
The Bottom Line
A weekly take on US politics and policies and how they affect the world.
Latest episodes

Jun 1, 2025 • 24min
Is the US losing its place as the world leader in science? | The Bottom Line
By cracking down on immigration and defunding scientific research, the United States is slowly losing its position as the world leader in research and development, argues Holden Thorp, editor of Science journal and former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thorp tells host Steve Clemons that the US government had made a concerted effort over the past 80 years to fund scientific research, but with the changes ushered in by the administration of President Donald Trump, Thorp predicts the results will be “bad for science in general, and also for the US role in innovation”. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

May 25, 2025 • 24min
How desperate is Iran for a deal with the US? | The Bottom Line
With a battered economy and a restless population, Iran is as desperate as the United States to come together, Johns Hopkins University Professor Vali Nasr argues. Nasr told host Steve Clemons that US President Donald Trump's administration is eager to reach an arms control deal with Iran, and Iran is eager to grow economically. “Both of them have arrived, after 40 some years, at a juncture where they need to change the direction of their relationship,” Nasr said. Join the conversation on Nasr’s latest book, Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History, which explains how Iran’s anti-Americanism “is not ideological or theological”. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

May 18, 2025 • 24min
US policy shifts on Syria, Yemen, Iran – but not Israel | The Bottom Line
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May 8, 2025 • 24min
Why is Trump going to the Middle East? | The Bottom Line
United States President Donald Trump plans to tout trillions of dollars of Arab investments in the US as a major achievement, but other issues are at stake, says University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami. Israel is threatening to further destroy the Gaza Strip unless progress is made in its ceasefire talks with Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel has refused to allow any food to enter Gaza - home to more than 2 million Palestinians - for more than two months. And despite Israeli objections, Trump may soon be able to reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

May 4, 2025 • 24min
Rapid US transformation: Is Trump succeeding?
Is United States President Donald Trump leading his nation into economic ruin and authoritarian dystopia or correcting its course after decades of inertia? Republican strategist James Davis and Democratic strategist Joel Rubin tell host Steve Clemons that Trump has delivered on his promise to “shake the place up”. But not all Americans believe that the economic pain caused by trade wars will lead to long-term gain. With the Democratic Party in tatters, there is no alternative vision for the country on the horizon, leaving Americans wondering about rising costs and eroding freedoms. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

Apr 27, 2025 • 24min
Can the US broker a Ukraine ceasefire? | The Bottom Line
The deal offered by the United States is an “unfortunate compromise” that should be accepted by Russia and Ukraine, argues Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Lieven tells host Steve Clemons that Ukraine’s leaders should acknowledge that the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia over the past years are lost. He adds that Russia – by accepting a ceasefire on current battle lines – has “given up” on trying to occupy all the territory of Ukraine it had hoped for. Meanwhile, Europe “has nothing serious to offer” to end the fighting, Lieven says. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

Apr 23, 2025 • 24min
China-US trade war: Can Trump win? | The Bottom Line
Veteran Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani argues that it’s “legitimate” for US President Donald Trump to be worrying about the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States, but his idea to force factory jobs back to the US is probably not going to work. Mahbubani tells host Steve Clemons that China will be damaged by the current trade war with the US, but “the Chinese are prepared to accept short-term pain for long-term gain”. The disarray in US policy is “a gift to China,” says Mahbubani. “I don’t see countries walking away from China.” Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

Apr 15, 2025 • 24min
Does Trump want a Gaza ceasefire before his Middle East trip? | The Bottom Line
US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama want the same things in the Middle East, argues Steven Cook, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations: “disentangling the US from its foreign adventures”. Cook tells host Steve Clemons that Trump wants a deal with Iran, and may be pressuring Israel to end its war on Gaza before his proposed trip to the Gulf region next month. There is a “trust deficit” between Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, adds Cook, and this explains why Trump told Netanyahu to “be reasonable” regarding Syria and Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

Apr 11, 2025 • 24min
Why has Trump decided to upend the global trade order? | The Bottom Line
As the US government imposed tariffs on goods from all other countries, President Donald Trump has asked Americans to “hang tough". But economists are warning of negative consequences for American households and businesses. Georgetown University professor Michael Strain, who heads economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, tells host Steve Clemons that “the risk of recession is very, very real.” Trump believes that the tariffs will stimulate the US economy and bring jobs back after decades of outsourcing, Strain argues, but the opposite is more likely: costs will rise, manufacturing will decrease, and Trump’s approval rating will go down. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

Apr 1, 2025 • 24min
Yemen chat leak: What does it tell us about Trump’s administration? | The Bottom Line
If the sharing of private chats of top United States intelligence officials with a reporter “were a part of an episode of Veep [a satirical US TV series], I wouldn’t have believed it”, former Pentagon official Alex Wagner says. The chats touched on Yemen, Europe, and other foreign and domestic policy concerns. Wagner and military affairs journalist Kevin Baron tell host Steve Clemons that the inadvertent inclusion of the journalist in the Signal group chats indicates a level of “carelessness” that is more insidious than the Trump administration cares to admit. Despite the gravity of the mistake, no one expects any accountability for the officials involved. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive