Background Briefing: July 19, 2026
The ICE Killer’s Background of Racism, Spousal Abuse and History of Violence
We begin with the Trump/Miller administration’s top priority of industrial-scale cruelty now with a more effective Markwayne Mullin in charge of DHS which is awash with taxpayer money the Republicans lavished upon them at the expense of healthcare and nutrition. Like Hitler’s SA brownshirts, Trump and Miller have recruited lowlifes and thugs, and instead of rounding up Jews, these untrained highly armed stormtroopers are rounding up brown skinned people. Joining us to discuss the background of racism, spousal abuse and a history of violence of the ICE officer who murdered a 26 year old legal immigrant in Maine is Patrick Blanchfield, a freelance writer and Associate Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. His forthcoming book is Gun Power: The Structure of American Violence and he is the co-host of Ordinary Unhappiness, a podcast about psychoanalysis, politics, pop culture, and the ways we suffer now. He joins us from Maine.
Antifa is Now the Target of Trump and Miller’s New Global War on Terrorism
Then we look into Thursday’s meeting at the State Department of representatives of 66 governments organized by Trump’s counterterrorism czar the fan of Hungarian fascism Sebastian Gorka. Joining us to discuss the imaginary global scourge of “Antifa” which is Trump and Miller’s focus in their new global war on terror, not the overwhelming threat of right wing and Jihadist terrorism. Joining us is Tom Mockaitis, a professor of history at DePaul University, where he teaches courses in British, Modern European, and Military History. His research and writing cover international security, terrorism, unconventional conflict, and military history. A regular contributor to The Hill, he has taught counter-terrorism courses at venues around the world as part of the U.S. Department of Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program and is the author of many books including ‘New’ Terrorism: Myths and Reality and Violent Extremists: Understanding the Domestic and International Terrorist Threat.
Trump’s Ridiculous but Dangerous Speech on the Next Election He is Destined to Lose But Determined to Win by Any Means Necessary
Then finally we assess the dangers of a MAGA rigged election Trump outlined in his ridiculous but dangerous speech ahead of the November election he is destined to lose but is determined to win by any means necessary. Joining us is Dr. Michael McDonald, a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the University of Florida’s Election Lab. His latest book is From Pandemic to Insurrection: Voting in the 2020 US Presidential Election and he does regular voting analysis of the 2026 elections for the US Election Project at michaelmcdonald.substack.com