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On Thursday evening, Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president of the United States. As he accepted the nomination, the crowd erupted in chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump!” This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks to Emily Jashinsky, his co-host on “Counter Points,” on Thursday afternoon, before Trump’s acceptance speech. Jashinsky joins from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They discuss Trump’s vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance; the “New Right” taking hold of the Republican Party; and what the New Right’s vision is for the country, from tariffs to immigration, and LGBTQ+ rights, foreign policy, and education policy.
Full transcript at The Intercept.
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Dmitri Mehlhorn is among the most powerful Democratic funders and operatives working inside what can roughly be called the party’s establishment. He’s also been one of the most ardent defenders of Joe Biden as the best Democratic nominee to beat Donald Trump in November. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks to Mehlhorn about why he’s committed to Biden at a moment when more are calling for him to abandon his candidacy.
Find full transcript at The Intercept.
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At the end of July, Venezuelans head to the polls to elect a new president, with Nicolás Maduro seeking another six-year term. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto, who was in New York for a U.N. debate on unilateral sanctions. Fresh from visits to China and Russia, where he engaged with BRICS alliance leaders, Pinto discusses Venezuela's bid to join this coalition aimed at countering Western economic dominance. They delve into the impacts of sanctions from the Trump and Biden administrations on Venezuela's economy and migration crisis, and the battle over Citgo, a U.S.-based oil company acquired by the country in 1990. Grim also questions Venezuela's human rights record.
Find full transcript at The Intercept.
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In a conversation he didn’t know was being recorded, embattled Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito shared his private belief that his movement’s battle with secular forces in the country was a zero-sum contest of irreconcilable values.
“One side or the other is going to win,” Alito says in secretly recorded audio. Alito was speaking at a reception for the Supreme Court Historical Society last Monday evening. "I mean, there can be a way of working — a way of living together peacefully, but it's difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can't be compromised. It's not like you can split the difference.”
Alito was responding to a question from Lauren Windsor, a progressive advocacy journalist and activist who regularly records conversations with Republicans and conservative movement leaders.
Windsor is my guest on Deconstructed this week. We’re publishing the secret audio in partnership with Rolling Stone.
Windsor, who is making a documentary called “Gonzo for Democracy,” which will be out in the fall, reminded Alito that she had spoken with him a year earlier at the same event and wanted to ask him the same question. “What I asked you about was about the polarization in this country, about, like, how do we repair that rift?” she asked.
“Asking questions of judges, these are the most discreet people in public life. There’s a huge amount of secrecy around the Supreme Court decisions around justices,” Windsor tells Grim. “I’m asking the questions to try to expose true intent. And given that none of the justices will go to Congress, will make their views more publicly known, I feel that it’s of intense public interest to find out whether their decisions are guided by personal religious convictions that really have no place in our public life.”
Find full transcript at The Intercept.
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Canada has a vaccine injury support program that has paid out more than CA$11 million to claimants; Ross Wightman was among its first recipients. This week on Deconstructed, Wightman shares his story with Ryan Grim. Days after receiving an AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, Wightman began to experience pains unlike he had ever experienced before. He was eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the body’s nerves. Grim and Wightman talk about his journey and support network, and whether new reporting from the New York Times about people who have experienced side effects from Covid vaccines signals a shift in serious media attention to concerns.
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In the weeks after October 7, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee took aim at members of Congress who expressed vocal opposition to Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Focusing on the so-called Squad, the Israel lobby is spending millions to push out members of Congress they view as a threat to the U.S.–Israel relationship. But Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., among the Squad members who called for an early ceasefire and whom AIPAC had been hoping to take out, cruised to victory in April. Now the lobby group’s sights are set on Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York’s 16th Congressional District and Rep. Cori Bush in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. This week on Deconstructed, Justice Democrats Usamah Andrabi and Alexandra Rojas join Ryan Grim to discuss their organizing efforts to counter campaigns taking aim at progressive members of Congress.
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“There were kids in the ICU that had bullet wounds to the chest or bullet wounds to the head,” Dr. Mohammed "Adeel" Khaleel recounts the harrowing scenes from his recent medical mission in Gaza to Ryan Grim on Deconstructed this week. An orthopedic spine surgeon hailing from Dallas, Texas, Khaleel witnessed firsthand the crushing toll on human life amid the rubble of decimated hospital infrastructure. Despite the overwhelming challenges, Khaleel highlights the unwavering dedication of medical personnel committed to providing whatever aid they can through the devastation. He returned back to the U.S. with a message from patients and doctors in Gaza: “Don't forget us.”
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Today, we’re sharing the re-launch of The Lever’s flagship podcast Lever Time. In this week’s episode, David Sirota and senior podcast producer Arjun Singh discuss the 2024 presidential election, and the Democratic Party’s efforts to prevent a primary challenge to President Biden.
Since 2008, Democratic Party leadership have worked to suppress primary challengers and support incumbent politicians. It’s not uncommon to see the party intervene in a primary on behalf of their preferred candidate in congressional and presidential races. That mentality was on full display during the 2024 Democratic primaries, where the DNC worked with its state affiliates to ensure that, in some cases, Biden’s two primary challengers didn’t even appear on the ballot.
Given Biden’s consistently low approval ratings and now palpable anger over his handling of the war in Gaza, it raises the question: did the party intentionally prevent a proper primary from taking place because they wanted to suppress any challenges to Biden?
Sirota and Singh unpack Biden’s popularity, and look back at what happened in the 1980 Democratic primary, when Democratic senator Ted Kennedy challenged incumbent president Jimmy Carter.
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“None of us benefit from a burning planet,” says activist and documentarian Astra Taylor on this week’s Deconstructed. Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix join Ryan Grim to discuss their new book, “Solidarity: The Past, Present, And Future of a World-Changing Idea.” Delving into the philosophical depths of solidarity, they trace its origins back to ancient Rome and explore its relevance in today's interconnected world.
Focusing on transformative solidarity, they highlight its potential to bridge diverse experiences and causes, offering a unified approach to address the multifaceted crises we face. Taylor, a co-founder of the Debt Collective, a union of debtors, and Hunt-Hendrix, co-founder of progressive philanthropy networks Solidaire and Way to Win, draw on their experience to underscore the necessity of transformative solidarity in movement building.
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A recent Gallup poll found that 29 percent of respondents said neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden are fit for the job. To unpack how voters are feeling about the two candidates, this week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim is joined by Anat Shenker-Osorio, a returning guest, messaging expert, and host of the podcast “Words to Win By.” Together they dig into what she's been hearing from voters in swing states disillusioned by both parties and the whole electoral process.
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