Monday on the RealClearPolitics radio show, Andrew Walworth, Carl Cannon, and Tom Bevan discuss President Trump sending federal troops to battle Antifa on the streets of Portland, the recent deadly attack on a Mormon church in Michigan, and how people are reacting to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. They also evaluate where the New York City mayoral race stands after Mayor Eric Adams dropped out, and the raucous behavior seen at the Ryder Cup this weekend. Finally, Peter Berkowitz, author of the new book “Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America,” joins the guys to discuss his book and the historic White House meeting today between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. You can listen to the show weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opened with a conversation about President Trump’s declaration that he’s sending federal troops to defend ICE facilities “under siege by Antifa” in “war-ravaged” Portland. Democrats like Sen. Jeff Merkley say Trump is trying to “trigger chaos.” How far could this escalate? “Trump dispatched troops to Portland in his first term, in the wake of George Floyd, to protect federal buildings which were being set on fire,” Bevan recalled. “Democrats all think this is part of his desire to normalize this so he can take over the country and become a dictator… Meanwhile, we see these ‘mostly peaceful’ protests going on.” “Let’s engage the Democrats’ point where it’s strongest,” Cannon said. “These are Democratic cities-very progressive Democrats. And they have these policies: no pre-trial detention; they don’t charge felonies for what looks like felonious, like arson on a federal building. They have progressive, lenient approaches to crime. So what Democrats are saying is that this is not what people here want, what we voted for, and you are not welcome to make these decisions.” *** After that, 10 minutes into the conversation, a brutal, deadly attack on a Mormon church in Michigan is the latest instance of violence against religious groups. “If you look at this, we’ve had attacks-going back the last 10–15 years-on a Sikh temple, Jewish synagogues, Catholic churches, evangelical schools. Very few attacks on mosques, actually, for a country that’s supposedly so Islamophobic,” Cannon commented. “This certainly wasn’t motivated by partisan politics, Republican or Democratic, but there’s something about our culture now that makes this the most heinous crime, you could argue, in the society: attacking people while they’re worshiping God. And they’re increasingly common. We have to figure out ways to stop it.” *** Next, around minute 13, everyone is weighing in on former FBI Director James Comey being indicted for lying to Congress about leaks related to the Trump-Russia investigation. Who could be next? Tom Bevan called out the boundlessly hypocritical pronouncements from the New York Times about how this is unprecedented: “They’re probably the least well-informed readers on the planet to not know how Trump and his allies have been gone after for a whole host of things… There are probably 15-20 people from the Trump administration who were prosecuted under the previous administration.” “Yeah, it didn’t start with Trump. Trump’s escalating it, you could say, but they went after this guy personally,” Cannon agreed. “Obviously, this is not healthy for democracy. But Trump didn’t start this.” *** And then, around minute 22, three candidates remain in New York City’s mayoral race with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropping out over the weekend. Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani already had a comfortable 19-point lead in the RCP average of polls, where Adams rarely polled above single digits. Could perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa or former Gov. Andrew Cuomo have a chance to win? “If all of Eric Adams’s 7% went to Cuomo, he’d still be down double digits to Mamdani,” Cannon said. “Unless Curtis Sliwa drops out and all that goes to Andrew Cuomo as well, then it could be close,” Bevan suggested. “Mamdani looks young and energetic, and Cuomo looks old, and gives off the worst vibes. I just don’t think he is up to the task, and it’s too late to replace him.” *** Finally, at timestamp 28, Peter Berkowitz joins the guys to analyze the historic meeting today between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Plus, a pitch for his new book: “Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America,” “The president’s 20-point plan actually leaked to the press a couple of days ago, and what the president announced today was consistent with what The Times of Israel had published,” Berkowitz said. “I still don’t believe the chances of success are great,” he warned. “Remember: Hamas’ raison d’etre since its founding in 1988-they’re very clear about this-is the destruction of the Jewish state. To leave the Gaza Strip, or to lay down their arms and live peacefully in the Gaza Strip, is a renunciation of all that they’ve ever stood for.” “This peace plan is calling for them to give up. So I still think we have to be very cautious about the possibility of Hamas accepting this.” “The book is a collection of 40 columns I published at RealClearPolitics over the last 11 years, since 2014, and they turn out to be kind of a brief history of how Israel went from a moment of great optimism to suffering two big crises: the great 2023 controversy over judicial reform, and then with the October 7th massacre,” he explained. “In Hebrew, we say le’asof de’ot-to collect opinions. So the book is really intended for everybody who wants to better understand the complexities of the challenge Israel faces. But I will confess-I’m hardly neutral.” *** Don’t miss a single episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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