A Strange Week in Politics
“It’s extraordinary how much politics have been warped in the Trump era.”
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.
This week, a range of political headlines continue to raise questions about the looming presidential election. The adult-film star Stormy Daniels took the stand in the third week of former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. The prolonged developments in Trump’s trial have prompted some Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, to consider the possibility of a sitting president facing an open indictment.
Meanwhile, Governor Kristi Noem, rumored to be a potential vice-presidential candidate for Trump, has abruptly ended the book tour for her memoir, No Going Back, published this month. Noem has faced a series of bruising interviews since the book’s release, especially regarding passages about the killing of her 14-month-old dog and a claim that she met the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Debate over Trump’s choice for vice president remains open, with names such as Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina still in the ring.
On the campaign trail, both President Joe Biden and Trump are contending with what a viable third-party candidate could mean for their chances this November. At the center of these discussions is the presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who also reportedly confirmed that a dead worm was found in his brain more than a decade ago—and whether his impact in swing states like Michigan could chip away at Biden’s bid for reelection.
Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic and moderator, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Elaina Plott Calabro, a staff writer for The Atlantic; Jonathan Karl, the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News; and Vivian Salama, a national politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Watch the full episode here.