US of Ed

"The Russians have something on Trump. Trump knows the game is almost up and they'll probably release it so he has less and less reason to do anything for the Russians. And the Russians have less and less reason to do anything for him."

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has announced he will joins nearly thirty (so far) House Republicans that will decline to seek re-election in the 2018 midterms, what's the big picture for Republicans. Meanwhile, after more than a year of refusing to criticise Vladimir Putin or Russia, Trump has gone from zero to sixty on sabre-rattling in Syria. Also talking the Trade Pacific Partnership, trade with China, tax and the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

"I first met Martin Luther King when he was preaching in Los Angeles, raising money for the movement..."

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, Ed talks about his own meetings with MLK and his recollections of the 'Bloody Sunday' Selma march, as well as the fragmentation of black America and MLK's legacy. In part two of the special, Ed and Sean discuss all the issues facing black America today including police brutality and rates of incarceration, family, unemployment, as well as black America's voting rights and role in the democratic process.

"Easter's coming up, people have risen from the dead, [Trump] may as well." 

Is it really time to panic? The appointment of Fox News firebrand John Bolton to the position of Trump's National Security Advisor has some people doing just that. We look at the latest addition to Team Trump, as well as the Stormy Daniels interview, Russia, and the record-breaking March for Our Lives in Washington DC. Speaking of broken records, Republicans are leaving the House of Reps in 2018 in larger numbers than ever before. And Ed shares his thoughts on a study saying only one-third of African-Americans, nationwide, have confidence in the police.

"Trump can't win this, he really can't win, he's just looking for time."

Another week, another high profile firing. Does Trump giving the boot to Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe constitute obstruction of Justice? And if so, where is the Republican Party? Also talking Cambridge Analytica, election results in Russia, death for drug dealers, and what exactly Stormy Daniels is angling to get out of the Trump affair allegations...

"[The White House] is the worst place on the planet to work, you don't know who's going to get you. Will it be Trump? Will it be Kelly? Will it be somebody else? You just can't tell, so who's next?"

Rex Tillerson is the latest high profile figure ousted from the Trump administration, fired via tweet. As the White House becomes even more dog-eat-dog, who will be next? Also speaking about plans for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and fallout from the poisoning attack on a British-Russian double agent and his daughter. Could there be some blowback felt by Trump as well?

"We have a situation now where the White House is a joke, the President is a joke... So why stay there?"

Trump's tariffs have Republicans in a bind, whether to support the president in his latest stab at foreign and economic policy or to stay true to their party's policies. In related news, White House chief economic advisor Gary Cohn has stepped down but is it less about tariff and more about abandoning a sinking ship? Also, Sam Nunberg, Russian threats on nukes, the Mueller investigation, and how Democrats can get out of their own way in the 2018 mid-terms.

"They're coming out [at Trump] from every direction and stinging him every way they can."

There's no more Hope for Trump, Hope Hicks at least, with the White House Communications Director and long-time Trump aide on her way out following testimony before the congressional Russia probe. Also, the latest on gun control, the opioid crisis, immigrants to be held without bond hearings and the EPA. And Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull and Trump have celebrated a hundred years of "mateship" between the United States and Australia, but what's going on behind the photo op smiles and handshakes?

"This reminds me of the Vietnam movement when I was a youngster, where young people say 'we cannot trust the adults, we're going to take this on ourselves'." 

Thirteen Russians indicted in the Mueller investigation, will it be an unlucky number for Trump? Florida students are declaring enough is enough when it comes to gun control after yet another deadly mass shooting, is this the beginning of a much bigger movement? And the latest on immigration, a reflection on Billy Graham and looking at the latest special election results, are hopes for a "blue tsunami" in 2018 based in fact or fantasy?

"The more these things stack up the more Republicans, as a party, have to get behind [Trump], and the more they get behind him the more votes they lose in 2018." 

The shortest ever US government shutdown, only six hours, took place this week but does it say some big things about Republicans' fiscal responsibilities? Besides debt, another thing Trump and Republicans don't seem concerned about is Russian interference. Looking at these, as well as the Stormy Daniels alleged affair, Florida shooting, the return of Barack Obama, and the run-up to the 2018 mid-terms.

"Trump is no longer president of the United States, the United States is being run by a troika which includes the Secretary of State, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Defence, they're running the country."

The Nunes memo that promised to take Washington by storm turned out to be more of a light drizzle yet President Donald Trump claims it vindicates him totally in the Russia investigation. Other Republicans have not been so effusive, so what about the contents of the memo itself and what will the FBI response be? Meanwhile, the stock market takes a plunge, talks of another shutdown, and Trump wants a parade to show off American military might but conjures some unfortunate implications.