This is an adapted excerpt from the Nov. 5 episode of “Morning Joe.”
Since Donald Trump was reelected to the presidency, there’s been a lot of talk that the American people are growing numb, that they’re catatonic, discouraged and depressed.
Tuesday night threw a cold bucket of water on all of that.
Americas aren’t numb. From California to Virginia to New Jersey to New York City, voters turned out to the polls and showed all of us that they’re paying attention. They’re seeing the visuals coming out of this administration. They’ve seen the president tear down the East Wing; they’ve seen the National Guard troops he’s deployed to patrol American cities; they’ve seen the president send masked men onto the streets to detain people at their workplaces and throw mothers to the ground at school pickup.
The major lesson we should take from Tuesday’s election is that the American people are paying attention. But now isn’t the time to get complacent.
There’s another major election just around the corner. On Tuesday evening, I spoke with several U.S. Senate candidates running in next year’s midterms, and what, prior to this election, seemed to be an insurmountable map now appears to be within reach.
That’s true even in places like Texas. Voters there know Republicans in the state tried to rig the maps. We’ve seen just how unpopular that move is. Next year, Republicans will have to answer for their actions. That state’s Senate race could end up being much closer than people ever thought it could be.
There’s some real optimism out there. There’s a spring in the Democrats’ step. There was an idea that the Democratic brand was so damaged it could never come back. Tuesday’s election showed that’s not the case. Now it’s up to Democrats to make sure the momentum we saw at the polls this week carries into next year’s midterms.