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Summary
John McLaughlin, Republican Strategist and Strategist to Donald Trump, John McLaughlin joins the Great America Show to discuss the current state of the 2020 Democratic presidential race and why Joe Biden is not going to beat Donald Trump in 2020.
Transcript
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Hello, everybody. I'm Lou Dobbs and welcome to The Great America Show and happy 2024.
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It's great to have you with us. It was certainly a rough 2023 for Joe Biden and his regime.
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Congress opened an impeachment inquiry into the corrupt puppet president, his son indicted twice.
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Americans finding out who Joe Biden really is and he is really the most corrupt politician in
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American history. The polls reflect all of the above as Joe Biden now trails Donald Trump in almost all
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head-to-head general election polling. The real clear politics has Trump beating Biden by about three
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points. But I think it's a lot more than that, don't you? And so does our guest today. Our guest is
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Republican strategist and pollster and advisor to Donald Trump, John McLaughlin. John, we hope you had a
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great New Year's. Great to have you back with us. I hope you also had a great Christmas. And while
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we're all in the holiday spirit, let's talk politics and give us your assessment of where we are right
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now, first and foremost, of course, in the race for president. Well, right now, as we enter the new
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year, days from the Iowa caucus, which is good because the polls have been good for President Trump.
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That is moving up all year where our last December national poll, we had Donald Trump leading Joe
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Biden, 47, 44. We had him, we had him leading the primary field, but the highest ever that we've had
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all year. And one-on-one, he was beating Nikki Haley, 74 to 26. And he was beating Ron DeSantis among
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Republican primary voters, 74 to 26 identical margins. But the key thing is, remember, January
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last year, when we started the campaign for the Republican primary, you had, you had,
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Trump was only among, nationally among Republicans, 42 percent. And Ron DeSantis was at 31. And in this
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latest national poll, Trump is at 62, with 11 for DeSantis and 10 for Haley. Now, there is no national
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primary. It's a sequential primary that we have to win Iowa. We have to win New Hampshire. And the
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RealClearPolitics average of reputable polls has us with decisive leads in both those states. And then
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we got to win in South Carolina, where, again, the RealClearPolitics average, Nikki's home state,
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but it'll be February 24th. We have to win. And we're up two to one in the polls there where the
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voters who know her best are supporting Donald Trump. And so that's a good start for us to capture
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the nomination. And at the same time, we're leading Joe Biden in the battleground states like
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we never did before. We're leading Joe Biden in the national popular vote like we never did before.
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And Joe Biden is a failed president who's got the country on the wrong track. And most voters
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are feeling the buyer's remorse. In fact, there is a significant Biden 2020 voter who's now voting for
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Trump in 2024. Younger voters, African-Americans, Hispanics, who basically want to, you know,
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they want to see inflation go down, food prices go down, mortgage rates come back down. They want to
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see their 401ks go back up if they have savings. And Donald Trump, his economic growth plan is that
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is that strength for them. Plus, they want the border security over the holidays. You saw such a
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surge coming into places like Texas and Arizona, and they're spreading them throughout the country.
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And who knows if there's Hamas terrorists or Iranians in there. But also, you know, people want to see
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the I mean, it's terrible when you think of the wars that happened this year, what's going on in
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Ukraine, what's going on in the Middle East would have never happened if Donald Trump was president.
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So so people hope that's the bottom. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. Ten months from now,
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they're hoping Donald Trump beats Joe Biden. Yeah, I certainly hope so. And I don't know anyone in
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their right mind who wouldn't want to have this this president out and President Trump in. There's
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almost a desperation when you talk to people. They have had it with this guy and the press. The
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Marxist dams keep ginning up the same disinformation campaigns, the same nonsense. And they can't
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understand why the poll numbers are falling. You mentioned the border. You mentioned the economy.
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But the reality is that this is a man who is mismanaging again foreign policy, actually having
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the temerity, the audacity to tell Netanyahu how to run a war in Israel. I mean, the man looks like a
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complete idiot. And then he sends Lloyd Austin over, who's never done anything right based on his
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military record except be promoted. And he's trying to tell the IDF how to fight in urban warfare
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and in, of course, the Gaza. Madness. Right. Having having polled for Prime Minister Netanyahu
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over the last two decades, where I polled his recent campaign win in 22, and we haven't done a poll
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firm there since. But I know him very well. And in fact, when we won in 2015, when we won his
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re-election then, I got to go see those tunnels in southern Israel, down by Ashdod, Ashkelon, down
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across the border from Gaza. And they go miles into Israel. And when you go down, and IDF general gave
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myself, Steve Forbes, and another friend, a couple of friends, a tour. Just going into these tunnels,
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you feel evil. They go miles into Israel. They have, you can put a railroad car down the middle
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of them. They have internet, electricity, water, and they're 50 to 100 meters below the surface.
