Lulu Garcia Navarro

And I want to start with you, Senator Smith, because you are actually sitting in said body.

Senator Flake?

I mean, those are all pretty bleak words, I think.

I want you to say what you think.

Pretty straightforward responses here, it seems.

Yeah, those are pretty straightforward responses and not terribly optimistic.

Senator Flake, when you left the Senate, you had been serving in Congress for 18 years, first as a representative.

In a speech you gave on the floor, you gave this warning, and I'm going to quote here, let us recognize as authoritarianism reasserts itself in country after country that we are by no means immune.

Do you think you were right to be concerned?

Senator Manchin, just before you left the Senate, you turned away from the Democrats.

You registered as an independent.

And in some of your final words, you called the Democratic brand toxic.

Have you seen anything lately that has changed your mind on the direction of the Democratic Party?

I mean, that's a warning to the party, for sure.

All right, Senator Smith, I'm going to turn to you because you've said you're stepping down to spend more time with family and that it has nothing to do with politics.

A lot of politicians who leave say that.

That is the classic line.

Yeah, whenever you leave a job, it can be for personal reasons, but there's always professional reasons.

I noted that Representative Jared Golden, who is also stepping down from the House, he talked about political nastiness and the political violence that we're seeing for reasons that he's not seeking reelection.

So I'm just wondering, are those issues weighing on you, too?