Background Briefing: January 23, 2023

Another Gift From Biden to Trump and Whether Biden Should Not Run in 2024

We begin with more classified documents found at Biden’s residence in what can only be described as a gift to Donald Trump who, although his theft of classified documents is infinitely more egregious, the impression that many independents and much of the public might have is that all presidents do it and therefore it’s not a big deal. Joining us to discuss whether this means Trump is continuing to stay one step ahead of the sheriff and whether it is time for Biden to announce he is not running in 2024 is Jonathan Alter, an analyst and contributing correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. He is a former senior editor and columnist for Newsweek, where he worked twenty-eight years and is the author of The Promise: President Obama, Year One and The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, both New York Times bestsellers, and his latest books are The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies and His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life. He runs the Substack newsletter “old goats” and we discuss his article at The New York Times, “Oh, Biden, What Have You Done?

 

Congressman Ruben Gallego’s Announcement Today He is Running to Replace Sinema

Then with Congressman Ruben Gallego announcing today he is running as a Democrat for the US Senate seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema who recently declared herself an independent, we speak with Jim Small, Editor In Chief of the Arizona Mirror, a non-profit newsroom in Phoenix that covers state and local politics and government. A native Arizonan, he has covered state government, policy and politics since 2004 and previously was the Executive Director and Editor of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting as well as the Editor of the Arizona Capitol Times and we discuss Gallego’s impressive life story and his dig at Sinema that “The rich and the powerful, they don’t need more advocates.”

 

Attacks on Academic Freedom by DeSantis and at Harvard and Hamline Universities

 Then finally we look into the attacks on academic freedom by Governor DeSantis and at Harvard and Hamline Universities and speak with David Schultz a Professor of Political Science at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota School of Law. He is the author of 30 books and various articles on American politics, ethics, election law, and the media, most recently Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter, Election Law and Democratic Theory , and American Politics in the Age of Ignorance: Why Lawmakers Choose Belief Over Research.