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And they go for miles into Israel. And the reason that they were there was they were built with
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American dollars that was supposed to go to schools and hospitals. And instead, it went to this terrorism.
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And at the same time, in 2014, when they found these tunnels by accident, and Bibi was going to get
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them, Barack Obama forced him into a ceasefire before they got all the tunnels. So, you know,
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Hamas has been allowed to operate. And under Donald Trump, they wouldn't have done it. But with Joe
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Biden allowing Iran to get, you know, tens of billions of dollars in oil and them funding Hamas,
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It is. And you know something, you and I've never discussed this. But why is it that American Jews
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vote for the left in this country, for the Democrat Party, the Marxist Dems, instead of Republicans?
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This seems like the most absurd idea that they could possibly hang on to over all these decades.
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Well, philosophically, historically, they're Democrats and liberals. But now they're coming
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around. I mean, I've got polls where 40% of the Jewish voters are now voting for Trump, which is
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double practically what we got the last couple times around. And at the same time, you've got
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Orthodox communities in the United States that will vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. And a big
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difference is only among Jewish voters in the United States, only about half of them actually have
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gone to Israel, only about half of them have friends and relatives in Israel. So that group is voting
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overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. The others who are more traditional Democrats, you know, they're in
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denial about Joe Biden, about his corruption. They're like so many other Democrats where they're
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believing propaganda that comes from our enemies and instead, and the liberal media, instead of looking
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at reality and seeing what's going on. So, you know, the coalition in the poll that I'm seeing right
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now is where we are winning a quarter of the African-American vote, we're winning the Hispanic
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vote, we're improving among young voters. And there's lots of media polls that say we're winning
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young voters now. Donald Trump is broadening his coalition, while Joe Biden has basically blown apart
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the old Obama coalition that allowed Obama and Joe Biden to win elections. So, you know, the future of
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America is in this election, so much so that the Democrats are doubling down on throwing their leading
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political opponent off the ballot. And my European clients who lived under communism, they said this is
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what the communists did in 1947. They locked up the political opposition, they rigged elections,
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and I'll tell you what, they say, their words to me is, because I work for Prime Minister Orban,
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but people in Europe who saw the communists, what they did say, Biden cannot lecture us on democracy
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anymore, because he's now, his people and Soros are funding the efforts to throw Donald Trump off the
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ballot, because Trump's ahead in the polls. We're talking with John McLaughlin, and as we continue,
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we're going to talk about the upcoming caucuses in Iowa, the New Hampshire primary, and get John
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McLaughlin's view of what will happen in those first two contests. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
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We're back with John McLaughlin, preeminent, prominent pollster for President Trump, Republican
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strategist, I think we'd say Hall of Famer. How does that go, John?
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I've got all the scars to feel old, so it's like...
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It's great to have you with us. As we're looking ahead to this,
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Well, I think what's going on is a battle for second place between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
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Donald Trump has a decisive lead. He's secured his base. He's done so many good things for Iowa,
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where, you know, the idea of what he's done with the tariffs, with China, et cetera, bringing dollars
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to farmers, protecting the corn growers with their ethanol industry, et cetera. So he has done great
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things for Iowa. Plus, what's more important is Iowa voters, anybody who goes out to a caucus
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on a cold night on January 13th to hang around for a little bit and then finally get to vote,
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those are real patriotic people. And they are... The Trump campaign has a great organization. It's
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driven... Their captains are driving out 10 for Trump. They're bringing new people into the caucuses.
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So while Nikki Haley and DeSantis, you know, battle for second, as DeSantis collapses,
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we're picking up votes from DeSantis. And Nikki Haley's, you know, she's pouring in tens of
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millions of dollars from these American oligarchs that support amnesty, free trade with China to send
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their jobs over there, and basically oppose putting up the wall and securing the border.
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You know, those are her friends. And so Iowa voters are not going to be fooled. Donald Trump's going to win
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in Iowa. And, you know, there's a battle for New Hampshire where, you know, Ron DeSantis has collapsed
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there. And again, Nikki Haley is getting lots of support from these billionaire and ever Trumpers
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to try to basically take away control of the Republican Party from Donald Trump and give it
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back to the rhino establishment, which is scary. And, you know, I mean, the New Hampshire voters are
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realizing they now have a border with Canada where they're getting illegal immigration from the north.
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And they've got a governor out, you know, just doing everything he can for the establishment
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candidate, Nikki Haley, who's never obviously seen a wall she wants built on the southern border.
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She wants more of those illegal immigrants as long as the oligarchs are calling for them.
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And oh, yeah, why don't we do something for the military industrial complex? Let's just bomb the
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hell out of something, whether it's in Europe or whether it is in, you know, somewhere in the Middle East.
