Trump Watch

Today, Trump admitted defeat on is effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 United States Census -- as he addressed cameras live from the White House Rose Garden, we turned to John Nichols for comment. Next: Walls have been used against immigrants to the US before -- historian Linda Gordon talks about the 1920s, when anti-immigrant hostility conquered Congress. Plus: MAD Magazine (1952 - 2020): Jeet Heer on the death and influence of "one of the major showcases for media criticism in America."

Campaigning in Iowa, Elizabeth Warren has made her story an American story, Joan Walsh says, and thereby found a good way to connect her policy proposals to her own life, and thereby to other people’s lives--and also to refute critics who say she’s an out-of-touch policy wonk. Also: Joe Biden and his friends: he says some of them were segregationist senators – and he thinks that was a good thing, something that made it possible for him to pass important legislation. Jeet Heer says that’s a fantasy—Republicans are not going to work with Biden if he gets the nomination and defeats Trump. Jeet is a new National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation.

The Supremes gave the green light to gerrymandering--a disaster, but blocked the census citizenship question; and, the first round of 2020 Democratic nominees debated last night -- John Nichols reports. Next up, Trump and war with Iran: not this week: comment from Jeet Heer, the newly-appointed national-affairs correspondent at The Nation. Plus: The re-enfranchisement of felons who have served their sentences in Florida is law now and the Republicans are attacking it (again) -- Sasha Abramsky reports.

For most Americans, the question “Which is worse: Trump or Brexit?” has an easy answer: of course it’s Trump! But D. D. Guttenplan, The Nation’s new Editor, says it’s more complicated than that: for starters, Americans can get rid of Trump in next November’s elections, but it’s almost impossible now for the Brits to get rid of Brexit. Next up, Elon Musk wants us to go to Mars. Should we join him? Katha Pollitt explains why not – she wrote about zillionaires and space travel in this week’s Nation magazine. Plus: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib talks with John Nichols about being one of the first two Muslim women in Congress.

During Bernie's speech in Washington yesterday he defined democratic socialism as: "Requiring and achieving political and economic freedom in every community in this country." He also proposed a 21st century economic bill of rights -- for comment we turn to Harold Meyerson. Next up, the Democrats in California: Joe Biden was MIA -- David Dayen reports. 6/13/19 Also: The Indivisible Pledge; what is it and why didn't Joe Biden sign? Ezra Levin of the Indivisibles, explains.

Over 8,000 names are engraved on the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial, and each year, more are added. The wall is unlike any other war memorial in the US -- particularly because of its location: not in Washington DC but in Marseilles, Illinois, a small prairie town with a population of about 5,000. We talk with historian Andrew Bacevich about his recent visit to the memorial. Also: Isn't abortion rights a women's issue? Katha Polllitt says, 'no' and explains what men should be doing differently to help women and themselves. Plus: Michael Ames on Bowe Bergdahl & the disaster of the Afghan war--his new book is "American Cypher". And Ilhan Omar on John Nichols’ new podcast from The Nation, “Next Left.”

May 22, 3:00 PM Bernie is back on Page One of the New York Times, but their report last weekend was not about his new plan to save public schools–the most progressive education program in modern American history–or his proposal to end all subsidies for oil and gas companies. Instead, it was about a trip he made to Nicaragua in 1985, more than 30 years ago. They didn’t like it. How do we explain the New York Times’s coverage of Bernie Sanders? Amy Wilentz comments. Plus: There are 1,000 redactions in the 448 pages of the Mueller report--individual names and entire pages--that we are not allowed to see. They are part of a larger problem of government secrecy which started long before Trump and which is now threatening to cripple our democracy—Karen Greenberg explains.

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.’