Background Briefing: March 13, 2024
As Gazans Starve, Will Netanyahu Cross Biden’s “Red Line” and Invade Rafah?
We begin with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and assess whether there is a deliberate policy of starvation underway, while the US and others resort to BandAid solutions of air drops and building a pier. Joining us to discuss Biden’s warning that Netanyahu will be crossing a “red line” if he goes ahead with an invasion of Rafah is Omar Shakir, who serves as the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch. He investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza and has authored several major reports, including a 2021 report comprehensively documenting how Israeli authorities are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians. As a result of his advocacy, the Israeli government deported Omar in November 2019.
Third Party Spoilers Already Have 17% of the Vote and Will Hurt Biden More Than Trump
Then we look into the array of third party spoilers led by RFK Jr., along with Jill Stein, Cornel West and No Labels, who together already have 17% of the vote and will clearly hurt Biden a lot more than Trump. Joining us is David Faris, a professor of political science at Roosevelt University in Chicago and a regular contributor to Salon, The Week and Newsweek. He is the author of Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics and, most recently, The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America. His recent article at Salon is “Three Comforting Lies Democrats Need to Stop Telling Themselves About November” and we discuss his latest, “Trump and Biden Should Both Be Terrified of the Third-Party Vote”
Will Money From Malign Foreign Dictators Bail Out Trump?
Then finally we investigate the real possibility of money from malign foreign dictators bailing out Trump with the half a billion he has to put up in bonds in the cases against him in New York. Joining us is David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and bestselling author of The Making of Donald Trump. A 13 year veteran of The New York Times, his latest book is The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family and he is also the co-founder of DCReport.org. We discuss his article at MSNBC, “The many reasons Trump’s $91.6 million bond should vex voters” and how Trump is extorting corporate America by trashing companies like TikTok (who the House just voted to shut down) as well as Budweiser, then after getting campaign donations from them, praising and supporting them.