“[Trump] would win right now because the Democrats have not succeeded in making this election a referendum on Trump,” longtime Republican and political strategist Rick Wilson told Cheddar on the eve of another sort of referendum — the president’s impeachment trial.
Wilson, who recently published a book “Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America From Trump — and Democrats From Themselves,” said voters “don’t care about a 600-page healthcare plan,” and need something like President Barack Obama’s campaign promise of “Hope” and “Change.”
He said he opposes Trump because Trump is not a conservative, an opinion he explicated in a New York Times article last month, along with three others who have worked for and supported Republicans, including White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway’s husband George Conway, the day before the president was impeached. The four men announced the “Lincoln Project,” which they explained will “highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations.”
Though Wilson said he is not “trying to pick the Democrat’s nominee” he thinks Joe Biden has the most viability “for all his flaws.”
As the Senate heads to trial this week, Wilson said the GOP remains allegiant to Trump because “they’re terrified of him.” “About a third of them are true believers,” he conjectures, while he said a third are “opportunists, hustlers, guys who are trying to build their email lists and become Fox News stars” and the final third “just live in absolute fear of [Trump’s] Twitter feed.”
Florida lawmakers have introduced a controversial bill restricting some discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms with young students. Supporters say the move empowers parents to have more of a say in what their children learn. Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
Congress this week passed a bill that would end forced arbitration for workplace sexual assault and harassment, one of the most significant changes to employment law in years. Cheddar News speaks with Marjorie Mesidor, Sexual Harassment Attorney, who explains that arbitrators are often retired judges or attorneys who "tends to have a more conservative view both to law and rewards."
As the situation with Russia has grown more precarious, the White House urged Americans remaining in Ukraine to leave immediately. The Biden administration that it sees continuing signs of escalation but did not have specific information detailing a timetable for a potential invasion. Kristine Berzina, senior fellow and head of the geopolitics team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar News to provide her analysis. "There's talk of an impending phone call between President Putin, President Biden," Berzina said. "That is certainly a good sign to indicate that there would be significant cost."
Terrell Starr, host of 'Black Diplomats' podcast and senior nonresident fellow at the Eurasia Center for Atlantic Council, joins Cheddar News from Kyiv, Ukraine to discuss the mounting tension there.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
David Tafuri, Former Obama Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor & Former State Department Official, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest geopolitical stories from Beijing, amid China's human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and yet another Russian doping scandal.
Dr. Jennifer Haythe of Columbia University's Irving Medical Center, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the latest with the pandemic, as the debate over child safety rages amid low vaccination rates and states easing school mask mandates.
