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.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
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.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
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.