Trump Watch

Last Tuesday, the Democrats made striking gains in districts that were solid red – and Wisconsin's State Supreme Court maintained its liberal majority. Meanwhile, Trump claims that his sweeping tariffs are to restore US manufacturing; but Paul Krugman says it's all based on ridiculous, totally false statistics – Harold Meyerson comments.Also: The Wisconsin Supreme Court election tested the political power of Musk’s money, and voters rejected his candidate. The results have huge implications for the midterms. John Nichols has our analysis.Plus: A big victory in federal district court: Trump cannot shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – and, April 5th will be Hands Off! – a National Day of Action to stand up against the Trump administration – Rob Weissman of Public Citizen will explain.

Thursday night, Trump signed an Executive order abolishing union rights at more than two dozen federal agencies – part of his campaign to destroy the government. Harold Meyerson comments on this "ultimate form of union busting".Also: Bernie Sanders and AOC are on their “fighting oligarchy” tour, and in Denver last weekend they had the biggest political event there since Obama in 2008. It was also the biggest rally of Bernie’s life – bigger than anything in his presidential campaigns. And the first big election of the year is underway in Wisconsin. John Nichols has our analysis. Plus: Elie Mystal talks about popular laws that are ruining America – starting with our voter registration requirements. But despite the obstacles and disappointments, he argues that it’s always necessary to vote. His new book is Bad Laws.

A key source of opposition to authoritarian regimes in recent history has come from universities and colleges. Trump has been attacking the independence of American universities, demanding they submit to his requirements and using massive funding cuts as his weapon. David Cole, formerly National Legal Director of the ACLU, has our analysis. Also: Mahmoud Khalil is the Palestinian student activist at Columbia arrested and jailed by ICE. The Trump administration intends to revoke his status as a permanent resident—a green-card holder – and deport him – they say, to protect Jewish students on campus. That’s clearly a violation of freedom of speech. But is deporting Palestinian student activists a good way to protect Jewish students? David Myers comments – he teaches Jewish history at UCLA.Plus: Katha Pollitt comments on The Right to Sex, a provocative title by the feminist philosopher Amia Srinivasan. Does anyone have a right to sex? Who does? Who doesn’t? (First recorded 2-3-2022)

As the Senate prepares to vote on the Republican budget, Harold Meyerson talks about what's at stake for Democrats who join Chuck Schumer in voting with Republicans, and the great majority in the opposition. Plus: unions take Trump to court over firings.Also: The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court –– probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. Erwin Chemerinsky comments –– he’s dean of the Law School at UC Berkeley.Plus: from the archives: Oliver Sacks recalls Tripping in Topanga (recorded in 2012, he died three years later).

Trump's forgettable State of the Union speech shows he remains in campaign mode, rather than governing: Harold Meyerson comments.Plus: Trump suffered a big loss at The Supreme Court in the first challenge to his unconstitutional seizure of power: an order to release USAID funding appropriated by Congress. The suit was brought by Public Citizen; their co-president, Robert Weissman, will explain.Also: John Nichols with our protest update for the week. Topics include: includes Tesla dealer showroom picketing; Ukraine support demonstrating; national park protesting, and Town Hall yelling.

"The Coup Has Failed" writes David Dayen in The American Prospect; no president has been less popular than Trump after his first month in office, and "the thing about populism is you have to be popular" – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: House Progressive leader Ro Khanna says “economic empowerment” for the working class should become the Democrats’ “defining cause.” And he comments on this week’s battle in the House over the Republican budget.Plus: Thomas Geoghegan argues that, to win back the working class, Democrats need to “promise something big – and keep it simple.” His suggestions: a bigger and better Social Security program, and an end to employers’ freedom to fire workers for any reason.

The House budget plan could see deep cuts to Medicaid but, "the political basis for cutting Medicaid because 'this can only hurt the Democrats' is really no longer the case;" also, on Kash Patel's confirmation as the new director of the FBI: "there's nothing like reconfiguring the FBI so it carries out whatever Donald Trump wants, which is what Kash Patel would do" – Harold Meyerson has our political update.Plus: The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That’s both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. John Nichols will comment.

Churches are coming together to fight Trump – the lawsuit filed challenges ICE raids in places of worship on First Amendment Freedom of Religion grounds. Also, what does it tell us that both Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted 'Yes' for two terrible Trump nominees (Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr.) when they didn't have to? Harold Meyerson comments.Plus: Trump has lost a series of major legal battles in the last week, where courts have ruled that key executive orders of his are unconstitutional. But what happens if Trump defies the courts? David Cole comments—he recently stepped down as national legal director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown University.

The Democrats have become more active in trying to stop the worst of Trump - and Musk - Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Senate and House leaders - and on the recent administration attacks on the NLRB.Also: Trump’s strategy of flooding the zone with executive actions is intended to paralyze the opposition. But there’s lots of grassroots mobilization underway right now, and one of the biggest organizers of that mobilization is Indivisible. Leah Greenberg will explain the group’s strategy and tactics -- and this week’s work assignments -- to get four Republicans to vote “No” on Trump’s terrible nominees. Leah is one of the co-founders and co-executive directors of Indivisible.

