Trump and GOP Panic as Easy Special Election Slips Away!!!

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Speaker 3 Donald Trump and Republicans are panicking that they may lose a critical congressional special election in Tennessee, which is set to take place on December 2nd.

Speaker 3 This is for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, and it follows the resignation of Republican Congressmember Mark Green.

Speaker 3 While this congressional district was a plus 22 Trump district, We saw the blue tsunami hit earlier in the month of November, and we're seeing a massive trend in this district right now towards the Democratic candidate.

Speaker 3 And this was confirmed by an Emerson College poll that was released the day before Thanksgiving. Emerson College polling is a very solid, reliable poll in this area.

Speaker 3 And what the poll shows is that the MAGA Republican candidate, Matt Van Epps, is only leading the Democratic candidate, Afton Bain, who's a state representative in Tennessee, by two points.

Speaker 3 So Matt Van Epps is polling at 48%.

Speaker 3 The Democratic candidate Afton Bain is polling at 46%

Speaker 3 with respect to other potential candidates or people who are on the ballot, 2%.

Speaker 3 And there are 5%

Speaker 3 of people who are undecided about this race.

Speaker 3 And one of the things that we saw with the blue tsunami early in November, the independents, the late breaking voters, the motivated voters who say, you know what, I've got to do something, have ended up voting for the Democratic candidate.

Speaker 3 This would be a massive, massive defeat, a massive rebuke of epic proportions for Donald Trump, the Republicans, and the MAGA movement.

Speaker 3 And it could also tip the scale to allow for potentially Democrats to take control of the House of Representatives if we then see a few other resignations take place in the House.

Speaker 3 But this could begin that spiral following Marjorie Taylor Greene resigning

Speaker 3 last Friday, which Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House, called a canary in the coal mine that other Republicans are looking to resign.

Speaker 3 So how do we know also that Trump and the Republicans are panicking? Well, Well, in this plus 20, plus 22 Trump district, you've got Donald Trump posting the following.

Speaker 3 I'm asking all American First Patriots in Tennessee's 7th congressional district who haven't voted yet, please get out and vote for MAGA warrior Matt Van Epps tomorrow, November 26th, the last day to vote early in person.

Speaker 3 You can win this election for Matt. Please, please vote for Matt Van Epps, who has my complete and total endorsement.
Stay in line. They must let you vote.
Stay in line.

Speaker 3 And again, it says a plus 22 Trump district ultra gerrymandered where a Democrat is within striking distance, within two points.

Speaker 3 So let me give you the data points about why this Democratic candidate, Afton Bain, is in striking distance.

Speaker 3 Well, first, let me just give you a little bit of the demographics of the 7th congressional district, right? You have Davidson County, which includes areas of Nashville.

Speaker 3 Very high turnout, early vote right now for the Democratic candidate. Then you have Montgomery County, plus 21, plus 22.
Trump now is only plus one Van Epps.

Speaker 3 We also see low voter enthusiasm among Republicans who feel betrayed by Trump and MAGA.

Speaker 3 And also, we've seen particularly soybean farmers and farmers hit hard in this congressional district by Donald Trump's trade war against the world, which backfired.

Speaker 3 Lots of people in this district are suffering. Their health care is being ripped away.
Farmers are suffering. People are paying more.
People are pissed.

Speaker 3 Republicans are not motivated to go out and vote for Van Epps.

Speaker 3 So this combination of the Democratic county vote surging in the Nashville area and the Republican county area, Montgomery, very low enthusiasm and now only plus one Van Epps.

Speaker 3 That's what we're seeing. Now, in terms of the candidates, though, Matt Van Epps, typical MAGA, you could like engineer this guy as a MAGA AI candidate.

Speaker 3 He talks about bathrooms and culture wars, and he loves Trump's tariffs. And he wants to cover up child sex trafficking rings for the Epstein files.
He doesn't want to release those.

Speaker 3 So, this is who this guy is.

Speaker 3 And then, Afton Bain is a very compelling Democratic candidate, state representative, who's been talking about affordability, actually making government work for people, not against people.

Speaker 3 So let me give you these data points right here. So Matt Van Epps, the MAGA candidate, he's in full support of price skyrocketing tariffs.
Play this clip.

Speaker 3 On Inside Politics, he said, President Trump's popularity remains strong across the 7th congressional district, which includes 14 counties and many rural areas, with soybean farmers hit hard by tariffs.

Speaker 4 You support tariffs.

Speaker 5 I do. I think the president is right in doing this.

Speaker 5 We've been getting ripped off for a long time.

Speaker 5 It's really put American businesses and families in a, previously in a hard position.

Speaker 3 When he went on this radio show that he thought would be a very friendly show to him,

Speaker 3 he said that he supports Trump's budget bill, which he calls the big, beautiful bill. He would have voted in favor of it.

Speaker 3 And even the host of this radio show is like, I hear you, but don't you think that like it pisses people off that like Donald Trump's out there doing great Gatsby parties and living this lavish life and billionaires are thriving while this screws over like everyday people in Tennessee?

Speaker 3 Play this clip.

Speaker 6 Well, I'm a low tax person. I would have voted for the one big beautiful now law for the number of, I mean, locking in the largest tax decrease in American history.

Speaker 3 The problem with that, though, man, is at the end of the day,

Speaker 3 the wealthy, they get to keep all of their taxes permanently. The middle class, all that stuff phases out.
And there's the frustration, I think.

Speaker 3 There's this, you know, the populace in the Trump came is they're looking around and going, hey, Trump and everybody else looks like they're getting wealthy. They're having the big parties.

Speaker 3 He's got this coins and he's making billions. And the AI companies and everybody else, he's going, what about us, the middle class?

Speaker 3 I thought the whole thing was the middle class feels like they're getting squeezed out of everything.

Speaker 3 Now, here's where Matt Van Epstein said that he would not really, you know, that he avoided the question about the Epstein files, right?

Speaker 3 Like this guy's created out of like a MAGA lab. Like he's like a typical Trump sycophant who would just further the pain in Tennessee and attack the people in Tennessee.

Speaker 3 And it seems like he hates the people in Tennessee, frankly, like like a MAGA guy. Here, play this clip.

Speaker 7 Do you support the full release of the Epstein files? So I think the Speaker has a great plan. I support the Speaker's plan in this.
I'm for full transparency.

Speaker 7 The Speaker has empowered

Speaker 7 the Oversight Committee with now with subpoena power and is taking a deliberate approach so that

Speaker 7 justice

Speaker 7 is had and so that the victims are supported. And Republicans are taking a very deliberate approach here

Speaker 7 because they want to get. There are some Republicans who want it released.
President Trump has said there's nothing to see here. Do you agree there's nothing to see?

Speaker 7 Well, I think the Speaker and the President have said that they are supportive of full transparency in this, and that's my position as well.

Speaker 7 Then should they be released?

Speaker 7 I guess the full transparency thing, certainly Democrats would say that's not the case. Even some Republicans would say it's not full transparency.
So why not just release the files?

Speaker 7 What is the concern? Well,

Speaker 7 I think Republicans are taking that approach.

Speaker 7 I think the Speaker has that plan and through the Oversight Committee is doing very deliberate investigative work that's not performative politics that's actually trying to solve this issue.

Speaker 7 Are you concerned that they were tampered with in some way?

Speaker 7 I guess the deliberative work that's being done by the speaker is

Speaker 7 trying to do what? I mean, the files are there. Why not just release them?

Speaker 7 I mean, I think it's a,

Speaker 7 they're taking

Speaker 7 that deliberate approach with the subpoena power so that they can fully investigate

Speaker 7 into the situation and hold those accountable that need to be held accountable for the heinous crimes that happen. You do hope that at some point it will just be released.

Speaker 7 So I'm for full transparency.

Speaker 3 Now, I want to give a hat tip to your community pack that put this ad up right here that talked about who Matt Van Epps is. They used a little cartoon and showed that he is a puppet.

Speaker 3 He is a stooge of Trump covering up child sex trafficking rings and hurting the people in Tennessee, ruining the people's lives, supporting Donald Trump's tariffs, and supporting Donald Trump, ripping health care away from people.

