Trump's terrible cabinet picks – what if the Democrats use these remaining two months to hold their own confirmation hirings? Also, are Democrats out of touch with the American people? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: A lot of people who voted for abortion rights referenda this year also voted for Trump. What were they thinking? How do they understand politics? Amy Littlefield spent election day in Amarillo, Texas, trying to find out. Plus: From the archives: Bob Dylan in 1964, when he was 23; Se...
Nov 21, 2024•59 min
Trump's initial nominees include Matt Gaetz for Attorney General – "the group that is probably most elated by this are his fellow Republican House members who hate his guts" – Harold Meyerson discusses Trump's crazy cabinet. Also: Hope does not mean saying ‘this is not bad,’ Rebecca Solnit argues; it just means we will not give up—because we know that what we do matters, and we also know we’ve been surprised by good things we never expected. Plus: Melania has been absent from Trump's side; and, ...
Nov 14, 2024•58 min
Big Picture: Trump won a landslide in the electoral college and control of the Senate; control of the House is unclear at this point. So much good work went into fighting Trump; but, a majority of voters know who Trump is and chose him. So, how did we get here? And, what do we do next? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: John Nichols looks at the elections results: For starters: Trump got fewer votes than 4 years ago; 55% of voters in the CNN exit poll said he was “too extreme.” Plus: Harriet Tubman...
Nov 07, 2024•57 min
If Harris wins Pennsylvania – a predominately working-class state – she probably wins the election; so, what could be the most effective closing argument to convince working-class voters there to vote for Harris? New research by The Center for Working-Class Politics tested messages and found that the strongest one singles out corporations for raising prices — Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Melania has published a memoir, Melania , where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC ...
Oct 31, 2024•54 min
World famous gambling and entertainment hub Las Vegas, Nevada is also home to one of the "the most politically potent" unions in the United States, representing hotel casino workers there: Culinary Union Local 226 -- Harold Meyerson traveled to Las Vegas to find out what this powerful union is doing to help "push Kamala over the top". Also: Latino and Black voters in swing states, we are told by the New York Times, are “drifting away from the Democrats.” But how good is the evidence here? Steve ...
Oct 24, 2024•52 min
One in six voters, pollsters say, are “still unsure of their choice.” What do people mean when they say they are “undecided”? Rick Perlstein says political writers have failed to understand the undecideds—and what Kamala might do to win their votes. Also: Democrat Marie Gleusenkamp Perez won a House seat in a Trump district, pointing the way for others. Marc Cooper analyzes her current reelection campaign in southwestern Washington State, starting from the fact that she’s a working class woman i...
Oct 17, 2024•54 min
Kamala has been showing up: from "Call Her Daddy" – a podcast popular among young woman, to "The Howard Stern Show" – popular among young men; to "The View" and "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" – Harold Meyerson comments on Kamala's media blitz. Also: The polls have had disastrous failures for decades, but people continue to focus on them; Rick Perlstein has a better idea: ‘don’t follow polls—organize.’ Plus: From the archives: The great Gail Collins of The New York Times op-ed page talks ab...
Oct 10, 2024•52 min
If the election were to happen today, polls point to 276 for Kamala; 262 for Trump. Also: The vice presidential debate – "Walz, who was plainly unaccustomed to dealing with such adept obfuscation, particularly when couched in Vance’s one-night-only dulcet tones" writes Harold Meyerson in The Prospect; so, what did Walz win? Harold Meyerson comments. Next: John Nichols has been driving to places in Middle America where Trump has gotten big majorities in the past: Iowa and Nebraska, central and we...
Oct 03, 2024•52 min
The polls right now show Kamala would win the electoral college if the election were held today--Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Trump Media stock - it's sinking fast. Plus: Trump has canceled his plan to visit Springfield, Ohio, but his lie about Haitian immigrants there eating cats and dogs continues to ricochet around the American political world. Amy Wilentz comments. Also: The presidential election is the main political battle in America today, but Trump’s followers have also been fighting ...
Sep 26, 2024•57 min
The Republican Party and the Trump Campaign have no field operations of their own doing door-to-door work - for the first time all of that has been outsourced to PACs with independent funding, and the largest, run by Elon Musk, has just fired the company doing its canvassing in Nevada and Arizona. Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Trump has made it clear he won't accept the results of the 2024 election if he loses, and Republicans are doing everything they can make it harder for Democrats to vote....
