Economy, Competence, and Presidential Sales Pitches

The Washington Roundtable reflects on the first year since Donald Trump’s second win before a live audience at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, on November 20th. The panel considers how cracks in the MAGA firmament may shape what’s next for the President and the Republican party. “American politics the last ten years have been dominated by this very singular disruptive figure of Donald Trump,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser. “So what we define as the new abnormal, for a whole generation of Americans is, in fact, the new normal.” 

This week’s reading:

• “Dick Cheney’s Long, Strange Goodbye,” by Susan B. Glasser
• “The Darkest Thread in the Epstein E-mails,” by Jessica Winter
• “The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
• “Kash Patel’s Acts of Service,” by Marc Fisher
• “How M.B.S. Won Back Washington,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “Donald Trump Can’t Dodge the Costly K-Shaped Economy,” by John Cassidy 

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.