The McLaughlin Group

The McLaughlin Group -- July 24, 2020

guest panelist this week is Alexander Heffner, host of Open Mind on PBS

Issue one: Federal Factor

While Portland's mayor and Oregon's governor protest the deployment of federal law enforcement officers, President Trump says he's ready to send teams to other cities that are experiencing crime waves.

Issue two: Census Showdown

President Trump this week signed a memorandum seeking to bar undocumented immigrants from being counted for the purposes of congressional redistricting.

Issue three: Consulate Closure

The State Department this week ordered closed China's consulate in Houston, TX. US officials had become increasingly concerned about the consulate's use as a base for harassment of Chinese-Americans as well as its involvement in intellectual property theft. China is pledging to respond to the closure.

Issue four: Polar Bears

A University of Toronto study this week warns that polar bears could become extinct by 2100. How much global accountability is there for man-made climate change?

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- July 17, 2020

guest panelist this week is Shermichael Singleton, conservative writer and political consultant

Issue one: Trump Team vs. Fauci

Discussing the not-so-subtle war on Dr. Fauci's credibility. Peter Navarro wrote a scathing USA Today op-ed and Dan Scavino retweeted a political cartoon of Fauci flushing the US economy down the toilet.. What's motivating this effort?

Issue two: Governors on the Hot Seat

Discussing Andrew Cuomo's effort to take a victory lap. Is it deserved? What about Gretchen Whitmer's continuing focus on lockdowns and public mask wearing? And how would you rate Ron DeSantis's efforts in Florida?

Issue three: China Tensions

President Trump this week signed a congressional sanctions act, punishing Chinese officials for Beijing's new national security law in Hong Kong. Additionally, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US government regards the vast majority of China's claims over territory in the South China Sea to be illegal.

Issue four: Donkey and Elephant Migration

Discussing the evolution of the GOP and Democratic Party.

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- July 10th, 2020

Guest panelist A.B. Stoddard RealClearPolitics associate editor and Columnist.

Issue One: Campaign Trail

With less than 100 days until election day, Joe Biden and President Trump continue to galvanize their bases. President Trump used his July 4th speech to take jabs at the left while Biden promised to bring jobs back to America. Plus, rapper Kanye West announced he will be running for President assuming he can get on state ballots.

Issue Two: Fall Facto

This week, President Trump advanced his calls on schools in the United States to re-open for students this fall. He took to Twitter, siting countries like Germany, Sweden and Denmark saying "schools are open with no problems."

Issue Three: MOUT

MOUT is the military acronym for Military Operations in Urban Terrain. Coming off weeks of protests and rioting in cities across the nation, urban crime is soaring. Gun violence is up in cities like New York and Chicago. In Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and activated nearly 1,000 nation guardsmen.

Issue Four: China Conundrum

Tensions with China are rising as President Trump and the communist regime share sharp jabs. Last weekend saw competing exercises between US and Chinese Navy's in the South China Sea. FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested this week that China presents an preeminent threat to the American way of life.

Plus, Predictions !

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The McLaughlin Group -- July 3rd, 2020

The Washington Examiner's Siraj Hashmi fills in for Tom Rogan

guest panelist this week is Republican Consultant Matt Mackowiak 

Issue one: Russian Coax

President Trump is facing new questions about Russia. This time it involves a bounty program in which a Russian military intelligence unit (the GRU) secretly offered Taliban-linked militants to kill US and allied troops in Afghanistan.

Issue two: Coronavirus on the Rise

Despite being the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States, New York has seen its lowest number of cases since March. However, other states aren't so lucky; Florida, California, Texas and Arizona have seen a significant increase in cases and hospitalizations.

Issue three: Confeder-Late Than Never

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill Tuesday to remove the Confederate emblem from the official state flag. Despite opposition in the past, the Republican-controlled state legislature overwhelmingly passed the measure to replace the flag.

Issue four: Foresight Is 20/20

Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered his first press conference in months, hitting back at President Trump over attacks on his mental fitness. And while Trump is lagging in national and battleground polls, he's beating Biden in the enthusiasm gap.

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- June 26th, 2020

The Washington Examiner's Siraj Hashmi fills in for Tom Rogan

guest panelist this week is Amber Athey, Washington Editor for The Spectator

Issue one: Rally Up

President Trump is back on the campaign trail as he faces a growing threat from Joe Biden. The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Biden leading in battleground states, with a near ten-point lead nationally.

Issue two: Of CHOPs and Cops

Tensions between protesters and police remain high in many cities. With the election beckoning, President Trump seems determined to present himself as the unrestrained candidate of law and order. Will he thrive on that foundation? The panel also discusses the issues surrounding the removal of statues.

Issue three: Free Speech Online

Assessing the various efforts to tamp down on free speech online in the cause of anti-hate speech. Also the power of major companies such as Google and Twitter to regulate speech.

Issue four: Behold the Cancel Culture

In recent weeks we've seen The New York Times Opinion Editor resign over a Tom Cotton op-ed, The Washington Post shame a private citizen for wearing blackface, and Jimmy Kimmel forced to apologize for jokes. Has cancel culture gone too far?