Sep 19, 2024•58 min
Presidential Debate 2024: Harold Meyerson on how, in dealing with Trump, "Kamala hit it out of the park"; and then, "the Republicans immediately seized upon 'Well, the moderators were hard on Trump'; but that's what happens when what you say is constructed entirely of lies." Also: Homeless vets have been trying for years to get the VA to build housing for them in LA on land dedicated to that purpose. Now, a federal judge has finally ruled: The vets win, and the VA loses. Mark Rosenbaum, lead att...
Sep 12, 2024•57 min
Bibi is keeping the war in Gaza going not only for his own political survival but to help Trump defeat Kamala - Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Trump announced Friday that he would be voting against a abortion rights ballot measure in his home state of Florida. Amy Littlefield reports on the crucial referendum in the state that had been the South’s last refuge for abortion access. Plus: Rachel Kushner talks about an informant and provocateur who infiltrates an anarchist eco-commune in rural Fran...
Sep 05, 2024•59 min
With ten weeks to go until election day, we'll look at where we've been in the last several weeks – most surprising: Kamala Harris emerging as a great candidate. Harold Meyerson explains that it’s not so much that Harris has changed but that the Democratic Party has. Also: Summer Reading: M: Son of the Century is a 750-page historical novel about the rise of Mussolini by Antonio Scurati – John Powers, critic-at-large for NPR's Fresh Air draws parallels between 1920s Italy and Trump's America. Pl...
Aug 29, 2024•52 min
The Trump campaign – it's not going well right now. Marc Cooper has our analysis, and advises, rather than follow the two-or-three-point difference in polling, that we should instead look at the trend lines. Also, he reminds us that at the end of July in 1988, Michael Dukakis was leading George Bush by 14 points. It’s still August — and time for more summer beach reading. While the Democrats hold their convention in Chicago, the number one nonfiction bestseller in America is “Hillbilly Elegy” by...
Aug 20, 2024•53 min
Trump mostly stays home at Mar-a-Lago while Kamala and Tim Walz meet huge crowds in the swing states. Harold Meyerson comments on the current asymmetrical state of the campaign. Plus: Talking politics, and history, with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown - he’s up for reelection this year, in a state where Biden got only 45%. (originally recorded in October 2020) Also: Elon Musk has been a leader in the transition to renewable energy, and has made Twitter into a threat to democracy. He has become the fa...
Aug 15, 2024•53 min
Tim Walz was a great choice for Kamala's VP - Harold Meyerson explains -- and takes up the question, what's happening to the Trump campaign? Also: JD Vance’s remark about “ childless cat ladies ” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable” continues to reverberate in the news. Katha Pollitt has our analysis, and rebuts Vance’s argument that people who don’t have children don’t have a stake in the country’s future. Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: David Carr was a great New York Times media ...
Aug 08, 2024•52 min
Kamala's first 10 days have been "what any candidate would dream of" – and have given the Democrats an "energy jolt". Also, Donald's bad day with the largest annual gathering of Black journalists –Harold Meyerson comments. Next: Every four years, people die, people turn 18 and the electorate changes. Steve Philips reports on the new electorate. Plus: The phrase "homeless veterans" should be an American oxymoron – instead, administration after administration, including that of Biden, has fought a...
Jul 31, 2024•57 min
America ready to elect a Black woman president? Harold Meyerson examines the opportunities facing Kamala Harris, and the obstacles to be overcome. Also: Democrats in Arizona are engaged in massive organizing to win an abortion rights referendum, elect a senator, and flip a House seat. And they are facing an Arizona Republican Party that is pretty crazy, to say the least. The Nation ‘s Sasha Abramsky has our report. Plus: from the archives: Barbara Ehrenreich on the wellness industry, starting wi...
Jul 25, 2024•57 min
After surviving the assassination attempt: Is Trump capable of sticking with his new feeling of gratitude, calm, and unity, or are anger and megalomania built into his DNA? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Kamala Harris – could she replace Biden on the ticket? Should she? Joan Walsh has our report. Plus, from the archives: the song “Mack the Knife” from Berthold Brecht in 1928, to the Off Broadway revival of Threepenny Opera in 1955, to Sonny Rollins in 1956, to Bobby Darrin in 1960: we will list...
Jul 18, 2024•59 min
Where do we stand with Joe Biden – today? More Democrats are saying Biden needs to step down – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: During the Supreme Court term that just ended, the conservative majority granted new constitutional rights to hedge fund managers, big business—and Donald Trump. David Cole explains the shocking decisions that have transformed our government. Plus: 1974 , the new memoir by Francine Prose, recalls the year when “the ’60s” came to a definitive end, when it became clear tha...
