Category: Podcast

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Mike and Jay open with a look at the Supreme Court’s decision to rule on whether or not Donald Trump can appeal on the presidential ballot in Colorado. They both predict that the Court will rule for Trump, with Mike thinking that there’s a greater chance of a near-unanimous decision than Jay foresees.

Next is a discussion of President Biden’s unofficial 2024 reelection campaign speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They agree with Biden’s factual accounting of Donald Trump’s actions (and inactions), but Jay argues that Biden’s choice of words was inflammatory and disingenuous. Mike responds that there’s good reason to fear serious consequences for America if Trump wins in 2024.

Then they turn to the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay and how racial animus played into it, followed by more charges being leveled against Senator Robert Menendez, and ending with a discussion of whether or not the Border Patrol should be allowed to remove razor-wire put in place by the state of Texas to deter migrant crossings.

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Mike talks with Seth Kaplan, a Professorial Lecturer at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Professor Kaplan has published widely in the area of development, including two books on fragile states, and has served as a consultant to organizations including the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the OECD. He’s the author of multiple books, the most recent of which is Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time, which they discuss on this episode.

Topics Mike and Seth Discuss Include:
– what it means for a neighborhood to be fragile
– the distinction between economic and social poverty
– key factors driving the increase in social poverty
– top-down vs ‘sideways’ approaches to helping fragile neighborhoods
– programs that have made a real difference
– if we need to rethink the American Dream

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Mike and Jay open the episode with a look at multiple state decisions concerning whether or not Donald Trump is eligible to appear on the GOP primary ballot. They consider the 14^th Amendment’s Insurrection Clause and whether the elements apply to Trump, the authority of state officials to rule on this, and how (or even if) they believe the Supreme Court will rule on the issue.

Following that is a discussion of immigration policy as another large migrant caravan makes its way to the United States. Jay argues that our immigration system is broken and Mike agrees, though he pushes back on Jay’s claim that we have essentially open borders. They discuss what sort of compromise is possible and who may be standing in the way of action on immigration.

Then it’s back to Trump, considering the Supreme Court’s decision to not take up his presidential immunity claim before the D.C. Circuit has a chance to rule. They both see this as the correct decision and a positive development for Trump, even though it’s unlikely he’ll avoid a jury verdict before January of 2025.

They close with what a second Trump term might mean for trade, a prospect both Mike and Jay find deeply troubling.

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Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights by diving into the 1st Amendment’s Free Press clause. They also look at how Free Speech and Free Press are intertwined. Finally, they look at the limits of these rights inside of civil actions along with a discussion of prior restraint.

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Trey and Ken start the episode discussing the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Three key items the hosts zero in on are: the nature of passing it with bipartisan support, the temporary renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and funding for Ukraine.

Next, they discuss the newly passed impeachment inquiry vote in the House along with Hunter Biden’s decision to defy a Congressional subpoena. Here things get heated. Trey sees Hunter’s decision as emblematic of his long standing wrong doing while Ken sees Hunter no differently than how any other family member has exploited the White House for profit. They also disagree over whether he should have testified. Trey says yes and Ken says Hunter was right to defy the order.

The pair close on the most recent events in the Hamas / Israel conflict. This includes a discussion of the growing split on the left over support for Israel and Ken trying to help Trey understand why many on the left see Israel as a colonizer state.

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Mike and Jay open the episode with a discussion of the indictment of Hunter Biden on multiple tax-related charges, as well as the broader House Republican investigation into the Biden family. They agree that Hunter Biden almost certainly cheated the federal government but that there’s nothing yet that links his activities to any illegal actions on the part of Joe Biden. (Though Jay is less certain of this than Mike is.)

From there, they turn to Senate Republicans blocking passage of aid to Ukraine and Israel over demands for more border security. Mike points out that President Biden is ahead of much of his party on this issue, while Jay sees a deal being made sometime before the end of the year.

Next is a look at the indictment of six fake electors in Nevada, which comes after similar actions in other states. Mike sees this as an appropriate action that will give those with crazy ideas pause, while Jay wonders if it may represent the criminalization of politics.

They close on the Supreme Court case of Moore v United States, which has the potential to upend the tax code and cost the federal government trillions of dollars. Neither Mike nor Jay buys the government’s constitutional argument, but Mike thinks that this is a case where pragmatism will likely outweigh constitutional purity. Jay is concerned that the Court could rule in a way that would give Congress too much taxing authority.

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Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights by diving into the 1st Amendment’s Free Speech clause. What, if any, restrictions can government place on speech? What is and to what extent do people have symbolic speech rights? All of this and a host of court cases covered on this week’s episode.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.