Gail Collins: Brett, I have a feeling we're going to spend a lot of time talking about the adventures of Donald Trump.
Brett: “Adventure” means “event”.
Gail: But I would like to start with something we disagree on…. In my opinion, Joe Biden has done a great job in building his re-election campaign. He is focused on the environment and job creation (long a gray area in his track record), and seeks to support the rights of working men and women to decent wages and benefits.
Go Joe!
And — take that away, Brett!
Brett: Well, in the words of the Commander-in-Chief, “pause for four more years.”
I think you heard about this Ron Burgundy-style gaffe in his speech in Washington last Wednesday, where he seemed to be reading a little too much into the teleprompter. That's not much, except that it's a reminder that what worried us about the president at the beginning of the year will continue to worry us. Like his mental acuity. Or inflation rates that remain high even though the economy appears to be slowing. Or there are younger voters who appear to be leaning toward Trump or losing interest in politics altogether. Or maybe the border crisis has moved from Texas to California to New York but hasn't disappeared. Or the fact that he keeps telling lofty stories about his past. Or his repeated refusal to sit down for formal interviews with serious journalists other than Howard Stern.
All I want is for you to give me some concrete reasons to not completely panic.
Gail: Let's take a look. The number of uninsured people is at an all-time low this year, making health care more affordable for Americans. In his first three years in office, the number of jobs increased by nearly 15 million. And while he certainly hasn't solved the border problem, his overall crime rate is down, with the murder rate dropping by nearly 12 percent from 2022 to 2023.
Brett: Well, I think that's enough. It feels a bit like Polish cavalry fighting off the German Blitzkrieg. The cause is right and the fight valiant, but the means are…scarce.
Gail: Biden has a lot of good things to say. However, speaking wasn't always his forte.
So, it's time for Trump. He has done quite well in numerous trials. It appears the Stormy Daniels story in New York may be the only one decided before the election.
Brett: I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a hung jury. Of all the cases against him, this is the weakest. Paying hush money, also known as a non-disclosure agreement, is not a crime. In most cases, falsifying business records is a misdemeanor, not a felony. And as my former colleagues at the Wall Street Journal pointed out, when they were defending Bill Clinton's impeachment, it was Democrats who often said everyone was lying about sex. Wasn't he a member?
Gail: No matter what happens, it's important for the country to see this picture of the president's vaunted business career. In the real world, it was always a sloppy, dependent-on-rich-friends mess.
Brett: What really concerns me about this case is that if Trump is not convicted, his campaign will become even more heated. Trump could say with some confidence that the deep state was really out to get him.
Gail: OK, Brett, you brought me down all day. On to Congress! I can't believe I'm saying this, but Congress is doing pretty well. That's true for my pathetic body these days. do you agree?
Brett: The government did not shut down, and Mike Johnson worked his nerve and gathered votes to pass important foreign aid legislation for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Did I miss anything else?
Gail: I wonder if they basically gave up on impeaching Biden and got a fairly bipartisan vote…
Brett: …The Senate dismissed the charges against Alejandro Mayorkas after he staged a sham impeachment in the House.
Gail: I think it's pretty good by today's standards. I hope it's because Paul is starting to realize that being functional is the kind of thing that the majority of voters prefer.
But yeah, sorry I don't want to go on too long about Mike Johnson's performance. Go to places you think are interesting. It just happens to be just a few blocks from where I live…Columbia.
Brett: I recently had a discussion with a Columbia University professor who is politically sympathetic to the protests and argued that the anti-Semitic rhetoric that is gaining attention in the news media is coming from outside agitators, not Columbia University students themselves. He suggested that there might be. The next day, I learned that one of the student leaders had commented, “Zionists don't deserve to live,'' and “I want you to be thankful that you're not just going out and killing Zionists.''
My question for Columbia University is how did it become a university that accepts and educates students who say things like that, and a campus leader in the deal? I think there was too much Edward Said and not enough Jacques Barzan.
Gail: I have always felt empathy for the protesters, as they represent students who stood up with firm perspectives on serious domestic and international issues. Non-violent demonstrations like sit-ins are a particular favorite of mine because they are frankly very boring, and kids who are willing to spend days or even weeks of their lives supporting a protest movement without going anywhere. I would like to express my respect to you.
But when the media steps in and starts publishing individual student comments rather than general political positions, things can get messy. The anti-Semitic slant of some speech and behavior at Columbia University is a perfect example of what can happen.
Brett: I would not be so opposed to the protests if, deep down, they were simply opposed to the Israeli government's policies in Gaza. There can be strong and honest disagreements between people on this subject. My objection is that many of these protesters are against the existence of the country as a whole and of everyone who is part of it in any way, including the many Israeli students on campus. Thing. The protesters' idealism has hardened into hatred, and their hatred has found a target in many people like me who are Jewish.
Gail: Your point is definitely important and makes the protests alarming. But the public debate these protests spark also helps the public understand the dangers of some dark comments about the Israeli crisis.
But let's talk about spring – it's definitely spring! Do you have a favorite new book, TV show, or tulip bulb?
Brett: Glad I changed the subject!
I read the original novel by James Clavell as a child and loved it, so I was thinking of watching Shogun. I'm also reading my colleague David Sanger's book, The New Cold War, about the Biden administration's efforts to contain and confront Russian and Chinese aggression. David is probably my favorite Times reporter–other than the article writers, of course–in part because he covers the stories I'm most interested in; Because it covers them very well. This book reads like a great thriller about a dystopian near future that is our recent past. You'll also feel a little better about the American government.
what about you?
Gail: You are definitely our book whisperer. And of course, hats off to David Sanger. Just the author's name on the cover is enough to guarantee that there's something great in there.
Brett: David didn't even pay us to say that. I swear to God.
Gail: Since my job is to go to the other end of the cultural continuum, television, I recommend HBO's new mini-series, “The Sympathizer.” The film is based on a novel by Viet Tan Nguyen about a Viet Cong double agent who ends up in America.
It's great to have an immersive entertainment piece about the Vietnam War, which no one talks about anymore.
Brett: The Vietnam War is as far from us today as World War I was for the Vietnamese generation.
Gail: Well, I have to admit that if you had asked me in college about World War I, I would have been completely lost. Of course I knew some of the songs.
Is there anything you hope people will remember about our time? There won't be much talk about the Biden era unless there's some bigger national or international disaster that we have to confront. I'm guessing it is. Trump, on the other hand, is someone we would like to forget. However, the possibility of that happening is not high.
Brett: To me, that would be the erosion of democratic norms in the Trump era. For my kids, it's probably a pandemic. That's how the pandemic interrupted their childhoods and left permanent psychological scars on many of their friends. But perhaps my grandchildren will look upon these years, as angry and angry as the 1930s and 1850s we now remember, as preceding our greatest and most redeeming times. We will remember it as a polarizing and depressing year. This time, I pray that the bloody ordeal that follows will not occur.
