Commentary Magazine Podcast

Well, here we are. In this podcast, we here at COMMENTARY eat crow about our presumption Donald Trump couldn't win, we explain why we think he did, and why Hillary Clinton failed so spectacularly. Give a listen.

Roughly 36 hours from the time at which this podcast was recording, America will know the results of the 2016 presidential election. In the latest COMMENTARY podcast, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman examine some likely scenarios as to how this thing will play out. Has Donald Trump awoken a sleeping giant in the form of the dormant Latino vote? Did Trump essentially win this race in June by emboldening an entirely new electorate that has never before voted and who isn’t showing up in the polls? Plus, how exactly do you pronounce Nevada?

...and this is no bum steer. It's from COMMENTARY handicappers, who are real sincere. No, we don't sing the score from Guys and Dolls on the second of this week's podcasts, but we do get into the nitty-gritty of the soon-to-be-final predictive numbers on the Trump-Clinton race, and we conclude that... well, you have to listen to find out.

The bomb strike hit the Clinton campaign and the presidential race a few days ago, and the COMMENTARY crowd assesses the damage with the same level of information everybody else has but an unbridled willingness to speculate and categorize and just generally try to keep the conversation going. With detours to South Korea and the question of the democratic model vs. the Chinese model. Give a listen.

In the second of this week's podcasts, the COMMENTARY gang (me, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) look into the reporting on the Trump political machine that reveals it really ain't much of a machine. We also examine the genuinely distasteful revelations from the Wikileaks email dump about the machinations behind the Clinton money machine—a machine that went into high gear to fund the Clinton lifestyle, the Clinton Foundation, and Hillary Clinton's personal staff. We conclude with thoughts about whether the Republican Party even ought to be saved. Give a listen.

On the first of this week's podcasts, the COMMENTARY crew (JPod, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) suggest two scenarios post-election: One in which nothing really changes and Donald Trump remains a leading force in our politics going forward, or one in which everything changes, which brings apocalyptic dangers of its own. Yes, it's another cheerful discussion of our wondrous future from the people who are bottling pessimism but hopefully make you laugh as we do it. Give a listen.

In the latest COMMENTARY podcast, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman dive into the final presidential debate. Donald Trump’s remarkable habit of missing opportunities is indicative of how he has run this race, and why Clinton seems set to win in November. Clinton is, however, still Clinton. She will be paranoid and secretive, and Donald Trump won’t be missing anymore opportunities to attack her. Instead, her opponent will be House Speaker Paul Ryan. If the GOP doesn’t tear itself apart, the future for Democrats under Hillary Clinton is a fraught one.

On the first of this week's two COMMENTARY podcasts, we discuss how the nightmarishly bad polling for Donald Trump doesn't necessarily translate into bad polling for the GOP itself—and how the possible election-day repudiation of Trump may not bring the Republicans who are fleeing in disgust from Trump back into the fold just yet. Also how Hillary Clinton may enter office under clouds the likes of which no incoming president has ever been cast in shadow. Give a listen.

On the second of this week's COMMENTARY podcasts, we contemplate the post-election-day future. What condition will the Republican Party and its officials find themselves in? Will their fear of the Trump base dissipate in the case of an anti-Trump landslide, or will they continue as they have all year? And what options will Hillary Clinton have if she is president without a firm mandate and a large enough majority in the Senate to get whatever legislation she seeks through to her desk? Oy, the scenarios, they could drive you crazy. Give a listen.

On the first of this week's COMMENTARY podcasts, we (Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I) discuss the Trump poll plunge into the 30s and the beginning of his flame war against the GOP for betraying him. The question we ask is: Which part of the Republican base does the party have to appeal to if and when Trump loses—his base or the millions of Republican-aligned voters who appear to be fleeing the party because of him? We make specific reference to a powerful tweetstorm by Mary Beth Glenn (@mbglenn) you will hear me recite as though I were reciting "Invictus." Give a listen.

On this week's second podcast, we discuss the latest revelations in the Hillary Clinton email scandal, including the eerie assurance of White House officials that they could quash questions on Sunday-morning chat shows about the matter. Two notable brothers get mentioned. Also, can there be reconciliation in the GOP after a Trump defeat, as our Noah Rothman suggests in his much-discussed blog post here? Listen, your guess is as good as ours, but you'll only be able to guess if you listen!

The first of this week's COMMENTARY podcasts features our take on the VP debate--impressive performance chops by Mike Pence masking a series of bald-faced lies, indicating the extent to which Donald Trump has altered our politics, and a deeply annoying Tim Kaine who couldn't even do interrupting well. Give a listen to me, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman as we chatter our way through 32 minutes.

The first of this week's COMMENTARY podcasts features our take on the VP debate--impressive performance chops by Mike Pence masking a series of bald-faced lies, indicating the extent to which Donald Trump has altered our politics, and a deeply annoying Tim Kaine who couldn't even do interrupting well. Give a listen to me, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman as we chatter our way through 32 minutes.

In today's podcast, we (Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and I) talk about the post-debate Donald Trump and how he's like a golfer who tied it up on the ninth hole in the final round, then bogeyed 10 while his opponent made par—and after that, can't get out of his own head and starts spraying golf shots around the course like billiard balls. And all over the weight of a 1996 Miss Universe. We also say goodbye to Shimon Peres, a great man who made great mistakes—mistakes misunderstood by those who want to use his legacy as a truncheon against Benjamin Netanyahu on grounds that his approach to peace is isolating Israel. Isolating Israel? Um. no, as this COMMENTARY article by Lazar Berman makes clear.

On the first of this week's two COMMENTARY podcasts, we discuss the not-so-great debate and why and how Donald Trump did so poorly despite a good first ten minutes. It's gonna hurt, but it's not over and liberals better be careful about getting too comfortable. Give a listen.