Trump Watch

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Amy Wilentz and I debate Trump’s chances for victory in November: I say he won’t win; Amy says, “Don’t be so sure.”
Plus: John Nichols and D.D. Guttenplan analyze the aura of violence inside the convention hall, and what it says about the Republicans—and the rest of us.
And George Zornick reports on the action in the streets–there wasn’t a lot– and the treatment of demonstrators–and the media–by the Cleveland police.

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The shooting of police officers in Dallas does not change anything about the shootings of black men in Baton Rouge or St. Paul, Kai Wright argues—he’s features editor of The Nation.

Also: Donald Trump has changed the Republican Party in fundamental ways, says Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect, and it may never recover.

And Clara Bingham talks about how the 1960s changed America, starting with young Hillary and young Bernie. She interviewed 100 people for her new book, Witness to the Revolution.

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Joan Walsh says FBI Director James Comey’s blunt criticism of Hillary Clinton’s handling of her e-mail provides the presidential hopeful with an opportunity to acknowledge her mistakes and to make amends. Walsh is The Nation’s national affairs correspondent.

Plus, we found something else to worry about: cyber attacks on the US paralyzing our electric grid and our water supply. The award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney has a new documentary about that, called Zero Days—it opens this Friday.

Also: Ben Ehrenreich and Amy Wilentz talk about about life for Palestinians in the West Bank. Wilentz is a contributing editor at The Nation, and Ehrenreich’s new book is The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine.

And A Prairie Home Companion is ending its long run on public radio—Garrison Keillor explains that the secret of the show’s success was “no competition.”

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The victorious campaign in Britain to leave the European Union has many striking parallels to Donald Trump’s campaign to win the White House.  D.D. Guttenplan says “that ought to keep Hillary supporters awake at night.”

Also: the Supreme Court issued a sharp rebuke to Texas’s anti-choice laws on Monday in the most sweeping victory for abortion rights in 25 years.  Zoë Carpenter comments.

Plus: A test case of Republican vs. Democratic rule in two states. Minnesota and Wisconsin have taken opposite approaches to voting rights, and some other things too—and the results are now clear.  Ari Berman explains.

If he were president, could Donald Trump really ban Muslims from entering the country?  Sasha Abramsky says the answer is simple: yes.

Also: the People’s Summit brought organizers and activists to Chicago last weekend for three days of planning about where to go next with the Bernie movement—at the Democratic National Convention, and after. RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, weighs in.

Plus: lessons for the left from the NRA in the wake of the Orlando shootings: David Cole, The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent, argues that gun control advocates can win if they focus on state laws rather than Supreme Court challenges. His new book is Engines of Liberty.

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Orlando has long been one of the most gay-friendly cities in the South—and still is, says Nadine Smith of Equality Florida. If people want to help, there’s a GoFundMe campaign to aid families and survivors.

Also: Bernie Sanders won the war of ideas in the Democratic party—what does that mean for Hillary Clinton now? Harold Meyerson comments.

And historian Adam Hochschild talks about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, made up of American leftists who fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. His new book is Spain in Our Hearts.

Bernie’s movement in California should challenge the big money behind “moderate Democrats” in the state legislature, HAROLD MEYERSON argues.

Also: TOM LUTZ has been travelling – he talked politics in Jordan, and observed the Chinese army in Tibet – we’ll talk about his new book is Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World. (book event Friday 7pm at Chevalier’s on Larchmont Blvd.)

Plus: politics isn’t everything – there’s also movies.  we don’t have to talk about Donald Trump all the time – we can also talk with JOHN POWERS about Wong Kar Wai, the great Hong Kong filmmaker—their new book is WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai.

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Everything you need to know about the California primary, where Hillary got 56% and Bernie 43%—John Nichols explains it all to producer Alan Minsky.
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Also: Andrew Cockburn of Harper’s Magazine explains how Obama’s drone “kill list” is approved—and what happens after.
Andrew’s book Kill Chain: Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins is out now in paperback.

And: because politics isn’t everything, we talked about the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai with John Powers—the films include “In the Mood for Love” and the cult favorite “Chunking Express.”
John is critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross–his book WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai is out now.

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Bernie Sanders’s campaign rallies in California have brought out more than 100,000 people—many of whom think he can win the state’s primary next week.  Nicky Woolf of Guardian US has been following the campaign; he thinks they may be right.

Also: Elizabeth Warren seems to be Donald Trump’s most effective critic—and she seems to enjoy the work.  Margaret Talbot of The New Yorker comments.

Plus: Can the millions of Bernie supporters become a long-lasting force in American politics?  D.D. Guttenplan examines four efforts to organize progressives for the years after November 2016.

Many of Bernie’s supporters think he can win the California primary next Tuesday.  Could they be right?  Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments.

Plus: Most “independent” voters in fact have long-standing ties to one party or the other—very few swing from one party to the other between elections. Joshua Holland of The Nation has the facts.

Also: The Somali terrorism trial in Minneapolis ended today—three men in their twenties accused of conspiracy to commit murder outside of the US and providing material support for a terrorist organization. Matt Pearce of the LA Times reports on the surprising Somali community in Minneapolis.