Thursday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Carl Cannon, Andrew Walworth, and RCP contributor Richard Porter break down the conflicting narratives about an ICE officer shooting and killing a woman in Minneapolis. The panel also discusses the U.S. Navy seizing two more oil tankers connected to Venezuela, raising echoes of Cold War tensions with Russia; President Trump’s declaration that he wants to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes; and new Department of Agriculture guidelines that overhaul the traditional “food pyramid,” emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and protein over carbs. You can listen to the show live each day 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 opens with the conflicting narratives surrounding why a woman was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis this week, and how the political world is reacting. Carl Cannon praised ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan’s measured response as a rare example of virtue. “To judge a case before all the facts are in is something we’ve done since the Rodney King days-when what everyone thought they saw turned out not to be the full picture,” he said. “Rep. Ilhan Omar called the ICE agent a murderer, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman who was killed was a terrorist. We don’t know what she was doing! Was she trying to get away? Was she trying to run over the officer? We don’t know what the officer thought. It takes time to evaluate. In American politics, we don’t take the time.” “There’s something of a first-mover advantage to spinning things,” Richard Porter commented. “The very first video that came out was from the side, and politicians jumped right away and called it murder. It wasn’t until later that a video from the other end made it more clear that the car may have actually struck one of the officers.” *** After that, around minute 16, the group discussed the U.S. Navy seizing two more oil tankers linked to Venezuela-one reportedly escorted by a Russian submarine-right before the president hosts oil executives at the White House tomorrow. Is this really all about oil, or are there bigger conflicts in the background? “Trump seems to be the only one who remembers that Russia has like 30,000 nuclear weapons. But Putin shouldn’t be playing games smuggling Venezuelan oil,” Cannon said. “This conflict with Venezuela, we talked about it as Donald Trump’s version of the Monroe Doctrine, but it’s starting to remind me more of a Cold War standoff.” “President Trump is a unique leader in the sense that he really understands leverage and power,” Porter added. “He’s not actually using the military to invade Venezuela. He went in and showed them, with the snatch/arrest of Maduro, just what we could do, just how powerful we are. It’s not physical force as much as it’s psychological, and it’s economic leverage to force the Venezuelans to reform themselves-to drive China, Russia, and Iran out.” *** In the next segment, at minute 23, the group discussed President Trump’s plan to make housing more affordable, floating a ban on large institutional investors buying single-family homes. Is that legal? Would it work? And is this a good idea? “I don’t know what levers he’s pulling in order to stop an institutional investor who is otherwise entitled to buy and sell things in this country. So I’m kind of scratching my head,” Porter said. “It might reduce a little bit of demand, but I think the real issue is supply. A lot of localities have made it so expensive to build new housing. Builders have to recoup the cost of these regulations.” “This seems to be an idea that maybe Trump got from one of his conversations with Mamdani,” Cannon said. “What’s needed in this country is a construction boom. And I would think that President Trump, given his background, would know this intuitively.” *** Finally, 37 minutes into the show, the panel reviews the Department of Agriculture’s revised dietary guidelines, including a new “food pyramid” that emphasizes “real food” like protein and fresh vegetables over grains and processed foods. Is the advice more complicated than “Eat more steak”? “First, I want to look like Bobby Kennedy when I’m his age-that guy is absolutely ripped. Second, I figured this out about thirty years ago for myself: Protein matters, and cutting carbs was the only way I ever really lost weight,” Porter said. “One of my family members just eats carbs. It’s not healthy! We’re omnivores.” “This reminds me of ‘Sleeper,’ the Woody Allen movie, where they discover in the future that chocolate and cigarettes are actually good for you,” Porter joked. Cannon added, “This isn’t saying everyone has to eat red meat. Fish has protein. Beans and rice together make a complete protein. Vegetarians can still follow these guidelines. The real message is less processed food, more real food, and adequate protein.” *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics radio show – subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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