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Not often do you see a political pundit concede a point on television.

This rare event happened Monday night on Fox News hostTucker Carlson's show when he concededCincinnati is one city improved by Democrats.

Carlson was debating former state department official, attorney and Democrat David Tafuri on President JoeBiden'spolicy on the Middle East. The argument led to a critique about struggling American cities.

Carlson asked Tafuri to name one city Democrats have improved in the United States. Tafuri didn't hesitate.

"My hometown of Cincinnati. It's run by Democrats," Tafuri offered.

Carlson voice lightened.

"Huh, it's a pretty nice town I gotta say," he said. "OK. I'll give you Cincinnati. I can't think of any others, I gotta be honest.No, you're absolutely right, that is a nice city."

But Carlson didn't give all the credit to the Democrats by adding, "It's not a very leftwing city."

Mayor John Cranley touted the "Cincinnati miracle" in his 2019 "State of the City" address. The population has inched back above 300,000, according to Census estimates.

"Cincinnati is on the rise and is doing better than any time in my lifetime," Cranley said in 2019. "Insteadof bleeding jobs and people, we are adding more jobs and people."

Cincinnati's city elections are officially nonpartisan. But the three mayors elected since the city began direct elections of mayorsin 2001 have all been Democrats: Charlie Luken, Mark Mallory and Cranley.

Tafuri, 51, a 1988 graduate of Sycamore High School, said he was at first taken aback that Carlson agreed with him. Afrequent guest on Carlson's show, Tafuri told The Enquirer that doesn't happen often.

"He didn't argue with me about that and he argues with me on every other point on his show," Tafuri said.

But then again, Tafuri said he's met people all over the world who think Cincinnati is a jewel. Tafuri has worked as an attorney traveling all over the world and is currently focused on legal work in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Latin America, according to his LinkedIn page.

Heworked in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad for the State Department from 2006-2007.

His hometown has only gotten better since he was a teenager growing up in Montgomery, he said.

"When I was growing up in Cincinnati, downtown Cincinnati was a 9-5 city," Tafuri said. "Not much was going on in downtown. Not a lot of people lived there. Now it is a much more bustling city and alive city."

One of Tafuri's longtime friends, former Ohio Democratic Chairman and former Cincinnati City CouncilmanDavid Pepper, said he wasn't surprised by Tafuri's pride in the Queen City.

"He's gone all over the world and done amazing things," Pepper said of Tafuri. "Like a lot of Cincinnati folks, he wears being a Cincinnati native on his sleeve."

He was surprised that Carlson agreed.

"If we can bring people together on that, good job, Cincinnati," Pepper said.

Hamilton County GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou laughed when he saw the exchange on Monday between Tafuri and Carlson. He's proud of Cincinnati, but it's not because of what the Democrats did.

"As a fan of Cincinnati, I'm happy to see the city get good press," Triantafilou said. "But I feel we could do better. One-third of the council has been indicted. We have runaway spending."

A screenshot of Cincinnati native David Tafuri on Tucker Carlson's show Monday night(Photo: Scott Wartman/The Enquirer)

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'I'll give you Cincinnati.' Sycamore grad convinces Tucker Carlson there's one good city run by Democrats - The Cincinnati Enquirer

House Democrats are engaged in a "cynical ploy" to pass as much of their extreme agenda as they can before next year's midterm elections, formerHouse Speaker Newt Gingrich told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday.

"I think ... they'vegiven up on keeping the House, Gingrich explained. "What they're doing is rammingthrough everything they can getdone before they lose in 2022. This is kind of a sprint to radicalism even though it'sgoing to cost, if you look atthese votes ... [they'll]have 30, 40, 50members who are not going to beable to defend them."

Gingrich noted that the last two Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, both saw their party suffer huge losses in the House in their first midterm election.

"They [Democrats] lost 54 seats [in 1994] and webecame the majority for thefirst time in 40 years," he said."When Obama was elected, they lost 63seats [in 2010]."

"I think the Biden-Harris modelis, 'We're going to lose the Houseanyway, we might as well grabeverything we can while we'vegot power. 'It's astonishing," Gingrich went on.

"Just take the $1.9 trillionpolitical pork bill, which is nota COVID bill.Only 9% of it is COVID.The other 91%is justpolitical pork.That bill has more radicalism in it thanthe eight years ofClinton and the eight years ofObama combined. Just that onevote."

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"And you're going to see waveafter wave.I describe it as a flood tide ofradicalism," he added, later claiming that the Democrats' insistence on essentially erasing the U.S.-Mexico bordermakes thoseflooding into the country "Biden's illegals."

"If there's a problem in Texas, it's not with Governor Abbott, it'swith Biden's illegals. We just have to call them [that], these are Biden's illegalscoming into the country [with]nopublic health check," Gingrich said. "Even back in the 1880s we hadpublic-health checkswhen you cameto America."

