About this episode

The episode discusses Trump's aggressive stance towards Iran and the implications for US foreign policy, alongside the dynamics within the Democratic Party regarding socialism.

It's groundhog day in the White House, as Donald Trump reverts back to all out war with Iran, bombing essential targets and threatening escalation if Iran refuses to open the Strait of Hormuz. Is there any genuine optimism in Washington that the regime could fall—or is this 'hit em hard' attitude a cover for a foreign policy running out of options? If there is no appetite for real military action in US politics, are we left with an Iran War being used as a political statement rather than a coherent military strategy? Also in this episode: the Democratic Socialists of America. Centrist Democrats are making a stand against a group of socialists that include Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, promising 'capitalism not socialism', but are they being pulled leftwards on the economy? Troy Jackson, aka Johnny Cash of the Allagash, is a Democratic Socialist, and is currently favourite to replace the disgraced Graham Platner as the candidate for Maine.  Finally, Katy Balls and Gerard Baker look ahead to Trump's prime-time address on Thursday. White House aides are increasingly nervous; Trump is expected to use the broadcast to aggressively attack the integrity of US voting…

People in this episode

Hosts: Katy Balls, Gerard Baker

Guest: Troy Jackson

Topics covered

• US-Iran relations
• foreign policy
• political strategy
• Democratic Socialists
• midterm elections
• Trump's address

Keywords

• Trump
• Iran
• foreign policy
• Democratic Socialists
• midterm elections
• political strategy
• Katy Balls
• Gerard Baker

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Democratic Socialists of America, The Times, The Wall Street Journal

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