Day: July 16, 2024

The Disconnect at the RNC Between Trump’s Call For Unity and Partisan Speeches From MAGA Warriors

We begin with day two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and explore the disconnect between Trump’s call for unity and the poisonous partisanship spewing forth from Marjorie Taylor Greene, Senator Ron Johnson (who claims the wrong speech was put into his teleprompter) and Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina who has said “some people need killing”, referring to the Democratic opposition. Joining us from the convention is Tom LoBianco, a national political reporter for 24sight covering Trump’s third run for the White House. He is the author of the biography of Vice President Mike Pence, Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House, and we discuss the difference between Trump’s VP choice J.D. Vance and his previous VP Mike Pence who upheld the Constitution in the face of a murderous insurrection which Vance supports and justifies, promising he would shred the Constitution in service of Trump.

Republicans Pretend to Love Workers While Biden Loses Support Except For Unions

Then we look into last night’s closing speech by the head of the Teamsters Union Sean O’Brien who praised Trump as a survivor of an assassination attempt saying he has proven to be “one tough SOB” and then criticized corporate America as “economic terrorists” while asking for legislation that would empower unions which he didn’t mention Republicans have blocked. Joining us is Harold Meyerson, one of the nation’s best-known progressive columnists and editor-at-large of The American Prospect. We discuss his latest article at The American Prospect, “Republican Make-Believe: Playing Nice and Loving Workers.”

What is Behind Chinese Soldiers Drilling on the Border With Poland and Ukraine?

Then finally with an 11 day military drill involving Chinese soldiers exercising with the Belarusian military ending tomorrow, we speak with Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich, a researcher on Eastern Europe born and raised in Belarus. She is a permanent instructor in Research Methods and Quantitative Analysis at the University of South Florida’s School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and a research fellow and affiliated faculty at the University’s Institute on Russian, European and Eurasian Studies. Her research focuses on international political economy, migration, and protest politics and we discuss the Belarus dictator Lukashenko’s embrace of China as a hedge against the domination of his country by Russia.