Blue Tsunami: Dems’ Next Move, Wall Street Reax, and Guest Amy Klobuchar

Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway opened live at Minneapolis’s State Theatre after Democrats’ sweeping 2026 midterm results. They joked about Minnesota politics, Scott’s sweater, “Woke 3.0,” and Scott becoming a “double lesbian,” then announced their first newsletter, Pivot Post, at pivotshow.com. They introduced Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar as governor-elect and noted that she would become the state’s first woman governor. Klobuchar said Democrats were headed toward a record 15 Democratic women governors in January, after flipping five governorships and seven Senate seats, with more races pending.

Klobuchar won by roughly 13 points, the largest Minnesota gubernatorial margin since 1994 and the biggest margin for a non-incumbent governor in 44 years. She said Democrats should celebrate but then explain why voters switched from Donald Trump: costs, chaos, and corruption had risen. Her immediate priorities were restoring Affordable Care Act tax credits after 8 million people lost coverage, addressing Medicaid cuts that are harming hospitals, ending the war in Iran after 14 Senate votes against it, and easing tariff pressure on farmers. She said accountability is necessary, but Democrats must deliver practical relief rather than only pursue revenge.

Asked how Minnesota could attract industry rather than lose residents to warmer, lower-tax states, Klobuchar said she ran on growth. She cited 3% growth in the first two quarters and a ranking of sixth nationally, but argued that government must cut red tape that makes starting or expanding a business too difficult. Her plan includes doubling apprenticeships, expanding training for nurses, doctors, electricians, and plumbers, reducing classroom screen time, and preparing for AI-proof jobs. Minnesota has 18 Fortune 500 companies and 500,000 small businesses, but is short 100,000 housing units. She proposed modular and manufactured housing, lower mortgage and rent costs, and cheaper child care.

After nearly 20 years in the Senate and a leadership position, Klobuchar said she chose Minnesota because of the state’s recent trauma: the killing of House Speaker Melissa Hortman, children murdered in a church, ICE operations, and a major fraud scandal. On technology, she said she had worked with Ted Cruz and others on privacy, algorithms, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture, and hoped Congress could include AI guardrails in year-end legislation. She described possible rules requiring frontier models to be verified before release and companies to alert the government about imminent harm. She also said states must act on privacy and child safety when Congress fails, though federal standards would be preferable to a patchwork.

Klobuchar said Minnesota had banned AI-generated political ads, a significant protection during a campaign filled with negative ads, false-flag mailers, and $16 million in attacks against her. She also cited a bipartisan data-center law, though she said it needed stronger protections, including banning nondisclosure agreements. Scott argued that Minnesota’s cold climate, land, and power made it well suited for data centers and AI growth. Klobuchar agreed that the state should consider them, but insisted that local governments retain control and residents must not be stuck with higher electricity bills or damaged water supplies. She said past failures in other states offered useful lessons.

Klobuchar named Republican senators she respected, including John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer on infrastructure, Mike Rounds on Native American issues, John Boozman on agriculture and SNAP, and Shelley Moore Capito on eating-disorder legislation. She recalled traveling with John McCain, who insisted that foreign leaders recognize her as the lead Democrat on their trips. During a Ukraine visit, Ukrainian officials gave McCain a machine gun, Lindsey Graham a revolver, and Klobuchar a dagger; McCain complained that the gifts were sexist until she received a revolver. Near the end of his life, McCain pointed her to his sentence: “There’s nothing in life more liberating than fighting for a cause larger than yourself.”

Klobuchar said Congress could use its power of the purse to reform ICE after a federal operation in Minnesota arrested about 3,000 people, detained children, and killed two U.S. citizens. She described civil-rights violations including a Hmong elder pulled from his home in underwear and Crocs and Latino residents singled out despite identification. Fifty thousand Minnesotans marched in 10-below-zero weather and brought food to strangers rather than look away. After Klobuchar pressed then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over the killings, Noem was fired the next day. Caroline Kennedy later offered a Profile in Courage Award; Klobuchar insisted it go to the people of the Twin Cities, not an elected official.

