Day 2 of trial over National Guard in L.A.

Vedant? I think this is really, ultimately, a little bit of a process thing, at the end of the day. It's unprecedented to have the National Guard come in without the governor's cooperation, without the governor's asking. I've worked in a White House before. When there are crises, when there's national disasters, when there's that extra needed of that federal oomph, you're supposed to be working with governors to offer that support, not just do this unilaterally, and I think that is the troubling thing. But at the crux of it, I think there are going to be people, both in California and across the country and including in the District, that say, we want to see this kind of support when it comes to our local law enforcement. And so that's going to be the needle that's going to be needed to thread. I want to ask you about something that Zohran Mamdani has done. Not only is he on a tour of the five boroughs talking about an anti-Trump tour but also linking it to Andrew Cuomo. Let's listen to that. And we stand here speaking about Donald Trump and have to acknowledge the similarities between two of these leaders. And it makes sense because this is a former governor who is getting advice from the current president. Now, I don't find it fascinating that Zohran Mamdani is attacking Andrew Cuomo. I just am interested in the vociferousness of it because it has recently intensified, and that tells me that there's something that they're seeing in the data that's probably troubling. So, look, I've not seen that polling data, whatever data-- Right now, the most recent public poll has them up 19. Right. I meant whatever internal memo that the Mamdani campaign might be seeing that they think this is a good strategy. I'm of the point of view that the reason he was so potent in the primary was because of having this economic message, talking about affordability, talking about issues that a lot of New Yorkers could resonate with-- public transit, groceries, rent. I think the best that he can do is stay that close to that message and keep that his home base. I'm sure this Trump message is going to maybe expand his electorate a little bit, but the proof is in the pudding that people really latched on to his economic agenda, and that's where I think they should be keeping their focus. Leslie, analyze the Trump of it all up in New York City. Well, I mean, at the Trump of it all, people want safe streets. They want a better economy. They want a strong New York. But they don't want socialism or communism in terms of their leadership, and I think the more that that's put out there, it's a bigger thing. But the question is, is he really just auditioning to be the national voice of resistance of the opposition? Because that's more what it sounds like, as opposed to somebody who is focused on the streets of New York. Meaning believing he's going to win and, with that victory, become something larger, even though mayor of New York is pretty large all by itself. It's pretty large in itself, but if you saw like conservative George Will came on and said about every generation, you need something extreme like this to kind of balance the scales of people's seeing how ridiculous it is. Vedant, is Zohran Mamdani the generational voice and face of the new Democratic Party? I think he's a potent candidate running for mayor of New York. And that's all, full stop. Full stop. You're like, Democrats, full stop. Each electorate-- there's a lot of campaigns happening in '25 and '26, and each electorate is going to be apples to oranges. I don't think there's a single campaign happening that you can brush with the broad stroke. He's running a great race that's focused on New York. I think he should keep doing that. New York is one of the most expensive cities on the planet. He should keep talking about those issues. Is he going to become some standard bearer for the Democratic Party? I don't necessarily think so. I think he's an energetic candidate that's done a lot to resonate with people because he's kept the issues local, and I think he's a great candidate for New York. Is that going to resonate elsewhere? Who knows? Looking like defund the police to now he's trying to pivot and say that he's supporting the police. I don't think you can have it both ways, New Yorkers-- any voters more sophisticated than that. And if he becomes the standard bearer of the Democratic Party, I think that is where the Democrats are really kind of, are they going to fall in line or fall out of love? And that's what Republicans are waiting to see. I do just want to say, I think that there's been a lot of emphasis focused on, is he going to be the standard bearer or not? I do think that Democrats around the country, they could take a couple of lessons, particularly in talking about these affordability issues. Big cities are where you go and you try out these crazy, creative ideas like rent freezes and grocery stores. I'm not saying they all are going to necessarily work.

Or that they're all crazy. They may seem crazy. Trump says they're crazy. You're not necessarily accepting that premise. But these are things that people, I think, really resonate with in, OK, these are some creative ideas. This is someone who's trying to be responsive to my needs, and I think any Democrat running around the country could take a lesson from that playbook.

That will have to be the last word. Vedant Patel, Leslie Sanchez, I appreciate you being here very much. Thanks for joining me at the Family Table.