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Inside Politics
Unpacking The First Year Of President Trump's Second Term; How Will Out-Of-Control House Impact Trump's Agenda?; Poll: Congressional Democrats Face Record-Low Approval Ratings. Can Dems Go Viral in 2026? A Mamdani Digital Insider Weighs In; what Could Trump's Name or Likeness Appear on Next?; The Art of the Chase: Manu's Year on the Move on Capitol Hill. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired December 28, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:28]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Year-end review.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The golden age of America begins right now.
RAJU: As the president nears his one-year mark, we dive into his polling slump and ask what's in store for 2026?
Plus, out of the wilderness?
You think there will be a wave, a blue wave?
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I think so.
RAJU: With midterms on the mind, can Democrats actually land the plane? A Zohran Mamdani digital guru joins me on what works best.
And, on the chase.
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Find somebody else to ask.
RAJU: Most notable moments from a busy year in the halls of Congress.
With voters on Tuesday, what are you going to do?
Why not cancel recess?
You can't close the door on me. What are you doing.
INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
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RAJU (on camera): Good morning and happy holidays. Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.
RAJU: With 2025 almost in the books, it's time to take stock of the very tumultuous first year of President Trump's second term and what it means for 2026 and beyond.
Trump has transformed the country in countless, often unprecedented ways by barreling through boundaries and at times ignoring the limits of the law, slashing the federal government, issuing sweeping tariffs and sparking a global trade war, cracking down on immigration and targeting political enemies, and so much more.
But first, how are voters feeling about his presidency so far?
Let's begin with CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten, to walk us through what the polls say and how they've changed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey, Manu. Look, 2025 was not exactly the best year for the president of the United States. He started off in pretty gosh darn good territory, right? Trump's approval rating in January, he was six points above, pretty much above where he was during his entire first term in office.
But look what happens come December. 12 points underwater. Way, way down there. That is an 18-point decline during the course of the year.
Now, what has driven Donald Trump's decline in his net approval rating? Well, it's independence. That is the name of the game, baby.
Look, in January, Donald Trump's approval rating among independents was about even, minus one point. Not too hot to trot, but not too bad either. Now, we're talking about 43 points underwater come December. That is a decline of 42 points on his net approval rating. Donald Trump is hanging out with Jacques Cousteau. That is how far underwater Donald Trump is with independents at this point.
Now, what issues are driving this decline in Trump's approval rating? Is net approval rating? Well, let's look at two of the key issues, right? The economy. The reason that Donald Trump was elected to a second term back in January. He was in pretty good shape at plus nine points on the net approval rating.
But look, come December 16th, points underwater, that is a decline. Doing the math quickly here of 25 points for Donald Trump on the key issue of the day, the economy, the reason he got his second term. And then, of course, immigration, which Donald Trump has really focused in on during his second term in office, something he has been focusing on since he first ran for the presidency all the way back in 2015.
Well, in January, he was nine points above water on the issue. Now he's six points below water on the issue. So, on the key issues of the economy, inflation going in the wrong direction for Donald Trump. Now there is a bit of good news, or at least some solace that Donald
Trump can take when you compare him to other 21st century presidents at this point in their second term, look at their net approval rating. Trump is 12 points underwater, but Barack Obama right near by 11 points underwater. George w. Bush also right nearby at ten points underwater.
So, you see this? Hey, Trump isn't doing so bad. But here's the key nugget to keep in mind their parties, Barack Obama and George W. Bush's both suffered major losses come the midterm elections in their second term. Why?
Because take a look here. Okay. Term two negative net approval ratings. At this point. Did they go positive by the midterm elections in Barack Obama's case? No, it didn't happen. His party lost control of the senate, suffered major losses in the U.S. House of Representatives. George W. Bush didn't go positive either. By the midterm elections, his party lost control of the House and the Senate. And then, of course, all the way back in 1973, going into 74, Richard Nixon's net approval rating was negative.
He was actually forced from office before those midterm elections. And then his party suffered major losses in Congress. We'll have to wait and see if the same thing happens to Donald Trump. He gets a question mark at this point, but based upon history, it doesn't look too good for the man in charge of the White House right now.
[08:05:02]
Oh, and Manu, happy new year.
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RAJU: Happy new year to you too, Harry.
And I've got a terrific panel joining me right now. CNN's Jeff Zeleny, NPR's Tamara Keith, and "Bloomberg's" Mario Parker.
