What will a second Trump term's foreign policy look like? How will it differ from the first term?  

On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former Trump National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien looks at the multiple challenges that Trump would face if he wins the election next month and how his “America First” approach might play out with multiplying tensions around the world. He tells Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker it would “make sense” for Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities as it seeks to reduce Teheran’s threat. He also says a deal to settle the Russia-Ukraine war is possible but that the U.S. must show support for Kyiv to bring pressure on Moscow. And he responds to claims in a new book by Bob Woodward that Donald Trump personally sent Vladimir Putin American Covid tests during the pandemic, and that the two world leaders had multiple conversations after the election of Joe Biden. 

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JD Vance and Tim Walz took to the debate stage for a substance-heavy debate that was in contrast, not only to the highly personalized debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris last month but also to all the rancorous presidential debates of the last few election cycles. Still, it's unlikely to make an iota of difference to the outcome of the election now just a month away. So what will decide the outcome of this coin-flip election?

On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with veteran pollster and consultant Whit Ayres about whether the polls will be accurate this time, whether Donald Trump is facing not just a gender gap, but a “gender chasm” with women voters, and how much race will be a factor in the 2024 Election.

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When Hong Kong was handed over to China from the British in 1997, the city colony’s freedoms were supposed to be maintained for the next 50 years. But in nearly half that time, Beijing has broken its promises and imposed its totalitarian rule. A national security law that curtailed freedom of speech has contributed to turning a once-thriving city colony into a climate of repression. One man imprisoned under this national security law has become the face of Hong Kong's suffering. Jimmy Lai, who fled from the mainland to Hong Kong as a boy, became an outspoken critic of the People’s Republic of China after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, and founded a lively free-speech-defending newspaper Apple Daily. In 2020 Lai became the first person convicted under the national security law and has served nearly four years in solitary confinement and is still in prison today. 

On this episode of Free Expression podcast Jimmy Lai’s son Sebastien and human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher discuss with Gerry Baker the latest on Jimmy Lai’s health and the appalling conditions he is living under, the bogus charges levied against him, and the diplomatic and economic pressure that can be put on China if Jimmy Lai does not go free.  

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Donald Trump found himself the target of a second attempt on his life, this time from a gunman who was lying in wait for hours, only to be thwarted by the Secret Service. What’s happening with the former president’s security? And with less than 50 days to go to the 2024 election, has the intensity of campaign rhetoric become dangerous? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tells Gerry Baker about the mistakes made by Secret Service leadership in both assassination attempts on Donald Trump. They also discuss the election itself and what will determine the outcome as well as the changing nature of the GOP and whether it can be the party of working people.

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The verdict is in - Donald Trump came a distant second this week in his first - and perhaps only - presidential debate with Kamala Harris. The former president was repeatedly on the defensive and easily baited by the vice president, despite the fact that she is the candidate of the incumbent and largely unpopular administration. What went wrong? Will there be another chance for Trump to link Harris to the Biden record and to remind voters of the far left policies she supposedly no longer espouses? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Trump presidential transition co-chair and former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tells Gerry Baker what he told Trump before the debate and how it went unused, why he thinks Trump should agree to another debate and Harris should not, if he will take a role in a possible second Trump term administration and what priorities that administration should pursue. 

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While most voters are focused on the contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, there are key Senate races across the nation that will decide who will be in control of the chamber in January. One of the most important is in Pennsylvania, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey is being challenged by Dave McCormick, a businessman and combat veteran who previously ran for the Republican nomination for Senate in 2022. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, McCormick speaks with Gerry Baker about how the national debate on abortion is playing the Keystone State, whether the Democratic ticket change to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz could change the Senate race, and about that day in Butler, PA when Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt and what role the former president may play in determining the outcome of this and other Senate races.

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Kamala Harris told the Democratic National Convention that she has plans for what she called an “opportunity economy.” But with little detail about what such a platform entails, except for promises to end so-called price gouging and raise taxes on companies and the better off, voters don’t seem to have a clear picture of what they will get if the Vice President wins in November. Meanwhile Donald Trump is pledging to extend and widen his tax cuts from 2017 that are due to expire next year, raise tariffs across the board and roll back regulation. So what might all this mean for a U.S. economy where inflation seems finally to be under control but growth may be slowing? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former World Bank President and Trump administration Treasury official David Malpass explains why a Harris administration would mean more government takeover of the private sector, why the world looks to China instead of the U.S. for economic leadership and what needs to be done to lift long term growth in the U.S.

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A month after abandoning their death march to the polls with President Joe Biden and switching to a campaign of joy with Kamala Harris, Democrats are in Chicago to formally nominate Vice President Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. But beyond spreading the happiness, what are the Democrats offering? On the strength of her few policy announcements, so far it looks likely that Harris is trying to put distance between distance herself and Biden. But can she really escape the record of the last four years? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) joins Gerry Baker from the site of the Democratic National Convention to discuss the changed nature of the race, how Kamala Harris plans to tackle the border and price controls, and addresses controversies surrounding her running mate.      

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With days to go before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the spotlight is shining brightly on Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as they continue to enjoy a largely substance-free campaign honeymoon, with the sizable help of the media. Meanwhile, cracks in the once-confident campaign of Donald Trump are beginning to show. The former president has spent much of the last few weeks in the fever swamps of conspiracy theory and grievance and Harris seems to have edged ahead in the polls. But with her history of espousing left wing causes and the Biden administration’s uninspiring record, there is no shortage of targets for the GOP to take aim at. Can Trump exercise the self-discipline to take advantage? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, RNC co-chair Lara Trump tells Gerry Baker about how the former president can seize back the initiative from the Democrats, how he can sometimes be “authentic to a fault” with voters and why JD Vance represents the future of the movement Donald Trump started. 

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During Tim Walz’s first rally as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Americans got to see a quick-witted and effective speaker who knows how to go on the offensive when he needs to. But beyond the theatre, what’s his actual record as Minnesota governor? Two political insiders who’ve been following Walz for decades sit down with Gerry Baker to size up his tenure. John Hinderaker, president of the Center of the American Experiment, and Scott W. Johnson, a retired Minneapolis attorney and contributor to the site Power Line, paint a bleak picture of rising crime, economic decline and tumbling school performance. They also see Harris’s selection of Walz as confirmation that she's willing to keep up with the demands of the far-left flank of her party.  

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