Living in the USA

Harold Meyerson traces parallels--and differences--between Nixon's efforts to stop the FBI from investigating him, and Trump's efforts to accomplish the same thing. Nixon's efforts led to impeachment; will Trump's? Also: Evangelicals and politics: Frances Fitzgerald comments.

Amy Wilentz follows Donald Trump on Twitter -- we ask her what that's like, and why she does it. Also, she has a modest proposal: somebody should stop him. Plus: Harold Meyerson on the Trump impeachment scenario: lessons from the Democrats' successful effort to remove Nixon, and the Republicans' failure to remove Bill Clinton.

John Nichols comments on the appointment of Robert Mueller as special prosecutor, and its significance for the impeachment scenario. and Ari Berman reports on the Supreme Court's ruling in the North Carolina voting rights case, and on Trump's "election integrity" commission.

(1) Harold Meyerson on the politics around Trump firing FBI Director James Comey -- and the 2018 elections (2) Laura Poitras on her film about Julian Assange, "Risk"

John Nichols on the House vote on Obamacare--and The Democrats' obligation to resist. Plus Margaret Atwood on the shocking relevance of “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu; and Katha Pollitt says “It’s not McCarthyism to demand an investigation of Trump."

RICK PERLSTEIN says “I thought I understood the American right. Trump Proved Me Wrong.” And the great BILL McKIBBEN talks about the People’s Climate March, coming up in Washington this Saturday. We’ll have a rundown of all the sister marches in southern California – from Santa Barbara and Ventura to Riverside to Irvine-- and also the LA Sister March in Wilmington, in the LA Harbor area. Also, our favorite county supervisor, SHEILA KUEHL, talks about the “Resist Los Angeles” march in LA on Monday May 1 – starting in MacArthur Park at 11.

(1) Tom Frank has been on the road in the Red States – we’ll ask him whether he thinks Bernie could have beaten Trump. (2) JOHN NICHOLS comments on Fox News firing the horrible Bill O’Reilly—and on Democratic candidates for the House in Georgia and Montana. (3) Steve Bannon, the fascist maniac, is out, and the calm bankers from Goldman Sachs are in--at the Trump White House: DAVID DAYEN will talk about what that means for tax reform, and for our future.

Trump seems to have changed his mind about a lot of things in the last day or two –it seems like Putin is no longer his number one friend, China is no longer his number one enemy, and Steve Bannon is no longer his number one “chief strategist.” Harold Meyerson will comment. Also: how we got from Ferguson to Trump’s election: Chris Hayes will explain—his new book is “A Colony in a Nation.” Plus: Is Trump like Nixon? Is collusion with the Russians to win election sort of like Watergate? We’ll ask John A. Farrell – his new book is “Richard Nixon: The Life.”

Katha Pollitt on how Trump is bringing back Feminism; Chris Hayes on Trump's defeats and disasters; and John Nichols on the Gorsuch filibuster and what comes next -- at the Court, and in the Senate.

The hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer was probably the most important backer of Trump for president. Jane Mayer of The New Yorker has the first in-depth report on this little-known figure and former Breitbart News funder. Also: Is Trump like Nixon? Both won by exploiting the resentments of the white working class; both covered up crimes committed by their campaigns against the Democrats. But Rick Perlstein, author of the classic book 'Nixonland,' says the answer is no: Trump is not like Nixon.