The Dispatch Podcast

We’re on day two of the Senate’s second impeachment trial of Donald Trump and our hosts are here for the breakdown. On Tuesday, the House impeachment managers released a video montage of January 6 in an effort to tie former President Trump’s rhetoric and words to the storming of the Capitol. “[The video] had in many ways the effect that displaying a crime scene photograph has on a criminal trial,” David explains. “It tried to make it real again.” Tune in to hear Sarah and the guys chat about the constitutionality of impeachment, the mechanics of the trial, and the persuasiveness of Trump’s defense team. Stick around to hear our hosts chat about what National Pizza Day means to them. Show Notes: -Senate Impeachment Trial: House Managers’ January 6 Video Montage. -French Press: “The Impeachment Trial Vote Will Set a Precedent. Make It the Right One.” by David French in The Dispatch. -Brandenburg v. Ohio -“McConnell Signals Trump Conviction Is a GOP Conscience Vote” by Jennifer Jacobs in Bloomberg. -“The Constitution Doesn’t Bar Trump’s Impeachment Trial” by Chuck Cooper in the Wall Street Journal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Fox News Decision Desk team member Chris Stirewalt joins Sarah, Steve and Jonah to chat about GOP leadership members' struggle to police their own. Stick around for a chat about Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda, Stirewalt’s take on why “the way America is getting its news is not working for America,” and … lima beans! And also for a very special announcement. Show Notes: -“How Kevin McCarthy fought off a party revolt” by Melanie Zanona in Politico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the coronavirus stimulus package front, Biden has refused to compromise on his commitment to sending $1,400 checks to Americans. Is it wise for the president to push such a bill through Congress in spite of Republican opposition? As Steve argues on today’s episode, “If Joe Biden’s intransigence this early is pissing off people like Rob Portman and Anthony Gonzalez, that’s a tough place.” Also on the menu for today: GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy’s intra-party spats with Rep. Liz Cheney, the media’s obsessive fixation on Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the United Kingdom’s decision to welcome Hong Kong citizens. Show Notes: -“The Challenge of Going It Alone” by Amy Walter in the Cook Political Report. -“An Interview With Sen. Rob Portman” by Steve Hayes in The Dispatch. -“Can We Have (Another) Conversation About Cancel Culture?” by David French in The Dispatch. -“Republicans Are Playing a Risky Game in Elevating QAnon” by Jonah Goldberg in The Dispatch. -“The GOP’s Conspiracy Theorist Problem” by Audrey Fahlberg in The Dispatch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio Representative Anthony Gonzalez was one of only 10 GOP House members who voted for President Trump’s second impeachment, and he’s faced quite a bit of backlash from his constituents for doing so. “In the long arc of history, I believe it was the right vote, and I believe it sends the right message,” Congressman Gonzalez tells Sarah and Steve on today’s show. But Gonzalez still fears for the future of his party, especially considering most Republican voters still believe the election was stolen: “I don’t know how to govern in a world where we believe things that aren’t real.” Tune in to hear Gonzalez talk about social media censorship, our country’s crisis of leadership, and his former NFL career playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Show Notes: -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biden administration folks are claiming they inherited a nonexistent coronavirus vaccine rollout plan from the Trump administration, with one anonymous administration official going so far as to tell CNN last week that the team will “have to build everything from scratch,” a claim that even top epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci later disputed as patently false. Joe Biden spent months on the campaign trail criticizing Trump for deliberately misleading the public. Is his administration now falling into the same trap? “It’s a meaningful stumble,” Steve says on today’s podcast, “and I think they got caught basically misleading the public about the status of the vaccine program.” After Sarah and the guys chat about vaccine distribution logistics, they discuss Trump’s upcoming second impeachment trial, the media and its rewriting of history, and the latest drama with former DOJ officials in the Trump administration. Show Notes: -“Come on, President Biden. Set some loftier COVID vaccination goals” by Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times. -“Biden inheriting nonexistent coronavirus vaccine distribution plan and must start 'from scratch,' sources say,” by CNN’s MJ Lee. -“The Washington Post Tried To Memory-Hole Kamala Harris' Bad Joke About Inmates Begging for Food and Water” by Eric Boehm in Reason. -The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project. -“Send In the Troops” by Sen. Tom Cotton in the New York Times. -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Joe Biden’s governing strategy be effective? “I don’t think Biden has ever been driven on ideological issues, what he’s driven on is keeping his party together,” NBC’s Chuck Todd tells Sarah and Steve on today’s episode. “There is a part of me that says Biden can be the Reagan for Democrats.” How does the filibuster fit into the president’s call for unity? Is Joe Biden really a centrist? What role will Kamala Harris play in this administration? Todd answers all of these questions and more. Stick around for their thoughts on the Democrats’ $15 minimum wage proposal, the future of immigration reform, Biden’s relationship with Congress, and the evolution of cable news over the years. Show Notes: -“Biden's centrist words, liberal actions” by Dion Rabouin, Courtenay Brown, and Jennifer A. Kingson in Axios. -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden was officially sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday. He assumes office at one of the darkest moments in United States history, when a global pandemic has taken the lives of more than 400,000 Americans and rampant polarization continues to test our nation’s character. Did his inaugural address meet the moment? Was his call for unity too idealistic? On today’s episode, our hosts discuss Biden’s day one executive orders and the once and future Republican Party before breaking down today’s inauguration ceremony, speech and all. Show Notes: -“Biden's Two Tasks: Repairing Deep Divisions and Defeating a Deadly Disease” by David French in The Dispatch. -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I was proud that after the assault on the Capitol, we were back in the chambers a few hours later,” freshman GOP Rep. Peter Meijer from Michigan’s 3rd District tells Sarah and Steve on today’s episode. “There was someone’s blood drying, right? And we’re going back to work to send the message that our constitutional process—it got erupted—but you’re not gonna scare us away.” Rep. Meijer—who holds Justin Amash’s old seat—joined today’s show to discuss what it was like certifying the Electoral College vote, evacuating the House chamber on January 6 amid the Capitol siege, and undergoing impeachment proceedings just days after being sworn into office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” said Rep. Liz Cheney late Tuesday afternoon. “Everything that followed was his doing.” This week, our hosts discuss the brewing showdown over impeachment between Cheney—the House’s No.3 Republican—and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. How does one party accommodate vastly different levels of acquiescence to a rogue president? What is the value of impeachment and conviction over censure? Should the president be pardoned after conviction in a concession to Republicans? To David, one thing is clear: “He needs to be so thoroughly defeated in the here and now that there is no possibility of a later,” he says. “He has to be deplatformed, he has to be defeated, and he has to be discredited.” Show Notes: -Take our podcast survey -Amazon filing in response to Parler’s lawsuit, citing violent content -Rep. Liz Cheney’s statement in support of impeachment -Video from Capitol Hill riot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol should not have come as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to Donald Trump’s election-related conspiracy-mongering in the weeks since November 3. Politico’s chief political correspondent Tim Alberta has been interacting with Trump supporters for months now and joins today’s show to explain why Wednesday’s Capitol siege was almost inevitable: “What we saw at every step of the way was a coordinated and deliberate campaign” by the president, high ranking Republicans, and far-right media personalities “to deceive the American public,” Alberta tells Sarah and Steve. Show Notes: -“Jan. 6 Was 9 Weeks — And 4 Years — in the Making” by Tim Alberta in Politico. -American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump by Tim Alberta. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices