Democrats' Closing Argument (with David Axelrod)
As Democrats in competitive races across the country try to thread the needle on a closing argument, Jon and legendary political consultant David Axelrod discuss the most memorable exchanges from this week's Senate debates, the best messages of the cycle, and what candidates in frontline races should do to finish strong. Then they look ahead to 2028 and whether promising candidates like AOC and Jon Ossoff will run, and why Axelrod thinks the exact traits that Trump lacks will be in high demand.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.To watch this episode with subtitles, click here and turn on closed captions (CC).You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.
- Duration
- 59m
- Broadcast on
- 11 Oct 2026
- Audio Format
- other
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
(upbeat music) - Welcome to Platesave America, I'm John Favreau. Heading into any big election, there's always a handful of people I wanna hear from most, and one of them is my good friend and mentor, David Axelrod. Axe and I worked closely together for nearly a decade, from when Obama was a senator through his first term in the White House. He is the rare political strategist with a heart as big as his brain and understands the power and the craft of storytelling better than anyone I know other than maybe our old boss. He founded the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, currently serves as CNN's chief political analyst and host of the excellent podcast, Hacks on Tap. Two of us had a great conversation about the state of the midterms a few weeks out. We reacted to the highlights and lowlights of this week's big Senate debates and talked about what Democrats need to do to close strong in November and then win back the White House in 2028. Before we get to our conversation, the midterms are less than 30 days away and crooked con is two. It is November 5th through the 7th in Washington, DC. And we really wanna see you there. We just announced 24 different conversations and debates across four stages, everything from the Democratic brand to the future of AI, to building a winning campaign for 28. We've also got a live taping of Still Counting with Nate Silver, Claire Malone and Galen Druck. And that's an addition to Podsave America. Love it or leave it and Strix scrutiny live shows. So head on over to cricketycon.com to get your tickets now. And stay tuned for, we got a whole bunch more exciting names that we're gonna add to the lineup in the weeks to come. Up next, David Oxerop. (upbeat music) Axe, welcome back to the show. - Always good to be with you, brother. Always happy when I'm with my old buddies from the writer's room at the White House. - I know we haven't talked in a while.
Transcription truncated.
As Democrats in competitive races across the country try to thread the needle on a closing argument, Jon and legendary political consultant David Axelrod discuss the most memorable exchanges from this week's Senate debates, the best messages of the cycle, and what candidates in frontline races should do to finish strong. Then they look ahead to 2028 and whether promising candidates like AOC and Jon Ossoff will run, and why Axelrod thinks the exact traits that Trump lacks will be in high demand.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.To watch this episode with subtitles, click here and turn on closed captions (CC).You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.