THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent
  • 4.3 (215)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED DAILY
THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent Podcast

Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaining, information-packed conversation with a leading lawmaker, journalist, or newsmaker. We go deep into the stories behind the headlines leading TNR and other news outlets—while making it fun and fast.  

  1. Trump in Real Peril as New Polls Show Kamala Has Many Paths to Victory

    8 HR. AGO

    Trump in Real Peril as New Polls Show Kamala Has Many Paths to Victory

    Two major new polls of the presidential race released over the weekend show fresh gains for Kamala Harris—and illustrate how she is now putting the Sun Belt states fully in play. That gives her multiple routes to an electoral college victory over Donald Trump. So is Harris on her way to reversing Trump’s gains among Latinos and young voters? What does a winning Harris coalition look like, anyway? We talked to Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, which recruits young candidates for state and local office, including many in the Sun Belt. Litman explains how the region’s evolution opens up new possibilities for Democrats—and is helping to transform our politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 min

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    How Kamala Will Use the Convention to Trigger an Epic Trump Meltdown

    Because Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is under a month old, Democrats see next week’s nominating convention as a unique opening to do more than usual to define her in the minds of swing voters. But there’s another opportunity here as well: A successful convention will deeply rattle Trump, and when he fears he’s losing, he does himself tremendous additional harm. We talked to veteran journalist Ronald Brownstein, who has a new piece for The Atlantic on the task ahead for Harris in Chicago, about what she might be able to accomplish—and how it could frustrate future Trump attacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    31 min

  3. 4 DAYS AGO

    Striking New Polls Reveal How Kamala’s Surge Put Trump on Defensive

    In some good findings for Kamala Harris, the Cook Political Report’s new polls find her leading Donald Trump or tied with him in six of the seven key swing states. Other polls show her doing surprisingly well among key demographics like noncollege whites and Latinos. So far, despite GOP attacks on Harris as a crazy leftist, she appears to be widely perceived as broadly acceptable. We talked to Reed Galen, a veteran former Republican strategist working to win over centrist voters to Harris for the group Join the Union, about why Harris seems to be withstanding the GOP attack machine—and whether it will last.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min

  4. 5 DAYS AGO

    Trump’s Fox News Allies Suddenly Erupt in Panic as MAGA Lies Fail Him

    In recent days, Fox News personalities have begun urging Donald Trump to get more “disciplined.” Many seem to fear Trump is in trouble, as evidence mounts that his sleazy, racist attacks on Kamala Harris are backfiring. Yet Trump’s Fox allies aren’t telling him to stop smearing Harris with falsehoods; they’re just telling him to adopt a more civil tone in doing so. We talked to Steve Benen, author of a new book about the GOP called Ministry of Truth, who explains how the Fox News panic shows the limits of Republican propaganda—and why the Trump-MAGA-GOP addiction to lying is pushing our system to the breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min

  5. 6 DAYS AGO

    Surprise Poll Exposes Hidden Trump Vulnerability Against Kamala Harris

    To defeat Donald Trump, Kamala Harris must do far better among young voters than President Biden did. Guess what: An important new poll of young voters finds that Harris’ entry has dramatically shifted their preferences in her favor and against Trump. Which confirms a larger story: The Democratic-leaning constituencies who had drifted toward Trump now may be swinging to Harris, exposing a weakness in his previous support. We talked to John Della Volpe, an expert in the youth vote who conducted this poll, abut what’s driving all these shifts—and why they might enable Harris to triumph.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 min

  6. AUG 12

    Trump's Private Anger Over Kamala's Poll Surge Takes an Ominous Turn

    Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Donald Trump is deeply unsettled about Kamala Harris’s successful launch, even as polls show her edging into a small lead. His anger has led him to escalate the private conspiracy-mongering about Democrats supposedly cheating in the election. We talked to Amanda Carpenter—a leading Never Trump conservative and an editor at Protect Democracy—about why it’s so disturbing that Trump is already laying the groundwork to overturn a loss, a novel way he might try to pull this off, and whether the GOP will ever move beyond MAGA.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 min

  7. AUG 2

    As Trump Rages Over Freed WSJ Reporter, GOP Suddenly Enters Panic Mode

    With Republicans running from Donald Trump’s ugly attack on Kamala Harris’ blackness, new reports paint a picture of a party that is deeply worried about Trump’s chances. Meanwhile, Trump is raging about another piece of bad news for him: that reporter Evan Gershkovich is getting released from Russian captivity. We talked to Stuart Stevens, an operative with extensive experience in Republican politics who has forcefully renounced his former party, about why the GOP is suddenly hitting the panic button, and what has really happened to his former party as it fully embraces Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min

  8. AUG 1

    Trump’s Bizarre Rant About Kamala’s Blackness Exposes MAGA’s Weakness

    Donald Trump’s public statements about Kamala Harris are getting weirder. After Harris had a huge showing at a Georgia rally, he erupted, claiming that “Crazy Kamala Harris” had relied on a concert to draw the crowd. Then, speaking to black journalists, Trump melted down spectacularly while suggesting that Harris had long disavowed her black identity. The connecting thread here: the Trump-MAGA worldview doesn’t allow for any real grasp of how Harris is viewed by the American mainstream. We talked to Professor Nicholas Grossman, author of a new piece for The Bulwark about the MAGA right, who explains how these eruptions show that MAGA assumes it has a broad based appeal that it just doesn’t really have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 min
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4.3
out of 5
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About

Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaining, information-packed conversation with a leading lawmaker, journalist, or newsmaker. We go deep into the stories behind the headlines leading TNR and other news outlets—while making it fun and fast.  

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