Trump Watch

Joe Biden has one thing in common with Donald Trump: a campaign promising “restoration” of a lost past, rather than the kind of transformation we need to deal with our current problems—that’s what Harold Meyerson says. Of course, the past Biden wants to restore is not the white man’s 1950s, but rather the pre-Trump America of the Clintons and Obama. Harold is executive editor of The American Prospect and a regular contributor to the LA Times op-ed page. And we talk about immigrants with Nation magazine columnist Laila Lalami—her new novel is 'The Other Americans,' about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant in a small town in California. It’s a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story.

The ‘debate’ over global warming was always phony. Bill McKibben says the fossil fuel industry knew everything there was to know about climate change back in the 1980s. And they believed what their scientists were telling them. Exxon started building all its drilling rigs to compensate for the rise in sea level it knew was coming. But of course the thing they didn’t do was tell any of the rest of us. Just the opposite. They’ve spent billions of dollars building the architecture of deceit and denial and disinformation that has spread with relentless efficiency the lie that science was unsure about climate change. Bill talks about his new book "Falter." Also: there's another ruined Cathedral of Notre Dame awaiting reconstruction -- in Haiti, destroyed in the earthquake of 2010. Amy Wilentz talks about why France should pay reparations to Haiti to help rebuild it.

When Joe Biden finally declared his candidacy, he immediately pulled way out in front in the polls of Democratic candidates. The polls also show him the one most likely to beat Trump. Joan Walsh points to some of the problems with Biden—a centrist who is focusing on older white male voters--and considers the alternatives. Also: the case for impeachment—starting with the Mueller Report, and what Trump has done since its release. The politics of impeachment may be debatable, But congress’s duty is clear --that’s what Joshua Holland says. Also: when muckraking journalists, independent Marxists, trade-union rebels, freedom riders, beatniks and peace protesters all found a home at America’s Oldest Weekly, The Nation magazine. That was the work of a great editor—who was also a great historian--Carey McWilliams. Peter Richardson will explain.

Today, the AG is defying the House of Representatives -- after a day of lies and deception with the Senate Judiciairy Committee yesterday. we turn to John Nichols for comment. Plus, Michael Walzer on his seminal how-to guide for political activists: "Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics".

New York v. US Dep't of Commerce, the challenge to adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, was heard on Tuesday -- would such a question be unconstitutional? Harold Meyerson comments --Also, Joe Biden announced his campaign for the presidency--he says he can win back the older white working class men in PA, MI and WI that Hillary lost. Next up, Stacey Abrams talks about her life and shares advice from her book, 'Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change'. Also: Kirsten Gillibrand: how authentic has her lean to the left been? Joan Walsh comments.

The Mueller Report--we have the evidence, especially on obstruction; now Congress needs to do its part. John Nichols reports. Plus: Our Climate Moment: we talk with Bill McKibben about balancing fear and hope in the face of the grim realities of climate change -- his new book is "Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?" Also: Gary Stewart, activist, organizer, and popular music maven, passed away last week -- we remember him, with an interview from 2005--on Girl Groups.

Israel's 2019 election results are in, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to serve a record fifth term -- what does this mean for the United States and American Jews? Harold Meyerson comments Next, "Reconstruction: America After the Civil War" premieres on PBS this week; we talk with historian Eric Foner about the first interracial democracy in the world--and how it was destroyed. Plus: Stephen Miller went from being a shy middle school kid in Santa Monica to Trump's top advisor, the evil genius behind Trump's vicious immigration and asylum policies -- Laurie Winer reports on what happened to him.

Democrats, Republicans and 'Socialism' -- John Nichols talks about Milwaukee, America's socialist city for 50 years. Also: Plastics and Petrochemicals: An estimated 8 tons of plastic end up in the oceans per year. But the real problem is the manufacturing of plastics. Zoë Carpenter explains. Plus, Climate Change in the City: Ben Ehrenreich reports from Commerce, CA. on a community movement fighting for environmental justice.

The Mueller Report: a three page summary of the 300-plus page report has been released -- that's less than one percent of Mueller's findings -- Harold Meyerson reports. Today marks the 50th Anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton. We talk with Dick and Mickey Flacks about their book "Making History Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America". Plus: Jane Mayer on Mike Pence - and his mother. Would Pence be worse? Jane Mayer says "probably yes."

The Democrats' candidates who are not progressives, from Beto to Biden -- Harold Meyerson on the alternatives to Bernie and Elizabeth Warren. Plus Amy Wilentz on the college admissions scandal. Also: What if Trump got his way with dissenters, critics and immigrants? Adam Hochschild on lessons from WW I era policies and parallels between Woodrow Wilson and Trump.

To replace coal and oil, do we need nuclear power? Is switching from coal powered electric plants to natural gas a step in the right direction? And what lessons can we draw from the recent victories—and setbacks--for the climate movement in California? Bill McKibben comments--and talks how to get to a Green New Deal. Bill’s new book, “Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?” will be published on April 16. Also: what can we do to reduce the death toll in the current epidemic of opioid overdoses? Maia Szalavitz suggests our focus should be on harm reduction, and especially on the creation of safe injection sites—Philadelphia may be the first US city to follow the example of Vancouver and many West European cities.

