all of us do better next time. >> matt gorman.ind of a remarkable moment from snl this weekend. >> it was. and they were making fun of msnbc too, which, like the conservatives were firing that around the group chats. but i will say, um, you talked about the difference between four years ago for me being in this town, it's such a difference from eight years ago. i mean, in 2017. you're absolutely right. you had the resistance marches, people pouring into the streets the day after inauguration day. and in many ways there was just anger. you almost felt, um, you know, it was very, almost a subtle inauguration here. i think conservatives are very much ebullient. it's far more of a party atmosphere for our party than it was eight years ago. that was also a really struck me, too. >> yeah. we're grateful that after you spent the weekend partying, you showed up here at four in the morning. >> cheers, margaret. >> you know, there's always, like, two sides to a coin. and i think stephen gets to some of that in his analysis that you were men

and matt gorman, republican strategist and former senior adviser to tim scott's presidential campaign. welcome to all of you. thank you so much for being here. annie linskey, let me actually start with you, because the wall street journal, the paper that you write for this is the opinion page. you do not write for the opinion page. but it was interesting. they're pretty skeptical about pete hegseth. they say that they called it the senate, the world's most non deliberative body, and they say that his real views are now a mystery. and they say, let's hope he rises to the occasion. i was struck yesterday by the fact that he struggled to answer some relatively basic questions about some of the big issues that he'll have to deal with, grapple with as secretary of defense. you know, he could answer what caliber bullet goes into a sidearm that a soldier carries, and he emphasized that part of his biography. but this is not someone who, in an earlier era, might have won confirmation to this post. and yet, here we are. >> yeah, yeah, i think look, when you think about that, hearing the audien

but matt gorman, we noticed this.reitbart wrote this story about something that steve bannon, a longtime trump ally, went to prison over some of it. what he said about elon musk to an italian website, quote, i will have elon musk run out of here by inauguration day. he will not have a blue pass to the white house. he will not have full access to the white house. he will be like any other person. he is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. i made it my personal thing to take this guy down. what is what is it about musk that has bannon so incensed? >> he's got a week, so got to get cracking. >> but no. look, i think part of this is, you know, i think bannon and others are trying to figure out exactly what that role is in the orbit in the administration right now. right. seven years ago, eight years ago now, he was coming in as counselor to the president. this is a way, i think, for him to have an angle, have a different sort of take than a lot of people in the trump orbit who are have no problem with elon musk favorable, el

and again, matt gorman, we talked a little bit about this earlier. when i say earlier in the program, in the middle, in the middle of the night, the day, it's all it's already a long day. no, but look, this is again. and i was at the capitol complex on january 6th. part of what makes donald trump's return and what has kind of underscored, i think, feelings of momentum, even sort of this sense of invincibility, is that all of that happened. and yet here he is, here he has gotten reelected again. i could not have imagined it on that day. >> i know, i mean, and that day, i think many people in this town would agree with you. and we talked about corporations, you know, and folks getting behind trump. they were saying corporations were refusing to give to republicans who were supportive of, you know, a lot around that day, too. i mean, that era that month was was really, you know, a nadir in the party we hadn't seen since probably obama took office after the bush administration. but in many ways, that makes today and the political resurrection we are seei

matt gorman i mean. he's standing by saying it's okay for people to attack police officers. >> yeah. i mean, look, he was put in a tough spot, especially when you contrast with what he said on fox news sunday just a couple of weeks ago. and look, i will say this stepping back, there's there's a real reason why vance goes on these platforms. they went on face the nation knowing it would not be an easy interview. it would be more antagonistic than anything else. and how he is able to navigate these sorts of questions, i think, is going to pretend how he ends up, you know, his fortunes in 2020 and beyond. and so this strategy of going on the mainstream media, answering these questions, he had a couple viral moments earlier in the interview as well. it's a coordinated strategy and how he's able to kind of go through some of these tougher questions is going to tell a lot of how he goes in 28. >> there are political risks, though, with backing up these pardons for 28. now, obviously, he's trying to stand in so

let's bring in matt gorman, target of and jonathan kott, and democrats going crazy about trump's pardonw they are blaming biden for opening the door. but biden pardoned his entire family. he didn't pardon people on the outside. trump was criticized back in 2020 we will place that in a second for potentially thinking about considering the pardons for members of his family. but this guy did it. sell, how do you testified to this? >> you don't. he wrote that out and both biden ruled out hunter specifically as early as this year or as late as this year and 2020 any preemptive pardon for his family. all i heard all week and about the inauguration joe biden is a man of norms. he respects institutions. and he uses and avenue for pity, small against nancy pelosi and others and now two systems have just as, one for the biden family and one for everybody else. >> john: here is what trump said in the oval office yesterday. >> i didn't know he gave a pardon to his family because he did it during my speech. >> he didn't tell you? >> no he didn't tell me. it is bad precedent. just be 20 believe it is

