Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Tom Bevan, Andrew Walworth, and White House reporter Phil Wegmann discussed the Fed Chairman calling a DOJ subpoena politically motivated pressure from a White House that wants lower interest rates, as job growth numbers stall, and the president proposes capping credit card interest rates. They next discuss Iran begging Trump to negotiate as the U.S. threatens retaliation if their crackdown on anti-government protests gets too violent, and whether Secretary of State Rubio’s increasingly prominent role is overshadowing Vice President Vance – and if that signals the non-interventionist wing of MAGA is receding. After that, they discuss a new Gallup poll that says the share of Americans who identify as political independents is at a record high of 45%, and the notably non-political Golden Globe Awards show last night. You can listen to the show live, weekdays at 11:00 a.m. on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111, and then on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and here on our website. *** The show opened with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell calling a DOJ investigation a “threat” from the president, who has been urging lower interest rates for a year. With only a few months left in Powell’s term anyway and job growth stalling, RCP’s panel analyzes this unprecedented clash between the White House and the central bank. “At a moment when it seems that the administration is achieving a growth rate of about 4%, do they really want to have this kind of squabble and unnerve markets?” Wegmann wonders. “It seems that Donald Trump, in his bull-in-a-china-shop era, continues to want to do so.” “Imagine if you’re one of the people on Trump’s shortlist to be the next Fed chair and you see this,” Bevan said. “What’s gonna happen if I don’t do exactly what Trump wants? It’s overkill on the part of the administration. Whether Trump knew about it or didn’t know about it, I think it sets a bad precedent.” *** At minute 11, the group moves on to Trump’s latest “affordability” proposal – a plan to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. “This is Wizard of Oz economics,” Andrew Walworth comments. “Who does that help?” “One of the reasons they got rid of the caps on interest rates was so working poor people in the early 20th century could avoid having to go to loan sharks,” Wegmann said. “An unintended consequence here may be that it’s more difficult for some folks to get the credit they need for unexpected expenses.” “This is something you would expect the left to really get on board with,” Bevan said. “Sure, we spend too much as a country and as individuals, but if your water heater breaks in the middle of winter, and then you get charged 20% or 25% or 30% on top of that? In that sense, you do feel taken advantage of.” *** At minute 19, the panel turns to President Trump’s warning to Iran over their violent crackdown on widespread protests, and his claim that Tehran has reached out to negotiate. “Right now, Trump is maximizing optionality,” RCP White House reporter Phil Wegmann said. “He’s gone to some of these rogue nations and basically done a Dirty Harry. They’ve already violated the red line he set by firing on protesters. We’ll see if they can talk him down.” “We’ve seen this movie before, and it hasn’t ended well. It looked like the Iranian people were about to throw off the yoke of these Islamist fundamentalist leaders, and it never happened. The question now is: is this time different?” Bevan said. “In the long run, removing that regime would be much better for the U.S. -and the world- than a little bit of oil or some promise on paper.” *** And then, at minute 28, they discuss a piece by Dexter Filkins in The New Yorker titled “How Marco Rubio Went from ‘Little Marco’ to Trump’s Foreign-Policy Enabler.” “You also had Ben Domenech in The Spectator making a similar argument that Rubio has ascended to the forefront during all these global changes, while JD Vance, who’s been more in the non-interventionist camp, has receded,” Bevan said. “I still think Vance is the heavy favorite, and Rubio would be the favorite to be vice president on that ticket.” “I have it on good authority that the vice president and the secretary of state are good friends, and they were good friends before this administration,” Wegmann said. “Right now, neither of them wants to do anything that jeopardizes the president’s agenda, and neither is looking to stab the other in the back. They’re cut from the same ideological cloth.” *** After that, at minute 32, the group reacts to a new Gallup poll saying the share of Americans who identify as political independents has reached a record high of 45%, with only 27% each identifying as Republicans and Democrats. Why doesn’t that trigger any changes in that direction in our politics? “What strikes me is how Congress is responding to this. We see Republicans becoming more conservative, Democrats more liberal, and yet there’s no emerging independent voice – no one willing to buck both party lines and strike out in a new direction,” Wegmann said. “I haven’t seen that kind of independent streak down-ballot.” “This is how you describe yourself, but when it comes time for elections, they usually come home to one of the parties,” Bevan said. “There are maybe two dozen true swing districts. Everyone else is in a red district or a blue district. It’s not politically advantageous to buck your party. If we had a parliamentary system, you might see people trying to capture that middle ground – but that’s not how our system is set up.” *** Finally, at minute 43, the group comments on the remarkably non-political Golden Globe Awards this weekend. “In retrospect, will we look back on this and say this was the moment Trump fever broke?” Wegmann asked. “Do people in Hollywood realize that jokes about Donald Trump after a decade don’t really land anymore? Or are they just sick of them?” *** 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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