BACKLASH: The Jared Kushner and Hakeem Jeffries Meeting | Trailblaze 2028

Jamal Simmons and Matthew Butler dig into the fallout from Jared Kushner's meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — was it a smart olive branch or a self-inflicted wound days before Democrats need to look like they're ready to fight? Then they turn to the Trailblaze 2028 prediction markets, where AOC is surging, Gavin Newsom is in freefall, and John Ossoff is quietly having the best year of any 2028 hopeful.

Kushner requested the sit-down with Jeffries to talk affordability and pointed him toward Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — Matthew notes Kushner has personally profited more from this administration than almost anyone, making the meeting look tone-deaf

Jamal's read: "don't confuse position with power" — Kushner has no official job but is clearly running plays inside Trump's orbit

The pushback plan: a leak, 24 hours of outrage, then Jamie Raskin expands the House Judiciary probe into Kushner's business dealings — Jeffries says "nobody gets a free pass"

The counter-argument: if Jeffries is actually Speaker, keeping a line open to the White House is how anything affordability-related gets passed

Jamal's verdict: "the right meeting, the wrong timing" — Democrats aren't done girding for battle, and it reads like leadership is planning the negotiation before winning the fight

The "get even" lane vs. the "get ahead" lane — accountability for "the crooks" vs. delivering lower costs, and Jeffries has to run both at once

Watch for "the princelings" — Witkoff's kid, Lutnick's kid, Trump's kids — as the likely targets who "catch the brick" first

Trailblaze 2028 markets: AOC jumps from ~10% to 19%, largely at Newsom's expense (33% → 14%); Ossoff rockets from 6% to 17% on the strength of viral clips and a Senate race giving him constant airtime

Real Clear Politics polling tells a completely different story than the prediction markets — Kamala Harris leads polls at 27.6% on name recognition alone, while Ossoff barely registers

An Emerson poll shows Buttigieg, Ossoff and Newsom all beating Vance and Rubio head-to-head; Harris and AOC are more competitive but not by the same margins

AOC's electability question hinges partly on Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan race and the DSA candidate's long-shot bid in Florida

South Carolina's Black electorate historically plays it more moderate than Michigan or Wisconsin — expect a "lane" dynamic (Black candidate, white non-Southern candidate, Southern candidate) to shape who breaks out

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