they wanted to see those people. >> the people. >> so matt gorman, clearly there are some people that wanted to see that, but it doesn't seem like the majority of americans would want this. >> no, look, i don't i don't to molly's point and mike's point, elongating this sort of thing i don't think is very helpful. i think it was very clear that he wanted to do this. he didn't hide the ball on this like you saw with some of biden's pardons. he was very clear, like you knew this was going to happen within the first week at the latest, elongating this, i don't think is helpful. at the same time, i don't think there is a political price to be paid by the pardons itself. we'll see if this bleeds into a multi-week story, whether that happens. but i think one of the consistent themes is both republicans, those in the party that want to defend this or i think on the left that really want to push january 6th a major electoral issue. it hasn't found salience. and we'll see if that changes. it hasn't so far, and there's no evidence to see that it's going to change so far. but again, to the point,

and what, four days ashley allison matt gorman, thank you both so much. hey. new tonight. that cease fire deal to free the hostages in gaza is now one step closer to reality. the israeli prime minister's office has just confirmed that the cease fire agreement with hamas has been agreed to. and up until now, netanyahu had not wanted to comment on it until all the details were finalized. now, the next step is for the israeli security cabinet to meet before the full government signs off on it, israeli official told cnn. the full vote is not expected until now. saturday night, still ahead, the tiktok whiplash after passing a law to ban it, members of congress now suddenly rushing to try and save it. and now even president biden appears to be giving up on the law he signed. or is he? so? did the politicians get this all wrong or something else going on? we'll ask andrew yang that very question next. and later, a laura coates live exclusive wendy williams brother is speaking out about his sister's issues with the guardianship after she compared it now to prison. my interview is

matt gorman, from targeted victory and former campaign advisor to senator tim scott and hicks evaluationd, did you notice what a democratic fire brand bennie thompson said listen to your voters. if they listen to voters in red state areas they'll vote with republicans. >> one thing i would like to remind our viewers democrats wanted to pass a border. >> harris: we want you to celebrate you might be bipartisan. >> democrats have bipartisanship. let's get same -- >> let's get it done. >> there are challenges with it. >> harris: there are challenges with everything. but when bennie thompson says listen to your voters, matt, that's a signal listen to your voters. that would be different from what they did taking biden off the ticket to replace with kamala harris. let the voters speak. >> the newly pardoned bennie thompson might be speaking truth there. the immigration issue changed. i would have never dreamed democrats and republicans would come together on this. it speaks to the fact things are different than eight years ago on the hill with president trump now. eight years ago i was there.

for more, with me now is vice president of targeted victory, matt gorman, and democratic strategist erinto both of you, happy few year. >> happy new year. mike: speaker johnson talked about trying to get these priorities into one legislative package. of let's play him. >> i think at the end of the day, president trump is going to prefer, as he likes to say, one big, beautiful bill. and there's a lot of merit to that because with we can put it all together, one big up or down vote which can save the country quite literally because there are so many elements to it, and i'll give us more time to negotiate that and get it right. mike: what about that approach to trying to achieve results? >> it definitely gives me pause when you want to throw everything in one big lump sum of a bill was that means you're trying to rush something through and likely hide something. it likely means that that you would have representatives picking it apart saying, well, here's this one thingen i don't like. but when you rush it through and republicans have all the power, it's very easily city to slide -- easy to

matt gorman, executive vice president of esco also dialing back on censorship.ger issue. it's a little bit like the thief who decides he wants to join the police force and become a cop. meta, facebook at the leading edge of censorship at the behest of the white house. what do you think that through this change? >> it is a broader cultural scene dolomite change. seeing this across the country. meta is not dissimilar. there's not a lot of tolerance for slicing and dicing of ethnic group. people are not buying it in a way that they did certainly did in 2020. let's face it, kamala tried that in 2024. it clearly did not sell my current. >> john: censorship was nothing for the last three years. suddenly it is not that thing anymore. >> i think they are two different things. matt brings up 2020. we have to remember where we were as a country at that particular moment. many of these corporations implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion programs following the heinous death of george floyd and the 8:46 video that we saw that accompanied that heinous murder. what can w

former biden, biden white house director of message planning megan hayes and republican strategist matt gormangood morning to you all. thanks for joining me. donal, i want to start with you. you are a security expert. you've worked in these areas for many, many years. i want to know what you think about the investigation that's happening as we head into day two, and how there the investigators right now are trying to figure out coconspirators that could have been involved in this attack and where they go from here. >> well, there's two different tracks of the investigation right now. manu. there's running down all the leads and contacts that may have been affiliated with the actual attacker, who they know, and they have identity identification on. and then there's those improvised explosive devices, those ieds, those bombs that were placed near the french quarter that actually may not have anything to do with the truck vehicle ramming. and so first they have to look at that physical evidence, see if that links to that individual. that could take dna. so they may be taking dna swabs not to get