How has the second Trump presidency differed from the first? How did Trump’s experiences during his time out of office and on the campaign trail in 2024—including his trial in New York and the assassination attempts—shape him? What can we expect in the months and years ahead? In this Conversation, Jonathan Karl, a leading chronicler of Donald Trump and author of Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign that Shaped America, argues for the centrality of retribution in understanding Donald Trump’s second presidency. Drawing on his extraordinary access to the president over many years, Karl reflects on how we got here and considers where we might be going.
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Timothy Snyder on the Trump Administration at Home, and What’s at Stake in Ukraine
Where do things stand in the United States nine months into the second Trump administration? Where do things stand in Ukraine, and what are the implications of the war for the future of liberal democracy around the globe? In this Conversation, the distinguished historian Timothy Snyder reflects on the situation of the United States, Eastern Europe, and the politics of the current moment.
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James Carville on Politics Today, 2026, and 2028
“It’s hard for me to imagine a voter that votes in 2026 that doesn’t have Trump on their mind.”According to veteran Democratic strategist James Carville, Trump "keeps jacking the stakes up, every day” and remains the focal point of American politics as we head towards the midterms next year. As he puts it, the Republican Party has become a “personality cult” while the Democratic Party is "a coalition in search of itself." As he explains: “I don’t think Democrats can know who they are until Democratic primary voters weigh in and decide. It’s not up to me to say what the Democratic Party should be. It’s for eight people to run for president and then have Democratic primary voters pick one, and then that’s what the party becomes.” In a wide-ranging Conversation, Carville shares his distinctive perspective and characteristically shrewd insights on where our politics might be headed as we look toward the midterms and 2028.
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Aaron Friedberg on the Trump Administration's Surprising China Policy
The second Trump administration’s approach to China so far differs from the more consistently hawkish posture of the first term. To analyze the increasingly dangerous state of our geopolitical situation and the threat posed by China, we are joined again by Princeton professor Aaron Friedberg. According to Friedberg, China continues to strengthen in military, technological, and geopolitical might as it continues to advance its ties to Russia and North Korea. Meanwhile, in Washington, the position seems to be emerging that the US can make a deal with China, as well as draw back from American positions in Europe and elsewhere. As Friedberg puts it, this policy would leave American allies in Europe and Asia more vulnerable to China and Russia—countries that have their own differences but are united by an “ideology that’s anti-Western, anti-liberal, anti-democratic. And that’s a pretty powerful force.” Friedberg argues that the various and growing threats to the US and the world order remain ever more interconnected. To counter these threats, the US must increase engagement around the world and strengthen collaboration with allies—rather than “making deals” with adversaries while retreating from global commitments.
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Anne Applebaum on Ukraine, Europe, Trump, and the Danger of Authoritarianism
Much has happened since we were last joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum in February, including the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska and the Zelensky visit to the White House that provoked an alarmed and last-minute rush to join by European heads of state. In this Conversation, Applebaum shares her perspective on the situation on the ground in Ukraine and the response in European capitals to reduced US support for Ukraine on the battlefield. Drawing on her recent book Autocracy, Inc, out this week in paperback, Applebaum considers the growing authoritarian threat and dangers to liberal democracy on both sides of the Atlantic. As she states, “the farther you go down the road [to authoritarianism], the harder it becomes to turn back.”
Ireland