Happy new year to you guys as well. A lot to look forward to in the year ahead. Let's take stock of what just happened and where things are going. You know, Harry, those numbers were pretty stark.
I mean, look at this -- the independent number. I was really struck by. I mean, Trump was down with independents by one point in January. Now he's down by 43 points underwater, a 42-point slide. Wow.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's wow. And this is and this is not news to the White House. I mean, you can hear it sort of week by week. Recently, President Trump is increasingly asking in midterm elections, why do presidents, their party lose seats? He's just been bringing it up randomly in Oval Office meetings.
RAJU: I wonder why.
ZELENY: It's on his mind. Of course, he has seen this movie before. In 2018, the first midterm of his first term, he had big losses. It's why the White House has been so obsessed with redistricting. It's why they've been so obsessed with trying to change the game.
And as we end the year here and look forward to the new year, the redistricting is about a wash. I mean, there are still a couple unanswered questions. Florida, for example, which is going to help Republicans a touch. Virginia is going to help Democrats in touch. But by and large, redistricting alone is not going to save the president.
So, I think when we take stock of what we know now about Trump. He's been a very activist president in terms of flexing the executive authority of his office. But we also learned how he spends his time. I think that is one of the reasons that the numbers are so low, because he promised to fight for you. He's actually doing a lot of stuff for himself, like plaques.
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: The Trump Kennedy Center, a lot of things. So that is what frustrates some White House advisers. He promised to be a "your retribution". He's actually just doing stuff for Donald Trump.
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: And I think that hits at some of these independent numbers.
RAJU: It's such a good point. We're going to be talking about those.
Trump's words later in the show and what it all means. But, Tamara, you cover the White House. Trump's -- when Trump looks at those numbers, is he denying those exists or is he privately acknowledging we got to change course here at least a little bit?
TAMARA KEITH, NPR SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look at his behavior, right? He didn't hold rallies much of the year. All of a sudden, he's holding rallies. Now. Are those rallies on message? No, but he's giving the audience what they want, which is the weave and all of the things and all of the -- all of his complaints and all of his retribution and all of that.
But I think that these numbers answer a question, which is what happens when a president only governs for the base and only governs based on his whims, his desires, his ideas of what makes good policy. And the answer is you lose independence. You lose Democrats who probably weren't going to give him the benefit of the doubt anyway.
But you find yourself very deeply underwater. There's a reason why presidents, often when they enter office, try to govern for all Americans. And President Trump has really made no secret of his desire to just focus on the base, focus on keeping the promises he made in the campaign.
RAJU: It's really been his mantra since coming into office.
KEITH: Yes.
RAJU: Focus on the base.
KEITH: Yeah, and he has kept a lot of promises, including some promises people didn't really believe he was going to keep.
RAJU: Right.
KEITH: And that like seeking retribution and all of those other things. Proves to not be popular with the broad swath of the country.
RAJU: And this was what a lot of Republicans would hit the numbers that Harry discussed about the economy and immigration. I mean, look, two issues. He's down 16 points underwater compared to an immigration -- that's an economy. Immigration, six points underwater. He was plus nine in both in January.
MARIO PARKER, BLOOMBERG U.S. ECONOMY & GOVERNMENT MANAGING EDITOR: Yes, absolutely.
RAJU: That's why he won.
PARKER: No. Absolutely.
A couple of things I think just to hit on your points were at the decade mark of Trump, right. Coming down the golden escalator, arguably out of all the things that we've seen over the last ten years or so, what's confounded Democrats the most is someone who's made their name, their brand, synonymous with wealth for all of these decades, to then connect with the working class and blue collar voters who once comprised their own base, right?
So, as we continue to look and assess whether or not what the future of MAGA is, the state of Trump, whether or not he has this grip and his hold is lasting, what we are seeing is this slippage in his ability to connect with those voters. Right. And we see that playing out with the affordability issue. We see that playing out with independents as well.
You all know we've covered him for, again for the better part of the last decade. The independents, as long as the economy was good, would hold their nose with some of the heavy-fisted and ham-headedness on immigration or some of the remarks that they didn't agree with.
Now, as they worry about whether or not they're going to be able to pay their next bill, they have fear about what the future looks like.
[08:10:03]
They have less tolerance for some of those sideshows.
RAJU: Yeah, it's such a good point. And, you know, as we look back at what he's done this past year, the executive actions have just been stunning. This is really the stat really just says it all here. The executive orders in his first year as at 221 as of December 21st in for Trump.
Look at that compared. This is Joe Biden with 77 for Biden and far fewer for the president. Even Trump one was 55 in his first year.
