Beg to Differ with Mona Charen

The Atlantic's David Frum joins to discuss the debate debacle and what comes next? Can Biden be persuaded to drop out? Also, a look at two Supreme Court cases. Highlights / Lowlights  David: Slain Gazan named as Doctors Without Borders staffer was Islamic Jihad rocket maker (Times of Israel) Mona: Gaza Chief’s Brutal Calculation: Civilian Bloodshed Will Help Hamas (WSJ) Linda: 4.1 million migrants: Where they’re from, where they live in the U.S. (WaPo) Bill: France is facing an election like no other. Here’s how it works and what comes next. (AP) Damon: Same-Sex Relations, Marriage Still Supported by Most in U.S. (Gallup)

Will Saletan guest hosts as Tom Edsall joins the panel to discuss rising political polarization, Biden’s latest moves on immigration, and the crackdown on social media and kids using smartphones. Highlights / Lowlights Tom: The book 'Wolves of K Street' by Brody and Luke Mullins and a story from  his weekly poker game. Linda: Experts Handicap the Trump-Biden Debate (Karl Rove, WSJ) Damon: No, I Don't Want to Protest (Pamela Paul, NYT) Why Activists Keep Failing the Causes That Fire Them Up (Sarah Isgur, NYT) Bill: The Return of Peace Through Strength by Robert C. O'Brien (Foreign Affairs) Biden and Trump tied in the Emerson Poll in... Minnesota. Will: Louisiana Requires All Public Classrooms to Display Ten Commandments (NYT) Bibi's shameful Biden attack video

Tom Nichols joins the panel to discuss the rise of the right in Europe (and here), the Hunter Biden verdict, and the Israel hostage rescue. Mona: The Big Lie's Bad, Very Bad Week by Charlie Sykes. Linda: No, You Don’t Have the Power to Stop Climate Change by Quico Toro (Persuasion) Bill: American journalist Evan Gershkovich to stand trial on espionage charges in Russia (NPR) Damon: John Ganz's new book "When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s" Tom: John Bolton going through exhaustive detail about Trump's manifest unfitness and then saying he won't vote for Biden on MSNBC. Tom's referenced item "The Jimmy Clean Hands Election" at The Atlantic.

Sasha Havlicek and Philip Bump join the panel to discuss online disinformation, the GOP reaction to Trump guilty verdict, and the Fauci follies in Congress. highlights / lowlights Sasha- The 80th Anniversary of D-Day at Normandy American Cemetery. Damon- The Tower and the Sewer by Mark Lilla (NYR) Linda- This Catholic leader shelters migrants. Texas says he runs ‘stash houses.’ (WaPo) Philip- Two years later, Dinesh D'Souza's obvious misinformation is finally taken down Mona- World War II Veterans meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky at Normandy and "The Biggest War on the Small Screen" by Benjamin Parker (Bulwark)

Famed presidential photographer David Hume Kennerly joins Bill Kristol and regulars to discuss the Ford Library's cowardly refusal to honor Liz Cheney, how Democrats should handle the Trump verdict, and Biden's standing with the young and old. highlights / lowlights David: In closing, Trump’s team takes the jurors for idiots (Dana Milbank, WaPo) Mona: Why Trump is hobnobbing with rappers facing gang-related charges (MSNBC) Bill Kristol: The impressiveness of the Manhattan Trump Trial (NYT). Linda Chavez: Mexican Democracy Hangs In The Balance (Enrique Krauze, Persuasion) Bill Galston: Highlight: NATO’s boss wants to free Ukraine to strike hard inside Russia (The Economist) Lowlight: Almost 6,000 Dead in 6 Years: How Baltimore Became the U.S. Overdose Capital (NYT) show notes: The Danger of a Small Act of Cowardice by David Hume Kennerly. (Includes the Cheney / Ford photo referenced in the show.) David's Resignation Letter from the Ford Presidential Foundation

Joe Klein joins the panel to discuss Haley's Trump support, Alito's freak flags, and polls showing Americans are deeply misinformed about the state of the economy. highlights / lowlights Damon: Is the Biden Campaign Running on False Hope? (Isaac Chotiner, NYer) Linda: Three Books to Help You Understand Nations in Transit 2024 (Freedom House) Joseph: The U.S. assembles the pieces of a possible Gaza war endgame (David Ignatius, WaPo) Mona: The Birth of a MAGA Conspiracy Theory (Andrew Egger, The Bulwark) Bill: If Trump wins, what would hold him back? (Andrew Prokop, Vox)

