Right Now With Perry Bacon

A surprisingly close U.S. House race in Tennessee this week was the latest illustration that Donald Trump is increasingly unpopular, even in places that he was strong in 2024. Michigan is another place where the president’s support is softening, says Mallory McMorrow, one of the top Democratic candidates in the state’s U.S. Senate primary. (One of her rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, also appeared on Right Now recently.) McMorrow argued that Trump’s unpopularity is tied to his policies, particularly rising health care prices because the administration refused to increase Obamacare subsidies. The 39-year-old, currently a state senator, called for the Democratic Party to embrace younger candidates. She also discussed how her professional background as an industrial designer distinguishes her in a party dominated by attorneys.

A surprisingly close U.S. House race in Tennessee this week was the latest illustration that Donald Trump is increasingly unpopular, even in places that he was strong in 2024. Michigan is another place where the president’s support is softening, says Mallory McMorrow, one of the top Democratic candidates in the state’s U.S. Senate primary. (One of her rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, also appeared on Right Now recently.) McMorrow argued that Trump’s unpopularity is tied to his policies, particularly rising health care prices because the administration refused to increase Obamacare subsidies. The 39-year-old, currently a state senator, called for the Democratic Party to embrace younger candidates. She also discussed how her professional background as an industrial designer distinguishes her in a party dominated by attorneys.

Is President Trump a lame duck? Maybe. The president’s sagging approval ratings are emboldening Democrats and even some Republicans to increasingly challenge the president. On the latest edition of Right Now, Moira Donegan, a columnist at The Guardian, lists some of the many reasons why Trump seems diminished politically. She argues that he remains a threat to impose authoritarianism on the United States but faces more constraints than earlier this year.

Is President Trump a lame duck? Maybe. The president’s sagging approval ratings are emboldening Democrats and even some Republicans to increasingly challenge the president. On the latest edition of Right Now, Moira Donegan, a columnist at The Guardian, lists some of the many reasons why Trump seems diminished politically. She argues that he remains a threat to impose authoritarianism on the United States but faces more constraints than earlier this year.

The Trump administration and the broader conservative movement is using anti-Black ideas and tropes to further their agenda, says Kimberlé Crenshaw, a renowned legal scholar perhaps best known for her work explaining the concept of intersectionality. A group Crenshaw leads, the African American Policy Forum, recently released a detailed report on the anti-Blackness of the Trump administration. In the latest edition of Right Now, Crenshaw goes into detail on that report. She also criticized the Democratic Party for not defending equity, diversity, and inclusion programs and other civil rights initiatives. She argued that the party should stop disavowing “identity politics” and instead recognize that the right is weaponizing race, gender, and other such matters and that Democrats need a more comprehensive response. She praised Zohran Mamdani for running a campaign that smartly connected racial and identity issues with economic ones.

The Trump administration and the broader conservative movement is using anti-Black ideas and tropes to further their agenda, says Kimberlé Crenshaw, a renowned legal scholar perhaps best known for her work explaining the concept of intersectionality. A group Crenshaw leads, the African American Policy Forum, recently released a detailed report on the anti-Blackness of the Trump administration. In the latest edition of Right Now, Crenshaw goes into detail on that report. She also criticized the Democratic Party for not defending equity, diversity, and inclusion programs and other civil rights initiatives. She argued that the party should stop disavowing “identity politics” and instead recognize that the right is weaponizing race, gender, and other such matters and that Democrats need a more comprehensive response. She praised Zohran Mamdani for running a campaign that smartly connected racial and identity issues with economic ones.

President Trump and his administration are cracking down on universities, trying to force schools to drop inclusive policies if they want to continue to receive federal funding. But there is a separate effort targeting students. As University of Iowa sociology professor Louise Seamster explains in the latest edition of Right Now, the administration is cutting financial aid and slowing programs to cancel student debt that the Biden administration had ramped up. If these changes continue, colleges will gradually start enrolling fewer students of color and fewer students from low-income families, Seamster says. That may be Trump’s intention. With college graduates increasingly voting for Democrats, the GOP fears universities and higher education.

President Trump and his administration are cracking down on universities, trying to force schools to drop inclusive policies if they want to continue to receive federal funding. But there is a separate effort targeting students. As University of Iowa sociology professor Louise Seamster explains in the latest edition of Right Now, the administration is cutting financial aid and slowing programs to cancel student debt that the Biden administration had ramped up. If these changes continue, colleges will gradually start enrolling fewer students of color and fewer students from low-income families, Seamster says. That may be Trump’s intention. With college graduates increasingly voting for Democrats, the GOP fears universities and higher education.