That Trippi Show

Joe and Alex discuss a potentially huge pivot in Senate priorities. All of a sudden is Build Back Better on the back burner? Then, what's going on with Mark Meadows' texts. Hint: don't put your treason in PowerPoint form. And Joe and Alex finally get to some of their favorite listener questions from the last few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, Alex and Joe talk how important Joe Biden's Democracy Summit this week is going to be. With autocracy on the rise worldwide, we have to sound the alarm and get to work. Then, what's up with the latest round of poll numbers? Joe points out what's noise and what really matters (hint, it's mostly noise.) Finally, what's going on in Georgia? Brian Kemp is being challenged by someone to the right. And the Republican grift machine is much, much worse than you realize. Show Notes: Anne Applebaum - The Bad Guys Are Winning Barton Gelman - The Election That Could Break America Amanda Marcotte - Destroying Democracy Can Make You Very Rich Judd Legum - Trump's new media company is a $1.6 billion mirage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe and Alex are back with plenty of news to cover. With SCOTUS hearing the latest challenge to Roe v. Wade, what are the electoral implications if the conservative Court overturns the landmark case? Then the latest news out of Georgia, where Stacey Abrams' big announcement will energize Democrats and make Georgia the center of the political world (again). Finally, what's the latest for 2024 as Trump launches a remake of the Apprentice to pick his potential running mate? And what do we make of the constant unflattering leaks about VP Harris? David Doak's tweet Jill Filipovic CNN Article  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and journalist Dave Pell joins the show to discuss his book, Please Scream Inside Your Heart, and the state of journalism and the news today. Dave is also the author of the NextDraft -- one of Joe's favorite newsletters that combines a comprehensive look at the news with a touch of humor. Joe and Alex talk to Dave about how we're supposed to process everything that seems like it's going on so fast -- and what we're all supposed to do about those feelings of impending doom. Next Draft Book: Please Scream Inside Your Heart: Breaking News and Nervous Breakdowns in the Year that Wouldn't End Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran reporter Dave Weigel joins the show to discuss how Democrats can make strides in '22, starting with another run for Beto O'Rourke for Governor of Texas. How do we handicap that race as it stands now? Plus: Will Democrats get momentum back after a flat few months for Joe Biden? Can the infrastructure and Build Back Better proposals help move voters back into the Democratic column? And, finally, can Democrats finally win Texas? Check out Dave's Washington Post series The Trailer, including his latest here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/16/trailer-democrats-say-build-back-better-can-save-them-does-their-data-back-that-up/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, you heard it right, Infrastructure Week! President Joe Biden finally got his infrastructure bill passed. The question is, how good or bad is this for Democrats going into 2022? We talk about the implications for next year and how the GOP's recruitment struggles are good news for Democrats. Also: the January 6th committee has more subpoenas out -- who's next? This and more, all on That Trippi Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Jan. 6 investigation in the House unfolds, historian and professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins the show to put America's authoritarian impulses in historical and global context. She contrasts Trump to historical autocrats, puts some of his skills and tendencies under the microscope, and helps diagnose the temperature of the movement in the country today. She offers some hopeful reasons for why Trump could fade in future elections, but also warnings about what has or hasn't been addressed since Jan. 6. Check out Ruth's Substack here: https://lucid.substack.com/ And buy her book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, here: https://www.amazon.com/Strongmen-Mussolini-Present-Ruth-Ben-Ghiat/dp/0393868419/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=strongman+ruth+benghiat&qid=1636399469&sr=8-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe and Alex discuss why Joe’s actually feeling… okay about the elections? (At least in a historical context.) Make no mistake, this is a wake-up call for Democrats and we have a lot of work to do. So what’s the real problem here? We still have no counter to the Fox News outrage machine. How do we combat it and build a community to spread the word for democracy? And what is going on with eroding Democratic support among suburban voters? Finally, what's the biggest mistake we keep making as a party? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It’s about digital, but it’s not about digital. Digital is the means.” Occasionally on That Trippi Show, we don’t talk politics but we welcome guests who we find have a unique, interesting perspective. This week we welcome Greek Minister of Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis to talk about the Greek government’s digital transformation connecting the government and the services it provides more easily to its citizens. How do you develop a portal for simple access to all government services in the middle of a pandemic that’s citizen-centric, not government-centric? And just as important, how do you get the users (citizens) to buy in? Listen to our discussion with the Minister now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do yourself a favor: Before listening, give Hunter Walker's bombshell article a read here: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/exclusive-jan-6-organizers-met-congress-white-house-1245289/** Investigative journalist Hunter Walker comes on to discuss the stunning story published in Rolling Stone alleging members of Congress and White House staffers worked together to incite the infamous "protest" on Jan. 6. Walker details a "blanket pardon" allegedly dangled by Rep. Paul Gosar -- and whether Trump himself was aware of what was to come. Plus, the turning point of the whole "protest" on Jan. 6 -- which involved Trump himself. January 6th will be infamous in American history forever, but, as Walker says, the story is far from over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe and Alex are back to talk about a ton of big news. Joe Manchin is dangling a possible defection to the GOP caucus if he doesn't get what he wants in the BBB bill. What options do the Dems have? Could he actually do it? And how do we move past the infighting?  Then, the governor's race in Virginia is going to be tight, mostly because the GOP candidate hasn't had to commit to Trumpism or moderate conservatism. Democrats must not take this one lightly -- imagine if a GOP governor had to certify election results in a contested state in '24.  Finally, the GOP is infighting as well -- Mitch McConnell has tried to focus Trump on the future instead of the Big Lie. Will Trump still turn out voters when he's not on the ticket? And how could the results of 2022 affect the prospects of Trump running for president in '24?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe welcomes Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN and the New Policy Institute. He's a Democratic campaign veteran who is both realistic and optimistic about the coalition Democrats must build to win in 2022. The discussion touches on how infighting among Democrats is becoming an obstacle for the president, and how the difficulty passing the overwhelmingly popular infrastructure bill has led to a decline in polls. But all is not as bleak as it seems. Joe, Simon and Alex have hope for the midterms and 2024, and Simon would still "rather be us than them." Memo: Time for the Dems to Come Together Volunteer to get out thee vote with VAA Turnout Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices