Foreign Policy Initiative / Daily Beast / Tablet
James Kirchick is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Initiative, a conservative think tank, correspondent for the Daily Beast and a columnist for Tablet magazine. He is also the author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age.
Kirchick is a former assistant editor at the New Republic.
The candidate of 'savage globalism' beats the 'high priestess of fear' After a campaign of creative name-calling, Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France yesterday with 65% of the vote to Marine Le Pen's 35%. But right-wing populism is hardly on the run. Macron's new party holds no seats in Parliament, and Le Pen's National Front did better than ever before. French voters made clear their outrage -- about the economy, immigration and a swelling number of refugees. We look at the consequences for France and the EU, with populist nationalism on the rise in Hungry, Poland and elsewhere in Europe.
Still feeling the Bern: Hillary's troubles with millennial voters Hillary Clinton still leads Donald Trump in most polls, but she's having trouble exciting a key demographic group: The younger voters who flocked to Bernie Sanders. Why is that? Why doesn't the idea of the first female president generate more enthusiasm? Sanders' campaign forced Clinton to adopt what even he describes as the most progressive Democratic Party platform in history. But that's not good enough for some Sanders supporters, who now look to third party candidates. And in a close election, millennials could tip the balance. Guest host Todd Purdum examines whether there's anything Clinton can do to change that dynamic in the weeks ahead.
Trump's Unconventional Convention Gets More Chaotic than Ever Last night's introductory address by Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence has been completely overshadowed by outspoken hostility among Republicans. Texas Senator Ted Cruz used his prime time speech to infuriate Trump supporters by refusing to endorse the presidential nominee. Whatever Trump himself says tonight in a bid for unity, disputes over the "Soul of the Party" are bound to continue — win or lose in November. The management of the convention has raised questions about the potential staff in a Trump White House. In the meantime, Trump has told the New York Times he might reduce support for NATO allies — a sweeping change in decades of foreign policy.
Will Congress Save Detroit? The CEO's of the Big Three are putting the pressure on Democrats and Republicans. GMAC is running full-page newspaper ads headlining "The Auto Industry Matters" and warning about the ripple effects if plants close and laid off workers can't feed their families or pay taxes. Backed by organized labor, they want a federal bailout, but there's no consensus on how or whether to save them. Democrats, Republicans and the Bush White House may let Barack Obama pick up the pieces, even though GM may go bankrupt before he takes office. With CEO's and labor leaders marching on Capitol Hill, we get a progress report. We also learn about Joe Lieberman 's punishment for supporting John McCain .
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
