Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his legislative proposals to provide temporary legal status for 8 million undocumented immigrants as part of the reconciliation deal and to protect Americans against flood insurance “rate shock.”  Menendez, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also explains how the U.S. can support Taiwan against aggression from China, warns that Iran has the potential to spark a “nuclear arms race” and describes why he thinks his Democratic colleague, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is “confused or ill-informed” for opposing the U.S. embargo against Cuba.  Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by Stephens Inc., Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The Fairweather Foundation, Asness Family Foundation, Pfizer Inc., The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, and Damon Button.

This week’s guest is Russia expert Dr. Fiona Hill, a former official in Trump’s National Security Council, a 2019 impeachment witness, and a current Brookings Institution senior fellow. Hill joins Margaret Hoover to discuss her new memoir, “There’s Nothing For You Here,” in which she details how her upbringing in the northeast of England and rise from “the coal house to the White House" has informed her perspective on populism and authoritarianism. At the White House, Hill describes the “shock” of learning that some members of the administration including her boss, President Trump, were not concerned with the national security implications of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Drawing on her expertise, she explains the problem of Putin’s nearly indefinite leadership. “Some of his advisers say there is no Russia without Vladimir Putin.” Hill also warns about threats to democracy in the U.S. posed by Trump and the prospect of a Trump return to office in 2024. "I don't think he actually knows what American democracy is," she says of Trump. “He was a danger. He is a danger, and he will continue to be a danger.” Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by Stephens Inc., Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The Fairweather Foundation, Asness Family Foundation, Pfizer Inc., The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, and Damon Button.

Award-winning actor and best-selling author John Lithgow sits down with host Margaret Hoover in New York City to discuss the third book in his trilogy of poetry satirizing America’s “scoundrels.” After taking direct aim at the Trump White House in the first two, Lithgow now shifts his focus to some of history’s earlier rogues, leveling them with limericks and illustrations. Lithgow also reflects on his storied career on stage and screen, unpacking what he calls “the most interesting thing about acting” — the mingling of comedy and tragedy in characters. To get past the “two-dimensional villain,” Lithgow says he tries to find empathy in the iconic roles he has played, including Winston Churchill in “The Crown” and Roger Ailes in “Bombshell.” He also fears the Trump era may not be over, warning that America is “at a tipping point as a nation, as a culture, as a political organization.” Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc.

Firing Line is on the road as host Margaret Hoover sits down with three dissidents during the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum in Miami for a discussion on the global fight against human rights abuses. Hatice Cengiz is the fianceé of slain Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. She has inherited his fight for human rights after his murder three years ago at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in an operation U.S. intelligence says was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She tells Margaret justice for Jamal means he “shouldn’t be king.” Former Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez, who was jailed for years for challenging the Maduro regime, explains that “authoritarianism is on the rise” and tells Margaret that the U.S. needs to lead other democracies in opposition. “Americans need to understand that they have a responsibility to the rest of the world to promote and to defend freedom.” Uyghur activist Jewher Ilham’s father was “symbol of the voice of the Uyghurs” until 2013 when he was detained by Chinese authorities and given a life sentence. Ilham has expanded her fight beyond her father’s case — and is now speaking for more than a million Uyghurs facing similar mistreatment. “What is happening in China to the Uyghurs, it is a humanitarian crisis,” she says, calling for legislative action in Congress. Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc.

Billionaire real estate mogul, sports team owner and civic entrepreneur Frank McCourt discusses his $250 million investment to transform the internet and fix social media’s “broken model.” Frank McCourt tells host Margaret Hoover “surveillance” capitalism has allowed tech giants like Facebook to “weaponize” user data against them. He says the new blockchain-powered Internet protocol created by Project Liberty, his venture, would give users the ability to control and port their data. McCourt says a consumer product he is also developing could be ready for use in less than 18 months, and responds to questions about whether he is creating a direct competitor to an existing social media platform. Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc.

Economist Mohamed A. El-Erian explains his concern that inflation exacerbated by the pandemic response will persist and says the Federal Reserve must take action or risk missing “the window.”   El-Erian tells host Margaret Hoover, "The minute you have a whiff of persistent inflation — and I think we have much more than a whiff right now — you've got to do something about it." El-Erian also breaks down the Evergrande crisis in China, discusses the changing nature of the workforce, and reflects on the “huge shock” his daughter gave him that made him revisit his priorities.   Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author George Will joins Firing Line's Margaret Hoover for an in-depth conversation examining the conservative movement from William F. Buckley Jr.’s National Review to today.  Will, who was hired by Buckley as his Washington editor in 1973, reflects on why he left the Republican Party in 2016 and his belief that many mainstream Republican politicians today are not true conservatives. Will argues that Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party will not last and says of the former president, "History will pass him by.” Will also talks about his love of baseball, which he calls a “great sport for democracy.”  Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

As America marks the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, Rep. Peter Meijer, R-MI, discusses the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, his decision to fly into Kabul amid the evacuation and who should be held accountable for the botched ending of a two-decade war. Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

Let. Gen. H.R. McMaster joins host Margaret Hoover to respond to the suicide bombings that killed more than a dozen U.S. service members outside the Kabul airport. American forces will pursue the terrorists “to the ends of the earth,” McMaster says, but the attack shows “the limits of this sort of over-the-horizon approach to counterterrorism.” Gen. David Petraeus, interviewed the day before the attack, discussed the chaotic withdrawal from America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan and warned of the future terror threat from the region, including from ISIS-K. “The Islamic State is there now...trying to establish a sanctuary, most likely in eastern Afghanistan.” Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, discusses the explosive growth of big tech and her concerns about mega-mergers and the monopoly power of tech titans like Facebook, Apple and Google.  Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020, tells host Margaret Hoover, “I'm not against big companies. I'm against no competition.” She explains why every American should be paying attention, outlines her proposal for antitrust reforms and says a bipartisan solution is possible.  Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The David Tepper Charitable Foundation Inc., The Fairweather Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Rosalind P. Walter. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Morgan Stanley.