Nov. 6, 2025

Yes, We Can… Sing! Trump Melts Down as Mamdani Rises and Obama Hits Broadway

Show Notes
Transcript

It was a bad week to be Donald Trump and a great one for anyone who likes seeing him lose. Democrats swept major races nationwide—Zohran Mamdani made history as New York’s first Muslim mayor, Gavin Newsom outmaneuvered Trump’s redistricting games, and Abigail Spanberger flipped Virginia blue. As Trump raged in all caps on Truth Social, off-Broadway found hope and harmony in Forty-Four, a new musical about Barack Obama’s presidency. Because when politics gets too grim, there’s always a song about “Yes We Can” to make America feel good about itself again.

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WEBVTT

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Caalaruga Shark media from Washington, d C. Where you might

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not have the votes, but at least you have a ballroom.

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This is a ballot, that's right. It turns out that

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let them eat cakes still isn't a good political strategy.

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Let's hit this. I'm Patrick Gutfield. Republicans got swept in

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Tuesday Nights elections, and President Trump is not taking it well.

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Democrats won the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey,

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and in New York City, Democratic socialist Zorn Mamdani became

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the city's first Muslim mayor. Trump had personally begged voters

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not to elect him, warning that New York would become

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an economic and social disaster. He called the thirty four

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year old assemblyman a jew hater and said any Jewish

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person who voted for him was stupid. He even threatened

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to withhold federal funds if ma'm donnie won. Mamdanni won anyway.

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In Virginia, Democrats that Abigail Spanberger became the state's first

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female governor, beating her opponent on an anti Trump wave

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focused on the government shutdown and federal cutbacks. So Trump

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did what any president would do. After a clean sweep

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of losses. He went on truth Social and started yelling

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in all caps. Trump wasn't on the ballot and shut

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down were the two reasons that Republicans lost elections tonight,

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he wrote, helpfully citing polsters without naming any actual polsters.

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Then he pivoted to his demands. Republicans terminate the filibuster,

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get back to passing legislation, and voter reform. By voter reform,

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he means pass voter id laws, eliminate mail in ballots,

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stop Democrats from packing the Supreme Court, and prevent any

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new states from being added. Also, terminate the filibuster. Did

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he mention terminate the filibuster? The Mega world melted down

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as the results came in. Laura Lumer declared that multiple

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Islamic jihadists are in power now. Benny Johnson said New

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York elected a communist, and conservative commentator Eric Erickson delivered

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what might be the most brutal assessment. Trump cannot turn

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out the vote unless he is on the ballot, and

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that is never happening again. These were the first major

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elections less than a year into Trump's second term. They

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were supposed to be a test of his influence and

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a preview of next year's midterms. Turns out he failed

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the test. New York City's mayor elect Zora and Mamdani

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kicked off his victory speech Tuesday night by trolling President

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Trump Donald Trump. Since I know you're watching, he said,

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I have four words for you. Turn the volume up.

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The thirty four year old Democratic socialist beat Independent Andrew

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Cuomo with fifty point four percent of the vote. He'll

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be the city's first Muslim mayor. Trump had called him

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a communist and endorsed Cuomo, who once resigned as governor

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in disgrace. That didn't work out. Mamdnni didn't hold back.

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He called Trump a despot and said New York, the

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city that gave rise to Trump, can show the nation

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to defeat him. He promised to dismantle the conditions that

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allowed Trump to accumulate wealth and power in the first place.

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This is not only how we stopped Trump, Mamdani said,

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it's how we stop the next one. Then he laid

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out his agenda, hold bad landlords accountable and corruption that

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lets billionaires evade taxes and exploit tax breaks, and stand

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with unions when working people have ironclad rights. He said,

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the bosses who seek to extort them become very small. Indeed,

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Mamdani was born in Uganda, moved to South Africa, and

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came to New York when he was seven. Maga tried

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to weaponize that background during the campaign. He addressed it directly.

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New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city

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built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight,

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led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump when

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I say this. To get to any of us, you

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will have to get through all of us. He also

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referenced Trump calling him on sixty minutes far worse than

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a socialist the conventional wizdo and would tell you that

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I am far from the perfect candidate. Mamdanni said, I

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am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I

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am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist, and most damning

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of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.

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Trump posted cryptically on truth Social during the speech, and

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so it begins. Mamdanni also took a shot at Cuomo

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before promising never to mention him again. My friends, we

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have toppled a political dynasty. He said, I wish Andrew

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Cuomo only the best in private, life, but let tonight

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be the final time I utter his name. During his

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concession speech, Cuomo congratulated Mamdani his supporter's boot. Cuomo stopped them. No, no,

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that is not right, and that is not us. He said,

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tonight was their night, and as they start to transition

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to government, we will all help any way we can.

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That might be the most gracious Andrew Cuomo has ever sounded.

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Losing will do that to you. A new musical about

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Barack Obama is opening off Broadway in New York. The

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show is called forty four and before you ask, yes,

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someone actually wrote songs about the Obama presidency. The musical

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already had runs in Chicago and Los Angeles, where it

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broke box office records at the Kirk Douglas Theater. The

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producer says they expected it to do well, but nobody

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saw that coming. The creator is Eli Bauman, who worked

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on Obama's two thousand and eight campaign. He came up

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with the idea in twenty sixteen while working for Hillary Clinton.

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When those election results came in, he sat alone in

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his hotel room thinking how did we get here from

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eight years ago? So naturally he decided to write a

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musical about it. Here's the thing. Bauman had never written

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a play before. He didn't know how to play an instrument.

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He hadn't written a song since high school, but he

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figured why not. Low expectations, as he put it, were

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probably the best way to approach it. Political theater is

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usually a tough sell. Most of it crashes and burns

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unless you go way back in history. Hamilton worked because

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lyn Manuel Miranda was basically writing about people who've been

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dead for two hundred years. And fun fact, Miranda actually

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performed songs from Hamilton for President Obama before it became huge.

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The creators of forty four claimed the show appeals to

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audiences across the political spectrum. Bauman says even Republicans and

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his family loved it. Apparently people leave feeling joy and

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nostalgia for a time when, and I'm quoting here, the

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country felt good about itself. The show opens today, So

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if you've been sitting around thinking you know what Broadway

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needs more President Singing, your moment has arrived. Portions of

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today's show were made with the help of Ai