So, I mean, is he accomplishing most of what he set out to do by these executive actions?
ZELENY: Yes and no. I mean, initially, some of the executive orders, a lot of those in there are basically the equivalent of naming a post office.
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: I mean, you know, they don't have much purpose, but others are part of a big, I'd say, the biggest change in the second Trump term is that they came in with the exact list of what they wanted to accomplish, a lot of them through executive orders. They know their way around the office like anyone getting a job for a second time or going back to an office place, they know what they want to do. Like Stephen Miller, for example, his top adviser had a long list of things to accomplish. A lot of them were by executive order, but by and large --
RAJU: At the beginning, too, they were just doing executive orders nonstop in the first couple of months.
ZELENY: Right. And it makes the president happy when he signs an order. So, some of those are, you know, are basically in name only, but others have real teeth. And we've seen the Supreme Court effectively so far, at least, basically let the administration have their say here. But yes, they are accomplishing some things, not as many as they would like necessarily.
RAJU: But in 2026, the Supreme Court jumping off point, this is going to be a huge year for how much Trump can accomplish major cases before the Supreme Court. You know, whether its dealing with tariffs, birthright citizenship, Voting Rights Act, about how much power he has over the Federal Reserve, the firing of FTC commissioner could have impacts on other independent agencies.
I mean, so Trump is doing all these things by executive action. The question is how many, how many, how many limits will the Supreme Court ultimately put on him?
KEITH: And I think we don't know the answer, but maybe not as many limits as legal experts would expect.
RAJU: Uh-huh.
KEITH: The Supreme Court is a 6-3 conservative ideology -- ideological majority. Three of them were named by President Trump during his first term. And he has gotten a lot of leeway from the Supreme Court so far. But as you say, there are these major cases, including birthright citizenship, tariffs.
You've seen the president express a lot of concern about the tariffs being undermined by the Supreme Court, giving the indication that he is afraid he could lose on that one. Tariffs are a fascinating case because this is this is something that President Trump did unilaterally that a lot of people in his party don't like. And obviously there are concerns among the public. The public blames him for prices being higher and affordability is now the biggest issue in politics. And yet he's very worried that it could go away.
RAJU: Meantime, there's a lot of frustration in Trump's own party. We've seen that really intensify at the end of the year. That's a question I asked a lot of Republicans about the agenda.
Look, they passed Trump's signature domestic policy achievement. Whatever you think about it, the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act was a massive accomplishment that they approved, but it was approved back in July, and there have been not a whole lot has been accomplished since then.
And that's really feeding the perception and fury within the GOP that they are in power and they need to do more.
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RAJU: Why has there been so much frustration within the House Republican Conference?
REP. KEVIN KILEY (R), CALIFORNIA: I mean, I think it's the effectiveness or lack thereof, of the House in recent months is that we just really haven't been in the driver's seat when it comes to the really important challenges facing the country. And when it comes to, you know, the key policy issues here in D.C.
RAJU: Why has there been so much frustration in the ranks of the House GOP? You know, you know, what did you say the reason is for that?
REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): Well, I think a lot of us really want to move quickly.
RAJU: And if you don't get it done, what does that mean for the midterms next year?
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Well, we lose the -- we lose the majority. We lose the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: I mean, part of it is that Trump is not really driving an agenda. What's the next chapter of the Trump agenda? We don't -- and that's part of the reason why these guys are pretty frustrated right now, because they're not driving to pass something specific.
PARKER: Absolutely. And what you're hearing from Republicans, when I speak to the sources is there's frustration on the part of the White House that the GOP, the lawmakers, aren't out talking about the Big, Beautiful Bill as much as they would like to, right? The White House wants to steer the conversation toward taxes and all of the benefits and treats that will come up in a Big, Beautiful Bill.
Republicans on the Hill, as you know, Manu, they want something that's forward looking, and the White House just isn't doing that. Trump is being hands off. We saw that kind of play out with the aca debate as well, where he was a bit hands-off. And then, of course, Mike Johnson is in a tough position.
[08:15:01]
RAJU: Yeah, he has been all along. But you know, Trump is not selling what they passed on the road.
I mean, it reminds me of Biden. There was so much frustration that Biden was not selling what they all the things they passed.
ZELENY: Exactly. I mean, and we have seen probably the biggest adjustment in Trump's strategy, what you were talking about earlier, he is now going out on the road, but not necessarily selling the agenda.
