CNN Political Briefing · CNN Podcasts

Terry McAuliffe: Donald Trump is the Democrats’ Best Weapon

·27 min·2 clips
Terry McAuliffe says Democrats should have endured more pain to win health care for 40 million people.
Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe discusses Democratic strategy after recent election wins and the government shutdown, arguing that Donald Trump's unpopularity unites the party despite internal divisions. He criticizes Democrats for ending the shutdown too soon on health care and emphasizes the need to fight like Trump does, while analyzing how Trump's impact drove key victories in states like Virginia.

As heard by us

A clean look at how Democratic frustration could be turned into midterm leverage.

CNN Political Briefing treats the shutdown fallout as a straightforward political test: Democrats are weighing recent wins, voter anger, and Donald Trump while trying to sharpen the case for next year.

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Why you'd press play

Turn shutdown anger into a 2026 strategy.

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