Speaker 3 Here, play this clip:

Speaker 8 the Epstein files are locked away. Matt Van Epps will keep him that way.

Speaker 6 Just a hedge fund puppet for the billionaire elite.

Speaker 8 Bankrolled by their Wall Street cash. He'll give them tax cuts in a flash.
Sports a plan that would cut our social security. Matt Van Epp's a hedge fund puppet.

Speaker 9 Can't trust a word he'll say.

Speaker 8 If we wanna clean up Washington, we best keep Matt Van Epps away.

Speaker 10 Your community pack is responsible for the content of this advertising.

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Speaker 3 House majority pack, right? The leadership pack from Hakeem Jeffries. They're coming in.
Here's the spot that they have on TV. Play this clip.

Speaker 10 Tennessee's choice, Matt Van Eps versus Afton Bain. Van Eps wants three things.
Cuts to health care benefits, more tariffs driving up costs. Tax breaks for billionaires.

Speaker 10 Afton Bain wants one thing: to lower your costs. She fought to end the grocery tax.
In Congress, she'll stand up to both parties to make life more affordable.

Speaker 9 Want more of the same?

Speaker 10 That's Matt Van Epps. Want someone who'll fight for you for a change? That's Afton Bain.
HMP is responsible for the content of this ad.

Speaker 3 And can we just contrast these candidates? Here's Afton Bain's video that she made of herself: selfie style, knocking on doors, being out in the community, speaking to people, right?

Speaker 3 With passion. Here, play this clip when she says, I woke up and I'm energized.
This poll, this latest poll shows that we're within two points. Let's go.
Here, play this clip.

Speaker 13 Good morning, everyone. State Representative Afton Bain, the seventh congressional district special election Democratic nominee.

Speaker 13 It is cold, which is why my coat is so dramatic here in Nashville, but I woke up with the energy of a thousand Dolly Partons and decided to go canvas because a new poll dropped showing us about two points behind my opponent, which is wild.

Speaker 13 And I've got the election excitement wiggles as I do. So I decided to jump out of bed, go out and canvass.

Speaker 13 It's the last day to early vote across the district. So as you are preparing for Thanksgiving, please head to the polls.
In some places, polls close at 12.

Speaker 13 In Davidson County, it's a little longer than that. And if you are coming home from college, guess what? You have the opportunity of a lifetime to flip the congressional district.

Speaker 13 So here's what you're going to do. You're going to come home.
You're going to hug mom and dad. You're going to kiss your pug, kiss the dogs, and then you're going to figure out where to vote.

Speaker 13 If that you need information, go to iwillvote.com.

Speaker 13 Yeah, find your polling place, head out to poll, and then sign up for a canvassing shift this weekend. We've got a day of action on the 29th.

Speaker 13 It's going to be so much fun, and I can't wait to see everyone. Oh my gosh, it's wild, wild times out here.
It's the wild, wild bang season. Y'all can relate.
The girlies can relate.

Speaker 13 All right, love you guys. Let's go out and win this.

Speaker 3 And then compare it to Matt Van Epps, who's like wearing like his vest.

Speaker 3 And he's like, Hey, everybody we don't like bathrooms hey what do you think about the peepee and the poopy in the bathroom we don't like that hey men's uh women's sports what do you think transgender hey we we with transgender people hey right i mean it's like what are you doing people are suffering and you're doing this shtick this maga shtick that doesn't work anymore but here's van epps play this clip my opponent wants new and higher taxes to fund her socialist agenda that will skyrocket our cost of living.

Speaker 6 In her own words, she is very radical. She supports transgender surgery for minors without parental consent and believes that men can give birth.

Speaker 3 Now, I want to show you this. This is what Matt Van Epps wants in Tennessee, that he wants ICE to go into that district, terrorize the community, and throw people into concentration camps.

Speaker 3 I guess he's pro-concentration camp in Tennessee. I don't know.
Here, play this clip.