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Gingrich claims Democrats have 'given up keeping House' in 2022, are 'ramming through everything they can' - Fox News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Tennessee capitol hill democrats say a House bill to remove Nashville Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle is equivalent to legislative blackmail.

The bill, sponsored by Rutherford County Republican Tim Rudd, is gaining attention after he said Chancellor Lyle violated her oath.

She interfered in our election, she did not throw out state law, she tried to rewrite state law, and a judge cant do that, said Rep. Tim Rudd.

The legislation will authorize the Speaker of the House of Representatives to appoint a committee to meet with a like committee from the Senate to consider the removal of Lyle from the Office of Chancellor of the Twentieth Judicial District by the Tennessee General Assembly.

She tried to have mass available absentee balloting without the approval of the state legislature, and only the state legislature can write election laws, said Rudd.

The Murfreesboro Republican is leading the charge targeting Chancellor Lyle, who was appointed by Republican Governor Don Sundquist in 1996, for an August 2020 injunction allowing for more people to qualify to vote absentee because of COVID-19.

What the Republican political operatives who are behind this are saying to our judiciary is if youre a judge, dont do your job and impartially apply the law as Chancellor Lyle did, instead carry out our far-right political agenda, said Davidson County Representative Mike Stewart.

Democrats are striking back accusing Republicans of abuse of power.

They would take that limited power and try to apply it and retaliate politically against a judge that everybody knows is an extraordinary talented and impartial judge, its totally ridiculous, said Stewart.

Chancellor Lyle and the Attorney Generals office had no comment.

Rudd says Democrats are upset because theyre in the minority.

The Democrats are in favor of judges interfering with the legislative [branch] because they cant get their agenda passed, Rudd said. Judges should stay on their side of the line, well stay on ours and respect one another.

Currently, judges can be removed by impeachment for a crime, unfitness for office, and through a judicial conduct review board. There are over 60 House co-sponsors.

Chancellor Lyle also recused herself recently from overseeing Governor Bill Lees BEP education funding lawsuit. Its unclear if it was related to the removal resolution.

Rep. Rudd released a full statement, calling Lyles conduct egregious and grossly unprofessional:

The American representative democracy is deeply dependent on two things: A neutral free press to give citizens unbiased and unopinionated information from which to make their decisions, and a fair and non-partisan judiciary dedicated to upholding the Tennessee State Constitution without legislating from the bench. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle violated the boundaries between the legislative and judiciary when she attempted to disregard state law and implement her own rules, personal opinions and policies that were in direct contradiction of existing state law. She knew and fully understood the Tennessee General Assembly did not authorize or support mass-mail balloting. The legislature is the only authority in Tennessee that can write laws or hold elections.

TheU.S. Constitutionplainly states The Times, Places and Manner of holdingElectionsfor Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by theLegislaturethereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations (Article I, section 4). The last time I looked, the words Judiciary having the power to hold elections was not in the U.S. Constitution or the Tennessee State Constitution. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle overstepped her responsibilities and violated her oath. She further threatened state officials with incarceration if they did not break the law by implementing her rules. Her conduct is egregious and grossly unprofessional.

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Democrats say bill to remove Nashville judge is legislative blackmail - wreg.com

The TAKE with Rick Klein

It may not come off as fair to Democrats to have to account for the actions of their own at this moment -- particularly as their GOP counterparts stay strong behind a former leader who continues to spread lies both big and small.

But Democrats should recognize the reckonings that have the governors of the nation's two largest blue states fighting for political survival at the moment.

In California, organizers claim to have enough signatures to force a recall vote against Gov. Gavin Newsom. The backlash Newsom is facing to his handling of the COVID-19 crisis hinges on a perception that some elected leaders flouted the restrictions they championed -- and a new attitude toward reopening doesn't undo damage done by infamous dinner photos.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference before the opening of a mass COVID-19 vaccination site in Queens, New York, Feb. 24, 2021. | California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks after touring a Covid-19 vaccination site Feb. 22, 2021 in Long Beach, California.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces a more immediate and potentially more serious challenge to his leadership, stemming from nursing-home COVID deaths and now a second sexual-harassment allegation. Kavanaugh-era quotes about believing accusers and the need for thorough investigations are again forcing Democrats to account for standards they helped set.

Storylines like these are awkward at any time. They represent a particular challenge for Democrats' efforts to reclaim moral ground they believe former President Donald Trump surrendered, at a time that President Joe Biden is rallying his party toward what he hopes will be his first major legislative victory.

As Democrats in California, New York and beyond answer for Cuomo and Newsom, there's at least one major distinction that could have repercussions for their respective futures. Newsom appears to enjoy the united support of his home-state party, as they seek to rally against Republican efforts to push a recall.

Meanwhile, after a polarizing decade in office, Cuomo has few natural allies among powerful New York Democrats -- plenty of whom would gladly see him gone in next year's elections, if not sooner. Even his call for an outside lawyer to review allegations against him isn't being viewed in good faith by New York's attorney general.