Jul 11, 2024•58 min
What would it take to get Biden to decline the nomination? Polls about the opinion of the Democratic rank-and-file; the views of Democratic senators and House members–those in danger of losing their seats and political careers—and Biden’s own circle, for whom the crucial factor will be their assessment of his legacy. Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Marc Cooper argues that the narrative for Joe Biden’s campaign has now been set: he’s “too old.” And the Supreme Court decision on immunity for Trump...
Jul 03, 2024•57 min
Trump v. Biden 2024 – before the debate: Biden cannot look old or confused, BUT – in a way, Trump's constant ridiculing of Biden for looking old and confused actually gives Biden his biggest and best opportunity. Harold Meyerson comments. Also: What should the Democrats do about white voters? Most of them have voted for Trump, twice. How much of that can be changed? Steve Phillips reports on new research that should reshape Democratic strategy. Plus: On throwing cards into watermelons, how to ru...
Jun 27, 2024•52 min
It's not just AIPAC that's after Squad member and incumbent representative running for New York's 16th congressional district, Jamaal Bowman – Hillary Clinton has just endorsed his opponent, George Latimer – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: On May 31, Joe Biden declared, “It is time for this war to end.” But the leaders of both Israel and Hamas seem content for the war in Gaza to grind on into the indefinite future. Hussein Ibish explains why. Plus: From the archives: The Holocaust was not just m...
Jun 20, 2024•51 min
Male Trump voters tend to have what researches call 'precarious manhood' – determined by the frequency of their search terms for things such as: "penis enlargement" "Viagra" and "hair restoration" – Harold Meyerson comments Also: The Israel lobby AIPAC is spending millions to defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman in the New York state Democratic primary. That’s because he called for a permanent ceasefire back in October, and describes what’s happening in Gaza now as “an ongoing genocide.” Alan Min...
Jun 13, 2024•53 min
What happened to the immediate Gaza cease-fire that Biden called for last week? Last Wednesday, Israel's national security advisor said that he expected Israel's war on Gaza would continue at least until the end of the year – if not longer. Harold Meyerson comments. Next: The punditocracy has been arguing that the guilty verdicts in the Trump trial won’t matter much in the election – Marc Cooper disagrees, and explains what’s wrong about the conventional wisdom. Plus: Jordan Peterson’s books of ...
Jun 06, 2024•50 min
Almost 3,000 students have been arrested at more than 60 college campuses protesting American support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Schools have a responsibility to maintain order. But they must not sacrifice the principles of free speech that are core to their educational mission. How have they been doing? Ben Wizner comments. He’s Director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Next: Kenya finally is sending 1000 police officers to Haiti on what is called a “UN security mission,” a...
May 30, 2024•59 min
Recent polls show Biden's level of support among non-college voters of all races is down to 39% – that's 9 points less than his level of support from those same voters in the 2020 election – Harold Meyerson comments. Next: Democrats in the Senate are going to lose the seat vacated by Joe Manchin in West Virginia – can they hold all the others in November? John Nichols has our analysis, starting with Maryland, where Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will face Republican “moderate” Larry Hogan, the popul...
May 23, 2024•58 min
The most important event in the history of Israel and Palestine was not the 1948 founding of Israel and the Nakba, or Israel’s 1967 occupation of Palestinian territories. It was the outlawing of immigration of Jews (and others) to the US from Russia, Poland, and Eastern and Southern Europe. That was the purpose of the immigration restriction act passed by Congress in May, 1924, 100 years ago this month. Without that, the Jews of Europe would never have moved to Palestine, Harold Meyerson argues....
May 16, 2024•58 min
Lots of pro-Palestine encampments on college campuses have been attacked by local police, but UCLA was different: a pro-Israel mob attacked the encampment on April 30. The attack continued for three hours before police stepped in, and they didn’t arrest any of the attackers. The next night, the police themselves attacked and shut down the encampment. David Myers has our report. Also: There’s no doubt that Israeli women and girls were raped during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7; but there is little e...
May 07, 2024•40 min
On Tuesday, April 30, UCLA failed to protect students when 200 pro-Israel militants -- who were not students -- attacked the pro-Palestine encampment on campus. On Wednesday, thousands of pro-Palestine supporters gathered outside Royce hall; and during the early morning hours on Thursday, May 2, police raided the pro-Palestine encampment themselves and made over 200 arrests. Harold Meyerson contrasts UCLA's treatment of peaceful protests against Israel's destruction of Gaza with that of other US...
May 02, 2024•59 min