This week's popular outrage over Trump's stopping funding of all social programs forced him to throw in the towel after just a few hours - demonstrating how weak he is, and how powerful the opposition can be. John Nichols comments.Also: The battle to get us to pay attention: Chris Hayes explains--His new book is "The Siren's Call."Plus: Your Minnesota Moment - Trump attacks small town sanctuaries for undocumented residents.

How did we get here, with Trump returning to the White House?  Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on the 93 million people who could have voted – but didn’t –and on Trump’s Day One executive orders.Also: Now that Trump is preparing to round up and deport undocumented residents, we want to thank them for everything they’ve done to make America good. Gustavo Arellano will explain – he’s a columnist for the LA Times whose father came to the US in the 1960s in the trunk of a Chevy.Plus: Twenty Minutes without Trump. Today:  J. Edgar Hoover: We know a lot about the bad things he did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. Historian Beverly Gage will explain. Her award-winning book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.” (originally broadcast in December, 2022.)

As we prepare for Trump to take office next week, we're getting ready to challenge him and his people in the upcoming elections later this year. But before that, we have an important election in the next few weeks: the Democratic National Committee will elect a new chair on February 1 to prepare for the battles and the campaigns to come – John Nichols comments.Also: Trump promises to deport millions of undocumented residents, while Republicans in Congress threaten a nationwide abortion ban. Meanwhile parts of the mainstream media are caving in to Trump. How can individuals help at this point? Katha Pollit has some suggestions about groups that deserve support.Plus: Not everything is about Donald Trump. The Geneva Freeport, for example – where it doesn’t matter who is president of the US. The Freeport is a place where the world’s richest people hide art, jewelry, and other wealth from tax officials, creditors, and sometimes spouses. Atossa Araxia Abrahamian discusses her new book: “The Hidden Globe: How Wealth

Trump has come out in favor of combining many of his biggest priorities into one big budget reconciliation bill – because the budget reconciliation impacts the economy, this bill is not subject to filibuster by the Democrats; so, it could pass the Senate with 50 Republican votes. But some Republicans are likely to resist – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Trump’s “dictatorship on day one” will feature executive orders to deport undocumented residents. Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law & Policy at UCLA Law School, explains the legal strategy to be deployed by the sanctuary states and cities to challenge Trump’s orders. Plus: Trump & Golf: The Saudi-backed LIV golf league will return to Trump's Doral Resort in April 2025 – the clearest sign yet that Trump family business deals using Saudi government financing will continue into the new presidency. The legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte comments on Trump and golf. (broadcast originally in August 2017) 

A fight has broken out between Elon Musk and the MAGA activists and base about immigration – specifically, over H-1B visas. But what exactly IS an H-1B visa; and why is there so much heat around the issue? Harold Meyerson comments.Also: Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s famous 900 page book, is partly “too dumb to accomplish anything at all”– the rest, can be read as a useful catalog of how we should focus our resistance – Rick Perlstein explains.Plus: The ever-elusive Bob Dylan seems an unlikely candidate for a Hollywood biopic. John Powers, a critic-at-large on NPR’s Fresh Air, talks about how the new movie "A Complete Unknown" captures a defining moment in his career and in American culture.

Donald Trump has been bad for America but good for American book publishers. Now that Trump is coming back we look at what the best of those books had to say about him, also, the worst: Also, Melania has published a memoir: “Melania,” where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book. (Originally recorded 10-26-2024.)Next: Kamala Harris lost not because Democratic voters switched to Trump, Steve Phillips shows, but because of a massive failure of the Democrats to turn out their base. (Originally recorded 12-11-2024.) Plus: Joshua Holland explains why people in Denmark are so much happier than people in the USA. (Originally recorded 1-19-2023.)

Disney unions won the biggest ever back pay settlement, and Amazon drivers in the Southland are going on strike this week - Harold Meyerson reports on the class struggle in Southern California.Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​ 

Workers in Los Angeles and Wisconsin made major gains this week, while the NLRB is falling into Trump's hands, thanks to Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema -- Harold Meyerson reports.Also: a new episode of “The Children’s Hour,” Amy Wilentz reports on “Lives of the In-Laws”—Ivanka’s father-in-law, and Tiffany’s -- and comments also on the rise of Trump's daughter-in-law Lara, the wife of Eric.

The GOP majority in the House will be 217-to 215 Dems – for months, until special elections in April bring it up to 220. What are the odds odds that House Republicans will be 100% united when Trump sends them his key legislation? Harold Meyerson comments.Also: “Our worst enemy right now is not Trump himself, but fatalism about our ability to stop him.” That’s what David Cole says – he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU, after 8 years and hundreds of lawsuits against the first Trump administration.

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; Sean Wilentz, historian and author of a Grammy-nominated essay about Bob Dylan, comments (originally recorded in January, 2005).

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, is reported to have no intention of living in the White House for Trump's second term; so, where ​IS Melania?​