Next Up with Mark Halperin

On today’s episode of Next Up, Mark Halperin uses his reported monologue to go inside what really drove Donald Trump to change course on Minnesota. He lays out the specific voices that matter when Trump rethinks a decision and explains why media optics, internal pressure, and shifting political narratives pushed a rapid reversal — all informed by Trump insiders who really understand how he made the choice to head in a different direction.
Later, Buck Sexton and Clay Travis join Mark for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from politics to culture to media. What starts as a playful debate over iconic duos quickly exposes a serious generational divide, before turning to how Clay and Buck managed to succeed in a time slot long defined by Rush Limbaugh. The episode wraps with a look inside Trump’s cabinet, as Buck and Clay explain why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has quietly emerged as one of the administration’s most impressive figures and closes with a candid debate over who would actually make the stronger presidential candidate: Clay or Buck.
 
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President Trump is leaning hard into foreign policy and national security, even as voters keep signaling they want answers on costs, security, and everyday life at home. In today’s reported monologue, Mark explains why second term presidents so often focus overseas and why that instinct can collide with midterm politics.  Davos isn’t Dayton, but the president just spent time in Davos dealing with Greenland, Europe, the Middle East, Ukraine, and more. Why?
Then Mark is joined by Melissa DeRosa and Mark Bednar to test the administration’s core argument on Greenland and Venezuela. Can Trump actually connect those moves to tangible benefits for Americans, or is the message still stuck at the level of leverage and headlines? The panel also digs into the reported slowdown in low dollar giving, and what a $10 donor recession could mean for campaigns heading into 2026 and 2028.
Finally, Mark sits down with Michael Knowles for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with the lasting impact of Charlie Kirk and expands into the broader story of coalition politics on the right. They talk faith and politics, the aftermath of political violence, the combustible immigration debate playing out in Minnesota, and a rapid round look at what the second Trump term has revealed about the people shaping it, including Trump himself.
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Mark Halperin kicks off today’s episode with a sweeping reported monologue on Donald Trump’s escalating pressure campaign over Greenland and what it reveals about his broader foreign policy theory of the case and about his unique decision making style. Mark lays out five fundamentals about the president and this international controversy, from Europe’s dependence on U.S. power and Trump’s obsession with leverage to the idea that markets, not Congress or NATO allies, may be the only real constraint on how far he goes.  
Mark then turns to Iran and the aftermath of the mass protests, breaking down why Trump’s decision not to strike was not a sign of weakness, but a calculated bet. He walks through the internal and allied pressure that shaped the decision, the risks of retaliation and regime consolidation, and why the story of Iran’s uprising may be closer to the beginning of the end than the end itself.
Finally, Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik joins the show to explain what will actually matter in the 2026 midterms, why Trump’s standing on the economy is the central metric, and how structural realities in the House map could limit the implications of even a wave election. Sosnik also outlines what Democrats need to do to rebuild with working-class voters, why candidates define party brands more than messaging, and what traits the 2028 electorate may be looking for when the next presidential fight begins.
 
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Mark kicks off today’s episode with his reported monologue on the white-hot  fight over Greenland — and why Donald Trump’s push to bring the island under U.S. control is no longer just a provocative headline, but a brewing transatlantic clash with Denmark, Europe, NATO, and many of the 56,000 Greenlanders . He walks through the high-stakes national security argument, the political pressure building on all sides, and what this growing confrontation could mean for America’s standing in the Arctic and beyond.
Then Morton Halperin joins the show to map out what a serious U.S. strategy toward Iran should be, including how America can support democratic change without blundering into another destabilizing conflict. Mark and Morton Halperin discuss what a post-theocracy Iran could look like, what U.S. policy should prioritize now, and what may come next as tensions escalate.
Finally, Ben Ferguson and Yemisi Egbewole weigh in on how the Greenland fight could end — and what it ultimately means for Trump’s legacy. The conversation also zooms out to the bigger political landscape, as they break down why both parties remain trapped in Trump-era politics heading into the midterms and the early stages of the 2028 race.
 
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Mark kicks off today’s episode with the January return of his signature “8 for ’28” reported monologue, revealing how the Democratic field is already shifting just months into the invisible primary. He walks through the latest shakeups in his rankings, why Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro remain firmly at the top, which candidates are gaining ground, and why others are slipping. Mark also lays out the biggest unanswered questions facing each contender — from fundraising and coalition-building to electability — and explains the tests he believes will determine who can actually win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
Then Democratic strategists Karen Skelton and Patti Solis Doyle weigh in, offering their candid assessments of the field. They debate who truly belongs in the top tier, whether Pete Buttigieg has hit a ceiling, why Kamala Harris’s path back may be narrower than it appears, and whether 2028 could finally be Rahm Emanuel’s moment. The conversation also explores AOC’s upside, Ro Khanna’s recent surge of attention, and which candidates Democrats are still watching closely as the race begins to take shape.
The episode also features an in-depth interview with Mike Rogers, who explains why he’s running again for the U.S. Senate and outlines his plans to fix Michigan’s future — from housing and manufacturing to AI, national security, and competing with China.
 
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