Fighting the Trumpublicans (Guest: Steve Schmidt)

Mark and Jeff analyze the political calculations and impact of this week’s visit by President Joe Biden to the Dearborn Ford Motor plant, and his full-throated promotion of the new electric F-150 pickup truck. Then they are joined by one of the national leaders in the revolt of the pre-Trump Republicans, Steve Schmidt. Steve is a longtime communications and public affairs strategist who is best known as a co-founder of the Lincoln Project. In his career he has been a top adviser and strategist for the campaigns of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain. He was the senior campaign strategist and advisor to McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. In June 2018, Schmidt renounced the Republican Party as “fully the party of Trump” and later called the current GOP “an organized conspiracy for the purposes of maintaining power for self-interest, and the self-interest of its donor class … It’s no longer dedicated to American democracy.” In a podcast in December 2020, Schmidt announced that he is registering as a member of the Democratic Party. Steve Schmidt on TwitterLincoln Project Franklin Project (video)