RAJU: He's talking about all sorts of things. Weave as he said.
ZELENY: Without a doubt.
But I think one thing, as we end the year and look toward the next year, I've been surprised by Republicans are not as afraid of President Trump as they once were, which often happens with second term presidents. They too are mortal politically. So, we'll see going into the new year.
But we compiled a list of Republicans standing up to Trump, and it's much bigger than we might have suspected at the beginning of the year. So that's something to keep an eye on going into 2026.
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: How many Republicans are willing to stand up to him? Even governors, for example, speaking out against redistricting and the national guard? Obviously, the Indiana state senate standing up to Trump on redistricting.
But Marjorie Taylor Greene leaving an office in just a couple of days, the retirements coming up. So, Republicans overall maybe not as afraid of him as they once were.
RAJU: A big, big change here, no doubt about it.
All right. Coming up next, why have Democrats had success in the elections this year? And what will it mean for the all-important midterms next year?
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[08:20:28]
RAJU: A curious thing is happening with the Democratic Party. They've been winning election after election this year, yet they've never been more unpopular with the public. So, what does that mean for their path back to power and the 2026 midterms? My excellent reporters are here. So just an example.
Look at all these election headlines that they won. Whether it's New Jersey and Virginia, the governors races there. There's a whole other statewide races, local elections, things that they ordinarily wouldn't win. They've been doing better in special elections.
But then you ask how Democrats in Congress are handling their job among registered voters. I mean, 19 percent approve, 18 percent in December of this year, 73 percent disapprove. How do you -- and this is a record low. And this is consistent not just Democrats in Congress, just the Democratic brand. It's just in the tank right now.
What -- what -- how do you explain them winning versus how the public perceives them.
KEITH: Yeah. So, 2024 was a really bad year for the Democratic brand. And that trust has not been recovered. The problem Democrats have isn't just Republicans and independents. It's also Democrats disapprove of the job that Democrats are doing.
But why do they win? Well, the base of Democratic voters is highly motivated. They're upset about President Trump, and the shifting of the party bases means that the most likely Democratic voters are people who vote in every election. They are the -- you know, the college educated older, wealthier voters who show up in off year elections and special elections. And they're motivated because they're upset about what's happening at the national level.
RAJU: And about Trump. And speaking of which, the political mood among Democrats and Democratic leaning registered voters, according to a CNN poll out earlier in the fall, plan to this is why 79 percent will vote to oppose Trump among Democratic and Democratic leaders, not because they love Democrats. It's because they're voting because of the guy who's in the Oval Office.
ZELENY: Without a doubt. And that gets you quite a ways -- I mean, to vote against Trump. But in the next year, we'll see what Democrats, A, they have to get through a lot of their own primaries. But what are they for? It's often not enough. And I'm not sure you can make a majority by what we're against. It's what you're for.
But I mean, look, health care remains probably one of the driving issues. It's at the forefront of the affordability challenge going forward. So, Democrats that's one of the main vessels they're able to sort of channel on the anti-Trump message. But I do think that Democrats will have to have a proactive agenda --
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: -- a positive agenda, and we'll see that come together in 2026, probably.
RAJU: Will we, though?
ZELENY: I mean, is it enough to run against Trump? We'll find out. But that is sort of the central question facing that party in the coming years. Their ideology is one thing, but is it enough to just be anti-Trump? RAJU: I mean, it's a great question because, I mean, Mitch McConnell,
when he was Republican leader, he didn't want to have an agenda to run on because you could attack that agenda.
(CROSSTALK)
RAJU: Exactly. Which. Remember, Rick Scott did that and they got picked apart. But, you know, Newt Gingrich, they had the Contract with America that they ran on. They took back the House back in that, in the Clinton era.
The Democrats need to do the same thing in 2026?
PARKER: They probably should, right? They don't have a message, a salient message, just to run on. Instead, what they're trying to do is tamp down some of the embers from the 2024 flames. Right. We saw the debate in recent weeks play out about whether or not to release the autopsy of what went wrong, what went right, right?
We know that they finally settled on the affordability, health care, ACA premiums going up, et cetera., but they haven't really outlined an agenda going forward. And that's some of the consternation that you see with the base, with Jeffries, Schumer as well, and continuing to play out in those ideological and generational divides that bedeviled them for the last three or four years.
