Vanderbilt University
Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University
PROFILE
Marc Hetherington
Guest
FROM Marc Hetherington
To the Point
Politics and the power of a word There's a new word in this year's political vocabulary: "deplorables" -- first used by Hillary Clinton to describe "half" of Donald Trump's supporters. Trump seized on it as a mistake that betrayed her elitist detachment from the beleaguered working class — and many pundits agreed. But Clinton's not backing away, claiming that elements of Trump's fan base are demonstrating his appeal to racism, sexism and other forms of bigotry. Now the word "deplorables" is fueling both sides of the campaign, appearing on t-shirts, twitter memes and advertisements. Did Clinton commit a gaffe that might cost her dearly or has Trump fallen into a trap that reveals more than he wanted?
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To the Point
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.
Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
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.