By
This is an adapted excerpt from the April 2 episode of “Morning Joe.”
During his marathon speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker said, over and over again, that this is a moral moment in America: This is not about right or left, Democrat or Republican — this is about right and wrong.
Some Republicans think the billionaire needs to be put in his place and that Trump needs to realize Musk is hurting him and the party.
Booker’s remarks tapped into a real frustration present among voters. There is anger. There is depression. There is disappointment. But under it all, there is energy. People in this country don’t like what’s going on. They don’t like the way the United States is treating its allies. They don’t like people being deported without any due process. They don’t like that we’re going to have escalating costs and that our economy could end up in the ditch because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. And there’s a huge critical mass of people out there ready to act on that energy.
We saw it in action Tuesday in Wisconsin, where liberal candidate Susan Crawford won the state’s Supreme Court election and defeated the Trump- and Elon Musk-backed candidate, Brad Schimel. That result was a one-two punch for Republicans. It proved that Trump’s backing simply isn’t enough to get a candidate over the finish line. It also showed that Musk’s presence within the party is a big problem for Republicans. Musk poured millions into the race, which effectively became a referendum on him.
After Tuesday, Democrats have a lot to feel excited and energized about: Speaker Mike Johnson suffered an embarrassing loss on the House floor, Booker commanded the country’s attention with that marathon speech, and the party secured a win in Wisconsin while seeing results out of red districts in Florida that were way closer than they should have been for Republicans.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if some GOP lawmakers in Washington also woke up cheering Wednesday morning. I wouldn’t be shocked if, behind the scenes, secretly some Republicans were fine with missing out on that Wisconsin Supreme Court seat because, just maybe, it could take Musk down a peg.
Republicans have gone home to their districts and heard what their constituents have had to say about Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. They know his cuts are widely unpopular and fear that what happened in Wisconsin could happen in their district next. Those Republicans are hoping Tuesday’s results could be the push Trump needs to put Musk in his place and realize just how much he’s hurting the party — before it’s too late.