The Mona Charen Show

Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the fallout from Trump’s Iran war, his attacks on America’s allies, growing trouble for Republicans ahead of the midterms, and the Democratic message that could capitalize on MAGA’s failures.

Mona Charen is joined by Bill Kristol to discuss Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson for the August edition of The Bulwark Book Club with viewers. Published in 1894, the novel tells the story of two boys—one born into slavery, the other the master’s son—who were switched in the cradle. They’ll discuss how the book relates to our world today, and whether Mark Twain is more relevant than ever.

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Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) joins Mona Charen for a conversation about why character still matters in leadership, how America lost many of the institutions that once helped build it, and what the military can teach about integrity, responsibility, and moral courage in an era of political double standards.

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Programming note: This Wednesday! Join us for the next edition of The Bulwark Book Club. Mona Charen and Bill Kristol will discuss Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson with you LIVE at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Drop your questions, comments, and thoughts on the book in the comments of this post.

Published in 1894, the novel tells the story of two boys–one born into slavery, the other the master’s son–who were switched at birth. 

Watch your inbox for a link on Wednesday to watch the show.

Mona Charen speaks with The Atlantic’s Idrees Kahloon about how Trump’s immigration, university, trade, fiscal, and foreign-policy agenda could weaken the foundations of long-term American prosperity and global influence. They also discuss China, alliances, executive power, political corruption, and Kahloon’s reconsideration of campaign-finance reform in an era of small-donor-driven extremism and weakened political parties.

Trump’s Anti-Growth Agenda
By Idrees Kahloon

Thomas Edsall tells Mona Charen Democrats can recover from Trump's bad ratings by moderating on three fronts: transgender policy (affirm two sexes, restrict sports/prisons/youth surgery), immigration (pro-legal, pro-enforcement), and crime (oppose lenient DAs and no-bail policies). 

His diagnosis: the party's become too elitist and needs working-class voters back to beat MAGA.

If the Democrats Actually Want to Win, This Is What They Have to Do

Mona Charen and Eric Edelman examine how Trump stumbled into the Iran war without a clear plan, alienated allies, strengthened Tehran's position, and left the United States looking weaker.

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#oneskinpod

Links mentioned in this episode:

Inside Israel’s Secret Operation to Cultivate Ahmadinejad
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/us/politics/israel-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-iran.html

US lacks scores of ambassadors in Africa
https://www.semafor.com/article/07/10/2026/us-lacks-scores-of-ambassadors-in-africa

Democrats swore they'd never do what Republicans did with Trump. Then came Graham Platner. Mona Charen and Will Saletan on the fake oysterman, the vetting failure, and the death of shame—plus Trump's World Cup meddling and the loss Mona says America needed.

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Mona Charen is joined by historian Lindsay Chervinsky—executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library—for the Bulwark Book Club, discussing her book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. They cover Adams's besieged first days in office, a cabinet secretly loyal to Alexander Hamilton, the mob of 10,000 outside the president's house, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Hamilton's plot to change the rules of the election of 1800—and how Adams invented the peaceful transfer of power by simply going home.

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Presidency-Precedents-Forged-Republic/dp/0197653847

Mona Charen and FT columnist Ed Luce dig into Giorgia Meloni's public  dressing down of Trump, the UK's political chaos, and the fallout from Trump's Iran war—including the case that the U.S. is now paying Iran reparations and Israel is boxed into an impossible corner. Plus: Luce's surreal Sunday phone calls with Trump himself.

Upcoming: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.

Mona Charen welcomes military analyst Andrew Fox for a conversation on Trump’s Iran ceasefire, whether America squandered its leverage against Tehran, the growing influence of Qatar and Turkey, Israel’s military and political mistakes, Hamas’s strategy in Gaza, and the battle over public opinion that could shape the future of the Middle East.

show notes:

Bulwark Book Club: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.”