President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard from red states into blue cities isn’t just a partisan attack; it’s also a geographic one. In the 2024 election, Donald Trump won rural areas by 40 percentage points. And you could see what’s been happening in Washington, D.C., and Chicago as a rural political coalition militarily occupying urban centers. Th ... Show More
Jul 31
How Trump Has Changed, With Maggie Haberman
The first year of President Trump’s second term was a whirlwind of action: on immigration, on trade, on political retribution. But things seem to me to be slowing down quite a bit. Trump is incredibly unpopular, and he’s now bogged down in a war with Iran that he doesn’t seem cap ... Show More
58m 57s
Jul 28
What is the Democratic Party? What Could It Be?
President Trump is very unpopular right now. But polls show the Democratic Party is just as unpopular – if not more so. So what can the party do about it? But to answer that question, you first have to understand what the Democratic Party is. That is, mechanically, what is it? Wh ... Show More
57m 31s
Aug 2025
Trump’s Political Theater Won’t Save D.C.
<p>President Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and is threatening to do so in other American cities. On this episode of “The Opinions,” the Opinion national politics writer Michelle Cottle is joined by the columnists Jamelle Bouie and David French to debate w ... Show More
34m 11s
Oct 2024
The Fight for Rural America
Tim Walz, a former high school football coach from a tiny town, has folksy sayings and a camo cap. JD Vance shot to fame with “Hillbilly Elegy,” aiming to speak for parts of rural America that felt left behind.Both parties — especially with their vice-presidential candidates — ar ... Show More
51m 7s
Oct 2025
Trump's War on Blue America
Donald Trump orders National Guard troops to Chicago and Portland, making good on his promise to generals to use American cities as "training grounds." Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss the court order—issued by a Trump-appointed judge—that blocked the deployment in Portland, the mi ... Show More
1h 26m
Oct 2024
Can Democrats win back rural voters?
Wisconsin wasn’t always a battleground state, but following Trump’s victory there in 2016, Democrats are trying to regain their footing among rural voters.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Rob Byers ... Show More
25m 16s