Trump Watch

Sasha Abramsky talks about Trump and the triumph of fear — his new book is “Jumping at Shadows: The Triumph of Fear and the End of the American Dream.”
Also: Pundits say the three former generals on Trump’s staff are “the adults in the room” who will block him from doing his worst. John Nichols isn’t so sure about that — the generals are featured in his book “Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse.”
And, for something completely different: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy. One of the darkest days at the end of what we call “the sixties” came on Sept. 9, 1971, after 1,300 prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York rebelled — to protest years of mistreatment. The true story of what happened at Attica was covered up by officials for decades. but now, 47 years later, we finally know the true story, thanks to Heather Ann Thompson.
Listen HERE

Sarah Leonard of The Nation says Hillary’s campaign memoir “What Happened” has its enjoyable parts, but fails to recognize the populist forces that explain what happened.
plus Bob Dreyfuss on the Robert Mueller’s coming indictment of Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort —
and Todd Gitlin replies to critics of Ken Burns’s Vietnam series on PBS — it’s a powerful portrayal of the reasons the war was a disaster, he argues.
Listen HERE

Hillary’s book about what happened in her loss to Donald Trump – called ‘What Happened” — doesn’t really explain what happened, says D.D. Guttenplan of The Nation, and is significant mostly for what it says about her role in setting the agenda for the future of the Democratic Party.
Plus: the horrible Betsy DeVos – billionaire opponent of public schools, and now Trump’s Secretary of Education: David Dayen comments on her work on behalf of the student loan “servicing” industry, and for-profit colleges.
Also: the Republicans’ last and final attempt to repeal Obamacare is underway; Harold Meyerson reports–along with news about the California legislature declaring the entire state a sanctuary for undocumented people.
Listen HERE

Hillary’s book about ‘What Happened’ has a clear message, Tom Frank says: “don’t blame me.”  Tom is now a columnist for The Guardian US edition.
Also: Is Pence Worse? Do we really want Trump out? Joan Walsh says ‘yes’ to both.  (She’s a political analyst on MSNBC and National Affairs correspondent for The Nation.)
And Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on the Medicare-for-all bill introduced in Congress yesterday by our man Bernie. He says it’s not only necessary, it’s “strategically savvy.”
Listen HERE

Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect talks about Trump’s 180 on DACA and the Dreamers–and what kind of deal the Democrats should make to pass the DREAM Act.
Also: Hurricanes, Texas Toxics and Trump’s EPA: John Nichols comments on “one of the most dangerous people in America” – Scott Pruit, head of Trump’s EPA.
And Bob Dreyfuss explains what we now know about Facebook taking money from Russians for political ads, and answers the question, ‘Who is Felix Sater — and why is Trump so afraid of him?”
Listen Here 

Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee that brought articles of impeachment against Nixon, reviews the case against Trump at this point — and what special counsel Robert Mueller is doing to protect his investigation.
Also: Trump vs. Trans soldiers and sailors: the ACLU is taking him to court for violating the equal protection clause of the bill of rights. Chase Strangio explains.
And John Nichols of The Nation talks about his new book Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse, and what Trump’s people been doing about the floods in Texas–especially Steven Mnuchin, Mike Pence, and Elaine Chao.
Listen HERE

Frank Rich has been “wallowing in Watergate,” as he put it, and found some fascinating stuff about Trump’s situation today and Nixon’s a year before his fall. Also: the ways Nixon was significantly stronger than Trump in resisting impeachment and resignation.
Also: if you understand golf, you understand Trump. Golf is a game for “successful greedheads and their wannabes,” says legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte. It’s a waste of space and water, and it poisons local aquifers with chemicals. And it represents all that is retrograde and exclusionary in American life. Lipsyte asks, Doesn’t that remind you of our president?
Plus: It was 50 years ago today: Abbie Hoffman and friends invaded the heart of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, and threw money from the gallery onto the trading floor. Bruce Dancis explains what happened on Aug. 24, 1967–he was there.
Listen HERE

How come Trump has stopped hinting about firing Robert Mueller?  Maybe it’s because Mueller has a growing number of supporters among Republicans. Robert Dreyfuss reports.  Plus the news about the FBI raiding Paul Manafort’s house–and what it means for Jared Kushner.
Also: Bernie has been busy: Benjamin Wallace-Wells has been travelling with Bernie Sanders, who has done rallies in more than a dozen states over the last few weeks.  He’s pretty much won the Democratic Party to his agenda — but is there a Democrat who can run in his place in 2020?
And Katha Pollitt has some advice for the anxious and the depressed among us on how to survive the coming months of the the Age of Trump.  It’s all based on her advanced non-scientific survey.
Listen HERE

What Did Trump Know About Russian Money-Laundering, and When Did He  Know It?– Bob Dreyfuss of The Nation reports on new evidence about the connections that Donald Trump is desperate to conceal.
Plus: David Cole, legal director of the ACLU, considers different ways Trump could end the work of the special counsel investigating his campaign’s collusion with Russia: He can fire the Attorney General and order the firing of the special counsel; he can pardon his son Don Junior and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.  But can he pardon himself?
Also: The Deep history of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America – historian Nancy MacLean explains the southern roots of libertarian ideology, and its ties to resistance to civil rights.  Her new book is “Democracy in Chains.”
Listen HERE