The biggest political story in America right now isn’t about a campaign, a scandal, or even a vote. It’s something far more fundamental: Donald Trump’s clash with the judiciary. It’s the kind of confrontation that doesn’t just make headlines — it shifts the tectonic plates of our democracy. It forces us to look hard at the limits of executive power, the independence of the courts, and whether the guardrails of our system are holding up or giving way. At the center of it all: Trump’s use of the A...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Chuck Schumer is in hot water with progressives after supporting a GOP stopgap funding bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown. Many on the left see this as a strategic blunder, arguing that he surrendered leverage to Trump. Progressive groups like Indivisible have publicly called for Schumer’s resignation, and moderate Democrats, such as Charlotte Clymer, have led donor boycotts, amassing over 25,000 signatures. Schumer’s defense? He argues that preventing a shutdown was the "lesser of t...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Schumer blinked. House Democrats are furious. But there will be more on that tomorrow. While the dust settles, I’m joined by returning guest ettingermentum to dive deep into the best and worst winning presidential campaigns. We rank every campaign from 1964 to 2024: Who ran the best campaigns, who completely fumbled, and which elections had the biggest long-term impact. Ettingermentum previously put together a two-part series ranking these campaigns , and I, naturally, had to make his own. So, w...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 43 min
In the intersection of politics and technology, few innovations have had as significant an impact as online donation platforms. ActBlue, the Democratic Party's premiere fundraising tool, has revolutionized small-dollar contributions since its inception in 2004. However, recent internal turmoil at the organization is raising serious questions about both its future and about the broader landscape of political donations. A Game-Changer for Democrats ActBlue was an early pioneer in digital fundraisi...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 19 min
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, President Donald Trump declared that "the golden age of America has just begun." He touted his administration’s early successes and emphasized that his newly assembled cabinet is focused on cost-cutting measures and staffing decisions, with the Department of Government Efficiency — colloquially known as "DOGE" — playing a central role. According to Trump, his administration will take a "scalpel rather than the hatchet" approach to reducing government waste. He...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Last night, Donald Trump delivered a speech that, while technically a joint address to Congress, carried all the hallmarks of a campaign-style event filled with made-for-TV moments, emotional appeals, and strategic messaging. Let’s break down what happened. Trump’s Optimistic Tone: A Departure from "American Carnage" One of the most surprising takeaways from the speech was Trump's notably optimistic tone. Historically, Trump has thrived on highlighting crises, framing America as a nation in peri...
Mar 05, 2025•50 min
The United States has officially imposed broad tariffs on two of its largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, marking one of the most aggressive trade measures in recent history. With potential economic fallout looming, world leaders, economists, and businesses are scrambling to assess the impact of President Donald Trump’s latest move. From Trade Deals to Trade Wars: How We Got Here During Trump’s first term, his administration took a mixed approach to tariffs. While he aggressively targete...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 48 min
In a dramatic turn of events last Friday, an Oval Office press conference meant to signal unity between the U.S. and Ukraine spiraled into an unanticipated disaster. What was supposed to be a step toward solidifying a peace negotiation framework with Russia instead resulted in the unraveling of a crucial minerals-for-aid deal. The fallout has raised pressing questions about the future of U.S.-Ukraine relations, President Trump’s foreign policy, and Ukraine’s ability to sustain its war efforts. T...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 13 min
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently released a set of documents titled the Epstein Files: Phase One , which were expected to shed new light on the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s extensive network and illicit activities. However, the heavily redacted documents primarily contained information already available to the public, leading to significant criticism. Following the document release, Bondi sent a stern letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, accusing the FBI’s Ne...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Sixteen years ago, CNBC commentator Rick Santelli stood on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and delivered an impassioned rant against federal plans to bail out struggling homeowners. “Do we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages?” he shouted, calling for a “Chicago Tea Party” to protest government intervention. That moment became the rallying cry for a movement that would reshape conservative politics, define opposition to the Obama presidency, and eventually evolve into the ...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 10 min
One down, 47 to go. With Donald Trump’s first month in office coming to a close, we are seeing something that feels a bit more familiar. According to three recent polls, his approval rating is now underwater—meaning more people disapprove of him than approve. This is still essentially the same conversation we were having before. There are deeply entrenched beliefs on both sides, with some convinced he is doing a terrible job and others believing he is performing tremendously. Keep Politics Polit...