Scott asked how Minnesota would address young men’s worsening outcomes, citing a 40–60 college gender split and young men being four times as likely to become addicts or homeless. Klobuchar said young men who feel excluded require an opportunity-centered message, not just emphasis on historic female candidates. She recalled telling skeptical male voters early in her Senate career that she was running for apprenticeships, workforce training, and opportunity—not merely to be the first woman senator. She said Democrats should focus on affordability, growth, manufacturing, invention, and exports so voters feel pride and see a path to starting families.

Asked whether she would run for president again, Klobuchar said no: her focus is moving Minnesota forward, rebuilding trust, hiring a new team, and using her transition website for ideas and job applications. She joked that residents would not like every decision she made, but promised to keep what works and fix or eliminate what does not. She cited ideas from other governors, such as refunding permit fees when agencies miss deadlines. Asked about balancing ambition with family, she emphasized purpose, a supportive husband, and separate lives within a marriage. She and her family also hike Minnesota’s more-than-300-mile Superior Hiking Trail in practical, divided segments.

Klobuchar’s advice to Donald Trump was to “stop thinking you’re on HGTV” and act like a president by putting Americans first and working with the new Congress. She recalled being the only Democrat allowed to speak at Trump’s inauguration after chairing the Rules Committee and being alone in a car with Trump and Joe Biden for 20 minutes. Her remarks emphasized that the inauguration took place in the people’s house, not a gilded palace; democracy was a “shelter from the storm”; and political power came from the people, not the rotunda. She said the midterms demonstrated that principle.

Kara noted that the Dow rose more than 1,500 points, Apple and Microsoft reached all-time highs, Apple topped $5 trillion, oil plunged, and chip stocks fell on fears of data-center restrictions. Scott said markets were not reacting emotionally but pricing in the possibility that Democrats would restrain deficit spending, reduce geopolitical risk, and improve oil flows. He cited his calculation that since 1980 Democratic administrations averaged 2 million jobs per year and 4% GDP growth, versus 1 million jobs and 2.1% growth under Republicans; Democratic deficits averaged 2.1% of GDP versus 2.8% under Republicans. He urged Democrats to claim the mantle of economic growth.

Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars on midterm candidates who lost, including in Texas, then posted jokes about space-based data centers and failed “election interfering space lasers” before deleting tweets. Scott distinguished Musk personally from SpaceX and Tesla, arguing that states should compete for those companies rather than launch a populist attack that costs jobs. He nevertheless wanted Musk questioned under oath about technology throttling, DOGE, and Texas sweetheart deals, especially decisions affecting HIV medication. Scott said a pardon would not necessarily block state investigations. Kara predicted Musk might move to Florida; neither knew where he would go.

Kara said Democrats should distinguish accountability from vengeance by investigating specific conduct, including ICE abuses, DOGE’s handling of data, and possible misconduct by Trump officials, while still delivering policy for voters. Scott urged Democrats to propose bold ideas—expanded health coverage, a reversed tax code, national service, and support for Ukraine—instead of becoming an “indignance tour.” Asked about messaging, they agreed Democrats needed simple, ambitious economic proposals. A Canadian audience member asked Kara about sexism in technology. She said Silicon Valley’s “meritocracy” is often a “mirortocracy,” in which men advance one another, and argued that representation in tech leadership has actually worsened.

Kara and Scott closed by describing their visit to the place where federal agents killed Alex Preddy and Renee Good in Minneapolis. They praised residents who filled the streets in sub-zero weather, protected neighbors, and refused to look away. Scott said their deaths should not be in vain and that the appropriate memorial was civic participation: “What did we do to honor them? We voted.” Kara echoed Klobuchar’s description of the response as an act of democracy and invoked “The North remembers.” They thanked the Minneapolis audience, sponsors, and production team before ending with the claim that there was nowhere else they would rather be.