Rational Radio Daily with Steele and Ungar

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"Trump has set a very low bar in terms of presidential rhetoric. He managed to fall below it last night." Aug 24, 2017

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"It was the most unworthy, ugly, inciteful speech I can remember a president giving." That's how Bob Shrum, a legend in presidential politics, described President Trump's speech at his Make America Great Again rally Tuesday night. Shrum went on to say that the president's behavior is "not normal for a state assemblyman, much less the President of the United States". Shrum shared his thoughts on President Trump's speech and also talked to Michael Steele and Rick Ungar about the state of modern presidential politics. Jim Antle, politics editor for the Washington Examiner, joined the guys to discuss his piece, "Frustrated by governing, Trump returns to campaigning".

"There's no political support for winning in Afghanistan." Aug 23, 2017

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After President Trump's speech in Fort Myer, Virginia, last night, Breitbart News ran the following headline: "TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ BASE UNHAPPY WITH FLIP-FLOP AFGHANISTAN SPEECH." The headline spoke volumes about the president's decision to reverse over two years of campaign promises to pull out of Afghanistan. Pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle remarked how similar President Trump's rhetoric on Afghanistan was to both President Obama and President George W. Bush. Retired General Barry McCaffrey, one of the most decorated generals in U.S. history, joins Michael Steele and Rick Ungar to dissect the president's speech. Michael and Rick also debate how the Democrats lost their "blue wall," reliably Democratic Midwestern states like Michigan and Wisconsin in the 2016 election.

"The best solution to this problem at this point in time is to speak your mind and to speak it loudly." Aug 22, 2017

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When President Trump gave his first public statement on the tragic violence in Charlottesville, he condemned violence "on both sides". Pundits, reporters, politicians and people on social media condemned the president for creating a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and white supremacists and protesters. However, there is certainly reason to condemn the violent rhetoric and protest tactics used by far-left resistance groups like antifa. Ryan Lenz, senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center, explains why far-left groups like antifa feel the need to use violence to combat the violence and rhetoric of far-right and alt-right groups. Jared Rizzi, SiriusXM's White House correspondent, discusses what we can expect from President Trump's address on the United States' military future in Afghanistan.

"The problems that Americans have with President Trump aren't about policy. It's about him!" Aug 19, 2017

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"[This was] one of the worst weeks I think any of us have ever seen in any presidency." With this succinct sentence, Rick Ungar summed up this incredibly divisive week in American politics. In many ways, it began last Friday with the Nuremberg-inspired demonstration on UVA's campus and it ended today with White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's departure from the administration. In between was a whirlwind of political fallout over President Trump's statements on the violence in Charlottesville. Rick and Michael wonder whether the continuing fallout will continue to destabilize and ultimately derail the president's legislative agenda. Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, shares her thoughts on Senator Jeff Flake's New York Times op-ed, the RAISE Act and the national debate over both legal and illegal immigration.

"What do the angry white boys want?" Aug 18, 2017

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"What do angry white boys want?" National Review's roving correspondent Kevin Williamson's answer might surprise you: girlfriends. Williamson discusses his theory on the undercurrent of sexual politics that informs modern white supremacist ideology. Bill Sternberg, editorial page editor for USA Today, talks about the paper's editorial calling for Congress to censure President Trump.

"You can't erase history. What has happened has happened." Aug 17, 2017

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In this bonus podcast, Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, talked with Michael and Rick about the debates to remove confederate statues, like those of Robert E. Lee, and memorials from Southern cities and towns. He said people should stop trying to compare Lee with George Washington, stating, "Why would you want to defend someone whose signature life achievement was treason and defending the institution of slavery?"

"There is no room in our party for white nationalists and white supremacists...I thought we all understood this!" Aug 17, 2017

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"This was a moral disgrace." Dr. Charles Krauthammer did not mince words with Fox News' Bill Hemmer on Special Report as he condemned President Trump's comments that there was violence 'on both sides' at the Charlottesville rallies and protests over the weekend. "What he did is he reverted back to where he was on Saturday and made it very clear that what he read on... Monday, two days later, was a hostage tape. Clearly reading off a prompter, saying these denunciations by name of the KKK, et cetera. That wasn't Trump speaking, that was the aides speaking." Dr. Krauthammer was one of many pundits, both on the right and left, to strongly criticize the president's lack of moral leadership. However, many congressional Republicans failed to condemn President Trump by name. Rep. Charlie Dent, the co-chair of the moderate GOP Tuesday Group, joined Michael Steele and Rick Ungar to discuss how the Republican Party needs to get back to its roots as the party of Lincoln and civil rights. Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer and 2016 presidential candidate, talked about the need to demand more accountability from our politicians and elected leaders.

"The time for moral equivalency was not this weekend. It is not now." Aug 16, 2017

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"I think there's blame on both sides," said President Donald Trump at an impromptu press conference today at Trump Tower. "You have some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides." These comments sparked immediate outrage across social media and garnered praise from white supremacists like David Duke for his criticism of the antifa protesters. Noah Rothman, associate editor of Commentary Magazine, discusses why violent protest of any kind is unacceptable in a democratic society. Gordon Chang, an author and Forbes contributor, talks about the current state of play with North Korea and how it may affect trade with China.

"This is our moment as a national party to make it clear where we stand on hate." Aug 15, 2017

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"I'm glad they believe that Lindsey Graham is not their friend," Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox New's Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, "It would bother me a lot if they did. So, if I were president of the United States and these people showed sympathy toward me and my agenda, it would bother me." Senator Graham condemned the neo-Nazi, KKK and alt-right groups rallying in Charlottesville over the weekend and President Trump for refusing to explicitly denounce these white supremacist groups. The president ended up condemning the groups today, but the damage was done. Michael Steele and Rick Ungar wonder how the GOP will react to this seminal moment in the face of the president's lack of moral leadership. Former Congressman John Dingell, a World War II veteran and the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history, discusses the importance of a president's character.

"If you're spending money on efforts to incarcerate and criminalize, you're not going to solve the [opioid] problem." Aug 12, 2017

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"Strong law enforcement is absolutely vital to having a drug-free society," President Trump said at a briefing on the national opioid epidemic Tuesday. "I'm confident that by working with our health care and law enforcement experts we will fight this deadly epidemic and the United States will win." But will this strategy prevail? The president's "law and order" strategy was seen as an abrupt departure from his opioid crisis commission's recommendations. Michael Steele and Rick Ungar wonder whether President Trump's strong-arm tactics will have a positive and meaningful impact on this national health emergency.

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