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- June 19th, 2020

guest panelist this week is Kelsey Bolar, Independent Women’s Forum Senior Policy Analyst 

Issue one: Police Reform

President Trump this week issued an executive order to promote police reform. Highlights include a new federal database recording complaints against police officers, the promotion of social worker involvement in some police interactions, and prioritizing grants for deescalation training.

Issue two: 6 to 3

The Supreme Court this week ruled that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prevents employment discrimination on the basis of a worker's transgender or homosexual identity. In another decision, SCOTUS also blocked the Trump administration from immediately ending DACA.

Issue three: Galwan Valley Massacre

Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed along a contested border region this week. While both sides blamed each other for the melee, each also committed to deescalating tensions. Still, the battle reflects China's increasingly aggressive effort to seize contested territory around the world.

Issue four: Bolton's Book

The Trump administration this week sued former National Security Advisor John Bolton in an effort to delay the publication of his upcoming memoir.

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- June 12th, 2020

guest panelist this week is Kerry Picket, Senior Campaign Reporter for the Washington Examiner

Issue one: Police Reform

As protesters in various cities called for defunding the police and radical reform to policing in America, mayors face a difficult choice: how to balance protester demands with actions that keep communities safe.

Issue two: Covid part II

Reflecting those who say that recent protests have ended the moral defense of Coronavirus-related lock downs, President Trump plans to resume campaign rallies in the coming weeks. And it seems the Republican National Convention will be moved from North Carolina to Florida, following a disagreement over Coronavirus precautions. Still, the challenge remains.

Issue three: China

The Republican Study Committee this week called for wide ranging sanctions on Chinese influence operations in America. But that's not the only concern: as tensions between Washington and Beijing grow, some are saying that an overt cold war is well underway.

Issue four: DOJ versus Russia-gate

Attorney General William Barr said this week his department is looking into why, without supporting evidence, the FBI so aggressively sustained its 2016 investigation into the Trump campaign.

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- June 5th, 2020

guest panelist this week is Siraj Hashmi of The Washington Examiner

Issue one: Floyd and Fury

Cities across The U.S. were rocked under violence and looting after protestors took to the streets, the rioters claim of justification is the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man who was killed by a police officer. Many others peacefully protested Floyds death and what they say are broader issues of racism and unprofessionalism in police forces across the nation.

Issue two: Law and Order

President trump drew controversy this week with his decision to deploy military resources and aggressive tactics against the rioters and protesters rocking the nation. Of particular concern to many was the disturbance of an otherwise peaceful protest outside the White House, apparently so that Mr. Trump could walk to St. Johns Church and pose with a bible.

Issue three: Biden's Take

Former Vice President Joe Biden lashed out at The President in an address from Philadelphia city hall, suggesting President Trump is inciting violence. But polls show most Americans prefer a tough crackdown on rioting, Biden may risk alienating scared voters.

Issue four: What Pandemic?

Democratic Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, who faced controversy for her Coronavirus lockdown strategy, now writes in the New York Times that the Coronavirus Pandemic isn't just about public health it is a "matter of civil rights."

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- May 29, 2020

guest panelist this week is Brad Polumbo of the Washington Examiner

Issue one: Lockdown Politics

As many in the media lament the public's growing dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party's "keep the lockdown" message, Americans celebrated a return to some sense of normalcy as many states lifted public restrictions this week.

Issue two: Of Trump and Twitter

President Trump loves his Twitter feed, viewing it as a way to speak directly to the world. But after Twitter marked one of his tweets about mail-in voting as potentially misleading, Mr. Trump on Thursday introduced an executive order trying to remove some of the legal protections traditionally granted to social media in terms of content on their websites.

Issue three: Bias

In a recent WSJ Opinion article, former CBS News president Van Gordon Sauter decried bias in the news industry. Is it time we openly say that most media broadcasting is biased?

Issue four: SpaceX

NASA on Wednesday nearly completed the first successful privately-supported launch of astronauts into space. Is the involvement of SpaceX a positive thing? Or have we lost the NASA sense of unity and purpose that the shuttles brought to the country in previous decades?

Plus: predictions!

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The McLaughlin Group -- May 22, 2020

guest panelist this week is Amber Athey, Washington Editor for Spectator USA

Issue one: Mail In, Money Out

President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding to Michigan, after the state sent absentee ballots across the state. Are Trump's concerns about voter fraud legitimate? Or is this simply a way to prevent votes against him come November?

Issue two: Who Got a Letter?

President Trump says the World Health Organization will lose all US funding should it not accept major forms to its operations. He says the action is necessary in the context of what he accuses as the organization's failure to objectively address the Coronavirus pandemic.

Issue three: Partisan Divide

A new CNBC and Change Research Poll found battleground state voters sharply divided in their judgement of President Trump and Democrats' handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. But while most say Trump would be to blame for a potential second wave of infections, the poll also suggests he holds a 48-46 lead.

Issue four: Pelosi Delivers a Dose for The Donald

In an interview with CNN this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was giving President Trump "a dose of his own medicine" when she described him as "morbidly obese." The president fired back, calling Pelosi "A sick woman. She's got a lot of problems. A lot of mental problems."

Plus: predictions!

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