The time is right for a Green New Deal, says New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg. Trump’s presidency is not the end of Democracy, as some of our friends have suggested. Instead we are seeing the end of a political cycle, the one that began in 1980 with Reagan. And now, it’s time for something new. Also: For years Elizabeth Warren has been talking about how the political system is rigged by the rich and powerful. But suddenly her position seems almost mainstream among Democrats--almost every contender for the Democratic nomination is rejecting corporate PAC money. George Zornick has our report. And we’ll talk about movement politics with Michael Walzer--about strategies and tactics and issues and candidates. His new book is “Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics.”

Naomi Klein says the Green New Deal needs to follow the example of the New Deal of the 1930s, when nothing would have happened without “massive pressure from social movements” that “changed the calculus of what was possible.” Naomi is a contributing editor at The Nation and author of several number one bestsellers, including “This Changes Everything.” Plus Dahlia Lithwick talks about the national challenge to Trump’s “national emergency”—the constitutional issues, the political issues, and the dangers of treating as normal his rambling, fact-free, egomaniacal performance in the Rose Garden announcing his “emergency.” Dahlia writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast ‘Amicus.’

Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, free college tuition, a $15 minimum wage – and now it's time to add Child care for all to the Progressive agenda. That’s Katha Pollitt’s proposal—she argues it will help huge numbers of people. (And Elizabeth Warren just made it a campaign issue of hers.) Also: Bernie’s foreign policy: in 2016 he ran on domestic issues almost exclusively. This time around, he’s going to say more about foreign policy—a lot more. David Klion explains; he’s profiled Bernie’s foreign policy advisor, Matt Duss.

The Green New Deal in California: bad news is that the governor seems to be pessimistic about high-speed rail; meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the mayor had good news about stopping natural gas plants - David Dayen reports. Next up, February is Black History Month in America - we revisit an interview with Pulitzer-prize winning author, Isabel Wilkerson, where she talks about her book 'The Warmth of Other Suns' and the great migration of Black people out of the South.

The State of the Union is not good -- Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect on the president's speech Tuesday night -- and whether "socialism" is as big a negative for Americans as Trump thinks it is. Also: as of October, 2018, California had filed 44 lawsuits against Trump, and more are expected for 2019. We talk with Manuel Pastor about climate, immigration and the future of California v. Trump. Plus Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, on Trump, climate and endangered species.

As trade talks with China continue, the DOJ has charged telecom giant Huawei with Iran sanctions violations, bank fraud and more; meanwhle, a million Uyghur Muslims are being interned at Chinese 're-education camps'. We talk with Jeff Wasserstrom, a UCI historian of modern China, about Trump, trade, and human rights in China. Also: Politics after the shutdown -- Harold Meyerson reports, tracing the history of the air traffic controllers from Reagan breaking their union to last week's decisive sick-out at Laguardia airport. Plus: TPS (Temporary Protected Status), the travel ban and Trump -- Sasha Abramsky reports on the human toll of initiatives that are simply cruel.

We take a step back from all the Trump headlines to look at how we got here. Later in the show, historian Nancy MacLean talks about the roots of the right’s stealth plan for America, bringing together the Koch Brothers and their libertarian economic policy advocacy with segregationist opposition to civil rights. Nancy is an award-winning historian and the William H. Chafe Professor of history and public policy at Duke University. Her book “Democracy in Chains” was named the “most valuable political book of the year” on The Nation’s progressive honor roll. But first, Fred Trump and the KKK of the 1920s. The group had millions of members outside the South. It targeted Catholics and Jews as well as blacks, and had impressive success at electing governors and congressmen. It passed anti-immigrant restrictions that remained in effect until 1965. And Fred Trump, the president’s father, was arrested as a young man at a Klan march in New York City. Historian Linda Gordon explains—her new book is ‘The Second Coming

Today is day four of the LA teachers' strike. "This bitter conflict is also a fight about the meaning of progressive politics”--that's what Nelson Lichtenstein says -- he's professor of history and director of The Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at UC Santa Barbara. Also: despite the fact that 58% of Americans oppose the wall, we are on day 27 of Trump's government shutdown over funds to build one. What are the politics of the Republicans in this situation? We turn to John Nichols for comment. Plus: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen says "call me a refugee, not an immigrant" -- his new book is "The Displaced."

Russiagate is basically a political corruption scandal, says David Klion. The basic facts have been obvious for a long time—and they should bring down Trump’s presidency. Also: we ask Jane Mayer of the New Yorker what may be the most important question of the year: Would Pence be worse? Plus: Why are Danes so much happier than Americans? Is it just because Donald Trump is NOT their president? Joshua Holland says there’s more to it than that. And we also have a history segment today: Sean Wilentz talks about the place of slavery in the origins of the United States--his new book is "No Property in Man."