On Friday’s RealClearPolitics radio show, Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann discuss Washington D.C. suing the Trump administration over his takeover of the city’s police force, President Trump’s role in this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, a new poll that says Americans are tired of tipping so often, and this week’s “You Can Not Be Serious?!” news roundup. Later, Taylor Swift superfan Ashley Moir discusses the cultural impact of Swift’s latest album, and California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley makes the case against mid-cycle redistricting. 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. *** First, how is the Trump administration’s takeover of policing in the nation’s capital going? Democrats are calling it a fascist coup, the mayor is suing to block it, and at least one former DOJ employee was arrested for throwing a sandwich at police, but do people feel safer in the city? “One thing that I’m fascinated by through this is the class dynamic,” said D.C. resident Phil Wegmann. “A lot of people who say crime is not a problem live on Capitol Hill or Georgetown … It’s different if you live in Southeast, or NoMa, or Navy Yard.” “Our thoughts and prayers go out to that law enforcement officer who was on the receiving end of the $ 5 footlong,” Wegmann joked. “We get a really good picture of the psychology of that individual and some of this resistance movement. If they really thought fascism was coming to America, the response would not be to throw deli meat at a cop. Instead, what we saw is, frankly, in this DOJ individual, someone who is an entitled yuppie who thought the rules didn’t apply to him. And as a result, they wasted a perfectly good sandwich.” *** And then, around minute 9, President Trump says he was “98 percent involved” in naming this year’s Kennedy Center honorees. Among those selected are Sylvester Stallone, KISS, and Gloria Gaynor. Is Trump taking American culture back to the 80s? “He clearly enjoys this stuff,” Tom Bevan said. “He told this story about how he didn’t want to MC this event … and Susie Wiles, according to the president’s own telling, convinced him to do this.” “If you believe what Trump was saying that he had to be convinced to do this, it shows how much influence Susie Wiles has across a whole range of matters that are serious and maybe not so serious.” *** After that, starting at minute 13, the gang talks about a new CBS/Yougov poll that says 66% of Americans are tired of being expected to tip so much and in more places. Could this frustration undermine Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy? “Turns out I’m not alone,” Bevan said. “Everything is 20% more expensive these days … And then they’re trying to shame and guilt you into spending another 15–20% on top of that, just for someone handing you a cup of coffee or something. It’s ridiculous. It’s emotional manipulation.” *** Plus, around timestamp 17:30, the weekly “You Can Not Be Serious?!” roundup of absurd headlines. Bevan highlighted John Oliver’s takedown of Sen. Chuck Schumer and the fictional family he tells relatable stories about. Wegmann laughed at Russian journalists not having a comfortable time in Alaska for the Trump-Putin summit. Walworth lampooned MSNBC contributor Anand Giridharadas saying he’s more worried about climate change and democracy than street crime in D.C. *** After that, at minute 21, culture critic and Taylor Swift super fan Ashley Moir talks to Tom Bevan about the cultural impact of Swift’s new album. Is she too formulaic? Is she too mass-produced? “I call myself an unashamed Swiftie because, you know, I’m not ashamed of it. I love her and I love her music,” she said. “Taylor Swift was able to do something that the NFL has not been able to do for years, which is tap into the demographic of young women and young girls. And now you hear stories about young girls getting excited to watch football with their dads.” “The Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour ever,” she explained. “She did come out with a full endorsement of Kamala Harris, and she signed it: Childless cat lady … but she’s been quiet on politics since then,” Moir said. “She did it a lot in the early Trump years, and it didn’t really move the needle. And I think she is so about making her fans happy, and she knows she has fans from both sides of the political spectrum.” *** Finally, at minute 31:30, Andrew Walworth talks with California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley about his bill that aims to stop mid-cycle congressional redistricting nationwide, and why Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw the lines to create five new Democratic congressional districts is “a truly outrageous scheme.” “We already see that they’ve proposed fraudulent ballot language to try to confuse voters. But I think, at the end of the day, we can stop this,” Kiley said. “Even if Texas goes through with what they’re planning, when all is said and done there, the Democrats will still have better representation in Texas than California Republicans do right now.” He’s introduced a bill to restrict redistricting to only every ten years: “That’s actually what the Constitution says-you’re required to do it at the beginning of the decade, made after the census, to reflect population changes. And historically, that’s the only time it’s been done.” “When all is said and done, it’s not clear there will be a huge gain from one party or the other. But really, that’s not how we want to win the House,” Kiley said. “All these games and gerrymandering are taking attention away from the issues that we can actually win the 2026 election on,” he said. “I think independent voters would probably look at that and say something is a little out of sorts when California has 52 seats and one party has 49 of them.” *** Don’t miss an episode of the RealClearPolitics weeknight radio show – subscribe at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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