Day: August 20, 2024

Biden Acknowledges the Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators at the DNC in Chicago Have a Point

We begin with President Biden’s acknowledgement of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the DNC in Chicago in his speech last night when he said “they have got a point”, referring to the desperate need for a ceasefire as the deathcount in Gaza passes 40,000. Joining us is Wendy Pearlman, a professor of political science and director of the Middle East and North Africa studies program at Northwestern University. Her books include Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement, Triadic Coercion: Israel’s Targeting of States That Host Nonstate Actors, and her forthcoming book is The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora. Yesterday she spent the day with the pro-Palestinian protests outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

An Appraisal of Last Night’s Speeches at the DNC

Then we get an appraisal of last night’s speeches at the DNC and speak with Tom LoBianco, a national political reporter for 24sight covering Trump’s third run for the White House who covered the recent Republican convention in Milwaukee. He is the author of the biography of Vice President Mike Pence, Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House, and he previously covered the Trump-Russia investigation and the White House for The Associated Press and the 2016 campaign and Congress for CNN. We discuss his latest article at 24sight, “Biden finds a winning message heading for the exit” and he joins us from the DNC in Chicago.

The Turnaround in the Polls For the Democrats in the Key Swing States of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania

Then finally we assess the turnaround in the polls as the Harris/Walz campaign surges ahead of Trump as they concentrate on the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania with their economic message for working Americans and union members. Joining us is Robert Johnson, the Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. He was Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee and the US Senate Budget Committee.