Month: July 2024

As Biden and the Democrats Circle the Wagons, Concerns Persist in the Rest of the Country, Meanwhile Trump Gets a Free Pass in the Media

We begin with Democratic lawmakers and officials heeding the call from the White House to circle the wagons in support of Joe Biden while the rest of the country appears to still have serious doubts and concerns as Biden’s problems instead of the problem of Trump continue to dominate the headlines.  Joining us is Bill Scher, the politics editor of the Washington Monthly. He is the host of the history podcast When America Worked and the co-host of the bipartisan online show and podcast The DMZ. We discuss his article at The Washington Monthly, “I’ve Defended Biden for Years. Now, I’m Asking Him to Withdraw” and another “How Kamala Can Win (Without Mini-Primary Madness).”

The 75th Anniversary of NATO at a Washington Summit Concerned About Biden and Afraid Trump Could be Reelected 

Then we examine day one of the NATO summit in Washington DC celebrating the 75th year of the alliance now being tested by a war in Ukraine and concerns among allies about Biden’s staying power and fears of a return of Trump who would all but destroy NATO and reward his friend Putin. Joining us is James Goldgeier, Professor in the School of International Relations and the Former Dean of International Service at American University, a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and Visiting Fellow at Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. He has held a number of public policy appointments, including Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council Staff, and his books include America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11, Power and Purpose: U.S. Policy toward Russia after the Cold War, and Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO.

While NATO is Not Ready For Ukraine to Join, Will it Sustain Ukraine Over the Long Haul?

Then finally we speak with Natalie Melnyczuk, a consultant on Euro-Atlantic security and a professor of political science at Wayne State University. She has served as NATO Representative to Ukraine as the Head of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv, as a Political Officer in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Section at NATO HQ in Brussels, as Manager of  U.S.A.I.D.’s  Parliamentary Development Project at the U.S. – Ukraine Foundation and in various other academic and policy positions. We discuss how NATO is not ready to make Ukraine a member but is expected to sustain Ukraine’s war effort over the long haul since Putin has made it clear he has no interest in peace, only victory.