Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends. Here, they discuss the week’s political events with Opinion editor Enrique Lavín.
Q: President Trump is downplaying how a journalist was added to an unsecured group chat in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth disclosed specific classified information about U.S. military attacks in the Middle East. How is this different than when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was investigated by the FBI for three years after using a private email server?
Julie: It’s worse than Hillary Clinton, who did not reveal military strategy and attack plans on Signal, which the Pentagon’s own National Security Agency prohibits. I was at Fox News when they ran segment after segment about how Hillary’s behavior would put American lives in harm’s way. Sitting next to me for many of those segments and screaming loudest was Pete Hegseth.
Editor’s note: Hegseth said on Fox News in 2016: “Any security professional, military, government, or otherwise, would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted.”
Mike: Who here hasn’t accidentally texted classified war plans to a journalist? Seriously, the administration would be better off just taking responsibility, saying it was a mistake, holding someone responsible, and moving on.
But Trump never admits a mistake, not ever, so his people won’t either.
He will expect the entire echo chamber to repeat that this was no big deal, when it is analogous and possibly worse than Hillary’s server. One big difference is that this was not Trump himself who made this mistake.
Q: Why did Trump sign an executive order requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship?
Julie: This is a way to prevent poorer people of color from exercising their rights to vote. They are the ones who are least likely to have passports or other proof of citizenship. It’s a blatant move to disenfranchise voters who Trump believes are most likely to support Democrats.
Mike: Democrats need to stop fighting voter ID laws. I totally agree that this executive order goes much farther than that and unnecessarily casts doubt on our safe and effective election system, but don’t mistake the politics. Most voters, Democrats and Republicans, think we can do a little better on giving people confidence in the system. Many blue states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia and Michigan already require IDs. It’s also required in many European countries. Two things can be true at once. Trump is going too far, and Democrats don’t do enough.
Q: What other recent executive order would you like us to keep an eye on?
Julie: I am sick over the executive orders that target people who are living in this country but are not American citizens. They are being snatched off the streets, detained in the most inhumane conditions and shipped to foreign prisons, where they are treated like cattle. There is a special place in hell for anyone who supports this.
Mike: I don’t like the executive orders targeting universities. Some in this country have come to celebrate ignorance and disdain for those who achieve academically. That’s as big a mistake as the well-educated who look down on others. We need to rebuild the virtue for education, which is still the greatest predictor of economic independence in this world.
Tearing down academia is a mistake that will have devastating consequences.
Q: A new Stockton University poll shows President Trump’s numbers falling in New Jersey. Is that good news for Democrats running for governor and state Assembly?
Julie: The Democrats’ best bet to keep control of Trenton next year is to nationalize the election.
Mike: Gov. Murphy tried to nationalize both of his elections. One time he won by 15 percentage points, but the second time by only 3. Nationalizing the election can be dangerous if voters feel like you’re avoiding the affordability issues here at home.
Q: If those numbers keep dropping, will Republican candidates continue to want Trump’s endorsement?
Julie: Republicans are in a bind. They need Trump in order to turn out their base vote. Whoever he endorses in this primary will likely be the nominee, so they need to bend the knee over and over to curry favor with him.
Mike: Julie’s right that Trump could be a kingmaker in the primary. He was an albatross in 2017 during the gubernatorial race, and the race was much closer in 2021 when Trump was no longer in office. The election is still seven months away, but Republicans will need those numbers to rebound a little.
Q: Several gubernatorial candidates want to legalize home-grown weed. A step too far or about time?
Julie: You are asking the two most boring people on earth about this issue. My attitude is that if you want to grow weed, go to town. Just don’t blow it in my face when I’m walking down the street and we’re all good.
Mike: I was the stick-in-the-mud don’t-legalize weed guy in this column a few years ago. New Jersey will be for it so they can tax it, which the current budget is trying to do for so much else fun in this state.
She's a Dem. He's GOP. And they're friends
A note to readers: Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we prove it every week with this “Friendly Fire” conversation.
Mike and Julie are deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players discussed in this column. DuHaime, the founder of MAD Global Strategy, has worked for Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and George W. Bush. Roginsky, a principal of Comprehensive Communications Group and author of the Salty Politics column in Substack, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg, and Phil Murphy.
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