Mike and Trey kick off the show by discussing the 12 Russian intelligence officials indicted this week for hacking into Democratic Party systems. Mike says that despite the fact that these Russians will never face trial in the United States, the indictments point to the importance of allowing Robert Mueller to complete his investigation, which is not at all the pointless ‘witch hunt’ some claim. Trey says that these indictments make the idea of President Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin an even worse idea than it already was.
Next is discussion of President Trump nominating Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Mike and Trey agree that Kavanaugh is a fairly mainstream conservative choice who will almost certainly be confirmed. Trey points out that a few Senate Democrats facing tough reelection fights may end up voting in favor of confirmation, which seems far more likely than any Republicans defecting.
After that, the Guys talk about the NATO summit and President Trump’s first official visit to the UK. It was a story of two Trumps - the public side, where the president engaged in his usual over-the-top bellicosity, and the private side, where by most accounts he was downright reasonable.
Trey believes that President Trump’s view of NATO and trade relations with the UK is bound up with his larger zero-sum view of trade, which is currently playing out in the escalating trade war with China, which the Guys turn to next. They both agree that imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods is a truly awful idea, and while a majority of Congressional Republicans agree, they lack the political will to do anything substantive about it.
Finally, Trey and Mike discuss the bipartisan grandstanding at the Congressional testimony of FBI agent Peter Strzok. Mike laments the GOP’s continued effort to destroy the credibility of the FBI in support of the president, and Trey agrees that the greater tendency to discredit accusers, rather than focus on the facts, is a very disturbing trend.
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McCarthy’s Lie, Mask Mandate, DeSantis vs. Disney, Russia & Ukraine, Tax Day, 4/20
Jennifer Sciubba on How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World
Brooklyn Shooting, New NATO Members, Oklahoma Abortion Ban, Tax Policy, Pakistani Espionage?
Larry Jacobs on Democracy Under Fire
Jackson Confirmation, Russian War Crimes, Amazon Union, Title 42, GOP Insurrectionists
Chris Brady on the Politics and Promise of Cryptocurrency
Prosecuting Trump, Russia, Anti-Lynching Law, Biden’s Budget, Responding to Anti-Trans Laws
Ketanji Brown Jackson, Hunter Biden, Ukraine, Idaho Abortion, Indiana & Utah Anti-Trans Bills, Inflation
Isaac Saul on Media Bias, Ideological Diversity, and How Tangle Can Help
Ukraine & Russia, Federal Reserve, COVID Surge, Sunshine Protection, Biden & the 9th
Justin Gest on Majority Minority
Russia, Biden on Crypto, Bipartisanship Breaks Out, LGBTQ+ Laws
Andrew Rice on The Year That Broke America
Russian Invasion, Trump Criminal Violations, Biden's State of the Union Address, White House COVID Strategy, Texas Primary, Egbert v Boule, U.S. v Abu Zubaydah
Russian Invades Ukraine, Biden’s Nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson, 1st Amendment vs LGBTQ+ Anti-Discrimination
Economist Bryan Caplan: Labor Econ vs The World
Russia, DOJ Sues MO, TX Sues CDC, Durham Probe, Kids Online Safety, Politics & Culture
Alabama & the Voting Rights Act, National Archives vs Trump, Ending Congressional Stock Trading, the Open App markets Act, Trucker Protests, Republican Party Identification Shifts
Russia & Ukraine, Trump & The GOP, Ginni Thomas & Judicial Recusal, Brian Flores Sues NFL, Joe Rogan
Economist Glenn Hubbard: The Wall And The Bridge
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