RAJU: And let's talk about the race for Congress, because first, you have the race for the House. Jeff, you had mentioned in the last segment about how redistricting, of course, this has been the a fight that has played out all year long, typically, redistricting doesn't happen in the middle of a decade. It's at the beginning of the decade to reflect a new census. Trump pushed to redraw these lines favorably to the GOP in a number of Republican states, starting with Texas mid- decade, in order to try to improve their chances in the midterms.
But it is kind of a wash right now, and these are according to inside elections. Some of the toss up seats that they're looking at right now. Right now, there are about eight Republican, two Democratic seats from Arizona, from Virginia, and throughout the -- sprinkled out throughout the Midwest.
[08:25:07]
There are a bunch more seats in play. But I should actually -- actually are not a bunch more. I should rephrase that.
The battleground is pretty narrow here. So even if the Democrats are winning district -- winning special election after special election is a narrow battleground to take back the House.
ZELENY: We'll see. I mean --
RAJU: Especially with these gerrymandered districts.
ZELENY: That's such a good point. And that is one of the biggest differences from the Bush second term, midterm, Obama second term, the shellacking. It's just an entirely different battleground. They're just -- it's impossible now or virtually impossible to have a huge wave election of some 40 or 50 seats, just how they're drawn. I mean, things have just been so gerrymandered.
But there are a fair number of toss up seats. And, Manu, when you go back to Capitol Hill in the New Year, how many retirements are there going to be?
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: That's going to be certainly more than we know right now. There are members sitting at home with their family thinking, do I want to be in the minority?
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: I don't know. Or do I even want to go through this?
So, I think based once we know the retirements and things, we'll see how big the potential battleground landscape is. But its not setting up to be a wave election.
RAJU: Yeah.
ZELENY: So, I think that Democrats should sort of, you know, temper their expectations about some huge wave.
RAJU: And they probably need a wave in order to take back the Senate, because the battleground is the map has been bad for them just because of where the seats are up in this coming election cycle. They don't have much territory. They have to really win in a red state, probably two red states. They have to hold their seats, including in Georgia, maybe Texas, maybe if they're -- that could -- we'll see how that plays out. The primaries on both sides, Alaska.
That's a Democrats hope that perhaps they could pick off Alaska. But do you expect to see Trump campaign? I mean, the White House says they're going to put Trump out everywhere.
KEITH: Yes.
RAJU: But do they want him in these purple states and districts?
KEITH: Right. So, this is -- this is the great open question of 2026. Susie Wiles, the president's chief of staff has said they want to make these elections about Donald Trump, because when Donald Trump is on the ballot, Republicans win. So, they want to elevate him, to make him the centerpiece. And he's going to be out on the road. He's echoed this.
That's all fine and good in the abstract, but if you're Mike Lawler, if you're one of these sort of, frontline Republicans, are you going to say yes, please, Donald J. Trump, please come to my district and do a 90-minute rally where you say all kinds of random things?
RAJU: Yeah. KEITH: Probably not.
RAJU: Yes.
KEITH: And so -- and this is -- this is the case in all midterms is how -- where will the president go and how well will he be in those swing states?
RAJU: Yeah. Suddenly, they have plans when the president happens to come to their state. I'm sure we may see some of that in 2026.
All right. Up next, Zohran Mamdani is about to take office as New York's new mayor. Joining me is one of the creative minds behind some of his most viral videos. I'll ask her if Democrats can win the Internet again in 2026.
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[08:32:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI, MAYOR-ELECT, NEW YORK CITY: I know it's not yet Valentine's Day, but I can't wait any longer. Will you be my Democrat?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: Zohran Mamdani is set to be sworn in as New York's mayor later this week after running one of the most successful and viral campaigns this year. His success, fueled by a unique digital strategy with dynamic on-the-ground videos, often more playful and fun than your typical boring campaign video.
It all paid off with viral videos turning viewers into voters. It's a strategy many politicians are trying to replicate.
One of the creative minds behind Mamdani's digital campaign content, Debbie Saslaw joins me now. She's also the co-founder of the production company Melted Solids.
Debbie, thank you for being here.
DEBBIE SASLAW, CO-FOUNDER, MELTED SOLIDS: Thank you so much, Manu, for having me.
RAJU: Absolutely. I want to start talking about that Valentine's Day video which was very fun. Talk to me about the creative process there and how that came together and was Mamdani -- how involved is Mamdani get in making these videos?
SASLAW: He's very involved and is a brilliant creative mind, as well as our creative director and comms director Andrew Epstein, my partner Anthony Demiri, with Melted Solids.