Speaker 14 The American Dream starts with law and order. And so I fully support the president and his initiatives and efforts around

Speaker 14 immigration, fully support ICE and their operations to keep

Speaker 14 Americans safe and secure.

Speaker 14 And so I fully support the operation to deport illegal aliens, excuse me. And I think that is a part of keeping our communities safe.

Speaker 14 And as a, you know, I believe in legal immigration and coming in the right way and being,

Speaker 14 you know, being in line and going through the process as a country that supports law and order, that we've got to keep our borders secure and

Speaker 14 we've got to work to execute those objectives that

Speaker 14 the president has outlined and fully support those.

Speaker 3 Matt Van Epps running away from the cameras when he was

Speaker 3 typical Matt Van Epps when he was asked, why don't you stand up for farmers? What are you doing with the Epstein files? Watch him run away, play this clip.

Speaker 9 Hey, Matt, how are you?

Speaker 16 Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?

Speaker 17 Why do you think it's important to keep supporting the tariffs, even when farmers and ranchers

Speaker 9 are begging for them to end?

Speaker 12 Look out.

Speaker 17 Did you have to promise to keep the Epstein files hidden to get Trump endorsed?

Speaker 12 Are you

Speaker 15 bringing the Senator Blackburn

Speaker 12 funding the SNAP?

Speaker 17 Are you going to vote to keep the Epstein files hidden? Help that cover up, Matt.

Speaker 15 I don't understand why you're not answering the questions.

Speaker 15 Hey, I'm sorry, this is a private event. We're not allowing any media.

Speaker 15 You're in a public building, yeah, but it's a private event.

Speaker 12 Yeah, that's all right.

Speaker 17 Matt, why don't you stand up to the farmers and ranchers?

Speaker 15 Why are you backing the tariffs? How do you feel about 40 billion to Argentina, Matt? 40 billion to Argentina

Speaker 15 for all ranchers and farmers struggle.

Speaker 12 What do you think about that, Matt?

Speaker 16 Are you going to not answer questions?

Speaker 12 Matt, have you ever had a bugger on your finger?

Speaker 16 Mark Green at least answers questions every once in a while.

Speaker 17 He's got a temper, so he answers stuff.

Speaker 9 Are you, are you?

Speaker 9 Are you?

Speaker 16 Are you going to not answer?

Speaker 15 Are you going to be like all these other Republicans that don't have town halls, don't answer questions, are really hard to find?

Speaker 12 Are you just going to hide from everybody?

Speaker 15 Why did billionaires put $2 million into your primary, Matt?

Speaker 12 What did you have to promise the billionaires to get $2 million to keep Jody Barrett?

Speaker 15 They didn't want Jodi Barrett, huh?

Speaker 16 When voucher voters wanted you in there, they don't want the tariffs.

Speaker 15 They don't want a bailout.

Speaker 16 They want trade, not aid. Why did billionaires put $2 million into your race, Matt? That's the real question.
What did you have to promise? Are you going to protect the Epstein files?

Speaker 12 Is that why?

Speaker 3 And then here, Matt Van Epps, like in his robotic AI voice, goes, Thank you, Donald Jump, Isa Bart.

Speaker 3 I am so grateful for your endorsement. Play this clip.
Mr.

Speaker 18 President, when I get to Congress, I will have your back 100%.

Speaker 18 And I am honored to be endorsed by our Commander-in-Chief, President Donald J. Trump.

Speaker 3 We got more Matt Van Epps running away right here.

Speaker 4 Matt, funny running into you here, Matt.

Speaker 9 How are you?

Speaker 4 How are you? I'm good. How are you?

Speaker 4 So, Afton was on with us yesterday, and she said that Speaker Johnson is waiting for you to get there so you can cancel out Adelita Grijalva's vote on the Epstein files. What do you think about that?

Speaker 4 Does that sound right to you?

Speaker 4 Do you think that's Speaker Johnson's plan?

Speaker 4 Why was it so hard for you to answer the Epstein files question, Matt?

Speaker 4 Is that why

Speaker 4 they put $2 million into your race so that you would go there and help cover up the Epstein files? This is a simple question. You said you're for transparency.

