The Political Scene | The New Yorker

There will be a variety of celebrations to honor America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary this year. Much of it is to be expected: fireworks, red, white, and blue lights, even a military parade. But something else is happening, something that probably wouldn’t occur if anyone other than Donald Trump were President. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premier league for mixed martial arts, is staging a fight at the White House. The U.F.C. was founded in 1993, and exploded in popularity after Dana White took over as president of the company, in 2001. He’s also been friends with Donald Trump for a quarter century, and spoke on the President’s behalf at all three Republican National Conventions where Trump was the nominee. He’s stumped for him at rallies, and Trump even called him up to speak at his victory celebration on Election Night in 2024. David Remnick and White discuss his remarkable rise to prominence, and his relationship with the increasingly unpopular President. “He’s not a racist,” White tells Remnick. “He’s not a fascist. He loves this country. And if you’re an American—race, religion, whatever it is—President Trump is on your team, that I guarantee you.”
Further reading: 

“Donald Trump’s U.F.C. Victory Party,” by Sam Eagan

“Cage-Fighting During a Pandemic: Is This the Future of Sports?,” by Kelefa Sanneh

“Fighting for Trump: The U.F.C. Comes to New York City,” by Kelefa Sanneh

See the Washington Roundtable live at 92NY on June 4th.
The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.

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The Washington Roundtable discusses the growing political backlash to artificial intelligence, especially among young Americans, and asks whether Washington, D.C., is capable of regulating A.I. companies. They’re joined by Nate Soares, the executive director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and co-author of the book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.” The group explores what was behind the White House’s sudden reversal on an A.I.-safety executive order this week, the outsized influence of venture capitalists in the A.I. industry, and how A.I. may turbocharge the next populist movement in American politics. “My impression is that a lot of the people protesting data centers can sort of tell that this A.I. stuff is taking the world somewhere they don’t want,” Soares says. “They can tell that there’s this big corporate race that will either kill them or make them a permanent underclass.”
See the Washington Roundtable live at 92NY on June 4th.
This week’s reading:

“Can Hakeem Jeffries Lead a Democratic Takeover of the House?,” by Jason Zengerle

“Sam Altman Won in Court Against Elon Musk. But, Really, We All Lost,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus

“Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?,” by Amy Davdison Sorkin

“What Thomas Massie’s Race Says About Trump’s Influence,” by Jon Allsop

“Clarence Thomas Against Progressivism—and Progressives,” by Ruth Marcus

“A Republican Bloodbath in the Texas Senate Primary Is Giving Democrats Hope,” by Rachel Monroe

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The New Yorker staff writer Jason Zengerle joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss his Profile of Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader. They talk about how Jeffries has balanced resisting Donald Trump’s agenda with holding together an increasingly fractious Democratic caucus, and whether Jeffries’ measured persona and “light touch” as a leader are an asset or a weakness in the current climate. They also consider the Democrats’ chances of reclaiming the House in the 2026 midterms—and what Jeffries could realistically accomplish if he becomes Speaker.
This week’s reading:

“Can Hakeem Jeffries Lead a Democratic Takeover of the House?,” by Jason Zengerle

“Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin

“The Gaza Peace Plan Has Gone Nowhere,” by Isaac Chotiner

“What Thomas Massie’s Race Says About Trump’s Influence,” by Jon Allsop

“Benjamin Netanyahu’s War at Home,” by Bernard Avishai

See the Washington Roundtable live at 92NY on June 4th.
The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives during intense disputes about American history, as the Trump Administration demands a more glorifying view of the nation’s past at federally run historical sites and in federally funded projects. The staff writer Jill Lepore (who won the Pulitzer Prize in History this month for her book “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution”) guest-hosts a special episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour about this fraught moment, reflecting on the responsibility of academic historians to shape the public debate. She compares our moment with the bicentennial—which fell in the wake of the Vietnam War and the scandals of Richard Nixon’s Presidency—in a conversation with the Yale historian Beverly Gage. Lepore looks at the nature of the country’s war over history with Jelani Cobb, the dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at The New Yorker. They discuss the Donald Trump-approved “Freedom 250” projection on the Washington Monument, and talk about how Americans can meaningfully participate in the semiquincentennial. If “we’re sitting around waiting for the occupant of the White House to tell us what American history means,” Lepore says, “you just kind of want to walk into traffic.” 
Further reading: 

America at 250, a special issue of The New Yorker

“Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?,” by Jill Lepore

“Scandal, Protest, Goofiness, and Grandeur at the U.S. Bicentennial,” by Jill Lepore

“Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations,” by Jelani Cobb

“This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History,” by Beverly Gage

See the Washington Roundtable live at 92NY on June 4th.
The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Representative Jason Crow, of Colorado, an Army Ranger veteran, member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, and one of the so-called Seditious Six, members of Congress whom Donald Trump threatened to have arrested for recording a video which reminded servicemembers that they are not required to follow illegal orders. Crow is also co-leading the Democratic Party’s effort to recruit and train a new generation of congressional candidates, placing him at the center of an urgent dilemma: how can the Party translate growing anxiety over the economy and the war in Iran into a coherent, winning message? His answer, in part, is to go “hyper-local,” build coalitions, and ignore the noise. “I tell these folks that you’re basically running your campaign like you’re running for mayor of your district,” Crow says. “Ignore Fox News, ignore the cable news networks, ignore the algorithms. You can’t control that, anyhow.”
See the Washington Roundtable live at 92NY on June 4th.
This week’s reading:

“When Trump’s Away,” by Antonia Hitchens

“What the Gerrymandering Wars Mean for the Midterms—and 2028,” by Isaac Chotiner

“Will Donald Trump be Allowed to Destroy His Records?,” by Ruth Marcus

“The Looming Disaster of the Border Wall in Big Bend, Texas,” by Rachel Monroe

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices