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 .
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
