Trump as Main Character vs. Withdrawing Nation-Building

Katherine warns Trump centralizes himself in deals, likening him to a pirate leader whose persona drives outcomes.

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Episode notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch celebrate the release of over 2,000 hostages, political prisoners, and detainees, while considering whether President Donald Trump's Israel–Gaza deal represents a genuine step toward lasting peace in the Middle East. They discuss whether Trump's foreign policy approach is consistent, examining his recent strikes in Venezuela, and whether his record abroad compares favorably to his chaotic record at home.

The conversation then turns to Trump's new China tariffs, which rattled markets and underscored his erratic approach to trade policy, followed by yet another round of bailouts for struggling farmers. The editors also examine Congress' indifference amid another government shutdown and the growing sense that lawmakers have ceded their role entirely to the executive branch. They discuss a federal judge's weekend ruling that limits Trump's ability to deploy National Guard troops into U.S. cities, and what it signals about the courts' willingness to check his power. Finally, they assess the Democrats' persistent candidate-quality problem, from Virginia to California, and how it reveals a party struggling to find competent leadership. A listener asks whether a libertarian could offer a meaningful alternative in New York City's next mayoral race.

0:00—Trump brokers peace in the Middle East

13:32—Is Trump's foreign policy more successful than his domestic record?

18:03—Tariff threats escalate trade war with China

25:04—Government shutdown leads to federal layoffs

34:44—Is the judiciary the only check on Trump's authority?

43:02—Listener question on Libertarian Party in NYC

47:27—The Democratic Party's candidate-quality problems

55:36—Weekly cultural recommendations