Speaker 4 Why not just be strong about that, Matt? Why do you have to hem and haw so much?

Speaker 4 Do you think that's the plan, Matt, to get you up there to cancel out Adelita Grijalva?

Speaker 4 The silence thing doesn't work very well. It just makes you look bad.

Speaker 4 That's what you're going to learn if you get up there. It's better just to give me the line that they gave you.
Whatever line they gave you, you should use that line, Matt, right now.

Speaker 4 This is the time to do it. Being silent isn't a good look.

Speaker 4 It doesn't work. It just makes you look guilty.
I'm trying to help you.

Speaker 4 Just say the line. Whatever they gave you to say, just say it.
Matt, the Epstein files, even your own people care about the Epstein files.

Speaker 4 All right, it's great talking to you, Matt, as always.

Speaker 3 Then I had the opportunity to interview the Democratic candidate, Afton Bain. Here's what she told me.

Speaker 2 Make this about the affordability crisis that Tennessee is experiencing.

Speaker 2 Washington is making our affordability crisis worse, and working families in Tennessee are getting crushed everywhere. Utility bills, housing, groceries,

Speaker 2 everything is going up. And the Republican, Washington Republicans do not have the solution to fix it.
And so for me, I decided to jump in this race after the passage of the big ugly bill.

Speaker 2 It was a breaking point because it codified the greatest transfer of wealth in American history.

Speaker 2 And I'm running because Tennessee deserves someone who will stand up for working people, not corporate donors.

Speaker 3 You know, Matt Van Epps, who you're running against, you know, he's running the normal MAGDA playbook, right? Culture Wars, Wokeety Woke, Peepy Poopy, Bathrooms. We should care about bathrooms.

Speaker 3 This, he's a pioneer of urinals and pooping. Apparently he wants us to focus on that.

Speaker 3 Like, do the people of Tennessee realize that that crap is like literally just a way to like divide the people while they destroy the livelihoods of people?

Speaker 3 Or is this like, like, does this stuff still work? Or I mean, like, where are people on this? Because he's running that playbook.

Speaker 13 Yeah,

Speaker 2 I think it's cracking. I do think there's a rupture.
We're seeing, you know, I routinely go on conservative talk radio, and I've been saying this from the beginning, especially around the

Speaker 2 rhetoric about immigration, is that immigrants are not the reason your grocery prices are high. Period, end of statement.
I've been saying that with my whole chest.

Speaker 2 And I think the scapegoating, I think people are realizing that there's nothing behind it and it's a distraction to force us to scapegoat each other rather than focusing on the real issue, which is that the federal and state administration in Tennessee have not delivered an economic agenda that has addressed the cost crisis in Tennessee.

Speaker 3 Here's what she told me again. Let's play it.

Speaker 2 I want to say thank you for recognizing that Tennessee is a beautiful place and there are people that are trying to do good work here.

Speaker 2 We have some of the best organizers in the country because we have to operate under incredibly oppressive circumstances.

Speaker 2 And I think my biggest pet peeve in politics is when people who don't live in the South say you get what you voted for because this is not what I voted for.

Speaker 2 I didn't vote for the highest maternal mortality rate in the country. I didn't vote for the most dangerous place for workers in the country.

Speaker 2 I didn't vote for the highest inflationary cost of groceries in the country. But that is what 15 years of Republican supermajority rule at the state has done.

Speaker 2 Tennessee has been bought and sold to the highest bidder, and those are multinational corporations in the billionaire boys club. There are no checks and balances.

Speaker 2 And what we are seeing right now is a rupture in their paradigm because they have ruled, as you said, with an iron fist and have squelched dissent and dissonance. And I think they're seeing the,

Speaker 2 now we're seeing the kind of rumblings, the simmering of perhaps a different paradigm,

Speaker 2 one of which is

Speaker 2 economic populism and ensuring that the real villains are painted as the Billionaire Boys Club and these greedy corporations that are pitting us against each other

Speaker 2 as we fight and not delivering for the Tennessee people.

Speaker 3 Well, there you have it, folks. Let me know what you think.
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