It was a very collaborative effort, a collaborative script. We just went out on the street with a bunch of balloons and walked around. And it was really effective because we got people to register to vote as Democrats and people didn't know that they had to re-register. And it went viral and worked quite well.
RAJU: I mean, he -- so Mamdani was part of those, the driving strategy behind this, you're saying. He was involved pretty heavily?
SASLAW: Oh, yes.
RAJU: Because oftentimes politicians, they'll just let their staff do all the work and then ultimately they'll come and campaign.
SASLAW: No, he was involved from the beginning, from the jump. And it's always been a collaborative process. I've known Zohran since 2020 and we have been partners and collaborators.
And that's what I say to all the people we are able to collaborate with. We are here to work with you to elevate your ideas and to bring our resources as former advertising professionals to elevate the voices of ordinary people.
RAJU: Speaking of which, this is another video that you had, which was Zohran Mamdani in taxi lines at LaGuardia Airport, and as well with Halal food carts. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAMDANI: We were telling people, you know, we want to tell the stories of the New Yorkers who are often forgotten.
How are you doing, brother?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to work while everyone else gets to sleep.
MAMDANI: New York is suffering from a crisis, and it's called Halalflation.
[08:34:49]
MAMDANI: Today were going to get to the bottom of this.
You guys know New Yorkers have more of a choice than just Adams or Cuomo this election, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are you?
MAMDANI: I'm Zohran Mamdani. I'm running to be the next mayor of New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: That was -- I mean, that's pretty funny. I mean, why do you think that these really worked, were so effective and really cut through a lot of the noise?
SASLAW: Well, we did everything and anything to throw at a wall and see what stuck. And every single video was different. We looked at the early campaign digital strategy and we said we didn't stick to just one thing.
I mean, the video -- those are real cab drivers who were arguing each other over who would be better, Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo. And it was scripted, but also a lot of improv went into that.
RAJU: Oh, interesting. Would you actually -- did people just on the street, like you walk up to them, or would you go up to them ahead of time saying, hey, can you sit here and we'll go up and film this, this moment? Or how would you how would that work out with some of the actual normal people there?
SASLAW: Well, when we spoke to the Halal cart owners, we were able to just go in and discuss why the price of oil went up by sometimes $2, $3, $4. And there was a very concrete policy that Eric Adams ended up not signing where these halal cart owners were getting ditched -- they were getting screwed by price gouging by the middlemen.
RAJU: It seems like a lot of this is -- it's authenticity, right? It shows like -- and it's not, that seems to be a reason why he was effective too in a lot of these videos and also in campaigning.
SASLAW: Well, people want a candidate who's willing to listen and not just talk at them. That's been the case across the board. And more candidates going forward need to reach not just prime voters. but voters who are low propensity voters.
Voters in areas where nobody has knocked on their door, they've never heard from a candidate. So there's been a synergy between the field team and the digital team, where the social platforms are bringing people in, getting grassroots campaigns, having volunteers go out and reach voters where they are in all -- every corner of New York. And I think that's able to be replicated in congressional districts, in municipalities. And that's how the Democrats are going to win the House in 2026.
RAJU: Let's talk about the good, the bad and some of the ugly, if you will, when it comes to some of the digital campaign video. And not -- this is not your campaign video, but this is Democrats here and something totally different in talking about how they want to fight back.
It's a choose your fighter video they put together, and you could see the different Democrats there. They're saying they're going to fight Trump. They're -- I'm not exactly sure what they're doing. But you know, it's kind of cringe-worthy.
What's your take from that kind of video?
SASLAW: There are memes that go viral on TikTok that candidates jump on way too late, and it never works. It always backfires.
And what people want are original ideas. Does that speak to affordability? Does that speak to policy? No.
We were hitting policy in every single campaign video, whether it was the Halal cart video, whether it was going out into the streets and asking people on Fordham Road and Hillside Avenue what their -- what their concerns were. Cost of living and also the war in Gaza. People were concerned everywhere.
RAJU: They're just kind of jumping on some trend they saw on social media and saying, oh, we want to tap into that. That doesn't work.
SASLAW: Those videos don't say anything. So I'm just going out and listening to the people. And what we've seen in later campaigns, I've heard the same things that we heard on Fordham Road out in a gas station in Texas where somebody was getting their health care subsidies taken away.
They would have been raised to $1,000 and only covered 70 percent of his medication. And at the end, he thanked us and he shook our hands and said, thank you for giving me a voice. It's a regular person.
And whether they voted for Trump, whether they didn't vote at all, we are hearing these everywhere from Nevada to Texas to New Hampshire and New York.