Feb 21, 2025•2 hr 1 min
Wait, what? What just happened? To who? When? And it just flipped when it landed? A 13th kid with a fourth woman? Does that have anything to do with the other thing? You know, the one that just happened. Or maybe that was last week… The first month of Trump 47 has felt more like 47 weeks than it has four, with a relentless barrage of executive orders, personnel decisions, and, let’s say, charitably unconventional accounting procedures that have kicked ant piles both foreign and domestic. And wit...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 30 min
I can think of no more romantic way for you to spend a quiet moment alone with your partner on this Valentine's Day than drawing a warm bath, throwing in some scented oils, and reading aloud the latest Politics, Politics, Politics post. "Great point, Justin," you can say to each other as you make longing eye contact and renew your commitment to one another. But it is in that spirit of passion that I tell you: somebody's gonna get f***ed — either the House or the Senate. This is a Republican prob...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 28 min
Donald Trump's second term does not look like his first. In his Super Bowl interview with Brett Baier , Trump admitted that back in 2017, he was a New York guy, a novice to Washington, D.C., and all but confessed that he stepped on every rake in sight. He appointed the wrong people, got caught up in the wrong traps, and was unable to effectively govern. To the casual observer, it may seem like not much has changed—Trump was causing chaos then, and he's causing chaos now. But this show understand...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 21 min
It’s a DOGE-eat-DOGE world. Before I get into my thoughts on DOGE—and I have quite a few—the reason I haven’t written much about it (we did touch on USAID in Wednesday’s update) is that I’m still wrapping my head around it. There’s a lot of noise surrounding DOGE, and beyond the clatter, it’s unclear exactly what’s happening. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is in the valley. They lost a big election, have no effective power in government for at least the next two years, and have been throwing a ...
Feb 07, 2025•2 hr 7 min
Trump might get his cabinet after all. It was never going to be easy, many of them pulled from the Deep MAGA reserves doomed to offend the old guard who are developing carpel tunnel holding their nose through Trump’s second administration. Others are lifelong Democrats who helped over the finish line but still inspire a stink eye from lifelong Republicans. Some confirmations were easy—Elise Stefanik sailed through, and Marco Rubio was unanimous. Others more controversial, like Pete Hegseth, who ...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 35 min
The ongoing confirmation hearings for RFK Jr., Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard have been largely predictable. But as always, the real story isn’t the grandstanding—it’s in the quiet calculations happening behind the scenes. This was RFK Jr.'s second day facing the Senate, and the discussion largely revolved around his past statements on vaccines. But if you’re looking for movement in the room, there wasn’t much. Coverage focused on explosive exchanges between Democrats and the nominees, but that’s...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 17 min
The wolves are out for two of the Trump administration’s most unconventional cabinet picks. Can Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. survive their hearings this week? Let’s start with Bobby. Caroline Kennedy has publicly stated her opposition to RFK Jr.‘s appointment. Caroline is deeply embedded in the power structure of the modern Democratic Party—she has served multiple times as an ambassador and was one of the first major endorsers of Barack Obama back in 2008. So, make of that what you wi...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 28 min
President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office, issued pardons and commutations to over 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. This action nullified the efforts of the Justice Department’s extensive investigation and prosecution of the events.  The clemency measures included full pardons for the majority of those convicted, effectively erasing their criminal records. Additionally, sentences for 14 prominent figures, such as Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio an...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Donald Trump is the president of these United States again. And with it comes a flurry of executive orders that could reshape America. It’s officially Joe-ver for Biden. But before it was over he reshaped the concept of American presidential pardon power. We discuss all of it LIVE from Washington DC with Jen Briney. Politics Politics Politics relies entirely on your donations to travel the country and cover national politics. Join us, won’t you? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss...
