Big Money and Trump’s New Cabinet

“Donald Trump is a master of picking appointees for very senior positions who never would have gotten those jobs under anyone else,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says. “I think it’s part of creating not just a government of laws and rules but a government built around the principle of personal loyalty to one man.”

With Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos

January 18, 2025

Hillary Clinton on How Donald Trump Lost the Iran War The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down with David Remnick at the 92nd Street Y, in New York, on Monday evening, after the Trump Administration announced a memorandum of understanding to end its war in Iran. Remnick asked whether the United States lost this war. “Yes,” Clinton replied. “The United States has come out weaker. Iran has come out stronger.” According to Clinton, Israel repeatedly tried to pressure the Obama Administration into backing a similar action in Iran, but she didn’t take the bait. “They would say things like ‘Our planes are on the tarmac,’ ” Clinton recalled. “And I’d say, ‘Well, good luck. Great. Why are you doing this?’ ” They also discuss Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term, and its fateful consequences. “He made a terrible mistake,” she said. Had Biden stayed with his plan of serving for one term, “I believe whoever emerged . . . would have beaten Donald Trump.” Further reading and listening:  “Hillary Clinton on the Psychology of Autocrats,” an episode of The Political Scene  “Hillary Clinton Explains What Happened,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour “The Broadway Life of Hillary Clinton,” by Michael Schulman “Curtis Sittenfeld’s ‘Rodham’ Offers the Catharsis of Uncomplicated Regret,” by Nora Caplan-Bricker The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
  1. Hillary Clinton on How Donald Trump Lost the Iran War
  2. The Politics of the Big Game
  3. Rachel Goldberg-Polin on Losing a Son in Gaza
  4. Donald Trump’s Imperial Birthday Spectacle
  5. The Abuse That Fuelled Andrew Tate's Media Empire

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