Nerd Avengers Midterm Break Down

The final stretch

[Transcript edited for clarity, flow and length]

Mary Trump: What has been the most surprising thing about this election cycle?

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Danielle Moodie: I would normally say how negative it has been, but we have been living in a nightmare for the last ten years. The most surprising thing to me has been the level of Islamophobia, which I do not think we have seen normalized in mainstream spaces to the extent that it has been. It started with Zohran Mamdani in New York City, but it really took off with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. That is what shocks me most, how thoroughly that level of hate has been absorbed into the mainstream.

Norm Ornstein: I expected Democrats to have a good year. What first surprised me is that almost every Republican running, not just Donald, has not responded in the slightest to the wave taking place or to the concerns of their own voters. Instead, they keep repeating the same stupid talking points and making matters worse for themselves. It has also surprised me that, even while expecting a wave, I did not think a state like Mississippi or a state like Louisiana, especially Louisiana, would be in question. This has moved into areas that seemed unimaginable six months ago.

Tara Setmayer: I have to tell you, Mary, I have been doing this for 33 years, and I have seen a lot. Still, Republicans are scrambling as badly as they are, with the President of the United States talking about people’s behinds in the final messaging of the final week of the most consequential midterm of our lifetimes. I do not even know what to say. I am shocked at just how far off the rails the Republican Party has gone, and I think they deserve it. That is probably what has surprised me most, because of Donald’s erratic behavior and because he is so tone deaf on everything. That is why he is doing what he is doing, which is why there are so many competitive races and why this could be an incredible midterm for Democrats.

Waj Ali: I am not surprised by what happened with Haley Stevens. I am not surprised by the attacks on the left from the Democratic establishment. Honestly, I am not really surprised. I think a big story that should be looked at on Wednesday morning, and one you have to focus on if you want to win races, is Latino voters. Republicans and Democrats have underestimated Latino voters for far too long. If Texas does flip, you are going to see Latino voters, right? So I think one of the big stories is the underestimation of Latino voters and young voters.

Dean Obedallah: The polls did not get closer for Republicans. Usually, a month or two out, whoever is leading going into a midterm sees the polls get tighter and tighter, but instead it has gone the opposite direction. The Democratic lead keeps expanding, and Republican enthusiasm keeps dropping. Donald going out there state after state did not help. In fact, some data shows it actually helps Democrats. So to me, Democrats are closing stronger than they were a month and a half ago based on the polling, and that is the metric I am using.

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Mary Trump: What are you most concerned about tomorrow and in the 61 days between the election results and the day the new Congress is sworn in?

Dean Obedallah: Things are slightly calm right now. This is the calm before the storm, and it all depends on the results. My concern is the key Senate races. If they are very close, I worry about litigation and an effort to seize ballots while they are being counted, because his candidate is losing and he wants to stop it. From now until January 3, there is the constant drumbeat of delegitimizing the election results by Donald Trump, which could lead to another January 6 terrorist attack, and we have to be aware of that.

Danielle Moodie: Your uncle, I am most concerned about Donald. I am most concerned about what he is going to do between now and when a new Congress is supposed to be sworn in. I have said this many times, and I pray that I am wrong, but I have said that this will be the most dangerous time in modern political history. There is talk of a nuclear bomb being dropped on Iran. There is talk of agents and the military out in the streets, of a national emergency, and of them concocting some type of plan to overturn this election. I do not put violence past them.

Tara Setmayer: I worry about some kind of international event happening that will give Donald, in his mind, permission to invoke the Insurrection Act or do something to seize ballots, or heaven knows what. I just do not know. The uncertainty of what will happen over the next 61 days keeps me up at night.

Mary Trump: First of all, it needs to be pointed out repeatedly that having 61 days between an election and the new government is absolute insanity, and it is unique among democracies. It has to stop. Democrats, when and if they get into power, have to shorten that period significantly. What I am most worried about on Election Day is that Donald, out of desperation, will demand that ICE agents go to the polls to engage in voter intimidation, and that there might be violence as a result. After the election, I am worried that he and his Republican cronies will pull out all the stops to confuse the American people about the results, assuming Democrats win as big as we hope they will. That ranges from legal maneuvering to making false claims about the results. Of course, there is also the potential for him to do something regarding Iran to create a situation in which he feels capable of declaring martial law or invoking the Insurrection Act, so that he can postpone the seating of the new Congress.