I've said before (as recently as last weekend) that Trump remained the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024. The disastrous dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes did not "prove" that Trump is a bigot, because his record shows otherwise, but he clearly is not exercising his best judgment.
The primary process will sort some of this out. It will either produce a candidate who replaces Trump -- but without his enthusiastic following; or it will produce a weakened nominee in Trump who cannot win a general election, and who hurts the party along the way. There is also the distant possibility that a non-Trump candidate brings along the Trump base. Ron DeSantis has the best shot, if he runs; Nikki Haley will try, and she is, at least, not bashing Trump right now.
But here is the bigger picture. Trump showed the Republican Party how to win, how to expand its appeal, and how to govern effectively. The party lacks another leader. He is weakened, meaning the party is confused and somewhat chaotic.
That means there are huge challenges ahead. But the mess is also an opportunity for conservatives to examine what it is that they truly believe. And though Trump's victory in 2016 created a mystique that is hard to shake off, it is far better to sort through conservatism in the wake of that victory than it would have been had he lost that election and left a smug establishment in charge.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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