Are Never-Trumpers Welcome in the Democratic Party? Mehdi Asks Sarah Longwell

“People who were more centrist thought [Kamala Harris] was too progressive, and people who were more progressive thought she was too centrist. She was ill-defined and she didn’t come out and define herself.” In this episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss what she’s heard from swing voters across focus groups, if the Democrats lost in 2024 because they listened to the Bulwark and her new book — How to Eat An Elephant: One Voter at a Time. The 2024 election was a disaster for Democrats and with the 2028 president election ahead, the Democrats have a lot of work to do. But, can Democrats sway Trump voters and independents? The Bulwark’s co-founder Sarah Longwell conducted hundreds of focus groups across the U.S. and discusses the failures of the Harris campaign in 2024. But as a former Republican turned Never-Trumper, should the Democratic Party actually listen to Longwell’s advice? In the wide-ranging conversation, Mehdi and Longwell also discuss if Liz Cheney’s endorsement of Kamala Harris hurt her chances, if Longwell has any regrets and whether she understands why some on the left are suspicious of Never-Trumpers. They also discuss if she agrees that the Republican Party played a role in creating MAGA and Trump, plus why Trump voters are ditching him and what Democrats can do to gain their vote. Check out Sarah Longwell’s latest book, How to Eat An Elephant: One Voter at a Time here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-eat-an-elephant-one-voter-at-a-time-sarah-longwell/6a0996cb43d2ef5b?ean=9781250464170 This conversation published on October 29, 2026 at zeteo.com. If you want early, exclusive access to this kind of independent, unfiltered journalism — subscribe to our Substack here: https://zeteo.com/subscribe If you want to increase your financial support for our work and help us grow, donate to Zeteo! https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:47 How to Eat An Elephant: One Voter at a Time and Focus Groups 09:42 Trump’s Approval Ratings and MAGA Voters 16:25 Kamala Harris, 2024 and Democrats 25:17 Reflecting on Harris 2024 and The Bulwark’s Advice 32:45 2026 Midterms and Leading Up to 2028 Presidential Elections 37:02 Never-Trumpers and Laying the Groundwork for Trump 42:28 Rick Berman/Dr. Evil and Regrets 48:36 Immigration, ICE and American Public Opinion 54:44 Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller Subscribe to Zeteo to support independent and unfiltered journalism: https://zeteo.com/subscribe Find Zeteo: Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonews TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/zeteo.com Find Mehdi: Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/network/Zeteo