Thursday on the RealClearPolitics radio show — weeknights at 6:00 p.m. on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel 124 and then on Apple, Spotify, and here on our website — Tom Bevan, Phil Wegmann, and Carl Cannon look at a couple of huge events in the world of politics today: The selection of a new pope, President Trump’s new trade deal with the UK, former President Biden’s appearance on “The View,” and more. *** First, the gang takes a look at the new Pope — a 69-year-old American from Illinois who has chosen the name Leo XIV. He’s written on American politics, should we expect him to get involved more than past pontiffs? Could Leo XIV be the first bishop of Rome to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game? “He’s the first American Pope and English is his native language, for the first time in 2,000 years,” Carl Cannon said. “We’ll find out if the Vatican thinks retweets are endorsements or not,” Phil Wegmann added. “He’s criticized some statements from J.D. Vance, we’ll see if that continues as the White House moves quickly on immigration.” *** At timestamp 6:40, President Trump announced a new trade agreement with the UK today. Can we glean anything about the deals with other countries that are reportedly still in progress? “The most significant detail here is the U.S. started with a 10% tariff on Great Britain, and we’re ending with a 10% tariff on Great Britain,” RCP White House reporter Phil Wegmann said. “And Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Trump, in the 11th hour, had new requests and requirements for this deal… What that shows is the president himself is playing an active role in these negotiations; he has a hand in them, he’s not just signing off. Whatever individual deals come will run through his office.” *** Starting at minute 12:40, what’s happening with Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman, three years out from a stroke and a subsequent treatment for depression? A profile this week in New York Magazine, titled “All By Himself, the Hidden Struggles of John Fetterman,” raised eyebrows and prompted a CNN reporter to ask if he’s still taking his meds. “The cynical take is the mental decline of Sen. Fetterman on the campaign trail was not an issue when progressives liked him,” Wegmann said. “But now that Fetterman has become more pro-Israel, his alleged mental decline is fair game. A lot of people who praised his resiliency for overcoming a stroke are now turning on him.” “The Associated Press went four years without ever writing a headline saying Biden’s conduct in private raised alarms,” Tom Bevan said, referring to a piece from the AP titled: “Sen. John Fetterman Raises Alarms With Outburst at Meeting With Union Officials” “This guy had a stroke during his campaign, and the press wouldn’t write about it,” Cannon added. “He’s had staff members quit over his support for Israel… The Democratic Party is pandering to a far-left, anti-Israel contingent, and Fetterman hasn’t gone there. And then you start seeing these hit pieces.” *** Starting at timestamp 25:30, Joe Biden is back. After giving his first post-presidency interview yesterday to the BBC, he appeared this morning on ABC’s “The View.” Should we expect even more from the former president? “With this hubris, where does he go? The most softball of interviews, The View. He’s not going to 60 Minutes or 20/20,” Phil Wegmann said. “What stuck out to me was Dr. Jill Biden denying she kept him in a cocoon. This is also her legacy at stake, and there are going to be more questions about what she did over those four years to shield him from the press and the public.” “He said he wasn’t surprised by Kamala Harris losing. Phil mentioned hubris, but it’s more than that. It’s cluelessness. It’s not knowing what happened. This guy was forced to step aside by the Democratic Party,” Carl Cannon added. “Are you sitting there with a straight face, Dr. Jill, saying you saw something at that debate you’d never seen before?” “With a $ 30 million book advance, apparently, Joe is already working on a memoir. But it’s really Jill’s memoir we want, because she reportedly kept a diary while she was in the White House,” Tom Bevan added. *** Finally, starting at timestamp 33:40, Carl Cannon chats with Bill Galston from the Brookings Institution about his new piece on RCP: “It’s Donald Trump’s Economy Now” “As someone who has watched polling numbers for decades, I was really surprised how quickly the turnover from Biden to Trump occurred,” Galston said. “Trump acted so boldly and dramatically on tariffs that people sort of drew a double line after the Biden administration and decided they’re living in a new world now — a world created by the decision of one man. For better or worse, the consequences of this bold stroke are his.” *** 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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