The RUNDOWN with Alisa Wiersema

The speech Trump delivered to close this years Conservative Political Action Conference may have been lengthy and predictable, but it also addressed a couple of loose threads supporters and critics alike had been analyzing since he left office.

Trump addressed the major question almost immediately. We have the Republican party, Trump said to loud applause. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party.

The former presidents declaration about keeping the party intact came on the heels of the results of the CPAC straw poll, which said 68% of convention attendees would like to see Trump run for president again in 2024. Meanwhile, 55% said they would vote for him if the election were held today.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., U.S. Feb. 28, 2021.

That support seemed to give Trump the backing to publicly pick up where he left off. Throughout his speech, he continued to peddle false claims about the validity of the 2020 election and did so despite having faced impeachment proceedings over his involvement in the Capitol Hill riots aiming to challenge the election. He even falsely teased a potential third presidential victory in the future, and railed on mail voting practices in battleground states he lost in November.

But while the former president has yet to officially take any steps toward a third presidential run, hes already putting a target on the backs of politically vulnerable Republicans who had been critical of him throughout his second impeachment. During his remarks Sunday night, Trump called out nearly 20 lawmakers in the House and Senate to jeers from supporters. With 2022 races on the line, it remains to be seen whether those taunts translate into votes or whether Trump's intraparty influence cannibalizes Republican odds for crucial victories.

The TIP with Kendall Karson

For House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, there is "no chance" Democrats are retaining control of the chamber in 2022. "We're gonna get the majority back. We're five seats away," he told the crowd at CPAC over the weekend. He'd even bet his own house on it, he said.

McCarthy and Indiana Rep. Jim Banks signaled the party's strategy for reclaiming the House majority and it revolves one man. Largely crediting Trump with their successes in 2020, the two Republicans see his influence as crucial to reclaiming power in Congress.

"The least popular in our party are the ones who want to erase Donald Trump and Donald Trump's supporters from our party," Banks said. "If that happens, we won't win back the majority in 2022."

Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 27, 2021.

But not all members in the GOP's ranks are on board with a Trump-centric approach. Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted with Democrats to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial, told CNN, "If we idolize one person, we will lose. And that's kind of clear from the last election."

As the rift over Trump continues to splinter the GOP, the party is set to be tested early in special elections this year, particularly in Texas. The increasingly competitive 6th Congressional District outside of Dallas is attracting a crowded field that includes Susan Wright, a longtime member of the state party's executive committee and the widow of the late Rep. Ron Wright, alongside Republicans with Trump ties. Sery Kim, a former official in the Small Business Administration under Trump, entered the race, while Brian Harrison, who worked in the Department of Health and Human Services in the last administration, moves closer to a run and Katrina Pierson, the former Trump campaign spokesperson, is reportedly weighing a bid, according to the Texas Tribune.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Monday mornings episode features ABC News Anne Flaherty, who tells us what the approval of a third COVID vaccine does to the outlook of the pandemic in the U.S. ABC News Stephanie Ramos has the latest on sexual harassment accusations brought against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. And ABC News Conor Finnegan analyzes the Biden administrations recent responses to Iran and Saudi Arabia. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

ABC News' "In Plain Sight" podcast. In an eight-part series, author Julia Sweig explores over 123 hours Lady Bird Johnson's audio diaries, most of them never-before-heard. Her stories reveal the surprisingly powerful role she had in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. "In Plain Sight" reveals how one vastly underestimated woman navigated the politics and polarization of her era to become one of the most influential members of the administration, even if we never knew it. http://abcn.ws/ladybird

FiveThirtyEight's Politics Podcast. As Democrats prepare to pass the American Rescue Plan, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Heather Boushey, joins the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast to discuss what is in the relief package and why. The plan is popular some 70 percent of Americans support it but economists and activists are asking whether certain parts of it go too far -- or not far enough. https://53eig.ht/2PfvTbd

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.

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Cuomo and Newsom challenge Democrats on terms they set themselves: The Note - ABC News

The Senate parliamentarian ruled on Thursday that Democrats could not raise the federal minimum wage using the reconciliation process, effectively meaning Democrats will need 60 Senate votes to enact that policy. That represents the first of many expected procedural roadblocks to the Democratic agenda over the next two years. In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew discusses Democratic lawmakers varying views on how to approach Senate rules and the filibuster in particular. They also look to the speeches from the past weekends Conservative Political Action Conference for indications about where the Republican party is headed.

You can listen to the episode by clicking the play button in the audio player above or by downloading it in iTunes, the ESPN App or your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts, learn how to listen.

The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast is recorded Mondays and Thursdays. Help new listeners discover the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for good polling vs. bad polling? Get in touch by email, on Twitter or in the comments.

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Politics Podcast: What Will Democrats Do When Their Agenda Hits A Roadblock? - FiveThirtyEight