with higher education. If they go soft on Harvard, maybe Princeton, maybe Brown-some of the universities that yielded initially-maybe they start rethinking the terms of their agreement,” he said. *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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