As speculation over who Kamala Harris will nominate as his running mate continues, Donald Trump is under fire this week for his controversial remarks to the National Association of Black Journalists about the vice presidential race . It’s the latest example of the Trump campaign’s struggle to identify a line of attack against Harris that resonates with voters.
The former president also made comments at the NABJ convention about his plans to pardon the January 6 riots if elected. This is another attempt by Trump to present the image of a malleable rule of law, Anne Applebaum said last night. Washington Week with the Atlantic: “He got people used to the idea that the courts are political and can be manipulated.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal Journalist Evan Gershkovich has been released from Russia in a multinational prisoner exchange. But despite the celebratory nature of his return, “there’s a dark cloud,” Applebaum said. “There was the moral imperative to free Evan, to free the Russian dissidents, and on the other hand, there is this moral risk.” The criminals, including Vadim Krasikov, a Russian colonel serving a life sentence in a German prison after carrying out a Kremlin-ordered coup on a Russian dissident in Berlin, were among those returned to Russia. “In return, we really have hostages,” Applebaum continued. “There is a fundamental injustice.”
President Joe Biden and Harris greeted Gershkovich upon his arrival in the United States. Their side-by-side appearance is one of many this week, Steve Inkeep said last night. Accordingly, the vice president’s statement after Gershkovich’s return expressed “the importance of having a president who understands diplomacy and the value of alliances,” Inskeep said. “And so, in a way, it was almost a campaign stop for (Harris).”
Joining editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss this and more: Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic; Elisabeth Bumiller, assistant editor and Washington bureau chief The New York Times; Inskeep, the NPR host Morning edition; and Vivian Salama, a national political reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Watch the full episode here.
