Mike talks with Alexander Ward, a national security reporter at Politico and anchor of National Security Daily. He’s the author of the recently released book, The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump, which they discuss on this episode.
Topics Mike and Alexander Cover Include:
- why post-Trump foreign policy needed restoration
- comparing Biden and Trump’s Secretaries of State
- Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
- meeting the rising threat from China
- Russia and the war in Ukraine
- Middle East policy
- North Korea
- climate change
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Alexander Ward on Restoring American Foreign Policy

The Politics Guys is an independent, bipartisan, ideologically diverse American politics and policy podcast hosted by experts: political scientists, law professors, practicing attorneys, and former government officials. Our mission is to give listeners a much-needed break from conservative and liberal echo chambers through civil, rational, and evidence-based discussion of American politics and policy from multiple perspectives. In addition to our weekly news discussion, we feature regular interviews with leading figures from across the ideological spectrum. Past guests include Representatives Jim Jordan, Thomas Massie, and Rob Wittman; Jeffrey Sachs; Tyler Cowen; Bryan Caplan; Dan Carlin; Larry Sabato; and Lawrence Lessig.

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Trey & Ken start the show by delving into the International Court of Justice’s Friday ruling against Israel. Trey and Ken disagree over the scope of the decision as to whether it prohibits further offensive action. Ken believes the ICJ is offering wiggle room and Trey does not.
Staying overseas, the guys talk about the surprising call for snap elections in the United Kingdom. The hosts focus on the motivations behind this decision, especially given recent poll numbers for Conservatives, the potential outcomes, and the impact it could have on British politics.
Next, attention turns to the primary elections in Georgia, Oregon, and Kentucky along with the special election in California. The focus is primarily on the presidential election. Trey believes it points to a low turnout election and Ken is more optimistic.
In Supreme Court news, Trey and Ken finish the show over the landmark ruling on racial gerrymandering. Here Ken believes that Justice Alito is overtly racist and inconsistent. Trey pushes back hard and argues that Ken fundamentally misunderstands Alito’s ruling. They dive deep into the details of the decision. They also address the recent Alito flag controversy.
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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.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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ICJ and Israel, British Elections, Presidential Primaries, Racial Gerrymandering

Mike talks about the The Kevin Rose Show. Hope you enjoy it too.

Introducing The Kevin Rose Show

Trey talks with Elizabeth Neumann, former Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about her recently released book Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace. 
Topics Trey and Elizabeth Cover Include

from foreign extremism to domestic extremism

the Christian case against extremism

the evolution of religion and politics

how left and right differ in extremist activities


Follow Elizabeth on X, and check out Kingdom of Rage
The Politics Guys on Facebook | X 
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.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

Mike and Trey kick off the previeww of this midweek supporters’ episode with a look at the Supreme Court’s upholding the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mike and Trey think this was the right call, with Trey arguing that Justices Alito and Gorsuch are conflating the unconstitutional with what they may believe to be unwise public policy.
Next, they discuss how AT&T improperly influenced the Illinois legislature into passing bills favorable to the company. This turns into a broader discussion of the problem of state and local-level corruption and why it may be worse today than it has been in the recent past.
Following that they turn to stadium subsidies – why voters approve them, why economists hate them, and what can be done to make it harder for pro sports owners to tell cities, ‘pay up or we’re moving’.
They close with Trey discussing why many evangelicals support Israel, and how his support differs. Before long, they end up in some deeper theological and philosophical waters.
Mike’s other podcast is Sustainable Planet.
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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.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
 
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CFPB Survives, AT&T Bribery, Stadium Subsidies, Supporting Israel

Mike and Trey open with a discussion of the Biden administration’s recently announced tariffs on China. Trey is no fan of protectionism, but he understands Mike’s points concerning US issues with China’s trade practices. They both agree that Donald Trump’s approach to China would almost certainly be more tariff-heavy than Biden’s.
Then they turn to presidential debates, which will happen without the Commission on Presidential Debates. Trey points out how early the first of the two scheduled debates will be, which Mike attributes to Biden wanting to give debating Trump a try far enough ahead of the election that it won’t do much damage if things go off the rails.
From there they move to the Supreme Court allowing Louisiana’s congressional redistricting map to go into effect. Trey points out the difficult position Louisiana’s legislature is in, caught between the Equal Protection Clause and the Voting Rights Act. Mike is most sympathetic to the view of Justice Jackson, who felt that the Court shouldn’t have gotten involved at this point.
They close with a discussion of US aid to Israel. Mike doesn’t think it unreasonable for the US to put conditions on its support of Israel, or to withhold support entirely if aid is being used in a way we believe to be morally unacceptable. Trey points out that were neighboring countries more willing to take in Palestinians, the situation might be far less dire than it currently is.
Check out Let’s Find Common Ground.
Mike’s other podcast is Sustainable Planet.
The Politics Guys on Facebook | X 
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. 
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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Alexander Ward on Restoring American Foreign Policy

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