The Takeout

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia John Sullivan joins Major at Yours Truly DC, a hotel in Washington, DC’s West End. Their discussion focuses on Russia’s war in Ukraine and Sullivan’s dealings with President Vladimir Putin. Join us for coffee and bagels from Call Your Mother. This episode was recorded Wednesday, December 7th. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brad Raffensperger and Jocelyn Benson have both faced violent threats since the 2020 election. They join Major to talk about the 2022 midterms, election denialism and Donald Trump’s persistent influence on American politics. Recorded at Fontana at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CBS Mornings co-host and former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson joins Major for breakfast at Junior’s in New York City. Come for a great discussion, a delicious breakfast and stay for Nate’s explanation of what it’s like to return a punt in the NFL. Happy Thanksgiving! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Joe Biden was right, and I was wrong, and most people were." The president's pollster, John Anzalone, joins Major this week to discuss the key takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections. He believes Democrats showed surprising strength in races across a "toss-up nation," thanks in part to late-breaking independent voters who couldn't stomach voting for "extreme candidates on the right." Looking ahead to 2024, Anzalone believes that if Biden runs, he'll beat former president Donald Trump "like a drum." Plus: is Florida completely out of reach for Democrats in the next cycle? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're recapping the results of the 2022 midterm elections with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, the head of the Democratic Governors Association. Cooper believes Democratic governors defied expectations this cycle, thanks in part to campaigning on the Biden administration record. Does the governor think Biden should run for re-election in 2024? "I expect him to...if he makes that decision, I'm for him 100%" Plus: Cooper on Beto O'Rourke's loss in Texas and Ron DeSantis' decisive gubernatorial victory in Florida. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major met California Governor Gavin Newsom in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for this week’s episode of The Takeout. What’s the governor, who’s up for re-election himself, doing in New Mexico a few days before the midterms? Great question. Major attempts to answer that and whether the trip is a precursor to a run for higher office. Plus, Newsom’s sharp critiques of his own party, what he thinks of Kevin McCarthy as potentially the next House Speaker and Newsom’s take on Elon Musk owning Twitter. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, a January 6th rioter convicted of brutalizing former Washington, DC metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Fanone was dragged, beaten and tased by rioters on the West side of the Capitol that awful day and, as a result, suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury. He shares that story in his new book "Hold the Line," and in this week's show, the 300th episode of "The Takeout." Join us for french fries, chicken tenders and pretzels at The Dubliner, near Capitol Hill. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Less than three weeks until Election Day, longtime anti-abortion rights activist Marjorie Dannenfelser says Republican candidates should be leaning into abortion as a winning conservative issue — not running away.  A raft of Republican candidates, many of whom won primaries touting support for the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision have moderated their positions in the general election or de-emphasized abortion as a campaign issue. "I am most seriously displeased," Dannenfelser said, quoting the novel "Pride and Prejudice." "Most seriously displeased that people who think that this is the death of a human being would all of a sudden see it politically inconvenient to be part of what they advocate." Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, blamed some Republicans for "inch[ing] to the middle, maybe the back of the bus" on abortion as Election Day approaches. It’s lunchtime at The Point in DC’s Buzzard Point neighborhood. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy pra

Cecile Richards, the former head of Planned Parenthood, isn’t sure what impact the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will have on the midterm elections, but says the long-term abortion debate in a post-Roe world is just at the “tip of the iceberg.”  Richards, now co-chair of American Bridge, told Major, “The midterm election is only one measure of what's happening in the country. But I do think long term, [political momentum for abortion rights] is not going to wane." It's breakfast time at Bistro Du Jour in DC's Wharf neighborhood. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Residents of Southwest Florida will be cleaning up the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian for months to come. What made the storm so intense? How did meteorologists track the hurricane? What sorts of warnings kept the loss of life and property from being even worse? Major puts those questions to Dr. Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We’re at Cafe du Parc in downtown DC. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your esteemed host Major Garrett is this week's guest alongside co-author and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research David Becker. David and Major's new book, "The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of “The Big Lie,” just hit shelves and they're here to share why we should be celebrating the execution of the 2020 election, not undermining it. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane guest hosts this week at The Dubliner on Capitol Hill. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republican congressman Chip Roy, whose district stretches from Austin to San Antonio, joins Major for a conversation before a live audience at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX. Roy dishes on the Trump documents investigation, immigration policy, The Big Lie and Republican prospects in the 2022 midterms. Join us for all that and more! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Major's got Steven Law, president of Senate Leadership Fund, the SuperPAC working to elect Republicans to the US senate. The group will spend more than $200 million this fall and it's Law's job to figure out how best to do that. Law weighs in on competitive races in key states and the merits of this much money in our political system. We're at Dirty Habit in DC's Penn Quarter. Pull up a chair! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb suspects the Justice Department investigation into the former president’s mishandling of documents – some of them highly classified – is about a broader inquiry into potential crimes related to the January 6th Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Cobb worked closely with the former president, defending the White House during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. “I believe former President Trump to be a deeply wounded narcissist and he is often incapable of acting other than in his perceived self-interest or for revenge,” Cobb said. “I think those are the two compelling instincts that guide his actions.” Join us for lunch at Ris in DC’s West End. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marc Short, conservative activist and longtime aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, joins Major for fried chicken sandwiches at The Henri, a French restaurant in downtown DC. On the menu: Short's take on the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, his experience on January 6th, Pence's presidential prospects, the 2022 midterm elections and the political impact of the Supreme Court's abortion opinion. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joshua Geltzer, Deputy Homeland Security Advisor at the White House National Security Council, joins Major this week to discuss the Biden administration's work to bring home Americans who have been wrongfully detained abroad, including Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan in Russia, and Austin Tice in Syria. Geltzer also discusses a new national action plan on drones, the administration's handling of immigration at the southwest border, and more. Join us for breakfast at Café du Parc at the historic Willard InterContinental hotel. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez joins Major at Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park, DC. Perez recently finished 2nd in Maryland's gubernatorial primary and conceded to the winner, Wes Moore. "Yeah, am I disappointed? Of course. We fought like heck. But you know what, what we do at the end of primaries is we come together around our shared values and that's exactly what I'm doing now." Perez has thrown his weight behind Moore and plans to do campaign rallies with him. Perez predicts Democrats will keep senate control after the 2022 midterms, in part because Republicans nominated Trump-allied candidates in several key states. "We defeated Trump but we didn't defeat Trumpism." Perez now is now the co-chair of American Bridge 21st Century, a super PAC that supports Democratic candidates. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine joins Major this week to discuss the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, Democrats' prospects this fall and the political impact of the Supreme Court's abortion decision. Plus, Kaine weighs in on whether his former running mate might give it another go in 2024. Major is on assignment in West Palm Beach, FL. Kaine is in Richmond, VA. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author and writer at The Atlantic Mark Leibovich joins Major for a chat about his new book, "Thank You for Your Servitude," which chronicles former President Trump's effect on Republicans in Washington. How will Trump impact the 2022 midterms? Will he run in 2024? Join us at MacIntyre's in Woodley Park, DC. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem isn't ruling out a run for the White House in 2024, that is, unless former president Donald Trump jumps in the race. "I think he's gonna run. And if President Trump runs, I'll support him," she said. Join us for homemade pop tarts and milkshakes at Ted’s Bulletin on Capitol Hill. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices