Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaini...
Trump’s Angry DOGE Defense Backfires at Presser as More Bad Polls Hit
At a Monday press conference, Donald Trump angrily defended Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Though officials from Trump’s administration are defying Musk’s email instructing federal employees to list their accomplishments, Trump said it was “great,” only spreading more confusion about whether it’s operative. This comes as Trump is getting hit by more polls showing broad disapproval of his performance on prices and deep dissatisfaction with the economy. We talked to writer Susan Milligan, who has a new piece for The New Republic detailing how Republicans have been portraying Trump as a strong “daddy” figure. She explains why the DOGE fiasco and Trump’s rambling presser could undermine perceptions of Trump as a competent, decisive leader.
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22:08
Fiasco for Musk as Trump Aides Suddenly Defy Him amid New GOP “Panic”
House Republicans are suddenly facing angry voter revolts back at home over Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Some of them are reportedly in a “panic” about DOGE’s increasingly destructive cuts and firings. Meanwhile, Musk just ordered federal employees to list their accomplishments or risk termination. But some senior Trump administration officials defied Musk, telling employees they had no obligation to respond. What if Musk’s DOGE effort is shaping up as a full blown fiasco for President Trump and the GOP? How should Democrats capitalize? We talked to Leah Greenberg, a co-founder of Indivisible, about what she’s seeing on the ground, what the prospects are for mobilizing a sustained opposition, and what comes next.
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22:20
Trump Suddenly Slips in 3 Brutal New Polls—and Musk Looks Even Worse
Three new national polls—from CNN, Gallup, and The Washington Post—show that President Donald Trump’s job approval is decidedly underwater. Importantly, the polls also show majorities rejecting Trump’s authoritarian governance. And Elon Musk, who’s carrying out Trump’s most autocratic designs, fares even worse. Are we finally seeing a real public backlash to Trump’s authoritarianism, the one that was supposed to materialize during the election, but didn’t? If so, what does that mean for how Democrats should proceed? We talked to political scientist Julia Azari, who writes on these matters for her “Good Politics, Bad Politics” Substack, about why Democrats have an opening to run harder against Trump-Musk autocratic overreach—and what that might look like.
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17:14
Trump’s Unnerving “Dictator” Rant Forces GOPers into Wild Contortions
President Donald Trump unleashed a long, angry tirade on Wednesday that falsely blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion. Trump pushed many other lies that sounded unsettlingly like Russian propaganda, even calling Zelensky a “dictator.” This forced Republicans into wild, comically evasive contortions. Which raises a question: What should Democrats say about all this? It seems like an unusually good opportunity to indict the craven GOP embrace of Trump and all he represents. We talked to Brian Beutler, author of the great Off Message Substack, who explains how Democrats can seize on moments like this to drive a wedge into the GOP—and why the Russia-Ukraine war will get much more brutal politically for Trump and Republicans going forward. Listen to this episode here.
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26:33
Stephen Miller Rages at CNN Host as Musk’s Latest DOGE Fiasco Implodes
On Tuesday, top White House adviser Stephen Miller unleashed a wild, angry rant on CNN after tough questioning from CNN’s anchor about Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. This comes even as one of Musk’s silliest absurdities yet—the idea that DOGE found rampant fraud in Social Security—imploded spectacularly under basic scrutiny. There’s a through line here: The great illusion that Musk, Miller and President Trump are trying to push—that they’re rooting out immense amounts of governmental waste and fraud—is collapsing all around them. We talked to writer Jill Lawrence, who has a new piece for The Bulwark arguing that the Musk enterprise has been exposed as a sham, about the larger MAGA mythology about the “deep state,” and why it’s proving unsustainable.
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Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaining, information-packed conversation with a leading lawmaker, journalist, or newsmaker. We go deep into the stories behind the headlines leading TNR and other news outlets—while making it fun and fast.