RAJU: Are Democrats doing a good enough job in this space and when it comes to digital strategy?
SASLAW: Well, I see a lot of like flashy launch videos, but they aren't, you know, following up. What we did with Zohran's campaign and what we're looking to do with a lot of our collaborators in 2026, is build a long-term investment in digital strategy and say, here's your launch video, but here is what we are going to do to build your platform, to bring in volunteers and to be able to cultivate grassroots movements.
RAJU: Yes. And it's so interesting. Flashy videos, you're saying that doesn't work. Extraction (ph) strategy works, and we'll see the campaigns that embrace that. We'll see if they're effective this year.
Debbie Saslaw, thank you so much for coming in.
SASLAW: Thank you so much for having me.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: Really enjoyed your discussion -- very, very informative indeed. And of course, a new way of campaigning. We'll see how it works in 2026.
All right. For us next, it's hard to keep track of all of President Trump's awards and all the buildings and celebrations in his honor. What he has his sights set on now -- that's next.
[08:39:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much. This is truly one of the great honors of my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: President Trump may be on his way to becoming one of the most awarded presidents ever. And that's if you count ones that may or may not have been made up just for him. This year, he was awarded the very first FIFA peace prize. He got a special recognition from the Nobel Sustainability Trust, and that's from a different entity than the one that gives out the peace prize.
Trump also topped political Europe's new top ten to watch for 2026 list. And last year, golf legend Jack Nicklaus presented Trump with the Trump International Golf Club most improved player award.
My panel is back with me now.
I don't know if I'm missing any. There's a fair amount there.
Why? Trump's got the biggest award of them all. He's the president of the United States, the most powerful position in the world. Why is he so obsessed with getting awarded?
[08:44:45]
MARIO PARKER, BLOOMBERG U.S. ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT MANAGING EDITOR: Listen. In Trump 1, he wanted to be -- he mused about being on Mount Rushmore, right? In Trump 2, we see him coming back, I think of it as, you know, in the neighborhood where you put in the concrete, "Trump was here".
We see him doing that with Washington, D.C., not only for the history part of it, but also he's trying to leave his brand there.
I mean, it's been a mark of his overall brand for the better part of his career.
RAJU: And the names of institutions that they're trying to rename, we'll see if they -- how ultimately successful they are. Whether it's the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Institute of Peace -- the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace. There's legislation trying to change Dulles International Airport here in Washington to put Trump's name on it.
That's just the beginning of what he's going to try to do after another few years in office.
TAMARA KEITH, NPR SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is not immune to flattery, let's say.
RAJU: Really?
KEITH: If you look at Illinois, you look at all of the world leaders that have tried to nominate him for the peace prize, all of the members of Congress --
RAJU: And it tends to work with him.
KEITH: And it worked -- no, that's what I mean -- he's not immune. He loves it. He eats it up.
And I did interview a political scientist earlier this year who said, someone who has been putting his name on buildings for decades is someone who is legacy-oriented. He is someone who is trying to leave his stamp on Washington, D.C. --
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: Quite literally.
KEITH: And quite literally, his name on buildings. The presidential wall of fame. I don't know how long that will last after he leaves office, but he is -- he is certainly trying to make changes that will be hard to undo.
RAJU: I mean, that's why -- speaking of which, I mean, all the construction projects we're seeing in the White House -- the White House ballroom, it's Trump setting his -- putting his stamp on all this.
This has been such a focus of his term in office when there's all this other stuff going on.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And I think it's yet one more example, perhaps the most tangible example of all of things that he didn't really understand he could do in the first term.
He paid zero attention to the Kennedy Center in his first term in office. He never went. Suddenly, he was told, and he realized that he sort of had this other lever of power.
So it's one more, I think, extension of just his executive authority and leaving his name on everything.
But it's also the best way for a company, a foreign country, to suck up to him, for lack of a more polite expression there.
RAJU: And that is a technical term.
ZELENY: It's just easy for him to do so when he gets the -- I mean, we see it almost every day in the Oval Office. People coming into the Oval Office to flatter him and praise him.
But look, at the end of the day, what does it say about leadership and leaders? I mean, we don't even see some dictators and other countries put their names on things like Vladimir Putin, for example, does not have his name on things.
It really sort of is something that only in the smallest of countries do you see this happening. It's about the country, not the president himself.
RAJU: Yes.
ZELENY: So it's very revealing about how he spends his time. And what, again I think it gets back to is he fighting for you --
RAJU: Yes.
