American Enterprise Institute / Wall Street Journal
Michael Auslin is a resident scholar and Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The End of the Asian Century: War, Stagnation, and the Risks to the World's Most Dynamic Region.
America's moral authority: Is it credible? Promoting human rights and democratic values is part of America's "brand" — a crucial part of its "leadership of the free world." There's always been an element of hypocrisy, but President Trump isn't just working behind the scenes with right-wing dictators. He's publicly praised Duterte, Erdogan, Sisi, Putin — even Kim Jung Un -- and other leaders notorious for brutal repression. Is Trump failing to at least set a good example…at a time when much of the world is retreating from adherence to liberal ideals and institutions?
Is America's "pivot to Asia" a thing of the past? So many of his Department's top jobs are still unfilled that Rex Tillerson seems like a lonely Secretary of State, and as a diplomat, he's an amateur. His trip to Asia — just one reporter included — was full of contradictions, with tweets from the President adding to the confusion. It's not clear if he threatened North Korea, advocated nuclear weapons for Japan and South Korea--or if he'll seek common ground with China. And there's another big question: how much is the Trump White House running the show?
America's new president baffles the world When it comes to foreign policy, the Trump Administration is speaking with many voices. In Europe last weekend, Vice President Pence and Defense Secretary Mattis had different messages. Secretary of State Tillerson has said almost nothing at all. And nobody knows what President Trump knows -- or whether he'll set the US in new and different directions with unexpected tweets or unscripted comments. He's already had to replace one National Security Advisor with another as the administration veers between traditional positions and radical change.
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.
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.
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.
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.