This past Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was speaking to a packed theater of supporters in Los Angeles when she took a victory lap over the defeat of the American Health Care Act. The Massachusetts lawmaker—already pegged by President Donald Trump as a possible 2020 opponent—complimented progressives for having successfully “fought back against the biggest assault on health care in the history of our country.

This is a transcript from the April 24 edition of Trumpcast. These transcripts are lightly edited and may contain errors. For the definitive record, consult the podcast. Virginia Heffernan: My guest today is Reza Aslan. He’s written three books on religion: No god but God, which is about Islam; Beyond Fundamentalism, which is about religious extremism; and Zealot, which is about Jesus of Nazareth.

If the White House were anthropomorphic tableware (why not?), it would be an extremely leaky, fractious teacup. There would be a tempest inside it. And if that’s too many metaphors for you, you’re also probably not crazy about the multitude of voices and perspectives that are, according to some people (but not all people) warring within the West Wing and then dribbling out to the rest of us in the form of disembodied mutterings.

On Sunday, during an interview with conservative writer Selena Zito, President Trump channeled his inner Harry Turtledove with a small bit of alternative history. “I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn’t have had the Civil War,” said the president. “He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said “There’s no reason for this.

Donald Trump campaigned as a dealmaker. The entire premise of his candidacy was that he’d glower across a conference room table and, using his business guy skillz, defeat the enemies of American greatness to win the sweet end of the lollipop for his voters. He seemed to define good governance as little more than shrewd haggling. If Ronald Reagan was the Great Communicator, Trump would be the Great Negotiator.

In the final months of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly asked one question: “What the hell do you have to lose?” Many voters knew they didn’t like Hillary Clinton, but they weren’t sure about Trump. He had never served in public office. Maybe he’d shake things up in a good way. They figured he couldn’t make things worse. But he has.

Last year, I began talking to a panel of Republican voters who weren’t fond of Donald Trump. I spoke to them during the primaries in March, after Trump became the presumptive nominee in May, and just before the election at the end of October. This was never a scientific undertaking—my sample size is tiny, found through my own social and professional networks.

Why did FBI Director James Comey issue a last-minute letter about Hillary Clinton’s emails that may have tipped the outcome of the 2016 election? Why did he rebuke Clinton earlier that summer, breaking with FBI protocol? Why did he speak publicly about the investigation, even as he chose not to disclose the FBI’s inquiry into Russian contacts with associates of Donald Trump? Critics believe that Comey did these things to hurt Clinton.

Bill O’Reilly and the Fox News Channel have negotiated an exit deal for the highest rated host in cable news. Thanks in part to vigorous reporting on numerous sexual-harassment allegations against him, a number of advertisers pulled spots from The O’Reilly Factor, which has now aired its final episode.

If there’s one thing that’s united Republicans since the Reagan era, it’s enthusiasm for tax cuts. But these days one gets the unmistakable impression that the Laffercurve dream has died. For one thing, the Trump administration has reportedly abandoned the ludicrously large tax cut the president campaigned on last year. And in an interview with the Financial Times, U.S.