The second Trump administration hasn't started, but it's already proving chaotic, disturbing, and downright bewildering. (Not unlike the first!) Trump's picks for key staff and cabinet positions display a discordant, if not altogether surprising, mix of ideologies, experience, and scandalous baggage. (Indeed, one of his picks, Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, withdrew from consideration between the time we recorded our interview and when we recorded the intro.)
For this episode, we're focused on Trump's national security team, which is shaping up to be divided against itself: neoconservatives like Marco Rubio (State) alongside quasi-isolationists like Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence) alongside bellicose TV personalities like Pete Hegseth (Defense). To make sense of it all, we're joined by Curt Mills, a longtime foreign policy reporter and executive director of The American Conservative. A semi-enemy, Curt hails from the paleoconservative school of foreign affairs, which prioritizes realism and restraint. (That is to say, he's not thrilled about Rubio...) Based on Trump's appointments thus far, we ask Curt to assess, from his perspective, the relative strength of various factions of the Trump coalition: Will Trump listen to the warmongers in his midst? Will he side with the America Firsters? Or will he ignore everyone and just make some deals? Listen to find out.
Further Reading:
Curt Mills, "What a Trump Cabinet Might Look Like," The American Conservative, Oct 18, 2024.
— "What Trump Could Do in Foreign Policy Might Surprise the World," NYTimes, May 13, 2024.
Patrick Smith & Peter Alexander, "Police report details alleged sexual assault by Trump's defense pick Pete Hegseth," NBC News, Nov 21, 2024.
Baker, Haberman, Swan, "Gaetz’s withdrawal follows revelations in a sex-trafficking inquiry." NYTimes, Nov 21, 2024.
Dave Phillips and Carol Rosenberg, "The Metamorphosis of Pete Hegseth: From Critic of War Crimes to Defender of the Accused," NYTimes, Nov 21, 2024.
David Frum, "Unpatriotic Conservatives," National Review, Mar 25, 2003.
Charlie
2025-01-10 23:40:37 +0000 UTCSubodh Kafle
2025-01-08 18:53:00 +0000 UTCSubodh Kafle
2024-12-11 08:55:58 +0000 UTCJ Kepler
2024-12-04 10:36:35 +0000 UTCJ Kepler
2024-12-04 10:33:03 +0000 UTCRob
2024-12-01 14:47:42 +0000 UTCAdam
2024-11-30 02:29:28 +0000 UTCTim Combes
2024-11-27 14:14:50 +0000 UTCEric Statz
2024-11-26 16:03:11 +0000 UTCJeff Pruyne
2024-11-25 19:50:04 +0000 UTCNick
2024-11-25 19:08:11 +0000 UTCKen Lavey
2024-11-25 17:29:52 +0000 UTCBenjamin Pletcher
2024-11-25 08:54:52 +0000 UTCBenjamin Pletcher
2024-11-25 08:50:14 +0000 UTCBenjamin Pletcher
2024-11-25 08:46:15 +0000 UTCBen Harloe
2024-11-25 07:42:07 +0000 UTCAlaina
2024-11-25 05:03:55 +0000 UTCZach
2024-11-25 03:16:09 +0000 UTCKent Miller
2024-11-24 23:41:14 +0000 UTCGF
2024-11-24 23:00:30 +0000 UTCChristopher Lawson
2024-11-24 21:39:26 +0000 UTCAlaina
2024-11-24 20:51:08 +0000 UTCTimoteo Cobertizo
2024-11-24 18:13:17 +0000 UTCJeff Pruyne
2024-11-24 03:40:44 +0000 UTCJeff Pruyne
2024-11-24 03:39:25 +0000 UTCAddison
2024-11-24 02:07:09 +0000 UTCJohn Woodbridge
2024-11-23 19:40:45 +0000 UTCJonathan Hung
2024-11-23 16:35:15 +0000 UTCReggie Debris
2024-11-23 16:28:58 +0000 UTCRandy Weinstein
2024-11-23 07:25:49 +0000 UTCJimJim5122
2024-11-23 00:10:56 +0000 UTCShinanoki
2024-11-22 23:27:48 +0000 UTCMontez
2024-11-22 22:27:11 +0000 UTCByron Lopez
2024-11-22 19:47:38 +0000 UTCSam
2024-11-22 19:13:10 +0000 UTCHarry Clennon
2024-11-22 18:32:35 +0000 UTCdrizzly_november
2024-11-22 18:21:59 +0000 UTCCharlie
2024-11-22 16:01:18 +0000 UTCCharlie
2024-11-22 15:33:48 +0000 UTCCharlie
2024-11-22 15:02:51 +0000 UTCDylan Stephens
2024-11-22 10:51:02 +0000 UTCBen Harloe
2024-11-22 07:39:41 +0000 UTCEthan Stern
2024-11-22 04:51:25 +0000 UTCSon of El Topo
2024-11-22 04:42:53 +0000 UTCBroadhead
2024-11-22 02:39:21 +0000 UTCShinanoki
2024-11-22 02:35:00 +0000 UTCVincent
2024-11-22 02:21:20 +0000 UTCJacob Hollnagel
2024-11-21 23:50:06 +0000 UTCShinanoki
2024-11-21 23:39:10 +0000 UTCRyeman
2024-11-21 23:36:24 +0000 UTCAndrew
2024-11-21 23:33:15 +0000 UTCKnow Your Enemy
2024-11-21 23:13:14 +0000 UTCJonathan Hung
2024-11-21 22:22:48 +0000 UTCJonathan Hung
2024-11-21 22:20:52 +0000 UTCAxel Herrera
2024-11-21 21:30:35 +0000 UTCIsaac Suárez
2024-11-21 21:18:00 +0000 UTCIsaac Suárez
2024-11-21 21:16:47 +0000 UTCIsaac Suárez
2024-11-21 21:14:51 +0000 UTCHelena Latimer
2024-11-21 21:11:22 +0000 UTCmark o'hare
2024-11-21 20:46:59 +0000 UTCMatthew Maddock
2024-11-21 20:36:08 +0000 UTCEdmundo Saballos
2024-11-21 20:27:00 +0000 UTCEdmundo Saballos
2024-11-21 20:25:43 +0000 UTCAllen
2024-11-21 20:20:36 +0000 UTCGF
2024-11-21 20:14:37 +0000 UTCAvery
2024-11-21 20:06:17 +0000 UTCEvan Nordgren
2024-11-21 19:57:21 +0000 UTC