DMZ America with Ted Rall & Scott Stantis

Trump recently reconfirmed that he plans to carry out his campaign pledge to enforce mass deportations of many of the 10 million migrants with varying statuses who have entered the United States in recent years. Some overstayed their tourist visas. Some snuck across the border, the so-called “got-aways.” But the majority arrived legally and were admitted as asylum applicants—a status the new Administration plans to revoke. At the helm of this massive undertaking will be former ICE chief Tom Homan, a hardliner who promises no mercy in his plans, including the separation of children from their parents by force of arms.

ICE will probably take lead on detentions, but the military may be involved in the construction and administration of Trump’s gulag archipelago of concentration camps. Profiting, as always, will be the prison-industrial complex.

On the DMZ America podcast, Scott and Ted explore the legal and logistical challenges for Trump. History suggests that not enough Americans will care to make a difference. The co-hosts and friends also consider whether or not there will be substantial political implications: will Americans care enough about these new arrivals to protest and sabotage the program? Scott focuses on the economics. Decreased consumption, reduced tax collections and increased labor shortages could stymie the economy and add trillions to the deficit.

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

During the campaign, President-Elect Donald Trump promised to bring a rapid conclusion to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that began in 2022. But most Americans aren't aware of how or why the war began in the first place. Now the waters are getting further muddied by a decision of President Biden, a lame duck with just two months left in his term, to allow Ukraine to fire long-range American missiles deep into Russia itself. 

The DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) review the relationship between Russia, Ukraine in the United States, how the current conflict began either in 2014 or 2022 depending on your point of view, and how it is likely to end. Can Trump make good on his promise? 

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

As President-Elect Donald Trump fills out his cabinet and key White House positions, including creating a new government-efficiency office for Elon Musk, the DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are joined by their colleague, fellow political cartoonist Ben Sargent, formerly of the Austin American-Statesman and now at the Texas Observer.

Republicans are urging a peaceful easy feeling between Americans whether or not they voted for Trump, but is that possible with an ideologically far-right slate of top personnel? On the other hand, many in MAGA world seem disappointed that Trump’s appointees include long-time Washington “swamp creatures.” Whatever happened to draining the swamp?

If personnel is policy, what do these choices harken about Trump’s intended policies for his second term?

Ben Sargent is the Texas Observer's longtime cartoonist. He launched his career drawing editorial cartoons for the Austin American-Statesman in 1974. Sargent won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1982. He has also received awards from Women in Communications, Inc., Common Cause of Texas, and Cox Newspapers. He is the author of Texas Statehouse Blues and Big Brother Blues.

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

President-Elect Donald Trump has made headlines with an extraordinarily esoteric group of appointments to his cabinet and other top jobs in his incoming second administration. Controversial alleged sex criminal Matt Gaetz has been named Attorney General, the nations chief law-enforcement officer. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., widely if somewhat unfairly described as a skeptic of vaccinations, has been nominated to run the Department of Health and Human Services. The Defense Department will be run by a 44-year-old Fox weekend host, Pete Hegseth. Tulsi Gabbard will be Director of National Intelligence.

The DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) consider this cast of characters and handicap the odds of being able to get them through a standard Senate confirmation process. Always aware of history, Ted and Scott also ask the question: who are the worst Cabinet members in U.S. history and are Trump’s choices likely to join their ranks?

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

The Democratic Party finds itself in nearly as much disarray as the GOP did following Barry Goldwater’s 1964 defeat to LBJ. DMZ America co-hosts Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) turn to American political scientist Charles Lipson to dissect what went wrong for the Democrats in the election and to discuss their prospects for renewal. Can Democrats follow the Republican example and rebuild their grassroots organization from the ground up at the local level? Can they free themselves of their addiction to corporate money in order to increase their populist appeal? Or should the party add domestic policy to a foreign policy that has already moved to the Right of the Republicans, completing a realignment that reverses much of what transpired between 1928 and 1932?

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

DMZ America co-hosts Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) turn to their colleague, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore, known for his hard-hitting animated shorts about U.S. politics, to discuss the fallout of the 2024 election results and to prepare for another four years of satirizing Donald Trump. In what ways can we expect Trump’s second term to differ from his first, and does that mean approaching and criticizing him using a new or different approach? Should we expect the unexpected, and if so what?

The Wall Street Journal has called Mark Fiore “the undisputed guru of the [animated political cartoon] form.” His work has appeared on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, Newsweek.com, Slate.com, CBSNews.com, MotherJones.com, NPR’s web site and is currently being featured by KQED.  Fiore’s political animation has appeared on CNN, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, Salon.com and cable and broadcast outlets across the globe.  Mark Fiore was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 2010 and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 2004.

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

DMZ America co-hosts Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) look back at the only other president in history who returned to the White House after having served and then been defeated: Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th Presidents the United States who served 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.

Cleveland was a Democrat renowned for honesty and probity, but otherwise there are some remarkable parallels between Cleveland and Donald Trump. Both were portly, had healthy libidos and a predilection for age-inappropriate wives, were skeptical of military imperialism and favored pro-business policies that prompted a reaction by labor. Listen to these two history buff’s take on a 19th century leader we’ll all be hearing more about in the years to come. 

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

DMZ America co-hosts Ted Rall (from the Left) and Manila Chan (from the Right) analyze Donald Trump’s shocking reelection victory and the Republican sweep of Congress. What should we expect from a second Trump term: A federal ban on abortion rights? Mass deportations? Tariffs on Chinese imports? An end to the war in Ukraine? Gaza? 

The Democratic blame game has already begun. Corporate DNC Democrats say Harris couldn’t have done anything differently, but that can’t possibly be true. Were working class voters turned off by glitzy campaign events showcasing Hollywood celebrities at a time when they were struggling with high prices and stagnant wages? Was progressive turnout depressed by Harris’ refusal to throw them a bone, especially on the genocide in Gaza? Did Democrats overreach with lawfare and an endless barrage of attacks against Trump rather than state an affirmative policy case for Kamala?

Or is it just a very conservative country?

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

It may feel surreal, but tens of millions of Americans have already voted and the wild 2024 presidential campaign comes to an end in days. The DMZ America podcast, which began at the beginning of the Biden Administration, reviews how we've arrived at this unexpected contest between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey, formerly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, joins DMZ co-hosts and cartoonist pals Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) to analyze the closing minutes of the race and make their predictions.

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com

Two major newspapers owned by billionaires with business interests tied to the government, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, prompted reader anger when they nullified their intention to endorse Kamala shortly before the election. More than 250,000 people canceled their Post subscriptions.

The non-endorsement scandals are the latest manifestation of Americans' longstanding distrust of the news media upon which democracy depends in order to function.

In the 1970s, when the media went after Nixon, Watergate and the Vietnam War, 70% of people told Gallup they trusted the media. Now, just 31% express a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly."

Why so much distrust? What are the different reasons people with different politics cite for their feelings?

What and how can media organizations and reporters do to restore trust?

The DMZ America Podcast is recorded weekly by political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis.

Twitter/X: @scottstantis and @tedrall

Web: Rall.com