logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
45 m

Checks and Balance: Red faces

The Economist
About this episode

Republicans should have done better. With high inflation and an unpopular president, the stage was set for them to easily take back both chambers of Congress. Instead they look on track to barely capture the House, and the Senate is most likely to stay blue. It was a bad result for Donald Trump, whose handpicked election-denying candidates underperformed horribly. What do the midterm election results mean for America


The Economist’s Elliott Morris assesses how our election model did. We check in, one last time, on the races in Pennsylvania. And The Economist’s James Bennet explains why he thinks Joe Biden shouldn’t seek another term.


John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.


You can now find every episode of Checks and Balance in one place and sign up to our weekly newsletter. For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Sprawl of duty: Trump’s tariff drama
Once again President Donald Trump extended the deadline for spine-stiffening tariffs to go into effect on trading partners. We look at the effects of all the uncertainty. Brazil once dominated the world of football; we ask where it went wrong and assess the route to a comeback. A ... Show More
21m 53s
Jul 8
The French reconnection: Macron in Britain
Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operati ... Show More
21m 10s
Jul 7
Trump card: can he broker a Gaza deal?
While Israel and Hamas officials discuss a ceasefire via mediators in Qatar, a key meeting will take place at the White House today, when Israel’s prime minister talks to the US president. Why the Chinese Communist Party is removing alcohol from official events. And remembering J ... Show More
21m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
Checks and Balance: End of midterm
The big guns are out.  Donald Trump has three rallies planned before election day.  Barack Obama has popped up in several battleground states. The former presidents will, separately, converge on Pennsylvania at the weekend, where Obama will be joined by a lesser-spotted figure on ... Show More
43m 2s
Oct 2022
Checks and Balance: Donkey years
For two years Democrats have held the Holy Grail – control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress. The midterms will, most likely, put an end to that. Divided government is going to make Joe Biden’s agenda much harder to pass: what will the legacy of his first two years ... Show More
41m 13s
Oct 2022
Checks and Balance: Quality control
A celebrity doctor who recently lived out of state.  An ex-football player beset by controversy.  When Mitch McConnell said that “candidate quality”  might handicap Republicans’ chances of taking the Senate, it’s likely he was referring to Mehmet Oz and Herschel Walker.  Democrat ... Show More
42m 11s
Jun 2023
Checks and Balance: Starting places
Chris Christie and Mike Pence have become the latest to enter the Republican primary.  Despite his legal woes Donald Trump commands a huge lead in the early polling and the man thought most likely to challenge him, Ron DeSantis, has been stumbling. Can anyone beat Trump to the no ... Show More
43m 58s
Aug 2023
Checks and Balance: Trump carded
Donald Trump has been charged with the most serious political crime it is possible to commit in a democracy. A special counsel alleges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results, knowing that his claims of fraud were false. What do the latest charges mean for Donald Tr ... Show More
44m 51s
Jan 2024
Checks and Balance: Biden or bust
Joe Biden’s chances against Donald Trump in November do not look good. He is unpopular and his age puts many Americans off. How did it come to this? And what can the Democrats do about it? John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by Congressman ... Show More
47m 15s
Nov 2023
Checks and Balance: Year all about it
If the election were held tomorrow, Donald Trump would probably be the favourite to win.  How should we be thinking about the race with a year to go? And how can the world outside of America prepare itself for the possibility of a second Trump term? John Prideaux hosts with Charl ... Show More
50m 27s
Nov 2022
How Democrats Defied the Odds
This week’s elections have been startlingly close. Control of both chambers of Congress remain up in the air.Historically, the president’s party is blown away in midterms. And the Democrats were further hampered this time round by President Biden’s unpopularity.Considering the he ... Show More
25m 21s
Oct 2022
Why Republicans Are Winning Swing Voters
After a summer of news that favored Democrats and with just two weeks until the midterms, a major new poll from The Times has found that swing voters are suddenly turning to the Republicans.The Times’s Nate Cohn explains what is behind the trend and what it could mean for Electio ... Show More
24m 44s
Aug 2022
Why Democrats Are Bankrolling Far-Right Candidates
Democrats are meddling in Republican primaries this year to an unusual degree, attempting to elevate extremist candidates who they think will be easy to defeat in midterms in the fall.Nowhere has that strategy been more divisive than in the election for a House seat in Michigan.G ... Show More
26m 21s