The ‘wall of lava’ approaching Kamala Harris’ campaign

Republican strategist Mike Murphy is the kind of guy who might have been calling the shots if anyone other than Donald Trump had won in 2016.

Murphy’s roster of former clients includes John McCain, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lamar Alexander. Which is to say, a lot of the guys who got pushed aside when Trump took over.

For a while now, Murphy has been a Trump-skeptical wiseguy working private sector gigs in deep-blue Los Angeles.

But fortunately for us, he’s also giving some of the sharpest political commentary out there.

You may recognize Murphy as David Axelrod’s partner on the podcast “Hacks On Tap.” If you’ve heard him there, then you know his skill in blending his personal feelings about Trump’s politics with incisive criticisms about Kamala Harris’ campaign and Murphy’s trademark wit.

I caught up with Murphy on Thursday to talk about what’s coming next in an election that has been, in a word, surprising.

We talked about Tuesday’s debate and why some very strong winds are still at Trump’s back; how Murphy would tweak Kamala Harris’ message; what might become of the Republican Party after Trump and how he, Mike Murphy, almost killed JD Vance’s dream of being a senator back in 2017.