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I mean, she's all in with the oligarchs and she's expecting to be considered for a high office.
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This is scary stuff. Yeah, no, I agree with you. And when you and when you think about it,
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you know, New Hampshire's what's great is to live free or die state. It's 250 years ago since the
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Boston Tea Party and they're close by, et cetera. And when you think about it, Nikki Haley,
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you know, I know that, you know, they've gone after on raising gas taxes, too, but she was in favor of the
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fare tax and and fare tax in theory might work. But in reality, a 23 percent national sales tax on food,
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cars, homes, really bad idea. But to a lot of these oligarchs, it makes sense because that way you can punish
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the working middle class of America and you'll get a lot of money with like a national bat and they won't
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you know, they won't cut the income tax to get rid of it. So it's like, again, this is her candidacy
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represents these oligarchs controlling the exploited working men and women of America.
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And that's what Donald Trump stands for. And they are going all out to stop us in New Hampshire and
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we are going to beat them. But Donald Trump, I think he has absolutely the best political messaging
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supporting in American history. He's America first. And if you as a voter won't put America
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first, just exactly who would do and what would you put first. And he's a populist. So he's for the
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people. So everybody else has to explain who they're for, if not the people. And that's a very
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powerful message. And he put it to work for four years and it worked beautifully for for the nation and
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for small business, working men and women, their families, and our traditions, which are under
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assault. I want to without any question by this administration. Apparently, Joe Biden is a little
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upset about his falling poll numbers. Now, this is coming from his aides. I personally don't believe
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he even could recognize what a poll is or the number. But his aides are saying that's what he's doing.
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Your reaction to his poll numbers and how could they be otherwise?
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They're accurate. They're finally caught up with our polls. But in the meantime,
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I think you underestimate Biden. Now, he is he is showing his age a lot more than Trump. But I'll
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tell you, it's not age, the corruption from Biden. He's really worried that if he loses the White House,
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you know, right now they can stop. They can stop an impeachment hearing because of the briberies and
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corruption and scandal. But they they won't be able to stop a real investigation that that would go
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into his family where they've taken these tens of millions of dollars of bribes if Donald Trump is
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president. And on the other hand, what's more important is the American people see through this
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in that poll that we just did right before Christmas in across the country. Sixty seven percent of all
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voters say that the indictments of Donald Trump was just politics. Sixty another fifty eight percent
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say that that Joe Biden played a role in this. So the majority of Americans think that Joe Biden
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and they're accurate, they're right from all the evidence appointed Jack Smith, basically got Fannie
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Willis, got Alvin Bragg, got Letitia James, all to go after his opponent, Donald Trump. And they think
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this is about stopping Trump from running for president 49 to 38. They think there's a double
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standard of justice among all voters. They say 56 percent to 34. And they also say, let the voters
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decide who the president's going to be, not the courts. Fifty six to thirty six. So the voters want
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to decide. So that's by the way, my poll has Trump at forty seven percent. But fifty six percent of the
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voters say, let this decide. There's voters out there that are undecided that are thinking of voting
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for Donald Trump. But if you throw him off the ballot, that decision is taken away. And it's, you know,
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I'm sure you have feelings about it like most Americans. But Donald Trump has never been charged
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with insurrection, never been convicted of insurrection. But Joe Biden thinks and he said it
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publicly. He said that he's he he he firmly believes Donald Trump is violated the 14th Amendment
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somehow. And the last time those Biden Democrats did this. Did you know him link that and started a
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civil war? So the national media is very is very cute. They talk about all of the obvious corruption
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of the Biden administration. The fact that in point of fact, all of the candidates of the Republican
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Party other than President Trump are objectionable. And that's a kind way to put it. They want to play
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the game. But the American people are on to it. They see all of this for what it is. And it is.
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Well, it's getting more interesting by the minute. And we're going to continue our conversation with
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John McLaughlin right after these quick words. Please stay with us. We'll be right back.
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We're back now with John McLaughlin, as I said, preeminent pollster and political strategist,
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Republican strategist and Trump strategist and pollster. John, let's look at these polls.
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Some polls show the president up as much as 50 percent, some more. And you go over to real
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clear politics and you see some rather more modest margins. What's going on?
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Well, I think, you know, there's been a more competitive. The early states are more competitive.
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However, buyer beware. Even though I'm a pollster and do it for a living,
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statistics are an inexact science. And people, God forbid, but they play games with polls.
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So in December, in December in New Hampshire, this poll is not on the real clear politics
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average, but there's an American research group manufactured a poll right before Christmas
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that had Trump only up four points in New Hampshire. Now, what's really interesting about
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that is every other poll in December on the real clear politics average has him up someplace
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between 14 points and 30 points. And it depends upon how many independents you put in the poll
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versus Republicans. Among the Republicans, for example, the St. Anselm poll, Trump's up 56-22.