Jan 20, 2025•41 min
Very happy to be joined on the show today by Ricardo Fernandez a doctor from Chicago who happened to become close friends with former President Jimmy Carter. We discuss: * Life after the presidency * Obama’s campaign refusing to let him speak at the 2008 DNC * How he reacted to his grandson recording Mitt Romney’s “47%” quote And much more! Politics Politics Politics is a good show. Subscribe for free right here or upgrade to paid! Episode Chapters * [00:00:01] Opening Remarks * [00:01:19] Intro...
Jan 17, 2025•58 min
Pete Hegseth is your next Secretary of Defense. Nothing from Tuesday’s contentious hearing will likely pluck GOP votes away from him. If anything the histrionics of the Democrats on the panel will make it harder for skeptical Republicans to stray. The way you collapse a nominee when you are in the minority is you give them enough rope to hang themselves. Ask cordial questions that elevate in complexity and hope they screw something up. That is the most likely possibility with Trump’s slate who a...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Best I can tell there are two emerging Democratic Lanes in our post-Obama era world… Progressive + Border Hawk In a bygone era, Bernie Sanders got an “A” rating from the NRA and believed increased immigration was a corporatist scheme to drive down union wages. While, he has yet to reload on his 2A cred, he is now back to beating the drum on the economic costs of immigration . I would suspect that progressives will feel more comfortable consciously uncoupling from positions and groups calling for...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 39 min
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s long-standing Prime Minister, announced his resignation this week, marking a seismic shift in the nation’s political landscape. Trudeau’s departure comes after nearly a decade as Prime Minister and thirteen years as leader of the Liberal Party. His resignation was not entirely unexpected but has sparked a wave of introspection within Canadian politics. Here is what you need to know if you don’t care about Canada unless they’re playing hockey or changing heads of state as...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr
Kamala Harris is the American High Speed Rail candidate. Very expensive. Popular with liberal city dwellers. But ultimately a lot of hype that leads to very little. While she isn't necessarily a poor candidate in every context, she struggled twice on the national stage with median voters first within and then outside of her party. I’m not going to do a blow by blow of her campaign because this is a eulogy and eulogies are broad. So let’s start here: Kamala Harris is from California. Not a bygone...
Jan 03, 2025•46 min
January Alec Baldwin was indicted on January 19th for involuntary manslaughter following the 2021 shooting on the set of Rust that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Although later cleared due to prosecutorial errors, Baldwin returned to public life, including participating in Saturday Night Live . February Mitch McConnell announced on February 28th that he would step down as Senate Republican leader, marking the end of the longest tenure in modern history for that role. This transition set...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 34 min
We are getting a government shutdown for Christmas! Or Hanukkah! Here’s what happened and what might come next. On Thursday night, a vote on a continuing resolution was taken, which some viewed as 1) a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump 2) raising fears of a shutdown. The first claim is almost certainly incorrect, and the second is possibly wrong. Last minute gift idea! Get yourself a subscription. The root of the conflict lies in the Republican House conference’s inability to unite behind ANY Cont...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 44 min
I don’t think Kamala Harris will ever be president. I don’t think she has a connection with Americans beyond a core Democratic base who can be easily woo’d by another shiny object. I think she would do best in the one-party state she came from and run for governor of California where she might even pass for the centrist she positioned herself as nationally. But I may well be wrong. If I am Bill Scher will have told me otherwise. He believes she enters our four-year cycle to select the next presi...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 17 min
I’m diving deeper into DeButts. Yes friends, there’s been a crack in the DeButts case. To recap, on December 3rd, Anna Navarro tweeted that Hunter DeButts, the brother-in-law of Woodrow Wilson, was pardoned. This is not true. There is no historical record of a Hunter DeButts connected to Woodrow Wilson, and Wilson certainly did not pardon him. Navarro later admitted this was incorrect, blaming a ChatGPT search result. However, nobody could recreate the exact hallucination she posted, and the cit...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 10 min
This episode includes a serious, hour-long discussion with Ryan McBeth on Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Israel and everything in between. AND We dive deep into this tweet… Of course, on December 24, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued the controversial pardon for his brother-in-law, Hunter DeButts, convicted of arms smuggling during World War I. DeButts, married to Wilson’s sister-in-law, Alice, was sentenced to 15 years after British intelligence exposed his fraudulent shipping scheme. Though furious...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 30 min