Sarah Longwell, Chris Cillizza, Will Saletan join Mona and Bill to discuss the upcoming debates, the polls (and Biden's response to them) and how to spend a record $61 million on a Senate primary and still get trounced. highlights / lowlights Mona: Thousands sign petition urging canceled concerts by Israeli ensemble to go ahead in Amsterdam (Times of Israel) Sarah: GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says Biden should have pardoned Trump (NBC) Biden killing the presidential debate commission. Chris: The beauty of no audience at the Presidential debate. Bill: Can the Declaration of Independence’s Ideals Hold America Together? (Colin Woodard, Washington Monthly) Lowlight: The reports from the battlefield in Ukraine, after the GOP delayed aid for so long. Will: RFK Jr.’s Rich Running Mate Just Added $8 Million to His Effort.  The hypocrisy of Congressional Republicans who voted against aid to Ukraine and Israel but lectured Biden over withholding 2,000 pound bombs for Rafah.

The Society for the Rule of Law's Gregg Nunziata joins to discuss the NY and other cases against Trump; Biden's pivot on weapons to Israel, and RFK, Jr's brain worm. highlights / lowlights:  Mona: In Letter, 540 Jewish Columbia Students Defend Zionism, Condemn Protests Gregg: Highlight: This Is Peak College Admissions Insanity by Daniel Currell, Lowlight: Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump allies who tried to overturn the 2020 election roll out voting 'integrity' bill Linda: The New Propaganda War by Anne Applebaum Bill: Liberland: Populism, Peronism, and Madness in Argentina by David Rieff Damon:  The curse of presentism by Brink Lindsey

FT's Ed Luce joins the group to discuss campus protests and whether Biden is losing. highlights / lowlights: Mona: Country Music, a film by Ken Burns Ed: The Colombia student asking that the protestors be brought food in their encampment. Linda: MTG's bizarre defense of her anti-Semitism vote. Bill: Netanyahu: Israel will invade Rafah — regardless of hostage deal Damon: The new Steve Martin documentary.

Anne Applebaum joins the panel (with Philip Bump) to discuss Ukraine's war effort, Russian disinformation, campus protests, and a change of pace for final segment. What would you have put on the Voyager Spacecraft? Mona: Images of human love: parents interacting with babies (joy), a dog reacting to being reunited, humans taking care of other humans with a handicap (compassion). Damon: Holy texts of major religions, Plato's Republic, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and the Beatles. Philip: The vessel itself is a message, and a Haiku by Issa. Linda:, a reproduction of Aphrodite of Knidos Sculpture by Praxiteles, Michelangelo's David, Gorecki and Beethoven.

 Lawfare's Ben Wittes joins the group to discuss Iran's attack on Israel, Congress's action on Ukraine, Trump's NY trial, and the Supreme Court. highlights / lowlights Mona: The Great Hypocrisy of the Pro-Life Movement (David French, NYT) Bill: Efforts to reform the insurrection act. Linda: Restoring Civics in Higher Education (Wilfred McClay, AEI) Ben: Mona is given an award, but Chatham House Rules. Damon: The Retconning of January 6 by people who knew better

Patterico joins the panel to analyze Bragg's case against Trump. The panel also looks at the Arizona Supreme Court decision, and the GOP's clownish attempt to find something on which to impeach Biden. highlights and lowlights Damon: Anxious Parents Are the Ones Who Need Help (NYT) Patrick: Famed photographer quits Ford board over Liz Cheney snub (Politico) Linda: A Region Reordered by Autocracy and Democracy (Freedom House) Mona: Cass review: Health secretary criticises gender care 'culture of secrecy' (BBC) Bill: High interest rates, rising inflation: The economy still isn’t normal (WaPo)

Matt Bennett of Third Way joins to discuss the end of No Labels, RFK, Jr., and other third parties as well as Florida's new abortion law. highlights / lowlights Mona: Karl Rove admonishing Trump's embrace of January 6 criminals (audio) Damon: Why We Can’t Stop Arguing About Whether Trump Is a Fascist (Andrew Marantz, New Yorker) Matt: How the No Labels 2024 Presidential Campaign Failed to Launch (WSJ) Bill: Build Back Faster (Sean Kennedy, City Journal) show notes This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/begtodiffer and get on your way to being your best self. Go to TryMiracle.com/BEGTODIFFER to try Miracle Made sheets today! And, whether you’re buying them for yourself or as a gift for a loved one, if you order today you can save over 40%. AND if you use our promo BEGTODIFFER at checkout you’ll get 3 FREE TOWELS and SAVE an extra 20%!