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Among the UMass-YouGov poll in New Hampshire, Trump's up 59-22. Among the CBS-YouGov poll,
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among Republicans, we're up 52-24. And then they have us running even or a little ahead among the
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independents. But then the percent of independents that they have in the poll.
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So, like, in 2016, when Trump won New Hampshire, only a third were independents. Two-thirds were
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Republicans. Because you've got to vote in a Republican primary. You've got to be registered
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Republican or an independent. That's, yeah, I want to be a Republican now. So there's some
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of these polls, like the one St. Anselm only had 50% Republicans in the sample. The CBS poll
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only had 48%. So what you've got is people playing games with these New Hampshire polls to create a
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contest with Haley. But I will tell you the one thing, the big contest is she is a rhino. She's an
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establishment candidate. She has weak positions where she has liberal positions on immigration,
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on the wall, on trade with China, and on taxes, and the base of the Republican Party and the independents
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to vote with us. The side with Donald Trump is the strong conservative candidate. So like in 1980,
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when it was the battle for the soul of the Republican Party in the primary,
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with New Hampshire, when Reagan beat Bush, we are going to see Donald Trump beat Nikki Haley.
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Well, John, the country's screaming for the result and for him to be back in office. And it's all
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selfish. We all want a better country and we want better lives. And it's that simple. He is the
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path. He is the man that will get us up that path. I want to turn to the Cook Political Report,
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shifting Michigan, Nevada toward the Republican Party. What's going on there?
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Same thing. I've seen the polls where working middle-class Americans who may have voted for
00:22:26.320
Joe Biden last time are now voting for Donald Trump. So union members in Michigan realize their
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auto jobs depend on Donald Trump. They will be out of work with Joe Biden with his electric car
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mandates and their jobs will go to China. In Nevada, you have the tourism, the hospitality industry.
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They flourished when Donald Trump was president under Joe Biden. Even Hispanic voters that may have voted
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for Joe Biden and have come here legally and are citizens, they don't like the open borders. They
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don't like the lack of economic growth. So they're voting for Donald Trump. So right now, when Charlie
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Cook gives the Republicans a break, you know we're doing really well.
00:23:15.100
Well, I think that's a wonderful way to look at it. The president right now, as he is campaigning,
00:23:23.340
he is dealing obviously with all of the persecution indictments against him, everything that they can
00:23:32.680
pull out. One of the most interesting developments I've seen is that Ed Meese, the attorney general under
00:23:39.300
Ronald Reagan, has advanced along with two other prominent legal talents. The view that Jack Smith is in an
00:23:49.940
unlawful office. He is an illegitimate special counsel because Congress did not create the office. The Senate
00:23:56.100
did not confirm Jack Smith, all of which are required. Your take on the potential impact of that development?
00:24:04.500
I'm sure Ed Meese, I have great respect for. I'm sure they're right. It's unconstitutional. But
00:24:13.500
the Constitution is an option for the Biden Democrats. They don't, you know, they're trying
00:24:19.380
to throw Donald Trump off the ballot. So if that's not a violation of the Constitution, I don't know what
00:24:26.520
is. So much for free speech. You know, they won because they censored Hunter Biden's laptop stories.
00:24:33.360
They censored the New York Post. Alexander Hamilton founded it, the oldest newspaper in America.
00:24:39.460
They censored it off Twitter, the Internet, the news. And so if they can, you know, if they can tear up
00:24:46.680
the Constitution to win in 2020, they'll do it again. You know, that's the way Biden works.
00:24:52.980
Well, we're going to leave it there and hope that at least the Republican Party has the
00:24:59.760
energy organization and commitment to make certain that this is a fair and free election. But that likely won't
00:25:09.200
happen under Ronna McDaniel. So I hope that the the President Trump replaces her straight away.
00:25:18.860
My thought on that right now is is is we have to basically we have to we have to win Iowa.
00:25:24.880
We have to win New Hampshire. We have to secure the nomination. And then I'm sure there will be
00:25:29.800
improvements at the Republican National Committee. So McLaughlin is always with a with a far and
00:25:36.680
focused scope. We appreciate it so much. Thanks, John McLaughlin. God bless you.
00:25:42.880
Thank you. Keep keep getting the word out there, Lou. Thanks, John McLaughlin. Thank you,
00:25:47.540
everybody, for being with us. Please join us each and every day on The Great America Show.
00:25:51.640
Follow me on Twitter and true social at Lou Dobbs and on Facebook and Instagram at Lou Dobbs tonight.
00:25:58.160
Thanks, everybody. God bless you and may God bless America.