ZELENY: -- or is this about himself?
RAJU: Speaking of which, how he spends his time. He's going to a ton of sporting events.
KEITH: Yes.
RAJU: This is like, you know, not, you know, presidents like sports and they can go to sporting events, sure. But for Trump, there's been a lot. He's put himself in the middle of some of these things.
Like I remember the FIFA Club World Cup. He was there actually on the stage giving out the awards after the finals.
KEITH: Yes. And then when the head of FIFA was trying to usher him off stage as politicians usually would just leave -- give the award, walk off stage. No, he stayed.
(CROSSTALKING)
KEITH: The stage was shaking. He was bouncing up and down like I am right now.
(CROSSTALKING)
KEITH: And I did an analysis of this. He attended more than a dozen major sporting events this past year. That is far more events -- sporting events than he did rallies to support his agenda.
RAJU: Yes. Wow. So I'm sure there'll be a lot more in 2026.
All right. Coming up, there was a lot to ask members of Congress this year. And oftentimes, well, you guessed it, they didn't really want to talk about it.
A look back at some of my memorable moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): Manu, as you know, I just don't want to talk.
(CROSSTALKING)
COLLINS: I'm sorry. I'm not going to give a press conference.
RAJU: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:48:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) RAJU: Some things on Capitol Hill never change like lawmakers, particularly ones up for reelection in tough races, having very little interest in answering questions about their positions. Or leaders in both parties looking for ways to deflect rather than to get pinned down.
When I'm not here on Sundays, you can find me in the halls of the Capitol trying to get answers, which can be newsy. But sometimes the non-answers can be just as revealing as was the case many times this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run, run, run. Manu, run.
RAJU: Don't run. Don't run. Running away from the camera's not a good look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. All right.
RAJU: Are you going to vote no on the CR? Are you going to keep voting no?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need a bipartisan pathway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went through massive fraud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, the Republicans shut down the government in order to cut people's health care.
RAJU: Yes or no? Are you going to vote for it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody cooler walks by, you're not going to hurt my feelings if you need to grab him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vaccine is safe. They need to speak to their physician.
RAJU: Should RFK say that, though? Should RFK say that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody should be upset.
RAJU: Do you do you regret your vote on RFK, Jr.?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, Manu --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can refer to our tweet on that, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we -- I know you're asking different questions, but you're trying to get something similar. And this is not going to come.
RAJU: Do you regret your vote for RFK, Jr?
COLLINS: Manu, as you know --
(CROSSTALKING)
COLLINS: I'm sorry. I'm not going to give a press conference.
RAJU: Mamdani are you going to vote for him?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Look, the bottom line is very simple. I have a good relationship with him, and we're continuing to talk.
RAJU: But the vote is on Tuesday. What are you going to do?
Are you going to vote for Mamdani?
[08:54:46]
RAJU: We're still trying to get the details of this $230 million the president has asked for the Justice Department to pay for his legal bills.
Now that you've had some time, perhaps to get the details, are you ok with taxpayers potentially being on the hook for that kind of money?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This I'm not trying to dodge the question. I haven't had time to get the details.
RAJU: Do you think that the pardon of the former president of Honduras (INAUDIBLE)?
Are you ok with that?
JOHNSON: I don't know anything about that president. I don't know. I don't have an opinion or I haven't read it.
RAJU: Does that also concern you?
JOHNSON: I don't know anything about that. I didn't see the interview. You have to ask the president about that. I'm not sure.
I don't -- I don't -- Manu, I don't know anything about it yet. I've been really busy, as you probably noticed. But I'm waiting to get an update on it.
RAJU: But why not cancel recess? Can't you cancel recess? You can cancel recess.
JOHNSON: We go through the --
RAJU: What's you're considering running for -- you can't close the door on me. What are you doing?
Are you considering running for the seat in Texas? Why won't you answer the question, Mr. Issa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: That was a public stairwell where news, of course, can be made. That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju,
follow the show @INSIDE POLITICS. You can also find me on TikTok and on Instagram.
And remember, in the United States, you can now stream INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY live or catch up later on the CNN app and just visit cnn.com/watch for more.
Up next on "STATE OF THE UNION", Jake Tapper is doing a deep dive on the future of A.I. His guests include Senator Bernie Sanders and Katie Britt, as well as Geoffrey Hinton, known as the godfather of A.I. and also speak with the authors, Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, and Time's "Kid of the Year".
Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.
[08:56:25]
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