The DSR Network

Donald Trump’s ban on a range of Canadian imports just went into effect, and The New York Times calls this a sign that the trade war has grown “vicious.” In a rambling tirade this week, Trump upped the ante in a dark way, calling Canada “one of the worst countries in the entire world.” Trump also said almost in passing that we get along with China better than we get along with Canada. We think it shouldn’t pass unnoticed just how casually Trump will toss aside a longtime ally. Trump also unleashed his top trade adviser to say sneeringly nasty things about Canada and Canadians, another sign that MAGA nationalism is growing more malicious. Meanwhile, Republicans tell the Los Angeles Times that the trade war is really bad news for the GOP. In one focus group, almost all swing voters in Michigan opposed it. We talked to New Republic contributing editor Virginia Heffernan, who’s been writing well about the economic roots of GOP midterm woes. She explains why it’s so dumb of Trump to order Americans to hate Canada—and why it’s all tailor made to get MAGA-adjacent “diesel class” voters to turn on Trump. 

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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we discuss Pete Hegseth’s orders for the military to defend the midterms, US bans on Canadian imports taking effect, Alito backing out of a blockbuster Supreme Court case, and more.

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Republicans leaking about the midterms are growing more alarmed. One GOP operative in Iowa says this: “It feels like it could be a wipeout.” In story after story, Republicans are confiding about their mounting panic. A GOP pollster who privately told donors that the Senate might hold was mocked by Republicans themselves as “delusional.” Meanwhile, over the last few days, Trump has unraveled in a series of panicky Truth Social posts. In one, he ranted at length about how great the economy is and ordered Americans to “VOTE FOR REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES.” In several other posts, he raged at the media for reporting “Fake Polls” while not reporting all the fabulous economic news. We talked to Melissa Toufanian, managing director at the progressive firm Navigator Research, which has done interesting polling on Trump supporters who now regret their vote. She explains what’s really happening with voters in red states with big races, what focus groups reveal about how Trump-backing constituencies see him now, and why politicians from both parties should listen carefully to what voters are really telling them.

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we break down the results of the Trump/Xi meeting, Trump attempting to cancel $810 million of congressional spending, Trump’s planned meeting with AI leaders, and more.

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A few days ago, Donald Trump exploded in an extended tirade at news organizations. Why? Because they had suspended TV pool coverage of him to show solidarity with three news outlets he’d banned from the White House. This resulted in no TV footage of his reception of Xi Jinping at the White House. Trump absurdly raged that news orgs were trying to deny him coverage of a major success. But in saying this, he actually revealed that he badly needs the attention of news outlets. Without this attention, he shrivels. His fury shows that if news orgs collectively join together to resist things like his press ban—which has now been blocked in court—it can actually work. We talked to Paul Waldman, author of a good piece on Trump’s diminishing stature. We discuss the ways Trump’s power is a media creation, why this saga shows we need more collective institutional resistance to him, and what that might look like as he keeps shrinking. (After we recorded, Trump banned just CNN more narrowly, excluding it from Air Force One, but it’s unclear whether that will last.)

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Are the United States and China entering a new era? Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington has been all over the news in recent days, and for good reason. Between trade, climate challenges, and the growing role of the tech industry in politics, US-China policy is shaping the geopolitical landscape as we know it. Jessica Chen Weiss, David M. Lampton Professor of China Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, joins David Rothkopf to discuss the current state of US-China relations and the optics behind Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping.

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On the DSR Daily Live for Friday, Tara McGowan joins us to discuss Trump’s extravagant dinner with Xi Jinping, the White House reinstating access to banned outlets, new polls ahead of the 2026 midterms, and more. 

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AI dread has spread. Even CEOs of major AI companies are forecasting doom and gloom, including the potential end of mankind. But how much of what they say is an honest appraisal, and how much is driven by ulterior motives? NYU’s Paul Barrett joins David Rothkopf to discuss his recent piece for Tech Policy Press and explain why we can’t let doomer CEOs or competition with China distract from sensible AI regulation.

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Iowa radio host Steve Deace just unleashed an extraordinary social media screed. He confided that GOP pollsters have informed House Republicans that GOP +15 districts are now straight toss-ups, and GOP +10 districts are now “underwater.” He said he regrets this deeply—he badly wants Donald Trump to succeed—but critically, he also declared bluntly that Trump and his Iran war are fully to blame for this fiasco. In a serious humiliation for Trump, he sharply criticized the war’s rationale and warned that this is “risking what’s left of the Trump presidency.” Ouch! This state of play is confirmed by Trump’s own super PAC, which is sinking money into deep red Iowa districts. So we talked to Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart. She discusses whether the landscape is as bad as Deace says, why Trumpy areas are turning on the president, and how to convert this moment into durable gains in rural America. 

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Donald Trump gave Xi Jinping quite the welcome after his arrival in Washington. At the same time Trump is trying to cuddle up to Beijing, he continues his attacks against freedom of the press by banning certain media outlets from the White House. Trump is actively trying to turn the United States into some amalgamation of China, Russia, and North Korea, and he is consistently enabled by his cronies in Congress, including our “Lickspittle of the Week:” Tommy Tuberville. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, Trump’s admiration for authoritarianism, and those in power responsible for enabling it.

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