CNN's Party People

Stephen Moore, who founded the Club for Growth and is now at the Heritage Foundation, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss Trump's early moves. Topics include whether Trump made a 'huge mistake' by putting tax cuts on the back burner (3:00); whether he is ‘playing with fire’ on trade (12:20); how the GOP and it's principles have been reshaped (17:25); and books to check out that Trump himself might actually read (26:10).

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California's 49th congressional district, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden to talk about why he sees support for President Donald Trump's aggressive moves on immigration and border security but still has concerns about the pace of executive orders coming out of the White House (00:01), how voters are feeling the effects of Obamacare in his district and why he has high praise for Supreme Court justice nominee Neil Gorsuch (15:46), and why he thinks learning about politicians throughout history makes him a better Congressman (19:25).

Josh Kraushaar, politics editor for National Journal, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to talk about how both parties are reconciling with the outcome of the presidential election. The topics include Democrats' soul-searching and President Obama's role in the party's current predicament (00:01), the fractures that still exist in the Republican party (18:38), and how Kraushaar got his start covering politics (30:48).

Brad Todd, a veteran shaper of Republican TV ads, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss the lessons of Trump's victory for how campaigns should be run. The topics include how Scott is the true author of the idea that Trump's voters take him 'seriously, but not literally' (1:00); how 2016 proved that there are still plenty of swing voters out there (9:30); how Trump won in spite of largely ignoring television advertising (27:50); and how he got his start as in the political ad business (35:40).

Noah Rothman, the Assistant Online Editor of Commentary magazine, sat down with CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss conservatives watching the Trump transition. Topics included how he’s now optimistic but 'was perfectly ready to go into this thing despondent’ (1:10); his feeling that 'I think we are seeing a lot more winging it than people want to admit’ (9:25); how he never though Trump could win until he actually did it (11:50); whether conservatives and populists within the GOP may clash right off the bat as infrastructure spending gets debated (18:00); and his career path from a theater scholarship to Commentary magazine (33:00).

Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger sat down with CNN's Mary Katharine Ham to talk over Trump's emerging foreign policy. The two discuss his concern that Trump, like previous administrations, may initially try and be 'pals with Putin' (2:00); how both of their anti-Trump past squares with current optimism (16:00); his evolution on whether Trump tweeting is a good idea or not (22:00); and White House/Congressional relations including how he's only met Barack Obama twice since taking office in 2013 (31:20).

Ellen Carmichael, President of The Lafayette Company and GOP strategist, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden. They discuss the need for continued GOP minority outreach (2:30); Trump's post-election political capitol (18:50); and reflections on her old boss, Tom Price, who has been tapped to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (33:45).

Douglas Holtz-Eakin currently runs the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, and sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katherine Ham to discuss the Republican agenda taking shape in Washington. The topics included the ‘ecstatic’ mood about possibilities among some policy professionals following Trump’s win (0:50), reflections on working with Congress even under one party rule (20:40), and how a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan might actually be one of the easier agenda items (27:50).

Reid Wilson, a national correspondent at The Hill, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katherine Ham to discuss the next steps as the country and party prepares for a Trump presidency. First, Kevin and Mary Katherine reflected on being being wrong about the strength of Donald Trump (0:00) then Reid discussed how the Obama coalition could return despite Clinton's loss (5:40) and the importance of state legislatures (20:40).

The Washington Free Beacon editor sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham just before election day. They discussed the divide within the party between conservatives and populists (1:20); where to look for leaders who can bridge the GOP divide (12:40); and how the Trump candidacy is far from a fluke (16:50).

Katie Walsh, chief of staff at the Republican National Committee, sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham for peek into the center of the party apparatus one week from election day. The topics included her start in politics in Missouri (1:50); merging the RNC with Donald Trump’s 'ten guys and a twitter account' campaign infrastructure (6:00); how predictive modeling can change the electoral game (13:50); and starting a conversation about how the primary process should be different going forward (39:30).

Matt Schlapp and CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham are on the opposite side of the GOP divide over Donald Trump and they sat down for a pointed, but respectful, conversation about 2016. The American Conservative Union chairman discussed watching C-SPAN as a child (1:05), the challenges of being a Trump supporter in Washington including how he's "disgusted by the judgment" of Washington republicans (22:50); and how Mr. Trump 'skipped this town' and whether that matters (31:00).

Andrea Bozek is one of the key operatives in charge of electing Republicans to the Senate across the country. She sat down with CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to talk about running these races in the year of Donald Trump. Topics include targeting millennial voters using both social media and the issues they care about (15:45); the messaging to possible ticket-splitters (22:00); and how they deal with the proliferation of public and private data (30:35).

The politics writer for The Atlantic sits down with CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to talk about her 2016 campaign trail experiences. They discuss Trump's 'scorched-earth' campaign and even a 'salted-earth' scenario (4:40), the level of animosity towards the press she has seen at Trump rallies (10:50) and the level of so called blood lust among Donald Trump's supporters (39:30).

The anti-tax crusader sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katherine Ham for a wide ranging conversation. They discuss his iconic ‘pledge’ and whether Donald Trump has signed (5:55); his proposal to fix Republican primary debates (28:30), and why the head of a think tank often travels to the counterculture gathering in the desert known as burning man (41:30).

The Republican columnist, CNN contributor, and author of "Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump" sat down with CNN's Kevin Madden and Mary Katherine Ham. They discuss why he initially wanted to be a political operative (0:45); tracing the roots of Trump-ism (10:10), the ‘What About Bob’ theory of Donald Trump (18:50) and the challenges of fostering the GOP’s next generation of stars (43:50).

Amy Walter is the National Editor of The Cook Political Report and she’s been covering politics for almost 20 years. She sits down with CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss how she got her start in politics (0:45), the deep unhappiness she has seen among independent voters (8:00), and Hillary Clinton’s challenges in the context of a change election (29:30).

Whit Ayres has conducted polls for Republican campaigns for more than 30 years. He sits down with CNN’s Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss what makes a good poll (1:30), why white voters can't carry the GOP in 2016 (4:30), and what he’s watching for at the debates (13:40).

Lanhee Chen is currently a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a CNN contributor and he has been at the center of policy-making on the recent presidential efforts of Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney. Chen sits down with Kevin Madden and Mary Katharine Ham to discuss the roots of his interest in policy (1:00), whether Donald Trump will need substance at the upcoming debates (16:00), and GOP policy landscape under either a Trump or Clinton presidency (25:30).

CNN's Kevin Madden and MK Hamm look at the 2016 race from a rightward perspective. What is the future of the GOP in the age of Trump? He's a seasoned party strategist and she's a movement conservative and each episode will delve into an elements of that question with guests from across the political spectrum. A trip looking for the soul of conservatism in America.