johns, mcconnell's lieutenant who, you know, at some point might be folks who could succeed him. mcconnell looks like he wants to stay there. and to have been able to not only bury the hatchet with trump but stand behind an incumbent whom trump has targeted, lisa murkowski in alaska, really shows the skill at which mcconnell has handled this situation. >> manu, let me circle back to you. he's also very skilled at interviews. he's a tough guy to crack. he's only going to say what he's going to say. part of the challenge is trying to translate based on your experience, a, what he wouldn't say and, b, how he chose his words. on this idea he can tkeep this detente with trump through 2022, does he believe it or does he have his fingers crossed? >> i think he has his fingers crossed. he doesn't know what donald trump would do. he's not spoken to donald trump in more than a year. they're on the same page just by hampenstance in some ways.