The Atlantic's Peter Wehner joins the panel to discuss Trump hawking a "patriotic" Bible, accusations of lawfare regarding Trump's trials, and Putin's war on truth. Highlights / Lowlights: Mona— What Would You Have Israel Do to Defend Itself? (David Brooks, NYT) Damon— Tucker Carlson's hilariously wrong prediction that Sam Bankman-Fried would avoid justice because he was a megadonor. Peter— Lowlight: Jesus's Crucifixion. Highlight: Easter, of course. Linda— Bridge collapse brings stark reminder of immigrant workers’ vulnerabilities (WaPo) Bill— Democrat who ran heavily on abortion rights, IVF wins Alabama special election (WaPo)

Nicholas Grossman joins the panel to discuss Trump's money troubles as a national security threat and political challenge, the "bloodbath" brouhaha, and Schumer's speech about Netanyahu. highlights / lowlights  Damon: Miranda's Last Gift by David Frum. Mona: The U.S. is no longer one of the 20 happiest countries. If you're young, you probably know why. Bill: Graham calls for interest-free loans to Ukraine: ‘New way of doing business’ (The Hill) Nick: Once More With Feeling: Banning TikTok Is Unconstitutional & Won’t Do Shit To Deal With Any Actual Threats by Mike Masnick (TechDirt) LINDA: 12,000 More Visas for Afghans Who Helped US Military Included in New Funding Deal (Military.com). Appeals court raises doubts of legality of new Texas deportation law, SB4, pointing to past rulings (Houston Chronicle)

Michael Isikoff, co-author of Find Me the Votes: A Hard-Charging Georgia Prosecutor, a Rogue President, and the Plot to Steal an American Election, details some of the undercovered aspects of Trump's 2020 election subversion. The panel also discusses how the Biden reset is going. highlights / lowlights Mona: Warden is ousted as FBI raids California women’s prison known as the ‘rape club’ (LATimes). Damon: American politics is undergoing a racial realignment (FT) and a thread from the author, John Burn-Murdoch. Bill: 2024 Michigan: Trump Leads Biden In 5-Way Race (Quinnipiac Poll)   Michael: Trump’s Biden Mockery Upsets People Who Stutter: ‘We’ve Heard This Before’ (NYTimes). Linda: Literary Magazine Retracts Israeli Writer’s Essay as Staffers Quit (NYTimes).

On this week’s episode, Philip Bump of The Washington Post joins guest host A.B. Stoddard and the usual crew to discuss the beginning of the general election. highlights / lowlights A.B.- The NC Exit Polls where voters thought Trump had better physical and mental fitness to be President than Haley. Philip- The Crazy Collapse of the House G.O.P.’s Impeachment Case Against Biden Bill- Ukraine outgunned 10 to 1 in massive artillery battle with Russia Linda- Mitch McConnell endorses Donald Trump for president after years of frosty ties, and the 9-0 SCOTUS ruling. Damon- The 9-0 SCOTUS ruling on Trump and the 14th Amendment.

David French of The New York Times joins the panel (plus Cathy Young) to discuss the Supreme Court's gift to Trump; Mitch McConnell's tainted legacy; and the threat from Christian supremacism. highlights / lowlights Mona: Stephen Richer's interaction with TPUSA activist about her voter registration. David: Dune 2 Cathy: Yulia Navalnaya addresses European Parliament after Alexei Navalny's death Why the Kremlin Tried to Obstruct Alexei Navalny’s Funeral Bill: Why Americans are still angry about inflation, even as it cools by Heather Long Damon: Why the Supreme Court Should Grant Certiorari in United States v. Trump The Consequences of Jack Smith's Rush to Trial

AEI's Kori Schake joins to discuss Ukraine funding, GOP's moral and strategic collapse, Nikki Haley's role, calls for a Gaza ceasefire, and more. highlights / lowlights  Damon: John Avlon: I'm running for Congress. Linda: Something’s Fishy About the ‘Migrant Crisis’ A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes Liberation Struggle Kori: NATO Gives Ukraine the Go-Ahead to Cross Putin's Red Line Mona: What Losing My Two Children Taught Me About Grief Bill:  For Gen Z, an Age-Old Question: Who Pays for Dates?

Chris Cillizza joins the panel for a thought experiment on Biden, as well as the NY special election and its implications for November, NATO, and whether today's GOP as bad as 1930s GOP? highlights / lowlights Mona: Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out by Derek Thompson Bill: lowlight: Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little highlight: Putin Says He Was Disappointed by Tucker Carlson’s Soft Questions Linda: The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034 (look at pages 5-7) Damon: What I Saw Inside the DeSantis Campaign by Nate Hochman Chris: The Corruption of Lindsey Graham by Will Saletan